《My Servant System》 Chapter 1 First Time Readers: READ THIS PLEASE! So, like the title says, if you are just finding this book now, please read this. The book started as something I didn''t really n on doing; it was just something interesting to do once a week. Because of that, it starts off in one style and changes after that. Not only because I grew as a writer, but also because I started wanting to truly write something. Additionally, it is slow. I know that, and a few people have pointed that out. So, if you want instant action, I''m sorry. As of writing this, I am at Chapter 42, and I have a few more chapters before it bes more action packed. I just want to let you know that it is, in the beginning, slow. I wille back eventually and update this, but as of current it is a novel more about interactions then action. (EDIT*: I am now at Chapter 102, and here''s the rundown; since chapter 42, the story has picked up, with more action and development between characters. Besides that, once I get my contract finalized, I want to have everything from here to chapter 66 free, since that is the first smut chapter. I feel like the chapters between 42 and 66 are different, since that is when the MC grows up and starts truly doing more than you see in the beginning. Besides that, if you found this and for some reason didn''t read the tags or description, this is a Female Lead Novel, is Yuri (Female x Female rtionships), and has Futa (Chicks with dicks), so if that isn''t your cup of tea, then it was nice of you to even consider reading this. If you can look past that or try something new, I hope you enjoy.) So, just think of this as a warning of sorts. If you want something to instantly happen, for action, I apologize. I hope that you can give it a chance! Thank you, and please now enjoy the story of Katherine Zara! Chapter 2 1: Im... Dead? Like any other day, I woke up in my small apartment. Staring at the ceiling, I tried to muster the energy to get out of the warm embrace of my bed, and for a few minutes I lost that battle. However, I eventually got up, and looked out my window to the street below. Cars were already stuck in traffic, and many pedestrians were already walking the sidewalks, starting their day. The sun hadn''t rose yet, so the streets were lit in the soft blue lights from many streetmps. I continued to watch the passerby''s, wondering about the stories of these people I will likely never meet. *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* Startling me out of my daydream was my rm. I turned towards the bedside table and tapped the top. Looking at the time, 4:30, I sighed. I hated waking up this early, but I''d rather work early mornings and get out of work while there was still sun left. I made my way to the bathroom, avoiding the clothes strewn about the floor. When I got in the bathroom I turned on the shower before looking through my closet for my work clothes. As I was looking I heard a knock at my door. Odd. Who would be knocking on my door this early in the morning? Grabbing a shirt off the floor and throwing it on, I made my way towards the door, stumbling over some clothes and piles of books that I had scattered about. When I reached the door, I looked out the peephole, and was shocked by who it was. Smiling at the peephole was a pretty Asian woman, her warm brown eyes looking at the door with anticipation. My brow furrowed, wondering why she was here. She was my girlfriend for well over a decade, though we had been split up for many years. We both agreed to split up, and agreed to not contact each other, as it would only make us feel worse. As much as I wanted to act like I wasn''t home, I was also very curious about why she was here, so I opened the door. Little did I know that that one decision was a fatal one. Her smile grew wider, and for a moment I was stunned; I had forgotten how beautiful her smile was, and how it made me feel warm and happy whenever I saw it. "Kyoka, what brings you here? I hate to say it, but I only have a little bit of time since I have to get to work." Giving her a small smile, I step aside, letting her into the room. A hallway is no ce to talk, especially not this early in the morning. Without saying a word, she brushed past me, looking around the room. She sighed "Even with all that ''overtime'' your boss is giving you, this is the best you could do? Haah, I never should have let you go." "Kyoka? What do you mean? Moneys tight, what with the taxes being raised recently. And you didn''t ''let me go'', we agreed to split up." "Yes, yes, we both ''agreed''. Still, Kat, I didn''t think you would be so desperate that you''d bend over your boss'' desk just for some extra cash and to guarantee your job. If that''s what you''re doing, why note back to me? I used to take such good ''care'' of you back then. I wouldn''t mind doing it again." Kyoka said with a small smile. "Please leave. What I do is my business and my business alone. And don''t call me Kat; we are not that close anymore." "Ha, I won''t take no for an answer; you belong to me, Kat. You were the one who used to scream it all night long, not me. Now pack." "Did you not hear me? I''m not interested, Kyoka. So please leave." Kyoka sighed, before pulling out a pistol and pointing at my head. Her eyes were wide, and she looked deranged. "I. Said. Pack. You are MINE! Not some old dirtbag who is going to lose his job soon. Come on Kat, we had so much fun when we were together. Why are you fighting me now?" When she finished speaking, she narrowed her eyes at me. I was shaking. She was always had a screw loose, but she wasn''t violent. Sure, she was a little possessive and she was a huge S, but she always made sure to treat me well and never hurt me. At least not too much. "Ky-Kyoka, put the gun down. I-I''ll start packing ok? Just please put the gun away" Kyoka just stared at me, before lowering the gun. Then her smile came back, and sheughed. "At least you have some sense left. Quick, quick." I gave a tight smile before slowly moving past her. She was watching me like a hawk, and I could feel her gaze switching between being lustful and calm. I moved towards my bedside table, and next to my rm clock was a small device. It looked like a key fob for a car, but it had a single button. It''s sole purpose? To alert the police to a crime happening, while allowing the person to do so discreetly. As soon as I pushed the button though, I heard Kyoka clicking her tongue, before she said "Kat, Kat, Kat. You had one job. To pack your things ande home with me. Not alert the police. Now I have to do something I didn''t want to." After that, I heard the pistol being cocked, and as I turned around I also heard the loud bang, and next thing I knew, I was on the floor. There was no pain; I was too shocked to feel pain. Kyoka walked up to me, before crouching in front of me. She was still smiling and she kissed my forehead, before whispering "I loved you, y''know? These past ten years have been hell. I wanted you every night. No one could give me more pleasure than you. But... if I can''t have you, then no one can. Goodbye, Kat." I watched as she walked around the room, taking some of my keepsakes, things I had even when I was with her. Before she left, she stopped in the doorway, and looked back at me. She shook her head, before leaving. I don''t know how long Iid there, but I knew one thing. I was cold. So, so cold. And I was doing all I could to keep my eyes open. I knew that if I closed them, that was it. But. my body failed me. I couldn''t keep my eyes open, and my world went dark. Chapter 3 2: Reminiscence I had died, I was sure of it. So why am I floating in an empty void? Is this what awaits people after death? No pearly gates, no inferno, no gods or demons judging you? Just an empty void. I tried moving my body, but I felt nothing. I tried opening my mouth, but nothing came out. I couldn''t tell how much time had passed, and all I could do was remember; remember my mediocre life, my mistakes, and the choices I had made. My life started simple. I had a loving family, with enough money to not worry about the base needs, but not so much that we could do everything we wanted.I went through public schooling, always ced in the advanced sses for English and Social Studies, but woefully bad at Math. High school only reinforced it, as I attended a ma school, and all my peers were like me; told we were smart, but that was only true when ced in a school no one wanted to be in. I struggled at first, since I had always believed myself smart. Not a genius, but definitely smarter than the people around me. I went from the highest sses in middle school to being just average in high school. However, while that was disappointing, like many I discovered romance. Like many, it was a simple puppy love rtionship. At first, I thought that I was ''normal''. I dated a guy, and we shared all our firsts. But something didn''t feel right in that rtionship. Physically it was fine, but emotionally, I wasn''t invested. That was when a quick browse through the inte made me question myself; did I like girls? Or maybe both? So, I gave it a try, and discovered that, while I missed the actual thing guys had, the rest of the rtionship felt better. After high school, like many, I went to college. But that was when my world was turned upside down. My parents had died in a car ident, and apparently they had umted a sizable debt over the years. I had to sell the house and most of the possessions just to pay it off. Luckily I had a decent schrship to my college, and since both my parents had been so excited for my, I toughed through everything to get my degree. It was during this time that I had been told by my friend aboutpensated dating. Go on a date with a guy, spend the night together, and you get a decent bit of cash. And I needed cash. My part time job just wasn''t paying enough. So I started going on ''dates'' with many people. Sometimes it was someone I knew; a ssmate (current or former) or professor. Most of the time it was older men, spending arge portion of their extra money on college girls. For the remaining three years of my time in college, this is how I paid rent and put food on my table. When I had my degree, I managed to get a corporate job through one of my regrs. It wasn''t entirely through the back door; I showed my worth and managed to get the job. Of course, some extra money was being slid my way in the form of ''overtime''. And this was my life for another year. But that all ended after I met her. Kyoka Hana. I had gone to a party that some friends invited me to, and I saw her. A tall, thin asian woman, with beautiful brown eyes and a warm smile. I spent most of the party staring at her, trying to muster up some courage to speak to her. Sadly, she was always surrounded by men and women, and I just wasn''t sure she''d look my way, let alone if she swung that way. So I did the reasonable thing; drank away my sorrows. Some guys would approach me, thinking I was an easy target, but I refused their advances. As the party started to end, someone tapped my shoulder. It was Kyoka. She introduced herself, and we just clicked. We talked about everything, from our experiences in school to favorite foods. And before I knew it, she was leading me to a cab, her hand holding mine. She took me to her home, and the night became a blur of pleasure as she threw me in her bed and had her way with me. When I woke up the next day she was lying next to me, staring at my face with that warm smile. She asked if I would consider meeting her again, and gave me her number. Everyday we would talk, and every weekend she would invite me over. We explored everything about one another; I had known I was a bottom, and she enjoyed topping. But she wanted to take it a step further, with rope and whips. And I enjoyed it, more than anything in the world. The more I enjoyed my times with her, the more I hated the rest of my situation. I was still being called for ''overtime'', and had told Kyoka about it. She told me that I should quit, and so I did. While I was searching for another job, I moved in with her. It was fast, with only a few months being spent together, but it felt right. Years passed. Kyoka became more possessive, but I enjoyed seeing how much she cared for me. My job was going well, and we got along well. At least I thought we were. I found out that I wasn''t the only woman Kyoka had; she had two others, one recent and the other being with her longer than me. She hid it so well, and even managed to make me seem crazy when I confronted her about it. After another few months of searching, I had photo evidence of her rtionships. It hurt me, and I told her that I couldn''t trust her anymore, not after she lied to me all these years. She tried to convince me to stay, even going so far as to bring the other two woman to the house to have a ''group discussion''. It made me sick, and I told her that we were done. I moved after that, going to a new city, getting a new job, and finding myself a small apartment. For months I just stuck to a schedule of wake up, go to work, sleep, repeat. However, I started craving intimate contact. So, I started frequenting clubs, finding men and women who were looking for a good time. Eventually, it became arge part of my life; right after work I would go to a club, find some person to be with, and go home with them. I kept doing that until one day my boss saw me in one of the clubs I frequented. After he saw me he offered the same thing my previous boss offered. Some extra cash if I worked ''overtime''. Not only that, he offered to let me be his secretary. I epted, since the pay raise was quiterge. And that all led up to that fatal morning, where Kyoka found my home and ordered me to follow her. After looking back at my life, I wondered something. What if I stayed with her back then? Sure it would have sucked to share her with others, but I had been doing that without realizing for many years. Would I have been happy with that? I continued to float through the void, reminiscing and creating hypotheticals in my mind, when suddenly a bright blue orb appeared in front of me. [Host found. Beginning fusion.] Chapter 4 3: Choices, Choices [Host found. Beginning fusion.] The blue orb started pulsating in front of me, and with each pulse it became fainter. I opened my mouth and found that I could finally talk. "What do you mean host?!? Wait, please don''t go!" The orb grew so faint that it looked like it wasn''t there. I was scared. For the first time in god knows how long I could actually see; I could actually talk. And this... orb was capable of speech! If it left me alone in the void, bereft of any stimtion, I might just go insane. [Fusionplete. Hello, Katherine. I am , and I will be your guide through your new. life.] The orb had disappeared, but a spectral screen took its ce. Written on the front was ''''. And the voice was still there. Was this like those web novels I had read? Would I be... reincarnated? [Correct. Creation beginning. Please press the screen.] It can hear my thoughts? Thats kinda creepy. Whatever. I reached forward and pressed the screen. The screen blurred before changing its disy. [Please select the World you wish to reincarnate in.] So it IS like those novels. Cool. I scrolled through the list. Modern, Sci-Fi, Cultivation, and Fantasy. Those were the four choices. "Isn''t this... a limited selection?" [Please select a world. Failure to do so in 30 seconds shall result in a random selection.] "Alright, alright. Hmm... Definitely not Modern or Sci-Fi. Not my cup of tea. So Cultivation or Fantasy. Hmm." What to choose. I like both, but... I guess I have a soft spot for Fantasy. All those childhood stories and the Mythology of many countries was always interesting. So I picked Fantasy. [Fantasy selected. Next, please select your specialized system. List generated.] A long list appeared on the screen. It was sorted based on most popr choices. At the top was Sword, Magic, Bow, cksmith, Druid, and so on. As I was scrolling through, unsure of my choice, the system spoke. [Would Host like the to narrow down the list based on which are most suited for you?] "Yes, please!" Even if the suggested systems aren''t cool, they should help me figure out what I should pick. After all, if its narrowed to what I am most suited for, I can get an idea on what I would like to do. [List narrowed. If you have questions about the uses of a certain system, please ask.] Looking through the list, I saw two that stood out. A dancer system, and a servant system. "System, can you please give me the details on those two?" [Dancer System: A System based on dancing. Dances will be turned into skills, with specific uses such as martial arts or magic. Dances can be used to gain experience points and/or skill points.] [Servant System: A System based on serving a Master/Mistress. Earn experience points and/or skill points by serving. While not abat system, you will be allowed to choose a weapon proficiency.] "Would I be able to choose my Master or Mistress?" [Yes. That is tied to your starting point, which is the next section.] "Okay then! I choose the Servant System! I like the idea of being able to serve someone important, like a princess! I''d be able to live a good life, with the only problem being the work. However I''ve done worse, and I''ll be paid in money by my employer (maybe) and XP and Skill points by the system!" [...] [From this point onwards you have points. Current bnce: 1950p. Every choice will either give or take points. Choose carefully.] "Points? How were those determined?" [Every person starts with a bnce of 1500p, and the actions taken in their life, plus the way they died, reward or take points. Since you were murdered, you received 350p. The remaining 100p was from various small good deeds done throughout your life.] "Thats interesting. I always knew I wasn''t the greatest person, but I thought my... activities would have been viewed as negative. Lust is a sin and all that." [That is the view of humanity. However, your Lust didn''t negatively effect anyone.] Cool. Next was to choose my starting location. I was given three choices. Male, Female, and... Futa? "Futa is... chicks with dicks right?" [Correct.] "Why is this here? Am I supposed to... ''serve'' them too?" [Optional. This selection is so that you can choose based on personal interest.] I clicked futa. What, you judging me? Its the best of both worlds. Next was the alignment. Evil: +100p Neutral: +0p Good: -100p "So what exactly makes her evil?" [Moral values are skewed. Has no qualms killing. Y''know, normal things.] "She won''t lock me in a dungeon for looking at her wrong?" [She shouldn''t.] "So you have no idea?" [People areplicated.] Well, whatever. I clicked evil. Good people in Fantasy worlds are insufferable. And Neutral people tend to be indecisive, not Neutral. Also, I always wanted to see one of those legendary ''Viiness'' characters. [Points: 2050p] Next was her social status. Merchant: +0p Baroness: -100p Viscountess: -150p Countess: -200p Marquess: -300p Duchess: -500p Princess: -750p "I know I said I wanted to serve a princess, but... that''s a lot of points. Wait, what else am I going to need my points for?" [Race, Stats, Magic, and Skills.] So I need my points. Cool. Hm, maybe a Countess then? While she won''t be a full Viiness, she could be the underling of the main Viiness. Like one of those side characters that do nothing except make the Viiness feel better? Or should I go for a Marquess? Might be a minor Viiness then. Yeah, that sounds good. "Marquess." [Points: 1750p] [Generating Host''s body... generationplete.] Next to the screen now stood my body. Looking at it felt odd. [Would you like to change anything of your physical appearance? Size, Height, Eye color?] A set of sliders appeared in front of me, controlling my different sizes and height. Now, I wasn''t the tallest person, but I was definitely taller then a lot of people. So that was fine. But my sizes... that is tempting. After all, who doesn''t want to change some things about their bodies? I did like my sizes, after all it helped me a lot throughout my life. My breasts weren''t toorge, but were definitely big. My waist was thin, and my hips were wide. Maybe I should change it all just a little though? I''m sure that I could make my Mistress love me for a long time based on just my ''skills''. I stared at the sliders, adjusting everything, looking at myself and seeing if the changes were good or bad. After a few minutes, I decided I should just keep it the same. After all, it was my body. No need to change it. [Done? Next, please choose a race.] Another long list appeared on the screen. All the typical races were there, Human, Elf, Dwarf, Orc. Of course, I clicked each to see what I looked like as that race. And I have to say I was tempted with the orc. Chiseled abs and defined arms and legs. That was definitely my type. But then I saw another option. Dogkin. Its exactly what I thought it would be. Just a human with dog ears and a bushy tail. I looked cute, not trying to brag though. Yup. I am now going to be a Dogkin. Why? I want to be Kat the Dogkin. Lame joke, I know, but imagining introducing myself as that to people makes meugh. Though the plus was that it was only 50p. The elf? 500p. Dragonkin? 1000p. Orc? 250p. Those prices are insane. [Points: 1700p] [Generating Host''s base Stats: Strength (STR): 10 [Physical Strength] Constitution (CON): 12 [Body''s Strength] Agility (AGI): 10 [Speed] Dexterity (DEX): 14 [Body''s Control] Charm (CHA): 14 [Personal Maism] Wisdom (WIS): 12 [Magic Control] Inteligence (INT): 14 [Magic Power] Increase a stat by 1: 100p. Average stats are 12.] "Can Ie back to this after I choose my magic and skills?" [Yes.] [Magic: [Fire: 0p Wind: 0p Water: 0p Earth: 0p] (Ice: 200p Lightning: 200p Metal: 200p Nature: 200p) |Dark: 500p Light: 500p Space: 1000p Time: 1000p| [Can only have one, must pay for second, third, and forth. 100p, 300p, 400p] (Can only have two, and gain ess to the elements that make up the intermediate element. Ice - Water/Wind, Lightning - Fire/Wind, Metal - Fire/Earth, Nature - Water/Earth) |Can only have one, and lose ess to all other elements|] "Easy. Ice! Water magic for healing, Wind magic for support and offensive, and Ice magic because its awesome!" [Points: 1500p] [Generating skills based on previous life... Housework (Expert): Can clean most things easily, and can cook exceptional food. Hardworking (Master): When you focus onpleting something, be it task or studying, you canplete/understand it faster. Additionally, when studying/researching, there is a chance to be [Inspired], allowing you to potentially create new skills or advance current skills. Nymphomania (MAX): Whenpleting any [Sex Quests] you receive triple XP. However, after your ''First Time'' you will receive a stack of [Arousal] every two days, and the higher the stack, the more impaired you be. Having sex reduces all stacks. [Inspired - A state that the Host can enter to improve their skills. Difficult to enter.] [Sex Quests - An optional quest that givesrge amounts of experience. Depending on your partner(s), you may also receive stat points or skill points.] [Arousal - A state that, when high, impairs the Host''s thinking and makes them more likely to fall for a persons charm or seduction. At max, the Host will do anything to sleep with someone. Host can remove one stack a day by masturbating. Max Stacks: 20.] "Thats... interesting. A lot of upsides, but the downsides are... scary. And the ''Sex Quests'', are they exclusive to my Mistress or can they be triggered by anybody?" [They can be triggered by anyone. Again, they are OPTIONAL. The Host need not worry about being forced into something.] [Please browse the skills. They are optional, and can be learned for free through hard work.] Another list appeared. It was sorted by magic skills, weapon skills, utility skills, and more. I went into the weapon category and looked for daggers. Finding it at 50p, I purchased it and upgraded it twice, from Novice to Apprentice then to Adept. I spent 250p upgrading it. [Points: 1200p] I looked through magic for a skill that increases healing benefits. After all, healing others is a good way to earn money if I need some. Healing was 300p, and to upgrade it I had to spend another 300p. So I had Apprentice Healing. [Points: 600p] I looked through all the lists, and as I was about to go choose another magic skill, I saw one Utility skill that seemed amazing. [Growth (Novice): Increases quest XP by 25%, and Combat XP by 50%] The price was 600p, but I knew a broken skill when I saw it. Also, that was at NOVICE. Imagine it at Master, or at MAX. [Points: 0p] [Is the Host sure of their choices?] I looked at my stats, my skills, and my starting area. "Yeah. Yeah I''m good." [Would host like to start from when you are a baby, when you are 4, or when you are 18?] "At 4 please. While those four years could be nice to try and learn new skills, the idea of being a baby again is weird." [Very Well. Beginning Reincarnation...] Chapter 5 4: Reincarnated "...ath..." "Kath...!" "Katherine! Wake up!" Groggily I opened my eyes, and looked at the woman shaking me awake. Seeing me open my eyes, the woman sighed before quickly pulling me out from under the warm covers of the bed. Staring at her I was shocked. She looked exactly like I did when I was younger. Long brown hair, thin eyebrows above slightly droopy eyes. Warm hazel irises. Though where I used to wear a carefree smile, her lips were drawn in a stern line. Continuing my observation of the woman who is now my mother, I quickly took in the rest of her. The thin chemise she wore did nothing to hide the figure that hid beneath. Large breasts, thin waist andrge hips, she would definitely attract a lot of attention. The only other thing that was different from my old self, other than the stern look, was the two triangr ears, apanied by a bushy tail reminiscent of a German Shepards. She was staring at my face, before sighing again. "Come on, Katherine, you need to get dressed. Our oh so amazing Marquess Asmodia and her lovely wife Countess Haniel decided toe back a month and a half before schedule! A month and a half!" [Wee to the world Gaia, and more specifically the March Deimos,nd of House Asmodia. Your mother, Julie Zara, is the personal maid of Marquess Asmodia, and with the ''new'' addition of Countess Haniel, will serve both of them directly. Consequently, as her daughter you will serve their child, the Lady Asmodia. As is the duty of us systems, we will be running in the background, and will not interfere with any decision the host makes. Unless asked a question or in a critical situation, you will not here from your system. The Administrators wish you the best of luck in your new life.] While Katherine was rubbing her eyes of sleep and listening to her system, her mother Julie was quickly dressing herself before moving over to help Katherine change. Before doing so, Julie kneeled in front of Katherine, holing her cheeks in her hands. "Listen closely now. You will be with me at ALL times. I have work I need to do, and no one is free to watch you. So be good, alright?" Hearing the slight worry in my mothers voice, I quickly nodded my head. For now it would be best to stick as close to her as possible, and not risk anything. After all, I am in a very new, very different ce. Seeing my nod, Julie pulled a in ck dress over my head, before quicklybing my hair and tying it into a braid. Giving me a quick look over, she nodded before pulling her own long hair into a ponytail. She sighed again, looking around the dimly lit room. Following her eyes, I took in what I assumed was our room. A small room, with a bed in the corner, a small dresser next to it. In the corner was a mirror, and the opposite wall had a desk, next to a door. The room was quite nice for one person, and serviceable for an adult and a child. "Haa, this will be myst peaceful night for awhile, won''t it?" Looking at my mother, I noticed a small flush of pink in her cheeks when she said that. Looking down at me, she smiled, before grabbing my hand and leading me out of the room. When we exited our room, I was surprised by therge, extravagant room we entered. The walls were a clean white, with borate silver patterns. In silver sconces wererge white rocks giving off a bright light. Paintings adorned the walls, one of which depicted an imposing blue woman staring out of the painting. Eyes like ruby, a stern look, andrge blue horns were the distinguishing look of the beautiful woman in the painting. Runes were written below the painting on a que. Another painting was what I assumed was a map of the March Asmodia. Looking away from the paintings, I was astonished by the furnishings of the room. Arge white wood table sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by chairs made from the same material, with velvet cushions. In the back of the room was arge white desk, a small silvermp on one side. The chair behind the desk looked more like a throne. Around the edges of the room were small tables and shelves holding trinkets and vases. The most surprising part of the room was the floor. Made entirely from marble, each tile was almost as tall as her. Separating each tile was a strip of silver, and if one looked closely, you could see runes inscribed along the entirety of the strips. My mouth must have been open, staring around in wonder, because Julie pat the top of my head and ruffled my ears "shy and bright, isn''t it? This is what I have to keep clean everyday. And you are helping today. You see that desk? I need you to go open the lowest drawer on the left side, and get the ck cloth in there. When you have it, go to the big table in the center and start wiping it. When we get that monstrosity clean we can go get some food." Looking up at my mother, I was surprised to see a warm smile on her face as she looked around the room. So she speaks like she hates our masters, but blushes at the thought of theming back. And when talking about this extremely shy, extremely over the top room, she is fond of it. I nodded my head saying "Yes Mother!" I ran over to the desk as fast as my little legs would carry me, and opened the drawer. As soon as I saw the cloth, a screen popped up in front of me. [Quest: Clean the Table. Reward - 10xp] Huh. You know how something doesn''t really sink in until it''s practically hitting you in the face? Well, it just hit me that I really do have a system. And if a quest like this can be repeated, then I can level up very easily. And while I don''t have to think about this for over a decade, the idea of being able to get stronger through sex is crazy. Especially with my Nymphomania skill. Thinking about it, I also wanted to see if I could do that thing every system user does. ''Status'' [Katherine Zara - Dogkin Age - 4 Level - 1 (0/100) Stats: STR - 5 (10) CON - 6 (12) AGI - 5 (10) DEX - 7 (14) CHA - 7 (14) WIS - 6 (12) INT - 7 (14) Magic: Water (Locked) Wind (Locked) Ice (Locked) Skills: [Dagger Proficiency (Adept) Locked] Growth (Novice) Housework (Expert) Hardworking (Master) [Nymphomania (MAX) Locked]] ''Why are my stats halved? Is it due to age?'' [Correct. Additionally, Magic is locked until you Awaken your core. Dagger Proficiency is locked until you start learning to use a dagger, while Nymphomania is locked until you have your first time.] ''I guess... that makes sense. Can''t have a child having the strength of the average adult. But what is this about a core?'' [You will learn soon.] Sighing, I picked up the cloth. Underneath it was a ck and white picture of the woman in the painting, my mother, and another woman. She was beautiful and had arge smile, her arms wrapped around an uninterested horneddy and an awkward looking dogkin. They all looked young, like they were teens. Flipping the picture over, I saw a line of runes again. ''Seems like I need to relearn writtennguage, huh.'' Putting the picture back, I grabbed the cloth, closed the drawer, and ran over to the table. ncing at the cloth, I noticed what has be my mortal enemy already. Runes, runes, and even more runes. Sighing, I started wiping the table. Yeah, it''s a cloth. Any normal child would be questioning why they are wiping a clean table with a dry cloth, but I just wanted to see what would happen. The cloth is obviously enchanted, at least I assume it is. I slowly made my way around the whole table, wiping in very repetitive circles. I had to stand on my tip toes to reach the middle. All in all, it took young me a long time to clean the table. I was correct, too. Wherever the cloth hit, the wood started to gleam and mend any scratches. If only this existed in my old world. When I finished, the screen appeared again. [Quest Complete. 10xp awarded to Host. Additional 2.5xp awarded due to skill [Growth].] I pulled up my status screen again, and focused on the level. [Level - 1 (12.5/100)] ''That is so satisfying. And if every quest is going to be this rewarding, I''ll be the God of Servants in no time!'' [...] Chapter 6 5: Next Quest [Level - 1 (12.5/100)] Katherine continued to wipe the table, while thinking about how the levels will progressively harder. Will it follow a set path, like level 1 is 100xp, while level 2 is 200, 3 is 300, and so on, or will it be exponential? And if it is exponential, what will be the multiplier? 1.5? 2? Or maybe something higher. [Leveling follows an exponential increase of 1.5, so your next XP requirement is 150. As you could guess, early levels will fly by, but it will get progressively harder.] ''Damn. Well, thankfully I got a nice skill like Growth huh. How would I upgrade it? Its not like magic or a weapon technique, nor is it something that can be practiced and put to use like housework. Any help?'' [No.] ''...'' I sighed, before feeling someone scratching my ears. Without realizing,I leaned into the hand, eyes lidded. Hearing a chuckle, I looked up at my mother. "Good job, Katherine. Time for breakfast. We have a lot of work, but nothing can be done on an empty stomach." Feeling her take the cloth from my hand, I asked "Mother, what is that cloth?" "Enchanted with magic, it just makes cleaning easier. Nifty little thing, isn''t it?" Nodding, I let my mother lead me through the halls towards the smell of fresh baked bread. Along the way we passed many other servants, females dressed in the same long ck dress with a white apron on the front, while men had a ck overcoat with a white undershirt. I noticed that everyone we passed stopped working to give a small bow towards us, before resuming their work. "Mother, why are they doing that?" "Hmm? Oh, they''re bowing because of the status difference. How to exin it. They aremon people doing a job. You and I, however, are the... personal property of the Marquess. And since we answer only to the Marquess and her Wife, they''ve taken it upon themselves to be respectful of us." Nodding again, I went quiet. Hearing that we are ''owned'' by the Marquess is shocking, but thinking about my choices earlier, I did pick not only an ''Evil'' Master, but also chose a fantasy world. Obviously thebination of an Evil Master, a servant system, and a fantasy world would mean I am owned, not employed. Well, I already decided to pick this life, time to live it. ''Is it arrogance to assume that I can live even under an Evil Master with a system? I mean I level up quite easily, and ifter in life I decide to be... "sociable", I can get XP easily. Though it would be best to try and either get along with my future Viiness, or at least be of enough use that she won''t treat me terribly. Best way to do that is to be so good at my job that she can''t afford to let me go!'' [You have some amazing mental gymnastics.] ''Find a bright side in everything. Besides, I''ve died once, and should have been in that void for eternity. So if this life is short lived, oh well.'' While I was contemting all of that, Mother and I had reached arge set of doors. A mouth watering smell came from the other side, and I could feel my tail swaying back and forth. My mother must have felt it hit her dress, as she looked down and chuckled at me. "Come on Katherine, you must be hungry. I think it''s sausage, biscuits, and fruits today." ''Oh I love me a good sausage. Wait, that sounded wrong. Oh well.'' Mother pushed open the door, and the already amazing smell hit us like a truck. Looking inside of Heaven, I saw multiple sets ofrge tables in the front of the room, sporadically upied by servants who finished their first job. In the back was a long counter, and on the other side was a gigantic kitchen. Multiple stoves and counters, with many chefs chopping, washing, and preparing different ingredients, was a scene that reminded me of those cooking shows. Again I felt a hand scratch my ears, and looking up I saw my mothers smile. "Do you want to try and cook?" I nodded my head as much as I could. I always loved watching those cooking shows, and really wanted to participate. Chuckling, my mother led me through the maze of tables. When we reached the back a short, stocky dwarven woman looked up at my mother. "Whaddya want, Jules? All the foods already made, go and eat while it''s fresh." Long braids that almost touched the floor, a wide nose, and a barrel body, she looked exactly like all the dwarves in those fantasy shows, minus the beard of course. "Do you mind if we borrow a station, Les? Katherine here really wants to try cooking." Les turned towards me, staring me up and down. She snorted before saying "Aye, I''ll let the pup have a go. But if she wrecks me kitchen I''ll y ''er, you hear me?" Watching her walk away, my mother scratched my ears again. "Don''t mind Les, she might seem scary but she''s a big softy. She stopped drinking out of worry when I was pregnant with you, after all." I heard a loud ''Oi'' but decided to ignore it. Looks like mother and Les are decent friends, so that''s one person I can learn more from. When we got to an empty station, my mother pulled over a stool before lifting me onto it. "Well, we should probably make something quick. Hmm..." I felt my mother bury her nose in-between my ears, contemting. The more I felt her breath ruffle my hair and ears, the more I realized why dogs loved you scratching their ears. It just feels soooo good. Hearing and ''Ah'', my mother started grabbing ingredients from around us. Soon, a small pile of ingredients were in front of us. "Lets make one of Marquess Asmodia''s favorites: pancakes. You should learn this soon, since she went and got her wife addicted to them too." [Quest: Prepare Pancakes. Reward - 20xp Additional Quest: Impress Julie Zara. Reward - 10xp Additional Quest: Impress Lessnera Ashbraid. Reward - 20xp] ''Woah, that''s cool. So a quest can have, what, different tiers? Justpleting the task is already rewarding, but if Iplete these extra quests... This would be 62.5xp wouldn''t it!?! That''s awesome! Oh, and what if I need toplete a certain number of quests, both normal andbat, to upgrade Growth? Or maybeplete the additional quest? I just need to start doing my best, now don''t I?'' "Alright. Katherine, see this white fluffy powder? That''s flour. This small pinkish pile of powder is salt; the small white pile of powder is sugar. Thisrge brown thing is an egg. The white liquid is milk, while this small yellow square is butter. Now, tell me which is which." "Brown thing, egg." "Haha, yes." "Liquid, Milk. Yellow thing, butty. Pinky, Salty. Small White, shug.. sugar. Big White, Flower!" ''I gotta act as a kid for right now. Kinda fun, to be honest.'' I heard a snort, and looking over to my right was the dwarf Lessnera. "Aye, Pinky is indeed Salty. Teaching her the Marquess'' favorite, are you? This''ll be interesting. Continue. I wish to see how good yer daughter will be." My mother nodded, before cing a bowl in front of me. "Now, we put the flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl. Want to stir it for me?" "Yes!" I grabbed the small, t piece of wood my mother handed me and started gently moving it clockwise in the bowl, allowing the powders to mix. After doing so for a minute, I looked up at my mother, then over at Les. Both looked slightly surprised, which made sense. After all, most kids would use more strength than necessary and make a mess. "Good job there pup." My mother nodded, before quickly making a well in the middle of the powder. Pouring in the milk, sliding in the butter, and cracking the egg, my mother looked at me again and said "Start mixing it again until it feels smooth. Got it?" Nodding, I started slowly mixing the liquid and powder together. I always loved watching as a batter was formed. Seeing the powder and liquidbine into a thick, smooth batter was satisfying, and was why I enjoyed making things like bread, pancakes, and the more difficult pastries. When I thought it was smooth, I looked up at my mother. "Is smooth?" I saw my mother reaching for my ears, and was about to close my eyes to revel in the gentle pleasure from her touch, but a calloused hand start to ruffle my hair. "Hahaha, good job little pup. Indeed, it is smooth. But this next part is too dangerous for ye, so lemme do it for ya." Les snatched the bowl from my hands,ughing at the pout on my face. She quickly and carefully dripped a third of the bowl onto a pan, before doing so twice more on separate sides of the pan. Then, she pointed her fingers at the red crystal below, and suddenly a small me appeared. She watched the pancakes for a minute or so, before grabbing the pan by the handle and in one smooth motion, flipped the pancakes. ''Oh I am so jealous. I tried that so often in myst life. Never got it downpletely. Damn, I am definitely going to learn how to do that.'' My mother reached around me, grabbing two lush yellow apples. cing them in front of me, she grabbed a knife and started slicing them. Every other slice she would pick up and ce in front of my mouth, chuckling as I nibbled on each piece. "Good job, Katherine. You did well." [Quest Completed. Additional Quests (2)pleted Reward: 50xp] [Level - 1 (75/100)] ''Awesome! Just for making a simple pancake I got so much! I can''t wait to meet the Marquess! Maybe I can convince her to keep me if I make the best pancakes? And maybe her daughter will fall for me because she likes my cakes! HAHAHA!'' [...Why did I choose you?] Chapter 7 6: Finishing My First Day In A New World "Come on Katherine, finish your food quickly. We have some more work to do." ''Man, I forgot how heavy pancakes can be when there is no baking powder or cornstarch. The half an apple I ate earlier isn''t helping. God, I feel like a little balloon.'' "But Mother, I''m full." I whined. Hopefully she would ept that. As if answering my prayers, mother sighed and quickly finished my pancake for me, before taking a cloth and wiping the crumbs from both my face and hers. "Les, can I trouble you to take these dishes? The Marquess is scheduled to contact us soon, and I would hate to make her wait." "Aye, I''ll be fine. ''Sides, won''t ye need to save all yer strength to serve for tomorrow night?" ''Huh, guess I wasn''t seeing things earlier. Mother really did blush when she was ''insulting'' the Marquess and Countess earlier. Maybe I''ll get a sibling in a few years?'' I looked up at my mother, almostughing out loud when I saw her face go crimson. She red at Les before dragging me out of the room. While we were leaving, I could hear Lesughing. "Mother, why do you need to save your strength?" ''Hehe, time to y innocent and see my mother''s embarrassed face.'' Surprisingly, my mother just ignored me, dragging me back to towards therge white room. Her face had gone back to normal, and she was back to her serious expression. When we entered the room, she took me to the door opposite our bedrooms, revealing anotherrge room. In the back was arge bed, almost the size of our room. Arge wardrobe stood on either side of the bed. Next to the right wardrobe was an empty armor rack, while the left wardrobe had a small shrine next to it. In front of the bed was a small couch, with a table in front of it. Lining the walls were bookshelves filled with beautifully bound books. Unsurprisingly, most of the things in the room were white, with the silver ents. the floor was a beautiful light gray wood, covered in different sized rugs. Before I could truly take in the opulent bedroom, my mother continued to lead me towards the left wall, where in between two bookshelves was a door. When she opened it, I saw a what looked like a hot spring. In the back of the room was a teardrop shaped pool with arge tinted window overlooking a garden. To the left were two stools sitting in front of something that looked like a shower, but instead of holes in the shower head, light blue crystals could be seen. On the right was a long counter with two sinks. Again, instead of a normal faucet, blue crystals were present. Next to the door we entered from was a long shelf on either side, housing many different baskets, some filled with towels, others being empty. "Alright, Katherine. Your job is to make sure all the Water crystals work and scrub down the hot spring. You have all day to do so. Here, use the cloth from earlier. You''re going to have to wipe every area twice. It''s a lot of work, and you can take breaks when you get tired. I''ll be in the bedroom or the main room, so if you have any questions or something happens, juste out and ask me. Any questions for now?" "Um... how I check crystals?" "Tap the activation rune. Look, this semi circle with a cross inside it? Thats the activation rune. All you do is press it and the crystal will start producing water." I nodded my head. Walking over to the shower area, I pushed the rune on the silver pole. Water started flowing out of the crystals, reminding me of those rain shower heads. "Check all the crystals. The bath is empty now, and you should start cleaning it before going inside and activating all the crystals inside it. I''m not expecting all of it to be done, just try your best, okay? If you need me, I''ll be out here, alright?" I nodded, before feeling my mother ruffle my ears again. With a quick ''Good Luck'', she exited the room. ''This is quite a bit for a kid, isn''t it? Though I would have loved this as a kid, simply cause I could y with the water. Also, magic crystals! Thats so cool! I wonder if you can change the output of the crystal? Could I get a slow drizzle, or a high pressure stream? God, I can''t wait to be able to use magic myself.'' [Quest: Check All Water Crystals. Reward - 10xp] [Quest: Clean bathroom. 10% Reward - 20xp 25% Reward - 30xp 50% Reward - 60xp 75% Reward - 100xp 85% Reward - 150xp 95% Reward - 225xp 100% Reward - 300xp] ''Wow, what a huge quest. Makes sense though. This is a pretty big room, like approximately thirty feet long, and twenty feet wide. That bath is huge, looks more like a small pool. The room looks clean enough, but that''sing from me, who knows what nobles define clean as. This really will take all day, huh. Oh well, 300xp is worth it. Wait, that''s actually 375xp. Damn, and I get the additional 12.5xp just for tapping a bunch of runes. Cool. If I can get this much xp just for cleaning a room, I wonder what the monstersbat xp amounts to? And what about my beloved dual culti... I mean ''fun'' quests will be worth?'' Humming happily to my self, I quickly walked over to the other shower, checking if the crystals were working. After observing it for a few moments and deciding it worked, I turned it off before doing so for the sinks. When I saw that all of them worked, I walked over towards the bath. Thankfully there were stairs leading into the bath, as it was just slightly taller than I currently was. I walked over towards the more narrow side, before quickly starting to wipe the stone. Just like the table, I watched as any scratches were removed, and any dirt disappeared. While I was working, I decided to ask the system some questions. ''What exactly do I get for leveling up?'' [Host receives a single stat point per level, and gets a skill point every five levels. You can use the stat points to increase a stat by one, and you can use a certain amount of skill points to either unlock a skill or level one up. And before you ask, you can earn skill points through quests as well. A quest that offers 500xp has a 25% chance to award skill points, and that chance increases every 500xp. Additionally, any achievements the hostpletes awards stat points and skill points. An achievement can be anything, from killing 500 slimes topleting 100 quests.] ''Thats cool. Is there a store built into this system? Lots of novels and stuff from my world always had systems having store.'' [That feature unlocks at level 25. You will not receive the currency for the store until you reach that level either. Examples of items in the store are stat/skill points, weapons, weapon/magic techniques, materials, and more.] ''When you say ''techniques'' do you mean like the fighting style or magic spell? Or do you mean those cultivation techniques that do very little and are forgotten/rendered useless in like a year?'' [You chose a fantasy world, and as such you will be able to purchase magic spells or fighting styles. They are ranked appropriately. For example, [Fireball] is an Adept rank fire magic spell. However it can be enhanced or simplified, raising or lower its rank. This means that, if Host is smart enough or determined enough, Host can buy all low rank spells and learn how to upgrade it for free. Conversely, if Host buys a high ranked spell, Host can learn the spells that werebined or enhanced to create said spell. This principle works for enhancing or gaining skills as well.] ''Thats awesome! So I could, theoretically, buy the most advanced spell in the store and reverse engineer it to learn all the lower rank spells?'' [Correct. However, the store has tiers, and you wouldn''t be able to afford said spell until you were appropriately ranked.] ''Obviously, I''m just asking about the theory. Still, that''s cool. I''m guessing that if I suddenly buy a spell that should be hard to learn for the people of this world, it''ll be suspicious?'' [Probably] ''Helpful. Well, looks like I could be a ''Genius'', but that seems boring. Obviously I''ll still learn magic, but I''m content so far with just being a simple servant. Can''t imagine walking around this world like some kind of Protagonist, being hounded by random people to either join their group or fight people who can''t believe a servant is more talented than them. Sounds extremely tedious. Well, time to just put my head down and clean this ginormous bathroom. 387.5xp is a lot of xp, so lets get to work.'' I started methodically cleaning everything. After going around the bath twice, I clicked on all the runes, allowing the bath to start filling. Interestingly, there was a red crystal in the center, and using my amazing deductive reasoning, I decided it was a fire crystal to heat the tub. I''m a genius, I know. I looked out into the garden, and as I did, I saw the sun reach its zenith, meaning I had already been cleaning for a few hours now. As I got out of the bath, my mother opened the door, a te in her hand. I ran over to her, my stomach grumbling as I did. "Hungry, huh? Well, you''ve done a real good job so far, Katherine. Here, eat. Are you tired? Want to go take a nap?" I grabbed the te and looked at the food. A slice of bread, orange slices, and a few slices of meat. I shook my head at her question. Give up my huge amount of xp? Over my dead body. She chuckled and watched me eat, asionally wiping my mouth or patting my head. After I scarfed down my food, I handed her the te and said "Crystals work! Bath clean and has water!" She ruffled my ears before nodding. "Well, if you want to keep going, then be my guest. You know where to find me." I watched her leave, and got back to work. I reentered cleaning mode, which is just turning off my brain and mindlessly wiping off the floor and decorations around the room. asionally I would get a quest update, telling me my percentagepleted, ad they made me so happy. Time passed rtively quickly, and I saw the lovely 100%pletion. My mother would asionally peek in to see what I was doing, and I would stop and give her a smile. When she peeked thest time, I told her that I just had the baskets to do, and she helped. "Good job Katherine. It looks great! I''ll go grab dinner; wait in our room. We are done for today, and we have to make sure we are rested up for when the Marquess, Countess, and Young Lady arrive." Nodding, I went back to our room, sat on the bed, and epted the questpletions. [Quests Completed. Quest: Clean Bathroom - 100% Reward - 310xp] [Level - 1 (462.5/100)] [Would you like to level up? Y/N] ''Yes!'' [Level -1 -> Level 2 (362.5/150)] ? [Level - 2 -> Level 3 (212.5/225)] ''Status.'' [Katherine Zara - Dogkin Age - 4 Level - 3 (212.5/225) Stats: STR - 5 (10) CON - 6 (12) AGI - 5 (10) DEX - 7 (14) CHA - 7 (14) -> 8(16) WIS - 6 (12) INT - 7 (14)] ''Maybe if I increase my Charisma more, I can seduc... I mean persuade the Young Lady to be good friends with me? Hmm... is she going to be more like a ''Young Master''? If she is... hehehe, this''ll be easy. Just increase my charisma a bit more and be her ''exclusive maid''! HAHAHA!'' [Please calm down, your mother will be here soon. Let''s not scar the poor woman.] ''Fine.'' ''...Is there an achievement for making it through my first day?'' [Ding! Achievement unlocked: No, go to sleep already.] Chapter 8 7: Meeting My Master I awoke to someone shaking me. Groggily opening my eyes, I saw the woman who just yesterday, became my new mother. Sitting up, I grinned as she scratched my ears, making me realize I had be addicted to headpats and ear scratching. If it felt this good now... My mother lifted her hand, and moved over to the small dresser, grabbing our clothes. I watched her do so, and even though she looked a lot like how I used to, I admired the view of her walking away. I understood now why it had been so easy to hookup in myst life. In all honesty, I couldn''t wait to grow up. As I was thinking about the future, my mother came over and wiped my face with a wet cloth, before repeating with a dry one. The she pulled my dress over my head, and sat behind me,bing through my tangled hair before tying it into a braid. As she started to do the same for herself, she spoke. "In an hour or so the Marquess and Countess arrive. Be nice to them, and be respectful, understand? They are our Master''s, and it is by their grace that we can live a peaceful life. More then likely one of the two will drag me away to give me a... report, so you will be alone with one of them and their daughter, your Master. Listen to them like you listen to me. Understood?" I nodded. I can''t wait to see what my ''Evil Viiness Master'' will be like. Will I have to deal with a petnt child? Or an arrogant prodigy? Either way, eventually they will be the main source of my xp, and hopefully she will be bearable and extremely fun to be with. And if she looks anything like the painting in the room outside, then she should be a looker in the future. The exotess of the blue skin and horns, paired with the stern, serious expression was an amazing look. My mother gave me a one over before grabbing my hand and leading me towards the door. We continued towards the kitchen, where Les gave my mother a nod and handed her a basket. After epting it, my mother kept leading me through the hallways before we reached what I assumed was the Entrance Hall. We stood at the top of arge borate staircase made from marble. A long ck rug started at the base of the stairs and led to therge double doors. The walls were, like everything else in this castle, white. The pirs were made from marble, and the walls were covered in numerous paintings, horns, teeth, and other parts, as well as weapons. Every few feet in front of the walls were suits of armor, each different from thest. Some wererge and bulky, others thin andnky. Each suit had a que, which I guess told the name of the person who donned that armor. Before I could truly take in the entrance, my mother was leading me down the stairs, and I had to focus all my attention on trying not to fall down therge stairs, since my legs were quite short. When we reached therge doors, my mother traced a few of the runes, causing the doors to open by themselves. As I watched the doors open up into the mild light of dawn, I was taken aback by the sight before me. The long pathway leading to arge set of gates was bisecting a beautiful garden. On one side wasrge trees and bushes, while the other side was a beautiful sea of flowers of all colors. Both had paths leading to what looked like pic areas or general meeting areas. In my previous life I had been unfortunate enough to not be able to see the beauty of nature up close, as I had lived in the center of arge bustling city, and even when I traveled it was always by ne or train, so I only saw trees and such from afar. I was taking in the sight, breathing in the scent of so many different nts, when I felt my ears being ruffled. God was it addicting. As I leaned further into the hand, I barely registered my mothers voice. "We are to meet them at the gate. Apparently the Marquess is to start finalizing some paperwork, while the Countess wants to tour the city. We will eat when we get to the gate." I looked at the path, wondering if it was due to my height or not, but it looked very far. Oh well, time to walk. Besides, this would get me closer to the flowers. My mother started walking, staring straight ahead, while I ran around her, looking at both sides of the path. Sometimes a bush filled with small berries caught my attention, and other times it was the beautiful color of a flower. Halfway there I heard my mother call my name, and as I turned towards her I saw a small red flower in her hand. She kneeled in front of me, gently inserting the stem into my hair in lieu of a clip. Then she raised her hand and whispered something. Before I could ask what she said, a thin mirror made from water appeared above her hand. I stared at myself, entranced. It had been a long time since I had seen my younger self. When I was shown my ''character'', it was the me in my prime. I didn''t even think to look at what my younger self would look like. The thin eyebrows, wide amber eyes, small nose, wide smile. The long brown braid over my shoulder. And finally, the crimson flower nestled just below my triangr ears. ''Damn I''m cute'' [Should I just award you with the shameless skill now?] ''Wait that''s a skill?'' [...] ''More importantly, that''s magic! Even though it wasn''t shy, that''s so cool!'' "Mother, I want to make water!" Se chuckled before starting to walk towards the gate. "You need to awaken your Elemental Core to do so, my little flower. Children are able to sense their Core when they reach their fifth year. If you have an affinity, you will learn magic with the Young Lady. After all, you are to be tied to her for life." ''That sounds like marriage. Do I really have to wait a whole year? Can''t I just like, awaken it now? I want magic now!'' [Impossible. The Core is still forming inside you at this age. Sometime during your fifth year alive is when your body either epts the Core, granting you ess to mana and magic, or your body rejects the Core, resulting in you being normal. Since you chose magic, naturally your body will ept the Core. Have patience.] ''So is it an organ? You said it''s forming inside of me.'' [It is located next to your heart. Just like how your heart pumps blood throughout the body, the Core will pump mana.] ''So mana is a physical thing? Like I can touch it?'' [Yes and no. However, you will need to learn the rest yourself.] ''Why though? You have the answers, so just tell me.'' [No.] Sighing, I resumed my frolicking. The flowers helped calmed my mind. I might not admit it, but I was nervous. After all, if the person who is supposed to be my master hated me, then my life was going to be hell for a few years. Obvious reasons like age and strength aside, all it takes is the Marquess telling other nobles not to employ me, and I would be hard pressed to find a job. After all, my system revolved around serving someone. I might be able to work as at a tavern or something, but I reincarnated! This is supposed to be a brand new life doing what I want when I want! So I am going to do everything to make sure I can stay here. We reached the gate, and my mother showed a token to the guards. They nodded at her before pointing to a table. "Wait there. The Marquess informed us that she is 30 minutes out." When we sat down, my mother opened the basket. Inside were two sandwiches, made from some sliced meat and lettuce. Additionally there was what appeared to be a mango inside. My mother set one sandwich in front of me on a te, before she took out a knife and started cutting the mango into cubes. I stared at the guards as I took a bite. Chainmail covered in a white tabard. Silver gauntlets covering their whole arms, and thick leather boots. Some held long spears, others had swords sheathed on their hips. There was one man, dressed in full te armor, who had a book chained to his hip. On his back was a giant hammer, and as I was staring at him, he turned. With that simple move he made me feel fear. The front of his helmet was a depiction of a screaming man. The empty mouth was covered in a ck mesh, and before I could look into his eyes my mother grabbed my head and turned me towards her. "Never look at them again. Understand? They''re cursed. If you stare for too long they will eat your soul." "Wh-What was that?" I noticed my voice was shivering. I was truly scared. There was something drawing my eyes towards his, even now. Not only that, but the previously warm air was now chilled. "The Asmodian Banshees. When you are older, I''ll tell you. For now though, never look at them." I looked to the opposite side, away from the ''Banshee'', and noticed that all the guards were ignoring him. Even those walking in his direction had their heads turned, avoiding looking in its direction. And so, in silence, I started nibbling on my food. I had lost my appetite, but I knew I needed something in my stomach. Time passed quietly. I don''t know how much time passed, but eventually I heard the clopping of hooves. Looking towards the noise, thankfully in the opposite direction of the banshee, I saw a horse drawn carriage approaching. Staring closer, I noticed the horses were giant. Tworge horns grew on the sides of their heads, and they had tworge crimson eyes. Their coat was dark gray, and as they got closer I noticed that they had scaled legs, reminiscent of a lizard. Turning my attention from the horses, I looked at the carriage. White and silver, like everything in this castle. However, I noticed that the entire carriage was covered in shifting runes. My mother stood in front of me, blocking my view. "When the door opens, bow. Don''t raise your head until you are told. Understood?" I nodded. Time to do my job. The carriage stopped in front of us, and it made me realize that the carriage was gigantic. Easily four of me tall, and doubly wide, it was definitely bigger than some cars. Before I could marvel at the size, I felt my mother push my head down. Right. Bowing. I heard the door open, and then I heard... "JULIEEEEEEEEE!" A high pitched scream, followed by a thud next to me. Looking over I saw a blonde woman holding my mother down while giving her a deep kiss. Before I could rush over and help my mother, I heard another voice. "Ria, really? Calm down." Turning back towards the carriage I saw an absolutely giant woman get out. If I was about 2, maybe 2.5 feet tall, she was definitely at least 7 feet. And the horns didn''t help either. d in silver te armor, holding a helmet in one hand, she stepped out of the carriage. Even though the armor was bulky I could see the curves of her body, only emphasized by the fact that she was giant. Her skin was dark blue, her eyes a deep ruby red, the long horns pointing towards the sky, and her lips pulled into a slight smile as she observed the blonde woman continuing to sit on top of my mother, though now I could see her face, albeit drawn in a cute pout. The blonde woman, who I assumed was Countess Haniel, had long golden blonde hair, sapphire eyes, and was dressed in a white priest robe. She was a thin woman, and the only other notable feature other than her beauty was the long sharp ears, indicating she was an elf. "No, I will not calm down. I finally get to see our cute Julie! This means I can finally have some time on top!" "Ria, there are children present." At that the elf snapped her head in my direction before suddenly appearing next to me. She dragged me up into a hug, rubbing her cheek into mine. "Look Chordeva, its Katherine! Look at how cute she is! Look! Look! This little flower!" The rubbing started to get more intense, before a shadow loomed over us. I felt cold metal on my skin, and noticed that Chordeva Asmodia, the Marquess, had lifted me up, holding me arms length away. ''If she drops me I might actually die. I can''t see the ground!'' Gently she brought me closer, before kissing my forehead and setting me on the ground. Looking back towards my mother, her entire face was crimson, and I was surprised I didn''t see a stream of blood or actually steam popping out of her head. The Marquess strode over towards my mother, leaning down to give her a deep kiss. ''I am now starting to wonder if one of these two are my ''father''. I mean what is this?!?'' I watched as Ria Haniel walked back to the carriage, and lifted out a small child. Even with the hood covering her head, I could still see what appeared to be rams horns poking out. Countess Haniel walked over to me, gently cing the chid on the ground. She pulled back the hood, and staring me in my eyes was a light blue skinned demon, with beautiful amethyst eyes. Her eyes kept drawing me in, and I was lost even deeper when she smiled at me. "Katherine, this is Jahi Asmodia, the next Marquess Asmodia, and your master." Chapter 9 8: Jahi Asmodia --- Author''s Note: So I don''t know if people here care, but I have a Naruto Fanfic that I''m writing. I''m more than likely going to flip flop between that and this, but I have cool ideas for both. So if that interests you, go check out ''A Kunoichi''s Tale: Naruto Fanfiction''. Just like here, if you see something I can improve on, please tell me. I enjoy creating a story, so if I can improve that''s great! Also, hello! There are 1.6k views, and this is in 11 collections! I don''t know how views exactly work, but if you''re there and you like what I have so far, let me know! --- Staring into those Amethyst eyes, I lost myself. Yea, it sounds creepy. I mean, she''s just a kid! However, it''s just something you have to see to understand. Her whole appearance is eye catching. The light blue skin, the thick ram horns, the clear purple eyes, and that smile. It''s like she''s demanding to be the center of attention. ''God I hope the reason she is an ''Evil'' girl is cause she''s a Yandere!'' [Wasn''t that the reason you died? An overly possessive woman?] ''Well... after having god knows how long in that void, I was able to think about my life. And I realized that I was happiest with Kyoka. She made me feel safe, she gave me the most fulfillment. So maybe I should have followed her? I mean, she managed to make me feel that great when she was dividing her attention between me and another woman. Harems are unrealistic, I know, but having two lovers isn''t really a ''harem''. Maybe Harem Lite? Anyways, as long as she could make me happy, I think I wouldn''t mind sharing.'' [And if Jahi decides to do the same?] ''It''s very likely. Look at her parents. A Marquess and a Countess are sharing my mother, a maid. They both seem happy, and from what I''ve seen they all have feelings for one another. Along as it isn''t a gxy spanning harem, I think I''ll be fine. Besides, she more than likely will have an arranged marriage or will have to pick a noble to marry. As long as I get a promise that she won''t simply throw me away, I can deal with it.'' Hearing no reply, I returned my attention on the girl before me. My master. Shaking myself out of my stupor, I bowed. "Greetings, Lady Jahi!" I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked up. Lady Jahi was smiling at me, before she said "Just Jahi. Katherine, right? Do you mind if I call you Kat?" ''Oh she is just after my heart right away, huh? Hehe, Kat the Dog is a go!'' I turned towards Countess Haniel, who had a smile so wide it actually scared me. She started chuckling, before looking over at Marquess Asmodia. "You hear that, Chor? Little Jahi is just like you! Ignoring status and making friends with her maid!" I followed her gaze, seeing her release my mother, who was shaking like a leaf and gasping for breath. The Marquess licked her lips before turning to the Countess, an eyebrow raised. "I don''t hear youining about that decision. If anything, didn''t you push me to befriend Jules? And weren''t you the one toy your hands on her first?" "Oh whatever. Kat, be good friends with Jahi please." I turned back to Jahi. Her eyes were shining, and instead of her warm smile, a smirk hung on her lips, and I swore I saw her lick her lips. ''Is she a loli or something? She seems way to mature for a 4 or 5 year old.'' [Demons age faster than humans. Dogkin do too. In ''human years'' she is around 7 or 8. And the heritage matters.] ''Cool. More things to learn.'' "If... If its alright with you, Jahi..." ''OK, seriously? Am I now mentally a kid? Wait, don''t answer that.'' The smirk on Jahi''s face widened, and she raised her hand,ying it on my head. She started ruffling my ears, and I closed my eyes and leaned into her hand. I heard the Marquess chuckling, before I heard my mother yelp. Opening my eyes and turning towards them, the Marquess was doing the same as Jahi, except she stood behind my mother. One hand on her head, and considering my mothers facial expression, I guess she was grabbing the tail. Definitely the tail. Countess Haniel cleared her throat before ring at the Marquess. "Chordeva, dear, I thought you had some important documents to sign? Shouldn''t you be getting to your office, my love? Jules needs to help me shop." The Marquess returned the re, before sighing. She pulled my mother into another kiss, before beckoning Jahi and I towards her. Before I could even start walking, I felt someone grab my hand and start leading me towards the Marquess. I looked at my hand, noticing that it was being held a smooth, light blue hand. "Come on, Kat. The quicker we get home the quicker we can y!" Mutely, I nodded my head, still staring at her hand holding mine.Drawing me out of my mind was my mother yet again yelping. I looked over, and saw that Countess Haniel had a firm grasp on my mothers behind, leading her towards the carriage. Feeling another pull on my hand, I looked back at Jahi, who was looking at me with a pout. "Come on Kat! I wanna y!" Before I could do anything, I felt myself being lifted, before being ced on the Marquess'' shoulder, Jahi sitting next to me, still holding my hand. "Well then I guess we need to rush home, hm?" As soon as she finished speaking, the Marquess starting jogging towards the house, holding both of us firmly on her shoulders. At first, I was scared. I mean, I am a small, fragile child, riding on a fast, tall persons shoulders. But before I could freak out, I heard a small giggle next to me, and upon turning, I saw Jahi staring straight at me, arge smile on her face. She turned towards her mother before saying "Faster Mommy, Faster!" It was at this moment I realized that she was truly evil. As the Marquess sped up, Jahi squeezed my hand beforeughing when I squeezed back. What took my mother and I half an hour took the Marquess just under five minutes. When we reached the stairs leading into the castle, the Marquess put both of us down. While I was shaking from the adrenaline rush and fear, both Jahi and the Marquess were giggling. "Haha,e on Kat, it''s alright." "Yeah! Come on Kat, lets go y!" The Marquess grabbed Jahi''s shoulder before the little demon could run off. "Now, now, no need to be impatient. We haven''t bathed in a bit, so let''s go take a bath. You can y with the water. Come on you two, I need to rx a bit." When she finished, she grabbed Jahi''s other free hand before leading our little train to her room. When we got to the Marquess'' bedroom, she started undoing the straps of her armor, letting it fall to the floor. Then she removed the shirt, showing her breasts bound by cloth, and the extremely defined eight pack below them. Before I could start drooling at the sight of this statuesque woman, I felt someone grab my hand and turn me around. "Help me get this off?" What greeted me was Jahi struggling to undo one of the straps holding her dress up. Nodding, I quickly undid the strap, allowing the dress to fall to the floor. As soon as I undid the strap, I turned my head away. Chuckling, Jahi leaned closer before whispering in my ear "Your turn." When I heard that, I couldn''t even register the fact that my dress was already being pulled above my head, to focused on how warm her breath was on my ear. "Stop teasing her Jahi. Goddess above, your more like Ria then you are me, huh?" "But Mom! It''s so fun! Look at her face, its so red!" As the two started bickering, I had to keep thinking. ''I am not a Pedo! I am not a Pedo! I am not a Pedo! But maybe just one look? NO!'' [I don''t see the issue. You are just two young girls bathing together. It happens everywhere, in every world. It''s only weird if you make it weird.] ''But I''m not actually a little girl!'' [And neither is the Marquess. Why not check between her legs and see if this is arousing her. She is a futa, after all.] Turning slightly, I did as the system suggested. After all, the Marquess is physically of age, and I am mentally of age, so it''s fine! Right? Before I could argue and confuse myself, I looked. The Marquess was holding Jahi in her hands, way above the ground. I quickly nced between the Marquess'' legs and saw... a long, butid, penis. Sighing in relief, I heard the system again. [Isn''t it fine? You bathed with a friend of yours and her younger sister a few times, and you were even bathed by your Mothers best friend when you spilled something on both of you. It''s only weird if you make it weird.] ''I guess you''re right.'' "You really are your mothers kid, huh? Like what you see? Sorry, not into kids." That was when my blush, which had receded quite a bit, returned with a vengeance. Jahi was ring at me, while the Marquess was leaning down towards me. [Weren''t you the one who said you would seduce the Viiness with your ''cakes''? How are you going to do that when you blush at every little thing? Did I identally grab one of those extremely socially inept anime characters?] ''Sh-Shut Up!'' Chapter 10 9: Jahi Asmodia (2) Marquess Asmodia led us into the bathroom, chuckling at how Jahi was practically dragging me with her. She approached the showers, touching the activation rune and gesturing to the shower next to her. As Jahi led me towards the other shower, I was gaping at the Marquess'' back. Not only was it muscr, and looked like carved sapphire, but it was riddled with scars and burns. The Marquess looked over at me, chuckling. "You really are Jules kid, aren''t you? She always stares at them, asking me for the stories behind them and if I still feel any pain from them. I''m fine, kid. No need to worry your pretty little head over it. Besides, I don''t think you should be worrying about me; you should be worrying about your master. She seems quite upset." I followed her gaze, meeting Jahi''s pouting face again. Before I could say something, she turned away with a ''Hmph!'' and activated the shower. My gaze flickered between the two, looking at the Marquess'' smirk and Jahi''s pout. "Wash her, kid. She doesn''t like you paying attention to someone other than her. That''s something she picked up from Ria." Nodding, I inched forward, before reaching around Jahi for the small vial of what looked like shampoo. When I grabbed it, I poured a little on my hands before gently running them through Jahi''s long raven ck hair. As I kept running my hands through her hair, I could feel her swaying side to side, humming a happy tune. "Is... Is this alright, Jahi?" She turned, looking me in my eyes, before practically purring "It''s great, Kat." I resumed washing her hair, before grabbing a bar of soap and hesitating. I turned towards the Marquess, watching as she scrubbed her dark sapphire skin with the soap, before doing the same, albeit hesitantly, with Jahi. Carefully, and gently, I rubbed the bar over her, never reaching for areas that could be considered inappropriate. As I wasthering her with soap, the Marquess spoke up. "Kid, you gotta get used to this. You will be doing this often, and you can''t just half-ass cleaning her. Jahi, get up. Let her clean you properly." Jahi hummed in agreement before standing up and turning towards me. Smirking, she watched as my face turned crimson and averted my gaze. Closing my eyes, I started doing my job again. As if to confirm my thinking, a Quest popped up. [Quest: Wash Jahi Asmodia Reward - 25xp Additional Reward: Please Jahi Asmodia - 25xp] ''When you say ''Please Jahi'', you don''t mean like... please please her, do you?'' [Negative. Pleasing her means making sure she is satisfied. If it was anything sexual, the quest prompt would let you know.] ''Phew, good. Real good.'' I started gently scrubbing Jahi, still avoiding inappropriate spots but getting the rest of her body. When I was about to be finished, and hand her the bar of soap, she stopped me. "Kat, you didn''t wash these spots!" Saying that, she directed my attention to the two areas I had avoided; her chest and her crotch. Going crimson again, I looked to the Marquess for help. She raised her eyebrow at me. "You''re a dirty kid, huh? Nothing wrong with cleaning you master. I''ll do it today, but you need to get used to it. You two will be together for life." She stood up and took the soap from my hands, and much to the chagrin of Jahi, started rubbing the soap over those areas. When she finished, she turned the shower on and washed the soap off Jahi and herself. When she finished, an evil grin appeared on her face. "Jahi, be a dear and wash Kat. I don''t know if she can do it herself." When those words left her mouth, Jahi had a simr evil grin, before she quickly pushed me towards the seat. Feeling her rest her chin on my head, I heard her whisper "You''re mine now, Kat!" before chuckling. To my surprise, she gently ran her hands around my scalp, beforebing through my hair. When she had made me think that I had just misheard her, she started blowing into my ears before she started tob her hands through my tail, sending a jolt up my spine. Hearing the Marquessughing, I red in her direction, but before I could get my re across, Jahi blew in my ear again. I didn''t even notice that she had started scrubbing me with the soap, and was actually avoiding my chest and groin, just like I had done to her. When she was done, she turned the shower on and rinsed me off. ring at her and the Marquess, both of whom wereughing at me, I followed them into therge bath, sitting a bit away from Jahi, refusing to look at her. [Quest Completed. Quest: Wash Jahi Asmodia, Please Jahi Asmodia. Reward - 50xp] [Level 3 - (275/225)] [Would you like to level up? Y/N] ''Yes...'' [Level 3 -> Level 4 (50/337.5)] [Would you like to assign the stat point?] ''No, I''ll save it for when I get another. After all, I have half of my actual stats. I don''t really need a half point in a stat, and I like even numbers.'' [Fair.] Hearing the sound of water rippling, I looked over to see Jahi staring at me, slight worry on her face. "Kat, are... are you ok?" I stared at her before nodding. ''Everything that just happened made me forget. She really is just a kid.'' "Yes, I''m fine, Jahi." She smiled at me, before sitting next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder. I stiffened, but when nothing happened, I rxed and just sat in the bath, enjoying the soothing warm water. Hearing the Marquess sigh, I nced over at her. Feeling my gaze, she looked at me, giving me a slight smile. "Never thought I''d be jealous of a kid. I''m over here all alone, while my daughter has her cute maid to lean on. Maybe I should have insisted Ria stay home..." Jahiughed, before standing up and walking over to her mother, wrapping her arms around her mother. "Happy now?" Like that, time passed in the bath. The Marquess and Jahi bickered, sometimes asking for my opinion on stuff. After having me sufficiently embarrassed after being asked who I thought was better looking, we exited the bath, where three pairs of clothes wereid on the bed, our old clothes gone. Quickly pulling my dress over my head, I grabbed Jahi''s dress before helping her into it. When I finished that, I moved to try and help the Marquess, somehow forgetting she was over seven feet tall and that her clothes were quiterge. She chuckled watching me struggling to figure out which end of the shirt was which, before she took it from my hands and put it on. "Run along now you two. If you are leaving the castle, I want you out in the garden below our room. Understand me, you little demon?" The Marquess was ring at Jahi, who was returning her re. With a ''Hmph!" Jahi grabbed my hand and led me out into the main room. She walked over to one of the many shelves in the room and grabbed a book, before going to sit on one of the couches. Patting the space next to her, I slowly sat next to her. When she opened the book, I groaned when I saw it was all runes. I had hoped that maybe, just maybe, it would be in my native tongue. After all, whenever. I read those isekai novels, thenguage was either innately learned by the protagonist, or was their nativenguage. But it seems that is not the case here. "Kat, can you read?" Shaking my head, I saw her grin widely at me. "Let me teach you!" What followed was a few hours of her going over the runes, exining how they are pronounced. I realized that they are just like the Englishnguage, with the same amount of ''letters'' and same pronunciation, just different written form. Seeing Jahi trying to earnestly teach me, the Marquess gave her a nk diary and a pen, telling her to show me and let me try for myself. Another hour or so passed, and my head was hurting. Seeing how I was swaying and rubbing my eyes, the Marquess snatched the book from Jahi. "Look at her, she can''t keep up. You gotta slow it down, do it piece by piece, not all in one sitting. Make sense?" Jahi looked over at me, and seeing my drooping eyes, pursed her lips. Sighing, she said "Fine. I''m hungry, are we eating now or waiting for Mother toe home with Miss Julie?" The Marquess narrowed her eyes, looking at a clock on the wall. "It''s almost seven. Let''s eat now. They might not even be home tonight." Jahi squeezed my hand, before leading me towards the door. Honestly, from that point on I struggled to keep my eyes open. It reminded me of how dead tired I used to be cramming the night before a test, hoping that some of the knowledge in my numerous textbooks and notebooks would stick. I closed my eyes briefly, and next thing I knew I was in the kitchen. I could hear Jahi talking, and I was giving half answers and grumbles, before suddenly a te of sausage and fresh bread was ced in front of me. Without any civility, I started devouring the meal, not even registering what I was eating. I just knew it was good. After my te was empty, I somehow managed to stumble back to my room, probably due to Jahi''s help. Before I could register anything, she had dragged my dress off and put a chemise on me, before tucking me into my bed. Then I passed out. --- Shoutout Caldex for the 2 Powerstones! Thanks! --- Chapter 11 10: Our Imminent Future Hearing some shuffling and low grumbling, I slowly opened my eyes, looking for the source of the disturbance. Noticing that it was still dark outside, and that my mother wasn''t shaking me awake, I determined it was still the middle of the night. Looking around the room, while stillying down, I saw my mother leaning against the dresser, fully nude and using her water magic to rinse her groin. Taking a quick sniff of the air, I figured out she was ''cleaning'' herself out, and that she must have just gotten home from her trip with Countess Haniel. Turning over, I decided to go back to sleep. No point embarrassing her or trying to ask a question she definitely isn''t going to answer. It felt like I had just closed my eyes when my mother was shaking me awake, and I reluctantly got up. ring at my mother, I shuffled to grab my clothes, changing from my chemise to my in ck dress. Looking at my mother, I noticed she was wincing as she changed. Shaking my head, I waited for her to finish, and followed her out into the main room. The clock on the wall looked to read around 5, if it worked like the analogue clocks back in my world. Turning to my mother, I decided to confirm that theory by asking my mother. "What time is it?" "Ah... 5:30ish." Nodding, I continued to follow my mother as she approached the Marquess'' chambers. When she opened the door, I could hear the Marquess and Countess whispering to each other. When they saw the door open, they both quickly sprang out of bed, approaching my mother. Guessing what was about to happen, I walked around their path, approaching the bed to find a sleeping Jahi. Grinning, I started poking her cheek, chuckling as she scrunched her brow in irritation, before turning around. Looking back the adults, I saw them watching me in amusement, making me blush and shake Jahi awake. "Ngh... fi...five more minu..." she mumbled. Smiling, I continued to gently shake her. She turned back towards me, ring at me, before a smirk rose to her lips, and quick as lightning she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the bed, wrapping her legs over mine, and held me by my waist. Feeling her breath on my neck, I looked towards the adults, seeing the Countess covering her mouth as her shoulders shook, while the Marquess let out a whistle. My mother gave me look of pity, understanding my suffering. "Jahi... Let go. We... we need to get up!" She snuggled deeper into the base of my neck, holding me tighter. The Marquess came over and gently but firmly untangled Jahi from me, earning herself a re. Finally free, I ran and hid in-between my mother and the Countess. Jahi pouted in my direction, before finally rolling out of bed, stretching before walking towards me. Seeing this, the Countess scooped me up, before walking towards the bathroom. Jahi red at the Countess, rushing after her. Looking at the Countess in confusion, she poked my nose, smiling. "Someone has to save the princess from the demon, yes?" Chuckling at that, I looked back at Jahi, seeing her sending a gaze that could kill at the Countess'' back. The Marquess strode over to Jahi, snatching her up. "Well, I guess we all needed a bath anyway, huh? Besides, we have some things we need to discuss. Jules, think you could go make something to eat? The kid''ll be fine with us." My mother shot me a nce, narrowing her eyes at me, as if telling me to behave. I nodded at her, before she bowed to the Marquess, leaving the room. Stepping into the bathroom, the Countess helped me out of my dress, before quickly taking her clothes off too. She then turned and helped the Marquess, and I went and helped Jahi, who was pouting at me. The Marquess and Jahi walked over to the showers, sitting down on the stools before pressing the activation runes at the same time. Seeing them in sync, I looked at the Countess, who gave me a wry smile before walking over to the Marquess, kneeling behind her. I did the same, noticing I received the same quest as yesterday. [Quest: Wash Jahi Asmodia Reward - 25xp Additional Reward: Please Jahi Asmodia - 25xp] Smiling, I copied my actions from yesterday, grabbing the shampoo before applying it to Jahi''s hair, rinsing it off, before grabbing the soap and washing her body. Unlike yesterday, i gently washed all of her, still avoiding between the legs. I noticed that she was dozing off, a half smile on her lips as I gently scrubbed her down. After feeling that she was sufficiently soapy, I rinsed her off. Before I could get up, she leaned back into me, resting her head on my shoulder. Hearing the couple chuckling beside us, I turned and pouted at them, making sure I didn''t disturb Jahi. Countess Haniel was leaning into the Marquess, her pale skin a deep contrast with the dark sapphire of her wife. She was resting her head on the Marquess back, smiling at me. The Marquess was chuckling as she watched Jahi, before standing up, gesturing for the Countess to switch with her. Feeling Jahi turn her head, I looked to my shoulder, looking into her half lidded eyes. It took her a moment, but after seeing her parents switch, she abruptly stood up, before practically dragging me onto the stool. I sat down, feeling her gently run her hands through my hair, before ruffling my ears. After she finished my hair, she grabbed the soap and gently scrubbed me down, then rinsed me off. After she gave me a once over, determining I was sufficiently clean, she grabbed my hand and led me over towards the bath, where she sat down and pulled me next to her, before leaning into me. Momentster the Marquess and Countess sat across from us, the Marquess draping her arm around the Countess'' shoulders. "Ahh... this feels great. Now, Jahi, kid, listen up. In a week we have tutorsing from around the Empire, specifically one to teach History, Culture, and current Politics. Another ising to teach the basics of Magic and Spellcraft. Finally, thest one is a musical and dance tutor, cause nobility. Jahi, you will be learning all of this, and you will be tested on it every month. If you are cking... well, you know what happens. Kid, as her maid you will attend the sses with her, but you are NOT participating. Obviously, you still need to learn the material, but your main purpose is to keep Jahi on track. The tutors might be rude to you or just ignore you, but they won''t touch you. Listen to them, help Jahi, and if you learn something, great. The tutors will be living with us for the next year or two, so unless they do something egregious, try to bear with it. Jahi, you awaken your core in a few months, so initially the Magic tutor will go over the basics of basics, but after we figure out your element, you will be taught based on that." The Countess turned towards us, a serious look on her face. Her voice, usually frivolous and joking, was cold. "The first ss is at 8. It willst till 10, and will be your music and dance lessons. We honestly don''t care too much, but you need to find an instrument you like and be at least proficient in it, same with the dances. After that is a two hour break. At noon, you start with the Social Studies ss,sting three hours. Another hour break, and thest ss, Magic and Spellcraft, will be from 4 to 6, after which you are free for the rest of the day. Jahi, you will take this seriously. You need all this now, so that we can start your specialized training in a few years. We won''t have time to worry about you learning the basics of our world then. Katherine, you are bound to Jahi for life. If you want to be useful, take this chance to learn, and make yourself into a woman who Jahi needs to keep by her side. The Asmodia and Haniel families bearrge responsibilities, and we can''t afford to have deadweight." Jahi squeezed my hand, and I nodded to the Countess. Her usual happy expression returned, and she waded over to us, wrapping us in a hug. "I know that you''re just kids, but you have a heavier burden than most. The March Asmodia is the bastion between our Empire and the Labyrinthian. Jahi, you will eventually take up your Mother''s mantle, and Kat, you will be her support, her pir. The more prepared you are, the easier your life will be." Releasing us, the Countess gave us a smile, before returning back to the Marquess, who gave us a quick smile. "So, hate to rush you kids out, but think you could go y?" Jahi gave her mother a dry look, before sighing and getting up, dragging me with her. We moved towards the door, where I dried Jahi and myself off, before dressing both of us. Before we could leave, the Marquess called out to me. Turning, I saw the Countess on herp, burying her face into the crook of the Marquess'' neck. "Kid, tell your mother toe in here. Gotta tell her about your future and all." Nodding, I turned around and left. [Quest Completed. Reward - 50xp] [Level 4 - (112.5/337.5)] ? ''You''re a bitte, aren''t you?'' [Would you have preferred I interrupt that important moment?] ''No.'' [Thought so.] Following Jahi, who had a serious expression, we walked into the main room, where my mother was waiting, five tes set on the white table. A small stack of pancakes sat on each te, with one having triple every other te. A basket sat in the middle, filled with fruits. "Mother, the Marquess wants you in the bathroom." Saying so, I watched as a slight blush rose to my mothers cheeks. She nodded, before quickly making her way towards the bathroom. Momentster, I heard a faint ''Kyaa~'' before I turned to Jahi, both of us rolling our eyes. Chapter 12 11: A Day With Jahi Pulling out a chair for Jahi, I made sure everything was right before taking a seat next to her. Waiting for her to start, I saw her frowning slightly, before turning and looking at me. Her usually jovial eyes were serious. "Kat, you need to do your best. I... I want you to be my equal, not just my servant. So when the sses start up, please learn all you can. When you eventually awaken your core... if need be, I will teach you what I can, and if not, I will hound Mother to get you a proper tutor." Smiling at her, I nodded. "YOU need to make sure you do your best, Jahi. After all, I might just overtake you~" Hearing that, she smirked widely before pinching my cheek, making me pout. Turning towards her te, she started eating. Watching her, I realized that my mother wasn''t lying; the gusto Jahi showed while devouring the pancakes clearly disyed her love for the food. Smiling, I started to eat my share, offering her some when she finished her te. When we both had finished the meal, Jahi dragged me over towards the couch, where the book and diary were waiting. Inwardly groaning, I sat down beside her, diligently listening as she exined the runes. Unlike yesterday, she had me study the runes individually, before having me practice writing them down. As we went over the runes, eventually the Marquess and Countess walked out, sitting at the table, both smiling widely. They sat down and started devouring the food, before my mother stumbled out of their bedroom, her face looking dead tired. When the Marquess smirked at her, my mother shivered before sitting down, making herself as small as possible. Deciding to ignore her, I went back to learning, giving her a silent prayer. I had finally gotten the general runes down, and was now starting to try and read out words when the Countess snatched the books from us. "Take a break, go run around. It''s been a little over an hour know, your head has to hurt." Looking up, I saw the Marquess signing papers at her desk, my Mother standing just off to the side, waiting for an order. The Countess was leaning in front of us, smiling even though Jahi was trying to murder her via re. Turning towards Jahi, I grabbed her hand before she could do anything, and started leading her towards the door. Looking back, I could see the Countess smiling, cing the books on the table, while my mother''s shoulders slumped. The Marquess was trying, and failing, to hide her smirk. Shaking my head, I left the room. After closing the door, I could hear a low growl and a quiet "No~" before deciding to walk away. Looking back at Jahi, she was staring at my hand, her face passive. Thinking I upset her, I withdrew my hand. Seeing that, she narrowed her eyes at me, before grabbing my hand and dragging me away. "Let''s go outside. Mom got a ball when she was in town yesterday." Nodding, I followed her through the halls. We passed many servants, who all bowed seeing Jahi. Making many turns and walking through various rooms, eventually we made it outside. Looking up, Jahi pointed at the window, saying "That''s our bedroom, so Mother should be able to see us. If she is even bothering to look, anyways." Following her gaze, I saw the stained ss windows, remembering that the pattern was present only in the main room and bedroom, at least as far as I could remember. Looking back down, I observed the area we were standing in. Arge tree about 20 feet from the door, with a rope swing hanging from one of its lower branches. A hedge closed off this area, going a dozen feet past the tree, creating arge rectangr yard. Against the wall, next to the door, was a shed. Jahi had opened it up,ing back out with a ball. Tossing it up in the air, she caught it again, before squeezing it slightly. Nodding to herself, she turned to me. [Quest: y with Jahi Asmodia Reward - 20xp] Staring at me, she said "Catch!" before gently tossing the ball towards me. Grabbing it, I felt the ball, noticing it felt like leather, but had air inside it, much like a softer basketball, just half the size. I tossed it back to Jahi, noticing her catch it easily. She tossed it back to me, slightly faster thanst time. Repeating this, I noticed she had sped up the toss, finding the amount of force she needed to make me work for the catch while still guaranteeing I caught it. Standing in silence, she kept tossing the ball, making me run around the yard while she would always catch it easily. Eventually, panting, I caught the ball and held onto it, trying to catch my breath. Seeing me rest, Jahi walked over to me, gently taking the ball from me. "Huh, I though you''d stop much earlier. Guess that''s cause you''re a dogkin, huh?" Saying so, she started petting my head, ncing back up at the window. "I think we give them another couple of minutes before making our way back. Should be done by then." Nodding, I swallowed my saliva, still panting. Looking at me, she smirked. "We gotta get you used to this. Can''t have you being tired easily, now can we?" ''Seriously, is she a kid or no? Is this on ident? Is it cause her parents are so open?'' [...] ''Thanks, real helpful.'' "Well, I still want to run. Think I''ll do twops of the yard. You rest up, I''ll be back soon." Nodding, I sat in the center of the yard, watching as she started jogging around the yard. Rolling the ball back and forth, I decided my next stat increase would be constitution. I''m going to need durability and stamina if I want to keep up with her. [Quest Completed Reward - 20xp] [Level 4 - (137.5/337.5)] Watching her jog, I decided to see if I couldn''t milk the system for some more information. ''Why was she surprised I kept up with her, and why did it matter that I was Dogkin? Do they have more stamina than humans?'' [Correct. I''ll throw you a bone. Humans aren''t the main species on Gaia. They are the product of too much crossbreeding. Eventually, they lost all the features of other races, leaving a squishy, kinda weak creature that you call human. I don''t have ess to who the original race was, but my money''s on Demons, Angels, and Dragons. All three are among the strongest bipedal, intelligent, and sentient creatures. Humans are only here due to their higher reproductive ability. They have forgotten that they came from the other races.] ''Does that mean I have to deal with the stereotypical human supremacy?'' [Yes.] Sighing, I shook my head. ''So where do Dogkin, or Beastkin in general, rank?'' [In the middle as a collective. Dogkin/Wolfkin are in the middle of this collective due to your higher reflexes and better senses.] ''Thank you.'' [Gotta give my dog a bone everyone in a while, no?] ''Piss off.'' Sighing again, I stood up as I noticed Jahi about to finish her finalp. This yard is quite big, so I''m surprised she is barely sweating. Walking towards the door, I held the ball while watching her. Eventually she stopped in front of me, smiling. She grabbed the ball and threw it into the shed. Walking back, she grabbed my hand before leading me back inside, back towards the main room. When we entered, thankfully the adults had finished, but they hadn''t aired the room out enough, as the fishy smell remained. Shaking our heads, we walked and grabbed the books before sitting back down. Jahi resumed teaching me, and I slowly started to be able to recognize the runes, being able to piece them together into words. We ignored the Marquess, who was smiling widely and seemed very happy. We also ignored the Countess, who was dozing off in a chair. My mother was sprawled on one of the couches, quivering. Jahi seemed amused by the adults, and would asionally snicker before mumbling to herself. It sounded like she said "Soon" and "Kat", but I decided to ignore that. Time passed, and eventually my mother was capable of standing and not stumbling like a drunk, so she decided to flee before the Marquess or Countess could change that. The Marquess continued her paperwork, while the Countess had joined us, much to the annoyance of Jahi. She gave me little tricks to differentiate some runes. Much like how d and b, or i and l could be annoying in English, many runes had that same problem, sometimes making me read or write something wrong. She showed the easiest way to differentiate, while also helping me understand things Jahi couldn''t exin well. Mother returned eventually with more food, and we sat down to eat. Remembering the discussion earlier, I decided to ask the adults what decides a persons element. "Excuse me, Marquess? You said that Jahi would awaken her core soon. What could her element be? Is it something you can predict?" Chewing, the Marquess smiled at me. "Not exactly, kid. I have only Fire as my element, whereas Ria has Lightning, which is Fire and Wind. You would think that guarantees Jahi Fire at least, but we can trace back multiple elements in both our families. Ria''s sister doesn''t have a Core, while both her parents have Water or Wind. My father had Nature, while my mother had Darkness. Magic is random, and it''s not even guaranteed she will have a core. Hopefully, she gets an advanced element like Light or Darkness, but who know? Not like having an advanced element matters, after all I only have Fire and I am among the strongest people in this Empire." "What are all the elements?" "You have the basics, which are Fire, Wind, Earth, and Water. Then you have the Combined elements, Lightning, Metal, Nature, and Ice. Finally, there are the Advanced elements, which is Light or Darkness. Ah, there is also the Primordial elements of Space and Time, but we haven''t seen one of those in centuries." Nodding, I went back to eating. Silence descended back into the room, before eventually we all finished. Standing up, the Marquess looked at us. "Go to sleep early, you two. We have a big day tomorrow." Tilting my head at that, I looked to Jahi, seeing she was as confused as me. Before we could speak, the Marquess grabbed the Countess'' hand and led her out of the room, my mother following behind them. Jahi just shrugged at me, moving back to the couch. Sitting next to her, she opened up a new book before staring to read to me. Leaning against her, listening to her low, gentle voice, I eventually struggled to keep my eyes open, before eventually falling asleep. Chapter 13 12: The Marquess Surprise Shivering slightly, I opened my eyes, instantly noticing that I wasn''t in my bed. My eyes focusing, I noticed that Jahi was asleep next to me, her arms loosely wrapped around me. My eyes widening slightly, I tried to gently untangle myself from her, but before I could she pulled me closer to her, burying my face into her chest. My breath hitched, trying to think of a way to get out, when Jahi poked my face. Looking up, I saw her eyes half lidded, a slight smile on her face. Yawning, she poked my cheek again, "Mmm... you''re so warm Kat~ And you smell so good~" Stiffening, Iid there, letting Jahi bury her nose into my hair. Jolts ran down my spine as she breathed on and into my ears. Feeling me shiver, she drew me closer and covered us with a nket. Looking back at her, I was about to say something when we both froze. Coming from the other room were loud moans, grunts, and we could vaguely hear some words, like "Master~", "Fuck~", and a particrly loud grunt followed by "Take my seed bitch!" Jahi looked down at me, and even in the low light I could tell she was blushing. I was as well, as it wasn''t often you could hear such loud lovemaking in the next room. Jahi stood up, dragging me towards the room my mother and I shared. Pulling me into the bed, she pulled me close. Thankfully, moving into a room away from theirs lowered the sounds, where we could only hear the particrly loud shouts. Jahi covered my ears, burying my head in her chest. I decided to tune everything out, and go back to sleep. Cause this is all a dream. Yeah, a dream. ~~~ The next morning, Jahi and I groggily rose, leaving the room and going towards the bedroom. Quietly opening the door, the smell of sex was almost palpable, and looking at the bed we saw my motherying naked with her butt raised in the air, panting. A small puddle had formed below her. The Marquess was sitting up, a pipe in her mouth. Seeing us, she waved the pipe, a smile on her lips. I blushed and looked away, as that wasn''t the only thing saying hello. Jahi red at her before dragging me into the bathroom. When we entered, we saw the Countess lounging in the bath, her breathingbored. Hearing us enter, she opened one eye and smiled, before going back to resting. Jahi forced me down onto the stool, staring directly at me. Feeling her gaze, I looked away. She grabbed my cheeks before turning me, forcing me to look at her. Not saying anything, she continued to look into my eyes. The intensity made me squirm, and before I could ask her what she was doing, she pulled me into a hug. I stiffened, but a momentter I leaned into it. We stayed like that for a few seconds, before Jahi pulled away. Looking into her eyes, I swore that for a second they had specks of gold. While I was wondering about what I saw, she put her forehead on mine, and growled "You belong to ME. Not her." Letting me go, she grabbed the shampoo, running her hands through my hair, slightly rougher than she had done the previous day. Hearing a chuckle, we both turned towards the Countess, who was smirking. "My~ you are my child, aren''t you? So possessive~" Jahi grumbled, going back to washing my hair. When she was done, she started scrubbing my body, her touch rougher than before. Flinching slightly when she moved the bar over my chest, she repeated the action, doing so multiple times. Eventually she stopped, before crouching in front of me. Her gaze seemed... predatory, with the way she was ring at me. Flinching again, her gaze softened before she pulled me into a hug. ''So... I guess... she''s a yan? If so...'' [Why am I detecting a slight bit of anticipation?] ''...'' While I was enjoying her hug, wondering if she might be the crazy insane kind of Yandere, you know, the one that locks you in a cer so no one can see you except them, I felt another pair of arms over my shoulder. Considering there was no pillowy sensation on my back, I guessed it was the Countess. "I wish you luck with her. Your Mother needed it with me, after all~" Hearing the jovial tone, I knew it was the Countess, and now I knew my future would be... interesting. After all, what''s a betterbination than a sky high sex drive and possessiveness? Sounds great! Jahi grumbled again, before pulling away. The Countess chuckled, before gasping in surprise. All of us turned around to see the Marquess burying her face into the crook of the Countess'' neck. Considering I could see the slight grinding of hips, I was sure that this would be a repeat of yesterday. Turning back to Jahi, I quickly washed her, before we both scurried out of the bathroom, forgoing a full bath and allowing the two to have their time together. Grabbing a new set of clothes for Jahi, I dressed her. [Quest Completed. Reward - 50xp] [Level 4 - (200/337.5)] ''Huh?'' [The Quest to wash Jahi? And please her? It''s repeatable. I can''t be bothered to tell you it''s happening anymore. In fact, I think I might just start giving the rewards at the end of the day...] ''Lazy.'' Hearing a muffled shriek, Jahi and I turned towards the bed, thinking ''Seriously, what now?'' My mother had gathered all the sheets around her, covering herself. She was as red as a tomato, and was refusing to meet my gaze. Shrugging, I followed Jahi out of the room. I could understand her. In my previous life I had been walked in on a few times, and it was quite embarrassing. The worst was the guy who told me he lived alone, only for his mother to walk in asking forundry. Fun times. Moving towards our favorite couch, we resumed our lesson, Jahi making me write and/or read sentences. I of course decided to conveniently forget her Yandere outburst from earlier, not even flinching when she wrapped her arm around my waist! Progress! For a short while, we sat there, me reading the lines to the best of my ability. Eventually the Marquess ad Countess walked out, looking quite happy. "I hope we didn''t wake you upst night. Well, Julie isn''t going to be joining us, due to the fact she can barely stand, so..." The Countess pinched the Marquess'' waist, before turning to us. "The ''surprise'' your idiotic mother has for you is your own room, Jahi. That cluster of four rooms down the hall will be your and Kat''s room. You decide what you want, like the materials, furniture, and so on. That''s what you and this bumbling blueberry are going to be going over today. I''m going to take Kat here to go get her official maid outfit." Jahi sighed before walking towards the door, ring at the Marquess. "The only kid in the world who gets angry when you offer to renovate part of a castle for her. This is all you, Ria, you ungrateful knife-ear." The Countess ignored her, scooping me up in her arms before walking out the door. Walking past all the servants, eventually she asked "Do you enjoy being with Jahi? Is it fun?" I nodded my head, "I like Jahi!" Chuckling, she ruffled my ears with her free hand. "Yea, well she likes you quite a bit. I pity you, though. You''ll have to suffer her attention alone when you get older. At least I have Julie to help me make it through the night." "Will I have a sibling soon?" The Countess stopped, stiffening slightly. She turned towards me, opening and closing her mouth many times. "I... Well, the Marquess... No, your mother... Argh, I dunno kid, we hope so?" Seeing me tilt my head, she continued. "It''s not a matter of want. I think you saw how much the Marquess ''wanted'' to give you a sibling. It''s just... your mother... she had a stressful time with you. Oh, don''t take that wrong. She loves you more than she loves life itself, it''s just a lot happened when you were born. Argh... can''t believe I''m talking about this with a kid..." Shaking herself, she opened the main doors, stepping onto the main path. "Enough about that. Time to go shopping!" Chapter 14 13: Outing With The Countess Sitting in the carriage, the Countess was humming to herself as she looked out the window. Shuffling in my seat due to nervousness, she eventually sighed and dragged me onto herp, rhythmically petting my head. Looking up at her, she had a gentle smile on her face, her gaze filled with warmth. Snuggling into her, she continued to hum. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of her rubbing my head and listening to her happy hum. Eventually, she shook my shoulders, pointing outside. Looking out the window, I saw a beautiful town on the top of a small hill. The buildings were clean and simple, with cobblestone foundations and white stered walls, topped by an elegant sloped roof made from a dark wood. The people walking around the cobbled streets were smiling,ughing, as they went about their business. Many would wave to the carriage, smiles on their faces as they did so. The Countess returned their waves, causing many people too blush. The carriage eventually stopped, and the door opened, one of the guards bowing slightly as he offered his hand to help the Countess out. Taking it, she smiled at him before cing a coin in his hand, telling him to go enjoy himself, since we would be awhile. Looking at the building in front of us, it looked like the others, the only difference being the sign depicting a spool of thread, runes cresting over it. Reading it, I said "An-Angel''s Thre...Thread? Angel''s Thread?" Ruffling my ears, the Countess praised me. "Good job, Kat! Yes, this is Angel''s Thread, a store run throughout the Empire. This branch is managed by a good friend of mine." Saying so, she pushed open the door. Dozens of mannequins were scattered in the room, disying different dresses and suits. The walls disyed spools of different cloths, each a different color or pattern. There were a few women inside, inspecting the various dresses, whispering among themselves. In the back of the room was what looked like a small cafe, as there were a couple of tables, each with a teapot and tes set up. A few men sat at the tables, throwing bored nces at the women. The Countess, with me still in her arms, walked towards the back, drawing the attention of the people in the room. Thedies gasped, while the men shot up from their seats, quickly bowing. Waving her free hand and walking into the back, I could hear the frenzied whispersing from behind us. The back room was quiterge. with various tables, looms, and sewing machines scattered about. Half finished clothes were scattered about, and I could hear someone mumbling to themselves further back. Sighing, the Countess strode towards the back. What greeted us was arge woman, or rather, arge Arachne. Eight long, gleaming legs, all connected to a deep purple spider body. Where the head should have been, a human torso sprouted, showing a half naked woman with huge breasts. Her face was beautiful, with tworge crimson eyes, full, plump lips, and a dainty nose. Her hair was raven ck, trailing down onto her spider half. Looking up, her eyes widened, before she scurried forward, wrapping the Countess into a hug, burying my face between her bountiful breasts. "Oh, my beautiful, beautiful Ria! You finally decided to visit! Have you finally decided to embrace the fairer sides of being a woman? I have so many great ideas, from regal gowns to a seductress'' dress!" Chuckling, the Countess pulled back, allowing me to breath again. "Actually, I''m here to get clothes for my little ones. This is Julie''s daughter, Katherine. You remember Julie Zara, right?" The Arachne leaned forward, peering at my face. I couldn''t see earlier, but she had three smaller eyes above each of her eyebrows. Each one was fully crimson, and all of them narrowed. "Hmm... yes... passable, I guess. I can definitely see Julie in her. Same meek gaze, same amber eyes..." Sighing, she pulled away, before pouting. "Why won''t you wear something other than those priestess robes, hmm? I could make you so irresistible that the Marquess couldn''t look away from you!" "Trust me, it takes very little to make myself irresistible for her. I just show some skin and she''s all over me." The Countess replied dryly. Shaking her head, she gestured around the room, before pointing at me. "I need a special dress for her. Her maid dress. ck dress, hmm... lets go with a red apron, topliment her hair. Nothing fancy, just make it a normal maid dress, but switch the white with red. Make it from Growth Cloth too. Is that possible?" Sighing, the Arachne gave the Countess a dry look. "Really, you are asking the woman who made countless ball gowns for the Empress and her daughters, if a maid dress is possible? Yes, Ria, it''s boringly possible. However, are you really going to splurge on this? I hate to be like this, but she is but a servant. Why bother using the good stuff?" The Countessughed, cing her hand on the Arachne''s shoulder. "Violet, dear, if there is something Chordeva and I have in abundance, it''s money. We have more than enough tost dozens of generations. Besides, Jahi likes the girl, and they''re tied together for life anyways. I''d rather just have to get her one dress than dozens." Violet blushed, looking at the hand on her shoulder. "Well... if it''s what you want, Ria..." Shaking her head, the Countess continued. "I also want you to make a matching set of night wear, one ck, one red. Both from Growth Cloth. Finally, you remember the clothes you made for Chordeva? Make the same thing, ck pants, purple shirt, and a ck cloak, with a purple inseam. If I remember correctly... Chordeva''s cost what, fifty? So this''lle out to about two hundred, yea?" Violet nodded, pulling out a pad and writing everything down. As she did so, I looked up at the Countess, asking "What''s Growth Cloth?" Ruffling my ears, she replied. "It''s a cloth that''s been woven from magic thread. It grows with the user, is extremely durable, and cleans easy. Expensive, but considering this outfit will always fit you, it''s worth the cost. Besides, if I didn''t do this know, Jahi would do it herself eventually." The Countess pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes. "You know what Violet, I''ll take you up on that offer. I want a corset and lingerie." Silence descended in the room, and I swear I saw steaming off of Violet''s head. She dropped her pad, her hands twitching. Gently cing me down onto a chair, she quickly stripped down to just the chemise she was wearing, folding the robe and handing it to me. Violet slowly inched forward, pulling out a measuring tape, drooling slightly. The Countess turned around, saying "Get the measuring over with. Oh, and if you try something I''ll break your arms." Violet stiffened, before moving forward again, gently wrapping the measuring tape around the Countess. She looked like she was struggling to no reach out and cling to the Countess, if the twitching muscles and her pulling back weren''t my imagination. Finishing, Violet turned around, a thin stream of blood leaking from her nose. The cloth binding holding her breasts in ce didn''t hide her very erect nipple, and the cloth covering where I assumed her groin was located was a darker shade than the rest of the material. She picked her notepad up and scribbled down the measurements. The Countess walked over, winking at me and taking her robe back. She leaned down and whispered "It''s so fun teasing people. You best hope Jahi didn''t inherit that from me." I nodded, hoping for the same. She already seemed quite... intense. If she was a tease on top of that? Lord help me. After dressing herself, she picked me up again, walking towards the door to leave. "Violet, dear, I''ll pay via banknote. Oh, and I''ll trust your judgment on my personal order. Just mail the finished clothe''s to the castle, will you?" Violet turned rather quickly, stuttering. "Ah.. wa-wait! I... I''ll need you to... uhm... try it on! Yes, I''ll need you to try on the lin-lingerie before I let you show the Marquess!" Chuckling, the Countess turned back towards Violet,ughing harder when she saw Violet was having another nosebleed. "And when should Ie to model... I mean try it on, to make sure it fits?" "A week! No, three days! I will have it done in three days! I won''t sleep!" Nodding, the Countess just walked out the door, walking back through the store. Looking at her, I asked "How do you and Miss Violet know each other?" "Ah, she went to the Royal Academy, same as Chordeva and I. She had quite the crush on me, going as far as toy traps in my dorm to tie me up. Sadly for her, Chordeva and I had already been betrothed, so we dormed together. Chordeva found it amusing, though. She actually liked the idea of tying me up. Poor Violet walked in on someone else enjoying her hard work. Ha, I miss those days." Stepping outside, the Countess looked up at the sky, pursing her lips. "Shall we visit more stores, Kat?" Chapter 15 14: Eventful Day The day passed slowly, and I was exhausted. We looked through countless stores, but I found nothing I wanted. The only thing that piqued my interest were books, but the Countess told me that I should visit the library with Jahi instead of potentially buying a book that we already owned. Grumbling at that, I let her take me to more stores, some meant for young children, others hand carved trinkets, and so on. I found them interesting, but not something I would buy. Thankfully the Countess got tired, and took us to a small food stall that was selling meat skewers. My mouth watered at the scent of seasoned meat, and my tail started swaying. The Countess chuckled before buying a couple. She handed me one and I started devouring it, not caring that it was scalding hot. I was smiling as I ate, and the Countessughed again, poking my cheek that was puffed out. "You look just like Julie back at the Academy. She used to stuff her face like this too." Still chewing, I turned towards the Countess. Trying to chew the tender meat enough to swallow so I could ask my question, she stared at me in amusement, waiting. Finally swallowing, I asked "What was the Academy like? How did you and mother meet?" She was walking slowly, mulling over how to best answer my question. "Well, the Academy is the Royal Academy, meant for Nobility, Royalty, and talentedmoners. You learn how to perfect your skills there. I learned how to better control my magic, while Chordeva mastered her sword skills and channel her magic correctly. Your mother was... well, she wasn''t standard Nobility; she was the youngest daughter of the Zara Tribe. They lived on a small piece ofnd above March Asmodia for centuries, and were renowned warriors. She followed her mother''s footsteps, showing enough talent to get into the Academy and used the time there as best she could. She was in a ss with Chordeva and I, and we needed one more person to form our group for an assignment. Chordeva and I weren''t well liked, due to the fact we were not only talented, but also because we could give a rats ass about following noble decorum. Your mother was disliked due to her talent and her heritage. So, we snatched her into our group, and then slowly started to get closer." I nodded, before asking "Then... why is mother here, tied to you and the Marquess, and not with the Zara tribe?" The Countess grimaced, before turning away. "That is something your mother will have to tell you. It''s not my story to tell." Frowning, I sighed before leaning into the Countess. Having finished my skewers, I was feeling tired. It had been a few hours, and by the sun I could guess that it was well past noon. My eyes drooping, I started dozing off. The Countess kept walking, taking her time, browsing all the stalls along the road. Sometimes I would wake up, just to see that we were still in the town. When I realized that, I would nuzzle closer to the Countess, falling back asleep. Waking up again, I noticed that we were in an alleyway, and that there were dozens of men surrounding us, wielding swords and knives. Seeing this I jolted awake, looking towards the Countess. Her usual easy going smile was gone, and her warm eyes had be cold. She looked around, narrowing her eyes as she saw the men slowly drawing closer. I could hear them muttering to one another. "-et she feels tight-" "-ink the girl will sell?" "-n''t wait to bed these two!" Shaking, I noticed that quite a few of the men''s eyes were gleaming with lust, licking there lips as they dragged their palpable gaze over our bodies. I clung tighter to the Countess, who looked down at me, smiling slightly. "Now, now Kat. It''s alright. These are just pests. Do you know what we do to pests?" Frightened by the situation, and even more so by the cial tone of the Countess, I shook my head. Her smile widened, sending a fresh shiver down my spine. "Why, we slowly, carefully, rip them apart. We fry them from the inside out. We kill them as painfully as possible. After all, pests can be scared when shown the violent death of their kin." Laughing, the men started jeering at the Countess. "Kill us? Nody, you are going to be our personal breeding sow!" "Yea, you and the girl there will be passed around for our amusement!" I could smell something sickly sweet, reminiscent of the air before arge storm. Recognizing it as ozone, I noticed that the Countess'' hair was slowly rising up into the air, and small flickers of lightning were appearing around her. "Tell me, who sent you? I''ll make it less painful that way." Laughing, one of the men stepped forward, a sneer on his face. "Why, Count Flori offered us a king''s ransom to bring you to him. Apparently he wants to have a taste of-" Before the man could finish, much to my horror, a bright sh blinded everyone in the alley. As soon as everyone could see again, they watched as the man slowly slumped to the ground, half his chest missing, his internal organs spilling out. The smell of charred flesh and burnt hair mixed with the sweet scent of ozone, and the silence was almost palpable. "So you''re telling me, that fat sack of shit was the the one to send you all? The same man who acts important, but wasn''t aware that his wife has been shagging his son? The same man who flunked out of the academy because he couldn''t perform the most basic spells? HAHAHA~" Laughing hysterically, the Countess looked around, noting the shocked and scared faces of the men. "Have you all been living under a rock? Or are you justcking anything in your head? You wish to capture, ****, and kill me? ME? The Saintess of Lightning? The Empress'' Left Hand?" Shaking from theughter, the air around her became heavy, more and more sparks forming. Gently cing me on the ground, she traced a rune in the air, too fast for me to follow. When she finished, she reached into the rune, pulling out a long de made from lightning. Tilting her head, she stood still, before suddenly disappearing. The next thing I heard was screams. Limbs fell to the floor, heads rolled. Men copsed,rge portions of their chests missing. Some tried to run, only to be struck by lightning. Sometimes the men weren''t pierced by her de, but instead her hand. She would grab their hearts, holding it in front of them before squashing it like a tomato. Seeing blood spray, body parts fly, and men dying... I fell to my knees, grabbing my head, trying to cover my ears and tune out the screams. Yet I could still hear them. Feeling something wet cover my arm, I looked at it, even when my brain was screaming for me to ignore it. Seeing the crimson liquid stick to my skin, smelling the metallic tang of iron, my vision blurred. I wasn''t even aware that the alley was silent except for the cracking of electricity, and unaware that a shadow had fell over me. A hand grabbed my arm, causing me to look up and pull away. However, the Countess had a firm grip on my arm. Her face was covered in blood, and her eyes were cold. She raised her other hand to my face, gently cupping my cheek. "I apologize, however it was quite good this happened now. This way, you can understand something. This is what Jahi will eventually be. This is who you have to support. A killer. Someone who bathes in blood. If you can''t stand the smell, the sight... then you will not be able to support her. You will not be able to stand next to her. You have a few more years to get used to it. Nowe, we have to go home." Saying so, her eyes went back to their usual warmth, while she smiled at me. Shivering, I found this much worse than the cold and brutal gaze from earlier. She scooped me into her arms, before she flickered. I didn''t even notice that our surroundings were zipping by, much like when I rode on trains in my previous life. The entire journey, I was shaking, feeling my stomach roll at the stench of blood clinging to me. If I had chosen differently... If I had realized quicker... Can I really live like this? Can I look at the Countess, the Marquess the same? Will I... Will I be able to look at Jahi the same? It may have only been a few days, but for some reason... it feels like these people have been with me forever... Why can I not fathom a life without them? What has happened to me? As my mind kept going to darker and darker ces, I realized something. After the initial shock... I no longer care. Why should I? They were going to do something awful to me. To the Countess. Why should their lives matter? They chose to lead that life. They epted the request to ruin someone''s life. Why should I care that they were killed? The Marquess, the Countess, my Mother... Jahi... They are all that matter. Nothing else. I will do what I can to make their lives better, even if its just the role of a pitiful servant. Realizing this, I stopped shaking. The iron smell of blood no longer bothered me. I snuggled closer to the Countess. I decided. I will do what I can, when I can, all I can, for these people. For my family. --- So, here we are. This is what makes the family ''Evil''. They care very little for life, and are brutal. Jahi will have extra... spice though. As I was writing, I realized that I quite like the idea of Kat slowly bing a mini Yandere. I had a fun time creating scenarios where I could make Jahi and Kat go crazy, and realized that it would be quite fun writing about how they would interact if Kat slowly became cold, and Jahi crazy. Might just be my preference for women though *cough* So, the story will slowly change, but I stand by what I have in the synopsis. Jahi is a viiness, and Kat will be a cold woman to everyone except her family. The story will still focus on the interactions between the two, and I have many ideas I want to eventually get too. Let me know though, what you think. I don''t mind either leaning fully into a crazy MC (Within reason) or making her more normal, just with a small seasoning of crazy. Justment which you like, cause I can see fun ideas with either side. Well, I hope you enjoy it though! --- Chapter 16 15: The Marquess Fury --- So I am going to just say that, while I am still going to wait to truly decide Kat''s crazy meter, I will be making her mild for now. To ease into making her a Yan. Now, whether I go further than mild will depend. I think I''m liking the idea of her being mild more than full on crazy, but I DO know that Jahi will be quite... fun to write. Eventually I will be doing a Jahi PoV, cause not only is she older than Kat, but... well, that''d be spoiling it, so... Other than that, if you dislike Harem due to how the members are shallow or uninteresting, I agree. To an extent. For now, I have one more nned, and it might be two. Meaning this would be a ''Harem'' totaling three people (MAYBE) around Jahi. I am NOT going further than that. The idea of having to keep up with more than four people... bleh. Not doing it. So if you were looking for just Jahi and Kat, sorry, you might have to deal with one more, maybe two. I will try and make them interesting though, so I hope you can forgive that. Anyways, that''s all. I hope you enjoy! I can''t wait to start exining more about this world, magic, and the people in it! --- epting what just happened, I opened my eyes and saw... The main room, with the Marquess lounging on a couch, my mother nuzzling into her side. Jahi wasying on a separate couch, reading a book. When the Countess opened the door, the Marquess turned towards her, a smile hanging on her lips. However, when she saw the blood sttered over both of us, her face froze. My mother looked towards us, her eyes widening before rushing towards me, dragging me into a tight hug. The Marquess spoke a single word, her voicepletely t. "Who?" The Countess chuckled, moving closer to the Marquess. "Why, it was an old ssmate of ours. You remember Count Flori, yes?" Scoffing, the Marquess replied "The one who couldn''t even perform basic magic? The one who failed the physical qualifiers to remain for a second year? The one who only managed to stay in school for that second year was because his daddy had money? And that his mother was blowing the Dean? That trash dared try to damage what''s mine? He dared?" Giggling, the Countess moved closer to the Marquess, trailing a finger from her chest down towards her navel. "Why, not only did he try and damage me... he wanted them to kidnap me... he wanted me to warm his bed..." Slowly the room heated up, and staring over my shaking mother''s shoulder, I saw a heat wave shimmer around the Marquess. Sneering, she held the Countess close, before walking into the bedroom. Momentster, she reappeared with her de in hand, a cloak thrown over her shoulders. She grabbed the back of the Countess'' head, kissing her briefly. "I''ll be back by tomorrow morning. Take care of them while I''m out." Without another word, she flickered, her figure disappearing from the room. The Countess'' back was turned towards me, but I could see her press her thighs together. Turning, she looked towards my mother and I, her face flushed, and wide smile on her lips. Seeing my gaze, she calmed down, reverting back to her warm smile. Quickly though, her smile fell into a frown. She looked around, and following her gaze I noticed Jahi was still staring at her book, however she was gripping it hard. Gently releasing myself from my mother, with the help of the Countess, I slowly moved towards Jahi. Reaching the couch she wasying on, I kneeled next to her. Looking at her eyes, which were transfixed on the book, I yet again saw the specks of gold in her amethyst eyes. She turned towards me abruptly, before grabbing my arm, the one covered in blood. Her eyes widened, and she dragged me towards the bathroom rather quickly. Throwing off my clothes, she shoved me onto the stool, turning on the shower. Watching as the blood washed off my body, she sighed in relief before inspecting every inch of my skin, looking for any injury. Feeling embarrassed, I covered myself with my hands, muttering "I''m okay, really." She red at me, before dragging my arms away, continuing her inspection. I squirmed, trying to break free, however she held me in a vice grip. Moments passed, and finally she sighed in relief, wrapping me in a tight hug. Nothing was said as we sat there, enjoying each others warmth. I felt her bury her face into my neck, breathing in deeply. Raising her head, she looked into my eyes, before smiling at me. Burying herself back into my neck, she kept muttering "Your ok" over and over. Hesitantly, I raised my hand and stroked her hair, trying to rx her. For minutes we sat there, Jahi muttering repeatedly while I tried to calm her down. Seeing her like this made my heart tighten, and I swore to get strong enough to protect myself, and be of help to her. I didn''t want her to worry constantly, wondering if I was safe. Eventually she pulled away, and started washing me. When she finished, before she could drag me towards the door to dry off and change, I pulled her, trying to get her to sit. When she tried to ignore me, I pouted, lowering my ears. Seeing that she sighed, before sitting down on the stool. Smirking, I started slowly washing her, enjoying the softness of her skin and silkiness of her hair. Eventually, we sat in the bath, me leaning into her. "I... I was worried about you. When I smelt the blood. I couldn''t bring myself to turn and see you injured or even... even dead. So... Kat, please... promise me that you will be safe. If you are ever in trouble, run. I can''t... I can''t imagine what I''d do..." Nuzzling closer to her, I grabbed her hand, wrapping it in both of my own. "I''ll be with you forever, Jahi... forever..." She tightened her grip, before turning towards me. Her faced inched closer, before... "Ara~ what are you two up to, hm?" Quickly pulling away from each other, we red at the Countess. She was walking in,pletely naked, my mother following behind her, wrapped in a towel. Sitting on a stool, the Countess waited for my mother to start washing her. Looking over at us, a teasing smile on her lips, the Countess giggled. "Look Julie~ your daughter almost was kissed by mine~ isn''t that cause of celebration?" My mother looked over at me, her face red. She turned back to the Countess, opening and closing her mouth a few time before just resuming her duty. Jahi got up, and dragged me towards the door. Quickly drying each other off, I quickly clothed her, before looking towards my dress, splotches of blood covering it. Jahi walked over towards a dresser, where she pulled out another in ck dress, tossing it to me. Throwing it on, she took my hand, quickly leading me out of the room. This had be a pattern, as not even momentster I could hear moansing from the bathroom. Instead of leading me towards a couch, she led me towards the bedroom my mother and I share. Quicklyying in the bed, Jahi looked towards me, patting the open space next to her. I hesitantly got into the bed, my mind going back to a few moments ago. ''Was she... really trying to kiss me? Is she going to try something now?'' Iid next to her, facing the opposite direction. Jahi said nothing as she wrapped her arms around my waist, pulling me closer. Minutes passed, neither of us saying a word. Eventually, Jahi spoke. "Our room... well, it''s a mirror of this one. Except, instead of this being an extra bedroom, I made it into a library. It will be empty, and we will fill it with whatever we want over the years. Well... that''s if... if you don''t mind sharing a bed with me?" Her voice trailed off at the end, slightly nervous. Turning, I buried my face in her chest. "I wouldn''t mind that." Thankfully the room was dark and my face was hidden, because I could feel my face heating up. Feeling her. stroke my ears, I nuzzled closer. "That''s... thank you, Kat. If you want to change something, let me know. It''s as much your room as it is mine." "Then... maybe make it less white? Maybe go with grey?" Chuckling, Jahi continued stroking my ears. "Yeah, that sounds great. Mother likes white. Runs in the family, since that room hasn''t changed in decades. However, I''m of the same mind as you. It''s so bright." "Will it look... exactly the same? Rooms in the same ces?" "Yes, apparently the original builders were requested to make these identical. No idea why. However, that set hasn''t been used in a long time, so we have the liberty of making it our own." We continued talking, discussing whatever came to mind. Eventually, the days events caught up to me, and I fell asleep. ~~~ Waking up to a ''Ding!'', I opened my eyes, noticing I was still nuzzled into Jahi''s chest. [Enjoying the view?] ''He-Hey, I''m not into that...'' [Sure. Anyways, didn''t want to interrupt you little lovebirdsst night, so here.] [Quest Completed. Reward - 50xp] [Level 4 - (262.5/337.5)] ''Oh, ok. Cool, thanks.'' Iid there, enjoying the warmthing off of Jahi''s body as well as the fruity smell from the soap. Closing my eyes, I tried to go back to sleep, when I heard a man screaming. Shooting up, both Jahi and I quickly got out of bed before rushing into the main room. Standing there was the Marquess, soaked in blood. Kneeling at her feet was arge ball of fat with a head. He was screaming as he looked at the stump that was supposed to be his right arm. "Oh shut up will you? Why can''t you shitheads just be quiet and ept this?" "Wh-What d-d-d-do you mean!?! You CUT OFF MY ARM BITCH!" At that, the Marquess simply ced her foot on the top of his head, before mming it into the floor. "I don''t remember saying you could speak, pig." Walking out of the bedroom was the Countess, yawning. Behind her stumbled my mother, her face crimson. However, when she saw the man being forced to kneel beneath the Marquess, her face went cold. "Ah, it''s been awhile Flori. Seems you never learned anything at the Academy, hm? Chordeva and I were always at the top of the ss; why, we even received a title and award from the Empress herself when we graduated. Do you think that means we were weak? That you could send a dozen some odd idiots with sharp sticks to kidnap me? You? The only reason you managed to marry was due to money and your fathers power. HE was a true Count. A warrior, a schr. Truly noble. You however..." Drawing closer, the Countess smiled widely, her sapphire eyes glowing with a sinister light. "You are not a warrior. You are no schr. You are no noble. You are trash, a waste of space. It saddens me to know that you are rted to him. It shows that he wasn''t as great as I thought. After all, you should do your best to make sure your child can be something meaningful. So we will do his job for him. We will make you work, for the rest of eternity." The Marquess looked down at the man, smirking. She gestured to the Countess, who quickly grabbed Jahi and I. The room disappeared, and then we were in what looked like a cer. Runes covered every inch, shifting and glowing randomly. Holding onto us, the Countess whispered "Watch. Watch as Chordeva disys what makes the Asmodia family so feared." Sitting in the middle of a circle, the man was bound and gagged. The Marquess was standing just outside the circle, holding a familiar book. As I stared at the book, I realized exactly why it seemed familiar. The Banshee. It was the book the Banshee had on its hip. ''Is... is she creating a Banshee?'' Watching, I saw her open the book, before she started chanting in a low voice. The runes in the room shed, and the circle started spinning, the runes shifting. Slowly, the white runes became ck, and the room was draped in darkness. If it wasn''t for the Countess giving me a reassuring squeeze, I would have screamed at the suddenck of light. A chill ran through the room, and a hoarse voice rang out. "You summon me again, Chordeva of Asmodia? Why, you''ve summoned me almost as much as the first blue brat. Not that I''mining. It''s been a while since I''ve had a meal..." "Quiet, Fiend. You will answer as many times as I wish, as is in ordance of our pact. Now, go. Eat. Give rise to another Banshee." A dark chuckle was heard, sending shivers down my spine. A pair of red eyes appeared, with arge maw appearing momentster. They looked at me in disinterest, before turning towards the man in the middle. Muffled screams could be heard, as well as the wet sounds of meat hitting the floor, the crunch of bones, and a gleeful chuckle. My breath caught in my throat, before eventually the noises stopped. Slowly the room regained its light. Sitting in the center of the circle was... arge suit of armor, it''s face a mask of twisted pain. I noticed, however, that unlike the first time, I felt... nothing when I looked at it''s face. Looking over at the Countess who had a smug grin. Looking at the Marquess, she was staring at the armor coldly, her face expressionless. "That''s what, the tenth Banshee you''ve made? This makes 37 total fools who have angered House Asmodia." The Marquess walked over towards the armor, she looked down at it coldly. "Stay here, until we call for you." Tossing the book next to it, she turned towards the Countess, before smiling. "Well, let''s get back. Julie is probably quite worried. Besides... I think I deserve a reward from my favorite elf..." The Countess rolled her eyes, before smiling widely. Chapter 17 16: The Week Before Classes Looking around again, I noticed we were back in the main room. My mother was standing in the same spot, waiting patiently. Seeing us return, she tried to bow but the Marquess walked over and pulled her back on the couch. cing her on herp, the Marquess started nuzzling into my mother, a smile on her face. The Countess sighed before cing Jahi and I on a separate couch. Walking over to the tomato and blueberry, the Countess sat calmly next to them, waiting for the Marquess to finally stop. Looking over at Jahi, I asked "What happened? How did that man be a Banshee?" Jahi shrugged, before looking over at the Marquess. Coughing slightly, the Marquess smiled before speaking. "Well, that voice you heard in the dark? That was Ka''Hondi, an Arch Fiend of Wrath. Fiends are beings born from a strong enough emotion. His was a bloody war fought a few centuries ago. The first Asmodia, Durukti Asmodia, made a pact with Ka''Hondi. She would offer him ''food'', and he would provide the House with servants. Durukti carved her way into the Empire, killing those who opposed her. She took the leaders of each family and offered them to Ka''Hondi, who reced their flesh, blood, and bone with metal. He created a living armor, a container for a soul. Ever since that pact two centuries ago, he has been bound to our House, and any enemy that we deem as deserving of eternal torment we feed to him, gaining a servant. Of course, we can''t just continuously summon him; the more youe into contact with him, the more likely he is to creep into your mind. Thankfully, I beat the ever loving shit out of his previous host, so he and I don''t do that dance." I nodded, realizing that I had witnessed a man be subjected to an eternity of servitude to a House he hates. Jahi grabbed my hand, and I saw her smirking at the Marquess. Seems like the little blue demon next to me could care less about that fact. The Countess pinched the Marquess'' waist when she saw her hand slowly roaming on my mother''s body. Turning towards us, she said "You two should enjoy thisst week; after all, the tutors should be here soon. You won''t have much free time." Jahi nodded, before dragging me outside. Going back to the small yard under the bedroom''s windows, Jahi pulled out the ball, tossing it to me. Throwing it back and forth a few times, Jahi asked "Are you excited for the sses?" Thinking for a second, I nodded. "Learning all these things will be fun! I can''t wait to learn about magic too!" Jahi chuckled "Yes, magic will certainly be fun. Are you looking forward to the other sses though? History, culture, dance, these are all so boring." "They might be boring, but they are important! You will need to know them; though I guess it''s fine as long as I know them. After all, I will always be with you..." Trailing off at thatst part, Jahi smiled widely at me. "Yeah, always." We continued to y, discussing the sses. Jahiined about the dance and etiquette sses; if I had to guess, the Marquess was the same way as a kid. She changed her opinion on history, albeit slightly, when I mentioned what the Marquess had said about the founding of House Asmodia, guessing that quite a few of the major houses, countries, and other events would be started or ended with a battle. She was giddy at that, seemingly liking the idea of learning about bloodshed. And so, each day slowly passed, falling into routine. I''d wake up, wash Jahi and I, before continuing to learn runes. Later, usually when the Marquess wanted some ''relief'', we''d go outside and y; either running or tossing the ball. Afterwards, we would eat, take a bath, then simply enjoy a book together, taking turns reading. I noticed in that week that Jahi and I were both quiet; Jahi because she preferred tomunicate through physical action, and me preferring to just stay quiet and observe everyone else. The fact that we had ess to arge amount of books didn''t help, as I had always loved reading over talking to others; books are lessplicated than people. Of course, I also received arge amount of experience, getting 150xp everyday from the repeatable quests, totaling 1050xp from seven days of quests. I leveled up a bit, and now my level looked like: [Level 4 - (1312.5/337.5)] [Level 4 -> Level 5 (975/506)] [Level 5 -> Level 6 (469/759)] [Katherine Zara - Dogkin Age - 4 Level - 6 (469/759) Stats: STR - 5 (10) CON - 6 (12) -> 7 (14) AGI - 5 (10) DEX - 7 (14) CHA - 8 (16) WIS - 6 (12) INT - 7 (14)] Looking over my stats, I thought they were pretty good. After all, if it''s this easy getting level ups, I might just have to raise everything to 10 (20) and wait until I reach a growth spurt, cing the points in then. Or could I manage to hide a higher strength? A higher charm could be... bad. After all, in almost every story, the older ssmates/sect members lusted after people way younger than them. I really don''t feel like having to deal with that. Though, increasing wisdom and intelligence would be interesting. After all, I could be a ''natural'' at controlling magic. I continued to mull over this predicament, snuggling closer to Jahi as I tried to determine the better course of action. Feeling Jahi bury her face into my hai while pulling me closer, I smiled. Well... it might be better to just have the stats and act like I don''t; after all, that would mean I could protect her better. Slowly I fell asleep, weighing the pros and cons of assigning the points or not assigning them. ~~~ When I woke up, I realized Jahi wasn''t in bed with me. Shooting up, I looked around the room, before finally sighing in relief when I saw her digging through the dresser, pulling out clothes. Dragging myself out of bed, I moved forward, helping her find the spare set of clothes. A few days ago the Countess and Marquess went to Angels Threads,ing back withrge grins on their faces. After handing me my new dress and nightwear, as well as Jahi''s, the two went into their room, where I could hear low moans. When I tried on the dress, it had fit me perfectly. When I stood in front of my mirror, I smiled widely at it, twirling a few times. It reached down to my ankles, and poofed out a bit, creating a bell shape from my waist down. Thankfully it wasn''t terribly wide, to the point it looked like my bottom half was triple the size of my upper body. The apron was a deep red with a ''KZ'' embroidered on the top left. The apron itself was just red, no patterns. The rest of the dress was a silky ck, with red highlights on the sleeves and cor. When Jahi had seen it, she was speechless for a few moments before wrapping me in a hug. After that, I handed her the set of clothes the Countess had ordered for her. When Jahi walked out, I was stunned slightly. Seeing her in something other then the simple dress she usually wore was interesting. She was wearing ck pants, a deep royal purple shirt with a ck cloak over that. The whole outfit made her light blue skin stand out, and the purple shirtbined with her amethyst eyes... Seeing her grab that set of clothes after handing me my dress, we made our way towards the bathroom. Sadly, our set of rooms weren''t ready yet, so we had to take the chance of walking in on the Marquess, Countess, and my mother ''fighting'' each other. After the third day we learned to tune it out, finding the quickest path to the bathroom. Quickly stripping, I washed Jahi before she washed me. Walking over towards the bath, we sat down, me leaning into her like always. "Well... today is the start of our sses. I really hope that the tutors aren''t idiots." I nodded at that, but didn''t get my hopes up. After all, the first ss was Noble stuff, what with dance and etiquette. After that was history and culture, which could go either way. The one I was looking forward to the most was magic theory. We hadn''t seen the tutors, as Jahi could care less about meeting them early, and I was with her constantly. So, I couldn''t judge them based on appearance, even though that would probably matter very little. Sighing, I leaned closer to her, before saying "Well, either way, you have to give it your all. The Marquess and Countess seemed quite scary when they told us about thisst week." Jahi stroked my hair, humming in agreement. For a few more minutes we sat there, before I decided we should be early, if only for our first day. Chapter 18 17: First Day Of Classes (1) Exiting the bathroom, we saw the Marquess sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for us to appear. Smirking when she saw me hide behind Jahi, she opened her mouth to speak. "Your Dance/Etiquette ss will be in the music hall across from the main library. History ss and Magic ss will be held in the library. Your tutors are Baroness Estra, Baron Jilk, and Arch Mage Kolia. Of the three, only Baron Jilk could be a problem. Baroness Estra only cares for how well you can perform; she doesn''t care for status, since she is a recently promoted noble. Arch Mage Kolia is a woman who cares more for magic then anything else; if you ck off or just are skilled at it she won''t like you. However, Baron Jilk is... well, he cares about status, so kid, be careful. Now, both of you be respectful to them. Kid, it''ll be better if you start being formal. Baroness Estra will teach you the finer details, but just refer to Jahi as Lady Asmodia, and the teachers by their titles. Now go on, it''s already quarter of eight." Saying so, the Marquess turned back towards the bed, rubbing her hands together as she looked between the sleeping figures of the Countess and my mother. Jahi grabbed my hand before leading me out of the room, taking us over towards the kitchen. Walking in, we saw Lessnera cleaning up, however upon seeing us she walked over, handing both of us a te. Piled on it was scrambled eggs, a biscuit, and a few slices of bacon. Without a word she turned back towards cleaning her kitchen. Jahi and I sat down and quickly scarfed down our food before handing the tes back to Lessnera. Leaving the kitchen, we quickly made our way towards the Music hall. Upon entering, a tall, spindly woman stood in the center, wearing a simple but elegant ck dress. Holding her hands in front of her, she looked exactly like what I pictured an etiquette tutor to be like; graceful, elegant, refined. She had a small smile on her face, sharp green eyes, and long brown hair pulled into a ponytail. Seeing us, she gave a small curtsey. I returned the curtsy as best I could. I remember I had been in a y as a kid, and I thought that curtsying looked so cool, that I memorized how to do it. Bringing my right foot slightly behind my left, bowing my head and bending my legs outward. I gave a deeper one then the Baroness, as she is of higher status than me. Upon finishing, I saw her smile widen a bit, before looking over towards Jahi, who gave a light bow. The Baroness spoke lightly, her voice melodious. "Good morning Lady Jahi, young Katherine. I am Baroness Estra, and I shall be tutoring you both in dance, music, and etiquette for the next year or two. Now, we shall start with the more important things; dance and etiquette. Lady Jahi, as you are heir to the Asmodia house, you must disy a wless exterior. Your mother, Marquess Asmodia, is renowned not only as a Knight of Cinder, but also for her outstanding social skills. While she may care little for the finer details, she is quite good at being wless at any social event she attends; so much so that her political enemies must dig deep to find anything to use against her. Your other mother, Countess Haniel, is as wless as the Marquess, however she is more outgoing and handles most social matters. As you have yet to be betrothed, you must be perfect. Now, seeing as you chose to bow instead of curtsy, does that mean you wish to take the male role in any social event, like the Marquess?" Jahi smiled, before nodding. The Baroness returned the smile, before turning to me. "As you are bound to Lady Jahi, would you please take the female role during our sses? It is much better to learn with someone your age and stature." Giving a deep nod, she pped her hands. "Good! Now, Lady Jahi,e stand here; Katherine, stand opposite her. Good. Now, Lady Jahi, raise your left hand; Katherine, grab her hand in your right. Lady Jahi, ce your right hand on her back. Higher. Good. Katherine, ce your left hand on her waist. Good. Now, listen before moving. Lady Jahi, this is the order for your movements; Left foot forward, right foot out, left foot moves towards your right, right foot back, left foot back. Then repeat. Katherine, yours is the opposite; right foot backward, left foot out, right foot moves towards your left, left foot forward, right foot forward. Now try it, slowly. Move to the sound of my ps. Ready?" Both of us nodded, before starting. First p, I stepped backwards. Second p, I moved my left foot out slightly. Third p, I moved my right foot towards my left. Fourth p, I moved my left foot forward, before moving forward with the right foot on thest p. "Again!" Repeating the movements, we did it quite well, managing to not step on each other. However, I doubt that wouldst long, as we were moving quite slow. "Again! Faster this time." The Baroness started increasing the tempo, slowly but surely making her way towards what a real dance would be paced at. When she had doubled the pace from her slow ps, we started stepping on each others feet, moving too far, and tumbling into each other. Each time we messed up, she would tell us to move into ce, before starting with the slow tempo, increasing it. Minutes passed, with us slowly improving. After the first hour, my feet were killing me, and I could tell Jahi was thinking the same, as her eyes would twitch every time we messed up. When the first hour finally finished, we were given a short ten minute break before we resumed the lesson. When the ss finally ended, I was drenched in sweat and panting, whereas Jahi was breathing slightly quicker, however she seemed to be able to keep going for another two hours. Seeing that time was up, the Baroness bowed, to which Jahi bowed back and I gave another deep curtsy. Smiling, she moved towards the door before saying "I believe a bath would do you wonders. You have a few hours till your next ss, so eat and bathe. Katherine, I rmend massaging Lady Jahi''s feet; dance can be quite taxing on the body when you don''t know what you''re doing. Good day." Saying so, she left the room. Turning towards Jahi, she was pursing her lips, her eyes lingering on the door. I waited for her, deciding I should start getting used to letting her make the decisions. Moments passed, and she turned towards me, smirking. Grabbing my hand, she led me back towards the bathroom. Entering our rooms, I saw the Marquess was still in bed, relishing the bodies of her two women. We scurried past, before moving into the bathroom. Quickly rinsing each other off, we sat on the edge of the bath, dripping our feet in the warm water. I sighed, enjoying not having any pressure on my feet. Leaning into Jahi, she wrapped an arm around me. We enjoyed our break, before redressing and leaving towards the library. I was slightly nervous, as the Marquess'' warning about our next tutor came back to me. Entering, we saw an old man sitting at a table, a mountain of books spread across the table. Like with the Baroness, Jahi bowed while I curtsied. He bowed to Jahi, before scoffing when he saw me. Ignoring it, I pulled out a chair for Jahi before standing behind her, waiting for the lesson to start. Drawing a deep breath, the Baron finally spoke. "As today is the first day meeting you, Lady Jahi, I will be testing your knowledge while also testing your ability to read and write. This may be a ss for History, Culture, and Politics, but you are still young, and as such, I wish to guarantee you have impable handwriting. As you can see, those papers in front of you have questions, ranging from easy, like the name of the Empire, to difficult, like which families founded the Empire and who they were allied with. Now, as there are only thirty questions, I will give you an hour to answer them. Full sentences, no one word answers. Begin." When he said that, he ced an hourss on the table, motioning for Jahi to pick up the pen and begin. Doing so, she started writing the answers down. Baron Jilk red at me before opening up a book, taking notes. Staring at Jahi, time crawled by. I knew the man wouldn''t let me sit, as he would asionally nce at me before smirking. Ignoring him, I watched as Jahi answered each question, asionally tapping the pen lightly on the table. Letting my mind wander, I started reminiscing about my schooldays, thinking of nothing in particr, just remembering my time as a student, all the way from pre school to college. Eventually, Jahi stood up, bringing me out of my mind. She moved to the Baron''s side, handing him the papers. Taking them, he read them over, nodding to himself. Minutes passed, and eventually he looked at Jahi, smiling. "Why, this is outstanding! You answered every question quite well. Tell me, how did you know that our Empire, the Empire of Ash, was merely an alliance against the Labyrinthian? Most believe it to be a merging of the Demon ns and Elf Tribes." Sitting back down, Jahi smiled at the man, though it was slightly strained. "I read quite a bit, Baron Jilk. As you are aware, Demons mature quickly, and I passed my time reading. Since I can''t study magic or train my body, the only thing left was training the mind." Nodding frantically, a light shone in the Baron''s eyes. "Amazing! Many children read only of fairytales or folk lore, not of history. Well said! Now, seeing as how you answered questions rting to our history quite well, I will focus more on Culture and Politics. As such, I''m afraid that I have very little else nned for today, as I hadn''t imagined you could answer all the questions correctly. I rmend reading passages twenty of this book, seven of this one, and three through five of this one. If you have a question, please ask. I am going to start creating a n for those subjects." He slid three thick books across the table, before turning back to his books with a fervor. From what I have witnessed, my guess would be the Baron believes thatmoners can''t possibly be capable of learning the intricacies of things like history or other subjects due to not having the same resources as nobles. He believes nobles are superior due to their intellect, which may be true in some cases, but I have seen many cases where the most unlikely people did amazing things. The best example was a poor man taught himself how to read, write, and started studying medical books. Everyone thought he was wasting his time, but only a few yearster he was on his way to being a certified doctor; a few years after that, a world renowned surgeon. However, seeing as I am now in a more medieval world, I doubt people like that appear often. More than likely, natural born mages or warriors appear more frequentlypared to a schr. Motioning for me to follow, Jahi moved towards a couch, before sitting down. She looked at the cover of the books before opening one up. cing it in herp, she started reading it. I tried to follow along, but terms and names I wasn''t familiar with kept popping up. It seems like I will need to study on my own to be able to be of any help. --- So, I have family over from out of state until next weekend, which means I might not be able to write as often. Next Monday I should definitely be able to get back to a schedule for myself, so until then uploads will be sporadic. Also, I am entertaining the idea of a timeskip soon; not arge one, just a few months. This would be so I can get closer to actually being able to write about things happening, not just exposition like this chapter and the next (though I think the magic ss will be fun to write about; history not so much.) I can definitely see scenes of dancing between Jahi and Kat being quite fun, as well as seeing them learn to use an instrument. However, besides doing the asional history lesson, I can''t see people liking chapters dedicated towards history and culture of ces I may or may not use. I will still exin basic things, but definitely not in depth. Magic will be interesting, at least it seems so in my head. Especially considering a certain little demon awakens her core soon... Anyways, let me know if you would rather a single small time skip or multiple small ones (like every few chapters to eventually get Jahi and Kat to be older) because both have ups and downs. --- Chapter 19 18: First Day Of Classes (2) The rest of the ss was spent in silence, with me eventually giving up on trying to understand the content of the book and simply dozing off. I reaffirmed my belief that I would have toe here alone to study the basics. Jahi didn''t seem to mind the silence, as she was to engrossed in the book, nodding and humming in appreciation every once in awhile. Eventually the Baron stood up, bowing slightly in Jahi''s direction, before leaving. Jahi was still nose deep in the book, so I leaned into her, closing my eyes. Enjoying her warmth and scent, the time passed quickly, my mind nk. Shaking me slightly, I opened my eyes to see Jahi smirking at me. She pointed back towards the table, where a pale woman in a ck sleeveless dress stood, looking at us. Looking at her, I noticed that her arms were tattooed. A snake wound around her left arm, while her right was covered in runes and symbols. Her green eyes were slitted like a snakes, and her long ck hair reached her waist. "Finally awake? Good. Let''s get started. Lady Jahi, do you know anything about magic?" Jahi shook her head, causing the woman, Arch Mage Kolia, to sigh. "Very well. Let us start with what makes up magic. Mana, which is something your core will produce. Initially, when you are just starting off, your mana is pure; it has no element. However, the more you use and create more mana, the more it turns from just mana to elemental mana. This can take anywhere from a few months to a few years. Mana, either in its pure state or in its elemental state, is the fuel for magic. What gives magic its shape are runes. By creating a sequence of runes you are shaping your mana into something. For example..." Slowly tracing a small sequence of runes in the air, Arch Mage Kolia''s eyes shed green, and a small sphere of wind appeared. Floating above her palm, she let us watch as it spun, before grabbing it. "That sequence, the wind rune and the circle rune, creates a sphere of wind. Rece wind with any element, and you would, obviously, get a sphere of that element. This is a basic spell, seeing as it is only two runes. However, if you add, say, a power rune or a speed rune, you create a moreplex sequence, which requires more mana." Jahi nodded, before asking "Then what about therge spells? How would you have the time to create the sequence, for say, a spell like ''Vulcan''s Breath''?" Chuckling, Arch Mage Kolia replied "Once you master a sequence, you are capable ofbining the runes into one, like this." Saying so, she slowly drew a circle before drawing four straight lines through it. Another sphere of wind appeared. Seeing this, I hesitantly raised my hand. Seeing her nod at me, I asked "Um... I have two questions. First, what is stopping someone frombining the runes right away? Also, what would you do if you were trying to usebination magic, like the Countess?" Arch Mage Kolia nodded again, before answering. "The reason you can''t justbine the runes right away is because each rune in a sequence requires a certain amount of mana. Yes, you could just use arge amount of mana and force the activation, but at that point you are wasting arge amount of mana. So, everyone rmends learning how much mana is needed in each rune beforebining. Now, forbination magic, you have to find another bnce, specifically the bnce between the two elements you are using. The Countess had to practice individually with both wind and fire before she could use lightning magic. Each element has two runes, one set being the lines and the other set being triangles. I rmend, if either of you hasbination magic, to use one element in one set and the other in the opposite set. For instance, I am a lightning mage, so I use the four straight lines for air, while using the triangle for fire." She drew each individually in the air, the four lines, a nk up triangle, and finally a sphere. A ball of crackling lightning appeared in her hand. "Alright, so now we are going to look into the support runes. These are the circle rune, the power rune, speed rune, and so on. These are the meat of the sequence, since they are universal. You can always add a shape or form to an element, as well as adding extra power or speed. Conversely, you can take those away from something. For instance, lightning and wind are naturally fast; earth and metal are slow. So if you want to create something more... solid with lightning or wind, or make something more fluid with earth and metal, you add those runes. Here, these are going to be your workbooks. I am going to give you the task of creating sequences, and when you are done I will check it. So, time to show you the runes." After handing us the books, she started using her mana to trace the runes in the air, exining what they were and how to use them. I furiously scribbled down notes, making sure I knew how to write the inverse of each, their uses, and so on. An hour passed, and after learning some of the basic runes, specifically 12 and their opposites, totaling 24, along with the two sets of four elemental runes, as well as light/dark and space/time, makes 36 runes. "Now that you know what the runes are, let''s talk about how to create a sequence. For basic spells this is simple; the elemental rune followed by shape runes, which are a kind of support rune, with support runes after that. Usually this is something like: Wind, Circle, Power, Dense. Thosest two can be switched however you want, but it needs to be an element first, then the shape of said element. So, I want you both to create the sequence for a small, dense fire sphere." Nodding, Jahi and I turned towards our books. I started with the nk up triangle, followed by a circle. Next was a down arrow for size, followed by a X with a diamond in the center which was filled in for density. Showing the book to Arch Mage Kolia, she looked between Jahi''s and my own, before nodding. "Now, any idea on how to make this into abination rune?" Pursing my lips, I looked between the runes. Drawing the circle inside the triangle, I bisected the triangle with down arrow, before inserting the X into the circle. Showing Arch Mage Kolia, she looked slightly surprised. "Yeah, that''s... almost perfect actually. The dense rune is allowed to spill out of the fire rune, so you could have made itrger. Makes it quicker and easier to create." I grinned, before turning to look at Jahi''s. She had used the lines, so she had the circle on the outside, with four vertical squiggles going through it. The arrow went down the middle, and the X went through the entire thing. Arch Mage Kolia nodded. "Again, it would work. The fire rune using lines can be separated into two sets, so you could have a space in the middle for the size rune. Still, it is quite good." Grinning, Arch Mage Kolia kept giving us sequence after sequence, exining where we messed up or where we could improve. Eventually time ran out, and I realized I had used quite a few pages of my notebook. After every sequence, I noted where the improvements could be made, as well as what the sequence would create. For example, we redid the first sequence; the small, dense fireball, but we added a speed rune, creating the spell many people loved in video games: Fireball. The hour flew by, and I quite enjoyed creating the sequences, seeing how you couldbine some parts to lessen the length of the sequence. Jahi seemed to share my enjoyment, as her eyes were shining. When we finished, Arch Mage Kolia was grinning ear to ear. "Well, if you both keep this up, I think the year or two here will be quite enjoyable. Especially when you both awaken your cores. That''s all for today, though. Go, eat and rest. You will probably crash soon; creating sequences can be quite draining on the mind. See you both tomorrow!" I watched her exit the library, and turned towards Jahi. "That was so much fun! Sequences aren''t as hard as I thought they''d be. I can''t wait to awaken my core; I really want to use magic!" Jahi smiled at my excitement, ruffling my ears. Leaning into her hand, she chuckled. "Yeah, I can''t wait to use magic." She grabbed my hand, dragging me back towards our room. Upon entering, thankfully the Marquess was just lounging on a couch, a book in hand. The Countess was on a separate couch, reading her own book. My mother was no where to be seen. Hearing us enter, they turned towards us, smiling. Thy stood up, each grabbing one of us. Sitting down again, the Marquess looked down at Jahi, smiling. The Countess rhythmically pet my head, making me smile. "So, how were the sses?" Hearing the Marquess, Jahi looked up. "Well, dance was... fun. Tiring, but enjoyable. History however, was boring. I already know all of that, so the Baron is going to create a new curriculum for me based solely on Culture and Politics, but I have a decent enough grasp on those as well. Also, he''s quite annoying. He would re at Kat while giving me a weird smile." At that, both her parents chuckled. The Countess flicked her head, saying "Sure~ little Jahi knows all about the world. Kat, dear, make sure the little know-it-all pays attention." I nodded, before grinning. "Magic ss was so much fun! Arch Mage Kolia taught us about sequences, and she was so nice! Look, she even showed us how to write them!" Saying so, I opened the book, holding it up so the Countess could see. She chuckled, ruffling my hair and saying "Good girl~" The doors opened, and my mother came in, pushing a cart filled with tes. cing them around the table, we all sat down, my mother and I pulling the seats back before seating ourselves. The tes had arge slice of what looked like steak, beautifully brown on the outside but still slightly red on the inside. Next to the steak was a tomato sd, mixed together with some peppers. Finally, arge loaf of dark brown bread, which looked like a Sweet-Msses Bread. The adults had a ss of wine, while Jahi and I just had water. Mouth watering, I held myself back and slowly made my way through the meal, savoring every bite. The steak was tender and juicy, the sd sweet yet spicy, while the bread was nice and soft. I looked over at Jahi, who decided to simply scarf the meal down, shaking my head. How could she not savor this amazing meal? Seeing my gaze, she smirked before stealing the cut. of steak, making a show of savoring it. I red at her, making her smirk widen. Sighing, I slowly cut another portion, holding the fork out to her. The steak wasrge to a child, so I knew that unless I wanted to gain a couple pounds, I wasn''t going to eat it all. Jahi took the offered meat, smiling at me. I turned back to my te, going from taking a bite to offering some to Jahi. Surprisingly, I didn''t hear anything from the adults, so I looked up. Seeing them all savoring the meal, it made me realize something; Jahi doesn''t appreciate good food. Finishing the meal, we all made our way to the bath, where we all lounged around, enjoying the silence and warm water. Jahi and I left after the Marquess had ''woken up'', saving ourselves from having to watch a live show. When we got back to our room, I copsed on the bed, tired. Jahiy next to me, reading another book. Turning over, I closed my eyes. [Daily Xp: 187.5] [Level 6 (656.5/759) [Reminder: You have one skill point. Would you like to use it now, or save it?] ''Mmm... save it. I think I want to learn as much as I can by only relying on myself for now.'' [Understood] After that, I slowly fell asleep, my mind swarmed with the idea of creating more and more sequences. --- So, like I saidst chapter, I was thinking of doing a time skip. Now I KNOW I am going to do one, and maybe some more. I will write about important events; Jahi''s Core, Kat''s Core, the ''New'' schedule after they finish this, and so on. I have an area I want to get to, but still need to develop the characters. Also, again, updates will be sporadic until next Monday, as I have family over. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! --- Chapter 20 19: Our Daily Lives Today was more of the same as yesterday; Baroness Estra was nice yet strict, and Jahi and I left Dance ss tired. The ss with Baron Jilk was also the same; no actual teaching, just him rmending some books to read. Like yesterday, I dozed off while Jahi read. I couldn''t be bothered to try and follow along, as it was about ces I didn''t know and how those people act. Eventually I will go find a book on the basics. However, as soon as I walked into the library and saw Arch Mage Kolia I was filled with a rush of anticipation, excited to create more sequences and learn about magic. We started with a half hour of creating sequences, using all the elements and different shapes and support runes. Arch Mage Kolia even created sequences and had us decipher them. When she started creatingbination runes I could feel a mild headache, as trying to decipher each rune used was difficult, however I found it quite enjoyable. When we finished, she pulled out a book, cing it on the table in front of us. "Now, as much as I know you both love learning and creating sequences, I think we should go over what Mana is and how it affects the body. You both are aware of the fact that the core is an organ located next to your heart, yes?" Both of us nodded. "Well, the core works much like the heart, except instead of pumping blood throughout the body, it pumps mana. Since it is connected to your veins like your heart, mana flows throughout your entire body. Now, this has two noticeable effects; your body is much stronger than a person without a core, and your body grows much quicker. For you two, because of your race, you already have quick maturation. A demon without a core reaches their prime by the age of 15; a dogkin reaches their prime by the age 16. With cores, however, that is sped up. Both maturepletely at 12. Now, while I understand mana quite well, I can''t exactly tell you why this is. However, considering mana also extends a persons lifespan, with the oldest human going from barely reaching 80 with no core to reaching 200 to 250 with a core, my personal theory is that mana has strong ties to the life of the world, since it permeates everything." Raising my hand, I asked "So what was the longest recorded lifespans of dogskin and demons without a core?" "Dogkin was around 60, while demon was around 200. With cores, dogkin have 350, while demons... well, the oldest demon is still alive, and her name is Lilith. If I remember correctly... she is around 2500 years old..." Arch Mage Kolia must have seen my face fall slightly, hearing that, in theory, Jahi would live much, much longer than I could ever, as she followed it up with "However, there are quite a few ways to increase your lifespan. The bond you two share is one of the ways; it is quite literally a soul bond. Kat, you won''t die unless Jahi dies. Conversely, Jahi will continue to live even if you die. You are quite lucky in some ways, as that bond is almost impossible to create, as only fiends can create one. Few fiends are still around, and even fewer are willing to create a bond like that. In fact, the only ones I am aware of are Ka''Hondi, a fiend of Blood, War, and Death. The other is Tza''Yul, a fiend of Magic and Knowledge. So, hopefully you two can at least be cordial to one another..." As if in response, Jahi pulled me onto herp. Chuckling, Arch Mage Kolia shook her head. "Anyways, Mana is, more than likely, tied directly to life. As I am sure you both are already aware, there are crystals that are infused with elemental mana. These form in specific ces. For example, a desert will produce fire crystals and sometimes wind crystals. Forests and ins will produce earth and wind crystals. Rivers,kes, and the ocean produce water crystals. There are very rare cases of advanced magic crystals. For example, the crown the Empress wears is actually a carved metal crystal, adorned with additional fire crystals. The Northern most territory, the Dukedom of Blizzards, has a few ice crystals. The Elven Lands have some nature crystals, while the Thorin County in the west has a lightning crystal. Light or Darkness Crystals are almost unheard of, with the only sightings being inside the Labyrinthian. Space and Time crystals... well, we haven''t seen wielders of those magics in well over a millennia, so let''s not even talk crystals." "Miss Kolia, what is the Labyrinthian?" I could feel Jahi''s breath on my cheek, as she rested her head on my shoulder. "Hmm... The Labyrinthian is arge, well,byrinth. Located in the center of the continent, it is almost reminiscent of a city of monsters. Every monster we know of originates from the Labyrinthian. Additionally, the closer a monster is the the Labyrinthian, the stronger it is. Take slimes, for example. As you are now, you could easily kill a slime. However, if we crossed the border into thend of the Labyrinthian, those same slimes would slowly get stronger. Their corrosive properties would be amplified, they would be capable of splitting, and they could gain ess to elemental mana and spells. In fact, another weak monster here, in the Empire of Ash, the fire lizard, could be a drake if allowed to reach the Labyrinthian." Jahi nodded, and I pursed my lips. Learning that we were so close to a supercharger for monsters was quite worrying, and this was amplified by the fact that the House Asmodia seemed to be responsible for any monster outbreaks or things like that, as we were on the border of the Labyrinthian. The lesson ended, causing my view of the future to slowly be mixed; excitement to be able to use magic, as well as anxiety for what could happen if an outbreak happened soon... That night, after our bath together, I clung to Jahi, taking sce in her warmth. I could feel her stiffen slightly, before pulling me closer. Usually she was the one to make the first move, so for me to do so... Slowly stroking my hair, she held me close to her, not saying a word. Hearing the familiar ''Ding!'' in my mind, I saw the notification: [Daily XP - 187.5] [Level 6 (844/759)] [Level 6 -> Level 7 (85/1138.5)] [I''m guessing you wish to save the stat point?] ''Correct'' After looking at my new level, and the required xp, I did the math and realized in roughly 6 days I would level up again, if I kept gaining the 187.5 a day. Sighing, I closed my eyes, deciding to sleep. ~~~ Weeks passed by in a blur. Baroness Estra was as nice as ever, and taught us many dances. Since we had started with the most formal, she slowly eased up, teaching us which dance is to be used when. For example, the waltz is used in most asions, namely the beginning of most balls and special events hosted by upper nobility. However, there were variations of the waltz to be used for specific asions; One used as a courtship dance, one used for lovers, one for family, and so on. Memorizing these were quite difficult, and what made these weeks semi torture was Jahi. When we were learning the courtship and lover dances, she let her hands roam more than they should have, causing both the Baroness and I to discipline or reprimand her. Sadly, the more we did so, the worse Jahi got, taking it as motivation to continue. Though, if I had to guess it was simply because my reprimands were quite weak, as I was usually on cloud nine when she showed her knowing smirk. After those eventful mornings, and even more stressful baths, I was bored to death during thepletely useless ss taught by Baron Jilk. The man seemedpletely tone deaf, as he taught us about the ''Magnificent'' and ''Perfect'' Kingdom that exited to the West. At first, hearing his passion to teach made me forgive him in the beginning, as he taught with a fervor most teachers in my old lifecked. However, when he got into the ruling ss of said Kingdom, telling us how it was ruled by men for men, we both frowned. Ignoring us and continuing, he went into a spiel about how amazing it was, and that the only reason he moved from that Kingdom to our Empire was that the academics here were superior. He would go on and on about this Kingdom, however when it came to teaching us about the Sultanate of Red Sands on the March Asmodia''s northern border, he spoke with disdain, iming it was only a matter of time until it fell, mainly due to it being ruled by the Sultana Anubi, a Jackalkin who rose from being a ve girl. When I read her story, hearing how she rose from nothing, led a rebellion, and made her country better than it had ever been before, I stopped listening to the Baron. Even when we told the Marquess and Countess about this, they could only shrug, iming that, sadly, they needed him here simply to show that Jahi was being taught. Apparently the Nobility would scorn and im that Jahi was unfit to be among them if she was ''uneducated''. Both of us scoffed at that, however we had to continue going to his ''sses'', with both of us tuning him out or simply picking up a book and learning on our own. Now, learning magic with Arch Mage Kolia... well, both of us always held her past her scheduled time, asking her question after question, debating theories with her, and simply begging her to continue the lesson. We learned about the basics of monsters, continued to learn about sequences, and even had a project where we had to create a ritual circle, which was tworge circles, the area between the two filled with various sequences. It took us two weeks to create a ritual circle for an earth spike trap. Having to create an activation sequence, the earth spike sequence, and sizing it just right was extremely difficult, but when we finished and powered it with an earth crystal, both of us were so excited to see it work. Every day ended the same; Jahi wrapping me in her embrace, holding me tight as we both slowly fell asleep. And everyday I would see my level rising, until it looked like this after 32 days. [Level 7 (85/1138.5) -> Level 7 (6085/1138.5) Level 7 -> Level 8 (4946.5/1708) Level 8 -> Level 9 (3238.5/2562) Level 9 -> Level 10 (676.5/3843)] Now, I had 5 stat points and 2 skill points. After spending 4 of my five skill points, my stats looked like: [Katherine Zara - Dogkin Age - 4 Level - 10 (676.5/3843) Stats: STR - 5 (10) CON - 7 (14) AGI - 5 (10) -> 6 (12) DEX - 7 (14) CHA - 8 (16) WIS - 6 (12) -> 7 (14) INT - 7 (14)] However, tonight was different. Tomorrow was Jahi''s day. She would awaken her core tomorrow... --- So, Monday was a bust huh? That''s on me. I sat and binged all of Shikimori and Spy x Family yesterday... Anyways, I should be back to daily uploads, though this weekend might be a bit... rough since I work at Amazon, and it''s prime week... so yeah... Also, first mini timeskip, won''t have another for a few chapters, as I want to show Jahi learning to control her magic and more of just their interactions, and less of the sses. --- Chapter 21 20: Jahis Core Thankfully my inner clock had developed over thesest few weeks, so when I woke up, Jahi was still in a deep sleep. Untangling myself from her arms, I looked around our room. We had moved inst week, and thankfully we managed to change the color pallet from pure, blinding white to a dull grey. Moving over to the dresser, I removed both my clothes and Jahi''s, before making my way into the bathroom. Looking around, it truly was a copy of the Marquess'' room, as almost every stone was ced exactly in the same ce. Whoever created these rooms really took the whole ''make the rooms identical'' to a whole other level. Approaching the bath, I activated the water and fire crystals, allowing the water to heat up. Exiting the bathroom, I approached the bed, smiling when I saw Jahi frowning slightly in her sleep. She was reaching around the bed, searching for what was missing. I continued to watch her search before gently shaking her shoulders. She groaned, before slightly opening her eyes. "Good morning, Jahi. It''s time to get up." Grumbling again, she turned around, burying herself into the sheets. Sighing, I grabbed the sheets before dragging them off of her. She growled slightly, flipping over to re at me. Seeing her ring, I smiled, staring at her. For a few moments sheid there, before finally sitting up. Grabbing me, she pulled me onto the bed next to her, wrapping her arms around me. Leaning into her, I let her hold me, as this was the easiest way to wake her up that I had found. I had tried simply dragging her out of bed, but she was much stronger than me. I had also tried simply waking her up before moving into the bath, but she had refused to move. We werete to sses that day. Jahi stood up, dragging me towards the bath. Helping her out of her nightwear, I watched as she entered the bath. Quickly folding her clothes, I undressed as well, cing my clothes next to hers. Entering the bath, she was sitting on the stool in front of the shower, yawning slightly. Kneeling next to her, I started gently washing her. After rinsing her off we switched spots, allowing me to enjoy her gentle caress. Moving to the bath, we sat next to one another. Sighing, I looked up at her. "Are you nervous? You awaken your core today..." She smirked down at me, ruffling my ears. "Nope. Why would I be nervous? Any magic is fine, and I KNOW I will awaken a core today. You''ve seen my Mom effortlessly use her fire magic, and you were there when Mother used her lightning magic. Besides, even if I am atrocious at magic, as long as I can learn basic spells I still have the ridiculous strength all demons are born with. So it''s fine Kat, really. Rx." Saying so, she wrapped her arm around my shoulder, gently leaning her head onto mine. We sat there for a few more minutes, before I rose from her embrace. Moving back towards the door, I grabbed a towel. Looking back, I could see Jahi staring at me, her eyes wandering. I quickly made my way back to her, dragging her out of the bath. Drying her off, she continued to smirk at me, making me blush slightly. Pushing her out the door, I quickly dried myself off before moving outside. Jahi stood next to the bed, tapping her foot while her arms were crossed. After that whole little speech iming she wasn''t nervous, yet here she was, disying a tic that I had only seen once before, when the Countess had almost demanded we have separate rooms. Jahi had begged and pleaded with the Countess, and the whole time we were together during the Countess'' deliberations she had looked just like this. Smiling, I took her clothes and dressed her, before dressing myself. Making sure that everything was on correctly, I stepped back, nodding. "All set. Are you ready, Jahi?" She nodded, before grabbing my hand and leading me out the door. The awakening ceremony would take ce in the same hall we practiced dance in. Making our way there, Jahi would periodically squeeze my hand, making me squeeze hers back. When we reached the door, Jahi took a deep breath before entering. Inside, arge ritual circle was chalked onto the floor, with the Marquess, Countess, and Arch Mage Kolia forming a triangle. In the center of the circle was a small mat and little crystal ball. Taking another breath, Jahi walked to the center before sitting crosslegged. I moved off to the side, standing next to my mother and Baroness Estra. Baron Jilk was standing opposite us. Looking up at my mother, I saw that she was slightly worried. "Does awakening a core hurt?" She looked down at me, smiling. "No, it doesn''t. It feels like... like you just drank something warm after being cold all day. Lady Jahi will be fine." The Baroness nodded her head. "When I awakened my core, it was like being submerged in a bath. Sadly, my mana capacity is quite low..." Looking between the two, I took a deep breath before turning back to Jahi. Seeing her grab the crystal and close her eyes, I continued to observe her. Moments passed, and the trio started muttering, activating rune after rune on the circle. Gradually the circle started glowing white, and the crystal ball in Jahi''s hands started to shine. My breath caught in my throat when I heard her breathing heavily, and I had to hold myself back from jumping into the circle tofort her. Time kept passing, and the glow of the circle and ball kept increasing. The trio had backed away, watching with bated breath. The brilliant white light slowly started turning a wonderful gold, a more vibrant color than the Countess'' lightning, which was always tinged in a cerulean blue. Seeing this, all of us gasped in surprise. As I had started devouring books about magic, as well as talking to Arch Mage Kolia, I knew what colors were what when seen in a crystal. Obviously, fire was red, wind green, water deep blue, and earth brown. Lightning was yellow, metal was silver, nature a dark green, and ice was a pale blue. Light was gold, and darkness was purple. Space and Time weren''t recorded, but it was theorized that space would be rainbow, while time was a pale green. Staring into the crystal, the brilliant gold was almost blinding. Looking towards the Marquess and Countess, both of them had their mouths wide open in shock. Arch Mage Kolia had a giant grin on her face. Slowly the light started dimming. When it had disappeared, all the chalk on the floor had been erased, and the ball had cracks all over it. As Jahi continued to sit there, silence descended in the hall. All of us held our breath. Her eyes fluttered open, a brilliant gold. Blinking a few times, her amethyst eyes returned, and she took a look around the room. When her eyes met mine, I shivered, as they flickered between amethyst and gold. Getting up, she walked towards me, ignoring the others. Stopping in front of me, she tilted her head slightly, narrowing her eyes. Meeting her gaze, I flinched slightly at the intensity. It felt like a predator looking at prey. A wide smile spread on her face, and she pulled me into a tight hug. For a few moments I stood still, shocked. Looking over her shoulder at the Marquess and Countess, I saw both of them had a simr grin. Returning the hug, she clenched me tighter. Arch Mage Kolia walked forward, sighing slightly. "Kat, just as a reminder, but mana amplifies a persons emotions, and in your case... well, being bound to someone already amplifies them, so good luck." The Marquessughed, wrapping both of us in a hug. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. You have someone who loves you quite a bit. What really matters is that Jahi awakened to Light Magic! The only other person who can use it is the Empress'' first wife, Joana D''Arcon." Jahi kept nuzzling into me, and I started stroking her hair. Looking around, my mother was looking at me with slight pity, while everyone else was focused on Jahi. The fact that she has such rare magic... I smiled, knowing that in a years time these people would yet again receive a huge shock... Chapter 22 21: Light Magic After Jahi had awakened her core, we had the next few days off, the reason being that the Marquess and Countess wanted her to get used to her new strength and learn to control her magic. Currently, Jahi stood in the center of a training field, wearing a crop top and loose pants. Standing opposite her was the Marquess, wearing something simr. Jahi charged forward, swinging her fist towards the Marquess. Yawning slightly, she grabbed Jahi''s fist, before pushing her off slightly. Growling, Jahi charged again, and again... Sighing, I took a seat, pulling out an empty book. Grabbing a pen, I started creating sequences,beling them and creating thebination rune. The rune for light was a rising sun, which looked like the top half of a circle with four lines branching off the edges. Sighing again, I pursed my lips as I went through sequence after sequence. Light magic was capable of both support and offense, as it was a potent healing magic as well as extremely destructive. Knowing this, I started to smile, creating sequences for self healing as well as a normal healing spell. After that, I started on a moreplicated sequence: a de made from light. It sounds simple, but in order for something like that to work, you need to be able to condense light mana, hold it, and keep it solid for a long period of time. The shape rune could start simple; after all, a de is, technically, a long, thin rectangle. Adding the point is simple, since you would just manipte the mana into a point at the end of the ''de''. However, where it getsplicated is with the support runes. Length, width, power, density, speed... These are just a few of the runes you need to consider, and you also need to determine which runes take priority. Tapping the pen against my cheek, I pursed my lips, thinking. Looking at Jahi continuing to charge forwards at the Marquess, I started creating a sequence for a wide, dense de. After all, creating the first sequence is the hardest part; after I have something that works, I can tweak it to create apletely new thing. Take a ball, for example. A normal elemental sphere, one of the most basic spells, can be turned into something crazy. Add runes for quantity, density, and power, and suddenly that harmless sphere bes a barrage of your element. Conversely, adding the runes for speed, small size, and power could create a bullet like spell. Grinning, I continued the sequence, creating three different variations that should, in theory, create my desired result of arge de. Hearing someone walk behind me, I looked over and saw the Countess looking at the pages, nodding. "The second one is the most likely to seed. See, the way the length and width runes interact means that, if they are the base of the spell, they need to take priority. The remaining mana can be used for the other runes, like power or density. Look." Saying so, she started tracing the runes in the air, starting with the symbol for lightning, using an up triangle for fire and four horizontal lines for wind. After that, she drew the rectangle, followed by the runes for increased width, density, and power. Finishing the sequence, a wide de of solidified lightning appeared in her hand. She held it for a few seconds before letting it fizzle out of existence. Quickly copying down the sequence she used, I looked back at her, asking "What would thebination rune look like?" Sighing, she slowly drew it in the air. Quickly copying it down, I grinned before standing up. Walking over to her, I gave her a small hug. Hearing her chuckle, I was quickly pulled into her arms, making me tilt my head. She continued to chuckle, before walking onto the field. Looking over, I saw that Jahi was panting, sweating profusely, whereas the Marquess stood, looking like she had just walked onto the field. Turning towards us, the Marquess smiled before walking over. "Ha... If only Jahi had your brains, kid. She just charges in without a single care in the world..." Scoffing, the Countess red at the Marquess. "So she takes after you. If I remember correctly, the reason I used to win our spars was because you would charge straight into any traps or spells I tossed your way." "Well, I learned, didn''t I? Besides, I know you made those spells stronger just to make our nights more intense." "Anyways, Kat here already created quite a few spells for you to try, Jahi." Taking the book from my hand, she tossed it to Jahi, who caught it. Although she was ring at the Countess, she opened the book and read the first sequence, which was the most simple spell, a ball of light magic. Tracing the runes in the air, they flickered briefly before disappearing. Frowning, Jahi tried once more, this time presumably using less mana. The runes shed, before a small ball of light, the size of a baseball, appeared before her. She grabbed it, snuffing the light. Tracing the runes again, she created arger ball, which produced more light. Smiling, I looked between the Marquess and Countess. Both looked slightly impressed, but considering that they could use much more advanced magics, I took that to mean that Jahi did pretty well. Wiggling out of the Countess'' arms, I ran towards Jahi,ughing. "You can do magic Jahi! Try the next one, try the next one!" She gave me a small smile before looking back at the page. Repeating the previous sequence, this time she added a rune at the end, one to make the sphererger. Again, it took her a few tries to get the mana right, but eventually she did, creating a sphere two timesrger than the previous one. Laughing again, I looked at Jahi with wide eyes. Magic! It''s really Magic! Giggling, I pointed to the next spell, asking her to continue. Seeing her slowly go through each spell, getting a feel for her mana, I was ted. Seeing the things that I dreamt of in my previous life made me giddy, and knowing that I had only a year before I could do this as well was both amazing and annoying. Eventually, Jahi closed the book, handing it back to me. Pouting slightly, I took it. Looking at her, she had a warm look in her eyes, before she ruffled my ears. "I''ll do all the magic you want tonight. Right now, however, I need to spar with Mom..." I nodded, moving back towards my seat. Both the Marquess and Countess chuckled, before moving back to their spots. Opening the book, I slowly thought of everything I could, going from area of effect attacks to single target attacks. For some reason, I really enjoyed creating these sequences, and with the help of the Countess, I managed to, hopefully, make them viable for Jahi to try eventually. Slowly filling the book with spells, I looked up. Jahi was now taking the time to think of different strategies, moving in different ways to try andnd a hit on the Marquess. Apparently, they had made a bet, with the condition being hitting the Marquess somewhere other than her arms or legs. Seeing Jahi dash around,unching herself up high or down low, was captivating. After all, she was currently moving as fast as some professional athletes in myst life. Considering the Marquess looked unimpressed and bored, I was both excited and afraid to see what thebat at higher levels looked like. However, thinking that far, I wondered if I would even do anything if I reached that level. After all, while I might say I am fine with death or killing in order to protect those dear to me, actually seeing it, or doing it... Well, that''s a different story. Pursing my lips, I continued to think about our future. From the various books and real sses from Baron Jilk, I could gather that the world is at a rtive peace. Our neighbors have little to no enmity towards us, and the Empire has no desire to acquire morends. So on the foreign front, the only true threat are the monsters from the Labyrinthian. Internally, a few houses and ns have disyed disdain for House Asmodia. However, considering the books I have read, both the Marquess and Countess hold positions of such power and prestige that these people need to be careful. The Countess is a trusted advisor for the Empress, while the Marquess is one of four people who were granted the honor of bing the Empress'' Knights of Cinder, a small group of highly talented and trusted warriors. So, while there may be small issues to deal with, like petty nobility and the rare monster attacks, hopefully our lives should be peaceful... Who am I kidding, whenever anyone is thrown to a new world, nothing is ever peaceful. Chapter 23 22: Promise Focusing on the Marquess and Jahi again, I was astounded to see Jahi slowly making the Marquess react. Previously, the Marquess would barely move at all, simply shifting parts of her body into Jahi''s blows. Now, however, she had to mover her arms and legs, using her forearms and shins to block jabs and kicks. Jahi wasn''t speeding up, nor was she getting stronger, but she was instead weaving different moves together, using her entire body to its fullest. Watching her slowlybine more movements together, I was entranced, watching what looked like a very beautiful dance. Dashing forward, Jahi swung her right fist forward, colliding with the Marquess'' forearm. Instead of retracting her hand, Jahi wrapped her arm around the Marquess'' before using it to pull herself up,unching her feet towards the Marquess'' midriff. Sadly, the height difference proved to be to great, as the Marquess just extended her arm, causing Jahi to kick the air. Shaking her arm slightly, Jahi fell to the ground, quickly scrambling to her feet. I continued to watch the two demons spar, marveling at the grace and control behind their movements. I brought out a new book, deciding to start preparing spells for next year. As much as I wanted to jump straight to ice, I had to start with the two elements that created ice; wind and water. I started with water, deciding to dedicate the first part of my book to the water element. Starting with the element rune, which was a down facing triangle, the inverse of the fire rune, I started with spells that came to mind first when I thought of water magic; support magic. I created various spells, ranging from an internal healing spell to an area healing spell. Pursing my lips, I slowly went through each possible variation, narrowing my sequences down to a few. Satisfied with what I had, I turned my attention to creating a spell that would create ayer of mana over my body that would act as either a shield or a repellent. This stumped me slightly, as I had to create a spell that not only created a stableyer of mana around myself, but would also repel attacks, either physical or magical in nature. Tapping the pen to my cheek, I sighed, realizing that I would need to create a few different spells before creating a ritual circle to allow them to work together without interference. Deciding to wait until I not only had a better understanding of ritual circles, but also of more advanced sequences, I went about creating offensive spells next. I slowly lost myself to the sequences, tuning out the world around me as I slowly filled page after page. I don''t know how much time passed, but eventually a shadow fell over me, and looking up I saw Jahi looking down at me, her lips pursed slightly. Seeing her furrow her brow as she attempted to read the sequences on the page, I closed the book. Looking at her, I realized she was practically soaked with sweat. Yet, she wasn''t panting, nor was there any noticeable sign that she just exercised for god knows how long. Turning to look at the Marquess, I frowned slightly when I saw her with a small sheen of sweat on her brow, looking like she had simply been out for a walk. Moving towards Jahi, I grabbed a towel before gently wiping the sweat from her body. Ignoring the slight smirk on her face, I continued wiping her off. Finishing, I was about to pull away when she wrapped me in her arms. Hesitating slightly, I sighed before leaning into her. The slight musk paired with her naturally sweet smell made for an interestingbination, and when she pulled me closer to herself, I buried my face into her neck, enjoying her warmth. Hearing the chuckles from her parents, I quickly tried to push her away, only to have her squeeze me tighter. Pouting, I reluctantly leaned back into her. However, when I felt her hands slowly lowering, I tried to leave her embrace yet again. Failing to do so, I pursed my lips before pinching the exposed skin of her waist, twisting it slightly. Yelping, she jumped back, ring at me. Giving her a slight smile, I quickly folded the towel before turning towards the Marquess. Seeing her wide grin, I pouted again before quickly taking the towel that she had been using, folding it and cing it in the ''used'' pile near the door. Chuckling, the Marquess looked towards the indignant Jahi, saying "Go take a bath and rest. You did good." Jahi gave a ''Hmph!'' before stomping over to me, grabbing my hand and dragging me towards the exit. Sighing, I tried to match her pace, struggling slightly to keep up with her longer strides. Eventually we reached our room. Dragging me towards the bath, Jahi had a smirk on her face. Blushing slightly, I realized she would get me back for that pinch earlier. However, even though I was aware of the impending ''punishment'', I went about my duties, quickly undressing Jahi before undressing myself, cing our clothes off on the side before grabbing a clean set,ying them on the bed. Walking into the bath, I saw Jahi was already sitting in front of the shower, her chin resting in her hand. Moving to kneel behind her, I started our routine,thering her hair with soap before gently rinsing it off, doing the same to the rest of her. Trading spots, I felt a little apprehensive about letting her out of my sight, but surprisingly she didn''t do anything, simply washing me off before walking over to the bath. Sitting down, she made no move to pull me to her side like she normally did. Frowning slightly, I took a seat next to her. Still nothing. Pursing my lips, I looked at her from the corner of my eye. Jahi was leaning back, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the bath. Feeling my heart clench slightly, I frowned. Was I always this... dependent on someone else? Simply being slightly ignored set me off this much? Gritting my teeth, I leaned into Jahi, keeping my eyes on her face. Seeing no shift in her expression, I sighed. While it wasn''t ideal, as I had gotten to used to the warmth she provided, by physically and emotionally, I was content with the fact that she wasn''t moving away from me. Time passed by, Jahi dozing while I sat there, staring into the water. Eventually, Jahi wrapped an arm around me, making me jump slightly. Looking at her, I saw her wide grin and was tempted to pinch her again, but decided not to. Leaning into her, I felt her hold me closer. "Kat, what was in that book from earlier?" "Hmm? Oh, the brown one. Water spells. I think I want to make spells for each basic element as... preparation? For when I awaken my core." Chuckling, Jahi looked down at me. "Oh~ So you''re confident you will awake a core huh? Good." Ruffling my ears, she rested her head on my own, going quiet again. Rising, she stretched before stepping out of the bath. Following her, I dried both of us off before quickly dressing Jahi in a clean set of clothes. Quickly throwing on my own extra set of clothes, I followed her out of the room. We were heading towards the Marquess'' room, as we all still ate together in her main room. Entering, we could see the Marquess yawning as she finished signing another paper. Sitting on the desk next to her was the Countess, reading over different papers before cing them into separate stacks. Hearing us enter, they looked over. "Jules should be back in a a few minutes." Nodding, Jahi went and sat on a couch, sighing. I walked up to the Marquess, and asked "Could I perhaps... be excused from attending Baron Jilk''s sses in the future?" The Marquess raised her brow, while the Countess frowned slightly. "Pray tell, why should you not attend his sses?" Looking at the Countess'' frown, I answered "I wish to use the three hours to clean and prepare our rooms. As it is, I barely have time to keep them tidy, let alone clean. Additionally, I have started to study the various books avable in the library, and have asked Jahi to quiz me on history." The Countess turned to look at the Marquess, who just shrugged. Sighing, the Countess said "Well, it''s not me you should be asking. After all, the only reason you are attending that ss is because Jahi wants you to." Turning, I could see Jahi frowning at me. Moving to stand in front of her, I looked at her. Her frown growing, she sighed, ring at me, before leaning towards my ear. "Fine, but I expect something in return for the time spent apart..." Feeling her breath on my ear, paired with her words, I shivered slightly, before nodding furiously. "I promise..." --- So, a few more chapters before another time skip. I have something nned for these chapters though~ I hope you enjoy! --- Chapter 24 23: Another Day In The Life --- Leavements at the end, instead of at any specific part of the chapter, as I will be approaching a question that I have wanted to ask as of recent. Thanks! --- That night, I made good of my promise. Having finished dinner and thest bath of the day, Jahi and Iy in bed. Except... Well, Jahi was using myp as a pillow. Looking down at her, the pure bliss radiating from her face made me blush a bit, however I continued to stroke her hair, earning myself another soft purr. I was sitting at the top of the bed, the pillows moved to surround Jahi. Since it was currentlyte, both of us were ready for bed, and that was when Jahi had sprung this on me. Admittedly, my mind was in turmoil as I wondered what she wanted from me, but hearing it was just ap pillow made me both happy and sad... Seeing her chest slowly rising and falling, I realized she was asleep. Smiling, I gently lifted her head, cing a pillow under it, before sliding next to her. Wrapping my arms around her, I could feel her shuffle her body closer to mine. Burying my nose into her hair, Iy there, enjoying the quiet of the night. [Daily XP - 187.5] [Level 10 (863/3843)] Seeing the familiar notification, I smiled, thinking about how my daily experience should go up now that I am actually able to start cleaning our rooms. Holding Jahi closer to myself, I slowly fell asleep. ~~~ Our morning went the same as always, except for the fact that it was Jahi who woke me up and not the other way around. When I had lost my source of warmth, Jahi had to drag me up before hugging me from behind. It took me a few minutes, but eventually I came around, blinking the sleep from my eyes. Due to Jahi''s insistence yesterday at dinner, sses resumed today. Getting ready, we eventually made our way to the Music Hall, where Baroness Estra waited. As always, Baroness Estra stood tall, her hands gently sped in front of her, her posture as elegant as always. The ss went about the same as always, except now Jahi was much more open about her desires. Seeing this, both the Baroness and I frowned, however forpletely different reasons. Remembering what not only the system had said, but also Jahi herself and Arch Mage Kolia, I realized that, maybe, just maybe, she was like me; a more mature mentality ced in a younger body. ording to the books Arch Mage Kolia had given to the both of us, I recalled the passage about the differences between those who have awoken a core versus those who haven''t. While it has only been a few days since she had her core awakened, Jahi was a demon, which matured quickly anyways. However, now that she has a core, her growth will be elerated. Pursing my lips at the thought of her getting much, much taller than me quickly made me want this year to pass quickly. After all, if she bes like the Marquess, and reaches over 7 feet tall, even my normally tallish frame of around 6 feet will feel small next to her, let alone if she shoots up to over 5 feet soon, with me barely reaching 3.5 feet now. Not only the size would be affected by a core, as it seemed like it enhanced ALL the organs of a person, including the brain. While they would stillck the experience thates with age, people with cores mature quickly in both body and mind. Of course, how they are treated and their attitudes will still be shaped by their surroundings, but considering our surroundings... Well, it seems like Jahi is more likely to be a... promiscuous demon. Reaching that conclusion, I realized the uing years would be quite... difficult, in the sense that she will always be ''maturer'' than me in the physical sense, which could definitely be hard to deal with, considering I am conflicted on how to act. Remembering that I have decades of experience that she doesn''t, I don''t want to be the first to make a move, as she is technically younger than me in that regard. However, remembering my own youth... Well, that brings the next problem: do I ept her advances or make her wait? Both have pros and cons, namely being the fact that I am already getting mentally aroused by somethings, as well as the fact that if she is like the Marquess, this could easily make her turn to someone else to ''help'' her. Of course, we have the soul bond, but that doesn''t guarantee that I am always the center of her affections. Sighing, I decided that I would think more of this when I didn''t have to worry about the wandering hands she sent my way. Coughing, Baroness Estra sent a strained smile to Jahi before saying "Lady Jahi, respectfully, there is a time and ce for everything, and this is NOT a time for what you are doing. If you continue, I will stand in for Katherine and be your dance partner. Are we clear?" At that, Jahi quickly ced her hands in the correct ces, her lips pursed and a look of determination appearing on her face. Sighing, Baroness Estra sent us through the movements of each dance, alternating speeds as she went, ensuring we could follow any tempo. Like always, the end of that ss had me exhausted, however Jahi seemed perfectly fine. Pouting slightly, I really wanted this year to pass, as I wanted to experience the physical increase of having a core. Before she left, Baroness Estra turned towards us, saying "Next ss we will be devoting the first half hour to determining which instrument you shall pursue. When that is determined, ss shall be divided evenly between music and dance. As it is, Katherine is disying good etiquette, while Lady Jahi does as well, though... Anyways, I shall see you both tomorrow morning." Giving a curtsy, the Baroness exited the room. Looking towards Jahi, I observed her, seeing her eye twitch slightly before she turned towards me. Approaching, she grabbed my hand before dragging me towards our room. As we had two hours before we separated, Jahi made everything quick, giving us a hour or so two enjoy each others presence. Lounging on the couch, I leaned on her as she skimmed through her books, reviewing things she deemed necessary for her uing ss with Baron Jilk. Dozing slightly due to my exhaustion, both physical and mental, I eventually felt Jahi stand up. Catching myself, I managed to keep myself from falling into the couch, knowing I would definitely wee it''s embrace and fall asleep. Rubbing my eyes, I looked at Jahi, her serious gaze startling me awake. Getting up, I followed after her as sh mad her way to the library. Stopping in front of the doors, she turned to me. "Kat... I expect tonight to be just like yesterday, got it?" Her lips were pulled into a slight frown, making me smile slightly. Seeing that, Jahi pulled me into a hug, burying her face into my neck. Feeling her breath tickling me, I blushed slightly, noticing a few servants trying, and failing, to hold back chuckles and smiles. Pulling away, Jahi was also smirking as she saw my face. Ruffling my ears, she entered the library. Turning quickly, I made my way back to our room as quickly as I could. Entering, I looked around, thanking the gods that Jahi wanted very little in our rooms besides books. Multiple shelves were scattered around the room, and the desk was littered with open books. ''So, question. How is this going to work? Do I get a quest for each room, or just an overall quest for the entire area?'' [Oh, you actually want quest prompts... yeah, no. Unless you want me to constantly tell you four quests...] ''Yeah, sounds like a headache waiting to happen. Can you at least tell me what each room is worth? The bathroom was... 350xp for the whole room being cleaned, right?'' [Correct. Here is a list of the rooms, and they will be increased slightly due to the various misceneous quests like ''Clean the Table'' or ''Check all Crystals'', you know, the ones you receivedst time.] [Bathroom - 400xp Bedroom - 400xp Mainroom - 750xp Library - 300xp] [Reminder: These are the values before the ''Growth'' skill. Additionally, they are repeatable, however you cannot clean the same room multiple times, as there is a limit to how ''clean'' a room is. So, no cheesing the system by cleaning the same room multiple days in a row to farm experience.] ''Fine, fine. Oh, could I trouble you to set an rm for 2:45pm?'' [Sure.] Sighing, I set about inspecting each room, deciding to tidy our bedroom first. Looking around, I sighed again, marveling in the fact that we managed to keep it rtively tidy, except for the bedsheets and a few piles of books scattered in front of more shelves. Grinning, I set about cleaning the room, thinking about therge amount of XP I would receive for doing something I enjoyed doing. --- So, first things first. While this is far, far into the future, I want to know what people think. Obviously, I am NOT writing between two ''Minors'', and Jahi will wait till muchter than now. However, when should that be? I believe I have emphasized enough that 1) They are not Human: in fact, they are better than humans. Of course, I have a little more I need to write to exin how much better, but still, I did write awhile back that Humans came from these other races, not the other way round like most Fantasy novels do. 2) There is a whole NEW organ that quite literally speeds up the growth of the body. This was something I did without even thinking of ''a.dult'' things. I made mana something that is tied to the life-force of the world, and as these living beings have it inside them, it elerates growth and empowers them. This came from how body-tempering works in Cultivation Novels, something I used to read too much of. Additionally, this is a world set in Fantasy; wars happen, monsters exist, and while they are currently not a problem, these countries were shaped by them. Laws and morals are much different there than they are here, just like howws were different half a century ago, not even mentioning half a millennia ago. So I guess what I am asking is this: What would you, the reader, feel morefortable with? Should they wait until they literally reach OUR allowed ages, being either 16 or 18, or should I allow it to be THIS worlds age of consent/adulthood? Will people be caught up in the number, or no? After all, while they are not ACTUALLY of age in OUR world, they will have reached the physical and mental maturity of their ''prime'' much quicker than us. Additionally, they wouldn''t be doing anything until they are older. If you want me to convert ages, I would be writing when they have reached the 16ish age, which would be like when they reach 10-11. If the number is what turns you off or makes you ufortable, I can easily start using the ''converted'' age instead, while still doing stuff like ''its been 8 years since I came here'' or ''its been 6 years since my core was awakened.'' Again, I am fine with waiting to write ''Lemon'' scenes, however I think it feels weird that they would wait till years after they reached adulthood to do anything; it would feel like I would be writing a character for a Romance Anime where it takes them over a year of dating to hold hands. Not my cup of tea, but I am also from the states, and have seen/heard people my age doing MUCH worse at much younger ages together. So yeah, let me know. I believe I have put forward a decent reason for being able to write lemons, but I don''t want to be crucified for writing FICTIONAL characters who AREN''T human doing things together. Other than that, I just wish to remind people that if youment things, words that web novel censors like ''a.dult'', ''h.orny'', and so on should be typed like that, with a ''.'' separating letters or changing a letter altogether. I''ve had a fewments be deleted from the site that I wanted to reply to but just couldn''t because they contained a word like that. So, if you think it would be censored by web novel, please add a ''.'' or change a letter so it can be seen and replied to. Anyways, I hope you continue to enjoy! --- Chapter 25 24: Something Exciting... Looking around our bedroom, I took notice of what would and wouldn''t need to be moved. All the loose books would need to be organized on shelves after I made sure they were clean. Additionally, I would need to make the bed and clean the other pieces of loose furniture, like the dresser and small couch and chairs that were haphazardly scattered about our room. Pursing my lips, I slowly let my mind wander, thinking about what I could fill this space with to make it feel more... homey. In my previous life, I had always lived in small,pact spaces; it was all I or my family could ever afford. Even Kyoka, when I lived with her, had a smallish apartment. Sighing, I pushed the thought to the back of my mind for now. After all, I have no idea what either of us would end up liking in the future, so why bother decorating now. Though I think Jahi wouldn''t particrly care either way... Grabbing the cloth that I used on my first day in this new world; a gift from the Marquess for moving into a new room, I set about cleaning the shelves before organizing the books. For those that were open, I ced a small bookmark that Jahi had an abundance of but never used. If they were my books, I wouldn''t mind folding the corner; it was a habit I picked up from my mother, and I always thought it added character to my books, showing that they weren''t just for show, that I really read them. However, seeing as how Jahi either left them open or ced bookmarks in them, she clearly didn''t share my same sentiment, so I ced the bookmarks in them before shelving them. Finishing the first shelf, I slowly made my way down the wall, deciding to work the edges of the room first before moving towards the middle. Thankfully, the Marquess had no qualms splurging her enormous wealth, as she had the few carpets in our rooms embroidered with self cleaning runes, meaning I didn''t have to take them outside and beat the dust out of them. Slowly but surely, I finished the room. The bed proved to be a slight problem for my tiny frame, considering it was a gigantic bed and the sheets were quite... heavy. Wiping the small sheen of sweat off my brow, I turned towards the various loose pieces of furniture around the room, a grin on my face as I couldn''t wait to get myrge sum of experience. While I was in the middle of finishing the table that was ced at the foot of the bed, I had a notification. [It is currently 2:45pm. Will you finish the room or go greet your master?] Sighing, I quickly finished the table before pursing my lips. ''Hah... whatever, it''s good enough. I''m gonna go wipe my face before going to the library.'' [Understood] [Quest Complete! Clean the Bedroom: Reward - 368xp (460xp)] [Level 10 (863/3843) -> (1323/3843)] Seeing therge amount of experience, I grinned. ''How long is the cool down for the quest?'' [2-3 days. Or if it gets dirty WITHOUT your interference. No trashing the room just to clean it up.] Chuckling, I quickly entered the bathroom, turning on the sink. Pooling a little water into my hands, I sshed my face before wiping it off with washcloth. Looking at my reflection, I smiled. Seeing my wide amber eyes filled with a happy light made me think back to my previous life. I''m sure I looked like this often as a child; happy at random things all the time. I had no problems making friends, finding different things to upy my time. Later in my life, I slowly stopped going out of my way to approach people, focusing instead on my studies. Of course, I still was a people person, but didn''t feel the need to be the one to approach others. Thinking of this, I looked a bit deeper at my features, seeing just how simr I looked as a child to when I grew up. My eyes slowly started drooping, and due to my personality my thin lips were always slightly upturned, giving me a carefree look. My nose was small, while my brows had always been thin. Of course, currently I was stick thin, but that was my major change from kid to teen; my height and my body. Just thinking about having my old body back made me excited, and considering the recent... thoughts I''ve been having, I was so happy that cores elerated physical growth. In a years time I would start growing rapidly. My grin widening, I finished up before making my way towards the library. If I knew Jahi, she would be barely holding herself back, her eye twitching slightly as she refrained from bolting towards the door. A small smile rose to me lips at the thought, and when I reached the door I stood straight, my hands sped in front of me. Different servants passed me by, giving nods to me before carrying on with their work. Minutes passed, and eventually the door flung open, a blue blur shing towards me. Feeling the familiar warmth and arms of Jahi, I leaned into her embrace, gently wrapping my arms around her. She nuzzled her head into the crook of my neck, taking a deep breath. Sighing, she pulled away slightly, her dazzling amethyst eyes shining with warmth. "It feels like it''s been weeks since Ist saw you, Kat..." Chuckling, I smiled up at her, saying "It''s been but a few hours, Jahi. How are you going to function when you have more responsibilities, or need to attend an event where I can''t apany you?" Pouting, she said "Then I just won''t attend, or force them to let you attend." Chuckling again, I leaned back into her. It was moments like this that made me anticipate the future. If this strong love continues... Blushing slightly, I was about to say something when a servant approached us, bowing. "The Marquess and Countess have requested your presence in their chambers." Turing towards the bowing maid, Jahi nodded before grabbing my hand. Allowing her to lead me towards the Marquess'' room, I was wondering what they summoned us for. As the library was close to both our rooms, the walk wasn''t long, and what greeted us when we entered... well, it was an interesting sight. My mother sat on the couch, pouting while she looked away from the Marquess. Standing next to the sitting Marquess, the Countess was ''smiling'', her eyes flickering between her normal deep blue and the bright azure. Finally, the Marquess had an exasperated look on her face as she alternated her gaze between the two upset women. Her ruby eyes looked helpless, and her she was constantly opening and closing her mouth as she thought of what to see. Seeing us enter, she sighed before gesturing for us to sit. The Countess stalked over to us, dragging me into herp, petting my head to destress herself. Sensing the serious atmosphere, Jahi let this invasion of my space go, keeping her amethyst gaze locked on the Marquess. Surrendering myself to the Countess'' attention, I also turned my gaze to the Marquess, wondering what could anger both the Countess and my mother to this extent. Sanding up, the Marquess lifted an envelope, sighing. "Well, the Empress has invited herself to our home. She has also invited the Sultana Anubi and one of her wives and daughter..." With that, my mother gave a ''Hmph!'' and the Countess started petting me faster. The smell of ozone was also slightly disturbing... "The Empress wishes for Jahi to ''Meet more people of her age'' and ''Broaden her horizons with a meeting with our neighbors''. What this actually means is that four really important adults, and two really important children, are visiting our house." Shrugging, Jahi said "Well, it was expected, wasn''t it? I awoke Light Magic. You yourself said there is only one other in the Empire. So why are Mother and Julie both so... emotional?" Chuckling dryly, the Marquess looked between the two women before saying "The woman the Empress is bringing is her newest wife, Lorelei Presa. Someone who I... well, I used to have an interest in her..." Scoffing, the Countess said "An ''Interest''? You used to flirt heavily with her while we were in the Academy. If I hadn''t approached you first and got you under control, you would have brought her in as your second wife, before you even did anything with your first!" Flinching slightly, the Marquess pursed her lips. "Well... fine, I give you that. But I never did anything, nor did I n too! Also, that''s all in the past; I wouldn''t do anything to her now!" Clicking her tongue, the Countess looked away. The ozone smell was much more prominent now. Continuing, the Marquess looked towards my mother. "The Sultana is bringing her third wife, Kio Sera... who was the rival of Julie here..." Growling slightly, my mother looked towards the Marquess "So tell the Sultana to bring someone else! I don''t want to see that-" Stopping, she looked towards me before saying "No good woman!" My mind nked slightly, wondering why my mother was trying to not curse in front of me when I witnessed her getting intimate multiple times. Surely that would be worse than cursing? Sighing again, the Marquess rubbed her temples, before continuing. "I can''t, because..." Her next words made my heart clench. "The child of Lorelei and the child of Kio are both potential partners for Jahi..." --- Well, lets start with the things that aren''t rted to the thing above this :) 1) I decided on how to proceed with the Lemons of this story: I will gradually ease in over time (BAM_AMVS idea) with things I won''t be posting a ''*'' for; things like kissing or light touching. I believe that beautiful little star is reserved for when things get... heavy. But yeah, I will slowly ease into their more... intimate rtionship. (If you aren''t here or haven''t seen my Naruto Fanfic, that * in a chapters title means it''s a lemon. Many other authors use that as well, just so you dont end up reading something... embarrassing in public.) 2) We hit 50k Views and 200 Collections! Thank you so much for that! It''s so cool to know that people are actually reading and enjoying something I started on a whim! I hope you continue to enjoy the story! Finally, lets talk about that oh so little thing I mentioned at the ... I am going to be introducing two characters, both of which will be different from each other. Both are here to stay, but whether they enter a rtionship with Jahi and Kat will be up to you all. Honestly, the current ideas for both are quite rough, but I just have to write about them as kids, so I have time to decide exactly how they end up as adults. However, like I said: who ends up in bed with our little Demon and her cute Puppy will be up to you all in the end. If there is enough support for both, then both. If there is no support for them, then... maybe they start changing slightly, or someone new is introduced? (Or if I fall in love with one of them too much... then your opinions may not sway me... haha~) So, yeah. These two should be the only two that have a chance to join Jahi and Kat. One of them will more than likely end up with Jahi. I know some people dont want Harem, but again, I don''t n on a gxy spanning Harem; one or two more people, that''s it. I call it: Harem Lite! Of course, we haven''t seen these characters yet, and there is still the Academy that needs to happen, not even mentioning what happens during and after that... Well, that''s what''s nned for the foreseeable future: The introduction of important characters and then... Kat''s core. Enjoy~ --- Chapter 26 25: Discussion --- So, im guessing ''Harem'' is a no no word... even though it''s a tag... Sigh So, I will respond to what thosements that had been deleted asked, as well as something many others have asked as well: Will this be JAHI''S Harem or KAT''S Harem? The answer is simple, at least to me. It is, on paper, Jahi''s Harem; she is the next head of the Asmodia House, and is of more importance. While these two characters being introduced will be important, they marry INTO Jahi''s family. However, as you have noticed, Jahi is in love with Kat and vice versa; so if a character ends up pissing off one or the other, it will be dealt with by both. As such, unofficially, it is BOTH of them who have the Harem; they are the nucleus of the rtionship. Additionally, I understand that some dislike Harem; I do as well, however I have always been fine reading about what I have called Harem Lite, which is just adding one or two more people into the mix. It''s not only manageable but also allows for those characters to be more than just a walking trophy for the mc. On top of that, whenever I create something like this, I prefer to write with realistic interactions in mind, as well as realistic everything else; in the sense that, due to Jahi''s rank and her status as a Light Magician, she will be VERY important to the Empire: to the degree that she would need to be tied directly to either the Empire or someone else who is important. So, that''s where the two characterse in: they are, socially, very important. Both are daughters of a Countries leader. However, as I said previously, they are marrying INTO Jahi''s Family: they would take the Asmodia name. There will be no need to worry that these characters would have more power than Jahi. Also, my other reasoning for Harem is quite simple: I have kinks in mind for specific characters, and it was already heavily implied what both Kat and Jahi would be like; adding more characters allow me to change things slightly, bringing out sides in characters that you normally wouldn''t see. Also, I just want more excuses to write lemons... Hopefully that answers most questions that people have regarding the ''Harem'' element of this story, as well as who has what and so on. (Dang that was long, like 400 words long...) --- "Both the child of Lorelei and the child of Kio are potential partners for Jahi..." At that, I froze, while I could see Jahi also freeze. The Countess sighed, the sweet smell of ozone disappearing. "So her Light Magic is making the Empress wish to tie her down, huh?" Looking at the Countess, the Marquess sighed as well, before nodding. Jahi stood up, growling "I WILL NOT marry another. Kat is all I need!" Gritting her teeth, the Marquess looked down at her daughter, before sighing again, "Jahi... Even with all those books crammed in your head, you don''t get this? It isn''t something you can turn down. You NEED to marry someone important. If you had awakened abination magic like Ria, we could get away with elevating Julie and Kat to Barons, allowing you to take her as your wife and never worry about taking another. However, Light Magic is a different thing altogether. I only know two other people with magic like you: Joana D''Arcon with Light, and Ye Wan of the Tian Dynasty with his Dark Magic. You are one of THREE people currently alive with that kind of magic; of course the Empress is going to want to tie you down to our Empire." Scoffing, Jahi tried to grab me from the Countess, but she simply lifted me to her shoulders, away from Jahi''s grasp. Sighing, the Countess said "As much as I hate it, and I know you hate it, it''s true. The most you can do know is hope and pray that one of these girls piques your interest." Growling again, Jahi red at the Countess. "I will not be interested in another." I was shaking slightly, but knew that this would happen eventually. When I heard that if Jahi had lesser magic, it could have been just us, I grit my teeth. However, eventually, I calmed down. I had said that this might happen, but to actually hear that it is unavoidable, especially with how vehemently Jahi is against it, makes it a hard pill to swallow. Tapping the Countess'' arm, I gave her a small smile when she looked up at me. Lowering me to the ground, I quickly hugged Jahi from behind. She had turned back towards the Marquess, looking to argue some more. Feeling my embrace, she stiffened. Resting my head on her shoulder, I said "It''s fine, Jahi. As long as you promise to always have me at your side, I''m fine allowing another girl to join us. After all, I can stand on your right while she stands on your left!" Giving a weak smile to that, Jahi turned around and held me close. The Marquess also had a small smile, though the sad glint in her eyes shows that she wasn''t entirely pleased by this turn of events either. "I promise... now and forever, I will always love you... forever..." Hearing her hoarse whisper, I stroked the back of her head slowly. Feeling her calm down, I gently moved towards the couch, sitting next to her. Looking towards the Marquess, I asked "What are they like?" Giving me a wry smile, she shrugged. "All I know of Lorelei''s kid is that she''s shy, likes books, and rarely speaks. Her name is Leone Presa-Ash. As for Kio''s kid... well, if she''s anything like her two parents, she should be a boisterous, energetic fur ball. Her name is Anput Sera." Sighing, I continued to stroke Jahi''s hair, hoping to keep her calm. "Are they the main two potential partners for Jahi then?" The Countess chuckled dryly, saying "No, there would be more. You two are part of a strong generation. The Duchess up north has a daughter who will be going to the academy the same year as you. Additionally, there are the Twin Princess''s of the Felian Kingdom on the Empire''s western border. Many other important people are in that list of potential partners. Hell, we might even see some envoys from the Tian Dynasty and other far away Countries, hoping to bribe you to defect over to them. However, those two are the ones that have the most sway; one is the only princess of our Empire your age, while the other is begum of the Sultanate that shares our border. The people that matter know that Jahi is just like her mother, so they are sending women instead of men. Thank the gods for that; thest thing I want to deal with are those annoying pests." (AN: Begum is a title for important women in Southern Asia, which includes parts of the Middle East. Since it''s a sultanate and all, I did some, albeit brief, research and liked the sound of thispared to others, as well as that it is still used to denote a woman''s single status today. Though correct me if I''m wrong.) Chuckling at thest part, I fell silent, thinking. Hopefully Jahi cane to love either the Princess or Begum, as these two would have the best chances of making Jahi only need to take in one or two women; the other options could easily result in Jahi being forced to take more wives just to guarantee her loyalty. Seeing my serious face, Jahi squeezed my hand, before sighing. "I... I guess we shall see, then. If Kat is fine with one of them, then..." I squeezed back, giving her a small smile. Hearing that made me feel better. Hopefully... just maybe one of them will be someone we can both love. Remembering the history from my previous world, harems never truly worked, as the man who had the Harem ended up either never giving enough to his current women or simply added more just for the sake of it. I didn''t want to always have to watch my back, hoping the tea I was drinking wasn''t poisoned simply because Jahi showed me affection. However, considering that shouldn''t be too much of a problem since it seems Jahi''s desires are much higher, and her body is much stronger, the ''satisfaction'' of her women should always be fine. Though if she shows tant favoritism... Sighing again, I looked towards the Marquess, asking "When are theying here? For how long?" She smiled at me, before saying "They will be here in a weeks time, and will be staying for a few days. More than likely, they will be here for a week. So, from now until they leave, all sses except for Baroness Estra''s are cancelled. You both will be learning etiquette and more to guarantee you don''t make a fool of yourselves." I nodded at that, before looking over at the Countess, who said "Alright, Jahi, you areing with us for today: we need to go get you more clothes. And no, Kat isn''ting with us. She needs to stay and talk with Julie about some things." At that, Jahi red at the Countess before turning her gaze to me after I squeezed her hand. Embracing her, I walked over to my mother who had been quiet the entire time. Seeing me, she smiled, pulling me onto herp. Ruffling my ears, I gave Jahi a smile, watching as she left the room with both the Marquess and Countess. Looking up at my mother, I asked "What do we need to talk about?" Sighing, my mother closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "You see, the reason that I... dislike Kio Sera is simple: the Zara and Sera packs have always disliked each other. Yes, we aren''t just some random people, Katherine. I used to be... Well, I was something like the Princess of the Zara pack. I was next in line to lead, to take over as Chieftess. Ah... I should probably exin what a pack is, huh?" At that I shook my head, a small smile on my lips. She was just like me, all over the ce when she needs to exin something important. "You see, a group of beastkin is called many things. Canine beastkin, like dogkin, wolfkin, and so on, are called packs. In particr, the Zara Pack used to rule the northern tip of the Asmodiands; we had an agreement with them that we would send soldiers and aid in time of need, as long as they allowed us to keep ournds and power. The Sera Pack ruled and near us, a small swathe ofnd between March Asmodia and the Sultanate. As such, we used to have minor skirmishes with each other, but it wasn''t umon for us to help each other in times of need. It was a love hate rtionship." Taking a breath, her gaze turned grim. "Kio was the next in line to lead the Sera Pack, and since both of us were of the same age... well, we were oftenpared. We had simr strengths, so we were usually evenly matched. Our rivalry was heated, but we had a mutual respect for each other." Sighing, she looked down at me, a sad smile on her face. "We went to the academy together, and somehow ended up as dorm mates. So, we started treating school like apetition. However, eventually, our rivalry took a turn... one night, someone slipped an aphrodisiac into Kio''s food. Thankfully, it was slow acting, but that night she forced herself on me. We were both women, so nothing came of it, but as you can imagine, that event made things worse between us. After graduating, we went our separate ways. She ventured into the Sultanate, while I went home, bing an adventurer. For a few years, I lived my life freely, adventuring with a small party. However, one day, I received news that my father was killed, and that a baron had kidnapped the women of the vige. I went back to our vige, only to find it in ruins. It wasn''t just my father who was dead; most of the people in the vige were dead. The reasoning was stupid; that baron wanted to marry me and force the Pack to be his personal army. After all, Beastkin are strong, and I had attended the academy. However, he had left mercenaries in the vige; they chased me for months. With no where to go, no one I thought I could rely on, I made my way to the Sera Pack, hoping to seek asylum. However... Kio turned me away. Her own Pack had suffered in recent times, so she didn''t want to risk anymore harm against her people. I understand that... I do. However, it was when I was at their vige that I learned something. I was with child." At that, I gaped at her. My mother managed to escape the pursuit of multiple mercenaries... all while she was in the early stages of pregnancy? And I made it? Nothing happened to me during that? Poking my nose, she smiled at me. "I learned that because I had started feeling nauseous all the time, as well as other... physical signs. Even when I pleaded, telling Kio that I was pregnant, she still turned me away. However, she did point me towards something, and even to this day, albeit begrudgingly, I am thankful for her." "She reminded me that, while I had been in the Academy, two women had always shown interest in me. I had been friends with them in the Academy, so maybe... just maybe, they would shelter me. After all, they were of much higher status than the Baron." Smiling down at me, she continued to pet my head, before looking towards the wall, where the Marquess'' portrait was hung. Her gaze turned gentle, and I could see the love in her smile. "Chordeva and Ria... both of them, they epted me, even when they knew I was pregnant. They took me in, even though Ria had just given birth. I demanded that, if this were to work, that I sign a contract with them. To guarantee that I would always be safe; that you would always be safe." Sighing, she kissed my forehead before getting up. "That''s enough for today. Maybe I''ll tell you more when you get older." Standing up, I hugged her leg. Looking up at her, I smiled, saying "I love you, mother~" --- Alright, another authors note... So, that''s (Kinda) Julies story. Like she said, I will get into detailter about her life. The main point of this author note though is this: I want you all to give an unofficial review since we are at chapter 25. I n on doing another at chapter 50. Put them into thements, and tell me what you think I do well, what I need to improve on, and so on. Again, just make them ament if you do it. I would rather you save your actual review forter when the novel is further along. Agina, just let me know what you think I do well, where I can improve, what you like or dislike, if the story is easily understood, and so on. Considering my eventual goal with both this and ''A Kunoichi''s Tale'' is to eventually start a ******* and be able to do this as a job instead of Amazon, I want to improve more as a writer, and that''s where you alle in. So please, leave ament telling me what you think. Thank you all a whole bunch, seriously! When I started this I did it as a whim, and treated it as such. Now, though, I see so many people actually being invested, both in this and in my fanfic. Obviously, I need to devote more time to writing, but seriously, you all make it so worth it! Enjoy~ --- Chapter 27 26: New Classes With Baroness Estra After my mother told me a little about her past, we set about preparing the guest rooms that the Empress and Sultana would upy with their wives and daughters. Thankfully, both the rooms, albeitrge, were much smaller than the room the Marquess and Jahi owned. Working together, I was reminded of my first few days in this new world, where I had firstpleted various small quests before getting a taste for what the future would be like: theserge, a few hundred experience point quests. Currently, I was in charge of the bathroom of each room, the quest awarding 300xp uponpletion. My mother was scurrying about, cleaning the bedroom and lounge, making sure everything was up to par. Unlike her, I took my time, enjoying the peace and quiet, using it as a moment to think and contemte the uing events. Little was truly known about the Empress; she rarely went out, and had extremelypetent women as her wives. Lorelei Presa was one such woman. I remembered the passage ii had seen in a book Jahi had been reading. She had changed the system of the Academy, making it more essible to themoner poption, as well as creating a branch of the Academy dedicated to the education of the servants that the nobility tended to bring. These changes had been met with ridicule, with people like Baron Jilk demeaning Lorelei, calling her changes idiotic and a waste of money. However, Lorelei had made everyone regret her words as she had personally sponsored three students in the first year; each one graduating at not only the top of their sses but being awarded with apprenticeships to some of the foremost specialists in the Empire. One of the sponsored students was a young man who excelled in medicine, researching the exact uses of various herbs and extracts. He revolutionized the medicine of the Empire, making it more essible and cheaper for themon people, extending the typical lifespan by almost a decade. The other two sponsorship students were talented inbat, bing the squires for Helian Sri, a Knight of Cinder. After these three students showed their worth, the stuck up nobility tired to im it was a fluke, a one time affair. In a sense, they were right, as those three were geniuses. However, every year a small group of talentedmoners attends the Academy, cing in the top of their sses. This was just her performance politically... Thinking of that, as much as I dreaded having to share Jahi, I couldn''t wait to meet her, as well as her daughter. Same went for the Sultana and Kio Sera. Even after hearing the story my mother told, I couldn''t find fault with the woman. After all, she never did anything wrong; objectively speaking, she was in the right when she turned away my mother. She was under no obligation to risk her entire pack just for one person. Thinking of the Sultana''s story, as well as hearing of Kio''s heritage, their daughter should be quite interesting. Again, I dreaded the idea of having to share Jahi, of seeing her divide her attention between us, but I was hopeful that these girls would have all the traits there parents did. Sighing, I looked around the bathroom, smiling slightly when I saw it was fully clean. Seeing the notification that the quest wasplete, I moved to the next, telling the system to just add the total up at the end of the day. ~~~ Time passed, and my mother and I had prepared the two guest rooms, making it so that a very brief cleaning would be needed a day before they arrived, instead of doing the work then. That night, Jahi clung to me, showing her affections much more openly than she had before. After a slightly stressful bath, we bothy in bed, Jahi''s arms wrapped around me. Feeling her breath on my ears, I felt the familiar jolt rush down my spine. Burrowing deeper into her embrace, I enjoyed the warmth of her body. Feeling her hand stroking my back, I heard her whisper "Are you sure, Kat? About letting someone else... join us?" Hearing that, I moved back a bit, looking up at her eyes. Specks of gold shone through her amethyst eyes, and seeing her worried gaze I chuckled. "We shall see, won''t we? Besides, the Marquess and Countess are right. If you don''t take at least on of them as your wife, the amount of women you''d be forced to marry to tie you to the Empire would be innumerable." Looking at my eyes, she sighed, before a teasing grin spread on her face. "And what if I want dozens of women, hmm?" ring at her, I turned over with a huff. Feeling her hold me tighter while she chuckled, I pouted. She continued to hold me, staying quiet as she buried her face into my neck. [Daily XP: 937.5] [Level 10 (1323/3843) -> (2260.5/3843)] Smiling at that, I closed my eyes, falling asleep to Jahi''s light breathing. ~~~ Making our way towards the Music Hall, we entered, seeing Baroness Estra dressed in something new. Wearing a low cut top that exposed her midriff, with long, flowing sleeves covering her arms, as well as the long pants that stopped at her ankles, Baroness Estra looked much like the belly dancers I had... seen in the past. Looking at her with clear confusion, she chuckled when she saw our faces. "Yes, I know, this is much different than the conservative dresses I normally where, right? Well, the Marquess requested I show you both the dances, clothing, and some of what you can expect from the Sultana and her wife." Looking over at Jahi, I could see her gaze roaming the Baroness'' body. Squeexing her hand, she gave me a small smile before focusing on the Baroness'' face. Gesturing for us to take a seat, the Baroness stood in front of us, before sighing. Still seeing the slight confusion in our gazes, she exined "My husband is from the Sultanate, and I have always lived on the border. While I tend to prefer the dresses and dance of the Empire, I learned the dances and traditions of the Sultanate for him..." Saying that, a light blush dusted her cheeks, before she coughed. "Alright, listen, the two main styles of dress over in the Sultanate are either this, which is loose, light fabric that exposes you to the beating sun, but allows the sweat to evaporate quicker and keep you cool. Conversely, some wear full robes and multipleyers, which wards off the heat. In the Sultanate, ites down to personal preference, but most wear less, showing themselves off." Saying so, she twirled, giving us a full view of the outfit. Squeezing Jahi''s hand again, I didn''t even need to turn my head to know that she was ogling the Baroness. Looking back at us, the Baroness continued. "The type of dance from the Sultanate is much more upbeat and expressive than here. While the Empire''s dances disy elegance and formality, the Sultanate is more about expressing yourself. As such, the clothing grew to this, adding a pleasing view to the dance where the loose cloth flows behind the dancer. When the Sultana and her wife visit, the Marquess wishes to hold a banquet in the Sultanate''s style, and wishes to end the day with a small dance. Since the Sultanate is primarily women, it is the women courting their partners; as such, there isn''t a dance for males, but rather the dances are used to attract someone. So, when the Sultana''s daughter dances that night, it will be a courtship dance. Additionally, there is no one way to dance; unlike the formal dances of the Empire, the dance changes from person to person, and event to event. There are three ways to react to the dance; rejection, eptance, or abstaining. Anyways, I will show you the dance first, then the way for you to respond." Saying so, the Baroness moved towards Jahi, stopping a few feet from her. Taking a deep breath, the Baroness started swaying gently, lifting and lower her hips slowly, creating a rhythm for herself. Closing her eyes, she took another breath before starting to move around. Taking short, light steps, she continued swaying her hips, causing the cloth attached to her arms and legs to flow. Bringing her arms up, she started swaying them as well, moving the cloth around her arms and creating an enamoring scene. Picking up pace, she grabbed the cloth of her pants, raising it slightly, twirling. Continuing, she moved faster and faster, causing the cloth to ripple and form patterns as she danced. Time passed, and I was enamored. The dance movements themselves were simple; twirls, swaying, raising hips, and so on. It was very simple, but the patter that the Baroness weaved together wasplex and created a beautiful scene. Finishing, a light sheen of sweat covered her body, making her more alluring. Moving towards Jahi, she gave a shallow bow before extending her hand out. "eptance is taking the hand and kissing the back of the hand. Rejection is ignoring the hand, or moving it away. Finally, abstaining is grabbing the hand with both of yours, giving it a squeeze. It shows interest, but also means you aren''t sure yet." Turning towards me, she said "As you could see, the basic movements are easy; it''s creating a flow that is difficult. Additionally, there are many ways to change the dance, as well as adding bells or charms to the cloth to add an auditory element." Nodding, I pursed my lips. Seeing how Jahi had a slight problem taking her eyes off the Baroness, I smiled, realizing I would have a perfect birthday gift for her in the far future. --- So, not entirely confident in the whole dance thing; unlike the waltz, it is much harder to actually describe this dance. Additionally, I tried finding a couples dance, but wasn''t impressed with the only one I could find, so I said ''whatever, belly dance it is.'' Additionally, as many people are currently aware. It is HOT as hell everywhere, and my AC seems to like barely working. So I am currently sweating and exhausted, so the chapter may becking slightly at the end. Hopefully the weather cools down soon... --- Chapter 28 27: Jahis Actions; Kolias Book Baronss Estra''s ss could onlyst so long, which left time for Jahi and I to do whatever we wanted; I would clean our rooms, making sure everything was presentable, and Jahi would be on the training field, sparring with the Marquess when she was free. Of course, when I had free time or simply wanted to do something other than cleaning, I went to watch their spars, marveling at the quick pace and powerful blowsunched at one another. Jahi slowly grew ustomed to her new strength, and would push her limits, hoping to create a solid foundation for her future. Like always, I wasn''t cking either, slowly improving my repertoire of spells, both water, wind, and some ice spells. I kept the ice book to myself, deciding to simply avoid having people question me on why I was creating spells for magic that I most likely wouldn''t get. Scribbling down a new sequence, I looked up, seeing Jahi panting as she stood opposite the Marquess. Unlike before, the Marquess had a serious expression, her eyes tracking Jahi constantly. She was no longerpletely nonchnt, as Jahi''s improvement was quite astounding. Smiling slightly, I continued to watch their exchange, marveling at how quickly Jahi adapted from one set of moves to another, changing styles like it was a pair of clothes. They sparred for a few more minutes, until Jahi copsed on the ground, panting heavily. Grabbing a few towels, I made may way over, handing one to the Marquess before wiping Jahi off myself. As shey there, she smirked up at me. Ignoring her, I continued wiping her off. Her hand shot out, wrapping around my waist as she dragged me on top of herself, before rolling over, pinning me underneath her. Her smirk widened, and she leaned down closer to me, burying her head into my neck. Feeling her nuzzle into me, I blushed. Feeling her warm body paired with the musk of sweat made my mind go nk, and I kept opening my mouth to say something, only to close it again, not being able to form a thought. Pulling herself away slightly, she smirked down at me. For a brief moment I wanted to wrap my arms around her and pull her back down on top of me, already missing the warmth. Blushing deeper at the thought, as well as feeling my tail swish slightly, I continued to look up at Jahi, wondering what she was doing. Bringing her hand to the back of my head, she pressed our foreheads together, before saying "Kat... you''ll always be my first choice..." Saying so, she moved her lips to my forehead, briefly kissing me before getting up. As she stood there, I could see her normally light blue skin had darkened slightly on her cheeks, as well as the fact that she wasn''t looking directly looking at me, indicating her embarrassment. Laying there, my mind couldn''t seem to catch up to the present, looping that small kiss dozens of times. Each time I could feel myself getting warmer inside. Hearing a loudughter, I broke out of the loop, looking towards the noise. Seeing the Marquess holding her stomach as she doubled over,ughing like she had just seen the funniest thing, I paled. "Haha~ Oh lord, thats... Haha~ Really, Jahi~? That was it~?" Saying so, I looked towards Jahi, who was fuming. Clenching her fists, she stomped towards the Marquess before flinging herself at her, throwing her fists towards the sides of the Marquess. Taking the hits, the Marquess continuedughing. Slowly rising from the floor, I stumbled over towards the door, attempting to escape. Sadly, the Countess walked in, and upon hearing the Marquessughing like a lunatic, she quickly grabbed me, skipping over to the Marquess. "So~ what happened~" Slowly reigning in herughter, the Marquess grabbed Jahi by the arms, lifting her up. Jahi kept trying to kick the Marquess, her face a deep violet and ring hard at her. "Well, it seems like our little demon is much like you, dear~" Hearing that, the Countess started stroking my ears, and when I looked at her eyes I could see that they were a colder blue than normal. "What does that mean~" Seemingly oblivious to the Countess'' rising tension, the Marquess pointed towards Jahi, saying "Jahi here just gave the kid a little peck on the forehead! Then she started blushing hard! Haha~ Just like you back in the day, when you thought that was the most intimate thing ever~" Feeling the Countess'' hand stop for a moment, before it sped up, I looked at the Marquess with some pity. "Haha~ Yes, I was quite naive, hmm?" Hearing that, the Marquess froze slightly, before looking at the Countess from the side of her eyes. Jahi had stopped struggling, instead smirking at the Marquess. The Marquess finally realized she had brought up something she shouldn''t have, as she quickly lowered Jahi before turning towards her wife, a wide, helpless smile on her lips. "That''s what I loved about you, Ria~ I swear-" "Yes, you loved teasing me so much that you would go out of your way to prove to me that the things I viewed as intimate were not so intimate, yes? I believe-" "Yes, yes, I''m sorry, okay? Let''s not dwell on the past, my love!" Sending the Marquess a re, the Countess huffed before smiling down at Jahi. cing me next to her, the Countess crouched, saying "Why don''t you two run along now, hmm? I heard Kolia wants to discuss something..." Grabbing my hand, Jahi shot arge grin at the Marquess before nodding to the Countess. Quickly making our way out of the training field, I looked back, only able to see the Marquess''s wide eyes as the Countess cracked her knuckles. Considering the sickly sweet smell permeating the air, as well as the Countess'' hair starting to rise, I sent a prayer up for the Marquess. Rushing down the halls, we could still hear the loud crash of thunder, as well as a low shout. Moving towards the library, Jahi stopped before the door. Looking away from me, she stood still, quiet. Tilting my head in confusion, I squeezed her hand slightly. Feeling that, I could hear her sigh before she turned towards me. Her cheeks were still slightly darker, but she had a glint of determination in her eyes as she looked at me. "Kat, will you always be with me?" Hearing her question, I furrowed my brows, confused. Nodding, I gently grabbed her other hand. Smiling slightly, she leaned towards me, her lips brushing against my forehead again. Taking a deep breath, she turned towards the door, entering the Library. Following her, I was wondering what brought that on when I hear a light chuckle. Looking towards the long table in the center, I could see Arch Mage Kolia sitting in a chair, a small book in her hand. When she heard us walk in, she quickly closed the book and ced it off to the side. Giving us a confident smile, she gestured for us to sit. Taking a seat, I looked towards Arch Mage Kolia with anticipation, wondering what she wanted to discuss. Taking a deep breath, she looked between the two of us before saying "So what do you think of tattoos?" Furrowing my brow, I looked at Jahi, seeing her frowning before she looked at me. Looking back at her, she sighed before cing a book between us. "Alright, should probably exin before just asking that, huh? Well, I was browsing the library, more specifically the section dedicated to magic, when I came across something rather interesting. Before that, let me just tell you about magic tattoos. You see my arms?" Saying so she raised her left arm, tracing the runes before doing the same to her right, tracing the snake. "My left arm has spells tattooed into it. Specifically, I have support spells on most of the arm, while the ritual circle on my wrist is an offensive spell. My right arm is a summoning spell, a contract. If I run the right amount of mana in the correct patterns, I can activate the spells tattooed on my skin. Now, unlike the pricking and injecting of dyes that most people do, a magic tattoo is the sequence being engraved onto your body via mana. Because of that, you are able to activate the spells, unlike if you were to have it inked onto your body. Anyways, I found a few interesting sequences and ritual circles, and I found one in particr. It allows two people to... connect their cores together, allowing them to ess the others mana to use magic. Additionally, since it is possible to eventually convert one''s mana into the elements you use... well, that would mean Kat here could gain ess to light magic, while Jahi gains ess to whatever Kat awakens to. Haha, wouldn''t it be funny if she had darkness magic!" Chuckling at that, I asked "So, why is such a useful ritual circle hiding in the library? What are the downsides?" Coughing slightly, Arch Mage Kolia pursed her lips. "Well, if you move too far away from one another, you slowly lose ess to your own mana... It takes a while; if I had to guess, in a years time you would be ''locked'' from using your own mana, making you a person with a pseudo core. All the benefits except for the magic. That''s why no one uses it; being tied to someone like that isn''t something people would be willing to do." Pursing my lips, I looked between Arch Mage Kolia and Jahi. Seeing her also in a deep contemtion, I sighed. "What is the max distance? Obviously we can''t be tied at the hip, so how far is the range of the ritual circle?" Tapping her fingers on the table, Arch Mage Kolia scrunched her brow, thinking. "I believe it would be a few hundred feet; obviously, the farther away the harder it is to do this, but I think you would be fine to be on other sides of the house and be fine." Jahi looked towards Arch Mage Kolia, saying "This would have to wait till Kat awakens her core, wouldn''t it? Why mention it now?" "It''s a very important decision, no? The more time you have to think it over, the better. Besides, I won''t oversee or allow you to tie yourselves together if you haven''t proven to me that you truly want it." Nodding, I looked at Jahi. She returned my gaze, smiling slightly. "Thank you, Miss Kolia. We''ll talk about this. Was that it?" Nodding, Arch Mage Kolia stood up, bowing slightly. Giving us a smile, she walked towards another part of the library. Seeing that, I moved towards her side of the table, quickly opening the book she had hastily put away earlier. Feeling Jahi stand behind me, I flipped through the pages, skimming. Jahi slowly inched closer and closer, trying to get a better view of the book. Initially, I simply ignored this, but as the book''s contents became obvious, I became overly conscious of Jahi''s presence. Rushing back over to us, Arch Mage Kolia snatched the book from my hands, her face red. Chuckling, Jahi looked towards her, snaking her arms around me. Purring slightly, she said "Aww, are you lonely, Miss Kolia~" Hissing at Jahi, Arch Mage Kolia blushed harder, storming out of the library. Leaning towards my ear, Jahi whispered "Keep that book in mind, will you? That''s what I want to do to you~" Hearing that, I could feel my neck going crimson. Laughing loudly, Jahi led me towards out of the library, towards our room. Chapter 29 28: Talk With The Marquess With Arch Mage Kolia''s book in mind, as well as Jahi''s previous actions, I felt trepidation as well as anticipation for what Jahi might do when we reached our room. I cursed slightly in my mind, hating the fact that I wasn''t mature enough yet. Mentally, I was aroused, but considering my body was that of a child... We quickly reached our room, and as soon as we had entered our room, Jahi mmed the door, dragging me towards a couch. Throwing me down on the couch, I looked up at her in surprise. Seeing her hungry gaze, I shuddered. However, she saw that, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Opening her eyes again, she was calmer, and gently she pulled me up, snaking her arm around me. Leaning into her, I stayed quiet, taking in her warmth and smell. Moments passed in silence, just sitting there and enjoying each otherspany. "Kat... So, I did some research on Lorelei, and I found out that she is a Vampire... however, no one truly knows what the Empress is, so... Leone could be pure Vampire or she could be a hybrid, like how I have some Elven characteristics, such as my long ears." I looked up at her, tilting my head slightly. Seeing my confusion, she stroked my ears. Leaning into her hand, she chuckled slightly, before continuing. "Well, obviously I don''t wish to marry either, but of the two, I would prefer Leone. Anput''s mother has history with your mother, and who knows if she will have something against you as well. So..." I gently ced my hand on Jahi''s leg, making her stiffen slightly. Looking down at me, I smiled. "Don''t go into this with a bias due to the previous generation; Leone could be a horrible person even if her mother is amazing, just like Anput could be a kind person to both of us. Really, Jahi, please don''t worry about me. As long as you can remember me, I''m fine..." Hearing that, Jahi held me closer. Ruffling my ears, she whispered "I will always remember you, Kat... Forever and always..." Smiling, I fell silent, enjoying her caress. We sat there for awhile, before a knock could be heard at the door. Slowly rising, I moved to the door. Opening it, I saw a radiant Countess and a charred Marquess. Blinking a few times, I simply ignored it, opening the door wider and allowing them entry. The Countess practically danced into the room, a wide grin on her face. Looking around, she lifted me up, saying "My, you are almost better then your mother when ites to cleaning Kat~" Nodding weakly, I moved away from her slightly when she ced me back on the ground. Looking towards the Marquess, she simply sighed before stumbling into the room. I flinched when she copsed onto the couch, leaving some stains on the fabric. Pursing my lips, I sighed as I realized that I would have to clean the couch after she left. Looking towards Jahi, she was currently being praised by the Countess, and she shot me a pleading look. Shrugging, I made my way to the couch, sitting next to the Marquess. "So..." "Not. A. Word." Nodding, I fell silent, watching as the Countess scooped Jahi up and started rubbing their cheeks together. Watching the overly affectionate Countess, I sighed. The Marquess also sighed, before looking towards me. "Hey, you mind if I rinse off quickly here?" Nodding, I led her towards the bath, both Jahi and the Countess to absorbed in their new conversation to notice us leaving. Throwing off her clothes, the Marquess swayed into the bathroom, falling onto a stool. Shaking my head, I moved to behind her, quickly turning the shower on and positioning myself behind her. cing my hands on her slumped shoulders, I started massaging her, earning a grunt as the Marquess leaned back slightly. Continuing to knead her tense muscles, I asked "So... what exactly was Lady Presa like back in the Academy?" Sighing, the Marquess stayed silent for a few moments before answering. "Well, she was much different then. Back in the academy, she used to be a really shy, withdrawn girl. I used to sit next to her in my history and theory sses. I used to tease her, which I didn''t realize I was doing in a flirtatious way... Anyways, she was pretty smart, onlying out of her shell when you started talking about her favorite topics. She would be really animated then! Oftentimes I would say something really stupid just to get a rise out of her. I slowly found myself drawn to her, both because of her good looks and her incredible acumen. After the academy though, I only saw her at therger events, which is where I think she caught the Empress'' eye. She had slowly but surely changed the smallnds of her barony, improving both the profits and quality of life of her people. Seeing this, many tried to force her into marriage, wanting to use her to improve their ownnds. I was incensed when I heard that; not only due to my previous attractions towards her, but also because I never want to see someone being forced into a marriage, especially if there is no love. Thankfully, the Empress had invited her to the pce one day, hoping to hear what this young Baroness had done to drastically improve hernds. After that, the Empress suppressed anyone''s attempts to force Lorelei into a marriage, and continued to invite her to the pce. Eventually, they fell in love, and their marriage was announced. Lorelei still manages her barony, but spends most of her time at the pce, with the Empress." Moving my hands to the Marquess lower back, I asked "Then, do you think her daughter will be the same? Shy, reserved, but passionate when you approach her to discuss her interests?" "I don''t know, kid. If you asked me what I thought anyone else''s child would turn out to be, I could give you a good idea. Like Baroness Estra. When she has a kid, more than likely they will take the elegance and good nature from her and take the incredible sociability from her husband. It''s just how it works when two people with cores reproduce: the child is a truebination of the parents. However, the Empress... even as two of her most trusted people, Ria and I know very little about her. One moment she is like a raging inferno, the next she is like a small ember, calm and steady. No one truly understands her; at least everyone except her wives, and even then I have no idea if they understand her. She has lived a long time; my parents, and grandparents, spoke about her like she was ancient. So, little Leone could be shy, or she could be a brash, bold person. Or she could take after the Empress, being a constantly changing person." Sighing, I slowly finished my massage. Looking at the Marquess, I asked "Does anywhere else hurt?" Chuckling, she said "Yea, fucking everywhere." Shaking my head, I gestured towards the bath. "Then soak. The warm water always helps my aches go away." Giving me a wry smile, she lumbered over to the bath, moaning lightly when she lowered herself into the water. Quickly washing myself, I joined her. Looking towards the door, I frowned slightly when I didn''t see the Countess and Jahi barging in. "They won''t be joining us for a bit, if I had to guess. Jahi and Ria won''t notice the rest of the world when they are focused on something. If I had to guess, they are talking about you and me, swapping stories." Chuckling at that, I shuffled towards the deeper side, wanting to submerge most of myself. "What was the academy like?" "Well, it''s called Vulcan''s Royal Academy, for one. Named so because the founder, Vulcan, was immensely disappointed with theck of a ce of learning. Anyways, he set up an academy in the Royal City, with immense funding from the Empress, and it became a ce of learning. Initially, even though it was called ''Royal'', it epted anyone with talent. People tried paying their ways in only to beughed at when they failed the entrance exam. It started as a true Academy; the finest minds went there to learn anything. Support Magic, Offensive Magic, de work, Forging, Alchemy, you name it, there was a department dedicated to it. Over the years, it slowly turned into a shell of itself. Ipetent professors and idiotic students lowered its reputation, and people with talent who had no background were either ckmailed to join a faction, killed, or sent home if they were lucky. Thankfully, Lorelei is bringing it back to its glory days. Everyone ispetent to some degree, and every year people need to pass an exam to stay. If you fail by a few points, you can get a professor or arge group of upperssmen to vouch for you, but if you fail the test again, they need to pay renumeration to the academy. So, when you and Jahi attend, as long as you make sure Jahi is actually studying and keeping on top of her sswork. No ying hooky to enjoy one another, understood?" Giving her a dry gaze, she chuckled before continuing. "Jahr will likely take sses for Offensive Magic and de work. Whether she takes up the sword like Ria and I or takes to something else... well, we shall see. You, on the other hand, will be spending your time as the only servant going with her. As such, you will be allowed to drop a ss or two so you have time for your duties, but will still need to show somepetency and improvement. Likely, your peers will be mediocre, though some crazy people like the Duchess up north have bred their servants together to make someone strong. Your sses are simpler, but if you wish you can request to take more advanced sses. Additionally, as a way to make money and offer a ce to improve, the academy hosts quarterly tournaments, as well as owning arge swath ofnd that they breed monsters on. Nothing insanely strong is there, but you still need to be careful; a few students die every year or two due to carelessness." "Is everyone allowed to ess the tournaments and thisnd?" "Yup. Servants and students canpete, but you need permission from a professor to ess thends." Grinning at that, I couldn''t wait to go to the academy. Therge amount of experience, from normal quests, hunting monsters, and most importantly... Sex! By then, both Jahi and I will be mature enough to enjoy ourselves! Not only that, but I bet even a quickie gives arge amount of experience, especially with my [Nymphomania (MAX)] skill. I was looking forward to the future, wondering what heights Jahi and I will reach... --- I have three novel ideas flutter about in my head, and I wanted to say that I MAY simply write a few chapters to start for each, before leaving them be, only updating them when I have spare time. I WILL NOT BE MAKING THEM MY MAIN BOOKS. They are just things I want to get ''put down on paper'' in a sense, and I mind as well put them here, where people can see them I will not be focusing them, hell, I might not even write all of them. I just wanted to let everyone know that I MAY do this, so I might take time on a free day and simply get them started. To give you all an idea on what I had in mind: 1) A Danmachi Fanfic. This is mainly due to starting to read EPIC, and just like I said with the Naruto fanfics, it is a power fantasy. Nothing wrong with that, I quite enjoy power fantasies. I just really like Danmachi (My favorite anime, right next to TenSura (Reincarnated as a Slime) and Overlord). So, when I read EPIC, I thought about what I would write, which would be (Surprise!) a futa OC who was in a small familia, doing what she could to get by. It would be more action focused than ''Kunoichi''s Tale'', but still have character interactions. Anyways, I had a few ideas for that floating in my head, so yeah, eventually I will do that. It would be more about this OC soloing as much of the Dungeon as she could, asionally joining a party or expedition. 2) A story set in a Cyberpunk like world. I had a small desire recently to write about the gunfights, hacking, prosthetics, and so on. That would also be a (Double Surprise!) futa OC, who would be apart of a Gang, specifically the Iron Maidens, and would do all kinds of dirty work. The OC would start single, and was definitely mingling, but would eventually find herself the love interest for someone important. This would be a gunslinger, balls to the wall action story. Heavily inspired by theckluster CyberPunk game as well as Hive Worlds from Warhammer 40k, I would take that corporate world and make it my own; the OC would go from doing a heist of a rival corporation before switching to a gangwar. Lastly, we have this, the one I have been thinking about for awhile: 3) The OC used to be in the best academy in her Kingdom, with her amazing girlfriend (Triple Surprise, I think I have problem!) However, after getting pregnant, OC''s girlfriend leaves her, with no exnation. 14 years pass, and now the OC, after dropping out of the academy and doing what she could to sessfully raise her son, is sending him to that same academy. Weeks pass, and eventually her old girlfriendes back, one of the strongest people in the entire Kingdom, maybe even the world. With alternating PoV''s, you would see the world in two differing ways; from someone who struggled to raise their child, making ends meet but happy to see her son seed, and from someone who has lived her life before, and decided to change the world for the better, all for her family she had failed to protect in her first life. This would be a story about the two struggling to rekindle their spark; after all, they had been separated for almost a decade and a half. So, these are the things that I want to flesh out the beginning of ''on paper'', and will be doing so soon. Again, they will NOT be taking over my writing; if anything, they will be updated once a week or so, when I have either not enough ideas for ''Servant System'' or ''Kunoichi''s Tale'', or simply have a bunch of free time. Let me know if one idea stands above the rest, and I''ll start with that one. I know, I know, starting a third, fourth, and FIFTH book while I have two others... I did say in the beginning of this book that I have the attention span of a squirrel, so... Anyways, yeah, just letting this be a heads up. These are things that will not be heavily supported, just ideas I really want to get written down before I forget, because I have had a few that seemed awesome to me, but I can''t really remember them anymore... Also, this made me realize that I definitely have a thing for futa... --- Chapter 30 29: Studying For The Event As I was thinking about the future at the academy, the door slid open. Looking towards the door, I could see both the Countess and Jahi enter, slight smiles on their faces. Getting out of the bath, I walked over to Jahi, who had taken a seat in front of the shower. Washing her off, she looked over at me, asking "What were you and mom doing?" "Lady Presa and the academy..." Hearing that, the Countess chuckled slightly, sending a shiver down my spine. Deciding to ignore that, I looked towards Jahi, who was smiling at me. "Oh? And why were you two talking about her?" Seeing her slightly cold gaze, I flinched slightly before sighing. "I was asking the Marquess what she was like, hoping to figure out what Leone might be like..." Hearing that, she pursed her lips, before sighing. "So, what did you ''figure out''?" "Not much... the Marquess says that Leone will be a mystery, since the Empress is one of her parents." Chuckling, the Countess looked over at us, saying "That is indeed the case. Even when Chordeva and I worked by her side we couldn''t get a read on the woman. Even when we met her other children, they were all very different." Getting up, the Countess made her way to the bath, sitting next to the Marquess, who flinched slightly when she felt the Countess lean into her. Rinsing Jahi off, I followed her into the bath. Pulling me into her, she wrapped her arm around me. Looking towards the Marquess, Jahi asked "What are the ns for when the Empress and Sultana get here?" Leaning away from the Countess, the Marquess said "The first day they are here is a day of rest. They could show up first thing in the morning or just after dusk. Either way, we will be waiting for them to show up, and after greeting them and showing them to their rooms, we will not have anything extravagant nned for that day. The second day will be spent outside, touring the gardens and simply discussing anything. We start in the around noon, and will first eat lunch outside. Then we tour the gardens, before having dinner outside as well. After that, we either remain outside to discuss things or retire inside. The third day will be an outing into the town, showing them what the March Asmodia has to offer. We leave around noon, ande back after dusk. Anything could happen when we tour the town, so we will be bringing a few Banshee''s as guards... The fourth and fifth day will be dedicated to the cultures of the Empire and Sultanate respectively. We will do the things that the nobility of both sides tend to do, and end the days with a small dance. The sixth and seventh days are just days of rxation, with nothing really nned. By that point, you both should have a decent understanding of our guests, and should be deepening your rtionships with them." Sighing at the end of that, the Marquess leaned back, closing her eyes. However, when the Countess chuckled lightly and leaned into her, she stiffened again. Looking at Jahi, we exchanged nces before deciding to ignore them. Enjoying the heat of the water and the sloshing of the bath, we eventually decided to get out. Drying Jahi off, I helped her get dressed, before she did the same for me. Looking over to the married couple, I shrugged when I saw the Marquess'' pleading gaze. Exiting the bath, I could hear a shout as the Marquess quickly flew from the bathroom, before throwing on her clothes and leaving our room. Looking at the door, I watched as the Countess exited the bath with a chilly gaze. Drying herself off, she calmly and methodically dressed herself, before giving Jahi and I a pat on the head. When she walked out of the room, both of us sighed in relief. Turning to Jahi, I said "The Countess can be quite... scary..." Nodding, she smiled at me, saying "Both of them can be quite scary, though I think Mother is much worse..." Grabbing my hand, Jahi led me towards the Library. Confused, I followed her, wondering why we were returning. Dragging me towards the section dedicated to the various races of the world, she started searching the shelves, before pulling out a book dedicated to Vampires. Handing it to me, she continued to search the shelves, pulling out a book dedicated to canine beastmen as well as one about elves. Holding the three thick tomes, we made our way to a table. cing the books on the table, Jahi opened the book about Vampires. Leaning into her, I skimmed the book, reading keywords and determining which part of the page was worth reading. Seeing that they were simr to the vampires from my world, minus the whole burning in sunlight thing, I pursed my lips, wondering how Lorelei Presa and Leone Presa-Ash will act. Considering they still feed on mainly blood, though they are capable of eating normal foods, as well as the small aversion to bright things, it seems like Jahi and Leone will have some difficulty getting along, as Jahi absolutely hates bleeding and has light magic. Remembering the slight scratches she received when training with the Marquess, paired with her begging me to give her the sequence dedicated to healing oneself, I chuckled slightly. Closing the book, Jahi opened the next book, the one dedicated to canine beastmen. Flipping to the section dedicated to dogkin, we read through it, though I blushed slightly when it mentioned the various sensitive points that dogkin have, specifically the ears, tail, and how our stomachs are more sensitive then the rest of our skin. Seeing that, Jahi grinned, turning towards me. Her hands shot forwards, grabbing either side of my midriff. Gently tracing her fingers over my stomach, I doubled over to prevent her from attempting to tickle me, though this just made it easier for her to move her target to my ears, blowing lightly into my ears while also ruffling around them, I scowled at her, before giggling as she blew more into my ears. Eventually she stopped, though I could still see the mischievous light in her eyes. ring at her, she smirked at me, before turning back towards the book. Like I had expected and seen when I chose to be a dogkin, they have enhanced senses and reflexes, as well as strength. The book continued, saying dogkin are better warriors then mages, adding that this is due to the enhanced physical senses. Scoffing, I reaffirmed my conviction to learn stupidly powerful spells. Ruffling my ears, Jahi flipped through the book again, turning towards the Jackalkin. The passage was simr to dogkin, the only difference being that jackalkin were faster and more agile, as well as having a better sense of smell. Seeing this, I contemted what that would mean for Anput. Would she have the best of both worlds then? Or would she simply take after one of her parents, being either a dogkin or jackalkin? Shrugging, I looked towards thest book, curious as to why Jahi grabbed it. Looking at me, she gave a small smile, saying "Although I am mainly demon, I am still part elf. I never really looked into what elves were like, so..." Squeezing her hand, she smiled wider, before opening the book. While it was much smaller than the books for Vampires and Canine Beastmen, it still had useful information. Elves hadrger cores than the other races, allowing them to hold more mana. Additionally, because of this, they lived much longer as well. Due to their higher mana, they also innately had better control over it, and when they used a spell, it was always much stronger than other races. However, like most things, these amazing things came with some drawbacks. They had much lower reproductive ability, and a weak body, at least for people with cores. They relied on their magics to remain strong, and it wasn''t odd to see them be reclusive, hoping to live their lives in peace, away from others in a hope to simply stay alive. Seeing that, Jahi scoffed, before looking towards me. Furrowing my brow, she looked away, muttering something. Sadly, I couldn''t make it out, but when she turned back she had a wide smile on her face, so it must have been something about the book being wrong. Closing the books, we put them away before going to our room. Flopping into the bed, Iy there in Jahi''s arms, clinging to her. Ignoring her roaming hands, I looked at the changes in my level, smiling a bit. Thesest three days have been quite fruitful... [Level 10 - (2260.5/3843) -> (5135.5/3843)] [Level 10 -> Level 11 (1292.5/5764.5)] Assigning my stat points, my stats now looked like: [STR - 5(10) -> 6(12) CON - 7(14) AGI - 6(12) DEX - 7(14) CHA - 8(16) WIS - 7(14) INT - 7(14)] Smiling wider, I snuggled into Jahi, falling asleep to the rhythmic beat of her heart. Chapter 31 30: Arrival --- Putting this here before I forget for like the eighth time... Last week we almost hit 100 powerstones! As of current, we have 72 this week, at least as of starting this chapter. That was really cool to see, and I can''t wait to see the day we hit 100 powerstones! Anyways, Enjoy~ --- The days slowly passed, the nervousness and anticipation of meeting these important people, as well as knowing that maybe one, or both of the girls we are to meet will join us, making the hours crawl by. Our mornings were spent refining our dance skills, as well as drilling things into Jahi''s head that she can''t be as promiscuous as she is now, as it will either cause conflict between the visitors and us, or can very easily lead to her having to ''take responsibility''. Due to that, Jahi seemed to take that as an excuse to do as she pleased thesest few days, all to ''get it out of my system!'' This meant that dance ss and the baths each day turned into Jahi doing as she pleased to me, finding various excuses to touch me. Of course, while I gave an angry appearance outwardly, inwardly I was enjoying these moments, reveling in her affection. During noon and the before the evening, we continued to either study, train, or simply enjoy each otherspany. Watching Jahi spar the Marquess was as entertaining as always, and watching her do basic workouts always provided an interesting time afterwards. The evenings were spent with the Marquess, Countess, and my mother. We would simply lounge around in the room, talking and reading in peace. It was here that I learned more about the academy, specifically more about thend owned by the academy as well as the sses we could take. The Marquess was trying to finish her paperwork, so the Countess exined things. "So, lets talk about the sses first. The ones that are required by everyone are: Language, History, Arts, and Theory. As you can guess, Language ss introduces the basics of the variousnguages spoken around us, and is supposed to teach you how to better express yourselves. History will be simr to what you are now learning, focusing on the Empires History before discussing thends around us. Arts will consist of music, dance, painting, calligraphy, and more. Theory is about the basics of sequences, ritual circles, and anything magic in nature. Now, if you show a high understanding of these subjects, you can take the final exam early, finishing the ss and opening up your schedule for more advanced subjects or the specializations. Specializations are things like magic sses, de sses, cksmithing, alchemy, and more. These are what you are actually attending the academy for. While you could learn these on your own, the academy provides amazing instructors in these subjects, and offers apprenticeships after you graduate." Raising her hand, Jahi said "How hard are those first year sses?" Scoffing slightly, the Countess said "Easy, since they are things you are already learning. So, if I hear that you failed the ss or took the exam early and failed, I will personally drag you back from the academy..." Shivering slightly, we avoided the Countess'' re. Continuing, she said "Next, thend the academy owns. Hunting Grounds, Proving Grounds, Vulcan''s Pit... its called many things, but all that matters is that the academy breeds monsters inside the area, for the sole purpose of allowing students to get realbat experience, where one slip up could result in death. The system in ce, where entrance is only granted to those that teachers allow to enter, is there for a reason. Don''t sneak in; if you do, and are caught, you are expelled." Nodding at that, I watched as the Countess sat on the desk besides the Marquess, picking up a piece of paper. Continuing, she said "Kat, to be honest, I don''t particrly care if push yourself or not; if you do, good for you. Your main responsibility while you are at the academy is to keep Jahi in check, and make sure she isn''t going around trying to collect women like clothes, like a certain other demon..." At that, both Jahi and the Marquess flinched slightly, though it was more noticeable in the Marquess, as she quickly looked up and said "I never did anything with anyone!" Smirking at her, the Countess leaned down, saying "That is because I was there, keeping you in check..." Looking away guiltily, the Marquess went back to her paperwork. Chuckling, the Countess turned back towards me, saying "Unlike Chordeva and I, you will, hopefully, have another persons ''help'' to keep Jahi upied, but who knows... she might find thrills in chasing new things..." At that, Jahi held me closer, vehemently shaking her head. I leaned into her, deciding to trust her, but keeping the Countess'' advice in mind. Besides, with the [Nymphomania(MAX)] skill, I don''t n on letting her spend her mornings and nights alone... After that little discussion about the academy, we ate a meal consisting of a heavy meat stew paired with a nice loaf of bread. As Jahi and I rolled back to our room, she turned towards me, a serious look in her eyes. "I won''t chase new people, Kat. Really... you will be my main love for the rest of my life, I swear..." Chuckling at that, I pulled her into a hug, letting my actions speak for me. We stood there for a few moments, until Jahi let her hands drop from my waist. Pulling away from her, I shot her a smirk before racing into our room. Needless to say, that night was spent warding off Jahi''s affections, though I weed it simply because tomorrow was the day they arrived... ~~~ We all were waiting in front of the main door, waiting to hear word of the arrival of the Empress or Sultana. We had gotten up around the same time, an hour or so before the sun rose. After bathing and eating, we met up with the Marquess, the Countess, and my mother. The Marquess and Countess stood side by side, with my mother standing behind them. The Marquess wore her ''formal'' attire, consisting of sleek ck pants, a dark purple shirt, with a ck jacket over that. Her long raven ck hair was pulled into a braid, and the only piece of jewelry on her body was a circr pendant with a ''E'' that had an extended middle -, which, if I remembered correctly, was the alchemical symbol for ash or cinder. Her lips were pulled into a thin line, and her ruby eyes were cold, giving her a serious aura. The Countess wore a long, blue dress, paired with a darker blue pair of evening gloves. Her blonde hair had been pulled into a bun, and dangling from her long ears were two bright blue sapphires. On her left ring finger was a gold band with a sapphire set into its surface. Her attire, when paired with her carefree smile and warm blue eyes made her look stunning. Looking over at Jahi, I smiled a bit, happy with my work. She was wearing something simr to the Marquess, except instead of a purple shirt she wore dark blue. Additionally, she had a small gold dangle earring on her left ear. Her long raven hair was pulled into a simple braid, as I had had to much trouble getting her thick hair toplypletely with me. However, I thought it turned out quite well... Of course, both my mother and I were wearing our maid dresses, though it seems we were both of the same mind, as we had done our hair as best we could. I had opted to pull it into a small bun, while my mother had braided her own, allowing it to sway freely. Standing behind Jahi, we waited in tense silence. Minutes passed, turning to hours. However, thankfully I had be proficient at sleeping on my feet, mainly due to Baron Jilk''s ss. A guard burst through the door, shouting "Lady Asmodia! Both the Sultana and Empress have arrived!" All of our heads snapped to the door, and we all quickly made our way out of the house towards the gate. I had to run to keep up with everyone, but eventually we made it to the gate. Panting slightly, I quickly fixed my dress and hair, hoping that I looked presentable. Stationed in front of the gate were two borate carriages. The one on the left was crimson and gold, with the same symbol the Marquess wore around her neck. The other carriage was a ck and silver, with a red crescent moon emzoned on the doors. Seeing the two carriages, I widened my eyes at not only the materials used, but also the guards and steeds. The Empress'' carriage was pulled by tworge, crimson lizards. Every time they exhaled a cloud of ash appeared. The two guards sitting in front of the carriage were wearing intricate wine red armor, their helmets the likeness of a dragon. Both had long ymores strapped to the sides of the carriage, as well as ritual circles and sequences carved into their armor. The Sultana''s carriage was pulled by tworge ck dogs, with deep red eyes. They looked exactly like the hieroglyphs of Anubis, sleek, ck, andrge pointed ears. Around their necks was a gold cor, fastened together by a ruby. The two guards word loose ck robes, a ck half mask covering their mouths. Both had a ruthless look, and the scimitars strapped to their waists looked simple, but well used. Holding my breath, I watched as the doors opened. From the Sultana''s carriage, a short, thin woman stepped out, floppy dog ears on either side of her head. Wearing loose white cloth, she showed offrge amounts of her dark, olive skin. Stretching, she looked towards my mother, smirking when she saw her. Looking back into the carriage, she watched as a miniature version of her jumped out, bouncing around. Like her mother, the girl wore loose cloth, except hers was red in color. Her ears bounced around, and her long tail swished side to side. Looking over at Jahi and me, she had arge smile, and if her mother didn''t sigh and grab ahold of her, she would have shot over to us. Lastly, a tall, thin woman exited the carriage. Like her wife and daughter, she wore loose cloth, except hers was a deep ck. Over her face was a thin ck cloth,pletely shrouding her features. Her exposed skin was riddled with scars, and her muscles rippled as she moved. She looked lithe, felt dangerous, and was incredibly alluring to look at. From the Empress'' carriage, a tall, curvy woman exited, opening up a parasol to block the sun. Her skin was baster white, and her round eyes were like rubys. She wore a long, gray feathered dress, matching her grey hair. Turning around, she gave a gentle smile as she took the hand of a small girl, with simr pale skin. Exiting was a small girl, clutching a two headed puppy in her arms. Her long ash hair fell over her eyes, and when she stepped out she winced slightly, scurrying to the side of her mother. Wearing a simple ck dress that contrasted her pale skin, she looked like a porcin doll. Finally, a giant woman stepped out of the carriage, slightly taller than the Marquess. She wore simple white robes, and when I looked up, I was shocked. Her hair was alternating between orange, red, and grey, much like an ember. Small sparks wafted off her hair, and covering her eyes was a simple red cloth. Although she wasn''t as curvy as the Marquess, she made up for it with her regal aura and mysterious look. On top of her head was a simple silver crown, adorned with a fewrge fire crystals. "The Empress, Lorelei Presa, and their daughter, Leone Presa-Ash!" "The Sultana, Kio Sera, and their daughter, Anput Sera!" Hearing the thunderous shouts of the guards, I flinched slightly. However, I quickly recovered, kneeling like my mother. The Marquess and Jahi bowed, while the Countess gave a deep curtsy. All the other servants and guards, including the Banshess, kneeled with us. "Wee, Empress Ash, Sultana Anubi, to March Asmodia." --- Lol as I finish this, we hit 92 PowerStones! Thank you all! And I hope you enjoy the next few chapters! --- Chapter 32 31: COVER ART!! KEEP CALM! I went to WaifuLabs and created some portraits of Kat to be the cover art! Three are of her as a kid, and two are her when she is older Obviously, since it is AI generated art, I can''t get finer details in, or always match the colors perfectly, but these five are ones I really liked! So, just like the portrait you would prefer the cover to be! Kat (kid) 1: Kat (kid) 2: Kat (kid)3: Kat (adult) 1: Kat (adult) 2: Chapter 33 32: Meeting My Rivals Hearing a deep, low voice, I nced up slightly, seeing the Empress'' mouth moving. "Ah, Chordeva. It''s been awhile... Please, rise. Seeing you act so reserved is odd..." Sighing slightly, the Marquess rose, looking towards the Empress. Following suit, the Countess rose as well. Looking towards my mother, I saw her rise slowly from her knees, and I rose as well. Looking towards the assembled women, I was awed. All of them gave off a powerful aura, with the Empress and Sultana dwarfing the others, though the Marquess was only slightly below the two. Turning her head, the Empress gave a light smile when she saw Jahi. "My, your daughter looks just like you, Chordeva. And she has your gaze, Ria." Moving towards Jahi, the Empress towered over both of us. Leaning down slightly, she pursed her lips. "Oh? She has a soul bond... to you..." Looking towards me, I shivered slightly. While I had gotten used to the Marquess, seeing a woman taller than her and with hair that seemed like a live fire, as well as wearing a cloth over her eyes, was intimidating. Even with her eyes covered, I felt like I could feel her peering into my eyes. Moving slightly in front of me, Jahi looked up towards the Empress. Chuckling, she backed away, turning towards the Sultana. "Well, it has been awhile, Anubi. How have things been over in the Sultanate?" The Sultana stepped forwards, her voice a raspy whisper. "Calm, as always. It is always a pleasure to see you, Empress." Sighing again, the Marquess stepped forward, gesturing towards the castle. "Why don''t we talk over tea? Allow the children to acquaint themselves as well?" Both the Empress and Sultana nodded, following the Marquess as she started walking. The Countess gave everyone a smile, though it was stiff when she saw Lorelei. Quickening her pace to match her wife, she walked closer to her than she had before, as if marking her territory. I kept a few steps between Jahi and I, my hands sped in front of me. I could see Jahi clench her hands briefly, and although I wanted nothing more than to dash forward and reassure her, I had to remind myself that I had to truly act as a maid. Looking towards my mother, I saw her expressionless face, though her eyes flickered between the Marquess and Countess. Kio and Anput walked beside the Sultana, though Anput would try and fail to run towards Jahi, both her parents grabbing her hands and leading her towards the castle. On the other side, Lorelei had a confident stride as she looked around, whereas her daughter Leone stood between her and the Empress, her head down. Sighing internally, I couldn''t help but see theplete difference between the two girls. One was hyper, the other extremely shy. We made our way inside, and taking a route I hadn''t walked before, I was briefly confused about where we were going. However, when we entered arge room that almost mirrored the main room in both the Marquess'' room and our room, except this one was slightly smaller and didn''t have therge desks in the back. The Marquess and Countess took a seat on a couch, and the two other parties took seats opposite one another. Jahi moved towards the Marquess and Countess, sitting between them. Moving to be beside my mother, I helped her set out teacups for everyone, before standing behind the Marquess'' couch when she gestured for me to do so. Everyone was silent still, but I could feel the Empress and Sultana''s gaze on me, making me shiver slightly. Lorelei was patting Leone''s back, calming her, while Kio had a slight twitch in her eye as she tried to keep Anput still. She looked at me with slight envy in her eyes, before switching her gaze to my mother. Moments continued to pass, and the weight of the Empress and Sultana''s gaze continued to increase. I was still shivering, but inwardly I was going crazy, wondering what I did wrong. Thankfully, as soon as my mother poured tea in everyone''s cups, they looked away. Taking her cup, the Empress brought the tea to her lips, taking a sip. Nodding slightly, she took another sip before cing her cup back on the saucer. "So, Chordeva, Ria, pray tell why young Jahi has a soul bond?" Taking a sip, the Countess replied "We tied Jahi and Katherine together when they were both babies. It was a favor and payment to Julie over there." Sighing, the Empress looked between my mother and I before nodding. "Very well. I am sure you have already discussed her... position." I could see Jahi flinch slightly, before the Marquess said "We have. Both Jahi and Katherine are aware of what is expected of them." "Why don''t we let the children go y somewhere, hmm? They need not be here during our discussions..." Hearing Lorelei speak for the the first time, I was stunned by her melodious voice. She had a smile on her lips as she looked between the Empress, Sultana, and the Marquess. Nodding, all three looked at their children. Standing up, Jahi moved towards the door, before turning and bowing slightly to the room. Feeling my mother shove me forwards slightly, I followed behind Jahi, Leone, and Anput. Upon exiting the room and taking a few step, I heard a loud sigh. "Oh thank the Goddess we are out of that stuffy room! Hey, you guys have a training ground, yeah? Let''s go there!" Hearing Anput''s high pitched, cheery voice, I sighed lightly. Seeing Leone flinch, I sighed again. Nodding, Jahi led us through the halls, quickly appearing at the training ground. Racing ahead of us with augh, Anput stretched before turning, a gleam in her eye. "Hey, Jahi~ Want to spar? I really need to stretch after that carriage ride~" Looking back at me, I gave her a small nod. Sighing, she moved forwards, before stopping. Looking down at herself, she frowned. Taking the coat off, as well as rolling her sleeves up, she handing me her coat. Smirking at me, she leaned in, whispering "If I beat her in, hmm, one minute, I want you to allow me to do whatever I want to you tonight~" Hearing that, I blushed before nodding. Grinning, she turned and skipped towards Anput. "You''ve awakened your core, correct?" Hearing Jahi''s question, Anput grinned, nodding. "Yea, I have! Specifically, I awoke to metal magic~" Saying so, she quickly scribbled a sequence in the air, which slowly flowed onto her skin, turning her arms silver. Deactivating it, she looked back towards Jahi, the normal cheerful grin gone, reced by an arrogant smirk. "So, we sparring or what?" Raising her brow, Jahi chuckled, before turning to me. "Tell us when to start, Kat." Turning her gaze to me, Anput narrowed her eyes, before looking back at Jahi. From the corner of my eye I could see Leone lean forward slightly, but she stayed a few steps away from me. Sighing, I counted down. "3..." "2..." "1..." "Start!" As soon as "Start!" left my mouth, Anput shot forward, an olive and red blur. Hearing the ruffling of her clothes, I watched in awe as a fist appeared in front of Jahi''s face. Swaying slightly, Anput''s fist flew an inch from Jahi''s face. Twirling, Jahi chopped her hand towards Anput''s neck. Continuing forward, Anput did a cartwheel before spinning,ughing. "Yes~ this is what I wanted!" Dashing forwards, she sent a flurry of blows towards Jahi. Blocking or dodging each one caused Anput''s grin to grow wider, making her look crazed. Pulling back slightly, Jahi took a deep breath before going on the offensive. Sending kicks, punches, chops, you name, Jahi was hitting Anput with it. A small smile rose to Jahi''s lips, and I pouted slightly. Continuing to watch them spar, I felt a mix of relief and disappointment when a minute passed and neither showed signs of giving up. Trading blow for blow, I watched as a sheen of sweat covered their bodies, and as I watched Anput, I had to admit that she was quite alluring. Her cheerful smile,ughter, and jovial looks made her easy to get along with, and as she danced around the training grounds, trading blows with Jahi, I couldn''t help but admire her flexibility and grace. Sighing, I looked over at Leone, my jaw dropping when I saw her cheeks a light crimson as she watched the fight. The two headed puppy wasying next to her, dozing off. As if she could feel my gaze, she looked over towards me. Seeing me staring at her in shock, her blush deepened, before she lowered her head to look at the ground. Although brief, when I saw her orange eyes, paired with her ashen hair, she looked quite beautiful. In a low voice, she asked "Uhm... Do-Do you often... watch her fight?" Nodding, I smiled slightly. "Yes, I often watch her spar the Marquess. Why do you ask, Lady Presa-Ash?" Hearing that, she looked back up, her eyes widening. "Pl-Please call me Leone... Presa-Ash is... long..." Nodding again, I waited for her to continue. She kept her orange gaze locked on my hazel eyes. Blushing again, she looked back towards the fight. "It looks like a dance, and both... both of them se-seem like they are having fun..." "Indeed, Lady Jahi quite likes sparring, Lady Leone." Nodding absentmindedly, she asked "Has Mi-Miss Jahi started practicing... her magic?" I nodded again, saying "Yes, she has started practicing. Arch Mage Kolia has made sure of that." Turning towards me again, her pale face grew more red. "Have... Have you worked with magic sequences... Katherine?" When she said my name, she looked away. Giving her a warm smile, I nodded my head. "I have been blessed enough to be allowed to attend sses with Lady Jahi. I quite enjoy creating sequences." Hearing that, she looked at me, her eyes glowing slightly. "You do? Haha~ What do you like? Support spells? Offensive spells?" Seeing the shift from a shy girl to an animated one, I smiled again, making her look away. "I quite enjoy both, but if I had to say... Ritual Circles. Theplexity makes it quite fun to figure out the correct order and sequences." Her smile widened, and she reached forwards, taking my hands in hers. "You too!? Oh my, I LOVE ritual circles! It''s like a giant puzzle, and finishing it feels so rewarding!" Smiling, I nodded my head. Hearing a small cough besides us, we froze. Releasing my hands, Leone looked back at the ground. Seeing Jahi''s eye twitching slightly, she said "So I see that you two are getting along quite well..." "Mhm~ It''s almost like they''re interested in each other~" Giving me a mischievous smile, Anput stared me in the eyes. Looking towards Jahi, I could see her smile turn slightly frosty, her amethyst eyes flickering to gold before returning to normal. "How was the spar, Lady Sera?" Hearing me dodge the question, Jahi frowned slightly. Chuckling, Anput looked between us two, before moving towards Jahi, clinging to her arm. "Why, it was amazing~! Y''know, I think Jahi and I hit it off quite well..." Gritting my teeth slightly, I managed to say "Oh, is that so? That''s good." Narrowning her eyes, Anput sighed before removing herself from Jahi. Jahi opened her mouth, but before she could say anything a low growl could be heard. Looking towards Anput, she was rubbing her stomach, a wry smile on her lips. "Well, all that exercise made me hungry. Think the adults are done talking about pointless things?" "Oh, and what pointless things would that be, brat?" Freezing, Anput turned slightly, only to receive a p on the back of her head. Somehow, Kio had appeared behind her, and after grabbing Anput by the scruff of her neck, she looked towards the rest of us. "Chordeva said to get you all. Brunch is ready." With that, she carried the squirming Anput out of the training grounds. Assuming a more expressionless expression, I turned towards Jahi. Quickly wiping her off, I helped her into her coat, before moving back. Looking at me, she narrowed her eyes before sending Leone a small smile. Gesturing at the door, she led us into the hall, towards the room where the adults waited. --- So, a few things. One. Holy LORD did y''all take what I said in Chapter 30 seriously. 183 PowerStones! Thank you all so much! Two. So, we have a dilemma. These two portraits are currently really close (Kat Kid 1 and Kat Adult 2, which will be posted in the chapterments.) Still a few days till the vote ''closes'', but I just wanted people to know the current standing. Lastly. No chapter tomorrow, cause I''m going out. Additionally, some time in this uing week I n on taking a day to start one of the three side stories. I''m torn between the Cyberpunk one and the Romance one. So, if you have a preference, let me know and I''ll start/give that one more attention. Anyways, thank you all so much! I hope you continue to enjoy! Hehe, also what''d you think of Anput and Leone, hmm? --- Chapter 34 33: Leone And Anput --- Firstly, the votes are closed! As you can tell, Adult Kat won. It was only by a couple of votes, but still... Now we have a cover! Next,st week (Like two days ago...) we hit 200 some odd powerstones! Thank you all so much! I didn''t think we would make it past 150, yet you all shattered that! As a little something special, I am going to try and give more chapters out this week. We shall see though... Lastly, I started the Romance storyst night. It only has two chapters as of now. ''Rekindling Our me'' is the title, so go check it out! --- When we entered the room, we were met withughter. Lorelei was covering her mouth as she chuckled, while the rest of the room wore smiles. Seeing us enter, they calmed down, reverting to their calm,posed selves. Jahi stalked over towards the Marquess and Countess, taking a seat with a huff. Leone looked towards me, pursing her lips, before making her way to Lorelei. Lastly, Anput was unceremoniously tossed next to the Sultana, before Kio sat down with a slight growl. Quickly making my way towards my Mother, my eyes flickered towards Jahi. Seeing her ignore me, I clenched my teeth slightly, trying to keep my face expressionless. "So, I''m guessing you all had fun?" Hearing the Marquess speak lightly, Jahi gave a small smile and a nod. Anput nodded furiously as well, a grin on her face. Leone gave a light "Mmn", making Lorelei pet her head. I could see the Marquess look at me from the side, to which I just gave a small nod. Smiling, she turned back towards the guests. "Well, the food should be here soon. After that, we will guide you to your rooms, allowing you to rest if you wish." Anput pouted slightly, earning a flick to her forehead. "What did you all do outside?" Hearing Lorelei''s melodious voice, Leone looked up at her, before turning her gaze towards everyone else. "Jahi and Anput sparred... I watched..." Hearing that, the Empress smiled lightly, looking between the Marquess and Sultana. "If they grow to be even half of either of you, they will be fine warriors." Nodding, the Sultana ced her hand on Anput''s head, making her smile widely. "Indeed. As long as she can learn some restraint, she may even be better than me..." The Sultana''s raspy voice made Anput giddy, as she smiled eve wider and started to sway side to side. "True. She is much more open than you, Anubi. Maybe all she needs is a... rival. Someone who focuses her." "Someone like Jahi?" The Marquess looked towards the Empress with a small smile. Already it seemed like the Empress was ying matchmaker. The doors opened, and a stream of servants flowed into the room. cing tray after tray on therge table, they made sure everything was ced meticulously on the table. Bowing, they left the room. Reaching forwards, they all revealed the meal. Two slices of fresh bread, two sunny side up eggs, three long strips of bacon, a sausage link, and various slices of fruit. The smell of the bread and meats made my stomach rumble lightly, but thankfully it was overshadowed by the loud grumblinging from Anput. Grabbing her utensils, she quickly set about devouring her food, much to the dismay of Kio. The Empress smiled, saying "I guess we should dig in, no?" Giving a strained chuckled, Kio nodded. Everyone picked up their utensils, slowly eating the meal. "Chordeva, who do you have teaching Jahi?" Hearing the Empress'' question, she tried to finish chewing before speaking, but the Countess answered for her. "Baroness Estra is teaching her dance and manners, Baron Jilk is teaching her history, and Arch Mage Kolia is teaching her magic." Nodding, the Empress smiled. "Yes, Miss Estra is indeed a good dance teacher. I may have to get her toe teach Leone here when she leaves your estate." "You managed to drag Kolia away from her research?" Lorelei looked at the Marquess and Countess in surprise. Nodding, the Marquess said "We promised her that if she didn''t believe Jahi was worth teaching that she could leave, paid in full. If I hadn''t helped her a few years back I doubt she would have even listened to my request though..." "Then are you yourself teaching Jahi aboutbat?" Looking towards the Sultana, the Marquess nodded, grinning. "Indeed. She needs to learn from another demon. The only other person who could teach her would be Belian, but I would never trust him to teach her anything. Besides, even with her light magic, she still takes after me heavily; as such, she will learn everything my father beat into me, and everything his mother beat into him. I guess you could say its... tradition." Nodding, the Sultana went back to her food, making sure the veil never revealed her face. The room was silent for a few moments, before Kio asked "And what about Julie and her daughter? Katherine, was it? Is she learning anything?" Her face was simply curious, yet I could feel my mother stiffen beside me. Turning, the Marquess looked between us, a small smile her lips as she saw my mother. "Katherine is attending both Baroness Estra''s ss as well as Arch Mage Kolia''s ss. In fact, both of them have said that she is quite a good student." Kio''s small smile froze for a second, envy lingering in her eyes, before she nodded. Lorelei looked at me in surprise, before looking down at Leone, who spoke in a meek voice. "Can I meet Arch Mage Kolia? I want to learn more about magic..." She froze when everyone turned their gazes onto her. Looking down at the floor, she hugged her puppy tighter. "I think Kolia wouldn''t mind meeting up sometime during the week..." Hearing the Marquess, Leone looked up, smiling. cing her hand on Leone''s head, Lorelei smiled as well. Going back to eating, I could feel my stomach rumbling lightly again. Looking towards my mother, I saw her smile slightly at me before turning back to look over the table. When everyone had finished, I followed my mother as she took all the trays, stacking them onto a cart. As we worked, everyone continued to talk, discussing small things and bragging slightly about their children. Taking thest tray, I was about to follow my mother when the Marquess said "Katherine, why don''t you join the others in the library? Kolia spends most of her time there." Nodding, I stood to the side, waiting for Jahi, Anput, and Leone to exit the room. Bowing, I followed them outside, walking towards the Library. Upon entering, we saw Arch Mage Kolia sitting at the table, the same small book in her hands. Seeing us, she quickly put it into her robes, learning fromst time. Smirking, Jahi said "Hey teach, still feeling a bit lonely?" Narrowing her eyes at Jahi, Arch Mage Kolia scoffed before looking towards Anput and Leone. "If I''m not mistaken, you are Anput Sera, and you are Leone Presa-Ash, yes?" Nodding, Anput looked around the room in disinterest, while Leone was staring at Arch Mage Kolia with glowing eyes. "So, what brings you to me?" Leone looked between me and Arch Mage Kolia, before saying "I wish to learn how to create better ritual circles." Nodding, Arch Mage Kolia grabbed a scroll, which I recognized as the finished earth spike trap that Jahi and I worked on. Unfurling it, she gestured for us to move closer. "This is something I had Jahi and Katherine work on. Now, Begum Sera, can you tell me what element this circle is?" Looking at the scroll with disinterest, Anput pursed her lips before saying "It''s of the earth element." Nodding, Arch Mage Kolia turned towards Leone, asking "What do you think the purpose of the circle is, Lady Presa-Ash?" Moving closer, Leone inspected the circle, her orange eyes flicking around the various sequences. Moments passed, and I could hear Anput sigh, before slumping onto the table, bored. "I believe it''s a spear, or spike... additionally, the activation is weight based, with the requirement being... very little." Smiling, Arch Mage Kolia nodded her head. "Correct, it is an Earth Spike Trap, and it took Jahi and Katherine roughly three weeks to finish and polish it." Leone looked between Jahi and I with gleaming eyes. Turning back to Arch Mage Kolia, Leone asked "How do you determine which runes to use in a ritual circle?" Before Arch Mage Kolia could respond, Anput growled lightly. "If you wish to spend your time burying your head in magic, do so on your own time. Jahi, can we go back outside? I want to continue the spar." Sighing, Arch Mage Kolia shook her head, before looking at Jahi, who simply nodded to Anput. Leading her out of the library, she stopped, turning to look towards me. As I was about to follow her, Arch Mage Kolia spoke. "Jahi, can I borrow Katherine for a bit? She grasped ritual circles quite quickly, and could help me teach Lady Presa-Ash..." Jahi''s gaze flickered between Leone and I, before stiffly nodding. Without another word, she turned and left, Anput following behind her. Gritting my teeth, I turned back to Leone and Arch Mage Kolia, quickly smiling at them. "What do you wish to do, Arch Mage Kolia?" Chapter 35 34: Ritual Circle; Quarel After Jahi and Anput left, I gave a smile to Arch Mage Kolia and Leone. "So, what do you wish to do, Arch Mage Kolia?" Quickly clearing the table, she ced a new scroll on the surface, arger, moreplex ritual circle drawn on the scroll. "Alright, I want you two to work together to determine what this does. Additionally, I want to see you try and break parts of it down to it''s individual pieces. Understood? I''m going to give you guys at least two hours, before sending you back to your parents." Nodding, Leone and I moved closer to the table, inspecting the circle. Grabbing a notebook and a pen, I started scribbling down individual runes, hoping to determine what they do and figure out which sequence they are apart of. Leone copied me, her orange eyes glowing in excitement. She moved to the opposite side of the table, focusing intently on theplex circle. Pursing my lips, I deciphered the first rune, which was a sequence for drawing inrge amounts of water mana. Marking the page, I moved to the rune to its right, breaking it down to the individual runes that made up thebination rune. Scribbling it down, I quickly broke it down. Noticing that this was simply an enhancement rune, which erged the previous rune, I smiled, realizing I had found the start of a sequence, which would allow me to figure out the circle''s purpose. Continuing, time flew by. Every time I finished deciphering a part of the ritual circle I would look up, either meeting Leone''s gaze or seeing her working hard to finish her section. Gradually, we deciphered the ritual circle. Arch Mage Kolia sat at the side, reading arge spell book. However, she closed the book with a loud ''thump'' and said "Time''s up. Talk to one another, discuss your findings, and in a few minutes tell me what you found." Moving over to me, Leone said "My side of the circle was a wind gathering sequence, with both speed and power amplifications. Additionally, the activator for that sequence was a timer. Finally, I can''t be too sure as I didn''t finish it, but I believe there was an ice sequence in here as well." Pursing my lips, I said "I had a water gathering sequence, which was enhanced. Additionally, I hadbination runes to erge the area of effect as well as the purity of the many collected. So, since it has an ice sequence, and seems to have a wind sequence..." "It is a blizzard circle! Additioanlly, it is quite strong too... Increased wind speeds, power, and more water to create more snow! This is an amazing ritual circle!" Grabbing my hands, her eyes were full of excitement. Giving her a warm smile, I was also excited, because if I could copy this circle down, I might be able to use itter on... pping, Arch Mage Kolia had a wide grin on her face. "I really didn''t think you''d be able to figure that out! Usually people say it''s a storm circle, like a hurricane or monsoon. They don''t seem to recognize the ice rune. Really, good job!" "Yes, it is quite the advanced ritual circle..." Hearing the Empress'' low voice, Leone and I turned quickly, stiffening. Leone quickly dropped my hands, moving away slightly. Sighing, the Empress said "Leone, really, it''s fine. Make friends. You both seem to be quite interested in magic; learning with a friend is always better than learning alone." Leone nodded stiffly, however she stayed a respectable distance away from me. "Well,e join us outside; it seems like Kio and Julie are going to spar, and Jahi and Anput are still sparing as well. Quite a lively bunch..." Turning, the Empress'' ming hair red slightly. When she walked out, Leone looked at me, before blushing deeply. Scooping her two headed puppy up, she ran out the library, following her Mother. Chuckling, Arch Mage Kolia looked towards me. "Looks like Jahi haspetition, hmm?" I shook my head, a wry smile on my face. However, remembering that the Empress said Jahi and Anput were still sparring, my heart tightened. Gritting my teeth, I scolded myself. After all, I spent thest two hours with Leone; how was that different from what Jahi was doing? Walking out the door, I made my way to the training grounds. What greeted me was my mother and Kio butting heads, growling at each other. Seeing the slight swirl of water around my mother and the stones and dirt rising around Kio, I shook my head, making my way towards the Marquess. Seeing me, she gave me a wry smile, before saying "Kio asked why you were more well behaved than Anput, and after being annoyed by Kio for a few minutes, Julie snapped, saying it had to do with how Kio acted. Now here we are..." Shaking her head, the Marquess sighed. However, the Countess chuckled, saying "I think Julie looks quite cute when she''s like this. It feels nice seeing this side of her again, after so many years..." "Indeed. Kio is usually so reserved around me..." Hearing the Sultana''s raspy voice, we turned. Looking at her from up close, I realized that she had more scars than the Marquess, and they were everywhere, instead of mainly just being on the torso. The main one that stood out was the long, thick scar that was on her neck. She continued to look over the two quarreling women, her fist clenching slightly. "What''d you say to me, bitch!?" "I said your talent must be that mouth of yours! After all, you''re all bark, no bite!" Seeing them screaming at one another like children, I sighed, rubbing my temples. Why was my normally calm andposed mother suddenly like this? "Yeah, well you seemed to like my tongue that night!" "Huh!?! I hated that night; you were atrocious!" Hearing that, and knowing the story behind it, I looked at the floor, hoping to be one with it. Anything to not be here right now... The air grew solid as Kio mentioned that night, and looking over at the Sultana I could see her clothes fluttering a bit, before calming down. The two quarreling dogs didn''t notice it, however, and continued hurling insult after insult at one another. Gradually, the mana surrounding them built up to such a degree that it coalesced behind their backs, forming a ritual circle. Both the Sultana and the Marquess shot forwards, tearing the women away from one another. Turning them so that they couldn''t see each other, slowly they calmed down. Walking over, Jahi and Anput looked at their parents in confusion. Drenched in sweat, when Jahi got closer to me I realized that her normally sweet scent was masked by not only sweat, but was now citrusy. Sniffing the air, I realized that both Kio and Anput smelled like that as well, but now Anput had Jahi''s sweet smell clinging to her body. I had to hold myself back from snarling. Grinding my teeth, I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths. Opening my eyes, I wondered to myself: why was this bothering me so much? Even when I learned Kyoka had another lover, the difort and anger I had felt was nothing like this... [You have a soul bond, remember. Feelings towards one another, any feelings at all, are amplified.] ''You... Was that nned? Was I always going to be bound like this, no matter my choices?'' [No. It truly was random. Your choice of world, setting, system, preferences... they were all your choices. There were also many other people you could have been serving. The best example is the Duchess'' daughter up North. She has a servant, and is the same age as Jahi. Additionally, it wasn''t guaranteed that you would be in this Empire; on this continent. You could have been anywhere...] Sighing, I remained quiet. Looking towards my mother, I wondered if she understood what exactly she did. Tying two people together, guaranteeing that they would either love each other too much or hate each other more than anything... Chasing that thought out of my head, I walked over to my mother, taking her hand. Looking down at me, the remaining anger in her eyes faded, reced with warmth. Pulling me into a hug, she stroked my back, taking a deep breath. Returning her hug, I waited, allowing her to calm down. Pulling away, she smiled at me, saying "Thank you, Katherine." Nodding, I smiled back at her. Sighing, she turned around, watching as the Sultana had grabbed Kio by both cheeks and was staring her in the eyes, through her veil. Seeing Kio''s tail sway side to side, paired with her quick breathing, made me sigh as well. Anput stood next to them, looking bored. Pursing my lips, I walked towards the door, grabbing a towel. Moving back towards Jahi, I slowly wiped her off. Both of us avoided looking at the other, and I worked in silence. Finishing, I ced the towel in the used pile, before grabbing a new one. Walking towards Anput, I scrunched my nose, disgusted at her scent. Looking towards me, she tilted her head. Standing in front of her, I held out the towel. Grabbing it, she quickly wiped herself off, before handing it back to me. Before I could walk away, she leaned towards me, whispering "You need to get better at hiding your emotions..." Stiffening, I looked at her, and upon seeing her slight smile, I turned, stalking towards the door. After cing the towel on the pile, I leaned against the wall, watching as everyone conversed on the field. Jahi and the Marquess were talking, demonstrating the moves they used or should have used. The Countess was smiling at my Mother,ughing as my Mother told her something. Leone was talking animatedly to her parents, making them nce towards me before looking back towards their daughter. Finally, the Sultana was pulling on Anput''s ear, making her pout, while Kio waved her fingers in front of her, lecturing Anput. Sighing, I looked up at the sun. It was going to be a very long week... Chapter 36 35: End Of The Day Looking back into the Training Grounds, I saw that everyone was gathering. Moving towards my mother, I stayed quiet, listening. "So, since it seems we all have a lot of... energy today, why not do some light exercises? It has been awhile since I sparred with you, Chordeva. It would be quite a learning experience for the children to." Hearing the Empress'' proposition, the Marquess sighed, looking at the Countess. Seeing her nod, she turned back to the Empress, a wry grin on her lips. "Go easy on me, yeah?" Chuckling, the Empress stood in the center of the grounds, everyone else moving towards the sides. Getting into a stance, the Marquess waited for a signal. "Come now, Chordeva. You know better. Start when you are ready." Hearing that, the Marquess sighed again before her body flickered. Widening my eyes, I watched as she disappeared from where she stood and reappeared behind the Empress. Throwing a punch, the Empress swayed out of the way. Pivoting, she threw her palm forward, catching the Marquess in the chest, sending her skidding away. Getting up, the Marquess growled slightly, before flickering again. This time appearing in front of the Empress, she sent dozens of blows towards her in a single moment. Blocking each one, the Empress chuckled. This continued for a few moments, as the Empress simply blocked each one, though she gradually had to start using more of her body then use her arms. Grabbing the Marquess'' wrist when it skimmed past her face, she pulled her forwards, cing a finger on the Marquess'' brow. Panting, the Marquess bit her lip, before being released. "Good as always, Chordeva. If you had been born during wartime, you might have truly rivaled me... Still, you are one of the best fighters I have had the privilege of seeing in my long life." Nodding stiffly, the Marquess moved back to the side. Looking towards the Sultana, the Empress said "Do you wish to spar, Anubi?" Shaking her head, the Empress chuckled lightly, before turning towards Kio. "Would you like to have a friendly spar with Julie?" My mother and Kio looked at one another, before stiffly shaking their heads. Sighing, the Empress looked at the Countess, asking "What about you, Ria? Would you like to spar Lorelei?" Lorelei simply tilted her head, while the Countess bit her lip. For a few moments, there was nothing but silence. "Fine. Are you fine with des, Lorelei?" Hearing that, Lorelei smiled, before nodding. Stepping into the center, I pursed my lips in confusion. Looking up at my mother, I asked "Are they going to fight in dresses?" Chuckling, my mother stroked my ears, saying "Yup. The Countess used to do that a lot in the Academy..." Watching them both quickly draw aplex rune, I widened my eyes in surprise as they both created a de made from fire. Dropping into identical stances, they stared at each other, small smiles on their lips. Moments passed, and when the Marquess said "Begin!" they shed forwards, their des meeting and sending sparks flying. Retreating, the Countess readied her de again, before lunging forwards, attempting to stab Lorelei. Lorelei parried the de, pushing it towards the ground, before attempting to sh at the Countess. I watched in amazement as the Countess swayed back, narrowly dodging the sh before flicking her own de up towards Lorelei''s chest. They continued to trade blows, their des gradually growing in size and darkening in color, raising the heat in the Training Grounds. Grinning widely at each other, they continued to sh, cut, stab, parry, and block each others des. This continued for a few minutes, as neither woman managed to get the upper hand. Looking around, I could see the Marquess and Empress smiling as they watched the fight. My mother was watching intently, while Kio had her eyes narrowed, whispering to the Sultana. Anput was watching the fight with awe in her eyes, her tail swishing slightly. Leone looked worried, but when the Empress stroked her head she calmed down. Looking at Jahi, I could see her eyes gleaming as she watched her mother. Seeing her fist clench, I realized that maybe Jahi would be a battle junky, since she seemed to immensely enjoy sparring. Whenever she and the Marquess talked after a spar, she would always bepletely absorbed in the discussion, not paying attention to anything else. I turned back to the fight, watching as the fight slowly came to a close. Both jumped back, panting slightly. Looking at each other, they nodded, before allowing their des to fizzle out. "Hah... why couldn''t you have gotten worse, Lorelei?" Snorting, she looked back at the Countess. "Really Ria? I had to keep improving, otherwise you might just slip up during our next meeting... You really hold a grudge, y''know?" Giving her a chilling smile, the Countess said nothing, before moving to the Marquess'' side. Shaking her head, Lorelei walked towards the Empress, before scooping up Leone, nuzzling her cheek. Chuckling, the Empress said "So, did you kids learn anything?" "Don''t piss off the Countess?" As soon as Anput said that, Kio pinched her cheek. Chuckling, Jahi said "To improve my foundations as much as possible. After all, both Mother and Lady Lorelei used one of their three elements, and were quite skilled with them as well." Nodding, the Empress spoke again. "We should probably go clean up again, hmm? Then have dinner and finally retire for the night..." The Marquess nodded, pping her hands. Two identical maids walked through the door, bowing. "Lexa, take the Empress and her family to their chambers. Lexi, take the Sultana and her family to their chambers." ""Yes, Lady Asmodia!"" Bowing again, they moved towards their assigned family, and led them out of the training grounds. Sighing, the Marquess cracked her neck before turning to look at us. "Well, you heard the Empress. Let''s go clean up, then meet back at the lounge. Gods am I tired..." Wrapping her arm around the Countess, she slowly made her way out, my mother following behind them. Watching them leave, a palpable silence descended on the training grounds. Looking towards Jahi, I saw her staring straight at me, her eyes speckled with gold. Appearing before me, she ced her forehead against mine, her eyes slowly turning full gold. "So you and Leone, hmm?" Hearing that, as well as smelling Anput all over her, I snarled back "Just like you and Anput, huh?" Narrowing her eyes, she kept looking into my eyes. ring at her, I watched as she pulled away,ughing. "So you feel the same as me~! Haha~" Tilting my head slightly, I was confused by her sudden shift in mood. Her eyes reverted back to her normal amethyst, and she wiped a tear from her eye. "Well, looks like we have a problem, hmm? If this is what we are both like after being separated and around others for just a few hours, what will the Academy be like?" I kept ring at her, and she smirked at me. "What? Was it not just yesterday that I said you would be my main love? So little trust~" Sighing, I took a deep breath. "I guess we need to stay as a group then. That way we can keep an eye on the other." Jahi chuckled, nodding. "Yup, knowing you were alone with Leone irked me..." "And you smelling like Anput is infuriating." Hearing that, Jahi looked down at herself, sniffing, before saying "Yeah... let''s take a bath?" Without waiting to hear my answer, she grabbed my hand, pulling me through the hall. Feeling the familiar warmth of her hand, I rxed slightly, allowing her to take the lead. She brought up a fair point, though. If this is how we react from being separated for only a few hours, and with other people who aren''t family, what is the Academy going to be like? Sighing, I decide to leave future problems to future me. That always worked in the past... Entering our room, I helped Jahi out of her clothes before quickly undressing as well, before entering the bathroom. Like always, we quickly washed each other before lounging in the bath. Feeling Jahi''s arm around me, I nuzzled closer to her. Sniffing gently, I smiled widely when I couldn''t smell the citrusy scent of Anput. However, thinking of Anput, I started wondering; how would I react when Jahi has to take one of them as a lover? How will I react when she reeks of someone else? Will I redouble my efforts, in an attempt to cover their scent with my own? Or will I not care because all of us will be sharing a bed, like how the Marquess, Countess, and my mother did? Sighing, I again decided to let future me figure that one out. Wezed about, enjoying each others warmth, before eventually exiting the bath and making our way towards the lounge. This time, even though I tried to prevent her from doing so, Jahi led me in while holding my hand, grinning widely the whole time. When we entered, the Marquess and Countess sighed, while the Empress and Sultana simply gave a quick gaze before turning back towards the center. They had been talking about when the Marquess and Countess were in the Academy. Leone looked slightly upset when she saw Jahi holding my hands, but I couldn''t be sure as she had quickly turned her attention back to her puppy. Anput simply smiled at us, her eyes warm. Before Jahi could pull me onto herp, I broke away from her and stood beside my mother. Dinner quickly arrived, and this time the Marquess pointed to two chairs that had been ced besides the table. Taking seats, we waited for everyone else to start eating before we started. The meal was simr to what we had before; arge steak, a small sd, some bread, and a drink. We finished quickly, and everyone started going back to their rooms. Jahi tried to wait for me, but I told her to go ahead, so that I could help my mother, both because it was what I was supposed to do and also because of the quest that appeared. When I had finished, I made my way back to our room, however halfway there I saw Anput leaning against the wall, her eyes closed. Stiffening, I tried to quietly move past her, but her eyes opened and she grabbed my wrist. "Listen, we should talk." ring at her, I said "About?" Giving me a wry smile, she said "Look, I know you don''t exactly like me; I am trying to take something that is yours. However, I think I should go ahead and just say it now. I''m not going to try and use underhanded means like setting you against each other. You obviously recovered quickly from it..." "So you were doing it on purpose?" "Yup. Not only because I wanted to have fun, but also..." Looking to the side, she muttered "I really like her..." Narrowing my eyes, I just stared at her. "Really, I do! You might not know, but in the Sultanate it is quitemon for women to marry solely based on strength. Seeing someone stronger than you... well, maybe it''s due to being a beastkin as well as the culture, but Jahi is just so... perfect..." She was shuffling about, and I could see her face darkening slightly as she blushed. "Just because you fell for her doesn''t mean she''ll take you." Looking at me, Anput smiled. "I know that. Trust me, I know. That''s why I just wanted to tell you this: I''m not going to give up. I WILL be her wife. I will do everything I can to try and stand by her side. Not only for the political reasons, but also because I want to marry someone strong. So, it looks like we are rivals, huh? You may be bound together, but I n on eventually carving a ce into her heart..." Hearing that, I pursed my lips, before sighing. "So you''re serious? Hah... Fine. You can watch from afar as I upy all of her heart." At that she startedughing, doubling over. Wiping a tear from her eye, she chuckled. "Y''know, I quite like you as well. It seems like I can go after either of you; after all, if I make one fall, the other will as well~!" I shook my head, thought there was a small smile on my lips. Grinning, she said "Well, see you tomorrow, rival~" Walking away, I watched as her tail swished side to side, and she was bouncing around. Seeing her disappear around a corner, I shook my head again, sighing. "Well, at least that''ll be interesting..." --- I know some people don''t quite like Anput, but... well, you''ve just seen the first of her! She has a lot of growth to go through after all! Another thing: We almost have 100k views and 300 collections! That''s really cool, and thank you all so much! Anyways, I just wanted to leave this list here of Anime I rmend (so far!) from this season. Lycoris Recoil: If you like Yuri (If you haven''t noticed, I really like Yuri) then this is a decent enough anime. Cool premise, excellent characters. Engage Kiss: It''s a good mix of action and romance. It has two Female Leads, one Tsun and one Yan, which is why I started watching it... ck Summoner: Just your typical isekai system anime, but for some reason I am heavily addicted to them. Harem Labyrinth: It''s another isekai anime, but the MC actually gets with his women, doesnt just collect them like all the others. Hell, in episode four(?) he sleeps with his first harem member. That''s practically unheard of for an Anime. Usually h*ndh*lding is the most they do, maybe kiss... Parallel World Pharmacy: Again, isekai that''s got a decentish idea, good art, so on... Finally, my favorite anime, Overlord, has a new season! I have literally been waiting for like a year since its been pushed back so much! Anyways, yeah, just wanted to put that there, if you have anything you are watching, let me know. Like always, I crave entertainment... --- Chapter 37 36: Out In The City (1) I had fallen asleep shortly after I looked over the experience I gained throughout the day. [Daily XP - 262.5] [Level 11 (1292.5/5764.5) -> (1555/5764.5)] The quests from dressing Jahi up and cleaning the tables added up, giving me more than my normal 187.5xp a day. Today was just like yesterday; Get Jahi bathed then dressed, prepare her hair, and make sure she looks like the daughter of a Marquess. Like yesterday, I put my hair into a bun, before smoothing my dress out. Grabbing my hand, Jahi led me out of our room, heading towards the lounge. We would be leaving at noon, and as such Jahi decided to sleep in, leaving us only two hours before we left. Entering the lounge, Jahi pulled me onto the couch next to her. Only the Countess and Lorelei here, and the room had a mixture of the sweet smell of ozone and the tang of iron. Seeing us enter, the both turned to look at us, smiling. "So you finally decided to grace us with your presence hmm?" "Good morning, Jahi, Katherine..." Hearing the cheerful tones directed towards us, I froze. Looking at Jahi, I noticed that she had simply nodded, before taking the lid off one of the trays left on the table. It was a simple spread of fruits with a few slices of bread, with a few small cups of various jams on the side. Somehow the meal still looked like it was just freshly prepared, as the slices of apples were still the shining white instead of tinged brown, which would indicate that they had beenying around for awhile. Jahi dug into the meal, spreading jam on her bread before shoving it into her mouth, almost swallowing it instantly. Shaking my head, I turned towards my own meal, slowly taking bites. The Countess and Lorelei had turned back to each other, ring. "Where did everyone go?" Hearing Jahi''s question, Lorelei turned and said "Leone and the Empress are in the library, while the Sultana and Kio are still... resting. Anput is out in the yard, training." I nodded my head, not surprised by where everyone was. Slowly finishing my food, I listened idly as the Countess and Lorelei talked about their time in the academy, both sending veiled threats and insults at each other with a smile. When I finished, Jahi grabbed my hand and led me towards the library. Entering, we saw the Empress sitting at the table, arge book open in front of her. Turning, she smiled at us before going back to reading. Looking around, I saw Leoneying on the floor next to her two headed puppy, reading a book and scribbling something down in her own notebook. Leading me towards her, Jahi dropped to the floor besides her, causing Leone to flinch. "Hey, I meant to ask, but what is... the puppy?" "His name is... Janus... and he is an Orthrus..." Hearing Leone''s low voice, Jahi nodded, before reaching out towards Janus. Scratching now of his ears, Jahi shed me a smile when the dog whined, kicking its leg out slightly in pleasure. Giving her a dry look, I asked "Where did you get Janus?" Leone looked at me, her orange eyes shing slightly. She hesitated, looking towards the Empress. "It''s fine, Leone. You can tell them." Hearing the low voice of the Empress, Leone nodded, before saying "My mother is a vampire... and when mixed with mom''s blood, well... apparently I am a purer vampire than mother... when I awoke my magic, Janus also appeared..." I widened my eyes in surprise. I remembered from some of the time I had been interested in vampires that some where known to have familiars, usually some kind of nocturnal creature. However, some where stated to have any kind of familiar, and an Orthrus...while not the most well known creature from the various mythos, many knew of the ''superior'' version, Cerberus. "You... summoned Janus?" Leone looked up at me, her eyes glowing. "Yes, in a way, I summoned him. From where, I don''t know... but I want to find out! After all, being able to summon powerful, loyal beings like Janus..." Jahi nodded, looking down at the dozing Orthrus. "Being able to summon even just a few creatures would be amazing, but imagine a horde of them..." Leone nodded, a smile on her lips. "That''s why I want to learn about Ritual Circles! When I awoke my magic, and Janus appeared, I could see a ritual circle briefly. I know what it looks like, but when I try and write it down or describe it..." She pursed her lips in frustration. I looked over at the book she was reading, and saw it was a book about different aspects of sequences. Seeing my gaze, Leone blushed slightly. "Well, in order to create a ritual circle, you need to understand sequences..." Jahi chuckled, saying "Yeah, and that''s something Kat can certainly help with. She''s quite good at. creating sequences." "Really? At such a young age too... do you mind letting me see one of these sequences, Katherine?" Turning around, I jumped when I saw the Empress standing behind me, a slight smile on her lips. Swallowing, I nodded my head, before moving to the table, taking a loose piece of paper and a pen. Quickly scribbling down one of the sequences I made for Jahi, specifically one that was an area of effect healing spell, I showed it to the Empress. She looked closely at both the full sequence as well as thebined rune. Nodding, she looked down at me. "You are quite talented. Not many children could create something thisplex, let alone something that might just work." Looking at Jahi, the Empress gave a small smile. "You really are lucky, Jahi. If Katherine here grew up not bound to you, she could easily attend the academy and make her own path. So treasure her well..." Jahi nodded furiously. Looking at me, Jahi had a wide grin on her face, before moving to stand beside me. "Well, it''s about time to go. Come on, Leone." Getting up, Leone ced the book on the table before scooping up Janus. Following her mom out the door, she looked back towards Jahi and I, her eyes ring. Following them out, we went back to the lounge, finding that everyone was waiting. Looking towards the Sultana and Kio, I saw that Kio was shaking slightly, and she was trying to hide her slightly bloated stomach. Sadly, everyone in the room could catch the slight scent of sex wafting off her body, making her blush deeper. The Sultana didn''t seem to care, as she sat there quietly. Chuckling, the Marquess said "Well, I hope everyone got enough restst night..." Shooting the Marquess a re, Kio grit her teeth before looking back at the ground. "... because today we are going to be taking in the sights of the city!" "This shall certainly be interesting... After all, March Asmodia is well known for it''s jewelry and metalworks, as well as leather working." Hearing Lorelei, the Countess said "Indeed, we are luck enough to own quite a few mines, as well as having talented people to utilize the minerals and gems we find..." "Shall we take two carriages? One for us adults, one for the children?" The Marquess looked towards Jahi, and upon seeing a nod, she looked towards the others, before smiling. "Well, try not to have to much fun in your own carriage children!" With that, we made our way out, making our way towards the gate where some carriages waited. Stepping towards therger carriage, the Empress spoke to her guards, one moving towards the seat while the other moved to the side. Seeing that, the Sultana gestured for one of her guards to join the Empress'', while the other moved to stand beside the other. Getting in the carriage, the rest of the adults followed. Looking towards Jahi, I moved towards the other, smaller carriage, opening the door and gesturing for everyone to get in. Jahi got in first, smiling at me, while Leone gave me a nod, before scurrying in. Stopping beside me, Anput said "Thank you very much, Kat~" Ruffling my ears, she entered the carriage, making Jahi''s eye twitch slightly. Sighing, I entered the carriage as well, sitting beside Jahi. Knocking on the wall behind us, I felt the carriage lurch forwards momentster. --- Bit shorter, I know. Also, just too give a rough idea of the future: we got a couple more chapters of Jahi and Kat spending time with Anput and Leone, which means it will be a bit before Kat''s core and other stuff happens. Additionally, I just want to say thank you so much for 100k views! It was kinda funny cause we hit 100 PStones this week almost the exact same time we hit 100k... Lastly, all three side novels are out right now. ''Rekindling Our me'', ''Alexandra the Iron Maiden'', and ''The Ker: Danmachi Fanfiction''. Go check them out! They will likely be updated once a week, maybe twice depending on if I suddenly have inspiration for them. Also, yes, they will have some smut chapters. Enjoy~ --- Chapter 38 37: Out In The City (2) --- Work really kicked my ass yesterday, so there was no upload, sorry... --- Getting into the carriage, I looked between all the other girls. Jahi had instantly pulled me into her, looking out the window as she held me. Anput looked at us with a mixture of a smirk and any in her eyes. Her ears were twitching slightly as she looked at us, and when our gazes met she smiled at me. Leone was holding Janus close to herself, asionally shooting nces towards me. Whenever she saw me looking at her she would blush before looking back down, burying her nose into Janus'' neck. Feeling the carriage start, I leaned more into Jahi''s embrace. "So, you two are quite close, huh?" Hearing that, Jahi looked towards Anput, smirking. She pulled me closer, before burying her face into the top of my head. "Mhm~" Anput''s smile stiffened, the envy in her gaze increasing. "What''s that gaze for, hmm~ Are you lonely~? After all, even Leone has something to cuddle~" Hearing that, Anput turned, looking towards the shy ashen haired girl. Feeling everyones gaze, Leone blush deepened, and she held Janus closer, hiding her face. Chuckling, Jahi pulled me onto herp, before patting the now empty seat beside her. I was frozen in shock, wondering what brought that on. However, before I could question her, Anput grinned widely as she jumped over towards Jahi, quickly taking a seat. Leaning into Jahi and I, she purred. Looking towards Leone, Jahi pat the empty spot on her other side. Hesitantly, Leone stood up, slowly taking a seat on Jahi''s other side. Staying a decent distance away from Jahi, Leone continued to hold Janus close, but she would send nces towards us, her whole face a light red. Squeezing me, she whispered "I thought I deserved something for the misunderstanding the other day..." Hearing that, I sighed before leaning back into her. Feeling her squeeze me again, I just smiled and decided to enjoy the warmth. We slowly made our way towards the town, the only noises the asional purr from Anput. I slowly dozed off, enjoying the warmthing from both Jahi and Anput. Hearing the door open, I blinked my eyes a few times before turning. Seeing the grinning face of the Marquess, I blushed slightly when she gave me a knowing look. "You enjoying yourself, Jahi~?" Chuckling, Jahi nodded. "Now I know why Mom had to keep you in check~ This is addicting~" The Marquess'' face paled slightly, before saying "Nope, not me. I was always content with Ria. Yup, always was..." "Sure, sure... Anyways,e on children, let''s go enjoy the city." Anput got up, excited. "Phobos City is know for its metalwork right? Think I can get a new sword?" The Countess smiled down at Anput. "Well, that depends on your parents no?" Anput nodded, her excitement halting for a second, before she regained her enthusiasm. Turning towards Jahi, she sped her hands in front of her and leaned forward, saying "Maybe Jahi will buy me something as a gift~" Jahi just looked at her, before looking at me, her eyes gleaming slightly. Standing up, Jahi let me go. Looking towards Leone, I gave her a smile before saying "Come on, Leone." Blushing again, she stood up stiffly, before quickly exiting the carriage. Moving towards her parents, she was greeting with a smallugh from Lorelei as she said "Did you have fun, Leone~?" Leone nodded her head, before being pulled into a small hug from Lorelei. Bouncing over to her parents, Anput asked "Can I get a new sword, please?" Looking down at Anput, Kio said "No." at the same time the Sultana said "Sure." ring at the Sultana, before sighing. "Fine, whatever. You better behave yourself though!" I looked around, before Jahi pulled me towards her. "Come on, lets go! The market should be in full swing right now!" The Marquess nodded, looking towards the Empress. "Market first then? See everything that Phobos has to offer?" The Empress nodded, before gesturing for the guards to follow. Before people could see her, the Empress raised her hands, making a ritual circle appear in front of her. Shining, her appearance slowly changed. Her long, fiery hair turned ashen, and her skin paled considerably. Looking around, I saw the familiar white buildings and dark wood roofs. The people around us smiled and bowed at the Marquess and Countess, and they looked at the now disguised Empress with intrigue, as well as the exotic appearances of the Sultana and her family. Grouping up, Jahi led the way towards the center of Phobos, where the Market was situated. Passing through the city, we saw many storefronts and heard many people trying to peddle their goods. Jahi ignored everyone, wanting to reach the center, and when I asked why she said "Mother said that they have almost everything in the Market, for cheaper prices too. Also, she said that she managed to find amazing gifts for Mom there..." ? At the end of that, Jahi looked away from me, but when I looked towards her ears I saw that they were a darker than normal. Smiling, I followed her happily. Anput walked beside us, her eyes wide with wonder. "Y''know, this is amazing! There are so many more buildings here than in the Sultanate!" Leone was also beside us, and she said in a small voice "This is almost as impressive as the capital..." "Really? Is Phobos almost asrge as the Capital?" Hearing my question, Leone shook her head. "No, the Capital is stillrger... but the atmosphere here is much better..." Laughing, Jahi gestured in front of us, making us turn towards therge, bustling square. "Wee to the Market! Now, let''s look around!" Looking around, we saw dozens upon dozens of stalls set up, with various goods ced on the counters. Some people couldn''t find spot for arge wooden stall, so instead theyidrge rugs on the ground, sitting on the top of them and having all their goodsid out on the ground. "Hey, take this; and stay in sight, you hear me? There are too many people here, so be careful." Handing Jahi a pouch, the Marquess gave her a stern look before giving her a smile. Looking into the pouch, Jahi opened her eyes in surprise. "Use it to buy whatever you want." With that, the Marquess turned, grabbing the Countess'' hand. Smiling at all of us, they watched as Jahi led us to various stalls. We saw incredible jewelry, des, loose gems, monster parts, and more. One of the stalls we stopped at had Leone slightly excited, since it had a small section dedicated to pets. She looked through the various cors, holding them up to Janus'' necks. Moving next to Leone, I said "I think the blue cors look quite nice on him, what with his blue gray fur." Jumping slightly, she looked at me, before pursing her lips. "You think? Hmm..." Holding up the cor again, she nodded. Handing the man a coin that she had in her own small pouch, she turned towards me, smiling. Feeling the other two move next to us, I looked over, seeing Anput grin. "Hey, I want a cor too~" At that, Jahi raised a brow, before looking at me. Smirking, she looked down at the cors before turning. "Come on, there''s more here!" Saying so, she led us through the market, stopping at various stalls. We would hold jewelry up to each other, holding up clothes, and much to Anput''s delight, inspecting various swords. At one such stall, Anput held a de up, inspecting it. "Hmm... This feel quite nice... How much, Mister?" Hearing that, the old man at the stall smiled, saying "For you, how does 100 gold sound?" Whistling, Anput looked towards Jahi, smiling slightly. "What do you think? I can reimburse you when we get back..." Holding her hand out, Jahi took the de, nodding her head. Tossing the man a fewrger coins, she wrapped the de in a cloth the man offered. Handing it back to Anput, Jahi smiled. "You owe me the gold and I want to see that sword put to good use~" Anput smiled as well, her eyes gleaming. "Yea, I''ll beat you in a spar tonight!" I smiled slightly at their interaction, though I felt slightly irked that Jahi bought something for Anput before me. However, I held hope that she would wait for a more... intimate time to give me something. We continued around the market, however even though we looked at many things, nothing else was bought. Hearing Leone''s stomach growl, we turned to her, causing her too blush. Smirking, Jahi and Anput looked at her, making her blush deepen. "Alright, let''s go get something to eat. Mom''s over there, and there''s a stall..." Looking around, Jahi''s eyes brightened as she pointed towards a stall. "There! Selling skewers. That fine with everyone?" We all nodded, and after making our way over, I could feel my stomach growling as we got closer. I released Jahi''s hand, looking around as I rubbed my rumbling stomach. However, as we were slinking through the crowd, I felt hands wrap around my body and mouth, dragging me through the crowd. I tried to say something, tosh out, but I felt something prick my skin, and my consciousness faded. Chapter 39 38: Kidnapped --- So... I was offered a contract for Servant System... I honestly don''t know if I want it though. As you all know, I try to upload daily, but well... So, that''t the first main concern. The second is that I can''t just quit Amazon and hope this pays off, not when Amazon is offering a bunch of $ to pay for college, and my parents are adamant that I either go full time or go to school. All it would take is one day of bad work and schoolwork and boom, contract gone... On top of that, even if I did one or the other, it just raises the question: Can I actually write 1500 words everyday and not get burnt out from writing? I honestly don''t know what to do. I mean, making money from writing is exactly what I want, and even though I don''t have a lot of bills to pay, doesn''t mean I don''t need the money. 200$ a month, plus 0.01$ per coin spent isn''t really that viable at the moment, and I don''t even know if I am reading the contract right on that front... Anyways, I just wanted to say that, maybe hear what other people suggest. --- My head throbbed, and my muscles ached. I tried to open my eyes, but couldn''t. Slowly panicking, I thought I was back in the void. Even though I could feel my body, I didn''t know if this is what happens the second time round. Would I be stuck in darkness for another indefinite amount of time? I started breathing faster, trying and failing to calm myself. "Oi, boss. The pup''s awake." Hearing a gruff voice, I calmed down. This was proof I was still alive. Feeling someone prick my skin again, I tried to scream, to thrash about, but realized I was tied up and gagged. Blinking my eyes, I realized my vision was returning, and the first thing I saw was the narrowed eyes of a scarred man. Seeing his amber eyes looking at me with contempt, I shivered. "Hmm... the little blue brat seemed to care about you... Why is that? You are just a maid..." He frowned, continuing to look at me. Sighing, he stood up, looking around. He gestured towards someone, and I could hear shuffling. A man was thrown in front of me, tied and gagged just like me. Looking down at him, the scarred man growled "I asked you to grab the Sultana''s brat. How did you manage to mess that up, huh? All those drugs mess you up that bad?" Sending a kick into the mans ribs, he continued. "We were meant to kidnap the Sultana''s brat and use her as leverage. Everyone knows she is one of the favored kids. We''d have been rich if you simply snatched the right kid!" Sending another kick, the bound man screamed into his gag. "Horian, lift him up." Another man came into view, before picking up the bound man. Unsheathing a de, the scarred man looked at the de, nodding. "Yes, that''s what we''ll do. Yes, that makes sense..." Chuckling, he looked at the bound man, before his de flickered. Blood sprayed from the gaping wound in the mans neck, sttering the ground in front of me. Even after seeing the Countess massacre those mercenaries a month back, I still felt squeamish seeing a man die so close to me. Flicking his de clean of the blood, he sheathed it, before shooing the other man, Horian, away. "Well, it looks like you have a job to do, little maid." Kneeling in front of me, he grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. "You will be bait to get the little demon here. If we can''t get the Sultana''s brat, we will settle for the demon. Yes, we will sell her off to a foreign country. With her pedigree, she should fetch quite the price to be some noble''s personal toy. You''ll join her, of course. Serve your new master together..." He gave me a wicked smile, before getting up. "Boss, can we have a go with the maid?" Hearing that, the scarred man sneered. "You all use drugs, you force yourselves on women... not even kids are safe, huh? No, you can''t. Virgins sell for a higher price." He walked away, and I looked around. I was in a dark room, and I couldn''t see much. The floors and walls were made from wood, and the air... Taking a sniff, I could smell the faint scent of moss and pine. That meant that I was on the surface, which was reassuring. I saw a few men standing in the shadows, watching me. Continuing to look around, I felt despair creep up when I couldn''t see anything else. Nothing that might help me, and the more I looked around, the more I could see movement in the shadows, suggesting that there were more people here than I thought. The scarred man reappeared, a small knife in his hand. "No reason to keep you awake..." With that, even as I struggled, he pricked my neck again, and I felt the darkness close in, before falling unconscious. ~~~ (Jahi PoV, before kidnapping) Looking down at the cors, I grinned, imaging Kat wearing one around her neck. Feeling a slight rush at the idea of publicly iming her as my own, I decided toe back here before we left. When she heard Anput ask for a cor, I saw her eyes light up slightly, an expectant look in her eyes. I couldn''t even tell if she knew that, but I wanted to surprise her, and considering the nces my little cute puppy sent my way the entire shopping trip, I couldn''t wait for tonight, where I would give her my first gift. We continued around, looking at clothes and jewelry. I had to admit, both Anput and Leone are good looking girls. Anput was fun to be around, as she was the first person I could actually spar against. While sparring Mom is fun and helpful, I can only learn so much when I am entirely outssed the entire fight. On top of that, her cheerful personality is contagious. On the other hand, Leone has quite the calm aura for me. Even though she seems to like Kat more than me, I enjoyed her presence. I had no idea why. Maybe it was also because she brought out a side of Kat I could rarely see, which was when she lost herself in her research. Both of the girls were quite fun, but did I want to marry either of them? I have no idea. Thinking so, I looked towards Kat, smirking at her. What I did know was that I couldn''t wait to see my little puppy grow up. How strong will she be? Will she look like her mother, with a body made to sin? Will she still give me those gazes that are filled with desire? Will she continue to be so fun to tease? Thinking of that, I led us to a stall selling des, wanting to see if I can get a rise out of her. When she looks at me with such tant jealousy and desire... Anput handed me a de, and after testing it''s bnce and weight, I bought it in her ce. Sending a gaze towards Kat, I could see her pouting at me, her hazel eyes slightly alight with jealousy. Grabbing her hand, I continued to lead us through the market, looking for something that stood out as something I NEEDED to get my little puppy. Sadly, nothing stood out, which only made me more determined to get a cor. Hearing Leone''s stomach growl, I smirked at her. This was something I found I quite liked about the shy girl; watching her pale skin go crimson from the slightest embarrassment. Feeling Kat drop my hand, I suggested we go look for something to eat. As I looked around, I found a skewer stand, and after considering the other options, I led us towards it. Feeling my hand was still empty, I turned, looking for Kat. I saw Anput poking Leone in the stomach, chuckling as she continued to make the little vampire more and more red. Leone was shuffling about, holding Janus close to her. However, I didn''t see Kat. Feeling my heart drop, I looked around, hoping to see her familiar brown hair, her fluffy ears, or her unique ck outfit. Nothing. My heart clenched, and I staggered slightly. No. No. No. No. NO. Where is she? Where did she go? Seeing my panic, Anput looked back, before asking "Where''d Kat go?" I ground my teeth, ring at her. Anput flinched, before turning away. Where is my Kat? Looking around, I saw the familiar horns of my Mom. Maybe she got separated and made her way to Mom? Running through the crowd, Leone and Anput followed me, and we reached Mom. She was standing there with Mother leaning onto her, with Julie standing off to the side, expressionless. "Have you seen Kat?" Turning, all three of them shook their heads. "I... I let her go for one second..." Feeling my heart clench again, I clenched my jaw, feeling a tooth crack under the pressure. The burst of pain helped stabilize my thoughts, albeit for only a second. Seeing Julie''s eye''s widen, her face filled with panic, the feeling came back. Her normally warm hazel eyes glowed a bright blue, and she tried to run out into the crowd, only to be grabbed by Mom. "LET ME GO! I HAVE TO FIND HER!" Screaming, she started hitting Mom, however she was quickly pulled into a hug. Looking down at me, Mom asked "Where did you see herst?" I pointed over towards where we had been standing, and she nodded. Mom walked through the crowd, reaching the spot I had pointed to. She looked around, her ruby eyes ring. Julie still struggled in her arms, trying to break free. "There. Someone..." Looking up at my Mom, I followed her gaze, before bolting in that direction. Someone... Someone dared... SOMEONE DARED TOUCH WHAT''S MINE? I could feel my mana raging in my body, and I sped up. Kat... Please Kat... I ran harder, and I saw a man running, Kat slung over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. My anger red, only to rage more as he sped up, before disappearing around a corner. I saw a sh of light around the corner, and when I turned... I saw nothing, except for the fizzling runes of a Ritual Circle. Noticing that it was still active, I was about to jump through it when I felt someone grab me. Turning, I saw the stern gaze of Mother. The circle fizzled out when she grabbed me, and she covered my mouth. "We can''t just rush in, Jahi. Besides, since you two are soul bound, we can find her. We WILL find her. I slumped into her arms, my heart feeling like it was slowly cracking. Kat... Please... I... Chapter 40 39: Rescue(1) (Jahi PoV) "What happened?" Hearing the low voice of the Empress, I turned slightly, staying quiet. I didn''t trust myself to speak at the moment. I was a mess emotionally, and thest thing I wanted to do is offend the Empress... "Someone kidnapped Katherine..." My Mom told the Empress, keeping Julie''s shaking form close to her. The Empress nodded, before looking at Mother. "Well, are we going to use the soul bond to track her down?" "We were about to..." Looking towards me, the Empress kneeled, saying "Alright, focus your mind. Think about Katherine, about finding her. You should feel something leading you towards her..." Nodding, I closed my eyes, concentrating. I started thinking about her, about the moment we shared... Although it has only been a little above a month, I couldn''tprehend the idea of a life without her. Maybe it was the bond, or maybe, just maybe, we were meant to be... Feeling my heart clench, I started focusing on her appearance. Her fluffy ears, her long brown hair, those hazel eyes that glowed gold in the sunlight. Her carefree smile, the way she blushed easily... The warmth she provided, the way she felt when I held her close... The girl that made my heart beat faster... Remembering when we first met, I was enamored by how she acted. She tried to copy her mother, to be a proper maid. Smiling, I remembered how shocked she looked when she saw how both my parents treated her mother, and how quickly she grew red when I teased her. Slowly, more and more scenes appeared in my mind. Her leaning over her notebook, scribbling down various sequences as she nibbled on the end of the pen, too focused on her work to notice. Her gentle touch when she cleaned me off after my spars with mom. Her eyes zing with desire when we were in the bath, only to be masked by embarrassment momentster. Everything about her captivated me, and now... Now, I needed to find her. "Good. She''s in the forest north of here. About... fifty miles or so." Opening my eyes, I looked up at the Empress, who smiled down at me, before turning to look at my mom. "That''s the old fort you abandoned a decade ago, right?" Nodding, my mom had to hold Julie closer, before saying "Yeah, Fort Abraxas..." Sighing, she looked down at Julie before saying "Calm down... We''ll get to her soon now..." While she stopped struggling to break free, I could hear a guttural growling from her. Looking around, both mother and Kio had mixed looks, appearing both worried and slightly excited. "So, we going?" Hearing Kio, everyone nodded. However, Lorelei said "I''ll take the children back to the estate, along wi-" "I''m going." Looking at me, I could see a mix of emotions. Mom was looking at me with pride. Mother was ring at me, her face a blend of anger and worry. The Empress smiled down at me. Lorelei looked at me with worry. The Sultana gave me a nod. Kio shrugged. Anput ground her teeth, but looked at the ground, quiet. Leone''s orange eyes were aze with worry, and she gave me a serious look before nodding. However, when I saw the look Julie gave me from the corner of her eye... I shivered. Her blue eye was a cold void. Normally a glimmer of warmth could be seen, her hazel eyes reminiscent of honey. Now, they were the depths of the ocean; cold, dark, utterly uncaring. I grit my teeth, before repeating myself. "I''m going." Sighing, mom looked down at me before nodding. "Well, I was thinking about taking you out somewhere soon anyways..." Mother''s re alternated between mom and I, before she sighed. "Lorelei, take Anput and Leone back please." Hearing the Empress, Lorelei nodded before scooping both of them up, making her way back towards the carriage. "Kio, join them..." The Sultana''s raspy voice made Kio flinch, but she nodded and followed behind Lorelei. "Alright, let''s go. Ria, carry Jahi. We need to get there quick..." Nodding, mother picked me up. Looking around, I could see everyone taking a deep breath before mana red around them. Then... The buildings around us flew by, as we sped towards the north, towards Fort Abraxas. Gradually, we made our way out of the city, and into arge forest. Seeing everything blur past us, I was stunned. I had just started learning how to apply mana to myself, and I could barely move at a sixth of this speed in a straight line, let alone weaving around trees and roots... "Are you thinking about how fast we are going? I hate to break it to you, but this is not as fast as we could be going..." I looked up at mother in surprise, before asking "How..." Chuckling, she said "I am by far the weakest one here, excluding Julie, and even with lightning magic I am outssed by those three. The Sultana and Empress have reached a peak that few can even see, let alone climb to. Chordeva is one of those people though. If we were in a time of war, she would have reached that peak..." Giving a wry smile, she looked back up, focussing on running. Sadly, as much as I wanted to continue asking about that, I could feel my stomach drop, before my heart clenched. Taking a sharp breath, I couldn''t focus on anything else, worrying about what that feeling could possibly mean. Hearing that, mother looked down at me in worry before shouting "Speed up!" Slowly the forest turned into a blur, and it took a few minuets to eventually reach arge, stone ruin. Standing in front of it, we all looked up, taking in the dozens of people lining the ramparts. One stepped forwards, a tall, swarthy man. "If you don''t wa-" Before he could finish, an arrow made of water pierced his skull, making him slump to the ground. Silence descended, and everyone looked towards the glowing dogkin, water swirling around her. Her hands shing, twoplex runs appeared in front of her, and a barrage of arrows shot towards the ramparts, killing many. Shouting, the enemy returned fire, normal arrows and spears shooting towards us, only to be blocked by a dome of water. I could hear a low growl, and when I turned back to Julie, I saw arge ritual circle re behind her. Glowing a bright blue, it slowly started to fade. Confused, I looked around, only to see mother grinning slightly as she looked up. Following her gaze, I saw the same ritual circle appear above the castle, before it started to rain. Each droplet of water was sharp, and slowly I could hear the sounds of the enemy screaming in pain, as well as the sound of flesh hitting the floor. I looked towards Julie, shocked. A spell like that is... "Beautiful, isn''t it?" Hearing the warmth in my mothers voice, I looked at her in shock. Smiling widely, she was looking at Julie with a heated gaze, before looking back up. "A work of art." I was confused, and slightly worried, so I jumped out of my mothers arms. Moving towards the rest of the group, I felt someone grab my arm, and when I turned I saw mom. "Focus again. Try to find where Kat is." I nodded, before refocusing, trying to find her. I could feel a pull towards the ruins, and I slowly grabbed that feeling, trying to narrow the pull. Feeling it move downwards, I said "Below..." "Well, that certainly helps. Hah... whatever, the basement of Abraxas is small." Opening my eyes, I saw that the rain had stopped, and Julie walking forwards, into the ruins. We followed her, and when I looked to my mom in confusion, she said "I may be stronger than her, but I am not getting in her way." The Empress nodded, smiling. "A woman searching for her child is quite dangerous. Besides, if she needs help, we''re here." Saying so, we all watched as a man charged at her, swinging an axe towards her. Pivoting, she avoided the swing before her hand shot forward and pierced his chest, blood spraying everywhere. Gulping slightly, I made sure to never piss her off. After all, her face never changed the entire time. It just stayed cold, unfeeling, even as blood sprayed on her cheek. She continued, quickly killing anyone who approached. Making her way into the ruins of Abraxas, we looked around. Without turning, Julie asked "Which way." "Room to our left, stairs are on the right side." She turned left, her hand flickering as she caught an arrow. Without a word, she flung it back towards the archer, and we heard a scream. Hearing people behind us, mother sighed before flickering away, reappearing a few secondster, apanied by the thuds of bodies hitting the floor. We entered the room, where another dozen men stood, weapons in hand. A man with scars littering his face stepped forwards, and chuckled when a water arrow stopped an inch from his face. "That''s not nice, now is it? Hmm... Oh! Boys, bow! You are in the presence of the oh so great Empress and Sultana!" Saying so, he gave an exaggerated bow, before looking back up. Chuckling, he raised a scroll with a ritual circle drawn on it. It started glowing, and jumped off the scroll. It looked exactly like the one from the city, and I watched as some... thing walked out. Chapter 41 40: Rescue(2) (Jahi PoV) Looking at the Ritual Circle, I watched as some... thing walked out. It looked vaguely humanoid. Standing on two legs, it was a tall creature, with deep crimson skin. Its torso was riddled with scars and markings. Instead of two arms it had six, each one rippling with muscle and covered in runic tattoos. However, its head was that of a a reptile, and its ck eyes were empty and cold. As soon as it stepped out of the ritual circle, it stretched, reaching the same height as mom. Cracking its neck, it looked around, its tongue flicking out of its mouth. "Ssssoooo... Thissss isss thend of the living? Disssappointing..." The voice was snakelike, low and cold. Rolling its arms, it looked behind it, towards the man covered with scars. "Sssspeak, human. Why have you sssummoned thissss Lord?" A fanatical grin on his face, the man dropped to his knees. "It was true! Haha~ Lord Tes, I fulfilled the prophecy of the River N!" Tilting it''s head, ''Lord Tes'' looked at the man in confusion, staying silent for a few moments. "River N? Prophecy?" Looking down, Lord Tes continued to stay silent, before raising its head. "Ah, that thing from millennia ago? I could care lesssss. All I crave now..." Raising its head, Lord Tes looked towards us, its tongue flicking out. "Ssssoulsss..." Saying so, it flickered forwards, faster than I couldprehend. Appearing before Julie, it tried to grab her with one set of arms, only to be met by mom, the Empress, and the Sultana standing in front of it. "So you summon a fiend... in front of me?" Hearing the Empress'' low voice, I shivered slightly. "Haha~ I actually thought we would have a challenge today~" Mom just chuckled, however I could tell there was no mirth in her voice. "...Indeed." Jumping back, the fiend, Lord Tes, looked between the three women, its eyes narrowing. Looking between the Empress and mom, I saw it''s eyes widen, and for the first time emotion was visible in its eyes. Fear. Complete, utter fear. Turning, it hissed at the man. "Fool! Do you not know who they are!?" The man looked confused, saying "I do. Marquess Asmodia and the Empress of Ash." "You..." It snarled, looking at the two women. Raising its hands, six identical runes appeared, glowing a deep orange. Six des of fire appeared in its hands, and the fiend dropped into a stance, looking warily at the two women. "Chordeva, do you wish to try this first?" Mom chuckled, before stepping forwards. She created the same runes the fiend did, grasping two des of fire. "Been awhile since I fought a fiend. This''ll be fun~" As soon as she finished speaking, she walked towards the fiend, spinning her des. "Only one of you? Are you insssulting me?" It hissed again, before moving forwards, swinging all six des at mom. Blocking them, she chuckled. "No, not really. I do believe I am more on your level than she is..." Saying so, she flicked her des down, before sending a kick at the fiend. Skidding back a few feet, it hissed again, before rushing at her again. Feeling someone grab my shoulder, I looked up to see mother looking down at me. "Well, you have a choice. You can watch Chordeva fight a fiend..." As she said that, I saw her gaze heat up as she looked at mom, before taking a deep breath and looking back down at me. "...Or you can fight your first real opponent. The only one that''s a problem, only a small problem, but a problem none the less, is the man with the scars. Everyone else..." She scoffed, before narrowing her eyes down at me. "So, do you wish to have your first fight? Or will you stand here and watch?" I growled up at her, annoyed with how her tone slowly became disdainful. "I''ll fight. I didn''te here just to watch." Mother continued to look down at me, before nodding. "Stay here, I''ll go get partner number one." Flickering away, she reappeared a momentter with a confused man in her hands. Pushing him forwards, she looked at me, saying "Well, unless you face a lethal strike, I won''t be interfering." I nodded, looking at the man. He was looking at mother with fear, before looking towards me, some confidence and contempt making its way back into his eyes. "I''ll kill you, brat!" With that, he charged forwards. Seeing him draw a short sword, I watched him, confused. Why is he so... slow? Anput is easily faster than him, and she is what, twenty years his junior? Shaking my head, I moved to the side, allowing his clumsy swing to strike the floor. Hearing the ng of metal on stone, I raised a brow. Punching towards his side, I felt a satisfying crunch as I broke a rib. Shrieking in pain, he copsed, tears forming in his eyes. I scooped up his sword, twirling it as I felt its weight and bnce. Shoddy. "Are you just going to stand there?" Hearing the bored tone of mother, I grit my teeth slightly, before taking a deep breath. She really was good at making mom and I do what she wanted. She knew exactly what buttons to press. Raising the sword, I hesitated, looking down at the man as he shivered in pain and fear, sobbing. Feeling someone behind me, I turned to see mother looming over me, looking down at me. "Do it. Kill him." Hearing her cial tone, I shivered slightly, looking back down at the man. Clenching my jaw, I continued to look at him. Was he not attempting to kill me moments before? Is he not part of the group who dared... Thinking of that, I felt my blood boil. I swung down. I could feel the de sever flesh and hit bone. I could hear the sounds of flesh tearing, hear his screams. I could smell the iron tang of blood, the stench of urine. Panting, I raised the de, watching as blood slowly dripped off. My vision swam, and I felt like I was going to copse. Before I could, I felt someone hold me, gently. Turning, I saw mother looking down at me, a mixture of emotions raging in her eyes. I saw regret, pride, sadness... Sighing, she stroked my hair, before saying "I really wish I could have handed you a world without bloodshed... Yet, as long as people exist, the ugly side of everyone will rear its head eventually. I... I would rather you understand... the weight of a persons life. The feeling of ending one..." Continuing to stroke my hair, she gave me a weak smile, before looking back up. "Chordeva and I often discussed this. Should we wait for you to grow, both physically and mentally, before your first kill? Or should we make you ustomed to it now? After all, you are to inherit March Asmodia, a territory where ouws and thugs live on our border with the Labyrinthian. Chordeva wanted you to experience it now. She said it would help shape you into who you need to be." Sighing, she grit her teeth before looking back down at me. "I wanted to wait. Maybe we could have helped create a more peaceful world before you entered the Academy. Maybe, just maybe, you wouldn''t have to bathe in blood like we did..." My vision slowly stabilized, and I took a shaky breath. After only a few moments, I was... Fine. I felt very little about what I just did. Maybe it was my natural reaction to killing something that could think and feel. However, I just... couldn''t care anymore. Why should I worry about him? About any of them? They touched what''s mine. They deserved to die. Taking another breath, I said "Mother, I''m fine. Really." She looked down at me in surprise, before chuckling dryly. "I guess I should have expected this, huh? Chordeva and I aren''t really the most... caring people..." I chuckled at that, saying "I watched mom give a man over to a fiend, turning him into a suit of armor, barely a month ago. I think I can stomach a little blood." She shook her head,ughing. "We really didn''t give you much of a chance huh?" I shook my head, and she sighed. "Well, do you want to try again? Before Julie kills everyone..." I looked up, watching Julie wade through the bandits? as she used her mana coated fists to kill everyone. "I guess one more wouldn''t hurt?" She smiled down at me, flickering again. ~~~ I looked towards Mom, watching as sheughed while she toyed with Lord Tes. She weaved through its attacks, much to its frustration. Its body was littered with cuts, blue blood dripping from the wounds. Mom, on the other hand, looked like she was dancing, her clothes still intact and her mood jovial. "Is mom always like this?" Looking up at mother, I saw her heated gaze again, and I sighed. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Chordeva enjoys toying with fiends. Something about knocking them down a peg..." "They tend to be quite prideful, yes. Tza''Yul took quite a few beatings before bending the knee. From what I heard, your ancestor had quite the fight with Ka''Hondi as well. However, that pride is well earned. Against a majority of the world, fiends are just that strong. Its just..." Looking back at mom dancing around Lord Tes, the Empress chuckled. "Well, we are a little to strong for fiends..." The Sultana nodded, before looking at us. "Shouldn''t we be looking for the little one?" Hearing that, I felt like an idiot. The slight high I had from my second kill made me forget that we still hadn''t truly located Kat. Feeling my chest tighten, both in worry and guilt, I looked back towards mom. "Finish up! We need to find Kat!" Hearing my shout, mom looked over her shoulder, whining "Come on~ Just five more minutes, kay~?" ring at her, she sighed. "Fine, fine... Listen Scalie, my brat wants me to finish this up..." Sighing, she jumped back, before arge ritual circle appeared in front of her. The fiend''s eyes widened, however before it could act arge wave of mes washed over it, and for a few moments the room was almost purely orange. Dimming, we all looked towards where the fiend was previously, only to see a small pile of ash. Taking a deep breath, mom looked towards me, an annoyed look on her face. "Really, why didn''t you all just go on without me... Finally get to have some fun..." Pouting and muttering to herself, she rejoined us, before looking over at Julie. "Come on Jules. We''re going down." Stalking over to us, I looked at Julie in fright. Covered in blood from head to toe, her eyes were still a deep blue. With her lips drawn in a tight frown, I shivered slightly when she looked at me. "Let''s go..." --- So, thest few days have been mentally draining for me, and I have no idea why. I would get home from work, take a nap, then wake up exhausted (Shift is 3am - 7am). The ungodly hours are probably why, but the money is good... Anyways, boom, cliffhanger over. Little power reveal, little moral dilemma, and character development! Sounds like a good chapter to me! That all aside, I do just wanna say this: I have really been enjoying these books on web novel, so if you need something to read because you''re like me and crave entertainment, consider checking these out of you haven''t already. Time Stops When I''m With Her (MHA): Just a really wholesome, OPMC Yuri novel. Like, really sugary sweet wholesomeness. Naruto: The Strongest Senju: Tsunade but better. That''s the whole idea, and it works really well. Characters and all that is good, and I have enjoyed binging it. Naruto: Tango with Death: Isekai novel, pretty good. MC is believable, characters are great, plot is interesting (its an alternate timeline) and overall I really like it. Also... Goddess of Ice: Corrupting Bleach! Maerry''s new novel! I thought I would have to wait a long time to read her Bleach fanfic, but she dropped it only 10 days after her Naruto one finished! I really can''t wait to read more of it! For the people who don''t care for fanfics... lol I have nothing, sorry. Not on web novel, anyways... Alright, little discussion thingy over, I hoped you enjoyed~ --- Chapter 42 41: @#*&%! (Jahi PoV) As we all made our way towards the stairs, I looked around, nching at the sight of the torn apart bodies. Shivering, I turned back towards the front, trying to ignore the heavy tang of iron in the air. Slowly descending into the basement, I noticed that there was little noise. Concentrating again, I tried to strengthen the tether between Kat and I, and it only took a few minutes. "Left." Hearing me, everyone nodded before moving towards the left. Looking around, I saw that most of the walls were made from wood, which was engraved with various runes. The area was empty and covered in dust. Slowly making our way through the various rooms, I was growing slightly worried by the silence and empty space. Taking deep breaths, I continued focusing on the tether, before smiling when I noticed that it led, and stopped, in the room in front of us. "She''s in there!" Julie opened the door, looking around, before moving in. Following behind her, I saw that there were various crates and tables strewn about, but like the other rooms, it was empty. Looking towards the center, we saw Kat bound to a chair. Her clothes were ruffled, but otherwise she looked fine. Relief flooded my system, and I grinned widely. I was about to move forwards when I saw a sh of blue from Julie. Looking at her, I watched as she used water magic to cleanse herself of the blood, before running forwards and kneeling in front of Kat. Shaking, she gently raised her hand to Kat''s forehead, moving a strand of hair out of the way. Moments continued to pass, and Kat showed no sign of movement. We all moved closer, examining her. "Ah..." Hearing the Sultana, we all looked at her, and she pointed to a small prick on Kat''s neck. "They used a mixture of... nightshade,vendoria, and Acheron seeds. We should bring her back to the house; she won''t be waking up anytime soon..." Hearing her, Julie nodded, gently lifting Kat up. Holding her close, she burrowed her face into Kat''s neck, her eyes flickering between hazel and deep blue. ~~~ (Kat PoV) I was drifting in a ck river, the sky a deep grey. Looking around, I couldn''t see anything. No waves, no light, nothing. Just calm, ck water for as long as the eye could see. Raising an arm, I watched in fascination as the water rose off my arm, floating towards the sky. Submerging my arm again, I noticed that the water was the same temperature as me, and was dense. Moving forwards, I watched as the water rippled, but I noticed that there was no sound. "Hello?" Hearing my voice, I sighed in relief. At least I had that going for me, I guess. ''System? You there?'' I waited, and yet nothing responded, both in this world of water and in my mind. Frowning, I continued moving, hoping to maybe find... something. As I waded through the chest deep water, I recounted what happened. I remembered waking up in a dark room, before a scarred man approached me. After talking and beating another man, he approached me and... Shuddering, I realized that I was most likely poisoned by something. Unless I died for a second time, and instead of a void I got a river this time? Chasing that out of my mind, I continued wading through this ck sea, observing both the water and sky. I don''t know how long it was, but eventually I found a small ind. Moving towards it, I noticed that it was just a few feet long and wide, but at least I would no longer be in the water. Dragging myself onto the grey sand, I sighed in relief. My muscles ached... Thinking that, I looked down, noticing that I was back in my original body. Frowning, I looked around. "Looking for something?" Jumping in fright, I turned around. Standing on the water in front of me... was me. Yet, it wasn''t. We shared the same body, the same face, but where I had a warm,zy look, the woman standing in front of me was cold and sharp. Her eyes were a ghastly blue, and she had a few runes etched onto her bare arms, which were much more muscr than mine. Sighing, she looked at me before pursing her lips. "Looks like your quite jumpy, huh? Well, we don''t have much time. So, listen first before asking anything. Understood?" Nodding, I stayed quiet, curious about what was happening. "So, let''s start with who I am. Obviously, I''m you, but I am the you from... a long time in the future? Anyways, listen, I have a few things to tell you. One, start training both your body and your mind. It takes a while, and I don''t remember when, but when I was young... shit happened. I can''t go to in depth, lest I attract it''s attention. Two, you should stockpile as many skill points as possible. Try to earn everything yourself before using them. Build a foundation. I learned the hard way that skipping the foundation was the wrong y. Three, never trust @#*&%!... damn." Growling, she turned around, looking towards the sky. ? "Looks like I said too much and overstayed my wee. Look, just... get strong, okay? You have probably a decade and a half or so before it... happens. Enjoy the peace, but train. Train as hard as you can. You''ll need it. Now, looks like I have to go before it finds me... Good luck, young me." Saying so, she flickered away, leaving me in silence. I was, to say the least,pletely and utterly confused. Was that actually me? From the future? Why didn''t she have the dog ears? Maybe that was how my... our soul looked like? Just our original body? Was that our soul? Hearing a faint rumbling, I looked around. The water was rippling, and the sky started getting darker. A loud rip came from behind me, and when I turned I saw a gigantic eye staring at me. The sclera was a deep crimson, and the iris was a swirling mixture of yellow and green. The pupil was a horizontal slit, the same crimson as the sclera. Pure malice and hatred was radiated from the eye, and I was shaking hard. I looked away, unable to withstand the gaze. I turned and ran, trying to get as far as I could. The rumbling continued, and the hatred kept washing over my body in waves. I ran, ran, and ran. I was panting, my body screaming at me, yet I continued to run. I couldn''t bring myself to stop. I felt that if I stopped... I died. It felt like an eternity, but eventually the rumblings calmed down before stopping altogether. I kept running until I didn''t feel the gaze on me. Looking over my shoulder, I sighed in relief when I saw just an empty sky. Copsing to the ground, I drew in air as quickly as I could, before I froze. Looking down, I screamed when I saw the eye was repeating infinitely below me, creating andscape. Looking up, I saw the same thing, before I was flying down a spiral, the eyes all around me. ~~~ (Jahi PoV) I looked down at Kat''s pale, nched face. Sweat poured from her brow, and I gently wiped it off. She was shivering, her eyes flitting everywhere below her eyelids. Sighing, I leaned back in my chair, holding her warm hand. For three days she had been asleep. For three days I sat beside her, along with Julie, watching over her. Looking up, I saw Julie resting her head on the side of the bed. She had managed to stay awake for the entire time, before passing out a few hours ago. We had tried everything, from haling magics to herbs and medicines. However, that led to an unsettling revtion. It was no longer a matter of curing a simple poison; instead, we had to wait. Whatever was happening to Kat, it was something only she could ovee. Even with the bond I could only sense her physical presence, no longer able to feel surface level emotions. The bandits used a mixture of things. Thevendoria was a nt that''s extract made for a potent knock out drug, while the nightshade induced hallucinations. However, the real problem was Acheron Seed. It forced a person into their mind, to relive or recall various things. It was also something people knew little about, as it was not only rare but varied. Sometimes it was weak, showing someone basic memories, like what they had for dinnerst night. Other times, it showed people a warped version of their memories, usually adding parts that weren''t present during the actual events. Sighing, I looked down at Kat, wiping more sweat off her brow. Pulling the nket up, I continued to hold her hand. Feeling her grip tighten, I looked towards her eyes. They flickered open slightly, before looking towards me. Seeing the ghastly blue, I shivered at how cold her eyes were. --- So... Yeah... Alright, we are going to discuss this, just a bit. Like the strange person said, if they are to be trusted, major, crazy stuff won''t happen for a while. Like a while while. So, don''t worry about that. We still have, ording to this other Kat, ~15ish years. That means that most of the stuff in the near future will still be tame-ish. Y''know, character development, training, fights, eventually smut... the normal stuff. I just kinda went with the chapter, an eventually all this will full circle? We shall see if I am (hopefully) still writing then. Treat this chapter as... something that may or may not happen. I don''t n on rushing towards crazy town. Like I said, I want to get all the other tame stuff done first before we get into that stuff. Additionally, if the reason you like this novel is for the tame stuff, I don''t ever n on getting rid of it. Kat will always be a maid and so on. It''s just... eventually I want to write about Jahi and Kat doing crazy stuff. Well, I should probably stop rambling... --- Chapter 43 42: Departure (Kat PoV) Groaning, I opened my eyes. I had a pounding headache, and when I opened my eyes and saw the sun filtering through the windows, I grimaced. Feeling someone holding my hand, I looked over to see Jahi sitting next to me, her amethyst eyes wide with worry. Giving a weak smile, I saw her eyes water before she wiped them. "K-Kat..." She pulled me into a hug, holding me as tight as she could. Nuzzling into her arms, I took a deep breath, finding sce in her warmth. Jahi was shaking, and I could hear muffled sobs. cing my hand on her back, I stroked her gently, hoping to calm her down. Time passed by slowly, however I wanted this moment tost as long as possible. To help me forget what just happened. Hearing someone shuffling behind me, I looked over my shoulder to see my mother wiping her red, puffy eyes. Seeing me, her eyes lit up even as tears streamed down her cheeks. Jumping onto the bed, she wrapped her arms around both of us, her face nuzzled between my ears. Surrounded by warmth, I smiled. However, it was this exact warmth that made me realize something: I need to start training, even if it''s just the basics. I could feel their pain through their shuddering breaths, and while I was happy to be back in the real world, each shaky breath they took made my heart clench. I needed to be stronger, to prevent something like this from happening ever again. I could no longer hope that this life would be some warm,fortable life, one where I can sit back and never worry about conflict of any kind. There was no way I could have a tool to get stronger and not use it. Feeling resolve growing in my heart, I continued to remain quiet, allowing them to findfort in my presence. As I waited, I heard the system speak for the first time in a while. [What... What happened? I couldn''t see anything for three days!] ''So you really couldn''t see that... Are you able to view my memories? Or can I... ''project'' them to you? I kinda need a second opinion from someone who won''t think I''m crazy...'' [... if you concentrate on it really hard, I can view it.] I clenched my jaw, before closing my eyes. Thinking about everything that happened in that monochrome world, I waited a few moments. [Why... Why can''t I see anything?] The usual calm voice of the system was now concerned. I started to recount what happened, making sure to recount everything as best I could. [If I had to guess... it''s true. That really was you from the future. There is magic that can bend thews of reality on this world, and when you have a system to help speed up your growth... well, it''s not unheard of for users to do things like that.] I stayed quiet, thinking it over. If that really was me, and that... eye was really something that hated me to my core, I needed to get stronger. I can try and learn the basics of things now, before starting in earnest next year when I awaken my core. "Katherine... Baby, are you alright? Do you hurt anywhere? Do-" Hearing my mother''s concerned voice, I chuckled lightly. "I''m fine mother, really!" She hugged us tighter, her breathing still shaky. Pulling away a few momentster, both she and Jahi looked me up and down, looking for any injuries. Chuckling again, I smiled at how much they cared about my wellbeing. My mother sighed in relief, her tense muscles finally rxing. However, this just caused her to start crying again, pulling me back into her arms. I leaned into her, trying tofort her. "I''ll go tell everyone else that you''re awake..." Hearing Jahi''s raspy voice, I looked over at her and nodded. Giving me a weak smile, she left the room, her shoulders slightly slumped. Moments passed, and I heard my mother take a deep breath. "Katherine... I... think it might be best if you started training with Jahi now..." Looking up at my mother, I saw her eyes had a worried look. Smiling up at her, I nodded my head, saying "I want to start training as well. I never want to let you all go through something like that again..." She stroked my ears, before sighing. "We were really worried, y''know? For three days youid here, looking like you were experiencing a nightmare over and over again..." Nuzzling into her, I took a breath and nodded. "I... I don''t remember most of it, but... I was scared..." That eye... just describing it wasn''t enough. Sure, it was creepy, but it was something about the way it looked at me, the raw hatred it radiated, that scared me. She continued to stroke my ears, and before she could say another thing the doors flew open. Seeing a grey blur rushing towards us, my mother let me go, a slight smile on her lips. Feeling Leone wrap her arms around me, I froze for a moment. She buried her face into my neck, sobbing lightly. Gently stroking her back, I watched as Jahi and Anput entered. Jahi looked much like she did earlier. Her eyes would meet my own for only a few moments, before flickering away. However, I managed to see the slight specks of gold in her eyes when she was Leone hugging me. Anput was even more awkward, shuffling about as her ears and tail fluttered. Her lips were pulled into a frown, and her normally joy filled eyes were puffy. Biting her lip, she looked at me before looking at the ground. Sighing, I gently moved Leone to the side, allowing us to stand up. She still had her arms wrapped around me, refusing to let me go. Shuffling towards the other two girls, I gestured for them toe forwards. Jahi took a hesitant step forwards, before moving behind me. Wrapping her arms around me, I could feel her bury her face into the other side of my neck. Smiling slightly, I looked at Anput and gestured again. She looked at me in surprise before moving forwards, joining the group hug. Hearing more footsteps approaching, I watched as the Marquess and Countess walked in, small smiles on their face. Moving towards my mother, theyforted her slightly. Next, the Sultana and Kio entered, both observing with neutral expressions. Nodding to me, they stood off to the side, silent. Finally, the Empress and Lorelei entered. Giving me small smiles, I saw Lorelei sigh in relief, before leaning into the Empress. "So, I guess everyone leaves today, huh?" Hearing the Marquess say that, I felt Leone tighten her grip, and Anput flinched slightly. Nodding, the Empress said "I believe that would be best, yes. We can''t leave our offices unattended for too long, right Anubi?" "Indeed. We have some... important matters to take care of back home. However, I would like to ask if we may visit again, Marquess Asmodia. Maybe for when Katherine awakens her core?" I looked at the Sultana in surprise. She just nodded at me again, while Kio smirked at me before looking at my mother. "Yes, that does sound like a perfect time toe back..." The Empress'' low voice made me look towards her, and she just smiled at me, while Lorelei gave me a shrug. Sighing, I nodded to the Sultana and Empress, saying "It would be an honor to have the Sultana and Empress at my Awakening." Jahi held me tighter at that, and I could feel her jaw clench slightly. Sighing, the Marquess said "Well, if Katherine''s fine with it... I''ll send letters a month prior to the ceremony." Everyone nodded, before slowly filtering out of the room. Looking back, the Countess said "You all have a few more minutes before you should start getting ready..." before following behind the Marquess. Jahi and Anput pulled away, and after some coaxing, I managed to get Leone to let go as well. Smiling at everyone, I said "I wish you both wille visit next year..." Anput nodded, her jovial attitude slowly returning. "Maybe I can show you a thing or two when Ie back..." Smiling at her, she grinned at me before giving both Jahi and I a hug, before leaving the room, humming to herself as she went. Leone''s orange eyes red slightly, and she bit her lip. "I... I will visit, Katherine... I promise..." Hearing her low, shaky voice, I smiled at her. Seeing that, she blushed lightly before moving forwards. Gently wrapping my arms around her, I felt her shaking slightly. "I''ll be alright, Miss Leone. Really! This year will pass before you know it, as well!" She just nodded, biting her lip again. Moving to Jahi, they briefly hugged each other. Moving towards the door, she looked back, her eyes watering. Gently smiling, I waved to her. Clenching her jaw, she quickly walked out of the room, tears falling down her cheeks. Sighing, I looked over to Jahi, who was standing there stiffly. Moving over to her, I leaned on her shoulder, before saying "I n on joining you in your training now..." Looking over at me in surprise, I could see reluctance and anticipation battling in her eyes. "Are... are you sure? I am going to increase my training, by a lot... I... I don''t want to have to experience something like that ever again..." Hearing her voice grow soft and shaky at the end of that, I wrapped my arm around her, saying "I don''t want to experience something like that again either, which is why I want to start training." She sighed, before pulling me into a tight hug. "I was... so, so afraid... that when we found you, you wouldn''t be-" "Alive?" She started sobbing again, nodding. "Well, I''m alive. So, let''s try our best to keep it that way, yeah~?" Hearing my joking tone, she started chuckling. "I promised to be by your side forever, didn''t I?" Her tone was joking, but I could feel the undertones of possessiveness and want. Stroking her back, I nodded, saying "Forever and always..." --- So, a few things. One, I asked another author on the site, Grayback (Vile Evil Hides Under the Veil), about contracts. I wanted to hear what he had to say about it, and he managed to clear some doubts. I DO NOT have to upload daily with a contract. Apparently that is only works that do the privileged chapters (The chapters that are locked locked behind a coin wall and are technically not released yet.) So, I think that at chapter 50 I will ept the contract. If I have control over how much a chapter costs coin wise, I was thinking about either 4 or 6, since they split profits 50/50. Make it nice and even for my minor OCD... Two, I will start plugging my p.atre.on at the same time. I need to fine tune it, but I think I want to do multiple tiers, with each one offering its own benefits. I don''t know exactly what yet, but I just want to let people know. Three, this is just me being curious, but how many people are reading this? If you could just drop ament on this paragraph to let me know, that''d be great. Webnovel doesn''t provide easy to read statistics or anything like that, so... justment anything on this paragraph. Thanks! Anyways, that''s all. I know the book is slow, but it picks up now. After all, the characters are introduced, the world is outlined, and power stuff like magic is also outlined. We have a few more chapters before a time skip to the core awakening, then a few summary chapters of things happening, like Social events, mini events, lemons, fights... y''know, normal things! Let me know if you''ve been enjoying it, and I hope you continue to enjoy Kat''s journey! --- Chapter 44 43: Training The days after the Empress and Sultana left were slow, but warm. I spent most of those days in the arms of either my mother or Jahi, both still a mess from my minia. I was touched, and really enjoyed the time, but I wanted to delve into my training. Thankfully, the Marquess saw my plight and managed to convince the two women that we should start going back to normal. So, that was why I was nervously shuffling around the training grounds, dressed in a new outfit. Simr to Jahi, it was just a crop top and loose pants. Both Jahi and the Marquess were preparing for todays session, while the Countess had managed to drag mother out into town. I started pacing, my nerves growing. I had worked out in my previous life, but it was just to keep myself roughly in shape. I never had an interest in having muscles, nor in having an insanely healthy body. Minutes passed, and I had paced the grounds at least four times already. Hearing the door open, I looked over to see the Marquess and Jahi stride in. The Marquess gave me a smiled, while Jahi ran over to me and gave me a quick hug. "Alright, since you still don''t have a core, you''ll have a toned down version of the regimen I have Jahi go through. Understood?" Nodding, I waited for her to continue. "To start off, lets have you do... fifty push-ups and sit-ups, then threeps of the grounds. Do you know how to do those?" Nodding again, I decided to start with the push-ups. Dropping into a nk, I made sure my hands were directly below my shoulders before lowering myself. Feeling the familiar burn in my wrists, shoulders, and chest, I smiled wryly. I never really liked push-ups, preferring sit-ups drastically more. However, I understood why they were a staple of most peoples workouts; they used a good amount of muscles and was something you could do anytime, anywhere. I continued, however I started struggling at the twenty mark. My body was still that of a child, even if I was stronger than my previous life. Getting to twenty-five, I copsed to the ground, panting. Looking to my left, I saw Jahi quickly dropping and rising, her breathing even. Pouting, I rolled over to my back, getting into position for sit-ups. Crossing my arms over my chest, I curled myself to my knees, before lowering myself to the ground. Unlike push-ups, I managed to get up to forty before I started struggling. Shakily raising myself on the fiftieth sit-up, I tried, and failed, to gently lower myself to the ground, instead mming into it. Groaning, I looked up at the sky, deciding that I was going to point my next stat points into strength. "You good?" Opening my eyes, I saw the Marquess looking down at me with a grin. ring at her, I continued taking in gulping breaths, trying to get my heart rate down from what felt like a hundred beats a second. Moments passed, and eventually my heartbeat steadied enough for me to get to my feet, albeit shakily. Taking in deep breaths, I moved towards the edge of the grounds, before I started jogging. The grounds were a decent size, about the same size as the gymnasiums in schools. Roughly 80ft long and 40ft wide, theps I had to take would have been easy if I was an adult, but as a kid they were draining. However, I got them done, even if I felt like my body was screaming at me. Copsing to the ground again, I just focused on my aching body, everything else taking a backseat. This was why I enjoyed working out in my previous life. I could throw myself into it and not think about school, work, people, money... It was just me and my body. Nothing else in the world mattered during my workouts. However, the Marquess had other ideas. Scooping me up, she moved me towards the other side of the grounds, where a few rocks were lined up, each a different size. cing me on the ground again, she pointed at them, saying "These have been here for centuries. We could use metal weights, but there''s something... enjoyable about using these. Anyways, you will lift and lower that rock there twenty times. It should be manageable..." Chuckling at me, she leaned against one of the rocks, watching me. Groaning, I dragged myself towards the rock. Wiping my hands free of sweat, I wrapped my small arms around the rock, before lifting it. At least, I tried to lift it. I barely got it a few inches off the ground before I had to drop it to the ground with a loud ''thud''. My arms still ached from the push-ups, and seeing me struggling, the Marquess sighed. "Well, I guess I have to remember that you aren''t part demon... Hmm..." Sighing, she picked me back up before holding me in her arms, leaning against her rock. "Hah... I guess we should keep it simple for now... Just get your body used to using it''s muscles. Rest, then run another fewps. We''ll be done for a bit then..." I nodded, though I was too tired to speak. I watched Jahi as she continued her workout, changing from push-ups to sit-ups. Minutes passed, and eventually I asked "When... when can I learn to use a weapon?" Looking down at me, the Marquess pursed her lips, before saying "Probably in a month or so. I n on just teaching you to use short des for now. Something everyone should learn, and is simple enough to introduce you to handling a de." I turned my gaze back to Jahi, before asking "Will we learn with real des or practice ones?" Chuckling, the Marquess said "Practice ones. It''ll hurt to get hit, but shouldn''t kill you. The only difference between them and real des being the sharp edges and maybe the weight. I want you both to be used to using metal, not changing from wood to metal. Theres a big difference between the two." Seeing Jahi get up, a slight sheen of sweat covering her body, I watched as she started jogging around the grounds. She moved at an even pace and took practiced breaths. I looked at her with slight envy, wanting to be able to do what she was currently. Sighing, I snuggled into the Marquess arms, enjoying the soft sensation of her chest. "Y''know, you and Jahi are very different. She was always more... independent. She wouldn''t refuse physical affection, but she never went out of her way to receive or give it. Hah, I wish she did though. It feels nice..." Saying so, she held me closer, and when I looked up I could see her smiling warmly at me. "Maybe I should ask Julie..." I gave her a dry look, making her chuckle. Ruffling my ears, she went back to observing Jahi, her ruby eyes glowing with warmth. We fell into afortable silence, the only sound being that of Jahi''s feet hitting the stone path and her paced breathing. Eventually, Jahi walked in front of us, taking quicker breaths. Her body was now shining with sweat, and I had to drag my eyes away from the sweat that dripped down her midriff. Smiling at us, she asked "So? What now?" cing me back on ground, the Marquess said "We''ll go through a few spars, while Kat gets herstps in. Then we''re done for today. I have some work I need to finish..." Sighing, she nodded her head towards the center of the grounds. Jahi walked behind her, though not before giving me a knowing smirk. Blushing slightly, I resumed myps, taking a slower jog so I could observe their spar. I may not be able to spar now, but that doesn''t mean I couldn''t learn something from watching them. Jahi took up a stance opposite the Marquess, before throwing a quick jab towards her stomach. Lowering her arm, the Marquess blocked the punch before sending punch of her own towards Jahi. Swaying, Jahi let the fist sail past her, before ducking under the arm, sending quick punches towards the Marquess'' side. I watched as they slowly warmed up, their punches, chops, kicks, and dodges growing in speed. Eventually, I could barelyprehend one blow before another two were sent out, or I couldn''t track how they dodged something. Their spar provided the perfect distraction, as I managed to perform more than threeps, only stopping when my lungs burned with each breath and my leg muscles screamed in pain. Dropping myself onto a rock, I continued to watch them spar, entranced by their borate dance. I don''t know how much time passed, but eventually they stopped, Jahi panting while the Marquess just wiped her brow. Yet again I had to drag my eyes off of Jahi''s body, focusing on her flushed face. Walking towards me, I broke out of my reverie, grabbing the towel I had readied after I finished myps. Moving forwards, I wiped Jahi off, my head spinning slightly at her scent. The tang of sweat mixed perfectly with her naturally sweet smell. Seeing my nose twitch, Jahi grinned before saying "If that was all mom, I want to go take a bath now..." Giving a knowing grin to Jahi, the Marquess nodded, shooing us out of the training grounds. Grabbing my hand, I was dragged from the room. Jahi rushed us through the halls, and my heart beat quickened. --- Sorry for the long dy. I was going to get the chapter out yesterday, and even had a third of it done, but Destiny 2 released the Lightfall Showcase, as well as the new season, so that''s what I was doing both yesterday and today. Also, the reason we are on 44: Chapter 43: Training, is because I put a little disimer thing before Chapter 1, letting new readers know that the story is ''slow'' and that the style changes from the first few chapters. Other than that, we are probably two chapters away from Kat''s core, so... Hehe~ --- Chapter 45 44: My Core (1) We slowly settled into a routine, swapping around the sses we currently had, as well aspletely dropping Baron Jilk''s ss. The Marquess decided she wanted to push forward the physical training that she was going to give Jahi, and since I wanted to join in, she allowed Baron Jilk to stay, however Jahi would no longer have to ''study'' under the Baron for three hours a day now. The new schedule had Baroness Estra at the same time, 8-10 in the morning. After that was an hour break, before we went to study with Arch Mage Kolia from 11-3. Another break, then we practiced with either the Marquess or Countess from 4-6. That was the new schedule, and while it was demanding, it was quite rewarding. Time slowly passed by, and I noticed that I was getting much stronger, and my control over my body had increased as well. I also learned that I could train myself to increase my own stats, as I had gained a few points in every category, as I was improving my body and mind. Add that to therge amount of experience I earned just from basic day to day activities and my status now looked like this: (A/N - Just remember... this is a whole YEARS progress, and I am showing you the progress from lets say January 1st 2000 to January 1st 2001. Which means the numbers are fucking HUGE. If you remember from like 10 chaps ago, I had a little quest sheet for how much XP per room cleaned, plus her additional daily quest of Bathing Jahi. I took Averages for each quest, so this number could be MUCH bigger if I made her get every quest done to perfection...) [Level 11 - (1555/5764.5) -> (291055/5764.5)] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level 19 - (7097/147744)] [STR - 11(22) CON - 10(20) AGI - 10(20 DEX - 11(22) CHA - 13(26) WIS - 12(24) INT - 12(24)] My stats all reached at least 10 in my young form, which the system told me that the average, non core having adult human had. So, I was as strong as a normal adult... at the age of 5! I was pleased with my growth over the past year, and I couldn''t wait to be able to actually use my stats. Since it had been a year since I was sent here, I assume that it was now my birthday, and that tomorrow, I would awaken my core. I was both excited and nervous. Even with all the assurances from the system, I couldn''t help but think about the what ifs and maybes. What if I didn''t actually awaken a core? Maybe my core would be faulty. After all, nothing is set in stone in the universe. Probability and chance rule everything. What if Jahi leaves me because I don''t have a core? What if she didn''t want me to have magic at all? These thoughts would pop up here and there, and I would be sent into a mini spiral of nervousness and trepidation. However, I always managed to drag myself out from it, with and without help from Jahi. I smiled as I looked over at her sleeping face, my heart warming at her peaceful expression. Over thest year she had aged considerably. You can hear about how Demons and Cores speed up maturation, but seeing it is something different. Jahi was now 6, and she looked like she was around 8 or 9 in reality. Her dark rams horns were now tipped with a burnished gold, a small side effect of her light magic. Her light blue skin remained smooth, and her raven ck hair was still silky smooth. Recently, her normally amethyst eyes were speckled gold, and Arch Mage Kolia had told us that it was something that could happen when you awakened your core; features on your body would start to disy your element. In Jahi''s case, it was her gold tipped horns and speckled eyes. Jahi was now much taller than me, standing at roughly five feet. Her body was also slightly toned, and when I ran my hand over her midriff I could feel the solid muscle of her abs. She had grown much more beautiful over the year, and had also grown much more... promiscuous. She was more hands on than before, which was hard to believe, and had no problems letting her hands roam freely. Additionally, she started giving me light pecks on parts of my skin, be it my forehead, cheek, hand, wrist, or even my neck. However, she never once went for my lips... Shaking myself lightly, I continued to watch her sleep, before rolling out of bed. Stretching, I entered the bathroom, looking into the mirror. Jahi wasn''t the only one to change. I let my hair grow out longer, and I usually let it hang freely. My ears were more defined, and the fur on both them and my tail was longer. I had grown taller as well, though I stood at roughly four and a half feet. I smiled at myself, before starting to prepare everything we needed for the day. Leone and Anput would be arriving today, and while I had slight concerns about Anput, I was looking forwards to seeing the both of them. I had gotten better at sparring, and while I wasn''t as strong or agile as Jahi, I made up for it in technique and strategy. Jahi, like the Marquess, preferred to overwhelm their opponents in brute force, while the Countess and I used our heads, utilizing the surroundings to our advantage. I wanted to use my newfound strength and beat Anput in a spar... Chuckling, I remembered when I surprised everyone when we started prating with des. I had managed to defeat Jahi with ease on the first day. My movements were clunky and unrefined, but my [Dagger Proficiency (Adept)] made me look like a naturalpared to Jahi. Jahi had pouted the entire day, before slipping out every night to train herself. I didn''t catch her until a month or so after, and by then she herself had caught up, making our spars more even. Sighing, I exited the bath, quickly arranging our clothes on the dresser, before sitting not he edge of the bed. Looking at the light blue demon snoring softly as she hugged a pillow made me smile, and I shook her shoulder. Grumbling, she blinked her eyes a few times before looking at me, yawning. "Good morning, Jahi." She just nodded at me, her eyes unfocused. Chuckling, I got up from the bed, making her pout slightly. I gave her a small smile as I quickly stripped, before entering the bath. Like clockwork, Jahi entered in behind me only momentster, hugging me from behind. She gave me a peck on the cheek before sitting on a stool. Kneeling behind her, I started washing her off. "Kat~ Are you excited for tomorrow?" Hearing her cheerful voice, I smiled, saying "I can''t wait! Not only will I finally start growing quicker, but I also get magic!" Jahi looked over her shoulder, chuckling. She knew how much I enjoyed magic, as I had created dozens of spells for both her and myself. Arch Mage Kolia had also started challenging me, creatingplex sequences or ritual circles and having me decipher them. "Haha~ I can''t wait to spar with you after you get your core... you''re already so tough now..." I smiled again, gently rubbing her shoulders. Jahi was truly a battle junky, and besides teasing me, it seemed like it was the only thing on her mind. We slowly finished our bath, before slipping into our clothes and making our way towards the Marquess'' room. We were going to eat with them before waiting for Leone and Anput to arrive. Entering the room, we sat down on the couch, Jahi picking up the book on the table in front of us, opening it. She started reading quietly, her arm wrapped around me. I leaned into her, enjoying her warmth as we waited for the Marquess, Countess, and Mother toe out. --- So, we have a few scenes to go through here, before some more mini time skips to get to different scenes I have nned. Then, the Academy starts... Also, doing the math for the levels took more time than I would care to admit, and is making me realize how stupid I was in the beginning. I mean, 1.5x per level seems small, until you reach the 100,000s. Then it''s quiterge.... Anyways, hope you enjoyed. I know I ''skipped'' over her learning to fight, but I would rather do what I have nned than make you read about how she learned how to use a dagger... --- Chapter 46 45: My Core (2) We continued lounging on the couch, Jahi reading while I simply dozed off, waiting for the Marquess, Countess, and Mother to wake up. Thankfully we didn''t have to wait long, as I watched the Countess shuffle out of the room with a yawn, with Mother walking out behind her. Seeing us, they both gave me warm smiles, with my mother making her way over to me. Giving me a hug, she ruffled my ears before exiting the room, making her way to the kitchen to grab our breakfast. Plopping onto another couch, the Countess sighed before looking at me. "You excited?" I nodded my head, smiling. My core... Finally being able to use magic, being able to start my training in earnest... Growing faster... I couldn''t wait for my core. Chuckling, the Countess leaned back into the couch, closing her eyes. The room fell quiet again, as we waited for the Marquess to enter. It didn''t take long, and she came out of her room, stretching, before sitting beside the Countess. Wrapping her arm around her, the Marquess said "Well, both Leone and Anput arrive in a hour or so... you excited about that?" She shot me a sly grin, and I chuckled. "Yes, I am actually. I enjoyed Leone''spany, and I want to beat Anput in a duel..." The Marquess nodded at that, though I could feel Jahi pull me closer to her. I smiled, leaning into her, before waiting for breakfast. Like always, it was a simple meal, just a spread of fruits, bread, and slices of meat. Quickly finishing the meal, Jahi and I made our way back to our room, making sure we were presentable for our arriving guests. After we were ready, we made our way towards the front gate, enjoying the various scents from therge garden in front of the Marquess'' Estate. Simr tost year, I took my time walking down the path, enjoying the various flowers on the way. Seeing a deep blue orchid, I gently plucked it from the stem. Feeling me stop, Jahi turned, tilting her head. I quickly ced the flower in her hair, chuckling as her eyes went wide. Seeing her cheeks darken slightly, I grinned at her before continuing on the path, admiring the other flowers. Jahi sprinted towards me, wrapping me in a hug before pecking my cheek. Grabbing my hand, she led us towards the gate, her steps hurried. Allowing myself to be pulled, I watched as we passed the various flowers along the way. In my free time, when I just needed to have some time all alone, I would wander through the gardens, enjoying the smells and colors that it provided. Reaching the gate, the guards all bowed to Jahi, making her wave her hand in annoyance. Moving to a bench, she dragged me onto herp, wrapping her arms around me. Burying her nose into the crook of my neck, I leaned back into her, smiling as I felt her breath on my neck as she spoke. "You really know how to drive me crazy..." I chuckled, staying quiet as I enjoyed her touch. She continued to hold me, and we drifted into a warm silence, waiting for Leone and Anput to arrive. It wasn''t a long wait, as a guard rushed over and informed us that a Royal Carriage was approaching. Getting up, Jahi quickly straightened her clothes before standing straight, waiting for the carriage to pull up to the gate. I smoothed my own dress, before standing a step behind Jahi, my hands folded in front of me. Seeing the familiar crimson and gold carriage, I watched as the door flew open before it could evene to a full stop. Rushing out of the carriage was Leone, wearing a long crimson dress. I smiled slightly as she rushed towards us, her orange eyes glowing with joy. In the year that we hadn''t seen her, she, like Jahi, had grown quite a bit. She was Jahi''s height, and her ashen hair fell to her waist, flowing freely. Leone was followed by her Orthrus, Janus. Like Leone, Janus had grown in size, almost double the size he wasst year. Additionally, his body was much more muscr, as he had lost most of his baby fat. Stopping in front of Jahi, Leone gave her a hug, smiling widely at her. "It''s been a year, huh?" Hearing Leone''s low voice, Jahi nodded, smiling back at Leone. After another brief hug, I watched as Leone turned towards me, her orange eyes shing slightly. She pulled me into a tight hug, swaying side to side as she held me. Returning it, I waited for her to release me, which was momentster. Leone took a deep breath, saying "It''s nice to see both of you again..." I nodded, smiling at her. "Must be better than the stuffy pce too." Hearing Jahi, Leone nodded, sighing. "It is... All the meetings, gatherings, sses..." Sighing again, Leone pouted, looking between Jahi and I. "You both are so lucky..." We chuckled, making her pout more, before we heard the sounds of a carriage drawing near. Turning, we watched as a ck carriage stopped in front of us, and the door opened. Stepping out with a stretch, Anput looked over at us, azy smile on her lips. Wearing simr clothes to herst visit, I could see her defined midriff, paired with the olive skin and bright red fabric, made her look quite beautiful. She had grown slightly taller, standing around my height, while her ck hair was pulled into a ponytail. Strapped to her back was the sword she boughtst time she visited. As she walked towards us, she grinned, stopping next to Jahi. "Long time no see, huh?" Nodding, Jahi gave her a quick one over before smiling back at her. Anput yawned, before saying "Well, let''s go. I feel like I''ll fall asleep if I don''t move around soon..." Before we entered the gates, I looked back at the carriages, confused. "Did Lady Lorelei and Lady Kio not apany you?" Turning to me, Leone shook her head, saying "Mom stayed home. She had to smooth some deals over for the Academy. Besides, I used a Teleportation Circle to get to one of our Summer Pces in the countryside, and had two guards apany me." Anput shrugged, saying "Well, Mom''s pregnant, so Mother won''t let her travel. Same thing as Leone really. Took a Teleportation Circle to the border with some guards." I looked between them before nodding. Leone walked beside me, while Anput walked in front, looking around the garden. We continued walking at a slow pace, enjoying the cool breeze and view. "Have you started doing any physical training Kat?" I looked at Anput, who was smirking over her shoulder at me. I smiled back at her, saying "I have. In fact, if I could be so bold, would you care to spar with me?" Her smirk widened, and I watched as her dark eyes narrowed. "Yea, lets. In fact, why don''t we spar today, when you don''t have a core, and tomorrow or the day after, when you do have a core? I don''t want you saying you lost because of not having a core or something simr..." I nodded, and I heard Jahi chuckling. "Anput, want to ce a bet?" Hearing Jahi''s jovial tone, Anput grinned at her, nodding. "Well, if Kat beats you without a core, you have to do whatever she says for the day." Anput nodded, before saying "Then that means if I win she does whatever I say for the day. Deal?" I looked at Jahi, watching in amusement as her eyes flickered gold, her smile freezing, before she nodded. I stayed quiet, simply smiling at Anput when she looked at me. We resumed the walk, and I felt Leone tug on my sleeve. Turning, I saw that her orange eyes were alight with worry. Smiling at her, I chuckled when she blushed, looking at the ground. Leaning closer to her, I whispered "I beat Jahi in a few spars recently..." Leone looked at me in surprise, before smiling widely. Looking up at Anput, she chuckled before whispering "Well, I hope you win. It will certainly be interesting to see her have to be subservient to you..." I nodded, also looking forward to seeing Anput act restrained. Moving up towards the main door, I moved in front of the group, opening the door to allow them inside. Following behind them, I watched as their guards followed the prepared servants, moving down the halls with some luggage. We made our way first to therge lounge, where the Marquess and Countess waited. Entering the room, we saw the Marquess take a puff from her pipe, blowing out arge cloud of smoke, while the Countess sat beside her, taking a small sip from her tea cup. Hearing the door open, they looked up, smiling at us. Nodding to both Leone and Anput, they gestured to the seats, where teacups wereid out. I moved behind Jahi, pulling out her chair before doing the same for Leone and Anput. Taking my ce behind Jahi, I watched as my mother served tea to everyone before mirroring me, taking her ce behind the Marquess. Taking another puff, the Marquess said "Thank you both foring. As I agreed to with the Empress and Sultana, I do have to inform you that you are not allowed outside of the Estate walls, and should preferably stay inside. Additionally, your Guards will be watching over you day and night. With that out of the way..." The Countess leaned forwards, saying "We wee you back to March Asmodia, and hope you enjoy your stay." --- So, slow again, but well... I started writing and this is what came to mind quickly. Just reintroductions before the actual stuff next chapter. Anyways, I mainly just wanted to say: Thanks for 170K views and 500+ Collections! Also, it was amazing to see so many people gifting powerstones every week, averaging around 100 over thest three weeks. I didn''t think people would donate daily due to my inconsistent upload schedule, but it means a lot to see the continued support! Thank you all so much! --- Chapter 47 46: My Core (3) After giving the formal greeting, as well as inquiring about their parents, eventually the Marquess and Countess released us, mainly due to Anput dozing off slightly during tea. As soon as we were dismissed, Anput shot up and moved towards the door, her tail swaying slightly behind her back. We made our way to the now familiar training ground, and Anput and I walked to the center after grabbing practice des. Spinning the dagger in my hand, I stayed in a loose stance as I observed Anput. She had grabbed a longsword, simr to the one she boughtst visit. Twirling it once, she wrapped both hands around the handle and lowered herself, her grin almost splitting her face. "Alright, first hit wins. Leone will be the judge, since she is more impartial than me. Are you ready?" Hearing Jahi''s voice, Anput and I nodded, waiting for the countdown. "3...2...1... Go!" Anput dashed forwards, swinging the de down towards my skull. Her movements were fast and fluid, and even as I stepped to the side I had to ward off an elbow sent my way. Jumping backwards, I spun my dagger into a reverse grip before I rushed towards Anput, swiping the dagger towards her midriff. Seeing her spin out of the way, I stabbed the dagger back towards her, catching her off guard. She quickly brought the crossguard up, narrowly blocking my dagger. She moved back, her eyes narrowed as she looked at me. "I didn''t think you''d be this good, Kat..." I just smiled at her, before dashing forwards again. This time, as I stabbed the dagger at her again, I sent a jab towards her temple. She swayed, before shing her de towards my midriff. I rolled to the side, before lunging back at her. She had swung to far, and was off bnce, so I smiled widely when the dagger started inching closer and closer to her side. However, I suddenly found myself lying on my back, the air knocked from my lungs as Anput sent a kick to my chest. I blinked rapidly, feeling the cold metal on my throat before my vision refocused. Looking up, I saw Anput smirking at me, her de resting on my throat. "I haven''t been cking off this year either~" Withdrawing the de, she stabbed it into the ground before offering her hand. I red at her, before sighing and grabbing her wrist. Pulling me up, I beat the dust off my dress before looking back at her. Anput was just smiling at me, though I could see the familiar heat in her gaze, reminiscent of how Jahi looked at me, or the Countess looked at the Marquess. Leaning towards me, Anput whispered "If you weren''t already promised to Jahi, and I didn''t need to worry about my marriages... Oh, I would do everything I could to make you mine~" She moved back, taking the sword from the ground before looking towards Jahi. "Care for a round?" Nodding, Jahi took a de from the wall before walking towards Anput. I sighed, before moving off to the side. My chest still stung, but it wasn''t something I wasn''t used to at this point. The Marquess sometimes forgot her strength... Leaning against the wall, I heard Leone move next to me. "Well... If it is any constion, Mother has said that the Sultana is raising Anput not to be the next ruler, but to be the Sultanate''s de." I looked over at Leone, looking at her side profile as she watched Jahi and Anput spar in the center of the grounds. "The Sultanate''s de?" Hearing my question, Leone turned her orange eyes to look at me. "Yes. The Sultana ns on raising her daughter to be as strong, if not stronger than her. She says that the Sultanate needs a sharp de to protect itself." I looked back towards Anput, watching as she grinned as she danced around Jahi''s de. Sighing, I replied "Well, at least she seems to enjoy the role..." ~~~ The day passed rather quickly, with Anput and Jahi sparring most of the time, with both sometimes asking me to spar with them so they could ''spice things up''. After the sun fell, we made our way back inside, soaked in sweat. Jahi and I made our way to our room, while Leone and Anput made their way to their own rooms. We took our time in the bath, before eventually getting out to go get food. Eating arge meal, Leone asked if we could go to the Library, where she and I looked through various books about magic while Anput chatted with Jahi. Hours passed, and eventually the day caught up to me, and I started nodding off. Seeing that, Jahi scooped me up before bidding the other two goodnight. Laying me in our bed, I could hear her hitched breathing as she undressed me, before quickly cing my chemise on. Getting into the bed with me, she pulled me into her, burying her face into my ears. I drifted to sleep rather quickly, both from the exhaustion and howfortable I was in her arms. ~~~ The day of my core awakening... It both flew by and dragged on. It felt like it took forever for the Marquess and Countess to draw the ritual circle, and yet... Here I was, sitting in the center of the circle, a crystal ballying in myp. My heart pounded in my chest, and every breath I took felt like I was breathing in soup. I tried to calm down, but the more I realized that this was the actual start of my life here... Shaking my head, I looked around, seeing Jahi, Anput, and Leone standing as a group, all looking at me with a mixture of worry and anticipation in their gaze. Like with Jahi, the Marquess, Countess, and Arch Mage Kolia sat in a triangle around me, where they would start gathering mana to funnel into the crystal in myp. My mother stood by herself, her lips pursed as she looked at me in worry. I gave them all a shaky smile, before nodding my head at the Marquess. Closing my eyes, I focused my entire being on the crystal, just like Arch Mage Kolia told me to do. Hearing the sound of the three women chanting, I gripped the ball tighter. They continued chanting, until they fell silent, moving away from the circle. Feeling the ball shiver in my grasp, I continued to hold it, until... Gasping, I felt something enter my body through my hands, flooding my veins as it worked it''s way to my chest, right next to my heart. From my right hand a warm, gentle energy worked through my body, before reaching my heart. From my left hand I felt a chilly, sharp energy rush into me, before colliding with the warmer energy. Crying out, I felt the two slowly sh together, before mixing and spreading to the other side of my body. Taking in gulps of air, I could feel the energy coalesce next to my heart, before slowing ballooning out slightly. I gasped again, the pain and difort from my heart feeling like it was being pushed aside making my head spin. Moments passed, and gradually the two different energies in my body fused, creating a cold, yetfortable feeling throughout my body. Taking in a deep breath, I noticed something else. The air around me now felt... thicker. I could tell that it was no longer ''empty''. There was something in it, and if I had to guess, it was mana. Opening my eyes, I looked down at the pale blue crystal ball, that was slowly dimming. Turning my gaze upwards, I saw everyone looking at me in surprise. Standing up, I felt my vision tunnel, until the only thing I could see was Jahi. Her lithe figure. Her gold tipped horns. Her amethyst eyes. Her plump lips... Dashing forwards, I threw myself at her, wrapping her into a tight hug. My heart was beating fast, and as I buried my face into her neck, her normally sweet smell sent me over the edge, making my whole body warm up. Pulling away, I looked up at her eyes, watching as they flickered between amethyst and gold. Smiling at her, I leaned upwards, cing my lips on hers. Feeling her stiffen, I moved my arms towards her waist, pulling her closer. As she looked down at me in surprise, I nipped her lower lip, making her moan slightly. Before I could deepen the kiss, she pushed me away slightly, her face a deep blue. Turning away from me, I ground my teeth, slightly annoyed at her, before sighing. Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down, before simply leaning into her. I could feel Leone and Anput move next to us, as well as my mother, however... My focus was entirely on the blushing demon in my arms. --- So, that''s the core! I n on showing how it affects her in a little more detail next chapter, but we finally reached this point lol~! Anyways, I had a wonderful idea about a few chapters, so just know we have a bit until the Academy, though I do think that these chapters will be less... tedious(?) than everything before now, so... Enjoy~ --- Chapter 48 47: Gift After taking a deep breath I pulled away from Jahi, looking around at everyone as they surrounded me. Mother pulled me into a hug, which I returned. As she held me, I heard the Marquessugh as she said "Who would have thought the little pup would have advanced magic as well? Haha~ Oh, I can''t wait to rub this in the Duchess'' face~" Ruffling my ears, my mother finally let me go, her eyes glowing with warmth as she smiled down at me. Looking around again, I saw Arch Mage Kolia sporting a huge grin as she looked between Jahi and I. The Countess had a gentle smile as she moved over towards Jahi, whispering something in her ear. The Baroness was looking at me in awe, her green eyes flickering between Jahi and I. Finally, Anput and Leone both smiled at me, though Leone was smiling at me in congrattions, while Anput was grinning as she looked me over, her eyes shining slightly with desire. I turned back to the one person who captivated me. Jahi. She was still a deep blue, though her eyes were solid gold as she looked down at me. Considering her blush deepened when the Countess whispered something to her, I engraved her shy look into my mind, almost certain I wouldn''t get a chance to see it again. I took a step towards her, making her flinch slightly, before stepping right in front of her. Wrapping my arms around her, I felt my whole body go warm as I hugged her, and Iid my head on her chest, listening as her heart beat quickly. Hearing the Marquessugh again, Jahi gently untangled herself from me before looking down at me, her lips pursed as her golden eyes were aze with desire. "Well, I guess we should leave the little pup and shy demon to it, huh~" Chuckling, the Marquess walked out of the room, the Countess and mother right behind her. Arch Mage Kolia, the Baroness, and the Baron all followed quickly behind, while Anput and Leone remained. Anput chuckled slightly, her tail swaying slightly as she spoke. "Really, who would have thought that the heir of House Asmodia would awaken Light magic, and her maid would awaken Ice magic? It''s insane!" I smiled at her, before looking back at Jahi. While I enjoyed seeing her shy expression, the fact that she had pushed me away not once but twice was irking. I wanted to hold her; I wanted to feel her warmth. And yet... Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down slightly, before listening to Leone speak. "Congrattions Kat! Now we can practice magic together!" Turning, I saw her orange eyes were glowing with excitement, and I just smiled back at her. "I appreciate the praise, I really do, but I am quite... tired right now. Could we talk in a few hours?" Still smiling, I watched as Anput smirked at me while Leone just nodded, her eyes still glowing. I watched as they left the room, before looking back up at Jahi. She shuffled about, her golden eyes flickering between the floor and me. Giving her a few moments, I sighed in slight annoyance as she remained silent. "Jahi..." Flinching, she let out a high pitched "Yes!" Sighing again, I said "Shall we go to our room?" Hearing that, she looked at me before her cheeks darkened again, before nodding slightly. Grinning, I grabbed her hand and led her towards our room, switching our normal roles as she dragged behind me. We quickly made it to our room, before I dragged her into the bedroom. Letting her wrist go, I dropped onto the bed, looking over at her. Seeing her shuffling around again, I sighed before saying "Jahi, what''s wrong? Was it the kiss?" She looked up at me, before nodding slightly. "Did... did you not like it?" Time seemed to slow down considerably, every second feeling like an hour as I waited for her answer. If... If she said she didn''t like the kiss... Feeling my heart clench, I watched as she stood there, biting her lip. I continued to watch her, before letting out arge sigh of relief when she shook her head. "Then what? What''s bothering you?" She took a breath, before looking at me with her gold eyes. "Are... are you going to stay with me? I mean, with Ice magic you could go anywhere! The Duchy up north, for exam-" As she spoke I got up, grabbed her wrist, and threw her onto the bed. If this was yesterday, I wouldn''t have been able to do that as easily, but my whole body felt lighter and stronger. Climbing on top of her, I watched as my hair draped onto her face. Taking a breath, I leaned closer, before kissing the tip of her nose. Seeing her widen her eyes in surprise, I sighed before saying "Have we not said it enough? Jahi, I will always be with, now and forever. There is no need to worry. After all, my magic is yours, my body is yours, my life is yours. Unless you yourself kill me, I will never, not in a million years, let you go." I growled thatst part, before leaning down and kissing her again. Pulling away, I saw her eyes burn bright with desire as she pulled me into her, burying her face into my neck. Chuckling, I felt her tense muscles loosen up as she said "By the gods am I stupid..." I chuckled as well, saying "Yes, that wasn''t your smartest moment." She flipped me onto my back, looking down at me as she said "Well, this really seals the deal, Kat... You are NEVER getting away from me..." I chuckled as I looked up at her, my heart warming considerably at her words. The intense desire and love in her eyes, as well as possessiveness in her voice, made me tremble all over. As I was about to pull her back down into me, Jahi got up, sighing in relief before saying "Well, I have a gift for you..." I watched as she walked towards her dresser, opening up a drawer that she had designated as her personal storage. It was a ce she stored her favorite books and other items, and she asked me to never open it without her knowledge. I, of course, agreed. After all, everyone needs a ce they can be alone, a ce they can store their own things. She walked back over, a box in her hand. She smiled down at me, before cing it in my hands. It was a long, thin rectangr box, and was quite light. Unwrapping the bow, I raised a brow at Jahi before taking the lid off. Looking inside, I saw a beautiful red leather cor, a gold pendant dangling form the center, depicting the symbol of March Asmodia. The symbol was a downwards triangle with a circle on top of it, which was topped with a topless rectangle. (A/N Imma drop a picture here, I found a symbol online that I liked, and realized that I had no idea how to describe it, so boom picture time.) I gently lifted the leather cor out of the box, watching as the gold pendant swayed slightly. Looking towards Jahi I saw her smirking at me, before leaning towards my ear, whispering "I wanted to show the world that I ''owned'' you..." I shivered again, my body warming considerably at how her voice dripped with desire and possessivness. Taking the cor, I quickly fastened it on my neck, making sure it wasn''t too tight but wouldn''t be moving easily. Nodding, I looked back at Jahi, watching as she grinned widely at me before pinning me back on the bed. Burying her face back into my neck, she repeated "Your mine, your mine, your mine..." Over and over again, holding me as tight as she could. --- A little short, I know, but hey. I thought this was a good chapter. Anyways, like I saidst time, I have a few scenes nned for now till the Academy, which include things like Spars, Fights, Magic, Social Events, Lemons, Development between Jahi/Kat and Leone/Anput, and more. So, stick around! Besides that, as always, thank you all so much for the continued support! It really means a lot to me to see all the people donating power stones and leavingments on this novel! I hope you keep enjoying~ --- Chapter 49 48: Rematch I walked beside Jahi, my neck tingling slightly from the few spots Jahi had bit in her excitement. Thankfully the cor was wide enough to cover most of them, and as we walked I constantly rubbed it, a smile on my face. Not only was I feeling so good physically after cuddling with Jahi for thest hour or so, but I shivered slightly whenever I felt the cor on my neck, reminding me that Jahi had just ''imed'' me as her own. Walking down the corridors, I squeezed Jahi''s hand as she led me towards the Training Grounds, where she said she wanted me to try out some magic and then have my rematch against Anput. Looking back over my stats, I widened my eyes in surprise when they had all gone up by two. [Stats: STR - 13 (26) CON - 12 (24) AGI - 12 (24) DEX - 13 (26) CHA - 15 (30) WIS - 14 (28) INT - 14 (28)] Why did my stats go up? [Awakening a Core strengthens the body. After all, while you had some mana inside you before, now your veins are flooded with it. Paired with the fact that you have two types of mana surging through your body, the initial power-up is quite strong. Congrattions.] My smile widened as I looked over my new stats. What took me months of hard work was matched by simply awakening my core, however I was quite excited to see if those extra stats would help me edge out a win against Anput... Entering the Training Grounds again, I saw Anput going through some basic weapon drills, her body already shining slightly with a thinyer of sweat. Seeing her dance around the field with a de in hand, her body twisting and turning gracefully, I found myself enjoying the view. Feeling Jahi clench my hand, I turned to see her smiling much like the Countess, her smile strained and golden eyes chilly. Smiling back at her, I looked around and saw Leone sitting on a rock, a few fiery runes floating around her. Giving Jahi a quick peck on the cheek, I said "Go spar with Anput. I want to try out my magic!" Her eyes went back to her beautiful amethyst, before she nodded at me. However, before I could move towards Leone, Jahi had wrapped an arm around my waist, gently cing a kiss on my lips before rushing away. Biting the inside of my cheek, I took in a deep breath to calm myself, keeping myself from rushing over to her and dragging her back to our room. Taking another breath, I walked over to Leone, looking at the various runes in interest before sitting on another rock. Considering her eyes were screwed shut, and some runes flickered into existence while others faded away, I decided to stay quiet, letting her continue whatever it was she was doing. Crossing my legs as I sat atop the rock, I closed my eyes before tuning everything out. I focused myself inwards, looking for the mana coursing through me. It didn''t take long, as I felt the twin streams coiling around each other in my veins, one gentle and warm, the other sharp and cool. Taking in a deep breath, I focused on the warm and gentle mana, deciding to start with my water magic. Lifting a hand, I drew out an upside down triangle for water, followed by a circle. Pushing the mana out of my hand, I opened my eyes and... Seeing a ball of water revolving above my palm, I grinned widely as I looked at it, using my hand to move it around. I giggled as I managed to keep it together, gently passing it from one hand to the next. Eventually, I released my control over the mana, watching as the water fell to the ground with a ssh. Grinning, I channeled my mana to my hand again, redrawing the same sequence but adding on a rune for smaller size. I watched in amazement as a small golfball of water appeared above my palm, and I started ying with it again, entranced by this simple act of making a sphere of water. Releasing it again, I pursed my lips as I went through all the runes in my mind, before deciding to try something stronger. Again creating the sequence for a small water sphere, I added on the rune for speed, before aiming at the rock beside me. Pushing the mana from my palm, I watched as the sphere flew towards the rock quickly, before stting against it. I felt giddy, and continued trying out morebinations of basic runes, enjoying the ability to cast magic. Eventually a shadow fell over me, and I looked up to see Jahi and Anput looking down at me with small smiles. "Having fun?" I nodded at Jahi, a wide grin on my face. She chuckled before sitting behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. Leaning back into her, I felt a slight throb in my head, before a dull ache spread behind my eyes. Groaning slightly, I felt Jahi chuckle behind me as she said "Don''t overdo it. You just awakened your core this morning; you need to let your body get used to having mana flowing inside of you." I nodded, sighing in relief as I felt Jahi ce a palm on my back, a warmth flooding through me. Looking up, I saw Anput''s smile was stiff as her gaze was locked on my neck. Raising a hand to the cor, I fiddled with it, making Anput look at my face. Giving her a smug grin, I watched in amusement as she tilted her head slightly, her cheeks darkening slightly as she pursed her lips. The Training Grounds descended into silence, the only sound being the slight crackling of the runes floating around Leone. Sighing, Anput looked at me, before asking "So, do you want to spar today or tomorrow?" Seeing her eyes flicker between my new cor and my face, I chuckled before saying "Today. I want to get my blood flowing..." She nodded, moving back towards the center of the field. Letting my hand rest on Jahi''s, I gently stroked them before getting up. After grabbing a practice dagger, I stood opposite of Anput, watching as she dropped into the same stance as yesterday. Readying myself, I waited for Jahi to count down, before rushing towards Anput, my dagger stabbing towards her midriff. Swaying, Anput shed her sword towards me. Jumping backwards, I rushed forwards again when her de was still overextended. shing at her, I sidestepped the elbow that was aimed at my chest. Blocking my dagger with her de, I moved back from her, marveling at how everything felt much better than yesterday. I felt like Anput was slower, albeit slightly, while I was moving faster and in a more controlled manner. Everything felt much clearer, and after taking a breath I realized that my body definitely felt stronger and lighter. Seeing Anput dash forwards, her de swinging down towards my skull, I grinned before sidestepping her swing, thrusting the dagger towards her side. As she moved to block the thrust, I sent my free hand jabbing towards her midriff. Coughing slightly, Anput took a step back as my fist collided with her abs. Shaking my hand slightly, I raised a brow as I took a quick look at her body, my eyes widening slightly as I saw the slightly defined six pack that I hadn''t noticed till now. Smirking at me, Anput took in a breath before whispering "Now I REALLY want you..." Anput dashed forwards again, her de like lightning as she sent blow after blow at me. Warding everything off with my dagger, I grunted in pain as each strike sent jolts up my arm. Growling in annoyance, I rolled to the side before leaping at Anput, sending another thrust towards her side. Seeing her sway out of the way, I again sent my free hand towards her, only to watch as she pivot out of the way. A wide grin on her face, she brought her de down towards me. Seeing iting at me from above, I dove towards her, wrapping my arms around her waist as I tackled her to the ground. Hearing her breath be forced from her body, I quickly snaked my dagger to her throat, panting as I looked at herying under me. As she felt the cold metal kiss her throat, Anput looked up at me with wide eyes, before grinning widely at me. Seeing her obsidian eyes radiating desire, I yelped in surprise when I suddenly found myself on the ground, Anput sitting on top of me, her cheeks flushed and panting. Opening her mouth, she spoke in a husky voice "I''ll give you the win, but..." Before I could react, she had ced her forehead against mine, her lips inches from my own. "... I really want you now..." Before she could lean forwards, Jahi had dragged her off of me, her eyes a brilliant gold. ring at Anput, Jahi pushed her away, making Anput shiver before she grinned at Jahi. Getting up, I looked between the two girls, watching as the demon red at the jackalkin. Sighing, I moved next to Jahi, saying "It''s fine, Jahi, really." She looked down at me, her lips pursed before taking a deep breath. Opening her mouth, she was about to speak when we heard Leone let out augh. --- So, I was going to write yesterday, but I woke up with a headache that wouldn''t go away... Anyways, we have two more chapters before I ept the contract, so don''t be surprised when chapters get locked. I hope you keep enjoying the book though! --- Chapter 50 49: Leones Breakthrough Hearing Leone let out augh, all three of us turned to see her surrounded by dozens of runes. Each rune was glowing crimson, and they slowly moved to create a ritual circle in front of her. A wave of heat radiated from the ritual circle, and we watched as Leone stood up, her orange eyes glowing as she inspected the circle with a wide grin on her face. Her ashen hair billowed slightly in the heat wave, before she reached out a hand and touched the circle. Rippling, it slowly spun clockwise before shrinking in on itself, going from being as tall as Leone to being the size of her palm. As it shrunk, it spun faster and faster, before it shot towards her chest. She groaned in pain as it touched her skin, and we rushed towards her when we saw her clothes burning away. However, before we could take another step Leone shouted "It''s fine! Don''t worry!" Even as she said that, we knelt beside her, gritting our teeth as we heard her grunting in pain. The ritual circle was searing itself onto her skin, the deep crimson a stark contrast to her almost paper white skin. Taking shuddering breaths, I was about to ask Jahi to heal her when we felt someone appear behind us. Turning, we looked up to see her personal guard staring down at Leone, shaking his head. Like the guards that apanied the Empress before, they were dressed in a deep red armor with a dragon mask helmet. However, their armor was much more intricate than the previous guards, as golden runes were etched across various parts of their armor. Additionally, a spear was strapped to their back instead of a ymore. "Princess, did the Empress and Queen Presa not tell you to wait? Hah... I really don''t get paid enough for this..." With a weary sigh the guard knelt behind Leone, cing their hand on her back. Leone gasped, before taking in a deep breath. The ritual circles glow faded, and eventually the heat stopped as well. Looking at her chest, Leone grinned widely before slumping backwards, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. "Really... Hah, whatever. Listen, there is no need to worry; the princess will be fine. She just needs sleep." The guard gently scooped Leone up before making their way to the door. Turning, they said "She should be awake in a few hours, so hold your questions till then." Bowing slightly, they left the Training Ground. Looking between the two girls, I saw that Anput and Jahi were just as surprised as I was, their mouths wide open as their gaze was fixed on the door. "Was that... a magic tattoo?" Hearing Jahi''s voice filled with disbelief, I nodded my head. "Yeah... imprinting a rune on the skin is said to be painful, let alone a ritual circle... I wonder what it was?" Anput chuckled, saying "Well, I guess that just proves that Leone is going to be quite the mage huh? After all, creating ritual circles is already quite difficult at this age, but imprinting it on your skin? Almost impossible." We looked at one another, before smiling. "Well, I guess we should follow her example, hmm? How about another spar?" ~~~ For the next few hours Anput and Jahi sparred, with me sitting on the rock slowly getting myself used to my magic and flow of mana. Every once in awhile Jahi would cast her healing spell on me, allowing me to push myself further. However, while I was creating sequence after sequence, I noticed that they came to me much quicker than before, and that I was casting them with much more ease. Eventually, my mana slowly ran out, producing arge headache for me to deal with. As I clutched my head in my hands, I received a notification: [Skills Unlocked: Mana Control (Novice) - Spells and Ritual Circles are easier to cast Undine''s Blessing (Novice) - Spells and Ritual Circles rted to the Water Domain are stronger; mana regenerates quicker while in water] For a brief moment I forgot about my headache, instead marveling at my new skills. Mana Control is something that, while basic, was really important. Being able to control my mana better would be necessary to creating and casting awesome spells, like coating my body in mana to create an armor of sorts. As for Undine''s Blessing? Being able to have stronger healing spells or creating a condensed stream of water would be great spells to have. Besides, regenerating mana while in water is insane! ''However, why are they using vague words like easier, stronger, and quicker?'' [They use such words because you have no way to see the values assigned to those things. For instance, you have no idea what the numerical value assigned to casting a water sphere is, nor do you know the power behind a water spear. Unless you yourself calcte it, the skills stay vague. However, do know that it isn''t by a small amount; it is actually quite generous.] Hearing the exnation, I sighed before groaning. I probably shouldn''t use this much mana ever again... Opening my eyes, I had to blink a few times to clear my vision, watching as Jahi swung her de at Anput, only to be blocked with a loud ''ng!'' Getting up, I looked at the sky and saw the sky was darkening, so I wobbled over to the girls and said "Keep sparing... I''m going to go to take a bath..." Yawning slightly, I saw Jahi nod before blocking a sh from Anput. I smiled before making my way to the door, slowly traversing the halls until I reached our room. Opening the doors, I shuffled to the bedroom, where I threw off my clothes and quickly made my way into the bath. After rinsing my body off I lowered myself into the warm water, moaning slightly at the small rush of energy I felt when the waterpped over my skin. Sighing, I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes, letting my mind wander as I let myself recover. I don''t know how much time had passed, but eventually I felt someone wrap their arm around me. Looking to my right, I saw Jahi smiling down at me as she sat besides me. Without a word I leaned closer into her, enjoying the warmth of both the water and her body. Giving me a brief kiss on my cheek, Jahi sighed as she leaned into me. Closing my eyes again, my mind drifted away, enjoying the warm silence in the bath. ~~~ Opening my eyes, I noticed that I was lying on our couch, wearing my chemise. Looking around, I saw Jahi standing in front of a bookshelf, sorting through the various books before grabbing one. Turning, she grinned at me before saying "Sleep well?" Yawning, I nodded, before asking "How long was I asleep?" "Only an hour. However, I heard that Leone was awake. Did you want to go see her?" I nodded, curious about what she had done earlier. Seeing that, Jahi chuckled before moving into the bedroom,ing back out with one of her jackets. Tossing it to me, she ced her book on the table before moving towards the door. Throwing on the jacket, I followed behind her. We made our way towards Leone''s guest room, where we saw Anput leaning next to the door. Nodding to us, Anput knocked on the door twice. After a moment the door opened, the guard looking outside. Seeing us, they sighed before opening the door wider, gesturing for us to enter. "Please mind your voices, as the princess has a headache. Additionally, please let her exin first before you ask a million and one questions." We nodded at the guard before entering the room. Looking around, we spotted Leone sprawled out on one of the couches, a book in her hand. Hearing us enter she looked up, smiling at us before closing the book. "Well, as you probably guessed... that was a magic tattoo..." Her voice was slightly raspy, and she had to take a sip from the teacup in front of her to continue. "Over thest year I worked with Mother to develop a ritual circle to increase the amount of mana someone could absorb from their surroundings and that amplified their spells. Obviously, it is quiteplex, and is different per person, as it is tuned specifically to your mana. So, we managed to get most of it done. Earlier, I managed to finish it, and well... I guess I got too excited..." Chuckling, she gently touched the center of her chest, continuing. "Ipleted it... and while it hurt, quite a bit actually, I think it was worth it. Now, all my spells rted to fire will contain more heat, and I can gather more mana from the surroundings." Taking a deep breath, she leaned back into the couch as she looked at us. "So? Any questions? I know it''s simple, but... magic tattoos are quiteplex..." Anput and Jahi shook their heads, satisfied with the answer. Looking over at me, Leone raised a brow. Seeing that, I shook my head as well, before moving closer to her. "Are you okay now?" She chuckled, before nodding. "It aches, and I have a headache, but other than that... I feel fine." I nodded, before saying "Have you eaten? Would you like me to make you something?" Leone pursed her lips, her cheeks darkening slightly as she nodded. Smiling down at her, I turned to see Jahi narrowing her eyes at me, while Anput had a brow raised. Sighing, I said "I''ll make something for all of us. Stay here..." Making my way to the door, I looked towards the guard and asked "Will you be joining us?" Chuckling, the guard shook their head. "Thank you for offering, but I''m not hungry." I nodded, before making my way out of the room, towards the kitchen. --- Putting this here in advance... Thanks for 200K Views and 600 collections! I hope you continue to enjoy! --- Chapter 51 50: Promises Between Heirs --- PoV Jahi --- I watched as Kat walked out the door, her tail swishing slightly as she gently hummed a tune to herself. After she left, the guard looked at us three before saying "I am going to go get some rest. Remember, we leave tomorrow at noon, princess." Bowing to us, the guard entered one of the side rooms. As a silence fell over the room, I looked over at Anput, holding back a growl. While I enjoy sparring with her, and won''t deny an attraction to how she carries herself, what she did earlier in her spar against Kat... I moved over to Anput, grabbing her jaw and turning her head to look at me. "Listen, while I can allow and stomach your courtship, I will not let you try anything with Kat. She belongs to ME, understand?" Hearing my low growl, Anput smirked at me, her voice quivering slightly as her eyes went steely gray. "Be that as it may, all I need to do is convince one of you; if I manage to convince you, I get her as well. If I convince her, I get you. So no, I will not stop what I am doing, because in the end she will be mine, just as I would be yours." I let go of her jaw, growling in annoyance before flopping onto the couch. I was annoyed, but that was exactly what I liked about her. Anput did what she wanted, to get what she wanted. She has made her desires quite clear as well; she wants not only me, but Kat as well. This open, honest admittance of her desires, how she took on both her training and desires with a straightforwardness that I hadn''t seen in anyone else, was what made her that much more attractive to me. She was strong, she was honest, she was fun to be around, she was beautiful... The more I looked at the Jackalkin girl, the more I realized that she hit every single one of my boxes for a wife, more than Leone did. I just... preferred her simple way of living life, how open she was with everything, and how she dared to stand up to me, as an equal. I liked that. I really, really did. Of course, that doesn''t mean I like her more than Kat, nor did it mean I was going topletely ignore Leone. Every time I saw Kat, be it her smile or how cute she looked when she was concentrating on whatever she was doing, made my heart race. After her core awakening this morning, those feelings only grew, and I shivered as I remembered her ghostly blue eyes staring at me with such tant lust... I still remembered the soft feeling of her lips on my own... How wonderful she sounded when I marked her neck... The wonderful taste of her skin... I wanted her, more than I wanted anything else, more than I would ever want anything else. As for Leone, I found her shyness to be cute, how she was simr to Kat in certain ways quite endearing, and that she herself was quite strong. However, she didn''t appeal to me as much as Anput did, nor did she make me feel much more than simple interest. With Kat, I lost myself, forgetting everything else in the world except for her. With Anpu I could enjoy myself as we sparred, and I reveled in the banter and crossing of des. I enjoyed the way her olive skin glistened with sweat, and I found herugh pleasant to my ears. So, when presented with the requirement to marry someone of high standing, Anput was the woman I could see standing by my side with Kat. Of course, that is still many, many years away from now. Who knows how any of us will change? Sighing, I sank deeper into the couch, before opening my eyes and looking between the confused Leone and smirking Anput. "I am supposed to marry one of you, maybe even both. However, we still have a few years before I even have to announce an engagement, let alone actually marry. As such, we need to get to know one another better, since I don''t n on marrying someone I dislike, nor do I want someone who will mistreat Kat in my family." Anput sat down in a free chair, her smirk dropping as her obsidian eyes grew serious. "I believe I have made it clear that I like both of you; to the point that I would be fine with just one of you." I nodded at Anput, before looking over at Leone. Her face was growing red, and she looked down at her hands. "I-I have... no problem with t-that..." I chuckled slightly at that, before saying "I have until the second year of the Academy to announce my engagement. Anytime after that bes problematic. So, I believe it best to... get to know my potential wives. Because of that, I would like to propose that we have multiple visits a year,sting more than just a few days, where we simply spend time together, be it sparring or studying, I honestly don''t care. Where or when can be decided, but we will be meeting throughout the years." "Are you suggesting that Leone and Ie here multiple times every year? Or are you suggesting an alternating schedule, where you visit us and we visit you?" I shrugged, before replying. "I really don''t care. If you want toe here; great. If you wish for me toe to you, that''s fine. However, we WILL be meeting more often than once a year. I will not marry someone just to leave them at home. That not only sits wrong with me but also leads to too many issues, both personal and political. After all, I have to marry people in power." Leone pursed her lips before saying "T-Then I believe it best... to at least visit every three months... have two of the visits be to March Asmodia and one each to both the Sultanate and to my home..." Seeing how serious she was, I smiled at her, enjoying the way she quickly looked away as her face grew crimson once more. We fell into a small discussion, ironing out details and what both of the girls wanted. Anput was quite simple, simply asking that I still allow her freedom and the ability to do what she pleased. I quickly told her that I couldn''t begin to imagine an Anput that was quiet, tame, andpletely domestic. She chuckled at that, before falling silent. Leone was much the same, however she added on that if I married her, I didn''t leave her alone, nor forbid Kat from interacting with her. She seemed... worried that a marriage would lead to her being locked away from everything, never to see anything or anyone again. I promised both of them that I would treat them equally, the same way I treat Kat. As we finished up, I heard a knock at the door, and after opening it I looked down at Kat standing beside a cart, some trays filled with foods and drinks gathered on top. Smiling, I watched as she entered, quickly handing out the food before sitting on a couch, patting the open space beside her, her eyes glowing blue as she stared at me. My heart raced again, and even though I said I would treat them like I treated her, I don''t know if they could make me feel the same way that she did. --- Again, I am epting the contract soon. So, if I am able to, I will be making the cost small. If I can''t, then oh well. Other than that, since it is chapter 50, I want to know if everyone would be so kind as to give me another unofficial review in thements. What have I done well, what can I do better, any suggestions... you know, the normal things. Anyways, i hope you keep enjoying the story! --- Chapter 52 51: Preparation For Our First Hunt Anput and Leone came and went, leaving quite quietly, however their eyes held a conviction that wasn''t present when they had arrived. I had asked Jahi multiple times what had happened when I had left the room, yet all I got in response was a smirk and her silence. Of course, since I was annoyed at that, I gave her the cold shoulder that night, only to find her looming over me with those glistening golden eyes when she didn''t get what she wanted. That night was a mixture of pure torture and pleasure, with Jahi finally losing herself to her desires as she marked my skin. I had reprimanded her the next morning when I had seen the bountiful marks covering my skin, but she had just responded by leaving another on my neck, smirking at me as her eyes shone with possessiveness. We quickly drowned ourselves in our sses and training, as we slowly wrapped up our lessons with Baroness Estra, refined our control over our mana with Arch Mage Kolia, before submitting ourselves to the physical conditioning of the Marquess. During the months that passed after my core awakening, I had managed to earn around 17,500 xp per month from the various quests I received, and I saw another small rise in my stats, as I had thrown myself into my magic and had started to want to get stronger physically, mainly so that I could see the way Jahi pouted after she lost more than once a day during our spars... Of course, even though it was only an increase of one per stat, with Agility getting two, it was still incredibly euphoric to see those numbers rise without me spending stat points. I had also started to grow much morefortable with a dagger in my hand, and Jahi had joked that I was turning into a ''wolf with a very sharp w''. Other than in increase in my performance with a dagger, I had managed to increase my Mana Control skill to Apprentice, and I had managed to start creating sequences that were moreplex, my current favorite being a water arrow that could easily pierce rock. Quick, strong, and hard to seeing, I quite liked sending a flurry of arrows towards someone before closing in with my dagger. The Marquess on the other hand cursed my very existence the first time she let me use spells in our spars... However, today was the eve of a very special day. The Marquess was going to take Jahi and I out into therge forest that covered the southernnd of March Asmodia. She told us that it was to get us used to fighting monsters, as well as to see what we needed to improve upon. That meant that, over thest few days, Jahi and I had stayed out in the Training Grounds much longer than before, as we practiced all kinds of magics and tried to improve our form as best we could. Currently, Jahi was sitting on one of the rocks, golden runes slowly forming in front of her as she concentrated. She wanted to try one of the spells I had made, which was a way to use your mana to coat your own body, creating ayer of armor over yourself. I had managed to achieve a consistent casting speed with it, and currently I was going through the basic dagger exercises that the Marquess had drilled into me with what I called a ''Mana Cloak'' coating my entire body. It was no easy task, but I had found it a good way to practice not only my mana control but also a way to familiarize myself with how my mana flowed through my body. As I continued the exercise, I could feel my mana slowly draining, and my body was aching all over. Dropping the cloak, I panted as I copsed next to one of the rocks, leaning against it as I looked up at the slowly darkening sky. I sat there, my breathing quicklying under control before I saw a sh of light. Turning, I covered my eyes as I saw Jahi wrapped in a suit of armor reminiscent of what the Marquess wore, except instead of the shining silver Jahi''s was a brilliant gold. Laughing, Jahi stood up and moved around, quickly drawing her sword and going through some basic swings before dropping the spell. Turning to look at me, Jahi had a wide grin as she rushed over to me, scooping me up in her arms as she twirled around in the center of the Training Grounds. After spinning around a few times Jahi stopped, lowering me to the ground as she grinned at me. "By the gods is that spell amazing! How in the world did youe up with something like that!?" I just smiled up at her, deciding not to burst her bubble and tell her that Arch Mage Kolia helped me develop it RIGHT in front of her... She continued to grin, before leaning down and cing a kiss on my lips. Feeling her hands drop lower than my waist, I pushed off of her with a smirk, before slowly avoiding her outstretched hand that reached for my shoulders. Growling at me, Jahi continued to chase me around the Training Grounds, her eyes gold as she looked at me in annoyance. However, I was grinning widely as I watched her futile efforts to catch me. I had started doing this a month ago, after the Countess let slip that she had done something simr to the Marquess during their early days. She imed it was entirely because she wanted to help the Marquess improve her agility, and definitely not because she wanted to see what punishment the Marquess would give her... After trying it once a month prior, I had to say the Countess was quite the genius when it came to ying the Asmodia demons. I had quite the night after that, and seeing how creative Jahi could get always made me look forwards to our nights together... Of course, both the Countess and I had something inmon; we were both more agile, while the Asmodia demons were much stronger. What did that mean? We could run, but when caught... I grinned wider when I avoided Jahi''s hands again, making her golden eyes sh in faux annoyance. I continued the game of cat and mouse; or more urately, puppy and demon, for a few more minutes before ''identally'' dashing the wrong way, right into Jahi''s waiting arms. Feeling her arms wrap tightly around me, I looked up at her, chuckling when I saw her lips pulled into a thin line as she red down at me. However, I could feel her heartbeat as I gently leaned my head on her chest, and I could tell that she was just as nervous as I was about tomorrow. That was why... Feeling her drag me towards the door, quickly making her way towards our room, I had to hold down therge grin that threatened to break free onto my face. After all, what is a better way to forget all your troubles then indulging in the warmth of your lover? So, that was why I had no qualms surrendering myself to Jahi that night, enjoying the way she tried to mark me more and more. As we were still suffering under the slow growth of our bodies, Jahi was slowly bing pent up, and I had to admit that as not only someone who had lived a life before, but was also able to feel the tant desire that Jahi felt due to our soul bond, I found these moments both torturous and bliss. It was like throwing a small ss of water onto a raging me. The me may recede for a few moments but ites back with a vengeance. So, although I enjoyed these moments, time couldn''t pass quickly enough for my liking. After getting her fill, Jahi copsed on the bed beside me, taking in deep breaths. Looking over, I enjoyed the way the moonlight made her blue skin glisten, and shivered when she looked over at me with her glowing eyes. Smirking at me, Jahi pulled me into her before sighing. "You... are aware of what I did a year ago, right? That I... killed someone..." Hearing the normally confident Jahi speak in such a low, pitiful voice made my heart clench. "Yes, you told me once before. You were half asleep though." She chuckled at that, before biting her lip. "Does... does it not-" Sighing, I leaned closer into her, saying "They kidnapped me, and nned on selling both you and I to some idiotic noble like Count Flori, who thinks they are so important and untouchable that they could kidnap an heir and use her as their personal ve. I care not for their lives." Jahi looked down at me in surprise, before chuckling again. This time though it was genuine, and not some poor attempt at lifting the mood. "Why did you ask?" Sighing, Jahi looked back at the ceiling, her eyes going back to their normal state. "Well, tomorrow is going to be the first time you have to ever draw blood... I''ve done so before, and with a human, not some monster. You however... well, I just... don''t want to see you have to put yourself in danger..." I growled lightly, pinching her waist as I said "So I am to stand beside you, yet watch from afar as you put yourself in danger? Does that sound like something I am going to do? Watch you go into battle while I stay at home, wondering if some monster or person managed to wound you? Maybe even kill you?!" Hearing that, Jahi looked down at me in surprise, not expecting an outburst. However, she gave a wry smile before nodding. "That was another stupid moment of mine, huh?" I just nodded, before burying my head into her chest. I wanted to go to the forest, but like Jahi I was reluctant to see her have to fight. However, I needed to ept that this life might not be as peaceful as myst, where the only worry I had was whether or not the state raised taxes and if my job was going toy me off. Here, monsters and killers were more abundant, and could cause destruction the average person in my previous world could never manage. Taking in a deep breath of Jahi''s sweet scent, I closed my eyes as I reaffirmed my belief to get stronger, not only for me... But for her. --- So, here''s the deal. I am going to postpone the contract till Tuesday, and will be trying to do double uploads this weekend. Will I manage? Who knows. But, I thought that [Camo] made a good point; from this point on is where things will start actually developing. There is no more need forrge amounts of exposition, meaning more and more things that I write are going to be either rtionships being developed and nurtured, action, or lemons. I want to show people that it is worth you spending coins to unlock chapters. Now, that doesn''t mean we get anywhere near the ''meat'' of the plot; that''s the Academy, and won''t be reached for a bit. After all, we have so much to get through, with Jahi and Kat getting stronger and older, more developments between them and Anput/Leone, and so on. However, I thought about it, and while epting the contract now would bring in new readers through daily rmendations (I''m basing that off the fact that some of the dailies are... odd. Like no shade to the book, but ''Double Cross System'' reuploaded the SAME CHAPTER 10 times...), but I think that I should prove myself to the people who are already here, and have been here for a long time (Like Wasad, Camo, Caldex, BaaSheep123, Stieborn_666, and more. Those are just the ones that pop to mind due to consistentments and such...) So, that''s the n. However, this weekend just so happens to be one where a good friend of mine from out of state leaves for his mission to South America. Which means I want to spend a lot of time with him, before he leaves for 2 years. Yeah, we can message on Facebook or whatever, but its not the same as being in a game together and having those idiotic moments that happen way to frequently with us... That''s why I said I will TRY to double upload, but who knows... Anyways, thank you all, and I hope you continue to enjoy the novel! --- Chapter 53 52: Hunt In Fovos Forest Jahi and I sat next to one another, the Marquess lounging across from us. We were currently in a carriage traveling south, towards therge forest that bordered thends of the Labyrinthian. Fovos Forest, filled with, albeit weak, monsters of all kind. It was a breeding ground for them, so it was always overrun with various monsters. I felt Jahi squeeze my hand, and I looked over to see her smiling at me. Smiling back, I leaned into her and closed my eyes, getting some much needed rest. Last night Jahi had pinned me under her, taking her time as she explored my body. If I didn''t have ess to instantaneous healing magic my body would be riddled with small bite marks, and my muscles would ache from Jahi''s ''punishment''. Sighing, I opened my eyes when I heard the Marquess chuckle, before she spoke. "Alright lovebirds, that''s enough. Some people don''t enjoy such public disys affection you know..." Jahi just snorted, responding with "Yet I seem to recall you not holding back when Kat and I slept in just the other room?" I chuckled when the Marquess pursed her lips, before she sighed. "Fine, fine... Hah, you really had to inherit Ria''s smart mouth huh?" The Marquess looked out the window, staying silent before looking back at us. "Let''s go over what to expect here, and what I want you both to do. We are only going to hunt in the outskirts of the Forest, and even then it is me who will determine what and when you fight. There should only be slimes, goblins, and normal animals are what to expect. By far, the most dangerous would be goblins, as they are quite crafty and surprisingly strong. As such, if we encounter a tribe of them you are to stay beside me at all times- scratch that, the entire trip you are to stay beside me. If you dare move more than a few steps away from me I will personally lock you up in the dungeon back home. Understood?" Jahi and I nodded, gulping when we saw the Marquess'' ruby eyes re. Smiling, she continued. "Slimes are simple creatures; they are rtively stupid, as they only focus on devouring what is in front of them. Unless you provoked them first, they tend to ignore you entirely. When you fight them, aim for therge core inside their gtinous body. If broken, they die. Otherwise, they can continuously grow back. Goblins are about as intelligent as a child, and as such tend to be rtively annoying to fight. They use any and everything at their disposal to fight, be it fake tears, a hostage, or even arge fire in a dry bush. They are also simr to most humanoids in the sense that, if you stab it or sh it enough, it dies. Aim for the chest, throat, and head, and they die. Lastly, for the animals in the forest. They aren''t special, just normal rabbits and wolves. They will avoid us entirely, and if we do need to fight them, just hit them somewhere. They''ll prioritize their lives over killing you, unlike monsters. Anyways, just don''t be stupid, stay near me, and if something tries to stab you, stab it back and you''ll be fine." Smiling at us, the Marquess returned her gaze to the window. We finished the rest of the ride in silence, Jahi and I getting some extra rest before our first time in the wild. Feeling the carriagee to a halt, I opened my eyes and followed the Marquess out of the carriage, looking around the lush forest with interest. The trees were tall and leafy, and the forest floor was rtively clear of shrubs and roots. Looking back towards the Marquess, I watched as she took out two bundles from the carriage, one long and the other small. She offered them to us, Jahi receiving the longer one while I took the smaller bundle. Unwrapping them, we grinned at each other when we saw the sheathed des. I had a simple dagger that was roughly a foot long, and had a t cross guard. It was light, and after drawing the de from the sheath I gently pressed a finger on the edge, my grin widening as I felt the razor sharp edge. The Marquess had almost forbidden me from using a real de, iming I wasn''t ready yet to use one. So, I had to watch in annoyance as Jahi was allowed to practice with a real sword. Now, however, I was giddy to be given my first real, metal weapon. Gently sliding it back into the sheath, I tied the dagger to my belt, before turning to see Jahi looking me up and down. Smiling at me, she quickly ced her sword on her hip, before looking at the Marquess. "I hope I don''t need to remind you that these are real des, not some toy to y with?" Seeing us nod, she smiled before saying "Well, stick close, and let''s take a walk into Fonos Forest." After making sure we were beside her, the Marquess led us into the wood, walking at a slow pace so we could keep up. I looked around in wonder, marveling at the difference between this forest and the gardens at home. Here, the air smelt of earth, sap, and moss. The gardens were a variety of floral scents, and looked much different as well. However, as we made our way deeper into the forest, eventually reaching a point where the canopy covered most of the sky, I found myself enjoying the woods more than anywhere else. The serene atmosphere, pleasant scent, beautiful view... I smiled, before jumping when I heard a loud chitteringing from nearby. "Ah, that would be a Goblin call... so, both of you stay beside me, and I''ll clear out most of them. Then, you both get two goblins each to fight. Clear?" Jahi and I gave grunts of acknowledgment, before following the Marquess towards the noise. As we closed in on the chittering, I noticed that the trees had various marks and scratches on them, and that some even had slightly hollowed trunks. The closer we got, the more frequent those markings became, and eventually the trunks werepletely hollowed, with branches bundled together to create small tents near each tree. I widened my eyes when I saw over a dozen short, green creatures mbering around, sticks and rocks clutched in their three fingered hands. They turned to look at us, and I scrunched my nose in disgust. Long, crooked noses, droopy ears, and warts made up their faces, topped off with small, beady red eyes. Wearing nothing but a small loin cloth, each goblin was skinny, to the point of looking malnourished. They looked like a strong breeze could knock them over. Finally, the longer I stood there, the worse the stench became. It was a mixture of sweat, rot, fecal matter, and a hint of sex. I had to hold back the urge to cover my nose at the disgusting smell radiating from the goblins. As they stared at the Marquess, who was almost three times their size, they chittered loudly, their small eyes widening as they tried to flee. However, I watched in amazement as the Marquess simply raised her hand, a small rune appearing in front of her outstretched palm. Just under a dozen small orbs of me appeared, streaking through the air as they pierced the skulls of the goblins. They dropped to the forest floor with a thud, before shriveling into a mummified corpse. Four goblins remained, and the Marquess sent out four ropes of pure mana, dragging them back towards us. Making sure they were well tied up, the Marquess said "Well, who wants to go first?" Chapter 54 53: First Blood I looked at Jahi, who simply shrugged when she heard the Marquess'' question. Sighing in annoyance, the Marquess pushed me forwards, into the center of the clearing. "Alright, the pup first. I''ll release one of the goblins, so get ready." Nodding, I palmed the dagger and stared at the goblins, watching as one of the mana ropes dissipated. Standing up, the goblin looked towards me, its small eyes radiating fear and wariness. Scooping up a rock and stick, the goblin remained still, before chittering at me. Unlike before, this chittering was low and shaky, almost like the goblin was pleading. Taking a step towards me, it looked up at me, a tear falling from its beady eyes. I lowered my stance, watching as it got closer to me. After taking another small step forwards, the goblin grinned widely as it jumped towards me, cackling as it swung the rock towards me and stabbed with the stick. I sighed in annoyance, swaying to the side before flicking the de upwards. My dagger connected with the goblins wrist, and I watched in detached interest as the de cleanly sliced through the green flesh, blood spurting from the wound. Crying out in pain, the goblin dropped the rock and clutched its new stump, before looking up at me in anger. I looked down at the dagger, my gaze focused on the crimson blood dripping off the edge, before I looked towards the severed hand on the ground. Taking a deep breath, I looked back towards the goblin, grinning. It felt... Euphoric. I watched as the goblin charged at me again, forgetting that it had dropped its weapon just a moment prior. As it drew near, I dashed forwards,ncing the daggers tip towards the goblins throat. I felt my blood rush as the de dug deep into the soft flesh of its neck, and I watched in tion as it tried to w at my hand, to remove the dagger that severed its windpipe. Withdrawing the dagger, I swallowed hard when I saw it slump to the ground, shriveling up just like the goblins the Marquess killed. Taking a shaky breath, I stared at the goblins corpse, pleasure rushing my system before feeling someone grab my shoulder. Turning, I saw the Marquess looking down at me in worry, before her expression shifted to surprise. "Did you... enjoy that?" Hearing her question, I bit my lip before looking back at the corpse. Turning back to the Marquess, I nodded slightly, however I started shaking. All the euphoria I felt just a moment ago left my body, and I looked at my trembling hand, still holding the dagger. Why was I so... happy about killing something? Why did I enjoy watching as its blood dripped from its wounds? Why was the panic in its eyes so... refreshing? What was wrong with me?! Wrapping me in a hug, the Marquess whispered "It''s alright Kat, it''s alright..." I felt my body rx slightly, however I could still feel my heart racing. Confusion coursed through my thoughts. I was... both disgusted and excited. Why? The feeling of the dagger digging into the goblins flesh was satisfying, the cry of pain that followed made me feel... Ecstatic. However, the longer I thought about it, the more I found that the pleasure and ecstasy from killing the goblin outweighed my disgust. Taking in a few deep breaths, I said "I''m fine now..." The Marquess released me, before smiling down at me. Her previous worry was gone, and as she looked down at me with a smile she said "It felt great, didn''t it? Taking a life..." I looked at her with wide eyes, before nodding. I didn''t even know how this truly benefited me, as I had blocked out the system notification, but... Grinning at the Marquess, I nodded. It felt so, so good~ ~~~ Jahi PoV Looking between mom looming over Kat, grinning down at her as she asked "It felt great, didn''t it? Taking a life..." I bit my lips, gulping down my saliva as I watched Kat nod. My body felt hot, and the longer I stared at Kat the worse it got. Seeing her easily kill that goblin, a smile on her face as she did so... She was so very beautiful in that moment. The way her hair bounced... How her skin contrasted with the crimson droplets on her face... That smile... Biting my tongue, I had to hold myself back from rushing forwards. I wanted nothing more than to take her somewhere private, and indulge in her body. She only looked more beautiful when she was under me, but here? With blood sttered on her face, her eyes that ghastly blue and her cheeks flushed... I wanted her. I wanted her so much... ~~~ Kat PoV Looking over my shoulder, I felt a shiver run down my spine when I saw Jahi looking me over, her eyes the brightest gold I had ever seen. However, before either of us could move, we flinched when the Marquess coughed. Looking back at her, we saw her grinning widely as she said "Well, it feels... fantastic knowing that both of you are as crazy as I am... That makes the future much more interesting!" Laughing, she looked down at me, saying "Well, lets get you another one to y with!" With that, I watched as one of the ropes dissipated again, the goblin instantly scooping a stick up as it charged at me. Watching it, I felt my heart throb at the realization that I would feel that euphoria yet again. Swinging the stick towards my skull, I swayed to the side before punching it in the stomach, enjoying the feeling of my fist mming into its ribs. Hearing a crack, I grinned before flipping my dagger, mming the pommel into the goblins temple. I watched in glee as its skull gave way, the pommel sinking slightly into the goblins head. As it slumped to the ground, I heard two consecutive notifications, however I tuned them out again as I looked down on the goblins corpse. Taking a deep breath, I turned and smiled at Jahi, my face flushing as I saw the heavy desire in her eyes, paired with a deep lust. Walking over to her, I let her pull me into her arms, her lips quickly finding my own as she kissed me. Leaning into her, I enjoyed the way her hands glided over my body as she slipped her tongue into my mouth. Pulling away, she panted as she looked down at me, before moving towards the Marquess, who was watching with arge grin. I licked my lips as she walked away, a rush of warmth spreading through my body before I bit my cheek. Calming myself down, I finally looked at the three notifications as I watched Jahi y with the remaining two goblins. [Goblin killed! 144xp] [Goblin killed! 150xp] [Achievement Unlocked! First Blood] Seeing therge numbers, at leastpared to my normal quests, I grinned. Looking at the Achievement: First Blood, I opened it up, reading the specifics. [First Blood: Unlocked for killing your first monster! Reward: 1 Skill Point] ''Isn''t that too generous for such an easy achievement?'' [Eh. Honestly, it is, but hey, I didn''t design the system; I just run it. Anyways, congrattions on your first kill! Also, I do know a very good therapist if you think you need one...] I chuckled at that, shaking my head slightly. Turning my attention back to Jahi, I watched as she gracefully cleaved her de through the goblins flesh, slicing the limbs clean off before bisecting the poor creature. She avoided most of the blood spray, before quickly dispatching the second goblin. When she finished, the Marquess looked between the two of us, her eyes glowing with pride and anticipation. "Oh, I really can''t wait for the future... you both are such good children~" She wrapped both of us in a hug, trembling slightly from excitement. If this had been before today, I would have been slightly terrified of how epting and proud the Marquess was that two kids just easily killed two humanoid monsters, but after the ecstasy of today? Well, I guess we''re just onerge, happy family with a few... quirks. --- So, lets just... discuss this, shall we? I can already hear one question: Is Kat going to be a crazy killer? Answer: No. Think about it, this world is INFESTED with crazy monsters and evil people. She can very easily get her... ''fix'' from them, and not themon popce. Additionally, I was reading many books and found a ring simrity between all of them; the MC is usually either A) Disgusted and averse to the idea of killing anything in the beginning, or B) A battle maniac. Jahi and Anput are battle maniacs; they love the fight, but could truly care less about the kill. However, I wanted to make Kat the opposite; she does like the fight, but the kill is what she lives for. Now, again, this doesn''t mean she is going to be a Murderhobo. Instead, I wanted to make my favorite kind of crazy from fantasy books/games: the innocent looking character who will absolutely lock you in a cell and drain you of your blood if you piss them off. Remember Chapter 14: Eventful Day? Where Kat watched the Countess butcher a dozen men in a sh (hehe)? How Kat quickly epted that she was alright with what had happened, and didn''t really care that she had just witnessed a massacre? Well, if that wasn''t a perfect setup for a crazy character, I don''t know what is. This doesn''t mean I am changing her entire personality; think of this like a... switch that gets flipped, allowing this version of her out. I like crazy, but I love when its done realistically. After all, most prolific killers tend to be able to just... blend in with society, and I find that fascinating (and scary, but hey I''m a recluse so...) So, Kat is now going to slowly walk down her own path of crazy, however it will be more like an... alternate self, or repressed self. She will continue to develop into the cold, resourceful maid, but if you piss her off or try something on Jahi... Well, she has dagger proficiency for a reason... --- Chapter 55 54: Thrill Of The Hunt After that initial whetting of our pallets, the Marquess lead us through the forest, trying to find more goblin camps. It didn''t take long; apparently goblins had a high reproduction rate in this world as well, and even had females of their own, who could give birth to litters of ugly green babies. Stopping at the edge of the encampment, Jahi and I streaked forwards, des in hand as we set about massacring the goblins. I had my dagger in a reverse grip, shing towards the goblins throats or limbs, while my free hand was coated in water mana, which I used to help pierce or smash the goblins. I tuned out the numerous dings from the system, losing myself to the crescendo of screams and cries from the goblins. Slitting ones throat, I turned and caught the arm of another, who was trying to swing a rock down on my skull. Pulling, I watched in glee as it popped out of its socket, the muscles and sinew iling around as blood spurted from the wound. Tossing the arm aside, I stabbed the dagger deep into its chest, twisting the de before kicking it away. Swaying, I avoided a stick, before punching the goblin in the face, grinning as I felt the skull shatter underneath my mana strengthened punch. All the goblins moved at a snails pace, and the amount of noise they made as they moved allowed me to keep track of their positions. I looked over to Jahi, my breath catching in my throat when I saw therge grin on her face, ented by therge splotch of blood on her cheek. She was twirling around the clearing, her de severing limbs and piercing bodies. As I watched her, I swallowed hard when I saw her look over at me, her eyes meeting mine. Her burnished gold eyes radiated with lust, and I shivered as she looked at me like prey. Turning, I stabbed my dagger into a charging goblins jaw, before picking it up by its head. Annoyed, I squeezed, popping its head like a balloon. Dropping the corpse, I looked around the camp, growling in annoyance when I saw only corpses. Hearing the Marquess p behind me, I turned to see her grinning widely at us, her ruby eyes glowing. "Oh my~ You two made quite the mess hmm?" Catching my breath, I wiped the blood off my dagger, using my water coated hand to clean it off. Nodding, I sheathed the de before using my water to clean myself off. The amazing thing was that, since blood is a liquid, I could ''rinse'' myself off, removing all fluids from myself while remaining dry. That included my clothes... I walked over to Jahi, doing the same to her, before allowing the water to fall to the ground. Wrapping her arm around my waist, I leaned into her, looking at the Marquess. She was looking at us with a mix of annoyance and pride in her eyes. "Listen, I could care less if you want nothing more than to drag her behind a tree and have your way with her, but please keep your desires... a little more hidden, yes?" I chuckled at how Jahi glowered at the Marquess, before releasing my waist. Nodding, the Marquess looked between the two of us and said "Well, shall we continue, or do you want to go home?" Looking at Jahi, I remained silent, letting her choose. She pursed her lips, looking at me before looking towards the corpses littering the ground behind us. "A few more encampments..." The Marquess nodded, gesturing deeper into the forest. "Well, if there is one thing that Fovos Forest has an abundance of, its goblins." As we walked, I looked over the notifications from the system. [Goblin killed! 142 xp] [Goblin killed! 152 xp] [Goblin killed! 158 xp] [Gob...] It went on for another dozen rows, and I asked ''Is there a reason all of the goblins are worth an even amount?'' [So I don''t have to calcte decimals. I just round the number down to the nearest number divisible by two.] ''You are... incrediblyzy.'' [So? I don''t get paid at all, let alone enough to do all that math... deal with it.] I chuckled, watching my level slowly rise. [Level 19 (60,129/147,744) -> (63,073/147,744)] It was amazing to see such arge jump in experience, and I couldn''t wait to upgrade my [Growth] skill to increase my experience gains even more. I refocused on our surroundings, noticing the tell tale signs of a goblin encampment being nearby when I saw the scratched and marked trunks. Reaching another goblin encampment, Jahi and I lost ourselves to the ughter of the weak creatures, enjoying the way our blood rushed every time our des bit into flesh. Likest time, we ended the massacre quickly, before I washed us off. Repeating that a few times, we left the forest with almost a hundred kills each, feeling a high of sorts as we sat in the carriage. The ride home was calm, and after a few minutes both Jahi and I passed out, our bodies finally sumbing to the loss of adrenaline. ~~~ I woke up feeling refreshed, and I looked around, confused as to why I was in our room before remembering our journey to the Fovos Forest... today? Seeing as the sky was dark, I didn''t know if we had slept for long or not, and honestly I could care less. Falling back into the soft sheets, I snuggled into Jahi, smiling when I felt her unconsciously wrap her arms around meant pull me close. Taking in a breath of her sweet fragrance, I felt my eyes close shut, before I fell asleep again. ~~~ Jahi PoV I awoke to a face full of fluff, as Kat''s ears twitched slightly when I moved. Grinning, I buried my nose into her hair, enjoying the light smell that was reminiscent of a winter breeze that wafted off her body. Holding her close, I enjoyed her warmth before remembering what had happened in the forest. The way she almost glowed as she danced through the goblins camps, her dagger shing as she wielded it with deadly precision was burned into my mind. Looking down at her calm face, I couldn''t believe that just hours prior she had killed almost a hundred goblins, all while wearing an innocent smile. The image of her effortlessly ughtering goblins sent a rush of heat through my body. Feeling my will slowly crumbling, I rolled out of bed, making sure to bundle Kat up before making my way into the bath. I threw off my pajamas, turned on the cold water, and doused myself. Feeling the prickling sensation of ice cold water on my skin, I managed to calm down. Turning the water off, I grabbed a towel and dried off, before grabbing a set of clothes and making my way towards the Training Grounds. I knew that I wouldn''t be able to hold back if I returned to bed, and I wasn''t in the mood to read. So, I decided to go work off these desires, taking my mind off the way Kat''s body moved- Shaking my head, I lifted one of therge rocks, holding it before slowly, gently lowering it to the ground. I repeated that, enjoying how my muscles screamed at me each time I lifted the rock. Slowly going through all the exercises I could think of, I made my way back through the silent halls, slipping into our room. Upon entering, I almost let out a shout when I saw two pale blue eyes staring my way in the dark room. --- A bit shorter, but hey, 2 in 1 day is good. Anyways, here was one of the things that I had nned done and dusted. I may have them go back to Fovos Forest soon, but who knows. I enjoyed writing the action, and it was a nice change of pace! That doesn''t mean I''m not doing action again though, so don''t worry! We have Anput for that~ --- Chapter 56 55: Invitation --- Quick little reminder and something to clear any confusion. 1) If you leave ament and it contains a word that would be considered an ''adult'' word please type it with a ''.'' or a space or something simr, so that thement gets officially posted. 2) Someone asked if Jahi and Kat had sex yet, to which the answer is no. Groping and kissing? Yes, but no sex. Their first time is going to be a whole chapter, maybe two, so... (Not going to namedrop since I don''t want to potentially embarrass someone or something...) Anyways, if you were confused when I when I write things like ''Jahi gave me a pleasurable night'' or simr things, it is just groping, kissing, and leaving hickeys/marks. That''s all, so far... --- Jahi started her habit of slinking off during the night to train, annoying me slightly. Every time I woke up to arge, warm, yet empty bed, my heart hurt. Yet, I could never manage to catch her before she left, only being able to wait for her return, just to silently wash her off before clinging to her in bed. However, other than her nightly training sessions, Jahi was practically glued to my side. There were few moments when I managed to be alone, but I didn''t mind her presence. In fact, I quite enjoyed knowing that she was always near me. There was just some kind offortable feeling of knowing that she was lying on the couch with a book when I cleaned, or that she was just on the other side of the field when we trained. Time slowly passed again, the only new addition to our routine being a weekly excursion to Fovos Forest. I looked forward to those days, where I could whet my de and sate my bloodlust. The time spent peacefully at home had be slightly straining on my mental, as I sorely longed for the rush that killing provided. However, I managed to slowly limate myself to reigning in my desires, finding ways to focus that want to something else. Diving into magic helped alleviate my withdrawal like state, as I slowly refined my control and created and tested new sequences. One that I was immensely proud of was when I managed tobine twopleted runes together. I created a spear of water that was not only fast, but rotated quickly as well. On top of that, I added a cluster of revolving spheres that had their own devastating piercing ability. When I had tried this spell in the forest, I had been amazed at how much damage it caused. It cleanly pierced through multiply trees before eventually loosing its shape, coating another tree in arge amount of water. I had of course tried it on goblins, however... Well, the resulting explosion of blood and gore, while satisfying, was quite shy. So unless I needed to intimidate someone by making theirpanions get pierced by arge spear before three spheres tore their body apart, than I don''t n on using the spell for anything weak... Besides my idental creation of a spell that could potentially be powered up enough to pierce thick tes of steel, I managed to also get that golden ratio of 1:1 when fighting with Jahi. The way she pouted when I managed to slip under her de and snake my dagger towards her throat was exquisite. It was during one of these spars that the Marquess had received a letter, but Jahi and I ignored it. Quickly parrying her de to the side, I jabbed my fist into her stomach, only to have Jahi grab my fist and yank me forwards. mming her forehead into mine, she followed up with a precise stab aimed at my chest, making me roll to the side. I lunged forwards, swaying away from her sh that gouged the earth below our feet. Stabbing my dagger towards her side, I widened my eyes when I saw her grinning down at me, before... I flew backwards, my jaw stinging as I copsed to the ground. Jahi had punched me in the jaw... Feeling the cold steel on my throat, I red up at Jahi before sighing. She offered me her hand, and upon taking it I was dragged into her arms, feeling the warmth spread through my body as she cast a healing spell on both of us. Before she could speak, the Marquess sighed. Looking at her, we saw the Marquess pinch the bridge of her nose, before looking towards us. Seeing our questioning gaze, she gave a wry smile before saying "The Duchess is hosting a ball, and we are being ''asked'' to attend. Hah, I really don''t want to see her smug face..." "When?" Hearing Jahi, the Marquess chuckled mirthlessly, saying "In two days..." I looked at the Marquess, my mouth open as I tried to understand that timetable. The Duchess threw together a ball and wanted to Nobility to attend... with a two day notice?! Chuckling again, the Marquess said "So, Ria is going t take Jahi to get some more... formal clothing... It''ll just be you and I, pup." I smiled dryly at the Marquess, before turning to look at Jahi''s displeased face. Leaning close to her ear, I whispered something, chuckling when I saw her face brighten and eyes widen. "Really!?" I nodded at her, before watching her rush from the Training Grounds after giving me a quick peck on the lips. The Marquess watched in confusion, before looking at me, her brow furrowed. "What did you offer her that made her so excited?" I just chuckled again, staying silent. After staring at me for a few more moments, the Marquess sighed before scooping up a sword, grinning at me. "Well, I''ll just beat it out of you~" I shivered slightly, before dropping into a stance and charging at her. Sending my dagger shing towards her, I grit my teeth as her de met mine, sending a jolt down my arm. Growling in annoyance, I jumped back and started quickly tracing a rune, watching in amusement as the Marquess matched my growl, trying to stop me from finishing it. However, I had gotten quite good at activating runes, and the Marquess swore that she would limit herself, keeping her strength slightly above ours, and so far she has kept true to that. Feeling my body be coated in water mana, I grinned at the charging Marquess, sending. flurry of shes and stabs at her. However, even if she was limiting her strength, her skill with a sword was immense. I watched in awe as she swiftly parried each one, before her hand shot forwards and grabbed my neck. She looked at me, before nodding as she let me go. "Again." ~~~ I copsed to the ground, my body drenched in sweat. I had gone through a few dozen spars with the Marquess, each onesting roughly a few minutes as she beat my imperfections away. My body was bruised and battered, and even after using my own healing magic I had phantom pains where the Marquess hadnded a clean blow. Looking down at me, the Marquess grinned before gently lifting me up, taking my limp body towards the bath. My lungs burned, and even as I managed to execute a sloppy healing rune, I still groaned as she undressed me. cing me on a stool, the Marquess gently rinsed me off before cing me into therge bath, and I moaned as I felt the warm waterp over my body, slowly loosening my tense muscles. Getting in after me, the Marquess sighed before looking at me. "Just so you know, the Duchess will be trying to get her daughter to snag Jahi." My head whipped towards her, listening to her intently. "It won''t be as bad as the other noble children attending, some of which may just literally offer themselves to Jahi in exchange for a spot as a mistress. So, I don''t envy your job as you watch Jahi be surrounded by dozens of beautiful women~" Sheughed as I red at her, before I bit the tip of thumb, my pain long forgotten. This would be the first social event Jahi and I ever attended, and I knew that we had lucked out with Leone and Anput, since neither could care about their position. However, the others around our age would likely be the typical snobs. Not only would I have to deal with warding off women that offered themselves to Jahi, I would likely have to deal with many men that wanted to court her as well, even though they knew she was only into women. Looking back at the Marquess, I asked in a serious voice "Can I bring my dagger?" She stared at me for a few moments, before letting out a roar ofughter. Wiping a tear that streamed from her eye, the Marquess keptughing as she shook her head. "No, no you can''t. I don''t wish to exin why someone lost their hand, maybe even life, to the Empress and Duchess... as entertaining as that would be. Clicking my tongue, I fell back into contemtion, wondering how I should go about keeping women away from Jahi. I sighed, realizing how little I could truly do due to my status as a maid, before I grinned. After all, there is one thing I can always do, something to make her look at me, and only me... --- I just wanted to say that there are some people on this app who are FILTHY rich. Like, Ayana_Heel just sent 80,000 coins to ONE book. 80,000 coins. Thats around 1,500$... Besides that person, who donates weekly btw, there is Sacogun who donates 5,000 daily to like three books. Who are these people and why do they have so much spare money to send to romance books?! --- Chapter 57 56: Reward I continued thinking up ways to ward of the various people trying to get closer to Jahi at the Duchess'' ball when I heard the Marquess get up. I watched as she stretched before making her way towards the door, looking back over her shoulder as she said "Well, they shouldn''t be home for another few hours, so make sure you eat and rest~" Nodding, I looked back down at the water, enjoying the silence that fell in the room. Time passed, my body slowly returning to its natural state thanks to the influx of mana from Undine''s Blessing. Getting up, I dried myself off before putting on my maid dress that the Marquess had left outside. Picking up thest thing I needed to wear, I moved to the mirror and watched as I slipped the cor onto my neck, pulling it tight. Twisting it, I shivered as I saw the small gold pendantying against my skin. Grabbing it, I bit my lip before exiting the room, making my way around the castle as I picked up the things I would need for tonight. Ignoring the confused gazes of the other servants, I piled everything up in the corner of our bedroom, swallowing down the abundance of saliva as I imagined what they were going to be used for. Shivering again, I tore my gaze off the items before making sure the bedroom was in order. Making the bed, fluffing the pillows, cing all of Jahi''s books back on their respective shelves, before looking around the room with a nod. This wasn''t for the quest, as I had cleaned just a few days prior, but I was a bit of a neat freak in this life. As much as I loved the sight of all those books being used, I also started going crazy at how fast Jahi piled them back up on the ground as she reread them or took notes on history or geography. Smiling as I looked around the now clean room, I moved to our living area, where the longer I looked the more I realized that neither of us cared for decorations beyond books, des, or artwork. Shelves were lined with books, there were a few swords and daggers hanging on the walls, and variousndscapes, flowers, and even maps were scattered around the room, either on the wall or in small frames around the room. I slowly lost myself to tidying the room, enjoying the mindless task while I theorized a few more spells to attempt tomorrow. Hearing the door behind me open, I turned, smiling. However, my face froze as I saw Jahi enter... Wearing a dress. Her cheeks were purple, and she refused to meet my gaze. She was wearing a long, flowing ocean blue dress, adorned with small glittering sapphires and a few diamonds. Not only was the dress a tant disy of opulence, but it showed off her lithe figure as it hugged her waist tightly. I continued staring at her, much to Jahi''s displeasure, as she quickly dragged me into our room. "I really, really need to insist that mom takes me shopping, and not mother... really, this dress..." She was shaking slightly, her cheeks darkening as I remained silent, looking at her exposed upper back. "Help me get it off..." Hearing her low growl, I woke from my reverie before undoing the various buttons and strings that kept the dress tied and tight. I marveled at the wealthy dress, each thread glistening like the waves beneath a full moon. Seeing the gemstones scattered around the dress made me realize just how absurdly wealthy nobles were, and just how talented some seamstress'' could be. I mean, how in the world do you make GEMSTONES on a dress look so good, without being tacky? It was a work of art, and I made sure to treat it as such. After getting Jahi out of her ballgown, I had to tear my gaze off of her bare skin. If the Marquess was a sapphire or cobalt blue, then Jahi was cerulean or azure blue. Both were much different from what I had ever seen, yet both were so beautiful. Gentlyying the dress on our dresser, I pulled out a pair of pants and a simple shirt, handing them to Jahi as she quickly dressed herself. "Let''s eat before..." Following her gaze, I blushed when I saw her smirking at the items I gather earlier. Nodding, I gulped before saying "I''ll go make us something!" Without letting her say anything, I ran from the room, making my way quickly to the kitchen. Seeing the familiar barrel like figure of Lesnera, I bowed to her before preparing my area. Making sure everything was in the right spot, I rummaged though the pantry, grabbing lettuce, various vegetables, some spices, and two chicken breasts. "Miss Les, are you making any bread tonight?" Slicing some spring onions and carrots, I looked over at the dwarven woman, who smirked at me. "''Course I am dear. What kinda kitchen would I be runnin'' if bread wasn''t bakin''?" Iughed at that, before kneading the spices into the breasts. After determining that they were seasoned enough, I gently ced them into the pan, letting them cook before chopping the lettuce. Before I forgot, I put on a teapot and let the water boil. Finishing, I grabbed tworge bowls and started creating my sd, watching the chicken closely. Making sure it crisped just enough, I asked "Do you have some I could take now?" Lesnera nodded, shouting for one of the other servants to bring me a tray. Slicing the chicken into thin strips, I waited for them to cool off as I looked at the small loaf ced in front of me. Nodding to the servant, I turned off the stove before taking the teapot and cing it on a tray. Then, I put the chicken onto the sds. Grabbing a few utensils, I started arranging the tray before cing it on a cart. Bowing again to Lesnera, I made my way back to our room, where Jahi was lounging on a couch, book in hand. Hearing me enter, she closed the book and moved to the table, smiling at me. I started arranging everything on the table, cing the teacups down first before pouring her some. Finishing, I smiled down at the table, proud of yet another good meal. Sadly Jahi didn''t appreciate my efforts, as she scarfed down the sd and bread in a sh. Pouting, I ate my own portion at a slower pace, savoring the dry heat of the chicken paired with the fresh vors of the tomatoes and carrots. Jahi watched me as I ate, before moving to the door to hail a servant. "Take this back to the kitchen." Nodding, the servant cleaned up the table, looking at me in surprise when I helped move my own dishes onto the cart. I was slightly annoyed to think that the servants of the house thought I didn''t do anything like them... However, I could understand it, as both the servant and I could feel Jahi''s gaze as she leaned against the bedroom door, her eyes narrowed as she waited. After all, this girl in front of me was just a servant, while I was Jahi''s personal maid, and I was in bed with her... The girl gave me a nod, before bowing to Jahi and leaving the room. Silence fell, and upon turning I shivered when Jahi was grinning at me widely. She curled her finger at me, gesturing for me to approach. Moving towards her, I yelped when she pulled me into her, her hands wandering as she gave me a loud kiss. Pulling away, Jahi led me into our room, throwing me onto the bed as she turned to the small pile in the corner. Lifting a small spool of rope off the ground, Jahi grinned over at me, making me shiver. Licking her lips, she moved over to me before throwing the rope on the bed. Climbing on top of me, she pinned me to the bed before lifting my dress over my head, tossing it to the side. Taking the rope, I watched in anticipation as she tied my hands together, before she looked at the remaining rope in contemtion. However, she shook her head before looking down at me in interest, her eyes trailing around my exposed skin before she grinned. I lost myself quickly to the sensation of her lips and teeth on my skin, reveling in the mix of pain and pleasure it brought. This was her reward for tonight: me. I recalled her making a bet the first time she sparred with Anput, where if she won she wanted to do whatever to me that night. So, I told her that I was hears for the night, and had gathered a few spools of rope and some chains as well, since she and the Marquess enjoyed calling me ''pup'' or ''puppy''. Thest item was a stretch, and likely not something we could use on a whim. I had grabbed a long strip of leather, which could take the ce of a whip... However, after thinking it through I decided that I would need to either make my own or find one that could cause minimal damage. Unlike myst life, I didn''t need to worry about deep wounds or scars, but it would probably be leaving the whole ''pain is pleasure'' idea and jumping to just straight pain. I wasn''t that far gone to just enjoy getting truly whipped. However, I do have to admit that the way her teeth and hand dug into my body felt heavenly... --- So I wonder just what Kat''s kink is... Anyways, next chapter should beter today, and it is the Ball up North, so look forwards to it. As for yesterday, Football is the reason I only released one chapter. Going forwards, that will likely stay a constant, so Sundays will be my ''break'' from writing. I have definitely noticed that I enjoy writing more than gaming now, and haven''t really found a lot of books to read, leaving me with either just mindlessly browsing YT or writing to take up my time. Which I why I am happy that I have multiple books, where I can write different things. Anyways, after today is when I will be taking that contract, so I am just giving the heads up. Enjoy~ --- Chapter 58 57: Ball Up North (1) I looked into the mirror with pride, enjoying the way Jahi glowered at me in annoyance. "You look wonderful dear~" The Countess stood next to me, a wide grin on her face as she admired my work. I had used a tool much like a hair curler to get Jahi''s normally straight hair to flow like waves. After that, I was given the choice of many various hair clips, and after perusing the many ornate ornaments, I chose one made from deep blue sapphires that were made into a realistic rose. Nestling it into her hair, I made sure it was secure before looking at her face, pursing my lips as I looked over the small array of makeup, before shaking my head. "Oh? You think she doesn''t need anything else?" I shook my head at the Countess'' question, making Jahi sigh in relief. "If anything, the only thing she needs is something for her lips. Either gloss or a darker shade of blue..." The Countess nodded, before picking up a small vial. Uncapping it, she raised up the midnight blue stick, and I nodded. She smiled down at Jahi, gripping her jaw as she held Jahi still. Applying it, I pursed my lips as I looked at how drastic such a small change made. It seemed that the lipstick the Countess chose contained a glossy blue, making Jahi''s lips shine as they contrasted her light skin. Jahi growled in annoyance, ring at her mother before sighing in defeat. We finished up, with both the Countess and I nitpicking over a few things before looking at each other in satisfaction. Jahi instantly moved away from us, keeping her guard up before making her way to hide behind the Marquess, who was watching on in amusement. The Marquess was dressed in a tight ck suit, much like what she wore when we received the Empress and Sultana. As for the Countess, she decided to go for something as opulent as Jahi, wearing a long gown made from silver thread. It had a low cut, was adorned with opals and pearls, and only made her long golden hair stand out that much more. As for my mother and I... well, we wore our maid dresses, the only difference between us being mine was ck and red and hers was ck and white. Oh, and we both now wore cors, mine red and hers ck. When the Marquess and Countess gifted her that... well, we didn''t see any of them for almost two days... Anyways, we moved as a group towards a room in the basement, where Arch Mage Kolia was waiting beside arge ritual circle. "Finally... you know these things onlyst for an hour when made with basic chalks, yes?" Hearing Kolia grumble in annoyance, the Marquess just chuckled and said "Ria wanted to y dress up with Jahi, sorry." Kolia just sighed, before shrugging. Moving onto the circle, I watched in interest as Kolia moved around the circle, tapping various runes and activating them with her mana. Eventually a bright light rose from the ritual circle, and I had to close my eyes to protect my vision. Noticing the light recede, I opened my eyes to see... We now stood in arge, opulent hall made from pure ice. The light blue ice was solid and opaque, and a pale glow shined from the ice. Various maids and butlers lined the walls, and seeing us appear a maid approached us, bowing as she neared. "Duchess ki wishes to see you in the Main Hall." Her voice was low and cold, and after seeing the Marquess nod she turned to lead us out of the hall. The maid led us through various hallways made from ice, and surprisingly the entire area was quite warm. I looked around in interest, unable to help myself as I took in this impressive use of ice. We eventually reached arge hall, where various sculptures stood in random spots. In the back was arge throne, the ice making up the throne radiating a deep chill. Lounging on the throne was a tall woman, draped in a simple white dress that matched her white hair. Interestingly enough, her hair was drawn into a braid that hung over her face, almost covering her already closed eyes. However, even though she looked like she was asleep, the woman looked straight at us, a wide grin on her lips as she spoke. "My, you are as beautiful as ever Chordeva. Are you still unwilling toy with me?" I froze as I felt the air grow charged, turning to see the Countess ring at the woman. Speaking in a strained voice, the Countess said "Duchess ki, I would like to respectfully ask you to keep your ws to yourself." Chuckling, the Duchess shrugged, before continuing. "Fine, fine. Anyways, I heard your spawn awoke to Light Magic? Interesting... what do you think of unifying the Dukedom of Blizzards with March Asmodia?" The Marquess sighed, saying "Duchess ki, I will leave the choice to Jahi. I dislike deciding things for her." The Duchess nodded, chuckling as she nodded. "Very well. Go, enjoy the ball. I shall be a few momentste..." Nodding, the Marquess led us out of the hall. As we exited, I noticed that many of the statues had looks of horror or anger on their faces. When we reached the hallway, the Marquess spoke. "Kat, I saw you looking at the statues... well, they are like our Banshee''s. They are all people who angered the Ice Dragon of the North, Duchess ki." I widened my eyes in surprise, before fixing my expression. We had reached arge door, and upon opening it we saw dozens upon dozens of people. All were dressed up, however few could match the opulence of the Countess and Jahi. The room fell silent when we entered, and I gulped when I saw the various gazes turn towards us. Looking towards Jahi, the Marquess said "Go, meet the people who will be your peers. Mingle, dance, gossip... just don''t be an idiot. Katherine, follow her." I nodded, walking a few steps behind Jahi. She moved towards therge gathering of people our age, giving a small curtsy to everyone before she started talking. I moved to the wall, where all the other maids stood. They all greeted me, however I could very easily see theck of interest in their gazes as they turned back to observing their masters. Folding my hands in front of me, I watched as Jahi slowly started being swarmed by people. A girl in an extravagant and frilly pink dress, with her long brown hair pulled into a braid,ughed at everything Jahi said, taking every opportunity toy her hand on Jahi''s arm. Another girl, this one wearing a simple grey suit, listened to Jahi''s every word, her pale face growing crimson every time Jahi looked her way. I slowly lost track of the number of people approaching Jahi, each one dressed in either something absurd or simple. I could feel my building irritation, especially when the pink girl grabbed Jahi''s arm and ced it on her budding chest. Eventually I heard someone couch beside me, and upon turning I saw one of the maids give me a small smile. "I''m Fresca, maid of Gia Vesca, of Barony Vesca." "Katherine, maid of Jahi Asmodia, March Asmodia." She nodded, before asking "So, what''s it like? Serving a Marquess and her family?" Seeing the excitement in her eyes, I just told her a few things, describing therge rooms and opulent decorations, the sulent looking food, and more. She added her own things throughout, and while we talked I kept an eye on Jahi. Eventually I asked "Could you tell me who is who here? Starting at the top..." Fresca nodded, pointing at the pink girl and grey suit girl first. "The girl in pink is the heir of Ruben County, Adrianna Ruben. She is... honestly, just your typical noble." Lowering her voice, Fresca whispered "She apparently beats her maid, whines about everything, and forced her father to buy her an extravagant carriage just because her old one got chipped! I mean seriously!" I chuckled at that, before listening to the next description. "The girl in grey is the second daughter of Steele County, and is in training to be a Knight. Nothing demeaning about her, she just rarely talks to people. However, I did hear that she is quite the prodigy with her sword." Fresca was about to continue when the room went silent again. We looked towards therge doors, where the Duchess appeared with a girl who looked just like her. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Duchess ki and her daughter, Draka ki!" Everyone pped, and I watched as the Duchess led her daughter down the stairs. Grabbing a ss, the Duchess raised it to the air and said "Well, let the ballmence!" --- Contract after the next two chapters released tomorrow... Anyways, the Duchess looks like when we first see Mei Mei in Jujutsu Kaisen. I''ll put a pic for reference. --- Chapter 59 58: Ball Up North (2) I watched as Dark ki walked towards Jahi, while the Duchess started mingling among the various adults in the room. Draka ki looked exactly like her mother; pale skin, long white hair, and a thin build. However, unlike the Duchess, Draka had two pairs of horns on her head, one set jutting out of her forehead pointing straight up, while the other set curled around her ears like Jahi''s. She approached the silent gathering of the various noble children, walking with a simple elegance. As she got close to Jahi, she nodded her head before picking up a ss, standing near Jahi while remaining silent. The nobles slowly resumed their conversations, and Adrianna Ruben started asking Jahi dozens of questions, to which the Steele girl continued to listen intently, while Draka sipped silently on her drink. Turning to Fresca, I saw her blushing as she stared at Draka, and I smiled. "Oh my~ Fresca, are you crushing on the Duchess'' daughter?" Hearing my low teasing voice, Fresca looked at me in shock, before covering her face. "Is it that obvious?!" Iughed at that, nodding my head. "You were a deeper red than the wine~" I continued teasing the girl, enjoying her slight overreactions to things, while also keeping an eye on Jahi. Thankfully everyone seemed to be wary of the Ruben girl, and the Steele girl also did a good job at ring at any boy who approached. However, while I could apud the Steele girl, I wanted nothing more than to snap the neck of the snotty Ruben heir. She would press herself into Jahi at every opportunity, and I even saw her whisper something in Jahi''s ear a few times, a coy look in her eyes. Jahi onlyughed her attempts off, trying to remain cordial to the future Countess, however I could very clearly see her balled fist and twitching eye. To calm myself down, I looked around the room, barely paying attention to Fresca''s introductions of other heirs. I saw arge muscr man surrounded by a few women, telling jokes and enjoying the way they fawned over him, all drinking rather liberally. In another corner was a couple trying to be ''discreet'' as they made out behind a pir, however considering the number of gazes being sent their way I was surprised they continued. However, what made me almost cackle aloud was when I saw the Marquess swarmed by a dozen women, all trying desperately to cling to her. What made it worse was that she was, like Jahi, trying to be cordial to all the women, which only egged them on to try harder, pressing their chests into the Marquess and offering themselves to her in whispers. I could see the Marquess'' gaze wander over some of the women, before biting the inside of her cheek. The Countess was outside of the ring, watching the Marquess with a smile stered on her face, mother standing beside her with a neutral expression but dull eyes. Every once in a while the Countess would mutter something to mother, only for her to nod in response. As the beginning of the ball dragged on, I saw the Duchess eventually reach a small stage, where she gestured for a few musicians to change their music to something fitting for dancing. Hearing the change, the nobility, both adult and child, quickly found their partners as they prepared to dance. I watched in irritation as Adrianna clung to Jahi, with Jahi sending me an apologetic smile. Taking a breath, I just returned her look before looking over to the Marquess, who was promptly dragged into the dance floor by the Countess, who was looking at the Marquess with a sickly sweet smile. Everyone got into position, some people looking away from there partners as they observed the others, longing in their eyes, while some got a little more handsy than was required for such a dance. I watched in amusement as the Steele girl pped her partner as she let her hands drop, before storming away, leaving the girl to clutch her face in shock. Fresca let out a sigh, watching as the Steele girl was approached by Draka, who offered her pale, dainty hand to the taller girl. "Oh, seems like you havepetition~" I needed to distract myself, so I turned back to teasing Fresca, who red at me. Chuckling, we watched as the dance started, everyone gliding over the floor gracefully. As we watched, I felt my mother approach me, whispering "The Countess wanted to let you know that you can use them as an excuse to drag Jahi away..." I looked at my mother, who was smirking down at me. Nodding, I leaned into her hand as she ruffled my ears, before moving back towards the table the Countess had been sitting at. "Was that your mother or your sister? You two look so simr!" I chuckled, saying "My mother." Fresca continued asking questions, and I would respond as best I could. The dance slowly came to a close, and I saw the Countess look over at me, gesturing for me to go to her. "I apologize, but Countess Haniel has requested my presence. It has been a pleasure, Fresca." Nodding to the other maids, I made my way around the edge of the room, eventually reaching the Countess. She sat back in her chair, watching the various women asking the Marquess for a dance with dull eyes. "Katherine, what do you think of the event so far?" Hearing her low voice, I nodded before looking around. Seeing no one near, I said "I dislike it." She chuckled, nodding as she said "It is very hard to control yourself in these situations, is it not?" I nodded again, before feeling someone behind me. Turning, I saw the Duchess looming over me, a smile on her lips. "My my, Ria, you never told me about this little gem... ice magic is ever so rare, you know..." I shivered as the Duchess slightly opened one eye, revealing a glowing blue iris with a slitted pupil. My blood went cold as the Duchess looked me over, her eye cial as she eventually met my gaze. Shivering, I almost copsed before the Countess gently covered my eyes, speaking in a warm voice. "Now, Duchess, I do believe we need not inform you of anything at all!" Calming down, I felt the Countess remove her hand, and I took a breath of relief when I saw the Duchess had closed her eye. "Come now Ria, no need to be so testy~ However, I will leave an offer on the table..." Turning back towards me, the Duchess grinned widely as she said "Let me have the girl for a few years, to polish her, and I''ll give my support to the March Asmodia for the next four decades..." I widened my eyes at that, before turning to look at the Countess. "You would have to ask Jahi about that, not me." "Pah, both you and Chordeva leave everything up to your spawn..." Sighing, the Duchess pursed her lips as she looked down at me, before shrugging. Stopping up a ss, the Duchess kneeled in front of me, asking "Have you even attempted ice magic yet?" I shook my head, making her sigh again. I watched in amazement as the wine in the ss instantly froze, before the ss became covered in frost. No rune, no ritual circle, just pure mana... She chuckled, before saying "Know my doors are always open to you, child. I wish to train someone besides my daughter in proper ice magics..." Standing up, she ced the ss on the table before looking over at the Marquess. "You were so feisty earlier Ria, yet you are letting your wife ce her hands on another woman now? No fair, I called dibs way earlier~" I swear the air cracked at how fast the Countess turned her head, and I followed quickly behind her, watching in muted awe and fear as I saw the Marquess smiling down at a woman, who was in her arms. Standing up, the Countess made her way towards the Marquess with long strides. Hearing the Duchessugh, I looked at her in confusion. You were about to see someone be murdered! Why are youughing!? "Haha~ Chordeva just caught the woman when she tripped... Oh my~ I love seeing Ria go crazy like this~" She keptughing, and I watched as the Marquess was dragged by her ear out of the hall, everyone observing with either small smiles or confusion. My mother sighed next to me, looking at the Duchess with a neutral gaze before looking at a couple approaching the table. A woman with ears and a tail simr to us walked with a confident stride, her eyes narrowed as she looked at the Duchess. Behind her was a man shaking in slight fear, his tail pressed tightly against his legs as his gaze flickered slightly between his presumable wife and the Duchess. Stopping beside us, the woman nodded at my mother, saying "Julie." Seeing my mother nod back, I tilted my head in confusion before my jaw dropped at her next words. "Must you force us to attend every party of your, Duchess?! You now I want nothing to do with you!" The Duchess gave a wide smile, saying "But you make every party worth it dear..." Growling, the woman was about to leave when the Duchess added "Henry, if you wish to help me make a new child just ask~" The woman whipped around, her lips drawn in a snarl as she snapped "Leave your ws off my man damnit!" My mother quickly dragged me away, a small smile on her lips as she listened to the obscenities thrown towards the Duchess. Seeing my confusion, and concern, she exined "That was Emma Fjorda, and her husband Henry Fjorda. She was a baby when the Zara tribe was wiped out, but luckily her mother escaped to the Fjorda Barony, where she eventually made Henry fall in love with her. She is... definitely the ''Alpha'' of her family, with Henry being an indecisive, shy man who prefers his books over anything else. Now, what with the Duchess being a dragon and all, she has little to no chance to bear child, so she spent many of her days seducing men who had a trait or element she wanted. Henry has wind magic, so she had invited Henry and Emma to a ball, where she had Emma distracted before leading Henry away to her chambers. I still don''t know why Emma is still with him, but hey, everyone''s different." I looked back at the Duchess with mixed feelings, mainly being respect and disgust. Respect for the control she had on her mana to simply output enough to freeze wine and NOT shatter the ss. Disgust for what she apparently did in her free time in the past... Before realizing that it wasn''t all to dissimr to what I had done. Shaking my head, I looked at my mother and asked "Wait, you said she was a Zara member? Does that mean there are more than just you and I?" Nodding, my mother just smiled down at me, her eyes filled with sorrow as she said "I''ll tell youter, when I feel like I can..." I nodded, before she took a deep breath. "You should probably grab Jahi..." I turned, seeing her being led away from the dance floor by Adrianna. Jahi just followed behind the girl, her eyes alight with curiosity. Chapter 60 59: Ball Up North (3) --- Forgot to sayst chapter, but the book reached 100K words! That''s uh... damn, I''ve been writing quite a bit huh... --- Jahi PoV I followed behind Adrianna Ruben, intrigued by how the girl had such confidence to dere that after giving her a moment of my time, I would decide to marry her. I mean, who walks up to someone who could ask for both the Princess of our Empire and Begum of the Sultanate to be married to them and deres that? So, I just needed to see what this girl would pull. Would she try to frame me for forcing myself on her? Maybe some archaic love potion or spell to alter my mind? Or just straight up offer herself to me then and there? Honestly, I was very curious. After all, this is the first time, and thest time I will ever see what one of these women want. That''s mainly because I don''t know how well I could hold myself back when the women offering themselves to me where more mature. I already enjoyed the soft flesh of Kat, and sadly it has yet topare to the girl leading me away from the party. A few more years and Kat would likely outss this girlpletely, but the feeling of Adrianna''s chest was quite pleasant. However, I was mainly thinking about how Kat would develop. Would she end up like her mother? If so... Noticing that we were in a secluded spot, I watched as Adrianna grew scarlet as she bit her lip. She took my hand, and slowly led it towards her chest. Raising a brow, I gently pulled my hand away, asking "Really? You think you could what, frame me by making me grope you?" Adrianna took an audible gulp, her face going a dark crimson as she vehemently shook her head. "I-I would never!" I chuckled at that, before saying "Well, I just need to remind you of something: I have two beautiful girls that I can marry, as well as an exquisite maid. Do you honestly think the rest of the rabble of the nobilitypare to those three?" Adrianna nched, before ring at me. "I can understand the Princess and the Begum, but you dare say somemon maid is better than me!?" I just chuckled, before saying "Kat,e out. No need to worry; I wouldn''t dare do something with a mon'' girl like this." Hearing the small chuckleing from behind her, Adrianna turned, her eyes wide. I watched as Kat walked out from the dark corridor, her eye a pale blue as she stared at Adrianna. "Lady Jahi, the Countess requests your presence." I nodded, before pulling her close. I chuckled at both her and Adrianna''s reactions, both yelping in surprise. However, I enjoyed their reactions to what I did next even more. As Adrianna watched I wrapped my arms around Kat''s waist, pulling her into me as I took her lips, kissing her. Forcing my tongue into her mouth, I watched as Adrianna blushed, covering her eyes before peeking through her fingers. As I went deeper, I dropped my hands lower, making Kat nip my tongue. However, much to her embarrassment, I kept going, giving the Ruben girl a good show. She kept watching, her face crimson as I enjoyed the taste of my puppy, before lowering her hands, revealing a small streak of blood running from her nose. I pulled away from Kat''s lips, licking my own as I savored her taste. Chuckling, I gently kissed the tip of her nose, watching as my little puppies face went scarlet. I kept her in my arms, before turning to Adrianna. "You may be capable of satisfying me physically, sure, but I am not looking for a woman to just warm my bed. All three of the women I chose are stronger than you, and will likely be stronger than your entire Housebined. So, go tell your parents, go tell your friends; unless they can show me an admirable strength, I won''t even considerying my hands on them." Adrianna just leaned against the wall, her body limp as she shivered. I hadn''t meant to, but I as I spoke I let my mana re slightly, and I may or may not have scared the poor girl. Whoops. Shrugging, I led my puppy away from the trembling girl, chuckling as I felt her pinch my waist. Looking down at her face that matched her cor, I just grinned as I whispered "What? The only reason mother would ''summon'' me is if she knew you were getting jealous. She never calls for me at home, let alone here. If anything actually happens it would be mom calling." Saying so, I watched as Kat looked away, her face still flushed. Pulling her to the side, I slipped into a dark hall, pressing her against the wall. Looking down at her, I licked my lips before whispering "Then, let me give my puppy the attention she deserves, hmm?" ~~~ Kat PoV I followed behind Jahi after casting a few healing spells on myself. My lips were sore, my tongue tired, and my more... personal areas stung slightly. However, my mind was through the roof. Jahi had never been that passionate, let alone us being in a situation like that. The thrill of not knowing if someone would find that corridor where Jahi devoured me... I shivered again, watched as Jahi walked with a bounce in her step. She had done as she pleased, however... Remembering the words she spoke to Adrianna, I struggled to keep a smile off my face. Although she almost confirmed her desire to take both Anput and Leone, she openly imed me as one of her women... I was her ''exquisite'' maid... I don''t know why, but the words made me so very happy. Walking behind her, I used my mana to stabilize my emotions, entering therge room filled with the mon rabble'', ording to Jahi. We made our way towards the door, however we were stopped by Draka. "Jahi, let''s talk. Clear the air." I watched as Jahi nodded, gesturing for me to follow. We made our way to one of the innumerable hallways in this ce, watching as Draka took a deep breath before saying "What I am going to tell you will stay between us. Otherwise, you will make an enemy of the North." Hearing her serious tone, Jahi nodded when Draka looked at us with her blue eyes. Smiling, Draka continued. "Much to my mothers displeasure, I have no intention of attempting to court you. Instead, I n on creating my own harem of women I wish to mix my genes with, as I have both genitalia, unlike my mother. Of course, she knows that, but because of a... spell we have, she very much wanted to secure a union between the two of us. The spell would allow our child to have two Pseudo Cores, one housing my ice magic, while the other housed your light magic. Surprising, I know. That''s why this conversation doesn''t leave this corridor. Anyways, just know I care not for attempting to do so. I want my own children to live their own lives, and I want arge family. Hence, the harem. Dragons and Dragonkin have such low reproductive rates, after all." I looked at Draka in surprise. That spell the Duchess has is... well, it''s insane. Having two separate cores would make such a powerhouse, even if they are just ''pseudo'' cores. The amount of unique magics one could create would be insane... Seeing my tant surprise, Draka just grinned as she said "Apparently your maid understands as well. Is it true she has ice magic?" I saw Draka look at me with interest, before chuckling when Jahi moved in front of me. "Fine, fine. She''s yours, I know. Anyways, I would rather not deal with the Asmodia Family hating me or anything like that, so let''s be friends, yeah?" She offered her small hand, and I watched as Jahi narrowed her eyes at the girl, before shaking it with a nod. Smiling, Draka waved goodbye before moving into the dark corridors, disappearing from sight. "Well, let''s go home. I have to say, I don''t really like these parties... Well, I liked some of it~" I blushed when Jahi slid her hand back onto me, leading me out of the corridor slowly. Chapter 61 60: Time Passes; Staying At Fovos --- Moving the Contract back to Friday night cause I want to try and get a little more out before going behind a paywall... --- After leaving the Duchess''s frozen pce, we returned to our normal lives rather quickly. Jahi and Ipleted our lessons under Baroness Estra, sad that she had to leave so quickly, however we were happy because the Empress offered her an official position as the Etiquette Teacher for all her children, including her future children. With that new promotion, Baroness Estra and her husband moved to the capital, and were moved from Barons to Viscounts. Shortly after that, Arch Mage Kolia announced that she had to leave for the Western Border, where her sister and her family were in trouble. Baron Jilk had left without much fanfare, and we found it rather entertaining how he tried to almost threaten the Marquess to let him stay, saying that people would speak about how uneducated Jahi would be. That led to Jahi having a few debates with him, proving that while he focused his attention on small areas of history, she had studied as much as she could, stumping hisst ditch effort to get more money from the Asmodia House. Of course, the Marquess also told him that if he tried something, she would hunt him down and make him regret living. So, we suddenly had our mornings free! Is what I said for the first day, before the Countess decided she would take over for Arch Mage Kolia, forcing Jahi and I to study a majority of the library. Of course, I quite enjoyed learning all these various theories and different ways to use magic, but Jahi absolutely hated it. Which tended to make the evenings training under the Marquess much more dreadful for me, as I had to deal with a slightly irate Jahi and the Marquess egging her on. Of course, falling asleep after Jahi vented herself using me was always a pleasurable experience. In fact, during these few months Jahi had started experimenting with different types of ropes and how to properly bind a person, using me as her test subject. Other than that, I had yet again seen a rise of one to my stats, making me extremely happy. Sadly, no skills leveled up, and I had truly began considering using my skill points to level [Growth] up, but I had a remaining theory on what I needed to level it, and I would be able to test that theory out soon enough. Jahi had managed to convince the Marquess to take us deeper into Fovos Forest, where we could truly let loose and not just one sidedly massacre a few goblins, even though it was rather entertaining. As such, we now found ourselves at a small cabin on the edge of the Fovos Forest, where we would be staying for the next few days. The Marquess had told us that we would be traveling further and further each time we went out into the forest, and that at the end she would carry us back to the cabin to rest. When I asked why we weren''t camping in the woods, she told me that while she thought we should learn to survive in the wilderness, she wasn''t willing to piss off the Countess, who made it clear we were to stay at the cabin. I looked down at my dagger, which before was more like a short sword due to it being slightly longer than my arm, but after my more recent growth spurt it was slightly shorter than my arm! Of course, much to my displeasure, Jahi had grown as well, and it had made our spars that much more annoying, as she now stood a whole foot taller than me, at roughly six feet. However, I had to admit that she was also quickly aging, as she currently looked around twelve or so, and her muscles had started developing quite well, as she now had a solid six pack and strong definition in her arms. So, when she held me close it was no longer a soft feeling; rather, it felt much more secure and safe, as I could easily trace the outline of her abs or biceps with ease. She enjoyed that immensely, and it only made me shake my head when she would purposefully flex when we were in bed. Looking over, I saw Jahi wiping down the long de of her new sword, her eyes gentle as she cleaned the silver edge. Her new sword was a special de made from two separate metals; Stygian Silver and Imperial Gold. It was a gift that the Empress and Sultana had made for her, with the Imperial Golding from the Empress while the Stygian Silver came from the Sultana. It was an ornate de, the silver edge shining with shifting patterns and radiating a bone chilling frost, while the golden edge was etched with numerous runes, a warm heat rolling off the de. I had to dive deep into the library to find either of the metals, and I was bbergasted when I found each metal. Stygian Silver was a metal found only in ces where thousands had died, and the metal became infused with the ambient mana of the area. As such, it was extremely deadly to humans, infusing them with a poisonous mana with even the lightest scratch. As for Imperial Gold, it was something only the Empress could create, as the runes etched onto the metal where known only to her. The gold acted as a conduit for mana, amplifying it to a terrifying degree. When paired with Jahi''s light magic, the gold shone like a sun and reached deadly temperatures. The de was on the level of a national treasure, and yet... I watched Jahi happily humming to herself as she wiped the de down, a small smile on her face. This would be her first time being allowed to use the sword, as we obviously couldn''t use it for training, even against the Marquess. However, she did have a de made from normal steel that was a replica, so she should be familiar with the weight and bnce. That de was strapped on her back, as she would likely use it if she didn''t trust herself to continue using the real sword. I sighed, looking down at my in dagger, before smiling. This little de had been mine for months now, and I was quite fond of it. It felt like it was a part of my body when I held it in my hands, and I nned on keeping the de. After all, the library had a book on enchantments, and I was eagerly waiting for the chance to receive more books on the subject. Sliding my dagger back into its sheath, I stretched as I looked around the small room. The cabin was made up of two bedrooms and a main room, which had a kitchen and a ce to eat. It was entirely focused on just being a spot to rest, and I quite liked the cozy feel of the wooden walls and pelt covered floor. The Marquess was lounging on the couch, staring at the firece that crackled as she twirled a small knife between her fingers. She had told us to rest and prepare, as we would leave in a few minutes. I took a breath as I leaned against the windowsill, looking out into the forest. I couldn''t wait. After all, if the goblins managed to excite me that much, I couldn''t imagine what awaited us deeper into the forest... Chapter 62 61: Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Slimes, Oh My! We trudged through the forest, reaching deeper than we had gone before. Jahi and I had already warmed up by killing dozens of goblins, using both our des and magic so that our muscles and reflexes were prepared for the monsters deeper in the forest. From what the Marquess said, the monsters we would see would be Hobgoblins, Kobolds, and various animals that had evolved due to the mana. Her example was the rabbits, which now had stronger muscles in their legs that could crack bone if theynded a clean hit. As for the Hobgoblins and Kobolds, they were what they sounded like. Hobgoblins were taller, stronger goblins, standing now at around five feet. They also were smarter, as they now made weapons from from the stones and flint found around the forest, making crude axes, spears, knives, and clubs from the avable resources. There were even reports of talented Hobgoblins making bows and arrows, however they were extremely rare. As for Kobolds, they were doglike creatures that stood on two legs, using their speed and strength to hunt the various animals and adventurers that ventured into their territory. Unlike the Hobgoblins, Kobolds tended to use their brute strength to kill things, rarely using any weapons other than their teeth and ws. Both were dangerous in their own right, however the Marquess admitted that she believed the Hobgoblins were more of a threat due to their weaponry, as well as the higher rate of magic users among them. Both Jahi and I took this hunt seriously, as the Marquess told us thatpared to the goblins from the forests edge, these monsters were the real deal, and one wrong move could easily be the death of us. We crept through the forest, and I made an effort to try and learn how to lighten my steps and avoid all kinds of debris on the forest floor, like twigs and leaves. After a while of doing so I even managed to get myself used to the walking lightly over the ground, and I could refocus most of my attention on my surroundings. It took around half an hour, but eventually we reached an area where the trees had been marked, much like the markings around the goblin encampments. "Alright, so just like the first goblin encampment you saw, I''ll snag you both two Hobs, and you will take them on one at a time." We nodded at the Marquess, before following behind her. Not even a minuteter we saw a few twig teepees arranged around a small fire. A dozenrger, darker goblins hunched around the fire, chittering quietly to one another as they chipped away at some rocks. Just likest time, the Marquess let a few small fire balls hurtle towards the camp, instantly killing all but four of the Hobgoblins. The remaining Hobs jumped to their feet, drawing a variety of weapons as they looked around the forest warily. However, they were quickly wrapped in a mana rope, dropping to the floor as we walked towards them. They let out loud chitters and screeches when they saw us, their beady red eye zing with anger. "Who''s going first?" Without letting Jahi speak, I stepped forwards, my dagger drawn as I looked at the Hobs. Chuckling, the Marquess let one free, which instantly scurried to retrieve its weapon. I watched as it scooped up a long flint dagger, the de chipped and jagged. It looked at me, dropping into a low stance as it slowly moved forwards, its eyes fixed on my own. I waited a few moments, letting it get closer before erupting forwards, my dagger aimed for its throat. However, it managed to stumble to the side, chittering in surprise. Before it could react, I punched its chest, grunting as I felt my fist connect with tough muscle. It grunted as well, before shing its knife towards me. Swaying, I sent my daggerncing towards its throat, just for it to tilt its body to the side, my de piercing its shoulder instead. However, as it grunted in pain, I twisted the de as I ripped it out, watching in glee as arge chunk of flesh was sent sailing through the air. Jumping back, I grinned when I saw the Hob clutching its shoulder, growling at me in anger before charging straight at me. Meeting its charge, I ducked below its clumsy swing and moved behind it. Wrapping my arms around its neck, I shivered as I felt the sensation of my dagger gliding across flesh. It gurgled on its own blood, before dropping to the ground. I heard the familiar system notification, and upon looking at it I grinned again. [Hobgoblin killed! 422 xp] They were worth so much experience... "Again." ~~~ Leaning against a tree, I watched as Jahi''s sword cleanly severed the head of the charging Hob, blood spurting everywhere before the body shriveled up. Looking at the Marquess who was watching with pride, I asked "Why do they shrivel up? I forgot to askst time." Turning, she shrugged when she said "They just do. If I remember correctly, its because they are creatures of mana, and when they are killed it leaves their body. When someone with a core dies, they also shrivel up just like that." "Theres nothing we could take from the bodies either?" The Marquess chuckled, saying "From these weak things? No. When we reach deeper into the forest, yes, monsters have some important parts that can be used, like eyes or scales. However, it takes skill to harvest parts from monsters, since the reason those things are valuable is the lingering mana inside them. If you make one small mistake that mana can easily escape, rendering the ingredient or material useless." I nodded at that, wondering how difficult it could be. Would it be just annoying difficult, or actually something that needs skill and experience to do? Jahi flicked the blood off her de, sheathing it before walking over to us. I quickly used my water magic to clean her off, before turning to look at the Marquess. She gestured deeper into the forest, and we followed behind her. It didn''t take long, as we eventually encountered a roaming group of three Kobolds. They looked like Terriers that were stretched out and stood on two legs. With a snarl they turned towards us, saliva flying around as they charged towards us. Jahi rushed to meet them, her de in hand as she met two of them head on. Seeing that, I drew my dagger and prepare to receive thest one, who was growling as it hurtled towards me. Swiping itsrge paw towards my face, I rolled to the side before having to pivot to avoid the next swipe. It continued growling at me, sending another swipe towards my chest. This time I met its arm with my dagger, grunting in surprise as my de was lodged into its bone. Letting out a yelp, it yanked its arm away from me, my hand slipping off the daggers handle. Quickly tracing a rune in the air, I created a few spheres of water and sent them flying towards the kobold, watching as they burrowed into the monsters flesh. It let out another yelp, staggering backwards as the spheres continued digging into its flesh. Letting the spell continue, I dashed forwards and ripped the dagger from its arm, before quickly stabbing the de into the Kobolds temple, watching as it fell limp after removing the de. [Kobold killed! 418 xp] Turning, I saw Jahi had disemboweled one, which was whimpering on the ground as it tried to shove its guts back into its stomach, while the other one was missing an arm. Bringing her sword down, I watched as the de sunk from the kobolds neck all the way down to its stomach, before Jahi twisted the de and yanked it out, the kobold dropping to the ground, dead. Taking a deep breath, Jahi slid her sword into the wounded kobolds heart before yanking it back out, flicking her de clean again. We looked at each other, smiling, before turning to the Marquess, who was pping in approval. "Well done you two! Though Kat, you need to make sure that de stays in your hands, hmm? However, I will admit your quite versatile, since that spell allowed you to close in quite quickly..." I nodded, understanding her point. Losing a weapon mid fight could easily lead to your death. However, that was exactly why I practiced my magic, so that I could always have a ''weapon'' on me. I quickly cleaned my de, sheathing it before drawing it out quickly as we heard something hop into the clearing. We watched in interest as a small blue slimeid on top of one of the corpses, slowly dissolving it. Jahi chuckled, before saying "Should we continue?" Nodding, the Marquess led us further in, where Jahi and I fought together to kill a Hobgoblin encampment. Currently we were leaning against a tree, panting as I healed a small scratch on Jahi''s forearm, where a Hob had scored a lucky blow. She winced slightly as her flesh reknit itself, before smiling at me in thanks. Before we could speak, we nched when we heard a loud roar from nearby, the trees shaking as it got louder. And closer. Chapter 63 62: Salamander; Achievement Jahi and I looked at each other, our eyes wide with fear as the roar got closer and closer. Looking over, we saw the Marquess pursing her lips as she looked towards the source of the noise, her eyes narrowing before she turned to look at us. "I think you''ll be fine." Saying that, we watched in horror as she flickered away, and we quickly readied our des. "Damnit, I swear to all that is holy that I will tell mother about this!" Hearing Jahi''s shout, I nodded in agreement before quickly casting my Mana Cloak. Jahi copied me, her light magic wrapping around her body and de. The roaring stopped, and soon arge head loomed past one of therge trees. It was a huge smander head, the moist skin a shiny red. Itsrge eyes flickered over to us, the red pupil meeting our gazes. Opening its mouth, it let out a low growl before moving past the tree. It was roughly ten feet long and four feet tall, and I shivered as I saw the small mes coiling around its legs. "Alright, I''ll keep it upied while you target weak points! Also, use support magic! Your water will be absorbed by its skin!" I nodded, before jumping backwards. Jahi moved forwards, swinging her de towards the smanders head, only for the de to score a tiny cut. I ran towards its side, darting forwards and stabbing the dagger deep into its side. Quickly pulling the de out, arge amount of orange viscous liquid seeped from the wound, and the smander roared in pain. I had to roll back as it swung itsrge tail towards me, and I felt wind rush past my face as I narrowly avoided the blow. Jahi took the opportunity to stab her de deep into its front shoulder, twisting the de as she yanked it out. We watched as the smander''s shoulder shivered, the red skin slowly turning grey as the Stygian Silver''s poison took effect. Sadly that wouldn''t be enough to kill it, at least not quickly. It mmed its front legs, a wave of fire roaring towards Jahi. I dashed forwards, my hands moving as fast as they could. Arge rune appeared in front of us, and a disk of water took its ce. Standing with Jahi, I summoned another disc as the first one evaporated, before watching the wave of fire flicker out. Panting, I staggered back slightly. Rushing forwards with a shout, Jahi cleaved her de towards the same leg that she wounded earlier. Her de cut deep, and I watched as her light magic red, shearing the bone in two before cleanly slicing through the remaining muscle and flesh. The leg fell to the floor, the smander roaring again as it tried to ram its head into Jahi. My hand shot forwards, and I watched as my dagger spun towards the smander, sinking hilt deep into its skull. Staggering backwards, the smander shook its head, only to let out a cry of pain when Jahi''s buried her sword into its neck. It shivered a few times, the mes flickering before sputtering out. It copsed to the ground with a thud, and Jahi and I tookrge gulps of air, trying desperately to calm our pounding hearts. Withdrawing her de, Jahi gingerly withdrew my dagger as well, tossing it to the floor in front of me. Panting, I used my magic to clean us off, feeling my core straining as I used up more mana than I should have. I staggered to the side, my vision blurring slightly, when I felt someone catch me. Looking up, I blinked a few times when I saw arge silhouette, two sharp horns pointing towards the sky. "Well, maybe that was a little to much for you both..." Hearing the Marquess'' voice fade, I felt my eyes m shut, my body copsing into hers. ~~~ My head felt like someone was taking a hammer and chisel to it, with sharp pains hitting my head in random spots every few moments. Groaning, I opened my eyes and blinked a few times to clear my vision. Looking around the dark room, I saw the lights shining under the door frame, voices whispering to one another. Sitting up, I put my head in my hands, feeling like I had just drank twenty bottles of hard liquor and lived to tell the tale. Thankfully, each breath I took eased the pain slightly, and I eventually managed to feel just dull aches instead of the previous sharp pangs. Other than my head, my muscles ached slightly, while my core felt tense. That was much like when your heart clenched, however it wasn''t as bad, just a dull ache there as well. That was also easing up with every breath, as my core slowly drew in more mana from the surroundings. Taking a few more deep breaths, I looked towards the system, hearing the familiar ding of a notification. [Fire Smander killed (assist)! 1232 xp] [Achievement Unlocked! Big Game Hunter] [Big Game Hunter: unlocked for killing a monster with at least double one of your stats. Reward: 2 Stat Points, 1 Skill Point.] While that was an amazing notification, it was the third one that really made me happy. [Skill: Growth (Novice) -> Growth (Apprentice)] [Growth (Apprentice): Increases Quest XP by 50%, and Combat by 50%] However, after reading it I had to ask ''Why is it only a small increase?'' [Small increase? I can revert changes right now if I so wished. Small changes... 50% of 300pared to 25% of 300 is arge increase! Hmph.] I pursed my lips, before nodding. I was being greedy. After all, it was already such an amazing skill at Novice, it would be weird if it increased the Combat XP as well when it ranked up once. ''Sorry, sorry... However, could you tell me if I was right in my theory? That I needed to receive 1000+ Xp from one source to level it up?'' [Apology epted... and yes, that is indeed correct. It is an XP skill, and can only be improved by Xp. Now, as for improving it again, that is something you are going to need to figure out on your own...] I nodded again, before flopping back onto the bed. My gains from just doing my normal everyday things will go up now, as they are all made up of quests. Turning my gaze to my stats, I quickly put the points into Agility before grinning at the totals listed. [Stats: STR - 15 (30) CON - 14 (28) AGI - 16 (32) DEX - 15 (30) CHA - 17 (34) WIS - 16 (32) INT - 16 (32)] I could see now why some people were so obsessed with stats in video games; it was just so satisfying seeing them rise, and not only that, but be even as well. Hearing the door open, I looked up to see Jahi and the Marquess peering in, before letting out sighs of relief. Walking in, they sat on the bed next to me, Jahi pulling me onto herp while the Marquess gave me a wry smile. "So... I do think I should apologize. I didn''t think you would have to exhaust your mana to kill the smander. However, you did quite good!" I smiled at her, my irritation at her just leaving us to fight therge monster lessening slightly after therge increase in experience and leveling up of my [Growth] skill. It only lessened, though. I still very much nned on telling the Countess of this. Seeing me smile, the Marquess took another breath, her tense muscles rxing. Getting up, she made her way out into the kitchen before returning with... A bowl filled with... Something. Staring at the offered bowl, I watched as both Jahi and the Marquess looked away, embarrassed. Due to the low light I couldn''t tell if they were blushing, but I felt Jahi''s cheek warm up on my neck, so I guess she was. Sighing, I got up with a groan, stretching before slowly making my way towards the kitchen. Seeing the almost war zone like appearance of the counters, I sighed again. Jahi and the Marquess gave me wry smiles, scratching their cheeks as they looked at the counters. Setting about clearing everything up, I prepared an edible meal for us, much to their delight. --- Man if I didn''t have my parents surprise me today with a ''You gotta take the dogs to get groomed, oh and pick them up too, oh and make dinner, oh and...'' I probably would have written this, a chapter for the Naruto fic, and maybe even one for the Danmachi one too. Sigh... Welp, that''s all for today, but hey, three in one day is pretty good, and I may actually write one of those after devouring this ice cream they used to bribe me... --- Chapter 64 63: Changes As Iy next to Jahi, I reviewed the fight with the smander. ? Other than it being a poor match up due to its slightly poisonous skin and viscous blood that was seeped with that same poison, which made my use of a dagger dangerous, my magic was the main problem. See, in order for me to finally utilize my ice magic, I needed to have excellent control over both water and wind mana, before fusing the two together to create ice. So, I chose water magic to focus on first, both for its support and healing capabilities and for its offensive capabilities as well. However, due to me needing to reach a certain level with my water magic, I focused entierly on it, wanting to master as much of it as I could. Both because I hated leaving something halfway done and also because I was enamored with the various spells I had created. I mean, I got a whole skill based on just my water magic because I dove straight into it! Now though, the smander fight made me heavily aware that using only one of my two types of mana coursing through my body was idiotic. I needed to start focusing on my wind, and bring that to the same level as my water. If I had to guess, my progress with wind will be roughly the same as water magic, and that means that in under two years I should have managed to reach the point where I could start experimenting with ice magic. Pursing my lips, I mulled over ways I could expediate my progress, to bring the time needed down to roughly a year and a half, if not just over a year. After all, the spell ideas I had for ice was enough to fill a whole book! There were so manybinations I could do with water and wind, creating snow magic and different kinds of storms! Sighing, I turned over, burrowing my head into Jahi''s chest. All this was something I could have to start experimenting with when we got home. ~~~ Taking another delve into Fovos Forest, Jahi and I got ustomed to dealing with Hobgoblins and Kobolds, sparing the few slimes we saw since we found them quite cute. I had gained quite a lot of experience, since each Hobgoblin was worth roughly 420 Xp before [Growth], and 610 Xp after. That meant that each encampment yielded a few thousand experience, and I had grown more addicted to killing. After all, not only was the rush of adrenaline as I dug my de deep into flesh exhrating, but seeing the amount of Xp I was earning made me feel giddy. However, all good things muste to an end, as we were now back home. After informing the Countess about our fight with a smander, spinning a perilous tale that was filled with heroics and could rival most myths, I watched in hidden amusement as the Countess and Mother just smiled at me, their eyes growing dull before dragging the Marquess outside. The sudden downpour of rain and crack of thunder surprised many servants, however after looking outside to find the Marquess running from the figures of the Countess and her maid, they just shook their heads and resumed their work. Life moved on, months passing with little happening as I delved deeper into learning wind magic, the only surprise being my gaining of the skill [Boreas'' Blessing], which stated: [Boreas'' Blessing (Novice) - Spells and Ritual Circles rted to the Wind Domain are stronger; mana regenerates quicker while in windy areas] I was excited at that, as any increase to my spells strength was great. However, due to the new addition of that skill, I found myself drawn to the small yard Jahi and I used to y in, sitting among the branches of therge tree. Due to the height and location, I didn''t need to worry to much about not having enough of a breeze to help funnel a little more mana into my core, nor worry that any spells I used would potentially hurt somebody. So, as I sat in the tree, leaning against the trunk as I traced out rune after rune, I looked towards the sky before pushing my mana out of my palm, watching as the runes shone green before disappearing. An almost solid crescent ofpressed air flew into the sky, before eventually dissipating into nothing. This was something that I thought to be a staple of any wind users; a sharp, fast de made from wind. It was versatile enough to have so many variations, as I could increase the size andpression or make it smaller and more like a grenade, releasing a gale wherever I sent it. Just like my water magic, I also created a Mana Cloak, enjoying the speed and power the wind provided. While the Water Cloak allowed me to take less damage and had a passive healing effect, the Wind Cloak amplified my physical prowess, and I couldn''t wait to use it in a spar against Jahi. However, as I thought of that I frowned. Jahi''s Light Cloakbined both of my cloaks effects, making her faster and more resistant to damage, as well as giving her a passive healing effect. Growling in annoyance, I dropped to the ground, my core feeling drained. Looking at the sun, I nodded to myself before making my way inside towards the kitchen. I had started cooking for Jahi and I, both because I loved it and also because it had popped up as a new quest. [Prepare Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner - 500 XP] Large, isn''t it? However, I had gotten my answer right after I received it the first time. A room was nice to have clean, but wasn''t necessary. However, a meal was. You needed to eat, after all. That increased the ''weight'' of the quest, and I didn''t argue for or against it. I was being rewarded for doing something I enjoyed, and would have been doing anyways. I thought about the visit that was to happen soon. Jahi was annoyed that Anput and Leone hadn''t been able to keep their promise toe here often. However, both had good reasons, as they were learning and training special things under their parents, and said they would visit very soon. As I stood in the kitchen, talking with Lesnera and slicing the vegetables I needed for stock, I pondered over the recent developments. Jahi had now aged another year, and I was getting close to being here for my second year. We grew older, and looked older as well. These few months had seen both of us mature a bit, as Jahi looked like a young adult, while I looked just a year younger than her, which I quite literally was. Standing at six and a half feet, Jahi towered over me, her raven hair growing out to her waist. Besides her height, her muscles had be more defined, but much to her disappointment she had be more feminine, with her breasts growing and waist thinning. It had be quite the sore point for her, as she hated how the only noticeable muscles on her body was her new eight pack, with the rest staying defined, but not slightlyrge like the Marquess'' muscles. I told her over and over again that she looked incredible, however she just gave me a small smile before returning to her training. She was honestly more like a gym rat than a demon... As for me, I stood at just under six feet, and I was excited with getting my old body back, with a few improvements. My breasts had grown, my hips widened, and I watched as my body moved fats to just the right ces... Of course, the main difference between my old body and this version of me was that I was much more active, as my stomach was toned instead of having a small, yet still there, pouch. I was still a two years or so from reaching myplete mature look, but hey, progress! I was no longer a child! Apparently having two various kinds of mana coursing in your blood made that elerated growth even faster, and light magic was even quicker. Thing was, ever since we hit this growth spurt, it was quite obvious that Jahi had an addition ''spurt''. Every time we entered the bath together she grew shy, tilting her body away from me so that I could only ever see her back. When we slept she always kept herself facing either straight up or away from me. Finally, what irked me the most was that she no longer got as intimate with me as she used to! We used to have fun in bed or quiet ces, with her doing as she pleased to me, however now? Now she seemed to be avoiding me! Of course, I knew why. After all, she was a futa, which meant: she was going through puberty like any normal boy back in my world. And how would a boy react if they had the girl they liked attending to their every need as a servant? The amount of pitched tents and tant staring would reach the millions by the end of the first week! Finishing the food, I ced everything on the cart before making my way towards our room. Well, I was tired of Jahi bing passive, so if she wasn''t going to make a move, then I would. --- Ahem.. So... Lemon time? I was looking back at the original discussion, and after realizing that I had quite literally pushed their intimacy so far ahead of schedule, I said ''fuck it'' and used their Magics as reasoning to create another growth spurt. That means that... Drumroll please... They are of age and ready for some fun :D Now, I do want to rify that again, they are of THEIR worlds age, have literal hormones coursing through them, and are in close proximity ALL the time. It would be odd if something didn''t happen. Also, they literally made out just a few chapters ago, and Jahi has been binding Kat with rope. So... if you somehow were fine with that but not what happens next chapter... I have no actual words. Anyways, that chapter or chapters will be released tonight, as I currently am recovering from a self induced headache after writing way too muchst night. --- Chapter 65 64: First Time (1) * --- I want to put this here before I forget and so I don''t interrupt the flow from this chapter to the next. We hit 250K Views and 700 Collections! Thank you all a lot! Probably sound like a broken record by now though lol... (Oh and if anyone was confused, Kat is a pure woman. When she chose Futa in the beginning, it was for her Masters gender) --- Pushing the cart into our room, I looked at the lounging Jahi reading a book with pursed lips. Setting out the array of tes and bowls, I started exaggerating my movements, aware of her burning gaze focused on my body. Finishing, I turned towards her with a small smile, saying "Come, eat." She nodded at me, only getting up when I turned away from her. Of course, I was aware of therge bulge that she tried to hide as she moved from the couch to the table. After hearing her sit down, I poured her tea, leaning down next to her. Letting my chest brush against her arm, I had to hold back therge grin when I felt her stiffen, looking forwards with determination. After pouring my own tea, I sat down and started eating, enjoying the small variety I had set out on the table. I had made a light soup, seared a fillet of fish, prepared arge sd, and baked my own bread. However, while it looked like normal food, I had done my own research, and asked Lesnera, about foods or spices that might... stimte someone. Sadly, in my old world, Aphrodisiacs were just myth; there was no such food or spice that could actually arose someone without external help. Now, there were cultural ''Aphrodisiacs'', mainly being foods that you had never seen, or resembled or were quite literally a sexual organ. Carrots and oysters were believed to be Aphrodisiacs, and yet... They did nothing. However, I had learned that any food that invoked the senses well could help make someone more aroused, however it had nothing to do with the food itself. In this world though... Well, there were such things, and they, while expensive, were quite useful, if used properly. You couldn''t just slip a dash of this spice into a meal and then ''boom'' everyone was horny. Nope, thankfully that wasn''t the case. However, as someone who knew how to cook, and while not a master at it, was quite good, I could use these spices properly. And every dishid before Jahi was infused with a light amount of that spice. So, like always, I ate slowly, enjoying myself as I watched her scarf down her food without second thought. Did I feel bad doing this? Nope. She had been irritating me with herck of affection, so why not make it harder for her to hold back? Could this blow up in my face? Most likely it will, but I am fully prepared to let her do just that... Licking my lips, I watched as she put her utensils down, mopping up thest of the soup with her bread before finishing her tea. As she lowered her cup back onto the saucer, I noticed her cheeks were slightly purple as she shuffled, her eyes glued to my lips as I took a bite of the fish, enjoying the slight heat of both the spice and her gaze. I continued eating, allowing her body to slowly limate to the Aphrodisiac, enjoying her desperate attempt to stifle her rising arousal. Finishing my food, I got up and put our dishes back on the cart, again giving Jahi a little show as I did. Taking the cart, I opened the door and waved down the nearest servant, telling them "Do you mind taking this to the Kitchen? Oh, and tell Lesnera ''It worked~''" The servant looked at me in confusion, before nodding. I watched her take the cart away before entering the room, locking the door behind me. Moving towards Jahi, I stood behind her chair and leaned towards her ear, whispering "Shall we take a bath before retiring to bed?" She shivered, her ears growing dark as she took an audible gulp. "I uh... I think I''ll take er..." Clicking my tongue, I sighed before saying "Fine, fine~ I was really hoping you could help me scratch this ''itch'', but if you are going to take er... Oh well~" Getting up, I walked towards our room, not needing to look over my shoulder to know her eyes were glued to the extra sway I put in my hips. Entering our room, I waited a moment before slowly unbuttoning my maid dress, letting the main part fall to the floor before I started lifting the remaining part above my head. Hearing the slightly hitched breathing of Jahi behind me, I grinned before gently and slowly unsping my bra, letting it slide to the floor before giving her a full view of me from behind as I took off thatst piece of fabric. Looking over my shoulder, I gave the blushing demon a coy smile before hooking my finger at her, inviting her into the bath with me. I didn''t have to wait long, as I heard her clothes get thrown onto the ground quicker than ever before. Entering the bathroom, I turned on the fire and water crystals in the bath, letting it heat up as Jahi entered the room, taking an audible gulp as she dragged her gaze along my body. "Oh~ I thought you were going to take er~?" She pursed her lips, wrapping a towel around her crotch in an effort to conceal her throbbing erection. Sadly for her, I had already seen it, however I let it slide for now, gesturing to the stool. Sitting down, Jahi stared intently at the wall, shuddering slightly as I ran my hands over her back, gently tracing the slight outlines of her rippling muscles. Setting about washing her, I eventually finished her back, and before she could get up and trade ces with me, I pressed my breasts into her, whispering "Why am I the one who needs to take initiative, hmm, Master~" She shivered, her breathing haggard as she muttered "I... I didn''t want to scare you..." I chuckled at that, my hand sliding down her solid abs before stopping at her navel. Tracing a circle, I whispered "Yet you used to tie me up as you sunk your teeth into every inch of my body... If I wasn''t afraid then, why would I be afraid now, hmm?" Before she could respond I slid my hand underneath her towel, wrapping my hand around the pulsating base of her cock. Using my other hand I undid the towel, letting it drop to the floor. She took in a shuddering breath, before groaning slightly as I pressed myself deeper into her back, gently kissing her neck as I started slowly gliding my hand towards her tip. Continuing upwards, I twisted my hand around her tip before slowly lowering my hand again, marveling at her size. She was muchrger than all the men I had been with in myst life, her cock roughly 10 inches/25 and a half centimeters. I felt my womb throb in anticipation, licking my lips as I held back the desire to just... I distracted myself by resuming my marking of her neck, enjoying the low moans she let out. Speeding up my hand, I let my free hand slide underneath herrge cock, rolling her balls gently in my hand, enjoying the she moaned louder as I sent four separate pulses of pleasure through her body. Moments passed, and as I finished leaving arge hickey on her neck I whispered "Cum for me Master~" She shivered, letting out a loud moan as her cock throbbed in my hand, releasing multiple ropes of semen as she ejacted. I only stopped my hands when she finished, milking everyst drop out of her before letting her go. Staring at the wall, I grinned at therge white stain on the wall, dripping slowly towards the floor. Jahi continued panting, her eyes gold as she looked towards the ceiling. Turning the water on, I cleaned her off as she reveled in her first assisted ejaction, and I grinned as I moved to kneel in front of her, looking up at the massive rod. She finally came to, her eyes widening as she looked down at me. "Shall we... continue?" Hearing my low, husky voice, Jahi gulped as she nodded. Seeing that, I buried my nose into the base of her cock, letting my tongue glide up the base before swirling it around the tip. cing one hand again on her balls, I let the other drop towards my aching cunt, slipping a finger in as I tried to alleviate my pain. Opening my mouth, I took her tip into my mouth, enjoying the way she shuddered as I swirled my tongue around her tip. She started leaking precum, which I eagerlypped up. Like her scent, her semen had a slightly sweet taste, and I thanked my previous self for making her eat healthier. Jahi looked at me with wide eyes, her hands clenched by her sides as she bit her lip. Letting her tip go, I smiled up at her before swallowing it back up. However, unlike before I tried to go deeper, feeling her every quickly hit the back of my throat. While I may have not practiced it in this life, my body was the same, so I knew that I was lucky enough to have a light gag reflex. It came in handy as I widened my eyes, feeling Jahi grab the side of my head and thrust her hips up. However, as she slid deeper and deeper, I felt my finger speed up, enjoying the way she just used me as she pleased. After a few moments though, I mmed the side of her thigh, and she looked at me in surprise before worry set into her eyes. Taking her hands off my head, I quickly slid her cock out of my throat, coughing as I came up. Taking a few breaths, I tuned out her apologies before resuming my blowjob, letting her cock slide back down my throat again. Bobbing my head, I enjoyed the moans and groans she let out as she panted, her body trembling in pleasure. I continued sucking on her cock, marveling at the sweet taste of her semen that permeated my mouth. I didn''t need to wait long to get a full helping of it either, as Jahi yet again grabbed my head with a shout, pushing herself deep inside of my throat as she released arge amount of semen into my stomach. I trembled as I felt therge amount of warm liquid filling me, and I moaned on her cock as I came, feeling arge amount of juices flowing out of me. I eagerly swallowed everything, before feeling her let my head go. As I slipped off her cock, I opened my mouth and swirled thest remains of her ejaction around my tongue, letting her see it before swallowing. Jahi panted as she looked at me, and I grinned when I saw her cock still standing tall. "Well?" My voice was raspy and throat sore, but I felt happy. Looking at me with wide eyes, Jahi said "That... that was amazing... Kat, how..?" I chuckled, deciding a white lie wouldn''t hurt as I said "There is a section of the library with... adult books. I just copied them, as well as some things we have seen disyed from the Marquess..." Jahi nodded, before standing up. Bending down, she scooped me into her arms before growling "Well, you were the one to start this; I''ll be the one to finish it..." I shivered, my pussy clenching in anticipation as Jahi took us out of the bath, throwing me onto the bed. She loomed over me, her gold eyes aze with lust as she looked down at me. Chapter 66 65: First Time (2) * I shivered as Iy on the bed, Jahi looming over me with eyes alight with lust. Her gaze trailed over my body, stopping quickly at my breasts. Reaching up, she took one in her hand, kneading it roughly. As she fondled me, I moaned as she pinched my nipple between her fingers, rubbing my thighs together to help alleviate my arousal. She grinned down at me, quickly pressing her lips against my own before slipping her tongue into my mouth, coiling it around mine. She kept kneading my breast, her other hand beside my head as she supported herself. I moaned into her, enjoying the way she twisted and pinched my nipple, and I felt her zing heating from her erection as it dug into my stomach. We continued to kiss, before Jahi let my tongue go, pulling away from me. Releasing my breast, she grabbed my waist and flipped me over, making me yelp at how easily she did so. However, I understood her intentions, and I lifted my hips from the bed, swaying my ass as I felt her erectionying on top of my cheeks. Looking over my shoulder, I could see her staring intently at my exposed cunt, making me tremble slightly, more juices dripping from me as I felt my heart soar at her lust filled gaze. "Please Master~ use this maid as you wish~ Fill her with your divine cock~" Jahi trembled, before grabbing her erection in one hand, her other hand grabbing my waist. Feeling her rub herself over my lower lips, I moaned in anticipation, before... Letting out a scream, my vision went white as pain flooded my system. See, I forgot that I had yet to tear my hymen in this life... Feeling that bit of flesh tear, as well as my vagina stretch to fit herrge girth, I let out another scream before biting the sheets, tears streaming down my face as I felt her split me apart. Jahi stopped, saying something. However, I couldn''t hear anything, my head nk as I convulsed. I came, the sharp pain from losing my virginity slowly overwhelmed by the pleasure of feeling Jahi inside of me. Gasping for breath, I looked back, my heart light as I saw the worry in her golden eyes. "Kat a-are you okay? Should I stop? Wa-wait, are you bleeding?!" Seeing Jahi panic, I took in a shuddering breath before speaking slowly. "Its... its fine... the blood is... from my hymen being torn... just... be gentle for the beg... beginning, okay?" Hearing that, Jahi breathed a sigh of relief, nodding at me. She was so... beautiful... Feeling her press deeper, I shuddered again, another light orgasm rippling up my spine. Eventually she pressed against my cervix, and when I slid my hand down to my dripping cunt, I could feel that she still had a few inches left, meaning... I swallowed, wondering if I could take the rest of her length tonight... However, I knew it was practically impossible, that she wouldn''t be able to go that far... Yet... Shuddering, I moaned loudly as she slowly withdrew her cock from me, before slowly entering again. For a few more moments I felt her repeat that, enjoying the way my folds wrapped tightly around her. However, I wanted something... more... "Please Master~ Faster~ Use this maid as you wish~" Hearing my coy voice, Jahi trembled before grabbing my waist. I felt her withdraw herself again, before... Biting the sheets, I screamed into them as she mmed herself back down, knocking on my cervix before quickly pulling out again. I came and came as she kept knocking on my womb, and I felt a high sweep my body as she grunted in pleasure, her thighs mming into mine. Listening to the sounds of flesh hitting flesh paired with her grunts, I felt my eyes roll around in my skull, the pleasure slowly bing too much. When I felt her cock throb deep inside me though, i panicked again, remembering that I currently had no protection, and wasn''t keeping track of my cycle, meaning... If she flooded my womb with her seed, some might just nt itself inside me... "Jahi... not... ah~ not inside~ Please~ Cum OUTSIDE~!" I trembled as I came again, and I heard her grunt as she sped up, her cock mming repeatedly into me. My voice failed me, and I grew more and more panicked as I pleaded that she had heard me. Thankfully it seemed she did, as she slid out of me before flipping me onto my back. I watched as she quickly jerked herself off over me. Panting, I opened my mouth as arge rope of cum flew from her tip, sttering my breasts. Some sshed onto my face, and I trembled again as I felt two more ropes cover my body. Jahi gasped, looking down at my semen soaked body, her cock still in hand as she slowed down. She climbed on top of me, gently pressing her tip to my lips. Widening my eyes in surprise, I opened my mouth and sucked everything off her tip, draining the leftover semen from her cock before she pulled away. I tried to get up, only for her to grab my arms in one hand, pinning me down before using her free hand to guide her cock back into me. Gasping, I shivered as I felt her bury herself to the base. Licking her lips, Jahi growled "Your Master isn''t satisfied yet..." Without waiting for a reply, Jahi spread my legs as she started pounding me, smirking at me as I moaned. Her free hand yed with my breasts, and my vision slowly went white again as more and more pleasure flooded my system. Feeling herpletely dominate me, using me as she pleased, made me cum more than I had ever came before. Jahi growled as she mmed her hips into mine, licking the tears that streamed from my eyes before grunting. Feeling her throbbing again, she pulled out and covered me in more of her seed, and I moaned when I felt her cum searing my breasts. Releasing me, she copsed onto the bed beside me, gasping for air before pulling me into her. "Are... are you alright, Kat?" I just nodded, my voice still gone. She breathed a sigh of relief, before her hands grabbed my breasts again. Looking over at her, I realized that I wouldn''t be the only insatiable one. ~~~ Jahi had imed me one more time before helping me into the bath, rinsing her semen from me before lowering me into the bath. Even then, she turned my head to the side as she slid her tongue into my mouth, pulling me onto herp as she devoured my lips. After taking me one more time, she finally felt satisfied, pulling me into bed before wrapping me in her arms, falling asleep. Iy beside her, the aching from below keeping me awake. I could have healed myself with magic, but honestly? The pain and aches were incredible, and I knew that this was the only time I would ever have the chance to feel post tear aching ever again, unless I developed a spell that brought my hymen back. In which case... Letting that thought fade from my mind, I looked at the system notifications, grinning as I buried my face into Jahi''s ample breasts. [Quest (Sex): Pleasure Jahi Asmodia Reward: To Be Determined] [Quest (Sex): Pleasure Jahi Asmodia - Complete Reward: 12,500 XP] I felt my heart stop as I looked at the number, before the system doused me in cold water. [It is only that high due to it being not only both of your first times, but also because it was your first sex quest, and Jahi was quite... insatiable.] Sighing, I realized that I couldn''t abuse sleeping with Jahi, at least not for that much Xp, ever again. However, that was fine. That was still 37,500 Xp, since [Nymphomania] increased the gains by 300%. Paired with all the earlier Xp I gained from killing Hobs and doing my job, I had made my way into Level 20. [Level Up!] [Level 19 (113,947/147,744) -> (151,447/147,744)] [Level 20 (3,703/221,616)] [1 Skill Point, 2 Stat Points awarded!] Dropping the 2 stat points into my Dexterity, I snuggled back into Jahi, looking at thest notification. [Achievement Unlocked! Breaking the Bed] [Breaking the Bed: Your first time having sex left your partner drained, as they had more than six ejactions! Congrattions, and make sure to drink plenty of water next time! Let''s break that record! Reward: Bundle of Xp every time record is broken; 4 Points into Charisma, 2 Points into Constitution; 1 Skill Point.] My stats were now: [Stats: STR - 15 (30) CON - 15 (30) AGI - 16 (32) DEX - 16 (32) CHA - 19 (38) WIS - 16 (32) INT - 16 (32)] I was overjoyed, both because of therge amount to rewards, and the post coital bliss I was currently experiencing. Feeling my eyes drooping, I clung tight to Jahi before falling asleep, happy with the way our first night went. --- So let me know what you thought... Also, I know that Cervical Pration is impossible, but I will hit you with the ''My world, my rules'' card because using certain terminology makes these scenes much better to write about. Besides that, i also wanted to say that Lemons will likely be a thing that happen every 10 chapters, and I will try to at least pair them with a normal chapter before or after it. However, there is one more chapter before I ept the contract, so.... For those readers who won''t be using fast passes or coins to continue, I hope you liked the book, and if you could please leave a review that would be appreciated. As for the people who will be continuing... I can''t wait to continue seeing you in the future, and I hope you enjoy! --- Chapter 67 66: Anput And Leone Return Waking up, I groaned as I felt my leg muscles and privates aching fromst night. Slowly getting up, I looked around the room to see that Jahi was, yet again, gone. However, I could hear muffled voices from the main room, so after casting some healing magic on myself to alleviate my aches and throwing on some clothes, I opened the door with a yawn. As I entered the bright room, I heard someone chuckle. Looking around, I saw the Countess sitting on the couch, her face serious while the Marquess was trying, and failing, to stifle herughter. Sitting across from them was Jahi, looking down at her hands with a light blush. I made my way to sit besides Jahi, taking hold of her hand and giving her a small smile before turning my gaze back to the narrowed eyes of the Countess. "So, we heard you had your first time? Lesnera was quite... excitedst night." I just nodded, waiting for the Countess to continue. Sighing, she pinched the bridge of her nose before asking "You didn''t let Jahi finish inside of you, correct?" I shook my head, and the Countess fell back into the couch with a breath of relief. "Alright, I know its... odd to have to talk to us about it, but do remember that trying to cover up a pregnancy is quite... difficult. The political ramifications would be an annoyance, but we could deal with them. However, the real problem is that neither of you are ready for that responsibility, especially with the Academy around the corner in a few years. As such, Kat, please start taking this." I watched as the Countess ced a small pouch on the table, and after unstringing it I saw a pile of grey powder. Seeing my confusion, the Countess said "It''s a medicine to prevent pregnancies. There are no side effects, as I and many others have used it over thest few centuries. Just add a small pinch to a ss of water every morning and you should be fine." I nodded, listening as she continued. "It''s inexpensive, but we need to ce orders for it as it grows in the west, where the climate is warmer and more humid. So, when you think you have only a weeks supply left, let me know." Retying the pouch, I got up and found an empty ss, filling it with water. Adding the pinch, I downed the ss of water, pursing my lips at its strong medicinally bitter taste. However, I could see Jahi''s gold eyes glowing as she looked at me, and I felt a clenching down below, heat rising through my body. "Now you can enjoy sex all you like~!" Hearing the Marquess, we watched as the Countess pinched her waist, ring at her. However, the Countess nodded at me, saying "We are not against you eventually having children with Jahi, but just remember that if your child is born before one from her official wife, they will not have an easy future. So, n ordingly, and let us know in advance. I don''t think my heart could take hearing you announce your pregnant just out of the blue..." The Countess gave me a small smile, and I nodded at her. Getting up, she dragged the Marquess out of the room, smiling at her when she said "Don''t worry about us~ Just know the servants all heard your screamsst night~" I blushed at that, and Jahi red at her mother. Leaving, I looked over at Jahi, shivering as she stared at me with lust. Getting up, i watched as she stalked over to me, her lips pulled in a smirk as she grabbed my hand. "Well, I think I want my maid to show her devotion again..." Hearing her growl, I shivered as she led me back to our bed, where we had a new, more intense ''spar''. ~~~ The days passed in a blur, most of my time spent in Jahi''s embrace as she unleashed her pent up desires. Our intimacy was still in its infancy, as Jahi wanted to just taste my body before delving into using the ropes and whip she had. Of course, this was all amusing to the Marquess, and annoying to the Countess. Most of our sses were spent with me exhausted and Jahi trying her best to refrain from pulling me away to sate her lust. Every time we had alone time, or were just somewhere that was devoid of people, Jahi pulled me aside and had her way with me. I wasn''tining, as my own desires were slowly being doused and I was receiving arge amount of experience for it as well. However, we both knew that, as soon as Anput and Leone arrived, we would need to curb our arousal and only do anything intimate at night. So, here we sat, Jahiying on top of me as we finished up our final round, panting as we inhaled each others scents. Rolling off of me, Jahi smirked before lifting me up, taking me to the bath. We quickly rinsed off, Jahi healing both of us before we dried off. Dressing both of us, me in my maid dress and Jahi in her workout clothes, we made our way towards the main door, where we waited for Anput and Leone. It didn''t take long for them to arrive, and I watched in muted awe as they walked through the door. Anput was my height, and still wore thin strips of cloth that covered very little of her lithe figure. Her long raven hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she still wore a smirk on her lips, which only widened when she saw Jahi and I. In the center of her forehead was a silver circr rune, and I could feel the power radiating off of it as she approached. Other than that, she now had two amethysts dangling on a silver chain from her left ear, reminiscent of Jahi''s natural eyes. As for Leone, I waspletely stunned. She still had a slight shy expression, but she was drop dead gorgeous. Her ashen hair was held in ce by a thin gold tiara, adorned with small rubies that matched her red tinted, previously orange, eyes. Her thin eyebrows were red, and they contrasted against her pale skin. However, those weren''t even the most drastic change. Gone was the thin girl that looked like she could be blown away by the wind. Standing in front of us was a tall, curvy woman who, if she wore anything daring, would draw every gaze in the room. I could see Jahi looking Leone up and down, making the girl shuffle about as her face blushed heavily. Pinching her waist, I smiled as I watched both Anput and Leone approach, Anput wrapping Jahi in a bear hug and Leone pursing her lips as she looked at me, her newva like eyes ring before pulling me into her embrace. I marveled at her breasts that pressed against mine, and when we pulled away I looked down at her chest, before looking at my own. Feeling two burning gazes, Leone and I turned to see Anput and Jahi licking their lips as their eyes flickered between both of us. Smiling at them, I took Leone''s hands and said "I have somethings I want to discuss with Leone, so go spar. Ah, Anput... Jahi got much, much better~" Anput whipped her head towards Jahi, her lust dissipating as it was reced with anticipation. Chuckling, I watched as Anput led Jahi out of the main hall, leaving Leone and I alone. "So, I wanted to discuss magic theory with you. See, I found this book..." I spoke with Leone as we walked, bouncing ideas off one another as we entered the library. --- So, again I ept the contract tonight. This chapter will be paywalled then, so this is thest free chapter in this book. As for this chapter, it was just some more delving into Jahi and Kat, as well as showing Anput and Leone (let me know what you thought of their portraits!) I hope you enjoyed! --- Chapter 68 67: Group Trip --- So, I just want to say that the contract won''t be happening for a few days; I need to physically print and sign it before scanning and uploading it as a PDF, and of course, now that I need my printer the damn thing is broken. Which means, the contract will be put on hold for a few days, however I think I will still lock everything from Chapter 66 till whenever, so think of these chapters as a sneak peek or whatever. Besides that, I will probably go back to single day uploads for this, since I feel like I''ve been neglecting my other books. Still might drop two or more chapters a day, but that all depends on the way I feel and all that... Anyways, we also it 300 Powerstones this week, which is really cool! Thank you! --- Leone and I sat in the library, showing each other the different spells we had created during our time apart. Finishing up the rune, I slid the paper over to her, and watched as she nodded, her eyes alight with joy as she said "Wow, that''s pretty good! You managed to implement so many different spells into one!" I grinned, happy at herpliments. The rune I showed her was one of the moreplex ones I had, as it was theplete version of my Water Cloak. It had healing spells, defense spells, and I had even managed to slip in a control spell that let me alter the water of the cloak, letting me change the spell from a defensive one to an offensive one. Of course, such a spell was taxing and difficult to maintain, as the control required paired with the amount of mana needed was quiterge, but it was a goal of mine, a way to see that I had truly improved. After looking over the paper I slid her, Leone set about scribbling down her own, and I sat beside her quietly, admiring her beauty as she worked. The way her soft lips pursed as she narrowed herva like eyes in concentration made her already beautiful face extraordinary, and I found myself staring into her eyes as she turned. Blushing, she looked away before sliding the paper in front of me, muttering "H-Here..." My heart beat quicker as I gulped. The way she looked at me from the side of her eyes as she blushed was cute, and I had to tear my gaze away from her. Looking down at the rune, I traced over each individual piece, slowly connecting each part together in my mind before widening my eyes. "Leone... is this the spell for Vn''s Breath!?" Turning, I saw Leone nod her head, still blushing. Grabbing her hand, I spoke excitedly. "Did you make this yourself? The amount of intricacies needed to make such a spell work is exorbitant!" In my excitement I didn''t realize that Leone had grown a deep shade of crimson, her eyes glued to our hands. With an ''Ah'' I dropped her hand, bowing my head as I apologized. "I-It''s ok! Really..." She muttered something at the end, and I tilted my head. "What was that? I couldn''t hear you, sorry." Leone shook her head, before smiling. "Th-This is my version of Vulcan''s Breath! See this section here..." We turned back to the rune, Leone tracing certain parts that she simplified or amplified to improve on the spell. Nodding, I would ask questions about her choice, inquiring about whether a certain section could be changed or not, and what some parts were needed for. I have no clue how long we spent discussing the rune, but I eventually felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind, and after seeing the familiar light blue skin I smiled as I leaned back. "Hmm, what are you two discussing with such animation?" Chuckling, I looked up to see Jahi smiling down at me, before pursing my lips when I saw her raven hair was ted, her skin mmy with sweat. Taking a quick breath, I felt my head numbing as her scent washed over me, and I muttered "Spells... Ah, Le-Leone managed to create her own version of Vulcan''s Breath..." Giving me a knowing smirk, Jahi turned to look at the blushing Leone, asking "May I take a look?" Nodding, Leone picked up the paper and handed it to Jahi, her hands trembling slightly. I watched in mild amusement as Leone flinched when Jahi trailed her finger over the back of Leone''s hand, grinning as she teased the shy girl. Looking over the paper, Jahi leaned on my chair, nodding to herself. Turning, I saw Anput panting, her skin glistening with sweat and a fewrge bruises making her olive skin darker. Getting up, I walked over to her and cast a healing spell, nodding at her. Leaning close to me, Anput sniffed the air before smirking at me. "So you and Jahi mated already, hmm?" Smirking at me, Anput chuckled when I blushed slightly, ring at her. Finishing my healing, I was about to return to the seat when Anput grabbed my hand, pulling me into her. Feeling her breath on my ear, I shivered when she said "I truly can''t wait till I can have a taste as well~" As she whispered that in my ear, I widened my eyes in surprise when I felt something poking my butt, and when I turned to look at Anput she just winked, before saying "I''m going to take a bath. Jahi, you tell them about what we discussed, please~" Nodding, Jahi kept reviewing the paper, her eyes glued to it. Giving me another wink, I watched as Anput stretched as she walked, the muscles on her back rippling in a pleasing way. Taking a shuddering breath, I returned to my seat, Leone fidgeting slightly as she looked at me, before turning her body away from me. My eyes widening again, I quickly realized that, when Jahi takes one, or both of them, I would likely be in for some... wild nights. However, after seeing them again now, and from all our previous encounters, I could say that I don''t mind Jahi taking them, even if it irks me that she won''t be looking my way the entire time. Of course, I also realized that I would gain the gazes of two other beautiful women, and that I should be thankful they were so... epting of me. It could have always been worse; they could have been utter snobs of nobles, looking down on me for my status and trying everything in their power to get me away from Jahi. Thinking so, I looked up at the tall demon, my eyes trailing over her figure as I wondered if we would continue where we left off earlier today. Feeling my gaze, Jahi smirked down at me as she ruffled my ears, before returning her amethyst gaze to the paper. A few momentster Jahi spoke, looking over at Leone with a smile. "This is pretty amazing Leone. I mean, you took an alreadyplex spell and improved it by a lot. This part here is incredible; how did you manage to add a rune that changes the smoke from just smoke to filling it with fire mana, creating a cloud of searing smoke?" Leone pursed her lips, before scribbling another spell down on a paper. Sliding it towards us, Jahi and I widened our eyes when we saw what she wrote. It was a normal fireball spell, but when I looked closer I realized that the rune for fire had been altered; it had a half of the wind runeyered on top of it. "Well, I... I managed to create a whole new element for magic, I suppose..." Blinking our eyes, Jahi and I looked at each other before looking at Leone, who fidgeted again. "Is this a spell for... what, ash? Or smoke?" Nodding, Leone said "It... could be either, depending on the weight of the runes... more fire would create ash, more wind smoke." This... "How in the world did you even think of trying to create a new element? Did you tell the Empress?!" Hearing my question, Leone nodded before saying "She said the same thing... apparently, no one ever thought to try and create something new with the old elements..." I nodded, as it was something even I hadn''t truly explored yet. I was too focused on mastering my elements to theorize ''weighing'' the runes to create something new. If I mixed wind and water normally, I would get ice; that''s how its been for the entire time magics been in this world. However, thinking it over, I realized that if I added some of either element to the opposite, I could get various forms of thatbination. Mainly snow; that was what came to mind first. However, I could get hail or just cold water in general, which did broaden the possibilities of spell creation. Shaking her head, Jahi just chuckled before saying "Well, guess I should send the marriage proposal now huh? Before the Empress changes her mind with you being a genius and all." We looked at the flustered Leone, who waspletely red as she opened her mouth a few times, her hands fidgeting as before she looked down at the floor. "I... I would be fine with it..." Jahi and I looked at each other, chuckling at how she just... epted it. "Well, I was joking, but... I guess I could huh? Anyways, before you just ept something that major, Anput and I had an idea for this trip. Why don''t we go to Fovos Forest?" Leone and I looked at Jahi, Leone blushing as she nodded slightly, and me with a dry look. Of course I wanted to go... after all, it has been a bit since I got to whet my appetite, but... "You and Anput just want to go so you can fight things, don''t you? There is no bonding activity or something else nned, you just want to fight monsters." Jahi grinned, nodding. "Yup. We wanted to go have fun in the middle of a monster infested forest. I mean, what else would we do? Stay here and have tea? Sounds boring." I just sighed, before looking over at Leone. "Well, I am... obligated to follow this meathead, but are youfortable with that, Leone? Would the Empress let you?" Hearing that, Leone nodded, her face going neutral as she said "Mother already let me go into the forest at the Academy, so I should be fine." pping her hands, Jahi grinned before lifting me into her arms, making me yelp. "Well, Kat and I need to go finish something, so we shall join you for dinner in an hour or so... Now, if you''ll excuse us..." I could feel Jahi''s hands squeeze me, before she left the room with a hurry. Looking up at her, she growled "Your Mistress needs some relief; Anput ticked me off a little." Even though she said that, I could see the warmth in her eyes, and I just leaned into her, nodding. She grinned, and that warmth was quickly reced by a sadistic light. Shivering, I gulped as she smirked down at me, her pace quickening. Chapter 69 68: Fun In Fovos Forest --- Think of this as a bunch of short stories, since I will be writing this during themercials of the Ravens Patriots game... --- We stood just outside a Hobgoblin encampment, each picking a stick from the closed fist of the Marquess. Drawing the sticks, we all looked between one another, before Anput, Jahi and I clicked our tongue in annoyance before turning our gazes to the smiling Leone. Sighing, we moved back away from the camp, much to the Hobgoblins confusion. Giving us onest look, Leone walked forwards, tracing a rune in front of her. Pointing, a thin beam of fire pierced the skull of one of the Hobgoblins, before dissipating in mid air. Retracing the rune, more and more beams flew through the air, quickly and cleanly dispatching the Hobgoblins. The spell was so fast that the Hobgoblins couldn''t react, staring at awe as theirpanions dropped one after another. "Its... efficient." Hearing Jahi, I nodded, before chuckling when I heard Anput. "But its soooo boring~" Finishing off thest Hob, Leone walked back to us with a small smile, her face slightly red as her eyes flickered to Jahi. Smirking, Jahi stepped towards her and ruffled her ashen hair, saying "Well done Leone!" I watched in amusement as Leone leaned into Jahi''s hand, her face flushing as she smiled. "Alright! Next one, next one~!" Laughing, we all followed behind the Marquess, scouring the forest for the next camp. We didn''t have to wait long, and again the Marquess grabbed four sticks, making us draw lots. "Haha~ Finally!" Anput was jumping up and down, and I rose a brow at Jahi who was currently staring intently at the midriff and small breasts of Anput. Sensing my gaze, Jahi gave me a small smile before standing next to me. Leone joined us, however her eyes were glued to Anput, who was twirling her sword in her hand, her tail swaying as she bounced towards the camp. I almost let out a yelp when Jahi nted her hand on me, giving me a firm squeeze before smirking down at me. ring at her, I let out a ''Hmph!'' before turning to watch Anput. Jahi just chuckled, her hands continuing to indulge as she too turned towards the excited Jackalkin. As she approached, the Hobgoblins drew their weapons, charging towards the happy Jackalkin with a roar. Letting out augh, Anput swayed as she avoided the various stone des, before swinging her sword. We watched as a silver crescent light red in the clearing, before the Hobgoblins let out screams of pain as their arms and legs were cleaved off. With a wide grin, Anput danced around the clearing, her de flickering towards each Hobgoblin as she quickly finished them off. The clearing was covered in blood and limbs, and I felt my breath hitch when I saw Anput standing in the center of the encampment, panting slightly as her olive skin was speckled in deep crimson. I turned my gaze to Jahi, chuckling slightly when I saw her reacting just like me. I said it before, but I had a thing for women with muscles, and when paired with the lethality of a proficient killer... Taking a shuddering breath, I looked at Leone, not knowing if I should be happy or concerned. She was reacting much like us, her face flushed as she rubbed her thighs together slightly. Sighing, I watched as Anput walked back to us, arge grin on her face as she flicked the blood off her de. As she approached, I stepped forwards to meet her, tracing a rune as I used my water magic to clean her off. She just grinned at me, before making her way towards the group. We resumed our journey through the woods, finding arge pack of Kobolds that jumped at us as soon as we came into view. Without a word Jahi rushed forwards, her unique de shing in the light as she raised it, swinging it towards the chest of one of the Kobolds. Her de cleaved cleanly through the Kobold''s fur covered chest, its guts spewing as the bisected body flew past Jahi. Twirling her de, Jahinced the tip into the throat of another, the fur shedding from the Kobold as the Stygian Silver poison spread through the body. Withdrawing the de, Jahi spun as she shed the stomach of the Kobold behind her, only to push the body into another Kobold, before her finger quickly traced a rune in the air, glowing brighter and brighter before the clearing was doused in light. We had to shield our eyes, however we could hear bodies falling and the whimpering of the Kobolds. As the light faded, I opened my eyes to see the floor littered with limbs and corpses, Jahi making her way back towards us with a satisfied smile. Slipping behind me, she wrapped her arms around me as I cleaned her off, gulping slightly when I felt her stiffening behind me. Anput and Leone looked at me, their eyes narrowed. Anput licked her lips, while Leone quickly folded her hands in front of her. The Marquess cleared her throat, making us all jump. Looking towards her, we shivered when we saw her annoyed gaze, before she grinned widely. "Hehe~ looks like another fun monster is on the way~" With that she flickered, leaving us alone in the clearing. Looking at one another, we quickly surveyed our surroundings, waiting for this ''fun'' monster to appear. As we stood back to back, we readied our spells, with Jahi and I draping ourselves in Mana Cloaks, her light and me with wind, while Anput let her metal coat her arms, letting out a growl. As for Leone, she traced arge ritual circle, which flickered around the clearing before searing itself into the ground. Moments passed, and we kept our eyes locked on the trees surrounding the clearing. Waiting with bated breath, we all jumped when we heard the thunderous cry of something above us, before the little sunlight we had was blocked. Looking up, therge wings of a crimson bird covered the canopy, and we all gasped when we saw itsrge head swing towards us. With a p, a gale swept through the clearing, and with a grunt we all dug our heels into the soft earth. My hands flickered, and I traced a few runes in front of me, grinning as a flurry of wind des hurtled towards the bird. Letting out a shriek, the bird swung its head towards me, itsrge crimson eyes alight with anger as the des dug deep into is flesh, sending its orange feathers fluttering to the ground. Diving towards us, Jahi and Anput swung their des towards the birds long talons, sparks flying as the two women grunted. Leone and I traced more runes, sending spell after spell into the birds chest. However, we both had to dive out of the way as a ball of fire was spat our way. Getting up, I drew my dagger and ran forwards, slipping under the birds talons and wings, before climbing onto its back. Shaking itself, I desperately dug my dagger into its back and held on. Letting out a shriek, the bird turned its attentionpletely towards me, only to let out another shriek when both Anput and Jahi stabbed their des deep into the birds chest, while Leone activated the circle, arge gout of me spearing into the throat of the bird. Removing the dagger from its back, I slid off therge bird, watching as the orange plumage slowly turned grey. Appearing near us, the Marquess pped her hands and said "Good job against a young Vermillion Bird. Now, go rest while I see if I can get something off its corpse..." We all looked at her with dull eyes, before sighing and leaning against a nearby tree. [Vermillion Bird (Young) killed (assist)! 2034 Xp] Sighing, I leaned into Jahi as she pulled me onto herp, resting her head on my shoulder. As I enjoyed her warmth, I watched in interest as the Marquess gently plucked a few feathers before carving the flesh of the Vermillion Bird aside, pulling the bones out with wet pops. Eventually arge pile of feathers, bones, and tendonsy next to the Marquess, and she got up with a smile, her entire arms covered in blood. Approaching me, she held out her arms, waiting for me to clean them off via my magic. Giving her a dry look, I slowly traced the rune before canceling it early, some blood still staining her clothes and arms. She pursed her lips as she looked at me, before sighing and moving away. We all looked at one another, beforeughing, looking at each others disheveled appearances. After the impromptu boss fight with a Vermillion Bird, we continued through the forest for a few more hours, before making our way back home. Chapter 70 69: Nice Times --- This will be a bit short cause I have some things I need to get done today... --- The journey home was uneventful, the only major urrence being us forcing the Marquess to sit outside of the carriage, along with her pile of materials from the Vermillion Bird. As for what happened inside the carriage... Well, Anput, Jahi and I enjoyed teasing Leone, with both Anput and Jahi letting their hands trail or ''identally'' touch the shy girl, and we allughed when she went beet red. However, there was one time when Jahi went a little to far, her hand slipping from Leone''s arms to glide across her chest. Leone hadn''t enjoyed that, and I had to almost pull Jahi away from the girl when I saw her eyes slowly unfocus as she tried to get another feel. Other than that, we just rested for the few hours, discussing the various things that happened over the months we hadn''t seen one another. Anput talked about how she had been thrown out of the pce a few times, dropped deep into the desert with nothing besides her sword and a small canteen of water to make her way home. We all looked at her in surprise, before she just chuckled and said it was actually really easy, and that therge sand worms that traverse the desert are actually really tasty. As for Leone, she told us about the various books on magic the Empress had gotten for her, which she had almost memorized as she tried to satiate her lust for all things rted to magic. After recounting our own tales, with Jahi alluding to our various nights together but never explicitly stating it, we started discussing the future, mainly what we should do for the next visit and what sses we are all nning on taking at the Academy. Unsurprisingly Anput and Jahi had the same idea, being to take basic magic sses and focus mainly on their swordy, with the only difference being Jahi wanting to take some sses on history while Anput wanted to take every ss rted to fighting that she could. As for Leone and I, we were both going to be taking a lot of sses on magic, with both of us excited to learn enchanting and inscription. Leone wanted to take alchemy, and while I did enjoy cooking I hated exact measurements, so alchemy would never be my thing. Instead, I would likely join Anput and Leone with a de ss or two. Other than the Academy, both Anput and Leone stated interest to purchase a ce near the Academy, where we would all live together. That way we could avoid the small dorm rooms and have our own spaces to do what we wanted, instead of having to use the public areas at the Academy. Of course, I asked "How much would one property cost in the Capital? Especially near the Academy?" They all looked at me for a second, before saying "Millions." Blinking my eyes a few times, I looked at each one carefully before asking "Would... would the Empress, Sultana, and Marquess be willing to put forward that much money... just so we can stay out of the dorms?" Anput shrugged, Leone looked towards the floor, and Jahi pursed her lips. "Does the Empress not own a property near the Academy? What with her being the Empress and having been around since the dawn of time..." We looked at Anput, who yet again shrugged her shoulders after calling Leone''s mother ancient. "I... would have to ask." After that mini discussion, we returned to talking about various things rted to the Academy, before reaching home. Stepping out, we looked towards the front to see the Marquess asleep, therge pile of monster materials bound with her magic. Shrugging, we all made our way inside, where the Countess was waiting. Not seeing her wife, the Countess sighed before walking outside. Looking over one another, Anput said "How about we clean up before getting some food?" Seeing us all nod, Anput made her way to her own room, while Leone set off towards hers, leaving Jahi and I alone. Scooping me up, for the second time in two days Jahi carried me to our room, nning to work up another sweat before bathing. ~~~ As we all sat around the table, enjoying the meal I had prepared for everyone, the Countess walked in, a few letters in hand. "Well, here''s the start of the annoying period of your life, Jahi. We have multiple invitations to various parties and hunting events, each a few days apart." cing them on the table, the Countess chuckled when she saw the dull gaze from her daughter, before adding "Well, it isn''t just you either. Leone has been invited, and some have gone so far as to invite Anput! Aren''t you all just so lucky?" I watched in amusement as the two other girls sighed, their previous animation gone as they slumped their shoulders. However, Anput looked up at the Countess, her eyes shining when she asked "Hunting Events? Like, how the Sultanate hunts Desert Worms or Bone Vultures?" Shaking her head, the Countess chuckled as she said "Nope. Just in old deer, rabbits, and birds. These ''hunting'' events are usually hosted by the Nobility with weak magic." Anput slumped further into the table, her obsidian eyes dull as she sighed. Turning to me, the Countess'' eyes shone with mirth as she said "And of course, you have to join them, and watch over them from the side~!" That reminder that I wouldn''t even be participating shattered the happiness I was feeling, only to make me ask "How long are we required to stay? Don''t higher tier Nobility and Royalty get special privileges?" Shaking her head, the Countess said "Nope. Instead, you are usually required to stay the longest, but... well, no one has the authority to stop you, as the only people above us are the two Duchess'' and one Duke, as well as the Royal Family, but none care for these events that much." Hearing that we all breathed a sigh of relief, happy we wouldn''t need to stay the whole time in these boring events. Leaving us to take in what she said, we all looked towards the letters. Scooping them up, Jahi read through them before saying "Well, at least they are in a few weeks..." Taking the letters from Jahi, Anput grinned when she said "And I am only invited to two of the six events!" As sheughed, we all gave her res, with Jahi standing up, a smile on her lips that never reached her eyes. "Let''s go spar, Anput~ " Grinning, Anput ced the letters on the table before bouncing out of the room, oblivious to the fact that Jahi wasn''t nning on taking it easy. What followed was a few rounds of extremebat, Anput having to put everything on the line to keep up. However, she enjoyed this more than usual, her grin wide as her eyes shone silver the entire time. --- So, I think I''ll do like one or two of the events, another lemon or two, before starting the Academy. I never really had a set date for it, no age requirement, so... --- Chapter 71 70: Hunting Event (1) The weeks leading up to the various events passed in a blur, Jahi and I losing ourselves in various heated moments throughout, while also practicing our magic and dework. Over these few weeks I had even leveled up, as I was now able to receiverge amounts of experience from all those ''heated moments'', which when paired with the experience I received from preparing meals, cleaning, and the excursions into the Fovos Forest to ughter dozens, if not well over a hundred Hobgoblins each time proved to be quite lucrative. My level now looked like: [Level 21 (14,731/332,424)] I kept the stat point for now, deciding to save it for when my stats were unlocked fully, which urring to the system was just a few weeks, as I grew used to my body and the mana coursing through my veins fully seeped into me. Currently Jahi and I were on the way to the Vesca Barony, where Fresca was from. They invited Jahi and Leone to attend the small tea gathering first before asking if they would stay for the hunt that afternoon, which would be in therge birch forest the Vesca Family was proud of. We would meet Leone there, before Leone and I would wait while Jahi went out on her hunt, since servants couldn''t participate. However, I didn''t really care, as there was no challenge or thrill to be had in killing some powerless animal. When I stained my de I wanted the thing I killed to look up at me, its eyes slowly going dull as its blood drained from its body... I shivered slightly, wanting to return to Fovos Forest again to satiate myself, however I just sighed when I copsed further into thefortable seating of the carriage. Jahr was asleep across from me, dressed in a simple ck suit and pants, with long ck boots riding up to her knees. The bows and arrows would be provided at the Vesca Barony, as they wanted to give everyone a ''fair'' chance, however most likely everyone would use their magic to strengthen their blows, or just utilize their des. I looked out the carriage window, admiring the rolling hills and light mist that was lit by the early morning sun. Eventually we reached the Vesca House, our coachman showing the invitation and small emblem of Asmodia to the gate guards before taking us into the courtyard of the house. Various marble statues lined the paved road, depicting many different species of animals. Besides them, there were arge rose bushes decorating the many pathways winding through the yard. Taking a breath, I looked over to see Jahi still leaning against the back of the carriage, her lips parted slightly as she took in deep breaths. Smiling, I leaned forwards and gently shook her shoulders, watching as her eyes fluttered open. She yawned before leaning forwards, cing a quick kiss on my lips before opening the carriage door. Stepping out before her, I offered my hand and helped her down, taking my ce behind her as we made our way around therge house, towards the back where the tea party would be held in the garden. A guard led us through thends, before bowing and leaving. I followed behind Jahi, my eyes wandering over the threerge tables that were already split into groups, with the more powerful families in the center while the weaker heirs sat towards the edge. A short girl in a long brown dress approached Jahi, her lips pulled into a gentle smile as she curtsied. "Wee to the Vesca Barony, Lady Jahi. I am Gia Vesca, and I hope you enjoy the party and huntter today." Giving Gia a light bow, Jahi smiled as she said "I am looking forwards to it, Miss Gia." As Jahi bowed I gave a deep curtsy, before taking my ce behind Jahi when she sat at the center table. Beside her was Draka ki, who looked miserable as she had her servant fan her off. Her pale skin was glistening slightly, and she looked towards Jahi with a small smile, before turning to look back at the table. She was dressed in a simple white dress, and I watched as she lifted her hand and traced a simple rune, creating a ball of ice that she quickly held against her wrist. As Draka slowly melted in the humid air, a tall man looked over at Jahi, his face serious as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Miss Jahi, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Ulysses Gragori, of the Gragori Dukedom." Looking at Ulysses long blonde hair that was pulled into a ponytail, as well as his piercing blue eyes, I was reminded of the plundering warriors from the north in my old life. Jahi nodded, smiling as she just said "It is a pleasure, Sir Ulysses." Beside Ulysses was a thin woman, her eyes narrowed as she red at Jahi. "Name''s Jillian Sariel." Smiling towards the thin woman with long brown hair that was decorated with small golden clips, Jahi just nodded. Jillian was a serious, grave woman, and her brown eyes were like stone as she looked at Jahi with slight irritation. She had sharp features, making her look like a hawk. However, the most defining were her long ears, which were sharped than what the Marquess jokingly called her ''knife ear'' wife. Wearing a suit simr to Jahi, I assumed she would participate in the hunt as well, unlike Draka. Those were the three heirs to the Dukedoms; Draka ki, Ulysses Gragori, and Jillian Sariel. Sitting at the table, Jahi looked around and listened to the various introductions of the families from the Counts and Barons who had attended. However, none were to important, at least for me, but I still made sure to put name to face so I could potentially track down whoever got to close... ahem, I mean so I could answer them respectfully, as a maid should. Yup. There was only one seat left, which was at the center of therge table. As everyone fell into small discussion, sipping on the tea in front of them, i watched as Leone made her appearance, her curvy body covered by a red silk dress. Her ashen hair was still held up by her golden tiara, and I noticed that she had chosen an open front dress, disying the crimson ritual circle above her cleavage with pride. Walking forwards with a confident stride, she nodded to the three heirs of the Dukedoms, both Ulysses and Jillian smiling at her warmly. However, when she approached Jahi and offered her hand, I saw those smiles fade as slight anger appeared in their eyes. Taking Leone''s hand, Jahi gently ced her lips on the back of it, smiling up at the blushing Leone. Sitting down, Leone took a sip from her teacup, looking around the tables with a smile. "Well, I hope I wasn''t toote..." --- So, this was another introductory chapter; all three heirs of the Dukedom were introduced, and the only other major introductory chapter will be during the dancing event, where some important Count and Marquess Families will be introduced. Those will be the cast of characters (mainly) for the Academy, other than the fewmoners and teachers. So, I will be giving each their own motives and all that jazzter on. --- Chapter 72 71: Hunting Event (2) Jahi PoV Sitting beside me was Leone, and it took arge amount of willpower to not stare at her. That red dress she was wearing hugged her body perfectly, and the open front showed just enough to be enticing while remaining proper. Leone was, without a doubt, the most gorgeous woman here. Even Kat fell behind in some aspects, though I imagine that if I could d my puppy in the finest silks and let her dress up, she would likely rival Leone with rtive ease. Sadly though, my delectable maid was wearing a simple dress, and although it did show off some of her curves, I knew that I was likely remembering her sinful body from the dozens of times I held her, and not actually seeing what was in front of me. Continuing the small talk with the Elven Heir, Jillian Sariel, I shuddered slightly when I found my mind slowly slipping towards the image of both Leone and Kat in my bed... How soft would that be? Taking a breath, I sipped on the tea in front of me, clenching my legs to divert the blood from the other ''leg''. "... which is why I believe the salt mines of the Soride Mountain Range is of vital importance to the Thorin County on our Western Border, and as such we should keep them out of the hands of the Felian Kingdom, even if they are our allies." Sheesh, I really dislike talking politics and strategy when it concerns and I could care less about. "So what has Thorin County done to try and keep Soride Range under its control?" Looking towards me, the blonde, Ulysses Gragori, spoke in a serious tone. "They have tried to negotiate for them, mainly offering the hand of their youngest daughter, Sef, as well as fifteen percent of all profits from the salt mines." I grimaced at that, despising the way some nobility just threw their daughters away for minor gains. "Was there no other way? A show of force, perhaps?" Jillian scoffed, her eyes glowing with disapproval as she said "Why, to incite a war with the Felians? All over one girl? Who cares?" Chuckling, Leone looked over at Jillian, her eyes cold as she said "I would care, if that were my daughter; my sister. Besides that, there would be no war; the Felians wouldn''t risk angering the Empress, and especially not Lady Joana D''Arcon, who was one of the people to initially reim thend for their people." Jillian closed her mouth, nodded as she looked away. Running my gaze over Leone again, I nodded in approval. The way she thinks and acts is different from most nobles, but that is to be expected; in all honesty, Leone, Anput and I are exceptions to this rule, hell, maybe even Draka as well. Anput and I could care less for the decorum and practiced way of speaking and acting; we would rather let our actions speak for us. If I can solve something with enough violence, than it wasn''t thatrge of a problem to begin with. Might makes right, after all. And I have might, both politically and physically. As for Leone and Draka, they simply enjoy the freedoms they were given due to their parents. Draka never had to worry about something like being married off, as her mother would plunge the Empire into a never ending winter before handing her daughter off to some random person. The Duchess may speak using crude words like ''spawn'', but she has already destroyed a house for attempting to strong arm her into handing over her daughter. As for Leone, one of her parents is the founder of the Empire, who also happens to be married to four other strong women besides her own mother. Each of the Empress'' wives could lead their own nation, both due to their strengths and acumen, but instead they chose to stay here. We are among the more... open minded of the nobility. Mainly because I could care less about anything that doesn''t involve me; that''s how Anput and Draka feel as well, while Leone has her own sense of morals, mainly revolving around family. We continued the discussion, Ulysses arguing for the handing away of the girl as it was the most peaceful solution. The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the one, and all that. Snacking on the small biscuits offered, I waited in boredom for the hunt to start, contemting if I should just say I need the bathroom and take Kat with me. Before I could convince myself that was a good idea, Gia stood up again, gently tapping her ss with a spoon to grab everyones attention. "As it is currently noon, we shall now begin the hunt! All participants should make their way to the g raised behind me; bows and arrows, as well as a map of the forest will be provided. As for those of us remaining here, more food and drink shall be provided as we wait for ourpanions to return!" Smiling at everyone, she ced her ss back on the table, speaking to her maid in a low tone. Getting up, I was about to make my way to the g when Leone grabbed my hand, stopping me. Looking down at her, I tilted my head as I waited for her to speak. "Ah... Um, I heard the Vesca House offers the nobles waiting some ribbon to make a tassel for their chosen hunters... would you... like me to make you one?" Seeing the blushing Leone looking up at me with pursed lips, I smiled and lifted her hand again, cing a kiss on her smooth skin, nodding. "It would be my honor to be your hunter, Lady Presa-Ash." Leone smiled up at me, her orange eyes glowing with warmth. Gently releasing her hand, I made my way to the g, Jillian and Ulysses beside me. Both were trying their best to hold back their res, and I found it rather amusing. Standing beside arge tent was an old man with a long white beard. Seeing us approach, he stroked it as he looked around, before nodding when he felt everyone was here. "While the birch forest in the Vesca Barony is rtively harmless, I shall remind you all to stay aware. Even a normal bear can seriously injury, even kill someone with a strong core." His grey eyes swept over the crowd, only nodding when he saw everyone paying attention to him. "Well, you all should be fine; you are the light of our future, after all! Now, the hunt shall work as such." Picking up a long tube, he showed it to us as he continued. "When I let you all go, you will venture into the woods, where you will have three hours to hunt to your hearts content. When those three hours are up, I will shoot this re into the sky, letting you know you need to return. All game you have hunted needs to be carried back by yourself, and when the hunt is over you may dedicate your haul to one of the lords ordies waiting here." Leaning forwards, the man chuckled as he whispered "Call it superstition, but I believe in it wholeheartedly. If you offer thergest haul to someone, they are likely to return your affections! Haha, I offered three deer and five rabbits to my wife, and she used to despise me before I did this hunt!" I chuckled at the old mans story, and many other nobles did as well. However, I saw that Jillian and Ulysses were serious, and I just. sighed internally. Did I seriously need to go all out just to squash these two idiots hopes of having Leone? Fine, fine, I will. "Now, these are the bows you are to use; these are the arrows. Everyone will be given two dozen arrows, as well as a map. After you have gotten your weapons and map, return to the area in front of the tables to receive the tassels being made." Nodding, we all looked at therge amount of arrows in the tent, as well as the bows and maps. Getting into a line, we all received our equipment before going back. Yet again Jillian and Ulysses were beside me, and when I approached Leone I coulda lost feel them trying to stand as straight as they could, hoping to impress her. Shrugging, I looked towards Leone working hard on her tassel, Kat standing behind her as she pointed and whispered to Leone. Smiling, I watched them, feeling happy when I knew they were making something for me. Minutes passed, and I watched as Leone got up, a tassel in her hand. Approaching me, she offered the tassel to me, her hands shaking slightly as she blushed, looking towards the ground. Taking it, I attached it to one end of the bow, looking at the red and amber ribbons twined perfectly together around a deep blue ribbon. Raising a brow, I saw Kat holding back a smile, her eyes shining as she looked at me. The meaning wasn''t lost on me, and I grinned as I looked between them. Bowing, I said "I will bring back the most beautiful deer for the most beautiful woman here~" Looking up, I smirked when Leone went crimson, and I saw Kat''s lips were slightly upturned, her shoulders shaking slightly as she held back augh. Leone just nodded, quickly turning away and leading Kat back to the table. Turning my gaze to Jillian and Ulysses, I saw their fake smiles as they received a few tassels from some of the lower ranking nobles, their eyes hard as they looked up towards me. Giving them a good look at Leone''s tassel, I made my way to the forests edge, waiting for the hunt to begin. --- So, if it seemed all over the ce in the middle, that''s cause I had to step away from theputer for a few hours, so my train of thought waspletely and utterly derailed. Anyways, I got my printer fixed... and realized that the ink I had is not enough for the contract... I''m getting some tomorrow, but I don''t know how long the application and review of my contract takes, so... --- Chapter 73 72: Hunting Event (3) Kat PoV I watched as Leone offered Jahi the tassel she made, and I held back a smile when I saw Jahi quickly tie it onto her bow, raising a brow as she looked towards me. Leone had asked me what would suit Jah the best; her initial idea was to blend various blues together for the tassel, as a way topliment Jahi''s skin tone. However, I quickly pointed to the red and amber ribbons, before whispering "Twine those around a blue ribbon~" Leone had blushed, but she just nodded, her hands going to work as she quickly braided the ribbons together. What came out of her work was a unique tassel, one that had an obvious enough meaning; Leone was red, I was amber, and Jahi was blue. When the red and amber were wrapped so tightly around the singr blue strand? Seeing Jahi grin at both of us, I held back augh as I followed behind Leone, her face crimson as she sped towards her seat. Staring behind her, I watched as Jahi made her way towards the forests edge, Jillian and Ulysses beside her. Shrugging, I looked back at Leone, who was taking a sip of her tea, while Draka just chuckled. "Hey, Kat, right? Do you know anything of that maid behind Gia?" I looked towards Lady Vesca, nodding when I saw Fresca standing behind her, her eyes flickering from Gia to Draka. "Her name is Fresca, and she seemed quite nice at the party in the North." Nodding, Draka continued looking at Fresca, her lips pursed before she turned back to Leone. "So, I guess we have three hours to idle about, yes? Any ideas on how to pass the time?" Leone took another sip of her tea, before suggesting "Why not discuss the ruins found..." I tuned them out, looking back towards Jahi, shivering slightly when I saw her staring straight at me, her eyes golden as she smirked. Winking, she looked towards the old man, before slipping into the forest when the old man gave the signal. I returned my attention to Leone and Draka, who were currently debating about what the ruins found on the southern border might contain. ~~~ Jahi PoV Standing on the forests edge, I turned my gaze back to Kat, wishing for nothing more than to hold her in my arms. Thesest few days had been stressful, mainly because mother insisted on getting various clothes prepared for this long string of events, and because this was the third event I had attended in thest five days. Sadly, each one had resulted in me being swarmed by pests, so I had no chance to take Kat somewhere private and enjoy ourselves. I still remember how much more she reacted when I had tasted her in that hall at Duchess ki''s pcepared to normal. Biting my lips, I winked at Kat when she looked towards me, and I enjoyed the way she shivered from just that. "Get ready... Go!" The old man gave the signal, and with a sigh I bolted into the forest, bow in hand as I gracefully made my way over the various roots and leaves littering the ground. This forest was thinner than Fovos, and wasn''t as seeped in mana as Fovos either, making this feel more like a normal excursion than a hunt. Sighing again, I scaled a tree and leaned against the trunk, looking around for any tracks or traces of life. Nothing. Dropping back down, I stalked quietly through the forest, my ears perked as I listened for any noise. Gently nocking an arrow, I turned towards the low call of a deer, and carefully moved towards it. Leaning past a tree, I nodded in appreciation at therge antlers on the buck, as well as its ratherrge build. It was standing in the center of a small clearing, cautiously nibbling on some berries as its head swayed side to side. Moving around the clearing, I positioned myself to look directly at itsrge chest. Pulling the arrow back, I took aim towards its heart before letting it fly, watching as the arrow sliced through the air before plunging deep into the bucks chest. Letting out a whine, it staggered, before trying to run away. However, I had rushed into the forest, forgoing any stealth as I drew my small dagger, quickly sinking the de into the bucks throat. Falling to the ground with a thud, it shuddered a few times before going still. Nodding to myself, I flicked the blood off my de and gently removed the arrow, taking care to not snap it. The arrowhead was blunted, making me frown. Shrugging, I traced a few runes around the buck, setting up a neat little circle I had created on my own. It had two variations, lethal and non lethal. Since this was an event, I went for the less fun option of non lethal, rigging the area around the corpse to re with a bright light for a minute if anyone tried to set foot inside the circle. I could easily make it back to the clearing before anyone snatched the buck, so I had no issue leaving the corpse nestled under some roots, slightly hidden and well protected. Getting up, I took in a deep breath of the forest air before setting back out on my hunt, wanting to get a few more animals to sufficiently stomp Jillian and Ulysses attempts at wooing Leone. ~~~ Kat PoV Roughly two hours had passed, and I now sat beside Leone and Draka, answering any questions they sent my way. I could feel the various gazes the nobles and servants sent my way, mainly being disgust or surprise that Leone and Draka were ''lowering'' themselves to talk with a maid. However, I could care less. I don''t mind ying the role of a maid, both in public or in private, and would rather have something to ''y'' as rather than being myself. It''s easier to hide and avoid others when you are acting in a role, after all. Especially if it is a servant of some kind. People tend to avoid talking to or inspecting servants at all, since you could potentially offend their master by doing something untoward to their servant. So, it was quite an enjoyable thing to be; no one would focus intently on me, instead focusing their gazes onto the person I serve. Living in this world for almost two years now had proven myself correct; being a ''main character'' would be a nuisance. Many houses get offended at very little, and I could already imagine the various idiotic situations I could find myself in by simply being that proud transmigrator/reincarnator that many novels were written about. I mean, couldn''t you just hold your tongue that one time? Or just not act like you are god because you have the POTENTIAL to be strong? If they weren''t novels being written to entertain people, but instead real life, that grandmaster that you just insulted would p you through your next twenty lives, leaving you to reincarnate into a damn worm if you were lucky. So, I had no qualms being just ''Jahi''s Servant''. It gave me a shield to hide behind, and fit my personality as well. I always enjoyed supporting other people, helping them reach a goal of theirs. Besides that, I was a quiet person by nature, and while I enjoyed interacting with people, I would much rather read a book or drown myself in some other activity. So I just ignored the various gazes sent my way, instead acting as a servant who was just following orders. "Hey, I''ve been meaning to ask, but..." Leaning closer, Draka gently nodded her head towards Lady Vesca and her maid, Fresca. "Gia''s maid, Fresca was it? Is it just me or has she been sending nces my way?" Leone looked towards Lady Vesca from the corner of her eyes, before nodding. "She just sent another nce your way. Why?" Draka leaned back, grinning as she said "I mighta found number one for my harem~" I held back a chuckle, raising a brow slightly as Draka got up and approached Lady Vesca. "What?" Hearing Leone''s confusion, I exined that Draka wanted arge group of women that she could try and create an evenrger family with, making Leone blush. Leone turned her orange eyes towards me, swallowing before saying "Kat... do... do you want arge family?" A smile tugged at my lips as I gazed at Leone''s scarlet face, her eyes glistening with hope. "I am not against one... I just don''t think I want children for quite a bit..." Leone nodded, smiling at me as she said "Well, I... may need to confirm it with the Empress, but... would... would you be okay with me joining your family?" Chapter 74 73: Hunting Event (4) PoV Kat "Well, I... may need to confirm it with the Empress, but... would... would you be okay with me joining your family?" Leone was extremely crimson, her red eyes fixed to the floor as she shuffled slightly. I looked at her, stunned, before chuckling. I couldn''t hold it back; she was just so cute when she asked that~! "I wouldn''t mind that at all, Leone. However, I am not the one you need to ask; that is Lady Jahi. She is the one you would be marrying, after all." She looked back up at me, pursing her lips before saying "On the surface that is true, but Anput and I both know that you hold a lot of sway over Jahi. If you didn''t like us, Jahi would never look our way. Besides, we both also know... know how far you two have gone..." At the end of her sentence Leone looked down, her voice lowering to a mutter as she looked up at me from under her long, redshes. I chuckled again, not denying her im. I knew better than her how much ''power'' I held over Jahi, especially after I had started receiving herrge doses of ''love'' nightly. If I asked her to burn the world, she would look for the most usible way to go about it if it made me happy. That thought... made me warm. To have someone so devoted to me... Smiling, I gently took Leone''s hand and leaned towards her, whispering "I wouldn''t mind being ''sisters'' with you and Anput~" She blushed again, but she kept my hand in hers. Smirking, I couldn''t resist teasing her, running my thumb over the back of her hand. Leone shivered slightly, before biting her lip as she looked up at me. Chuckling again, I let her hand go before resuming my neutral expression, watching in amusement as Leone red at me before turning with a slight huff. However, her hands were folded over herp, and I could briefly make out therge bulge that threatened to tear her exquisite dress. Licking my lips slightly, I found myself wondering just how Leone would indulge herself when she joined Jahi and I. Would she continue to be the shy, embarrassed girl in front of me? Or would she be domineering and demanding in bed? Either way, I gulped, rubbing my thighs together to try and quell the small ember of arousal that threatened to ignite into an unquenchable me. As we sat there in silence, Draka returned, arge grin on her face. Standing behind her was Fresca, who was currently blushing hard. Taking a seat, Draka pulled Fresca into herp, ignoring the surprised and annoyed gazes of her peers, burying her face into the crook of her new maids neck. After taking a deep breath, Draka grinned at us as she said "I want this event over soon... As do you, if your red face is anything to go by, Lady Presa-Ash~" I fought a grin again, watching as Leone flushed again before covering her face with both hands. Draka helped pass the time as she started teasing Fresca and Leone, enjoying the way they pouted or red at her after every light jab. ~~~ Jahi PoV I licked the blood off my lips, looking down at the fourth rabbit I had killed. My haul was quite good; three deer, four rabbits, and threerge birds. Attaching the rabbits corpse to my long mana rope, I let it dangle with the other small critters, before sighing when I looked down at the three deer. The first one, therge buck I had encountered first, was heavy. The other two were doe, andbined were just under therge buck. Slinging the buck over my shoulders, I summoned two discs of light underneath the doe, lifting them into the air before having them float behind me. Feeling my muscles straining slightly under the weight of the buck, I grinned, making my way slowly but surely towards the Vesca Estate. It didn''t take long, or at least my journey went by easily, and I found myself on the forests edge. The old man looked at me in surprise, the long tube in his hands aimed at the sky. "Why, Lady Asmodia, you have impable timing! Haha, goy your prey out before the lucky person who caught your affections!" I just smiled at the enthusiastic old man, watching as he sent the re soaring through the sky. Turning back to the tables, I saw Draka with a maid sitting on herp, her hands wrapped around the girls waist as she talked with Leone. Leone was smiling, nodding as she responded to Draka. As for Kat, she was calmly sitting beside Leone, taking a sip of tea before her head snapped towards me. Smirking at her, I watched as she got up, making her way to my side before asking "May I help you, Mistress?" Hearing the familiar form of address being used somewhere other than our bedroom made me shiver, and I just nodded as I sent the light discs forwards, watching as Kat gently lifted the doe off them beforeying them onto the grass. Finished, she moved towards me, gently lifting the rabbits and birds off of me as she whispered "I missed you..." Taking a shuddering breath, I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from dropping the buck and pulling Kat into me. Seeing her amber eyes gleaming with mischief, I smirked at her, whispering "Don''t expect any rest on the way home." However, instead of the expected reaction of her blushing or just ignoring me, she responded "This maid is yours to use, Mistress~" I growled in annoyance, turning away from her so I could refocus myself. Laying the buck down, I stretched out the muscles of my back, before feeling the familiar cool rush of Kat''s water magic cleaning me off. Finishing, she slid a chair out for me, before getting me a cup of tea and a biscuit. Looking over at the fidgeting Leone, I raised a brow as I took a sip. "So... what happened while I was gone? Why is Draka assaulting a maid?" Hearing that, Draka hissed at me, before saying "I bought her services from Gia. She is number one for my harem." Saying that with not a care in the world was just... Draka of her, I guess? Many of the surrounding nobles gave her weird gazes, however I just shrugged. Leone took a deep breath, before leaning towards me. Meeting her halfway, I heard her whisper "I... I will discuss our marriage with the Empress... if that is okay with you?" Raising a brow, I looked towards Kat, only to chuckle when I saw her nod at me. "Very well. I''ll let the Marquess know to send a sufficient dowry to the Empress in advance." Leone beamed at me, her cheeks slightly red as she looked at me. Her eyes were glowing like moltenva, and I chuckled when she continued to grin, her gaze switching between Kat and I. Leaning back into my chair, I took a sip of tea as I waited for the other participants to return. Ah, I really wanted to just tell them that Leone had just offered her hand to me. The looks on their faces~ Chuckling, I watched in amusement as people slowly came back, most sporting a few rabbits or birds, only three people having a deer. Those three were of course Jillian, Ulysses, and some random Baron that I didn''t pay attention to. They all looked proud of themselves, before widening their eyes as they saw the small mountain of fleshying before me. Making his way towards us, the old man chuckled when he said "Now go offer you bounty to whoever you wish to woo~!" Jillian almost snarled, before stering a fake smile on her face as sheid her deer and two rabbits in front of a Countess, the girl blushing as she received the Duchess'' ''affections''. Ulysses kept his cool, offering a Baroness his bounty, giving the girl a smile before cing a kiss on the back of her hand. Turning to Leone, I said "Oh, yeah. This is all for you. Think of it... as an engagement present?" She shook her head, grinning at me as she looked over the prey. "Why... thank you, I guess?" We both chuckled, before listening to the old man close the event. However, as I realized the end wasing soon, I turned my thoughts to what I wanted to do to my puppy on our way home. My thoughts also turned to what Leone would feel like under me, but that thought was pushed away as I felt Katy her hand on my shoulder, shaking me from my daydreams. Looking up, I saw Leone offering her hand to me, and I took it, cing my lips on it before smiling at her. Giving her a deep bow, I had to tear my gaze off her cleavage as she gave me a curtsy, before watching her walk away, a pce guard escorting her back to her carriage. The way her hips moved... Shaking myself, I gave a fake smile to Jillian Sariel and Ulysses Gragori, bowing to them before gesturing for Kat to follow behind me. Giving the various nobles around me small nods, I reached our carriage. Before I could enter I heard Draka call over "Jahi~ I guess we have the same idea, hmm?" Looking towards her, I grinned when I saw her pulling the maid into her, her hands holding a spot that they shouldn''t. The maid was blushing, however the lust in her eyes was apparent even from here, as she tookbored breaths. Chuckling, I nodded, watching as Draka licked her lips before dragging the maid into her carriage with a yelp. Turning, I saw Kat looking at me, her eyes a pale blue as she smirked. Taking her hand, I threw her into the carriage, nodding to the Banshee that acted as our coachman. Entering, I licked my lips as I looked at the sprawled figure of Kat, her dress ''identally'' sliding off her shoulder as she gave me a look of ''fear''. Oh, this was going to be fun~ Chapter 75 74: Helpless Maid* Jahi PoV I entered the carriage, mming the door shut behind me before feeling it start moving. Laying on the floor was Kat, her dress sliding down her shoulder as she looked up at me in fear. I grinned, stalking forwards as I pushed her against the far door. Kat looked up at me with wide eyes, whimpering "Mi-Mistress! Please! I-I''ll be good, I swear it! Pl-Please don''t punish this lowly maid!" Her pale blue eyes shone with a delectable panic, and I licked my lips, my hand sliding down towards my aching cock. Undoing the buttons of my pants, I watched as my cock pped onto her face, covering her cheek. She shivered, and I took a shuddering breath before growling "Suck it." "Mistress! Please no!" "Are you... disobeying me?" Hearing my low voice, she shivered again, her eyes wet with tears. Shaking her head, Kat hesitantly opened her mouth, before flicking her tongue out. I watched in mild frustration as her tongue only glided across the underside of my cock once, before she whimpered "Bu-But Mistress... your... your c-cock is dirty!" "Then clean it." Saying so, I took her head in my hands and slid myself into her throat, groaning as I felt her tongue swirling around my cock, trying to push it out. She gagged, tears streaming down her face as she looked at me in horror. Smirking, I slid myself deeper, moaning slightly at how tightly her throat clung to my shaft, before I buried myselfpletely inside her. Shuddering, she continued gagging on my cock, before I slid out, watching in interest as she coughed up phlegm. She sputtered "Mi-Mistress I-I can''t-" Before she could finish I grabbed her head again, sliding myself to the base as I growled. "Yes, you can!" I started mming myself into her, my balls pping audibly against her chin as she gagged on my cock. I looked down, enjoying her wide eyes filled with panic as she desperately tried to get me off. Her tongue swirled around my shaft, and I moaned when she somehow constricted her throat more, almost making it impossible for me to move. The warmth of her tongue coiling around my cock sent me quickly over edge, as I forced her deeper into my crotch as I grunted, spraying my semen down her throat. I had to blink a few times as I came, my vision blurring at the pure euphoria I felt as I unloaded my balls into her stomach. Finishing, I slipped myself out of her, stumbling slightly as I watched her coughing up a small amount of my seed onto the carriage floor. Seeing that, I grabbed a fistful of her hair, shoving her face to the ground as I growled "Did you just spill my seed? You ungrateful..!" Shuddering, Kat desperately licked the semen off the floor, before looking up at me, her eyes desperate as she showed her empty mouth. Grinning, I gently pat her head, saying "See, be a good girl and nothing bad happens~" She shivered, whimpering out "O-Of course, M-Mistress..." "Well, that was a great start... strip." She shuddered again, before reluctantly undoing the various buttons and straps of her dress. I watched as it fell to the floor, revealing her bare skin and undergarments. Sitting down, I licked my lips as I dragged my gaze over her plump thighs, wide hips, andrge breasts. "Fully. Don''t make me repeat myself." Kat took a shuddering breath, her hands trembling as she undid the sp of her bra, trying to cover her breasts as it fell to the ground. However, seeing me narrow my eyes she let her arms drop, revealing herrge tits and erect nipples, before she quickly lowered her panties. I watched the long rope of her juices bridge her panties and glistening cunt, making me lick my lips again. Dropping them, she stood in front of me, nude. Pulling my pants off, I ran my hand up and down my moist cock, biting my lip as I looked her over. "Y''know, your Mistress is tired after the hunt, so you shall do the moving." She just nodded, her eyes resigned to her fate. However, before she could straddle my waist, I said "I want to see your ass bouncing on my cock." She nodded again, turning before lowering herself onto me. We moaned together as I slowly entered her, her tight cunt gripping my cock hard. She kept lowering herself, shuddering as I reached deeper and deeper, before I reached a wall. I pursed my lips, annoyed that I wasn''t able to bury myself entirely into her, before just shrugging. Reaching forwards with one hand, I spanked her round ass, watching it jiggle. She moaned again, her pussy convulsing slightly on my cock. Smirking, I buried my hand into her ass, enjoying the way my hand sunk into her soft flesh. "Move." Sending another p at her ass, she jumped as I hit her harder than before, a red mark appearing on her cheek. She shivered, before reluctantly lifting herself off of me with a moan. Grabbing my knees, she brought my cock to the edge of her drooling cunt before mming herself back down, screaming as my cock knocked on the entrance of her womb. I grunted, enjoying the way her pussy eagerly swallowed my cock, her folds squirming around my shaft. Raising herself again, she let out another moan as she started bouncing, her ass rippling as she brought herself up and down my cock. Resting my arms on the back of the couch, I watched her start speeding up, her ass dropping faster and faster into myp. Groaning, I started to meet her bounces, thrusting up into her. Kat started letting out screams, her body trembling as she released a flood of ejacte onto myp. I shivered, my cock being ced in a vice grip as she came, refusing to let me move. Grabbing her hips, I pulled her into me, keeping her still as she rode out her orgasm. It took a few moments to recede, and when I felt her stop trembling I growled "Care to exin why you came before me?" She shivered, looking over her shoulder as she stuttered "I-I''m sorry Mistress! R-Really, I a-am! Plea-Please don''t- agh~" She moaned as I lifted her up, putting her in a position where I could thrust straight up into her tight cunt. I grunted as she shivered in my arms, before clenching my eyes shut as I felt an orgasm rise. "N-No Mistress! Please not inside! N-Not INSIDE~!" Letting out a roar, I erupted inside of her, my semen flooding into her womb as she let out a cry. I shuddered, my balls twitching as I desperately came inside of her, my body trying desperately to impregnate her. Panting, I left my cock inside of her, some more semen pouring from my tip as Kat started sobbing in my arms. I took a deep breath, removing myself as I gently ced her next to me. "Kat..." I watched in amazement as she stopped sobbing, her previously afraid features splitting into a grin. I shook my head, looking at her panting as she said "So? How was it?" "I... felt like I was forcing myself on you..." She chuckled, getting up as she gently rubbed her stomach. "Any reason you came more there then when we did it normally?" She raised a brow at me, and I pursed my lips as I looked away. I felt... ashamed, to say that I was incredibly aroused as she trembled in my arms. The way her fear intoxicated me... "Jahi... my love... really, its alright!" I looked up, my eyes reluctantly meeting hers as she gave me a warm smile. "I know that if I truly didn''t like it, and I said so, you''d stop. I don''t think lesser of you either for enjoying that kind of y; if I did, I would have said no when you asked if we could do this sometime." I trembled slightly, my eyes watering as I felt my heart swell. She just smiled at me, pulling my head towards herrge breasts as she stroked my hair, muttering "There there..." After a few moments I looked up at her, saying "It... It doesn''t disgust you? That I... I feel better when it feels like... like I''m..." I couldn''t finish. After all, I knew what that looked like; it looked like... like I was rap.ing her. Her screams, her tears... she did it so well, that I even lost myself... She chuckled, burying her face into my hair as she took a breath. "Does it not disgust you that I enjoy you being rough? The way you take me so... primally?" I shook my head, and she just smirked down at me. "I enjoy when you take me like that; I loved that more than anything else we''ve done... it... well, to me it shows how much you desire me, I guess? We all have our kinks though..." Burying myself deeper into her breasts, I felt my heart swell at that. "I don''t think we should make this a regr urrence though... I mean, I came really, really hard there, and so did you. Maybe this should be for when we feel... especially needy?" I nodded, pulling away from her. Before I could say anything else, I felt her soft hand wrap around my cock, licking her lips as she said "Why don''t I take you for another ride, hmm?" Gulping, I nodded, watching as she straddled my waist, moaning as she inserted my cock into her now sticky cunt. She leaned down, kissing me before she started gyrating her hips. I moaned, the way her cunt gripped my cock as she moved feeling divine. Smirking down at me, Kat looked up as she sped up, moaning as she closed her eyes and bucked her hips. I grabbed her ass, grunting as she desperately tried to wring out my cock. Herrge breasts were swaying in my face, and I quicklytched onto one of her nipples, rolling the bud around my tongue before gently nipping it. She gasped, before moaning as I sucked on it. Massaging her ass, thrusting into her cunt, sucking her tit... Letting out a shout, she shivered, another rush of ejacte staining myp. Kat continued riding me, her long brown hair tickling my face as it fell onto me. Her moans, her scent, her taste, her feel, the way her skin glistened with sweat... She was taking over all my senses, and I shuddered, letting her nipple go as I shouted "Kat~ Ah~ I''m CUMMING~" She moaned as I filled her again, my cock throbbing as I released another flood of semen into her. We sat there, panting as we looked into each others eyes, before... Leaning down, Kat kissed me, her tongue desperately fighting mine as she clung to me. As we made out, I felt her start moving again, and I widened my eyes, only to surrender myself as she looked at me with those lust filled blue eyes. ~~~ The carriage reeked of sex, and Kat and I panted as we looked at each other. Her body was below mine, my semen painting her white as we had lost ourselves to our lust. She shined beautifully, and every time I reentered her I marveled at her feeling. Pulling out, I watched as arge stream of my seed spilled from her, and I chuckled when I saw the slight bump in her stomach. "It''s like you''re pregnant~!" I watched her sit up, her eyes gentle as she rubbed her semen-bloated stomach, before making me widen my eyes in surprise. "Jahi, do you want a child?" "Ah... Um... K-Kat... you are on that medicine, yes?" She chuckled, nodding. "I am, I am~ Just... wanted to know..." Relieved, I sank back into the couch, saying "Eventually. Likely when we reach our mid twenties... that''s a good age to start our family..." She nodded again, before snuggling beside me. "That sounds good, my love..." My heart soared as I heard that, and I pulled her into me for another kiss, saying "I love you Kat. I really, really love you~!" Sheughed, before yelping as I pushed her under me again. Reentering her, she moaned before chuckling, wrapping her arms around my neck as she smiled up at me. --- 2100 Words of pure smut... Hehe~ Anyways, as you can tell, their ''main'' kinks are extreme; Jahi is a deep Sadist, to the point that, if she didn''t have Kat or some other more ''open'' girl, she would likely be one of those Young Masters in Cultivation Novels that force themselves on any and everyone. As for Kat, she likes being dominated, and with the soul bond that only was made more sever as her feelings for Jahi grew, wanting to please her. So, those are what you can expect from their lemons; of course, variety is the spice of life, so sometimes it''ll be more normal sex, but... Expect roley, ropes, and whips from these two. As for Leone and Anput... Well, you''ll just have to keep reading huh? Oh, also the next event ends with a Lemon as well, so... --- Chapter 76 75: Another Ball (1) Kat PoV For the fifth time in just two weeks, I stood beside Jahi, my face neutral as I watched a dozen men and women gathering around her, hoping to curry favor with the next Marquess of House Asmodia. I could hear the various women whispering sweet promises of sex to Jahi, pressing their breasts against her arm when they could. Keeping my lips straight, I tried my best to not growl in annoyance as they carefully covered Jahi in their cloying perfume. I had spent the better part of an hour making her smell of me, and now that work was being undone... Chuckling, Anput turned towards me, taking a sip of her drink before saying "You''ve gotten better at hiding your emotions. Why, if I didn''t know you I would think you were some iron maid~" I raised a brow, looking towards her before shrugging. "It is an annoyance, yes, but I also know that none of those women stand a chance at pleasing Jahi in bed, making their propositions worthless. Besides, Leone is now to be wed to Jahi. What these lower nobles could possibly hope to happen is beyond me." Anput chuckled again, nodding as she said "I never really thought Leone would ask first. I always thought I''d manage to rile Jahi up enough to take me, before having to im responsibility~" I sighed, however I nodded at what she said. Many times when they sparred Jahi would get heated up, her arousal quite obvious as she started making mistakes to allow Anput to get closer, all so she could ''identally'' take Anput into her arms and disy her ''strength''. It was rather amusing to watch, mainly because I would quickly stop any chance Anput had at getting into bed with Jahi by quickly reminding our excitable blue demoness who she already had. Those times spent together would be amazing, as Jahi vented herself using me... Smirking at Anput, I turned back to observing the crowd, taking in the various dress'' and suits people wore. All the men, and some women, wore elegant ck suits, the only spot of color being the undershirt and tie, as well as any embroidery on their coat pocket or cuffs. As for the dresses... well, some were quite beautiful, made from vibrant silks thatplimented the woman wearing it. Others, however, were... gaudy. The most notable was the three girls wearing frilly pink gowns,den with gems and precious metals, all while the jewelry they wore cost more than some people''s sry in a year. Two of those girls desperately clung to Jahi, eagerly pressing their chests together in hopes of seducing the tall demoness, only to pout when she simply ignored them. Many of the men looked at these girls, some quite obviously hoping to bed themter while others viewed them with disgust. Someone all the men, and some women looked at with lust was the Jackalkin standing beside me, still wearing her traditional garments. Anput was draped in almost transparent blue silk, her modest chest covered in an borate wave pattern cloth, while her hips were draped in a sapphire studded silk. Her well defined abs were exposed, as was a majority of her olive skin. Anput leaned against the wall, her tail swaying as she drank from her ss, her brow raised as she wore her typical smirk, looking over therge gathering of nobles. "Y''know, the only reason I came to these was because I wanted to see both of you. If I knew that Jahi would be constantly surrounded by pests I would have stayed home. Hah... Well, at least you''re free." Ignoring her, I slowly zoned out, waiting for time to pass. This was ourst event, and as such we could finally return to our normal schedules. I was parched for blood by this point, and every one of the idiotic nobles surrounding Jahi looked like a premium slice of meat waiting to be carved. "You should hide that bloodlust, Kat~ Though, that is really, really arousing..." I turned a dry gaze to Anput, who was licking her lips as she stared at me. Sighing, I said "Shouldn''t you be doing your rounds of the ball? Talking to your peers and formingsting connections?" Scoffing, Anput sneered as she looked over the gathering of nobles, saying "Of thembs gathered here, only you, Jahi, and a few others even have the slight iron hint of blood surrounding them. Even those random nobles only smell like easy kills, likely some animal or monster they outssed and yed with. So no, I will not worry about mingling with these... pathetic, worthless nobles." I sighed again, saying "They are also the people who can send warriors or assassins against you, you know?" She shrugged, saying "No one worth fighting would follow a coward." Shaking my head, I caught Jahi''s pleading gaze, chuckling slightly as her eyes flickered gold for a second. ~~~ Jahi PoV I looked towards the wall, pleading as my eyes met Kat''s. However, she just lifted her hand and covered her mouth, likely hiding the grin that she wore whenever she watched me do something I didn''t want to do. Standing beside her was Anput, looking bored as she downed another ss of wine. Sighing, I turned my fake smile back towards the various nobles surrounding me, cing names to faces as I memorized who to avoid in the future. Namely, three people. Baroness Fredrika, wearing some... abomination of a pink dress. I will admit that she had ample breasts, a bit smaller than Kats, but still quiterge. She made sure I knew what they felt like, as I yet again felt my arm be buried between them. "Lady Asmodia, you''re quite strong~ Do you work out?" I blinked a few times, listening to her drawn out shrilly voice. Smiling, I said "Yes, I train regrly. I am, after all, heir to a WARRIOR house." The sarcasm flew over her blonde head, as she just let out a few ''Ooohs'' and ''Aahhs'' as she glided her fingers over my arms. Sure, she was cute, and I did think she wouldn''t be bad as she screamed under me, but I honestly was more repulsed at how... idiotic she was. "Miss Fredrika, really, don''t you think you are too close to Lady Asmodia? Gosh!" Next was headache number two, Viscountess Sherial clung closer to me, pressing my other arm into... The extremely t, and bony thing she called a chest. Like Fredrika, Sherial wore some really girly dress, the ocean of frills and flowing silk making an odd eyesore that almost blinded me. Sherial was... interesting, to say the least. Her pale skin was sporadically covered in pink scales, disying her heritage as either a Lamia or Gorgon descendant. Unlike the Maedar, the male gorgon, who stood in front of me, Sherial was neither intimidating nor attractive. Even though she was a few years older than me, she still looked like a child, and I felt weird as she tried to guide my hand towards her privates. I met Kat''s gaze again, watching in mild annoyance as she and Anput spoke, both smiling slightly, their tails swishing lightly behind them. Sighing, I turned towards my third problem, though it was more due to how she constantly asked- "Lady Asmodia, could I please be your Apprentice? The control you have over your de is immense!" Her name was I Steele, and she had been present at the ball up in the north. She was a serious looking girl, and the only sign of her excitement was her glowing eyes, which were boring into my own. I was... dedicated. At a prior event she had watched as I went though my swordy when some Baron tried to im I was a soft, fake warrior. After I showcased my skills, as well as beating him handedly in a spar, I had followed me around, begging for me to teach her. I will admit thatpared to Fredrika and Sherial, I was much better to deal with. She was at least an interesting girl, someone who was looking at me not with lust, nor with ulterior motives, but instead with wonder. I desperately wanted to improve, and I admired that... But not when she asked me over a dozen times in five minutes to teach her. Sighing again, I shook my head and said "I don''t want to take an apprentice, ever. Besides, your father is a Captain of a Knight Order; ask him." I sighed as well, before bowing her head to me. I watched as she walked off, before having to turn my gaze towards Fredrika as she enveloped my arm again. Man, I really hated these events... Chapter 77 76: Another Ball (2) Kat PoV I chuckled at Anput, who was cracking jokes one after another about the so called ''pests'' and mbs'' of the nobility before us. Her utter disdain, and how open she was with it, was refreshing. We passed the time talking to one another, my eyes normally glued to Jahi''s surroundings now flickering to the exotic woman standing beside me. Anput leaned against the wall, her muscr midriff in full disy as she drank yet another ss. "You are aware of the various gazes being sent your way, yes?" Anput scoffed, looking at me before looking over the nobles with a sneer. "That the weaklings before us wish to bed me? Ha! In their dreams they may, but they''ll lose a hand if they even try anything in reality." I covered my mouth again, masking therge grin that I wore as she said that. Sliding over to me, Anput whispered "Y''know, a few of the nobles who have just reappeared smell very~ interesting. Wonder what they were doing, hmm?" Looking around, I saw a woman in a dress straighten her tie, winking at thest woman wearing a frilly pink dress before making her way back into the mix. The girl in the dress was flushed, and as she walked in front of us I caught the familiar whiff of someone who just got done having ''fun''. Tracing her finger up my arm, Anput whispered "Now that seems more fun than just standing here, yeah?" Raising a brow, I looked at Anput with a polite smile, saying "Yes, maybe I should go get Jahi and find somewhere private. Wouldn''t you agree?" Anput chuckled, before taking a step away, taking yet another sip of her drink. Silence fell over the event, and we looked towards the stage, where the host, a rotund man by the name Count Harin, announced "Find your partners, as the ball is about to start!" Anput chuckled, handing me her ss as she said "You are right~ Maybe Jahi and I should dance, before finding somewhere private to enjoy ourselves~" I gave her a dry look, watching as she smirked at me before walking onto the floor, parting the crowd of nobles with ease. Some gathered the courage to ask her to dance, only to be either ignored or scoffed at. Reaching Jahi, I saw Anput''s tail swish faster as she offered her hand. ~~~ Jahi PoV "May I have this dance, Lady Asmodia? "Please dance with me, Lady Asmodia! "Ahem, she should dance with ME!" I sighed, hating this part the most All the nobles crowding around me asked. desperately for a dance, and as I looked around to try and find the one I disliked the least, I heard a familiar chuckle. Turning, I saw the familiar slim, lithe figure of Anput, her blue attire hugging her modest breasts and slim waist. Seeing her offered hand, I took it, bowing as I lowered my lips to it. Smiling at me, Anput squeezed my hand, and I saw her tail swishing. "It would be an honor, Begum Sera." Her obsidian eyes gleamed with mirth as I gently wrapped my arm around her waist, guiding her towards the center of the dance floor. "Hah, I don''t know how you can deal with it. Back in the Sultanate, no one risks being this... forward with us. They know that unless they have the strength to ''tame'' us, they stand no chance." "Well, the Sultanate is a ce where only the strong survive, so it makes sense there. As for here... well, these people control the trade routes, various mines,rge farnds, and more. They are all important, however they got their power from their ancestors achievements. If they can keep their power is a different story altogether." Anput nodded, before shrugging. "Well, at least I know the house I marry into is one of strength." I looked at her, my brow raised as I set my hands on her waist and shoulder, saying "Since when did I say I would marry you?" Anput chuckled in amusement, clinging closer to me as she purred "Well, since I''ve felt your ''interest'' in me multiple times..." As she pressed herself into me, she looked up, her eyes had lidded as she said "And I feel your ''interest'' even now. After all, your hands aren''t where they are supposed to be~" Without realizing it, my hand. had lowered from her waist, and I quickly ced it back on her waist. Taking a few breaths, I remained silent as I felt Anput looking up at me with amused eyes. Going through the movements of the dance, I felt Anput lean her head on my chest, looking up at me still. "What?" She shook her head, saying "Nothing. It just... feels nice, in your arms." A rare look of weakness was in her eyes as she leaned into me, her thin lips pursed as she looked down. I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her closer as I gently stroked her silky hair. "Well, here''s a proposition for you. After this event, you and I spar three times. You win twice, and you can marry into my family. I win, we remain friends, until you can thoroughly convince Kat to let you join us." Smirking, Anput regained her normal confident look, saying "Well, that seems like a win win for me, ''darling''~" Tracing her hand over my stomach, she chuckled before letting me go, slipping from my arms as she whispered "Well, the dance is over~ Maybe I should get a head start with that maid of yours, hmm?" I gave her a wry smile, watching her lithe figure walk away elegantly, before my sight of her was blocked by the various nobles pining for a dance with me. Sighing, I stered a smile on my lips while I looked around my ''peers'', trying to find at least one I found attractive. ~~~ Anput PoV After getting a good promise out of Jahi, I took my leave of the dance floor, deciding that anymore time spent in her embrace would light a fire that couldn''t be quenched. I made my way back towards Kat, the other half that made up ''Jahi''s Family''. I wouldn''t lie to myself; I truly couldn''t pick one or the other. Jahi stoked the more feminine side of my Sultanate upbringing; find yourself a strong mate to protect you and bear them a lot of kids. That side of me was quite... aroused by the spars Jahi and I had. The way she moved, her strength and control over her de... I was aware that some of my wins were just because she had decided to let me get close enough to hold me. Now, as for Kat... Every time I saw her I felt my more masculine side being aroused; find a woman who will support you, who will give you children. Kat was utterly gorgeous; her amber eyes were captivating, her figure was curvy, and I enjoyed the scent she unknowingly released whenever she was near Jahi. It was like a mix of roses that were sprinkled with blood. She was such a possessive woman too. The way her eyes would dull whenever I got closer to Jahi, the way she always swooped in after we spared to take Jahi away, her plump lips pulled up in a grin as she lorded her ce in Jahi''s heart over me. It was so... enticing. To have a woman so devoted to you... Ready to do anything for you... That was so very, very arousing for me. Especially after we took a trip to Fovos Forest. Her utter lethality, the smile she wore as blood sttered over her delectable figure... She was exactly like what my mother had attracted my mom with. The Sultana had found my mother wandering the desert, hunting a Dune Worm. Mom told me many times that the reason she had chosen Mother as her mate was because, as she fought against the Dune Worm, she weaved around the beast with her dual swords and slowly took chunks of flesh from beast, bathing in its blood. Mom said that that sight of Mother drenched in blood caught her attention, but what caught her heart was the small smile Mother wore as she looked over the corpse of the Dune Worm she had hunted. After that, Mom pined after Mother, almost pleading for her to marry her. Both of them told me that if I was anything like them, I would likely find myself captivated by a simr sight, and how right they were. Kat charged in against that Vermillion Bird with a smile on her lips, and I found that sight making my heart throb. Seeing the familiar ck and red dress, with the long brown hair pulled into a bun, I smiled speeding up as I nned on chipping away at her defenses. However, before I could reach her I heard screams. Turning back, I saw something standing on the stage, lurking in a cloud of smoke. Chapter 78 77: Another Ball (3) --- A bitte but thanks for 300K Views! --- Jahi PoV As I danced with Fredrika I felt her yet again press herself into me, looking up at me with lidded eyes as she whispered "Are you sure you don''t want to take this dance somewhere a little more... secluded? I think we would hit it off, Lady Asmodia~" Her hand glided further down, and I took a deep breath before smiling down at the woman in my arms. Seeing that, Fredrika smiled up at me, only to frown when I said "Sorry, but I''m not interested in easy women." As she took a breath to respond, we heard screamsing from the stage. ncing at themotion, I grinned as I saw therge cloud of smoke, with some... thing lurking inside of it. Fredrika shivered in my arms, her eyes wide with fear as she looked up at me. "L-Lady Asmodia... wh-what is that!?" Shaking my head, I grinned down at her, pushing her away as I said "Dunno, but I am certainly more excited to have attended this event now than ever before!" Stumbling away, Fredrika scurried towards an exit, sending nces over her shoulder as she ran from the creature. Shrugging, I started moving towards it, watching as it grabbed a musician on the stage and bit into their neck, blood spraying from the wound. The musician screamed in its grasp, falling silent as the creature ripped out another chunk of their throat. Quickly tracing the runes for my light de, I nodded in appreciation at the familiar feeling of a de in hand. The smoke slowly cleared, revealing therge figure of what looked like a Spartoi, a skeleton monster. Normal Spartoi were created from human remains, specifically from strong warriors. Human mages specializing in the darker side of magic had found a way to use different kinds of mana to bind the bones together and bring ''life'' to the skeleton, creating Spartoi. However, the one currently tearing out a mans throat was no human; it was muchrger, with bones twice as thick as the average human. Besides that, the skull was the main giveaway; tworge tusks rose from the lower jaw, all the other teeth resembling fangs. On the crown of the skull were two rows of small spikes. This was someone reanimating an Orc; arge one at that. It looked to be taller than me, probably standing at Moms height. The bones were inscribed with silver runes, and they were surrounded by a green energy, likely wind mana. Holding arge axe in one hand, the Orc Spartoi turned towards me, still drinking the blood from the musician, before tossing him away like a doll. The sound of bones scraping against each other cut through the various screamsing from the nobles, and the Orc Spartoi tilted its head as it looked at me. Raising its axe and pointing at me, the Orc Spartoi lumbered closer to me, gradually increasing its speed as it raised the axe in both hands, mming it down towards me. Jumping to the side, I raised my de and shed towards it, frowning when it nged off the mana coated bones. Taking a few steps back, I channeled more mana into the de, making it re and grow longer. The Orc Spartoi lumbered towards me again, the axe swinging towards my stomach. Preparing to parry the blow, I nted my feet and raised my de, only to watch as a silver blur flew in front of me, knocking the axe to the side. Anput stood between me and the Orc Spartoi, her arms coated in metal gripping a de that fused to her arms. Peering over her shoulder, Anput gave me a smirk as she said "Maybe this can change your mind about our union~?" I shook my head, smiling at her wryly, watching as she flicked her de towards the iing axe and sent it to the side. Rushing forwards, I felt my body grow lighter, a simr green glow covering me just like the Orc Spartoi. Stabbing my de towards its skull, the monster swayed to the side, not fast enough to entirely avoid my strike as I scored a deep gouge on its cheekbone. It stumbled backwards, a hand going to the wound before ring at me, the green energy gathering in its eye sockets ring. Anput and I stood together, and I noticed she also had a green aura surrounding her, making me nce over my shoulder. Seeing the familiar silhouette of Kat shrouded in a green glow, her arms outstretched as runes flickered around her, I smiled. Turning my attention back to the monster before us, I traced a rune in the air, creating a sphere of light. Sending it hurtling towards the Orc Spartoi, I rushed behind it, using it as a distraction to slip behind the monster. Covering its eyes, the Orc Spartoi swung its axe blindly, hoping to score a hit. Sadly, it only hit the air, as I ducked beneath one swing andnced my de into its ribcage, grunting at the force of the impact as my magic pierced the mana surrounding the monsters body. Anput moved behind the Orc Spartoi, her de digging deep into the neck beforepletely shattering the bones, sending the head rolling to the floor. The mana surrounding the monster slowly dissipated, and I started observing the surroundings, trying to find whoever summoned the Orc Spartoi. ~~~ Kat PoV I felt my mana slowly drain from my core as I kept the support spell up. Although simple, it was quite a useful spell; it increased the movement speed and attack speed of the recipient, as well as adding a little extra piercing power to their blows. Jahi and Anput easily dispatched the monster, Jahi utilizing her light magic to blind it before slipping under its blows, piercing it in the ribs. As for Anput, she had lodged her de into the Orc Spartoi''s neck, wrenching its head clean off. Cancelling my spell, I took in a breath and marveled at how I could feel mana slowly entering my core, replenishing what I had just used. Seeing Jahi scanning her surroundings, I also started looking around, before grinning. Hearing someone trying to sneak behind me, I carefully palmed the dagger I had started carrying with me everywhere, unsheathing the de as the steps got closer. Grinning, I chuckled when I felt someone try to wrap their arms around my neck, groaning in shock when I mmed my foot onto theirs and pivoted. Bringing my dagger to their throat, I tilted my head as I asked "So, who''re you?" Standing in front of me was a middle aged man, his patchy beard and creased eyes making him look much older. Lanky, dressed in patchwork clothes, and with weathered skin, he looked like your averageborer. ring at me, he shouted "Why''re you defendin'' them stuck up nobles!? Aren''t you tired of having'' to follow orders all the time!?" I looked at him, confused, before saying "No, not really. I actually quite like my job." He sneered, spitting on my face as he said "So they brainwashed you! Damn nob-" Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself down, however... Burying the dagger into his shoulder, I threw him to the ground, sitting on his chest as I twisted the de. Screaming in pain, he looked up at me in fear. Wiping off the spit, I stared down at him, tilting my head as I said "Spitting on people is rude, y''know? Did your mother never tell you that?" Panting, the man stuttered "M-Monster... Y-You''re a damn MONSTER!" Shaking my head with a sigh, I slide the de from his shoulder, making him groan in pain, however he looked relieved. Sadly for him, my de sunk deeper into his other shoulder, making him scream again. Coating my finger in wind mana, I pressed it to his open wound, grinning as he squirmed under me. "Well, let''s start with a question. Why''d you do this?" Removing my finger, the man blinked a few times, his eyes radiating fear as he said "I-I don'' know his name... ju-just that h-he told me to sm-smuggle an Orc tusk into the venue..." I sighed, saying "Well, if you don''t remember anything useful, I''ll just have to..." Coating my finger again, I waved it in front of his face, chuckling as he nched. However, even as he sputtered out a jumble of words, I felt someone gently touch my shoulder. Looking up, I saw Jahi staring down at me with golden eyes, smirking at me. "Why not turn him over to the authorities, like we''re supposed to?" Sighing, I removed the dagger again, taking Jahi''s hand and standing up. Pulling me into her, I smiled before clinging to her body, enjoying her warmth. Stroking my hair, Jahi kept me close, looking towards Anput and saying "Are the guards here yet? I really don''t feel like dealing with either them or this psycho." Chuckling, Anput replied "Yeah, sounds like they''re close." Scooping me into her arms, Jahi made her way towards the exit, where our carriages waited. Looking over at Anput with a smug grin, I watched as she pursed her lips before entering her own carriage. Jahi stared down at me, a smirk on her lips as she said "Well, I guess my puppy deserves a reward, hmm? After all, she managed to take down the culprit of this ''heinous event''!" I chuckled as she spoke in an exaggerated manner, before smiling up at her. "Yes, I guess I do deserve a reward, hm?" --- Lemon next --- Chapter 79 78: Reward* After a few helpings of Jahi''s scalding seed in the carriage, we found ourselves singing desperately to each other as we stumbled through the house, making our way to our room. Jahi''s tongue was desperately fighting mine, her hands on my ass as she led me towards our room. A few servants saw us on the way, only to blush before turning away from the scene of Jahi looming over me, her lips locked on my own. Feeling her open a door behind me, I opened my eyes and saw the familiar bed of our room, bathed in the low glow of moonlight. Throwing me on the bed, Jahi bit her lip as she quickly undid the buttons on her shirt, taking it off and revealing herrge breasts. As she started undoing her pants I threw off my dress and undergarments, watching with bated breath as she finally managed to slide her pants off. Taking off her own underwear, I grew hot as I saw the familiar girthy dick staring at me, throbbing as Jahi panted. Laying on my back, I spread my legs open, one hand sliding down to my slit as I revealed myself to her. Pouncing on me, Jahi took my lips again, her cock pressing into my stomach as she started grinding on me. Moaning, I wrapped my arms around her neck and pulled her into me, enjoying her taste as we swapped saliva. Pulling away, Jahi gulped as she looked me over, before moving lower. Taking her cock into her hand, she pressed the tip against my drooling cunt, looking at me before... Thrusting all the way in, I moaned loudly as she mmed into my cervix, grunting as she reached as deep as she could. Looking down at me, she was about to kiss me when I put a finger to her lips, surprising her. "Y-You can go deeper... can''t you?" My voice was shaky, both from her initial insertion and also from anticipation. Ourst few times had been slowly loosening me up, and I felt... ready to wee her fully inside of me. Her golden eyes went wide, before she growled. "Was that... you doubting me?" I shivered at her low voice, enjoying the thrill of being her prey. Thinking for a second, I gave her a coy smile before saying "Well, c-can you?" Snarling, Jahi leaned her hips deeper into me, her cock slowly going further and further. Feeling my cervix give way, my vision went white as she slid herself to the base with a shout. I shuddered, my pussy convulsing as I came hard from her iming me fully. Taking a few breaths, Jahi pressed her chest into my own, our nipples grinding together as she whispered "You''re all mine now, little puppy~" She wrapped a finger around my cor, yanking it slightly before smirking down at me. Feeling her cock slowly slide out, I moaned as she exited my womb, before... I opened my mouth, but nothing came out, my voice gone as I felt the pain of having my womb mmed. Jahi started eagerly thrusting into me, stirring up her semen from the journey over here. Kissing me, Jahi pinned my arms to the bed as she sped up, molding me to her shape as snaked her tongue into my throat. Moaning into her mouth, I came again as her cock mmed into the back of my womb again, the pain euphoric as she used me to her hearts content. Releasing my lips, Jahi grinned down at me as she freed one of her hands, eagerly kneading my bouncing breasts. As she toyed with my body she trembled, grunting as she came inside me. Her semen filled my womb with ease, pushing out her earlier loads before she pulled herself out, watching as her seed poured from my convulsing cunt. I shuddered as her scalding cum flowed out of my pussy, before yelping as she flipped me over. Lifting my hips, Jahi started spanking my ass, making me scream out in pleasure as her hands sunk into my flesh. Sliding herself back into me, she pried my cervix open again, grunting as it mped down on her cock. Spanking me again, she started smacking her hips into my ass, pushing my head into the bed as she took me primally. Cumming again from her treatment, I shuddered as she leaned over me, her face buried in my neck as she covered every inch of me. Sucking on my neck, Jahi continued plowing me, letting out grunts as she lost herself to my cunt. My mind slowly numbed at the rough y, and after she came again I felt my womb expand to fit her seed. Taking a few deep breaths, Jahi plopped onto the bed beside me, pulling me onto her chest as sheid my head on her chest. Burying myself into her plump breasts, Jahi started stroking my ears, staying quiet as we enjoyed the moment of respite. "Kat... that didn''t... hurt, right?" I gave her a dry look, saying "You entered a part of my body that is almost always closed off; the only other time something pushes it open is when I give birth. Yes, it hurt." Seeing her scratch her cheek, embarrassed, I dragged myself forwards, my nose pressed against hers as I whispered "It''s a good thing I like pain then, isn''t it~? Otherwise, I couldn''t take all of you~" Jahi widened her eyes, about to say something before I leaned forwards, sealing her lips. Swirling my tongue around hers, I felt her hands sink into my ass again, her cock grinding between my cheeks as she tried to find the entrance. Pulling away, I said "Lean against the headboard. I want my reward now~" Smiling at me, Jahi did as I asked, moving so she was leaning against the headboard. As she tilted her head, I chuckled, raising my hips as I grabbed her cock, guiding it towards my cunt. Sliding her inside of me, I clung close to her, out breasts pressed together as I moaned. Feeling her hit my cervix again, I bit my cheek as I pressed down, biting into her shoulder as I stifled a scream. She grunted as she helped me, burying herself to the base. Releasing her shoulder, I looked up into her eyes, whispering "J-Just hold me..." Givning me a gentle smile, Jahi wrapped her arms around my waist, pulling me into herbed. We sat there, connected, enjoying each others warmth. After feeling the pain recede enough, I started slowly grinding my hips on hers, smirking at her when I saw her narrow her eyes in pleasure. Slipping her hands lower, Jahi started kneading my ass, enjoying my attentions. Gyrating my hips, I moaned as her cock scratched my womb, relieving an itch I didn''t know I had. Resuming our kiss, I lost myself to her heat, time only resuming when she poured more semen into my already filled womb. The night passed slowly, Jahi granting my wishes as we made love gently, our lips never far from each others. --- Anyways, lemon over... So, we have a little more leveling to do before going to the Academy, where I will start the ''story''. Hope you enjoyed~ --- Chapter 80 79: Dowry I woke up in Jahi''s arms, my whole body aching, however I felt full and satisfied. Keeping my head buried in her chest, I scrolled through the notifications from yesterday, starting with the monster. [Orc Spartoi killed (assist)! 1,748 Xp] [Quest (Sex): Pleasure Jahi Asmodia - Complete Reward: 6,750 Xp] [Breaking the Bed: New Record! Nine Ejactions! Reward: 2,000 Xp Reward: 2,500 Xp Reward:3,250 Xp] I watched as I slowly closed in on Level 22, and it made me feel conflicted; after all, I had been here for almost two years at this point, yet I was only in the twenties. Conversely, I also noted the giant number per level at this point, and knew that since I was living a rtively quiet, peaceful life, that I would only be chipping away at my levels. After all, there is only so much experience I can get from cleaning, cooking, and writhing under Jahi... But, that would likely change when we got to the Academy; the Marquess had said that we had a few more months before we would be sent to the Capital, where we would stay for a year. That meant that if I truly set my mind to it, I could possibly unlock the shop feature before we left. It was a staple of almost any system; a ce to buy almost anything in the world, be it raw materials or pre made weapons. Many people who I read about would use it as quickly as possible, spending their earned money or points instantly for a quick boost. Others used it sparingly, saving up to buy things that could either save their lives or to get enough materials to create their own insane weapon or armor. I had no idea what I would do with the shop; after all, I have yet to see the items inside it, as well as if I could store these items inside the system. It would be rather hard to exin where I got some super rare metal or herb from, especially as a maid... So, I wanted to unlock the shop as quickly as possible, as the possibilities of items I could buy excited me. Hearing Jahi groaning, I looked up to see her wiping the sleep off her eyes, looking down at me lovingly before kissing me. Smiling up at her, Iid in her arms for a few more moments before getting up, wanting to wash off the evidence from our battlest night. Jahi''s gaze was palpable as she stared at me, and I turned to see her ''awaken'' fully, making me smirk. Rushing into the bath, I closed the door behind me, counting as I waited for her to follow. It took only a few seconds for the door to m open, and I turned to the blue demon with an ''afraid'' look, stuttering "M-Mistress, i-its to early for thi- ah~" Jahi indulged in my body again that morning, the sound of my moans and her grunts echoing in the bathroom. ~~~ I sat beside Jahi, biting my lip as the Countess gave us a dry look. "I understand that you love one another, but I would like it if you came when I summoned you, not an hour after the fact." Nodding, I looked towards the ground, however Jahi just chuckled. "Yet both you and Mom used to sleep in all the time~" ring at her daughter, the Countess said "Except we are the ones setting the rules, not you. Hah..." Sighing, she pinched the bridge of her nose as she turned towards her wife, who just shrugged when she said "It''s kinda unfair, you judging them like that. After all, you used to be the one-" The Marquess shut her mouth under the re of the Countess, who was smiling sweetly at her. Clearing her throat, the Marquess looked at Jahi and asked "Have you picked one of them to be your wife yet? Or are you going to keep avoiding that question?" Jahi took a deep breath, her hand squeezing mine as she said "I will marry..." Both the Marquess and Countess leaned forwards, their eyes narrowed as they looked down at their daughter. "Both, Anput and Leone." I smiled slightly, having anticipated this answer. After all, Anput was almost guaranteed; she and Jahi just worked so well together. They enjoyed one anotherspany and showed interest in the other. As for Leone, I could make an argument for why Jahi didn''t really care about the girl, but I knew that Leone had enough qualities that intrigued Jahi to make her want to keep her close. Turning towards me, the Marquess raised a brow as she said "You''re fine with that? Having two others women vying for Jahi''s attention?" I shrugged, saying "She had to marry, and I at least know these women; I respect and admire them as well. As for them trying to grab her attention... I think I''ll be fine." Grinning, I looked at Jahi, enjoying the way she turned away with a purple cheeks. Chuckling, the Marquess leaned back, ncing at her daughter before smirking at me. "So you found what makes her tick? Ha, that''s good~ Well, did you have any idea what to do for the dowry? Or am I just signing arge check?" Jahi shook her head, asking "Can mom and I go out to the market? I''ll pick something out for them..." Hearing that her daughter wanted to willingly go shopping, the Countess beamed at the Marquess, nodding profusely. Shooting me a wry grin, the Marquess just shoo''d the two women out of the room, chuckling as the Countess spoke animatedly to her daughter. After they left, the Marquess looked at me again, pursing her lips as she asked "Are you sure about this? Like really, really sure? I would rather not hear about how you attempted to murder one of them." I scoffed, looking at her before shaking my head. "I can tell you that I won''t attempt to kill them. Really... Besides, they are both decent people, at least towards Jahi and I. After having... bonded with Jahi, I know that I will likely be the one who she turns to the most; I doubt Anput or Leone would be willing to do what she wants..." Leaning forwards, the Marquess smirked at me when she said "Now it has me curious... what exactly are you two doing that you are so confident they won''t be able to give her?" Grinning, I said "Not telling~" She narrowed her eyes at me, before matching my grin. Shivering, I realized that I should have at least been a bit... kinder with the refusal to tell, as the Marquess said "Y''know, I don''t think we''ve trained since you matured! Come on, let''s go outside for a bit!" ~~~ Panting, I looked at the grinning Marquess, who was looming over me. Her de was leveled with my throat, and she chuckled as she said "Well, that makes the score 3-26, favoring me! Come on Kat, I know you could do better~" Taking a few steps back, the Marquess waited for me to rise, chuckling as I grimaced. My body was covered in bruises, quite a few muscles screaming as I had likely torn them. Healing myself yet again, I groaned as some of the injuries refused to clear, to severe for a quick healing spell. Readying my dagger, I activated my Wind Cloak, rushing forwards as the area around me started to blur. shing and stabbing towards the Marquess well over a dozen times, I felt my de ng against hers each time, my arm shaking as each blow rattled my bones. Stepping back, Iunched myself forwards again, sending a sh towards her chest. Blocking it, she grinned down at me even as I mmed my foot into her knee. Spinning behind her, I tried to sh out towards her legs, only to receive a kick to the chest. Tutting in disappointment, the Marquess stood over me again, saying "3-27. I think that''s enough for today, no?" I gulped for air, my ribs aching. Twirling her de a few times, the Marquess ced it back on a rack before looking towards the sky. As she stared upwards, I got to my feet, clutching my ribs before shakily drawing another healing rune. The aching dissipated as I kept the spell active, my bones mending any cracks and the muscles knitting themselves back together. Letting out a groan, I red at the Marquess, who just looked back down at me with a grin. "They should be back by now. Curious to see what your Mistress got for her two new wives?" I raised a brow at her, shaking my head at her provocation before making my way inside. Standing in the main hall, I waited only for a few minutes before watching therge doors swing open, a grinning Countess chuckling as she looked up at her daughter. Seeing me, the Countess'' grin widened, and she scurried over to me, saying "I think you''ll like it!" I furrowed my brows, confused. Wasn''t Jahi going out to get things for Anput and Leone?" Seeing the slightly purple cheeks of the demoness, I walked forwards to meet her, helping her out of her coat before looking at the three wrapped packages in her hand. She gently smiled down at me, taking a deep breath before handing me one. Tilting my head, I looked at the package before hearing "Open it, Kat..." Nodding, I unwrapped the paper around the small box, my heartbeat quickening as I wondered if it was what I thought it was. Lifting the lid of the box, I stared in shock at the golden ring set inside the velvet box. Set in the center were two teardrop stones, one amethyst and one amber, gleaming brightly in the light. Looking back up at Jahi, I watched as she pulled the ring out of the box, slipping it carefully onto my finger. The band expanded to fit my left ring finger, and she ran her thumb over the ring lovingly. "After the weddings with Anput and Leone, I n on officially announcing you as my wife, Kat. Mom will raise both you and Miss Julie to the status of a Baron, and you will be able to stand by my side, officially, as my third wife. Of course, we both know you will always be first..." Her voice lowered to a whisper, and she gently cupped my cheek. Looking up at her warm amethyst eyes, I bit my lip as my vision blurred, tears streaming down my cheeks. Chucking, Jahi leaned forwards and kissed me, before pulling me into her. Releasing my lips, she smiled at the Countess, who was grinning back at her. "Oh, don''t worry. You have the day to yourselves now~ Chordeva and I will write the letters to the Empress and Sultana before sending them..." Letting out a happy noise, the Countess rushed towards her room, her lips pulled into a grin as she muttered to herself. Stroking my hair as she held me, Jahi whispered "I know it will take a while... likely after we graduate from the Academy, but I want to let everyone know how much you mean to me... I want to drape you in the finest silks, pin the most ornate jewelry on you... I want to show you off, letting others know how proud and lucky I am to have you in my life." My tears kept flowing as I clung to her, melting in her embrace as her words wrapped gently around my heart. "Most importantly... I want others to respect you. I know what the Academy will be like; our peers won''t even send a nce your way, and if they do it will be one of disdain. The thought of that fills me with rage..." Growling, her eyes shone gold, and I chuckled as I cried. "I n-never would have cared about their thoughts..." Jahiughed as well, before whispering "But I do." She held me close to her, before leading me back to our room. The ring felt warm on my finger, and the weight sent shivers through my body. It was the first time I had ever felt anything like this... Something I would likely have never felt in my previous life... --- Again, a few more chapters before the Academy, and that will include a chapter dedicated to the Shop Feature. Besides that, I think I have everything done for her early life... --- Chapter 81 80: Leveling --- This chapter will be a bit shorter, mainly filled with Kat and Jahi terrorizing the monsters of Fovos Forest. I have also started updating ''Rekindling Our me'' and ''Alexandra the Iron Maiden'', but who knows if they''ll continue getting my attention.... though ying Cyberpunk made me want to write ''Alexandra'' more, so... --- We found ourselves back in the cabin outside Fovos Forest, this time alone. The Marquess said she was busy, the Countess didn''t want to join us, so Jahi and I just went by ourselves. Of course, we weren''t truly alone; there was a Banshee standing outside, and it would follow us as we delved into the forest, but it didn''t count as a person since it was... well, a suit of armor. That meant... "Jahi,e on~ Stop, let''s get ready!" Pushing the needy demoness off of me, I made my way to the shower, washing myself off before feeling Jahi slip behind me again, still needing some ''attention''. Sadly for her, I finished showering quicker than normal, drying myself off before slipping on the new pair of clothes Jahi had bought me. It was simple, but that was fine since I only needed it for our excursions into the woods. Brown leather pants, a belt with a few pouches lining the sides, and a brown shirt, which funnily enough was just a tad too tight. I gave the grinning demoness a dry look as I dressed myself, attaching the dagger to my belt. Going into the kitchen, I prepared a quick breakfast, cooking some strips of beef and scrambling some eggs. Setting them out on a te, I set about making some tea as well, enjoying the calming smell wafting off the leaves. Minutes passed, and once I was done I looked towards the bedroom with a sigh, about to open the door when a topless Jahi walked out, toweling off her hair. I gestured towards the table, watching as she sat down and devoured the food. Sitting opposite her, I finished my portion quickly as well, before tossing Jahi her shirt. "Are you finally ready?" Pouting, Jahi looked down at me, tilting her head as she asked "Couldn''t we just... stay inside today? We''ve been going out everyday for thest three days..." Looking at my level, I grinned at her when I shook my head, wanting to get thest few thousand experience needed to level up. Slumping, Jahi sighed before grabbing her sword, strapping it onto her back as she shuffled outside, muttering to herself. Over thest two months we had traveled here often, and my level had risen to 23 over these blood filled months. My [Healing] and [Mana Control] skills had both risen to adept, and I had managed to earn the [Stealth] skill, which made my movements more quiet. As we entered the all to familiar forest, Jahi was still sulking, sending nces towards me asionally. Skipping past the initial Goblin Camps, we made our way into the areas of the Hobgoblins and Kobolds. Deeper in the forest were Bugbears, Trolls, Smanders, and morerge, deadly creatures. The Marquess told us that we could try our hand at that area, but we likely would struggle if we ran into more than just two or three of those monsters. So, Jahi and I decided to limit ourselves to the outskirt of that area, where some may wander out just like the Smander from months ago, or even the Vermillion Bird that came from even deeper. Drawing my dagger, I moved to the right side of the current camp, taking the agreed upon area that Jahi and I had discussed. Splitting the camp in half let us both get our fill, which was fine with me as more often than not when we alternated camps Jahi would get therger ones. Gliding over the forest floor, I snuck up behind two Hobgoblins, who were currently chittering to one another as they sharpened their flint des. Grinning, I coated my other hand in wind mana, before piercing both of them in the back, bursting their hearts quickly. They gurgled on their own blood, peering over their shoulders with fear. [Hobgoblin killed! 430 Xp] [Hobgoblin killed! 422 Xp] Seeing therge numbers made me giddy, my level slowly crawling to the cap. Their bodies slumped forwards, shriveling, and I grinned as three others turned to look at me in surprise, chittering loudly. Letting the rest of the camp know that someone was attacking, they scooped their weapons up and rushed towards me, only to stop when they heard a loud bang. Quickly looking over, I saw Jahi tossing out two solid discs of light, severing the heads of some Hobs before they exploded, blinding the remaining Hobs. Chuckling, I rushed forwards, my body quicker due to a wind spell. shing my dagger towards their throats, I shivered at the familiar sensation of my de gliding over flush. The metallic tang of iron hit my nose, and Iughed as my blood pumped faster. Three more notifications hit my system, however I ignored them as I sent a water arrow hurtling towards another, easily piercing its skull. Reversing the grip on my dagger, I swayed out of the way from a stabbing spear, before cleanly shearing the tip off. The confused Hob stared at its now useless stick, before shriveling as my dagger sunk into its forehead. Twisting the de, I ripped out arge chunk of pink flesh, making me grin. Setting about clearing up the remainder Hobs, I heard the familiar ping of a notification, and when I saw it I grinned. [Level 23 (750,621/747,954) -> Level 24 (2,667/1,121,931)] [You have 4 Stat Points and 10 Skill Points] Standing in the center of the camp, I took in the metallic tang of blood, the gentle breeze tickling my skin, and... The familiar warmth of Jahi as she stood behind me, her head resting in the crook of my neck as she asked "What made you so happy, hmm?" Lifting a hand to her cheek, I gently caressed her face, whispering "Just... nice, to be here, alone with you." Jahi chuckled, her left hand entwining with my own as she yed with the ring on my finger. "It is nice, isn''t it..." We enjoyed the silence that descended over the forest, the only sounds being the rustling of branches in the wind, the sound of birds chirping, and our breathing. "Well, I was thinking... after today is over, we can sleep in tomorrow, maybe just... ''rest'' all day. I''ll make us some good food, and-" Jahi held me closer, her eyes golden as she looked down at me. "Oh, you won''t need to make anything for tomorrow; I have your food for you~" I shook my head, however I made no argument. ~-~-~-~ [Stats: STR - 32 CON - 32 AGI - 32 DEX - 32 CHA - 38 WIS - 33 INT - 33] [Skills: Dagger Proficiency (Adept) Healing (Adept) Growth (Apprentice) Housework (Expert) Hardworking (Master) Nymphomania (MAX) Mana Control (Adept) Undine''s Blessing (Novice) Boreas'' Blessing (Novice) Stealth (Apprentice)] ~-~-~-~ ^ All stats have been unlocked ^ ~-~-~-~ --- So, that''s where she stands as of current. Kat needs to still figure out the ratio of wind to water to create ice, which is why she hasn''t used it yet; again, that is something that needs immense control to create, even if that is what you are ''supposed'' to have. It is abination of two elements. As for the fact that she needs 1 million some odd experience for Level 25.... again, those 1.5x increases are brutal, which is why I might just make it increase by 100k every level from now on; make it a grind, but not literally impossible to get done. --- Chapter 82 81: Practice; Preparations Sitting on a rock in the training grounds, I focused entirely on the two different kinds of mana inside of me; the cold, sharp bite of the wind, and the warm, gentle flow of water. I could feel them easily; that wasn''t the problem. What was a problem was trying to manipte the mana inside me with precision, specifically trying to control both of them at the same time. It was like juggling; except instead of two identical balls being tossed from one hand to another, one was a water balloon and the other a pingpong ball. Being able to use both at the same time was annoying, and I let out another growl as I felt my control slip on the wind mana. Sighing, I took a few deep breaths and started again. Feeling the sharp tang of the wind mana, I gently guided it around my body. After a few revolutions, I held my breath as I tried to keep the wind mana moving as I took hold of the flowing water mana. Sending it streaming through my body alongside the wind mana, I grew giddy as I managed to keep them moving at the same pace. I could feel them moving side by side, making me shudder slightly at the odd feeling. However, now came the hard part. Taking the wind mana, I guided it over the water mana, before twining it around the stream of water mana entirely. Using the water mana as the ''core'', I slowly allowed the wind mana to seep into the water mana, shivering as my body slowly went cold. As the two mana streams started fusing, I gasped as the water mana red, pushing the wind mana out. I clenched my teeth as the wind mana pricked the inside of my body, feeling like I had thousands of small needles desperately trying to escape my veins. Letting the different mana go, I panted as my body returned to its equilibrium, before trying again. Sadly, I couldn''t control both streams simultaneously again, shuddering as my water mana sped up to avoid the wind mana. Opening my eyes, I watched Jahi go through her normal routine, her pale blue skin glistening with sweat. Looking down at my own drenched body, I sighed in annoyance. This was the fifth day that I had tried this, and each failure was disheartening. In spite of my continued failures, I was determined toplete the merging. The desire to use ice magic was too strong to just stop here. The idea of being able to freeze people and summon storms of ice and hail was something I had always dreamed about. Resting my aching head for a few moments, I lost myself as I watched Jahi finish her set, before dropping back down to a low stance as she went through the various moves the Marquess had beaten into her. Speaking of, I looked warily over towards the tall, sapphire woman, who was leaning against a pir as she watched her daughter practice. Feeling my gaze, she turned her ruby eyes towards me, smirking before walking over. Leaning on the rock beside me, the Marquess asked "Still having troubles?" I nodded, sighing as I looked down at my hands. "Well, maybe try this; use both elements at once. Create a sequence using both your wind mana and water mana simultaneously. After you can do that with ease is when you should try fusing the two together. That''s how Ria learned, anyways..." I looked at the Marquess in surprise, making her narrow her eyes as she gave me a chilling grin. "You''re thinking ''Oh wow, the muscle headed Marquess just offered me sound advice! So she does have a brain!'' aren''t you?" I shook my head profusely, raising my hands as I stuttered "N-Nope, not at all! I always knew you were sm-smart! Yup!" Staring at me, she remained quiet before chuckling. Getting up, she said "Yeah, I don''t believe you~ Let''s go for a set, hmm?" Groaning, I got up, grabbing my dagger as I prepared to be ''taught'' something by the Marquess. ~~~ Jahi allowed me to use her to walk back to our room, utterly exhausted after the spartan training from the Marquess. Getting inside, we bathed before lounging on the bed, enjoying each others heat as we cuddled. Looking up at her calm face, I asked "Have the Empress or Sultana responded yet?" Petting my head, Jahi looked out the window, smirking as she said "Yeah, both epted. However, they said we wouldn''t see Anput or Leone until we went to the Academy. Apparently the Empress has a small ce just a ten minute walk from the Academy, and Leone convinced her to let us use it!" "Small as in... like a mansion, or a cottage?" Jahi chuckled, kissing my forehead as she said "It is a cottage, on the side of the Volcano the Pce and Academy rest on. Three bedrooms, two baths, and argemon room. Which means..." Grinning, Jahi trailed her finger over my skin, her eyes gleaming as she said "Officially, we each have our own room, with you sleeping in mine. However, one of the rooms has a bed that''s asrge as this one, so..." I smiled up at her, understanding what she was getting at. Anput and Leone would have their own rooms, with Jahi taking thergest for herself. That meant we could either find ourselves alone, or the girls could sneak into our bed. Conversely, if Jahi wanted to she could sneak into their rooms, depending on her mood. Taking my hand in hers, she kissed the ring on my finger, gently looking down at me as she whispered "I love you, Kat..." What followed was another long night, Jahi showering me with her love. ~~~ Sitting across from the Countess, I looked out the window of the carriage, watching the city draw closer. "Kat, dear,e here." Looking at the Countess, I tilted my head before sitting beside her, only to yelp when she pulled me closer to her. Leaning her head on my own, the Countess sighed, her lips pursed as she said "Jahi is to big for me to do this; I''d end up somewhere on her arm..." Ruffling my ears, I closed my eyes as I felt the familiar feeling from so long ago. The Countess chuckled, saying "You thought about it too? How it was two years ago when we went to visit Violet at Angels Threads and I did the same thing... Hah, time really passes quickly, doesn''t it?" I nodded, leaning further into her hand as the Countess gently caressed my head. Only her and my mother had ever really frequently done this, and recently I haven''t really had the time to see mother; nor had she had the time to see me. We had both been swept up in our own lives, however... Thinking about the fact that I wouldn''t see her for a while, my heart clenched. The Capital was a day and a half away, and while we did have days of rest at the Academy, they were once every three days; apparently they found that to be the most beneficial for the students. With such a stringent schedule, we couldn''t just return home whenever we felt like it, so once we left, it was unlikely we would see the Marquess, Countess, or mother until the semester ends, a whole yearter. Sighing, I looked up at the Countess, who was smiling at me. "You and Jahi... leaving in just a few weeks... It''s going to be odd, not hearing Jahi scurrying around the house, or familiar sound of her and Chordeva training in the yard..." Looking away, the Countess breathed out, her shoulders slumping slightly as she continued. "The house will feel... empty, without you two. Don''t tell her, but I''ll miss that sharp tongue of hers, always vying for thest word in an argument, always quipping at something or another..." I chuckled at that, and the Countess took a deep breath, before turning to look at me with a smile. Her long blonde hair shone in the sun, and the intricate earrings on her long ears jingled softly as we moved. "Well, we''ll just have to make the most of it, won''t we?" I nodded, before saying "It''s not like we''ll be gone forever; you all could always visit. Besides, you yourself said it; time flew by. You''ll blink and Jahi and I will be back home!" The Countess grinned at me, gentlyying her hand on my cheek. "You really are just like Julie..." Chuckling, she let me go, before saying "Oh, we''re here! Come,e! We need to get you clothes, books, ink, utensils, oh~ maybe even some decorations!" I grinned as she opened the door, stepping outside with a bounce in her step as she looked around with a gentle smile. Really, the Countess only ever acted like this when she was shopping... Chapter 83 82: Our Last Days (1) I walked around the city with the Countess, carrying a bundle of various items that the Countess had decided that we would need at our new house in the Capital. Of course, I also lost myself to her flow, looking around the various stores and stalls and buying whatever felt right. Currently I had a few empty books, a stack of good quality paper, ck and red inks, some quills and pens, a few candles, and some decorative items that would be sent to the estate in a day or so. The Countess was humming beside me, her sapphire eyes looking around the street as she took in each store and stall. "Anything you can think of that we didn''t get? Hmm... do you need some new clothes?" Pursing my lips, I thought about it for a few moments, before grinning as I asked the Countess a question. She returned my grin, eagerly nodding as she led me towards Angels Threads, a bounce in her step. ~~~ Anput PoV I lounged around my room, twirling the ring that Jahi had sent me between my fingers. Every time the small obsidian piece glimmered beside the amethyst gem, I felt utterly giddy. She had taken me~ I was hers now~ Letting out augh, I twirled around my room, slipping the ring on my finger as I held it up in the golden light streaming through my open windows. The dry, warm air of the desert added to the heat I was feeling from below, and I had to restrain myself from sliding a hand lower. Besides Jahi iming me as her woman, she had sent a personal letter to me, and the contents filled me with anticipation. ''Anput, besides the ring that was sent to you, I have two more gifts waiting for my eager little Jackal, and I believe that they will captivate you. One is something you''ve asked for before, and I can''t wait to see you with it. As for the other gift... well, that is one you need to work for, but I can definitely say that if you y your hand right, you will have everything you could have ever wanted. ~With love from your wife, Jahi Asmodia~'' Just recalling the letter made me shiver. The first one was obvious enough to me; I have only ever asked for two material possessions from Jahi, being the sword that nowy on a pedestal in my room, and a cor from before the incident with Kat. Not only did Jahi intend to show the world I was her woman, but she wanted to make me her pet~! My fire was slowly being stoked again, and after letting out a soft groan I dropped onto my bed, not caring anymore. Both hands slid down, and I was thinking, even as my mind turned hazy. Letting out a few moans, I pondered over herst promised gift, the only thinging to mind being... "Kat~ mhm, Kat, right there...~" Was Jahi going to allow me a night with her? As long as I yed my hand right... Moaning again, I buried my face into my pillow, my hands moving faster as I imagined the women of my desires. "Jahi~ P-Please, let me...~" My mind went nk before I shuddered, euphoria flooding my system. Just a few more days... Panting, I felt the scent of my deed permeate my nose, making my body tingle. It was going to be a long few days... ~~~ Leone PoV Sitting across from me was mother, her lips drawn in a smile as she handed me a letter. It was sealed with the Asmodia Crest, and my heartbeat quickened as I stared at it. Opening it, I watched as a ring fell out, my eyes widening as I understood the meaning behind it. Picking up the gold ring, I bit my lip as I looked over the red-orange ga twined with the deep purple amethyst. It was the color of our eyes... Sliding the ring onto my finger, I looked down at it, tears forming as I shakily removed the letter. ''Dear Leone: I''m sure you are as surprised as I am; for the longest time I was sure that I would only take one wife, focusing on her and her alone. That woman that I found myself wanting to stand by my side was Anput. However, the more I was around you, the more you captivated me, just as much as Anput drew my attention. The way you smiled after every small discovery of you magic, the way you and Kat would lose yourselves as you discussed various form and theories, creating your own little world. Your bearing at every event we attended together; how you held yourself with a confidence I rarely saw when you were at home with me. How you looked every part a future Queen. I found myself thinking of you more and more; how beautiful you looked when we danced over in the Markata County, the way your smile lightened the area over at the Vesca Barony... When I was hunting that day, the idea of you being courted by another made me ufortable, my heart wrapped in worry. Would I never be able to see your smile from up close again? So when you asked about discussing our union with the Empress... Well, I was ecstatic. So, I will say it over letter, and I will say it when I see you in person again. Leone Presa-Ash... No, Leone Asmodia, will you allow me to love you, now and forever? ~With love from your wife, Jahi Asmodia~'' I reread the letter again, tears streaming from my eyes as I tightly gripped the letter. Back in the Vesca Barony, I had asked if she would allow me to discuss our marriage; back then, her almost halfmitted answer filled me with worry. Did she not find me attractive enough? Or did she prefer women who were more outspoken? After all, both Anput and Kat were women who knew what they wanted, and had no qualms doing what they wanted to get it. Me? I was reserved; I knew that. I preferred thepany of my books and theories over that of people. And yet... I often found my thoughts drawn to Jahi. Even my dreams... Her confidence, her strength, her obvious affections... Over thest few months, I had seen what could have awaited me. Marriages made only for political benefit, the partners despising one another, yet being forced to wear a mask of love to fool everyone else. If that was what would have awaited me, I... I... "Honey, really..." Mother sighed, sitting beside me as she pulled me into her arms. "Any other girl I know would have been jumping up and down in happiness, yet you are here overthinking things unrted to the letter your new wife sent you." I turned to look up at the smiling face of my pale mother, my mouth open as I was about to ask something, only to be stopped when she put a finger to my lips. "Of course I know what you''re thinking; I was more like you than you could ever imagine." She chuckled again, before gently lifting my hand, showing me the ring. "Y''know, it was quite the thoughtful proposal gift. Matching your eye colors together..." I nodded, and mother continued. "Stop overthinking it; you are a beautiful young woman, and you caught the eye of the woman you fell for. This time you will spend together at the Academy will be good for you." Mother started stroking my hair, pulling me into her chest as she whispered "I don''t know what was in the letter, but you should take it at face value; the Asmodia Family was never known for trickery. Whatever Jahi has told you, she meanspletely." I nodded again, looking up at mother as I asked "D-Do you think they''ll... truly ept me? Like mom did with you?" Motherughed again, grinning wide. Her sharp fangs gleamed in the light, and she said "I''m sure they will. Besides, after they get a taste, they''ll never want to let you go~" That made meugh, and I looked down at the letter in my hand. I was happy... Really, really happy. Besides that... Deep down, I was giddy. Now I know that I can keep them close to me. Always by my side... Forever... ~~~ Jahi PoV Lounging on the sofa, I shivered, a bad feeling crawling down my spine. Frowning, I looked around the room. Seeing nothing, and sensing nothing, I shrugged. "What''s wrong?" Looking at mom lounging beside me, I said "Hmm... I don''t know? Just got a bad feeling; like someone was thinking about me, I guess?" "You too!?" Mom sat up quickly, staring at me before grinning. "Oh thank the lord! Finally someone will know my pain!" Narrowing my eyes, I looked at the excited figure of my mom, only to widen my eyes as she borated. "Hehe~ That feeling was something I used to get back in the Academy with Ria~ That day usually ended with her wringing me dry... and recently, it happens whenever her or Julie get excited!" Hearing her exnation, I gulped at the thought, since it wasn''t something that happened before. My nights with Kat were already fulfilling enough... There''s no way she wants something... more, right?! Or is iting from the other two... That thought made me shiver, wondering if I may have messed up... After all, Kat already required my full attention every night, and I had decided to add two more women on top of that... Gulping, I prayed for the first time in my life. --- Sorry for not uploading yesterday; I just... had no motivation to write at all, for any of my books. As for this chapter... well, these chapters will be a sendoff of the characters as they go to the Academy. I also wanted to explore their minds a bit more, and thought this was a good way to do it. --- Chapter 84 83: Our Last Days (2) Kat PoV Looking into the bag from Angels Threads, I grinned widely at the piece of clothing I had gotten. Both the Countess and Violet had apuded my taste, telling me that Jahi wouldn''t leave me alone when she saw me wearing what I bought. "You have... interesting tastes, Kat." I looked up at the elven Countess, who was smirking at me. "Well, now that two others will be joining us, I need a... ''weapon'' to keep Jahiing back to me..." Chuckling, the Countess just nodded, leaning back into the carriage seat as we made our way home. The ride wasfortable, with the Countess sitting beside me and rhythmically stroking my hair. Reaching the estate, we exited the carriage, stretching our muscles from a long ride. Taking most of the bags and boxes, I used my wind magic to lift what I couldn''t carry, making us of this situation to practice my mana control. As we walked, the Countess started speaking. "Just a reminded, Kat. The Academy isn''t going to be kind to you; Jahi''s peers will not treat you as well as we have. To them, you are but a maid. They certainly don''t know about you and her being bound by the soul, nor that she wishes to make you her official wife. Many will call you all sorts of names, as to them you are just somemoner using her body to seduce your mistress and get a better life. Even if the words sting, you need to control yourself; you need to especially control Jahi." I nodded, responding with a sigh. "I don''t n on speaking to many of our peers in general; most have seemed insufferable, besides some lower ranked nobles and Draka. Haha, and if I n on proving them wrong, what better way than just having better grades and a better performance than them?" The Countess chuckled, ncing over at me as she said "That would certainly be better than you, oh I don''t know, deciding to slit one of their throats as they sleep." I widened my eyes at her, only to pout as she grinned at me. "Trust me, I know that feeling better than you do; in fact, I have killed a few annoying pests in the past. However, I was able to use my political sway to fabricate enough evidence to help me..." Trailing off, the Countess'' grin turned cold, looking at me with her shining azure eyes. "I truly understand the want to keep your lover to yourself, but if I hear anything about someone being killed while you are at the Academy, and I find that you are the culprit, I will chain you up in the basement. Jahi doesn''t need an irresponsible toy toy with, especially not when she is now taking in a Princess of our Empire and the Begum of the Sultanate." I gulped, her eyes narrowing as her mana red slightly, only to be reced by her warm smile. Nodding fervently, I sighed in relief when she turned back towards the estate, humming softly to herself. Thinking over what she said, I had a small smile when I heard her admittance to using drastic measures to keep the Marquess hers and hers alone. Maybe I was more like her than I thought... Opening therge doors for the Countess, I was met with the sight of a chuckling Marquess as she pulled Jahi towards the door by her ear, making her daughter re at her. Hearing the door open, the Marquess turned towards us with arge grin, while Jahi froze slightly, her eyes gold as she stared at me. Raising a brow, I moved behind the Countess, bowing slightly to the Marquess before excusing myself. I watched as the Marquess dragged her wife away, her hands wandering as she walked beside her wife. As for Jahi... Tilting my head, I looked at the shuffling demoness, who flinched slightly when I approached. Sighing, I gestured towards therge amount of packages, asking "Where would you like me to store these, Mistress?" Looking at me through hershes, Jahi took a deep breath before muttering "Maybe mom was wrong..?" Waiting, I watched as Jahi''s eyes went back to her normal amethyst, and she sighed before smiling at me. "Let''s put them in our room; I want to see what mother dragged you around to get!" ~~~ Anput PoV I groaned as I woke up, my body sticky from the heat that had consumed mest night. Getting up, I stretched out my taut muscles, shuffling into my bath before quickly washing myself clean. Picking up a basic skirt and my spool of cloth, I dressed myself, wrapping my breasts before scooping up my sword. I made my way towards therge training grounds behind the pce, where the various guards and soldiers trained. Like always the ground was filled with training warriors, and whenever I passed someone they bowed to me before resuming their spars. Reaching the back, I watched as mother danced around the clearing, three of our warriors attempting to team up on her, only to receive blows to their limbs in reprimand. "Come on you three! I taught you better than that! Is this what the Sera Tribe has fallen to!?" Growling in annoyance, mother flickered around the clearing, her wooden de mming into the warriors backs, sending them flying to the ground. Scoffing, she turned to look at me, a brow raised as she chuckled. "Oh, has my daughter finally quelled her heat? You were quite loud all of lost night~" I froze, looking at therge grin my mother wore. "''Oh Jahi~ Please, make me yours~''" "''Kat, ah~ Just like that~ Oh, you''re gonna make me..!~''" My blood ran cold as she imitated my voice, my body shivering as I realized that I had just provided my ruthless mother more ammunition to use against me. However, before I could try and defend what little honor I had left, I felt someone ce their hand on my shoulder. Turning, I saw the ck veiled head of mom, who chuckled. Her low, raspy voice cut across the field, making mother shiver as she spoke. "Yet, I seem to remember you pleading under me all ofst night? Hmm, what was it again..?" Mother gulped, her tail swishing as she looked at mom with a slightly fearful expression. Taking a step forwards, mom sped her hands behind her back as she leaned towards mother, whispering something I couldn''t hear. Mother fell to her knees, covering her face as she shook her head, making mom chuckle again. Turning back to me, mom kneeled in front of me, taking my left hand as she looked at the ring I wore. "I... never thought the day woulde that I was sending my little pup away to some woman''s arms..." Her thumb gently traced the back of my hand, before she sighed. Pulling me closer, mom pulled me into a hug, whispering "Just let me know if she treats you wrong; even if it means war I''ll dismember her and parade her around their Empire..." I shivered at her words, before chuckling as I leaned into her. "It won''te to that mom~ Jahi''s not like that..." Sighing, she pulled away, turning to look over the still shaking form of mother. "You''ll learn a whole new kind of fighting, Anput. I hope you have the same talent there that you do in warfare." Ruffling my ears, mom walked over to mother, scooping her up before making her way back to the pce, mother still trembling as she stared at mom with lust filled eyes. I chuckled at the sight, before unsheathing my de. I needed time to pass... Allst night did was turn that roaring me to embers; it didn''t put the fire out at all. Taking a deep breath, I went through my routine, loosing myself to the straining of my muscles and weight of the de. ~~~ Leone PoV I found myself sitting on my bed, the ring in my hand as I looked down at it. I couldn''t contain my grin anymore... After mother gave me a talking to, I had decided to be optimistic. Jahi was fond of me... What would she do to me when we met? Would she k-k-k-kiss me!?! Letting out a ''kya~'' I rolled around the bed, the scene ying out over and over in my mind. However, I calmed down, the scene quickly reced with something else. Licking my lips, I ran my tongue over my now sharp fangs, which ached terribly after reading the letter. What appeared in my mind was the sight of Jahi''s blue neck, how incredibly soft it looked... Would she taste sweet, just like she smelt?" Salivating, my thoughts turned darker. How would Kat taste? How would they both taste over the years? Would they age like wine? Growing sweeter and sweeter as I continuously became one with them... Grabbing my pillow, I burrowed my face into it, panting as I imagined the sight of Jahi in my arms, my teeth sunk into her smooth, pale blue neck as I marked her as mine. Yes... They would be mine, just like I would be theirs... I needed these days to pass... My throat was dry, my fangs ached, and I was hot... I wanted them NOW! --- Ah... Well, um... Leone is... Yeah. --- Chapter 85 84: Past --- Before I start I just wanted to discuss ament that got deleted. It was about this line here: ''Jahi doesn''t need an irresponsible toy toy with, especially not when she is now taking in a Princess of our Empire and the Begum of the Sultanate.'' I understand where the confusion that line came from, and just wanted to clear the air. It''s one of those things that just... makes sense in my head, but might not be something everyone gets. After all, I wrote it, so I understand it. So no diss or anything to the person who was confused by it. Anyways, the persons main concern with that was that the Countess, in essence, called her a receable toy for Jahi to y with. That was part of the meaning, yes. However, the Countess was telling her to control herself. The entire paragraph before and after that line was talking about how hard it is to deal with the other nobles, and how Kat really can''t justsh out and do as she pleases in the Academy. After all, that is part of the ''real world'', where the people with power all gather. As for the persons second concern that she is constantly being walked on, well... she is? I understand people don''t want to see a character that just... never does anything, but she really can''t DO anything. Could you, just you the individual,pletely and utterly change an entire Empires political system? No. So, yes, Kat is under the people in power. However, she is NOT under Jahi or Leone or Anput in their rtionship (well maybe Jahi). She will get a higher position in the future, but that is way down the road; Jahi would need to graduate,pletely marry Leone and Anput, and then they can discuss promoting Kat and her Mother to a Barony. I hope that cleared anything up about thatst chapter; the Countess doesn''t truly believe Kat is a ''receable toy'', after all, Julie would fall under that same umbre, and yet both the Marquess and Countess adore her, as you will see in this chapter. Additionally, the characters around Kat treat her well; none think she is ''just a maid''. Leone loves Kat, and wishes to spend a lot of time discussing magic and theories with her. Anput desires Kat a lot, and has said that if she had never met Jahi she would have done everything in her power to make Kat her wife. As for Jahi... Well, I don''t really need to discuss her, do I? Well, that''s the mini discussion over, enjoy~! --- ~~~ I literally already wrote this chapter, yet the site FUCKING REFRESHED and deleted everything because I didn''t hit save after that ^ above, so if some things here are a little... rushed or seem more angry than usual, it is because I am livid. ~~~ Jahi looked through the various bags, and as she did so I slid the one from Angels Threads to the side, hiding it where she wouldn''t see. I wanted that to be a... housewarming gift of sorts when we moved into the cottage. As she lifted the various items out of the bags, I told her about the things we had ordered, which would be here before we left tomorrow. "... as well as a few sets of bedsheets, some heavy and others light." Jahi nodded, sorting the books, ink, quills, and paper into equal piles, before sighing as she looked around the room. Following her gaze, I smiled as I took in our room. The gray walls and furniture, made from exquisite materials yet still simple enough. The various shelves littered with books and small items, like ornate pens or miniature helmets from times long passed. Maps,ndscapes, and swords hung on the walls, each one of something Jahi found interesting. One section was dedicated to the Empires growth from founding till now. The soft carpets and rugs scattered around the floor, runes sewn into the surfaces. Moving to sit on herp, I snuggled into her. "Its... weird to think that we''ll fall asleep tonight, and awake to this room for thest time for a year..." I chuckled, nodding as she wrapped her arms around me. "Well, I am happy we chose gray..." That made meugh, and I leaned back into her as I said "Indeed, the Marquess room is just so... bright." Jahiughed as well, gently kissing my neck as she whispered "Well, should we make the most of this day?" I turned to look at her, smiling as I met her lips, wrapping my arms around her neck. ~~~ Grinning, I walked around the halls of the estate. Not even Jahi could keep it up all day, and had decided that a break would be a good idea. She had elected to stay in bed, wanting to rest before resuming when I came back, and I chuckled at how she still reluctantly let me go. Looking around at the extravagant halls, I took in the various paintings and decorations, before nodding to a few passing servants. As I did so, I realized that, over the years I had been here, I hadn''t really gotten to know any of them I mean, sure, I talked to Lesnera, but it was always about cooking or the here and now, never anything personal. Besides her, I spoke to Lexa and Lexi, the twin maids, only in passing. They took care of most of the estate as the highest ranked maids, just under my mother, who was technically ''Head Maid''. Pursing my lips, I vowed to spend a little more time with them when I returned. It felt wrong to have been here for so long and only spend my time with the Marquess'' family. After that, I continued walking around, eventually finding myself in front of the Marquess'' room. Looking up at the familiar doors, I jumped when I felt someones handy on my shoulder. Turning, I realized when I saw the smiling face of my mother, who was looking at me with mirth in her eyes. "Katherine, follow me..." Taking my hand, she led me inside, going towards the door leading to the room where I had first awakened in this world. Entering her bedroom, I looked around at the nostalgic simplicity of it, before watching her sit on the bed, patting the space beside her. Sitting, I felt her ce her arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer. "To think that you''re going to the Academy..." I nodded, and mother just sighed. "I... don''t know how to feel. I mean, I''m happy that you are going, but... well, it just feels weird, knowing that you''ll be going as a servant... Though, I guess that''s my fault, since I tied us to Chordeva..." I just shrugged, leaning into her as I said "I don''t mind. It''s not like others opinions matter anyways..." She chuckled, before she started stroking my ears. "Well, I did promise to eventually tell you... about my past, didn''t I?" Looking down at me, mother took a deep breath before speaking. "Well, as you know, the Zara Tribe... is no more. The only members left are Emma, who you met at the ball up north, an adventurer named Gillian Zara, a Baron named Jackie Zara, and of course... us. Now, you know that I was the... ''princess'' of the tribe, so I got to attend the Academy as a ''noble'' of sorts. My time there was... interesting, and it definitely helped me be who I am today. After the Academy, I became an adventurer, which is someone who roams the Empire''snds and hunts the monsters that grow in the wild, as well as any Labyrinthian entrances that appeared. Don''t ask me about them; I have no idea, and its something you learn in the Academy. Anyways, because of my skill with a sword paired with my offensive and supportive magics, I was highly sought after as an adventurer. Eventually I found three others to form a party. A Dogkin named Zack, who was a good shot with a bow. An Orc named Verde, who just... absorbed hits like they were nothing. And a Foxkin girl named Pikka, who was a skilled support mage. Pikka and I were the support of the party, Zack was the ranged fighter, and Verde was our vanguard. We easily dealt with most things, but... well, every job as an adventurer is a battle of life and death, and most races have a... cycle, so stress builds up." At that mother looked away, her cheeks slightly red. Smirking up at her, I said "Oh~ so you all were quite ''close'' huh~?" Mother red at me, before sighing. "Yes... it wasn''t umon for one of us to slip into another''s bed. It was pure fun on our parts. We would just... enjoy the night before resuming our journey. Of course, races tend to be more attracted to others of the same race, so more often than not..." I looked at her, asking "Was this ''Zach'' my father?" Mother nodded, saying "Most likely. We adventured for awhile, and I eventually heard that my tribe was being hunted. He begged me to stay; after all, offending a noble could easily lead to beingbeled as criminals. But... I couldn''t just leave my people be. So, I pleaded for them to join me, but they refused. I found myself alone as I went back home... and you know the rest." I pursed my lips, looking at her before shrugging. "That was more... tame than I thought." She looked at me with a furrowed brow. I chuckled, saying "You made it seem like I was in for a dark, gruesome tale, and I''m sure that what actually happened wasn''t so... sunshine and rainbows, but still." Mother chuckled as well, sighing as she said "I guess you''re right. It''s just... a sore point, I guess..." "Why, did you see yourself having a future with this Zach guy?" Biting her lip, mother shrugged. "I don''t know; it never crossed my mind. I mean, I lived like every day was myst. Of course, I''m sure it crossed my mind, but for me it was just a way to quench my heat, rx." I nodded, and we fell silent. "Well, again, just... don''t get into trouble. Stick with Jahi, Leone, and Anput. They''ll be a... ''shield'' for you to use." Nodding again, I said "Yes, I know. I just want to see what the Academy can teach me, and do my best to learn as much as I can." Ruffling my ears again, mother and I slowly fell into more discussions, talking about what she experienced in the Academy and some of her adventures. --- This is... fucking annoying. I know I had a MUCH better chapter preciously, but... no idea what I actually had written. Like I had the bullet points, but nothing else. I know it had better flow, better exnations... I hate that the site just screwed me over... Anyways, yea, that''s Julies past; simple when exined, just... something that seems worse when you lived it. --- Chapter 86 85: Departure I sighed as I looked over the sleeping figure of Jahi. After a heated night we had fallen asleep in each others arms, making the most of ourst night at home. Jahiy in the bed sprawled out, herrge body taking up a good portion of the bed. Wrapped in her arms was a pillow, which she hugged tightly to her chest, her nose buried into it as she took deep, rhythmic breaths. Smiling at how she muttered "Kat..." in her sleep, I silently set about packing up our clothes and others items, cing them inside tworge suitcases the Countess had given us. We both had very little; Jahi had one dress, three suits, and three different casual outfits, as well as a few different nightwear. As for me, I had three maid dresses, my brown set of clothes for physical activities, and some nightwear. I pursed my lips as I looked down at the suitcases, our items taking up very little space. However, after remembering therge amount of books, utensils, money, and other small items we would need, I smiled wryly down at the space. Using my sneak skill to help reduce my noise, I lifted the suitcases and exited our bedroom, gentlyying them on the table as I started packing the supplies we had bought the other day. It only took me a few minutes, but I was now staring down at two full cases, and after closing them and cing them next to the door, I made my way down the dim hall, the fickle light of dawn streaking through the windows. Going to the kitchen, I nodded to some of the servants who were cleaning, before gathering a few ingredients from the pantry and some meat from the frozen room. I smiled as I started going through the familiar motions, mixing flour, sugar, and salt in arge bowl, before making a well in the center. Adding the milk, butter, and cracking the egg, I watched as the solids and liquids mixed to create a thick batter. Unlike before, I decided to try and add a little... something extra. Sprinkling in some cinnamon and slicing some apples into tiny cubes, I remixed everything, pouring the batter into a buttered pan. Lighting the fire crystal below it, I waited a minute or so before taking the pan handle, flipping the pancake smoothly. Grinning to myself, I slowly cooked the rest of the batter before cing the hot pancakes inside a small over, letting them stay warm while I quickly seared a few sausage links. Finishing, I looked down at therge pile of pancakes with a grin, before making my way back to our room. I entered and started setting the table, chuckling when I watched a half dressed Jahi stumble into the room, her lidded amethyst eyes zeroing onto the pancakes before smiling. Sitting down, I watched as she slowly savored the breakfast, letting out low moans as she finished each bite. Sitting beside her I poured us tea, taking a sip before I started eating as well. Comparing our portions made me chuckle, as I only managed to eat three of therge, fluffy pancakes, while Jahi had the other nine. "Mmm~ Kat, I love you so much~!" I chuckled as she leaned over, nuzzling against my cheek. "I love you too, Mistress~" She stopped, grinning at me as she said "Oh, I guess I have room for something sweet as well~" What followed was a quick helping of Jahi''s ''batter''. ~~~ Carrying the suitcases over to the carriage, I ced them on the back, strapping them in before rejoining Jahi. We stood side by side, looking over at the Marquess, the Countess, and mother. All three wore grins, but the Countess held mother as both had tears in their eyes. "Come here~" Spreading her arms, the Marquess wrapped Jahi in a hug, the two giant demoness'' embracing one another before smirking. Leaning forwards, the Marquess whispered something to Jahi, making her grin before stepping towards the Countess. Giving her a hug as well, Jahi nodded to my mother before stepping back. The Marquess chuckled as she looked down at me, and she said "Try not to kill anyone, yeah?" I pursed my lips, tilting my head as I said "Hmm... I''ll think about it?" Hearing my response that sounded more like a question, the Marquess grinned at me, her hand ruffling my ears as she chuckled "Well, I guess that''s the best I could hope for huh?" I nodded, before looking at the Countess. She stepped forwards, pulling my head into her chest as she stroked my hair. "Hah... you felt more like a daughter than Jahi did... who''s going to go shopping with me now?" I chuckled at that, returning her hug before saying "Mother will go with you." The woman in question nodded, before approaching me, gently cupping my cheeks in her hand as she ced a kiss on my forehead. Wrapping me in arge hug, mother whispered "Be good, Katherine... Please..." Remaining silent, I just tightened my hug, before widening my eyes when mother whispered "Now watch their reactions when I say this..." Stepping back, mother coughed, grabbing everyones attention. The Marquess was rubbing her knuckles on Jahi''s head, making the younger giant frown as she tried to shover her mother away. The Countess watched on with a smile. "Ahem... So, I didn''t know for sure, but..." cing her hand gently on her stomach, my mother grinned up at the Marquess and Countess, saying... "I... Think I am pregnant." Silence fell on the street, the guards freezing in ce as they widened their eyes, while Jahi and I broke into grins, looking towards the two nobles. The Marquess waspletely still, her mouth wide open as she stared at my mother,pletely confused, while the Countess was alternating her gaze between her wife and my mother, her lips slowly being pulled into a huge grin. Rushing forwards, the Marquess wrapped my mother in a hug, holding her tight as she swayed from foot to foot, the Countess joining them a momentter. Looking at Jahi, I startedughing, leaning into her as she ced an arm over my shoulder. Turning our gazes back towards our parents, we bothughed, enjoying the moment. Pulling back, the Marquess looked down at mother with a conflicted face, saying "Wait... who''s is it?" That made everyone fall silent again, before the Countess pped the Marquess'' shoulder. "It doesn''t matter you dolt! Come here Julie, let''s pray it''s my child; at least we''ll know they won''t be an idiot!" ring at the Marquess, the Countess held mother in her arms, who was grinning as she stared up at the Marquess. "Oh, I don''t know, she has her moments..." "Too few, too spread apart!" The Marquess pouted, scratching her cheek before looking back at us. "I uh... guess you both didn''t know?" We shook our heads, and I looked at mother, saying "Well, at least we''ll be back around the time of the birth..." She nodded, grinning as she said "You both are going to have a younger sibling..." ncing up at Jahi, I chuckled when I saw her eyes widen, finally realizing that fact. "...Oh." The Countess pointed at her daughter, saying "See?! Dolts, the both of them. Hah..." Even as sheined, the Countess grinned widely at her daughter, her sapphire eyes glowing with warmth. Taking a step forwards, the Marquess wrapped her arms around the Countess and Mother, pursing her lips as she said "I wish you had known earlier; it makes me feel terrible to send them off like that..." Mother nodded, saying "I only know because I missed my cycle for the seventh dayst night..." The Countess nodded, looking up at her wife as she said "You remember how it was with me; took a bit to know..." Shrugging, the Marquess looked back down at the Countess, saying "Should we..." Sighing, the Countess said "I haven''t been on medicine since the Academy... you know that elves and demons have low reproduction rates..." The Marquess sighed as well, before grinning at mother. "This makes me so happy..." Looking back at us, the Countess pursed her lips as she said "I hate to say this... but you should get going. The journey is long, and Banshee''s can''t use warp circles..." Jahi and I nodded, and I quickly gave my mother another hug, saying "Send letters will you?" She nodded at me, her eyes gentle as she smiled. "Go. I''ll let you know how I''m doing, Katherine." Bowing slightly to Jahi, mother leaned into the Marquess, smiling as she watched us enter the carriage. Looking out the window, I waved goodbye to our parents, Jahi looming behind me as she waved as well. We watched as the estate slowly disappeared from sight, smiling at one another. "A younger sibling huh..." I nodded at Jahi, chuckling as I said "And they''re a half-sibling for both of us." She chuckled as well, before saying "Well, guess we just need to give them double the love, hmm?" Seeing me nod, Jahi pulled me into herp, whispering "Seeing that made me think about the day you tell me news like that..." Laughing, I caressed her cheek, saying "I feel the same..." Grinning at me, Jahi said "Well, should we... practice?" Not waiting for an answer, I yelped as she undressed me, intent on ''practicing''. --- Yup, had this thought for a long, long time, and tergar04 called it a few chapters back lol. Though I guess they didn''t think it''d be between Chordeva/Ria X Julie... Anyways, Academy start! On a lemon lol. Besides that, 350K Views and 830 Collections! Thanks! --- Chapter 87 86: Housewarming* Jahi and I stood in front of a quaint little cottage, nestled into the ck and grey granite of thergest volcano in the Empire of Ash: Sanctus Ignacia. "Ah... Mistress, please, go inside and wait; I have a... gift for you..." I shivered as she turned her amethyst eyes towards me, narrowing them as she stepped forwards, growling "Are you... ordering me?" ncing around, she grinned when she saw we were alone, and that no one could see us. Her hand fell hard on my ass, making me jump as the pain coursed through my system, making me yelp. I desperately shook my head, saying "No, of course not... I wouldn''t dare! I just... wanted to show my devotion to my Mistress..." Leaning down, Jahi ced her lips on my own, eagerly devouring them as she thrust her tongue inside, coiling it around mine. Her hands dropped to my ass, kneading and spreading it, making me moan. I shuddered as one of her hands moved to my leaking cunt, gliding over my needy lower lips. Pulling away, Jahi grinned as she said "The best way to show your devotion would be to find a bed and spread your legs..." Her hand dug into my cunt, one of her fingers threatening to tear the cloth as she started roughly fingering me. Copsing into her, I panted as she brought me to the edge, only to remove her fingers from me, grinning sadistically down at me. "Kat, if this... gift of yours doesn''t please me..." Jahi leaned closer to my ear, her breath tickling the fur as she growled "I will give you twentyshes..." I trembled, remembering the heavy whip she had used once before. Even for me, it proved to be too much after awhile, and Jahi knew that. However, she also knew that the threat of punishment sent me spiraling deeper into pleasure, sometimes making me intentionally mess up just so she would get... rough. Gulping, I stared up at my Mistress, nodding my head as I said "You''ll like it, I swear!" cing a hand on my cheek, she tilted my head to the side, licking my other cheek before kissing me. "It better..." Releasing me, Jahi turned towards the cottage, nodding to herself before saying "I''ll be inside, waiting in our new room. Don''t take long; I need a release." I watched as she walked towards the door, opening it as she looked around inside. My tense muscles finally rxed as she left my sight, only to make me grin like an idiot. Biting my cheek, I calmed myself down, rapidly moving towards the carriage as I retrieved our suitcases. Looking at the tall, thin Banshee standing beside me, I frowned before snapping "Help me!" I needed her now... Growling, I watched as the Banshee lifted the suitcase I handed it, nodding to me when I said "Take it to Mistress Jahi''s room." The Banshee lumbered away, suitcase in hand. Lifting my own, I shuddered as I thought about how she would react to my gift. Going inside, I watched as the Banshee entered a room, only to be met with a feral growl. Chuckling, I entered a different room, throwing off my maid dress, trailing my hands down my sensitive body. Resisting the urge to slip a finger inside my aching cunt, I opened my suitcase and dug to the bottom, revealing my gift. It was a ck,ce garter belt, the floral pattern intricately woven to show enough skin while still covering what needed to be covered. Beside the garter belt was a pair of ck stockings, which when I had worn them to make sure they fit only made my plump thighs stand out even more. The final piece of my little ''outfit'' was a corset with the same pattern as the garter belt. It held up and showcased myrge breasts quite well, and while I wasn''t usually narcissistic, I looked damn good when I wore the entire thing. Grinning to myself, I set about pulling everything on, shaking my head with a wry chuckle when I noticed the panties were drenched in just a moment. Tying up the corset, I picked up my maid dress, putting it back on to cover myself. Taking a deep breath, I exited the room, walking with tentative steps towards the room the Banshee had entered. Knocking on the door, I received a low growl. Opening the door, gulped at the sight of Jahi sitting on the edge of arge bed, her hand stroking her huge erection. Jahi''s sculpted muscle shone in the dim light of a lit candle, the drapes over the windows pulled shut. She looked at me with those predatory golden eyes, narrowing them as she growled "So, where''s this gift of yours? Or were you that desperate to be punished?" I shook my head, gently lifting my dress to reveal the stockings as I said "O-Of course, I am your gift, Mistress... you just need to... unwrap me." That made her stand up with a grin, and before I knew it I was lying on the bed, my Mistress looming over me. Slowly unbuttoning my dress, Jahi chuckled as she watched me squirm under her, wanting her to just rip my dress off already. "Patience, my sweet... Patience..." Trailing a finger over my lips, she stifled my moan as she removed the apron, before returning to undressing me. Pulling the dress over my head, I bit my lip as I looked up at her frozen features. However, I yelped when sheid her giant cock on my stomach, the heat piercing my body and making my womb tremble. "Well, you were right..." Her hands glided over my body, her plump blue lips pulled into a silly grin as she looked down at me. "I love it..." Slipping my drenched panties to the side, I moaned as she thrust into me, instantly entering my womb as her cock quickly found its natural ce inside me. Grinning down at me, she lifted my legs, licking the stockings as she started moving. Her eyes burned as she watched my breasts bounce, making her thrust even harder. Jahi chuckled, the sounds of sex echoing in the room. Her thighs mmed into my ass with a smack. My pussy squelched as she gouged me with her dick. Our moans and grunts meshed together, sounding divine as Jahi pounded into me. The feeling of her heavy balls pping into my ass sent shivers up my spine, and I bit my cheek to stifle my shout as I came. However, Jahi curled her lips in displeasure, her hand sinking deep into my ass as she spanked me, growling "I want to hear you moan bitch!" Spanking me over and over again, I let out loud moans, making her hand speed up, quickly turning my fair skin red as she grinned at me. Grunting, she buried herself to the base, her balls trembling as she came inside me, filling me with her seed. Pulling out, she licked her lips as she stared at me, muttering "Hmm... yeah, that''s a good idea~" Flipping me over, she slid back inside me, one hand on my waist while the other twirled around my hair, yanking my head back. Hammering into me, Jahi chuckled as I screamed, her cock pushing my womb deeper into my body as she fit her entire length into me. Resuming her spanking, tears fell from my eyes as the pain sent me hurtling over the edge, making Jahi grunt as my cunt tightened up as I came. My eyes rolled around in my head, and I panted like a dog. That made Jahi lean over me, her hand releasing my hair as her fingers trailed over the cor I wore. "Aww... is my needy bitch in heat, hmm? Does she want to be bred?" Licking the tears from my cheek, Jahi wide smile sent shivers down my spine as she continued whispering to me in that husky voice of hers. "Well, do you want my seed, little puppy? Come on, tell me~" I nodded my head, only to be met with a snarl. Her hand sunk deep into my ass, making me yelp. "I said TELL ME!" As she shouted she resumed her pounding, pushing my head into the bed as she started mming her hips into mine, her hand continuing its beating of each cheek. Each time her cock pummeled into my womb I shuddered, my cunt convulsing as she treated me like a toy. Her breathing was haggard as she railed me, only to let out another grunt as she poured her semen into me, filling and expanding my womb. She left herself inside me, her cock still throbbing as she spilled more of her cum into my pussy. Leaning over me again, Jahi pressed herrge breasts into my back, before growling "You''re supposed to answer your Mistress when she asks a question..." I shuddered, trying to speak through my cum addled haze, yet nothing came out. "Fine..." Pulling out of me, Jahi moved to sit in front of me, lifting my head with ease as she sheathed herself in my throat. I gagged as her dick speared down my throat, before I had to desperately swallow down the semen that clung to her shaft, trying to keep myself sane as she used me as she pleased. Every time she thrust into me she grunted, her hands squeezing my head as she pistoned her cock deeper. "Fuck~ Swallow my seed bitch!" I trembled as she released a flood of semen into my stomach, my pussy spraying a mix of my own fluids and her seed as I came. Jahi panted above me, before removing herself,ying her cock on my face as she looked down at me. Coughing, I spoke out in a raspy voice, making her shudder. "I... I did... as you asked... Mistress..." Smiling down at me, Jahi lifted me into her arms, burying her face into my neck as she nuzzled into me. "Sorry, Kat... I... I went a little too far, didn''t I..?" I looked at the blue demoness in confusion, tilting my head as I said "What? Calling me... a bitch?" She tentatively nodded, making me chuckle. That was a bad idea, as my throat hurt afterwords. Coughing, I took a shuddering breath as I buried my face into her neck, before... Jahi yelped as my teeth sunk into her neck, making her stare at me in concern. Grinning at her, I let out a yful bark, her eyes going wide as she bit her lip. "Pfft..." Covering her lips, I watched with a pout as Jahi''s shoulders started trembling. Unable to contain herself, Jahi let out a loudugh, her whole body shaking as she looked at me. I bit my lip, ring at her as she continued to chortle, taking a few moments to eventually get herself under control. "Haha~ Oh my... Kat, that was so pfft~ HAHA~ Oh my gods~!" Her eyes went watery as sheughed harder, only to yelp when I bit her shoulder hard. "Damnit... You aremitted to this, aren''t you~!" She keptughing, making me pout as my cheeks flushed. Letting out a yelp, I found myself suddenly under her, staring up at her mirth filled eyes as she whispered "Fine, if you want to act like a dog..." Sliding herself inside me, Jahi started pounding into me, groaning "Then I''ll treat you like one~" Wrapping her hands around my waist, she lifted my lower body up, allowing her cock to reach deeper as she started knocking against my womb. Her golden eyes were fixated on my covered breasts, and as we made love she growled in annoyance, saying "The only thing my bitch needs to wear is her cor..." Keeping her pace, Jahi untied my corset, tossing it to the side as she grinned. Pressing her chest against mine, we both moaned as our nipples rubbed together, sending small shocks through our bodies as we clung together tighter. I felt her pull out momentster, desperately running her hand over her shaft as she stared at me, her eyes burning with desire. Grunting, I shuddered as her seed sprayed onto my chest, searing my skin as she coated me with it. Panting, Jahi grinned at me as she whispered "I need to properly mark you, both inside and out..." Sliding herself back inside, we lost ourselves to lust, ending the day drained of energy and filled with warmth. --- Damn that was long~ 2100 words of pure smut... hmm... Sounds good to me~ --- Chapter 88 87: My New Sisters My hips ached as I used my healing magic, the cool blue glow mixing with the dim light of Jahi''s magic. Sitting beside me, the blue demoness had a mixture of pride and worry in her amethyst eyes, chuckling when I red at her. "Really? It''s a new day, Jahi!" Scratching her cheek, Jahi just smirked down at me, her pride winning. "Yeah, it was one hell of a night huh?" I huffed, turning to the side before finally, finally feeling my hips return to a semi normal state. Cancelling the spell, I stood up with a groan, looking over my sticky body before using another spell, cleaning myself off as best I could. Jahi just watched me, her lips pulled into a self satisfied grin as her eyes trailed over my body. Ignoring her, I moved towards the curtains, pulling them aside to allow the pale light of dawn into our new bedroom. Cracking the window to allow air to flow, I turned and inspected the room. Arge bed against one wall, likely where the Empress used to sleep when she used the cottage. Two dressers and tables on either side of the bed, a thinyer of dust coating their surfaces. The bed was to my right, the door leading into the hall to my left. Directly across from me was another door, and I shuffled over towards it, ring at Jahi as her handnded on my ass as I walked. She moved behind me, her hands enjoying themselves as we entered the bath connected to our room. It was simr to the one back at the estate; a shower on one wall, the sinks and mirrors opposite it, and arge bathtub in the ground at the back. After inspecting the mana crystals, I sighed in relief when I saw they were still usable, turning them on. Jahi took a seat in front of the shower, rinsing herself off before leaning back into me as I took my spot behind her. Leaning her cheek on mine, Jahi nuzzled me, her horn gently prodding my head as she did so. Sighing, my brow furrowed when she continued, this time her horn hitting my cheekbone. Tilting my head away from her, I chuckled when she pouted at me, letting out a huff as she turned, sulking. Finishing her wash, I watched as she got up with a stretch, before pulling me onto the seat. As I surrendered myself to her gentle hands, I smiled as she asked "Are you ready to see Anput and Leone? They should be arriving today..." I nodded, looking over my shoulder with a smirk when I said "I bet you''re looking forwards to it too, huh? Having three beautiful women tending to your every need..." Jahi smirked at me as well, burying her face into my neck as she whispered "I would be lying if I wasn''t looking forwards to it... but I also am... irritated, that our alone time is being infringed on..." Feeling her stiffening against my back, I sighed before saying "You make it sound like they are going to be with us every second of the day..." Grinning, I looked at her with narrowed eyes, saying "If you want alone time, you''ll have to earn it. We have a whole new city to explore; surely there''s at least a teashop or restaurant that you could take me to?" The rest of Jahi stiffened, looking at me with wide eyes as she froze, opening and closing her mouth before pursing her lips. "A date huh..." Rolling my eyes, I nodded, repeating that word. "Yes, a date. We don''t exactly go anywhere... special together." Seeing her nod, I smiled at her, caressing her cheek as she finished up. Entering the bath, I yelped as I was pulled onto herp, as Jahi wanted to ''break in'' the bath. ~~~ Gathering up my suitcase from the other room, I moved it to our actual room, putting our clothes away before taking out the ck cloth from my first day here. Looking at the intricate runes woven into the ck cloth made me smile, thinking over the journey from then till here. Gently wiping off the dust from the furniture, I used my wind magic to move the air out of the room, taking a deep breath of non ''activity'' filled air. It took only a few moments for me to clean everything up, as the room was virtually empty. Of course, it still wasn''t up to par; the floorboards had some irritating stains in them, and the doors hinges creaked loudly every time we opened or closed the door. However, it was a start, and I still needed to prepare the other two rooms. It was just past dawn, with Anput and Leone joining us around dusk. Rolling up the sleeves on my dress, I grinned as I set to work, taking in theyout of my new home. Since it was a cottage, the total area of the building wasn''t thatrge, being just above the suite Jahi and I lived in at the estate. The cottage was separated into two sides; from the entrance, the left side was arge living area with a kitchen in the back, while the right side was where the three rooms were held. The hallway on the right had the main room, where Jahi and I slept, on one side, while the other two rooms where on the other wall. Entering, I looked at the decent sized bed, a dresser, a desk, and a vanity stand. The room also had its own washroom, but it was quitepact; a shower, sink and toilet. Setting about to clean the space, I hummed to myself as I worked, aware of the gaze of Jahi as she watched from the doorframe. ~~~ Jahi PoV I smiled as I watched Kat hum happily to herself, her fluffy tail swishing about as she cleaned. Chuckling, I thought back to what she said earlier, pursing my lips as I wondered what I should do. A date... Sighing, I leaned onto the doorframe, ideas rushing through my mind. A candlelit dinner at a fancy restaurant? Hmm... Shopping at one of therge bookstores? Then grab a bite to eat at some small cafe? She did like books, and always seemed to want... something subdued, whenever we did go out. It was... odd, seeing how easily she slipped into any character, going from the confident, cheery woman in front of me to a cold, quiet maid when we were at any noble event. Besides that, it was quite alluring when she slipped into ''that'' kind of maid... Shaking my head, I took a few deep breaths before smiling again, watching as she looked around the room with those yful amber eyes of hers. Walking forwards, I slid behind her and wrapped my arms around her, kissing her cheek as I whispered "I love you, Kat..." Her chuckled warmed my heart, her hand gently tracing over my cheek as she whispered back. "I love you as well, Jahi..." As we stood there, her soft body in my arms, I wanted the moment tost forever... "Now let me go! I still need have so much to do!" Kat easily slid out of my embrace, making me chuckle wryly as she scurried from the room, still humming to herself. Plopping onto the bed, I looked around the room, wondering which of the girls would make this room theirs... ~~~ Kat PoV Taking a deep breath, I wiped the beads of sweat off my brow, looking over the now clean living area with pride. Grinning to myself, I looked out the window, noticing that the sun was steadily going down towards the horizon. Not everything was done, that was for sure, but it was a solid start. At least Anput and Leone would be able to sleep in clean beds and without having dust tickle their nose all night, like Jahi and I had. Nodding, I turned, colliding with Jahi''s chest as she wrapped me in a hug. My ears twitched as she breathed in my scent, before whispering "Do you think we have some time..?" I quickly escaped her embrace, narrowing my eyes at her as she bit her lip. "NO." Hearing my firm response Jahi''s shoulders slumped, before shrugging. "Fine, fine... whatever..." She moved to plop into a couch, scooping up the book that was on the small coffee table. As she started reading I sighed, making my way into the kitchen as I rummaged through the pantry, relieved when I found some non expired tea leaves. Setting a pot on the stove, I lit the fire crystal below it, waiting for the water to boil. It didn''t take long, and after pouring the water into the cups I heard a knock on the door. Jahi and I looked at one another, and rapidly made out way to the door. The demoness took a deep breath, before opening the door, grinning as she looked at the two women on our doorstep. On the left was a shuffling Leone, her pale skin glowing in the receding light of dusk. Wearing a dress made from red and orange feathers, which clung to her curvy body with ease. Herva like eyes flickered between Jahi and I, biting her lip as she nodded to us. On the right was a bouncing Anput, her thin cloth dress barely containing her breasts as she jumped up and down, her lips pulled into a wide grin. Her tail swished side to side, and her long ears twitched as she beamed at us. As soon as she saw Jahi she jumped forwards,ughing as she clung to the surprised demoness with ease. "Haha~ Finally! Finally!" Nuzzling her cheek into Jahi''s chest, I watched with a small grin as Jahi gently stroked her hair, making the excited girl purr. Leone stepped forwards, gulping as she stared at Anput before turning to me. Nodding to her, I was as surprised as Jahi when Leone pulled me into a tight embrace, the blushing vampire''s face buried into my neck as she held me. Jahi and I looked at one another with wry grins, returning the girls affections before going inside, waving goodbye to their escorts. --- So, one more chapter of just them settling in, than the Academy starts. Lemons a little past that... --- Chapter 89 88: Anput And Leone Move In Anput hugged Jahi for a long time, forcing the blue demoness to pry the clinging Jackalkin off her with a grunt. She pouted up at Jahi, only to look over at me, moving closer with a whine. "Kat~ Jahi doesn''t love me~" I chuckled, and Leone removed her face from my neck, looking at Anput with slightly narrowed eyes. Seeing Jahi free, Leone released me from her embrace, approaching Jahi with hesitant steps. Anput and I chuckled as we watched Jahi drag her into a tight embrace, stroking her long ashen hair. As the curvy vampiric woman nuzzled into Jahi''s arms, I felt Anput wrap her arms around my waist, pulling me into her with a grin. Her nose twitched cutely as she sniffed me, before whispering "I can''t wait to taste you~" One of her hands dropped lower, only to chuckle as I gave her a sharp pinch on her exposed waist. However, she decided to leave her hand where itnded, pulling me closer as she bit her cheek, stifling a moan. I raised a brow at her, and she smirked at me, saying "You were all that was on my mind thesest few days~" Jahi moved behind her, herrge arms wrapping around us easily as she leaned down, whispering "Was it just her, hmm? Did you save some space for me, Anput~?" Jahi and I chuckled as Anput shivered, her breathing picking up as she was sandwiched between the two of us. Her olive skin was hot to the touch, and Jahi and I exchanged mischievous grins, releasing the Jackalkin and stepping away. Anput was panting, her normally obsidian eyes now silver as she looked towards us, only to gulp and screw her eyes shut. Letting her calm herself down, I looked over towards Leone, chuckling as I saw her pouting at the both of us. "Come inside; I''ll ce your luggage in your rooms. I already made tea..." The two girls nodded, Leone walking inside with a huff while Anput stiffly made her way into the cottage, her eyes unmoving as she stared straight ahead. Seeing them sit on the couch, I looked at Jahi, who was grinning, her shoulders trembling as she chuckled silently. "Must you tease them already?" Hearing my exasperated voice, Jahi nodded, her plump lips pulled into a wide grin as she said "It''s just so fun! I mean, you had to have felt Anput! She''s so in heat that it''s hrious!" I shook my head, sighing, before saying "Please remember that they aren''t like me; they are... new to this. Be gentle, please." Her grin fell, her body rxing as she nodded. "Yeah, I... forgot about that..." Shaking my head, I gestured for her to go inside, watching as the tall demoness slowly made her way towards the couch, sitting between Anput and Leone. I turned, looking at the sparse luggage the two girls brought with them. Anput had only a small bag and her sword, making me tilt my head in confusion. I mean, I know the clothing of the Sultanate is light and easier to pack than the Empires clothes, but still... As for Leone, she had arge suitcase and a knapsack, which made me grunt as I lifted it onto my back. She filled itpletely with books... Lugging everything inside, I ced Leone''s suitcase and bag in the first room and Anput''s bag in the second,ying them onto the beds. Rejoining everyone in the main room, I saw Anput leaning into Jahi, her ears flickering as she snored lightly in her arms. As for Leone, the skin on her neck was flushed, and I chuckled slightly as I saw her hands trembling as she lifted up her cup, taking a sip. Jahi and Leone nced at me as I entered, before returning to their quiet conversation, trying to allow Anput to rest. Grabbing the teapot, I went back into the kitchen, nodding at Jahi when she looked at me. Boiling some water, I rummaged again through the pantry, looking for anything I could throw together for a meal. Thankfully there was some basic ingredients that were still good, so I set about to make some simple biscuits, watching the teapot. Before it could let out the shrieking whistle, I lifted it from the stove, letting the boiling water cool as I watched the biscuits rise in the brick oven. I enjoyed the heat released from the oven, taking a deep breath of the baking biscuits before shaking myself awake. Yawning, I nodded when the biscuits turned golden, and used my wind magic to lift them from the oven, guiding them to tes. Hearing Anput''s stomach grumble, I looked over my shoulder to see the Jackalkin stretching, her eyes unfocused as she looked around before copsing back into Jahi, her face rxing as she mumbled something. cing the biscuits and teapot on a tray, I carried it over to the table,ying them out in front of everyone. We all chuckled as Anput''s nose twitched, before she sat up, her hand moving towards the biscuits even as her eyes remained closed. Pouring everyone more tea, I sat down with a sigh, my body tired after cleaning all day. "Tomorrow is the first day of the Academy huh..." Hearing Jahi, I nodded at her, smiling as I said "I wonder what it''s going to be like..." Leone took another sip, looking between Jahi and I with a small smile as she said "I just hope... we get to spend a lot of time together..." I smiled at Leone, saying "Likely it will just be you and me together, since Jahi and Anput have little interest in the more... intricate workings of magic." Jahi nodded, looking down at Leone with a smirk. "Don''t worry to much though; you''ll be seeing a LOT of me..." Leaning down, I grinned as Leone shivered, her face flushed as Jahi whispered "... for the rest of your life..." Gulping, Leone turned away, biting her lip as she looked at the ground. Grinning at me, Jahi looked over at Anput, shaking her head as sheughed. "Is she awake?" I tilted my head, watching as the normally energetic Jackalkin was now silent, nibbling cutely on the biscuit as she leaned against Jahi. "Hmm... no, I think she''s asleep..." Leone chuckled, mirroring Anput as she leaned into Jahi, flushing as she said "I... am happy, that you sent this..." Holding up her left hand, I widened my eyes as I saw the ring on finger, before chuckling as I said "Yeah, I was... moved, when she gave me mine..." Leone looked over at me, a silly grin on her face as she looked at my own ring, saying "This... makes us ''sisters'', doesn''t it?" I nodded, ignoring the wide grin on Jahi''s face as she looked at us with tant lust. "Yes, it does... after all, this-" Jahi gently lifted Leone''s hand, her thumb running over the ring as she lightly growled "This shows that you belong to me..." Her desire and possessiveness washed over us, making us shiver. Biting my lip, I rubbed my thighs together, while Leone brought her knees to her face, hiding herself. Jahi just chuckled, before looking down at the Jackalkin who was yawning again. Rubbing her eyes, Anput looked over at Leone with a frown, asking "What... what happened to her..." Turning her obsidian eyes up, she shuddered as she met Jahi''s golden gaze, her ears flickering as her tail swished against the couch. "Oh, nothing... just talking about how much I love my wives~" Leaning down, Jahi ced a kiss on Anput''s forehead, making the olive skinned girl turn darker as she shivered. She stood up quickly, looking at me in a slight panic as she asked "Which room is mine?!" Chuckling, I pointed down the hall, saying "Last door on the left." Nodding, Anput scurried away, making Jahi and Iugh as we watched her desperately try to hide herself. Leone mumbled "So I have the first door on the left?" "Yeah. Though, you could always-" Leone stood up quickly as well, her facepletely crimson as she rushed away as well, not letting Jahi finish. "Well... I guess it''s just us, huh?" I sighed, the room falling silent as Jahi scooped up a biscuit and ate, before saying "Ah, whatever... Come here." Patting the spot beside her, I nodded, getting up before stifling a yelp as she pulled me onto herp. "Hah~ I don''t know how long I''ll be able to restrain myself from them..." I looked at her golden eyes, sighing as I said "You don''t need to ''restrain'' yourself, you just need to ease them into it. Both seem pretty..." "Heated?" I nodded, chuckling as I remembered the things they tried to hide. "Yes... so, take them out, have dinner or something, then... set the mood..." Jahi looked at me with narrowed eyes, saying "Why are you so... helpful with this? Shouldn''t you be trying to prevent me from taking them or something?" Sighing again, I said "Jahi, you''re damn near insatiable. Before we ever did anything, yes, I would have done everything in my power to make sure you looked at me, and only me. However, I know you better now, and... well, I would like the ''help'' they could provide..." That made Jahi pout, before she sighed and said "Well, guess I should look around the city for some good ces then..." She gasped slightly when I twisted in her arms, facing her as I held her cheeks in my hands, growling "For MY date first, yes?" Jahi shuddered slightly, looking at me in confusion as she said "Didn''t you just say you wanted help..?" Leaning closer, I clenched her cheeks tighter, grinning as I said "I''ve been doing fine for awhile now; I canst another few days or weeks. However... I WILL be the first to get a date!" Gulping, Jahi nodded her head, her golden eyes wide as she gently hugged me. "Yes, yes... you''ll be first, my love..." Stroking my back, Jahi only moaned as I kissed her neck, before sighing as she lifted me up. "Hah... this is going to be tiring, managing you three..." Even as she grumbled, I could feel her hold me tighter, and I saw her grinning at me when I pulled away. "You were the one to decide you wanted three wives; deal with it, my love~" Shuddering again, she growled at me, rushing towards our room. Even though we knew they were in the house now, Jahi didn''t hold back, nor did I try to quiet my voice as I surrendered myself to her. After all, they were now Asmodia women as well; they''d need to get used to the fact that our wife was an insatiable demon of lust. --- Academy starts TOMORROW~! Anyways, yea, lemons will go in this order, and will be alternating PoV''s... 1: Jahi x Kat (Date Night 1) 2: Jahi x Anput (Date Night 2) 3: Kat x Leone (Date Night 2) So, we have those ted for the future, and... well, JxA and KxL will happen on the same day; just one chapter will be dedicated to each. Besides that, we have the entire Academy to explore, with new character, both good and bad, and all the shenanigans that brings along. --- Chapter 90 89: First Day Of The Academy (1) Jahi and I exited our room, fulfilled from our passionate night. Having bathed and dressed, Jahi plopped onto the couch as she dozed off again, while I checked the pantry again for something to make us. Sighing, I looked over my shoulder to Jahi, saying "We''ll have to go shopping after sses today. There''s not much I can do with the little edible ingredients we have..." Nodding, Jahi yawned before turning her gaze over to me, saying "Don''t worry about making anything... we''ll just pick something up on our way there." I slumped my shoulders, wanting to disy my culinary prowess to our two new roommates, only for Jahi to chuckle at me. Pouting at her, she just got up and pulled me into an embrace, kissing me before saying "You can just make something spectacr to celebrate our first day at the Academy..." Smiling up at her, I nodded, before turning when I felt a gaze on us. Seeing something ash colored flicker around the corner, Jahi and I grinned at one another, the tall demoness releasing me as she quietly walked towards the hallway. I watched as she waited for Leone to peer back into the main area, only to yelp when Jahi pulled her into a hug, chuckling as the curvy girl shivered in her arms. Walking over to join them, I peered further down the hall to see Anput peeking out of her door, her ears twitching as she stared at us. Releasing Leone, Jahi also looked towards the peeping Jackalkin, chuckling as she said "Anput, we can see you..." She ducked back into her room, only to walk out a few momentster, smiling like nothing had happened. Anput walked past us, leaning on the back of the couch as she pursed her lips, looking between Jahi and I. "You two are aware that we could... hear you, yes?" That made Jahi grin, as she ced her arm around Leone to keep her there as she said "Yeah, I know. What''d you think? Enjoy the show?" Anput''s ears twitched again, her tail swishing as she looked away, pouting. "N-Not exactly..." Turning to look down at the girl in her arms, Jahi grinned as she asked "What about you, Leone?" The vampire trembled, biting her lip as her red orange eyes looked up at Jahi. "I-It was... wasn''t bad..." Her voice trailed off at the end, making Jahi freeze before looking up, screwing her eyes shut as she took a few deep breaths. Letting Leone go, Jahi stumbled over to me, burying her face between my ears as she grumbled "Kat~ It''s not fair... their just too cute~!" I chuckled, my eyes moving to look at the blushing Leone and the shuffling Anput. Patting Jahi''s back, Iforted her before saying "We should probably go now..." Sighing, the demoness removed herself from me, pouting as she said "Could we just..?" Walking away from her, I opened the door and gestured for everyone to exit, keeping my expression neutral as Jahi pouted more and mumbled to herself, walking outside with a dejected look. Anput and Leone looked at one another before casting a confused gaze my way, making me chuckle. "Just... a warning. Once Jahi gets going, its hard to stop her." They trembled, nodding at me before walking outside. Exiting the cottage, I locked the door behind me, cing the key in one of my inner pockets before sping my hands in front of me, taking a deep breath as I stilled my expression. Walking behind the Heir of March Asmodia, a Princess of our Empire, and a Begum of the Sultanate, I smiled slightly as they walked down the paved road, towards the bustling city. Unlike the gray and white color palette of Phobos City, March Asmodia''srgest city, the Capital was mainly ck, all the buildings made from the ck and dark gray granite of the Volcano, with the only sshes of color being reds, oranges, and yellows, used sparingly as paints for signboards and some simple art on the sides ofrger buildings. To make up for their surroundings dreariness, the people dressed in all sorts of colors, the cloth dyed to be either bright and cheery or dark and subdued. Anput looked around in wonder, her light blue cloth swirling around her olive skin as she grinned. "Whoa... there''s so many things here!" Jahi nodded, sighing as she fixed her dress shirt again before saying "Yeah, but this heat is annoying..." That made Anput chuckle, saying "This is heat?" ring down at the Jackalkin, Jahi looked over at Leone, who was walking silently beside them, her long, flowing orange dress hanging loosely on her body. Feeling Jahi''s gaze, Leone looked up with confusion, only to blush when Jahi grinned down at her. "Well, that''s the Academy up there, right?" Jahi pointed towards arge building, situated on a cliff face above us. It was made from the same granite as the mountain, but the tall, borate pirs holding up its gently sloping roof where carved from white marble, creating a stark contrast. Leone nodded, saying "That is Vulcan''s Royal Academy, where we will be joining almost 200 other students our age, and well over a thousand total students to perfect our skills." Continuing down the crowded street, Jahi looked over the various people movning hurriedly towards the Academy, looking back at me as she asked "When are we meant to arrive?" "Orientation starts at 8 a''clock sharp. It is currently... 7:15, Lady Jahi." Pursing her lips, she stared at me before cing a hand on Anput and Leone''s shoulders, saying "Well, I''m hungry, so let''s get something to eat." Anput nodded, rubbing her exposed midriff, while Leone looked worriedly at the crowd, asking "Wo-Wouldn''t it be better to wait in line..?" Jahi grinned, saying "Nah, I won''t be able to focus on an empty stomach." Leading us away, Jahi sniffed the air before taking us onto a new street, looking around. "Lady Jahi, there are stalls that way." Following my pointing finger, Jahi nodded when she ruffled my ears, carving a way through the crowd. Staying aware of where we were, I gazed at the buildings near us, trying to create a map of the city. General Goods, Vinnies Bakery, Big Bad Butcher... The mix of normal names and unique ones slowly filled my head, and I smiled slightly as I saw the various stores dedicated to foodstuffs and spices. Tossing a vendor a few coins, Jahi returned with... A huge tter of sliced meats, and after cing it on the table we had found, she rubbed her hands together, picking up a thing of beef with her bare hands as she gulped it down. Leone and I looked at one another as Anput dug in as well, before we shared a wry smile and grabbed a piece ourselves. It was a well seasoned strip of grilled beef, and as I bit into it I nodded in appreciation, enjoying how it fell apart easily in my mouth. However, I watched in slight irritation at how Jahi simply devoured the meat with no decorum, licking the seasoning off her hands. "Lady Jahi..." She flinched at my cold tone, making Anput chuckle in amusement. "That goes for you too, Lady Anput..." Now Jahi looked over at the stiff Jackalkin, a smug look in her eye at not being the only one remonstrated. Sighing, I looked at Leone with a small smile, who was covering her own smile as she stared at the two downcast women. We finished the ''meal'' quickly, Jahi and Anput eating with a little more manners than previously. Getting up, I looked at the pocketwatch I carried, saying "It is currently 7:37... We should get going, Lady Jahi..." She nodded, and we returned to the main road, now less crowded as the applicants and new students had arrived early. Walking up the paved path leading to the Academy, Jahi chuckled as she turned around, looking over us as she said "Wonder if we''ll be the best in our sses?" Anput grinned, her eyes flickering silver as she said "Well, I doubt anyone will beat you or I with a sword." Leone pursed her lips, looking at me and muttering "Mother said that we were pretty advanced..." I shook my head, saying "Arrogance isn''t a pretty look on any of you..." Jahi grinned at me, her gold eyes hard as she leaned down. "I''ll prove it isn''t arrogance; instead it''s fact. And I expect you to tell me thatter..." Narrowing my eyes, I matched her gaze, making the demoness chuckle, turning to observe therge, ck iron gates that were open. Engraved above the gate were the words ''Vulcan''s Royal Academy''. Sighing, I took my first steps on the Academy grounds, taking in the sight of the elegant building and borate statues lining the path to the entrance. Chapter 91 90: First Day Of The Academy (2) Entering the lobby of the Academy, I looked around the spacious hall, filled with various scrolls and portraits. Lining the long crimson carpet leading towards arge set of double doors that were wide open were over two dozen people dressed in long, flowing ck robes. Each person had some colored tassel hanging from their belts, and they nodded to us as we passed. Someone stepped forwards, Jahi and I widened our eyes in surprise when we saw a familiar figure, her long ck hair pulled into a braid, one sleeve of her robe torn off to reveal the coiling snake tattoo that seemed to writhe on her pale skin. Thest striking feature was her green slitted snake eyes, filled with mirth as she looked at us. "My, how much have you two grown? It feels like just yesterday you were both just up to my knees~" Jahi chuckled as she approached Arch Mage Kolia, looking down at the woman as she said "Yeah, it''s been awhile Miss Kolia!" Wrapping her in a hug, Kolia swayed side to side as she held Jahi, before releasing her and looking at me. Smiling, she repeated her action, pulling me into an embrace before holding me by my shoulders. Looking me up and down, Kolia smirked at me, whispering "You''ve turned out into a fine woman... I guess the little brat already hooked her ws into you huh?" Raising a brow, I nodded to her, Kolia turning to look at Jahi before sighing. "Well, as long as she hasn''t been keeping you from your studies..." Chuckling, I nodded again, holding my palm up as an albeit simple ritual circle appeared, rotating above my palm with a blue glow. Kolia grinned, looking over the ritual circle before pursing her lips. "Ah... that rune there isn''t needed... oh, and this one can be changed to this..." Widening my eyes, I listened intently to her exnation, recreating the ritual circle with the new configuration, instantly feeling the difference in strength and mana needed to keep it activated. Kolia grinned at me,ying a hand on my shoulder as she said "I best see you in all the magic courses Katherine." I nodded, looking at Leone, chuckling at how the vampire was staring at both Kolia and I with wide, sparkling eyes. Following my gaze, Kolia tilted her head at Leone, before saying "Ah yes, Lorelei''s daughter! You were studying summoning spells were you not? Very interesting stuff, that." Leone nodded, but before Kolia could continue one of the other robed people approached, looking almost identical to Kolia except for the normal robe and the blue snake eyes. "Sister, they need to get inside to listen to Orientation." Kolia just sighed, looking at the woman who called her sister with a pout. "Why''s it matter? That old bat doesn''t change anything year after year..." "Sister..." Kolia sighed again, slumping her shoulders as she looked back at us. "Sadly Liako dislikes fun... hah..." pping her sister on the back of the head, Liako just stared at us, her face serious as she said "Lady Asmodia, Lady Presa-Ash, Lady Sera, Miss Zara... please, go inside. Orientation starts in just a few moments." We all nodded, and Jahi grinned over at Kolia before leading us inside. Walking behind the tall demoness, I found myself admiring the way she confidently walked into the loud room, ignoring the gazes of teachers and students, new and old. Leone and Anput nced around the room, looking at the various people with interest. A teacher walked forwards, leading Jahi, Anput, and Leone towards a sectioned off area. However, as I tried to follow them the teacher looked at me with narrowed eyes, a slight sneer on his lips as he said "Commoners sit on that side of the room." Before he could finish his sentence Jahi had him by the throat, growling at him as she lifted him from the ground. "Did you talk to MY maid like that? Who gave you the permission?!" He started wing at her hands, however she just chuckled at his attempt to remove her grip on his neck. Writhing in her grasp, a few teachers surrounded us, looking at Jahi warily as some of the students gasped and screamed. "Lady Asmodia... please release Professor Suckthon..." Peering over her shoulder, Jahi smirked at the female teacher who was slowly approaching. "I thought that the Academy was meant to be impartial, uncaring of a students origins?" Leone nodded, herva like eyes narrowed as she looked at the surrounding teachers. "Indeed. That is exactly how MY MOTHER dictated that this Academy would be run..." The surrounding teachers shivered as they looked between the golden eyes of the Asmodia Heiress and the calm, elegant figure of the Princess. Jahi just yawned, dropping Professor Suckthon to the floor before saying "Besides, what I do with my maid, where I take my main, is dictated by me and me alone. Not some idiotic Professor who can''t even protect himself." She sneered down at man before gesturing for me to follow. I bowed slightly to the teachers before walking behind Jahi, my heart racing as she ignored the incredulous gazes of the students. Anput just chuckled, looking at the students with a wide grin, making them turn around. Reaching the small section with three velvet chairs set out, Jahi, Anput, and Leone all sat, looking at me with pursed lips as I took my spot beside Jahi. I didn''t even need to look down at her to know that her hand was snaking towards my waist. Stepping back, I turned to look at the servant in the corner, narrowing my eyes at them. "I can take care of them all." Swiftly nodding, the servant stepped off of the small tform we were resting on, and I set about making tea. Jahi sighed, and Anput just chuckled, saying "Aww, are you upset that you can''t have your maid warm you up~?" Looking at Anput, Jahi just grinned at her, patting herp as she ordered "Come here." I nced over my shoulder, chuckling as Anput got up with a shiver, only to be pulled onto Jahi''sp. Shaking my head, I poured three cups of tea, cing them on the tables beside the girls. Leone nodded to me, instantly taking a sip from it before looking over therge crowd. Some students and teachers were looking at Jahi with wide eyes, unsure of what to think as she stroked Anput''s ears as the Jackalkin sat in herp. I sighed, standing behind Jahi as I started looking through the crowd, noticing some familiar faces. There were six other tforms like ours, with one seating Jillian Sariel and Ulysses Gragori, both of whom were ring over at the smirking demoness. Another tform was upied by Draka, two maids standing behind her as she talked to a seductive looking Lamia, wearing little to cover her olive skin thatplimented her emerald scales. They both looked over at Jahi, nodding to her. Seeing the familiar face of Fresca behind Draka, I nodded to the maid, who grinned at me. The other four tforms were upied by older students, some looking on in disinterest while others talked among themselves, discussing things with teachers. I turned my gaze towards therge tform in the back of the room, a podium in the center of it. Time slowly passed, Jahi flirting with Anput as Leone and I talked in hushed voices, discussing magic as she showed me various ideas she''s had, tracing them onto the armrest of her chair. "... that is why this rune here should be switched out. If you left it as is, that rune conflicts with this section he-" "All rise!" A booming voice echoed around the room, slicing through the various conversations happening. Turning our gazes to the podium, we saw an old man stroking his white beard as he mmed a staff into the floor. Standing up, I shook my head slightly when I saw Jahi keep a hand on Anput when they rose. "I am the Vice-Headmaster, Bijilo of the Winds. For the new students, I am the person you will be seeing the most of; I hold the general magic studies. However, that''s not what I am here to discuss; please wee our very own Headmaster, Weskn Nekonama!" The stage was covered in smoke as the room rumbled. All the new students let out yelps and shrieks, looking at the stage with afraid gazes, while the older students and teachers shook their heads, wry smiles on their lips. A figure could be seen in the smoke, raising their arms as they silenced the room. Chapter 92 91: First Day At The Academy (3) With a flick of their hand, the smoke on stage dispersed, revealing a tall,nky old woman. Her long, flowing grey hair was pulled into a loose braid, draped over her shoulder. Popping out of her hair were two triangr ears, which twitched slightly as she looked over the assembled students with curiosity filled grey eyes. On her sunken cheeks were three whiskers, and they trembled slightly as she scrunched her nose, taking a sniff of the air. Her eyes were creased, and her skin was weathered. Draped in a heavy robe, the woman, Weskn Nekonama, looked every part the old schr, what with the giant tome in one hand, the binding made from stretched leather. Stepping up to the podium, Weskn coughed,ying her tome on the podium before using it to support herself. "As Bijilo said, I am the Headmaster of Vulcan''s Royal Academy, Weskn Nekonama." Her voice was surprisingly silky and youthful, contrasting her older appearance. Looking around the room, the older Catkin stared at certain individuals, her grey gaze stopping on our tform as she looked between Jahi, Anput, and Leone. "Here at the Royal Academy, we, your teachers, will help any and everyone develop as best we can. You are all geodes; rough to look at, but hiding something beautiful and valuable underneath your surface. Everyone assembled in this hall are the future leaders of our Empire; be it Nobility or talentedmoners. You all deserve to be here, in this Academy, because of the potential you hold. However, do not let that muddle your mind; just because you have potential, do not becent. You may be from the strongest family, you may havee from somewhere where everyone told you you were the greatest, but here? Everyone is talented; everyone is capable of bing a powerful person in any field here. So let me repeat myself; do not becent. Work hard at your craft; learn something new. This Academy holds great knowledge, open to anyone; you just need to seek it yourself. For the new students joining us today; your first year is a standardized course, set to refine your rough edges with what we deemmon knowledge. If, for some reason, you find that these courses are too difficult... either study harder, or leave. This will be the easier year of your long tenure as students at Vulcan''s Royal Academy." Taking a breath, she narrowed her eyes as she surveyed the students again, a slight smile on her lips as she saw a few shuffling nervously in their seats. "Now that that is out of the way... you all will be making your way to your sses for an introduction to your professors, and given a rundown of the curriculum for that ss. Today is short, as we want you to learn your sses locations and professors before truly starting tomorrow." Sighing, Headmaster Weskn lifted her tome off of the podium, looking back at Bijilo with a nod. "Now, since it isn''t a specialized course, all the first years will share the same sses; You have Magic Theory and History before noon, and Physical Combat in the afternoon. Those three sses will cover a broad range of topics, from learning about the different fields of magic to the history of not only our Empire, but of the world itself. Physical Combat is a conditioning course, meant to keep you in... some shape, before switching to how to handle different kinds of weapons and fights." Headmaster Weskn turned, stepping away from the podium and slipping behind therge curtains, disappearing form sight. Chuckling, Vice-Headmaster Bijilo took her ce, saying "Well, all first years are to follow me; I will be your Magic Theory Professor. As for the other students, you are dismissed. Don''t bete now!" Stepping down off the stage, Vice-Headmaster Bijilo gestured for the students to gather around him, using his magic to create the runes for his name above his head. Looking between the three Heirs in front of me, I tilted my head when I saw Jahi pursing her lips together, while Anput just yawned. Leone sighed, her gaze on the two women as she said "Did... you listen at all?" Jahi turned, saying "Kinda? I zoned out... it was rather boring and simple..." Anput nodded,ying her head on Jahi''s chest as she added "Besides, I just learned that I''ll have to sit through boring morning sses everyday..." The Princess turned towards me, a wry smile on her lips as she shook her head. Gesturing towards therge gathering of students in the center of the room, I asked "Well, should we get going?" Sighing, Jahi nodded, stepping off the tform as she looked around. "I have a feeling this year is going to be rather boring..." Her amethyst eyes fell on a some of the students, her lips curling in distaste. Anput just grinned up at Jahi, purring "Well, we''ll just have to make it fun, hmm~?" The demoness returned her grin, before sighing when Leone and I stared at her. "Fine, fine... Hah... Let''s go..." Jahi dejectedly led the way towards the Vice-Headmaster, only to hear "Jahi~" We all turned to see Draka making her way towards us, the Lamia and her two maids following behind her. Nodding to the Ducal Heiress, Jahi tilted her head as she asked "Did you need something Draka?" Shaking her head, the white Dragonkin replied "Nah, just felt like I should introduce you to them. Mainly since I feel like I''ll hate my time here if I''m forced to associate with Ulysses." Chuckling, Jahi looked over the Lamia with curious eyes, nodding to the woman. "Lady Asssmodia... It''ssss a pleasssure~" Lifting the hems of her dress slightly, the Lamia gave Jahi as good a curtsy as she could, making Drakaugh. "This is the future Countess of Meduso County, the smallnd down south where most Lamia''s live. Her name is Rialo Meduso, and she is my wife~!" The Lamia''s olive skin flushed slightly as she looked down at Draka, her slitted tongue flicking out as she covered her face. "SSSStop it Draka~" We all chuckled slightly at her flustered expression, only for Anput and Leone to be flustered as Jahi said "Come on Draka, only one? I have two wonderful wives, with a third on the way~" Draka looked over the stiff figures of Anput and Leone, before looking at me. Nodding to her, she chuckled as she turned back to Jahi. "Well, this is a... hunting grounds, of sorts. I''ve already found a few interesting women in the crowd... Anyways, we should go; maybe we''ll be able to grab seats together~!" Walking besides Jahi, they started talking to one another, Rialo slithering besides them with a shy expression. Fresca and the other maid walked with me, and I gave Fresca a small smile. "So, how''s life with your new Mistress~?" She turned red, biting her lip as she muttered "Wonderfully demanding..." Chuckling, the other maid, a tall, lithe woman with golden hair and droopy eyes, said "Yes, it''s been quite entertaining with Lady Draka... Fresca and I have enjoyed ourselves immensely. Ah, I should introduce myself, hmm? I''m Poshka." "Katherine." She nodded at me, her emerald eyes filled with mirth as she looked down at the slight trembling, flustered figure of Fresca. "Come now sister, surely you''ve grown past being embarrassed by this?" Fresca red up at Poshka, saying "No, I haven''t! Why are you so-" "Fresca?" Hearing Draka call her name, the short brown haired maid whipped her head towards Draka, only to blush furiously as she looked at the floor. The Dragonkin walked up to her maid, gently lifting her head by the chin. "What has you so uptight, dear?" I smiled as I saw Poshka cover her lips, mirth in her eyes as she watched Fresca squirm under Draka''s intense gaze. Not getting an answer, Draka released Fresca, looking at Poshka with narrowed eyes. "Don''t tease your sister so much, Poshka." The tall blonde maid nodded, her face serious as she said "Of course Mistress." Rolling her eyes, Draka walked back to Jahi and Rialo, resuming the conversation. Chuckling, Poshaka looked at the red Fresca with amusement, before saying "Katherine, isn''t her blushing face just so cute~?" I nodded, making Fresca clench her fists as she pouted at us. We chuckled, before finally reaching the Vice-Headmaster. "Ah, is that everyone? Hmm... Yes, it looks like it. Alright now, follow me; the Academy isrge, so please stick close. Some rooms are... dangerous to enter unsupervised." We all nodded, before walking out of therge auditorium. The halls were lit from golden sconces on the walls, magic crystals glowing from the edges, creating a rainbow light. Various doors could be seen on either side, small ques denoting their upants. ''Professor Cramsa; Alchemy'' ''Professor Fishka; Swordy, Magic Theory IV'' ''Professor Liako; Swordy II - IV, Combat Theory, Monsterology I - III'' Seeing the name of Kolia''s sister, I chuckled at how different they appeared; Kolia was a tried and true mage, likely teacher of the more advanced magic sses, while her sister taught Physical sses. Reaching the end of the hall, I saw that the door we stood before was more ornate then the others, and the que wasrger. ''Vice-Headmaster Bijilo; Magic Theory I, Ritual Circles I - IV, Advanced Wind Magic'' Opening the door, Vice-Headmaster Bijilo gestured for us to enter therge room, smiling at us. --- Thanks for 400K Views and 900 Collections! --- Chapter 93 92: First Day At The Academy (4) The old man gestured into therge lecture hall, simr to the many college ssrooms I had been in in my previous life. Multiple long rows of desks and seats were on the left, each row below another, creating a total of four rows. Each desk seated two, and evenly spaced out. Imbedded in the desks was a small white magic crystal. The left wall wasprised entirely of a ck chalkboard,pletely clean. In front of the chalkboard was a small desk and podium, likely meant for the Vice-Headmaster to speak from. Across from us were windows, creating a very familiar scene from many shows and novels. "Alright, pick your own seats, and infuse some of your mana into the crystal lodged in the desk you sit at please; it will let me know who sits where." Vice-Headmaster Bijilo nodded at us before turning, walking over to his podium as he watched us filter into the room. Jahi and Draka led us inside, the others students stepping aside as they saw them get close. The two women led us over to the close side of the room, upying the desks along the walls. Draka and her group took the front, while Jahi and our group took the back. Leone and I sat all the way in the top corner, Jahi and Anput in front of us. Draka and Rialo sat in front of them, and Poshka and Fresca sat in the very front, fixing their gazes on the desk before them. The vampiric girl turned to look at me, a smile on her rosy lips as she said "Well, I guess we shall be partners for the year then." I nodded, saying "Indeed we shall." Turning my gaze to the rest of the room, I pursed my lips as I watched the two hundred some odd students situate themselves, forming groups already as they got to know their desk mates and those sitting around them. Of course, I kept my eyes focused on that ONE seat, the one anyone who has ever watched or read a modern set show knows about; the fabled Protagonist seat, all the way in the back left of the room, looking out the window. It seemed to almost have a natural repellent, as people refused to even approach that desk. Of course, that''s likely because the seat is the worst in the room; far from the professor and beside a window that provides distractions in visual and auditorial noise. However, it was just something of a... novelty to me, wondering if the person that took that seat would actually be some kind of ''character''. [Eh, yeah, it will... Remember, I told you that there were many people who were eligible to be your ''master'' when you chose ''evil''? Well, that list was almost doubled for the neutral candidates, and had the same amount for the ''good'' ones as well...] I almost jumped when I heard the system, making Leone look at me in worry. "Are you okay Kat?" I nodded, giving her a small smile as I replied "Just a stray breeze..." Leone narrowed her eyes at me, before nodding, returning her gaze to the flirting demoness in front of us. ''Wait, you still exist?! It''s been like forever since youst spoke!'' [I was... napping? Yeah, we''ll go with that. Besides, every time I ''woke'' up I was greeted with the sight of you and your Mistress getting it on... and I am not a voyeur.] I held back a chuckle, before asking ''Napping? How was I getting quests then? And Experience?'' [How do you know how to walk without thinking about it? Or breathe? It''s just... what I do. Besides, you really weren''t doing anything over the top that needed my direct attention, so I''ve been enjoying the... calm before the storm, in a sense.] ''Calm before the storm?'' [You are at an Academy. Where there are now over a thousand snobby, arrogant, talented people butting heads together. You think this''ll be a joyride? No, not at all.] ''Rude. I don''t n on doing anything that would draw attention to me!'' cing my hand on the small white crystal in front of me, I channeled a little mana into it, watching as it glowed a greenish blue, my mana still separate, much to my chagrin. [Sure, YOU may not ask for trouble, but Jahi Asmodia is an entirely different story. You already have some ''enemies'' in the Duchess Sariel and Duke Gragori, not to mention the ones that dislike you for being a talentedmoner, or the ones who want to marry Jahi/Anput/Leone for political gain... Life from here on out gets much, much more intense.] Sighing mentally, I could only agree with the little voice in my head... wait that makes me sound crazy... Hah, whatever. "Kat, are you sure you''re okay?" Leone ced her hand onto my own, and this time Jahi turned around, her head tilted as she asked "Something happen?" Shaking my head, I gave both of them a small smile, saying "No, just thinking about how much trouble you''ll be..." Jahi pursed her lips, about to say something when she stopped, before nodding. "Yeah... I would say sorry, but..." Leone chuckled "But you wouldn''t be, would you?" The demoness gave us a wry smile, scratching her cheek before shaking her head. "Nah, not really..." Hearing someone cough, we looked towards the front of the room, where Vice-Headmaster Bijilo was cing a tome on his podium, looking over the now quiet students. "Everyone is present, so no need for roll. The seats you are sitting in are yours for the year; no changing them." That made a few people nch, likely realizing that should their desk mates be an idiot or someone they just couldn''t stand, they were stuck. "Now, let''s just go over some basic rules. No eating in this hall, no talking while I am talking, don''t y with the magic crystals, if something explodes, please don''t go near it, and of course, pay attention in ss. This may be things you already know, but you can never go wrong with strengthening the basics." Raking his green eyes over us, Vice-Headmaster Bijilo grinned, tapping his staff against the chalkboard. "As I said in Orientation, my name is Bijilo, the Vice-Headmaster of this Academy. My ''title'', Of the Winds, is because..." Tapping his staff again, I watched in wonder as his mana poured out of the wooden staff, seeping into the chalkboard. Green mana writhed around the board, forming runes as it spelt out his name and title. "I am an Aeolus, someone with ancestry to Wind-Spirits. As such, my magic is, naturally, of the wind element. However, unlike those present, my wind has an... extra vor. I can control different types of wind." A girl in the crowd raised her hand, and Bijilo looked at her, nodding. "Miss Grangeri." "What do you mean, different types of wind? Is wind magic not all the same element?" Smiling at her, he shook his head. "No, no it is not. Just like how in the world around you, it is different. Now, for most people, they tend to just have a ''general'' wind; no extra ir or uniqueness to it. However, a few in this ss have either Combination Magic, or they have a special connection to wind. One such student is just amoner; Miss Zara, if you would please stand up." Gulping, I rose to my feet, all the eyes in the room turning towards me. "Now, Miss Zara has both; she is an Ice Magician, however her wind magic is already much harsher than the norm. In fact, I imagine that she likely has troubles controlling it sometimes..." I widened my eyes at that, nodding slightly as his green eyes locked onto my own. He was right; whenever I used my wind, I tended to need much more control then I did with my water magic, and when trying to fuse the two it was always the wind that acted up, not the water. "So, Miss Zara, might I asked you to create an orb of wind magic?" Nodding again, I held out my palm, the required sequence glowing green above my open hand. ring slightly, a spinning ball of pure wind hovered above my hand, and Vice-Headmaster Bijilo smiled. "Keep it activated, please. Mister Yuas, please create an orb of wind magic as well." Turning my gaze over, I watched as a thin boy with short brown hair stood up, nervously looking around before tracing the necessary runes in the air. Like me, he now held a sphere of wind, however... "Notice the difference; Miss Zara''s is sharper, deadlier. Mister Yuas'' is gentle, like a breeze. This is due to the kind of mana inside of them. Miss Zara has Ice Magic, so her wind must be like a blizzards, while Mister Yuas has just Wind Magic; he possesses the most normal kind of wind, which is fine. You may sit." Yuas and I nodded, releasing our spells before sitting down. Tapping his staff again, we watched as the mana on the board dissipated, and Vice-Headmaster Bijilo coughed into his hand. "I''m getting ahead of myself... anyways, that will be something we go over first in this ss; how different mana can be. As you could guess, this ss in on the foundations of magic; we will be discussing mana itself, how to better control it, and what it can be used for. It may be basic, but like I said prior..." Holding up his hand, everyone watched in an awed silence as arge, whirling orb of wind appeared above his palm. "A mastery over just the basics can be the difference between being good, and being a master." Dispelling the orb, he smiled at us, making us shiver as his eyes red green. "Well, we have a few more minutes, so why not get to know the people around you, hmm? sses truly begin tomorrow, and after this I''ll lead you to your History ss." We all nodded, watching as the Vice-Headmaster sat behind his deck, opening the tome as he started reading. "That was..." Hearing Leone''s voice, I turned to see her eyes gleaming as she stared at the old man. "Incredible! I can''t wait to see what we do tomorrow!" I nodded, smiling when I saw Jahi and Anput looking back at us with conflicted eyes. "What, realizing how amazing magic can be?" Jahi stiffly nodded, before looking down at Anput, who pursed her lips. "Still prefer my swords..." Chuckling at her grumbling, we fell into a small discussion, all three of us smiling gently as Leone spoke animatedly about how excited she was. --- I''m back... Hah~ I took a break yesterday, then wanted to get a chapter out at noon my time (EST) only to have my ma say "Oh, you know you needed to help me transport an entire Vans worth of items from here to a ce a half hour away yeah?" Boom, my afternoon was now gone... Anyways, yeah, here we go; Academy start, and the system isn''t dead; they were just asleep~! --- Chapter 94 93: First Day At The Academy (5) As I listened to the excited vampiric princess, I looked off towards the seat opposite us, in the back left corner of the room, beside the window. Sitting in that spot was a beautiful young woman, her long brown hair framing her sharp features as she looked outside with a slightly bored expression. Wearing a in brown leatherbat outfit, the woman looked every part an adventurer, giving her desk mate a raised brow as she looked her over. Sitting beside the adventurer-esque woman was a thin, petite woman, her golden locks falling onto her white robes as she excitedly and animatedly spoke to the other woman. "Hey, what''re you looking at?" Jahi narrowed her eyes at me, and I gestured towards the two women, saying "I was just looking around, and those two caught my eye..." Everyone turned their gazes over to the women I pointed out, discreetly observing them. "Yeah, the chick in leather looks good..." Hearing Jahi, we all turned our eyes towards her, making her gulp. Holding up her hands, she gave a wry smile, saying "It was just an observation; just an observation..." ? Keeping our eyes focused on her, she bit her lip as she looked at the floor, before sighing in relief when we looked down at Draka, who was chuckling. "Yeah, she is pretty isn''t she?" My eyes flickered to Rialo, Fresca, and Poshka, only to frown slightly as they seemed... unfazed by Draka. "Hmm... what do you think, Rialo?" The Lamia looked at the woman, her lips pursed before she replied "I don''t know, we would have to talk..." The Dragonkin nodded, sighing. She looked down at the two maids, who only shrugged at her. "Fine, we''ll see, we''ll see... Anyways, hopefully this History ss we''re meant to take isn''t boring..." Jahi sighed, resting her chin in her hand as she said "Eh, I''ll just take a ss or two before taking the final... Really, not too interested in relearning the same thing over and over again..." Anput pouted at Jahi, muttering "If only..." Chuckling, Jahi cupped the olive womans cheek, leaning closer as she whispered "If you wish, I can give you... some ''private'' lessons, dear~" Stiffening under her touch, Anput''s ears and tail twitched as she leaned into the blue hand. Leone and I chuckled, making the Jackalkin flinch, biting her lip as she looked towards us from under hershes. "Alright, get up and follow me; I''ll take you to your next ss..." Vice-Headmaster Bijilo rose from his desk, gently tapping his staff onto the floor, getting everyones attention. Standing up, I followed behind Leone as she walked down the stairs, reaching the old man quickly. He turned to me, smiling slightly as he said "Miss Zara, I do apologize for calling on you during ss earlier. It will... likely cause some problems and resentments from your ssmates." Jahi just chuckled, looking down at the Vice-Headmaster with golden eyes as she said "They can try... Kat belongs to me, and they''ll risk pissing me off if they try something." The old man responded with a chuckle "That''s good! Well, as long as you don''t cause harm when professors can see..." That made the blue Demoness and olive Jackalkin grin, understanding his meaning. As long as no one can prove it was you... You can do what you want. Vice-Headmaster Bijilo turned away from us, looking over therge crowd of students. Opening the door, he led us back out into the hall, back towards the auditorium. Walking beside Jahi, I pursed my lips slightly as I felt her hand on my waist, making me look up at her. She leaned closer, whispering "Kat, I know you don''t care about what people say; at least, that''s what you''ve said. However, if you hear something, let me know. I''ll take care of it." Her eyes were serious, making me chuckle slightly. "What makes you think I''ll let you take care of MY problems?" I shed her a chilling grin, a rune appearing on my palm as I shed it towards her. She just grinned down at me, ruffling my ears as she replied "Yeah, I guess so huh? Sneaky little minx..." Leaving her hand on my waist, we walked down the halls, turning into another long hallway. Reaching a door with a quebeled ''Professor Xiant; History I - IV, Monsterology IV'', Vice-Headmaster Bijilo knocked on the door with his staff, waiting for a response. Sighing to himself, he rapped the staff against the thick wooden door again, this time receiving a muffled "Alright!" Momentster anky man opened the door, his long ck hair falling onto his shoulders as he pushed up somerge sses on his nose. "B-Bijilo!? Oh... Ah, it''s that time again huh? Hah..." Sighing, the man slumped his shoulders before stepping back, revealing the exact same hall as Bijilo''s. "Alright, everyonee inside; find a seat and pour some mana into the crystal, just like you did in the Vice-Headmasters hall." Quickly filtering into the room, we found ourselves seated in simr areas, some students wanting to change things up. Pouring my mana into the crystal, I watched as the man, Professor Xiant, sighed as he approached the podium. "Hah... Call me Professor Xiant; I''ll be teaching you history for this year, and if you continue, I''ll be your teacher again. This ss will be dedicated to two main things; the Labyrinthian, and our Empire, mainly the Labyrinthian. Besides that, we''ll be doing very basic monsterology, since most of thends were formed and created to either avoid certain monsters, or to keep them out. Now, like you could guess, this will be a more... book focused ss, and there will be little hands-on activity in here. Papers, debates, quizzes... yeah, yeah, I know you find it boring, but this is stuff you need to know about. So try to pay attention please? Hah... anyways, just... don''t break anything in these thirty minutes? Then you can go have fun outside with the meatheads..." Copsing into his chair, Professor Xiant buried his head into the three books opened on his desk, his hand blurring as he furiously scribbled something down in one of them. "This is..." Anput sounded despondent, sighing as she looked at Jahi. "Please help me study; I don''t know if I''d be able to stay sane in this ss..." Leone nodded, making Jahi chuckle. "Yeah, a little group study session..." I could already see the lust in her eyes as she said that, making me sigh. However, if there was someone I wanted to help me study history, it would be therge bookworm in front of me. Jahi knew her stuff, and even if she wanted to... divert our attention, we would eventually know enough to take the final early. We fell back into discussion, the thirty minutes passing quickly as we talked about what we nned on doing next year. Sighing when his hourss grew empty, Professor Xiant got up, opening the door with a yawn. "Come on, quick!" He gestured for us to speed up, and we followed behind him as he swiftly led us deeper into the Academy. Reaching arge set of double doors, he opened them and said "Here are the training grounds; its just arge cave, nothing fancy. Have fun!" Making sure we were all there, thenky History Professor bounced away, scurrying back to his books. Entering the training grounds, we were in awe of therge cavern we found ourselves in, easilyrger than a dozen of those lecture halls. Standing in the center were three people, one of which was Liako. Seeing us approach, they turned to stare at us. A tall, bulky man leaned on an equallyrge axe, grinning at us as we got closer. His two bear ears twitched slightly, and I shuddered at the raw aura surrounding him. Beside him was a short, thin elf, his serious face contrasting the Bearkin beside him. On his back was a longbow, and we could see two daggers strapped to his legs. He looked every part the Elven Ranger, his piercing green eyes narrowed as he stared at us. Lastly was Liako, her long raven ck hair pulled into a ponytail as she sheathed her longsword, crossing her arms as her blue eyes raked over us. "Ha! Look at all the fresh blood! I can''t wait to see what they''re like!" "Calm down, you oversized oaf! Hah..." The elf stepped forwards, nodding at us as he said "I am Hawn Sariel; that idiot behind me is Thorn Oakam, and this is Liako. We will be your closebat teachers." Liako looked over at us, nodding before turning her attention back to the group. "Each one of us is a seasoned adventurer, and we know many different styles of fighting. However, we all specialize in something; I used swords, Hawn uses daggers and ranged weapons, and Thorn uses heavier weapons, like axes and maces. Tomorrow we will do mock fights, to determine what you should focus on during our time together." We all nodded, and this time Thorn stepped forwards, still grinning. "Listen up whelps; this will be real training, which means it is likely you will get hurt. However, many of you are mages, some having been taught by private tutors over the years. If one of your ssmates can''t heal you back up, then you''ll just need to go to the nurse, or preferably learn to not get injured." Lifting the axe, he rested it on his shoulder, grinning wider as he continued. "Besides that, we''ll be doing little tournaments throughout the year, to rank each of you. There will be a... prize, for the Top Five students. so try hard, yeah?" "Hah... we weren''t supposed to tell them that tillter you dolt! Fine... Yes, there will be incentives to get stronger, but they are a ways away from now. Try to find what you need to improve on first, before worrying about a high rank. Honestly, you all can either leave now or stay; nothing''s stopping you. Just know that tomorrow will be much different." Nodding, our group turned away instantly, Anput and Leone following behind Jahi. I stopped for a second, a slight frown on my face as I looked over the students. Someone was staring at me... and they weren''t admiring me. Shaking myself, I left, aware of the gaze lingering on me as I walked. Hah... well, guess I already earned myself a grudge huh? --- Slow, but the start of a school year was always slow wasn''t it? Besides that, I really need to get back into a schedule; one day break, anotherte, and today is VERYte... man it''s kinda worrying how easy it is to stop doing daily uploads... --- Chapter 95 94: End Of The First Day Walking out of therge Academy, we made our way back out into the town, still as busy as it was in the early morning. "Jahi, we need to get food..." She turned to look at me, pursing her lips as she looked over her body, before shrugging. "I don''t have that much coin on me right now..." Leone raised her hand, showing us an almost bursting pouch. "We can use this." Jahi walked over to her, pulling her into a hug as she nuzzled her cheek into Leone''s hair. Blushing, the Vampire leaned into the Demoness, drawing a few eyes as the passerby''s looked over with curiosity. Sighing, I took the pouch from her hand, looking back at the three women as I asked "So am I shopping alone, or..?" That made Jahi narrow her eyes, looking me over before shaking her head. "You think I''ll let you out of my sight in a city? After what happened just under two years ago? No, you are not going out alone..." Turning her gaze to the other two women, she growled "And neither are you two. I will NOT have that happen again..." We all shivered as her golden eyes raked over us, only to nod at her. Releasing Leone, Jahi stretched before looking around, saying "Leone, any idea where we can buy ingredients?" She nodded, saying "Yeah, that street we were on this morning is where most of the grocers are." "Welle on, lead the way!" Setting off for that street, I set about shopping for our necessary foodstuffs and other items, handing the bags to Jahi and Anput, who started off enthusiastic, only to end the shopping trip with slight res as I added bag after bag to their arms. I bought various meats, spices, vegetables, fruits, various tea leaves, baking ingredients, sugar... It was... honestly a lot, and I didn''t envy the Demoness and Jackalkin as they carried the groceries. Leone and I chuckled at their plight, turning back to thest store as I quickly gathered the remaining fresh vegetables from the kind old woman. "Alright, that''s it." Jahi and Anput sighed in relief, looking down at the dozens of bags they had hanging from their arms. Walking ahead of the two other women, Leone and I would asionally nce back and chuckle at their res, making them glower at us more. Reaching the cottage, I opened the door for everyone, shuddering slightly when Jahi stopped beside me, her eyes narrowed as she looked me over. "Did you enjoy using me as a pack mule?" Biting my lip, I looked up at her through myshes, giving her a coy smile as I nodded. Growling, she leaned down towards my ears, whispering "Well then, expect it to be repaid in full tonight..." I grinned up at her, nodding. Entering the house, I watched as Anput groaned,ying the bags on the counter before helping Jahi out as well. They both then copsed onto the sofa, Leone pursing her lips as she stood behind them, gently cing her hands on their shoulders as she used a healing spell to soothe their slightly strained muscles. Approaching the counter, I started unloading all the food, asking "Any preferences for dinner tonight?" Anput groaned as Leone''s warm magic washed over her, her eyes lidded as she said "I ah~ would prefer some grilled meat..." Jahi just nodded, her eyes closed as she let Leone heal her. Chuckling, I sorted through therge amount of groceries we had bought, cing them inside the pantry and icebox. "Alright, well I''ll be starting soon, so... you three can just... rest, I guess?" Jahi turned to look at me, nodding as she stood up. "Want to get some training done Anput?" The Jackalkin shot up to her feet, her tail wagging rapidly as she looked at Jahi with wide eyes. Leone and I just chuckled, watching as they both made their way towards the back of the cottage. "Do you want some help?" Leone walked into the kitchen, standing beside me as she looked over the various herbs, spices, vegetables, and finally the meatid out on the counter. "Sure. If you could chop that there-" ~~~ Jahi PoV Leading Anput outside, I looked over the dreary yard behind the cottage with pursed lips. Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose, looking down at the now sullen Jackalkin beside me. "You really show your emotions easily..." She looked up at me, a small smile on her lips as she said "Well, shouldn''t everything be open being partners?" I nodded,ying a hand between her ears, feeling the difference between Kat''s silky fur and Anput''s more thick fur. The other difference between the Dogkin and Jackalkin was... Anput leaned into my hand with a purr, her bushy tail swishing behind her as she shivered under my touch. Kat also leaned into my hand, but she was quieter and more... reserved. Her tail swayed, and her eyes usually narrowed when I scratched behind her ears, but she was definitely quieter. Smirking down at the girl as she leaned deeper into my hand, I was about to snake my other hand to her waist and pull her close, only to stop myself. Right... She wasn''t Kat, didn''t have the same experiences as my little puppy... Not yet, at least. Pulling my hand away, I sighed as I looked over the yard, saying "Let''s get this ce cleaned up first, before sparring." Anput nodded, stretching before moving about the yard, using her earth magic to push the various stones and pebbles away, as well as the few leaves and twigs littering the ground. Taking in the yard, I nodded to myself. It was a good size, roughly thirty feet wide and fifty feet long. Lining the edges were short trees, their bark an ashen gray and the leaves a deep red. The ground was a coarse ck powder, and after scooping some into my hand I watched as it poured to the ground like sand. Looking back up, I chuckled as I watched Anput dance around the clearing, a brown glow around her olive skin as her earth magic was constantly activated, pushing the debris towards a corner of the yard. Finishing, she returned to me, a smile on her lips as she presented her head, her tail swishing as she leaned forwards. Iughed,ying my hand back on her head as I said "Good girl~" She shuddered under my touch, her tail swishing rapidly through the air as she let out a small moan. Chuckling, I removed my hand, making her whine as she looked up at me, before pouting at me. Still chuckling, I gestured towards the small rack on the back of the cottage, where a few wooden des hung. "Fetch~" Anput shuddered again, her cheeks flushed as she went to grab two swords. I bit my lip as I watched her walk, my eyes glued to her swaying hips. I guess she''ll enjoy the same pet y as Kat... Is that a kink all canine rted beastkin tend to have? Not that I''mining... Handing me a wooden de, Anput pursed her lips as she looked away, her obsidian eyes ncing my way. Grinning at her, I ruffled her ears again, enjoying the way she melted under my hand. "Alright girl, lets y~" Shuddering yet again, I took a few steps back from the pouting girl, spinning the de in my hand before lowering my stance, watching her mirror me. Shooting forwards, she brought the de down in a two handed grip, nging off my own as I blocked her blow. I was physically stronger, while she had more agility and dexterity. Which meant... Reversing the de in her hand, she shed towards my exposed stomach, only to grunt as I kicked out, connecting with her toned midriff. Staggering back a few steps, she coughed violently, widening her eyes as Iid my wooden de on her shoulder. Smirking down at her, I stepped back and waited, watching as she healed herself before taking a deep breath. Her obsidian eyes grew hard as she stared at me, twirling the de in her hand. She went from motionless to full speed in the blink of an eye, her de shing in front of me as she unleashed a flurry of blows. Using both hands, I grinned as I blocked each one, only to grunt as her de slid past my own, digging into my side. However, as she smirked up at me, I locked her de between my side and my de before lunging forwards,ying my head against hers. "Come now Anput... You know a blow like that isn''t lethal enough..." She shuddered as my breath brushed against her cheek, gulping before nodding. Releasing her, I rubbed my side before saying "Again." --- I started this chapter almost three hours ago lol... Man, put football on and I''ll watch it all day... even if it is college teams iling desperately at one another. --- Chapter 96 95: A Quick Bite --- This chapter will have ''spicy''nguage. So instead of me saying ''Her hand went below my waist'', it''ll actually tell you where that handnds. I usually avoid using those words outside of ''*'' chapters, to make it less... awkward for people reading in public, but hey, this chapter would flow better with the actual words and not me alluding to those areas. There is no actual smut though, so... --- Kat PoV Standing over the counter, my knife easily sliced through the thick b of beef in front of me. Laying them out on the tray beside me, I looked over to see Leone grinding the spices I had asked inside the mortar, her eyes narrowed cutely as she carefully crushed the spices. Smiling, I chuckled when she turned thoseva like eyes towards me, blushing when she met my gaze. Going back to slicing the meat, I was aware of her gaze on my body as I worked, asionally peeking over my shoulder to see her licking her lips as her eyes raked over my figure. Finishing up, I took the tray and slid beside her,ying it down as I whispered "Like what you see, Princess~?" Leone shivered beside me, gulping as her eyes flickered down to my neck. Seeing that, I trailed a finger up to my cor, pushing it down slightly. Leone gulped again, her eyes going slightly red as she stared intently at the nowpletely bare skin. "Wanna bite?" Hearing my coy voice, Leone nodded, stuttering "W-Would y-you really... le-let me?" I nodded, tilting my head to the side as I said "I mean, don''t vampires drink blood? I haven''t seen you with any though..." Also, I had always liked vampires, though not the ones that shone in the moonlight... Still staring at my neck, Leone replied "W-Well, mother said that I only would need to drink... the blood o-of th-those close to me..." Grinning, Iid my hand on her cheek, which she leaned into. "Well, as long as it doesn''t hurt or kill me, just let me know when you''re... hungry..." Shuffling forwards, I watched as she opened her mouth, her two canines extended into long fangs, saliva roping between her upper and lower jaw as she moved closer to my neck. cing a hand on the back of her head, I held her close to me, shivering slightly as her hands wrapped around my waist. Her ample breasts pressed into my own, and I moaned as I felt her fangs slide into my neck. Unlike what I expected, it was a pleasant sensation, something warm flooding into my neck as Leone''s lips pressed against my skin. I could hear her audibly gulping as she drank my blood, and the familiar stiffness of an erection pressing against my stomach, making my insides clench, my body heating up. Moaning again, I felt my face flush as Leone continued drinking, her teeth sending shivers down my spine. Her fangs sent a warmth throughout my body, and as time passed my insides clenched tighter and tighter, until... Shuddering, I moaned loudly as I buried my face into her neck, panting. Leone gasped, removing her fangs from my skin, licking the bite mark tenderly. Shivering at the feeling of my flesh healing itself, Leone and I looked at one another, panting. She blushed, however she left her hands on my waist. Leaning forwards, I locked our lips together, forcing my tongue inside as I pushed her head closer into mine. As my tongue entered her mouth, I marveled at the sweet taste of her saliva, tinged slightly with the slightly iron tang of my blood. My other hand fell lower, grabbing at her plump ass, making her moan into my mouth. Grinding against me, Leone kept moaning as I kneaded her rear, only to push me away a few momentster, her face crimson. "K-Kat... a-are we a-allowed to d-do this?" I panted, my eyes still glued to her luscious lips, which were a dark scarlet. "K-Kat?!" Pressing our lips together again, I eagerly devoured her tongue, twirling our bodies around as I lifted her onto the counter. Leone weakly tried to push me away, moaning as I pressed her into me. Wrapping her legs around my waist, we lost ourselves to each others taste as a heat spread from my neck throughout my entire body. However, even though I wanted to put out my heat, I pulled away, panting. "I..." Licking my lips, I had to step back, away from Leone. ? Her body was... intoxicating. Her scent sent my head spinning. Her taste warmed me. Her touch sent shivers through my body. Panting, I tentatively touched my neck, which was hot. "I-I think... that we should... only do this... when we... when we..." Leone nodded, looking down at herself before going crimson again. Trying to hide her gigantic boner, I grinned at her, pursing my lips as I wondered if I should... Shaking my head, I looked away, saying "Why don''t you go take care of that... and I''ll finish dinner..." Leone nodded profusely, before rushing towards her room. Leaning against the counter, I dragged in breaths, feeling something trickle down my thighs. Sighing, I turned towards my own room. ~~~ Jahi PoV I pursed my lips, feeling... excitement and arousaling from the bond between Kat and I. Looking at the Cottage, I wondered what had happened, tempted to go inside, before shrugging. Turning to the panting Jackalkin kneeling in front of me, I grinned down at her. "That all, Anput?" She nodded, the wooden swordying on the ground beside her. Scooping the de up, I ced them back on the rack, ncing over my shoulder to admire the sight that was Anput. Her olive skin glistened with sweat, and that pale blue cloth she wore was semi transparent, reveling her small buds. Turning around, I stalked over to her with a grin, raking my eyes over her figure. She was lithe, with taut muscles. Her exposed abs looked chiseled, and when my eyes trailed lower they widened slightly. Sporting arge bulge under her skirt, I shed to loom over her, pushing her back down onto the ground. She yelped, looking up at me with those beautiful obsidian eyes. Pinning her hands above her head, I chuckled as she struggled under me, before she moaned as I kissed her neck. "Ah~ J-Jahi~ N-Not here~!" Pulling away from her neck, I grinned at her, saying "Why not?" Returning my lips to her neck, I trailed them lower, kissing her corbone. Shuddering under me, she moaned again, before whispering "W-What I-if they see us?" I chuckled, pinning her arms with one hand as I used my free one to cup her cheek. "All they''d see is me taking a quick bite from my delectable wife~" Anput bit her lips, before her eyes went wide. Pressing my own against hers, I forced my tongue into her mouth, coiling it around hers as slid my other hand towards her stomach, caressing her. Slipping my hand behind her waist next, I lifted her body into mine, enjoying the way she writhed in my grasp, trying to push me away, her eyes wide. However, like I thought at the beginning of our sparring session, I was much, much stronger than her. Keeping her pinned below me, I had my fill of her lips, before allowing her a chance to breath. She panted under me, her cheeks flushed as she looked up at me. "J-Jahi... T-That w-was..." I answered with another kiss, before raising a brow as I looked down at her. "Great? Cause you sure seem to be excited~" Anput blushed, unknowingly whining when I released her. Standing up, I stretched, knowing that If I continued I would take her here and now. She stared at my crotch, gulping as she saw the size. Grinning at her, I said "Hungry?" Nodding slightly, I helped her to her feet, chuckling at her slightly confused face. "Hopefully Kat''s done soon~" Laying a hand on her small, yet soft ass, I led her inside, looking around an empty kitchen with pursed lips. However, considering I could smell the familiar scene of Kat''s nectar wafting around, I just looked towards our room, leading Anput towards it. Opening the door, we were greeted with the divine sight of a nude Kat, who just stared at us dryly. "You and Leone enjoy yourselves?" She nodded, raising a brow as she looked at Anput, who was burrowing her face into my chest, her eyes screwed shut. Looking over her with lust, I asked "When''s dinner?" --- This would''ve been out like an hour ago but paired with the Ravens game and the FUCKING CHANNEL BUFFERING, LEAVING ME TEN MINUTES BEHIND THE GAME I was a little preupied. --- Chapter 97 96: Family Dinner Kat PoV "When''s dinner?" Hearing Jahi ask that while she ogled my body, I just sighed, dragging a chemise over myself before walking past her. Her handnded on me, making me look at her dryly, before continuing back into the kitchen. The blue Demoness dragged the Jackalkin onto the couch, lounging as she looked towards me, a small grin on her lips as she watched me. Kneading the seasoning into the strips of beef, I nced over my shoulder at Jahi and Anput, asking "So, what happened outside that resulted in... that?" We both turned our gazes towards the unusually shy Jackalkin, who clung closer to Jahi, her ears twitching. Chuckling, Jahi stroked the back of Anput''s head, her eyes gentle as she said "Nothing much, just... got a little hungry~" I shook my head, turning back to the beef as Iid them onto the pan, igniting the fire crystal underneath it. Letting them sear, I started chopping some lettuce, my eyes on Jahi''s as she asked "So, what happened in here that resulted in you needing to change?" I chuckled at her, looking over towards the hallway, where I saw Leone''s ash hair flicker for just a second. "Nothing much, Leone just... got a little hungry~" Hearing me repeat what she said, Jahi just shook her head with a wry grin, before peering over her shoulder. "Leone?" The Vampire shuffled into the room, wearing a loose chemise and a jacket over that, her face slightly flushed as she sat down in one of the free chairs. Grinning at Leone, Jahi asked "So you needed a... ''quick bite'', huh?" Leone just nodded slightly, before stiffening when Jahi continued. "How long have you been... hungry?" Biting her lip, Leone stared down at her hands, whispering "S-Since you sent the ring..." Sighing, Jahi looked over the sad figure of the Vampire. "Leone, you could have just... asked, y''know?" She looked up at Jahi in surprise, only to bite her lip again as she muttered "I-I was w-worried that... e-everyone would be... disgusted..." Looking at one another, Jahi and I sighed. Moving to stand behind Leone, I gently wrapped my arms around her, making her flinch. "Listen, Leone. We are all a... family, now. Jahi and I knew what you were when we epted you; if we weren''t okay with Vampires, well, you wouldn''t be here." Leone just gulped, before nuzzling her cheek into my arm. "A-Are you sure?" "Yes." cing a kiss on her cheek, I went back to the kitchen, continuing the dinner preparations. "Besides, you''re too cute to not be mine~" Sighing, I looked over my shoulder to see Leone go crimson, hiding her face in her knees as Jahi grinned over at her. Finishing the sds, I started cing everything on tes. "Dinner is ready..." Honestly, if I had more time and didn''t have that whole thing with Leone a few minutes ago, I would have made more, but... Watching as they all moved from the living room to the kitchen table, I just shrugged. Sure, it might not be a feast, but from the looks of it, we all aren''t thinking about food right now. Laying the tes down in front of everyone, I poured everyone some tea before taking my own seat. Anput and Jahi both tore into their meals, finishing the meat first before picking at the sd, only eating when I red at them. As for Leone, she just picked at everything, her lips pursed. "Leone, does blood rece food for Vampires?" She hesitantly nodded, giving me an apologetic look as she said "I''m sorry..." Smiling at her, I shrugged as I said "It''s fine, you still ate something I made~" Blushing, she looked away from me. Seeing her stop eating, Jahi slyly stole her te, devouring her portion. "Jahi..." "What? She wasn''t going to eat it..." I sighed, before watching as Jahi looked over us with serious eyes. "Well, we should have this discussion now, I guess." Furrowing my brow, I tilted my head as I looked at her, both Anput and Leone mirroring me. Smiling, Jahi said "You three are my wives." I nodded, while the other two just blushed. "However, even though you are ''mine'', I see no reason to dictate everything you do; you are your own person." Again, I just nodded, making Jahi chuckle. "The main thing that I want to... inform you all about, is that... well, as much as I want to be the only one to taste you, you are all free to... do whatever together." The two other women looked over at me, understanding what Jahi was saying, which made her chuckle again. "Yes, if you want to have fun together, go ahead... of course, I do hope I am your priority~" Anput looked back towards Jahi, her lips pulled into a thin line as she asked "Are you sure? Aren''t most... what was the word... Harem''s all focused on one person?" Jahi nodded, before gesturing towards me. "Sure, and to be honest, that person is Kat. She seems to be the main focal point of our attractions, yes? However, I am, of course, the one you three are married to." Leaning over, she cupped Anput''s cheek, grinning at the writhing Jackalkin as she coyly said "So I hope you''ll continue to be a good girl, hmm~?" I chuckled at the mixed expression of lust and embarrassment Anput wore, before watching as Jahi turned her attention towards Leone,ying a hand on her cheek. "Just like I hope that our Princess will allow me to continue being her knight~" Leone just gulped, looking down at the table before ncing back up at the grinning face of Jahi. Getting up, Jahi stalked around the table, wrapping her arms around my body as she leaned down, her breath ruffling my fur as she whispered "Of course, I don''t need to worry about my puppy, now do I? She''ll alwayse back to her rightful owner in the end..." I shuddered as I felt the tant desire and obsession flooding through our bond, only to nod. "I love you more than I care to admit, Kat..." Gently kissing my cheek, Jahi removed herself from me, before retaking her seat. "So, that''s that. If you want to ''get to know'' one another, go ahead. Of course, I would prefer if one of you was avable at all times..." Grinning at us, Jahi leaned forwards with golden eyes as she said "Because I don''t n on spending the night alone. Ever." Finishing Leone''s te, Jahi got up, walking towards the couch. Leaning against it, she had a small smirk on her face as she looked us over, only to say "Well, finish up; we have our actual first day tomorrow." --- Short, but... Well, I was too busy catching up on this seasons anime, so here''s my rmendations. Eminence in Shadow: Interesting premise, it''s an Isekai about a guy wanting to rule the world form the shadows. So far, he acts like a background character, however it''s been shown that he''s pretty strong and smart. Besides that, he has a whole cast of waifus that have formed a cult under him. Pretty interesting so far, already bought the first three Light Novels and will binge read them in a few days. More than a Married Couple: Kind of a fucked premise ngl, its a modern school show with a required part of the curriculum being cing a boy and girl together to be ''married'' and live like a couple. If you think for like two seconds you can notice that its actually a really bad idea, as not only does it seem like it would separate already formed couples, but makes the students watch as their crushes live with someone else, not to mention if any people are just... not wanting to be in a ''rtionship''. However, so far its just a decent enough school romance anime. Shinobi No Ittoki: My hate watch of the season, mainly because... the mother of MC should have told MC he was a damn Shinobi n Heir when he was a kid, not telling him when he is almost assassinated as a teen, and thinks that he is just that; a normal teen kid. I still n on watching it, just to dunk on the mother''s poor decisions since she is now willingly sending her son, unprepared, into a school of other trained Shinobi, hoping he doesn''t get killed, which if it wasn''t a show, or was realistic, he would have died as soon as he stepped foot in the school. Beast Tamer: Guy is a beast tamer who is taming Demi-human waifus. Nuff said. Management of a Novice Alchemist: Story of a girl running her own Alchemy shop, seems cute and lighthearted so far, though she is insanely strong, like punch a bear and it exploded strong. Honestly just funny as all hell to watch, and the art style is good. Now, before anyone talks about Chainsaw Man, Bleach, Mob, Spy Fam, or My Hero... Of those, the only one I would watch is Bleach, but I doubt I''ll end up watching, just cause I still haven''t finished the original Bleach. Might give Spy Fam a shot, since I already watched the first season, but idk. As for Mob and My Hero... I stopped watching them both a long time ago, and don''t n on resuming them. Chainsaw Man is something I might watch, but I honestly have no idea if I will. Anyways, that''s that. So, uh, yeah. --- Chapter 98 97: Breakfast; Magic Class --- We finally hit 1,000 Collections as well as 450K views! Thank you all! --- After another long, demanding night, I sighed to myself as I exited our bathroom, pulling on my maid dress as I looked over the sleeping figure of Jahi. Hearing her muttering to herself as she turned over made me smile, and I gently lifted the sheets back over her nude body, chuckling silently as she nuzzled into the bed. Creeping out of our room, I entered the dimly lit main room, flicking on the lights before perusing the pantry, contemting what to make. Feeding two gluttons on top of Leone and I was going to require a lot of work each morning, but... [Quest: Make Breakfast for Jahi, Anput, and Leone Reward - 150 XP Additional Reward - Satisfy their ptes (100 XP per person)] Chuckling, I epted that challenge with ease. Jahi was easy enough; she preferred things with slightly sweet tastes, as well as the more simple foods. Just pick it up and take a bite, no need to pair it with something else to get the full vor or require a lot of work to eat, like crab. Anput seemed to eat anything, but had a preference for meats. I had only seen her eat greens with reluctance, however she did like tart or sour things, like lemons. As for Leone, she had preferences like me; more diverse, filling meals. However, I also had an easy way to satisfy her pte now... So, the n was simple; pancakes. You can never go wrong with pancakes. Easy to make, easy to add things to, and they go well with other things, like eggs or sausage. Flour, sugar, milk, eggs, a little salt, and the other things I was going to add to each of their individual pancakes. Cinnamon and some more sugar for Jahi, lemon juice and cranberries for Anput, and some extra butter in Leone''s and mine. As I let them cook on the stove, I started making tea for everyone, setting the table. Going back to flip the pancakes, I quickly seared some strips of bacon on a separate skillet, beforeying everything onto tes. Looking over the table with a nod, I took Leone''s teacup, looking down at my wrist with narrowed eyes. Bringing my finger to my wrist, I used my wind mana to apply a precise cut, allowing the blood to drip into her cup, before healing the small wound up. Recing her teacup, I made my way back to the hall, opening each door. Jahi grumbled awake, staggering to her feet before shuffling towards me. Leone walked out with a blush, her eyes flickering to my neck before she moved past. As for Anput, she opened her door with a yawn, mirroring Jahi as she shuffled to the table. Shaking my head, I guided each of them towards their seats, before pouring tea. "Eat up." They all nodded, Leone elegantly cutting her meal into small portions, while Anput and Jahi simply devoured their meals, almost forgetting to breath. I received notifications for thepletion of the quest, as well as two notifications for Anput and Jahi, but not Leone. "Leone, take a sip..." The ashen haired Vampire nodded at me, lifting her teacup. Bringing it to her plump lips, I grinned at her as her orange eyes went wide, her nose twitching cutely as she sniffed the liquid. "Kat, is this..?" I just nodded, watching in amusement as she gulped it down, her cheeks flushed as she drained her cup. Jahi looked at me in confusion, while Anput was still eating, her eyes closed as she relied on her instincts to move around. "Was that..?" "Blood." Jahi just chuckled, turning her eyes towards the Vampire who was licking her lips, her eyes glued to my neck. "Well, finish up. We need to get out of here in..." Looking down at my pocket watch, I pursed my lips when I saw the time. "We need to leave in five minutes." They all turned to look at me with wide eyes, before scurrying back to their rooms to clean up and dress. "At least they finished..." Sighing, I carried all the tes and cups over to the sink, looking at them with a groan. Cooking for four is a pain... ~~~ Entering the Academy, we made our way though the bustling hallways to reach Vice-Headmaster Bijilo''s hall, where we saw the older man smiling at the entering students. As we passed around the various other students, I could feel that gaze on me again, making me nce around, trying to locate it. Sadly, in therge throng of studentsing and going, I couldn''t find anything. Shaking it off, I walked behind the other girls, making my way to my seat. Leone shuffled beside me, sending furtive nces my way. "Is something the matter, Miss Leone?" Hearing me, she shook her head, only to whisper "C-Could I... g-get another ''d-drink''ter tonight..?" Keeping my expression neutral, I nodded to her, making the Vampire beam. "Ah, you might just need to make her a ss in advance, Kat. I found a good ce for us tonight..." Jahi turned in her seat, smirking at me as she continued. "After all, I believe I promised you a proper date, no?" Nodding at her, I struggled to keep the wide grin off my face. Anput and Leone looked at me with slight envy, before their eyes widened as Jahi whispered "Oh don''t worry, I have ns for both of you as well..." That made the two girls tremble slightly, staring at Jahi''s golden eyes with anticipation. However, before they could continue, we heard Vice-Headmaster Bijilo cough,ying his tome on the podium. "Alright, today is the first actual ss. As such, we have a few minor things to go over before delving into our first lesson. Now, if you''ll turn your attention to the right..." Looking beside him, he gestured at therge pile of books, saying "These will be your textbooks for this year. Inside are various theories, forme, as well as questions and problems for you toplete. It is what we will be using ALL year. So, make sure to always bring it to ss, or else you might just fail." Flicking his hand, we watched as each book glowed green, before gently floating towards everyone. Each bookid itself in front of a student, before opening to the first page. "Now, I trust everyone has a quill or pen?" Everyone nodded, and I looked down at the small, simple pen that was in my bag. "Please sign your names on the line. After that, turn to page 14. We will begin with a simple overlook on what magic is." Scribbling down my signature, I admired therge tomeying in front of me. Bound in elegant ck leather, the book was easily three or four inches thick, and about a foot long. The writing inside was uniform and neat, each line straight and each diagram or picture cleanly inscribed inside. Flipping through the thick pages, I reached page 14, which had arge title. ''Overview of Magic'' Skimming the chapter, I nodded to myself at the exnation, understanding all of it. "This chapter is dedicated to the very basics of magic. Where manaes from, why a core is needed and its function, how we use mana to create sequences, or magic. Ah, Mister Gragori, I see you rolling your eyes. Why is that? Please, stand and exin." Turning, we all watched as Ulysses stood up with a sigh. "Respectfully sir, this is all incredibly basic; it''s something we all learned as children. Even those ofmon origin know what mana is." "Well, then tell me. What is mana?" Ulysses looked at the older man with a smirk. "Mana is an energy present everywhere in the world. It isprised of the elements-" "Incorrect." Ulysses just stared at the Vice-Headmaster, who shook his head with a sigh. "It is not prised of the elements.'' Mana IS the elements. Without mana, we would not have a world to live on. Mana created everything you see before you. See, that is why we study the basics; what seems like a minor difference to you now will shape your outlook on what mana, and consequently magic, is, and how to wield it. That is the difference between a good mage, and an expert mage." Ulysses sat back down with a frown, opening his textbook and reading through the passage. "Now, I am sure many of you are under the same assumption as Mister Gragori. However, that is something you need to relearn. Mana is the lifeblood of our world, and you are all lucky to have been able to form a core and tap into that lifeblood; it is what enables you to be stronger." Opening his own tome, Vice-Headmaster Bijilo started reading the passage aloud, stopping every few sentences to ask questions and cement our understanding of what we were reading. The ss wasn''t even halfway over, and I was already enjoying it immensely. --- So obviously I won''t be writing about literally EVERYTHING in their sses, and sometimes they will just be short summaries about what happened. However, we will be ''here'' at the Academy for the foreseeable future, so getfy, cause only one ss is going to have action, while the rest of the actiones from off campus. Besides that, yes, in a few chapters we get the first Date between Kat and Jahi, after which will be the same night that Jahi x Anput and Kat x Leone happens, so... Enjoy~ --- Chapter 99 98: History; Eyes "That''s all for today. I hope that you all will look deeper into what we just discussed after ss. Now, you have five minutes to get to Professor Xiant''s ss." Closing hisrge book, Vice-Headmaster Bijilo gestured towards the door, a smile on his face as he watched us filter out of his hall. Nodding to him as I left, I followed behind Jahi and Anput, who were talking in a hushed tone. "Maybe we should..?" "Hmm... yeah, it seems kinda..." Leone and I chuckled, making the two women turn to look at us. Smirking at them, Leone said "Finallye around to the amazing thing known as magic?" Jahi pursed her lips, staring at the smug looking Vampire, while Anput let out a ''Hmph!'' and crossed her arms, looking away. "I can definitely see its merits now..." "I believe I''ve shown you the merits many a time during our spars, Lady Jahi." Narrowing her eyes at me, Jahi stared at me before shaking her head, a wry smile on her lips. "Yes, I guess you have, haven''t you? However..." Flickering forwards, she wrapped her arm around my waist, pulling me into her. Leaning down, she smirked at me as she whispered "I thought you liked the fact that I am more... physical..?" Sighing, I slipped from her arms, giving her a dry look. Chuckling, she turned and led us towards our History ss, both Anput and Leone staring at me with mixed looks. Raising a brow at them, I held back a chuckle as they both swiftly turned away, hiding their faces. Entering Professor Xiant''s ss, we all held back a groan as we saw yet another thick textbook stacked against the wall, before letting that groan out when we noticed that there were actually TWO textbooks we would be using. Rolling his eyes at us, Professor Xiant gestured towards the piles, saying "Everybody take one of each, please." Hefting them into my arms, I carried Leone''s textbooks as well, shaking my head when she offered to take her own. Laying them on our desk, I pursed my lips as I looked over the two textbooks, reading the titles. The first was a grey bound book, ''History of the Empire of Ash'' inscribed on the front. In the center was the alchemical for ash, which was an E with a mirrored center branch. As for the other textbook, it was bound in rough leather, with ''Labyrinthian and Basic Monsterology'' inscribed on the cover. "As I said yesterday, this ss will cover the basic history of our Empire and the history of the Labyrinthian, as well as some surface level Monsterology, since it ties in with both our history and the Labyrinthian''s." Standing in front of his podium, Professor Xiant turned to look at his chalkboard, quickly scribbling down a few words. "This... will be what we are talking about... over theing month or so..." Finishing, Professor Xiant stepped aside, reveling six words. Empress Vulcan Ash Sanctus Ignacia Dragons Tapping them in order, Professor Xiant exined each one. "As you are aware, the Empress has been alive for a very, very long time. In fact, very few know exactly how long she has walked this earth. Lilith, the most powerful and oldest Demon in the world, speaks of her with a familiar fondness, and a respect reserved for your elders. However, what we are really going to talk about is how Empress Ash managed to unify the Warlords of old under one singr banner. Next, the man who founded this Academy, and helped keep this Empire under control and united; Vulcan, the First Knight of Cinder. He was, by all ounts, one of the greatest warriors and schrs this Empire has ever seen. His contributions are only overshadowed by the Empress herself. Then, we shall take a look at the early years of the Empire, and how it went from just thends around this mountain, to the sprawling, vast domain we all know and love. We will look at how the nobility has changed over the years, the rise and fall of houses, and their contributions or undoings. Of course, we must discuss the mountain we are currently on, as well as the city that was built on and in it; Sanctus Ignacia, the seat of the Empress'' power and the Capital of our Empire. Finally, we will be briefly going over the three dragons that have resided in our Empire since its creation; The Duchess ki is the most... sociable of the three, and we are lucky to have her daughter, Lady Draka, in ss with us." Draka just gave a quick wave to the ss, making our ssmates start whispering to one another. Coughing, Professor Xiant continued when everyone was quiet. "The other two are Lady Igna, one of the Empress'' wives, and the owner of this mountain, and Lord Ter''Ran, the Earth Dragon who watches over the Labyrinthian border. Both are more... reclusive, and prefer to spend their time alone, maintaining the bnce they created in millennia''s prior." Circling ''Ash'', Professor Xiant turned towards us, saying "So, what better ce to start than the very beginning of our Empire. Open the gray book to page four, and we''ll start there. Now, who would-" ss slowly trickled by, with students being called on to read passages aloud before discussing what was read. In the end, we created a very rough outline of what the Empire used to look like. Sanctus Ignacia is in the center of the Empire, and the fournds surrounding it were owned by four strong tribes. The north was held by a tribe of Wolfkin, the Fenrika. They controlled their territory with an iron fist, demanding tributes to them in exchange for protection. The east was ruled by the three Demon ns, one of which was Asmodeucian n, whichter became the Asmodia''s. The other two were Beliali and Cimeriesa, which were still around to this day. The south was overrun by Lamia, Gorgons, and Nagas, who all answered to one woman; Echidna, the mother of all snakes. Contrary to what most people would think, the south was a bountiful, peacefulnd. Humans, Beastkin, Snakes, and more lived in harmony, all because Echidna wanted peace. As for the west, it was the home of Humanity, and the various tribes fought each other for territory, but a fragile bnce was made in theirnds, creating a tense peace. That was what we discussed today, and while it was slightly boring, I was curious about a few things, the main one being about the Demon ns, and the other being about Echidna. Was she the ''same'' as my previous world? As for the ns, why did the Asmodeucian n change, while the other two remained the same? What was the difference between them? Looking at Jahi, I saw that she too was rereading the passage in the book, a slight frown on her face. If even she had no idea... "Alright, ss dismissed. Go wave some swords around like barbarians." Professor Xiant closed his book, and many students jumped to their feet, rushing out of the room. I guess those were the people who didn''t like history... I shivered slightly, feeling that gazending on me yet again. ncing around the room, I could only see three people looking my way. The first was Jillian Sariel, the future Duchess of the Sariel Lands. Her eyes were narrowed as she stared at me, before grinning widely when she saw me look her way. Next was the adventurer like woman, her eyes flickering my way as she talked with her seat mate, the thin, elegant looking blonde woman. Lastly, sitting in the front row, a tall, muscr man was calmly looking over our group, nodding his head a few times before turning away. Their gazes made me purse my lips slightly as I turned away. Jillian Sariel obviously meant trouble; she disliked Jahi, and that grin was really... unnerving. As for the Adventurer, her eyes held a slight interest in them, however it seemed to be... more than that. However, the one that made me the most worried was the tall man in the front. See, I just couldn''t really understand his gaze. It felt... too neutral. After all, while Jillian might be troublesome, I could at least anticipate her petty attacks on Jahi and I, and potentially Leone. The Adventurer likely had an interest in not only the maid who could sit with ease around such politically powerful people, but also might have developed a crush of sorts. She was still just a teen, and it wasn''t umon to be attracted to someone in your ss, especially if you thought you had a chance with them due to sharing a simr status, like both of us beingmoners. Not to be narcissistic, but Charisma is my highest stat, and I was already a good looking woman; pair my pretty face with an amazing body, and you have someone most people would fall for, especially among teens. So, I wasn''t worried about their gazes, but that mans did worry me. "Come on, lets go to our Combat ss!" Hearing Anput''s excited voice, we all looked over at the Jackalkin, chuckling as her tail swayed side to side, her ears twitching. Getting up, I ced the books into my bag, sighing at the weight, before following behind everyone as we made our way towards therge cavern where we would be training. --- Lol I just realized that Chapter 100 will be a lemon~ --- Chapter 100 99: Combat Entering therge cavern, we yet again saw our threebat instructors. The bulky Bearkin, Thorn Oakam, was leaning against his axe, chuckling as he talked to the thin elf beside him, Hawn Sariel. As for Liako, she stood off to the side, kneeling with her de across her knees. Seeing us enter, Thorn and Hawn quieted down, while Liako sheathed her de and rose to her feet. "Wee back new-bloods!" Thorn''s booming voice echoed around the cavern, making Hawn sigh. "Yes, yes, wee. Now, we have two hours of ''ss'', so here''s what we''re going to be doing. Since this is our first look at you all, you will be doing a bunch of basic exercises and some basic reps with your weapon of choice. Once we split you into your respective groups, you''ll start training with us." Hawn sighed again, before gesturing towards Liako, who stepped forwards. "Alright, here''s the n. Push-ups, sit-ups, sprints, a reaction test, and then some weapon drills. So, everyone get on the ground." Thorn dropped to the ground, assuming the push-up position as he grinned at us. Some students groaned while others just did as told. Leone and I stayed beside one another, while Jahi and Anput moved in front of us, turning so that they could see our faces. "Lower and raise on my mark. Down..." Liako''s dry voice entered our ears, and we all lowered ourselves to the ground. "Up, one. Down..." She continued, and we entered a steady rhythm. As Leone and I did our sets, Jahi and Anput were staring at us intently, or more specifically... Sighing, I gave Jahi a dry look, making her smirk at me. "Up, fifty. Down..." Continuing on, Leone eventually copsed to the ground, panting, as we reached the seventy mark. My muscles were surprisingly fine, however as soon as we hit the hundreds I stopped, faking exhaustion. After all, I would rather be just average then be seen as excellent. Narrowing their eyes at me, Jahi and Anput observed me before shrugging. Sitting beside Leone, we both watched the Demoness and Jackalkinplete more and more. Looking around, I noticed that, as of the one-fifty mark, most students had stopped. The only people still going were the Adventurer, Draka, Jillian, Ulysses, and three other students. However, each of them were coated in sweat, whereas Jahi and Anput... "Y''know, I was thinking steaks again for dinner tonight." "No, I don''t want the same thing two days in a row... how about a soup? It was a little chillyst night." The two women were casually making small talk, unaware that they were currently being observed by the entire ss. Thorn was grinning at them as he dropped down, keeping pace. "Up, two hundred. Enough." However, both Jahi and Anput continued on, debating tonights meal. With a sigh Leone reached forwards, flicking their brows. Turning their attention to the Vampire, they both looked around in surprise, before shrugging. "Was that it?" I nodded at Jahi, and she pursed her lips, staring at her arms. "I coulda kept going... hah..." Shaking her head, Liako said "That''s good enough, Lady Asmodia." Turning, she looked towards the rest of the ss, smirking. "Alright, next is sit-ups." With a groan everyoney on the ground,pleting the next set of exercises. Leone did eighty, I did another hundred, and Jahi and Anput reached the max, which was two-fifty. Jillian and the Adventurer kept pace with the two women, however their breathing was strained, and their bodies drenched. Next were the sprints, which was to run from one side of the marked area to the other in a set time, which gradually decreased as it continued. Leone was now ring at Jahi and Anput, before turning to me with a pout. While not drenched like some of the others, Leone had a sheen on her brow, and her long ashen hair was sticking to her skin. "Ha... Kat, I think... I think we should do some... training at home... ha..." I nodded, keeping up my slightly exhausted appearance. Watching as Jahi and Anput finished thest sprint, they walked over to us, finally showing a little sign of the amount of exercise they were getting. Wiping a bead of sweat off her brow, Jahi looked down at me, her eyes slightly narrowed. Meeting her gaze, I stepped forwards and used my water magic, cleaning her off, before repeating with the Jackalkin. "Kat, why..?" Tilting my head, I asked "Why what, Lady Jahi?" Sighing, she shook her head, watching as I cleaned off Leone as well. "So far so good! Alright, next is a short reflex test. Create pairs and send one of you up to me." Nodding at Leone, I walked beside Anput as we walked up to Liako. Turning to me, Anput whispered "Why are you holding back?" Without looking at her, I replied "There''s no reason for a maid to be outstanding, is there?" She just sighed, shaking her head as we approached Liako. In her hands were long, thin strips of wood, markings evenly spaced out on the sides. ? Seeing the ruler, I listened to Liako speak. "Alright, so this is a simple test. Hold your fingers like this, and your partner ces the stick here, the higher numbers up top. Count down and release the stick, and they should try to catch it, like this." Hawn moved forwards, giving us a demonstration. Liako held her hand out, separating her thumb and index fingers by a few inches. Holding the stick between them, Hawn counted down before releasing the stick, which was almost instantly caught by Liako. "That''s how its done. So, take a stick and go back to your partners. Record the average number from ten tests, and then tell one of us when we are near." Nodding, I stepped forwards and took a stick, walking back to Leone. Exining it to her, we started. The stick had twenty notches, and was almost two feet long. Leone managed to average around six and a half, which wasn''t bad. Mirroring her, I averaged just under six, before looking over to see Jahi and Anput averaging around one. Liako approached, and after telling her our numbers, she nodded before walking over to Jahi and Anput, watching their attempts. "They''re so..." Hearing Leone, I turned to see her staring at Jahi, smiling. I just nodded, before... "What did the Marquess and Sultana feed those little monsters?" Turning, we both were shocked to see therge figure of Thorn as he stroked his beard, staring intently at Jahi and Anput. I couldn''t hear him or feel him as he approached... Leone chuckled, returning her gaze to the two women as she said "I have no idea, but..." Thorn chuckled as well, before walking away, shaking his head. "Last part of todays ss! We have various wooden weapons on these racks, so go find the one that suits you the most." Jahi, Anput, and Leone all walked to the sword rack, while I went to the dagger rack. As I reached for one two peoples hands brushed against mine. Furrowing my brow slightly, I looked to either side of me, seeing the Adventurer on my right and Jillian on my left. The duchess just grinned at me, taking the dagger as she whispered "Watch yourself~" As for the Adventurer, she just gulped as she stared at me. Raising a brow, I said "You can move your hand now." "Ah!" She retracted her hand, pursing her lips as she stared down at it. Grabbing another dagger, I rejoined the group, watching as the Adventurer eventually took a dagger of her own. "Now, if you chose a short sword or dagger, Hawn will be your teacher. If you chose a sword of any kind besides a short sword, I will be your teacher. Everyone else, Thorn is your teacher. So, go to them now." Bowing slightly to the other women, I walked over towards the small gathering around Hawn. A majority of the ss chose swords, while the nextrgest group was axes and maces. For short swords and daggers, there were only twenty of us. Looking towards the short, thin elf, I waited for him to begin. Taking a breath, he looked over all of us, his gaze stopping on Jillian for a moment before he said "So, a dagger or short sword is all about using speed and precision over strenght. As such, I will try and develop you more into agile warriors by putting you through some basic exercises liketeral jumps and short sprints. Besides that, you will be practicing with each of the people present so that you can get used to different styles." Drawing the dagger from his belt, Hawn started twirling it in his hand before he continued. "Against longer des like a normal swords, or against axes , it doesn''t matter. You don''t want to parry unless you absolutely need to. You''ll be overpowered easily by a person using those weapons, so instead, dodge their blows before putting yourself in position to strike swiftly and urately." Sheathing his dagger, he said "Well, pick a partner and have a quick spar with them." Everyone started looking around, however... Internally sighing, I found myself standing between the Adventurer and Jillian, both of whom were smiling at one another, sparks flying between them. "I picked her first." "Respectfully Lady Sariel, Miss Kat doesn''t seem to be interested in sparring with you." Looking between the two women, I blinked a few times before turning my gaze to Hawn, who was chuckling as he approached. "Come on cousin, she''s right! The maid is a step closer to Miss Greselda than she is to you!" Jillian just red at her brother, sighing as she stepped away. "Fine, but I want to be her partner next, Miss Greselda." Greselda just nodded, however her eyes shone with an insincere light. Huffing, Jillian walked away, followed by her cousin. "Miss Kat, let me introduce myself. I am Greselda, and I wish to be you sparring partner for the day." Bowing slightly to her, I replied "It''s a pleasure, Miss Greselda." Gripping the dagger, I gestured towards the small patch of free space beside us, asking "Well, shall we?" Nodding, Greselda dropped into a stance, which I mirrored. "Ready?" She nodded again, only to narrow her eyes as I rushed forwards. Stabbing the dagger towards her ample chest, she used her free hand to push mine away, before her dagger snaked up towards my throat. "Ah..." Stepping back, she gave me a wry smile as she scratched her cheek. "Sorry, sorry... Just... too used to having to fight for real..." Staying quiet, I resumed my stance and attacked her again, this time engaging in a rapid flurry of blows as we blocked and dodged each others attacks. The spar flew by, Greselda apologizing whenever her attacks hit. In fact, our current score was weighted in her favor; on purpose, of course. One of my wins was only because during the previous spar, she had pushed me away, only for her hand tond on my breast. Ignoring the squeeze she gave it, I ced the tip of the dagger under her chin, making the woman gulp. Releasing it, she stared at her hand for a second before her eyes went wide, bowing deeply. Sighing, I peered over my shoulder, almost chuckling as I saw Jahi ring at me. "Time!" Bowing to her again, I said "Good day, Miss Greselda." "Ah... Uh, yeah, good day..." She watched as I walked away, rejoining the group. "So, care to exin what that was?" Jahi''s low growl entered my ears, and I could only look at her with a raised brow, feigning ignorance. "What what was?" Snarling lightly, she looked away from me, cing her sword back on the rack. Anput just chuckled, while Leone was staring at Greselda intently. Sighing, I said "It was just a mistake in the midst of a spar, nothing else." Turning their gazes towards me, they all just stared at me before nodding. However, Jahi leaned down, whispering "Well, let''s just say there will be a few... ''mistakes'' tonight then." "Alright, so that''s the end of sses today. Go home and reflect on what we did today." Liako dismissed us, and as we were leaving Jahi turned to look at the other two. "We''ll be back home sometimeter tonight. Either make yourselves something or go out and eat. If you do go out, stay together. Understood?" They nodded, looking at me with mixed gazes filled with envy and lust. Handing Anput our bags, Jahi grinned down at me, saying "I have to reward my puppy with a date tonight~!" --- Long long chapter... Anyways, submitted the contract yesterday, should be reviewed and epted soon, so... just a forewarning that chapters will be locked soon. If I can, I''ll try and keep the coin price low and lock chapters 66 and up (Which is just after the first lemon) Besides that, next chapter is a lemon~ --- Chapter 101 100: Date With Jahi (1)* --- Started this, and got a decent bit in without having a lot of smut, so it''ll be a two parter. --- Jahi led me out of the Academy, walking beside me. After we traveled far enough away from the Academy, Jahi ced her hand on my waist, smirking down at me. "Mistake number 1~" I just scoffed, taking in the various stores and buildings around us as she led me deeper into the city. "Where are we going?" "Patience puppy. Patience." Giving her a dry look, I sighed at her smug smirk. However, even though I acted displeased, my heart was racing slightly. Sure, Jahi held me practically everyday, but we had never had something romantic like a date before. Most of our time together was spent either training or in bed, and while I certainly enjoyed the time together, I would be lying if I said I wasn''t missing the dates and normal couple activities. A few momentster I found myself staring at a small corner store, the signboard depicting a spool of thread. Reading the runes inscribed on the wood, I widened my eyes as I turned to Jahi. She grinned at me, saying "Yup, it''s Angels Thread, run by a good friend of Miss Violet. In fact, they traded spots just so Miss Violet could be closer to mother. In fact, while not as good as Miss Violet, I think this seamstress does much better work on more... intimate clothing." Raising a brow, I walked into the store behind Jahi, looking around with wonder. Just like the store run by Violet back home, this one was home to dozens of mannequins and bolts of silk, as well as arge amount of loose clothing stacked on the tables. Each one looked exquisite, and when I looked closer at the prices... Picking up a cute purple shirt, embroidered with pink flowers, I looked at Jahi with shock. "This is only 12 silvers?!" The Demoness just chuckled, before pursing her lips. "Hmm... I really do think red is more your color." Folding the shirt, I looked around the shop with a grin, scurrying about. ~~~ Jahi PoV I watched as Kat browsed through the various clothes, her eyes alight as she held up various shirts, skirts, and dresses, asking about my opinion on all of them. It was... refreshing, seeing her like this. The way she acted at the Academy ticked me off slightly. She was MY wife, and yet she felt the need to hide herself from the world, acting like some average, emotionless maid. I could understand it, I really could, but it wasn''t something that I would ever agree with. That''s why seeing her acting her age for once made me so happy. "Ooh! Jahi, look! This would be perfect on Anput''s olive skin! Oh, and this goes great with Leone''s eyes!" Shaking my head, I could only stare at her with a wry smile. I guess mother rubbed off on her after all... However, looking at the dark crimson sundress in her left hand and the orange shirt in her right, I nodded, already imaging Anput in the dress and Leone in the shirt. Seeing my nod, Kat grinned at me, before thrusting the clothes into my arms. Raising a brow, I was about to say something when she flickered away, already looking through more clothes. Sighing, I watched on, my heart warm as she muttered to herself, inspecting different clothes before cing them back on the table. It took awhile, but eventually Kat found what she wanted, which surprisingly was only a shirt, pants, and a dress. However, she found two more outfits for Anput and Leone, making me purse my lips. "You can get more, y''know?" Kat just shrugged, looking down at her maid dress. "Honestly... at this point it feels weird wearing something other than this..." Even though she said that with a smile, my heart clenched. Gritting my teeth, I could only swallow down what I was going to say, following behind her as we walked deeper into the store. After all, next was the section I really wanted to see... Pushing through the curtains, we entered the section dedicated to undergarments. Rolling her eyes at me, Kat started browsing as well, only to turn back at me when I poked her side. Tilting her head, she followed my finger as I pointed to a table. Approaching it, Kat just raised a brow at me, before shrugging. On the table was a set ofce stockings and a string bra and panties. "Try it on." She furrowed her brows at me, before looking around. There were only four others inside, one couple, a woman by herself, and the owner of the store lounging in the corner, watching over everyone. Picking up thece, Kat followed behind me as we approached the owner, who was currently puffing on a pipe. "Ah, Lady Asmodia. Is this one yours?" Taking in her appearance, I could only admire her for a moment before feeling Kat''s hand on my waist, ready to pinch. "Yup, Kat is my wife. Anyways, Morgana, she wants to try this on." Morgana was a Subus, and as such looked like the embodiment of lust. Shapely curves, silky ck hair, glistening red skin, a long tail, wide horns, and ck eyes with a crimson iris, Morgana was incredibly attractive, and when I met her the first time... Honestly it was a good thing that I was so... active with Kat. Looking Kat over, Morgana nodded as she took another puff of the pipe, before gesturing to the curtains behind her. "Pick a room, change, and then I''ll let Lady Asmodia in for a few seconds. No funny business in my store." ~~~ Kat PoV Entering the changing room, I rapidly stripped down, before looking into the mirror. Running my hands over my body, I smirked as I nced down at what Jahi chose. Sliding on the stockings, I tied the ''bra'' and ''panties'' on, shaking my head as I looked myself over. They barely covered anything. The ck fabric dug into my breasts, my are peeking out around the fabric, which was pushed out by my nipples. As for the lower part, the fabric was just a little wider than the string, dividing my lower lips. Sighing, I moved to the curtain, making sure it covered me as I poked my head outside. Seeing Jahi talking to the Subus, I coughed once. "Jahi, you have thirty seconds. If you''re not out by then I''lle in there myself." She red at the Demoness, making Jahi scratch her cheek, before turning her eyes towards me. Stepping forwards, she entered the changing room, staring at me for a second before turning her gaze to the ceiling, biting her lip. "What''s that supposed to mean?" cing my hands on my hips, I narrowed my eyes at the Demoness, making her sigh. "Kat, if I see more of you I''ll be tempted to turn you around and take you here and now. So, unless you want to be banned, I''ll exit now." Nodding, I turned around, only to feel her handnd on my ass. Yelping, I turned to see her grinning down at me, her lips next to my ear as she whispered "Keep it on." Kissing my neck, she tore her eyes away from me before exiting. Picking up my clothes, I dressed myself quickly before exiting as well, rejoining Jahi and the Subus. "You just couldn''t help yourself huh? Not that I can me you... Anyways, this alles out to 12 Gold." Nodding, Jahi reached into her bag and pulled out a pouch,ying down 12rge gold pieces. Scooping them up, the Subus smirked at them, before saying "Good luck Miss Kat~" Grabbing my wrist, Jahi dragged me from the store. "Wha... H-How was that 12 Gold!?" "I bought some other things, don''t worry about it." Jahi''s voice was gruff as she led me outside. Looking around, Jahi nodded to herself as she led me to an empty alley, continuing deeper into it before looking me over. Grinning widely at me, she pushed me against the wall, pressing her lips against mine. Her tongue entered my mouth, and I could only moan as she ced her hands on my ass, pulling me into her, pressing her erection against my stomach. Jahi greedily devoured my lips before pulling away, panting. "Alright... so, I''m giving you a choice..." Leaving her hands on my rear, she nodded her head towards the bag filled with the clothes. "You satisfy me here and now, or I use what I just bought on you for the rest of our date." "What did you get?" Grinning, she shook her head as she said "Secret. Now, pick." Pursing my lips, I alternated my stare between her and the bag, before pointing at the bag. Her grin widened as she released me. Opening the bag, she pulled out... It was a long cylinder, inscribed with dozens of runes. In her other hand was small square, two runes on that. Was that... "This is something Morgana invented, and after asking her about it, I was rather interested in it. She called it a ''Vibrating Plug''. Now, it goes..." Flipping up my dress, I couldn''t even react as I felt something lodge itself into my cunt, making me yelp. Chuckling, Jahi remained kneeling in front of me, tapping a few of the runes. "I know it''s not as big as me, but..." Getting back up, she tapped a rune on the square, and I moaned as I felt the cylinder gently buzz inside me. "Well, sadly I can''t do that." Chuckling, she licked her lips as she pressed the rune again, making the buzz more frequent. Feeling my knees buckle slightly, I leaned against the wall, staring up at her sadistic grin. "Actually... kneel." Her voice quickly took on themanding tone she used in the bedroom, and my body instinctively kneeled in front of her. Undoing the buttons on her pants, her cock pped onto my cheek, making me moan. "So, we''re going to have a little...petition. You are going to suck me off, and if by the end of two minutes I haven''t came yet, you win. If you can''t, you fail." "W-What''s the... reward..?" Chuckling, Jahi tilted her head. "Hmm... IF you win, I''ll let you do what you want with me for a day. Noints, no objections, as long as it isn''t too extreme. However..." Looming over me, her eyes flickered to gold as she whispered "If you fail, this ''Vibrating Plug'' will stay inside you not only for this date, but tomorrow as well. Oh, and I''ll of course be controlling it the entire time." I shuddered. That kind of power in her hands... Yeah, I wouldn''t make it. "So, time starts... Now~" Hearing that, I widened my eyes before opening my mouth, instantly swallowing her cock. Raising my hands, I gripped her shaft in both hands, gently stroking her off. Counting down the seconds, I started bobbing my head down to meet my hands, I swirled my tongue around her tip, watching as Jahi bit her lip, taking a deep breath. Continuing the blowjob, I released one hand from her cock and grabbed her heavy balls, rolling them around. Jahi groaned slightly as I did that, making me smirk up at her. Narrowing her eyes, she stared at me for a few more moments before looking up, towards the wall. Reaching a minute, I sped up, audibly sucking on her tip, the noise echoing around the empty alley. Her hips trembled for a split second, making me speed up even more. Flicking my tongue across her tip, I drained her urethra quickly, swallowing her precum as it dripped out. Grunting lightly, Jahi continued to stare at the wall, her golden eyes narrowed as she let out a soft growl. Seeing her struggling, I released her cockpletely, grabbing her hips as I started taking her cock down to the base. Her eyes widened as she turned to look down at me, only to thrust forwards twice before growling. Seeing her conflicted gaze, I chuckled internally. I had thirty seconds left, but... Gulping, I coiled my tongue around her shaft, before feeling her hands grab my head,nding behind my ears. "Fuck~!" Leaning over me, Jahi''s balls trembled against my chin as she came, flooding my stomach. Swallowing it all down, I enjoyed her sweet, warm taste as it poured into me, watching as the Demoness pulled away. Her cock throbbed still, the tip drooling as she red down at me. Kissing the tip, I got up, smirking at her. "Jahi, I''ve been satisfying you for a long time now. If I put my mind to it, two minutes is more than enough." She pursed her lips before cing her cock back into her pants. "Well, you won. However..." She grinned at me, and I fell back to my knees. The plug was vibrating intensely inside me, massaging a majority of my cunt. I couldn''t even moan as the pleasure swarmed my system. Looking up, I watched as Jahi smirked down at me, holding the remote in her hand. Crouching in front of me, she gently pat my head as she whispered "I said nothing about removing this from you today~ Come on puppy, we need to go for a walk~!" Chapter 102 101: Date With Jahi (2)* Jahi PoV Walking down the street, Kat clung to my arm, her breathing strained as she red up at me, biting her lips. Grinning down at her, I tapped the strengthen rune, making her shiver on my arm as the plug sped up. "Come on puppy, we still need to make it to the restaurant~" Wrapping my arm around her waist, I lead the trembling Dogkin past various people, some ncing at us for a moment before looking away. Leaning over to her, I whispered "Come on puppy, act natural~ After all, it''d be bad if people found out~" Oh I was loving every second of this~ Her res, the way her lips trembled as she stifled her moans, and how her ample curves clung to me as she steadied herself. Panting gently, she screwed her eyes shut for a moment before staring ahead with determination. Feeling her tail thumping into my leg, I groaned slightly. She was... Staring down at her, I held in a chuckle as I saw her try to hide her pleasure filled expression. Ah~ Shaking my head, I continued leading her down the street, tempted to increase the vibration again. Sighing, I released the remote, letting it lie in my pocket. Seeing the familiar storefront of the teashop I had ced a reservation in yesterday, we entered the quiet little store. "Ah, Young Lady!" I smiled gently at the little old woman sitting at the counter, her gray hair falling past her shoulders. "Miss Draculia! Ah, this is one of my wives, Katherine Zara. Come on Kat, say hi~" "H-Hello M-Miss Drah~" Shuddering, she hid her face on my arm, making the old woman chuckle. "Aw, she''s shy~ Anyways, you have room 3, and Valerie will take your order in a few moments." "Thanks Miss~ Come on Kat!" Taking her by the hand, I walked down the hall, finding door three quickly. Entering the room, Kat copsed into the chair, panting as she stared at me. Grinning, I sat opposite her, cing the remote in front of her. "Well, think you can manage an entire meal, my little puppy~?" Kat gulped as she stared at the remote, before her head turned away as Valeria walked in. She looked like she could be rted to Leone, as her ash hair and red eyes were simr enough. However, unlike Leone, Valerie was a thin, tall women, her beauty more deathly with her shallow features and pale skin. "Miss Jahi~" She was also much more outgoing than Leone. Leaning on the table, she grinned at me, her extended canines gleaming in the light before she turned to look at Kat. "Ah, is this that Kat girl?" I nodded, before chuckling as Valerie pointed at the remote. "What''s that?" Sliding it over to her, I said "Want to try it?" Nodding, she pressed the weaken rune, making Kat breathe a sigh of relief, before stiffening as Valerie tapped the strengthen rune a few times. I could faintly hear the buzzing from this side, enjoying the way she writhed slightly. "What''s it do? Nothings happening..." Pursing her lips, Valerie yed around with it for a few moments, tapping both the strengthen and weaken runes repeatedly. Kat was blinking, her eyes unfocused as she stared off at the wall, biting her lips. "Whatever. Anyways, what do you want?" Pulling out a pad, Valerie turned to look at me, scribbling down my order. "A pot of Cinnamon Fireleaf Tea, and a tray piled with a bunch of biscuits, your choice." She nodded, turning to look at Kat. Tilting her head, Valerie looked back at me. "Kat''s just had a long day, so ignore her. That''s all we want, thanks Valerie~" cing the pad back in her apron, she exited the room, ncing at the rigid figure of Kat one more time. Grabbing the remote, I turned the plug down, chuckling as she breathed a sigh of relief. Watching as she red at me, I hovered my finger over the strengthen rune, making her gulp. She stared at me intently, making me chuckle, before sighing. "So is this going to be..?" Iughed, turning my gaze to the door. "Well, we can do quiet a bit here~ Besides, I felt like this is a good start..." Kat nodded, her eyes flickering back to the remote. I slid it back to my side, making her shoulders slump slightly. "Haha~ Yeah, you''re not getting this Kat~" Pouting at me, she stared at me with those amber eyes of her, making me shake my head as I thought about how urate the ''puppy'' nickname was now. However, as Valerie opened the door, Kat red at me, before nodding to the Vampire girl. "Oh, are you feeling better now Miss Kat?" "Yes, I was just tired from today..." Smiling at Kat, Valerie put the tray down in front of us, arge teapot and mountain of biscuits separating us. "Well, enjoy!" "I will~" After she left, I tilted my head as I stared at Kat, watching as she poured our tea and ced biscuits on the tes. "Let''s eat!" ~~~ Kat PoV We finished the tea quickly, talking and discussing some of the things in ss today, as well as other things, before exiting the store. As soon as we stepped outside I felt the plug vibrate, making me moan slightly as I red at Jahi. She smirked at me, taking my hand and leading me back home. Jahi would alternate the vibrations from weak to strong, randomly doing so, making me have to focus intently on just walking normally without dropping to my knees. While it didn''t even reach my cervix, the fact that the plug massaged my insides at differing speeds was enough to send jolts up my spine, and Jahi knew that. Thankfully we reached home quickly enough, and before I knew it I was on the bed, my dress thrown to the side as Jahi kneeled below me. Removing the plug, sheid it to the side before burying her face in my crotch, her long tongue gliding over my lips before plunging into my depths. Gripping her horns, I pulled her deeper into me, enjoying the way her tongue writhed around my cunt. "R-Right there Mi-Mistress~!" Her handsnded on my thighs, and she chuckled as she renewed her attack, prodding at my weak spots expertly. Moaning loudly, I shuddered as I came on her face, the Demoness audibly gulping it down before pulling away. Wiping her face clean, she grinned down at me, stripping. Tracing my eyes over her toned, sculpted body, I gulped. as my eyesnded on the familiar blue dragon staring my way. Guiding it into me, Jahi took my hips and lifted me to meet hers, gently gyrating her hips as her cock stirred around in my womb. Moving her hands up to my back, she smiled at me as she kissed me gently, sharing my juices with me. Quickly losing ourselves to each other, I clung tightly to her, moaning as she started moving a little faster. Pulling away from my lips, Jahi ced a kiss on my cheek, before trailing up towards my ears. "So, what''d you think of our first date?" Jahi stared down at me, her eyes meeting mine as she pursed her lips, waiting. "Hmm... It could have been... better?" Narrowing her eyes, Jahi tilted her head, asking "How?" I chuckled, kissing her quickly before saying "We could have JUST gone shopping and grabbed tea, not... all the other things..." Looking to the side, I muttered "Not that I hated it..." Chuckling, Jahi caressed my cheek as she said "Fine, I''ll see if I can hold back one of these days... no promises though." We smiled at one another, before Jahi added "Well, I enjoyed taking you for a ''walk''~" Rolling my eyes, I just gave her a dry look, before she kissed me again. Deepening it, I wrapped my legs around her waist, meeting her hips. Chuckling, she started thrusting into me, her tongue coiling around mine as she devoured my moans. Pushing herself deeper into me, we both moaned as our breasts pressed together. Her bare nipples brushed against the string top I was wearing, and after a few seconds she untied it, tossing it to the side, doing the same with the panties. Releasing my lips, Jahi ced kisses from my cheek all the way down to my breasts, beforetching onto a nipple. Holding her head close, I clenched my eyes shut as she nipped at it, her tongue rolling it around in her mouth as she sucked. Remaining wound together, Jahi eventually erupted inside me, flooding my insides with her seed. Releasing my nipple, Jahi returned to my lips, getting her fill before untangling herself from me. Chuckling, I looked down at my slightly red nipple, raising a brow at her. "I''m not pregnant, so nothings going toe out. You know that, right?" She nodded, smirking at me as she said "I can only hope~" Shaking my head, I got up, watching as she lounged on the bed. Trailing my eyes over her figure, I admired her statuesque physique before returning my eyes to her ''third leg'', which was standing proudly. "I''m tired, so..." Rolling my eyes at her, I swung my leg over her body, cing my hands on her abs as I lowered myself onto her. Biting my lip as I felt her reenter me, I took a brief moment to limate myself again to her spreading me before raising myself up slightly, only to m back down onto herp. Riding her, Jahi folded her arms behind her head, smirking as she stared at my breasts, which bounced along with my movement. Steadying myself using her solid abs, I moaned freely as I sped up, enjoying the way her cock mmed repeatedly into my womb. "You are such an amazing sight to witness Kat~" Staring at the smirking Demoness, I leaned forwards, cing my hands on either side of her head as I buried my head into her neck. Leaning towards her ear, I softly growled "I should be the only ''sight'' you witness, Mistress..." She chuckled "Oh? What about Anput and Leone, hmm?" "Sure... them too... But not some Subus or random Vampire girl working at a teashop!" Chuckling again, Jahi pursed her lips, looking at the ceiling for a moment. "Morgana seems like she''d be fun to fuck though? And Valerie has an... unearthly charm. Maybe I should..?" Pressing my nose to hers, I snarled "Try it. I dare you." Her eyes flickered gold, and she grinned widely at me. "Now why is it that I need to say that to see this side of you, hmm? I want to see this version of you more, Kat..." Sitting up, she pulled me into herp and started pounding me from below, making me moan into her neck. Stroking my back, Jahi continued. "Seeing you act so ah~ reserved is fucking annoying, Kat! You''re my wife damnit! You can do as you please!" Feeling her hands on my ass, I screamed as I felt something slick slide into my rear, before... Burying my face into her neck, I tried to muffle my scream as I felt it vibrate, slowly rising in intensity. Jahi chuckled, thrusting both her cock and the plug into me at the same time, the two things brushing together inside me. My mind grew numb as my cunt convulsed all over her shaft, making the Demoness grunt. "Why won''t you just... fuck~ be yourself Kat? I can... I can protect you!" Hearing her growling, I shuddered only to bite her neck. "Really? Fine~" My eyes went wide as she sped up, one hand massaging the base of my tail as the other ruthlessly mmed the plug into me. Every time her hand stroked the base of my tail I shivered, the sensitive flesh being poked and prodded by the Demoness. "The only person... who will hurt you... will be ME!" Saying so, she stopped massaging my tail and pped my ass, making me let out a brief shriek as the blow amplified the feeling of the plug in my ass. Thankfully Jahi finished up with a grunt, her tip spearing into the back of my womb before she refilled it with her seed. Feeling dizzy, Iid limply in her arms, before the Demoness pushed my head away, gripping my jaw as she forced me to stare at her. "Kat..." Hearing her growl my name, I shuddered again. "Why are you acting like that? Why?" Seeing her eyes filled with worry, I trembled, leaning forwards and desperately peppering her face with kisses. "Jahi... I... I don''t meant to worry you, but it just... is easier to be ''just'' a maidpared...pared..." Biting my lip, I shuddered again as Jahi red at me. "What, being my wife?" Nodding hesitantly, I watched as she sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly as she stared at me. "Why?" Again, that one word... "It causes less trouble for either of us... for you..." She sighed, pulling my head into her shoulder. "Fine. Just know... that I hate it, you acting like that. I want to see the you that was on the date with me, but if its morefortable to be... reserved, then fine." "S-Sorry..." Stroking my hair, Jahi held me close as a tear fell from my eye. Sniffling slightly, I remained in her arms for awhile, only pulling back when I was back to normal. "I''ll be more... me? when we''re at home... just... not at the Academy..." Sighing again, Jahi just gave me a wry smile before nodding. "Gotta start somewhere, right? Just know that I mean what I said back when I gave you that ring. I want to drape you in the mostvish dress this Empire can produce, and I want to pin the most beautiful gems on you. That will never change, Kat. Never." Chuckling, I leaned forwards again, kissing her cheek as I said "Just like it will never change that it''s just Anput, Leone and I by your sides, and thats it. Forever." Sheughed as well, her hands still stroking me as she said "Indeed. Forever and always, right?" --- So, not exactly what I thought of when I started writing this yesterday, but hey, the more I got down the more I realized that this would likely be the best spot for Jahi to address this ''issue'', so I went with it. Anyways, that''s the first date over, which means the next lemons will be Jahi x Anput and Kat x Leone, one chapter dedicated to each (maybe more, who knows.) --- Chapter 103 102: A New Day Like yesterday I was standing in the kitchen, preparing a filling breakfast for everyone when I felt someone wrap their hands around my waist. Without turning I said "Good morning, Jahi." Chuckling, she kissed my cheek before looking down into the bowl, asking "What are you making?" Swirling together the various oats and berries, I said "Oatmeal, mixed with some blueberries and cranberries." Jahi nodded, kissing my cheek again before moving to the table. Hearing two cute yawns, I nced over my shoulder to see Anput stretching with her arms above her head while Leone covered her mouth daintily, blinking a few times. "Morning..." "Good morning." Smiling at them, I went back to finishing breakfast, the girls all taking sips of their tea. Of course, Leone perked up instantly, barely holding herself back frompletely draining her cup. Pouring out the oatmeal into bowls, Iid them out in front of everyone before sitting down. As we started eating I asked "Is there somewhere around here thats like Fovos Forest?" Leone pursed her lips, staring into the bowl with narrowed eyes, before saying "There''s the Academy owned Hunting Grounds, and then theres a cave system at the base of the mountain. Why?" Smiling up at everyone, I said "I want to hunt something." Jahi just chuckled, while Anput nodded. "Yeah, if we''re only going to be training in the Combat ss, I''ll need to go somewhere else to let loose." Anput nodded again, adding "If not, I might just provoke that Ulysses guy in our ss, challenge him to a duel or something. It''s really boring since the only people on our level is... well, us." "Well, we might not be able to get into the Hunting Grounds just yet..." We all turned to look at Leone, who continued with a slight blush. "After all, Mother made it so first years aren''t eligible for the Hunting Permit needed to enter the Hunting Grounds." Sighing, Jahi leaned on the table, her lips pursed as she said "Then I guess that means we need to explore that cave system. What''s it called?" "Zhu''Rong Caverns, named after an old fire spirit said to inhabit its depths. Of course, it''s unknown whether or not it actually exists, but there are an abundance of monsters that reside inside." Furrowing my brow, I asked "Why don''t the monsters break out of the caverns? I mean, if itsparable to Fovos Forest, there should be arge amount of monsters inside, right?" Leone nodded, saying "If anything, there might be more. However, not only are the monsters content to stay inside the caves due to therge amount of fire crystals found there, but the Empress has a few Royal Knights and Mages stationed by the entrances." Chuckling, Jahi added "Remember Kat, even at Fovos we had a few outposts around the edge to try and create areas for adventurers to travel through. They weren''t able to enclose the forest, obviously, but if an outbreak did happen they could easily cordon the area off." Turning back to Leone, Jahi asked "Howmon are fire crystals in Zhu''Rong Caverns? Even the smaller crystals sell for a a dozen silvers, not to mention therge ones." "They''remon, but also surrounded by stronger monsters. It''s a high risk for arge reward. However, the veteran adventurers have always said that the real moneymaker in the Zhu''Rong Caverns isn''t the crystals, but the alchemical ingredients and minerals to be found. For some reason they grow rapidly in the depths of Sanctus Ignacia, likely because of the abundance of mana inside due to Aunt Igna and its state as an active volcano." Leaning back, Jahi scrunched her brows as she stared into her bowl, before looking at Anput, who said "Eh, money''s nice, but it''s not like we''re hurting for gold. I''m more curious about the monsters inside, and how tough they are." The Demoness nodded, turning towards our Vampire. "Lava Goblins, Smanders, Drakes, Coal Serpents, Firefangs, Ash Ghouls... there''s a lot of monsters in this mountain." "Lava Goblin..?" "Coal Serpent?" "The hell is a Firefang?" Leoneughed, grinning at us. "You''ll find out when we enter the Caverns. Which we could do..." Jahi nodded, finishing Leone''s sentence. "In three days, when we get out of the Academy and have the next day as a break." That made Anput and I grin at each other. It''s been a few days since I got to whet my de, and to be honest... It was hard to not try and kill Jillian, what with the way she smiles at me. Finishing the meal, we returned to our rooms and prepared for the Academy before setting out. Like always the streets were utterly crowded, students and workers rushing towards where they needed to be, store vendors shouting about deals and limited time items they were selling. It was a busy, hectic journey to Vulcan Academy, but traveling with arge, imposing woman like Jahi made things easier, since people gave way to her, parting like the sea as she walked. Reaching the Academy, we entered Vice-Headmaster Bijilo''s hall, where the older man was standing next to his podium, flipping through his book. Seeing us enter, he closed his book and gave us a nod, greeting the other students who eventually funneled in as well. Once everyone was seated, Vice-Headmaster Bijilo started. "Yesterday we discussed what mana is, so today I want to start our exploration into each element. Since we are on Sanctus Ignacia, it only feels right to start with Fire. Now, fire mana..." Time trickled by, the Vice-Headmaster exining where you are likely to find fire mana, how it can be different, and what happens with an abundance orck of it. Mainly, an abundance of fire mana in a mountain or over a ins creates a volcano and desert respectively, and ack of fire any area is usually reced by either water or wind, creating either the verdant forests seen in the March Asmodia, or the sprawling snowdennds of the Blizzard Dukedom. He also mentioned that when there is arge amount of mana in a certain area, sometimes it can coalesce and convert itself from an energy to a solid, being the crystals. Using the Zhu''Rong Caverns as an example, he said that the abundance ofva and magma allows the fire mana to take another physical form, creating the fire crystals that many adventurers seek for profits. Finishing that up, we then went to Professor Xiant''s hall, where we learned a little more about the human tribes that formed the west side of the Empire. Apparently the Gragori''s were from those tribes, specifically the Grean and Tragori tribes. They retained their power over the millennia through good trade deals, impable management, oaths and treaties from other Houses, and strong House heads over the years. As for the other tribes, the only one that I recognized was the Vesca''s, which was Fresca''s former employer. They were always a more passive, agriculturally focused bunch, content with their farms and orchards. The day ended on a good note, with the three Combat professors telling us to spar with someone who used a different weapon. Of course, that meant that Jahi and Anput ended up needing to find someone new, which ended up being Greselda for Jahi, and Jillian Sariel for Anput. I felt bad for Greselda, who was warding off the flurry of blows Jahi sent her way, but it was refreshing to see Anput push Jillian around,nding hits on more bony spots like the knuckles, elbows, and knees to maximize the pain done to her. As for me... Leone and I stood across from one another, enjoying a basic spar, not hitting too hard or fast as we just glossed over the basics. The Vampire wasn''t a physical fighter, preferring her magic, so I was happy to rx and show her the ropes, though it was also... Difficult. Sending a strike towards my side, Leone stumbled as I parried the blow, only to trip and fall directly into me, her facending in-between my breasts. Sighing slightly, I helped her back to her feet, allowing her a moment to cool down before resuming the spar. That was the third time out of seven spars that she somehow ended up in an ambiguous situation, and I could feel the eyes of the surrounding students as they watched the cute Vampire clumsilynd on the maid. Hah... Continuing our spar, I briefly opened up my system, looking at my level. [Level 24 (201,692/1,121,931)] Sighing again, I pursed my lips. Hopefully the monsters down in the Cavern provide arge amount of experience... --- That''s what''sing up next; a new grinding location for Kat, the Zhu''Rong Caverns. Which means the shop is unlocked soon, and I n on having a few other things as well~ --- Chapter 104 103: Breakthrough Sitting in the yard behind the cottage, I yet again took hold of my wind and water mana, isting the unique feelings of the two as they coursed through my body. The sharp, cold wind traveled separate of the gentle, warm water. Like always, I slowly brought the two types of mana alongside one another, controlling both at the same time. Clearing my mind, I gently ovepped the wind mana over the water mana, before trying to cover the waterpletely. Next the wind mana started seeping into the ''core'' of water mana, gradually mixing and fusing together. It took a few revolutions, but the two different manas slowly mixed, only for the water to re again, pushing the wind mana out. Screaming in agony, I held my head as my body went numb and cold, the only feeling being the sharp pinprick of the wind inside my veins. Staring at the ground, droplets of crimson liquid pooled together below me, however I couldn''t think as my mind was in turmoil. It felt like someone was chiseling away at the inside of my skull, tapping away at random. Coughing, more dark liquid joined the growing puddle below me, and I groaned in pain, my vision blurring. Focusing on the puddle of blood below me, I tried to center my attention on that, ignoring the sharp pains coursing throughout my body. Slowly the pounding headache receded, and I wiped my nose and mouth free of blood. Getting up, I turned my gaze towards the orange and purple sky of dusk, trying to figure out where I was going wrong. My control on both was quite good, and yet... Fusion of the two different mana types seemed almost impossible. Swallowing down the remaining iron liquid in my mouth, I thought about what the Marquess had suggested. ''Use both elements at once.'' cing my hands on either knee, I opened my palm as I tried to create a sphere of water on my left, and wind on my right. Closing my eyes, I yet again isted the two mana''s inside my body before guiding them towards the respective sides, pushing them into my palms. Creating the simple two rune sequence in each hand, I tried to summon elemental spheres. Gritting my teeth, I desperately tried to control the mana as it exited my body, and upon opening my eyes... Panting hard, I stared at the two marble sized orbs that hovered above my palms, grinning at them. However, they quickly dispersed, and as they did I blinked a few times, trying to keep my eyes open as the yard grew dark. Swaying, my body got colder, only for me to drop to the side. Drawing in breath, I chuckled as I realized I had overdrawn my mana again, my vision blurring asy there. I could hear someone approaching, but the words were heavily distorted and hazy. Even as theyid their hands on my shoulders, trying to shake me awake, I could barely feel that. Closing my eyes, I dropped into unconsciousness. ~~~ Groaning, I opened my eyes, instantly covering them as a harsh light blinded me. "-ar me? Kat?" Blinking a few times, I groaned again as someone shook my shoulders. Looking towards them, I saw Jahi leaning above me, her eyes filled with worry. "Stop... shaking me..." Jahi''s shoulders slumped in relief, before ring at me. "What in the world were you doing?!" Chuckling, I sat up, instantly regretting it as the room spun. "Whoa... Hah... I was trying to... to create my ice magic..." Falling forwards, Jahi caught me in her arms, sighing as she gently stroked my hair. "That''s nice and all, but did you need to force it? You''ve been out there for hours... remember, we still have the Academy tomorrow as well..." Nodding, I stayed in her arms, enjoying the way her warmth pushed away the chill that lingered in my body. Eventually she pulled away, ring at me as she said "So just go to sleep. Anput and Leone are getting food for us, so I''ll wake you up when they return. Rest, Kat." Smiling at her, I chuckled as she pushed me gently back into the bed, sinking into the silkyforters and pillows. Curling up into a ball, I closed my eyes again, drifting back into sleep. ~~~ That night, and the next morning, were surprisingly normal, my body slowly returning to its equilibrium as I absorbed the mana in the air. Jahi had suggested I stay home and rest some more, but I waved her off, not wanting to miss a day just because I felt a little drained. ss was brutal though, as the influx of new information sent my head spinning, trying to connect and decipher the information given as we wrote down answers or took notes. By that point I sat out of Combat ss, watching as the others practiced again, doing basic workouts and spars. However, as I watched them, someone came and sat next to me. Turning, I saw the familiar ck haired, snake tattooed Kolia, who was grinning at me. "Looking like you''re mana deprived, Katherine. Let me guess... tried to fuse your wind and water mana together?" I nodded, making Koliaugh. "Yeah, I remember trying to get my wind mana under control... Honestly, the only advice I have for you is to keep at it. For some people, fusing mana together is. simple; after all, Anput there managed to get her metal magic quite quickly. However, fire and earth are notoriously easier to controlpared to water and wind, so..." Smirking at me, she added "I don''t envy you, having to fuse both." Tilting my head, I said "Controlling the water mana is easy enough though? It''s quite... calm." Kolia shrugged, saying "Well, like I said, it''s different for everyone. Though, maybe try fusing it over multiple sessions. After all, when you fail your wind is expelledpletely from your water, but..." "If I gradually add the wind over without forcing it, the water gets used to being mixed!" Kolia chuckled, cing a hand on my head. "Come find me when you finish. I want to see an ice user besides Draka. You''re quite rare, did you know that?" Shaking my head, the woman just chuckled again. "Yup, ice magic is rarer than metal, nature, and lightning, but honestly not by arge amount. Though, when that''s added on top of how rare they already are, it''s not umon for someone to be the newest ice mage for a decade or so." Getting up, Kolia looked towards her sister, who was standing opposite Jahi, gesturing at the Demoness'' stance. "Anyways, can''t wait to teach you next year, Katherine~" Waving goodbye, Kolia slipped out of sight, blending in with the shadows that lingered at the edge of the cavern. Leaning against the wall, I continued watching everyone practice, refocusing my attention inside. If it was just a little... ''Grabbing'' the two streams of mana, I twined the wind over the water again, before allowing it to seep inside the water for a few moments. Feeling the water mana tremble slightly, I released the wind, feeling the two mana''s stick together as they traveled through my body like normal. Grinning to myself, I took a deep breath, relieved. Finally... Hah... It took this long to get here, and there''s still a ways to go, but... I''ll have my ice magic soon. --- Shorter, but my minds a little numb at this point. I zoned out midway through and just stared at the screen for like ten minutes, just... nking, so... Anyways, 500K Views! Thank you all! Besides that, I just thought this was funny. Got a Reviewst night, and the guy said that whoever likes Yuri is down bad... and said ''even if it was a god tier novel'' he''d take a step back form it. Like lol okay, if you knew you didn''t like Yuri why''d you click onto the book? People are confusing... --- Chapter 105 104: ZhuRong Caverns (1) Over thest two days I had gradually seeped my wind mana into the water mana, slowly turning the usually warm and calm water into something colder. While slow, feeling the difference already made me excited for the future. As we walked down the busy streets, Jahi peered over her shoulder, eyeing my swaying tail with a smirk. "What''s got you so happy Kat?" "I''m making progress with my magic, and we''re going to kill some monsters~!" The Demoness just chuckled as she turned back around, Leone beside her as she led us towards the Zhu''Rong Caverns, where we would get our fix of realbat. Anput was bouncing beside me, her sword strapped to her back as she looked around with wide eyes. "Oh, Kat! Look at that!" The excited Jackalkin was pointing at the various weapon shops around us, racksden with glittering weapons standing outside. She was looking around the area with bright eyes, pointing to each weapon. "That''s a Xiphos, a de from the south! Really good for shing, and has a good weight as well. Oh oh! That over there is a Kama, something the ind nation of Sol Rysen uses! Hehe! That''s a..." I listened to her giddy voice as she pointed out various weapons, citing off their origins and uses, gently smiling at her. Jahi and Leone would asionally nce back towards us, only to wryly shake their heads as they heard her going on and on about weapons. When we reached therge gatehouse that denoted the entrance of the Caverns, Anput fell silent, turning her gaze towards Jahi and Leone as they stepped forwards to talk to the receptionist. Standing back behind them, we both turned to stare at the silent Banshee who loomed over us. "This thing is... unnerving." I shrugged, saying "You get used to them. Just don''t stare at their faces for too long." Due to their soul wrenching appearance, we had a cloth draped over their helmet, however that only mitigated the problem slightly. Anput nodded, returning her gaze to the two taller women, who were walking back towards us. In their hands were long chains, a small metal te on the end of each. Handing them out, Jahi said "These are Silver Tags, giving us ess to the Zhu''Rong Caverns and allowing us to sell any materials we find to the Adventurer''s Guild. Thankfully we managed to skip past Bronze due to my Light Magic and Leone''s perfect Fire Magic..." cing the tag around my neck, I followed behind Jahi as she led us towards therge gate, shing our tags to the guard, who opened the gates. A wave of hot air billowed out of the Caverns, instantly warming our skin. Scrunching my nose, I tried to ignore the smell of sulphur and ash that was carried on that wave. Stepping in, we took in the ck volcanic rock that surrounded us, as well as the thinyer of grey ash that dusted over everything. Coughing, Anput covered her nose, wincing slightly as she looked around. "This is... going to be really annoying..." Leone nodded, before gesturing towards the warm orange glow further in the tunnel. "Well, it''ll only get worse when we reach the caverns. So, let''s go." The Vampire walked down the dusty tunnel, her orange eyes flickering around as she kept a lookout for any monsters. Anput moved to stand beside me, staring at me as we both sighed, covering our noses. Jahi chuckled, handing us both a cloth. "Wrap it around your noses. Should help a little." Nodding, we quickly tied the cloth around our faces, blocking out some of the smell. Quickly rejoining Leone, we traversed the long tunnel, which gradually widened out into... Looking around in wonder, we were greeted with the sight of a humongous cavern, the ceiling high above our riddled with stctites, red veins breaking up the ck rock. Some even dripped orange liquids, which sizzled against the floor. The ground ahead of us was cracked, some magma oozing through the ground, bubbling and popping, releasing puffs of gas. Stgmites rose from the ground, the same red veins running through the rock, some of which jutted out of the rock, glowing crimson. Around those stones were various kinds of monsters, the mostmon being a red skinned goblin with ck horns and talons, scuttling around the stgmites and chittering to one another. The cavern was giant, and we could see a few other groups traveling around, challenging the monsters or harvesting some materials they had found. "Wow..." Hearing Jahi, I nodded, staring around in wonder. It looked every bit a hellscape, the ck, red, and orange palettebined with hideous monsters giving a slightly creepy feel. Drawing their swords, Jahi and Anput grinned at one another, making Leone and I sigh. Even though I wanted to feel the familiar rush of adrenaline as I took a life, rushing into an unfamiliar area against unfamiliar foes wasn''t a smart idea. "Wait, we should-" The two rushed forwards, towards one of the goblin surrounded stgmites, coating their des in mana. Swinging their des at the goblins, the two women grinned as the goblins tired blocked the des with their talons, only for the des to slice cleanly through the goblins red flesh, ck speckled blood spraying everywhere. "Why do they never listen?" Sighing, Leone and I shrugged at one another, raising our arms and tracing sequences in the air. Using a water spell, I sent an arrow hurtling through the air, watching as it embedded itself in the chest of a goblin. [Lava Goblin Killed! 1,456 Xp] My eyes went wide at that number. "Leone, how would you rank the Lava Goblins among the monsters here?" ncing over at me, the Vampire sent a condensed ball of fire hurtling towards a goblin, which easily pierced its red flesh. "Probably the lowest here. Stronger than a normal goblin, but among everything here, its the weakest." Chuckling, I stared at the next notification that popped up. [Lava Goblin Killed!1,478 Xp] They were worth so much... What would the others be worth here? --- Short, and sorry for the mini break. Felt like shit thest couple of days, so I only wrote a little. Should be back to normal tomorrow or Monday. Also, the contract is kinda annoying to deal with. I need to resubmit it cause it said full name, but actually meant what was on my license, which isn''t my full name... Sigh... Anyways, this is where we''ll be for a few chapters, and I need to think up a slight change for the Servant side of the system, cause now it''s seeming to be more of just a system. If you have an idea, let me know, cause 2 heads is better than 1~ --- Chapter 106 105: ZhuRong Caverns (2) Sighing, I pulled the cheeks of the Demoness and Jackalkin, the two women pouting at me. "What were you thinking, hmm? What if these Goblins were actually incredibly strong, huh? What then?!" ""We sowwy~!"" ring at them, I released their cheeks, sighing again. Leone just chuckled beside me, however she was also staring intently at the two women, who were now pouting at me. Rubbing their red cheeks, Jahi and Anput stared at me warily, taking a step back when I inched closer. Ignoring them, I approached the stgmite the Goblins had surrounded, inspecting the crimson veins. Laying a finger on it, I pursed my lips when I felt no mana inside it, meaning... Peering closer at the veins, I noticed they looked a little like gemstones, the rough, opaque crystal gleaming in the low light. "Leone, is this..?" She slid beside me, leaning closer to look at the stgmite. "It looks like it might be ga, but..." Scratching her chin, Leone summoned a small ball of fire and inspected the stone closely, before sighing. "It''s justva stone. Worth a few coppers at best. See, if you look at-" We both yelped as Jahinded a p on our rears, grinning at us. "Lava stone, ga, who cares? Look over there!" ring at her, we both turned our eyes towards arge tiger like monster, it''s two long, curved fangs dripping an orange liquid. It''s orange and ck pelt was glittering in the dim light, and the monster swayed its head side to side, narrowing its crimson eyes as it searched for something. "That''s a Firefang... one of the more challenging monsters on this floor..." Leone was also crimson, however as she inspected the Firefang some more, she narrowed her eyes. "That looks like it could be an elder Firefang... likely kicked out from its ambush and left to fend for itself." "So we could kill it?" Hearing Anput''s excited voice, Leone and I sighed again. "Yes, we could, but-" Without waiting, Anput shed forwards, followed quickly by Jahi, their des flickering. "Leone, should we even..?" Letting out a low huff, Leone crossed her arms under her ample chest, shaking her head. "Nope, let them deal with it." Saying so, we stood off to the side, watching as the two womenughed with glee, swinging their des towards the growling Firefang. Interestingly enough, the Firefang was capable of creating sequences, as runes would appear in front of its wide maw before spewing mes everywhere. It''s pelt was tough, the women''s des asionally failing to score a mark on the beasts flesh. That was surprising, but as the Firefang moved around more I noticed that the pelt gleamed like a metal under the firelight, and the sound of their des nging off of the fur echoing around the cavern. Swiping itsrge paw towards Jahi, the Demoness blocked the crimson wsing her way, grunting under the beasts weight. Seeing that, I flicked my wrist forwards, a small, sharp water arrow streaking towards its wrist, making the beast growl as the arrow collided with it. Using that momentary distraction, Anput slid underneath its arm, stabbing her de deep into its wrist before pulling the de forwards, cleanly slicing through the beasts muscle as she tore apart its forearm. Howling in pain, the Firefang tried to spew fire onto the Jackalkin, only to grunt as Jahi mmed her fist against its jaw, her hand coated in golden light. Next she gripped one of its fangs, yanking on it hard. The Firefang''s eyes went wide, only for Anput to stab her de into one of them. The two women grunted, Anput twisting her de while Jahi tore the fang out of the beasts maw, holding the giant, curved tooth in her hand, coated in blood. Watching as the beast crumbled to dust until only a w, some bones, and the other fang remained, I looked at the notification. [Firefang Killed (Assist)! 3,454 Xp] Whistling in appreciation, I watched as the two women shook their arms, finally realizing that their up close and brutal style of fighting was quite... Messy. They turned to me with pleading looks, stepping forwards as the beasts crimson blood dripped off them. "Kat~" "No." "C''mon~ Please~?" "No." "Pretty please?" "No." Sighing, Jahi looked down at herself, flicking her arms again, sending droplets of blood flying everywhere. As for Anput, she was staring down at herself in disgust, since her stunt with cleaving the beasts arm was way, way more messy than what Jahi did. "Kat, please..?" Her voice was small, and she looked at me with wide, hopeful eyes. Lowered ears, small posture, tail pressed against her legs, low, pleading voice, puppy dog eyes... Sighing, I stepped forwards,ying a hand on her cheek tenderly. Anput brightened up, smiling at me. "No." Releasing her cheek, I walked back to Leone, who was holding back a chuckle. Both Anput and Jahi were staring at one another, pursing their lips as they took in their blood drenched appearances. Sadly, as much as I wanted to leave them be, to suffer the consequences of their own actions... [Quest: Clean off your Mistress'' Reward: 250 Xp each] Sighing, I turned back around,ying a hand gently on their shoulders before using my water magic to wash them off. Of course, I still made sure to do something to make them learn a little, so I made the water as cold as I could, as well as pressing it on different areas, making them hiss and shiver. The two women red at me, only to shiver again as the water got colder. Finishing up, I stepped back, watching as Leone stepped forwards and warmed them up. "You deserve that." Hearing the Vampire scold them, the two women shrunk into themselves again, sending her pitiful looks. As Leone continued berating them, I stepped forwards and scooped up the fang, w, and bones, feeling the innate fire mana pulsing off them. They were warm to the touch, and the fang dripped a warm liquid, which when itnded on my skin. "Ah fu..." Shaking my hand, I looked down at my palm, a small ck mark sizzling in the center. Healing it quickly, I rejoined the group, Anput and Jahi kneeling in front of Leone as she shook her finger at them. "-even if it was a weak monster, you can''t just rush in like that! What if it hadpanions lying in wait, huh? Or if some other adventurers were already hunting it! What would you do then huh!? Some people are killed for that every year!" Looking at the ground, the two women shrunk more and more into themselves, trying to look as small possible under the Vampire''s scolding. Sighing, Leone red at them before letting out a ''Hmph!'' and turning away, approaching me. "Oh Kat, those are quite valuable... wait, is the fang dripping something? Haha~" Snatching it from my hands, Leone observed the orange liquid that oozed from the fang, grinning at it. "This is quite a potent poison when injected... hmm, if you mix it with Frost Shroud Wrap... yes, and a drop of..." Muttering to herself, Leone walked away, the fang still in her hand. Getting up, Anput and Jahi stared furtively at the Vampire. "She''s... scary..." Jahi nodded, before pursing her lips. "Didn''t she... sound like a mother scolding her children?" Anput and I nodded, staring at Leone. Jahi chuckled, her eyes narrowing as she watched the Vampire hold up the fang, her other hand creating a small ball of fire as she inspected the crimson and ck fang. Shaking her head, Jahi turned to me, ring at me as she stepped close. "So why''d you do that, hmm?" I met her re, remaining silent as she leaned down, her eyes flickering gold. "No answer? C''mon, your Mistress is ordering you, puppy." Taking my jaw in her hand, Jahi grinned at me, making me shiver slightly. However, I stood firm under her heavy stare, making her narrow her eyes in displeasure, clicking her tongue. Stepping away, Jahi gestured for us to follow as she joined Leone. "Well Leone dear, where shall we go next? Since you seem so... knowledgable about this ce, you lead us." The Vampire went crimson as Jahi cupped her cheek, gulping hard before stuttering "T-That w-way... T-There sh-should be mo-more goblins that way..." Ruffling her ashen hair, Jahi nodded, before following behind the embarrassed Vampire as she scrambled away. Chapter 107 106: ZhuRong Caverns (3) Leone PoV Leading the group deeper into the dark caverns, we passed by a few crowded stgmites and even another group of people. However, Jahi ignored both, prompting Anput to do so as well. ncing over my shoulder, I saw Kat''s amber eyes fluttering about, constantly observing our surroundings, especially behind us, where the group of adventurers had headed towards. As I stared at Kat, I found my eyes pulling towards that thin neck of hers, remembering the delectable ambrosia that was her blood. I wanted to push her to the ground and sink my fangs into her soft, delicious flesh, before ripping her clo- Shaking my head, I took a few deep breaths, trying to clear my mind. "Leone?" Jahi ced herrge, blue hand on my shoulder, her amethyst eyes filled with worry as she leaned closer. "N-Nothing! Ahem! Come on, this way! ording to a book I read, the more..." As I exined the migrating habits of the monsters in Zhu''rong Caverns, I continued walking deeper into the mountain, the ck volcanic rock turning into glossy obsidian as we stepped onto a formerva river. "So that''s why this should be an optimal hunting grounds for us! The monsters are tougher than the Lava Goblins, but still a little weaker than the Firefangs!" The Demoness nodded, those glittering jewel like eyes scanning the obsidian valley we now stood in, focusing on the stumbling grey corpses. "Are those..?" I nodded, smiling at her. "Ash Ghouls! Be careful of their ws; some have a deadly poison under them. Also, they can use some fire and earth magic." Jahi narrowed her eyes, staring intently at therge hordes of Ghouls that stumbled around, their grey flesh king off with every movement. "Ah, and they need to be dealt heavy, lethal blows, like bisection or decapitation. Otherwise, they can use the ash around us to heal. Tenacious things, Ash Ghouls..." Anput chuckled, raising her longsword. "This''ll be fun! Thanks, Leone!" Taking a step forwards, Anput was about to dash out when Jahi ced a hand on her chest, holding the excited girl back. "Anput..." The Jackalkin gulped as Jahi stared at her, lowering her de and stepping backwards. shing the girl a smile, Jahi returned those captivating eyes back to me, making my heart flutter. "Anything else, Leone? Are they physically strong? More agile than they look?" Biting my lip, I dredged through my memory, recalling the passage about Ash Ghouls. "Ash Ghouls rely on their numbers to overwhelm adventurers, however individually they are weak, unless you only deal light wounds, which they heal. So, if you utterly decimate them, they are a rtively easy monster to fight. The only thing to be wary of are the very rare Ghoul Kings, which are fast and deadly. They are taller and thinner than the normal Ash Ghouls, standing at around eight feet, but they hide themselves by hunching." Smiling at me, Jahiid her hand on my head, gently ruffling my hair. "Thanks, Leone." I gulped, nodding furiously. Chuckling at that, she turned her attention towards the others, saying "Anput and I will work up front, Kat, you take the rear, while Leone stays in the middle. Both of you use your spells, but if they get to close switch to your dagger, Kat. Understood?" We all nodded, making Jahi smile again. Drawing her custom de and twirling it in her hand, Jahi gestured towards therge horde ahead of us, making Anput smile. The two women charged forwards, and I ran to keep up, already tracing a few runes. Kat was behind me, but... Not hearing her, I peered over my shoulder, meeting her sharp amber gaze. Her face was utterly still, the normal smile and mirth gone as she ran forwards, a long dagger in one hand as she started drawing a ritual circle with the other. Nodding at me, she pointed the circle to the left, a tiny, yet unbelievably fast water arrow piercing the skull of an Ash Ghoul on our right. Hearing the monster drop to the ground, I bit the inside of my cheek, returning my attention to the horde before us. Stopping a dozen some odd feet behind Jahi and Anput, I brought my hands together, channeling my mana into my palms. Therge circle in front of me red, and I pushed more mana into it. Gritting my teeth, I concentrated harder on my spell, before grinning as I felt the familiar connection. I hadn''t fullypleted my goal; in fact, I was still a long ways away from even scratching the surface of summoning new creatures, but... "Janus!" Myrge, wine red Orthrus stepped out of the circle, it''s two heads growling as it took in the horde around us before one looked back, nodding to me. Chuckling, I gestured to the horde, Janus instantly taking off. Panting slightly, I felt the tattoo on my chest grow warm, drawing in the surrounding fire mana to replenish my own. Taking a few breaths, I started tracing new runes into the air around me, sending various spells hurtling into the surrounding horde. It has been awhile since I had some target practice... Sending ance of pure me towards a Ghoul, I clicked my tongue in displeasure as it skewered the monster in the shoulder. "Damn..." I had missed, and as I raised my hand up to finish the job, a de of pure wind sliced across its neck, severing its head. "Thanks Kat!" Getting no answer, I yet again nced over my shoulder, only to gasp as I saw the pile of bodies Kat was standing on, her giant chest bouncing as she panted. However, even though she appeared tired, those pale blue eyes of her shone with excitement, and I shivered when I saw her small grin. Flicking her hand out, another de of wind bisected a Ghoul, the Dogkin''s grin growing. Turning back, I watched as Jahi cleaved her de out, easily carving into the Ghouls chests and throats, while Anput utilized her speed to weave between the clumsy swipes sent her way, chopping off limbs before stabbing her de into the Ghouls skull, finishing them off. As for Janus, he was currently ripping a Ghoul apart, using both heads to pull its waist from its chest. Finishing another sequence, I shot a fireball towards a group of Ghouls, making it explode in their midst, blowing them to pieces. The tattoo on my chest was throbbing as it funneled mana into me, keeping my body fueled as I unleashed spell after spell. Atst the horde was vanquished, the Ghouls corpses slowly dissipating into ash, some leaving behind small crystals and orbs. Jahi and Anput grinned at one another, pping their hands together before rejoining Kat and I. "Let''s pick up all the Ghoul Crystals and Cores, alright?" The three other women looked at me in confusion, before shrugging, quickly scouring the ground for the remains of the Ash Ghouls. As we gathered our spoils, I started exining their uses, breaking the silence that fell around us. "Ghoul Crystals are a potent alchemical base, used as the beginning of many different potions. As for their Cores, they are both a Mages best friend and a smiths prize. Mages need the Cores to use as catalysts forrger ritual circles, while smiths can use them to improve the metal they use. If I remember correctly, there is a small chance to convert iron into Bone-Rending Iron, and an even rarer instance of silver being turned into Stygian Silver. Quite fascinating, really." I chuckled as the women all stiffened, no longer casually lifting the items from the ground, instead treating them like treasures. Which they were. Regrouping in the middle, they gentlyid them out before me, creating a small pile of each. I grinned, staring at the Ghoul Crystals. "Oh I can''t wait! Hehe~! With this I can start..!" Opening a pouch, I dumped the Crystals into it, fastening the top and tying it to my belt. "Wait, did you want to be an Alchemist?" ncing at Jahi, I nodded, grinning at her. "Yes! It''s just so intriguing,bining ingredients and getting something different! I n on taking all four sses on it at the Academy!" She just smiled wryly at me, before cing the Cores in a pouch of her own. "Alright, let''s keep going. That was a good warmup." We all nodded, following behind the Demoness as she led us further into the obsidian valley. ~~~ Kat PoV Clenching the handle of my dagger, I bit the inside of my cheek. I needed more... Why did we have to fight Ghouls? I wanted blood. To hear the monsters screaming in agony before the light faded from their eyes... Shaking my head, I tried to clear my thoughts, but... Peeking down at the sleek, clean de, I imagined it dripping crimson blood, and I rush went down my spine. Taking in a shaky breath, I continued behind the others, my fists clenched in mild frustration. --- Yup... Anyways, think I''ll do at LEAST 2 more chapters here; one in Anput''s PoV, and another in Jahi''s PoV. Besides that, contract may or may not go through a few hours after posting this, all depending on if I finally filled it out correctly on my third go around... Hah... I wasn''t supposed to put the date there, and my name needed to be EXACTLY what was on my learners permit... which isn''t my full name, which they asked for, but anyways... So yeah, contracts been one hell of a pain but I hope its worth it in the end... --- Chapter 108 107: ZhuRong Caverns (4) Anput PoV "There should be a few more hordes roaming around, however this is also the nesting of the Coal Serpents, so be careful." Looking back towards the ashen Vampire, I then turned my gaze towards therge wine red two headed dog that trotted by her side. "Leone, what happened to Janus? Wasn''t he grey or something?" She chuckled,ying a hand on one of Janus'' giant heads, the dog letting out a low rumble as he pressed his head deeper into her hand. "Well, after I started channeling mana into him, he became like this. He used to have just pure mana inside of him, but since I had fire mana..." Riffling his floppy ears, Leone smiled gently at therge Orthrus, before returning her orange eyes towards the opening of this obsidian valley. Pursing my lips, I looked around as well, briefly wondering how in the hells Zhu''Rong Caverns was this gigantic, but quickly shook my head. Yeah, thats too much thinking for me... The valley opened up into yet anotherrge ck, ashy ins, stgmites scattered around the ground sparsely. Gathered around those stgmites were Lava Goblins, creating mini encampments to ward off the Ash Ghouls and long, sleek ck serpents that slithered around. "I believe that this is called the ins of Yama, named after a strong adventurer who used to live down here. Weird guy, that Yama." "How did he LIVE down here? No sun, no people..." Leone shrugged, pointing towards the Coal Serpents. "Maybe he ate them? No idea, really weird tale from centuries ago. To be honest, most believe he died down here, and that you can find his spirit roaming the ins, hence the name." I shrugged as well, turning back to the roaming hordes of Ash Ghouls. "So, are we going Ghoul hunting again?" Jahi nodded, ncing at the stumbling grey Ghouls. "So far, they seem the most valuable things here. Lava Goblins are boring, and the Serpents are too few..." ncing back towards the ins, I nodded, not seeing more than five of those sleek ck serpents. "Alright, just like thest horde, Anput and I up front, Leone in the middle, Kat protecting her from behind. Ready?" We all nodded, Kat clenching her dagger while Leone continued stroking Janus. Gentlyying my sword over my shoulders, I grinned at Jahi, saying "Hey, wanna make a bet? Whoever kills more Ash Ghouls can tell the other to do anything." Jahi returned my grin, her eyes flickering gold as she asked "Are you sure about that?" Gulping, I narrowed my eyes at her, nodding. "Very well. Leone, are you able to keep track of the kills?" "Yes, I should be able to tally them up." "Good. Well then, let''s start~!" Twirling her de, Jahi shot forwards, instantly appearing in the midst of the horde. Clicking my tongue, I followed behind her, easily catching up. From afar the Ghouls looked... well, ghoulish, what with their grey, ky skin and thin appearance, but it was worse unclose. Their skin was drawn tight over their bones, sometimes split apart to reveal their ripcord like muscles or ck bones, and they stank something fierce, the cloying scent of smoke wafting off their bodies. What was worse was whenever you cut into them, puffs of ash would spew out, making it harder to breathe. So, I danced between them, never remaining in one spot long enough to have to breathe in the ash. Their weak bodies were easy to slice through, as I sliced my sword through ones chest, cutting it in half. ''Feeling'' one clumsily swing towards me, I ducked under its arm andnced my sword through its skull, shattering it. Pulling the de out, I kicked the Ghoul towards the others, making them fall to the ground. Getting some space, I peeked over my shoulder, gritting my teeth slightly as I watched the tall blue Demoness wade through the horde, her de rising and falling like a scythe, cutting through the Ash Ghouls with ease. Damnit, I won''t lose this! Channeling my mana inside my body, I coated my body in earth mana, raising my defenses, before sliding my fingers over the basic metal de, setting it alight with my mes. Taking a deep breath, I poured a little more mana into the de, causing the mes to re. With a shout I cleaved the de towards the thickest section of the horde, the fire leaping from my de and raining over the Ghouls, setting them aze. They groaned in pain before dropping to the ground, lifeless, as the mes dried up their bodies. I resumed my ughter of the Ghouls, remaining slightly unharmed as I avoided most of the Ghouls slow strikes, however some didnd, pping my arms or side. I could feel some bruises forming, but the pain was familiar, if not lighter than I was used to. My parents had both been hearty handed in training, believing that feeling the pain and finding ways to avoid it was a better motivator than kind words. So, whenever one of these Ghoulsnded a blow, I shrugged it off and retaliated with a swift strike to their chest or skull, killing them quickly. However, as I was matching Jahi in kills, I froze as I felt an almost solid pressure wash over me. Looking around, my eyes went wide as a Ghoul stood uppletely, looming over me. It barely had any muscles on its body, looking more like a walking skeleton. Long, chipped ws protruded from each finger, a back liquid dripping rhythmically from them. Opening its jaw, two rows of sharp, jagged fangs filling its mouth as it roared. Turning its pitch ck eyes towards me, the Ghoul King hunched over, dragging its ws over the ck sand floor, leaving trails. Each step resulted in a thud, and it eventually grinned at me, before charging at me. It was faster than most things I''ve fought before, surprising me slightly. Rolling away from its swipe, I raised my de and block the next strike, grunting under the forceful blow. Pushing back at it, I struck next as the Ghoul King staggered backwards, scoring a shallow cut across its chest, revealing its ck ribs. Growling at me, it swiped again, only to grunt as it was flung to the side. "Anput, are you okay!?" Jahi stood in front of me, her exquisite de shining brightly in her hands. Panting, I nodded, saying "Yeah, it didn''t hit me." "Good..." The horde tried to close around us, but Leone and Kat flung spell after spell towards the encroaching horde, providing us an opening to retreat. "Come on!" Taking my hand, Jahi pulled me from the horde, regrouping with the other two. "Leone, weakness'' of that thing?" "Uhm... same as a ghoul. But be careful of its magic!" As she said that arge crescent de of wind hurtled towards us, only to m into the dome of water Kat erected around us. Nodding, Jahi said "Give me a few moments..." The Demoness sat down,ying her de across her knees as she started rapidly inscribing runes in the air in front of her. Kat kept the dome around us as more des collided with her water, making the Dogkin grunt. Moving to stand beside her, Leone took a deep breath and raised her hands, a crimson circle appearing before her. Enveloping the water was a sea of mes, burning the Ghouls as they got closer. Seeing Jahi still inscribing, I knelt behind her, gentlyying my hands on her back as I pressed a ritual circle of my own onto her. My head spun as I pushed my mana onto her body, coating her in a thinyer of earth mana. Stabbing my de into the ground, I steadied myself, watching as Jahi concluded her inscriptions. The runes swirled around her de, forming three separate circles, eachrger than thest. sping her de in two hands, Jahi pointed it towards the horde, muttering "Radiis Solis" Each circle started spinning, rotating faster and faster as they grew in both size and brightness. From each circle, a ray of pure lightnced out, flying towards the horde. As theynded among the Ghouls they erupted, the light ring before... Disintegrating the Ghoulspletely, the almost sun like rays evaporating the bodies of the monsters. Gritting her teeth, Jahi kept her de raised, even as her hands trembled. The earth mana I had poured into her body moved to her arms, steadying them, allowing her to continue the spell. However, the drain on her mana was too much, making her drop the de, the circles disappearing instantly. The horde was gone, the only thing remaining being the hunched, charred figure of the Ghoul King, its body riddled with holes. Dropping the domes, the two other women sent ance of fire and wind towards the creature, finishing it off. The ins were silent, the Goblins and Serpents moving away from the area, while the Ghouls ignored the light. Looking down at the drenched Demoness, I sat beside her, chuckling as I said "Well, I guess you win..." She grinned at me, her face slightly pale. "Damn right." ~~~ Kat PoV I looked over the panting figures of Anput and Jahi, the two women chuckling as they stared over the dust covered ins around us. [Ghoul King Killed (Assist)! 8,432 Xp] My level slowly rose, and even after such an interesting finish to a fight, I was still... Unsatisfied... I wanted more... Why couldn''t they have bled? Gritting my teeth, I stepped forwards, trying to cast that thought from my mind as Iid a hand on the two women, healing them and cleaning them off. Chapter 109 108: ZhuRong Caverns (5) Jahi PoV Sitting down beside Anput, we both chuckled as she conceded victory to me. Running my eyes over her olive skin, I could already imagine what I would use that order for... Well, that''s forter. Trying to steady my racing heart, I drew in deep, even breaths, watching as Leone and Kat scoured the ash for any drops, Leone giggling as she found more Ghoul Crystals to use for her alchemical experiments, making me chuckle. She was so easily excitable... And really fun to tease... Turning my gaze towards Kat though, I frowned, wondering why I was feel mild frustration and discontent radiating from her. It seeped through our soul bond, and since she was bound to me, it was incredibly easy to decipher her feelings then it was for her to decipher mine. Yet, that didn''t help me whatsoever in this case. Why was she frustrated? Was what Anput and I did earlier still bugging her? As she walked around the ins and gathered the Crystals and Cores, she wore that still, expressionless mask, which irked me. I could tell she was upset only from our bond. If we weren''t, well... Sighing, I was about to get up when Anput asked "Should we return home? I feel like that''s enough for one day..." Pursing my lips, I looked over at the other two, Leone nodding while Kat just stared at me. "Yeah, lets go home. I think we need to get some more practice in, Anput..." The Jackalkin nodded, pouting slightly as she stared towards the still dissipating corpse of the Ghoul King. "Leone, does the Ghoul King drop anything special?" The pale Vampire princess walked towards the corpse, poking at it. Scrunching her nose as it crumbled, Leone sifted through the ash, retrieving arge Core and one of its talons. She held the talon carefully in her hand, making sure she avoided the ck liquid that dripped from the tip. "Wow... we actually got a talon..." Leone was staring at the ck talon with wonder, inspecting it from every angle. "It can be used as a material in smithing. Apparently it binds well to Dark Steel, giving the steel a slightly venomous bite. Quite valuable too..." She ced the talon in a separate pouch, before grinning widely at the giant Core. Seeing her so happy made me smile, and I looked over her clothing, truly taking it in for the first time. Long, thick ck pants, a deep red belt that held a few pouches, and a fitted leather chest piece was all under her ck cloak, contrasting with her grey hair. Anput was dressed like always, relying on her magic to protect her, preferring to utilize her unhindered speed over armor. Though... Yeah, I needed to get her fitted for something... As for Kat... Turning towards the Dogkin, I frowned again as I saw her amber eyes staring down at the dagger in her clenched fist. Standing up, I walked over to her, frowning more when I noticed she didn''t even react to my presence. "Kat..?" Flinching, the Dogkin gulped before looking up at me, tilting her head slightly. "Yes?" cing a hand on her shoulder, I leaned forwards, bringing our faces level with one another as I asked "What''s wrong?" Giving me a small smile, Kat ced a gentle kiss on my lips, saying "Nothing." Sighing, I stood back up, only to frown again as I felt the frustration again from our bond. Kat had returned her gaze to her dagger, her plump lips pursed slightly before she silently sighed. Looking back up at me, she blinked a few times as she met my gaze. "You sure?" She nodded. Keeping my eyes on her for a few more moments, I observed her still features before turning away, where the other two stood waiting. "Alright, let''s go!" They nodded, Anput walking beside me as we retraced our steps towards the entrance. "Leone, is there any way to make the Ghouls avoid us?" "Hmm... no, not without a repellent potion... but, they should be easy to outrun?" "Do you know how to make one of those?" Leone''s shoulders slumped, and she shook her head. Chuckling, Iid my hand on her head, ruffling her hair. "Well, you can''t know everything. Besides, you''ve been incredibly helpful today, Leone." She turned those orange eyes up towards me, biting her lip slightly as they watered. Smiling down at her, I pulled her into a hug, chuckling again as Anput let out a whistle. Hearing that, Leone squirmed free of my embrace,pletely crimson as she red at the Jackalkin. The journey back towards the initial cavern was short and uneventful, as we easily outran the one horde we did encounter. Reaching the entrance of Zhu''Rong Caverns, we looked around at the various Lava Goblins, Adventurers, and a few other monsters, all keeping to themselves. However, even as I thought that, a group of ten Adventurers approached us, staring us up and down with feral grins as they licked their lips. Sighing, Iid my hand on my sword hilt, staring at them as they continued approaching. Honestly, I should have expected this, considering all four of us were beautiful women, and two were most peoples peoples fantasy, being the two rger'' members in Leone and Kat. "Well~ If it isn''t a group of beauties in a ce like this! Did you get lost?" I sighed again, staring at the idiot who spoke. "What? You so happy to have met me before one of these Goblins got to ya?" What the... I stared at him with a deadpan expression,pletely and utterly confused by that line. Looking over at Leone, I asked "Are Goblins that scary?" Leone dropped her disgusted look as she turned to stare at me, shaking her head. Returning to the group of idiots, I tilted my head, before asking "Did you need protection from the Goblins? They''re pretty weak though..." The man who spoke initially snarled at me, making me frown. "Damn bitch! Who''re you calling scared huh?! I''ll have you know that I''m a Silver Tagged Adventurer!" I lifted my Silver Tag, making him freeze slightly. Sighing, I asked "Was that all? Is this circus going to depart or..?" Drawing his de, he pointed it at me, shouting "I bet you just spread your legs-!" Sadly he never got to finish, as a blur zoomed towards him and... His head rolled to the ground, blood spraying from the stump of his neck. The surroundings went silent as we all watched his body copse, before looking at the person responsible. Kat stood beside his corpse, panting slightly as she stared down at her bloodied de. "Kat?" She turned to look at me, and I could only chuckle as she revealed an utterly beautiful face to us. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips slightly parted as she gulped, and her eyes... That chilling pale blue made me shiver, before I grinned at her. The slight ssh of blood on her cheek only entuated the furious blush she wore, and I could feel myself falling for her all over again. "Mistress~ Can I kill them? Can I please!?" --- So,st bit may be a bit... rushed, but I have a pot of spaghetti sauce thats been on the stove for a few hours and its ready, and I''m hungry hungry... Yea... --- Chapter 110 109: Go Ahead; Troubles Back Home Kat PoV Walking behind the group I panted slightly, my vision spinning as I stared down at my dagger. I wanted to feel something under that de... To hear someone whimper in agony as the metal tore through their flesh... Gritting my teeth, I focused on putting one foot in front of the other, making my way towards the entrance, and away from all the potential targets... The only thing I could hear was my unsteady breathing and pulsing heartbeat, the only thing I could see was my dagger and the ck rock beneath my feet. How wonderful would it be to see them seeped in that delectable crimson... Shaking my head, I ground my teeth together again, trying to distract my mind. Turning my gaze towards the tall, broad shoulders of the blue Demoness, I tried to imagine her rippling muscles as she loomed over me, those golden eyes glowing sadistically as she used me for her own pleasure. However, even as I tried to lose myself in that fantasy; in that memory, the familiar iron tang of blood permeated my nostrils. Why..? What was wrong with me? Gulping, I returned my eyes towards my dagger, my hand shaking slightly as the thought of it drenched in blood made me feel so... Excited. Fulfilled. Happy... Sheathing the dagger, I balled my fists, my nails digging into my palm slightly, the pain helping to refocus my mind. One foot in front of the other, Kat... Left foot... Right foot... Left foot... Falling into a rhythm, I slowly brought my bloodlust under control, barely managing to keep myself from rushing off towards one of the Lava Goblins. However, as we continued through the giant caves of Zhu''Rong Caverns, the other three women stopped. Looking up, I saw a group of ten men blocking our way, their eyes gleaming with lust as they looked over us. Jahi lowered her hand to her sword hilt, tilting her head slightly as she stared at them. "Well~ If it isn''t a group of beauties in a ce like this! Did you get lost?" One of them stepped forwards, his greasy, matted ck hair falling onto his thin face, an odd smile on his lips. As Jahi sighed, he said something else, but I had to turn my attention inwards again. Why the hell were they looking at Jahi like that?! Couldn''t they see that Leone was ufortable!? Were they not afraid of Anput''s haughty grin?! Clenching my teeth, I tried hard to maintain a neutral expression, blinking a few times as I stared at them. The man lifted his Silver Tag, snarling something at Jahi. Did he just..? Unsheathing my dagger, I hid my hand behind my back, tracing the runes needed for a wind enhancement. Jahi just sighed, speaking in that wonderfully low voice of hers, lifting her own Silver Tag up. Rxing my body, I finished the enhancement and waited, staring intently at the man. I hated the way he was staring at us, at Jahi. Why couldn''t he just walk away?! However, as he drew his de, something inside me snapped. He DARED!? "I bet you just spread your legs-!" The man took a step forwards, shouting something at MY JAHI!? My vision went dark, and the only things I could see where those ten men. Growling, I rushed forwards, appearing in front of him and shing my dagger through his small neck. The steel de easily tore past his soft flesh, severing his spinal cord and spearing his disgusting head from his shoulders. A thump barely registered in my ears as his head hit the ground, followed by a louder thud as his body copsed. Silence descended around us, and I panted, my heart racing as I saw that beautiful crimson liquid spraying from his body and coating my de. "Kat?" Hearing Jahi''s voice, I turned, breathing through my mouth as I stared at the surprised Demoness. "Mistress~ Can I kill them? Can I please!?" Please say yes..! I continued to pant, aware of the warm, slick liquid staining my cheek as I stared intently at Jahi''s face. For a brief, split second her eyes went wide with worry, before she grinned. "Go ahead, my love..." I grinned, bringing the de to my nose. Inhaling that intoxicating smell of iron, I turned towards the remaining men, all of whom were staring at me with fear. Some drew their des, while others turned tail and ran. However, I rushed forwards, euphoria rushing through my veins as Jahi''s words rang in my ears. Go ahead... MY LOVE~! Giggling, I appeared behind one of the runners, swiftly shing my dagger across the back of his knees, incapacitating him. One down, eight to go... Oh, how fun~ Next I charged towards one who was hefting a heavy hammer, my de flickering towards his chest. He somehow managed to raise the handle of his hammer just high enough to block my blow, annoying me. Frowning, I red at him, muttering "Just die." Punching forwards with my free hand, I grinned again as my fist collided with his chest, caving it in. He copsed to the ground, coughing out blood and chunks of flesh. Chuckling at his blight, I went to the next man, coating my left arm in wind mana, creating a second de. shing it at his throat, I decapitated him as well, before kicking his flying head towards hispanion, knocking him to the ground. "Y-You''re dead!" One of the men rushed towards me, cleaving his axe towards my skull. However, I just pivoted slightly, chuckling as it nged against the ground. "Too bad, you missed~" Flicking the dagger upwards, I severed his arm, before sending a kick towards his skull, snapping his neck. Four more... Holding out my left palm, I sent a de of wind flying towards the two that were running, chuckling as they screamed in agony once their legs were removed from their bodies. Two more... The one from earlier stumbled to his feet, arge stain on the front of his pants as he stared at me, trying to run away. Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I tried to pierce his heart, only for my de to ng uselessly against the remaining mans shield. He was staring at me with a mixture of fear and conviction, his blonde braids swaying as he appeared in front of me. "Damn beast! I''ll put you down, for the good of the people!" With that he swung his mace towards me, the heavy steel ball glowing brown as he surrounded it with earth mana. "Put me down..?" Swaying to the side, I avoided his first swing, which left a small crater in the ck rock below us. "For the good of the people?" He shouted, trying to bash me with his shield and bring his mace down on my skull. Jumping over him, I grabbed his chin in my left hand, allowing my wind mana to shred the flesh on his jaw, before sliding my dagger over his throat as I growled "You dared to lust after MY MISTRESS?! And you DARE im that it was for the good of the people?!" Kicking him to the ground, I growled in annoyance, flicking my wind mana towards his body. A vortex of sharp wind surrounded his body, his screams echoing around the cavern as the mana tore into his limbs, slowly tearing him apart. I snarled, before looking towards thest man, who was trying to crawl away from me, tears streaming down his cheeks as his legs trembled violently. "P-P-Please! I-I''ll p-pay you! S-Spare me! PLEASE!" My snarl turned into a grin as I crouched in front of him, tilting my head as I watched him try to create more distance between us. "Hmm..." Pressing a blood soaked finger to my lips, I stared off at the caverns ceiling, contemting his plea. "How about..." He panted desperately, a slight hope in his eyes as I lowered my dagger. "No." My hand shot forwards, clenching his face. Pushing wind mana towards my hand, I chuckled as he screamed, a rush of pleasure going through my system. He continued screaming, and I kept my wind mana over his head, until... Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I was about to sh my dagger towards it when I felt the familiar squeeze. ncing up at the blue figure, I tilted my head, confused. "Kat, thats enough." Looking back at the man, I frowned slightly, before sighing. Clenching my fist, I shattered his skull, before retracting my mana. Getting up, I looked down at my drenched clothing, pursing my lips before sighing. Using my water mana I cleaned myself off, reverting back to my appearance from just a few minutes earlier. Turning around, I stared up at Jahi, the Demoness'' golden eyes narrowed as she looked me over. "Are you..?" I tilted my head again, confused. "What?" Chuckling, Jahi just shook her head, cing her hand behind my ears as she started scratching them. "Nothing. Just... thought that was the most I''ve ever seen of... ''you''." I chuckled as well, stepped closer to her. Now that one of my lusts had been sated, the other red, and I smiled sensually at my Mistress. "Would you like to see more of me?" ~~~ Julie PoV I sighed, staring out the window, looking over the immacte garden. What were they getting up to over at the Capital? However, as soon as that thought crossed my mind I chuckled, gentlyying a hand on my stomach. Most likely what Chordeva and Ria were putting me through now... Though probably not as... reserved. As soon as that thought crossed my mind I frowned, turning back towards the table. Taking up the pen, I started writing down a letter for Kat, making sure to remind her how important the Academy was. I understood how easy it was to get lost in the warmth of another, especially now, when that warmth spread from only your body into your heart. Finishing the letter, I sighed, staring down at my stomach again. I really was pregnant again... Chuckling, I sent a brief pulse of mana into myself, checking on the conditions of my babies. My eyes widened, and I quickly took up the pen again, scribbling down my current state. Kat would be so surprised to learn that she has not just one, but two siblings on the way~ "Julie?" Nodding to myself, I folded the letter and ced it in the envelope, looking up towards the door. "Yes, Mistress?" Chordeva walked in, her dark sapphire skin paler than normal as she made her way towards me, worry in her face. "Are you getting enough rest? I already have Lexa and Lexi doing most of your-" "Chordeva! By the goddess, she''ll be fine! Hah..." Ria walked through the door next, ring at the taller Demoness before staring gently at me. "Do you need something, dear? Craving anything yet?" I sighed, looking between the two of them with a dry gaze. At first their catering to me was sweet and touching, but now... "This isn''t my first pregnancy, you know that right?" Ria nodded, before sliding behind me, gently wrapping her arms around my midriff. "Yes, but you weren''t with twins then Julie..." "I wasn''t, but I was running from a hellbent Nobleman and fighting for my life. Compared to then, this will be much easier." "Well, yes, but..." The worry in Chordeva''s voice made me sigh again, before I felt something poking me from behind. ncing at the Elf, I sighed for the third time as she blushed, looking away from me. "Really..." Ria just nodded, and Chordeva pursed her lips, trailing those ruby eyes of hers over us. "Should we..?" "Fine. As long as you both leave me alone for the rest of today. Oh, and mail this letter." By this point I was used to their near insatiable appetite, and I had learned that refusing led to an even more tiring night, so... As Ria excitedly led me towards the bedroom, Chordeva ced the letter next to her own, before joining us. Really, what was I going to do with these two~? --- So, this chapter was more about the whole event, next chapter will be each character reacting to it, as well as Kat reacting to her own actions. --- Chapter 111 110: Reactions Leone PoV Anput and I found ourselves ncing awkwardly at one another in the living room, sitting on the couch sipping tea as we listened to the heavenly moans echoing throughout the house. It had be a mixture of a blessing and torture, hearing that sound. A blessing because it fueled many of our fantasies, either of the woman moaning or being in her ce, underneath the charming blue Demoness that was Jahi. However, it was torture because, as of current, we were only allowed to listen on in envy, hoping and praying that our time woulde soon. "So umm... about earlier..." Anput nodded, her cheeks slightly darker as she tried to focus on me. "Kat... she..." "She killed... no, she butchered those men. All with a grin too..." Pursing her lips, Anput turned her gaze to the floor, a mixture of surprise, worry, and slight pride in her obsidian eyes. Nodding, I bit my lip, feeling very simr emotions to her. Kat didn''t seem the type to kill at a moments notice; at least not people. Sure, we had seen her enjoy killing the monsters in Fovos Forest, but monsters and people are two very different things. I was worried that she might start craving that rush more often, since she seemed euphoric after the massacre, her face flushed as she gave Jahi that sensual grin... Gulping at that memory, I sighed as I too stared at the floor, happy that Kat had rushed forwards to deal with a potential threat. She was like a knight in shining armor... Well, she was actually a rogue in dark leather, but details, details~ When that man had drawn his de against Jahi and shouted that she must''ve slept with someone for her Silver Tag, I was furious, ready to utilize the full arsenal of magic I had at my disposal to eradicate the man, but... Kat was fast. Now I don''t know if that was because she was already feeling... withdrawn, or if she was really that fast. What I do know is that she didn''t hesitate to kill those men who lusted after us, even though she knew that we were fully capable of taking care of ourselves. Especially Jahi, the woman in question. It warmed my heart, knowing that Kat was willing to do that much for me... For me... A smile spread on my lips, and I found my mind wandering to the different fantasies I had of her, changing a few around to fit this new, cold, ruthless version of Kat. ~~~ Anput PoV Leone was smiling to herself, likely thinking about how utterly sexy our resident killer looked as she... well, killed. I have to admit, if before I was smitten with Kat... Now I was head over heels for her. I stand by what I''ve said to her before; if Jahi wasn''t around, I would be doing everything in my power to make Kat fall for me. She was the perfect mate, and after seeing her earlier, that only reaffirmed my belief. Kat was gentle and caring, an excellent housewife, great cook, and was capable of defending herself, and by extension, our children. The woman was everything you could want, which was exactly why I understood why Jahi was so taken in by what should have just been a simple maid. Almost every other noble in existence would have slept with Kat, what with her sinful body and seductive charm, but not many would have cared about her, for her. Jahi, however, saw those traits I saw, and considering the amber and amethyst ring I saw on Kat''s finger, she made sure the Dogkin knew that she was wanted and needed. As for her more... ''worrisome'' trait, I could care less. The women in the Sultanate were crueler than the women here in the Empire, what with the tougher, harshernds to survive in. It wasn''t umon for the stronger women to have arge bloodlust, and many warriors fought in the diatorial Pits just because that was the easiest ce to let blood flow. Kat would''ve thrived in the Sultanate, whereas here she might struggle, but... I chuckled, leaning back into the sofa. Well, there was no shortage of idiots wandering around, and it seemed that she cared not from where the blood flowed. Just that there was blood TO flow... Honestly, she''s just the perfect mate~! ~~~ Jahi PoV I panted, looking down at the sprawled out figure of Kat, her body stained with our fluids as she too panted. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing gradually evened out, finally falling asleep. Laying down beside her, I trailed my hands over her body, enjoying her warmth as I though about what I saw earlier. The sight of her weaving around those poor adventurers as she used her wind mana and dagger to tear them apart was quite... vivid, and I could only grin as I recalled everything. She looked utterly beautiful in those moments. She had been true to herself, not hiding behind a mask, nor trying to fit some social norm that she felt shackled by. Katherine Zara- No, Katherine Asmodia had been herself, for one of the few moments of our short lives, she had truly been herself. And that was one of, if not the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Was I worried about trying to keep my puppy ''well fed''? Not at all. If there were no people to satiate her hunger, there was a near infinite supply of monsters for her to torment, to butcher. It was obvious, what kind of woman she was. She wasn''t just a killer; she was a more than that. Anput and I were killers; warriors. We loved the thrill of a good fight, how our muscles strained under a good blow, how euphoric it felt to gradually improve our technique. Kat, however, seemed to prefer the end result of a battle; the kill in itself. When she had held thatst mans skull in her hands, she was grinning as he screamed, her mana gradually tearing him apart. The way she killed wasn''t efficient; it was drawn out and torturous, done to inflict the most amount of agonizing pain that she possibly could before killing them. Her pale blue eyes had been fixated on her victims own eyes, waiting and watching for them to darken as the life left them. Kat was a hedonist. Right after one lust had been satiated, she immediately sought me out to fulfill the next, which I was happy to douse. Smirking down at the sleeping woman, I gently cupped her soft cheek, stroking it as I whispered "What am I going to do with you, my sweet little puppy~?" ~~~ Kat PoV My eyes fluttered open, and I yawned, trying to recall what I had been dreaming about that made me feel so fulfilled. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes, my body aching slightly as I recalled the administrations of my lover, herrge blue frame sleeping soundly beside me. Getting to my feet, I stretched, my body, mind, and spirit feeling satisfied altogether for the first time in... I pursed my lips, silently chuckling as I remembered that I had NEVER felt like this before. Stumbling over towards the dark bathroom, I sighed as I leaned against the sink, turning it on and sshing some cold water on my face. Looking up, I almost let out a yelp as I saw my reflection... Well, it wasn''t mine. What stared back at me was me, but not. Her pale face was covered in blood, and her ghastly blue eyes shone with a strong lust as she licked the serrated edge of a bloody knife. ? "You killed them~! You killed and killed and killed and killed~!" She grinned at me, and I gulped, taking a step back. Leaning forwards, she continued in that high pitched singsong voice. "You butchered them! Tore them apart! Bathed in their blood! How''d it feel, hmm? To take a life? They might have had spouses and children, mothers and fathers to go home to. Now those people wait..." Taking the knife, this other me ced the edge on her own throat, giggling as she finished "Forever~" Biting my lip, I remained silent as I stared at her, making her pout. "Come on, show me a reaction~" Not getting anything, her grin faded, and she snarled at me, her eyes glowing with hatred. "I SAID SHOW ME A REACTION!" Shaking my head, I stepped forwards, leaning against the sink again. "Why?" Narrowing her eyes, the other me leaned forwards as well, her nose almost touching mine as she said "Because you were just some secretary a few years ago, were you not? You never killed, let alone fought someone. Why are you so..." "Calm?" She nodded, still staring at me warily. Sighing, I looked down at my hands, pursing my lips. "You''re right. Really, it''s only been a few years, but I lived for what, thirty years as a normal woman? But..." I chuckled, smiling at the other me. "Well, thats the past, no? Besides, this might have always been me, been something I craved. In modern times, killing is wrong, its frowned upon." Spreading my arms, my smile turned to a grin. "But here? If you have the strength, you can do what you want. Besides..." My grin faded, and I sneered, making the other me shiver slightly. "Those bastards dared to lust after my Mistress..." Taking a deep breath, I returned my expression to one of neutrality, before continuing. "So why should I care? I''ve epted that I''ll see blood in this family; I epted that a month or so into my reincarnation. I choose this life, so I''ll live it." The other me stared down at her knife, before nodding. "Well, at least you can ept it..." She returned her eyes towards my own, her reflection slowly merging into my own. "Oh, of course I ept you; the brutal, ruthless, bloodthirsty me..." Our voices merged, until the only thing that remained was the ethereal glow of our blue eyes. "After all, if its for them... I''d do anything..." --- So what''d you think of the third Kat we''ve seen so far? Also, I have officially decided on all four of them, and surprisingly Anput will be the most... sane of them all. I mean, Jahi is extremely possessive, as is Leone, and Kat is just... well, this entire chapter exined it pretty well, no? As for Anput, she likes fighting. Besides that, what''d you think of each of their reactions? I''m curious, since many people seemed to like the idea of a more bloodthirsty Kat. Oh, but don''t worry if you don''t really really like this side of Kat; she''s going to be one of those people who goes from cially cold to infernally hot depending on the situation, but mainly cially cold as we progress more into the Academy, which is what I promised in the Synopsis. (Also, this was a surprisingly easy chapter to right lol, I did it in like thirty minutes XD) --- Chapter 112 111: A New Achievement Standing alone in the kitchen, I hummed happily to myself as I prepared our breakfast, deciding on a simple rice bowl for breakfast. I didn''t know why, but I was craving the basic taste of a steamed rice bowl, topped with some scrambled eggs and spring onions... Smiling, I gradually finished each bowl, ncing over my shoulder as I watched a sleepy Leone shuffle her way towards me. "Morning..." Chuckling, I rose a brow as Leone stood behind me,ying her head on my shoulder. "Good morning, Leone." Separating the bowls, I swiftly ced a hand over her opened mouth as she tried to sink her fangs into my neck. "Sorry, but I told you not before the Academy! Here." Leone pouted as she stared at my outstretched wrist, before shrugging. Hopefully the pleasurable high I received when she drank from my neck wasn''t going to happen with my wrist... Leone tenderly licked the soft flesh of my wrist before opening her mouth again, thin ropes of saliva connecting her upper and lower fangs as she leaned closer. Sinking them into my forearm, Leone''s stifled moan reached my ears as she started eagerly gulping down my blood. Unlike before, the sensation that washed over my body was bearable, not sending me over the edge like when she drank from my neck. So was there a difference because of the locations? Also, where was that warm feeling that was injected into my veins like before? Shrugging, I returned my attention to the bowls, finishing them up as Leone continued feeding. Sprinkling a little salt over the top of the rice, I mixed everything together before ncing over at the Vampire as she released my wrist, panting as she turned her heated gaze to my neck. "Sorry, but no." She pouted again, before tentatively licking the bite mark on my wrist, healing the wound. "T-Thank you, Kat..." Smirking over at the girl, I pulled her close to me, pressing my lips against her own, savoring her sweet taste. For a brief moment Leone struggled in my arms, trying to push me away, only to melt into my embrace when I slid my hand behind her head, pushing her lips further into mine. "Well this is one hell of a sight to see in the morning." Releasing the Vampire, I looked over at a smirking Jahi, her rippling muscles shining in the early morning light. "Good morning~!" She just nodded at me, before chuckling as she watched Leone rush towards her room, her facepletely red. Walking over to me, Jahi kissed me quickly before looking down at the bowls, raising a brow. "Rice?" I nodded, making her shrug. "Alright. Well, I still need to get ready, so keep it warm for a few minutes please." Giving my rear a firm squeeze, Jahi kissed me again before returning to our room. Finding myself alone, I turned my attention back towards the system, deciding it was finally time to read the notifications fromst night. [Human Male Killed! 12,432 Xp] [Elf Male Killed! 13,988 Xp] [Bearkin Male Killed! 18,122 Xp] [Human Male...] Scrolling past all the experience notifications, I looked at therger achievement, surprised by what I read. [Achievement Unlocked! Butcher] [Butcher: Not only have you killed your first person, you utterly tore them apart! Congrattions (?) on that! Reward: Whenever you fight a person with the intent to kill, they will be slightly weakened; 2 Points into Strenght and Constitution] Huh, that was quite... an interesting reward... So when I intend to kill again, I''ll have a little edge since people won''t be at full strenght. As for the stat increases... well, it''s always nice to have more stats. That achievement joined my other one, making me chuckle at the difference. Breaking the Bed and Butcher... Chuckling at them, I allowed the notifications to fade, cing the rice bowls above a fire crystal to keep them warm. Sighing, I leaned against the counter, asking the system ''So I''m getting a bunch of experience for killing things, but not that much for actual servant things. Why''s that?'' [''Servant'' is a broad definition. You are serving your Mistress by killing the things that dared to harm her. After all, a bodyguard is still as much a servant as a maid. Now, if you wait until you reach level 25, there will be a difference in how you progress. Until then...] It fell silent, making me purse my lips in contemtion. It wasn''t wrong. When I heard ''Servitude'', I though of the small things like cooking and cleaning for someone important, doing some kind of menial job, not killing monsters or people for someone. However, I guess a bodyguard could be ssified as a servant... What intrigued me though was thest part. After level 25 there will be a difference in my progression? How? Maybe quests? Requirements to level uppared to just t experience? I shrugged, deciding that I''ll deal with it when it happens. As it stands, I still have a long ways to go to get to that level... And it unlocks the shop as well! So maybe it''ll be quests then... Thinking about the things I might be able to buy, I slowly lost myself in excitement thinking about the possibilities. Maybe I could take up inscriptions, or maybe even try my hand at smithing? Hehe~ "What''re you so excited about?" Looking to the side, I saw Jahi pulling on her shirt, a smirk on her lips. Smiling at her, I took a step closer, trailing my fingers up her chiseled abs before reaching up to gently cup her cheek. "About you, of course~!" Nuzzling into my hand, Jahi''s amethyst eyes shone with warmth as stared down at me, before leaning down and kissing me. "Good~!" Weughed, Jahi wrapping me in an embrace before turning her gaze to the bowls. "Alright, let''s eat! I''m hungry..." Scooping up thergest bowl, Jahi sat down at the table, digging into the rice with gusto. As for Anput and Leone, they walked around the corner with a slight blush on their cheeks, meekly sitting at the table. Laying the bowls out, I sat down and dug in as well, feeling hungrier now that Leone had drained a bit of my blood. Breakfast was quiet as the two other girls fidgeted at the table, staring between Jahi and I as they ate. Finishing the meal, I ced the bowls in the sink before handing each of the women their bags. The walk to the Academy was the same as always, the streets busy and crowded, Jahi leading us through the crowd with surprising ease due to her imposing height. Walking behind Leone and Anput, I looked between the slumped shoulders of Leone and twitching ears of Anput, making me sigh. Jahi was a few feet ahead, so I stepped closer to the other two, asking "Why are you two so down?" Flinching, Leone pursed her lips, her eyes meeting mine for a moment before looking towards Anput. "W-Well..." "You see, you and Jahi..." Swallowing hard, Anput looked towards the tall Demoness, before lowering her voice to a whisper. "It''s... the way you two... well, hearing you two every night... You know..." Hearing her dancing around the question, I sighed, saying "Our nightly... spars are too distracting?" Anput nodded, before her cheeks darkened even more as she muttered "And torturous..." Leone nodded as well, herva like eyes flickering between Jahi and I as she blushed furiously. Sighing again, I gently pat the two girls on the shoulders before squeezing past them, tapping Jahi on the shoulder. Looking back, she tilted her head in a confusion, wondering what I could want. "When are you taking one of them on a date?" The Demoness froze for a second, before pursing her lips. "I was thinking tomorrow?" "Then make it tonight. I''d feel bad if they have to listen to us again..." Jahi just chuckled, her eyes moving towards the two embarrassed girls as she said "Oh, I thought they liked hearing us~" Rolling my eyes, I pinched her waist, making the Demoness smile wryly down at me. "Fine, fine! I''ll take Anput out tonight!" The Jackalkin stiffened, her obsidian eyes glued to Jahi''s in surprise. "Yeah, you heard me~ I need to spread the love equally among my puppies~" Jahi loomed over Anput, gently stroking her ears before winking at me. Stepping beside Leone, I whispered "It''ll be just us tonight..." The Vampire gulped, staring intently at my neck, her tongue unknowingly glossing her naturally red lips. Oh, today was going to be quite fun~ --- Alright, so the next two chapters, will be LONG lemons, one of Kat x Leone and the other of Jahi x Anput, from the PoV of Kat and Jahi. I have interesting ideas for both Anput and Leone, so I hope you enjoy! Besides that, like I said earlier, the system will change with level 25. I think I''ll do a quest system to level up, or maybe to unlock the next set of like 10 levels. Some people had good ideas when I mentioned needing to update the system, and it made me look over what a ''Servant'' was. Like Kat mentioned, I / Her instinctively thought of a maid; cooking and cleaning, doing small, menial tasks. However, a ''servant'' could be anything, as long as they ''serve'' a person, which could be a bodyguard. So, I was thinking of ''expanding'' the servant quests to include more than just ''clean room a'', ''cook this meal''. I need to think it through more though... --- Chapter 113 112: Quenching A Thirst* --- So before we start... Contract went through! Woohoo! Now I just need to talk to my assigned editor (who''s discord about me section made me chuckle, it was ''Life is not daijobou'') about getting my work to go premium, aka cing chapters behind coins. Anyways, I''m happy, and excited, because I''ve already seen arge increase in people putting this in there collections and its only been around 10 hours! Well, here''s a lemon to celebrate lol~! --- That day at the Academy was... Entertaining, to say the least. Leone was desperately trying to conceal herrge bulge as she devoured me with her eyes, while Anput was shuffling around as Jahi teased the poor Jackalkin, her face permanently flushed. Thankfully both Magic and History were more individual learning today, with Vice-Headmaster Bijilo asking us toplete a few ritual circles for him to grade, and Professor Xiant doing a quiet reading ss as he prepared a lesson n for his more advanced sses. However, Combat ss was a little... Difficult. Anput was heavily distracted the entire time, making mistake after mistake in the drills, while Leone was as clumsy as ever, but... Looking down at the Vampire who was resting her head against my chest, I sighed as she only nuzzled deeper instead of pulling away. Her heat was evident to me, but thankfully not to everyone else, who all thought that she was just tired. The day passed, and we stood out front of the Academy, Jahi smirking at Anput as she took her hand. "Well, we''ll be going out, so don''t worry about food for us Kat~!" I bowed to her, watching as she dragged Anput out of the Academy, the normally confident Jackalkin now meekly stumbling behind the Demoness, her tail swishing from side to side as she stared down at Jahi''s hand. As for us... "Lady Leone, shall we go?" "Ah, um... yes, let''s go..." Leone gulped, before leading me out of the Academy. Holding back a chuckle at her stiff movements, I walked behind the flustered Vampire, before raising a brow as she turned back, her pale face going crimson as she took my hand in hers. Moving to stand beside her, we walked side by side, hand in hand, towards our home. Leone was quiet the entire time, asionally squeezing my hand as if to check that I was still there. When we entered the house Leone swiftly turned towards me, her lips finding my own as she clumsily kissed me. Chuckling at her eagerness, I gently guided her tongue into my mouth, wrapping my arms around her neck. Her throbbing erection pressed against my stomach, prodding my womb from the outside as she desperately took my lips. Feeling her hands drop to my rear, I moaned as she started squeezing and spreading my ass, and I pulled her deeper into me. For a few minutes we stood in the doorway, engaged in a fierce fight as Leone tried to dominate my tongue with her own, however... Deciding I had given her a decent head start, I pushed her tongue back into her mouth, coiling my own around hers before enjoying her sweet taste. Guiding her towards the wall, I chuckled as she yelped when her back was against the wall, only to moan as my leg slid between hers, grinding gently against her stiff cock. Our bodies melted into each other, our bountiful breasts pressing and rubbing together. Sliding one hand to her waist and leaving the other on her neck, I easily overwhelmed the poor Vampire, enjoying the way she moaned more and more into my mouth. Leone tried to push me away, and after a few more proddings of the inside of her cheeks I relented, pulling away from her soft body, panting as my eyes remained fixed on her plump, cherry lips. "W-Wait, Kat..." Raising a brow, I waited for her to continue, smirking as I slid a hand over her cock. "Mm~ W-We sh-should sh-sh-shower first!" "Fine~" Releasing her, I stepped away, stretching my body out before taking her hand. "Come on then~!" Leading her towards our room, I helped her out of her simple red dress, nodding in appreciation of herrge breasts. Unsping her bra, I gently pinched her erect buds, making her moan, before she blushed as I looked lower. What spilled out of her panties was a monstrous thing,rger than even Jahi''s which was already... Kneeling in front of her, I slid her panties off, chuckling at the ropes of juices that connected them to her cunt, before leaning forwards. She yelped as I nuzzled my cheek against her plump balls, marveling at the length of her dick. Looking up, I chuckled as she gulped, staring intently down at me, before pursing her lips. "I-Isn''t i-it gr-grotesque?" Shaking my head, I started kissing her shaft, making the Vampire moan. "No, it''s beautiful~ I never thought I''d see one bigger than Jahi, but..." Her eyes went wide, before she gasped as I licked from the base of her shaft all the way to the tip, which was drooling. Licking off her precum, I nodded as her sweet, yet slightly bitter taste entered my mouth. Sadly, before I could even try wrapping my lips around her tip, Leone pulled away, blushing furiously as she made her way to the bath. "I-It''s dirty! W-We need t-to bathe!" Getting up with a wry smile, I slid my clothes off and entered the bath, helping her wash herself off. When she turned to help me, Leone froze, her eyes wide as she gulped, looking me over. "Like what you see?" Leone nodded, before blinking a few times. Pushing me onto the seat, she tried to wash me off, however... "Ahn~" Her handstched onto my breasts, squeezing them before she released me. "S-Sorry..!" Returning her hands to my body, Leone again started washing me, only to slide them over my thighs, where she started gently groping. "Mm~" Every time her hands found some naughty spot to grab, I let out sensual moans, making her flinch and blush as she desperately tried to control her urges. Feeling her hands groping me and her cock guiding against my back, I slowly went from enjoying her teasing to extremely aroused, panting slightly as Leone''s hands found my breasts again. She leaned against me, her breasts resting on my back as she squeezed and kneaded my tits, her cock drooling some semen onto my ass as she hesitantly licked my neck. "K-Kat... C-Can I pl-please..?" Moaning, I leaned into her, tilting my head to the side before gasping. Her fangs slid into my neck, instantly injecting that warm liquid into my veins. Keeping her hands around my breasts, Leone greedily drank my blood while pumping that liquid into me, making me groan as I felt my cunt clench, desperately wanting something inside me. Shuddering, I lifted my hand andid it on her cheek, pushing her head deeper into the crook of my neck, enjoying the sensation of her feeding. My pussy convulsed a few times, staining the seat under me in my ejacte. The tile wall in front of me blurred and warped as the waves of pleasure grew to be too much, and I moaned "L-Leone~!" The Vampire pulled away, panting as she licked the remaining blood from her lips before kissing my neck, gliding her tongue over the wound. "K-Kat! A-Are you o-okay?!" Her eyes went wide as she took in my ck appearance, desperately shaking my shoulders. "I''m... fine..." Once my vision returned to semi normalcy, I gave her a tired grin, my head still feeling light from the blood loss. "L-Lets... get into the... bath..." She nodded, helping me to my feet before sitting me inside the bath. Taking a seat beside me, she yelped as she felt my hand fall onto her dick, slowly stroking her shaft. Enjoying the way she shuddered as my hand glided over her shaft, I leaned into Leone,ying my head on hers. "Its... peaceful, without them here..." She nodded, biting her lip as she stared at my hand. "It ah~ It is..." Feeling her cock tremble slightly, I let out a "Hyup~!" and mounted her, pressing her tip against my drenched snatch. "Your first ejaction..." Grinding my pussy against her cock, I chuckled as she pursed her lips, staring at me. "Should be inside~" Dropping my hips, I moaned as I slowly guided her into me, her thick shaft spreading me open. Wrapping my arms around her neck, I pressed my lips against hers, trying to distract myself from her monster destroying me. She quickly reached my cervix, and we both moaned as her tip started forcing it open, with me enjoying the sharp pangs that traveled up my spine from the pain, and Leone from how I tightened around her shaft. "K-Kat~ I-I t-think I''m g-gonna..!" Hearing that, I grit my teeth before... "FUCK~!" mming myself down, I screamed in pleasurable pain as I managed to fit her entire length into me, much to my womb''s chagrin. Her cock forced my womb to expand, pushing it deeper into my body before... Grabbing my ass, Leone moaned she pushed me further down, making me feel herrge balls tremble against me. Her cock throbbed, before it shot semen into me, rapidly filling my womb to the brim. We both moaned, kissing each other desperately as we came and came. My cunt convulsed and mped on her shaft, massaging her dick for more and more of her milk, which she happily and eagerly unloaded into me. Feeling her slow down, I sighed in relief, only to let out a shout as she started thrusting up into me, mming into my womb and churning her semen around. Keeping her lips pressed against mine, Leone massaged my ass as she pulled me into her. Our breasts merged together, our nipples rubbing together as she desperately took me. The feeling of her giant cock spreading my cunt apart, her hands molding my ass as she pleased, her breasts pressing against mine, and her tongue fighting for the dominance of my mouth... I came again, enjoying her desperation to take me as she started pummeling into me, our moans meshing together. Cumming inside me a few more times, Leone eventually reimed control of her body, pulling away from me with a gasp as she looked down towards my bloated stomach. "S-S-Sorry! K-Kat..!" She lifted me off her cock, allowing her thick seed to finally flood out of my numb cunt, jolting me back into consciousness. Sitting me down on the edge of the bath, we both watched as her loads drained from my body, creating arge puddle above the water. "L-Leone..." The flustered Vampire turned towards me, only to shudder as I gestured towards my cunt. "Again?" Gulping, she pursed her lips before moving towards me, keeping her head level with my snatch. "A-Actually..." Licking her lips, Leone looked up at me, her eyes goingpletely crimson as she asked "C-Can I..?" Kissing my inner thigh, Leone kept her gaze fixed on mine, and I nodded. Licking me first, Leone then sunk her fangs back into my flesh, but this time... I moaned as I felt her fangs slide into my thigh, that warm liquid making its way instantly to my womb. However, unlike with my neck, Leone released me quickly, licking her lips before grinning at me. Moving her lips towards my cunt, Leone sunk her tongue into my folds, gulping down the mix of our ejactes with ease. Pulling me forwards by my thighs, she repeated brought me to the edge, making me paint her face with my juices. When she was finished, Leone wiped off her stained face, grinning at me as she said "A Vampire can mark their partners..." Licking my thigh again, Leone continued "And it allows me to find you, wherever you go..." Her grin was chilling, and paired with thosepletely crimson eyes... Shuddering, I could onlyy under her as Leone stood up, her cock hard again as she grinned down at me. "Your mine Kat~! Haha~!" Sliding herself back in, the normally shy girl grinned at me with confidence, mming her hips into mine as she whispered "Just like I belong to Jahi~! I love you~!" Sinking her fangs into my neck again, Leone used me as she pleased, slowly sending me into a spiral of pleasure as her cock pummeled my womb. Eventually she quenched her thirsts, pulling away. That crimson receded in her eyes, until only thoseva-like orbs remained, and worry filled them. ~~~ Leone PoV Staring down at the stained body of Kat, I panted, her savory blood still on my lips. Laying my hands on either side of her bountiful chest, I channeled my mana into her, a healing circle appeared above her heart. She was alive, but the amount of blood I took... Biting my lip, I desperately prayed that she wouldn''t hate me for what... ''I'' did. Recalling that euphoric rush as I dominated my partner, especially after marking her as mine, made my cock harden again. Kat groaned, and I watched in joy as her ethereal blue eyes flickered open. "D-Damn... L-Leone... y-you''re s-something..." She chuckled, her pale skin gradually regaining its luster as she sat up. Staring down at my cock, the Dogkin smirked at me, summoning her own healing circle to speed up the process. "That was... really, really..." Licking her lips, Kat slid a free hand back onto my shaft, making me shudder. "I want more..." She got up, a spell ring around us as she lifted the water, semen, and ejacte away, before guiding me into my bedroom. Pushing me onto the bed, Kat mounted me again, sinking her hands into my breasts as she started bouncing, her heavenly moans echoing around as she brought her plump ass down onto myp. When I tried to touch her divine body, Kat smirked at me, pinning my hands to the backboard as she leaned forwards, whispering "You toyed with me earlier, so it''s only fair I get to toy with you now, right?" I shuddered as she pulled away, her blue eyes meeting mine as she grinned. What followed was a personal lesson on how insatiable Kat was, and how ''powerful'' Jahi must be to bed her every night... --- Leone will be a switch; someone who ''switches'' from Dom to Sub depending on the partner, kinda like how Kat does now. As for her Vampire side... well, I thought that might be exotic enough, especially when we get into her with Jahi, so.... Anyways, yea, this lemon done, next is Jahi and Anput~ --- Chapter 114 113: Taking Anput Out* --- So before we start I have two quick things; 1) I forgot to mention it yesterday what with therge growth I was experiencing, and how weird it felt seeing the numbers rise so quickly, but the book has hit ~630K Views, 1.4K collections, and a few people even used some Golden Tickets! Thank you all so much! 2) An even more special shoutout to Andrew_Hail_1848 for gifting a Massage Chair, which is 500 Coins!? I seriously can''t believe that, and thank you so, so much! Anyways, just know that it''s been one heck of a journey so far, and I can''t wait to keep on going, especially seeing all the new faces joining those that have been here for a long time! (Coming back after writing most of this chapter; it''s going to be a two parter, since this turned out to be more of a normal date between the two instead of a lemon, but I did use ''spicy'' words so *) --- Jahi PoV Leading Anput by the hand, I dragged her through the busy streets of the Capital, the Jackalkin unusually silent as she walked behind me. "Anput?" "Ah..! Y-Yes!?" Her voice was higher than normal, and when I turned to look at her, I saw her fixing her hair, her obsidian eyes flickering towards my own before looking away. Seeing the normally confident, and sometimes arrogant, Jackalkin acting all nervous and embarrassed was... Exhrating. Smirking at her, I pulled her into a side alley, chuckling at how she fidgeted when we were alone. "Is everything alright?" She nodded rapidly, her ears twitching as she stared at me from the corner of her almond shaped eyes. cing my hand on her cheek, I gently rubbed my thumb under her eyes, stifling augh as she nuzzled into my palm. "S-So, wh-where are we going..?" Her shining obsidian eyes flitted up towards me as she continued to nuzzle my palm, making me chuckle. "It''s a secret~" Seeing her adorable pout, I chuckled again as I took her hand, leading her back out onto the crowded streets. We admired the intriguing architecture of the city as we walked, before reaching a building standing all alone, a roaring cheer erupting from the circr building. Carved into the stone above the door were the words ''House of Betor'', the symbol on either side of the writing being a pair of crossed swords. "Is this..?" Hearing Anput''s question, I grinned at her, gesturing at the building. "I present to you..." Turning, I stared down at the excited Jackalkin, her tail swishing rapidly as she grinned at the building, her eyes alight with anticipation. "The number one fighting arena in the entirety of the Empire!" Her grin grew wider as she stared at therge arena, before stepping forwards. Taking her hand again, I led the animated Jackalkin inside, where dozens of people waited in the spacious lobby. Approaching the receptionist, I said "Reservation for Jahi Asmodia." The pretty elven receptionist''s eyes widened as she looked up at me, before gulping and nodding. "P-Please follow me, Lady Asmodia..." Anput squeezed my hand, pouting as she narrowed her eyes at me. Releasing her hand, I insteadid it across her thin waist, pulling her into my side. She let out a small yelp, which was lost in the sea of noise around us. Following behind the elf, we were led through thevish corridors, the marble walls and red carpeted floors telling of the money this arena raked in. Opening a set of tall, wide ebony wood doors, the elf bowed as she said "Enjoy yourselves. The next fight should begin momentarily. Should you need something, ring the bell on the table." We nodded at her, entering the VIP Spectator box. Like the corridors, the room was made entirely of marble, a red gilded rugying over the floor. A ss wall stood across from us, giving a view over the giant sand pit below, where the fights would take ce. Entering, Anput was about to take a seat beside me when I said "Sit here." Dropping into a wooden throne, I pat myp, making the olive skinned woman blush furiously. However, even as she red at me in mock anger, she slunk towards me, hesitantly sitting on myp. Chuckling, I pulled her fully onto my leg, snaking a hand around her waist. Her head rested on one of my breasts, and I smirked down at her, before gesturing out towards the pits. "You have these back in the Sultanate, correct?" She nodded, trying desperately to ignore the hardness of my erection that pressed into her soft ass. "Y-Yes... we have many arenas and fighting pits like this..." I nodded, before turning to lift a cluster of grapes, which Anput took from my hand. Raising a brow, I watched in mild interest as she plucked one off, bringing it to my lips. She shyly stared up at me from under her longshes, and I chuckled as I opened my mouth. cing the grape on my tongue, she blushed harder as I gently bit down on her finger as well, kissing it. "Sweet..." "T-Thank you..." I chuckled at that, before epting the next grape. Ah, how blissful it was to be fed by such a beauty~ Grinning down at her, I asked "Have you enjoyed being here? Or do you miss the Sultanate?" Laying another grape on my tongue, Anput pursed her thin lips, ncing at the arena below. "I... don''t dislike the Empire, but... I much prefer the Sultanate... I miss my mom as well..." Sighing, she smiled gently down at the sand pit, before looking up at me as I squeezed her waist. Leaning down, I ced a kiss on her cheek, before moving towards her lips. Pulling away, I smiled down at her as I said "Well, I hope youe to like the Empire... but remember, March Asmodia borders the Sultanate, and I''d never shackle you here. If you ever want to visit them, then go." Anput matched my smile,ying her head back onto my breast. "Thank you, Jahi... really." We fell quickly into discussion, with me asking more about the arenas in her homnd, which she enthusiastically answered. "Ladies and Gentleman! Our next fight is about to begin, and it''s one you don''t want to miss!" Stepping into the center of the arena was a buxom human woman, wearing form fitting leather. Raising her voice, she pointed towards one side of the arena, shouting "Our first challenger for tonight is Ji Gitra, the Venom Fang of the Soutnds! Will his venomous bite manage to down his opponent?" Stepping out of the small archway was a thin man, his pale skin sticking close to his bones. His sickly appearance made themoners in the crowd murmur in displeasure, however... "Damn, that''s a dense aura..." Anput nodded, staring down at this Ji with narrowed eyes. "Is he housing the poison inside his body?" Before I could respond the woman pointed to the opposite gate. "epting Ji''s challenge is Kiansa Birads, the former Centurion of the Panther Legion!" Walking out of the gate with a snarl was a tall Pantherkin, her long velvety ck hair pulled into a tight braid that fell onto her lithe figure. Twirling a twin set of axe''s in her hands, Kiansa red at Ji, raising one as she shouted "You asked for this, coward!" Her provocation set the crowd alight, and many cheered or boo''d, depending on who they had bet on. "Warriors! Are you ready?!" The announcer leaped up onto her podium, staring down at the two fighters. Seeing both of their nods, she raised her arm, before slicing it downwards, shouting "Start!" Kiansa bolted forwards, her axes mming down towards the pale mans head. However, instead of digging into his flesh, her axes nged off a solid dome of earth, making her grunt in annoyance. Jumping back, the Pantherkin observed the dome, looking for any opportunity or opening. However, the arena fell silent as Ji remained inside his dome, making everyone jeer. "Hmm... cowardly, but effective." I nodded at Anput, enjoying the way she leaned forwards to get a better look at the match. Arge build up of mana was bubbling under the dome, and Kiansa felt it. Growling in frustration, she started coating her axe heads in water mana, before rushing forwards again, attacking with a renewed vigor. Not wanting to give the man any time to prepare anymore, she rapidly chipped away at the rock dome, splitting it open. As the dome crumbled away, a purple fog spilled out, making the Pantherkin yet again jump away. Using her water mana, Kiansa wrapped her body in mana, searching the purple haze for Ji. "From above he''s easy to spot, but form down there it must be almost impossible..." Anput watched with growing interest, a small smile on her lips as she watched the Pantherkinsh out at the fog, seemingly at random. "Ooh... smart! She''s setting runic traps around herself to prevent him from closing in! Interesting..." The battle dragged on, Ji eventually stepping on one of the Pantherkin''s traps, a burst of water spearing into his foot. Crying out, he only had a moment to try and prepare before Kiansa was on him, her axes slicing towards his chest. Raising an arm, he coated it in earth mana, only to scream out in pain as her axes cleaved it off. However, instead of blood, the same purple fog spilled out, making Kiansa scrunch her nose in disgust. Ji tried to bring his poisonous clouds to bear onto her, but the woman was prepared, head butting him and breaking his concentration. Kicking him away, she stood from afar and skewered him with a water spear, killing him instantly. As the life left his eyes the fog dissipated, and Kiansa dropped her mana cloak. "He could have used the fog better... set traps and made here to him, not the other way round... hmm..." Pursing her lips, Anput stared down at the celebrating Pantherkin, only to let out a yelp. I raised my hand from her waist to her modest chest, pinching and rolling her bud in between my fingers. "Come now, we''re on a date, and yet you''re spending more time looking at them then you are me~" Pouting at her, I leaned down and took her lips again, this time forcing my tongue into her mouth. Pushing hers away, I enjoyed her sweet lips as I held her close, slipping my hands under her cloth top to feel her skin directly. The announcer was shouting something to the crowd, but neither of us heard it, as Anput leaned into me as I kissed her, her arms wrapping around my neck. Delving deeper into her mouth, I coiled my tongue around hers, cing my other hand on her soft ass. Groping her, I devoured her moans as I started getting rougher and rougher, before... Hearing her yelp in pain, I pulled away from her, my eyes wide as I stared at her. "S-Sorry..." She panted as she stared at me, her tongue resting on her lips, slightly swollen. I had gotten so used to treating Kat however I wanted, and her epting it all, that... Gulping, I gently ced a hand on her back, channeling the mana into a healing spell. Seeing the swelling go down, I sighed in relief, before apologizing again. "Sorry, Anput..." "N-No, I''m sorry... I-I should be able to-" "Anput." Hearing me speak her name so firmly, the Jackalkin froze up, staring at me with wide eyes. "Don''tpare yourself to Kat; she has more experience than you, sure, but she also has different wants and desires. It''s my fault for treating you like I treat her... besides, everything before that was excellent~" She blushed, fidgeting in myp, before looking back up at me. "I-Is it... really? Is it fine..?" I nodded, smiling gently down at her, before cing an equally gentle kiss on her lips again. Leaning my forehead against hers, I whispered "Of course it is, Anput. You''re you, and Kat''s Kat. You may both be Beastkin, but that doesn''t mean you''re the same, and that''s what I love about you..." Anput blush deepened, and she took in a shaky breath, trembling slightly in my arms. Worried that I upset her, I tried to look into her eyes, only growing increasingly concerned as she looked away. "A-Anput?" The Jackalkin shuddered again, before leaning further into my embrace, burying her face into my chest. "You love me~! You love me~!" She continuously repeated that as she hugged me tighter, her tail rapidly swaying behind her and thumping into my legs. Sighing in relief, I wrapped my arms around her, keeping the girl in a tight embrace as she nuzzled into me. Smiling down at her, I stroked her back as I looked over the sand pit, seeing the announcer step back out into the middle. "Ah, Anput, the next fights about to begin. Did you want to watch it?" Poking her head out from my chest, Anput nodded slightly, her eyes still glued to mine and filled with warmth. "Do you mean it?" Raising a brow, I chuckled as I said "Yes, I love you, Anput." Letting out an adorable ''Kyaa~!'' she turned away, leaning back into my arms as she stared over the pit. Smiling gently down at her, I too turned back towards the arena, watching the next fight start up. Chapter 115 114: My Second Puppy* The various battles slowly trailed on, and in between each one we would engage in a battle of our own. Currently Anput was facing me directly, her lips pressed against mine as we kissed, our tongues swirling around each others. Dropping my hands towards her tail, I gently stroked the soft, bristly fur, making the girl tremble and moan in my arms. My other hand slid under her skirt, taking a handful of her wonderfully springy rear, my fingers sliding ever so close to her moist garden. "Mm~ J-Ja-Jahi... N-Nah~ Not h-here~" Chuckling at that, I released her tail and trailed my hand up her back, eventually pushing her head into mine, wanting easier ess to the deeper crevices of her mouth. "Then should we go? I really want to taste more of you..." Shuddering, Anput panted as she stared at me, blinking a few times before nodding. Grinning at her, I watched as she staggered to her feet, her knees trembling as she held onto the throne for support. Standing beside her, I gave her ass a solid p, making her yelp out in a mix of pain and pleasure. ring at me, Anput pouted before trying to walk away, only to moan as I pulled her towards my side, my hand resting on her ass. Squeezing my hand slightly, I enjoyed the doughy sensation of her ass as my fingers sunk slightly into it, making her moan again. Leading her to the door, I raised my hand from her rear to her waist, making her lean on me as we walked out of the room. Reaching the lobby, the receptionist bowed to us, saying "Thank you for attending, Lady Asmodia!" Nodding to her, I exited the arena and led Anput through the bustling main roads, wanting to get home as quickly as possible. I had a few things I wanted to give her... Grinning at that, Anput and I quickly made our way through the city, reaching the quaint little cottage that was now our home. Opening the door, we were greeted with the moans of Kat quietly echoing around the house, making me smirk and Anput blush again. Leading Anput towards my room, I briefly peeked into Leone''s room, finding a rather... divine sight. Kat was bouncing herself on Leone''sp, the Vampire being smothered between Kat''srge breasts as the Dogkin pinned the Vampire below her. Closing the door, I chuckled as Anput and I entered my room, the faint smell of ejacte wafting around. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I stared at the shuffling figure of Anput, who was doing her best to look everywhere besides me. "Anput~" Flinching, she turned her gaze towards me, making me grin as her eyes shed with slight fear and anticipation. "Strip for me." Slipping into the samemanding tone I used with Kat, I enjoyed the way Anput trembled, bringing her hands up towards the cloth that was barely concealing her budding breasts. Watching as she slid the cloth off her body, I grinned as her small, yet perky breasts were revealed, her buds already blooming, much to her embarrassment. "D-Don''t stare..." However, I kept my gaze glued to her lithe body, tracing her gentle curves as she dropped her skirt to the floor. Unbuckling my pants, I threw them off and freed my erection, before tossing my shirt to the side as well. Looking her over again, I appreciated her body, taking it all in. Modest breasts that were capped with cute nipples, a gentle curve into her waist and out towards her hips. A small crown of ck hair was nestled above her own hard cock, the pink flesh andrge knot disying her Beastkin heritage. A trail of moisture dripped down between her slightly muscr thighs, and I chuckled as she desperately tried to hide everything, even as she was tantly staring at my cock. "Come here." I gestured towards the floor in front of me, and I watched as Anput dropped to her knees, crawling over. Her tail wagged, her ears fluttered, and she panted slightly under mymanding tone. Moving towards my cock, Anput nuzzled against my balls, her nose twitching as she sniffed them, her obsidian eyes growing unfocused as she inhaled my scent. Smirking at the Jackalkin as she continued sniffing my balls, I spread my legs a little more, allowing her to inch closer to me. Laying my cock on her cheek, I chuckled at how her eyes grew wide with lust as she stared at it, sniffing again. "Clean it for me, girl." Shivering, Anput tentatively licked my shaft, making me shudder as her slightly raspy tongue glided over my dick. She started eagerlypping at my cock, her nose continuously twitching adorably as she lost herself to my taste and scent. Enjoying her eagerness, I allowed her to do as she pleased, attempting to pleasure me by licking my shaft. Trailing her tongue towards my tip, I chuckled again as shepped up some precum, licking her lips before desperately enveloping my cock in her soft lips, trying to suck out more of my semen. Laying a hand between her ears, I murmured "Good girl...", stifling augh at how she trembled under my hand. Her tongue coiled around my tip, stroking my cock as she sucked harder on it, making me groan slightly. "Anput... use your hands as well." She nodded, wrapping her surprisingly smooth hands around the base of my shaft, twisting gently as she returned to sucking. Looking towards the ceiling, I moaned again as she sped up, draining my tip of any precum as soon as it appeared. "Damn... You''re pretty good at this, girl~!" Noting how she trembled more at the use of girl, I smirked as I looked down at her, enjoying the way her half-lidded eyes stared up at me, her mouth filled with my cock. Under her careful and eager administrations, I eventually reached the edge, cing my other hand on her head as I grunted "I''m cumming~! Swallow it!" Pushing her head a little deeper into my crouch, I groaned as I came inside her warm mouth, filling her throat with arge dose of semen. She desperately swallowed my seed down, however as I reached the end of my ejaction I pulled out, smearing thest rope under her nose. Panting, the Jackalkin blinked a few times, her unfocused eyes shining with lust as she brought a trembling finger to the semen under her nose, wiping it away. "Good girl~" Scratching behind her ears, I chuckled as she shuddered again, whining slightly as she stared at me, embarrassed. "Come on, get on the bed~!" Shakily getting to her feet, Anput sat beside me, tilting her head as I got up. "Close your eyes now~ I have a gift for you!" She hesitantly closed her eyes, and I leaned towards her ear whispering "Don''t peek. Good girls don''t peek. Understood?" "Y-Yes, J-Jahi..." "Good!" Patting her head, I moved away, avoiding the small puddle of ejacte from where she had knelt. Walking over to my dresser, I opened a cab and smirked at the two items off to the side. Lifting up a ck cor, I turned topare it to her hair, nodding to myself. It matched perfectly. Next was a long leash, which I could connect to the small silver ring on her cor. Grinning to myself, I moved to kneel in front of her, whispering "Open your eyes... now." Her obsidian eyes fluttered open, and using seeing the cor she froze, blushing furiously. "Do you like it?" Smiling at her, I watched as she nodded, slowly reaching towards it. Her hand brushed against the leather, and she covered her mouth with her other hand, her eyes shining as she stared at it. "Can I... put it on?" Hearing her hesitant question, I just grinned, sping it around her neck. Tightening it slightly, I whispered "You''re mine now~" She shuddered, before leaning forwards. Pressing her lips against mine, she wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me into her. Copsing onto the bed, shey under me as she fiercely kissed me, her tongue trying desperately to win against my own. However... Moaning, she could only try to fight back as my tongue pressed hers to the floor of her mouth, pinning her under me. Sliding one hand to her ass, I lifted her into me, grinding my cock against her own, enjoying the slight stickiness. The other was lifting her head into my own, allowing me better ess to her lips. Enjoying her passionate kiss, we eventually parted for air, both panting as we stared into each others eyes. "I-I was... al-always y-yours..." That made me grin, and I kissed her again, swiftly losing myself to her citrusy taste, enjoying the difference between her and Kat''s more tart taste. However, I quickly tossed that from my mind, deciding to enjoy the here and now, which meant... Pulling away, I grinned down at her as I asked "Are you ready, Anput?" Gulping, she nodded, moaning as she felt me slide my tip across her plump lower lips. Enjoying the sticky moistness that permeated her cunt, I slowly slid myself inside her, making her gasp. Feeling no hymen inside her, I just continued forwards, slightly relieved to not have to go through that again... Reaching the entrance of her womb, I sighed in slight disappointment that I couldn''t bury myselfpletely inside her... Yet, anyways... She was panting under me, hands digging into my back as she buried her face into my chest. Giving her a few moments to limate herself to being prated, I enjoyed the tight writhing of her folds, slowly getting closer to reaching the edge. "Y-You ca... can mo-move now..." Hearing her muffled voice, I nodded, gently pulling my cock out of her cunt, only to press it slowly back into her. She let out a moan as I knocked back against her womb, trembling in my arms. Creating a slow, steady rhythm, I lightly thrust into her, grunting as her pussy clenched and sprayed liquids over our thighs. Keeping up the pace, Anput moaned loudly as she mped on my cock, panting as I constantly pressed against her cervix. Lifting myself up off her, I looked down at the vulnerable olive skinned woman, her modest chest rising and falling rapidly as she stared up at me. "So?" Her mouth was open, her tongue rolling slightly over her lips as her eyes remained unfocused. Grinding my tip on the entrance of her womb, I smirked as she moaned again, before muttering "I-It felsh... sho good..." Leaning back down, I gently kissed her flushed cheek, slowly speeding up my thrusts. Her moans grew in frequency, matching my thrusts, before eventually... "J-Jahi~!" wing at my back again, Anput''s body trembled under me, her pussy mping down hard on my cock as she came again. This time, the massaging of her tight folds sent me over the edge as well, making me m my hips forwards, trying to bury myself as deep as I could. Grunting, my vision blurred as I came inside her, flooding her womb with my seed as I emptied my balls. Anput moaned again, her eyes rolling around in her skull as she received my semen. Panting above her, I pulled my cum coated cock out of her creamy snatch, watching as a river of white fluids stained her olive skin. Laying beside her, I waited for Anput to pull herself together, gently stroking my cock as I looked her over. I was too used to the rough poundings that I gave Kat, so currently I felt unsatisfied, but... "J... Jah... Jahi...~" She muttered my name, making me smile over at her. Rolling to her side, she stared at me in a daze, slowly lowering one of her hands to her pussy. Watching as she scooped out some of my seed, I chuckled again as she brought it to her face, staring at the thick white liquid that stretched between her fingers. Hesitantly licking it, Anput quickly devoured my seed, making me raise a brow. Finallying around, she blushed furiously as she realized what she had done, only to yelp as I ced her hand on my shaft. "Want to go again, puppy?" --- This is where this lemon ends, and I decided that Anput will, again, be the most... normal of them all. Anput''s kinks will be pet y and scent, which I will explore further down the line. I enjoyed the idea of making her more innocent than the others, as well as more vani, but that''s also because I realized that Jahi x Kat will be really, really rough, whereas Leone''s will always involve blood of the other, which is its own thing. Anyways, back to some normal story, like her getting her ice magic down, a few more sses, and some other things~ --- Chapter 116 115: The Morning After Kat PoV As had be my routine, I awoke early in the day, except... Looking around, I was slightly confused at the room I was in, until I felt that now familiar softness of Leoneying beside me, her face paler than normal as she smiled contentedly in her sleep. Considering therge bulge in the sheet, it seemed that our resident Vampire was dreaming about our ridest night, making me chuckle. Getting up carefully, I made sure Leone was undisturbed as I stumbled out into the hall, my legs still slightly weak. Pressing a hand to my stomach, I continuously channeled a healing spell into my body, easing the aches and pains I felt as I slowly made my way towards the bathroom. Entering my room, I saw Jahi and Anputying on the bed, the Jackalkin also asleep as Jahi gently stared down at her, brushing any loose strands of hair out of the sleeping woman''s face. Seeing me, the Demoness grinned, silently getting up and following me into the bath. Kneeling behind her as she sat in front of a shower, I started washing her broad back, running my hands over her rippling muscles. "Did you enjoy yourself?" Hearing her speak, I tilted my head and pursed my lips, thinking about how to respond. "Hmm... it was... different. I think I enjoyed myself..?" Jahi nodded, ncing over her shoulder to smirk at me as she said "It was indeed different... Fun, though. Quite fun..." Rolling my eyes at her ''awakening'', I continued washing her off before asking "Did Anput like it?" "I think so. She was constantly clinging to me. What about Leone? I can''t wait to hold both of you; it''d be soooo~ soft~" Chuckling, I pressed myself into her back, whispering "It was soft~ Hmm... do you think you could handle it though~?" Jahi twisted around, easily pinning me under her as she smirked down at me. "Oh, I think I could!" What followed was a quick and efficient sating of our remaining desires, Jahi finally getting to utilize her rough touch as I writhed under her in pain and pleasure. ~~~ Laying out a simple oatmeal on the table, I returned to the kitchen, preparing myself to start getting my sauce ready. For some odd reason I''d been craving a tomato sauce of some kind, and I had all the ingredients... Smiling to myself, I happily sliced the tomatoes I had in half, before scooping out the tasty, mushy insides. Tossing the skins to the side, I added salt and pepper before stirring, then I minced some garlic, basil, oregano, and some other herbs, mixing them into the growing pot of sauce. Double checking everything I had added, I let out a slight ''Ah!'' as I remembered to add a small rind of cheese, finding one that tasted close enough to either parmesan, mozzare, or asiago; all three were cheeses I used to thicken and enhance the sauce in my previous life. Hearing someone sit down at the table, I peered over my shoulder to see Leone staring intently at me, blushing furiously. "Good morning~!" "Ah..! G-Good morning..." Chuckling, I returned to my sauce, listening to Leone eat her breakfast. "So how wasst night~?" Jahi walked in next, sitting beside Leone and smirking at the now crimson faced Vampire. Shuffling in her seat, Leone pursed her lip, staring down into her bowl of blood soaked cranberry oatmeal. "I-It was... r-really, really good..." Chuckling, Jahi ruffled Leone''s ashen hair, whispering something to the Vampire, who''sva like eyes widened in surprise. "Really?" "Really! So?" "Y-Yes... I-I think I''d l-like that..!" Furrowing my brow, I looked back at Jahi smirking and Leone licking her lips. the two raking their gazes over me. However, before I could ask about anything, Anput stumbled in, draped in a long robe as she plopped into the chair, groaning slightly. "I did that~!" "Jahi..." Sighing, I let the pot simmer before walking over to Anput,ying my hands gently on her shoulders. Her citrusy scent was subdued this morning, barely an undertone to Jahi''s cloying sweetness. Creating the sequence for a healing spell, I gradually healed Anput''s tense, sore muscles, the Jackalkin narrowing her eyes as she moaned gently. T-Thank you, Kat...~" "Mhm..." Finishing up, I slid the bowl of oatmeal closer to her, watching as she desperately devoured it, draining her cup of tea next. Rolling my eyes, I was about to admonish her when I recalled my first time, and how I felt that morning after. I doubt Jahi was as... unrestrained as she was then, but still, it must be a rather unpleasant morning for Anput. Patting her shoulder, I returned to the kitchen, picking up an apple to munch on as I ced a wind ritual circle above the pot, which would asionally move the spoon around while we were away. It took a lot of mana, but considering we were just going to the Academy, I could deal with not being at full capacity, especially since it would only take an hour or so to get back to full. Sliding behind me, Jahi wrapped her arms around my waist, and I instinctively leaned backwards into her embrace. "What are you making?" "Dinner." Sighing, Jahi leaned down, kissing my cheek before pinching my waist. "I know that, idiot. What IS it?" "Tomato sauce, and I''ll make noodles tonight to cover with this." "Noodles... huh, alright. No meat though?" Pursing my lips, I looked down at the sauce, realizing I forgot to add either ground beef or meatballs, but... "Beef or chicken?" "Leone? Anput? I''m fine with either..." "Huh? O-Oh, um... beef..." "Beef~" "Alright, so beef. How are you going to add meat to this?" Enjoying how interested Jahi was in this, I nced up at her with a smile, before gesturing towards the sauce. "When wee home we''ll pick up some cheap beef, I''ll slice it thin and then grind it down. Adding some spices into it, I''ll then roll it into a ball and cook some meatballs, which will you can eat on their own or with the sauce and noodles. Sound good?" "Why cheap beef? We have money y''know..." "Easier to work with, and we should keep our spending down for now. I know the Marquess gave us a lot, but still, unless you wish to ask both her and the Countess for more money, we need to start keeping track of our funds." Jahr was about to say something when she stopped, likely imagining the smirk from the Marquess and sharp, narrowed gaze of the Countess. "Yeah... we probably should..." However, even as she said that Jahi pouted, likely not enjoying the idea of not being able to spendrge quantities of money on us. Rolling my eyes, I stroked her cheek to get her attention back, saying "If we''re going down to Zhu''Rong Caverns regrly, we can just sell any excess materials we find for money. I''ll keep track of everything, but that means you need to start writing down what you spend and let me know." Jahi nodded, smirking down at me as she said "So are you going to be the responsible, diligent wife that everyone craves?" Turning in her arms, I wrapped my arms around her neck, smiling as I nodded. "Someone has to, and neither you or Anput seem too interested in it. As for Leone..." We both nced at the Vampire, who was scribbling something down in her notepad, muttering to herself. "Well, most likely she''ll be to busy studying to care about finances. So, that just leaves me~" Kissing me, Jahi murmured "Thank you, Kat." Returning her kiss, I grinned as I whispered "Someone has to do it. All I can hope for is that our children get my responsible side, at the very least..." Grinning at that, the Demoness pressed her lips against mine, her passionate kiss slowly taking my breath away. "Oh I don''t know, I think I''d like to see them be as passionate as you are during a fight~" Chuckling, we both moved towards the table, getting ready to make our way to the Academy. ~~~ Julie PoV Ria and I found ourselves out in the city, shopping for both her and for our children. Entering a smithy, Ria looked towards the wall, where a dozen des of all kinds were disyed. "Julie, your girl uses a dagger, correct?" "Indeed she does, Mistress." Turning to look at me, Ria pursed her lips as she stared at my figure, namely my shapely breasts and hips. "How you both managed to be that agile with a body like that...it''s unfair!" The elf pouted at me adorably, and it took all I had to notugh at her childish attitude. She stared down at her modest chest, which barely bumped out of her tight robes. "Hmph! Damn maid..." She turned around with a huff, and I couldn''t help it anymore. Letting out a low chuckle, I froze as she shot over towards me, ring at me. "Did you just chuckle?" "No Mistress." However, even though her azure eyes made me shiver, I was really, really good at not only keeping my expression neutral, but concealing any other emotions. Staring at me intently, Ria narrowed her eyes before sighing. "Fine, make fun of your Mistress! Hmph! I was even thinking of getting something special for you! Not anymore!" Holding back another chuckle, I watched as Ria walked around, continuing her childish charade. Walking around the shop, Ria inspected various des and metals, before calling out to the smith, who was nervously standing in the corner. "I want two des made from this metal here. A dagger about yay long and light, while the other is a longsword, heavy, made to fit someone that stands around six and a half feet." He walked forwards, pulling out a notepad and scribbling down her order. Making sure that she didn''t splurge and give Katherine an ornate, expensive dagger, since I had always thought that a fighter should never rely on their weapon, but instead their technique and instinct. As for the other de, I was curious about why she wanted to give Lady Jahi another de, but maybe she had simr thoughts to me; that sword the Empress gifted Jahi was a masterpiece, and could easily turn the young Demoness into a poorer fighter because of it. Smiling gently at the back of Ria, I found my heart warming at the sight of her caring in her own, unique way endearing, and my hand unconsciously stroked my stomach. Chapter 117 116: Brief Conflict The Academy was slowly rolling by, with Vice-Headmaster Bijilo''s sses being rather interesting and entertaining, helping to broaden our knowledge and understanding of magic, as well as new ways to utilize it. As for Professor Xiant''s History ss... "You have a two page essay due next ss, which will be about the Fenrika Wolf Pack and how they shaped the North into what it is today. You will be graded based on both your writing eloquence and the quotes and sources used inside your essay. Is that clear?" Everyone in ss groaned, not wanting to write an essay, even if the topic was as easy as how the Fenrika conquered the North and ced everyone under their rule for a few centuries. It was an intriguing subject, filled with blood pumping tales of both heroism and wanton destruction, political intricacies, bonds forged and broken, betrayals, romances, wars and treaties... The tales of the Fenrika could fill multiple novels, and yet... Well, never doubt a students hatred of written work, even on rtively interesting subjects. cing our books into our bags, everyone got to their feet, preparing for our next, more entertaining ss. Combat. "Jahi~ Please, help me study~! I can''t take another day in this ss!" Hearing Anput whine as we walked down the halls, Leone and I chuckled as Jahi leaned over, cupping the olive woman''s cheek and kissing her. "Very well, dear~" Blushing under her affections, Anput shuffled her feet as she twirled a strand of hair, staring up at the Demoness from under hershes. "W-Will you really?" "Of course~! After all, there are SO many things we could use those two hours for..." Grinning down at the Jackalkin, Jahi briefly shed her eyes towards Leone and I as well, smirking before ruffling Anput''s ears. The Jackalkin and Vampire blushed, not meeting Jahi''s amethyst gaze as she looked them over. "Well,e on. We still have a ss to finish~" She started walking again, and Anput and Leone shuffled behind her, still stuck in their own fantasies. Since I was walking behind them, I almost let out a sigh as I heard "Hehe~ M-Maybe we could..? And then..?!" ncing at Leone, I saw a thin stream of blood oozing from her nose, whereas Anput''s tail was wagging quickly, her eyes unfocused as she giggled to herself. "Will she c-call me a g-g-g-good girl?!" Both of them were muttering to themselves, and after a quick look at Jahi, I confirmed that she didn''t seem to hear them, as she was still looking straight ahead. Shaking my head, I decided to ignore the two women, remaining silent as we entered therge cavern we used for ss. Like always Thorn was leaning on his giant axe, smirking over at Hawn as he said something, making the elf sigh in frustration. Liako once again sat off to the side, her sword across her knees as she cleaned it off. Hearing everyone enter, Liako rose, sheathing her de in a singr fluid motion as she turned to stare at us. Thorn fell silent, smiling eerily while Hawn remained passive. "So, although it''s only been a week since you''ve started the Academy, we havee to the decision that-" Thorn shouted "You''re all going to fight in a tournament!" making the other two teachers re at him, however the Bearkin ignored them, lifting his axe and pointing it at us. "This''ll determine you''re ''ranking'' at the beginning of the year! No prizes, only bragging rights, but..." Grinning, he patted his chest, saying "First ce gets a personal lesson from me!" Some students groaned, likely imagining a training session against the enthusiastic Bearkin. "No, there will be no such thing. Hah..." Hawn stepped forwards, ring at Thorn before saying "Yes, there is a tournament, but it''s really only so we know who needs more help to start with. After all, some of you learned to fight either through your families or because you were adventurers before this..." He nced over at Greselda as he said that, and the brte matched his stare, making the elf chuckle lightly. "Well, either way, there is no reason for us to spend our times equally with everyone; some people need more help than others, and even if you hate fighting, just think of this as a way to stay in shape. So, everyone, step forwards and draw a slip of paper from this jar. It''ll have a number written on it, and when we call your number, step forwards onto the designated arena." Everyone got into a line, and we all swiftly took a paper. "1" Jahi chuckled, staring down at her slip as she asked "Nice to know that my ce is already decided~!" Anput frowned, reading hers out quietly. "32..." Rolling her eyes, Leone gentlyy her hand on the Jackalkin''s shoulder, saying "Mine is 11, but I doubt I''ll ce 11th." Anput brightened up slightly, before pursing her lips as she said "They never said anything about not being able to use magic..." Leone and I sighed, staring at Anput. "Anput... where''d your confidence go?" Hearing my question, she pursed her lips before staring shyly at Jahi, muttering "I-it was a... rough night. A-And maybe Jahi doesn''t like her mates being stronger than her? Maybe she-" Laying a hand on her shoulder, I said "Anput, she''d hate you if you decided to just... change,pletely, for no reason. She loves the confident, slightly arrogant, and sometimes insufferable, you. Not this more... feminine?, reserved version of you." "R-Really?" Leaning forwards, I whispered "She may even call you a good girl if you win~!" That made her tremble, the fire returning to her eyes as she clenched her fists. "Alright!" Rolling my eyes, I looked down at my own number, 49, before shrugging. Time to watch this ''tournament'' y out... ~~~ Leone PoV "Numbers 11 and 21, please step forwards!" Clenching my fist over the wooden sword''s hilt, I walked out onto the sand pit, pursing my lips as I watched Jillian Sariel step out onto the pit as well. Twirling her de in her hand, the elf smirked at me, her eyes gleaming slightly dangerously as she stared at me. "Oh, Princess Leone~! It''s been awhile, no? I believe it was... ah, the hunt! Yes, the hunt! Where you proposed to Lady Asmodia?" I nodded, remaining silent as she stood a few steps away from me. "Well, let''s just hope-" "The match will be only weapons, so no magic! First tond a blow wins, and advances to the next round. Understood?" Jillian''s cousin, Hawn, stepped forwards, ring slightly at her, before smiling at me. Nodding at him, I readied my de,pletely aware that this was a match I would lose. Jillian nodded as well, still smirking at me as she lowered her stance. "Ready?" We both nodded again, Jillian shooting towards me as soon as Hawn shouted "Begin!" She was fast, and I barely managed to bring my sword up to deflect her dagger, the elf chuckling slightly as she murmured "Aw, is the poor Princess useless without her magic~? After all, you can''t hide behind you idiotic fiancee here!" shing her dagger at me again, Jillian''s eyes grew crazed as she unleashed a flurry of blows, grinning at me as I narrowly blocked each one. "Haha~ Having fun yet?! After all, you seemed to enjoy toying with me before!" Frowning at her, I blocked another strike, noticing quickly that Jillian was holding back, twisting her dagger or arm to make sure the de missed. "What are you talking about?" Matching her lowered voice, I stared at the Elf, making her sneer at me. "Really?! You have to ask?! How many times did you attend an event with me? How many times did you invite me to tea or for an outing?! And yet you chose HER?!" Still frowning, I tilted my head in confusion as I said "All those events and tea were mandatory, and they were never one on one asions... it was more than six people at each one." Jillian snarled, this time pivoting under a swipe andncing her dagger into my ribs, making me cough. "Miss Sariel wins!" The Elf stared down at me, anger in her eyes, before she walked away, not saying another word. Getting back up, I ced a hand on my bruised ribs, easily healing the skin as I walked back to Jahi and the others. "What was she saying to you?" I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as I said "Not much, just rambling about how I chose you over her... hah, the entire Sariel Family is so... odd..." We all looked over towards the Elven girl, who was now surrounded by a bunch of other men and women, all fawning over her. Wearing a fake smile, she looked over the crowd before staring back at us, or more specifically, me. shing a chilling grin, she returned to the crowd, shaking her head as she likely downyed her victory. Jahi growled in slight annoyance, only to stop as Iid a hand on her arm. Looking down at me, the Demoness seemed confused at that, before noticing my smirk. Stepping forwards, I stamped down my embarrassment as I fell into her arms, whining "Aww, I lost~ Comfort me please?" Smirking down at me, Jahi stroked the back of my head, likely feeling my flushed face as I buried my face into her chest. "It''s okay Leone! Everyone has their strengths... There there..." Remaining in her embrace, I could practically feel the re from Jillian, but I was too focused on the sweet scent emanating from Jahi''s body. Just under these clothes... Looking up, I stared at her neck, wondering how sweet her blood would taste on my tongue. "Hungry?" Gulping, I nodded, only to have her poke my nose, chuckling as she said "Well, you''ll just have to wait! I have something special in mind for us..." I shuddered, wondering just what this Demoness had in store for me... Chapter 118 117: Heart-To-Heart --- A few things again lol 1) We hit 715K Views... just a few days ago we were at 580K... this is so utterly insane man... I never really thought that something I started on a whim would garner so much attention! Besides that, this week we broke 400 Powerstones, which is also really cool! Thank you all so much! 2) A special shoutout to Darted_Table for the... 5,000 Coin Magic Castle!? Man was that something incredible to wake up too lol... I really can''t thank you enough for that! --- Kat PoV Watching Leone bury her face into Jahi''s chest, I held back a smile, enjoying the way Jahi instantly wanted to go and give Jillian a piece of her mind for what she did. Besides that, both Anput and I heard Jahi say "I have something special in for us..." to the Vampire, making the Jackalkin turn towards me with an anticipatory gaze. Giving her a nod, I returned my attention to the pit, where Greselda quickly brought an unfortunate ssmate to her knees, her dagger pressed against the feathered girls throat. "Miss Greselda wins!" ncing at Hawn, I pursed my lips as I wondered just how close he and Jillian were... After all, if Jillian had the help of one of our Combat Professors, things could get real interesting in this ss... "Numbers 49 and 2!" Stepping out into the pit, I watched as the blonde girl that sat beside Greselda walked out, her eyes flitting about as she nervously shuffled forwards. Bowing slightly to the white robed woman, I dropped into a loose stance, watching as she lifted a long quarterstaff in her hands. She clenched and unclenched her hands, staring at me with a mix of determination and anxiety. "Begin!" Shooting forwards, the blonde brought her staff down towards my head, grunting slightly as I pivoted to the side. I could very easily slip my dagger forwards now, eithering up from underneath and burying it under her modest chest, or stabbing towards her petite throat, severing her head from her body... However, I had both a wooden dagger and was determined to just be ''mediocre'', so as to not have to really deal with all the uppity nobility in our sses. So, instead of striking a lightning fast lethal blow, I decided instead to block her next strike, meeting her swiping staff with my dagger, the blow ringing up both our arms. Jumping backwards, I stared at her as she panted slightly, her deep green eyes wide as she let out a shout. Charging at me again, she mmed the staff into the ground, but this time the heavy blow lodged the staff inside the sand for a brief moment, which allowed me to step forwards and press the dagger in the center of her chest. She sighed in defeat, before smiling at me. "That was good! I''m Countess Aurim! May I ask your name?" Giving her a curtsy, I replied "Katherine Zara. A pleasure to meet you, Lady Aurim." She let out a melodic giggle, cover her mouth as she smiled at me. "The pleasure''s all mine, Miss Zara! I must say, you were quite good!" I shook my head, saying "It could have been better." Which it could have; I could have easily hit her a moment after Hawn shouted ''Begin!'', but that would have made life here much, much moreplicated and annoying. I was rather content allowing Jahi, Anput, and Leone have that attention, supporting them from the side as they shined brilliantly. Giggling again, Countess Aurim just smiled at me, before turning to walk over to Greselda. Rejoining Jahi and the others, I was met with a mixture of slightly annoyed and exasperated gazes, as the Demoness just sighed. Ruffling my ears, Jahi rolled her eyes at me, letting out a slightly mocking "Good job." Keeping my expression neutral, I bowed to her, epting her ''praise''. However, as I turned back around, Leone stepped to stand beside me, her eyes crimson as she whispered "What were you and Aurim talking about?" Feeling her possessiveness, I held back a grin as I replied "Nothing much, Lady Leone. She justplimented me on the fight." "Really?" "Really." Narrowing her eyes, Leone continued to stare at me before letting out a huff, crossing her arms under her ample chest as she too turned to watch the next match. It was between Ulysses and the studious girl, Miss Grangeri. Her long auburn curls bounced around as she avoided the Duke''s precise shes, and she ground her teeth as shenced her de, which was supposed to be a rapier, towards the man, making him grunt as it jabbed into his chest. "Miss Grangeri wins!" Ulysses frowned in annoyance at his loss, however I had to hold back a chuckle as Leone snorted in mild amusement, thankfully lost among the moring of the crowd. "Jahi~ Why is this so boring~?" Draka walked over, her small harem a step behind as she stared out onto the pit. "Oh, never mind. That was..." "Misssss Grangeri." Hearing Rialo Meduso speak, we all turned to nod at the Duchess and Countess, and Draka smirked as she stared over at the auburn haired girl. "That''s another one I want! She seems like such fun~!" Jahi rolled her eyes, asking "How many women do you n on keeping, Draka?" Pursing her thin lips, the Dragonkin tilted her head, holding up her hand as she started counting off her fingers. "Well, there was that one adventurer... this Grangeri... oh, and there was this really beautiful half Subus in our ss... then there was that widowed shopkeep... Ah, let''s just go with ''a lot''." Rolling her eyes again, Jahi shook her head as she said "Well, let''s hope you can satisfy all of them. Otherwise..." Draka chuckled, nodding as she said "Yeah, a bloodbath''ll ur. However~" Peering over her shoulder, Draka grinned at Fresca, who blushed furiously at the Duchess. "Well, I think my dear Fresca can attest to my stamina and prowess~ After all..." Stepping back, Draka smiled gently at the crimson Fresca, gently rubbing her stomach as she said "She''s expecting~!" We all fell silent, staring at the blushing maid as she squirmed in Draka''s grasp. "Wait, wait... You already got her..?" Draka nodded, a giant grin on her face as she stared at her maid. "Yup! She''ll stay here with me in the Capital, and mom''s evening up to see her grandchild when they''re born! Who''d a thought that I''d be bless so soon!" Jahi nodded, staring at Draka with both envy and worry. However, she soon nced over at me, pursing her lips as she narrowed her eyes. Actually... Feeling everyone''s gaze on me, I shook my head swiftly. "No." Stepping over to me, Jahi pouted slightly as she tried to say something. "No." Sighing, Jahi looked back at Draka, who was chuckling. "You have to find a way to convince her, Jahi~!" Rialo nodded, staring at Fresca with both immense joy and slight envy as she rubbed her own stomach, saying "It''ssss both a blessssing and a cursssse. You need to time it wissssely..." "Ha! We have nothing but time, dear~! Besides, if I remember correctly-" "Sssstop! No more!" The Lamia blushed furiously, her tail swaying slightly as she half-heartedly red at Draka, making the Dragonkin smirk. Walking over to Fresca, I smiled at her as I nced down at her belly, making her blush again. "So? Are you happy?" She nodded, grinning as she stroked her stomach. "Y-Yes, I really am... Even if she just wanted me to warm her bed, I... I really am happy with her. She''s just so..." Nodding, I peeked over at Jahi, who was in a disucussion with the Draka, Leone, and Rialo. Anput stood off to the side, a contemtive expression on her face as she watched the next match. "I understand that. I mean, I can''t speak of Lady Draka, but..." Smiling gently, Fresca and I nodded to one another, understanding the others convictions. "Well, I wish you and the little one luck, Fresca. Keep me updated when you can!" Fresca nodded, still stroking her stomach. Moving to stand next to Anput, I was about to ask what was wrong when she said "Do you think... Jahi would want a child now?" Sheid a hand on her midriff, and my eyes went wide as I asked "Are you on medication?!" The Jackalkin chuckled, nodding. "Yes, yes, I am. Both mom and mother told me to take it before I came, and they gave me enough for a year. But..." ncing back at Jahi, Anput pursed her lips. "Anput, I... I think that, while she would ept the child now, it just... wouldn''t be the best time." Turning her obsidian eyes towards me, Anput tilted her head. "When would a ''good'' time be then?" Chuckling, I said "Likely in a decade or so. We graduate in a few years, and then depending on what she wants to do, she might not be home that often. If Jahi wants to be an Adventurer, Knight, Soldier, or just stay at March Asmodia, we don''t know. What I do know is that now... now is too early. Sure, we would all love the child, but..." Anput sighed, frowning slightly as she said "The Empire really is just so... different. In the Sultanate we would be trying daily for a child, to create arge family as quickly as possible. After all, you never knew when the sands would take someone''s life, nor when a rival would stab you in the back. Yet here... you all move under false pretenses and n for decades toe... what if they don''te?" I sighed as well,ying a hand on her shoulder as I shook my head. "Anput, that was really deeping from you." ring at me, she was about to snap something when she saw my grin. "We''ll be here in a decade; hell, we''ll be here in a century, and maybe even a millennia. You want to know how I know that?" She nodded, and I took her chin and gently tilted her head towards Jahi. "Because she won''t let anything happen to us. Not only her, but the Marquess, the Countess, the Empress and her wives, your parents... we have some of the most respected and strong people on our sides, and each of you is immensely talented, Jahi especially. Trust her; trust us. Yes, life is different here, but..." I trailed off, staring at the side profile of Jahi, loosing myself in her eyes as she nced over at us. "What are you two talking about?" Anput chuckled, cing her arm around my shoulder as she gave Jahi her typical arrogant grin. "Nothing~! Come on, the next match is about to begin~!" Chapter 119 118: Mediocre Finish; Hearty Meal Draka led her group away after a few more minutes, wanting to spend time alone off to the side during this moreid back ss. Jahi and Anput handedly won their matches, much to their opponents disappointment. The start of the second round was underway, and Anput dispatched her opponent again with ease. As for me, I was currently ''evenly'' matched against Yuas, the thin mans sword crashing against my dagger a few times. Grunting under his blows, I rolled away from his next stab, lunging towards his exposed side and raking the dagger across his ribs. We were both panting, sweat glistening across our brows as we stared at one another. Yuas seemed disheartened, his shoulders slumped as he nced at me, before sighing and walking out of the pit. "Miss Katherine wins!" Dragging my feet as I walked, I yed the role of an exhaustedbatant well, Jahi giving me another mocking "Good job again, Kat~" Holding back my urge to roll my eyes, I bowed to her as I said "Thank you, Mistress..." "Oh you''ll be thanking me soon..." Ignoring her, I slid beside Anput and Leone, watching as Jahi was called out to fight again. Her opponent was Jillian, making the two girls chuckle in mild amusement as they watching with interest. Jahi didn''t even bother to drop into a stance, instead just smirking at the glowering Elf. "Ready..?" Hawn was looking warily between the two women, Jahi smirking and Jillian ring. "Begin!" Jahi shot forwards, grinning as she swung her de down towards Jillian''s head, the Elf desperately brining her de up to block the blow. She grunted as a crack appeared on her dagger, making her widen her eyes in slight fear. Jahi''s free hand shot forwards, pushing the Elf backwards before she lunged forwards, keeping the pressure on Jillian as she tried to dodge and block every blow. "She''s toying with her..." Leone and I nodded, the Vampire smirking as she watched Jillian get forced back. "It''s what she deserves~!" Now Anput nodded, smiling as she nced over at Leone. "Who knew you could be so vindictive~?" "Well, she deserves it..." Turning our attention back to the fight, we watched as Jillian was battered back to the edge of the pit, Jahi grinning at her as she gently pushed her out of bounds. "M-Miss Asmodia wins!" Jahi crouched down, whispering something to the defeated Elf, making her go red with anger. However, before she couldsh out at the Demoness, Jillian grit her teeth and dragged in a breath, trying to contain her emotions. Not getting a response, Jahi just shrugged, getting back up and walking towards us. Standing in front of Leone, Jahi gave an exaggerated bow, lifting the Vampire Princess'' hand to her lips as she said "I defended your honor, mdy~!" Chuckling at the way Jahi was behaving, Leone assumed a regal aura, staring haughtily down at the bowing Demoness and saying "Thank you, my Knight... pfft~!" Except, she couldn''t maintain her noble demeanor, chuckling as she watched the Demoness kiss her hand over and over again. Covering her scarlet lips with her free hand, Leoneughed, making Jahi chuckle as well, standing back up to her full six and a half feet height. "Well, that''s that I guess~! Ha~" Anput and I exchanged mirth filled nces as we observed their antics. With that fight out of the way, the rest of the ss slowly passed by. My next match was against Jahi, and much to everyone''s disappointment, including hers, I jumped backwards outside of the pit, forfeiting. As for Anput, she fought against Miss Grangeri, who surprisingly was quite adept with that rapier of hers, almost grazing Anput''s left cheek. However, Anput managed to flick her de upwards, pushing and wrenching the rapier out of the poor girls hands,ying the edge against the brte''s throat. "Good job, but..." Miss Grangeri gave a small smile, nodding. "Yes, I know..." She sighed, walking away from the pit with slightly slumped shoulders. Waiting for her was Draka, smiling gently at the woman, making those of us who knew chuckle at how quickly she moved in on her ''prey''. After that Jahi cleared the tournament, Anput being her final opponent in this tournament. The two casually sparred in the pit, making everyone in the ss watch in horror at how different the two women werepared to them. Eventually Anput made a mistake, her feet skidding on the sand and slipping. Jahi capitalized on that, lunging forwards and pinning Anput under her. "Miss Asmodia wins it all!" There was some cheering from the students, but otherwise everyone was making mental notes about the prowess the two showed today. Thorn was slightly conflicted as he stood on the side, pursing his lips before shrugging. "Whatever. Guess you two don''t need personalized training huh? Maybe I should just pick someone... hmm..." Jahi ignored the Bearkin, getting up from Anput and lifting her to her feet, smirking down at her. "You need to train some more, puppy~" ~~~ Returning home, all the others went straight to get showers, while I just used my water magic to clean myself off as best I could. After all, I had to finish making the rest of dinner... Enjoying the silence of the kitchen, I started getting the meatballs made and preparing to make my own noodles. Slicing and grinding the beef, I added some basic seasonings to them before rolling them into balls and cing them into a pan. Letting them cook out slowly, I poured some flour onto the clean counter, before cracking three eggs into the giant well I had made. Adding some salt, I mixed the eggs together, breaking the yolk, before slowly adding the flour into the mix, gradually creating a ball of dough. Kneading it together, I took in a deep breath, cing my hands on the side of the dough and pushing the chilly wind mana into it, chilling the dough. Who wants to wait a day for noodles? Slicing the dough into halves, I rolled them out into sheets, wanting a thicker noodle for this dish. Slicing the sheets into long strips, I made sure each strip was separated, allowing them to dry as I flipped the meatballs. By this point the girls had alle back out in various states of undress. Jahi remained shirtless, sitting down on the couch and enjoying the warm airing in from the windows. Anput snuggled beside Jahi, dressed in a loose robe with a towel wrapped around her long ck hair. As for Leone, she moved to stand beside me, watching what I was doing with interest. "Did you want to learn how to cook?" The Vampire nodded, her wet ashen hair bobbing slightly as she stared at me. "Well, maybe when I''m making something lessplicated, and its from the start. Hungry?" She nodded again, her eyesnding on my neck. Sighing, I just held out my arm, ignoring her pout as she brought my wrist to her lips. Licking the flesh, she sunk her fangs into my veins, sucking out my blood. Flipping over the next meatball, I nced over at sauce, sniffing the air. Oh how I loved the smell of sauce cooking~ Once Leone finished, I pulled out another pot and filled it with water, lightly salting it as I brought it up to a boil. "Kat, did you know you managed to ce EXACTLY in the center of our ss?" Peering over my shoulder at Jahi, I pursed my lips as I shrugged. "Interesting. I wasn''t trying to literally get in the middle, but that''s nice." She sighed as she stared at me, shaking her head again. Understanding why I was doing this, she wasn''t as... upset asst time, but I could still see the annoyance in her eyes. Smiling at her, I returned to the meal, stirring the noodles as they cooked. "Leone, set the table please?" "Mhm~!" I chuckled as she happily bounced around,ying out bowls and silverware as she licked her lips, still crimson with my blood. Jahi and Anput got up, shuffling over to the table with yawns as they plopped down, waiting. Scooping the noodles into the sauce, I mixed the meatballs in as well before moving it over to the table, where Jahi instantly started divvying up the pasta. "Smells really good~!" She grinned at me, lifting her fork and twirling the noodles around the end before slurping it up. Chuckling at how she went from a smile to an almost ck expression as she let out a light moan, I started eating as well. Everyone was silent as we ate, the other three savoring the meal, which surprised me, while I just reminisced about food like this, contemting what I could make in the future. "Kat~ Anyone would fall for you if you promised to cook everyday for them~!" I rolled my eyes, smirking at Jahi as I said "Well, guess you need to make sure you satisfy me hmm~?" That made the other two purse their lips as they nced at me, only to smirk as Jahi smiled dangerously at me. "Oh, but it''s not just me anymore~! I have two good little helpers to keep you in line~!" I shivered slightly, aware of the three women''s gazes on my body. I... I might have messed up a little... --- So, I think this''ll be something that happens often enough; little slice-of-life half chapters. Besides that, we hit 488 Powerstones before the weekly reset today, which was really cool! Thanks! --- Chapter 120 119: Study Time After managing to survive the rest of dinner, Jahi and Anput found themselves back on the couch, Jahi holding open therge history books while Leone sat beside them, writing down her essay for the ss. Washing the dishes, I nced back as I asked "Jahi, does History seem like it''ll have a hard final, or..?" The Demoness shook her head, before pursing her lips as she stared down at Anput, who was already dozing off a little. "No, you''ll just need to read through the books and get a general gist of our history; however, there are some confusing points, though I doubt they''ll be on the test." "You mean like the ancient Demon ns? Asmodeucian, Beliali, and Cimeriesa?" Jahi nodded, pursing her lips as she gestured to the book, disturbing Anput''s rest. "They just don''t go over them in depth... I mean, the Fenrika had a good chunk dedicated to them, as did the Human Tribes... as for thends ruled by Echidna, I''ve yet to fully read her section, but she also has a few chapters dedicated to her and her people. But the Demons..." She sighed, staring at the book in frustration. Leone looked up, spinning her pen in her hand as she asked "Should we go visit the Royal Library then? Try to find anything on the Demon ns?" Sighing, Jahi shrugged her shoulders, still staring at the book in her hands. "Maybe... but I also don''t mind waiting to hear it from mom... after all, she should know better than anyone what happened to the Asmodeucian''s, and why itter became the Asmodia''s." Leone nodded, returning to her essay, only to say "Anput, when do you n on writing yours?" The Jackalkin yawned, nkly looking at Leone for a few moments before her eyes went wide. "Shit..!" Scrambling to her feet, she rushed off to her room, making the rest of us chuckle as we watched her go. "What about you, Kat?" Scrubbing out therge pot of sauce, I pursed my lips as I said "When I''m done here.Two pages shouldn''t take that long..." Jahi nodded, leaning back into the couch as she yawned, closing the book. "Wake me up when you''re done, Kat..." "Of course Mistress~" She growled in slight annoyance, ring at me for a moment before shrugging, closing her eyes. The room fell quiet, the only noiseing from the sink and the sound of Leone''s pen scratching on paper. Hmm... I could just ask for that ss to be dropped, what with me being a servant and all, but honestly... Well, I wanted to take Monsterology next year, since there seemed to be much to learn in that field, as well as since March Asmodia shares a border with the Labyrinthian; although I''ve yet to hear about anything happening during the years I''ve been here. So, I needed to pass this History course, so that I could take Monsterology, which meant.. I sighed, already dreading having to read those two thick textbooks and memorize the general events that happened over thest few millennia. However, Jahi was incredibly smart, even if she rarely showed it, which means that as long as she teaches or helps guide the rest of us, we should pass easily... Though I do worry about Anput. Shaking my head as I thought about our true resident muscle head, I found myself wondering just what she would do for our date... Especially since Jahi will likely take Leone out in a day or two; probably the day before our off day, so that she doesn''t need to worry about whether or not she wears herself or Leone out. Smiling to myself, I continued cleaning as I ran through the small list of ideas I can see Anputing up with. Sparring, A barbecue like ce, or just staying at home and doing nothing. Though she did seem a little more... mature after her night with Jahi, so who knows? Maybe she''ll surprise me. Finishing up, I used my wind to dry off the dishes before putting them away, stretching out my aching back and shoulders as I walked over towards Jahi. Shaking her shoulders, I whispered "Wake up, Mistress..." Groaning, the Demoness blinked her eyes a few times before ncing up at me. "Why do you need to be so efficient..." Chuckling, I watched as she got to her feet, grabbed my wrist, and led me to our room. "Leone~ Do you want to join us for studying?" The Vampire gulped, herva like eyes flickering between us as she hesitantly asked "J-Just studying... right?" "Probably." Nodding Leone scooped up her papers and followed behind us, looking at therge bed with a gulp. Sitting down, Jahi tossed the history book onto the soft mattress, before pursing her lips as she stared at the door. "Should we get Anput or..?" I sighed, shaking my head as I said "If you disturb her now she''ll never get that essay done. She''ll join us eventually." "Alright. So, we were looking at the Fenrikast ss, so next ss should be about Echidna down South; at least if he follows theyout of this book." Flipping through the pages, Jahi pulled me onto herp, making me hold up the book as she read it aloud, Leone and I listening to her, asionally asking questions or going back to reaffirm something the book stated. Time passed by slowly, and after finishing the chapter on the Snakes in the South, I got up to make us some tea. Anput stumbled down the hall, copsing onto the bed with a whine as she nuzzled against Jahi, making us all chuckle. While I was making a pot of tea, someone knocked on the door. Taking the chef knife from the drawer, I held it in my left hand as I opened the door slightly peeking out. Seeing a Birdkin man standing outside, I asked "Can I help you?" "Oh! Uh, yes... A letter, for one... ''Jahi Asmodia''." He held out the letter, and I took it form his hands, nodding. "W-Well, good night then!" Giving me an awkward smile, he turned around and walked away. Locking the door again, I stared down at the letter, smiling lightly as I saw the familiar Asmodia symbol stamped onto the red wax seal. "What''s that?" Jumping slightly, I looked back to see Jahi staring down at me, her head tilted. "Oh, it''s a letter from home..." Handing it to her, I watched as she sliced the seal open, pulling out a few pages. "Ah, this one''s from Miss Julie." She handed me a single page, and I leaned against the door as I read it over. It contained everything that a worried parent would send to their child when they moved out; are you doing okay away from home, eating enough, I miss you... Smiling gently down at the page, I clenched the page in surprise when I saw thest part, and considering I heard Jahi chuckling, I guess she got the same news. "We''re going to have two younger siblings..?" Jahi grinned at me, pulling me into a hug as she said "I can''t wait to meet them~!" Stopping, she pursed her lips as she asked "Would you prefer brothers or sisters?" I shrugged, replying "Either would be fine to me." She nodded, her grin returning as she leaned down, whispering "Would you prefer a son or a daughter~?" Rolling my eyes at her, I remained in her arms, Anput and Leone eventually walking out, wondering what was taking so long. "Whoa, twins?!" Anput seemed incredibly intrigued by that, while Leone gave us a gentle smile. "Life will certainly be more entertaining with siblings... I know mine was." Jahi looked over at her, tilting her head as she asked "Oh yeah, you have siblings don''t you? Their all older, right?" Nodding, Leone held up her hand, counting them off. "There''s Dante, my eldest brother, from Mom and Aunt Igna. Then Aunt D''Arcon has one daughter, Monica. Aunt Fenryas has two children, Vienna and Roman. Then Aunt Yusa has two daughters, Misa and Lisa. I''m the current youngest, but..." Sighing, Leone pursed her lips as she muttered "Aunt Igna and Fenryas are expecting." Anput just stared at Leone in shock. "By the Goddess... that''s a LOT of siblings..." Then she frowned, looking around the room. "Oh." Jahiughed, and I chuckled. "Yes dear~! I have said I want arge family, didn''t I~?" I rolled my eyes at Jahi, however I didn''t say anything. Anput blushed, while Leone gulped. "Anyways, the Empress has... five wives then?" Leone shook her head. "There''s a sixth; Aunt Theresa. However, she''s yet to bear a child, though the Empress makes sure to remind her that it''s not necessary and to not worry. All my other Aunt''s respect her too, since she''s apparently mom''s original lover. She even helped raise me when mother had to deal with hernds or the Academy..." Smiling gently, Leone looked at the floor, reminiscing, before returning to the present. "Six..." Jahi pursed her lips, looking us over, only to flinch as we all gave her a chilling smile. """Jahi...""" "Fine, fine! I know; just you three! Hah..." Frowning at her, I narrowed my eyes, watching as she scratched her cheek before turning away. "Come on, study! We should study before bed!" Sighing, Anput, Leone and I nced at each other before giggling, following behind our troublesome Demoness. Chapter 121 120: Finally The next day went by quickly enough, both Vice-Headmaster Bijilo and Professor Xiant giving us some more papers to write, making Anput groan all the way home. Setting about finishing all the chores in the house, like cooking, a quick cleaning, washing our clothes, and then writing my papers, I sat outside, preparing to continue the fusion of my wind and water mana. Closing my eyes, I focused my attention inwards, towards my slightly mixed mana. By now I had managed to infuse a good chunk of my wind mana into my water, turning it from that familiar warm, calm liquid state to a chilly, prickly ice water, which was surprisinglyfortable inside me. Grasping the remaining wind that wasgging behind my water, slowly pushing it deeper into the water mana. Gritting my teeth as a chill rushed through my body, I gradually seeped the wind into the water, deepening the chill. Sitting in the yard for however long, I continued merging the two, my body slowly growing numb from the cial freeze inching through my veins. Releasing the wind, I got to my feet, shivering, rubbing my hands together to try and warm myself up. However, even as the chill lingered, I grinned. I was so close! Maybe two or three more sessions and I would have my ice mana! "What''s got you so happy?" Leaning against the door frame was Jahi, and I smiled at her, my tail swishing as I excitedly said "I almost have my mana''s merged! I''m so close to being able to use my ice magic!" She smiled at me, stepping forwards andying a hand on my cheek. However, as she felt my cold flesh, she frowned. "Why are you so cold?! Come here." She pulled me into her, and I nuzzled into her searing warmth, enjoying how quickly she brought me back up to normal temperatures. Remaining in her arms, I murmured "Will you hold me while I..?" ncing up at her, my heart warmed under her gentle smile. "Of course I will, my love~! This is such an important moment for you..." Kissing my brow, she turned me around as she sat down, cing my head on her chest. Wrapping her arms around my waist, she buried her face in between my ears, making me giggle as her breath tickled them. "Jahi~!" She chuckled, blowing a little more into my ears beforeughing, poking my nose as I pouted up at her. "Sorry, sorry~! You''re just too cute~" Giggling as she nuzzled against my cheek, Iid my hands on hers, enjoying her warmth. We sat there for a few more minutes, Jahi rocking back and forth as she held me, her face still buried in my hair. "Alright, I''m going to start again... so don''t do anything!" She chuckled, before saying "I''ll try..." Rolling my eyes, I returned my focus to my mana, observing the rotations of the chilled water as it moved sluggishly through my veins. Taking hold of the two mana streams yet again, I integrated the wind into the water some more, feeling crystals form along the cial water. Letting out a shuddering breath, I ignored the cold again as I continuedbining the mana streams, plummeting my body temperature for the second time today. Reaching my limit, I let my mana go, feeling it go back to sluggishly roaming my body. Jahi was rubbing my body desperately, trying hard to spread warmth through my freezing skin. Leaning against her chest, I smiled up at her as she held me closer, my heart soaring as she stared at me in worry. "Are you okay? It doesn''t hurt does it?" I shook my head, smiling at her, closing my eyes as I was warmed up. "Mhn... No, it doesn''t hurt... just a little ufortable..." Jahi sighed in relief, making me chuckle. "Besides, you got so lucky to have light magic! No need to worry about fusions, just get to use your mana right away! Hmph..." "Aww, is my puppy jealous of her owner~? Hmm?" Pouting up at her, Jahi grinned at me as she leaned down, cing a kiss on my nose. "I like that expression, puppy~" Smiling at her, I pressed my lips against hers before turning back, ready to continue. Chuckling, she buried her nose in my ears again, nuzzling into them as I took hold of my mana again. The wind was just loosely hanging around the slightly crystalized water, meaning I had just one more ''push'' to go! Grasping the remaining stream of wind mana, I wrapped it around and around the water, finally pushing it inpletely. Grinning, I ''watched'' as the water froze overpletely, a thin core of rushing water underneath. Surrounding the ice was a fierce gale, and I felt my body limate to the cold mana quickly. "I-Is it over..?" Opening my eyes, I took in a sharp breath, tilting my head as I noticed that when I exhaled it was a condensed cloud of cooler air. "Interesting..." Feeling Jahi behind me, I nodded as I said "Yes, it''s finally done!" She sighed, and I got up, stretching my muscles. Holding out my hand, I traced the runes of both wind and water, before finishing the sequence out with a sphere. Jahi stood behind me, watching as arge chunk of spherical ice appeared in my hands. Lifting it up, we both stared at the pale blue ice, vapor rolling off its jagged edges. Reaching forwards, Jahi ced her finger on the ice ball, nodding as she said "Yup, that''s ice. Quite cold too..." "Of course it''s ice, dummy. Also, where you expecting it to be warm?" "Hey, no need to be snarky puppy..." Staring at one another, we both burst intoughter, sharing a moment as I leaned into her. "It feels so nice to finally have my real magic now..." Jahi nodded, before pursing her lips. "I don''t know if I should be happy or slightly sad that your body is now cool..." cing a hand on my arm, Jahi pouted as she caressed my skin, making me raise a brow. However, I definitely noticed that her hand felt warmer now... "Huh... weird." "I''ll miss being able to warm myself up with you..." Sighing, I gave her a dry look. "Fine~ Whatever. I''m guessing you''re going to want to stay out here and try out a few spells?" Nodding, I said "Yeah... I want to see how much stronger ice ispared to water and wind..." cing her hand on my head, she ruffled my ears as she said "Don''t strain yourself. When you''re done, we''ll have to celebrate~!" Smirking at me, Jahi gave me a quick kiss before going back into the cottage. Watching her tall, muscr figure disappear, I grinned as I checked the notification I received. [Congrattions on fusing your water and wind mana together! Reward: 20,000 Xp] [Skill [Mana Control] advanced from (Adept) to (Expert)] [Skills [Undine''s Blessing] and [Boreas'' Blessing] are able to be merged. Do you wish tobine them? Y/N] Clicking ''Yes'', I waited a moment, observing my system screen as I watched the two skills fade out. Appearing in the space where the two skills used to be was [Chione''s Blessing] [Chione''s Blessing (Novice): Spells and Ritual Circles rted to the Ice Domain are stronger; mana regenerates quicker while in cold ces] When I finished reading [Chione''s Blessing], my eyes went wide as I watched another skill appear, this one called [Frost of Despoina] [Frost of Despoina (Novice): All your Ice Magic is stronger, and any target hit by your Ice will start to freeze; additionally, any attacks against a frozen target inflict more damage] Well this... Raising my hand, I scribbled the runes for wind, water, length, density, and rectangr shape, the pale blue glow ring as my mana formed a long, jagged de of ice. Grinning at it, I admired the heft of the de, swiping it at the ground. A long crevasse appeared in the ck sand, a light frost creeping over the ground before melting. "Interesting..." Muttering to myself, I undid the ice sword and turned towards the straw mannequins sitting on the edge of the training grounds. Moving them to stand in the center, I took a few steps back, wanting topare the same spell but with a different element. Wanting to make sure I wasn''t using something that required a lot of mana, I decided to go with the tried and true elemental bullet spell, since it was weak enough to not destroy the mannequins, but strong enough to leave marks. Staring on the left, I sent a wind bullet hurtling through the air, the sharp gale slicing into the straw, about an inch deep. Nodding, I moved to the right mannequin, shooting a water bullet at it, chuckling at the small ssh of water on its loose shirt. Yeah, what did I expect... Finally, I turned to the center mannequin, grinning as I traced the runes for my ice magic. Sending the ice ball speeding through the air, I watched as it tore into the mannequin, easily punching through it and freezing the straw. "Wow..." Stepping forwards, I poked around the entrance and exit wound, noting the frost clinging to the hole, spreading through the straw. "Interesting... This is..." Pushing the straw around, I shook my head with a wry smile. "Damn... this will seriously do some damage..." Opening my palm, I grinned, wondering just how it will feel to use my ice on actual flesh... --- Chione - Greek Goddess of Snow Despoina - Greek Goddess of Frost/Winter --- Chapter 122 121: Back Down To ZhuRong After experimenting a little more in the yard, I walked inside, extremely pleased with what I had found. Like I had thought way back when, my water magic would be primarily used for support; I could use it offensively, but it had much more use as an enhancer than a damage dealer. As for my wind, it would be good to use as both an enhancer and damage dealer, as the wind des I had used frequently were quite deadly, and the speed boost was incredibly useful in close quartersbat. However, now I had my ice magic, and from what I had seen, it not only dealt a lot of damage, it also spread frost over the wounds, likely making it harder to heal any damage done. I also needed to experiment with snow magic, which would need to be done with Leone since she had learned how to utilize ash magic. If I had to guess it would be, obviously, a mixture of water and wind, but the mixture would be more water than wind, to create frozen water crystals, or snow. Being able to use snow magic would open up many different ritual circles, since it would be something I could use to limit someones vision as well as movement. Pursing my lips, I entered our bedroom and moved to the bath, where I quickly cleaned myself off. Tomorrow was another day at the Academy, but after that... After that we could go back to Zhu''Rong Caverns... Already anticipating the feeling of flesh tearing under my de again, I copsed onto our bed, swiftly finding myself under Jahi as she rewarded me for my breakthrough. ~~~ The day at the Academy was simple enough, with us just going over some more of the basics in both Magic Theory and History, while Combat was more of the same; just practicing against one another to improve our techniques. The teachers still wanted us to fight against those using other types of weapons, and it couldn''t be the same person as before, so I found myself against Anput, both of us casually sparring as she worked on her footwork more than her de technique, taking it easy on me. She was trying to increase her agility and dexterity as we fought, avoiding straight thrusts and shes, instead going for ripostes and blocks, allowing me to hone my de work on her. Our spar was rewarding for both of us, as Anput managed to improve her reaction time slightly and her coordination, as she went for moreplex techniques when she did go on the attack. As for me, I honed out my shing and stabbing techniques, trying to cut as much wasted energy from them as I possibly could. For instance, whenever I thrusted the dagger forwards I took one step too many, and too close. So, I made sure to eliminate that extra step and try and keep my distance close enough to deal damage, but far enough to have space to maneuver should my attack be blocked or miss any vital organs. Anput and I were coated with sweat afterwards, panting as we stared at one another. "D-Damn... when did you... get so fast... Kat..?" "I... could say the same... to you..." Smiling at each other, we both got up, before flying towards one another. ~~~ "So, we need to find things that... bleed, for our resident murder puppy here. Leone, any ideas?" "Murder puppy?" I red at Jahi, who just grinned back at me. Anput chuckled beside me, whispering "What? I think it''s quite endearing~!" ncing over at her, I noted the thick ck cor on her throat, making me roll my eyes. Turning back, we followed behind Leone as she pursed her lips, looking around therge cavern. "Hmm... well, we could go the Goblin route... but they''re so weak... hmm..." Rolling her shoulders, Jahi nced around the dark area, pursing her lips as she asked "What about those... Firefangs? Are theymon enough?" Leone shook her head, saying "The one we saw earlier was an elder one; old, decrepit, and already dying. The younger ones would be too dangerous on their own, but they hunt in packs." Jahi sighed, stabbing her de into the ground as she fake red at me. "Why couldn''t you just enjoy killing things?!" I tilted my head in mild confusion, saying "I... do though?" Giving me a deadpan stare, she added "Things that don''t bleed." Letting out an ''Ah!'' I shook my head. "That''s no fun. I want it to bleed, to scream... I enjoy the feeling of flesh severing under my de, and the light fading from their eyes... hah~" Grinning loosely at Jahi, I blinked a few times before coughing lightly, bringing my lust under control. She smirked at me, a brow raised as she stared me over. "Hedonist." Gulping, I coughed again, refusing to look over at the smirking Jackalkin or concerned Vampire. "Monsters... Leone?" Trying to bring the conversation back on track, I reminded the Vampire about what she should be doing right now. "Oh... uh... So we have the Goblins, Smanders, Lizardmer, and Coal Serpents..." "Lizardmer?" Turning to Jahi, Leone said "A Lizardmer is like a Kobold; a feral, monster version of a Lizardkin. just like how a Kobold is a monster version of Dogkin." "Ah. Alright. So, where would we find these... Lizardmer?" Leone looked around the cavern, only to turn around when we heard someone say "Is that you, Jahi~?" Walking towards us was Kolia, her sister Liako walking behind her. The two women were walking like it was a casual stroll, though we could see a ssh of blood on Liako''s de. "Kolia?" She grinned at Jahi, walking over to the Demoness and giving her a quick hug. "I didn''t think you''d delve into these caverns yet! How''d you pass the Adventurer''s Test?" Jahi just frowned, asking "Adventurer''s Test?" Liako held up her tag, which was the same ck as the sand and gravel around us. "It''s the only way to get a tag..." We all nced at Leone, who was shuffling slightly. "Well... when I told them who I was... they just... ''gave'' us the Silver Tags..." Kolia chuckled, while Liako sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Interesting. Oh Kat~! You feel... colder than normal. Does that mean..?" I nodded, making the tattooed woman grin as she stared at the sphere of ice in my hand. "Oh I can''t wait to teach you next year~! It''ll be so much fun!" Liako rolled her eyes again, pinching her sisters arm as she said "Sister, please. We''re here for a reason." "I know, I know... hah... such a boring sister..." Pouting at Liako, Kolia looked back at us, saying "We need to go find a few Drake Hearts, so if you''ll excuse us... oh, and be careful. This is still a dangerous ce, even if you have light magic or ice magic. Understood?" We all nodded, and Jahi said "We''ll be careful. More careful than you leaving a certain book on the library table~" Kolia flushed slightly, ring at Jahi and me, who were chuckling. "Hmph! Children... Come on, lets go! Damn brats..." She stormed away, much to Liako''s confusion. Watching them leave, I raised a brow as I asked "Did you need to tease her?" Shrugging, Jahi replied "No, but it was quite fun. She used to seem so serious, but now..." "Yeah... she is different from back then. Maybe it''s because she''s with Miss Liako?" "Probably... Alright, let''s get going as well! Leone, lead us~!" The Vampire nced around, before saying "Alright! I have no idea what''s in this direction, so don''t me me if something happens!" Saying so, she pouted as she led us the opposite direction of Kolia and her sister, towards arge gathering of Goblins. As we walked, I turned to look at Anput, who was peering around the cavern with interest. "What?" "Hmm? Oh, nothing. Last time we were here I didn''t get to take it all in... Just curious." Staring at her for a few more seconds, I shrugged, continuing towards the Goblins. The short red-skinned creatures were chittering at one another, some crouching next to therge stgmites while others wandered around, stacking rocks up to create a miniature barricade. "Let''s let our little murder puppy~ have this group." Jahr was just smirking at me, not taking my re serious. Turning back, I unsheathed my dagger, preparing to jump forwards, into the fray. --- So I have a few things to say again (mainly to take up thesest 100 words to hit 1500...) 1) We hit 815K Views, 2.2K Collections, and somehow we have 112 Golden tickets... That''s still insane to me, seeing thoserge numbers... never thought I''d get here, but well... here we are. Thank you! 2) I think that I''ll write a few chapters for days that I can''t sit down to write, and I n on them being all about Julie, The Marquess, and The Countess back home, and I''llbel them as such, so don''t be surprised if you get chapters that are about them. I might also consider doing a couple chapters from their pasts if that interests people, but they''ll be little snippets; they won''t be long, nor will they be multiple in a row. Anyways, that''s it! Thanks! --- Chapter 123 122: Spectacle Unsheathing my dagger, I stared towards the group of Lava Goblins, counting them out. After all, it''d be bad if one snuck up on me when I thought I was done... Counting just over a dozen and a half Lava Goblins, I nodded to myself as I rushed forwards, deciding not to utilize any enhancements yet. Reaching the first one, it barely let out a surprised yelp as my dagger bit deep into its neck, severing its head from its body in one clean swipe. Feeling the rush of joy that flooded my system as blood sprayed from its stump, I moved to the next one, an itch developing in my heart. This one had a moment to react, screeching out in terror as I first sliced my dagger across its midriff, gutting it, before stabbing the dagger into its beady red eye. Twisting the dagger, I swayed to the left to avoid a rock that was hurtling my way, swiping my hand towards that Goblin. A de of pure wind shot towards the goblin, sinking deep into its chest, slicing into its heart. Removing the de, I jumped back and held up my left hand, tracing a few runes before pointing my finger at a small cluster of Goblins charging towards me. Pushing more mana into the sequence of runes, I grinned at how cold the mana felt, enjoying the pale blue re as the sequence activated. A ball of ice flew towards the Goblins,nding in the middle of them. They stopped for a moment, confused, and stared at the ice, only to shrug and resume their charge towards me. However, a momentter the ball erupted, sending small shards of ice hurtling towards the Goblins backs, eviscerating them. Their red skin frosted over, quickly freezing their entire backs due to the myriad wounds expelling frost. They dropped to the ground, screeching in agony as the ice became lodged deep into their flesh, severing important arteries and shattering bone. Grinning down at them, I sidestepped another Goblin''s crude stone axe, swiftly driving my dagger deep into its skull. Dragging the de out, I looked around at the remaining Goblins, wandering just what I could do to them... Flicking the blood off my de, I sheathed it and summoned a short dagger made of ice, wondering what it would do the weak red monsters. They all chittered to one another, staring at me wearily as they readied their makeshift weapons, waiting for me to make the move. Tossing my dagger to my left hand, I summoned a long spear of ice, flinging it towards thergest gathering of Goblins. It impaled two Goblins, who instantly died as the spear pierced the first ones head and the others chest, caving it in. After it reached its destination it shattered, much like the ball from earlier, but on arger scale, each sliver of shattered ice being almost as long as my forearm. I giggled as the Goblins simply... fell apart, the ice easily slicing through their flesh and severing their limbs. Observing the crimson haz surrounding the remains of the Goblins, I dragged in a shaky breath, euphoria pulsing through my body. That was it... It was so... pretty~ Hearing an afraid chitter in front of me, I turned to see one of the Goblins raising its hands in defeat, however its beady red eyes glowed with hatred. Stepping forwards, I knelt in front of the shorter monster, holding back a chuckle at how it tried to hide its urges. cing a hand on its head, I gave it a warm smile, the monster rxing as I patted its bumpy head. Before it could try anything, I tightened my grip,ughing at how it struggled under my hand. Applying more and more pressure, I felt cracks appearing on its skull, making the monster scream in pain. It tried to swipe its ws at my hands, but I ignored the scratches that formed, focusing instead on its eyes. They were alight with fear and agony, and I enjoyed watching as it struggled under my grasp. Eventually the Goblin''s skull crackedpletely, blood spurting from its orifices and staining my leather chest piece. Clenching my fist hard, the monsters skull shattered entirely, bringing its head to little more than a pulp. Dropping it, I stared at the remaining few, wondering what I should do to them... ~~~ Jahi PoV I nodded to myself as I watched Kat utilize her ice magic for the first time. "That shattering is... quite deadly. Messy, too..." "Mmm... She really does go for more... brutal ways of killing then us, doesn''t she?" I nodded again, ncing down at Anput, who stood by my side. "But isn''t she so gorgeous when she smiles like that?!" We turned towards Leone, who was watching Kat with a sloppy smile, her face flushed. Chuckling at the heated Vampire, I nodded. This truly was one of the few times Kat was just... Kat. Not a maid, not some expressionless, indifferent woman, but... Herself. It was utterly beautiful, this version of her. That sadistic grin as she crushed a Goblin''s skull... The way their crimson blood entuated her fair skin... Her pale blue eyes that shone with joy as she jumped from Goblin to Goblin, that ice dagger slicing through their flesh so easily... Smiling slightly as I watched her, I turned my attention towards the wounds her dagger created; it was a nasty little thing, that. Frost would seep into and around the wound, turning the Goblin''s skin a light purple underneath the thinyer of ice crystals. When she targeted those areas again with the de, the frost only grew more pronounced, until... My eyes went wide as the arm of a Goblin simply shattered off its body, the dozens of pieces falling to the ground. So if she targets a specific area enough times... "Thats..." Anput was also staring at the remnants of the Goblin''s arm, her obsidian eyes narrowed. "Seems like she got one insane increase in strength when she unlocked her ice mana..." Even Leone was serious, biting her lip as she muttered "If she uses that..." We all exchanged nces, realizing that, once again, Kat had managed to surprise us. ~~~ Kat PoV I panted, staring down at the three Goblin corpses that were in pieces below me. Crushing my ice dagger, I continued to stare at the pile of frozen pieces, wondering if this is what all Ice Mages can do, at least to some extent. I know I have [Frost of Despoina], but still... That has to be only a slight increase, right? Right? After all, it''s ice magic! It should freeze things! Pursing my lips, I stared down at the corpses for a few more moments, my bloodlust sated. For the time being. Turning around, I was greeted by the sight of Jahi''s golden eyes, Anput''s silvery-steel ones, and Leone''s crimson. Shivering, I stepped towards them, wondering what could have gotten them so worked up. "Are... you all okay?" They all blinked a few times, their eyes reverting back to their normal colors as they nodded. "Yup. Just thinking about how cute my murder puppy was~!" "You did seem prettier than normal..." "Mhm..." Furrowing my brow, I looked between them before shrugging. "So are we making our way towards these... Lizardmer now?" Leone nodded, pointing towards a small crevasse in the far wall. "That should be where their at... Hopefully." Jahi just shrugged, gesturing for us to follow her. "If it''s not, it''s fine. We''ll just let Kat get another helping of the Goblins before we leave~!" I red at her again, only to sigh as she ignored me. Keeping my guard up as we moved, I observed our surroundings. We were still in the primary cavern; or what I was calling the primary cavern. The long obsidian riverbed was way off to our left, and to our right was a bright orange glow that fluctuated slightly, a boiling heat radiating from therge archway it spewed out from. In between was this crevasse that Leone pointed out, and only a few adventurers were near it. Most were walking down the riverbed or entering that archway, signifying that those were the ''main'' routes of Zhu''Rong Caverns. Since the Ghouls and Serpents were down towards the dim obsidian riverbed and ins of Yama, I guess the Smanders and Drakes were off to the right, inside that heated orange glow. So what else would be with these Lizardmer? Would their be more Goblins, or was this the only ce the Goblins could live? I sighed, deciding that I really needed to study up on Zhu''Rong Caverns soon. After all, it seems like this is where we''ll be going for the next year, since the Academy Hunting Grounds are hard to get into as first years. Reaching the crevasse, we peered inside, surprised to see another cavern. Inside it though was the real surprise... An ancient city made from the ck rock wasid out before us, the buildings crumbling and decrepit. Slinking around the area were Lizardmer, their dark crimson scales standing out amongst the ck stones. A few adventurers were inside, fighting, but otherwise... It looked like a ghost city... --- Since this is going out on Thanksgiving, hope everyone enjoys today (or enjoyed it, if you see thister~) --- Chapter 124 123: Deserted City Entering the new cavern, we all looked around in interest, taking in the ancient city thaty before us. The buildings were mainly just a single story, little more than small cottages dotted around the darkndscape. However, there were a fewrger buildings, all situated in the center. The tallest was three stories, and the walls looked like they were engraved with something, but we were to far away to see exactly what it was. "The Lizardmer seem to be patrolling this city... Odd..." Leone''s mutter made us all nod; it was weird seeing these monsters simply walking around specific routes, their weapons held loosely in their hands as they swept their gazes around the areas. They also seemed to ignore the sounds of fighting from certain areas, almost as if it was just out of their range; they would nce that way, growl at one another, before shrugging and continuing on. Jahi just shrugged, saying "Well, who cares? Come on!" With that the Demoness led us down the hill towards the city, Leone and I sharing a moment as we rolled our eyes at each other, unamused by how Jahi just threw caution to the wind. So, we stayed a step behind the tall Demoness and the equally enthusiastic Jackalkin, keeping a wary eye on our surroundings as we entered the city. "Do you think there''s anything inside these buildings?" ncing at Leone, I pursed my lips, turning my gaze to one of the small buildings beside us. There was a small hole in the wall, so I crept up towards it, peering inside. It was empty; no furniture, no corpses, no crystals or nts growing... Just... empty. Frowning, I turned back, telling the waiting Vampire "Nothings inside this one... itspletely empty." She frowned as well, before returning to the main road we were walking on. I say ''road'' but it''s just a stretch of untouched ground between two lines of buildings; there is no paving or designation of some kind of path. Continuing on, we reached a small square, where four Lizardmer stood, all growling softly to one another. They were around four and a half feet tall, looking exactly like a lizard if it stood up. Dark crimson scales, sharp talons, long spiked tails, orange eyes, and a snout lined with fangs. In their scaled hands were a mixture of weapons; one had a small wooden pot lid as a buckler, along with a iron short sword, while another held a long wooden broomstick, a sharp, jagged rock tied to the end. They were makeshift, but still deadly enough; after all, a serrated stone can still cause serious damage, but... "Each of us take one." Hearing Jahi''smand, we all nodded. Jahi unsheathed her intricate, dual material de, shooting forwards and severing one of the Lizardmer''s heads, her de easily slicing through the scaled neck. Anput drew her longsword, mirroring Jahi as she slipped behind the Lizardmer, her de shing. A momentter the poor Lizardmer''s head slid off, thumping to the ground. Leone held out her hand, a detailed ritual circle ring to life before her palm. Ance of mes hurtled forwards, impaling her target in the chest, burning it''s flesh under the scales. As for me, I drew my simple dagger, jumping forwards and burying my de into the remaining ones eye socket, twisting the de once before withdrawing it, flicking the de out once more to slit its throat. Stepping to the side to avoid the spray of blood, I rejoined the others, Jahi already looking around the square in interest. "Hmm... wanna explore?" She gestured towards the various buildings around us, making us all look around. I shrugged, leaving it up to the other two; exploring or just walking around hunting these Lizardmer, either or sounded fine to me. "I don''t see why not... this is a pretty interesting ce, so I''m curious as to what''s inside..." Leone nodded at Anput, adding "Besides that, there might be nts or other materials growing here!" Reaching a consensus, Jahi then asked "So should we split up or..?" "No." When has splitting up ever led to anything good? Better to be safer than sorry... Jahi smirked at me, before turning to enter a random building. Gradually searching the crumbling buildings around the square, we all frowned as we reconvened in the center. Each building had been exactly like the one I had seen earlier;pletely empty. They all looked the same as well; I mean, I understand they were extremely simple, what with them being a ten by ten square building, but each had a window at the same spot; opposite the doorway, directly in the center of that opposite wall. Looking around the area, my frown deepened as something started tugging at the back of my mind... Something was off about this ce, but I just couldn''t put my finger on it... Leone also seemed perturbed, ncing around the square with narrowed eyes. "What''s wrong?" Hearing Anput, Leone and I exchanged a nce, before she said "Something''s not right here..." "I can''t say what it is, but everything feels... off." Jahi frowned, turning her gaze towards therge buildings in the center. "Think something''s watching us?" Shrugging, I continued looking around, while Leone said "I don''t know... maybe?" Sighing, Jahi flicked the blood of her sword before ncing at the remains of the Lizardmer. "Well, let''s talk about something else. Do these Lizardmer drop anything Leone?" The Vampire turned towards Jahi, before ncing at the small pile of bones and scattered weaponry. "Hmm... They can drop their scales, which is a good alchemical ingredient and forging material..." Saying so, she stepped forwards and picked up the few scales the Lizardmer dropped, cing them in one of her pouches. "Boring..." Leone and I rolled our eyes at Anput, who just stuck her tongue out at us, making Jahi chuckle. "Well, let''s keep going... we need to make the most of this outing." Jahi turned towards the center of the city, where the few taller buildings stood. We could briefly hear sounds of people shouting and metal shing together from around the city, signifying the battles the other adventurers were having against the Lizardmer. Continuing down the paths that snaked through the city, we dispatched a few more of the crimson Lizardmer, taking turns on who killed them. Sadly my number didn''t get called, making me sigh as I watched Leone easily flick a small ember towards the two Lizardmer, which pierced their snouts and exploded, killing them instantly. Adding more to her growing pouch of scales, Leone got up and looked around with a frown, before shaking her head. That feeling from earlier had remained, gnawing at the edges of my mind as we walked, and no matter how much I puzzled at that feeling, I couldn''t understand what was making me feel unnerved. Stepping down the ck sand path, we eventually reached thergest building, and I finally could finally make out the engravings on the walls. Approaching the wall, I held out my hand and traced the runes, furrowing my brow as I gradually pieced together a few sentences. "Here lies... city, home of the... may the lord bless thisnd. Our lord, Pele... may he forever rule..." Frowning, I sighed as the remaining runes grew ineligible, various scratches, crumbling sections of the walls, orrge smooth areas where the engravings had been lost to time. Leone stepped forwards as well, trying to read the runes to the best of her ability, only to sigh in annoyance as she reached the same conclusion I did. Continuing around the building, we managed to piece together a few more sentences, but each one left us more confused. "Monsters are our... lead us to the lord..." "The mes show the... dead shall rest..." "City of... Pele... freedom to all..." Sighing again, I pinched the bridge of my nose, turning toward Jahi and Anput, who were keeping watch. "I have no idea what any of this means... This entire ce is a mystery." I gestured towards the city, Leone nodding as she turned around. "The wall is too damaged to piece together something coherent. I think it''d be best if we left..." Jahi nodded, peering over her shoulder as she said "Follow behind me; single file, keep your eyes on the person in front of you. No one should get lost..." Hefting her de, Jahi pointed towards a side of the cavern, saying "The entrance is over there; let''s go." Taking a step forwards, she lead the way down the sand paths, Anput behind her. Leone was in front of me, and I made sure she was always in my line of sight. Keeping my dagger in hand, we walked and walked, before Jahi stopped. "What the..." Crouching, she poked at something, and we all stepped forwards, furrowing our brows at the sight. Laying on the ground before us was a man, his pale green skin denoting his Orc heritage. However, what drew our attention were his eyes... Orck thereof. Frowning, I looked over his figure, not seeing any other wounds, nor smelling any blood. It was like he just... Never had them to begin with. "What the..." Jahi leaned forwards, inspecting his gear; there was no sign of a fight or a struggle. His sword was clean, the edge sharp, and his leather armor was near spotless, not a tear or dent in sight. After a few moments, my eyes went wide, and I looked around. "Kat..?" Raising a hand, I continued observing our surroundings. The entire time we were here, we would asionally hear the shing of des, the shouts and growls of the others in the city, and the echos of footsteps. However... "It''s silent." Anput froze, her ears twitching as she looked around. "She''s right... there''s nothing in the city now..." We got up, sweeping our gazes over our surroundings. Each building was uniform. The door was in the same ce, and the window was as well. "Oh..." Everyone nced at me, and pointed towards the cavern wall. "Aren''t we in the same spot as before? The wall is neither closer nor farther than when we started..." Turning around, I cursed softly as I noticed that the central building was equally as far as the cavern wall. "So is the center... What the..." "Alright. Calm down... Let''s think this through..." I nodded, ncing down at the eyeless corpse. Jahi followed my gaze as well, pursing her lips. "This just got a whole lot more interesting..." Chapter 125 124: Not So Deserted City "Things just got a whole lot more interesting..." Jahi looked around the uniform path, taking in the equidistant center and cavern wall. "Well, I guess we pick a direction and travel for a little bit. Anput, mark a wall of a building with a deep scratch please." The Jackalkin nodded, unsheathing the de on her back and swinging it towards one of the buildings beside us, scouring a deep gash into the ck rock. Observing the gash, I made sure that it wasn''t going to heal or anything crazy like that, nodding to myself momentster as it remained the same. "Alright, let''s keep going forwards. Again, keep the person in front of you in your line of sight. We don''t know what we''re dealing with, nor how it works. Come on." Seeing all of us nod, Jahi readied her de as she walked forwards, her head on a swivel as she took in our surroundings. Bringing up the rear, I made sure to keep Leone''s curvy figure in my vision, not wanting to find myself lost in a maze-like city. As we walked I felt something staring back at us, making me frown. "Wait!" Everyone else stopped, turning to look at me. "What''s wrong?" Jahi stepped forwards, titling her head as she nced around warily. "I think something it watching us..." We had only been walking for a few minutes, but the cavern wall and center buildings were at the same distance, making my frown deepen. Observing each doorframe and window, my eyes widened as I saw a dark shadow dip away under a windowsill. "Did you see that?!" Jahi nodded, staring intently at the window. "Let''s check it out..." The city was still silent, and as we stepped onto the gravelly road, we all shivered slightly at the eery feeling of this deste city. Approaching the small house, we all readied our weapons, Jahi taking the lead as she peered in through the window. "What in the..." Slipping beside her, I peeked inside, stifling a gasp as I saw a solitary jar lying in the center of the empty room, nestled into the sand floor. "Take a step back..." Nodding, I took a few steps away from the Demoness, who wound up her fist. mming it into the side of the building, we all coughed as a rolling cloud of dust hit us before stepping into the room. Crouching beside the jar, Leone and I gasped when we saw the contents of the ss jar, making Jahi peek behind her shoulder, asking "What is it?" Leaning forwards, I stared into the clear pale green liquid, watching as tworge orbs floated inside. Rotating slightly inside, Leone and I gagged slightly as two crimson iris'' looked our way, the pupil dted and almost consuming the entirety of the iris. "Are those the Orc''s..?" Leone nodded, finally looking away in mild disgust. "Yes... those are that Orc''s eyes..." "What? That Orc from earlier; those are his eyes?!" Hearing Anput we nodded, before I leaned further forwards. There was something on... "Wait, Leone... Is that an inscription?" "Where?" She leaned forwards beside me, peering at the jar with narrowed eyes. "On the eyes..." Engraved on the edge of the Orc''s crimson iris'' were a few runes, and as Leone and I tried to read them we let out a shout, falling backwards as the eyes turned to stared directly at us, the pupil constricting. "Nope..!" Raising a hand, I encased the small jar in a thickyer of ice, only stopping when the eyes stopped moving around. Leone took a deep breath beside me, while both Anput and Jahi turned around, worry on their faces. "What happened?" "The eyes..." Pursing my lips, I kept my gaze fixed on the jar, making sure they really weren''t moving anymore. "They were still... working... Someone engraved an inscription on the eyes of that Orc..." "Working? You mean like... someone was able to USE those eyes to see us?" I nodded, getting to my feet. Helping Leone up, we all stared down at the jar with worry, before Jahi said "Lets keep going... If you see something, say something. We need to figure out what we''re dealing with..." She walked out of the hole she created, leading us back onto the street. The city was still deathly silent, and after looking towards the cavern wall we started our journey again, hoping to make some progress. Walking down the deste, empty paths, we found ourselves back at the building Anpu had shed, making us frown. "So we''re walking in circles somehow..." Looking around, Jahi just shrugged before pointing to the left. "Since we can''t go straight, let''s just travel to the side." Saying so, the tall Demoness approached a wall, rapidly leveling the small building with a single well ced punch. Once the dust cleared we moved to the street beside us, Jahi leveling another building before saying "Let''s see what happens now..." Walking towards the cavern wall, Leone and I were side by side, the Vampire taking hold of my hand as she looked about, biting her lip in slight worry. "You okay?" Keeping my voice low, I nced briefly at the pale woman, before returning my eyes to Anput and Jahi in front of us. Clenching my hand, Leone muttered "N... No... I... I really dislike being in an unknown situation... It scares me. What if we-" "Leone. We''ll be fine; trust in Anput, Jahi and I. Really. We''ll figure this out. Though I do have to admit that this whole city maze is really worrying..." She nodded, saying "T-Thank you, Kat..." Smiling over at her, I gave her cheek a quick peck, squeezing her hand slightly before speeding up, making sure Anput was just a few steps ahead of us. Jahi nced back, a small smile on her lips as she saw Leone and I, giving me a quick nod before returning her gaze forwards. The journey was still eerily quiet, none of us feeling anything watching us as we walked. Reaching the two copsed buildings again, Jahi sighed in annoyance, before tuning to stare at the center. "What if we can''t leave..." Following her crimson gaze, I sighed in annoyance as well, finishing her line of thought. "Because something wants us to go back to the center! Hah..." Really, it was so basic it was kind of annoying that I didn''t think about it; the center of a maze usually holds something to help lead you back out, or dispel the maze altogether. "Maybe if it''s a ritual circle in the center of the city... it would be possible for it to cover the entire area. But something like that would take an enormous amount of energy to not only set up, but to maintain as well..." Anput stepped forwards, a grin on her face as she said "Then that means whoever put it in ce, or is guarding it, is strong!" Leone nodded, however she said "They might be stronger than us though... I mean, to ce an entire CITY into some kind of spell..." I nodded as well, before sighing as Jahi grinned, shrugging her broad shoulders. "Eh, we''ll be fine~ Besides, we have a decently rounded team here." Saying so, she gestured to the center of the city, where that building with the ineligible runesy. Something definitely resided in the center, but what? Every step we took towards that building was nerve wracking, each of us warily scanning the uniform buildings on either side. Still holding Leone''s hand, I checked each of the openings, looking for any more of those shadows we had seen earlier. Thankfully enough, I saw nothing, and to my surprise we managed to reach central square quickly. Seeing the decrepit building looming before us, I frowned as I muttered "So we''re being kept inside, not allowed to leave..." "Yes, that seems to be the case. But why? Why would you keep people in? There has to be something we missed..." Leone let go of my hand, returning to the inscribed wall, muttering to herself as she tried to reread everything. Joining her, I started scouring over the runes, double and triple checking every rune that I could read. There had to be something here... Maybe this... Lord Pele? Hmm... And what about the entire thing about the dead? Frowning, I continued to read the runes, before... --- So this is the first full week of the contract (I''m pretty sure...), and we''ve hit 700+ Powerstones, which ces the novel in the top ~150, and somehow, someway you all managed to donate 158 Golden Tickets as of this being published, which puts this book at top 100 of ALL contracted works, or top 40 of all contracted Female Lead works... Thank you all so much! There''s been such a huge increase in views and people interacting with the novel, be itments, voting, or gifts! Seriously, thank you all so much! Oh, I also have a few of the backup chapters done, which means that I should be able to release daily, but the focus of those chapters are all about Julie, Chordeva, and Ria, so no real story implications other than learning about them. --- Chapter 126 125: Lord Pele Anput PoV Currently Leone and Kat were scanning the wall of the central building, while Jahi and I stood behind them, protecting them as they tried to decipher anything. Clenching the handle of my longsword, I observed our surroundings, goosebumps sneaking around my arms as the eery silence of the city slowly got to me. As a Jackalkin; no, Beastkin, I was proud of my senses. My ability to smell things that others couldn''t, hear things others couldn''t, was something I relied heavily on, and yet here... The incredible silence and scent of ash and dust was all myuded senses provided for me, making me antsy. However, standing beside Jahi made me feel a little morefortable, safe. Her tall, broad frame was reassuring, that master forged de in herrge hand lowered my fear slightly, and finally... She smiled down at me, ruffling my ears and scratching behind them. Peeking up at her smile, I blushed lightly as I realized just how safe she made me feel... Especially when I was being held by those muscr ar- Shaking my head, I returned my gaze to the buildings around us, my blush deepening as I heard Jahi chuckle. Taking in the square around us, I focused my attention to just this area around us, tuning out the rest of the deathly quiet city. Kat growled in frustration behind us, making Jahi and I turn around. The curvy Dogkin was staring intently at the wall, her lips drawn into a frown as she massaged her temples. "Let''s go inside... I don''t think there''s anything out here." Leone nodded beside her, sighing before looking for a door. "The only notable things are that there is an almost reverent tone for a ''Lord Pele'', and that the people who inhabited this city believed the monsters were going to be something to them, that fire would show them something, and a few lines about the dead''s rest..." Kat red at the wall before reaching the corner of the building, saying "Entranceway over here!" Approaching her, we looked at the dim archway, one doorying on the ground while the other hung on the hinges. Silently pushing the door open, Kat peered into therge lobby, before motioning for us to enter behind her. Fanning out inside the building, we looked around, and I half expected it to be as empty as every other building in this city, but couches lined the walls, paintings hung crookedly on the walls, and a tattered rug led up to the broken stairs. There were a two doors on either side of the stairs, leading deeper into the building. "Left or right?" Hearing Jahi, the rest of us observed the two doors, Kat and I sniffing the air. Besides the cloying scent of ash that permeated the air everywhere in Zhu''Rong Caverns, there was a sickly sweet smell of... something wafting from the right door. Kat also stared at the right with furrowed brows, her nose twitching again before she said "The right door has some kind of sweet smell, while the left is just... normal." Jahi pursed her lips, looking between the two doors before pointing to the left. "Check out ''normal'' first, before investigating that smell. I''ll lead, Anput bring up the rear." Nodding, I waited for the others to open that left door, turning around to scan the empty lobby. When I heard them walk into the room I followed behind them, still facing the outside. Keeping the door open behind me, I turned back around, taking in the small room we found ourselves in. It was of simr size to the houses outside, but instead of being utterly empty it had arge desk in the back, yellowed papers scattered over the dark wood surface. Kat and Leone approached the desk, carefully and gently moving the papers around as they tried to read them. As for Jahi and I, we searched around the rest of the room, finding little more than a decaying leather chair, bare bookshelf, a titled nk painting, and an empty wall mount, likely for a sword of some kind. "Anything?" Leone sighed, while Kat just frowned, moving away from the desk. "Nothing. Each page was either nk or so old that the ink had faded..." Jahi sighed as well, giving the room another rudimentary scan before approaching the door again. Stepping back out into the lobby, Jahi lead us over to the other door, Kat and I wrinkling our nose in disgust at the putrid scent wafting from the shut door. "Gah... Even I can smell it now..." Jahi grimaced as she ced her hand on the door handle, taking a quick breath before swiftly opening the door. However, instead of opening it with her hand, Jahi stepped back and used her foot to nudge the door open, her de readied as she waited a moment. Seeing and hearing nothing moving inside the room, the Demoness moved inside the room her eyes flickering gold as she swept her gaze around the dim space. Kat and Leone followed her in, Kat holding her dagger in a reverse grip while a ritual circle glowed on Leone''s palm. Repeating what I did earlier, I held myself from turning even as I heard the others let out low gasps. Finally entering the room behind them, I turned to see a decaying corpse of a Lizardkin, it''s crimson scales chipped and shedding from its body, revealing dried up muscle and flesh. Some bone poked free of the brownish pink flesh, while the most notable aspect of this corpse was theck of eyes. Approaching the corpse warily, we all stared at the decaying corpse before I returned my gaze to the rest of the room, making sure we were alone and ''safe''. Not seeing anything besides the kneeling corpse of the Lizardkin, I continued to watch over the doorway, listening to Kat and Leone as they muttered to each other. "Does that say-" "Mhm... So if that''s-" Moments passed, the two women exchanging murmurs as Jahi and I protected them, waiting for their consensus. "Alright... Sounds usible. Jahi!" Approaching the two kneeling women, we stood beside them as Kat started exining their findings. "There are runes inscribed on the ground around this Lizardkin here, and some were carved into it''s flesh. The quick summary is that this poor soul was an offering." Wrinkling her lip in disgust, Jahi asked "To who, or what?" "Whatever this Lord Pele is. Apparently Lord Pele needed a... ''donation of the ocr orbs of one of the faithful''. Which exins the eyes..." Leone nodded, before tapping her fingers on one of the sequences on the ground. "This here also says that the ''resulting me of the faithful''s soul will guide the rest to evolution''. Which could mean that all the Lizardmer we''ve fought and seen are actually..." She gestured towards the corpse, and I frowned. "''Evolving'' into a monster? Why? The base monster has no sense of reason, no consciousness; they act on base instinct, just like animals." The Vampire shook her head, shrugging as she said "They were fanatics; who knows what their beliefs and stories ingrained into them. This Lord Pele could also be the one who brainwashed them into doing this; maybe they had some archaic magic that could empower them or something." I furrowed my brow, staring at the dead Lizardkin before freezing, feeling something staring at me. ncing over my shoulder, I saw a pair of crimson eyes peering at me, before moving around the corner, out of sight. "Just saw something!" Readying my de, I slowly approached the door, only for my ears to twitch as I heard the stairs creaking as something scurried up them. "It went upstairs!" Jahi nodded, staring at the broken staircase before saying "Same as before; I''ll go first..." Stepping onto the broken floorboards, she slowly scaled the stairs, before reaching the top, standing guard. Leone and Kat went up together, and I followed behind them quickly. The next floor was a long hallway, and we saw a shadowy figure slip into the door at the end of the hall. "It''s leading us there..." We all nodded at Jahi''s words, before following behind her as she crept towards the door. Like before she opened the door with a kick, only to frown as nothing happened again. Pushing the door further open, arge, coiling reptilian tail was revealed, as well as multiple floating pairs of crimson eyes, embedded in a floating shroud of darkness. "Ah~! They arrive, finally! I''ve been waiting..." The voice that greeted us was deep and raspy, and as we filed into the room I grit my teeth as I took in the giant scaled body of a Lizard, the only difference being the front half of it''s body was that of a man, the red skin glistening in the candlelight. "It took you all so long to get here... I thought I might have to just kill you out in the city like the others!" We all remained silent, making the Lizard sneer. "Very well; stay silent. You''re naught but a meal for me, Lord Pele! You shall be my stepping stone to reemerge into the world! I shall conquer this decaying Empire, turning it''s pitiful inhabitants into higher beings!" Ah... A fanatical idiot... Strong though... Readying my de, I held back a grin as I felt the monstrous mans mana wash over us. Chapter 127 126: Fight Against An Evolved Monster (1) Kat PoV Everyone readied their weapons and spells, staring at therge lizard monster in front of us. "Ah~ So feisty~! Well, I guess everyone needs to work a little for a delectable meal, no?" The red skinned man grinned at us, his crimson eyes brimming with confidence as he raised a wed hand. "After all, so manybination magics in one ce is a feast! As for you..." Pointing one of his wed fingers at Jahi, his grin widened, a disgusting look in his eyes. "Light magic! With your mana coursing through my veins, I could easily make thesends mine! All the food and wine I could ever wish for. The people would have to bow to my might, celebrating my prosperous rule over them! Haha~!" Lowering her stance, Jahi just stared at the lizard with her hard, golden eyes, her Imperial Gold and Stygian Silver de shining in the dim light. "And you''re delivering such a magnificent de to me! Aww... you shouldn''t have~!" Narrowing my eyes, I cracked my neck, anger slowly growing in my heart as I listened to the lizard''s idiotic drivel. However, as he heard the quiet popping of my neck, as well as seeing my narrowed eyes, he frowned, snapping his fingers. The shadowy clouds of mist coalesced, forming solid figures of pure darkness, their crimson eyes glowing with hate. Each on wielded some kind of weapon, and they all stepped towards us, every step leaving behind a small pool of inky darkness. "Let''s see if you can deal with my ck Specters!" There were seven of them, and they all started running towards us, their weapons raised. As they ran, groaning, those pools merged together, creating smaller versions of themselves, which joined the originals in their charge. Laughing, the lizard then raised his hand, a red ritual circle ring in his palm. Staring directly at me, he smirked as he said "Fire beats ice, little pup." Readying my dagger, I blocked the downswing of one of the Specters, moving behind it and punching my free hand out. However, instead ofnding my fist sailed into its smoky chest, punching clean through. Frowning at the chill that ran over my fist, I withdrew my hand as the smoke tried to trap my arm, making the Specter growl. However, before I could make another move a ball of fire hurtled towards my previous spot, igniting the wooden floorboard. ncing over my shoulder, I saw the lizard click it''s tongue, readying another spell. Slipping back behind the Specter, I briefly wondered if he would shoot another spell at me through the Specter, before I widened my eyes slightly. There''s nothing in the world that has NO weakness, and usually when something is immune to physical attacks... Coating my dagger in ice, I stabbed it into the Specters throat, grinning as a thin grey smoke bled from the wound, the Specter letting out an agonized cry. "Use magic! They''re weak to it!" The others nodded, Jahi and Anput coating their des in magic just like me, while Leone readied another spell, switching from defense to offense. Clicking his tongue again, the lizard red at me, the ritual circle growingrger on his palm. "Damn dog. Die!" A spear of fire flew towards me, and I grunted as I tried to knock it away with my dagger. The impact sent me flying backwards, mming into the wall. Letting out a low shout, I coughed a little as I slumped to the floor, clenching my dagger. Thankfully I had diverted the spear, as evident by the seared hole a few inches beside my head. Panting, I held a hand over my ribs, grunting again as pain flooded my system. My vision was slightly blurry, and as I blinked the room started to spin. ~~~ Jahi PoV "Damn dog. Die!" A spear flew past me, and my eyes went wide as I heard Kat let out a cry of pain. Pushing more mana into my de, I severed the Specter''s head in front of me, before shing out at the remaining three around me. Except, those crimson eyes remained floating, only to travel to another inky Specter, ''reviving'' the original. "Kat?!" Blocking the axe swing of the revived Specter, I shouted her name, my heart pounding as I waited to hear her voice. Seconds dragged on for what felt like eternity, and my hearing was strained, listening to her panting. Was that because she was bleeding out, that spear lodged between her ribs?! No... She''s stronger than that... But what if..? Growling in annoyance, I sucker punched the Specter in front of me, my fist radiating a dull gold glow as I grabbed at its eyes. Plucking one from its head, I squished the jelly like orb in my fist, the Specter crying out in pain before ring at me, its remaining eye ring. Before it could even attempt another attack I head butted it, creating a thin screen of mana on my brow, knocking it back. Stabbing my de into its chest, I plucked its other eye, letting it burn in my hand. When the original truly died, all of its spawn fell to the ground, the solid shadows dissipating. "Aim for the eyes!" Letting the liquid eye spill from my palm, I started stepping backwards, my left hand tracing a series of runes as I approached Kat. "Kat, say something!" Come on... Please! "Oh no you don''t!" The lizard sent a barrage of spears towards me, only to growl in annoyance as a dome of light surrounded me. Turning to Kat, I crouched beside her, relief flooding my system as I saw she was rtively unharmed. She was leaning against the wall, panting as she held her ribs, with her eyes screwed shut. Gently cing my hand on her ribs, I activated a healing spell, pushing some of my light mana into her body. "Come on Kat..." Muttering again and again, I stopped pouring my mana into her when she opened her eyes, making me smile when I saw those pale blue orbs. "Damnit..." Groaning, she got to her feet, a slight grimace on her face as she nursed her ribs. "Agh... that was annoying..." Looking up at me, she gave me a small smile, before turning her attention back to that lizard. "Fire magic... some kind of summons... what else is he hiding? He seems so nonchnt even now." I nodded, turning to watch as Anput raised a wall of earth, blocking a gout of mes. The Jackalkin tapped her fingers to her brow, the silver rune tattooed on her forehead ring once before enveloping her lithe body in steel. She grinned to herself, before crouching behind the wall. Her calf muscles rippled, her tail swayed, and her grin grew as she readied her de. "Lets go!" Kat rushed forwards without a word, her free hand tracing a few runes as she approached Leone, who was struggling against two of the original Specters. Leaving Kat to help her, I copsed my light dome, the remaining mana flooding back into my veins. Taking a deep breath, I red at the lizard, who only smirked back at me. "You''re dead." Spitting that out, I activated my Light Cloak, shrouding myself in blinding light. ~~~ Kat Pov "You''re dead." Jahi''s voice was low and lifeless, making me shudder. With our soul bond I could feel her raw anger for the lizard, tinged with worry for me. It made my heart bounce in glee, knowing that a minor wound like a few cracked ribs made her act like this~ Focusing my attention on Leone, I appeared behind the Vampire, my feet and fists covered in a thin gale of wind. My dagger swiftly cut into the Specters, and I shed out towards one pair of crimson eyes, my ice coated steel easily slicing them open. That Specter, and all the ones it had created, fell to the floor, dissipating into nothing. Finally getting some help, Leone snapped her fingers, two small embers flying towards the remaining ones eyes and burning them to ash. "Kat, are you okay?!" When the Specters fell to the ground, Leone instantly turned towards me, her blood red eyes alight with worry as she ced her hands on my shoulders. Smiling at her, I nodded, before looking towards the lizard. "I''m fine. Let''s-" Before I could finish Leone red at the lizard, her teeth sharpening as she snarled at the monster. Her ashen hair sparked, and the tattoo on her chest red, glowing even through her leather chest piece. Ritual circles popped into existence around her, and I shuddered slightly as I felt the wave of heat rolling off her body. In that moment I looked around, seeing Jahi''s pir of blinding light, Leone''s dark red mes, and Anput''s steel coated body, all staring intently at the lizard, who frowned slightly. "Oh..." My heart beat wildly as I saw all three of them ring at the lizard, their anger pulsing outwards while their worry flooded inwards, towards me. All this... Staring at each one, a smile grew on my lips as I felt their care and love, before grinning at the lizard. "Well, I can''t be outdone, right?" Chapter 128 127: Fight Against An Evolved Monster (2) "Well, I can''t be outdone, right?" Smirking to myself, I sheathed my dagger and started tracing two different runes at once, my hands flickering about as I rapidly cast two separate enchantments, one being my full body Water Cloak and the other being a better version of the gales covering my hands and feet, granting an even greater boost to my speed. With the Water Cloak in ce, I was confident to take at least one fire attack, giving me a slight cushion when fighting thisrge fire lizard, while the wind was just to enhance my speed. Redrawing my dagger, I coated it in ice again before dashing forwards, running beside Jahi as she charged at the lizard. "Hmm... Not bad..." Smirking at us, he raised his hands, summoning a pir of mes between his palms, which solidified into a long, jagged de. "For a bunch of brats!" Swiping the de out, I grunted as I narrowly rolled under it, while Jahi growled as she mmed her own de against his, a sharp ng reverberating around the room. He frowned slightly, only to shake his head as the jagged de shrunk, causing Jahi to stumble forwards, her sword no longer locked on his. Readjusting the length again, Jahi grunted in pain as the lizard swiped the sword towards her side, narrowly blocking his strike with a thick screen of golden light. However, from here I could hear cracksing from the te, and Jahi''s strained breathing entered my ears. Angry that this lizard dared to try and harm Jahi, I shot forwards, pushing more mana towards my feet to boost my speed even more. Jumping over his swiping tail, I brought my dagger down onto his raised arm, only for my eyes to go wide as the ice barely left a scratch on his red skin. Pushing me away with his arm, I skidded on the ground before jumping back to my feet, growling softly. Clicking his tongue, the lizard sneered at me as he inspected the scratch, before growling "Uncivilized dog. You dared to harm ME!?" Shouting that, he pointed his wed finger towards me, a fireball coalescing at its tip. However, before he could shoot it towards me, it exploded in his hand, making the lizard grunt. When the dust cleared I frowned at his slightly ckened finger, looking more like that fireball had been little more than a candle me. Leone stepped beside me, her teeth still elongated into fangs as she stared at the man. "Fire won''t help you here." Lord Pele just chuckled, continuing to push his de against Jahi''s wall. "No matter... You''ll all die either way!" Summoning another sword, he grinned widely at us as he mmed it down towards us, leaving arge hole in the floor. Grabbing Leone, I jumped backwards, barely avoiding the serrated edge. "Careful." She nodded gratefully to me, before hesitantly removing herself from my arms. "I will be..." Ignoring her slightly crimson cheeks, I turned back to the lizard, wondering when Anput- As soon as the thought crossed my mind, a loud bang echoed around the room, all of us staring as a silver blur rocketed towards the red skinned man. Removing his des from Jahi''s wall and the floor, Lord Pele intercepted Anput''s glowing de, grunting under the weight of her blow. Dashing forwards again, Jahi and I avoided his tail and started hacking away at his scaled legs, making him curse. "DAMNIT! STOP MESSING WITH ME!" Letting out another shout, we all were pushed back by a st of fire mana, which lightly singed our flesh, even through the Mana Cloaks we wore. Jahi and I used our des to lessen the push, stabbing them into the floor and skidding to a halt, while Anput mmed her steel coated fist into the floorboards, stopping herself quickly before shooting back towards him. Nodding at one another, Jahi and I joined Anput again, our des rising and falling swiftly on the lizards scaled legs and exposed torso, scoring some deep gashes. The bright crimson blood that sshed to the ground sizzled, and all three of us avoided the droplets as best we could, not knowing if they were poisonous or just extremely hot. Lord Pele was shouting in anger, mming his swords around the building haphazardly, scouring deep gashes in the floors and walls, trying desperately to hit us. Leone stood in the back, expertly sending various spells hurtling towards the exposed flesh or scales, her fire charring whatever it touched. Under the onught of our des and magic, Lord Pele could only try and attempt to shake us off, rapidly swinging and twirling his serrated swords around his body while his tail struck out at random, slowly growing more ragged as we blocked his scaled tail with mana coated des. His scales were chipped, his skin yed and charred, while his eyes were alight with fear and anger, constantly roaring and shouting in both pain and rage. Slicing a deep gash into his abdomen, I watched as my frost startedbatting his blood, his red flesh darkening while turning purple in some spots, a thin sheen of ice covering his flesh. "GAGH! YOU-!" Jumping backwards, I avoided one of his des as he stabbed it into the floor, easily sinking it to the hilt. However, as he left the de in the floor Jahi stepped towards it, her Imperial Gold and Stygian Silver de slicing through his thick wrist, severing his hand from his arm. "ARGH- DAMNIT! JUST DIE!" mming his fist towards her, he could only scream again as Anput''s de scraped across his face, slicing one of his eyes open. Dashing forwards again, I stabbed my dagger deep into his side, channeling my mana into the de and pushing my frost into his lung. His breathing becamebored, and after twisting the de I jumped away, standing beside Anput, Jahi, and Leone as we watched Lord Pele grab at his side, wheezing. "You..." Stumbling to the side, therge lizard copsed, still panting as he stared at us in hatred. "You damn... ack... damnit, I was supposed to rule..!" Leone sneered at him, growling "You threatened to rule MY Empire, kill MY mother, and dared toy your hands on MY wife?! You were just meant to die!" I shivered behind her, watching the sparks flying from her hair grow in magnitude. Raising her hand, Leone spat out "Bu those sparks flying towards his body rapidly. As each onended on his skin, they exploded, causing chunks of flesh to fly around before catching fire. He started screaming again, desperately patting at the spreading mes on his body with his one hand and stump, only helping it scatter. It took just a few moments, but eventually he fell silent, the only sound in the room being the crackling of mes. We all stared at the burning corpse with mixed emotions, before letting out groans as our spells dropped, the mana exhaustion taking immediate effect. Stumbling over to Jahi, I leaned on her arm before smiling at Leone, who''s face was now a deep red. "I um... Well, I-" She was stuttered, making Jahi and Iugh. "Leone~!" Walking over to her, I pulled her into a hug, only to feel Jahi wrap her arms around us a momentter. "Good job everyone~!" We all chuckled, Anput joining us swiftly as she nuzzled into Jahi''s side. Enjoying the warmth of each other, as well as the relief that we were all alright, I forgot to check one tiny, little detail. Where was my system notification? --- So, thing is is that I''m starting a new book and getting it up to the contract requirements before my adobe subscription runs out. (Not putting it behind a paywall anytime soon, just wanting to get it contracted so I have that option eventually, maybe.) I know, I have a slight problem considering my other two originals are both collecting dust, but... Its been an idea I''ve had for awhile, but after reading two books (in thisment) I wanted to do my own spin on their idea. It''ll be called ''Reincarnated as the Only Human'', and it''ll be a smut book; both pure Yuri and Futa, only females in the entire book. It''s just a survival smut book, with the MC doing what she can to survive while being pursued by the various non-humans in that world, both romantically and violently. So yeah, look for that to be releasedter today, and no, it does not mean any other novels will be dropped; I think they''ll all stay the same release schedule. Servant everyday, Kunoichi''s every other, Priestess and Mn twice/thrice a week, and Ker once a week. This new one will likely be a twice/thrice a week upload... Again, sorry, but I just want to get it out to help my own creative flow because it''ll help spice up what I''m writing. Thank you all, and sorry for the slightly shorter chapter. --- Chapter 129 128: Lord Pele (2) As we all basked in each others warmth, creating a group hug in the back of therge, charred and destroyed room, I had forgotten to check for a system notification, ovee with relief that we had made it out alive. My muscles were aching, my joints hurt, my head was killing me... Hah... That was a hard fight... Thinking that, I opened up the system, only for my eyes to go wide as I realized... There was NO notification. Which meant... Pulling myself free from the group hug, I stared at the ''corpse'' of Lord Pele, wondering just how he was still alive. "Kat?" Jahi stepped beside me, frowning as she looked between me and Lord Pele. "What''s wrong?" Biting my lip, I wondered how to exin that I hadn''t received any notification that he was dead... "I don''t think... that he''s dead..." Jahi stared at me, before staring at the charred corpse. "Why do you think that?" Hearing the slight disbelief in her voice, I bit my lip again, before saying "Intuition..?" Please believe me... Sighing, she raised her ornate de, gazing at the corpse before saying "Well, let''s go make sure he''s dead then." I nodded, resummoning my Water Cloak as we approached, my dagger coated in ice. Anput and Leone followed behind us, staring warily at the corpse. Gradually approaching the giant body of Lord Pele, I frowned as... Nothing happened. No pulsing heartbeat that started randomly. No convulsing or shaking inside the corpse. No groaning or wheezing... Just... Nothing. Which made me extremely confused. Where was the notification? ''Is he dead or not?'' [You didn''t get a notification, so no, he is not dead.] Getting double confirmation from the system, I narrowed my eyes at the corpse. Stabbing her sword into the mans skull, Jahi said "See? Dead." Twisting her de for good measure, she withdrew the sword and flicked the blood, brain matter, and skull fragments from the de, before staring at me with worry. Sighing, she grabbed my hand, making me drop the mana clock, pulling me towards the door. "Come on, we need-" "You should trust your dog, brat." We all froze, before turning around. The corpse started cracking, the bones breaking and twisting as they molded themselves into something... Else. His flesh ''melted'' away, moving around like liquid as it reshaped itself to fit this new skeleton, the scales sinking into the red flesh, turning his body into something armored. What stood before us appeared humanoid; it stood on two legs, sported four muscr arms, and had a head crowned with small spikes. Sprouting from its back was a pair ofrge, leathery wings and a long, sharp tail, all a deep crimson. Before the man had been dull looking; he had a face that blended in with the crowd, the only thing that stood out. besides his giant lizard body, was his dark red skin, which was a little rarer than other colors. Now, however, what stood before us was a regal, handsome man, his abs chiseled and arms rippling with muscle. Standing on taloned feet, he spread his wings, smirking to himself. Two ruby eyes turned towards us, and he grinned as he flexed his arms, before cracking his neck. "I must say, I never thought that ritual had something so amazing hidden inside it..." Even his voice was improved; it dripped with confidence, the deep, melodic sound washing over us. "Well, it matters not; I think with such an improved body..." His body flickered, before appearing in front of Leone, a sneer on his lips as he growled "I''ll kill all of you!" mming his fist into her gut, we all watched as Leone was sent flying, crashing through the wall. "Leone!" Shouting her name, I was about to run to her side when Lord Pele appeared beside me, still sneering. Feeling one of his fists rippling through the air towards me, I swayed to the side, only to cough as anothernded on my ribs, sending me skidding back a few steps. "Damn dog. You were the most annoying of all!" Appearing before me again, he started punching his four fists out, making me grunt in pain as I tried to desperately block each one. Somended, some didn''t but... Feeling a crack on my ribs again, I coughed out a bit of blood, making me frown. Taking shaky breaths, I watched as Jahi and Leone swung their des down towards his back, only for two swords to appear in his top hands, blocking the blows. Grinning at me, I gasped as hended a heavy punch in my gut, sending me flying again. Rolling on the floor, I coughed out some more blood, my breathing haggard as I felt something sharp poke my lung with every breath I took. He had turned to face Jahi and Anput, summoning another two swords as he pushed them back, making the two women grunt as they exerted all their remaining strenght. cing a hand over my ribs again, I gasped as my healing magic reknit the cracked and broken bones, setting my ribcage back into its normal spot. It hurt like hell, having your bones knit themselves back together, and my vision blurred under the pain. However, I stood back up, wiping the warm blood from my lips as I scooped up my dagger. That damn freak was trying to hurt Jahi... Gritting my teeth, I pushed more mana from my core, coating my body in a thinyer of water again, before rushing towards Lord Pele''s back. Trying to keep my steps as quiet as possible, I stabbed my ice dagger under his wing, making the man grunt in pain, only to backhand me away. Spinning in the air a few times, Inded shakily on my feet, still gripping my dagger. "Damnit..." Groaning, he pushed the other two away, a small red me appearing on his wound, healing it. "I am going to enjoy breaking you..." Turning towards me, he red at me, his eyes filled with rage. pping his wings a few times, Lord Pele lifted his body into the air, throwing two of his des towards Jahi and Anput, who had to block the spinning des. With his two free hands he started weaving together various runes, arge,plicated ritual circle appearing around him. Raising my left hand, I shot water arrows towards him, hoping to disrupt his sequence. However, he just smirked at me as his two des flickered out, intercepting the arrows and blocking them. "Is that all, dog?" Growling in frustration, I tried to summon ice arrows next, only for a wave of exhaustion to flood my body, making me stumble to the side. Biting my lip, I instead pushed my mana into the cloak, wanting to try and raise my defenses against... whatever spell he threw my way. "KAT!" Jahi screamed my name, desperately trying to ward off the levitating de that was shing against her sword. Her golden eyes were glowing with worry, making me smile towards her. Laughing, Lord Pele peered over his shoulder, jeering "Your dog dies today, Demon... and you''ll watch as I tear her limb from limb!" Turning back to me, he continuedughing as he finished his spell, a red light ring from it. "Behold! [Muspelheim]!" The circle started spinning, gradually gaining speed before it shot outrge ming rocks, which flew towards me. Dodging them, I rolled around the floor, trying to avoid the broken floorboards, roaring mes, and meteorites that hurtled towards me. It took a lot of effort, but I managed to roll, jump, and run away from the storm of fire, making Lord Pele frown. Clicking his tongue, he flickered again, appearing before me and cackling as his swords mmed down. Using my dagger to parry them, I rolled to the side, only to grunt as one of his swords nicked my cheek, a long, thin line running from my cheekbone to my chin. "Just ept your fate, dog! You die here!" The ritual circle was still rotating in the sky, and Jahi and Anput were still desperately trying to move past the levitating des, staring at me with anxiety and anger, wanting nothing more than to rush to my side. Smiling at the two women, I tried as hard as I could to block Lord Pele''s blows, to avoid the meteorites that mmed into the floor around me, and tobat my exhaustion, trying to push myself as best I could, to survive this fight. However, the more he battered his swords into my dagger, the more my limbs grew numb, the gentler the smile I gave the two women, making them shout my name in panic. "Are you ready to die now, dog?" I red at him, spitting in his face beforeunching myself towards hims, pouring my remaining energy into thisst, final blow. --- Thank you everyone forst month; I believe this finished around 85th overall with golden tickets, and around 150 with Powerstones! Also, thank you Freefire41 for the yet another Dragon, as well as everyone else with the Massage Chairs, Capsules, and Cs! And thank you all for using your golden tickets on my novel! I look forwards to continue writing this for a long time toe! --- Chapter 130 129: Lord Pele (3) ring at the red skinned draconic man, I spat in his face beforeunching myself forwards, pouring my remaining energy into thisst, final blow of mine. He continued to smirk at me, ignoring me spitting on him. Spreading his arms open, he smirked as he invited me to attack him, a disdainful look in his eye as he watched me approach. Pushing thest of my mana onto my de, I screamed as I stabbed forwards, my dagger- My eyes went wide as it shattered, a thick, red te appearing in front of the ice coated steel tip. "Was that all, dog? Was that your final, pitiful attempt?" Sneering at me, one of his hands shot forwards, wrapping around my throat. "If so, that was incredibly pathetic. Remember, fire beats ice." Rolling his eyes at me, he tightened his grasp on my throat, slowly crushing my windpipe. mming my fists against his scaled body, I desperately tried to target any weak spots, aiming for his face. However, he simply stretched his arm out further, still sneering at me. "KAT!" Hearing Jahi''s shout, he nced over his shoulder, grinning at the enraged Demoness, before saying "Are you angry? Angry that someone is touching your pitiful dog without your permission? Well, I hate to break it to you, but rabid dogs need to be put down..." Turning back to me, his grin widened, revealing rows of sharp, gleaming fangs as he continued speaking. "I''ll do it for you; in fact, you should be thanking me, Demon. I''m doing this for you, after all..." Raising another hand, a dark crimson ritual circle red to life in his palm, and he started to slowly inch it closer to my face. Kicking and scratching at him, I felt my vision blurring from theck of oxygen. Was this really it..? I got to live for what, almost two years..? Would I find myself back in that endless, ck void? Panic coursed through my system at that thought; I didn''t want to go back! "Resistance is futile, dog... You die here. To me..." His grin widened, and the edge of my vision grew dark, making the panic and fear run rampant in my body. My hearing was locked to the blood rushing through my body, and I could barely make out the screams of Jahi as she desperately used spell after spell to try and move past the sentient sword. Looking towards her, I focused the entirety of my being on her... In my two lives I''ve never felt anything like this... I loved Kyoka, sure, but... My heart was in pieces seeing Jahi''s face wrenched in agony, her golden eyes streaming tears as she stared at me, her voice cracking as she cried out my name. I knew that if I did return to that void, the eternity I spent floating around would be focused on her, and her alone... Would she have loved me for as long as we both lived, like she promised? Would we have had children together, and watched them grow up and have children of their own? Would they take after her, or me? What about Anput and Leone? Would they be able tofort Jahi for the next decade, century, millennia? Or would Jahi push them away, isting herself from love? I hope not... I hope she could move on from me... Smiling at her, I felt tears drip from my eyes, further blurring my vision. I''d miss her, so, so much... It wasn''t the void that scared me; it was being alone, without her... Without the woman who so effortlessly carved her way into my heart, iming me as her own. Her warmth, her scent, her love... I needed it. And yet... Feeling Lord Pele''s ws sink into my neck, I realized that I would be without her... All alone... Again. Even if, somehow, someway, I was given another life... I don''t think I could truly live it. I needed her now; almost as much as I needed oxygen to live. Was that... wrong? Bad? Probably... Devoting my entire being to her, living FOR her... But... I wanted to devote every ounce of my body to her; for her... Looking towards the red skinned man in front of me, I tried to redouble my efforts to break free, but I had been starved of air so long now that my body refused to act, doing little more than weakly hitting his scaled body. His ring palm was almost on my face, and I felt the heat radiating from it, already searing and singing the hairs from my flesh. "Did you know burning is among some of the most painful ways to die?" Grinning sadistically at me, Lord Pele left his hand an inch from my face, about to say something else. However, before he could speak he screamed, his palm exploding, small fragments of bone scraping my cheek. Releasing me, I fell to the ground, coughing as I tried to breath. "It is... would you like to experience it?" A familiar voice entered my ears, and I turned my head weakly to the side, trying to focus my eyes. "Fire isn''t something you can just... y around with. It needs to be respected; revered. It is a force of nature, and it IS the most destructive magic known to us mortals. It can wipe out countries, reform the world as we know it..." Someone approached us, and I gasped slightly as I saw Leone, but... Red. Two small horns sprouted from her forehead, and her skin had a sheen of crimson radiating off it. Her long, ashen hair sparked, and her crimson eyes burned brightly in the dark room. "And it is something that can easily turn you to ash..." Raising her hand, we all had to cover our eyes as a giant pir of mes consumed Lord Pele, the draconic man screaming in agony as he mmed against the wall of the pir. Keeping her arm outstretched, Leone slowly clenched her fist, reducing the size of the pir, closing it in on the man. His screams were unintelligible, and he continued to beat on the almost solid wall, his skin shriveling as the extreme heat eventually evaporated his blood, turning the man into a mummy. However, Leone wasn''t done, keeping the pir alight on his corpse, the mes greedily licking at his now ck skin and turning it to ash, even melting the bones. [Draconic Humanoid - Lord Pele - has been killed (assist)! 102,782 xp] [Achievement Unlocked! Improbable Victory] [Improbable Victory: Won against something 10x stronger than yourself/party! Congrattions! Reward: 10 Stat Points, 3 Skill Points, Skill [Hunter (Novice)]] [[Hunter (Novice)]: Increases damage againstrger enemies] [Skill: [Growth (Apprentice)] -> [Growth (Adept)]] [[Growth (Adept)]: Increases Quest XP by 75%, and Combat XP by 75%] Hearing the various dings going off in my system, each one made my head pound. ''Please... off... deal with...ter...'' [Understood... and good job, Kat...] Blinking a few times, I eventually reduced my headache from ''Gigantic metallic hammer mming into your skull from every direction'' to ''Large metallic hammer mming into your skull from every direction''... Improvements, I guess... My vision still swam, and I could feel tingling from the various pricks on my throat and the gash on my cheek. Leone stumbled over to me, her features returning to normal as she paled considerably, before copsing beside me. Feeling her weakly take my hand, we both smiled at each other, before the darkness imed us, plunging us into unconsciousness. ~~~ Jahi PoV The floating sword before me ttered to the ground, and I rushed forwards instantly, towards the copsed figures of Kat and Leone. Anput was beside me, her olive skin covered in cuts and gashes, however she still had fluid movements, making me relieved. At least one of them came out rtively unscathed... Shaking my head, I crouched beside the two unconscious women, not knowing what to do. My mana reserves were to depleted for any significant healing magic, and unlock them I wasn''t that proficient in healing anyways... On top of that, I didn''t know enough about treating wounds to know if I could move them right now... What do I do..? Seeing Kat''s fair skin paler than normal, paired with the dark bruise over her throat and cut on her cheek filled me with rage. However, it wasn''t directed at Lord Pele, but at myself. I should''ve been stronger... I should''ve protected them both from this... mming my fist into the floor beside me, I growled in agony... This was my fault... Biting my cheek hard enough to draw blood, my eyes widened as I thought of something. Leone is a vampire, and blood... "Anput, wrist." Light mana would kill her currently; she may use fire, but light is just... that much more dangerous for her kind. Anput nodded, cing her wrist over Leone''s bluish lips. Frowning, I gently cut a shallow line into Anput''s wrist, letting her blood drip into Leone''s mouth. Come on... This needs to work... Chapter 131 130: Contemplation Jahi PoV Watching as Anput''s scarlet blood dripped onto Leone''s blue lips, I dragged in a shaky breath, wondering if this would be enough... After a few more moments, Leone sputtered to life, coughing out some blood before sitting up, her breathing haggard. "W-What... hap-happened?" She stared at me, before her crimson eyes went wide. Reaching forwards hesitantly, I cupped her cheek gently, my vision blurring slightly. "Y-You''re okay..." Feeling something wet travel down my cheek, I let out a confused grunt, reaching towards it, wiping away... "H-Huh..?" I... Was crying? Sniffling, I felt another tear drip from my eyes, and Leone reached up, sping my hand. "I... am, J-Jahi..." Giving me a shaky smile, she turned towards Kat, who was breathing rtively evenly. "S-So... is she..." Anput nodded, resting her hand on my knee, giving me a small smile. Blinking a few times, I stamped down on my emotions, clearing my head. Taking a deep breath, I nodded to the two women before saying "Let''s go..." Leone staggered to her feet, Anput quickly moving to her side and supporting her. The two nced at one another in surprise, before chuckling. However, my focus wasn''t on them and their moment; instead, it was on... "Kat..." Muttering her name, I reached to lift her up, before stopping. Was I... Worthy of touching her..? After all, it''s my fault that she''s..! Biting my cheek again, the pain cleared my mind, and I growled in frustration. I can go through thatter; for now, we need to make our way home, or find somewhere safe to rest up... Gently sliding my hands under her soft, yet battered body, I lifted Kat into my arms, flinching slightly as I watched her groan in pain. Carefullyying her head against my chest, I stared down at the face of my unconscious wife, gritting my teeth as my heart clenched hard. It hurt more seeing her like this than all the various cuts, scrapes, bruises, and tears around my body... "Come on..." My voice was hoarse and low, and my other two wives simply nodded, walking behind me as I lead us outside. The entire time my eyes were on her face; I was unable to tear them away from her pale features... I desperately pleaded to whoever would listen to let her be safe; to let her wake up and smile at me like she always did. But at the same time, I was worried. When she woke up, would she still stare at me with that gentle love that made her amber eyes feel so warm? Or would they be filled with disappointment and distrust? I swore constantly to her that I would never let her get hurt; that I would protect her from everything this world could even try to throw at her. And yet, this is the third time I looking down at her unconscious form, unknowing of her current condition. I failed her when we were children when she got kidnapped. I failed her just a few days ago, when she copsed from mana depletion. I failed her again today by allowing her to be in harms way... I just... Keep failing to protect her; to keep the woman I''ve proimed over and over again as my wife safe. And it''s only been two years... In two years, there have been two instances now where her life has been in danger, and both times I''m simply standing on the sidelines, hoping, praying, pleading for her to be safe. Only to watch as someone else saves her for me. Will she wake up and still love me? Will she still stare at me with those same eyes, those eyes that let me know she loves me, that let me know she trusts me? After I''ve betrayed her trust on three separate asions? Gritting my teeth hard, I felt something crack in my jaw, but I ignored it. I need to get stronger... Strong enough to protect her... Strong enough to protect Anput... Strong enough to protect Leone... Because if I can''t even protect them... If I can''t do that much... Why should I even DARE toy im to them? To say all those grandiose things, proiming my desire for arge family when I can''t even KEEP THEM SAFE!? . .. ... Did... Did I deserve them? ... .. . That one question hurt more than a million cuts. My heart felt like someone was clenching on it, their hand covered in jagged ss that dug deep into me. Do I deserve to have their trust? Their love? Do I deserve any of it? When I can''t even guarantee their safety? Should I even..? Growling softly, I stared down at Kat''s face, everything washing away for a moment as I lost myself to her now peaceful features... How her nostrils red gently as she breathed in and out. How her lips curled down in displeasure from the heat. How she buried her face into my chest despite that. For a moment I forgot everything as I stared at her. She was mine. No one elses; she belonged to me. And yet, that moment passed by just as quickly as it urred; I tore my gaze from her features as guilt flooded my system. Leading our battered group through the quiet city, we exited the small cavern with ease, only to listen as the earth rumbled. Turning, we watched the entrance copse, before a wall of rock and debris blocked the way back into the city. Now, there was no evidence of the city; that wall molded itself into the rest of Zhu''Rong Caverns, creating a sheer rock face. Remaining quiet, I walked towards the exit, ignoring all the adventurers and eventually civilians that stared our way, treading the cobbled path with heavy steps. Not once did I nce down at Kat as we walked. I was afraid that if I did, the only thing I''d see was a pair of angry, disapproving amber eyes, ming me for the pain and agony she had felt as Lord Pele almost choked the life from her. Anput and Leone walked silently behind me, and their gazes on my back only made me feel worse. ~~~ Kat PoV Agony flooded my body, making me groan as my eyes fluttered open. My head ached, my ribs felt cracked, my arm and leg muscles felt torn, and my neck and cheek stung. Blinking a few times, I nced around the room, wondering where I was, before recognizing the familiar bed of our cottage. Sleeping in a chair beside me was Leone, while Anput walked in a few momentster, holding a small tray. Leone was bruised, her left cheek a deep blue while various cuts and scrapes marred her pale skin. As for Anput, her body was a patchwork of cuts, the normally energetic Jackalkin shuffling around as she sighed, her ears drooping. However, when she saw me trying to sit up she let out a surprised yelp, waking Leone up. ""Kat!"" The two womenunched themselves towards me, making me groan as they wrapped their arms around me. Hearing the pained groan I let out made the two women back away gingerly, staring at me with worry. "Are you okay?!" "Here, let me reapply..!" Leone leaned forwards, cing her hand on my brow, while Anput took the small bowl from the tray, dipping her fingers into a thick paste and reaching towards me. Chuckling, albeit painfully, under their administrations, I allowed the two to care for me for a moment, before furrowing my brow. "W-Where... is Jahi..?" Leone froze, while Anput flinched slightly before finishing her application. "She''s..." "Well, she..." Staring at one another, they gulped before looking away. "Where?" ? I tried to get out of bed, panic rushing through my system as they avoided the question, only to be pushed into the soft mattress. "Outside; she''s outside, resting. Come on, let me ce some more salve..." Anput smiled gently at me, before unwinding the bandages on my body. Slumping back into the various pillows, I allowed her to apply the salve, trying to sense if Jahi was nearby. However, while I could normally get a sense of whether or not she was near, it felt like she was blocking my side of our bond... Nothing wasing through; her location, her emotions, her love... Nothing. Biting my lip, I swallowed done some bile that rose, flinching slightly. "S-Sorry..!" Hearing Anput''s worried voice, I smiled gently at her as I shook my head, saying "No, it wasn''t you... Anyways, why salve?" Leone sighed, nursing her left cheek as she said "None of us have much mana, and we rushed straight back here, so no potions. I''ll be fine in a few hours, then I can heal the rest of us... sorry..." cing my hand over hers, I smiled at her as I said "You have nothing to apologize for..." Biting her lip, Leone nodded, before getting up. "I''ll... go make us something to eat." Watching as she walked out, I then turned to Anput as she muttered "You''ve been out for a few hours... The entire time, Leone was by your side, refusing to rest herself. And Jahi..." Gritting her teeth, Anput took a shaky breath before staring at me, giving me a weak smile. "Well, just rest; out of all of us, you took the most damage... Don''t move; wait for Leone." Finishing her application of salve, she bandaged my wounds before getting up, sighing before nodding to me. After she left I sunk further into the bed, the silence growing to be deafening. My heart ached more than my body, and I wanted nothing more than to go find Jahi. Chapter 132 131: Demons Heart --- So before we start... Well, we hit 1 MILLION views earlier today... I''ll admit, once I saw us get to 900k, I was constantly checking the stats of the novel, watching that number slowly rise... And we hit it! Thank you all so much; I know I seem to say that often lol but really, thank you all SO much! --- I remained in bed for another hour or so,ying back into the soft nkets and pillows and closing my eyes. Focusing intently on our bond, I tried desperately to feel something from her... Or even to push my own feelings towards her; longing, love, worry, sadness... I hoped that she woulde rushing in, wrapping her broad arms around my body and pulling me close, telling me everything was alright, that I was safe now... And yet... Opening an eye, I stared at the door for a moment, my heart clenching as it remained shut. Sighing, I buried my face deeper into the pillow, hoping to fall into the clutches of sleep. Drifting in between awareness and unconsciousness, I eventually heard someone open the door, making me shoot up. Staring at the door with a smile, I was waiting to see thatrge blue frame shuffle in, only to sigh and slump my shoulders as Leone peeked in. Seeing me awake, she smiled gently before pushing the door open further, making her way inside. Noticing that her cheek was no longer bruised, I smiled at her as she made her way over, sitting beside me on the bed. "Are you feeling better?" Her voice was low and filled with worry, her lips pursed as she looked me over. Chuckling, I nodded, before saying "As good as I could feel with... these..." Gesturing at the wounds on my neck and cheek, I smiled at her, cing a hand on hers when she flinched. "It''s not your fault, Leone. Besides, you saved me there at the end; it could have been much, much worse." She gulped, her crimson eyes ring for a moment. They were dark and lifeless, and I felt her hand tremble for a moment, only to smile at me a few secondster. "Alright; lie back down, and close your eyes. I can''t promise aplete recovery right away, but you should be able to move..." Nodding, I rubbed the back of her pale hand with my thumb, enjoying the way she flinched slightly. Laying back into the bed, I closed my eyes, chuckling as I felt her hands lie over my heart and stomach. Her hands started out cool, before slowly warming up. Reaching an incredibly hot temperature, I flinched slightly under her hands, prompting the Vampire to say "Sorry... just bear with it for a few more moments..." I nodded, gritting my teeth as that heat spread through my body, her mana wrapping around bones and muscles and quickening their healing. It took around a minute or so for the wounds on my body to heal, and it was, besides the heat, much more bearable than my speedy recovery during the fight. The heat wrapped around them, slowly allowing the muscle fibers and bones to knit themselves together, making my body slightly itchy, but not painful like before. Panting somewhat, Leone removed her hands and leaned back, her face paler than normal. Sitting back up, I marveled at how my body went from ''bruised and battered'' to just ''achy'', making me grin. However, when I saw Leone''s swaying figure I took her shoulders to steady her, the Vampire blinking at me in mild confusion. "Come on; let''s get you washed up..." Groaning as I got to my feet, I helped Leone up and walked her over to bathroom, ignoring her embarrassment as I stripped her. I also chose to ignore the other thing that grew in embarrassment, sitting her down beside a shower. "Sorry, but I don''t think I''m up for that~" Chuckling, I started teasing the girl in my arms, enjoying the way she blushed and shivered under my hands as I tried my hardest to distract myself from my worry. ~~~ Jahi PoV Sighing, Iy on the roof of the cottage, staring up at the orange and violet sky of dusk. Watching the clouds drift across the sky above, I tried to ignore the various feelings Kat sent my way. Was she sending them while she was still unconscious? Or maybe she knew how to manipte her emotions; after all, she wears that insufferable mask day in and day out in public. However, my heart knew for a fact that those emotions she was feeling were real; she did love me, she did worry for me. I should be happy at that; she doesn''t hate me, she doesn''t abhor me. And yet, that opened a whole new nest of bad thoughts. Was I worthy of her love; her worry? Would she continue to love me in a years time; in a decade? My mind flitted back to my earlier thoughts... Did I deserve her? Did I deserve them? They believed so wholeheartedly in me, and loved me so much... But was I able to protect them? Could I give them the love they deserve? After all, they are all high quality women. Anput and Leone have status, beauty, smarts, loyalty... As for Kat... She had done so much for me; epted so much of me. But would she be able to continue epting me? Or would she grow tired and turn away, finding someone who equally reciprocated her love and devotion? However, that thought made me growl, rage flooding my veins. No. I won''t let her. Even if she wants to go- Sitting up, I balled my fist and mmed it into my knee, using the pain to push those thoughts aside. That would only tarnish her beauty; I loved and admired her because she did as she pleased, running about freely. Caging her would only turn that beauty into something haggard and hateful. Sighing, I stared intently at my balled fist, pursing my lips as I tried desperately to center my thoughts. However, Kat''s emotions only grew in frequency, going from excited to happy to worried to lonely... She was bouncing around like a child, and thinking that made me smile to myself. Recalling our times together from a year ago, I sighed again as Iid back down, closing my eyes. Losing myself to reminiscing about our time together, I let my worries and troubles fade away, to be dealt withter. Enjoying the breeze and warmth of dusk, Iid on the roof for a long time, my mind slowly nking as I drifted away. However, my eyes shot open as I felt someone above me, my hand shooting forwards towards them. They clenched my wrist, and I shivered as ethereal blue eyes met my own,pletely devoid of emotion. "K-Kat..." Crouching above me was the woman of my worries, her features neutral as she stared down at me, those pale blue eyes making me shiver. She remained silent, however I felt her hand clench my wrist, grinding the bones together. Wincing, I tried to pull my hand away from her, only to widen my eyes in surprise as she yanked me to my feet. Shoving me off the roof, I grunted as I rolled across the ground before scrambling to my feet. "What the hell-!" I watched as Kat stepped off the roof,nding silently across from me. Her eyes were a cold void, and as she stepped forwards I shivered. Holding her hand out, she summoned a dagger of pure ice, vapor rolling off the long, jagged de. "Kat... what are you doing..?" Taking steps back, I shivered again as she tilted her head, remaining silent. Her feet glided across the dirt, barely making any sound as she made her way over to me. The all to familiar maid dress billowed in the growing breeze, only to- Kat''s figure blurred, and she disappeared from sight. Focusing intently on my surroundings, I narrowly dodged a swift thrust, a thin cut appearing on my arm. A chill seeped into the wound, and I jumped away from the silent Dogkin, watching as she lifted the de to her lips. Licking the thin crimson line off the jagged de, she stood still, staring intently at me with those lifeless eyes. "Kat, what are you-!" Vanishing again, I let out a grunt as something heavy mmed into me from behind, pushing me to the ground. Straddling my waist, Kat stared down at me, before a giant grin split her face. Shuddering, I watched as she leaned down, her dagger sinking into the ground beside me. Looming over me, she whispered "You won''t ever escape me, Jahi~" Pressing her nose against mine, her grin widened, her blue eyes red, and the chill radiating from her de increased. However, I could only blink a few times before chuckling. Her tant desire and possessiveness would have been worrying if I was a normal person, but... Feeling all my previous worries fade from my heart, I matched her grin, reaching up and grabbing her soft cheeks in my hands. "Nor will you, Katherine Asmodia~" Grinning at one another, I felt our bond grow and fluctuate, our love for one another ring and mixing together as we- No, I stopped holding back my emotions, letting them wash over her through our soul bond. She belonged to me; physically, mentally, emotionally... She was mine... I was hers... Kat mmed her lips against mine, greedily devouring them as she kissed me, releasing her dagger and grabbing my cheeks. Weing her tongue, I held her close to me, feeling incredibly idiotic. Pulling away to breath, I chuckled as I said "This... is what, the third time I''ve been an idiot?" My wife just grinned at me, her pale blue eyes frozen over with love as she nodded. "Yes, you have~ Thinking you could escape ME~? I don''t think so~!" Feeling her tail wagging, Iughed, only to moan as she instantly took my lips again. Seems like I need to make it up to my puppy, huh~? Chapter 133 132: Off Day Kat PoV After marking myrge, bumbling idiot Demoness of a Mistress dozens of times, I found myself staring down at her panting face, enjoying the way she gazed at me with such love even as her features were marred slightly with pain. I had wrung herpletely dry, trying my hardest to douse my own heat after she flooded our bond with her unfiltered love for me; even after thisst hour or so of lovemaking had only turned that raging inferno inside me into a sparking ember. Staring down at Jahi, I grinned as her amethyst eyes narrowed slightly, her hands pressing against my chest as she tried to push me away. "K-Kat... l-let me rest..." Giggling, I leaned down and licked her neck, relishing in how she shuddered as my tongue glided over her now purple spotted neck, dozens of my love bites marring her usually wless skin. For the first time in our year of sleeping together, I had dominated my Mistress, never allowing her to get the upper hand or move, using my magic to keep her pushed down the entire time. My displeasure with her had been shown, but... "You really are an idiot sometimes, Mistress~" She sighed, allowing me to nuzzle against her marked neck as she stroked my hair, nodding. "I''ll admit... I thought way too much instead of just... facing my problems - you - head on..." Hearing that, I grinned at her, making her shudder as I innocently asked "Me? A problem~?" Shaking her head, the Demoness desperately peppered my face with kisses, trying to distract me from her poor word choice. However, much to her agony, I mounted her again and enjoyed another ride, showing her just how much I wanted her. After that, Anput hade out and dragged Jahi to safety, much to my displeasure, but after sitting out in the now cool air, I took the time to reign in my desires, wondering if I had gone too far... ncing up at the dark sky, I grinned as I shook my head, muttering "No... she deserved it..." Quelling my lust, I sighed before getting to my feet, staring down at myself before chuckling. "Still..." Wiping some of our ''battle'' off myself, I grinned as I said "This is a lot to clean up..." ~~~ Some timeter I reentered the cottage, finding Leone standing in the kitchen in a daze. Silently approaching the Vampire, I grinned as I threw my arms around her neck, dragging her back into my body and whispering "Got ya~" She flinched for a moment before sighing, melting into my arms. Rubbing my cheek against hers, I quietly asked "What''s got you in a daze, Princess?" Enjoying the way Leone heated up as I said that, I continued nuzzling her cheek, waiting for answer. Sighing again, Leone pouted as she gestured towards the stove, where a slightly charred b of meaty in a pan. Chuckling, I kissed her flushed cheek before walking over, inspecting the various things she had prepared. The meat had a deep char, the seasoning burnt slightly, while the sd had uneven chunks of lettuce, carrots, and other vegetables clumsily chopped and thrown around in some bowls. Finally, Leone had sliced a loaf of bread and buttered each slice, though I could see some of the bread had been pulled apart, and the butter was unevenly spread. However,pared to the disaster that Jahi and the Marquess had thrown together, this was a veritable feast! Turning back to Leone, I gave her a gentle smile as I said "It''s not bad, Leone." Her pout deepened, staring intently at the charred beef before hesitantly asking "I-Is it... really?" Squeezing her soft waist, I quickly pecked her cheek and nodded. "Everyone has to start somewhere; besides, all your mistakes are easily rectified. You can help me tomorrow with breakfast!" She stared at me for a second before smiling, a slight blush on her fair cheeks as she nodded. "Come on then~! Let''s get the others and eat! I''m hungry..." The Vampire blushed again, her eyes flitting to my neck for a moment. However, as much as I would like to give her a ''quick bite'', I don''t think that I could even afford to let her drink from my wrist; not today, anyways. "Sorry... maybe tomorrow, Leone. Gotta let myself heal first..." Nodding, Leone sighed as she pursed her red lips, disappointment visible in her crimson eyes. Chuckling at how she slumped slightly and pouted, I gave her another quick kiss before making my way to our room, wanting to tell Jahi about the food being ready. Entering the room, I turned towards the bath and peeked inside to see Jahi and Anput sitting together in the bath, ncing over their shoulders to look my way. "Leone made dinner." The Jackalkin nodded, while the Demoness shivered slightly as I smiled at her, only to sigh in relief when I closed the door behind me. Going back to Leone, I helped set the table before sitting down, groaning slightly at my aching body. My mana was slowly recovering, since I had used a good bit of it with Jahi earlier... So another bath was in order; both to be clean, and to recuperate some more. Brewing a pot of tea, I poured everyone a cup before sitting down again, waiting for the Demoness to appear. It only took another minute or so, Leone and I watching as she stumbled out of the door, her rippling muscles rolling as she stretched her body. Leone blushed furiously as she saw all the markings on Jahi''s pale blue skin, ncing over at me with a mixture of ''fear'' and lust. As for Anput, she had a blissful smile as she walked behind Jahi, her legs a little shaky before she plopped down into a chair, letting out a sigh. "I think we should stay home tomorrow... rest up before going back in two days." Hearing Jahi speak up before we started eating, we all nced at one another before nodding. "Sounds good to me; a nice,zy day to recover..." Anput nodded, sighing as she leaned back and picked up her fork, stabbing down into the charred beef. "It really does... No stupid history lesson, no holding back in abat ss... just lounging around and sleeping in..." Smirking, I gave her a knowing smile as I said "Sure... ''Sleeping in'' right?" Her cheeks darkened slightly, before Jahiughed as well. "Maybe it would be a good day to... deepen our rtions as wives, hmm?" I grinned at Anput while Jahi smirked at Leone, the two women blushing as we stared at them. Both of them fell silent, slowly picking at their food as they squirmed under our heated gazes. Smirking at one another, Jahi and I chuckled as we returned to watching the two girls, eating the meal Leone prepared for us. Taking a bite from the charred beef, I nodded in appreciation of the vor; while it was slightly bitter, the seasoning was quite well done, and the meat itself was surprisingly moist on the inside. "Leone, it seems like you just need to get better with the outside temperature; the inside is quite juicy!" Still blushing, she nced over at me and nodded, meekly saying "Well, it was a little hard to know if it was done..." Chuckling, I nodded, slowly walking her through how to cook a thing of beef perfectly. As Leone and I talked, Anput was discussing the pros and cons of certain weapons and their required styles of fighting with Jahi, the Demoness nodding as she made counter points to the Jackalkin. The discussions took us well into the night, all four of us sitting at the table and drinking tea as we talked about various things, taking our minds off of what had happened earlier today. After an hour or two of talking, we all eventually retired to our respective rooms, where I found myselfying on Jahi''s chest, staring up at the blue Demoness with love. She wasying on her back, one arm wrapped around my waist while the other supported her head. "So you''re never going to ''let me escape'' huh?" Jahi was staring down at with mirth filled eyes, and I chuckled as well. "Are you going to try?" Giving her a dangerous smile, I met her golden eyes as she shook her head, matching my smile. ? "Nope, and you''re not escaping me either, little puppy~!" --- So the next two chapters will be Jahi x Leone and Anput x Kat, so look forwards to that. Besides that, since we''re justing off an action packed couple of chapters, I''m going to bnce it out with some more slice-of-life chapters, though who knows if I''ll stick by that, what with the Academy and all... Anyways, thank you all so much for everything so far, and if this chapter seems a little... worse than normal, it''s cause today was a long, long day and I knew I could get a chill chapter out, but yeah... --- Chapter 134 133: Two Puppies* The next day came by quickly enough, with Jahi and I saving ourselves from indulging one another so that we may better enjoy the love we were going to give the other two. However, I still found myself in myrge blue Demoness''p, my lips wrapped around her shaft as I ''cleaned'' her off in the bath. Jahr was gently stroking my ears, enjoying how I desperately sucked on her cock and fondled her balls, only to grunt as she came into my throat. Pulling me off her dick, I whined slightly as I watched her throbbing erection move away, pouting at her. Grinning at me, she ruffled my ears before saying "If we start now, I don''t think we''ll finish before noon... and we have two women waiting on us..." Sighing, I nodded, standing up and stretching out my body, enjoying the way Jahi had to drag her gaze away from me. Smirking at her, I helped dry her off before dressing her, asking "What are you going to do with Leone?" Pursing her lips, Jahi stared at the ceiling before saying "I was going to take her to this library I found, but..." Shaking her head, she smirked at me as she whispered "Honestly, I kinda just want to stay in... enjoy each otherspany before getting a little more intimate~" Rolling my eyes, I said "You better take her out eventually." Nodding, she gave my butt a quick squeeze before exiting the bath, smirking at me from over her shoulder as she said "Enjoy yourself, Kat~ Anput''s likely pent up!" Watching her exit our room, I shrugged before drying and dressing myself, making my way out to the kitchen. Leone was, once again, trying to cook; I say trying because Jahi was currently standing behind her, her arms wrapped around the Vampire''s waist as she whispered things to her. Considering how crimson her cheeks were, I could only chuckle as I imagined what our Demoness was whispering into her ears. As for Anput, she was lounging on the sofa, a book in hand... Wait... Frowning, I approached the Jackalkin, leaning over her as I asked "Wait, you know how to read?" She turned to stare at me, her obsidian eyes narrowed as she sighed. Grinning at her, I leaned closer and read the title, making me chuckle. Anput was reading ''How an Angel Plundered a Demoness'' Garden''... A smut book... Rolling her eyes at me, she closed the novel and put it on the table, getting up and stretching her lithe body. Feeling me staring at her, Anput nced over before shrugging, moving over to the table. Breakfast was rather silent, as Leone was pulled onto Jahi''sp, shuddering as the Demoness nuzzled into her. As for Anput and I, we both swiftly ate our meals before she got up, grabbed my wrist, and dragged me away. "We''re off, so enjoy yourselves!" Jahi chuckled as Anput said that, while I stared at the Jackalkin''s back as she led me towards her room. Entering her room, I looked around to see a rtively spartan living space; she had a few more smut novelsying about, her clothes were folded and put away neatly, but... There was nothing else in her room. Plopping onto her bed, Anput grinned at me before shrugging off her thin cloth, revealing her small yet perky breasts and arge pair of balls. However, like most canines, her cock was currently sheathed inside herself, however... As I shrugged my dress off my shoulders, revealing my ownrge breasts, her cock peeked out, a long, pink fleshy shaft glistening in the dim light of her room. What caught my attention wasn''t its length, not its arrow head like tip, nor the giant, pulsing knot at the base... Instead, it was the scent. Anput''s citrusy scent was always something I had noticed, but now... My head grew light as her smell wafted around the room, and the Jackalkin smirked at me as she stared down at my trickling cunt. "Who knew you''d react that much to my pheromones..." My knees started shaking slightly, and I barely managed to stutter out "P-Pheromones?" Chuckling, she said "Yup~ All canine beastkin have pheromones that can... induce a heat in others. And since I really desire you..." She gestured towards herrge knot, grinning as she said "Instinctually, I''m releasing them to get you prepared to receive my seed and bear me children." I shuddered as another wave of citrus scent hit my nose, making my knees buckle. Dropping to the ground, I stared intently at her cock, wondering how it would feel inside me... "So...e here." Gulping, I crawled over to her, only to yelp as she lifted me onto her bed. Staring down at me, she licked her lips as she gestured to my neck. "Since you don''t seem to know this about yourself, right here-" Her finger gently prodded a spot on my neck, and I shuddered again as a warmth spread through me. "Is your primary pheromonal nd, and should I bite into it..." Her grin widened as she pressed her body against mine, making my head spin as her scent washed over me. "I can inject my own pheromones into you, marking you as mine. My mate. My woman. For those not of beast blood, they won''t notice a change, but..." She licked my neck, specifically where she had just informed me that I had a nd only canines had, making me moan gently. "So... can I? Can I mark you?" Her eyes glowed silver, and I bit my lip, staring up at her. I was bound to Jahi''s soul, and Leone had also marked me a few nights ago... Nodding, I moaned as Anput mmed her lips against mine, desperately kissing me. Her tongue coiled around mine, and her citrusy taste flooded my mouth. Paired with her throbbing erection that pressed against my stomach... Well, I was drenched, waiting for her to insert herself into me. Continuing to kiss me, Anput started gently nibbling on my lower lip while her hands went to my waist and breasts, pulling me into her and groping me. Her hands were soft, and I moaned hard as more of her scent entered my nose, enjoying how she pressed herself down onto me. It felt natural. After getting a sufficient taste of me, she grinned before licking my neck, her slightly raspy tongue gliding over my skin. Seeing her bare her teeth, I found myselfparing her fangs to Leone''s noting that Leone''s were longer and straighter, whereas Anput''s were curved. However, I gasped as she sank them into my neck, pumping something warm into my body. If before I had felt like her scent was potent... Well, now it was everywhere, and it wrapped around my body like a warm nket. Pulling away, she grinned at me before licking my neck again, whispering "You''re mine now..." Enjoying her possessiveness, I yelped again as she flipped me over, pushing my chest into the bed. Kneeling behind me, Anput pped her cock against my ass, making me moan slightly at her searing heat. "Are you ready?" I nodded, arching my body slightly to present myself better to her, making the Jackalkin grin more. Grabbing my waist, she guided her tip into my cunt, making me moan as she slowly entered me. Her shaft wasn''t as thick as the others, but as she reached deeper and deeper I realized that it permeated my pussy with a heat neither could match, and her tip easily pried my cervix open. Filling my womb, I moaned again as her knot pped against my lower lips, Anput staring down at me with narrowed eyes. Taking my waist in both hands, she swallowed slightly before pulling herself out, making me whine as her cock left my pussy feeling empty. However, she mmed herself back inside a momentter, both of us moaning loudly at that. Pressing herself over my back, my eyes went wide as both her scent and warmth wrapped around me again, pleasure flooding my system. Licking my cheek, Anput started humping my ass, her cock gouging out my pussy as she desperately thrust into me. Her knot audibly pped against my moist lips, while her thighs hit mine. However, what really aroused me was her licking, and how she was mounting me. It felt primal, but also... Right. Jahi had done the same thing before, but this... Anput whispered "You''re enjoying this a lot... your pheromones are going wild..." Her eyes were hazy, and I moaned in response as she pulled me closer, her cock mming into my womb. Resuming her licking of my cheek, we both lost ourselves to the others scent and body, with Anput holding me as tight as she could. We were both quiet, the only noises escaping our lips being the moans as she took me. I felt like I was intoxicated; her citrus scent had numbed my mind so much that the only thing I could think about was her cock inside me, and making my mate happy with my body. I was her mate, and as such... My pussy mped down on her cock, and she moaned loudly before burying her face into my neck, her rough tongue gliding over my nds. Biting the sheets, I moaned as I came, my cunt writhing around her shaft, only to scream as she slid her knot inside me. Once herrge knot was inside, my mind nked as semen flooded my womb, her cock pouring it out relentlessly inside me. We both panted, Anput''s tongue lolling out on the side of her mouth as she came, her cock throbbing as she bred me. She came and came, time slowly passing as she unloaded her knot inside of me, my womb bloating slightly to fit everything inside me. Shuddering, she finally got up off of me, before pushing my ass away from her, trying to pull her knot out of my cunt. Pleasure flooded my mind again as she yanked herself free, allowing therge buildup of her seed to flow freely out of my gaping cunt. Copsing beside me, Anput panted as she pulled me into her arms, burying my face into her chest. As more of her scent entered my nose, I gradually passed out, exhausted by fulfilled by that single round. Chapter 135 134: Bloody Princess* Jahi PoV Watching as Anput dragged Kat towards her room, I grinned down at the Vampire in my arms, licking my lips as I whispered "Are you ready?" Enjoying the way she squirmed around on myp, trying to getfortable as my cock pressed into her soft ass, I leaned down and kissed her neck, chuckling as she shivered. "Let''s go~" Lifting her into my arms, I grinned down at the squirming princess, enjoying how she reluctantly surrendered herself to me as she pouted up at me. Leaning down, I took her plump lips and thrust my tongue inside, marveling at her cinnamon lick taste. Kicking open my door, I tossed her onto my bed, not giving her a moment to steady herself as Iid on top of her, my hands molding her ass and breasts into various shapes. She moaned desperately under me, before yelping as I tore her loose dress off, grinning as I stared down at her tworge, plump breasts. They weren''t as big as Kat''s, but... Pinching and twisting her nipples, I grinned at her as I lowered my head,tching onto one. Leone moaned harder at that, her crimson eyes focused on me as I suckled on her tit. Getting a good enough taste, I pulled away and tossed off my own clothes, grinning as I saw her stare down at my cock. Following her gaze, my grin stiffened for a moment as I took in her sheer size, before shrugging. Laying my shaft on top of hers, I leaned back down onto her soft body, marveling at how I sunk into her before I started rubbing our cocks together, chuckling at her moans. We both knew who was going to top; for Leone, her cock was merely another way for me to send her spiraling deeper into pleasure while I used her for my own pleasure. Grinding my cock against hers, I continued kissing the Vampire, enjoying the way she moaned into my mouth. Eventually she shuddered, and I felt a warm, sticky liquid cover my stomach and breasts, making me chuckle. She was panting under me, her face crimson as she swiftly tried to bring her hands up, only to yelp as I pinned them to the bed under us. "No no no Leone~! I want to see your face as I take you~!" Leone shuddered, her crimson eyes radiating embarrassment and lust as she stared up at me. Leaning back down, I kissed her plump lips again before guiding my cock towards her wet cunt, enjoying the way she trembled as my tip pressed against her lips. "Ready?" Seeing her nod, I gently pushed myself into her wet folds, making the Vampire girl moan as she squirmed under me. Slowly going deeper and deeper into her cunt, I eventually tore past her hymen, flinching as I heard her let out a pained scream. Giving her a few moments to rest, I hugged her close to me, gently stroking her trembling back as she let out another cry. Remaining motionless, I stared down at her in worry as she panted, her jaw clenched as she held back another scream. Leaning down, I peppered her face with kiss, trying my hardest to distract her from her pain. She stared up at me with watery eyes, desperately kissing me back as she wrapped her legs around my waist. After another minute of waiting, I pulled away and stared down at her, tentatively asking "Can I..?" Leone nodded, and I started pushing myself deeper into soft, wriggling folds. She dug her nails into my back, letting out a slight whimper as I managed to almost insert myselfpletely inside her. My tip scraped across her cervix, and my eyes widened as I felt it give way. Letting out another scream, Leone gradually epted the full length of my cock, making me grunt as her pussy mped down on my shaft, her folds massaging my penis. I remained motionless, allowing her to limate to taking my entire length, my heart mixed as I found myself both worried and aroused at her desperate panting. It was hard to not just... Start pounding forwards, to use her solely for my pleasure and enjoy the way her face twists in agony as I mercilessly fucked her... However, I held myself back since Leone wasn''t like Kat; she didn''t seem to be enjoying the pain... Giving her another few moments, I leaned down and whispered "Are you okay?" Leone bit her lip before nodding, letting out a pained moan as I pulled out of her tight cunt. Leaving just my tip inside, I slowly reentered, the Vampire trembling in my arms as I sheathed myself back into her womb. Staring up at me timidly, Leone hesitantly asked "C-Can I t-take a bite..?" Pursing my lips, I buried myselfpletely inside of her before asking "Can you just bite my lip and drink from that?" I wasn''t to fond of the idea of Leone sinking her fangs into me at all, but... If I could give her blood while we kissed... Well, that would be alright. Leone nodded, making me smile as I leaned back down, pressing our lips together. The warmth of her body, paired with her cinnamon taste, made me feel cozy as I started slowly thrusting into her. Her fangs slid into my lower lip, making me flinch for a moment before enjoying the heat that permeated my head as she sucked on my lip. Wrapping my arms around her soft body, I lifted her into me, relishing in her moans as I reached deeper than before, my tip pushing her womb further into her body. Her cock pulsed against my stomach, spraying another warm load between us. Seeing her cheeks redden again at that, I grinned at her as I started thrusting faster, marveling at her tightness. Her folds wriggled around my cock, and she moaned loudly into my mouth as her cunt mped down, spraying ejacte against my thighs. Kissing her, I found that her cinnamon taste paired quite well with the iron tang of blood, so I had no qualms digging my tongue deeper into her blood coated mouth, allowing her to continue sucking on my bleeding lip. Our breasts pressed together as I thrust forwards, and I enjoyed how her nipples rubbed against mine as I moved above her. "J-Jahi~! J-Just li-like that~!" Leone moaned under me, panting as I started mming into the top of her womb. Her pussy mped down on my shaft again, her folds massaging my cock as she tried to milk me for my seed. Letting my lips go, she leaned back into the bed, her eyes screwed shut as she moaned over and over again, her face slowly going ck with pleasure as I sped up. Feeling myself gradually reaching my climax, I made sure to bring her to the edge, wanting to cum inside her as she came from my cock. To help that, I roughly groped herrge tits, pinching and squeezing her hard nipples and making her moan more. Her cunt grew tighter and tighter, and after another few thrusts my self restraint vanished, thus... "J-JAHI~!" Leone screamed my name as I pummeled into her womb, my hips mming into hers as I took her deep. She came from her cunt and her cock, anotherrge load spraying between our breasts as I continued to hammer her tight cunt. Feeling her arms and legs wrap around me tighter, I grunted as I buried my cock deep into her womb, my balls clenching as unloaded my seed into her. Panting, I blinked a few times as euphoria flooded my system, my cock spraying rope after rope of cum deep into my Vampire wives womb. Her folds desperately milked my cock for more of my milk, which my body dly gave to my needy wife, filling her to the brim with my seed. After I finished cumming deep inside her, I pulled out and stared down at her gaping cunt, arge river of white liquid pouring out of her, all while her balls clenched again, coating her giant tits with another fresh dose of her own cum. Chuckling at that, I gripped her warm shaft and gently stroked her cock, making her gasp. Leone''s face was utterly ck, her tongue sticking out the side of her plump lips as she dragged in shaky breaths, her body trembling from the aftereffects of her orgasms. Grinning sadistically at her, I started pumping my hand over her slick shaft, swiftly making her cum on herself again. Her gasps were enjoyable, and I was tempted to bring her to the edge again when she muttered "P-Pleash... n-no... more..." Sighing, I released her and copsed on the bed beside her, my own cock still hard as she nuzzled into my side, her soft body pressing against me. Sighing again, I justid my arm around her shoulder, letting her fall asleep. Staring at my own raging erection, I wondered if I could swaddle Leone in some nkets and just sneak into Anput''s room... Thinking of my two puppies mating, I grinned before dropping a hand lower, pleasuring myself to that thought. Chapter 136 135: Back To The Academy Kat PoV Waking up feeling achy, I rolled to my side, only to feel someone pull me back into their arms. ncing back, I saw Anput''s nude figure, making me smile as I recalledst night. Her passion and heat had spread easily into me, and a few minutes after the first round we went again, her citrus pheromones permeating my body as we mated. However, I also recalled something that made my smile freeze slightly; Jahi had peered around the door framest night, watching over us as Anput took me. She had seemed conflicted on whether or not to join in, only to shiver as I red at her through my heated haze; we had promised to let each woman get her own taste before doing anything as a group. So after seeing my re, the tall, insatiable Demoness had scurried away, likely to go crawling back into bed with our Vampiric Princess. Anput grumbled again as I tried to get up, her eyes blearily opening as she sat up, with me still in her arms. Letting out arge yawn, she looked over at me in mild confusion, asking "W-Why... are you here..?" Raising a brow, I asked "Anput, did you thinkst night was a dream?" She hesitantly nodded, before her eyes widened. "W-Wait, we really..?" I nodded again, staring at her with a small frown. Her eyes widened even more, before her nose twitched cutely as she sniffed the air. Looking down at herself, before staring at my neck, a giant grin appearing on her face. Launching herself forwards, Anput nuzzled her face against my neck, making me chuckle as I returned her hug. However, when I felt her trying to lower her hands from my shoulders to my chest, I pushed her away and red at her, making her pout. "Can we not..?" Gesturing towards the bed, I chuckled as hope entered her eyes, only to pout more as I shook my head. "Anput, I don''t think you are physically capable of a... quick session. We need to get ready to go back to the Academy..." She sighed before nodding, stretching out her lithe muscles before standing up. "Fine... hah..." Sighing again, she moved to her dresser and started sorting through her clothes, throwing on a deep scarlet outfit. Watching as she dressed, I asked "Will you ever wear something less revealing than that?" Looking her over, I frowned slightly at the amount of skin she was showing; her scarlet cloth covered her chest, while a slightly brighter red skirt fell to just past her knees; her entire midriff and shoulder were bare, inviting much unwanted attention to my mate. She just shrugged, saying "I''m mostfortable in this, but if it bothers you or Jahi, I''m sure I can find something from the Empire to wear. It doesn''t matter to me." Pursing my lips, I grinned as I said "Well, you just gave me an excuse to drag Jahi AND you out shopping~!" She groaned slightly before sighing, saying "Well, I''m sure it''ll be worth the boredom..." ring at her, I got to my feet and healed myself before exiting, the Jackalkin walking behind me. She continued towards the kitchen, where Leone stood once again over the stove, her lips pursed as she looked between a pile of oats and a pile of raisins. Chuckling, I quickly entered our room, only to see Jahiying on the bed, a book in hand. Ignoring her for a moment, I stripped and entered the bath, only for her to follow me inside. Wrapping her arms around my waist, I sighed as I felt something poking me, as well as the Demoness'' warm breath as she whispered sweet nothings into my ears. ~~~ After a quick ''spar'', Jahi and I entered the kitchen, where four bowls of thick oatmeal awaited us. Sitting down, we all started to eat before Leone nced over at Jahi and I, biting her lower lip. Holding out my arm, I let out a small gasp as her fangs slid into my flesh, only to raise a brow as she pulled away a momentter. "It... tastes different. More... citrusy." Anput smirked at that, while Jahi chuckled. "I marked her, that''s why; she has a little of my pheromones in her blood now." Leone frowned at Anput before shrugging, sinking her fangs back into my wrist. After she finished drinking, and we all finished eating, we grabbed our things and made our way towards the Academy, Jahi and Anput sighing in reluctance as therge building came into view. Entering, we made our way to Vice-Headmaster Bijilo''s lecture hall, where the old man was leaning against his podium and reading from a giant tome. Seeing us enter, he nodded before asking "Where were you four yesterday?" Jahi stepped forwards, nodding to him before saying "A bad encounter down in Zhu''Rong... all four of us got scraped up good..." Vice-Headmaster Bijilo was about to speak when we heard someone scoff behind us. Turning, we all frowned as Jillian Sariel entered, a smirk on her face as she said "What, did the goblins get you?" Smiling over at her, Jahi shook her head as she raised a scale, saying "No, instead we fought a crazy man who happened to turn himself into a Draconas." The Vice-Headmasters eyes went wide, and he approached Jahi, his hands shaking as he pointed at the scale. "I-Is that really..?" Smirking at Jillian, Jahi nodded, handing it to him. "You''d know better, right sir? Is this not the scale of a Draconas?" He was staring at the scale in wonder, tracing the small runes around before nodding. "C-Could I buy this from you?!" Watching as Jillian bit her lips in anger, Jahi grinned before turning towards the Vice-Headmaster, gesturing for Leone to stand beside her. "Depends on your price sir!" "5 tinums!" ncing over at Leone, who briefly pursed her lips before shaking her head, Jahi just stared at the Vice-Headmaster, who shouted "Fine! 10 and a half! That''s as high as I can go!" Seeing Leone nod, Jahi grinned widely at the older man, holding her hand out and saying "Deal! A pleasure, sir!" He red at her for a moment before staring at the scale, a wide grin on his face. "I''ll go write the banknote now..." Scurrying over to his desk, we watched as he ced the scale into a container, dozens of runes ring as he closed the lid, before scribbling down the amount and signature on arge sheet of paper. Handing it to Jahi, she grinned at it before handing it to me, whispering "Money is not a problem now~!" I nodded; like most others media, the conversion rate was 1:100 from copper to silver, then to gold, then to tinum. And from what I had seen, one gold was what a normal family made in a month, meaning... Well, we really, really didn''t have to worry about money... If we were a normal family. Which... Sighing, I gently ced the banknote in my bag, shaking my head as I nced over at Leone. With her taking to alchemy, I expected that amount to slowly drain away when she started practicing. Besides, who knows if either Anput or Jahi will take to some kind of trade; considering their love of weaponry, I could imagine them trying their hands at smithing. As for me, my desired trade was, surprisingly, rtively inexpensive; enchanting items required one''s mana and the item they are enchanting to be capable of withstanding that mana. There were no gems needed to power it, nor some other form of energy only a special material could provide; just the enchanters mana. Of course, if you want to create a masterpiece, like the Empress'' special Gold, you would need to chug down mana potions and maybe even utilize some way to ''share'' mana with someone to create your enchantments. Personally, I was excited to start; daggers were rtively inexpensive, and I had a few ideas for them as well... Recalling the time I read a book where a woman used dozens of knives which levitated behind her, I desperately wanted to recreate that; it seemed so badass to have control over so many sharp des... And the amount of blood I could spill with that... Holding back a grin, I made my way to my seat with Leone, listening to Jahi say "Well then, was there anything else, Duchess Sariel?" ncing back, we watched as the Elf sneered at Jahi, letting out a huff before storming over to her seat. Jahi just chuckled before following behind us, Anput smirking as she watched Jillian move away. Taking our seats, we talked to Draka and her harem as they entered, getting caught up on what we missed from yesterday. It wasn''t much; we went over the basics of how runes work together to create spells, something Leone and I knew very well due to both self study and our teachers. Thinking of Kolia, I wondered if she got those materials she needed, and whether or not her sister, Liako, would be relieved when we showed up to ss... Chapter 137 136: Kolia Magic Theory and History went by rtively smoothly; it took us a few minutes to catch up with what we missed, as well as groaning when we were told we would still need toplete the required coursework that Vice-Headmaster Bijilo and Professor Xiant gave the rest of the ss yesterday. Besides the coursework, which made Anput slump down into her desk in defeat, Professor Xiant also had us participate in a discussion on the easter border of the Empire; what thend was like, how the Asmodia''s ruled it, and how the culture was different therepared to here. Many students seemed interested in that; many couldn''t believe that, in all, the popce of March Asmodia was more of a warrior people than anything else, and that the main goods produced and sold in Phobos were made from steel, and usually rather pointy... Compared to the more calm lives of those in the Capital, some of the students were surprised to hear that, while others seemed bored by the entire ss. When the bell rang everyone got up, wanting to go to Combat ss; for almost all of us, it was the favorite ss by far. We got to stretch our muscles, train, and spar against one another or our teachers. As we made our way through the long halls of the Academy, I nced briefly over my shoulder to see Jillian ring at Jahi, grinding her teeth as she stalked behind us, her face murderous. "Jahi, did you absolutely need to piss her off?" The Demoness responsible grinned down at me, nodding. "Yup. Completely and utterly necessary." Sighing, I decided to not pursue that topic, instead following behind Jahi as she entered the Training Grounds, where, like always, Thorn, Hawn, and Liako waited for us, therge Bearkin and thin Elf talking while Liako meditated. However, unlike before, sitting besides her sister was Kolia, the thin tattooed woman smirking as she whispered something to Liako, who frowned before ncing over at Kolia. Seeing us enter, Kolia stood up and approached us, grinning as she greeted us. "Hey Jahi~! Mind if I borrow Kat for today? Wanted to ask her a few questions and the like!" Before Jahi could respond, Liako sighed as she stood behind her sister, ring at her before saying "Sister, we talked about this; if you wish to question Miss Zara, do so after ss is over. Please." Pursing her lips, Kolia looked towards the caverns ceiling with a contemtive look, before her slitted green eyes glowed with mirth as she shook her head, saying "Nope~ Come on Kat!" Grabbing my wrist, Kolia led me towards the side of the grounds, chuckling as she felt Liako''s re on her back. As for Jahi, she just shrugged when I looked at her, knowing and trusting Kolia enough to let me go with her. Everyone else in the ss seemed confused as I was dragged away, with Jillian frowning the most as she stared at me, her eyes narrowed as they flickered between Kolia and I. Finding a nice spot on the edge of the sandy pit, Kolia sat down and gestured for me to do the same. Sitting opposite her, I tilted my head in confusion as she smiled at me, waiting to hear what she wanted to do. "Two things; I wanted to ask you two things. The first is about what I found back in the library in the Asmodia Estate. Have you and Jahi given it some more thought?" Frowning, I sifted through my memories before recalling her asking if we wanted to receive a tattoo that would bind our mana together, allowing us to draw on the others mana, and potentially their element as well. Pursing my lips, I shook my head, saying "We honestly haven''t thought of it yet; I''ll talk to her about it when we return home today. Oh, and before you continue, a question..." Kolia nodded, before looking down at her snake tattoo as I gestured to it. "How exactly do I inscribe my flesh with ritual circles and runes like you have? I''ve had a few ideas on runes and circles that would make battles much easier, but... Well, I know it''s possible to do alone, just... not how to do it." Still staring at her snake, Kolia nodded as she said "It''s not really that difficult... in theory. All you need to do is to create the rune or ritual circle from your mana, like normal, and then press it INTO your flesh. That''s where it differs from theory; sounds easy, but it hurts like hell." Chuckling, she traced the coiling snake on her arm, saying "This here felt like someone was not only branding my arm and pulling apart my muscles, but also burning the nerves inside my arm; that''s also because of the element I used, being fire and wind for Lightning." "So the element causes different... sensations as you apply the rune?" Nodding, she smiled at me as she said "For wind, it''ll be a mixture of a sharp, biting needles prickling your arm and a deep chill. I can only imagine what Ice would feel like..." Shivering slightly, she sighed before looking at her other arm, which had dozens of circles and runes covering her pale skin. "If you mess up the application, it leaves not a tattoo, but a scar, like this." Tracing over a simple rune, I frowned at the dark red flesh, which was slightly wrinkly and dry. "This is just a basic fire rune, which would''ve helped me control my fire mana better... I wasn''t expecting to feel like someone was branding me, so my concentration slipped, resulting in a failure. If you really want to try your hand at giving yourself runic tattoos, I''d suggest you try enchanting things first; get a feel for applying mana onto something other than your flesh." I nodded, saying "I was going to get into enchanting anyways, but it seems like I''ll need to really take it seriously..." Grinning at me, Kolia thumped her modest chest twice, saying "You''re looking at your future teacher than; I teach Enchanting I - IV, Basics of Wind, Basics of Fire, Basics of Lightning... and a bunch of other sses. Hah..." Going from enthusiastic to slightly depressed, Kolia slumped her shoulders as she stared at the ground, only to re at me as I tried to hold back a chuckle. "Hey! Did you justugh at me?" Wiping any emotion from my face, I shook my head, letting out a steady "No Ma''am." Narrowing her green slitted eyes, Kolia stared at me before shrugging. "Alright, mini lesson on tattoo''s is now over. So, my other question..." Leaning forwards, she grinned at me, looking like a shady merchant who just secured a big deal, before asking "Finally got your Ice magic right? Lemme see it!" Rolling my eyes at how childish she looked, I held out my hand and summoned a sphere of ice, watching as Kolia''s features split from her grin. "Oooh~!" Reaching forwards, she nodded as she tapped on the ice, before gently lifting it form my hands. Coating her hands in a thinyer of mes, she watched in fascination as it melted, before looking back up at me. "Interesting... can you create a block a foot away from us?" Confused, I nodded and created what she wanted, keeping my hand outstretched as she said "Keep channeling mana into it." Approaching the block, she coated her finger in me before pressing it against the ice, trying to melt it. Unlike before, where the sphere melted almost instantly, the block barely changed, vapor rolling off its side where a thin divot appeared. However, as my mana continued to push into the cube, the divot filled back up, restoring the block to itsplete state. "Alright! You can stop..." Returning to sit opposite of me, Kolia pulled out a notepad and pen from her pocket, scribbling down some notes before saying "Like I told you before,bination magic is rare, but of the four, ice is the rarest, with nature being just behind it. Currently, besides Duchess ki and her daughter, you are the only Ice Mage in the Empire." I nodded, only to continue listening as she went on, still scribbling notes.. "Forparison, Lightning Magic is the mostmon; Countess Haniel has it, I have it, and some other professors and Nobels have it. We know the reasons; fire is the mostmon basic element, by far, followed by wind and earth, then water. However, we don''t know why that is; why is fire somon, and why is water... not rare, but... ah, I guess ''umon'' works..." Pursing her lips, Kolia stared down at her notepad before nodding, cing the notepad back into her robes. "It''s something that I''ve been looking into for a half decade now, and yet I''ve found little. I mean, all of the Empress'' family has fire of some kind; be it pure Fire, Lightning, or Metal, they all have it. So is it because the Empire has ab abundance of Fire Mana? I mean, there are numerous volcanoes and mountains on ournd..." Frowning, Kolia stared at the ground, only to gasp before looking apologetically up at me. "Sorry; didn''t mean to ramble. Ahem... Anyways, thank you; I was just curious to see what Ice magic is like..." Getting up, she dusted off her robes before nodding at me. "Well, get back to ss; my sister is still ring daggers at me, so I should make myself scarce~! Bye~!" Watching as she ran off, I chuckled before returning to the group, ready for another day at the Academy to conclude... Chapter 138 137: Refining New And Old Skills After a grueling, yet fulfilling Combat ss, we were back home, Jahi and Anput already out back sparing while Leone and I sat down together at the table. In front of us was a book; ''The Beginner''s Guide to Enchanting'', given to me by Kolia before Combat ss had concluded. Seeing the book, Leone disyed in interest in it as well; after all, enchanting was a form of exercise for your mana control, as well as a good way to develop new spells and improve upon the old. Currently, we had a few cloths in front of us; I wanted to try and create something that, back at the Estate, had helped me so much. That cloth that could manage to clean most things with just one wipe. Leaning forwards, I diligently read each line of text in the book, gradually getting a good idea on how exactly one enchants an item. It sounds simple enough; just create the rune or ritual circle with mana in the air, then ''push'' it onto the item. However, you need to be able to keep the rune or ritual circle even the entire time, you need to allow your mana to seep into the item, and you need deep concentration. Again, it sounds simple enough, but in practice it was proving to be rather annoying to do. Leone and I both had a cloth in front of us, and we were going for the same basic utility enchantment. Raising our hands, we created the runes needed for the enchantment, pushing our mana gently out of our bodies and shaping the runes. Then we guided the sequence down onto the cloth, before ''pushing'' our mana into the fabric, trying to bind the mana to the small cloth. Doing so was akin to tying two loose strings together in a tight knot; once you knew how to do it, it was easy; but before that, it was sloppy, ugly, and simply didn''t work. Gritting my teeth, I frowned for a moment as the mana shredded the small cloth, making me sigh before grabbing another one. They were all basic cloths, cut from arger sheet that we didn''t need. That meant we were free to mess up as much as we wanted. Leone also let out a groan, staring down at the remaining embers that was her cloth. Looking at one another, we gave each other a wry grin before grabbing the next cloth, attempting it again. It took me a few more tries, but eventually I managed to sessfully enchant the cloth, making me let out a relieved sigh. [Achievement Unlocked! First Enchantment] [First Enchantment: You enchanted your first item! Congrattions, and keep on trying! Reward: 2 Stat Points, Skill [Enchanter (Novice)]] [[Enchanter (Novice)]: It is slightly easier to enchant items] Grinning to myself, I turned to watch Leone fail again, her face pulled into a frown. "I managed to tattoo myself, but I can''t enchant a cloth!?" She sighed in annoyance, hanging her head slightly, only to stiffen as I slid behind her. Wrapping my arms around her, I nuzzled my cheek against hers as I whispered "You can do it Leone. I believe in you~!" Gently blowing into her ear, I chuckled as she turned crimson, before nodding a few times. Timidly reaching for another cloth, I observed her as she started over again, this time meticulously and steadily progressing though the process. Enjoying her warmth, I draped myself over her and watched on, making sure to try not to disturb her too much... Which was rather hard, as every time I moved myself behind her my breasts pressed into her back, making the Vampire flinch. Seeing her shuffling around in front of me, I grinned before remaining stationary, as she had reached the harder part of the enchanting process. While she was going through that, I reviewed my rewards from the fight against Lord Pele; specifically, therge umtion of experience, stat and skill points, as well as the achievement and skill I gained. Allocating the stat points, I felt a rush of energy flow through my veins, making me grin more. [Katherine Zara - Dogkin Age - 6 Level 24 - (405,399 / 1,121,931) Stats: Str - 36 Con - 40 Agi - 34 -> 38 Dex - 34 -> 38 Cha - 38 Wis - 35 -> 38 Int - 35 -> 38] Then there was [Hunter], which would certainlye in handy considering howrge Drakes could get... At least, based on the w Kolia showed me in passing when she gave me the Enchanting Book. Nodding to myself, I grinned at Leone and kissed her crimson cheek as her runes red on the cloth, sessfully enchanting it. "Good job~!" Shivering in my arms, Leone gulped before tentatively asking "C-Can I have a bite..?" Smirking at her, I licked her neck before nodding, only to giggle as she flipped over on top of me, her fangs sinking deep into my neck. Noticing that it was on the opposite side as my nd, I could only imagine the feeling of Leone drinking my blood while Anput marked me... Moaning loudly as something else entered me, Leone and I lost ourselves quickly to lust, as a mini celebration ofpleting our first enchantment. ~~~ Jahi PoV Grinning down at Anput as she scooped her de back up, I twirled my own before gesturing for her to start. "Come on now, you can do better puppy~!" Shivering at that, she red at me before dashing forwards, her speed impressing me for a moment as I barely managed to raise my wooden practice de up to block her thrust. Pushing her back, I capitalized on her uneven footing by swinging the de towards her head, making the Jackalkin grunt as she hurriedly blocked it. Our wooden des thunked loudly against one another, and Anput let out a strained yell as she desperately tried to push my de away. Watching her intently, I was prepared for her to slip out from under the de, a grin on her face as she spun into me, the edge of her sword attempting to sh over my midriff. Lifting my de slightly, I blocked her sh before pushing her away again, grinning at her. "Not bad... but-!" Lunging forwards, I thrust my tip towards her exposed side, utilizing her parry to bring myself even closer. Catching her arm as she tried to stab at me again, I yanked her into my body, swiftly sping my other hand around her throat. Staring down at her with a grin, I leaned down and kissed her, surprising the woman. She tried to escape my grasp, but I held her still, eagerly exploring her mouth. However, Anput had other ideas about this battle, as she nipped my tongue and slipped away when I flinched from the pain. Smirking at her, I could taste a little iron tang inside my mouth, wiping the thin line of blood that leaked from my lips. Healing the small cut on my tongue, I watched as the panting Jackalkin blushed furiously, her eyes slightly hazy as I stepped closer. "I did a little more research on Canine Beastkin..." Leaning down, I chuckled as my Jackalkin wife went slightly ck, her face dark as she panted. "You respond quite... interestingly to your lovers scent when they''re aroused..." Gently wrapping my hands around her cor, I pulled her into me, my grin widening as she fell into my body. "So? How does it feel to lose to me again, Anput~?" My feisty little Jackal was apetitor through and through; to her, a battle was everything, both her honor and respect demanded she fight. By beating her, I firmly ced myself as her... Not owner... Pack Leader? Shrugging, I applied a little more force around her neck, lightly cutting off her air flow. She blushed more as I choked her, making my heart race as I discovered something new about her... "Come on girl... answer me." She clung to my body, her breath hot on my skin as I loomed over her. "J... J-Jahi..." "Hmm~?" Tilting my head, I continued to stare at her, waiting. Her eyes were clouded over with lust, and I smirked at her as she murmured "I... I''m y-your... f-faithful pet..." Nodding, I rewarded her with a kiss, pushing her down onto the sandy ground. Losing myself swiftly to her citrusy taste, I found my control slipping, and I wanted nothing more than to- "P-Pleash~! T-Take me~!" With the remaining moments of rity I had, I tore our clothes off and did as my wife said, my hands tightening around her surprisingly dainty neck. While I indulged myself in her body, I could tell Kat was doing something simr, both from the loud moans echoing form the cottage as well as from our soul bond, her arousal flooding into me as well. Grinning to myself, I wondered how such a perfect woman for me like her managed to just so happen to be born as my wife. The fates truly work in such mysterious ways... Chapter 139 138: More Enchanting Practice Kat PoV The next two days flew by, with us learning very little; Vice-Headmaster Bijilo went over the fundamentals of most sequence crafting, reviewing the runguage we use for our spells and their origin, while Professor Xiant had discussions about the North and West domains, having Draka and Ulysses describe the ces they live. While those sses were uneventful, Combat ss made up for it and then some; Jillian seemed to be really peeved about Jahi''s disy from before, and as a result... Parrying her dagger thrust, I mmed my palm forwards into her modest chest, only to grunt as her leg mmed into my knee, buckling it. Feeling it seize, I had to desperately try to fend off a dozen shes, her dagger a blur as she smirked at me. Her eyes were alight with sadistic glee as I barely managed to block or redirect her blows, trying to regain my footing under her onught. The Elf stabbed her dagger up high only to attempt to sweep my legs out from under me, making me jump backwards to avoid her deceptively strong legs. However, Jillian proved to be rather quick as well; kicking off her other foot, sheunched herself towards me, her dagger aimed at my chest. Surprised by her speed, I barely managed to twist my body so that her wooden dagger scraped against my ribs, making me grunt from the sudden pain. Hearing that, her smirk widened, and she swiftly brought her dagger down towards my shoulder. Trying to block it, I instead found myself stumbling backwards as her foot collided with my stomach, knocking the air from my lungs as I coughed. Resting the edge of the dagger against my throat, Jillian grinned widely down at me, her long ears twitching as she listened to me pant. Dragging in breath, I shakily got back to my feet before bowing, moving towards the weapon rack. It had been thest spar of the day, and I had already faced off against Griselda and another man who used a dagger; his name was Nomi, a Bullkin. I had been... perplexed, seeing such arge, bulky man using a small dagger, however he had surprised me as he controlled his giant frame quite well. Jillian walked behind me, and I could hear the smugness in her tone as she said "Not bad... for amoner." Refusing to give her a reaction, I ced my training dagger on the rack and bowed to her again, my face passive as I said "Thank you for the guidance, Lady Sariel. Good day." The woman narrowed her eyes at me for a moment, and as I briefly met her dark hazel eyes, I saw a mixture of mild anger and lust, making me internally sneer. Ignoring it for now, I made my way back to Jahi and the others, who were staring at me with narrowed eyes as well; Leone was visibly upset that I had gotten ''hurt'', while Jahi and Anput had frustration clearly writ on their features. "Come on; let''s go home." Hearing that, they all frowned before turning around, ignoring me. Gently shaking my head, I followed behind them as we walked, and I took the moment of silence to ask my system a few things. ''So, I''ve always wondered this, but if I had chosen [Evil] and [Duchess], would I have been Jillian''s servant?'' [Very likely, yes. The ''ranks'' were what you were most familiar with, but they would have tranted into whatever country you ended up in. For example, the Tian Dynasty; instead of a Duchess, you would serve an aplished General or Councilor. Again, there are quiet a few people who fit the descriptors given to you in the beginning; an ''alignment'' and a rank are very broad. Another example would be Duchess ki; she falls under neutral. Does that help?] ''Yes, it does... besides that...'' Frowning slightly, I asked ''Why me? What did I do to deserve this extra chance? Was it just... random?'' The system remained silent for a few moments, before answering. [It was random. Remember your Point bnce? You were, at the end of the day, just an average person; nothing extradorinaiy, nothing crazy. You were just another person living life.] Nodding, I fell silent as well, resuming the quiet walk home. Pondering what I had just learned, I was able to bear with the others unhappiness with what had urred, watching as they all made their way to either their rooms or outside. Sighing, I sat down on the couch and ced a piece of cloth before me, returning to practicing my enchanting. After reading more of the book, I found the idea of being an Enchanter more and more appealing. I could make my life much easier via enchantments, both in my day to day life and inbat. The more utilitarian enchantments were much easier to create, so I used them as a way to practice imbuing my mana onto an object. Once I grewfortable enough with that, I''ll attempt to ce an enchantment on my dagger; nothing crazy, just something that lets my mana flow easier over the de, reducing the drain during fights and how lethal it could be. Time slowly passed, and a small pile of enchanted cloths grew beside me. The amount of mana needed to enchant them was surprisingly little, and I had managed to achieve a sess rate of around 2 in every 3 attempts. Of course, it was a basic enchantment, so until I could do it easily, I wasn''t going to attempt to do anything to my dagger. I could rece it easily, sure, but it now had a familiarity that I couldn''t achieve with others; not yet, anyways. The length, weight, and bnce were all things I had memorized at this point; it was second nature to handle the long steel de as I pleased. Grabbing it from the small sheath on the table, I withdrew my dagger and stared at it, admiring my reflection on it''s clear surface. Getting up, I made my way over to the small table that housed our spare whetstones and a small jar of mineral oil. Taking one of my newly enchanted cloths, I set about cleaning my de, making sure it was spotless, well oiled, and that the edge was razor sharp. As I took care of my de, someone sat down beside me. Getting a whiff of the now familiar citrusy scent, I didn''t even look over at Anput as she did the same, running a stone along the edge of her longsword. She remained silent beside me, and we worked swiftly. However, before I could get up to walk away she grabbed my wrist, making me look over at her. Seeing her hard obsidian eyes staring at me, I tilted my head as I waited for her to speak. The Jackalkin pursed her lips before sighing, asking "Did you really need to let Jillian get that many hits in?" Shrugging, I replied "Probably not, but it was also useful to attempt to rely on nothing but technique; her style of fighting is different from your precise strikes or Jahi''s heavy blows. She utilizes her legs more than her de, so..." Getting up, Anput gestured towards the yard outside, saying "If you wish to train, thene." Following behind her, we entered therge training yard, cing our real weapons on a rack before grabbing some wooden ones. Moving to stand opposite of one another in the center, we prepared to fight. ~~~ Jahi Pov Sitting on the roof again, I found that I actually quite enjoyed this space; the others only went to the yard in pairs, so usually it was rather quiet and calm up here. Admiring the sun setting over the city, I frowned as I recalled the sight from earlier; seeing Kat get pushed back by that arrogant, insufferable Jillian had resurfaced the fight from days prior, against Lord Pele. Shaking my head, I scoffed as my mind tried to draw thatparison; it was no where near that level of severity. I knew that Kat was stronger then the Elf, but like always, it irked me that I had to watch as she held back. At this point I knew not to even attempt to convince her otherwise; my Dogkin wife was rather good at redirecting conversations, utilizing my lust or anger against me quite efficiently. Realizing that she was going to end up being like mother, I frowned before sighing. I needed that; I know I did, but it didn''t make it easier to swallow knowing that one of my three beautiful wives was adept at ''twisting my arm'' as she pleased. Smirking, I realized that I also had quite the sway over her as well; it has been awhile since I''ve used any ropes, so my little puppy should be wanting for a good... y time. --- Sorry that thesest two chapters have been... Slow. Didn''t want to use the (Extra) chapters I had built up, since I was capable of writing, but I just needed a little break... Still want to upload daily though, for that Win-Win mission... Anyways, hopefully I''ll be back at it again tomorrow! --- Chapter 140 139: Invitation Continuing to watch my two puppies whirling around the training yard, I smiled to myself as I easily lost myself to their beauty. Kat''s fighting style was vicious; her strikes were aimed to maim and inflict severe damage while keeping her opponent alive. Seeing my adorable little murder puppy duck underneath a swipe just tonce her dagger towards Anput''s knee made me chuckle. As for my lithe Jackalkin, I enjoyed the way she twirled away from Kat''s ruthless thrust, her cloth binding fluttering in the light breeze before she shed her sword towards Kat''s ample chest, making the Dogkinlean backwards. Their spar dragged on, both experimenting with different fighting styles; Kat was attempting to put more power into her swings and thrusts, as well as relying more on parries than pure dodges. Anput was also attempting to utilize her legs more, going for low sweeps and kicks instead of attempting to only use her long de. Seeing them trying different styles out, I pursed my lips as I tried to determine if it was a good fit for them; obviously, since this was their first time trying this out they looked a little stiff. However, of the two, I found Kat''s to be better suited for herself; she always tended to disengage from a fight and move to a more advantageous position before reengaging with her opponent. She also needed to rely more on her strenght than just her speed and reflexes; sure, she wasn''t as strong as I was, but when you shed with her you were surprised by the power behind her blows. Meanwhile, as I observed Anput''s new style, I frowned. She seemed extremely ufortable attempting to rely more on kicks or sweeps, her body hesitating as she refrained from shing or stabbing with her sword to instead kick at the ever elusive Kat. They sparred for another half an hour, eventually turning into panting, sweaty messes as they copsed on the ground, wearily smiling at one another. Dropping down onto the sand beside them, I grinned as they both flinched slightly, staring at me in surprise. "Hey puppies~! Did you enjoy your spar~?" Crouching down next to them, my grin widened as Anput looked away while Kat simply titled her head, assuming her stoic face. However, as I leaned forwards and pulled them into my embrace, both women trembled as I brought their noses towards my chest. Anput''s eyes zed over, her tail twitching as she heated up in my arms, while Kat simply nuzzled into my chest, her tail swishing as well. Enjoying the warmth of my two wives, I kept them in my arms before eventually released them, much to Anput''s dismay. Getting back up, I stretched my arms out and grinned down at them, taking Anput''s training de and gesturing towards the open field. shing them an ambiguous smile, I coyly said "Wanna go a few rounds, puppies~? I''m feeling a little pent up~" Anput trembled, while Kat raised a brow at me, only to sigh as she looked over at our olive skinned wife. Watching as Anput panted slightly, her cheeks darker as she stared at me, I rolled my eyes before tossing her her de back, shaking my head slightly as she struggled to catch the training sword. Grabbing a new one, I spun the de around before readying myself for them, a cocky grin on my face as I gestured for them toe at me. Our spars were long and drawn out, the two agility based fighters attempting tounch pincer attacks on me, their des shing as they shed and stabbed at me from either side. However, since I had sparred frequently against both, I was able to predict their movements easily enough, blocking and parrying the onught of sword strokes and dagger thrusts, only to grin as I would push them away and focus the other in the few moments I had avable. Thwacking Anput on the side of her knee, I spun behind the Jackalkin and narrowly avoided the sh of Kat''s swift dagger. Pushing Anput into Kat, I appeared before them and wrapped my arm around their necks, pulling them into me again before lifting and resting the sword on their throats. Both my women gulped, before I released them and said "Again." ~~~ Standing over the two exhausted Beastkin, I wiped the sweat off my brow before offering my hand to them, lifting the two drenched women to their feet. Anput was bruised all over, while Kat was nursing her left arm, where I had punched her forearm. Resting my hands on their heads between their fluffy ears, I cast a healing spell, a warm golden light cascading down onto their battered bodies. Watching as their wounds healed, I left my hands on their heads long after, revealing in their warmth. However, Kat slid out from under my hand, saying "I''ll go start dinner." Watching as my maid walked away into the cottage, I frowned before smirking down at Anput, who was heating up again. However, before I could push her down and ravish her, Kat peeked out from the door and said "Leone said a messenger came with two parcels and three letters. One of which..." Frowning, she nced back inside, likely listening to Leone as she told her the name. "Is from Jillian." That made both of our frowns deepen, and Anput also managed to get herself under control, though there was a hint of irritation on her features as we walked into our home. Seeing Leone holding a long,rge box, with a smaller one on top, I swiftly lifted them from her arms and set them on the table. "I''ll read that letterst..." Not wanting to read it at all, I sighed before flipping open the small cards on the parcels. ''To: Jahi Asmodia From: Countess Ria Haniel'' Letting out a little ''Huh...'' I tore open the paper packaging, revealing a long wooden box. Tossing the lid open, a replica of my gold and silver de was revealed, made from a solid steel. Understanding mothers reasoning for sending the de, I lifted it and marveled at its almost identical weight and bnce. cing it back on the table, I turned towards the other package, chuckling at the card. ''To: Katherine Zara From: Countess Ria Haniel'' The Dogkin pursed her lips before opening the package, lifting out a longer, broader dagger than the one she currently had, before also lifting out arge pouch. Seeing the pouch, I grinned as I smelt the familiar medicinal tang of her anti-pregnancy medicine, Kat rolling her eyes at me as she saw the grin. While she admired her new dagger, I turned to the two other letters, handing Kat the one from her mother while I opened the one from mom. The contents were rather ordinary; make sure you or Kat don''t kill anyone, be responsible, try not to get one of my wives pregnant, take school seriously, and telling me about the bank ount she had opened for us as a just in case. Kat just nodded as she read the letter, before rolling her eyes as she crumpled the letter. "What?" ncing over at me, she just said "Not much, just telling me to not be an idiot and that her stomach is growing already." Remembering the fact that I was going to be a big sister to my two half siblings, I smiled at Kat, who mirrored my smile. Then, we turned to look at Leone, who was still staring down at the letter from Jillian with slight disgust. Taking it from the Vampire''s hands, I opened the envelope to reveal an ornate folded paper. Unfurling it, I started reading it aloud. "I, Jillian Sariel, hereby invite Jahi Asmodia and her wives, Princess Leone Presa-Ash and Begum Anput Sera to my birthday banquet in two weeks time..." Pursing my lips, I nced up at Leone and asked "Can I refuse?" Sighing, Leone shook her head, her crimson eyes filled with reluctance as she said "We need to go. She''s not only of a higher status, but it ismon curtesy to at least show up... sadly." Nodding, I ced the invitation on the table, only to nce up at Kat, who had an eery smile on her lips. "W-What are you..?" Grinning at me, she stepped forwards and ced her hands on my shoulders, saying "You know what this means?" Frowning, I tentatively shook my head, making her grin widen. "We are going shopping... for ALL three of your banquet attires~!" ? My heart dropped as I realized that, since it was a banquet, I would need to dress up properly. Anput also shared my trepidation, her ears and tail dropping as she stared fearfully at the excited Dogkin. As for Leone, she seemed indifferent to Kat''s deration... Actually, she seemed rather intrigued in it as well, staring at me with curious eyes. Sighing, I realized that I was indeed correct; mother had rubbed off onto my Dogkin maid, and now I would suffer because of it... Chapter 141 140: Shopping (1) Leone PoV Kat and I stood beside one another in a high ss clothing store, browsing the various dresses and suits that they offered. Anput and Jahi stood behind us, both looking equally bored and tense, not wanting to be here. ncing at Kat from the corner of my eye, I watched as our Dogkin maid hummed quietly to herself, lifting up a dark scarlet evening gown. Looking over her shoulder, she alternated her amber gaze between Anput and the dress, a small frown on her plump lips. "Come here Anput." The Jackalkin shivered before nodding, tentatively stepping towards the Dogkin. Gently draping the gown onto Anput''s shoulders, she continued to frown before asking "Leone, does this look fine? I thought this scarlet would look good with her olive skin..." Approaching the two Beastkin, I stared intently at Anput, taking in her and the gown. Kat was right; the scarlet paired quite well with Anput''s darker skin tone, while her neutral hair and eyes were perfect for any dress. However, my eyes flitted towards the two small amethysts that dangled from her left ear, making me purse my lips. "What do you think about purple or violet?" Hearing my question, Kat nced over her shoulder before returning her gaze to Anput, her frown deepening. "You want to match with Jahi?" I blushed as Kat said that aloud, making me timidly nce at the tall Demoness, who was smirking at me. "Y-Yes... b-both because it s-suits us all, b-but also... a-as a slight to Jillian..." That made Jahi''s smirk turn to a grin, a dark gleam in her wonderfully bright amethyst eyes. "Ooh~ I like that, Leone~! Come here~!" Shivering, I walked into her embrace, blushing harder as she dropped her hand below my waist. Leaning into her muscr body, I nuzzled into her arms, enjoying how safe she made me feel... Kat stared at us with a raised brow, while Anput pouted. Letting out a low sigh, Katid the scarlet gown back onto the table, her amber eyes flitting about as she searched for something purple. Anput retreated back towards Jahi, who ced her other arm around Anput''s waist, holding us both tight. I could already imagine how much of a pompous heiress Jahi looked like right now; standing in avish store with two beauties in her arms, a wide smirk on her lips as she fondled them. As for Kat... I could tell that, even as Jahi enjoyed having us in her arms, she was constantly staring off towards Kat, the Dogkin either ignoring the Demoness stare or blissfully unaware of the palpable heat our wife had towards her maid. If I hadn''t been as smitten with Kat like Jahi and Anput were, I could easily see Jahi''s wives getting jealous of how much the Demoness craved the buxom Dogkin... Recalling my own night with her, I could very much understand physically desiring Kat; her body was incredibly soft, the way she moved and felt on your skin, how she sounded as we made love... It was incredible... So, I''m quite sure all three of us lusted after her. As for emotional love... I enjoyed being around her; how smart she was, how reliable she was, how fun she made our home... I could, honestly, see myself having a future with just her; I felt warm when she was beside me, and she gave me a confidence that I used tock. Kat just made me feel whole andplete... Continuing to watch as she nimbly walked between various tables and mannequins, we all smiled at one another before approaching her. Laying out another few gowns and dresses, Kat gestured for Anput to approach again, much to the Jackalkin''s reluctance. Kat held up two separate dresses; one was a long, flowingvender dress, the back open and embroidered with floral patterns, while the other was a dark violet with ck ents, the bust covered in a ckce as well as a ckce ''slit'' for the left leg, revealing some more skin. "Jahi?" Turning Anput towards the Demoness, Kat draped one dress onto her before recing it with the other, staring at Jahi as she waited for her decision. Anput also seemed rather expectant, her obsidian eyes flickering between the dresses and Jahi. "Hmm..." Rubbing her chin, Jahi looked between the two before pointing at the dark violet, a smile on her lips as she said "I think that would look wonderful on you, dear~" Shuddering slightly, Anput nodded before turning to look at Kat, whispering something to her. Giving Anput a small smirk, Kat said "Wait here~!" before dragging Anput away, towards the changing rooms. For a moment we stood there in silence, only for me to let out an embarrassing yelp as Jahi pulled me closer into her arms. "So, has my beautiful princess found something to her liking?" Gently cing her hand under my chin, she tilted my head up slightly as smiled down at me, making my hearth thump. Blushing furiously, I gulped before shaking my head, not trusting my voice in this situation. Pursing her lips, Jahi stood back up and looked around, much to my very confused heart. I wanted her to keep staring at me with those warm eyes, but I was also very embarrassed to do that in public... However, seeing her looking around at the dresses, my blush deepened as she led me towards a mannequin, gesturing at it. The dress it disyed wasvish; it was a dark, ash gray, the borate cloth embroidered with runic patterns. Embedded into the cloth were glittering Labradorite, the grayish blue stones shining in the stores lights. It had a low cut bust, closed back, long, flowing sleeves, and the skirt of the dress reached the floor, the cloth wavy. "What do you think?" Standing behind me, Jahi ced her hands on my shoulders and leaned down, her cheek resting on one of her hands as she stared at me. Admiring the dress, I pursed my lips as my eyes continued to find their way to the bust, wondering if that was why she chose it... Seeing that, Jahi chuckled as she whispered "That is an added bonus, Princess, but I think you''d look ravishing in that; it matches your hair quite well, and with either rubies topliment your eyes, or amethysts to denote your mine, I think you''d be the most beautiful woman there..." My blush returned with a vengeance as she tenderly kissed my cheek, making me nod hesitantly. However, my eyes finallynded on the price tag... "9-90 Gold?!" Jahi also frowned slightly, only to shrug as she said "It would be worth it." ncing back at her, I shook my head as I said "W-We can''t spend that kind of money on j-just a dress!" Her frown deepened before she grinned, making me shiver. "Again, I can think of MANY ways to make that 90 Gold worth it..." Her eyes raked over my body, and I realized what she meant... I have to admit, the idea of doing it while I was dressed up so extravagantly... Well, let''s just say it... Lit a fire. Gulping, I pursed my lips as I said "W-Well... m-maybe i-it''d be worth it... A-And we c-could make the money back!" Creating excuses, I blushed further as she grinned at me, nodding. "Yes, you''re right my love~ Besides, once you be an Alchemist, we could buy dozens of dresses like this, right~?" Hesitantly nodding, I suddenly found myself with a goal... Removing herself from me, Jahi led me back towards the changing room, where we resumed waiting for Anput and Kat. It didn''t take long for them to walk out, and even I had to admit that Anput... Was incredibly beautiful in that dress. Kat had braided Anput''s long raven ck hair, which dangled over her right shoulder. The dress tightly hugged her lithe figure, thece revealing just enough to be considered racy, but not improper. The deep violet paired quite well with her olive skin, and when you took in the two amethysts hanging from her ear... Well, it made quite the sight, especially for Jahi, who''s grin was splitting her face. Anput shivered under Jahi''s heated gaze, only to whimper slightly as Kat pushed her forwards with a smirk. Stumbling into Jahi''s arms, the Jackalkin''s cheeks darkened considerably as Jahi leaned down, holding the girl by the back of her head. Kissing her, Jahi almost lost herself as her hands tried to go where they pleased, only to frown as Kat stepped forwards, sending a sharp p to her forearm. Blinking a few times, Jahi gulped before releasing Anput, nodding as she rasped "That''s the one." Kat grinned, looking proud of herself as she stared at Anput, before looking over at us. "One down, two to go~!" However, Jahi shook her head, saying "Just me. Leone and I found a dress for her." Giving Jahi a narrowed stare, she turned to me, only to sigh as I hesitantly nodded. "Fine, fine... show me this dress... after I get Anput back out of this..." --- So I just... added cosy to Leone''s kinks... Yup, sounds good! --- Chapter 142 141: Shopping (2) Jahi PoV After seeing Anput in that wonderful deep violet dress, I had wanted nothing more than to pull her somewhere secluded and take her, but thankfully Kat was able to control my urges, snapping me from those thoughts. She truly had been ravishing in that dress; itplimented her dark skin quite well, and the ckce made me remember that little ''outfit'' Kat had worn for me when we first came here... Besides that, I also had quite the idea as a gift for my lithe Jackalkin; something to match those amethyst dangles, her obsidian and amethyst ring, and, of course, her ck cor. After all, these three were MY women; I was willing to utilize mom''s bank ount for just this asion... Both because I wanted to fulfill my own twisted desires of showering them in suchvish clothing and jewelry so that they would willingly stay with me, even for just that, and so I could stick it to that snobby Duchess Jillian, disying how much better they were in my care than hers. So, I would need to go out one of these days, alone, and get each a little something... Extra. Leaving my arm wrapped around Leone''s waist, I waited for my two puppies to emerge from the changing room, my mind drifting to the thought of their bare skin inside... Enjoying the softness that pressed against my side, I watched as Anput stepped back out dressed in her normal attire, while Kat followed behind her silently, holding the folded dress in her hands. Approaching Leone and I, my maid stared up at me with unbelieving eyes as she said "Show me this dress you found Leone..." Chuckling at that, I ruffled her ears before walking towards the mannequin, my mind already imaging Leone in such avish dress. Gesturing towards it, I saw Kat nodding as she circled it slowly, her amber eyes flitting between Leone and the dress. However, just like Leone her eyes went wide as she found the price tag... "90 gold?!" Letting out a huff, she red over at us and asked "Are you insane?! 90 gold for a DRESS?!" Shrugging, I said "We can make that money back easily enough. Besides, don''t you think she''d look ravishing in this?" Chuckling at how her face deadpanned, Kat sighed before pinching the bridge of her nose, muttering "How did she be such an idiot..." "I heard that y''know." Ignoring me, she turned back towards the dress and stared at it, pursing her lips. Smirking as I saw her familiar thinking face, I waited to hear her agreement- "No." Huh... Surprising... Turning back, she shook her head as she stared at us, repeating herself. "No. That''s way to much for just ONE event. We don''t have that kind of-" Leone stepped forwards, her cheeks flushed as she said "I-I can cover the I-initial costs... t-then I''ll r-repay you when I s-start my alchemy!" As Kat opened her mouth to reply, I stepped forwards and stared down at my Dogkin wife, a ''smile'' on my lips. "We''re getting the dress, Kat. I have the money; be it from the tinums that the Vice-Headmaster gave me, or even if I have to dip into the Asmodia ount." Kat just matched my stare, much to both my annoyance and delight. I was annoyed, currently, in the here and now, because she was defying me; even if it was for a good reason, it never felt good when we disagreed on something. However, deep down, I was delighted that she was willing to have these disagreements, even with the ''difference in our status'' that others would see. I treated her as an equal, and I rather enjoyed knowing she felt that she was, indeed, my equal; my wife. As tempting as it might seem, being a ''tyrant'' over my three wives would cause way more troubles than anything else; Leone might seem like she''d be the most epting, but I feel that I might find myself poisoned one day if I took that route. Kat would just... Well, there are many ways to get back at someone when you share the same bed, no? Anput would be the most epting, what with her culture and all, but that still seems like a bad idea; she can be rather feisty in rare moments... So, seeing Kat willing to argue with me over this was good, but... "We''re getting it whether you like it or not, Kat." I wasn''t going to back down either. Her amber eyes hardened as she stared up at me, still silent. I could feel the mild irritation radiating off of her, likely because, just a few days ago, we had a discussion about spending money... However, she sighed and looked away, massaging her temples as she muttered "Fine..." Both of us nced over at the beaming Leone, and I saw Kat''s features soften for a moment... Which was swiftly reced by a stern face as she said "And you WILL pay the 90 gold back, Leone." The Vampire nodded, still beaming as she threw her arms around Kat. Taking in the delectable sight of my two curvy, soft wives, I wanted to go home, but... "Now, you." Untangling herself from Leone''s embrace, Kat smirked up at me before grabbing my wrist, leading me around towards the suit section. Pursing my lips, I sighed as I followed behind her, wanting this to be over with as soon as possible... Reaching a small area with three mannequins, I sighed again as I looked between them, not noticing a real difference between the three. However, Kat apparently did, as she alternated her gaze between them, a serious look in her eyes. Trying my best to create a distinguishable difference between them, I could confidently say... The left most one had silver buttons and cufflinks, as well as being the deeper? shade of ck... The middle had dark silver buttons and cufflinks, and a slight floral pattern on the inside of the suit jacket. The right one had gold buttons and cufflinks, and was the iner of the three... Really, the damn difference was the metals, nothing else... Sighing, I gestured towards the one in the middle, saying "That one. Besides, I''ll just wear a purple dress shirt underneath..." Sadly, Kat red at me before dragging me to another section, not saying a word. Anput and Leone giggled behind us, only to freeze as I nced back at them with a raised brow. Browsing another few dozen options, my head stared to ache something fierce as we moved to the next section, Kat frowning hard as she realized... We had seen the entire store. Sighing, I said "Kat, please. It''s just a suit-" "No, it''s not ''just'' a suit, Jahi. You''re attending not only a Duchess'' banquet as an adult, but it is someone who hates you. You need to show up as best you possibly could to send a message." Hearing something so... scheming from Kat made me shiver, not enjoying how quickly she dipped into how the nobility thinks... Sighing again, I just nodded, only to point back to the original suit. "Look, that one is borate enough; the dark silver is quite nice, and paired with a few pieces of jewelry or something I''d be fine-" "Gold suits you better." She was staring up at my gold tipped horns, making me sigh. "Fine, then we could just have them reced the buttons and cufflinks with gold. Would that work? If you wish, we could also have them stitch on the Asmodia symbol as well!" That made Kat purse her lips, staring intently at the suit. Stepping forwards, I ced my arms around her waist, leaning down to rest my chin between her ears. "Kat, really. This''ll be good enough. Besides, we both know I''m much better looking than that elf." The Dogkin chuckled slightly at that, before nodding. "Alright. I''ll go talk with the seamstress." Spinning in my arms, she grinned up at me as she whispered "I''ll make sure that you look dozens of times better than Jillian, Mistress~" Before I could try something, she slipped from my embrace and walked away, only to turn and hold out her hand. Confused, I took it, making her sigh. "Money, Mistress. We do need to pay for things, remember?" Letting out an ''ah'', I handed her the heavy coin pouch I was carrying, which was filled with tinum and gold. Smirking at the weight, Kat gently hummed as she walked away, towards the woman leaning against the counter. Anput, Leone and I nced between one another, and I asked "How long were we here?" The other two shrugged, and I sighed. We could have spent this time doing anything else; training, studying, sleeping together... Hah, what a wasted day~ Well... Looking back towards Kat as she excitedly conversed with the seamstress, leading her over to the suit and discussing some things, I shrugged. Maybe... Just maybe it was worth it... Getting to see another facet of the real Kat was always worth it. Chapter 143 142: Two Weeks (1) Kat PoV After discussing some things with the seamstress, I reluctantly handed over 2 tinum and 11 Gold, my heart bleeding at the expensive day we just had. Granted, Leone''s dress and the adjustments being made to Jahi''s suit were the main expenses, as Anput''s deep violet dress cost only 42 Gold... Chuckling wryly at that number, I shook my head at the cost; that was more than normal families made in over three years... All on a singr dress; albeit one made from quite silky cloth and incredibly detailedce... Anyways, after that day spent inside the clothing store, Jahi dragged us over to a restaurant for dinner, ordering another golds worth of food... Sighing more to myself as she and Anput devoured the mountain of meats in front of them, I nced over at Leone, who was picking at her own meal. Seeing her crimson eyes flicker over to my wrist, I rolled my eyes and offered it to her, enjoying the feeling of her fangs sliding into my flesh as she drank. The meal was, thankfully uneventful, as was the walk back home to the cottage; no random people jumped out and tried to either hit on us or assault us, nor did we run into any weird older people offering too good to be true artifacts for simply exiting in their general vicinity. Was it bad that, now every time I walked outside, I had a feeling that something would happen? After that talk with the system about my selection, it sounded more and more like those novels I had read, so for the time being, I was paranoid about the weird happenings that urred inside them. Thankfully it seemed to be just my imagination going haywire with the thought, as the day ended peacefully enough. We entered our home, and after I bathed I heard Jahi walking towards Leone''s room, making me smirk as the Demoness swiftly ''devoured'' the Princess. As for me, I slipped into Anput''s room, the Jackalkin both surprised and excited to see me. ~~~ Anput PoV Waking up with something warm pressing against my body, I grinned as I saw Kat''s voluptuous form, her lemony taste still on my tongue as I recalled marking her again. Feeling satisfied with the previous night, I slipped from the normally diligent maids arms and entered the bath, getting everything started up before she awoke. Leaning against the doorframe, I stared over her sleeping figure, enjoying the sight and scent of my disheveled room. Seeing her ears twitch as the sound of running water gently entered the room, I grinned as she sat up, her amber eyes bleary as she looked around. Yawning, she got up and stretched, making me groan at the sight and turn away. "Come on Kat~! No fair!" Whining, I entered the bath and set about washing myself, only to jump as I felt something soft press against my back. "We have some time avable~!" Feeling her warmth spread around my body, I grinned back at Kat before pushing her down, easily losing myself to her. Thankfully enough for both of us, I finished up quickly enough to allow a rxing bath, both basking in the afterglow of a pleasurable morning. "Kat, what do you think about this whole banquet thing?" My arm was around her shoulders, and she was currently leaning into me, her long silky hair tickling my side. "Hmm..." Narrowing her eyes, she stared out towards the wall for a few moments before saying "If anything, this will just be a trap set for one of us; be it a way to mess with Jahi, a way to ''get back'' at Leone, or attempt to get you or I to do something... honestly though, as long as we stick together and are careful, this should be rtively easy to deal with." I nodded, my thoughts going to the snobby elf in our ss; Jillian was more of an open book then she realized, and her strength... Well, if she applied herself well, I think she might be able to easily be a problem; her skill with a dagger was good, and she seemed pretty agile and dexterous... I think. However... "Wasn''t she looking at you with lust during thatst spar?" Recalling the way Jillian''s hazel eyes had shone with lust as she looked at my mate made me angry, only to frown as Kat chuckled. Lifting her giant breasts, Kat smirked at me as she sensually whispered "I AM quite the curvy beauty, aren''t I~?" Staring over at her, I was not only incredibly aroused by her voice, but rather irritated that she was taking it lightly. "Kat, re-" Rolling her eyes, she leaned her head back on my shoulder, saying "I know, Anput. I''ll be careful; I''m even less fond of the way she looked at me, you know. Quite creepy..." We both chuckled before getting out, swiftly drying off and dressing for the Academy. Entering the kitchen, we were greeted with the sight of a blushing Leone sitting on Jahi''sp, the two eating breakfast; Leone''s fangs sinking into Jahi''s wrist while she ate a bowl of oatmeal. Seeing the other two bowls set out, Kat and I sat down and dug in. After that quick meal, we found ourselves at the Academy, where I gradually lost all interest in this thing called ''consciousness'' as I fell asleep, uncaring of history. I was a fighter, not a damn politician. I didn''t care if the person I was stabbing enjoyed opening the door on the left side or the right side; they bled the same way. Of course, Kat kicked my chair multiple times during the lecture, making me re back at the Dogkin who, just hours prior, was writhing under me. However, as I turned to re at her, I would also catch glimpses of Jillian staring at all four of us intently, her face sometimes twisted into a sneer. Whenever I turned to see her, I simply grinned at the woman, wondering if today would be another day of sparring the other weapon styles in Combat ss; I wanted to beat that look off her face so badly... Which, it seems that the gods were listening, as I found myself opposite her on the ck sand of the training grounds. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as I spun my de, her eyes serious as she carefully observed me. Waiting for her to approach first, I stood still, my de held loosely by my side. Dashing forwards, she shed the dagger out towards my chest, a small grin on her face as I blocked it with my sword. Her leg shot out towards my side, however I twisted into her, making the girl stumble backwards. Pushing her further, I pounced on her as she tried to roll away, my de mming painfully against her side. Grinning down at her as I pinned her under me, I whispered "You lost quite easily there, Jillian~" The Elf red up at me, her eyes murderous as she tried to stab her dagger upwards, only to gasp as I clenched her wrist, twisting it hard. Gritting her teeth, she mped off any other sounds, not giving me that satisfaction. However, I just grinned as I got up, standing over the defeated Elf, letting out a soft "That was easy~" before walking away, finding a new partner. Hearing her get up with a growl, I waited for another attack, only to sigh as none came. ncing over my shoulder, I saw her make her way towards that adventurer Greselda, likely wanting to release her pent up frustrations on someone her own level. Smirking at that, I found myself next to Kat again, watching as she guided Leone through the basics yet again, the Vampire frowning as she stared at the sword in her hands. Since no one was open yet, I continued to watch as the two voluptuous women sparred, my eyes flitting between the two as I admired their beauty. Kat was actually rather enchanting with that stoic face, her long brown hair pulled into a tight bun as she easily parried Leone''s clumsy thrust, the wooden de moving past her ample chest. As for Leone, the sight of her flushed cheeks and sweat stained features was... alluring, to say the least. She was currently the center of attention for the various men in the ss, as well as some women. Seeing that, I smirked as Jahi stalked over, saying "Leone, let me teach you." When the giant Demoness appeared beside her, the rest of our ssmates turned away, the previous ''tournament'' still fresh on their minds. So, that left Kat and I to pick up from our spar yesterday, changing our styles in an attempt to improve. --- So, quick question; would you rather have longer lemons be one chapter that reached ~2k words, or have them be two separate chapters at who knows how long, but less than 1.5k? Because either way they''ll cost more than normal, so I was just wondering what people would prefer; should I draw them out over two days or just drop one giant chapter? Just know that I don''t n on ALL lemons being that long, but some will be; think the threesome and eventually foursome, as well as any more... in depth scenes. Anyways, I was just curious of people would rather I drop it ALL at ONCE or split it into two separate chapters... --- Chapter 144 143: Two Weeks (2) Kat PoV The days truly blended into one another, making me marvel at how a schedule could make life so... Easy; both to live, and to lose time unknowingly. We had rapidly gotten ourselves to the next break day, and I recalled thest few days schedule, which would likely be what we would do every day of this first year. Wake up early, enjoy either a hearty breakfast or throw something together because Leone and I were ''preupied'', make our way to the Academy. Then our sses, during which I would kick Anput''s chair incessantly whenever she dozed off, making sure the Jackalkin was awake by any means. Combat ss was rather fast as well, as Anput and I tended to spar more often then not, and Jahi would guide Leone; our professors left us alone when we did that, since they saw that Anput and I were truly sparing, grinding each others rough edges away, while Jahi was more than capable of teaching Leone the basics. Of course, during any inter weapon training, both Jillian and Greselda tended to be my partners, and asionally Draka''s golden haired maid Poshka, who would inform me of how Fresca was doing during her pregnancy, as well as any other rted news to her Mistress'' ''hunting''. I have tomend Draka on that front; she was currently engaged to Rialo, had both Fresca and Poshka, and was now courting Miss Grangeri, the studious woman in our magic Theory ss. Apparently Draka was also rather far along with her as well; they were nning a date for the next off day. Besides that, she had also slowly sunk her ws into a widowed shopkeep, who, although a little older, seemed rather ttered that such a young woman was that interested in her. While I was giving her props on that front for acting on her desires, I found myself wondering how she''d keep all these women satisfied. I mean, Jahi and I were all over one another when we had the chance initially, and now, what with Anput and Leone being with us, we had different outlets for our lust. Though, I did remember my only maxed skill being [Nymphomania], so I doubt we were a good benchmark for a group of lovers... Besides finding Draka''s situation entertaining, I enjoyed sparring against Jillian, since I had slowly ''caught'' up to the insufferable woman, making our matches rather even in skill. Which meant that I had scored quite a few painful blows on her. However, the woman was an enigma; with each blow dealt to me, sadistic glee erupted on her face. With each blow I dealt to her, a spark of lust lighted her eyes. I had no idea what to think about her, so I decided to fall back on the good ''ole reliable ''let future me deal with that shit''. Works every time! Then we would get home and unwind, be it through some more sparring, some shopping that was of just Leone and I, cooking, baking... As well as other, more carnal ways of unwinding. Like letting a thirsty vampire bite one side of your neck... Or letting the territorial-ish Jackalkin bite the other side of your neck... Topped off with a sadistic Demoness wanting something darker. Fun! ~~~ Jahi PoV Since it was our off day, I rolled out of my bed before staring down at Kat, who was fast asleep. Her fair skin was red, both from my hands and from the little whipying beside her. Besides that, her face was ck from pleasure and pain as shey on the soft bed, her eyes closed. Chuckling at her sprawled out figure, I bathed as quick as I could before dressing myself, slinking from our room. Tossing my coin pouch between my hands, I double checked my appearance before nodding, exiting the cottage. It was barely dawn, and as much as I wanted toy in bed being warmed by Kat''s soft body, I had a few things I needed to get. Expensive things, but things I deemed necessary. Humming gently to myself, I walked through the quiet streets of the Capital, enjoying the sparkly upied roads and just opening stores. Some stalls were starting up their grills, preparing for the morning rush when everyone woke up, while others were disying their goods, making sure everything looked appealing on their small counters. As a Demoness, I drew quite a few stares; curious ones, afraid ones, lustful ones... However, people rarely approached Demons; we were not only taller than most, but also rather strongpared to other races as well. If I had to guess, Professor Thorn and I would be matched in terms of raw strenght. Besides, seeing such an imposing figure like myself, why risk approaching? I was almost seven feet tall, my horns were rather sharp, and I had a de strapped to my waist. So, color me surprised when I turned from one street to another and collided with a armored woman, her dark green skin covered in both scars and tattoos. ring up at me, the Orc refused to move from in front of me, making me shrug. Stepping to the side, I was going to continue on, but... Sighing, I stared down at the glowering woman, her dark yellow eyes meeting mine. "Can I help you?" Wanting to be done with this as soon as possible, I waited for a response, only to not get one. Giving her another moment, I nodded before grabbing her shoulder, shoving her to the side. Considering her heavy te mail armor, I was rather surprised when she didn''t fall down from the shove, but oh well. Continuing forwards, I made my way towards the store I wanted to visit, only to feel someone grab my shirt. Stopping, I nced over my shoulder to see the Orc behind me, making me sigh again. "What?" Still, nothing. Keeping my eyes locked on hers, I was contemting drawing my de and skewering her throat, but... Well, a murder in broad day wouldn''t be easy to cover. "Are ye Jahi Asmodia?" Her voice was deep and raspy, and she had a simr ent to Lesnera, the Dwarven Cook back home. "Yup. Don''t think there are many gold horned demons around." Narrowing her eyes, she tilted her head as she said "Watch yerself now..." Letting me go, the Orc turned around, walking in the opposite direction. Wondering what exactly had just happened, I too turned and walked away, pushing the encounter to the back of my mind. Currently, I had a more important thing to ponder. What kind of jewelry would each of my wives like the most? They already had a ring each; not that they couldn''t wear multiple. They had cors... Which I still needed to give to Leone... So, nes were out of the question; though pendants to attach to said cors was avable. Hmm... Pursing my lips, I sighed as I tried to find something for each girl; Anput liked her amethyst dangle, Leone wore her ring constantly, and Kat... Well, she wore her ring, but tended to cover it in public... Maybe something easy to hide then, like a bracelet or anklet for her? Seeing the jewelry shop Draka had rmended, I entered, a short male Dwarf at the counter. "Good morningss! How can I help ya?" Chuckling at his cheery attitude, I approached the counter and leaned on it, saying "I need three good gifts for my women." Leaning on the counter as well, the pudgy dwarf gave me a sly grin as he said "Oho~ Tell me more about these lucky wives! Old Narde will help ye as best I can!" Grinning at one another, I said "Well, lets go alphabetically then. First, my Jackalkin wife. She really likes amethysts and obsidian, but she already has a good earring she always wears, as well as our engagement ring." "Jackalkin ye say... She from the Sultanate?" Nodding, I watched as the dwarf slid from his chair, his brown eyes flitting around the dim store. "Aha! Over heress." Scurrying as fast as his little legs could take him, he approached one of the many tables, pulling out a stool as he opened a ss case. "Somethin'' like this ''ere will pair well with her skin tone!" He showed me a gold ring, a giant amethyst situated in the center. It was a trilliant cut stone, and the amethyst was a deep, vibrant purple. Lifting it gently from the cushion, I raised a brow as I saw a rune carved into its surface, making the dwarf grin. "That there is just a simple scratch resist enchant. Pretty standard nowadays." Nodding, I stared down at the ring, trying to imagine it on Anput''s finger. "Hmm... Actually, what about something obsidian? I gave her a pretty big amethyst before..." Nodding, the dwarf ced the ring back into the container before pursing his lips again, making me chuckle. Opening his mouth, he was about to speak when we heard the door open, and I saw someone I did not expect to see walk in. --- Again, sorry if these chapters a bit bleh~, but I''ve been resetting my brain and preparing a few extra chapters for a ''just in case'' moment, though I will release one on Christmas Day my time~! Anyways, yup, I wonder who walked in~? --- Chapter 145 144: Two Weeks (3) Nodding, I stared down at the ring, imagining it on Anput''s finger. "Hmm... Actually, what about something obsidian? I gave her a pretty big amethyst before..." Nodding, the dwarf Narde ced the ring back into the container before pursuing his lips, making me chuckle. Opening his mouth as he nced around, he was about to speak when we heard the door open, the small bell attached to the doorframe jingling as someone entered the store. The person who entered was taller than me, herrge, crimson tipped horns almost scratching the roof of the store, forcing her to tilt her head to the side. Matching her horns were her deep ruby eyes, and she was looking around with pursed lips, scrunching up her unblemished sapphire features. Turning her head towards me, she raised a brow before saying "The hell you doing out of the Academy brat?" Stepping over to me was Mom, her lips pulled into a grin as she wrapped her arm around my shoulder, her other fist rubbing the top of my skull. Staring up at the taller, insufferable Demoness that I called Mom, I flinched as her knuckles rubbed deep, making her chuckle. "Tch... You used to hate that..." Pouting slightly at me, I rolled my eyes at her childish behavior, before asking "What are you doing here Mom? Is Mother here too?" ncing over at the door, I frowned slightly as no one else walked in, turning my gaze back towards Mom, who was ''innocently'' scratching her cheek. "Ah... well, I was a little bored, so I decided to go out for some air when I saw this ce! Thought I should get a gift for Ria..." "She''s going to go ballistic." Sighing, Mom''s shoulders slumped, nodding. "Yeah, most likely... which is why~" Looking around, Mom finally let my shoulders go, rubbing her hands together as she said "I want to get her another ring! Been awhile, and she''s been wearing the same one for over three years now! Hah..." Her ruby eyes scanned the tables before returning to me, frowning. "Aren''t you supposed-" "Off day today." Letting out an ''ah'', she nodded before smirking, her expression turning sleazy as she leaned towards me and asked "Shouldn''t you be in bed with one of those three? Lucky you, lucky you~ Such an assortment of wonderful flowers to pick from at such a young age~!" Coughing lightly, Narde stared at us in mild confusion as he asked "So... do either of ye need me services?" Pursing our lips, Mom and I exchanged nces before she shook her head, saying "Nah, we''ll be fine. What better way to bond as Mom and daughter than shopping for high end, expensive jewelry together, hmm~?" That made the dwarf grin, a slightly greedy look in his eyes as he nodded. "Aye! I hope me wares impress ye~! Haha~!" Hopping off his stool, he giggled to himself as he made his way back to his counter, making Mom chuckle. Leaning towards me again, she whispered "Dwarves are interesting people; their either happy little drunkards or sullen, serious drunkards! Wonder if Les would like him..." Rolling my eyes again, I sighed before returning my gaze to the tablesden with exquisitely crafted jewelry, making Mom ask "Ah, so why are you here?" Walking around the room, I said "We got invited to Duchess Sariel''s birthday banquet, and the bitch has been rather annoying, lusting after both Leone and Kat. So, I want to... unt a little, that they''re better off with me..." A wied grin split her sapphire features, and her ruby eyes shone with a mixture of pride and smugness as she pat my back, saying "That''s my girl~! Any ideas?" Frowning, I shook my head, saying "I know what they''re all wearing at the event; Anput''s in a deep violet gown, Leone''s in a rather exquisite grey studded dress, and Kat will be in her maid dress, as always..." Stroking her chin, Mom nodded before saying "Well, the pup was always more reserved, and I doubt she''s going crazy with clothes right now, yeah?" Seeing me nod, she said "Then either an anklet or bracelet; something easy to hide..." "Yeah, I came to that conclusion as well..." Staring down at the container in front of us, Mom pointed at a long, amber bead bracelet, making me purse my lips. "Beads?" "Yup. It''s more reserved, simple, and not something you notice, unlike that beside it." Whaty beside the orangish brown bead bracelet was a wide gold bracelet, various diamonds embedded onto the piece. Frowning at it, I shrugged as I returned my gaze to the beads. It was simple and reserved, which Kat would appreciate, but... pping her hand on my shoulder, Mom made me look over at her, her face serious as she said "Listen Jahi. I know how your thinking, cause I used to be the same... kinda... but, go with her wishes for now. In a few years time, after you graduate and start whatever it is you want to do, that''s when you canvishly drape whatever onto Kat. For now, just... be mindful of her status; she''s a maid to a future Marquess, not her wife." "But-!" Shaking her head, Mom sighed as she said "I know; you gave her a ring, made a vow... but, no one else knows that, and currently? It wouldn''t be a smart move. Too many idiots want something to use against House Asmodia, and besides me being... well, me, they have nothing. When we elevate Julie and Kat to Baroness'', then you can do as you please. Until then though... just be patient. Besides, I think Kat''ll be fine with it~!" Giving me a yful grin, Mom gently lifted the bead bracelet from the case, looking at it in the light. Pursing my lips, I sighed, my heart still aching from hearing that. It... really irked me that I couldn''t just proudly dere ''This is my wife!'' to the world, all because some weak yet influential people would use it as an excuse to do harm to March Asmodia, and consequently, House Asmodia. Really... politics was rather annoying... However, Mom was right, both with how I should act, and how Kat will react. I need to wait a few years, and then I can host the mostvish wedding this entire Empire has ever seen. And Kat really does seem to prefer more reserved... well, everything. She prefers to blend in, she prefers darker clothes... Besides, it''s the thought that counts with a gift, yeah? Staring at Mom, I watched as she moved to another table, and I followed her. "Mom, why are you here?" ncing over at me, she gave me a wry smile as she said "Julie wanted to see Kat, and Ria seemed a little anxious to see how all four of you were doing... I told them you''d all be fine, but..." Waving her hand, she sighed as she just muttered "Women areplicated..." Raising a brow, I asked "Aren''t you a woman too?" Giving me a small smile, she nodded, saying "Am I notplicated?" "No, you''re rather simple." Dodging her swift p, I grinned at her as she red at me, before we both chuckled. "So you''re getting mother another ring?" Nodding, Mom pursed her lips before saying "I think I''ll get Julie one too... something elegant... I mean, she''s only going to give Ria and I two children!" Seeing the small smile on her face, as well as warmth in her eyes, I wondered what that must feel like, knowing you have children on the way. When I tried to imagine Kat being pregnant... Well, besides the obvious arousal and pride, it filled me with a mixture of both joy and mild dread. Would we be good parents? Would our child turn out like us? So many questions... Sighing slightly, I returned to browsing the jewelry on the tables, rubbing the beads in my hand before eventually finding a few pieces that I thought looked good. As Mom and I walked around, we talked about the various things that had happened over our time apart; she told me about how Julie has acted ever since knowing she was pregnant with twins, how Mother was determined to work as much as possible to free up more time, and how she was both anxious and ecstatic to have more children. I told her about the Academy, how Leone wants to get into alchemy, how Kat is studying enchanting, Anput''s progression as both a fighter and a woman, about Draka and her harem, and all the other small, interesting things that had happened between us arriving and now. I skirted around the subject of the Draconas, and maybe it was Mom''s intuition, but I could tell that she knew something had happened; she was just being courteous to me by not prying. Mother would''ve forced it out of me by this point... Approaching the counter, I was about to pay for my gifts when Mom gently pushed me aside, making me frown. Smirking at me, she said "Jahi, I have more money than I know what to do with. Save yours. Just tell them that I helped pick these out~!" Feeling a little annoyed at that, I could only sigh as she handed the man a banknote, making the dwarf grin. As we exited the store I said "Mom... I''ll... well, I''ll tell you when we get to the cottage..." Resting her hand lightly on my head, she smiled at me as she nodded, before saying "I''ll bring everyone overter; make sure you''re all ready for us~! None of us are interested in seeing or hearing you all be ''active''~!" ring at her, I watched as she turned away, walking down a different street. Keeping my eyes fixed on her as she left, I sighed before resuming my walk to the cottage, a small smile on my lips. --- ? Just a quick thing; if you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to leave them in thements. I''m always open to those, and as long as it isn''t straight bashing me I''m cool with you allmenting any opinions you have about the novel! --- Chapter 146 145: Two Weeks (4) Kat PoV Awakening with a groan, I rolled over in ourrge bed, only to frown and jolt up as I felt... Nothing beside me. Opening my eyes, I gazed around the room and scanned every inch of it, looking for Jahi. Not seeing any lights in the bathroom, nor any in the kitchen, I frowned more as I got up, letting out another groan as pain red in my muscles. My eyes fell on the whip thaty on the bed, the long, ck leather strips all too familiar to me at this point. Smiling slightly as I recalled the feeling of it on my skin, I shivered before raising a hand, my palm shimmering blue. A deep blue light cascaded over my battered and bruised body, healing any visible wounds and mending all the internal damage fromst night, making me moan in pleasure. Once my body was back in tip top shape, I sat back down and closed my eyes, focusing the entirety of my being on the bond that connected Jahi and I. It took a few moments to grasp, and when I did I frowned; she was far away from me... Scrunching my brow, I grit my teeth as I resisted the urge to go after her; leaving her alone could only spell trouble, be it from any fights or... Imagining men or women hitting on her while I wasn''t near to keep them away made me angry... But what enraged and truly worried me was the thought that Jahi might deign to take on of the women, be it for a single session or- Biting my tongue, I growled lightly before taking a deep breath, knowing that she wouldn''t do that; not after what happened down in Zhu''Rong Caverns. However, there''s always a chance... Refocusing on the bond, I changed my attention from the location to her emotions, sighing in relief when the only thing I felt from her was anticipation and mild happiness; there was no lust evident in her current emotions, and it just felt... purer. Of course, I was still antsy that something could happen, but when I thought about tracking her down and making sure nothing happened... Well, I was sure that might end up in me being punished, and not in the good way. Sighing, I got up off the bed and approached the dresser, grabbing myself a new set of clothes and undergarments. Taking a quick bath, I dressed myself and set about cleaning our room; at least to get the smell out, as it was making my head swim and lower body hot, making it hard to focus. Opening the windows, I started using my magic to swiftly wash the sheets, a grin on my face as they went from dirty to clean in just moments. What used to take me an hour or two in my previous life was done in just a few moments... Staring at the swirling ball of water above my hand, I entered the bathroom and disposed of the dirty water, ncing over at my reflection for a brief moment. My hair was pulled into a messy bun, nestled between my two furry ears, and my fluffy tail poked out from the back of my maid dress. The deep ck and dark scarlet cloth of my dress made my fair skin stand out even more, and a small smile graced my plump lips. My droopy amber eyes stared back at me with warmth, and my soft features shone with a youthful luster. Chuckling to myself, I took in my appearance for another few moments before stepping back into our room, enjoying the sight of a clean bedroom. Moving over to the nightstand beside where I slept, I gently lifted the ring from the wooden surface and stared down at it, my heart warming considerably as I slipped it onto my left ring finger. Staring at the amber and amethyst stones, I smiled as I thought about how much I wanted this in both lives; to be married to someone who truly loved me... In this life, it was even better; sure, I had been with a few men in my previous life, but I undoubtedly preferred the ''fairer'' sex, and now... Well, Jahi, Leone, and Anput could give me the other thing I really wanted... Children. Rubbing the two stones, I chuckled as I imagined their reactions whenever I did get pregnant; Anput would have a mixture of pride and worry in her gaze, going from being her normally feisty self to being a gentle lover, likely catering to my every need. Leone would likely be overprotective and extremely worried, attempting to do everything she could to make my life easier as I carried her child. As for Jahi... Well, I could imagine her being a mix of the other two; extremely overprotective and worried, constantly making sure I wasn''t doing something too ''exerting'', all while gently caring for me as I progressed further along. Taking a deep breath, I chuckled as I muttered "Not for a long time now... a long, long time..." I couldn''t afford to get pregnant yet, nor could Anput or Leone; after the Academy, Jahi would likely find some line of work to hone herself over theing years. There was no way the Demoness would sit still and do nothing after the Academy. As for Anput and Leone, they''d both be doing what they could to support Jahi; Anput would be one hell of a swordswoman, and Leone might end up being an extremely talented alchemist. The future was filled with mysteries for now, but I knew for certain that, at most, in ten years I''d already have one child, if not more. After all, there''s another four years of the Academy after this year, and by that ten year mark we would have all limated to our ''new lives''. Snapping myself out of my fantasies, I exited the bedroom and entered the kitchen, checking the pantry to give myself an idea for dinner. Seeing a few potatoes lying in a sack, I pursed my lips as I considered making pierogi''s, which was just a potato filled ravioli... Though, still really good, and really filling. I could add a lot with the potato filling; cheese, vegetables, meat... Besides that, the dough was simple to make too, and I was curious about trying my hand at a stuffed food; I had rarely made something that needed to be stuffed then cooked. Nodding, I grabbed the sack of potatoes, preparing to make arge meal. ~~~ Leone PoV Getting out of the bath, I blushed and sighed as I saw my room in utter disarray; the sheets and pillows were strewn about, my clothes were tossed around to random parts of the room, and there were various splotches of liquids everywhere... Sheepishly exiting my room after pulling on a loose sundress, I saw Kat humming gently to herself as she stood in the kitchen, her ears twitching before she turned to nce at me. "Good morning Leone." I nodded to the Dogkin woman, before staring at the pile of flourying on the table before her. Approaching, I asked "W-What are you making?" For a moment she froze, her hand stopping as she made a well in the center of the flour, before she resumed, saying "Have you ever had a dumpling?" Nodding, I tilted my head in confusion, wondering why she was mentioning a dish from the Dynasty to our east. "Well, I wanted to try making them, just with a potato and cheese filling instead of pure meat. I think they''d be heavier and way more filling then a normal dumpling." Nodding, I then hesitantly asked "C-Could you... w-when you have the chance-" Smirking at me, she nodded as she said "Yes, I''ll clean your room up Leone... after all, I doubt Jahi was reserved when she crept into your room~" Blushing at her knowing smirk, I turned away, looking instead towards the counter. Seeing the various ingredientsying about, I froze for a second as I realized... Cooking is a little like alchemy, isn''t it? Youbine a bunch of ingredients together to get somethingpletely different, you use a me to help heat them to the required temperature, and the result makes people happy. "Kat... is there something I can do?" Her amber eyes flickered over to me before she nodded, gesturing to the pile of potatoes. "Peel them before slicing them into cubes." Nodding, I grabbed a knife and lifted one of the potatoes, carefully slicing the dark brown skin form the soft, white flesh. Cooking with Kat was always refreshing and pleasant, and I learned so much about many different things... I also wanted to eventually reach her level, so that I could make Jahi grin at me like she does when Kat makes a good dish. Jahi... And eventually... Blushing furiously, I shook my head before returning to the potato, but after that thought... I was heavily aware of the ''batter'' inside me. --- Only like one or two more chapters of this; it''s more of a break for me to write these lol since they''re so simple, and it''s letting me rest my mind while still getting an upload out daily. --- Chapter 147 146: Two Weeks (5) Jahi PoV Walking through the now crowded streets of the Capital, I nced down at the small bag in my hand, making me smirk. I had found something wonderful for all three of my women, and I wanted to give it to them each individually... Both as a way to set the mood and as a more personal and impactful gifting situation. I was also looking forwards to giving Leone her cor as well, getting a little hot at the thought of making herpletely submissive to me... She would look so sexy with that cor on her throat... Shaking my head, I continued through the streets, my eyes flitting about as I recalled what that Orc said. To watch myself... From what? My mind instantly flitted over to Jillian; after all, she was the only person I was openly ''hostile'' to. However, what could she be nning? Was it a bounty maybe? Putting a hit out on me via some of the darker aspects of the Adventurers Guild? Or was there some weird rumor going around the Guild from thest time we were in Zhu''Rong Caverns? Sighing, I let the thoughts drift from my head as I continued onwards, my attention still alert as I observed my surroundings. Seeing the cottage in the distance, I sighed again before speeding up, wanting to see my wives. I was excited after the little shopping trip, and I couldn''t wait to gift them the jewelry I had gotten. Opening the door, I saw Kat and Leone standing in the kitchen, the two curvaceous women chatting as they prepared some kind of dough. Hearing the door open, the two women turned to look at me, Leone with mild surprise and happiness, and Kat with a narrowed gaze. Approaching the counter, I hid the bag in my jacket pocket as I smiled at them, enjoying Leone''s blush. "Where have you been?" Just like her mana type, Kat''s tone was cial, her amber eyes hard as she stared at me. Leone flinched slightly as she heard Kat''s voice, before her crimson eyes widened and she to stared at me, her brow furrowed. Chuckling, I slid behind the counter and pulled them into a hug, keeping my hands on their waists so as to not antagonize them. Leone pursed her plump lips before sinking into my arms, whereas Kat... Her nose twitched, her eyes scanned me over, and I could feel her tugging on our bond, probing my emotions. Staring down at my little puppy, I sighed at her distrust in me, before realizing that it might be understandable... I mean, if I didn''t have Anput and Leone on top of her, I might have found myself someone else just so I could vent a little more of my pent up desires... So, I gave her a reassuring smile as I said "Believe in me a little Kat..." Pursing her lips, Kat stared up at me before nodding, leaning her head forwards as she rested her face against my chest, her amber eyes glowing with warmth. Enjoying that sight, I smiled gently down at both her and Leone, before smirking as my hands dropped down towards their incredibly soft and ample rears. Leaning down, I licked my lips as I asked "Wanna have some fun real quick?" Kat raised a brow while Leone blushed, and my Dogkin wife first asked "Where''d you go?" Knowing she wouldn''t do anything without an answer, I sighed as I stood back up, saying "Mother, Mom, and Miss Julie are here, and they''lle over a little bitter." Kat stiffened in my arms before ring at me, pushing me away before shouting "ANPUT!" Hearing her name, the Jackalkin rushed from her room, her hair still wet and her body bare as she looked around in worry. "W-What? What''s going on?!" Pulling Leone from my arms as well, she said "Get dressed; you and Leone need to go out and pick some ingredients up! Quick, quick!" Hearing Kat, Anput nodded, rushing back onto her room anding back out a few momentster. As for Leone, she went into her room and swiftly dressed,ing out just as Anput was, and both the women stared at Kat with mild surprise, only to stand up straight as Kat''s serious voice sounded out again. "Alright, both of you need to go out and pick up a few things. All... of it... is right..." Furiously scribbling down a list of things she needed, Kat handed it to Leone as she said "Here. Jahi, give them some money." I nodded, wondering what she was doing, but still handing over the coin pouch to Leone without hesitation. "Get everything on that list, and make it quick. Okay?" Anput nodded, while Leone read over the list, walking towards the door. Grabbing her de, Anput gave me a smile before following Leone outside, leaving me alone with Kat, who had turned back to the counter and was furiously kneading the dough. "Kat, what..?" Keeping her attention on the dough, her voice was low as she said "We needed more ingredients if I''m to cook for the Marquess, Countess, and Mother... I''ll also need something for a dessert... and I still have to clean everything up..." She was harshly kneading the dough, and she stared at me from the side of her eye, saying "You didn''t know about this before you left this morning did you?" Shaking my head, I leaned on the counter beside her, saying "Nope, I met Mom earlier this morning while I was shopping..." Her amber eyes narrowed before she returned to her dough, ttening it outpletely. "What''d you need that you couldn''t take me with you, or even let me know?" Her tone was usatory and possessive, making me smile. Watching my wife continue what she was doing, I said "I couldn''t take you shopping for your own gift now could I? Besides, sometimes it''s nice to just take a stroll alone outside..." "Gift..?" Furrowing her brow, she stared at me for a moment, making me grin. Taking the bag from my pocket, I opened it and withdrew the smaller silk bag, watching as Kat''s hands red blue, cleaning them off. Handing it to her, I grinned as I watched her curiously untie the top, opening it up. Lifting out the bracelet, her eyes softened as she stared at the amber beads, which glistened in the kitchens light. Taking it softly from her hands, I took her right arm and slipped the bracelet on her wrist, before lifting her hand to my lips. cing a kiss on her soft skin, I said "I got something for all three of you for the banquet, and I thought this matched your style quite well my love~" A smile was on her lips as she lifted her right wrist, staring at the beads as the dangled from her fair arm. "It''s beautiful, Jahi..." Taking her arm again, I pulled her into me and kissed her plump lips, leaning my forehead against hers as I whispered "Not as beautiful as you..." Giggling, Kat responded by kissing me again, her features warm as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Enjoying the tart tasteing from her tongue, I eventually felt her pull away, a smirk on her lips as she returned to her cooking. Looking at her new bracelet again, my heart beat quicker as I saw her soft smile again, her amber eyes glowing beautifully as she took it in. Going back to kneading the dough, she asked "So, what''d you get Anput and Leone?" Sadly for her, my attention was long gone, my eyes falling from her beautiful face to her sinful body, and more specifically the wagging tail. Feeling a heat spreading across my body, I fumbled off my belt and slid forwards, flipping up her dress and inserting myself inside her. Considering the only thing that met my action was her moan, I grinned as I instantly lost myself to her body, leaning over her and holding her right arm in my hand, grinning at her. Kat readily epted me, both of us turning to mush as we felt the others heat permeating our bodies. Finishing up minutester, I watched as she swiftly fixed her ruffled appearance, before cleaning me off as well, making me smile down at her. Pulling her into my arms, I stroked her silky hair as I whispered "I love you so much Kat... So, so much..." Feeling her chuckle against my chest, she said "I love you too..." For a few moments we stood there, before she pushed me away, rolling up her sleeves as she said "Alright, I need to get back to cooking! Go rest up, clean up..." I nodded, taking in the sight of her working diligently in the kitchen, her brown hair pulled into a tight bun between her ears. By the gods did I love this woman... Smirking, I turned towards our room, preparing for Mom and Mother to arrive, as well as my Mother-in-Law... --- Alright, NOW it''ll likely be two more chapters lol... Then a few chapters of... interesting events... --- Chapter 148 147: Two Weeks (6) Kat PoV After a extremely heated, quick session in the kitchen, Jahi professed her love for me again before making her way to our room, likely to bathe and change into something more proper for our uing visitors. As for me, I had to continue making our portion of the food, but... Well, if Jahi usually ate enough for two or three people, the Marquess ate enough for five at the very least, and now that Mother is pregnant, she''ll also be eating a little bit more than normal... Which meant that the amount of things to be made was drastically increased. I also needed something to dip the pierogis in, be it some kind of heavy yogurt or cottage cheese. Besides that, I was also going to make arge bowl of sd to even out the meal, and then I had to bake something for dessert... Sighing, I stared down at the bowl in front of me, the potato and cheese filling finallying together nicely. However, when Anput and Leone came back I would need to double up on that... Then get started on everything else... Let out another sigh, I pinched the bridge of my nose as I felt a mild headache rising, only to take a deep breath and get back to it. Swiftly losing myself to the preparation of tonights meal, I heard Jahi eventually make her return, leaning against the counter beside me as she observed me cooking. "Is there nothing I could do to help?" cing a dollop of the filling in the middle of the small piece of dough, I shook my head as I said "No, I''ll be fine..." Recalling thest time I let her and her Mom cook, way back in Fovos Forest, I shuddered slightly as that purplish... thing entered my mind. ncing up at her, I smiled at her before returning to folding the dough over the filling, crimping the edges and moving it to the side, creating apleted pile. Letting out a wry chuckle, Jahi scratched her cheek as she said "Yeah, I guess I don''t really have the best cooking skills..." Nodding, I continued preparing the food, tracking Jahi from the edge of my vision as she made her way to the couch, sitting down and watching me. The bead bracelet on my right wrist made itself known every time I moved, the beads jangling together or rubbing against my skin. However, each time they made noise I felt my heart sing, and the weight warmed me to the core. This was the third gift Jahi had given to me, and each one had different meaning. The cor was both a sexual and a romantic gift; it showed me that I belonged to her, that I was her ''puppy''. The ring was more traditional, and would eventually be something I could show off with pride when we were officially married. And now, the bracelet was her first gift to me as my ''wife'', gifting me something that she didn''t need to get, but she thought matched me and would look good on me. Amber beads weren''t as expensive as other stones, but I preferred subdued stones like amber over shy diamonds, so I was happy that she got this. Giving her another smile, I went back to folding and crimping the pierogis, waiting for Leone to return so that she could help me with some of the cooking. I had managed to finish off the first bowl of filling when they returned, Anput and Leoneden with various bags and sacks as they entered, scurrying to the counter to ce everything down as they panted. Opening everything, I checked what they got, nodding to myself as I saw therge amount of ingredients. Leone made her way to my side, and I instructed her on what we were going to do. As for Anput, she joined Jahi on the couch, staying out of the way as I went about cooking and cleaning. The day somehow passed by rapidly, the day turning to dusk. Sitting on the table before us was arge feast; two giant bowls of sds, each te had room for arge helping of the pierogis and either cottage cheese or yogurt, I had made a few sausages, and there was a few bottles of both juices and winesid out on the table. In a small box made from my ice, I had a cheesecake chilling, waiting to be brought out for after dinner. Now, all that we needed was- *Knock knock* Hearing the knocks at the door, Jahi got up and gave herself a cursory look over, making sure the clothes she was wearing were presentable. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door, revealing three figures. The first to enter was the Marquess, the giant sapphire Demoness tilting her head to the side to allow her horns entry before smiling down at her daughter. Swiftly moving in beside her was the Countess, the golden haired Elf ncing around the house before smiling, kissing Jahi on the brow and making her way to me, a bottle in her hand. Thest to enter was Mother, wearing a loose dress as she walked in, giving Jahi, Anput, and Leone a bow before moving towards me as well, a basket in her hands. Seeing the Countess approaching, I gave her a curtsy, making her chuckle. "Come now Kat~! It''s been awhile since I got to see you, future daughter-inw~" Smiling at her, I reached forwards and took the bottle from her hands, listening as she said "Ah, we didn''t want toe empty handed, so we got a bottle of Raspberry Wine, while Julie here-" Gesturing towards Mother, who was smiling gently, the Countess said "Made a few small things for dessert..." Nodding, I lifted the basket from her hands, smiling at her as I greeted her. "It''s good to see you again, Mother!" cing the basket on the counter, I wrapped her in a hug, making sure to not squeeze her too hard. Feeling the slight bump on her stomach, I grinned at her as she gentlyid my hand on it, saying "Greet them too!" Rubbing her stomach, I chuckled as I said "Hello little ones~" The Countess moved over as well, grinning as she stared at her lovers pregnant bump. "I can''t wait to meet them~!" Mother and I nodded, before looking back towards the Marquess, who wasughing loudly as she ruffled an indigent Jahi''s hair. Letting out a sigh, the Countess nced back at me as she whispered "Ever since you two left, Chordeva''s been insufferable!" Mother gently rolled her eyes, giving me a knowing smirk as she whispered "No, they''ve both been insufferable. In fact, on the way here-" "Julie!" Letting out a huff, the Countess red at Mother before walking away, making her way over to Leone and Anput. Mother followed me into the kitchen, where we both grabbed the teapots that were boiling. "Has it been going alright back home, Mother?" She nced at me as she lifted the pot, pursing her lips. "Hmm... yes, it''s been rather quiet as well. Chordeva and Ria don''t really do much besides work. They''re trying to get ahead by a few months so that they have time for when these ones are born." We both looked at her stomach, and she added "Besides that, Ria''s been restless, constantly wondering how you all are doing at the Academy." Seeing the light worry in her eyes, I grinned at her as I said "We''ve been doing great! sses are, usually, rather fun, and I''ve learned a good bit sinceing here." Mother nodded before approaching the table, which was now upied as everyone took their seats. The Marquess sat at the head of the table, the Countess on her left and a seat empty on her right, which Mother took. Jahi sat opposite the Marquess, Anput on her left and Leone on her right, and I sat between Anput and Mother. Looking over the abundant table, the Marquess pursed her lips as she nodded, looking impressed. "Did you make all this, Kat?" Giving her a smile, I looked over at Leone, who blushed slightly as I said "Leone and I made everything, yes." "It looks pretty good~! Are they dumplings?" Watching as she speared one with her fork, I waited for her to take a bite before saying "Something like that, yes. It has a potato and cheese filling, and pairs quite well with cottage cheese or yogurt." The Marquess nodded as she started stacking her te, creating arge pile, which made the Countess let out a sigh. "Thank you for the food, Kat, Leone! Let''s get some food in us before talking about anything!" Everyone nodded, as we hadn''t eaten all day. Loading my te with sd and some pierogis, I ate in silence, but I could see my mother frown for a moment as she sniffed the air, her eyes alternating between Anput and I. --- Yeah, one more chapter lol Didn''t think I''d drag it out this much but damn is writing Slice of Life so much fun... --- Chapter 149 148: Two Weeks (7) Kat PoV Staring at Mother for a few seconds, I tilted my head as I asked "Is something wrong? Are they too spicy? Too cheesy?" She was staring at me for another few moments, remaining silent, her blue eyes alternating between Anput and I before she hesitantly asked "Did... did you mark her, Miss Anput?" Freezing, Anput choked on the pierogi she was eating, her cheeks darkening as everyone turned to stare at her. The Marquess was grinning widely, her eyes holding a knowing gleam as she nced at Jahi, while the Countess had pursed lips. Sighing, I nodded to Mother, making her blush slightly at how readily I admitted to it. "Mother, I am... well, I guess the easiest way to say it is that we''re ALL together..." That made the Countess frown for a moment, her eyes moving over each of us before she turned towards the Marquess, only to shake her head a momentter. Considering the possessive glint in her azure eyes as she did so, I held in a chuckle as I realized that she was wondering if she could have done that as well. Though, she certainly grew into being able to, considering Mothers pregnant bump. Letting out a chuckle, the Marquess grinned at her daughter as she slyly said "That''s my girl~" Jahi grinned back at her, only for it to stiffen as the Marquess ''innocently'' asked "Any ns to grow that number?" That made all three of us, Anput, Leone and I, to re at Jahi, the Demoness raising her hands as she said "Nope. Never even considered it! I swear!" Seeing her daughter instantly get ''put in her ce'', the Marquess chuckled again as she nced at the Countess, a wry smile on her lips as she said "Trust me, I know that feeling well..." The Countess just raised a brow, a ''smile'' on her lips as she looked at her wife, only to return to eating when the Marquess shivered. However, Mother then asked "Katherine, are you sure..?" Seeing the worry in her eyes, I chuckled as I nodded, gesturing to the Vampire, Jackalkin, and Demoness. "Yeah, I''m fine. Besides, without me these three would bepletely lost..." Jahi rolled her eyes, Leone nodded, and Anput pouted, however none refuted my im. Mother sighed before nodding, staring at her te in silence for a few seconds. "Well, as long as you all are able to respect one another..." "We do. Besides, Kat''s not wrong; she''s the one to solve most of our problems, and she keeps the house in good order. Last thing I''d want to do is piss her off." The Marquess grinned at her daughter as she nodded, saying "Never a good idea to piss off the housekeeper. You''ll lose out on quite a bit~" What followed was small talk; the Countess asked about the Academy, Mother reminded us to take it seriously, the Marquess suggested some specific courses for each of us... The meal passed by pleasantly enough, and once it was finished I started clearing the table, stacking the dishes and utensils in the sink. That was when the Marquess let out a cough, poured herself a drink, and gave Jahi a serious look, her ruby eyes locked on Jahi''s amethyst ones as she asked "So, spill it. What happened?" Hearing that, Leone and Anput stiffened up, looking over at Jahi, while I nced over my shoulder to see a frowning Countess alternating her stare between her wife and daughter. Jahi reached forwards and poured her own drink, taking a gulp from her ss before sighing. "We''ve been going to Zhu''Rong Caverns..." That made the Countess rx for a moment, only to stiffen as Jahi continued. "And on ourst expedition, well... we ran into a Draconas." The Marquess frowned, her eyes narrowed as she waited for Jahi to continue. However, the Countess shot out of her seat, her eyes ring for a moment as she shouted "How in the hells did you encounter a Draconas?! They only roam deep in the Caverns!" Her eyes were usatory as she red at us, but that didn''t perturb Jahi, as she held her hand up and said "Listen to the story, Mother... please." Letting out a huff, the Countess sat back down, her arms crossed as she red at her daughter. ncing at my own Mother, I saw her frowning as well, however her eyes held worry as she stared at me, only rxing when I gave her a small smile. "When we were down in the Caverns, we found a crevasse in the wall, one that led into a deserted city..." Jahi exined everything that happened down in that city; how we found it, what was inside, the eyes, the ritual, Lord Pele... She told them about it all. Recounting the fight, I could see her eyes flicker gold as she stammered over the part where I had almost been choked to death; her tone had turned self-depracating as she clenched her fists, telling them about how Leone had managed toe and save me at thest moment. Leone pursed her lips, staring down at her pale hands, while Anput sneered, her fists quivering before she closed her eyes taking in deep breaths. Hearing that I had almost died, Mother stared at me in worry again, her hazel eyes watery as she listened to Jahi''s tale. Giving her another smile, I then looked at the Marquess and Countess, the two women showing different expressions. The Marquess was staring at her daughter silently, her gaze hard as she rested her chin on her palm. As for the Countess, relief was writ clearly on her fair features, the golden haired Elf letting out a sigh as Jahi finished telling her story. Jahi could only meet her Mom''s gaze for a moment, quickly turning her eyes elsewhere as the Marquess remained silent. Letting out another relieved sigh, the Countess looked over each of us, her azure eyes gentle as she said "At least you made it out unscathed. Not many first years could say they faced, and beat, a Draconas and lived to tell the tale." However, I could see that those words held nofort to the other three; Anput''s lip rose again as she grit her teeth, Leone bit her cheek and continued staring at her hands, while Jahi nced over at me, her golden eyes filled with a glimmer of shame. The Countess noticed that too, the Elf slumping into her chair as she looked between the three girls. Was I feeling the same as them? Of course; I had a whole damn system to help me get stronger, and yet I had been the one to be tossed around like a doll. We all had thought of ourselves as strong, but that fight had humbled us quickly. But that fight also taught me that there truly is always a bigger fish; and after the fish, there are the birds. There will always be something out there ready to im our lives. That was why I wanted to pour more time into my fine tuning my magic; it was why I had started walking the road of an enchanter. I had dozens of ideas for tattoos to help boost my strength, ideas for spells that simply required more mana than I currently possessed. My dework and footwork could always be better; I could be quieter, I could hit faster and harder. My healing and support magics could be broader and more individualized; each of the women I loved had something they did better than the others. Besides that, I could put much, much more effort into improving my foundations; better control, better strength, better agility... Each was something I could train on my own daily; be it weights, sprints, stretches, continuous mana cloaks... Something. There was always something I could do to improve. However, I was also aware that, so far, there was more to our lives than individual strenght. Jahr was a Marquess; Anput and Leone were both Princess''s. That meant events, dealing with the others nobles, other nations... Jahi would eventually take over March Asmodia, and we would be supporting her. Currently, our next challenge wasn''t some monster, nor a dungeon. It was a banquet, where we would fight not with des, but with words; our battlefield would be a ballroom, not a cavern. So, I needed to support each of these three women, to make sure that, when we reached that banquet, they had everything they needed; dress, jewelry, etiquette... After all, that was the most I could do for this ''fight''. I could support them to the best of my abilities, but that was it. Shaking my head, I observed the silent Marquess, the giant Demoness remaining silent. Jahi sat, unmoving, under her Mom''s stare, her pale blue skin growing mmy. The Countess looked like she wanted to step in, but after seeing her wife''s seriousness she closed her mouth, remaining quiet. --- Sorry for thete upload lol --- Chapter 150 149: Two Weeks (8) Jahi PoV My eyes flitted towards Mom''s hard ruby ones, only for me to look away a momentter, findingfort in Mother''s azure ones, or Kat''s warm ambers. However, I would always turn back towards Mom, my heart plummeting the longer she stayed silent. Of all that sat at this table, her opinion of me was the one I valued the most; I wanted her to be proud of me, happy that I was her daughter. And yet, each passing second felt like a new crack appearing on my heart, slowly but surely pushing it towards shattering. My heart pounded in my chest, my skin grew mmy, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to attempt to steady my emotions. Eventually she moved, standing up and looking down at me. "Outside. Now." Her voice dripped with irritation, and I shuddered as I stood up, my eyes meeting hers for a moment. Those dark rubies held a sinister me, one that burned deeply within her. Walking towards the back door, I was aware of her behind me, only to flinch as she said "Everyone else, stay where you are." Brushing past me, she entered the training grounds, stepping onto the sand pit that we used. Flicking her hand out, she used her scarlet mana to grab two wooden des, before tossing one towards me. It fell short, and she narrowed her eyes, growling "Pick. It. Up." Feeling her mild anger grow, I grit my teeth before picking up the de, clenching my fist around the handle. Staring at her, I saw her standing there confidently, her posture rxed but perfect, capable of exploding into action at a moments notice. "You don''t deserve anything I''ve given you." She said that with the same ease at which she observed the weather; calm, in passing... And as an indisputable fact. My eyes widened as I stared at her, and she sneered at me, her deep sapphire skin making her expression more dreadful. "You want to call yourself an Asmodia?" She smirked at me, her ruby eyes glowing with a sadistic mirth as she spat out "With so much given to you, so much talent and so many blessings, you not only managed to fall for something like that obvious trap, but nearly had your own women killed?" Each word felt like a de, cutting deep into my heart and soul, digging into the insecurities I had held since that day. "Light Magic. A de forged from some of the strongest materials this Empire can provide. Training from ME?! And you almost fall to something as weak as a Draconas?" Stepping forwards, she leaned down slightly, bringing her eyes level with mine as she whispered "You don''t deserve anything..." However, what followed that line made my built up emotions run rampant, anger flooding my system. "You sure as hell don''t deserve Kat." Gritting my teeth, I pushed her back before swiftly swinging the de towards her skull. Except, she used that push to step away from the de, a mocking smile on her lips as she said "You really don''t. She has all that talent..." Pivoting away from another thrust, Mom grinned as she said "And with barely any teaching at all, she''s managed to catch up to you. Do you think she''ll remain by your side forever? With her abilities, she''ll be able to carve out a County of her own someday." Growling, I sent a flurry of shes towards her, only for each to be easily blocked by her own de. "Kat won''t need you; she won''t need you to protect her, to provide for her. All she needs is herself." shing out again, I then shot my left hand forwards, attempting to grab her cor. However, she smirked at me as she grabbed my wrist, easily pushing the bones against one another as she held me. Leaning forwards again, her face went still as she said "I have no need for a useless daughter." Letting out a shout, I mmed my head against hers, feeling a crunch as I cracked her nose. Chuckling, she leaned back, a small gash on the bridge of her nose. "There you go. Finally recalling ONE of the things I taught you, hmm? Is that the extent of your knowledge?" "SHUT UP!" Letting out a roar, I pulled my arm from her hand and used her momentary unsteadiness to m my de into her side. At least, that was the n; instead of the wood thunking into her muscr side, it thwacked against her own de. Smiling a little, she pushed my de away and went on the attack, her sword raining down blows from all angles. Barely managing to block each one, I grunted as I was pushed back, ring at her. "Come on Jahi! Show me that I''m wrong! Come on!" She continued to swing her de effortlessly, pushing me further back. Meeting her blows, I eventually swung my de hard at hers, using that moment to roll away and regain my footing. Watching as she simply stared at me, her brow raised as she said "Running away? Is that all your good for? Running from your problems; from your enemies?" My anger red at her words, but I bit my tongue, using the pain to clear my head. Smiling at that, she said "Finally, using more of what I taught you..." Twirling her de, she pointed it at me as she said "An Asmodia never runs. With your talent and magic, it should never even be a though in your mind." Hearing the word ''magic'', I activated my mana cloak, feeling all the small bruises and scrapes heal instantly. However, she just grinned at me as golden light cascaded over my body, making me frown. Covering my de as well, I lowered my stance before shooting forwards, the tip of my sword flying towards her throat. For a moment I was worried, as she made no effort to block or dodge the blow, but I was already too far into the thrust to stop. As the tip made its way to her throat, I grunted as the de shattered, making my eyes go wide. The point that it had collided with was covered with a thin red screen of mana, and Mom was staring at me with a smirk. "What now?" Her de was still in her hands, and she was standing just a foot away from me, standing there like she was rxing, not fighting. Jumping back again, I put my hands together and shaped my mana into a de, falling into a basic, yet practical form. Nodding, she said "Maybe you retained what I taught you." However, she flickered forwards, a wide grin on her face as her de crashed into mine, making me grunt. "But it''s still sloppy. You''ve had time to train, Jahi!" She swung her de back down towards me, and I grunted as I redirected it to the ground, attempting to trap it. Kicking me in my gut, she sent me flying backwards, rolling a few times as Inded on the ground. "Learn from your mistakes, Jahi. Don''t dwell on them; act on them. Yes, you almost died. Boo fucking who. Are you going to stop fighting now? Are you scared?" Getting up, I coughed as I tried to ready my de again, only to find myself back on the ground. "Good. Use that fear of dying to push yourself forwards. Go back over the basics; they''re severelycking. Continue training, until nothing in this world can threaten not only you-" Leaning down, she stabbed her de into the dirt beside me, making me flinch. "But those you love. For Kat. For Anput. For Leone. And eventually, for any children you have." Pulling the de from the dirt, she stared down at me, her ruby eyes narrowed as she said "So? Are you going to improve yourself, or are you going to be this ugly, useless, self deprecating mess that you are now?" Panting, I looked up at her before getting to my feet, holding my ribs. ring at her, I spat "Couldn''t this lesson have been spoken, not beaten into me?" Chuckling, she grinned at me as she said "Nope. Words have clearly not worked on you; I''m sure Kat has told you to stop being an idiot multiple times, yet here you stand. Besides, you''re like me in too many ways; that''s why I beat it into you." Still ring at her, I healed my ribs before sighing, a slight weight lifting from my shoulders. "Did... did you ever go through..?" She nodded, using her mana to put the de back on the rack. "I used to traverse the Caverns solo during my time at the Academy. During one such delve, I got corner by a dozen Adventurers. If I lost, I was likely sold off to some noble as a ve. So, I put everything on the line and almost died. That brush with death petrified me for a few days; I drowned in pleasures to distract myself, but... after awhile, I found myself back down in the Caverns, hating how I had almost lost to a bunch of idiots. I trained myself back to form, improved on what I knew, and continued to learn new things. At that time, I had started to really care for Ria, so I wanted to be strong enough to not only protect myself, but her as well. I needed to be the strongest, so I wed my way to where I am today; a Knight of Cinder, a Marquess, and one of the Empress'' most trusted. I wield more influence than you could imagine, and one day..." Laying a hand on my shoulder, she smiled gently at me, saying "You will too. Just... stop this emotional shit. Does you more harm then good in our line of work." Letting out a chuckle, we both eventuallyughed at that, until I said "I''m going to beat the daylights out of you in the future." Draping her arm over my shoulder, she smirked at me as she said "Nah, no you won''t. I''m just better than you." Laughing again, we made our way inside, back to where everyone was waiting. --- Was that... harsh? Yup. But I think that it fits Chordeva and Jahi; their demons, fighters, killers... --- Chapter 151 150: Two Weeks (9) Jahi PoV Walking back inside with Mom, I could tell that everyone was worried; Mother was frowning as she stared at her wife, while Miss Julie was looking between Kat and I, her brow furrowed. Kat was... Well, her pale blue eyes shone dangerously as she stared at Mom, only to let out a huff as she saw me walk in unscathed, turning back towards the sink and resuming her washing. Anput and Leone were both worriedly staring at me, the Vampire pale as she looked me over while the Jackalkin had clenched fists, her ears drooping slightly. However, Mom chuckled as she came back in, her arm still draped around my shoulders. "Well, I beat some sense into her, so we should be good." Mother''s frown deepened, her azure eyes moving over to me, only to sigh as I gave her a nod. Retaking our seats, Mom and I stared at one another for a moment before she grinned, reaching forwards and grabbing the bottle of wine in front of her. Uncorking it, she drank right from the bottle, making both Mother and Miss Julie frown. "Ah~ That hit the spot~! Hey pup, did you make something sweet?" Mom nced over at Kat, who stiffened as she heard her words. I pursed my lips as I felt her mild anger and irritation through our bond, only to watch as she stiffly turned around, a strained smile on her lips as she nodded. Lifting the giant ice box, she dissolved the ice to reveal a white cheesecake, the scent of vani wafting through the air making me lick my lips. Using her mana, Kat sliced the cake into even pieces before handing them our, making sure everyone got a slice. Kat handed me minest, and her eyes flickered to those chilling ethereal blue orbs, making me shiver. Her stare was like a deep void, and I gulped slightly as she kept her gaze locked on mine. The bond between us was going haywire; Kat''s emotions were flooding it, and for a moment I nked, not knowing what to do. Her piercing stare was chilling my body, making me feel like I was outside on a cold winter night. All her anger, annoyance, worry, love, desire, possessiveness, lust, bloodlust... It was all pouring into our bond, and for that moment I was given a deep insight of what kind of person Kat was... I had said it before, but she was a hedonist, a sadistic, depraved killer. However, when you take that out of the equation; you ce that one scary, yet important side of her away, what''s left is an even scarier woman. There was no doubt in my mind, at that very moment, that Kat might have been crazy enough to go after Mom, to try and ''protect'' me... While it was warming, I gave her a smile, matching her more positive emotions, as well as a few of the darker ones, trying to calm her down. Thankfully she stopped, her eyes reverting to that warm amber I was so fond of, and she gave me a grin. Leaning forwards, she brought her lips to my ear as she whispered "Fine, but I want something in return..." Feeling her lust surge forwards again, I grinned as well, nodding. Seeing her tail wag, I watched as she moved to her own seat, happily digging into her own slice of cheesecake, while everyone else gave her a nce. Mom and Anput smirked at her, knowing full well what she had just asked of me. Mother and Miss Julie frowned, likely not enjoying that that happened in front of them. Meanwhile, Leone was alternating her stare between Kat and I, her gaze envious. As we all ate the dessert Kat made, we made more small talk, but this time it was rather subdued. The only people who seemed to be unaffected from earlier were, surprisingly, Mom, Kat and I; everyone else were quieter than normal, picking at the slices of cheesecake before them. Before I knew it, the meal was over, the wine finished, and table cleared. Getting up, Mom grinned at me as she shrugged on her coat, Mother slipping swiftly behind her and helping her. I rose as well, approaching her and epting the hand that fell between my horns, herrge hand ruffling my hair as she stared down at me. Seeing her ruby eyes shine with warmth, I smiled at her, only to glower as she said "If I see you like that again, I''ll beat you to a pulp, got it?" Hearing that, I stared at her in silence for a few moments before grinning, arrogantly saying "Next time you see me, I''ll be the one beating you!" She let out a snort, while Mother raised a brow, her azure eyes alight with mirth. "In your dreams brat." Giving me a quick hug, Mom moved towards the others, while Mother approached. Standing before me, she straightened out my shirt, her dainty hands rhythmically stroking my chest as she said "I... might not agree with the method, but the message was sound, Jahi. You''re... not much of a thinker; once you get going, it spirals uncontrobly. I have no doubt that Kat tried to use words first, but they clearly didn''t work. Just keep that in mind... Please Jahi, keep it in mind." Smiling down at her, I returned her embrace, enjoying the familiar warmth and sickly sweet smell wafting from her golden hair. She gave me a wide grin before turning around, joining Mom as she talked to Kat and the others. Seeing Miss Julie standing off to the side, I approached her, my steps hesitating for a moment as her hard gaze met mine. However, just like Kat she swiftly changed from that to the stoic, serious woman that I was familiar with. "Miss Julie..." I stood before her, scratching my cheek as I tried to find the words to say to her. To apologize for putting her daughter in trouble. To thank her for allowing Kat to remain here despite that. To sincerely wish her well in the future... "Lady Jahi, there is no need to speak; trust me, I know what it is that you wish to say. Just... take better care of her, alright? She''s..." Miss Julie peered over at her daughter, who was staring at Mom and Mother, nodding as they spoke to her. "She''s my little treasure. I know that she loves you; she''s like Lady Ria in that regard, so no matter what I do or say she''ll always be on your side, but..." Turning back to me, she stared into my eyes for a few seconds, and I shivered as they mirrored her daughters from earlier; those dark, deep voids of almost ck eyes stared at me, and I knew that, in this moment, I was looking at not a maid, not a serious, responsible mother, but an overprotective, lethal mother, one who has already killed to guarantee her daughter was able to be born in a safe ce. Gulping as those eyes bored into me, I nodded as I said "I swear it, on my name, on my life... I''ll protect her. After what happened... I''ll protect her." Miss Julie''s eyes reverted back to her warm hazel, and I felt my heart race as she gave me a dazzling smile, making me even more aware that Kat, and her mother, were not women to be messed with. Giving her a shallow bow, I made my way over to Kat, who was still smiling up at Mom. "Haha~! You''ve got grit, pup. Just make sure to use it properly." Kat nodded at Mom, before giving Mother a quick hug. Anput and Leone also gave Mother swift embraces, while they bowed to Mom. Watching as they exited the cottage, I stood with Kat outside the door, waving at them as they made their way down into the dark city. "What did you say to Mom?" Kat smiled at me, her amber eyes shining with a mischievous light as she coyly said "Nothing important, Mistress~" Giving her a dry look, I nced back towards Mom, watching as her tall figure faded into the distance. As I made my way back inside with my Dogkin wife, I made sure to try and engrave that lesson she taught me into my heart. I needed strength. I wanted to be able to confidently face any threat and know that my women, my family, would be safe. That, in a few years time, my children would be safe. I had to stop overthinking everything and just push forwards, striding to improve myself as best as I possibly could. Not only for me... But for this smiling Dogkin beside me; I wanted to ensure that everyst strand of her silky brown hair would be safe. I wanted to confidently say that I was married to the Princess of this Empire, and be able to proudly, and smugly, show her off to the world. My other puppy, Anput, would likely join me in my endeavors, being at the forefront of our training, pushing herself to the brink everyday to guarantee that we could rely on her for anything. All three of my women would be safe. All four of us would be strong enough to defend one another. That is a vow I dare to make with confidence. --- So, I think tomorrow I''ll try and release two chapters; one lemon and one normal, all to prepare for the start of banquet, which is long overdue lol. However, don''t hold your breath; who knows what shenanigans my mom is going to want to get up to tomorrow... On Christmas Day I WILL be uploading two chapters; be it one new and one extra, or two new. Anyways, yeah, that''s the n, and I hope I can stick to it. --- Chapter 152 151: Comfort* Leone PoV I stood in my room, my breathing ragged as I desperately yed with my body, attempting to quell the heat that threatened to consume me. After that dinner with Jahi''s parents, I had seen not only another side of Kat, but had also been given... Some ''food for thought'', as the Dogkin approached ourrge, burly, wonderful wife Jahi. She had whispered something to the Demoness, and the grin Jahi had worn after hearing whatever it was made me envious. I wanted to know what Kat had asked her; I wanted to be the one Kat went to for her needs. However, I also wanted to ask Jahi to use me as she pleases; her thick cock had already drowned me in pleasure many times, and now I was addicted; both to the pleasure it brought and the taste of her blood as she took me. Recalling my two lovers blood, I moaned as my fangs slid further from my gums, the two top incisors sharply poking against my bottom lip. My hands sped up; one was churning my drooling cunt, while the other wrung out my cock, bringing my mind to the edge as I imagined Jahi stirring my insides while Kat milked me for all I had. Letting out lewd moans, I felt my mind nk as I sprayed my seed all over the sheets, only to spasm again as my pussy writhed in unfulfilled bliss as my fingers probed my soft folds. Blinking a few times to try and clear my head, I rolled over and got up, panting as my legs trembled from the pleasure moments before. Looking over my now soiled sheets, I bit my lips as I realized I needed to change them; my magic wasn''t the right kind to clean them up. Kat''s was though... Thinking that, I wanted to go and peer into their room, to see what they were doing to one another. My hands fell back down to my throbbing shaft as I envisioned what Jahi was doing to Kat, and I plopped back down onto my bed, eagerly pleasuring myself to that thought. I was close to release, my minds filled with the images of Kat''s ample breasts bouncing as she rode on Jahi''sp, shaking her round ass as she satiated Jahi''s lust. Moaning, I brushed my fingers underneath my tip, shuddering at the sensitive skin bringing me closer to rapture. "Hmm~? Want some help, love~?" I jumped, releasing myself instantly and turning around, my eyes going wide as I saw the now familiar figure of Jahi, her pale blue skin shining in the dim light. My eyes fell onto her nude body, gulping as I traced over every hard line of muscle that adorned her body, as well as those surprisinglyrge breasts that gave her a perfect figure. However, my eyes dropped lower, to what really captivated me; the long, erect cock that throbbed as she stared at me, her amethyst eyes gleaming with lust as she looked me over. Noting that it was stained with juices and streaked with white, I gulped again as the desire to clean it entered my mind. Jahi followed my gaze lower and smirked, saying "I just got done with Anput... I was only going to go two or three rounds with her, but she insisted on a fifth..." Approaching me, she gently rubbed her slimy tip against my lips, only to grin as I opened my mouth and epted her with glee. Grabbing my head in her hands, Jahi started sliding herself downpletely into my throat, making me gag as her sweet taste permeated my mouth, making my head swim. She let out a satisfied groan as she buried herselfpletely in my throat, her balls restingfortably against my chin. Using my tongue, I started running it around her thick shaft, swallowing and trying to massage her entire length as best I could. Seeing her smirk down at me made my heart race, and I redoubled my efforts, wanting to see her feel good using my mouth. "Good girl... Ah~ this feels fucking great~!" Hearing her praise, as well as her breathing speeding up, I felt a warmth flood my system, until all that was on my mind was pleasuring her. Grabbing her tones hips, I started moving my head up and down her shaft, mirroring what Kat has done for me so many times before. Jahi''s amethyst eyes narrowed with pleasure, and her smirk deepened as I sped up, only to widen my eyes as she mmed herself forwards, letting out a grunt. A thick, hot liquid spurted from her tip, and I moaned as her sweet semen flooded my throat, making my own cock tremble as I sprayed my load onto the floor. When we both finished up, she pulled out and grinned at me, while I licked my lips clean and swallowed down the remaining bits of her seed. "Come here. I have two gifts for you." She grabbed my hand and lifted me to my feet, helping me walk towards her room. Leaning into her body, I enjoyed her warmth and scent that permeated my senses, feeling slightly fulfilled from just that. However, when she opened the door, I froze as I saw whaty on the bed. Kat was bound and gagged, a blindfold over her eyes. Ropes dug into her fair skin, expertly restraining her limbs and spreading her legs apart, revealing a drenched cunt. The bound Dogkin let out a moan as she heard us enter, but Jahi just grinned as a sadistic light entered her eyes. "Come on Leone~! I got you something." Nodding, I had to tear my eyes off the sight of the bound woman, holding myself back from plunging myself deep into her tight embrace. Following behind Jahi, I found myself in front of her dresser, where the tall Demoness ruffled through her drawers. "Ah, there it is~!" Standing back up, she turned and grinned at me, a grey cor in her hands. Seeing the familiar symbol of March Asmodia dangling from the front, my eyes widen as she swiftly fastened it around my neck, making me blush. Raising a shaky hand to my now cored neck, my blush deepened as I realized what this meant... Staring up at the wide smirk on her lips, I felt my pussy moisten considerably as she stared at me, looking at me with a mixture of love, lust, and possessiveness. She... She just imed ownership of me~! Jahi pulled me into her arms, and I sunk readily into her warm and safe embrace, enjoying the feeling of her strong arms around my back. Burying my face into her chest, I peeked up at her just to shiver as she met my gaze, only to shudder as she leaned down and whispered "You''re mine~!" We remained locked in that embrace for another few moments, only for me to jump when I heard Kat moan again, making me remember that she was, currently, bound and gagged on the bed. Spinning me around, Jahi rested her cock on my ass as she leaned down again, her cheek on my shoulder as she whispered seductively into my ear. "She''s my next gift to you; do as you please to our bound puppy~" Her voice sent shivers down my spine, only to make me gulp as I found myself kneeling before Kat''s spread legs, my eyes glued to her form. The ropes easily made it so she was incapable of any movement, and the pattern was intricate as it snaked across her fair skin. Kat was on her back, her calves bound to her thighs and spread apart, while her arms were pulled behind her back, annunciating her giant chest. There was a thick ck cloth covering her eyes, and another cloth was secured tightly in her mouth, keeping her rtively quiet. Jahi draped herself behind me, whispering "Go on~ Partake in her juicy garden, Leone~ Enjoy yourself..." I gulped and nodded, moving forwards and cing my cock at the entrance of her cunt. Gliding my tip over her drenched folds, I enjoyed the way she moaned before I thrust myself insidepletely, unable to hold myself back anymore. Kat let out a muffled scream as I tore past her cervix, making me moan as delight rushed through my body. Her folds gripped my shaft hard, writhing around me with an eagerness that made me moan again. Leaning forwards, I pressed my body into hers, my breasts pushing into hers as I smothered her warm, soft body, and I slid my arms underneath her, embracing her. My tongue instinctively flitted out, gliding across her supple neck. Her tart taste entered my mouth, and I moaned as I felt my fangs ache, desperately telling me to feed. Something inside me snapped, and I opened my mouth wide before sinking my fangs into her neck, her delectable blood entering my mouth. Gulping down her blood, I enjoyed the way she writhed in my arms as I drank, and I felt my hunger recede. Making sure to get my fill and then some, I listened to her heavenly moans as I sucked her and thrusted into her, the Dogkin getting assaulted from multiple sensations. Releasing her neck, I licked the two pinprick wounds, closing them. My mouth was now permeated with Jahi''s cloying sweetness and Kat''s tart blood, making my head spin. Pulling her body up into mine, I started mming my hips down into hers, my cock gouging out her womb with every thrust. Moaning constantly, we both were lost in pleasure, and I found my mind nk, her body sending me deeper into a carnal abyss. Her pussy mped around my cock, with her folds writhing and massaging my shaft, attempting to milk me. Her heated body felt incredible on my own as we fucked, and the sound of her muffled moans and the pping of my flesh against hers aroused me so much. However, I yelped as I felt someoney on my back, only to shudder as Jahi whispered "This is so fucking hot... You don''t mind if I join, right Leone?" Gulping, I became aware of her searing erection on my back, however even as she draped herself over me again I continued to swing my hips down like some wild animal, intent on having my way with Kat. "Y-Yesh..." My world went white as the Demoness behind me plunged her cock deep into my cunt, herrge hands kneading my ass as she started matching my rhythm, spearing herself into my womb. Letting out a pleasurable scream, I found myself pressed deeper into Kat, our bodies melding together perfectly as Jahi pushed me down, her chiseled abs on my back. Snaking her arm around my neck, she tightened her embrace as she whispered "Do you like my gift to you, love~? A tight maid to milk your cock as I use your womb for my pleasure..." My eyes were rolling around in my skull, and her words barely registered as I felt Kat mp on my cock again, spraying juices all over my legs. I also came from Jahi''s cock, making the Demoness grunt as she continued to thrust despite my tight cunt. "Hmm~? Well, do you~? Because I LOVE this... both of you are so soft... so tight~! I love fucking you both so much~!" She sped up, and I screamed again as the Demoness'' other hand started spanking my ass, herrge handnding on my plump rear. "Agh~! Fuck, I love this~! I love you~! Shit..!" Jahi sped up even more, and I cried out in pleasurable agony as her cock mmed repeatedly into my womb, only to gasp as her balls rested against mine, pulsating as she came deep inside me. Feeling herva like semen fill my womb, I started spraying my seed into Kat as well, the Dogkin whimpering as I poured thergest load of my life into her, bloating her womb. Jahi spasmed behind me, still cumming inside me before pulling out. Pulling me out of Kat, she pushed me beside the Dogkin, and I moaned as I watched her pumping at her cock, an animalistic lust in her eyes. Momentster the Demoness sprayed another load onto our bodies, her semen painting our breasts as she loomed over us, panting. "By... the goddess..." She stared down at me, her face ck as her cock roared back to life. "Damn... it... whatever!" Sheunched herself forwards, and I could only moan and wrap my legs around her waist as she returned to my pussy, pounding away at my hips as she tried to vent her lust. The night passed by slowly, and every minute was filled with moans, Kat and I receivingrge doses of semen multiple times. When I finally passed out, Jahi was stillying on top of the bound Kat, her lips pressed onto the Dogkins as she slurped on her tongue. --- First 3some in this novel, and there''s only more to e'' lol~ Anyways, next is the beginning of the Banquet mini arc thingamajig, so enjoy~ --- Chapter 153 152: Leaving For The Banquet --- This''ll be under 1.5k Words since... Well, a gigantic lemon just happened... Hehe, hope you liked it~ --- Kat PoV Standing in front of Jahi, I continued to pull on her undershirt, making sure it fit snugly and wasn''t wrinkled. The tall Demoness watched me work with a small smile, her eyes warm. However, as much as I wanted to revel in her loving stare, I had to get her ready and then get the other two ready; I had too much to do this morning. Straightening the shirt, I started tying the tie on her neck, making sure it was evenly tied and that the cor was even as well. Once her tie was on and cor straight, I carefully lifted up the custom jacket we had tailored for her. With her help I started fastening the buttons, links, and smoothing it out. Soon enough a rather sharp looking pale blue woman stood before me, her suit giving her a serious, reliable look, like a senior manager at any office job. Moving towards the small jewelry box, I lifted out the golden pocket watch and chain, swiftly attaching them to her suit and slipping it into her pocket. Next was a si ring, the symbol of March Asmodia embossed on the front. Slipping it on her left pointer finger, I then lifted out the two dangle earrings, handing them to her. She attached them both to her right ear, finishing her look. Giving her another once over, I nodded as she stood before me, her serious expression matching well with the subdued, yet wealthy look. Jahi walked towards a mirror, admiring her reflection. "Looks great Kat!" Slipping behind her, I gave her a deep curtsy and said "Thank you Mistress... Now, if you''ll excuse me..." Giving me a nod, Jahi watched as I made my way to the next room; Leone''s. The curvy Vampire was in her grey undergarments, making sure everything was secure before jumping as I knocked on her door. Seeing me, she blushed before looking at the dress hanging on her door, a smile appearing on her lips. The dark ash grey runic cloth dress was truly avish disy, but... Lifting it, I set about getting it on the Vampiric Princess, tightening some parts, fluffing others, and tying some parts down. The Labradorite gleamed in the dim light of her room, and I could already imagine how much they would shine in the bright lights of the banquet hall. Next was her hair; I had gone over this with Leone before, and so I straightened it and then gently ced her solid gold tiara on her head, nestling it inside her ashen hair. Her entire color scheme was gray and gold, and the cor on her neck matched her hair perfectly, as did the golden symbol of March Asmodia dangling from the front. Once she was fully dressed and done up, I started handing her her jewelry; the ring we all had, her ruby stud earrings, and a golden bracelet with an amethyst sp above her ring, which was on her left ring finger. Her crimson eyes met mine, and I gave her a smile, saying "Are you ready, Lady Leone?" Giving me a nervous smile, she took a breath before nodding, her previous embarrassed expression melting away as it was reced with a more dignified, noble expression, making my smile widen. "Mistress is out front; please wait with her as I prepare Lady Anput." I turned, preparing to exit her room. However, she grabbed my wrist and turned me around, before pulling me towards her. cing her lips on mine, Leone kissed me before whispering "I... Sorry, I just..." Chuckling, I dropped my ''professional maid'' attitude for a moment as I returned her kiss, only pulling apart when her cinnamon taste permeated my tongue. "It''s alright... you''re nervous, I know. It''ll be alright though; as long as we all stick together, we can ovee anything Leone. Really." She nodded, and I gave her another gentle smile before leaving. Last up... Slipping into the Jackalkin''s room, I saw her pursing her lips as she sat in front of her mirror, her eyes glued to her face. "Anput..?" Turning, she smiled at me as she got up, stretching her bare lithe figure. "Nothing, just thinking. Come on, let''s get this over with..." She was the easiest to dress by far; after binding her chest with a ck cloth, we pulled the dark violet dress onto her, and after a few moments of adjusting and smoothing it out, we were almost done. Anput had her long ck hair down, and I set aboutbing it before pulling it into a high ponytail, using amethyst studded pins to keep it in ce. After that I slid her ring on her finger before looking her over, enjoying her more revealing look. Grinning at me, Anput got up and gave me a twirl, making me chuckle before I found myself pressed against the table. Leaning onto me, Anput smirked before kissing me, her hands sping my own. "I can''t wait for this to be over... But I also want this to be drawn out so I can see that idiotic Elf suffer..." Chuckling, I rolled my eyes as she kissed my neck, her tongue trailing over my pheromone nd. "I want you after this, Kat..." Pushing her back gently, I chuckled again as I smirked at her, coyly saying "Well, I guess you need to do well at this banquet, hmm~?" Slipping from her embrace and exiting her room, I rejoined Jahi and Leone in the main room, the two women standing beside one another. Anput joined them a momentter, and I gave them all ast second look over, proud of myself. Jahi''s hair was braided, and it fell over her left shoulder. Her gold tipped horns ented her dark ck suit, and wasplimented by the various golden essories on her person. Smirking at me, she looked every bit a yboy at this moment, but I knew that as soon as we entered that banquet hall, she''d turn into that serious, unapproachable Demoness that everyone avoided. Beside her stood Leone, her pale skin only entuated by her darker gray dress, and the stones embedded into the expensive cloth sparkled in the light. She was wearing that regal expression, and when paired with her golden tiara she looked every part the Princess she was. Leone was the only one wearing any makeup, and even then it was just a light blush and dark red lipstick to match her eyes, making her look mature. Finally, Anput stood confidently beside Leone, her dark violet dress looking incredible on her olive skin. The ckce was just racy enough to attract attention, but also tame enough to be considered appropriate. Seeing each one of them wearing such expensive attire made me smile, and I was about to gesture for us to leave when Jahi stepped forwards, two small boxes in her hands. "Before we go... here, a gift." Handing one to Leone and the other to Anput, the two women looked at them in anticipation before opening them. Leone lifted out a ruby bracelet, each stone a brilliant fiery red. As for Anput, she received a golden ring, a carved chunk of circr obsidian, the glossy ck stone reflecting the light of the room wonderfully. Both girls stared at their gifts with wide eyes, and rapidly slid them on. Admiring their new jewelry, they grinned at the smirking Demoness,unching themselves into her arms. Chuckling, she nced back at me, and her smile widened as I slid up my sleeve, revealing the amber bead bracelet. Letting them have their moment, I checked my own pocket watch before saying "Alright, we need to get going..." Chapter 154 153: Banquet (1) Stepping into the borate carriage that awaited us, Jahi knocked on the wall three times, letting the Banshee know that we were ready to go. Feeling the carriage start moving down the paved road, a silence descended inside the room, with each person staring down at the floor, their faces serious. Taking in each one, I smiled gently as I observed each ones appearance, nodding at my splendid work. Feeling my gaze, Jahi looked up towards me, her amethyst eyes meeting mine as she gave me a small smile, before sighing. "This is going to be an annoying day..." Leone nodded, a tight frown on her face as she muttered "Jillian is going to try something." Anput leaned back into her seat, wearing a confident grin as she said "We''ll deal with it as ites... together. Besides, there''s little this Elf can do at such a public venue. If anything, this ''attack'' on us will remain as just verbal." Jahi and Leone nodded, but the two pursed their lips as they exchanged nces. The pale blue Demoness spoke next, her voice tinged with annoyance as she said "That''s still a problem though... On paper, she''s from a Dukedom while we''re from a March, and while the Asmodia''s do wield lots of influence, many despise us because of that. If she proposes some kind of deal, alliance, or sanction against us, those that despise us would jump on that opportunity; both to attempt to get rid of us, but also because it''d put them in the good graces of a future Duchess." Anput sighed, her featuresplicated as she said "The Empire''s politicalndscape is a damn quagmire; it was much simpler in the Sultanate. If you were stronger than your ''opponent'', then that was that. There was no sanctions to be levied, and few epted deals for fear of having others do the same to get rid of them." Chuckling, Leone smiled at Anput and raised a brow at the Jackalkin. "Except, inside the Sultanate, you don''t have Counties and Baronies in charge of supplying the others with food; your parents elect people to do that for them, and those people are utterly loyal to the Sultana." Anput leaned forwards, a smirk on her face as she replied "It''s just smarter, because those elected officials know who gave them that opportunity, and how quickly that opportunity can be taken away; they work to keep that position, and THEN they reap the benefits of a lucrative job like that. Here, you all-" The rest of the ride was spent in a debate between the two Princess'', with Jahi chipping in every once in awhile to keep it going on, a smirk on her face as the two gradually grew heated. As for me, I took it all in in silence, enjoying the way the two women passionately argued their sides, wanting to prove the other wrong. My own opinion on the matter was mixed; I saw merit in both, and could see problems with both, but I wasn''t biased like they were, so I could jump to those conclusions. Thankfully we arrived at our destination before the two women couldunch themselves at one another''s throats, both of them letting out huffs as they looked away from one another. Chuckling, Jahi waited for the Banshee to open our door before gesturing for me to exit first, and I swiftly assumed my stoic mask, my body falling into the regr habit that I was now used to. Pulling out the step for the other three to use, I stood to the side and held a deep curtsy, watching from the corner of my eye as the three women stepped out of the carriage. There were many people around us; some were arriving as we were, and others were lingering in front of the giant mansion that the Sariel Family owned, waiting and watching as more people arrived. Approaching our carriage was a Sariel Family servant, and the neatly dressed Butler nodded to me before standing by my side,ying his arm across his stomach before bowing, waiting. The first to step out was Jahi, and many fell silent as the giant, serious Demoness appeared, her golden tipped horns drawing attention. Seeing her, the Butler stood up and announced our arrival, shouting "Marquess Heir Jahi Asmodia has arrived!" Turning, Jahi held her hand out and helped Anput out of the carriage, the Jackalkin taking elegant steps down onto the rolled out green carpet. Many gasped or gaped when they saw her revealing outfit, a few men and women''s eyes gleaming with lust. However, when Jahi brought Anput''s dark olive hand to her lips, many looked away. "Begum Anput Sera, Fiancee of Jahi Asmodia, has arrived!" Anput smiled gently up at Jahi before moving to stand beside her, casting her obsidian eyes back into the carriage. When Jahi epted the pale white hand that extended from the carriage door, many were murmuring in the background, only to fall silent as Leone stepped out. Her curvy figure and elegant postured, paired with her regal expression made many freeze, stunned by the beauty in front of them. She was surrounded by that noble aura that made many want to bow to her, and when her piercing crimson eyes andvish attire were taken into ount, people fell into a daze. Like with Anput, Jahi brought Leone''s hand to her lips, kissing the back of it before kissing the ring on her finger, making the Vampire blush slightly. Leone gave Jahi a warm, gentle smile as she stood before her, only to cast a nce towards the stunned Butler, making the older man let out a cough before shouting "P-Princess Leone Presa-Ash, Fiancee of Jahi Asmodia, has arrived!" The murmurs started back up momentster, and when everyone saw the two beautiful women standing on either side of the Asmodia Heiress... Well, some were in awe by the elegance and dazzling looks all three women exuded, while others were envious for those same reasons. Moving to stand behind the trio, I followed them as the Butler led us inside, towards therge gathering of other nobles and, more importantly... Standing in the center was the host of todays banquet, Jillian Sariel. Draped in a flowing pale green dress, the Elf was currently smiling as she chatted with the woman standing beside her, only for her smile to stiffen as she saw us approaching. Jahi smirked at Jillian before standing in front of her, giving the Sariel Heiress a shallow bow. "Happy birthday Lady Sariel! My fiancees and I wish you the best~!" cing emphasis on ''fiancees'', Jahi held back a smirk as Jillian''s expression stiffened again, before she swiftly changed it into a more natural smile. "Why thank you, Lady Asmodia! It''s a pleasure to see you again, Lady Presa-Ash and Lady Sera! Please, enjoy the snacks and wine as we wait for the remaining guests!" Anput gave her a brief nod, disinterest clearly written on her face, while Leone curtsied slightly to the Elf, a smile on her lips. "Then we shall, Lady Sariel." Jillian stiffened again as Leone intertwined her arm with Jahi''s her crimson eyes glowing with mirth as she watched the Elf hold back a re. Jahi started to make her way to the least crowded side, and as I followed behind her I curtsied to Jillian. However, as I was about to resume walking behind Jahi, Jillian gave me a smile before asking "Katherine, may I have a word in a few moments? I have a-" Raking her gaze over my body, she smirked at me, her brown eyes dripping with lust as she continued, her voice slightly raspy. "Few questions I would like to ask you..." Herpanion was smirking at me as well, and I held back the urge to smack the Elven Heiress. Taking a breath, I said "Respectfully, Lady Sariel, you would need to ask my Mistress, Lady Asmodia; I''m of no ce to make such a decision on my own." Her smile widened slightly, and she nodded, letting out an exaggerated sigh as she said "I understand... she doesn''t allow you to live your own life, hmm? You poor thing." Herpanion, who was a shorter Elf with long green hair and sun-kissed skin, chuckled as she added "Even my closest servant is allowed their own opinion~ After all, they are a person too!" Jillian nodded as she turned to the other Elf, saying "Indeed Lady Kameiel! Please, Katherine, let me know if she''s mistreating you!" Turning back to me, the smirk on Jillian''s face was rather disturbing, but I simply shook my head, informing her "Mistress Asmodia treats me rather well, Lady Sariel. Thank you for your concern. Now, if you''ll excuse me..." Giving her another curtsy, I slipped away, still aware of her palpable gaze on my body as I rejoined Jahi, Anput, and Leone. All three were wearing neutral expressions, and I held in a chuckle as Jahi growled out "What''d that bitch want?" Thankfully her voice was low, and she kept her face steady, so I answered "Nothing much; she wanted a word with me before the banquet started, and she was insinuating that you treat me poorly." Smiling subtly as she started at me, Jahi said "If only she knew, hmm~?" Rolling my eyes, I prepared each woman a te and handed it to them, watching as they ate swiftly. This is going to be interesting... Chapter 155 154: Banquet (2) Handing each woman a te, I watched as they gracefully ate the offered food, Anput nodding slightly as she took a bite from the crisp tbread. "I have to admit, they made good decisions on the snacks at least. Now, what about the wine~?" Smirking, Anput turned to the table and lifted a ss, her obsidian eyes shining with desire as she stared at the deep purple liquid. Watching as she sipped her ss, Jahi nodded and took a ss of her own, while Leone simply shook her head in mock disappointment, eliciting smirks from the Jackalkin and Demoness. Moving to stand behind them, both so I could offer them whatever they needed while also being able to keep an eye on the entirety of the banquet hall, I took in the bustling of the Nobility. Many sat at tables, sipping on wine as they chatted, likely forming connections and deals between each other due to this opportunity. I saw a few ssmates as well; Duke Ulysses Gregori was present, as was Duchess Draka ki, both with partners. The Duke was currently standing beside a tall, thin woman, her dark chocte skin glistening in the light. Her expression was a serious one, and her yellow eyes flitted about the hall, only stopping when the Duke said something to her. As for Duchess Draka, she was currently giving a man a fake smile as they shook hands, all while Rialo stood behind her, the normally expressive Lamia giving the man a ck look. There were other ssmates here and there; Barons and Viscounts aplenty, all mingling with those above their ranks in hope of garnering some attention from an important person. Besides them, I was rather surprised to Greselda and Countess Aurim, the blonde woman who was always beside the adventurer in our ss. They were currently sitting together at a table in the corner, Greselda saying something with a smile that made Countess Aurim giggle, the beautiful blonde covering her cherry lips as she stared at Greselda with warmth. Not surprised by the pairing, just wondering why they''re here... That was all the notable guests that I knew; I could make inferences on other people based on their emzoned cloaks or suits, as I had familiarized myself with some of the families emblems. For instance, there was the Marquess of the Yuca Family, the short brte woman wearing a thin smile as she spoke in hushed tones to the Countess of the Lopaw Family, her wolf ears twitching as she grinned dangerously at the other woman. However, after another few moments I had to reign in my curiosity, as there were simply too many people and too many interactions happening for me to currently keep up with. Besides that, Jahi was speaking in a low tone, her lips barely moving as she observed Jillian and her older cousin Hawn, the two Elves still talking to that green haired Elf. "-Kameiel Family... Interesting. I thought they were still adamant about remaining neutral inside the Draeg Forest?" Leone nodded, taking a small bite of the buttered tbread, replying in an equally quiet tone as she said "They were. At least, as of a few months ago. The Sariel''s must have offered something quite substantial to break that adamant desire of theirs. But what?" Pursing her red lips, Leone narrowed her eyes before peeking back at Anput, who was draining her second ss. Sighing, she raised a brow and lifted the empty winess from the Jackalkin''s hands, giving her a stern "Anput, that''s enough." Anput rolled her eyes before nodding, and as she turned away Leone said "Kat, please watch her; I don''t want her to get drunk here." That made Anput pout at me, only to sigh as I gave her a stern look as well, understanding how bad that would look on not only her, but Jahi as well. Jahi and Leone fell back into their conversation, and Anput joined in when she could, deciding to stay serious for now. After another few minutes the Butler approached us, respectfully bowing before informing us "Thest guests have arrived; may I guide you to your seats?" Jahi nodded, and the Butler turned sharply and led us towards a table close to the center. Swiftly taking in the rest of the banquet hall, I noticed that some tables still had their personal servants beside them, kneeling on the ground, while others were standing by the back walls, out of the way. As soon as Jahi took her seat, I respectfully knelt beside her, smoothing out my maid dress before freezing myself, keeping myself motionless. Jahi clicked her tongue as she saw that, while Leone and Anput shot conflicted looks at me. However, they all quickly turned back to the center, where Jillian, Hawn, and the Kameiel woman stood. Raising her ss, Jillian struck the side of it with a metal spoon, quieting the hall in a few moments. Coughing slightly, she smiled at everyone and started her speech. "Thank you everyone, for attending my birthday banquet. It means a lot, seeing some of the faces here; I''m honored that those people have deigned me important enough to give me some of their time! Since I am reaching a decade of life, I had to make an important decision, one that would change not only my future, but the future of this Empire. For good, I hope! I am proud to announce that, not only have I been deemed qualified enough to try out for a position as an Elven Ranger, I have also managed to be the luckiest woman in the world! Standing beside me is A Kameiel, who would have been the future head of the Kameiel Family, but has blessed me by epting my proposal! We will be, for theing years, the Heads of the Sariel Family, and I am extremely happy to announce that the Sariel and Kameiel Families are joining together, not only as two historic Elven Houses, but as family and friends. Again, I thank you all for attending this banquet, and please, enjoy the food!" Jillian was grinning at the end of that, and she was staring straight at our table, a malicious glint in her eye. A stood beside her, smirking as she looked at Leone, an arrogant and pompous expression on her face as she leaned over and hooked her arm through Jillian''s. The banquet hall was silent for a moment before everyone pped. Some cheered, while others, like us, gave her reserved apuse. Bowing to the assembled crowd, Jillian led her fiancee towards arge table, Hawn following behind her. Jahi let out a quiet "Shit..." before watching as a slew of Butlers and Maids streamed into the hall, carrying dozens of trays and pitchers. Laying out the food, the servants then left, while those with pitchers remained. Seeing that, I gracefully stood up and nodded to the maid, gently taking the pitcher from her hands. Giving me a nod back, she left with the other servants, and I set about filling the cups on the table with a sweet smelling juice. Keeping a small smile on her lips, Jahi leaned back into her chair and started slicing into the thick b of venison on her te, saying "This isn''t good... They might not be the strongest, but the Kameiel''s wield plenty of influence among the Nobility." Leone nodded, gently dabbing at her lips to remove a slight stain of juice. "The enchantments they provide are among the best, and they haverge shares in the alchemical market. Meanwhile, the Sariel''s are among some of the most prolific archers in the Empire, and their tracking skills are unparalleled. They are in almost every high ranked Exploration Team that enters the Labyrinthian." Anput frowned, stabbing at her steak as she asked "How many people make up these families?" Pursing her lips, Jahi sighed as she said "The Sariel''s are a conglomerate of Elven families, but they all follow the same teachings. As for the Kameiel''s, they are few, but it''s quality over quantity there. They rank among the highest Enchanters and Alchemists in the Empire. This... this is a big deal." Both Anput and Leone frowned, briefly ncing at me as I asked "Who is allied with us?" Jahi sighed again, taking a bite from the venison as she said "Few. The Haniel Family; Mother''s family, are our primary allies. It''s simr to the Sariel''s, but just slightly worse. Then there''s the Wikath Family, who are incredible mages but... they''re reclusive and unworldly. Of course, we have a spattering of various Baronies and Counties, but they''re not... reliable." I gave a tiny nod, refilling Anput''s ss as she drained her cup. "Well, remember, you married Leone and I; the Empress might not give you arge amount of support, but the Sultanate can and will. You not only border us, but the Marquess is respected by my parents. If pushes to shove, the Sultanate will be our safe-haven." The Demoness gave Anput a smile, before she gazed at a smug looking Jillian, the Elf staring intently at us. "This is getting TOO interesting..." Chapter 156 155: Banquet (3) The meal flew by rtively quickly; after the initial entree wasid out, a mixture of snacks and desserts adorned our tables, as well as a small assortment of sweet and savory wines. All three women had a ss, Anput with relish while Jahi and Leone used it as a distraction. Giving everyone some time to finish their meals and let their stomachs digest everything, Jillian and A eventually moved back towards therge center, the two Elven women wearing dazzling smiles as they looked over the crowd. Seeing our host standing in the center, everyone fell silent, waiting for her to speak again. Clearing her throat, Jillian nodded to A before grabbing her hand and intertwining their fingers together. Returning her gaze to the assembled nobles and people of influence, Jillian grinned as she said "I hope everyone enjoyed the banquet? Again, I have to thank you all foring; not only to celebrate a new year in my life, but also to hear my exciting news! Now, it wouldn''t be a great banquet if we didn''t dance! Please, everyone, make your way to the floor! We have musicians from the Trebal Company here today." Jillian was about to turn around when she stopped, a small smile on her face as she said "And please, ANYONE is free to dance, be them Nobles or Servants, the dance floor is avable to all. That means that I expect everyone to be getting along for tonight~! Nowe, let''s dance!" She gave me a swift nce, her eyes still alight with lust before she grabbed A''s hand and waist, leading the woman into a traditional waltz. From a stage in the back, arge group of musicians started ying their instruments; strumming chords of harps and lyres and pressing the keys of a grand piano. A woman even walked to the edge of the stage, her melodic voice filling the room. Jahi, Anput, and Leone all stood up, and the three exchanged nces before Jahi said "Come here Kat." cing the pitcher on the table, I nodded as I took her hand, following her out onto the dance floor. Anput and Leone walked out behind us, and we started dancing, drawing attention. "... she''s a maid, isn''t she?" "-eally beautiful, that Dogkin..." "-ey not jealous? Isn''t Lady Asmodia..." "I want a woman like that..." Jahi''s eyes flickered gold as she stared down at me, and I slightly raised a brow at that. She leaned down a little, her voice entering my ear as she whispered "I despise how they view you as little more than a maid..." Mirroring her, I spoke with barely moving lips, whispering back "And I care not for how they view me; what matters is how you and our family looks at me." The taller Demoness sighed, her plump blue lips pulled into a line as she looked away, her eyes conflicted. We made a circuit of the dance floor, enjoying the ssical and melodic music, before switching partners; Anput went to Jahi, and Leone went to me. Funnily enough, as we switched partners again, all three women said the exact same thing; they hated how I was viewed by others, resulting in me giving them the same words I gave Jahi. Each one frowned at it, and each one likely made some sort of vow to themselves to change that in the future, which, while unneeded, was a warming thought. During those three circuits, Jillian and A remained together, the two whispering to each other as they clung to the others body, A letting out giggles as Jillian led her in dance. However, as I found myself stepping away from the dance floor, Hawn approached me, a gentle smile on his lips as he bowed to me, offering his hand. "May I have this dance, Miss Zara?" Narrowing my eyes slightly, I looked towards Jahi, who, while doing so with golden eyes, gave me a nod. "Very well, Professor." Taking the Elven mans hand, he smiled at me as he said "You''ve attracted the attention of my younger cousin, Miss Zara. She speaks of you quite often." Pushing down the urge to gag, I nodded, asking "Good things I hope?" Chuckling, he spun me around, saying "Indeed. She enjoys your spars together immensely; something about you being a... what was it that she said... ah, a perfect match for one another." Continuing on with the dance, I said "Well, we do have simr, yet different styles of fighting; Lady Sariel utilizes her limbs more as weapons, while I focus on using just the dagger. It is always a good learning experience whenever we spar." Hawn nodded, before a smirk spread on his face as he said "I''m sure she''d love to here that directly from you, Miss Zara. In fact... here~!" Spinning me away, I found my partner reced, going from the thin male Elf to an equally thin female Elf. Her brown eyes were filled with an all too familiar heat, and her long brown hair was braided around her head like a crown. Standing before me was Jillian Sariel, and she leaned forwards, grinning as she whispered "Got you~!" Her hand on my waist made me shiver, and I had to resist the urge to push her away from me. "Don''t think poorly of my older cousin; I requested this of him. I told him I needed a few words with you, Miss Zara." Taking a breath, I stared at her, waiting for her to continue. I could feel Jahi''s anger and hate spreading through the bond, and two more pairs of eyes were searing into my back as Jillian and I danced together. Smiling at me, Jillian took a few more steps with me before asking "Miss Zara, have you ever considered... changing your employer?" Shaking my head, I replied "No I have not, Lady Sariel; the Asmodia Family treats me very well. Besides, my mother is contracted to them for many more years." Nodding, Jillian looked towards her fiancee, who was dancing with Hawn. Both of them were smiling at us, and A seemed to not care that her fiancee was dancing with another woman. In fact, she seemed just like Jillian; her eyes were gleaming with lust as she looked at me, and she licked her lips slightly. Smiling back at her fiancee, Jillian turned back and said "Well, I had something... special to offer you. Of course, I can buy out your mothers contract, no problem. But you..." Her smile stiffened as she stared at me, and she whispered "You are a problem. One that I want either by my side, or dead. Now, I know that you''ve a soul bond to Jahi; it''smon enough knowledge at this point." I remained silent, not wanting to give this woman anything. Nodding, she said "To bepletely honest, before A told me of it, I had no idea what to do about that. I wanted you; I really did, Katherine. You''re a stunning woman, talented, and, apparently, pretty damn good as a maid. I still really, really want you. However, that bond was a problem, so I had decided that I was going to kill you. Can''t have the Asmodia''s granting you a Barony. I''d rather squash that problem before it grew." I picked up on the key thing in her words, and I stared at her in confusion as I asked "What do you mean the bond ''was'' a problem?" Her grin returned, and she leaned forwards, her voice seductive as she whispered "What if I told you that A has a way to remove that bond between you and Jahi?" --- Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays! Hope everyone had a good weekend, even if it was just used as a long weekend of rest! Since it''s the time of giving and being thankful (forgot to do this at Thanksgiving lol), I just want to say thank you all again. Thesest few months, ever since I started writing this, have been insane! I''ve enjoyed this so much, and seeing and hearing you all daily has been a real joy, so again, thank you all! You''ve done a lot for me, more than you could likely ever realize, and I hope that I''ve helped you all as well, even if it was just a smile and fun read for a few minutes, I hope that it helped! Enjoy the double chapter for today, and as thanks, I''ll try my hardest to do double uploads from now to New Years Day! Thank you all, and I hope that you continue to enjoy my works! --- Chapter 157 156: Banquet (4) Jillian grinned at me as she leaned forwards, her voice low and seductive as she whispered "What if I told you that A has a way to remove that bond between you and Jahi?" My eyes widened slightly as I stared at the Elf, her features twisting into a deranged smile as she continued whispering to me. "Yes~ A and I can grant you true freedom; freedom of choice, freedom to do as you please with your life..." Pulling me slightly closer to her, she pressed her body into mine as she whispered "I can do all of that for YOU, Katherine... I can give you more than you could ever imagine. More than that overblown Demoness." My body stiffened as I heard her badmouth Jahi, however she squeezed my hand, her fingers pushing my bones against one another. Remaining silent, I stared at her as she said "A and I want you, Katherine; as a partner in both the professional and private sense. You are the only natural Ice mage of this generation, and your talent rivals that of the heirs to therger houses; you just don''t seem to apply yourself as well as everyone else. You''re too focused on yourmitments to Jahi to capitalize on your talents, on your ability. I would like to give this opportunity to you, before others realize how much of an unpolished gemstone you are. I want you to shine brighter than you do now... So, how about it, Katherine? Will you ept? Will you join me? Will you take the freedom I can give you, the freedom to control your life on your own terms, no longer bound to someone else''s whims?" Her eyes were expectant, her lips pulled into a small smile as sheid such an attractive offer at my feet. If I had been born here, with no other memories from a few decades of living another life, I might have just taken such an offer. However, I knew full well that this offer was little more than bait painted with a gilded exterior. If I epted I''d find myself a ve to another woman''s dark whims, and unlike Jahi, who treated me with kindness and love behind closed doors, all thaty with this Elf''s honeyed words was a life behind locked doors, subject to her ghastly and sadistic whims, bing little more than a toy to be used by her and her fiancee for the rest of my life. All kinds of terrible lives could happen if I epted; I could find myself bound back to someone, but this time as little more than an outlet for their lust. They could prop me up as a new noble, just to use me to their advantage by marrying me off to someone else, deepening their rtions with other houses. It was something that I knew, and that I wouldn''t ept. Taking a breath, I stared deep into her heated, expectant brown eyes, and I spoke. "Respectfully Lady Sariel, I shall have to decline; I''m content with my life as is, as is my mother. Thank you for the offer, and have a wonderful birthday. Now, if you''ll excuse me..." Releasing her hands, I was about to turn away when she said "Wait, Katherine." Looking at her, I saw her hardened expression as she hissed "You don''t know what you''re turning down, Katherine. I''ll only ask you one more time... Will. You. Join. Me?" Her tone was filled with a mixture of anger and desperation, and it made my heart soar. Giving her a small smile, I shook my head, saying "I am very much aware of what I am turning down, Lady Sariel. However, I still have to decline; I am content- no, happy with my life as a servant to House Asmodia, and that shall never change. Thank you for the offer, but I shall have to decline it again, Lady Sariel. Good day." I turned around and started walking towards Jahi, who was staring at me with narrowed eyes. Enjoying her heavy stare, I prepared myself for a very passionate reminder of my ''owner'' when Jillian''s voice entered my ears, making me freeze. "You''ll regret this, Katherine. I''ll make damn sure of it, bitch." Peeking over my shoulder, I stared at the Elf, who''s lips were pulled into a twisted smile, her eyes crazed as she mouthed ''I will have you'' to me... Turning back, I walked to Jahi, who swiftly grabbed my arm and led me back to our table, where Leone and Anput sat. The other two women were staring at me with shimmering eyes, Anput''s deep obsidian switching to silver while Leone''s crimson red, making me shiver slightly before grinning at them. Jahi sat down, and I stood beside her, meeting all three women''s gazes. "So..." The Demoness'' voice was low and guttural, making me shiver again, small jolts running up my spine. That tingling also travelled... elsewhere. Looking up at me with narrowed golden eyes, Jahi tilted her head as she asked "What was that?" Moving around the table so that I could be facing away from Jillian, I stood between Anput and Leone, both women still staring at me. Anput grabbed another ss of wine, just for Leone to mirror her. Both women drained their ss swiftly, and I saw both of them re over at Jillian for a moment. Chuckling, I said "Jillian wanted to know if I was interested in terminating my employment to House Asmodia." That made Jahi freeze, before she clenched her fist on the table, making us freeze. The other two could feel the raw anger rolling off her giant body, but for me... My bond with her ran deeper than theirs, so I could feel the almost unending pit of wrath that Jahi had formed exclusively for Jillian, making me shiver again. Feeling something drip, I bit my cheek as I held myself back, only to frown as I felt that anger tinged with something else. Worry. She wasn''t staring at me again, and while others might assume that she was directing her attention to the one she hated... Sighing, I stared at her hard, before saying "Jahi, again? Are we really doing this... again?" Turning her eyes back to me, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting her roaring emotions simmer down, as well as getting rid of the worry that gued her oh so easily. Opening her eyes, she smiled at me as she shook her head, saying "I''m fine. What else did she say?" Recalling the conversation, I frowned slightly as I leaned closer and lowered my voice, whispering "She told me that A had a way to terminate the Soul Bond between us..." Furrowing her brow, Jahi frowned as she lifted a ss of wine, taking a sip of the purple liquid. "That... should be impossible, unless they managed to bind a Fiend like the Empress and Mom... there are NO ways to break such a bond besides going through a Fiend... and even then, it''s still borderline impossible." Leone nodded, a frown in her cherry lips as she added "Soul Bindings are rather strong, and considering the fact that it is Ka''Hondi that you have bound, it would take an equally strong Fiend to break that bond, and there are just a handful of them in existence..." Staring at Jahi, Leone added "In fact, Ka''Hondi should have never been able to be bound in the first ce; that''s just how strong they were. It just shows how strong your House has been, as well as how amodating you''ve been to them." Nodding, the Demoness sighed as she looked at Leone, her lips drawn in a line. "I... simply can''t think of a way the Kameiel Family have discovered a way to break a bond like that... do you think it''s a bluff?" I shook my head, making Jahi''s frown deepen. "She seemed adamant about getting me on her side; she wouldn''t have even asked if she was incapable of removing the bond. That would be a beacon to guide you to her, as well as a way to use me against her should I still be bound to you. Which means..." "They figured something out. Hah... why can''t we just kill them now?" Hearing Anput, we all stared at the bored Jackalkin, who was sipping on another ss of wine. Leone leaned forwards and snatched the ss from her hands, ring at the olive skinned woman as she growled "I said no more drinking! Besides, I''ve also exined it to you, you dolt!" Seeing the normally reserved Vampire growl at Anput was surprising, but she just smiled at Leone as she replied "Fine, fine~ still, I think it''d be easiest to just... off this bitch before she bes a problem." Jahi nodded, only to sigh as she said "Sadly, we''d be the first to be investigated, and it''s hard to get away with something like that, not only against a Duchess, but also inside the Capital. Not worth it..." However, she grinned as she said "But if we get her to provoke us enough to warrant a duel, then that''d be a different story~" Chapter 158 157: Banquet (5) After discussing potential plots for Jillian''s demise, all three women were feeling better, smiling and chuckling as they talked to one another. Seeing them happier than before, I wore a small, gentle smile as I looked over them, before returning to a stoic facade as Draka and her fiancee Rialo approached, the two women looking both bored and annoyed. "Draka. Enjoying the festivities~?" Hearing Jahi, the Dragonkin woman red at her before sighing, her hand instantly going for our wine bottle. Refilling her own ss, she drained her cup before pouring herself another, letting out a sigh again as she said "I fucking hate nobles." That made Anput chuckle, nodding her head as she said "Me too~" Rolling her eyes, Leone turned towards the Ducal Heiress and asked "What''s wrong?" Rialo rolled her eyes as well, peering over her shoulder before hissing "Thessse damn pesssstsss keep asssking for asssissstance on their projectsss... none of which are lucrative!" Draka nodded, pinching the bridge of her nose as she added "I had a man ask me if I''d like to fund his research on how different forms of lightning strike the earth... like what the hell is that going to do for me?! I live up in the Snowy Tundra, where the only storms we get are blizzards!" Draining her ss again, she sullenly stared at her empty ss before saying "Besides, there''s been more on my mind than stupid research... the Sariel''s and Kameiel''s joining together? That''s going to shake up the politicalndscape, more than when you got engaged to Princess Presa-Ash and Begum Sera..." Draka sighed again, her shoulders slumping. Rialo slithered beside her fiancee and wrapped her arms around Draka, making the Dragonkin smile. "Well, as much as I hate Jillian, I''m sorry Jahi, but there will be no explicit help from my House. Mother is adamant about her neutrality." Jahi nodded, leaning into her chair as she said "I wasn''t expecting any anyways; you''ve your own things to worry about now, like that maid of yours." Draka''s smile grew slightly, her eyes warm as she nodded. "Aye, I''ve that to worry about... she''s been doing good these days, and you can tell she''s expecting... I just can''t wait for the little one to be born~!" We all smiled at her, already seeing her happiness and expectance as she stared over at Rialo. The Lamia was smiling as well, and she said "I can''t wait to meet her... Fresssca will be a wonderful mother." Smirking at Draka, Jahi asked "By the way, what''s going on between you and that Grangeri girl? Sunk your talons into her yet?" Pouting at Jahi, Draka said "Sadly no; she''s been a rather intriguing courtship so far. Though I have added a new woman to my... collection~" Rialo rolled her eyes, saying "Draka added an older widow named Morgara; wonderful human woman, but rather unexpected..." Draka added "You''d have to see her to understand. Besides, she''s fun to be around, and a damn good cook. That''s worth more than anything else, honestly..." I nodded, making everyone else chuckle. Taking another sip of her refilled ss, Draka gave us a smile as she said "Well, I think I''ll be heading home; talking of Fresca made me a little worried... Good luck, Jahi. You''ll need it." Her face was serious at the end, and Jahi nodded to her, bidding her and Rialo farewell. After Draka left, a few more nobles appeared; some to simply ask questions, some to beg for assistance, but also a few to ask for a meeting with the Marquess, stating a desire to form an alliance. One of those nobles was Countess Aurim, her normally cheerful face serious. "Lady Asmodia, with this... shift in neutrality from the Kameiel''s, the Auim Family would like to-" Raising her hand, Jahi finished her sentence for her, a small smile on her lips as she said "Find a shield to hide behind? If I recall, the Aurim''s used to be some of the better alchemists in the Empire, before the Kameiel''s encroached on your turf." Countess Aurim nodded, her lips drawn into a tight line. ? Greselda stood behind her, looking worriedly at the blonde woman before staring at Jahi with pleading eyes. "What would the Aurim Family offer in exchange? And are you sure you wish to attach yourself to another House? That only invites troubles to your business." The Countess nodded again, her face stern as she said "I would need to speak with my mother, but I can guarantee potions to your family; besides that, there is little our humble family can offer." "That''d be enough. I''ll let the Marquess know; she''ll send a letter to your House when she''s ready. Is that all?" Sighing, Countess Aurim nodded, a weary smile on her face. "That is all, Lady Asmodia. I pray that this goes through..." Giving her a nod, we watched as the blonde haired woman walked away, towards the exit. Greselda lingered for a second before bowing, swiftly rejoining Countess Aurim before leaving the banquet. Jahi continued talking to a few more nobles before staring at the woman who approached us with barely disguised annoyance. "Was everything to your liking, Lady Asmodia?" Giving Jillian and A a tight smile, Jahi nodded as she said "It was indeed a good banquet, Lady Sariel! Great food, good music... I couldn''t think of a better way to announce your engagement either! Congrattions~!" Jillian smirked at Jahi before ncing at me for a moment, only to say "Well, thank you for attending... all of you. It was a kind gesture for you to... put aside your differences with me." Nodding, Jahi gave her a smile as she said "Oh not at all, Jillian. What ever gave you the idea that we disliked you? Beating you dozens of times in close? Oh, or the fact that Vice-Headmaster Bijilo much prefers us over you? No, we don''t dislike you Jillian~!" Leaning forwards, Jahi loomed over the Elf, whispering "I think nothing of you; after all, I''m just that much better than you! Hope your engagement goes well~!" Patting her shoulder, Jahi led us past the fuming Elves, the two women staring at her with hatred in their eyes. Jahi chuckled as she walked, and we entered the carriage swiftly. As soon as it started moving down the road, Jahi and Anput let out roaringughter while Leone giggled, all three women looking pleased with what just happened. Staring over them with a raised brow, I rolled my eyes, not thinking that that was necessary, but uncaring of it. Allowing them their moment, I stared out the carriage window, wondering what kind of storm was brewing on the horizon. --- Banquet done, back to the Academy, where we will learn a little more about the world~! How was the banquet? Didn''t want to draw it out with unneeded dialogue and all that lol Anyways, I realized I have an attention span problem, since I have this nagging urge to start ANOTHER book, but I shall hold myself back lol It''s another one that would likely be ended before it could truly begin... If you''re curious, the idea was an arranged marriage in a cultivation world, with the MC being a mediocre talent and her fiancee being the number one woman in the sect... Thought it''d be interesting, and I was tempted to start writing it, but after the beginning of the story I have no idea what I''d write after that... Interesting idea, but it''d likely end up as Rekindled lol --- Chapter 159 158: Learning About The Labyrinthian The night after that annoying banquet was... Interesting. Each woman had expressed her desire to have me, so Jahi came up with a... Solution. I was bound again and carried to each girls room like an offering, and once they were finished with me they allowed the next to take me to their room. Suffice to say, the next day was one that started off feeling incredibly sore, incredibly happy, and sufficiently filled. Nothing a little water magic couldn''t fix... After that, I made us a quick breakfast before setting out for the Academy, where Vice-Headmaster Bijilo taught us more about the fundamentals of magic, mana, and where ites from. However, when we entered Professor Xiant''s lecture hall, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the lesson for today was actually interesting for once... It was on the Labyrinthian, that mysterious, gigantdmass in the center of this alreadyrge continent. The Empire was on the north western border of the Labyrinthian, which is why the Asmodia''s were so valued; March Asmodia was on the Empire''s south eastern section, directly along a good portion of the Labyrinthian. However, there was little about the Labyrinthian inside the Asmodia Library, or at least the sections I was allowed to peruse. That stayed true for most public libraries; you could find basic information there, like how it was thergest spawning ground of monsters in the world, how it was a gigantic, naturally formed stone maze that sprawled overnd twice the size of our Empire, which was already on therger side of the various Kingdoms and Empires of the world. From what I had read, the Empire was a gigantic 7.5 million square feet, which was just under double the size of Europe, and around two thirds the size of Africa. Giant. Now imagine two of those put together, and you have an insane area filled to the brim with long stone corridors, giant stone walls, and monsters as far as the eye could see... Honestly, it was pure nightmare fuel, since the monsters inside were also much, much stronger than those out here. In fact, the ones inside Zhu-Rong Cavern''s deepest pit, namely the Drakes, Wyverns, Lava Giants, and more were barely the top of the weaker monsters inside the Labyrinthian. That''s how insanely powerful and deadly the Labyrinthian can be. So, as I sat down at my desk, I stared at the board with interest, wondering what the Academy would teach uspared to the books avable to the public. Leone plopped into her seat beside me, her face paler than normal as she gave me a quick nce. Raising a brow at her, I held in a chuckle as she grew flustered, likely recalling how long she had ''kept'' mest night. As for Jahi and Anput, the two women were already almost dozing off, only to jump awake as my foot collided with their chairs. Both turned to re at me, only to turn back to stare at the board as Professor Xiant let out a cough. "Alright, today we''ll be touching on the Labyrinthian. As you are all likely aware, the monsters we can find around us inside the Empire all originated from the Labyrinthian. Drakes and Wyverns are the diluted versions of the Hydras that call the Labyrinthian home. The Labyrinthian is, like it''s name would suggest, a giantbyrinth, all naturally made. The stone walls and paths inside the Labyrinthian''s borders are all older than anything we''ve ever seen in this world. The first and only Time Magician, Saturna Vera, even appraised the outermost walls of the Labyrinthian millennia ago and deduced that they were eons old. Far older than even the beginning of us Mortals walking this earth. Besides its age, it also holds an untold amount of natural treasures, like various immeasurably powerful ores and alchemical materials,rge chunks of mana crystals, and so much more. Now, for today we''ll discuss the outer regions of the Labyrinthian; what you need to enter the Labyrinthian, what you''ll encounter, and what rewards might beying around for you to grab." Tapping the chalkboard behind him, Professor Xiant said "Whenever a group of people officially enters the Labyrinthian via the Guild, from a decree from the Royal Family, or when sponsored by two Noble Families of Count rank and above, they are called Exploration Teams. The standard makeup of such a team is a Support, a Damage Dealer, a Defender, a Mage, a Tracker, and a Scout. Now, some roles can bebined; Support and Mage ismon to be found in one person, as well as Tracker and Scout. These roles are self exnatory, and if you need me to exin it to you, please just leave this ss; you''re taking up a spot for someone who deserves it. Anyways, the outer most ring of the Labyrinthian is filled with monsters such as Ogres, Elemental Tortugas, Lamians, and more. Low level monsters here, like Goblins or Ghouls, do asionally make an appearance inside the Outer Ring, however it is only as what we call an Outbreak of those monsters. Hundreds will appear at a time during an Outbreak, and should they manage to make it to the exits of the Labyrinthian, they will flood out into the wider world. Back before the Empire was truly founded, these Outbreaks were the reasons for the tribes to migrate so often; you couldn''t create permanent settlements when hundreds, if not thousands of Goblins were roaming the countryside." Scribbling something onto the board, Professor Xiant tapped it as he continued. "Now, again, the Labyrinthian is abyrinth; the walls and corridors form a maze that can lead to dead ends, other exits, or deeper into thebyrinth. This is where a Tracker and Scout are absolutely needed to enter the Labyrinthian; those who are trained in tracking and observation can lead a group not deeper into the perilous Labyrinth, but out of it. Without someone who knows how to follow tracks, you could join the thousands of dead trapped inside those walls. This is why the Empress has set up Outposts outside every known entrance; to check and clear any Exploration Teams that wish to enter for a Tracker and or Scout. We simply can''t afford to allow people inside if they have no chance of returning." Turning back to the board, Professor Xiant wrote another word, saying "however, the Labyrinthian is still a mystery. It has more mana in the air than any other location known to us, and for some odd reason, it is capable of opening doorways to itself around the world, called Gates. Gates are simr to teleportation ritual circles, except they can appear anywhere, at anytime. Even in areas that have heavy anti-magic ritual circles; the most notable one in history was the Gate that appeared in the Empress'' Throne Room a few decades back. Now, should a Gate ever appear before you, make sure to inform the proper authorities of the area and DO NOT attempt to enter it. They can drop you into ANY part of the Labyrinthian, and should you be alone, well..." He drew his finger across his throat, making a few students shiver. Chuckling, he stared over us and added "Gates appear once every year inside the Empire, so the likelihood of you ever encountering one randomly is low. They remain open for different lengths of time; the shortest was open for just an hour, and the longest was open for a year. The reason I tell you to inform the proper authorities as soon as possible is because, unlike a Teleportation Circle, which connects point a to point b, but not b to a, a Gate goes both ways, meaning monsters can use them as well. That Gate that was open a year? That caused the Vineatian House to crumblepletely, as the monsters razed thend they owned, killed their popce, and killed the next heir. Gates are dangerous, and it doesn''t just affect you; it affects us all." Moving over to his chair, Professor Xiant plopped down and opened his textbook, saying "Now let''s get some work done, hmm? Read pages-" What followed was a lot of annoyed groans as Professor Xiant made us read a dozen pages and write him an essay on the Labyrinthian, beforepleting another quiz on all the things we had done prior to this lesson. During the remainder of his ss, I noticed that Jillian was ring over at us whenever she got the chance, the Elf''s face twisted with anger. When we exited his lecture hall and made our way to our Combat ss, all four of us were watching Jillian as she stormed ahead, Jahi chuckling as she said "I bet she''s a little pissed about yesterdays parting words, huh?" Covering her lips, Leone nodded, adding "I think it''s more than just a little. Though, we should be a little careful today... who knows what crazy thoughts are running through that deranged skull of hers..." --- Might get one more out today, might not, we''ll see. --- Chapter 160 159: An Interesting Class Walking into the familiar cavern that housed our Combat ss, we moved off to the racks right away, since Liako had told us we were getting right into training today. Our professors were standing in the center, and I nced at Hawn, who wore a slight frown as he looked between Jillian and I. I wanted to believe that maybe, just maybe the older Elf wasn''t aware of the twisted, deranged woman that Jillian was, but considering how noble families tended to be, I was airing on the side of caution when dealing with him in the future. Grabbing a wooden dagger, I stared at it and thought about the new one that the Countess had sent me. It was a broad dagger, roughly half of my palm and a little longer than my forearm, and the weight was perfectly bnced just above the hilt. I wanted to get some practice in before enchanting it, but I was excited to eventually learn some really awesome enchantments to inscribe on it. Coming back to reality, I stood beside Jahi and the others as we waited for everyone to filter in and grab a practice de. Thorn was chuckling as he stared at everyone, while Liako wore her signature stoic expression. The only one who was different was Hawn, as a small frown graced his elegant features. Waiting beside the others, I heard Jahi whisper "Wonder what they want us to do today? Think we''ll be blessed enough to get matched against Jillian?" Anput smiled slightly, her ears twitching as she whispered back "If we do I''m breaking her nose. Last night pissed me off a bit." Leone just giggled, but contrary to her warm expression her eyes were cold, more like embers than the normal fiery warmth. I remained silent, but I had to agree with Anput; if we were lucky enough to match against her, I was willing to ''identally'' give the deranged Elf a bloody nose... Once everyone got their weapons, Thorn stepped forwards and said "Alright, listen up! So far you''ve all had one on one practice, which is nice and all, but the real world ain''t a kind ce. So today, we''re doing group fights, and eventually, one versus two. To start, pair up with someone, and wait for us three to pick your pairs. Choose whoever you want; weapon doesn''t matter today." Hearing that, Jahi and Anput grinned at one another, only to pout as Liako said "Lady Asmodia, Lady Sera; you two will be sitting this one out so everyone has a fair chance." Sighing, the two battle junkies moved off to the side, sitting down against the wall as they prepared to watch the ensuing fights. ncing towards Jillian, I saw her frowning as she looked over the avable people, only to sigh and approach one at random. Leone and I stuck together, and while I knew that, in this group fight, she would be more of a liability than useful, I much preferred having her than someone random. I also didn''t want some idiot attempting to get close to her, and I reckon she was thinking the same thing. Standing beside me, she sighed as she whispered "If I could use magic, this ss would be much easier..." Letting out a quiet snort, I said "If we could use magic, this ss would serve no purpose; we both know that." Nodding, she sighed again as she whined "Still, I hate up close fights; they simply don''t do anything for me..." Pursing my lips, I remained silent, however I could tell she knew I disagreed immensely with that, considering- "Murderpuppy..." Hearing her murmur that, I nced over at her, only to narrow my eyes as she smirked, saying "I think it''s rather cute, and it could definitely be worse. Bloodhound is right there you know." "If any of you call me ''bloodhound'', I will stab you." Her melodic chuckle swam into my ears, but I still red at her, only to turn back to the professors as Liako started speaking. "Like Thorn said, we will be cing groups against one another, meaning you need to work together to fight and win against another team. How you do so is up to you; will you engage one on one? Or maybe have one member take the hits while the other tries to surprise your opponents? The choice is yours. Now, each of us will be overseeing three fights, meaning twelve students per professor. If we don''t call on you then you will move off to the side and wait until it is your turn. Understood? Good." Each professor made their way towards the students, and Liako approached us first. "Miss Zara, Lady Presa-Ash. You will be up first." Leone and I nodded, and we moved to the designated area. Sadly for us, Jillian was picked by her cousin, which meant we were fighting... Standing across from us was a grinning white haired Dragonkin and a tall blonde maid; Draka and Poshka. Giving Liako an amused look, I turned back to see Draka pursing her lips as she stared at Leone, saying "We''re in the same boat huh? Terrible swordy, incredible magic..." Leone nodded, only to nod again as Draka asked "So wanna let those two go at it? Spar one another?" Looking at Poshka, I tilted my head slightly as I stared at her, watching as the tall blonde chuckled, her expression rxed. "Then I guess we shall spar, hmm? Come; I''ll tell you about Fresca while we exercise." We moved off to the side and swiftlyunched ourselves at one another, holding back as we talked. She told me that Fresca was already getting slightly cranky every once in awhile, and she had started craving dark chocte at random points in the day. We talked for a while about the brte maid, and eventually Liako had toe over and tell us to stop as we were ''evenly'' matched the entire time. As for Leone and Draka, the two were panting slightly as they sat against the wall, their bodies glistening with a thin sheen of sweat. Noticing that, we both went to our Mistress'' side and used magic to clean them off, much to their enjoyment. Our next fight was a more interesting one, as Countess Aurim and Greselda stood opposite us. Countess Aurim waited behind Greselda as the adventurerunched herself at us, swiftly pushing Leone away from me and keeping me from Leone. Greselda had also managed to split her attention between Leone and me, using herself to keep Leone in between herself and Countess Aurim, forcing her to be wary of any attacks against her back. I managed to overwhelm Greselda eventually,nding a well ced kick on the woman''s midriff and making her skid away a few feet, only to grunt as her dagger mmed into my ribs momentster. She charged at me, her hands empty. What followed was a rather intense up close and personal brawl, as my dagger attempted tond on her muscled body, only for her to redirect my arm somewhere else, using my momentum against me. Leone and Countess Aurim were almost evenly matched, but the Countess showed more experience in fighting as she managed to disarm Leone, making the Vampire forfeit. Seeing her move to approach me, I let my dagger drop from my grasp, holding my hands in the air. Just like that, Leone and I lost our match against the Countess and her friend, much to Jahi and Anput''s amusement. Rejoining them off on the side, Leone pouted as Jahi chuckled, her face slightly red as the Demoness whispered "Should I give you some more... ''lessons'' on how to better handle your ''sword'', Princess~?" Anput joined in on the teasing, a smirk on her lips as she added "A more ''hands on lesson'' would be best I think... but maybe you learn by being the target of the ''lesson'', hmm~?" Watching as the Vampire grew more flustered, I chuckled slightly before sitting beside them, watching the matches unfold. --- So whenever I do these double upload days, the second chapter will always be shorter than normal, since I usually have other things I need to write, or games I want to y lol. Anyways, I might keep this up for a bit, but who knows? But yeah, I got y''all another chapter today, your wee~! --- Chapter 161 160: Practice, Practice, Practice That ss ended smoothly enough, with us fighting another round against some more ssmates, who were both rather unskilled fighters. Leone managed to force one to submit, while I ''killed'' the other, making our score 1-1-1, since we ''tied'' Draka and Poshka, lost to Countess Aurim and Greselda, and beat this group. After thatst win, Anput continued to tease Leone, and the Vampire seemed rather flustered by whatever the Jackalkin whispered into her ears, making her go crimson. Jahi also seemed rather amused by it, as she would slip in between the two and whisper something to both, making them both blush heavily. Following them out of the Academy, I enjoyed watching them flirt with one another, the pink and blush atmosphere making my heart warm as Jahi chuckled, Anput giggled, and Leone grew more and more flustered. Reaching the cottage, I entered the kitchen and started prepping for dinner, putting some meat into a broth and letting it soak inside the herb mixture before moving towards the table. Anput and Jahi had made their way quickly into the backyard, informing me that they would be training for the rest of the day, and that I was wee to join them. As for Leone, she was sitting at the table already, her head buried in a book as she furiously scribbled down some notes. Sitting beside her, I peered at her book and notes, wondering what she was reading with such fervor. Seeing theplicated theorems and ritual circles on the page, I nodded as I quickly worked out there use, realizing she was still studying her summoning circles. Not wanting to disturb her, I grabbed one of the many basic cloths I had beside myself and went to work, wanting to continue to build my foundations with enchanting. At this point I was adding not only the cleaning enchantment, but also a durability enchantment as well, pushing myself to ce two enchantments on the same item, while also attempting to keep the cloth in one piece. It wasn''t the mostplicated, but I was still new to the whole enchanting process, so I wanted to get this down to a tee before moving onwards. ~~~ Anput PoV Standing across from Jahi, I readied my wooden de as I stared at her, my head full of thoughts. Before the encounter with Lord Pele, I had thought myself to be rather strong, but that fight humbled me incredibly quickly. The three other women I was in love with had done much more than I had; Leone was the one who killed the damn Draconas, Kat fought against it herself, and Jahi managed to wound it a few times. Me? I had been blocked by a damn sword the entire time, and the one chance I had to wound it meant nothing. Once it revealed its true power, I had been rendered obsolete in that fight; I was being pushed back by a de that the Draconas wasn''t even wielding itself! I needed to hone my skills more; I needed to get strong enough to not only protect myself, but to protect them. My magic was that of the Metal Element, which meant that I could control my de; not in the normal sense of using my wrist and arm to move it with precision, but in the sense that I could manipte the metal itself, to lengthen or shorten it, to turn it blunt or sharpen it... Not only that, but I had Earth and Fire Magic; I could utilize them more to strengthen myself, apply burns to my enemies... However, what I needed desperately right this moment was to reacquaint myself with the basics; to ignore all the fancy parries, pivots, blocks and shes I used now, and instead work on the fundamentals of swordy. And, it seemed that Jahi had the same idea; she was staring at the de in her hand with a frown, her amethyst eyes narrowed. We both needed to smoothen out our rough edges, because a storm wasing our way; one that we''ve made worse with our own actions. I don''t regret that, nor will I ever regret it; Jillian crossed a line with Kat, and I n on making her pay for that. Which is why I needed to improve more. Why Jahi needed to improve more. Nodding to one another, we silently lowered ourselves into our stances, our des held in basic positions beforeunching ourselves forwards, Jahi swinging her de downwards while I brought mine up to block her de. Tilting my body slightly, I allowed her sword to slide off of mine, and with that moment of freedom, I flicked my wrist towards her side, attempting tond a solid blow against her muscled side. However, Jahi used the bottom of her hilt to stop my de, surprising me. Swiping her hand forwards, Jahi tried to grab my cor, only to grunt as I ducked and mmed my head into her midriff, forcing her back a few steps. Taking a few steps back myself, I twirled my de as I waited for her to ready herself again, watching as the tall Demoness gently rubbed her stomach. "That was a good hit, Anput..." Smiling at me, Jahi continued to feel her stomach before flickering towards me, making me grunt as I desperately blocked her heavy swing. Putting her weight onto the de, she grinned down at me as I tried desperately to keep her from striking me. nting my feet into the soft, grainy sand below us, I grunted again as I tried pushing back, only to cough as Jahi mmed her knee into stomach, chuckling as she said "Payback~" ring at her, I stumbled away and took in a deep breath, my eyes watery from the sudden pain. Blinking, I grit my teeth and charged towards her, holding my de in two hands. Thrusting towards her chest, I followed my de as she parried it, using the momentum to twist andnd a sh across her broad back. Hearing her grunt, I ducked underneath her backhanded swing and stabbed upwards, the wooden de stopping an inch shy of her throat. Smirking at me, she stepped back, and we both reset our stances. "One, you. Not bad, Anput..." Of course, what followed was a much harsher spar than earlier, as the Demoness gradually took, and expanded, the lead between us. She had gotten stronger than me, and my speed was no longer working as well as it used to before. However, I wasn''t discouraged; I knew that the woman before me was a monster who would eventually reach the same level as her parents, who are two of the most respected and feared women in this Empire, following the Empress. So, even if the final score was 12-18, I was happy to have managed to keep some of our matches close, and was proud of myself for catching her off guard a few times. Though, I was more happy with what followed after those thirty matches, but I could recall little more than the pure pleasure that my Demoness provided to me that night. ~~~ Leone PoV Closing the book, I sighed as I pinched the bridge of my nose, my head throbbing from reading thousands upon thousands of words, understandingplex magic theories, and developing my own ritual circles to attempt to further improve my understanding of Summoning Magic. Sadly, the topic was one of the few lesser known branches of magic, and the research done for it was sparse. I had lucked out when Mother provided me this book from her personal library, but no matter how I scrounged around the rest of the Capital and Academy, there was nothing even remotely simr to this book. If I continued studying this book today I would drive myself insane; every new answer I got only opened up two or three new questions, ones that required more research and more understanding of the material before me. Instead, I would rather turn my attention to another important aspect of my training; control. Even if I managed to understand the tome before me, I would need immense control over arge quantity of mana in order to utilize any of my findings. Currently, my mana was akin to a keg; a normal person had a buckets worth of mana. The tattoo on my chest was what had expanded my core and allowed me to take in more mana, but I would need even more than that. There were a few... taboo magics I could explore, but for now, I needed to focus on controlling this ''keg'' of mana. Only when my control caught up with my capacity would I continue onwards, and I needed someone equally adept at utilizing their mana for what I wanted to do next. ncing to the side, I stared at the beautiful sight of a concentrating Kat, her amber eyes focusing intently on the cloth before her. Remaining silent, I traced over her gentle features, my heart quickening as she pursed those plump lips of hers. Recalling how soft they felt on my own, I licked my lips before ncing further down, my eyes raking over her sinful body. Maybe... Maybe a break was in order... Chapter 162 161: Control Kat PoV Since it was our off day, I was sitting opposite of Leone, who had asked me to help her train. Recallingst night, I was skeptical as to whether her ''training'' was an excuse to be alone together or if she really had an idea in mind to train. However, taking in the serious appearance of the Vampire sitting before me, I chased those thoughts from my mind, focusing my attention entirely on her pale features. Taking a deep breath, Leone stared me in the eyes and started speaking, her voice low. "I came across a method to help practice mana control, but it requires two people with not only opposite elements, but also incredible control on their own. I''ve hit a block in my training, and I think the next best thing for me to do is to fine tune my control as much as I possibly can. Will you help me?" Pursing my lips, I asked "What exactly is it? And if you need my water mana, this won''t really work; my mana''s fused together almostpletely, and it takes a lot of effort to separate them inside my body now..." Shaking her head, Leone''s crimson eyes red, and she said "Your ice will be fine; after all, my fire isn''t exactly... normal anymore. Now, as for the method itself, it''s rather... unique..." Seeing her cheeks redden slightly, I narrowed my eyes and gestured for her to continue. "Well... you see, I... we need to entwine our opposite mana and create a circuit between us, where we revolve the mana between each other. This not only improves our control, since we''ll be constantly managing the movement of our mana streams, but it can also... temper our mana, since they''ll be constantly beside a stream of mana that they are the opposite of..." This was sounding a whole lot like- ? "It''s a technique from the Tian Dynasty, and if I recall correctly, its name is... Dual... Dual Cultivation? Something odd like that..." Oh for the love of... Sighing slightly, I stared at her before asking "Where''d you find this again? What book?" Frowning, Leone stroked her chin as she stared off to the side, her brow scrunched as she tried to recall where. Bringing her fist down onto her palm, she said "I found it in Mom''s personal library; she told me it was an effective way to strengthen yourself!" Giving her a disbelieving stare, I wondered if my own mind was tainted from myst life or if it was just different here. Dual Cultivation... That oh souded way of increasing ones strenght by delving into carnal pleasure with someone of the opposite sex or with an opposite element; usually yin and yang, but there were a few like Leone and I, using fire and water or other opposites to practice. A good chunk of any ''Dual Cultivation'' was done via sex, but there were those rare cases where it was just a way to... temper your energy by exposing it to its opposite; yin to yang, water to fire, earth to lightning... Which made me wonder how deeply Leone had read that book... Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose before giving her a smile. Either way, this would be great training; be it the pure kind of Dual Cultivation, or the one that I was thinking of... "Alright! Here, we put our hands together like this... then we need to..." Leone ced her palms against mine and left her fingers sprawled out, before she said "Well, we need to start small, because this could be... dangerous. After all, we''re injecting mana into the others body, and since we''re opposites, we need to be really careful..." Nodding, I recalled my experience with rampant mana inside my pathways, making me shiver slightly. Unless we dumped a lot of mana into one another we wouldn''t die, but I can only imagine the pain that we might feel should we fail. "I''ll start by pushing enough mana for a basic sphere circle into your body, and you need to attach an equal amount of mana onto that strand, revolve it around your pathways, and send it back to me, where I''ll do the same thing. Since we''re just starting off, I''ll keep the amount the same, but in the future, we''ll add more mana the further along we go. Okay?" "Yeah... let''s get started." Closing my eyes, I felt my right palm warm up as Leone circted her mana, only to groan slightly as that warmth entered my body. It very quickly turned from a warmth to a searing heat, and I grit my teeth as it made it''s way towards my core. Before it could enter, I mirrored the droplet of searingva-like mana and coated it with my cial ice, instantly noticing the heat dissipating. Making sure my ice didn''t encapste and douse the fire mana, I carefully guided it through my body before pushing it towards my right palm, where I sent it into Leone''s body. The Vampire gasped as she felt my frozen mana enter her, and I waited for it toe back to my right palm. We sat there for who knows how long alternating control of that droplet, and after a few dozen rotations Leone stopped, melting my mana inside her body. Releasing my palm, she stared at me for a few moments, her lips pursed as she said "I can''t really tell a difference... but that was just a small amount of mana..." Nodding, I suggested "We should double the amount, before adding a droplet each rotation, stopping when it reaches... hmm... I think around triple the cost for a bullet spell?" "Alright... here, I''ll start again..." Rejoining our hands together, I epted her mana and matched it, before adding an extra drop of my own mana to it. Pushing it into her right palm, I heard her gasp again, before it eventually returned to my right palm. The searing heat was worse than before, but it was swiftly countered by my ice, leaving me feelingfortable again. We continued on until we had the designated amount which was warm for me and cool for Leone, so not unbearable, just... weird. With that spells worth of mana alternating between us, I found that it was growing easier to guide this blob of unfamiliar, mixed mana around my body, and when we finished we both stared at the other, curious frowns on our faces. Getting up, I moved a few steps away and traced out the runes needed for an ice bullet, noticing instantly how it was just a few milliseconds quicker to activate than before. Of course, that could be my mind ying tricks on me, but considering the ease at which I could activate spell after spell, I was confident that this was a fruitful gain on my end. As for Leone... Still sitting on the ground where we ''Dual Cultivated'', the Vampire was deathly silent, her bodypletely still. However, after a few moments her mana red, and I shuddered at the raw amount pouring from her body. My eyes widened as I ''saw'' the red shimmer around her pale skin, and for a moment it felt like a raging inferno sat before. Very quickly that feeling melted away, and Leone brought her mana under control, her eyes opening. Staring down at her hands, she grinned as she swiftly traced a few runes in the air, and my eyes widened even more as I saw what appeared. What should have been a simple, small sphere of fire was now instead a roaring sun, the heat battering the space around us. Feeling a few hairs on my arms singe from the ze before me, I coated my body in a thin sheen of ice, instantly sighing in relief at the now all to familiar cold of my mana. Clenching her fist, Leone snuffed out her giant ball of mes, turning our courtyard back into a dim, cool ce. Her grin was still wide, and I swear I saw a hint of madness in those crimson orbs of hers. However, a momentter Jahi and Anput burst from the house, looking around in worry. "What the hell was that?!" Hearing Jahi''s sharp tone, Leone''s grin faded, and she gave the Demoness a weak smile as she said "S-Sorry... that was me..." The Demoness and Jackalkin stared at the Vampire in surprise, and Jahi eventually turned to me, her amethyst eyes unbelieving. Giving her a nod, I said "Leone managed to control more of her mana, and well... yeah." The two women stared at Leone with wide eyes, before Jahi simply shook her head and turned around, muttering "Not dealing with this. Nope. Nuh-uh..." Anput just nodded, following behind Jahi as she went back inside. Leone was silent, a pout on her face before she shuffled over to me. Rolling my eyes, I gently stroked the back of her head and brought her face down to my chest,forting her. We stood like that for a few moments before she murmured "There... was another part of that book..." --- I''ll get that lemon out eitherter tonight or tomorrow... And for those wanting more group y, I''ll be doing that in ten-ish chapters or so, after another set of normal chapters, so stay tuned~ --- Chapter 163 162: Dual Cultivation* Hearing Leone mutter "There... was another part of that book...", I raised my brow, already knowing where this was going. However, I was also interested to see how she would approach this topic, so I gave her a smile and excitedly asked "What? This first part was already so useful!" Watching as she blushed a little, I chuckled internally, keeping my face expectant. "Uhm... w-well... we just n-need to... uh..." Reveling in her embarrassment, I leaned forwards, tilting my head to the side. "Need to what? Come on Leone, spit it out~!" Gulping, she ran her fingers through her ashen hair and covered a portion of her face, which was now a deep crimson. "I-It''s a way to... well, it''d a-allow me to help increase your mana reserves..." Widening my eyes, I stared at her in awe, which was slightly genuine. Her mana reserves were... huge. Comparatively, while mine were still above average, hers dwarfed mine by a lot. The more mana one had, the better. That''s obvious, considering it unlocks moreplex spells for you to start adding to your arsenal, and I had a few that already drained more mana from my reserves than I wasfortable using; like a third of my total mana was uneptable to use in a fight unless I REALLY needed it. Of course, those big spells were developed after almost dying to Lord Pele, and they were to be used only if I could end a fight before it even started or I was in a situation I ssified as ''oh shit oh fuck I''m bouta die''... Getting back to teasing Leone, I waited for the Vampire to continue, prodding her forwards by asking "That''s... incredible! How do we do that?!" "I... I n-need to... ''inject'' my mana in-into your deepest part..." Raising a brow, I gave her a half smile as I tutted "Leone, if you wanted to have sex you could have just asked~?" She blushed deeper, and murmured "W-Well, obviously I w-want to, b-but..." Falling quiet, she pouted at me for a moment, her face utterly adorable as she said "I''m telling the truth! I-If I infuse my s-semen with mana, and p-pour it inside o-of you, and y-you wrap your own mana around it, y-you can ''add'' it to your core!" Nodding, I stared at her flustered appearance, a gentle smile on my lips as I said "Very well, Leone... where shall we... practice this ''training'' method?" Since she was still sitting down, I got onto all fours and stalked towards her, enjoying the way she shivered as I inched closer to her. Reaching herp, I sat down on top of herrge bulge, smirking at her as I leaned forwards, whispering "Shall we do it out here? Or do you want to go inside?" Licking her pale neck, I chuckled quietly as she shuddered, her breathing quickening as my tongue glided over her soft, cool skin. Pressing my ample breasts into hers, I felt her nipples harden, and I enjoyed gently rubbing them together through our clothing, making the Princess moan lightly. Her hands gingerly wrapped around my waist, and she licked my neck as well, making me chuckle. I knew what she wanted first; it was the same as always. Feeling her fangs sink into my flesh, I gasped as she injected that liquid into my veins, making my body grow hot. She wanted my blood, and I wanted this liquid. It made me so incredibly aroused, and I could already feel it making its way down to my womb, making me wetter than normal. Grinding against her erection, I relieved a little of the aching in my cunt, but it was like throwing a ss of water on a raising fire; it did little to truly quench the mes. Leone gulped down a few more drops of my blood before pulling away, tenderly licking the two puncture wounds, healing them. Panting, we stared into each others eyes, before I reluctantly got up from herp. "L-Leone... if we don''t get inside now, and start this method of yours..." Watching as she got to her feet, I leaned back into her body, my hand slipping down to her hard cock. "I''m going to ravish you here and now. I want you inside me so damn badly..." She shuddered in my arms, and I stared at her, tempted to say ''to hell with it'' and just do as I suggested; pushing her down and riding her until I was satisfied. However, when she nodded and grabbed my hand, I allowed her to pull me towards her room. As we entered her tidy space, I could hear Anput''s moansing from her room, and Jahi''s grunts ever few moments as well. "Seems like they got the memo earlier~" Leone giggled as she nodded, before removing her clothes. Tossing off my dress, I plopped down onto her bed and spread my legs, revealing my moistening pussy. Rubbing my hard clit, I opened my lower lips and asked "So, what now~?" My eyes fell to her impressive ''dragon'', which reared its head at me. Seeing a little ''fire'' dripping from its ''maw'', I smirked at her obvious arousal, and I was anticipating the feeling of this giant thing tearing me apart. Swallowing, Leone took a deep breath before saying "I need to... create a s-steady rhythm i-inside of you, a-and b-before I e-ejacte, I need t-to infuse my s-semen with my mana..." Nodding, I watched as she crawled onto the bed, looming over me. Wrapping my arms around her neck, I whispered "And then? When you flood my womb with your thick seed, what do I do with your massive creampie?" She shuddered as I twisted her words, but I could tell she enjoyed it; her cock was pushing against my stomach, and her precum dribbled onto my belly, each droplet of warm seed making my body heat up further. With a red face and lust filled eyes, Leone responded, her voice low and raspy. "Y-You need to w-wrap it with y-your own mana... and a-allow your body t-to absorb thebined mana... b-before adding it t-to your core..." Licking my lips, I said "So before that... we can just fuck? You can pound away at me with this monstrous cock of yours, and make me into a sopping mess?" Her face darkened as she grew flustered, before hesitantly nodding. "Thene on Leone~ Fuck me~!" Her breathing hitched, and I chuckled as she gulped again. Poking her cock against my wet cunt, I leaned up and whispered into her ear, enjoying how she shivered. "Plunge yourself deep inside me, Leone... Go as deep as you can before marking me as your bitch~!" Without hesitation she did as I asked, making me gasp at the sudden insertion. The agony of having her monster spread my cunt apart before barging into my womb was heavenly, and I moaned loudly into her ear, my pussy mping down on her shaft. My arousal overflowed as she grunted, reveling in the sound of my lovers enjoyment. Wrapping my legs around her waist, I started moaning as she began moving, her hips pping into mine. Our breasts melded together, making our nipples rub against one another, furthering our ecstasy. Feeling her plunge her cock in and out of my womb over and over again made my moans turn sloppy, as the pleasure assaulting me was too much for my mind to bear. My tongue lolled from my mouth, only to be enveloped by Leone''s plump lips, spreading her cinnamon taste into my being. She mmed her thick tip into my womb, pushing and prodding at it while her shaft was massaged by my folds, the squelching sound of her cock plunging into and out of my cunt filling the room. Her heavy balls pped into my ass, and I found my attention fixed on them, wondering when I would receive their contents. My world slowly fell away, the only thing I could feel being her cock, balls, and tongue assaulting my body. How she split me apart with every thrust. How the sound of her balls pping against me made me expectant. How her tongue tasted on mine, her lips pressed against my own as she kissed me with reckless abandon. Her warmth spread across me, and I noticed that her heat was deeper than the others, like her mana was being exuded from her pores. Attempting to focus my mind, I opened my eyes to see her body covered in that familiar red sheen, making my heart race. Was... Was she really able to get stronger by having sex?! However, my mind was quickly swept nk again as her tip mmed against the top of my womb, forcing another orgasm out of my cunt. Time passed slowly as Iy under her, epting her greedy and deep thrusts with open legs, while I took in her tongue whenever she pleased, allowing her relief via my body. When she grew close to ejacting, I felt her balls trembling on my ass, her thrusts shortening as she remained buried in my womb. Releasing my lips, she panted above me, her face ck. "K-Kat... I... I''m~!" Nodding, I watched her eyes roll around in her skull, only for me to scream as her semen poured from her cock. Unlike before, her cum was like moltenva, and it felt like it was burning my womb. My pleasure was pushed away by the agony, only to return two-fold when I wrapped my ice mana around her seed, making my pussy mp down hard on her cock. Leone gasped as I milked more and more from her cock, which she eagerly provided to me. Trying my hardest to fully collect everyst ounce of her mana imbued semen, I blinked as my orgasmic high slowly receded, until only euphoria remained. Copsing on top of me, Leone moaned as I wriggled slightly under her, before shivering as I whispered "Leone..." Getting up, she looked at me, and I gave her a wry smile as I said "I... sorry, but... I think I messed up..." Which I didn''t; I had all of her mana sessfully enveloped in my own, but... "C-Can we do it again?" Pushing it up towards my core, I felt a warmth envelope the small organ, before I heard a system prompt. [You are a conniving... hah... whatever. Shall I halt any changes to your body for now?] ''Yes please~'' [Fine... have fun, Host... I don''t get pa-] Shutting off, the system disappeared, and my attention returned to the pursed lips of Leone. "I-I don''t k-know if I c-can..." Tilting my head to the side, I reveled my neck to her, grinning as I said "Why not think after you''ve had a drink, hmm~?" Her eyes shone a dark, bloody crimson, and I gasped as she lunged forwards, her fangs sinking into my neck. Holding in augh, I realized that I had all three of these women under my thumb, with there respective wants firmly under lock and key. I would be the only one to truly satisfy them now~ They''d NEVER leave me... Chapter 164 163: Bound Offering* (Extra) --- This is from Chapter 158: Learning about the Labyrinthian, and is a recounting of what happened at the beginning of said chapter. I might do a few of these extra lemon chapters to release sporadically, so you can always expect them to be WITH a normal chapter. Anyways, enjoy~! --- Anput PoV Watching as Jahi expertly bound the Dogkin maid before us, I felt my body grow hot as the rope dug into her soft flesh, my eyes captivated by the sight before me. Each strand entuated her pale skin, and they were ced in such a way to make her ample curves stand out even more. Her breasts were bound, ropes ran across her thighs, and her legs and arms were bound so that we would have ess to her delectable honeypot. Already I could see her nectar dribbling down her plump thighs, and I wanted nothing more than to lunge forwards andp it up. I wanted to breed her, to spray my seed inside her and impregnate her. I wanted to renew my marking of her, to make her know that she belongs to me. That she is my mate. I could tell that Leone was thinking the same thing; her blood red eyes were raking across Kat''s body, and her fangs were digging into her lower lip. As for Jahi, she seemed the most restrained from all of us, but I could only grit my teeth as I saw her giant cock moving around. Therge Demoness was moving with practiced ease, reminding me that she was well acquainted with the heavenly meal that was Kat. It made me slightly jealous, but I was also incredibly aroused knowing that I got to partake in such a delectable meal; and that I myself was a meal the Demoness desired. When Jahi finally finished binding Katpletely, including the cloth across her wonderful amber eyes and in between her plump lips, she got up, a smirk on her face. "Alright, we''re going to y a simple game to decide who gets her first. Rock Paper Scissors!" Leone and I nodded, and I took in a deep breath, focussing myself. This was important; whoever got her first got an untouched luxury. I wanted her, and her alone; I didn''t fancy having Leone''s scent or even Jahi''s on her right now. Just her. So, I took in the mindsets of my two other lovers. Jahi was aggressive, so rock suited her best, but she could also throw in a curveball and go scissors. Leone had only ever gone scissors when we yed before, so she might change now, but... "Rock... Paper... Scissors..." We all shook our fists three times before revealing our choice, and I grinned. I chose rock, and both Jahi and Leone chose scissors. Laughing, I grinned at the two of them; Leone was pouting while Jahi just shrugged. "Go on then; take her. When you''re done, tell Leone. I''ll gost." Nodding, I swiftly scooped up Kat and made my way to my room, enjoying the way the woman shivered in my arms. Since we had all been nude when Jahi gathered us in her room, I tossed Kat onto my bed and grabbed my cock, enjoying the jolts of pleasure that coursed through my system at the first touch. My fleshy length was slick with juices, and I stared intently at her glistening snatch. My knot pulsed with want, and I was prepared to grant its wish of release. Turning Kat over, I bent her over my bed and stared at her wide hips and round ass, my breathing catching at the sight. Holding in a groan as my cock throbbed, I got back up and brushed my tip against her cunt, enjoying the whimper she gave me as I did so. "Damnit Kat..." Hearing her whimper again, I grinned as my bestial instincts took over; her tart scent was flooding my nostrils as she released her pheromones, and I grew muddleheaded under their influence. Plunging myself into her, I moan in pleasure as her folds weed me, and her cervix parted easily. Grabbing her hips, I started mming myself forwards, gouging deeper into her warm, wet cunt. My knot pped audibly against her lower lips, and I moaned again as her scent strengthened in the room. Feeling my head grow numb, I leaned forwards, overtop her soft body, and continued to hump her ass. The feeling of her insides wrapped around my shaft was incredible, and each thrust elicited a whimper from her gagged mouth. Pressing my bodypletely onto hers, I enjoyed her warmth and inhaled more of her scent, before growling as I realized that my own was fading from her body. Moving further up, I licked her neck, preparing her to receive my mark. Her cunt mped on my cock, and I noticed her body heating up more as Ipped at her supple neck. "I''m marking you again, Kat. I''m marking you so everyone knows you''re my bitch..." My voice was raspy, and I felt my canines extend out fully, mirroring Leone''s fangs. Sinking my teeth into her neck, I moaned as I felt my fangs pump my pheromone into her nd, her scent changing from one of just a tart lemon to a citrusy mix. My hips sped up, and my cock was being milked by Kat''s writhing cunt, her pussy greedily trying to drain my knot of all my seed. Sadly for her, I was prepared for tonight, and I wanted this tost as long as possible. So, my fangs remained in her nd, pumping my pheromone into her body as I mmed my knot into her cunt, the Dogkin woman whimpering and whining as I mated with her. The entire time we were connected, I was attached to her, wanting to sufficiently mark everyst part of her nd with my pheromones, so that she would be undoubtedly mine. Eventually I felt my orgasm rise, and I slipped myself inside herpletely for the first time, moaning loudly as my knot was enveloped by her searing folds. My tip was securely inside her womb, and I shuddered as I felt my orgasm start. The floodgates opened, and I started spraying my seed inside her, my entire cock throbbing relentlessly as I knotted her. Releasing her neck, I moaned loudly above her as she whined, however I could feel her shaking her ass against my thighs, stimting my sensitive cock even more. My vision grew white as the orgasm continued on, and I lost track of time as I unloaded everything I had into my mates womb, mildly upset that she had something to prevent her pregnancy... However, when I finished cumming inside her I felt relieved and happy, my thoughts filled with euphoria as my brain retained that high. Pulling her off of my cock, I grunted as I had to yank my knot from her cunt, making the woman scream in agony. Panting, I loomed over her, my eyes tracing her sweat stained body. The scent wafting from her pale skin was mine; the scenting from her cunt was mine. Everything about her, in this moment, was mine, and mine alone. That thought made me grin, and I copsed on the bed beside her, gently stroking her hair as I whispered "I love this, Kat..." Enjoying a few more moments beside her, I eventually got up and carried her to the hall, where I handed her off to Leone, the Vampire''s face crimson as she stared at the sweaty form of Kat. Smirking at her, I whispered "She was incredible..." ~~~ Leone PoV Lifting Kat from Anput''s arms, I marveled at how hot the Dogkin was; her skin was aze, and she whimpered at every movement. While that would be worrying for others, for us, it was just a mark of a job well done; the Dogkin reveled in pain, and considering none of us were crazy sadists who inflicted pain for the sole reason of inflicting pain, she would be fine. Besides, ever since I marked her, I could tell if she was truly distressed, and currently... Well, she was aroused. Nodding to the exhausted looking Jackalkin, I gently approached my room, staring at the bound woman in my arms. Admiring herrge breasts, I entered my room andid her on my bed, continuing to admire the artistry Jahi had disyed in her ropes. My cock throbbed as I stared down at Kat, and she was wiggling around in anticipation, making Anput''s seed leak from her cunt. Gulping, I lowered myself to my knees and stared at Kat''s now snow capped garden, watching as the white liquid dripped slowly from her pussy. Leaning forwards, I moaned as the heavy stench of Anput''s citrusy semen and Kat''s tart juices entered my nose, my cock throbbing again. Gulping, I tentatively stuck out my tongue andpped gently at Kat''s pussy, making the bound woman moan as my tongue glided over her moist lower lips. Anput''s jelly like semen coated my tongue, while Kat''s juices permeated my mouth. The taste of the twobined made my head spin, and I dove into her cunt with abandon, wanting everyst drop. Grabbing her two plump thighs, I enjoyed the sensation of them on my cheeks as I desperatelypped at her pussy, kneading and ying with her soft flesh as I drank her and Anput''s nectar. Kat was whining above me, wriggling around as I licked at her sensitive cunt, attempting to break free and pull me deeper into her crotch. Sadly for her, no matter how much she moved and struggled, she would never break free of those ropes; Jahi had made sure of it. Sinking my tongue into her soft fleshy insides, I moaned into her snatch as more of Anput''s seednded on my tongue, and I found myself desiring the Jackalkin a little. Thrusting that from my mind, I lost myself swiftly to her delectable cunt, both of us moaning loudly from the pleasure. Bringing Kat to the edge, I felt her clench her thighs together as much as she could, gripping my head hard between those two incredibly soft pillows. Spraying her juices all over my face, I gulped down what I could before pulling away, panting as I looked her over. Her body was coated in sweat, and her thighs were drenched with her juices. Every breath she took made those two mountainous breasts rise and fall, and I licked my lips clean at the sight. Mounting the bound woman, I stroked my cock as I stared her over again, etching her figure into my mind. I used to only be able to imagine what those curves looked like, and now... Pressing my tip against her cunt, I moaned gently as I felt her most warmth. Now I got to have her under me... Thrusting forwards I enjoyed the way she screamed into her gag as I spread her apart, her cunt spasming as I reached deeper and deeper. Laying on top of her, I flipped her onto her side and lifted one of her legs, nuzzling into her soft flesh as it pressed against my breasts. pping my hips against hers, I kissed her calf before grinning, turning to lick her exposed flesh. Feeling my fangs aching, I opened my jaw wide and bit into her leg, moaning as her blood flooded my mouth. My hips were moving with a mind of their own, thrusting faster and faster into her cunt as I drowned my brain in ecstasy, wanting nothing more than to cum inside this woman and impregnate her. Now that her blood was staining the inside of my mouth, I moaned as I felt that familiar rush, my mind darkening. Her whimpers fueled my body, and I was tempted to continue draining her blood until she was nothing more than a husk. However, I shook my head and released her leg, licking her wound to close off that intoxicating smell. Flipping her over again, I stared down at her smooth back and grinned, grunting as I stared mming my hips into her bubbly ass. The sound of my flesh pping into hers reverberated inside the room, and I lowered my hands to knead those two buns, the soft, marshmallowy sensation sending me over the edge. Letting out a low shout, I pulled my cock from her cunt and sprayed my seed over her ass, zing it. Panting, I stroked myself a few more times before reentering her, resuming my pounding of her womb. --- Jahi''s PoV will be a whole chapter on it''s own, so yeah... Date when written: 12/28/2022 --- Chapter 165 164: Growth After a... rather long night with Leone, I awoke in the morning feeling numb. My body hurt and ached, my head was reeling, and my veins were scorching. Screwing my eyes shut, I groaned as a wave of that heat washed over my body again, the world spinning around me as Iy on the bed. Leone grumbled beside me, and she gingerly got up and let out a cute yawn. However, I was in too much agony to notice, and after another few moments she gentlyid her hand on my shoulder, shaking me. "Kat, are you okay?" Grumbling at her, I buried my face into her stomach, hoping her warmth would help alleviate my pain. It did... For a few moments. The searing sensation that traveled through my body seemed to grow worse wherever I contacted Leone''s bare skin, so I swiftly turned back over andid face down on the bed. "Kat?!" Feeling her handnd on my body again, I groaned as the heat grew more intense, making me mutter "J-Just give me... a moment..." I heard her gently get off the bed and open her door, making me sigh in mild relief. If she had touched me again, I was worried this heat would grow worse... What the hell is it anyways?! Trying to feel my mana to cast a healing spell, I whimpered as the pain returned twofold. [Host, you took in arge amount of Leone''s mana in an attempt to enhance your core... this is the pain from not only waiting on it to expand, but receiving such an amount all at once is deadly to some. However...] Feeling the heat travel through my veins towards my core, I shuddered as my core steadily increased in warmth, until it reached a searing temperature as well. [Bear with me for now... I''m trying to fine tune... oh for fucks-] My core pulsated, making me gasp as my vision flickered with every beat of my pounding heart. With each painful throb, my mind went nk, incapable of thought as I let out gasps and groans, attempting to remain conscious throughout the process. I could feel my core expanding; the organ itself was growingrger, and with each tiny increase in its size, the amount of mana I could hold increased exponentially. However, nothing good in this world is free, and the price for such an increase in power was this searing, aching agony that wracked my body. [Almost done... bear with me now, Kat...] "Kat! By the... why are you always doing something so-!" Hearing the familiar voices of both the system and Jahi, I blinked a few times, trying to focus myself. A reassuring golden light covered my body, and I could feel my aches receding. At the same time, my core''s expansion was slowing down, making the heat die out with it. The room was silent, and I could feel my body slowly returning to normal, making me sigh in relief. With the pain now gone, I could sit up and take a deep, pain free breath of the sex scented room. Sighing again, I stared at the worried faces of Jahi and Leone before smiling, saying "All good now~!" Jahi frowned, her tone hard as she asked "What in the zing hells did you do?" ncing at Leone, who was blushing and looking away, I chuckled as I said "Leone found a rather... unique training method, and we may~ have gone overboard?" Furrowing her brow, Jahi nced at Leone as well, who''s red cheeks darkened further under the Demoness'' scrutiny. "Training... method?" Seeing the disbelief in her eyes, I chuckled again as I took in the room, or more particrly, the scent. It was no surprise that she was dubious about this ''training method'' I talked about, so I smirked at Leone and asked "Why don''t you exin it to Jahi, Leone~? Hmm~?" Crossing her arms, Jahi stared down at our timid wife and nodded, saying "Please do. I''m curious now..." Jahi and I both smirked slightly as Leone exined the ''Dual Cultivation'' technique in a flustered tone, growing more embarrassed with each passing second. By the end of it Jahi was nodding, her eyes unfocused as she thought about the technique. "It''s... unique. Useful, but... Well, considering the way it seems to need to be used, I don''t think I could ever use it." Leone pursed her lips, staring at the tall Demoness for a few moments before muttering "W-Well, there is a w-way to do it the o-opposite way... f-from ''female'' to ''male''..." That made Jahi smirk, and she leaned down to gently grab Leone''s chin, making the Vampire flinch. "Is there now~? You''ll need to show me, my little horny Princess~!" Leone pouted as she stared at Jahi, which only made the Demoness chuckle again. "Anyways... Kat, why is it that whenever you do ANYTHING to increase your strenght, you end up harming yourself?!" [She has a good point...] ''Oh hush you!'' Pursing my lips, I scratched my cheek as I said "Well, this was... avoidable... I MAY have egged Leone on just a little more than needed..." Leone''s crimson eyes widened as she stared at me, before she resumed pouting, this time aiming it at me. Jahi just sighed, shaking her head before saying "You are... hah... whatever; get ready; we need to leave soon..." Turning away, Jahi exited Leone''s room and made her way back into her own, and after giving Leone a kiss I followed swiftly behind her. She was quiet the entire time we were in the bath, and I frowned slightly, not enjoying the silence. Cuddling up beside her, I stared up at her stoic pale blue face and whispered "I''m... sorry, Jahi. Really... I didn''t think that it''d end up like that!" Nodding, she wrapped her arm over my shoulder and pulled me into her, before burying her face between my ears. "It''s alright... I''m not mad at you, just... thinking. There''s a lot going on now, Kat..." Enjoying her breath that tickled my fur, I purred as her hand stroked my cheek, nuzzling into it. "Tonight I''ll need to head out to send some letters to Mom... ask her how she wishes to proceed. Then I want to talk to Kolia about... a few things." Staring up at her, I smiled back when she looked down at me, and I leaned up and ced a kiss on her lips. Remaining beside her face, I whispered "You don''t need to do everything alone, Jahi... we''re here WITH you... remember that..." Kissing me again, she nodded before saying "I know... I just didn''t think you''d want to go deliver a letter with me, Kat~" Seeing her smile turn genuine, I giggled as I moved to sit on herp, staring directly into her eyes. "I''ll go anywhere with you, Jahi... no matter what, no matter where, no matter why... If you want me with you, I''ll be there..." My smile grew twisted, and I pressed my nose against hers, enjoying how her eyes flickered gold when I murmured "Even if you don''t want me there, I''ll never let you go... Forever and always, remember~?" --- Shorter chapter today, since I posted the extra lemon before this... Got a weird headache that isn''t a headache but it is? So I''ll just be chilling for the rest of today; might write some other stuff, might not... Besides that, since this''ll mark the end of the December month for Webnovel, that means we''ve gone through our first full month of Win-Win~! And we ced second (as of writing this) on New Female Lead stories, which is really cool~! So, as a sort of reward, I want to try and make the first week of the next months Win-Win two chapters a day, as a thank you and a way to get through some more stuff in the story; I mean, we got the Level 25 Milestone, whatever Jillian is cooking up, delving back into Zhu''Rong Caverns, the Academy, and more~! Again, thank you all so much, and let''s get on to the next month of My Servant System! --- Chapter 166 165: Back In The Caverns --- First things first... That headache thing is still there, but it''s not to the point that I can''t write; I''ll only get one chapter out today though. Also, I know timezones are different and all, but for me its still before New Years Eve night, so happy New Years everyone~! Yeah, that''s all for now, enjoy~! --- Our days at the Academy were surprisingly uneventful; the only notable things were that Jillian was quieter then expected, as she constantly avoided us during all sses. Besides that, those three days were rather slow, with each professor getting us prepared for the first exam of their sses. Magic Theory would be, surprise, creating and changing multiple different sequences, answering questions about what certain things are or their importance to spell casting as a whole, and a few misceneous items as well. History would be a long, boring essay about one of three topics, all chose and random when we entered; the founding of the Empire, the different regions of the Empire, or the Labyrinthian. That essay would also be paired with different short answer questions that we would need to answer. Finally, Combat ss would be a spar against one of the professors to determine whether or not we''ve improved during our time here. Each person was graded differently, as the professors had a list made for each person based on how they started the year and where we were at now. So of course, Anput and Jahi were rather bored each day, and when our free day came by they were both wanting to let loose, one way or the other. As amazing as another day of pure pleasure sounded, I would rather stretch my other muscles and I had a hankering for blood recently... We hadn''t been down in Zhu''Rong Caverns since the encounter with Lord Pele, which was a few weeks ago. I needed another kind of release, and I also wanted to get my level closer to Level 25; the shop feature was piquing my curiosity, and I was also wondering what the system meant by a change in the system itself when I reached that milestone... Would I be given harder tasks? Maybe a set of goals to reach before I level up again? Or perhaps it would be a ''ss change'' from just a Maid to something more? I was rather curious, so I wanted to rush on down to the Zhu''Rong Caverns and begin my massa- I mean, my grind to be Level 25... Yes, that''s what I meant... We had also discussed this before we entered the Caverns, but we would be traveling only into ces we had been to before for today; no exploration, just going down to the ins of Yama, where we would be able to satiate my thirst for blood while also challenging ourselves a little with therge variety of monsters living on those vast, empty ins. Of course, to get to those ins we needed to first traverse the Ash Ghoul infested Obsidian Valley, which would actually be a good ce to make money; the Cores and Crystals the Ash Ghouls dropped were incrediblymon, but also needed for most basic Alchemical Bases and Forging Preparations. Besides that, we might get lucky enough to run into another Ghoul King, which could drop rare materials for us to sell for a premium. Which is why, even though I didn''t particrly want to be staying here, we were on our third horde of Ash Ghouls, Jahi and Anput cutting through the dozens upon dozens of stumbling, weak monsters like a scythe through wheat. As for Leone and I, we stood a dozen feet away from the horde, the Vampire practicing her uracy with her spells as she sniped random Ghouls in the horde. I stood before her, cutting down any curious Ghouls that got to close; I had disyed little interest in joining the Demoness and Jackalkin in their reaping of the weak, bloodless monsters, and so I was ced on guard duty. However, I was given the reassurance that we would move forwards after this horde, which made me a little giddy; I wanted to know what my new dagger, the one the Countess had sent me, would look like drenched in that incredible scarlet liquid. The dagger was heavier than my previous one, and also a bit longer, but after increasing my stats so much, it still was light to me; if I had to guess, it was three pounds, which sounds light, but when you''re constantly swinging it around... Anyways, I was rather impressed by how easily it cleaved through the Ash Ghouls grey ky flesh, easily severing their limbs and lopping off their heads. Of course, that was marred by the fact that nothing sprayed from those wounds, but oh well... Leone was also much more impressive then before; her spells felt more solid andpact, and the impact they had on the Ash Ghouls was rather impressive as well. Some would re and explode upon impact, while othersthered the Ghouls in scorching mes. She was also much more urate than before; she hit every target she aimed for, but some spears or bolts impacted the Ghouls in a non lethal area, only to be finished off by the added effects of the spells. However, after I watched her uracy dip over the next few Ghouls, I peered back at her and said "Leone, you need to keep hitting their vulnerable spots; not every monster is as weak as these Ghouls. You need to be urate..." Pursing her lips, she nodded, likely recalling the fight against Lord Pele; currently, no enemy we would fight would be as strong as that, but she needed to get used to aiming her spells for weak spots, as some monsters, like Drakes, are armored, which would allow them to shrug off her spears or bolts with ease. After that reminder, the Vampire resumed her slower, but deadlier spell casting, always aiming for center mass or the head. The horde was wiped out a minuteter, with Jahi and Anput taking deep breaths as they nced around at the piles of ash that surrounded them. Joining them, we gathered up the various Cores and Crystals that dropped, cing them into our various pouches and packs before following behind Leone, who we had appointed as our ''guide'' inside Zhu''Rong Caverns. Jahi and Anput nked the Vampire, while I walked behind them, using my superior hearing and smell to guard our rear. The Demoness no longer took these outings like they were minor excursions; she told us that we were going to treat them like we were entering the unknown, and to always be on guard. Slowly making our way through the Obsidian Valley, we eventually reached the expansive ins of Yama, where a few groups of Adventurers could be seen. "Alright, let''s go towards... that set of stgmites over there; not many other people, and lots of goblins. Once we''re done with the Goblins, we''ll make our way a little further, towards a Coal Serpents''ir, and then we''ll depart. Clear?" We all nodded at the Demoness, and she took the lead, guiding us towards the group of stgmites that a small tribe of Lava Goblins called home. Licking my lips as I saw the familiar monsters, I hefted my dagger, already shivering at the thought of hearing their squeals as my de sunk deep into their flesh, slowly snuffing out the light in their beady eyes. While these red skinned Goblins may be slightly stronger than their green skinned cousins over in Fovos Forest, they were as weak as Ash Ghouls. While both had something that they could use to their advantage, they were still easily dealt with; the various traps and clever tricks the Goblins were infamous for wouldn''t be anything difficult to deal with. So, as we approached theirrge encampments that surrounded the various stgmites in this area, I nced at Jahi, who was smirking at me. "Go ahead, ''murder puppy''~ A fresh batch of small, weak monsters for you to sadistically bully as you satiate your hedonistic urges~!" Giving her an unimpressed look, I shook my head as I turned back to stare at the dozens of red skinned Lava Goblins that were scurrying about, chittering to one another in panic as we came into view. Should I utilize just my de, or maybe some new magic I had thought of~? The possibilities were endless, but one thing was certain; guaranteed. There would be blood, there would be screams of agony, and they would all die. --- The fun Kat is back~ Yay~! Also, I did this awhile ago, but I''m just kinda curious again... here, on this line, to let me know you''re reading! Again, just curious... Besides that, I also wanted to pick all of your brains; do you have an idea that you think would be interesting? Monsters that you''d want to see, events you want to happen, plot points to be used? (And I''m not limiting it to just normal chapters, so if you''ve an idea for a Lemon, let me know~!) Anyways, I''m going to go pass out for a long, long time, so see you all tomorrow~! Happy New Years~! --- Chapter 167 166: Murder Puppy Tries A Few Things Hefting the heavy steel dagger in my hands, I stared at the cluster of chittering Lava Goblins with narrowed eyes. How should I go about this..? At least half needed to die in front of me, as I needed to test the lethality of not only my new fighting style but also the dagger. Though the main reason was so I could see and hear these disgusting monsters final moments up close and personal, to alleviate the twisted desires inside of me. However, I was also rather curious on how my ice magic, especially now that I had a better understanding of it, would affect these Goblins. Pair that understanding with a better control over my mana in general, and I had an itching curiosity on how the ice would snuff the light in the Goblins beady eyes. Nodding to myself, I activated a basic Wind Cloak to increase my speed before rushing forwards, enjoying the way the Goblins shrieked due to my speed. Their encampments were rather impressive for such a barren ins; they used chunks of stones as walls, various broken weapons and armor from adventurers to fortify those walls, as well as some broken spears and cloth to create tents. The short, thin, and red skinned Goblins gathered up their own weapons and moved out of the encampment, wanting to meet me on the open terrain of the ins. This tribe consisted of over a dozen and a half Goblins, and with a swift nce towards the other two encampments I noticed that they were using this tribe as a way to gauge my strenght. Chuckling, I raised my dagger and sped up, making the Goblins shriek in fear as I appeared before them, catching them unprepared. The first to fall to my de didn''t even have a chance to squeal as I sunk the dagger deep into its skull, killing it instantly. Nodding to myself, I marveled at how the increase in weight allowed such an easy and quick pration of the Goblins skull; they may be weak, but to sink a de to its hilt from the crown of the skull all the way into the monsters throat was rather impressive. Pulling the de from the unlucky Goblins skull, my heart raced as I saw the arc of that beautiful scarlet liquid, which was joined by small shards of white bone and chunks of pink brain matter. The other Goblins fell silent as they watched theirpanion die that quickly, while I admired how its blood sttered to the cavern flood, creating a pool that shone in the flickering light ofva and glimmering Fire Crystals on the roof. Listening to the body thunk to the ground, I grinned as I stared over the remaining Goblins, my heart racing as I received that first rush of adrenaline. Gazing at the corpse of their fallenpanion, the other Goblins remained silent for another moment before letting out shrieks, readying their swords, axes, and spears before charging towards me, their beady eyes shining with hatred, which outweighed their fear. For now, anyways. Flicking the blood off the heavy steel dagger, I cast a quick nce onto the wondrous arc of blood it created before smirking at the charging tribe. Readying my dagger, I decided to try at least this one spell; tracing the runes into the air, my grin widened as the long sequence of runes red, signifying thepletion of my spell. Although it was a long,plicated sequence, this spell required little of my mana, and what it used... Feeling the air around me grow colder, I grinned as the Goblins continued their charge, unaware of just how brutal their deaths will be. Small patches of frost appeared on the ground around me, while the temperature continued to plummet around me. Frost started to coat my dagger, and when the air be almost frozen around us, the Goblins stopped their charge, the fear returning to their eyes at this unexpected, and unprecedented, change. Due to my skill [Chione''s Blessing (Novice)], I was getting my mana back faster than before, and when [Mana Control (Expert)] was taken into ount on top of that... Well, that meant that the mana used on the spell was lesser than before, and I regained some of what is used due to the area around me being ssified as a ''Colder Area''... And with the increase in frost forming around me... Before the Goblins could attempt to either rally or retreat, I traced another sequence of runes, using those patches of frost as a base for my spells. Spikes rose from them, skewering the poor Lava Goblins that stood near any frost, making them shriek in agony as they were first impaled, and then frozen from the inside out. Those impaled by the spikes had their skin slowly turn blue as my skill [Frost of Despoina (Novice)] took effect, amplifying the freezing effect of my ice magic. As for the few that weren''t currently turning into popsicles... Putting a little more mana into my Wind Cloak, Iunched myself towards them, my dagger rising and falling as I stabbed, shed, and punched the Goblins, enjoying the spraying of blood as it sttered against my skin, the ground, and the other Goblins. However, even as I slit ones throat, tore open another''s stomach, and stabbed the third in the eye, I found myself growing curious about something. Just how potent was my healing magic? Could it rece the blood the Goblins had lost? Or maybe speed up the recovery and creation of their blood... What about regrowing a finger? A limb? Was that possible, or was I only able to clot and cover a severe wound like that in a freshyer of flesh? With that thought on my mind, I stared at the remaining Goblin, who was currently shivering as it stared at the carnage around us. The frozen ground was slick with fresh blood, some of which was freezing over as well. A dozen corpses littered the ground, various wounds on their bodies, each one ced on a vital artery to inflict both maximum damage and pain. There were also a few Goblins still standing, however, they were undoubtedly dead, with a long, jagged spike sticking out from their torsos. Approaching the remaining Goblin, I nced over my shoulder and said "You can all go clear the other two camps out; I have something I want to try with this one..." Jahi and the others gave me dry looks as they took in the area around me, before Jahi just sighed and walked away, spinning her sword in her hand. She was using the steel de currently, and her custom silver and gold de was on her back, just in case we encountered something serious. Anput and Leone gave me a quick look before following the Demoness, curiosity in their eyes as they walked away as well. The Goblin was trembling, tears streaming from its eyes as I approached it. Giving it a warm smile, I giggled as I crouched in front of it, whispering "Hey little guy~! I need your help with something, so be good, alright~?" It tried to crawl away from me, its taloned hands cking against the frozen ground in desperation. However, I just tutted my tongue, binding its limbs with ice shackles. "Come on now little guy~ I asked nicely, didn''t I~?" Bringing the blood soaked de up, I admired the way the thick red liquid dripped off the pale steel, my eyes going back to the Goblins. Fear permeated its gaze, which sent a jolt of pleasure up my spine. Oh how I loved that look~! Crouching before it again, I gently ced the dagger on its arm, before dragging the de across its red flesh. Cutting a shallow line across its arm, I giggled at how it flinched as the cold de pressed into its flesh. Removing the de, I pressed my hand against the wound, my palm shimmered a deep blue as the runes for a healing spell appeared. Tracing my finger across the thin cut, I watched as it closed up, leaving only the blood from the wound as evidence of what had happened. Pursing my lips, I ced my dagger back on the Goblins arm and cut a deeper wound, making the Goblin shriek in agony. "Come on now, it''s not that bad~! Just a tiny scratch... stop being such a baby!" Chuckling at how it shivered from my warm voice, I healed that wound as well, before shifting my attention to something else. I knew that my healing could close such trivial cuts and scrapes, but I was curious... Stabbing the dagger into the ground beside me, I grabbed one of the Goblins fingers, which made its eyes go wide. "Sorry in advance~ This isn''t just a tiny scratch anymore~!" Giggling, I snapped the bone in two, causing the Lava Goblin to let out a scream of pain, its body convulsing as it went through that searing sensation of breaking a bone. Staring at its now crooked finger, I pursed my lips as I stared at it, admiring how the finger swelled slightly in the next few moments. Grinning, I traced the healing spell runes again and healed the broken bone, listening to the sound of it resetting in just a few seconds, making the Goblin shriek again. However, even as painful as it sounded, the finger was back to functioning; I even moved the appendage a few times to guarantee that. "Oh, I''m going to have SO much fun with you~!" --- Alright, no longer incredibly sick like yesterday, but I just want to rest a little, so just one chapter again today. However, I will try to at least update one or two of my other books, so look forward to that! Also, how do you all like this darker version of Kat? Just a little curious if people like or dislike her. --- Chapter 168 167: Thanks Mister Goblin~! --- This''ll be a short one, and it''s only happening because I realized all my others novels are either 1) smut books or 2) on a smut chapter, so... Since I''m writing while watching the football games with family, I can''t really start writing smut while in the same room... So yeah, happy second chapter to today, even if it''s a shorter one lol~ --- "Oh I''m going to have SO much fun with you~!" The Goblins beady eyes were shaking as it stared at me, it''s high pitched chittering making my heart race with euphoric glee. My warm, gentle smile dropped for a second, and was reced by something more twisted. Seeing that, the Goblin desperately tried to escape from the ice shackles, squealing in horror as I tilted my head. "Aw~ Come now Mister Goblin~! I need your help; why''re you so scared? It''s not like I''m going to..." Grabbing the Goblins wrist, I snapped the thin bone with ease, relishing in the agonized scream that escaped its thin lips. "Torture you or anything~! I''m just healing you from all these... unfortunate idents that keep happening to you~! You should be grateful!" My smile returned to its previous warmth, and I gentlyid my hand on its now shattered wrist. The cracking of the bones as they were mended back together was loud, and with each snap the Goblin shrieked, only to fall silent as it passed out. However, much to its horror, I woke it back up soon after, wanting to be... rewarded for my ''good deeds''. Sweat coated the red skinned Goblins body, and I could smell the stench from it body, making me crinkle my nose in disgust. Washing the thing off quickly, I nodded at its clean appearance, before looking over its body, wondering where the next ''ident'' would ur. I could heal broken bones, shattered bones, cuts and scrapes... What else could I heal? Would a punctured organ be the next step up in wounds? Pursing my lips, I wondered if a Goblins anatomy was simr to a normal human... Before frowning as I wondered if my organs were simr to a normal human; I think they are... But what about other races, like Lamias? My frown deepened, before I just shrugged; I''d learn eventually... Starting with my first, extremely willing volunteer, Mister Goblin! Taking up my dagger, I ced the tip against its chest, before slowly sinking the de into the monsters flesh. As the steel de cut into its flesh, the Goblin let out shrill screams, shuddering as it grew closer to death. Gauging the depth of the de, as well as noticing the Goblin cough out a little blood, I took that as a sign that it had a punctured lung. I couldn''t be sure; not yet, but when I healed it I could tell ''what'' I had healed, so I would know in a few moments... Removing the dagger, I was transfixed by the gushing blood that seeped from the wound, remaining motionless as I watched the pool of blood that formed below the Goblins body. Licking my lips, I felt a rush of pleasure flood my body at that sight, before jolting back ''awake'' as the Goblin started convulsing. "Nuh-uh~! Not yet..." cing my hands on the Goblins wounds, I let my mana pour into the Goblins wounded body, stimting the growth and healing of the flesh it touched. I also felt my mana enter the Goblins lung, draining the blood from its interior before closing the slitted tissues. Grinning slightly, I then watched as the entry wound was healed as well, but... Tapping the Goblins unconscious face, I frowned in annoyance as I realized that I was, apparently, incapable of recing, or stimting the growth of, blood, meaning the Goblin was suffering from the effects of blood loss... And mental trauma... Sighing, my frown deepened further as the Goblin remained unresponsive after being pped twice. "Well... fine... guess I''ll continue on alone..." Annoyed that I was now deprived of the wondrous sound of the Goblins tortured screams, I set about to more experiments, like... Slicing offrge chunks of flesh, which let me know that I was capable of, with enough mana, regrowing missing flesh. However, it was only flesh; when I removed a finger, skin grew over the exposed muscle and bone, meaning that, as of now, I was incapable of regrowing limbs. Out of curiosity, I removed one of the Goblins fangs, which let me know that I was potentially close to being able to regrow bone, as the fang grew back. The same urred when I removed a w, wondering if I could regrow those as well. I could. Besides that, I then tried the same thing with an ear, which was a partial sess; the entire thing didn''t grow back, but after a cursory scan I was able to determine everything it needed to hear was in ce. Then I tried to regrow an eye, but sadly I was also incapable of that, meaning Mister Goblin was down a finger and eyeball. Flicking the fleshy orb away, I began my work anew; this time, I wanted quantity of wounds over the quality of them. Scoring multiple deep gashes on the Goblins body, I then broke a few fingers and toes, and tore out another w. Laying before me was a horrifying looking ''corpse'', though the rapid rising and falling of its chest and the beating of its heart belied that idea. Tracing the runes for my healing spell again, I watched as most of the cuts closed up, however only a few of the bones mended back together, and the w grew halfway back to normal. Frowning, I poured a little more mana into the spell, watching in fascination as everything grew back and snapped into ce. However, momentster the Goblins heart stopped, likely from thebination of repeated trauma, blood loss, and more... Sighing, I stared over the Goblins corpse before sping my hands together in mock prayer, muttering "Thank you for your help Mister Goblin... may your soul rest in pieces..." Getting up, I then turned my attention to the system notification, letting me know that a skill had advanced. [Skill: [Healing (Adept)] -> [Healing (Expert]] [[Healing (Expert): Healing Spells are much more potent, and require less mana; additionally, when (1/3rd) of Hosts total mana is pooled into a single healing spell, there is a chance for a full recovery] Reading the [Healing (Expert)] skills new additional perk, which made me rather excited. Now I was tempted to attempt this on a new,pletely willing subject... "You done Kat? Huh... seems more... whole than I thought it''d be..." ncing over my shoulder, I saw Jahi and the others walking back, their bodies speckled with splotches of blood. Leone was panting, Jahi''s extra sword in her hand. However, when they saw my normally pale skin stained crimson, they all blinked before shrugging. "What? I just wanted to practice my healing..." "By torturing a Goblin?" Hearing Jahi''s exasperated tone, I chuckled before asking "Would you prefer I go hunting for a mortal?" The Demoness sighed as she shook her head, before gesturing towards the expansive ins around us. "Come on Murder Puppy... we got some Coal Serpents to hunt." --- I want Kat''s power ups to be exponential, meaning that, for now, while she is ''strong'', she isn''t OP MC ''will utterly decimate the world with a sneeze'' strong. Which is why things like the [Healer] skill will continue to grow more and more broken... Resurrection anyone? nket healing an entire Empire perhaps? Sounds rather fun, no? Anyways, yeah, that''d be a long, long ways away, but for now, we have a lovable, blood soaked puppy who is just that; a ''puppy''pared to the Demoness and mysterious Empress... --- Chapter 169 168: Coal Serpents "Come on Murder Puppy... we have some Coal Serpents to hunt." I nodded at Jahi, before approaching the group and holding out my hands. A deep blue glow washed over each of us, and the blood, gore, and sweat that we had umted was washed away in a moment. Everyone looked over their now clean bodies, armor, and weapons, before giving me a relieved smile. We might be warriors, killers, people used to fighting, but all four of us were used to be clean, and there was little purpose to exploring and adventuring when we were drenched in blood and guts of the monsters we''ve killed. Besides, the mana cost was minimal, so I had no problem utilizing the spell multiple times an adventure to keep us fresh. Anput and I were already dealing with the burnt, metallic tang of ash surrounding us, so if I could remove the smell of intestines and other internal organs, then that was worth it to me. Nodding to me, Jahi turned around and led our group towards the areas that Leone had described as Coal Serpent Nests. They were small mounds that were scattered around the ins of Yama, and they led deep into the crust of the Volcano, where the Coal Serpents made their burrows. These long, charcoal ck scaled serpents would usually avoid confrontation of all kinds, with the only violent action of their being the hunting of the various other monsters that roamed the ins, namely the Goblins, but sometimes the Firefangs that asionally made their way to these ins, like the one we saw on our first venture inside these Caverns. Besides their rather non confrontational nature, they were rather strong and clever fighters, utilizing their armored bodies and natural fire magic to slowly chip away at their enemies while tanking the damage dealt to them. So, as we approached the few mounds of upraised earth a few hundred feet away, Jahi was going over a rather basic n... "Since they''re more of a tank monster, Anput and I will upy their attention as best we can, while you two use precise spells to either cripple them or kill them; aim for the chinks in their scales, opened maws, eyes, wherever they have a soft spot, hit that with a strong spell to wound them. Got it?" Leone and I nodded, making the Demoness grin. "Lets hunt us some Coal Serpents!" Besides her very obvious enthusiasm to fight something new, Anput was also beaming as we approached the Coal Serpents Nest, her tail swishing adorably as she hummed happily to herself. Leone had told us that these monsters can drop rather rare smithing materials, and would be worth a lot of money. The Jackalkin had changed her tune from when she first moved in with us; before, she seemed to care little about money, just like Jahi, but the two women hade around, but for different reasons. Jahi''s spending was always on us, her wives; she rarely went out of her way to but herself something, saying she had what she needed and would rather gift us things. As for Anput, ever since we had seen the sprawling weapon market outside the entrance of Zhu''Rong Caverns, she had expressed a desire to purchase many different kinds of des; she had said she wanted to experiment with them all, as well as collect them, just for the sake of having them. When Leone and I had asked her if she was interested in smithing, she had pursed her lips and given the question deep thought, before eventually nodding her head, saying she wanted to be able to forge herself, and us, perfect weapons suited for each of us. Which, while it made me happy that she, just like Leone, had found a desire she wanted to chase in life, I wasn''t looking forwards to her bill each month... Both had expensive interests, and Jahi was no better, as her gifts tended to bevish... Sighing, I realized that our years at the Academy would be spent in these Caverns, slowly building up arge amount of funds so that we could continue the lifestyle we currently lived. Though, that was also why Anput was so excited about these excursions; to her, these meant that she was contributing her part of the bill, and it was also a way to let loose. So, as we stood a dozen feet away from the mounds, we all readied our weapons, preparing for a good fight, and hopefully some quick, easy coin. Leone and I were standing a few feet behind Jahi and Anput, who were staring at the mound with wary eyes; we don''t know the true strenght of the Coal Serpents, nor their numbers inside this den, so caution was needed. The two started slowly and carefully approaching the den, their feet quietly gliding over the loose gravel ground that made up the in. Drawing closer and closer, the two women watched as a sleek, ck head poked out from the mounds entrance, two slitted crimson eyes staring intently at them. The Coal Serpents head was about three feet wide, and when it flicked out its forked tongue, I marveled at the length of the fleshy appendage, realizing quickly howrge monsters could truly get. Slithering out another foot of the den, the Coal Serpent hissed at the two women as a warning, and we could all hear another few hissesing from inside the den. Each scale shone in the red light of the Cavern, and I could tell where it had gotten it''s name from; the scales were asrge as a chunk of coal, and just as dark. Seeing that the two women weren''t retreating, the Coal Serpent hissed again, moving a little further out of the den, revealing its long body. Anaconda''s, one of my previous worldsrgest snakes, reached around 30 feet as the longest ever recorded, but this... Staring at it as it slithered further and further out, its scaled body coiling up to allow it to disy its full length, I was grateful that I didn''t have a phobia of snakes... ? Lifting its head a dozen feet off the ground, it stared down at the two women, before its crimson eyes flitted over to Leone and I, making the Coal Serpent hiss again. "That is..." Leone nodded beside me, her eyes fixed on the monster before us. "This is only average as well..." Pursing my lips, I wondered just what kind of actual monsters lived in the Labyrinthian if the monstrosity of scales before us was only ''average''... Jahi and Anput took a few steps back, creating a little space between them and the giant serpent, before lowering their stances as they prepared tounch an attack. As for Leone and I, we both prepared spells, Leone going for her spear while I readied a barrage of ice arrows, wanting to test my uracy with multiple projectiles. When the Coal Serpent noticed that the mortals before it weren''t backing down and retreating, it let out a final hiss before lunging forwards, its giant head mming into the ground beside Jahi, who rolled away. Anputunched herself at the Serpents neck, her longsword scoring a shallow gash across the Serpents scales, making it hiss in pain. Rearing back to its full height, the Serpent''s maw glimmered scarlet, before it lunged back towards Jahi. This time, when it impacted the gravelly ground, we all widened our eyes at the patch of melting stones, the normally ckish grey earth now a dull orange. One hit from that meant death for any unprepared adventurer... Thinking that, I canceled my arrows and instead draped Anput and Jahi in Wind and Water Cloaks, granting them enhanced speed and resistances, as well as a minor healing buff as well. When that was added onto the women''s own Mana Cloaks... Well, unless they act idiotically, or are takenpletely by surprise, they should survive most hits... Unless the Coal Serpent is hiding some of its strenght. Sinking its fangs back into the earth beside Jahi, the Serpent hissed in agony as her heavy de sliced off a few of its ck scales, revealing its dark red flesh. Leone and I released a barrage of spells towards that wound, only to click our tongues in disappointment as the Serpent weaved to the side, avoiding the spells. It turned its slitted eyes towards us, and we both jumped backwards as it lunged towards us next. However, by doing so it left itself open to Jahi and Anput, who swiftly dashed towards its scaled body and started hacking away, tearing off scales and chunks of flesh with each rise and fall of their des. It tried to turn around and push them away, but as it twisted its head around it revealed the two wounds on its neck to Leone and I, and with it being so close... Lifting a hand, I pelted therger wound with a dozen sharpened icicles, while Leone hurled a long spear of near solid me at the scratch Anput had given it, impaling its throat and burning its flesh. The Serpent released raspy hisses at that, only to fall silent momentster as it sumbed to the various wounds and effects. Like all other monsters, it started to turn to ash as it died, with some of its scales, fangs, and even a bone dropping to the earth with thuds. However, before we could take in its death, more hisses came from the den, making all of us go on guard. Chapter 170 169: A Few More Serpents... --- You all had some great ideas, as well as reactions to the previous chapters lol. Anyways, let''s eradicate an innocent family of snakes, hmm~? --- Before we could take in the death of therge Coal Serpent, we heard more hissesing from the mound, before feeling the earth around us tremble slightly. Leone''s eyes went wide as she felt that, and she shouted out "Spread out! They can burrow short distances!" Jumping away from one another, we all stared at the ground around us, searching for any signs of the Serpents appearing around us. Coating my body in a thin sheet of ice, I then focused intently on the earth, before my eyes found a thin line of raised gravel approaching me. Grinning, I waited another moment for it to ambush me before jumping away, using my wind mana to amplify my movement speed and stare at the wide open maw of the Coal Serpent, which was slightly smaller then the one we had just killed. Its crimson eyes searched for me when it noticed that nothing was between its jaws, only to hiss in pain as my dagger sunk into the monsters neck, only to frown as my de didn''t sink as deep as I wanted it to. Wrenching the dagger from its flesh, I watched as a thin stream of blood arced through the air, but I sadly had little time to admire the wondrous scarlet liquid as the Serpent jerked my head towards me, attempting to knock me to the ground with its heavy weight. Droplets of dull orange liquid flew from its jaws, as well as from its giant fangs, and I pursed my lips as I heard the ground sizzling as the. droplets fell to the ground. This wouldn''t be a fight that I could revel in my bloodlust, sadly... Dodging another swipe of itsrge head, I frowned as I noticed that the Serpent was now slowly leaving its burrowed tunnel, slithering around me and locking me inside of a tight, constricting circle. Coiling over itself, the Serpent created a living, moving wall of scales and flesh, making my frown deepen. I could jump over it, but considering its head was now looming above me and filling with more of thatva like liquid, I didn''t want to risk positioning myself in the air, at least not without a few safeguards. Freezing my steel dagger in a thick sheet of ice, I then traced a sequence out in front of me, making the Serpent hiss. ? It tried to lunge down to stop me, but it instead collided with a block of solid ice that I had encapsted myself in. Feeling the air around me plummet in temperature, I started tracing more and more runes,yering spell after spell into arge ritual circle. The Serpent was constantly mming into the ice, and I could hear thin cracks forming on the outer surface. My hand sped up, and I frowned as I realized how long this spell was taking. It was a giantbination of basic spells, but it was rather effective and something that I had wanted to try. This was a spell I had made for when I am surrounded by either onerge enemy like this Serpent, or dozens of enemies like a horde of strong Ghouls. You could never be too prepared. Altering the structure of the cube I was in, I took a deep breath as I finished the ritual circle, the dozens of green, dark blue, and pale blue runes ring in specific sequences as it activated. The Serpent was still mming against my protective cube, before hissing as it collided with a small spike that had formed on the cubes surface. Staring at it warily, the Serpent hissed again before closing its maw, momentster opening it to spit out a giant glob of that orange liquid. That liquid sizzled against the ice as it melted it, and I started desperately muttering "Come on,e on..! Activate..!" I needed every rune to be active before the spell would re to life, and right now... There were a few runes that were dull, and I looked up at the roof, watching as the liquid slowly chewed through my ice. I couldn''t divert my mana, so this was currently a race against time; I was putting trust into this ice dome I had made, and so far... It was working. Thankfully, before the liquid melted through half my ice, the ritual circle around me red to life, making me grin. It was a dozen some odd spells sewn together into onerger, intricate spell, and now... My eyes widened as I watched the fruits of mybor ripen. A gale picked up around me, and the Serpent raised its head to nce around, its crimson eyes filled with worry. If my dagger hadn''t managed to do much damage, and I wasn''t fully aware of its entire capabilities, I was willing to be cautious in this fight; I didn''t have Jahi''s strength to simply cut through this monsters hardened scales. As the gale continued to pick up speed, flurries started to shower down, before growing intorger chunks of hail. Getting pelted by dozens, hundreds of chunks of ice, the Serpent let out an annoyed hiss, before flinching as one of those ice chunks grew sharper, scoring a shallow gouge on its ck scales. However, those sharpened ice balls grew in frequency, until they turned from chunks of hail to long spears of ice, which slowly impaled the Serpent. It was trying to unwind itsrge body, before it was turned into a pincushion, but sadly the spears grew longer, and they started fixing the various sections together, keeping the Serpent in the center of this deadly storm. I was still protected by my dome of ice, and any spear that drew close evaporated as it was turned into powdered snow that coated the ice. Watching the Serpent slowly die to a thousand cuts, I grinned as each wound weeped blood, creating a frozenke around me. When it finally breathed itsst, I stopped the blizzard of spears I had summoned before dissolving the ice around me. The Serpent turned to dust, droppingrge amounts of scales and a few bones, making my grin widen. Each item I got from this monster meant money, and I needed money. But for now, my eyes were fixated on the pool of blood around me, and I licked my lips. I hadn''t seen such a beautiful sight in my entire life... Save my wives, of course, but... This is its own category, and for now... It took the number one spot. I wanted to see arger ocean of this wondrous crimson liquid, and the idea of the suffering that would need to be caused to get that to happen... Sent shivers down my spine. Shaking myself from my new future dream, I scooped up my prizes and watched as the others finished up as well. Anput was a blur of red and silver, the Serpents body coated in deep gashes before turning to dust, and the Jackalkin was panting, her body covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Jahi was swinging a golden de around, easily severing different parts of the Serpents body before killing itpletely. As for Leone, she had a bright sun ring above her head, various bolts shooting from it as they targeted the Serpents open wounds, making the monster hiss in agony before being burnt to dustpletely. When we were all finished, we exchanged nces, realizing that we had all taken around the same time, either by choice or necessity. Regrouping back in the center, we all smiled at one another before pooling together our spoils, our smiles turning to grins at the amount of materials gathered. "Well this has been a lucrative run..." --- What''d you all think of the spell? It''s abination of a wind storm, rain, freezing area, and reshaping the hail;plex when joined together, but rather simple individually. Effective too; I mean, have you ever been out in a hailstorm? I have, and that shit HURTS... Anyways, chapter 2 for today done, hope you enjoyed~! --- Chapter 171 170: Exiting The Caverns "Well, that was lucrative..." Jahi was staring down at the various pouches each of us had filled with materials from the Ash Ghouls, Lava Goblins, and now from the Coal Serpents. Of the three monsters we harvested materials from, the most expensive would be the Coal Serpents Fangs and Bones, but the sheer quantity of the Ash Ghoul Cores and Crystals was going to make us the most in the end. How much, none of us knew for sure; the market for these materials was ever shifting, and we would need to find either individual merchants to sell small amounts of these materials too, or sell in bulk to an organization, be it the Guild, a chain of stores, or some kind of group for Alchemists and Smiths. I would need to count out each material and create a list of them before setting out to sell everything, and I''d have to dust off my bargaining skills... I hadn''t really done much bargaining since my previous life, and even then it was very minor... Securing the pouches and cing them inside our packs, we all double checked our gear before setting off for the entrance of the Caverns; we had done more than we set out to do, and with us having the Academy tomorrow, we needed to be rested. As we started moving back over the ins of Yama in silence, I was reviewing the spells I had used, the advancement in my healing magic, and slowly theorizing more spells I could create. The first spell, the one that I used against the Goblins, was my attempt at creating a ''Domain''; my skills benefited from a certain environment, and if I could create a stable, blizzard like area around myself, I could not only get mana regeneration from the low temperatures, but also from how windy the area was. Besides that, it would allow me to utilize the frost on the ground as weapons; I could alter the structure of the spell since the area around me was the spell; it was my ''Domain Spell''. As for the spell I had used against the Serpent, that was a variation on the Domain, creating a more focused, stronger storm around myself. The Domain was just my Ice and Wind magics mixing to create a cold, windy area around myself, whereas the spell I had used against the Serpent was a storm, which required all three of my mana types. The Water mana was used to create rain first, which would then freeze over due to the freezing temperatures created by my Ice mana. That would allow an easier, and less draining, creation of the chunks of hail, which I could eventually shape into spears, arrows, or even merge together to create giant boulders of ice. Now, my time with Mister Goblin was fruitful, both as a release and as a learning experience; may he rest in pieces... Anyways, I had learned that I was, currently, capable of only regrowing flesh, cartge, and keratin, or what our nails are made from. However, I was incapable of regrowing limbs, nor was I able to do much with bones beside reattach them and heal fractures. Thinking of that, I almost facepalmed as I realized I had forgotten to try something incredibly basic... Could I cut off a limb and reattach it? If I took the Goblins finger and held it back against the wound, could my healing magic prompt the bone to reattach and flesh to grow back? Sighing, I decided I needed to check that if we encountered another monster before leaving for today. Even without that, knowing what I could do with my healing magic was important, and I could start improving my Water Cloak to be more of a healing support spell than it already was; if I learned that I could reattach limbs, I would be able to keep my wives whole if they were in that cloak. Now, for new spells... Besides improving the control on my current repertoire of spells, I had a few ideas, but would need to delve heavily into moreplexbinations of runes and sequences. Could I, theoretically, create an environment so cold that it freezes everything around me? What about sharpening snowkes, creating the deadliest blizzard in the entire world? Turning away from ice''s conventional uses, what about creating thin mirrors to amplify Jahi''s Light magic? Would I be able to ''control'' her light and its effectiveness? On that same note, could I use ice as a way to create invisibility for myself? Or how about shaping orbs of ice to carry Leone''s Fire magic, or Anput''s Metal magic? Using them as projectiles that, unless the enemy had already seen it beforehand, or witnessed the forming of those projectiles, wouldpletely surprise and decimate the enemy? Could I create constructs from my ice? Large, towering golems that moved and acted on mymands? There were so many possible spells that I could create with Ice magic alone, not even including the near limitlessbinations of Water magic, Wind magic, and Ice magic... Humming softly to myself as we walked, I kept my guard up as we passed by various groups of monsters, some adventuring groups, and a few suspiciously clear and empty parts of the ins. We managed to exit the ins of Yama with little incident, but... Staring up at the gentle slope of the Obsidian Valley, we all sighed as we saw the various hordes of Ash Ghouls stumbling about, knowing that we weren''t going to let such a good opportunity to make money slip through our fingers. Jahi and Anput went towards the top of the horde while Leone and I made our way around it, slowly meeting in the middle. Wading through the various ash scented, weak muscled Ghouls that made up the horde, I found myself curious as to if my healing magic works on them as well. After all, I didn''t know if my magic only worked on only living things or not. Would that be useful to know? Who knows, but it''s better to find out now than when I might actually need it. Grabbing one of thest remaining Ash Ghouls, I shackled it simr to the Goblin from earlier, before freezing its jaw to stop it from groaning at me constantly. Slicing off a piece of its arm, I then attempted to heal it, my palm ring a deep blue. I watched on in fascination as the flesh grew back, making me wonder if this Ghoul was actually ''alive'' or not. Confirming that my magic worked on Ghouls, I then wanted to solve another question of mine; could I reattach limbs at my current stage? Chopping off the arm, I then attempted to reattach the limb, tracing my fingers over the line that separated the arm from the shoulder. Seeing that the flesh was attempting to rejoin together, I poured a little more mana into the spell, a relieved grin on my face as that too proved to be sessful. The others were standing over me, watching in morbid fascination as I performed my experiments, Jahi letting out a low mutter. "This is incredibly creepy..." ncing up at her, I replied "I don''t care; now I know the capabilities of my healing magic. Unless you were willing to donate an arm for this?" As I spoke Inced my dagger through the Ghouls throat and twisted the de, severing its head from its body. Maintaining the same grin from earlier, I watched as Jahi shivered, while Anput and Leone were giving meplicated looks. "No... I''m fine... Are you uh... done?" Getting up, I dusted off my clothes before nodding, gesturing for her to lead the way. Therge Demoness gave me a nod before turning around, leading us up the Obsidian Valley and into the first cavern. Our pouches were bursting to the seams with materials, and I could tell that Anput was getting giddy at the thought of selling everything; she was staring at her pouches with a grin, her ears and tail twitching as she walked beside us. As for Leone, she was excited as well, but beside the small smile on her lips as she secured everything again, it was more of a subdued excitement. Standing beside her, I asked "Are you keeping some of the Cores for yourself? Either to start creating a stock of them or to start practicing on your own?" ncing over at me, Leone pursed her lips before nodding. "Yes... I think that would be best. Just like I kept the Ghoul King''s Talon... However, it''s going to be awhile until I start brewing potions; an alchemy set costs quite a bit." Narrowing my eyes at her, I asked "How much is ''a bit''?" Leone nced away before muttering "For a good one that wouldst me a decade or so? A tinum..." Blinking a few times, I stared at her in silence, making the Vampire gulp, still facing away from me. "One whole tinum... just for a ''good'' set? What does an excellent one cost?" She pursed her lips again, her voice meek as she muttered "Around 15 tinum..." Feeling my mind slowly slipping from the numbers she was telling me, I just pinched the bridge of my nose before saying "Y''know what, it''s not my money... make that much on your own, spend it as you wish! One whole tinum..." Shaking my head, I continued walking behind Jahi, hoping that Leone had a knack for Alchemy. The amount of money to get a ''good'' set must mean that the prices of ''good'' potions is insanely high... Right? Chapter 172 171: Finances We had left the Caverns with little issue, and it had been decided that we would make a return to the Adventuring District the next day after the Academy was over to get a feel on the prices for our spoils. When we pooled everything together and counted what we had gotten, I had to blink a few times as I stared at the list, which had been double checked by Leone and I. There were 132 Ghoul Cores, 98 Ghoul Crystals, 31 Goblin Fangs, 49 Serpent Scales, 27 various Serpent Bones, and 5 Serpent Fangs. That was... 342 individual materials, and we needed to sell it all off. The Cores were after Leone and kept half of her own shares as well... which was rather insane. After we had counted everything out and organized each into a separate pile on the table, we then had to discuss how everything would be split when sold. How much would go to a ''family'' ount, which would be used for general expenses, the main on being groceries. Then how much would each individual person get? Which was a surprisingly heated debate... Between Anput and Leone; the Jackalkin and Vampire were currently hissing at one another as they stood on opposite sides of the table, both arguing on who deserves more. Jahi and I had decided to let them fight it out; both had good points, after all... Though I was getting a bit of a headache from the argument. "You just stand in the back casting spells! Therefore, I should get the higher cut! I''m up close to every monster we fight!" Anput leaned forwards, her fur bristling as she red at Leone, while the Vampire''s ashen hair sparked a little, her crimson eyes ring. "And you can only do that because Kat and I support you from the back! You''d be overwhelmed otherwise! Do you know how many times I stopped Ghouls from encircling you today?!" Hearing my name suddenly dragged into the mix, I sighed as I nced at Jahi, wondering why she was being silent. Her amethyst eyes were alight with mirth as she watched the two go at it, making me sigh again. Now wasn''t the time for her to be admiring them... Coughing, I drew the attention of the two snarling women, making them frown as I nced between them. "We''ll be cing half of what we make into this family ount, leaving the remaining half to be split between the four of us. 10% will go to Jahi, 10% to me, and 15% to each of you; unless, of course, you decide to continue arguing, in which case you can have fun with just 5% each." The two women frowned again, while Jahi tilted her head, curiously asking "Why do you and I get 10%? Or more specifically, why am I getting 10%? Aren''t I the head of this family?" Giving her a dry look, I said "You are; which means you''re the one in charge of that other 50%. As for me; I don''t need the money, since I don''t buy anything besides food and other necessities. Though I would like to be paid. As for these two, I''m hoping that if we invest in them now, they''ll start making their own money from their dream professions; alchemy for Leone, smithing for Anput." Jahi nodded, a smirk on her face as she looked between the other two; when they heard that Jahi technically had ess to 60% of the overall funds... They were currently trying to re at her, wanting arger cut, but... "Maybe I''ll give you both a little extra if you... please me~? Though I imagine Kat''d be the one you''d need to try and get that money from." That made them turn towards me, their gazes both hopeful and pleading, only to frown when I shook my head, crossing my arms. "Nope; you won''t be getting a single copper extra from me. You''re both grown, get your own money. I''m not your parents, nor am I the ''main'' wife. So, deal with your 15%. I think I''m being generous with that number alone." Letting out sighs, they both stared dejectedly at the table, and I was tempted to throw in the fact that Leone would always make more than Anput; after all, she would likely keep the materials she needed or wanted... Ah... Now I know what Jahi was feeling earlier; they were rather entertaining to watch bickering... The room fell silent for another few moments, before Jahi said "Alright, I''m going to be going with Kat down to the Adventuring District to sell everything off tomorrow; are you twoing with or are you going to stay home?" Anput pursed her lips before saying "I''ll be going; I want to know what everythinges out to." Leone nodded, making Jahi chuckle. "Good! That means we can all go out to eat somewhere and-" Cutting her off, I gave her a dry look as I said "Conversely, I can make us dinner and we can retire early, since we have our tests in two days. I''d rather not you all not flunk out of our sses. Especially you, Anput." The Jackalkin grumbled in annoyance, making Jahi and Leone chuckle, much to her annoyance. "Alright, we''ll be home early mother~! No need to worry~!" Giving her another dry look, Jahi grinned widely at me as she leaned on the table, her eyes heated as she said "Now that''s a wonderful thought to end the night~ You as a mother..." The other two gave me equally heated gazes, making me sigh. I likely had another long night ahead of me... ~~~ I was correct; another long night was certainly what awaited me, and it was much like before. Once bound, I was handed away to each woman like an offering, meant to appease their urges. After that, we had another uneventful day at the Academy; with the tests being tomorrow, Vice-Headmaster Bijilo and Professor Xiant were offering us self study time, telling us it would be best for us to review everything on our own or in groups rather then relying on them to guide us through our review. As for our Combat sses, we did more basic practices to warm us up for the fights against the Professors the next day, each telling us that a review of the basics would be the best help to improve our scores. When we finally made our way out of the Academy, we were all surprised by theck of Jillian being a pain in each ss; she had grown even more reserved since her banquet, but I definitely knew that her hatred for Jahi had grown. If looks could kill, Jahi would have been dead, crushed into pulp, tossed into a fire, and the ashes spread across the world to prevent anything from piecing her back together. However, she made no snarkyments, no provocative statements... She didn''t even re that often anymore; she seemed to be trying her best to distance herself from us. Which, admittedly, was slightly worrying; I''d rather keep an enemy close than let them slip further and further away into the murky background. It made it easier to use her of something if she remained obvious with her hatred, but... Sighing, I moved that up to the top of my list of things I needed to keep an eye on. What she had said during the banquet was rather worrisome. Well, there was little I could do as of now besides be on guard, so I turned my attention back to the here and now, which was the Adventuring District. We were going to first try the Guild, then we would move to the Alchemist Organizations and the Smithing Organizations if the price didn''t sound too high. As we walked, I tried to keep an eye and ear out for anyone else doing business as well, specifically with the materials we had on us. However, the market was incredibly boisterous, with merchants shouting out to promote their wares, parties of adventurersughing and joking with one another, and the sounds of people fighting, hammering away on anvils, and even the very rare sounds of explosions. It truly was the typical Adventuring Hub feel, with therge variety in people walking around us, the different things being sold and purchased, and so much more. --- Next chapter will be a bartering one as well as them buying some things, so more of a slice of life-ish chapter, before we move onto the tests, which will be a few chapters; obviously, the Combat ss will have each of their perspectives, but I won''t draw it out, so I hope it doesn''t get too long. Anyways, I was just curious as well, but what did you all think of the spells I thought upst chapter? Obviously Megiddo was inspiration for two, what with using the ice as a way to affect light. Then there was elementals, as well as Domains. Were they too... standard for spells? It is kind of hard to create somethingpletely ''original'' when there are SO many other ces that have already expanded on ice magic already... I just hope to add my own twist on them! Anyways, hope you enjoyed these chapters, and I hope you enjoy the ones toe! --- Chapter 173 172: Bargaining Approaching therge building where Leone and Jahi had first gotten us our Silver Adventuring Tags, we took in thevish appearance of the Guild Hall again. Made from dark brown wood, which was polished so well that it shined in the sunlight, the Hall towered above the other buildings in the District, with four stories making up this giant building. borate runic inscriptions covered the wood, some decorative, others practical; the wooden structure was now nigh unbreakable by normal means, turning the Hall into a fortress, should it ever need to act as one. Standing in the windows above us were a few guards, their dark steel armor and elegant wine red surcoat denoting their allegiance to not only the Empire, but also the Guild. Walking behind Jahi, we entered the Hall, being greeted by an almost tavern like appearance inside. Dozens of tables were upied by various parties of adventurers, while waitress'' moved efficiently through the crowded hubbub of the room to deliver tankards of ale or tesden with food. At the back of the hall was a long desk, upied by a dozen receptionists, who were all conversing with parties, haggling over the price of the materials ced before them or signing off on any requests the adventurers had brought forwards, wishing toplete. We drew a lot of attention; not only because Jahi was seven and a half feet of muscr Demon flesh, but also because each of us were incredibly beautiful. The countless gazes of greed, lust, curiosity, and warinessnded on us, making Jahi smirk. However, Leone and I both found that the gazesnding on us were, of course, more on the side of lust, which, while unsurprising, made my skin crawl. Keeping my expression neutral, I followed behind Jahi as she led us towards the crowded counter, her gaze sweeping over the bar, making many turn away as the tall Demoness met their eyes. Stepping into the line, I heard Leone whisper "Still the same, distasteful ce..." ncing over at her, I saw her sneering slightly as she red at a group beside us, their ''hushed'' whispers carrying over to us. Seeing the Vampire sneering at them, one of the women stepped forwards, a cocky grin on her lips as she raised her Gold Tag, saying "Why not join us, beautiful? I''ll teach you ALL about adventuring..." Rolling her eyes, Leone spat out "I likely know more than you, and do try ande up with a more original pick up line at the very least; this is probably why no one ever wishes to willinglyy with you." The woman, a Bearkin, bristled in anger at that, about to lunge forwards when Jahi stepped in front of Leone, still smirking arrogantly. While not asrge as our Demoness, the Bearkin was still just under seven feet tall, and she was bulky; her arms alone were almost as wide as my waist. Pair that with the giant axe strapped to her back, and you have a rather intimidating, strong looking woman. Looking down at the Bearkin, Jahi just raised a brow, making the Bearkin flinch slightly. However, that seemed to only make the woman more upset, as she growled out "You''re all just Silver Tags; the hell do you know? How to drink from your mothers tit?" Sighing slightly, I watched on as Jahi backhanded the Bearkin, making the woman stumble back a few steps before copsing, her body ck. "I know how to knock you the fuck out... ah, wait... I already did, so you can''t... hah..." Letting out a remorseful sigh, Jahi just shrugged as she looked over the party beside us, each of the remaining members shuddering as the stared at the unconscious Bearkin. Agains, the Bearkin was pretty bulky, and Gold Tags weren''tmon; so to be knocked out by a singr strike, even if it was unexpected, was rather telling on just what the Demoness was capable of. And if she was capable of that, what about us..? Leone chuckled darkly as she stared at the unconscious woman, whispering "You deserve it...", while Anput just rolled her eyes before returning to look at the line before us, wanting to get out of here. The party scooped up their now knocked out Bearkin and retreated, making Jahi scratch her cheek in mild embarrassment before chuckling. Our wait after that was rather short and uneventful, and when we approached the counter Iid out each pouch of material, saying "I want to sell in bulk..." Staring at each bursting pouch, the woman sitting in front of us asked "May I..?" Nodding, I watched as she opened and inspected each one, before asking "How many of each material is there?" Handing her the list, I watched her nod as she read it, before turning to scribble something down on the notepad beside her. "Alright... so the average price for a Ghoul Core is 2 Silvers and 25 Coppers. The Crystals are 2 Silvers and 35 Coppers, while the Goblin Fangs... here they are; 50 Coppers each." Pursing my lips, I stared at therge bag of Cores and Crystals, before asking "How much is the Guild charging as a fee to bulk sell?" The receptionist pursed her lips, saying "Depending on your tag... ah, you''re all Silver Tags? The price the Guild charges for Silver Tags on selling materials is 3% per item, or in the case ofrge sales like this, 6% total. So, if you sell 10 gold, we''ll be taking 60 Silvers. Understood?" Nodding, I then asked "What about Gold Tags? Just curious." Giving me a smile, she replied "Gold Tags are only charged 2% per item, or 4% on bulk. tinum Tags are charged 2% on bulk only, and our Gem Tags aren''t charged at all." "Thanks. Does the Guild buy at fixed rates, or..?" She leaned forwards, a grin on her face as she asked "Did you wish to attempt to bargain?" I leaned forwards as well, tilting my head to the side as I replied "Am I allowed to?" Seeing her nod, I grinned as well. "You said it was 2.25 Silvers for the Cores, but considering their importance as an Alchemical Base, they should go for more. From what I have heard, they can go for as high as 3 Silvers, but on average..." She narrowed her eyes, waiting. "They sell for 2.75 Silvers. So, I''ll sell them at 2.4 Silvers each, and the Crystals at 2.4 as well. I can always go find individual Alchemists and Smiths to sell to, after all." Leone had filled me in on the very basic prices of each, so I wasn''tpletely going off the top of my head, but that''s what bargaining is all about, isn''t it? Trying to hoodwink your ''opponent'' into giving you more money, and threatening to leave. I couldn''t do anything about the Goblin Fangs, since they have little value and necessity, but the Cores and Crystals were, again,mon, but needed by A LOT of people; there was always a market for them. The Guild would need them for their own private Adventurers and Guards to use, so they needed a supply; they also sold these, in bulk, to therger organizations of Alchemists and Smiths. Staring at me for a few more moments, the woman chuckled before nodding, writing down the prices. "If you can make me pay this for them, I can imagine what prices you''d get from the independents... alright, 2 Silvers and 40 Coppers for each Core and Crystal. However, the Goblin Fangs are non negotiable." Giving her a nod, I said "That''s fine. Now, what about the Scales, Bones, and Fangs of the Coal Serpents?" Flipping through her notepad, the receptionist tapped a few pages with her pen before saying "The Scales... 9 Silvers and 75 Coppers. The Bones go for... 13 Silvers exact, and the Fangs... hmm..." She was frowning as she stared at the pages, and I briefly nced at Leone, who was nodding. The Vampire leaned forwards and whispered into my ear "The fangs are the most valuable, and should be around-" "41 Silvers and 50 Coppers." The receptionist nced up, and upon seeing Leone whispering something to me she tilted her head. "More than that; they sell on average for 60 Silvers..." Smiling at the woman, I said "55 Silvers." Narrowing her eyes, she nced briefly at Leone before pursuing her lips, saying "45." "55" "48.5?" Shaking my head, I watched the receptionist bite her lip for a second before saying "50; that''s as high as I''m allowed to go..." Smiling at her, I nodded, saying "I''ll take base price for the Scales, but the Bones are rather needed for a rather expensive, yet incredibly potent potion, no? 15 Silvers." ring at me slightly, the receptionist nodded tightly, managing to get out "15 Silvers for the Bones..." Giving her a warm smile, I recounted the prices, watching as she wrote everything down. "2.4 Silvers for the Ghoul Cores and Crystals, 50 Copper for the Goblin Fangs, 9.75 Silvers for the Scales, 15 Silvers for the Bones, and 50 Silvers for the Fangs. Whiches out to..." Pursing my lips, I tried to do as much of the mental arithmitic as I could,ing up with approximately ~300 for the Cores, ~220 for the Crystals, 15.5 for the Goblin Fangs, ~450 for the Scales, 405 for the Bones, and 250 for the Fangs... Should be around- "Your total is 1,700.25 Silvers, or 17 Gold and 25 Coppers." I nodded, having managed to somehow add all these numbers into roughly around the same amount, obviously not as exact... Give me the damn pad and I could do that easy! Seeing the receptionist smiling smugly at me, I was tempted to haggle a bit more to irritate her before nodding, saying "Sounds right to me. You''ll be taking a Gold and a few Silvers as tax, right?" She nodded, saying "Your actual takeaway will be 15 Gold, 98 Silvers, and 23 Coppers." "Alright... and do you pay us, or..?" The receptionist shook her head, instead pulling out a banknote, simr to the one that Vice-Headmaster Bijilo had used for the Draconas Scale, and scribbled down the amount before stamping it. "Take this to any bank within the Capital, and they will pay you. Was that all?" Rolling up the banknote and storing it away, I asked "How do we go from Silver to Gold?" Gesturing to therge request board, she said "Take requests, and when you or your partyplete enough of them, you''ll eventually rank up. You can only take one request as a party or one request per person; depending on your route, it might be easier to rank up as a party rather then as a group. Anyways, if that was all..." Nodding, we all moved out of the way, allowing the next group to approach the woman. We had made almost 16 Gold, and I would walk away with 10% of it... --- Doesn''t sound like a lot, but remember, one normal family makes 1 Gold a month, so in one days work, Kat made a normal families monthly sry. Anyways, I never thought I''d be crunching numbers for a novel lol... What''d you all think? Too much time spent here, or was it good enough? --- Chapter 174 173: Three-On-One* --- Didn''t get an extra chapter out yesterday due to the length of it being in the ~1900s, but today you get the oh so wanted foursome~ Also, this is going to be a mega chapter, probably longer then yesterdays by a little bit, so sorry for the cost via fast passes or coins... Thought that this would be a good way to celebrate their first payday though lol~ --- Keeping the banknote furled up in my pocket, I walked with Jahi and the others out of the Guild Hall, most people no longer giving us stares lest the Demoness introduce them to her fists. As we exited out onto the crowded streets of the Adventuring District, Jahi turned and gave us a wide grin, saying "It may not be a lot, but this is our first check! So, let''s get home so we can celebrate~!" Anput and Leone nodded, smiles on their faces, while everyone turned to nce at me, leaving no doubt in my mind what they wanted as a ''reward''. Giving everyone dry looks, I rolled my eyes as I started walking forwards, towards our cottage. Jahi loomed behind me, her voice dripping with lust as she said "Are we being rewarded with something nice, Kat~?" ncing over my shoulder, I saw each staring at me with expectation, and although my features were mildly annoyed, inwardly I was as aroused as they were. I loved that these three women desired me so heavily that they wanted me as their validation for a job well done. It was a twisted, perverse sense of aplishment that made my heart race as their gazesnded on my body, and I was so incredibly joyous to know that I was the object of their desires. Each was fully capable of pursuing and having a harem of their own, and yet they were so fixated on bedding me and each other that that thought would never cross their minds. Not speaking a word, so as to keep my inner excitement hidden, I continued onwards in silence, much to their confused mixture of arousal and disappointment. I could feel their burning gazes on my body as I walked, and I had learned how to alter my posture subtly enough to make it seem like I wasn''t showing off my curves, but they were on full disy for the women behind me. Since we had gone back down to the Adventuring District, each of us was dressed in our armor, not wanting to attempt to invite more unwanted attention by wearing what we normally did, so my leather outfit certainly didn''t help the heat each woman felt behind me. The pride that poured into my heart with each step I took grew exponentially, and eventually we reached our home. Entering in silence, I made my way into the kitchen, where the pot of stew was still simmering. I was about to make sure it''d be ready to sit for a few hours when Jahi grabbed me from behind, her voice low and husky as she whispered "Where do you think you''re going? Did you think you could fool me, hmm~?" Leaning down over me, she burrowed her face into the crook of my neck and took a deep breath, before whispering "You belong to me, Kat... I could feel everything you felt when we were walking... you''re a sly bitch, you know that~?" Shivering slightly in her arms, I nced over at her hazy golden eyes, making me lick my lips. Raising her voice slightly, Jahi continued speaking, and I found each of her words to be like they were draped in honey. "We deserve a reward for our work, Kat... All three of us worked hard..." Anput and Leone approached, and the deep lust in their steely silver and dark crimson eyes made me shiver again. "We want... no, we will HAVE our reward... which..." Feeling Jahi''s hands trail over my breasts before unfastening the buttons, I moaned gently as she removed the shirt. "Is..." Pinching and twisting at my nipples, Jahi grinned at me, before finishing, the other two having moved to stand in front of me, their gazes hungry as they looked me over. "You. We want you again and again... and we won''t take no for an answer..." Chuckling, I lifted my hand and gently stroked her cheek, staring at her warmly as I said "Why would I refuse my girls their rightful prize, hmm~? You worked so hard for me... of course you deserve something~!" Jahi nuzzled into my hand, before her hands fell down towards my waist. "I think it''s time we all partook in Kat together... I don''t want to wait, and I imagine neither of you wish to wait either..." The Jackalkin and Vampire nodded, and I shivered. Even in my previous life I had never been in a foursome, so... Feeling that, Jahi grinned down at me, whispering "You should''ve known this wasing, dear~ You pushed me to ept both Anput and Leone... so you bear some responsibility satiating them as well... we can work together~!" She licked her lips as her eyes flickered upwards, and I turned to see both Anput grinning as she stared at my ample breasts, and Leone licking her lips, her fangs already extended as she stared at my neck. Without much ceremony, Jahi scooped me into her arms, leading the other two towards the bedroom. Tossing me onto the bed, I stared at the three women with wide eyes, my gaze scouring over the three different women standing before me. Jahi was muscr, her body defined and chiseled, while her pale blue skin stood out against the other two. Of course, my eyes fell to her blue dragon, who I was more then well acquainted with. Anput stood in the middle, and her lithe figure was different from the other two, as was her darker skin. However, the main difference was the giant glistening red cock that pulsed from her crotch, a muchrger red knot at the base. Finally, on the right was Leone, her fair pale skin glimmering in the low light, and her curvaceous figure simr to mine would make any men or futas heated, if it wasn''t for the gigantic dragon that would put most others to shame. Three hung women stood before me, each staring at me like I was a prime cut of meat ready to be devoured, and I grew more aroused. Those eyes, that would scare most others, eyes filled with dark desires, deep possession, insatiable lust... They were focused on only ME. No one else; not even one another... Just. ME~! Grinning at them, I spread my legs open and revealed my drenched cunt to them, each of the women staring at it intently. "Welle on then... who wants the first taste~?" They finally nced at one another, before Anput and Leone stared at Jahi, therge Demoness grinning. "Leone... you can go first, love~!" The Vampire nodded, swiftly mounting me. Staring down at me, the Vampire grinned, revealing the two long fangs that glistened, a clear liquid coating them. Feeling her cock pressing against my stomach, I chuckled as I whispered "Doesn''t this remind you of just a few days ago~? When you were using Dual Cultivation as a pretense to have sex with me?" Her grin grew further, and she whispered "It worked, didn''t it? Did I now get what I wanted? Am I now not getting what I want?" Nodding, I leaned up and whispered into her ear, enjoying how she trembled as I spoke each word. "So why aren''t you doing anything yet? My body wants you; my pussy is empty, and my blood is yours, Leone~!" She gulped, the grin falling from her face as her eyes moved towards my bare neck. Licking her lips again, she nodded before lifting her hips, making me grin. Moaning loudly as I felt her plunge herself deep into my womb in a single go, I then moaned again as her fangs sunk deep into my flesh, the pain swiftly reced by euphoria as that wonderful liquid permeated my body, making its way down to my womb. Leone was slowly lifting and mming her hips back down, her cock filling the entirety of my cunt as she did so. Enjoying the pain from her thick shaft spreading me apart, I wrapped my arms around her body before ncing over her shoulder, where I saw Jahi whisper something to Anput, who grinned. Watching as the Demoness approached Leone''s rear, Anput crawled over towards my head, smirking the entire time. Resting her knot beside my nose, I felt my mind grow numb as more pleasure entered my body in the form of my mates scent. I wanted to lick it, but Anput left her juicy knot just out of reach of my tongue, much to my disappointment. Feeling Leone release my neck and let out a loud moan, I saw Jahi looming behind her, and considering the weight that was pushing down on my body now... Leaning over Leone, the Demoness chuckled as she said "You were unting your thick ass while you take Kat from me, and expected me not to want it~?" Gasping slightly as Jahi started thrusting into her, Leone shuddered before stuttering "Y-You t-told me to t-take her~!" At that Jahi looked up towards Anput, who wore a wide smirk. "Didn''t I say she''d use that as an excuse? I said I couldn''t wait to have my curvy Dogkin wife under me as I reshaped her insides again tonight, and yet she''s going first..." Snickering, Anput lifted Leone''s head slightly, a humorous glint in her eyes as she added "You should know that our wife gets the first go, Leone... besides... I know you cleaned Katpletely of my seed, so..." Keeping her knot on my face, she ced the tip of her cock against Leone''s plump lips, the Vampire''s eyes going wide as she realized what was happening... How envious~ Watching as the previously confident Vampire turned meek and submissive, we all felt a rush, which made Jahi sit back up and grab the Vampire''s bubbly ass while Anput slid her tip into Leone''s mouth, making sure I got the best view. Leone was still deep inside me, and instead of her thrusting into my womb, I was getting pleasured by Jahi''s thrusts, as they moved Leone''s cock inside of me. However, what was truly making me feel good now was watching Leone turn red as she sucked on the tip of Anput''s cock, some saliva falling onto my face as she did so. Jahi was going at it with no holds barred, her hips pping into Leone''s ass with loud, swift thrusts, making the Vampire moan, her eyes ssy as she was ravished from behind. But, in front of her was a suffocating citrusy scent, and an equally wonderful taste waiting to be drained from the source... Anput was holding Leone''s head gently, keeping herself stationary on my face while Leone moved on her own, her tongue gliding and coiling around the Jackalkin''s cock. It was slowly driving me crazy. I wanted that delectable citrus taste to permeate my head, and it was so close! Yet, so very far at the same time... Watching Leone receive it instead of me, her mate, made me want to try and bite Anput, but I was pressed firmly under Leone and Jahi. Which was another conundrum. I wanted Jahi to fill my other hole, to make love to me, and yet she wasn''t... I wasn''t truly jealous of my Vampiric lover, but I was rather envious that she was getting what I viewed as preferential treatment... However, I knew more about my mate then Leone did, and I also knew how Beastkin worked; or at least Anput... There was no such thing as a ''blowjob'' for them; at least, not one that they took topletion. Sure, she was getting some of that delectable semen, but Anput was never going to cum in her mouth, not like Leone and Jahi do whenever I help relieve them. Of course, I doubt either woman cared, and was just enjoying the pleasure of a warm cock in their mouth, and the opposite, your cock inside a warm mouth. Jahi was still pounding away, and Leone''s moaning grew more intense, until eventually... Both the Vampire and Demoness groaned loudly, and I felt Leone''s plump balls clench on my ass, telling me she was preparing to cum inside me. Leone''s face was ck as Jahi came inside her, and as she came inside me, her cock spraying a torrent of semen deep into my womb, flooding itpletely. Greedily epting everyst drop of her load, I watched as Jahi blinked a few times before gently pulling Leone off of me, letting me breathe. However, what greeted me after being used as little more than a cock massager were two unsatisfied, horny women, their lust filled gazes raking over my body, or more specifically... My sweat stained breasts, which jiggled with every panting breath I took. The saliva and small droplets of semen that smeared my flushed face. And finally, my plump thighs that were pressed desperately together to try and prevent the giant load that Leone had poured into me from escaping; sadly for me, Jahi wrenched my legs apart to reveal that white river of cum dripping from my gaping cunt. "How was that appetizer, love? Ready for rounds two, three, and more~?" I shivered at the gold and silver gazes that met my eyes, before gulping and nodding. By the gods did I want these two inside me... --- Didn''t think this would be so damn long lol, so I''m breaking it into two parts... Which I know everyone said they didn''t want, but this is a 2300 mega lemon already, so unless you want me to drop a 3000 - 3500 word chapter, I''ll be breaking it into two... Hope you liked part one though~ --- Chapter 175 174: In Trouble* "How was that appetizer, love? Ready for rounds two, three, and more~?" I shivered at the gold and silver gazes that met my eyes before gulping and nodding. By the gods did I want these two inside me... The Jackalkin and Demoness just smirked at me knowingly, their gazes heating up even more as I moaned, enjoying Jahi''s hands that were spreading my legs apart. Jahi loomed over me, her grin twisted as she took Leone''s ce, her cock easily spearing into my drenched womb with little more than a squelch. Anput moved to sit beside me, her knot once again resting on my face, but this time... Opening my mouth wide, I groaned in euphoric glee as she slipped herselfpletely inside my throat, her knot restingfortably against my lips. Both women were thrusting quickly into my body, but Jahi was plunging her cock deep into my womb, her tip pressing against my walls and remolding my body to fit her length and girth. The pain was wee, and when paired with her hands digging into my breasts as she yed with my nipples... Moaning desperately on Anput''s shaft as she continued to thrust into my throat, I felt my mind grow muddled as her citrus scent permeated my nostrils, my head going fuzzy under the constant assault of her pheromone. The Jackalkin was grunting as I ran my tongue up her sticks shaft, and I eagerly drank down her semen as it drooled from her tip, my heart warming as I realized she was feeling that good from just my mouth. Grabbing the back of my head, Anput started thrusting deeper into me, her expression tight as she slid her cock further and further into my mouth. As for Jahi, the Demoness was grunting as she mmed her hips down into mine, and her hands were still kneading away at my breasts, pulling and tugging at the ample flesh. Both women were losing themselves to pleasure via my body, and I came at that thought, my cunt constricting around Jahi''s thick shaft and massaging it vigorously, wanting my partner to unload herself inside me. Which, she did. The Demoness was panting as she continued thrusting deep into my womb, her balls pping against my ass as they released her thickest load yet. Releasing one of my breasts, Jahi slid her hand to Anput''s supple ass, making the Jackalkin jump in surprise. ncing between the two, I moaned as I watched Jahi drag Anput towards her, kissing her wife while cumming deep inside my cunt, her cock spraying semen continuously like a hose. Anput had to throw one of her legs over my face, so that she was now pping her knot against my nose while she kissed Jahi. Getting a good view of her cunt drooling in anticipation, I continued sucking out her delectable semen, enjoying the affection my mate was showering me with. When Jahi finally finished cumming, the Demoness released Anput and slid herself out of me, her cock pping against my creamy snatch before she fell to the bed beside us. Anput swiftly took her ce, my mate flipping me onto my stomach. Lifting my ass for her, I moaned as she instantly filled me back to the brim, her knot already threatening to slip in. Stroking my tail, Anput grunted as she thrusted forwards madly, her rough way of mating making me pant as she took the air from my lungs. However, Jahi had other ideas as well, as she sat before me and lifted my head up, pressing her cum coated tip against my lips. The two women had switched ces, and I was happy to oblige my Mistress, my tongue cleaning off her cock of her sweet semen. Jahi was holding my head from the back, keeping me from removing myself from her shaft. Grunting as I cleaned her offpletely, she kept herself firmly lodged in my throat, much to my delight. Herrge hands gently stroked my hair and ears, each gliding touch making me shiver as I stared up at her lovingly. The warm smile on her lips as I sucked on her cock made me feel warm as well, before Anput reminded me that she was there, her hands falling heavily on my ass. Jahi''s smile changed to a smirk at that, and she lifted herself to her knees, making me yelp in mild pain as she started swinging her hips forwards as well, joining Anput in truly spitroasting me. The two women continued to hammer away at me with their cocks, all the while Jahi leaned forwards again, kissing Anput messily above me, bringing themselves closer to release. Meanwhile, as our two more physical wives were pounding into me, Leone groaned awake, her crimson eyes settling onto a heavenly scene. Watching as I got used by Anput and Jahi, Leone''s hand slid down to her shaft, gently stroking herself to the sight. Giving her a half re, I gagged as Jahi buried herselfpletely inside me, her balls resting on my chin as she came again. Gulping down her third load of the night, I then screamed as I felt Anput slip her knot into my cunt, the Jackalkin panting as she started pouring her semen into my now bloated womb. Jahi chuckled as she watched me get knotted, pulling out again beforeying beside Leone, her hands moving to grope the woman''srge breasts. The two continued to watch on, Leone moaning as Jahi lifted her onto herp, inserting herself into the Vampire again. Anput draped herself on my back, her knot still pulsing as she came and came inside my womb, slowly expanding my cunt to ufortable sizes. When she finished, she remained knotted inside me, only moving when Jahi had finished with Leone again. Those minutes of rest had done me wonders, and I grew limated to therge stomach the three had given me. However, now that Leone was panting off to the side, and Anput had passed out after giving her giant creampie to me, Jahi chuckled as she lifted me into herp, her voice sending shivers down my spine. "Leone and I want to fuck you at the same time... not your throat, but..." Sliding her hand down to my ass, she spread my cheeks apart, her fingers gliding over my third, unused hole. Staring at her with wide eyes, I gulped as I felt her fingers started to enter my ass, spreading and loosening the hole. The Vampire crawled over, her crimson eyes alight with mirth as she slid her fingers inside as well, making me moan hard. Blinking a few times as the pleasure washed over my consciousness, I steadied myself using Jahi''s shoulders, the Demoness still ying with my asshole. Seeing her wide smirk, she leaned forwards and licked my lips, before whispering "Who do you want in your ass, Kat? Should Leone''s monster go inside, or mine~?" Panting as she sped up her fingers, I bit into her shoulder as my cunt convulsed, and I shuddered as I pushed out some of the previous loads, much to my disappointment. When I finished cumming on Jahi''sp, I took in a few shaky breaths before staring down at the two women''s cocks, wondering which one wouldn''t make me go insane when I relinquished myst virginity. It wasn''t a hard choice... "J-Jahi... p-please, take my a-anal virginity too..." The woman had intended for her question to be a game, but as I muttered out that line, she nodded, her eyes serious. I had lost almost everything else to her, so she wanted to im thest thing that I could give her... Laying me on Leone''sp, I easily slid her thick cock into my cunt, moaning as I pressed my exhausted body against hers, our breasts melding together as I draped myself onto her. The Vampire held me gently in her arms, her face a mixture of extreme lust and mild worry, but as I weed her back into my semen coated pussy, she eagerly grabbed my ass, spreading the cheeks as she distracted herself swinging her hips up into mine. As for Jahi, she was currently having the newly reawakened Anput suck on her cock, getting it prepared to enter my other entrance. After Jahi was sufficiently prepared, Anput moved to sit beside us, watching in interest as I was about to be double stuffed. Pressing her searing tip against my rear, Jahi leaned forwards and softly kissed my ears, before whispering "I''m starting..." Nodding, I screwed my eyes shut as I prepared to be assaulted from two ends, my face buried in Leone''s neck. Jahi steadied her tip before sliding forwards, both of us groaning as she entered my ass. Clinging tightly to Leone''s heated body, I gasped as Jahi slowly delved further inside, and I shivered at the odd sensation of being anally prated. When my wife had reached her deepest point, I sighed in relief before noting how filled I felt. Leone waspletely stretching out my cunt and womb, while Jahi was now filling out my intestines. Continuing to cling to Leone, I gasped as the two women nodded at one another and started moving, albeit slowly at first. The two cocks rubbed together inside me, and I shivered as I felt one move down while the other thrusted up, creating an odd, yet pleasurable rhythm. Laying on Leone''s body, I surrendered myself to the two women, who were gradually speeding up, both grunting whenever they thrust up into me and slid into the other. My mind grew nk as they reached the point of hammering away at my insides, my body numbing from the constant pleasure. I was cumming and cumming on Leone''s cock, making the Vampire grunt more as I grew even tighter on her shaft. As for Jahi, the Demoness was crouched above me, mming her hips down into my ass. Gyrating her hips as well, she started scratching at every single spot inside me, before they both let out loud grunts. Feeling their balls clenching at the same time, I gasped as more semen flooded my insides, before Jahi pulled out, her remaining semen zing my cheeks. Copsingpletely in Leone''s arms, I panted hard, my vision spinning as my head started to ache. Summoning some water before me, I gulped it down, hoping it would help. Seeing that, Jahi and Leoneid me gently down beside them, the two women staring at me with worry. Giving them a half smile, I muttered "I... d-don''t think I c-can do that often... a-and not a-all three at once... for a w-while..." Jahi nodded, before gently stroking my cheek. "That''s fine Kat... rest up, my love..." Closing my eyes, I fell asleep to the sound of Jahi satiating her remaining lust with the other two, their pleasurable moans bing music to my ears as I drifted to sleep. --- This was 1800, so adding that tost chapter, which was 2300... 4100 words of smut. Thas a big lemon. Big, big lemon... Anyways, that''s the foursome done and dusted; for now. They need to ease Kat into a threesome before returning to an actual foursome; I know not everyone would be satisfied when one of the four is always out ofmission the entire time, but I didn''t want to just... push the lemon to beingpleted for the sake of smut; they might be having sex often, but I feel like the jump from normal sex to threesome is already kinda big, but the leap from three to four has to be damn huge. Let me know what you thought though, and we''ll be onto the tests next chapter! --- Chapter 176 175: Test Prep Groaning awake after our intense night, I coughed for a few moments before sitting up, my body aching something terrible. ncing around at the dirty bed, I saw each of my women sprawled out, their bodies drenched in various liquids as they slept. Stumbling to my feet, I groaned again as I made my way over to the bath, wanting to rest. The sky outside was still dark, and when I looked at the clock I sighed, not wanting to be awake this early. It was currently 3 in the morning, and I don''t know if I could return to sleep soon. Casting a healing spell, I moaned as the dark blue runes drifted over my body, healing all my aches and pains. Turning on the shower, I held my head in my hands, waiting for my mental exhaustion to stop creating a headache. Wanting to distract myself, I asked my system a question, happy that they were there, waiting for me. ''Are you not able to tell me what my rank up will entail?'' [No Host, I can not; to be honest, I am still fine tuning the newer version of the System as you progress and change. Your actions are impacting your future, and I need to make sure that the System reflects those changes. Thankfully, you are giving me time, though that is also on my part as I have stopped the flow of missions to you Host. I apologize.] Shaking my head, I allowed the water to cascade down my body as I said ''It''s not a problem; I still have much I need to do to solidify my foundations. Things I haven''t managed to perfect or even practice once. I imagine once this... newer versiones online, I''ll be much busier...'' I had the feeling that the System was nodding at me, making me smile slightly. Stretching myself out, I turned off the shower and lowered myself into the bath, my eyes flickering towards my level. [Level - 24 (810,982/1,121,931)] I had inched ever closer, and I was eager to see what kind of change would happen when I reached that milestone level of 25. As for my stats, over the brief time that had psed from killing Lord Pele till now, I had evened out all my stats at 40, with my Wisdom, Constitution, and Charisma all reaching 42. It felt great having everything be even numbers, and I leaned against the wall of the in floor bath with a sigh, the warm water doing wonders for my muscles. Eventually Jahi walked in, therge Demoness groaning as she sat down beside me, her arm instantly going around my shoulder as we sat together. "You okay?" Hearing the concern in her voice made me smile, and I leaned further into her embrace, nodding. "It was... incredible, honestly. I just don''t think my body can handle more than one round of that at once; all three of you are intense lovers..." She chuckled at that, not refuting my im, before she looked down at me, her amethyst eyes soft as she said "That''s fine, Kat, really. I''m more surprised you were alright with that than anything else..." Now it was my turn to chuckle, as I stared up at the woman whose twisted desires had slowly warped my own. "You''re saying that when you introduced me to...~" Whispering up at her, I giggled as she scratched her cheek, only to nod, agreeing with me. For a little while longer we sat in the bath, recalling some of our more intimate moments before Jahi lifted me out of the warm water, her expression still gentle as she carried me to our bed. Instead of sex, the Demoness held me close in her arms, and I snuggled into her embrace before falling asleep, my heart warm as a safe feeling enveloped me. ~~~ Walking beside Anput as we made our way to the Academy, I sighed as I stared at her clumsy sequence, the Jackalkin asking me to verify if she had a theory correct for our test today. "No Anput, you can''t have that many shaping runes on this sequence; your spell would fall instantaneously due to the mana not knowing what to do. Here, like this..." She was attempting to formte a spell that shifted between being an orb to bing ance. It wasplicated, but considering our test was to create a spell that Vice-Headmaster Bijilo deemed impressive enough andplex enough, on top of the written part of the test, I was willing to help Anput through it. Of course, I had to change the spell from her metal to my ice, but she seemed to understand, eventually managing to replicate my spell and get hers working. She would toss the metal ball into the air and have it change to ance, which with her metal magic was actually a really smart, and incredibly deadly and intuitive spell. Leone and I would just submit one of the spells we had already created; Leone her giant sr sphere that she used to rain down fiery spears down on her enemies, and I would be disying a watered down version of my blizzard spell. As for Jahi, she was going to submit one of her variations of her Light Cloak; apparently she had been tinkering with different effects for her Cloak, and one of them was something she deemed suitable enough to use for our test. Staring at the Jackalkin as she grinned down at the metal spear, I held in a chuckle at how cute she was, reminding me of how easily Anput lost herself to what she found interesting. She looked the same as she did when she was a kid, staring at the longsword that she really wanted and pleading for Jahi to cover the cost for her this trip. Recalling her gleeful expression when the Demoness had fronted her the funds, I stared warmly at my mate, wondering if my younger self knew that I would have fallen for this troublesome Jackalkin. ncing over at Leone, who was walking beside Jahi and talking quietly to one another, I smiled slightly as Jahi leaned down and ced a kiss on the Vampire Princess'' ashen hair, her eyes warm. I was blessed by these three women, and two of them weren''t even women that I had initially wanted to be with. They were thrust into our lives due to necessity, but now Jahi and I wouldn''t change anything about our choices; we loved both of them dearly. So, as we walked into the Academy, I was instantly aware of Jillian and her fiancee, A Kameiel standing by the Vice-Headmaster''s door, the two Elves giggling and fawning over one another. However, I saw the alertness in their eyes as they scanned the passing students, only for Jillian to grin as she saw Jahi and us approaching. All of us kept neutral expressions as Jillian stood before us, and the Duchess gave Jahi a warm smile before handing her a letter, saying "If you would read over this in your free time, Lady Asmodia. I''ll be awaiting your response." Nodding to us, I narrowed my eyes slightly as Jillian''s eyesnded on me, and I saw that familiar flicker of lust in her eyes, which was mirrored by her fiancee, A. They both turned and entered the hall, and Jahi took a deep breath before putting the letter into her pocket. We all remained silent as we entered, and I wondered what was on that letter. It had to be something important for Jillian to deliver it personally to Jahi, but what? Sitting down, we all stared at A, who was standing in the front of the hall, Vice-Headmaster Bijilo standing beside her. "Alright everyone, before we start the exam, please wee Lady A Kameiel, who will be joining us for the rest of the year!" Bowing slightly to everyone, the Elf wore a warm smile as she looked over the hall, and I could already hear a few of the men in the ss letting out small sighs as they stared at her, as well as some women giggling as they grinned at their seat mates. "Hello everyone! I hope we get along well in this uing year!" The room erupted in good wishes and squeals, making us sigh. The powers of a pretty face and the ability to wear a mask... A nced up to Leone, her smile twisting into a smirk as she stared at the Vampire, before reverting to her warm smile as she waved at a few more ssmates. "Alright, calm down now, you still have a test... Lady A, if you would take a seat..." She nodded, and made her way up to sit besides Jillian, whose previous seat mate had moved as Jillian exined the situation. As the room fell quiet, we all exchanged nces before turning towards Vice-Headmaster Bijilo, who was sending sheets of paper throughout the room with his wind magic. "The test shall begin shortly!" Chapter 177 176: Reminisce (Extra) --- This is an extra chapter I prepared in case I don''t ever have time to sit down and write; it has no connection to the current spot of the story, as it is from Julie''s, Chordeva''s, or Ria''s perspective, and will usually be something about their pasts. As such, I willbel these chapters as (Extra), so if you wish to skip it, then do so. Also, I won''t ever do smut inside these chapters, but I will used heaviernguage than usual, so think of them as half-lemons... [(Current Author Note): Releasing this as a bonus, cause I realized I have a few more in store and wanted to see what everyone thinks of these PoV''s] --- Julie PoV Rubbing my stomach, I smiled down at the slight bulge, anticipating the children that were growing inside me. I loved Katherine a lot; obviously I did, as she was my daughter, but... It felt like I only had a moment or two with her as a child. She had matured so quickly that it left me sad... Right now she was off at the Academy, learning all about herself, her Mistress, her Mistress'' wives, and the various different intricacies of our world and magic. Sighing, I continued wiping off Chordeva''s desk, ignoring the moaning in the bedroom beside me. Once the pregnancy bump had be pronounced the two women I served and loved grew anxious, deciding to vent their lusts using one another instead of me. Chuckling to myself, I gently pped my cheeks; any other women in this situation would want to rest, to allow their unborn children the best rest they could get, but I wanted more... Shining the handles of therge whitewood desk, I frowned slightly at the drawer that was left open, about to close it when something caught my eye. Laying on top of all the other knickknacks and supplies on the bottom drawer was a photo. In the center was Ria, who was smiling widely as she wrapped her arms around the taller, uninterested figure of Chordeva and an awkward younger me. Flipping the photograph over, I read the line, chuckling. "''A photo tomemorate our incredible study group!''" Turning the photo back over, I stared at the younger versions of us, smiling down at it. Back then... Haha~ Ria dragged Chordeva and I around, trying to get us to do all kinds of things both in and out of the Academy. The Elven woman was different back then; more openly childish and free spirited. She used to do all she could to make Chordeva look at her, and that fun personality of hers captivated therger Demoness, who gradually became more smitten with her fiancee. As for me, I simply was lucky enough to be seated between the two women inside one of our sses, subject to Chordeva''s teasing and Ria''s yfulness. Hmm, it was... [Fourteen Years Ago] ncing around the packed hall, I scurried towards the only open seat, which was nestled between an annoyed looking Demoness and pouting Elf. "U-Um... may I..?" The two turned towards me, the Demoness giving me a one over before grinning, which made the Elf frown. "Go ahead~" Her voice was deep and slightly scratchy, and while I shivered at her heavy gaze, I took the seat, shuddering as the Elf continued to re at me. The professor was still out, and I could feel the two women''s gazes on me. "So, what''s your name?" ncing at the dark blue Demoness, I said "J-Julie Zara..." Her ruby eyes went wide, and she sat up straighter, a small smile on her lips as she said "No way... Haha~ I''m Chordeva Asmodia; pleasure to meet you, Julie." "M-Marquise?!" "Hmph! She''s more than just a Marquise, dog! She''s a Knight of Cinder in training!" That made my jaw drop even more, the Elf''s rudeness not registering. Scratching her cheek, Chordeva gave me a wry smile, before she narrowed her eyes at the Elf. "Ria, what have I told you, hmm? Do I need to remind you?" I peeked to my left, only to be surprised as I saw the Elf blushing furiously under Chordeva''s harsh re. "N-No... I-It''s just..!" "It''s just nothing, Ria. Rank doesn''t matter here; besides that, the Zara Pack is under the banner of the Asmodia''s." Ria grit her teeth, before letting out another ''Hmph!'', making me more confused. "Wait... a-aren''t you two engaged..?" That made the Demoness frown slightly, while Ria brightened up. "Yes, we are!" "Sadly." Hearing their two answers, my confusion grew. If Chordeva didn''t like Ria, then why..? Ah, politics... Time gradually passed, and after a few weeks the Elf had warmed up to me, even calling me her ''friend'' a few times... As for Chordeva... Well, now I understood why Ria was so upset about me igniting Chordeva''s interest... "Do we need to..?" "Yes! This harlot''s been seducing Chordeva! Argh..." We were currently hiding in a bush, looking towards the tall Demoness standing alone in the middle of a training ground. Earlier someone had left a letter on Chordeva''s desk, and Ria had caught a few words that were written down. She was worried about our study group; after all, Chordeva begrudgingly spent time with her via that group, and Chordeva only did so because... Pursing my lips, I flushed as I remembered her heated gaze, chiseled abs, and long- Shaking my head, I tried to let that memory go... Why did I enter before knocking!? However, Ria was convinced that I wasn''t interested in Chordeva, so she was friendlier to me. Which led to us stalking her fiancee, trying to prevent another ''adulterous'' rtionship. "There!" Coming down the steps from the Academy building, a short buxom Rabbitkin approached Chordeva, making the Demoness raise a brow. "U-Uhm... L-Lady Asmodia..." The woman''s voice was small, and Chordeva stepped forwards, towering over the Rabbitkin. "Yes?" Flinching, the Rabbitkin blushed furiously, her long ears twitching. "I... I wanted to know if you wanted to go to the dance with me!" She bowed forwards, extending a hand to the Demoness, her rapid fire confession echoing around the grounds. Ria growled in annoyance, about to pounce. "Ria, she wouldn''t-" "Hmm... maybe? Would you mind being a plus one?" Chordeva leaned forwards, tilting her head to the side as she stared at the Rabbitkin. "P-Plus one?" "Yeah... Y''know I have a fiancee, right? Kinda have to take her. But if you don''t mind tagging along..." Bringing her face level with Rabbitkin, Chordeva whispered something, making the woman blush furiously before nodding. "Then run along~" Turning tail and fleeing, we watched as Chordeva turned towards us, her ruby eyes narrowing as she said "Ria,e out." The Elf froze behind me, unsure of what to do or feel. "Ria." However, hearing thatmanding tone, Ria stumbled forwards, her ears drooping as she stared at the ground. Sniffling slightly, she took another step forwards, only to stop as she nced up at the stoic face of Chordeva. "So? Why were you hiding in a bush? With Julie no less?" Ria shuddered, ncing back at me as I awkwardly stepped forwards as well. "I-I r-read a l-little of t-the let-letter you g-got this morning..." "Did you now? And? Why are you here?" Shivering under Chordeva''s hard stare, Ria shook her head, trying to say something, anything... "Ria, this is getting... tiring. Yes, we''re engaged, but..." Approaching the petite Elf, Chordeva cupped her cheek, murmuring "We''re not married, so mind your business." Hearing that, Ria shook harder, her ears drooping even further before... Letting out a sharp cry, she covered her eyes and turned towards the door, running away crying. Chordeva just sighed, before looking over at me. "You..." I shook my head, not understanding why Chordeva acted like this. Sure, she was flirtatious, and I knew she already had a few flings, but... That was no reason to be that harsh to Ria, not after the woman devoted all her time and affections to the blue Demoness. Stepping away, I ran after Ria, hearing Chordeva sigh again. [Back to Present] Sighing, I recalled those tumultuous months at the beginning of the Academy; Chordeva had beenpletely different back then, doing many things I still don''t understand or agree with. cing the photo back into the drawer, I shut it, returning to my cleaning. I didn''t particrly want to delve deeper into that memory now... How Chordeva had almost pushed Ria awaypletely, and by proxy me as well. How she made it up to Ria after the end of the first year, trying desperately to right as many wrongs as she could. It had all been quite stressful, and that wasn''t even adding in all the personal things I dealt with then as well... Well, it''s all the past now; considering the loud "More~ D-Do it harder, Chordeva~!" from the bedroom, I just chuckled, wiping off Chordeva''s desk. Wounds heal over time, but notpletely... Ria got her retribution once, and that had not been pretty either... Sighing, I rolled my eyes as I thought about how our days at the Academy could fill an entire novel on it''s own, with all the ups, downs, turns, surprises and heartwrenchers... Sadly none of us know how to write novels, nor would we care to publish the stories of back then... --- Ahem Anyways, I''m sure I alluded to it back in the beginning, but Chordeva was much, much different than now; maturity and all that. Also, that sets up a few more interesting side plot lines I can follow for other bonus chapters, so yay~ Also, think I''ll date these just for curiosity sake: (11/25/2022) --- Chapter 178 177: Tests (1) Staring at the back of the sheet of paper thatnded on my desk, I then looked up at Vice-Headmaster Bijilo as he said "The test shall begin shortly!" My eyes flickered back to Jillian and A, the two Elves giggling as they talked quietly to one another. "My skin crawls every time I see them like that..." Returning my gaze forwards, I nodded at Leone as the Vampire nced up at the two Elves, her body shivering as she shook her head. "I mean, we all know Jillian''s a bitch, and that A has something wrong with her head, and yet they can act so... innocently in front of everyone else..." I raised a brow at that, blinking as I stared at her, my voice low as I said "It''s actually really easy to put on a mask; I should know." Leone flinched slightly at that before slumping, her voice small as she muttered "Sorry... didn''t mean to-" Rolling my eyes, Iid my hand on her thigh and squeezed, making her shiver again, but this time from feeling something else. Leaning closer to her, I whispered "If you''re really sorry, you could Dual Cultivate with me a little more tonight..." Chuckling at how she blushed, I turned my attention to Vice-Headmaster Bijilo as he took to his podium, his expression serious. "Listen up everyone. This is the first test in this ss; think of it as a Quarterly Exam, because you only have three more in the future. Now, for my ss, I have always handed out simr tests from this first Quarter to the end of the year. That doesn''t mean you could just memorize the questions and be fine for the next three tests. Each one will be examining your skill level at that moment, and while the questions may seem simr, they will always have a different answer that requires you to utilize everything that I''ve taught you in this hall. These tests will have a three different sections; the practical, which is you disying your spell sequence to me up front. Then you have the written sequence theory, where you will devise a sequence based on the theory provided; you will be graded there for the utility,plexity, and if that spell works. Finally, you all have been provided different sequences of all kinds, and you will need to break them down and tell me what they do and which runes do what. You can also get extra credit for suggesting improvements that work for those spells, meaning you would alter the sequence itself and resubmit it. Now, you will have the next forty-five minutes toplete the written portion, and then we will use the remaining portion of ss for the practical. Get ready... and... begin!" Flipping the paper over, I raised a brow as I saw the various sequences listed out on the paper, with enough space below each to allow a few lines of text. Scouring over each rune, I scribbled down the effects of each sequence before ''attempting'' to amplify the spells or remove the unneeded runes to streamline the activation. Making sure to fudge a few on purpose, I then turned my attention to the formtion of a spell based on the question. ''Create a spell that would shower down a rain of spears using Fire Magic'' ''Create a spell that would heal someones wounds using Water Magic'' ''Create a spell for an exploding spear using Earth Magic'' There were a few more spells that Vice-Headmaster Bijilo wanted us to try and create, and I found myself nodding to myself as I scribbled down the runic sequences, my mind easily piecing each spell together. My previous works inside this ss were always pretty good, so I didn''t need to hold back a lot, but I was just being cautious at this moment, not wanting to disy incredible talent so early in the year. Finishing my written portions, I went back and double checked everything before flipping the papers over, waiting for the allotted time period to end. Leone finished moments after me, and a few minutester Jahi did as well. We all nced at Anput, who was chewing on the edge of her pen as she stared at her test sheets, before letting out a low groan and scribbling something down. Leone and I exchanged worried nces before Vice-Headmaster Bijilo pped his hands together, the loud noise startling many. "Time is up! Release your papers." cing my pen down, I watched in mild interest as a gust of wind gathered my test sheets, floating them down towards the older man. Once he had all the papers stacked before him, he nodded before speaking again. "For the practical, you wille up when called and disy your spell to me; no need to activate it, because I will know whether or not it will works when I see it. Alright, first... Lady Rialo!" Vice-Headmaster Bijilo started calling out names, and I watched as Draka and her entourage went first, each one disying a good set of spells. Next was Jahi, and therge Demoness stood before the ss, her golden runes making not only the students gasp in awe, but Vice-Headmaster Bijilo also widened his eyes as he stared at her runes. Casting a smirk over at Jilian and A, Jahi then went back to her seat, before muttering a few words to our wife Anput. The Jackalkin stood up, her tail swishing slightly as she made her way down to the podium. Taking a deep breath, she stood beside the Vice-Headmaster and traced the silvery runes into the air, the Vice-Headmaster nodding before frowning slightly. Writing down a few things, he sent Anput back to her seat, and she nervously nced at me. Giving her a nod, I was relieved to know that, while she made a mistake in the spell, it had just been an unneeded rune, meaning the spell would still work. So, she passed. Leone went next, and she easily traced the runes with a practiced ease, making the Vice-Headmaster nod before his eyes went wide, rapidly writing something down. The Vampire wore a smug smirk as she returned to her seat, before she watched me walk up to the podium as well. Tracing the runes for a basic blizzard spell, I nodded to the Vice-Headmaster when I finished, the man staring at the runes before nodding back. The rest of the ss went up one after another, the only ones that surprised me being Countess Aurim, Greselda, Miss Grangeri, and A. Countess Aurim had written aplex sequence using Earth Magic, which would create a sturdy fortress around the user. Greselda disyed anotherplex spell, hers being a Fire enhancement that would coat her arms in a ze, making it near impossible to approach her without risking burns. Miss Grangeri was a Lightning Mage, so she disyed the spell for a storm, impressing everyone with the length and intricacy it needed to be inscribed into the air. Finally, as much as I might dislike the Elf and her fiancee, A surprised me not due to her spells amazing structure or usability, but its element. She was the first Nature Mage I had seen, making me frown. I didn''t know how tobat Nature Magic, let alone what it exactly entails; obviously they have Earth and Water, but what are they able to control? Can they control existing Nature around them, like trees, roots, and nts? My frown deepened slightly as the Elf smirked up at Leone, only to make the Vampire chuckle, her eyes ring crimson. The two were staring at one another for a few more moments before they let out huffs and looked away. Giving Leone a dry look, I wondered why these two women seemed to have more personal beef than everyone else, before realizing that A seemed to think that she was better than Leone since she was now engaged to Jillian. Sighing, I got up and followed behind Jahi as she led us out into the halls, making our way towards Professor Xiant''s ss. His exam was much more annoying, as we had multiple essays to write and dozens of questions to answer with short sentences. It took us a long time, and eventually we all copsed on our desks, our minds numb after writing so many words in such a short period of time. Our Professor seemed to care little about the mental anguish he had just inflicted, as he informed us that our next ss was arge debate on the cause and effects of certain policies on the various tribes in the north from centuries ago. When we had all finished groaning at the news, he shoo''d us from his hall, telling us we were allining over nothing and that it wasn''t that bad... Debating the pros and cons of killing our Professor, we all trudged into the Training Grounds with heavy feet, only to perk up as we saw our three Combat Professors standing in the center, each one staring at us. Besides them were arge variety of wooden weapons, all scattered on the ground. --- Just doing 1 chap today, might not do many other novels either today; just going to chill... --- Chapter 179 178: Tests (2) We all perked up as we saw our three Combat Professors standing in the center of the Training Grounds, each one staring at us with a serious gaze; even Thorn was serious, as his signature smile was nowhere to be seen. Besides them were arge variety of wooden training weapons, all scattered on the ck sand ground. Filtering into the room, we all stood around our teachers, waiting in silence. Breaking that eery silence was Liako, who stepped forwards and spoke up, her voice hard as she said "Today is your first exam in our Combat ss, and while you will still be sparring against us, your teachers, you will first fight in yet another tournament, so that we may grade you against those with the same amount of time or skill put into fighting. As such, some of you are barred from participating..." Liako nced at Jahi and Anput, making the two women pout again. "Lady Jahi, Lady Anput, Miss Greselda; you three are exempt from the tournament, as all three of you are seasoned fighters in your own right. As for everyone else, quickly grab your training weapon from the pile." A rare smile graced Professor Liako''s face as she added "There are a limited number of training weapons avable, and some are even rotting... Be quick now!" Everyone scrambled forwards to grab a good weapon, and Leone and I were no exception; who would want to fight with a broken or rotting training weapon in a test? However, I could also see some of our ssmates utilizing dirty tactics; a Bullkin stomped her foot on a sword that someone was trying to grab, shattering the wooden de. Leone and I managed to grab decent enough wooden weapons; my dagger had a long crack along the edge, but it was in good condition everywhere else, while Leone''s was almost pristine. Retreating from the brawl that was about to break out in the pile, we watched on as Liako, Thorn, and Hawn conversed quietly to one another, Hawn nodding as he scribbled something down on his notepad. If I had to guess, they were writing down who was utilizing those dirty tactics, and would eitherpliment them for realistic thinking, or reprimand them for unfair and dishonorable tactics. Either way, Leone and I were safe in that regard, as I used my speed to grab us both weapons before others even had a chance. When we had retreated from the brawl, we rejoined Jahi and Anput, who were watching on with pouts. "This sucks..." Jahr was kicking her feet out like a child, sending pebbles flying towards the group with uracy; one girl yelped as a pebble mmed into her knuckles. Anput''s ears were drooping as she nced at us, her eyes going to the des in our hands before she sighed. Leone grinned at them, her voiceforting as she said "There there... it''ll be alright; I imagine you''ll still get to spar the Professors at the end! Maybe you can go off to the edge and spar against one another while you wait?" Watching as the Vampireid her hands gently on both the pouting women''s shoulders, I chuckled internally, before having to swallow myughter down as they red at her. ""No!"" Our ashen haired wife flinched before staring at them in confusion, her gaze flickering between the two as Jahi crossed her arms, saying "Of course I still want to watch you in the tournament; even if it''s just so I can keep people from ogling you..." Anput nodded, and I raised a brow as they nced briefly at me as well. During that time that Jahi was speaking to Leone, the others had finished up, some looking devastated that they hade out empty handed. Others were staring at the weapons they had received with angry looks, before they turned to look at the people around them, specifically those with better weapons. Some red at us, only to gulp and turn away as they saw Jahi standing beside us, the Demoness smirking as she looked over the crowd. Stepping forwards, the Bearkin Thorn let out a low chuckle as he said "When you hear your name called step forwards. We will be doing an elimination style tournament, and all selections are random. Remember, even if you lose, so long as you show improvements from when you entered the Academy till now, you will pass. Now..." Peering over his shoulder, Thorn nodded at Liako, who handed the Bearkin two slips of paper. "Our first fight is... Katherine Zara against Howard Marak! Step forwards and prepare to fight!" Giving Jahi and the others a nod, I approached the Professors and stared at the man across from me, who grit his teeth as he approached empty handed. He had an adequate build for a fighter, but the nervousness and despair in his eyes made me scoff in my mind. Dropping into a loose stance, he stared at me with those hopeless blue eyes of his, making me hold in a shiver and moan. I might think he was a poor warrior, but as prey... As prey? He was utterly delectable. That despair and hopelessness made me want to toy with him, to drive him further into the pit of despair, my de slowly cutting him down, targeting the areas that would bleed the most but leave him alive. Sadly, we were in a ss, and he was not prey; he was my opponent. However much that vexed me, I needed to remember that... Lowering myself into my own stance, I waited for the signal to begin, my eyes ncing over at the assembled Professors. Liako was holding a stopwatch, Hawn held his notebook, while Thorn just stood there. "Ready?" Nodding at the Bearkin, I watched as Howard mirrored me, making Thorn grin. "Well then, let the first battle..." Raising his hand, he grinned harder as Howard grew restless, his muscles shifting as he held himself back fromunching himself at me. Pausing for a moment, I held back the urge to roll my eyes at the Bearkin''s childishness. "Commence!" Slicing his hand down, the Bearkin signaled the beginning of the fight, and Howard shot forwards like an arrow out of a bow. Raising his fist, the Human male tried to throw a punch towards my face, only to stumble as I ducked underneath it. Watching as his eyes widened, I held back a giggle as my dagger flew up towards his neck, my breathing elerating as the man desperately tried to stop his imminent failure. Howard tried to use his free hand to catch my wrist, in an attempt to stop the dagger from reaching his throat, but I was too fast for him; his hand swiped through the air and missed, though I did re at him as I felt his fingers scratch across my breasts. I was nning on stopping my de a half inch from his throat, but... The wooden tip mmed into the lower part of his jaw, making the man cry out in pain as his jaw snapped shut. Thankfully he had kept his tongue in his mouth, so the worst he had to deal with was the pain of cracking a few teeth... And flying a few feet backwards as I spun andnded a kick square in his abdomen. Copsing onto the ground, he groaned in agony as he clutched his jaw, while I moved to stand over him. Thorn chuckled before saying "Katherine Zara wins!" Nodding, I turned away and returned to Jahi, holding in a chuckle as Thorn hesitantly asked the ss "Does... does anyone know healing magic..?" I could feel a few gazesing my way, but I simply tilted my head as I stared back, making those people shiver. The Professors noticed that, but none came forwards to ask me to heal the man I had just injured, so currently Howard was lying on the ground groaning. Eventually someone stepped forwards and attempted to soothe the pain of Howard, gritting their teeth as their mana slowly depleted. Seeing that, I frowned before ncing at Leone, who just smirked as she watched. "Remember, not many go out of their way to learn different kinds of magic, let alone healing magic as children... we were rather... abnormal." Hearing her whisper, I nodded; when I was a kid, I was always more interested in the characters that had the cool shy spells, and I would y or root for those characters more than I would the healers and supporters. Ironic that I myself was now an all rounder with pretty good healing and support spells... Thorn pursed his lips as he watched that student attempt to heal Howard, before eventually sighing as Howard was capable of moving on his own. "Howard, we''ll talkter; go to the nurse for now..." The man nodded dejectedly, and he avoided looking my way, making me lick my lips slightly. That fear was rather... Intoxicating... --- Mental Kat is indeed back! --- Chapter 180 179: Tests (3) Leone PoV I watched as that Howard guy walked dejectedly from the Training Grounds, his shoulders slumped and trembling as he took shaky steps. His hand was still rubbing his injured jaw, and I had to resist the urge to go and snap each of his fingers... It may have been an ident, but I had seen his desperate swipe at the end, which resulted in his fingers grazing Kat''s breasts. The restraint I had to disy to not incinerate the Human wasrger than I thought it would be... Though, that was likely because... ncing at the woman beside me, I gulped as my eyes grazed over her voluptuous curves, my mind going back to before we took our Magic Theory exam. Her voice was sensuous as she whispered to me, and it was then that I realized just how much I desired her... Just one word from her and I was already anticipating that divine feeling of being her partner, being her lover. Not only was her blood so addicting, but she herself was almost the embodiment of lust as she willingly epted all our desires... Her promise of Dual Cultivating had made me anticipate tonight, and I was ready for the day to be over; in fact, I felt like time was dragging by slowly, each second stretching out to feel like minutes. Sighing, I returned my gaze to the center of the grounds, where Countess Aurim easily dispatched a Gorgon girl, her snake hair hissing in disappointment as she pursed her lips, staring down at the shattered wooden axe in her hand. The golden haired Countess Aurim bowed to the Gorgon before retreating to the wall, her eyes warm as she stared at the Adventurer Greselda beside her. Professor Thorn stepped forwards, nodding to the Gorgon as she walked off, before letting out a shout. "Next up is Leone Presa-Ash and Jiro Yuki!" Tightening my grip on the wooden de, I took a deep breath as I prepared to step forwards, only to stop as Jahi grabbed my shoulder. Looking at her in confusion, I saw my tall blue wife give me a small smile, her amethyst eyes glimmering slightly as she whispered "If you win, I''ll give you a reward~" Gulping at that, I nodded to her before turning back around, approaching the center of the field. My cheeks were slightly warm, and my body was growing hot as her words echoed in my mind, swiftly joined by Kat''s earlier words as well. Taking a few deep breaths, I stamped down on my rising lust and stared at the muscr man in front of me, his paper white skin denoting his heritage from the Yuki ns, arge collection of Snow People. Though, Snow ''Men'' were rare among the ns; usually the ns were popted almost exclusively by Snow Women. Jiro gave me a nod, his face stoic as he lowered himself into a stance, holding his wooden club like a sword. Recalling the lessons Jahi had drilled into me, I mirrored Jiro, waiting for the signal. Snow People were weak physically, but possessed rather abnormal magical capabilities; they were only capable of wielding Wind or Water Magics, and couldbine their spells to create Ice Spells, though that required incredible control that few had. So, we were simr in that regard; my mother was a Vampire, so while she had slightly above average physical abilities, she preferred to use her sharp mind. As for mom... Well, even I know little about my mom; she rarely shares what she is, and the only thing she told me was that she was thest of her species, and that they were going to die with her. All her children may have inherited some of her blood, but she told me that, unless she managed to find another of her kind, there was no chance that she could reproduce a child that was like her; her blood didn''t mixpletely with other races. Beastkin could mix their blood together to create hybrids, but when I asked her if that was possible, she only shook her head, remaining silent on the matter. Sighing, I stared at Jiro before dashing forwards as Professor Thorn shouted "Battle start!" As soon as I leapt into action my mind cleared, leaving the only thing for me to focus on being the man in front of me. Raising my sword, I swung it down towards his skull, my de falling through the air rapidly, only for him to block my sword with his club, a loud thunk echoing around the grounds. Gritting my teeth, I then thrust my de towards his chest, making the Snow Man grunt as he barely pivoted away from the fast approaching dull tip. Using his club, he mmed it down on the edge of my sword, bringing my de down towards the ground. I could hear a cracking sounding from the area he had hit, making me re at the man. Now that my de was on the ground, Jiro used his free hand to send a swift punch towards my face, only to stumble as I leaned to the side, gritting my teeth as I felt his fist barely miss my cheek. Grabbing his extended wrist, I yanked him forwards and mmed my head into his, instantly regretting it as a sharp pain flooded my skull. Releasing his wrist, we both stumbled backwards, grabbing at our brows with our free hands. However, I managed to shake the pain off before he did, and Iunched myself back at him with a shout. Raising my de, I stepped into my swing as I mmed the wooden de into his shoulder, Jiro shouting in pain as the wood smacked against his bone. A low crunch came from his shoulder, making me flinch as he let out another shout, releasing his club, which thunked to the ground. Panting, I stared at the injured man before blinking, my mind honing onto his injury. Unlike Kat, I didn''t particrly enjoy inflicting pain; at least, not on those that didn''t deserve it. Also, unlike Jahi and Anput, I didn''t really like fighting either; if I could, I would avoid it as best I could. I wanted to further pursue my magics more than learning to fight, but with the way this world is... Sighing, Iid my sword down and pressed my hands gently against his broken humerus, the upper section that made up part of his shoulder cracked. Taking a deep breath, I summoned the runes for my healing spell and allowed my warm mana to seep into those cracks, elerating the growth of the bones as I forced the cracks to fill in. It was a quicker way of healing, and cost much less for me to do; the only downside was the amount of energy his body used, so he would need to eat. A lot. When the bone was fully mended I helped him up, saying "Go get something to eat; your body needs it currently." Jiro nodded at me, a mixture of fear and admiration in his eyes as he stared at me. Releasing his wrist, I scooped up my de and nodded at Professor Thorn, who gave me a small smile. Making my way back to Jahi and the others, I blushed as she smirked at me, before frowning. Leaning forwards, therge Demoness whispered "Why bother healing him?" Frowning at her, I replied "Why not? I inflicted the wound without meaning to, so I''ll fix it. Besides..." ncing at Kat, who was staring at me with clear amber eyes, I shivered as I muttered "Inflicting pain does nothing for me..." Jahr also nced at Kat, who''s ears were twitching as she stared at us, her expression confused. Giving me a sagely nod, Jahi stroked her chin as she said "Indeed..." Furrowing my brow, I gave the Demoness a weird look before turning to Anput, who was leaning against the wall with a pout. Jahiid her hand on my head and ruffled my hair, whispering "Good job Princess; your faithful knight will do her best to reward you~!" Blushing again, I watched as she walked over to Kat, who was watching the next spar with mild interest. Leaning on the wall beside Anput, I peeked over at the pouting Jackalkin, before jumping as she muttered "It''s not fair... I''m so bored!" Her petnt expression was kind of cute as I stared at her, before I gulped when her obsidian eyes met mine. "What? Did youe to gloat that you get to spar? Hmm?" Her pout deepened as she red at me, and I shook my head swiftly. "No, not at all... I was just..." Pursing my lips, I took a breath before asking "I saw you ask Kat how to better cast that spell this morning, so I was wondering if you want me to help you..?" The Jackalkin dropped her pout, her expression neutral as she turned back towards the current spar. Silence descended over us, and I licked my parched lips as she blinked once. Did I say something wrong? Frowning, I turned towards the spar as well, wondering what I had done. Thankfully, Anput nodded at me, her eyes expectant as she said "You''re just as good, if not better than Kat, right?" Pursing my lips, I replied "We''re... probably the same?" Nodding again, she grinned at me before tracing the runes for her spell into the air, the silvery runes shimmering in the dim cavern. We slowly fell into conversation, and I helped her fine tune and alter her spell, creating something that she was happier and excited to use. Chapter 181 180: Tests (4) --- Last chapter put us over 300K words, we reached 1.2 Mil views, and we''re now at 4K collections! Thank you all, and I didn''t even notice that I had written THAT much lol! ording to a quick search online, the average novel is 80K words... So I''ve written enough for around 3 novels, all in thest ~6 months? Which is insane; not even including all the other novels I have out as well... Anyways, just thought that was interesting, but here''s another chapter for today! --- "...No, that was unneeded for this spell, remember? You already have a shape rune, so you don''t need a second one." Anput nodded as she restarted her sequence, leaving out the rune for cylindrical shape before continuing on. Her brow was furrowed as I guided her through the sequence, telling her which was needed and which could be dropped. While she was a good learner, she was rather... Annoying to teach. She made many mistakes; ones that I thought were incredibly simple as well... Besides that, she also seemed to forget some of the things I had previously told her, as she re added yet another unnecessary rune to her sequence. Sighing, I shook my head, making the Jackalkin pout before restarting yet again. However, watching her childish enjoyment at finally reaching the correct answer was rather enjoyable, and I had a small smile on my face as she giggled, her eyes wide as she tossed the metal ball into the air. We both watched as the metallic surface rippled, like a pond that just had a stone thrown into it. The metal sphere slowly shifted shapes into a long spear, the tip red out into a long, lethal point. Flicking her wrist forwards, Anput ''threw'' the spear into the ground, the long silvery metal sinking deep into the ck sand floor. Anput''s eyes were wide as she stared at the spear, before a giant grin split her features. Jumping over to me, Anput wrapped me in a tight hug, rocking her body back and forth as she held me. I blushed as the Jackalkin embraced me, her citrus scent entering my nose. Returning her hug, I then heard a cough behind me, and we both turned to see Jahi and Kat staring at us, the two women holding inughs as they gestured towards the center of the field. Professor Thorn stood there, scratching his cheek as he stared sheepishly at us, and he said "Uh, hate to interrupt you two, but uh... Leone, you''re up next..?" Anput and I released one another, the Jackalkin blushing furiously as she moved to hide behind Jahi. As for me, I too turned crimson as I meekly approached the center of the field, where an equally awkward looking Harpy girl stood, her feathered arms denoting her ethnicity. When I walked away, I heard the metal spear Anput had made revert to its sphere form, flying back towards the Jackalkin who swiftly palmed it away, in a terrible attempt to hide it. Gulping, I gave the Harpy a curt nod before raising my sword, prepared to meet her in this fight. ~~~ Kat PoV Anput was hiding behind Jahi, therge Demoness smirking as she watched Leone raise her sword against Giana Cryms, the Harpy girl holding a dagger in her hands. Unlike what I had expected, her arms were speckled with feathers, but they weren''t wings. However, she did have bird feet, the thin calves sloping down into three long, sharp talons that pointed towards us while a fourth, smaller talon dug into the ground in the opposite direction. Watching as Anput grabbed that metal sphere she had been tinkering with, I nced at the Jackalkin before asking her "Did you finally finish tweaking that spell from this morning?" Her embarrassment washed away, and the Jackalkin nodded as she quickly approached me, holding out her hands to show me the sphere. "Yes! Leone helped me improve the spell as well; now I can do this!" She tossed it into the air again, and it turned from a sphere into a long crescent de, which she controlled with wobbly movements. Nodding at her, I nced back at Leone, who was struggling against the slippery Harpy, Giana managing to slide underneath Leone''s swing and stab her dagger towards the Vampire''s ample chest. However, Leone had improved somewhat over thest month or so, and she managed to jump backwards and disengage, giving herself a moment to adjust her strategy. Anput reverted her de back into the sphere, before dissolving itpletely. "She''s doing better now... still rough, and rather sloppy, but better." Jahi nodded, her eyes glued to Leone''s figure as she slid away from the Harpy again. "Leone isn''t quick, nor is she strong, but..." Watching as the Vampire managed to block a stab with a thrust of her own, we all nodded as Jahi said "Our resident Vampire using precise movements, and does so with a frightening efficiency. I don''t know if I could mirror that right there; not with that confidence." Observing Leone''s movements, I added "Her footwork is also pretty impressive, it''s just..." We all sighed as she stumbled over a stone, resulting in Giananding a solid blow on Leone''s forearm. Gritting her teeth, Leone sent another brutal thrust towards the Harpy, who just slipped under it before rolling away from another down swing. "She can be rather... unaware of her imminent surroundings, and she also has just that going for her; faced with someone with lots of power or good speed, and-" Giana let out a low shout beforeunching herself forwards, surprising Leone as she suddenly found a feathered woman in her face, the dagger mming into her ribs. Coughing a few times, Leone stumbled backwards, before freezing up when Gianaid the de across her throat. Both were panting, but Giana had a proud look in her multicolored eyes as she stood across from Leone, her back straight as she looked around. Her plumage was ring slightly, like she was some kind of peacock showing off her fiery red feathers. However, she wasn''t turning that pride into arrogance or something equally insufferable; she wasn''t rubbing it into Leone''s face, but rather cing that pride in her skill to be able to win. In our current ss, she was among the faster; only Jillian and I were arguably faster, while Anput, Jahi, and Greselda were on another level. So, she had reason to be proud of her own abilities, and after Thorn gave the two a nod Giana lowered her de, bowing deeply to Leone. "I apologize Princess, but this was a spar in the ss; I hope you don''t hold it against me." Seeing her humbleness afterwards, Leone took another gulp of air before giving the girl a smile, resting her hand on her shoulder as she said "Of course not; everyone at the Academy is equal. Besides, you taught me about myself as well, so thank you, Miss Cryms!" The Harpy stood up straight, her eyes wide as she nodded profusely to Leone. "N-No, thank you Princess! I uh... I''ll be going now!" Swiftly turning around, the Harpy scurried away into the crowd, leaving a bbergasted Leone standing in the center. After a few more moments she returned to us, her expression confused as she asked "Did I say something wrong?" Jahi chuckled as she shook her head, saying "Nope, just one of your loyal subjects being awestruck that you not only knew who she was but that you were nice to her as well~!" Leone pursed her lips as she nced back towards the group, where Giana was grinning as she talked to another Harpy. "Huh..." Professor Thorn stepped back into the center, and the man shouted "We''ve finished our first round! Now, for round two..." Chapter 182 181: Tests (5) Professor Thorn stood in the center of the grounds, and therge Bearkin man shouted "We''ve finished our first round! Now, for round two..." Spreading his arms out for theatrics, he grinned as he swept his gaze over everyone, continuing. "Our first match will be between Katherine Zara and Marco Sizali!" Everyone started murmuring as Marco and I stepped forwards, and for a second I froze, recognizing the man. Back during one of our first days attending the Academy, I had been aware of different people constantly looking our way. Greselda and Jillian were easy to snuff out; I still think the Adventurer had a crush on me, but she seemed to have moved on to Countess Aurim. As for Jillian, well, the Elven Duchess had been the main focus of us in these recent days, what with her tant desire for me, her hatred for Jahi and Leone, and her shifting of the politicalndscape with her engagement to A Kameiel. So, I had forgotten about the man who had worried me the most that day; this man, Marco Sizali. He had been staring at us with a calm, measured gaze, and it was neither friendly like Greselda''s nor antagonistic like Jillian''s; it was neutral, almost detached. That was what made me worried, but he had never done anything after that day. I never felt his gaze again, he never approached any of us, and now that I knew his name... Nothing popped into mind; the Sizali''s were a small Viscount Family that served under another neutral County, the Czarcha''s. Neither had stakes in any major business, neither had ties to anyone of major importance... They were, by all standards, a clean group of nobles. If such a thing ever existed. So, as I readied my dagger across from him, I focused all my attention on this man. I wanted to learn as much as I could from him by crossing des. Unlike Jahi and Anput, I didn''t live for the fight, but I was used to determining if someone was holding back; after all, I used to spar against a much stronger Jahi, as well as the Marquess, so I knew what to look for in someone hiding their strenght. Professor Thorn stood beside us, and the Bearkin gave each of us a look over before nodding his head. Raising his hand, he shouted "Begin!", which prompted me to dash forwards. Marco nted his feet and prepared to meet my charge, raising his de to intercept my thrust. However, his eyes widened as I feinted that thrust, instead flipping the dagger in my palm and swinging the de towards his ribs. Gritting his teeth, he lowered his sword and barely intercepted my sh, prompting me to jump back and evaluate him again. His facial expression was tense, but... The grey eyes that stared back at me were calm; there was little to no emotion in those stormy orbs that stared back at me. Twirling the dagger in my palm, I took in his stance next, feeling like I hadn''t seen everything yet. The hands holding the swords hilt were shaking slightly, but that was something anyone could do easily enough; trembling limbs wasn''t the hardest thing to fake. Next was how his de was sloppily covering his body, but even amongst that rough, rigid form of his, he had managed to block a feinted, swift attack on his ribs. Instinct perhaps? Experience in battles, like Greselda? Muscle memory so ingrained into him that, for a moment, he forgot to hide his skill? Feeling everyone''s gaze on me, I took a breath beforeunching myself at the stationary man again, deciding another trial was in order. He knew I was capable of feints, so... Appearing before him, I stabbed the dagger down towards his corbone, which he met with and upwards swing. As I felt the tremors of a blocked blow travel up my arm, I balled my left fist and jabbed towards his side, which the man tracked with his eyes. Frowning slightly at that, Inded a solid blow against his muscled abdomen, making Marco cough as he took a few steps back. I nced at my left fist, particrly my knuckles. Unlike Cultivation novels, where the people can improve their bodies to eventually feel like metal at all times, in this world, Gaia, you need to amplify your body with your mana; sure the average person with a Core has a stronger body, but flesh is still flesh on mortals. It tears and cuts the same as on Earth, but it''s just slightly tougher. However, when I hadnded that blow on Marco... It felt like there was a thin iron te across his muscles; something I could easily pierce even in my own held back state, but still rather worrying. Why was he so much tougher than a normal person? Scanning his body as Iunched myself forwards again, I noticed that there was no obvious signs of him being some kind of Demi-Human; his skin was a healthy tan, his ears were normal, his eyes were normal... There was nothing to tell me that he was some kind of ''advanced'' human like I was; he was just a Human. Which was worrying. Humans were weaker than other races; they were the diluted forms of any other race, and as such, had none of the special traits any other race had. So why did he seem to be so much stronger than the previous opponents? Pushing the thought from my mind for a moment, I unleashed a flurry of shes and stabs towards the man, using my speed to overwhelm his ''rough'' technique. However, all of the blows that I levied towards lethal areas were easily blocked; I had made them seem like idents, like I was just attacking at random, and yet... Stabbing up towards his armpit, I noticed that he ''just'' managed to raise his de and intercept the tip of my dagger with the t of his de. Pulling back, I sent a kick towards his stomach, which he attempted to block with his sword. Though, he, again, ''just'' failed to react in time to this non-lethal blow, resulting in him staggering back a few steps. Pressing my advantage, I decided to end this farce for now, as I slid underneath his hasty swing and brought my dagger up towards his throat, specifically pressing my tip against his jugr. "Winner, Katherine Zara!" Hearing Thorn, we both rxed slightly. Marco nced down at me, before giving me an awkward smile as he stepped away. "Haha... seems like I couldn''t match your speed, Miss Zara." Lowering my stance, I gave him a nod before saying "You prefer being defensive, no? Maybe find someone both faster and someone stronger to spar against; it''ll help prepare you for most fights." His eyes met mine, and I saw a brief glint in those grey eyes as I said that, before he scratched his cheek, nodding. "Thanks for the tip! I''ll keep it in mind. It was a pleasure sparring you, Miss Zara." "As was sparring you, Sir Sizali." Giving each other another nod, we made our ways towards opposite sides, and I rejoined Jahi. Both the Demoness and Jackalkin were watching Marco walk away, and Jahi spoke in a hushed tone. "Was he holding back?" Giving her a brief nod, I responded, leaving my lips as motionless as I could. "Yes; he blocked any lethal blows I sent his way, while allowing me tond strikes everywhere else. Besides that..." Showing her my left fist, Jahi''s eyes widened before she whispered "Hide and heal it, now." Nodding, I ced my left fist behind my back and healed it, my mind reviewing the wound. I had kept it from his sight, but... My knuckles were bruised and battered beyond belief; almost like I had mmed my fist full speed, full power into a metal wall. I could even see the bone on my ring fingers knuckle... Feeling my flesh knit itself back together as I healed myself, Jahi spoke again, her eyes narrowed. "How the hells..?" I shook my head slightly, before sping my hands in front of me, letting her see the healed skin. "I don''t know; it felt like I was punching a metal te that covered his abdomen, but..." Anput stretched beside us, a small smile on her lips as she said "He smells like a Human; pure one too, not a half-blood." Jahi nodded, before she sighed. "Why must we have so much trouble in our year? First Jillian, then this Marco Sizali? Hah..." Anput chuckled, licking her lips slightly as she said "Oh I don''t know, it makes everything more interesting, doesn''t it?" Leone and I gave her a dry look, but the Jackalkin ignored us, her eyes glued to the current fight between Draka and Miss Grangeri, the two doing more of a dance than a spar. Pursing my lips, I nced over at Marco, who was staring at us with intrigue before looking away. This was getting worrisome; too much is happening at once... --- For those wondering, ''Marco'' was mentioned back in Chapter 98: History; Eyes, and... I''ll be honest, I kinda forgot about him until now... Though I do have an idea on how to ''use'' him~ Also, are the fights good? Or do I need to flesh them out more with shier wording and more detail? --- Chapter 183 182: Test (Leone) Leone PoV ncing towards Kat beside me, I frowned as I recalled her bloodied knuckles, both thankful and irritated by Marco Sizali. Getting another whiff of her nectar like blood made me thankful, but I was incredibly annoyed that he had harmed her. Even if Kat seemed to dismiss the pain with ease, it irked me that someone had dared to harm her. However, there was little I could do about it; she had healed herself quickly enough, Marco Sizali was out of the tournament, and I was as well. Sighing, I turned back to thest fight of the tournament, which was between Giana Cryms and Miss Grangeri, both women flickering around the grounds as theyunched attack after attack at one another. Kat had been knocked out of the tournament in her next fight, this time cing roughly above the middle of our ss; she had face Countess Aurim again, and the golden haired woman had ''managed'' tond a solid blow on Kat''s abdomen, resulting in her loss. Eventually, Giana managed to score a ncing blow on Miss Grangeri''s wrist, resulting in the curly haired woman dropping her thin sword. Capitalizing on that opportunity, Giana pressed the tip of her de against Miss Grangeri''s chest. "Winner, Giana Cryms! Congrattions! Now, everyone, we shall be moving onto the real exam; remember, this was the first part, but the bulk of your grade wille from your spars with us. Since we still have a good amount of time left, rest up and grab a real training weapon! You have five minutes to prepare!" Hearing that, we all nodded and moved towards the weapon racks, with Jahi and Anput grinning at one another as they lifted up des of their own. Kat and I rolled our eyes at that, with the Dogkin finding a new dagger. Staring at my wooden sword, I pursed my lips before shrugging, keeping it. The next five minutes passed quickly; Jahi and Anput were chuckling as they made bets to one another, teasing and poking fun at the other. As for Kat and I, we stood in silence, looking over the crowded field before staring at the Professors. If I had to guess, we would be allowed to choose the Professor we fought, and if I was right, then I would choose Professor Liako; I was used to sparring against another sword user, and since we were being evaluated on our improvements, it''d be best to fight against the thing I am most ustomed to. Besides that, the Snake Woman was the only one of the three I feltfortable facing anyways; Hawn was out of the discussion due to his rtion to Jillian, as well as his help in getting her and Kat alone at the banquet, and Thorn was... well, he was Thorn. I didn''t want to fight someone who was more Bear than Bearkin. Leaning against the wall, we waited for the five minutes to pass, before Professor Liako stepped forwards, a wooden sword in her hands. "Alright, so this is how the second part of your exam is going to work. You will form a line in front of the Professor you wish to fight, and we will take you on one at a time. Each of us will be limiting ourselves to match your strenght, so the fight wille down to your technique. That''s what you''re being graded on; how much you have improved over thesest few weeks." Nodding, we all continued to listen to Professor Liako, who gestured towards her colleagues. "Your choice is also being graded, but it''s not arge percent of your overall score, so don''t worry. Now,e. Pick wisely." Professor Liako, Professor Hawn, and Professor Thorn all spread out, and all the students filtered forwards. Kat and I made our way over to Professor Liako, who was the most popr choice by far. Jahi and Anput made their way over to Professor Thorn, who was the least popr choice; only five students made their way over to the Bearkin, who''s grin faltered slightly at that sight. Professor Hawn had arge amount of students as well, but Professor Liako had the most. Kat and I had been the most decisive for choosing Professor Liako, so we were up first. When everyone had made their choices, Professor Liako nodded to the other two Professors before staring at me. "Lady Leone, would you like to go first?" Watching her take a few steps backwards, I pursed my lips before nodding; I would rather get this over with quickly than watch everyone else fight before me. It''d be torturous for my mind to watch everyone be toyed with before having to step up and face her... Steeling myself for the trial toe, I took a few steps forwards and readied my sword, staring at the woman across from me. Seeing my stance, she gave me a small nod before mirroring me exactly, making me frown. However, I knew that Professor Liako was one of the best swordswomen in the Academy, and since she teaches it for every year... Well, of course she''s going to be a rather difficult fight. Readying myself again, I dragged in a deep breath beforeunching myself forwards, beginning with an overhead swing. Professor Liako''s ocean blue snake eyes flitted to my unprotected midriff, a small frown on her lips before she raised her sword and blocked my swing. Sliding my de off hers, I flicked my wrist towards her side, only to grunt as she twisted her de in her hands and blocked that as well. Taking a step back, my eyes widened as she remained in contact with me, her de stabbing towards my chest. Pivoting, I pushed her de away using my own before shing at her stomach, taking advantage of her open posture. However, the Snake Woman twisted her body away from my sh, before raising her sword and preparing another swing. Resetting my stance, I decided to meet her attack and work from there, which made the woman nod slightly. Her wooden sword cut through the air as she swung it towards my head, and I raised my de to meet it, before redirecting it to the ground below us. Trapping her sword in the dirt, I sent a clumsy kick towards her shin, making her chuckle as my foot mmed into her leg. "Good. Remember, your whole body should be used in a fight when possible." Rotating slightly, she moved her leg from my reach and disengaged, slipping her de out from beneath mine. Twirling her sword in her hand, she nodded before saying "So far, so good Leone; you at least know which side of the sword is which now. But, I want to see a little more..." Lowering herself, sheunched herself at me, and I frowned. She had said she was holding back, but she was much slower than Kat... Shaking that thought from my head, I met her thrust with my own, making her eyes widen as I blocked her speeding tip with my de, stopping it just as quickly as she hadunched it. Using her momentary confusion and surprise against her, I batted her sword to the side and lunged forwards again, my sword traveling along her des edge, until it was about to reach her throat. Breaking herself out of her momentary shock, her wrist flicked out lightning quick, mming her de into mine and pushing it away. Stumbling forwards due to my momentum having no where to go, I collided with Professor Liako, who caught me. Her hands were on my shoulders, but I had been moving so fast that I was practicallyying on her chest. Smirking slightly at me, she raised her brow before gently pushing me away. Taking a few steps back, I gave her a wry smile before waiting for further instruction. Coughing slightly, she gave me a nod and said "You pass. That block of yours surprised me, and I think that, against those on your own level, will leave them in shock long enough for you tond the finishing blow. Good job, Lady Leone." Bowing to her, I retreated to the side, where I watched Kat step forwards when Professor Liako called out "Next, Miss Zara!" As Kat took her spot opposite Professor Liako, I nced over at Professor Thorn, my eyes widening as I watched therge Bearkin fend off an evenrger Demoness. Both moved like a blur, and I could briefly make out their face splitting grins as theyunched attack after attack at one another. Marveling at their speed and ferocity, I eventually turned back to watch the fight between Kat and Professor Liako, wondering how the Dogkin was going to fare against our Professor. Would she manage to pass? Or would Professor Liako see past her farce that she insisted on continuing? Pursing my lips, I could only watch on as their spar began, my heart racing a little as those thoughts entered my mind. --- I''ll do a chapter from each of their perspectives so you can see each one''s thought process'' and fighting styles. Though, I really need to find a way to scale them so you all can know just how strong they are... --- Chapter 184 183: Test (Jahi) Jahi PoV ncing over at Leone and Kat as they approached Professor Liako, I smiled wryly at their safe choice; Leone was too much of a beginner to want to attempt challenging Professor Thorn, and I had a feeling all of us wanted to avoid dealing with Professor Hawn, due to his rtion with Jillian. Recalling the arrogant Elf, I watched as she smiled coyly at her fiancee, A, before approaching her cousin, a dagger in her hand. A swooned as she stared at Jillian''s back, her cheeks red as she panted slightly. Seeing the familiar sight of a woman in heat, I rolled my eyes before frowning, realizing that, usually, my women looked like that... Casting my gaze over the rest of the cavern, I noticed that a few students were staring intently at the heated Elf, making my frown deepen. Now I needed to weigh time and ce when I flirted with Anput and Leone... Kat kept her emotions stilled, and unless I did something... drastic, she would never react to my flirting; at most, I would get a sharp re if I touched her in public. She was, funnily enough, a reserved woman in public, preferring to act as an elegant, gracefuldy instead of her more open, hedonistic self, but... That gap was also rather hot. Though, Anput and Leone were also incredibly fun to tease; the Jackalkin reacted heavily to my scent, so whenever we were out and about I would be near her, enjoying the way my little puppy was easily sent into heat by that, while Leone was easily embarrassed, and whenever I suggested a new position to try out, she always turned redder than her eyes. Both were so much fun, but they were also so damn beautiful... Which meant that their aroused faces were incredibly alluring as well, and now that I knew that people actually dared to stare at something that wasn''t theirs, I had to reevaluate my desire to tease them. After all, Anput, Leone, and Kat... All three belonged solely to me. I was the only one allowed to see those pleasurable faces of theirs... No one else; least of all these weaklings that thought themselves important due to a parent''s rank. Hearing someone cough across from me, I turned to see Professor Thorn scratching his cheek, arge wooden axe resting on his shoulder. Gesturing to the open field, he asked "Well, are we going to start?" ncing back at Leone, who had justunched herself at Professor Liako, I was tempted to say no; I wanted to watch my Vampire as she fought against a stronger opponent, so that I could better guide her when we returned home, but... Sighing, I twirled the longsword in my hand around, smirking at the Bearkin. "Sure, why not." His grin returned at my dismissive tone, taking a few steps back and hefting his heavy axe in both hands. "Careful now, Lady. I might not be the Marquess, but I''m damn strong in my own right." That made my smirk widen, and I lowered my de, pointing the tip at him. "I hope so; I''ve been bored with the chaff around us." He let out a hearty chuckle, before his form flickered. Raising my de, I met his downward swing, grinning at him as I felt a tremor run along my arm. "Is that all you have, old man?" The Bearkin chuckled, lifting his axe. "Oh, you arrogant brat..." Flickering again, Professor Thorn appeared in front of me and stabbed forwards with the two prongs of his axe, which I redirected with a well timed swing towards the haft. Pushing the axe head away, I then flicked my wrist and sent my sword flying towards his cheek, prompting him to dodge. Retrieving his axe, he swung it towards my side, and I grunted lightly as I met that blow as well, this time feeling the wood splinter under his force. Grinning at one another, I pivoted around his axe and sent a thrust towards hisrge chest, only for the Bearkin to raise his axe head and block my sword with the t of his axe. A loud thunk echoed around the clearing, and our grins widened. Pulling my sword back, I saw a small crack forming on his axe, before I stepped back, avoiding a swift down swing that he sent towards my skull. The blow sent arge cloud of dust scattering through the air, and I used the brief screen to move around him, attempting to surprise the Bearkin. However, I wasn''t as silent as Kat, so Professor Thorn brought his axe up and blocked my sh, pushing back and forcing me back a step. Following up on my momentary unsteadiness, the Bearkin stabbed his axe forwards again, and I grit my teeth as I lodged my de between the prongs, forcing us into a match of strenght. nting my feet, I pushed hard against his axe, eventually forcing the Bearkin to grunt and tilt his axe, making me stumble forwards. Swinging his fist towards my side, I blocked it with my forearm before jabbing my own fist into his abs, making the man grunt again as Inded a solid punch. Removing my sword from his axe, I sent a flurry of swift strikes towards his chest, forcing him to block each one with the entirety of his axe, from the wide head down to the butt of the haft. My grin returned, and it only grew as he pushed my sword away again, attempting tond a swift swing on my chest. mming my de against the axe head, we grinned at one another before taking a step back. Staring at one another, weunched ourselves forwards again, alternating between a storm of blows and impable blocking, pushing ourselves as best we could. Professor Thorn was right; against Mom, he was nothing. We both knew that, and we both knew the other wasn''t truly fighting. This was a spar, after all. His blows were strong, his actions precise, and his footwork good. However... On technicalities alone... Tilting my de slightly, I twisted my wrist and sent my sword towards his neck, the Bearkin''s eyes widening as my battered and splintered wooden de stopped an inch from his throat. Panting slightly, we stared at one another in silence for a moment before he grinned widely, letting out a barkingugh. "HAHA! Good! Incredible! You pass with flying colors, Lady Jahi! Haha~!" Chuckling at his boisterousness, I lowered my de and drew in a deep breath. "It was fun, Professor Thorn." He nodded, his eyes taking in his damaged wooden axe. "Aye, it was... hah, now I need a new one... Alright, go, rest. Your day is over. Good job, Lady Jahi; keep it up, and you might even surpass the Marquess." That made me smile wryly at the man; I knew it was said in good faith, but... Shaking my head, I said "I''ll need a few decades to catch up to her; she''s too much of a monster." "Well, the best thing for you to do is tackle that attitude first. Now, I''m not saying to be arrogant; we''ve enough insufferable pricks in the world. Just... believe in yourself. You''ve something your parents never had; Light Magic. Maybe in a physical one on one you might lose, but your magic is key to your strength to, Lady Jahi. Never forget that. Now, who''s next!?" Walking away, I hung up my wooden sword and pursed my lips, giving Anput a nod as she approached the Bearkin. He wasn''t wrong; Mom is damn good with her Fire Magic, but Light Magic is on a whole different level... Hells, it''s on a different level from Mothers Lightning Magic, which got her christened as an Elven Saint... If you were to, theoretically,bine Mom and Mother... Well, you''d have someone on par with the Empress. And both Mom and Mother seem to be adamant that I''ve inherited their traits, good and bad, so maybe... Staring down at my glowing palm, I grinned as the golden light shimmered around my pale blue skin. Maybe I will surpass her someday. --- How was thatpared to Leone''s fight in the previous chapter? Was it a higher intensity scene than hers? Since, y''know, Leone was fighting at a beginner level, and Jahi wasn''t. Was that portrayed well enough? --- Chapter 185 184: Test (Kat) Kat PoV Leone''s fight against Professor Liako had been decent enough. Our resident Vampire was, and would likely always be, more of a mage than a close quartersbat fighter; while her freakish reaction times up close was, again, freakish, she simply wasn''t that fast or strong anywhere else. All the potential talent she could have had for the de and footwork instead went to her magic and control, which, honestly, was more important my my opinion. More people would die to a skilled mage than a skilled martial artist. After all, in order to use that de you''re so proud of, you need to first reach me. Which would be extremely difficult; for me, I could create an expanding domain of ice, which I could control at will, as well as an entire blizzard of insanely sharp icicles. As for Leone, she could summon that giant ming sphere and rain hellfire down on you as you attempted to approach, and very few people could even attempt to cut apart one of her spears or fireballs. Even if they managed to, the amount of strenght required to do so was enormous, and frankly unsustainable. So, I thought that, while we still needed to drill the basics into Leone, she was fine with where she was. Against people of her own level, she was capable of holding them off long enough for one of us to aid her. Of course, should we run into another entity that''s too strong for us... Or a group of them... Shaking my head, I let out a sigh as I rid myself of that thought; with how cautious Jahi was now, running into a group of strong opponents would be near impossible. Thinking so, I nced towards the giant Demoness, pursing my lips as I watched her attempt to sneak behind Professor Thorn. The two were engaged in a lightning quick dance of des, and they looked evenly matched. Watching their figures blur before mming into one another, I sighed as I turned back to the finished fight between Professor Liako and Leone, the Princess stumbling forwards onto the Snake Woman''s chest. Rolling my eyes at her loose footing, I nced around and narrowed my eyes as I saw a few of the students around me ogling the scene. Holding back the desire to rip out their eyes, I drew in a shaky breath and calmed myself, before hearing Professor Liako bark out "Next, Miss Zara!" Approaching the Snake Woman, I nodded to Leone as she walked away, her eyes conflicted as she stared down at her wooden sword. Stopping a few steps away from Professor Liako, I nodded to the woman before raising my dagger, preparing to fight. Pulling her long raven hair into a ponytail, Professor Liako gave me a nod as she raised her sword, her blue slitted eyes meeting mine. "Whenever you''re ready, Miss Zara." Focusing my mind on the woman in front of me, I searched her stance for any openings, instantly finding two. Professor Liako was holding her de down by her left hip and had the tip crossing across her body and reaching her right shoulder, which left two gaps open. The first wasn''t asrge as it seemed; her left shoulder. She could swiftly straighten her de towards her left side by just tilting her hands slightly. However, her otherrge gap was the right hip area; she would need to move both arms to block a strike there... Deciding to hit both, Iunched myself forwards and left my eyes on hers, attempting to read her through her eyes. Seeing them flicker towards her exposed hip, I stabbed my dagger that way, watching as the woman lowered her de and met mine. By doing so she left her left side exposed, and my fist hurtled through the air towards her side, Professor Liako narrowing her eyes as she pivoted her body away from the blow. However, as she moved I pulled my dagger back and shed towards her left arm,nding a solid blow even as she tried to move away again. Professor Liako took a few steps back at that, her eyesnding on her now bruised forearm. Raising a brow, she stared up and me and spoke, her voice low. "You know, my sister speaks more highly of you than she does Lady Jahi... now I see why." Narrowing my eyes at her, I remained silent as we stood opposite of one another, waiting for her to continue. A small smile sprouted on the Snake Woman''s lips, and her low voice entered my ears again. "She was right; you''re more of a monster than Lady Jahi, at least currently. You''re magic is lethal, your control decent, your dework is solid, and I can barely hear your movements as you walk. And yet..." Launching herself forwards, Professor Liako mmed her sword against my dagger, cing us in a deadlock. "You hold back. Painfully so as well. I can see the expertise in the fluidity of your movements, how your eyes flicker towards the most lethal spot... If I didn''t hear that from my sister, I would think you were little more than a skilled maid." Pushing her sword away, I flickered forwards, unleashing a flurry of swift strikes. My voice was as low as hers, and I growled out "I AM just a skilled maid; my life is my Mistress'' to use as she pleases." Narrowing her slitted eyes at me, Professor Liako blocked each of my rapid strikes, her sword moving just as fast as my dagger. "Is that your Soul Bond speaking, or is it Katherine Zara saying those words?" Stabbing my de towards her heart, I red at the Snake Woman. "The answer would be the same either way; my Mistress is free to use me as she pleases, be it as just a housemaid or as a bodyguard. My de is hers. My body is hers. My skills are hers." Her smile widened slightly, and she said "Very well then. A concealed de is more lethal than one in the light. I understand your desires, Miss Zara... While I might disagree with the method, it is not my ce nor my right to demand you change. Your beliefs are yours and yours alone; I would assume that only your Mistress, Lady Jahi, is capable of altering those beliefs." I remained silent, making her chuckle slightly. "I do have to admit, should you continue to hone these skills of yours, you will be able to fulfill your duty quite well as a... hidden de for the Asmodia''s. Though, you should be aware of what happens to a de that bes dull..." shing my dagger towards her throat, I grit my teeth as it was intercepted by her de, before I mmed my foot into her knee, buckling it. Taking that momentary advantage, I then swept her feet out from under her, only to suddenly find myself on my back as well. Rolling to sit on my stomach, Professor Liako raised her sword and pointed the tip at my throat, her voice going back to a normal volume as she said "Good job, Miss Zara; like I told Lady Leone, your entire body is a weapon. The problem with your technique lies in experience; you need to learn how to press that advantage quicker and safer. However, you pass!" Standing up from my torso, Professor Liako lifted me to my feet, and before she could shout for the next student toe forth I whispered "A dull de can always be resharpened; a broken de can be reforged. I''ve nothing to fear, Professor. I''m well aware of my worth, as is my Mistress." She gave me a surprised look before chuckling. "Now I know why my sister likes you; you''re more mature than most people your age. Though, as a counter point, should a de be shattered one too many times, nothing can ever reforge it, for it is little more than scrap. Either way, good luck, Miss Zara. With the path you''ve chosen for yourself, you''re going to need it." Nodding to her, I walked away and joined Leone, who was staring at me with curious eyes. "That was pretty good, but there were a few moments where it looked like you two were talking?" Standing beside her, I assumed my normal expressionless face, my voice low as I said "It was nothing more than tips and suggestions for improvement, much like how she advised you. I guess she just didn''t think they were lessons for everyone to learn..." Nodding, Leone then said "Come on, let''s go join Jahi and watch Anput! She''s been keeping up with Thorn for a minute or so now!" Following behind her, I nced back at the Snake Woman, my thoughts turning to her sister. Just what did Kolia think of me? Did she just tell her sister, or did she say that to others? Sighing slightly, I continued to ponder over what just happened as I stood beside Jahi, therge Demoness watching Anput''s fight with interest. --- So the hyper detail in the beginning of the fight was because Kat is more analytical than the others. Leone was from a beginners perspective, while Jahi''s was from someone who uses raw power and technique to fight. Kat, to me, was more of a calcted fighter, in the way that, in spars, she would attempt to finish it as quickly as possible, and in real fights, she would target weak areas to inflict as much pain as possible. Does that make sense? --- Chapter 186 185: Test (Anput) --- Before I start, I had gone back in not only Servant System but also my other works and found amon theme with some of my characters... Some people here want Jahi to eventually be topped and treated like a woman; y''know, prated. I never truly gave an answer, and I imagine some will be disappointed when I say this; I have certain characters who will just... never get topped? Jahi is one of them; she will always be the ''man'' in the rtionship, and the idea of taking the female role in sex doesn''t sit well with her, same goes for some of my other characters. It''s a mix of what I think the characters that I''ve created would want, and also my own preference; I see her as a purely dominant top, who only gives, and never takes. Just wanted that out there so people aren''t waiting eternally for Jahi to have the roles reversed on her. --- Anput PoV Taking a deep breath, I nced down at the longsword in my hand, the wooden de making me frown slightly. The weight was wrong. The edge wasn''t as straight as my de. The bnce was horrendous. It irked me, having such an inferior de in my hand, but... Looking up at the spinning Demoness, I let out a wry chuckle. If I feel that way, Jahi should have it worse; after all, my de wasn''t made to fit me, it was just a general de. Hers was a masterpiece, a never before seen de forged solely for her. Its heavy weight, impable bnce, dual metal de, and extreme length was made for a person of her stature, and few would be capable of wielding it the same as she did. So, I shook my thoughts from my head as I twirled the sword in my hands, familiarizing myself with it as best I could. After all, I had a bet I needed to win. Jahi had levied a bet against me, and the stakes wererge for both of us. Firstly, the bet was that I could or couldn''t ''win'' against Professor Thorn; the ''win'' condition was that I needed tond a lethal blow on the man during our spar. As for the stakes... Recalling her demand, I felt my face flush hard. She wanted to leash me and walk me around in our backyard, forcing me to be her loyal, trained puppy. Which... Feeling a heat rising throughout my body, I trembled in mild anticipation. Shaking my head again, I stamped down on that heat. I needed to win. If I won, she would give me an extra 5% every time we went down into the Caverns, which, while it wasn''t a lot, that 5% would allow me to start funding my own goals. Before, I had wanted to simply collect various weapons for my own use, but after Jahi let me wield her own de, my desires changed. I wanted to forge my own collection. Which is why I needed to win; I needed it more than the insane pleasure my wife could offer me. So, I stared at the strained Bearkin before me, barely being able to block the flurry of blows that Jahi sent his way. He struggled against speed then. Continuing to take in his fight, I grinned as Jahi leveled her de against his throat, ending the match. Walking away, Jahi smirked down at me, her amethyst eyes alight with mirth as she said "Think you can manage, pup?" Even as a blush rose to my cheeks, I gave her a cocky grin, saying "If you could do it, so can I." Her smirk widened, and she gently ruffled my ears, muttering "I hope you''re not all bark no bite." My grin widened, and I approached the Bearkin as he shouted "Next!" Leaving my wife behind me, I stared at the sweat stained man, giving him a nod before lowering into a stance. Spinning the new axe in his hands, Professor Thorn nodded back, before raising his weapon. Taking that as a signal to start, Iunched myself forwards, the air wrapping around me as I sped towards him, my de raised. His eyes widened slightly as I appeared before him, only to grunt as he raised his axe. However, instead of the powerful and swift downswing he was anticipating, I leapt onto the handle of his axe, using it to catapult myself over his head. He stared up at me as I spun above him, before he let out another grunt as he barely raised the haft of his axe to block my thrust. Feeling the thud of my sword against his axe, Inded behind him and lowered myself, ducking under the horizontal swing he unleashed around himself. As I crouched below him, I used my lowered stance to power my calves as Iunched myself towards his bulky torso, my sword acting as the tip of my spear attack. Although the Bearkin was a barrel chested man, he was surprisingly nimble, his footwork excellent as he barely spun away from the jab. Using that momentum, I rolled forwards past his heavy m, before spinning past another one. Closing the gap again, I swung my sword towards the handle of his axe, forcing it to the side. Freeing up arge opening, I grinned as I sent my palm hurtling forwards, towards his exposed abdomen. The Bearkin''s eyes were wide as he stumbled back a few feet, the solid thunk of my hand against his muscles echoing around the cavern. Although my palm stung from such a blow, it made me grin as I saw him cough once, a thin stream of blood dribbling from his lips. I had held back, of course, but a blow like that... "D-Damn... hac... Y-You''re a feisty one... Lady Anput... hac!" Coughing again, he wiped the blood from his lips and grinned at me, hefting therge wooden axe in his hands again. "Let''s... keep going..!" I nodded, returning to my low stance. Taking careful steps around him, I searched for an opening, all the while I felt my blood rushing in euphoric glee. This was what I lived for. This thrill. The sh of des, this dance of death... It was exhrating. I stalked around the man, who followed me with his eyes, always keeping himself facing me directly. Deciding to go for his legs, I grinned as I rushed forwards again, my de held high. his eyes tracked the de as well as my own eyes, and I chuckled as they went wide. Twisting my wrist to the side, I brought my sword down on the side of his knee, making him grunt as the wood thwacked against his bone. Dancing away from the retaliation swing, I used that moment that his axe was on the ground to flicker forwards again,ncing my de towards his heart. However, his experience showed in that moment, as instead of attempting to block my sword, he swept my legs out from under me with the handle of his axe, before attempting to swing the de down towards me. Rolling away, I jumped to my feet and spun away from a thrust, making me grin. "If I hadn''t seen you use that against Jahi, I would''ve lost right there~" The Bearkin chuckled, before grunting as my de mmed against his again. Closing the distance between us again, I mmed my knee into his gut before pulling back, returning to my circling of the coughing man. Whittling down the strong with various hits before pulling away is the way of the Jackalkin, after all. Smirking at him, I was about to slip forwards again when he presented a golden opportunity to me. A risky one, but... Golden nheless. Thrusting his axe towards me at lightning speeds, his eyes widened again as he watched me. Jumping above the thrust, Inded on his axe head and sprang forwards, my de pointed straight towards his gullet. At thest moment I tilted it to the side, letting it skid past his cheek, before my feet mmed into his chest, knocking him to the ground. Flipping off his chest, Inded next to him, staring down at the man. He was staring at me, panting, as hey there, before a low chuckle escaped his lips. "That... was damn impressive. You pass..." Grinning at him, I helped the Bearkin to his feet before running over to Jahi, therge Demoness grinning widely at me. Skidding to a halt before her, I lowered my head slightly and twitched my ears, moaning softly as herrge hand fell onto my head. Standing beside her was Kat and Leone, and the two women were staring at me in surprise. However, my focus was entirely on the blue Demoness before me, and I was reveling in the affection she was giving me. Grabbing the back of my head, she pulled me into her chest, and I nuzzled into her warmth, her sweet scent making my head go numb. "Good girl... I guess it''s my loss, huh?" Her voice was low, barely a whisper, but it made me tremble. Stroking my ears still, she continued in that low, raspy voice. "Well, a deal is a deal, little pup... Though, I would like something in return; you wouldn''t want to leave your wife out to dry now would you, pup?" I shivered, before giving her a hesitant nod. Not only was I going to get my extra coin, but she was also going to im me again!? How did I win so much!? --- So, tests done. We have two paths now; Jillian''s letter, and the Caverns again. Since we just had arge chunk of time dedicated to the Academy, I want to take us elsewhere for the moment. Anyways, was Anput done well? --- Chapter 187 186: Letter Kat PoV Watching Anput stand in front of Jahi with her head bowed, eagerly receiving head pats, I pursed my lips for a moment before looking away, allowing them their moment. Though I too wanted some head pats; I mean, I had also done well against my Professor... However, I remained silent, watching the remaining matches y out. Greselda had also chosen to spar Professor Thorn, and while not as fast as Anput or strong as Jahi, she was holding her own against the Bearkin, blocking, deflecting, and attacking therger man with ease. Her dagger shed around, and the experienced air around her was only outdone by Professor Thorn''s, as the two spun in an borate dance of whirling des. As for Hawn, he was currently facing off against Miss Grangeri, the curly haired woman using her sword to block the flurry of blows that were sent her way, before twisting her wrist and pushing the Elven Rangers dagger away. Before she could push her advantage however, the Elf swept her feet out from under her, leveling his dagger towards her throat. Turning from that match, I watched Rialo slither around Professor Liako, the Lamia wielding a long wooden staff. Flicking her left arm out, she blocked Professor Liako''s first swing, only to block the next with the right side next. Rialo moved with a surprising fluidity, the woman''s face serious as she weathered the various strikes sent her way, before managing to push Professor Liako away. Not allowing her to get back up close, Rialo unleashed her own storm of jabs and swipes, making Professor Liako grunt before freezing, her leg wrapped up in Rialo''s tail. Smirking at the Professor, Rialo gentlyid her staff on her shoulder, before releasing her. Draka watched with pride as Rialo bowed to the Professor, before slithering back to her wife''s side. Seeing her getting pampered by Draka, I frowned slightly as I nced back over to Jahi, who was now smirking as she pulled on Anput''s cheeks, the Jackalkin pouting up at the Demoness. Leone was watching on with a smile as well, and I bit my cheek for a moment, only to stamp down on those desires; I was going to get something much better than head pats or flirting when we got home... When Jahi finally had enough of teasing Anput, she stretched herself out before pursing her lips, her amethyst eyes glued to Jillian. The woman of so many troubles approached Hawn, and the two bowed to one another. All four of us were watching her intently, and I studied her form as she matched Professor Hawn, the two Elves engaging in a series of blocking and striking, their styles rather simr. They used their entire bodies in their fight, sending kicks, jabs, knees, and more at one another, and with such a flexible style, they managed to avoid those blows with ease, resulting in few hits being truly exchanged; they preferred dodging over actually blocking. Which, admittedly, made sense; they were fluid, agile fighters, so being entangled up close would spell death in a real fight. Though... I nced at Jahi and Anput, who were watching with narrowed eyes; my two wives were much stronger, much faster, and had much more control then the Elf, but in a real fight, there is more to it than just a de. However, those two had that covered as well; their magic might be clunky, but the two had a surprisingly vast repertoire of spells to use, and some were rather potent; Jahi''s Light Discs and Anput''s newest spell being the ones that I had deemed to be the strongest offensive spells they owned. "Do you two think you could beat her?" We all stared at Leone for a moment, and Jahi just smirked, an arrogant pride in her eyes. "Most likely, yes." Anput nodded as well, before they nced my way as I muttered "Arrogance is an easy path to fall down, and it only leads to death." We had all learned that, and the two women sighed as they nodded, before Jahi resumed smirking. "Still, the bitch isn''t that special; her technique iscking, her overall strenght is low, and she has little going for her. Though, of course, she could be like a certain someone we all know..." Feeling their eyes on me, I nodded, saying "That would be a better attitude to have; imagine everyone is hiding their strenght. Because most likely, they are." Jahi sighed again as she rolled her eyes, returning to watching the two Elves spar. Leone stepped forwards and asked "Jahi, when will you read the letter she gave you?" The Demoness frowned, her hand going to her pocket. "Not here; I have a feeling that if I read it where I can see her, I won''t be able to hold myself back from killing her here and now." I tilted my head at her, and the Demoness just stared down at me in silence, her eyes hard. "What?" She shook her head before turning back to the fights, and we all fell silent as we watched the rest y out. No one was terribly surprising; Draka was a mediocre talent with physicalbat, Poshka did decently well, and Marco performed at an average level. When it was all over, the Professors called us all together after discussing the various spars. Standing in the center, they looked over us with serious gazes, before Professor Liako stepped forwards and spoke up, her voice t. "There were only a few students that impressed us, while quite a few of you were... less than mediocre. So, our sses from now on will be harsher; you are expected to be able to hold your own in a fight by the time you graduate from this ss." A few students shivered at that, while our group remained silent, understanding that we had all passed well enough; the only one who had any need to worry was Leone, and even then she was still doing pretty decent. "Alright, next ss we''ll start a more individualized training regimen, so be prepared. ss dismissed!" Nodding, Jahi led us from the cavern, away from the murmuring students. Exiting the Academy, we made our way over to our cottage, Anput bouncing around excitedly as she reviewed her fight with Professor Thorn with Jahi, asking for tips or suggestions on what she should improve on. Stepping into our home, Jahi and Anput copsed onto the couch, Jahi pulling the Jackalkin onto herp as she watched Leone and I prepare some snacks and tea. Setting it out onto the small table, we all took a few sips before Jahi pulled out the letter from Jillian, her lips pursed as she stared at the wax seal. "I really don''t want to open this..." Hearing her sigh, I raised a brow before saying "Just open it; I''m curious as to what she could possibly want." Nodding, Jahi slit open the seal and pulled out the folded letter, opening it up and staring intently at the borate paper. "Here we go... hah... ''Dear Lady Asmodia, Jillian Sariel and A Kameiel would like to invite you to the opening of the Spriggan Alchemical Shop in two months time; the Sariel Family would appreciate the attendance of our Empire''s foremost de against the monstrous hordes.''..." She paused, and we all nced at one another before listening as she continued on. "''Additionally, the Sariel Family would like to...''" Balling her fist, Jahi snarled as she stared at the letter, making us all flinch. "That bitch!" mming her fist against the table, I pursed my lips as a small crack appeared on the wood, before I looked up at her. Seeing her golden eyes ring as she seethed, I gently stood up and lifted the paper from her hands, the Demoness staring at me with possessive eyes. Taking a deep breath, I picked up where she left off, my voice turning t as I finished. "''The Sariel Family would like to purchase the services of the Zara Maids from the Asmodia Family; we are offering 20 tinum for Katherine Zara, and 8 tinum for Julie Zara. Please let us know your answer as soon as possible. Sincerely, Jillian Sariel''..." Staring at the paper, I narrowed my eyes before chuckling, making the other three women confused. "Guess I''m worth 20 tinums~?" All three women gave me a dry look, before Jahi snatched the paper from my hands, her palms ring gold. We watched as the piece of paper slowly turned to ash, and Jahi growled "I''ll fucking kill her." Smirking at her, moved to sit on herp, making Anput move aside. "Now now, no need to do anything that drastic Mistress~ Why don''t we just ignore her for now, hmm? Focus on getting stronger..." The Demoness raised her hand and stroked my cheek, before grinning as I added "Besides, if someones going to gut that damn Elf, it''ll be me." Leone chuckled, the Vampire''s crimson eyes hard as she said "I do hope you save some of her for me, Kat?" Grinning at her, I shook my head, saying "No, sorry~! Though, you can have A~? She seems to think that you gave up quite the catch in Jillian..." Pursing her lips, Leone nodded momentster, a wicked smile on her lips as she replied "Yeah, that''ll work..." Anput was just ncing between all of us, her ears twitching as she tilted her head. "So... are we killing them? Like, now?" Jahiughed, reaching out and pulling the Jackalkin into her chest. "No, not yet... I want to let her continue stacking up idiotic decisions so that I have an excuse to tear her Family down... all while staring her in the eyes~!" --- Yeah, some people called it, and honestly, it shouldn''t be that much of a surprise... Anyways, I wonder what other crazy shenanigans this Elven Duo will get into? --- Chapter 188 187: Demoness (Extra) --- Just wanted to get another chapter out, see what people felt about these extra chapters; especially what you all think about Chordeva (The Marquess) now... --- Chordeva PoV Panting as I loomed above my wife, I grinned at her, enjoying the way she writhed under me in a mixture of pain and pleasure. Sure, she was like me in the sense that she has something ''extra'' between her legs, but... Leaning down, I kissed her thin neck and whispered "You belong to me entirely, Ria... From this lush, golden hair down to your dainty feet... every inch of you is MINE..." Our rtionship had started out... Complicated. From a young age I knew what I was; a dominant, viscous woman. My father had beat that into me; if I wasn''t strong, I was worthless. The Asmodia''s had no use for weak Demons; never have, never will. So, whenever he ced a bandit, criminal, enemy in front of me, I killed them without hesitation. However, as one could imagine, killing dozens of people before you evene of age warps a person, and in order to stay sane I needed a release. While I enjoyed fighting people, very few would either provide a good enough challenge consistently, or I ended up killing them before I could truly enjoy myself. So, what was I to do? I had no interest in food, nor in liquor. Drugs were a no go; my body was my temple. Defiling it would render me useless. I was anything but useless. I could only do so much training by myself, and I was never allowed to go out to hunt either criminals or monsters, so that was closed to me. Young me had been in a dilemma, before... Seeing Ria panting below me, I recalled my first taste of this carnal pleasure; it had further warped me, but... Smirking, I dived back down into my woman, intent on using her to vent myself thoroughly... Exactly how she liked it... Recalling my first time sixteen years ago, I found myselfparing it to now. Young me wasn''t the sharpest, I''ll admit. Back then, I had a maid that was much older than me; she was in her thirties, and as a Coreless human, she was ''middle aged''. She had kids already, and she was working at the Asmodia Estate to provide for them. What was her name again... Ah, it was Astra! She''d been a beautiful woman; long violet hair, pale ruby eyes, and a curvy body... During my early days of maturation, like most with a penis, I found the pleasure that came with, and from, it. Astra had been something of a personal maid of mine; she was in charge of cleaning and maintaining my room, as well as waking me up and informing me of anything my father wanted done that day. So, of course, since she was often in and out of my room, she eventually caught me pleasuring myself. Recalling how she blushed fervently as I stroked myself, I bit harder into Ria''s neck, making my wife moan loudly. It''d been one of the most beautiful things I had seen when I was younger, so... I offered her arge ''bonus'' if she started ''cleaning'' something else for me. I never forced her, but I can see now how offering a struggling woman money for her body could be seen as... Well, wrong. I didn''t care though, and she epted that offer readily. With a new toy to vent my frustrations on, I ended up with her by my side all the time, pulling her away whenever I needed a release, demanding much from this Coreless human woman. As her Mistress, I should have taken care of her better, and after the initial high I did, paying her more and making sure to maintain her health. However, once I got a taste for one woman, I wanted to try more; some other maids easily offered themselves to me, as did a few lesser nobles. I had even snuck out and visited a few ''gardens''... It was around that time that I met Ria; my father hade to an agreement with her family for both arge trade deal and an oath that our houses would be allies for as long as she was my wife. Meeting her for the first time, I had encountered a thin, pale, golden haired shy elf. She had, at the time, no appeal to me; I wanted my women either submissive or feisty, and I preferred they have some meat on their bones. The shorter, trembling elf in front of me that day was none of those; she was just timid, and her thinness made me shake my head. However, I needed to take her as my wife; my father insisted, and after sitting down and discussing everything, I agreed. He knew of my... escapades, and while he didn''t agree with them, he said nothing. So, I started meeting Ria Haniel every week, and I quickly noticed how easily she fell for me. Not tooting my own horn, but I was only six and a half feet tall, muscr, a Demoness, and sexy as all hell, so no surprise there. What was surprising was this shy girls persistence and how she sometimes appeared cute when I ordered her around. She was determined to be a ''perfect wife befitting an Asmodia'', and whenever I used a harsh tone or ordered her she blushed furiously. For a bit she was an interesting and mildly entertaining ything; I had fun ordering her around and watching her reactions, only to fall back into my bed with Astra or some other maid in my arms. When we entered the Academy, she had matured a little, bing a cool, serious woman to those she didn''t know, but melting instantly whenever I was near. Having had to leave Astra behind, I found myself bored in a new area, filled with exotic and interesting women. I couldn''t help myself, and especially when I noticed how quickly Ria became determined to keep them away from me. I turned it into a game... Admittedly, young me was scummy... Which my persistent Elf loves to remind me about whenever we argue... It was around that time that Julie had appeared; she sat between Ria and I in some ss, and Ria soon made one of her first real friends... Even if it was on misguided knowledge and assumptions. Recalling the one time I had convinced my future maid and mother of one of my children to have some fun, I chuckled at how wrong Ria had been back then. After just one fling with her, I had arrived at one of the more... memorable turning points of my life; that dance at the end of our first year, where I had added that buxom bunny girl to my list of growing flings. My lust had been boundless at the Academy, especially since I had no rivals to fight; few could even attempt to fight me without risking life or limb. So, I had created a little group of people that I could fool around with, and that bunny had been one of them. However, that dance really did change everything... Pulling myself out of the past, I finished again inside Ria before copsing beside her, pulling her into my arms. "W-What got you going..?" She panted, staring at me with flushed cheeks. Chuckling, I pondered how willing I was to take a shock, before nodding to myself. "I was thinking about that bunny back in our first year..." Shuddering as Ria''s blue eyes red, I grinned at her as I kissed her thin lips, whispering "And how much I owe her for bringing me around to you~!" My Elf shuddered, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson as she stared at me, before burying her face into my neck. "S-STOP! No! I-I don''t want to-!" "How you wanted to do-" She ced her fingers on my lips, silencing me before growling "Not. Another. Word. Chordeva." Grinning at her, I pulled her onto my chest,bing my hands through her silky hair as I murmured "Very well, love... But I have to admit, that was incredibly hot..." She blushed more, before ring at me. "N-No..." Kissing her, I whispered softly into her ear, enjoying the way she shuddered in my arms. "You pulled that off quite well, Ria... I mean, you managed to-" Letting out a adorable shriek, my beautiful wife started mming her fists into my abs, making meugh as she pouted at me. "Chordeva!" "Ria~!" Pouting harder, she sighed before leaning down, kissing my lips. "Well..." Watching as her long ears turned red, I grinned hard as she said "I... could consider doing it for your birthday... or our anniversary..." "Oh PLEASE do!" I was excited, and she shivered before nodding, her eyes shining with both embarrassment and joy. --- So, like I said throughout the chapter, Chordeva was... Scummy. I thought it would make more sense that way; she was the one that Ria needed to conqueror... Anyways, this was written on 12/04/2022 --- Chapter 189 188: Leone --- It''ll be a shorter one, but UncrownedKing brought up a good point that I should probably talk about... Before I forget again lol It''s Leone''s ''alternate form'' thing from the Lord Pele fight; I honestly just... was focusing on other things and forgot about it, so I want to have them talk about it. Anyways, I''m spoiling you today huh~? Chapter number 3~ --- Kat PoV Staring at Jahi''s palm, we all chuckled as she clenched her fist, a twisted smile on her lips as she said "No, not yet... I want to let her continue stacking up idiotic decisions so that I have an excuse to tear her Family down... all while staring her in the eyes~!" I lounged into her chest, my heart warming at the thought that this woman was so angry on my behalf; that she was willing to face an entire political faction just for me~! Smiling up at her, I felt my insides clench as her hand slid down to my waist, before Anput coughed. I frowned slightly as I stared at her, only to nod as she asked "Can we review the tests please? I would like to know how I could improve, both with my magic and with my de." Jahi nodded as well, however her hand remained on my waist. "Well, I think what we can do is this; Leone and Kat can create a... course, or regimen on what they consider the basics for Magic Theory, and you and I will do the same for physicalbat. As for what we did today..." Looking over at the Vampire, Jahi said "I didn''t get to catch most of your fight, but I already have an idea for you anyways; you need to strengthen your body a little more, and get your footwork under control. Besides that, your reaction speed is damn fast, so you''re surprisingly lethal up close... except that you''re weak." Leone pursed her lips before nodding, only to say "Well, my magic makes up for that, but I will still strengthen myself... I think it''ll be useful to have." Next, Jahi stared down at me, before sighing. Tilting my head, I locked onto her amethyst eyes, wondering what advice she had for me. "I... honestly don''t know where you''re at, Kat. We haven''t sparred in awhile, so I can''t give you advice just yet... but, if you''ve improved even a little bit from ourst spar, you''re doing good." Finally, Jahi smiled at Anput, her eyes warm as she leaned forwards. Brushing her nose against the Jackalkin''s, she whispered "My little puppy is doing wonderful physically~ In fact..." Leone and I exchanged dry nces as Jahi started feeling up our petite wife. Coughing gently, I snapped the two out of their pink atmosphere, both because I wanted to get back on track, and also because this was the second time today I wasn''t- Sighing, I said "Alright, for magic... well..." Alternating my gaze between the two, I was about to speak when Anput let out an ''Ah!'', her finger pointing at Leone as she said "Hey, what was that thing you did down in the Caverns?" We all stared at Anput in confusion, and Leone hesitantly said "The... Sr re spell? Or the Fire Lances?" Anput shook her head rapidly, her ears bobbing as she asked "No no no! That thing you did when you incinerated Lord Pele! That weird... form? thing you had! What was that?" Jahi and I widened our eyes as we nced over at the Vampire, and I cursed. "Damn, I forgot about that! I was... preupied with a certain someone..." At the end I red at Jahi, who was scratching her cheek with a wry smile. Both of us had been dealing with fixing this overthinking Demoness, meaning Leone''s incredible form had slipped our minds... Besides that, I had... pushed that from my mind, not wanting to dwell on almost dying; it only came back up when I needed motivation to improve. Taking a deep breath, Leone was wringing out her hands as she smiled nervously. "Well... uhm... th-that''s..." Licking her lips, she stared at us for a moment before saying "That... was something True Vampires can do... it''s a technique to... draw out our powerspletely for a moment. The reason I looked so different is because of the Empress'' blood." Slumping into the couch, Leone took in a shaky breath as she continued. "True Vampires can pull out all the mana in their core and use it to amplify themselves, and since I''m a True Vampire, as well as the Empress'' daughter, my form is..." Looking away, she muttered "Unique." Anput just stared at her with wide eyes, her tail swishing slightly as she breathed out "That''s so cool! You looked incredible as well! What part of that was normal for a... a True Vampire?" Seeing only interest in our eyes, Leone gulped before hesitantly asking "You all... don''t find that... disturbing? As recently as a century ago, Vampires were viewed as..." She gulped again, her eyes fearful as she stared at us. "As monsters..." Moving off of Jahi''sp, I slid beside Leone and gently embraced her, stroking her back as I whispered "You''re no monster, Leone. You''re our wife; our adorable, wonderful wife." Jahi nodded, wrapping her arms around us, and Anput eventually joined in, whispering "I actually thought you looked kinda hot like that..." Leone giggled at that, relief clearly written on her features. Wriggling from the pile, I slid behind her and said "Well... continue on. I''m rather curious on this... True Vampire form thing..." Jahi nodded, while Anput smirked down at the blushing Leone. "Well... usually it''s just a... amplification of your physique, your skin glows the same color as your mana, and you have ess to all of your mana. However, with Mom''s blood, I also had the whole... sparking hair thing, as well as the two horns. No idea why, and Mom never told me." We nodded, before I asked "Wait, isn''t it dangerous to have ess to all your mana, with no limiters?" Leone had a wry smile as she nodded, saying "It can be. Only if you squeeze everyst drop out of your core, which... well, is easy to avoid doing. But that extra mana and improved control let me do what I did, which is way, way to hard for the current me to pull off. Like that ming Vortex? The amount of mana is almost two thirds of what I currently have, not to mention keeping it under control, then condensing it... that''s truly impossible. Then there was the overloading of his spell... All in all, I was just... able to ess therge amount of mana inside me, while also amplifying my control over said mana... Though the physical drain is quiterge, hence why I was out of it for a few hours." We all nodded, before Jahi licked her lips. "Hey, so Leone, speaking of mana..." Kissing Leone''s cheek, she said "You found that... what was it called... ''Dual Cultivation'' thing, right? Show me. I want to try it..." Anput giggled as she watched Leone turn crimson, before her obsidian eyes flickered over to me. "Hey... wanna watch them~?" --- Lemon next chapter, then some slice of live maybe? Though we have some Adventuring to do soon as well! Our girls need to rank up, after all~! --- Chapter 190 189: Observers* Anput grinned at me as Jahi started groping Leone, and the Jackalkin said "Hey, wanna watch them?" Pursing my lips, I stared at the blushing Vampire for a few moments before I grinned as well, nodding. "Yeah, sounds like fun~!" Sliding over to the Jackalkin, I wrapped my arms around one of hers and ced it between my breasts, giving her a sensual smile as I coyly whispered "When she''s done exining it, we can ''Dual Cultivate'' too~!" That made Anput smirk, her free hand moving to my chin as she pulled me into her for a kiss. Before she pressed her lips to mine, she whispered back "I was nning on ravishing my mate anyways~" Shivering slightly, I epted her gentle kiss, letting her tongue enter my mouth and coil around my own tongue, before we both yelped as Jahi spanked us. "Pay attention puppies~! We''re going to bed now, and I want you watching attentively as Leone takes me in fully." Anput and I nodded, getting up and following behind her as she scooped Leone up into her arms, the Vampire now fully crimson as her eyes flitted between all of us. Entering the master bedroom, I chuckled as Leone was flung unceremoniously onto the bed, before the Demoness swiftly stripped and mounted the Vampire. All three of us stared at her sculpted body, each of us growing aroused as we took in the now familiar chiseled muscles, soft breasts, and finally... Her long, pale blue dragon, the beasts roaring to life as she smirked lustfully down at Leone. Jahi moved her hands over Leone''srge breasts, groping and pinching her nipples through her clothes before rapidly undoing the buttons, making the Vampire''srge breasts pop out. Anput groaned slightly as she saw them, Leone''s snowy white mountains shimmering in the dim light of the room. ncing at my mate, I grabbed her hand andid it on my own chest, making her raise her brow before grinning at me. Licking my lips, I moaned softly as she squeezed my breast, before she mirrored Jahi and pulled off my maid dress. I sat nude before her, the olive skinned woman raking her eyes over my bare skin before we both nced over at a groaning Jahi. Leone''s head was in her hands, and she was pushing the woman down into her pelvis, enjoying the careful administration''s of Leone''s tongue. Anput stripped herself before grinning at me, pulling me over to Jahi. Laying beside Leone on either side, Anput whispered "Let us help you with that, Jahi~" The Demoness'' eyes widened as Anput and I lowered our heads, Anputpping at the base of Jahi''s cock while I started sucking on her balls, making our wife moan loudly. "Damn~ This is fucking heaven~!" We all exchanged nces hearing that, and we redoubled our efforts, Leone sucking earnestly on Jahi''s tip. Alternating between her two heavy balls, I slid a hand down to my lower lips and started spreading them, inserting a finger and fingering myself as I inhaled Jahi''s sweet scent. All four of us where moaning, and I could see Anput''s eyes rolling around in her skull as her hands pumped away at her own cock, her tail wagging swiftly behind her as she pleasured herself. As for Leone, the Vampire was bobbing her head swiftly on Jahi''s dick, likely getting generous helpings of the Demoness'' pre cum as we all worked together to pleasure her. Before long Jahi grunted, and Anput and I stared at Leone with envy as her cheeks bulged out, the Vampire getting arge dose of the Demoness'' semen. However, instead of gulping it down, the Vampire gestured at us to get up, and I swiftly took her lips, understanding her intentions. Parting her lips, I eagerly took some of my Mistress'' semen before letting her give Anput some, and I swished it around my mouth, moaning as the taste and scent muddled my head. Anput was the same, moaning intensely as she shivered, before we all stared at Jahi, who was panting. Her face was slightly flushed as she watched us, and a quick nce downwards made it well known how much she loved what just happened; her cock was still standing proudly, a drop of pre cum dangling from her tip. Nodding to one another, we all swallowed her seed in front of her, making a show of gulping it down. When we were done, we opened our mouths and extended our clean tongues, making Jahi moan again. "T-That..." Gulping, she stared at us with glimmering golden eyes, making us all shiver. Lunging forwards, she pounced on Leone and pushed the woman down, a low growl reverberating in her throat. "Damnit... tempting me like that; you want me to pummel your cunt that badly huh?! Thirsty Vampire bitch!" Leone moaned as Jahi pinned her under her muscr body, and Anput and I watched on in envy, before Leone whimpered "J-Jahi~! W-We w-were going to D-Dual C-Cultivate, remember?!" Jahi''s eyes reverted back to their normal amethyst as she took in a shuddering breath, nodding. "Exin it quick; if you take to long, I''m going to savor your body like I normally do, Leone. I''m barely holding myself back." Leone trembled at that, her crimson eyes heated as she stared up at Jahi for a moment, before saying "W-We just... h-have sex like n-normal, but w-when I reach climax, y-you need to wrap your mana around my own... Not too much, not too little, before dragging it back into your own body..." Nodding, Jahi''s raspy voice tickled our ears as she whispered "And when I cum? Am I just sowing my seed inside you, or am I doing something?" Gulping, Leone said "I-Infuse y-your semen... with some of your m-mana... just a l-little bit, p-please..." "That''s it?" Leone was about to nod, before she gasped as Jahi sunk her cock into the Vampire''s cunt in one smooth thrust. Anput crawled over to me, and she wrapped her arm around my shoulder before groping my breast as we watched Leone writhe under Jahi. The Demoness was kneeling above Leone, giving her the ability to plunge her thick cock deep into the woman''s womb, which... We listened on as Leone screamed, her legs wrapped around Jahi''s waist and her arms grabbing at the Demoness'' broad back, her nails scratching at the pale blue flesh. Jahi lunged down and started kissing the Vampire, and we watched as Leone bit into Jahi''s lower lip, drinking her blood as they made out. Leaning into my mates lithe body, I enjoyed the way her hand sunk into my chest as she started kneading my breast, her fingers brushing against my hard nipple. Dropping my hand to her sticky, throbbing cock, I started jerking her off with measured motions, making sure to target her sensitive tip and knot, squeezing those spots gently. "I... I want to ah~ I want to do that... s-surrender myself cpletely ah~ to Jahi..." Anput''s voice was low and husky, and I nodded; our bestial instincts to submit to our ''superior'' mate was growing with every second as we took in her prowess. She was turning Leone into little more than a sopping, moaning mess, the Vampire''s eyes unfocused as she took in Jahi''srge cock. "A-After our Mistress finishes up... s-shall we replicate this ourselves?" I nced over at Anput, the Jackalin staring at me with obvious heat as she nodded. The show before us was too arousing, and it took everything I had to not mount Anput''sp and take her for a ride, but Jahi had ordered us to watch first... mming her hips into Leone''s pelvis, Jahi was grunting as the Vampire tightened up, before rity hit her as Leone started screaming "I''m cumming I''m cumming~! Ahn~ I''m CUMMING~!" Staring down at the Vampire''s ck face, Jahi clenched her eyes shut and moaned, likely from Leone''s pussy wringing her shaft out. However, Anput and I watched in fascination as Leone''s pale white skin shimmered red, and Jahi''s light blue skin glimmered gold. Jahi grunted before groaning, her face scrunched up in mild displeasure before she gasped, her eyes ring gold. Watching on, Anput and I remained silent as Jahi took in a shuddering breath, before she moaned and pressed her body into Leone''s growling "Damnit Leone~! Take it~! Take my seed!" Their skin shone again, before Jahi moaned loudly, her body growing ck. Her balls clenched a few times, and after awhile Anput and I watched a stream of thick semen pool out from Leone''s cunt, running down her ass. Jahi continued cumming inside Leone, and Anput and I moaned, imagining taking that load instead of Leone. Spraying one final rope into the Vampire, Jahi panted as she lifted herself from the Vampire, her cock exiting Leone''s cunt with a plop. More cum drooled from her gaping pussy, and Jahi swallowed hard as she saw that. Sitting beside the hazy Leone, Jahi nced over at us before saying "Well... you can start... I think I''m going to refine this before taking her again..." Anput and I exchanged a nce, her hand digging deeper into my breast while my hand squeezed her thick knot, before I suddenly found myself on my back. Pressing me under her, Anput grinned at me as she whispered "This feels so fucking great, having you under me~!" Smirking at her, I grabbed her shaft and pressed it against my drenched pussy, whispering "It''ll feel even better when you''re inside me~!" She nodded, and I gasped as her cock plunged into me, pushing easily against my cervix and entering my womb. pping her knot against my moist lips, she started hammering into the back of my womb, creating a steady rhythm as she plunged her cock in and out of my cunt. Like Leone, I wrapped my body around my mate and pulled her deeper into me, moaning into her ears as she took me, making her groan from the stimtion. Her body wasn''t as heavy as Jahi''s, but Anput smothered me under her, using her weight efficiently to pin mepletely under her, almost like she was guaranteeing her right to have her way with me. We greedily devoured one anothers lips, each moaning as we felt our mates taste on our tongues, before I pushed her away and moaned "Anput~! R-Right there~! I''m close!" Slowing down, she targeted the top of my womb, pushing her cock upwards and hitting my sensitive spot, making me gasp as each thrust made my vision blur. I clung to her tightly as I let out a moan, my cunt tightening as I came from her cock. As I came, I pushed a little bundle of ice mana into my womb, which was wrapped by something slightly warmer, before it was pulled from my body and thrust into Anput''s. Receiving my mana, Anput smirked at me as she whispered "Now that you''re done..." Raising her hips, she almost removed her cockpletely from my pussy, making me whine as the incredibly warm rod left my insides feeling empty. "Oh don''t worry~! I''ll fill my bitch to the brim~!" I shivered at that, before gasping as she mmed herself back down, her cock going as deep as it could, which meant pummeling the back of my womb and pushing it deeper. Pulling out again, she started to repeat that action, going faster and faster, until she was pounding into my womb with great force. The pain was euphoric, and I mped on her cock again, my body trembling as her rough technique sent me over the edge again. As I came, my cunt started to wring out her shaft, and Anput moaned loudly into my ears as she slid her knot into my pussy, making me giddy. She came inside me like a faucet, her tip spraying and spraying semen into my womb, which was searing my insides due to it being imbued with mana. Pulling her mana towards my core, I blinked as she continued cumming inside me, her breathingbored as she emptied more semen into my bloated womb. Seconds passed, eventually turning into a minute, and I was still under her, gasping and groaning as my mate finally finished breeding me, her knot shrinking after unloading all her semen into me. Anput weakly pushed off of me, managing to yank her knot from my cunt before copsing beside me, her face flushed. I instantly nuzzled into her arms, enjoying her warmth as wey side by side. Our minds were numb from the constant pleasure, and we remained silent as we focused our remaining energy on implementing our mates mana into our own core, refining it. Jahi was kneeling beside is, Leone''s face pressed into the sheets as she raised her ass for her wife, who was roughly taking her from behind. Feeling her slight worry through the bond, Izily grinned at her before yawning, returning to Anput''s arms. Turning, she embraced me and buried her face into my breasts, while I puzzled into her hair, my face between her ears. Closing my eyes, I slipped into unconsciousness, aware of a system notification but too tired to read it. --- 2210 for that chapter... Whatcha think~? --- Chapter 191 190: Refinement The next morning had seen Leone and I sore and groaning, the intense night leaving us sapped of our energy. Nothing a bath couldn''t fix for me, and Leone was right as rain after a few sips of my blood. While I had lounged in the bath, the system spoke up. [Hey,st night, before you passed out, you got something.] [Achievement Unlocked! Dual Cultivator] [Dual Cultivator: You have been both the receiver and giver of energy during a Cultivation Session; additionally, you have managed to pleasure your partners while doing so, strengthening the session! Reward: 1 Skill Point, Skill [Crucible (Novice)]] [[Crucible (Novice)]: Slightly reduces the impurities in your mana when transferred to a partner] Pursing my lips, I nodded before asking ''So the impurity thing was real huh?'' [Hah... yes Host, it was indeed real. Your mana is different from say Leone''s, so this skill will make it easier for her to absorb and utilize your mana; if before it took ten minutes to refine, now it''ll be nine minutes. Small, but it adds up.] Nodding again, I was about to get up when I heard a low mutter. [Especially if they act like idiots like you; taking in threerge bundles of potent mana all because you''re insatiable... stupid...] ''Hah? If you have something to say, say it to my face! Or... well, y''know, say it out loud!'' For a few moments my mind was silent, and I red at the mirror, before I heard the system speak up again. [Very well. Ding~! Host had been awarded the Skill [Idiot (MAX)]; would Host like to inspect the skill?] I flipped off the mirror, muttering "Oh piss off..." However, after a moment I had to chuckle, saying ''That was actually pretty good~! Last time you did that was back when I first came over, right?'' [Indeed.] Chuckling some more, I exited the bath after I used my wind to dry myself off, and I threw on my maid dress. Jahi, Leone, and Anput were sitting on the couch outside, and each was quiet, their eyes closed. The mana we gave one another was able to be ''saved'' for a few hours, and everyone had decided to wait until we weren''t drunk off pleasure to refine it. Of course, that decision resulted in a loss of purity and potency, but oh well. Sitting down with them, I closed my eyes and focused on my core, where a bundle of cool, hard mana resided, floating amongst my Ice Mana. Grasping Anput''s Metal Mana, I inspected it, rotating it around in my core and untangling the strands that made it up. I was curious, and I wanted to separate it into its individual parts; Fire Mana and Earth Mana. The Fire Mana was more important to me, but I wanted to see if I could strengthen my Wind Mana with the Earth Mana, since the Fire will improve my Mana overall... Man that was a lot of Mana... Anput seemed to have arge reserve like the rest of us, but our resident meathead seemed to just... Not know how to utilize it properly. Pursing my lips, I let that thought drift away, focusing on the task at hand. Grasping at individual strands, I slowly unraveled the bundle of Mana my mate had gifted me, creating two separate ''piles''. It was a long, boring process, but... Finally separating them, I sighed before grabbing the set of Fire Mana, wrapping my Ice around it and slowly integrating it inside. I would let the scorching heat attempt to melt my Ice before stopping it, repeating the process to ''temper'' my Ice. It was yet another length process, and if I cared only about short term gains, I could simply sh freeze the Fire with my Ice, improving the Ice slightly in a few moments. However, I wanted to get stronger; Jillian and A were staring to piss me off, and I wanted to guarantee that I could stomp on that Elven bitch and her fiancee with ease... A twisted grin appeared on my face at the idea, before I finished up integrating the first half of Anput''s Mana into my own. Now came the even harder part... See, the whole idea was to improve your Mana by letting it be exposed to something of the opposite element, let it be exposed to something stronger, like Jahi''s light, or just pit it against another Mana in general, which is what Jahi was doing with Leone''s Mana. So, if I wanted to strengthen my Wind... Taking a deep breath, I grabbed some of my Ice and plucked at the gale around it, gathering more Mana than the Earth Mana inside my core. I needed to surround the Mana with my own and then start exposing it to the Earth. It took a few moments to gather that Wind, but when I did I started refining it right away, watching at how my Wind weathered away the small ''rock'' inside my core, breaking it down. Grinning, I allowed that gale to return to the Icy water that sloshed in my core, and I felt that it was sharper than before. I knew that it wouldn''t be truly noticeable in practical use just yet, but the improvement simply wasn''t enough just yet. Which meant I needed to Cultivate some more~ With all of Anput''s mana used up, I retreated from my core and opened my eyes, seeing Leone still refining while Anput and Jahi were taking deep breaths, a thin sheen of sweat on their brows. Getting up, I cleaned them off before moving to the kitchen, my voice quiet as I asked "What do you want for breakfast?" Jahi''s head snapped my way, and she instantly said "Pancakes." I gave her a nk stare before chuckling, realizing I had deprived my Mistress of her favorite food for quite a long time. "Very well Mistress~! Some pancakesing right up~!" --- Short, but wanted to get that stuff out of the way... Besides that, two quick questions: 1) Anyone here read BL novels? No hate or anything, just curious; why are they considered Female Lead novels? Is the MC actually... Female? Or are they cheating the system cause... two boys make out? Just curious, cause quite a few novels in the Win-Win mission are BL... 2) Someone please suggest a good book for me to read! I''m dying over here man... can''t find anything good for some reason! I''m addicted to books and currently going through withdrawals... Anyways yeah, next is our girls going on some Adventuring Missions! --- Chapter 192 191: Our First Requests After arge, hearty meal of a dozen some odd pancakes for Jahi, the Demoness was lounging in her chair, a blissful expression on her face as she rubbed her full stomach. I exchanged nces with Anput and Leone, all three of us holding inughter at the Demoness'' obvious foodgasm. I had made everyone their own vored pancakes, which had turned out rather well... Anput had berries in and on her pancakes, the Jackalkin loving that extra bit of vor in every bite. As for Leone, she, of course, had some blood sttered across the top of her cinnamon pancakes, which, honestly, was a little... Odd to see, but if you thought that the blood was say, strawberry sauce, then it was something that I could stomach... Jahi simply wanted her in, buttermilk pancakes, and while I did force her to eat some fruits on top of it, she devoured them swiftly. As for me, I added some cocoa powder into my batter and created some chocte pancakes, the bittersweet chocte making me moan in delight. Besides therge stacks of fluffy pancakes, I had also crisped some strips of bacon and prepared some small bowls of yogurt, enjoying the cool feeling of the creamy yogurt when paired with the warm fluffy pancakes. All in all, I was also in bliss as I finished my breakfast, the other two giving me nods before turning back to stare at the content Demoness, smiles on their faces. When Jahi eventually came down from her food high, we all grabbed our gear and prepared make our way down to the Adventuring District; since it was our off day, Jahi wanted to earn some more coin while also honing our skills. More specifically, she wanted us to reverse our normal roles; Leone and I would be fighting physically, and Anput and Jahi would utilize their magic more often. Of course, should we find ourselves in a sticky situation, like with the Coal Serpents, we''ll fight with our strengths. But until then... Strapping my dagger to my belt and patting it a few times, I tightened all the straps on my armor before joining everyone outside. Making our way down to the Adventuring District, we yet again drew attention, but this time, people remained away from us, lest therge Demoness decide to disy her strenght again. Entering the Guild Hall, we made our way over to the Request Board, where dozens upon dozens of papers were hung up for Adventurers to view. Since we were Silver Tags, most of the board was avable to us, and we all started searching for Requests that interested us. We decided to go at it individually, so... Looking at the ''Board'', which was actually the entirety of the wall, I read through various Requests, trying to find the sweet spot ofrge pay and easy objectives. Each paper had a strip of metallic material at the top, letting people know the difficulty of the Request; currently in my hands, I held two Silver Requests that I deemed easy. ''Silver Request: Acquire three liters of Firefang Blood Reward: 3 Gold, 35 Silvers'' ''Silver Request: Gather two stalks of Magma Nettle and one bushel of Obsidian Grass Reward: 5 Gold'' While I didn''t know what those materials were, I was also rather curious about Alchemy in general, and this way we could gather some more for Leone as well. Also, more money. However, it would also be safer to ept the lower pay for the Firefang Blood, as I DO know where they are, and how to get it. Walking over to Leone, I saw that she was nodding to herself as she read her own Requests, and she nced up at me as I approached her. "So... Magma Nettle and Obsidian Grass... Easy to find and get, or no?" The Vampire frowned, looking down at the paper in my hands. "Well... kind of? Magma Nettle grows near Coal Serpent dens, and Obsidian Grass is rathermon, since it grows on the ins in small clusters, but..." Gesturing towards the other two, she said "It would be best to see what they''re going to take before we ept any kind of Gathering Request. Since, y''know, they tend to think about battles first..." I nodded, and we waited for Jahi and Anput, who were reading through multiple Requests. Eventually, the two walked over to us, a paper in their hands. "I''m taking a Request for a Ghoul Kings Talon, and Anput is going to be looking for a Coal Serpents ribs... which is weird, but whatever." Hearing that, I ced the Firefang Request back on the board and told her about the herbs I would be gathering, while Leone said "I need to hunt some Obsidian Crabs, so we''ll be making our way further into the ins today." Jahi shrugged, before gesturing towards the desk, where the woman from our first sale sat. "Welle on; let''s get this boring part over with." Anput chuckled at that, walking behind Jahi, while Leone and I shook our heads. Reaching the desk, we saw the woman give us a warm smile, though it stiffened as I smiled back at her. "Ahem... wee back! I guess you''re taking Requests now?" Nodding, I ced the paper on the table between us, letting her read it over. "Alright; since I know you all haven''t taken Requests before, let me go over the basics, okay? Individually, you can take one Request of your rank or two of a lower level. Each Requestpleted sessfully will go on your record, which we''ll get set up when you return. For Silver Tags, you need toplete 30 Requests of your rank in 45 days in order to be Gold Tags, and then you need toplete at least a Gold Request or 5 Silver Requests in a month to maintain your rank. As a party of four, you can take one Request above your rank or three of your rank. In order to rank up as a group, you need either 50 Requests of your rank in 30 Days or 5 Requests above your rank and 20 of your rank in 30 Days to rank up. When you advance as a party, you are all considered that Rank, but only as a party; if you try to adventure solo, you will be marked down a rank. As for rewards; the Guild takes a t rate of 5% for each Request no matter what; that is both ourmission and payment for us to guarantee that the Request is going to bepleted by the Commissioner. You can sell any extra materials rted to your Requests to the Guild, or keep them for yourself. Any questions?" ncing around, everyone shook their heads, so I said "Nope, that was clear and concise, thanks. Do you stamp these or something?" The receptionist nodded, taking my paper and stamping the bottom right corner. Handing it back to me, she exined "The eptance stamp is a hollowed circle, which means you have taken on the Request. When you return and prove youpleted it, you will receive thepletion stamp, and we will file the Request paper away in your individual file, so the Guild can keep track of your progress." I nodded again, and everyone gave her their papers, letting the woman stamp them. Furling them up, I ced them in my pack, making sure they would remain secure and safe. Smiling back at the woman, I said "We''ll be back before you know it, and I''m sure we''ll have an excellent bargaining session again~!" That made her smile back at me, apetitive glint in her eye as she nodded. "Indeed~! Well, good luck out there, and be safe!" As we were leaving the Guild Hall, I received a notification, surprising me. [Oh shush. Kinda hard to do much of a job when all you do is-] ''Please just let me read these...'' [Hmph, fine. Whatever... I sleep for weeks and she treats me like this...] Rolling my eyes, I read over the quest, a small smile forming on my lips. [Quest: Help your Mistress with her Request Reward: 1,000xp - 10,000xp Additional Quest: Help your Mistress AND her fiancee''s with their Requests Reward: 10,000xp - 25,000xp Additional Quest: Be nice to the System Reward: Happy System] My face deadpanned at thest lines, before sighing as it was erased, the system letting out another [Hmph!] Ignoring it, I nodded as we walked towards Zhu''Rong Caverns, and I started to anticipate our outing again. The sshing of blood, the shrieks of agony... And now, the coin and experience when I finish indulging my darker desires. I was going to be paid to inflict suffering on monsters! However, even though I was looking forwards to the rush of torturing anything I came upon, I was more excited with the thought that this outing might push me towards leveling up, which meant unlocking the Shop Function~! [As well as a system update; you barely fit the mold as JUST a Servant anymore, so an overhaul is required. Maybe I can get a vacation..?] --- So, these Requests could be a good way to gauge strenght... kinda. You can see where they ce in the Guild based on the difficulty of the Requests, but it''s still going to be hard to properly scale them. Besides that, we''re getting close to me changing the system, which hopefully will be easier for both you, the readers, and me, the author, to wrap our heads around... Cause I clearly wasn''t thinking straight with the original, nor have I really made this a ''System'' novel, despite the name of the novel... Anyways, yeah~! Back into the Caverns we go~! --- Chapter 193 192: How To Frighten A Demoness Jahi PoV When we reached the gates that led down into the depths of Zhu''Rong Caverns, I turned around and stared at each of my women, taking in their appearance. Leone was wearing a loose wine red robe, which concealed her curvaceous body quite well, sadly enough. Hanging on her hip was a thin sword that Anput had given her, and she had a few pouches on the other side to even out the weight on her belt. Besides that, a pack was on her back, the various pouches and pockets allowing her to store quite arge amount of items and materials. The ashen haired Vampire fiddled with her sword hilt, a small frown on her face; all three of them had disyed annoyance at this changing of roles, and Leone was surprisingly the most vocal about disliking it. She had deemed it to be rather useless for herself, and after making it well known to me this morning I had silenced her with a promise of another long Cultivation session, which made her begrudgingly ept todays outing. Next was Anput, my olive skinned wife wearing something besides her loose cloth for once; Kat had forced her into a normal set of armor, which Anput epted rather easily. The thin leather hugged her lithe body, and she had her longsword strapped to her back, with two thin daggers on either side of her hips. Adjusting the strap for one of her bracers, she sighed as she stared at her daggers, before shrugging, a small hint of excitement in her obsidian eyes. After having learned how to better use her magic, Anput had already had an interest in trying it out on live subjects, to test its lethality, but now she was restricted to only her magic... Finally, I stared at Kat, feeling the need to stamp down on the rising lust as my eyes took in the sight of my beloved murderpuppy standing in front of me. The leather gear she wore was clinging to her curves, and the heavy dagger on her hip was bnced by a few pouches. The Dogkin was ring slightly at me, her amber eyes fixed on mine as she gently stroked the hilt of her dagger; I had thought that she wouldn''t have minded the idea of being in the vanguard, and yet... Giving her a wry smile, I briefly wondered why all three of these women were soplicated, before tossing the thought from my mind; I could likely delve deep into that never ending spiral of questions and only further confuse myself. Taking in a breath, I scratched my cheek as I looked between them again, saying "Well, I wanted everyone to use this chance to refine their other skills... so uh... let''s go?" Leone let out a huff and turned, grabbing Kat by the wrist and leading Anput and I into the Caverns, making me sigh. Normally Anput and I would be chatting about random things... Well, more urately, she would be exining the various uses and counters for specific weapons, which was rather interesting, but her passion left little space for me to interject myself into that conversation, leaving it as more of a lesson then us talking. Yet, she was currently silent, her eyes flitting over the area around us as we followed behind Leone and Kat. So... Letting out another sigh, I nced up at the ceiling and wondered if I should scrap this idea, before shaking my head again; they all needed this exposure to something they usually don''t do, to help motivate them to get stronger. I was anticipating this; I wanted to know just how lethal my Light Magic could be, as well as how much it could boost someone in support, but... Lowering my gaze again, I found myself passing the time by watching the two women in front of me, my eyes lower then they should be, waiting for us to reach the Valley that connected the opening Cavern to the ins. All of their Requests were for that location; Kat needed the herbs, Anput needed the Coal Serpent dens, and Leone needed to take us deeper, to find those Obsidian Crabs. As for me, I needed to take on the Ghoul Hordes inside the Valley, and if I couldn''t get a Ghoul King to rear its head, I needed to hunt the roaming groups on the ins for my prey, hoping that it would show up while the otherspleted their own tasks. Admiring the swaying hips of two of my women, we eventually reached the Obsidian Valley, which was, like always, cluttered with Ghoul Hordes. I really needed to ask Leone how this ce was always so popted; they can''t be normal Ghouls, since they are reanimated corpses... Pursing my lips, I watched as Leone and Kat drew their des, the two women ncing at one another before nodding. Maybe they were ashen constructs? Things made from the abundant ash inside the Caverns, formed around bundles of mana? Furrowing my brow, I raised my hand and started tracing runes. We had agreed that they wouldn''t use their Magics unless truly necessary, and we wouldn''t use our des unless necessary either. So, I cast a Light Cloak over the two charging women, draping them in golden light that would both make them quicker and enhance their recovery. Once they were protected, I started summoning my Light Discs, wanting to start simple. Flicking my wrist out, I watched as the first Disc flew into the horde, slicing cleanly through the Ghouls bodies and killing them. Nodding to myself, I summoned a second one, letting it join the first; controlling them was my trial for today. I wanted to see how many Discs I could truly control; not sending out a wave of sharp Discs, but controlled des that could attack from anywhere. Leaving the second Disc around Leone and Kat, I summoned the third, before chuckling as I watched a pir of earth erupt in the center of therge horde, killing a dozen Ghouls swiftly. However, my eyes widened as I focused on Kat, the Dogkin weaving through the Horde with a silent precision, her movements elegant as she ducked under a clumsy swing and severed the head from her attacker. Not checking if it died, she went onto the next one, her heavy dagger easily severing limbs and reaping lives as she danced through the horde, her leather d body turning gray as more and more ash erupted around her. The calm, brutal efficiency in her movements and attacks made me gulp, and I found my memory drifting towards the days after our encounter with Lord Pele, recalling how my first love had tried to kill me. My eyes were glued to her as she swept through the horde like a scythe through wheat, her de rising and falling in deadly arcs as limbs and heads flew around her, the woman''s methodical reaping making me shiver. Leone was using precise thrusts as well, but she was nowhere near the level of Kat, the usually calm and collected Dogkin maid clearing out swathes of this horde with ease. As she reached deeper and deeper into the horde, my worry managed to outpace my arousal and admiration of her deathly dance, my third Disc flying through the air towards her, to protect her better. Reaching the center, my breathing hitched as a Ghoul stood up to its full, terrible height, taller than me. Sharp talons gleamed in the dull orange light of the Valley, and it''s unhinged jaw puffed out ash with each breath. Turning it''s hollow eyes towards the Dogkin in front of it, the Ghoul King let out a shriek, prompting the surrounding monsters to snap their heads towards Kat. My heart clenched, and I sent another Disc towards Kat, which was swiftly joined by a long silver spear. Raising its giant talons, the Ghoul King swiped down towards Kat''s motionless body, and I widened my eyes, wondering why she had stopped moving. Opening my mouth, I was about to shout her name when a golden blur spun around the Ghoul Kings arm, severing it from its towering body. Letting out another shriek, the Ghoul King stared down at the limb lying on the ground in front of it before- "Holy hells..." Anput muttered beside me, and I silently nodded beside her, my jaw ck as we watched Kat scale the Ghoul King''s body like a tree, reaching its neck. With apletely emotionless face, Kat wrapped her legs around its neck and raised her dagger, the de falling and slicing deep into the Ghoul King''s skull. It tried to raise its remaining arm to fling her off, but Kat released her dagger and twisted around the Ghoul King''s head, snapping its neck. Grabbing her dagger in both hands, she used it to lower herself to the ground, slicing the giant monster''s flesh the entire ride down. Landing on the ground, she returned to her ughter of the remaining Ghouls, leaving Anput and I motionless. My heart pounded as I watched her, my eyes wide as I managed to take in what she did only momentster. The brutal, cold efficiency of her kill, the uncaring, bored look on her face as she did so, paired with the result of her work... I shivered, a sliver of fear entering my mind as I continued to watch her dance through the horde. That could have easily been me, if I ever pushed her further than I have before. If I hadn''t showered this buxom Dogkin maid with love and instead forced myself on her, that dissipating corpse would have been me. The thought sent shivers down my spine, but all for the wrong reasons. Sure, the fear was there; I knew that Kat reveled in her kills more than I ever could, but... Those shivers sent pleasure coursing through my body as I watched on. My desire for her spiked again. My lust rose, wanting me to move forwards and take her, here and now. My love for her flooded my body, and I felt warm as I realized that she was MINE. This psychotic woman, who could likely kill me, was mine. She belonged to me, and no one else. Biting my cheek, I mped down on the rising me inside me, taking in a shuddering breath as I tore my gaze from her. She had shivered when those feelings rose, and I knew that if I fed off the emotions that she reciprocated and sent my way, we would both lose ourselves easily. The feelings she poured into our bond seemed to even outweigh my own, and that... That made me both happy, and scared. Happy that this woman desired me that much, that she was so insanely in love with me... But I was scared about how deep that love could run, and what consequences that could have on her... However, even as the thought entered my mind, I pushed it away, ignoring it. Who cares if she loves me more than life itself? I feel the same way, and if it would make her happy, I would burn this world to the ground just to see her smile. Chapter 194 193: Important Question Watching as Kat continued to dance through the diminishing horde, I shook my head to rid myself of my thoughts, focusing instead on utilizing more Discs. I had three out as of current, and my control over them was still rather good, so I decided to add one more. Retracing the runes again, I sent a fourth golden crescent hurtling towards the horde, willing it to slice through the bodies of the Ghouls surrounding Leone. Pursing my lips, I sighed as I realized that four was my current max; I could barely control all four at the same time, needing to give one a broadmand while specifically controlling three. However, even three Discs were deadly enough, as the razor sharp edges sliced cleanly through most surfaces, even scouring deep grooves into the Obsidian Valley''s floor as they bisected any Ghouls. When we had reduced therge, stumbling horde to little more than piles of ash and loose Cores and Crystals, Anput and I moved forwards, joining up with Leone and Kat. The Vampire gave me an uninterested look, while the Dogkin was biting her lip slightly, an ambiguous gleam in her amber eyes. Giving them nods, I set about to collecting the spoils, starting first at the small mountain of ash that stood as a memorial to the Ghoul King. Besides the giant chunk of a Core that it left behind, I grinned as I scooped up the long, slim talon, being careful to avoid the sharp edge and drops of venom as I wrapped it in a piece of cloth, guaranteeing that I could safely transport it back to the surface. The others were also collecting the Cores and Crystals left behind, and my grin widened as I thought about the money we would make from these materials; my Request alone would give me a boost of 6 Gold, which I already had ns for~ As for the others, I had briefly checked their rewards, and I held in a chuckle as I recalled each one. Anput''s Request for a Coal Serpent''s ribs was odd, but the payout was 6 Gold as well. Leone''s Request for Obsidian Crab chitin was paying a decent amount as well, at 5 Gold and 75 Silvers. Meanwhile, Kat had taken the lowest amount, with her herb gathering paying only 5 Gold; I had thought the prices weird, until Leone told us that the location of Magma Nettle was near Coal Serpent''s dens, making it slightly difficult to harvest. Admittedly, I was rather surprised that Kat was the one to take an herb gathering quest, as I thought that my Vampire was interested in alchemy, but... Considering she was still pouting, I sighed and decided to ask about itter, when I had pampered her back to being normal. Ah, what a hard job I have~ Chuckling slightly, I got up and tightened each pouch, making sure I couldn''t lose anything. Seeing my girls regroup around me, I smiled warmly at each one, before reaching forwards and patting Kat''s head. "Good girl~! Thank you for helping me, little puppy~!" The Dogkin was still expressionless, even as my fingers itched behind her sensitive ears, but I could feel her happiness through the bond. Besides that, her tail thumped slightly as I scratched a little more, forcing me to hold in a chuckle. However, as I continued to revel in the fluff of her ears, I felt Anput ring at me, while Leone pouted and looked away. Frowning, I pulled Kat into my chest and swiftly dragged the other two into my arms as well, deciding that enough was enough. All three stared up at me; Kat was still nk, Anput still red, but her tail told me she felt otherwise, and Leone was a deep crimson. Probably because of my hand... Anyways, I stared down at all three, smirking at them. "Listen, I know you all don''t exactly want to fight as you have been, but I think it''s necessary to at least open your eyes and let you see your potential weakness..." Holding them close, my smirk melted into a warm smile, and I looked each in the eye as I continued. "It''s just for today, so please deal with it for now. Do it for me, please..." Anput pursed her lips before nodding, while Leone blushed further, nodding as well. Then we all turned to Kat, who remained stoic and silent. Opening those plump lips of hers, I shivered slightly at her words. "Of course Mistress." Her t voice and stare made me sigh, and I leaned down, pressing my nose against hers. "You know, if a certain puppy of mine didn''t constantly hold back, I would know just how sharp her cute little ws and teeth were, now wouldn''t I?" I smirked at how a crack appeared in her stoic facade, a brief sliver of both mirth and annoyance entering her amber eyes. "I believe that puppy has demonstrated how sharp she can be before, many times." Grinning at her, I nodded, recalling the most recent spar we had, but... "Yeah, but who knows if that puppy thought she was just ying with her Mistress, hmm~? How was I supposed to know if she was ready for something real when-" Kat sighed and gave me a dry gaze, saying "Fine. I''ll continue using only my dagger... Mistress." Pulling away, my grin widened before I nced at the other two, who were staring at Kat with mixed gazes. Giving each a quick pat, I rolled out my shoulders and gestured towards the congested Valley, saying "Well, let''s clear another horde or two before making our way onto the ins." ~~~ Kat PoV Standing beside Leone, I raised my dagger and stabbed it into the head of an approaching Ghoul, shattering its skull. "Kat..." ncing briefly over at the Vampire, I saw her thin sword piercing towards a Ghouls chest, cleanly stabbing into its core. Before she could continue, I said "Use a little less power and move a little faster. What?" Jahi had asked me to refrain from cutting down the hordes on my own, telling me she wanted Leone to get more experience in closebat instead; while slightly annoying, I agreed with her, so here I was, teaching the Vampiric Princess how to better use her de. Pursing her lips, Leone blushed as her voice entered my ears, lower than normal. "H-How... h-how do you n-not blush w-when J-Jahi... d-does that s-stuff?" I stumbled slightly, resulting in my dagger missing its mark by a hairs breadth. Not ideal, but the Ghoul still copsed to the ground, dead. "I..." Frowning, I continued to put down the Ghouls that stumbled towards me, using the weight of my de to carry my arm down as I shed into ones neck. Taking a deep breath, I shrugged slightly as I said "I''m just... used to it at this point. Sure, some of the things she does sends my heart aflutter, but... well..." Seeing Leone''s crimson face again, I held in a chuckle, knowing that she was just that deeply in love with Jahi. "There''s nothing wrong with the little things she does making your heart race, Leone. I''m just used to it; I love her, and how she acts. It''s just... we''ve shared all of our firsts together, and I''ve been by her side for years now. Maybe you''ll get used to it, maybe you won''t, but either way its fine; it just means you love her a lot." She nodded and said "I... I really do... Every small thing she does makes my heart pound, almost like it''s trying to erupt from my chest. I thought that it might subside now that we''ve... we''ve... lid together, but..." Shaking her head slightly, I let out a chuckle. "It''s only gotten worse huh~? Everything makes you remember how much she desired you?" Leone nodded, her face still a deep crimson as she slit a Ghoul''s throat. Pushing it away, her shaky voice entered my ears again. "Y-Yeah... w-whenever she''s near, m-my heart races. When s-she whispers wonderful things to me, I f-feel myself falling further for her... Wh-When she holds me... I... I..." Smiling, I kicked thest Ghoul away and said "It''ll only get ''worse'' from here on out Leone~! When she gets money, she''s going to spend it on us, taking us tovish ces, buying us opulent gifts... that''s how Jahi wants to treat us, and it''s her benchmark on how to show us she truly loves us..." Giving the Vampire a pat on the shoulder, I smirked slightly at her as I added in a low voice "I do hope you know Anput and I feel the same way; we all love you, and we all love each other. We''re sisters now, all united under our love for a Demoness who stole our hearts. You might want to get used to those sweet words and gifts, because from here on out..." Releasing her, I started collecting the loose materials, letting Jahi finish for me; she might not have heard, or even known what we were talking about, but the Demoness had a knack for teasing, which... Draping her arm over Leone''s shoulder, she stared down at the crimson Vampire and said "Whatcha talking about~? Me, maybe~?" Seeing Leone blush more, Jahi grinned and poked her cheek, cooing "Aw, thanks love~! I was thinking about you too~!" Anput crouched beside me, smirking as she nced back at the Demoness and Vampire. "So?" Hearing her question, I smirked back at her as I whispered "Leone wanted to know how I deal with Jahi''s constant flirting, but..." "She''s not going to ever get used to it, is she~?" I shook my head, whispering "Nope~! Which will only make Jahi tease her that much more~!" Chapter 195 194: Completion (1) Finishing off thest Ghoul, I sighed as I wiped the ash from my dagger, the gleaming steel allowing me to see my reflection. Staring into the t of my de, I observed my still expression, my amber eyes filled with boredom as I took in my own appearance. I understood why Jahi wanted us to experience our strengths with something we weren''tfortable with, I really did, but... Of our entire group, I was the most well rounded, as I knew how to fight up close and personal, as well as how to utilize my Ice, Water, and Wind Magics to the fullest of their abilities, granting me a diverse repertoire of lethal attacks to choose from. However, everyone else didn''t have that same skill with both magic and de; Jahi was the closest, and her control over her Light Magic was good, but not the greatest. As for Anput and Leone, bothcked the fine tuned precision that they disyed with their preference; Anput was clumsy with her Metal Magic, and Leone, while decent with a de, simply wasn''t that strong physically, creating arge weakness for her to attempt to cover. So, I understood why our Demoness wife wanted us to switch roles, but I was still irked by theck of mana rushing through my veins as I sliced through these hordes, only amplifying the slowly growing irritation that I was feeling from theck of blood. I guess this was good training for me to curb my bloodlust, but... Growling in mild annoyance, I watched as my face hardened in my dagger, before I lowered the de and sheathed it, crouching down to start gathering the various Cores and Crystals the Ghouls dropped. While I did so, I reviewed each of my girls Requests; Jahi''s was done, and I would be able to help Anput as Ipleted my own Request, since Magma Nettle was found outside Coal Serpent dens. As for Leone''s, she needed the shells from the Obsidian Crabs deep inside the ins of Yama, and since I had no idea what they were, I could only hope that they traveled inrge groups, so that I could contribute topleting her Request as well. Each day I inched closer to leveling up, and the anticipation, as well as a dash of nervousness, was slowly building up as that number grew ever closer to evening out. What would the new system be like? How useful would the shop be? More questions floated around in my skull, but Jahi stood in front of me, snapping me from my thoughts. "How many materials did you get?" Patting the pouches, I replied "I got 14 Cores and 11 Crystals from this horde." The Demoness nodded, a thoughtful look in her eyes before she turned around, ncing at Anput. "This was thest horde, so let''s get down onto the ins!" We all nodded, tying all of our pouches tight before getting up and resuming our journey, eventually stepping onto the t, rolling ins of Yama. ncing around, I searched for Coal Serpent dens, swiftly pointing them out to everyone else. As we approached the dens, I had Leone tell me what Magma Nettle and Obsidian Grass looked like, so that I could get my two stalks and one bushel of those herbs. To no ones surprise, Magma Nettle was a orangish red jagged leaf that grew on tall, thin stalks, which sprouted from the upturned earth the Coal Serpents used to make their dens. Apparently, the mana the Coal Serpents put out helped the Magma Nettle grow, as did the various decaying corpses inside their homes. As for Obsidian Grass, it was a deep ck... Well, grass. And it grew in clusters around the ins, sprouting up at random points; the bushel I needed was gathered in no time, and I tied it all together with an extra string I had in my pack. Reaching the loose rocks and earth that signified a den, Leone and I nodded to one another as we stalked forwards, waiting to hear the hissing of a Serpent. It didn''t take long, and as we reached a dozen feet away we saw a fleshy pink tongue flicker out of the den''s entrance, quickly followed by the wide,rge head of the Coal Serpent. Pitch ck scales marred with a few gouges, the Coal Serpent slowly slithered out onto the ins, raising its body ten feet off the ground as it stared down at us. Meeting its piercing red stare, Leone and I took a step back as it hissed again, only to roll to the sides as it lunged forwards, its fangs sinking into the ground and leaving a puddle of orange liquid pooling from the marks. With Jahi''s golden light draped around our bodies, Leone and I pulled back and created space for the Demoness and Jackalkin to pelt the Serpent with magic. Two golden discs flew forwards, apanied by a singr silver spear, all three mming hard into the Coal Serpent''s scales. Hissing in pain, it narrowed its deep red eyes at us and reared its head back, a dull orange glow spilling from its mouth. However, before it could spit whatever spell or attack at us, the spear that Anput had hurled at the monster shimmered, the metal changing shape as it bent around the Serpent''s neck. mming its head into the ground, the monster hissed again as its skull was rattled, before falling silent as the two golden discs sliced deeply into its body, cutting its head off. Watching as their magic dissipated, we all waited for the monster to dissolve, leaving behind a few of its scales and a fang. Anput sighed in annoyance at theck of rib bones, making Jahi and I purse our lips. "Maybe..." ncing at me, Jahi nodded, letting me finish. "Maybe we need to ''harvest'' the materials ourself? When I severed the Ghoul King''s arm, it remained after death for a few more moments than the rest of its corpse, so maybe if you target the ribs and yank them our while its alive, you could..?" The Jackalkin gave me an... interesting look before nodding, ncing back at the den. "Think there''s another in there?" We all turned to look at the silent entrance, and I shrugged. "Could be..." I stalked forwards again, my footsteps silent as I approached the dark hole. With my dagger in hand, I strained my hearing to listen for anything; hissing, slithering, rattling... Besides that, I lowered myself to a crouch and scooped up a rock the size of my palm. Hefting it, I chucked it inside the den and retreated carefully, hearing a few hisses from the den. Readying myself, I watched as two smaller Coal Serpents slithered out, their eyes meeting mine. One was a deep gray, and its long, slender body was covered in scars, some scales evenpletely torn off. The other was thinner and the same deep ck as the first Coal Serpent, and it angrily hissed at me, opening its jaws to reveal the four sharp fangs that dripped with venom. Continuing to back away, I watched as Jahi and Anput attacked in the same way, but this time... When the gray Serpent tried to bite at the three smallernces Anput hurled at it, I shot forwards, veering far enough away from the more aggressive, darker Serpent. Keeping myself low, Iunched myself towards its exposed throat, raising my dagger and targeting the abundance of missing scales on its body. Sinking the dagger deep into its flesh, I wrenched the de out as it hissed in agony, before dodging to the side as it mmed its body into the earth. Hearing itspanion''s hiss, the other Serpent tried to move to help it, only for three golden discs to cut deep into its scaled body, slicing cleanly through it. Jahi severed the monster into separate parts, and I jumped over the gray Serpent and approached the dead monster. Anput sharpened eachnce and pierced the gray Serpent''s body, pinning it to the ground. It writhed and hissed, but each long piece of metal held it firmly to the ground. Collecting the various bones and scales the aggressive one dropped, I turned towards the still living Serpent and grinned, clenching the hilt of my dagger. Coating my de in a sharp gale, I went to work on its midriff, hacking off scales and revealing the dark flesh beneath. Then I went deeper, my de slicing easily into the soft flesh of the Serpent. As the blood sshed around me, my grin only widened, and I shivered as I cut my way down towards the bone. Removing chunk after chunk of meat, I eventually grabbed a rib and snapped it off, tossing it behind me. The more I worked, the more the Serpent writhed around, its hissing growing weaker as more and more blood poured from its body. It took me a few moments, but I eventually had a pile of bones, meat, and some organs behind me, while my body... Stepping back, I nced down at my drenched armor, the thick, sticky crimson liquid coating the front of me. ncing over my shoulder, I saw Anput, Leone, and Jahi staring at me with nk eyes, all three standing still as they alternated their eyes between the now dead Coal Serpent, who was missing a majority of its internal workings, and me, who was drenched in blood. Tilting my head to the side, I innocently asked "What?", making each of them shiver before shaking their heads. Anput walked forwards and started sorting through the bones, while Jahi approached me and stared down at me, her lips pursed. Grabbing my shoulders gingerly, she looked me over for a few more moments, her amethyst eyes confused. Tilting my head more, I waited for her to speak, before giggling at what she said. "Why... why do I find this so hot?" Chapter 196 195: Completion (2) Jahi''s eyes were golden as she stared down at me, a heat permeating her expression as she grasped my shoulder. I tilted my head the other way, but my tail thumped to the side as her words entered my ears, making my heart race. "Why... Why do I find this so hot?" Gritting my teeth slightly, I tried to hold in my emotions, reining in the thought of pulling her away to satisfy my rising lust... This dangerous mood that fell between us was only amplified due to what had happened earlier, when she watched me dance through the Ghoul Horde. She knew she was ying with fire, and yet the Demoness before me simply couldn''t help herself; if she pushed me anymore, she''d get burnt. Hearing someone cough behind her, I broke the gaze that we were sharing, instantly able to control my heat a little easier. Anput was smirking as she stared at us, while Leone was crimson, her fangs slipping from under her upper lip as she looked between Jahi and I. "Could you two maybe... save that forter? We are still in a monster infested cavern." Jahi released my shoulder and dragged in a sharp breath. When she lifted her hand, I held in a whine as her warmth and weight left my body, leaving my shoulder feeling colder than normal. Swallowing hard, I stared at Anput for a moment before nodding, turning back to the butchered corpse of the gray Coal Serpent. As I turned, I held out my hand and used my water magic to wash away the blood, cleaning myself off in moments. The body was slowly decaying away, and I set about to descaling it as much as I could, wanting to capitalize on this chance to earn some extra coin. While I worked on that, the others picked the remaining materials off the ground before joining me. When we finished, whaty before us was arge pile of meat and bone, which made Anput nce at Leone and ask "Can we grill that meat and eat it?" The Vampire nodded, lifting a chunk of the bloody Serpent meat and using her mes to roast it. The smell of cooked meat entered our noses, and Anput blushed as her stomach rumbled. "Leone, what does Magma Nettle and Obsidian Grass taste like?" She stared at me in confusion, prompting me to gesture at the meat. "If we''re all hungry, we mind as well use the meat now; Anput can make a pot, either of you can make a me, and I can add water; we can make an impromptu stew, or just grill it." Letting out an ''ah!'', Leone told me that the Obsidian Grass was bitter, but Magma Nettle had sharp, spicy vor, which made me grin. Getting everything set up, I sliced the bloody meat into cubes and rubbed in some crushed up Obsidian Grass, using it as seasoning. Leone said that, while it was bitter, it was incredibly useful as a mana regenerator, letting your Core absorb more of the worlds mana. I wasn''t going for vor as much as I wanted to get the benefits of each herb, so I set to making the stew. ncing over at the few bits of bone that was scattered around, I broke that open and added some marrow and dropped the bones inside, seeing if I could still get a healthy, medicinal broth that tasted good. Sounds impossible, but... Stirring the stew, I worked as quickly as I could while everyone else checked their equipment and spoils, cleaning what they needed while organizing the rest. It didn''t take too long, and eventually we had arge pot of stew, and after Anput created some bowls foreach of us, we started eating. A smug grin appeared on my face as I tasted the broth, enjoying the vor. The meat had a bitter tang, but it still tasted good; the Coal Serpent meat was slightly reminiscent of pork, and the heat that the Magma Nettle added was incredible. Each of us downed two bowls each, with Anput going for thirds and Jahi on sixths... Rolling my eyes at that, I wanted to remind them not to eat too much before remembering that, for some reason, neither of them ever actually had problems eatingrge meals before instantly going to harsh training. Maybe it was something that our mana counteracted? No idea, but I watched on with glee as everyone enjoyed our impromptu meal. When we finished up, I double checked my own equipment before scanning the ground around us again, making sure we were leaving nothing valuable. Now that we had the ribs of a Coal Serpent, there was only one more Request that we needed toplete; Leone''s. She was currently leading us deeper into the ins of Yama, her head constantly on a swivel as she took in the features of the in. ording to her books, the Obsidian Crabs lived more near the center of the ins, where avake resided. They would submerge themselves in the ck sand and prey on any of the unsuspecting Lava Goblins that made their way down to the shore, erupting from the ground and using theirrge ws to tear through the Goblins flesh and bone. Like always, we made sure to give wide berths to monsters and Adventurers alike here on the ins; most monsters remained close to their ''territories'', while the Adventurers would give us wary nces as we traveled. Some would tantly put their guard up as we ''passed'' by them, while others would start slowly moving in another direction, widening the distance between us. I was under no false impressions that they knew who we were, nor did I think they were truly scared of us; I had a good feeling that they were just being cautious, not wanting to have their kills stolen, materials stolen, or worse, engage in a fight that might lead to their own deaths. So we ignored them, just like they avoided us, creating a healthy bnce between all parties involved. It took a few more minutes, but we eventually managed to reach theke area, Anput and I noticing it first due to the hydrogen sulfide, making the air smell like rotten eggs. ncing at one another, we both scrunched our noses up before tying a loose cloth in front of our faces, blocking the worst of the smell. Momentster, we crested a small hill, which gave us a great view of the gigantic orangeke before us. When paired with the ck sands, stgmites and stctites, fire crystals embedded on the ceiling, and the sound of theva bubbling... It really did look like hell. ncing at one another, we all nodded before carefully walking down to the shoreline, Leone and I scanning the ck sands for our prey. Seeing a smooth, rounded ck mound a few feet away, I stopped and pointed at it, alerting Leone to its presence. When we found the first one, we found more quickly enough, multiple different Obsidian Crabs hiding in the shoreline of thisvake. Leone stepped closer to me, whispering "They have tough outer shells, much stronger than the Coal Serpents Scales, but they aren''t as lethal. So..." I nodded, staring at the mounds. My dagger could pierce through the Coal Serpents, sure, but I needed momentum, precision, power, and more to do so. Could I manage to get enough out of each aspect on a stronger shell? Pursing my lips, I steadily approached one, before raising the dagger and lunging down, grunting as my de just barely managed to stab through the Obsidian Crab''s shell. It squealed as a thick steel de entered its body, before falling silent as I twisted the dagger around. The others, hearing one squeal, erupted from the ground and turned towards us, only to squeal as well when Jahi''s Light Discs and Anput''s Lances flew forwards, picking them off one by one. It was no where near as difficult as the Coal Serpents, but each of us had strong piercing attacks, so that might be why... Crouching in front of my kill, I stared at it for a few moments before asking "So... am I just breaking the shell and harvesting the pieces?" Leone grabbed one as well, staring at it before shrugging. "I think that''d be easiest; unless we each want to lug a few back to the surface?" All of us shook our heads; each Crab was around three feet across, and when I tried lifting it... Well, they were heavy as well, so... No. Using the pommel of my dagger, I started cracking the shell and grabbingrge chunks of the chitinous shell, before asking "Are the ws or legs worth something?" Leone nodded, her small fiery de severing the Crabs legs as she tossed them to the side, creating a small pile. "Yup; market value is somewhere in the 1 Gold range per leg, and 2 Gold per w. They have some medicinal use, but they apparently just taste really good." Hearing that, Jahi looked over at me and asked "Kat, do you know how to prepare Crab Legs?" Anput also stared at me, her obsidian eyes boring a hole in me as she waited for an answer. Shrugging, I said "I should be able to..." Both women grinned at me, before returning to harvesting the Crabs with gusto. When we were about to finish up, having sorted everything into piles and divvying it up between us to distribute the load, we heard something above us. Turning, we all grabbed our weapons and stared at the ridge that we hade from. Chapter 197 196: Confrontation Unsheathing my dagger, I turned to stare up at the hill that we hade from, frowning as I saw a group of seven Adventurers staring down at us. In the lead was a female Orc, her face covered in small scars, while her armor was made from thick steel tes. Hanging on her back was a giant war axe, therge de gleaming in the light of theva like behind us. The other six were wearing a spattering of different armors; an Elf was d in tight leather, multiple daggers strapped to her lithe body, while a burly Boarkin rested his hands on his great sword, his steel chainmail dangling over his muscr body. One thing each of them had inmon was the dark green sash that hung on their waist, and I frowned as I saw the glimmering runes embroidered on the cloth. However, Jahi stepped forwards, a smirk on her face as she said "So you were warning me yourself huh, Orc?" My frown deepened as I nced at Jahi, before turning my eyes back to the Orc woman. For a moment, my desire to kill her where she stood red to an unhealthy degree. How did Jahi know this woman?! Why had I never seen her?! When did Jahi get the time to meet this female Orc?! Taking a deep breath, I mped down on those dangerous feelings, deciding to trust in Jahi; besides, her words, andck of using a name, meant she knew little about this woman. She was safe, for now. Hearing Jahi''s words, the others on the hill nced at the Orc, who was presumedly their leader. "I don''t know what yer talking about, Lady Asmodia; I''ve never personally met ye." Jahi chuckled, muttering "Sure, sure~!" Patting the dark green sash, the Orc spoke, her tone low and sharp. "Respectfully, Lady Asmodia, we would like to avoid trouble. Our... employer wants you to leave the Aurim Family alone, or else." Frowning, Jahi stared at the Orc before saying "Yeah, no. They''re too useful for the March to give up. So..." Patting her dual metal de, Jahi smirked at the group, her eyes flickering to that wondrous gold. "Leave me and my Family alone, or else." A Human female stepped forwards, a sneer on her weathered face as she spat "You''re just a damn brat, still wet behind the ears. You don''t know what''s good for you. Listen to what we tell you to do, ''Lady Asmodia''." Chuckling, Jahi started stretching her arms, rolling her shoulders as she gave the woman a cold smile. "You might want to watch your tone. Not only are you speaking to the future Marquess Asmodia, but you''re doing so in a such a disrespectful tone. Besides, there are only five- scratch that, six people who can tell me what to do, and you do not ce on that list." Unsheathing her short sword, the Human growled "Damn nobles. So arrogant, with not an inkling of what the real world is like! I''ll enjoy-" "Tris! Quiet!" The woman, Tris, flinched when the Orc growled at her. "Sorry, Lady Asmodia. Please forgive her... however, while her words may be crude, there is some truth to them. Ye know not what is happening behind the scenes, hidden behind the thick curtains of politics." Jahi nodded, her expression serious. "I know, but I also know that I cannot let the Aurim Family go; their expertise in potions is still second to none, if you ignore the Kameiel Family. Therefore..." Raising her de, the Orc frowned as she watched Jahi coat her sword in golden mana, the light shining brightly inside the dim cavern. "I suggest you turn around and walk away, lest you lose your lives. I''m not like the other nobility; I''ve been polished since birth, by a Knight of Cinder and Saintess. My pedigree is more than the rest of my generation, and you''d best not forget that." The Orc took a deep breath, her pale eyes conflicted. She likely knew that; if she was sent by a Noble House intent on capitalizing on the current politicalndscape shifts from the Sariel-Kameiel alliance, then she had to have done research on Jahi. Which would let her know that the woman standing before her could go toe to toe with an instructor at the Academy; not just a basic spar, but one of an entirely other level. Without the aid of her potent, insanely powerful mana. However, she likely was backed into a corner; being employed by a Noble House, and failing at your job, tended to have... Heavy consequences. Sighing, the Orc drew her axe and stared at Jahi, saying "I still have to try, Lady Asmodia. Besides..." I frowned again as brown mana coated her body gave off a strong feeling. As the others saw that, they activated their own Mana Cloaks, the assortment of reds, greens, browns, and blues casting shimmering glows on the ground. Leone stepped forwards, making all seven Adventurer''s look at her. "Before we... begin, you do realize that you are not only attempting to threaten a Marquess, specifically Marquess Asmodia, but you are also threatening us, her wives? Must we remind you of our backgrounds as well? The amount of hell that would rain down upon this Empire should any harm befall us..." The Elf gulped, ncing over at the Orc. "S-She''s got a point, Eusa. The Empress, the Sultana... those aren''t small Nobles; weak Nobles..." That made Tris scoff, saying "Who fucking cares; as long as we don''t kill ''em, we''ll be fine." Which made me raise my brow; we had seen their faces, so should they touch a hair on Leone''s head, bounties with some of thergest rewards ever seen would be stered around the Empire. And yet... The Orc, Eusa, sighed. "Don''t kill any of them. Just..." Hefting her axe, she narrowed her eyes as she stared at Jahi, growling "Scare ''em a bit." Saying so, she charged forwards, her feet mming into the ground and causing tremors with each step. Raising my hand, I traced out the runes for a spell, only to roll to the side as an arrow made from wind flew past my face. Tracing the path of it, I saw the Elf raising her hand as well, a green spell circle glowing in front go her palm. She and a Lizardkin stood on the hill, casting spells, while the remaining five charged down the slope, towards us. Glowering at her, I avoided another wind arrow and flicked my hand towards her, sending my own wind arrow towards her. She dodged it, but that moment allowed me to erect a giant wall of ice between us and them, giving us some much needed time. ncing at one another, Jahi, Anput and I formed a wedge, the Demoness at the ''tip'', forming a protective cordon around Leone, who was rapidly tracing runes into the air. With such arge pool of fire mana behind her... I held in a chuckle, wondering what these Adventurers would have to counter Leone. However, my head snapped back towards the ice wall, which cracked as something mmed into it. Keeping my dagger in my hand, I raised both palms and poured mana into the wall, repairing it as quickly as I could. However, I was barely able to keep it at the same state it was at now, as more and more attacks pounded into the thick ice wall, doing more damage than I could repair. Using these precious moments, Jahi''s hands moved in a blur, and a dome of golden light appeared around us, just in time to block a barrage of wind arrows that mmed into the golden barrier. As for Anput, she wasyering the ck sand before us with small, sharp metal spikes, preparing to use them against our attackers. Meanwhile, the ritual circle around Leone only grew brighter, the orange light turning harsh as she funneled more mana into it. They might have restrictions about killing us, but... We have no such binds, so when they came charging at us... Lethal force would be used. --- I wonder who they might work for~? --- Chapter 198 197: Prey Continuing to pour my mana into the wall of ice, I bought precious seconds for each of the girls to further prepare for the oing fight. Leone needed the time more than the rest of us, as her spell wasplex and lengthy, but... When she finally activated it, the spell would be responsible for our easy victory, so we needed to guarantee her safety. As for the other two, after erecting the giant barrier, Jahi shrouded each of us in her golden light, while Anput summoned ance, holding it in her left hand. When my mana reached two thirds remaining, I said "Wallsing down..." Lowering my palms, I started channeling a second spell. "Now!" With a loud crack, the ice wall in front of us shattered, slivers and chunks of crystalline ice erupting towards us as the five Adventurers charged towards us, Eusa the Orc in the lead. The Human, Tris, continued forwards, uncaring of the giant golden dome, while Euse just narrowed her eyes, pouring more mana into her arms. However, the other three; the Boarkin man, the Harpy woman, and the Catkin man all faltered, their eyes going wide as they took in the sight. My palms glowed an ethereal, ghostly blue, and thin sheets of frost started to coat my body as the temperature around me plummeted. Jahi was almost like a beacon, the light coating her body shimmering and ring as she lowered her stance, herrge de prepared to meet the Adventurer''s charge. Anput''s forearms were silvery, and hernce was reshaping itself, changing from just a straight, basic spear shape towards a poleax, disying her own advanced magic. Meanwhile, a giant ritual circle rotated behind us, slivers of red and orange mana flowing from thevake up into the spell. The sight must have been harrowing to see, and yet... They continued to advance. Holding back a grin, I asked "Are we allowed to kill?" Jahi gave a nod, and I held back a shiver, my eyes flickering over to the Human woman. Since I no longer needed to worry about the Elf and Lizardkin on the ridge, my fingers traced out rune after rune as Iyered various spells on myself. My dagger was coated in ice and surrounded by a sharp gale, enhancing the damage I would deal as well as it''s piercing ability. My arms and legs were shrouded in that same gale, while a thinyer of water coated my entire body, granting me more defense underneath Jahi''s light. Finally, before I prepared to meet their charge, I created an opening volley of icicles, hurtling them towards the Adventurer''s as they tried to traverse the spikeden earth. Dozens of jagged spears of ice flew towards the advancing group, and some were shot down by the two on the ridge, but the ones that weren''t... Watching as the Catkin blocked one icicle with his shield, I chuckled as the ice exploded, shrouding him in a haze of freezing air. The impact point on his shield instantly froze over, slowly creeping over the shield towards his arm. As for the shards themselves, they flew back towards his body, nging against his armor, some even piercing into his flesh. He screamed in agony as the ice started to freeze his flesh, making him stumble backwards. ncing back, Tris clicked her tongue before turning to me, a snarl on her lips. "Damn bitch! The hell did you do to Nik?!" She glided over the spikes, her green mana coated body ignoring the stabbing spikes as they nced off her armor. Eusa gave the woman a nce before swinging her axe down towards Jahi, while the Boarkin zeroed in on Anput. The Harpy nced around before joining Tris, attempting to overwhelm me. Raising her short sword, she lunged towards me, a gleam in her eyes. "Such a weak dog, and yet you try to bare your fangs at your betters!" Frowning, I parried her sword and pivoted away from the Harpy''s sickle, flicking my free hand towards her. From a patch of frost below us, a bullet of ice shot towards the Harpy, who just barely dodged the attack. Tris swung her de back towards me again, only to grunt as I blocked her strike, redirecting it towards the ground. Since the area around me was coated in frost, I tried to encase her de in ice to slow her down, but her wind mana swirled harder around her body, making me frown. Sending a kick towards the Harpy, I knocked her away before parrying another blow from Tris, lunging forwards to press my attack. mming my fist into her side, she coughed as she stumbled backwards, only to grunt as I kicked her knee, causing her to fall to the ground. Before I could finish her off, the Harpy returned, her sickle slicing through the air towards my neck. Ducking under it, I summoned a dagger made from ice in my free hand and shed outwards, the ice de cutting through her mana and chainmail, making her scream as the de dug deep into her stomach. "Qia! Damnit!" The Harpy staggered back and dropped her sickle, using both her hands to try and close the wound. Her fire mana red, and she screamed again as she tried to counteract my ice, but... Grinning, I slipped past Tris'' sh and appeared in front of the Harpy,ncing my ice dagger deeper into her midriff. The woman''s pale crimson eyes met mine, and I grinned up at her as fear entered those orbs, making me shiver. Twisting the de, I released it and spun behind the Harpy, giggling as Tris'' next strike cut into Qia''s chest. The Human woman widened her eyes, guilt and anguish taking over as she realized what she had done. Clenching my bloody hand, I made the dagger explode in Qia''s stomach, the Harpy stiffening as dozens, of not hundreds of shards of ice wriggled around in her torso, before she slumped forwards. Her tanned skin was turning slightly blue, and patches of frost coated her body. Tris cried out, no words forming as she let out a sound of raw hate. Grinning at her, I spoke, my sing song voice entering her ears. "This weak dog still has sharp fangs~! Sharp enough to hunt a pathetic bird~!" Slipping under her next stab, I mmed my palm into her stomach again, deciding to toy with my prey. As she stumbled back, coughing, I nced over towards the others. The barrier was still up, much to the Elf and Lizardkin''s anguish, and they were hurling spell after spell at it, hoping to break through it. Anput was shing against the Boarkin still, but therge man was covered in cuts. The Jackalkin had sheathed her sword and was wielding a giant scythe, and she nodded as she swung it around, forcing the Boarkin back. She looked more like she was sparring than fighting in a life or death battle. As for Jahi, she tossed the limp body of the Catkin towards Eusa, the mans neck at an odd angle as he fell to the ground beside her. ring at Jahi with hatred, she renewed her attack, and I watched as the Demoness grunted under her powerful swings. Before I could see where that would go, I heard Tris scream again, her expression twisted with remorse and hatred as she charged at me. "You bitch!" Raising her de, she tried to m it down towards my head, only to grunt as my foot collided with her stomach. Feeling the crunch of one of her ribs, I stared at the woman as she whimpered, holding her side as she fell backwards. "I thought this would be-" Crouching in front of her, I grinned as I encased her limbs in ice. "More of a challenge. And yet, you''re all weak. So pathetically weak." Saying so, I nced over at the dead corpse of Qia, adding "The bird even more so; I mean, even with a two on one advantage, she died after just a few exchanges!" Seeing Tris'' face twist in rage, I giggled as she roared "Don''t you dare mock her, bitch!" Raising my dagger, I let the de dig into her cheek as I said "I do believe that is a derogatory term, used for someone weaker, no? And yet, here you are, below me, chained." ? Dragging the de across her face, I grinned as she writhed, making the cut jagged and uneven. Clicking my tongue, I stood up and nced at the two on the ridge, who were staring down at the battle with horror. "Leone, are you almost done~? If not, can I kill those two~?" Peeking over my shoulder, I saw the Vampire sigh, the ritual circleplete. "Really Kat? I go through all this work, and you want to leave me with nothing? Of course I want them." Chuckling, I nodded as I returned to Tris, the woman staring at Leone in horror. "Did it finally settle in? The fact that you all should have listened to my Mistress when she gave you a way out?" Dropping all my spells, I left her chained up before ncing over at Jahi. Grabbing Tris'' chin, I wrenched her head towards the Demoness and Orc, saying "She gave you ample warning too; did you think a Knight of Cinder and Saintess would let their child be weak? Of course not; especially not the Asmodia Family, who protects this Empire from the Labyrinthian." Next, I turned the woman''s head towards Anput, who was now wielding a Bo Staff. "As for her, she was raised by the Sultana, someone who is slightly weaker than the Empress. You should know, if you did any research on her, that she was trained to be the Sultanate''s next Sword, the woman who would be an army of one, meant to deter the other nations from even ncing at the Sultanate." Finally, I made her stare at Leone, who was finishing her spell. "Last, but not least, you have the Empress'' daughter. That alone should have made you turn around, to pray she didn''t report you for just verbal threats. And yet, you ignored that. Someone born from that woman''s seed will never be weak, not when her own harem are among the strongest women to have ever lived. That pedigree rivals my Mistress''s..." I made her watch as Leone sent to small orbs hurtling towards the Elf and Lizardkin, who were frozen with fear as they approached. Colliding with their chests, I chuckled as the orb entered their bodies, making the two start patting their chests, wondering what had just happened. However, that patting turned to pounding and wing, their skin glowing red as a me erupted inside of them. Screaming in pure agony, they copsed, fire leaking from their orifices. Tris trembled in my hands, and I turned her back towards me. Leaning forwards, I grinned at her as I whispered "Finally, you didn''t dig too deeply on me; Unlike them, I won''t grant you a quick death. You should have followed us, just once, inside these caverns. You see..." Taking my dagger, I released her chin and moved towards her hand, raising the de. "I just LOVE~ the way screams sound~!" And with that, my de fell down, removing a finger from her hand. As I set to work, my grin grew twisted as her cacophony of anguished, pained screams entered my ears, only for her eyes to shine with fear as I healed her back up. There was no method to my madness, just pure, unadulterated sadism, targeting what I thought would hurt the most. And so, she screamed. Chapter 199 198: Interrogation In the midst of my enjoyable, grin inducing work, Jahi tossed the Orc beside me, saying "When you''re done... having fun with the Human, start extracting some information from her and Eusa here, please." Nodding, I grinned down at the ck face of Tris, tears streaming from her eyes. The woman was sobbing beneath me, her eyes filled with regret and hate as she red up at me. There wasn''t a scratch on her body, which made the scene all the more confusing and worrying for the Orc. Tutting my tongue, I created a band of ice over Eusa''s eyes and ears, removing her senses for the time being. I didn''t want to spoil the fun, after all. It had been a few minutes of Tris and I getting to know one another, so I decided that I should mix business and pleasure. Taking the dagger, I watched as her crimson blood froze on the steel de, dropping down to the ground as small, ky crystals. Lifting the de to her torso, I grinned at her as I asked "Where haven''t I cut yet? I lost track." Shivering, Tris red at me as she spat "G-Go fuck yourself, mutt!" My grin faltered for a moment, before it returned with more intensity. "You still have some will, some defiance left in that traitorous heart of yours~? Need I remind you that it wasn''t me who killed that pathetic bird, but you?" She growled at me, only to cry out as I dug my de into her flesh. Starting from just below her corbone, I dragged the de down towards her hip, slicing cleanly through her flesh. Tris cried out in pain as I cut into her body, before gasping as I let my frost seep into the wound, chilling her insides. The woman writhed in agony as my mana burrowed into her body, dropping her bodies temperature. "Argh! G-G-Go t-to h-hell, MUTT!" Nodding, I let my mana continue to wriggle around her chest as I brought my dagger up to her face, slipping it into her mouth. Pressing it against the edge of her lip, I grinned as I cut through her cheek, making her scream. Tilting the de upwards, I carved away at her flesh before mirroring it on the other side, creating a twisted, bloody smile. Using my Water Magic, I let the flesh reknit itself just barely, leaving her with puffy scar tissue. Chuckling to myself, I said "Finally feeling a little better, hm~? That''s a nice smile you got there~!" Tris red at me, tears pouring from her eyes as I pulsed my mana inside her. "Now, who do you work for, hm? Who paid for you to do this?" Gritting her teeth, she fought past a sob as she spat "Your whore of a mother!" Raising a brow, I retracted my mana from her body, making her furrow her brow. "Just saying, I don''t care for insults, but..." Grabbing her left arm, I raised it up and- Tris screamed. Her scream echoed around the cavern, and I could see Leone flinch. I had snapped her arm in two, before grabbing the broken bone and twisting it some more, shattering the bone entirely. Clenching my fist on her left arm, I said "They do still have consequences." With that, I granted her relief... Kind of. Raising my de, I sliced the de through her arm, cleanly severing the limb at the shoulder. She gasped, her eyes turning towards her mangled limb that dropped to the ground beside her. Before she couldprehend what had happened, I healed the bleeding stump, stopping any more of that wonderful liquid from leaving her body. Tha pain assaulted her momentster, and she fell forwards, gasping and sobbing. Grabbing her by the hair, I lifted her back up and said "Who is paying you?" She remained silent, before her eyes widened as I lifted her arm, letting her see me heal it, the bone mending together in mere moments. "If you tell me, without lying, I''ll reattach your arm." Blinking, she stared at the limb before shaking her head. "Y-You... you''ll still kill me... even if... even if I speak..." I chuckled at that, nodding. "That''s true. But, that''s a risk you need to take. Why bother enduring more torture for an employer who isn''t here? Do they have your child, lover, family under lock and key?" Tris gulped, shaking her head. "No? Then you work for coin; why risk your life for something like that, hmm? Why not let us get revenge for you on the people who sent you to your deaths?" Gulping again, she stared at her severed arm before nodding. "F-Fine... I''ll talk... J-Just... no more..." I gave her a warm smile and ced her arm back against its socket, healing her. She gasped as feeling returned to her arm, and she stared in wonder at her moving fingers. "T-This is a-advanced magic! H-How can a maid..?!" Smirking at her, I said "I did tell you that you should have done your research, no? Now, speak." Nodding, Tris reached for her green sash, handing it to me. "We work for... the Ik Family... they wanted to force the Aurim Family into a corner and offer them a way out... to get ess to their potions and techniques. But..." I smirked down at her, saying "I know; the Ik''s have ties to the Sariel''s, so... this was little more than that bitch being even more annoying." Tris pursed her lips, falling silent. "Well..." cing a helmet of ice over her head, I said "I just need to double check with Eusa here~!" Turning towards the Orc, I melted the ice I had ced on her earlier and leaned forwards. "So, here''s the thing... Tris here, she spoke a little. Now, we can avoid me picking up this dagger and enjoying myself..." Showing her the blood stained dagger, I grinned at her as I continued on. "Or you can just talk, like her! Which, while boring, is much easier." Gesturing at her, I waited, watching as her eyes moved towards the silent Tris. "Prove that she spoke." Hearing her gruff voice, I grinned and said "Ik Family, who work for the Sariel''s." The Orc sighed and nodded. "Fine..." Looking towards Jahi, Eusa asked "May I request a quick death? Otherwise, I don''t talk." The Demoness nodded, saying "I swear it." Sighing again, Eusa nced down at the ground before she started speaking, her resigned tone entering our ears. "Initially, the Ik''s were a neutral Family, but with the changingndscape, they threw their lots in with the Sariel''s, but not willingly. Their heir is being ''tutored'' by the Sariel''s, and well... Anyways, they wanted us to try and... scare you out of partnering with the Aurim''s, so that yer Family would be weaker in the future. That was all we were told to do, and since we''ve been contracted and bound to them for a year, we had to. If this was before the Sariel-Kameiel alliance, we wouldn''t have even touched this job, cause I knew of ye. But... well, we can''t. Otherwise, our lives are forfeit. Still are, it seems..." She gave a wry chuckle at that, making Jahi nod. "Thanks... Well..." I sighed as Eusa''s and Tris''s heads fell to the side, leaving headless corpses kneeling in front of me. Pouting back at Jahi, she shook her head as she said "We need to get home. I need to write a few more letters to Mother, and you two should as well... At the very least, we can remove the Ik''s from the equation, maybe absorb them in the meantime. Come on." Giving her a nod, I nced at the bodies before using my Wind Magic to send them into thevake, saying "No need to leave evidence..." With that, the Requests were on the back of our minds as we started our journey out of the cavern, traveling back home. We had preparations to make... Chapter 200 199: A New Week --- So, technically this is Chapter 200, but it actually isn''t; hold the apuse for tomorrow everyone~! In celebration of the REAL 200 Milestone, tomorrow will be 2 lemons, so yeah... Just going to do some basic ''clean up'' of things for this chapter; turning in the Requests, Jahi sending out the letters to the Marquess, Empress, and Sultana, and us working towards the next ''break day'' in the story, where smut happens~ --- Exiting the Caverns, we all nced down at our dirtied armor, bulging packs, and tired expressions. While not the most demanding trip into the Caverns we have had, it was more mentally exhausting than we had thought going in. Learning that Jillian was already setting up some moves against us, albeit the tiniest of ripples as she sent a small pebble to test the waters, was still worrying. This newest revtion would require a lot of nning, from both us and our parents. Because, with that, this was no longer the prelude. We were in Act 1 of the power struggle that the Sariel-Kameiel''s wanted to initiate. While the two heirs, Jillian and A, might have a personal vendetta against Jahi and us, their parents needed to know that it was happening; there was no way tworge Families were just teaming together for no reason, especially when one was adamantly neutral for thest few decades. That meant that the Sariel Duchy and Kameiel Territory wanted to remove, or weaken, the Asmodia''s, for one reason or another. The current Heads of both Families weren''t going to take action against us, letting their Heirs fight amongst themselves while they fought the real battle. After all, they would be going against the Marquess and Countess, both of whom have arge importance in this Empire. They''ll need somethingrge to manage to not only knock them off from their current pedestal, but also to rece them; the Empress wouldn''t sit still and let her Empire''s border go unguarded due to a Families'' petnce. So, this was the start of somethingrger. However, before Jahi could make her way to the cottage, I dragged everyone inside the Guild Hall, turning in our Requests first. The purpose was two-fold; I wanted to earn money, and I needed the experience. The sooner I leveled up my system and... ''evolved'' it, the stronger I''ll be, and the more I can protect and support my lovers. Of course, I still knew that we needed to get home quick, so as much as I hated loosing out on all the extra coin, I sold everything at base price, which had the receptionist frowning slightly. Either way, we left with well over 40 Gold,ing from therge amounts of bones, scales, and drops from the few hordes we had wiped out. Also, each of us kept the money we made from our own Requests, but the rest would be split like before; 50% for the family, 15% for Anput and Leone, and 10% for both Jahi and I. However, now that I had the banknote in hand, we made our way to the cottage, since we could turn the banknote in at any time. Jahi instantly made her way to our room, sitting down to write letters for the Marquess, while Leone and Anput did the same for their parents, letting them know what had happened today and what they believed would happen in the future. Meanwhile I was in the kitchen, preparing a hearty meal of crabmeat soup, deciding to reward my girls for a hard days work. I would write my own little note to be given to my Motherter; currently, I needed to worry about making sure my girls were taken care of before that. When dinner finally rolled around, each stumbled from their rooms and sat down, digging into the meal with gusto. Each was likely thinking of the various things that could potentially happen now that Jillian had made the first move... Of course, I was as well, but my thoughts were vastly different then theirs. For instance, how high did I need to raise my [Stealth] skill in order for me to infiltrate the Sariel House and slit Jillian''s throat? Would my current strenght be enough to wring her neck out before she could make too much of a fuss? Considering how much I despised dealing with politics, I was looking at everything from a basic, uplicated point of view, weighing my options before me. However, each was tossed aside, left to ''rot'' as the ideas were considered individually, my mind finding too many holes and nk areas for me to truly consider them. So, I sat at the table and made sure each girl got enough to eat, before offering them various sides as well. For Leone, her bowl wasden with blood, which she gulped down swiftly before turning her pte back to normal food, while the others simply scarfed down more. As for me, I was fine after a bowl and some slices of bread, using the warm loaf to sop up the remaining soup. When that was over, I moved to clean everything off, listening on as Jahi pounced on Leone, taking the Vampire away quickly. Anput followed behind them momentster, her eyes on me as she watched me ignore what was happening, focusing on my cleaning. I would join themter, of course, but for now... [Level 24 - 1,009,463 / 1,121,931] [You are inching ever closer, Host. To be honest...] The systems ''voice'' grew quiet, and it took on an embarrassed tone as it continued. [I''ve been... limiting the XP gained; I can feel the changes happening in the background, so I want to give that some more time before undergoing the full evolution... Sorry] Controlling the water inside the bowl, I shook my head. ''It''s fine; I''m not truly in a rush. Unless you n on keeping this evolution from happening in multiple weeks, I''ll be fine. Besides, I''d rather give you the time you need...'' I could feel a warm pulse from the system, before both of us fell silent, thinking of the future. When I finished up, I entered the bedroom and allowed myself to be dragged onto the bed, offering more services to my girls in an attempted to distract both myself and them from the world outside. That was how our days slowly passed by as well; going to the Academy, we all gave Jillian looks, the Elf not looking too pleased as she saw Jahi using the green sash as a cleaning cloth. As for A, she was the same as before, her smirk now being directed at Leone and I. Jillian and A made sure to only interact with us from afar, not attempting to spar against us when we entered Combat ss. The days grew boring and monotonous for me, as I kept my focus more on our surroundings than I did the ss, taking notes of each student. I wanted to dig out any information I could, to try and find who was and wasn''t on our side, but the results made me annoyed. Nothing. There was fear and wariness directed at us from most, and the ones who held nothing were people I already knew to like us, or hate us. Of course, there was Marco Sizali, who was still an enigma, but beside him, Countess Aurim and Greselda were... neutral to us, while Draka and her group had also taken a step back, still friendly but not like before, letting the rest of the Nobles know that they weren''t ''friends'' with us. Which, honestly, made me more angry at Jillian and A. It was so stupid, but until this situation was taken care of, there was nothing we could do. Sadly. ~~~ Jahi PoV Sighing, I nced at the pocket watch in my hand, wanting this ss to be over. We had finally reached our break day again, and I had something that I... Wanted to see. I had managed to convince Leone and Anput into something, and I was curious about what would happen. Kat knew as well, but the Dogkin didn''t seem particrly thrilled or against what would take ce tonight, seemingly neutral to it. It was something that I was curious about seeing unfold, and the two girls didn''t seem against it either; in fact, Leone seemed to want to try it, while Anput was fine either way. So, I watched as Leone went through the basics again with Kat, the two voluptuous women sparring in slow movements as the Dogkin guided the Vampire. Anput and I were almost allowed to treat this as a free period, since none of the Professors wanted to spar with us on the regr, and we weren''t allowed to bully the weak. As for sparring one another, when I had gotten a little serious with Anput, we had started treating the entire field as the allotted ground for our spar, which interrupted others, so that wasn''t allowed either. Which left us bored, leaning against the wall. Anput had quickly found that she was better off using the time practicing her basics in magic, and I was usually inclined to do the same, but today I was rather excited, so... Sighing, I watched as the hands on the clock slowly reached the time I was waiting for, prompting me to grab my three women and lead them away. I needed the distraction, the escape. --- Any ideas on the System and it''s ''new'' stuff is much appreciated; still a loose idea in my head lol, and that happens soon~! --- Chapter 201 200: Switching It Up* --- NOW we''re at the big 200~! Woohoo~! Definitely faster getting to 200 than it was getting to 100... As of writing this chapter, we have: 1.3Mil views, 4.4K Collections, and 331K words, which is probably 250K worth of story; lots of these author notes, after all~ Anyways, that''s where we''re at, and I can''t wait to continue on~! --- Dragging my women back home with me, I nced down at Leone and Anput, smirking. I really was curious to see them in action tonight; while they were MINE, I was curious on how I would feel seeing them together, while Kat and I watched on. There was no need for me to restrict my women, nor to take away some of their freedom, so if they wanted to try and experiment with one another, so be it. Besides, I knew I had nothing to worry about; both were... ''addicted'' to me, with Anput constantly wanting to have me dominate her while Leone was almost the same, but she also loved the taste of my blood. Both needed something only I could give them, and I was gleeful to know that I had wormed my way so deep into their hearts, to the point that they would never leave me. As for Kat, the Dogkin was surprisingly eager to please... If you had boundless stamina. Some nights I found myself pushing her towards one of the others rooms just so I could rest, and sometimes she sent me away, so it seems we both have simr lusts. Entering the cottage, I led them inside my room and watched as they all stared at me, my clothes already on the floor. "What?" ncing between them, I shrugged and climbed onto the bed, leaning against the headboard. Kat rolled her eyes and stepped, crawling over to me. Nuzzling into my arms, she joined me as I watched the other two nce at one another before disrobing, letting their clothes drop to the floor. Groping Kat''srge breast, I alternated my gaze between Anput and Leone, admiring the differences between them. Anput''s lithe body had grown more muscr during her stay here, resulting in her abs growing more pronounced, while her arms and legs looked more chiseled than before. Her breasts were still on the petite side, but they were there nheless, and her dark hair and furplimented her olive skin well. Looking lower, I saw her cock slide out of its pouch and rear its head, the sticky red flesh pulsing as her knot showed itself. As for Leone, she was theplete opposite of Anput. Her pale skin almost shimmered in the light of the fire crystals, while her ashen gray hair contrasted her white skin. Lowering my eyes, I licked my lips as I saw the tworge mounds that adorned her chest, before tracing the curve into her waist and then back out into her wide hips. Both were clean shaven down below, and her plump balls and long shaft hid those equally plump lower lips; the entrance to her garden. Anput and Leone were both incredibly tight, and I loved how they both felt; Anput reacted more with her muscles than Leone, while Leone was softer and ''sang'' out more than Anput. Feeling something slide over my thighs andnd on my shaft, I nced down to see Kat stroking me, her eyes fixed on the two women before us. Smirking at that, I took in her side profile for a few more moments, my heart warming at the sight. Her droopy amber eyes were alight with excitement, and her features were seductive in the low light. Giving her breast another squeeze, I returned to the two women before me, watching as they hesitantly embraced. Anput, likely upon feeling Leone''s body on hers, looked up towards the slightly taller woman and pressed her lips against hers. Leone leaned down into the kiss, only to yelp as Anput dropped both of her hands to the Vampire''s ass. Giving the smirking Jackalkin a re, Leone moaned when Anput started massaging her cheeks and deepened the kiss. Watching as Leone slowly turned to putty in Anput''s hands, I nced down at Kat, who was smirking as well. Anput attempted to press the attack, sending her tongue further into the Vampires mouth, but she flinched as Leone pushed her down and nipped on her tongue, forcing her back. When Leone had the chance, she bit Anput''s lip with her fangs and started kissing the Jackalkin harder, her cheeks reddening as she got her taste of blood. Anput tried to wriggle out from Leone''s embrace, but... I chuckled, making the Jackalkin nce over at me. Shaking my head, I watched on in mirth as Anput was slowly devoured, her moans bing more frequent. When Leone got that initial taste of blood, she did everything she could to get her fill, and that came with an almost abnormal boost of strenght to help her. Which, she was currently using to keep the Jackalkin pinned. Anput slowly grew more heated as she was dominated, and I could almost see the switch getting flipped in her mind as her breathing grew more ragged. Kat and I watched for a few more moments, enjoying the way they both eased into their roles for the uing ''show''. Getting enough blood from Anput, Leone pulled away and licked her lips, her crimson eyes boring down into Anput''s obsidian orbs. The Jackalkin yelped as Leone flipped her around, the Vampire intent on ''subduing'' the woman in front of her. Anput''s eyes widened as she was pushed into the bed, her hips raised as Leoneid her cock on the woman''s rear. Seeing her tail swishing and ears twitching, Kat and I smirked at her as Anput started panting, her cheeks flushed. Lifting the Jackalkin''s tail, Leone rubbed her tip against Anput''s cunt, making her moan before blushing, her eyes flitting away from us. Chuckling, I narrowed my eyes as Kat''s hand sped up, my Dogkin maid leaning further into my body as she stared down at Anput''s embarrassed face. Leone grunted as she slid herself inside, and I grinned at the shock on Anput''s face as she was slowly split by Leone''s girth. Grabbing Anput''s waist, Leone grunted again as she started gently rocking her hips forwards, meeting Anput''s own thrusts. For a few moments, Leone allowed Anput to get used to her size, the Vampire massaging the base of the Jackalkin''s tail as she pushed herself deep into Anput''s womb. Listening to my puppy moaning in front of me, I nced down at Kat and grinned. Pushing her down as well, I copied the position that Leone put Anput in, making the two Beastkin women stare at one another. However, unlike Leone, I mmed myself into my puppy without any hesitation, grunting as I felt her foldse to life as I entered her womb. Biting into the sheet, Kat moaned as I started mming my hips forwards, my thighs pping against her ass. Relishing the sight of her soft body rippling as I took her, I grabbed her arms and pulled back, forcing her up. Anput''s eyes widened as she got to watch Kat''s breasts bounce, the Dogkin moaning with every deep thrust into her womb. Smirking at that, I continued hammering away at my wife, delivering her the agonizing pleasure she oh so desired with each thrust. While I forced Kat up, Leone pushed Anput down,ying on top of the Jackalkin and humping her supple ass, pinning her underneath her. Reaching forwards, Leone started kissing Kat, and I chuckled as my maid tightened up, her cunt writhing around my shaft as she started making out with our Vampire. Keeping my rhythm, I swiftly lost myself to the moaning woman before me, while Leone sealed her lips. Anput panted as she was used, the Jackalkin reveling in her submissive position. We indulged in our pleasure, uncaring of our partners, using them as we pleased; and considering how tight they were getting, I didn''t even think about changing what I was doing. The Vampire finished before me; releasing Kat, she buried her fangs into Anput''s neck and pushed herself as deep into the Jackalkin as she could, before her whole body trembled. Her partner whimpered as her womb was filled and blood drained, but the flushed cheeks of my puppy told me that she was enjoying that feeling. When she finished up, Leone pulled out and copsed backwards, staring at Anput''s wagging tail and gaping pussy, a waterfall of semen pouring from her hole. As for me, I buried myself into Kat''s womb momentster, grunting as the visual stimtion only amplified my pleasure. Blinking a few times, I sprayed my cum deep inside Kat, making the voluptuous woman pant as she felt my warmth permeate her deepest parts. Releasing her arms, I watched as she fell besides Anput, the two Beastkin panting with flushed cheeks after receiving their partners loads. Thinking that, I grinned at Leone, gesturing for her toe to me. The Vampire crawled over, her red cheeks stoking the me of lust inside me again. Grabbing her ass, I stared down at her and asked "How''d it feel?" I was curious, but I also wanted an excuse to continue groping her soft rear, my fingers finding their way to her wet slit. Moaning gently, she stared down at my creamy cock and gulped. "I-It was good... S-She''s a-able to ah~ tighten up s-so much~" I nodded, my fingers prodding deeper into her cunt. "Yes, she''s quite skilled at that... what about her blood?" With my other hand, I pulled her head down towards my cock, smirking at her as she startedpping up my cum. "T-Tasted... good... like o-oranges..." Nodding again, I lifted her head slightly before piercing into her throat, grunting at the familiar feeling. Leaving my hand on her head, I let her go at her own pace, watching as the other two started to stir again,ing off their orgasmic highs. The night had only begun, and while we might not all vent inside one person, I wanted to drown myself in all three of my women, to hold them all at once and mark each as my own. I needed an escape for now, and each provided something that the others couldn''t... Chapter 202 201: Indulgence* Leaving my hand on Leone''s head, I groaned as she started cleaning off my shaft, her tongue wiping off everyst drop of semen that clung to it. The two Beastkin girls were finally stirring, and I grinned as they slowly mbered to their knees, both panting as they nced at one another. Kat''s cunt was twitching with need, and I chuckled as I watched her slip a finger inside to keep my seed inside. As for Anput, she was staring at Leone, the Vampire gagging as she forced my cock into her throat. The Jackalkin crawled over to me, her face flushing more as her nose brushed against my balls, making me groan again. "This again..." My voice was low and husky, and I groaned more as Kat joined in her nose twitching as she sniffed my cock. Spreading my legs some more, I gave each room as they nuzzled into my cock and balls, the two Beastkin shivering as my scent entered their noses. Leaning against the headboard, I had to debate whether or not I wanted to watch what was happening anymore; the stimtion of three beautiful women servicing you wasn''t easy to resist, especially- I nced down as I felt Kat climb up my body, herrge breasts pressing into mine as she embraced me. Anput startedpping at my balls, letting Leone continue to blow me. My lusty maid whined with want as she pouted up at me, her amber eyes hazy as she stared into my eyes. "Ah, for fucks sake..." How was I to resist that?! My hand slid down to her plump ass, pulling her further up towards me. With my other hand, I tilted her head back and mmed my lips against hers, before sliding that hand to the back of her head, stroking her fluffy ears as I started exploring her mouth again. Slipping a finger into her ass, I groaned as she started pushing her body even more against mine, her soft breasts squashed against mine. With a buxom Dogkin in my arms, her body pressed against mine as I made out with her, while two other beautiful women sucked on my cock and balls, of course I would cum soon; the stimtion from each was mind numbing, and the two below had built up arge amount of experience during our time together, so... Moaning into my maids mouth, I felt my balls clench inside one of my wives mouths while the other gulped down my seed, eagerly draining my cock. The bliss washed over me during that orgasm, Anput''s skilled tongue drawing more out from my balls while Leone sucked out everst drop, cleaning me out. As for Kat... Pushing my fingers deeper, I eagerly devoured her lips, enjoying her tart taste on my tongue, which paired nicely with her desperation as she dropped her ample ass down onto my hand, riding my fingers before- Feeling her body tremble against mine, I grinned as she came onto my leg, her cunt leaking her juices as her eyes rolled around in that pretty head of hers. Looking past the Dogkin in my arms, I saw Anput''s face flush more as her mate''s scent entered her nose, and I knew the Jackalkin had to be in a deep heat; she had been pleasured only as a female, so... ncing further down, I chuckled as I watched her start humping the sheets, attempting to relieve the heat that permeated her lithe body. While Kat remained locked against my lips, I stared down at Leone,municating with my eyes. The Vampire blushed as she nced at the Jackalkin, before her eyes also went towards Anput''s bucking hips. Cleaning off her white lips, Leone pulled herself off my shaft and gulped down the remnants of my load, before she tentatively poked Anput. The Vampire flinched as the Jackalkin turned towards her, her obsidian eyes shining with lust. "A-Anput..." Laying on her back, Leone opened her legs and revealed her drenched pussy, the Jackalkin''s nose twitching as she crawled towards her. Leone gasped when she saw Anput''s erection, making me chuckle. I had been surprised the first time I''d seen it as well, but... Watching as Anput slithered toy on top of Leone, her nose still twitching cutely as she sniffed Leone''s curvy body. Grinding herself against Leone, Anput whined slightly before shivering as Leone guided her cock into her cunt, both of them moaning as Anput slipped fully inside. Unlike Leone, Anput started at full rhythm, mming her hips into the Vampire''s as she attempted to douse her heat, her hands pinning Leone''s to the bed. Turning away from them for a moment, I grabbed Kat and lifted her fully onto myp, smirking at her as she dropped her hips onto mine, her tail swishing as I entered her. Her lips never left mine, and I dug both my hands into her plump rear, stroking her cheeks and tail before returning to watching my ''show'', reveling in the face Leone made. She was panting as Anput gouged her out with that heated cock, the Jackalkin swinging her hips like a beast in hea- Panting above the Vampire, Anput''s tongue lolled from the side of her lips, her eyes hazy as she used the woman for her own pleasure. With Anput''s strenght being amplified by her desire, the Vampire could only surrender herself to the pleasure of being dominated by the Jackalkin, her cheeks flushed crimson as she started shivering. Seeing Anput''s chest turn white, I grinned as I continued kissing Kat, while the Jackalkin herself ignored the sensation, too focused on her pleasure. Feeling something nip my tongue, I raised a brow as I turned back to Kat, the Dogkin ring at me with those ethereal blue eyes, making me chuckle. Pushing her away, I whispered "What, is my puppy jealous that I''m not staring at her?" Kat pouted, her plump lips pulled into a frown as she nodded. Chuckling, I kissed her nose before spanking her ass, making her moan. "Trust me, I''ll give my puppy her full attention soon enough~! Just..." ncing over at Anput and Leone, Kat pursed her lips before sighing. Grinning at her, I spanked her again as I continued watching on, only to roll my eyes as my puppy nipped my shoulder. Raising one hand to her head, I held her there, ignoring the sharpness of her teeth as I watched my two other wives slowly reach their climax again. Leone was a mess, her moans echoing around the room as she came again, her cock painting more of Anput''s body white, while the woman in question could only pant, her knot pping against Leone''s lower lips. Stroking Kat''s ears, I grinned as Leone gasped, her back arching slightly as Anput started to knot her. Leaning down, Anput nuzzled into Leone''s cheek as she began to cum, her eyelids spasming from the pure pleasure washing through her body. With her ears trembling, I listened on with a smirk as Leone started gasping more, her body trembling as she came from the new experience. Kat had told me about it in passing, but... Watching it happen before me, I felt a warmth flood my chest, finding some peace in this group activity. Releasing Kat''s spongy ass, I reached forwards and stroked Leone''s other cheek, the Vampire panting now as her womb started to grow filled from Anput''s seed. Her crimson eyes were unfocused, and I chuckled as she came again, Anput moaning this time as more cum painted her skin. While I was so focused on what was happening beside me, Kat started bucking her hips, attempting to draw my attention back to her, which... Spanking her again, I grit my teeth slightly as her teeth dug deeper into my shoulder, making me sigh. She was so needy~! However, my puppy could wait a few more moments... Anput finished a dozen or so secondster, her body finally drained of all energy as she copsed on top of Leone, both of them drenched with sweat. Panting, Anput got up and tried to remove herself from Leone, making the woman grit her teeth as Anput''s thick knot was dislodged from her cunt. Copsing back onto the bed, the Jackalkin stared at the ceiling, her blissful expression warming my heart. Of course, that was quickly reced with a sadistic urge, and I gestured at Leone. Crawling over to me, she blushed as I whispered into her ear, before she grinned, her eyes moving back to Anput. The Vampire was due for another session, what with therge amount of cum Anput forced her to store. I could see a bulge in her stomach, which, while arousing, was also likely painful. Turning back to Anput, Leone crawled away, only to yelp as I spanked her ass, grinning at her as I watched her skin redden from my blow. Semen oozed from her lower lips, staining the sheets and forming a pool below her, and my grin widened as I watched Leone push Anput back down, the Vampire reentering the Jackalkin. I had... potentially whispered some of Anput''s weak spots into the woman''s ear, and she definitely wouldn''t use them right away... Feeling Kat bite a new portion of my shoulder, I growled in mild annoyance as I got up, her legs wrapped around my waist as she clung to me. "Damnit bitch, must you be so..!" Her cunt writhed as I growled at her, making me smirk. "Y''know, sometimes you really don''t know what you''re in for when you do this, puppy..." Carrying her over to my dresser, I opened one of the drawers and retrieved a whip, nodding to myself. She tried to look back, to see what I had grabbed, only too shiver as I grabbed her chin. "Did I say you could look? Hmm?" Enjoying her shiver, I grinned at her as she kept her head towards me. "Good girl~!" Carrying her towards the bath, I nced back to see Anput moaning as Leone mmed her hips into the Jackalkin''s ass, her hands on her tail and tugging slightly on it. The Jackalkin was moaning hard, her ears twitching as she listened to the grunts Leone let out as she pounded her cunt. I wanted to watch, but... Hefting the whip in my hands, I grinned at Kat and entered the bathroom,ying the Dogkin on the ground. Turning her around, I cracked the whip beside me, enjoying the way she instinctually trembled at the noise. I hadn''t gotten to use it in awhile, so... Staring at the long, coiled rope in my hand, I grinned at the uses it had... I had many; braided leather, leather strips, this one, a longer, thinner whip... Kat had gotten to experience each one deeply, which meant... Striking her back, I shivered as ecstasy ran through my veins, enjoying the cry the woman let out beneath me. Oh it felt so good... Starting from her shoulders, I made my way down towards her raised ass, covering her fair skin in long, red marks; never breaking the skin, but still hard. My puppy needed to be punished. A twisted grin sprang to my lips as I continued to whip her, Kat screaming in pleasured agony each time the whip fell on her skin. Her tail stuck tight to her legs, and her ears trembled as she started whimpering, her back a patchwork of red markings. Panting, I stared down at my throbbing cock, my body ame with lust. Keeping the whip in my hand, I pushed her further into the bathroom tile and pushed her tail aside. Shoving my cock into her snatch, I groaned as her moist cunt wrapped around my shaft, only for it to tighten considerably as the whip fall across her back again. "Tighten up bitch! Fuck~!" cing my free hand on her waist, I started mming my hips into hers, gouging out her cunt with my cock. Kat moaned quietly in front of me, her body shivering. Cracking the whip against her ass again, I growled "Come on bitch, moan for me~! I want to hear those slutty moans~!" When she didn''t moan, I whipped her again, this time letting the leather dig a little deeper into her back. Still not enough to draw blood; I had grown ustomed to each whip during these months, and I knew how much force I needed. How much Kat needed. Even as she screamed in agony, her pussy mped down on my dick, almost stopping mepletely. The bond between us was flooded with pleasure, both of us feeding off the others emotions as we indulged ourselves. "Just like that, whore~! Ah fuck~! Just like that~!" I lost myself to her screams, each one better than thest as I railed her from behind, my cock pummeling her womb into submission. She was panting, her cheek pressed against the tile. An idea struck me, and I leaned forwards and wrapped the leather around her neck, looping it once before pulling back. mping down harder on me, Iughed as she wed at the whip. I had left enough for her to breath, but... "Oh you''re so fucking tight now... Is your Mistress making you feel good, little slut~? Is your owner taking good care of her puppy, hmm~?" Her pussy writhed as I spoke into her ear, each fold wriggling around as she started leaking more of her nectar everywhere. Laughing again, I pulled tighter on the whip, making her amber eyes widen. "Seems my little bitch needs to be trained some more, hm~? I need to punish you for wetting yourself, puppy..." Licking the tears that stained her cheeks, I groaned as she shivered under me, my grin falling. The only sound in the bathroom was her strained moans, flesh hitting flesh, and the asional grunt from me as I mmed into her, my orgasm rising again. "Hey..." With my cock firmly pressed against her womb, I licked her cheek again before whispering "Cum for me." Her entire body trembled, her face going ck as my words slipped into her ears. Grinning, I watched as she turned into a mess underneath me, no more than a clenching pussy for me to fuck as I pleased, her consciousness slipping away. Oh how I loved this... Loosening the whip, I retrieved it and returned to whipping her ass, waking her up quickly. She sobbed, the pain flowing over her as I relentlessly hit her, before... "FUCK~!" With a roar I mmed into her, emptying rope after rope into her womb, intent on knocking her up. My body wanted her to ept my seed, even though my mind knew she wasn''t able to. Her womb greedily drank up my cum, her cunt wringing out everyst drop. Tossing the whip to the side, I pulled out and coated her back as well, only stopping a few momentster. Panting, I felt drained as I fell back, sitting down. Watching as my cum flowed from her cunt onto the floor, I panted, a tired grin on my face. Taking in the view, I eventually got up and pulled her into the water, healing her as we moved. The marks from the whip disappeared, and after a minute of soaking, Kat was back, albeit just as exhausted as me. "W-What... what g-got you going like that..?" She leaned into my chest, her cheeks still flushed as she shivered, asionally orgasming as my cum oozed out of her cunt. "Nothing much... just... horny." I chuckled at her dry look, beforeughing as she pouted, muttering "You''re ALWAYS horny..." Stroking her cheek, I raised a brow as I asked "Aren''t you?" Her pout deepened, and I added "Besides, isn''t this my right as your wife? Aren''t I allowed to fuck my women how I want, as long as they like it?" Her amber eyes shone, before she looked away with a huff. "Kat, I know you liked it; I can feel it even now..." So unreasonable... Forcing her to look back at me, I grinned maliciously at her as I whispered "Did my puppy like what her Mistress did to her, hmm~?" Shivering again, Kat nodded, her cheeks a deep red as she started panting again. Oh... Feeling my cock rise to the asion, I sighed as pushed the woman down again. my hands wrapped around her neck. What was I supposed to do with her~? --- ~2800 words here, ~1600 words in the previous, for a grand total of ~4400 words of smut. --- Chapter 203 202: Thoughts --- A few things to start off... First, two chapters today, both shorter ones. Second, about the system, I think the route I''ll take is going to leave it more as a way for Kat to see her ''stats'' and ''skills'', as well as how adept she is at certain things; it''ll still have cheat ways of progressing, like the Stat/Skill Points and the Shop, but it''ll continue on in the background. I was honestly debating whether or not to just... axe the system entirely, but I think it''ll remain the same as now, just with arger impact on the story... kinda; more quests and objectives for Kat to meet, but they will be things in the background, due to her nature. Third, I started that Cultivation Book; ''Rise of the Useless Wife''. But, as the title suggests, and as I say in the synopsis of the book, it''s dark, so if you don''t like dark, don''t bother with it. I honestly just wanted it on ''paper'', and I mind as well keep it on the site so that people can read it. It will not take away from my current works, and will be updated slowly; also, unlike everything else, I have a definite end for it, so it''ll reach ~100 chapters and be done. Anyways, that''s that, hope you enjoy Servant System going forwards~! --- Kat PoV Lounging in the bath, I let the warm waterp at my aching body, trying to rx. Like always, whenever Jahi got into the mood, she took her indulgence of my body as far as she could manage, and even after I was healed, the exhaustion remained. However, I used these moments of rxation to think, letting my thoughts run free. No one bothered me during this time; usually because Jahi would find one of the others to satiate the rest of her desires, while the other two would give me the space, knowing what I had just gone through. Ignoring the noises from the room behind me, I let my thoughts drift around, analyzing each as they appeared. Of course, the mostmon ones were of either the imminent future or things from the past, all of which tended to be connected. I had the warning that ''future'' me gave, about not trusting someone; who, I had no idea. ''Her'' words had been jumbled when she tried to speak that name, and afterwords was when that giant eye appeared; now that I knew more about the world, albeit just a bit more, I had a guess that that person was a Frogkin or Goatkin; the eye had been rather... unique. However, no one fit that description, and besides that, who knows if someone could try and alter themselves using magic; it seemed entirely possible. All I could do with that warning was continue to strengthen myself, and I knew not to rush. I couldn''t push my core too much, nor could I find ways to rapidly stimte my growth without leaving Jahi behind, which I wasn''t going to do. With my system being tied to her, and by proxy her wives, I needed to be near them to get the full use of my system, and honestly... I was too attached to leave; the idea of being apart scared me, and I knew it to be unhealthy. But... I couldn''t help it; that tall, sadistic but kind Demoness had be my anchor in this new life, and with storms brewing on the horizon, I didn''t want to be cast adrift. As for the system, I was curious about its uing change; even I could see the ws it had, but I could also see therge benefits it had gifted me. The [Skills] were all useful, and each was something that I needed to further cultivate into something better. They strengthened me, and by extension, allowed me to better support Jahi, Anput, and Leone. Of course, it also was barely present; even now I could tell that it was ''asleep'', preparing for the uing change at Level 25. Would it be arge change, or no? That was out of my control, but what wasn''t was honing my own skills more; that was something I needed to start putting more focus on. My enchanting had been halted with recent events, so I needed to return to polishing that; now that we had money, I could afford to buy cheap weapons and practice enchanting the des. It would provide excellent practice on real enchantments, and I could resell the des to the Guild,ting some more coin for me to use. Besides enchanting, I needed to Dual Cultivate more with the girls; normal way or not. The refinement of my mana was a good way to strengthen myself and my girls at the same time. I could improve my Water, Wind, and Ice with each of the girls, and that would allow my spells to be stronger. As they improved, I could also start implementing moreplexities into my repertoire ofbat oriented spells, improving attack spells, defense spells, and support spells. Healing was something I needed to improve to arge degree; both the skill and the spell. My Cloaks needed to be better, and I was getting close to finding a way to trulyyer them on top of one another, enhancing their usefulness. As for my attack spells, I was doing fine in that regard, I just needed to start practicing them. Staring down at the water thatpped at my skin, I sighed as my thoughts turned to the current problem; Jillian. The Elf had powerful backing, an unhealthy obsession with me, mysterious strenght, an equally crazy fiancee, and more. While the Marquess would be focusing more on the House versus House aspect of the ''war'', I needed to start helping Jahi prepare for the ''battle'' against Jillian. For now, since there is no definitive proof that the Ik''s attacked us on the Sariel''s orders, our hands are tied politically; we might know that Jillian was behind it, but we can''t act on that, since the Ik''s would just turn into the Sariel''s scapegoat. That meant that we couldn''t go after Jillian physically just yet, so we had time to prepare, just like them. Hopefully I could find other ways to improve Jahi''s skills, as well as Anput''s and Leone''s. Each needed some polish in certain areas, as did I. Which meant we needed to free up arge amount of time by getting the History ss and Combat ss out of our schedule; Jahi and Anput were too strong for the beginners course, and Leone and I could likely pass through with some extra effort. As for History, we need to study a little more, but it needs to bepleted. That time has be more valuable than gold, and it would be used to either delve into the Caverns for practical applications of our skills, or we would be at home, training individually. Looking at the tired expression of the Dogkin woman in the water, I sighed again before getting up, deciding to rest. Drying off, I slipped past the three women and entered the living room, copsing on the couch and staring up at the dark ceiling, before eventually drifting off to sleep. Chapter 204 203: Visit When I woke up the next morning, I set about making a filling meal for everyone, deciding to go with the simple, yet effective pancakes. Keeping everyone''s in due to the time constraints, I was mid flip of one pancake when I heard a knock at the door, interrupting my flow. Letting it cook, I smoothed out my maid dress and approached the door, wondering who was here. With a chef''s knife still in hand, I peered through the small slit in the door, my eyes widening in surprise. Standing at the door were a few women, each one someone I knew. The Empress stood in the middle, her pristine white dress and blindfold glowing in the light of dawn. Beside her was Lady Lorelei Presa, Leone''s mother, her gray dressplimenting her hair, which was pulled into a braid. On the Empress'' other side was the Sultana, the tall, lithe Jackalkin wearing her normal ck clothing and veil. Lady Kio Sera stood beside her, staring intently at the door as she smoothed out her dark red skirt. Seeing four of my six possible mother inws, I opened the door, remaining stoic as each turned their eyes towards me; or heads, in the case of the Empress and Sultana, since I couldn''t see their eyes. "Katherine, right? Are the others awake yet?" Lady Presa smiled warmly at me, her ruby eyes sweeping across the room behind me. "Not yet, Lady Presa. Please,e in; I''ll go wake everyone up." Bowing, I opened the door more and let the four women enter, each one ncing around the room before looking towards the kitchen. Closing the door behind me, I heard Kio mutter "Damnit, of course she can cook..." Laying the knife down on the counter, I undid the apron I wore and hung that up before making my way towards the bedroom, where all three womeny, sprawled out and unconscious on the bed. Sighing at the smell that hit me like a wall, I closed the door behind me and cast a spell, getting the air moving. "Mistress." Poking Jahi''s cheek, I waited a few moments before poking her again. "Mistress." When she still didn''t stir, I sighed before flicking her cheek, making the woman grumble. "Mistress, please wake up." Her eyes flickered open, and she reached for my wrist. Pulling myself away, I woke Leone and Anput next, watching as all three women slowly got up. Yawning and stretching, they blearily looked at me, Anput asking "Why... why couldn''t we sleep..?" Her voice was low and scratchy, making me sigh. Raising my hands, I traced the runes for a healing spell and relieved them of their aches and pains, exining as I did so. "The Empress, Lady Presa, the Sultana, and Lady Sera are all in the living room." Jahi froze, while Leone shivered. As for Anput, her ears drooped, while her tail shook. Each one seemed a little... afraid. Which, I understood, considering... Well, ncing at Anput and Leone''s bellies, I sighed, gesturing to the bath. "Please, clean up. I''ll keep them upied for the time being." Nodding, they scrambled for the bath, wanting to wash out as much of the scent as they could. Returning to the door, I quickly cleaned and aired myself off, before exiting the bedroom. Lady Sera stood in the kitchen with Lady Presa, both browsing the food I had already made, while the Empress and Sultana had sat down at the table. Taking a deep breath, I reentered the kitchen, bowing to the two women again. "Would you like some food? Tea, perhaps?" ncing at the pancakes, Lady Sera asked "That''s what the Marquess raves about all the time, no?" Seeing me nod, she grinned as she said "Yeah, I''m a little famished after the long journey here." Gesturing back to the table, I had her and Lady Presa sit down, joining their partners. Laying a te before each of them, I ced three pancakes before them, before pouring each a cup of tea momentster. When that was done, I returned to the kitchen, starting the process of making more batter. "Katherine, how has everything been, ever since..." Gesturing at the air, I nodded to Lady Presa, understanding her question. "Surprisingly calm, Lady Presa. Besides the most recent... encounter, there has been nothing to report. Though, if I may be so bold, I do believe this is little more than the calm before the storm." Lady Sera chuckled, nodding. "Indeed, that''s likely all this lull is..." Returning to my batter, I froze for a moment as she added "Which, I suppose, is why you''ve been marked by Anput?" "And by Leone?" Hearing the two women, who were the mothers'' of my two lovers, I nodded gently. Their tones were neither usatory nor epting; they were just stating the facts. "Yes, I''ve been epted by both of them, and I provide whatever relief I can to either." Finishing the next batch of pancakes, Iid them on the table, ignoring the sharp looks both gave me, their attention focused on my movements and bodynguage. A small pressure washed over my body, and my body grew slightly sluggish as it grew more and more powerful. Keeping myself calm under the scrutiny of two extremely strong and influential women, I saw both the Empress and Sultana smirk at me. "Kio." "Lorelei." They spoke at the same time, and their wives flinched, before shyly looking at their partner. ""Y-Yes..?"" The Empress chuckled, while the Sultana remained silent, fixing Kio with a stare. "Don''t torment the poor girl; she''s following not only her heart, but adhering to her duty as well. After all, besides this most recent... event, there has been no problem with Leone inside of the Academy." Lady Presa nodded, but her eyes were still unconvinced. Silence descended over the room again, and I returned to preparing breakfast; I still had to feed the other three, which- Hearing the door open, I nced over to the bedroom, watching as Jahi strode out, followed by Anput and Leone, the two women ncing tentatively at their mothers''. Bowing deeply to the Empress and Sultana, Jahi asked "To what do I owe this please, Empress, Sultana?" Anput and Leone bowed as well, but they flinched as their mothers smiled ''warmly'' at them, their bodies frozen under the hard gazes. Setting out the tes for each, I watched on as they all sat down; Anput beside Lady Sera, Leone beside Lady Presa, and Jahi at the other head of the table, opposite the Empress. The air around the table was still, and I could feel the tension descending. A charged pressure jumped between each person, making the younger women grit their teeth slightly as they sat still. While I was still in the kitchen, I could feel some of that pressure directed towards me,ing from the same two women from earlier. Sighing internally, I wondered how this day would go, ncing between the three ''sets'' of women. Anput and her mother, Leone and her mother, and the two rulers of two countries staring at Jahi. This... Would be an interesting, but draining day. --- Next three chapters will be Anput, Leone, and Jahi; maybe in that order, I don''t know. They''ll be the talks between them and the ''sets'' listed above, so each will be a shorter chapter; maybe all three will be released in a single day; tomorrow... --- Chapter 205 204: Visit (Anput) Anput PoV Sitting beside Mother, I shivered slightly as I felt her gaze on my body, before realizing slightly as Mom turned her head towards us, making Mother flinch. Poking at the pancakes before me, I found that, for the first time in a long time, I had no appetite to speak of, so I just lifted up my cup and sipped on the tea, alleviating my parched throat. The ''smile'' that Mother was giving me, paired with the intense session we hadst night made that a near impossible task, as even after I finished the cup and poured myself a new one, my mouth was still dry. "Lorelei, Miss Kio, would you like to talk to your daughters in private? Anubi and I need to talk to the young Asmodia... alone." The Empress'' words were soft and gentle, and she gave Jahi a warm smile; as for Mom, she was as stoic as ever, but her ears twitched as she looked at the blue Demoness. Mother''s smile grew wider, and she nodded. "Come here dear~! We''ve MUCH to discuss..." Grabbing my hand, Mother not so gently pulled me away, towards the front door. My eyes flickered over to Leone, who was getting simr treatment; her mother, Lady Presa, was smiling gently at her daughter, but her ruby eyes were stern as she let Leone guide her to her room. Jahi stared at the Empress and Mom, her amethyst eyes unwavering as the two women remained quiet. As for Kat, she stood in the kitchen, scrubbing away at whatever it was that she was cleaning. Pulling me outside, I stood in front of Mother, the Dogkin staring at me with a neutral expression. "Anput..." Her voice was still, and I shivered slightly, before meeting her gaze. Nodding to herself, she asked "First, the Maid. Why have you marked her as your mate?" Pursing my lips, I thought for a moment before answering. "She... well, Kat''s always been so..." Narrowing her eyes, Mother stared at me, waiting. Scratching my cheek, I continued speaking, my voice steady. "Hah... Alluring. I''ve always found her to be desirable, and Jahi... Jahi told me that I was allowed to... what was the word... ''court'' her. Even though she is Jahi''s Maid, as well as her lover, Jahi let Leone and I court the woman, and she epted our feelings." "I didn''t ask if you wanted to bed her, Anput. Why is she marked. As your mate?" Mother''s voice was sharp, but I met her gaze, uncaring of her re. "A Beastkin can only mark other Beastkin; Demon''s don''t fall under that category, nor is there a way for other races to mark Beastkin as mates. I know, and Jahi knows, that I am her woman. She''s-" Blushing slightly, I felt a warmth flood my body as I continued on. "Made that crystal clear; the ring, the vows, and... more. However, she has also made it clear that we, her wives, are free to do as we please, so-" Growling softly, Mother leaned forwards and spoke, her voice low. "I don''t care if you mark the bitch or get her knocked up, Anput. I wouldn''t have cared if you marked her as your mate... IF you were ACTUALLY married to the Asmodia brat. Currently, you and Leone are just fiancee''s to her. Nothing more, nothing less. I had no problem with you sleeping with your soon to be wife, but do you understand that you marking someone BEFORE your marriage can cause political problems?!" When she had started speaking, I could feel my lips curl back in a sneer, anger flooding my heart. "Don''t talk about Kat like that!" Snapping at her, I widened my eyes as she stepped back slightly, her own eyes wide. But, she wasn''t looking at me. Following her gaze, I saw a silver ritual circle behind my back, one I was all too familiar with. Taking a deep breath, I cut off my mana, letting the spears and des dissipate into dust and getting blown away by the wind. Controlling my temper, I stared at my mother and spoke, trying to keep my voice calm. "Don''t talk about her like that. I don''t fucking care about this Empire''s useless politics, not when those that would even attempt to speak would die on their first day in the Red Sands. They can talk all they want, but nothing they do will ever be more than their petnt attempts at ndering someone stronger than them. There are few Houses stronger than the Asmodia''s, but none stronger than the Sultanate. I might have married away from the Steel Pce, but if I ever required it, I know Mom would aid us." Mother grit her teeth, ring at me. "Mother, I know you went through terrible things when you around my age, watching your pack slowly wither out in the harsh desert. However, because of your perseverance, I have things you never did; I have the backing of an entire country should I need it. My Mom is amongst the strongest people in the world, with few able to be her equal, and only one or two above her, one of which is the Empress of my new home, who''s daughter is my sister." She nodded as I spoke, a wry smile on her lips. "You get this from me... hah..." Sighing, she reached forwards and stroked my ears, before pulling on one. Flinching at the sudden pain, her smile grew again, and she leaned towards me. "However, that doesn''t mean I''ll excuse that tone!" Yanking on my ear one more time, she released my head and pulled me into her arms, embracing me. "I... You''re right, Anput. You do have more than I ever did when I was younger. It''s just, I don''t want you relying on your Mom and I for everything. You need to grow on your own, to be your own person. It''s just, the Empire is different from the Sultanate. If we were back home, I wouldn''t care what you did with Katherine; none could speak out, due to respect for Anubi and I, as well as out of fear of what you would do to them in the future. But here? Alliances are formed and broken on whims, Houses move together to topple those above them regrly; much like our hunts of Dune Goliaths, the many can overpower even something as towering as the Asmodia''s." I nodded, understanding her logic; it was why, back when Jillian had first be a true problem, I had trouble understanding why we weren''t just... killing her then and there. Stamping out a problematic woman before she had the chance to threaten us. However, here, in the Empire, that''s not how it works. The weak can topple the strong if enough of them band together; the politics needed to get Families and Houses demoted and increase the tax doesn''t care for personal strenght, only what is written asw. Which, was annoying. "Yes, you do have the backing of Mom and I; we''ve made it damn clear that should the Asmodia''s be pushed into a corner because of some idiot''s petnce, the Sultanate will have no problems expanding our border. And with such a marriage between you and the Asmodia''s next Heir, that is entirely within our right to help our new allies." Staring at her in surprise, I flinched as she swatted the back of my head. "What, did you think Anubi was going to leave you? Even if I pleaded for you to be left alone, she''d send her Shadows to help either way. Damn woman..." Even with a re, Mother was staring at me warmly. "But Anput, you are no longer in the Sultanate. You are in the Empire, which means you y by their rules, no matter how idiotic. So, while you might hate it, I would suggest you refrain from pumping Katherine full of your pheromones until you are official wed to Jahi Asmodia; then do whatever you want." Nodding, I stared at her as she pulled away, her features tired as she looked at me. "Now, your Mom is talking to Jahi about the problem you have with the Sariel''s, but honestly, I could give a fuck less either way. So..." Tilting her head, she asked "What''s happening at this Academy? Still the same as when I attended?" Nodding, I went through what''s happened so far, scratching my cheek in embarrassment when I mentioned how I had almost flunked the History Test. Giving me a hard re, she shook her head after knocking me upside the head again, before she asked "What about next year? What sses are you thinking of taking?" Pursing my lips, I wondered if I should tell her about what I really wanted to take or not, before nodding to myself. "Smithing. I... I really want to learn how to forge des." Furrowing her brow, she stared at me in silence before nodding. "Sounds about right. Your fixation with weapons finally reached that point huh? Well, do you know how much you need for for that? Have you started looking at the prices of metals, of anvils, of the hammers you need?" Her questions were rapid fire, making my frown deepen with each one. "I uh... no, not yet." Giving me a nk look, Mother blinked a few times before sighing, pinching her nose. "Why... Hah... You are so-" "Much like you?" Mother and I jumped as Mom appeared behind her, draping her arm around Mother''s shoulder. "You really are like Kio, Anput. Impulsive, passionate, living in the moment..." Pouting at Mom, Mother stared at her before blushing, her tail swaying as Mom stroked her cheek. "Forging huh? Your affinity would do well with it, as long as you apply yourself. I''ll cover the costs for everything to start, but you''re on your own after that, pup." I grinned at her,unching myself into her arms when her raspy voice entered my ears. Returning the hug, Mom gently stroked the back of my head as she whispered "I missed you, pup. The Training Grounds feel empty without you around; even my Shadows say so." Nuzzling into her scarred body, I whispered back "I miss you too, Mom..." --- Other two will be out tomorrow Also, if I gave names to the pce that the Sultana lives in, or the desert itself that forms the country, let me know; It''s been forever since I discussed them... --- Chapter 206 205: Visit (Leone) Leone PoV At the table, I gulped as Mother stared at me, her expression unreadable. With the aftereffects ofst nights intense session paired with a thirst that I couldn''t quench currently, the longer we sat at the table turned into torture. I could almost smell Kat''s blood, that tart ambrosia of hers so tantalizingly close, but impossible to reach at the moment. Even with all the blood I drank from Anputst night, as well as the ''desert'' that was Jahi''s sweet nectar, with the dawn of a new day I grew parched, wanting my usual cup of the Dogkin''s ambrosia like blood. ncing at Anput, I saw the normally confident and arrogant woman sitting meekly beside her Mother; while Anput looked more physically fit, Lady Sera had that aura that only a mother could have, one that made even the most hardened warriors flinch when it was directed at them. Which was also why I was sweating slightly as Mother stared at me; I wanted to turn and stare at Mom, to plead with my eyes to get this situation alleviated, but... "Lorelei, Miss Kio, would you like to talk to your daughters in private? Anubi and I need to talk to the young Asmodia... alone." Mother nodded, and I heard Lady Sera''s deceivingly sweet voice as she guided Anput away. Taking a deep breath, I flinched slightly as Mother''s cold hand sped mine, and her ruby eyes bored into mine, making me nod. Getting up, I cast a final look at Jahi and Kat as I led her towards my room; the Demoness was staring confidently at two of the strongest women alive, while Kat stood in the kitchen, her back to us as she washed the dishes. Pursing my lips, I led Mother over to my room, opening the door for her before following her inside. Closing it behind me, I saw her nce around in interest, before she sat down on my bed. Patting the space beside her, I gulped as I hesitantly sat beside her, making her chuckle. "I won''t bite dear." Giving her a dry look for the small joke, I gripped the sheets as I stared at the floor, not knowing where to start. For a few moments, silence shrouded my dim room, before Mother broke it with a small cough. "So..." Seeing her gesture at the air, I decided to start with what she seemed most interested in. Kat. "I... I marked her because... well..." Biting my lip, I stared at my hands, not knowing how to word it. ? "Leone... you are aware a Vampire only gets one mark, correct? Simr to a Beastkin, we mark the person we love so that we can ''im'' them; it does little more than let us know their surface emotions and desires, and we can sort of locate where they might be. Still, that bond only grows with time... and you marked not your wife, but her maid." Her voice was steady, and I took a shaky breath as she finished, before furrowing my brow. "Only one? I... I feel like I can mark another three times though. That... liquid or whatever that we inject into our partners..." Mother stared at me, her brow furrowed as well. "I still have more of it. Enough for at least two people, maybe another. Is... is that not something that you can do?" She shook her head, before a wry smile appeared on her lips. "Seems like your Mom''s blood really does change everything... Dante, your eldest brother, he has odd variations from Lady Igna as well; his scales are stronger, yet thinner than her. Given a few more decades, I imagine his transformation might be smaller, but dozens of times better than his Mothers... Hah..." Pinching her nose, she stared at me for a moment before asking "What about your Tru Vampire Form? Have you managed to unlock it? Can you show it to me?" I shook my head; I had barely been able to use it during the Lord Pele fight, and only because I had seen Kat being choked to death... "I... I have used it once, but-" "Only when something drastic happened... Well, you are still young. Hah... Listen, just... If you love this girl, Katherine, that''s... fine. Just remember, your wife is still Jahi Asmodia; when you marry, you will be Leone Asmodia, though no one would ever think that you aren''t connected to your Mom and I." Draping her arm around my shoulder, she pulled me into her ample chest, and I hugged her back; while not as warm as the others, Mother provided afort none could match... "I know that, Mother, I do... It''s just, Jahi doesn''t really..." I started to blush, not knowing how to tell her that, while we have sex quite often, Jahi doesn''t like getting bit; the only ce I''ve ever consistently sucked blood from her was her lip... Smirking down at me, Mother poked my nose as she said "You really don''t need to exin, Leone... Just, tell her you want to do what all Vampire''s do to their partners, and I''m sure she''ll ept it. Besides, she seems rather..." Pursing her lips, she stroked her chin as she stared at the ceiling, before saying "Possessive. And if she''s inherited even an ounce of Ria, that possessiveness will be an all epassing, nketing love. Just make sure it doesn''t suffocate you." Licking my lips, I wondered how I would tell her that, of the four of us, Kat and I were likely tied for the more... suffocating lovers; Anput didn''t seem to be that much of a possessive lover beyond the norm, while Jahi seemed to revel more in how Kat and I acted... Though she did have her moments. "Alright, so bloodline mutation aside, how''ve you been?" Leaning onto her shoulder, I started telling her about what''s happened recently, how we''ve all grown closer, what''s happening in the Academy, out of it, and then... "-so I want to try my hand at Alchemy, but..." Mother nodded, stroking her chin. "Expensive, but you''ve always had a good eye for anything arcane. What about your interest in summons? Are you still trying to find out more about that, or..?" I nodded, tracing the wine red runes for my summoning spell. Janus appeared before me, the red furred Orthus ncing between Mother and I before lumbering forwards. One head nuzzled into myp, while the other stared up at Mother for a few moments, letting out a soft whine as she started scratching its ears. "I need more mana for some of the ideas I have, and while I''ve... uh, found some... ''ways'' to increase my capacity, if I want immediate help, I''ll need potions." Mother nodded, smirking as she gestured towards the book that wasying on my desk. "The ''Dual Cultivation'' book that you stole from my library? You didn''t think I wouldn''t notice, did you?" I blushed at that; I had told everyone that she had given it to me, but I had... Requisitioned it for personal use... Which, I don''t regret; it''s led to some incredible nigh- Shaking my head, I red at her before continuing on, glossing over that. "So, unless I decide to spend hundreds upon hundreds of gold per attempt, I should create my own potions by gathering the materials myself before trying out some more spells..." Mother nodded, her face going back to being serious after she teased me. "How about this; I''ll get you a basic Alchemy set, and if you canpletely pass, at the top of your ss as well, your first year of taking Alchemy, I''ll get you the newest set so that you can focus on your research instead." My eyes went wide as I stared at her. After all, even a basic set was around a tinum, and I had steeled myself to purchasing my own in a few months, once I had the coin to get it from adventuring. But... "Really?!" Seeing me staring at her in excitement, Mother grinned at me and ruffled my hair, nodding. "Of course. My little baby wants to start pursuing her dreams, so why shouldn''t I help her? Besides, you can pay me back when you start making potions~!" My smile faltered as her grin grew, and I realized that all I had done was get the set early... Just so I could start paying off a debt to her when I managed to get some potions made... She chuckled as she saw my stiff face, prompting her to pinch my cheek. "You didn''t think I''d let you off for stealing one of my books, did you dear~?" Pouting at her, I was about to say something when someone knocked on the door. Flicking her hand, Mother opened it, and I watched as Mom ducked into the room, her tall figure taking up arge amount of space. Getting up, I hesitantly hugged her, the heat radiating from her body instantly warming me up; it was a familiar feeling as well, since I had often sat on herp as a child, so... Feeling Mother stand behind me, I looked between them as Mom smiled gently down at me. "Theresa misses you, Leone, as do all your brothers and sisters..." I smiled up at her, saying "I''lle visit soon, it''s just..." Nodding, Mom stroked my hair as she said "Yes, I know... you aren''t my first child to be wed, dear. Besides that, you''re at the Academy, and now..." Gesturing around, Mom sighed as she said "Even now, millennia after I founded this ce, people still find new ways to baffle me. Attempting to rid the Empire of it''s most loyal shield... and not a single valid reason in response when asked... So, you''ve been busy, I know. Just remember, the Pce is always essible to those with my blood, dear. Now..." Sitting at my chair, she smiled at me, her hair sparking as she stared at me. "Tell me about what''s happened... I know you''ve already said it once, but..." Returning to my bed, I grinned as I started recounting some of my findings so far, Mom and Mother smiling warmly at me as I told them the specifics, both asking questions and providing answers to things I didn''t yet know. I had missed this feeling, of being surrounded by family, but... I also had a new family now, one that would only growrger for years toe. --- Jahi''s part should be outter tonight; might be in a few hours, might be in 12 hours, who knows... --- Chapter 207 206: Visit (Jahi) Jahi PoV My eyes wandered over to Kat as my two wives were dragged away by their Mothers, my curiosity piqued by what my maid would do. Seeing her simply scrubbing away at the bowl that she used to make our breakfast, I didn''t know whether of not to sigh orugh at how well my little puppy was able to deal with this pressure. It was almost like she was older than us, what with how used she was to these kinds of situations... Which was odd, considering we were all older than her by a year, and yet... I let that thought go from my mind; it was obvious that she was much more mature than all of usbined... Anput, Leone and I all had our small, child like quirks, but Kat kept us all in line when we really needed it; the only time we needed to keep her in check was with either sex or with her murderspree''s, which was definitely not a childish quirk. Returning my gaze to the Empress and the Sultana, I stared at them confidently. After all, I really do think my Mom''s much scarier, what with her more... physical way of teaching me lessons. These two certainly wouldn''t do the same, not without getting closer to me first; otherwise, they would have to deal with a depressed daughter each, and I''m sure neither wants that. Silence reigned in the room, the air between us charged as we sat, staring at one another. The first to speak was, unsurprisingly, the Empress, her low voice filling the room easily. "I care not with how you manage your own... ''harem'', Jahi. Each is unique in it''s own ways, due to howplicated women can be, so if each of you is alright with one another, I see no problem." The Sultana nodded, her head tilting as she nced at Kat. "What I want to speak of is not my daughter; I can tell that she''s happy, much more than she was at home. Instead, I wish to discuss your ns with the Sariel-Kameiel Family. How do you n on dealing with it?" I frowned, sping my hands in front of me as I stared at the table for a moment. There were a multitude of answers avable to me; dismissive ones, arrogant ones, non answers, and more. Returning my gaze to the two women sitting in front of me, I took a breath before answering, my voice confident. "Since this isn''t a simple... argument between two Heirs, but an altercation between two House''s and their influence, I have decided to allow my parents to handle the meat of this fight; they''re more experienced, they know who our allies are, how to navigate the politicalndscape, and more. For the moment, I know little of all of that, and if I tried to do it myself, I would do more harm than good. As such, I told them that I will take care of Jillian and her fiancee A. They wished to mess with not only the Asmodia''s, but with my fiancees. I won''t let that slide. Since these kinds of battles are more about the preparation rather than the fights themselves, the best I can do is continue to strengthen myself, as well as Anput and Leone. It might be arrogance speaking, but I believe that I am simply that much better that Jillian; I''ve put in more effort for what I have, I''ve trained more for what I want to do. My origins are simply better than hers. My advantages, from my race, magic, and pedigree far outweigh hers, but even with all of that, I will continue to train, to hone my skills so that, when the timees, I can put her in her rightful ce." The Sultana was nodding, while the Empress leaned forwards, resting her chin on her hands. "Interesting. Many your age would be itching to rush ahead, causing more problems by attempting to circumvent politics and insist that their talent and strenght pardons them of any crime. Those that have attempted to do so often find themselves dead or enved at a young age, little more than a footnote in a side chapter of history. Depending on your answer, I was going to force Leone back into the Pce while letting this y out; I have faith in Chordeva and Ria. After all, Chordeva is my Vice-Captain for my Knights of Cinder, second only to Fenyras, while Ria is one of my closest advisors, her title as the Elven Saintess of Storms holding incredible political sway. But I have more faith in them as friends, and I know neither will let the reputations they''ve built over the years be chipped away. I know that at the end of this, House Asmodia will remain standing; battered, bruised, weary... but standing. There is little doubt in my mind about that; I personally know the power you parents wield, Jahi, just as I know what power the Sariel''s and Kameiel''s wield. Even if they themselves forget that I know all. Just as your parents will not fail me, neither will I fail them; if the Sariel''s and Kameiel''s threaten the stability and security of this Empire that I have so carefully built over thest few millennia, they will remember why I''ve stood at the pinnacle of this world for so long. But, as the one who stands above the rest, I cannot insert myself into every petty squabble. So, until that degree of danger is levied against mynd, I will not interfere. Know that, Heir of House Asmodia. Until the most loyal shield of this Empire is brought to its knees, I cannot extend my hand and help, no matter how much I would want to." I nodded, before turning to the Sultana as she spoke next, her raspy voice filled with mirth. "While the Empress may not help directly, should there be any chance that my pup is to be harmed, the full weight of my Steel Pce and each of my Shadows shall bear down on these insignificant Elves, but like her, I will not step in until I feel I need to. This is the perfect opportunity to grow and cement your ces as the next generation of this Empire, Jahi Asmodia. While this may not be a rebellion that you need to lead, nor a corralling of dozens of differing peoples to be brought under one banner, this is still but the opening for your introduction into history. Make light of it, and you shall find yourself cast aside for someone better. But, should you take this opportunity and execute your ns to perfection, few in this world won''t know your name, nor will anyone be able to stop your growth. This is your moment; not your parents, not ours. Yours. Take it, and make sure the world knows that this was the moment you begin to inscribe your story into the annals of history, as the Empress and I have before you." Grinning, I nodded to her, replying "I n on it. Not just for me, but..." Staring at the Empress, I bowed my head as I said "For Leone, so that she may hold her head high with pride when she takes my name." Returning to the Sultana, I added "For Anput, so that her belief in me won''t go unfounded." Finally, I peeked at Kat, who was staring at me, her ethereal blue eyes shining beautifully. "For my Family, so that I can be their shield from all the would dare to harm them in the future." ncing down at my hands, I balled them into fists as I finished. "That, I swear." The two women across from me nodded, small smile''s on their lips. "Well, at least you have conviction." Standing up, the Empress walked past me, patting my shoulder before she made her way towards Leone''s room. "Though, you might want to polish up your speaking a bit, young one; words have more power than you realize..." The Sultana stared down at me, her low voice entering my ears, and I nodded, watching her slip out front. When they were both out of the room, I frowned, ncing at Kat as I asked "Was that not good?" --- Quick thing, to clear up any questions before they''re asked; the Empress and Sultana won''t just step in and throw their weight around because it sets a bad precedent for those under them. Ruling fairly and without bias sets a bar that the other nobles will try and follow; however, the Empress will put her Empire before everything else, and while I haven''t gone into detail about just HOW important the Asmodia''s are, know that they are important. As for the Sultana, if it reaches a level that would harm Anput, she will let her fucks go and decide to kill everything to make sure her girl is safe; y''know, normal parent things. Anyways, that''s why they don''t just kill the families because ''ha he we strong~ rawr'', and also plot. --- Chapter 208 207: Departure Kat PoV Listening to the Empress and Sultana give their mini speeches to Jahi, I nced back, a small smile on my lips as I saw the Demoness nodding her head, her amethyst eyes staring intently at the two women. What they said didn''t surprise me at all; the Empress'' warning that she wouldn''t interfere unless the Empire itself was in trouble, and the Sultana saying she wanted us to learn and grow from this, but if Anput was endangered, she would step in for her daughter. Neither of their stances surprised me, not with how they ruled their countries. If they really wanted to, they could have been dictators; my way or the highway type of rulers. None would be able to oppose them, but in the long run, that deep rooted hatred would eventually sprout and bear a fruit that would cause their hard work to rot away. That was thest thing they would want, especially the Empress; she''s ruled this Empire for actual millennia, maybe as long as humans have been around back on my. We''re talking hundreds of new innovations and changes bringing about new ages, the rise and fall of entire bloodlines, and so much more. She''s seen it all, and yet she is still here, ruling from atop her Mountain. So, when they finished speaking, I nodded to myself before returning to the sink, continuing to wash the tes and utensils used for this impromptu feast. Since I wanted to be here to hear it all, I was doing so by hand; everyone here knew that I could finish up in mere moments, but no one said a word as I remained over the sink. But, when I heard Jahi listing off her oaths to both these women and their daughters, I turned around, my heart pounding as I felt her sincerity. With my soul being so closely tied to hers, the emotions she felt as she swore each thing to the Empress and Sultana influenced my own, rousing images of the women she was talking about. Leone''s shy, but excited face entered my mind, the pale Vampire smiling warmly at us as she recounted a new discovery of hers, or how beautiful and regal she looked out in public, her Princess facade immacte when she needed to wear it. Anput''s cocky grin as she faced off against any opponent, which was so quickly reced by an almost childlike enthusiasm when she started discussing weaponry, be it how they were made or their origins; the Jackalkin shone during both moments, and her ability to be whatever any of us wanted while we were at home only added to the desirability each of us felt for her. But, when Jahi nced towards me, I shivered at her final oath; one that epassed all of us, and those of us toe. "For my Family, so that I can be their shield from all who would dare to harm them in the future... That, I swear." The conviction she felt as she spoke those words made my heart pound in my chest, and I could feel more of that all too familiar heat spreading through my body. This was what I wanted; for someone to make an oath like that FOR me... It was what I had hoped Kyoka had felt all those years ago, and although I find myself in the same position again, I know that this time, my lover is being honest with me. Not only is Jahi being honest, she deeply cared for me, to the point that she had ced my emotions above her own back when we had first learnt that she would need to take multiple wives. So, I had a hard time keeping my boundless love for the woman sitting at the table at bay, not wanting to embarrass both myself and her byunching myself into her arms. Turning back to the sink, lest the little willpower I had snap, I resumed doing the dishes, emptying my mind as best I could. When the two women left to go join their wives and daughters, I felt Jahi''s confused stare on my body, so I nced back at her. "Was that not good?" Gulping, I watched as she got up, her lips pursed as she muttered her lines to herself again. Absentmindedly pulling me into her embrace, I felt my mind grow hazy as her sweet smell entered my nose, and the stroking of herrge hand on my ears made me nuzzle into her chest. Feeling my tail swaying side to side, I blushed slightly as I peeked up at her, breathing a sigh of relief as I saw her still staring at the wall, her lips pursed. After that burst of mild embarrassment, I grew slightly frustrated that she wasn''t really paying attention to me, but I remained silent, letting her think. Laying my head against her chest, I listened to her breathing and beating of her heart, the rhythmic thumps easing my mind. Relishing in her attention, I snuggled closer to my lover, her warmth slowly adding to my own. Hearing a cough, Jahi peeked over her shoulder, where Anput and her family stood. Lady Sera was staring dryly at us, but Anput was smirking at me, making me take a deep breath before stepping back, away from Jahi. As for the Sultana, she nced down at her daughter and spoke, her raspy voice filled with mirth. "I can see why you wished to mark her, pup." Anput nodded, smirking at her Mother next, who promptly swatted the back of her head before letting out a huff, muttering "That was all that bitch was good for in the Academy anyways!" Silently chuckling, the Sultana turned back towards me, her veiled face making her hard to read. "Kio, I say that not for her... curves, though I can understand why Anput might prioritize that..." Lady Sera red at her wife, her eyes narrowed. "But, the girl has-" Gesturing towards me, she redirected the glowering Dogkin towards me again, saying "The scent of blood around her, much thicker than even our pup and Jahi." Seeing Lady Sera''s nose twitch, she furrowed her brow as she said "Yes... it''s faint, but definitely there..." "Which, admittedly, is rather odd." Hearing Lady Presa behind us, we all turned to watch as Leone and her family entered the room again, with the Vampire''s both ncing at me, though with different reasons. I could see the tips of Leone''s fangs as she stared at me, as well as her throat bobbing as she gulped, her crimson eyes fixed on my neck. As for Lady Presa, like Lady Sera, she was staring at me with curiosity and confusion. Even as I became the focal point of everyones attention, I kept up my calm facade as best I could. Clearing her throat, Jahi scratched her cheek as she nced down at me, saying "She... can be a little..." "Unhinged?" "Demented?" Hearing Anput and Leone speak at the same time, I gave both a dry look, which only made their smirks grow. "I was going to say-" ring up at Jahi, I waited for her to speak, prompting the Empress and Sultana to chuckle as the Demoness meekly finished "Wild..." Continue to fix her with my re, I heard the Sultana chuckle as she said "Jahi, it''d be best if you learned quickly to not even attempt to finish some of those sentences... they cause more problems than they''re worth..." Lady Sera nodded, before adding "Also..." Her smirk grew as she nced at her daughter, saying "The instant gratification for that teasing might seem worth it, but it won''t be in a few hours..." Peering back at Anput and Leone, I gave them a small smile, both shivering as the woman''s implications reached them. Patting Leone''s head, the Empress nodded as she said "Trust me, one of the most powerful things in this world will always be the woman you are with... they can make your life difficult no matter how strong you might be." She ignored the tight smile her wife gave her, before adding "Well, as long as you aren''t killing innocents, I don''t particrly care about your... hobbies." Bowing slightly to her, I returned to staring up at Jahi, the Demoness flinching as she met my gaze again. Filtering into the living room, we continued to talk about various things; it seemed like the Empress and Sultana wanted to know more about the two women who''ve captivated their daughters, while Lady Presa and Lady Sera were bothying out veiled threats to Jahi and I, reminding us that their daughters are more important to them then anything else. While slightly grating to hear, Jahi and I nodded during each, understanding that they were just worried mothers; they wanted the best for their daughters, and Jahi and I nned on giving that to them as best we can. Besides that, there was that awkward few minute rant about not getting either them pregnant or me pregnant, both for the political ramifications, tumultuous time, and for the simple fact that we were still young, h h h... I gave my assurances that I wasn''t interested in having children for a long time toe, and while the other three seemed a little saddened by that, they all agreed with me. Other than that, we spoke on each of our interests, and how we could help one another moving forwards. When the discussion was finally over, the sun had reached its zenith, and we waved them goodbye as they all entered one carriage, traveling back to the pce that loomed above us. --- Going to have a chapter about her getting the remaining xp, then the system evolves after that. --- Chapter 209 208: That Last Little Mile Standing on the porch, we all waved goodbye to the Empress'' Carriage, which carried the Empress and Sultana back towards the Pce above. ncing up towards the sky, I pursed my lips at the sun that rested directly above us. Returning my gaze to the women by my side, I said "Shall we go down to Zhu''Rong Caverns?" Everyone nodded, likely for different reasons; Anput wanted to stretch, Leone wanted some more materials, and Jahi wanted the practice. Though, I could also see the mild relief in each of their eyes as they likely thought that letting me have my own fun down in the Caverns would result in them having an easier timeter tonight. Sadly, that''s not how it''ll work... Though, I let them have that small glimmer of hope as we returned inside, each going to our rooms to grab our gear. As I changed into my armor, I could feel Jahi''s ptable gaze on my skin, and after a coy smile to my towering lover, she flung herself forwards and took me before returning to strapping on her own armor. Helping her suit up, I gave her a deep kiss before strapping on my dagger and stepping outside, where the other two were waiting. Considering their flushed cheeks, I knew that they had heard, but... Walking past them, I could tell, without even looking, that they were both pouting at my back. Making our way down to the Adventuring District, we entered the Guild Hall and grabbed a Request each. Like before, we had mainly Harvesting Requests, looking for specific monster parts down in Zhu''Rong Caverns, so it seemed like we would get a good opportunity to experiment again. Thankfully, Jahi had relented and allowed us to return to our normal roles, meaning Leone and I were walking behind Jahi and Anput, where we would remain to provide support to the two women in front of us. With easy Requests for each of us, we dived into the Obsidian Valley yet again and decimated a few hordes as we made our ways down to the ins of Yama, where most of our Requests were located. Jahi had selected a Request asking for a Firefang''s skull, specifically an adult male Firefang''s skull, which, while odd, did pay 7 Gold and 30 Silvers, so... We would need to explore parts of the ins that we haven''t yet; specifically, the far left side that was home to these monsters. With our packs already filling up from the always profitable Ghoul Cores and Crystals, we stepped onto the ins and made our way over to the left, deciding to start with the Firefangs. The habitat that the Firefangs lived in was covered in tall grasses that came up to my shoulders, while trees littered thendscape, towering way above our heads. When we had seen that Elder Firefang during our first excursion into the Caverns, its size and power was impressive, but now... Stalking through the grass, we cleared a path deeper into the savanna like area and nced around, before Anput and I nced towards the tree a dozen some odd feet in front of us. Our ears twitched as we stopped, and we scanned the branches of the tree, before my eyes widened as I saw the giant cat monster creeping down the trunk, its ruby gaze locked on us as it quietly made its way down. Jahi and Leone followed our gazes, and upon seeing all four of us staring at it, the Firefang jumped into the grass, standing at around 6 foot at its shoulders. Which was double the size of an average tiger, so... Warily staring at it, we cursed softly as it lowered itsrge frame, sinking into the grass with ease. "Yeah, not fucking happening..." Hearing Jahi mutter, we watched as she sent her Light Discs flickering out, cutting through the tall grasses around us and clearing arge circle, giving us room to fight. When she was done, Anput and I nodded to one another and turned towards opposite directions, listening intently for the beast. With such quiet movements, impable body control, and a frame that just barely fits under the grasses around us... Paired with the slight breeze that made the grasses around us ruffle randomly, Anput and I had a hard time locating the monster. Pursing my lips, I continued to rake my gaze over the grasses around us, before Anput let out a grunt, making me turn. Seeing her hurl a spear into the grass, I furrowed my brow before hearing something cry out. Sending her discs towards the cries, Jahi cleared the area, revealing the Firefang whimpering, Anput''s spear embedded in its stomach, pinning it to the ground. Nodding to one another, we approached the monster carefully, before Jahi snapped the monsters neck. Drawing my dagger, I set to work hacking the monster apart, attempting to locate a core or something inside the mass of muscle in front of me. While I worked on that, Jahi severed the beasts head and had Leone look at it, using her knowledge about Alchemical ingredients to locate anything valuable in its skull, before having her join me, directing my de as I searched its body. Sadly, the Firefang that we found was female; apparently, Female Firefang''s have red fur with orange stripes, while the Males have ck stripes. So, she had taken the skull and retrieved the fangs, which had a venom stored inside them, before having me find the beasts heart and core. With a mountain of flesh beside me, and blood soaking into the ground, I sighed as everything that remained of the beast slowly turned to dust, leaving only its blood and retrieved parts behind. Imbedding my mana slightly into the core, I prevented its decay and stored it in one of my pouches, before getting up and cleaning my blood stained armor and skin off with a quick ssh of water magic. When we finished up we returned to our hunt, searching for another Firefang, preferably a male. It took us some time, with us stumbling upon a tribe of Lava Goblins in the middle of the grasses, as well as a small group of Lizardmer, which we dispatched with extreme prejudice; none of us seemed happy about encountering the things that popted that city where we almost lost our lives, so... When we did finally find the Male Firefang, we killed it in much the same way as the first, but this time Anput and I tried something slightly different. Instead of waiting to find it, we sent out a flurry of smaller projectiles, which we could expand should they hit the Firefang. When I felt one of my small spheres of ice impact a solid wall of muscle, I had it shatter and spread over the body of the monster, before rushing forwards and finishing it off. It was after that kill that the system asked [Would Host like to wait untilter for the System Update? Or would Host prefer to undergo the Update now?] Slicing into the Firefang, I gently shook my head as I said ''No, wait till tonight. with no idea what it''ll do to me physically or mentally, I would rather be alone, so that they don''t notice a change...'' [Very well Host. Just be warned, all experience gained from this point forwards is null; there is no overflow until you undergo the Update.] Nodding, I could feel the system grow quiet, and I returned to butchering the beast in front of me. While I was excited at the idea of this Update, I curbed that joy and pushed it aside, focusing on the present. We were still in a dangerous ce, so I needed to be alert. After debating who would transport an entire skull, we all watched as Jahi shrugged it over her shoulders, the spare cords we carried to fix any broken pouches allowing her to carry it. With the harder of the Requests done, we exited the savanna like area and returned to the t, rolling ins, where I needed to harvest a bunch more Obsidian Grass and a new herb called ming Lavender, which grew near the Lava Lake, where Leone needed to harvest some of the ck sand. Anput harvested some herself, exining that the sand was a good instor and many smiths in the Capital wanted this ck sand, as it retained more heat than normal sand. When Anput finally got her own pouches of the sand, we then had to search the stgmites that grew around the ins, attempting to find a chunk of Charred Iron. Finding the ckened metal in abundance near a Lava Goblin Tribe, we made our way back up to the surface, where we turned in our Requests and items, earning a good profit again. [ Earnings: Jahi: 7 Gold 30 Silver Anput: 6 Gold 50 Silver Leone: 6 Gold 50 Silver Kat: 7 Gold Party: 34 Gold 77 Silver 29 Copper Personal Payout: 10 Gold 47 Silver ] Chapter 210 209: System Update (1) When we had turned in our excess materials and Requests, Jahi decided she wanted to eat out, dragging us into the city and towards a restaurant that she had heard of. Entering, I sighed as, unsurprisingly, the ce she brought us to was an all you can eat barbecue ce, the tall Demoness dropping the required coins for the meal before guiding us towards our table. Anput and Jahi instantly started grilling their own meals as soon as the te of raw meats was avable, and Leone nced over to me, her eyes going wide as I offered her my wrist. Watching them all eat with content faces, I sighed again as I slowly found myself calcting how many meals I could have made with the coin that Jahi used to pay for this, only to have to let that thought go as it grew to be more depressing then it was worth. Especially when Anput decided that some of her coin was definitely worth spending on wines. When I saw Jahi mirror Anput and purchase two bottles, I sighed again before grilling my own steak, staring at the subpar meat and cing it on pitiful greens... Leone did the same, but she seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere that Jahi and Anput were creating, the two letting loose a little as they ate and drank. The meal was long, and I helped guide the two tipsy women home, before pushing them into the bedroom, listening to how quickly Anput started to moan. Giving Leone a tired smile, I shook my head and gestured for her to join them, which she did. Going back to the couch, I sighed as I sank into the soft cushions, my body clean from a quick ''shower'' of water magic. ''How long will this update take?'' Closing my eyes, I tuned out the soundsing from the room behind me, instead focusing on the system as it spoke. [Shouldn''t be long, especially not with how much prep time the Host allowed. Shall I start the update now?] ''Please do.'' [Very well. Host may experience tiredness and mental strain during the update; Suggestion: Host should find an area that will amplify Mana regeneration so as to counteract these effects.] Sighing, I nodded as I got up, making my way towards Leone''s room and entering her bath. Waving my hand, I dropped the temperature of the bath significantly, disrobing and lowering myself into the freezing water. Surprisingly, the low temperature didn''t bother me at all; instead, I feltfortable as small patches of frost crystalized over the surface of the still water. Closing my eyes again, I focused on pulling in the mana around me, gradually restoring my core to full. [Updatemencing. Expected time ofpletion: 10 Minutes, 23 seconds.] Leaning back, I watched the timer slowly tick down, my mind going nk as my entire focus honed into the numbers. My already tired body didn''t seem different, but my head was slightly numb, like I had been reading in a dim room for too long. There was no nervousness as the timer slowly ticked down to zero, and I simply let my mind wander as time passed, not thinking about... anything. It was rather rxing, not worrying about something, not thinking about anything; when the clock hit zero, I actually flinched when I heard something, the mini eternity I had created being snuffed from existence. [Update Complete. ''Servant System'' reinitiating...] I could... ''feel'' the system inside of my mind changing, the small shifts around creating an interesting effect as my body warmed up again, before returning to the temperature of the water around me. [Hah~! This feels rather nice~! Like... moving from a cramped apartment into a real house~!] Hearing the system''s voice again, I asked ''So what''s new? Surely you''ll wish to disy this... ''houses'' new shiny bells and whistles, no?'' [Indeed, indeed~! Oh, but I must say it feels nice to be able to... ''move'' around? Hmm, don''t really know how to exin it... Anyways, yes, new features~! Here we go... Sending you a screen now.] [Servant System: Lvl 25 ss: Servant Xp: (0 / 1,000,000) Stats: STR (40) , CON (42) , AGI (40) , DEX (40) , CHA (42) , WIS (42) , INT (40) Skills: Chione''s Blessing (N) , Frost of Despoina (N) , Hunter (N) , Enchanter (N) , Crucible (N) , Dagger Proficiency (Ad) , Stealth (Ad) , Growth (Ad) , Healing (Ex) , Housework (Ex) , Mana Control (Ex) , Hardworking (M) , Nymphomania (MAX) [Skill Tiers: Novice (N) , Apprentice (Ap) , Adept (Ad) , Expert (Ex) , Master (M) , Legendary (L) , MAX (MAX)] Skill Points: 15 Stat Points: 0 Shop Points (SP): 0 [Would Host like to Evolve Servant System? Y / N] ] ''Evolve..? So I was right in the sense that the previous version had be-'' [Outdated? Yes, I sadly was. Besides that, this ''update'' will allow you to choose what you wish to do in the future. Will you remain JUST a maid, doing the household chores and sleeping with your Mistress'', or do you wish to be a different type of Servant; a bodyguard, warrior, mage, enchantress, whatever it may be...] Nodding, I opened my eyes and stared at the translucent screen before me, which was reced. [Here are the options, if you were curious. Remember though, this is not recing the Servant System, simply making it something new. It is... expanding upon it; all the skills and progress you made will remain, as will the current quests and things of that nature. Alright, go ahead and look; if you have a question, ask.] [Servant System Evolution Paths (As determined via Skills, Experience, and Desires): ] ''That... is a lot of options...'' I scrolled through the long list, before returning to the top. ''Is this sorted viapatibility again?'' [Yes and no... it''s hard to determinepatibility, so I grouped some together and ced the ones that you might be more interested in up top.] ''Housewife..?'' [Ahem... that one really is the mostpatible, if you must know...] Chuckling, I shook my head as I asked ''How many Evolutions or sses could I have?'' [Two sses, but the Evolution is technically unlimited. Something could always be improved, and your skills and experiences will always grow as well. For now though, just know that you don''t have the ability to retain a Second ss; your body isn''t entirely ready for that...] ''When would it be?'' [Each ss ces... strain on one''s soul, and if enough strain is felt, a soul could be torn... which usually results in death. Permanent death; no reincarnation, transmigration, regression... just... oblivion. As for when; likely by the time you reach Lvl 50, you would be capable of withstanding a Second ss.] ''So until then, I have whatever I choose here. Alright... exin the ''Frost'' and ''Shadow'' prefix please.'' [Due to your element, disposition, and skills, these variations on Mage, Warrior, Rogue, and Guard have been selected. For Frost, the system will focus entirely on your Ice Magic and how to improve upon it. Quests for learning how to implement and utilize your Ice correctly will be prioritized, and the rewards will stem off of items or ''ideas'' based on Frost. As for Shadow, due to the Stealth Skill and your desire to remain hidden, this altered the Guard ss to fit you better; since a Guard serves someone, this ss changed to be the Shadow Guard, and it will focus on you secretly protecting those you serve. The Quests will be based on your ability to remain hidden from prying eyes, fooling those around you, and the rewards will be item or ''ideas'' based on Steath and remaining hidden.] Nodding again, I pursed my lips as I asked ''That sounds more like me then the whole Frost line though?'' [Well, they were all tied; your love of your Ice, paired with the skill with a de and magic created the ''Frost Line'', as you call it. As for Shadow Guard, that was focused more on your beliefs and desires. You consciously act like a Shadow Guard, but your skills and personality fit those Frost sses well.] ''Alright... I get that. So, whatever I choose here is somehow an ''Evolution'' of the original Servant System?'' [Correct; each one rtes to being a servant in someway; even Soul-Bound Killer is a servant ss, since you are... well... Soul-Bound... Besides that, even thebat ss'', like the Frost Line, are ''servants'', since you can be employed or bound to a person. Servant really was a broadbel... Who came up with that? They must not think ahead...] ''I feel kinda offended; I mean, I chose the damn thing!'' [Oh, not you; it really did fit you well in the beginning, but- I think we should stop... I feel like I''m angering someone...] ''...same...'' ? [A-Anyways, when you chose an evolution, you will be able to receive Daily Quests, which award small experience bundles, as well asrger, normal Quests, which could award experience, skills, skill points, stat points, items, Shop Points, or ''ideas'', which you can think of as someone mming a textbook of information into your brain...] ''Alright... weird, but I get that. So, when I choose a new... ''ss'', will the change be immediate or..?'' [Kind of. The update preloaded most of these sses, so when you choose one the System will update in a few minutes.] Nodding, I stared at the screen ahead of me for a few more minutes, reading each option and weighing them carefully. The entire Frost Line of sses was tempting; I did love my Ice Magic, and with them I could further my magic even more, but... With any of those choices, I bound myself towards one style; a Mage, Warrior, or Rogue. Sure, I could still learn to fight however I wanted, but choosing a Mage ss and not using magic wouldn''t get me the most experience, and if I chose Warrior and used magic, I would run into the same problem. Which made me go down to Shadow Guard; the entire ss would revolve around me protecting Anput, Leone, and Jahi from the shadows, with no one knowing how strong I was besides them. I didn''t need to put myself out there; the attention for being a top talent seemed more of a detriment then anything else... I was content letting them shine as I supported them, and a Guard was free to use whatever they pleased, as long as they protected the people they were meant to guard. Nodding to myself, I double checked every other ss, before saying ''Shadow Guard. I want to evolve into a Shadow Guard.'' [Are you sure? Once an Evolution is selected, you cannot reverse that change. Think this through first bef-] ''I have. Please evolve my Servant System into Shadow Guard.'' --- Alright, so I went with sses, since there is such a broad definition for Servant. And Guard was one of them. This will alter her quests, which will now epass her being an unseen, unknown power that protects the other three. Which fits her. Besides that, this allows more flexibility with the System, and I will go into detail next chapter about those changes. What''d you all think of these changes though? I''m curious. --- Chapter 211 210: System Update (2) [Are you sure? Once an Evolution is selected, you cannot reverse that change. Think this through first bef-] ''I have. Please evolve my Servant System into Shadow Guard.'' [Very well. Commencing system evolution... updating...] Leaning back against the baths wall, I sighed as the ice cold waterpped at my skin, nketing me in aforting feeling. Shadow Guard... Someone who protects those they care about while remaining unseen. Their skills, unknown. It fit what I wanted to do perfectly, it really did. Jahi was an immensely talented woman, her skill inbat unparalleled amongst our current peers. Add her Light Magic onto that, and she is quite literally a rising star of this generation. Future Marquess to the Asmodia Estate, potential as a warrior to match her Mom, the current Marquess, who is a Knight of Cinder. Standing by her side are two other immensely talented women; the Princess of this Empire, Leone Presa-Ash, daughter of the Empress and skilled mage, as well as the Begum of the Sultanate, Anput Sera, daughter of the Sultana and incredible swordswoman. Both would be women receiving the worlds undivided attention, for both their talent and beauty, but they were outshined by the woman they chose to marry; Jahi Asmodia. All three were going to be influential, important people in the future, whereas I... Without a system, I would likely be struggling to keep up, but I DO have a system. And I intend to take full advantage of it to help them realize their own goals. I have no grand ambitions like them. Leone wants to push the boundaries of the unknown Arcane''s, discovering new uses of magic and new fields entirely. Anput wishes to eventually be a master smith, her des to each be considered at the same level as Jahi''s own sword; a masterpiece, to beuded and used only by those so far above the rest. Finally, Jahi; she wants to be the strongest, to protect us from everything in this world. The simplicity of it is what makes it so grand; we''ve seen the women who''ve reached the pinnacle, and currently, we are so far away from that peak... But Jahi wants to scale it anyway, to carve her own spot as the strongest person in this world. Me? My ambitions are small, personal things. I want each of them to be happy. I want each of them to love me. I want... A family. I would be content settling down in a few years, letting our love culminate into a child and watching them grow; that is all I truly want from this life. I have no desire to stand at the peak, to be able to mold and shape this world with but a thought. That idea, and many others from various stories I have heard, have never resonated with me; they all sound so nd and lonely. Why aim for the peak, where there is but room for one, when I could build a sturdy bunker below that peak, living and loving with my family? However, I will help each of them reach their goals, and if they want to reach that peak, I''ll turn that into a ce worth living; that is my own goal. I don''t need recognition from the masses; they matter not to me. I only want these three women by my side to look at me, and only me, for the rest of our long lives; to help and love with me as we raise our children over the next decade, century, millennia... That is all I want. So I will be the woman that stands behind them and helps them onto their feet should they ever fall down; to be their support whenever and wherever they need it. If someone wants to attempt to shatter the peace that I helped create, then the solution is simple. They need to disappear, with none the wiser as to where they went. My ce in the dark didn''t bother me, since my light came from the tall Demoness who I was bound to; from the radiant smile of Leone when she discovered something new; from the arrogantugh of Anput whenever she drew her de. That was all I cared about, and I would protect each as best I could. [Shadow Guard evolution...plete.] [Servant System: Lvl 25 ss: Shadow Guard Xp: (0 / 1,000,000) Stats: (Expand) Skills: (Expand) Skill Points: 15 Stat Points: 0 Shop Points (SP): 0] [Active Quests: Daily: Cook a Meal that your Mistress'' enjoy - 150xp per meal Clean the Cottage - 500xp (once a day) Satisfy your Mistress'' cravings (Sex Quest) - 500xp per ejaction; Capped at 10,000xp per day Help your Mistress'' train - 1xp - 1,000xp (Depends on the amount and quality of help; can do daily per Mistress) Train your Dagger Skills - 1xp - 1,000xp (Depends on the amount and quality of improvement) Train your Stealth Skills - 1xp - 1,000xp (Depends on the amount and quality of improvement) Train your Ice, Water, and Wind Magic Skills - 1xp - 1,000xp (Depends on the amount and quality of improvement) Train you other Skills - 1xp - 1,000xp (Depends on the amount and quality of improvement) (Additional Note: Each Daily Quest *MAY* award 1sp - 10sp uponpletion) Quests: (Additional Note: Each Quest *MAY* award 100sp - 10,000sp uponpletion)] Looking over the list, I asked ''What would a normal Quest look like?'' [For example... , and the reward would be based on how well you concealed your strength during that shopping trip; other examples could be , or You technically don''t have to do any of the Quests, so if there''s one that you feel isn''t worth it, you can ignore it. Additionally, sometimes you''ll be forced to reveal your strength, which could result in the Quest lowering the rewards you get. However, just know that each Quest is within your capabilities when given, so I would suggest you try them when they appear.] ''Okay... okay, what about the experience I need per level now? Wasn''t it a 1.5x growth per level?'' [Yes, but that uh... very quickly grew to insane proportions, to the point where leveling past 30 would have been near impossible. So, the process has been streamlined; every 5 levels increases the experience needed by 250,000xp; so for levels 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29 you need 1,000,000xp; from levels 30 to level 34, you need 1,250,000xp per level, and so on and so forth. This retains the challenge for leveling, while making it... possible. Besides that, the experience given out for monsterspared to quests has remained the same, and your Growth Skill still works as it did previously. So, whether or not you level fast depends on your own effort put in, as well as your focus. I''m sure you noticed that currently, your Training Quests, including Training with your Mistress'' can grant you 1,000xp maximum, but with Growth, you can get 1,750 maximum, since it has a 75% boost.] Nodding, I stared at the screen before me, thinking over a good routine for myself; the meals and cleaning was something I already did, so... How would I go about training with each woman? dework with Anput and Jahi, while I practiced Magic with Leone? Though, the Quest never specified what I was helping them train in, so Anput and Leone could be where I train my other Skills, while Jahi and I spar? As for my Stealth Skill, I guess for now I just needed to practice keeping my movements quiet as I worked, or when I left the Cottage. It would also be easy to train during ss, as I could try to conceal my presence there... Of course, I would also very easily be able to get maximum experience from my Sex Quests if I put my mind to it; it was only 20 a day... Chuckling, I nodded to myself as I decided to just let a day or two y out like normal, to gauge how much I made without attempting to min-max everything I did. ''Alright, now to the shop...'' [Window shopping huh? Actually, I''m rather curious as well... never know what''s in stock...] Opening the Shop tab, I looked at the items avable, scrolling through everything. ''Monster parts, potion ingredients, potions, metal ores, metal ingots, weapons, enchanted weapons, armor, enchanted armor, techniques... alright, nothing terribly insane in here; no God Orbs that will level a mountain...'' [Is that relief or disappointment?] ''...Yes?'' There wasn''t anything that would make me incredibly over powered; even the techniques were more so guides on how to cast certain spells that I could figure out on my own, if I spent the time to study for them. Each thing was useful, and adequately priced... I think. [Steel Dagger - 75sp] ''Is that average price?'' [Above average; the materials to make a Steel Dagger are in here for cheaper. Finished items and borate techniques are going to cost way more than if you buy the parts that make that thing. If we convert SP to coins, 1sp is 1 Silver.] ''A Steel Dagger is around 35 to 50 Silvers, so... alright, I mean, it could be worse. At least this seems to put more importance on learning to do things yourself. I mean, look at that price.'' [Enchanted Steel Dagger (Frost) - 500sp] ''The enchantment for an element of your own mana type is rtively easy, and it raises the price by so much! But, if I just learned to enchant my own weapons, I could buy a Steel Dagger for 75sp and enchant it, saving 425sp. Not bad...'' [Indeed. There are a few more things to learn, but they''ll be more like... on the job training; things you''ll discover as you startpleting Quests and training.] ''Very well. Now, you might want to uh... turn away? I''m going to go let loose for a bit...'' [Thanks for the warning... see you tomorrow, Host.] --- Anything that you can think of adding? The system is more so a... background program, if you will; she needs to do most of the work herself to get stronger, while the system can make that journey a little smoother. Anyways, that''s that, and as a recap forst month: 1994 Privilege Chapter Unlocks put us at 5th for ''New'' Female Lead Novels. ~500 Golden Tickets. ~800 Power Stones a Week. Thank you all so much for the support, and let''s keep going~! --- Chapter 212 211: First Morning With A New Class --- This is a Slice of Life chapter, so it''ll be more of Kat just thinking while she goes about her day --- Rolling off of Jahi''s chest, I gave her a coy smirk before slipping into the bath. Last night had been a... productive one, and I came out of it 14,000xp richer, what with the 16 loads I squeezed from the three girls. I have to admit, since I usually enjoy being on the receiving end more, it was refreshing seeing their surprised faces when I took the lead... Smirking to myself, I rinsed off before slipping into the bath, this time keeping the water warm. Allowing the water to rx my muscles, I would asionally send a burst of healing magic through my body as well, deciding to gradually heal up instead of rushing the process. It was still dark outside, and the sun should being up soon, so I had time. When I had gotten back to my peak shape, I sighed as I stood up and dried off, sping on my clothes before exiting the bedroom; the other three were stillying in a pile on the bed, each one tired and worn out fromst night. Slipping into the kitchen, I nced around the stocked pantry and started grabbing some ingredients. Pulling out a bowl, I started preparing to make home made bread, since I had the time. While I worked at creating the batter for the bread, I went over potential ways to train my misceneous skills each day; the most obvious skill that I could constantly train was my Enchanter skill, but Mana Control was also something I could work on as well. Besides my misceneous skills, I needed to train with my dagger and my magic spells, to both improve myself and to get the maximum rewards from my te of Daily Quests. I wanted to save up Shop Points for rarer monster parts, ores, or even potions themselves; each was a good use of my ''money'', and would give me something worthwhile when I bought them. Depending on how talented Anput and Leone are with their respective fields of Forging and Alchemy respectively, I would have ess to weapons and potions made for no extra cost. At most, I would find myself with one of them that night, but that was going to happen anyways, so why not receive ''payment'' for it~? Smiling, I started kneading the batter into a ball, before pursing my lips. If I was trying to make the most out of each Quest, I would benefit from training my Mana Control during my Magic training, which could be alongside Leone, while my dagger training could bepleted during the training I had with Anput or Jahi... Then, if I hadn''t hit the cap for all, I could continue on my own; there were many exercises I could do with my mana to train my spells and my control, while the de work could be honed in the kitchen as well... Turn cooking into a training regimen as well; train my control and precision with each cut. Another easy skill to train whilepleting other quests would be my Crucible skill, since I could use that as an excuse to milk one or more of the girls at random points of the day... My smile returned as I continued kneading the dough, waiting for my internal timer to go off. Besides that, whenever we left the house, I could practice my Stealth skill more, by trying to minimize the presence I gave off... Nodding, I sliced therge ball of dough I had and created a few loaves of bread, sliding them into the over and igniting it. Next, I entered the secondary pantry that I had turned into a freezer, my eyes roaming the meats that I had stored away. Debating what I wanted to make with the bread, I shrugged as I nced at the pork belly, deciding to go with bacon. Removing it from the hook, I cleaned off my counter and started slicing the meat into long, thick strips, cutting off what I thought would be enough before cing the remaining pork belly back into the frozen pantry. Cutting the strips further, I opened my Quest tab and nced at the Dagger Training Quest, a small smile on my lips as I saw ( 12 / 1,000 ), meaning... Turning to the meat below me, I controlled the knife I was using and started mincing it into even cubes, making sure each was the same size. When I looked back up, I nodded to myself as the number had risen, albeit not by much. ( 16 / 1,000 ) So, I could get some from my cooking, which was a relief... Closing the screen, I continued on and stared at the pile of bacon cubes I had, before grabbing therge eggs and cracking them above a bowl. Whisking them until the yolks werepletely mixed, I added the bacon into the mixture and grabbed some spring onions, dicing them finely as well. By the end of me adding some other spices to the eggs, I had all I would need for my scrambled eggs, pouring it out onto the pan I had heating up on the stove. Letting them cook, I went to start thest thing I wanted to make for breakfast. Mixing some raspberries and ckberries with sugar, I then dropped them into a pot and let them heat up, turning them from just berries into a coulis, which was a thinner jelly. Though, depending on the time, I could thicken it up slightly... Moving to the oven, I nced inside to see the dough starting to rise, making me smile. The kitchen was slowly being filled with the smell of baking bread, which has to be the best smell in the entire world. A close second is basil. Leaning against the counter, I stirred the scrambling eggs and turned it lower, letting them cook slower while I waited for everything else. Next, I grabbed myrger teapot and filled it with water, before letting that go to a boil. I loved cooking, more than most things, but it was this part that made me annoyed. The waiting. I needed to be in the kitchen to oversee everything, but there was nothing happening right this moment... Sighing, I moved to the sink and started cleaning everything that I was done with off, storing them away before returning to each of the breakfast items, making sure they were doing well before going back to the sink. Repeating that a few times, I eventually heard someone shuffling out of the bedroom, and when I turned I saw Jahi, her tired face entering my eyes as she moved towards me. Like always, the Demoness was topless, with just a pair of undone pants on her lower half. Wrapping her arms around my waist, she leaned against me and buried her face into the crook of my neck. Reaching up, I stroked her warm cheek and murmured "Good morning Mistress." Getting a grumble in return, I smiled softly as she continued to lean on me, before I chuckled as her stomach rumbled. "...hungry..." Hearing, and feeling, her mutter into my neck, I chuckled as I said "Here, try this for me then." Spearing a piece of egg onto a fork, I lifted it up towards her, watching as she slowly turned towards the scent of fresh food. Opening her mouth, she bit down on the fork when I ced it before her lips, and the Demoness let out a low moan. Smiling at her, I ced the fork down and tried to move towards the oven, only to sigh as she remainedtched to my back. Waddling around the kitchen with an oversized child attached to me, I managed to get everything prepared, with Jahi watching my every move with hungry amethyst eyes. Sighing, I nced up at the Demoness, her eyes fixed on the bread in the oven, and I let out a stern warning. "Go sit down, love. Otherwise, you won''t be getting any." Pouting at me, she shuffled over to the table, her shoulders slumped as she took a seat. Admiring her rippling muscles as she walked, I nodded when she sat down, before ncing over at the door as the other two made their way out as well. Anput was clutching at her loose ck robe, her equally ck hair falling messily over her shoulders as she shuffled slowly towards the table. As for Leone, she had a towel wrapped around her head, while another towel tried, in vain, to contain herrge breasts, forcing her to constantly readjust it as she too sat down. With everything only a few more minutes away, I prepared the table and sat the teapot in the center, before getting everything out of the pots, pans, and oven. Putting the eggs in arge tray, Iid that on the table, before cing a loaf of bread in front of each of us; as for the coulis, I poured each of us a small bowls worth, letting them decide how much of the berry topping they wanted on their food. Giving Leone my arm first, I smiled as I watched every start eating, their previous tired expressions slowly being rejuvenated from my food. --- I got hungry half way through this chapter, if you didn''t notice... So Imma go eat... sadly not what Kat prepared, as I don''t have the ingredients... --- Chapter 213 212: Training The day at the Academy passed by uneventfully, with Jillian and A still remaining a god distance away from us, only asionally casting nces our way. Jahi started getting us prepared to graduate from each ss early, talking to the professors and letting them know that we wished to eventually take the finals early. Of course, this made Anput nch slightly when we all fixed her with a stern look, the Jackalkin gulping as she realized that a real long study session awaited her each night for the next week, and not the kind that she wanted. As for Leone and I, we needed to study as well, but our grasp on the History material was pretty decent, and I still had a pass to just... excuse myself from a ss due to my status as a servant. Again, I still wanted to pass the test, so that I could unlock the ability to take Monsterology courses; since the March Asmodia was located along the border of the Labyrinthian, we were the first line of defense against any major monster outbreaks, and as such I wanted to get a deeper understanding of monsters and their weakness'', so that I could better prepare Jahi against the threats that we would be facing. However, that was the future, and my main focus was the here and now; so, during each ss, I tinkered with my Stealth skill, remaining as quiet as I could throughout the day, and keeping my footsteps as like as possible when we walked between sses. I did the same outside of the Academy, and having such arge, eye drawing woman to ''hide'' behind in Jahi was certainly helpful. Though, I had a feeling that I would need to start making nightly excursions throughout the city to really train myself... Which, with the current political climate, was very dangerous... When we returned home Jahi pulled Anput over to the kitchen,ying the history textbooks before the pouting Jackalkin before sitting beside her, forcing the girl to read the books aloud. As for Leone and I, we went outside, as I had expressed interest in something that Vice-Headmaster Bijilo had talked about today. Magic Dueling. It was a specific spell that had been invented centuries ago, and the spell had been created because people wanted a way to gauge one''s magical prowess without needing to be in harms way. The spell wasn''t strong enough to kill, and it made it easier for people to settle disagreements the same way those more physically inclined did; a spar. Before this spell had been created, mages peted'' with their research or with their ability to ''summon'' and cast a powerful spell in as little time as possible. Even today, one of the requirements to pass most of the Magic Courses at the Academy was to disy your casting speed with a strong spell, both to gauge your precision with runes and how knowledgeable you were of magic. However, some teachers also required you to go against them in a Magic Duel, as they wished to test how well you controlled and output your mana. So, Leone and I stood apart from one another, tracing the runes needed for this basic spell. It would create a bridge between us, connecting my mana to hers and vice versa. Then, we would join our mana together in the center, before attempting to push the others back. It was a simple task, and the only thing that felt like it was missing was a wand... Since both of us were aplished mages; that is to say, we know what we''re doing with our mana, this duel was weighted heavily in Leone''s favor, what with her element being ''superior'' to mine. However, I insisted on trying it, as the worst case would be the Vampire across from me having to learn how to hold back her potent mana, or best case... I win, and she needs to learn how to suppress my mana. Nodding to her, Ipleted the spell circle in front of me and pushed my mana towards her, watching as the ethereal blue mana floated towards the vibrant red that Leone created. Joining together, we took a deep breath before nodding to one another again, this time starting the duel. Keeping my mana steady, I ''pushed'' against Leone''s mana, watching with interest as the connected area fizzed and popped. The vibrant fire mana tried to devour my ethereal ice, but it had to rear back as I poured some more mana into the spell, making the blue re. As the connected spot of our mana grew closer to her, Leone pursed her lips before grinning, her fire mana sparking as it easily enveloped my own, swiftly coursing over the bridge and rushing towards me. Frowning, I made my mana pulse inside the ''mouth'' of Leone''s mana, forcing it to stop as chunks of her mana was destroyed, reced by my own. The beam between us grew multicolored as the connected orb of energy returned to the middle; both ends were spotted with the others color, but now we were evenly matched. Since Leone was relying entirely on Fire Mana, I could alter the Ice Mana to take on more of my Water then Wind, the freezing liquid dousing Leone''s mes with ease. The problem was the potency of her mana; even as I put out her Fire, she would simply raise the heat and evaporate my Water, returning our duel to an equilibrium; neither was able to truly push the other back by pure strenght, so... Conceding some ground, I weakened my mana output gradually, which made Leone smile slightly. As the connecting orb sparked and fizzled as it grew closer, I chuckled as I started pushing back again, switching from entirely Ice to only Water. With the way my mana worked, when I used my Ice it was always surrounded by a sharp gale of wind, which was strengthening Leone''s mes. Now that that gale was gone... Leone grit her teeth as she had to watch her mes be quenched slowly but surely, the orb being pushed back towards her. Even as she poured a little more mana into the spell, she could only groan as the orb ''popped'' in front of her, signifying the end of the duel, and my victory. Chuckling, I canceled the spell and approached her, grinning at the Vampire as she red at me. "Come on Leone~! I won fair and square, didn''t I~?" Leaning closer to her, I continued to grin as she pouted, letting out a huff as she turned away. Before I could continue teasing her, Anput and Jahi walked outside, the Jackalkin storming over to the weapons rack, while Jahi just let out an exasperated sigh. Moving to stand beside Jahi, I watched as Anput started swinging her de, the wooden sword thunking against the training dummy, her tail and ears bristling with each swing. "What..?" Shaking her head, Jahi sighed as she exined, her voice low. "I gave her a mini verbal quiz at the end of the chapter, and while her answers were technically right, she didn''t exin anything at all, only giving short, concise answers... and when I asked for me, she got a little..." Falling silent, she gestured to the woman, the sword in her hands a blur as she expertly, and angrily, beat on the training dummy. "Annoyed, I guess? Well..." We both nced over at Leone, who had moved to sit on therge boulder at the back of the yard, her eyes shut as she started practicing her mana control, her face cold. Sighing, I muttered "So is she..." Giving one another a mildly frustrated look, we both shrugged as I said "So should we train as well? Start with des, move to magic?" Getting a nod, I grabbed a wooden dagger and a wooden sword, watching as the Demoness easily caught and spun the sword in her hands. Moving to the center of the yard, we nodded to one another before beginning our spar, focusing more on improving the techniques we used then winning this mock battle. I practiced on my precision and agility, deciding to go with hit and run tactics on therger woman, who used my technique as a way to hone her blocking and parrying skills. The sounds of our des crossing echoed around the yard, and eventually we swapped what we were doing, allowing me to focus on my evasion and redirections while Jahi attempted to perfect her shorter, quicker attacks. While we were fighting, Anput eventually managed to cool herself down enough to not have bristling fur, and when Jahi and I finished our exchange we opened a space for her, creating a hectic free for all. Since I was more focused on speed and precision, I was the one attacking them both the most, while Jahi defended against me and attacked Anput, who was a solid in between of Jahi and I. The day slowly passed, and when we finished I returned to Leone''s side, going through some of the less fun Dual Cultivation with her for a half hour before starting dinner. --- Last two days have been tiring, hence the slower, SoL chapters; might do one more tomorrow depending on how I feel again, should be back to normal after that I hope~ Other books may or may not get updated today or tomorrow too, so if you read my other stuff don''t be surprised if they''re not updated... --- Chapter 214 213: Talk For Tonight After we finished training as a group, I returned to my kitchen and prepared some beef slices over rice for dinner, cooking the beef and some vegetables together and pouring them over a te of steamed rice. Paired with the wine that Jahi pulled out as an apology to Anput, the three women wereughing and chatting away, each one enjoying the delicious meal and sweet wine. While they talked and giggled, I checked my quests, a little disappointed but not by much. [Active Quests: Daily: Cook a Meal that your Mistress'' enjoy - 150xp per meal / 300xp awarded Clean the Cottage - 500xp / 500xp awarded Satisfy your Mistress'' cravings (Sex Quests) - 500xp per ejaction / 14,000xp awarded Help Jahi train - 1,000xp / 866xp awarded Help Anput train - 1,000xp / 562xp awarded Help Leone train - 1,000xp / 798xp awarded Train your Dagger Skills - 1,000xp / 801xp awarded Train your Ice, Water, and Wind Magic - 1,000xp / 523xp awarded Train your other Skills - 1,000xp / 728xp awarded Total xp: 19,078xp Total sp: 8sp] Looking over the list, I reviewed the day and wondered where I should put more effort to squeeze out more experience. I wanted to increase this number to at least 20,000, since I could then reliably level up in a month and a half by doing just the bare minimum; if we go down to Zhu''Rong Caverns, that expected time will decrease by a lot. The main two that I could think of attempting to increase my training of was my Stealth and Magic; Wind Magic was versatile, and when considering the fact that any Beastkin like Anput and I would rely more on our noses and ears then anything else, I could utilize my wind to quietly diffuse any scent I put out, as well as muffle my movements. Besides that, I needed to go buy myself some newer shoes, or at least alter the ones I currently wear. A softer sole would make my movements more quiet naturally, so I wouldn''t need to invest too much mana into silencing my footsteps, which could instead be used for something else. This entire thought process led to me having one conclusion. I needed to start traveling around the city at night, blending in with the crowd or traversing the rooftops to avoid detection. Doing so during the day was currently too risky at my current level, and I would likely get caught too easily by even just normal passerby''s. However, at night, I should be able to blend in decently enough; besides that, I don''t n on doing anything crazy just yet; I only want to experience the nightlife and see how much experience I get for doing so. Though, the main problem would be convincing Jahi to let me out; there would be no sneaking away from her, as even I could tell with the Servant side of our Soul Bound where she was, and if she had gone far away. I can only imagine what she would feel with the Master side of that bound, and how easily she must be able to tell that I was gone. Thest thing I wanted was to worry her, so we would need to talk and discuss this new training of mine... Besides that, I needed to... ''talk'' to her about my new ss; not truly diverging my origins and all of that... That will be taken to my grave. Instead, I wanted to tell her that I want to train myself to be her hidden de, used as she saw fit. This would likely lead to argument, as Jahi wanted me to get the recognition she thought I deserved, and since we were both stubborn and adamant that our point of view was correct, there was no way that she wouldn''t argue with me... Taking a sip of my wine, I savored the sweet, yet semi tart vor that warmed my tongue, the familiar burn of alcohol making me smile slightly. I missed some of the hard liquors of my world, but I was also grateful they weren''t asmon here; hangovers were dreadful as a human, but I can''t imagine the pains I would feel if I had to have the smells and sounds amplified as well... I would truly be as sick as a dog, huh? Holding in a chuckle from my own stupidly childish joke, I continued eating, watching as Jahi scooped out more rice for herself. When I finished my own te, I got up and started preparing dessert, which was just me shaving a block of ice and pouring a the remaining coulis from this morning over top of it. Simple, but delectable... Ferrying the cups over to the girls, I watched as they marveled over the treat, each one letting out small moans of pleasure as they took bite after bite of the shaved ice. Dinner finished with ease, and I could feel the mood in the room shift from the jovial, light atmosphere of chatter grow heavier, each woman eyeing up the other as their cheeks flushed, the wine taking effect as everything grew ambiguous and heated. Sensing that, I decided that I needed to talk to Jahi before she got going, as conversation with her during coitus was nigh impossible, unless we discussed better ways to satisfy our boundless lusts. Standing up, I moved to stand behind Jahi, cing my hand on her shoulder as I leaned down, my breath tickling her ear as I whispered "We need to talk..." Her amethyst eyes moved towards my hand, a smirk on those plump blue lips as she nodded. Anput and Leone watched us, their eyes glued to our movements; Anput''s tail thumped, while Leone''s fangs slid into view, the two women preparing to get up and join us as well. However, I wanted to discuss this with Jahi by herself first, before opening this up into a family wide debate. I wasn''t fond of putting myself at a disadvantage for no reason, not when there was an easier way to attempt my negotiations. ncing at the two women, I murmured "Alone...", my voice low and sensual, making them frown. Jahi, who was still feeling the effects of the wine, nodded slightly, her hand covering mine as she spoke, her raspy voice entering everyones ears. "You two can go start up... when we''re done discussing... whatever it is, we''ll join you..." Rubbing her thumb over the back of my hand, Jahi added "And if what she says annoys me, we''ll all partake in her together, as a... punishment, of sorts..." That made the other two grin, their eyes hot as they stared intently at me. Raising a brow, I shoo''d the two girls away, smirking as I muttered "Don''t count on it..." However, they didn''t hear me, and I watched on as they slid into our bedroom, the two already whispering to one another, likely discussing who would do what to start. I was happy that they had opened up to one another, which- Dragging me onto herp, Jahi held me by my waist, her amethyst eyes narrowed. Was helpful for when Jahi wouldn''t be avable; the two oues of this talk of ours wouldn''t involve Anput and Leone, sadly enough. I would either have my wish granted, or I would be sufficiently ''punished'' by this Demoness, depending on how well I articted everything. When the two others were gone, Jahi stared down at me, her features serious as she asked "So? What did we need to discuss?" Leaning against her chest, I stared into her eyes and pursed my lips, before sighing. It''d be best to just dive headfirst into this argument... "Over thest few days, I''ve been thinking. About what''s happening around us now, about what we''ve experienced, and about... about what I want to do." Jahi tightened her grasp on my waist, her other hand resting on my knees. Her eyes narrowed further, and I could see the contained emotions within. "With the Sariel''s, the run in with the Ik''s..." ncing away briefly, I muttered "Lord Pele..." She clenched her hands on me further at that, and I could feel our bond surge for a moment. Taking a deep breath, I returned to her eyes and continued. "It''s all just... further entrenched my desires. I do want to get stronger, like you and the others, but I know that my strenght lies... on a different path from each of yours." Jahi tilted her head, her eyes hard as she hissed "How so?" "Each of you is akin to a star, Jahi. Bright, brilliant, meant to be seen. With the talents each of you possess, you will all be the future of this Empire, leading one of, if not the strongest Noble House underneath the Empress'' banner." Another deep breath, and I added "I don''t wish to be that star. I... dislike the idea of people seeing me as some genius, ready to be raised into the Nobility due to my talent and skill. I don''t want it; I never have, and I never will. What I want... what I''ve wanted ever since I met you, just a few years ago, was to keep this happiness around us alive and well for all of eternity. And my talents simply don''t lie on the same path that each of you will take; sure, I could be a normal warrior or mage, but neither calls to me like they call to you; to Anput; to Leone. So... I made my decision. I made it long ago, and I''ll continue to stand by it. I want to keep our family happy, I want to support each of you, but I don''t want people to see me. I don''t want the attention, the multitudes of Houses attempting to forge ties with me, promising to nurture me as some talented genius. I want to remain hidden; a secret, nothing more than a maid. All four of us know what I''m capable of, and that''s enough. I want to continue how I''ve lived since we''ve moved here; a Servant, your maid." Reaching up, I ced a finger on her lips before she could speak, stifling the anger in her eyes. "And eventually, your wife. I''m fine with the Marquess eventually raising my Mother and I to the rank of Baroness, but that is more than enough. Yes, I will marry you and stand by your side, raise our children, but I don''t want anything else. To get to that point, I do know that I''ll need strength, but I am content with being a concealed de for you to use, Jahi. And you will never change my mind; you''ve known that all the time. I don''t wish for glory or honor like you and Anput do, nor do I desire to etch my name in history as an incredible research like Leone. So, I will continue what I''ve been doing; shrouding who I am from the masses, concealing myself behind the three amazing women I love, and supporting them the best I can. Which..." Releasing her lips, I saw her swallow hard, her eyes frigid as she continued to stare at me in silence. She was angry, and rightfully so; I was taking her one desire, the desire she''s told me of multiple times, and spitting on it in front of her. Jahi has always wanted me to stand by her side as her equal, not slightly behind her as a Servant. The only argument we''ve truly had in these years together has been that, but it was something neither of us would concede to the other; we knew what we wanted, and we were going to do our damndest to change their views to fit ours. "Is why I wish to start training more; to hone my skills further, to conceal myself better." Not wincing even as her fingers dug into my flesh, I stared into her now golden eyes, the Demoness leaning down, an inch between us as she growled "How? What is this... ''training'' you wish to do? Training to do something I''ve already made clear that I utterly despise?" The growl she let out was low and guttural, and if this had been when I had firste to this world, I would''ve been frightened. No one had ever spoken like that to me, least of all a seven and a half foot tall, blue skinned, horned Demoness with liquid gold eyes. But, I wasn''t that same pathetic woman; I had grown, albeit in a twisted way, since that point. So, feeling my own emotions frost over, I rested my forehead against hers, my voice icy as I spoke again. Chapter 215 214: End Of The Night Feeling my own emotions rise, I rested my forehead against hers, my voice icy as I spoke again. "I know that you dislike this, Jahi, but it''s my life. If you truly wish to treat me as your equal, like how you treat Anput and Leone, then this training that I came up with will happen." Continuing to stare into her golden eyes, I watched as they slowly filled with mild anger and exasperation, her lips pulled into a sneer. "My question was what. Is. This. Training? It wasn''t what you thought, Kat." Her voice was raspy, and her hard eyes continued to bore into my own as she waited. Enunciating each word and ignoring my previous statement... "The idea was to traverse the city at night, hiding from view and honing the skills needed to remain unseen. Alone, preferably..." At that, she sneered, her voice a low growl as she whispered "Alone?" Her breath was hot against my skin, and I held back a shiver as her eyes red further, the gold swirling around in her iris. When she continued, her voice was level and t, void of emotion. "You wanted to leave this house... alone. You wanted to journey around the city... alone. The city which houses dozens upon hundreds of Nobles, Adventurers, Criminals? Alone? Did you forget what I said when we arrived here? Did you? You of all people should know better, Kat... You were the one to remind us to not be arrogant. Is your... ''training'' idea not arrogance? Thinking that you can just... gvant around the city, unseen, unheard, unnoticed? Is that not arrogance to the extreme? Have you not learned from what you tell us?" Gritting my teeth, I stared at her as she spoke, her golden eyes narrowed as she stared back. I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off, her anger making itself known again. "Do you think I will let you walk around, alone, after what happened back in Phobos City? Are you taking me for an idiot, Kat? Is that it? You think that I would conveniently forget that thest time I took my eyes off of you, you were kidnapped and almost killed?" Hearing her bring up Phobos and my kidnapping, I swallowed down my anger as the rest of her words washed over me. I couldn''t tell her that during that time, I had had some kind of... fever dream that may or may not be real; that a future version of me came back to tell me to start preparing for somerge, disastrous event in a decades time. "Let''s say that I do allow you to... wander the city at night, to... ''hone your skills''. What are you even nning on doing, hmm? Just walking around, hoping no one sees you? ''Concealing'' yourself from some normal people? People without mana? How in the zing hells does that help whatsoever Kat?" My lip curled up in mild anger as I snapped "It''s a start damnit!" Taking in a deep breath, I tried to calm myself down, to find a way to turn this back around. "For what? For you to continue to hide yourself from the world? How does you learning to sneak around like a coward benefit me, Kat? How? Exin it to me, exin to me why I should even continue to think about this? About letting you walk out of that door, alone, back into the world; a world, may I remind you, that just got much more dangerous when a psycho bitch of an Elf dered war on our House?" With another deep breath, I stared at her face, the swirling emotions in her eyes slowly making themselves known. Anger, confusion, disappointment, exasperation, care, love... Biting my lip, I continued to meet her gaze, even as I wanted nothing more than to turn away. "To be your hidden de; someone none of the other Houses know anything about. To protect you from harm before you even need to deal with it. To be little more than your shadow in public, someone that the others just gloss over because they see little more than a maid, a servant. Not a warrior, not a killer... I want to protect and support each of you the best I can, and to me, this is how I can do that; to not distract you by having your worry about yet another House asking to recruit me, to have me wed somewhere else... Besides, if this... situation we''re in can''t change your mind that someone who can silently and easily make their way into locked ces to, say, get rid of the problem before it esctes..." My voice trailed off as Jahi sighed, releasing my knees as she pinched her nose. "So your... idea of helping is to be my personal... assassin, meant to be used to weaken whoever stands against me from the shadows? Correct? This is why you wish to remain the way you''ve stubbornly clung to all this time?" I nodded, her tired voice entering my ears again as she murmured "Why''re you so damn troublesome, Kat? There''s never a moment where you don''t... you can''t... hah..." Raising a brow, I watched as she leaned back into the chair, her eyes staring up towards the ceiling. "You are not going out alone, no matter how much you plead, no matter how much you will attempt to. I will know if you''ve left, Kat, and there''ll be hell to pay should you even fucking think about it, understand?" She lowered her eyes back to me, revealing the natural amethyst that I had fallen in love with. "But-!" cing her hand over my mouth, she sighed again as she said "You''re not going out alone. Did that sound like I said you''re not going out... at all? Whenever you want to do these little... escapades of yours, you will tell me first, and we shall go out. Together. Because if something happens to you while I''m not there, I..." She gulped and turned away, before she muttered "Anyways, if you''re so damn adamant about this, then we''ll go out. Together. If you think, for even a second, that-" Looking back at me, her eyes reverted to gold, and her voice turned to a growl. "I will ever risk losing you again, you''re wrong. This bond be damned, you''re mine, Kat. MINE. I will NEVER let you walk away from me, nor will I watch you leave. You belong to me..." Nodding, I shuffled around on herp, mounting her and staring straight into her eyes. "That''s fine with me, Jahi... I may live for you, but I will determine how I go about serving you; both as a Servant and as a Lover." sping her cheeks, I smiled warmly at her as I leaned forwards, whispering "Besides, you also belong to me... Most of that heart that beats in your chest belongs to me, and you will never be able to escape or change that..." Stroking her wless blue skin, I allowed my thumbs to roam close to her eyes, making her flinch as I applied a small amount of pressure, my smile twisting as I finished speaking. "I am yours, and you are mine; nothing in this world will ever change that, no matter how you might eventually try to look for a way out..." She smirked at me, her hands slipping under my dress as she whispered "I thought I made it damn clear that the puppy in front of me was never going to leave my side... Has she forgotten that?" Pressing her lips against mine, she slid her tongue into my mouth as she pulled me further into her arms, only breaking the kiss as she whispered "Every inch of you is mine, Kat... Every..." Sliding her hands around, I moaned as she enunciated each word with a squeeze, her hands moving expertly to my sensitive areas. "Last..." Stroking my tail, she grinned at me as I shivered, before her hand made its way lower. "Inch..." Slipping a finger inside, she resumed our kiss, murmuring between each frantic locking of our lips. "Belongs to me, Kat. You''re mine, and that..." Tossing off my maid dress, she started trailing her kisses down my body, showering me in her love. "Will never change..." Lifting me up, sheid me on the bed, whispering "We''ll go out tomorrow night, love... I swear. Just..." Moaning, I wrapped my limbs around her as she started, her lips locked on my neck. "Not tonight..." Chapter 216 215: Jillian Sariel --- Think of this like my (Extra) chapters; heaviernguage and all that, so don''t be too surprised. --- Jillian Sariel PoV Lounging in my bed, I nced over at A as she sat up, her smooth, sun-kissed skin gleaming in the moonlight, while shebed out her long green hair. Staring at her, I nodded to myself as I took in her figure, having to hold myself back from pulling her back into bed with me. A Kameiel, my childhood friend turned fiancee... Cruel, wicked, clever, smart... Many words described her, but the one that most agreed on was beautiful. Having grown up with her, I knew each of those words fit her perfectly; she was a conniving bitch who did as she pleased to get what she wanted. When I hadn''t yed with her upon our first meeting as children, she had crafted an borate scene to paint me as a bully who had belittled and shunned her, forcing my parents to y with her in front of them. That hate that she made me feel receded as we got to know one another, and I started to enjoy her visits to our home over the years. Of course, I had started seeing her as a friend; a sister, even. Not a potential lover. My eyes were set on something else, something... better. Since I was from a Ducal House, and ournds were near the Capital, I was often invited to the Princess'' gatherings, where she was hosting other Noble Heirs to start cultivating rtionships with them, as she might be the future Empress one day. It was during that first meeting that I fell for Leone Presa-Ash; her shyness in private, whenpared to her regal aura in public created such a lovely gap... One that I teased her about during the tea parties or other gatherings, and I found myself at each of these social events; I was a constant amongst the changing variables of the lesser Nobility. Our chemistry seemed well enough; the Princess was interested in magic, and I was well informed on the subject. My parents had started my training as early as possible, and I wanted to meet their expectations. So, I started shaping myself into the perfect Elf; magically inclined, an excellent archer, deadly with twin daggers... Everything that made my mother and father great transferred to me, and with such incredible talent... Well, I grew to think I was perfect. Of course Leone would want to marry me; it just made the most sense. I had the status, power, talent, and chemistry with her... So, when I heard that she was visiting the Asmodia''s because the young Demoness had awoken to Light Magic, I was angry. I had known her first. I had built up a rtionship with her first. Surely she wouldn''t betray me? When she returned, the young Vampire was still shy, but whenever I asked about Jahi, she would blush hard before changing the subject. However, one such time I had learned that there was not just one girl that had caught her eye, but two. The other was nothing more than a lowly maid, some Dogkin whelp that was Jahi''s personal maid. So, I started digging, and that whelp turned out to be the next Heir to the Zara Pack, if it ever reformed after being massacred. Then I learned about her Soul Bond, around the same time that I learned she had Ice Magic. When I first met her, I was curious about her, but that was it. Sure, she was drop dead gorgeous, with a body so curvy it could make even a celibate, oath bound monk sin, but that was all. However, that curiosity sprouted when Jahi had epted Leone''s proposal during that hunting trip. I hated Jahi, but there was little I could do to her. But there was everything I could do to her precious little slut of a maid. I had grown angry and bitter when Leone and handed herself to that arrogant Demoness, and that was the time that the green haired Elf in front of me had wiggled her way into my arms. The first had been our first night together; she had gotten me liquored up before dragging me to a room, enduring the abuse I had given her as she greedily epted my hateful pounding. When I had awoken the next day, she had shown me what I had done in a drunken rage, and she told me that I had a choice. Marry her, or she would ruin me. To sweeten the deal, she said that she was interested in getting rid of the Asmodia''s as well, and that a good ce to start would be hurting their Heir. So, I took her deal, and we convinced our parents to bless our union. When it had been finalized, she had revealed that she was working on a way to remove Soul Bonds, meaning... Giving in to my desire, I pulled A back into bed, the woman yelping as she found herself under me. "You never did tell me why you were alright with what I... wanted." Chuckling, A smiled warmly up at me, her dark green eyes shining with a crazy light as she said "To make you happy, I would do anything Jillian. Besides, I would be lying if I said I wasn''t interested in the first natural Ice Mage that''s appeared in thest few decades... the possibilities of mixing her blood with ours..." shing me a crazed smile, I chuckled as I kissed her lips, enjoying her fresh taste. "You''re still trying toplete that huh?" She nodded, moaning softly as I nibbled on her long ear. "With just a few more years ah~ I could create something great~! If I can mix opposite manas together to create something ah~ better, we could be the new strongest House in this Empire~! One that even the Empress has to respect~!" Chuckling again, I whispered "Well, it helps both you and I if we steal her away; break her down to nothing more than an outlet for us to use as we please, all while dealing a substantial blow to that insufferable bitch Jahi..." A nodded, her hands running down my stomach before grabbing at my member, guiding me into her. "Ahn~! Mm... A test subject... an outlet... and a blow against our enemies~ Didn''t I tell you you wouldn''t regret marrying me, Jil~?" Smirking at her, I started relishing her moans as I pounded into her, whispering "I still resent the way you went about it, A... getting me drunk before framing me? Again?" Giving me a twisted smile, her eyes hardened as she sweetly whispered "How else would I get you to look at me and not that bitch of a Princess? For years I tried to pursue you, but it was always Leone this, Leone that!" Her lips pulled into a sneer as she stared at me, only to yelp as I pped her. "What did I say about talking to me like that?" Her eyes widened, before her twisted smile returned. "Come on Jil~ She''s just whoring herself out to your favorite Demoness, letting her nt her seed in-" ? pping her again, I red down at the chuckling woman under me, knowing I was only ying into her hand again. "You are so..." Shaking my head, I wrapped my hands around her throat, watching as euphoric glee entered her eyes as I squeezed. "Fucking twisted..." But, so was I. The image of an auburn haired, amber eyed Dogkin ovepped with A, and I grinned as I started mming into her, my mind filled with debauched thoughts of the toy that I so desired. --- They''re both fucked in the head, but I do need to remind you that they have skills that can back up them being fucked in the head; think the Joker in that regard. Crazy as hell, but dangerous. Not as cool as him though... --- Chapter 217 216: Family Argument --- Start this off with a thank you to QuantumSt1ck for the Magic Castle~! Really appreciate that~! --- Another day hade and gone, and I had achieved around 50 to 100xp more per Daily Quest than yesterday, and dusk had only just set. The trainings with Anput and Leone were more streamlined, as Anput and I sparred and continued to improve various aspects of our closebat skills before switching to me tutoring her on her magic, before I switched with Jahi and partnered with Leone. The Vampire had also wanted to go over the basics of swordy again, before we sat down and Dual Cultivated together, exchanging mana and using the others to temper our own. As for my training with Jahi, that took on the form of her desiring more two on ones, with Anput and I attempting to best the Demoness with only our des and bodies. Without the use of magic, I wasn''t as agile or powerful, but I still managed to provide her a decent challenge, especially with Anputplimenting my weakness'' by hitting harder or taking my distractions and turning them into sneak attacks. Overall, the training was rough, sometimes tedious, but extremely helpful. We weren''t going to see arge leap in our skills just yet, but this time spent together allowed us to discover where we needed to improve ande up with strategies to hone ourselves further. When the sun had started to go down, we made our way inside and I started preparing dinner. Jahi lounged on the couch, Anput snuggling up beside her while Leone stood by my side, helping me with the more basic ingredients and dishes. While I was cooking, Jahi started to speak, her voicezy even as she delivered somerge news to the two girls. "Last night, Kat and I had a... talk. She has, again, made it clear that she wishes to remain unseen behind us, supporting us where she can. To that extent, even though I personally don''t want to, Kat and I will be going out every other night to walk around the city, so that she can attempt to learn how to better blend in with crowds and move quietly. As such, just us two will be going out, and we''ll be gone for an hour or two before returning. You both will remain inside, and if I catch you..." Her voice trailed off, but after ncing at Leone beside me, who was staring at Jahi, I saw that she was shivering slightly, her crimson eyes wide as she was likely transfixed by one of Jahi''s ''You will do as I say'' res. Continuing to slice the carrot in front of me, I felt Anput and Leone nce at me, before Anput asked "Kat, why..?" Remaining silent for a moment, I finished my even cuts before I spoke, keeping my voice level. "I''ll tell you exactly what I told Jahist night. I don''t want to be seen by others; knowing that you three see and know me is more than enough. The amount of people attempting to recruit me due to my Ice Magic alone will berge, but if I disyed talent on the same level as you three? The amount of requests to House Asmodia to buy me would be innumerable, even with the Soul Bond I have. Besides, unlike all of you, I don''t care for disying my skill to the world; all I want is to keep this happy peace around us alive and well. That''s all I will ever want. So I will remain just a ''mere maid'' until the Marquess eventually raises my Mother and I to Baroness''. When that happens, I will go ahead and be ''just'' Jahi''s wife; not a fighter, not a magician, not an enchantress... just a wife. Everyone who matters will know that isn''t the case, but I don''t want the world to know. Not if I can help it. I want each of you to have the attention you deserve without needing to worry about me. That''s why I want to just support each of you behind closed doors. Be it with training, meals, or sex, I want to help each of you be the best that you can be. Each of you has a goal you wish to reach; mine is just to see your dreamse true." Leone frowned beside me, while I heard Anput stand up. Peering over my shoulder, I saw the Jackalkin ring at me, her fur bristling as she snarled "So what, we''re supposed to just ept people walking over you? People making light of you? Each of us is just supposed to stand around and listen to people wondering why the woman we love is ''just some maid''? What the hells is-" Cutting her off, I turned to stare at her fully, briefly ncing at Jahi, who was silent, her eyes closed. "If peoples words bother you that much Anput, then silence them yourself. I''ve said it time and time again, but I don''t give a damn what others think of me. I know what I am. You know what I am. That''s enough. Besides, it''s entirely within your right to be upset about people belittling me, so if you wish to defend my ''honor'', feel free to do so. After all, they won''t be belittling only me; there will be words about you, Leone, and Jahi as well. If you don''t like it, show them why they should shut up." Her sneer grew, and she turned away, clicking her tongue. Leone''s frown only deepened, but after seeing Jahi continue to remain silent, the Vampire sighed and sat at the table, staring at the wooden surface with aplicated gaze. "What about in the future then, hmm? When you have one of our children? Are we just supposed to endure listening to the masses specte on whether or not you''re worthy of that? Whether or not our child will even have the right to im our blood?" Sighing again, I turned back to the counter, returning to preparing dinner. "Anput, you speak of something that won''t happen until a decade or so from now; maybe eventer. By then, if each of you continues to grow at the rate that you have now, those whispers that you hear won''t matter, because they simply won''t happen. Do people talk down on the Empress for any of her lovers? Does the Sultanate have a problem of its citizens belittling the Sera Pack?" The Jackalkin snarled again, her voice filling the room as she spat "That''s nowhere near the same thing! Mother is more than capable of handling herself, and everyone back home knows that''s a damn fact! She''s no mere ornament to the Sultana! As for the Empress, each of her wives are amongst some of the most powerful people alive today. No one would ever speak of them because they KNOW their strengths! But you? With this... n of yours?! No one will know! No one will know just how incredible you are!" When she finished, I listened to her panting slightly, her anger still boiling under her skin. "So? Do you think people would talk if three strong women all protect one ''weakling''? The normal citizenry spectes daily about stupid things, while the Nobility won''t let out a peep for fear of political ramifications. Besides, I will continue to say it, even if it''s something that you hate to hear." Turning, I stared into her silver eyes, meeting her harsh gaze head on. "I don''t care if the masses have no idea just how ''incredible'' I am. That isn''t my goal. My goal is for the masses to know how incredibly talented each of you are. I want each of you to shine; it''s not only your birthright, but also your own desires. That desire does not take root in me like it does you. My desire is to see you smile at the end of each day, happy with the life you are living. That''s all." Anput continued to stare at me, her lip trembling as she sneered, before she let out a guttural growl and stormed away, over towards her room. As for Leone, she pursed her lips as she peered over at me, before sighing and following behind Anput. With only Jahi remaining, I turned back to the counter and continued on, sighing when Jahi muttered "I could have told you she wouldn''t take it well." "You didn''t need to; I knew she wouldn''t." Sliding the sliced carrots into the pan, I added in the cuts of steaks and let them soak in the thinyer of stock and vegetables, cooking them slowly. "You know that because all three of us share the same desire, Kat. It''s the same as yours, but instead of only being us three, it''s all four of us. Together. Side by side. That''s what each of us wants. Instead, you wish to position yourself behind us, away from us. That''s what is pissing Anput off. She wants the woman she imed as her mate to be strong and proud, and yet-" "I am proud, damnit! But my pride lies not in myself, but in each of you! I''ve made that clear many times..." Hearing my hiss, Jahi sighed as she stood up, walking over to wrap her arms around my waist. Resting her chin on my head, she whispered "We know that. We''re grateful for it too, but that''s what angers us all as well; we want you to take pride in yourself, not just us. You''re worth that, Kat. Worthy of being someone proud of; someone proud of herself." Gritting my teeth, I leaned against the counter, staring at nothing in particr. Chapter 218 217: Night Escapade Even with the heated argument that I just had with Anput, I continued to make dinner like nothing happened, boiling my hand made noodles and piling them onto each te, before drizzling a red wine sauce over them. Laying the steak on top, I poured out more of the red wine sauce over that before garnishing the top with a small bit of basil. When everything was finished, I grabbed the wine bottle and poured Jahi and I a drink, instantly downing my ss before pouring another. Sighing, I ced the bottle in the center and sat down to eat, picking at the food in front of me; like most cooks, my joy came not from eating my own cuisine, but watching others enjoy my dishes, the widening of their eyes and happy moans as their tastebuds were assaulted with vor being my own sustenance. And yet, two tes remained untouched, spoiling any appetite I could have. Jahi noticed that, sighing slightly before she stabbed her fork over into my steak, grinning at me as she stole the rest. Giving her a dry look, I rolled my eyes as I spiraled some of the noodles around my own fork, the rich, yet bitter sauce tasting wonderful on my tongue. Paired with the actual red wine in my ss, I felt more like I had just three or four years prior; alone with decent food and some wine, but- "Kat, please stop this self pitying of yours; it doesn''t suit you." Hearing Jahi, I nced up at the frowning Demoness, her head tilted as she stared intently at my face. Raising a brow, I remained silent as I took another sip, watching as she sighed, her amethyst eyes filled with slight worry as she reached across the table, herrge blue hand enveloping mine. Squeezing it gently, she started rubbing the back of the ring I wore, her smile gentle as she whispered "They''ll get over it eventually, Kat... they''ll have too, since you''re so damn stubborn. Besides that, you should know that they both love you so much..." I nodded, the warmth from her hand easing my aching heart slightly. "Yes... I know... It''s just..." She nodded, and her smile made me smile in turn. The rest of the meal was finished in silence, which spoke more than a thousand words ever could. All we needed was the warmth of one another''s hands as we ate, the asional squeeze or rub making the other smile. When the meal was over, I stacked the dishes in the sink before making my way to our room, where I changed from my maid dress to my leather armor, which made me frown. I... Had no other clothes. Blinking a few times as I looked around, I sighed before grabbing my coin purse, the gold coins jingling around inside the pouch as I tied it to my belt. Doing the same with my dagger, I nodded as I double checked myself, making sure I had everything. Walking back out, I saw Jahi look me over before asking "Do you not have-?" Shaking my head, I was about to follow her out of the cottage before I turned back around, moving towards Anput''s room. Not hearing anything inside, I frowned as I knocked. When I didn''t get a reply, I sighed, wondering if this was how parents felt with a rebellious teen. "Anput, Leone... foods on the table; Jahi and I are going out now..." Waiting another moment, I sighed again when I heard nothing. Making my way over to the exit, I followed behind Jahi as she led me out of the gated area of the cottage and down towards the bustling city. As we walked down towards the crowded streets, Jahi asked "How do you n on training your stealth here?" Looking around, I took in the difference of the city nowpared to the mornings, everyoneughing and walking around from store to store, merrily grinning at one another. "Mainly just working on making my movements quiet for now. That, and to use you as a visual distraction, so that no one focuses on me." She gave me a side nce, her amethyst eyes unamused at her new role, only to sigh as we entered the sea of people. Making sure she was always in view, as well as responding to the tug on the bond between us, we made our way through the city slowly, walking around and taking in the sights. Some of our ssmates were in the crowd, and whenever they saw Jahi they would either give her a wide berth or try to talk to her, which would give me a good opportunity to ''hide''. Since my skill was currently low, I wasn''t truly able to do the sneaky fantasies of those who''ve ever yed Creed of Assassins or other stealth games, but you had to start somewhere. So we waded through therge crowd of people until we reached one of many squares inside the city, with numerous shops lining the edge and stalls filling the middle. People sat on rolled out nkets peddling their wares, while others stood behind simple stallsden with goods, calling out to the passerby''s in an attempt to sell their goods. As for the shops on the edges, people filtered in and out of each store, items in their hands as they talked to family, friends, or lovers. Standing beside Jahi, we nced around the congested square, before I saw a clothing store. "There?" Getting her attention, I gestured to the sign that had a shirt painted onto it, runes etched into the wood. Shrugging, she grabbed my hand and said "Since it''s so crowded, just stick together for now... you can keep your ''training'' going when we get back onto the roads..." I nodded, walking beside her as we cut through the crowd, people stepping aside as therge Demoness strode confidently forwards. When we reached the store, we walked inside to see dozens of people wandering around, sifting through the folded clothing and holding it up to themselves, seeing if it would fit or looked good on them. Leading me around the store, Jahi started holding outfits up to me, her lips pursed as she slowly went through shirt after shirt, dress after dress. Seeing her dedication to attempting to create me an outfit was warming, and I had to hold in chuckles as she selected oddbinations; a pink long sleeved shirt with a knee length grey skirt for one, and a floral yellow dress. Gently reminding her to try and match color to my features, which was mainly reds, browns and oranges, she frowned before returning to the shelves, her puckered lips and concentrated features appearing cute to me, but... Well, the store wasn''t as full as it had been when we entered... Holding in another chuckle, I stared at the three things in her arms; a simple red dress, a ck knee length skirt, and a ck shirt that had dark red roses embroidered onto the back. The shopkeep was staring at us with mixed emotions; she was annoyed that we had driven most of her customers away, but she was also afraid of this obviously powerful and important person. There was also confusion in her eyes as she saw Jahi fawning over me, who, while beautiful, wasn''t as impressive or imposing looking as the Demoness. While Jahi continued looking around, I selected clothes of my own, going for a dark gray pair of pants and a shirt, both of which were able to be adjusted to fit my figure more. This would be the outfit that I traveled out with, since ck was actually not that useful of a color to sneak around with; if you weren''t in pitch darkness, the darker the color you wore the easier it would be to notice that something was off. You would be a dark shadow moving around in a dim area; something that those with any training would be able to spot. That was why camouge was something most militaries used instead of pure ck clothing; the mixture of colors helped make you apart of thendscape or buildings, instead of a shadow. And, this city was made primarily of dark gray stone, ck stone, or reds; it was also well lit, but... Well, the gray worked well enough. Along with that, I looked around at the shoes section, which was a small corner. Checking each, I sighed as I didn''t find what I was looking for, deciding to just adjust my own soles; it would be cheaper that way as well. When we had finished picking out the clothes, we approached the shopkeeper andid everything out, the woman sorting through them before telling us our total, which was 3 Gold 74 Silver. Handing her the coins, I folded everything and held it in my arms, following Jahi back out into the square. "That was more of a date than the first..." Hearing me mutter something, she nced down at me and frowned, her head tilted to the side as she asked "Really?" Giving her a dry look, I walked beside her as we made our way through the streets, walking towards the house; neither of us wanted to leave the others alone for long... "Yes, really... a date is supposed to be something fun and enjoyable... going out to eat, shopping together, walking together..." Pursing her lips, she tilted her head the other way as she muttered "That sounds... boring." My dry look returned, and I sighed as I said "Not everything needs to be about sex, Jahi..." "Why not?" Sighing again, we slowed down slightly as I tried to instill a sense of normalcy into the Demoness, our talk eating away at time as we eventually reached home. --- Stealth will be a gradual, slow increase for now; more so just her learning how to do each part before putting them all together. --- Chapter 219 218: Apology When we returned to the cottage, my new outfits in hand, we entered to find Anput and Leone standing around, the Vampire frowning slightly as she stared at the Jackalkin. Anput was shrouded in an upset aura, her ears drooping and her tail pressed against her legs. When she heard the door open, her ears perked up slightly, her obsidian eyes glimmering with tears as she rushed forwards. Launching herself into my arms, she clung desperately to me, her lithe body trembling slightly in my embrace. Sliding one arm around her waist and another behind her head, I pulled her closer and held her, a frown on my face as I nced at Leone, wondering what had happened. However, the Vampire could only shrug, her tired expression making me a little more confused as she walked over to Jahi, leaning against the equally confused Demoness. Hearing Anput start to sob quietly, I gently started walking her to her room, the Jackalkin stuck to my side like glue. Jahi led Leone into our room, the worry on her face evident as she watched me lead Anput away. Opening Anput''s door, I carefully navigated my way to her bed, sitting her down beside me. Her sobs were still silent, and her trembling had remained consistent, not even reducing as I started stroking her hair in an effort to calm her down. It was moments like this that made me realize that, while we all may mature quicker, the others simply didn''t have the experiences necessary to deal with everything as easily as they should. They still only had roughly seven or eight years of life despite their fully grown bodies. And, most likely, none had ever truly had a ''friend'' or someone that they got into a real, meaningful argument with. Which, as that entered my mind, I realized how twisted this was; they had already shed blood, killed, witnessed death, but had never had an argument with someone... Sighing, I continued to hold her in my arms, waiting for her to eventually calm down. There was no need for me to speak without truly knowing what part of our argument bothered her; I could make assumptions, but if I made the wrong one, it made calming her and getting her back on track much harder. So, I buried her face into my breasts and let her cry, her quiet sobbing sending small needles to pierce my heart with each tremble of her body. Laying my face between her ears, I breathed evenly, hoping the rhythm from not only the stroking but also my breathing might help ease her nerves. Since I was still in my leather armor, I couldn''t tell how many tears she had shed, but her sobbing remained even after another half minute. The citrus scent wafting from her body seemed to be amplified by her emotions, and the longer I held the sobbing woman, the harder it was bing to not slip into heat. Her scent was permeating my nostrils, until it was the only thing I could smell; it was slowly drifting into my mind as well, sweeping away all my other thoughts and my willpower with each passing second. However, I held on, even as I felt my lower lips grow moist from such direct contact with my mate, holding back the heat as much as I could so that I could truly help her. My lust was secondary to her emotional well-being, after all. "Anput, what''s wrong..?" Sadly, that willpower was fading slowly but surely, meaning I needed to expedite this discussion before I just- Shaking my head slightly, I watched as she nced up at me, her puffy eyes wet with tears as she sniffled. The confident, arrogant Jackalkin warrior was no where to be seen; instead, a small, frail pup was left in her ce, staring up at me with those deep obsidian eyes. "I... I..." Her voice was shaky, and she sniffled again before she spoke again, her voice barely a whisper. "I d-disrespected you... y-your ideals a-and b-beliefs... I-I''m a f-failure of a m-mate..." Listening to her exnation, I frowned as I shook my head, gently and warmly saying "You''re not a failure, Anput! You''re anythi-" "But I am!" She cut me off, her eyes wide as she stared up at me, leaking tears. "M-Mate''s are s-supposed to r-resepect one another w-whole heartedly, t-to trust in t-their chosen partner! B-But I d-didn''t! I-" Leaning forwards, I cut her off this time by sealing her lips with mine, deciding this was the best course of action for both of us. Her taste would satiate my urges for the moment, and the surprise should help calm her slightly. Coiling my tongue around hers, I greedily gulped down her saliva as we kissed, before I released her tongue and licked her lips. Pulling away, I watched as she panted, her lips still parted as she stared at me, her eyes unfocused. Reaching up, I cupped her cheeks and pinched slightly, whispering "I don''t know anything about Beastkin culture, Anput; I was raised by a Demoness and an Elf, while my Mother never seemed to care for Beastkin customs. So I''m ignorant on that front, but..." Wiping away her tears, I smiled warmly at her, watching as her anxiety slowly melted away. "I do know rtionships between people. At least, based on the one between Jahi and I. Now, it''s between Jahi, Leone, and you as well. And what I know is that we won''t always see eye to eye, Anput. There will always be a difference in opinion, be it something small like whether beef or pork is better, to something important like my personal desires. That difference is okay, dear. It shows that we are our own people, and as long as there is still respect and love between us, at the fundamentals of our rtionship, then it''s fine to have a disagreement on beliefs or wants. I understand why you, Jahi, and Leone might be upset by my choices; I really do. However, they are MY choices. I make them for YOU. Even if you yourself dislike them, that''s fine. You yelling at me, to argue your side? I don''t care too much; as long as you never get physical, or revert to how... maniptive you used to be, I won''t care. If we agreed on every little thing about life, wouldn''t that be boring? Just because you argued with me doesn''t mean you disrespected me; it showed that you cared enough to get worked up because of me; for me. On my behalf. It''s touching. So don''t cry, and don''t call yourself a failure, Anput. That is one thing you aren''t, one thing you never will be. You''re a confident, talented, and incredible woman. A woman that I love. A woman that is, luckily, my mate." Staring into her eyes, I watched as she calmed down with each passing moment, each word easing her turbulent emotions. When I finished, I smiled down at her as I returned for another kiss, keeping this one brief. "Are you finally calm again? Thinking rationally?" She nodded slightly, her cheeks darkening with embarrassment as she returned her face to my chest. However, her ears were flickering again, and her tail was no longer pressed against her legs; now, it wagged slightly as she squeezed her arms around me. Besides that... Gritting my teeth, I felt my head grow numb as her scent doubled in potency, her pheromones filling the room with ease. My cheeks flushed, and I felt my lower lips grow drenched, wanting to ept her member so that we could breed. Evidently, she wasn''t the only one outputting pheromones, as she nced up to me with heated eyes, whispering "You..." Gulping, I watched as she pushed me back onto the bed, her face close to mine as she extended her tongue. Meeting hers, I moaned softly as her citrus taste snapped the dam that had built inside me, bth of us shivering as the other fed off the output pheromones. Pulling away, she panted as she stared at me, her eyes shifting to silver as she pulled her thin nightshirt off her torso, revealing her fit body and perky breasts. Then her hands fell to my body, swiftly and clumsily dragging my leather armor off of my chest, her breathing hitching as my bare breasts entered her gaze. We both gulped, admiring our mate''s body with heated gazes, realizing how lucky we were. Anput had that muscr figure that I found so attractive; her petite curves only made her muscles stand out that much more. While not as chiseled as Jahi, Anput was more of a lean fit, her toned abdomen and obliques making me hotter, while her slim, yet strong arms pinned me to the bed with ease. Her dark ck hair fell around us, creating a sort of veil that shrouded everything else from our sight. The only thing we could see was each other, and her needy expression made my insides tingle with such a strong desire. --- Lemon tomorrow, decided to not tag this with a * since nothing actually... happens? Let me know if I should have a warning at the top of the chapter tho for this kinda writing; don''t want to cause anyone an ufortable situation lol~ --- Chapter 220 219: Forgiven* Anput PoV I licked my lips as I stared down at Kat''s voluptuous breasts, the unblemished pale skin reflecting the candlelight perfectly. My emotions were still in turmoil; I had done something terrible. Beastkin, when mated, had a very strict set of rules they lived by. One of those was to respect your mate at all times; harmony was important for a family, and considering how mates are chosen... Well, the stronger of the two is expected to show respect to their mate for keeping them satisfied, fulfilled, confident, and loved in private; without their mate, many Beastkin wouldn''t be able to feel satisfied with life, not when we go through heat at least once a year. As for the weaker, they respect their mate for keeping them safe, providing them with the things needed to survive and thrive; without their mate, those that were weaker would have a terrible life, usually ending up as a low ranking ''lover'' to someone important. Beastkin culture, especially in the Sultanate, was cutthroat and cruel, but that was why these beliefs were ingrained into everyone when they were young. This harmony was what allowed us to take the harsh, terrible desert that we lived in and thrive, building a bustling city amongst the sand. The respect between mates was paramount, and I had encroached onto that respect; I had talked down to the woman I loved, and belittled her beliefs. I threatened that harmony. To Kat, this might not be a big deal; she grew up away from Beastkin culture, but... To me? I needed- No, craved forgivness. And the only one who could forgive me was in heat below me, her tart scent filling my nose. Gulping, I could feel myself salivating at the thought of breeding my mate; the pleasures she provided me, the satisfaction and relief I felt every time Iid with her... Feeling my cock slowly bare its head, I bit my cheek as I stared at Kat''s flushed face, my breathing hitching as I whispered "C-Can I..?" If it was her wish, I would quench my heat alone, to atone for my transgression. However, I had been blessed, blessed far beyond I would ever be able toprehend. Reaching up, Kat wrapped her arms around my neck, her own breathingbored as her cheeks flushed even more; the pheromones she put out were addictive, and I responded unconsciously, outputting more of my own to match hers. ? The feedback loop of this was growing to be dangerous; if she continued- Pulling my head down, Kat kissed my lips, her tongue prying my mouth open and coiling around her tongue. Feeling her sucking down my saliva, I shivered as I obliged my mate, giving her what she wanted. Her lemony taste exploded on my tongue, and the tart vor was refreshing after my earlier... episode. Feeling rejuvenated, I kept our lips pressed together as I worked at her pants, pulling them off. With them out of the way, I pulled myself, albeit reluctantly, from her lips and slid downwards, away from her cute whining. She watched me, her amber eyes growing even more hazy as I took in a breath of her fragrant slit, the nectar that moistened her lips driving me insane. "K-Kat, can I..?" Blinking, I tried to focus past her addictive scent, fighting the urge to bury my nose in her cunt and inhale her directly. cing her hand on my head, Kat guided me towards her cunt, moaning "A-Anput, p-please~!" Hearing her moan my name, my eyes went wide as my heart swelled, the loving, needy tone she used to call it out filling me with joy. Lunging forwards, I buried my face into her pussy, her scent driving me wild as I started eagerlypping at her juices, cleaning her off as quickly as I could. As her juicesnded on my tongue, my body grew hotter, each drop fueling my heat, making my knot throb with desperate need. The relief that washed over me at her obvious desire for me helped keep me in control, my mind fixated on making this night about her. To show her how much I loved her, needed her. So, I plunged my tongue into her drenched cave, scooping out her nectar before returning for me. Her hands clenched at my head, pushing my face deeper into her pelvis. With my nose buried beside her clit, my eyes rolled around in my skull as her scent took over my mind. Lapping desperately at her insides, I listened to the heavenly moansing from my mate, her fluffy tail swishing beside my head as I ate her out. Grabbing at her pillowy thighs, I enjoyed the sensation of her soft body as I brought her to climax, her body trembling as she squirted on my face. I trembled as well, her scent clinging around me as she ''marked'' me, making me giddy. Her hands held me firmly against her spasming lower lips, and I drank down her juices as they sprayed into my mouth, her tart, lemony vor satisfying me more than any meal ever could. When she finally finished cumming, she released my head and copsed backwards, her arm over her eyes as she panted. Slowly rising as well, my eyes roamed over her soft, curvy body, and I gulped again as I took in the divine sight. Kat was tied for the most beautiful woman I had ever seen; Jahi and her had different aesthetics, but they were almost like Goddess'' walking the earth... Jahi stoked my female side more, her muscles and confidence putting me at ease, letting me slip into my role as her wife, her puppy. Meanwhile, Kat stoked my ''male'' side, her delicious curves and seductive face making me want to conquer her over and over again, while her warm smile and almost motherly attitude ignited my desire to start a family with her. And in this moment, I really, really wanted to make her truly mine... The way she panted as she looked at me from under her arm, her amber eyes narrowed with lust, her chest bouncing with each dragged in breath... Kneeling in front of her, I licked my lips as I stared at her, my bare cock throbbing. Feeling her eyes on it, I shivered, before my eyes widened as she whispered something, her seductive voice slivering into my ears. "Please, Anput... fuck me~! Fill me with your seed~!" Seeing her snake her hands down to her cunt, I watched as she spread her lower lips apart, revealing her deepest ce to me. Nodding, I crawled to crouch over her, grabbing her wrists and pinning her to the bed. Staring into her heated amber eyes, I started sliding my cock over her wet slit, my tip failing to find purchase. My cock felt like it was on fire, and each time I slid over her cunt, her juices made that heat recede. Whimpering below me, she was panting as I continued to tease her, the buildup being pleasurable for both of us. When I finally did enter her pussy, I groaned as pleasure flooded my systems, frying my brain. My thought process was shut down, and the only thing I knew how to do was swing my hips down, burying my tip deep into her womb while pping my knot against her plump lower lips. Kat writhed under me, her mouth wide open as she tried to moan, only for each of my thrusts against her womb to knock her breath away. Each time I buried my cock inside of my mate, the heat permeating my body cleared for a moment, the pleasurable wave quenching it for barely a second. So, I swung my hips wildly, the heat slowly fading as I desperately sought relief inside my mates womb. With her arms pinned to the bed, I grinned as Kat extended her tongue out again, trying to kiss me by lifting her head towards me. Her pheromones were swirling around me, and I shivered as they reignited my heat. Panting as I stared at her, I opened my mouth and let some saliva dribble onto her tongue, before I pressed my lips against her neck. While my Mothers warning rang around in my head, I shrugged before plunging my fangs into her neck, prating her nd. She whimpered below me, her whole body trembling, including her pussy; her folds came to life, writhing around my shaft as I continued to thrust into her, amplifying her orgasm. Pumping my pheromones into her nd, I shivered as her scent shifted slightly, taking on my citrus scent. Removing my fangs, I growled in annoyance as I decided to at least follow some of Mother''s advice, keeping her scent mostly her own instead ofpletely mixing hers with mine. However, that little bit was enough to make her orgasm again as Ipped at her small wound, stopping the bleeding in moments. With that done, I mmed my lips against hers, deciding I would revel in her taste instead. She whimpered as I continued to assault her cunt while flooding her head with my taste, but the noise only spurred me on further. Her hot, wet folds gripped at my cock, and I continued to m away at her pelvis, the sensation of her moist lips kissing my knot with every thrust bringing me to my own orgasm. Releasing her lips, I grunted as I buried my face into her neck, preparing to cum. Pushing down hard on her cunt, I gasped while she screamed, my thick knot sliding into her. The warmth that surrounded it made me moan in pleasure, before I grunted again, feeling my orgasm begin. Panting, I clung desperately to her soft body, my tip spraying semen inside her womb, filling it to the brim. The seconds passed by slowly, each moment filled with indescribable pleasure as I knotted my mate, her moans and whimpers as I flooded her insides fueling me on. When I felt the long orgasm end, I released her arms and copsedpletely onto her body, panting hard as I remained stuck inside her. She shakily raised her arms, loosely embracing me as she whispered something, my consciousness fading from the gigantic release and earlier breakdown. "I forgive you, Anput..." With her melodic, soothing voice slipping into my ears, I passed outpletely, my worries and fears being swept away with just four simple words. Chapter 221 220: Vampires Mark* Leone PoV Watching as Anput clung desperately to Kat, I frowned slightly, the long hour and a half of listening andforting the Jackalkin having done little for her self pity and anguish. She had spilled lots about the culture she had grown up in, how she had spat on that very culture she so cherished with her actions earlier today. I tried, I really did, to try and exin that she might have been a little out of line, but it came from a ce of love, using my own dislike of Kat''s actions and my own feelings to try and convince her as such, but the Jackalkin hadn''t listened to me at all, instead doubling her self hate as she vented to me. Now seeing her crying like a child, clinging to Kat like her mother, I could only sigh before walking forwards as well, leaning against Jahi. After such an eternity of dealing with Anput, I needed to recharge myself, and the best way was to listen to the heartbeat of the Demoness before me. It was already working too, as therge Demoness gentlyid her hand on my back, pulling me into her body, allowing her warmth to spread over my body. Seeing Kat ncing at me inquisitively, I shrugged, making the Dogkin sigh as well, leading her mate off towards Anput''s room, while Jahi and I made our way to her room. Entering, I sighed in relief at the silence, prompting Jahi to mutter "What happened while we were gone?" Pulling me onto the bed, she held me in her arms, listening as I exined everything, never interrupting me. When I had finished, the Demoness nodded her head, ncing at the door as she said "That''s... so like her, honestly. To cling so stubbornly to her ideals, to the point that it started to eat away at her heart. Thank you, Leone..." Reaching up, she stroked my hair, and I leaned into her chest, a smile on my face. Looking up at her, I tilted my head slightly as I saw her sigh again, before a tired smile appeared on her lips. "Well, today was..." We both chuckled, before I gulped slightly as I felt the mood shift. Her eyes had turned ambiguous, and her hand on my back started to drift lower. As for me, I was trailing my fingers over her chiseled abs, my fangs itching as I stared into those amethyst orbs. Biting my cheek as her hand slipped beneath my dress, I shifted my body slightly so that she could feel my ass better, pressing myrge breasts into hers. Smirking down at me, she brought her fingers tantalizingly close to my lower lips, which were growing moist from anticipation. Mirroring her, I slid a hand into her pants, my fingers wrapping around her girthy cock, the searing heat almost scorching my palm as I started gently stroking her. Groaning quietly, she leaned down and gently pressed her lips against mine, her sweet taste exploding on my tongue as I deepened the kiss. Enjoying the way she throbbed in my hand as I continued to stroke and kiss her, I moaned into her mouth as she slid her other hand onto my butt, her fingers digging into my rear as she kneaded the flesh. Pulling away for air, I licked my lips, savoring her sweet taste before watching as she dragged her shirt off, revealing her chiseled, yet curvy blue body. Her eight pack was firm, her entire midriff muscr, but her upper torso softened out, herrge breasts just as firm. Capping those two blue mountains were dark violet nipples, both hardened, both enticing. Without thinking I leaned forwards,tching onto one and coiling my tongue around it, before stiffening as I realized what I had done. I treated her like I did Kat, suckling on herrge tit as if I was a babe. ncing tentatively up at her, I saw her biting her lip as she stared down at me, her eyes narrowed in pleasure. Removing one of her hands from my ass, she brought it back to my head and held me to her chest, making my heart pound in my ownrge chest. Returning to suckling on her tit, I fumbled around with her belt, undoing the buckle and pulling them off,, herrge cock springing out instantly. Wrapping both hands around it, I disyed what she had taught me over our time together, making the Demoness moan gently as she continued to hold me close. With her cock searing my palms while I flicked my tongue over her nipple, I watched as the woman I was usually under moan like I would, the weird, yet pleasurable feeling of having turned the tables on her entering my mind. However, if I wanted to continue this, I needed to strip myself, to truly make my wife feel better... So, I reluctantly released the blue mountain before me, pulling away and gulping as her foggy gaze started to clear up. Swiftly tossing off my dress, I mounted herp and resumed what I had been doing, but instead of stroking her, I was riding her, slipping her thick tip into my wet snatch with ease. Moaning loudly as she fully entered me, Itched back onto her breast, gently bucking my hips as I tried to pleasure her, instead of being pleasured by her. Grabbing my waist, Jahi moaned as well, her hips gyrating upwards as she moved herself around in my womb. The warmth of our bodies clinging together, while the taste of her skin on my lips made my heart swell, and I had to hold back the desire to sink my fangs into her breast, my hunger slowly growing. The sounds of her panting moans made me more aroused, the knowledge that I was the one bringing her that pleasure flooding my mind as I suckled. We lost ourselves to the rhythm of our movements, enjoying the way the other moved as we sought deeper carnal pleasures. However, I had to pull away from her nipple as I felt her shiver uncontrobly, my brows furrowed as I stared intently at her face. Jahi was leaning against the bed, her eyes closed while she bit her lip, and I listened to her moans deepen as she... Looking down, my eyes widened as I realized that she had came, but not from her cock. Returning my gaze to her ck face, I waited for her to recede from her orgasmic high, her flushed cheeks slowly reverting to their normal pale blue momentster. When she opened her eyes, Jahi was staring at me with mixed feelings; longing for more fought with confusion and embarrassment. Sitting on her cock, I met her amethyst gaze and waited a bit longer, wondering what she wanted to do or say. As she remained silent, I pushed myself against her body, her breasts resting on mine as I gently kissed her. Relief swept over me as she kissed me back, and I moaned as she started moving again. Breaking the kiss off, I moaned as she started thrusting hard into my womb, her balls pping audibly against my ass as she lifted me. Panting, I stared at her plump lips as I moaned "C-Can I p-please feed~?" The Demoness was slowly returning to her normal self as she smirked, her eyes narrowed as she nodded. Leaning forwards, she tried to kiss me again, only to meet my palm. "P-Properly, t-this time... s-so that I c-can mark you..." Pursing her lips, Jahi nodded, her eyes holding a trace of reluctance as she whispered "Go ahead, Princess..." Normally, I would backtrack at that sliver of reluctance, but the hunger and arousal that numbed my mind allowed me to lunge forwards, I fangs sliding fully out as I licked her neck, preparing to feed. When I had prepared her to be bitten, I shivered as my fangs slid fully out, the base of each throbbing with need as I prepared to mark the Demoness. Sinking my fangs into her muscr neck, I felt her flinch as I bit into her, before she grunted as I started pumping my love into her, spiking her sensitivity. Meanwhile, I was moaning as her sweet ambrosia permeated my mouth, the iron tang only entuating the sweetness as I gulped it down, quelling the thirst that had developed inside of me. Even as I drank, Jahi was still lifting me by my ass, pounding upwards as she distracted myself with my tight cunt. The taste of my lovers blood,ing straight from the ''tap'', made me shiver in euphoric glee. mping down on her cock, I felt my eyes roll around in my skull as I pushed some of the remaining Marking liquid into her body, iming her as my own. Physical pleasure, emotional euphoria, and a glee that reached deep into my soul made me cum hard as Jahi buried herself into my womb, the Demoness grunting as she started spraying her thick cum deep into me. Filling me up with her heavenly cum, I gasped as I released her neck, licking the wound and closing it before shivering again, my own cock spraying its load onto our breasts. Lifting mepletely off of her shaft, Jahiid me onto my back before mounting me again, crouching above me as she plunged herself back into my depths. Screaming in agonizing pleasure as she reentered my womb, I could only moan as the Demoness started ravaging my limp body, the exhaustion of today catching up with me as she fucked me into unconsciousness. Chapter 222 221: Happenings In The Kingdom --- This will not be from any known persons PoV, just fyi --- Victoria PoV Getting up, I stretched before moving into the small kitchen, swiftly preparing a meal for myself to start my long, grueling, but fruitful day. Life in the Tragon Kingdom, one of the Three Western Kingdoms, was peaceful and rxed, albeit a life of hard work. But it was fulfilling work, and I, as the only Core having person in my vige, had to help with the heavier jobs and make sure my people were safe. Something like a vige chief, if you will. Finishing the small loaf of bread that one of the vige girls had made for me, I stretched again before grabbing the battered sword that my father had given me, while I strapped on the thin leather armor my mother wore. They had both been retired adventurers who wanted to live the calm life and raise a family, but sadly my mother passed birthing me, and my dad gave his life to protect the people of this vige when I was but a teen. Patting them both, I muttered a silent prayer to my two parents as I walked outside. Sadly enough, the years had dragged by, and I could no longer recall my fathers face, and the painting of them had faded over the years. Letting the depressing thoughts drift from my mind, I nced around the bustling vige, nodding to everyone as they walked by, each smiling warmly at me. For forty years I have guarded this vige, and I had seen generationse and go during that time. The best example is- "Miss Victoria~!" Holding in a chuckle, I felt a girlunch herself towards my back, her arms wrapped around my waist as she embraced me. In herte teens, this girl had a crush on me, but I couldn''t bring myself to reciprocate her feelings; both the age gap and the fact that... Well, I knew her mother... On a ''personal'' level, but she had married someone else. "Gina, good morning." Smiling down at the girl, I watched as she grinned up at me, her freckled cheeks and long brown hair tied into a bun. "Off to the bakery already?" Nodding, she beamed as she thrust a basket into my hands, forcing me to ept it. "I made too much yesterday, so..." Seeing the shy blush that spread across her face, I smiled wryly as I took the basket, watching as she ran away, embarrassed. ncing inside, I saw a loaf of bread and some biscuits, each one made with our viges special Soft Rock Wheat. Going to store the basket in my house, I returned outside and did my rounds, helping the elders with their chores before joining the lumberjacks, moving the felled logs back towards the vige. My mana was weak and thin, but the difference between me and the vigers was a wide gap; I could lift a more then two menbined, and I was faster then them by quite a bit as well. As the day crawled by, we eventually all made our way to the inn, where we would eat and drink before returning to work. During that break, the Innkeeper, M, would tell us whatever news she had heard, specting and debating with everyone about the severity of some issues. Currently... "Nah, there''s no way the Empire gained a Light Mage! They already have that one, the hell was her name..." "The D''Arcondy! Yeah, this has to be them trying to scare us Tragon''s! There''s no way they have another rare Magician!" "Empire doesn''t matter right now guys! Didn''t you hear what M said? Romagi Kingdom has had a Gate appear not once, but twice!" I nced at the middle aged man that said that, his face fearful as he recounted that piece of news. Gates... This vige had one smaller Gate appear four decades ago, and that was how my father died. It had been open for an hour, and we were lucky enough for it to have connected to an empty part of the Labyrinthian, but... Thatst minute had released a dozen Goblins, each one chittering as they swarmed into our vige. The men and some women had grabbed their axes, scythes, and hammers to fend them off, but many died to the onught of strengthened goblins, and my father held off half of them before perishing from dozens of wounds. So for not just one, but two Gates to appear in a year... When Tragon has only had two appear in four decades... Well, it was worrying, especially because Romagi was the stronger of our Three Kingdoms, and they were our ''shield'' from the Empire. The inn fell quiet, everyone murmuring to one another. With that somber note, everyone returned to work, the discussion slowly fading from our minds. Tilling ournd, harvesting some of the quicker growing crops, repairing fences, tending to the animals... Life in our vige was peaceful. Sighing, I waved goodbye to the dozen people who had just repaired our northern fences, leaning against the wood as I gazed over my home. A simple rural farming vige. The worst we''ve had to deal with is any Knights traveling into the vige, some weaker goblins or slimes, and a rabid wild animal. We payed our taxes, paid tribute to our lord, prayed to our gods, and supported one another. A simple life. Simple, but easily shattered. Watching as the vigers walked around in the dimming light, I groaned as I pushed myself off of the fence, my joints aching slightly after a long days work. "Maybe I should..." Sighing, I stared up into the clouds, letting my mind wander as I started walking slowly to simple wooden cabins. However, I stopped when I heard something tear behind me, followed by a low rumble. Turning, Iid my hand on my sword, looking around the forest with narrowed eyes. I may be weak, I may be getting old, but... Scanning over the forest, I pursed my lips as I saw... Nothing. That tear... Looking around for another minute, I sighed and scratched my cheek. "Maybe that experience I think I have is eroding too..." Chuckling, I started walking back down to the vige, before another tear was heard. This time, in the center of the vige. My eyes widened as I saw a tall rip in the fabric of reality, raw green energy forming a circr whirlpool of magic. "N-No..." Breaking out into a run, I shouted "Get away! Run! It''s a Gate!" I had seen it before, forty years prior. A Gate to the Labyrinthian was in the center of our vige, but unlikest time... Swelling, the green circle grewrger, before something stepped out. A giant front leg was the first thing we saw, the dark silver scales shimmering in the light of dusk, covered in small, sharp spikes. Next was the head of the monster, its scaled head sporting two giant horns, while its jaw was filled with razor sharp teeth, overflowing with saliva. Pale green eyes raked over the vige, filled with a raw, primal hunger. It continued out, its long scaled body shimmering in the light, while its long tail swept side to side, coated in glistening spikes. Like a wolf, the monster stalked into the center of the vige, its twenty feet tall shoulders looming over the small vige. However, its movements were quiet, and its head snapped towards me as it heard me scream. As for the vigers, some were already running away, while others had copsed to the ground, trembling. Letting out a low growl, the monster turned away from me, instead focusing on those running away. I watched in horror as a dozen ritual circles appeared above it, forming spears of pure condensed air, which flew fast towards the runners. They were impaled on the spears, before they returned to the monster, dragging the screaming or silent vigers back towards it. Unhinging its jaw, the monster gulped down the vigers, dead or alive, and crunched down on them, tearing their flesh apart while crushing their bones. Swallowing them down in a shower of blood and gore, the remaining vigers screamed hysterically, watching the monster devour their neighbors, lovers, family... Drawing my sword, I screamed as well as I charged the monster, hoping to distract it. I know it was a fools errand, but... Coating my de in the dull brown glow of my earth mana, I swung the de towards the monsters legs, before gasping as I felt my hand break, the sword shattering on the metal like scales. I stared at my disfigured hand in horror, while the monster simply ignored me, instead focusing on the running vigers. It rushed forwards, leaving me standing stupidly in clearing, before I shook myself awake. Turning, I searched the crowd of fleeing vigers, ignoring the pain of my broken hand and running with them. Spotting Gina, I grabbed the girl and tucked her under my arm, pouring everyst drop of mana into my legs. Running with her, I listened to her sobs, her voice incoherent as she muttered to herself. The bright, bubbly girl of this morning was gone, instead reced by a broken, bloody girl who''s eyes were dull. However, I wanted to save myself, to save her. ncing over my shoulder, I felt my heart ache and break as the monster mmed its tail into Fidal, the happy baker, sttering his body into the ground. Next, its head lunged forwards as it gobbled up old M, swallowing the woman whole. Turning back, tears poured down my cheeks as I continued to run, abandoning my friends and people as I tried to escape the carnage behind me. The winds were picking up, and the trees were swaying dangerously. Entering the forest, I continued to run, stumbling this way and that way as the forest grew darker. Listening to the roars of the monster inside the vige, I kept running, even as my old knees cracked, my muscles screaming at me to stop. I ran and ran, carrying the now unconscious Gina in my arms as I tried to escape. Time passed, but I knew not just how long, as my world revolved around running. I traveled deep into the forest, before eventually copsing, holding the girl in my arms close to me while I leaned against a tree. Surely we were safe? Surely we had escaped? Panting, I shivered as the realization of what just happened truly set in. They were all gone. My old mes Heildi and Giana. My drinking buddies Henry and Oldan. The reliable farmers Ussian and Xerxes. The hunters Po and Lok. All dead. All devoured. Burying my face into Gina''s hair, I sobbed uncontrobly, my world shattered. But, when I heard a tear in front of me, I looked up in unfound horror as a Gate appeared before us, the bloody jaws of the monster almost grinning at us. "I-Impossible..." Its blood sttered head inched closer, and I stared into its maw with wide eyes. T-This beast... Could create Gates. That was thest thing on my mind as I hugged Gina to my chest, before screaming as its teeth tore into our bodies. --- Felt like I needed... Something to happen now; political battles are a slow affair, and unless I wanted to alternate between Zhu''Rong and ss, with some Slice of Life between, there isn''t much to do in preparation. So, here we are... Also, what''d y''all think about this chapter~? I''m curious~ --- Chapter 223 222: From The Heart (Extra) --- Had a headache today, so here; can''t write too well lol, dunno if I''ll get anything else out today. --- Ria PoV Getting up from my seat, I rolled out my aching shoulders before ncing over at the empty desk, sighing. Where the hell was she..? Moving over to the desk, I stared down at the empty chair withplicated feelings; I was happy for the break, but annoyed and worried that she was gone. Ever since Jahi left, Chordeva and I had been much, much more active; both of us wanted another child, and while Julie having twins was something that overjoyed both of us... I myself wanted another child; to raise a son or daughter that didn''t need to worry about being a fighter or killer. When I had been given the choice as a young girl about who I was to marry, I had chose House Asmodia with that in mind, but still... Knowing my daughter would have to risk her life and stain her hands with blood... It didn''t sit right with me, not now. Not after I myself had waded through scorched battlefields littered with hundreds of dead soldiers. Not after I myself had reaped the lives of men and women fighting for a cause they themselves didn''t believe in. After that, I didn''t want my child to have to experience that, but... I married into House Asmodia. As such, our eldest, Jahi Asmodia, would go through the same harsh training Chordeva did, forging her from that raw, yet deadly self into one of the most proficient killers this Empire had ever produced. Jahi would eventually find herself under the tutge of one of the Knights of Cinder, or even the Empress herself. However, that isn''t going to happen for a few years; she needs to graduate from the Academy first. Sighing, I exited the office and walked through therge, yet empty estate. It had been like this ever since I had visited the first time a decade and a half ago. Asking a few of the maids and butlers about Chordeva, I frowned again when none of them gave me a straight answer; each one would look away and lie through their teeth to me. Annoying... Stalking through the halls, I searched every nook and cranny for my wife; leaving her alone for long never was a good idea. My face darkened as I recalled how I had learned that lesson. Back at the Academy, before the first dance of our first year, I had left Chordeva alone too often; I was worried about my studies more than her, even though my free time was dedicated to being near her... However, after I had watched her invite a random bunny bitch to the dance alongside me... Well, even now I felt like skinning the girl in front of Chordeva, letting her know that she was MINE and MINE alone... Sure, we both loved Julie, but... Chordeva belonged to me; I belonged to her. Till death do us part, no? However, back than, we had made no such vow; Chordeva had found herself inside the beds of many women, and that bunny was just one of a growing list. After watching her invite her to the dance, my heart had felt like someone had sliced it to pieces and ground it to dust. I just... couldn''t understand what I was doing wrong. I was strong. I was, by the whispers and words of our ssmates, beautiful. I was loyal. I was devoted. So why..? I was meant to be her wife, and yet she seemed to be reluctant to im me. And that dance had almost done it inpletely for me; I was ready to go home and beg, plead to my mother to cancel the marriage. Julie was the reason I hadn''t; that was why I had epted her offers years ago. I let her believe it was of goodwill and for our past friendship, but... It wasn''t; it was settling a debt, one that I wanted gone. Sure, I was d that I had epted her offer, as I found myself loving the Dogkin and her daughter quite a bit, but... If it wasn''t for that night, where she convinced me to go all out, to convince Chordeva that I was the one for her... My life would be much, much different right now. Continuing my rounds of the estate, I grew more frustrated at theck of my tall Demoness. "Where the hells..." Finding myself on the roof, I stared over our rollingnds with a narrowed gaze, trying to spot her somewhere out in the fields or gardens. Frowning more, I was tempted to go out to town and buy a custom set of chains, but I''ll wait till after her exnation... Hopping off the roof, I resumed my search of the estate, slowly falling back into my memories. Before the Academy, I had, surprisingly, been a rtively normal girl. I liked dressing up, I read romance novels, hell, I even tried my hand at writing one... They were the stereotypical girly things, but... "I like woman who stand up for themselves and take what they want." That line that Chordeva had said to me while she was busy training had stuck with me. I knew it was true; the women she showed an actual interest in, not just one of lust, had been more feisty or independent women. So, when I had went home after that trip, I pleaded to my mother to teach me how to fight; how to make Chordeva look my way and pick ME. Her response had been to toss a sword my way and mutter "About damn time...", instantly throwing me into a grueling regimen and shaping me from a normal noble girl into a fighter. My Lightning Mana had been honed with help from my aunt, my swordy and footwork had been been from my mother, and my father had taught me the finer things of nobility; etiquette, financing, organizing... Yeah, my father had been a peace-loving, calm,id back elf, while my mother had been a proficient assassin and warrior elf... How the two managed to get together and have no troubles their entire marriage is still beyond me; Chordeva and I are simr enough in many aspects, and yet we''re at one another''s throats over some of the smallest things. Reaching therge hall that we had used to host one dance, I opened the doors to find Chordeva waiting, a smirk on her lips as she adjusted her suit. Stepping inside with a frown, I looked around at the clean hall in mild confusion, before returning my eyes to my wife. "What is..?" Gesturing around, I raised a brow as she just continued to smirk at me, before stepping forwards and kneeling in front of me. "Ria Haniel, may I, Chordeva Asmodia, have the pleasure of a dance?" She gently lifted my hand to her lips, and I stared at her in silence for a second. If this had been the me of the past, I would be blushing and stuttering over myself, but now... "You have three separate papers that required your immediate attention, you know that right?" Sighing, Chordeva stood up and took a deep breath, closing her eyes before staring down at me. "Ria... hah..." Reaching forwards, she grabbed my hands and dragged me forwards, cing one of them on her shoulder while the other remained on hers. "Just... dance." Giving her a curt nod, I swiftly fell into the rhythm of a waltz, wondering what hade over her. "So... you remember how I brought up that bunny girl?" ring at her, I reminded silent, waiting for her to continue. "Well..." She bit her lip, a small smile on her lips as her ruby eyes grew soft. "I still feel terrible for that night... I realize now how... badly I had treated you up to that point." I nodded, still ring at her. She knew what she had done; how much she had hurt me, how close she had been to losing me. I reminded her at every point of our marriage; whenever she irritated me, I reminded her. Was it healthy? Probably not. However, it was my way of getting back at her; to let her taste an ounce of the pain I had felt during our early youth. "And while I was thinking about it... I realized that we had never danced; just the two of us, with no need to change partners for etiquette, no drunkenness clouding our vision... just... us, in this moment." Nodding again, I continued to stare at her, making the Demoness cough. "So..." Sighing, I leaned up and kissed her lips, before saying "So you decided that NOW would be the time to do this? When you have documents requiring your attention?" She pouted at me, muttering "I thought women liked this sort of... spontaneous, romantic thing?" Rolling my eyes, I said "Not when the entire motivation of it was ''I bedded some random woman when I was betrothed to you, and after recalling her I decided to do said romantic thing''..." Seeing her freeze, I rolled my eyes again before grinning at her, releasing her before cupping her cheeks. Pulling her down, I kissed her hard before saying "If you must know, I was preparing to go have custom chains forged..." That made her smile, only to freeze as I continued, whispering "So that I could chain you up so I would always know where you were at..." Keeping her face near mine, I kissed her again, only releasing her after I said "It''s appreciated, Chordeva, and I can tell that, in a twisted way, thises from your heart. I can, really." Watching as she pursed her lips and nodded, I added "Really, I do appreciate it, but we have work we need to do; if we can keep a month to two in advance, we can create time to go visit Jahi or allow ourselves a week with the twins when they''re born. That''s why I''m adamant about getting this done..." Seeing her face brighten, I turned and made my way to the door, ncing over my shoulder and smirking as I said "Besides... if you want to show your appreciation for me, you should get all that work done so we can retire early tonight, my love~!" --- 12/07/2022 --- Chapter 224 223: Demoness Observations Jahi PoV Groaning, I grabbed my head as I sat up, feeling like I had some fairy mming a hammer against my skull. Something that I forgot to dost night was hydrate myself, and well... ncing over at the beautiful sight of an exhausted, painted Leone, I groaned again as I felt the cause of my dehydration rise. Sighing, I threw my legs off of the bed and stretched, closing my eyes as the world began to spin. Stumbling over to the bathroom, I fumbled around for the sink and turned it on, leaning down to drink straight from the tap. With a bellyful of water, I gasped as I stood back up, panting from the receding hangover. Staring into the mirror, I took in my pale blue skin glistening with sweat and other fluids, while my hair clung to itself and my body. My amethyst eyes were tired and slightly dull, and I reached up to ssh my face with water, the freezing cold ssh waking me uppletely. With a flick of my hand I cleaned myself off, my light magic ''purifying'' everything off of my body, whilst the golden glow permeated my skin, healing my aches. Looking myself over, I nodded before exiting the bath, returning to my bed. Staring down at the unconscious Vampire, I smiled wryly as I reached down and stroked her cheek, tucking a strand of her ted ash gray hair behind her ear. Reaching up, I briefly brushed my fingers over the area where she had bit me, my thoughts drifting to the words she spoke earlier. Marking me... I knew little about what a Vampire''s Mark truly was, but from what I had read, it was something simr to Beastkin Marking; it just gave her a sixth sense revolving around me, like where I was or what I was feeling. It was something that Beastkin and Vampire''s did when they truly married someone, just like how the pure Mortal''s tradition of a ring worked. It was a disy that you were entwined with another, and it helped create something between the two parties, strengthening the bond between them and amplifying the emotions. Leone had first marked Kat, and now she had marked me; a Vampire was only meant to have one mark, so... Smiling lovingly down at her, I chuckled softly as I ced a kiss on her brow, murmuring "I''m so happy that I decided to be greedy, Princess~" Cleansing her dirtied skin, I chuckled again as she groaned slightly, her hands reaching around for me. Avoiding her grasp, I pulled the nket over her, watching on with a smile as she snuggled into the pillow, her face content as she warmed up under the sheets. Watching over her for a few more moments, I eventually stepped out into the dark living room, wandering over to the pantry and scrounging around for a few seconds, sighing as I realized that myck of skill in cooking made thesete night excursions rather boring. Kat didn''t make extras forter; her meals were surprisingly urate to the amount needed per person, so we had no leftovers. Sadly. Feeling peckish I sighed, grabbing an orange and an apple before filling a cup with water and making my way to the couch. Peeling the orange, I started picking it apart, enjoying the citrus explosions on my tongue, which redirected my thoughts to Anput. Seeing the normally cocky, confident, and proud Jackalkin so crestfallen and depressed was rather... jarring, and I could only hope that the moans that had echoed out of her room were because Kat had set her straight. When we had returned home from our impromptu date, I was surprised when Iid eyes on Anput, her quivering form and almost childlike actions making my heart ache. She had taken Kat''s decision the worst, but that was because she honestly was the one who wanted Kat to be disyed to the public the most. Anput was so proud, but not only of herself; the Jackalkin was proud of each of us, and she wanted to disy each of us to the world, to show that she was so lucky. She wanted to have Kat in the spotlight even more than I did, as I had grown to, albeit reluctantly, ept the idea that Kat would only ever be on the fringes of our spotlight. However, Anput desperately wanted to thrust Kat into that light, both because its what she believed was best and because she wanted to show the world the woman she was most proud of. But, Kat had other ideas, and until I heard from the two women themselves, I don''t want to just assume that everything''s alright now. I had dealt with a shaky heart before, and I knew how terrible it could be. Not only for myself, but for those around me. I wanted Anput to be sure of her emotions and love, and sure that that love was being reciprocated. The idea of a meeker, reserved Anput walking around our house was... An odd thought, and one that I don''t know if I would truly be able to stomach; I had fallen in love with the cocky Jackalkin because of her arrogance. Finishing the orange, I started munching on the apple next, leaning into the couch as I stared into nothing, enjoying the darkness around me. Letting my mind clear out, I eventually tossed the apple core and orange skin into the trash, downed the ss of water, and crept over towards Anput''s room. Quietly opening the door, I peered inside to find Anputying beside Kat, the Jackalkin clinging closely to the curvaceous Dogkin, her face buried between Kat''srge breasts. The two were breathing deeply and evenly, their arms wrapped securely around the other as they embraced. Leaning against the doorframe, I stared at their sleeping figures, smiling warmly down at them. Anput was no longer trembling, and Kat had a tired, yet content expression on her sleeping face, suggesting the time they spent together over the night was pleasurable and worthwhile. As I stared at Kat, my smile turned into a wry one as I realized that the woman''s words were starting to make more and more sense; her idea of hiding so that she could support us to the best of her abilities was demonstrated this night. The Dogkin had a way with words, her actions were meaningful, and she was both epting and hard on all of us; she didn''t let us do as we pleased, instead guiding and taking care of us, much like a mother hen overlooking her chicks. A hard word here was softened out by a warm smile there, while her sweet whispers could soothe any of us in mere moments. Her incredible poise inside our home as she cooked, cleaned, and took care of the other misceneous chores only added to her charm, and we were all thankful that this beautiful woman had no problems keeping the home in order. I can only imagine how much more that will mean when times passes by, with Anput and Leone finding professions of their own to pursue. Having a warm, home cooked meal everyday, a clean room to sleep in, and no worrying about whether or not your clothes are properly cared for is reassuring... Then there''s the side of Kat that we all partake in equal amounts of. Her seductive, sinful side, the side where she pulls us into her bed and ensnares us with her body, epting whatever it is that we wish to do to her with open arms. She has yet to refuse an act with any of us, her openness to try everything and do whatever gets all of us going helping to wash away any stress that had started to pile up during the day. Especially now, when we have to deal with Jillian and her idiocy; being able to let my mind focus on something besides that bitch of an Elf is more important than I had realized. Without it, I think I would have gone crazy by now, but with Kat here... She calmed us down and redirected any of our negativity into something else, and I let out a soft chuckle as I grew to realize just how important the woman was. How no one else would see her and know that, without her, Anput, Leone and I would be different people; very, very different people. I would need to make sure she knows just how much I appreciate her eventually... Though, I think doing so after Jillian is out of the picture would be the most ideal; to not have to worry while I privately shower her with my undivided attention and affection. Maybe I could even pull that out... Smirking, I stared at the two puppies that snuggled together, their ears twitching slightly as I shut the door. Stretching out my broad shoulders again, I sighed as I slipped back into my own room, crawling under the covers and pulling the Vampire into my arms, enjoying her warmth on my skin. I was more lucky than I had previously realized, and now... Now I knew what exactly I needed to get stronger to protect; not the individual women, but the harmonious family that we created together. I wanted to guarantee that nothing in this world would ever step between us and attempt to shatter this harmony, and the first one to do so needed to be killed. --- Still feel a little off, felt like getting a moreid back, thought process chapter out, letting everyone see Jahi''s mental space as of now. --- Chapter 225 224: News Of The Kingdom Kat PoV We were on our way home from yet another tedious day at the Academy. Well, I say tedious only because Anput and Jahi had been skulking about during the Combat ss again, their patience swiftly running out as our Professors had them sit out again. As we walked through the busy roads, talking about whether or not they should just take the final now, I nced to the side of the road, where a dozen people gathered around a singr stall. Letting Anput''s whining fade into the background, I focused my hearing on the muttering group, trying to figure out what they were talking about. Standing behind the stall was an older man, his gray beard well groomed, while his dark green skin and pale yellow eyes denoted his Orcish heritage. "News from the Kingdom! You won''t regret buying a copy! Gates appearing frequently in Tragon Kingdom! Get your copy here!" He was shouting and waving a rolled up paper in his fist, and I watched as the people surged forwards, dropping coins into his free hand to get themselves a copy of his newspaper. Tugging on Jahi''s hand, I alerted her to the man, and we walked forwards as well. Hearing that Gates were appearing in the Tragon Kingdom at a more frequent rate was something that we needed to learn about. Both because it could alter the political dealings with the Western Kingdoms, and also because I knew little of the Labyrinthian and Gates. So, I slipped through the crowd and gave the man the silver necessary for the paper, rejoining Jahi and the others in a few seconds. Unfurling it, I scanned the words before nodding, gesturing for us to return home. Jahi took the paper from my hands, reading it as we walked, her face growing serious the further down the paper she got. Entering into the cottage, I walked into the kitchen while the others sat at the table, listening to Jahi as she started talking. "Tragon Kingdom has had four confirmed Gates open up throughout theirnds, and another seven unconfirmed attacks on smaller rural viges. They can''t determine the cause for this surge in Gates, but one thing is certain..." Handing the paper to Leone, Jahi leaned back into her chair and sighed, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. "They''re in trouble. Each location targeted is important in some way, either as a food source, popted area, or strategically ced cities. The death count has already hit ten thousand, and that''s with them lowballing the estimates." Leone frowned as she handed the paper to Anput, her crimson eyes ring as she said "While it is saddening that Tragon is seemingly being targeted, this is... well, frankly, pretty bad for us as well. Romagi is going to be on high alert and ready to attack at a moments notice due to paranoia. If the Romagi King wishes to dere war on us, iming we have the... ability to open those Gates, his citizens would likely believe it. The Western Kingdoms are more primitive then the Empire, and as such arge gathering of Humans, well..." Leone trailed off, her voice filled with reluctance as she pursed her lips. Jahi nodded, finishing her line of thought. "The Humans have always had an inferiorityplex towards the other races, and now that Gates are seemingly picking on them, they could very easily twist this as the Empress attempting to suppress them. Their understanding on the Arcane is limited, and the amount of people with a Core in the Western Kingdoms are much less than here." "So they''re a bunch a weaklings? Why should we care then? This should just be an opportunity to study why the Labyrinthian is capable of producing so many more Gates in one location and find ways to prevent that from happening here." Although callous, Anput raised a good point, one that Jahi seemed to agree with. "They are weak, but so is our Western Border. The Counties over on that side of the Empire are former Knights of the Romagi Kingdom, and while they might have been ced under heavy surveince and given a strict check and bnce system, they remain Humans. Who knows if they''ll defect and give up the Mountains between Romagi and us? There are many ways to rid themselves of the Councilors and Soldiers the Empress ''gifted'' them..." Leone frowned again, her eyes conflicted as she said "Even still, they are still citizens of the Empire, and the loss of life anywhere should be mourned. Those vigers and normal citizens shouldn''t have to suffer simply because we dislike the ones who rule them." However, Anput just shrugged, saying "So? I could care less about the random citizenry of a foreign, barely amicable nation. Especially not when something far more dangerous seems to be using them as a testing grounds. If we can learn just what is causing this, or how it is happening, then their sacrifices have been more than worth it." Leone red at Anput, the two women on opposite sides of a moralpass; Leone waspassionate and cared about others, while Anput sought power and knowledge by any means. As for Jahi... Sighing, she looked between the two and said "I''m sure the Empress already knows about the happenings and has sent someone to the Western Border, but I doubt she''ll step foot into the Kingdoms themselves. Humans are a short lived race, and its been a lifetime for them since the Empire quelled their little insurrection against us a century ago. Besides that, the Romagi King will most definitely use this as an excuse to try and reim those Counties; those were some of the stronger Knights under the Kingdomsmand, and yet they turned to us when we threatened to absorb the Kingdoms into the Empire, stopping that." Anput grinned smugly at Leone, adding "Compassion should be reserved for those that can afford it, Leone~!" ring at the Jackalkin, Leone looked away, towards me. "Kat, what do you think?" Lifting the teapot off of the stove, I moved towards the table, ncing between them. Sighing, I poured each of them a cup before saying "While I pity the innocents who lost their lives, I am much more worried about what is capable of opening and almost controlling those Gates. I mean, from where they''ve been confirmed, those aren''t random spots. Each one targeted something critical to Tragon. Thergest producer of grain in Via City, the secondrgest Military Academy in Fort Uxan, Fort Olivat between Tragon and Romagi, andstly Iltaxia Vige, which produces some of the strongest warriors for Tragon. Each confirmed location is something that Tragon cannot afford to lose, and yet each of them has been destroyed. Whatever is doing this is smart, and I''m more concerned on what is capable of this. If it''s a monster, then how did it grow so clever and learn so much about the outside world? And if its someone controlling these Gates, who managed to learn how to summon them? What''s their end goal?" Jahi nodded, her face serious as she said "I don''t know which is scarier, honestly. If this is a monster, then that means the inhabitants inside the Labyrinthian are growing far faster then we could have ever anticipated. But if its a person? What level of power do they have to hold to be capable of working alongside the Labyrinthian?" Anput was silent, her features just as serious as she nodded, staring back down at the paper. A somber atmosphere descended around us, and I sighed as I spoke softly, grabbing everyones attention. "We can''t do anything ourselves about this, but we can improve ourselves. So, I would like to return to studying the History textbooks, prepare to take the finals, then start taking on more requests down in Zhu''Rong Caverns to hone our skills and get some more money. This first year at the Academy is... honestly a little wasted on us, so we need to start doing something worth our time. If it''s a monster or a mortal, either way we need to prepare ourselves for a fight, since this will likely lead to conflict with the Western Kingdoms and whoever or whatever is controlling those Gates." The other three nodded, and Jahi took over, saying "So, we''ll start studying a bit more and get out of all three sses. With the free time, we can go into Zhu''Rong daily and hone both our physical and magical skills, while also continuing to learn more about the Labyrinthian; Second Years at the Academy have ess to most of the Library, and when we ''graduate'' early we are considered Second Years. We should also take a trip up to the Pce to take a peek at the Royal Library as well." Leone smiled at that, her crimson eyes alight with joy as she added "Mother would be happy to help, and Mom wouldn''t mind letting us in! Besides, I''m sure we can learn a thing or two from each of my Aunts as well, maybe even my older siblings!" Anput smirked at that, her face already looking exhausted as she murmured "All hundred of them~?" ring at Anput, Leone started quibbling with the Jackalkin, who grinned as she snapped back, their ''argument'' making Jahi roll her eyes in amusement, before the Demoness watched me prepare our dinner. With that, our house turned noisy, but the warmth that filled the air was worth the noise, andter that night it grew noisy for a different reason. Chapter 226 225: Relaxing Date --- In the spirit of today being couples day (blegh), I decided to have the girls go out and enjoy themselves... Since I''ll be inside all day lol --- Since it was yet another day off for us, I had hoped that we could get a good chunk of the History material studied and tested between one another, but Jahi had been adamant about using some of our time today to rx, stating that we needed some rest for our over exerted minds. Which had some merit, but it was still slightly grating seeing everyone letting loose so easily and without even an iota of arguing to finish studying... Sighing, I nced around the empty living room, which I had just finished sweeping; in the spirit of an off day, everyone was still asleep, so I had time to myself before they woke up. Slowly cleaning the entirety of the living room and kitchen, I switched up my pace as I sat down at the kitchen table, a pile of cloth sitting before me. I had neglected my enchanting practice recently, so... Taking a little time from my chores, I slowly scraped off the rust from a week or two of unpracticed enchanting, my runes and mana control more sloppy then I wasfortable with. After that, I got breakfast going, keeping it simple as I prepared a few loaves of bread, which I would then dip in a mixture of whisked eggs, cinnamon, and some other fragrant herbs to create ''French'' toast, while also grilling some sausage links. Everyone began to filter in as the smells of my cooking wafted throughout the cottage, and as always they were all in varying states of undress. Watching them gradually wake up with each bite, I smiled as the food slowly vanished, each girl lounging around with content expressions and filled bellies. Sending each off to wash up, I finished cleaning everything before joining them out back, where we all began our daily drills. Practicing with my daggers, sparring with Anput and Jahi, mana control exercises with Leone, and some basic strength and agility training as a group. Our time in the yard was a few hours long, and each of us were physically drained after Jahi increased the intensity of the workouts by a few times. After we all took a bath together, I was about to go start dinner when Jahi pulled me out of the kitchen, tossing the new red dress into my arms and watching as I changed into it in front of her. The Demoness visibly struggled with not throwing herself at me, her heated gaze palpable on my skin as I stripped from the maid dress into the red dress she had bought me. She had been especially interested when I had started giving her a show, teasing therge Demoness with a smug smirk. When I exited our room, the other two girls were ready and waiting, both staring at me in surprise since I was finally wearing something besides the ck and red maid uniform or the tight leather armor. Anput was back into some of her countries clothes, wearing a deep blue set of cloth that left much of her olive skin exposed. Of course, I found that both a wondrous sight and something I wanted her to change out of immediately; I loved seeing her bare skin and lithe figure, but I also hated that the random people on the streets would get to see it as well. Sensing my gaze, Anput gave me a smile as she spun around slightly, giving us a full disy of her incredible figure. Chuckling, I shook my head before turning to Leone, who had also prettied herself up quite a bit. She was in a shining white dress that hugged her curves, and her ashen hair was held back by her golden tiara, while a pair of ruby earrings entuated her beautiful crimson eyes. The Vampire had even applied a thinyer of makeup, the blush only adding to her own natural blush as she shyly looked up from beneath her thickshes, which was extremely seductive. Both Jahi and I had to hold back from grabbing the Vampire, who was staring at us with wide eyes as we both took shuddering breaths. Finally, Jahi was in her sharp three piece suit, though she hadn''t put as much care into her appearance as she had before. Sighing, I stepped closer to her and tugged on her violet tie, straightening it out and lengthening it, all while standing on my tiptoes. Jahi was smiling warmly down at me as I fussed over her suit, smoothening out the wrinkles and fixing thepel pin that was the Asmodia symbol on her chest. "You..." Chuckling wryly, Jahi reached out and stroked my ears, forcing me to stop. "That''s enough, Kat~ We''re going out to eat at a normal restaurant, not some Noble Ball~" Pouting at her, I whispered "And? I want you to look good no matter where we go..." Chuckling again, Jahi leaned down and ced a kiss on my nose, before spinning me around and wrapping her arms around me. "Alright,e on everyone~! Dinner awaits~!" Keeping one arm around my waist, Jahi grinned down at me as she slipped her other arm around Anput''s exposed waist, all while Leone pouted at feeling left out. Though, her pout disappeared when Jahi leaned forwards and whispered something into her ear, making the Vampire turn as red as her earrings and eyes. Walking down the roads of the capital, Jahi led us into yet another new restaurant, where she had somehow managed to book a private room in the back. Sitting down around avish table, I scooped up the bottle of wine and poured everyone drinks, watching with a dry gaze as Anput instantly downed her ss, shing me arge grin as she asked for another. After staring at her in silence for a few moments, I relented and poured her another ss, swiftly cing the bottle besides myself and watching as she prepared to drain it again. However, seeing that the bottle was far away from her, and safely standing beside me, Anput pouted as she sipped instead, her eyes longing for the wine. Chuckling, Jahi sipped on hers as well, before reaching over and giving the Jackalkin a consoling pat, which made the woman smile. When a waiter appeared, we all ced our orders when handed the menu. Jahi went with a steak dish with baked potatoes and a smattering of greens, Anput chose a steak dish as well, but went with a vegetable broth as her side. Leone kept it simple with a fresh garden sd and a grilled chicken breast, while I ordered a white wine pasta dish. The bread that was served to hold us over had the other three frowning slightly, which made me smirk as I leaned forwards, asking "Not as good as mine, hm~?" Jahi sighed, nodded, and stared at the loaf for a moment as she said "No, it really isn''t, but..." Smiling, she gestured around to the beautiful room, before staring at each of us for a moment, saying "I can''t really ask you to dress up to just... eat at home like normal, now can I? Besides, the money is for the experience as well!" Even though I rolled my eyes, I smiled just as much as the other two, enjoying the way Jahi startedplimenting each of us. When the food finally came out and we dug in, the conversation drifted along freely, each of us picking a random topic and allowing everything to flow freely, the wine spurring along some more... raunchy lines. The food was good, the conversations great, and the wine warming each of us up, concluding the first half of our rxing night. When we returned home, each of us was smiling ambiguously at the others, which only made our Demoness all the more riled up, her ''true'' nature showing its beautiful face as she pulled us onto her bed, her hands instantly tearing off our clothes as she set about showing her love for us in its most carnal form. The night was long, the fun very much there, and when we all finally drifted off to sleep, we didn''t know it yet, but we would look back on nights like these and smile wryly, wondering how we could have been so carefree. --- So, a little update kinda thing, as well as padded wordcount for 1.5k, but this is where I n on taking the novel; Soon, we will be entering the next ''arc'' so to speak;st chapter gave a rather good idea, and the whole Academy thing can only be written about for oh so many chapters before it bes... dull. Which means I need something new and fresh, and what better ''something'' than a portal spawning monster that wants to eat everything~? That''s where we are going, and I have a rather... interesting idea to use at the ''end'' of that ''arc'', so I hope you''ll be looking forwards to that~! For now though, we still need to get a few, and I''ll try and keep them brief, chapters out of the way of basic things; some more improvements to skills, acing the exams, and more! --- Chapter 227 226: Meeting With Kolia The next day was slow as well, with each of us not wanting to leave thefortable pile that we had created on the bed, each of us basking in the warmth of the others. However, leave thatfort we did, as the dawns early beams forced me to get up and get everything ready, whilst the others began to slowly crawl from the bed. We didn''t leave the house as early as we usually did, both due to my ownte start and that each of us was still feeling drained fromst night, but we did eventually reach the Academy, where we all sighed as we began our first of three sses. Currently, Magic Theory was covering how to turn a sequence into a Ritual Circle, and how to better write the various runes to create said Ritual Circle. It was moments like this in the ss that made me realize just how gung-ho the Marquess and Countess had been with educating Jahi when she was still an actual child, as the rest of our ss struggled with the nuances of magic; the only ones who didn''t were either Nobles like Jahi or those more talented in magic amongst themoners, but the numbers were low. All four of us had easily and swiftly created and mapped out the Ritual Circle that Vice-Headmaster Bijilo wanted, and the older man smiled as he looked over each, nodding to himself. After proving that we had all individually created the Ritual Circles on our own, he had usplete the assignment that we would have been doing as homework next, which made me relieved; I always preferred doing ''homework'' at school, since the location was much less distracting then my home, where my books would call out to me, or my friends might ask to y a few games. With the first ss done, we all trudged along to History next, where we got to learn more about Lord Ter''Ran, the Ancient Earth Dragon that guards the remaining Southern Border of the Empire from the Labyrinthian. As had been stated in our first few sses, Lord Ter''Ran was a reclusive Dragon, which is why thend around his mountains were left untouched and uninhabited, as per his request. The rtionship between him and the Empress was, by all ounts, one of good friends, and he was also something of a brother to Lady Igna and Duchess ki, the two other Dragons inhabiting the Empire. With that, he was allowed his ownnd, but unlike Duchess ki he refused a title, preferring to remain in solitude and away from other mortals, content with his mountainous home. His home had been christened Sanctus Petra, and each of its towering peaks was considered a treasure on its own, since his presence had allowed rare ores and rich Earth Mana to flow into thend, improving it by leaps and bounds. Because of that, he had agreed to allow the Empress to send a group of miners to the mountains one month out of a year, every year, to harvest what they could. Sanctus Petra was where the Empire had truly turned itself into an untouchable superpower, as the raw materials gathered were swiftly turned into incredibly powerful weapons for important, loyal people; the Knights of Cinder and the Ignacia Guard were outfitted with those metals, turning each into a moveable fortress with insane power. Like always, the knowledge from the ss was interesting, but the work tied to it was annoying; a three page paper on the importance of Lord Ter''Ran, as well as a two page paper on the mountains he resides in, Sanctus Petra. Not immensely difficult, but they were due tomorrow, and I had better uses of my time... Finally, we had Combat ss, which was slowly wearing away at Jahi and Anput, before the two women grew ecstatic as Professor Thorn decided to spar with them personally, dedicating half of the training grounds to their spar, leaving the rest of us a little more cramped then normal. It started out normal enough for Leone and I, with both of us picking up our wooden weapons and sparring amongst ourselves, before I sparred with Greselda and Leone sparred with Countess Aurim, for intra weapon-ss training. The adventurer had improved over the long sses, and it was refreshing to not have to worry about ulterior motives with my sparring partner, be it the twisted words of Jillian or the honeyden, lust filled actions of Leone or the others. Besides that, she fought with both power and finesse, offering quite a challenge as we crossed des, and I gradually improved the style that I wished to fight with, copying her moves and tweaking them to fit my own frame and strength. However, it was during our third spar that someone walked over towards us, someone I was familiar with. Long, raven ck hair, piercing green snake eyes, and a torn robe that disyed her snake tattooed arm and various runic tattoos; Arch Mage Kolia stood beside us, a small smile on her lips as she watched us finish. Panting, I nced over at her, the woman gesturing with her head that she wished to speak. Alone. Bowing to Gresleda, I slipped through the crowded training grounds and approached the woman, her back leaning against the wall as she stared at the fight between Anput, Jahi, and Professor Thorn. Moving to stand beside her, I waited for the woman to speak as I also watched the incredible fight happening before us. "You know... it really does feel like just yesterday that you both were little more then brats trying to learn magic. Now, both of you''ve grown so damn much..." Raising a brow, I nced at her mncholic eyes and said "Respectfully, it''s been only what, two years Miss Kolia? Not ten or twenty." Chuckling, she looked over at me and said "So? Two years is still a long time, Kat. For you especially, it''s only been what, a fourth of your life?" Nodding, I listened as she continued on, her nostalgic voice growing slightly distant. "You really never know what can happen in two years, Kat. So much can change in the world, in people, in yourself. I mean, in two years you''ve went from the shy little puppy to a confident, but quiet Dogkin woman. Jahi also grew more confident and sure of herself, and the physical change is...well, you can see that. Hah, anyways, seeing you two just made me feel old." I raised a brow again, looking at the youthful features of the woman beside me; I never did learn her specific race, but considering how long those with Cores lived, well... "What, trying to think about my age? If I recall, I''m just reaching my forties? Maybe fifties... eh, I stopped counting a long time ago." Seeing her mischievous smirk, I rolled my eyes as I asked "So why''d you call me over?" Sighing, the woman''s carefree expression vanished, reced by something serious. "Lady Chordeva sent me a letter exining the situation, and I''ve... heard a few things around the city. The peace that we''ve been enjoying is going to shatter soon, and I worry for the people of the Empire. I''m sure the Empress has told you that she''s incapable of doing anything on her own, but it''s moreplicated than that. The Kameiel''s are researching something... dark, and they brought it forwards to the Empress recently, iming it was a way to strengthen the Empire as a whole. The problem is, their research is wholly legal and... well, with war on the horizon, many amongst the Empress'' Court are willing to sanction and fund their research. The Empress herself has remained neutral during it all; it really is a era changing thing that they''re researching, but the smarter amongst the Council know how twisted it can be. They are looking for a way to mix mana together to create a stronger offspring; the majority of their research is looking at mixing water and fire, wind and earth; all the opposites in the elemental space to create an improved Core, one that can wield and house those opposites. Their research started with tying two people together and trying to connect their cores, much like that old, ancient Ritual Circle I told you about. However, each instance has been a failure, but they''re growing closer. Thing is, those blinded by the here and now can''t see that doing this is an affront to nature; a true abomination would be born, because opposing mana cannot truly exist in the same person, not without extremely special, and extremely precise control; control that no mortal has. Those blinded idiots outweigh those with foresight on the Council, and the Empress'' neutrality is because she wishes for them to learn that not everything can be forced... if I had to guess. Sadly, with the war likely to break out with the Western Kingdoms, these fools believe that we can grow back stronger by aiding the Kameiel''s... even with knowledge that they wish to usurp the Asmodia''s position. So Kat, please, be careful. Tell Jahi she needs to curb her impulsive behavior against Jillian and A, and that we need to gather our strenght first; the Sariel''s and Kameiel''s are far stronger than people remember, and with the way this Empire is set up, the Asmodia''s can''t simply raze those they deem a threat. Tell that to Jahi, tell her she needs to remain quiet and endure for now; my guess is that Jillian and A may be more... insufferable soon..." Letting her words soak in, I nodded, ncing over at the blue Demoness that was grinning, her body moving fluidly as she sparred against Anput and Professor Thorn. Taking a deep breath, I sighed as I realized that trouble was brewing far faster than I had anticipated, and I needed to get my lovers prepared and ready for the storm that was to be unleashed upon us. I continued to chat with Arch Mage Kolia, discussing more about our ''enemies'', asking about potential allies, and then turning the discussion towards improving my magic, getting pointers on what I needed to improve now before anything happened. Chapter 228 227: More News From The Kingdoms When our time at the Academy had ended that day, I told everything Arch Mage Kolia had said to me to Jahi, letting her know what our former Magic Tutor thought about the current happenings. The Demoness seemed conflicted; her desire to put Jillian and A in their ce fought desperately with the rationality that Kolia spoke of, to step away and remain neutral for the time being. Thankfully, with the help of me whispering in her ear, Jahi promised to try and stop antagonizing the two Elven women, though there was reluctance in her eyes. Anput was also miffed about the request, but she swiftly relented when Leone and I red at her; the Jackalkin had a deep enough understanding of us to know that the thing we asked of them wasn''t to be negotiated. It also didn''t help that Leone and I promised to take away certain ''activities'' from her if she grew to be too difficult; it was underhanded, sure, but for the moment it was what we needed to do to guarantee we didn''t awaken a sleeping bear prematurely. Why waste precious time for immediate thrills when we could be nning and preparing traps for that ''bear''? Of course, Anput made her displeasure known very quickly after that, but I was willing to endure her ''displeasure'' if it meant roping in my family and keeping them as safe as possible. I also liked her more dominant side... Besides Leone and I disying our endurance more often these days, we were also studying as much as we could so that we could free up more valuable time for things that truly matter; thankfully, we could all easily ace the Magic Theory and Combat sses, but History was another beast entirely. Having to memorize and test each other on the beginning of our Empire''s History was difficult enough, but we also had to memorize the names of different Houses, how they rose and how they fell, what their impacts were... The amount of Baronies and Counties that were changed time and time again felt innumerable, and that''s not counting the Viscounts who were tied to a County, which could be up to five Viscounts that a Count could appoint... It was a lot, and even Jahi was gritting her teeth in anguish as we studied. History was looking like the hardest ss in existence at this moment, but I had dealt with simr sses before, so I put my head down andmitted as much as I could to memory. Obviously, during this time my rate at earning experience slowed drastically, but studying with each of my Mistress'' counted as ''training'' with them, so the only parts that I was slowing down on were my own skills. Though, I imagine that I will make up for this when we venture down into Zhu''Rong again, what with the quests, experience gain from killing monsters, and more. But, for now, I understood that I needed to take the lower gains so that, in the future, everything was smoother. Jahi and I were still traveling around at night though, mainly so the Demoness could find excuses to spring impromptu dates on me, which I always found touching. And just like that, a week passed by quicker then ever before, and it was on our way home again from the Academy that we heard that same elderly Orc shouting about recent news from the Western Kingdoms. Getting the newspaper, I waited till we got back to the cottage to read it out, sighing as I handed it over to Jahi. Silence permeated the kitchen, and I got up and started preparing dinner again, taking my mind off of the news. "What..?" Jahi let out a confused chuckle as she handed the newspaper over to Leone, who read it with Anput. Slicing out some onions, I added them to the growing pan of vegetables, preparing to make some fried rice. "Tragon Kingdom had practically fallen? How?" Leone''s voice was confused as well, and she nced at Jahi, who shrugged. "The paper says that the Nogart Pce was destroyed;pletely and utterly destroyed. Reduced to rubble. Bodies were scattered around the entire pce, some broken and twisted, others tore to pieces. The paper also said that there had been signs of a Gate opening inside the Throneroom, but that''s unverified..." Silence fell again, and I frowned as I recalled more of the news. Romagi and the remaining people of Tragon had banded together and are demanding answers from the Empire; for some reason, they think that we know what''s happening inside their borders better than they do. Not only are they demanding answers, Romagi has also sent word to the remaining Kingdom, Pnkad, and arge battalion of soldiers are currently marching towards the border, where an evenrger army waits. For all intents and purposes, the Western Kingdoms have dered war on the Empire. Most likely, the countries further west will send aid to the Kingdoms, in hopes of receiving something in turn over theing years. Of course, since they don''t share a border, those other countries are also rather nonplussed about the might that the Empires wields; after all, why worry about a country thousands of miles away from yourself? It''s not like they could retaliate. I don''t truly know how warfare in this world is waged, nor do I know if it''s simr to what happened during the Middle Ages, but if it is, then we are watching the beginning of a multi year bloody affair; one that we will likely need to take part of. The silence turned somber as we all reached the same conclusion, and I sighed as I nced over my shoulder, each girl staring at the table quietly, their eyesplicated. Anput was the first to recover, unsurprisingly, as her simple "Well, at least we won''t be bored." echoed around the room, making Leone frown. "Boredom? You''re more worried about boredom than therge amount of lives lost due to a misunderstanding?" The Jackalkin shrugged, and before the Vampire could begin arguing with her, Jahi spoke up, making Leone grit her teeth. "It''s not about boredom, Anput, nor is it about the amount of casualties, Leone. What really matters is whatever managed to bring an entire Kingdom to its knees. What is its motive? Does it even have one? Why did it target only Tragon Kingdom, and not the others? Will it target the others?" Each question was valid, and each one made the two other women frown, their previous disagreement forgotten. I returned to preparing our dinner, all while they began theorizing from what we currently knew. There was something or someone capable of opening Gates; that fact was indisputable, as there was no other way for that many confirmed Gates to open inside one territory without someone targeting that territory. This creature or person is strong enough to decimate the Nogart Pce with apparent ease, as the King and his Guards were all aplished Core users; not insanely strong, but still up there, and yet they were massacred. The methods of killing were either through blunt force trauma, as shown by the mangled corpse, or through evisceration and dismemberment; this could be a human with raw strength and arge de, or a monster with sharp teeth and a strong body. I didn''t know which one I found worse; a personmitting this massacre, or a monster capable of utilizing Gates. Of course, there was also the third option; both. There is a monster and a person working together. That would be multitudes worse than if it was just one or the other; a monster that could form some kind of pact with a mortal is chilling enough. Besides that, since the Empress hasn''t reacted strongly, the idea of it being some kind of Fiend is out of the question; from the very little I''ve seen on them, Tza''Yul would be able to tell the Empress if another of its kind appeared, and the only other is Ka''Hondi, the Fiend that the Asmodia''s have under lock and key. They are also far stronger than the average monster, even when they are just formed; that''s how strong a Fiend is, and if one was causing this current predicament, I have a feeling the Empress would ignore her previous decorum and simply raze the Kingdom to the ground to rid the world of the Fiend. Listening to them continue to debate the purpose and intent of this attacker, one thing was assured. War wasing. A war between the Empire and the Kingdoms would most definitely break out, and more then likely... We would be sent to fight; not by the Empress, not because we were forced to fight by the Empress'' Court, but because the Marquess and Countess would definitely send us out, to temper each of us inside that bloody conflict. From the few words the Marquess had left for me after she sorted Jahi out, I knew that the difference between my lover and my future siblings was great. Jahi would be taking over March Asmodia, and as such, she would be forged and tempered the same way the Marquess had been, to be just as strong, if not stronger, then her Mom. Our younger siblings, be them from my Mother or from the Countess, would be given the options to train, not forced into it like Jahi had been. They can live life as peacefully or as bloodily as they wish, but the path for Jahi had been set as soon as she had been conceived. When I had been tied to her, I still had the option to run and live a peaceful life, but I made my choice. If she wished to venture into Hell, I would walk beside her, now and always. Chapter 229 228: First Fang With the threat of imminent warfare looming over our heads, the Capital turned from the boisterous, vibrant and happy atmosphere to a more subdued, somber ce, the citizenry whispering amongst themselves about the uing conflict. Most were assured that we would win; it was simple fact that the Empire had more resources, more people, and a better army than all three Western Kingdomsbined. That wasn''t what people were worried about, though. Instead, the worry stemmed from the loss of life on our side; how many sons, daughters, lovers, fathers, mothers, and friends would die due to these human Kingdoms dering war? Who amongst those that you hold dear will remain alive if this war happens to be drawn out? That was what made the people worry, not knowing how strong the Kingdoms might be, nor how desperate they might be to keep this conflict growing. After all, the Kingdoms might just be a puppet for the countries further west, and should they find a way to profit off of the war, then the amount of bodies they will throw at our border could very well be indefinite. However, I wasn''t worried about that; I was more worried about what exactly we would be required to do when we were sent, and more importantly... Would the Sariel''s and Kameiel''s use this prime opportunity to move against the Asmodia''s? Not politically, but physically? After all, this would truly be a perfect time to have Jahi be ''cut down by an enemy soldier'', or for Leone or Anput to suffer the same fate. Me as well, since the unhinged Elves have disyed obvious interest in turning me into their personal pleasure doll. Because of that, I needed to prepare myself again, in ways I hadn''t before. The main one being my bloodlust; most likely, due to the path I''ve chosen, I won''t be on the front lines with Jahi and Anput, being able to defend their backs whilst they wade through therge amounts of humans sent our way. Most likely I''ll be left behind with Leone, guarding the Vampire as she remains with the Mages in the back, peppering the battlefield with her spells. My ce was by any of their sides, but the frustration in knowing that I couldn''t protect each of them was staring to eat away at me. So, I needed to find ways tobat my lust for bloodshed and keep that in check, to not cloud my mind like it has before. Which would likely be a near impossible task... ? Besides that, I wanted to take this opportunity to improve my enchanting skills as best I could, so that I could create protection charms for Jahi and Anput, as well as potentially upgrade their armor or weapons as best I could. To that effect, when I wasn''t taking care of chores and studying the History Books, I was practicing my enchantments, refining my mana control and ability to weave my mana onto an item. It had gotten to the point that I was altering my sleep schedule as much as I could, to squeeze everyst avable minute of my day to be as productive as I possibly could make it. The others had noticed this change and had joined me in it, understanding that we needed to be as prepared as possible for when we were eventually sent to the West. It could be a few weeks from now, or a few months from now, but either way we needed to prepare ourselves. With that in mind, each of us began to hone the skills that needed the most work; Jahi was out back practicing her magic, the asional golden sh illuminating the yard that Anput was dancing around in, her Ritual Circle sending earthen spikes randomly at her, forcing her to learn how to dodge better. Leone sat on her boulder, her eyes closed as she created and disassembled dozens of Ritual Circles, reforming them and improving each one a singr rune at a time. As for me, I sat off to the side, watching it all unfold before returning to the simple steel dagger before me, the shining steel de reflecting my appearance back at me. I felt confident now to attempt to enchant my weapon, but just in case I had bought this spare dagger to practice on before touching the perfectly weighted and bnced heavy dagger the Countess bought for me. Closing my eyes, I got a feel for my frigid mana before breathing out, focusing the entirety of my attention on the basic dagger below me. I had two enchantments in mind, and since steel was a durable enough metal, especially when forged with Ghoul Crystal, it should be capable of withstanding the pressure of two enchantments. The first was a rather simple one, but sometimes simplicity was key. Forming the runes needed, I took another deep breath as I began to push them onto the t of the de, the ethereal blue runes shimmering as they tried to weave themselves into the metal. This enchantment was a simple mana circuit, making it easier for the de to take in and release mana; this was key for the second enchantment to be truly viable against strong opponents, and it was also a good basic enchantment for when I coated the de in mana. The first of the four runes shone brightly on the de, signifying its sessful imntation. However, even with that first one done, I remained stoic, switching my attention to the next rune. Pushing it into the metal, I made sure the rune had a steady influx of mana, was stable, and that I didn''t rush the process, which resulted in- Smiling slightly, I moved onto the next rune when the second rune shed, just like the first. Continuing on, I managed to get the third and fourth runes onto the de with no problem, sessfully enchanting my first ever weapon. Again, it was a more basic enchantment then most, but still, you had to start somewhere, and for now... Letting my mana pour into the steel dagger, I grinned as I felt the de pull in some more Wind and Water Mana from the air around us, strengthening the ethereal blue glow around it, even after I stopped feeding it my own Ice Mana. It took around a minute for the de to lose the shining luster of the Ice Mana, and I had expected as much. Flipping it over, I prepared the second enchantment, but this one was moreplex; instead of just four basic runes, I needed to implement a Ritual Circle on its other side, which would allow me to cast magic without needing to draw my own Ritual Circle. It was a technique dubbed ''Instantaneous Casting'' in this world, since you usually have to use a second or two to create the spell you wish to cast. With this though, I could simply hold the dagger out and channel my mana into the dagger, activate the Ritual Circle, and cast a spell. Whilst it was moreplex than the mana circuit, this spell was a simple crescent de spell, summoning an elemental arc to cut through something. Simple, but lethal and swift. I had spent an hour running through dozens of differentbinations of the spell, and I had finally found the bestbination of over a dozen runes to make this spell fast, strong, sharp, and capable of being switched between Wind, Water, and Ice. With that almost perfected Ritual Circle in mind, I traced it out and shrunk its size, before I began the much harder, more tedious process of enchanting the de with a Ritual Circle. It was different from a single rune or string of runes; where I had been able to do one at a time, here I needed to do it all at once, which required dozens of times more control and concentration. However, control and concentration had be my strong points, and now... Channelling my mana steadily into theplex Ritual Circle, I pushed it down and started imbedding it into the steel dagger, the mana stitching itself into the metal and bing one entity. The first had taken around a minute per rune, but now... Sweat dripped down my brow as I continued to pour my mana into the de, each line of magical writing slowly but surely bing imbedded into the de. My mind began to numb from the constant outflowing mana, and my body grew weaker, but I persevered and continued on. Time lost all meaning as the Ritual Circle slowly became engraved on the steel, and I watched on with narrowed eyes as it eventually finished up. When it did, I blinked a few times as the world spun, swiftly steadying myself as I stared down at thepleted de, a system notification ringing in my mind. [Achievement Unlocked: First Enchanted Weapon] [First Enchanted Weapon: Host sessfully enchanted a weapon with runes and/or a Ritual Circle! Rewards: Xp (Grade Based), [Enchanter (Novice)] -> [Enchanter (Apprentice)]] [Achievement Grade: B- (10,000Xp)] Reading the lines of text on the screen before me, I nodded, before lifting the thin steel dagger, staring at the pale blue lines that were etched into its surface. Grinning at it, I nced up and saw that everyone was still training, unaware of what I had just done. cing the dagger before me, I took a deep breath and stared at the dagger, muttering "Hmm... what should I call you..?" Flurry? ce? No... Maybe something that belongs in a set? Like... w? First w? No, doesn''t sound that good... Hmm... "Fang?" Muttering it out loud, I tilted my head to the side as I repeated that. "My first ''Fang''? I did want to eventually have a set of daggers..." Stroking the hardened edge, I smiled softly as I nodded to myself. "You will be called ''First Fang'' for now... maybe I''ll name you properly in the future..." [Fang? Eh, could be worse...] Hearing the system, I pouted as I muttered "Well what other names could I give it that exists as a collective? Besides, dog, fang? They go together, no?" [I mean, sure... but... hah, whatever...] My pout deepened, and I lifted the de and continued to stroke its surface, enjoying the chilled metal. "Don''t listen to it, Fang..." I stared lovingly down at my first ever enchanted weapon, knowing that it would be something I woulde to treasure. --- Yeah, my creative juices aren''t flowing to hard right now, so if you have an idea for the beginning of Kat''s Dagger Collection, do let me know~! --- Chapter 230 229: Skeletal Drake Parrying a Ghoul''s talon away from me, I stabbed my newly enchanted dagger into its chest, pulsing some mana through the de. The results were- Watching as it''s chest exploded from the pulse of mana, I smirked as it''s core fell to the ground, the spherical object ttering to the floor as the Ghoul''s corpse turned to dust. Intriguing. What would that have done to a living, breathing person, I wonder? If I amplified the pulse, would their entire torso have vaporized? What if I lowered the power of the pulses but increased the frequency? I stared down at my First Fang with a wide grin, the ash coated de bing clean again as I sent some more mana into it. Hearing something shuffling to my left, I swung the dagger towards the sound of the noise, a crescent of ice slicing through the air and decapitating the stumbling Ghoul. We were back down in Zhu''Rong Caverns, both because I needed a release, and the others wished to test out their new skills against the monsters. As always, we were making our way down the Obsidian Valley, and had harvested a few hordes of Ash Ghouls before stepping out onto the Yama ins, where we would be fulfilling our Requests. This time, we took a Request as a party, so we were making our way towards the Lava Lake to hunt for a Skeletal Drake, which needed to donate it''s horns to us. However, we would also be taking care of any monsters that were in our way, but as we traversed the ins we sighed, not finding much besides Lava Goblins. Though, I did stop the group as I grew curious, shrouding myself in a quiet Wind Cloak as I crept forwards, the others watching as I approached the Goblin Encampment silently. Like always, the base was made from stones, broken weapons, and dirt. Goblins stood atop the ramparts, their beady red eyes scouring thendscape for attackers. There were only three, and I smirked as I found their blindspot, creeping around the bumpy ground and shoots of grass, the Wind Cloak diffusing my scent and shrouding any noise I might have made. Getting closer, I nced around the ramparts before grabbing the nearest Goblin Sentry, yanking it down below the wall and swiftly slitting its throat. Watching the fear in its eyes grow as it felt the cold, sharp edge of my dagger slice across its throat, all whilst I mped its mouth shut, made the bloodlust inside me swell. This new kind of ''hunting'' was slowly bing addicting... Peering over the walls, I looked into the Encampment, counting a dozen Goblins lounging inside, all while two stood on the walls, still looking around the ins. None of the Goblins inside were focused on the ramparts, so I crept around and repeated my actions, silently killing the Sentries. My next course of action was moreplicated then simply sneaking, as the dozen Goblins were all in close proximity, but... Crawling over the wall, I dropped into the Encampment and snuck forwards, towards a lone Goblin. It was sharpening its spear, and was leaning against a small tent pole, away from the others. Sheathing my dagger, I mped my right arm around its neck and dragged it away, grabbing its spear in my left. When we were far enough away I stabbed it in the eye with the spear, killing it instantly. Drawing my Fang with my right hand, I stalked around the roaring fire, before silently chuckling as I decided to use my wind for something else. I wanted to remain unseen, but with such a prime cluster of Goblins before me... Slipping behind a tent, I drew a Ritual Circle around the tip of the spear, before preparing to throw it. Tracing another spell, I used my Wind to distract the Goblins, creating a noisy whistle on the other side of the Encampment. Turning, they all stared at the tent that had ''whistled'', making me grin. Scooping up their weapons, they prepared to investigate, all shuffling together to feel safer. Launching the spear forwards, I coated my Fang in mana and sent out a crescent of wind, watching in amusement as the spellden spear exploded. Shards of ice sliced through the group of Goblins, making them shriek in agony as they lost limbs or were cut open, only to fall silent as the ded wind severed their bodies apart. Blood sprayed from their bisected bodies, before it all turned to ash. Seeing that crimson shower made my grin grow wide, and I chuckled as I appeared before the unlucky Goblin who survived. The poor shorter Goblin was missing an arm, and when a shadow fell over it''s battered, bleeding body it shivered. Extending my hand, I summoned a sharp gale of wind, cing the Goblin inside a blender of des, a twisted grin on my lips as it began to scream. When I finished satisfying my lust for agony, all that remained of the poor thing was a few clumps of flesh and a pool of blood. With that done, I returned to the group, each woman staring at my content face with nk looks, before they all shrugged and started walking towards the Lake again. We reached theke minutester, with no other monsters crossing our paths, nor any other adventurersing close to us. ? Our Request for a Skeletal Drake''s horns was an interesting one, since they were supposed to appear inside the Lake and around it, and were considered one of the harder monsters that existed on the ins. The ck sand beach was asionally inhabited by a few Obsidian Crabs, which we swiftly disposed of, before we continued our search. Each of us was looking forwards to the 10 Gold that we would get uponpletion of the Request, and that wasn''t even beginning to take in the other materials we might harvest from the Drake. Thankfully our search didn''t take long as arge, pearly white pile of bones was heaped on the beach, the giant skull of a Drake staring straight at us as we approached. Leone had told us that they tend to appear as little more then these piles of bones to lure in adventurers, where it would then reanimate and kill those who approached, draining and feeding on their mana. Staring at the beast, we all prepared our spells before Jahi and Anput rushed forwards, initiating the fight. Creating a frozen half dome around Leone for protection, I rushed forwards as well, joining the two as I coated both of my des in mana andunched myself towards the Skeletal Drakes ribs, where arge, ck core hovered, recing the monsters heart. While I went for the weak spot, Jahi was holding the Drake''s attention with her giant Greatsword, keeping the monsters razor sharp fangs at bay. As for Anput, she was dealing with the monsters mobility, slowly shackling its limbs with her metal before cracking and breaking the bones. Hearing something whooshing my way, I dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding the swing of the Drake''s tail, which was covered in spikes. Ducking under the backswing as well, I slipped inside the monsters ribcage and took a deep breath, pouring some more mana into the des. When I felt that they had been strengthened enough I stabbed them forwards, the steel tips piercing into the giant ck core. With a pulse of mana through my Fang, cracks began to splinter throughout the smooth ck surface, and I strained my arms as I pushed them deeper. Pouring more and more mana into the daggers, I grit my teeth and growled as the core began to shatter, small chips of it falling to the ground, before arge chunk split off, the monster''s movements turning sluggish as the mana empowering it disappeared. One pulseter and the entire core shattered into a dozen some oddrge pieces, all of which released wisps of deep red mana. Scooping them up, I wrapped them up before storing them away, rejoining everyone outside as we began picking the bones apart, searching for anything valuable. Coming away with a few fangs, ws, tail spikes, the horns, and the core, we all grinned at one another before making our way back to the surface, where we would sell everything and continue to practice back home. Back at the Guild Hall, I negotiated with the Receptionist and sold everything at a higher price,ting us all an extra 6 Gold and 50 Silvers, which was on top of the reward for the Request. Anput decided to use her money right away, purchasing a few chunks of steel that she could use as an anvil, as well as a few bags of Everburning Coal, wishing to begin learning to forge. She was hoping that her Metal Magic would allow her to make forging easier, as well as her Fire Magic, but that remained to be seen; from what I knew, she couldn''t tamper with stronger metals like Stygian Silver or Celestial Gold, so if she wished to forge masterpieces like Jahi''s de, she needed practice. As for Leone, she purchased some ingredients for her alchemy, since the set that her Mother purchased for her wasing in soon. I was looking forwards to watching these two delve into their hobbies, and Jahi seemed the same way, a small smile on her face as she took in their anticipatory smiles as we returned to the cottage. I could only hope that we had the time for them to begin creating something truly useful, to help us should we need them soon... Chapter 231 230: Protective Fang When we returned home we all watched as Anput started to set up her forge in the back yard, using her Earth Magic to create a furnace for herself before reshaping the chunks of steel into a usable anvil. While she created her miniature forge, Leone rushed back inside when she heard a knock at the door, which was her Alchemy Set. She began setting that up inside her room, clearing the abundance of books and papers to make room for the various bottles, vials, burners, and more scientific things that I had no idea about. Though I was very familiar with the mortar and pestle that she stole from the kitchen, giving the Vampire a dull look when she hesitantly ced that on her desk. Shaking my head, I returned to the yard, leaving Jahi inside with Leone as she began to experiment with Alchemy. Seeing me return, Anput grinned at me before she lit her self made furnace, which was now filled with some of the Everburning Coal she had purchased. With the remaining steel chunks she had, Anput shaped them into the tools she needed to work a forge, mainly being a set of tongs and a few different hammers. She also asked me to fill a giant earthen barrel she made with water, using it to quench her des when they needed to be cooled. I was rather curious about how her Metal Magic would alter the forging process that I was kind of familiar with, so I sat down a distance away and watched on as she ced a small chunk of Battle Iron on the anvil, her lips pursed as she stared at it. As she stared at the chunk of metal, I ced the broad dagger the Countess had gifted me on the ground in front of me, preparing to enchant this de as well. Whilst fighting earlier I had an idea; my First Fang was an offensive enchanted de, so why not make the broader, heavier, and sturdier dagger a defensive one? Creating a thin icicle, I started tracing runes into the dirt, asionally ncing up when I heard Anput hammering. The Jackalkin was wearing her traditional garb, with a cloth wrapped around her head to keep her hair out of the way. Her olive skin glistened with sweat as she worked near the open me, while her muscles rippled with every swing of the hammer. I was tempted to go inside to quench my ''thirst'', but I remained sitting, watching her with interest. The Jackalkin''s serious, concentrated expression was cute, and her obsidian eyes were hard as she slowly worked at the metal, lengthening it before shaping it. Turning back to my own work, I clicked my tongue in annoyance as the Ritual Circle I created grew tooplex. Like the First Fang, I was going to implement a mana circuit on it to empower this shield enchantment, but that meant I needed to make sure the shield enchantment itself wasn''t going to destroy the dagger. Pursing my lips, I continued scratching away at the sand, rune after rune appearing in an intricate pattern before me. asionally I would stand up and cast the Ritual Circle, trying out the spell as I began to fine tune it. For the moment, Anput was beginning to truly shape her first work, hammering an edge onto the curved de she was making. The woman was staring intently at her work, drizzling a small amount of water onto the anvil before she returned to hammering the edge out, sparks flying as she did so. Enjoying the show before me, I eventually managed to get the spell down to a decent size, which made me sigh in relief. Since Anput was still hammering away, I began to enchant the dagger, beginning with the four runes for my mana circuit. They were easier than yesterday, and I nodded to myself at the sessful enchantment, swiftly moving onto the other side of the steel dagger. Tracing out thepleted Ritual Circle, I shrunk it down and began the truly tedious part. This, sadly, wasn''t easier than yesterday; in fact, it was harder. Anput''s hammering became a way to concentrate my mind on channeling the mana into the de rhythmically, which I was grateful for. Minutes passed by in sluggish agony, but I pushed through, just like I have many times before, and eventually created my Protective Fang. ...I hade up with the name whilst enchanting it, and for the moment I didn''t know what else to call it. With that, I was done and exhausted, and it seemed that Anput was as well, the woman staring down at herpleted work with a smile. Getting up, I stumbled over to her, leaning on her shoulder as I too stared at her de. It was a curved dagger, and the Jackalkin smirked at me as she slid her arm around my waist, her breath tickling my ear as she whispered "I made this for you, Kat..." cing the de in my hand, she continued on, her voice excited as she said "I still need to finish honing its edge, polishing it up, and binding on a proper handle, but this is it!" I smiled back at her, lifting the de up into the air. Battle Iron was a rusted looking metal, but it was just as strong as steel, and easier to work with; worth a little more too because of that. The de itself was around seven inches long, and it only had one edge, which curved up into a clip point, with the small edge on the top of the de allowing for easier piercing. Light, sturdy, and sharp... My smile widened, and I leaned further into Anput''s sweat stained body, her scent wafting into my nostrils. "Thank you, Anput..." Hearing my raspy whisper, my mate shivered for a moment before grinning at me, her obsidian eyes filled with expectant lust as she spun me around. "Oh, it was no problem, Kat... I''m just slightly saddened that I can''t give you something better, but..." Smirking, she leaned down and gently pressed her lips against mine, her citrus taste exploding on my tongue in an instant. Pressing myself further against her muscr frame, I epted her kiss and deepened it, before the Jackalkin pulled away and whispered "Can I make it up to you, Kat~? Is there... something you wish to do~?" Smirking up at her, I nodded and grabbed her hand, leading it towards a certain spot as I whispered something into her ear, making the woman lick her lips before doing exactly that. --- Here''s a surprise second chapter~! --- Chapter 232 231: Combat Finals Jahi PoV Looking down at the panting nude figure of Leone, I smirked down at her as I sloppily kissed those plump lips of hers, thinking of putting them around something else. However, hearing Anput and Kat stumbling into the house, I shrugged as I helped Leone up, healing the Vampire with some small Light Magic for moment, allowing her to move and function properly. With the Vampire leaning on me, I scooped up the two murky red vials that she had brewed, wanting to show them to my other two girls. It wasn''t the most eye catching thing to watch, but I was more focused on the adorableness of Leone as she concentrated on getting the amounts of each ingredient correct. She would stick out her tongue slightly, narrow her eyes, and lean forwards to make sure she had every bit of the required amount, and I found that sight to be incredible. Her first attempt at potion brewing had been, unsurprisingly, a failure; the downcast look on her face as the potion turned from the vibrant red to a dark, murky ck was heart wrenching, and I made sure tofort her as best I could during that moment. The second try was a sess, and the third was as well; I hadn''t seen many potions in my life, but I knew that these weren''t the highest quality healing potions. Though, they weren''t that bad considering the ingredients used were cheap. I could tell that Leone wasn''t happy with the results, but after a quick cheering up she had pulled me onto her bed, wanting me to pamper her more. Which, I did; I''d have to be stupid to not ept the bodacious woman''s desire to have sex. After thoroughly pampering my Vampire, and hearing my other two wivese inside, I got her up and brought her out into the living room, where Kat was preparing dinner again. The citrusy scent wafting off her body, paired with the proud, arrogant smirk of Anput as she watched Kat stiffly move around made me chuckle as I sat Leone down on the couch. ncing at Anput, I raised a brow at the rusty looking dagger in her hand, which she was twirling around expertly between her fingers. "Is that your first de?" Hearing my question, the Jackalkin nodded, her smirk widening as she spun the dagger around, offering the ttened hilt to me. Taking it, I frowned at the lightness of the de, raising it up and staring at the edge. "It''s kinda light..." Anput chuckled, gesturing over to Kat, who was slicing up arge chunk of beef. "Kat fights with agility first, power second. Besides, I can always make her a second dagger that''s a little heavier if she needs it! Also, I think I''ll work on something for Leone next..." We both nced at the zoned out Vampire, her cheeks flushed as she breathed in and breathed out. Hearing her name, Leone turned towards us, her confusion evident in those crimson eyes. Anput and I just smirked at one another, before I handed the dagger back to the Jackalkin, watching as she slipped over to the ''equipment'' table we had set up, the woman wetting a whetstone and beginning to sharpen the edge, alternating between a grainy stone and a smooth stone. The rest of our day swept by easily enough, with Leone observing the dagger Anput made whilst Anput and Kat stared at Leone''s brewed potions, the two nodding like they understood what they were looking at. With a nice, hearty meal of steaks and potatoes, we all went to bed happy that night, excited for the future toe. Part of that future was an extra few hours of free time that we would be gaining, as we were taking the Combat Final today; I had been drilling proper sword techniques into the woman whenever I could, and I believed that she was ready now. I had no idea what this final would truly entail, but I knew for a fact that Anput Kat and I were going to be fine; the only worry we had was Leone. She couldn''t afford to lose, but if the final was just like our quarterly test, and it took into ount her skill and talent, then we should be fine. Should be. Sighing, I went about the first half of our day with ease; I had enjoyed Vice-Headmaster Bijilo''s sses immensely, more than I thought that I might, and had only dozed off twice during Professor Xiant''s boring lectures. When the time finally came for Combat ss, I approached Professor Liako and informed her that all four of us would like to take the final for the course, which made the blued eyed snake woman surprised. However, she swiftly informed us that we would be tested after the ss was over, so as to not take away from the others time. Since we were taking the final, all four of us sat out of todays lesson, instead using this remaining time to continue teaching Leone some of the more basic, yet needed techniques, as well as theory. Some of our ssmates were giving us odd stares, wondering why we weren''t doing anything with the ss, whilst others seemed relieved that Anput and I would continue to sit out. I watched the remaining weaklings il around, before noting the few who I deemed had enough potential to be worth a damn. Countess Aurim and her secret lover Greselda were talented enough, and Greselda had the air of a woman who''s seen some bloody fights before. Then Rialko, Draka''s Lamia wife, was also incredibly talented with that spear of hers. Giana Cryms, the Harpy that beat Leone during the quarterly tests, was an agile little thing, her lithe body making her hard to hit as she ran around her opponent. Marco Sizzali was another, though it was more so that I knew he was hiding his strength, like Kat; he had talent and technique, but he was keeping it concealed, putting on an average facade as he sparred against a ssmate. There were a few others, but none stood out like those five, so I returned my attention to teaching Leone some more tells in a fight, hoping the woman could memorize this like she did her books. When the ss finally ended, we all watched as everyone filtered out of the room, with the only remaining people being our professors... And Jillian, alongside A. The two Elven women were talking to Professor Hawn, who was nodding as they spoke to him. Professor Liako approached us, Thorn walking behind her. "So, you wish to take the final? Very well... you must fight, and gain the approval of one of the two Professors you haven''t fought yet; so Lady Jahi, Lady Anput, you must chose between me and Hawn, whilst Lady Leone and Miss Kat must chose between Thorn and Hawn. It will be exactly like the quarterly test, but this time..." Giving us a small smile, Professor Liako looked between each of us as she said "We won''t be holding back as much." Anput and I grinned, ncing between one another as we heard that, before Kat and Leone sighed as they approached Thorn. Seeing that we were avoiding Hawn, therge Bearkin and the snake woman frowned slightly, whilst the Elves furrowed their brows. Thorn was, by far, the most intimidating of the three, and yet the two ''weaker'' women chose him over the easier fight against Hawn. However, therge man and the lithe woman simply shrugged, moving to opposite sides of the field as they had us go grab our practice des. Standing beside the wooden weaponry was Jillian and A, the two smiling warmly at us as we brushed past them. When I reached for a sword, Jillian leaned over and whispered "Are you enjoying your remaining time of freedom, Demoness~?" ncing at her from the corner of my eye, I hefted the de and whispered back "Are you enjoying the remaining time of your life, puny Elf? Try as you might, but you will die by my hand; there is no doubt about that." Her warm smile dropped, and I turned to stare at her furious expression, smirking as I added "If you truly think that whatever you and A are nning will work, you''re both sorely mistaken. The Asmodia''s have been around longer than you could have imagined, and we''ve always been this Empire''s shield. Do you think you could rece us?" Her lip raised into a sneer, and the Elf growled "Yes, I think we could. Brawn isn''t everything, Demoness..." With that, the Elf stalked away, grabbing her lover, who was ring at Leone with a twisted smile. Watching them go, I frowned as I contemted herst words to me. Brawn isn''t everything... She wasn''t wrong; House Asmodia was a militant house ever since its inception, preferring des to magic. But that didn''t mean we were weak against the Arcane; there was a reason we had managed to chain down a Fiend and force it to obey us. We just preferred the brutal efficiency of stabbing someone in the heart,pared to trying to hit them with a spell from hundreds of feet away. Sighing, I thrust her from my mind for now, turning back to the two Professors that were going to grade us. --- Going to do 2 chapters on this, split into ~750 word chunks of each PoV, then we being to get some more ''filler'' stuff done, like Anput and Leone improving their craft, while Kat continues to prepare for the future. --- Chapter 233 232: One And Two Jahi PoV Returning to the center of the shady training grounds with the others, I nced at Hawn for a moment, the male Elf frowning slightly as he watched his cousin and their lover stalk off. I didn''t trust him one bit; at this point, the ''war'' between our families was too great for me to treat him impartially. So, I returned my gaze to my opponent for today; Liako, sister of Arch Mage Kolia and a renowned swordmaster from the West. She made her name known by fighting in the various martial tournaments throughout the Empire, as well as dabbling into Adventuring. However, thergest event she was apart of was dismantling an organized Crime Ring that wanted to kidnap her. She rid an entire city of its underground rulers in just three nights, and now that city prospered more than it could have ever dreamed of doing, all thanks to her. The thought of crossing des with her was exhrating, and I grinned as I stepped before her, the shorter woman ncing up at me as she asked "Am I to assume that you wish to go first, Lady Jahi?" I nodded and walked away from the group with her, watching as she fluidly slipped into a ready stance, her lithe figure leaving no openings as I stared at her. Narrowing my eyes, I frowned as I stared at the thin wooden de in my hands, wishing I had something heavier... Sighing, I lowered myself into a stance as well, my eyes locked to her blue snake eyes. "Ready?" Her voice was t as she asked that, prompting me to nod. I smirked in anticipation as her figure blurred, her speed greater than most opponents I had faced before. Feeling something behind me, I pivoted and parried the horizontal sh that was aimed at my spine, swatting her sword towards the ground before I sent a palm towards her chest. Ducking under it, Liako withdrew her sword andnced its tip back towards my chest, forcing me to raise my own sword to deflect the blow. Pushing her away again, I watched as she stepped back and reset her stance before rushing forwards again, this time going for a frontal assault. Instead of a singr, powerful strike, Liako unleashed a flurry of blows, her thin de a blur as she stabbed and shed at me. However, I kept pace with her increase in speed, concentrating on her sword as I blocked and redirected each blow, waiting for the right moment. For a single opening to reverse the momentum. With a smaller de then I was used to, this speed was easier to achieve, but I needed to consciously make adjustments to make up for theck of a t edge that I was used to from my Greatsword. Catching her sh on my de, I slid her edge down to the hilt and twisted, forcing her to readjust her grip on her hilt. That minuscule moment that she needed to grasp her de properly again was enough for me to begin applying pressure to her, utilizing my power to force her to focus on defending herself. Liako pursed her lips as I began to force her back, my slower, yet stronger strikes resulting in her requiring to block, lest she take a solid blow. A blow that would put her out of this fight. The sound of our wooden practice swords thunking against each other echoed around the grounds, and I could hear the wood straining with each thud against each other, meaning I had a limited time to win this with swordy instead fisticuffs. Flicking her sword to the side, I slipped into her space and mmed my elbow into her abdomen, following it up with a swift kick to her knee, locking it up. Gritting her teeth, Liako widened her eyes as my de shed towards her throat. Incapable of dodging, Liako attempted to raise her sword to block the thrust, only to leave her side open. Faking the thrust, I redirected my wooden de towards her exposed side, which she barely blocked again, but this time... Pushing against her sword, I made her stumble backwards as I swung my sword down towards her skull, forcing her to block it. When she did, my foot mmed into her stomach, sending the woman skidding backwards, coughing. Recovering quickly, she attempted to weather the flurry of blows I unleashed onto her, the rapid thrusts, shes, stabs, and cuts forcing her further and further back, until one of my downward swings shattered both of our des, showering us in splinters. Panting, Liako stared at me in surprise, saying "M-My sister wasn''t wrong... you''re monstrous..." Chuckling, I tossed the deless hilt off to the side, asking "So did I pass?" Liako deadpanned for a moment, her blue eyes locked on me as she said "Yes." Letting out another chuckle, I turned around and walked towards Anput, cing my hand on her shoulder as I said "She''s all yours now puppy~!" Slipping over to Kat, I stood beside her as I watched the end of Leone''s spar against Thorn, nodding to myself. Surprisingly good... ~~~ Leone PoV Taking a deep breath, I clenched my fist around the practice sword in my hand, looking intently at therger Bearkin man opposite me. An unbothered, rxed smile hung on his lips, while the gigantic wooden axe leaning on his shoulder exuded a raw aura, which was at odds with the man wielding it. "Are you ready, Lady Leone?" Even his voice was rxed, and I clenched my jaw as I nodded, not liking the way he was looking down on me. The various strategies that Jahi and Anput had suggested to me floated around my mind, and I had taken the time tomit each to memory. With my frame and strength, overpowering Professor Thorn wasn''t viable, whilst my footwork wasn''t up to scratch either... In all honesty, this was the worst possible matchup for me, but... Taking another deep breath, I watched as he lifted the giant axe from his shoulder, preparing to began the duel. Rushing forwards, I decided to try and prevent him from taking control of the tempo of the fight, to make him react instead of act. That was the only way that I could see myself winning this... With that in mind, I mmed my sword against the handle of his axe, forcing it back down a little, before sliding the de forwards, towards his chest. The theory was to stab him whilst he attempted to push back against my sword, but the pure difference in power made itself evident in that moment. He simply lifted his handle and ignored the thrust, since it was remaining against the wooden haft. With that n failed, I retrieved my de and rolled away from a downward swing, the wooden axe digging a burrow in the sand and sending a cloud of dust into the air around us. As I rolled I scooped up a fistful of sand, keeping it in hand as I stabbed and shed at the man, distracting him. Thorn expertly deflected each attack I sent his way, that same rxed smile on his face as he brushed off every swing of my sword. Gritting my teeth, I red at him as I stepped forwards, my left fist swinging towards his face. He was about to block it when my fingers parted, letting the sand fly towards his exposed eyes and opened mouth. He screwed his eyes shut and turned away, letting the sand hit his cheek instead of his eyes, nose, and mouth, but I used that opportunity to slip behind him. Sadly, even as I shed at his broad back, the man reached his axe over his shoulders and blocked the blow before stumbling forwards. Growling in annoyance, I stared at him as he turned towards me, the smile no longer on his face as he said "That was dirty, Princess." "All is fair in war, Professor." Sighing, he nodded, his face sullen as he muttered "It is indeed..." With that, I widened my eyes as I scrambled backwards, the ground that I previously upied little more than a drifting cloud of dust. Before I could even react to his insanely fast attack, another was sent my way, forcing me to roll underneath the horizontal swing. Crouching, Iunched myself forwards, replicating Kat and Anput as I speared myself towards his exposed midriff, the sword tipncing forwards. However, I had neither their speed nor their strenght, so while fast, I wasn''t fast enough. Twisting his body, Thorn made the blow glide just past his back, only to spin away from the chop I unleashed towards his back a momentter. Getting up, I continued forwards, swinging my de like mad as I pressed on, trying to score a lucky blow. As I did so, I tried to find something to counter him with, before grinning. I had an idea, but I just needed to wait. Thorn had a pattern with his attacks, and one was just perfect for me... Relenting slightly, I counted through the blows he sent my way, determining the time between each and how often he switches the style up. Getting that down, I narrowed my eyes as I watched him swing his axe horizontally again, but this time I slipped under it and slid between his legs, catching the man on his rebound and mming my elbow into the back of his knee. Forcing him down, I jumped over him and kicked off his head,nding a few feet away before spinning back around, lunging back towards his chest. This time, he couldn''t get his axe up to block, as it was still twisted behind his body, so he raised his arms to block the thrust. Which never came. Instead, he widened his eyes as I stopped before him, gently pressing my sword tip against his raised knee. "A cut here and you no longer have the ability to walk." He shivered at my words, his eyes glued to the de resting against his muscr leg. "Aye, I wouldn''t... instead of going for the kill, you wished to whittle your opponent down, forcing them out of the fight?" Nodding, I added "If it ever came to me fighting close quarters, this wouldn''t happen; my magic would be more than enough to cover for my physical weakness." Especially not when I added one more tattoo to my body, one that I was working on for months now. But, for the moment, I stared at the kneeling man, who sighed. "Well, you passed, Lady Leone. Unconventional, but solid. Congrattions." Smiling at him, I nodded again before turning, walking back to where Kat and Jahi stood watching. Kat gave me a quiet nod before she walked forwards, whereas Jahi beamed down at me, her pearly white teeth on disy as she slid her arms around my torso, pulling me into her embrace. "Good job Leone~!" Hearing her words, I shivered slightly as I melted into her hug, enjoying the warmth that permeated me for those brief moments. Chapter 234 233: Three And Four Anput PoV "She''s all yours now puppy~!" Jahi smirked down at me with not even a bead of sweat trickling down her brow, her pale blue skin still as smooth and unchanged as before. It was almost like she hadn''t just sparred against a skilled sword master, but instead she had taken a leisurely stroll around the grounds. Smiling up at her, I nodded as I stepped forwards, excitement coursing through my veins. Getting to fight someone new, someone who could at least keep pace with Jahi in the beginning, was going to be quite fun, and my blood rushed at the thought. I craved the dance of death that was swordy, the thrill of disying your superiority through brutally efficient stabs and cuts, perfecting your technique against a worthy opponent. That was what I lived for. So, I took my ce opposite Professor Liako, the woman shimmering blue as she brought herself back to 100% before raising her new wooden sword, her eyes narrowed as she stared intently at me. I mirrored her with a smirk, taking enjoyment in replicating my opponents style to broaden my own, whilst also savoring the narrowed eyes and mild anger that they always had at such a tantly disrespectful gesture. Giving me a nod, Liako lunged forwards instantly, her sword snaking towards my throat with immense speed. Swinging upwards, I flicked her de towards my side before stepping forwards and jabbed at her jaw. Ducking under the blow, Liako spun away and reset herself, before swiftly lunging forwards again. Thrusting towards my throat again, I narrowed my eyes as I waited a moment, anticipating the feint. As it inched closer, I held back a smirk as she redirected her force downwards, chopping the de towards my chest, where it would, if real, slice me open from the shoulder to the waist. Taking a step back, I avoided her feinted sh and delivered a stab of my own, testing her reaction speed and power. Liako''s blue eyes were glued to the sword slicing through the air towards her heart, and she rotated her wrist to bring her own sword up, blocking the thrust. Following the momentum of the redirected de, I spun and delivered a swift kick to her stomach, which was the beginning of my onught. Gripping the handle with two hands, I began to sh and stab with greater speed, the flurry of blows hastily, yet expertly defended by Liako''s precise defensive style. We were matched for speed, as even when I pushed myself further and further, she simply sped up just as much, keeping pace as our des blurred together, the crack of wood against wood echoing around the clearing. Since both of us were agility based fighters, I needed to hope that I was either stronger or had a more refined technique, but considering her background... Frowning, I pushed her sword away and jumped back, avoiding a swift riposte that threatened to skewer my left side. Steadying my breathing, I walked around the snake woman, my eyes searching her guard for a singr chink, but none appeared; at least, ones that were genuine breaks and not traps to lure me forwards. Narrowing my eyes, I stared at her hard before lunging straight towards her. So far, we''ve crossed des with little use of our other limbs; my kick was the extent of that. If I needed to change things up, then I needed to take Kat''s newfound versatility and incorporate it into my own style, but... Spinning around Liako''s body, I shed at her side and legs, only for the woman to jump and avoid the blows. Her leg shot out towards my head, which I pivoted to avoid, before she ducked under a sweeping high kick. Following it up with a swift jab, I growled as my fist ''hit'' air, all while the snake woman rolled away. This was tricky... Biting my lip, I grinned as I rushed forwards, giving her a mere moment to get to her feet again before a rain of shes fell upon her. Whilst she weathered the storm of swift strikes, I released one hand from my hilt and grabbed her wrist, yanking her forwards. Letting out a surprised gasp, Liako was silenced as I mmed my head into hers, sending her staggering back. The pain and spinning I had just gave myself was annoying, but I pushed past it and pressed onwards, my de pointing at her now bloody face, a thin gash coating her fair skin red. Her blue eyes were glimmering with annoyance as she stared at the tip of my sword, before she sighed as she dropped her weapon. "Very well... congrattions, Lady Anput..." Chuckling, I withdrew my sword and smirked at her before walking away, letting her heal her own wounds. The woman sighed again as she watched that, and I snuck between Jahi and Leone, who were intently watching Kat''s fight. Leone jumped as I pinched her waist, while Jahi nced down at me for a moment before returning her gaze to Kat, who was spinning around the clearing. "She is just so..." Hearing my mutter, Leone stopped ring at me as she nodded, her eyes glued to Kat''s figure as she fought. She wasn''t as fast as normal, nor as strong, but... I smiled as I watched her, enjoying the treat before me. ~~~ Kat PoV Leone''s method to win was unconventional but rather smart... So it fit her to a tee. She scrambled back towards Jahi and I swiftly, before being pulled into an embrace by the Demoness. Watching them with a warm heart, I smiled slightly before stepping onto the sandy training grounds, where Professor Thorn stood, his lips pursed. Hefting his axe, he stared at me for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Whenever you''re ready, Miss Kat." Nodding, I spun the dagger around in my hand for a few moments before settling on a n, gripping the wooden de in a reverse grip. I rushed forwards first, putting more emphasis on my speed instead of power. Stabbing his axe forwards, Thorn grunted as I stepped past it and spun around him, avoiding the backwards pull that would have skewered my back. Shifting his grip on the haft of the axe, Thorn blocked my upwards sh before trying to jab the back of the haft at my stomach. Swaying away from it, I ducked under the next swing before jumping upwards, sending a palm towards his exposed neck. Thorn shifted slightly to the side, which made me stumble forwards a step. Being so close to him, I had to quickly slip away from his space lest he began to abandon the heavy axe and switch to his fists. That would put me in a truly bad spot. Utilizing the momentum I had, I mmed into his muscled chest and rebounded backwards, away from him. He grunted slightly as my entire body weight pressed against him, forcing him to nt his feet. Jumping back a few feet, I narrowed my eyes as I stared at his axe. Maybe... Refocusing on the man himself, I shot forwards again and ducked under another swing, slipping out towards his side. Raising my dagger, I shed a dozen times at his arm, scoring a few blows against the hairy, muscr forearm and bicep. Gritting his teeth, the man held onto the axe, before gasping in agony as I mmed my dagger against his knuckles. Letting it go, he growled as I yanked on the haft, pulling the axe away from his other hand. Gripping my new weapon, I stared at him for a moment before stabbing the axe forwards. Forced to dodge, the Bearkin reached out to grab his axe back from my hands, only to widen his eyes as I relinquished it with ease. Repalming my dagger, I shot forwards and mmed my shoulder into his chest, knocking the air out of him before swinging the dagger towards his body. With a flurry of cuts, I brought him to his knees, my unorthodox, all over the ce attacks causing confusion and putting the Bearkin''s more practiced and patternden fighting style in disarray; that was something I noticed during his fight with Leone. So, I stared at him for a moment before bowing, knowing that I had one. If I had been wielding a steel weapon instead of a wooden one, I would have killed him via dozens of cuts; a painful way to go, that. Swiftly returning to Jahi''s side, I had to try my best to hold in the gleeful beating of my heart as I recalled the gasps he made when Inded each blow. The gap between the strong, manly outer appearance and those cute little gasps made my heart flutter, and I had grown both equally aroused and frustrated. I wanted to see his suffering continue further, but I knew I couldn''t. I also had slipped myself into heat again, not that it took a lot these days... Anput and Jahi smirked at me, and their overwhelming scents made my head spin. With this new free time we had avable... Grabbing me by the shoulders, Jahi leaned down and whispered "Good job puppy~! Now, let''s go home and get you a sufficient... treat, yes~?" --- Combat finals done, wanted them to actually be fleshed out; when the Magic and History finals take ce, it will be a singr chapter from just one characters PoV to make it go by quicker. Think a time skip, of minor proportions, is in order here; get the girls doing something before we continue forwards! --- Chapter 235 234: Eventful Week Leaving the training grounds, and eventually Academy, Jahi led us back towards the cottage, a small smile on her lips as she hummed softly to herself. Anput, Leone and I all exchanged amused nces at our Demoness'' obvious incredible mood, her amethyst eyes glimmering with joy as we passed through the crowded streets of the capital. When we did finally return home, Jahi crashed onto the couch with a relieved sigh, herrge frame taking up the entirety of said couch, preventing a pouting Anput from being able to slip next to her. Leone sat on one of the chairs, her hands already reaching for the book she had left there previously, while Anput let out a discontent huff as she upied the remaining chair. Since it was around time for supper, I began my cooking, letting my pte guide my movements as I began to create a breading for some chicken breasts, deciding that I wanted something greasy for today. I believed that we deserved to go for something unhealthy, yet incredibly tasty for clearing one of our finals. Whilst I cooked I listened to Jahi recap what Jillian had told her before we took our finals, which made Anput hiss in annoyance. I didn''t even need to look over my shoulder to know that my mate''s fur was bristling in anger as she heard the words spoken; I knew what she looked like, because I was feeling the same way. Taking a deep breath, I continued to listen on as I began breading the chicken, nodding to myself as Jahi began to outline a new schedule for us to follow. Since we were now able to have a free two-ish hours where Combat ss used to be, we would spend that time studying for the History Final, so that we could truly free up our days for preparations. Jahi then went over how we would be delving into Zhu''Rong Caverns daily now, going at least to the Obsidian Valley to keep our skills polished as well as to earn money. Leone then argued that we should push down into the ins at that point, harvesting some ingredients for Anput and her to begin to use, since on their own the materials were cheap, but could be used to create valuable potions and weapons. Anput nodded, adding that it would be cheaper to go and harvest coal from the Coal Serpents then to continue to purchase it; though, the idea of lugging such dirty materials from the Caverns to the cottage made me shiver. All that extra work... With that, our n for the immediate future was set, and we slipped into an easy, yet tiring rhythm. Wake up, prepare for the Academy, leave. Finish Magic Theory and History, return home and eat. Study for a few hours. Gear up and travel down to the Caverns, where we honed our skills and harvested many materials. Return home again, eat again, train some more. Then copse into bed after a nice, thorough bath. It was a simple schedule to follow, but it was rather fulfilling; each of us noticed a change during these days of strict training and studying. Jahi insisted that each of us participate in her gauntlet of physical exercise, and whilst Leone hated it at first, she begrudgingly epted the regimen when she began to increase her stamina, which, funnily enough, wasn''t noticed in the Caverns, but somewhere else... ? Anput had begun to tinker with her style again, her fight against Professor Liako spurring her on to improve herself further; she often sparred against me, trying to mirror my style and implement it into her own style. The Jackalkin''s new technique had begun to pay off though, as she now managed to bridge the gap between Jahi and her a little bit more, inching ever closer to being near even with Jahi''s prowess. As for the Demoness, she had continued to practice her magic, often asking me to review and look over both her Ritual Circles and how she actually casts her magic, therge Demoness listening intently to each word that slipped from my lips as I tutored her through basic spell casting. Leone helped us as well, though her techniques were rather... unorthodox as always, as well as incredibly personalized andplex. For instance, the Vampire had begun altering how I even thought of magic at this point. Usually, if you wish to create an incrediblyplex spells, it was a string of connected Ritual Circles shaped together to increase the amount of mana surging thought the entire spell; usually they looked like Pentagrams or the like, a cluster of Ritual Circles connected in a circle of their own. But Leone had to take it a step forwards. What if you ced a Ritual Circle... Inside of a Ritual Circle? It sounded so stupidly simple, and yet it had never once entered my mind, and apparently few others had thought of it as well, as Leone was adamant that she hadn''t seen something about this either. So, the Vampire had been tinkering with it for awhile, pushing the limits of known magic as she began toyer Ritual Circles inside of Ritual Circles. Jahi had beenst very swiftly during our conversation of that, the confusion on her face more evident then even the lust that would eventually appear on it tonight. Even I myself was slowly growing confused, the countless theories andplexities losing me over time, which made me decide that Leone and I needed to sit down and talk this through with visuals some other time. Besides the improvement of each of our physical bodies and magical capabilities, each of us engrossed ourselves in our hobbies. Leone continued to brew potions, managing to create a rather pure set of Healing Potions for each of us, as well as a singr vial of Vitality Potion, which would rejuvenate your body for long fights. That potion sadly got misused. However, Leone had disyed her incredible genius with the Arcane time and time again, as her research into Alchemy and Magic began to ovep, creating a tiny inkling of an idea. An inkling that already confused me greatly, but from what I had managed to decipher from her, she would infuse each droplet of brewed liquid with her own Magic, granting them another effect on top of the Potion''s effect. We see it in times like this, but we all seem to forget that the Vampire in front of us is incredibly gifted with Arcane Research... We also forget that she can get really~ animated about her research, excitedly speaking about it for as long as she possibly could; thankfully her research was incredibly interesting to listen too. Next was Anput and her forge; this week had brought about three swords, an axe, and a spear. One of the swords was Anput''s new personal de. A long, thin de reaching four feet long, whilst the width was two inches at the base before thinning up top. With a two handed hilt, Anput was able tofortably wield it with both hands or a singr hand, due to its light weight. Forged from abined alloy of steel, Ghoul Crystal, and a Coal Serpent Fang, the metal was a deep void ck, whilst the edge shimmered with an iridescent green hue from its venomous properties. Due to the fact that one cut could let some of the Coal Serpent venom seep into the wound, Anput had to find a way to conceal and protect the de,ing up with something rather clever. What she created was a secondyer over top of the de made from Battle Iron. With a thought she could retract the Battle Iron to reveal the pitch ck de, while the Battle Iron itself formed the hilt of the sword, protecting Anput''s hands. It was an incredibly forged sword, and each of us had been surprised when Anput had pulled it off after forging the two other swords, the axe, and the spear. Each one was rather impressive, and I myself was bing a little jealous of how Anput''s Metal Magic allowed her to create rather impressive hidden weapons that only she could use. The spear was the best example; in its hidden form, the spear was little more then a six inch cylinder about an inch wide, but when Anput released her magic from the spear, it reverted to the five foot long, sharpened spear that she had forged. As for the other des, they were her practice weapons to get herself used to smithing moreplex things, and she seemed immensely proud of each one, hanging them up on a custom made rack beside her forge. Jahi''s hobby, unsurprisingly, had been to train and train and train again. The Demoness seemed to be addicted to swinging her sword, practicing her spells, and improving her footwork, as that was all she did in her free time. Had she not shown an interest in bedding each of us at random points of this allotted free time, each of us would have been worried about the woman, but she swiftly swept that misconception away with an even quicker affirmation of her lust. As for me, I continued to practice my enchanting, finally being able to weave a spell onto the back of some clothing, getting a rather rudimentary protective enchantment on my red dress. I also began to ce self cleaning enchantments on each of our normal clothes, which lessened the amount of chores I had to do; it waszy, and it did remove a little of my experience gain, but oh well. Speaking of, besides that, I had been going out each night with Jahi, but after a few nights contemtion, and a talk with the system, I began to spend the skill points I had saved up over these two years. I improved my [Mana Control] to Master rank for three points, my [Stealth] to Expert rank for two, [Enchanter] to Expert from Apprentice for five points, and finally [Growth] from Adept to Expert for five points, using all 15 Skill Points. The system had rified that Skill points were going to be rarer from now on, awarded at each fifth level. So, I decided to improve background skills like those first, wanting to still earn and learn skills on my own. Besides, these skills were important as well; [Growth] now made awarded 100% more Xp from each source, doubling my speed. Which is why I had reached [Level 26 - 43,542 / 1,000,000] in this week of ying monsters and daily quests. The speed for daily experience gain was insane, especially when we took Requests and I was given Quests to help each woman finish their own. As long as I put in the effort, I could level much faster than I could before... Chopping through some lettuce, I smirked as the knife almost sliced into the wooden board below me. If only this wasn''t a head of lettuce, but the head of something else... --- Kind of ''getting rid of'' skill points so I have one less thing to keep track of. Also, was that leveling speed TOO quick? Kat''s got double xp now pretty much, and monsters already gave so much, as well as her dailies; just curious what everyone else thinks! --- Chapter 236 235: New Style Of Hunting Crouching down as low as I could, I crept through the long grass of the savannah-esque section of the Yama ins, my hands clenching my two daggers. I had my First Fang in my left hand, and Protective Fang in my right. The names didn''t really roll of the tongue, so I was considering new names, but nothing stood out just yet. Anyways, with the improvements to my skills, I grinned as I silently and effortlessly crept through the tall grass, my eyes locked onto the pulsing disc in the air. We had developed a hunting strategy for the moment, one that used Anput and I like hounds to flush out and chase our pray towards the true hunters, being Jahi and Leone. The Demoness and Vampire would perch themselves into a tall tree and scout around for a monster to hunt before Jahi sent out her Light Disc, keeping it high enough to be undetectable for the monsters whilst still being close to the ground to keep other mortals away from us. When Jahi found our prey, she had the disc float above them, guiding Anput and I towards whatever she found, setting us loose. Setting my center of gravity low, I quietly ran through the tall yellow grass, my eyes ncing up towards the disc as I oriented myself using it, sneaking towards the monster. Inside the savannah were usually Firefang''s, but there were other monsters as well, like Lizardmer and Molten Slimes. Swiftly stalking through the grasses, I eventually found myself staring at arge, lounging red furred tiger, it''s two long, curved fangs dripping an orange liquid as it gnawed on a Lizardmer''s corpse. With a very basic, low powered Wind Cloak, I diffused my scent around the area, making it so that the monster wouldn''t notice my smell, whilst my [Sneak] skill kept me quiet. Creeping through the grass, I shuffled around the eating monster as I located Anput, nodding to the silent Jackalkin as we prepared to rush forwards and grab its attention. Well, she would grab its attention; I would continue to travel alongside the monster to keep it running after Anput. Unsheathing her new sword, she kept the Battle Iron ''sheath'' over the de to prevent injecting the venom into the monster; our Request was for around two dozen pounds of this monsters meat. Rushing forwards, Anput let out a battle cry as she swung her sword towards the Firefang''s face, scoring a shallow cut across its cheek. Letting out an enraged roar, the monster leapt its feet and growled at Anput, opening its maw to reveal its sharpened fangs. With another roar it swatted one of its giant paws towards her, only to growl in annoyance as Anput jumped back, avoiding the blow. Scoring another shallow cut across its foreleg, Anput turned tail and ran, her steps loud as she began to guide the monster towards the waiting Demoness and Vampire. Rushing alongside the two, I kept my eyes glued on the Firefang''s broad side and head, gauging its mood as it chased Anput. When it began to grow wary of the chase, I shed out with my First Fang, an arc of Wind Mana slicing through the air and cutting into the monsters red pelt. Making sure to keep the attack towards it front, I elicited a roar from the monster each time as it regained its vigor, pounding the soft dirt as it raced after her faster and faster. This new style of hunting hade around when we had to fight off a wandering family of Firefang''s and some groups of Molten Slimes every kill, forcing us to adapt and create a ''base'' to use for our battles. Anput would erect an Earthen Fortress of sorts for us to reside in, whilst Leone applied runes to the walls and kept it defended from any attacks. We were luring the monster to the base to be ughtered and butchered, before we rested and repeated this again. Anput slipped into the Fortress and waited for the Firefang to follow behind her before raising the final wall. Jumping inside, I stared down at the now cornered monster with a grin, Jahi and Leone beside me. "This one''s mine, right?" The Demoness sighed, watching as Anput jumped up to join us. "Yes, yes..." Giving her a wide grin, I slid down into the impromptu arena and brandished my two daggers, staring intently at the Firefang. Growling at me, the monster stalked around the edge of the arena, before it too tried to jump up. Hitting a red barrier, the monster whimpered as the Fire Mana singed and burnt its flesh, forcing it to turn and re at me. Chuckling, I twirled the daggers in my hands as I observed it, only to meet its rush a momentter. Lunging forwards, the Firefang swung itsrge paw towards me, the razor sharp ws extended and ready to tear me to ribbons. Lifting my Protective Fang, I activated the enchantment, watching as a semicircle of ethereal blue mana appeared in the air around me. The Firefang''s ws nced off of the shield, but before the beast could even grow confused at the sudden deflection, I swung my First Fang and sent a sickle of Ice hurtling towards it. Cutting deep into its broad shoulders, the Ice shattered inside its flesh, and the Firefang hissed in pain as the frost spread deeper into the wound. Switching the enchantment slightly, I sent a de of Wind hurtling towards it next, crossing the previous wound and shattering the newyer of frost that grew on its fur. Letting out another hiss, the monster yelped as I appeared before it, my daggers digging deep into the monsters neck. Jahi had made me promise her that I wouldn''t draw this out too long, as well as that I wouldn''t damage the monster too long, so... Crossing the daggers inside the Firefang''s throat, I yanked the two des downwards, severing through its flesh with ease. Blood sprayed everywhere as I left its head hanging on its body by a small thread, and my grin grew wider as I was showered in that delectable crimson liquid. The others joined me momentster, when the blood was only pooling into the ground below us instead of spraying everywhere. ncing back at them, I chuckled as each ignored my horrifying visage and instead began to work on the monster, swiftly harvesting what we could from it. Skinning most of its body, I handed Jahi the threerge pelts that I had sliced free from its flesh, before I turned my broad dagger down towards its meat, cleavingrge chunks free and stacking them behind me. Each cube that I harvested weighed almost five to ten pounds; I wasn''t sure, since I was rushing myself, but they were hefty chunks of meat. Anput wrapped them inside a special parchment paper that stopped the bleeding and preserved the freshness for a few hours, expertly tying and storing the chunks away inside therge bag we brought down. Leone was busy working at the monsters head, pulling out the eyes, fangs, and trying to work her way towards the venom nds that were deep inside its skull. As for me, whilst I was going for the meats, I was also cutting towards the heart, where the core would be located. Problem was, the Firefang was huge, so I was currently elbow deep and I hadn''t even reached the stomach yet, meaning I was still far from the heart. With a good portion of meat harvested, I sighed before smirking, grabbing my thinner First Fang and resuming my work. I had a limited time before the monster dissipated, so I needed to work quickly, not cleanly. Taking a deep breath, I coated the two des in mana and began slicing away at the flesh, not going for pretty cuts anymore. Cutting away section after section, I gradually soaked my entire body in the Firefang''s blood, whilst the pile of varied sized meat grew behind me. When I did reach the heart, I stabbed my des into the flesh and wrapped my hands around the heart, yanking on it hard and pulling it from the torso of the Firefang. "Whew..." Turning, I saw Anput shake her head whilst Jahi gave me a nk stare, before she gingerly took the core from me. "You... you could have gone from a few feet right to avoid the ribcage-" Raising a brow, I turned back to the decimated corpse, my head tilted as I observed the monster. "Oh... yeah, I could have couldn''t I?" Hearing theck of care in my voice, Jahi sighed again as she wrapped the core, before she looked around at the meat. "Alright, a quick meal, cleaning up, and then we go home..." Everyone nodded, and everyone stood before me, letting out sighs of relief when my water magic cleaned them off. Grabbing the remaining chunks of flesh, I had Anput light a fire as I began to grill them, creating skewers from the tree''s branches. With a hearty, juicy meal of freshly harvested Firefang meat, we all made our way back to the surface, collecting our 12 Golds each from the Request before I negotiated the other materials,ting myself another 10 Gold. After some quick shopping we returned home, and some more training began. Chapter 237 236: The Final Finals Another week flew by like a breeze, with all four of us further honing and developing our skills whilst we studied for the History final. During that week Jahi received a letter from back home, and it was informing her that sometime soon a trusted subordinate of the Marquess woulde knocking at our door. From the letter we learned that said subordinate was the Marquess'' Squire, who was training to be a Knight of Cinder. She was a Djinn, which were a race of elementally attuned beings that had astounding magical prowess. However, this woman wasn''t a normal Djinn; she was a hybrid between a Djinn and an Orc, and she received the immense physical prowess from her Orc Mother whilst also retaining the magic talent from her Djinn Mom. Of course, where there is too much good there is always something to bnce it out, and Nirina, the Marquess'' Squire, was apparently much like the Marquess herself; brash, loose tongued, and lustful. With her insane talent and almost unparalleled strength, Nirina was a Lady-Killer and Silver-Tongued Djinn, who currently matched her kill count with her body count. There were multiple warningsid out on the page, but the Marquess said that Jahi and the rest of us should be capable of browbeating her frivolous Squire if she got out of hand. If that didn''t work, then the Marquess told us to inform Nirina that she could consider herself jobless if she so much as touched a hair on any of our heads with an ounce of lust in her heart. Reading that, we had all shared a smile at the line, the Marquess'' possessiveness and strong familial bonds bleeding through the page with ease. Besides that, we were told- no, ordered to pass our finals by the end of the month before following Nirina off towards the Western Border, where we would take part in the border skirmishes for the next three months. Other than the orders, the Marquess had a few other tidbits inside the letter pertaining to other subjects. Firstly, she gave us open permission to dispatch any of the Sariel-Kameiel assassins with the utmost prejudice, but we needed to keep it on the hush hush. No one was to know that there were cracks appearing inside the Empire''s power structure, so everything needed to be kept quiet. Secondly, she told us to not worry to much about the political side of the conflict between our Houses, as she and the Countess were taking care of it slowly but surely; apparently more and more Houses were aligning themselves with us, and a few were swearing fealty to the Asmodia''s; some even going as far as to magically binding themselves to the Asmodia''s. This meant arge boost in the political sway of the Empire''s Shield. One of those Houses was one that was a long standing neutral, highly coveted and immensely talented family of warriors; House Zolqia, from the South, were against the Kameiel''s due to a previous feud, so the Medusian House pledged their swords to our aid. Finally, the Marquess informed us that by the time we returned my Mother would be around her expected due date, so our reward for a job well done would be seeing our newborn siblings. With this influx of knowledge, and pressure to get everything done soon, we all dove straight into our textbooks, reviewing material individually before quizzing one another. None of us wanted to displease the Marquess or make her Squire wait; least of all Jahi, who, while she might deny it, was very desperate to disy her talents and worthiness to her Mom after theirst encounter. The next day we ced our requests to take the finals for Magic Theory and History, surprising both Vice-Headmaster Bijilo and Professor Xiant. The older man recovered much quicker then the strict History buff, coughing gently into his long sleeve as he asked "Are you certain about this, girls? If you fail one course you risk losing your status as students of this Academy..." We all locked eyes for a moment, before turning back to nod at the man. "Each of us is certain, Vice-Headmaster. Very much so." Hearing the confidence in Jahi''s tone, the older man nodding sagely as he said "If you are all so certain, then that''s good. Come, I''ll test each of you first. Xiant, get your testing materials ready; I''ll send them over in a half hour or so..." The thinner, younger Professor nodded, still not grasping the fact that four students wished to take his final so early on. Walking away with a confused expression, he went to prepare each of our tests, and when we all turned back to Vice-Headmaster Bijilo, he led us into his lecture hall. Seating us in the front, he called for Jahi to go first, instructing her on what he wished to see. His final exam was a practical one, and it required two separate disys; the first was aplex spell, much moreplex than the one we disyed in the quarterly exam, while the second was to disy our mana''s purity and potency. Each of us stepped up when called, passing the exam with flying colors. In Jahi''s case, quite literally. She disyed the spell that she had been working on, creating a triangr prism made from her golden light and solidifying it, using it as an amplified for her next spell. When she disyed a non lethal version, she poured mana into the bottom of the prism, which made the top of the pyramid shoot out a multicolored rainbow. Showing the man the lethal version, Vice-Headmaster Bijilo had nched slightly as he took in theplex runes, before sighing and passing her. Leone kept some cards close to her chest, disying her gigantic Ritual Circle that would draw in the ambient Fire Mana from the area and turn it into her own. It was a rather simple spell in theory, but theyers of runes needed toplete it was rather insane, but she made it anyways. Anput went with her Earthen Fortress spell, the practicality andplexity making Vice-Headmaster Bijilo nod in approval. When it was my turn, I disyed an advanced version of the spell I used for my quarterly, making the man raise a brow as he realized that I had hidden a little from him back then. The difference wasn''trge, but incorporating both Water and Wind Magic into the Ice Magic to amplify certain parts increased the potency of the spell by a good bit. When he wished to measure our mana''s potency, he had us pour some into something he called a Grading Crystal, simr to what was used at our Core Awakenings. It shone a certain color when mana of a certain caliber was inside it, but he didn''t tell us what was the grading pattern, keeping it suspenseful. Jahi got a dull golden light, Leone got a radiant gold, Anput got a vibrant purple tinged with red, and I got a glimmering crimson. "Hah... incredible... Simply incredible..." The mans expression was slightly dull at this point, and he proceeded to exin everything to us. "The ranking goes White, Green, Blue, Purple, Crimson, Gold, Pink, ck, and then Rainbow... Currently, if I ced my own mana inside the apparatus, it would be-" Resting his hand on the crystal orb, a deep ck enveloped the orb as he continued. "ck. The color of your average Arch Mage is a Goldish Pink, meaning that you, Lady Leone, are already scratching your way at being an Arch Mage level woman..." He sighed as he shook his head, adding "The average student at the end of this course will likely have Blue; the average Noble Students would have Purple. So for you three to have above that without any teaching inside the Academy..." Narrowing his eyes, he looked between Jahi, Leone and I as he sighed again. "You must have some technique to purify your mana''s, so I won''t pry, but just be aware that your scores are publicized, so be prepared for a deluge of questions... Anyways, congrattions your four; You passed Magic Theory!" Giving us a wide smile, he added "Though I will miss your sharp minds and incredible answers. I do hope each of you considers continuing your path on the Arcane at the Academy; I think each of you has wondrous potential. Now go, don''t leave Professor Xiant waiting..." Bowing slightly to the man, we all swiftly made our way towards the History lecture hall, before slipping into the prepared seats and staring at the dozen papers with anxious gazes. "Alright, your time starts when I say so. There are fifty multiple choice questions, ten short answer questions, and two essays. You have two hours toplete it. That time starts... NOW!" Picking up my pen, I began to read through the questions, nodding to myself. ''When did the Empire absorb the Gregori Kingdom?'' It was currently year 1,321 Post Formation, so the answer is somewhere in the 200''s... Ah, low 200''s, so the answer is definitely 232 Post Formation. ''Who guards the Southern Border of Sanctus Petra?'' Lord Ter''Ran, easy... The rest of the questions were easy as well, but this portion wasn''t the main part of the exam... Scribbling down my answers for the short answer questions, I sighed as I felt my mind begin to grow numb. This always sucked... But, I needed to push through, and so I did. Leone finished the same time Jahi did, and they both got nods from Professor Xiant when he graded them. Then I finished, and he read over my papers. It took him a few moments, but he eventually nodded to me, making my heart swell with joy. I would no longer need to study study study study study... With a small smile on my lips, I leaned against the wall and massaged my temples, waiting for Anput. The Jackalkin finished with just a few minutes left, and we all waited in anticipation as Professor Xiant graded her work. ncing up, the hawkish man stared at Anput with hard eyes and sighed, saying "Lady Anput, you..." Chapter 238 237: Celebration* Professor Xiant stared at Anput with hard eyes, making the Jackalkin gulp as he sighed. "Lady Anput, you..." Jahi narrowed her eyes as she stared at Anput, hope and annoyance warring inside those amethyst eyes of hers. Leone had pursed her lips, her crimson eyes alternating between Professor Xiant and Anput, her fingers tapping silently against the desk as she awaited the answer. My heart was pounding in my chest as I watched on, not knowing how I would react if she failed. Would she ept being tossed from the Academy? The first two years were more like standardized schooling, but afterwards you gain ess to some of the most brilliant minds in the Empire, each of which is willing to teach you about whatever you want. Losing ess to this veritable treasure trove of knowledge would stunt her growth, but... Even if she did fail, my mate had immense talent and an incredible drive to improve herself, and if she saw each of us slowly improving ourselves, she would push herself far harder then she ever had before, just to keep pace with us. I knew that, but I still felt anxious as I stared at Anput''s stiff features, her figure stiff as she awaited the Professor''s grading; it would hurt her to know she was kicked from the Academy, but... Come on, please! Crossing my fingers, I licked my lips as I listened to Professor Xiant speak again, the mans voice bbergasted. "Lady Anput, you are the ONLY student I have ever had take this test early and..." Shaking his head, he stared at the papers as he finished, his expression both confused and amused. "Pass it only by a singr point." We all widened our eyes as we heard that, and even as I moved forwards to hug Anput, I listened to him as he said "Usually students who take the test early pass by a dozen points at least, and yet..." Shaking his head, the man turned around and approached his desk, all whilst Anput became surrounded by the three of us, a giant group hug enveloping the surprised, and relieved, Jackalkin. Sitting down at his desk, Professor Xiant said "Well, you all passed, so congrattions... Please do at least bring back the textbooks; they aren''t cheap..." With that, we now had our schedule free for the rest of the day, and Jahi swiftly guided us back home, her smirk betraying her intentions. As we were dragged behind the Demoness, she spoke in a rush, giving us some congrattory words whilst also exining what she wanted. "Since we all passed each and every test, I want to make today a ''rest'' day before we begin more and more training, so..." Smirking back at us, Jahi looked each of us over before her gazended on me, making me shiver. "After a nice, fulfilling meal, how about we... attempt some ''group'' activities, hmm~?" That made Anput and Leone nce at me, their eyes heated as they nodded, their desire obvious. Pursing my lips, I gulped as I too nodded, the idea of servicing all three of my wives at once again making my body hot. Thest time had been... intense, but I think that I was prepared to have all three of them all at once... No, I WAS going to have all three at once; this was a celebration, and I nned on making this memorable for each of them. When we finally reached our cottage, Jahi mmed Anput into the couch and stripped the Jackalkin, her feral growl reverberating around the living room. "You had me worried there, bitch... I did so much for you to seed, and yet you gave me a fright at thest moment..." ncing back, I saw Anput''s head being pressed into the couch, whilst Jahi mmed herself into Anput''s cunt, all while her hands fell hard on her ass. Listening to the sounds of Anput being disciplined, I gave Leone a deep kiss before watching in amusement as she sat on the counter, her body already nude as she revealed her throbbing dragon. Rolling my eyes, I got everything I needed to do done whilst one of my hands was preupied, stroking and pleasuring her giant cock. When I had the opportunity, I sucked eagerly on the tip, draining it of her cinnamon vored semen as best I could. I cooked up a few prime slices of meat seasoned with some savory spices, which I thenid out on some whole grain bread and adorned with lettuce, spinach, and some tomatoes. The idea was something healthy but quick to make, and I didn''t think I was capable ofplex cooking whilst I was so horny. My mind was probably 90% focused on the sounds of Anput whimpering and pleading for Jahi to relent and on the adorable moans my Vampire made when I sucked on her cock. The remaining 10% was a mixture of 9% haze and 1% on cooking, so yeah... Swiftly ting everything, I finished Leone off, gulping down her cum before sending her to the table, where we watched as Jahi finally decided to finish with her impromptu disciplining. Leone and I gulped as we took in the Demoness as she stood up, our minds dropping further into the submissive spirals that Jahi so easily threw us in. Her pale blue skin was slick with sweat, and I gulped again as I watched a bead of sweat run down the canyons of her abs, the eight pack so tantalizingly chiseled. Then that bead reached her semen stained cock, and I had to hold myself back from cleaning off my Mistress'' dick before she sat down. Jahi''s long raven ck hair fell loosely down onto her board shoulders, whilst her gold tipped rams horns glimmered in the light of the living room,plimenting her golden eyes. Looking at Leone and I, Jahi tilted her head, her expression still hard as she growled "What?" The Vampire and I shivered at her words, shaking our heads as we realized that she was still deeply entrenched in her current dominant role; anything that could set her off would dy the ''celebration'' we all wanted. So, we ate in silence, growing further aroused as we were pinned down by her harsh golden gaze. I could tell that Leone was as tempted as I was to mess up, to do something the Demoness wouldn''t like, just so that we could end up like the trembling, orgasmic mess that was now Anput. That urge was nagging at my mind, but I was determined to experience a different kind of pleasure tonight, one that I had gotten the smallest taste of before. There were so many opportunities to have Jahi just to myself, to dominate my entire being when we were alone, but that time was not now. Anput eventually joined us, her tired expression slowly being rejuvenated as she devoured her meal, managing to ignore the look Jahi cast her way every few moments. When that golden gaze had reverted to the vibrant amethyst, we all unconsciously let out a sigh of relief. Finishing up, Jahi licked her lips as she sighed, before she said "Go on then; let''s go to bed." Leone and I rapidly cleaned everything off and put it away, whilst Anput stumbled over to the bedroom, Jahi a step behind her; the Demoness was groping the Jackalkin as they walked, making her moan with every step. Joining them momentster, we were greeted with the sight of Anput''s head being held down in Jahi''s crotch, the Demoness stroking the Jackalkin''s ears as she blew her. "Alright, that''s good enough puppy..." Seeing Anput''s tail wag made Leone and I shiver in anticipation, and I felt my womb throb with hot desire. Getting onto the bed, I yelped as Jahi pushed me onto my stomach, the Demoness smirking as she moved aside and gestured to Anput. Sitting behind me, Anput stroked her pulsing red cock before grunting, both of our bodies receiving jolts as Jahi pushed my ass down, spearing my pussy with Anput''s shaft. Chuckling, the Demoness looked between us; Anput and I were both panting, the sudden insertion bringing us close to orgasm. "Leone, you crouch here..." Directing each of us, Jahi guided Leone to crouch above Anput''sp and behind me, and I listened to the sound of Leone moaning as her cock was pressed against my butt, her thick tip slowly spreading it apart as she slid inside. The searing agony of having something sorge enter my ass made me bite my lips in pain, but I felt my cunt tremble in pleasure, my twisted mind growing ecstatic at the pain. Finally, Jahi sat in front of me, her lips curled into an arrogant smile as she nodded to the women behind me, making me gasp. I was suddenly being assaulted by their desperate, deep thrusts into my body. Anput was pressing against my womb and reshaping it to be her personal sleeve, all whilst her scorching hot flesh seared my insides, and her drooling precum began to pool inside me. Leone''s giant member was rearranging my insides with ease, and her grunts as she mmed her hips into my ass were cute, but I couldn''t hear anything with the sudden explosion of pleasure I was feeling. To top it all off, Jahi lowered my head onto her stained dick, pushing it down my throat and forcing me to clean it up for her, all whilst she gave me a seductive smirk. All three women thrust as hard as they could, using each of my avable holes to wring out their thick cocks, ignoring my pleading screams as my mind swiftly nked with each deep insertion. My pussy writhed around my mate''s dick, and I could feel that tighten my asshole just slightly, making Leone grunt as she continued to ravish my backdoor. As for Jahi, her smirk grew as she watched my expression dull out from the constant pleasure, my mind slowly copsing as I came from my treatment. Stroking my cheek, she brushed away the tears that streamed from my eyes as she began to cum, spraying her sweet semen all inside my throat. Gulping it down, I moaned as she pulled out of my mouth, instead pping my cheek lightly with her creamy cock. Panting, I felt Leone bury herself deep into my ass just as Anput inserted her knot into my pussy, the two women cumming at the same time. My euphoric scream filled the room as my insides were flooded with my lovers semen, the two seemingly unending geysers shooting rope after rope into my body. Leone had copsed onto my back, her hips twitching as she thrust deeper, trying to drain more of herrge balls into my ass, all while Anput trembled below her, her knot pulsing with each thick shot. Jahi watched it all happen with a smile, her gentle gaze making me shiver as she reinserted herself into my mouth, her small thrusts against my tongue permeating my tastebuds with her sweetness. When the other two finally finished cumming, my belly was slightly swollen from the raw amount of semen inside my womb and stomach, but that didn''t matter to them at all. Switching ces, Leone mmed herself into my womb and began to push Anput''s semen out of it, intent on recing it with her own, while Anput began to rece my world with her scent, my mate resting her cock in my mouth whilst her knot pressed against my nostrils, her citrus scent filling my head. Finally, Jahi watched as I leaked Leone''s cum from my now gaping asshole, and the Demoness chuckled as it began to pool on Leone''sp. Not too much leaked, however, as Jahi plugged me back up and began to swing her hips with reckless abandon as well, her grunts making my heart skip some beats as I felt her pummel my intestines. The night truly became a blur after that, as each woman dumped giant loads straight into my body without a care in the world; sometimes, two would decide to let me rest andy on the bed beside us. Usually Jahi was the one to pull them aside, pushing the women below herself as she pinned them down and filled them like she had me, but there was one time where Jahi had taken me away herself. That forced Anput and Leone to go a few rounds on their own, watching on as Jahi began to spank and dominate me, her feral growls and grunts making my hair and fur stand on end as I became little more then pray for this ravenous beast behind me. That night, the only things that took ce inside the house was sex; nothing else was achieved. Each woman sported a high libido, and when allowed to utilize me as their personal cocksleeve, each went a little overboard, but... Even as we all groaned and felt our bones creak the next morning, not a single one of us could deny another round, our lusts never diminishing even after such a vigorous night. --- Going on vacation tomorrow (Sunday) for around a week; still will have daily uploads, but they will be Slice-of-Life chapters mainly, with other smaller things like the previous hunt or some new gear or whatever. If I can get some normal chapters out, awesome, but if not, apologies in advance for having another Slice-of-Life arc --- Chapter 239 238: Morning After; New Fang --- More suggestivenguage in the chapter, but not a lemon, so... Tread carefully, I guess? --- Anput red at Jahi and I, the Jackalkin seemingly annoyed that we had sandwiched her between our bodies and used her for our own pleasure. Whilst my mate had been ravishing me with rough, dominant thrusts, Jahi had smirked as she gentlyid the unconscious Vampire off to the side, positioning herself behind Anput and spearing herself deep into the Jackalkin, making her scream at the sudden pration. Jahi and I had smirked at the immensely orgasmic expression she wore, and both of our sadistic tendencies red at that moment. I may prefer for my partners to dominate and make me there personal pet, but variety was the spice of life, and I was a damn good cook. So, I began the very pleasurable task of denying my mate her release as I made her time inside even more euphoric; sadly, that euphoria would be hell for her when I mped my fingers around the base of her knot. As I did that, Anput was also under the relentless barrage of an insatiable Demoness who wanted nothing more than to wring herself out inside her lithe wife. Anput was sandwiched between us as well, so her instincts were going haywire as she got the whiff of our scents; one half of her mind was hellbent on dominating me and breeding me, whilst the other was bing more and more meek as she felt the Demoness behind her tear her attention away from me. Hence why she was currently a pouting, melted puddleying on our bed, her olive skin streaked with sweat and other liquids. Shey beside the equally melted Vampire, who was currently panting as her unconscious mind began to crave more pleasure and blood. Chuckling, Jahi and I stared down at the two with an amused gaze, before the Demoness began to enjoy my eager tongue as Ipped up everyst inch of her firm, wless blue skin. Getting arge dose of her nectar as a reward, I unted my body as I retreated into the kitchen, enjoying the sounds of the Demoness growling as she turned to vent herself on the other two women, allowing me a few minutes to prepare something for breakfast. Something hearty and nutritious, considering we were all drained of everyst drop of energy. Whipping up arge cauldron of oatmeal, I personalized each smaller bowl as I set the table, before boiling a pot of tea and getting that ready as well. When each woman finally exited the bedroom, I had to smirk at their states. Anput was ring at me as she held her butt, massaging each cheek as she staggered towards the table, her gait awkward as she walked. Leone was simr, but her cheeks were red as she peeked over her shoulder to nce at Jahi, swiftly looking back at the table to avoid arousing herself more. Lastly, therge Demoness was holding her hip slightly as she walked, but otherwise she was glowing and beaming; a giant grin split her features as she approached the table, the pride on her face not even being concealed as she looked over each of us. And seeing me still in my full, nude glory, made the insatiable Demoness ravish me then and there, giving the two women a show whilst also making them sigh in relief that it wasn''t them. With such a ''productive'' morning out of the way, as well as the sexually charged atmosphere finally clearing up, we all set to getting our first full day of training under way. First things first, our individual training for an hour. Each of us would use this time to pursue our hobbies, and it allowed each of us a moment to ourselves, away from the others. Anput was out back, Leone was in her room, I was in the kitchen, and Jahi was on the roof. Sitting down at the table, Iid out thepleted dagger that Anput had made me, my lips pursed as I stared intently at the curved de. With such a curved, sharp edge, this ''Fang'' of mine was going to be an offensive de for sure, but just what would I ce on it? I already had something for range, so maybe something a little more up close and personal... Maybe just an effect that I found to be rather... destructive when used? Like the Mana Pulses that shredded the inside of the body? Or maybe I should lean into making three daggers, one for each element. My ''elemental'' Fangs? Stroking my chin, I continued to ponder each idea that entered my mind, before shrugging. Sure, elements it is. This would allow me to increase theplexity of the enchantments effect due to it being a singr element instead of abination element. The strain was much higher then just a singr element. Now, I think... Stroking the edge of the des curvature, I lifted it up and yed around with the sharp, lethal dagger, spinning and twirling it around like a toy. This Fang would have some bite to it, so Water is out of the question; besides, I have an idea for my gentler element... That left an Ice enchant or a Wind enchant... Doing a few practice thrusts, slices, and stabs, I frowned as I considered each option, possible enchantments floating around my mind. If I went for Ice, I would lean into the ''bite'' of this Fang, making it more lethal and explosive in nature; maybe a shattering effect, or a burst of sharp Ice needles around the de itself? If I went for Wind, I would prefer something silent and soft, like a warm summer breeze; something that would be so incredibly sharp, the brain wouldn''t register the wound until it was toote. Flipping the dagger around, I sighed as I stared at it, before shrugging. When in doubt, do a coin flip three times. Probability for the win~! Grabbing a copper piece from my coin pouch, I stared at the ''heads'' side, which was the elegant profile of the Empress, while the ''tails'' side was a crossed pair of swords. Hmm... Heads for Ice, Tails for Wind... Nodding to myself, I flipped the coin into the air and chuckled at the results. Heads. Tails. Tails. Wind it was~! Laying the dagger back out before me, I swiftly began to trace our green runes in the air in front of me, formting aplex Ritual Circle. The spell I was developing had two purposes; to coat the dagger, and my arm, in Wind Mana to silence the sounds of my attack, and to sharpen the tip so much that it would pierce most things. Simple, but brutally efficient as an assassination tool. I would likely need something like this... Breeze Fang? of mine in the uing skirmishes on the Western Border, so I was pleased when the Ritual Circle fell into ce easily. Nodding at the arranged runes before me, I memorized the spell before turning to the dagger. As had be custom, I ced a Mana Circuit on the de first, before beginning to weave in the Wind Enchantment, using my improved [Enchanting] and [Mana Control] skills to swiftly ce this Ritual Circle on the de. In fact, it had been insanely easier now than it had been before; maybe the gap between Expert and Master wasrger than I though, or maybe the gap between Apprentice and Expert was just that good. Or both. Both is good. With that newfound confidence in my not so honestly gained proficiency, I then turned towards something else, cing an easy enchantment on it. Lifting up my shoes, I swiftly weaved a Wind Enchantment to make my movements quieter, if notpletely silent. That also took me mere moments toplete, and I grinned as I stared at the hidden runes on the sole of my shoes, excitement rushing through my veins. It was so~ easy now, and as I rushed to grab my maid dress and some other clothes, I froze as Jahi entered the front door, her smirk wide as she said "Come on puppy~ Your Mistress wants to y~!" Grabbing my wrist, she dragged me to the yard where Anput and Leone were waiting, both women already sparring, going through the beginning of our training exercises. They didn''t turn to acknowledge us, focusing intently on their spar, so Jahi just tossed me some wooden des and gave me a grin, her amethyst eyes yful as she coyly said "Wanna make a bet on this spar of ours, little puppy~?" Narrowing my eyes, I stared at her in silence before nodding, wondering what she would wager. "Good, good~! So, winner of this little match of ours gets... hmm~!" Scratching her chin, she grinned as she leaned down, her voice sweet like honey as she said "Sometimes simplicity is the best. Whoever wins the match getsplete control over the other for a whole~ day!" The Demoness stared at me like a b of juicy steak, but I also began to smile at her, wondering what I could do to this woman before me. The gap between making her subservient and her normally dominant self was rather... Enticing. --- Vacation is off to a great~ start! Missed my flight, but it was dyed anyways for four~ whole hours! Finally where I''m supposed to be though, so yay~! --- Chapter 240 239: Going All Out Taking my ce opposite my arrogant, yet immensely skilled Mistress, I twirled the two wooden daggers in my hands as I stared at her, taking in her cocky smirk and mirth filled eyes. Likely therge Demoness still believed this to be an easy win for herself, thinking that her raw strength could overwhelm me whilst her surprising dexterity and agility would make this spar of ours a done deal for herself,ting herself an entire day to use me as she pleased. Of course, I didn''t n on letting her do so, my mind set firmly on the idea of making my Mistress be the one groveling and begging for me, not the other way around. The thought was more arousing then even being used as a submissive sleeve for my Mistress, my body hers and hers alone to use and abuse whenever and wherever she wanted to. Believe me, that thought could have easily slipped me into heat on any other day, but now I wanted to force this arrogant woman to kneel in front of me and clean me off with her tongue, before using that very tongue to have my fun. That was much more enticing, and even now I shivered, my tail wagging slightly as I imagined the scene in my head. "Oh, what''s got my little puppy so excited, hmm~? Surely she''s not thinking she could possibly win against her Mistress~?" There was a dangerous light in Jahi''s eyes as she said that, and if I had been Leone I would have folded here and now, scrapping the idea of winning as I decided to take the loss. Sadly for my Mistress, I simply wasn''t like that in private, so instead I gave her a confident, calm smile as I nodded, responding in a tone that matched my expression. "Indeed I am, Mistress. After all, this is just too good of an opportunity to pass up, so forgive this lowly one for her uing actions." I curtsied as I said that, my time training etiquette under Baroness Estra on full disy as I executed it perfectly. Jahi bit her cheek as she saw that, her eyes narrowed with a mixture of amusement and danger as she muttered "We''ll see..." Reversing my grip on both of the daggers, I lowered myself into a stance and waited, watching as Jahi lifted the giant wooden nk that she called a sword into position, the Demoness nodding to herself as she felt its heft. "Alright then puppy. Ready?" Keeping her eyes fixed on mine, Jahi waited for me to nod before shouting "Go!", dashing forwards a moment after she did so. Herrge nk was raised up and swung down towards my body, the Demoness appearing before me in a mere second. She was fast, but... Staring at the sword''s descent, I raised a brow as Inguidly pivoted to the side, letting it m into the ck sand ground. Sending out a cloud of the dark sand, the Demoness turned swiftly to continue tracking my movements as I raised the dagger in my right hand, stabbing it towards her throat. Raising up herrge sword, Jahi blocked the thrust and pursed her lips as I unleashed another flurry of blows with just the right dagger, trying to pepper the Demoness'' body with different attacks of different kinds. As for the de loosely held in my left hand, I was waiting for an opening to slip that de under her guard and end the spar swiftly. However, the Demoness herself was constantly searching my own defenses to find an opening, her amethyst eyes gliding over my body with an analytical gleam. Finding a slim opening, I flicked my left dagger towards her broad side, only to grunt in annoyance as Jahi''srge de angled to her right side, knocking the dagger off course. With that missed attack, my body skidded forwards a step too far, sending me off bnce slightly; not by a lot, but... Grinning at me, Jahi sliced the tip of her sword off of the ground and towards my stomach, trying to ''eviscerate'' me and end the duel. The strike was fast and powerful, but I managed to cross my two des and catch her sword, stopping it a hairs breadth from my stomach. Grunting at the sudden force, I grit my teeth as I pushed back against her sword, before swiftly discovering the gap between her strength and mine. If I had to guess, her stats would be focused on Strenght first, then on Constitution, Agility, and Dexterity, and finally on Wisdom and Intelligence. Anput would switch have a lower Strength, but it would be even with her Agility and Dexterity, whilst her Constitution and magical stats would also be lower. That was due to their races, styles, and personal preferences in fighting; Jahi was a powerful fighter, whilst Anput was a speedy striker. Leone obviously was the opposite of Jahi, with her preference in magical stats... As for me? I had even numbers across the board, so... Growling, I twisted her de slightly and managed to escape from imminent failure, quickly jumping back a few feet to create distance between us. With that, I stalked around the tall Demoness warrior and surveyed her form for another opening. She followed me as I moved, an amused smile on her lips as she did so, while her voice was dripping with mirth as she said "Come on little puppy~! Let''s see just how sharp your bite is, hmm~?" Remaining silent, I continued around her before sighing slightly at her next slight. "Surely my murderpuppy can do more than just stalk around me, right~?" The obvious goad made me roll my eyes, and I narrowed my eyes as I resumed my search for a weak spot, eventually finding a decent enough one. Jahi held her sword just a tad high for facing someone shorter than her, so an attack ced on her legs would result in her having to adjust her entire stance to block my blows. Keeping my eyes fixed on her chest, I dashed forwards and raised my daggers, aiming towards her gut. Tilting her de horizontally, she attempted to block them both at the same time, before she widened her eyes in surprise as I instead went for her knees, trying tond solid blows against her legs to bring her down. The idea was to hit each kneecap before focusing whichever one seemed weaker or whichever one she reacted to the most. Sadly, ideas never truly go exactly as you wish they do, as Jahi still managed to lower the sword as she leaned over to block the attack. As she did so she also pushed back, making me stumble ever so slightly. With that stumble, Jahi began to unleash a flurry of precise attacks as she targeted every part of my body, cashing in on the fact that my daggers, while versatile, weren''t long enough to expertly block each attack. A skilled swordsman could use the tip of their de to attack someone around three times in a second or two, but Jahi unleashed a flurry of five in two seconds. Which meant I needed to block these attacks in order to continue forwards. The first three were easy enough, but by the fourth I grew slightly flustered. Her sword was moving like a blur, and I had problems tracking it properly, which resulted in her tip barely ncing off of my daggers t edge as I lowered it to protect my thigh. The fifth though... That one was impossible. I just wasn''t ustomed to Jahi actually utilizing all her power in a spar, so this was my first time actually trying to track, let alone defend against, these kinds of fast attacks. The fifth onended in between my breasts, the tip pressed directly against the area where my heart wouldy. I gulped as I stared down at the wooden sword, before my eyes trailed up towards the woman wielding the weapon. Her blue features shone in the afternoon light, and they radiated even more as she smirked down at me, her amethyst eyes amused and proud. "Not bad, but..." Leaning down towards me, Jahi''s grin grew wider as she licked her lips, lust springing up on her face as she whispered "You really did try to win, didn''t you puppy~? Does my personal bitch need to be reminded of her betters~? A whole day to pummel that reminder into that pretty little head of yours is in order, hmm~?" I shivered as she leaned closer and closer, before her lips pressed against mine. Kissing me sloppily for a moment, Jahi pulled away and smirked as she whispered "Does that sound enticing, bitch? To be writhing under me for a whole day because of your actions? Will I need to beat it into you that I am simply your superior, hence you singing out ''Mistress~'' every night? Hmm~?" The sadistic gleam in her eyes made me tremble, and I felt my tail thump against my legs as I heard her tone. Would she bring out the leash again?! Some whips?! What would she use to ''beat this lesson'' into me?! How would this beautiful woman force me to know my ce under her during that day?! My heart raced with anticipation, making Jahi chuckle as she gently stroked my cheek. "Oh, I am SO~ looking forwards to that day..." Leaning her brow against mine, I shivered as my entire world became my Mistress. Her beautiful, sculpted face. Her heated amethyst eyes. Her sweet, cloying scent. Her warm breath. The heat from her skin on mine. The lingering taste of her sweetness on my lips. And finally, the sound of her raspy whisper that sent shivers down my spine. This woman well and truly owned each and every inch of my body, inside and out. Chapter 241 240: First Tattoo With her brow still resting against mine, Jahi smirked as she ced a sloppy kiss on my lips again, her sweet taste numbing my mind a second time. Releasing me with an audible plop, Jahi grinned at me as she gave my tail a quick lift before sping arge hand on my rear, massaging my butt for a few moments as she whispered "We''ll go through our usual today, but tomorrow will be the day I reaffirm my ownership of you, Kat... all of tomorrow, you will be under me, screaming and pleading for me to stop or continue, either or~" I shivered as she pped my rear before striding off, walking over towards the resting Anput. Panting, I blinked a few times as my eyes lingered on her retreating figure, the heat inside me rising rapidly as my mind whirred to create images of the scenarios that she would put me through tomorrow. I was personally hoping for the whips toe back out; the sting on my flesh was also so amazing... Shaking my head, I got the naughty thoughts out of my mind as I walked over towards the meditating Leone, the Vampire''s pale skin shimmering with sweat. Hearing me approach, the woman opened one crimson eye and gave me a look over, the mirth in her eye undisguised as she muttered "Have fun there, Kat?" I half heard her as I sat down, the image of Jahi looming over me intruding on my thoughts as I plopped down beside the Vampire, my tail swishing around. Rolling her eye, the woman returned to her meditation, and I joined her a momentter. Grabbing onto my mana, I sent my thoughts inwards as I began to study and observe thebined manas inside my Core, ideas for potential spells and enchantments slowly filtering into my brain. Formting a new spell was difficult with my heat, but eventually I managed to push it aside and alter my focus to what truly mattered. Getting whi- No, spells. Magic. Mana. Pain. Forme. Those mattered... Nodding, I eventually got a few ideas to coalesce in my mind before archiving them away, ncing over at Vampire. Leone was staring straight at me, her brow raised as she asked "Could you be any more obviously in heat Kat? Even as a non Beastkin I can smell the tart scent wafting from your body. As for Anput..." We both turned to see Anput panting as she leaned against the wall, her eyes fixed on me as well as she licked her lips, only for Jahi to roll her eyes as she grabbed Anput''s wrist and pulled her inside. Fixing me with a hard stare, Leone sighed as she shook her head, before asking "If you''re not to busy, would you mind helping me focus my mana onto my lower back? I want to begin the first half of my new Tattoo..." Nodding, I took a few deep breaths before sliding behind her, watching as Leone lifted her shirt slightly. "Alright, so just ce your hands onto the center of my lower back and push a little of your Wind mana into me. When I bring my Fire mana to bear against yours, justtch your mana onto mine and let me guide it." "Okay... let me know when." Sitting behind her, I ced my hands gently on her back as I waited for her signal, before pushing a small thread of Wind mana into her, giving the woman the precise point at which she should begin circting her mana. With my mana as a guide, Leone hummed softly to herself as she began to formte her newest Tattoo on her lower back, the borate cluster of merging rings creating a beautiful design. Each ring was filled withplex runes, and I narrowed my eyes as I began to decipher the spells Leone was engraving onto her skin. The cluster acted in unison, like gears in a machine; each on benefited the other in some way, propping another circle up whilst others did the main function of the spell, which... Chuckling to myself, I nodded as I saw that what Leone was putting on her back was another mana gathering array, but this time it funneled the mana directly into another spell, which hadn''t been shown yet. That made me immensely curious about what she was cooking up, as it would likely be something akin to a missile in terms of destructive prowess, considering her magic was already so potent with just her own base mana. It didn''t take her too long, surprisingly, to finish her newest Tattoo; each time my Wind mana was enveloped in her mes it made her speed up slightly, able to swiftly etch the Tattoo onto her flesh. When she finished up, Leone let out a low sigh as she clenched her fists, before she groaned and muttered "Damn I hate that feeling..." Shaking her head, the Vampire nced back at me with a small smile, thanking me. "Your Wind mana sped that up so damn much Kat... thanks. Now, would you like to-" She trailed off as I stared down at my palm, my lips pursed as I asked "Does it hurt?" Tilting her head, Leone narrowed her eyes as she nodded. "For me, it''s like being branded. I would imagine that for you, it''ll be like being burned as well, whilst your Wind would make you feel like dozens of tiny needles are pricking at your flesh." Nodding, I nced up at her and said "I think I''ll try one for myself now..." Giving me a small nod, Leone said "Well, good luck then. I''ll be nearby in case you need me..." With that, the Vampire stood up and approached her friendly boulder, sitting atop it as she turned her crimson gaze towards me. Smiling warmly at her, I sat down and focused my mind, deciding swiftly on what I wanted. I was going to start simple; a Water mana gathering circle on my left shoulder, and I would make it as small as I could, to save space forter. This would make my ability to absorb mana from my surroundings easier, and that was always nice. Picturing the Ritual Circle in my mind, I took a deep breath as I summoned it into the world, before lowering it onto my left shoulder. Like with enchanting, I needed to keep the Ritual Circle steady and gradually bind the spell to my flesh, creating a spell that would innately, and instantaneously, work. Feeling somethingpping at my skin, I took another deep breath as I was assaulted by a cool, ufortable wave of pain that washed over my shoulder. It wasn''t sharp, nor dull; it wasn''t hot, nor cold... This feeling was diforting, as it was... nothing, in particr. There was nothing that stood out about it, but that was what made it so diforting. Flinching slightly, I felt it seep further into my arm, digging into my muscle before burrowing into my bone. The further the Ritual Circle sunk into my flesh, the more of that odd feeling I received. When it finally was entirely etched into my shoulder, I sighed as the feeling dissipated, the process over with in a surprisingly short amount of time. Opening my eyes, I nodded to myself as I rolled up my sleeve and stared at the dark blue Ritual Circle on my arm, the contrast between the deep oceanic blue and my fair skin rather jarring. Brushing my fingers against it, I sighed in relief as I noticed that it wasn''t that different from my normal skin, so if I got a Tattoo somewhere that was normally touched a lot, it wouldn''t be that noticeable. Standing up, I nced at Leone, who raised a brow as I showed her the small Ritual Circle on my arm. "That''s impressive, doing it on your first go and all. Also much smarter then me, what with me going for theplex crest I emzoned on my chest..." I chuckled and nodded, staring tantly at her exposed cleavage where a dull red crestid, the Ritual Circle and ornate wings standing out just as much as my new Tattoo. "Well, go try it, see if you can notice a difference." She chuckled as I nodded again, eagerly waltzing over to the straw filled dummies and raising my hand. In order to best see the benefit of this Tattoo, I needed to expend arge enough amount of mana to notice that it was gone, before waiting and calcting the time it takes to regain it back. Going with a safer, easier option, I summoned a ball of water and poured a good sixth of my mana into it, resulting in a four foot sphere of water appearing before me. Shooting it forwards, I drenched the dummy and knocked it down with the sphere, before closing my eyes and observing my core. Before, I could get a few drops of mana every five seconds, but now it was every four. Four-ish. Not arge improvement, but oh well~ I got my first Tattoo~! Chapter 242 241: Gate Of Hades Sheathing my Breeze Fang on my left hip, I nodded to Anput as we stared at therge corpse of a Fire Smander, the slick red skinned monster sporting dozens of long, jagged tears and rips on its flesh. Anput had taken the brunt of the hunt again, her two handed sword putting in the most work as she sliced away at its red flesh, providing me an opportunity to slip into the monsters blindspot and score a lethal blow. This was my first kill with Breeze Fang, and the curved dagger did its job perfectly. Shrouded in a silent gale of wind, which split at the tip, I managed to punch the dagger deep into the Fire Smander''s side, slipping it under a ribcage and shattering the monsters core. This Fang of mine seemed to be a useful des so far, but I''ll need to test it out again... Retrieving my Protective Fang, I began to harvest the materials from the monster, getting a venom sac and a giant red chunk of crystal, which was a piece of the Fire Smanders core. Storing those away, I watched as Jahi and Leone jumped down to join Anput and I, the two women''s pouches also filled with various monster materials. Bones, organs, meat, hides, fangs, ws, and so much more was littered inside our packs, and each one was worth quite a hefty amount a money. We had traveled to the Lava Lake before continuing past it, bringing us into the slightly harsher, hotter, lethal area called The Gate of Hades. This led down into the depths of Zhu''Rong Caverns, and while we wouldn''t be going down that far, we would be hunting along the outskirts of what wasbeled ''Unending Gehenna''. Deep inside this Unending Gehennaid dormant hydras, titanic dragonoid creatures with a dozen or more heads, as well as Cryptaldean, a species of monsters that apparently lived off of raw Fire Mana. There were dozens upon hundreds of powerful, dangerous monsters waiting for us in those depths, but they would have to wait; we were not only not strong enough for them, but a venture down into Unending Gehenna was a multi day affair, and we didn''t have time for that. Not with Nirina, the Marquess''s Squire so close toing to pick us up and thrust us into the skirmishes of the Western Border. With that in mind, Jahi wanted to continue honing our skills, so that when we did eventually step foot onto a warfront, we were prepared to protect ourselves and one another. So we ventured to the Gate of Hades, where we would face stronger, more dangerous monsters to test our mettle. This Fire Smander was just one of many hunted monsters, and we had already set our sights on something else, somethingrger. Obsidian Herculean Spartoi. Like the name suggests, an Obsidian Herculean Spartoi is a towering, thick skeleton made from ck bones, which shimmered in the low light of the Gate of Hades. The skeleton was humanoid in appearance, but they were spikier and farrger then even Jahi, who was well into the seven foot range. They stood at around twelve feet tall, and each one of them shuffled around with jagged, chipped des; some swords, some axes, some polearms... Inside the ckened skeleton was a mass of swirling darkness, creating a humanoid figure inside the exoskeleton. Currently, a group of three of these Spartoi stood a distance away from us, their horned heads swiveling around as they searched for their own targets. Exchanging a swift nce with one another we all nodded, Jahi drawing her great sword and leading the charge, Anput and I a few steps behind her while Leone was between and behind us, ready to provide support with her magics. Hearing us running towards them, the three Spartoi turned and readied their own des; two axes and a long, curved scimitar. Stepping towards us, the two axe wielders hefted their heavy ck des above their heads and mmed them down towards the ground, whilst the scimitar wielder flicked its sword towards Jahi''s throat, the movement minimal but lethal. Jahi easily blocked the thrust before striking back with a swift riposte, her multi metal sword chipping the Spartoi''s ck ribcage. Focussing on my own enemy, I summoned a thick ice shield above me, letting the Spartoi m its axe into the sheet of hardened ice before tilting it, sliding the de off. With my left hand I shed upwards, an arc of ethereal blue ice cutting into the Spartoi''s chest, a thin sheen of frost growing along the ribs. The spiked Spartoi mmed its axe down into the shield again, this time cracking off arge chunk of the ice, but I responded by unleashing a flurry of arcs, each one coating the ck bones in more and more frost. Dropping the shield, I slipped under the Spartoi''s attack and mmed the broad dagger into its ribcage, the heavier de shattering the umted frost and sending splintering cracks along the bones. Landing another heavy blow on the bone, I snapped it in two, revealing arge swathe of void ck mist. Thrusting the dagger deep into the Spartoi''s ''flesh'', I twisted the de and sent a pulse of wind mana into the monsters body, dispersing some of the wispy ck smoke. An eery growl reverberated from where the monsters mouth would be, and the two blood red orbs that took ce of its eyes red, pain and hate filling them equally. Slicing the dagger down as far as I could, I yanked the de out and rolled away, just in time to avoid not only its bone crushing embrace as it wrapped its arms close to its chest, but also the solidnce of searing mes that embedded itself into the opening I had created. Howling in unnerving agony, the Spartoi wed desperately at its impaled chest, trying to grab the spear, but the fierynce exploded in a burst of bright, harsh light and singing heat. The ck bones dropped to the ground as the wispy void inside the exoskeleton evaporated, the monster now dead. Peeking over my shoulder, I saw Leone smirking at me as she readied anothernce, the Vampire pivoting as she stepped into her throw, spearing the scimitar wielding Spartoi in the throat. Jahi growled in annoyance as she nced back at the Vampire, before she shrugged as she slipped over to Anput, who just finished her own Spartoi off, her metal spear lodged deep into its chest while her sword split the monsters skull. With each one now dead, we all stared at one another before chuckling, knowing that we had improvedpared to before. Just a year or so ago we barely managed to kill a Fire Smander, needing the Marquess to bail us out of that fight lest we be terribly injured, and yet now we were hunting them with ease. Not only that, but the Spartoi that we just killed was leagues above the one that crashed the ball a year or so ago as well, meaning we were much, much stronger then before. Grabbing what we could, we turned and left the Gate of Hades behind us, traversing the well trodden path that many adventurers used to go deeper or exit the Zhu''Rong Caverns. Of course, such a well known path had troubles aplenty, one of which was... "Hand over your spoils!" A group of eight bandits jumped out onto the path, their Golden Tags glittering in theva''s light as they flourished their worn des. Each bandit was draped in ck or gray clothes, with just a singr green sash wrapped tightly around their right arm. Seeing that, we all narrowed our eyes at the bandits, before Jahi sighed as she watched me sh forwards, my Protective and First Fangs in hand. Appearing before the group, I flicked the lighter First Fang towards a Bullkin''s throat, impaling it and severing his neck, killing him instantly. Activating the shield enchantment, I blocked a sword thrust and an arrow, before sending a pulse through the shield to stagger the swordsman. Dashing to the Elf, I slit his throat before using his body as a shield, three arrows thunking into the mans chest. Shoving the Elf into the charging Orcs, I nced at the archer and flicked my First Fang towards the two men, four rapid arcs of wind hurtling into their stomachs and chests, eviscerating them. With that, half of the bandits were dead, whilst two were trying to charge around me to nk me. The two orcs ahead of me stomped over the Elf''s corpse, mangling it in their metal boots, before lifting theirrge clubs and swinging them down towards my head. Sadly, the two''s physical strenght wasn''t that great, as a shield of thick ice blocked their blows. Another pulse of manater, and the Orcs were grunting in pain as they stared down at their twisted and shattered wrists, the flesh swelling instantly. Spinning, I reversed my grip on the two daggers and started swinging them as fast as I could, whilst retaining my uracy. Staring low, I severed their calves, knees, thighs, slit open their stomachs, chopped off their arms, and then stabbed them in their eyes, leaving behind a cluster of body parts and a puddle of blood. Before I could turn and finish off the Orcs, Jahi stopped me and began to interrogate them, trying to learn what she could from the bandits. That green cloth on their arms made each of us wary, but for now... I grinned maniacally as I stared at the carnage around me, reveling in the damage I could deal in just a few seconds. This was euphoric. Chapter 243 242: Going Shopping As A Family After another long set of negotiations with the receptionist, we all managed to exit the guild 32 Golds richer... Yeah, apparently the deeper you go into the Zhu''Rong Caverns, the rarer the materials and monsters are, and the more expensive the prices are. For instance, the Spartoi bones that we managed to harvest were each a singr Gold, while the Malum Ore was able to be sold for around a Gold and twenty Silvers per chunk. Though, Anput kept those for her next work, while Leone kept the Qiliarian Stalks that had grown near the Gate of Hades. Still, the monster parts that we had managed to harvest from the corpses were rather lucrative. Speaking of, the receptionist had finally shared her name after our frequent battles, a begrudging respect growing between us as we fought tooth and nail for each and every Copper that we possibly could; in fact, I had almost lunged and sucker punched the woman when she had tried to gyp me of thirteen Coppers... This shrewd, sometimes demonic, sometimes highly murderable woman was a thirty year old Half Elf, Half Fairy mother of one, and she had a knack for negotiations that few seemed to have outside of merchants and sociopathic business owners. After our third such epic battle to squeeze more, or less, coin from the other resulted in both of us panting as we red at one another, before I finally got this woman''s name. Ywa Pixn; her long metallic gold hairplimented her verdant forest green eyes, while her fair white skin was almost wless. Sharp eyebrows contrasted her soft eyes, while her plump lips were always pulled up into a small smirk, like she knew that she was damn good at what she did. Bitch. Besides that, while my girls all stood around me looking bored, I had to admit that whilst we negotiated the prices, during the small time where we would contemte the offer, we shared quite a few stories about ourselves, attempting to distract and shake the others focus. Hence why I know that Ywa was a mother of one; her wife left her for a buff Orc futa instead, leaving the Half Elf-Fairy rather bitter and angry. Though, her two year old daughter Ophelia had be her rock, and she was doing her damndest to provide everything for her little girl. That was where the respect between us began to grow, as I told her about how my mother had done her best to raise me on her own in a new ce after running from danger for so long. The parallels between Ophelia and I were apparent, so I think Ywa began to see that ovep, which provided a difference in treatment. Anyways, after giving my new annoying, silver tongued, hard working friend a re and a nod, we left the Guild with quite a fortune piled between us. "Ugh, finally! By the Goddess is that SO annoying and tedious..." Turning to Anput, I held out my hand, making the Jackalkin confused. "What?" Narrowing my eyes at her, I spoke in a t tone as I said "Hand me three Golds and fifty Silvers then." The woman took a few steps back, her posture on guard as she covered her coin purse with her hands, warily staring at me. "Why?" Taking a step forwards, I cocked a brow as I told her "Because I got you those three and a half Golds from my ''annoying and tedious'' hard work... so, hand it over." Shaking her head, Anput slipped behind Jahi, peeking her head around the Demoness'' broad back as she muttered "Nope nope nope..." Jahi sighed and crossed her arms across her chest, taking a look at the sky. "Alright, lets get going... the sooner we''re in a bed and I''m listening to thebined moans of all three of you, the better..." Each of us nced at the woman, her obvious arousal making us blush slightly as we nodded, the previous argument forgotten. I was beginning to believe that my Nymphomania skill transferred to Jahi, but I guess that myrge blue Demoness had managed to make the other two addicted to the pleasure that she was capable of doling out. ncing around, Jahi looked for the smithing section of the marketce first, since Anput was a quick shopper, before we would make our ways to the herb gardens and alchemical section to let Leone browse. Finally, anything that I thought we might need grocery wise or, on the very low odds that I wanted something, we would go grab that. With that in mind, the Demoness cut a path through the crowded marketce, each of us following behind her like ducklings, swiftly finding ourselves inside the cloth covered section of the forges. The sounds of hammers falling onto anvils rang around the area, while men and women shouted out orders to one another as they set to work. Burning coals added to the sweltering heat, and the stink of sweat merged with the scent of charred metals and smoke. The milling crowd conversed in hushed whispers as they tried to not distract the working smiths, hoping that by doing so the smiths would create a better quality work for them to purchase. As for us, Anput swapped with Jahi as she began to venture towards the forge that she bought most of her materials and coal from; Dwarven Master of all Things Metal. Odd name, but there were worse... Hammered Like Metal was another storefront... Going inside, we were greeted with a short bearded man, a long pipe hanging from his lips. "Ah, the Jackalkin''s back~! Hows the forging been?" The smell of sickly sweet vani drifted around the store, and I wrinkled my nose as Anput sighed. "Lorkai, must you smoke the shop up like this? Hah, anyways, I got some coin recently, as well as some Malum, so I need-" I lost interest in moments, instead focussing on the various weapons hanging on the walls around us; the technicalities and intricacies of Anput''s work, and Leone''s, had begun to fly over my head recently. The magic involved was interesting, but it was always paired withplex practices that had no use anywhere besides their respective fields, so I decided to leave those to them, while I continued to pursue my own interests. What I do know is that Anput left the store thirty Gold poorer, arge bag of materials slung over her back as we journeyed forwards, towards the much more interesting, and much better smelling herb gardens. Leone drifted between gardens, purchasing a stalk here, a bushel there, a petal here, a bundle there... It was much more time consuming with Leone, but each of us added ingredients for potions we wanted her to make. Anput wanted a muscle rxer that worked as she worked, keeping her body limber, while I wanted a potion that focused the mind and steadied my mana output, making enchanting easier. Jahi wanted stamina potions, and lots of them. Like, dozens of vials. We bought the ingredients for her, but the Vampire was also paid on top of that, just usually in another way instead of coin. For instance, Anput would relinquish her position as a top for the day to Leone in exchange for the potions, whilst I gave the Vampire whatever she wanted inside a singr hour timeframe for each potion. Leone had readily agreed to that, while the rest of us were quite happy with what we gave her for those potions. Having a resident Alchemist, Smith, and Enchanter was rather nice, and Jahi was slowly reaping the benefits from that, as we all gifted our wife various things when we were done working, and our professions fed into each others. I could enchant items for either of the women; a cap on how hot or cold a container could be for Leone, or a weight enchant for Anput. Leone could give us potions, while Anput could forge equipment for us. As for Jahi... Well, considering the woman''s golden eyes as we were grabbing groceries, it wasn''t hard to figure our where she fell into this equation. Her ''sweetness'' was rather addicting... Anyways, with each of us having finished our shopping, we were on our way home when we grabbed another paper, this one discussing the newest news not from Tragon or the West, but instead more local. There had been a string of murders inside the Capital recently, and the killer had been found and detained, but oddly enough they don''t remember killing anyone, despite being found with the murder weapon and being arrested next to the most recent victim. That person had been... Not someone we knew, but it was rather interesting, especially because they imed to have seen various people with green sashes before they would ck out, after which they were known to have killed someone. It didn''t take a genius to figure out that the Sariel''s and Kameiel''s were up to something, but for now themon people were dismissing that as the ramblings of a madman... After all, why would a murder have any ties to a Noble House, let alone a Duchy? Chapter 244 243: Efficient Solution (Extra) --- Doing this since today is going to be a long day for me, so I don''t think I''ll have the brainpower to make a new chapter; besides that, reminder that this is after the Marquess visits in the Capital, meaning Jahi just got her ass beat. --- Chordeva PoV Signing my name onest time on a paper, I found my wife ring at me, making me sigh. "What, Ria?" The Elf wasying on our bed, her nightgown barely clinging to her lithe body, and I groaned as I caught sight of her bare breast. She had demanded I do this paperwork, and now the bitch was tempting me! Dousing the rising mes of desire, I grabbed a new sheet and started reading it over, listening to Ria as she started speaking. "Did you need to act as you did? You hurt Jahi more than you attempted to fix her! She was still recovering from near death, Chordeva!" mming my pen down, I stared at her for a moment before growling out "What would you have done? Our daughter listens not to words; Katherine tried that approach, and failed miserably. Most likely, Leone and Anput tried as well, but our daughter didn''t listen. Instead, she moped about like she HAD lost Katherine, like... like some damn weakling!" I was still irritated from my daughters disy of weakness; not only did it disgust me that she would rather give up any thoughts of improvements... It pissed me off because she reminded me of me. Of how I had acted when I almost lost what I grew to love the most. It was something I hated; something I done, something so despicable that I still hate myself to this day. If I hadn''t done what I had done... If I hadn''t been so blessed by this woman before me, I would still be half-heartedly wing my way to bing a Knight of Cinder, to be the Marquess my father knew I could be, to be the mother I was today. Unlike Jahi, I had my slump when my father had been in the Labyrinthian, quelling the rising monster poption and doing his duty as one of the Empress'' Knights. I had no-one toe and beat some sense into me; no one I knew was capable. During that time at the Academy, I had outssed many a professor, and all my peers were below me. All of them, except Ria. The woman I had tried to push away the most. Staring at her, I watched as she red at me, before sighing, rubbing her temples. "Why the hells did she have to turn out like you..." I sighed as well, leaning back into the luxurious chair. "Well, let''s hope that, whenever the next onees along, they''re like you. I don''t think I want another mini me running around..." Ria chuckled, her sapphire eyes glowing with mirth as she said "Yeah, I think the Empire''d be doomed should that happen." Seeing my Elven wife smiling again, I mirrored her smile before turning to the papers before me, saying "Go to sleep, love... I''ll join you when I''m done..." Scribbling down some lines of runes, I heard her plop back into the bed, and eventually her breathing evened out. When she truly fell asleep, I got up quietly from the desk and approached her, gently kissing her cheek. "I... I don''t deserve you, Ria... I really don''t..." Biting my cheek, I blinked a few tears from my eyes as I stared down at her, making me chuckle as I turned away. "Damnit... to think I''d cry over that... Haha..." Myugh felt hollow as it left my lips, and I copsed into my chair, staring at the slumbering Elf. "Ria... I never deserved you. I still don''t think I do... I don''t think I ever will. But I''ll be doing my damn hardest to make sure that one day, in a year, a decade, a century, or a millennium, that you can look at me... and be proud that you endured what you did. That I made up for my mistakes a hundred fold. I really hope so..." Resting my face in my hands, I cast my thoughts back to that dance, that dance that changed everything. I had invited that Bunnykin to dance with me... after I bedded her, of course. Ria was rarely truly around, so I felt lonely; that little Elf that always pestered me would spend her time studying, which left me alone. I was always alone. Julie was usually with Ria or on her own, training and studying. However, I had no need; my grades in each ss were ster. There was little I didn''t know of our core material, and any ss that dealt with personal strenght... Well, I could control my professors mes when she constructed her sequences, and no one dared to cross des with me. In everyone else''s eyes, I was perfect. Except, I knew better. I was broken. My skills came from the harsh training I had as a child, and my knowledge came from when I was locked into the library, only to be let out when I was capable of passing the tests my father would verbally give me. This freedom was amazing! For the first few weeks. I was back to being alone; I was surrounded by people, by women, by liquor... But none of it mattered. So, I drowned in my lust, and the Bunnykin was just a new name to add to a sprawling list. I invited her to the dance on a whim; I didn''t know what I felt about Ria at that time. She was interesting and fun to y with, but was boring to talk to. Sure, she was beautiful, but every woman I bedded was beautiful. Ria just... had nothing going for her; not to me. When the dance rolled around, I knew I needed to be with Ria for that dance, but... I was allowed to do what I wanted, and I wanted to be surrounded again. So when I walked into the dance hall with that Bunnykin in my arms, I was surprised to find Ria standing alone in the center, everyone avoiding her. Staring at her for a moment, I noticed that something around her had... changed. She was no longer perfect. There was an anger and sorrow in her eyes, and a certain hollowness as well. She had been damaged. Broken. By me. That thought hurt more than I ever thought it would; I was content being broken. But I never wanted to break someone else, and least of all her. Feeling the Bunnykin in my arms, I realized how much of a terrible woman I had be. I was taking Ria''s heart everyday... And stomping on it. Thisst ''whim'' of mine? I had stomped and stomped away at an already fragile heart. Of course it would snap. My eyes roamed over Ria, quickly looking for signs of self harm. I... I don''t know what I would do if I saw any... What right did I have to attempt to heal her? Gulping, I took in her tight sapphire gown, the studded Aquamarine''s glimmering in the light of the hall. Her pale skin was unblemished, making me sigh in relief, before I noticed that she had approached me. Without me knowing, this Elf was now standing directly in front of me, and her hard sapphire eyes were staring up at me. "May I have a word?" Her voice was like ice, and I could see her eyes flickering to the bright azure of lightning. "Alone..?" The re she gave the Bunnykin was enough to make the woman tremble in my arms. Releasing her, I nodded, before following her as she led me away. Remaining silent, we both walked down the dim corridors of the Academy, and I shivered as I realized we were drawing near the training grounds. The same spot where I had insulted her the most... The spot where I had invited that woman to the ball before her. Walking to the center, Ria remained silent, her back facing me. Taking in her long golden locks, I licked my chapped lips as the silence drew on. I wanted to speak, to apologize, but... I didn''t know what to say. Nothing came to mind. "Chordeva..." I gulped; she had never spoken my name in that tone; I was so used to the whining, the infatuation, and joy she said my name with. Not this icy, uncaring tone. Turning, I froze as her azure eyes shone in the night, looking more like a predators'' than the prey I normally associated her with. "Let me ask you one question." I nodded, waiting. Taking in a deep breath, Ria asked "Are you serious about marrying me?" I opened my mouth, to say I was, before all my actions washed back over me. Could I really dere my intent to marry her, knowing how much damage I had inflicted on this poor woman? Was I deserving of he- "No, let me reiterate; will you be marrying me?" Her voice was still cold, and I gulped again, not knowing what to say. As the silence drew out, the Elf before me sighed, before her figure vanished. My eyes widened as I felt something behind me, and I brought my arm up, only to block a sword made from pure lightning with my forearm. Holding in the cry of pain as it pierced my flesh, I stared at Ria in mild awe and something else. Fear. No one had ever managed to surprise me like this. No one had ever managed to wound me besides my father. So how had..? My blood sizzled on her de, and there was a crazed light in Ria''s eyes as she said "Let me tell you how this is going to work!" Flickering again, she appeared before me, her dending a deep sh across my left leg. The lightning from her de seeped into my flesh, numbing my muscles and restricting my movements. I tried to counteract her lightning with my fire, to override her portion of the magic with my own, but I simply couldn''t. "You are either going to die here..." Appearing behind me again, I managed to stumble to the side, her sword slicing a thin gash on my side. "Or you are going to ept me as your wife. Your one, and only..." Dodging another sh, I shivered as her eyes emptiedpletely, forming a never ending void. "Wife; till death do us part. You will be mine, and mine alone. I will be yours, and yours alone. What is your answer, Chordeva Asmodia?" Bringing her sword up, she inflicted another few smaller wounds, only to make me realize... She had crippled me;pletely. I wasn''t able to move. Staring at her in surprise, I hissed in agony as her deid across my throat. For the first time since I had attended this Academy, I had met my match. "Will you marry me, Chordeva?" Her crazed eyes were boring down into mine, and I shivered. However... I was aroused. This was the woman I had been looking for. This was who I wanted to spend my life with. Strong. Confident. Takes what she wants... Ria was hitting all those boxes, and my desires to im her ran rampant. I was uncaring of the deadly de of lightning across my throat. My voice was raspy, but clear. "Yes... Ria Haniel, I will take you as my wife; my one, and only wife..." I watched as a potential killer turned red in an instant, and her de of lightning dissipated. Falling to her knees before me, she was crimson; her cheeks and ears were utterly red, and I leaned forwards and wrapped my arms around her, ignoring the pain that coursed through my system. "A-Are... A-Are y-you b-being serious..?!" She was trembling, and I felt like her lightning had returned; dozens of jolts ran around my body at her words, and I felt my heart wrench. I... I had done her so wrong. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed as I finished recalling that night, ncing over at Ria as she slept. Putting my pen down, I slid from my clothes, prepared to indulge my wife. It was the least I could do... --- Like I said before, I whole heartedly expect people to dislike Chordeva when she was younger; I low-key found myself hating her too. But with these chapters, I just sat down and wrote, and that was what came to me as I continued to write; and now, it ties in with passing that overthinking down to Jahi. Anyways, don''t hate mama inw too much now, cause she ain''t going anywhere. Date: 01/06/2023 --- Chapter 245 244: An Entire Day* Kat PoV Just like before, when we were done reading the paper Jahi pulled us onto her bed, our wife adamant that she needed to get this all out of her system before Nirinia showed up, which would signify the loss of our privacy as we moved towards the West for the foreseeable future. Therge Demoness made sure to pour her love as deep inside of us as she could, her pounding thrusts making each of us scream before another plugged our mouth with their own cocks, resulting in a semen stained bed and me being drenched in my lovers seed as we made love deep into the night. However, Jahi made it crystal clear that Anput and Leone would need to go and do whatever they wanted today and leave us alone, as Jahi nned on savoring everyst inch of my body as best she could during this day. Of course, the other two gave me a look that was mixed with envy and worry, as they both knew that they had yet to truly experience an ounce of the rough pleasure Jahi so desperately craved from us; she had been able to suppress her darker urges with quantity instead of quality. Small moments of whipping, spanking, or choking here and there, all whilst she emptied her balls each night inside each of us, the pleasure of dozens of deep creampies outweighing her need for her darker pleasure. Besides, the nights where we weren''t all having sex as a group were long gone; each and every night was spentying in an exhausted pile covered in ejacte of all kinds, each of us seeking a way to quell our lusts in a different way every night. With therge increase in stress wearing at the Demoness'' mind, Jahi needed to have some kind of true release; not a release in the sense of a thrilling quickie in an alleyway, or the release of multiple ejactions deep inside each of us, but something else... She needed me to y a certain role, to act a certain way... That was why I was currently trembling before her, the Demoness'' golden eyes fixated on myrge breasts as she raised the whip in her hand again. I sobbed in painful pleasure as she expertly whipped my left breast, the forked tongue leaving a bright red mark beside my nipple, which was hardened. "Come on~! Beg me for it you little slut~!" I shivered as Jahi smirked down at me, her bare skin shimmering in the dim light of the room as she raised the whip again. With a sharp crack it fell on my corbone this time, making me yelp as a scorching pain red throughout my body. Grinning at me, she watched as I lowered myself further onto the ground, my armsid on the ground and my forehead resting on the back of my hands. I was in a dogeza position, and the Demoness above me took in a sharp inhale, her pleasure in my submissiveness obvious with a nce. From the corner of my eyes I could see her giant cock throbbing in need as she stared at me, only for my mind to nk as I felt her whipnd on my back three times in rapid session, each one fueling another sob of agonizing pain. "Oh fuck~ You are such a good little bitch~! Get up!" With trembling muscles I attempted to raise myself off of the ground, only to scream as her whipnded on my back again, crossing one of the previous wounds. With tears streaming down my cheeks I stared up at my Mistress, who took another shuddering breath as her golden eyes glowed with lust. Letting out a low growl, she stalked forwards before pping my cheek with her cock, making me wince as her scent flooded my mind in mere moments. "Did you learn fromst time bitch?! Huh!?" She leaned down towards me, and I nodded, my tear stained cheeks spurring her on as she smirked. "Good... good... then show me what you learned..." Pursing my lips, I stared at her pulsating cock before hesitantly opening my mouth, taking her into my throat with reluctant ease. My Mistress almost purred above me as I took her entire length in, her hand petting my furry ears as she muttered "At least my little bitch can learn new tricks... ah fuck~!" Coiling my tongue around her shaft, I shivered as she lowered her other hand to my head, letting me know instantly that she wanted more. With a sadistic grin she began to swing her hips forwards, her plump balls pping against my chin with each thrust into my throat. Uncaring of my inability to breath, Mistress continued to fuck my throat relentlessly, her small gasps and grunts making me shiver as I realized she was growing closer to release. She had been abusing me for well over three hours now, and she herself had yet to cum; as for me, therge puddle below me was evidence of how many times this rough treatment made me cum. "Goddess above do I fucking love this~! Drink up slut! Your Mistress prepared a nice meal for you~!" pping her muscr thighs, I could only attempt to gulp down the gushing river of semen that was poured into my throat, trying to drink it all down before I drowned from my Mistress'' cum. Her golden eyes were narrowed with euphoric glee as she came inside my throat, before pulling out and spraying the remnants across my face. Gasping and coughing, I tried to keep all her sperm inside my mouth, not letting any drop onto the floor lest she punish me. "Good girl... I trained my bitch well haven''t I~? I trained her so well she should know what else I want, correct?" The dangerous gleam in her eyes made my cunt spasm, and I hastily nodded my head, sputtering "T-This lowly bitch w-will offer her holes to M-Mistress..." Saying so, I turned around and raised my ass for my Mistress, revealing my drenched pussy and fluffy tail. Giving me a grin, Mistress flicked her wrist forwards, making me yelp as she whipped my ample ass a few times. "Beg me for it... I want to hear you beg me to rape you..." I gulped, my eyes watery as I watched her cum coated cock harden again, while her lust filled eyes were fixed on my whipped cheeks. My ability to slip into a role was necessary here, and I even managed to convince my current mind that... "P-Please u-use this l-lowly pussy a-as much as you wish, M-Mistress..." My heart clenched as the Demoness grinned widely at me, her cock throbbing as she lowered herself to her knees behind me. Pressing her slick tip against my entrance, Mistress licked her lips as her hands began to grope my ass, pulling and kneading at the flesh with desire. "Fuck I want to coat this with my seed..." Her soft growl made me shiver, and for that I was whipped again, her growl reverberating around the dark room as she said "Sit still bitch..." Feeling her tip slip inside my cunt, I whimpered as she slowly reached deeper into my vagina, before her cock was stopped by my cervix. "Damnit, for such a well used slut, you really are fucking tight... Ah fuck~! Hey, tighten up some more bitch!" Her words were apanied by anothersh across my ass, and I screamed as shended another, and another. I squeezed my cunt as much as I could, my mind nking as pain robbed me of my thoughts. "Ah~! That''s better... good girl... Now..." Laying her whip to the side, Mistress grabbed each cheek in her hands and pushed herself deeper inside me, her cock breaking past my cervix andnding inside my womb. Letting out another scream, I was met with one of herrge, powerful hands mming against my ass as she began to thrust forwards, her thighs pping against mine. "Fuck yes~! Scream for me little puppy~! Scream as I fuck you~! Mmm~!" Her thick cock was pummeling my womb, and I gasped as each knock against my deepest, most sacred spot pushed the air from my lungs. Having something so thick and long inside me was making my vision go white, but the pain as my Mistress began to p the growing welts from her whipping made mee back down to reality. My screams of anguish echoed around the room, joined by the grunts and chuckles of my Mistress as she pleasured herself with my pussy. Her hands groped at my cheeks, before she slipped a finger into my ass, making me shiver. "If this hole is this tight, then what would this one feel like, hmm~? Should I find out, my little bitch? Do you want me to destroy this hole to, or should I satiate myself with impregnating your lowly womb~?" Her voice was raspy and demanding, and I shivered as I peeked over my shoulder at the towering Demoness, her golden eyes yful as she continued to m herself into my womb. "W-Whatever m-makes... Mistress h-happiest..." She licked her lips and leaned down, her eyes level with mine as she whispered "Truly? Whatever makes me happy~? What if I want to sow my seed inside this womb of yours before breaking you? Hmm~?" I trembled at that, and she smirked as she said "That''s what I''ll do then... I''ll get my bitch pregnant before ravishing her other two holes... I want you to walk around this city drenched in my scent... no one else should be able to even look at you without knowing that you are my personal little slut... my one and only cumdumpster... ohhh~" She shivered above me, and my Mistress grinned maniacally at me as she began to speed up, her hips mming into my plump ass as she whispered "Are you ready to get bred? Ready to give me a litter of little pups~? Hmm~?" I panted as her cock pounded away at my womb, my cunt shivering with orgasmic pleasure as it tried to milk her plump balls for another thick, jelly like load of her semen. However, when she didn''t get an answer... Grabbing my head, she snarled as she mmed me into the floor, her crazed eyes inches from mine as she draped herself over my entire body, her hips still swinging away with desperate need. "Answer me, you little slutty puppy... Tell me that you want me to breed you... TELL ME!" Her long fingers clenched my head, and I winced as the pain overwhelmed the pleasure for a moment... But only a moment... "P-Please M-Mistress..." Gasping, I pushed my ass out towards her hips, letting her cock reach deeper inside me as I moaned "B-Breed me~!" Seeing her go from angry to happy made me smile sloppily up at her, the woman chuckling as she whispered "I love this feeling, bitch... Seeing your broken, euphoric smile... ohhhhh~" Shivering again, she released my head as she returned her hand to my hips, getting to her feet as she began to pound her cock as deep as she possibly could into my womb. My moans were silenced when she did so, each thrust against my womb mming the air from my lungs as she did so, and I could only ept her greedy use of my cunt. "I''m cumming inside you... I''m cumming I''m cumming~! Fuck~! Get pregnant you little slut~!" Her roar filled the room, and I felt her balls convulse on my ass as she buried herself inside me, her tip spraying her delectable milk all over my womb. Grunting above me, she came inside my cunt and filled it to the brim, before her semen was pushed out by each thick rope that shot from her cock, resulting in a leakage of her white seed. Shaking slightly, she continued to pour more of her sperm into my womb, like she was trying to stain itpletely white. After a few more seconds, I was released and allowed to drop unceremoniously to the ground, my stomach bulging slightly with therge amount of semen filling my womb. As Iy there, panting, I could only listen as Mistress walked over to her whip and scooped it up, before the familiar crack entered my ears. Then the screams bounced throughout the house. Chapter 246 245: Finishing The Week I woke up feeling sore and bruised, each whip mark evidence of the strenuous night that my Mistress, Jahi, had put me through. Each whip mark felt wonderful as I groaned and sat up, the pain already sending me over the edge slightly as the fiery sensations rushed through my body. Laying beside me was the woman who had whipped me until I passed out, and her amethyst eyes were filled with pride, lust, and slight worry. Leaning into her chest, I cuddled against her muscr frame and almost purred as she began to stroke my ears, thefort she provided after such a long, vigorous session soothing my true aches and pains. Wey sprawled out in ourrge bed for around an hour, enjoying one another''s warmth and affections as we embraced, though Jahi very quickly turned that innocent embrace into something more as she quelled her increasing lust. When we finally finished our very heated morning, I healed all of my pleasurable wounds before Jahi and I slipped back out into the main room, where an anxious and intrigued Leone sat. From out back we could hear the hammering of metal, signifying Anput''s forging, whilst the smell of freshly prepared oatmeal wafted around the kitchen, where a few dirty dishes and utensilsy scattered about. Nodding to Leone, I slipped into a chair and sighed, rolling out the phantom aches in my shoulders before digging into the fresh oatmeal, Jahi sitting down beside me and scarfing down the breakfast. Looking between us, the Vampire blushed slightly as she hesitantly asked "W-Wasst night... good?" Licking her lips, Jahi chuckled as she nodded, her eyes flickering gold for a brief moment as she said "Oh, it was delectable..." Slipping her hand onto my thigh, Jahi gave them a tight squeeze before grinning at Leone, her eyes now fully gold as she asked "Why, are you interested in it, Princess~? Interested to know what your oh so dazzling and shining Knight requires for true satisfaction~?" Leone shivered at Jahi''s teasing yet seductive voice, and she tentatively nodded, making Jahi purse her lips as she too shivered, but for a different reason. Feeling my Mistress heat up beside me, I rolled my eyes as I pinched her waist, making her flinch as I muttered "Remember, training." Jahi widened her eyes before sighing, giving me a short, quick nod as she smirked at Leone, saying "Sorry Princess, but that''ll have to wait tillter~! Come on then... finish eating, then we begin our training." Each of us nodded, resuming our breakfast before getting up. Leone and Jahi went to go change into the proper attire, whilst I cleaned everything up before relieving thest urges from my Mistress, wiping off my lips as we walked out into the yard. There, we were greeted with the sight of Anput forging a long, silvery shaft, the edge of which was a curved de. From what I remembered of Anput''s impromptu history and weapon lectures, what my Jackalkin mate was forging was a scythe. Not a typical, curved harvesting scythe that the Reapers of folklore wielded, nor the scythes that farmers still use today. No, this is a proper, tried and true War Scythe; it looks almost exactly like a spear, but instead of a straight de, it has a curved de, much like a scimitar. However, while the weapon she was forging was incredibly beautiful, all three of our attentions were fixated on the smith herself. Her olive skin was slick with sweat, which only made her lithe, yet pronounced muscles stand out even more, looking like canyons and valleys around her body. The red bandana that held her raven ck hair out of the wayplimented her dark skin, whilst her serious, focused obsidian eyes were rather dashing. Glimmering, sweaty skin over a muscr frame, a beautiful, serious face, and a fluffy tail that swished slightly behind her back created the perfect, picturesque scene before us. Settling her hammer down on the anvil, Anput panted as she wiped the sweat from her brow, ncing up at us with a tired smile as she said "That... was harder... then I expected..." Stepping forwards, I caught her shoulder as she stumbled to the side, sighing at her obvious exhaustion and mental strain. Summoning a sphere of cool water, I forced Anput to take a few sips as I helped nurse her back to normal, my healing magic reducing her strains and aches swiftly. When she was back to peak form, we watched as she put her War Scythe off to the side, where a spattering of other weapons hung on racks, revealing her progress and dedication to her craft. Though, before we could get a good look at her weapons, she tossed a thick sheet over the racks, concealing them from sight. Giving us a wry chuckle whilst scratching her cheek, Anput looked away as she shyly muttered "T-They''re not ready yet..." Raising a brow, I gave her a side look before shrugging, leading her over towards the others. Scooping up a wooden training weapon, we began our normal drills and loosened our muscles out, before switching over to a more strenuous round of exercises and spars. When that was over, we then went inside and had a light bite to eat before changing into our adventuring gear, strapping on our armor, pouches, and weapons as we prepared to head on down to Zhu''Rong Caverns. With such a tight deadline, we wanted to make arge amount of money so we could buy a few high quality potions or enchanted items each, making each of us feel a little safer going to a potential warfront. Of course, during these ventures down into the perilous Zhu''Rong Caverns, we had a few run ins with either a tough monster or some bad, idiotic adventurers. Each delve into the Cavernsted me arge amount of experience points, so I was now Level 28 and a half... And I had realized that, with each mortal killed, that I was slowly slipping into a dangerous, yet addictive mindset. They were worth SO~ much experience, and they pissed me off... Each of the people we ran into seemed to think that they could overpower and have their way with us, which made me extremely angry. They lusted after Jahi?! Leone?! Anput?! Who the hell did they think they were?! So I had no problems sinking my daggers deep into their flesh, twisting and slicing with my des until they screamed and pleaded for mercy. When I did grant their wishes of being killed, I got a euphoric rush as I watched arge amount of experience slip into my Levels, the Quests and normal expereince adding onto one another to create a gigantic, incredible number. My status had improved as well over these intense, harsh training regimen filled days, and I was proud of my advancements; proud that I was able to be of use to my wives. [Level 28 - 434,908 / 1,000,000 Stats: STR - 54 CON - 48 AGI - 58 DEX - 58 CHA - 60 WIS - 58 INT - 58] With that, my physical capabilities increased by a good amount; if before I could easily lift around 200 pounds, I was now capable of around 300. As for my magical capabilities, my spells were easilypleted, quickly cast, and rather potent now. The control I had increased by arge amount, whilst the damage each could do was increased as well. A simple high pressured water bullet before used to crack a boulder just slightly, but now... Now I was consistently sting off a small chunk of the boulder, sometimes even managing to crack off arge portion of the boulder a few times. Thatrge increase in power was nice to have, especially when we began to hunt around the Gate of Hades often enough. Each delve into the Cavern alsoted each of us arge amount of coin, and we were beginning to learn how easy it was to make money as an Adventurer... As long as you had the strength to reliably andfortably hunt monsters. That was what we did each day, and during those days we all improved our skills by a good amount. I continued to enchant what I could, staring with a spare set of armor to see if I could get reliable and sturdy protective enchantments. Until they could withstand a sh from my First Fang, I wouldn''t feelfortable with what I had; that was the bare minimum I wanted for each of us to be wearing. Besides that, I also continued to map out my tattoo ns, staring with adding the tattoo''s for my Wind and Ice runes, keeping them around my first Water tattoo. However, I was still drafting up theplex runes I needed to etch into my arm, so for now I still had my fair white skin to look at... As for the others, Anput had forged Leone a basic shorter sword, keeping it light and broad. In return, Leone brewed up a few potent focus potions for the Jackalkin, while she also began to refine her brewing process to get each of us a few healing potions. Finally, Jahi continued to improve her martial and magical skills on her own, perfecting her technique with her great sword whilst also drafting up quite a few strong Light Spells for offensive use and support use. With that, ourst peaceful week inside the Capital came to a close, and now... Standing before us was the harbinger of our next trial. Nirinia, the Orc-Djinn Squire, future Knight of Cinder, was at our door. Chapter 247 246: Nirinia Radhi Standing at the door was a towering woman around Jahi''s height, her grayish green skin shining in the light of the early morning as she smirked at all of us. Sharp eyebrows nested over a pair of hawkish eyes, while her slightly pointed nose added to the air of arrogance surrounding her as she almost stared down at us, like she was superior. Her thin lips were pulled into a prideful smirk that revealed her pearly white teeth, and the woman chuckled as she licked her lips slightly. Raking her pale green gaze over each of us, Nirinia nodded slightly to herself, making her ornamented hair jingle slightly. Contrasting her pale green eyes was a long mane of reddish ck hair, various silver and gold rings and sps holding parts of her hair into tight ropes, while various gemstones studded therger pieces of jewelry. That mane cascaded down to her borate suit of mixed armor, which was made from a ck metal with red undertones, which matched her hair perfectly, hardened ck leather, and some embedded gemstones. Onerge pauldron sat on her left shoulder, the rim rising above her shoulder anding far enough up to act as a shield for her face. Sitting on her right shoulder was a thin b of that ck leather, shaped to her muscr arm,pletely opposite of her left shoulder. Covering her torso was a sheet of metal, beaten into her shape and emzoned with the alchemical symbol for ash, rubies and onyx entuating the seven edges of the borate ''E'' symbol. Slung over her shoulder was a handle for an erged Dadao, the thick de slowly widening out at the tip, providing a long, sharp edge of slicing, whilst the cleaver point for the de still allowed for easy piercing and stabbing. Poking out from behind her neck was the rounded edge of a shield, but since she was facing us I couldn''t get a good look at it. A crimson cloth covered some of her torso as well, and I could see runes shimmering on the thick cloth, denoting its enchanted nature. A pair of sleek metal gauntlets adorned her hands and forearms, the etched runes glimmering with power and shimmering as she moved. Going lower, her thighs were protected by a long battle skirt, with interlocking strips of that dark metal forming a strong protectiveyer over the crimson cloth. Hanging from a thick ck belt was a lower half face mask, carved into the snarling lips of a demon, with long metallic fangs pushing out of the masks jaw. Draped along the rest of the belt were various pouches and small daggers, giving the woman multiple weapons. Finally, tall boots covered her feet and calves, the ck leather finishing up her armored form. "Yo~" Her tone was jovial and friendly on the surface, but the mixture of lust and boredom in her green eyes spoke differently. "Been awhile since I saw you, Bluey~" Hearing the childish, joking tone of the Djinn-Orc before us, Anput, Leone and I all narrowed our eyes at her, which made Nirinia''s smirk widen. As for Jahi, she rolled her eyes as she said "Sadly I don''t remember you..." That made the muscr Djinn chuckle, though her eyes hardened slightly as she responded "Well, shall we reacquaint ourselves outback then? Oh, and do let me get to know each of these flowers that bloom besides you~" That made Jahi''s eye flicker gold, which prompted another chuckle from Nirinia as she gestured towards the door, asking if she coulde in. Nodding stiffly, Jahi stepped aside, though the three of us remained put, staring hard at the woman. Again her smirk grew in size, and a flicker of want entered her green iris''s as she added "And these flowers even have thorns too~! However..." Leaning forwards, the woman''s smile grew twisted as she whispered "That makes plucking them all the more delightful..." Before any of us could react to her statement, a pale blue fist flew towards the Djinn''s unguarded jaw, aiming to knock her down a few pegs. However, before it could connect, a blur of dark metal caught Jahi''s fist, a solid smacking sound echoing around a stunned house as Nirinia grinned widely at the Demoness. Clicking her tongue in mock disappointment, Nirinia tilted her head slightly to the side, her ck red hair shifting around her shoulders as she spoke, her voice once again at odds with her eyes. A small ember of anger grew in those hawkish eyes, and her joking voice chased away the silence. "Nuh uh~ Not so fast there Bluey~!" Clenching her fist slightly, Nirinia made Jahi wince as her bones were constricted, which made the woman smirk as she said "Let''s go outback... my job here isn''t to coddle an overgrown brat." Releasing Jahi''s fist, Nirinia marched past the Demoness and slipped into our home, ignoring the rest of us as she made her way towards the yard behind the cottage. Stalking behind her, Anput, Leone and I exchanged nces with one another before casting a slightly worried gaze at Jahi, who was scowling slightly. Pushing open the door, Nirinia strode to the center of the field and stretched, audible cracks and popsing from her body as she loosened herself up. Grabbing a wooden training sword, Jahi approached the Djinn, who raised a brow at the Demoness as she mockingly asked "Are you actually a child? You train with wood and not steel? Ha!" ring at the Djinn, Jahi tossed the wooden de away and gestured to Anput, who hurriedly entered the house to retrieve Jahi''s sword. Seeing that she had thankfully grabbed the replica de, I sighed slightly in relief; my first impression of Nirinia wasn''t great, but she was still the Marquess'' Squire and an important woman, so we couldn''t kill her. Yet, anyways... As Jahi grabbed her sword from Anput, Nirinia retrieved her own weapons from her back, therge Dadao looking light as a feather in her hands as she spun it around, before she strapped her metal shield to her arm. Unlike her armor, which was all a subdued, darker color palette, her sword was a bright gold with green ents, the de itself shining in the light as she spun it. Her shield did remain a ck and red addition, making her Dadao stand out that much more as it left glittering arcs in the air around her. Lifting her Dadao, Nirinia finally assumed a serious expression as she leveled her de at Jahi, her voice just as serious as she said "Nirinia Radhi of the Radhi n." Mirroring Nirinia, Jahi let her de tap against the Djinn''s as she responded with an equal resolve, her voice filling the clearing as she spoke her own name. "Jahi Asmodia of House Asmodia." Taking a few steps back from one another, they readied themselves as they stared one another down, before Nirinia asked "Maid girl; count down from three. On go, we begin this duel of ours..." Nodding, I stepped forwards and nced between the two fighters, and upon seeing them ready I stared my countdown. "Three... Two... One... Go!" On go, they both shot forwards with incredible speed, their swords a blur as they nged against one another in the opening strike of this duel. Retreating a few paces, I began to observe the two blurs with great interest, realizing that what I was seeing wasn''t going to be something I''d see anytime soon. The two were almost too fast to follow, but I could make out most of the details. Jahi''s style was more of brutish power aided by a surprisingly sharp finesse, her wide sweeping arcs and quick strikes leaving little to defend or attack. And yet, Nirinia was just... With a small smile, the grayish green skinned Djinn was redirecting Jahi''s attacks with ease, using that momentum tounch ripostes that snaked towards vital areas. She targeted the standard areas like the heart, jugr, underarms, head, and other organs, but she also targeted things like tendons, mainly of the wrist, knee, and ankle, looking to put the opponent out of the fight. Besides that, she also generally targeted the thighs and forearms to make fighting harder for the other party, meaning... We all winced as a thin cut appeared on Jahi''s forearm, the cut beginning to bleed quickly as she continued to move around at high speeds. Grinning at the Demoness, Nirinia continued to toy with Jahi, leaving cut after cut on her pale blue skin. Whenever Jahi attempted tond a blow of her own on the Djinn, her sword was stopped by the woman''s shield or Dadao, rendering this fight into not a duel, but something else. A one sided beatdown. --- And so begins our next ''arc'', hope you enjoy it~! Besides that, finally back at my own home, but I got sick on vacation, so my uploads might still be infrequent until this weekend most likely. If you read my other stuff, that''s why everything will still be every other day or longer... Sadly. Anyways, I''m looking forwards to getting this next arc underway, since it''ll be a huge change of pace and direction of my normal stuff. An example will be this; lemons will be more infrequent, whilstbat will take the spotlight. Some fights will be drawn out for either growth reasons or due to importance, while others might be rather short and not so detailed due to them being unimportant. Can''t wait to get to it~! When I''m not sick lol~ --- Chapter 248 247: New Regimen Gasping slightly, Jahi dropped to her knees, her pale blue skin crisscrossed with dozens of shallow cuts, making her look more like a true hellish Demoness then the seductive charmer we had alle to love. Standing in front of her was an arrogant, yet extremely skillful Djinn woman, her cocky smile and prideful pale green eyes igniting a small ember of hatred inside each of our hearts. "That wasn''t too bad there Bluey~! Seems like the Marquess managed to whip at least some semnce of a technique into you. Though, you have a piss poor execution of her style..." Rubbing her jaw, the Djinn stared down at the panting Demoness, her eyes narrowed as she muttered "Hmm, that might work... though..." Sighing, Nirinia frowned as she asked "Have you killed someone before Bluey?" Snarling slightly, Jahi staggered to her feet as she red at the Djinn, her golden eyes shining with hate as she spat out a raspy "Yes..." Nodding, Nirinia nced at the sword grasped in Jahi''s clenched hands, making the woman nod some more. "Well, at least you''re not some talentless, trash second generation ying at being something that the Marquess is... You really do have the same kind of talent as her; maybe even more. Problem is, you hold yourself back slightly... for some reason or another..." Shrugging, Nirinia sheathed her de and hung her shield on her back again, turning her jade like eyes towards us, her serious expression swiftly transforming into a lust filled one as she licked her lips. "Heya flowers~! Say, what do you think about spending a night with me instead hmm~? Or maybe you''d like to be one of my personal flowers~?" Anput snarled in disgust, whilst Leone narrowed her crimson eyes, which shimmered with a dangerous light. As for me, I felt the same disgust and anger as they did, but I remained as stoic as I possibly could, mainly because... Nirinia barely ducked under a heavy handed punch, a pale blue hand gliding just past her cheek. ncing over her shoulder, Nirinia''s frivolous attitude retreated as her seriousness returned, her eyes locked on the golden eyes of Jahi. "If you even think of touching a hair on their heads..." Stepping closer to the now crouched Djinn, Jahi brought her face down to Nirinia''s as she growled out "I''ll fucking tear you limb from limb and deliver your corpse to my parents..." The Djinn finally had a small trace of fear flicker in her normally cocky eyes as Jahi finished her threat, making even me shiver at the fate she would give Nirinia. "And let Ka''Hondi feast on your blood and bones. Are we clear?" Keeping her eyes locked on Nirinia''s, Jahi only backed away when the Djinn gave a small nod, making the Demoness stand up and approach us, her eyes still a liquid gold. Nirinia shivered as she too got to her feet, licking her lips not in lust, but in fear this time. To let Ka''Hondi devour her body, at the very least a fresh corpse, would transform the woman from a mortal soul, free to pass and drift away to the afterlife, into something we had grown far too ustomed too... Something that we had taken for granted and forgotten... A Banshee, the lurking guardians and former hated enemies of House Asmodia. Trapping their souls into a suit of unfeeling armor for all of eternity, forced to serve House Asmodia until they either perish, are set free, or Ka''Hondi releases their magics. A fate worse than death, and one that would make any afraid; it would be far worse then that void that I once inhabited years ago... So, Nirinia bit her lip before nodding again, her tone slightly respectful as she said "It seems you really are the Marquess'' child after all, Lady Jahi." Gone was the joviality and free spirited Djinn from moments prior, and in her ce was what I had expected of a Knight''s Squire. A serious, respectful, talented woman who aspires to be somethingrger than she could imagine; a woman who would upy a position that many dream of, few can hope to achieve, and even fewer reach. A Knight of Cinder, one of the Empress'' hand selected warriors with such skill and martial prowess that they could be considered rulers of their own countries, should they wish. Peering back over her shoulder, Jahi stared at the Djinn for a moment before nodding, the deathly constricting aura around her body finally dissipating slightly as she turned her gaze back towards us. Seeing her eyes flicker back to their normal amethyst, we all let out a small sigh of relief as she gave us each a swift tap on the cheek, a warm and gentle smile on her face. "Now, when did Mom wish for us to leave for the Western Kingdoms? Should we begin packing now or..?" The Demoness'' tone was back to being neutral, which made the Djinn rx a little more as she rubbed her jaw, ncing upwards for a moment as she contemted her orders. "The Marquess wishes for me to deliver you to the warfront in a few days time; apparently Romagi has received more supplies and soldiers from the other Kingdoms, Queendoms, Nations, and more thaty further west, and the Romagi King has officially dered war on the Empire. As such, we have a few days before the Marquess wishes for you to our Western Border, where we will all join up with the Empress'' Legion to defend our home. Since we have a few days..." Looking at each of us, the woman narrowed her jade eyes as she said "I''m going to whip you into as best of a shape I can before we reach the border. Personally, I like my head where it''s at, so nothing can happen to any of you. Therefore..." Pausing, she pursed her lips before smiling slightly, her previous cocky attitude returning as she finished. "A new training regimen starts from here on out! Combat drills with proper weapons mainly, but I''ll also take you all down to the Caverns to see how you work as a team. Now, let''s go inside first; I need to get an idea of what to beat into each of you..." Nodding at Jahi, Nirinia strode towards the door before gesturing inside, holding it open for each of us. Sitting down at the table, everyone epted the tea Iid before them as Nirinia began asking questions. "Begum Sera, you fight with..?" Taking a sip of the orange mint tea, Anput shed me a small smile before turning towards Nirinia, a faint hint of anger still lurking in those deep obsidian eyes of hers. "Anything really, but I prefer a longsword. Besides that, I have a decent grasp of my Earth and Metal Magic, but my Fire iscking slightly." Nodding, Nirinia then turned to Leone, asking "Princess Presa-Ash, you are a mage, correct? With an almost Arch Mage level amount of mana capacity and purity?" Narrowing her eyes at the Squire, Leone remained silent for a moment, her regal aura cascading around her as a serious, noble expression appeared on her features. Nirinia shifted in her seat slightly at this sudden shift, surprise very briefly bing evident on her face before she awaited Leone''s answer. "I do indeed have Arch Mage level magics, though I would definitely ce myself above that..." The surprise returned to Nirinia''s face as Leone pulled her cor down slightly, letting the Djinn see the magical tattoo that adorned her cleavage. Not a hint of lust appeared in the Djinn''s eyes as she stared at the tattoo with awe, an almost reverent tone in her voice as she asked "I-Is that the Empress''..?" Giving Nirinia a swift nod, Leone released her cor as she spoke. "It is indeed, and you should know what it means." Leaning back into her chair, the Djinn pinched the bridge of her nose as she muttered "Aye, I do. An insane mastery over your element in exchange for a fraction of your life, but..." Gesturing at the Vampire''s stark white skin and ashen hair, which sparked with embers, the woman sighed again as she said "Even half of your life would amount to millennia easily..." We all gazed at Leone with wide eyes, not knowing that the tattoo she had given herself so early on was something that serious. Just like that, the regal and respectable aura that surrounded our royal lover dropped, returning her to her normal shy and easily embarrassed expression as she shifted around under our eyes. Jahi was surprised and also angry, not enjoying the idea that Leone had sacrificed some of her life for a ''mere'' spell, and that anger threatened to spread to me through our bond. As for Anput, she was simply surprised, though respect also graced her gaze, the Jackalkin finding it admirable that Leone would risk herself for more power. After all, we all knew the reason she did so. Letting out a sigh, Nirinia turned back to Jahi and said "I know what you have; your really are just a younger version of the Marquess, though with more finesse and less brute force. Honestly, fighting against her is more akin to facing a force of nature rather than a woman." Jahi smirked slightly at that, though Nirinia raised a brow as she said "And respectfully, that doesn''t mean to getcent, Lady Jahi. Just because you are ''good'' doesn''t mean you can rx. The Marquess doesn''t want ''good'' or ''great'', she wants-" "Perfection. I know." The Demoness clenched her fist for a moment, a mixture of worry, anxiety, annoyance, and anger seeping into me, before it was washed away by confidence and assurance. Fixing her with a hard stare, I gave her a small nod as Nirinia asked "So then, little Maid, what oh what am I meant to do with you?" There was a slight dismissiveness in her tone as she spoke to me, and I could tell that she wasn''t truly interested in training me. Before the others could speak, I said "A little of this, a little of that... I dabble in daggers and the arcane with simr results, Lady Radhi." Resting her chin on her hand, the Djinn stared at me as she asked "That magic of yours; Ice, correct? You''re the little Maid that made a small uproar around the Empire a few years back correct?" Seeing me nod, Nirinia pursed her lips as she said "Well, I''m sure you''ll benefit from the training as well, but-" Raising my hands, I gave her a small smile as I said "Oh, please don''t concern yourself with me Lady Radhi! Focus instead on Lady Asmodia and her two fiancees!" The other three frowned slightly at my words, before sighing as I added "I''ll be able to keep up as best I can on my own, trust me!" With another nod, Nirinia gazed at me for a few more moments before a grin appeared on her lips. "Well, how about something to eat before we begin, hmm~? This''ll be a rather..." Leaning forwards, the Djinn gave off a frightening aura as her grin widened, looking more and more sadistic with each passing second. "Intense training session..." Chapter 249 248: Hellish Training I prepared a veritable feast for us, which consisted of thick, juicy steaks,rge bowls of freshly prepared greens, a smaller bowl of thin noodles drizzled with a wine sauce, and a few loaves of fluffy bread, which made Nirinia stare at me in awe. "Holy hells..." ncing around the foodden table with wide eyes, the Djinn took in the various delectable dishes, bottles of wine, and perfect presentation with a lick of her lips, the woman almost drooling at the sight. Grabbing her fork, Nirinia took a bite of the sd first, before going on to explore the other dishes with gusto, all while the others began to dig in as well, used to theserge, varied meals of mine. Making sure everyone had everything, I had just sat down beside Jahi when Nirinia, who was also beside me, turned and grabbed my hand, her jade eyes fixed on mine as she asked something. "Please marry me." The utter seriousness in her tone caught me off guard, and the table fell silent, except for the coughing Leone as she grew flustered at the question. Letting out a low sigh, Jahi was about to speak when I smiled at the serious Djinn. "While I am ttered that you would want a Maid like myself to be your partner, I regret to inform you that I am tied to House Asmodia, and more specifically..." "Me. She''s my Maid, Nirinia. And no, I''m not letting her go anywhere. Not ever." The Djinn looked at Jahi with a small frown, before sighing as she released my hand, a slightly despondent look in her eyes as she muttered "Damn, that sucks... you are perfect wife material too..." Jahi squeezed my thigh when she heard that, and I could tell that tonight would be rather demanding as well; the Demoness beside me wasn''t pleased that someone had desired me, so she nned on reminding me that I belonged entirely to her. Not that I ever nned on leaving her either; thisrge bumbling blue Demoness was the first of my three loves, and I had grown addicted to her presence. Though, both as a goad to Jahi, and due to curiosity, I asked "Lady Radhi, what did you mean by..?" Feeling Jahi''s hand clench my thigh again, I held back a smirk as I watched the Djinn turn towards me, her frown and serious eyes meeting mine as she responded with a deted tone. "Well, you can cook, the house is incredibly clean and tidy, you''re gorgeous, you have a nice rack, you''re a Beastkin... you just check each and every box that people usually look for in a wife... hah..." Sighing, she turned back towards her te and resumed eating, and for a moment I raised a brow at her, before letting her honesty brush past me. The others were hiding res for Nirinia as she spoke, but afterwards those res were fixed on me, which made me shiver. Oh, tonight would be wonderful, wouldn''t it~? ~~~ Tonight was not wonderful. Nirinia hadn''t been lying when she said that these training sessions would be intense. We were forced to spar one another with real des, which left us cut and bleeding after each bout. Whoever lost the spar would need to go through a dozen reps of Nirinia''s regimen, which was rolling one of the boulders around the yard, pull ups, lifting the boulder... Just... Hellish stuff. As for the winner, well... I preferred losing. The winner would then face Nirinia in a spar, and each time I went against her I was reminded of my time with the Marquess. Utterly outssed, toyed with, shown that I was weak... It angered me greatly, being yed with like that, but there wasn''t anything I could do. Nirinia was just on an entirely different level then I was, and even when I began to give it my all she simply brushed it aside and squashed it. Each of us copsed and passed out multiple times from exhaustion and blood loss, but Nirinia had a few dozen high grade healing pills that she would diffuse into some water, which would heal our bodies. As for our minds, each of us was so utterly drained that by the fifth hour, we were practically zombies on our feet. When that happened, Nirinia spurred us on by having us do basic excercises, which would continue for another few hours before we were granted rest. Before we fell asleep though, Nirinia passed each of us another pill diffused cup of water, one that would make the next six hours of sleep feel like a days worth instead, getting us back to our mental peaks. After we passed out, Nirinia left the cottage to do her own thing, and when we woke in the morning the moansing from Anput''s bedroom, now Nirinia''s, let us know what she had been doing. When I had finished preparing breakfast for us, we all watched as three buxom Beastkin stumbled from Nirinia''s room, each one sporting a red face and reeking of sex. The Djinn herself seemed more refreshed then ever as she sent her prey away, each one blushing furiously when the tall muscr Squire blew them a kiss as they left. She just smirked at us when we stared at her, before she sat down and began to eat. As soon as we were done we returned to the yard, each of us stiffening as we saw arger boulder now resting outback, almost double the size of our previous one. With that Nirinia began to train us again, though this time she stared with our magic first. ? She was a Wind user, but she wasn''t as talented in her arcane prowess as she was in her martial, so her pointers were more so in us checking with one another on our thoughts, before we would go through an exercise that would result in us using a majority of our mana, to empty our cores and allow them to slowly refill back up. That was apparently supposed to help increase the size of the core, which would increase your mana capacity and even purify your mana a little bit as well, increasing your spells potency. Of course, doing so had its consequences, and the main one that we were noticing was exhaustion. Not that Nirinia cared, as she began our sparring drills again, making us go through the hell of yesterday all over again. Our day went the same way as the previous one, with us utterly exhausted while Nirinia went out to prowl the streets of the Capital, hunting for her next few women to bed. Our third day was spent inside Zhu''Rong Caverns instead, with the Squire following a distance behind us as we began a hunt of our own. The Djinn had given us a ''shopping list'' of monsters we needed to kill before the day was up, or she would make us go through the night training. With such a threat looming behind us, we delved deep into the Caverns, staring our hunt past the Lava Lake, where we needed to defeat three Skeletal Drakes. This was a test of our ability to work as a group, so we ced ourselves in the most beneficial spot we could before fighting therge Skeletal Drakes. Leone was in the back, I remained in front of her, while Anput and Jahi took the vanguard, giving us a decent formation. I was able to either aid the two frontliners by using my daggers or my spells, and I was still in a position to protect Leone from any attacks as well. With Leone''s explosive magic, Jahi''s raw power, Anput''s excellent hit and run tactics, and my ability to fill in any gaps, we were able to easily bag each of the three Skeletal Drakes. When we went towards the Gate of Hades, we were to hunt more of those Spartoi, as well as a few Ash Quetzalcoatls, the long, spindly flying serpents proving to be rather challenging as they swooped down to try and spew mes at us or use their three rows of sharpened fangs to rend our flesh asunder. The monsters on the verge of Unending Gehenna were rather tough, and ording to Nirinia, this was the spot where the truly strong hunted. The average level of the people venturing into and out of this section of the Caverns were all mid Gold Tags, meaning they were tried and true veterans, with eitherrge individual strenght or incredible teamwork. Nirinia told us that, while she would have liked to improve our rank up to Gold, we simply didn''t have the time, nor was it needed. She estimated that each of us individually were around the Gold Tag level, with Jahi and Leone approaching tinum. The Djinn did seem surprised when she watched my role inside our excursions, as well as surprise for the daggers I wielded, the woman asking me about my skills in enchanting. We spent the next day doing a mixture of delving inside the Caverns and training on the surface, before Nirinia gave us the night to rest and rx. The fruits of such a spartan like training were evident, especially when I was given numerical values to disy my progress. [Level 29 - 10,203 / 1,000,000] [Stats: STR - 58 CON - 60 AGI - 61 DEX - 59 CHA - 62 WIS - 60 INT - 60] Besides that increase in stats, I had also been honing my technique as best I could with both my dual wielding dagger fighting style as well as my arcane prowess, resulting in another leap in control over my mind and body. That night, Jahi eagerly, and desperately, devoured each of us until the sun threatened to rise over the horizon, our moans joining the new prey that Nirinia had found overnight. Each of us knew that, starting tomorrow, we were going to have fewer and fewer chances to make love on the warfront. --- This is something someone suggested a few days ago, but would people be interested in me having lemons between Chordeva, Ria, and Julie? Kind of an extra chapter to go alongside whatever happening here, and it''ll still let everyone enjoy a nice lemon every so often~! --- Chapter 250 249: Journey West; Back Home --- Damn, y''all got me thinking about Chordeva, Ria, and Julie a lot more now lol... So this''ll be ~half Kat''s group, ~half Julie''s group. --- After yet another well prepared breakfast, we stepped outside with our gear packed away, each of us holding our own bags as we approached the carriage out front. Each of us packed only the things we would need, which amounted to our weapons, armor, some drab, practical clothing, potions, and some small knickknacks to upy our minds during time away from the fighting. Leone had debated on whether or not she should bring down her alchemy set, but we all convinced her to not bother with it, and Nirinia said that there were a few sets inside the base camp, where she could help the healers prepare potions for the wounded. As for Anput, she told us that she could still take care of any major damage that urred to our weapons, so long as she could get ess to some simr metals from the weapons dropped by the enemy. Yeah, that wasn''t a surprise; there were no rules inside warfare besides the most obvious few. Don''t target civilians, though from everything I''ve heard it sounds like that''s just there to make people feel better about wars, since most countries ignore that and demolish entiremunities to weaken the enemy. No alchemical weaponry, or the world begins to target you for such a hazardous attack; this one was followed, as it would instantly push your allies away and open up reasons for neutral countries to target you, causing your entire country to fall. Finally, the people like the Empress, her wives, Duchess ki, the Sultana, and those on that level of insane magical and physical prowess are not allowed to participate in the wars, lest the other countries also send out people of that level, which would be akin to nuking the entirety of the battlefield. They are simply too strong and too destructive to warrant sending out for each fight, though this is a rule that the Empire could whole heartedly ignore if they wished, but the Empress was the one who suggested it, letting the other countries have some semnce of hope. Thought when the Empire has people like the Marquess, who the Empress has ssified as ''just under her'' in terms of power, this rule of hers was little more than a feel good rule for the world, since the Empire was still the pinnacle powerhouse. These rules were told to us by Nirinia, and she seemed to not care for any of them, but she also exined why they were created. As such, that was when I learned this world had no ''conventions'' to follow, as the prowess of a single country here far outssed my previous one. Especially the Empire. Anyways, we boarded the carriage and set out, the two Banshee''s that were our guards splitting up; one drove the carriage West, while the other remained back at our home, guarding it still. With that, we were on our way out of the Capital, depending down Sanctus Ignacia and making our way towards the West, where we would be forged and tempered in the fires of war. ~~~ Julie PoV Sighing, I nced around me for a moment, the sight confusing me for a moment. I had only just woken up, but a half dozen maids worked desperately around me to prepare everything for when I did awaken, each doing something to guarantee I could be up and about. Some were preparing my clothes, whilst others were readying the bath. This treatment was new and... It made me feel conflicted. Over thesest few years, I had grown too ustomed to my role as Chordeva''s and Ria''s Personal Maid, and yet here I was getting the same treatment I gave them. Though... Groaning, I sat up andid my hand on my bulging stomach, my mind still groggy and my body achy. Hearing that, the maids rushed to my side and began to fuss over me, helping me up and into the medicinal bath. Getting washed by them, dressed by them, and led out into the main hall by them was still weird, but the ability to rx whilst others did the work for me was soforting, especially considering... Well, I wasn''t incredibly far along in my pregnancy, but twins... It felt like hell currently; I looked six months in when it was only the third month, and my body was going haywire with the hybrid children growing inside me. I still don''t know if it''s just one hybrid or two, but either way, the strain on my body is quiterge, so I did indeed need to be fussed over at this point. Stumbling out into the main hall, I copsed onto the couch and smiled at the two nobles in front of me, both shifting instantly from their argumentative, serious expressions to gentle, warm, yet worried ones. The giant Demoness with sharp horns and deep ruby eyes got up from behind the desk, her incredible height and muscr frame making me feel protected as she sat beside me. Wrapping her hands around my own, she smiled down at me softly while her wife took the spot on my other side. An elegant, golden haired Elf with dazzling sapphire eyesid her wless pale hand on my stomach, a warmth spreading through me as a red glow shrouded my stomach. Chordeva and Ria, the two women I had been with for years now, who were now responsible for the two babies growing inside of me, were smiling at me with such warm eyes. "Did you sleep well, Julie?" Nodding, I leaned my head onto Chordeva''s shoulder as I nced over at Ria, asking "So? How are they?" The Elf grinned at me, her regal aura gone for a moment as she spoke, her voice filled with relief and excitement. "Good, good! Both are still growing wonderfully~! What about you, dear? Are the aches still there?" Sighing, I nodded, a wry smile on my face as I said "Two babies that aren''t entirely Beastkin growing inside me... that really does ce a stain on me, but the medicinal baths have been doing wonders... though, maybe tone down the Frostglow Lcs... makes everything too cold." Pursing her lips, Ria looked away as she began to think about anotherbination of alchemical ingredients for the bath. While she did that, Chordeva kissed my brow as she smiled at me, saying "Are you looking forwards to everything, Julie?" Raising a brow, I sighed as the schedule she had suggested a few days prior entered my mind. "Do I have to be given a Baroness Title before all of this? It can''t be after?" The Demoness chuckled softly at my unwilling tone, her ruby eyes softening as she shook her head. "Sadly not, love. You need to be granted a title sooner, rather thanter. Otherwise-" Sneering, I looked away as I growled "Fine! Fucking politics..." Letting out another chuckle, she stroked my cheek as I stared at therge amount of paperwork on their table, before I nced at Chordeva again. "What''s going on with Lady Jahi and Kat?" Chordeva''s smile stiffened for a moment, and she looked away when I narrowed my eyes at her. Ria answered instead, her hand joining Chordeva''s as she took a deep breath. "We... We sent Nirinia over to them at the Capital, and since they all passed each of their Finals... well, we decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to give Jahi some... real experience." I turned towards the Elf, my eyes still narrowed as I waited for more of an exnation; regrettably, my time has recently been spent being exhausted and bathing with medicines, so I was very out of touch with everything at the moment. Though... "Nirinia will take them, and protect them, over at the Western Border, where they will participate with the Empress'' Legion in defending our border from the Western Kingdoms..." My eyes widened as I heard that, before I bit my cheek to withhold another snarl. I had spent a long time with these two, and a good chunk of that time was before I had been spending time inside their bed, so I knew what they were like. Both had epted their roles as members of House Asmodia, with Chordeva improving the Houses'' positionpared to when her father was at the helm, and Ria being her trusted advisor and right hand. They had both also epted that Jahi would need to be moulded into the same kind of woman that they both were now, if not into something better. And my daughter was tied to Jahi. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I felt them both stroke my hands to try and calm me down as well, to cate some of the rage I felt at knowing my little girl was going to be out on a warfront. She was of an age that she should be able to take care of herself, and the woman by their side, Nirinia, was a prodigy at warfare, so she would be safe, but a mother''s instincts are always to keep their children away from any danger, so... After another few quiet moments, I managed to calm myself down enough to smile at them, though they both guiltily looked away from me. "You still have work to do, no? Don''t mind me, I''ll just lounge here and read..." They nodded, gently getting up and returning to their work while a maid brought me a book. We would talk throughout the day, each one asking questions based on whatever article they were currently reading, resulting in various discussions and debates. The entire thing was rather boring, but being around each other made it bearable, and like always, when we finished up and ate, I enjoyed the tender administrations of the two women, before we all fell asleep in a warm pile. Chapter 251 250: Arriving At The Warfront Kat Pov The ride inside the carriage was long and boring, and most of our time was spent either asleep, thinking, or very rarely talking. Carriages in this world travel rather fast, almost the same speed as cars sometimes, reaching upwards of 70 or 80 miles per hour. That was mainly due to the ability of enchanted materials, stronger materials, and much stronger, magical animals, like the Dark Regal Mares that Nirinia owned, which wererger, sturdier ck horses. They looked identical to a horse, thought the main difference was these horses were well over seven feet at the shoulder, and had fangs instead of mrs horses normally have. Because of that, we managed to cross hundreds upon hundreds of miles in just under a day, but it was still so dull and boring. I spent my own time thinking, letting my mind wander around possibilities and ns for when we reached the warfront, while also taking part in some conversations when I was asked questions, like... "So Katherine, would you consider yourself an Enchantress?" Nirinia was using this time to get to know each of us more personally, so that she could better utilize our skills when we did reach the encampment of the Empress'' Legion. Pursing my lips slightly, I nced down at the three daggers that were concealed around my body; my First Fang and Protective Fang were on my belt, but they blended into the folds and creases of my maid dress. As for the Breeze Fang, it was strapped to left calf, where I could easily reach it should I need it. Looking back up at the grayish green skinned woman, I shrugged my shoulders as I said "I dabble in enchanting, yes, but I wouldn''t go as far as to im to be an Enchantress. I can weave the arcane decently enough, but not to the level that I believe I could make a name for myself from it." That made Nirinia raise a brow, her eyes flickering down towards my waist where Protective Fang hung. "Really? From what I''ve seen of those daggers of yours, you could open up a shop and enchant for the Silver Tag adventurers, maybe even approach some lower ranked Nobility to do some work for them." Tilting my head, I asked "Is it really that impressive? Each enchantment is rather basic..." Letting out a low chuckle, the Djinn shook her head, the various gold and silver ornaments ttering as she did so. "That doesn''t really matter though, little Maid. You''ve made some decent spells and etched them onto items, and the ease of use for said spells would be worth a good amount of coin. For instance, that shield spell on your broad dagger; not many people think to make a defensive enchantment on a weapon, so that makes it a rarity. The market for such a de is surprisinglyrge, but no one goes out of their way to enchant items like that; the process of revising multiple forme getting a perfect spell to enchant a weapon with takes time and effort, which could be better used on just mass producing things the enchanters already know. So, if I had to wager a guess, that dagger of yours would be around three or four Gold coins. If you were to provide the service to Nobility, that could jump to double or triple that price, thought you would need to study the materials you are cing the enchantment on to guarantee you don''t damage the weapon..." I nodded, my eyes returning to the Protective Fang. I had an idea that it was a good enchantment, and definitely worth some good coin, but I didn''t think it''d be more then a Gold or two. Which made me wonder what some of the other ideas I had would be worth... "So, I was thinking, if you wanted to of course, could you enchant something for me?" Her wry smile made me raise a brow, and I stared at the proffered dagger for a moment before asking "What exactly did you want on this?" Spinning the long, needle like de around in her hands, Nirinia pursed her lips as she stared down at the dagger as well, before she began to bnce it by its point on her fingertip. "You have a wind spell that could increase the piercing and speed? I need this for more... precise attacks." Nodding, I was about to grab the de from her when I stopped, a small smile spreading on my lips as I asked "You are paying for my services, correct?" Leaning forwards, the Djinn stared me in the eyes for a moment before chuckling, her voice low and silky as she muttered "Usually I don''t pay for a woman, but in your case~..." cing the dagger in my hands, she opened a pouch and tossed me five Golden coins, making me nk out for a moment before swiftly pocketing the money. The others were watching this exchange with a variety of emotions, though the main ones were exasperation and mild annoyance, though they did allow me to go about my work as I began enchanting the de. As I did so, I was thankful for a way to pass the time, as formting the spell to be as streamlined as possible was time consuming, thought the enchanting bit took a few minutes at best. Whilst I worked, we slowly traversed the countryside of the Empire, going through Duchies and Baronies alike, each one home to a beautiful, incredible view. The others also discussed what we would be doing when we arrived; Nirinia told us that we would be part of her miniature strike force, which would be attached to either a normal hit squad or part of the main army, depending on what we were facing at that moment. Besides that, if we wished to, and we passed Nirinia''s own personal evaluation, we could take part in the counterattack and push into the Western Kingdoms to try and quell this war before it could truly start. Each of us were filled with mild trepidation at that thought, not knowing just how strong a soldier in this enemy army might be. Would we be almost out of our depths here? Or were we ready for such a conflict to unfold? Was our current level of strength enough for this blood soaked war we would find ourselves in? All four of us had our own fears, our own worries, but all four of us all knew that the other three had our backs, that should one of us slip up, the other three would help pull them back up and get them ready again. It was with those thoughts in mind that we felt ready to step out of the carriage when we arrived at the Empire''s Western Border, our carriage surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of tents and tens of thousands of soldiers. The border itself was located beyond a set of mountains, so looming behind us were towered spikes of snow capped peaks, while before usid a cleared out forest, the only signs of the previous lush environment being the stumps. The ground was scorched, the air filled with the stench of blood, ash, and smoke, whilst the sky wasden with gloomy grey storm clouds, threatening to drench the fields in a deluge of rain. Around two and a half thousand feet away from us was a giant encampment to rival the one we were in now, the only difference being the amalgamation of colorspared to our cks and reds. The giant expansive field in between us was sloped just slightly in our favor due to the mountains looming behind us, so we held a minute advantage. When we exited our carriage, the surrounding soldiers fell silent, each one staring at us in awe and confusion. They were made up of all races and sexes, each one looking every bit a grizzled veteran used to fighting; they all sported the same ck metal brigandine and crimson surcoat, thought they all did have various weapons, each wielding a non standard issue weapon. Spears, swords, axes, katanas, maces, hammers, staves, clubs... I could already feel Anput''s excitement skyrocketing as we exited the carriage. Stepping foot onto the soft dirt ground, we each looked around before turning towards Nirinia, who was searching the camp for something or someone. "Ah! Come on, follow me." Gesturing at us, she began to walk deeper into the camp, before shouting "Touch my carriage and I''ll tear you apart~!" With that little warning done, we traveled deep into thebyrinthine encampment, searching for whatever Nirinia was looking for. Every tent we passed was filled with soldiers lounging around, be it ying games, chatting, sleeping, making out, or caring for their weapons. Quite a few tents were rather... busy as well, and Nirinia seemed to take interest in those tents before continuing further in, towards where a gigantic g was hoisted into the air. The same ''E'' symbol that was emzoned on her chest was stitched onto that g, and when we finally reached it we found argemand tent. Guarding the entrance were two soldiers armored in full metal te armor, while they wielded giant halberds, which they crossed over the entrance p as Nirinia approached. ""Halt!"" They shouted in unison, which made Nirinia roll her eyes. "Surely you haven''t forgotten me already Gerina, Kakaos?" The two still held their halberds across the p, not saying a word to that. They looked stiffly forwards, unmoving and unresponsive as Nirinia stared at them. "Really? I have to speak to Adelina, so just-" ""No."" Raising a brow, Nirinia looked between them again before sighing, stepping forwards anyways. "Hey, Adelina! Come on ou-" Whilst she was shouting, the two guards stepped forwards to try and quite her, but Nirinia continued to shout. We all frowned as we looked between one another, wondering what was happening, before we all jumped back as someone burst through the tent p as a golden blur. Something crashed in front of us, and we all stared down at a prone Nirinia in shock, the Djinn coughing slightly as she rose to her feet. "Really Adelina... f-for fucks sake..." Whilst she stood back up to her full height, I turned my gaze towards the golden blur, which turned out to be... Well, obviously, a woman. A long mane of fluffy golden hair grew around her head, while two brown fluffy, rounded ears sprouted from her skull. Her sharp golden eyes were narrowed as she red at Nirinia, and her sharpened canine teeth gleamed in the light. Draped in a golden mantled cape, the woman wore bright green metal armor with golden ents, while a shining gold hilted sword was in her hands. She panted slightly as she looked up at Nirinia, her long, sleek tail topped off by a bulb of light brown fur. "Don''t you dare speak my name again, you..! YOU..!" Gritting her fangs, the woman''s eyes were aze with fury as she clenched the hill of her sword, almost like she was preparing to strike. Nirinia let out a sigh, and... Chapter 252 251: Adelina Leonisa "Don''t you dare speak my again, you..! YOU..!" Gritting her fanged teeth, Adelina clenched the hilt of her golden sword as she red down at Nirinia, who let out a sigh as she rose to her feet. Dusting off her armor, the Djinn cracked her neck slightly as she stared directly at Adelina, the golden woman now needing to look upwards at therger, darker woman. "Adelina-" Nirinia fell silent as Adelina''s sword found itselfying across her neck, the keen edge pressed against her exposed skin as the Lioness growled "I SAID don''t speak my name. Not ever again, Nirinia..." Her golden eyes were hard as she red at Nirinia, who simply nodded before gently pushing the sword away from her throat, watching Adelina slowly step back and sheath her longsword. "Commander Leonisa." With a sharp, curt nod, Commander Leonisa pivoted away and approached her tent, brushing past the two armored guards, both of whom flinched as their Commander passed them. Letting out a low chuckle, Nirinia scratched her cheek as she turned towards us, a small smile on her lips as she said "Come on... hopefully she''s calmed down a bit with that free hit of hers..." The Djinn let out another sigh as she moved to enter the tent, smiling slightly at the guards as they gave her stiff nods. Exchanging confused looks, we all shrugged as we followed behind her, not needing to be genius'' to understand what just happened. With Nirinia''s personality, most likely this Adelina Leonisa was a previous lover that thought they were exclusive, but caught her ''girlfriend'' with another woman... Or seven. Though, who knows; it could be something different, but that''s the most likely situation. Slipping into the tent, we were greeted with a rather luxurious sight for a warfront; long, fluffy rugsid on top of raised wooden tforms, arge bed was off in one corner, whilst a giant tableden with maps and scrolls sat in the middle. Currently, the only person in the tent was Adelina Leonisa, who was resting in arge chair as she sharpened a dagger, her eyes fixed on Nirinia as she took a look at the table. Eventually, as we entered, Commander Leonisa nced at us, her eyes scrutinizing us before she rose to her feet, staring straight at Leone. Sheathing the dagger, the woman brought her fist to her chest and bowed slightly, her voice respectful as she said "Adelina Leonisa at your service, Princess Leone Presa-Ash! Do forgive me or my... prior outburst." Letting out a soft chuckle, Leone nodded as she waved her hand, saying "Oh, it''s not a big deal, Commander Leonisa~! I do understand a little on how you feel with Nirinia..." Rolling her eyes, the Djinn leaned against the table as she watched the Lioness stand back up, her eyes holding respect for the Vampire besides us, before she looked towards Jahi and Anput next. "It''s a pleasure, Lady Jahi Asmodia, Begum Anput Sera." Jahi and Anput both nodded to the woman, before she turned towards me, her eyes inquisitive as she stared at me for a few moments. Grabbing the edges of my maid dress, I curtsied the woman as I spoke respectfully. "Katherine Zara, Personal Maid of Lady Asmodia and her fiancee''s." Giving me a quick nod, Adelina turned back to Leone, a confused look on her face as she asked "Aren''t you all still in the Academy? Why are you here? Ah, if I may be so bold, Princess?" Covering her lips, Leone chuckled as she nodded, but before she could speak Nirinia said "The Marquess wants to have them forged in the fires of war, Commander. They passed their finals, so here they are." The Commander sneered as she nced at Nirinia, growling "I didn''t ask you, Nirinia." "Well, doesn''t really matter now does it? They''ll be under my jurisdiction whilst we''re here, and since I AM a Squire to a Knight of Cinder, I do believe that I have just as much authority as you, no~?" Giving the Lioness a teasing smile, Nirinia nced at us as she continued on speaking. "We''ll find a ce to set up camp before attaching ourselves to some random unit for now, but I did want you four to meet the Commander of this Legion since, should I be needed elsewhere, your protection will fall to her. You''ll always be able to find her anyways; look for the heavily armored guards or the g, and you''ll find her nearby..." Clicking her tongue, Adelina also turned towards us as she added "If the Marquess was the one to send you, then I can find somewhere to let you test yourselves. However, I will be assigning a member or two of the Ashen Guard to make sure nothing happens to you whilst you''re under my banner." Adelina red at Nirinia, making it clear that that was not under discussion; it was a fact that the Djinn would need to deal with. Sighing, Nirinia nodded as she got off of the table, stretching out her shoulders and arms before gesturing to the entrance, saying "Well, we''re going to go set up our tents, so we''ll be out of your hair now~! Bye~!" Waving goodbye to Adelina, Nirinia swiftly exited the tent, followed by the rest of us as we each nodded or bowed to the Commander, who was staring at the tent p with a conflicted gaze. Returning to our carriage, Nirinia growled softly as she began to unpack the carriage, searching for the tents. "Sooo..." Helping her ruffle through the bags, Jahi smirked over at the Djinn, who rolled her eyes as she spat "Really Bluey?" ring at Jahi from the corner of her eye, Nirinia sighed as Jahi continued to smirk at her, only to stumble backwards as she caught the tent that Nirinia tossed at her chest. "Fine, you wanna know so badly? Pitch my tent as well, you overgrown child... By the Goddess above..." Sitting in the carriage''s door, Nirinia watched as we all began to set up both tents, working swiftly as we figured out how to get them to stand up before utilizing magic to keep them up and clean. "Hah... so, Adelina Leonisa. Knew her since we were both kids, both had the same dreams, but..." Stroking the ''E'' on her chest, Nirinia chuckled derisively as she said "One of us seeded, the other didn''t. I just had more talent for individualbat, but Adelina was... she was a tactician too. Good with a de, good with her magic, but incredible with strategy. She was devastated when she didn''t pass the test that Lady Fenyras set up, but the Empress'' wife gave Adelina a new path, one that would suit her better. I''m sure you all know, but a Knight of Cinder is just a fancy way to say the Empress'' executioners; we''re her strongest warriors, and each is assigned tasks by her and only her. We answer to no one besides her; not the Council, not each other. We''re self serving the rest of the time, so we can get... unruly. Anyways, I passed the test, and the Marquess took me on as her Squire. Adelina failed, but Lady Fenyras suggested she continue on at the Academy, before getting her an apprenticeship with Commander Gaius, the previous Commander of the Ashen Legion. With that, we went our separate ways, both training to be something better. When we eventually reunited, years had passed. I had... well, obviously we had changed, but I had, to her, be a new person. She swears I changed a lot, but I feel the same. Still want to be a Knight, still want to perfect my techniques. When we reunited I had gotten a taste of having women throwing themselves at me, but Adelina was always a prim and proper woman, so she was slightly disgusted by my actions, but..." Scratching her cheek, Nirinia sighed as she leaned against the door, and we all nced at one another, awaiting her next words. "She confessed. I was caught off guard, but I decided ''Fuck it, why not? Let''s see where it goes.'' It didn''t go well. She wanted me to court her, to butter her up before proposing, then get married and settle down. I told her that wasn''t what I was looking for, that I wanted someone to be by my side as a partner in all senses of the word, but that was too ''unrefined'' for her. Our differing upbringings shed; we were both Noble Children, but an Orc n is vastly different from a typical Noble Family, so our differences began to grow and grow. So I broke up with her. We were both too damn strong headed to change, and I was getting frustrated. She continued to spit on the values I had and was raised by, and I respected hers, but wanted concessions. Marriage doesn''t scare me, nor do children, but I won''t change myself for them. The amount of women aiming to be my wife is a list longer then most books, so I have choices. Do I regret being as honest as I was with her when I ended things? Sometimes. It does pain me to see her like that, but... it''s both of our faults, not just mine. Yet, she doesn''t seem to want to ept that." Jahi pursed her lips as she stared at Nirinia, who was looking down at her opened palms with a nostalgic gaze. However, a momentter she pped, startling us as she stood up, a grin on her face. Her quick switch to a new mood spoke volumes to me, and I gazed at her overly happy expression for a moment before shaking my head. She wasn''t my Mistress, nor my friend, so I wasn''t going to dive in that can of worms willingly... "The past is the past~! Anyways,e on, let''s get something to eat then spar. I want to make sure you all are up to scratch~!" --- Curious, does everyone like me doing exposition via stories? I can exin things whilst also exining other, current happenings that way, but would you all prefer if I just dedicated arge portion of some chapters to ''What is a Knight of Cinder'' or ''Who is Adelina Leonisa'' in a lecture like style? --- Chapter 253 252: Putting On A Show Setting up the small camp around the carriage didn''t take to long, and we did so under the curious eyes of the dozens of soldiers around us, each one wondering what we were doing here and who we were. Many instantly managed to put two and two together as they saw Jahi; the blue Demoness was rather famous due to her mom, the Marquess, and the golden horns didn''t make it easy for her to try and im to be someone else. When the soldiers realized that the Asmodia Heir was with them, they also looked towards the four women around her, quickly discovering each of our identities from gossip and spection. Leone was an easy one for any high born or influential people, and many were stunned that a Princess was on the front lines alongside them, believing that the Royal Family would prefer to remain up in their luxurious, calm pce instead. Anput took them a few moments, but quite a few knew about Jahi and her fiancees, so they realized that this was the Begum of the Sultanate, which made them curious about what she would be like since they were all from the Empire. They also learned of Nirinia from those that had been near the Command tent, so many of the soldiers were gathering around to observe this future Knight of Cinder, many in awe of her as they stared at something so far above them. Then there was me; I could hear a few asking what Noble''s Daughter I was, if I was single, how they''d like to bed me... It was to be expected, but I could see each of the women around me growing more and more irate as eachment entered their perked ears. Of course, Nirinia found that rather amusing, but she could only shake her head as Jahi gestured for me to enter her tent. Making sure everything was set up properly, Anput and I worked together to make our temporary living quarters more livable andfortable, with the Jackalkin hardening the soft earth below us into a smooth, solid b of rock, before I draped it with a thick nket and some pillows. The tent was arge size,rge enough to fit all of usfortably, so I began to unpack everything the girls needed before being dragged down by Jahi, the Demoness'' frustrations flowing inside me. After I did my best to swiftly help each of them, I followed them outside when Nirinia called for us, only to groan as I saw her readying arge space. More soldiers had gathered around the area, watching on in curiosity as Nirinia practiced with herrge Dadao. Seeing us reemerge, Nirinia smirked as she gave us a knowing wink, before gesturing to the field around her. "Come on then~! Let''s continue your training, hmm?" Each of us groaned as she grinned at us, but we all grabbed our weapons and prepared to endure another hellish session with Nirinia. Though, she gave me a swift shake of her head, making me sheath my de and return to the tent, where I would watch on from the side. "Alright Bluey, you first~!" Spinning her Dadao in her hands, Nirinia smiled smugly at an annoyed Jahi, who unsheathed herrge great sword and stepped forwards. Tapping des again, they nodded to one another before flickering forwards, eliciting a gasp from the crowd as the sh of metal sounded around us. Pulling out a thin book, I took up a pen and began scribbling down Ritual Circles, a few thoughts drifting around my mind as I watched. Since I didn''t need to worry about participating, I focused my efforts elsewhere, enjoying this break and relieved that I had more time to devote to my arcane studies. Nirinia understood that I preferred to remain hidden, and she had also deemed my magic a little more important then my dagger skills at the moment, telling me to focus more on my arcane skillset then my martial skillset. As such, my training shifted from purely physical to mental, and the woman demanded I ink up a fewrge scale spells for the battle toe, ones that I could use without alerting friends and foes alike. The reason that Leone remained on the field at the moment was simple as well; Nirinia wanted to send out a message to the soldiers, one that told them the Nobles weren''t going to be treated differently than they would. Of course, that was a lie, but the soldiers would believe that Jahi, Anput, and Leone would be treated the same as they would be, which would inspire some confidence in them, as well as quell any envious, darker feelings inside the soldiers. So everyone watched on in awe as Nirinia and Jahi shed, each woman smirking at the other as they exchanged a flurry of blows. Our few days of training had yielded arge bounty for each of us, and that shone in this spar right here. Before, none of us could truly follow what Nirinia was doing, but now I could clearly see her twist her wrist slightly, resulting in her Dadao guiding Jahi''s blow to the side, only for her to punch forwards with the rim of her shield. Days ago Jahi would be coughing on the ground, the air knocked from her lungs as she desperately gulped in breath after breath, but now she managed to dodge the jab, even going for a counter attack. Releasing a hand from her sword, Jahi grabbed Nirinia''s arm and dragged her forwards, sending the Djinn off bnce before ramming her head forwards, head butting the Djinn. Except, Nirinia was still rtively unfazed, ignoring the small cut on her brow as she yanked her arm away and pushed Jahi back, using the moment to raise her Dadao and flick it forwards, scoring a cut across Jahi''s side. A cut that, if she had been fighting for real, would have impaled the Demoness'' side and pulled her intestines out. Sighing, Jahi pursed her lips as she retreated towards the tent, the battered and cut up Demoness ncing down at my scribble filled notebook as I spun the pen around. "Kat..?" Jumping slightly, I nced at her for a moment before letting out a small chuckle, my hand instantly shining with a deep blue light as I healed her up, making her let out a relieved sigh. We both watched as Anput went up next, the Jackalkin weaving around Nirinia''s swift stabs and punches before attempting to retaliate with a dozen rapid slices, using the sharpened edge of her longsword to cut the Djinn''s grey green skin. After watching another few moments of that, I turned back to my notebook, tapping the pen on the paper as I frowned slightly, my mind whirring through dozens ofbinations. Jahi looked between Anput and I, her amethyst eyes searching through my own eyes as she asked "What are you working on?" Opening the book up some more, I showed her therge, three circle wide spell that I hade up with, a Wind and Water Ritual Circle ovepping to create an Ice Ritual Circle. "Perfecting a domain type spell... though, there''s this small hatchling of an idea floating around, but I just can''t grasp what exactly it is..." I sighed as I began to tap the page again, going over a few water enchantments to worm my way through my problem. This small idea had popped into my head, but I had no clue on where to start with it. Water spells are vast; typical mages can only control water, but some can control other liquids as well. They all have some form of liquidity to them, and one idea that popped into my head was a rather abundant liquid; a liquid that I had fallen in love with, a liquid that I couldn''t wait to see again. Blood. Could I create a set of spells to change my ''Water'' spells to spells that utilize blood? Could I manage to figure out how to control liquids besides water? If I could do so, I would unlock an entirely new, and insanely vast realm of arcane study. Vampiric enchantments to start, but what about Blood Magic in general? Is that a possibility? The leap from water to blood though is quite vast, as water is ''stagnant'' in the fact that it holds small amounts of mana, whereas blood is a saturated liquid, filled with a vastlyrger amount of manapared to water. It is a question of control, ofpatibility, and concentration. To be able to control something so oversaturated with mana is a nigh impossible task, and the amount ofpatibility one would need to the Water element was reaching the same levels as Leone''s control on Fire... Wait. Looking up, I stared at the Vampire above me, the ashen haired woman watching Anput''s spar with wide eyes. She IS a Vampire, so maybe there''s some hidden magic she and her mother have? Or maybe her race would give her a ''hidden attunement'' to blood, since they need to feast on it to truly sustain themselves? Frowning, I was about to call out to the woman when someone shouted "The Western Army is marching! Arm yourselves!" Nirinia froze, before she sheathed her de and grinned at us, ignoring the various soldiers that scrambled around us. "Come on girls! Time to whet your appetite a little~!" Chapter 254 253: First Skirmish "The Western Army is marching! Arm yourselves!" All the soldiers around us began to rush back towards their own tents, going to grab their weapons and armor before filtering westward, where they would group up and prepare to meet the enemy. As for us, we all entered our tent and began to strap on our armor, all whilst Nirinia waited outside. Moving with a practiced ease, we all stared at one another for a brief moment, our eyes locking together as we took a collective deep breath before going to join the other soldiers. Nirinia looked each of us over, her serious face letting us know that she wasn''t taking chances with this first engagement of ours. As we jogged towards the gathering spot, Nirinia spoke to us, her voice cutting over the cacophony of preparing soldiers and other shouts. "This is most likely another prodding attack, something the Western Kingdoms need to do to get a feel for what our military power is like. The skirmish should be brief, but remember, all it takes is just a second to lose your life, so even if this fightsts naught but a few minutes, that''s enough to kill you a dozen times over. I know each of you has witnessed death before, and you''ve each killed before, but the brawls and fights between Adventurers simply cannotpare to what is about to happen. Hundreds upon hundreds of people are about to collide, and each is aiming to maim or kill their enemy. This is no training exercise, no one on one fight to the death. It''s war. Fight as a group, stick together, and you should make it out alive. Fight to your strengths, just like you hunted down in Zhu''Rong Caverns. Leone, Katherine, both of you focus on utilizing your magics, while Jahi and Anput protect you from the front. I''ll be watching over you all, and should you slip up, I''ll save you. Just... don''t get used to it. You won''t always have a safety like me around." Exchanging another nce, we all nodded towards the Djinn, who brought us towards the middle of therge, long line of soldiers being formed. In the center was Adelina, the golden woman standing on a raised tform as she looked around her assembled army. The sun shone down onto her green armor and golden cloak, while her unsheathed de gleamed brilliantly under the suns rays. Her serious expression as she looked down over the hundreds, if not thousands of soldiers made everyone shiver slightly. "The enemy marches today. They march towards our vast Empire in hopes of iming and conquering ournd, our home." Adelina Leonisa''s voice was heavy and booming as she shouted, her mana infused words reaching the ears of all her soldiers. "The Western Kingdoms face threats from the inside and levy their des towards outwards foes, raining curses and slights on us for their own failings, their own ipetence. The various countries further west fuel these idiots misced hatreds with more and more soldiers and weapons, all in the hopes of weakening our glorious Empire." Hushed murmurs spread amongst the troops, murmurs that Adelina ignored as she raised her longsword, the wless gold de catching everyones attention immediately, shushing them. "Will you let them bring harm to your home? Will you let down you families, your friends, your lovers?" Many shook their heads, whilst some shouted angrily towards the marching army. "No? Will you fight for this Empire, for yourrades, your livelihoods?" Everyone nodded, and more and more began to make noise, mming their weapons against other pieces of metal on their body. "Then let us show these Westerners the might of our indomitable Empire. Let us disy to them where their misguided anger led them. Show them what it means to be amongst the Ashen Legion! Tell them what it means!" Pointing her de at the approaching army, Adelina smirked as she shouted "Who are we?" Everyone else raised their des, and one booming shout echoed across the ins. "The Ashen Legion!" At that, a woman behind Adelina hefted the pole she was holding, letting the Legion''s banner unfurl, disying the Empire''s symbol. "What are we?" mming their weapons together, the soldiers shouted "The Empress'' wrath incarnate!" "What do we leave behind?" I nced around, my ears twitching slightly as the shout grew even louder. The soldiers around us were grinning like crazed animals, each one leaning forwards like dogs straining against their leashes as they screamed "Nothing but ash!" "Then go! Show this lowly army what it means to stand against the Empire!" Twisting her de, Adelina gave the signal for the various captains of the Legion, who raised their own weapons and started the charge. With thunderous steps, the Legion flew forwards like a bat out of hell, the various soldiers keeping pace behind their squad captains as they ran forwards. Adelina nodded to her small squad, each member wearing an ornate set of armor as she jumped from her tform. Striding forwards, the woman looked towards us, or more specifically Nirinia, and smirked, before gesturing towards the furthering Legion. "Aren''t you going to move?" Nirinia looked towards us, before smirking as she saw the green glow radiating from my hands. "Oh, I was going to let them all get riled up first~! Wouldn''t want to steal your thunder, now would I~? Come on girls~!" Activating the speed spell around us, I nodded to the others as we sprinted forwards, swiftly catching up to the rest of the Legion. Behind us, Adelina clicked her tongue before she led her squad forwards, each member using their mana to enhance their bodies past normal standards. Even in theirrge, clunky sets of armor, each managed to keep up with us as we sped through the Legion, reaching the ever shirking space between the two armies. The soldiers across from us were more of a ragtag mob of people then soldiers; they wore ragged surcoats over damaged or rusted chainmail shirts, and each held a battered sword in one hand while a wooden shield was strapped to their other arm. However, they were also roaring as they charged at us, very few of them noticing that the quality of equipment between them was vastly different. Giving one another a nod, we stopped a dozen feet from the charging wave and hunkered down, keeping ourselves tightly knit. Anput swiftly created a tform of a foot or two for Leone to stand on, giving her a wider field of view over the battlefield, whilst the Vampire began to weave together spells to fortify her position. Jahi wielded her sword with both hands, but a shimmering sphere epassed our immediate vicinity, and I could feel her Light seep into my bones. Standing with Leone''s tform to my back, I held my First Fang in my left and my Protective Fang in my right, using my pointer fingers to draw out the runes for my spells. With Jahi and Anput acting as a breakwater wall for the wave of enemies to crash against, I was able to beginyering support enchantments on them, enhancing their speeds, piercing power, healing them, and more. When I had gotten theplex cloaks casted on them, I turned my attention to the fighting around us, deciding to utilize precision spells to pick off problematic enemies. Soldiers around us screamed at one another, hurling vitriolic curses at their enemy as they attempted to kill each other. des rose and fell, each one finding purchase in someones flesh, eliciting a scream as steel tore into them. Blood sttered across the softened ground, joined swiftly by limbs or weapons, then bodies. The shing of weapons, shouts of valor or anger, and cries of pain joined together to create the cacophony of war around us. However, whilst many here flinched as they listened to their enemy sob as they fell to the ground, their chest sliced open, I had to hold back a grin. As the metallic scent of blood overpowered the air, I could feel my head begin to grow numb as I witnessed the war around me. I wanted to jump into it, to submerge myself into the carnal pleasure of rending limb from limb, slicing through the enemy as I slowly bled them out, to rip their organs from their bodies.... The desire to do so was eating away at me, but I had to hold back, to remain where I was. Gulping, I bit the inside of my cheek to steady my thinking, turning my thoughts to the forme required to cast each spells. Rune after rune appeared before me, and I began to utilizences of pressurized water, willing them to fly forwards into the rear of the enemy army, each one tearing through a persons body with frightening ease. Leone mirrored me, her spells washing down over the further enemies as she allowed Jahi and Anput to butcher the ones that closed in on us, all while our sides were bolstered by the soldiers of the Legion. My water and her fire rained down on the enemy, and the screams grew to a crescendo as they were torn apart or burnt alive, the booming of Leone''s explosive spells resounding over the battlefield. The enemy before us was little more then normal citizens, but for the moment, none of us cared. They were ''the enemy'', and as such, they needed to be killed. For our home to continue to stand, these pitiful peasants needed to be put down, and I had to do so with a restrained smile. --- Not terribly good with speeches it seems lol~ --- Chapter 255 254: Results Slinging another spear of water towards a roaring human man, I watched as the liquid tip pierced his chest with ease, tearing past his surcoat and chainmail like butter. Turning his heart to pulp, the spear skewered the man to a woman behind him, the two coughing out blood as the light slowly dimmed in their eyes. Watching it all unfold, I enjoyed the spray of crimson droplets as the spear burst inside their chests, the mana pulverizing their other internal organs with frightening ease before dissipating, leaving them to fall to the ground, lifeless. Laying in a pool of their own blood, the two nameless peasants of the Western Kingdom died just like that, little more than a brief afterthought for myself as I turned to the next enemy. That was what I didn''t want to be; I didn''t want to be a strong persons afterthought when they killed me. If I was to die inbat, I wanted that person to know that they killed ME, and I wanted to reach a level where, at the very least, I could guarantee take my killer with me. Fuck dying alone again; if I am to die, whoever had the gall to raise their de against me, to level their magic against me, had better crawl into hell alongside me. With that on my mind, I continued to sling spear after spear, all while Leone urately shot small spheres into the crowd, which exploded into a four foot sphere, turning everything in its radius into little more than a charred, burnt mess. As for Jahi and Anput, the two women were butchering the peasants that charged towards them, their des twirling around in beautiful arcs followed by a crimson spray. Blood soaked all of us, and the metallic stench permeated the air. A thick haze descended onto the battlefield, a result of Leone''s magic and mine, as well as the various other mages inside the Legion. Spells were hurled onto the rear of the enemy army, and we turned this deforested in into a ughterhouse, mountains of corpses forming around us as the Western Army threw themselves onto our des and into our spells. Nirinia stood just behind me, her half mask covering her lower face as she stared out over the carnage, her jade eyes fixed on Jahi and Anput. She was leaning against her Dadao, waiting for the need to jump into the fray, but we were going against raw numbers, not skill. The Demoness killed with a brutal disy, limbs and heads flying around her as her giant great sword spun around in glittering arcs, each slice and stab resulting in the maiming or death of an enemy. As for Anput, she spun around her area with an arrogant flourish, each movement followed closely by a gleaming sh as she waded through the enemies around her, dodging each attack with her lithe frame. The two women worked with efficiency, neither wasting a movement as they created a marsh of blood and piles of bodies around themselves. Seeing that, Nirinia chuckled slightly before her attention shifted towards Leone and I, the Djinn observing our swift movements as we traced out each spell with insane speed and uracy. Nodding to herself, Nirinia nced away, off towards where the fighting was at its thickest. Our small group had created a bastion in the midst of the sea of fighting, and while more and more soldiers threw themselves towards us, we never broke under any of the waves. The second focal point of this battlefield was centered around Adelina Leonisa and her squad, each member fighting with a grace that made them seem like they were dancing. With a two handed grip on her longsword, Adelina kept her movements to a minimum, flicking her de out in smaller slices and utilizing quick stabs to swiftly, and cleanly put down her foes. The Wolfkin banner-bearer behind her wielded a thick, heavy headed mace, which she spun around in wide arcs to bash in her opponents chests and skulls, all whilst hoisting the Legion''s banner up high, not letting any of the blood around her dirty its fabric. Next, a twin pair of helmeted men slipped around the field, their ck armor blending in with the shadows as they flickered about, their daggers and short swords severing limbs and piercing hearts and throats with lightning like quickness. Finally, a giant Minotaurkin roared, her giant axe cleaving through foes and bisecting them with each swing, showering blood and guts all around herself. Those five killed and killed, each one surrounded by piles of bodies as they bolstered their section of the line, inspiring and pushing the Legion to fight harder. Few of the soldiers in the Legion fell, each one expertly wielding their weapons and putting down their opponents, before moving on to the next. Compared to the peasants, each soldier mind as well have been a Knight, what with the ease they pushed the Western Army back. Only minutes had passed, but the death count had slowly inched into the thousands, and the amount of poorly armed foes decreased immensely with each passing second. When the fighting finally stopped, the entire Legion panted, looking between one another and searching for theirrades, hoping to find them alive and well. Most still kept their eyes on the enemy camp, but a silence descended onto the field, a silence that weighed heavily on many. Seeing, and hearing nothing else, many began to look at their foes for the first time, to find that who they were fighting weren''t soldiers, but conscripts, peasants. The normal citizenry of the Western Kingdoms. They had initiated a one sided ughter against amon people. Some hung their heads in shame, others teared up as the faces of their families ovepped with the dead. Most grit their teeth, anger and reluctance in their eyes as they realized that the Western Kingdom cared not for their citizens. As for me, I had to continue to hold back a grin, my mind slowly fracturing to something darker as I stared at the massacre around us. The haze had turned a bright red from the amount of blood in the air, and the stench of the dead began to waft around us, each corpse and puddle of delectable crimson growing heated from the sun. Burnt, charred flesh added to the hellish concoction, and many began to pull back, creating space between the charnel house-like field and themselves, some even covering their noses or puking. Adelina stood in the field, her squad around her as they surveyed both the battlefield and their troops. Giving them a nod, the squad swiftly dispersed, going to calm down and stabilize the moral of the soldiers. As for Adelina, she stalked over towards us, her eyes fixed on the lounging Nirinia, who was speaking quietly to Jahi. "Nirinia! Why weren''t you fighting?!" Peering over her shoulder, the Djinn looked down at the goldenmander and shrugged, saying "They were peasants; not worth the time or effort. Besides, I''m here to make sure they get experience, not help in the campaign." The Lioness growled at her, before taking a deep breath and looking around us, her golden eyes widening slightly as she took in the sheer carnage around us. Leone stepped off her tform, her lips pursed as she too took in the sight, before she let out a low, despondent sigh. Anput flicked the blood off her de before sheathing it, her eyes focused instead on us as she searched for injuries. Jahi also cleaned off her sword, strapping it onto her back before crossing her muscr forearms, her amethyst eyes calm, not belying the fact that she had just been part of this ratherrge battle. As for me, I was taking deep, even breaths as I focused my mind on each girl, before switching my attention to the system. [Quests Complete! Aid each Mistress (3) - 10,000Xp (Completed; Awarded 24,734Xp) Utilize Water Magic - 2,500Xp (Completed; Awarded 2,500Xp) Utilize Wind Magic - 2,500Xp (Completed; Awarded 986Xp) Utilize Ice Magic - 2,500Xp (Failed; No Penalty) Utilize Daggers - 2,500Xp (Completed; Awarded 122Xp) --- Humans Killed - 201 (Awarded 34,500Xp) --- Total - 62,842Xp] I stared at the screen with a disbelieving gaze, not knowing how to feel. The ''human'' part of me was sick; I had killed 201 people? Those 201 people had families, lovers, friends that would never get to see them again, people that would mourn their death. But... 62,842Xp is arge number for such easy work! Thats 6% of an entire level! That line of thinking swiftly earned me a warning. [That''s a slippery slope there Kat... People aren''t just numbers.] Hearing the familiar voice of the system, I nodded slightly, but... ''I know that, believe me, I do, but... they weren''t just people. They were enemies. I don''t doubt that they had grand ambitions of what they would do IF they managed to win this fight. Besides, didn''t they scream so beautifully as they died?! Numbers can''t do that...'' [Kat...] A tiny grin sprouted on my lips, and I nced down at the dead around me, my heart fluttering in my chest. ''Only cattle can make such wonderful noises~!'' Chapter 256 255: Downtime Staring at the empty enemy encampment across from us, I frowned slightly as I watched the tents go up in me, the small squads that were sent to investigate it burning it to the ground as they made their way back. Everyone in the Legion had piled the corpses of the Western Army intorge piles, before our Earth Mages created vast pits to push them into. Afterwards, a Fire Mage would set the corpses alight, removing the chance that, at night, they would rise again as Undead, attacking us once more. It was a brutally gory scene, but I worked alongside the others with a stoic face, uncaring of the actions I was taking. My little revtion earlier made this a good exercise, and I didn''t mind doing the work at all. Anput and Jahi also worked with a rather cold efficiency, but Leone was the one who worried me the most. The Vampire was paler then normal as she watched us work, her eyes fixed on the slowly filling pit of corpses that she would need to cremate. I would asionally nce at her, checking to make sure she was both alright and not doing something stupid, and each time I was relieved to see that she was slowly growing limated to the sight. Of course, just because I had a twisted, demented outlook on our actions didn''t mean I was heartless enough to view her empathy in a negative light. Quite the opposite, actually. I found that facet of her to be rather admirable, the fact that she could care this deeply about people she didn''t know speaking volumes of her ''humanity'', and I knew that, during any times where we would face something dark, she could be our morally lightpass, guiding us away from the darker paths that each of us would rather take. Anput and Jahi functioned rather simrly mentally, both viewing death and killing as little more than a part of their life, but they didn''t actively seek it out. They both viewed it as a solution to their problems as well, which is why they were both so irked that they couldn''t simply kill Jillian and her new wife A. As for me, I viewed death and killing not as a solution, nor as the problem, like Leone. No, I viewed it as an art form, something that means different things to each person. For me, it meant a wondrous disy of incredible pleasure, the crimson liquid inside each and every one of us making such beautiful patterns when it was sttered onto the ground. I epted that I was different from most, that whilst I saw art and beauty, others saw something hideous and disgusting, something terrible. I had no problem epting that, just like I had no problem epting that my Vampiric Lover was an empathetic person who wished for more peaceful solutions. So, as I worked to fill the corpse pit, I made sure I kept a mental note on Leone, ns tofort and speak with her being made as I moved each corpse. It took us a long time to fill our pit, and when we did we joined Leone, standing beside her as she prepared her spell. Nirinia was with us as well, and the Djinn was solemn as she nced down at Leone, who''s hand was trembling slightly. Jahi reached down and gently took Leone''s hand, making the Vampire flinch slightly as she looked up at the Demoness, who was smiling softly down at her. Guiding her hand, Jahi helped her trace out the runes, all while holding the woman close to her chest, keeping her enveloped in her warmth as she helped herplete the spell. Silence permeated the air, and I watched as a ball of pulsating mes slowly drifted down into the pit, the magical fire slowly enveloping the corpses and beginning to burn them. Leone grit her teeth as she stared into the mes, going so far as to shake her head when Jahi tried to pull her away and turn her around. We all watched on as the pit burned, each of us silent as we listened to the crackling of mes and popping of burning fats. It took a while, but eventually Jahi managed to coax Leone into leaving, pulling the Vampire away from the battlefield and back towards the camp. The Vampire looked out of it, her eyes slightly hollow as her actions caught up to her, and we all exchanged worried nces as we swiftly returned to our new ''home''. When we reached the carriage, Nirinia gave us a nod as she said "I''ll be around... let me know if she gets better." We all watched as the Djinn slipped away, walking further into the encampment and leaving us alone. Pulling Leone into the tent, I began to gently strip off her armor, leaving her in her basic clothes as I began to use my water magic to wash everything off. Jahi and Anput did the same, creating a pile of armor and weapons for me to clean whilst they huddled beside Leone, who was staring at the floor. Sitting behind her, Jahi wrapped her arms around both Leone and Anput, the Jackalkin hugging Leone from the side while Jahi enveloped them both. The Vampire shivered as she sat there, and her eyes were wet, like she was about to cry. Stroking Leone''s ashen hair, Anput and Jahi exchanged nces before the Demoness coughed, leaning down and asking "Leone... a-are you alright?" Raising a brow at her, I returned to my work as I kept them in my sight, watching as Leone bit her lip and shook her head. "W-We... W-We k-killed so many I-innocents..." Jahi took a deep breath, her eyes conflicted. I could tell that she wanted to say ''They weren''t innocent, nor did it matter'', but she held back, instead pursing her lips as she instead said "We did... but it was an us or them situation, Leone. They were riled up to believe that the Empire was their problem, not the Gates. That everything bad that happened to Tragon was our fault, not the Labyrinthian''s. Besides, they still readily picked up weapons and decided to fight. That makes them enemies, not innocents." Leone tried to shake her head, but I cut in, deciding to y devil''s advocate for this. "Then what about the Adventurers we''ve killed, Leone? Those Adventurers that worked for the Sariel''s? Were they innocent?" She looked at me with wide eyes, those crimson orbs filled with shame as she began to nod her head. "You think they were? I think they had a choice. They CHOSE to try and kill us. They deserved to die. As did the vigers andmon people we just ughtered. They saw the difference between us and them, Leone. Both the Adventurers and Westerners. They had every opportunity to back away, to flee, and yet..." Shrugging, I gestured to the bloody equipment around myself, before my tone softened. "It''s alright to feel... ashamed for what happened, Leone. But your anger is misced. Don''t be angry at yourself, nor ashamed of yourself, for fighting for your home. It truly was an us or them situation. They wouldn''t have put down those swords ever, and if we let them live, they would try and try again to invade our home. If you want to be angry, want to be ashamed, direct it at the Western Kings for allowing, and forcing this to happen." The Vampire gulped, her eyes still slightly wet as she shook her head. "T-That doesn''t change anything, Kat... t-they were still-!" Anput sighed, flicking Leone''s brow as she said "They were still innocent, yes, but they were also guilty of ignorance. Themon people of the West should know the difference between us and them, but they still decided to believe that they could bridge that gap. They couldn''t, so they paid the price for it. It''s not wrong to feel for them, Leone, but don''t let it cloud your judgement. Those people would have killed you if you tried to show them mercy. This world isn''t a fairytale, where sparing someone leads them to change their outlook on life. Instead, it allows them to foster a grudge and return with more hatred, a deeper inferiority, and it never ends well." Leone still seemed conflicted, but her shivering had receded somewhat, and those crimson eyes no longer seemed so scared. Nodding to myself, I was about to return to my cleaning when Leone asked "K-Kat, how do you deal with all this?" ncing up at her, I looked at Anput and Jahi quickly, both blinking as they realized that the innocent, warm hearted Vampire was asking the resident murder and hedonist about how she copes with killing. Blinking a few times, I hesitantly asked "Do you want the truth or the flowery version?" Leone also blinked twice, her face confused as she asked "B-Both?" Taking a deep breath, I frowned as I said "I grew to ept it; I epted the fact that, because I was with Jahi, I would need to be ustomed to killing, since the amount of enemies of both her and the House would be innumerable. After I killed for the first time, I epted that it would happen again, and it became part of my job as her maid." Leone nodded, though I could tell she already knew that was my ''flowery'' answer. "Truthfully, what happened earlier pissed me off." The three women looked at me in surprise, before they all let out sighs as they listened to my reasoning, Anput and Jahi shaking their head while Leone seemed conflicted again. "I hated that I was so far away from the kills, and I was envious of Jahi and Anput as they got to kill up close and personal, getting to experience the wonderful act of taking a life... It''s something I''ve grown to crave, something I''ve begun to live for. The pleasure I take from watching someone bleed out is second to only sex, and even then they can be interchangeable depending on my mood..." Trailing off, I gave them a chilling grin as I added "I have epted it as a part of my job, but it''s a part that I revel in and look forwards to. I love seeing people''s surprised expressions as they realize that they messed up, and the fear that permeates their eyes as I slowly kill them is such a rich dessert..." Letting the grin fade, I returned to my work, ignoring the sighs that Anput and Jahi released, while Leone stared at me for a few more moments, before she too sighed, her crimson eyes filled with eptance. I imagine that many in the Legion were like her; slowlying to terms with their actions, and suffering from the consequences of having a reasonable, ''good'' morality. Chapter 257 256: Talk With Leone That night was spent listening to many of the surrounding soldiers gasp awake as their nightmares took ahold of their unconscious minds, and one of those people was Leone. She wasn''t able to sleep properly, and only when we surrounded her and kept herpletely warm and in our embraces did she manage to drift off to sleep, albeit fitfully. All night was spent listening to and feeling her shiver, tossing and turning in her sleep as she tried to rest. The rest of us slept rather easily though, much like normal; sure, Jahi and Anput were a little off put by the people they had killed, but... Honestly, the day wasn''t that bad, and the killing didn''t get to any of us, even though I could tell that the other two had misgivings about it for a few moments. Though, they got over it rather easily, and I simply didn''t care enough for what had happened; in the end, it was an ''us or them'' situation, and I was always, no matter the cost, going to choose us. I cared about few things in this world, but each of them was irreceable and extremely precious to me. So if I needed to kill innocents to keep them alive, so be it. Thankfully, by the time that we woke up at dawn, Leone had managed to get some sleep and she seemed to being to terms with everything. The Vampire still had bags under her eyes and a mncholic look in those crimson orbs, but she managed to go about getting ready on her own, which made me relieved. Washing ourselves off slightly, I helped clothe each of the girls before strapping on my own armor, handing them their weapons and following them out into the encampment momentster. Nirinia came out a few minutester, awakened by the smell of cooking oatmeal that I had boiling over a small fire. We had packed a fewrge bags of various grains, but that was really it; we didn''t go overboard by packing meats, cheeses, or fruits, since they would all spoil easily, and we were told to keep ourselves on whatever the Legion would be eating, to help maintain a sense of camaraderie between us and the soldiers. Of course, when Nirinia did stumble from her tent, her hair in disarray and her clothes barely on, we all rolled our eyes as another woman exited momentster, her satisfied, yet tired expression telling us what had happened. Giving the woman a smirk and a wink, the Djinn sent her off with a wave before grabbing a bowl, scarfing the meal down and moaning gently. "You''re damn lucky, Bluey..." Jahi smirked at the Djinn, and everyone nced at me, making me tilt my head. Giving them a ''confused'' look, I continued stirring the pot before spooning out another helping into Jahi''s and Nirinia''s bowls, the two women swiftly devouring their second serving with ease. When we finished eating breakfast, and I cleaned everything off, we got up and grabbed our weapons, setting out to spar. This time though, only a few soldiers came to watch, and they weren''t given the show that Nirinia had nned yesterday; instead, we were focusing on refining our technique, so we fought slower and used more precise movements, trying to get the steps for each move down before continuing onwards. Leone and I sparred together, and I helped guide her through some of the more basic techniques, specifically how to block with a shorter de... Or more urately, how to parry or dodge. During our spar, I decided that the easiest way to keep her focused on the task at hand, as well as distract her from thinking over yesterday, was to ask her questions. Specifically, about whether or not ''Blood Magic'' was possible. "So... Leone, question." Redirecting her short sword to the side, I stopped and reset my stance, watching as she mirrored me. Nodding, I moved forwards and stabbed the dagger forwards, which she managed to barely redirect to the side. "Better. Alright, as a Vampire, do you have any... control, or influence over blood?" The pale skinned woman frowned, her crimson eyes meeting mine as she asked "Why?" Going through the motions again, I sighed as I responded, keeping my dagger moving as I spoke. "I had a few ideas for enchantments, but I didn''t know if they were possible... they all revolved around blood, either acting as a catalyst to ''curse'' an opponent, or to use someone''s blood as a weapon... I was just curious, since there is lots I could do with Blood as an arcane field of study..." Leone pursed her lips, her eyes narrowed as she parried my de and brought hers up to my neck, making me smile wryly as I gestured for us to continue. "Well... yes and no. I can briefly gain control of an opponents blood, but I need to be in my True Vampire form. I can also create runes for controlling and utilizing blood in that form, but just like with the summoning circles, I can''t remember what exactly they are... it''s a selective form of locking away memories, and is something quite a few races and families do to prevent secrets from leaking... Vampire''s were forced to do it when they were persecuted years ago. Blood is a terrifyingly potent ''element'', since each droplet of blood is simr in power to a shard of a Mana Crystal. Because of that, Vampires were hunted to near extinction, since everyone was afraid of the power they wield. A low reproduction rate, paired with desires for solitude or reclusiveness, and the True Vampires of the past were ughtered. Mother''s mother barely managed to escape the persecution, and by then people had forgotten their fears for Vampires. However, it was that exact period of time that made the Vampire''s begin to seclude their magics even more; they were already tightly kept secrets, but now? No one, besides former Vampire Families and True Vampires know Blood Magic, and even then, it''s an iplete, tattered page from one of the greatest grimoires ever created... we know so little about such an insanely potent field of magic due to fear." She let out a sigh, before she narrowed her eyes and stared at me, asking "Why did you want to learn how to use Blood Magic, Kat?" Pursing my lips, I took a step back and stopped our duel, letting out a sigh of my own as I said "Two reasons, really. I had a feeling it was a powerful field, so I wanted to see if I could learn it myself. The other was for enchantments; pairing it with anything would effectively... supercharge that enchantment, allowing for incredibly potent spells to be wielded. For instance, the main one I wanted to create, was a healing spell that drained the blood from your enemy and healed you." Leone nodded at that, a slightly smug look on her face as she said "Vampiric Drain? It already exists, but I do have tomend you for thinking of it like that. Most instantly go for offensive spells, mainly Dracul''s Fangs and Blood Moon... which are just fancy ways of saying ''a rain of spears'' and ''giant sphere that shoots smaller spheres''. Sadly, until I myself manage to keep those memories unlocked, I can''t help you. I barely have control over Mom''s powers, so I haven''t really tried to tinker with Mother''s yet... Though, I can certainly see if she will let you have a peek at her grimoire when we go back home. Doubt she''ll let you though." Giving her a grin, I nodded, before I raised my dagger and gestured for her to continue our spar. This went on for a few more minutes, and the other two sparred alongside us as Nirinia watched, but eventually we were stopped by the arrival of Adelina''s banner bearer, the Wolfkin woman. Her arrogant features and permanent sneer made her seem unlikable, and her gray fur contrasted against her ck hair, all of which bristled slightly. The ck hair was cut into a pixie cut, leaving it out of her face and out of the way, while her fur was straight and spiky. One of her eyes was a pale, arctic blue, while the other was a deep, rich amber, and her tanned, weathered skin disyed her experience on a battlefield. Hanging on her waist was her heavy mace, while her ck armor only made her skin seem darker, adding to the thick, somber aura around her. Seeing her approach, Nirinia stopped us and stared at the Wolfkin, who growled softly as she red at the Djinn. However, she didn''t snarl, nor did she say anything uncouth; instead, she kept her words sharp and concise, though the disrespect and anger in her tone was palpable. "Commander Leonisa wishes to speak to you." Sweeping her heterochromatic gaze over the rest of us, she added "All of you." before turning back around and stalking away, her tail stiff. Exchanging nces, we looked at Nirinia as she sighed, her jade eyes already tired as she muttered "Always hated that bitch... Come on then, let''s go see what our glorious Commander wants..." Her unenthusiastic voice made each of us shrug, and we fell in line behind her as we returned to the Command Tent in the center of the encampment, where we were greeted with the sight of Adelina looming over the table, her golden eyes narrowed as she stared down at a map. Various gs and markers were scattered around, and the Lioness continued to rake her gaze over the different symbols, lines, and more even as she said "Nirinia, things''ve changed." Tapping a part of the map, Adelina looked up, startling us as we saw that the previously angry, and slightly bitter woman was gone. Nirinia took that in stride, approaching the table and staring at the point that Adelina highlighted. "The Romagi King has moved up his timetable; the First Army lies there, whilst the Second Army is moving to meet them. However, our scouts have informed me that..." Taking a deep breath, Adelina''s gaze turned hard as she spoke again, making Nirinia frown at her words. "Two Justiciars have been dispatched to the First Army, and they''re armed with the newest weaponry that''se out of the Dreadki Conglomerate. They''ve been armed with mana infused Stygian Silver..." Chapter 258 257: Western Kingdoms Movements Nirinia frowned as she looked down at the map, her jade eyes narrowed as she muttered "Two Justiciars huh..." Tracing her finger along the map, the Djinn nced briefly over at us as she began to speak, her serious tone making each of us listen closely to her words. "A Justiciar is the Western Kingdom''s version of our Knights. Of course, in a one on one, each of our Knights could beat their strongest Justiciar, so we still hold the advantage, but such potent and powerful fighters tend to be held in reserve... So for them to be pushing two of them forwards like this..." Returning her gaze to the map, she muttered "This is a... days march, no?" Adelina nodded, the Lioness grimacing slightly as she said "At the pace they''re going, they''ll reach these ins in a day and a half. Wether or not they rest before they reach here or rest when they get here is up for debate; both have merit, and they know that we know they have two Justiciars... they won''t need to worry about us attempting to surprise attack them, that''s for sure." Sighing, Nirinia tapped her finger on the wooden table, before she looked up and asked "Do we know which two they are? As long as its not Julius or Cassandra I should be able to deal with one..." The Lioness pursed her lips, saying "They were cloaked when they were traveling, but the weapons were easily spotted and reported. One wields a Zweihander, and the other..." Biting her lip, Adelina nced at Nirinia as she murmured "The other wields a dius and a Pugio." Gritting her teeth, Nirinia cursed before asking "Have you sent word to the Capital then? Julius is above me, Adelina. As for the other, that''s probably Matilda of Duurghaven, who I''ve bested before. We NEED a true Knight for this." The golden haired Commander nodded, but she let out a sigh as she said "The problem is, even with their speed, our messenger still needs to travel around a thousand miles to reach the Capital, deliver the message, then return... Even with a well fed, swift Mare, the journey is long. The enemy will be hammering down on us by that point..." Clicking her tongue, Nirinia returned her gaze to the map, scanning over the avable terrain before gesturing towards the mountains at our back. "So then we just pull back and fortify the mountain pass. They can''t traverse the smaller ones for fear of losing swathes of troops, so they need to travel through Semita Pass! As long as we take the time to fortify the position, we could easily-" Shaking her head, the Lioness sighed again as she interrupted Nirinia. "Sadly we can''t. The... backers of this campaign made it explicitly clear that we couldn''t pull back. If we did, they would levy fines on the Legion, pushing us into the red. I tried to nullify that damned contract, but the loopholes and legal jargon made it an impossible task, and I''d need to have the troops return all weapons... Damned politics. They have their own troops scattered throughout the Legion anyways, but I can''t determine who." That made all of us frown, and Jahi stepped forwards and asked "Why take such a contract in the first ce? Shouldn''t the Empress be providing for her own Legions?" The Commander smiled sadly as she shook her head, her golden eyes filled with regret as she said "She does; the Empress provides quite a bit, but nothing incredible. It''s up to each Legion to figure out their own finances and situations; she set it up so that each of them would need to be self sufficient and creative. Most turned towards therger Noble Houses to provide funds and support. We just... chose wrong." Jahi''s frown deepened, and the Demoness asked "Who did you chose? What Family is idiotic enough to bankrupt an entire Legion all because they made smart decisions?" Taking a deep breath, the Lioness gave us a wry smile as she opened her mouth, her words stunning each of us. "The Sariel Family was our most recent contractor." ~~~ Ryife PoV Taking a deep breath, I let out a sigh as I nced around at the others, who all returned my exhausted look. "Seven days of marching, all to reach a battlefield..." The others nodded, each looking just as weary as I felt. Our violet and red gambeson were coated in dirt and grime, and we all sighed again as we hunkered down under our makeshift tent. "Most likely, the Empire''s sitting nice and cozy in that Semita Pass..." I nodded to my squad mate, an older veteran named Gilbert. "Aye, that would make the most sense. Semita Pass is the only ce to funnel the entire army through, so we need to take it, no matter what." Gilbert chuckled, and he nced at Ferti beside him, the darker skinned man frowning slightly. "Always hated uphill battles. Such a pain in the arse." We all chuckled at Ferti''s drab tone, and the dark skinned man gave us a wry smile. "Well, to hells with it. Cheersds~! To yet another campaign!" Raising his tankard, we all cheered as we nked our tankards together, knowing full well that this would be amongst ourst opportunities to do so. Taking a swig of the bitter dark ale, I smacked my lips together at the taste, which made the othersugh. "Still find our ale to be too bitter for your sophisticated pte, Ryife~? Far more suited to milk or wine, huh~?" Rolling my eyes at Gilbert, I managed to say "Piss off!" before someone opened the p of our tent, making each of us freeze. Staring at us from outside was a hawkish, serious man, the sword and dagger hanging off his waist emitting a freezing chill. Scrambling to our feet, we saluted the man as one, each of us letting out a sharp "Lord Justiciar!" as we stood there, ramrod straight. Looking us over, the Lord Justiciar just nodded, before his t voice washed over each of us. "You all will be ready to march in an hour, yes?" """Of course, Lord Justiciar!""" Nodding again, the white haired man looked us over one more time before releasing the tent p. Standing there for a few more moments, we all let out a collective sigh of relief as we plopped back down onto the ground, exchanging fearful nces. "So that''s Justiciar Julius then? Damn, I thought my heart was gonna leap into my throat!" The others nodded at me, and Gilbert sighed as he drained his tankard. "Aye, that was him. Even for a squad like us, he''s just... a different level. I doubt we could even leave a scratch on his armor in a life or death fight..." I nched at Gilbert''s words, which made the older man smirk at me. "I keep forgetting that you really are fresh out of the Program, Ryife. Aye, even us, one of the top Praetor Squads, could barely do jack all against Justiciar Julius. Sure, you might have sparred against Justiciar Gamma before, but..." Sighing again, Gilbert looked at Ferti, who grinned at me as he said "Lady Gamma might be beautiful, and she might be strong, but against Lord Julius? There is noparison. Remember, the Empire now owns a few former Justiciars of our Kingdoms, but even they meant nothing before Lord Julius. The only, and I mean only, person inside this Kingdom who can even harm Lord Julius is the King..." Gulping, I saw that each of the other Praetor''s were nodding, solemn expressions on their faces. "W-Wait, the gap is just... thatrge?!" Ferti nodded, and he smirked as he leaned closer, taking on a conspiratorial tone as he whispered "I heard that those new weapons of theirs? That special silver? It''ll help bridge the gap between the Justiciars and the Knights. Apparently, the reason Lady Matilda is with us is because she wants to settle an old score of hers..." I leaned closer as well, listening further. The others were ignoring Ferti, since they knew the man loved to gossip, but they were still listening slightly to his news; the man got real, solid information from Gods knows where, but it was always true. "There''s this group of Nobles over there; that Asmodia girl and her group. Obviously, no Noble is left unattended, so they''re traveling with a future Knight of Cinder, one Nirinia Radhi, a half Djinn half Orc. This Nirinia is the one that, allegedly, managed to beat Lady Matilda in a duel, one that-" "One that I lost in, yes, but there are many differing variables to it, young man." We all jumped as a mature, feminine voice entered the tent, and we saw a short, curvy woman standing at the entrance. Her long ck hair was pulled into a braid, and strapped to her back was a giant, wavy Zweihander. Matilda of Duurghaven, the newest Justiciar, and the fifth strongest. We all nched again as we saw the second of the Justiciar''s enter our tent, this one much more angry then the first. "Aye, I lost that fight, but the damn bitch cheated. Besides, it was naught but a spar, a brief exchanging of blows. No one was truly fighting the other!" As we stood up to salute, we all nodded rapidly, sweating bullets as the mature woman red at us. cing her hands on her hips, she looked over the squad as she growled "How about instead of gossiping like a bunch of schoolgirls, you break down this tent and get ready to march! You''re all supposed to lead by example! The other squads, be them Praetor or normal, are looking up to you to lead them!" We all nodded again, before flinching as she shouted "SO GET MOVING!" Her roar left us all started, and we began to swiftly pack everything up. As we did so, I swear I heard the shorter woman mutter "Just you wait, you arrogant, double crossing bitch..." ncing at Matilda of Duurghaven, I shivered as I saw her voidlike eyes, her bone chilling voice entering my ears as she murmured "There''ll be no escaping this time... not when we have some ''help''..." Chapter 259 258: Politics Ria PoV Sighing, I reached for the millionth piece of paper of the day, my eyes scanning the various lines of text as quickly as I could. However, what I read made me frown. "Chordeva..?" ncing up, I looked towards my wife, my frown deepening as I watched her spin her pen around, those beautiful ruby eyes meeting mine in mere moments. "What''s up?" Her bored tone made me sigh, but I handed her the document I was reading, letting her look it over before I asked "So... why did we just send our daughter into a veritable deathtrap?" The Demoness chuckled dryly as sheid the paper down, before she leaned back in herrge chair, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Honestly? By the time they left, I still thought that the Grangeri, Liliko, and Poshiliqo Families held the contract. I got the news yesterday, that the Sariel Family bought out the contract weeks ago, but it had been undergoing ''finalizations'' since then. Jahi and the others were already there when I learned of it..." She gave me a wry smile, and she shrugged as she added "I really didn''t expect them to buy out a Legion; the amount of Families that can actually afford to do so on a moments notice are small, and they weren''t amongst them. Not even the Kameiel''s were amongst them. The amount of hard money you need to purchase a contract is no small lump of change..." I frowned at that, my mind working in overdrive as I asked "How much do you need to fund a Legion? I can''t remember..." Chordeva''s arrogant smile made me re at her, and she chuckled as she answered. "Roughly 500 some odd tinum a year." I almost choked on my saliva at that, my eyes wide as I tried to process that number. "T-That much?! 500 tinums?!" She grinned at me, leaning forwards as she listed off the reasons why. "You need to employ a damn good Commander, and they aren''t cheap. Then you need to pay the sries of the soldiers, set aside a reserve for the event of their death to be sent to their families for five years, weapons, you need to employ a certain number of mages and healers, all of a certain quality... There''s a lot of moving parts in a Legion too; ce of residence, servants, transport, gear, supplies, food..." Her smirk grew further, and I shivered as she said "Honestly, 500 t is on the low end. The Ashen Legion? Somewhere in the 750''s. That amount of cold hard coin is near impossible to own on your own. Besides conglomerates, the only Families that own that kind of money in true, physical coin can be counted on one hand." "Wait..." Getting up, she loomed over me as she hummed softly, and I red up at her as I asked "I know we have money, but is the reason you don''t let me look at finances..?" Seeing that arrogant smile again, I held back the urge to smack her as she cooed softly, those rubies gleaming as she wore a full faced grin. "Oh, only because I''ve had upwards of ten thousand tinum squirreled away~" My jaw dropped as I stared up at her, my head numb as I repeated that number. "Y-You have... t-t-ten thousand? tinum?" She nodded, her hands wrapping around my waist as she corrected me. "WE have ten thousand. I thought you knew, but you were awarded multiple giant piles of Gold and gems before for our work in thest Monster Horde Subjugation." Blinking, I shook my head slightly, not wanting to sound stupid. I... never actually paid much attention to money, since I knew I would always have some. I mean, Elves live for a long time, and my Mother made quite arge amount as a spy for the Empress, and my Father had a frightening business acumen... As for the Asmodia Family, they''ve been around for... well, since the founding of the Empire; of course they have money. I just... always thought it was liquid, like most Noble Families; businesses and investments, items that would rue value over time like paintings or enchanted weapons and armor... Not physical coin. However, as mind breaking as that number was, I returned to the pressing matter, interrupting Chordeva as she was about to lean down and kiss me. "That''s besides the point! What about Jahi and Kat? Why''re you so...id back about our little girl being in enemy territory?!" She sighed as she stopped, letting me go as she returned to her seat. "Politics, as always. The Empress has someone nearby; obviously, since she dotes on all of her children immensely. I wouldn''t be surprised to know that the Sultana had someone nearby as well. Truth is, the Empress wants to let this y out, to learn just how far the Sariel''s are going to go. Buying a Legion''s contract is no small deal. Add onto that the fact that there are internal battles between us and them, and the Empress wants to see if the Sariel''s are nning on remaining loyal or not. The Legion itself is loyal, there''s no doubt about that; Adelina Leonisaes from an honor bound family to the Empress'' wife Fenryas, so the Legion will never turn traitor. But, by buying a Legion, you need to send Envoys to manage it, and that''s the problem. What are those Envoys doing? Are they staying faithful to their homnd, or are they preparing something insidious?" Therge Demoness let out a sigh, and I saw that, despite her assured words, she was just as frustrated as I was. "So it justes down to politics. All because I can''t just be allowed to burn that damn House to the ground. We all know that the only reason the Sariel''s managed to reach their position was political marriage and a few small achievements, yet idiots flock to their side with the promise of overthrowing us. It''s pathetic, and I wish the Empress allowed the same things the Sultana does, but..." Gesturing around us, she gave me a wry smile as she shrugged. "But we can''t, even though the Empress values us more then them... Fine, if there''s nothing we can do on the surface, what about-" Shaking her head, Chordeva gave me a small smile as she said "There''s no need, really. Nirinia is with them, and despite her... quirks, the little Djinn is quite strong. Could''ve knighted her a few years ago, but I want to smooth out her personality a bit before letting her go free. So they have a qualified Knight beside them, the Empress'' guard, and you can''t forget the Banshee." I sighed as I moved to sit on herp, my lips pursed as I leaned against her chest. "Still, I can''t shake the feeling that it''s just... not enough. We both know that the Sariel''s have some hidden cards, and I just can''t ignore the fact that those cards might just-!" cing a finger on my lips, the Demoness gave me a serious look as she muttered "I know. I hate it too. When I think of leaving her there, with only Nirinia and a shadow guard, I think it''s too little. But it''s not an impossible challenge for them to ovee. If the Sariel''s to turn their backs on the Empire, they die. So if that''s their n, they can''t show those cards to early, and I have a few cards of my own; as do you." I sighed again before nodding, falling quiet as I stared at the paperden desk. "I guess I can ask Mother for some... ''assistance''. Father''s already been applying pressure on them economically, and he''s managed to get a fair few of their businesses to shut down or be absorbed. But... can we really not do anything?" Chordeva shook her head again, sighing as she said "Sadly, no. That old bitch is still around for the Kameiel''s, and the Sariel Patriarch is a tough nut as well. If it was just one or the other, I could act first and beg for forgivenesster, but not against both. Though, honestly, this all boils down to who loses their heir first, and..." We grinned at one another as we thought of the three heirs. "Well, we may be a little biased, but I highly doubt the little genius of the Kameiel''s, even when teamed up with the arrogant rogue of the Sariel''s canpare to Jahi. Especially not with Anput and Leone beside her." I nodded, before I smirked as I whispered "You forgot Kat. Of those four, I think she might be the hardest to deal with. She takes too much of what Julie was like and takes it a step farther. Add onto that her penchant for murder, and well..." "She is rather intriguing, isn''t she? One moment she''s calm and quiet, the next moment she''s giggling as she disembowels some poor creature, grinning as it bleeds to death. It honestly feels like she''s got two versions of herself..." Shrugging, I added "Honestly, she manages quite well to keep herself under control, and she is rather skilled for her age. Her stubborn will to remain hidden is annoying, but understandable, considering..." Feeling Chordeva stiffen below me, I sighed as I finished my sentence, ring up at her. "She seems to actually enjoy satiating a lustful Demoness." Raising a brow, Chordeva leaned down and nipped my ear, making me moan softly as she whispered "You act like you weren''t just begging me to ravish you all ofst night..." Giving her a narrowed re, I hissed "This and that are two different things!" "Are they? Show me then~" Letting out a huff, I red at my wife as I got up, moving away from her. "Fine. No sex for you tonight." What used to be a surefire way of getting under her skin made the Demoness chortle, making me confused. Turning back to her, I glowered at her as she shrugged, her arrogance back as she sweetly said "Well, just like my daughter, I happen to have a choice now in who warms my bed~ If you want, you can watch as I y with my adorable little puppy?" Gritting my teeth, I let out another huff and stormed away, much to her amusement. I was blushing as she murmured "Oh, we both know where you''ll be tonight...", all because I knew she wasn''t wrong. Though, I would try my damndest to hold out... Chapter 260 259: Caution Kat PoV We all frowned at Adelina as she said "The House who purchased the Legion''s contract was the Sariel''s..." I studied her facial features and eyes as she said that, and I narrowed my own eyes as I saw a hint of guilt and hesitation in those pale golden orbs. ncing over at the others, I saw that each took that news just as I had; they were frowning and looking between one another, each of usmunicating via our eyes. Jahi and Anput were annoyed, while Nirinia and Leone were cautious, both ncing towards the entrance of themand tent with wary eyes. "When was this?" Hearing the sharp tone of Jahi, themander sighed as she answered, her tired voice matching her weary features. "The day that you arrived is when it was announced. The deal had been going through the process of being finalized for thest two weeks, but we received our equipment upfront..." Nodding, the Demoness peered at Nirinia, who shook her head slightly. "Very well then... I''m guessing for now we just need to rest up for the eventual battle tomorrow? I''m assuming we are allowed to fortify this position as best we could, yes?" Adelina nodded, a small smile on her lips as she said "We have quite a few Earth Mages in our employ, and an equal amount of potions. I was thinking that, if we couldn''t harbor ourselves in the mountain pass, we could just create a fortress instead. After all, we need to defend this position for as long as possible, to hold out for when a Knight arrives..." ncing at Anput, I shook my head slightly at her, letting her know to not offer her services; Nirinia had said it before, but we don''t truly fall under Adelina Leonisa''smand, so she can''t order us to aid her forces however she sees fit. Of course, I didn''t like the idea of not helping at all, but I was going to be selfish and have Anput fortify our own position, so that we could minimize risk of tampering. With that in mind, the Djinn gave the Lioness a tight, small smile as she nodded, saying "Very well, Commander. We''ll be going back to our tent now... If you need us, send for us." Adelina nodded, though the obvious reluctance at sending away valuable assets seemed to pain her greatly as we exited the tent. Exchanging another swift nce, we sped up and returned to our carriage, where we instantly entered the box. Casting a Wind Spell to shroud the interior with a slight gale, I made it so that people couldn''t listen in to our conversation, getting a nod of approval from Jahi and Nirinia. The Djinn let out a low growl as she tapped her fingers against her knee, saying "This is fucking annoying. Not only do we need to worry about two strong enemies plus an armying tomorrow, we need to worry about whether or not someones going to stab us in the back! Fuck!" Jahi let out a mirthless chuckle as she nodded, adding "Plus we don''t know who is and isn''t in the Sariel''s pocket, and how powerful these people can be. Alright... let''s stop specting though and start acting. Leone, can you cast some kind of ward around our tent to protect us during the night? One that people can''t notice?" We turned to look at the Vampire, who nodded, before we all turned to Anput, who was up next. Jahi sighed as she said "As for you, Anput, we need to create our own little bastion again, so we''ll need you to work with that Earth Magic of yours. I''ll help design it, and we''ll go from there." The Jackalkin nodded, and we all smiled wryly as we looked around the carriage. "I thought this was just going to be a rather easy, boring outing too... now those Elven bitches are making this such a drag..." That made each of us chuckle as we smirked over at Jahi, who was frowningically. Nirinia rolled her eyes at that, before she coughed gently and brought us back on track. "Just... as a warning. As much as I don''t want to think it, we need to be aware that... that Adelina might be with them as well. Money changes people, as does the promise of power. She might be loyal to the Empress, but a few honeyed words here and there could make her act against us. Besides, shees from a long line ofpetent, storied Commanders and even a few Knights, so she might see this as an opportunity to increase her own power through a connection to the Sariel''s. Same goes for her Command Squad. Each could betray us at any moment..." Those words of caution sobered everyone up instantly, and we all frowned as we nced at the Djinn. She looked away from us when we turned to her, and I could briefly make out the small glimmer of anxiety and hurt in her eyes as she thought of her childhood friend turning on her. They might not be on the best of terms now, but they grew up together, fought together, and learned together. Hells, they even dated for a while. Bonds like that might slowly wither away, but it takes somethingrge to snap those bonds apart. "Alright, let''s get to work. The other Earth Mage''s should be working already, so we should be able to figure out where to position and add our bastion onto the existing structure. However, we need to make it safe for just us. Leone, go work on shrouding this area with some spells and Ritual Circles, and keep it discreet. Kat, help Leone as best you can, be it covering her or speeding the process along. Nirinia, if you could, can you try and keep the soldiers away? The Banshee should already be doing that quite well, but..." The Djinn chuckled as she nodded, her serious jade eyesnding on each of us as she said "Of course, Lady Asmodia. It''s the least I can do to repay your parents." With that, I dispelled the gale and opened the door, bowing as the others filtered out. Leone instantly went into the tent, while Jahi and Anput nced towards the rising pirs and walls of earth around us. Leading the Jackalkin away, the Demoness nced over her shoulder and gave us a curt nod, before slowly disappearing between the tents and walls. Nirinia hopped out and nced at the stationary Banshee, which was still standing guard between the tent and carriage, it''s helmeted head slowly swiveling around as it rested its hands on the gigantic ymore before it. She climbed onto the top of the carriage and looked around, and I briefly saw her smile before she slid back down, making her way over to the cluster of soldiers a few dozen feet away. Watching her leave, I walked over to the tent and entered it, where I was greeted with the sight of Leone digging through her bag before letting out an "Aha!" Grinning childishly at me, she held arge chunk of Fire Crystal in her hands, the mana wafting off of the orangish red rock looking like a haze of heat on a summer day. "Found it~! Alright, time to make myself an array~!" Seeing her excitement, I shook my head slightly before watching as sheid the Fire Crystal down on the floor. Taking a deep breath, she let her happy, jovial features melt away as pure seriousness took over, the Vampire looking down at the stone with narrowed crimson eyes. Raising her finger, she began to trace ourplex runes on the ground around the Fire Crystal, slowly but surely filling out a ratherrge, extremelyplex, and really hot Ritual Circle. "First one done..." Hearing her mutter, I raised a brow as I stared at the ratherplex arcane symbology below us, which made the Vampire smile smugly at me. "This here, Kat, is a bolstering array; in simpler terms, it empowers those its tied to. Now, how do I tie it to someone, you ask?" I listened as she began an impromptu lecture, the academic genius of the Vampire being put on disy as she grinned haughtily at me. Giving her a nod, I shifted my expression to look like a diligent student, listening intently to her exnation. "Well, it''s rather simple. See, this rune here is a tether rune; it lets me ''attach'' it to something, which in this case is each of us. When it''s attached, it begins to function properly. The ''core'' of the Ritual Circle is being fueled by the Fire Crystal, and it will also have a ratherrge amount of my own mana inside of it. Now, the way it empowers you is rather simple; it''s just a few basic enhancement spells weaved together that would enhance your healing capabilities, mana sensitivity, mana control, muscr control, hardened skin... the list goes on and on." My jaw dropped slightly as I heard her list its benefits, before she continued on, bing more animated as she saw my disbelief. "Anyways, the reason this works is because this Ritual Circle is going to be tied directly to each of you, kinda like a tattoo. Besides those enhancements, I''ll be adding a sensing spell on top of that, using raw mana instead of Fire... though I think Ash would work better... hmm..." She fell silent, her expression thoughtful as she turned and began to mutter to herself, ncing at the Ritual Circle. I remained silent as well, letting the woman think as she continued to mutter her thoughts aloud, allowing her to think. Sure, I prided myself on having a rather great grasp on arcane studies, but Leone was simply on another level then me; it was her ONLY focus. And it wasn''t just smaller, niche fields that I studied; no, she studied various different theories and ideas, with each being vastly different from one another. With each word she mumbled to herself, the Vampire grew more and more excited as she began to scribble some runes into the air, looking between the differentbinations as she nodded or shook her head. Watching her was rather amusing, so I sat back and observed what she was doing with a warmed heart, relieved that she found something to upy and distract her mind from what happened yesterday. Chapter 261 260: Western Army Arrives Leone continued to implement more and moreplex Ritual Circles over the course of two hours, her excitement as eachyer wasid out bing more and more palpable over time. She disyed that frightening talent of all her arcane studies in those two hours,ying down a empowering array, sensing array, protective dome, and a few more smaller spells to fine tune her masterpiece. Throughout the process of creating such a beautiful work of art, Leone went through a few focus and mana potions, keeping her mind and core topped up as best she could, though I could tell she was getting tired near the end. During the long hours of her crafting such aplex array, she never once started another lecture, nor did she slip from her current state of mind the entire time, so I sat beside the tent''s entrance and kept watch, making sure no one was attempting to sneak up to our camp. She wasn''t the only one expending magic either, as I had a few spells of my own cast around the camp, keeping the noise from outside muffled and creating a bubble around the area, the soft, swirling gale allowing me to keep my ''eyes'' on all sides of our camp. asionally I would nce over at therge earthen fortress being raised around us, while listening to the muffled sounds of pits being excavated and filled with water. Adelina was creating a castle in the middle of this in, and she wasn''t letting anyone skimp out if she could. Fire Mages hardened the earthen structure, Wind Mages moved materials around, Water Mages filled the moat, and the Earth Mages created our fortress. Though, as impressive as it was to see something sorge being created in such a minuscule amount of time, I couldn''t help but see eachrge wall as a potential hiding spot for an assassin, sent to kill Jahi or kidnap me. It was something I hadn''t let slip yet, but I had a feeling everyone knew in our group. Jahi was the main target, and she was to be killed, while I was the second, andst target, to be whisked away and sent to Jillian and A. They wouldn''t touch Leone or Anput for fear of retaliation from the Empress and Sultana; retaliation that, in all honesty, would result inplete and utter destruction in their House, all of their allies Houses, and the death of anyone even remotely important to them. The Empress might have adopted a persona of being a magnanimous, calm ruler, but I have no doubt that she and her wives would unleash their powers on the unlucky sap who tried to harm their family. The Sultana was even more obvious, as her aggressive nature was well known, and her love for her family just as well known; she wouldn''t let something happen to Anput if she could help it. As for Jahi, she also had a ''safety nket'' to fall back on; the Banshee was ''programmed'' to protect her first and foremost, and they were powerful beings created from the souls of House Asmodia''s most hated enemies. Me? I had myself and the girls to rely on; that was it. There were doubts in my mind about whether or not any hidden guards for Anput or Leone would go out of their way to save me, and I could guarantee that the Banshee would still prioritize Jahi over any orders she gave it to protect me. So, this uing battle, I needed to be aware of any and all potential tricks, tactics, and enemies around us, for my own benefit. Though, that was still second to the protection of Jahi, Leone, and Anput; they mattered more to me than my own protection. With that in mind, I continued to keep watch as the sun slowly fell, before ncing back at the swaying, exhausted form of Leone. Catching her, I made her drink a few sips of a focus potion before offering my wrist, the Vampire instantly sinking her fangs into my arm and drinking my blood. That euphoric feeling of having her audibly gulp down my blood washed over me, and I moaned softly as that wondrous liquid was pumped into me as well, dulling my physical feelings while heightening my pleasure. When she finally felt satisfied, we had swapped positions; she was standing there, alright and ready to go, while I swayed, my vision swimming. Though, that was rectified by a quick healing spell and some potions. Moving out towards the campfire, I began to prepare a hearty stewden with potatoes and some thin beef strips, hoping that the few ingredients I had to work with woulde tighter nicely at least. As I cooked, Leone rested for a few moments before turning to watch the rising tower behind us, which had be an anchor of the castle''s walls. It was our tower, and I knew that the inside was likely either solid or filled with perilous walkways and traps to dissuade people from trying and entering. Besides that, the entire structure would asionally shimmer a dull gold, which looked more like the suns rays warping around the tower then the Light Magic that Jahi was casting. Maybe the cauldron of stew drew them over, but the Jackalkin and Demoness joined us minutester, both tired looking as they took a seat around the fire, followed quickly by the Djinn sauntering over. Everyone scarfed down their bowls, disying the various hungers of each as they eyed the slowly depleting cauldron with sad eyes. After everyone had as much as they could, we all sat back and looked at each other, nodding as Jahi said "We need to set a watch for tonight... to make sure no onees close to the tent." Leone perked up slightly, saying "As long as they stay inside and look over the crystal, they can be aware of when someone entered the array. The crystal shes when its activated, so you''ll know easily enough. Oh, and here; give me your arms." Everyone extended their arms towards Leone, even though they were confused. Taking ahold of Jahi''s arm first, Leone began to trace a rune out onto her skin, which red red as I seeped into the flesh. The Demoness flinched slightly at that, before frowning as she asked "This isn''t permanent is it?" Chuckling, the Vampire shook her head, causing her ashen hair to bounce slightly. "No, just a temporary spell. It''ll be gone when the origin point is gone." With that reassurance, we all got temporary ink for the next few days, a dark red rune emzoned on our forearms. Setting up the watch rotation, I decided to stay up first, retaking my position at the entrance p as I continued to hold that dome spell, keeping watch over my girls and Nirinia for the next few hours. It was a boring few hours, but it was needed, and it left me alone with my thoughts again, letting me work through a few problems as I focused on controlling the spell. When I finally awoke Anput for her next shift, I slept soundly until morning, where we all ate breakfast before entering therge tower. Reaching the top, we stared out over the ins, taking in therge gathering a good mile or so away. Various banners were hoisted around the enemy army, of all kinds of colors. Though, the main ones, andrgest ones, all were some variations of purple and crimson; they were all different patterns with different symbols, but the color scheme remained the same. Leaning on the low wall in front of us, Nirinia gestured to the various gs and told us what or who they were. "The main groups to look out for are the purple and crimson gs and those bright blue ones with a giant cloud in the center. The first group are Praetor Squads from the Romagi Kingdom; trained soldiers with both physical and magical prowess. Each member is specifically selected and trained to be abination of a warrior and a mage, using both of their gifts to deal death. Rather nasty little soldiers, those Praetors. Good equipment and training, they''ve been raised and bred for war, so they tend to be really good at what they do. Now, that second group, the blue ones? Those are from the Cloud Mercenary Group, a roaming band of soldiers deep in the West. Experienced fighters, well equipped, excellent cohesiveness. Expensive too. Those are the real enemy for you four. The rest of the rabble will be little better then the peasants we just fought, so look out for those colors specifically. They''ll likely be the vanguard of some charges, leading the way for the rest of the troops with magic shields." We all nodded, and I stared out at the vast expanse of mortals before us, each one walking around and likely living out their final moments. As I looked over that gathered army, I felt my heartbeat quicken at the thought of therge amount of blood that would water this ground again soon, before the anticipatory glee at the idea of anotherrge swathe of experience made me smirk slightly. In all honesty, I was looking forwards to the battle toe, to distract me from the under the tableness of politics and the worries around us. I just wanted to whet my de and my appetite, and seeing this veritable feast waiting before us made me salivate with need. However, for now, I needed to wait. To let that desire grow stronger, so that when I did finally gorge myself, it would taste all the better... Chapter 262 261: First Charge Standing behind the parapets of the tower, we all looked over the gathering army of the Western Kingdoms, the various troops readying their weapons and getting into formation. Seeing that, Nirinia let out a wry chuckle as she said "Alright, they''re preparing for another scouting charge; the rabble is going to poke and prod at the castle to find the weak spots, so girls, hold back a little. If we show our hand too early, they''ll avoid sending a Praetor Squad this way, which will apply more pressure to the other parts of the fortress. Leone, Kat, keep your spells subdued. Jahi, Anput, I hope you know how to use a bow." We all nodded, before Nirinia kicked open a chest that she had hoisted up the tower, revealing three simple longbows and a mountain of arrows. Handing them out, the three women all tested their draw weight and strength, before they began to gather some arrows for themselves. "Don''tce each arrow with a spell; honestly, Jahi, don''tce any with a spell. Keep that Light Magic a secret for now. Aim for whoever, though mainly anyone that stands out and tries to corral the troops is a fine target. You don''t need to kill either; legs are perfectly fine, since the rabble won''t have any magic to protect themselves nor heal themselves. Remember, we aren''t trying to kill everyone, just take them out of the fight to reduce the numbers. Though, do kill if you can; it''s better that way." Giving the Djinn another nod, we all turned towards the main tower in the middle, where Adelina stood, looking down at all of her troops. Sensing another speeching, I turned my attention instead to searching the crowd for anyone shifty, to start creating a list of people I needed to look out for. As I did so, I moved around and began to study the tower Anput and Jahi had created, etching it into my mind for the battle toe. I had no doubt that something would happen during this opening engagement, but the severity was still to be seen. Would it be a simple ''misfiring'' on someone''s part, or would a few soldiers reveal their true colors and try and kill us? With that on my mind, I barely paid attention to Adelina''s address to her Legion as I did my rounds, earning myself a confused look from the others before they shrugged it off. "-thing worth fighting for! Tell me, will you let them take an inch of this Empire''s sacred ground?!" The roar of the Legion traveled across the ins, and I nced over at the gathered enemy and raised a brow as I saw quite a few flinch, the small waves of movements telling of their scared, worried attitudes. After all, they need to charge towards a fully garrisoned castle and attempt to break down it''s gates... which were separated by a few feet of deep water. Pursing my lips, I waited for the Commander to finish her incredible speech before lounging against the wall, looking between the others as they all stared over the ins with a bored look in their eyes. I could tell that we all much preferred the swift rush ofbat that we could set our own pace in against monsters, and that this new waiting of the enemy army was rather boring. Taking a deep breath, I stared across the ins and began to take note of the single Praetor Squad that was at the front of the gathering, the various members of the squad dressed in mboyant colors standing stock still as they stared back at the castle. ? Time dredged by, and I could tell that it was a tactic the Westerners wanted to use to try and tire us out mentally, but... Watching as a few of the enemy copsed from the heat and from their own mental exhaustion, I nced at Nirinia and asked "Is this mind game going to continue on for much longer? It has to be obvious that we have the advantage in every way, no? While we lounge above them, rested and watered, they stand below in the scorching heat with a giant castleying before them." The Djinn chuckled as she nodded, her jade eyes filled with mirth as she responded with a jovial tone. "I would hope so, but Humans are fucking stubborn. Even more so than Orcs. They think that they have some kind of superiority to ''Demi-Humans'', but they just... don''t. To them, we are impatient, ravenous lesser beings, though where the hell they got that assumption is beyond me. If I had to guess, the higher ups are thinking we''d abandon our position and attack first, but sadly for them, we''re not children." With that brought up, I decided that I would use that to fill the time. "Why do they believe themselves superior? Do you think it''s a way for the entirety of their race to cope with the fact that they are... well, that they have no advantages at all?" I was rather curious about this, as it was quite the interesting topic. Mainly though, I just wanted to know what most thought of humans in this world, and considering the others seemed to be rather nonplussed by what Nirinia said made me shrug. "Most likely yes, it''s a way to keep themselves unified against races that simply are better. The only true advantage human''s can im to have is their high fertility; many human families can easily have multiple children, whereas the Marquess and Countess were lucky to have one. Hell, they might try for a second child for another decade and not see a result. But the problem is quantity doesn''t ovee quality in this instance. I mean, I wasn''t keeping track, but thatst fight against the peasants? We killed hundreds upon hundreds of humans, and received nary a scratch for that tally. So yes, I think that they tricked themselves into thinking that they have a chance because they need something to believe in. The average Dogkin is still rather close to the average Human, but when they begin to train? A Dogkin is faster, reacts quicker, can hear better, pick up scents better, and usually is stronger. And that''s with, no disrespect, but the weaker sides of the Beastkin alone. I mean, hell, the Mousekin can be damn good rogues on their own right. Then you get on to the vastly superior races... Demons? Elves? Vampires? All have incredible physical and magical prowess in different fields, and a single trained Demon can be worth more then ten of the best Human''s to have ever lived. It''s purely a brainwashing trick to keep them from despairing, and I understand why they did it, but the problem is it makes them so insufferable to deal with. They look at someone like me, a half blood of two different races like I''m dirt, yet I could demolish their cities with ease. Though, a few of the Human''s have started to figure out that very fact..." Nirinia trailed off, her eyes narrowed slightly as she stared across the ins, towards therge tents of the enemy encampment. Jahi smirked at the Djinn, following her gaze as she asked "What, did a few of their women want to get a taste of something ''exotic'' via you~?" Rolling her eyes, the Djinn was about to respond when a trumpet st made us turn towards the field, where the enemy had begun to shout and charge. The Praetor squad leading the way created arge wall of raw mana before them as they tried to block the iing arrows and spells, wanting to keep as many soldiers alive as they could before reaching the walls. "Alright, NOW I''m going to start keeping track, so let''s see who gets the higher kill count, hmm~?" With Nirinia''s teasing voice nudging us on, we all exchanged looks, the only one who seemed exasperated being Leone when she saw us smirking at one another. Nocking an arrow, Anput grinned as she channel some Metal Magic on the tip, increasing its weight and sharpness as she let it loose, the arrow hurtling towards the shield. Jahi quickly followed suit, but her arrow simply shattered against the shield, whereas Anput''s pierced the mana barrier and impaled a Praetor in the shoulder, causing a section of the barrier to falter. Seeing that, Leone and I nodded at one another as we created arrows of our own, sending them flying towards the disrupted barrier and raining down on the troops. Her fire was amplified by the gusts of wind from my arrows, creating small bursts inside the enemies formation as they began to be cut down. With that one section being lowered and weakened, our archers began to target what they could hit, while the Mages continued to pepper the rest of the barrier, wearing it down before forcing the Praetors to drop the shield. When that happened, I grinned as I began to send a barrage of gale bursting arrows down onto the field, the arrows sending sharp slices of wind into the crowd and dismembering the enemies around the impact. Leone also capitalized on her potent magics, small explosions tearing people apart and burning theirrades. Meanwhile, the other three let their bows sing a deadly tune, each swiftly nocking an arrow and letting it loose in not even a second, each one finding its mark inside the sea of bodies. As we worked, I kept my focus on the small gale around us, keeping a protective dome around our tower to ''keep out enemy arrows and attacks''. Or not so friendly friendly-fire. Just like before, this wave of enemies was short-lived and rather nd, but it resulted in arge swathe of blood soakednd before us. The Praetors withstood a barrage of arrows and magics, but they too eventually fell, cut down as they were isted from one another and picked off, leaving the battlefield silent and lifeless. However, the enemies tactics became noticeable as night fell. As the moon rose, the previously dead soldiers rose anew, no longer caring for any patriotic goals that they might have been instilled with. No, instead they began to hunt for flesh and blood, as the dead began to walk once again as little more then Ghouls and Zombies. Chapter 263 262: Night Of The Undead That night, when the dead rose and began to groan, I had been awoken by an annoyed Anput, the Jackalkin sighing as she gestured for me to grab my gear. The others were also swiftly scraping on their armor and weapons, all while we listened to the slowly approaching horde of undead. Exchanging nces, Anput muttered "Why the hell didn''t we burn them?" Nirinia responded with a yawn, the Knight looking bored as we began to climb up our tower, the other soldiers looking as tired and unenthusiastic as we were. "Can''t. Too much magic expended, and it leaves us open to another attack. Sadly, this is amon tactic amongst therger, yet weaker armies. Send a probing attack and hope that the undead that rise afterwards can deal some damage. Though..." Reaching the top, the Djinn sighed as she gestured over the pitch ck in, which was filled with the eery groans and asional glimmer of metal under the dim light of the moons. "Jahi, can you illuminate the field? Just a bit, nothing too bright." The Demoness nodded, the golden runes that glimmered beside us visible to everyone. Finishing the simple spell, Jahi sent out a ratherrge ball of golden light, making the undead flinch and re up at the light. With the field now illuminated, we could see that some of the undead were wandering aimlessly, but most were either trudging towards the castle, or... "This tactic is honestly idiotic. You waist cannon fodder just for it toe back stronger and attack you. See, unless someone is extremely, extremely well versed in Necromancy, which is nigh impossible considering all research on the subject has been burnt, these hordes tend to be more problematic then beneficial. Y''know, since they tend to go after anything with a pulse." I nodded as I looked over the vast horde below us, most of which was stumbling towards the castle. With the light beating down on them, the undead grumbled and groaned as they grew more and more sluggish, bing the perfect target practice for our archers. "Anyways, lets get this over with girls. The faster this horde is dealt with, the quicker we can go back to sleep. And since we can actually see them..." Grabbing the bow, Nirinia began to snipe at the shuffling ghouls and zombies, the decaying corpses falling back down to true death as an arrow pierced their skulls. "Aim for the head; that''ll keep them down. These are different from the Ghouls of Zhu''Rong Caverns, since they aren''t ''monsters'' in the sense that they have a core. They''re freaks of nature permeated with death energies, and that energy pools in the brain. It''s also why they''re so interested in your brains, if you wanted to know." Letting out a ''huh'', we all began to kill the undead below us, all while watching the Western Army fend off the growing tide of undead. Many soldiers on their side fell to the undead, and momentster they rose back up as undead themselves, which made me chuckle. "Yeah, it is stupidly beautiful seeing this tactic on disy. You tend to harm yourself more then do yourself any good when you toy with the undead. Anyways, this''ll mean either a day of rest of another wave of soldiers sent to attack the castle. But, we should be able to sleep a bit longer because of this..." That one statement energized all of us; yes, we were used to fighting, and yes we were used to getting little sleep, but... The paranoia, different scenery, the fact we were in a war zone... Each of those things made our sleep restless and unfulfilling, and I could tell that it was slowly wearing on the girls. It was wearing on me as well, but I was used to sleepless nights leading into a demanding day, so I managed to transfer quite easily to this new, temporary lifestyle. Slinging another wind arrow down into the horde, I listened to the familiar ding of experience before asking the System to shut it off, preferring to listen to the noise of the undead dying once more. The rotting flesh of the ghouls tore easily under the onught of arrows and magic, and eventually we were looking over a calm battlefield, all while the Western Army continued to keep their horde at bay. Dispelling the light sphere, the ins and castle were once again shrouded in darkness, and it was at that moment that I heard the twang of a bow. Turning, I waved my hand and erected a barrier of wind, shattering the errant arrow as it impacted the wall. Based on its trajectory, it was aimed at Jahi, which made the Demoness frown. Trying to trace it back, I could only growl as I saw the dark outline of a cloaked figure slip away, dozens of feet away inside the castle. Letting the barrier fall, I kept my guard up as we began to descend down the tower, Anput leading us as she created new paths via her Earth Magic, filling in the old ones and restructuring the tower. Reaching our encampment, we all stared at one another in silence, before Nirinia sighed and slid into her tent. Nodding, I took first watch again, keeping my mind sharp as I shrouded our camp with a thin, quiet gale. The attacks had begun, but it seemed more like slight potshots would be the main course for now. ncing around the camp, I frowned as I began to scan each and every tent, wondering if the inhabitants were asleep or if they were assassins, waiting for the right time to strike. Letting out a low sigh, I wondered how long this war wouldst, my thirst for blood battling with my wariness as I looked around. Leone took over my watch eventually, and I sighed again as I gave the Vampire a quick kiss,forting her and myself as I undid the straps of my armor andid down in my bedroll, my fingers clenched around the hilt of my Protective Fang. Chapter 264 263: Invasion Begins After another restless night of mild paranoia, we were all looking tired as we sat down to swiftly eat, though Nirinia seemed unfazed. The mood around our camp was still and somber, and I felt a little stifled at how we all mechanically went about our preparations. Grabbing our gear and strapping it on, we once again climbed up our tower and looked out over the ins, where the enemy from the Western Kingdoms roamed around, their soldiers also getting prepared for the uing fight. From the looks of therge scale movements happening around their encampment, we all exchanged nces as we watched them begin to gather up, signifying the first real attack. Nirinia leaned over the parapet, looking around the field before turning her gaze back towards our castle, scanning the walls and camp with narrowed eyes. "Careful with this one, girls. If someone wanted to attack, doing so during the height of the siege would be their best bet. Besides that, keep a lookout for the enemy mages, be it Praetors or others. They''ll be the ones trying to destroy the walls. Now..." Taking a deep breath, the Djinn gestured towards the gathering army and added "The main problem is the fact that both Julius and Matilda will be taking part in this as well, but they''ll be fighting conservatively, hoping to deal damage to the castle and tear it down. If not, then they''ll pull back and regroup for an attackter today or tomorrow. If you see them, a tall,nky hawkish man and a short, buxom woman in unique gear, don''t engage them. Don''t draw attention to yourselves." Seeing the Djinn''s serious expression, we all nodded before returning our gazes to the gathering army, awaiting their movements. The wait was tense and draining under the sweltering afternoon sun, but that wasn''t something that affected us; a thin Water Cloak kept us cool and refreshed as we waited, and my perpetual gale dome stirred up a gentle breeze atop our tower. Physically, we were all fine, but mentally the wait was tiring; staring off over a gathering army that wants to kill you and invade yournd, all while needing to watch your back for assassins took its toll slowly but surely, and we all needed to take small sips from a focus potion to keep our minds sharp. Thankfully Leone was an Alchemist, so we could afford this luxury, but the other soldiers couldn''t; looking back into the castle, I saw a few of therger, more heavily armored soldiers panting and stumbling towards medical tents, where they would be given a small drop of focus potion mixed with water to revitalized them. As the sun slowly crawled through the sky, the heat and stench of both unwashed bodies and corpses continued to nag at the troops morale, but that all vanished as a trumpet st alerted the Legion to the uing battle. The Western Army was on the march. Each of us readied our magics and weapons, and we grit our teeth as the humans began to roar and charge at us, the thundering sounds of their run mixing with the ngs of their weapons and armor. At the forefront were the Praetor Squads, and a thicker, more solid shield of mana covered the Western Army from any attacks, the sshes of magic and shattering of arrows adding to the cacophony of sound. Leone and I nodded at one another, and we began to hurl our own spells into the shield. The Vampire sentrge bolts of liquid me hurtling towards the shield, and I swiftly followed her attacks up with spheres ofpressed winds, fanning the mes she created. Her magic was almost like napalm as it dribbled to the ground, and some of it managed to seep through the shield or permeate the ground, singing and burning some of the enemy soldiers. Cracking sounds filled the air as the barrage of magical attacks on the shield took its toll, and the Legion cheered as the Praetor Squads needed to relinquish control of the barrier. With their protection gone, the Western Army was at the mercy of our mages and archers, all while the melee fighters awaited at the gate. While the barricade might have fallen, the Praetor Squads instead created their own personal Mana Cloaks, saying themselves from the worst of the injuries, allowing them to reach the moat in mere moments. Of course, some weren''t so lucky; Leone sent apressed beam of her Fire Mana towards a Praetor, melting his torso and killing him instantly, while one of my Wind Spheres tore a Praetor and some soldiers apart, the sharpened gale winds slicing into flesh with ease. Jahi began to target therger, tougher looking soldiers, her bow singing a deadly tune as she loosed arrow after arrow, each one thunking into flesh and taking someone out of the fight. Nirinia and Anput unleashed barrages of magically enhanced arrows into the crowd, piercing enemies with ease as they slowly whittled the enemies numbers. However, the sea of enemies before us was vast, and each one that we killed was reced by two others. Reaching the moat, the Praetor Squads began to bridge the gap with Earth Magic, and Nirinia cursed as a two people pushed to the front of the Praetor''s. "Shit! Alright, you girls stay up here! I''ll go bolster the gate! Remember, be careful!" The Djinn rushed down the tower, leaving us alone as we looked over the enemy. "This is a pain..." Jahi''s low growl made us nod, and I muttered "Keep going, I''ll focus on keeping us safe..." The others nodded again, and they turned back to the army, magic and arrows flying down swiftly as they increased their speeds. Leone began to utilize more crowd control spells, the sounds of explosions booming around the ne as she bombed the horde in front of us, while Anput began to shoot multiple arrows at a time, creating new ones from stone. Erecting a barrier around us, I looked down over the gate, where the tall, thin man raised his dius and dagger and pointed them at the castle, the cold silver glow radiating from the des making me shiver slightly. Runes danced around the man, and each one flickered between reds and greens, before a sh of lightning struck the gate. The bolt scorched the thick gate, gouging out a few small chunks of rock, but otherwise the walls remained intact. Seeing that, he frowned before raising the dius, shing out slightly as he sliced an arrow away. The shorter woman beside him stabbed her Zweihander into the ground, and a swirling sphere of water burst forth from the earth, protecting them. But, she didn''t protect the Praetor''s behind them, and a wall of fire bathed the small bridge the Praetor''s had created, causing them to scream in agony as they were set ame. Arrows and bolts of elemental mana rained down on the Praetors, cutting them down in mere moments, all while the two Justiciar''s remained unscathed. Turning my attention back towards the enemies under us, I kept the barrier up before using it as a medium to cast spells, though I could feel my mana drain swiftly from my core. My spells were of a limited selection, but I didn''t needplexity at this moment; I needed simple, efficient spells. So, I began to use the revolving sphere of wind around us as a medium to send out des of sharped Wind Mana, the crescent des slicing cleanly through swathes of soldiers below us. Whilst I did that, I focused on the castle around us, keeping my guard up as I looked around for any potential assassins. Sending out another crescent de, I frowned as I felt something press against the barrier behind and below us, and I swiftly turned and rushed to the opposite parapets. Looking down, my frown deepened as I saw nothing under us, so I instead rushed towards the stairs. Peering down into the staircase, I rapidly traced out a bullet spell and held it at the ready, all while my Protective Fang remained in my hand. Taking a step down, I nced through the various holes that Anput had made, giving me a good look at the stairs below us. Seeing a cloaked figure, I narrowed my eyes as I watched them attempt to sneak up the stairs, the gleam of metal shing form under their cloak. Turning the corner, I sent the bullet hurtling towards the cloaked figure, eliciting a shout of pain as the pressurized water sunk into their chest. Readying another one, I sent the next bullet flying towards the figures head, watching as it snapped back, a spray of blooding out the back of the persons skull. Looking warily around the towers stairs, I remained where I was for a few moments as the body dropped to the ground, the sickening thud of flesh smacking against the stairs echoing around the tower. Not seeing anything else, I raised my dagger and steadily and slowly descended, reaching the body. Dropping the water spell, I used my wind to lift the corpse up and levitated it up to the top, where we would examine it together. When I did return up top, the others nced back at me before gritting their teeth, only to have to turn back as we heard "Retreat! Retreat now!" The lithe man had pulled back, guiding the troops away before aiming his fingers towards the castle, sparks of electricity dancing around his outstretched hand. Thick bolts of lightning struck the earthen fortress, and I shouted "Get down!" as he pointed his finger towards our tower. We all dropped to the floor as multiple bolts of lightning struck the barrier, before the stronger mana shredded through my spell. However, Anput was quick to act, summoning a dome of solid rock around us, which blocked the mans attack. The deafening booms as each bolt struck the dome made me flinch, my ears ringing fiercely, before silence fell over us. Keeping the dome up, Anput instead carved out the floor and lowered us into the tower, where we all panted for breath. "Holy hells... that was... potent magic he had..." Jahi grimaced as she said that, and I nodded, adding "He tore through a barrier like nothing... I guess he really is Knight level..." Anput spoke next, her tone both excited and worried as she said "His reflexes must be incredible with a Lightning Cloak up. Must be why he dual wields two short des." That thought made us all shiver slightly, before we turned to stare at Leone as she coughed into her palm, gesturing down towards the corpse. "We can talk about himter. For now, I want to know who this is." Chapter 265 264: After Action Report "We can talk about himter. For now, I want to know who this is." Leone nudged the corpse before us with her booted foot, her eyes narrowing slightly as she moved her foot towards the corpses hood. Pushing it back, we all stared down at the revealed woman for a few moments, before Jahi muttered "Don''t know if I should be surprised, or..?" Laying on her back was a human woman, her hair pulled into a braid that started from her brow and went down her skull, while the sides of her head were clean shaven. Her lips were opened in a shocked expression, and her dull brown eyes stared up at us, letting us know she didn''t expect to die at that moment. Dark brown skin shimmered under the firelight, and I unsheathed a dagger and began to cut away the cloak, not trusting the corpse whatsoever. With the cloak now little more than tatters of cloth, we were greeted with the sight of a leather d body and dozens of various hidden weapons. Thin throwing needles were holstered across the woman''s chest, while four different daggers were strapped to her waist, alongside a rapier. Pouches and pockets were filled with small spherical objects, each oneden with explosive runes, and a few small tinctures of dark green or blue liquids spilled out onto the floor. A pair of vials filled with pills joined the poisons, and Leone had begun to sift through the alchemical weapons, her nose twitching as she sniffed each one. Laying out the weapons, I nodded to myself as I looked between them, before returning to the corpse. Gingerly patting her down, I searched for any other weapons or items, before frowning as a thin tube was pulled from her ankle. Uncorking it, I shimmied out a rolled up piece of paper, which I unfurled and looked over. "It''s her orders..." Handing it to Jahi, I continued to search her body, before sighing as nothing else turned up. Leone held up the pills and said "Think these are a diluted healing pill mixed with some general antidotes, while the poisons are rather...mon as well. The blue one is abination of Nightshade and Azure Rotberry, which is a basic slow working poison that shuts down you body''s systems, while the green one is a Goblin Hemlock extract, which makes you extremely ill in moments. Both of which would be nulled by a quick healing spell." That made me frown, and I looked down at the collection of daggers and needles, gently lifting them up before handing them to Anput, who ran her fingers over each. "Basic iron too. This can''t have been the same person asst night, right? I mean, Kat found this one in moments, but the other was smart..." Nodding, I added "This woman must''ve tried to scale the tower from the outside, but hit my barrier. That alerted me, but she must''ve thought she could continue to sneak around, hence me catching her on the stairs." Jahi nodded before cing the paper on the woman''s chest, saying "Let''s burn her before going down to the camp. The orders were simple; wait for the fighting to start before scaling the walls and going for our tower. This could''ve been the Westerners sending an assassin of their own to sow chaos during their initial attack, or..." She didn''t need to finish, as we all knew who she was referring too. "The problem is that this isn''t a case where we can definitively say it''s them. This could''ve easily been the West doing this on their own. Which is annoying, but..." Everyone nodded, before Anput swiftly created a coffin for the assassin, while Leone enveloped the corpse in mes, burning her body. Descending down the tower, I nced at Leone as I asked "What are you going to do with the poisons?" The Vampire pursed her lips, looking down at the vials in her hands before sending a suspicion filled nce at me. "Why?" Putting on a fake offended expression, I smiled at her as I said "Just... curious is all~!" Narrowing her eyes at me, she sighed as she handed the poisons over, making my smile widen slightly before I dropped it, swiftly storing them inside my armor as I coughed gently. "Oh, you didn''t have~ to..." Rolling her eyes at me, Leone continued descending down the tower, before we reached the carriage, where Nirinia was waiting for us. The Djinn let out a sigh as she nodded towards us, asking "What took you so long?" Leaning on the carriage beside her, Jahi''s amethyst eyes flickered around as she muttered "An assassin tried to climb the tower." Nirinia smirked, throwing her arm over Jahi''s shoulders as she muttered back "Any clue on who they were with?" Catching on to the Djinn''s act, the Demoness grinned back and chuckled slightly, while the rest of us dispersed around the camp, getting some chores done. "No, it was a human woman. Could''ve been the West, could''ve been them. Poorly equipped too; iron weapons, low level poisons, poor understanding of magic. The only interesting things were these..." Reaching out slightly, Jahi handed Nirinia one of the small spheres, which the Djinn looked down at before frowning. "Well this is new... what''s this, a timed explosive? Interesting..." Slipping it into her pouch, the Djinn released Jahi and turned towards me, patting her stomach as she said "When''s dinner~? Bit peckish after that~!" We all rolled our eyes at her simple thinking, before we turned to look at the approaching Wolfkin Banner Bearer. Her expression was worse then before, and as she went to speak Nirinia waved her hand, saying "Alright, alright, we''ll be there in a few moments~" ring at the Djinn, the Wolfkin sharply nodded before turning around swiftly, returning the way she came. "Pleasant one isn''t she~?" Getting up, I brushed off the dust from my armor before joining the rest as we moved towards the Command tent. Our journey there allowed us to get a grasp of the Legions morale, and... Well, it wasn''t too great, but it wasn''t dire; many were humbled by the Justiciars joining in the fight, letting them know that this wouldn''t be some simple defensive battle. No, this would be a harsh, hellish fight to simply survive. Many sat around staring down at the ground with nk faces, whilst a few openly shed a few tears as they looked at the belongings of someone who died. Reaching the tent, we entered to find a few other people inside beside Adelina; two of which wore noticeable green sashes. Nirinia strode forwards confidently, and we all followed behind her as we filtered into the tent, standing beside the Djinn as she crossed her arms and stared straight at Adelina. Most in the tent were Centurions, a few of which brought along their Optio''s, their second inmands. They all stared at the Knight with awe, all of them looking at Nirinia like shewas some kind of Goddess that descended before them. As for the two Sariel Envoys, they stared at us with fake smiles and barely concealed pride, the two Elves haughtily standing off to the side as they observed the meeting. Adelina cleared her throat, forcing everyone to turn back to her, and she began to speak. "Although it was just a preliminary attack, it cost us a few troops. The enemy Praetor Squads were dealt a solid blow, but they sent one back as well. As for the two Justiciar''s, well... Julius managed to damage a good portion of the gate and its defenders. Ovliea, report." A bulky Boarkin woman stepped forwards, her metal armor clinking as she moved. "My Cohort took minimal casualties, but many injuries. Quite a few soldiers are suffering from burns or temporary paralysis, but should be back on their feet and healed in a few hours." Nodding, Adelina continued down the line, getting a report from the twelve different Centurions. It was a simr report each time; few died during the attack, but many suffered injuries. Apparently Julius'' parting gift, that barrage of lightning bolts, managed to cause quite a bit of smaller damages to the troops, meaning the healers were working overtime right now. "Good. Trivag, your Sixth Cohort will man the walls for now; keep a look on the Westerners, and warn us when they begin to move. Ulvi, move your Seventh Cohort up to the gate and be prepared to switch with the Sixth if need be. Dharmsta, send a few of your sharpshooters to join the Sixth and Seventh." Each of the Centurions nodded before exiting the tent, and Adelina continued to give out orders, slowly emptying the tent of people. Now, only our group, Adelina''s squad, and the Envoys remained. Stepping forwards, one of the Envoys smirked as he asked "Is there a reason you''ve not given any orders to Lady Nirinia, Commander?" Adelina red over at the Elf, but before she could say a word the Djinn let out a sharp peal ofughter. "You think you canmand me to do anything, Elf? I could snap you like a damn twig." The sneer on Nirinia''s face made the Elf frown, before he nched as the Djinn leaned forwards, her eyes hardening as she whispered "Say another word and I fucking will. You don''t have any authority over me; only the Marquess and the Empress can order me around, andst I checked, they weren''t here. I have my orders, you have yours. Piss off." The other Elf stepped forwards and bowed slightly, grabbing his friends shoulder and saying "Apologies, Lady Nirinia. Quintus doesn''t have much... experience as an Envoy yet. Do forgive him. Come now Quintus; let''s leave themanding to the Commander, hmm?" Giving the tent another bow, the older Elf dragged his friend away, leaving just us inside the tent. Adelina sighed, before she red over at Nirinia. "I know that you don''t... like them, Nirinia, but must you antagonize them?" ncing at Adelina, the Djinn dropped her smile as she shrugged, before turning around and moving towards the entrance. "If that''s all, Commander?" Peering over her shoulder, Nirinia waited for a moment as she stared at the Lioness, who flinched slightly at the term, before she shook her head. Scoffing lightly, Nirinia led us back to our tent, the walk silent as we looked around us. With someone having tried to attack us just a little bit ago, each of us were wary of the potential threat lurking inside the Legion, but there was nothing we could do. Not when we didn''t know who was truly under the Sariel''s besides the Envoys. With that joyful thought in mind, we returned to our camp and began to rest up, since we didn''t know when the next attack woulde, be it external or internal. Chapter 266 265: Attack After Attack Cursing slightly, I waved my hand and willed a dozen crescent des of razor sharp winds down onto the charging army, each thick, solidified gale tearing through the human soldiers with frightening ease. Each de cut into flesh like a knife through butter, and the spray of blood created clouds of red around the dead as limbs and torsos fell to the ground with a plop. More and more soldiers arrived at the border each hour, and the castle was officially under siege. Continuous waves of attacks rained down on our earthen walls, and the Earth Mages worked day and night to keep the castle standing, but each hour resulted in another chip being unable to be reced, another crack in the foundation of our fortress. Julius and Matilda now alternated their appearances, sometimes not showing up at all... However, when they did, the impact was noticeable. Julius'' potent lightning scorched and shattered the solid earth walls, while it burned and singed the soldiers manning said walls. When he was present, he managed to push the Western Army up to our gate with ease, forcing the entire Legion to fight against those attacks. But, even with his presence, the difference between the Empire''s Legion and the Western Army was vast, and they were forced back each time... Not that it was a solid, amazing victory when we pushed them back, what with each attack leaving noticeable damage to our gate and walls, slowly whittling away at our defenses. When Matilda took charge, her pressurized water would leave deep gouges in the walls, while her thick water dome protected the Praetor Squads as best she could, allowing them to hurl spell after spell towards the castle. These hours ofbat were slowly taking their toll, and the constant nag I felt at the back of my mind to look out for another arrow wore at my mental state. I could feel myself slowly slipping, the sight of blood so tantalizingly close, yet so damn far teasing me to no end, all while the rational side of me continued to grow paranoid as I waited for an arrow to fly towards our tower from behind didn''t help at all. So, those hours drained me, each consecutive wave of enemies slowly draining my mana, my mental energies, and slowly tiring my body out as well; who knew that being tense for hours on end would exhaust you? Nirinia often stood down by the gate, anchoring the Cohorts down there as she prepared to fight against the Justiciars, should they break through. For the moment, while we awaited the reinforcement of a real Knight, she was all we had to dissuade the enemy from rushing the castle gate with all their might. Of course, they also had the option of hoping to take us down before those reinforcements arrived, but the chance was slim... But still there. "This is... fucking annoying... how many people live in this Western Kingdom?!" Jahiined as she nocked another arrow, her fingers slightly raw from the long hour of shooting her bow down into the sea of soldiers. Long ago we ran out of normal arrows, and now Anput needed to mass produce her own before distributing them to Jahi as well, since the Demoness was still following the advice of not disying her Light Magic just yet. From what we had seen so far, the Justiciars either didn''t know that we were here, on this battlefield, or simply hadn''t located us just yet; each of us had hoods over our heads, and thankfully Jahi''s horns could be mistaken for a normal Goatkin or Ramkin, and Anput and I were amongst the moremon of the Beastkin lines, which were the Canines. As for Leone, she didn''t have any features that could be seen from afar, especially not when her hair was pulled back into a ponytail that was stuffed down her cloak, keeping her hair hidden. Chuckling wryly, the Vampire slung another bolt of explosive me into the crowd, saying "If you must know, the rate at which the average human procreates is astoundingly fast; they can birth a child a year, one after another... hence their giant poption of a few million in such small territories. So... yes, there is quite a few bodies that can be sent our way." The Demoness growled at that, while Anput grinned as she let another stone arrow fly, the shards shattering inside the unlucky woman it hit, her shrieks swiftly drowned out by the other booms, screams, and thunderous sound of boots thumping against the ground as more soldiers charged forwards. "Personally, I''m rather enjoying this~! It''s pretty fun, shooting into a crowd of idiots and slowly whittling them down, but I would prefer to be down there with a de..." Jahi nodded, her eyes flickering gold for a moment as she snarled "That would feel much better then being stuck up here... by the Goddess is this annoying..." Her displeasure made me grit my teeth for a moment, the burst of emotion from the soul bond forcing me to blink for a moment to gather my thoughts again. Keeping the dome of wind around us was slowly fraying the edges of my mind, and I held back a growl of my own as I red slightly at the girls, before shaking my head. Its not their fault... its not their fault... Taking a few deep breaths, I sat down and closed my eyes, focusing instead on the dome and keeping it up. Fumbling through my pouches, I searched for my remaining focus potion, uncorking it and sniffing the contents to gauge the remaining efficacy of the yellow liquid. I had been watering down this one potion for a while now, and it was slowly losing its potency. Sighing, I brought the vial to my lips and took a swig, wincing slightly at the sharp tangy vor of the herbal concoction. Corking it back up, I stowed it away, saving thest drop forter to alleviate the worst parts of the headache that''s going to make tonight excruciating. Focusing back on the dome, I kept the gale up and spinning as best I could, keeping my attention on the edges for whenever someone might hit it or touch it. Besides the initial assassin that shot the arrow, and the dark skinned woman from earlier, we hadn''t been targeted again, but I had a feeling they were waiting for me to lower my guard. So, a few hours from now would likely be the ideal time for them to strike; when I was exhausted and asleep, when we were all trying to regain some of the energy expended throughout the days battles. Sighing slightly, I let those thoughts drift away as I focused on the here and now, barely listening to the girls as they chatted like nothing was happening; the current wave of enemies were just normal soldiers, which worried me slightly. There were no Praetor Squads, none of those Cloud Mercenaries, no Justiciars... The Western Kingdom was simply sending arge amount of bodies our way with the hopes of wearing away at us before sending the Elites forwards... And considering they were still getting reinforcements, this was a problem. This meditation of mine did help slow the drain of mana from my core, and I took the chance to empty my mind and instead run on base instinct, resting slightly. The others seemed to enjoy this to some degree, and Leone had stepped past her reluctance to kill, though she did sometimes show remorse for her actions. Most likely, this war would havesting effects on the girls mental state, but we should be able to help her ovee it with ease... More and more random thoughts drifted through my mind, before I was shook ''awake'' by Leone, the Vampire''s serious expression making me frown as I stood up. Walking to join the others at the parapets, I sighed as I muttered "I was right then..." The remaining soldiers rushed back to their encampment, where the Elites had begun to gather and gear themselves. While not as numerous as the basic soldiers, this army still numbered in the low thousands, and standing at the forefront were two imposing figures; one tall, lithe man and one shorter, curvy woman. Seeing the gs of the Western Kingdoms, Cloud Mercenary Group, and other countries unfurling, I sighed again as I said "Well, this is it. They''ll be banking it all on this next attack. The Knight shouldn''t be here for another two or three hours, so..." We all nodded to one another, quickly handing potions and pills to one another as we replenished our bodies, minds, and cores as best we could. Every small ounce of energy we could get would be necessary, as I had a feeling this castle of ours woulde crumbling down in an hours time. With that much arcane firepower lining up opposite us, we needed to be prepared for that possibility; the possibility that the gate falls and leaves us exposed to meleebat. That the tower itself might be targeted. We needed to prepare for that, and each of us made sure that we had our equipment at the ready. "Well, this is definitely it. Prioritize helping one another; I... I can''t lose any of you. Stay safe, let''s work together, and we''lle out of this unscathed. We did it before, against that Lord Pele, so we can do it again! Alright?" Jahi looked between us, worry in her amethyst eyes as she scanned our features, before smiling as we all nodded back at her. "Remember, be careful of allies as well. Keep an eye out for anyone that tries to get to close. I would like to say just cut them down before they can do anything, but that''d cause too many problems, so just avoid them as best we can..." Again, we all nodded before turning back to the gathering army, each of us smiling wryly at the storm that was heading our way. Whether or not we would be able to withstand this storm was yet to be seen, but I had faith in us all. We could ovee this trialid before us... Chapter 267 266: The Real Assault Begins "Looks like they won''t being for a few more minutes now, so make sure your getting a little rest..." Everyone nodded, and I instantly sat down and leaned my back against the parapet, closing my eyes as I began to try and suck some more mana from the air around us. Sadly, since the ins we were residing on were sweltering hot and barely had any wind, not even a breeze, my mana regeneration was rather low, and the pros were heavily outweighed by the cons of creating my own artificial environment at the moment. Retrieving thest of that focus potion, I swallowed down the tangy liquid before storing the vial away, only to open my eyes as I felt someone slide down to the ground beside me. Jahi smiled down at me as she ced her hand on my head, ruffling my ears for a moment before pulling me closer to her side. Snuggling against her armor, I sighed as her sweet scent washed over me, soothing my headache in an instant. The Demoness remained quiet as we sat together, her arm around my shoulders as well as Leone''s, while Anput sat on the wall and kept watch, her obsidian eyes focused on her objective. The asional squeeze let me know that Jahi was worried about this uing attack, but the Demoness'' connection to me told me more than she let on. We were all worried, that much was obvious; after all, we were being told that we were surrounded on all sides by enemies, some hidden and others not. Some were incredibly strong, while the others could strike with a hidden de. This was worse then being down in the Zhu''Rong Caverns, where monsters lurked just out of sight; at least down there, I knew that whoever, or whatever I came across wanted to kill me. Up here? I had no such indicator, and everything was so much moreplex. Anything could happen, at any time during this uing battle, and there might be instances where we simply cannot go to help one another. The enemy weren''t strong individually, but as a collective they were rather dangerous. That''s what Jahi was worried about; not being able to help us yet again, to watch on as something might happen to someone while she can only watch. Peeking up at her clenched jawline, I smiled softly as I pressed myself further against her, the Demoness'' hand squeezing my shoulder in response. This quiet assurance between us softened and eased our worries, and each moment felt infinitely long as we basked in the others warmth and scent. However, time doesn''t slow down, no matter what you would like to think. It ticks along at a steady pace, and Anput shattered our peace as she spoke, her voice excited as she informed us "The Western Army is on the march!" Scrambling to our feet, we all looked out over the parapets and watched as the gathered army began to roar and charge towards us. Both sides were exhausted, but the Elites of the Western Army had had a little longer to rest, so I wasn''t looking forwards to this uing fight. Waiting for them to draw closer, I held back on erecting the wind barrier for as long as I could, all while the others began to sling arrows and spells towards the enemy. Just like before, the Praetor Squads had a giant, all epassing barrier protecting them as they charged, and this one was much more solid then the previous ones, redirecting and breaking spells and arrows alike as they mmed into the barrier. Their boots mmed into the earth, releasing thunderous undertones to their determined shouts for blood. Metallic ngs joined the stomping and screaming, and the booms and cracks of spells erupting against the barrier creating this desperate battles overture. My eyes were glued to the closest enemy, and I gauged the distance between us and them as they rushed forwards, the runes for my own barrier spell pulsing in the air around us. When they got within two hundred and fifty feet of us, I cast the spell and began to join the others in their attack, continuing on with the same crescent des of wind that I had been using previously. The first scored a shallow cut in the enemies barrier, which was quickly patched up by an influx of magic. However, that small cut let me know that, as long as I targeted the same spot over and over again in rapid session, I could shatter a portion of the barrier. With that in mind, I unleashed a dozen des of wind, each one hurtling through the sky and mming into the barrier. The first scored another shallow gash, which was deepened and widened by the follow up cut. Then the third and fourth splintered parts of the barrier, hair line fractures webbing out from the initial cut. The fifth and sixth added more and more depth to the gash, while chunks of the barrier fell apart, the fractures steadily growing. By the seventh de, a small hole had been shattered into the barrier, and that gap was only widened as the remaining six des swiftly, and brutally, tore through the barrier. Panting slightly, I watched as arge chunk of the Praetors before us stumbled, the destruction of their part of the barrier whishing their cores and inflicting some internal damages. Taking advantage of the momentary weakness, Leone grunted as she weaved runes together in a mere fraction of a second, her fingers blurring as she created a giant spear of sparking mes. With a shout, she threw the spear forwards, and it almost instantly impacted the ground around the Praetors. The spear exploded instantly, evaporating and killing dozens in the initial st radius, before the wave of skin melting mes washed over more soldiers around it. Screams and pops could be heard as a part of the battlefield saddlery became enveloped in mes; mes that spread as the affected soldiers ran around into others, allowing the hellfire to leap to a new target before eating away at them as well. More and more died from Leone''s spell, and her swift thinking and capitalization on the moment allowed us to widen that moment, going from a second to almost a minute. Jahi and Anput''s bows sang a deadly tune as they began to pick off the remaining Praetors, the stone and light arrows slicing through magic and armor alike. Tinkering with my spells, I lowered the sharpness and focused more on the amount of wind, aiding the spread of the fire to more of the Western Army, hoping to cut downrge swathes of them before they reached the gate. With one side of their line now in mes, the Westerners redoubled their charge, but not before Matilda of Duurghaven disyed why she was given the title of Justiciar. Stabbing her Zweih?¡ènder into the sky, the short human woman let out a shout as her deep blue mana swirled around the de, before it shot into the air. A giant Ritual Circle appeared above the battlefield, and momentster her water fell back to the ground. Remaining stationary, the woman began to both put out the mes that devoured dozens, if not hundreds of troops, but also began to heal those with minor wounds. Her face was twisted with determination and mild agony, but she maintained her spell as shebatted the mes from Leone. Clicking her tongue, the Vampire began to weave another spell, all while the Demoness and Jackalkin continued their deluge of arrows, even taking shots at Matilda. Yet, each arrow bounced off of a thin sphere of mana around her, keeping her uninjured as she fueled her spell. Keeping up their sharpshooting, the two women slowly picked off the members of the Western Army, before cursing as bolts of elemental mana mmed against the wind barrier. Gasping at the sudden impacts, I felt my mana begin to wane as I kept the barrier up, my teeth gritted as I protected us from a new onught of attacks. "Shit! Alright, Leone, erect a second barrier; Anput, get ready to lower us to the ground. We''ll go join Nirinia at the gate!" Getting nods, the two women began to execute the Demoness'' orders, a wall of mes erupting before us before we began to sink into the tower, leaving the exposed spire behind. Sadly, even as Leone wrapped us in a cocoon of mes, the enemies began to target the base of the tower, aiming to bring it down instead. Cursing, Anput turned and opened the back of the tower, creating a slide down to the ground and gesturing for us to follow her. Rushing outside, we dropped down into the castle, turning back to flinch as the tower began to tremble. The sounds of rock being crushed, broken, and shattered echoed around us, and we watched as the top half of the tower began to lean forwards, copsing into the moat. Our eyes widened in surprise at that, before we cursed again as we realized something. That tower had now be a bridge leading directly into our camp. Forgoing Nirinia''s warning, Jahi growled as her golden runes flickered to life around us, arge circle appearing on the earth below us as she muttered "Olympic Sanctuary", a warm, gentle influx of energy seeping into my body as she finished her spell. Leone and Anput joined her,yering their own domain type spells over hers. Anput raised pirs of earth and created a tform and some half walls for us, all while the towers stones began to liquify, turning to mud. Leone cast a simr domain to Jahi, buffing each of us with enhanced regenerations and defenses. They were simple spells, but... Taking a deep breath, I felt my core slowly fill back up, gradually replenishing the mana I used throughout the day. As I began to weave my own spells into existence with this new abundance of mana, we took in the sight of an army charging towards us, the soldiers of the Western Kingdoms filtering over the destroyed tower. They roared as they saw us, though quite a few nched as a shadow fell over us. Peering over my shoulder, I smirked as I felt the familiar nauseating feeling of staring straight into a souls resting ce. Bolstered by the Banshee of House Asmodia, we all drew our weapons and prepared to face this charge, the shouts of the Empire''s Legion behind us and the Western Army before us filling our ears. This would be the start of the real assault on our home, and none of us nned on allowing them to gain an inch of the Empire''s soil. Chapter 268 267: Under Siege Facing the army of humans that charged towards us, I too began to disy some of my real prowess, forgoing any Water or Wind magics as I instead weaved together a few Ice spells, starting first with a simple carpet of frost to coat the field, and tower, before us. The enemy soldiers yelled out warnings to theirrades, thinking an attack wasing, only to slip and slide off of the now frozen over mud, the sounds of bodies falling into the moat below joining the shouts and curses hurled our way. With that momentary distraction created, I joined the others in thinning the herd, simple bolts of sharpened ice flying forwards and shattering against, and inside the Westerners. Each impact activated [Frost of Despoina], the soldiers that managed to survive having an icicle explode on or inside them now needing to worry about the frost that clung to their bodies, slowing down their movements and freezing their flesh. However, the amount of soldiers affected by our spells and arrows were easily reced, and I marveled at therge amount of troops the Western Kingdoms were able to procure for this war. It felt like a never ending horde of humans charged at us, intent on whetting their des with our blood. From behind, the members of the Legion began to bolster our impromptu fortifications, adding their own spells and arrows to the defense. Giving me a quick nce, Jahi nodded as I turned my attention off of the enemies before us and instead focused on the area around us. With a wave of my hands, the spell that I had been waiting to use red to life, water rising from the ground, only to be swiftly frozen over, creating a thick sphere of solid, opaque ice around us. The temperature inside the half sphere plummeted, and I trembled in joy as the frost began to crawl over my armor. Each of the others draped themselves in Mana Cloaks, though each shivered at the bone chilling temperature for a moment. The Banshee simply stood beneath the frost, the runes etched into its armor keeping the frost from forming permanently; it stood with its head turned forwards, ''gazing'' out over the charging enemies with its hands sped around the hilt of its sword. With a few different passive mana regeneration buffsyered onto me, I grinned as I returned to dealing death amongst the charging Humans, my attention focused on the crimson spray that erupted from each unlucky soul that caught my ire. My spells were instantaneous kills, yes, but they were also rather brutal; an arrow of solid ice would skewer you, before the ice inside would shatter, sending shrapnel of razor sharp ice bouncing around inside your body, sometimes even bursting your torso open. The shower of blood and guts made the other charging enemies pause for a split second, only for them to be cut down instantly by the others. For a minute, that was all that happened as we held the line, our attacks cutting down each wave that surged forth, the bodies of the dead slowly filling in the moat as they fell or were kicked to the sides. That all changed when a Praetor Squad surged forwards, the rich violet and crimson uniform and gilded armor wiping the smile from my face. A dark swarthy man led the way, a determined look in his eyes as he held up a tower shield, the runes that shone on its wooden surface deflecting any attacks. His calm, steady movements allowed him to push forwards, his boots crunching through the ice with ease. Hurling arge sphere of ice at him, I clicked my tongue in annoyance as he simply grunted under the impact, the swarthy man stopping for a moment before resuming his walk forwards. When he finally crossed the tower, he held his position as two more shield bearers stepped out from behind him, their smaller shields adorned with the same rune, which joined together with his as they formed a wall. Readying themselves, the Praetor''s began to move forwards with slow, methodical steps, covering the ground between us in a few moments. With each step they made, we continued to m spells against their shields, and I could see the runes flickering as the stress of withstanding such potent spells began to destroy the rune. "Keep going! Once the barrier falls, we can turn them to mincemeat!" Hearing the Demoness'' shout, the Legion around us matched her shout with their own, and the spells that were hurled towards the Praetor''s doubled. Grunting, the swarthy man red at us as he continued forwards, though his tworades stumbled backwards, blood leaking from their noses as the rune on their shields shattered. Grinning slightly, Jahi and Anput drew their des and rushed forwards, splitting when they reached the swarthy man and slipping into the gaps the shield bearers made. Cursing, the swarthy man mmed his tower shield into the ground, encasing his body in a thickyer of stone, which protected him from the shes aimed at his head and ribs. That stone armor cracked under the blows, but it gave him enough time to allow his remaining Squadmates to push forwards and attack the Demoness and Jackalkin, diverting their attention. Before the dark skinned man could begin to aid hisrades, I sent a barrage of heavynces into his shield, making him grunt under each impact. Frost began to creep over the wooden surface, and he grimaced as it edged around the shield, making its way towards his hands. Leone added her own spells to the mix, shattering the frost and damaging the wooden shield, the tongues of the mes licking at the man. He still had his stone armor on, but his winces let us know he still felt something from the attacks. With Jahi and Leone fending off the other Praetors, we needed to cut this man down first before we could surge forwards, and we did just that. Nodding to Leone, we both sent a bolt forwards at the same time. Seeing that, the man readied his shield, bracing for the impact, only to shout in pain as we flicked our fingers to the side, redirecting the bolts and moving them around the shield. He staggered backwards under the two consecutive hits, crying out in pain as Leone''s mes burst against his stone flesh, while my ice shattered and crept under the stone. Sending out another bolt each, we watched as he tried to block them, managing to raise his shield to block Leone''s bolt, but not mine. Impacting his head, a sharp crack echoed around the courtyard, his head hanging off to the side, while his neck appeared to be shattered. """Ferti!""" The rest of the Praetor Squad shouted out a name in unison, the pain and anguish in their voices making me smirk slightly as the dark skinned man dropped to the ground, his body lifeless. Hisrades roared as they began to push back at Jahi, Anput, and the Banshee that had joined the fray, but the raw power each held easily outweighed the Praetors. Magic blocked sword thrusts and shes, but the three were gradually ripping past the Praetors defenses,nding blow after blow on the now unguarded humans. Jahi sparred with a young boy who looked like he had just reached adulthood, his determined expression matching the longsword that spun expertly in his hands, all while his skin shimmered with a blue sheen. Anput danced between two different Praetors, her longsword and sickle weaving around the poor humans des and shields with ease, scoring cut after cut on their flesh. Finally, the Banshee simply took whatever attacks the Praetors sent its way, opting for pure offense as it grabbed a mans sword and snapped the de in half, before ramming its own swords straight into the mans gut, twisting and yanking the sword back out momentster. Tossing the body aside, the Banshee stomped over towards Jahi, grabbing for the young man. "Riyfe! Wat-" Seeing an old man screaming at the youngster, I smirked as I flicked my hand forwards, ance of ice shattering the mans skull in an instant, a cloud of red, pink and white filling the air. "GILBERT!" The boy, Riyfe, screamed in anguish as another of hisrades died, before gurgling on his own blood as Jahi''s ymore impaled his throat. As the de slid deeper, his head rolled off to the side, while his body fell to its knees, its arms reaching up for its now decapitated head. Kicking Riyfe''s chest, the Demoness clicked her tongue as she red at the Banshee, who simply returned to the fray without acknowledging its Mistress. More Praetors were rushing over the broken tower, but I cursed softly as I noticed something. A cloud of rain hovered far above them, and the Praetors were shimmering with a deep blue light. "Jahi, pull back!" Hearing my shout, the Demoness and the others retreated, giving up the ground as they stared warily at the approaching Praetors. Like the previous squad, these Praetors made a shield wall as they nced at the now dead squad, grimacing at the strewn corpses before ring up at us. However, we weren''t focusing on them; no, we were focusing on the woman striding on the bridge behind them, herrge Zweihander resting on her shoulder as she smirked over at us. Matilda of Duurghaven had entered the castle. Chapter 269 268: Matilda Of Duurghaven Standing at the base of the demolished tower was Matilda of Duurghaven, the short mature human woman ring over at us, her Zweihander resting on her shoulder. The rain that fell around her sshed against the ground, but not a single dropnded on her deep blue metal armor, nor did it wet her long ck blue hair. She red at us, her eyes shing a dark azure, and spoke, her voice cutting across the battlefield with its sharp, pointed tone. "Where''s that Djinn whore Nirinia? I''ve a score to settle with the bitch." Narrowing my eyes, I met her gaze and waved my hand, a storm cloud of my own forming in the sky. Gritting her teeth, Matilda frowned as another drizzle descended over the battlefield, her spell mirrored by me as I buffed the Legion around us. "Really brat? Are you looking to piss me off?!" The low growl that reverberated in her throat made me raise a brow, remaining silent as I continued to stare at her. The Praetors were looking between us, their eyes filled with trepidation as they realized that their advantage had been made null. Jahi, Leone and Anput loomed beside me as well, while the Banshee drew fearful nces as it looked over the slick ground between us. "Fine! Since you''re adamant at remaining silent, dog, I''ll force you to speak. Praetors! Let''s reim thend the Empire stole from us, while avenging therades so wrongfully in by these lesser races!" Her strong voice echoed around the battlefield, and the Praetors and other soldiers nodded, a firm resolve filling their eyes. Lifting her Zweih?nder, Matilda of Duurghaven pointed the jagged de at me as she shouted "Charge! Let us im this fortress in the name of the Human Race!" With a shout, the Westerners surged forwards, all while Jahi lifted her ymore and smirked, a simple "Leave nothing but ash in our wake!" getting the Legion stirred, their feral grins and confident smirks almost faltering the enemies charge. The two armies surged forwards, while the ''Elites'' in this fight remained stationary. A few Praetors and Cloud Mercenaries remained with Matilda, while our group remained under the frozen sphere. Switching my tactics, I focused more on buffing and healing the Legion as Iyered a few spells together, just for Matilda to match each one, a haughty, derisive smirk on her face. Which was wiped off momentster as she erected a barrier of water before her, blocking a bolt of mes. Steam fizzled around her, the woman''s azure eyes widened in shock as she stared at the thin hole that appeared in the barrier. Leone grinned at her, prompting Matilda to snarl in anger as she prepared tounch her own attacks. The small space between us was filled with the shing of metal, sparks and blood flying as soldiers mmed into one another, shouting at one another as they slowly cut the others down. Smaller wounds healed in moments thanks to the rain, while the soldiers strength surged under the various buffs applied to them. It was more noticeable in the Legion; an Orc raised a human man above his head and snapped his spine, a Minotaurkin sent three humans flying, while a Deerkin woman gored a human women with her sharp antlers. The difference in physical strength was made apparent as the Legion slowly pushed the Westerners back... Which was before the Praetors made themselves known. Each of them began to target the most outstanding members of the Legion, using their personal magics to even the ying field, catching a few off guard. With the battlefield locked in a stalemate, Jahi frowned as she looked over the fighting soldiers, before she gestured to Anput, the Jackalkin instantly slinking forwards into the crowd. Her impact was instantaneous; heads flew as her swords flickered about, and the arrogantughter as she waded into the enemy made the Westerners grimace. Matilda snarled again as she kicked one of her allies forwards, the man grimacing as he reluctantly unsheathed his de, leaping into the fray. "I thought we were letting the peons fight amongst themselves, little noble." Raising a brow, the Demoness smirked as she quipped "Little? Aren''t you the little one here, girl?" Matilda grit her teeth hard, her azure eyes ame with rage as she red at the Demoness, who chuckled at her sessful goad. "Don''t fuck with me, brat. I was nning on taking your head as a trophy, but I think now I''ll peel that disgusting blue skin of yours and make it into a cloak." "A flesh cloak... are all humans that odd? Usually one uses scales or pelts for a cloak. Oh, maybe you wish to use leather, what with you constantly wetting the area around yourself..." Leone chuckled at the Demoness'' words, while Matilda ground her teeth again, her anger growing further. Whilst the two exchanged jabs, the battlefield was slowly being decided. Anput was simply too much of a force for the Westerners to withstand, and many had already fallen under her de. The man that Matilda had sent forwards was a Cloud Mercenary, and even he onlysted five strikes against Anput before his head was sent flying, making the woman curse loudly as she looked over the diminishing soldiers before her. "Useless dregs! Fuck! Fine then, I''ll get serious..." Readying her Zweihander, the short human woman strode forwards, matched instantly by Jahi and the Banshee. Her frown deepened, but she ignored them for the moment, instead activating a few enchantments on her armor as she fortified herself. One of the enchantments was a miniature domain, and it began to heal and bolster those around her, which wasprised of entirely elite soldiers. Tracing a few runes, Leone and I ced our own buffs onto the Demoness, who rolled her broad shoulders as she experienced an influx of power. The only sign that she gave us as a gesture of thanks was a small wave of her hand; she never looked back as she strode forwards, her ymore resting on her shoulder as she approached the charging Matilda. With my Mistress now stepping into the fray, I needed to keep my guard up, to keep her safe and protect this family that I had been blessed with. Nothing could happen to them under my watch. --- ??? PoV "Shouldn''t we attack them now? This battle is the perfect distraction! No one would know it was us!" ncing at Quintus, I sighed at the young Elf''s impulsiveness. "We wait for the signal, then we strike. Remember, it isn''t so simple as our prior operations. Jahi Asmodia is already on her way to bing an untouchable force, and those around her are not simple at all. A single de will shatter before her; but a dozen? From different sides? She will die here today, but it will not be easy..." Quintus nodded, his previous fire slowly cooling off as I maintained eye contact with him. We were rangers of the Sariel Family made into Envoys for the Ashen Legion, and our skills had been honed over years of perilous operations. However, Quintus was still young, and his fire still red at the drop of a hat; he hadn''t been tempered enough, which is why... I sighed again as I looked over the castle, my eyes drifting towards the Commander. Such a pity... This wasn''t an operation we would live through; I had volunteered to do this, for my on family and for the Sariel Family. Quintus, however, didn''t know that this mission was little more then suicide; he had made enemies inside the Main Family, and this was the easiest way to dispatch of him. We had our orders, and I nned on executing them to the letter. I could only pray that what we did here actually mattered; that the nsid down would be performed perfectly and allow us toplete our goal. Turning away from the Commander, I stared at the half sphere of ice off to the left, and I added "Besides, we couldn''t attack now. Remember that report? That maid of hers isn''t just a warm body to hold at night. Katherine Zara is a trained killer, and the estimates in the report put her on par with a few of our Rangers. Her ability to hide her skills is quite good, but she slipped up a few times... for that, she needs to be captured, so that Lady Jillian and Lady A canplete their own parts. She could sniff us out easily; she''s been on guard this entire time, and she''ll be a damn hard opponent to fight, Quintus. Ice magic is tricky to learn and master, but she managed to get it under control, while also having the two foundational magics mastered as well. No, we cannot strike without preparation..." He nodded again, pulling the forest green mask over his nose and unslinging his bow. "Very well then. Let me know when I need to start; I''ll keep an eye on that Djinn." Giving him a curt nod, I returned to surveying the battlefield, keeping my eyes peeled for the signal. The amount of time and resources sunk into this campaign of ours was vast, and if we failed to execute it to perfection, the Sariel''s would be done for. What rested on this opening act of ours was the future of the Sariel Family; whether it woulde out on top and take its rightful spot as the Empire''s leading family, or whether it would crumble and fall to ruin. That was the burden that we bore, and I was determined to do my part. For the Sariel Family, and for the Empire. Chapter 270 269: Broken Down Gate Kat PoV Jahi met Matilda in the center of the field, the two women''s des ttering together as theyunched their first blows, the arrogant smirks and derisive sneers now gone. In their ce were serious, focused expressions, the two women realizing that the warrior opposite them was a challenge. There would be no easy victory here, no quick battle fought; no, there would be a long, drawn out exchange of blows to decide the victor. To decide who lived, and who died. The Banshee made sure to remain close to its Mistress, but it turned to focus on the soldiers around the two women, keeping the ring around them unsullied by lesser fighters. More and more soldiers surged over the tower, and Leone and I needed to turn our attention to this new surge of enemies, to make sure they were contained and killed as efficiently as possible. Anput was on the frontlines, her whirling des leaving glittering arcs in the air as she danced around, an ever moving bastion for the Legion to anchor itself to. Iyered spell after spell on my mate, each glow of dark blue or pale green adding to her arrogant charm as she picked up the pace. Leone''s magic rained down on the approaching soldiers, the mes sputtering in the air as Matilda''s rain quenched some of their power. Surrounded by the sphere of ice, I continued to draw more mana from the frigid air, offsetting my loses as I kept up the buffs on both Anput and Jahi, the two physical warriors disying their martial prowess to the world. Jahi blocked and pushed Matilda''s shining silver Zweihander away, before trying tond a cut on the woman''s bare skin in an attempt to begin the slow, drawn out death via poisoning. The Demoness'' gold and silver sword spun around in masterfully crude curves, the controlled de leaving behind little to the imagination as she levied attack after attack on Matilda, her simple style belying her incredible technique. Watching Jahi fight was always intriguing, as the Demoness fought with such an enigmatic fluidity that didn''t match her size. It was different each time, but the core of her style remained the same; she used power and control to overwhelm her opponents, and the deception of basic technique that had been painstakingly mastered simply crushed any flourish the enemy might have. As for Matilda, her curved Zweihander sliced through the air with a whistle, the silver de gleaming in the low light as runes shimmered on the surface. She tried to rely on reactions instead of forward actions, hoping to counter Jahi via a riposte or a solid block, but the opportunity never came. So, they were locked in a stalemate, where their des nged off of one another multiple times a moment, the sparks and sounds raining in the area around them. It was during their exchange that the castle shook, followed by a loud bang momentster. The air reeked of the sickly sweet scent of ozone, and our ears began to ring after the thunderous p of Julius''s most recent attack. An attack that left the main gate little more than a pile of rubble, the earth scorched a deep ck from his fearsome attack. With the gate now broken open, the castle was being attacked from two points. The first was our little courtyard, the tents and carriages long since blown away and shattered under the boots of hundreds of soldiers. The second was the gate, where the tall, thin frame of Julius could be seen, the silver dius and Dagger held loosely in his hands. Standing opposite of him was Adelina, her Command Squad, and Nirinia, the cluster of people staring warily at the approaching Justiciar. I could only watch for a few moments as the Justiciar stopped a dozen feet away from them, the mans cloak shifting ever so slightly in the soft breeze that pervaded the castle. Raising his dius, he said something to the group before the soldiers behind him surged forwards, a roar as loud as his lightning attack filling the space with ease. That very roar revitalized the enemies before us, and their voices joined theirrades as they surged forwards again, rushing towards the Legion. Matilda too got a second wind, and Jahi grunted as she swiftly blocked the jagged Zweihander from piercing her shoulder. Hearing that, I grit my teeth as I continued to keep the enhancement spells up on both Jahi and Anput, my anger adding to the potency of each spell. I wanted to be beside them, to truly shoulder the burden, but I couldn''t. My strength wasn''t high enough for me to stand on the front lines beside them without worry. My experience wasn''t deep enough to allow for me to multitask as I protected them and killed our enemies. That was a truth that I needed to swallow, no matter how harsh it felt in my heart. I wasn''t capable enough to stand beside them... But that didn''t mean that I wasn''t able to support them from behind, and in a battle where most of my strengths are hindered, I needed to y into the ones that remained as best I could. I was a good spell caster, and my knowledge on enchantments corrted to buff spells, meaning... Even as Jahi grunted at the sudden pain of being cut, the silver de didn''t do any real damage as her enhanced skin proved tough to damage, while the small cut itself healed in a matter of milliseconds. The amount of buffs on Jahi and Anput were staggering, and underneath the shes of deep azure and pale green was an undertone of warm reds, which wasing from the array that still functioned behind us. We were all still benefiting from the array that Leone had set up days ago, and it proved to be just the edge that Jahi needed to outpace Matilda. Allowing the Zweihander to ng against her raised de, the blue Demoness redirected the woman''s sword and trapped it against the soft ground, the silver tip piercing the earth. With this momentary advantage, Jahi kicked her booted foot into Matilda''s side, causing the shorter woman to sputter out saliva as she staggered backwards. However, she still held her Zweihander firmly in her two hands, and she red up at the Demoness who approached her. "Agh... damn Demon..." Her blue eyes burned with anger, and she straightened her back as she shed her de forwards, a shining blue arc flying towards Jahi. As it grew closer, the Demoness just smirked as she took another step forwards, unfazed by the sharp crescent of water hurtling her way. Feeling the confidence surging through the bond, I frowned as I watched her reckless action, before sighing as I shook my head. The de shattered against a golden sphere that shimmered into being around Jahi, before it faded back out in a moment, causing Matilda to freeze in shock. "Y''know, for someone who spoke all that shit about being superior to me, you''re pretty pathetic. Besides that, if you can''t even handle me, you have NO hope against Nirinia. None whatsoever." Matilda gnashed her teeth in frustration as she swing her Zweihander again, a barrage of water bolts mming against Jahi''s shield again. The bravado Jahi disyed seemed to get under Matilda''s skin, and the shorter human screamed incoherently as she tried to keep the unbothered Demoness away. Stepping back, Matilda maintained the distance between them, before her head snapped to the side as she heard a sound. The thunder of Julius'' spell reverberated throughout the castle again, and the woman''s feral expression switched to a triumphant one as she began to gloat. "It''s all over now, you vile Demon! Watch as Humanity takes its rightful spot as this Empire''s owner! Haha~!" Her crazedughter made all of us frown, and I nced to the side to see what had happened, only to widen my eyes in shock. That... was certainly not what I was expecting. --- Nirinia PoV Gripping the hilt of my Dadao, I used my shield to m Julius'' dagger to the side before tilting my wrist slightly to block his dius, grimacing slightly as a shock jolted up my arm. The man was as grim and serious as ever, his bright blue eyes narrowed as he jumped backwards, reevaluating his position. Spinning the Dadao in my hands, I followed him as he walked around me, keeping the distance between us even at all times. His speed was his strength, and my hyper focus on his attacks was mentally draining. However, a mistake here meant death. Not only for me, but... Gritting my teeth, I continued to walk in a circle with him, waiting for his charge. I couldn''t attack first; his speed was far greater than mine, and it was already proving to be more than adequate tond a few blows on me past my defenses. With that in mind, I awaited his charge, all while the field around us continued to descend into the madness of war. Adelina and her squad waded through the Cloud Mercenaries that Julius had brought with him, each member easily overpowering and defeating their opponents, while the other Cohorts began to push the remaining soldiers back. That left just us; Julius and I needed to keep the other upied, or else the tides would shift in a mere moment. The second that one of us began to tear apart the others army was the instant that we lost, and neither of us could lose. "You''ve been trained well." "As have you." We stared into the others eyes, our small talk not affecting our minds as we continued our circle. "I will admit, I told the King that this attack was ill advised. Sadly, greed is as deadly as a well honed de, and he refused to adhere to my council." Scoffing, I rolled my eyes as I replied "Ill advised is saying it lightly. You''ve your own troubles to deal with, what with those Gates appearing around Tragon. Why provoke the Empire?" Julius just sighed, and I readied myself as I saw him raise his dius. "Again, it wasn''t the Kingdom that wished to attack. It was... those outside of our borders. I dislike this course that we''ve set ourselves on, but there was little I could do. Sorry in advance..." My eyes widened as I saw lightning coil around the short silver de, and I raised my shield and braced for the impact. A grunt escaped my lips as it mmed into my enchanted shield, before my eyes widened more as I heard Julius say "Viatri and Xerni, now!" I turned my head, towards the twins in Adelina''s Command Squad, Viatri and Xerni. Removing their daggers from the Cloud Mercenaries, the two men pivoted andunched themselves towards Adelina, burying their des into the Lioness'' chest. ""Sorry Commander..."" Their mncholic voices filled the air, and I felt my breath hitch in my chest as the world around me froze. All I saw was the spray of crimson blood in the air, while Adelina''s golden figure dropped to her knees, her eyes filled with disbelief as she stared at her two trustedrades. All I heard was the sound of her armor ttering together as she slumped to the side, the thud echoing in my head as she began to bleed out, before she coughed out more blood. Something mmed into my shield again, but I remained transfixed to the spot, my eyes rooted on Adelina''s body. The twins gently removed their short swords from her chest, blood dripping from their traitorous edges. "No..." My voice cracked in my throat, and I felt something hot and wet slide down my cheek. "Sadly, Nirinia Radhi, this is indeed how this needed to y out." The voice of Julius triggered something in me, and I growled as I turned my attention towards him, the tall man flinching slightly as I stared down at him. Feeling something snap inside of my chest, I pushed his dagger from my shield and lunged forwards, surprising the man. Mana surged through my veins, enhancing my body well beyond its normal limits, and I suddenly found myself standing before the man. However, before I could move further to attack, two arrows thunked into my back, the barbed tips tearing through flesh with ease. Grunting, I spat out a mouthful of blood as I refocused on Julius, who had backed away again. "No..." Muttering to myself, I focused myself despite the pains, and rushed forwards. Raising my Dadao, I severed the mans head from his shoulders, before spinning and swatting the next two arrows from the air. The twins rushed me next, only to let out a surprised gasp as my Dadao reached them before they reached me, the golden edge cleaving their bodies in two with a singr swipe. With them out of the way, I rushed towards the still coughing body of Adelina, crouching beside her as I looked over the multiple stab wounds on her body. Chapter 271 270: Race Against Time Kat PoV My eyes widened in shock as I stared at the scene at the gate, the surprise at the scene halting my thoughts for a moment. I watched on as Nirinia blocked a bright bolt of lightning from Julius, before the man used the attack as an opening to shout something. With my ears ringing, and the distance between us being great, I couldn''t make out what he said, but I could guess. The two twin men that fought in Adelina''s Command Squad finished their kills before pivoting,unching themselves at the Lioness with an incredible swiftness. Lancing their des through her armored torso, the twins betrayed their Commander in mere seconds, blood spraying over their helmeted heads as theymitted their traitorous deed. Nirinia stumbled, and I could only imagine what the Djinn was feeling; even with how she acted with Adelina, even with the lingering resentment, the Djinn still clearly cared for the Lioness a little, or else she wouldn''t have agreed to be here. The raw emotions that must be surging through her would make anyone falter, but the Djinn''s hellish training righted her a a split second, and the Djinn charged Julius, her jade eyes now a sparkling green. Before she could reach the man, two green fletched arrows mmed into her back, but the woman shrugged off the obvious pain and severed the Justiciar''s head with a rapid sh, her golden Dadao not even getting bloodied as she killed the Westerners strongest fighter in one single strike. Then she turned and charged at the twins, who were dispatched in a simr strike, bisecting them from the waist down and killing them instantly. Seeing the strong Djinn kneel beside her childhood friend, Jahi let out a loud curse as she shouted "Kat, Leone! Save her! Go now!" The Vampire and I turned back to the Demoness, who was glowing gold. "I said fucking go! I can take care of myself! Save Adelina!" Peering over her shoulder, the Demoness fixed us with her golden gaze, making us both shiver before we nodded. Matilda''s blue eyes were filled with despair, and she cried out in raw agony as Jahi began to overpower her slowly, their des nging against each others with sharp shrieks. Anput still defended against the surge of enemy soldiers, and her ears twitched as she listened to Jahi''s shout. Cursing softly, I nodded to Leone as I shifted the ice sphere,yering the cold solidified mana over our bodies in the shape of armor. Setting out in a run, we charged through the sea of soldiers, and we unsheathed our des as we began to cut through them. We needed to reach Adelina to have a chance to save her, and every moment wasted was precious time to heal her. As the distance between Jahi and I grew, the enchantments I had ced on her fell, and the Demoness took over for me, unleashing her own magic. The shouts, ttering of des, stomping of boots, thuds of bodies, and cries of pain echoed around us, and when it was joined by the scent of blood, urine, sweat, burnt bodies, and the remnants of the sickly sweet ozone, our heads began to spin. This bouquet of sensory overload that the war provided got to us easily, but we had been prepared for this, trained for this. So, we pushed the difort and pains to the side and continued on, towards the woman that we needed to heal. The journey wasn''t easy, and the soldiers who stood in our way paid the price for it, their bodies cut to ribbons and either frozen or burnt as we made our way to Adelina, but... As we reached the midway point, two Elves stopped us from continuing on. Two Elves that we recognized instantly. --- ??? PoV "Alright, that''s the signal." Watching as Julius unleashed a shy bolt of lightning towards the Squire, I nodded to Quintus as we both nocked an arrow, prepared to aid the Justiciar from afar. The Justiciar''s mouth moved, and Quintus chuckled as the twins turned around and stabbed their Commander, dropping her instantly. Nirinia froze, and her head turned to the Commander''s body, her shoulders trembling slightly. A moment passed, and she turned back towards Julius, thatrge golden Dadao of hers raised as she shot forwards, faster then an arrow from a bow. "Shit! Hit her, now!" Our longbows sang its deep thrum, and the wind enchantmentden on the shafts and barbed tips lurched forwards, slicing through the air and thunking into the Djinn''s back. However, she continued forwards, unfazed by two heavy, barbed arrows embedded into her broad shoulders. "Again!" Nocking another arrow, we shot another volley towards the Djinn, only for her to swat them out of the air with frightening ease. "Agh... Forget it, continue on with the n. Asmodia should be sending the Princess and the Dogkin to the Commander now. Let''s move!" The younger Elf nodded, slinging his bow back over his shoulders before descending the tower, his movements quiet and controlled. I sighed slightly at the skill and talentid before me, pitying the poor youngster who needed to die for internal politics. He made the wrong decisions over and over again, pursuing his own personal gain instead of the Families, and now he had to pay for it. A pity. Holstering my bow as well, I followed behind Quintus as I rushed down to the ground, before running towards the field ofbat. We needed to intercept the two women before subduing the Princess and capturing the Dogkin, before using that... I just hoped that the thing that Lady A created worked properly... Otherwise, trouble would befall us swiftly. Checking my equipment as I ran, I spotted the Dogkin maid shrinking the ice sphere and encasing both her and the Princess in it, creating an armor for them. Nodding at Quintus, we unsheathed our curved Rangers Daggers and jumped into the crowd, running perpendicr to them. Thankfully our speed and experience allowed us to navigate the battlefield with ease, and we caught the two women before they reached the halfway point. Standing opposite them, I stared the two in the eyes as Quintus swiftly grabbed his re, shooting the green spark into the air. Many soldiers around us turned to stare at it, and a few moved towards us, joining us quickly. "So the Sariel Family decided to betray the Empire..." Quintus and I held our tongues at the using tone of the Princess, and she simply smirked at us. "Leone, go. I''ll be fine here. Your magic is more potent than mine." The Dogkin Katherine met my gaze, and I watched as her eyes flickered to a pale, cial blue, sending a shiver up my spine. Those eyes were void of emotion, and her two daggers were held loosely as she stared directly at me. The Princess bit her cheek before nodding, understanding the importance of their precious time. Currently, Adelina Leonisa was bleeding to death, and without real medical treatment, she would die a painful death. Those des the twins used were special, and they countered most magical treatment, mainly potions... So right now, that Djinn was probably distraught as she tried to staunch the bleeding, watching as her friend slowly slipped away. I disliked the underhandedness of the tactic, but it was necessary. However, Adelina needed to die. Nirinia Radhi needed to be taken out of this fight, so that the Asmodia House could fall. Her once lover was the key to removing her, and that was something I came to ept. Clenching my fingers around the hilts of my twin daggers, I shook my head as I said "I''m afraid I''ll need to keep you here, Princess. My apologies." Raising her brow, the Vampire smirked as she muttered something, making the maid smile slightly. "Very well, Leone. On three then." Seeing runes appear around the two spell casters, I cursed as I rushed forwards, joined by Quintus and our soldiers. "Oh no you don''t!" Quintus shouted towards the Princess, who only smirked at the Elf. "Sorry traitors, but I have more pressing matters~!" The duo''s runes red, and I resisted the urge to cover my eyes as a bright sh of crimson mes erupted from beneath the Princess'' feet. Shooting into the air, a gale of wind whipped the mes into a frenzy, adding power to theunch, before a pair of wings made from fire let the Vampire glide towards the Commander. "Shit! Quintus, go aft-" Before I could finish shouting the order, I pivoted to the side as a sharp icicle flew past me, skewering the soldier behind me and killing him instantly. Quintus and I raised our des, guarding against another attack. "No can do. Mistress'' orders, you see." Katherine''s voice was cold and t, and she spun the broad dagger in her hand expertly, runes fading away above the back of her palm. Was that her magic or her daggers enchantment? The other soldiers around us nced amongst one another as they stared at the lone maid, before one got scared and shouted "It''s just one woman! Let''s get her!" Hearing the shouts of affirmation, I tried to get them to stop, but they had rushed forwards without a care for her personal strength, their des and shields raised. However, their weapons wouldn''t save them, as more runes appeared around the Dogkin. Spinning slightly, she avoided a swords thrust before slicing the mans arm off, while a spear of ice impaled him from under his sternum. When another soldier stabbed forwards, she ducked under the de and pierced his heart, before shoving his body into two others and sending them rolling under the weight. "Go from behind. Use them as distractions!" Quintus nodded, and we both rushed forwards to join the fray, even as more and more soldiers dropped dead. Though, for every two that dropped, another came from the surrounding Legion, whilst the Westerners joined in as well. In short, the Dogkin maid was isted in a sea of enemies. We just needed to subdue her before extracting her, and this was step one of that n. Before I joined in the fray, I nced over my shoulder, towards the Demoness and Jackalkin. Both were still embroiled in their own fights, and Matilda was using each of her desperate tricks to keep herself alive, meaning we had some time still. After all, if they leave their posts, the whole Legion falls... All ording to n. Chapter 272 271: Dire Straits Kat PoV When we had encountered the two Envoys of the Sariel Family, my heart sunk. This was what I was afraid was going to happen, but there was no use crying over spilled milk; instead, I needed to think of a way to clean up the mess we found ourselves in. My Healing Magics were rather advances, but I had been using way more mana then ever before, and the drain was apparent. My technique and skills were high level, to the point that I could fully heal some serious wounds and stymie the worst kinds, but not when my mana is so limited. Leone, on the other hand, had such arge reserve of mana that it was honestly not even fair; her core held akes worth of manapared to the little pond that I had, and I was apparently amongst the more blessed individuals in terms of mana capacity. Besides her likely still having a good amount of mana remaining, she also knew the basics of Healing Magic, having studied it a little after the run in with Lord Pele, wanting to guarantee that our group would always have a healer avable to keep us in one piece. That was why I had sent Leone over to Adelina; at least, that''s the reason that I would give when asked. The real reason was simple; the Envoys likely had orders to keep the Princess alive and well, but all it took was a single slip on anyones parts for her to die. I wasn''t willing to take that chance, not when I knew that one of us needed to reach Adelina, to get her stabilized and protected from harm. Someone needed to keep the Envoy''s upied, and Leone wouldn''t be able to do that. Not when they had orders to capture me, or kill me. Jillian made it quite clear that those were the two options avable to her regarding me, and I had no doubt that the Elven Heir would rather capture me to deal a blow to Jahi, before killing her as well. In the end, I was the main target today, and as such, I needed to have Leone go and save Adelina, so that we could stabilize both the Commander''s health and the future Knight of Cinder Nirinia''s mental state. Those were our primary priorities, and as such I had to be the distraction. Sending Leone away on her own was a tough choice, but one that had to happen; a choice I made in a split second, and a choice I doubt I woulde to regret. Using a wind spell, I aided her magical jump and watched as she glided away, before shooting an icicle at the older Envoy, distracting him and getting the attention of the younger one. With my Protective Fang in my right hand and First Fang in my left, I prepared to face the two Elves, only to have to deal with the normal soldiers around us first. Seeing therge amount of Legionnaires and Westerners that were aiming for me, I grit my teeth as I consolidated the ice around my body before amping up my agility with a wind enchantment, readying my des and staring at the charging soldiers. Pivoting slightly away from a swing, I cut through the mans arm like butter, the broad dagger slicing cleanly through his bone and severing his forearm from his body, resulting in a shrill scream as he stumbled away, staring at the bloody stump. Ducking under the next stab, Inced the thinner de into the woman''s heart, twisting it before pulling it back. Kicking her in the chest, I sent two soldiers rolling away as theirrades corpse mmed into them. My attention was running on overdrive, and I swayed to the side as an axe sliced through the space I previously upied, a gruff Dwarf ring at me. Flicking my wrist out, I dragged the tip of the broad dagger over his face, cutting out an eye and letting blood seep into the other, blinding him. Like with the woman, I kicked him away to free up space for myself, only to find my real opponents leaping forwards. The young Elf, Quintus, had his two daggers snaking towards my throat, while the older one had his daggers aimed at my knee and elbow, trying to cripple me. Gritting my teeth, I ducked and spun, avoiding the strikes from Quintus as I focused on the real threat; the old Elf. Stabbing the First Fang out, I clicked my tongue as the old Elf dodged away, before I activated the enchantment and swiped towards him, catching him off guard for a moment as the ice de nicked his arm. Frost began to spread on his arm, but he ignored the numbing feeling as he slipped behind a group of soldiers. Hearing the other Elf behind me, I spun back around and sent a sh towards him as well, forcing him back before I began to whittle down the chaff around us. More and more soldiers fell to the ground, their limbs or heads rolling to the earth as my daggers or mana des got to work, showering the area around us in blood. However, I had no opportunity to enjoy this crimson shower, as each moment was packed to the brim with action, my attention fully devoted to the battle that raged around me. The battle that raged for me. My daggers moved faster then the wind, and soldiers died each time they drew closer, but they weren''t the only ones to take hits. Their strikes may be weak, and the materials that made their swords cheap, but each blow against me made its mark. Chips and gouges appeared on my ice armor, and I could feel bruises appearing on my skin, even grimacing as a crack appeared on one of my ribs. As the battle continued on, and a mountain of corpses appeared around me, I grew increasingly anxious as I noticed that the two Elves weren''t attacking as often as before. My eyes scanned over the sea of bodies around me, and I frowned as I saw Quintus slinking behind the crowd, his daggers gleaming as he crept closer. The older Elf was also at the edge, his eyes narrowed as he observed me. That anxious feeling grew, even as Quintusunched himself forwards, his daggers sinking into my impromptu shield; an Orcs head. Feeling that the battle was getting too... suffocating, I growled in annoyance as I began to attempt to weave a spell, the runes flickering in and out of existence as I divided my attention between them and the fight. Seeing the pale blue runes appearing around me as I stabbed another human, the two Elves cursed as they rushed forwards, wishing to halt my spell. Pushing arge Cowkin into Quintus, I ducked beneath the swing of a hammer and slipped behind the buff female human, surprising her as I grabbed ahold of her armor and pulled her backwards. My fingers moved at insane speeds as I raced to get the spell done, while the old Elf pursed his lips as he stared at the woman in front of me. Raising his daggers, he lunged forwards and stabbed her, wanting to pierce through her and reach me, only to stumble back as I pushed her forwards instead, causing her to slump onto him as she died. Finishing thest rune, I gulped as I activated the domain spell, praying that this would work. Snow began to fall from the previously humid sky, and a breeze picked up. Feeling the temperature slowly drop around me, the soldiers stiffened as they stared fearfully at me, before some began to lower their weapons and back away, trying to escape. Others surged forwards with a renewed vigor, hoping to kill me before this domain took effect, granting me more benefits as it robbed them of mobility and sight. However, the spell surged forwards just a quickly, the gale picking up speed rapidly and whipping the soldiers faces with a deep chill, while the flurried fattened up into real kes. Quintus'' hands shone green, and he tried to counter the domain''s wind with his own, only to have to stop as I sent a barrage of crescent des at him. The old Elf cursed at the domains influence, his forest green eyes narrowed as he red at me. "You really were hiding your strength, weren''t you?" His voice was both using and tired, and I remained silent as I let my domain grow further, frost forming on both the ground and the corpses. With an influx of ice to work with, I had, hopefully, gained an advantage in this fight, but only time would tell. "It''s a shame, really. You were given a choice, and you chose wrongly. Such a pity... you were truly talented, Katherine Zara. That''s why Lady Jillian desires you so. Quintus!" Shouting hispanions name, the old Elf sighed as he said "It''s time. Let''s get this over with..." Readying my daggers, I stared at the two Elves as I prepared for their attacks, well aware that I was still in a dire strait. Chapter 273 272: Aylas Trick With a shout to his youngerpanion, the older Elf rushed me, ignoring the frost that thickened on his armor as he drew closer. His daggers shone a pale green, and I grit my teeth as I felt Quintusing from behind, the two Elves pinching me between them... And the many soldiers that still threw themselves forwards, effectively pinning me down in the center of my domain. My eyes fluttered around the battlefield, and I decisively spun and targeted Quintus, wanting to lesser the amount of variables that I needed to worry about around me. He wasn''t expecting me to shift my focus to him, but the Elf didn''t falter whatsoever, instead just raising his own wind sheathed daggers and surging forwards, the two des aimed for my chest. Hefting the broad dagger in my right hand, I waited for us to collide, before activating the shield and grunting. His magic was still rather potent, and I could feel the shield I created cracking under the pressure. I only needed a moment though, and that shield gave me that moment. With his daggers preupied, I shed my thinner dagger towards his chest, activating that enchantment at the same time that I tried to gut him with the de. Quintus desperately tried to block the de that inched closer to his belly, and his eyes widened in shock as a crescent of sharpened ice dug into his flesh before shattering. Pushing past him, I slid behind him and rushed into the crowd of soldiers, wanting to take my chances amongst the normal fighters instead of the older Elf. The young Elf, however, was now taken from the fight; [Frost of Despoina] was a potent skill, and even now frost began to creep along his veins and organs, only to shatter as he fell to the ground. I only needed a single hit, and I could easily kill someone with contact to my ice. When they aren''t on guard for that, its a surefire way to kill, but when they know about it? Not so easy anymore... The older Elf had stopped his charge, instead taking the time to don a Wind Cloak before resuming his attacks, hoping to use his mana tobat mine. Thus began another dance between us, constantly trading blows before backing away, taking any and every opportunity to study and observe the other. His skill with those twin daggers was made clear each time he attacked, and I had to constantly be on guard as his agility seemed to grow after each exchange. With such sharp daggers made for piercing, I was slowly being whittled down as he began to chip away the ice armor around me, removing it faster then it could grow back in the midst of the blizzard I had summoned. With his youngerpanion out of the way, he made sure to give me no quarter, constantly engaging me and even going as far as to cut down the allies in his way as he continued to attack, leaving me no opening to begin casting spells. The bodies that littered the ground around us grew, and the frost that spread did little to hinder his movements, even as his cloak began to stutter in the air. With the few nces I could cast towards Jahi, I saw that Matilda had proven to be worthy of her title, a giant sphere of water cocooning the two women as they fought inside it. Anput was also bogged down at the castle wall, her swords dancing around as she acted as the patch on the wall, keeping the invaders froming inside. With how long it had been, I was hoping that the Westerners might have run out of troops, but for the moment my wish was unanswered. Our sh dragged on, each second stretching for eternity as I weaved away from his des, only to find that they still tore chunks of ice from my body. He wasn''t left unscathed either, with various small cuts littering his body, but the difference... Panting, I attempted to hide behind some soldiers to cast a healing spell on myself, only to curse as I had to rush away, my Protective Fang summoning another shield as a barrage of wind bullets tore through the soldiers, fist sized holes littering their corpses as they dropped. Blood sprayed onto my armor, and I cursed again as more bullets flew towards me, one even nicking my calf. Feeling the sharp gale cut into my flesh, I grimaced as I jumped away, narrowly avoiding the st. Clicking his tongue, the Elf stared at me before nodding to himself, his forest green eyes filled with firmness as he reached into his vest. Widening my eyes, I rushed forwards, wanting to prevent him from taking out a new weapon. shing my First Fang down, I sent a de of ice towards the Elf, only for him to smirk as he... Let the de sever his left arm, sacrificing his limb as he pulled out a scroll. Ignoring the pain, he chuckled as he said "Lady A invented a little something. Told me that it would make this process... easier. I did underestimate you slightly, girl, but..." Chuckling, he unfurled the scroll, and I shivered as I recognized the runes written on the paper. Tossing the scroll into the air, therge sheet of paper hovered, the runes glowing as the spell began to solidify and activate. Without hesitation I turned around, fueling the wind magic around my legs as best I could. Shooting past the soldiers, I strained my muscles as hard as I could, only to gasp as something hooked around my leg. Yanking backwards, I fell onto the ground and coughed, the air escaping my lungs as I was dragged over the various corpses, dragged back to the hovering scroll. Each rune lit up slowly, but the spell was already beginning to activate. Therge scroll had be a doorway, leading directly to the Sariel Estate. I could see the smirking faces of Jillian and A staring at me, and I grit my teeth as I tried to reach down to the wind rope that was attached to my leg. It cut into the flesh and reached the bone, and I let out a cry of pain as the sharp ''des'' began to tear into my fingers next, easily breaking the ice armor and reaching the flesh underneath. Pulling away, lest I lose a finger, I tried to get a spell out quickly, only for my mind to nk as I felt the rope dig deeper into my ankle, severing the achilles tendon instantly. My vision blurred as tears pooled in my eyes, but I grit my teeth and held in the pain, ring at the Elf before me. His eyes were empty as he watched me draw closer to the portal, where the two female Elves grinned maniacally as they watched me struggle around. When I was only a few inches away from slipping into the portal, I heard Leone shout something as a bolt of me struck the scroll, but by that point it was toote. My legs were inside the portal, and as Leone''s spells hammered against the scroll, the location rune flickered, and I fell insidepletely. Entering a dark abyss, I stared at the closing light that remained, the portal that was my only hope of returning to that battlefield. It grew smaller as I fell, and eventually it was snuffed out, leaving me in the darkness as I crashed into the ground, passing out instantly. ~~~ Leone PoV Having reached Adelina, I swiftly began to pour my mana into her body, staunching the bleeding and slowly stabilizing her condition, before burning the wounds shut. The Lioness was conscious the entire time, and she grimaced and cried as the pain grew greater, before it receded. Nirinia sat beside her, staring down at the Lioness with widened, wet jade eyes, a sphere of solidified wind protecting us fro further attack. Reaching into a pouch, I withdrew a potion and pressed it against the Lioness'' lips, before continued to use my magic to heal her internal wounds, the sluggish process taking quite arge chunk of mana from me. With my attention so focused on saving the Commander, I barely felt the eruption of mana behind me as Kat cast her domain, and a small part of my brain grew worried. However, I needed to focus on the Commander''s injuries, lest the healing I did reverse in mere moments, sending the woman to an early grave. The Djinn held the woman''s hand, while she also helped the woman sip on the potion, trying her hardest to keep her hands from shaking. Leaving them alone, I closed my eyes as I focused on the internal injuries, guiding my mana towards those broken bones, cut organs, and other damages, healing each one as best I could. I wasn''t as skilled in the Healing Arts, but what I needed to do was keep her from regressing to her prior injuries, which would kill her. When that was done, and sweat stained my brow, I finally turned to stare at the blizzard behind us, instantly shooting to my feet. Something felt wrong... Kat hated disying her skills, so for her to have used a domain spell... Especially in an area like this; it took intense concentration and lots of mana to create a domain, and yet here it was... Frowning, I nced back at Nirinia and said "Keep her awake at all costs. Alternate between water and the potion, and make sure both are lukewarm. Don''t let her move. Good?" Seeing the Djinn nod without looking at me, I sighed again before turning back to the blizzard, rushing out of the wind sphere and rejoining the chaotic battlefield. Recasting the wing spell from earlier, Iunched myself into the air, searching for the Envoys and Kat. What I found made my heart leap into my throat, and I shouted "KAT!", watching as she was dragged over the corpse littered ground towards a scroll. Seeing the runes lining the scrolls paper, I nched as I flicked my hand forwards, using the wings of fire as a medium to destroy the scroll. I couldn''t see the location, but it wouldn''t be good no matter where it went... I needed to destroy the spell before Kat got dragged in. However, even as my mes struck and began to burn the scroll, the runes remained strong, the deep forest green runes withstanding the mes easily. Kat tried to keep herself from being pulled, stabbing her daggers into the ground and trying to crawl away, but the rope was too strong, and she was too exhausted. Following the rope, I saw the older Envoy yanking it back, and I shifted my mes from the scroll to the man, only to scream out in anguish as he ignored the attacks, pulling and pushing Kat into the scroll. With his body enveloped in fire, the man stumbled against the scroll, and a rune dulled out. The location rune. Running forwards as fast as I could, I screamed as the scroll dropped to the ground, burning to ash, while the runes disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared. Kat was gone. That one thought filled my head, and I dropped to my knees as I stared at the pile of smoldering ash that sat atop a frosted ground. The area around me fell quiet as I focused on the ash, my heart pounding in my chest, my entire body trembling with each beat. "N-No..." Reaching forwards, I ignored the mes that sparked from the ground around me, I ignored the fact that Janus had appeared on his own, therge wine red two headed hound standing over me, guarding me. Cupping the ash, I didn''t notice that my skin had shifted to a deep crimson, nor did I feel the mes around me re into a raging inferno. My attention was fixed entirely on the small pile of ash that stained my skin grey, and I felt my heart crack as the thought of not seeing Kat again entered my mind. "N-NO!" Tears poured from my eyes, and as I began to cry, the world around me changed. Responding to my emotions, the earth erupted, pirs of mes filling the air around us as I slowly rose. Holding the ash in my hands, I gently willed the fire sparking inside my core out, and it crystalized the ash instantly, forming a small, prismatic crystal thatid in my palm. Ignoring the sounds of the Westerners screaming as their flesh melted, I stroked the edge as more tears fell, before I took a deep breath and turned around. I... didn''t want to think anymore. Not when I could feel the agony that Jahi felt. Not when I heard the outraged roar of Anput. Not when the bound between Kat and I fluctuated at random... Not when I didn''t even know if she was- Shaking my head, I sneered as I turned, tears still staining my cheeks as I began to walk towards the castle gate, where hundreds of Westerners and traitors alike stood. They would burn in ce of Jillian and A. I would raze this pathetic excuse for a Kingdom to the ground, before I uprooted the damn Sariel and Kameiel Families from the Empire. That, I swore to the crystal that had floated free of my hand, hovering just beside me at all times. Making my pain and agony known to the world, it weeped alongside me. With the temperature reaching sweltering levels and ash falling from the clouds, I began to purge the enemy from the castle, my thoughts centered on the perfectbination of runes needed to aplish this task. A distraction had presented itself in the screams of agony that had matched mine, and I began to burn all that stood before me. For her. Chapter 274 273: Gone Jahi PoV Crossing des with Matilda was less of a thrilling duel and more of a tedious chore; the short human woman simply didn''t have much real technique, instead relying on brute force and potent magic. Each strike against my de was easily thwarted away, while she floundered around to block my blows. I felt no thrill fighting her, but she was simply too strong to kill off with ease. That water magic of hers was more defensive and had insane healing capabilities, so for every blow I didnd I had to watch in annoyance as the cut closed in mere moments. Especially when she had pulled out an enchanted coin, crushing it and summoning arge sphere of water that aided her spells and enhancements. Sighing, I redirected her jagged Zweihander to the left and head butted her, earning myself a satisfying crunch as I shattered her nose, while two gashes appeared on her cheeks from the edges of my gold tipped horns. Staggering backwards, Matilda of Duurghaven red at me, blood pouring from her slowly reconstructing nose. Panting, she growled at me as Izily stood before her, my greatsword held loosely in my hands as I began to walk forwards, intent on finishing this. The quicker I got this over with, the quicker I could go and help Anput stymie the left nk of the castle, keeping the Westerners from trying to take thisnd over. Or, I could go and aid the gate, taking Nirinia''s ce as their bulwark, especially now that Adelina was down and Nirinia was out of the fight as she protected her friend. Either way, this short, insufferable human needed to die, and I raised my sword, only for my ears to perk up as I heard something. The sound of a gale, between here and the gate. Turning my head slightly, I frowned as I saw the blizzard domain that Kat had erected, before my frown deepened as I felt her anxiety between our bond. "Hah!" Shouting out a war cry, Matilda took my momentary distraction and charged forwards, her Zweihander coated in a deep blue as it flickered forwards, slicing towards my exposed neck. Pivoting, I continued to ignore the Justiciar as I stared at the raging blizzard, before hefting my sword and shing it towards Matilda''s chest. The short woman cried out in pain as a deep gash appeared from her shoulder down to her hip, and the healing magic that supported her did nothing to numb the pain. Staggering back once again, the woman barely managed to block my next swing, her pained grunt and paper white face making me raise a brow. Stabbing the sword forwards, I pierced her shoulder and almost severed her left arm, eliciting a shrill scream as she dropped to the ground. Raising my sword onest time, I was about to behead her when I heard Leone scream Kat''s name, and the sudden spike in emotions from the bond made me stumble forwards, my heart hammering in my chest as worry sprouted quickly inside me. Matilda grasped her opportunity, casting a healing spell before stumbling to her feet, trying to escape. Ignoring her for the moment, I turned towards the blizzard that began to disappear, before I felt... I felt... My eyes widened as I felt barely anything from the bond between Kat and I, the sudden emptiness inside me making me lurch forwards, the strength sapped from my body in an instant. W-Where did she go? What happened?! Blinking, I was about to make my way towards the shrill cries of Leone when I heard Matildaughing crazily to herself, her words stopping me in an instant. "Haha~! They did it! Those Elven bastards did it~! Say goodbye to your little Dog eared whore, Demon~! She''s gone for good now~! Gone, gone, gone~! Turned into little more then a ything~! HAHAHA~!" Turning, I appeared before the human woman and grabbed her by the face, lifting her up with ease. Her blue eyes remained crazed, but herughter ceased as I stared at her. I could tell that my eyes were gold by looking into hers, and the woman gulped as I leaned forwards, our brows almost touching as I calmly whispered "Where is she? What did you do?" Shifting my hand from the front of her head to the top, I held her there, pouring my mana directly into her body and locking it. Fear began to creep into her eyes as she stared back at me, her sudden paralysis shaking her to the core as she desperately tried tobat my mana. Sadly for her, the difference between us was too vast, and her pathetic core crumpled under the weight of the Light Mana surging through her veins. Blood seeped from her orifices, and her panic grew further as she hurriedly spoke, her voice nasally and shrill as she gasped "T-T-The Sariel''s told us to b-be a distraction so that they could c-capture and kill two people! F-From what I h-heard, t-the Dogkin that was to be captured would be used to c-create some kind of s-soldier through bre-" My rage swelled, and before she could finish I mmed my fist against her jaw, knocking her out instantly. Tossing her body aside, I red at the stationary Banshee, growling "Pick her up and take her back to the Estate." Bowing slightly, the Banshee nced around the area before scooping the short woman up, unceremoniously tossing her over its shoulders before retreating. Watching as it retreated, I briefly mulled over its actions, realizing that the only things remaining on this battlefield were merely chaff waiting to be cut down. Otherwise, the Banshee would have ignored my order... That thought was chased away by the anguished screams of Anput as she coated her body in metal, the Jackalkin charging into the opposing army as her des swiftly killed all the Westerners before her. As for Leone, her red skin and the appearance of horns reminded me of the encounter with Lord Pele... Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes as I searched for Kat, tugging at the bond and hoping to find something, anything between us. All I found was... nothing. The bond between us still existed, but it was so weak and thin that I felt my heart constrict as one singr thought entered my mind. She was dying. Kat was dying, somewhere far away from me; alone and scared, somewhere with no one to care for her... That thought made me stagger forwards, and I bit my cheek as I held back tears, before I felt the cold metal of my sword besides me. Looking to the side, I sped the hilt and lifted it from the ground, before striding over towards Anput first. The next few minutes are something I''ll never be able to recall, because I simply stopped thinking entirely, relying on raw instinct and emotion to guide my body as my mind folded in on itself, shirking away from the thoughts that barraged it constantly. What if she really did find herself at the mercy of Jillian and A? Would I be able to save her? Would there be anything left to save? What would they do to her if she was with them? My only sce was the way my de rose and fell as it severed the threads that held these pathetic humans together, their blood staining my armor and skin as I killed and killed... ~~~ Anput Pov Again, she was taken from us. Again, she was harmed and targeted instead of us. Again, all I could do was worry about her before it happened. Gritting my teeth, I held back the tears that threatened to stream from my eyes as I waded into the enemy army, ignoring the idiocy of my actions and instead distracting myself with ughter. My des never dulled as I poured my mana into them, and the enemies swords, axes, maces, spears, and other weapons shattered as they struck my metal skin. Forgoing defense, I put down each and every human in front of me without pause, my des singing the despondent and agonizing feeling that permeated my heart as they whirled around. I kept my limbs moving, ignoring the way my muscles burned and screamed at me to stop, the way my palms bled as I gripped the hilts of my swords in a death grip. I tried to ignore the way my heart clenched and shattered in my chest as I killed more and more, trying to ignore the thoughts in my mind. When Jahi joined me momentster, I felt even worse as I caught a glimpse of her stoic features, my pain doubling as I wondered how she was feeling... Worse than me? With us both pushing out into the field, we turned the previously forestednd into a bod, puddles of blood pooling around us as the Westerners army fell under our wrath. Sadly, with thest human falling to the ground below me, his throat cut open and spraying blood, those emotions I was trying to ignore swelled and demanded to be confronted, and I dropped to my knees as I rested my head against the t side of my swords. Tears poured from my eyes as I sobbed quietly, before my attention once again shifted as I smelt something over the stench of death around me. Standing before me was someone that had the familiar dry scent of the desert, and I looked up to see a ck robed, skull masked Jackalkin. Surging to my feet, I reached forwards and grabbed the woman by her cor, dragging her towards me as I mmed my head against hers. "WHY DIDN''T YOU DO SOMETHING?! WHY?!" The woman ignored me as she took a few steps back, her skull mask cracked from the force of my blow. As for me, I ignored the blood that mixed with my tears, my eyes fixed on hers. "I''m oath bound to you, Begum. Not to her. Your safety is my priority." Her t, cold tone made my anger swell again, and I mmed my fist against her jaw, the woman not moving to avoid or defend herself. Falling to the ground, she stared up at me, her ck eyes hard. "SO?! You think there was someone amongst these pathetic wretches that could''ve harmed me?! There wasn''t! You should''ve-" "Respectfully, the fact that she was ambushed is reason enough for me to prioritize your safety, Begum. Who knows what other tricks could''ve been hidden amongst the enemy? I stand by my actions, and I wouldn''t change anything at all." Her words stung, and I grit my teeth as I turned away, grabbing my swords and storming back towards the castle, where I saw Jahist. If I remained with her, I would kill her. No matter how sound her logic may be, no matter what she may say, I don''t think I could continue to stand in her presence. Walking back over the earthen tower that had be part of our plight, I growled again as I made my way over towards Jahi and Leone, the Demoness staring down at the weeping Vampire. Jahi remained as stoic as before, but her golden iris'' betrayed her inner turmoil. As for Leone, her red skin, horns, and sparking hair made it clear she wasn''t doing fine either, and I quietly joined them, wondering what the ashen crystal floating beside her was. Almost like she had sensed my question, Leone looked up towards us, her crimson eyes puffy and wet as she waved her hand forwards, the crystal splitting into three as a piece floated towards me. "I... I tried to s-save her... the E-Envoy had a portal to the S-Sariel Estate, b-but before Kat could be d-dragged through the portal, I t-tried to destroy it..." Gesturing to the crystals, Leone gave us a self deprecating smile as she said "Obviously I failed! The l-location rune f-faltered though, s-so she shouldn''t be at the S-Sariel Estate... I t-think..." Hearing that, I didn''t know whether or not I should feel relieved or more anxious; if she wasn''t there, then where was she?! "What does that mean, Leone? Where could she have been sent?" Jahi''s level and even tone was frightening, and Leone looked up at her before shaking her head. "I-I have no I-idea... I-it could be anywhere..!" p¦Á§ád¦Á §«?¦Í¨º|,§ã¨°§® Leone trailed off, her sobs returning as she hung her head in shame, and for a brief moment, my eyes widened as I saw something. Something that scared me even more than the tone. The muscles in Jahi''s right arm twitched, and as someone who had sparred with her quite often, I knew what that meant. Jahi had almostshed out and hit Leone. That in and of itself frightened me, and I had a feeling that these uing days, weeks, and potentially months would be trying. After all, with Kat gone, the rock that held us all in ce was lifted away, and these days would be long... The Dogkin woman was gone now, and we needed to grow to ept that fact, no matter how much it pained us to admit it. We needed toe together and get through this together, and hope and pray that we could find the woman that we loved safe and sound... Chapter 275 274: Hollow Victory Jahi PoV Staring down at the sobbing form of Leone, I grew confused at my own emotions. Usually a sight like this would elicit worry and spark my protectiveness of the Vampire, and yet here I stood, uncaring as she weeped; in fact, I was more annoyed that she was here... Taking a deep breath, I felt worse as I acknowledged that fact, my heart in turmoil as it no longer understood what mattered most. Casting onest nce at Leone, I looked over at Anput, who was staring at me with wide eyes, slight... fear permeating those obsidian orbs. When my gaze met hers, the Jackalkin shivered slightly and even took a step back, creating some distance between us. A sharp pang traveled through my heart, and I remained quiet as I turned away, heading instead towards Nirinia and Adelina. I needed to take my mind off of what just happened, and the best thing for me would be to drown myself in the logistics needed for the Legion... The Lioness'' Command Squad - what was left of it, anyways - gathered around their Commander and stared down at her with grief stricken gazes, the Wolfkin and Minotaurkin''s eyes filled with unshed tears as they looked over the Djinn holding the weak Lioness. Hearing my approach, the women all turned to stare at me, and Nirinia''s jade eyes widened as she met my golden gaze. "J-Jahi?" Reaching them, I took in a deep breath and said "Kat''s gone. Sariel Envoys had a scroll inscribed with a portal spell, and the location rune faltered. She could be anywhere." The Djinn stared at me in shock at that, before her gaze unconsciously drifted towards the Lioness in her arms, who was gritting her teeth with a mixture of hatred and shame. Most likely, the woman felt responsible for the actions of her traitorous subordinates and for the Envoy''s actions, and that made her me herself for what had happened to Kat. "When the Knight arrives, I''ll be returning to the Capital before I go and settle the score. Oh, and congrattions Adelina Leonisa. Your Legion has a new Contractor." All four women stared at me in silence, before the Lioness coughed before asking "W-What do you mean a ''new contractor?''" Her voice was still weak and raspy, and it was a little grating to hear, but... "When I do return to the Capital, the Sariel''s won''t be eligible for much, let alone a Legion. As such, House Asmodia will be buying your contract for the foreseeable future. After all, we have a war to win." Nirinia stared at me in shock, her jade eyes widened as she repeated "A war to win? What..?" The Djinn''s confusion was also grating, and I turned my gaze towards her as I said "The Empire needs a distraction from the fact that a Ducal House and anotherrge Elven Family has betrayed them; Julius himself was the one to order the twins to strike, the amount of Legion corpses around where Kat was taken and killed by her is ratherrge, and Matilda herself confirmed that she knew the Envoys had a n for Kat. Therefor, they betrayed the Empire and will be purged. With something like that, we need to distract the popce, to maintain their trust in the Nobility and in the Empress. me it on the Kingdoms, take the Kingdoms, and publicize that it was the Kingdoms fault. The Sariel''s and Kameiel''s slowly fade into the background before being forgotten, and we gain newnd. Either way, I doubt the current Nobility wish to let the Kingdoms off anyways; it''s a matter of principle and greed." Silence descended around us again, and the heterochromatic Wolfkin asked "Why do you want the Legion under your House? What do you want from all this?" "The reasoning is twofold. The first is the Gates that opened inside the Kingdom; they''re a threat to everyone, and this way I''ll know what they are and I can report it back to someone smarter then myself to research them and understand why they existed and how they were created. The second reason is simple. I need something to do, and this is the perfect distraction for me. I get to... vent, learn, and gather experience, so most likely this is what would happen either way." Narrowing her eyes at me, the Wolfkin stared at me before bluntly asking "So the Legion is just a toy to you then? Something to y with to distract yourself?" Looking down at her, I smirked slightly as I said "A broken toy, yes. A toy that otherwise would be recycled into something else for the Empire''s political machinations. A toy that harbored two high ranking traitors and the Envoys to a traitorous House. A toy that, without my interest, will be turned into something else. You should be thanking me, since you three would be subject to innumerable interrogations and would likely be stripped of all rank, possessions, and meaning. No more Legion for you, no more weapons for you, ced under constant supervision and constantly doubted. ''Are those three the traitors? Hey neighbor, did that Wolfkin look suspicious when she went out to buy groceries? Should we report her?'' By all means, if that''s the life you wish to live I can take over another Legion if I need to." The Wolfkin and Minotaurkin flinched at thosest lines, understanding finally dawning in their eyes. Sadly for them, that was the future that awaited them if House Asmodia didn''t take over their contract. Constant supervision to make sure they aren''t traitors, constant suspicious and doubt that they are, a life set to be miserable when their sole meaning and purpose was stripped away because of their ''friends'' mistakes. No longer soldiers, but just above being criminals; in the public eye, they were reprehensible for not knowing that they were harboring such malicious intent towards the Empire in their Envoys and Comrades. In fact, the Legion would be disbanded and themon soldier inside this Legion would face the same discrimination, considering arge portion died due tomitting treason against the Empire by joining the Sariel''s. Most would likely find the blow to their morale too heavy to bear; many wouldn''t be able to stand the looks of derision sent their way... Most would take their lives in shame of what a few did inside the Legion, and the few that remained strong would live terrible lives.please visit Their children and family would be subject to scorn and ridicule, all for a crime their rtives nevermitted, nor even knew was happening around them. Legally, all these soldiers were innocent and heroes, but in the court of public opinion? They weren''t so lucky. Was I being magnanimous by offering to ''own'' them all, thus protecting them from those terrible fates? No. No I wasn''t. They were just a toy to me, a tool to use to distract myself from the void inside my heart. With that said, I went back to Leone and Anput, joining the two as they began to rest. Waiting for the Knight to arrive took a bit, roughly an hour and a half, and when they did arrive, what greeted them was a corpse filled castle and a brokenmand structure. The Knight in question was a female Scorpionkin, her ck chitinous skin and long, sharp tail giving away who she was in an instant. Most Knights were famous and well known, and this woman was both loved and feared as a cruel poison master, her signature weapon being a hollow headed Gurz, which was a long mace with spikes on every cardinal direction. Therge sphere that formed the head of the Gurz was filled with a sloshing liquid, which was the poison that she herself brewed, and that was sent into the enemies body via the spikes. If you didn''t die from blunt force trauma first. Making her way over to Nirinia, I gathered Leone and Anput and made my way over as well, getting a brief nod from her. "So... what happened here?" Her raspy voice disyed her curiosity as she looked around, her ck sclera eyes locking onto Adelina for a moment before she focused on Nirinia. "Lady Sker, the Westerners colluded with House Sariel and betrayed the Empire..." Nodding, the Scorpionkin seemed uncaring of that information, before she turned towards me and asked "Lady Asmodia, is it true?" "It is, Lady Sker. The Envoys from House Sariel made direct actions against me and my fiancees, as well as aiding the Western Army. The two twins in Commander Adelina Leonisa''s Command Squad turned traitor as well, but Nirinia dealt with them rather swiftly. Justiciar Julius is also dead, by Nirinia''s hand as well." Lady Sker returned her hard gaze to the Djinn, who met her stare without an ounce of fear, though she did clench Adelina''s hand. "I expect a detailed report from both of you, Nirinia, Adelina. For the moment, the Ash Legion is to remain situated on the border to dissuade further attacks, where it will then be reced with the metongue Legion." "Lady Sker, if I may, I would like to keep the Ash Legion here and bolster them with willing conscripts, and I''ll talk with my parents about taking over their contract. Then I would like to request an audience with the Empress, her Court, and the Knights to put forward a request to start a Crusade aimed at upying the Western Kingdoms." Letting out a sharp peal ofughter, the Scorpionkin smirked at me as she nodded, her ck and red eyes narrowed with joy as she said "Aye, that''s fine with me. Been awhile since anythings happened..." Hefting her Gurz, sheid the heavy mace on her shoulder before making her way towards the gate, leaving behind some parting words as she walked. "You take after the Marquess quite a bit, Jahi Asmodia. The Knights all have rather high expectations of you, so don''t disappoint." With that, she went to stand guard at the gate, allowing the Legion to rest and recuperate. Nirinia breathed a sigh of relief as she looked down at Adelina, before returning her gaze towards me, aplicated mix of emotions in those jade orbs. "Jahi... I..." Shaking my head, I said "Don''t, Nirinia. We''re going to return to the Capital, and I suggest Adelina return with us to get further treatment. We''ll be back in a few days, and then we''ll begin to prepare for this Crusade of ours..." With that, I too left, leaving the Djinn and the Commander to talk amongst themselves as I took Leone and Anput with me. Reaching a secluded area, I sighed as the pain in my heart continued to grow. Turning around, I pulled the two women towards my chest and buried my face into their hair, squeezing them close to me as I leaned against a wall, my body weak. Chapter 276 275: Awake Kat PoV All I could feel as I awoke was sharp pains in my leg and a deep chill permeating my body, colder then I had ever been in a long time. Opening my eyes, I groaned as I sat up, looking around me in confusion, my mind still in a haze. I was sitting in a deep circr pit, the walls and floor made up of untouched stone coated in frost and pale blue lichens. High above me was an opening into... a cavern of some sorts, the only sounds from above being the shrill sounds of wind blowing through the cavern and sshes of water droplets hitting the ground. Remaining still, I strained my senses as I searched for anything hostile in the area around me, before sighing slightly in relief at ack of anything nearby. Though, that sigh of relief turned into a hiss of agonizing pain as I tried to move my right leg. Keyword ''tried''. I couldn''t feel my foot, and trying to move my calf resulted in my entire leg burning in pain, the heat unbearable whenpared to the chill around me. That wasn''t my only injury either; my fingers were shredded to high hells, the bones able to be seen on some, and moving them sent shocks up my arms, making me grit my teeth as the pain only grew worse. Besides my fingers and right leg, my entire body was covered in small cuts and bruises, and I could tell that I had a few broken bones as well; two ribs, my left femur, corbone... As I identified each part of me that hurt, the pain from those ces grew, and tears formed in my eyes at this unimaginable agony. Panting, sweat poured from my body as I gingerly lifted my hands, trying to ignore the throbbing aches that swelled around my entire body. Willing my mana towards my fingers was just as torturous as moving, the strands of Ice Mana sluggishly flowing through my veins as I tried to get a basic healing spell out first. What used to take me mere moments took me roughly ten minutes, as I would asionally have to restart when the pain robbed me of concentration. During those ''breaks'' of mine, I had a good chance to further evaluate my wounds, which only disgusted me further. My right leg was thoroughly infected, the flesh around the open cut a spattering of greens yellows, inmed reds, and some deep blues. The achilles tendon was shredded inside my ankle, and the bone was scraped and chipped. Pus leaked alongside blood as Iy there, and the longer I remained like this, therger the puddle of blood around me grew as well. I was slowly bleeding out inside a cave I had never seen before... Gritting my teeth, I ignored the lightheaded feeling and began to trace runes again, hoping to get it this time. With how battered my body was, I was surprised that I was still capable of using mana, but I wasn''t going to spit in the face of this wonderful gift. The deep blue runes in front of me shimmered in the air, some almost fading out of existence as I gasped and panted. "C-Come on..." Muttering to myself, I stared intently at the runes, trying to ignore the throbbing agony that was my leg. Doing magic whilst suffering agonies that I''ve only ever inflicted and never received was hard to do, but I eventually did it, much to my relief. The sequence of deep blue runes red, and a healing spell showered over my body, slowly healing me up. All the small scrapes and cuts closed up, the bruised and torn muscles healed, and my fingers slowly grew new flesh as well, the old muscles connecting with the new ones I had grown. However, my leg was a different story. While the infections were cleaned out, the tendon was simply surrounded by new muscles and sinews that filled in the missing chunks of flesh, while the bone calcified back to its original state. Everything on my body was healed, except for the achilles tendon. It wasn''t connected together, and because it wasn''t connected... mming my fist into the stone ground beside me, I growled in annoyance as my right leg remained unresponsive. "Damnit... damnit! Argh... what the hell can..." Gritting my teeth, I stared at myme right leg before taking a deep breath, shaking my head. "Calm down... stay calm... small steps first..." Which was ironic, considering I was only able to step with my left leg. Chuckling wryly at my own stupid joke, I rolled onto my stomach and pushed up, pulling my left leg up and unsteadily getting to my feet. Standing on one leg, I looked around the small circr area I found myself in, pursing my lips as I finally truly took it in. Roughly fifteen feet wide, the circr area was barren, the only loose items being my own equipment. The first thing I saw was my First Fang, or what was left of it. My thin steel dagger was shattered, the metal shards scattered around the ground off to my left. Thankfully the broad dagger the Countess got me was still in one piece, though it had taken a rough beating to its edge, which was chipped and rolled. Taking a deep breath, I used my Ice Magic to create a pair of crutches for myself, wanting to have a weapon by hand so I could protect myself. Considering I needed to get my mana refilled to perform a deep healing spell on my right leg, I would desperately need something solid and physical to fight with, should the need arise. ''Walking'' with crutches was an odd experience, and I almost fell three times as I tried to move eight some odd feet to the right. Halfway through my walk, I noticed that my right ankle hurt with the movement, so I decided to apply a cast made of ice around it, hoping that the solid chunk of ice would keep everything stable inside. With that done, I grabbed the broad dagger and sheathed it as best I could on my tattered belt, before sighing as I stared at the hundred foot high walls around me. I would need to scale the walls to reach the Cavern, but that was unknown territory, filled with potentially powerful monsters or animals. The best option would be to wait down in this hole of mine to continue gathering mana, but the problem with that was a simple one. I was hungry. Famished, really, as thest real meal I had was... three hours before the siege, and who knows how long its been between then and now. I didn''t know how long I had been unconscious for, and on a whim I asked the system if it knew. Sitting down again, I leaned against the rock wall and looked up, staring at the ceiling. ''Heya system, you there?''please visit [Argh... that was... unpleasant. Uh, yeah, I''m back...] Chuckling softly, I asked ''Were you unconscious as well? Is that even possible?'' [Yes..? Something simr... When you were pulled through the portal, too much happened to your body all at once for me to remain... ''conscious''.] Nodding, I stared down at my now healed self, before ring at myme right leg. ''Yeah, I took quite the beating huh? Anyways, the first thing I need to do is go up...'' Trailing off, I frowned as I listened to the system speak again, it''s words sending shivers down my spine. [Um... have you uh... noticed yet, or no?] ''Noticed what?'' Looking around, I searched for something in the area, before turning my attention inside myself when I found nothing. Body was healing still, core was filling up slowly but surely... Mana flowing fine... Then, my eyes widened as I felt... nothing. ''M-My bond...'' A pulse of acknowledgment rang from the system, and I felt my heart constrict in my chest as that absence made itself painfully known. Poking at the Soul Bond, I tried to find Jahi, to feel her through our Master-Servant bond, but there was nothing there. I couldn''t feel her at all, nor could I sense her. ''W-Wait, but I''m still alive, s-so she''s alive, right?! RIGHT?!'' [Yes, she is. But... it''s odd. It''s still... there, but it''s not? Fascinating...] Gritting my teeth, I took a few deep breaths as I tried to calm myself down, the constricting in my chest worsening at the system''s words. [Sorry! Kat, breath in... breath out... focus. In... out...] Repeating that a few times, I managed to work through the anxiety that gued my mind, albeit temporarily. That thought that I couldn''t see Jahi again... That I would be alone... It felt like the darkness was closing in on me from all sides, that I was trapped back in that void that I had once inhabited. That I would be alone again, never to see the tall, muscr blue skinned Demoness that I loved so dearly. Never to feel her touch on my skin, her breath on my cheek, her lips on mine, her warmth inside of me, her sweet scent mingling with mine, her- Her everything. All gone. For good? Temporarily? When would I see her again?! WHEN!? ... .. . .. ... Would she still want me? ... .. . .. ... Care for me like she used to? ... .. . .. ... Grabbing my head, I felt my heart pulse irregrly in my chest at those thoughts, only to have the system continue to try and calm me down. Minutes blurred by as I remained in that hole, and I finally managed to get myself calmed down when the system asked a question that I had no answer for. A question I thought I would never need to face. [What are you going to do about the Nymphomania skill?] Chapter 277 276: Bloody Memory (Extra) --- Needed a little break today from writing lol, so here''s a chapter from a long~ time ago~! --- Chordeva PoV Holding Ria in my arms, I desperately mmed into my petite wife, grunting at how pleasurable she made me feel. My younger self preferred women with meat on their bones, but now... I wouldn''t trade this pleasure for anything in the world. My heart soared as Ria moaned under me, her melodic voice stimting me more than any curves could nowadays. Capturing her lips, I silenced her for a moment, wanting her sickly sweet taste to permeate my being, before I clenched my eyes shut as she started wringing me dry. Panting above her, I finished inside my wife before rolling off of her, my arm still around her dainty shoulders. Nuzzling into my chest, Ria panted as well, her face red. "W-What brought ah~ t-that on?" ncing at her, I chuckled as I said "You were the one to mention hoping our next child would be like you; I want to give you that child. I want that so badly, so I need to make sure you''re never left empty, love~" She pouted at me, and I found her expression utterly adorable. ''mming'' her fists against my chest, she muttered "Idiot! Stupid blue! Dummy! Silver tongue! Demon!" Enjoying her little ''tantrum'', I grabbed one of her hands and smirked at her, licking my lips as I muttered "Keepplimenting me like that and see what happens, love~!" Watching her long ears grow a deeper crimson, I grinned at her as she let out a huff and turned around, her back to me. Draping my arm over her body, I held her close to me, enjoying how her soft golden locks felt against my bare skin. "Love, do you remember our first set of finals?" Letting out an ''Mm'', Ria remained silent, but I felt her rx in my arms. "What were the stakes you gave me then?" She wriggled slightly in my embrace, before muttering "W-We w-wouldn''t move in together if y-you didn''t ce f-first..." I grinned, gently stroking her cheek. "Yeah, that''s right... my little Elf changed so much that first year... you went from being so pure to being such a schemer~!" Turning in my arms, she pouted as she red at me, her sapphire eyes hard as she said "I had to offer that! You were getting-" Watching her blushpletely, I chuckled as I poked her small nose, finishing her sentence. "Pent up~? Well, I had dered my devotion to you, did I not? I never touched another until Julie, my love~" Her face turned gentle at that, and she nodded. "You did... Chordeva, you''ve always stuck to your word, even if you hated the oue... I just hope I was worth-" I lunged forwards and pressed my lips against hers, making her let out a surprised noise. Crawling back on top of her, I started taking my wife again, not letting her finish that sentence. When I sufficiently distracted her, I finally pulled away and hoarsely whispered "You''re worth more than my entire fortune, Ria... You and Jahi are worth more than I could ever afford... Never think otherwise..." Gulping, she nodded, before blushing as I grinned, adding "Besides, don''t you remember the extent I had gone to guarantee my ce on top? I had done that..." Leaning down, I licked her cheek, making her shudder. "For you, my love. I would do it all over again, and then some." Loosing myself to her again, I recalled that first final exam we had, specifically the Magic and Combat ones. My Magic Professor, one Lady Hestian, had challenged us to create our own spell to counter hers. As a leading researcher in Fire Magic, the woman had been rather adept at her element; one would hope that a researcher of something would know how to go about using their work. So, during our final exam, she had stood opposite me, a giant rotating ritual circle behind her. Stepping onto the field, I stared at the woman with a serious gaze, making her shiver slightly. Everyone at the time knew that I was taking my engagement seriously, but I had damaged my reputation so badly at the beginning that no one knew how seriously; I was still getting offers from various Houses to marry their daughters or sisters, offering me all the women I could ever want to bed. Some were incredibly tempting, with them offering gorgeous, curvaceous women who had never been touched, offering me that seductive offer of deflowering a number of beautiful maidens. I was tempted, but every time I saw the women they offered me, I looked at their eyes. Their curves no longer mattered to me; for thest few months I had gone celibate, and while there were a few close calls, I had started to reform myself. Staring into their eyes, I frowned, not finding what I was looking for. That void that Ria had shown me; that crazy light... I wanted it. And only she had it. Only she stared at me like that; even now, I could feel her empty eyes on me as I stared at Lady Hestian; our Professor was a buxom Elf, so Ria was likely feeling ''threatened'' and worried. Returning my thoughts to the exam, I stared at the ritual circle before saying "I apologize in advance, Professor Hestian." The woman frowned at me, before her eyes widened as I raised my hand, recreating her ritual circle exactly.please visit Ria and I had been training together, and my fiancee was damn skilled with her magic, so she was adamant I at least get close to her level. Which was to say, I needed to be better than almost everyone in this building at magic. After she had gone home before her dance, something had changed in Ria; not just her sudden shift to being truly possessive, but something else as well. She had learned something at her home, and since then she had improved leaps and bounds. Finishing Professor Hestian''s spell, I nodded before cancelling it, focusing intently on just one rune. My mana red, and the Elf gasped as her ritual circle shattered, making her gasp before coughing out blood. I had just forcefully canceled her spell, making me sigh. Stepping forwards, I ced a hand on her shoulder before freezing, murderous intent washing over me. Gulping, I swiftly healed the woman before turning away, only for her to grasp my hand. "W-Wh... H-How?! T-That was mytest b-breakthrough!" Her eyes were wide, and I shivered as the murderous intent turned cold, and a sweet scent entered my nose. "This rune; unneeded. Get rid of it, find something to rece it. Please let me go. I really like this arm." My words came out fast, and the Elf stared at me in confusion, before reluctantly releasing me. "S-Sorry, Lady Asmodia... h-hey, so..." Laying one of her arms under her ample chest, Professor Hestian leaned forwards, making me groan internally as her giant breasts entered my vision. "C-Could you... ''personally'' show me..?" Her voice was low, and it dripped with a honey like sweetness. A year ago, I would have taken her offer, losing myself to those giant mountains on her chest and having fun coating them, but now... Sharply shaking my head, I turned and approached Ria, much to the Professor''s disappointment. My fiancee was staring at me with empty eyes, while Julie blinked before ncing between Ria and I. Before my fiancee could speak, I held up my hand as said "Nothing happened; she wanted to know how I cancelled her spell. Nothing happened after that either, she was just experiencing phantom pains from her mana going haywire." Ria narrowed her eyes at me before giving me a curt nod, her eyes reverting to normal. "So... how exactly DID you do that Chordeva?" Turning to Julie, I exined the theory behind it, watching the rest of our ss go up and take the practical side of their final. After that, we remained on the training grounds, waiting for our Combat Professors. There were three; an Elven Ranger named Bea, who was a damn good rogue with those des of hers. Then there was the quiet swordswoman Oliak, her serpent heritage apparent in her slitted reptilian red eyes, as well as the writhing serpent tattoo on either arm. Finally, a giant female Minotaur Molkia was our heavy weapons Professor, and her cheery attitude was at odds with her utter brutality. The three entered minutester, and we went straight into the final; a set of three tournaments, based on the weapons you used. Since I used a ymore primarily, I was with Molkia, while Ria used a thin longsword, so she was with Oliak. Our first and second rounds went by easily enough, and Ria and I were almost winning our tournaments. Julie was knocked out of hers by her roommate Kio, who was gloating over the curvy Dogkin, only to slip on a puddle of water when she turned around. Reaching the final match, I stared at my opponent, who was a towering Orc man, his heavy axe resting on his shoulders. "Ria''s wasted on a Demoness like you; she deserves a real man like me!" ring at him, I raised my ymore silently, only to see red as he licked his lips, a disgusting lust filled grin on his face as he said "I bet she''d sound wonderful under me; hey, let me have her, will-" Shooting forwards, I mmed my ymore against his axe, before I head butted him, my horns digging into his brow slightly. Raising a fist, I mmed it into his jaw, dislocating it, before stabbing my ymore into the dirt beside him, making him flinch. Crouching above him, I grabbed his throat and lifted him towards me. He shivered as I red at him, and in his eyes I could tell my own were ring crimson. "If you even DREAM of touching my wife, I will end you, your family, and your friends; I will wipe out everyst piece of proof that you ever existed. Understand me? I will fucking end you, you oversized green bastard." Raising a fist, I mmed it into his nose, breaking it. Releasing him, I got up and grabbed my ymore, ncing briefly at the smirking Molkia, who just waved me away. Finding Ria, I made my way to her side and grabbed her arm, leading her away. She grew flustered, and I had to groan as I saw her pale skin covered in a thinyer of sweat. "C-C-Chordeva?!" Pulling her towards a secluded corner, I pinned her to the wall and leaned down, resting my head on her shoulder. "Just... let me have this... Please, Ria..." --- Date: 01/07/2023 --- Chapter 278 277: Convictions --- Found motivation in the weirdest way lol So, lotta people seemed confused and thought that the previous chapters all felt ''rushed'' in terms of plot, and honestly... I understand that; IF I could go back, maybe I would flesh it out a little more, give more time to character thoughts and such to better exin everything, but... Here it is, via the Author instead lol. So, why didn''t Chordeva(Marquess) send extra guards for Kat? Why didn''t the others send extra guards for Kat? For Chordeva, it''s really simple: Nirinia kinda was THAT guard for Kat; she is already a Knight level warrior, and the Banshee was Jahi''s guard; Chordeva and Ria thought that Nirinia could protect Kat and the others well enough. Besides that, no one knew that the Justiciars wereing until a few hours before; on top of that, it wasn''t confirmed if Julius, the strongest one, wasing either, so no one felt the need to focus on Kat. As for sending and being alright with them being inside the Legion the Sariel''s had just bought? That was exined a little earlier, and the reason the Empress didn''t act is because, while they may still try something on Jahi or the others, doing sobels the Sariels/Kameiels as Traitors right off the bat. WPOmega also guessed at the reason the Sariel''s struck out; they thought they could take out Nirinia, Adelina, and the Command Squad, effectively taking over the Legion and making the group Prisoners of War. This would give them an entire Legion that was loyal to only them, and no one would know what actually happened on that battlefield; in theory, anyways. Kat would be theirs, they would have Jahi as a bargaining chip until they removed the Soul Bond (remember, if Jahi dies, Kat dies too, but if Kat dies, Jahi goes about like normal; it''s a Master-Servant bond), and the Princess of the Empire and Begum of the Sultanate could be theirs as well. They are an arrogant, deluded family that believes they could take over and make themselves so indispensable to the Empress that she wouldn''t act against them; again, delusional. It alles down to the crux of this; Nirinia ''was'' Kat''s guard, and the others thought that they didn''t need to act. Sometimes, people overthink something to the point of inaction, and this is one of those situations where it happens. Was it forced and rushed? Yeah, looking back, it probably was, but fuck it, here we are. Could''ve crafted it better, but I didn''t want to bog it down with excessive thinking and the like, but I probably should have, just so everyone could ept this ''new arc'' better... Anyways, yea, that''s that. --- [What are you going to do about the Nymphomania skill?] I froze, my thoughts halting as the system asked that question. The [Nymphomania] skill that had been given to me at the beginning of this journey had a part built into that, so far, I had yet to ever even need to deal with. For everyday that I went sexless, or remained ''chaste'' and didn''t get myself off, I gained a stack of ''Arousal''. Each stack of ''Arousal'', surprise, made me more aroused and began to warp my thinking. When it reached twenty stacks, I''d be little more than a drooling, horny mess of a woman begging for someone to satiate my urge to breed; ironically enough, I would indeed be a bitch in heat. Two days without either sex or masturbation grants me a single stack of ''Arousal'', and I can only remove one stack a day by myself. Before thesest few days, I''ve never once gained a single stack of ''Arousal''; Jahi was incredibly active after our first time, and when Anput and Leone joined in, it was guaranteed that I would never even know what a stack felt like in my life. Two days, in that house, without someone wanting to embrace me? Impossible. Now, however, I had no idea where I was, nor how far I was from Jahi and the others. That meant that I would begin to umte stacks, and unless I took care of it myself steadily, it would grow and grow, until I... I... Gritting my teeth, I felt my anger re again for a moment, thoughts of my promiscuous past resurfacing as I pondered the possibilities. No. Never again. I was loved, I was needed. I didn''t need to search for validation through others; didn''t need to undervalue myself just for momentary pleasures. This life had been one of new beginnings, and I refused to return to those ways, to believing I wasn''t worthy of love... Kyoka ruined me in more ways than one... But Jahi made me feelplete; she satisfied my every need, my every desire, and I loved her. With my entire being, I loved that tall, arrogant Demoness; I loved her more than I loved myself, more than I loved life. I was never going to betray her trust, betray her love. She owned me in more ways than one, and I intended to stay true and ''pure'' for her. The thought of being sullied by a stranger made me scared; not because I feared the idea of having sex... The skill I have speaks for itself. No, I feared that Jahi would stop loving that sullied version of me, that she would toss me aside in disgust... Was it irrational? Maybe. Maybe she would love me either way, but... She was possessive; she told me multiple times that she owned me, that she loved me, and that I belonged to her. Her golden eyes when she said those things to me let me know that she meant it, and I... I had chosen this path; a path of being ''owned'' by someone, being ''below'' them. There was no regret I my choice, no anguish that I wasn''t ''free''. I felt freer than I had ever felt in my old life; I was loved, cherished, and desired by a woman who, by all rights, should have never seen me as anything more than a ything to toss away. Maybe I had gotten lucky; after all, Jahi could have been like Julian. Maybe I was stupid for risking my new lease on life on a whim, but I have no regrets... So what am I going to do about my situation? Letting out a tired chuckle, I stared up at the caverns ceiling above me and muttered "One step at a time, and take care of myself. I did it before, and I can do it again. That''s what I''ll do, system. For starters..." I needed to get out of this cave, and get on my way to returning to my lover. The Demoness who had stolen my heart from me. The Vampire who burned her way into my body. The Jackalkin who arrogantly imed me as hers. I was going to return to them, no matter what it took. Chapter 279 278: A Look Outside With my convictions set and made, I took a deep breath and got onto my feet, ignoring the pain from myme right leg as I began to move. Once I was up and leaning on my crutches, I pursed my lips as I stared at the long, uneven rock walls around me that led up towards the cavern above. Turning, I stared at the small outcroppings for a few moments before hesitantly grabbing ahold of the wall, wondering if I could climb up like this. My first thought had been to use magic to create tforms to scale up, almost like stairs, but the problem with that was that I wanted to let my core refill itself with the mana in the air so that I could heal myselfpletely... So, that easier method was sadly off the table for the moment, and the next option avable was to free climb the rocks and hope I could manage with ame right leg... Doubtful, but I wanted to give it a shot. Obviously, if I was a ''normal'' person, this would be a difficult, near impossible task, but... With all my stats being so high, I thought that this was a feasible idea, so I gentlyid the crutches against the wall and began to go up, my fingers securely lodged on the handholds I found. Trying to keep my right leg as motionless as possible, I began to pull myself up the rock wall, my left leg straining as I used it to stabilize myself, all while my abdomen and arms began to strain as well, the strength required to pull my entire bodyweight up on my own being rather... great. It would seem that for a woman with my figure, pulling yourself up a steep rock face would be quite torturous, what with many sections of my body being heavier than normal... Though, for me, I was willing to deal with the two ample ''curses'' situated on my chest, so while I did grumble about the strength I needed to climb now, I wouldn''t trade them away at all. Anyways, as I distracted myself with random thoughts, I continued to scale the side of this humongous pit, slowly but surely making my way towards the top, towards reaching the first step in my n to return home. I had an idea that I would need to be up high and in the open in order for the Soul Bond between Jahi and I to work enough to point me in her direction. Considering I had no idea where I was, I couldn''t just ''head north'' or any other direction just yet; I had no idea if ''north'' led towards the Empire or away from it. The continent we were on was... impossiblyrge by my old worlds standards; again, the Empire was many thousands of miles wide and ''tall'', and that was just ONE area on THIS continent. In the middle of the continent was the Labyrinthian, which was a bitrger than the Empire, and it was surrounded on all sides by various countries and territories, bodies of water and mountain ranges... There''s no telling where I could be just yet, so picking a direction to move is just... wasteful. As for the mark that Leone put on me, it was just for her to benefit from, so I couldn''t use it like I could the Soul Bond. I was really, really hoping that our Soul Bond could act like a GPS for me to navigate this world, but if it couldn''t, I would just need to find some civilization and get a map, which might hold some familiarity for one country that I remember... Hopefully. With that on my mind, I briefly looked down, and nched instantly at the height, swiftly turning back towards the ceiling that grew ever close. I just had another dozen some odd feet left... And quite the fall if I messed up, so no pressure me~! wing at the lip of the pit, I pulled myself up and began to look around, making sure the coast was clear before I exited the rtively safe, sheltered hole. Looking this way and that, I was greeted with the sight of a frost covered cavern, the various rocks and stgmites coated in a glistening sheen of ice that glittered in the light streaming in from the opening a few hundred feet in front of me. Various other holes were scattered around the ground, which confused me for a moment, before I pulled myself out of my pit and recreated my crutches. Silently making my way forwards, I took in the vast cavern that I had been transported to, a sharp breeze blowing in from the caverns opening. The air had the familiar sharpness of winter whilst also being crisp, and theck of any scents besides the moisture and mild earthen undertone made me think that I was in a mountainous area. What that meant in terms of location was still unknown, and I had no idea what kind of threats lingered inside, or outside this cavern. So, I had a choice to make; either continue forwards and leave the cavern and take my chances outside, or remain inside and continue to heal up in this empty area. Both had merits and risks; this could be a den of some sorts, or it could just be a really old,pletely empty cavern, used by nothing. The outside could be riddled with powerful enemies or it could be a barren region of snow and wind. Those were the choices I hadid before me, and I needed to pick one soon. Either heal up inside the cavern before heading out and pray that nothinges near, or go outside and hope I can find something to eat, something to enhance my bodies ability to draw in mana faster. A poorly maintained body wouldn''t be able to retain mana as well as a normal person, and considering I needed mana desperately... Gritting my teeth, I looked around again, before sighing as I made my way towards the entrance. At the very least, I wanted to take a peek outside, to see where I was and what I had to work with. Besides that, I would need the strong breeze and cold air to facilitate a quicker mana regeneration thanks to my skills, so maybe I create a miniature shelter near the entrance to help with that... cking along with my crutches, I made sure to keep my ears honed in on any sounds and my nose perked, wanting to make sure I wasn''t caught off guard by a monster, animal, or person. Weaving around the various rocks and boulders inside the cavern, as well as the other pits, which I looked inside of, I gradually made my way towards the entrance of this empty cavern, greeted by a sight that made my mind nk out for a moment. Reaching the entrance, I was prepared for a breathtaking view of some beautiful mountains, but... Oh, it was so much more than I could possibly describe. Long snow filled canyons ranged out below me, various deep green trees dusted with white dotting thendscape below, while mountains that towered into the heavens rose around me, all surrounding a gigantic frozenke that radiated an ethereal blue light, spots of violets and crimsons speckling the surface. Off to the left was arge arch that led into another valley, one that was riddled with towering pirs covered in ice. To the right stood a mountain taller than the rest, a mountain that was hidden by the clouds. Down at the base of that mountain were long, curved spikes that formed over the winding valleys that branched off of it, one of which connected to theke. Birds with dazzling blue and white feathers flew in the sky, their melodic calls echoing around as they soared around calmly. Thendscape was just so... serene and majestic, the snowden, frost covered mountains and valleys making me feel... So at home, so wee and cozy. The chill didn''t bother me at all; in fact, I weed the breeze and nip that it carried, enjoying the way it ruffled my hair and felt on my skin. It was... beautiful. If only Ja- Suddenly, the wondrous distraction that the mountainous region provided fell away, and once again I was left with the sobering realization that I was alone in this breathtaking ce. No quips from Anput about the cold, no gasps of wonder at the formations or geological marvels that this ce produced from Leone... No doting smile and warm touch of Jahi as she held me close to her, looking out at the snow with her as we quietly stood together, taking it all in... The wonder shifted to feeling hollow, and I slumped to the ground as I continued to look out over the region, my heart clenching painfully tight in my chest as tears sprang to my eyes again. Swallowing hard to keep it all down, I settled onto the ground and focused on my mana regeneration instead, all whilst my fingers yed with the cor that had never once left my neck. Chapter 280 279: Somber Questions Jahi PoV With Lady Sker now firmly guarding the ruined fortress, we gathered our supplies and set out for the Capital, where I would be asking a few questions to a few people. My list was surprisingly short, and consisted of mostly the same question over and over and fucking over again. Why did we not have more help? I knew the answer to that though, and it only infuriated me more. Our ''help'' was Nirinia, but the Sariel''s had nned for that quite easily. Not well, but they made a solid attempt. Leone had told me about what Nirinia had done, since she had watched it in awe. In mere moments, the woman overdrafted her core and flooded her body with raw mana, amplifying her physical abilities by double, if not nearly triple their normal capabilities, allowing her to out speed a man renowned for his speed. It was like given a Smander wings and erging its me sac; at that point, the thing is a Dragon, not a Smander. Nirinia went from a Pseudo-Knight to a full fledged Knight in that moment, and it showed by how swiftly she dispatched her opponents before focusing on what was important... To her, anyways. I wanted to me her, to yell and scream at her for not doing her job, but... I knew that was a childish, idiotic, petnt tantrumshing out at a woman who, in all honesty, did all she could given the situation. Something we all did given the situation. I couldn''t have easily dispatched Matilda without risking too much against her; clumsy or unrefined as she was, the woman had the power to kill me, and one small mistake was all I needed. In order to win that fight, I needed to drain her energy before going in for the kill; ying to my racial advantages was a smart move, and one that I wouldn''t change now, not when it could result in worse situations. Leone did what I ordered her and Kat to do; keep the Lioness alive and well so that Nirinia remained sane and in the fight. If the Sariel''s had instead tried to ambush us with a surprise force, we would need the Djinn to counteract that ambush; there is no way we manage to ward off both the Westerners and a traitorous force otherwise. As for Anput... ncing at the downcast Jackalkin, I felt another swell of petnt anger in my heart, further darkening it. She was the only one out of us who could have made a difference, who could have tried and saved Kat without risking the entirety of the Legion. The gap could have been defended without her, as long as she left some cover for our soldiers to use, they could have slowly kept the Westerners at bay, giving her a few moments to go and help Kat. I wanted tosh out and berate her for her inaction, but I reeled in my unwarranted emotions, knowing fully well that Anput understood that more than the rest of us ever could. She was dealing with her own grief and anguish right now, and I felt my heart further cracking as I saw her obsidian eyes filled with sorrow. Taking a deep breath, I turned my gaze towards the window, focusing instead on what I needed to do when I returned to the Capital. I needed a structure in my life now, to guarantee there were less moments left alone with my morbid thoughts; less time left listening to the whispers that med me for Kat''s disappearance. When we reached the Capital, first on the agenda was delivering Adelina to a healer of some kind, getting her patched up and ready for a return to the West. Whilst she was getting healed, I would send a letter out to Mom, getting her toe to the Capital as quickly as she could... Preferably... Preferably alone. I... couldn''t fathom having to tell Miss Julie that I had, once again, failed her and her daughter. That yet again Kat was in an unknown state, alone and hurt. Clenching my fist, I shuddered slightly at that thought, the Dogkin''s void blue eyes drilling into my soul frightening me. I was, again, to me for putting Kat in harms way, and no words could ever fix the shattering of trust between us. Which is why I needed to take action. When Mom arrived at the Capital, we were making our way to the Sariel''s and burning it to the ground, before I would torture and interrogate Jillian and A for any potential ideas on where Kat may have been sent. If they had nothing, then I would begin to search on my own if I had to, tob this world for whatever trace I could of Kat. My heart ached more at the reminded that she was gone. The familiar tart scent of the woman was absent from the carriage, as was her bored humming or warm touch as she leaned on me. Instead, the air was still and smelt of nothing; the sounds were dull and muffled; my body was cold. If Jillian and A couldn''t give me a single hint, a single clue, I was going to rend them limb from limb, all whilst keeping them alive and restrained with magic. Whatever torture I could think of, I would employ on the two Elves who dared to lust after what was mine, who tore that very part of my soul away. The Sariel''s and Kameiel''s would fall, that there was no doubt. After they fell though, that was where everything turned murky. I would like to believe Mom would agree with my sentiments to by the Legion and begin reconsolidating our power and putting it on disy, but there was no guarantee. I would like to think that the Nobility would ept the distraction that war would have on the popce and use it to divert the publics attention away from the traitorous Elven Houses that plotted with our enemies. I would like to think that the Empress would sanction this war for the reason of learning what that monster was that opened a Gate inside Tragon and wiped it out, so that we could learn more about it and better prepare for it to strike, should it strike. These were all things I hoped would happen, things I wanted to happen. I believed they would, as each is, to me, simply too good to refuse, but the world often likes to toss aside reasonable logic and instead rece it with nonsensical actions that simply baffled the mind. For instance, tworge Families throwing aside a stable, affluent life to instead betray their country and attack said country''s shield. That was nonsensical, and yet it happened. Another example was to make all these intricate, detailed,plex ns to capture what, in the eyes of many, was just an insignificant maid. Talented, beautiful, but ''insignificant'' maid. That was how she wanted the world to view her, and that was indeed how it viewed her, but... Now, it only further baffled me. If the Crusade was approved, if we learnt more about this Gate monster, if I got my Legion... All that was left was to search for Kat, to begin utilizing that same Legion to cast a wide on gathering information as best I could, hoping to find a way to get her back to me as quickly as I could. Otherwise, I feared that I would change, and not for the better; I would be something hideous to her... I feared that, when, when we found Kat, she would be disgusted by the woman I had be, that she would despise what I had done. That scared me so, so very much. Chapter 281 280: Healing Kat PoV Sitting against the wall of the entrance, I overlooked the snowden valleys below me as I allowed my body to absorb the areas potent Wind and Ice Mana, slowly refilling my core back to its peak. The howling of the wind down in the valleys sounded quiet from up here, and the asional melodic caw of those blue feathered birds rung out into the mountains, but besides that... There was nothing else here; no other animals that I could see, no monsters, no people... I was stranded deep in the wilderness, and for the moment, I was left with nothing besides the birds as mypany. Of course, who knows what wille out to prowl at night, but by then I would have my leg healed and I would be on the move. Where though? While theke was indeed beautiful, I had a sneaking suspicion that those specks of violet and crimson weren''t just light, but instead monsters. Of course, that wasn''t something I could confirm, nor would I go out of my way to confirm it; I would instead avoid therge frozenke, no matter how gorgeous it might be to look at up close. As for the giant mountain to my right with an almost ribcage like valley of rocks at its base, I would also avoid going there, as the giant mountain wasn''t something I wanted to risk climbing. Stories of confident, experience mountain climbers dying on my old worldsrgest peaks were something I had retained, it seemed, and I didn''t consider myself confident or experienced with mountaineering. Which left the wide stone arch to the left, acting as the entrance to this area... I hope. Otherwise, I would need to make my way over towards one of the other smaller mountains and take a peak behind it, hoping to find something resembling civilization. Technically, should I fail to find a way to eat, I could live for around three weeks,, though whether or not I would be able to continue moving is another story. I had infinite water with my magic, and food shouldn''t be too big of an issue as long as I manage to sessfully kill a bird or two here and there. Now cooking it... That would be an interesting task. But, that was all for the future me, and now I needed to focus on reconnecting a tendon inside my leg sessfully. Reaching the amount of mana I believed I needed to both heal and to still maintain a rather decent pool to use in case of an emergency, I sat up and leaned down towards my leg, ignoring the difort of the now numb limb and instead tracing out a very long,plex sequence of runes. Finishing the first sequence, I twisted it into a ring and began filling the newly created Ritual Circle with more runes, amplifying certain parts and fine tuning others. It was a long, tedious process of double checking the runes, mapping it all out perfectly, triple checking, and then, after creating the mostplex spell I had made so far, casting it and maintaining it over my achilles tendon like I was trying to enchant something, letting the spell seep into the flesh and begin to heal and mend my leg. Wincing slightly, I tried to ignore the sharp pangs and jolts that shot around my leg as my tendon began to fuse back together and restore itself, all while the flesh surrounding it continued to shift around to better allow the achilles tendon to return to its original ce. Sweat coated my body despite the biting wind and snow, and I gasped as my entire body shook as an agonizingly tight cramp took ahold of my right leg, the muscles all clenching down as my leg began to reset itself entirely, the cool and strong current of Water Mana seeping consistently into the flesh and bone. When it was finally all over, I opened my eyes as I panted, the pains slowly receding as I unsteadily rose to my feet, gingerly applying pressure to my right leg. While it did feel a little tingly and weak, I could put my weight on it and even move the limb, making me smile tiredly down at my pale white leg. Stretching out my tense muscles, I looked around the cavern again before casting my gaze towards the bright blue sky that was littered with clouds. As my eyesnded on a bird, my stomach rumbled loudly in protest, making me chuckle as I narrowed my eyes, blocking out the suns harsh rays while tracking the bird. It was a good distance away, so how could I..? Hmm, maybe I just needed to get it riled up? Though, that would only work if its not an animal, but a monster; they move towards their attacker, whereas the animals will flee at the feeling of pain. Pursing my lips, I tried to ignore my growling stomach again, before sighing as I began to move towards the outside world, a world that I had no knowledge of. All I had on me was two daggers, the clothes on my back, some poison, some potions, and the magic within me. That was all, and I needed to make do with everything at my disposal. Carefully walking down the snowy mountain, I made sure to check the trees that were sparsely scattered around the slope for anything hiding in their branches, hoping to find some small rodents or berries to eat. Sadly, the birds remained the mountains only other inhabitants, so as I made my way towards therge arch that was my first hope, I kept an eye out for the blue feathered birds, hoping to catch one getting to close to me. Whilst I waited for that, I continued to take in the serenendscape around me, trying to distract myself from my inner thoughts, focusing instead on taking action instead of thinking. Too much thinking in this situation could mean lost time, time that I needed to use as wisely as I could to reach some form of civilization to figure out how to return to the Empire. To return to Jahi, Anput, and Leone. To return to the Marquess, Countess, and Mother. Smiling wryly, I wondered how she would react to this; we weren''t... the closest, but I still loved my Mother nheless, and I could only hope that she wouldn''t be so distraught that harm came to my two little half siblings. I still needed to meet them, to live my life as an older sister! Really, Mother, everyone, please be okay. I''ll... I''ll be fine out here, alone. I''ll make it back, I swear. So... just wait for me, and keep living on like you have. Don''t... Don''t miss me too much. I''m not dead yet, after all! Licking my chapped lips, I felt my eyes water as I let out a wry chuckle, before I blinked the tears from my eyes and red up at the birds. Flicking my hand out in petnt anger, I sent a crescent de of ice hurtling upwards, and my eyes widened in surprise as it cleanly struck the birds body... And shattered, doing little to no damage. Chapter 282 281: Survival Watching the ice de shatter against the birds feathered body, I froze in ce as the blue feathered beast turned towards me, twisting its body around to search for whatever had tried to attack it. Since I was still in my armor, which was a dark brown, I stood out on the dazzling white nket of snow that coated the mountains, and with nothing to hide behind... Well, the blue bird let out a sharp caw and dove towards me, its talons gleaming in the light as it outstretched them, preparing to tear my body apart. It was fast, and I had to roll away as its talons whooshed in the air beside me, before it began to ascend once again. Frowning, I waved my hand and sent two elemental des towards it, one Water and one Wind; I was curious to know if the bird was Mana resistant or Ice resistant... Though, since Water and Wind make up Ice, I didn''t have high hopes for this attack either. Even with both des being incredibly sharp, they did no damage to the bird above me, only working to further anger it. The Water sshed against its feathers harmlessly, while the Wind dissipated in an instant. ring back at me, the bird let out another sharp caw as it began to descend again, diving rapidly down with the talons outstretched. Seeing its straight descent pattern, I had an idea as I rolled away again, avoiding the angered bird once more before sending an Ice de towards it to keep its attention. As it rose further into the sky, I began to trace a few runes into the air, my thinking shifting for a moment. Maybe it wasn''t magic resistant? Therge bird spun around and once again dove down towards me, its anger apparent in the shrill caws and hate filled eyes. Finishing the spell, I waited for it to draw closer before casting the spell, smirking as I rolled away. A giant block of solid ice fell onto the birds back, and it shrieked in pain as bones broke in its wings and body. Syed out under a heavy block of ice, the bird tried to twist its head towards me, still ring at me, only to fall silent as I stabbed ance of ice into its eye, killing it. [Arctic Cor : 12,300 Xp] "So you''re called a Cor... interesting." Crouching down in front of the bird, I stared at itsrge frame as I moved the ice away, revealing a body almost asrge as mine, with a wingspan asrge as I was tall. The bird was massive, and I gently reached forwards and stroked the now dead Arctic Cor''s feathers, marveling at the soft, yet firm blue feathers. My hand sunk in to around the middle of my forearm before I reached the Cor''s flesh. Nodding to myself, I looked back towards the sky and began to search for more, making sure I was alone before I got to work. Seeing none, I nced towards the cube I had made and hollowed it out, before expanding it a bit to fit the Arctic Cor. With my prey now firmly inside the cube, I began to ''pull'' the cube towards the nearest tree, where I would gather whatever sticks I could. Crawling into my hollow cube, I began to butcher the Arctic Cor, pulling out the feathers before slicing into the meat. I had grown curious and tried to cut into the feathers as well, wondering if the beast was just resistant to ded attacks, and vo, I couldn''t cut even a knick into the feathers. With that knowledge firmly under my belt, I sliced the bird into eatable chunks before grabbing the sticks. In order to make a fire, I needed dry wood and some kind of kindling to get this going, but thankfully the trees around here were some kind of pine, which could work quite well... With the sticks in my hand, I took a deep breath before closing my eyes, focusing on the water inside and on them. Since we were in such a snowy region, of course the branches were ''moist'', so I needed to find a way to dry them. Normally, you would need to keep them away from the tree for awhile, to let them dry out themselves, but when you have magic... Feeling the mana inside the sticks, I drew it out and cast it aside, opening my eyes to stare down at the now dried branches. Stacking the branches in the center of my ice cube, I used solid, mana imbued ice to act as the stone buffer, before frowning as I stared at the kindling I had collected. The pine needles sat before me, and I had no way to light them. Could I manage that friction trick here? Heading outside, I found arger branch and snapped some of it off, drying that out before going back inside and beginning the tedious process of rubbing wood together rapidly to produce some heat. Smartening up a few minutes in, I used a cord made from water to expedite the process, speeding up the rotation of the stick and slowly creating some smoke from the two pieces of wood. It took a bit, but eventually I managed to get a fire going inside my cozy little cube. With fire now avable, I began to cook the chunks of meat as best I could, before setting them off to the side. Since I hadn''t seen any signs of civilization just yet, I wanted to stockpile some food, and with the ability to create ice boxes at my disposal, I could preserve the meat for a day or so at the very least. Whilst I cooked, I gnawed at a b of bird meat, enjoying the fatty, gamey taste of the bird as I slowly finished the rest. As I did so, I asked ''How is the system quests going to work now? Am I just not going to get any now?'' [You still have ess to your Daily Quests, but the others... most likely, yes, they''ll be rather absent from your life now. After all, what good is a Servant without a Master/Mistress to serve? Or a Shadow Guard who has no one to guard? Though, I believe you''ll do just fine on your own. After all...] [Level 29 - 200,832 / 1,000,000 Xp Stats: STR - 61 CON - 64 AGI - 62 DEX - 61 CHA - 64 WIS - 63 INT - 62 Shop Points : 1,432 SP] [You have quite the spread of stats, your level is rtively high, and you have the ability to ess the Shop~!] My face deadpanned as I stared down at the fire, before I sighed and fell backwards. Opening the shop, I added the keyword ''Fire'' in the search and groaned as I saw quite a few useful little items in... starting fires. "Goddess above am I stupid..." [To be honest, I was going to remind you about it, but...] "I hate you." [You''re wee~!] Shaking my head, I sat back up and returned to cooking the meat, not purchasing anything for the moment. I had no bag to store anything that might be toorge, and for the moment I had fire; there was no need to buy something just yet. Since Shop Pointse frompleting quests, and now I have a severeck of quests toplete... Who knows when I''ll need to buy something in a real emergency. ncing at the meats I had already seared over the mes, I grabbed another one and began to chew on the gamey meat, satiating my hunger whilst also idly wishing I had some kind of vegetable to go with it... Seems my ''house training'' was rather ingrained into me at this point... Chuckling at anotherme joke about my situation, I closed off the cube, leaving a few small holes around the top edges to vent the smoke beforeying down on a pile of feathers, closing my eyes and wanting to get some sleep. My energy was sapped for the day, mentally mainly, and I needed to be in peak condition if I wanted to continue onwards. ~~~ Anput PoV The carriage ride was... grueling. Torturous even. I couldn''t think about anything besides my own failure. I had every opportunity to leave the line, to go out and search for Kat, and yet... I didn''t. Not only were my thoughts slowly darkening my mind, but the stare that Jahi sent my way made it worse. Her golden gaze was usatory, and I didn''t even need to turn to know what she was thinking. My eyes were fixed to watching thendscape blur by as I held in my tears, my heart hurting more than it had ever before. Each passing second made me wish the Capital woulde into view sooner, so that I could escape this stuffy, ustrophobic carriage and instead... Instead, be alone. M-Maybe I would go to my forge to distract myself? O-Or maybe I would take a walk around town? S-Something... A-Anything to get my mind back on track, to stop... To stop hurting. Chapter 283 282: Counsel Reaching the cottage that we hade to associate with home, I burst from the carriage and made my way inside, creating space between Jahi, Leone and I. The Vampire was still quiet, her exhaustion from sobbing for so long wearing at her as she made her way into the cottage as well, slipping into her room and likely curling into a ball. As for Jahi, she stayed in the carriage with Nirinia and Adelina, heading out towards the nearest hospital to find a good healer. Going outback, I turned towards my forge and picked up a hammer, lightning the forge itself and grabbing some metal ingots. With nothing in mind to create, I simply began to swing my hammer and vent my frustrations on the ingotying on the anvil, ttening it out before slowly shaping it into... Into... "DAMNIT!" Throwing the de to the side, I stared at the dagger I had made hatefully, panting as I copsed onto the heated anvil. Tears came to my eyes as I flicked my hand towards the discarded dagger, retrieving it with a burst of Metal Magic. Running my fingers over the curved de, I swallowed hard as I tried to hold back the tears that rose up as I stared at the perfect copy of the dagger I gifted Kat. "Damnit all..." Muttering to myself, I sobbed quietly before reverting the metal back into an ingot, drying my tears as I attempted to create another de. Hours passed by as I forged and forged, ignoring the strained muscles and puddle of sweat below me as I went on and on, only to stop as someone grabbed my shoulder. Panting, I looked behind me into Jahi''s golden eyes, shivers running up my spine as she wordlessly gestured towards the door. Laying the hammer onto the anvil, I cast onest nce at the replica of Kat''s dagger that had wormed its way into my mind, bing one of the few things I was capable of forging. Following behind the tall Demoness, I tried to ignore the weight of the silence that permeated the house before taking a seat at the empty table, barely managing to nod towards the Marquess who sat there as well. Leone stumbled out of her room momentster, her puffy red eyes and paler than normal features making the Marquess frown, her own ruby red eyes narrowed as she looked around the room. Running her finger over the tabletop, the older Demoness stared at the dust that smeared her fingertip, before she nced at Jahi. "What happened?" Her low voice made me shrink into myself, and I remained quiet as Jahi began to, once again, tell her parent about what had happened to us, and how... How Kat was no longer with us. Resting her chin in her hands, the Marquess sighed as she leaned back, a still expression on her face as she contemted what had happened. "I... I really did think that Nirinia would be enough. I mean, she''s a Knight caliber warrior, and even against Julius she should have had no problems. Though, it still does fall on me for not thinking that the Sariel and Kameiel Families would just... turn traitor like that. As for the portal scroll, that is surprising. That also makes things much, much harder for us going forwards. Who knows if they already fled from the Capital or not, and who knows if they are even in the Empire still. The people that matter in those Families, anyways." Rubbing her jaw, the Marquess took on aplicated expression for a few moments before she sighed again, looking at each of us individually. When she finally met her daughters golden eyes, the Marquess shook her head sadly as she waved her hand around, epassing the room in a gesture. "This... isn''t good. I can''t begin to imagine what it feels like to have someone that means so much to you suddenly ripped away, but what I can say is that what is going on between all three of you is unhealthy and honestly, rather fucking annoying. Talk about it. I can tell that each of you feels some sort of way about what happened. Talk it out, get everything out there, and work through it. Together. Now that... Now that Kat is gone for the foreseeable future, you need to begin to grow closer together, as a family, as friends, as lovers." Jahi opened her mouth only to be cut off, her mom ring at her as she continued on, not letting her speak. "I''m not saying forget her, nor am I saying to think she''s dead. That little pup is tougher than you think, Jahi. Anyways, you need to work through this all... together. She meant the world to each of you, just like you all meant everything to her. When she returns, when we find her, do you want her toe back and find a fractured family that fell apart in her absence?" Looking between each of us, the Marquess stood up and sighed as she smiled, saying "Rest. Talk to one another. Go have sex for a bit, I don''t care. Do something together, work it out together. I''ll go speak to the Empress about what needs to be done. As for your... request, Jahi, you can rest assured that the Empress wants to investigate the Gates that were popping up around Tragon, so the Crusade is going to happen. The Legion too; I''ve been thinking about putting on a damn good disy, and now I have the perfect way!" Striding over towards the door, the Marquess opened it and stepped outside, before turning around and leaving a final warning for us all. "Oh, and if Ie back tomorrow morning and you''re all still moping, I''ll be sending you to train under Lady Fenyras and leave you to recuperate under her... strict teachings." Leone shivered at that, while Jahi and I frowned slightly at the Vampire, confused. Waving goodbye, the Marquess closed the door and left us inside the slightly dusty, quiet cottage. Getting up, Leone made her way into the kitchen, rummaging around before she began to warm up some water, preparing tea for us all. Watching as she did so, I took deep, even breaths to calm myself down, all while Jahi sat back and looked between us. Sighing, Jahi reached over and grabbed my hand, making me jump slightly, though I refused to turn towards her. I... I didn''t want to see the disappointed, angry golden gaze that she had before. "Anput." Her voice was still and even, which only made me shiver as I shook my head slightly. "Anput, look at me." Reaching out with her other hand, Jahi grabbed my chin and gently turned me towards her, a small smile on her face. Though, her eyes were still that molten gold. Trailing her fingers over my cheek, she stroked just under my eye as she took a deep breath. "Listen, sorry for... how I acted earlier. My anger was misced and unwarranted. Mom''s right; now we need unity more than ever, and we can''t be ming one another for what happened. Least of all me. Each of us made mistakes, each of us tried our best to keep the others safe." Gulping, I stared at her in silence as she sighed, her smile widening slightly as Leone ced a teacup down on the table. "I... really am sorry for making each of you worry and hurt so much recently. I hate that it seemed so natural to ce the me on others, to hurt you instead offorting you." Leone sat down besides us, her eyes fixed on the small crystal that rested on a thread around her neck. "Should we follow your Mom''s advice further?" The Vampire''s voice was slightly shaky, while her eyes were still puffy and watery, but she looked up at us as seductively as she could. Releasing my hand, Jahi reached over and stroked Leone''s cheek as well, before she slid her hands from our faces to our backs, pulling us forwards. Hugging us tight, Jahi muttered "Only if you want to, Leone, Anput... Don''t force yourselves to do something if you''re not feeling it, alright?" Nodding into her chest, I contemted whether or not I should join them in bed or not. It would be a wonderful distraction, but was it something I wanted to do right now? Did I want to feel pleasure whilst Kat''s whereabouts and condition was unknown? Could I? Pursing my lips, I looked up into her golden eyes and nodded again, muttering "Please, Jahi... please make me forget everything tonight..." Leone smiled as she nuzzled against Jahi''s chest, whispering "Make a mess of us tonight, Jahi... whatever you want to do, do it..." The Demoness raised a brow at that, before she stood up and lifted us with her, carrying us like baggage as she strode over to her room. The room she shared with Kat. Her hesitation, albeit brief, was noted by Leone and I, and we nodded to one another as she entered the room and threw us onto the bed. Without hesitation Leone and I stripped, before sensually making our way over to the Demoness, who awaited our administrations with an increasingly heated gaze. As we pulled her onto the bed with us, Leone and I began to work together to pleasure Jahi, trying our hardest to keep her mind distracted from the cold void that threatened to quench the mes of our passion with such frightening ease. With Jahi''s sweet scent permeating my body, I slowly began to drift away into a pleasure filled high, a high where the tart scent that lingered on the bed was no longer pulling at my aching heart. Chapter 284 283: Distractions Of The Flesh* Jahi PoV Staring down at the figures of Anput and Leone, I watched as they shuffled forwards before nuzzling into my cock, their previous words only fueling my much needed lust as I yanked them forwards faster. Both yelped at the sudden use of force, before nking out as I pressed their noses against my cock, wordlessly expressing my orders for them to start blowing me. Anputtched onto my balls, her tongue rolling around on my sack as she inhaled my scent, her obsidian eyes blurry and unfocused as I held her between her ears. Leonepped at my tip, her puffy red eyes igniting something in me, something that I needed to ignore for now. Puckering her lips, my little Vampire began to take my cock into her throat, and I kept her there like I did Anput; holding her head down as I started to buck my hips upwards, sliding myself further down her tight throat. Gagging slightly, the Vampire stared up at me nkly as I pushed her head down further, grunting at the way her tongue kept ying with my shaft even as I went deeper inside. The two women went with the flow, disying their now ingrained expertise in handling my cock the way I wanted them to. Even as I began to rob them of theirplex thinking when I reced it with sex, they continued to pleasure me, their tongues feeling heavenly on my skin. Staring deeply into Leone''s red eyes, I growled as another fresh wave of desire washed over me, one that didn''t go away even as I proceeded to spray my semen all over their faces. Marking them both with my seed, I smirked slightly as Anput''s eyes further unfocused, her pants bing more rapid as my scent permeated her nostrils. Leaving her to deal with her arousal on her own for the moment, I made my way over to Leone, who had fallen back at the sudden deluge of cum. She was wiping it off and licking it from her fingers, and each time her tongue flicked out to glide up a cum soaked finger made me hornier then before. Reaching out, I pushed her backpletely, sying her out on her back and earning a mild moan in response, her eyes warming up not with tears this time, but lust. My heart was conflicted at that; I was happy that she was finally, finally moving past Kat for the moment, finally getting her well deserved rest, but... I wanted to make her cry. There was something so euphoric about inflicting pain like that on someone, pain that made them beg for you to switch from whipping to deforming their womb instead... When Kat used to act for me, I loved it most when I left her back a patchwork of crisscrossed lines, while her usually warm amber eyes were left puffy and red, filled with fear every time my hand strayed near my whip. I loved making her scream as I pseudo-raped her, using her as little more then a sleeve to milk my cock until my balls were drained. That... was a pleasure that went beyond words. A pleasure that had been amplified by our bond, which was now in little more than tatters. Gritting my teeth, I pushed Leone''s legs to the side and moved closer, guiding my cock into her pussy with little restriction. The Vampire''s body shivered at the insertion, making herrge breasts jiggle, the motion enrapturing as I pushed past her cervix. Reaching down, I grabbed ahold of both her breasts and kneaded them as I started to swing my hips forwards, making the Vampire moan loudly as I pinched and squeezed her hardened nipples, all while her cock was squished between our stomachs as I leaned overtop of her. With each thrust forwards, my tip mmed into the back of her womb, making the Vampire gasp as I knocked the air from her lungs each time. Closing the distance, I pressed my lips against hers and began to enjoy the taste of cinnamon that permeated her mouth. Quieting her moans, I didn''t even flinch as I felt her fangs slide into my lower lip, opening up two small pinpricks that began to ooze blood, adding an irony tang to her saliva. Feeding her whilst I enjoyed her womb was always a pleasurable experience, mainly because the more blood this Vampire got, the more sensitive we both grew; each fold that previously felt like heaven now made me gasp as I held back from blowing my load early. Leone had no such inhibitions, so she simply sprayed her first load of the night onto our breasts, staining our stomachs and chests with semen that warmed our already heated bodies even further. The Vampire began to moan more as I ignored her orgasms, continuing to use her as I pleased to reach my own ejaction, resulting in her arching her back as I sent jolts up her spine from each thrust. Pulling away from her lips, I ignored her needy whine as I stared down at her, wanting some visual stimtion to further add to my rising orgasm. ying with her spongy breasts for a few moments, I grinned at her as I began to twist and pull at her nipples, making the Vampire cry out in pain, all while her cunt mped down on my shaft and her red eyes shone with lusty need. Enjoying the sight of her writhing around, her legs and arms constantly twitching as she tried to resist her urge to push me away, as well as the sight of herrge breasts being yed around with, made my orgasm drum to a crescendo, eliciting a grunt as I had my second ejaction of the night. The second of many more. Pulling her closer, I leaned down and stole her lips again, both of us moaning as I began to cum deep into her womb. In response, the greedy Vampire below me came as well, resulting in her weakly clinging to me as her entire body became sensitive. Wrapping my arms around her back, I pressed her against me tightly, all while I shot thick ropes of cum into her womb, slowly filling it to the brim and bloating it, my body craving the distraction just as much as my mind did. Filling her as much as I could, I pulled out and watched as her pussy gaped and closed, begging for me to return as my seed began to trickle out. As for Leone herself, the Vampire was panting and momentarily unconscious, her eyes closed as shey on her back, covered in sweat and cum alike. With her satisfied for now, I turned to look for Anput, the Jackalkin who would be my next distraction. What I found was a bitch wagging her tail as she begged me to take her, as well as something else... Her cor was still securely fastened on, but clipped onto the cor was a leash, one that I hadn''t used in quite a while. Seeing that, I smirked as I moved over to her, looking down at her arched ass and fluffy tail. Reaching forwards, I spread her supple ass and watched as her lower lips trembled in need, all while her tail thumped against my arm. Without a word I inserted myself deep into her cunt, before I grabbed the leash and yanked backwards, making her yelp as her head was pulled back instantly. Looking down at her flushed face, I grinned at her as I began to thrust forwards, my thighs pping against her rear and making her yelp as I forced her to take me in my entirety. With my free hand, I reached forwards and held onto her lithe, muscled waist, wrapping my fingers around it as best I could as I felt the slight bulge from my thrusts. Getting up from my knees, I crouched behind her and focused my thrusts downwards, reveling in the gasps of pained pleasure she let out as I toyed with her body, finding the best spots to y with and indulge in. The bulge I created grewrger with this new position, and my hold on her leash tightened. Anput''sck of air only made her tighter, while the pain seemed to bring another source of pleasure for her, though it still wasn''t enough for me. However, for the moment, I needed to break them into my desires, and this was a good starting point. Wrapping the leash around my hand, I grabbed her waist and began to pound forwards, my cock still sensitive from cumming inside Leone. Listening to her pained moans as I began to hammer into her womb made me shiver, each thrust forwards bringing me closer again to a euphoric high. As for the visuals, the sight of her lithe tanned body below me was good enough, as was the way my hands enveloped her waist and pulled her deeper into me, all while her head was forced up by the leash she so willingly wore. While I was enjoying myself, Leone woke up and crawled over, moving towards Anput''s front where she brought her hardened, cum covered cock towards the Jackalkin''s mouth. Easing up on the leash, I let Anput breathe before she opened her lips and weed Leone inside, two of her three holes now stuffed withrge cocks. Watching as the voluptuous Vampire fucked Anput''s throat, I kept thrusting as fast as I could, wanting to sufficiently coat both of my lovers inside with my cum, to distract both me and them with my thick loads of cum sloshing around inside them. Slowly reaching my climax, I mmed my hips forwards and buried myself as deep as I could, before leaning forwards andtching onto Leone''s tit, enjoying the gasp she let out. Hoping to make her cum when I did, I bit and tugged at her nipple, all while I began to dump my semen into Anput, the Jackalkin groaning on Leone''s girthy shaft. Bringing Leone to the edge was never hard, and I knew she wasing when she gasped again, while Anput began to gag, her throat being filled with thick gooey sperm. When I finished cumming, I ignored the Jackalkin''s engorged knot and returned to mming my hips forwards, while Leone pulled out and gave Anput a breather. Spitting out some semen, Anput moaned as I continued on, before she was stuffed again when Leone deemed her back to normal. Like that, we began to empty ourselves into the Jackalkin, her pussy, ass, and throat turned into little more than ces for us to dump semen in, all while her cock remained ignored. Of course, before she could pass out from being used as our personal cumdump, I pushed Leone down and inserted Anput into her cunt, before filling Anput back up, creating a little train of pleasure. When we finished, we were sprawled out in a pile of sweaty, cum covered limbs, each of us lulled to sleep by the exhaustion of dozens of orgasms. ~~~ Kat PoV Trying to go to sleep didn''t work, so instead... Pulling off my armor, I took a deep breath as I leaned against the wall, one hand snaking down to my pussy while the other remained on one of my breasts. Pinching my nipple, I slipped two fingers into my cunt, and I began to pleasure myself, my moans filling the cube and echoing around. Brushing my clit with my thumb whilst two fingers pressed against a weak spot, I gasped at the jolts of pleasure, before closing my eyes and adding my imagination to the mix. Right now, Jahi was looming above me, smirking as she kneaded my tit and loosened my cunt up to fit her giant cock, getting me ready to be bred and made into her good little slut. Her movements grew rougher as she forced me to slip into my usual role, and I cried out in reluctant pleasure as her smirk turned haughty and arrogant, whilst her husky voice demeaned me. ''Little fucking whore'' ''My personal breeding bitch'' ''Convenient cock sleeve'' More and more of her previous lines filled my head, and I shivered as I imagined the heat of her cock mming against my cheek, the Demoness''ughter joining my moans as she pped me with it again and again. Panting, I recalled our first session of role-y, the time that we left the hunting event and she asked me if I could do it. I recalled how she mmed me against the wall of the carriage before choking me on her cock, before she forced me to ride her giant cock topletion, ignoring my pleas and begging and cumming inside my womb. Her worry afterwards that she had done something wrong, that she cared so much about me after such a euphoric experience... Shivering, I gasped and cried out as I squirted, my body on fire as I felt my womb plead for the Demoness'' thick cock, for Leone''s monstrous dragon, for Anput''s knot... My fingers couldn''t reach deep enough, but I still came nheless... Though, whilst I went down to one stack of Arousal, my real arousal was no where near quenched; if anything, I was hornier now then I was before. I shuddered as I leaned against the wall, my eyes fixed on the small puddle below me. If this was what it was like after just a day of being away, what about when a week passed? A month? Longer? Could I... Could I withstand turning to celibacy after being showered in such deep, ecstatic pleasures? Or would I crack under the pressure and sully myself to escape the burning need inside me? My heart grew colder, even as my womb remained heated, and I stared at my slick fingers for who knows how long, unknowing of my future. Chapter 285 284: Venturing Forth Cleaning up my little cubic home, I sighed as I washed myself down and donned my armor, before stacking all the excess meats and feathers into separate containers that I could easily pull along during my journey towards the giant arch. Considering the Arctic Cor were, in my opinion, monsters, I was assuming that there needed to be other monsters nearby to sustain theserge blue birds. However, if said birds have developed a resistance to ded attacks, then the things that hunt them need to have razor sharp ws or talons of their own. As for whether or not they can be pierced or not, that would mean that the predators for those birds can eitherunch missiles up towards the birds or that they are guarding where the birds usuallynd at. Maybe theke, maybe the birds have a certain kind of herb or stone they need for something? Though, thinking back to the cavern that I had woken up in, I began to wonder if the birds didn''t have any predators currently, and their prey were underground, hence theck of wildlife roaming these mountains. That would exin the giant pits... sort of. Shrugging, I decided to shelve these thoughts for now as Ipressed the ice cube and resumed my journey towards the arch, where I would hopefully find something to give me hope. A civilization, primarily, or at least something that could lead to a civilization; maybe a road or some kind of tell for where I am. With that in mind, and my body refreshed and rejuvenated, I began to pull the two ice chests behind me with my magic, enjoying the fresh, crisp mountain air as I grew ever closer to therge arch. More of those blue birds flew around the sky, but like before, none bothered to give me a single nce, instead gliding around and letting out melodic caws as they danced up in the air. Trekking through the snowy mountains with nothing besides the caws of those birds and the rising and falling breeze that blew through the valley was a serene, quiet affair, one that I enjoyed with each and every step. It was soothing, being so far away from anything happening, this calm and peaceful atmosphere helping me to look past the bad and instead focus on the good. Especially when I grew closer to the arch; the anticipation swelled inside me as my curiosity continued to rise as I wondered about whatid past this beautiful natural monument. Climbing up the valley and reaching the arch, I widened my eyes as I was greeted with the sight of a ''forest'' of stone pirs syed out for as far as the eye could see, in all directions. Each pir was gigantic, shooting up into the sky and scraping against the clouds, the rock surfaces coated in ice andden with pale, mint green nts and lichen that grew on the sides. More of the Arctic Cors flew around, navigating between the pirs with ease, whilst real trees dotted the ground, creating a canopy that shielded animals from the sight of the Arctic Cors. Some of the pirs rose out ofrge bodies of water, whilst others had been eroded and chipped away by the frost and winds, tearing the towering pirs of stone down and creating giant piles of rubble in some areas, which had been turned into nests for the Arctic Cors. While it was yet another stunningndscape that I would have loved to explore any other time, for the moment I wasn''t that ecstatic. I would need to traverse this maze of pirs to reach somewhere that might just lead to... well, somewhere. Though, considering I was so high up now, and higher than I had been with the cavern I had woken up in, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to touch the Soul Bond that had withered away between Jahi and I, to awaken it for just a few seconds. All I needed was just a singr direction to travel, a ping towards where Jahi is, where I could find her. Straining my mind as hard as I could, I grasped onto the remnants of our bond and focused, sifting through the remains of the bond and trying to get it to activate, even for just a single instant. I didn''t need pinpoint uracy, just a general direction; a direction to orient myself in this giant maze and unknownnd. Tuning out the caws of the Arctic Cors, ignoring the sharp breeze that battered against my skin, focusing past the chill that permeated the air, I tugged at the Soul Bond. Moments passed by as I tried and tried, and as I was growing irritated by theck of sess, I felt something. A rough tug towards my left, a tug thatsted a mere moment and a tug that I almost thought was just my imagination. However, it felt too real, too simr to when the Soul Bond was active mere days ago. Opening my eyes again, I turned my head towards the direction it had led me towards, and after giving myself a future reference point using the sun, I began my descent into the stone pir forest, staring my journey towards returning home. ~~~ Jahi PoV Waking up with a groan, I quietly slipped out from the bed, leaving the exhausted forms of Anput and Leone sprawled out under the covers. Last night had been... Enough. Just barely enough to satisfy me, and with the pleasures that came from such intense sex, I could say that my mind was clearer than before, and that my heart was soothed to a degree. I was nowhere near where I used to be daily, but this was a start. After a quick shower and some basic cleaning, I left the bath and tossed on some clothes, walking out into the silent, unwee kitchen. Just days before this ce was spotless and filled with the sounds of Kat bustling around, my beautiful maid dancing around with such expertise as she hummed to herself, cooking some new concoction that would put most high end restaurants to shame. Sighing, I approached the table and sat down, the silence both depressing and needed as I stared at the table. I was awaiting Mom''s return, so that I could get started; we were both, surprisingly, early birds when it came to anything that we took seriously, but otherwise... Well, we could be a pain to wake up... I didn''t have to wait long for a knock at the door, and I got up and peeked through before opening the door, weing her in. Striding past me, Mom nced at the bedroom door before taking a seat at the table, a small smirk on her face as she said "Seems like you took my advice, Jahi." Rolling my eyes, I sat opposite her and waited for her to continue. "So, good or bad news first?" Her smirk fell away, and I pursed my lips before saying "Bad." Nodding, Mom leaned back in her chair and said "Jillian and A are gone, as are their parents. The rest of the Sariel and Kameiel Family members are still present, thought they are fortifying their homes. Seems like they had a contingency n set in ce just in case this all went south, which it did. Now, we did get a trace on them, but it''s... not too helpful. They used ancient magics to get those teleportation scrolls made and set up, and sadly few know how to even examine or determine what those spells are. Thankfully Lady Theresa, the Empress'' first wife, dabbles in those ancient magics, and she managed to get a lead. Not much of one, since teleportation is derived from incrediblyplex magic and was reverse engineered by the only Space Magic wielder in our history, Nebna of the Stars. That was millennia ago, and the materials needed is... expensive. Crippling expensive. They''re somewhere off to the West, but farther than the Kingdoms, and farther than the various small countries that war between the Kingdoms and Confederacy. That''s the bad news; they''re gone, and we don''t know where they went, nor their exact n. The Council has theorized ande up with the idea that they wanted to take the Asmodia''s ce as the Empire''s shield, whilst also guaranteeing that they weren''t to be criminalized by using Leone as a bargaining chip. That''s the current theory, though we''ll know when web through the Sariel and Kameiel estates." Frowning, I rested my chin on my hands as I muttered "That... sounds way tooplicated to be just Jillian and A''s n, let alone from their parents as well. Wouldn''t they know that what they were doing would fail? What made them so confident that they could rue the ire of the Empress and live to see through it, and even prosper?" Mom shook her head, sighing as she said "No idea. The Patriarch for the Sariel''s and the old bitch that runs the Kameiel''s were both smart people; hells, the Kameiel''s were founded by a former Knight of Cinder, and she was a Knight as well, so they should know better than anyone how strong the Empress is. Which is what confuses me. On this continent, there are few people or things that could even think about going against the Empress anding out alive; not beating her, but simply live through a fight. There''s the ancient monsters inside the Labyrinthian, the Archangel that rules the southern side of the continent... they''re the only ones that are on her level; as for people on the Sultana''s level, who could pose a minor threat to her and could band together, theres the Chancellor of the Dynasty to the East, the Oni Chieftess way off to the East, Levi Athan that rules the seas, and a few others here and there, but none would ever band together like that..." Trailing off, she sighed again before waving her hands, saying "Eh, whatever. For the good news, Adelina made a full recovery and the Council has approved your request for a Crusade. They also are covering the costs of the Ash Legion for us for a year, and they''re sending a few Arch Mages and quite a bit of supplies towards the border as well, so when we''re ready to depart we can. The main goals of this Crusade are simple; take over Romagi and learn as much as we can about the Gates that opened in Tragon. Besides that, the Empress has given us permission to raid the Sariel and Kameiel Compounds." Grinning at me, Mom leaned forwards as she asked "So, shall we? I have to admit, I felt like I could use a good war recently. Wanted to get the rust off." Rolling my eyes again, I met her gaze and returned her grin, nodding. "Sounds good to me..." Chuckling, she got up and said "Oh, by the way... for the time being, Julie doesn''t know. However, you will be the one to tell her, and we''ll all be there with her. Ria is staying back to manage the March, so it''ll be just you and me. So get to thinking, lest Julie skin you alive~!" Mom seemed to be enjoying herself, but I could see the worry in her eyes as she mentioned Miss Julie; understandably so, considering... Well, she was pregnant with twins, and already she was having...plications with the two hybrid children inside her. This... would be a difficult, trying time for her, and I really, really needed to find ways to soften the blow when I told her about what happened. Otherwise... I shivered at the thought of her being angry again. That was something I didn''t want to experience ever again, nor be the one to be on the receiving end of it, not if I could help it. Watching Mom move to the couch and copse, yawning tiredly, I sighed as I began to think through what I could tell her, before I turned towards Mom and asked her something. Chapter 286 285: Shared Relief Watching Mom move to the couch and copse, yawning tiredly, I sighed as I began to think through what I should tell Miss Julie before I turned back towards Mom and asked her something. "Hey, Mom... Ka''Hondi was the one to ce the Soul Bond on Kat and I, correct? Doesn''t that mean that Ka''Hondi should be able to tell us where she is?" ncing over at me, Mom grinned as she muttered "She really does have a brain huh~?" Cracking her neck, Mom nodded as she ignored my re, saying "In theory, yes, Ka''Hondi knows where she is since they were the one to ce the Soul Bond on both you and her. In practice, Ka''Hondi will try and extort any and everything from you should you try and make a deal with them, and unless you have a foolproof line of question and enough to give up, the Arch Fiend we have chained in our basement will fuck with you until you go crazy from anger." Frowning, I asked "Then what about beating the answer out of Ka''Hondi? Isn''t that something that we could do? Isn''t that how our Ancestor managed to capture Ka''Hondi? A contest of strength to subdue them?" Scoffing, Mom raised a brow at me, as if saying ''What, are you stupid?'' before rolling her eyes. "Listen, I know history was your strong suit, but you should know better than most that what''s written in those books is biased, fairytale stories to soothe peoples egos and embellish the tales. Ka''Hondi isn''t just a Fiend, Jahi. Ka''Hondi IS war. Ka''Hondi IS death. There is no ''beating'' war and death into submission, no sweet words or pacts that could bind such a being to us. Not normally, anyways. Try as you might with your Light Magic, you''re still centuries away from making Ka''Hondi submit to you using force. The reason such a being like Ka''Hondi deigns to remain with us is because we offer entertainment. When the next Asmodia reaches 20 years of age Ka''Hondi challenges them to a duel, selecting a host and determining if we''re still worthy of housing them. For centuries now we''ve kept them here because, whilst he is a Fiend, they have their own code of honor, and they made a pact with Durukti Asmodia, our founder. She was the only one to best them when they were in their true form, and she bound them to us, with the stiption that they would need to remain here with us as long as the next generation could best their puppets. So far, the only Asmodia that made Ka''Hondi truly amiable... has been me. Now, however, they have their sights set on you. I can still exert my will over the Arch Fiend of war, wrath, and death, but they no longer answer to me as they used to. Instead, they focus on you. So, unless you wish to take the challenge a decade in advance, I would stay away from Ka''Hondi. And trust me, you are nowhere near close to being capable of even standing in Ka''Hondi''s presence. You thought that Draconis you fought was hard? Before an Arch Fiend, a Draconis is little more than what a baby human is to you. Nothing." My frown deepened as I listened to Mom speak, before I sighed as I sat on the couch opposite her. Leaning into the soft cushions, I took a deep breath as I began to rx, before jolting forwards, gasping out loud. Mom instantly sat forwards as well, and I could hear her voice echoing around the room with worry, but I was focused instead on what I had just felt. There had been a sharp tug at the remnants of our frayed Soul Bond, a tug so strong that it felt like someone had reached into my chest, grabbed my heart and pulled. Panting at the tingling feeling that permeated my body, I turned towards Mom and muttered "S-She''s alive... Kat''s alive... I-I j-just felt her..." Gulping, a wave of relief swept over me as I fell backwards, my heart giddy. There had been a small, ck worm that had been crawling besides my thoughts, a worm that whispered ''Kat''s dead'' to me constantly. With how broken and fractured our Soul Bond was, it was a possibility that she was actually dead and gone, but I had been holding hope that she was alive; I was 90% sure she was alive, but... There was always a chance that she had passed after being transported away, and I hadn''t wanted to think about that... Now, though, I knew for sure she was alive; there was no other way to exin why the frayed strands of the Soul Bond had just been jolted like that. The only exnation was that someone had pulled on them, and that someone was Kat. Bringing my hands up to my face, I covered my eyes as relief continued to wash over my body, tears forming in my eyes as I took jagged breaths. She was alive. Kat was alive... Thank the Goddesses... Not only was she alive, but she was searching for me, searching for a way home. Uncovering my eyes, I smiled at Mom, who was looking at me worriedly, and said "You were right... she''s alive and kicking, doing what she can to survive..." Matching my smile, Mom reached over and ruffled my hair, saying "You doubted that? How''d I know your lover better than you, hmm~? I''ll make sure to tell her when she gets back~!" Fake ring at her, I turned towards the bedroom door that had opened up, revealing an exhausted Leone and Anput, both of whom stumbled over towards me and copsed on either side of me. Hugging them both, I whispered "I just felt Kat tug at the Soul Bond... she''s alive and well, and looking for a way back..." The two women instantly snapped out of their exhaustion, their eyes wide as they stared up at me, before I gasped again as I was enveloped in two tight hugs, Mom''sughter filling the room as I was sandwiched between them. After a long morning of pampering and cuddling with the relieved women, we all got dressed, ate a quick meal, and made our way towards the ce that Mom was staying at, where Miss Julie and Mother would be. Most likely Mom wouldn''t be able toe alone, so I wasn''t surprised that they had apanied her here, but I was also not looking forwards to telling my ''Mother-inw'' that her daughter was missing... Though, at least it would be slightly easier with definitive proof she was still alive; proof that I knew to be 100% sure of. Reaching the Inn that they were staying at, I took a deep breath as I stood outside of their room, Mom standing behind me as she waited for me to knock. Raising my hand, I rapped my knuckles against the door and waited, before the door unlocked and opened, revealing a woman who looked painfully like Kat. The same droopy eyes, the same auburn hair, the same voluptuous figure... Fluffy ears and furry tail, amber eyes, and a serious expression as she stared at me for a moment, before bowing crisply and moving to the side. Entering, I took another deep breath as I nodded to Mother, who narrowed her eyes she watched everyone else walk in. Everyone... minus Kat. Miss Julie was already frowning, her nose twitching as she turned back towards me, before she began to shake her head. Striding forwards, I grabbed her hands and pulled her gently towards the bed, sitting her down as I began to exin it all to her. Watching as her amber eyes switched to those void filled blues, while her shoulders began to shake even as Mother sat beside her and held her, I felt my heart ache again as I had to deliver terrible news to her. When I finished, she was ring hatefully at me before turning her hollow gaze towards the floor, her hands clenched so hard that blood seeped from small cuts made by her nails. Everyone was staring at her, observing her, and no one was surprised, least of all me, when she sent a crisp p towards me, her mana enhanced hand mming against my jaw and cracking the bone slightly. Ignoring the metal taste of blood permeating my mouth, I simply bowed my head to her, listening to each of her sharp sobs with a heavy heart. After healing myself, I tried to make a promise to her to search for Kat, only to be waved aside as she ignored me, Mother shaking her head slightly as she held the Dogkin closely. Getting up, I left the room first, making my way down to the main room and getting myself a ss of wine to dull the pain briefly, the others joining me minutester. Mom was somber, her eyes unfocused as she gestured for us to follow her, each of us checking the straps of our armor and patting our weapons as we made our way towards the Sariel Compound. It had... gone better than I thought; I left the room with just a shattered jaw, which was repaired easily enough. Though, considering the hollow look in her eyes as she stared at the ground, I imagine Mother will be kept quite busy trying to care for Miss Julie. She hadn''t cried or screamed at me, instead falling into the same void she had before; unlike most, Miss Julie seemed to lose her emotions when something bad happened, instead of getting a surge of one or two negative emotions like most people. How that might affect her was unknown, and I could only pray that she would be able to be soothed through this,forted by the fact that Kat was still alive out in the world... For now though, I red hatefully at thevish woodedpound before us, thepound that housed the Sariel Family. Thepound that would be swept clean today, and painted with the blood of those who remained behind; painted with the blood of idiotic, arrogant Elves who believed themselves higher than the rest of this Empire. Chapter 287 286: Raid (1) Standing before the gate of the Sariel Compound, a dozen armored soldiers stoically stared at the bustling Elves inside, all of whom were worriedly ncing at the armored form of Marquess Chordeva Asmodia and thezy figure of Lady Yusa, the Snow Woman who was married to the Empress. With two important women standing before their door, the traitorous Sariel''s were rushing around trying to desperately fortify their position, all while we stood outside thepound. "It''s been awhile, Chordeva. That''s Jahi, right? The little Demoness you so proudly showed to Fenyras years ago~?" Mom coughed softly into her fist as she red at Lady Yusa, the pale woman grinning at her before turning to look over at me. She was tall for a Snow Woman, reaching my shoulders, though her presence demanded attention; both because she was a regal, noble woman, but also... Well, her body screamed sensuality; a tight white dress disyed her incredible curves, and the slit in the dress'' bottom revealed her plump white thigh, almost allowing you to see her perky rear when she moved around. Long white hair cascaded down her shoulders, and her full white eyes were... both off-putting and rather charming, as was herpletely snowy white skin. Her sensual nature matched rather well with her haughty disposition, and she smirked at me as she asked "So, besides the recent... events, how''s everything been little one~? You probably don''t remember me though..." Scratching my cheek, I nced over at Leone, who was rolling her eyes as she stared at her aunt. "Uh... Everything''s been going fine, I guess? Besides, y''know, everything that just happened recently?" I looked at the woman in confusion, before Leone sighed as she said "Aunt Yusa, please, can we get on with this? Why are we giving these traitors time to make things more difficult?" The Snow Woman grinned at her niece, saying "Difficult? Surely you jest, Leone. These ants aren''t worthy of our time nor effort. See?" Flicking her hand out all the soldiers around us, and us as well, froze as we watched a thin needle of ice slice through the air and impale an Elf that rushed by a window inside thepound, the poor Elf''s head exploding as the needle entered their cranium. Turning back to us with a chilly grin, the Snow Woman continued on like nothing happened, saying "Now, where were we? Ah~! Jahi dear, a quick question before we begin, if you would?" Nodding to her, I watched as her grin went from cold and rigid to warm and motherly. "Would you consider marrying my twin daughters Misa and Lisa? I do believe the union would be rather... incredible, don''t you think? Oh, and they''re just as beautiful as Leone here, though I would say where my niece gets fiery, Misa and Lisa both are rather... stoic beauties~!" Leone stomped over to her Aunt, her crimson eyes ring as she red up at her, making the woman chuckle, ncing between Leone and I. "Well, think it over dear~! They do take after me quite a bit, so you don''t need to worry about that~! Now, let''s go before Leone here melts the ce, hmm~?" Turning, her warm smile was reced by the cold, regal one as she snapped "Forwards. Let''s make this quick now..." The soldiers all shouted in affirmation, drawing their weapons and raising their shields as they strode forwards, approaching the gate. With our street cordoned off, all potential escape routes blocked, and the city on lockdown, the Sariel''s had no where left to go via normal means. Stepping to stand beside Mom, I rested my great sword on my shoulder, matching her posture almost perfectly as we watched the soldiers go in first. Looking down, she raised a brow at that before saying "Damn, you really do take after me... Eh, could be worse..." Frowning at her, I also raised a brow as I replied "Don''t know about that; I think I''m rather different from you. Better, even?" Smirking at one another she nudged my side with her elbow as she whispered "Yusa''s two brats are rather good looking, so if you want..?" Rolling my eyes, I nced briefly at Leone, who was still ring at her Aunt, and at Anput, who looked towards me, her ears fluttering slightly. "I uh... prefer my head where it is, thank you very much. Besides, now... nows certainly not the time..." Scratching her chin, Mom grinned as she nodded, saying "I guess it isn''t, but it wouldn''t ever ''be the time'' with those three, now would it?" Shaking my head, I chuckled as I added "Never in a million years... not that I want anyone else." pping my shoulder, Mom continued to grin as she said "Well, that''s good! Didn''t like the idea of needing to send Yusa a dowry; picky woman, Yusa. Anyways, good to see that you three are all... more focused. Less depressed. You''ll need a clear head going forwards, especially over in Romagi. The things you''ll see on a Crusade aren''t pretty, so..." Looking over at the others, I smiled wryly as I nodded, before gesturing towards the opened gate. "Shall we deal with the present first? The future can wait." Blinking down at me a few times, Mom hefted her ymore before muttering "That was almost a profound statement... maybe she doesn''t take after me?" Ignoring her, I strode forwards, Anput and Leone moving beside me as we entered the gate. The Sarielpound was almost more of a park than a living space, since their entire plot ofnd was covered in trees and nts, with the only non natural formations being the shaped trees to create rooms. A giant trunk sat in the middle, which was the Sariel Estate, whilst dozens of smaller trees created various houses around the inside of thepound. Those were being investigated by the various soldiers we had apanying us, whilst we made our way towards the main house, where we would, hopefully, find the most clues. Traversing the overgrown miniature forest that the Sariel''s called home was a pain, as the current residents had littered the ce with various runic traps and other, more conventional traps like pits, spikes, crossbows... Though, the thick barrier of light that I erected around us as we walked forwards nullified all of those things, and we simply walked around the pits and continued onwards. Reaching the front of therge trunk house, we were greeted by a shout and a barrage of mana imbued arrows, all of which plinked against the barrier harmlessly. "Remember, leave the structure standing, and capture anyone who looks important. Otherwise, you have free rein to do as you please." Anput, Leone and I all nodded, and after another barrage of arrows thunked against the shield, I shrunk it and donned my Mana Cloak, rushing forwards in a sh of golden light. My two wives followed behind me, their own elements ring; Anput glimmered silver under the suns light, while Leone was shrouded in a cascade of mes which vaporized the arrows that drew close to her. Taking in the front of the structure, I saw a few windows housing the archers, whilst the main door was barricaded and likely sheltering a few shielded foes. So, instead of breaking down their front door, I leapt up into the third story windows, my mana enhanced physique surprising the Elves that gaped at me. Swinging my de to the side, I severed their heads and rolled inside, looking around and picking a direction. Finding myself in a hallway, I listened to the screams and shouts echoing out from under me, and I raised my great sword and made my way down the hall, towards another group of Elves. Extending my hand, I allowed the Mana Cloak around my hand to sy outwards to create a shield, blocking the magic bolts and arrows that the Elves shot towards me. "W-What the hells?! Faeryn, Earyn! Come on!" The three male Elves scrambled away from me, their feet slipping on the soft,vish green rug embroidered with their Family''s crest. Walking calmly after them, I watched in amusement as they slipped into a room, hurriedly bolting the door closed and sliding furniture in front of it. Chuckling, I stood and stared at the door for a few moments before taking a deep breath. Lifting my sword, I imbued it with mana before mming it against the wooden wall, scoring a deep gouge and shaking the area around us. Repeating that a few times, I tore down the wall and walked inside, my skin still coated in a golden hue that repelled the weak attacks of the three Elves. Looking them over, I inspected the three men, hoping that one would be wearing something to denote rank or importance, but none were. Shrugging my shoulders, I raised my de once more and shed out, painting the dim room red. Ignoring the sounds of my boots squelching on the now drenched hardwood, I looked around the bloodstained room, searching for any kind of clue, but found nothing. Barrels were scattered about, bolts of cloth, feathers, spools of thread, and more materials filling the containers, though most were covered in sticky red fluids and chunks of meat and bone. Nodding to myself, I exited the room and returned to the hallway, beginning to prowl around as I listened to the echoing screams of the Sariel Family being uprooted. With each shriek of pain and terror, the smile on my face grew wider and wider, the cacophony of dying Elves soothing my aching heart and worried mind for the moment. Chapter 288 287: Perilous Path Kat PoV Unaware that a wondrous bloodbath was happening in my name back home, I continued to lug my two ice boxes down into the stone pir forest, the snow covered ground proving to be rather annoying to trudge through. My leather pants and boots were utterly soaked, though after a few moments I cloaked myself in a thin sheen of ice and removed the moisture, deciding this small expenditure of mana was worth it. The animals that wandered around the floor of this gorgeousndscape all avoided me, leaving a wide berth as they observed me from afar before returning to their previous hunts or migrations. None stood out to me as monsters or unique animals; the wildlife was primarily wolves, leopards, rabbits, deer, and a few other smaller animals, all of which avoided mepletely, either because they were afraid or they didn''t wish to upset this new ''predator'' that was walking around. Thankfully the ice boxes were sealedpletely, meaning no possible scent of meat was leaking through the lids, which might have attracted a few of the braver, or more desperate animals to attack. However, everything here seemed rather wary of the skies, slinking around beneath trees and hiding amongst small crevices and caves that formed on the side of the stone pirs. Most of the animals were lighter in color, with the wolves and leopards having near white pelts with streaks of gray whilst the rabbits and deer werepletely white, with the deers antlers being bone white as wellpared to the normal tannish white they were in more temperate climates. These were the observations that filled my mind as I walked and walked through the forest, constantly checking the position of the sun and heading in the direction I had managed to yank from the Soul Bond that barely connected Jahi and I. The Soul Bond used to feel like a rope tethering us together; a rope that allowed Jahi to bind me as she pleased through orders, and a rope that allowed me to understand what the Demoness was feeling. That rope was now frayed around the edges, strands and threads from the rope no longer connected and no longer working as it used to. If I had to wager a guess, the reason that the Soul Bond was so damaged was because of the scroll that Jillian and A used to capture me. Previously, back during the time in the Academy, Jillian had made it clear that she still had ns that revolved around me ''being hers'', and in order for that to not backfire on her, the arrogant Elf needed to remove the Soul Bond that tied Jahi and I together. Now, my interactions with A were limited, but from the way people talked about her, and the small amount I knew about the Kameiel Family, she was likely a rather talented, rather smart Elf who might have been privy to ancient, forgotten magics. The Soul Bond is an archaic thing that people know little of, mainly because the main way to create one is to have an Arch Fiend tie two souls together and bind them, hence the name ''Soul Bond''. However, considering the kind of magic it was, there was most definitely a way tobine two people''s magic together to achieve the same kind of effect; much like the Ritual Circle that Professor Kolia wished to tattoo onto Jahi and I. Though, where that tattoo would allow Jahi to tap into my core and for me to tap into her core, the spell I was thinking of would be a one way, selfish thing, where Jahi would ''own'' my core and could use it to bend me to her will. Now, what if you were to study that line of thought thoroughly, and reverse engineer the Soul Bond as best you could? You could likely find ways to damage, or destroy said Soul Bond and separate the two members of the Soul Bond from each other, effectively freeing the ''Servant'', me, and leaving the ''Master'', Jahi, without their loyal servant. That must have been something that A was looking into, and the fact that she managed to not only manage to find a way for that to work, but also to apply it in an already borate scroll that used other ancient magics meant one thing. Jillian wasn''t who we should be worried about; no, we needed to worry about A. Sure, Jillian is talented Elf who could likely go far on her own, but A could take that talent and shape it into something insane, all whilst adding her own talent to it. Whilst Jillian would be the physical boss that we would need to fight, the one pulling the strings would be A. And what''s scarier, a Puppet or a Puppet Master? Personally, I find the people who can control others so easily and so seamlessly to be scarier than the loudest, angriest, strongest person on the. After all, you can gang up on a single person, or out number a group of strong people, but to take down a maniptor is rather difficult. A favor here, a favor there, a promise here, a soothing word there... That was all it took for them to amass more materials, money, and people than you could imagine. Add onto that that A herself is no weakling, and you have a woman who could likely get many, many influential figures wrapped around her fingers. Whilst I was mulling over the potential cause for my frayed bond, I had traveled thousands of feet in this snowy wondend, with the sun slowly descending towards the horizon. As the forest grew darker and the predators began to prowl around, I made my way over to a stone pir and created my ice cube, getting a fire started and settling down for the night, gnawing on a reheated chunk of meat before relieving myself. The empty feeling inside me swelled as I released my lust onto the ground, and I amusedly noticed that, whilst my Arousal Stacks decreased, my actual lust grew everrger. Letting out a sigh, I copsed onto the feathers and closed my eyes, wondering what kind of perilous path I was now on. ~~~ Julie PoV My hand hurt. After I had pped Jahi, that was the first thing that I noticed; the bones inside my palm and my fingers all hurt. Minute cracks had spread across each bone, and each crack sent a jolt of pain up my arm. I could notice this pain, acknowledge that pain, but... I couldn''t feel that pain. It didn''t hurt, didn''t sting, it just... was there. No, the only things that hurt were my stomach, and my heart. My heart had a dull ache that worsened each time it beat, while my stomach... Reaching down, I stared nkly at the bump before sighing, removing my hand. Leaning back against the half dozen pillows meant to support me, I nced towards the door, which led to where Ria would be hyper focused on her paperwork, toplete this uing weeks documents so that she could better tend to my needs. I understood that, which is why I was alright with dealing with my hurts on my own for the moment. Though, no matter how okay I was with my situation, I couldn''t help but worry. My baby girl was out there, somewhere, all alone... I was a former adventurer, so I understood well that the world was an uncaring, dangerous ce, especially for women. Extremely so for women like Katherine and I; we were both well endowed women with pretty faces, meaning the amount of people lusting after us were always high. Many men and women tried to get in my pants when I was an adventurer, and some even tried to force themselves on me. They didn''t ever try again, either due to the loss of a limb or loss of life. However, I had a group behind me that would back me up. Katherine didn''t, and I could only pray that she could manage on her own. I... I hated that I didn''t know if she was capable. Despite being her mother, I knew oh so little about my daughter, about her likes and dislikes, her talents, what makes her happy, what she''s capable of... I knew next to nothing about any of it. She''s been in this world for roughly seven years, and yet I know so little about her. I... I was a horrible mother. I was so focused on making sure she had a safe environment to grow up in that I just... never tried to spend time with just her. It''s no excuse, but the only thing I can think of is the fact that she was such a mature child; she never cried, never whined, never threw a tantrum... Nothing. She was self sufficient, talented, and... mature. Almost like she was older than she really was. Was that why I was so alright with her leaving my side so early? That I thought she was already in her teens when she hadn''t even been a half decade old? Was I that terrible of a mother? Tears sprung to my eyes as Iy there, and a soft sob escaped my lips as I huddled my knees close to my stomach. Did Katherine think the same? Was she out there, alone, cursing us all for failing her? I shook my head as I sobbed quietly, my heart aching further as I desperately wished for that to be false. Surely not, right? Surely she''s trying to return to us all, and not just to Jahi? W-Will she still treat me the same after all of this? Will she acknowledge her two little half siblings? Or will she spit at me and tell me to do better this second time around? Am I able to do better? Do I deserve to have this second chance to be a mother? Will I fail these two just as I failed Katherine? Sobs wracked my body as Iid in the bed, and eventually I cried myself to sleep, my mind fatigued, and my body exhausted. Chapter 289 288: Raid (2) Jahi PoV Cleansing the blood from my de, I briefly wondered what Kat would have felt if she was given free rein to ''hunt'' inside this house... Would she have turned this into a game to strike fear into the hearts of the Sariel''s inside? Hunting them one by one, picking them off and never letting them know who was doing it? Or would she have taken a straightforward route of butchering the Elves at her discretion, leaving piles of bodies in her wake, each one more horrific than thest? With that thought on my mind, I nced down at my now clean de, the giant hunk of dual metal killing edge spotless after a quick re of my Light Magic. One thing that I was sure of, was that she wouldn''t bother cleaning herself nor her des for this entire raid. Chuckling softly to myself, I took a deep breath and began to investigate the hallway I found myself in, opening the various doors and searching the rooms for anything noteworthy. Sadly, each room was a mirror of one of two things; either a storage roomden with various materials, or a bedroom for multiple people, the only interesting or valuable things being the journals of the Sariel servants and/or low ranked members alongside their coin. Making sure to stack the journals together, I ced them inside a barrel and moved it towards the door, leaving the barrel somewhere I would remember it so that I could return and collect them. Most likely those journals have a whole lot of nothing in them, but people would be surprised at what servants could pick up when doing their jobs; hells, some of the journals might give us an insight into what the Sariel Family was like before and after this sudden shift to betrayal, or maybe it would tell us that this was a decade old plot they had been cooking up. Once that was done, I continued to the end of the hall and began my journey towards the back of the house, remaining on the third floor. I could still hear the screams and shoutsing from below me, meaning that the lower floors were where the bulk of the remaining Sariel''s were located. Up here though, there were few people to be seen; most were servants that cowered inside the backrooms, whilst a few Elves ''guarded'' them, just as afraid as the nonbatants were. Dispatching the Elves was no difficult task, and I left the servants locked into each room after I searched them thoroughly, still finding next to nothing stored above. Of course, I was prowling the servant quarters, so I wasn''t really looking for much; just clearing it out so no one can try and sneak up on us when we were searching the more important areas down below. When the third floor waspletely free from traitorous Elves, I found the stairs and made my way down to the second floor, where I was met with smoke and the scent of burning bodies. Finding the culprit for such a stench wasn''t hard; I simply waded towards the smokes source and found a rather charming Vampire holding an Elven woman by the throat, choked gargling escaping her opened mouth as Leone clenched her fist harder. A snap sounded from the woman''s neck, and I watched as her head rolled to the side unnaturally, only to fall to the ground unceremoniously when Leone released her. Taking a deep breath, the Vampire turned towards me, her crimson eyes lightening up as she smiled warmly at me, acting like I hadn''t just watched her break a woman''s neck, nor were we surrounded by charred corpses. Admittedly, I didn''t particrly care about that as I strode forwards, smiling back at her as I asked "Find anything on this floor, Princess~?" Seeing her blush at the familiar teasing, I chuckled as I leaned down and grabbed her hand, lifting it up and cing a kiss on the back of it. "I regret to inform my Lady that the third floor was empty... Perhaps my Lady has had better luck than I?" Enjoying the momentary flowery atmosphere as I flirted with my future wife, we eventually were joined by Yusa, who stared at us with a raised brow before saying "The basement is locked down, so... unless you two wish to find a bed for a quick romp, shall we descend into the belly of this beast?" Leone turned bright red at the suggestion, whilst I just chuckled as I replied "Whilst tempting, we should make our way down further love." The Vampire nodded as she stiffly strode past her Aunt, who grinned mischievously at her before following the embarrassed woman down to the first floor. ring around at the singed wood, burnt bodies, splotches of blood, and demolished walls, I chuckled again as I left the hellish floor behind me, joining the others down near the stairs that led to the basement of the building. Seeing Mom yawning as her giant ymore dripped blood made me smirk, before I noticed that Anput was also just as bored, her two longswords idly tapping against the wooden floors and leaving small nicks in the boards. Seems like we all found the raid to be little more than a nuisance, what with theck of any semipetent warriors defending the house. Though, considering the basement is locked down, I imagine we''ll find someone worthy of fighting down there... I hope. Nodding to one another, we observed the steps and door for a few moments before going down, reaching the double doors made not from wood, but from thick sheets of metal. Leone narrowed her eyes as she leaned forwards, taking in the runes engraved onto the metal bs before muttering "Not bad, but..." Taking a step back, she coughed gently as she said "I could go through a bunch of borate runic magic and unlock the door, or... well, you could just break it. I doubt a b of hardened Titanium-Serpenan Alloy could resist your ymore, Marquess." Mom grinned at that, and we all retreated a few more steps back as her giant ymore was shrouded in deep red mana, the aura around both her and the sword making our hearts skip a beat as a vast pressure descended around us. Breathing in, Mom raised her sword and shed down, the ymore''s keen edge slicing into the door like it was made from paper and not an incredibly strong alloy. Cutting once more, she then kicked forwards and sent the door flying inwards, earning a few shouts as the soldiers in the basement were surprised by the sudden ''attack''. Filtering in, I once again erected a golden shield that illuminated the dimboratory, casting a light on the seven Elves who stared at us warily. One of which we knew very well. Hawn Sariel, Combat Instructor for the Academy, stood across from us with pale features, his resolve wavering as he noticed both Mom and Yusa standing beside us. "Can''t say I''m too surprised to find you here, Professor! After all, you seemed rather close to that traitorous bitch Jillian~!" Grinning at the man, I saw him narrow his eyes slightly as he gripped the hilts of his daggers tighter, remaining quiet. "Well, I guess you don''t have much to say, hm? No pleading for mercy, no exnation for your Family''s actions? Nothing? This is the only chance you''ll get to speak normally, you know? ''Cause, after today, you and I will be getting rather... acquainted, so to speak." Giving him another few moments, I shrugged at the silence that permeated theboratory, and I nced around at the various papers and boards filled with notes and research. Taking it all in, I hefted my de and stepped forwards, outside of the protective light dome I had cast. Seeing me pass through the light, two Elves charged forwards, shouting "Long live the Sariel''s!" as they raised their daggers towards me. Hearing the hiss of mes behind me, I didn''t bother with them as I strode forwards, listening to the two thud to the ground as Leone pulled them towards the dome. Hawn''s eyes widened at that, and the others grit their teeth as they looked between themselves. Stepping forwards, Hawn readied his daggers as he spoke for the first time, his voice disbelieving as he said "Surely you don''t think you''re enough to take me on alone, right Jahi?" Raising a brow, I stared at the lithe Elf for a moment before pointing the great sword at him, saying "Dunno, but I''d like to believe so." Shaking his head, Hawn red at me as he spat "That arrogance is why we needed to get rid of you! You''re more of a detriment to the Empire than a boon!" Staring at him incredulously, I responded after a moment of shock, asking "And you think you lot would be better? Did we not just sweep this entire Estate clean in mere minutes?" Scoffing, the Elf lowered his stance and said "We''re just a skeleton crew, left here to distract you! Nothing more, nothing less. This isn''t the might of the Sariel Family!" Watching as he dashed forwards, I sighed as I shifted my stance to a defensive one, meeting his attack and stopping his twin daggers from snaking towards my limbs or organs. Pushing him back, I stared at himzily as I said "Besides, is it arrogance to state a fact? I do believe I am stronger than you. The Asmodia Family is stronger than the Sariel Family. Not only that, is it not arrogance and hubris to think that you are acting for the Empire when your actions actively weaken it? Even if momentarily, tearing down a pir of the Empire for your own pride shakes the foundations of it all. Do you truly believe that you can be that pir? A pir that hoists this Empire up above the rest of this world?" Hawn charged back at me, this time backed up by another two Elves, and he growled "We can be that pir. Stronger then you Demons ever were." Chuckling, I blocked the three Elves attacks and asked "Hawn, weren''t you amongst the Sariel''s elite? Is this the power you im your Family has? A mere pitiful, deluded rogue who requires more outside help to even be a threat to your enemies? If so, then it''s a good thing you lot turned traitor. I''m doing the Empire a favor by weeding out such weaklings." The three all seethed at the scalding words, before shouting and charging at me again. As for the remaining two, they tried to slip past us and approach the barrier, only to be captured by Leone and detained instantly. With them tied up, and whilst I was facing the three Elves, I moved the protective dome to encapste us as I said "Go ahead and start looking around, everyone. I''ll be done here in a few moments..." Chapter 290 289: Hawn Sariel Parrying a thrust from Hawn, I shifted my body to the side as I avoided the shesing from the Elf on my left, before pulling my de down and blocking the stab from thest one. Smirking at them all, I elbowed the Elf on my right to free up some space as I spun away from Hawn''s flurry of blows, the sharp edges cutting through the air beside me as I stared him in the eye. Surprise and worry began to surface in his eyes as I grabbed the head of the Elf on my left and threw him at Hawn, forcing him to dodge or catch hisrade. With that small opening avable to me, I appeared beside the first Elf and stomped on his head, the force knocking him out and cracking his skull slightly, before I kicked him from the barrier. "One down, two to go~!" The remaining Elves stared at me with wary eyes, their daggers glittering in the dome of light as they prepared for another attack. Seeing their legs shimmer green, I nted my feet and waited for them to move, my great sword held out at the ready to block any iing blows. Whilst I waited for them to begin, I asked "Hawn, why''d they leave you here? Aren''t you one of their elite Rangers? What made them decide to throw away such a valuable pawn? Did you piss someone off by speaking logically? Or maybe you weren''t as skilled as you thought, so you became expendable? Was that it? You were just some disposable piece for them to use as they pleased?" Hawn gritted his teeth at that, the anger overtaking the surprise at my abilities as he charged forwards. shing a dagger up towards my face, he smirked as I blocked it with the t of my de, leaving my sides open to a quick thrust. Sadly for him, I just shifted my posture and my sword with ease, blocking that thrust as well. "Hmm... I guess I was right. You''re not really ''elite'' now are you?" The other Elf joined Hawn in this joint assault, the two constantly targeting weak points and shifting their attacks to be opposite of theirpatriot, trying to pin me with their attacks andnd a deciding blow. As he swing his daggers with precision, Hawn growled "I am amongst the top of the Sariel Family Rangers! They left me here because I volunteered to keep you damn Demons upied! Me giving my life here has meaning; it''s a sacrifice that the Sariel Family will honor forever!" Chuckling, I continued to guard against the flurry of blows that the two Elves showered me with, constantly looking for an opening to take me down. While they searched, I continued to do the same, looking for a moment that would end not in their death, but in their unconsciousness. Fighting to kill an opponent is easy; I would just need to disy the difference in strength between us and shatter their puny knives with one singr sh, but that would result in more than just their des being destroyed. They themselves would be cleaved in two. So, I needed to keep my strength in check and try to find an opening to take them out of the fight, which would be harder than killing, but not too difficult. For now, I just wanted to tire them out a little and nt a seed of doubt or anger in their minds, to draw out a mistake that I could capitalize on to make this quicker. Besides that, this was good practice for controlling my strength and focusing on precision over raw power, which was something I needed to work on... With that in mind, I blocked the storm of stabs, shes, punches, and kicks that the two Elves sent my way, each one falling harmlessly on the t of my de or swishing through the air. As we fought, Leone and the others were scouring through theboratory, taking the papers and reading through them before storing them away, copying down the notes on the boards, and observing the various tubes and storage containers littered around the various tables and hanging on the walls. Taking the time to thoroughly read a paper, Leone frowned as she nced towards me, before turning back to the paper and continuing on. Seeing the Vampire''s actions, I also frowned before ducking under a high sh and tilting my de to block the thrust of the second Elves daggers. Using that, I pushed outwards and stepped towards the Elf, avoiding Hawn''s attacks as I continued forwards, eventually mming the Elf against the light dome and pinning him there. With his body firmly nted against the wall, I willed the light mana to shift, thin strands of it forming a rope around his neck and arms, pinning him to the wall. Tightening the binding around his neck, I turned around to deal with Hawn on his own as the other Elf was choked out, eventually falling unconscious as his breathing was cut off. Clicking my tongue, I smiled smugly at Hawn as the Elf watched his friend thud to the ground outside the dome, leaving just us inside. "Honestly... you should probably start talking~ We still have some... unfinished business, you and I. Giving me the excuse to torture you probably isn''t worth it... not for some Family that really could care less about you. Definitely not for a traitorous Family that will no longer be recognized inside this Empire." ring at me hatefully, the man sneered as he said "What unfinished business?" Raising a brow at him, I listened to him for a moment as he began to speak again... "Oh, you mean when I danced with your Dogkin whore of a maid for a few moments at Jillian''s banquet? When I gave her that opportunity to free herself from you and live a life of her own?! Is that what you mean? Ha! It won''t be long now before Jillian gets your precious little slut and uses her for whatever she wants!" As he lunged forwards, I could see that his eyes were bloodshot, his previous tirade all shouted out for the whole room to hear, which... Catching his hands, I snapped his wrists and crushed the bones into powder, eliciting a scream from him as I lifted him up by those very broken wrists. Staring him straight into the eyes, I stabbed my sword into the brick floor and reached up, gentlyying my palm on his cheek. Stroking away the tear that fell from his right eye, I whispered "You really shouldn''t have done that..." before my fingers dragged slowly across his cheek, up towards his eye. Spreading open his eyelid, I plunged my fingers into his socket and yanked out the fleshy orb, tossing it aside with a wet plop, making him scream more. Blood seeped from his socket, a trail of red liquid mixed with clear fluids dripping onto the floor below. Opening my bloody palm, I ''healed'' his body and locked it, preventing further bloodshed whilst keeping the wounds there, so that every second from here on out he could feel the void where his eye used to be. The sensitive flesh inside would be open to the air, brushed by the slightest breeze and inflicting a sharp pain to him with the most basic movements. Holding him up, I lowered the light dome and walked forwards, my eyes briefly flitting towards the sneering Vampire and the bristling tail of the Jackalkin, both of them angered by what Hawn had said. As for Mom and Yusa, the two simply shrugged as they saw the man being hoisted around like a sack of potatoes, turning back to their papers and stacking them and organizing them. Approaching Leone, I asked her "Anything?", watching as the Vampire red at the Elf that was teetering on being conscious before focusing her attention on me. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind for a moment and focused on answering my question, raising the papers in her hand. "Yes... and no. So far, I''m getting more of the ''how'' and not the ''why''; these notes are all on what they were doing and how they went about doing it, but only the small things, things that weren''t important or seen as necessary. Research on ancient magics, hypothesis on various subjects, notes on the different trials they attempted... But nothing on why they were researching what they were. These are all pieces to a veryrge, very borate puzzle. Small clues towards their grand scheme that I honestly can''t even begin toprehend. What were they doing, and why? There are so many possibilities to be found in this research, and with no direction I can only theorize what they were trying to gain from each bit..." Trailing off, Leone red at the papers again before sighing, adding them to a stack as she muttered "I have no idea where to begin..." Cleaning off my free hand, I reached forwards and pat her head, smiling at her before looking towards Mom. "Are we able to trust the people the Empress wants to give this all too? Will they copy it all down and send it back to our home?" Looking up towards me, Mom smiled wryly as she shrugged, while Yusa frowned as she said "As much as I would love to say that you should whole-heartedly trust my wife, I... can''t do so on good faith; not after what just happened. Maybe it''s time for her to stop being so trusting of her subjects, or at the very least disy the power she hasn''t wielded in many centuries..." Chuckling, Mom nced at Yusa as she said "Well, I imagine the Empress would send the research to Lorelei and her group, right? Maybe let Lady Theresa analyze some of it as well... If I had to guess, most of the Empress'' Harem won''t be letting this slide; all of you are really close, so a threat to one is a threat to all." The Snow Woman grinned at that, nodding as she said "True, this isn''t something that I was keen on letting slip past me. Lorelei might be myplete opposite, but I cherish her all the same because of that. Besides, my cute little niece was threatened..." Her grin turned chilly, and we all shivered as the temperature in the room plummeted, her eyes sparkling with a frigid luster as she whispered "And that isn''t eptable, not at all..." Watching as her grin faded again to a motherly smile as she looked towards Leone, I shivered again as I began to wonder if all women that reach that level of strength are just... insane. Is... that what awaits me in the future? ... ... ... Ahem... Not that I''mining... It''s uh... actually rather... yeah. Chapter 291 290: Progress With the Sariel Estate now firmly under our control, the next order of business was rather tedious and trivial, but it needed to be done. Transporting all we found, and everyone we kept alive, over towards the Pce, where the Empress and her wives would begin to sift through the information we found andpile a report on it all. Something that we wouldn''t be reading for a long time now, since after Adelina makes her recovery to battle ready, we''ll be departing for the West, to begin our Crusade and discover just what happened over in Tragon. Learning about the Gates that appeared was much more important then anything else we were doing; sure, the optics of us retaliating were good for public morale and provided a good distraction for the turncoat Elven Families, but we desperately needed more information on what exactly happened in Tragon. Because, like it or not, something that could create multiple Gates was not something we could deal with, even as strong as this Empire was. Tearing open a hole into the Labyrinthian and letting dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of monsters through would spell doom for the Empire; thend we control is simply too vast to be able to swiftly respond to threats like Gates. Especially if multiple are opened. Would we fall as quick as Tragon? No, no we wouldn''t; in order to be acknowledged by the Empress, all Noble Family Heads need to reach a certain strength equivalent to your position. Now, not all are at that level, but they usually offer something as important as physical prowess inpensation, or they are under the banner of a different Noble Head. It isn''t umon for Barons and Viscounts to band together underneath the banner of a Count or a Marquess, and it was rare, but still happened, for a Count or Marquess to find themselves under the banner of one of the Dukes. The Empire, in reality, is a collective of City-States and Territories that all swear fealty to the Empress, who guides them all and keeps the peace as best she can. So, if a Gate were to open anywhere in the Empire, the ruling Nobility should, in theory, be capable of sending for help and warding off the monster or horde thates through for at least a few hours, which should be enough for someone stronger to be notified and arrive. In theory, anyways. Little is known about Gates themselves, and little is known about the depths of the Labyrinthian, so if something is able to create these Gates and connect them to the interior of the Labyrinthian, well... That could very well be the end of the world as we know it. With that sobering thought in my mind, I helped the others gather all the materials onto the path in front of the estate, to be collected by some of the Empress'' personal guards and transported to the Pce. As for the prisoners, they were sufficiently bound with specially prepared mana sealing chains, given a healing rune to prevent poisoning and biting of the tongue, and checked for any hidden spells that would allow them to take their own lives. After searching them thoroughly and finding nothing, we loaded them onto the prisoner transport carriage and sent them away, before getting into a carriage of our own and following behind them. Leone had kept some of the papers to read on the way there, her red eyes narrowed as she scanned line after line, muttering quietly to herself. Nodding to myself, I turned towards Anput to see how she was doing, the memory of what I had done at the border shing into my mind, a pang of guilt wrapping around my heart. The Jackalkin was staring out the window, her lips pulled into a thin line as she watched the buildings pass us by. Taking a deep breath, I reached over and pulled her towards me, getting a raised brow from Leone and a yelp from Anput. Smiling softly down at her, I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her close, burying my nose between her ear and enjoying the warmth of her lithe body. Anput shuffled around on myp for a few moments, her ears twitching and brushing against my cheeks as she muttered "W-What are you doing..?" Kissing the top of her head, I took a deep breath of her citrusy scent as I nuzzled against her ears, whispering "Holding my cute little puppy whilst I wait... that''s fine, right?" Anput shivered in my arms, and I felt her ears twitch a few more times as she slowly leaned back into my chest, her voice small as she whispered back "F-Fine..." Timidly shuffling closer and closer, the Jackalkin allowed me to drape myself over her body, her warmth permeating my body as I held her close. ~~~ Kat PoV Another day passed as I trekked through the stone pir forest, the wildlife avoiding me and the Arctic Cor''s equally. Snow began to fall early that morning, and it slowly added to the thick carpet of white powder on the ground, covering the tracks leading back to the cavern I had woken up in. Not that I wanted to backtrack, but I had been walking for so long that the giant stone arch had long since faded into the background, covered by the stone pirs around me. And honestly, I wasn''t in a rush to climb up another rock wall for the rest of my life... Once was enough... The further I went into this forest of giant stone pirs, the more normal wildlife I encountered and less Arctic Cor''s I saw flying through the air, suggesting the area I woke up in was the area that they frequented. Continuing my journey towards the reference point I created, I eventually found myself staring up at a gigantic mountain range, far taller than the mountains I had seen previously. Not only that, but the material was different; where the previous mountains were a deep gray granite, these mountains were two separate colors. Mainlyprised of a pitch ck te, the mountains were given veins made from a pulsing marble, mana streaming through the rock and giving the mountain an almost alive feeling to it. This... This was something I knew about; something I had studied, but thought I wouldn''t see in a long, long time. What I was staring up at was the border of the Labyrinthian, what was often called the Ebon Bastion inside the Empire. My heart dropped as I stared at the ck rock that was splintered by sparkling white, panic beginning to set in. The deepest parts of Zhu''Rong Cavern were oftenpared to the edges of the Labyrinthian, and we had yet to step past the Gate of Hades, so I didn''t want to even nurture the thought that I was inside the Labyrinthian. However, I had two possibilitiesying before me, both rather worrying. The direction that the Soul Bond had pointed me in was North-West, which meant two things. The first was that I was, in fact, inside the Labyrinthian, and that I was close to the border of the Ebon Bastion, meaning I could potentially be home faster than I thought. This might sound good, but in all honesty it''s the worse of the two options. Why? Again, the Labyrinthian is crawling with monsters and wildlife, meaning that the increase in wildlife around me could mean a slumbering group of monsters waiting for their food to fatten up. It could also mean that this was a pocket of a normal ecosystem inside the Labyrinthian, which had been reported a few times... That was the first possibility; that I was inside extremely dangerous territory that would require more careful thinking going forwards, and that I needed to try and locate one of the entrances of the Ebon Bastion. If I could find the entrances and convince the guards that I was a citizen of the Empire, I could be home before I know it. Only if I don''t run into hordes of monsters inside the Labyrinthian. Now, the second, more calming and hopeful possibility, is that I am outside the Labyrinthian looking at one of its walls, deep in the South-Eastern portion of this continent. That would be preferable, mainly because dealing with normal people and weak monsters would be much easier than the real monsters inside the Labyrinthian. Whilst I might be farther then if I was near the Ebon Bastion, that distance would be far safer for me going forwards, and I could still make decent time and reach the Empire soon... I hope. Personally, if I was inside the Labyrinthian, I... might not make it, if I''m being honest. Even if I hug this mountain and travel along it, the monsters inside are strong, and all it would take is just one monster being curious about breaking free of the Ebon Bastion to rip me to shreds. Yes, the outside world would be fraught with it''s own perils; sometimes, people are more monstrous then beasts, and I could very well be hunted by any Tom, Dick or Harry that wants me for one reason or another, but... Running and hiding on my own, using my skills to their maximum, could likely be more then enough to remain safe and unscathed. Either way though, this was not a situation I wanted to be in, but I needed to ept that I had two terrible possibilitiesying before me. One, I was in the most dangerous part of this world, alone, without a real guide to escape, and surrounded by monsters... Or two, I was in a foreignnd that I knew nothing about; no guarantee that they would speak the samenguage, no guarantee that I would be capable of blending in with the society, no guarantee of anything. Both were terrible, but I would rather take my chances with the outside world then the Labyrinthian. With that in mind, I took this progress I had made and continued on, traveling North alongside the mountain range and hoping, praying, and pleading with whatever Gods and Goddesses wereughing at me right now to take some pity on me. Lugging my ice chests behind me, I traveled North, through the snow and wind, so that I could reach the three women who had so easily carved themselves onto my heart. Chapter 292 291: Pieces Staring up at the giant ck rock face, I frowned before taking a deep breath, my mind made up. For the time being, until I could confirm either of my theories, I would remain close to this wall and travel along it, towards my loves. I had a direction to go, and for the time being this wall was closer to them then if I returned to the stone pir forest behind me. With no real idea about my location, I needed to try my hardest to gain every advantage that I could during these unknown times, and having a guaranteed wall to protect me wasforting. Nothing could go through this wall, so I only had to worry about things to my front, right, and behind as I traveled Northwards, the wall to my left. Lugging those ice chests behind me, I continued my travels without much trouble, the only interesting thing being the site of an Arctic Cor diving down to snatch up one of those deer, staining the snow red with the poor animals blood. Past that, nothing really happened as I traveled; no animals searched for me, the weather remained steady with a light shower of flurries, and the winds were calm. All in all, it was more rxing than anything else, and I found it ironic that my heart was more at ease here then back at the fortress. This serene atmosphere and knowledge that there were no mortals near me, for now, was rather soothingpared to constantly needing to be on guard against some traitorous Elven bastards... Sighing, I nced around at the dark snowscape around me before settling in for the night, my trustworthy cube sheltering me from the elements. Taking care of all of my bodily needs, I fell asleep before resuming the journey towards the North. During these long, boring walks that went on for days, I began to notice that the surroundings were beginning to change. The pirs were shortening and thinning out, while they became more sporadic, no longer so tightly clustered together. Besides that, the wildlife changed slightly as well; I no longer saw Arctic Cor''s flying around, and the predators here seemed to be a variant of Bears; lush white fur that was home to sharp icicles sprouting from their backs let me know that they weren''t just ''Bears'' but some kind of monster. However, nothing else changed besides that; the climate was the same, the weather the same, and the wildlife stayed the same as well. There was only those Bear Monsters that changed things up, but it wasn''t... drastic. With this new influx of information, I tried to desperately recall all the sses we had on the Labyrinthian with Professor Xiant, as well as the passages in those damned textbooks he made us read... Sifting through that information helped to stave off boredom and better my mood as I began to piece together a little more of this intricate puzzle. See, inside the Labyrinthian, anything goes. Now, what does that mean? It was a rathermon saying inside the books and by Professor Xiant himself, but now I needed to understand that better. The first, and most obvious way to take ''anything goes'' is that there is no way to verify anything that might happen inside the Labyrinthian, hence ''anything goes''. But, there were also differing ounts of the interior of the Labyrinthian; some groups imed that a spot a mile to the East was a barren desert, with sprawling sand dunes and a scorching heat, but another group mere monthster imed it was actually a verdant forest, filled with lush vegetation and teeming with wildlife. So what if ''anything goes'' is meant to be quite literal? Simply put, the Labyrinthian is the embodiment of ''anything goes''? Does Section A feel like being a desert today? Awesome! But what about tomorrow? Oh, it wants to be a forest filled with life? Amazing! If that''s the case, then maybe I am outside of the Labyrinthian; the reason that there is so little information about it is because of that fact? I mean, currently the world around me is... ''stagnant'', or ''unchanging''. The snowyndscape and giant pirs are all... rather ''permanent'' features, so what if I am outside the Labyrinthian? That thought would bring me so much relief, but I needed to verify that further. After all, those reports were roughly a month apart, and it led to the saying ''Anything goes inside the Labyrinthian''. So what if I am inside the Labyrinthian and this area has some form of... permanence? It''s a habitat for an important, incredibly strong monster that requires snow? Growling softly as I nced at the ck te beside me, I paused as I reached one of the marble veins, the translucent, shimmering surface giving me a good look at myself. Seeing the bags under my eyes, the lengthened bangs and sideburns, tired expression and pursed lips, I chuckled at the sight of myself before ncing at the sky. Letting the snowkes drift down on my skin, I took a deep breath of the crisp air and cleared my mind, sending the two different theories away for the moment. If I continued over analyzing each and every small detail I saw or remembered, I would go insane. For now, I needed to continue forwards and keep myself prepared for both oues, to better improve my odds of survival. Each piece of this puzzle was enough to drive me to insanity, as the oues were... frightening, to say the least. However, I would like to think that I could keep my own puzzle together; the puzzle that made me up, each piece being something important to me. Besides, when it came to insanity, I... guess I might just know a thing or two about it. After all, I would be considered a rather... troublesome, mentally unstable woman if I was back in my world; a danger to those around me, all because I craved a few things more then others... Well... Grinning to myself, I happily hummed as I patted the broad dagger on my hip, the familiar weight of such a heavy de easing my thirst. The thrill I felt as I used this beauty''s keen edge to slice into flesh was just so... euphoric. The screams and blood that poured from someone''s body as I cut into them... Ah, I miss it already~ ~~~ Nirinia PoV, Days Prior Taking a deep breath, I leaned back tiredly into my chair, staring down at the golden ''mane'' of the injured Lioness, her usually pale skin even whiter than normal. Her breathing was slightly ragged, and she was constantly sweating, the pain wracking her body from the eight different wounds - four entry, four exits - taking its toll on her even still. They had been closed with Lady Leone''s help, but the internal damages lingered even still, and the current healers were struggling to keep her stable, let alone back to tip top shape. "Adelina..." Muttering her name, I sighed as continued to look over her, my mind dull and tired from the consecutive days spent remaining by her side. I was fucking livid, pissed, annoyed, hateful, exhausted, irritated, and so much more as I stared at her, but each time she let out a weak cry or a pained gasp, those emotions were washed away, reced with worry, nervousness, and... something else. The constant bouncing around emotionally was wearing at me as well, and I tried my hardest to not snap whenever the healers came in and attempted to heal her, their pitiful attempts enraging me more and more. That was instantly turned inwards, as I realized that my own actions to keep her safe were pitiful; there were all kinds of signs that traitors might be inside the Legion, and yet I haughtily believed myself to be enough to protect everyone from everything. Not only that, but I believed in Adelina Leonisa as a Commander and a Warrior; no matter our rtionship, orck thereof, as two individuals, I could only respect her capabilities as a Legion Commander and a Warrior. I thought she could handle herself, that she woulde out of this as unscathed as she usually did; I had only seen it once, but her bare body was still as wless as a babes, and I believed it would always be so. Now, eight ugly scars marred her usually smooth skin, and it was all- Gritting my teeth, I clenched my fists on the edges of my chairs armrests, almost shattering the velvet covered wood. It''s already happened, Nirinia. Stop ming yourself and others; nothing will change from this point forwards. She DID get injured, so deal with that first, you stupid Djinn-Orc. As I was about to get up, someone opened the doors and entered, and I opened my mouth to berate the healersteness when my jaw fell ck, the visitor surprising me immensely. Lady D''Arcon, the third wife of the Empress, stood at the doors before me, her gentle expression soothing my heart unconsciously. Draped in white robes, the woman emitted a clean, holy aura, one that seemed to brighten and cleanse the room around her. Silver bracelets coiled around wrists, ttering against one another, whilstrge pearls strung on a silver wire hung around her neck. A single pearl studded her right ear, whilst a silver star hung from her left, contrasting the golden locks that cascaded down her shoulders. Finally, thest notable part of Lady D''Arcon was the white veil that covered her upper face, concealing her eyes and nose from view, though her thin pale lips were curled into a soft smile. "Nirinia dear, I apologize for arriving sote... I know how you must feel, little one, but it''s alright now." Striding quietly into the room, the holy woman stared up at me, reaching a pale hand up to stroke my cheek gently before looking towards Adelina. "I always did adore you both, Nirinia dear. Both of your parents were good students of mine, even with their constant bickering and jiving. They formed tight bonds thatst even until now, decadester. We had all hoped that you and Adelina would do the same, but s..." Her voice was silky smooth, little more than a whisper on a soft breeze, but it feltforting and warming to hear. Approaching the bed, Lady D''Arcon reached out, her palm shining a brilliant gold as she began to mutter out a prayer, her free hand grabbing at the pearls around her neck. I remained silent as I observed her, the woman my parents revered as such a perfect being finally standing before me again. Memories of ying with the little Lioness inside the Pce returned to me, the joyful giggles she would let out as she outwitted me at yet another game echoing around us, whilst the scent of her favorite confectionery that I stole for her wafted into the room. The sight of the small cub running to hide behind this woman as I chased after her, angry that she had finally bested me in a spar using tricks, slipped into my mind, and I felt something tug at my heart. As the golden light in her palm faded, that same cub flickered next to her older self, swinging her legs off the side of the bed as she nced towards me, her usual confident smile making me feel little again as she waved happily towards me. Then, when the light faded, so too did that cub, but Adelina remained all the same, her breathing even and her expression rxed. Removing her hand from her pearls, Lady D''Arcon stood up straight and brushed off her dress before turning towards me, a soft smile still on her lips as she said "You both might have changed, but that little rascal and cub still remain inside you, Nirinia. Consider that, dear. For me. For yourself. Watch over Adelina, and think on it... Somethings will always change; nothing is stagnant in this world, but even still, fragments will remain, pieces that speak out to you... Look at them, and listen." Patting my shoulder, Lady D''Arcon smiled up at me before exiting the room, her voice filtering into my ears onest time as she said "Everything will be alright, Nirinia. She''s safe now, and she has you too look over her..." With that, she left me alone in the medical ward, where Adelina had made her full recovery. Lady D''Arcon''s words echoed around in my mind, and I fell back down into my chair as I pondered them, my eyes glued to the sleeping figure of Adelina. --- Gonna be honest, was going to do only a small part of Nirinia, but I''m kinda liking her lol~ --- Chapter 293 292: Speak Softly Resting on the armchair beside Adelina, I pursed my lips as I pondered the words Lady D''Arcon left behind, each one wiggling around in my mind demanding attention. ''We had all hoped that you and Adelina would do the same, but s...'' My parents had often spoken about this woman that taught them about the world and guided them to bing who they were today, and from the few times I had met her inside the Pce as a child, I was inclined to agree with their assessment of Lady D''Arcon. She was perfect in most ways, and her wisdom was amongst the soundest that the Empress listened to for counsel, so more often then not I found myself respecting, and almost revering her. Amongst all of the Empress'' wives, Lady D''Arcon was the first that I had met and the second that I respected most - that first woman was Lady Fenyras, and she made sure to beat that respect into my very soul - and I knew that her words were as precious as tinums. Each one was usuallyced with some deep understanding of the listener, giving them just enough to guide them while remaining entirely subjective. I could take them literally or only search for the intricacies in her lines, but either way, I woulde away with something to show for it. Now, I was entirely aware of my parents hopes alongside the Leonisa''s hopes; they hoped that Adelina and I would marry and unify our Families under one banner. It wasn''t even a real political move; the Leonisa''s were one of the three Families that guarded the Capital, earning the titles of ''Draconia''s'' for their loyalty. As for the Radhi n, we were a simple gathering of nomadic Orcs that had migrated from the Sultanate decades ago. Selling our des for coin wasn''t umon, and the Empress began to employ us as the Capital''s ''police'', using our intimidating appearances and raw prowess to help put a stop to most of the Capital''s violent crime, all while the three Draconia''s all guarded the Capital from outside attacks. It was through that that our parents met each other, and apparently they had be good friends after Adelina''s dad was punched by my Orc mom; it had been a drunken fight, and afterwards they be the best of friends. So, there was no political benefit to speak of; the Radhi n doesn''t function like a traditional Noble Family, as all the members have a say in the n''s direction and attitude, and everyone wants to be free spirited. The union between us was purely a desire to deepen the bonds between our parents, and they desperately wanted to be able to be tied together through Adelina''s marriage to me. They almost considered forcing us to marry, but that fleeting thought had been beaten out of everyone by Adelina''s mother and my Mom, so we were allowed free will in that regard. Anyways, Adelina and I knew of our parents wishes, and that was part of the reason she initiated our short time dating. Which... wasn''t that bad, admittedly. Sure, I was rather pent up the entire time, but I enjoyed the rxed dinners, the strolls around the shops, lounging in the parks... It was all rather soothingpared to the bloodshed and brutal fighting I was used to. However, her constant expectations for me to act like I was some damn soft bellied Noble courting her was annoying, and I had made that known to her many times, only to stop bringing it up as it led to arguments that simply never changed. But... Damnit if I didn''t miss her gentle smiles and softughter as cracked jokes, or the dry scent of hawthorn that lingered around her constantly. Letting out a sigh, I leaned forwards and scooped up her dainty pale hand, sping myrger, rougher one over it and observing the differences in size, before I allowed my gaze to drift up towards her face. The smooth, healthy pale tone of her face was only emphasized by her golden locks, which were no longer ited with sweat. Her fluffy brown ears twitched slightly as she turned towards me, her eyes fluttering open as she let out a yawn. My heartbeat quickened in my chest as her warm hand almost seared into my flesh, embarrassment seeping into me as I tried to think of various excuses, only to freeze as she muttered "Is that you, Rini..?" Rini..? My heart leapt to my throat at the familiar, yet almost forgotten pet name she had given me as children, and like before the phantom of the little cub ovepped with Adelina, her drowsy smile like a needle to my heart. Was this thest time I would hear that? Was this thest time I would see that? Gulping, I watched as she rubbed at her golden eyes with the back of her free hand, before she yawned again,nguidlyying on the bed, the sheets stirring as her tail began to move. "Rini?" Coughing gently, I finally spoke, saying "I-I''m here, Adelina..." My voice must have been too loud, as the Lioness flinched as she pouted, squeezing her hand in mine as she muttered "Softer, Rini... still tired..." Shaking my head at the familiar line, I sighed as I whispered "I''m here, Adelina.", which made her smile innocently at me, her golden eyes hazy as she snuggled against the pillow. Letting out a tired ''Mmm...'', the Lioness stretched out before muttering "Rini, I''m going to sleep again... stay with me, please?" Seeing her pleading golden eyes, I felt my heart twinge at that sight as I nodded stiffly, wondering if I was being tortured for my misdeeds. As she closed her eyes again, I had the fleeting thought that this... might be thest time she ever looked at me like that, and I wondered if that ''fragment'' Lady D''Arcon mentioned might be locked away for good when she restedpletely. That thought hurt more than any de or arrow. ~~~ Kat Pov, Present I had continued to lug my two ice boxes behind me as I traveled North, and I had made great progress; the stone pirs were gone now, and in their ces was an actual forest, the pine trees emitting a soothing scent into the air as I walked. The sudden shift from an almost unrealistic, fantastical wondend to a simple pine forest was refreshing, and I could only begin to hope that this meant I was outside of the Labyrinthian. Another day passed, and I spent it all alone again, my fingers keeping mepany as I staved off the double edged sword that was [Nymphomania], all while I slowly dwindled my supply of Arctic Cor meat. Continuing Northwards, I shuffled my way through the calf deep snow and stuck to the ck te mountains to my left, walking along the edge of them as I traveled towards my home. Memories of my three lovers back home filtered through my head, bothforting and grating. They were small things too; the way Leone stuck her tongue out cutely as she concentrated on whatever arcane study she was pursuing, the way sweat clung to Anput''s muscr frame as she hammered away at her anvil, and the serene sight of Jahi lounging on the couch with a book in hand. Those were the memories that clouded my mind as I walked, small, insignificant things that, in the moment I had witnessed them, were nothing special, but now? Now, they meant the world to me. I wanted to see them again, to observe the women I loved so dearly up close again, tomit their smallest ticks and most insignificant quirks to memory, so that I could always know what they were thinking. To always have them on my mind. Of course, my mind filtered to other things as well, things that didn''t really help my loneliness whatsoever. The way Jahi pinned me under her as she demanded everything from my body, uncaring of my feelings in the moment as she ravished me, before doing aplete turn around as she held me close and whispered sweet nothings into my ears. The helpless, but aroused gleam in Leone''s eyes as I pushed her down and gave her the ride of her life, clinging desperately to her body as we made love in a sweaty tangle of limbs and hair. The utterly primal mating that Anput put me through, the way her scent washed over me and intoxicated me as she reverted us both to our most basic forms. Each one was unique, each one provided something the others couldn''t provide to me, just like I provided for them as well. My status might say I wasn''t [Aroused] at all, but this tortuous trek alone was getting to me; the desire for another persons warmth was deeply ingrained into my heart, and it was making its demands known to me. Of course, I knew that I would need to bottle everything up for now, to keep myself faithful to my true loves in this world, and to ignore my body''s desperate desires to douse my lust. Like that, another day passed, and I began my trek anew, the forest thinning out a little, while the animals grew less and less frequent. Noticing that change, I had a small kindle of hope re inside my heart as I reached the forests edge, where I was greeted with the sight of a rolling tundra, but... It wasn''t empty; instead, thisrge expanse of snow fields were upied by... Chapter 294 293: Nomads It wasn''t empty; instead, thisrge expanse of snow fields were upied by dozens of dark gray cloth tents, with at least a hundred people shuffling around from tent to tent, all of them armed and armored. Freezing, I stared out at the sight of the encampment for a few moments, unsure of what to do. If this was a nomadic tribe, I might be able to join them as they travel, or at the very least barter for some supplies by selling my enchanting abilities, but... There was no guarantee that they were weing of outsiders, that they wouldn''t try to enve me to sell or to use... Maybe they weren''t nomads, but instead an expeditionary force traveling into the Labyrinthian, which would make my appearance ever more suspicious. There were a few monsters who could take on humanoid appearances after all. As I stood behind a tree on the forests edge, I frowned as I continued to contemte my choices, before sighing andyering a few enchantments over myself. Preparing myself with a multitude of wind spells, I took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the tree line, dragging the ice chests behind me as I began to approach the encampment. It was a bit aways, but like any good encampment, they had guards along the perimeter, guards who instantly spotted me as I drew closer. Upon my appearance, the guards shouted back at the encampment before readying their weapons, staring at me warily as I continued to approach. Although most of it was lost on the breeze and over the distance, I sighed in relief as I realized their words were familiar, albeitden with an ent. Stopping roughly two dozen feet away, I raised my hands as the guards continued to heft theirrge spears, and I finally got a good look at them, my thoughts instantly leaning towards them being nomads. They were tall, charcoal skinned women with long, ashen gray hair, which was ted with bones, beads, and cloth. Their exposed skin was streaked with pulsing red veins, while their eyes were pitch ck, no sclera or iris to be seen. Oveying their veins were tattoos that shifted in the light, the mana embedded in them obvious at a nce. Each of them were dressed in pelts and animal skins, and various weapons made from bone hung on their belts. "Stop! Who are you?!" One of the guards shouted at me, and I kept my hands raised as I contemted my answer for a moment. More of the women gathered at the edge of the camp, and I made note of the fact that some were... obviously futa, what with some proudly disying that fact. They only stared at me warily, and I took a deep breath as I shouted back "A traveler who got lost... really, really lost. I... don''t know where I am! You were all the first mortals I''ve seen for days!" Turning, the guards murmured to each other before one nced back and shouted "Priestess!", which made the others instantly part ways. A woman taller then the rest strode forwards, most of her skin bare and covered in writhing white tattoos, while arge bone served as her staff as she approached. An borate crown made from smaller bones adorned her head, and I grimaced slightly as I saw the two eyeballs that dangled on her ears. Almost as tall as Jahi, the Priestess strode out past the guards, ignoring their pleas and drawing closer to me. "There is a... foul stench about you, traveler." Her voice was low and guttural, her words assured as she stopped a few feet away from me. Letting out a wry chuckle, I said "Well, I haven''t had the chance to wash in a-" "No, I don''t mean your physical body. Your very soul reeks, almost like it doesn''t belong here." Tilting her head, the tall woman frowned as she looked me over, before her eyes met mine. Her unnerving ck gaze almost made me take a step back, but I instead remained where I was, much to her amusement. "Tell me, traveler. Do you know what a Fiend is?" A small smirk tugged at her gray lips, and I nodded after a few moments, making it grow. "Have you seen one before?" Again, I waited before nodding, which made her reveal her pearly white teeth. "That would exin it then... Pray tell, you haven''t-" Reaching forwards, she tapped her bone staff against my brow, those ck orbs shining with amusement as she whispered "Made a deal with one, now have you?" Gritting my teeth, I shook my head as I said "I myself never made a deal with one; I''ve only seen one, when I was a child." Nodding, the Priestess tapped her staff on the ground twice before saying "Very well. So far, you haven''t lied to me, and while you remain... suspicious, I invite you into our camp. For now." Turning, she waved her staff towards the gathered women, continuing on in her deep voice. "You will be under surveince here, traveler, and should you make an effort to harm my people, you can expect to face retaliations and a swift action. However... wee to our tribe. Vka, Eyoli, you two will shadow our ''guest'' for the time being." Looking back at me, the Priestess smirked as she said "Any questions you have, they should be able to answer. If you wish to trade or work to earn something, let them know. And... if you desire something more carnal, look for them to warm your bed at night. They both are rather skilled members of our tribe~" I shook my head, which made the Priestess shrug as she walked back towards the camp, with me following behind her. The two women that she appointed as my chaperones nced at me curiously, both of them different. Vka, the one who stepped forwards first, was a shorter, lithe woman, a variety of knives hanging from her belt as she frowned at me. Eyoli, on the other hand, was around six and a half feet tall and absolutely ripped, her armsrger than both of minebined, all while they were further entuated by various white tattoos that swirled around on her skin. Hanging on her back was a giant femur bone of some kind, therge ''head'' of the woman''s improvised hammer stained a tan color, providing evidence of its use. Contrasting her intimidating build was the cheery, bright smile she wore as she met my gaze, her voice soft as she said "Wee traveler! I''m Eyoli!" Giving her a smile of my own, I nodded to her as I gave her my name, which instantly made her tilt her head in confusion. "Aren''t you a Dogkin of some kind? Why the name Cat?" Chuckling, I followed behind her as she led me into the camp, where all the others had dispersed and returned to their business. "Not Cat, like the animal. My full name is Katherine, but everyone calls me Kat." "Ah~! Interesting... Well then, Kat, wee to our tribe! As you could likely tell, we''re rather nomadic, and currently we''re making our way Northward, following the herds of Buffalo and Mammoths that migrate towards the colder climates!" "You''re all heading Northwards?!" She nodded at me, watching as I let out a sigh of relief as I looked around, before I smiled wryly at her. "So uh... I can travel with you all, yes? I need to go North as well; I think that will lead me home..." "Well..." Scratching her cheek, Eyoli nced at the silent Vka, who returned her gaze and shrugged. "You see, that would all... depend. If you''re worth the resources to keep around, I mean. Sheltering you for a day or two is fine; costs little, and it''s basic courtesy out in these snowy ins. But, if you can''t prove that you have some kind of value, either in a trade, as a hunter, or as someones mate, we''ll uh... have to leave you behind. Sorry, but that''s just how it is here." The two cast a nce at me before leading me to a tent, where Eyoli took a deep breath as she said "This is the tent Vka and I share, and it''s where you''ll be staying for these two days. If you want to join us throughout the day to see what kind of jobs are avable, you can, or you can stay here and..." Eyoli gestured towards the bedrolls that were spread out, and I shook my head at her invitation, saying "Sorry, but... I have three lovers I need to return to. So..." "Ah, that''s alright! Sorry for asking... Anyways, Vka here is a hunter, and since everything''s gone for the moment, she spends her days repairing weaponry and preparing food for the tribe. I''m a guard and a personal dancer for the Priestess. Just... let us know who you''ll be following, and then let us know when you find something to do!" With that, we entered the tent, and I stopped for a moment as I nced back at the ice chests. Opening them, I showed the feathers to the two women and asked "Are these worth something?" Eyoli reached into the chest and grabbed a feather, before she widened her ck eyes in surprise as she muttered "Is this..?" Vka nodded, snatching the feather from her hand and narrowing her eyes at me, asking "These are from Arctic Cor''s, aren''t they?! How could you hunt one of these on your own?!" Chapter 295 294: Learning More The thinner, shorter charcoal skinned woman snatched the feather from Eyoli''s hand, turning towards me and asking "These are from Arctic Cor''s, aren''t they?! How could you hunt one of these on your own?!" Nodding my head confusedly, I gestured towards the ice chest filled with the feathers from the Arctic Cor, saying "I uh... got a little hungry, and nothing else was around so... I managed to hunt one of these things." Vka stared at me in shock, while Eyoli let out a low whistle as she grabbed another feather. "That''s... impressive. Not many things can damage an Arctic Cor; I mean, their feathers are near imprable, even to spells. So how..?" Smiling wryly, I scratched the back of my head as I looked between Eyoli and Vka, saying "They might be hard to pierce, but blunt attacks still deal quite a bit of damage... especially if you crush them." Vka shook her head, looking back down towards the feather in her hand as she said "Crush them..? Did you use magic of some kind? You had to of; how would such an intelligent bird willingly fall into a trap like that?" Chuckling, I nodded as I gestured towards the chests, saying "A simple boulder above as they dove down towards me made it easy enough." They both let out disbelieving snorts, but the evidence wasying inside the chests before them, so they had to ept it. Coughing gently into her fist, Eyoli stared at the feather for a few more moments before asking "Well... do you wish to sell these to us? That would definitely earn you a spot to travel alongside us up North. Maybe even stay with us until we reach Pris City to trade everything away?" Shrugging, I gestured towards the chest and said "That''s fine with me; I was just using them as something to sleep on..." That made the two women sputter, blinking their eyes at me for a few moments in silence before shaking their heads. "Ok~ay... so... let''s go see if the Priestess is alright with that trade." Nodding, I began to pull the two chests behind me as Eyoli and Vk continued to lead me towards the center of the encampment, giving me a good look at the various tents filled with more of these gray skinned, white tattooed women. Honestly, each of them was rather beautiful in their own right, the fit, muscled look each of them had pairing well with their more tribalistic appearances. For a woman like myself who enjoys the muscled physiques that are all around me, this was eye candy heaven... And it was also a torturous hell, since I was now forced to handle my desires on my own and having all these utterly gorgeous muscle women around, their exotic gray skin and primal tattoos almost making me salivate as they walked around without a care in the world. Besides my ever slipping mind, I noticed that the women seemed rather jovial at all times, constantly making jokes and poking fun at one another and having augh. Even as they dismembered the newest kill, theyughed, while the hunters told grand stories for the amusement of their peers. Crafters and Smiths worked away at the pelts and bones of the animals, using them as materials for their clothing and weapons, whilst others made various utensils for eating or cooking. Some gathered around a fire and listened to one woman wearing bone jewelry speak, each one wearing a revenant expression as they sat, enraptured by her words. Following my curious gaze, Eyoli smiled softly as she said "That is one of the Priestess'' daughters, who is hoping to one day take up the mantle of Priestess. They hold our history and beliefs close to their hearts and continue to preach it to us, so that we may never stray from our teachings." Vka and Eyoli bowed slightly to the woman as we passed her fire, getting a brief nce and nod in response. "If you don''t mind me asking... I don''t really know... much about you all, nor about this ce..." Eyoli continued to smile as she nced at Vka, who nodded stiffly towards her. "Well... the Priestess will tell you about us and our people, so I''ll speak on our location. Currently, we are on the border of the Hoarfrost Sect''snds and the Nevrokopi State; we''ll be heading into Nevrokopi soon enough. Anyways, this is the Rimnds, and many peoplee out towards the Cimmerian Mountains, the fancy name for the Labyrinthian''s border. Some seek to hunt the few monsters and animals that live out here, like we are doing, or they n on venturing into the Cimmerian Mountains in hope of finding riches or gaining experience in battles. With us, though, you needn''t worry; we live inside the Rimnds all year round, and we know it like the back of our hands! Should we encounter a group from Nevrokopi or the Hoarfrost Sect, it''ll be dealt with the same as always; warily staring at one another and avoiding confrontation if possible." Nodding, I asked "How did you know I wasn''t from either ce? It seems like your tribe doesn''t really like either of them." Vka let out a scoff, ncing at me as she spoke, her voice soft and low. "You neither have the Hoarfrost Brand on your brow, nor the white or gray hair of the Nevrokopians. Besides, if you were of them, you wouldn''t be able to hold back your disgust; both view us as little more than uncivilized brutish women who know no better." Furrowing my brow, I was about to ask another question when Vka muttered "We''re here.", gesturing towards therge tent that we stopped in front of. Eyoli lifted up the two ice chests and ced them under her arms, carrying them inside as she followed behind me, while Vka remained outside. The tent was made from various pelts stitched together, and it was held up with poles made from bone, all of which was engraved. Arge pile of cushions and pillows was situated in front of us, while a small tableden with tiny bones and wooden trinkets sat before it. Candles were lit around the tent, and I could smell the burning herbsing from an incense burner in the back. A small rack held the Priestess'' staff, a sharpened shoulder de attached to a haft of wood to create an axe, and a bunch of smaller daggers. However, what was drawing my attention wasn''t the various things scattered around, nor the herbs burning. Covered by a screen of pelts, the Priestess'' ''bedroom'' emitted the scent of sex, whilst a woman moaned loudly. Taking a deep breath to try and calm myself down, I heard Eyoli sigh as sheid the chests down, muttering "Course she picked her..." "Eyoli~? Is that you? Ah~ I''ll be out in a moment... Come on Iya, tighten up~!" The moans grew louder as the sound of flesh smacking flesh joined in, and Eyoli sighed again as she gestured towards the table, saying "Please, sit. I''ll make some tea for us while we wait." Grabbing one of the pillows, I sat down in front of the table and focused on the small wooden trinkets, distracting myself from the scents and sounds that threatened to drive me insane. Some of the wood was carved into weapons, some was carved into t coins with borate shapes decorating the front and back, whilst others were made into small cubes that resembled dice. When Eyoli ced a wooden cup in front of me filled with a green liquid, I reached forwards and sniffed at it, the hints of fresh tea leaves and ginger filling my nostrils. Taking a sip, I hummed in appreciation of the strong, yet smooth vor of the tea, which warmed me up instantly. Eyoli and I sat in silence, listening to the sounds of the Priestess enjoying herself before eventually a series of loud grunts and moans echoed throughout the tent. Moments after, the tall, lithe Priestess emerged from her quarters, her charcoal skin slick with sweat, while her gray hair was matted. Flipping it away, she raked a hand through her hair and frowned, before plopping down on the pillows, uncaring of her nudity. The sight made my mind nk out for a moment, and when paired with the heavy scent of the Priestess wafting towards me, I could only bite my tongue to jolt myself back to ''normal''. "Oh, traveler. What brings you here?" Turning towards me, the Priestess tilted her head as she looked me over, the lust in her eyes apparent as she nced at Eyoli as well. However, Eyoli quickly stepped up and showed her the chests, making the Priestess'' frivolous, uncaring attitude shift into a serious one as she reached down and grabbed a feather. "Huh... such a bountiful woman you are, traveler... in more ways than one, it would seem. Let me guess... you wish to buy our protection to head Northwards with these? For us to take you to Pris City?" Fixing me with those pitch ck eyes of hers, the Priestess raised a brow as she waited for an answer, which I gave as a raspy "Yes, please..." Nodding to herself, the woman looked into the chest for a moment before saying "Very well; that''s more than reasonable. Eyoli, take this over to Unkata, tell her to use them as she sees fit; that old hag is good with her hands, so lets see what she fashions from these." "Very well, Priestess. Anything else?" Pursing her lips, the Priestess turned towards the table for a moment, reaching forwards and grabbing one of the dice and rolling it. Observing it for a few seconds, she smirked as she turned back to Eyoli, nodding as she said "You can indeed, Eyoli. I wish to see your dance again, and it seems Areseta does as well. Maybe our Goddess will bless us again soon..." The muscr Eyoli widened her eyes in surprise at that, before nodding hurriedly as she excitedly said "As you wish, Priestess!" before taking the chest filled with feathers out of the tent. Returning her gaze to me, the woman smirked as she rested her chin on her hand, reaching for a coin this time. Expertly spinning it around her fingers, the Priestess asked "I imagine you''re curious about your newly acquired bodyguards, hmm~? Would you like to hear our story, traveler?" Chapter 296 295: Knowledge Of The Tribe The Priestess continued to y around with the small coin, flipping it from finger to finger before flicking it towards her other hand, repeating the motion constantly. With a small smile on her face, the gray skinned woman asked "I imagine you''re curious about your newly acquired bodyguards, hmm~? Would you like to hear our story, traveler?" Taking a sip from the tea Eyoli made, I nodded and said "I would be lying if I said I wasn''t." Her smile grew, and the Priestess flipped the coin into the air, letting itnd back onto her palm. Looking down at the engraving, she nodded to herself before gently cing it on the table, making herselffortable as she lounged backwards. "Where to begin... Ah, I guess our Goddess would be a good starting point, no? Her name is Areseta, Goddess of War and Honor. Many centuries ago, the Rimnds were in constant flux, with monsters prowling around freely and hunting the tribes that gathered here. Amongst those tribes was a young woman of Dark Elf descent, and she was to be the sacrifice to satiate thergest tribes lust. Sent off to be little more than a ything for Ogrekin, this woman decided to take her chances instead in the Cimmerian Mountains, choosing death over servitude. She did so knowing that her tribe would be subjugated and razed, and she did so without hesitation. Climbing into the Cimmerian Mountains as naught but a pitiful woman, she was sure to die amongst the monsters, but she didn''t. Using her wits and perseverance, this young Dark Elf managed to defeat a Prian Bear and used its body as shelter. Bathing in its blood, donning its pelt, and wielding its ws, she began to hunt amongst the monsters, slowly honing her skills and sharpening her resolve. With each kill she made, the Dark Elf woman believed herself closer to being capable of taking revenge. Revenge on the Ogrekin tribe that lusted after her, and revenge on the tribe that willingly turned their backs on her. She desired their demise. Time passed, and the Dark Elf was no longer a young, frail woman, but a hardened warrior and huntress. Descending down into the Rimnds, she began a new kind of hunt, slowly whittling away the Ogrekin tribe and her former tribe. This continued on for a few months, until eventually there were only a handful left from both tribes. It was at that time that the Dark Elf warrior came into contact with our Goddess, Areseta. Her fighting prowess and tenacity had caught the attention of Areseta, but the conduct she disyed in her fights displeased Areseta. She fought with tricks and misdirection, often pitting the tribes against one another before swooping in and finishing everyone off. Our Goddess had a dilemma on her hands; this Dark Elf was perfect in most ways as a warrior, but her hatred had marred her beauty, turning her from a valiant warrior to little more then a bandit. So, Areseta made a choice, and her choice was to test this Dark Elf through true one on onebat. Gifting the strongest from each tribe a temporary boost in power, Areseta set them on the Dark Elf, wanting to see if the woman was worthy of her attention. The battles were grueling and long, but the Dark Elf triumphed each time, disposing of the tribes strongest and proving herself worthy. Because of that, Areseta made herself known to the Dark Elf, expressing her desire for the woman. She was a good warrior, and deep inside her shrouded, dark heart was a code of honor that she had followed, one that she kept to on her own. Beautiful, strong, appealing... this Dark Elf became the fixation of our Goddess, and with her temporary presence on this world, the two came together in union, producing three children. Those three children, alongside their mother, all became the first of our tribe. The Arese Tribe, made up of a new race; a mixture of Dark Elf blood, Divine blood, and eventually Oni blood as well. Our founder, the Dark Elf was given the name Sayik, and her three daughters were Liaka, Maraca, and Fiarhe. They became the first of the Arese, and through selective unions they created this tribe. A tribe of warriors and hunters, a tribe of women devoted to keeping the peace as best they could on the harsh Rimnds. A tribe that has done so for thest few centuries, and will continue to do so for the next few centuries, of that I have no doubt. That is who you are amongst, traveler. Warriors, hunters, believers of peace through strength. The Arese Tribe will honor our agreement to escort you to Pris City, as we have honored agreements of the past." Finishing, the Priestess smiled at me as she reached for her teacup, sipping at the strong tea as silence fell around us. Her story was... interesting, to say the least. If her word was to be believed, then I could understand where they got their characteristics; Dark Elves tended to have, well, dark skin, hence the name. Oni were simr enough to Demons, the main difference being in how they developed into adults; Demons were simr to humans in the fact that they just grew alongside their age, but Oni needed blood to grow. From young, the Oni were honed into killers and hunters alike, and the more they killed the older they became, until they reached their peak. Just like Demons, the lifespan of an Oni was insanely long... as long as they had ess to blood, they were able to live for millennia. Because of that requirement, most Oni were in hiding, needing to survive out in the wilderness due to their peculiar needs. However, the hardest part of her story to believe is that a Goddess descended and influenced the world to that extent; from all I''ve seen, Gods and Goddesses existed as religious beliefs and had myths around them, but... ''Uhm... System, I guess I never asked, but... are they - Gods and Goddesses, I mean - real? Should I be worried about them?'' Reaching for my tea as well, I sipped on it as I awaited an answer, all while the Priestess lounged beside me. [Yes... and no. They used to reside here, but for thest two centuries they''ve decided to simply observe everything instead. This world isrge, so they have a lot to see whenever they want. Something is always happening, and they all made agreements to let it y out on their own.] Nodding softly, I nced at the Priestess for a moment before I asked ''Do they still speak to people though? Or is this Priestess just a shill? And what about you? Are you from the Gods as well, or what?'' [I couldn''t say whether or not this Areseta still speaks to this tribe, but the possibility is there. Most Gods and Goddesses would still observe their worshippers, and some mete out rewards or punishments ordingly, while others leave them alone to see how strong their faith is. As for me...] Trailing off, I pursed my lips after I took another sip of the ginger tea, waiting for the conclusion. [Yes. I doe from the Gods and Goddesses, but I only answer to you now; think of this as a symbiotic rtionship we have here. I aid you to get stronger, and by doing so you''re helping me have an interesting time. That void you were floating in all those years ago? That''s where I''m from as well, as are the other Gods and Goddesses. Boredom is what makes them fixate on these worlds, and... ah, as crass as it sounds, your life is entertaining.] Holding in a snort, I muttered ''Thanks for that...'' before turning towards the Priestess, who was staring at me with those pitch ck eyes of hers. "Well, that was certainly... interesting. So your tribe, the ''Arese Tribe'', are the... defenders of the Rimnd? You all live here, in between Nevrokopi State and the Hoarfrost Sect, and keep the peace?" She smirked at me, nodding. "If you simplify it down, yes, we are the protectors of the Rimnds. The Cimmerian Mountains as well; the only entrance is here, and we are but one part of the Arese Tribe. At the entrance is where the Arese live more permanently, and this-" Gesturing around us at the tent and pelts, the Priestess continued on with a satisfied gleam in her eye. "Is the hunting expedition to feed our people. Currently we are far from the entrance, but you''ll be able to see it when we pass it by; we need to deposit all of our spoils so far before heading Northwards, towards the Nevrokopi State." cing her tea back down, the Priestess stood up and stretched, disying her lithe frame and impressive tattoos without a care, before turning and approaching her quarters again. "If you''re curious, traveler, we''ll reach Pris City in about two weeks; the journey is far, and we need to make many stops. If that inconveniences you, then you can depart whenever; it''s no trouble to me. Now, if you''ll excuse me..." Slipping past the pelt divider, the Priestess vanished from sight, but the scents and sounds grew stronger as she rekindled her lust. Getting up quickly, I exited the tent and almost collided with Vka, who was waiting for me. "Come on then. I need to begin making food for the tribe. You''ll need to stay with me until Eyoli returns..." Without waiting to see if I heard her, Vka turned and began to walk away, the short huntress stalking through the encampment with silent steps. Following behind her, I contemted my options, going over the pros and cons. Asking for directions was an option, and I would be able to move at my own pace, traveling towards this Pris City and getting ess to a map to learn of my position. That would, again, allow me quick movement, but I would be alone in a foreignnd, with no idea on its customs or behaviors. Now, if I stayed with the Arese Tribe, I would move slower, but I would be safer. Slow movement, almost forcedbor, but I would gain quite a bit. I could learn from these women in multiple ways; Vka disyed the ability to silently move through snow covered ground, not crunching away or leaving much of a trace. Then there were the abundance of tattoos on these women, tattoos that were all magical in nature; maybe there would be some intriguing new application of my mana that I could learn here, something that would make me stronger. Something that would make what happened before an impossibility. If I could be stronger, I could better protect myself and my loved ones... Finally, it was a much simpler, much more base reason for staying with the Arese; I was going crazy being alone. I needed someone to talk to, someone to interact with. Mortals were all social creatures, it seems, and no matter how many screws were loose in my mind, I still craved simple interactions with another person. So, as I followed behind Vka, I decided I would travel alongside the Arese Tribe and learn all I could from them, even if that was just a new way to apply my mana or something as simple as how to prepare food in a different way. --- Didn''t want to go too in-depth with plot today, so I hoped you enjoyed the story inside this story~! --- Chapter 297 296: Palace Jahi PoV Reaching the Pce, I took a peek through the curtains inside the carriage and stared at the towering structure with awe. Made from a mixture of deep ck stone and burnished gold, the Pce was carved out of Sanctus Ignacia, nestled into the crown of this volcanic mountain. We had just reached the gates of the Pce, and I was still surprised to see that the pathway leading towards the real entrance was hundreds of feet away from us, all while a whole separate city flourished above the Capital. ncing back at Leone, I raised a brow as I asked "This is where you lived? Inside of an entire city meant just for you and your family?" The Vampire blushed slightly at that, though her Aunt chimed in, her voice still warm as she added "Arge family, mind you. Igna''s boy, Dante, is already around two hundred years old, and he has three wives, each of which bore him three children. Then they married and had children... That''s not even adding on Fenryas''s two brats Vienna and Roman; they both have harems of their own..." Blinking, I turned back to the view outside as Lady Yusa continued on speaking. "Besides that, many of our closest servants live inside the city as well, alongside their families. Then there are the guards, as well as the quarters given to all the Knights of Cinder. Also, any of the family that wished to join their sons or daughters who married into the Empress'' Family live up here as well, plus some influential merchants rent out houses here to barter with the inhabitants. This is where the powerful reside, and as such we need our space. Otherwise, we''d be at each others throats constantly. I know that Fenryas would already have whipped most of the popce into insanity if the Empress didn''t seclude her off to the side..." Mom shivered at that, nodding in agreement as she muttered "Thankfully...", which made Lady Yusa smirk. Letting out a ''Huh...'', I sat back down beside Leone and Anput, my thoughts wandering around as I took in the borate ck and gold buildings, the architecture all symmetrical and domed off, while beautiful columns were chiseled out into the sides of the walls as decorations. Statues of important historical figures adorned parts of the road, key parts of their statue made from gold while the rest was that ck stone. Braziers illuminated the city in a warm red, adding to the rxed, cozy atmosphere that draped the area. A minute or soter we reached the entrance to the Pce, the towering domed structure engraved with intricate runes that shone red. Stepping out of the carriage, I pursed my lips as I felt the dry, warm air around us that wasden with power; the mix created an almost suffocating pressure, but I managed to remain unfazed by it after a few moments. Turning back, I reached out my hand for Leone, helping her out of the carriage, before doing the same with Anput, giving a small smile to both of them. Mom and Lady Yusa stepped out and joined us, with Mom sighing as she looked up at the giant Pce with a nostalgic glint to her eyes. "Alright, let''s go see how Adelina''s doing, then go speak to the Empress before we depart." I nodded, following behind Lady Yusa as she led us into the Pce, opening the giant golden doors with a wave of her hands. Long red carpets adorned the shining ck floor, cracks of gold splintering through the tiles, while the walls were adorned with various tapestries, paintings, artifacts, and runes. Some were of the Empire itself, old maps with scribbled notes encased in protective ss, while others were of people themselves; a family here, a single portrait there. They were of notable figures, be it Vulcan or Lilith, or of lesser people like talented musicians, performers, or writers. Each was hung on the wall without separation of importance, while shelves under and above them were adorned with various items rted to those people, creating small shrines to them. Leone followed my gaze as I looked around, and she smiled softly as she said "Each person inside this entrance hall was someone who made an impact on the Empire in one way or another. Knights of old join famous writers and singers; swords and pens are equal to Mom, and she ces great value on them both. Some are rather unknown; that painting there, of the male harpy, is actually the creator of the Empire''s various fables, and his name was Foren Stroud. Any famous bad or story you here is likely derived from one of his many, many anthologies. Over there, the Tigerkin woman? She is the alchemist who created Monster Lures and Phantasmal Fire, while also managing to govern the prosperous Market-City Archimedea. Her entire school of thought was named after her, and it is the current leading school for most alchemists; Towana Zadith, founder of the Zadith School for Alchemy. Everyone in this hall has impacted the very fabric of this Empire multiple times over, and their creations or beliefs still persist even to this very day. I studied each of them as a little girl, since I was curious, and I have to say that it was worth it. It really does change your perspective of the world!" I smiled as I watched Leone get animated again, the familiar sight of her unquenchable thirst for knowledge finally resurfacing ever since... Anyways, it was nice seeing her returning to normal, to be the bubbly, enthusiastic Vampire who craved to know everything. Anput felt the same, if her smirk was anything to go off of. "Though, the things you don''t get to learn of in those books of yours are rather important too, Leone~! Foren Stroud was an arrogant, pompous man who almost got executed forments he made about a few Noblewomen, while Towana Zadith was crazier then most Alchemists as she pursued eternal life through potions instead of magic. She insisted that the Core was an inefficient organ to rely on, and instead wished to prolong her life with herbs and monster parts, which eventually killed her." Leone pouted as Lady Yusa turned to grin at her, the woman''s pale features filled with wisdom as she gestured around the hall. "Indeed, most people here are important, but you''ll learn little if you simply study their aplishments. Instead, look towards the hardships they faced and learn from that; most of their lives were cut short due to unbridled arrogance and -reasonably founded - beliefs that they were geniuses who knew best. Sadly, sometimes knowing a lot can be your downfall." Nodding, I nced down at Leone, who was still pouting as she let out a ''Hmph!'', making me chuckle softly as I resisted the urge to pinch her cheeks. The rest of the walk towards the infirmary was spent looking at the various shrines, though thementary from Leone as she listed off her favorites was a wee distraction. Reaching the infirmary, we found Nirinia leaning against the door with a frown, her jade green eyes unfocused as she stared at the red carpet, only to jolt ''awake'' as she heard us approach. Seeing Mom, her eyes widened for a moment as she hastily straightened herself out, an apology forming on her lips. Raising her hand, Mom smiled softly at the Djinn, saying "Don''t me yourself for what happened, Nirinia. I should have done more to keep everyone safe, but I didn''t. You did the best you could in a situation out of your control. Now, how''s Adelina?" Brushing the Djinn''s self pity away, Mom looked at the door for a moment before turning back to Nirinia, who was frowning. "She''s... healed. Lady D''Arcon came by and healed herpletely. It''s just..." "Mental trauma. After all, it was members of her Command Squad who betrayed her. Members of the Legion were already a sore point for any good Commander, but having your own hand picked Command Squad betray you must wear at your confidence. So... why are you out here?" Nirinia flinched, her jade eyes moving back towards the door as she muttered "Adelina made it clear she didn''t want to see me. Made a big scene about it two days ago, tried to use her magic to kill me. So... here I am." The pain in her eyes was obvious, especially with the way she clenched her fists as she stared nkly at the door, unsure of how to act. Exchanging looks with Leone and Anput, I chuckled wryly as I stepped forwards andid my hand on Nirinia''s shoulder, getting her attention. "Listen, I can''t say much on what you should do, but I can say that this is unlike you. Where''d the confident, cocky, insufferable Knight in the making go? You seemed hard headed then, so what''s with the change? Did you realize that you feel something towards her? If so, are you going to run from it? Hate to break it to you, but you and Adelina will be seeing lots of each other in theing months; we have a Crusade to wage, and both of you are apart of it." She pursed her lips at that, though I was uncaring about whether or not this Djinn would be capable of oveing her crush on the Lioness; that was no concern of mine. No, what I needed was them to at least be amicable towards one another, since any outbursts between the Commander and a future Knight of Cinder would be bad for morale going forwards. How they went about it made little difference to me; if they wanted to begin dating again, cool, if they wanted to be friends again, cool, and if they wanted to be more then friends but less then girlfriends, cool. It didn''t bother me one bit. Though, seeing her in a modicum of the pain I felt when my loved one was ripped away from me soothed a small, dark part of my heart, a part that I tried desperately to ignore. Patting her shoulder once more, I took a deep breath and rapped my knuckles against the door, speaking loudly to the inhabitant. "Adelina, it''s Jahi Asmodia; may Ie in?" Chapter 298 297: Meetings Rapping my knuckles on the door, I spoke loud enough that the Lioness inside would hear me clearly. "Adelina, it''s Jahi Asmodia; may Ie in?" Waiting for a few moments, I heard some shuffling inside the room before a woman coughed, responding in a tired voice. "Come in..." Nodding, I opened the door and stepped inside, approaching the golden haired womanying down on the bed, her long flowing hair falling down towards her chest. The Commander''s cheeks were slightly hollow, and her eyes were filled with regret and pain as she nced towards us, only to look towards the window beside her momentster. Grabbing one of the chairs in the room, I sat down beside Adelina and waited, staring at the usually confident Commander of a Legion. She didn''t turn back, nor speak under my gaze, and I sighed as I shook my head. "Adelina Leonisa, will you continue tomand the Ashen Legion for the duration of the Crusade, or do I need to search for another talentedmander elsewhere? Will you remain inside the Capital wallowing in self pity for the actions of others, or will you get off your ass and do something?" The Lioness turned towards me sharply, her pearly white teeth bared as she snarled "Did youe here to berate me, Lady Asmodia?!" Smirking, I stared at the angry woman as sheid in the hospital bed, chuckling as I gestured towards her. "Did I? I mean, you''re making it very easy to do so, Adelina. From what I''ve heard, you''ve been medically cleared for a few days now, and yet here youy, unmoving, doing nothing but thinking. Is this the extent of the fabled Leonisa House? One set back, one severe injury, and you''re done with war? Done doing your duty that you solemnly swore to carry out for this Empire? Because if it is, then I must admit that the Commander I saw not even a week ago and this husk of a woman before me are two different people. One managed to rally an entire Legion to withstand the siege of the Western Kingdom''s finest, and the other is sitting her going through what ifs and thinking everything over. You''ve receded into your mind so much so that the woman I saw a week ago mind as well be dead and buried. Is that what you want? To let the Sariel''s do as they please and leave them unpunished?" Ignoring the snort from Mom behind me, I remained focused on Adelina, the Lioness gritting her teeth as she turned back towards the window, her eyes hard yet wet. Silence descended into the room again, and I watched as Adelina continued to avoid my gaze. "Hah... if that''s the case then so be it. I do hope you recover well, Adelina. After all, as soon as your stripped of your Commander title, there will be no work for you inside any of the Empire''s Legions. Early retirement doesn''t sound that bad; I heard that the Leonisa''s ownnd down south, so maybe you can go enjoy the warmer weather as you continue to squander your Family''s name." Getting up, I ignored the others as I exited the room, tired of trying to coddle a broken woman. I was already doing that so often with myself, so why should I bother trying to heal someone else? Someone I have not a care in the world for? Nirinia was still leaning against the wall beside the door outside, and the pain inside her jade eyes was obvious as she nced at me, pursing her lips as she let out a dejected sigh. "If you want, I would suggest riling her up and getting her to move; maybe she''ll start toe back out of her shell if she can focus on something else." The Djinn let out a hollow chuckle as she shook her head, saying "No, for the moment... you''re right. Adelina Leonisa is dead. All that remains is some... stranger wearing her skin. The woman I knew wouldn''t act like this, and yet..." Pushing off the wall, Nirinia took a deep breath as she briefly nced into the room, where Lady Yusa and Mom were looking down at the Lioness. "Here she is. I can never im to understand what you felt, Jahi, but I would say this is damn close to it. Especially after those first few days... things I thought were best left forgotten were rekindled, and now... now I don''t know what to do. And I fucking hate it." Looking away from the room, Nirinia gave me a weak smile as she began to walk away, muttering "Let''s hope there''s something interesting and strong hiding amongst the Kingdoms. Otherwise..." Nodding, I watched the Djinn walk away, her shoulders slumped as she made her way through the ck and gold halls of the Pce. Anput and Leone exited the room as well, their lips pursed as they gave Adelina and Nirinia onest look before focusing on me. Lady Yusa smiled sadly as she sat down besides the Lioness, waving Mom out of the room. "Alright... well, seems like I''ll need to take over the Legion as well... Hah... You really are a walking bundle of trouble, brat." Laying her hand on my head, Mom shook my head a few times as she red at me, making me raise a brow as I withstood her ''annoyance'' for a few moments. "Well, let''s get going towards the throne room; hopefully that''ll go smoother than it did here..." Removing her hand, she led us through the halls quietly, none of us discussing Adelina for the time being. Personally, I didn''t want to deal with someone who was acting like how I used to act; losing myself to my thoughts and spiraling out of control, locking myself into a cage of my own making and never leaving. I had done it before, and I never nned on doing it again. Right now, I was going to focus my energy on being productive in the best ways I could think of, and that was getting this Crusade underway and finishing it quickly. When the Crusade was over and we had upied the Western Kingdoms, I could take the manpower of the Ashen Legion and use some of them for my own benefit, casting a wide over the Empire and gathering information of any kinds, so that I might find a minuscule clue on Kat''s whereabouts. With no actual idea on where she was, I needed to hope and pray that I could find any trace of her to narrow down the search. Information about Ice Magicians, Dogkin, killers, beautiful women... Anything that would have the smallest amount of corrtion with what Kat was like needed to be investigated, and I could only hope that the I cast would find her. I needed to find her. That was a problem I needed to solve alongside Anput and Leone, and we all ached from the void left behind by our Dogkin lover. Each of us felt hollow, like a piece of us was missing. So I didn''t have time to deal with someone else''s self pity; someone else''s problems... Especially if they can''t deal with a modicum of their own problems by themselves; I had a war to win and a Legion to run, and my mind was already working towards those problems alongside my own. If she couldn''t figure herself out, then so be it; I would get this Legion up and running without her. So, for now, Adelina was cast from my mind, the disappointing Commander forgotten as we approached an borate door. Leone''s crimson eyes sparked in recognition, and Mom pursed her lips as she stared at them. Looking between the two, I watched as Leone stepped forwards and pushed open the door, revealing arge, warm room filled with various thrones. Each one was different, made exclusively for the women who were meant to sit there. Most were currently empty, and only four were filled. Seated in the middle, the Empress lounged on the marble throne that matched her clean white robes and ashen hair, the gleaming marble contrasting the ck room. The two thrones beside her were upied as well; one was made from roots and vines, where a unique looking woman sat. Her skin was almost barklike; it was a deep brownden with the whorls and knots that are present on tree bark. Lush green hair fell onto her thin shoulders, and she gazed at us with a soft green gaze, the age evident in the wisdomden eyes she had, while her long, sharp ears gave away her Elven heritage. On the other side was a volcanic throne with red lines cracking the ck rock surface, and a bored red scaled woman sat on the throne as she yed with small spheres of fire, trying to distract herself. Arge, borate nest of horns rested on her head, the ck horns tipped with a vibrant crimson that matched her scales, while her eyes remained closed, two deep scars running down from her brow to her cheeks. Lastly, off to the side was a woman we were familiar with, her red metal throne contrasting her pale skin and gray feather dress. A parasol rested on her shoulder, blocking the suns rays fromnding on her baster white skin, and the piercing red eyes were eerily simr to Leone''s. Mom coughed gently as she grabbed my head, forcing me to look at the floor as we bowed. "Empress. Lady Theresa. Lady Igna. Lady Presa." The respect thatced my Mom''s tone wasn''t surprising as my brain finally caught up to my situation, and I repeated her words, much to the wooden Elf''s amusement. Chuckling softly, she spoke in little more than a whisper as she said "Chordeva, why, your daughter looks just like you~! Though, I can certainly see little Ria with the way her eyes are shaped..." The Draconic Lady Igna snorted, the heat radiating from her body ring for a moment as she said "Aye, you and your whelp look simr. Let''s just hope she''s nowhere near as troublesome as you were; otherwise, I fear Fen will need to... sort you both out." My Mom shivered at that, and I could tell she didn''t like the sound of that, even though it wasn''t stated as a threat? "I... I would like to believe that she isn''t... too much like me?" Lorelei Presa chuckled as well, murmuring "Hmm, no... I would say that she is exactly like you, Chordeva..." "Alright... Rise, Chordeva; I hate repeating myself... I respect you too much to see you going through stiff formalities, you know that." Releasing my head, Mom sighed as she stood back up, looking towards the Empress with a wry smile. "Respectfully Empress, I do need to teach by example. Can''t have Jahi running around acting like she owns the ce..." Standing up beside her, I frowned as I red over at my Mom, before I bowed slightly again to the four seated women. "Jahi Asmodia; it''s a pleasure to meet each of you." Returning my gaze upwards, I nced at each of the seated women, the power radiating from each of them almost suffocating. Sitting before me were the undisputed rulers of the Empire, women who had the ability to snap their fingers and level a majority of thend inside our borders should they wish. Between them, centuries upon millennia of knowledge was shared, and each were capable of creating their own Hegemony if they so wished, but... Here they all sat, around one, singr woman. The Empress of Ash, founder of our Empire, and the strongest woman on the continent. Chapter 299 298: Permission Sitting before me was the Empress of Ash, founder of our Empire, and the strongest woman on the continent. To the left of her sat Lady Igna, the Volcanic Dragon that calls Sanctus Ignacia home, and the protector of the Capital. To the right of her was the Empress'' first wife, Lady Theresa, the ''Saintess of Nature'' and gentle, guiding hand of the Empire. Lastly, a few thrones to the right was Lady Lorelei Presa, a True Vampire and master of the arcane, as well as the mother of my future wife, Leone Presa-Ash. Each woman that had a throne inside this room was incredible in their own right, and each of the children that they sired from the Empress'' seed was just as talented, if not more so than their mother''s. However, for the time being, I was more focused on the women present then those that were absent, as this was where we would get official confirmation for the Crusade, alongside our true orders for the West. Whatever the Empressmanded, we would execute to the utmost degree that we could, as we were her ever loyal, ever faithful shield. Though, going forwards, that ''shield'' would be the sword she wielded to make her will known to the world. As such... "Jahi Asmodia, you were the one to request the Crusade, correct?" Turning my attention back to the Empress, I nodded as I met her ''gaze'', my eyes focusing on her cloth headband that covered her eyes. Her hair transitioned from ash grey to orange and red, sparking with each breath she took, while the silver crown adorned with giant chunks of deep crimson fire crystals shone on her head. Dressed in a pure white robe, the giant woman sat before us, her slightly tanned skin contrasting the gleaming white clothing and marble throne. Bowing my head, I spoke with as much respect I could muster, which wasn''t hard. "Yes I did, Empress." Nodding softly, she rested her chin on her palm as she continued to look me over, before she asked "What are your reasons for requesting a Crusade? Your Mom has already ryed the general gist of it to me, but I wish to hear it straight from you, young one. Speak truthfully." Taking a deep breath, I felt the entire room focus on me as I began to speak, each one listening to my words intently. "There are a multitude of reasons, Empress. Personal reasons, and reasons that benefit the Empire. For the Empire''s benefit, the upation and absorption of the Western Kingdoms expands our sphere of influence, grants us ess to their valuable gold, silver, and gemstone mines as well as their fertilends. The Western Kingdoms would be our new buffer between the rest of the West and the border of the Empire. Alongside that, the people need a distraction from the betrayal of a Ducal House and another long standing, prominent Elven Family. In order to retain trust in the Nobility and Royalty, themon people need to be distracted from the sudden loss of those traitors, and war is always the strongest distraction, especially a war that the people themselves desire. The Western Kingdoms attacked us first, and many still recall the pro human rhetoric that the West swears by; as such, the sentiment on the Western Kingdoms is low. Finally, thest, and most important part of this Crusade for the Empire is to learn all we can about the sessive appearances of the Gates inside Tragon, to better prepare ourselves against what maye and attack the Empire next. Learning what causes these Gates is imperative, as it will better prepare us to defend against it. Is it some newly evolved monster, or a person? If it''s a monster, we could potentially find patterns in its appearances and discern what it desires. If it''s a person, Tragon could have simply been a testing grounds for their newly acquired power, and that would shift our nning drastically..." The women all nodded, and Lady Presa turned towards the Empress, saying "She''s right. Anything that can open a Gate, no matter how small or temporary, is worth investigating. Besides, Romagi gave us the reason to invade first, so in the eyes of the other countries we will be justified." Stroking her chin, the Empress never once turned away from me, and I gulped as she said "It is indeed worrying; what is trapped inside the Labyrinthian needs to remain locked inside for eternity. Anything that can create Gates is a problem that needs to be solved rapidly. However, I would still have you exin to me why I should send the Asmodia''s Heir off on this Crusade." Gritting my teeth, I took a deep breath again as I felt my heart clench, and I met her ''gaze'' once more, not hiding anything. "I need a distraction; I need to do something, or else I worry about what harm I might cause to myself or those around me. With the absence of... her... I don''t know how to deal with her disappearance, and so I desire a distraction from the void she''s left behind. The Western Kingdoms started a war for idiotic reasons, and in doing so they provided the Sariel''s the perfect opportunity to turn traitor. Now that they''re gone, I''m left with no one to persecute for what happened to her besides the Western Kingdoms. My hope is that I''ll discover traces of the Sariel''s and Kameiel''s inside Romagi, so that I can begin to hunt them down and make them pay for what they''ve done. With her gone, I... don''t know how well I can control myself, and thest thing I want is to be something... else. Something despicable, something that she would find revolting. To be something that would harm those close to me out of petty anger and misced wrath, all while I wallow in depressive thoughts and what if''s. I don''t desire that, and I don''t want to throw away all that I''ve been blessed with... That is why I will be going to the Western Kingdoms as apart of the Crusade. To vent, to atone, to better control myself. It is no glorious reason, Empress, but it is the truth." She remained silent, her expression frozen as she looked down at me, all while the others in the room stared at me quietly as well. I could feel Anput beside me stiffening, while Leone gently tugged at my sleeve, slipping her hand into mine. Mom stood off to the side, her arms crossed as her ruby eyes filled withplex emotion. Lady Presa stared at her daughter with narrowed eyes, while Lady Theresa smiled softly as she focused on Leone''s actions. As for Lady Igna, she smirked, her scarred features turned towards me as she rasped "Rage is a powerful, yet vtile, motivator. Be careful to keep it from burning you away, young Demoness..." "Indeed... I''m of half a mind to keep you from joining the Crusade, but I''ve known the Asmodia''s for millennia; if there is one thing that remains the same in this world, it''s the fact that you''re all a stubborn bunch. Leaving you alone and to your own whims is always worse then just giving you direction. Simple, yet effective Demons that crave action over anything. That''s the reason your House has remained as prominent as it has over the years. I know better then anyone that you would still find yourself in the West even if I tried to keep you here; it''s just in your blood." Smiling wearily, she nced over at Mom, who was chuckling as she nodded, her ruby eyes filled with amusement. Lady Igna alsoughed, while Lady Theresa covered her mouth, hiding her giggle. "Therefor, Jahi Asmodia, I''ll grant your request to venture to the West. The Ashen Legion is under themand of the Asmodia Family for the next year, free of charge, and new conscripts and veterans alike have been sent to bolster your ranks. Additionally, Sker will remain alongside the Ashen Legion for the duration of the Crusade, as will Nirinia Radhi. As insurance, for both the Crusade and my daughter, her personal guard Vul will join you as well. Chordeva, I expect you to takemand of the Legion if Adelina Leonisa decides to remain inside the Capital, and I expect you to get to the bottom of the incidents in Tragon. Kolia and Bera will head the detachment of mages and researchers traveling alongside you, and Asklepios and his daughter Iaso will head the detachment of healers and priests. Further details will be providedter tonight, so until then..." Getting up, the Empress stepped down from her throne and smiled gently at Leone, beckoning her forwards. "Rest, rx, prepare. Chordeva, show your daughter around the Knight''s area, speak with her on the responsibilities and expectations she bears, and tutor Nirinia once more. Begum Anput, join them; I''m sure the sights and knowledge will be more than entertaining for you. You will all depart tomorrow morning, so make any goodbyes you need, since this Crusade will likelyst longer then anticipated..." With that, the Empress gently draped her arm over Leone''s shoulders, smiling warmly at her daughter as she led her away, the other women all following her. Nodding to us as we left, Lady Theresa said "Chordeva, tell Ria to make the journey up towards the Pce some day; I haven''t seen her in many years..." Bowing to the wooden Elf, Mom nodded as she watched her depart, before turning towards Anput and I, a small smile on her face. "Well, let''s go find Nirinia~! I''ll show you around the training grounds, and maybe we can spar a little, hmm~? It''s been a bit..." Shivering slightly, Anput and I exchangedes before nodding, deciding to make the most of this day. Chapter 300 299: Warmth Leone PoV ncing back towards the throne room, I watched as Jahi was led away by her Mom, the Marquess, my lips pursed as I felt an indescribable ache pang at my heart as she left. Recently, being near her and drinking her blood calmed down the various emotions that threatened to re out of control inside of me, so I had grown ustomed to her being beside me. Now, with her visibly walking away, I didn''t know what to feel... "Leone?" Jolting out of my thoughts, I smiled embarrassedly as I looked towards Mother, her crimson eyes filled with concern. Reaching out, she gently stroked my cheek as she asked "Are you alright dear?", and I became aware of Aunt Igna, Aunt Theresa, and Mom staring down at me as well, all three expressing their concern in different ways. Aunt Igna''s tail swished side to side, while her scarred eyes tightened and her head tilted; she had gotten used to expressing herself with her body instead of her eyes, which were long gone. Aunt Theresa frowned, her dazzling green eyes slightly wet as she sped her wooden hands together. Finally, Mom towered over us, her hair sparking at increased rates as she too tilted her head, a small frown tugging at her thin lips. Chuckling, I leaned into Mother''s hand as I said "I''m fine, really. I missed you all though~!" Smiling back at me, Aunt Theresa approached and gently pulled me into a hug, the oldest wife of my Mom disying the same love she gave to all her nieces and nephews. Although she was covered in hardened bark, Aunt Theresa still managed to convey the warmth and softness that she felt inside, and her cool, rough skin never once felt harsh against my own skin. Out of all my Aunts, Aunt Theresa was almost like my second Mother; she had raised me in ce of Mother and Mom when their attention was needed elsewhere, and she made sure to guide me as well as she could, alwaysthering me with praise and love whenever she could. "We all missed you too, Leone... Even Fenryas, in her own ways... The Pce felt just a little colder without you migrating from library to library." Letting out a smallugh, I blushed as I recalled the numerous times each of my Aunts had caught me ''trespassing'' into their personal libraries, ''stealing'' books from them to read and study, fueling my unquenchable desire to learn any and everything. Mom also smirked as she continued to lead us towards the Sanctum, where all of our personal rooms resided; it was argeplex that was made for her and her family, essible only to those with her blood. She had desired to create a space that would know only us, and would always be avable to us no matter what. "I don''t know if I would call it ''migrating'', Tessa. More so... slinking around and squirreling away her books inside her own small library, hoping none of us would notice the missing books." Pouting, I let out a huff as Mom grinned back at me, her hair returning to its ''dormant'' state of pure ashen gray. "Aye, I still remember when she first started her little... excursions. The tome I had written on all the herbs inside the garden had gone missing, and I nearly burnt one of Yusa''s beloved sculptures since I thought she had taken it! All the yelling and threatening between us made you bawl your eyes out, Leone~!" Snorting, Aunt Igna smirked at me as she reached over and ruffled my hair, making me blush more as I recalled that memory. Mother let out a sigh, her voice slightly tired as she added "Or when the thesis I had just finished disappeared from my desk; the thesis that you had asked for yourself, love. I had been going crazy for hours before I found Leone huddled away inside her small library, reading over the papers hungrily!" Aunt Theresa giggled as she gently patted my shoulder, her emerald eyes shining with mirth as she said "It was always a fun day with you around, Leone~! The theories and questions you would ask, the cute way you would hide away with Janus in your arms... Even though you were a meek little girl, you made your presence quite known~!" Everyone else nodded, before we all stopped as we reached the giant golden door that led to the Sanctum. Raising her hand, Mom pressed her palm against the golden door and waited, not even flinching as small spikes pricked her fingers. Listening to the whirring machinery and seeing the runes re on the door, we waited for the door to slide open, before we all stepped inside. The giant tree growing in the center of the room was the first thing that I looked at, the juicy peaches dangling from its branches just as delectable as I remember. Taking a deep breath, Aunt Theresa strode inside and moved towards her ''room'', melding into the tree and leaving behind a faint "Wake me up in an hour... it''s been rather draining today..." Mom nodded, her expression both soft and sad as she gently stroked the tree''s bark, each of us silent as we stared at therge tree for a few moments. "No progress then?" ncing back, Mom shook her head as she muttered "Nothing... for two and a half millennia... nothing." Sighing, she stepped away before smiling again, staring at me as said "I missed you dearly, Leone..." Stepping forwards, I wrapped my arms around her waist as I hugged her, leaning my head against her chest. Feeling her arms around my back, I nuzzled into her warm body for a few moments before we separated, only to find myself in Mothers embrace next. Stroking my hair, Mother whispered "It hasn''t been the same with you gone, baby...", and I felt my eyes water slightly at her words. Aunt Igna joined us a momentter, her scaly arms enveloping us as she nodded. Surrounded by my family, I felt that, for just a moment, the void that had been left behind by Kat''s disappearance had been filled somewhat. Embracing Mother back soothed my weary heart some, and I felt tears slip free from my eyes as I leaned further into her body. It took a few minutes, but eventually I stopped crying, my emotions stabilizing under their constant warmth. When I had finally calmed down, Mom led us over towards the dining room, where Mother instantly joined Aunt Igna inside the kitchen to prepare something to eat. Sitting near Mom, I stared at the wooden table for a few moments before I turned towards her, listening to her questions. She asked about small things, constantly keeping the subject away from what happened. We talked about magic, my research, my thoughts on the Gate situation in Tragon... The way she maneuvered the conversation perfectly away from any sore points was admirable, but I could connect each and every one of her questions back to Kat, which she began to notice. Sighing, she leaned on her hand as she asked "Her disappearance really burrowed itself into your heart, hasn''t it?" I stiffened at her swift change from avoiding it to talking about it openly, and I gulped as my hand unconsciously reached for the crystal I had made from the ash of the scroll. It was thest part of her that we had witnessed, and I foundfort in this small crystal; maybe it would lead us to her someday... Nodding, I stared at the crystal in my hands as I muttered "She... She meant a lot to me, Mom... M-More then I care to admit..." Reaching over, Mom ced her hand on my head, gently stroking my hair as she sighed once more. "Listen, I can''t say forplete certainty that she''ll... ovee everythingid out before her, but believe in her. She is alive, that much I can tell; the bond between her and Jahi Asmodia is still there, albeit frayed. From the little I''ve seen of her, that Dogkin maid that you all love so dearly is rather... capable. She might not always make the best choices, but she understands the world far better than she lets on. You know her better then I do though, Leone. You should know that she''s strong, capable, and crafty. She''ll find her way back to you all soon enough. Now, if I were you, I''d be more worried about maintaining yourself and the rtionship between you and the other two; it seemed to be less harmonious than before..." I nodded, my lips pulled into a tight line as I stared at the crystal for a few more moments. "That''s why Jahi was so adamant about the Crusade; I''ve watched her once before shackle herself in her own mind, and it wasn''t something I was able to help alleviate. I''m... hoping that it doesn''t happen again; or that, if it does, she learns to open up more and let Anput and I in..." Continuing to stroke my head, Mom chuckled softly as she whispered "I''ll let you in on a little secret, Leone... The reason Jahi Asmodia came out of her self induced ''cage'' was because your mutual lover, Katherine, forced her to open her eyes and focus on the present, not the past. She did so in a rather... unique way." Leaning back, she gave me a conspiratorial smile as I frowned, her voice still a hushed whisper as she said "Your lover managed to almost kill her Master. She forced the Asmodia heir to revert to something she wasfortable in: violence. If ites down to it again, ''dissect'' your future wife and pick one of her core values and challenge her to that value. Distract her from the past with a part of herself, and she''ll be forced to confront it and move on." ncing towards the kitchen, Mom smirked as she watched Aunt Igna happily move around the various stoves and ovens, her tail swishing on the ground as she worked. "That was how I managed to convince Igna to stop looking inwards so often a millennia and a half ago; I forced her to see what was in front of her, and not what had long since faded." I nodded, my fingers still curled around the crystal. It was something I had already known; something I had been trying to change all this time, but something I never needed. After all, Kat was always there to assume the role of our ''guide'', happily putting us before herself as she helped each of us through our problems. Now, she was gone, and as much as that hurt to admit, I needed to ept it. She was no longer before me, instead she was somewhere far away. I needed to ce my trust in her eventual return, but until then... Someone needed to step up and be the mature woman of our group, so that we were no longer without guidance and a helping hand. So... I would step up and fill the spot that she had left vacant, and I would try and keep us together and focused as best I could. I loved each of them too much to continue to ignore the fact that we were no longer as tightly knit as we were before; sure, we still acted amicable towards one another, but there was no... substance to our actions. Everything felt hollow or routine, just something we were expected or used to doing. Hopefully... hopefully I could change that, and reignite the warmth that we werecking. The warmth that I had just gotten to experience again today, amongst my family. Chapter 301 300: Setting Off Kat PoV That first night with the Nomadic Arese Tribe was rather interesting, as I helped Vka and some other of the Arese cook dinner for the rest of the entire tribe, earning some surprised looks from the rest of the women. The cooking was rather primitive, what withrge y cauldrons being filled with water andced with various herbs and bones, before we roasted some meats over the fire and slid them inside the cauldron as well. Besides therge vat of stew that we had boiled, we kept some of the giant bs of meats off to the side to be eaten on their own, while some of the other women began to grill some vegetables that looked like potatoes and yams over the fire as well. When it all came together, we had a vast array of dishes prepared to serve to the rest Arese Tribe, all of which was ted on some wooden tters and ready to be touted out to the women. Vka stopped me as I nned to continue to help out, saying "I didn''t know that you knew how to cook like that... If you wish, that could be your ''job'' during our journey, just to keep the rest of the Tribe subdued and epting of your ce here." Nodding, I smiled slightly as I said "I''ll think about it... I have many talents though, Vka, so I think I''ll try all sorts of things around here. Besides, your Tribe seems rather epting so far!" The short huntress pursed her lips at that, her eyes trailing over my body as she said "I wouldn''t go so far as to say that we''re epting as much as we are... open to being ''friendly''." Chuckling softly, I understood the meaning of her words well enough, but I just shrugged as I said "As long as no one tries to force me into something, you can look as much as you like; not like I can stop you. Though, the second someone tries to touch me..." shing her a cold smile, I lifted the tter of mammoth steaks and moved past Vka, who nodded to me as she followed with her own tter. "That you shouldn''t need to worry about; most of us are honorable enough to take no as an answer. Just... do avoid being aroundrge groups of us if we get drunk; I can''t promise anything then." Giving her a hum of acknowledgement, I made my way over towards thergest bonfire in the encampment, where the entire Arese Tribe had gathered. The Priestess stood with her daughter, bothughing and sipping on wooden mugs, while the rest of the Tribe graciously epted the offered foods and bowls of stew, everyone holding their meals and waiting. Looking on curiously, I watched as the Priestess coughed into her fist before taking a step forwards, raising her hands and quieting the assembled women. "Everyone, please sp your hands and join me in prayer." Closing their eyes, the Arese rested their tters on their knees or the ground before sping their hands together, leaning their brows against their hands. Everyone began to mutter quietly to themselves, and I could make out some of the various prayers around me. All of them mentioned Areseta, their Goddess, whilst some mentioned the names Sayik, Liaka, Maraca, and Fiarhe, the founders of the Arese Tribe. However, the contents of their prayers were all different. Vka prayed for better sess on her hunts, better yields on her prey, and offered thanks for the food gracing her tter. Some prayed for trivial things, like to do better at their assigned job, to bolster their confidence of will, and so on. Others prayed for more... interesting things, like to catch the attention of their crush, for better performance tonight, and to aid their fertility tonight. It was... an interesting set of prayers, but each of them were sincere in their words and desires. When they had all finished, everyone opened their eyes and stared at the Priestess, who raised her mug and shouted "Dig in!", earning a loud cacophony of shouts before everyone began to devour their meals. Sitting beside Vka, I looked over the food we had prepared and began to eat as well, starting with a roasted potato. Using my knife, I sliced the potato in half and scooped out the center, before cing some of the mammoth steaks juices and butter inside. My mouth watered at the steam rising off of the potato, and I blew on it for a few moments before taking a bite. The soft flesh of the potato was seeped with juices, and each bite was flush with vor from the mammoth steaks. After taking a bite of the potato, I sipped on the mammoth stew, relishing its rich, gamey vor as well as the sharp tang from the herbs. Everyone was quiet as they ate, each of the Arese nodding to themselves as they finished their meals. Savoring the rich vors of everything, I remained seated beside Vka as some of the Arese got up, moving towards the fire. Sensing my curiosity, Vka turned and said "After most meals, we''ll start a dance around the fire if we wish to find a partner to spend the night with or to dance with our existing partners. For instance, Eyoli is one of the Priestess'' personal dancers and partners, so tonight..." Gesturing out towards the fire, I watched as the two tall women clung to each other, the muscr Eyoli wearing a meek, shy expression as she listened to the whispering of the Priestess. "Eyoli will be warming the Priestess'' bed in hopes of conceiving a child. She takes turns with a few other women as well, and currently the Priestess'' daughter is searching for her own group of partners." One of the Arese we were working with earlier approached us, her slightly wrinkled face disying her age. "Vka dear, let me take care of the washing tonight; enjoy your night! You''re only young for so long..." Giving the woman a small smile, Vka handed her tter and bowl over to the older woman, who also smiled at me and grabbed mine as well. Nodding to her, I watched as Vka stood up and stretched, her lithe muscles straining against her charcoal skin. ncing back at me, Vka said "If you''re not interested in finding a partner, go back to our tent and get some sleep. We leave early tomorrow. Don''t leave the tent alone, alright?" "Yeah, I got it. Have fun, and goodnight." Getting up, I left the ambiguous campfire behind as I made my way towards the tent, slipping into the bedroll Vka had said was mine and finding sce on my own. Making sure to clean everything and air out the tent afterwards, I sighed as I fell asleep on the bedroll, a few runes lingering around me just in case. Waking up on my own, I noticed it was still dark outside, but Vka was rolling her bedroll up and beginning to take everything down inside the tent. Joining her after washing my face, I packed everything into the bags she told me to, tying everything to primitive backpacks that we would need to lug over the snow. Eyoli eventually joined us as well, her tired expression and unkempt hair disying her rough night at the mercy of the Priestess, but she seemed happy enough as we took the tent down and rolled up all the pelts. We worked in silence, eventually managing to get everything packed up and ready to move out, the same as the rest of the encampment. Arese stood around and loaded up their packs and ced some of their gear onrge sleds, groups of them tying on harnesses to be able to pull those gearden sleds across the frozen tundra. Some Arese walked around and handed out strips of dried meats and small bundles of berries, which everyone ate quickly, washing it down with water. ncing at our packed tent and items, I opened the ice chests andid everything inside them, freeing up my back and Vka''s back. "Is everyone prepared? We''re making our way over to Scythiara to deposit our spoils before heading towards Pris City to sell whatever wares we have left. If you need to eat, wash, or anything else, do it now; once we set off, we aren''t stopping till we reach Scythiara." The assembled tribe nodded, with some making there way towards the fringes todo whatever they needed to do, before we began to make our way Northwards, towards the Arese Tribe'' home of Scythiara and eventually Pris City inside of the Nevrokopi State, where I would hopefully find myself a map to lead me back to the Empire. However, for now, I was back to walking across a snow covered in, the crisp, chilly air battering my face as we traversed besides the Cimmerian Mountains, which protected us from the Labyrinthian. Chapter 302 301: New Maid* (Extra) Chordeva PoV Sitting at my desk, I grinned down at Ria as she eagerly sucked on my cock, her thin lips puckered around my girth as I forced her jaws apart. My beautiful little Elf was so eager to pleasure me over these years, and today was no different. A year had passed since Ria had birthed our daughter, a beautiful, calm little Demoness with amethyst eyes, a little Demoness that we named Jahi. Currently, little Jahi was asleep over in her crib, and with such a pristine opportunity avable to us, we sought out pleasures of the flesh. Though, we needed to be quiet, as while she was a calm little baby, Jahi woke up at the drop of a hat, and getting her to fall asleep without thoroughly tiring her out was a chore. That was why I was currently deep inside my wife''s throat instead of deep inside her cunt, trying desperately to sow my seed inside her garden once more. Laying a hand on her golden locks, I enjoyed the constrictions of her tight throat andpping of her long tongue on my shaft, while her hands gently fondled my overflowing sack. I hadn''t had the opportunity to make love to my wife in a few days, what with Jahi being a needy little brat, but I forgave the annoying little Demoness whenever she looked up at me with those wless amethyst eyes. So, I made the most of this opportunity as best I could, spraying my semen down her throat and into her stomach, before she pulled herself off of me and gagged, trying to keep it all down. Although I wanted to pull her into our bedroom and dominate her like I used to, little Jahi simply didn''t respond well to strangers; whenever a maid held her, she made a fuss for them, always trying to escape and return to Ria or I. While amusing to watch, when I wanted to be balls deep inside my wife, it wasn''t that great... It was with that on our minds that we epted the meeting with an old ssmate of ours from the Academy; Julie Zara, from the nearly extinct Zara Pack. I felt pity for my former fling, while Ria was rather sentimental for her friend, and we both pitied her for what she had been through. She had been through so much, and all whilst pregnant with a child of her own; that swayed Ria more than she ever cared to admit. Listening to her pleading and seeing the hope in her eyes, I nced at Ria as I muttered "Come on, we should shelter her. She was a good friend in the Academy..." My Elven wife nodded, though she narrowed her eyes as Julie asked "C-Could I have a guarantee that you''d shelter my daughter from all this? A guarantee that she''ll be safe?" I tilted my head at that, holding back a smirk as I stared at the Dogkin woman. It was a smart, and reasonable question, but I was curious on how she wanted to get a guarantee out of us; sure, I may have slept with her once before, and she might have been a good friend in the Academy, but giving her a guarantee that we would shelter her daughter was treading a very fine line. One that Ria didn''t seem to want to walk at all, but... Leaning forwards, Ria''s eyes remained hard as she said "Then how about this. We ce a bond on your unborn daughter and tie her to our daughter. She''ll be Jahi''s personal maid, you''ll be our personal maid, and no one will ever think about touching you ever again. Will that work as a guarantee?" Julie frowned at that, her handsnding on her pregnant stomach as she looked down, her brown hair cascading down her shoulders. Keeping my face neutral, I internally was surprised by Ria''s ultimatum, putting her nature as a Noble on disy for the first time before this friend of ours. We never relied on our titles and statuses before, but now she decided to use the full weight of hers on poor Julie... Though, I was even more surprised as Julie looked back up, her droopy amber eyes filled with determination as she nodded her head, saying "Very well then. As long as it''s not a ve bond, and can be broken should the two agree to it or it''s obviously harmful to one or both parties, I''ll ept it. I- No, we shall serve House Asmodia." Leaning back, I stared at the Dogkin for a moment before nodding, finding her decision rather understandable considering her circumstances. She has been running for such a long time now, and the Zara Pack no longer exists, meaning the Noble tracking and searching for her can pressure any and all citizens to track her as well, pushing the woman into a corner. A corner that would mean her daughter would be turned into a sex ve alongside herself, a toy for some ugly, horrendous Noble that would kill them or sell them off to another when he grew bored... She had no options, and now she was pushed to the extreme... Getting up, we all made our way down to the basement, where I initiated the contract between us and Julie, slipping in a few helpful conditions for her as I made it with Ka''Hondi. When it was done, we had gained ourselves a new maid. Now, admittedly, seeing an old me of mine dressed in maid attire as she served me was rather... arousing, and I will also admit that I found that me rekindled. Julie was a gorgeous woman with a sinful body, and her voice was melodic; all in all, as she put her housekeeping skills on disy, the woman was near perfect. On top of that, she was rather soothing to children, though she herself seemed rather confused on what to do with them I say that because she managed to hold Jahi and keep her calm the entire time, a thing that made Ria freeze in shock. Me? I was aroused... Though, that didn''t take much nowadays, not when I hadn''t bedded my wife in well over a week or so. My libido is frighteningly high, after all. So, with Jahi now in Julie''s capable arms, Ria found herself pinned by my arms. Since it had been awhile, I was ignoring the Elf''s pleas for a break as I pinned her under me, her wrists sped in my hands and pressed against the bed. mming my hips downwards, I stirred the semen inside her womb around, making her moan out again, her voice raspy and tired from the intense sex of thest hour. Her own cock twitched cutely as she came again, while those sapphire eyes of hers were zed over with lust. Leaning down, I began to nibble on one of her long ears, getting another moan from the woman and fueling my own lust. However, I froze as I heard something creak behind me, and I turned to see Julie at the door, her eyes wide as she stared at me, her face blushed. Meeting each others gaze, we stared at one another for a few moments, before I shivered as the sensation of being watched made my lust overflow, causing me to orgasm. Julie''s blush deepened as her eyes flickered towards my sack, which clenched as I started pumping my cum into my wife, who moaned again. "I uhm! S-S-S-S-SORRY!" Shouting that out, she mmed the door behind her, rousing Ria from her cum induced stupor instantly as she tried to sit up, only to find herself still pinned under me. "W-Was that Julie..?" Staring at me tiredly, the Elf blushed as I nodded, trying to set herself straight as I released her. Rolling off of her, I watched as she gathered the sheets around her, the white linens sticking to her sweaty, drenched body, before she red at me and snapped "C-Clean yourself off! W-We need to address what just happened!" Sighing, I rolled my eyes as I said "What? She watched me cum inside my wife. Big deal." That made Ria re at me harder, and I scrambled away when a sickly sweet smell permeated the air. "Fine, fine! I''ll tell her to start knocking... jeez..." Dragging on some clothes after using my Fire to cleanse myself, I opened the door and stepped outside, where a red Dogkin maid stood, Jahi in her arms. The little Demoness stared at me instantly and reached her tiny arms out towards me, prompting me to walk towards her. Grabbing Jahi from her, I stared down at the maid as I said "I don''t mind you watching, but Ria does, so... knock, I guess? Unless you want to join in?" I said thatst part jokingly and in the heat of the moment; literally heat, as my body was still warm from the session that so suddenly ended, but Julie blushed harder as she looked towards the floor, her tail swishing to the side slowly and rhythmically. Blinking slowly, I stared at her in surprise as Ria walked out to join us, her face red with anger and embarrassment as she red at both of us, before frowning as she noticed the mood. That little slip up from Julie made us sit down and talk about it, Ria covering Jahi''s ears as she spoke, before we all slowly broached the topic of Julie joining in. I had stated it with no intention of hiding the fact that I wanted to have sex with the Dogkin woman, and although Ria pinched my waist, I could see the heat in her eyes as she listened to Julie say that it would be an honor to serve us that way as well. With that one mistake from Julie, we began to grow closer physically and emotionally, and when little Kat was born, well... Ria and I shocked Julie with our desires, but she shocked us just as much when she greedily demanded more from us each night. With Jahi now old enough to entertain herself through picture books and Kat a quiet, sleepy little puppy, we lost ourselves to lust more and more... --- 04/10/2023 --- Chapter 303 302: Scythiara Lugging my ice chests behind me, I walked alongside both Eyoli and Vka, the two Arese women conversing with me softly as we made our way Northwards. The subjects brought up were vastly different from one another; Eyoli would inquire about my fighting style and how I learned to fight, while Vka would then ask about my home and the people in it. When it got back to Eyoli, she asked about my lovers, wanting to understand more about me and my tastes, only for Vka to bring the conversation to another different thing, asking about thergest monsters or animals I''ve ever hunted. The two didn''t seem to care about the topic, and whenever we found something interesting to discuss, we lost ourselves to the topic. For instance, I wanted to learn more about how the Arese hunted something asrge as mammoths, and what they used each part of the mammoths for. Obviously, they ate the meats and donned the furs, but I learned that most of the weapons they wielded were made from mammoth bones, since that was the prime target for them to fell. Each huntress and guard would need to participate in a hunt of their own to get ess to some of the bones, which would then be used to create their own weapons. Obviously, bone itself wasn''t the strongest thing to use as a weapon, especially not when I noticed that some of the women did indeed have metal tools on them. However, back in Scythiara, a group of the Arese Tribe studied magic diligently, and these were the Priestess'' of the Tribe. They were both the spiritual as well as the magical leaders of the Tribe, and they were the ones you needed to go to to get yourself magical tattoos and enchanted weaponry. Most of the enchantments were cheap, since the mostmon one to purchase was simply a hardening enchantment and durability enchantment, but some got fancy. Eyoli''s giant hammer was enchanted to be heavier and harder then normal bone, and one side of the hammer had an enchantment to summon a de of wind, turning it from a hammer to an axe. Vka, on the other hand, had her daggers made lighter and sharper, whilst a few had water enchantments to lengthen the de using moisture, creating swords for her to use. The two women were proud of their weapons, telling me the enormous cost they paid to get them. Both needed to trade valuable goods with the Priestess'' of Scythiara, namely the manufactured goods from Pris City, which meant many, many hunts. Though, they both said it was more then worth it, since they were now amongst the top of the Arese inside this traveling group, giving them prestige and certain privileges. Besides the weapons, I asked about the tattoo''s as well, and that was when I learned that the Arese normally were incapable of awakening their Cores, leaving them magicless for their entire lives. The Core was still there, but they weren''t capable of regting mana around the body, meaning they were stuck as ''just mortals''. However, some still awakened their mana, and those were the Priestess'' of the Tribe. With their magic unlocked, they could forcefully awaken parts of their Tribemates Cores, allowing mana to seep through their veins. Except, the normal Arese couldn''t exactly control their mana naturally, since they had never felt mana before in their life; therefor, the Priestess'' came up with a way to solve that problem. Magical Tattoos that forcefully activate with the will of the person they''re on. If you need to increase your skins hardness, and that''s the spell engraved on your body, simply will it to activate, and boom! You now have strong skin! It''s a crude, primitive way of going about using mana, but for a race of women so gifted physically, this was simply the check that bnced them out; it wasn''t just unique to them either. Orcs are brutish specimens on their own, usually around four or five times stronger then the average human male alone. Then, with a Core and mana added to the mix, it gets a little crazy. So, their control over said mana is abysmal, to the point that seeing an Orc capable of doing any kind of magic is usually pretty rare; full Orcs, that is. Hybrids like Nirinia are rare, but utterly potent; shees from a magical race - the Djinn''s - and a physical race - the Orc''s - to create someone incredibly strong and capable of utilizing her mana. Obviously, it isn''t perfect; she isn''t a good magician, but she doesn''t need to be one. One punch from her can floor most people instantly, even those of simr strengths or ''levels''. As for Dogkin, our racial ''disadvantage'' is that we... aren''t good at anything, really. Great senses, sure, but we don''t stand out in other aspects, especially not magic. Most Dogkin tend to be skilled trackers and scouts, but of course, exceptions pop up; my Mother and I, for example. So, while it isn''t the most interesting aspect of this world, understanding the differences between the races - and the hybrids as well - could provide insight into what exactly my opponents will be predisposed to doing. Stereotypes exist for a reason, and can be useful in a fight, since you can go in having a rough idea on what your opponent *might* be capable of. Anyways, learning all of that from Eyoli and Vka was interesting, and that only made my desire to understand their Tribe grow that much more. After all, they were all Hybrids themselves, and they had grown to ovee whatever weaknesses their race might have inherited through being apart of so many different hereditary branches. It was this moment that made me ecstatic that I had chosen to apany the Arese Tribe to Pris City, as we managed to arrive to Scythiara before I had even realized. What would have dragged on and felt like eternity earlier now flew by like a breeze, and I grinned as we began to make our way towards the collection ofrge rock walls and colorful tarps. The Arese around us all sighed happily as the walls of their home appeared, and everyone began to walk just a bit faster, wanting to stop for the day. Only hours had passed, but lugging around various pelts, bones, and other materials was really straining on the body, even for a race like theirs. Approaching therge gates, I saw multiple tall, muscle bound charcoal skinned women looking over the ramparts, spears and bows in their hands. "Is that you, Liana?" One of the guards shouted over the walls, and the Priestess stepped forwards, her arms spread wide as she shouted back "It''s me, Cani; open the gates! We have returned!" Nodding, the women on the walls began to shout orders down below them, and momentster therge stone gates slowly slid open. "Come on everyone! Inside quickly now!" Waving us all in, the Priestess remained where she was as she looked over the expedition, making sure everyone made their way in before joining us. Scythiara was arge, crude city, but it was rather beautiful as well. A thick ring of stones had been piled and smoothed out to create the tall walls epassing the area, which was a spacious semi circle. The buildings inside were of two makes; sprawling tents and lean-to''s created temporary housing all around, much like the encampment we were in a day earlier, while the other buildings were made from stone, much like the walls. t, squat squares filled the t tundra, and gravel paved the way around this city. Although everything was rather crude, it all functioned perfectly for the citizens, whoughed and joked as they went about their day. Unlike the Arese I had grown ustomed to, the women and girls running around the city were all short, gentle looking Arese, their skin almost perfectly ck without a single white tattoo adorning the. Their bodies looked soft and unustomed to perilous work, while their hair was just as ck as their skin, contrasting the greys of the hunters and warriors. Sensing my confusion, Eyoli chuckled as she said "It''s... a long story, but one of our founders dislikedbat; she was a quiet, caring woman, and so she preferred to look after her siblings. Even though her siblings were brash and rowdy women who loved fighting as much as they loved air, they loved their sister even more, so they made sure to protect her. When she married and had children, these variations of Arese were born, and they were all gentle women just like her. It''s a reminder that everyone needs something to fight for, something warm and caring for us all to temper ourselves with." Vka nodded, her eyes soft as she added "They take care of most tasks that would be otherwise... boring for us. I don''t particrly enjoy cooking, nor do any of the expedition enjoy sewing or crafting. We only do so out of necessity. They are the opposite; they love the arts, love to make and create things, where we enjoy destroying or tearing things down. Two sides of the same coin, I believe is the phrase." Chuckling softly, I watched as some of the women and girls swarmed some of the warriors,ughing happily as theyunched themselves at the returned Arese. Many were swiftly dragged away by their families, wanting to get the most out of the time they had together, whilst others looked on with smiles of both happiness and envy as they stood alone. ncing at the two women beside me, I raised a brow as Eyoli coughed gently into her fist, while Vka looked away. "I thought you two said you were important? Sought after? So... why are we alone now?" --- Sorry it''s been rather... slow paced recently; just needed a quick little break to rest my mind a bit. Anyways, hope you enjoy the Arese, since we''ll be with them for a bit, hence the info-dump on them~! --- Chapter 304 303: Amongst The Arese As I looked at the awkward Eyoli and Vka, I asked "I thought you two said you were important? Sought after? So... why are we alone now?" Eyoli responded first, her voice slightly unsteady as she muttered "W-Well, y''see, I uh... Since I''m one of Priestess Liana''s personal dancers, I''m uh... ahem..." Sadly, she couldn''t finish her sentence, her eyes not able to meet mine as she looked away, scratching her cheek. As for Vka, she coughed again as she said "I''ve... I''ve yet to cmit to a mate yet..? S-So some of the women around don''t... risk wasting their time, I guess? I-I''m still sought after though!" Raising a brow, I looked between them for a few moments before sighing, shrugging my shoulders as I said "Uh-huh... well,e on then; show me around, or at least take me to somewhere to rest or something..." They both nodded their heads quickly, pulling me towards a smaller stone building, the windows covered in vibrant orange cloth held up by a metal rod. Noting that, we stepped inside and instantly coughed a few times, the sheer amount of dust that sat on each article of furniture making me grimace. Seeing that, both Eyoli and Vka froze, and I sighed again as I looked back at the two warrior Arese that I had once viewed as well kept and responsible. "Is this another reason you two are... still looking around?" The two women shivered for a moment before their shoulders drooped, their expressions looking much like a puppy that just got scolded. Shaking my head, I moved in and pulled the curtains aside, letting the suns pale light wash over the room. Much like their tent, the building these two inhabited was rather spartan and small, but still cozy. It was made to house maybe four maximum, and that''s if you were looking to allow everyone their own space; probably upwards of ten could live in here with decentfort. Anyways, both the back corners had faded cloth curtaining off small sleeping areas, while between those two corners was a small table holding up a mirror. In the middle of the room was arger table, and on the left was a firece and some counters, likely acting as the kitchen. The right side of the room had some storage in the form of tall dressers and shelving, which only had a few tes, utensils, and a singr knickknack, which was a crudely carved statue. Seeing the empty, almost deste room, I sighed again as I gingerly ced the contents of their tent beside the door, my skin already crawling from all the dust around us. Frowning, I nced back at Eyoli and Vka, who were watching me with embarrassed expressions. Waving them away, I said "Go do... something. I''ll clean this up for now... go find out when we leave and stuff like that..." They nodded, Vka scrambling from the door while Eyoli bowed slightly, before following her friend just as quickly. Chuckling softly at their swift retreat, I left the door open and turned back towards the horrendously kept house, rolling up my sleeves as I felt my clean freak mind take over. This would be a good chance to practice with my magic as well,pleting the Daily Quests that I hadn''t had the opportunity toplete in a long time. The method was simple as well; I summoned a sphere of each magic I had ess to and kept them under my control. Which... was difficult. I was focusing on keeping them inside a sphere like shape and hovering around me, all while I moved around the room and brushed the dust outside, starting with that first. Having to resummon the spheres was amon urrence, but I rather enjoyed the challenge of focusing on so many things at the same time, even if it was straining on my mind. Using the small cloth that I had kept on my person at all times, I was able to clean everything faster then I should have been able to, and I found myself unpacking the contents of Eyoli and Vka''s packs onto the table, making sure to keep them separate from each other. Whilst I was doing that, I nced over my shoulder as I heard someone knock on the open door, prompting me to stop my humming and training. Three of the ''female'' Arese stood at the door, looking around the house curiously before focusing on me, their dark ck skin not as intimidating as I thought it would be; they were rather expressive with their features, and the aura radiating off of them was calm and gentle. The soft smiles and curious eyes, paired with the over allid back posture made it hard to see them as a threat, even when I noticed that they all carried sharp knives on their belts. I could probably learn something from them as well... "Uhm... this is Eyoli and Vka''s house, correct?" The woman in the center, who was a little taller and curvier than the other two, spoke first, her voice as smooth as silk. "Yes it is; they went out to get some more details on when the expedition will be leaving for Pris City. Can I help you?" Nodding, the woman asked "Well... first, I guess introductions are in order, no? I''m Oya, and these are my younger sisters Poepa and Quarta." Smiling warmly at them, I noticed that Poepa and Quarta were almost identical looking; short women with braided hair adorned with small colored beads, while their soft, jovial features gave them a sense of youth and mischievousness. Oya, on the other hand, was more serious looking and mature, though her eyes were slightly droopy and warm, and her hair was tied into a ponytail using a yellow cloth. "My name is Katherine, and I bought myself a spot amongst the expedition. Nice to meet you!" Both Poepa and Quarta''s eyes widened at that, their excitement bing palpable as they tried to move forwards, only for Oya to chuckle as she held them back. "Nice to meet you too, Katherine, but... forgive me if it''s rude, but are you... ''with'' Eyoli or Vka?" Her question made me chuckle, and I shook my head as I replied "No, no... I have my own lovers that I need to return to. Priestess Liana just assigned them to be my guides and guards on the journey, that''s all!" Her features rxed slightly at that, before she frowned as she looked around the room again, shaking her head slightly. "This is really their home? It''s so... drab." Snorting slightly, I nodded as I gestured for them toe in out of the cold, which they did. As I closed the door, I chuckled again as I watched the three sisters mutter amongst themselves as they moved around the house, taking note of theck of items and how they would change everything if they lived here. Seems I spoke to harshly of Eyoli and Vka~ Maybe they were just... dense? Either way, I was rather grateful for this new distraction, even if it was a reminder that I was still alone myself... Chapter 305 304: Determination Jahi PoV Anput and I spent the day sparring with Nirinia and Mom, and we both were experiencing innumerable phantom aches and pains as we made our way back to the main Pce, where we would be given rooms to rest until tomorrow. I noticed that Nirinia still had a lot on her mind, and the Djinn had be a more somber, quiet version of herself, even going so far as to drop the flourish she usually fought with, much to Mom''s annoyance. We had been given a show of Mom toying with Nirinia to draw her back out of her shell, but the woman was firmly entrenched inside her mind for the moment, though she still managed to show shes of her former, mboyant self. When we went back inside for dinner, we sadly were on our own as Leone was still with her family, but that just gave Anput and I some time alone. We made sure to eat quickly and retire early, before I called on my fluffy Jackalkin to warm my bed, much to her delight. Leone was the one to wake us up the next morning, entering our room with a pout as she fake red at Anput, who simply smirked back at her as she made a show of caressing my bare body. Grinning at Leone, I watched as my Vampire wife made her way over to partake in me as well, her soft tongue joining Anput''s raspy one in their marital duties. After that was all done, we cleaned up and freshened up, making sure there was no sign of what had just urred as we left the room; no sign besides the obviously satisfied smiles on Anput and Leone''s faces. Breakfast was held with everyone, and I got a quick re from Lady Presa and a one over by the other members of Leone''s family, which included the Snow Woman Lady Yusa and the holy looking Lady D''Arcon, who was frowning as she focused mainly on Nirinia. Avish feast of thin steaks, bacon, sausage links, and slices of ham joined arge helping of breads and pancakes, which Mom and I greedily moved onto our tes. Fruits and berries were situated in small bowls around the giant table, and everyone found something to eat; even Lady Theresa munched on an apple, though it looked more like she was forcing herself to eat then anything else. Whilst we ate, the Empress went over the details of the Crusade once more, filling us in on who would be apanying us. At the top, either Adelina or Mom wouldmand the Legion, alongside the remnants of Adelina''s Command Squad, Lady Sker, and some other veterans who volunteered from the other Legions. Heading the magical and investigative detachment was a familiar face; Kolia would be joining us, my former magic teacher and mentor having strong armed her way in, throwing around her credentials until the Empress conceded. Alongside Kolia was a half Faery half Elf named Bera, who was an incredibly intelligent Earth Mage, and she and Kolia would be both our arcane firepower and the two responsible for the Tragon Investigation. Next, a father daughter pair of Snakekin healers and Priests of the Medicinal Goddess Lamiana, Asklepious and Iaso. Asklepious is a genius of alchemical healing, capable of brewing some of the strongest healing potions and concocting the best pills in the Empire, whilst his daughter Iaso has potent healing magic, fueled by her firm beliefs in her Goddess; though, admittedly, she might just be good with water magic and believe her values aid her spells. Either way, her and her father would be invaluable in the Crusade, as they would be keeping everyone alive and ready to fight. Additionally, the influx of volunteers and penal Legionaries would bolster our ranks, with quite a few veterans joining us, as well as some new blood that''s feeling especially patriotic. With that all given to us, alongside some reminders of our true purpose over in the Western Kingdoms, the Empress and her wives watched as we loaded into a carriages each of us preparing for the long months ahead. Weapons, clothing, gear, and more was supplied to us, and we made sure to take advantage of the Empress'' generosity, loading up on quality potions and pills, new des, extra des, some good armor, some more des, and other things. Oh, did I mention the des? Anput had a field day as she emptied everything into her bags, a giddy grin on her face as she inspected each new ''toy'' for her to y with, whilst Leone and I strapped on an extra dagger and sword, shaking our heads at Anput''s tant thievery. Though, the Empress simply smiled as she watched us all, whilst the others didn''t even flinch or wince at Anput''s actions. Making sure everything was where it needed to be, we were about to board the carriage when someone else walked out of the Pce, surprising... Nirinia, mainly; the rest of us rolled our eyes at herte arrival, which included Lady Yusa and Mom. Adelina Leonisa was donned in a yellow cloak, which almostpletely hid the hilt of her sword sitting on her hip. Her golden hair was pulled back into a braid, and her golden eyes shone with unwavering resolve as she approached us. Standing before Mom and I, the Lioness took a deep breath before bowing slightly, her head lowered as she said "I apologize for myte arrival, Marquess, Lady Jahi. If you would allow me, I would like to resumemand of the Ashen Legion for the duration of the Crusade of the Western Kingdoms." ncing at Mom, I saw her breath a silent sigh of relief as she nodded, a grin pulling at her lips as she said "I''ll allow it, Commander Leonisa. You know your troops better then I do. However..." Her eyes hardened as she stared down at the bowing woman, who flinched as she growled "Should you be unfit for the mantle of Commander again, I will strip you of your titles and detain you for the duration of the Crusade. Do I make myself clear?" Raising a brow, I stared down at the Lioness for a few moments, before she nodded her head. "Crystal, Marquess Asmodia. I shall not blemish the title, nor my name again. That, I swear to everyone present." "Good. Do you have anything you need to pack, or are we ready to depart?" Turning, Mom fiddled with her bags for a moment as she hoisted them into the storage container, awaiting Adelina''s response. "I am ready to depart whenever, Marquess." "Very well; get in. We leave now." Adelina brushed past the confused Nirinia, and I stared at the Djinn for a moment as I muttered "This''ll be a fun distraction..." before following Adelina inside. Anput and Leone joined me a momentter, and I marveled at therge carriage the Empress gave us; it had space enough for all of us, even though Nirina, Mom and I could easily count as two people with ourrger statures. Ignoring the silent Nirinia, I nced at Adelina, who''s eyes were burning with determination as she gave me a curt nod. "Well, I had it at a roughly 70% chance you''d stop dawdling, Commander. Good to see that I was right. Frankly, the idea of Mom running the Legion was..." Pursing my lips, I nced back at the Demoness who still stood outside, exchanging a few words with the Empress. "Frankly... rather terrifying. She isn''t suited for the nuances of leadership, nor am I. So, it''s a relief to have someone who is with us." The Lioness nodded again, her voice still as she said "I gave it some thoughtst night, and I couldn''t bear the idea of not finishing what the Sariel''s started. What they did was inexcusable, and I want to... I want to do whatever I can to bring them to justice, Lady Jahi. For the Empire, but..." Trailing off, she nced at Nirinia for a split second before turning towards the window, muttering "Mainly for myself." Chapter 306 305: Crusade Begins The carriage ride over to the Western Border was just as tedious and boring as the first time we had done so, especially now with the addition of Adelina pulling all of Nirinia''s attention. Our giant Djinnpanion was constantly stealing nces at her childhood friend turned lover turned ex lover, her jade eyesplicated. Besides Nirinia''s pathetic attempts to hide her confused nces, Mom was also present, and she was very clearly enjoying the awkwardness between her Squire and the Commander of the Legion she had just been gifted. A wide grin was on her face, and her ruby eyes were filled with warm mirth as she looked at the two from the corner of her eyes. However, no one made a single sound; Anput had taken the time to sleep, her head resting on myp as she curled into a small ball beside me, while Leone flipped through the pages of a thick tome, her eyes scanning the various runes and words written down with incredible focus. Adelina stared out the window, her face expressionless as she watched thendscape roll by, while Nirinia fiddled with her hands, the normally cocky and assured woman now unsure of what she should be doing. As for me, I rested my head against the cushioned seats as I let my mind wander around, recalling memories from better times or going over the information avable to us for this uing Crusade. Thoughts about how Kat and I had made love inside a carriage like this before swirled around with potential troop configurations based on the avable soldiers the Western Kingdom had ess to. Memories of the various events I had attended alongside Kat as a younger girl faded into ideas for how I would go about subjugating key defensive cities inside Romagi. Each of my thoughts was seen from the outside in, like they weren''t truly my thoughts and memories, but someone else''s. That the emotions I felt - and feel - weren''t truly mine either; that I was just... a husk, trying to be filled with these other feelings. And that... scared me. Being controlled by emotions was just as bad as not having them at all, and I had already gotten a taste of one of those before; I wasn''t looking to taste the other now either. Opening my eyes, I frowned slightly as I noticed Mom staring at me, her ruby eyes narrowed. Her stare was heavy, pinning me to my seat and making me feel like I was strapped down and being dissected by her. It was a gaze I had felt once before, and a gaze I didn''t ever want to feel again. Gulping, I reached down and stroked Anput''s ears, hoping the fluffy Jackalkin could provide somefort for the time being, all while I was subject to her piercing stare. Thankfully, itsted only a few more moments as she eventually looked away, focusing on her Squire instead. Breathing out a silent sigh of relief, I spent the remainder of the carriage ride ying with Anput''s fluffy ears and smooth hair, much to her delight when she woke up. Hopping out of the carriage when we reached the fortress, each of us stretched before making our way towards thergemand tent, nodding to the soldiers who were rxing around the starting point for our Crusade. Our glorious, wondrous, perfect distraction of a Crusade... Inside the tent was Lady Sker, the Wolfkin banner bearer, and the giant Minotaurkin, as well as Kolia and an older snakekin man, who I presumed was Asklepious. Hearing us enter, everyone turned and greeted us, with the Wolfkin and Minotaurkin both surging forwards to greet their Commander, the worry and care in their actions evident as they asked her various questions between their apologies. Lady Sker smirked at Mom as they sped forearms in greeting, before they both turned and leaned on therge table, overlooking the map of the Empire and Western Kingdoms. Standing next to Mom, I too turned to the map, my eyes searching for the best possible routes to take whilst I listened to Mom speak. "Adelina has agreed to resume the mantle of Commander for the Ashen Legion, and you two - Luna and Bess - will be bolstered by two more veterans of your choosing to reestablish the Command Squad. Sker and I will remain hands off unless the need arises for us to do so. Sker will protect Asklepious and the healers, whilst I''ll protect Kolia and the mages. Jahi, Anput, Leone; pick a healer and mage from the detachments and round out your numbers to five; just to make things easier, you will be forming a squad of your own. Now, first things first. We need to make our way into the Western Kingdoms and establish a foothold for the Empire, and personally I believe that Goron City will be the perfect beachhead. Connected to trade routes, well protected from attacksing from inside the Western Kingdoms, and a crucial part of the supply chain for Romagi; taking Goron would deal a harsh blow to the Western Kingdoms whilst also giving us the perfect outpost to begin the Crusade." Raking her gaze over those of us assembled in the tent, Mom got nods from everyone as we looked over the map, each of us digesting her orders for now. Adelina tapped the map, circling the city of Goron as she asked "Are we splitting the Legion when we reach Goron then? The roads split, leading down into Tragon and up into Romagi." Taking a deep breath, Mom drummed her fingers on the table as she nced at Sker, who shrugged. "We can, yes. Depending on the validity of the reports on Romagi''s current military power, we can reconsider once we''ve established the foothold inside of the Western Kingdoms. If it is like we think, then yes; I will be heading down towards Tragon to begin one half of the Crusade whilst Sker heads heads to Romagi to begin the other half. The quicker we act, the less time we give the other countries times to bolster the ranks of the Western Kingdoms. Currently, we have no exact location on the Sariel and Kameiel Families, but we do know they fled West. If they were capable of pulling what they did here, then there''s no doubt they''re currently thriving in their new home. Halting our advance into Romagi and forcing the Crusade down to a crawl would give them more time to prepare, so if we can get this done quick, that would be best." Once again, everyone nodded in agreement, before Adelina began to suggest more ideas, disying the talent and experience everyone expected of her. Our time spent in the tent plotting the course of the Crusade was long, but when it was all over, the Crusade was ready to begin. Chapter 307 306: Girl Talk Kat PoV Oya and her two younger sisters, Poepa and Quarta, helped me clean out the rest of the house, Oya stating that she had nothing to do today and couldn''t bear to let me do all this work on my own. Besides that, after some poking and prodding, Oya finally relented as she stated her desire to find a mate sometime soon, and either Eyoli or Vka were her first choices. Even with Eyoli likely being the mother of one of the Priestess'' child, Oya shrugged and stated that it would be an honor to help raise a Priestess'' child, whilst also making it clear that she wouldn''t let Eyoli sleep until she herself was pregnant. I shivered slightly at the hard eyes that she had when she said that, making me send a prayer off for Eyoli''s future. Her two younger sisters stated that they wanted to remain with their older sister, which made Oya fake re at them as she let out a long, weary sigh, only to look away and smile. We talked for a long time as we cleaned, discussing what they were looking for in their mates; I learned very quickly that the Arese didn''t have much ''shame'' on that front, as all three stated that they picked Eyoli and Vka for their sexual prowess. That, and that they knew both women would be able to grant them stable futures from their positions, so they were hoping to be the mates of Eyoli and Vka for that reason as well. When I asked if all female Arese were like that, they all giggled and shook their heads, with Oya saying "No, not at all~! I''m just listing the upsides for bing partners with them; we still look for good chemistry between us first. No reason to be mates if we hate each other~!" Nodding, I went back to beating out the dust from the cloth curtains, still listening as Oya said "I find them both to be easy going and fun to be around; some warriors and hunters get arrogant or too prideful to deal with, but Eyoli and Vka are both bearable. They treat everyone with the same attitude - save the Priestess'', obviously - and don''t stand on ceremony with us all." "Yeah! I still remember dancing with Eyoli at one of the festivals~! She was so dreamy~!" ncing over my shoulder, I raised a brow as I saw Poepa spinning in circles, a wide grin on her face as she imitated the dance. Her twin rolled her eyes as she chopped Poepa''s head, snapping "You do remember that you then went and danced with seven other warriors, right?! One even took you home for the night!" Sticking her tongue out at Quarta, Poepa turned away as she let out a huff, saying "You''re just jealous since no one wanted to dance with you that night you ugly girl~!" Receiving another chop, Poepa red at Quarta as she growled "We look the exact same you imbecile!" "Hmph! Then it''s the inside that they were attracted to; you''re such a boor sometimes, so they were all put off!" "Oh that''s it! C''mere!" Before the two twins couldunch themselves at each other, they found themselves rooted in ce as their older sister grabbed them by the cor, grinning down at them. Watching as the two jovial women stiffened up and assumed fearful expressions, I chortled as Oya growled "Must you both be so... insufferable? We''re in the presence of another! Ah, what am I to do with the both of you?!" Gulping, they remained silent as Oya red at them some more, before she let them off with a quick swat to the back of their heads as she moved back towards me. Helping me with the other curtain, Oya shook her head and let out a fake sigh, even as her lips were twitching into a smile as she listened to her sisters whisper quietly to one another. "Out of curiosity, what will you do if Eyoli and Vka both reject all three of you? Will you try again when they return, or..?" Pursing her lips, Oya stared at the curtain for a few moments before muttering "No." Peering over her shoulder, she looked at her two sisters for a moment before saying "Poepa and Quarta are free to try again, but... I''m reaching the end of my ''fertile'' period. I have about three or four years left before it bes extremely unlikely for me to reproduce, and so I need to find myself a mate. If they decline my advances, then I''ll simply go to the next warrior I wish to mate with, until someone takes me and ims me as theirs. My sisters still have a decade left, so they can y around as much as they want, but I can''t." Her deep sigh and focus on the curtain made me purse my lips, before I muttered "From what I''ve seen, Eyoli and Vka are... dense. Maybe a more forceful approach will help? State your desires and wishes clearly to them, let them know, and work from there. Though, I don''t know what it''s usually like to attempt to find a mate in your Tribe." Nodding, Oya nced over at me as she asked "You said you had lovers... how did you meet them?" A wry smile appeared on my lips, and I thought for a moment before saying "I was born to be close to my main wife. We were tied together as children, and it moved from a... ''Master/Servant'' rtionship to something more. She wanted me to be her lover, but with the way it works where I''m from, she couldn''t marry me and me alone. So, she was given some choices on her other wives, and I got lucky there too; two beautiful women that were kind to me showed up, and my wife fell for them both, so she took them both. It... could have gone worse, but I just got lucky. Each of them loves me, and I love each of them... even though I never went out to court them or speak to them about bing lovers. That''s the crude, quick summary of it all, Oya. I just... got lucky, is all." Smiling at her, I saw her tilting her head as she looked me over, her eyes falling onto my breasts and hips before going back to my face. "They''d have been stupid to refuse you. You''re gorgeous and perfect for child rearing; there was no luck involved, Katherine. They just weren''t idiots." Staring at her nkly for a moment, I began tough at her simplistic, yet logical words; in the eyes of a Tribe like this, I would be a prime candidate for mating, wouldn''t I? Physically, I have everything needed to birth a child safer, and from the little we had talked, it seemed that getting along with someone inside the Tribe is simple enough, so I would have likely been fought over... Which, to the vain portion of my heart, was rather exciting to think about. I mean, who wouldn''t want to be fought over by dozens of gorgeous muscled women? ... Anyways, as Oya and I went to hang the curtains back up, Eyoli and Vka returned, freezing at the doorway yet again as they looked inside. Chapter 308 307: Perfect Distraction Looking over the frozen figures of Eyoli and Vka, I smirked as Oya calmly hung the curtain up before turning and staring straight at the two Arese. Even without visible pupils, I could tell that they were both alternating their gazes between Oya and I, the confusion evident as they hesitantly stepped inside. Finishing my own curtain, I watched on in amusement as Oya gestured towards the chairs, of which there were only three. Eyoli gulped as she took a seat, her bulky frame dwarfing the chair, while Vka blinked a few times as she looked towards Poepa and Quarta, who were watching on from the side just like me. Oya took the final seat, her eyes locked on Vka as she waited for the woman to sit down, which she did momentster. Silence permeated the air inside the room, and even with the windows open the room felt stuffy and ustrophobic. Leaning against the wall, I observed the three Arese, finding amusement in their actions. "Eyolia, Vka." Hearing their names, the two Arese warriors stiffened up, turning towards Oya and focusing on her as she stared them down. Gone was the semi gentle, warm woman from before; in her ce was a serious, mature woman demanding their attention. A grin tugged at my lips at this difference, and it became harder to hold in as I noticed Poepa''s and Quarta''s expressions as well. The two sisters were trying their hardest to mimic their eldest sisters expression, even though their soft, tender features made that look... interesting. "My sisters and I havee for a singr reason, and we hope to receive an answer to our question." Eyoli nodded, while Vka gulped, both meeting Oya''s intense gaze, albeit with pursed lips and shifting gazes. Taking a deep breath, Oya clenched her fists for a moment before her gaze hardened. "Will either of you take us as mates?" Watching as they both gaped at the woman''s question, I had to bite my lip to hold in myughter. Eyoli''s eyes were wide and unblinking as she sat there with a ck jaw, her whole body stiff as she tried toprehend what just happened. Vka, on the other hand, was opening and closing her mouth as she tried to say something, stuttering as she blinked a dozen times,pletely bbergasted by the question. As for Oya, she simply waited for a few moments, before continuing on. "Since you both have lived together for so long, we don''t mind being shared between you two if that''s your wish. On the other hand, if you want to take only one of us... while not ideal, it would still be eptable. All three of us know how to cook, clean, and are cloth weavers with Priestess Ressa, so we have jobs of our own to provide for some of the house. Additionally, we are all open to whatever desires you two might have, unless it is something... physically painful. We have deliberated this for many nights, and each of us is willing to bear as many children you desire, as we have found you both to be high quality mates." Pausing, Oya looked between the two women, who finally returned to their senses. "W-Wait! W-Why me though?! I''m Priestess Liana''s dancer, so I won''t always be able to be here! Even more so than a normal warrior!" Oya nodded, turning towards Eyoli and responding, her tone calm and patient. "We know. However, partnering with a Priestess'' dancer is nothing to be ashamed of, and we are willing to look after the child like it was our own. As for your... potential abundance of absences, as long as you don''t simply abandon us, we won''t have a problem. With all three of us here, we will always havepany." Eyoli leaned back into her chair, her eyes still wide as she pondered what Oya said. This time, Vka was the one to speak, her voice disbelieving as she asked "A-Are you sure? Unlike the other warriors, we will rarely remain in Scythiara for long, constantly being dragged away on a new expedition!" Again, Oya nodded, replying in the same patient tone. "We know full well that partnering with either of you isn''t... going to be typical, however, we have weighed our options and stille to the conclusion that partnering with either one of you will be better for us and the Tribe. You both are too talented and powerful to not leave behind three of four children each." With them both falling silent again, Oya pressed on, gesturing off towards her two sisters as she added "My sisters are capable of waiting, but I am not. My age is catching up to me, and I wish to settle down properly. The other reason I picked you two is simple; my sisters, who cling to me so desperately, could remain with me should you ept all three of us, split whichever way you desire. After all, for thest decade you two have been living together, almost like sisters of your own." Vka nodded absently, her eyes flickering over towards Poepa and Quarta, who returned her gaze. "To be clear... you are asking Eyoli or I to take you as a mate and for the other to take your sisters as a mate?" Chuckling softly, Oya shrugged as she said "Any configuration works; if you don''t desire more then one mate, take whoever you like. As long as the other takes the remaining two. Or, conversely, should you both want us all, then we are open to being shared however you please. For me, I simply desire to settle down, but my sisters want to remain with me. So... I want to grant them that wish." Nodding again, Vka, nced at Eyoli, who was still gaping at the bold Oya. "Eyoli! Really, is this how you must act every time? Hah..." Hearing her muttering to herpanion, I held in a chuckle as I continued to watch on, remaining as silent as I could and keeping my presence as small as I could as well. Eyoli flinched, before gulping as she looked around the room, taking in the three sisters. "W-Well, I... I g-guess it''s time for us to decide, Vka..?" Rolling her eyes, the huntress nodded as she sighed, rubbing at her jaw as she stared at Oya. The entire time Oya never looked away, her eyes fixed on the two warriors before her, as calm and steady as ever. Pursing her lips, Vka turned back towards Eyoli and asked "You used to handle two at a time, right? If you take the twins, I can take their sister... Always did have a thing for the more mature women..." Gulping again, Eyoli scratched her head as she stared at the twins, who finally cracked under her gaze. They both giggled softly as they stared back at her, their features softening as the shyly waved at her, making the warrior shuffle in her seat. "I-I uh... I g-guess I could..? T-They s-seem f-fun..." Listening to her stuttering over her words was adorable, especially when taking into consideration her giant frame; she looked more like a hulking, warm teddybear then a warrior at the moment. Oya breathed out a sigh of relief, smiling slightly as she looked towards Vka and said "If you are really being serious, then... thank you. Sincerely, thank you, and I look forwards to our time together." Getting up, the older of the three sisters approached Vka, who got up and looked into the woman''s eyes. Reaching out, Oya grabbed Vka''s hand and continued to smile; if their skin was capable of showing it, I was sure Vka would be blushing down to her neck at this point. It had be to much for me, and I snickered as Eyoli was swarmed by the twins, stiffeningpletely as they pressed their chests against her arms. Everyone in the room turned towards me, and I watched as both Eyoli and Vka''s eyes widened, making my snicker turn towards full belliedughter. They both just looked so adorable like this~! Unknowingly, the two women had provided me with the perfect distraction for this uing trip Northwards; I had two new targets to tease the entire trip to Pris City~! Chapter 309 308: Planning A Siege Jahi PoV Our mages hastily set up the fortifications around the camp, Anput leading the way asrge pirs of earth erupted from the ground, creating a solid wall between us and them. Situated on a hill hundreds of feet away was the city of Goron, the first major city on our path towards conquering the Western Kingdoms. Tragon was down to the south, hugging the border of the Labyrinthian, while Romagi was to the north. Nestled in between the two Kingdoms was the third Kingdom; the Kingdom of Slyak, which is where Goron was located. Slyak''s capital was a few dozen miles Westwards, and that was where we would regroup after taking both Tragon and Romagi; at least, that was the current n, which all depended on the quality of troops found inside Goron. Either way, Goron was our beachhead for this Crusade, and it was the obvious choice as well. Hopefully that meant that they sent some worthy foes to man those walls, otherwise... this would be an easy, boring Crusade. Goron''s positioning was impable, since the city itself was on arge hill that was surrounded by two separate mountains that protected its western nk, while its eastern side was protected by three different rings of stone walls. The first ring was built around the farms for the city, which were tilled into the steep hills. The second ring had a taller wall, and the normal popce lived inside that second ring, protected by two giant walls. Lastly, the third ring had thergest, thickest wall, as it protected the pce and nobility, who hunkered down behind their normal citizens and trained guards. Clicking my tongue at the thought, I turned and entered themand tent with Leone, where Adelina was setting up her war table. ncing at me briefly, Adelina chuckled wryly as she said "Begum Sera is quite handy with her Earth Magic huh? I recall watching her set up that tower you all used before and wondering why I couldn''t have a mage like her on my side..." Nodding, I smirked as I leaned against the table, looking over the map and markers as I said "She sells herself short too; ims she''s just ''adequate'' with her magics. As for not having her on your side, well... we both know why we stuck to ourselves." The Lioness flinched slightly at that, her hand going towards her side as she gently caressed the area she had been stabbed. Everyone was inside the tent, so Nirinia flinched as well as she watched Adelina stroke her phantom wound, while Luna and Bess - the Wolfkin and Minotaurkin respectively - grimaced at the reminder that the twins, who they considered closerades, had betrayed them. Mom and Lady Sker simply stared at the map, their eyes flickering around as they took in what Adelina was doing, nodding or frowning at each move. "Well, at least this time I have ess to three capable assets. Anyways, just... give me a moment. I''ll exin this in a minute." Nodding, I moved to stand beside Nirinia, who was at the back of the tent, her jade eyes dull as she nced at Adelina. "Y''know, you couldn''t be anymore obvious with your puppy dog eyes and constant nces. Hate to break it to you, but women are rather sensitive to those things." My whisper made Nirinia flinch, before she let out a mncholic sigh as she smiled at me. "I... I know. I''ve... been around the block a few times, so to speak. It''s just... this is new to me, being the one doing the chasing. Usually they swoon for me instantly; status, looks, and charm make most fall instantly, but..." Smirking at her, I gestured towards the Commander, who was furrowing her brow as she slid arge chip around the map, her golden eyes filled with a deep concentration as she nned out the siege. "That isn''t a normal woman, Nirinia. You should know that better than I do. She''s a warrior, amander, and a true noble;pared to the women you used to collect for fun, she is in a whole different league..." Sighing again, she nodded to me before approaching the table, noticing that Adelina was finished nning everything out. Joining her, I scanned the map before following Adelina''s finger as she tapped the map. "Goron is here, and these three rings are the three walls of the city. Now, these three bars are the three different groups I want to split the Legion into. This first bar is the breaching group: Lady Sker, Nirinia, and a contingent of both high powered mages and healers will join you, alongside the Third Cohort, who specialize in tower shield formations. The purpose of this group is to charge towards the gates and get them open for the rest of us, nothing else. Move as a cohesive unit and get us into the next ring. This second bar is the clearing group: Marquess, Lady Jahi, myself and the First, Second, and Fourth Cohorts - alongside a majority of the healers - will clear out each ring before moving to the next ring, where we repeat our subjugation of Goron until it is under our control. Finally, this third bar is the upation group: All the remaining Cohorts will sweep through the rings once the clearing group has progressed further, clearing out any remnants before leaving behind squads to upy areas of importance. The Sixth and Seventh Cohorts will be joined by the remaining mages to im the walls, where they can provide a birds eye view of the city while also using their bows and magics to decimate any hiding forces. Now, from what we know of Goron, they have a few hidden exits inside the mountains, which should lead out into the ins off to the west; as such, the Eleventh and Twelfth Cohorts will spread out to capture any people of interest that hope to escape. The rings inside the city have multiple gates, but we''ll be making a straight rush to the heart of the city, drawing most of the enemies ire towards the breaching group. Lady Sker, I trust that you can make decisions based on the fluidity of the moments presented to you; just remember to move forwards and upy the next main gate and wait for the clearing group to join you before pushing forwards." Everyone at the table nodded as they looked down at the map, and Adelina smiled softly as she looked around the table. "Lady Jahi, Marquess; if both of you would form a squad of your own and take the north and south sides of the city, that would be much appreciated." ncing at Mom, I nodded as I said "I just need two more people, right? I can grab a healer and a mage to round out my group?", which made Mom nod back. A smile rose to my lips as I got up from the table, only to sigh as Mom said "You can''t take Kolia, brat. She''ll head the mages that join Sker." Raising a hand, I waved back at her as I muttered "Fine, fine..." before heading out, going towards the mage contingent first to pick out the first member of my own squad. Chapter 310 309: Assembling My Squad (1) Leone walked beside me as I made my way towards the Mage''s section of the camp; they had all decided to upy the same area, since they were all familiar with one another. Bera, the half Fae half Elf mage that led the contingent alongside Kolia was currently creating the fortress walls around us, making sure we would be safe from any potential counterattack from Goron or the other Kingdoms. As such, Kolia herself was still inside the camp, directing the others in their trainings and giving themst second pointers on what to expect and how to better prepare themselves. Seeing Leone and I, Kolia smiled as she made her way towards us, the woman''s snake tattoo writhing on her bare arm. "Jahi, Leone! It''s been awhile!" Stopping in front of us, the shorter woman grinned up at me, before her smile faltered as she looked towards my other side, where someone would have normally been standing. "I... It still feels odd, knowing what happened to her. I know you don''t want to hear it, but... really, I just... Hah... she was such a good student, y''know? Bah, I know she''s not gone; there''s no way she''s gone. Much to bright to be killed so easily... especially not by A and Jillian. That nose wasn''t just for show!" Smiling wryly at her poor attempt at a joke, I nodded as I said "She was the most cautious out of us all, constantly checking our surroundings and double checking our actions, making sure we were prepared for anything that could have happened..." Leone nodded, her eyes watery as she added "Sometimes I can still hear her nagging at me to clean up after myself or to take a break from my studies..." Hearing the Vampire''s disheartened mutter, I held in a growl as I smiled stiffly at the two women, saying "She''s not dead; we know that for sure. The bond says so. She''ll find her way home, and if not, then I''ll tear this world apart looking for her; you can be damned sure of that..." Kolia nodded, while Leone bit her lip and looked away, aware of my restraint. A pang of guilt entered my heart, forcing me to take a deep breath. With our rock gone, all three of us were charting unknown waters with little idea on how to swim, and what way was shore. I knew that, and I knew that I needed to step up and mature, to stop this childish, petnt me that I unconsciously ced on others and focus on the here and now, before looking forwards. There was no time to reflect on what has happened; I needed to focus on what would happen, and what was happening. For us, for me, and... for her. The thought of her looking at me like I was some new, worse person filled me with such indescribable dread that I almost locked up in fear, and that dread that I got small tastes of fueled my desire to improve. Or, at the very least, remain the same person I am now; the same person she loved so dearly, the same person she remembered. "Alright, we can talk all about her when this Crusade is over. For now, I need to find myself a mage to join my squad, Kolia. Someone capable, someone manageable, and someone capable of keeping up with Leone, Anput and I. Any ideas?" My former teacher frowned, her eyes turning back towards the dozens of men and women resting around the area. "''Capable of keeping up with you'' is rather difficult, you know that right? Ah, but I think there are three... Obviously me, but I''m guessing the Marquess or the Commander want me to remain with the mages?" ncing back at me, she mirrored my nod before continuing on, her voice thoughtful. "Fire, Earth / Metal, and Light... Leone is capable of healing, Anput is defensive with her Earth and offensive with her Metal, and you do a bit of everything with your Light... Hmm... so, I have a few options. First, there''s a male Harpy that''s good with support spells; healing, buffs, and some debuffs as well. Little entric, but overall a nice guy. Second, a female Tigerkin that focuses on using her Nature Magic offensively, but is also capable of debuffing targets as well; also entric, but more so in the way that she ''hunts'' her foes... Finally, a female Wind Djinn that loves to use her - surprise~ - Wind Magic to slice her opponents to shreds." Trailing off, Kolia sighed as she added "That Wind Djinn is technically wanted for murder in a city, but it was a shitty noble that she killed - guy tried to rape her so she used her potent Magics to butcher him and disy his corpse on her homes walls, much to the disgust and surprise of her neighbors. Just... thought you might want to know that..." Chuckling softly, I nodded to myself as I said "Bring the Tigerkin and Wind Djinn here; Leone and I can provide enough buffs for ourselves, so I was thinking someone with some power would be best." When Kolia nodded and moved away, Leone nced up at me for a moment, asking "Are you... okay? I mean, earlier, you seemed rather-" Reaching forwards, I grabbed Leone by the waist and pulled her forwards into my chest, silencing her for the moment. "Leone, love, for the moment... yes, I am fine. Just... let''s not speak on it, alright?" The Vampire gulped and nodded, her ears slightly red as she nuzzled into my chest, all while I stroked her ashen hair. I... did need to eventuallye to terms with what happened; to confront it and deal with it, especially with them, but... not now. When this Crusade was over... that was when I would make my first real effort to change... To keep us all together, stronger than ever before. But until then... Giving Leone a quick kiss, I made my way to follow Kolia, who was getting the two women together to create my own personal squad... Chapter 311 310: Assembling My Squad (2) Walking behind Kolia, I felt Leone sneak her hand into mine, my Vampire lover giving me a tight squeeze. Squeezing back, I looked down and gave her a small smile, watching on lovingly as she leaned her head against my arm, walking slowly beside me. All the mages inside the camp looked our way, curiosity, respect, or indifference present in their eyes. They all followed us with their gazes, wondering what we were doing inside their section of the encampment, only to nod in understanding as they saw Kolia in front of us. Stopping in the center of the sea of tents, Kolia took a deep breath before shouting "Liga! Aurae! Come here!" Raising a brow, I smirked slightly at the surprisingly loud shout of my former mentor, who turned back to look towards us. Seeing my smirk, she frowned, only to re at me as I asked "By the way teach, did you ever find someone to rece that book of yours~?" Scoffing, she turned away instantly, her ears slightly red as she snapped "No, and it''s none of your business! I don''t need anyone!" Chuckling, I grinned at her as I replied "That book would say differently~! Surely you''ve been looking around, teach~?" ring at me once more, the woman''s flushed cheeks made my grin widen, only for me to sigh as Leone pinched my waist. Coughing into her fist, the snake tattooed woman nodded in thanks to Leone, who nodded back, before we all turned towards the sound of someoneughing. Approaching us was a thin, hawkish faced woman, her skin a pale green splotched with white that matched her pure white eyes. Long green hair was pulled into a braid that snaked down her right shoulder, which was covered by her opened grey cloak. "Lady Kolia~! What did you need love?" She wore a wide, charming smile, giving her a handsome look; a look that made Kolia gulp before she gestured towards us. Holding back the urge to smirk at her, I looked over the Wind Djinn that approached, the woman also giving me a look over as well. "Aurae, correct?" "Yes ma''am! Aurae of Zephyri, at your service~!" Giving me an exaggerated bow, the Djinn''s eyes hardened slightly as she noticed the House Asmodia symbol hanging on my belt. "Kolia told me you had a problem with Nobility, to which I can understand; not all of us are exactly... worthy of the titles given to us at birth, but you needn''t worry about me." Smiling at her, I summoned a small sphere of light on my palm, dazzling the area around us in a warm gold hue that attracted the attention of the mages once more. Her eyes softened at the sight, nodding as she muttered "Well, so far, so good..." Chuckling, I nced towards Kolia again, who was frowning as she looked around the tents. "Liga! Where the zing hells are you!?" Shouting once more, she narrowed her eyes as she searched for the missing Tigerkin, making some of the surrounding mages chuckle in amusement. One of the tents ps billowed outwards as a bulky, fur covered humanoid walked outside, shaking its head a few times before turning towards us. Seeing a Tiger walking on two legs towards us, I nodded slightly to myself as I realized that this Liga woman was amongst the rare few Beastkin who were either ''blessed'' or ''cursed'' to look more like their namesakes. Depending on the person you asked, resembling a Tiger as a Tigerkin could be a blessing or a curse; you had more benefits from that animal now, granting you more prowess from that animal. However, in exchange, you look like said animal, which, for most people, is... unnerving. Approaching us, the woman named Liga reached up to stroke her whiskers, all while her warm amber eyes raked over us. "Miss Kolia, what is it that you need? I was in the midst of conducting... an experiment." Smoothing out the wrinkles on her deep green robe, the woman frowned as she nced towards Leone and I, before returning her gaze to Kolia. "Alright you two; the Commander and Marquess have told Jahi here to create a squad of her own, and she wants a mage to join her for the duration of the Crusade. You two were the ones that I rmended for her, so..." Turning towards me, Kolia smiled at me as she said "Take it away~", stepping back and looking over the two women who focused on me. "Like Kolia said, I need to create my own squad for the duration of this Crusade, and I wanted someone with some powerful arcane might to join me alongside a healer. Came over here first, so..." Looking over the two women, I saw Aurae frown slightly while Liga nced away, slightly bored. "Anyways, whoever joins me can get sponsored by the Asmodia Family for a year; whatever research it is that you want to conduct will be funded by us, so long as it isn''t... idiotic or unprofitable." That made the two women perk up, the obvious greed in their eyes as they heard the promise of funding forcing me to hold back a snicker. Magicians all held the same unquenchable thirst to know more about the arcane arts; it was engraved into their very soul to want to understand everything there was in the world. Anput and I weren''t considered ''magicians'' even though we utilized our magics; that term was reserved for those like Leone and... Her. Either way, Liga and Aurae were now whole heartedly focused on me, the both of them thinking of ways to convince me to take them. With narrowed eyes they looked at each other, understanding now that they were each otherspetition. With a small smile on my lips, I gestured towards the open field nearby, saying "How about a quick little spar between you both? Since I''m looking for power, whoever wins joins me for the rest of the Crusade~!" --- Question: Do you guys prefer these two shorter chapters or the single, longer chapters? Just curious, cause for the moment I prefer these two shorter chapters; more gets out but they''re easier to write since I don''t need to force myself to 1500 words in one sitting... Just curious, might go back to the longer ones if people would rather them. --- Chapter 312 311: Assembling My Squad (3) With the suggestion of the spar, both Liga and Aurae turned to look at one another, sizing up their opponent for this match as they made their way towards the open field. Some of the other mages began to gather around toe and watch this duel, hoping to see and perhaps understand something in the way the two women controlled their spells and mana during the duel. It was unlikely, but who knows when or where inspiration coulde from! Stepping onto the field, the two women nodded at one another as Kolia said "Alright, simple dueling spell, using your natural element. Ten paces back, start on my signal!" Standing beside me, Leone watched on with interest, her eyes alternating between the Tigerkin and Wind Djinn. "Who do you think is going to win, Leone dear?" Hearing my light whisper, my Vampire peeked up at me before returning her gaze to the two mages, her lips pursed into a thin line. "I... I don''t know. Wind Magic is vtile and sharp, but Nature Magic is durable and powerful. It will all honestlye down to who is not only more in tune with their element, but who has the better control." Nodding, I watched as they both readied a simple Ritual Circle before casting the spell when Kolia shouted ''Begin!'' A sh of a deep and pale green filled the clearing, before a burst of wind ruffled the tents around the perimeter. mming together between them, the two green beams of raw mana collided with a loud p, forming a sphere of varying green hues in the center. Both women grunted as they began to fuel more mana into the spell, though Aurae bit her cheek as she tried to nt her feet firmly into the dirt, only to skid back a step. Watching on with interest as the emerald beam began to warp around the Wind Djinn''s magic, I nodded to myself as the duel slowly came to a close; no matter how she tried to fight back, Aurae found herself outssed by the Tigerkin''s Nature Magic. Of course, that wasn''t to say she wasn''t strong, but I do believe that there was a certain edge that Liga had over her due to her element. Panting, the two nodded to one another as they released their spells, evidence of her being overpowered shown on the skid marks that went back a foot or so. Approaching Leone and I, the two women gave me varying grins; Liga a wide, excited grin, while Aurae sported a wry, disappointed grin. "Well then Liga, seems like we''ll need to get to know one another better~! Congrattions on that; for now, grab what you need and meet me at the Command Tent; we''ll need to go over what we''ll be doing for the Siege of Goron. Be there in ten minutes, alright?" Wiping the grin from her face, the Tigerkin stood ramrod straight as she saluted me by mming her fist against her modest chest. "Yes Ma''am!" Nodding, I smirked as she turned and marched off, before I looked back at Aurae. "Listen, while it did suck that you didn''t win, think of it this way..." Gesturing at her, I made sure Kolia was just out of earshot when I whispered "My mentor over there, Arch Mage Kolia? She''s a tad bit... lonely, y''know? Reads smut in her free time, probably does worse when she''s alone~ Anyways, think she might be into you, so why don''t you... ''stick close'' to her for now, hm~? Could you do that as a favor to me?" Aurae looked towards Kolia, who was making her way over, a small frown on her face. "Sure, I think I could manage... would be lying if I said I didn''t dig the tats she''s got... gives her a rather unique charm, don''tcha think?" Returning her smirk, I nodded as I stood back up, all while Leone rolled her eyes at me ying matchmaker. "Well, I''ll be seeing you Kolia~ Don''t miss me too much now, alright?" Patting one of my pockets, I grinned at her as she blushed again, her hand mirroring my cement as she felt the outline of her book, only for her to re at me. Those slitted blue eyes would have scared me before, but now... Waving back at her, I led Leone over towards the clean white tents of the healers area, my mind drifting around for a moment. "Jahi... really?" ncing down at Leone, I chuckled as I saw her peering back at Kolia, who was blushing as Aurae said something to her, a smirk on her face. "Yes, really~ Seems like she finally found someone to crush on, thought I could help it along~ Besides, if Aurae tries something on Kolia, well... there will be a repeat of that murder shemitted, but in reverse this time~!" Sighing, Leone shook her head before gesturing towards Mom, who was waiting at a tent. "C''mere brat! Took you long enough; were you asking about their favorite garnish on steak or something?!" Raising a brow at her annoyed tone, I pursed my lips before shaking my head. "Nope, I was spending your money instead." Letting out a sigh, Mom half red half grinned at me, her amusement obvious as her ruby eyes sparkled at my words. "You''re asking for a beating, brat. Just cause your my daughter doesn''t mean I won''t smack the ever-loving shit out of you." Nodding, I replied "I mean, you can try. Might pull a muscle or two though..." "Must you always have a quip?" "Is your age making you incapable of responding?" Sighing again, Mom rolled her eyes at me as she turned towards Leone instead, who was frowning. "Teach her a lesson for me, dear. Anyways, I got you yourst member; Asklepios'' daughter Iaso made it clear that it''s her Goddess'' will or something. Don''t worry though; she can handle herself. Pretty deadly too, funnily enough." Pursing my lips, I nced at the tent ps as a woman walked out, revealing the final member of my squad. Chapter 313 312: Morning After Kat PoV That night was one that was rather... strenuous, on both me and the three sisters. The words of the Priestess who found me resounded in my ears as I listened to Oya moan loudly on the other side of the room, her voice strained as Vka grunted above her, muttering and whispering to her newfound lover and mate. As for the twins, it wasn''t them moaning loudly tonight; instead, it was Eyoli, who was letting out adorable gasps and grunts as she was serviced by the two gorgeous sisters. Listening to it all happen, along with being forced to endure the scents of their animalistic mating as they relished this opportunity, I desperately held in my own moans as I sated my own unbelievably potent lust, trying hard to remain clearheaded and restrain from joining one of them. Any of them... They knew that I was present, but like I had noticed many times before, there was no real sense of privacy for the Arese, as they had quickly slipped into lovemaking moments after dering their desire to be mates. Vka had thrown Oya onto her bed, growling softly as she pounced onto the woman and began to ravish her, while Poepa and Quarta made a good show of teasing Eyoli topletion, their warm smiles as they yed with her body like a toy heating me up. They had offered to let me ride therge woman, but I declined, waving them away and watching with a mixture of relief and envy as they too fell into a bed warmed by others. With just myself aspany, I could only wallow in self pity as I tried desperately to quell my boundless desires. My [Arousal Stacks] were nil, and yet here I was, my mind hazy and filled with heat. This... would be the hardest part of my journey; no monsters, enemies, orck of knowledge would ever topple over the chunk of my mind focused on sex, and it made me both even hornier and depressed. When I had finally fallen asleep in the corner I had imed, I did so listening to the soft whispers around me; whispers that morphed into the guttural tones of Jahi or the silky smooth pleadsing from Leone. A whiff of citrus threatened to awaken me that night as well, my body cold as I too craved my mates touch, the bronzed skin of Anput hiding behind a hazy cloud in my dreams. The cracking of a whip, delectable moaning, and adorable panting filled my ears, and I mewled quietly to myself as I shivered. Eventually, morning arose, and everyone made their way out into the main room. Rubbing at my eyes, I yawned as I sipped at a cup of tea, ncing at the five women that stumbled exhaustedly towards the table... Where they all frowned, with the three sisters turning to stare at the embarrassed Eyoli and Vka. Getting up, I yawned again as I poured the tea out again before moving to sit on the counter, the wood creaking slightly under my weight. Oya was the second most tired looking woman in the room; Eyoli was the first, and she seemed rather content with that as the twins sat on her thighs, leaning back against her chest contentedly. The older sister approached the kitchen and looked around the pantries, only to frown as I said "Everything they have is old and inedible. The tea leaves were thest things left to remain edible." Looking over her shoulder, Oya red slightly at Vka, who shivered as she muttered "I t-told you we were barely home..." Sighing, Oya asked "Then shall we go visit some of the cooks for breakfast and stock up on necessities at the market?" Vka nodded, before turning towards me as I asked "Oh Vka, when are we meant to depart? How much time are we spending here in Scythiara?" "We leave tomorrow morning; Priestess Liana needs to settle a few things with the other Priestess'' before deciding on what goods we need to bring back for the Tribe." Giving her a nod, I smiled at Oya as I said "Well then, you have a day to get to know your mate better before she leaves again! How''d you want to spend it?" Pursing her lips, Oya looked towards the embarrassed Vka before shrugging, only to turn towards her sisters as they both let out excited squeals. "I know! I know! Tonight we need to dance as mates! C''mon sis! Let''s go tell everyone they said yes~!" Slipping free from Eyoli''s thigh, Poepa grinned at her elder sister as she raced towards the door, which made Oya sigh. "Very well. Vka dear, we''ll take care of the first round of necessities and foodstuffs, but..." Her tone turned slightly serious as she narrowed her eyes at Vka, who nodded as she patted her chest. "I know; I''ll go over what we have and give you a monthly allowance. Don''t get your hopes up though; Eyoli and I just received a new set of tattoo''sst time we were here, so we''re running a little dry." "That''s fine. While my sisters and I go around the Tribe, you should take Katherine out to see everything and learn more about us; maybe she can get herself something nice to remember us by." Turning towards me, Eyoli and Vka nodded thoughtfully before getting up, watching as their new mates exited the house. Wearing a small smile, I teased the two women as I asked "So, how''d you enjoyst night hmm~? Seems like you both were rather... tamed by your new mates~! Maybe you really are as popr as you led me to believe, hm?" Vka frowned slightly while Eyoli turned away, both fidgeting slightly. "W-Well... Yeah, it was nice..." Scratching her cheek, Vka muttered to herself while Eyoli coughed into her fist, gesturing towards the door. "L-let''s go! There''s a lot of really fun things we can do today, so..!" Smiling at their obvious attempt at distracting me, I decided to y along for the time being, walking out of their house and following them as we walked around the Tribe''s city. Chapter 314 313: New Tattoo Following Eyoli and Vka outside of their house, we stepped out into the cold air and snow covered city of Scythiara; better known to them as home. The Arese were already up and about, walking around the city with purpose as theyughed with their friends, family, or mates. Many gave Eyoli and Vka nods, while the rest came up to sp forearms with the two women, congratting them or greeting them after not seeing one another for a long time. Some of the Arese that stopped to chat with Eyoli or Vka looked my way as well, their eyes narrowing for a second before they would approach me, asking if I was ''in the market''. Turning them down, I noticed quickly that they all rather civil about their rejections, giving me a smile and a nod before walking away. Sensing my confusion, Eyoli said "If we got hung up on being rejected, the entire Tribe would be in shambles; remember, while there are many of us Arese, we still rely on one another to survive. For instance, if I got hung up about one of my past mes choosing someone else to mate with and held that grudge, I would be risking theposition of our expeditions through unneeded jealousy. Most of us warriors take rejection as motivation to better ourselves; obviously, if we were rejected, that meant we weren''t as desirable as we believed ourselves to be. As for the women, they tend to be the ones to pick us warriors out, so they don''t run the risk of rejection most of the time, but if they do, they do the same as us." Letting out a sound of acknowledgment, I looked around the bustling city for a little longer, still walking behind my two guides / guards. It was interesting how different some cultures were, and it was something I had always wanted to experience in my previous life; how one thing in one ce was either desirable or frowned upon, only to be viewed in the opposite light somewhere else. For instance, I had been a woman with pronounced curves, so where I was from I had no problem finding partners, but if I traveled to some of the other countries in the world, I would be viewed as ''ugly'' because I wasn''t slim. That difference in perspective was always intriguing, and seeing that it was still around in this world made me curious about what else was waiting to be discovered... Maybe, when I returned home, Jahi would be open to- "Katherine! Look, look! Ah, I didn''t think we would be this lucky!" Eyoli grabbed my shoulder, pointing off towards a roaring bonfire. Frowning for a moment at being dragged from my thoughts, I followed her finger and noticed that there were many women covered in writhing white tattoo''s lounging around the fire, one of which was Priestess Liana. "Haha! Vka, do you think we might be able to convince one of the Priestess'' for a new tattoo?! Do you?!" Hearing the excitementcing therge woman''s tone, I raised a brow as I nced at Vka, who was sighing. "Doubt it. Most likely their doing some ritual tattoo''s for the new warriors, maybe even some rewards for the outstanding hunters or warriors fromst year. Remember, we didn''t participate in the border patrol, nor did we have any significant contributions on the hunts." Watching as Eyoli visibly deted, Vka and I chuckled as more Arese gathered around the fire, staring at the various Priestess'' with curious eyes. Looking up, Priestess Liana smiled widely as she met my gaze, prompting her to stand up as she said "Ah, there she is! Come here, Katherine... the others wanted to get a look at you. Quite rare that we have an opportunity like this..." Tapping her finger against her nose, I raised a brow before stepping forwards, looking around the gathered Priestess'' as they moved towards me as well, curiosity filling their ck eyes. "Hmm... yes, I can almost taste it Liana. That bitter tang followed by a dry, t scent... I remember it well..." The one who spoke was older, and she looked me up and down before nodding to herself. "See? None of you believed me. Besides that, she herself has never made a deal with them, and yet the smell permeates her very being. Intriguing." The gathered Arese looked at me in confusion, only to shrug as the Priestess'' gestured to a stool, sitting down around it. Taking the seat, I looked around before focusing on Priestess Liana as she began to speak. "Fiends. Most know them as deceitful, terrible amalgamations of the worst emotions mortals are capable of. Unquenchable desire to understand everything driven to the brinks of insanity. Uncontroble bloodlust. Raw despair and torment. Insatiable lust turned unto undeserving victims. To us Arese, we are all familiar with the Fiends of the Cimmerian Mountains. Ka''Kon, Tza''Tul, and ''Siki. Ka''Kon the Murderous, born of our founders destruction of her enemies and genocide of those tribes. Tza''Tul the Inquisitive, born from our own desires to understand ourselves and our pasts, as well as the desire to shape our own future. ''Siki the Dominant, born from the very night that Areseta and Sayik conceived the Arese. Three Fiends that hunt and despise our Tribe for binding them to the very mountains behind us, and the three beings that we must keep chained away from the rest of the world. Aspirants and Veterans alike, remember that fact. Our Tribe is responsible for keeping those Fiends locked away, to better protect the world around us, no matter how they may view us. When the people from Nevrokopi or the Hoarfrost Sect call you names or try to rile you up, ignore them. They know not what we do for them, and they will never understand. They deride us for being primal, for being uncivilized, but they don''t understand that we are the reason they have what they have. Don''t forget that, and hold your head high when stepping foot outside of Scythiara. You are Arese, and you are better than them." Listening to her speech, the assembled Arese all nodded; some were grinning, others wore serious expressions, and some let out low sighs. "Aspirants, step up towards Priestess'' Hoga and her sister Gaho to receive your warrior crests. Veterans, if you wish to barter for new tattoo''s, Priestess'' Kiki, Nike, and Olipa are avable. When I am done, I will announce who may approach me next." Everyone nodded, and the Priestess'' all spread out, lines forming instantly in front of them. As for me, I was left beside Priestess Liana, who smiled softly at me as she said "For the time being, since you provided an excellent excuse to settle a few debts of mine, I''m willing to gift you a tattoo. If you desire one, anyways." ncing around, I noticed that many Arese were already showing some of their bare skin, which was being inspected by the Priestess''. Pursing my lips, I rolled up my left sleeve and stared at my upper arm, before ncing back at Priestess Liana. "What kind of tattoo''s are you capable of?" Smirking at me, Priestess Liana said "I can draw more mana from your core, enhance the potency of your mana when it reaches a certain limb, improve the resilience of your flesh, make you more agile... I can do many things." Nodding, I continued to look at my upper left arm; so far, I had a n for where I wanted certain magical tattoo''s to reside, and I had just been waiting on ways to apply them to myself after perfecting the spell itself... For example, I wanted to create des of mana that would sprout from my forearms, like mantis des; specifically, I would have two tattoos that would collide at a certain point, allowing me to use all three of my elements. A Wind and Water tattoo that could be bined'' at a specific part of each tattoo to create the Ice ''tattoo''. That was just one of many tattoos that I had nned out, but I had a nk canvas for my left upper arm. There was no real n for that area just yet, so I needed to pick something that would fit that limb. Hmm... "The increased resilience tattoo; does that only impact my arm, or..?" Priestess Liana shook her head, still smirking. "Nope, not at all~! it just needs a ce to activate before spreading to the rest of the body, hardening the skin it affects. It''s a rathermon tattoo for our warriors and hunters, for obvious reasons." "Then let''s go with that; better to be safe then sorry, hm~? It''ll only take this portion of my arm though, right?" Stroking my pale flesh, I gestured to the area that I thought it might upy, and Priestess Liana nodded. "Yes, but I must warn you it is rather painful andrge. Besides that, the materials we use are white in color, so..." Chuckling, I shrugged as I said "That doesn''t matter to me, and as for the pain, I''ve likely felt worse. So..." "Alright, alright... just don''t start crying when I begin, okay~?" --- Might do a second chapterter, dunno tho lol cause it''s my birthday~! --- Chapter 315 314: Squad Asmodia Jahi PoV The tent ps for the Healers opened up, revealing a rather gorgeous woman. Tall and lithe, the woman had a serious, but also gaunt expression on her face, her cheeks slightly sunken in. Slitted stormy gray eyes looked our way, and the scent of ozone permeated the woman''s clean azure robes. Long, draping sleeves covered her arms, the cuffs made from a pronounced silver thread. Reaching up, the sleeves fell down her arms, revealing the blue and gray scales that littered her pale white flesh, while her fingers were all covered in silver full finger rings, each of which ended in a sharp, lethal point. Small runes littered each ring, and they emitted a warmth as sparks of electricity jolted between them. Finally, thest notable thing - besides the scales that littered her flesh, which included her face, neck, and presumably the rest of her body - was her blue stranded gray hair, looking much like a stormy sky filled with clouds. "Alright... Brat, this is thest member of your squad; Iaso, the daughter of Asklepious, Priestess of Lamiana, and skilled water mage. Be nice to her, and make sure to keep her safe; you''re already draining my wallet enough, what with this Crusade and frivolous spending and promises!" Ignoring Mom''s weary sigh, I nodded to Iaso as she stepped forwards, the woman reaching for a pendant that hung from her neck. "Theia Charis, Lady Asmodia." Her voice was raspy and low, and I frowned at her odd words. Sensing my confusion, Iaso lifted the small snake pendant, disying it to me as she said "''Theia Charis'' means ''Blessings'' when tranted tomon tongue, Lady Jahi. It''s the traditional greeting of my people." Nodding again, I examined the pendant for a moment before turning my attention towards her ''ws'', asking "I thought you were a water user? What''s the lightning for?" Smiling softly, Iaso raised both her hands, pressing the ws together and drawing outrger sparks of electricity, which increased the sweet, deadly scent of ozone. "In order to better understand how to heal, one must understand how to inflict pain. My father started me off at a young age, kyria. Water reacts wonderfully with Lightning, especially when I wish to inflict pain." The smile she wore as she continued to lovingly stare at her deadly ws made my heart clench in my chest, and I could tell that Leone noticed it too. "Oh, ''kyria'' means dy''! I remember that one! Asklepious is stickler for formalities, even if they are in a different tongue!" Beaming at us, Mom chuckled softly as she gestured for us to follow, ignoring the dark looks Leone and I wore as we stole nces at Iaso. Maybe... she would be better served elsewhere. Away from Anput, Leone and I. Letting out a sigh, I walked behind her as we made our way back towards the main tent, where Liga was waiting for us, alongside Nirinia. The Djinn-Orc hybrid looked the Tigerkin over, while the Tigerkin ignored the gaze of the curious Djinn. Seeing us approach, Liga... ''smiled'', I guess - her lips curled upwards, while her fangs were bared to us - and she said "Lady Asmodia, Lady Presa-Ash. Marquess. Thank you for your generosity!" Bowing, she made Mom sigh as she red back at me, before shrugging. "Your wee Miss Liga. Kolia''s said many things about you, mostly good too. Well, I''ll leave you to talk with your new squad; after all, you will be with the four of them for who knows how longs so do get to know and respect one another. Nirinia, with me." Striding away, Mom took the dawdling Djinn away towards the meditating Lady Sker, likely to discuss the uing Crusade once again. Returning my attention to Liga, I took a breath before saying "She''s right; we should get to know one another before we depart for the first mission. So... follow me. Anput will join us soon enough." Not waiting for a response, I led them towards the carriage, where we had made our temporary abode; it wasn''t as cleanly and tidy as the one we had at the previous fortress though... No matter how much we three worked at it, none of us could ever replicate that tidiness. Leaning against the carriage, I gestured to the campsite, prompting Liga and Iaso to sit. "First things first; Liga, this is Iaso. Iaso, Liga. You have both been selected to create a squad for the duration of the Crusade to subjugate the Western Kingdoms. In the grand scheme of the Crusade, we''ll be sent to do whatever the Commander deems necessary for a squad of our strength, no matter how trivial or how impossible it may seem. Now, as for me and my fiancees. I am, as you are well aware, a Light Magician and a Demoness. I rely on enhancement magic to increase my physical prowess, alongside using my Light defensively. For all intents and purposes, I am the ''Tank'' of this group; I can take most hits sent my way and distract anything toorge for the rest of you to deal with at the moment. Next, Anput. She''s the Jackalkin that will be joining us soon, and she relies on her Metal Magic to improve her offensive capabilities. Anput fights well with most weapons, and will take the role of vanguard beside me, keeping the enemies from reaching you three. Finally, Leone is a mage, much like yourself Liga. Her Fire Magic is potently destructive, and she wields it with both great fury and incredible finesse. Not only that, but she is rather good with her support spells too, knowing a fair bit of defensive, buff, and healing spells. As for you both, you can exin your strengths here and now so that we may better n our strategy going forwards." Nodding, Iaso looked towards Liga before speaking. "I am an expert in support Water Magic, as is decreed by my Goddess. My healing is potent enough to regrow lost limbs as well as purify most poisons, while my support buffs can provide a roughly three times increase in physical performance, be it strength, endurance, or your skins toughness. Besides that, unless something strong is capable of making it past you, kyria, I can handle myself in close quartersbat well enough, since I have learned martial arts since I was but a hatchling." Coughing into her fist, Liga went next, nodding to Anput as she slipped into the camp, her ears twitching as she leaned against my side. "My Nature Magic is more geared towards destruction than support. I specialize inrge, sprawling domains and alterations to thend itself, however I do have rather potent single target spells as well. Additionally, since Lady Presa-Ash is a Fire Magician, I do have spells that are meant to amplify Fire Magics in open area; I can provide rather mmable woods for you to burn or nts that release gasses that burn as well. On top of my domains and single target spells, I am also self taught in stealth and silent killing, using my bs and kukri to slow and maim my foes before killing them. Of course, considering the space you will likely need to perform your own attacks and spells, I doubt that specialty of mine will get much use." Looking between the two women, I felt my mind start to whirl as I thought up potential strategies for us going forwards, making separate ones for each kind of environment we might find ourselves in. "Good. It seems we have a diverse enough group here, so we should be good going forwards with the Crusade. Now, our first responsibility in the Siege of Goron is to work alongsi-" I began to exin what Adelina wanted us to do, giving my squad, Squad Asmodia, their first orders. Chapter 316 315: Start Of The Siege "Everyone ready?! The Breaching Group has already begun to open a path into the city of Goron, and it is our job to follow behind them and clear out the first ring! Remember, you are working with your squad mates only! Do NOT expect timely backup from anyone else, so move smart, fight smarter! If anyone gets injured, retreat to the previous gate and await healing!" Standing at the forefront of the assembled troops, Adelina Leonisa, Commander of the Ashen Legion, cast her golden gaze over her troops, nodding to herself as a loud shout echoed around us. "Goron will be the first of many to fall under the Empire''s might! The Empress has ced trust in us to be her sword; she desires to let the world know that the Empire is unafraid ofbat, of war, and will retaliate when provoked! As her sword, we need to disy just how lethal it is to go against us! Believe in yourself, believe in yourrades, and keep your edge honed for the battles toe! For the Empire!" Luna beside her hefted and unfurled the banner of the Legion, earning the roar of the soldiers as they brandished their weapons, thirsty for blood. Unsheathing her golden sword, Adelina turned and pointed the intricate weapon at the burning gate, shouting "All squads forwards! Let us disy our prowess for the world to see!" Another roar filled the ins between Goron and our temporary fortress, before the rumbling of armored Legionaries storming forwards joined the cacophony of sounds. Giving a nod to the others, I set the pace of a leisurely jog, deciding to allow the more enthusiastic of the Legion to have their fun first. This first ring would be filled with weak troops and civilians; it was the agricultural district of Goron, and while it was something they would want to keep under a siege, the problem lied with the fact that Lady Sker and Nirinia had already breached their first gate, allowing us ess to said farms. They weren''t going to put up much of a fight to keep them, especially not when they could tell that a Knight was leading the way... Anyways, I nced to my right to find Mom mirroring me, yawningzily as she jogged with four armored men and women behind her, each one attempting to hide the reverent gazes that they sent her way. We had discussed it earlier, and Mom decided she would take the North of each ring, and I would take the South; it had been decided by coin flip since neither of us cared. Continuing to jog forwards, I maintained my pace even as the more enthusiastic reached the rubble of the gate first, excited shouts echoing around as they streamed forwards, ready to fight. Whatid behind the destroyed gate were fields upon fields of crops waiting to ripen; greenish gold wheat covered vast portions of thend, but trees and bushes filled with fruits, berries and vegetables were rather abundant as well. This city was almost self sufficient with this excessive amount of farnd, and it would be one of the breadbaskets of the Empire going forwards, especially when the city is expanded. Anyways, even though this ring was 85% fields, the remaining 15% were farmhouses, barns, storage silos, and other buildings, each of which could be hiding soldiers or civilians. Jogging up the main road with Anput, Leone, Iaso, and Liga behind me, I nodded to Mom as she veered to the right, heading to the North, while I turned left, leading my squad towards the South. Seeing the enthusiastic soldiers breaching arge manor, I nodded to myself as I made my way towards the next building, which was a small collection of cabins situated around a fire pit. There were eight cabins in total, and without a word we all separated, standing before our selected cabins and readying our weapons or magics. Anput and I grabbed our des; Anput picking a curved scimitar and a short dagger, while I drew a dagger of my own, not wanting to destroy the housepletely as I searched it. A great sword wielded by a Demoness asrge as I am would turn the cabin into rubble in mere moments... As for Leone, Iaso and Liga, the three mages all shone their respective in the color of their respective elements, readying spells as they reached for the doors. Double checking our surroundings, I took a quick breath before kicking the door open, sending it crashing into the wall opposite. Striding inside, I quickly checked the various corners and small rooms before returning outside, finding nothing besides items and clothing strewn about. I proceeded to go through the remaining cabins swiftly enough, clearing them and sighing as I rejoined the others, each of them shaking their heads. Wordlessly, we waved a squad over and had them remain behind us, double checking the cabins before waiting for us to clear the next building. Working our way down the long road of houses and storage facilities, we found nothing inside, only knickknacks, foodstuffs, clothes, and other things that weren''t able to be carried with the families as they escaped. Few valuables remained inside the buildings either, adding credence to the belief that all the citizens of Goron would be located inside the second ring; maybe even the third, depending on the nobles currently in power. With the first ring firmly under our control, we made our way to the next gate, which was reduced to rubble just like the first one. Stepping over the shattered stone and splintered wood, we moved into the residential district of Goron, and the sounds of ttering des and shouts of pain or anger filled the air. Bodies were already strewn on the main road, the brown leather armor of the humans stained darker with their blood; some weren''t soldiers, but weapons were strewn on the ground beside them, likely from a hastily formed militia. Large buildings made from stone and topped with colorless tile roofing rose from the ground all around us, leaving little space to move. Buildings werepact and joined together, utilizing the most of the space they were given as they towered up three stories. Mom stopped beside me, sighing as she looked around the ustrophobic city, muttering "Humans... always such ugly, nd architecture... Be careful though; they might be weak, but they can be as crafty as a goblin sometimes." With that, she beckoned her squad forwards as they approached one of the side streets, swiftly disappearing from view. "Come on." Following her example, I led my own squad towards an alleyway, my eyes scanning the shut windows and locked doors. "We have a city to subjugate." Chapter 317 316: Questions Unanswered The residential district of Goron waspact and ustrophobic, the strong buildings constricting around narrow roads and even thinner alleyways. How these humans lived in a city like this is beyond me; such tight housing and rough roads, topped off with the abundant poption of the humans... Goron smelt like shit. The roads were rtively clean, but splotches of dark color and small puddles of suspect origin on such a clear, hot day marred the side roads, while some of the buildings were weathered and disyed their age. This city was constructed in such a way that attempting to siege it would be brutal for the invaders, especially for a majority of the other races... Tails, bulkier builds,rger heights... All of it would be constricted here; hells, I doubt even the humans who lived here were capable of living inside this mazefortably... Letting out an annoyed sigh, I reached for the daggers on my belt and picked one, nodding to myself at the weight. Stepping into thework of roads and alleyways, I began to lead my squad through the confusing city, following a certain path. Adelina had provided a map of the city, albeit a slightly old one, and gave Mom and I key targets to neutralize. On my side of the city, there was an armory, barracks, and two mage towers; I needed to either destroy or take over those locations, so that we could begin true sweeps of Goron and whittle out those foolish enough to fight against us. This would by no means be a quick subjugation of the city... if we were to keep it all under our control ourselves. The Eleventh and Twelfth Cohorts woulde back around and leave soldiers to upy the first of our conquered cities, keeping it under control until the upational force of the Empire moved in to takeplete control of the Kingdoms. For now though, we needed to get the city ready for thoseing after us, and the first step was to begin cutting off the supplies or locations for the citizens and warriors of Goron to utilize against us. Rounding a corner, I came face to face with a wide eyed, pale skinned man in chainmail. Without thinking, I jabbed my fist forwards into his nose, earning a satisfying crunch as I shattered it, before stabbing my dagger deep into his chest, piercing the pitiful chainmail easily enough. Twisting the dagger, I pushed him off my de, his body dropping to the ground with a thud. Behind him were eight other men and women, all wearing the same chainmail and wielding short swords and bucklers. However, as I stepped around the corner fully, revealing myselfpletely, I watched as the soldiers took a step back in fear, their limbs trembling. "M-M-Monster..!'' Scoffing, I appeared before the man who spoke and lifted him by his throat, staring him in the eyes as I muttered "Maybe to you small worms, I am a monster... but I don''t care..." Clenching my fist, I snapped his neck easily and tossed the body aside, making the remaining seven soldiers take another step back. Leone rounded the corner next, her palms coated in dim red light as her spells remained on standby, followed quickly by Liga and Iaso. Anput brought up the rear, hernce and dagger glittering with silver light as she maintained their morphed shapes. Seeing the five of us, the remaining soldiers trembled in fear, making me sneer at them. "Really? This is the pitiful stock that the humans have to draw from to defend themselves? Their homes, their families? A bunch of sniveling cowards who believe themselves superior? Hah!" Letting out a sharp bark ofughter, I walked forwards slowly, eyeing down the remaining soldiers, my dagger still dripping with theirrade''s blood. One of them stepped forwards, brandishing her sword as she raised her shield, even as her knees shook. Licking her chapped lips, she managed to shout "C-Come on! Stand your ground!" Raising a brow, I watched as the others joined her, before chuckling as I watched two turn and flee, stumbling and tripping over themselves as their swords ttered uselessly to the ground. Hearing that, the woman snarled in anger, before ring hatefully at me. However, hiding behind that hate was eptance; stepping forwards, I casually pushed the woman''s de aside, frowning as she epted the fact that she was about to die. Ripping the buckler from her arm, I used the small dish like shield to block herrades blows, all as she red up at me with those resigned blue eyes. Trapping her sword against the wall, I slit a mans throat before a bolt ofpressed me flew past me, erupting against a woman''s chest and consuming her. Swiftly after that, a woodennce impaled a man before splintering, blinding the remaining soldiers. Swooping in, Anput made quick work of the squad, before everyone turned to look at me as I pinned the female soldier against the wall. Staring at her, I frowned again as she snarled "Just kill me already you freak!" "Why do you so readily ept your fate? Why did you so quickly cast aside any hope of victory, condemning yourself to a guaranteed death? Why did you not fight harder?" Hearing my questions, the women growled at me, before spitting on my face. "See? Now that you are faced with the thing you demand of me, you still fight. So why did you give up so easily? Are all humans so... pathetically weak? Weak of mind, weak of spirit, weak of body? So quick to cast aside all chances, no matter how slim, at victory? At survival?" Her features remained the same, so I just let out a sigh as I released her, watching as she grew confused. Before she could try something, I decided to grant her her wish, mming my fist against the wall and shattering her skull into small pieces, blood, bone, and brain matter sttering around. The sudden explosion of gore, paired with the shift in her expressions at the end, only left a bitter taste in my mouth. These were no warriors, nor were they even something I could consider foes. They were chaff, waiting to be cut down and forgotten. To me, this swift massacre was a tedious chore that I needed to do, but to her... To her, this would have been a work of art waiting to be realized, the sshes of reds and screams of the dying her mediums to paint this city as she pleased. We were so different, her and I, and yet weplimented each other... And now, she was gone. Gritting my teeth, I silently turned away from the slumped body of the woman against the wall, her head gone, reced instead with arge amount of blood staining the wall behind her. How could a race of people be so swift to lose faith in themselves? Were they realists, or simply cowards? Why were they so imperfect as opponents for me to hone my edge against, but such perfectmbs for her to ughter? What was this gap that they created within themselves? Sadly, my questions would remain unanswered for the time being, as the humans in question wouldn''t oblige a Demoness'' desire for philosophical debate at a time like this. No, I would need to let my confusion fade away, alongside my bitter feelings towards the woman that was missing at my side; theughter and crazed gleam in her eye as she whirled around the city of Goron, painting it red. Chapter 318 317: Finished Tattoo Kat PoV Priestess Liana reached down towards the basket at her side, pulling out a few small bundles and three tools. Each bundle was filled with some kind of herb mixed with something that radiated low levels of mana, while the tools were rather primitive. A wooded mallet, a thin bone needle, and a wide pick like wooden utensil; my vague memories on how the ancients gave themselves tattoos resurfaced for a moment, and I held in a sigh as I realized that this really would hurt. Keeping my sleeve rolled up, I watched as Priestess Liana''s face turned serious, her eyes moving over my skin before she reached for a bundle. Dipping her fingers into the mixture, she pinched and ground them up, her hand ring with mana for a moment as she heated the materials. Creating a goopy mess, she dabbed her fingers into the partial liquid before draping it onto my skin, using it to trace out ornate patterns onto my arm. The goop was white in color, though a hint of pale blue shone under the light as she applied it. It was cool on my flesh, and it stuck to where she ced it, not dripping or moving. Tracing the patterns out onto my arm took a few minutes, and sometimes she needed to reach into another bundle to retrieve a dry powder that ''erased'' her previous lines, allowing her to make it wless. When she was finished, she nodded to herself before opening thest bundle, mixing those pale white herbs and powder together to create something simr to ink. Resting it on her knee, Priestess Liana grabbed the mallet and pick, dipping the wide wooden pick into the ink before resting it on my arm. Then, she began to gently tap the mallet against the edge of the pick, allowing the slightly sharp edge to work the ink and goop into my flesh. Each tap was imbued with mana that would travel down the pick and into my arm, and I grit my teeth as I felt the familiar burn of mana being pushed into my flesh. The melodic taps of the mallet against the pick was soothing though, and I took deep breaths in beat with that melody, calming down and focusing on something besides the pain. Priestess Liana worked long on getting the general outlines done, constantly moving the pick as she pushed more and more of the mixture into my flesh, where it set and waited for the final touches. Next, the Priestess set down her mallet and pick and reached for the needle, her eyes narrowed as she said "This is where it gets painful... A few of the Arese never step past this point due to the pain, so..." Giving her a nod, I took a deep breath before muttering "Just... get it over with.", which made her smirk. "Very well..." The bone needle was covered in small engravings, and I watched as the Priestess'' mana slipped through each crevice and cut inside the needle, imbuing it with a soft blue glow. Softly taking my arm, she began to puncture the flesh and allowing her mana to seep inside, earning a soft growl from me as I felt the influx of foreign mana warring against my own. Controlling my rampaging mana inside my left arm, I grit my teeth as sharp pangs jolted through my arm and towards my heart and Core, the Priestess'' crude mana slowly binding itself to the muscles and flesh of my upper arm. Each puncture bound the existing mana and pigments to my flesh, taking the previous work and turning it permanent as she moved slowly around the entirety of my arm. Seconds between each puncture were filled with pregnant silence as I ground my teeth together, holding back the cries of pain that wanted to slip free from my mouth. No one around the fire spoke, each of us focused entirely to ignore the pain we were causing or experiencing. The constant influx of mana was painful for me, but I could barely imagine what the Arese themselves went through; the more I focused on what was happening to my arm, the more I realized that the punctures were all located on the veins themselves, so that the tattoo and mana given could seep into your manawork and forcefully drag mana out of your Core. For someone with a fully functioning Core, this was still incredibly painful, but bearable; it felt like the tattoos that I had already given myself, with some extra pain added on top. But, for the Arese who didn''t have a functioning Core, this was likely an extremely hellish procedure, as your unused mana was yanked from your underdeveloped Core and forced to work through your rtively normal veins. Every race had a Core, which was linked to their circtory system much like their heart, so your body was capable of withstanding any sort of mana movement inside of your body, but just like most things, if you never once exercise that ability, it stagnates. Having it forcefully reawakened and ''turned on'' would be painfully unbearable for most normal people, but the Arese were made from hardened stock. They were warriors through and through, and I imagine the ones that cannot receive tattoos are the ones with incredible underdeveloped Cores, which would likely slowly be moremon as time progresses. Distracting myself with analytical thinking was a sess, as Priestess Liana eventually sighed and said "Alright, we''re done. Run your mana through your arm and follow the pattern I inscribed." Nodding, I looked down at the pale white lines that blended in on my arm, just barely noticeable against my equally pale skin. Chuckling softly at this hidden tattoo, I pushed some mana from my core and carefully studied the path that Priestess Liana had created, frowning slightly at theplexity behind it. My mana trickled through thetticework of veins and arteries inside my arm, before I nodded as I felt the tattoo re up, the lines shimmering softly before they enveloped my body in a warmyer of mana. Staring down at my hands, I smacked my fist against my palm, before nodding again as I noticed theck of pain from such a hard blow; there was no sting or lingering ''pain''. Withdrawing the mana from the tattoo, I felt the warmth leave my body, and I repeated my earlier test, instantly noting the sting of hitting myself. "So? What do you think?'' Turning towards the Priestess, I smiled as I said "It looks like it works; I just won''t know how well until I get into a proper fight." Nodding, she grinned at me as she pointed behind me, saying "Why not go have yourself a spar with Vka and Eyoli? They shouldn''t have anything else to do today~!" Following her finger, I chuckled as I saw the two women standing off to the side, Eyoli pouting slightly as she rubbed her nk wrist, while Vka watched everyone else with pursed lips. Getting up, I winced slightly at the numbness of my arm, only to reach over and trace some simple runes out, healing the bruised flesh. Waving goodbye to the Priestess, I grinned at the two women as I approached them, much to their ''annoyance''. Chapter 319 318: Casual Spar Both Eyoli and Vka frowned as I approached them, their eyes glued to my now tattooed upper left arm with annoyance and desire filling their gazes. Deciding to be slightly petty, when I reached them I made sure to keep my left side exposed to them, looking off towards the right as I asked "Priestess Liana suggested I spar to get used to the tattoo, so..?" Holding back a smirk, I saw the two women stiffen as they half red at me, before they huffed and walked towards the open field. Following behind them, I stopped when they stopped and turned around, Eyoli asking "Who''d you want to spar with first?" Looking between them, I decided that, if I was to test the application of this new tattoo of mine, Eyoli would certainly be the one to try it on. Besides, for spars I was used to fighting against thoserger then myself, what with Jahi and the Marquess having been the two I sparred against the most. "Eyoli, if you don''t mind... then I''ll spar Vka afterwards. But... what are we using to spar? Weapons or..?" Nodding, Eyoli nced at Vka briefly, prompting the lithe huntress to bound off quickly before returning with a bundle in her arms. Unfurling it, she revealed blunted bone weapons, from daggers to swords, clubs, and even axes. Reaching for one, Eyoli retrieved a heavy looking club, giving it a few practice swings as she stepped away. Looking over the various weapons, I decided to try something rtively new, grabbing both a normal dagger and a sword. cing the sword in my right hand, I inspected the length of the de, familiarizing myself with the weight and bnce of the long, thin sword. The swooshing sound it made as I ''sliced'' through the air was soothing, and I nodded to myself as I nced down at the dagger in my off hand, the shortened spike of bone held loosely in my hand. Taking a few steps away from Eyoli, I watched as she moved to stand opposite me, lowering herrge posture into apact stance, almost like a sprinter. Raising a brow, I nced at Vka, who wrapped the weapons up before moving back a few steps, her eyes alternating between us. "Ready?" Eyoli and I nodded, prompting Vka to shout "Then begin!" Therger Arese shot forwards like an arrow from a bow, her feet digging into the ground and propelling her forwards as she charged at me, her shoulder lowered and aimed at my chest. Activating the tattoo, I waited for her to arrive in front of me before pivoting away, stabbing the spike towards her side. Instead of impacting her muscle bound obliques, my bone dagger stabbed empty air as Eyoliunched herself into a roll, dodging the attack. Getting up quickly, she swung her club horizontally, the rounded edge aimed at my side. Stepping away from it, I widened my eyes as she utilized the moment of her missed swing to spin herself around, before raising the club over her head and letting it fall towards my skull. Snaking my sword upwards, I mmed the bone against her clubs ''handle'' and forced it to the side, only to duck as her fist came crashing towards my cheek. Positioned under her arm, I slipped my sword off her club and elbowed her stomach, forcing her back a step. Narrowing her eyes, Eyoli retreated a few paces as I took note of the pain free elbow I had used against her; the smack of flesh on flesh still sounded out, but the all too familiar sting and difort of using such a bony part of my body was gone. Of course, a seasoned warrior like Eyoli wasn''t going to just let me to idly make observations in the middle of a spar, so she rushed forwards once more, her club aimed at my left arm. Ducking under it, I stabbed forwards with the sword, barely grazing her side as she twisted out of the way, before I needed to do the same as her club came back down towards me. This dance of constant dodging continued to go on as we both disyed our nimble footwork, but it all came to an end when Eyoli used her club to stab forwards. She had gotten me used to her swinging the heavy bone weapon around freely that I didn''t anticipate the sudden switch to her jabbing the rounded head towards my stomach. Sadly I had already begun to swing my sword towards her legs, while my dagger was heading towards her chest; I had no option to block or blunt the attack heading towards my stomach at all, resulting in Eyoli mming her club directly into my abdomen. I could feel the rounded edge of the club knocking against my skin and pushing into my flesh, but... Frowning, I allowed the momentum to carry me backwards before readying my des once more, my mind focusing momentarily on the fact that there was no pain after such a heavy hit. Sending my attention inwards for a moment, I took in the fractured rib and slightly torn muscles, marveling at the potency of the tattoo I had just received. It was both a blessing and a curse, this tattoo; with it, I could fight well past any wounds that would put me out of the fight, but that in and of itself was a problem. I mean, if I didn''t even notice that I took a stab or blow to a vital area and continued to fight, I could do more damage to myself then I could possibly heal. On the other hand, when I do end up injured terribly again, this tattoo would allow me to heal with a cold, focused mind, not feeling anything from whatever I was healing. If I had this just a week ago, I wouldn''t be in this mess in the first ce; the pain from both my shed achilles tendon and the rope cutting into my fingers worsened my thinking and made me stop attempting to break the rope binding me. I might have been able to escape being captured then... Shaking my head slightly, I looked up towards Eyoli''s shocked face as I stood upright, her eyes apologetic as she stuttered out "I- W-Wait, I didn''t-! W-What?! I d-didn''t mean to hit that hard!" Chuckling, I held up my hand and began to trace some runes into the air again, shrouding my body in a cold blue glow. Feeling the bones and flesh reknit together, I nodded to myself when I returned to being 100% again, before I stopped funneling mana into the tattoo. I was greeted by a brief wave of dull aching before my body returned to normal, no painsing from my stomach whatsoever. Pursing my lips, I nced over at my arm and nodded, rather happy with its performance. "Eyoli, it''s fine; I''m fine. But damn was that tattoo rather powerful huh? I didn''t even feel a thing!" Grinning at the two Arese, I bounced up and down for a moment, wondering why such a potent tattoo was given away so easily. Vka was staring at me weirdly, her brow furrowed as she said "You should still feel pain, Katherine. The tattoo Priestess Liana gave you was a flesh enhancement tattoo, which means your skin should have hardened and made you more resistant to being pierced or bludgeoned... not made impervious to pain." Freezing, I blinked a few times as I stared at the women before me; Eyoli was confused, while Vka shocked. "She... did say it was a flesh based spell... so why..?" Muttering to myself, I frowned as I looked down to the white lines on my arm, wondering why it had worked the way it had. Maybe it had to do with the race difference? Or just the fact that I was capable of using mana on my own? Hmm... It was intriguing, and an entirely unexpected boon that I had just received; it was like I rolled for a legendary item in a rare loot box or something. I got something way better then what was advertised... Reaching up, I stroked my arm for a moment, my thoughts still spinning around in my head, before I just shrugged. "Well, it seems that I got a tattoo that reacts better to arger influx of mana maybe? Since the Arese don''t have good mana capabilities, maybe the tattoo''s that you are all used to are actually somethingpletely different on people with incredible mana control?" Vka shrugged, while Eyoli still stared nkly at me, her club held loosely in her hands. Sighing, I approached therger woman and gently pat her arm, getting her attention. "Eyoli, it''s alright! I''m still alive and well, so don''t beat yourself up over it, okay? Just take that as a reminder to better control your strength or to make better decisions inbat." Patting her arm once more, I smiled warmly at the woman as she half heartedly smiled at me, still obviously shaken up from the spar itself. Turning towards Vka, I maintained that smile as I beckoned her over, saying "Well, how about it? Do you want to spar as well?" Chapter 320 319: A Day To Remember Vka made for a wonderful sparring partner as well, the huntress matching my agility and skill as we shed, de for de. Both Eyoli and Vka helped me work up a sweat as we alternated sparring, each of us taking turns. Arge crowd eventually gathered around us, both young and old, warrior or civilian. Some began to join us, grabbing whatever weapons were avable and partnering up with someone and sparring amongst themselves. The familiar burning in my muscles as we went on for an hour or two of straightbat was incredible, and many of the Arese around us wore grins as they honed their weapons skills against one another. The air around us was filled with the stench of sweat and crisp coldness as snow began to fall slowly to the ground, though none of us felt the chill. In fact, each of us had our bodies emitting steam as we worked out, the intensity of the spars makings itself known. Many of the civilians watching looked on with a mixture of pride and desire, whispering amongst themselves as they showcased their mates or pointed out the warriors they found valiant. Oya and her sisters were present as well, the older sister looking on with a serious, yet pleased face, while Poepa and Quarta giggled as they bragged to the women around them, anyone who listened to them rolling their eyes at their proud tone. When it had alle to an end, I was soaked and exhausted, but my screaming muscles made me wonder if this was what Jahi and Anput found so addicting; there was something rather enjoyable about knowing how much I had just worked my body out, especially since I knew that it came with positive gains for myself. Laughing aloud with glee, Eyoli grinned at me as we finished ourst bout, her ck skin streaked with sweat as she rested the club on her shoulder. "That was a good workout Katherine! It''s been awhile since I felt my muscles burning this much! Haha!" Her heartyughter made me chuckle, while Vka nodded beside her, a small smile on her lips too. Many of the others stopped as well, each grinning and bantering with one another; some bragged about winning more bouts than their partners, whilst others poked fun at poor techniques or blunders made. Seeing that, the civilians surged forwards to find their friends, family, or lovers, congratting orforting them, all with loving smiles on their faces. The civilians also carried herbs and salves with them, applying them to any bruises or small cuts the fighters might have sustained. Oya gave Vka a one over, inspecting her body for anything that needed treatment, while Poepa and Quarta fussed over Eyoli with dramatic, goofy ir as they tried to search under her sleeves and shirt, with one of them even being so bold as to reach into Eyoli''s pants. Therge teddybear warrior was flustered at her mischievous mates, earning many chuckles from the fighters around us, some even whistling suggestively at the three women. Chuckling at the awkwardness of Eyoli, I watched as Oya came over and yanked her two younger sisters ears, making them yelp as they pouted at their sister. "Come now you two. Let Eyoli and Vka go wash up. We still need to prepare for tonight..." That made the two sisters stiffen before grinning widely as they nodded like chicks, following Oya as she made her way out of the crowd after cing a chaste kiss on Vka''s cheek. Eyoli blinked as she mulled over that departing line, while Vka took a deep breath, her lips pulled into a tight line as she watched Oya leave. "Well... whatever. Come on, let''s wash. This sweat is..." Scrunching her nose, Vka shook her head slightly as she gestured for me to follow her, only to frown as I said "Go on ahead; I''ll wash at the house." Looking me over, Vka let out an ''ah'' before nodding, understanding clear on her face as she turned away. The warriors all began to stream away, walking and joking as they made their way to arge stone building, while the rest of the civilians began to filter away back into the city. Joining them, I returned to the house and cleaned myself off with the help of my ever useful Water Magic. Plopping down on my bedroll, I yawned as I decided to rest for a moment, crossing my legs and closing my eyes as I began to meditate. Focusing on my Core, I pulled the Water, Wind, and Ice Mana from the air and refueling myself. Apparently I had been out for a long time, as eventually Oya shook me awake and ced a bowl in front of me, a hearty stew with chunks of meat floating around the soup. Blinking a few times, I looked up at Oya and smiled as I took the stew, only to sigh as she said "Have a good sleep? It''s been a few hours now..." "I... didn''t mean to sleep, but... oh well." Sighing again, I picked up the bowl and began to eat, filling mypletely empty stomach with a savory, slightly spicy stew, while the chunks of mammoth were rubbed with a sharp tangy seasoning. "When you finish, if you want to, get dressed ande outside; the bonfire is lit again and everyone''s celebrating." Oya smiled softly at me, and I noticed that she was wearing a nice yellow dress that hugged her frame generously. My mind slowly woke up, and I smiled back at her as I realized that tonight would be the announcement night for Oya and her sisters being partnered with Eyoli and Vka. Nodding, I slurped down the stew, refilled the bowl and finished that up with some bread before moving to get changed into the dress that Oya ced on the table. Leaving the house, Oya left me alone as I swiftly donned the red dress, the simple cloth surprisinglyfortable as I finished strapping it on. Then I took the fur cloak she left and draped that over my shoulders before stepping outside and joining them, moving towards the raging bonfire surrounded byughing, drinking Arese. Chapter 321 320: Surrounded, Yet Alone* Approaching the partying, dancing Arese, I smiled as I located Eyoli and Vka, the two grinning like idiots as they chatted near the bonfire, both dancing to the beat of a drum. Multiple drums, actually. The scent of grilling meats and sweet alcohol covered the woodsmoke that filled the clearing, and that burn as you breathed only added to the ambience the enthusiastic Arese had created. Walking over to Eyoli and Vka, I smiled at them as I danced besides them; if they were of palerplexions, I would definitely be able to see an alcoholic blush creeping over their cheeks right about now. "Ah~ Katherine~! Did''ya sleep good~?" Eyoli''s cheerful voice was amplified under her intoxication, and I chuckled as she grinned widely at me. "I didn''t mean to sleep that long, but yes, it was quite refreshing~!" "Good~! Good~! You''ll need that energy for tonight~!" Vka grinned at me as well, the lithe huntress swaying hypnotically as she said "This is our departure party after all~! Since you''ll be leaving us when we reach Pris City, enjoy yourself amongst the Arese~!" The presence of so many muscled women around me made me feel like I was in some kind of nightclub reserved for fighters, eachughing and grinning at one another as they danced to the beat of the drums, some even getting a little intimate as they whispered into their partners ears. When the civilian women arrived dressed in brightly colored dresses and skirts, many of the warriors cheered loudly, much to the delight of the gentler women sweeping through the sea of muscr women. Some were pulled away instantly, taken to the edge of the bonfire and pushed down to the ground, giggling the entire time their mates started indulging themselves. Others were grabbed and greeted with roaming hands and sloppy kisses, and the area around us quieted a little as everyone became ''busy''. Oya led her sisters over to us, the three dressed in different colors; Oya in yellow, Poepa in pink, and Quarta in orange. Each one instantly made their way to their mates sides, disying the ample cleavage the dresses provided while whispering sweet words into their ears. Oya pressed her chest against Vka''s, trailing her fingers up the others chiseled arm before resting her head on Vka''s shoulder, a gentle, peaceful smile on her face. As for Poepa and Quarta, they were clinging to Eyoli''s burly arms, and I could see Quarta biting into Eyoli''s sleeve as she guided the warriors hand to her pussy, slipping it under her dress. Sensing her sisters motives, Poepa coughed gently as she waved goodbye to Oya and I, before she guided Eyoli off to the bonfires edge, working with her twin to begin conquering her mate. "Rather active pair of sisters you have, Oya~!" Grinning, I looked at Oya, who rolled her eyes as she nodded. "Aye, they do tend to be rather... forthright with their actions... I can still remember the troubles that caused~!" Vka chuckled, nodding as she squeezed Oya''s waist. "It was Helia, right? She thought that the twins had confessed to her, but they hadn''t; it was all drunken fun is what they imed." "Yes, it was Helia... still feel bad for her, but she managed to get herself a good mate soon after." Oya looked back up into Vka''s eyes, and I felt a sharp twang hit my heart as my grin faded slightly. For a brief moment the two forgot about me, staring longingly into one another''s eyes as they maintained their intimate slow dance. As the atmosphere around them began to morph into something else, I bit my cheek as I turned away silently, slipping into the crowd and leaving them alone. Some of the Arese called out to me, the desire in their gaze evident as they tried to approach me; some usedforting words, while others made their thoughts known as they outright expressed their lust. I lost count of how many fake smiles and shakes of my head I gave, and I became thankful for the culture these people hade from; none pressed forwards despite my refusal, and I managed to escape the crowded bonfire alone. Not even ten minutes had passed, and I was already done with the party; it was obvious what the purpose of the celebration was for, and it wasn''t for women like myself. Laying on the grasses around the bonfire were couples making love, each in varying states. One warrior rested her hands on two women''s heads, enjoying their tongues on her thick shaft and plump balls. Another pushed her mate into the ground and mmed her hips into the woman''s ass, growling as she dominated her partner. Others rested against buildings, their lips locked together as they ground against each other, their eyes gentle and loving as they embraced. The scent of sex permeated the air out here, and I stifled a growl of my own as I felt my body heat up in response; the sights of these naked women enjoying themselves was too stimting, especially when I could see some of Jahi in them. cing her arms on the wall, a civilian Arese moaned loudly as her partner smacked her hard on the ass, a sadistic grin on her lips as she continued to hit the same spot, each moanced with pain. Another was rippling with muscle as she jerked her long cock, shooting out thick ropes of cum onto the faces of three women. Staggering around the city of Scythiara, I was greeted with sight after sight of women enjoying themselves sexually, and I felt my control slipping. Some called out to me as well, their lust evident when their cocks stared pointedly at me, emitting that scent I had grown to love so much. With each call, a small voice in the back of my mind whispered to me, making me both angry and anxious. ''Go on Kat~ Drop to your knees for them; show them what a real women feels like~'' ''Oh~ Look at that one~! All that muscle... what do you think her arms feel like around your throat~?'' ''That cock could likely scratch that itch in your womb, don''t you think~?'' ''She looks rough~ Maybe she''ll push you down and make you incapable of walking tomorrow? m that thick dick of hers straight into your cunt before filling you with her potent semen?'' Each thought made me gasp, the world spinning as I felt my pussy slowly grow wetter and wetter; I wanted to feel the familiar pleasure of sex again, but I couldn''t! ''Why not~? She would never know... it''s just one night, Katherine Zara... Just one night with a beautiful woman breeding you~! How would Jahi Asmodia ever know youid with another woman~?'' Clenching my fist, I felt my nails dig deep into my palm as I stumbled, my knees going weak. She would know... She would! T-Then she would leave... She would be disgusted! N-No... Gritting my teeth, I managed to open the door before mming it shut, falling down instantly onto my bedroll. Tearing the dress off my body, I used my Ice Magic and sculpted a toy, instantly slipping it into my greedy, soaked pussy. My free hand reached up to grab my breast, and I pinched and rolled my nipple around, letting out a soft gasp at the familiar tingle of pain. Pushing the ice rod deeper, I moaned quietly as it spread me out, before I panted as it knocked against my cervix. Lengthening it some more, I yelped lightly at the pain of having my womb breached once more, before I started jerking my hips forwards, pushing the rod deeper and deeper. Panting, I began to ''ride'' my sculpted toy with great vigor, all while my free hand kneaded myrge breast with as much intensity as I could get. That night, I did as much as I could to myself to get off as many times as I could, hoping that consecutive orgasms would fill some of the hungry, needy void that seemed to be growing inside of me. When I finished, I made sure to wash out the house as best I could before curling up into a ball on my bedroll, listening to the merry atmosphere outside with wet eyes. I was surrounded by so many people, and yet I felt so alone... Chapter 322 321: Check In That night my dreams wereced with the sweet scent of my Demoness, the haughtyughter of a proud Jackalkin, and the warm caresses of a regal Vampire. Each familiar sensation made my heart pound in my chest, and I found myself muttering their names as I tried to keep them nearby, deluding myself with the possibility that they would be there when I woke up, waiting for me. Smiles on their faces, the sun warmly kissing their skin as they stared at me lovingly, all of us cuddling under a nket together, trapping us with each other as we nuzzled closer, heating each other up. When I woke up the next morning, none of that was true. My body was cold, the furs that wereying over my body drenched with sweat, while my hair was ted and stuck to my face. Panting, my heart constricted tighter with each beat, and I felt my head begin to spin as I sat up, the cold light of morning streaming in through the windows. Each breath was shaky, only fueling the panic that gripped my mind in its sharp talons. My thoughts were astray, and I reached up and clutched my head, holding back a cry as a sharp pain red, making me question whether or not my skull did indeed just split. Tears appeared in my eyes, and I swore I could hear the derangedughter of Jillian and A just outside, waiting for me to find my way into their clutches. However, I knew that they weren''t near. I had escaped from their spells and tricks, escaped from the certain hell that they promised me. I was safe. Alone, afraid... but safe. The Arese were sheltering me... Eyoli was arge, cheerful woman, while her closest friend Vka was a collected huntress... Oya and her sisters were warm and weing, thankful to me for giving them and the two warriors the nudge to take a step forwards together. I reviewed each fact that I possibly could, trying to ground myself in reality, to calm down my jittery, anxious mind. Just at the edge of my hearing was a whisper, and I felt my heart ease a little at the words. ''C''mon Kat, I thought I was the ''idiotic'' one~? What''s got you going through a loop, huh?'' Smiling wryly, I cradled my head in my hands, wiping away my tears as I chuckled softly, muttering "You are, you bumbling blue dolt..." Sniffling, I blinked away the rest of my tears as I looked up, towards the window beside me. Beautiful white kes drifted slowly to the ground, thick gray clouds sprinkling them down onto Scythiara . Taking a few deep breaths, I got up and washed myself quickly, donning my original armor and clothes and strapping on my weapons. Rolling everything else up, I packed away the various misceneous items that Eyoli and Vka had given to me on that first night; a bedroll, some nkets, and a knapsack, which I stored everything in. cing the pack beside the door, I began to look through the cabs and cupboards for ingredients to cook with, needing something to take my mind off my earlier panic attack. [Acknowledging it is the first step to oveing it.] ''I know, hence why I acknowledged it... you do know that I knew that, correct? You''re linked to me, after all.'' [... Somethings just need to be said?] Sighing softly, I focused on the various vegetables in front of me, chopping them thin before sliding them into the pot. Filling it with water, I turned and chopped some herbs as finely as I could, before squeezing out some juice from a lemon like fruit. Next, I worked on preparing the thin strips of venison, making three for the normal people - Oya, her sisters and I - and six for Eyoli and Vka. [Ahem... anyways, about that tattoo... it''s interesting, isn''t it? If you were curious, it technically raised your Constitution stat by a good chunk, meaning it does work like that Priestess said it would, but...] ''Yes, it works as something else as well; maybe it is buffing my nervous system itself alongside my flesh? Or it could literally just be my nervous system... That would require in depth testing with a de to figure out...'' [Testing with a de? You''re not thinking of-!] ''Cutting myself? Technically yes, but not because I wish to die or crave the pain. It is simply a test, that''s all.'' [...] ''Really, I do wish to remain alive; I don''t think I would have been panicking about them if I wanted to leave them behind... As for the pain, I might have masochistic tendencies, but I am not so far gone that pain on its own is pleasure; I separate the two.'' The system remained silent, leaving me to my cooking. It didn''t take long for the smell of food cooking on the fire to wake everyone in the house up, each stumbling out in various states of undress. Taking a sharp breath, I returned my attention to the pot as I stirred around the vegetable stew, muttering a greeting to Oya as she joined me. Everyone else began to get dressed, with Eyoli and Vka packing what they needed, though that was very little... Setting the table, Oya poured out some tea while I ced the tes down, before I sat back on the clean counter and began to eat. ''Thanks for checking in on me though, system. You''d been silent for awhile now, so...'' [No problem. Remember, I AM linked to you, so... yeah. Anyways, I just... like you, I''ve been thinking things over. Mainly reminiscing; things are so different from what they used to be, Kat. So much has changed, but... parts of you remain the exact same, even now.] Holding in a chuckle, I bit into the juicy strip of venison as I replied ''I''ll take that as apliment. And yeah, things are different... I have a system dedicated to serving a Mistress that is no longer by my side, and I find myself inpletely unfamiliar territory... But, seems that I still crave the possessive love of my partners, no matter what world or life I am in.'' Finishing the meal, I ced the tes and cutlery into the basin and gathered up my stuff, hugging Oya, Poepa, and Quarta goodbye as I joined Eyoli and Vka outside alongside the other Arese, all of us preparing to depart for the journey Northwards, to Pris City. There, I would begin my search anew for a way home, and maybe learn something during my journey. Chapter 323 322: Mage Tower Jahi PoV Our march towards one of our first objectives was filled with cutting down the chaff soldiers that attempted to block our way. Dozens of soldiers tried to stop us at various street corners, suddenly appearing and creating a shield wall as they attempted to bolster their courage through numbers. Sadly for them those wooden shields of theirs did little to dissuade us, as Anput and I would surge forwards, uncaring of the various spears or swords pointed our way. While I charged forwards and let their weapons break against my skin, Anput utilized the walls to jump over the shield wall andnd behind the soldiers, putting them in a pincer as she set to work with her longsword. My de and Anput''s were drenched in blood at the end of every engagement, corpses usually left in two or more pieces as tore into the weak humans. With our first objective being the one of the Mage Towers, I was anticipating a decent fight there; surely such vital positions of arcane prowess would be guarded by some of Goron''s finest? Or at the very least,rge swathes of these weaklings; something to get the blood pumping inside my veins. Reaching a small square, I sighed as I saw the various barricades hastily erected at each juncture, carts and shields resting together to create temporary walls and cover for waiting soldiers. With the space around us being open, I stepped forwards and looked around, locating the Mage Towers and gauging the distance, finding myself on my mental map. Ignoring the shouts of the soldiers as they flooded into the square, while some continued to hide behind barricades with bows or crossbows, I selected the Tower closest and shouted "Clear a path to the right!" Anput nodded, her tanned skin metallic as she shot forwards, crashing into the cluster of human soldiers that had spilled out from the right juncture. "You three, clear out the left side; do it quick." Leone nodded at my whisper, raising her crimson hands as she began to sling spells towards the soldiers on the left. Grabbing my great sword, I unsheathed the long de, enjoying the shrill sound of its keen edge sliding out of its scabbard. Letting the tip carve a shallow cut into the stone ground, I walked towards the remaining humans, all of whom were staring at me with fear in their eyes. "S-Shields! Raise your shields!" Like before, one of them managed to muster the courage needed to shout out orders of their own, all while I calmly walked forwards. Observing the solid wall of wooden shields before me, I tilted my head to the side, a crossbow bolt whistling past my cheek and shattering against the ground behind me. Raising a brow, I looked up towards the roof, catching a brief shadow as they hunkered down just out of sight. Scoffing, I returned my attention to the soldiers in front of me, my great sword sparking against the stone as I lifted it up. Resting the de on my shoulder, I stared at the shaking soldiers for a moment before shrugging. Hefting the de, I swung out horizontally, shattering the shields and slicing cleanly into the flesh behind the wall. Blood sprayed into the air as most of the soldiers dropped to the ground, either dead or close to it. As for the remaining soldiers, they all trembled, their hands shaking as they tried to steady their weapons. Flicking the blood from my de, Inced it forwards and stabbed a woman in the skull, splitting it in two, before lifting her body and blocking the bolt that arced towards my throat. Throwing her corpse away, I swiftly cut the remaining two down and grabbed one of their swords, nodding to myself as I held it loosely. Keeping my eyes low, I waited for the archer to peak above the roofline to take another shot, smirking as the sword flew through the air and impaled the archer in the chest, dropping them into the alley below. Cleaning my de once more, I walked over towards Anput, who was staring at the corpses around her with a frown. "This..." Gesturing around with her thin sword, the Jackalkin sighed as she asked "Is this really it? Is the difference between us that great?" Following her de, I shrugged before ncing back at Iaso, who said "In terms of physical prowess, the Human''s rank amongst the lower end of the intelligent races. Their ''advantage'' lies in an adaptability to any situation, alongside a rather flexible ability to learn. And a swift reproduction rate and high fertility. That is the reason they still exist in this world; they''re like cockroaches." She said all of that as she cleaned her ws off in a sphere of water, her eyes uncaring as she stared at the various corpses around us. Leone frowned, shaking her head slightly as she too took in the various corpses, only to sigh as she gestured for us to continue. Returning to the maze of alleys and streets, we eventually reached the tall stone tower that was our objective, and each of us sighed as we stared at the various windows housing archers inside said tower. A rain of arrows fell down towards us, only to be blocked by a thin shield of Light Magic. I could hear the archers shouting to each other, attempting to coordinate their attacks so they could pierce my barrier. ncing over at Anput, I saw her purse her lips as she asked "We need to keep the tower standing, correct?" "Yup. So... In we go. Anput, lead us in; I''ll bring up the rear. Should be a few mages inside, so remember to ount for that." The Jackalkin nodded, morphing her des into something morepact as she rushed towards the door, the other three women between her and I as we breached the tower. Arrows continued tond around us, shattering instantly as they impacted the barrier. Inside, the shouts of the archers could be heard from the entrance, and I saw Anput ready a metal disc as she began to climb upwards. Chapter 324 323: Tower Fun With Anput leading the way, we began the ascent of the Mage Tower, listening to the shouts of the various soldiers stationed within as they prepared to meet us on every floor. Keeping her shield ready, Anput held up her longnce as she steadily climbed the stairs, Iaso right behind her, giving her a Water Cloak to help mitigate any damage she might take. Liga was in the middle, her hands illuminated with a verdant green glow, while Leone stood in front of me with glowing red hands, both women ready to sling out spells at a moments notice. Finally, I brought up the rear, a dagger held loosely in one hand while my other toyed with the configuration of runes for a spell, shifting it between a healing spell and a defensive spell; whichever might be needed, I could cast. The pace Anput set was quick, taking mere moments for us to reach the first floor of the tower, where a group of archers stood waiting with daggers drawn. Shouting out war cries, they charged at Anput only to feel her cold steel slice through their throats, silencing them instantly. Pushing past them, everyone continued to scale the tower, while I stopped and stared at the room we were on. The tower was roughly thirty feet wide, and the room was spacious for the size; maybe it was the windows? Either way, shelves lined the walls, filled with various tomes and disy cases, while a few desks were littered with paper and inkwells. I was curious to what knowledge this tower might hold; would it be primitive theorems that the Empire already had centuries ago, or would they offer the unique perspective of such a weak race? Maybe they would hold different ways to look at the way the world functions, offering something valuable despite the worthlessness of their creators? Shaking my head, I returned to my spot behind Leone, letting those thoughts drift free. We would have time once the city was under our control to sift through this tower, but for the moment we needed to get this city under our control. The Mage Towers provided the city - specifically the innermost ring - a defensive arcane barrier, which would be easily prable for us, but... Why bother expending the effort of destroying such a barrier when we could simply take it down by destroying the ces that powered said barrier? There were four of these Mage Towers, all evenly spaced out so to provide the perfect runic configuration for the barrier, connecting them to the wall that protected the Nobility. That was our goal, and for such important structures for their city''s defense, they were surprisingly undermanned... Reaching the next floor, Anput repeated her singr sh, controlling the length of her spear to slice cleanly through the waiting soldiers and opening up a path upwards. This continued on for a few floors, before we began to run into the strongerbatants of the city. Praetor''s. Wearing dark green and shy yellow gambesons, the Praetors wielded various weaponry as they covered themselves in their mana. Each wore a hardened expression as we reached the next floor, their weapons held in steady grips as they prepared for battle. Anput was assaulted instantly as she rounded the bend for the sixth floor, a long spear mming into her shield instantly. Grunting quietly, the Jackalkin nted her feet as she tilted the shield to the side, letting the spearhead slide off and ng uselessly against the wall. With that out of the way, Anput stabbed her own spear forwards, curving it around the wall and impaling a woman in the stomach, twisting the de before wrenching it free from her gut. When the body thunked to the wooden floor, Anput took another step up, her shield held over her chest as she prepared to meet the next attack. Stepping out of my sight, Anput began to move around the floor, killing the Praetor''s as quickly as she could, though the addition of mana made that a tad harder then before. These Praetor''s were quicker with both reflexes and movements, stronger, more skilled with their weapons, and weren''t entirely afraid of us - at the very least, they were capable of holding on to their rationality better. All of that meant that this was no longer akin to cutting down chaff in a field. It was more like yanking weeds from a garden; not as mindless as before, and required more effort and precision. Stepping up, I spoke quietly to Anput, saying "We''ll alternate floors now; I''ll be going ahead." Nodding, she parried the sickle of one Praetor before bashing her shield forwards, mming it into his chest. "Liga, with me. Leone, Iaso, remain with Anput." Hearing their affirmations, I climbed the stairs, Liga walking behind me. The seventh floor was home to another Praetor Squad, this one smarter then thest. One stood at the top of the stairs, waiting to fend me off, while the rest hid behind upturned desks and chairs, providing cover. They waited for their attacker to turn the corner before peppering them with swift spells. Flipping the dagger around, I spun it towards the Praetor in front of me, catching him off guard as the small de sunk into his chest, forcing him to stumble back as he coughed out blood. Drawing another dagger, I erected a Light Shield before turning the corner, snorting as I realized my theory waspletely correct. Bolts of me, wind, and earth mmed into my shield, while blue glows covered each Praetor; a woman wearing green and yellow robes stood in the back, a staff in her hands that shone with a blue light. Her voice was steady as she chanted, her eyes screwed shut. "-o that we may ovee this challenge before us, oh mighty god! Grant us the resolve to smite these evildoers, who so desperately-" Hearing her prayer, I sighed as I tuned her out, focusing instead on the others. With golden light spilling from my palm, I strode towards the desks they used as cover, smirking slightly as the spells sshing harmlessly against my shied increased in intensity and frequency. Reaching the first man, I kicked the desk he hid behind and mmed it against the wall, squishing his lower half from the force of the desktop mming into the wall behind him. Blood sttered the ground as his torso fell to the ground, and the others shouted wordlessly in anger as I continued forwards, uncaring of the man I just killed. Flicking my hand out, I shot the dagger towards the next victim, the de thunking into their brow before flying back to my hand, a thin strand of light connecting it to my palm. Repeating that, I impaled a woman''s throat, before smirking as thest woman evaded the de. Using the strand of mana, I smirked at her as I wrapped it around her throat, yanking her forwards and into the shield, which I solidified. Hearing her neck crunch against the Light Shield, I nodded to myself before approaching thest member of the squad; the chanting woman. She opened her eyes - a startling sapphire - and stared at me in fear, backing away. Seeing her tremble at my approach, I lowered the shield and continued forwards, forcing her against the wall. "What happened? Did your god not answer your prayers? Or maybe you didn''t impress him enough to warrant salvation?" Her eyes grew wet with tears as I muttered to her, flinching as I reached up and gently caressed her chin. "Maybe you sinned? Wit beauty like this, I could understand sinning..." Running my finger over her cheek, she gulped, hope appearing in those sapphire orbs as she bit her lip. Holding back a sneer as she tried to puff out her shapely chest, I yed along with her for the moment, tucking a loose strand of her bluish ck hair behind her ear. "Would youmit sin again, human? How strong is your faith in your god? Would you sin so that you may live, or would you remain pure for the god that remained silent?" Holding her cheek, I watched as she blushed under my touch, her emotions clear as she began to contemte my words. Narrowing my eyes, I leaned down slightly, getting closer to those eyes. They were captivating for a human; beautiful sapphires filled with fear and tinged with lust. Would shemit sin by letting a Demoness sully her? Did she realize that my words were nothing but fiction, my curiosity getting the better of me as I decided to observe this race closer? "I..." Her voice was shaky, unlike before, but she spoke nheless. "I-If y-you promise to l-let me live..." Feeling her hands press against my abdomen, I narrowed my eyes further as they began to trail downwards. Her answer made, I smirked at her as I cupped her chin, forcing her to look at me. "So you would sin to remain alive? Was that what your faith amounted to? In the face of certain death, you chose to sully yourself for a chance of life? Interesting... I''ve asked two humans this now, and I''ve received two different responses..." Releasing her chin, I wrapped my fingers around her neck and lifted her up, grinning widely at her. "To be honest, if I was unlucky enough to be single at this moment, I would take you under me to stave off my lust, but... sadly for you, my luck was rather good. You''ll have some time to pray for forgiveness, human. May your god find it in his heart to listen to your pleas..." Her eyes widened with terror as I smashed the ss of the window, her mouth opening to plead with me. However, nothing came out beside a scream as I threw her out, letting her il around before sttering against the stone ground below, her body mangled and broken. Turning, I saw both Anput and Leone staring at me, unknown emotions dancing in their eyes as they watched me approach. "Come on, upwards... we have a tower to take over. We can talkter." Chapter 325 324: Mammoth Hunt (1) Kat PoV Departing from Scythiara was a mixture of sad and relieving. Saying goodbye to Oya, Poepa, and Quarta forever was sad; thesest two days spent with them has been really fun and enjoyable, and I likened them to siblings I never had. Oya''s maturity and seriousness was tempered by her sisters yfulness and mischievousness, and they made me wonder about the siblings that I was due to have when Mother gave birth in a few months time. That was a thought that made my sadness grow, forcing me to wonder about how she was taking my disappearance once again, and how that was affecting her body. However, that was also why I was relieved that we were departing; I wanted to begin my journey back home in earnest, and now that we were going to leave Scythiara behind I could do so. So, after hugging Oya and her sisters goodbye, the expedition set off for Pris City, bundles of goods strapped to our packs and sleds as the Arese began their scheduled journey. Like always, the Rimnds were subject tozy snow showers and nipping chills, the sky overcast with fluffy gray clouds that could unleash a storm at a moments notice. The snowy tundraid out before us was free from any blemishes made from mortals, and the gorgeous scenery helped upy my mind as we began to trek across the Rimnds. Eyoli and Vka told me of the purpose of this journey to Pris City in detail, alongside informing me that we would be hunting a few more animals on our way north, so that the Arese would have more to barter and trade with the citizens of Pris City. The Arese were capable of fending for themselves, but they weren''t as advanced as the other civilizations around them; being stuck in the middle of nowhere and forced to fend off whatever came over the Cimmerian Mountains would hamper a peoples ability to improve in aspects besides fighting. So, for things like cloth, heating, building materials, techniques, farming and the like, they traded with the people of Pris City, who were always looking for fresh meats, pelts, and bones to utilize for their own use or to trade to others. On top of that, the mammoth tusks that the Arese sold were always profitable, as the ivory provided quite arge chunk of change for all parties involved. The citizens of Pris City traded with ideas and basic machinery with the Arese, who provided them foodstuffs and luxury items in great abundance. Now, of course, whether the Arese could use those ideas or machinery was up to their own capability, but they had learned a lot through these trades. Although apart of the Nevrokopi State, Pris City was epting of the Arese, mainly because they were profitable, but also because they had known them for a long time. Which was why Eyoli told me that we would be hunting any mammoths we came across, so that they might be able to purchase something important for the Tribe of for themselves; steel weaponry was in high demand, as was the techniques behind mining, refining, and forging. That also included the materials needed to mine, refine, and forge things, which were expensive to even normal citizens, let alone the Arese. With that in mind, we trekked through the cold Rimnds and pushed Northwards, towards the bustling trade city of Pris. Located well over 100 miles Northwards, this would be a multi day journey; traversing the snow was difficult, and when you add on the various sleds and packs we were traveling with, our average ''speed'' was apparently roughly 30 miles a day. Still quite good, as expected of such a physical race, but that meant we were three or four days away from Pris City. The first day went by slowly enough, and we set up camp just as night started to fall. The second day started off slow, with us waking up before dawn and setting off just as the sun began to rise. From dawn until noon nothing happened, but an hour or so after noon one of the Arese amongst the vanguard alerted the rest to mammoth tracks, halting the entire expedition. Warriors clustered around the various supplies, while the hunters grouped up together, studying the tracks and determining the distance and location of the mammoth as best they could. Joining Vka, I crouched beside the woman, emting her posture and trying to figure out just how she distributed her weight to not disturb the snow as much as possible. It was interesting, trying to copy her as best I could, all while I listened to her muttering about the size, depth,pactness of the snow, theyer of fresh snow over the track and more. Archiving each in my memory, I filed them away for further analysis as she stood up, her hands patting her sheathed knives as she gestured for me to follow behind her. Despite their near ck skin tones, the Arese were like wraiths as they set out to follow the tracks, their white tattoo''s blending with their dark skin to create a sort of camouge as they moved. Alongside that, their fur armor made little noise as they stalked through the snow, and the various bone weapons hanging on straps across their body didn''t make much noise either. Comparatively, I found myself frowning as the wind billowed against my cloth and leather armor, while my remaining daggers smacked against my thighs and waist with soft plops; you could barely hear it through the wind, but it was still there. Many nced at me, their ck eyes narrowed as they scanned my attire, before turning and creating distance between us. Gritting my teeth, I decided that, for the moment, I would allow myself to ''cheat'' as I tried to determine how to better traverse the snow. Tracing runes in the air, I created a Wind Cloak that wrapped around my body, diffusing the sounds I made into near silence. Alongside that, I coated the bottom of my soles in Water Mana, allowing me to walk on top of the snow with better results. Vka nodded approvingly at my choices, her whisper barely making any sound, forcing me to strain my ears. "Better. Mammoths are near now, so be careful. Follow my lead." Giving her another nod, I crouched down lower and focused my attention on our surroundings, wondering what these mammoths would look like in reality. Were they the fur covered elephant like creatures I remembered, or something else? I didn''t need to wait long, as we eventually crested a hill and gazed down on a herd of giant mammoth. Chapter 326 325: Mammoth Hunt (2) Looking down into the small basin below us, we saw fiverge furry mammoths grazing through the thick carpet of snow beneath them, brushing it aside to reach the grasses underneath. Roughly 12 feet up to the shoulder, the mammoths were giant creatures, filled out nicely with a good amount of meat and fats, while long, curved tusks sprouted from their mouths. Some had two, others had four; no matter the amount, each tusk was three or four feet long and sharpened to a point, capable of piercing and goring out a person easily. Not only that, but the mammoths size was a weapon in and of itself; a simple stomp or iling of their trunks would break quite a few bones in your body from the impact alone, not counting wherever you mightnd. Crouching besides Vka, I saw her draw one of her long, thin knives, her eyes narrowed as she gestured towards the grazing animals. "We''ll draw one away from the rest of the herd, and once its separated, we pounce." Her voice was still below even a whisper, but I nodded as I heard her order, silently drawing out curved dagger that Anput had gifted me. Looking around, I saw that the various Arese hunters were unsheathing their weapons as well, with one woman unslinging her bow andying an arrow on the string. Most were equipped with spears, the sharpened bone tip tied tightly against the long wooden hafts. A series of hand signs passed between the Arese, and eventually the woman with the bow nodded, recing the first arrow with a different, heavier one. Taking aim, she observed each mammoth before selecting one, drawing the arrow back fully. When it was let loose, the arrow sliced through the air with a whistle, causing the mammoths to turn towards the sound in worry. One of the mammoths began to trumpet in pain as the arrow sunk deep into the muscr shoulder of its front leg, causing the others to shake their heads as they searched for their attackers. Stamping the ground with theirrge feet, the mammoths let out a deafening trumpet once again, making me flinch slightly, my ears ringing. "Vka, should I help slow that one down?" Turning to look at me, the lithe Arese frowned before staring at the runes dancing around my free hand, forcing her to turn and make a few hurried signs towards the others. Some of the Arese frowned back, their hands moving quickly as theymunicated silently, and Vka eventually turned back and whispered "If you fail this, many of the Arese will be angry." Nodding, I toyed with the configuration of the runes for a moment, switching some out as I created a specialized Ice Arrow to slow down the mammoth. Summoning the thin, frigid arrow, I willed it forwards, watching as it was slung forwards through the air. Everyone held their breaths as they followed its trajectory, each of us praying for it to work. I had faith in it, but to say I wasn''t worried that the arrow might not pierce the mammoths thick fur or that they would be resistant to Ice Magic would be a lie. The rigid shaft of the arrow shattered upon colliding with the mammoths front leg, and I could see everyone begin to turn towards me with frowns on their faces, only for them to all widen their eyes in surprise as frost began to spread over the mammoths fur. Its trunk iled upwards as the animal cried out in pain once more, scaring itspanions. Frost began to seep into the mammoths previous wound, and the fur on its leg grew white, creeping over the rest of its leg and body slowly. Seeing that theirpanion was wounded, the mammoths let out another loud st of trumpeting, theirrge heads swiveling around as they tried to locate their attacker. However, the Arese were back to being hidden, and I crouched low besides Vka as we watched over the herd. For a few moments the mammoths continued to search their surroundings, only to eventually look at each other before they started to lumber away. Of course, they tried to remain at a pace their woundedpanion could travel at, but when the mammoths heard a low, piercing growl, they all blurted out a scared st before picking up the pace. Frowning, I saw that one of the Arese held some kind of instrument to her lips, and she took a deep breath before emanating another growl. Turning back to the herd, we observed the four healthy mammoths trotting away, looking for the source of the growl with obvious fear, while the wounded mammoth tried desperately to catch up, limping from the arrow that was still embedded in its shoulder. The distance between the herd and the outlier only grew as we began to stalk behind them both, the growls pushing the herd further and further ahead, leaving the wounded mammoth behind as they decided to preserve themselves. Crying out sadly at being abandoned, the mammoth turned and tried to locate its attacker, itsrge eyes filled with anger as it looked around. The archer nocked another arrow and shot towards the beasts side, barely pricking the mammoth. However, it still trumpeted out in pain, before staggering to the side as I sent a hardenednce of ice towards its side as well. Shattering much like the Ice Arrow had, mynce was made for blunt force trauma, knocking the beast around as it tried to locate me. The other Arese crept forwards a little further before jumping the mammoth, their spears digging into its flesh from afar as they began the arduous task of killing it. Vka spun her knife in her hand and threw it forwards, a p of thunder bursting from the impact as the knife sunk into the mammoths brow. The de broke as it red azure blue, and the mammoth trembled, sparks of electricity radiating from its head. Taking a few steps back, the Arese watched as the beast fell onto its side, dead. Grinning, they moved forwards, while the archer taking another arrow and shooting it into the sky. As the others began to draw their carving and butcher knives, the archer stood guard, while the arrow they shot burst in a myriad of colors, alerting the expedition of our location. Joining Vka, I grinned at the woman as I took out my Protective Fang, the heavy dagger slicing easily into the mammoths muscr flesh. We began to dismember therge creature with practiced ease, carving it into its different parts. While we worked, the Arese spoke cheerfully to me, marveling at my ability to utilize magic while also thanking me for making this hunt conclude far faster than they were used to. It didn''t take long for the expedition to arrive, and the warriors began to pack everything onto the sleds. When we finished, we set back out for Pris City, each of us satisfied with the rapid hunt. Leaning behind little more than a puddle of blood and useless meats or organs, we ended our second day on a high note. Chapter 327 326: Sorcerer We continued upwards, scaling the tower quickly as we dispatched the waiting Praetor''s on each floor. Some provided a challenge, their control over mana and finesse using their weapons putting them on par with a training dummy, but sadly most of the humans we encountered were pathetic, theck of will in each pushing them into an early grave. The organization of the squads was mixed, and we noticed quickly that there were few ces where we could expect a challenge; most of the time, the squads rushed us all at the same time, believing in their numbers. Anput made quick work of those squads, her spear growing slick with blood, while Leone behind her utilized perfect precision to burst the humans heads with a small bolt of condensed mes. Both of my fiancee''s wore contemtive expressions as they worked, likely mulling over the incident from the floor below; I knew that my actions would spark something in them, and I needed to make sure to take the time to talk with them afterwards. Iaso spent most of her time idly buffing and healing any small wounds any of us rued, while Liga backed me up on my floors, using her precisences to impale any fortunate soul that slipped past my notice. In all, the tower was 25 floors tall, and the amount of knowledge stored inside was impressive, but I had my doubts on the value of these tomes and papers. Reaching the top floor, we were greeted with a room housing arge green crystal, the Wind Mana radiating off of its jagged edges making me stop for a moment. Standing before the giant chunk of Wind Crystal was a man wearing pale green robes, the heavy cloth draped over his thin frame. "So you are the invaders, hmm~? Interesting..." Turning slightly, we frowned as we saw the slightly elongated ears of a Half-Elf, the man chuckling as he noticed our expressions. "Surprised? The Empire isn''t the only ce open to different races. Though, I would admit that the ''openness'' of the Kingdoms and Empire are vastly different. My mother was captured and sold to one of the Kingdoms Princes as a... concubine. When I came along, she killed herself after letting me drift along in a river in a small boat." Snorting, he shook his head as gestured to the room around him, continuing on. "Like that would actually work. My ''father'' found me momentster and began to raise me as a punching bag, before-" "Alright, why do you want to recite your life story to us? Should we care?" Cutting him off, I raised a brow at him as I crossed my arms, staring down at the smiling man as he shrugged. "No, it''s just been lonely up here; no one talks to the halfling willingly. The only reason I''ve been granted such luxury is because my ability with magic far surpasses what a normal human is capable of~!" Saying so, he flicked his fingers forwards, sending dozens of des made from wind towards us. Leone frowned, her eyes observing the crystal as he did so, before she muttered "It''s the crystals power he''s using; that''s why he''s so close." Nodding, I let the des harmlessly impact the golden shield in front of us, watching as the man stared at me in shock. "W-Wait... tall Demoness... blue skin... gold tipped horns?! The Asmodia Heir?! No no no... they said it would be manageable! HOW IS THIS MANAGEABLE?!" Stamping his foot into the wooden floor, the Half Elf growled as he turned back towards the crystal, muttering to himself. Blinking, I watched as he reached out and touched the crystal, before he stomped over towards his desk. Confused, I observed him as he sat down and opened a tome, his bony finger dragging over the pages as he continued to mutter to himself. "-se the crystal as a conduit... I did that, but why..? Ah, here... ce hands on crystal and say the following line... ''Crystal, grant this humble soul your power; let your magics flow through me...''" Turning, I nced down at Leone, who was just as confused as I was, before I looked towards Anput, who was staring at me. "Can I just kill him? I mean, he turned his back on us and all..." Before I could give her an answer, he giggled to himself and stood up, striding over to the crystal again. cing his hands on it, we watched as the green crystal pulsed once, the color dulling slightly as raw mana coiled around his body. Laughing, the Half Elf absorbed the mana and turned, his eyes glowing green, while small veins of green pulsed from his eyes, spreading throughout his head. "HAHA~! With this, I''ll surely smite you down! Then... Then... Then I can finally get that funding~! HEHA HAHE~!" Raising his arms, the Half Elf shouted "DIE! FOR MY FUNDING!", and the mana he absorbed from the crystal materialized between his hands. A giant sphere of condensed Wind Mana gathered in front of his palms, and the Half Elf continued tough maniacally, before he pushed it forwards. "THE HEIR TO HOUSE ASMODIA, KILLED BY ME, SORCERER ELFAN!" Pursing my lips, I stared at the approaching sphere as it tore away the floor boards, and raised my hand as well. Pushing the golden shield forwards, I poured some extra mana into it as I wrapped it around the sphere, before clenching my fist. The outside of the sphere was impressive... for a hybrid of a magical race and non magical race, but... The inside held nothing; it was an empty sphere, so with just a swift counter spell, the attack became nothing as well. The golden shell I had formed over the sphere condensed into a small ball, roughly the size of my palm, and I willed it back towards me. Catching it, I stared at the trapped Wind Mana for a moment before focusing on the ''Sorcerer Elfan'', who was standing rigidly near the crystal. Silence fell over the towers top floor, and I nced at the broken floorboards and muttered "He damaged my tower..." Looking back towards the Half Elf, I sighed as Liga used her magic to create a path towards him, while Anput approached him. "Make it quick, Anput... we have a schedule to maintain, after all." Nodding, the Jackalkin smiled at the Half Elf, who finally sputtered to life. "I-Impossible!!! T-That was impossible! Th-That was the f-famous, unbeatable attack of Sorcerer Elfan! Y-You must have cheated! Y-Yes, you cheated! N-No Demoness can block m-my signature move!" "Oh, shut up will you? By the Goddess, you''re insane..." Flicking her hand to the side, Anput stared at the now silent man as he reached for his throat, his eyes widened in terror as his head rolled off his neck. With a wet thud, the Half Elf Sorcerer Elfan fell dead, and his tower became mine. --- Sorry, rest of the siege will be more serious, I just... couldn''t help myself lol~ --- Chapter 328 327: Armory Staring at the headless corpse of the Sorcerer Elfan, I blinked a few times before muttering "He really was insane..." Shrugging, I walked over towards the desk that he had upied moments before and looked over the various tomes and papers scattered about, before picking up the opened tome and tossing it towards Leone. "This seems to be his primary journal; just want to make sure it doesn''t get lost or damaged... Oh, and here. Maybe you can use this." Solidifying the mana sphere in my hand, I tossed it over to Leone as well, the Vampire looking it over for a moment before approaching therge chunk of Wind Crystal. Taking a deep breath, Leone crushed the light sphere and guided the Wind Mana back towards its crystal, returning the luster to the green crystal in the center of the room. "Alright, when we return to the base of the tower we need to secure it; runic traps at the entrance, and fortify the structure itself. Leone, handle the traps. Liga, Anput, secure the base of the structure to prevent the humans from trying to destroy this ce..." Everyone nodded, and we began our descent back down to the streets of Goron. I had little faith in the human''s ability to topple a tower of this size; the magic they''ve put on disy has been pitiful at best, and none are as physically capable as a Minotaurkin or a Demon. Besides that, I''ve yet to see those spherical devices they created filled with some kind of mmable powder be used at all, so who knows if that was the humans invention or something the Sariel and Kameiel Families gave to that female assassin back then. So, while my squad set about toplete their orders, I kept my attention on our surroundings, wondering if the humans defending their home woulde out yet. Some civilians still remained inside their houses, hunkered down and silently praying for us to leave, and I could feel their gazes and almost smell their fear as they hunkered down. Anput braced the towers structure with a mixture of additional stone and some metal, while Liga wrapped thick roots around the base, breaking through the ground and hugging the tower. As for Leone, sheyered a few more Ritual Circles on the doorway and steps, as well as the windows. They would re red for a moment before fading into little more then a dull shimmer that was hard to fully sense, even with me knowing it was there. Wiping some sweat off her brow, Leone grinned at me as she said "Done! This Mage Tower is secured!" Anput and Liga grinned as well, mirroring Leone as they gathered back around me. "Good! Well, the next closest facility would be the Armory, then the second Mage Tower, andstly the Barracks." Striding towards the Southeast section of the city, I spoke as we marched, dealing with any soldiers that tried to ambush us. "ording to thest report we had of Goron, the Armory is arge facility with only two floors; a main floor and a basement. Home to Goron''s forges and metalworkers, the Armory supplies the city with weapons and armor, acting as a storehouse for the materials they need as well. The metals the humans use aren''t exactly valuable, but we''d never refuse fresh steel, iron, and other misceneous metals like bronze, tin, aluminum... Besides the metals, there are all sorts of tanned leathers, excess pelts, rubbers, and the like that would do well refurbishing this city into something better. Securing the Armory intact is of utmost importance, same level as the Mage Towers. Keeping this city''s infrastructure in ce is of paramount importance to getting it back up and running when we leave. When the upational force arrives, they''ll be producing items for us to utilize during the rest of the Crusade, and this facility will be where most of it gets made. So nothing explosive, nothing potent... des, precision magics, and defensive magics only, alright?" ""Yes Ma''am!"" Smirking slightly at the chorus of acknowledgements behind me, I scanned the various roads around us before continuing onwards, the map in my head leading the way. Thank the Goddess for giving me such a great memory... Though I guess Mother would be a more deserving recipient of my thanks... Reaching the giant factory that the humans used for their metalworks, I frowned as the fortified facility came into view. The tall archways that led into the Armory were blocked by uniform bs of stone, while only one entrance was left ''open''. Thick wooden doors blocked the archway, while arge ring of barricades fortified the entrance. Dozens of soldiers waited warily behind the wooden palisades, each armed with heavy steel spears tipped with jagged edges. Some Praetors roamed around the soldiers groups, giving them words of encouragement and bolstering their morale; a mixture ofbat Praetors and support Praetors filled the ring, and I frowned at the sheer amount of humans present. Archers and crossbowmen sat waiting on the roof, hidden behind palisades of their own, their eyes scanning the various streets. "Damn... that is quite the difference. Perhaps a not so insanemander? Hmm..." Rubbing my jaw, I continued to scan the Armory, searching for a way in or a way to make this a little easier. Considering the formation and defenses, I was wearier about this then the Mage Tower; caution would be best used here, with the possibility of a semipetentmander being present. That, and the sheer number of soldiers just outside was already worrying enough; who knows if an entrance on the other side of the Armory was just like this. Which isn''t even taking into ount the soldiers waiting inside those walls; walls which were made from reinforced stone. Keeping the structure intact would make this harder then necessary, but the benefits for doing so were obvious. "Hmm... Alright, here''s the n. Anput, you and I will draw agro and tank whatever the enemy throws at us while staying just out of reach of those spears. I want to see what they have waiting inside and whittle down those archers first. Leone, Liga, Iaso, you three will begin to pick off the archers with precision spells; climb onto the roofs around us and stay hidden. If some more soldierse outside to bolster this side, we''ll pull back and hit them from elsewhere. If not, Anput and I will secure the gate and wait for you three to join us. Take it slow and steady. Also, be careful of roaming patrols of soldiers; they might return to provide reinforcement to the Armory if they learn its under attack." Looking at the four women behind me, I continued detailing the n, listening to them as we observed our target for a few more moments. When we settled on the n, Anput and I stepped out and donned Mana Cloaks, approaching the fortified Armory. Chapter 329 328: Some More Hunts Kat PoV After the first mammoth hunt, we called it a day as we bundled everything up and set up camp, Priestess Liana going over the various pieces of therge animal and taking note of each. Vka came away from the hunt with a few pounds of meat and a couple bones, which she seemed rather excited about. As for me, the Arese decided that since I participated in the hunt, I was eligible to receive a reward as well,ting me a few pounds of meat and arge swathe of the furry pelt. Keeping some of the meat, I gave the rest to Eyoli, surprising her with the generous gift. p¦Ánd¦Á---no¦Í?1,§ão§® I made it clear that I was doing this so that she could have a little more to take back to the twins, which made therge warrior grin sheepishly as she nodded, taking the goods from me. With the meat that I kept, I settled down and made myself, Vka, and Eyoli food, surprising the Arese once more. I could have sold it, but for the time being I was hungry, and mammoth tasted rather good, so I made us some juicy steaks. That was how the second day ended. Day three found us hunting down another herd of mammoths, and this time the Arese decided to better utilize my magics. Laying out a n, I was meant to slow and knock over two from the herd, allowing the Arese to move in for the kill. Like the day prior, I started by having the archer wounding the animals first, before Iyered some frost based Ice Magic on the open wound, seeping my mana into the mammoths flesh and freezing some of its muscles, hampering its movements. Then, when the rest of the herd was scared away by that growling instrument, I utilized my Ice Magic once again, creating arge battering ram that would knock the mammoths over, forcing them to the ground where they would be helpless. When that happened, the waiting Arese would charge forwards and pierce the mammoths flesh with their spears, bleeding the animals out. With that done, we now had an additional two mammoths to harvest, and we set out to dismembering the carcasses for its parts once again. However, the scent of blood in the air drew other curious predators over, namely a starved Pr Bear and three thin Wolves. The Pr Bear snuck up on us, only alerting the archer when it had begun its charge towards the mammoths, loosing a roar as it tried to scare us away from the tworge piles of meat. Turning, we all scrambled to retrieve our weapons as the Pr Bear drew closer, only for the archer - who''s name I learned was Mirana - to shout "Three wolves behind you!" Some of the Arese turned, their spears held out as they stared at the snarling wolves who observed from afar. As for the rest of us, we readied our weapons and met the charging Pr Bear, its low growls and raised ws sending shivers down all our spines. Vka stood with two knives drawn, the metal gleaming in the light of the noon sun, while I readied my Breeze Fang, observing the beast that barreled towards us. Hundreds of pounds of muscle and flesh covered in a pristine white pelt snarled at us, its eyes hungry as it looked between the Arese and the mammoths. Considered amongst the top apex predators in my old world, I grit my teeth as I saw one up close for the first time ever... and it was feral. Of course, I was no longer some fragile human, powerless to stop such a creature. Instead, I now had mana flowing inside my veins, but... so did most things in this new world. Caution was still a word to live by, and I saw that the Arese thought so as well when they avoided the Pr Bears charge, not wanting to find themselves under those ginormous paws. Of course, those mammoths were ours, so we weren''t about to just give up the corpses without a fight. Those with spears slunk forwards and stabbed the Pr Bear where they could, twisting the bone spear tips inside its flesh and damaging it, only to retrieve their spears swiftly as the Pr Bear tried to snap the spears with its paws. Avoiding the Pr Bears swipes wasn''t incredibly difficult, but a few Arese growled in annoyance as the bones they had so carefully crafted into weapons were smashed to pieces. Raising my hand, I sent a hail of fist sized chunks of ice flying towards the Pr Bear, listening to the meaty smacksing from its side as each chunknded. Growling in pain, the Pr Bear turned towards me in anger, only to let out a low whine as a final chunk mmed into its snout, fracturing the bone and knocking out some of its fangs. With it distracted, Vka rushed forwards and jumped onto the beasts back, stabbing her twin knives down into the muscly neck and twisting. Blood spurted from the wounds, and the beast staggered around, spreading the red liquid over the snow and its fur. Another Arese stabbed the Pr Bear in its side, lodging her spear deep into the beasts ribs and earning a roar of pained anger. When it raised its paw to bat away the spear, Mirananded an arrow on the beasts pad, eliciting a yelp from it as it tried to retreat. Stabbing it once more, Vka sliced a deep gouge into its neck, tearing open its flesh and letting its blood flow like water onto the ground. Stumbling down to the ground, the Pr Bear wheezed as it coughed out blood, before falling silent momentster. Retrieving their weapons, everyone stared at the dead beast with solemn eyes, before moving forwards to harvest its corpse as well. Digging my hands deep into the Pr Bears flesh, I suppressed a grin as I slowly extracted the various organs on my side of the beast, moving it past the bones and remaining flesh. Warm red liquid pooled around me, and my arms were stained in the beasts color. Memories of more impressive ''hunts'' floated around my mind as I worked, until eventually we set out for Pris once more. Chapter 330 329: Petty (Extra) --- Needed a little break for the moment, so here''s an extra chapter in the meantime~! --- Ria PoV Sitting in our carriage, I stared at Chordeva as she slept, my wife still tired after reprimanding and discipling our child and our passionate nights. Sighing, I nced at Julie beside me, the Dogkin maid staring out the window, her pregnant bump standing out slightly. Leaning over towards her, I ced my hand on her stomach, making her flinch slightly before smiling gently at me. I was aware of what she was going to go through, as was this mature Dogkin woman, but still... My heart warmed as I felt her bump, my thoughts centering on the fact that she was pregnant with my child. p¦Ánd¦Á---no¦Í?1,§ão§® Stroking the bump, I chuckled as I nced at Chordeva, Julie mirroring me. "Did you ever think you would be in this position? Being impregnated by Chordeva or I while your daughter..." I fell silent, watching as Julie sighed before pinching her nose. "I had thought of maybe trying to work for you two in the future, yes; not as a maid, but as a guard, from the Zara Pack. Did I think that would turn into being a maid, and one of my duties being to warm your beds? No... no, it never crossed my mind." Her hand fell over mine, and she continued on, her voice gentle. "I''m happy I did though... my daughter is safe, and I have two more children on the way, from two women I love and trust with my entire being. Though, again... I never thought Kat would be... be fine with... that..." Seeing her blushing slightly, I chuckled as well, coyly saying "Maybe she learned from her mother? We were never exactly... quiet, when she was a child. Maybe she thinks it''s normal for a maid to service her Mistress and her Mistress'' women. However, even if that''s the case, all three of the girls love Kat, and Kat seems to love them..." Julie nodded, before pursing her lips as she muttered "Still can''t believe she fell for Kio''s kid though..." Laughing quietly, I pulled her into me, saying "You say that, but you and Kio were as thick as thieves back then. Even after that... incident, you both were rather close. Even now, you''re still capable of being close, after..." Falling silent, I chuckled as she finished my sentence, her tone dry as she said "After we tried to kill one another? Sure." We both remained quiet as we stared at the Demoness opposite us, and I eventually broke the silence. "Do you remember when Chordeva started the second year, how much she had changed? She was less the bumbling idiot, and much more... mature." Julie nodded, before grinning coyly at me, jabbing me slightly with her elbow as she said "Wasn''t that because she started bedding her fiancee~? Hmm~? Of course she was different~!" ring at her, I grabbed her fluffy ears and pulled slightly, making her pout at me. "Insolent dog..." She continued to pout at me, before we both startedughing again. "Julie, you''ll never change huh?" My Dogkin maid tilted her head, her hazel eyes filled with mild confusion as she asked "What do you mean? I''ve changed plenty since the Academy." Raising a brow, I chuckled at her, only to watch as she frowned, saying "I have!" "No, not really... you''re still rather reclusive, you still hide behind a mask out in public, you''re still incredibly open and affectionate to those you really know, and you''re overprotective of those close to you. You haven''t changed." She red at me, saying "Yes, I have! I''ve matured, Ria!" Seeing her ring at me and huffing like a child, I gave her a motherly smile and pat her head, making the Dogkin growl at me. "There there... of course you''ve grown~!" Hearing my singsong voice, she growled again before smirking, her arms falling to under her giant breasts. Lifting them up, she smirked at me, an annoying superior glint in her eyes as she said "I''ve grown here, Ria~! Have you?" Glowering at her, I growled "They''re just unnecessary fat! Do you want me to help you get rid of them?!" Her smirk widened, and she jiggled them a few more times, before her hazel eyes flickered towards Chordeva. "Well, I think Chordeva loves them... Don''t you remember, she recently used them to-" "Another word and I''ll fucking tear them off." Even though my voice was icy, Julie just smirked as she leaned forwards, her voice seductive as she continued on. "Besides, if I recall correctly, you were the one to suggest-" "Damnit Julie, fine, you''ve grown! Damn bitch..." Crossing my arms, I only grew more upset as I felt myck of a chest, making me growl at Julie again, who was still smirking. "What the hell are you two arguing about..?" Chordeva groggily opened her eyes, those ruby orbs scanning us before she sighed. "Ria, I''ve said it before, but you don''t need breasts to be beautiful; you''re one of the most gorgeous women in the Empire... and Julie, please don''t antagonize Ria over that..." Sighing again, she stared at us as we nodded, Julie finally releasing her ample mountains. ring at her from the side of my eyes, I let out a low huff before yelping, suddenly finding myself sitting on Chordeva''sp. "Ria..." Her voice was stern, and I found myself shivering as she transfixed me with her hard ruby eyes. Hearing a small chuckleing from Julie, we both nced at the Dogkin, who tried to hide her smug grin. Sadly for her, Chordeva saw it, and she dragged the maid over to herself as well. "You know what... if you both are going to be like this, and have this much energy... strip. Serve me during this ride home..." Her voice wasden with lust, and Julie and I shivered at her husky tone. However, we both grew wet instantly, and my hands instinctively dropped my dress to the carriage floor, shivering as the dark blue Demoness started groping my body. "There we go... good girls~! Nowe; serve your Mistress well." The sounds of sex filled the cabin for the remaining hours, and I couldn''t help but thank the fact that something about Julie and I had never changed. We were surprisingly petty, and it had gotten us into many arguments back in the day. One time, Julie had been stubborn that the way toplete a spell was done one way, and I was adamant that she was wrong. We both went to our dorms that night and studied countless theories, formted an untold amount of spells, and went back to the training grounds the next day, ready to disy our findings. Julie had been correct, and I had tried every possible way toplete the spell, but nothing had worked; when we reached the grounds, and she stared at me, waiting for me to speak, I had red at her. "There... isn''t a way to do it." The Dogkin had immediately smirked at me, her eyes alight with a smug glint, making me grind my teeth in annoyance. After that, whenever the spell came up, Julie would ask "Ria, how do we do that spell again?" In fact, the woman is still using it to this day... She is a petty, beautiful, wonderful woman. And I hate her for it... Sighing as I watched her gently bounce on Chordeva''sp, I chuckled as the Demoness pulled her down, making the Dogkin yelp. She had tried to be petty with Chordeva once... The Dogkin had once managed to save therge Demoness from a Firefang bite, using her water magic to neutralize the woundstent mana poisoning and paralysis, and she had tried to hold it over the Demoness, who had, admittedly, made a mistake in the Caverns. She had gone too far ahead alone, and while a Firefang was normally not a problem for any of us at that point, she had been caught off guard, her attention focused on the wounded Drake we had been hunting. It had popped out of an old Coal Serpent Burrow, and it sunk itsrge fangs into her shoulder. When Julie had saved the Demoness, she had told her that she should have listened, and that she should have been aware of her surroundings, but... All the Demoness had done was toss the Dogkin in front of her, towards the Drake, and remained motionless, watching as she ran about. "Watch your surroundings Julie! That Drake is shooing dozens of fireballs around, so be careful~!" I was watching with her, only because when I had tried to leap forwards and help her Chordeva had caught me, keeping me from the small field. We watched as she dodged the fireballs, and I widened my eyes as I noticed that none were ever close enough to reach Julie; they would change trajectoryst second and fly away. The Demoness had smirked at the Dogkin as she ran around, until eventually Julie realized Choredva was ying with her, prompting her to apologize profusely to woman. Only when Chordeva was satisfied did she step in, and Julie had pouted and cried a little as she sat in front of us, making me re at Chordeva. Now Julie was crying again, but for different reasons... --- Date: 01/07/2023 --- Chapter 331 330: Polaris City Kat PoV The rest of the journey traveling to Pris City was rather lucrative for all parties involved; the hunts continued on day three, while day four was spent simply traversing the edges of the Rimnds as we came closer and closer to Pris City. In all, I managed to gain quite arge haul of goods to sell at Pris City to procure some funds for myself; some ivory, mammoth pelts, Pr Bear pelts, meats, bones, and some random fangs, talons, and ws... The money would be needed to buy myself a map or at least some more materials to replenish what I''ve lost. Potions, foodstuffs, clothing, armor, weapons, and so on. I would need to make some upgrades for what I currently have, though maybe it''d be best to go check the system shop for that; I do currently have around 1,600 SP to utilize... Maybe I could find some rather potent weapons and armor inside the shop, or some useful potions for the journey ahead - maybe speed potions or stamina potions? It was the middle of the fifth day of walking that we reached our destination, the bustling trade city that was Pris. Our first glimpse of Pris City was a singr towering statue of a woman holding up a dazzling blue stone, which radiated light all over the surrounding tundra. Her sped hands and bowed head gave her a somber look, contrasting the bright, vibrant blue glow radiating down onto her chiseled features. The statue was easily hundreds of feet tall, and that chunk of stone in her hands was definitely two dozen feet wide and tall, the surfacepletely smooth. "That right there is Pris, Maiden of the Northern Stars. ording to legend, she - and her three other sisters - made up the four quadrants of the night sky. In her hands is a Starstone; something that fell from the sky eons ago, and the catalyst of her power. If the legends are to be believed, she utilized the intense Water Mana inside the Starstone, alongside her own impable Wind Mana, to submerge the Rimnds into eternal frost, so that she could lock away a terrible evil that lurked somewhere nearby." Turning towards Eyoli, I saw her smiling softly as she stared at the statue of Pris, the warrior sounding slightly wistful as she continued on. "The Arese believe that she was trapping the original Fiends that roamed around the Cimmerian Mountains. The Nevrokopi State believes she eradicated a dangerous group of women known as the Skadi with her magics. Finally, the Hoarfrost Sect believes she used the magic to increase her and her sisters powers, iming thisnd as their own... Either way you cut it, that''s why thisnd around us is perpetually shrouded in snow; Pris there deigned it to be so." Sighing, Eyoli gave the statue ones look before turning towards me, adding "Personally, I dislike what she did, but what''s done is done. Now, ''what about the city'', you ask? Pris City was built around her statue, and they benefit from the protection her Starstone provides; no monsters roam near here. The southernmost city inside the Nevrokopi State, Pris City is arge trading hub for international trading. Here, the Arese, Hoarfrost Sect, and the other small groups of nomadse to trade with the sprawling Nevrokopi State for more refined goods, while we provide them raw materials. The rest of Nevrokopi hates us, but Pris loves us since we line their pockets with coin; not to say that we get ripped off, since we get more than we ever could need in return. As such, the city itself is a diverse hodgepodge of cultures, which makes it a rather unique ce! I think..." Nodding, I stared at the city as it camepletely into view. Large walls made from blue grey stone rose to forty some odd feet into the air, with various parapets and soldiers adorned in cold, silverish metals. A giant gatey open at the base of the walls, allowing various people to enter and leave the fortified city. Situated around the city walls were small farms nestled into the snow, fenced off areas free from the white powder and sprouting with pale green shoots. "Tighten up! Let''s not make a repeat ofst time, alright?!" Priestess Liana looked back over the Arese, who all nodded as we began to shuffle into a single line. Adjusting the pack on my back, I remained beside Eyoli as she dragged a sled behind her, while Vka returned from the front and stood near us, her own pack bursting with her spoils. "What happenedst time?" Hearing my curious question, Eyoli smirked as she looked around for a moment, while Vka chuckled slightly. Therge warrior leaned down and began to regale me with a tale of how a few of the Arese got challenged to a fight by members of the Hoarfrost Sect, resulting in a brawl between the two. Since they couldn''t utilize their magics, the Hoarfrost Sect members lost, before they began to try and charge their spells. At that point, the Pris City Guards stepped in and kicked them out, before issuing a warning to the Arese, threatening to ce a year ban on trade with them. Eyoli found it amusing because the Pris Guards wereughing the entire time that the Hoarfrost members were getting beat, only to try and act tough with the Arese, even though they both knew they weren''t at fault. Vka added that the prices were better that trip, since many of the citizens of Pris were getting tired of the Hoarfrost Sect''s attitude, so there had been some hopes that something simr would happen again. This time, nothing of the sorts happened - thankfully - and we reached therge gate of Pris City, where a cluster of Guards stood waiting, leaning on the silver staves they wielded as they looked us over. One - in armor far more detailed then the rest - approached the Priestess and grinned at her, the woman resting her staff on her shoulder as she shouted "Priestess Liana~! Good to see you again love~! Everything good out in the Rimnds?" Quieting down to a normal volume, the two women exchanged pleasantries as the remaining guards moved down the line, examining the sleds and asking to look into the packs of the Arese, doing swift checks for... Actually, I wasn''t entirely sure, since everyone was very clearly armed with rather good weapons. When a guard approached us, he frowned when he saw me amongst the Arese, approaching and asking "Are you with the Arese?" Nodding, I gestured to Eyoli and Vka, saying "I paid for an escort to Pris City." "Ah. Alright, well, we need to check your pack for any kind of magical crystals or contraband potions or poisons, which includes the ingredients for them. Too many incidents revolving around them recently..." Shrugging off my pack, I opened it up and showed him the contents, the man nodding to himself as his eyes scanned the contents, before he began to inspect the sled Eyoli was pulling. "All set. Enjoy yourself inside Pris City, and don''t cause trouble." Chapter 332 331: Breach And Clear (1) Jahi PoV Donning a Light Cloak, I strode out into the open space surrounding the Armory, instantly drawing attention from the soldiers as the burst of golden light alerted them to my presence. Anput walked behind me, her usually tanned skin now a metallic silver, while her sword shifted into a long, heavy headed spear. "Invaders! All troops, ready your weapons! Archers, cut them down!" One of the Praetor''s stepped forwards, unsheathing his thin sword and pointing it towards us as he shouted. The humans all readied their spears as they approached the palisades, their expressions grim as they warily stared at us. The archers and crossbowmen above aimed their weapons at us, and I nodded to Anput as the arrows began to rain down around us, while a few managed to reach our bodies. Raising an arm, I let the crossbow bolt m against my forearm, listening to it crunch as the bolt snapped against the mana cloak. Anput used her spear to deflect the projectiles, slicing them from the air as she shifted her weapon once more. Keeping my focus on the soldiers above, I maintained a slow pace as I waited for my squad to begin whittling down the ranged attackers, which didn''t take long. The first to fall was left wing at her throat as a sphere of water pierced her flesh, dropping to her knees before falling from the roof. Next, at the same time, a wooden spear skewered a man before bursting into splinters and damaging the soldiers around him, while a giant sphere of mes slowly began to float above the Armory. ncing backwards, I saw Leone standing on a rooftop, her body cloaked in her potent Fire Mana as she began to utilize her incredible arcane prowess. Sparking, the sphere began to rain down small bolts of mes onto the awed, fearful soldiers, the bolts instantly bursting against their skin and searing their flesh. The mes spread over their bodies instantly, encasing them in fire that burnt flesh and flesh alone, much to everyone''s surprise. Screams echoed around the za as the human soldiers began to burn alive, while some were granted swift reprieve from that terrible fate in the form of a water bullet or wooden spear. Nodding to Anput once again, I let my great sword free from my shoulder as I began to speed up, approaching the palisades. Many of the soldiers were distracted by therge, floating orb of mes hovering above the Armory, only to refocus on Anput and I as the Praetor''s shouted "Present arms! The filthy invaders approach!" A roar of encouragement spread throughout the troops, and everyone prepared themselves for our charge. With Leone burning down the chaff for us, I was morefortable with at least taking the gate of the Armory at the moment, so that we could wait for at least one more squad of soldiers to bolster our prowess. I had no idea what was behind that door, but considering there were around a dozen and a half Praetor''s alongside two and a half dozen regr humans I could safely assume double, triple, or more of these detestably weak soldiers. Then again, maybe there was something strong waiting behind that gate... A small smile spread on my lips at that thought, unnerving the soldiers as I swung my de down towards the wooden palisade. Snapping the thick trunk in half with a singr swing, I opened a path for myself, while Anput simply jumped over the obstacle and skewered a Praetor with her spear. As she lifted the man into the air and used him to block a spear thrust, I raised my sword and deflected a spear thrust as well with the t of my de, pushing the spear aside and slipping into the woman''s guard. Taking a hand from the hilt of my sword, I grabbed her by the throat and snapped her neck, tossing her body aside before continuing forwards. Two Praetors wielding swords and shields blocked my path, quickly being reinforced by three soldiers wielding spears. Hoisting my de with a single hand, I summoned a shield made from Light Mana and blocked a sh from both Praetors, nodding slightly at the mild force behind their attacks. ¦Ñ¦Á§ád¦Á---n?¦Ía| §ãom "Good! At least you''ll provide some sort of threat..." The two Praetor''s frowned at my words, only to widen their eyes as my shield whistled towards their heads. One jumped back while the other rolled away, and my smile returned as they separated from each other. Following the one that rolled away from me first, I stabbed my sword towards him, frowning slightly as I miscalcted the way he was rolling. The edge of my de scored a deep cut from his left shoulder to his right hip, eliciting a sharp scream of pain. With the first down and out, I turned towards the remaining Praetor and parried his thrust, mming my shield down on his outstretched arm. Shattering his bones, I raised the shield once more and sliced through his neck with the edge, severing his head from his body in one clean swing. Blood sttered against my side and cheek, and I flinched as I heard the echo of deranged gigglinging from the alleyway behind me. No, she isn''t here... Focusing on the remaining soldiers, I shook my head before shing my sword towards the soldiers, watching as one tried to desperately block my strike with the haft of his spear. Slicing through their flesh with ease, I bisected the soldiers and turned, catching sight of Anput redirecting a soldiers spear to the ground and stabbing hers forwards, piercing the mans skull and shattering it instantly. I could still hear spells flying above us, letting me know that the others were still dealing with the archers on the roof. Looking around quickly, I took note of the remaining soldiers before nodding, deflecting a thrust and slicing my sword through the attackers corbone, cutting them in half. "Only a dozen or so left, Anput! Quickly now!" The Jackalkin turned to roll her eyes at me, flicking some blood from her spear before turning the weapon into a short sword. "Don''t rush me! I''ve killed twice as many soldiers as you have! YOU quicken up!" Grinning at her banter, I rolled out my shoulders before turning towards the three Praetor''s that approached me, one chanting a spell. "Well, you heard thedy~! Gotta be quick just~ this once for her! So..." Raising the sword, I watched as the three Praetor''s nched as Light Mana coursed along the edge of my de. "Die swiftly, alright?" Chapter 333 332: Breach And Clear (2) With Light Mana coursing over my de, I began to swiftly execute the remaining human soldiers, while the Praetors began to fall under a barrage of Water, Nature, and Fire spells. Anput cut down her remaining enemies before smirking in my direction, her armor clean from blood and gore. Me, on the other hand, looked much like- Anyways, the dead humans around us were strewn on the ground, limbs and heads rolling around freely. ncing over my shoulder, I watched as Leone brought the rest of the squad forwards, joining Anput and I in front of the gate. Nodding to the Vampire, I told her "Send up the signal; I want another squad with us for the takeover of the Armory. Insurance, just in case..." "Very well." Raising her hand, Leone coiled some fire around her finger before shooting it off into the sky, forcing it to burst, releasing a loud bang. e¦Áglesn?¦Íel As she did that, I approached the door and listened, catching the brief echoing shouts and skidding of heavy furniture as the inhabitants prepared to face our attack. Looking back at the others, I gave Iaso a nod as she ced a weak regeneration spell on me just in case, relieving any muscle strains or small cuts I might have rued before saying "Considering the numbers outside alone, I imagine the Armoryplex is currently one of therger clusters of soldiers remaining inside of Goron, so we''ll need to be careful. Anput and I protect the front, Iaso in the middle. Keep spells precise and damage to a minimum unless absolutely necessary." Everyone gave me a nod, before we all turned as we heard the sound of metal boots ttering against the stone roads. Hoisting my sword, I watched as a diverse group of soldiers skidded around the corner, taking note of the carnage around us. "Lady Asmodia! We saw the re, so we came as quickly as we could! Another squad was behind us!" A burly Oxkin pped his fist against his chest in salute, his squad mirroring him a momentter. Nodding to them, I watched as a second squad came from another alleyway, joining us in front of the Armory. Giving them the same orders as I did for my personal squad, I moved to the gate with the Oxkin, an Orc, and a Bearkin, each of us grabbing ahold of the wooden gate. "Now!" Pulling, we ripped the heavy gates free from their hinges and pushed them in, letting them fall onto the soldiers that waited behind them. Raising our shields, we stepped into the well lit Armory, a thick haze of smoke from the various forges clouding our vision for a moment. As soon as the gates had fallen, the Praetors inside shouted for their soldiers to fire, and a storm of arrows mmed into our shields. Extending my Light Magic over the rest of the squads, I grit my teeth at the strain as bolts of mana began to burst against the wall, draining more mana from my Core. When our vision returned, we were greeted with the sights of various crates, carts, palisades, and racks piled together to create arge wall, behind which the humans gathered. Forming a semi circle around the gate, they caught us from the front and sides as we entered, and the hail of arrows and spells began to wear down at my mana. Taking a deep breath, I continued forwards even as more and more projectiles needed to be block, though thankfully the other shield bearers hoisted their own Mana Shields, lessening the burden I needed to bear. Liga wasn''t idle either, as her lips curled up into a sinister grin as her eyes red a dark green. Raising her hands, she let out a low breath before muttering to herself, runes appearing around her. "Focus on that damned tiger! It''s trying to cast some unholy magics!" Narrowing my eyes, I noticed that the Praetor directly in front of me was the one to shout, and she tried to arc her bolts of me over my shield, aiming for Liga. Chuckling dryly, I shouted "Squads close rank around Liga!" Stopping, I nted my feet and focused my mana to form a tall wall in front of myself, blocking all attacks from going through. The others mirrored me, though they all grunted as they strained their Cores for all the mana they could muster. Feeling some heat behind me, I knew that Leone erected a wall of her own between us and Liga, while Anput bolstered the weaker parts of the line. Sensing a burst of mana behind me, I smirked as Liga finished her spell, her voice slicing through the noisy battlefield despite being a mere murmur. "Forests Revenge." A pulsing wave of verdant green mana washed over the area, reaching the wooden barricades swiftly. Seeping into the wood, we watched in awe as the wood began to warp and twist,ing to life as it reverted to being unprocessed material. Coiling around the various humans hiding behind it, the wooden roots crushed and snapped the soldiers, earning bloodcurdling screams as their bodies were left mangled and broken. Some of the Praetor''s managed to fight off the initial wave of vines and roots, their magics tearing through the wood with ease, only for them to be caught off guard as more and more of the wood began to target them. The woman who shouted was hoisted into the air, her four limbs wrapped up in vines while a fifth snaked up to her neck. Stepping forwards, Liga stared at her for a moment, a smirk on her lips as she clenched her fist. All five vines pulled outwards, tearing the woman apart instantly before she could even scream. "There''s nothing unholy about my magics..." Liga''s voice was dull, and I could see a brief glimmer of rage inside her slitted eyes, before she turned towards me and gestured forwards. "It''s clear, Ma''am." Chuckling once more, I nodded, ignoring the slightly nched expressions of the other squads at Liga''s brutal disy. "It''s clear indeed. Good work Liga. Alright, gather up! Move together, and let''s get this Armory cleared!" --- Lemme know what you all think about these fights so far; I''m just curious, so if you hav points that you think I need to improve on, let me know! --- Chapter 334 333: Farewell Kat PoV With the guards clearing us to enter the city of Pris, the Arese caravan moved inside with their various goods and wares, instantly getting nces from the general popce as people noted their vastly different skin tone. The people here were fair skinned - like myself - and the Arese were on theplete opposite side of that spectrum. Though, the looks weren''t out of hate or other emotions; it was simple curiosity before acknowledgment of the Arese, many just nodding to themselves as they went about their day. Finally inside the city, we were greeted with the sight of dozens of stone buildings all spaced apart, each building designed to maximize space, both for the structure and for the people to move around infort. Some of the stone bricks used in the buildings had symbols and glyphs carved into them, and I widened my eyes slightly as I realized that those bricks radiated a cozy warmth, suggesting the people of Pris City created a way to heat their homes and streets easily enough. On the street, the people of Pris were wearing thick overcoats and wooly scarfs, while their cheeks were tinged with a rosy hue from the cold. Many still grinned and chatted as they walked around leisurely, unbothered by the chill in the air. Following the Arese, we made our way towards the base of the giant statue of the Maiden Pris, eventually reaching a giant circr za filled with those heated stones. Stalls were situated all around the za, while shops lined the edge, their signboards advertising their wares or services to the world. Seeing the Arese filter in, many merchants grinned as they began to rub their hands together, likely anticipating a major payday from them. "Ah, well... Katherine, it''s been a pleasure, but... this is where we bid farewell. Once we sell our spoils off to the people of Pris and purchase what we need, we''ll be departing for Scythiara immediately." Hearing Vka, I sighed as I nodded, understanding that this wasing. "It really has been a pleasure, Katherine! It''s thanks to you that Vka and I now have Oya, Poepa, and Quarta! Besides that, it''s been fun talking with you!" Eyoli grinned at me, before turning to gesture at the Arese, who were dispersing into the marketce. "That, and it''s also thanks to you that the Tribe will gain more from this trip than normal! Your magic really helped our hunting!" "Well, you all still did most of the work. Also, it''s been a pleasure journeying with you all. I''ll miss it going forwards. Oh, and do buy something personal for the girls, alright? They deserve something nice for your first trip away." The two nodded, before giving me a brief hug. ""Safe travels, Katherine!"" Waving them goodbye, I watched as the two Arese began to search the za for a merchant to deal with, conversing quietly amongst themselves as they did so. Smiling sadly as I watched them go, I sighed again before I mirrored them, finding myself a bright, cheery woman to barter with. Watching the Arese go was saddening, since they had helped me focus on other things besides the mission at hand while also benefiting me a lot in other ways. Mimicking Vka''s technique was fruitful, as I did notice a decrease in the noise I made while walking normally, especially when I put my heart into it. Besides that, I earned myself this rather interesting tattoo that seems to negate feeling pain, even something that would be as excruciating as having a heavy club mmed into your ribcage and fracture bone, tear flesh, and damage your organs... Actually, could I use that ability to mess with Jahi during our- Groaning slightly, I continued to barter with the woman as I cast that thought away, not wanting to fall into the all to familiar state of heat. My conversation with the merchant let me know that the world utilized the same kind of currency all over the ce; Copper, Silver, Gold, and tinum. Specifically, it was a list like this: Copper - .01 Silver Large Copper - .2 Silver Small Silver - .5 Silver Silver - 1 Silver Large Silver - 20 Silver Small Gold - 50 Silver Gold - 100 Silver Large Gold - 2,000 Silver tinum - 10,000 Silver Not tooplicated, since you could easily convert everything into the mostmon currency for people; Silver. The reason for the lower metals - Silver and Copper - being standardized over the entire world was due to their alchemical properties, alongside them being extremelymon. No one needed to create counterfeit Coppers or Silvers since they were so easy to earn, but even if you did most people had a way to discover if it was fake through simple alchemical tests. As for Gold and tinum, it was much like my old world; valuable because they were pretty. Although they did have their own alchemical properties, they simply weren''t used for potions, pills, elixirs or any other alchemical concoction due to them not having as strong of a property as Copper and Silver. Anyways, mini economics lesson over, I managed to sell most of my items to the merchant for 45 Gold and 67 Silvers. Apparently, the ivory was still just as stupidly expensive here as it was in my old world, and the bones and meats sold for a good price too. The pelts were a good half of what I made though, since I had taken the time to wash them thoroughly with Water Magic before hand, which increased their value since the woman no longer needed to go spend her own money to clean them; apparently that price was outrageous, so she gave me a little ''bonus''. eaglesnov?1,§ão§® All in all, despite being sad each time I watched a tall, ck skinned Arese walk around the marketce with a frown or grin, I took a deep breath and made my way towards a bookstore, bidding the intriguing tribe farewell in my heart. I would miss their simplicity and looks, but I needed to begin making my way home. Before I did something I would definitely regret... Chapter 335 334: War Never Changes Nirinia PoV Lifting the edge of my Dadao slightly, I allowed the human''s steel de to slide off of mine before stabbing forwards gently, impaling them in the chest and piercing their heart. Precise stab wounds were the evidence of my kill; quick, clean, and efficient, as is deserving for dealing with pests. Lady Sker, on the other hand, left her victims broken and mangled on the ground, bleeding from a deep puncture wound, shattered bones and ruptured organs, alongside the potent poisons resting within her Gurz''s hollow head that were injected into her victims as well. Completely opposite of me, Lady Sker dispatched the humans with extreme prejudice and brutal lethality - just as deserving for pests. Flicking the blood from the tip of my Dadao, I sighed as I looked around the second gate, taking in the ''battle'' being waged. Humans desperately fought back against the collective might of Lady Sker, powerful mages, and some of the Empire''s finest soldiers from the Ashen Legion. All of them were well trained, honed killers, molded into the people they are today by Adelina Leonisa, their Commander. "What''s the sigh for, Nirinia? Not enough of these damnable humans to kill? There''s more hiding behind this gate, waiting for death; I can smell their fear..." ncing at Lady Sker as she mmed her Gurz into a woman''s skull, I shook my head as I replied "I''ve never been one to enjoy the kill itself. I prefer a challenge, or at least the ability to exercise my skill and hone my technique against a worthy opponent. These humans? Far from worthy..." Cackling, the Scorpionkin grinned, those red eyes of hers glowing with bloodlust as she used her sharp tail to skewer a man, pumping him full of her venom as she lifted him into the air. e¦Áglesn?¦Íel "Yes, they are rather weak, aren''t they? Pathetic little creatures, humans. Devolved, brainwashed trash that doesn''t know its ce. But, that''s what makes them so fun to cut down... they so desperately cling to the belief that they can rule the world, standing above the rest of the races and ordering us around to do their bidding, but they''ve lost all the advantages thate with being from any of the other bloodlines. Magic flows weakly inside their pitifully weak veins, their Cores rarely form at all, their physique is barely at par with even the sickliest Elf... really, they have nothing beneficial besides potent seed and fertile eggs. That, and the amusing decisions they make as they try and find a ce for themself in this world!" Lady Sker cackled again, her eyes crazed as she flung the man from her stinger, his corpse mming into the stone wall and sttering, his back turning to paste. mming her Gurz into the ground, Lady Sker allowed the weapon to rest as she grabbed another human and tore them apart with her hands, showering in the poor souls blood. "Oh, but they die so easily~! There''s just something satisfying about tearing these vermin apart... it''s so... soothing..." Growling softly to herself, Lady Sker grabbed her Gurz and rested the blood soaked weapon on her shoulder, turning to stare at me. "Well, you should find plenty challenge not in the humans living inside the Kingdoms, but instead in the beasts that call thisnd their home. Such weaklings can''t possibly eradicate the Crystal Serpents that upy their mountains, nor could they hunt down the vicious Fenrika Wolves that roam the southern forests. Either way, this isn''t some training exercise or simple skirmish, Nirinia. It''s war. We WILL be conquering thisnd, for our people and our Empress. No matter how tiresome and boring the fight may be, this city - and the others - will be bequeathed to our Empress in due time. Remember that. For the Empire, war never changes; few can challenge us, few can call themselves a threat, and those that can, will never desire to be on the receiving end of the Empire''s Legions." The entire time she spoke, Lady Sker allowed arrows and swords to plink off her armored form, ignoring the screams and shouts from the humans that tried to harm her. Some spells sshed harmlessly against her te as well, and I widened my eyes slightly as I saw the small bursts of her mana that she activated at thest second to block the spells. "Now, help get this gate under control; I might enjoy killing these nuisances, but even I tire of their tant disregard for their superiors..." Saying so, she turned and crushed the skull of a woman who was swinging her sword desperately at the Skorpionkin''s tail, showering herself in more blood. Nodding, I hefted my de and made swift work of the remaining humans, putting them out of their misery with practiced ease. "Good! Now, we wait for Chordeva and Jahi to finish their tasks... hopefully that brat doesn''t fuck everything up for us..." Leaning on the heavy Gurz, Lady Sker looked out towards the residential district, her eyes bored. Coated in blood and gore, the Scorpionkin was given a wide berth by the various soldiers that we had with us, each taking position to fortify and upy the gate, with some of the mages and archers taking positions on nearby rooftops to provide cover. "Jahi won''t mess anything up, at least not on purpose; she has a good head on her shoulders, and is a good mix of both the Marquess and the Countess." Scoffing, Lady Sker smirked at me as she said "Aye, she might have a good head on her shoulders, but saying she''s a healthy mix of an insatiable walking natural disaster of a Demoness and a slightly crazy Saintess of an Elf is not thepliment nor reassurance you believe it is. Besides, saying that she is a ''good mix of both'' is the same as me saying that of both you and Leonisa, and we''ve seen how well the both of you have turned out~!" Grinning, the Scorpionkin stared at me as she searched for a reaction, sighing when I provided none. "Well, take it from a perpetually single, slightly deranged Knight, but the loneliness does sneak up on you sometimes, Nirinia. I envy Chordeva for finding such a good match so early on; most of us never find our special someone''s for many decades. Sure, I''ve had my slew of partners - male, female, futa, whatever - but the temporary warmth is chased away by an ever growing chill of being alone. So don''t make the mistake of letting this one walk from you, Nirinia." Frowning, I stared at her for a few moments, listening idly to the sounds of warfare breaking out around the city. "Is everyone that damn interested in my love life?!" Hearing my mutter, Lady Sker grinned widely at me as she said "That we are, little Djinn~! You and Leonisa are the prime entertainment for those of us at the top. I mean, what else do we have to distract ourselves with in between battles? You two are rather fun to watch!" ring at her, I sighed as I made my way over to the wall, leaning against it as I stared up into the smoke filled sky. It was slightly irritating, knowing that everyone was so hyper focused on Adelina and I, but I could understand it... Especially Jahi and her fiancees; I mean, anything to distract themselves from losing Kat would be extremely wee... I couldn''t even imagine actually losing Adelina; having her almost killed in front of me was already so... scary. For the first time in my life, I had felt true, genuine fear as I watched her bleed out. And now, my heart was tight as I thought about the few moments I had with the out-of-it Adelina in the medical ward; the one that rekindled so many dwindling memories of our childhood. It grew tighter as I wondered if that might be thest I ever saw of such a gentle, caring Adelina... Chapter 336 335: Location Kat PoV Entering the bookstore that the merchant I had dealt with suggested, I looked around at the various shelvesden with leather bound books, each one adorned with some kind of symbol or writing along their spines. Lounging in a chair behind the counter, an older woman flipped through book of her own, uncaring of the bell that nged when I opened the door. Her long gray hair was pulled into a tight bun, held in ce by a gleaming silver pin, while her palish blue skin was spotted with small sparkles of silver. Looking around the store, I frowned before approaching the counter, observing the woman for a moment longer before asking "Um, excuse me Ma''am? Do you carry maps inside this store?" She remained silent, flipping over another page as her silver eyes scanned the worn paper, letting out a low sigh as she ced her finger one of the words - likely to hold her ce - before finally turning to stare at me. A face filled with deep creases and wrinkles greeted me, while strands of her gray hair fell over her cheeks. Thin blue lips were pursed as she tilted her head, narrowing those silver eyes at me as she spoke, her voice gravely and rough. "Maps? Yes, I have maps for sale... Maps of the Rimnds, maps of Nevrokopi State, maps of the Cimmerian Mountains... Well? What kind of maps do you need, girl? You interrupted me when I was getting to the good part..." Standing up, her knees popped slightly, and she let out a low groan as her jaw clenched, likely from aches and pains waiting for all of us in old age. "Oh, sorry... Do you have world maps? Or at least maps of this continent? I need to get back somewhere, but... I don''t exactly know where I am, nor where to go..." "World maps you say? Those are expensive, girl. Can you afford it? If you can''t, then I''m not showing it to you; learnt that lesson long ago." Frowning, I continued to stare at her for a few moments more before asking "Is 30 Gold good enough?" I didn''t want to ever give out the entirety of my wealth to anyone, since those 15 Golds could cause some troubles or an uptick in prices; a trick I picked up from bartering with the receptionist back in the Capital. "30 Golds you say? Hmm..." Staring at me, she wordlessly turned and began to shuffle towards one of the shelves, pulling out a few books to reveal a small case behind them. Unlocking it with a key, she pulled out a furled up scroll and returned to the counter, cing it on the open space between us. "Now, I do need to warn you that it isn''t entirely urate. I never had the tools to measure distances properly, nor did I explore every nook and cranny this world has to offer... some of it is also using other maps to fill in the nks, so again... don''te crying to me for a refund if it isn''t the most ideal map ever created, girl." Her voice was dry as she stared at me, those silver eyes searching my face as I listened to her speak. "Wait, you made this? You were an adventurer?" eaglesnov?1,§ão§® Grabbing my coin pouch, I counted out some coins as I stared back at her, waiting for Botha. price and an answer. "I was. 25 Gold; it''s not doing an old woman like me any good anymore... well past my prime now. What? Surprised to know that an old sack of bones like me used to adventure around?" Shaking my head, I put down the coin for the map and watched as she slid them all into her hands, counting them out and inspecting each of them. "No, it''s just... I don''t think just any adventurer would want to ink out their own map! Let alone one of the world! That''s really cool Ma''am!" The old woman just stared at me as I reached for the map, continuing to count the coins as I unfurled it in front of her. "Here''s Nevrokopi State, and this is us, Pris City. Understood? I''m not teaching you anything else girl, so goodbye, and thanks for the coin." Putting the Gold in a pouch of her own, the older woman moved away and sat back down, picking up her book and going back to reading. Smiling slightly at her helpful, yet also annoyed tone, I turned down towards the map and studied it, taking advantage of the silent store to gather my thoughts. The Labyrinthian is situated directly in the middle of the continent, and it''srge; like, really, reallyrge. Considering that the Empire was roughly in the thousands of miles across, and even that was dwarfed by the Labyrinthian below it... Yeah, this world is huge. So, taking the size of the Empire and using that as a measuring device, I found the spot that the old woman had pointed out and frowned, my heart dropping slightly. The Empire was pretty much the northern most section of the continent, while the very tip of the Nevrokopi State was in the middle of the eastern most section of the continent. What did that mean? I had to travel a probably around twenty-five thousand miles straight north to reach a ce called ''Wekalian Steppes'' before heading ten thousand miles east to reach the Sultanate, where I could consider myself ''safe'' as long as I made contact with the Sultana. In all, we''re talking tens of thousands of miles traveled to reach home, and that''s if I am lucky enough to have a road to follow for a straight journey; who knows how many ups and downs there are from here to the Steppes... Now, that number was definitely daunting; in the moment that I measured everything out, my heart dropped and filled with dread. It would take YEARS to traverse that distance! On foot, and at a slow and steady pace that humans were capable of... Tapping my finger against the counter, I pushed the thought of time out of mind for a moment, instead focusing on what advantages I had that a normal human wouldn''t. Sure, that distance was still mind bogglingly gigantic; I mean just this continent was likely the size of my old! So how did that all work; gravity wise, I mean? No idea, and who cares~! Anyways, I was no longer a ''human''; that''s a fact, and thates with various things I need to ount for. First, me being a Dogkin gave me much better stamina and endurance then when I was a human; I might not have been running marathons to give myself aparison, but I knew that I was more physically fit then I used to be. Second, magic. That in and of itself means so, so much. Now, I don''t know what exactly my speed is utilizing magics, but I do know that I am roughly two or three times faster when I use Wind Enhancing spells on my legs. My regeneration of mana is equivalent to the atmosphere around me, and as I scanned the map, there were only a few spots where I would find mana regeneration a nuisance; therge savannah next to the Wekalian Steppes, the Sultanate''s desert, and the small patches of desert below the Steppes. So I would need to get myself some potions for those areas to help expedite my regeneration. Also, if speed enhancing potions exist inside the System Shop, I could buy those as well... With that in mind, I could likely return home, on foot, faster than I would expect, but... I could also look for things like horses or other ridable animals to help take me ces even quicker; those animals would be more suited for traveling then a Dogkin, and if I gave them spells to enhance their physical traits as well, it would be even better. Continuing to ponder my situation, I nodded to myself as I furled up the map and slid it into one of my packs, making sure it was safe and secure before nodding to the older woman. "Thank you for everything, Ma''am. Have a good day." Bowing slightly to her, I left the shop and made my way back into the bustling trade city, deciding to look around for a bit longer for supplies I could use on my journey. After all, it would be a long one... Chapter 337 336: Taking The Armory (1) Anput PoV Twirling my de around a few times, I looked over towards Jahi, who was staring around the Armory Complex with narrowed eyes, her great sword resting on her shoulder. After Liga took care of the humans guarding the door, we were free to enter and begin securing the facility for the Empire, so that it could service the citizens of both the Kingdoms and the upational force. Most likely, the territories of the Kingdoms would be centers of half breeds; I have no doubt that many of the upational force will find themselves a good human or two to mate with, and that will suddenly reintroduce the other bloodlines back into humanity, restoring them to what they devolved from. Of course, shifting these territories from pro humanity to more open, epting people would take time, and there would definitely be pockets of resistance to such a change, but... As the humans inevitably reach the end of their short lifespans, they will be outlived by the other races and slowly reced by the half breeds that they begot. Sighing, I focused on Jahi as she stepped forwards, gesturing towards therge facility we found ourselves in. "The humans hide behind pitiful walls and pray that they can smite us down. Well, let''s show ''em how wrong they are. Room by room, let''s get this Armory cleared out and ready for the upational forces." Everyone nodded, and I shifted the metal sword in my hands to better fit the style of fighting needed to clear out these forging rooms. Instead of two edges, I shifted it into a single edged sword with a bit of reach, allowing me to slice and stab with ease. Nodding to myself at the weight, my ears twitched as Jahi continued to speak, giving out her orders. "Anput, you''ll take one of the squads along with Liga and focus on clearing the left portion of the Armory, while Leone, Iaso and I will focus on the right. Remember, precise attacks. Leave the rooms fully functional and as undamaged as possible, but should your life be a true risk, don''t worry about that." "Understood." Giving Jahi a curt nod, I turned towards the two squads and gestured towards the one led by the Orc, saying "You''ll be with me." To be honest, I was slightly relieved to be away from the Demoness for a few moments, since the sight of her leaning over that pretty human girl still stuck to my mind. What had she said to her, and what was the reason to look so intimate with such an unworthy woman?! It irked me, and I knew that she wasn''t nning on forcing herself on that woman, but I was still irritated and annoyed by her actions. She belonged to us, but seeing that she looked towards someone else made me angry. Jahi promised to discuss that when this was over, and I wanted to go into that conversation with a cool head, so I needed some space for now. Considering the gold shing from her eyes, Jahi seemed to sense the relief that I felt at being away from her, and the possessive side of her didn''t like that one bit. e¦Áglesn?¦Íel Smirking slightly at her sudden sh of gold, I turned and looked over the men and women that had be ''mine'' temporarily, nodding slightly at the hardened veterans that stared back. "Alright, let''s get going! Keep close and watch each other''s backs. Squad lead, continue to organize your squad as best you can; you know them better than I do." The Orc nodded, shouting out orders to squad and following behind Liga and I as we departed from the others, making our way over to the first of many storage rooms. Situated outside of the forging pits, which were dug into the ground and given venttion out of the facility through chimneys, the storage rooms held the materials and fuel for each forge, and currently I could hear the various humans hiding inside, hoping to catch us by surprise. Of course, I could tell that some were hiding amidst the pits as well, but they were barely peeking out of the forge pits as they watched us approach the first storage room. Stacking on the door, I gave the Orc a nod, watching as he ripped the door from its hinges and tossed it aside, allowing the Oxkin to walk inside with her tower shield raised. Following behind her, we entered a small room upied by a half dozen humans, all of whom cowered behind their spears. Frowning at the choice, I sliced through the haft of one before sliding close to the man, my sword slicing cleanly through his stomach and severing him in half. The others made light work of the humans as well, leaving the room bloody and littered with corpses, but otherwise in perfect condition. Casting a nce over the metal ingots, ores, and charcoal stacked inside the room, I nodded to myself at the raw amount of usable materials the humans had mined up from the mountain, before my gazended on a single ingot of metal that was different from the others. Emitting a soft blue glow, the metal was infused with some Water Mana, it''s silvery surface reflecting the light much like the surface of a pond. Picking it up, I ignored the waiting squad and examined the material, running my nail along the surface before nodding to myself. Slipping it into a pouch, I turned and gestured for them to depart, receiving a raised brow from the others as we made our way to the next pit. Hoisting my de, I continued to ignore them as I threw myself into the next battle, using the monotony ofbat to un clutter my mind. I needed to think over Jahi''s actions, how to continue going forwards with both her and Leone, and how to best deal with the sudden void left behind by Kat''s disappearance. Leone would likely step up, determined to be that guiding and nurturing rock that Kat was to us all; it was just how she was, that Royal Vampire. However, Jahi was what worried me; she was reliant on Kat, that much was clear. Was that scene of her nearly hitting Leone a one and done event, or was that what awaited us the longer we went without the Dogkin woman that made us feel so many emotions? What about her actions with that human bitch? Where did that fall with the Demoness that I thought I knew? I had too many questions, and the more I questioned things the worse my heart felt. Chapter 338 337: Supplies For A Long Journey Kat PoV Taking a deep breath, I looked down at the tableden with items, before turning to see the few measly Silvers that I managed to retain after spending almost everything. The former, almost broke woman inside me wanted to cry out at the sight of so much money being spent in a single day, but I knew that now was not the time to be pinching every singlest Copper that I had; whatever I needed, I needed to buy now. Which, I did... even as my heart bled at the amount of coin spent... Sighing, I picked up the map and unfurled it once again, deciding to take the time to study it for just a little longer as I took stock of my newly purchased supplies. The first leg of the journey - from here to the tip of Nevrokopi State - will be a straight shot up the road that connected the entirety of the State together, so I don''t need much for that segment. Next would be the journey through what looks to be a chilled forested area that was officially apart of some kind of confederacy of various tribes, though that meant little in the grand scheme of things. For that part of my journey, I would need to be careful as I managed my rations and such, since there were no recorded cities inside the forest. Finally, I would reach the Wekalian Steppes, where I would need to make a stop at one of the various cities to restock and prepare for the journey into the savannah and the Sultanate. As such, I had bought a few things, and I needed to hope that these would be enough for me going forwards. A new dagger was a priority, and I bought myself another heavy de, so that I could have a pair of ''spikes'' to use to help climb out of, or up any kind of cliffs. Some new armor and clothes that would retain heat; for the moment, the journey up to the Wekalian Steppes would be a cold one, with the desert patches underneath the Steppes being a potential exception to that theory. Recing my old, tattered leathers was a must, as was getting a pair offortable boots for this journey. I needed to enchant them all so that I could improve my chances, but for now they were good enough. Next was a small satchel that I filled with the potions an Alchemist sold me; some healing potions, stamina potions, mana potions, metabolism boosters, and something the Alchemist called ''liquid nutrition''. eaglesnov?1,§ão§® That was a potion filled with various ingredients to act as a sort of ''foodstuff'' for me to reenergize myself, and I wouldn''t be lying if I said I was suspicious, but I bought it anyways. If it worked, that could very well save me a good bit of time as I traveled. Then came themon supplies that cost little, but would be nice to have during my travels. A spool of rope, some flint and steel, antern fitted with a small mana crystal, dried meats, some salt, two waterskins... Anything that I could think of, I made sure to grab, while also making sure I didn''t over encumber myself. As it stood, everything I had fit inside my pack or in a pouch of its own, which I could strap to any part of my body. Looking over the table, I nodded to myself before rolling the map back up and sliding it into the leather tube I bought to protect it. Sure I had memorized a good portion of the maps outline, but I wanted to keep the map safe for as long as I possibly could, just so I would always have an idea on where I was and where I should be going. Next I made sure to pack away the other items into my pack, securing them all and making sure that when I wore it, I wouldn''t be having the straps digging to deeply into my shoulders, nor having some items poking and prodding at my back. When that was done, I ced my pack on a chair before sitting down at the table, staring at the new armor and clothes I had purchased for myself. The clothing was a simple pair of ck pants and a ck shirt, and I grabbed them first. Closing my eyes, I began to channel my mana into them as I ced some basic enchantments on the cloth; physical resistance, cleanliness, and a minor repairing enchantment. With that, the clothes would hopefullyst me until the Steppes. Turning to the armor, I scanned it before focusing on a piece at a time; the entire set was made from hardened leather, and it had been stained grey. Starting with the cuirass, I decided to replicate my shield spell on its front, while also putting the same minor enchantments on it like I did the clothes. Next, I lifted the two shoulder pads and added the minor enchantments to those, keeping it simple for the moment. With the single gauntlet I bought, I duplicated the shield spell once more before adding a basic bullet spell to the palm. The battle skirt was kept simple as well, but I added some speed spells onto the grieves, wanting to connect them to the boots. Finally, getting to said boots, I added a quieting spell and speed spell as well, before leaning back into my chair and wiping away the sweat from the amount I mana I just used. Getting up, Iid the new armor and clothes out before stripping out of my old, tattered clothing and armor, cing them on the side as I plopped onto my bed, nude. Wiping away the grime from today, I sighed as my hands returned to their usual spots, my mind dipping into that fog that wanted to envelope me as I lost myself to ''self care'', all while images of a blue skinned Demoness grinned haughtily above me, enjoying the show. Chapter 339 338: Taking The Armory (2) Leone PoV Anput hid a small smirk as she led her portion of the squad away, and I could feel the Demoness beside me stiffen slightly as she watched the lithe, tanned Jackalkin saunter away, her tail swishing as her de was held loosely by her side. To be honest, I could understand a little of what made Anput was currently trying; if I was right about it, anyways... If my read on the haughty, proud, and sometimes insufferable Jackalkin was right, she was angry. Those obsidian voids that took ced of her eyes spoke volumes to me, because... Well, I felt the same. I was also currently confused and angry at Jahi''s actions earlier. What had she done with that human woman, and why did she look so... intimate with her? Gnawing at my cheek, I turned and looked around the Armory instead, distracting myself temporarily as Jahi turned back towards the rest of us. The Armoryplex was open and currently crawling with humans. They were hiding inside the storage rooms, forge pits and some were brave enough to congregate in the open and prepare to charge at us, staring in our direction before letting out a shout. "Shields! Iaso, keep everyone healed. Leone, thin ''em out." Nodding, I took a deep breath of the ashden air of the Armory, the sweltering heat feeling much like home as I condensed thetent Fire Mana into my palms. Tracing out runes as fast as I could, I solidified the vibrant scarlet mes and created a staff, which I would use to better control the mana around myself. In the same moment, I felt Janus stirring in the back of my mind, my ever loyal Orthus sensing the danger and expressing his desire to protect me. Smiling slightly at my faithful two headed hound, I raised my free hand and washed as the borate, vast summoning circle appeared on the ground before me, cracks splintering the Armory''s floor as Janus wed his way out into the open. Frowning at the way the circle erased itself from my memory, I sighed before muttering "Get them Janus...", with one of his heads turning towards me and letting out a deep, sad bark. Tilting my head, I watched as therge beast lumbered away, his heavy paws thundering against the ground as he joined the soldiers in front before lunging towards one of the human men. Maybe... he is that in tuned with me to sense my emotions so easily? My lips tugged upwards as I watched him bound around the Armory, one head keeping watch while the other sniffed the floor for the human''s scents, though that frown returned as I followed behind Jahi and the other soldiers. Stepping over the dismembered corpses of the humans, I sighed as I saw the loss of life, my desire to keep them alive fighting with the reality of the situation. A reality that Kat had forced me to see when we had first arrived at the border of the Empire and the Kingdoms only a week or so ago... These humans deserved this after continuing to fight so desperately despite knowing that they were outmatched. They understood that, and yet they continued to fight. Did that make us the monsters they believed us to be, or were they just too stubborn to surrender and live another day? Were they smart to not just throw down their arms and ept a fate under the Empire, or were they just idiots that would rather die under our des? Anput and Jahi both called the humans ''weak'', ''chaff'', or ''worthless'', but was that all they really amounted to? Just ''chaff'' to be cut away under our des? Could these people not be reformed and shown the error of their ways? Or was that arrogant of me to assume that they could be changed? What would Kat say in this situation? ncing into one of the forging pits, I sighed as I shook my head wryly, the stench of burning blood, flesh, and ash assaulting my nostrils. Why am I even trying to assume that she would think about anything besides herself in these situations? She''s made it damn obvious that she''s a selfish Dogkin - to remain hidden from the world, to be given our love, to be allowed to ughter the helpless as she paints herself with their blood, to be allowed to create a cacophony of suffering that we found hideous and unnerving, but that she found so satisfying and beautiful... Isn''t that what makes her so beautiful? The fact that ''perfect'' is not even a word most sane people would chose to describe her in any facet of the imagination? That to us, she is just perfect because she is exactly what she wants to be, uncaring of the world? All she wanted was to be our faithful, dangerous, sexy maid that riled each of us up with how damn perfect she was for each of us... All she wanted the world to see was us, and how perfect she believed we were... And yet, now she was gone. Not dead, but not by our sides, and I could already see the fractures she was leaving behind with her absence; fractures I needed to heal no matter the cost. Too much bnced on us remaining together, both personal and politically too. Anput and I were only Jahi''s fiancee''s currently, and if, gods forbid, Anput or I decide that we don''t wish to follow through with the marriage, Jahi might be forced, or inclined to take another woman into her fold. Something that I can''t see happening, but that is the path that remains if we don''t get this together during this Crusade. It''s extreme, but reality often doesn''t care for ideas like ''extreme''; after all, Kat is gone, sucked into a portal and spat out somewhere far away. That was extreme, so who''s to say that wasn''t thest ''extreme'' thing we''ve seen this year? Sighing, I raised the staff of solidified scarlet mes and willed the mes from the forge into my control, morphing them into a cluster of sickles that I sent flying towards a charging squad of humans. Wincing slightly as I watched the des slice cleanly through the humans'' flesh, I sighed again as I continued forwards, towards the heart of theplex; the heart that was upied by the remnants of the force sent to fortify the Armory. My thoughts and mind shifted from my own problems to the problems of my new people. Thisplex would need to be in a fully functional state when the upational force came, and I was still a Princess of the Empire, no matter how you tried to argue my marriage to Jahi. Officially I would ''relinquish'' that title, but none in the Empire would ever argue with me about the blood coursing through my veins. As such, I felt the weight of such precious blood just as the rest of my family does. These would be my people, and I wanted to help them going forwards. If some needed to die to disy the hubris of their ways, then so be it. For the better of all, a few shall be sacrificed. Chapter 340 339: The Road Ahead Kat PoV The next morning, after my hands once again found themselves where they shouldn''t have strayed, I got up, washed up, and made my way towards the table that held my new clothes and armor. Slipping them on, I nodded to myself at thefortable material and freedom of movement they provided, before tightening the straps a little and beginning to hang everything on my belt. Three daggers - one of which was unenchanted due to myck of manast night - were sheathed on my belt, my Protective and Breeze Fangs hanging on my right and left hip respectively, while thest dagger - the new one - was sheathed on the back of my belt. Hanging on my left side was the potion satchel, evening out the weight of the Protective Fang a little. Finally, I hoisted the pack onto my back and nodded, not finding too much of a problem with the weight at the moment, but that could change at any time. Balling up my old clothes and armor, I stuffed them into a spare rucksack that I had and tied that up, nning of disposing of it before leaving. Double checking everything, I nodded to myself as I exited the room of the inn, leaving behind a clean and tidy room that had been aired out. Stopping at the counter on the first floor, I handed the key back and bought myself a roll, some bacon, and some scrambled eggs, making myself a small breakfast sandwich and eating it as I left the inn entirely. Making my way past the giant statue of the Maiden Pris, I nced up at the chunk of Starstone in her hand, wondering what exactly that could be used for if it wasn''t just a decoration, before shrugging as I continued onwards, towards the north entrance of the city. ording to the map I had bought, this road will take me all the way to the northern most tip of the Nevrokopi State, where I will then need to traverse the few smaller roads to enter that cold forest area thaty in between Nevrokopi State and the Wekalian Steppes. Walking through the city, I got a few looks from passerby''s, my armor hidden underneath the fur cloak that Oya had gifted me. My fluffy ears were on disy as I walked around, and considering theck of Beastkin in the area, I could understand the curiosity, but as always there were those looks of both appreciation and lust. Keeping my expression t, I continued along the main road of Pris City and found myself standing by the towering gates soon enough, long lines of men and women filtering in and out of the city as they went about their day. The line to leave moved quickly enough, but it still left me feeling antsy as we trudged towards the gates, where the guards looked everyone over before letting them through. I wanted to begin my journey in earnest, and these short checkpoints stifled progression, halting it to a crawl... Sighing, I once again reviewed the map, wanting to make sure my memory of it was as good as it possibly could be. From here on out, the road was an almost straight shot through Nevrokopi, but there were obviously twists and turns since this was... well, a road spanning hundreds of miles. There were an incredible amount of branching paths that led to other cities and things that, ording to the olddy, were spots that ''spawned'' the monsters. Much like Fovos Forest back home or the Zhu''Rong Caverns at the capital, these spots were areas that spawned monsters, and as such they were subject to being upied by the Nevrokopi State for resources and profits. ''Shining Den'' ''Tranquil Lake'' ''Moonlit Orchard'' There were many of those spots located on the map, and I noted that there were two that were extremely close to the main road. That could mean trouble, depending on just how strong the monsters were that spawned and how strong the inhabitants of the various ''Guilds'' as the old woman wrote down were. Taking my mind off of that, since those ces were far away, I focused instead on trying to figure out what ndmarks'' I could look for as I journey today, to try and get a good idea of how ''fast'' I was moving. North of Pris City was a singr mountain, which I could just barely see from here, and past that, roughly the same distance between me and the mountain, was a cluster of smallkes. Looking around the long line of people, I took note of the sparsely popted road off into the distance, a small smile appearing on my lips at that. Since I was going to be on foot, I wanted to run on the road, and if people were present it would be much more annoying than necessary. I would refrain from utilizing advanced magics out in the open, but besides that I needed to figure out what pace I could set for the journey going forwards. Moving forwards a step, I sighed again as the line continued to slowly exit the city, until it was eventually my turn. Nodding to the guard, I opened my bags and let them check before departing, my feet hitting the stone road as I set out in a light jog at first. My pack bounced against my back as I moved, and I took note of my weapons under my cloak as I made sure everything was secure. When I got a good distance away from the gates I sped up, finding a rhythm as I moved without magic first, watching as the frozen tundra around me passed by in a blur. Taking deep, even breaths through my nose and exhaling through my mouth, I regted my body as I moved, keeping a steady pace for an hour. My mind was nk as I moved, and I only focused on the mountain slowly growing closer and closer as I ran. Pausing for a moment, I turned and nced back at Pris, a small smile gracing my lips as I took note of the distance I had created in a mere hour or so. Turning back towards the mountain, I sent a surge of mana towards my feet and activated a simple Wind Spell, while also activating the enchantments in my boots and grieves before resuming my run. With the wind billowing through my hair, I made great progress as I passed by the mountain with hours remaining in the day, my heart beating with joy as I realized that this journey would not be as long as I had feared it to be. Maybe. Chapter 341 340: Taking The Armory (3) Jahi PoV Sighing, I nced over my shoulder briefly, catching sight of Leone as she held up her mana staff, mes coiling around the tip before bursting through the air and exploding against the chest of a human, caving it in before burning the rest of them. The reason for that sigh was rather simple; even as she moved on to the next target, the casual air around the Vampire was made obvious by the contemtive expression she wore, meaning she was currently locked away inside her mind. Her body was on autopilot as she supported the effort to take over the Armory, all while her thoughts turned towards something else. Something that I knew, and something I wasn''t exactly looking forwards to discussing with both her and Anput. I promised them I would exin my actions earlier inside the Mage Tower, but honestly I felt it to be more of a nuisance than something I was happy to do, something I was happy to clear the air about. It felt like an expected obligation I needed to fulfill instead of something I wanted to do, even though I was the one who promised to discuss it with them. That was a simple reason as well; I didn''t believe that there was much to discuss there, nor did I really believe I needed to exin my actions to them. It was also that simple reason that scared me slightly. That action I took wasn''t something small; no, it was something that had consequences, and I was actively avoiding them, even though I could stare at the problem and identify it as a problem. Shaking my head, I let out a soft growl as I resumed my culling of the chaff before me, my great sword rising and falling as I cleaved through the armored humans with ease. Metal provided little resistance to my sword as it sliced cleanly through the metal te, while flesh was pierced and bone shattered under the weight of the swings, leaving the corpses of the humans in pieces, battered and broken. Of course, as I looked up and nced towards the remaining humans, which were mainly Praetor''s, I smirked. Those ones wouldn''t be so easily cut down. Though, it''s more fair topare the two as wheat before a scythepared to a tree before an axe. Wheat and trees both fall, but one requires more effort and strength. Which, I have in great quantities. Tilting my head, I scanned through the remaining soldiers, trying to locate someone with seniority or with a stronger presence to them to better entertain me as I sought out distractions. Striding over the blood slicked floor and stepping over the dismembered corpses of the humansrades, I joined the rest of the legionaries as they hefted their shields to meet the charge of the Praetors, observing the iing humans before bolstering the line. Raising my palm, I allowed my Light Mana to seep through my skin and form the runes needed for a protection spell, which I nketed over my troops as we prepared to meet the charge. Even as I did so, I continued to look around as the humans crashed against the shield wall, their mana enveloped weapons ttering harmlessly against the mana enhanced shields of my troops. Searching for themander, I grinned as I saw a man with a hooked nose frowning, his heavy mace held loosely in his one hand, while a small buckler adorned his other wrist. The mana pulsing clumsily off of him was greater than the rest, and I saw him gesture to the remaining troops as he organized them before sending them to reinforce the small battlefield that surrounded me. If the rune engraved metal cuirass or pristine uniform were anything to go by, this was one of the veteran Praetor''s that had the ability to hold their own against an average legionnaire for a few moments~! Leaving my Light Mana lingering over the legionnaires, I waded through the battlefield, my eyes locked on the hooked nose man. Sensing my gaze, his frown deepened as he turned, staring at me with narrowed eyes. Giving out hisst set of orders, the man began to walk towards me, ignoring the words from the Praetors he left behind. "Well well well~! Are you the one in charge here~? I have to admit, after thatst Mage Tower, I had lost any expectations for you humans..." His frown continued to deepen, and I smirked as he asked "Elfan''s Tower fell? That insane sorcerer must have taken a few of your monsters down with him, right?" Chuckling, I tapped my sword against my gold tipped horns as I said "Not a single one! For you humans I guess he was strong, but I can''t really say he performed that wellpared to a true Elf. And trust me, I''ve seen what true Elves can do... Candle to a wildfire isn''t even an aptparison." The Praetor''s eyes widened at that, before he grit his teeth and lifted his mace, pointing it at me. "Of course you lie, you damnable Demoness! In the name of our Holy Lord I shall smite you! For Elfan, for Goron, and for humanity!" The vitriol in his strained voice made me grin, and I rolled out my shoulders as he charged towards me, his legs shrouded in a faded red mana, alongside the head of his mace. Swinging it down towards my skull, the man grunted as I stepped aside from it, allowing it to shatter the stone tile below us, before he swung it back towards me once more. Jumping back, I felt the slight heat emanating from his weapon as it whiffed in front of me, just as his buckler managed to redirect my sword slightly. Tilting the de, I blocked the mace before pushing hum back and countering with a shallow swing, which nicked his side. Wincing at the feeling of my de cutting into his flesh, the man grimaced as a momentter the poison from the des materials began to seep in. They would take awhile to work, and if I wished to be put in the situation with the least amount of risk possible, I could simply go on the defensive as the Stygian Silver worked its magic on the man, but... What fun would that be? So, when he realized that he had little time left to live, the man growled as his eyes grew crazed, and his mana began to fluctuate randomly as he lost control. With unadulterated mana flowing through his veins, alongside the adrenaline and other things happening inside his body, the Praetor in front of me was going to be a rather fun challenge... Chapter 342 341: Progress Kat PoV My feet continued to pound against the stoneden road as I ran, my eyes focused on the sprawling tundra ahead as I kept the mana flowing through my body at a steady rate. The running itself had provided on problem that I needed to address in some way or another soon, and that was the fact that my breasts - being asrge as they were - made the run ufortable, and at times painful. Besides that, I couldn''t really feel much besides a good warmth surging around my muscles as they were constantly used. I was sweating despite the cold, and my breathing was a bit faster than before, but in all honesty it was still really, really good for what I was doing. Maybe this was the result of having above 60 in each stat, which even included my non physical stats since my mana was constantly keeping my body in shape and healed. I learned that the hard way, as one small stone managed to twist my ankle as I was running, and the searing pain made me grit my teeth as I hissed. Nothing that some simple healing magics couldn''t fix, and after that I donned a low powered Water Cloak to keep the muscle tears and strains at a minimum. I had long since passed the mountain that was probably around twenty miles away from Pris, and as such I was now arriving at the cluster of smallkes, marking the forty mile point of my journey. If I could recall correctly, the average human could travel around twenty or so realistically, though the more physically fit, and determined humans could travel around thirty. So currently, with the sun slowly descending towards the horizon, I was above the ''peak'' humans from my previous world, and I still had some time remaining. Of course, this still worried me greatly; I had no idea if I could maintain a forty plus mile run each day, let alone when I reach certain areas on the map that aren''t as easy to traverse as a straight road. However, I needed to continue for as long as I could, and as I entered theke riddennd of the Nevrokopi State, I had a choice to make. Currently, the sun had reached the horizon, itsst warming rays bathing thekes surfaces in a brilliant gold, but those rays were rapidly disappearing. I could maintain my pace and continue through the night for another hour or so, or I could settle down and begin to rest. Both offered advantages; more ground covered before I stop, or getting adequate rest after my first day of pushing myself like this. Both offered disadvantages; the potential that I step off of the road and slip into ake, and not getting as much distance as I hoped... Mulling over each as the sun continued to lower, I frowned before shrugging, maintaining my pace for just a little while longer. The weather was calm and the temperature bearable, and I could still see a good bit despite the darkening sky, so I decided to continue forwards, making more progress on my journey. If only so that I had less time to do nothing except think. At least with running I was focusing on my spells and body, but the second I stopped... The memories would return with a vengeance, and I would fall into a boundless void of terrible emotions that I simply didn''t want to deal with. Of course, even as I made the decision to continue forwards, I still needed to stop when it got too dark and my mana began to falter. Finding a small spot on the side of the road, I released the spells after a few moments and sighed, dropping onto the snow and staring up into the starry sky, wondering if this looked the same as it did back home. Leaning back onto my hands, I stared at that sky for a few more moments before looking around, getting a feel for my surroundings. Not finding anything, I sighed as I fell onto my back, my hands roaming around as a heat permeated my sweaty body. Uncaring of the nip in the air, I let out a soft moan as I stared into the star filled sky, my fingers getting to work as I began the arduous process of unwinding... Despite not needing to do so for my [Arousal Stacks], I still decided to enjoy this calm moment, with only one name on my lips. "Jahi..." ~~~ Julie PoV Groaning softly, I winced as I felt a dull ache throbbing all around my body, forcing me to sit up from the couch. My mind was sluggish as I stared at the cup of still warm tea that sat on the table, and I blinked a few times as I tried my best to focus past the pain. Reaching down, I clutched my engorged stomach and frowned, my thoughts wandering about the two hybrids growing inside of me. Chordeva and Ria''s races weren''tpletelypatible with Beastkin, and as such this was bing a pain for me to deal with as my body continuously shifted to better nurture them both. A Demon-Dog and an Elven-Dog... What an oddbination... Stroking my stomach a few more times, I sighed as I rose to my feet, taking multiple seconds to do so. Grabbing the warm tea, I downed it in a few sips before cing it back on the table, feeling the pains recede as the liquid entered my system. Shuffling towards the door, I began to walk towards the kitchen, wanting to talk to Lesnera for a bit before going back to sleep; these days have been filled with nothing but sleep as I tried to escape the worry for Katherine... All the servants bowed to me as I passed them, most giving me a warm smile as they nced at my bulging belly. Everyone here was indebted to the Asmodia''s in one way or another, and each of them wanted to see Chordeva happy. I could still remember the party the servants threw for themselves after the news of my pregnancy was announced, everyone ecstatic that the Mistress'' were blessed with a child each. Chuckling softly, I continued through the halls before entering the kitchen, finding the Dwarven woman swiftly enough as she shouted inside her kitchen, ordering the others around. Approaching her station, I leaned casually on the clean counter, watching Lesnera wave her hands at the man towering above her as she shouted "What, are ye a fucking dolt?! Who seasons the steaks after they were cooked?! Come on Yusuf! Y''know better than that, don''t ya?!" The man nodded, before he saw me watching them both, and hope entered his eyes. "O-Oh, Miss Julie! What brings you to the kitchens?" Hearing that, Lesnera turned swiftly and stared at me, before ring back up at the man and growling "This ain''t over yet, Yusuf. GO!" Scrambling away, Yusuf disappeared, and now the Dwarf turned her anger towards me. "Why''re ye up and about Jules?! Ye should be restin''!" Smiling at her, I remained leaning against the counter as she red at me, replying "What, I couldn''t visit a dear friend? I''m pregnant, Les. Not injured. A simple walk won''t do much to me." Clicking her tongue, she continued to re at me even as she stepped onto her stool, reaching around the tidy counter for her ingredients as she began to prepare dinner. "Aye, yer pregnant, which means ya shouldn''t just be a walking about on yer own! C''mon now Jules, y''know that! Lady Ria would ''ave me skinned for letting ya walk alone!" Listening to her thick ent, I nodded as I felt the familiar warmth of the Dwarf''s angry, yet caring tone. "I just... needed to talk to someone besides Ria, you know? It''s been stifling remaining inside that room, with nothing to do. Besides..." Trailing off, I sighed as I looked down at the wooden counter, my heart clenching. "Aye... Aye, I know. Little pup being gone and all, must be tough. But, Jules, that''s all the more reason to take care of yerself now! We both know that littless isn''t gone for good! If there''s a single thing I''ve learnt about ye over these years, it''s that yer the most stubborn bitch I know! Ain''t no way yer daughter ain''t take that from ya! So rest, care for yerself, and make sure that when the pupes back, she''s got a pair of healthy siblings!" Nodding, I smiled softly as I remained on her counter, watching as her hands moved expertly around the counter. "Well, I can''t exactly deny that now can I? But what about you, Les~? Any luck finding a good man to put up with you yet~?" Hearing my teasing tone, the Dwarf allowed her knife to slice into - and through - the wooden cutting board, her eyes steely as she red at me. "Ya don''t need yer fingers to give birth, Julie." Giggling, I wiggled them in front of her, earning a snort as she reced her board and resumed chopping the vegetables. Talking to her for a while longer, I managed to leave the kitchen behind with a little more hope in my heart, and less pain jolting around my body. Chapter 343 342: Light Sparring Jahi PoV With the hooked nose man now bleeding slightly from the small cut I had given him, I smirked as he began to ''power up'' from the knowledge of his slow death via Stygian Silver poisoning. Corrupted mana flowing into your veins and making its way towards your brain to shut it off... It''s amongst the more scary poisons to deal with in the world, since it has no cure past Healers capable of near resurrection level magics. Knowing that this cold mana is slowly worming its way towards your brain inspires deep fears and despair in its victims, and the man before me was feeling everyst bit of those dark emotions. His eyes were bloodshot and unfocused, and his breathing was uneven as he panted, his mace ring from dark, dull crimson to a bright scarlet. Looking up at me, the man snarled "You damnable Demoness! You''ll burn in hell for this! You''ll burn!" Spittle rained down onto the floor at that, making me chuckle as I raised a brow. "Burn? I doubt it, human. After all, I''vemitted no sins nor crimes here. Cutting away chaff wouldn''t earn me a spot in hell..." His anger swelled at my words, and he let out a wordless shout as he charged me, his mace raised high. The mana coursing over his weapon continued to re randomly, while the mana inside his body pulsed with his heartbeat, rising and falling every second. Along with the adrenaline and desire to kill me, the Veteran Praetor had a significant increase in his strength, but... Swaying to the side, I listened to the mace shatter the stone tiles below us, with the man groaning a momentter as the t of my de mmed against his buckler. "Come on then! Put up a fight! Surely you won''t just roll over and die while your god is watching?!" Incensed, the man snarled again as his mace swung towards my skull, the red mana searing my flesh slightly as it narrowly swished past my nose. With such an easy overextension, I could have shed my de straight into his chest and cleaved him in two, but... Looking around for a moment, I took note of the dying Praetor''s as the legionnaires cut them down, nodding to myself at their swift, efficient work. Stabbing my sword into the stone, I balled my fists as I smirked at the man, rolling my shoulders out. "Time to have some fun then~!" "Are you mocking ME?!" Screaming once more, the man rushed forwards and unleashed a flurry of blows, his mace swishing through the air around me. Swaying around each blow, I waited for an opening and jabbed forwards, my fist cracking against his cuirass and denting the metal, all while he sputtered out a few droplets of blood from the impact. A slight sting coursed over my knuckles at the blow, and I grinned at the man as his anger morphed once more into fear, unsure of how to perceive the fact that I had just damaged him with my bare fists. "What? Surprised? See, if you humans spent even a day researching the differences between the various races of the world, you wouldn''t be in such a terrible position right now! This - all of this, from the city to this Kingdom - is the folly of your actions manifested in the worst possible way. You just... You could have refused the offer the Sariel''s made you, and this would have never happened... And yet, here we are..." Just recalling the name of those damn Elves made my blood boil, and the grin fell as I stared at the man for a few more seconds, watching as the words sunk in. Anger, hate, fear, confusion, doubt, and more fluttered around in his eyes, and I could tell that the mans beliefs were shaken. His eyes flickered down towards my balled fists, before he idly touched the dented cuirass he wore. "You realize it now, Praetor? The difference in strenght between a Demon and a Human? That blow was unpowered by mana. Raw strength honed through years of training andbat. What you consider strong is just a weak child to me. Are you finally understanding that in thesest moments of yours?" Gritting his teeth, the man took a deep breath before hefting his mace once more, resolve filling his eyes. "Even so, even with those differences - true or not - I will fight. For my home, my family, my country, I will fight! Prepare yourself, Demoness!" Letting out a battle cry, the man charged me once more, but his previous uncontrolled style of fighting returned to the techniques he had honed over however many years. Once more the mace rose and fell, but the control over the weighted weapon was much improved, and the speed increased drastically as he targeted my joints and predicted my movements. Relying on my quick movements to avoid everything, I waited for an overextended swing before throwing a swift hook, which he tried to block with his buckler. When my fist mmed into the small, thin shield, the buckler buckled as my fist deformed the metal and splintered the wood. Not only did I manage to destroy the shield, but I also managed to bruise and crack his arm, earning another hiss of pain. Returning to dodging his attacks, I yed around with the man for a few more moments before getting serious, theck of sounds around the facility letting me know everyone else had finished up. Ducking under a horizontal swing, I grabbed his arm and pulled him forwards, all while my other fist flew towards his jaw. Making contact, I dislocated his jaw and forced him to spit a few cracked teeth, before his eyes rolled around as I uppercutted him, lifting him off his feet a few inches. Yanking his arm down, I mmed him down into the floor and raised my boot, a small smile on my lips as I stomped down onto his skull, a wet crunch letting me know that his head had popped like a watermelon under my weight and metal boots. Sighing, I retrieved my sword and nced around, receiving a few looks from everyone as I finished up my own light spar. Smirking, I shrugged as I said "What? Come on, stop wasting time~! This should be under our control now..." Chapter 344 343: Forwards Chordeva PoV Letting out a low sigh, I stood idly on the top of the Mage Tower we had just taken over and stared over the city of Goron, listening to the screams and nging of metal that reverberated throughout the city. Below,rge swathes of some of the best humans this city has to offer are being killed off because they refuse to surrender, and while I am annoyed that they so readily throw away their lives in a battle that they simply have no chance of winning, that was also what made them the best humans in the city. Considering that this would be our city in just a few hours, I would prefer to leave the popce as intact as I possibly could, mainly because when the upational forcees they''ll most certainly have a ratherrge portion that either seduce or get seduced by the humans. That''s just a fact; quite a few humans adapt to their situation and utilize lust to worm their way out of it, and I''ve already seen a few of the female humans try and use their feminine wiles on me. Of course I wouldn''t even think of bedding one of these humans - I can almost smell the ozone from here - but not many of the legionnaires or the upational force would care if it meant having someone to warm your bed. And from that, a lot of half breeds are going to be born, and I would much prefer them to be from the bolder, stronger stock of the human Praetor''s instead of the normal citizenry... Sighing again, I nced over towards the south, where Jahi and her two fiancee''s fought, and I wondered what they were doing. "Marquess..?" ncing over my shoulder, I saw the giant Oni that I had conscripted into my own personal squad - both because she''s of a rare lineage, but also because I was curious about seeing an Oni work up close - stare at me in confusion, her singr horn arcing out of her brow and tipped with a dark blue. The other reason I had grabbed her was because she looked a little too much like a Demon as well; deep blue skin a few shades darker than mine, piercing sapphire eyes that were almost slitted, the horn, a penchant for violence... There were rumors that Demons and Oni were one and the same, but Oni were simply too unruly to be allowed to live, while Demons controlled their vices much better than the Oni... Curiosity overtook me when I saw this woman, so I conscripted her so that I would have something interesting to look at during this Crusade... "Marquess, the squads report no more Praetors in the vicinity. Shall we begin to march towards the Alchemists Guild?" Nodding, I retrieved my ymore that rested against the wall and walked towards her, gesturing for her to follow. "Have the two squads that joined us begin a sweep of the surrounding buildings before joining us at the Guild. Make sure no Praetors are hiding amongst the popce." "Very well Marquess." Descending down the tower, I continued to think about the Oni''s nature, rather intrigued by her actions so far. At least with her, Nirinia, Adelina, and Jahi I wouldn''t find myself being bored during this Crusade. ~~~ Kat PoV Rolling over, I groaned as I gradually awakened inside myfortable little ice cube, sitting up and rubbing my temples as I recalled how swiftly I lost myselfst night. I was a little... sore and exhausted from my actions, but I was also able to think a tad bit clearer because of it. And that clear thinking was currently bashing my actionsst night as incredibly stupid and irresponsible. What if someone or something found me as I was knuckle deep?! Would I have been able to protect myself? Probably... not? Sighing, I summoned a sphere of cold water and dunked my face into it, waking myself up instantly. Cleaning myself off and taking a few bites from the jerky I had bought, I began to walk down the road once more, giving myself a few minutes to warm up before setting off into a jog. Then, I began to run, my feet pounding into the stone road once again as I resumed my journey. Finally, I activated my various spells and sped up entirely, reaching the same pace that I had set the day before. Recalling the map, if I managed the same exact speed from yesterday I would pass two different cities and wind up somewhere near a cluster of small hills, deep inside which was one of the monster zones. That meant I would need to be careful tonight, as there was a likely chance that either Nevrokopi State guards, warriors, or adventurers could be nearby, but there could always be a monster outbreak. Either way, I put my head down and continued to run, maintaining my mana and pace as the day slowly passed me by. It was moments like these that made me miss my old world just a bit; a pair of earbuds and some music would do wonders for these long runs... Chuckling wryly at that, I eventually reached the hillyndscape that I had predicted would be my stopping point, giving me a good guess on my speed and better hopes for nning my journey. Settling down for the night once again, I made my ice cube and pulled out the map, plotting out the speed so far and getting an idea on how long I would be on the journey minimum. ording to a rough estimate of distance traveled, I was around the ny mile mark at the moment, but I knew that I had managed to travel further today then I had yesterday... Pursing my lips, I went over the map a few times before sighing, hoping that I could find ways to boost my speed further. If I was correct, it would take me upwards of eight months to reach home at this pace. That was the minimum, if I managed to average forty five miles a day... I think; math was never my forte. Anyways, the realistic timeframe would be a year to return home, but that made me almost go insane as I stared down at the map in silence. A YEAR away from Jahi?! No... No, that couldn''t be right. How would I manage? How COULD I manage that?! Shaking my head, I turned instead to my system, scouring the shop for anything that could be useful. There were stat boosting potions, which I could assume would be equivalent to a speed potion if I focused on agility... Then there were various spells that I could purchase for speed enhancers as well... Gnawing on my lips, I continued to look through the shop before one stood out to me, and I smirked a little. Chapter 345 344: Purchase Looking through the shop, I grinned as I stumbled upon one rather intriguing little item. Something that would clean my pockets out entirely, but something that seemed well worth the price. Besides that, with me running and using my magics so much, my stats have gone up and my daily quests have been gettingpleted as well; some of them, anyways. I didn''t level up, but I was able to increase my Agility, Dexterity, and Constitution a few points each. Agility went from 62 to 65, Dexterity went from 62 to 65, and Constitution went from 64 to 65, rounding them all out. Now, that in and of itself was exciting; I think that those increases made a good difference in my speed from yesterday to today. I did travel a little further today, which is also why I was excited at the purchase that I was thinking of making. My current guess on how stats truly worked was that they were exponential in their effects. The increase in strength from STR 5 -> 10 might be an increase in 10 pounds for a deadlift, while an increase from STR 55 -> 60 might be something like 25 pounds. After all, those initial stages were akin to being a child, then the 20''s were akin to being a normal human adult; anything past that is reaching the territory of the freaks of nature like strongmen or the like. Past 75? I would assume that the strength possessed there would be insane, since I was already capable of lifting a good chunk of weight with ease at STR 61. So why was this new understanding of mine important? Simple; the purchase I wanted to make was on an item, and it''s description was rather... tame. Something that most would gloss over for the more shy spells or materials inside the shop, but something that I believed would be an incredible purchase. [Anklet of the Zephyr (1,250 Shop Points) : Increases AGI by (10%) and DEX by (5%)] Now, of course before I made such arge purchase - almost my entire Shop Points reserve - I wanted to rify a few things with my System, as was my right. [As is my job, you mean? And yes, I can guess your questions. This is an increase that is ''permanent'' whenever you wear it. Unless the item is destroyed, it will work. No, you cannot replicate the enchantment, since it is a System Made Item (SMI going forwards). And finally, yes it will continue to scale with your increases in stats. So if you increase your AGI from 65 to 70, the Anklet will give you 7 more AGI instead of 6.5 AGI. Anything else?] Nodding my head, I stared at the anklet for a few more moments before asking ''Will these... SMI''s let me know if they are temporary effects?'' [Yes. Here, look at this; it''s a... consumable SMI.] [Pouch of the Zephyr (250 Shop Points) : Increases AGI by 5% [5/5 Uses , Effectsst 60 seconds]] Reading the description a few more times, I frowned as I asked ''Why did the Anklet have it''s stat increases in parenthesis? Can it be upgraded?'' [Good, you''re sharp enough to catch that; almost thought the 62 INT was for show... Yes, you can upgrade SMI''s with either Shop Points, Shop Points and Materials, or just Materials. If you go for just Materials, you need to do the upgrading yourself; I believe that your Jackalkin mate Anput would serve as a reliable Forger in the future. As for using Shop Points, the system - me - calctes the upgrade chance depending on a bunch of factors; Value of the item, your level, item effects... Quite a long list I would need to go through. Again, not that great at math, so I''ll be sticking to the first decimal.] Chuckling, I grinned wryly as I leaned back inside my cozy ice cube and muttered "Me too system, me too..." Staring at the Anklet for a few moments, I took a deep breath before selecting the item and agreeing to the purchase, tanking my wallet from 1523 Shop Points to 273. A small sh of light appeared above my hands, and when it receded I saw the Anklet resting on my palms. Made from a silvery green metal, the Anklet of the Zephyr radiated a low level of Wind Mana, much like other enchanted items did. Out of curiosity, I brought it closer to my face and tried to examine the runes etched into its sides, only to frown as I realized... I could see the runes, but the second I tried to recall what they looked like, I forgot them. Even as I tried to scribble it down into the ice, I couldn''t manage to recreate them at all; I knew I failed because when I looked down at the scribbles, I could retain them inside my memory. "So this is what Leone''s been dealing with huh..? Damn, that''s irritating." Shaking my head, I unsped the Anklet and slipped it over my foot, pursing my lips slightly as I stared at the metal that rested against my skin. Never wore an anklet before, so this is... odd. As I sat there staring at it, I nced to the side as I heard the System say [Here] [Achievement unlocked : First Time Buyer First Time Buyer : You''ve bought from the System Shop for the first time! Congrattions, and do return! As a reward for utilizing the System Shop, here is a refund of 10% of your used Shop Points! Reward : 125 Shop Points] With that, my wallet went from 273 to 398, before another prompt showed up behind the first. [Achievement unlocked : Thoughtful Buyer Thoughtful Buyer : Purchased an item after much deliberation and contemtion. Reward : 100 Shop Points] Scratch that, 498 was my new bnce. Chuckling to myself once more, I leaned my head against the wall of my ice cube before reaching for my jerky, giving myself another tasteless dinner. Overall, I was happy with my purchase; as long as it never broke, I had a permanent increase to my agility and dexterity, which were rather helpful stats for me all the time. Especially because I would prefer to strike fast and retreat even quicker, leaving little room to take a hit in retaliation. I had seen a few other items that provided simr buffs but to my other stats, so maybe when I returned to Jahi I could get myself some more fun little items~! Of course, the first step was to get back to Jahi... I could do it; I just needed to believe in myself some more! Chapter 346 345: Occupying Goron (1) Jahi PoV Taking a deep breath of the acrid air, I sighed as I stared up at the towering gate that led into the Noble District of Goron, where the rulers and their equally arrogant peers were waiting for us. If they haven''t fled yet. The rest of the Residential District had fallen in swift session after we departed from the Armory. We joined a few squads as they stormed the Barracks, before scaling the remaining Mage Tower and putting down the human that operated the giant crystal responsible for the Noble Districts arcane barrier. Leaving behind squads to control each section of the city that we secured put a noticeable dent in the avable forces, but when we regrouped at the gate I realized that didn''t matter. Mom, Lady Sker, Nirinia, Adelina... Four incredible warriors were present, three of which were Knights of Cinder. Each was worth hundreds, if not thousands of our normal legionnaires, and having four of them as we approached the Noble District was reassuring for our troops. The Scorpionkin and Djinn had been bickering when we arrived, Nirinia ring at the grinning Lady Sker as they exchanged quips. When Adelina had appeared, Lady Sker''s grin widened while Nirinia fell silent, causing me to sigh as I stared at her obvious focus on the golden Lioness. Lady Sker tried to say something, only to have Nirinia m her elbow into the woman''s chitinous side, much to the woman''s amusement. Giving them an odd nce, Adelina remained silent as she waited for Mom, who appeared a minute or soter, followed closely by her squad. Taking note of the blue skinned horned woman behind her, I raised a brow as Mom approached me, her ruby red eyes filled with curiosity as she asked "How''d it go?" Opening my mouth, I prepared to speak only to hear Leone say "She decided to fight an unstable, yet determined Praetor with just her bare fists. Even as he spiked in strength because of his near death state." ncing over my shoulder, I stared at Leone for a few moments, the Vampire ignoring me as she stroked on of Janus'' heads, the Orthus drooling slightly as his master scratched between his floppy ears. "Oh?" Just that simple sound from Mom made me sigh, and I turned back to see her staring at me with a neutral expression, while Lady Sker let out sharp peal ofughter. "You''ve yet to earn the strength to be so damn arrogant, whelp! Amusing, but..." Focusing her ck eyes on me, the Scorpionkin''s smirk turned derisive as she added "Foolish. A foe near death is the most dangerous. It doesn''t matter how weak you perceive them, how battered and wounded they are. Never treat a determined, dying foe with only arrogance surging through your veins. We''ve stories of tales about the weak oveing the strong for a reason, whelp. Learn from them, before you be just another story." Mom nodded at that, her eyes slightly hard as she said "Jahi, you might be talented, strong, and blessed with a potent magic, but don''t let that cloud your vision. Life is still bnced on a des edge, and all it takes is one miscalction for you to end up like Kat. Or worse." I flinched at her words, and I felt a deep anger simmer inside my heart at her words, only to be pushed down as I took a deep breath. "Noted. Now, can we continue forwards?" Looking me over a few more times, Mom nodded as she gestured towards the gate, saying "Sker, knock the gate down for us, will you?" Raising a brow, the Scorpionkin shrugged as she hefted that heavy Gurz of hers and walked towards the gate. Raising it, Lady Sker swung the Gurz towards the wooden gate, therge spherical head splintering the wood slightly, while runes flickered out of existence around her impact point. Grunting, she frowned before swinging her Gurz once more, this time shattering the remnants of the arcane barrier before knocking the giant gates backwards, arge hole near the bottom from her swings. Chuckling as the gates fell and mmed into the ground, Lady Sker shouted "Shield Bearers, forwards! Rising Sun formation!" The legionnaires shouted in affirmation and surged forwards, theirrge tower shields raised as they moved into the Noble District. Spells sshed harmlessly against their shields, the various bolts of elemental mana leaving little damage shown for such a bright, shy disy. Striding in behind the legionnaires, Lady Sker and Mom looked around the various towers and mansions that upied the innermost ring, disdain evident on their features. Soldiers stood across from us with a shield formation of their own, while Praetors and archers upied positions above to rain projectiles down on us. However, not a singlevishly dressed - or armored - figure was in sight, and quite a few of the mansions or spires were defended byrge contingents of soldiers. "Tch... always hated those that never earned their titles... damn nobles." Lady Sker spat on the ground as an arrow shattered against her skin, while Mom raised a brow and said "Watch your tongue, Sker. I am a noble." Turning, the Scorpionkin squinted as she looked at Mom before saying "Ah, that''s true. Fuck you." Sighing, Mom smiled wearily as she turned back towards the soldiers, before gesturing to Adelina. "Well, we''ve done our part, Commander. So...mand. Or we could sit here and admire the beautiful light disy they''ve put on. Either works for me." The Lioness'' tail swished slightly at Mom''s words, and she nodded as she stepped forwards, shouting out orders to the assembled troops. Watching as each group called responded instantly, I was given the privilege to see how one of the Empire''s Legions moved like a well oiled machine. However, my attention shifted as we watched the Commander do her job, and I turned towards Leone, who was still petting that dog of hers. Sensing my gaze, Leone nced over at me, her crimson eyes unapologetic for her earlier words. Frowning, I nced over at Anput next, gritting my teeth slightly at how the Jackalkin ignored my gaze and instead focused on the shifting formations around us. Yeah... We need to talk soon. Chapter 347 346: Occupying Goron (2) With both my fiancee''s ignoring me, I rested my great sword on my shoulder as I strode forwards, following behind Mom and Lady Sker as we began to push into the Noble District. Adelina was at the forefront of the formation, her two trusty squadmates protecting her as she shouted out order after order, her golden armor and hair shining with each burst of elemental mana against their shields. Raised above her was the Legion''s banner, held high by the Wolfkin woman that had almost be Adelina''s shadow. Nearby, Nirinia stood awkwardly as she looked between her childhood friend and the enemy, unsure of what to prioritize in the here and now. "Marquess! Could I be so bold as to ask you and Lady Jahi to take that mansion settled inside the rock garden?" Seeing Adelina turning around to ask Mom a question, I waited for her to answer, turning instead to investigate the mansion Adelina wanted us toy under siege. This entire district screamed unneeded, undeserved opulence, and the mansion she pointed out was just another blemish upon thend. Situated inside a giant field of stones and boulders, I sighed as I saw the oreden rocks that the owner used as decorations around their premises, all while the mansion itself was built out ofvish materials. Gold trimmed the windows and doors, while the walls were chiseled out of a dark granite that pulsed with atent Earth Mana. Roughly three stories tall, the mansion was well over 100 feet long and 50 feet deep, and the back right corner of the building was adorned with a towering spire that was double the height of the mansion itself. Shaking my head at the contingent of soldiers out front, I nced at Mom as she said "Very well then. Come on everyone; let''s take care of this first for the Commander." Peering over my shoulder, I nodded to my squad before setting off towards the Rock Estate, taking point as I erected a Light Barrier. Keeping it thin and malleable, I set a quick pace as I protected us from the desperate attacks of the various Praetors that upied the Noble District, wanting to reach the mansion quickly to conserve my mana. The Oni woman joined me, erecting a singr wall in front of us from her Water Mana, shouldering the burden alongside me. Observing the woman from the corner of my eye, I took in her muscled arms, sharp features, dark blue skin, and curvy figure, growing curious about the woman that Mom had taken an interest in. I knew that it wouldn''t be anything serious, but I felt the need to keep an eye on both Mom and this woman for Mother, so as to cover my own ass at the very least should Mom stray... Turning back towards the mansion, I pursed my lips as the squads of Praetors unleashed another barrage of spells, trying desperately to prate the barrier and cut us down before we reached the home of their masters. Each bolt,nce, arrow, or explosion that thundered against my barrier made me wince, another droplet of the golden mana inside my Core sent whirling through my veins to keep the shield powered, and I frowned at the raw amount I had used today. It was rare for me to expend this much mana in a normal trip down into Zhu''Rong Caverns, so... This was a new experience for me, and I had to admit that it wasn''t a good feeling, running low on mana. Thankfully, although the District wasrge, the pathway leading up towards the Rock Estate was straightforwards and short. Finding ourselves in front of the Praetors quickly, Mom barked "Traga and Uniak, cut them down! Polit, keep them buffed. Wezcka, reinforce Traga and Uniak where and when they need it!" Her squad shouted their affirmations before following her orders, and the Oni beside me surged forwards, her swords in hand as she leapt into the Praetors, a wide grin on her face. "Anput, with me! Leone, put down their support! Liga, focus the archers! Iaso, support everyone!" Not wanting to be outdone, I barked my own orders and dropped my barrier, charging forwards to join the other two in close quartersbat, Anput speeding to reach my side. Her skin was once again coated in metal, and two short, single edged swords danced in her hands as she flew into the Praetors, spinning around and stabbing and shing with great precision and flourish. Unlike her, I hoisted my great sword and began to swing, using its long, keen edge to slice through my enemies with raw power instead of finesse. Blood sprayed everyone as I barreled into the crowd, limbs flying as my de rose and fell into the humans. Forgoing defense, I allowed Iaso''s Water Cloak to absorb the blows and heal whatever came through, pushing forwards further into the wall of flesh as I tore the Praetors apart. Uncaring of the light wounds that scratched into my arms, I growled softly as I kept my sword moving, wanting to end this quicker. Whatever was inside this mansion might be more satisfying to kill, either because of its skill or how much it deserves to die. But first, I needed to cut down the chaff before me, and I did so with brute force. There was no technique nor beauty in my movements, only the swift arcs of a dual metal de that sung in my hands, like it weighed nothing. Comparatively, Anput fought with grace and flourish, her every movement part of an intricate dance that was pleasing to the eye. For awhile now the Jackalkin had been experimenting with her style, and it seems like she found what she wishes to specialize in... Sighing, I cleaved a Praetor in half before ring my mana for a moment, clearing off the blood from my body as I approached the door, preparing to head inside and clear the mansion out. Chapter 348 347: Head Full Of Thoughts Kat PoV As I went aboutpleting my morning routine - washing my face, preparing my clothes, eating, the like - I found myself wondering just how long I''ve already been away from Jahi and the others. Sometimes, it feels like its been millennia that I''ve been alone; time seems to draw out and be almost eternal when I wake up alone and go to bed alone. At other times, it feels like it was just yesterday that I was with my lovers, and that it''ll be soon that I''ll see them once again. However, reality is often different, and the reality was that I had been separated from Jahi, Anput, and Leone for almost three weeks already. I had been truly alone for at least four days when I had awoken inside those snowy, frozen mountains, before I ran into the Arese and lived amongst them. Then I spent a few days inside of Scythiara, before we departed for Pris, which had been a multi day journey. Afterwards, I spent a day inside Pris City before departing, and I am now on my third day venturing north, to reach the eastern ''corner'' of the Labyrinthian. Letting out a low sigh, I dissolved my temporary shelter before doing some quick stretches, loosening my muscles up as I prepared for yet another day of running - the third of many, if my calctions were correct... Looking around, I nodded to myself as I took in the beautiful snow covered tundra of Nevrokopi State before ncing up at the clear blue sky, a smile tugging at my lips as I was lucky enough to have a - hopefully - flurry free day. Running during a snow shower was not fun after the first few minutes, and it wasn''t something that I wanted to deal with soon. Finishing with my stretches, I took a deep breath before I set out in a jog, warming my body uppletely before I began to run. Instantly, I noted the difference in speed from yesterday; it wasn''t some minuscule difference either. I was currently in between the speed of my normal run and the magic enhanced run from yesterday, meaning that those 6.5 points of Agility that the Anklet of the Zephyr is giving to me... is well worth 1,250 Shop Points. A rather happy grin spread across my face as I realized that the permanent 10% additional AGI would be my saving grace throughout my journey, as each day spent running would likely increase my base AGI by a half point - or a whole point - which would be given a solid buff from the Anklet. Hopefully, that means that my timetable that I had created via estimates and averages would be pushed forwards immensely! If I could continue to increase my AGI and DEX - since in order to be that fast I need control as well - then maybe I could reach home in a mere two or three months! Shaking my head, I pushed those thoughts from my mind for the moment, not wanting to get my hopes up too quickly. There was no guarantee that I could continuously increase my AGI and DEX this entire journey, nor was it a guarantee that speed was the only thing I would need going forwards. Recalling the map, there were many zones that werebeled as ''dangerous'', somebeled as ''perilous'' and others that simply weren''t mapped out. Monsters were likely crawling inside those areas, and maybe there had been new spots that had ''spawned'' in the time that the map had been created and now, so I would need more than just speed and control. I would need physical and arcane strength, as well as defense to guarantee that when I get back home, I was in one piece and rtively unharmed. Letting out a low sigh, I mulled over the future ahead for the remainder of the run, going over pros and cons for every option that I could think of. Speed was good because I could utilize hit and run tactics against enemies, while also simply being a rather luxurious ability to have when paired with my wind. I could circumvent a lower CON by donning an Ice Cloak to keep myself protected, while my Wind Cloak would only bolster my speed even more. STR wouldn''t be necessary because, at high speeds, something blunt can pierce thick metal ting - or materials like metal - extremely easily. However, what about when something manages to slow me down? Domain spells exist, and I''ve only ever actually fought against humans, who are this worlds weakest race. What about a tribe of... let''s say Earth Attuned Giants? Mud is something that I''ve seen Anput make before, and I can''t utilize my speed inside of mud, which would leave me a sitting pup. Myck of CON would make itself known very swiftly there... Or what about something like those Arctic Cor''s? Things that were impervious to piercing damage? How would I fight against them? Those were the thoughts that warred inside my head as I traveled, and before I knew it the sun was kissing the horizon, casting thest of its light over the tundra. Before it could departpletely, I stopped for the day and looked around, trying to locate somendmarks or roads to hopefully pinpoint roughly where I was. Finding a set of hills and a rtively small forest, I unfurled the map and scanned it under dusks dim light, before letting out a surprised chuckle as I located my position. I traveled roughly 60 to 65 miles today, if my crude calctions and guesstimations were to be trusted. A day and a half of my previous runs were traveled today alone... ncing down towards my ankle, I grinned as I thanked the beautiful silver-green metal anklet that I had purchased the night before. Without it, I doubt I would have broken 50 miles... Rolling the map back up, I slid it into its container before setting down for the night, deciding to give myself some rest before tackling my future problems some more. --- Quick note, since I realize that it is likely confusing to most (including myself a bit lol) The time differences between Kat and Jahi is roughly a few days in book; obviously, they are still in the same ''time'' as each other, but what I write for Kat is a few days before Jahi. Since Jahi''s chapters are spent all in a single day for thest cluster of them, that''s why she is ''ahead'' while Kat is ''behind''. Otherwise, I would need to blitz through Jahi''s chapters to allow them to be the same ''time'' as each other, which I don''t want to do. Besides, currently Jahi has more action than Kat, so if I tried to do the same style I am doing now - two chapters a day, one from each PoV - it would be rather boring since I would need to spend a LONG time (more than I did here) inside of Kat''s thoughts, since she is just... thinking and running. Nothing else is happening with her, and I don''t want to just throw in a bunch of monsters to ''give her something to do'' alongside Jahi. If that makes sense? Anyways, authors note done, hope you''ve been enjoying~! --- Chapter 349 348: Arriving At Nevrokopi Resuming my journey once again, I put my head down as my feet pounded against the stone road, the new day just as beautifully clear as yesterday. With the wind blowing into my face and the scents of the crisp cool air wafting through my nostrils, I lost myself to my deliberations once more, debating the pros and cons of different ''builds'' as I traversed the road throughout Nevrokopi State. Tonight I would be reaching thest part of the stretch for Nevrokopi State, finding myself somewhere around 20 miles south of the city the State was named after; Nevrokopi. It was apparently arge mining city that spanned a few miles in all directions around a mine sh danger zone named after the person who ''conquered'' it; Nev Rokopi. ... Actually, I have no idea why it was named that way, but it was a true statement that it was built around a danger zone simply called ''The Mine'', and if I had to take an extremely educated guess there was an abundance of minerals inside~! Smart aren''t I~? Giggling to myself at first, I eventually sighed as no one was around to listen to my stupid joke... [I''m here, and yes it was rather childish.] Smiling, I nodded as I mentally thanked the system, but I returned to contemting my ns a momentter. Tonight I would stop a bit south of the capital, and tomorrow I would enter and look around for anything I might need. Maybe even take a trip into ''The Mine'' if it was possible, so that I could satiate my other lust for a few days... Either way, by two mornings from now I would be traveling into the frosted forest, where I would need to traverse an unblemished naturalndscape... Couldn''t wait for that... Totally nothing that would go wrong inside the forest covered in frost, right? Definitely not... No reason for such a giant swathe ofnd to be unimed by mortal races and instead remain as apletely natural area... Sure there were tribes inside the forest, but I''d imagine them to be more like the Arese, who lived with thend as best they could. Which is why I wanted to get anything I could potentially need before I delved into the forest, and that was where Nevrokopi came into y. Such a city must have many ways to make money, and many things I could use that money for. Maybe I could find some ways to make Shop Points and get myself some materials? Either way, I needed to reach Nevrokopi first, and that wasn''t a problem; I just needed time to get there. Time that would either fly by or drag by, but I would eventually get there. With that in mind, and the system asking [Hey, want to hear a story? There are a few I can tell to pass the time?], I continued to run north. Listening to the system tell me all about this girl who was raised by some of the most powerful people to exist, only to inherit none of their powers, I found that time did indeed go by quicker when I spoke to the voice inside my head. Albeit a voice telling a rather dark, depressing story, but something to distract me nheless as I ran and ran, until I eventually reached the mountains below Nevrokopi, which was built in the side of another mountain. Much like the Capital of the Empire. Stopping for the night, I found a secluded ce and settled down, looking over the various pathways that snaked and forked inside these mountains. While I had been searching for a spot, I found a few small rabbits that hadn''t heard or smelt me, providing me with a warm, juicy meal as I made myself a stew. Maybe I should buy some basic seasonings when I get to the city... After a rather nice, warm meal, I made my ice cube and fell asleep inside it, enjoying the cool air around me as I swaddled myself in the fur cloak. The next morning, I ate the remnants of the stew before resuming my journey, keeping myself at a ''slower'' pace as I utilized no speed magics to hasten my journey. The paths leading towards the city were winding and coated in snow, but with a simple spell on the soles of my shoes I never slipped on the frosted stone roads. When I reached the city of Nevrokopi, there was another long line waiting to enter, though it was mainly merchants and their convoys trying to enter. If I recall correctly, they were likely traveling from the three cities around Nevrokopi, which all used roads that led directly to the capital, so I had no chance of meeting them on the road. Pulling up the hood of my cloak, I stepped into line and began to wait with the rest of the people, and I frowned as I smelt the unwashed bodies of the various warriors around me. Men and women all clustered around wagons, conversing quietly amongst themselves for the most part, but some were... rowdy. I watched as a man approached a woman and flirted with her, only to get pissed as he was ignored. Raising his hand, he went to p the woman only to have another womane over and m her fist into his stomach before kicking him away, wrapping her arm around the first woman protectively. Another group uncorked small sks and began to pass them around, drinking and singing together in a rather happy group. Sighing, I stood quietly in the line as I awaited inspection, only to sigh again as I felt someone approaching me from behind. ncing over my shoulder, I saw a tall, gangly woman with pale skin and striking azure eyes smiling at me, her thin lips pulled over pearly teeth. "Ohya~! I had a feeling you were a dazzlingdy~! Want somepany, my Lady~?" Her voice was sweet in a fake way, and I sighed once more as she leaned down slightly to get a better look at me. "Not particrly, no. I''m fine on my own, thank you." Rearing back slightly, she narrowed her eyes at me before asking "Are you sure? Nevrokopi can be a rather... dangerous ce for beautiful women." Meeting her gaze, I remained silent, simply staring her down. "Hey! The woman said she''s fine! Stop buggin'' her!" Hearing the voice of a man approach, I held back - you guessed it - another sigh as he red at the woman. Clicking her tongue, she turned and walked away, raising my suspicions instantly. When has anyone actually backed down that quickly? Smiling warmly at me, the man extended his hand and said "Names Luka! Sorry about her; some people here don''t respond well to rejections..." Seeing a slight glint in his eye, I remained quiet as I looked down towards his outstretched hand, before murmuring "So if I say no here, you''ll leave?" He flinched at that, and I could see confusion in his eyes as his hand remained in the air, empty. Tilting my head, I asked "Question. Was your ploy to have one of you ''intimidate'' me before the other swooped in to ''save'' me to and invoke some kind of good will towards you? Or are you really just that ''kind hearted'' to offer help to someone you don''t know?" Out of the corner of my eye I saw the woman still lurking at the edge of the line, her eyes narrowed as she watched our interaction. Flinching again the man grit his teeth and lowered his hand, his eyes shing with annoyance as he tried to lie to me. "No, of course not! What, a man can''t help someone now a days? Would you prefer if I left you alone to deal with her then? What if she followed you and tried to take advantage of you?!" Hearing his ''caring'' spiel about wanting to protect me, I scoffed as I red at him, waving him away. "Don''t bother. What''s it matter to you? I can care for myself fine enough." Sneering at me, he turned and left with a snort, muttering "Fine then stupid bitch..." as he walked away. Raising a brow, I turned back towards the line and remained quiet, my ears perked as I listened for anything around me as we waited. Some of the warriors and merchants murmured about me, casting nces as they wondered who I was and what I was capable of, while some were more... unsavory. However, I had grown used to unsavory, so I continued to ignore everyone as we made our way towards the gate. Remaining unbothered throughout the wait after that odd encounter was a blessing, and I eventually made my way forwards for inspection. Armored guards yawnedzily as they stood in front of the open gates, and they briefly nced at me before saying "Open your bags and prepare for inspection. Additionally, please prepare your entry fee of 1 Silver." --- Just one chap today --- Chapter 350 349: Occupying Goron (3) Jahi PoV Sauntering down the hall, I smirked as I watched thevishly robed man scurry away, his chubby little legs propelling him as fast as they could. Way ahead of him was a rather gorgeous human woman, her long flowing blue hair and voluptuous breasts bouncing as she ran, soft blue hues radiating from those long, sleek legs of hers as she lifted her dress for better movement. How a woman like that ended up being tied to such an ugly pig is beyond me, and the fact that she had born him three children - two of whom were currently little more than chunks of flesh a few rooms back - made me shiver in disgust. Sure, the Empire had its fair share of unwanted marriages, but few races - or people - let themselves get that... hideously fat for no reason. Most Nobles had some form of required strength, and the few who didn''t tended to either be researchers or merchants, and even they understood the need for a good appearance. Vanity is a good and bad thing, and the Empire has understood that for a long, long time. The couples other child, theirst remaining son, scrambled in between his mother and father, slightly chubby but not hideously fat like his father. Humming softly to myself, I took the time to take in the mansions decor as I waltzed towards them, my blood drenched great sword resting idly on my shoulders. The echoing screams and shouts of the other Praetors spurred the three Nobles on, but I knew that they couldn''t even reach the end of the hall. Since that was currently little more than a barrier of Light Mana I had erected as soon as we entered this almost endless hallway. The windows were made from beautifully stained ss, but the depictions made my skin crawl. One panel was depicting an Orc raping a woman, before the next panel had the Orc gathering a horde of Goblins - yes, the actual monsters that have zero intelligence - around themselves. The third panel had them leading their horde to war against who I am presuming is the founder of this House. The fourth had their victory over the Orc, beheading them and raising the head proudly. The fifth was a panel showing the founder mourning the now pregnant woman, who was weeping at his feet. The sixth showed her burning at the stake. After wards, the stained ss disyed the other ''glorious deeds'' the House hadmitted over the years, but I turned away before I could view them. On the other wall were paintings and shelvesden with trinkets, all of which looked really valuable. A portrait of the woman I was currently corralling towards the Light Barrier hung on the wall, and I nodded in appreciation of her beauty, before chuckling at the low cut dress she wore inside of it, disy an ample amount of cleavage. Tacky on most women, but she had the looks to pull it off. Next was an borate chaliceden with gemstones that was incredibly tacky, made from gold and engraved with small runes and symbols. Then there was a disy sword made from gold as well, arge sapphire embedded in its pommel, while the de itself was faceted with various smaller sapphires and amethysts. All very valuable, but all very worthless. Turning my attention back to the hall, I saw that the woman was mming her fists against the Light Barrier, her blue hair bouncing as she constantly nced over her shoulder. A momentter her son reached her, and they tried to work together to breach the barrier, all while the man shouted for them to break it and wait for him. Rolling my eyes, I nced at the various doors that they could have entered, likely leading towards singr rooms, but rooms filled with those disgusting stained ss panels... Herding them towards the wall, I stopped a few feet away and stared at them, before watching as the son desperately turned towards me, his eyes filled with hot tears. "Y-You damnable Demoness! I''LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Raising a brow, I watched as he drew a dagger from his cloak and charged at me, even as his mother shouted for him to stop. Staring at the dagger with interest, I took in its pure silver de before sighing, lifting a hand. Intercepting his slow, sloppy strike, I watched as his face nched as the de shattered against my palm, a thin gold circle preventing it from piercing his flesh. "Oddly courageous, but... not enough." Closing my fingers down into a fist, I backhanded the boy and sttered the wall with his skull and brain matter, earning a shrill scream from the woman while the man slumped to the ground, his eyes dull. Wrinkling my nose, I nced at the man as I saw a small puddle forming under him, while his wife continued to scream. Shaking the leftover gore from my hand, I looked over the two humans before watching in amusement as the woman gulped, her scream trailing away as she looked me over. An odd resolve filled her sapphire eyes, and she took a deep breath before stepping towards me. Watching her, I held back the urge to roll my eyes as she blushed, understanding instantly what she was nning. "M-Miranda?!" The light returned to the mans eyes as his wife approached me, and she flinched before continuing forwards anyways. "L-Lady D-Demoness..." Her shaky, yet subservient tone sent a shive down my spine, and I took a deep breath as I stared at her in silence. "L-Lady Demoness... I... P-Please, s-spare me! I''ll do anything! Anything! E-Even warm your bed!" Tilting my head, I felt deja vu as the woman offered herself to me, and I nced at the man before smirking, an odd thrill surging through my veins as I saw despair and rage enter his eyes. Reaching forwards, Iid my hand on her waist, before pulling her towards me as I stared down at her. Looking into her sapphire eyes, I bit my cheek as she gave me THAT look, the one that... ''she'' used to y out for me. That deep blush and shaky breathing, paired with the immense fear and despair in her eyes made my own breathing hitch, and I continued to stare into those sapphire orbs. "Anything? Warm my bed..? A Noble Lady like yourself, reduced to my personal pleasure ve... oh, don''t tempt me so, my Lady~!" My husky voice made her shiver again, but she nodded as she pressed herrge breasts against my arm. "I-If it means sparing me... t-then you can have my body, Lady Demoness!" "M-Miranda?! Y-You would sully your body like that?! God would never forgive you for that sin!" Gritting her teeth, Miranda red over at her husband as she snapped "Sin?! My ''sin'' was being married to a pig like you! I deserved the Prince or a Duke, but I was stuck with the leftovers; YOU!" They both red at the other, and the mans eyes filled with more rage as he shouted "Y-You''ll burn in hell, whore! Leftovers?! I was top of my ss!" "Really Gary? Top of your ss? What, in eating?! HA! Don''t make meugh!" With his face flushing red, he shouted back "E-Either way, w-what about the fact that this Demoness butchered our children?! Huh?! What about Billy, Gary, and Abby?!" Sneering, Miranda snapped back "''Our children''? You mean ''my children''?! You think I ever gave birth to YOUR children!? Billy was your brothers, Gary was the painters, and Abby was that valiant Warrior who saved me from the monster outbreak! If I die here, I''ll still burn for ''sinning'', even though I was FORCED into this damned marriage!" Blinking, I watched the two arguing, enjoying the fact that they seemed to havepletely forgotten that they were about to die right here, right now. "W-What?! Y-You cheating BITCH! I''ll-!" "Oh, quiet! She''s mine now, little piggy~! Don''t worry... I''ll take very~ good~ care of her in your stead... Maybe I''ll see sides of her that you never saw... how she looks when I breed her, maybe? Sound interesting, Miranda? Having my babies in exchange for your continued existence?" I held in a smirk as she leaned further into my body, all while Gary seethed off to the side. "I-If that''s what it takes, Lady Demoness..." Her resigned tone made me shiver, and I nced at her former husband as I raised my hand. Seeing his lips open, I shrugged as I sent one of my Light Discs through his skull, splitting it in two. Miranda bit into her lip to stifle her scream, and I saw her fear increase twofold at the scene. Biting my own lips, I turned my attention back to her entirely as I pulled her into a hug, stroking her blue hair. Gasping, she stiffened as she ''felt'' me against her, and I smirked cruelly as I asked "Miranda... oh Miranda... are you ready, my new toy? I need you now... right here, right now..." My voice made her shiver again, and I licked my lips as she tried to look up towards my face, only to gasp as I sped my hand on the back of her head. Lifting her up, I grinned as she squirmed in my grasp before murmuring "That was entertaining, but... I have a penchant for breaking things, Miranda..." With that, I felt my grin widen as I tossed her to the side, her neck cracking audibly as her head crashed against the wall. Taking a shuddering breath, I shivered as I felt a jolt of pleasure run through my body once more, and I found myself wondering if this was what she felt during her hedonistic bouts... Chapter 351 350: Nevrokopi Kat PoV With that whole fiasco happening before I entered the city, I was not entirely looking forwards to what was inside. After all, I''ve already seen what the adventurers and warriors back home are like, so I feel like I have a good grasp of what they are like here too. Greedy, lustful, crude, uncouth... As shown earlier, before I managed to enter the city. Handing the guard a Silver coin, I watched as they ruffled through my bag for a moment before gesturing for me to enter, moving on to the next person with bored,zy expressions on their faces. Walking past the gates, I looked around at the open, airy city of Nevrokopi, the buildings all spread apart and made from what looked like some kind of marble. Windows wererge and left open, while most buildings had some sort of porch and terrace to enjoy the cold weather and look down at the bustling street. Many older people sat idly on said porches and terraces, and I took note of their pale blue skin and strikingly white hair. They chatted with their peers or simply dozed off as they enjoyed the cool breeze that swept over the city, and I nodded to myself as I followed the crowd towards the center. Most were likely looking to try and gain ess to The Mine and earn a profit, and I wasn''t opposed to a delve of my own. As I walked the busy streets of Nevrokopi, many gave me curious looks as they noted my pale white skin instead of the blue, before shrugging slightly and carrying on. A few of them though had derisive sneers as they red at me, looking down at me like I was some kind of lesser being. Ignoring those gazes, I ced a hand on my sheathed dagger as I continued forwards, my ears twitching slightly as I heard a familiar voice behind me. The woman from earlier was trailing behind me, speaking to someone else, and I sighed as I began to look around for the more aged, run down portion of the city. Everywhere had an area where the poorer citizens lived, and it didn''t take long to catch a whiff of rotting foods, sewage, and unwashed bodies, what with the city''s open architecture and building ns. Following my nose, I made my way through a few dirty roads and broken down buildings, reaching a small clearing of rubble that was upied by tents and shacks. The marble like materials used for the buildings on the main road were shattered and broken here, and they had lost the brilliant luster as theyy scattered on the ground. Some of the poorer people built makeshift homes from the rubble, while others used pieces to anchor their cloth tents. Most sat around small fire pits and warmed themselves up, cooking some kind of meat over the dwindling mes as they tried desperately to keep the fire going. They nced at me as I entered their ''space'', wariness in their eyes as they shifted away from me. Striding past them, I entered one of the further buildings that was run down, slipping inside and finding a ce to hide. As I waited to see if I was truly being followed, I began to ce runes and Ritual Circles around the house, before returning to the small closet that was hidden behind a few chunks of the marble. Quieting my breathing, I listened to the rumbling and creaking of the house, before a small smirk appeared on my lips as I heard footsteps - a pair of them - enter the house as well. They were trying to be quiet, but the wooden floorboards were rotting and the small wind runes I ced went off, creating gusts that fluttered the shutters. Sliding my unenchanted de out of its sheath, I grinned as I felt my heart begin to beat quicker, the thrill of hunting these two people growing and swelling inside of me. Hearing them pass by the closet, I silently exited my hiding ce and watched as they continued to sweep the house, their swords drawn and their breathing unsteady. "Do you think she left the building?" The woman whispered quietly to her partner, and the man shook his head. "No, the homeless said she was in here... they''d a had a good view of her if she left..." Continuing to look around, the two crept forwards, unaware that I was behind them. Raising the heavy ded dagger, I slunk towards the man and grinned, snaking my hand forwards and mping it down on his mouth. Before he could react, my dagger sunk deep into his throat, and I twisted the de before releasing it, watching in great joy as his corpse slid to the floor, blood gushing from his neck. Hearing the thud of herrade, the woman turned towards me and widened her eyes, shock filling them as she saw her dead friend at my feet. However, she recovered quickly and began to swing her sword down towards my head, a determined gleam in her eyes. Stepping back, her sword missed me and instead sliced into her friends corpse, giving me an opening to rush forwards. As she was staring down at her now bisectedrade, I lunged forwards and mmed the pommel of my dagger against her temple, knocking her out cold instantly. Taking a deep breath, I shuddered as the smell of iron permeated the air, and I gulped as I looked down at the unconscious woman. Reaching down, I dragged her towards the closet, where I ced a few runes around her to create a barrier. Then, I returned to the man and pursed my lips, wondering what I should do with his corpse. All in all, not even an hour into my visit in Nevrokopi I had already killed one person and was about to kill a second... Maybe this would be a rather fun day or two after all~! Chapter 352 351: Occupying Goron (4) Jahi PoV Cleansing myself of the gore from the Noble family I had just butchered, I turned around and began to move out towards the central hall, where we had agreed to regroup. The reason I had been alone was because the Praetor squads inside the mansion were all gathered around the central hall, and these incredibly smart humans decided to try and make a break for it as soon as we entered the building. So, I set off in pursuit after ordering Anput and Leone to clean everything up, including going over towards the main rooms to see if anyone was hiding or anything incredibly valuable needed to be... stored away for safekeeping. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to have been alone for what had just transpired, and I could feel a twinge of guilt tugging at my heart as I recalled the slight temptations I had to utterly destroy that human woman Miranda. It seems that my control is waning slightly, so... Anput and Leone would need to help me soon, or else I feared that I would find myself in a simr situation soon... a situation that I would take a step further... My brain didn''t want to, nor did my heart, but I had a... ''third control point'' that was a bit lower, and it seemed to be acting on its own recently... Problems would arise should I not satiate it soon, but that was forter. For now, I wanted to join the forces as we stormed the Goron Pce and upied it, finishing our job in this ustrophobic, dirty city and allowing us to set off for the south, where we would begin our investigations into the Tragon Gate incidents. Making my way into the central hall, I nodded to Anput as she returned, her silvery mana dissipating as she approached me. "Nothing. No hidden rooms, no insane treasures, no hiding humans. Theres the gold and the gemstones, but that would be best left to the upying forces. Otherwise, nothing to report. What about the Nobles? Dead?" Smirking at her, I nodded as I gently tapped my great sword against my shoulder, the dual material de nging quietly against the metal armor. "All five of them, dead. Rather satisfying deaths too; got a good show as they turned on one another at the end~!" Anput smirked at me as well, before patting her sheathed des as she said "The Praetors were fun to kill as well; some were challenging, others were rather swift, easy kills!" Nodding, I stared down at the Jackalkin before beckoning her forwards, cing my gauntleted hand between her ears as I ruffled them. "Good girl..." Seeing her tail swish side to side as I pet her made me smile, even as a slight sadness entered my heart as anothers image ovepped with Anput. Almost as if she sensed that, the Jackalkin looked up past my arm and smiled at me, her obsidian eyes warm as she said "You''ve been doing good as well, Jahi..." Biting my lip, I swallowed hard as I stared at her for a second more before turning away, unable to bear with the warmth and love that radiated from her face. The previous guilt from my earlier actions doubled, and my own insecurities resurfaced at that moment. As wasmon with me, the thought that reverberated around my mind the loudest was ''Do I deserve having her smile at me like that?'' It was a question with a simple answer, and even though I knew it, I just... couldn''t doubt that that answer would change because of my own shorings. Removing my hand from Anput''s head, I looked towards the returning squads and nodded to them, donning a more stoic facial expression as more and more of the legionaries filtered into the hall. Leone arrived a few moments after them, and she joined us with a small smile as she stroked her Orthus'' fur. When we all finished up, we filtered out of the mansion and rejoined the main group, who was rallying in front of the fortified pce, which was teeming with troops. Adelina shouted out her orders from behind a barrier, managing the formations of the various shield bearers, heavy weapon users, archers, mages, and healers. Mom stood beside her and studied the pce, while Lady Sker rallied her troops before leading them forwards under Adelina''smand. Joining them, I nced at Adelina as she shouted "Nirinia, take the Eight Cohort and bolster Lady Sker! Lady Jahi, I trust the mansion is secure now?" "Indeed it is, Commander." "Good. Take your squad and join the breaching party. Once inside, I want you to mirror Lady Sker''s movements and storm the Goron Pce Council Hall and capture the Councilors inside. Not kill, capture. We''ll be using them as puppets at best, and at worst they''ll provide some useful information on the rest of the Western Kingdoms, maybe even the other countries further west... Anyways, get going please! Let''s get this beginning portion of the Crusade under wraps!" Giving her a swift salute, I nced back at my squad and saw them checking their equipment before following behind me as we jogged to join Nirinia. Therge Djinn was strapping on her buckler when she saw us, giving a curt nod before drawing her Dadao and beckoning us forwards. "Come on then! Let''s storm this pce and take this kingdom for the Empire!" Her words were spoken with haste, and she shed her heavy de down towards the pce, eliciting a cacophony of shouts as the rest of the troops brandished their own weapons, charging forwards. Joining them, we followed behind the carnage that Lady Sker and her contingent of troops had already wrought, and I whistled in admiration at the strewn bodies and shattered palisades that she left in her wake. "She really knows how to make an entrance huh~?" Anput giggled while Leone simply nodded, her gaze drifting over the corpses of the humans before focusing ahead. Chapter 353 352: Indulging Kat PoV Looking down at the mans corpse, I pondered my options for a few moments before shrugging, cleaning off my de and sheathing it before rifling through his pockets, looting whatever valuable items he had. Setting them off to the side, I looted the corpse and created a small pile of items that I considered worthwhile. His pouch of coins, amounting to 2 Gold, 68 Silvers, and a spattering of Coppers, was swiftly added to my own pouch, making me grin. Maybe they were adventurers fresh from the other danger zones inside of Nevrokopi State? Either way, I looked down at his rather simple sword and nodded to myself again, knowing I could turn a good profit from enchanting it with some simple spells, before focusing on the other small valuables. A ring made from gold, a gold pendant hanging on a silver chain, a pouch filled with some kind of herb - likely a drug of some kind - and a thin stiletto de concealed in his boot. Stashing it all in my own bag, I looked at the second pouch before shrugging, deciding to see what it was before doing anything with it. Maybe I could just sell it to the people outside..? With everything valuable off his body, I stared at the corpse before raising my hands, quieting the area around us and keeping the sounds of my daggers slicing through his flesh inside a sphere of Wind Mana. Chopping him into pieces, I found the task of butchering the man rather boring, mainly because I knew that something much fresher awaited me a few steps away. Something that would allow me to indulge one of my darker sides... A wide, wicked grin spread across my face at that, and I continued to slice the mans corpse into smaller chunks before cing them inside another wind sphere, where I had them minced and turned into a goop. With that, I buried the remnants of the man under the house before turning and making my way towards the closet, where I looked over the unconscious woman. Looking around the room, I began to move some of the rubble to block out entrances and windows, before adding runes to fuel a sound proofing barrier around the house. With a clear, open floor to use, I began to drag her back out into the open, before lifting the mans stiletto. Pinning her hands above her, I drove the stiletto through her two palms and embedded it deep into the chunk of rick beneath them. She awoke instantly, screaming out in pain and surprise as the de sliced through her flesh with ease. Seeing her azure eyes swell with tears and pain made me shudder, and my grin only grew more as I stared down at her pale face. "W-What the hell?!" She tried to lift her hands up, but that only made her hiss as the stiletto remained embedded in her hands. "W-What are you going to do?! W-Why are you doing this?!" Giggling slightly, I looked her over before unseating my daggers,ying them out beside her. "Well... it''s not really difficult to understand why I would kill you and that man Luka, now is it? You followed me from the entrance gate to here. Obviously you were up to no good... A girls just gotta protect herself is all. Doubt thew would do much good for me based on whims and ''I think they were...''s, and I definitely could tell you were unsavory when you entered the house. Heard a good bit of what you two were saying..." She stared fearfully at the daggers beside her, before ring up at me as she tried once again to free herself. "So why am I still alive then?! Why capture me?!" I giggled again, and I lifted the unenchanted de and brought it towards her chin. "Simple. The girl you picked to follow and take advantage of..? She has issues. Loves inflicting pain on others. Listening to their screams as they plead for mercy under her knives is a rather euphoric experience... Not only that, but she''s angry. Angry at herself, angry at others... she- No, I just need release, alright? So... scream for me~! That would be appropriate, wouldn''t it? After all, youpanion is little more than a pool of sludge under the floorboards now~!" Her eyes widened at that, and I lifted my hand and showed her the three different elements I controlled, making the fear inside her eyes grow even more. "Oh, that look right there~! That one, make that one again~!" Feeling my heart begin to pound, I grinned at her as I gently ced the de on her clothes, slicing through it while leaving her flesh unblemished. "But firstly, let''s get your valuables out of the way. I''m not doing too great right now on funds, so..." Slicing her clothing away, I pulled them off of her and went through her pockets, getting myself some more weapons, money, and some jewelry I could pawn off. When I reached her legs, I noted that she had grey fur covering her limbs, before her feet ended in hoofs that syed out slightly, like goat hoofs. She also had something ''extra'' between her legs, confirming my theory about her and the man wanting to share me. Moving everything away, I looked her over and said "You''re not a bad looking woman, y''know? Why resort to things like this instead of just... being normal? Flirt a little, crack jokes... Considering this thing here, I imagine a good amount of women would want toe back for another round or two~!" She flinched as the dagger tapped against it, and I chuckled as I saw her fear increase more and more. Removing the sharpened edge, I saw her fear recede, relief recing it before pain overtook everything. She screamed as the dagger pierced straight into her stomach, and I twisted the de a few times, thoroughly enjoying the way her agony sounded. Pulling my dagger free, I ced my palm on her stomach and healed the wound, listening to her ragged breathing for a few moments before doing it again. Mounting her body, I took time to enjoy the way my de carved through her flesh as I made ''art'' with her skin, only to heal it back up again and again. Her blood pooled around us, and I grinned even as my clothes grew wet from the sheer amount of that red liquid that permeated the air. Idly, in the back of my mind I noted that my mana was regenerating, or simply speeding up the creation of blood itself, while also knitting the flesh back together. Useful information indeed, but for the moment I was lost to the pains I had inflicted on her, before I put her out of her misery when I grew bored. Stumbling away, I sat on one of the chunks of rubble before stripping out of my clothes, staring at the bloodstained garbs. She had screamed so beautifully before falling quiet, her eyes dull as her mind cloistered itself away, waiting for its end... With one fire quenched, I cleaned myself off and enjoyed quenching another, my twisted mind relishing in the actions of today... Chapter 354 353: Occupying Goron (5) Jahi PoV The carnage wrought by the Skorpionkin woman and her contingent of soldiers was made even more apparent as we entered the pce, the screaming and shouting echoing around the borate building letting us know just how brutal the woman had pushed her soldiers to be. Praetor''sy dead around the entryway, their bodies broken and bleeding from the powerful swings of her Gurz and the weapons of the troops. Some clung desperately to life, murmuring painfully as we entered, their eyes hollow as they searched for escape. Walking through the corpse filled hall, I took in the golden pce and the various velvet cushions, gemstone d furniture and portraits, decorative weaponry, stained ss... The entire pce oozed unwarranted opulence, moving from a disy of wealth and power and instead being a temple to vanity and waste. Now this pce of decadence was sttered with blood, and I couldn''t help but smirk at the ease at which our Empire''s Legions had subdued a major city of the Kingdoms. Nudging a corpse with my booted foot, I muttered "Weaklings, all of them..." before continuing on, uncaring of therge swathes of lost life we were leaving behind. I hadn''t been alive long, and yet I couldn''t imagine not having trained myself to be as strong as I possibly could be in order to protect myself and my family, but here these humans were, picking fights with those above them... Very few could im to be worthy of respect, and the primary one was dead, felled under Nirinia''s Dadao mere weeks ago. The Justiciar''s were likely to either die with their country, throwing away their lives in a desperate attempt to take as many of us ''monsters'' with them, or they would follow behind their forefathers and defect to the Empire, where they would be weed with ''open arms''. Striding through the pce, I rested my great sword as I utilized my Light Discs to fell my enemies, controlling the golden mana and training myself as we journeyed down the main hall, cleaning up behind Lady Sker. A man charged towards me with his halberd raised, only to gurgle as the Light Disc I had thrown sliced cleanly through his neck, leaving his head dangling from his body by mere threads of flesh. Dropping down to the floor with a thud, he released his weapon and swiftly faded away, joining the hundreds of others that had died today. Waving my fingers to the side, I guided the Light Disc towards another Praetor, this one chanting a prayer as he raised a staff, blue mana swirling around the orb lodged on its tip. Chopping his staff in two, the mana he had begun to gather exploded, and he screamed in agony as the Water Mana seeped into his flesh and liquified it, before falling quiet as the Light Disc tore through his chest. Spells burst in the air all around us, flying towards and past us as the legionariesbated the more magically attuned Praetors. A sphere of mes sshed against Leone''s hidden Mana Cloak, joining her own mes as she sent a barrage of arrows back towards the caster. Anput cleaved through the spells sent her way with a long ded spear, her skin a shifting silver as she practiced blocking and redirecting the spells sent her way. Iaso walked around inside a sphere of water, focusing more on the legionaries as she healed and buffed anyone who needed it, while Liga utilized a wooden shield to block most attacks, before a staff she created directed thin wooden splinters towards the enemy, peppering them. Nirinia made her ways forwards, charring past the spells and joining Lady Sker as they barreled into therge formation of Praetors assembled before arge pair of golden doors. Bodies flew from the crowd, arcs of blood and dull green liquids spraying through the air as Lady Sker sent them flying. Some of the Praetors returned to the door, wanting to bolster their defenses, while others were chased down as they tried to flee into the pce''s many hallways. Squads began to sweep those hallways, gathering together and slowly moving outwards, checking each room as they passed them. Reaching the doors that lead towards the Council Hall, we joined Lady Sker and Nirinia as we butchered the remaining Praetors, soaking the marble floor in human blood before pushing the golden doors open. Inside, a giant silver table surrounded by luxurious thrones awaited us, and we found the room empty save for four older humans. Gray hairs, wrinkled skin, bloodshot, yellowish eyes, and pronounced skeletal structures made their age known quickly, and an older woman rose from her throne, her thin frame d in a heavy mantle of deep scarlet and gold. Her pale crimson eyes were filled with eptance, and she sighed as she muttered "Two Knights... of course we failed..." Looking towards Lady Sker, the woman sighed again as she said "Knight, I am Councilor Areeba, and I wish to surrender." The others rose, repeating her words as they introduced themselves before surrendering, their expressions tired. Tossing her Gurz on the table, Lady Sker grinned as they all jumped, startled by the loud noise. Plopping into one of the thrones, the Scorpionkin ced her feet on the table as she scanned each of the Councilors, one of whom was frowning slightly. "Surrendering already? Very well. Unlike you, we do abide by our own rules of war." "Abide by them?! You massacred the city! How is that ''abiding'' your ow-" An elderly man stepped forwards, spittle flying from his lips as he shouted at Lady Sker, who stared at him in amusement. "We didn''t ''massacre'' your city. Trust me, if we wanted to level this city and wipe it from the maps, we were more than capable of doing so. No, it''s more urate to call our actions a purge. We rid your city of those we deemed unworthy to live under the mantle of our Empire. Personally, I would have razed a majority of the city to the ground, uncaring of casualties... For that, be thankful that the Empress is a rather merciful woman. She gives you options, and each has consequences..." The room fell quiet, and Areeba pushed the man back and red at him, before returning her gaze to Lady Sker. "Knight, thank you for following the merciful orders of your- no, ''our'' Empress. We... wanted to feel out the potential oues beforemitting to any course of action, you see." Chuckling, Lady Sker stared at the woman as she said "You mean to say you held hopes that your pitiful walls and weak soldiers could hold back the might of the Empire of Ash? Oh, I don''t really care, Councilor Areeba. After all, as of current, we''ve suffered mere scratchespared to the hundreds, if not thousands of humans that died." Another woman''s eyes widened at that statement, disbelief and fear mixing well inside her soft brown eyes as she muttered "Impossible..!" "Oh, it''s very much possible, dear Councilor. See, the Empire - and its inhabitants - are actually rather strong, and our knowledge of the arcane deep. Now, that aside, let''s discuss the... future rtionship between this Council Hall and the Empire." Chapter 355 354: Into The Mine Kat PoV Panting, I rested my head against the wall for a few moments, letting my racing heart calm down as I came down from my euphoric high. My body was slightly sore from my own actions, but I felt relieved once again, my mind clearer then it had been in awhile. Tracing out a few runes with my finger, I cleaned myself up and moved towards my clothes, washing them out quickly before tugging them back on, going over the various straps and pouches and making sure I had everything I needed. Next, I moved towards the loot the two had given me and sifted through it once again, staring at the des for a few moments before shrugging. Taking the mans sword, I sat back down and beganyering some basic wind enchantments on it, enhancing its edge and giving it the ability to shroud itself in wind, increasing its piercing power. Next, I experimented a little with the woman''s sword, giving it a water enchantment that would allow the user to add on their own Water Mana to make the de longer and sharper, acting more as a focuser instead of an actual weapon. Finally, the daggers were given more basic enchantments, so that I could sell the des off easily instead of worrying about needing to auction them off or be hunted down for them. When they were all done with, I ced them inside the closet, alongside the other things I didn''t want to carry with me, and I began to hide the closet away, utilizing both rubble and magic to make sure it would remain untouched. Making it look inconspicuous enough, I nodded to myself before doing away with the woman''s body, repeating my earlier actions and burying her beneath the floorboards. Finishing up, I gathered up my gear and departed from the house, taking note of the homeless who nced at me with a myriad of emotions. Guilt, lust, concern, worry, fear, and more flooded their eyes as they watched me leave, most likely believing that the time I had spent inside that broken down house had been spent under those two people as they forced themselves on me. I could tell that a few found that idea rather arousing as they continued to watch me leave, probably thinking about how I was putting on appearances after suffering for hours. Of course, when they notice that no one is inside the house and that no one else besides me has left it, they''re going to be rather confused. Returning to the main road, I followed the flow of the crowded street and made my way towards the center of the city, where the deep pit of The Mine was situated. The entryway of The Mine was crowded, with many of the adventurers shouting out to formrger parties before delving into its depths, while others were haggling as they traded and sold their items to others. Situated around the interior of the pit were dozens of tents and stalls, and they were teeming with iing and outgoing adventurers who wanted to make ast minute purchase or wanted to sell off their loot. Following the line into the pit, I eventually moved over towards some of the stalls, listening to the prices for certain items and weapons as I tried to get a feel for what I would be selling and or buying. Some of the things that I took note of were potions and their prices, and the ingredients that Leone had drilled into my head that were ''universal ingredients''. A fully concocted healing potion of adequate potency was around a few silvers, but the herbs needed to make it were just a few coppers. Listening to a alchemist name her price to a party of adventurers who handed her said herbs, I did the math mentally and came up with a.number that was under the average price for potions, meaning I could get a discount if I found the herbs I needed for the potions I needed. Specifically, I wanted stamina potions, health potions, mana potions, and dark vision potions. Whether or not those ingredients would be avable or not inside The Mine''s depths was an entirely different question... Either way, I wanted to spend at least tonight, and maybe tomorrow inside The Mine, both for the potion ingredients, but also for some experience. If I could continue to add to my level through fighting, then I could increase my stats some more and make the journey easier. That, and this would help me hone my skills back to what they used to be. I hadn''t actually ''fought'' something in a long time now, and I was worried about getting rusty. That could mean a death sentence, so I wanted to shake that rust off and keep myself sharp. Before I continued forwards though, I made my way over to an alchemist who was sitting alone, munching on a sd as she flipped through a tome. "Excuse me miss? I just had a few questions?" Looking over towards me, the pale blue skinned woman frowned, before sighing as she waved her hand at me. Taking that as an okay, I asked "What ingredients would be needed for stamina potions? And what do they look like?" Remaining quiet, the woman turned back to her book, only to turn back as I ced a few Silvers beside her book. The frown receded, and she began to speak, her voice low and raspy. "Stamina potions would be State Roots, Green Slime Gel, and Mana Water. State Root is a thick root about the size of your forearm, riddled with small, curved spikes. It has a deep earthy odor, and grows in clusters off of the walls. The other is self exnatory... Was that all?" Shaking my head, I ced another few Silvers as I asked "What about dark vision?" Taking those coins as well, she smiled at me as she said "Glowing Slime Gel of any color, Minka Carrots, and Mana Water. Minka Carrots are found four or five floors deep, and they tend to look like violet colored carrots with red veins. Don''t touch them if they have blue veins; if it snaps or has anything leaking from it, you could be poisoned." Bowing slightly, I bid the alchemist farewell before returning to the crowded pit, making my way over to the entrance of The Mine. With my current gear, alongside my magics, I should be able to go down a few floors and find the ingredients I need. Considering the chatter around me, the sixth and seventh floors would be akin to the ins of Yama, while the eight floor and below would be like the Gate of Hades. I should be fine going down to floor four on my own... hopefully. Chapter 356 355: Time For A Talk Jahi PoV Lady Sker sat the Councilors down and discussed their future with them, before Adelina and Mom eventually joined us as well. The three began to discuss the fine details of everything, though they mainly remained on the current situation and how the Councilors needed to calm the citizenry and begin to shift them from the closed thinking of human supremacy to something more... broad and realistic. As those discussions were happening, I grew bored and turned towards Anput and Leone, beckoning for them to follow me, before telling Iaso and Liga to do as they pleased. Leading my fiancee''s out of the Council Hall, we walked in silence around the pce before I led us into one of the many bedrooms found on the third floor, well away from the various troops still sweeping the pce for more enemies. Entering thevish bedroom, I gestured for them to take a seat at therge table, before I made my way over towards the window to overlook the gardens. Peering back over my shoulder, I watched as Leone sat elegantly in her chair while Anput flopped onto the bed, stretching out her muscles with a low moan. "I did say we would talk soon, so... let''s talk." That made Anput sit back up instantly, her obsidian eyes finding mine as her ears twitched, while Leone let out a sigh as she inteced her fingers. For a few moments, the room remained silent, and I looked down over the beautiful garden, dozens of vibrant flowers and lush trees upying arge courtyard and creating a serene, peaceful meeting area. "What was that, back at the first Mage Tower?" Leone spoke first, her voice steady as she nced at me, while Anput followed it up with a low growl. "It seemed like you had been contemting the words of that pathetic human... Were you?" Both of them stared at me with hard eyes, both of which shed their respective colors - shining silver and burning crimson - before they reined in their emotions. Chuckling, I turned and leaned against the ss, looking them over for a moment, enjoying the way they reacted to their very own questions. "It was curiosity that drove my actions. I was curious to see what exactly a human would be willing to do to remain alive, especially one that was praying to her god not even seconds before hand. As for my words..." Sighing, I pursed my lips before continuing on, deciding to get this out of the way now, before it caused more troubleter on. "Me saying that I would use her to stave off my lust? I wasn''t lying. If I wasn''t blessed with the both of you, I likely would have been picking out women here and there to satisfy myself... Mainly because of my... inclinations." Raising a brow, Leone tilted her head in confusion as she asked "Inclinations?" Smiling, I took a deep breath before saying "I''m sure you both have noticed it, but when we have sex, I top. Never the other way around; I am on top, I am dominating you both, and there has only ever been a few times where I relinquish control during sex. However, I''m not just satisfied with being on top..." Trailing off, I felt my heart twang slightly as I pushed forwards, understanding that I needed this to be said now. "You both have heard how I... how I used to bed her. Sometimes, you both got to see what she looked like when I was done. Bruised, battered, and honestly... if someone else had seen her, they would think I had... raped her. That''s what I mean by ''inclinations''. I relish the sounds of pain she made as I fucked her, I loved the way her skin slowly turned red as I abused her... Whatever I wanted to do to her, no matter how terrible, she epted it. We used to have nights, depending on who felt the urge more, where we would role-y being an abusive Noble and a poor Maid, taking it further than just being dominated. She would ask me to treat her like a toy, to use her however I pleased, and I did. Back at the Capital, when we all began to make love together, she was... relegating herself to sating my darker urges, so that when I sought out either of you, I never slipped and demanded to be satisfied the same way that she satisfied me." The room fell into silence again, and Leone was blushing hard while Anput pursed her lips, looking towards the floor. Leone stood up, her face still red, but she made an effort to look at me, meeting my gaze before flinching. "S-So... y-you''re saying all this because... b-because you want us t-to help you with those urges? Y-You want to be r-r-rougher whenever we have s-sex?" Smiling softly at her, I nodded and said "It''s either that, or... I look elsewhere. I don''t want to, but I know that I''ll be tempted time and time again. I want to hear those screams, the pleads, and I want to see the... ''damage'' I''ve done to the woman under me. I''ve... epted that part of me, because she epted it as well. But, she''s gone. And all that I''m left with is a building desire to have what she used to give me." Anput and Leone flinched at the start of my words, their eyes flickering back to silver and crimson as they red at me, before they looked away as I continued on. Kicking her feet off of the bed, Anput sighed before getting up, her obsidian eyes unsure. "It''s... hard. Jahi, what you''re asking for isn''t something small. Both of us are already unable to keep up with you normally, but you want to take it so much further? Add onto that the fact that you''re admitting that, if we don''t do this for you, you WILL be looking elsewhere?" Her tone was unsteady, and slightly hurt. I took a deep breath at that, my heart aching at the way she spoke, and the way that Leone nodded as she listened to Anput. "This isn''t fair, Jahi. You ce an impossible task before us and tell us that, if we fail it, then something equally impossible will happen. Do you think we''d just ''let'' you find someone else? Even if the person you found was just some... temporary hole for you to use, do you understand what that would make us feel?" Approaching me, Anput looked up into my eyes, her silvers meeting my golds as she ced her hand on my abdomen. "I love you, Jahi. I really do... but if I learn that you broke the promise you made to me, I''m not remaining here. Not with you. You swore to love us and only us, to be with us and only us. If you turn away from that, then... how am I meant to trust you going forwards?" She remained in front of me, her hand resting on my abs before sliding downwards. "It''s impossible, and you know it, but... damnit..." Cursing softly, she sighed as she slipped her hand under my belt, before shifting to the side as Leone joined her as well. "We... have to try, at the very least... Jahi, I really, really love you. I love you, I love Anput, and I love Kat. I want us all to remain together, as a family. So... please, try. Try and keep yourself in control, and understand that... we aren''t her. We can''t be her, no matter how much we want to soothe your heart. Please, Jahi... try and learn to feel that same satisfaction with us in different ways then how you did with Kat. Explore more of us, just like we''ll explore more of you... Maybe we can all findmon ground that works for us all... we just need to try first." My breathing turned slightly haggard as Leone''s hand joined Anput''s, and I nodded as I reached down, pulling them both in closer to me. "I... I don''t want to lose either of you... I can''t lose either of you, not now, not ever... So, I''ll try my best, but..." Biting my cheek, I felt a small amount of blood seep over my tongue as my heart continued to throb dully inside my chest, the void I felt from theck of the third woman spiralingrger andrger. Growling softly, I walked us over to the bed and fell onto it, my lips finding Anput''s while my hands pulled Leone over towards me. I couldn''t lose them too. However, I understood that I would need something more from them to keep myself satiated, lest I make a mistake that I would never be able to recover from... We still had so much to talk about, but for now, our actions would speak much louder than any words possibly could right now. Chapter 357 356: Beginner Level Dungeon? Kat PoV Following the line into The Mine, I checked my gear a final time before taking calming breaths, feeling slightly nervous. Dungeon delving alone is always risky, and this will be the first time that I''ve ever done so. I had always been apanied by Jahi and the others, and now I would need to rely on only myself to get out safely, which was worrying. My penchant for wanton violence against things that bled wasn''t ideal, and the thought of being cornered by either monsters or other people was really frightening, as that would raise too many unknowns for me to guarantee my safety. However, I also needed to go down into this dangerous ce to gather some ingredients to make my journey easier, while also getting myself more money for more gear. Risk and reward were weighed equally in this situation, and I knew that I needed to rein in my bloodlust and retain control over my actions, so that I could always guarantee an escape route should I need to flee. So, as I ventured out into the long, winding tunnels of The Mine, I walked carefully away from therger groups, finding the various side passages that were illuminated by glowing stones or glowing flora. My boots silently glided over the stone ground, while my cloak made little noise as I walked, the various enchantments and my own skill keeping my movement quiet. Like the name suggested, the tunnels that formted this dungeon were much like a mineshaft; straight, narrow passageways that wound around a set depth before certain hubs led into the deeper floors. Apparently, from what I had been listening to, and from the little that I had asked from the others, the way to leave was simple; the tunnels all held a certain symbol that repeated along the walls, and you just needed to follow the symbol out. It was an odd arrow looking symbol, and the tip of the symbol pointed towards the depths, meaning you just traversed the other way it told you to go in order to leave. Simple enough, and I confirmed the symbol and its workings as soon as I entered each shaft, locating it instantly and following it. I walked in silence for the first minute or two, my ears strained as I listened for anyone following me or the sounds of fighting, while my nose twitched as I took note of the scents around me. The tunnels were dimly lit, allowing people to hide against the walls if they wished, and I wasn''t in the mood to be ambushed by some unsavory bandits on my first excursion inside The Mine. As I walked, I eventually heard the sound of something jiggling from up ahead, and as I turned a corner I froze, my eyes slightly wide as I saw something I had once dreamt of seeing. A slime. The cornerstone trash mob from almost every single fantasy game, novel, anime - whatever form of media, honestly - was now... bouncing around in front of me. Made from green gel, the slime was a translucent blob formed around a core that floated inside the gel, and itcked any ''face'' or features entirely, instead just... being a blob. A smile tugged at my lips as I watched the small blob hop into the wall, its green body sliding down it before reforming. The creature had no features, but I could just imagine the confused, yet nk expression it must be making as it ''stared'' up at the wall, before it tried to jump up the wall again. It''s gtinous body jiggled as it pped against the stone wall, before sliding down to the floor once more. Holding in a chuckle, I observed the cute little slime for a while longer, enjoying the simplicity as it continued to try to climb the wall, only to eventually give up and ''turn'' towards a different direction. Stepping away from the wall, I stared down at the small blob and unsheathed my dagger, watching as it hopped towards me, its green, translucent gel pulsing, like it was aware of my presence now. Spinning my dagger around, I coated the de in Wind Mana before stabbing downwards, impaling the slime to the stone floor. "Sorry little guy... you''re cute and all, but I kinda need your gel?" Muttering my apologies to the blob, I watched in interest as the core shattered, causing the pulsating light to fade, before the gel began to harden. Cursing, I used my dagger to scoop away some of the gel and ced it into a small pouch, noting how it felt more like a thick jelly then something liquidy as I stored it away. The rest of the slime''s ''corpse'' dissolved away, and I sighed as I bowed slightly to the creaturesst remains, muttering a swift prayer to it. It was the first actual slime I had seen - they were a rarity in Fovos Forest - and I felt the need to respect the creature that I had once so desperately wanted to see. After all, everyone in games wanted to see the slimes at least once, since they were such a staple, while the people who wanted the slimes in shows wanted it for... different reasons. Both were valid, in my opinion... Ahem, anyways... Continuing forwards, I followed the symbols and descended to the second floor, frowning slightly as I encountered nothing on the first floor after the first slime. That quickly changed as I found myself inside a small ten by ten ''cavern'' housing four slimes; one blue, one green, and two red. Killing them each, I harvested their gels and looked around, before smiling as I found a few State Roots growing around the walls, swiftly harvesting them and storing them away. With that, I had the ingredients for a stamina potion. Mana Water would be acquired by me infusing some more mana into my water spells, so I had that avable easily, and now I had a good bit of green gel. Of course, I would gather a bit more if I found some more slimes, but I at least had enough for a few potions. With part of my mission aplished, I continued forwards, marveling at the easy battles against slimes, rats, and asional bats as I encountered them inside of small caves or in the tunnels. I made my way down to the third floor quickly, and I harvested a few more State Roots and gels before making my way down to the fourth floor, where I would be searching for the Minka Carrots. It was also here that I noticed a distinct shift in the dungeons'' atmosphere and coloration. The soft blue glow from before was gone, reced instead by a harsher orange glow instead, while the air was thicker and warmer, while the monsters had increased in quantity and size. However, a slime was still a slime, and a rat was still a rat... If I had a pickaxe, there were a few veins of ores that I wouldn''t have minded harvesting, but considering the fact I was alone, and that I didn''t have the storage to lug metals back to the surface, those metals would need to remain here for others to find... This truly was a rather lucrative beginner level dungeon... Chapter 358 357: Beginner To Intermediate My delve into the fourth floor started off with a swift notice of the shift in atmosphere, before I noticed that the enemies were more abundant, and stronger. Currently, the amount of monsters that had fallen under my de were in the dozens, and each one seemed to be just a slight bit stronger than thest. Still not threatening, but certainly showing how much the difficulty could ramp up over the course of this entire floor. Raising my dagger, I tilted the de and blocked the rats ws with the t of the dagger, the shrieking of bone on metal filling the tunnel before the rats squeal sounded out when I kicked it. Roughly the size of a small dog, the rats were swift, agile little things, and when they were spawned with friends I could see how this would be a challenge. Hissing at me, the rat didn''t even dodge as a water bullet pierced its small head, killing it instantly. Dropping to the floor, the rat dissolved away as I stepped past it, all while my system blurted out a notification. [Dungeon Rat (M) killed - 542 XP awarded] A small smile tugged at my lips as I read that message. No where near the thousands upon thousands of experience points I received from those two people, but still ratherrge for such an easy kill. Add on the fact that I was encountering more and more of these little bundles of experience, and I was slowly chipping away at leveling up once more... Though, I doubt that I would level up anytime soon, since I still needed around 650,000 XP to do so. That would be roughly 65 people, which is much more manageable, but also much riskier for a multitude of reasons... Besides, whilst I may enjoy fighting against people, unless they deserve it for attacking me first or do something that warrants death, I wasn''t going to devolve into some mass murdering imbecile just to see my numbers go up. I understand that actions have consequences, and those consequences could result in death - or worse - in and where I had no one to help me. Shaking those thoughts from my mind, I continued down the mineshaft, following the symbols before making my way down onto the fifth floor, where Minka Carrots had a better chance of spawning. Once I had a ratherrge amount of those carrots, I would be leaving for the surface for today and having an alchemist make me some potions, so that I could put caution to the wind and travel at night whenever I reached another road like the one that led here. That was my current n, and it all depended on what exactly the forest north of Nevrokopi State offered. Considering it didn''t sound like it was cultivated by mortal hands, I imagine I might need to use a few potions to skip through that forest as quickly as I could. I had no desire to be stuck alone inside of nature again. Looking around, I chose one of the two paths that split from my mineshaft, running into the monsters that inhabited this floor soon enough. A blue slime that was half my height, three of those medium rats, and tworge bats that had bodies the size of my head. Unsheathing my Breeze Fang, I stared at the shrieking monsters as they noticed me, and I got to work as the rats lunged forwards, while the bats pped their wings and lurched towards me. With my Protective Fang in one hand and the Breeze Fang in the other, I readied myself for the bats first, as their dark green wings beat quickly, speeding towards me in mere moments. The first syed out its talons and swooped towards my face, intending totch onto my skull. Before it could do so, my Breeze Fang whistled forwards and severed the monster in half, before my Protective Fang blocked the talons of the other bat. Punching out towards it, I sent it flying backwards, a crunch sounding out as it mmed into the wall and died. Next were the three rats, and I ducked as one jumped for my face, letting it sail straight over me. Focusing on the two in front, I impaled one as it lunged forwards, spearing its skull with my Breeze Fang, while the second tried to nip at my ankles. Raising a booted foot, I grimaced slightly as I stomped its skull into pieces, its warm blood and brain matter coating my leg. Ducking again, I dodged the first rat once more, before putting it down with a water bullet. Finally, I watched as the slime bounced towards me, its gtinous body jiggling with each movement, and I sighed contentedly as I watched the adorable blob make its way towards me. "You are just so... adorably derpy! I really dislike having to kill you..." Sighing, I decided to grant the cute blob a swift, painless death, even if those meant little to the slime. A de of wind sliced through its core cleanly, and I watched on in sadness as the gel hardened before dissipating. A deluge of notifications sounded out, and I nodded to myself as I was granted another few thousand experience. The bats were worth the most at around 750, while the rats averaged 550 each. Finally, the slime was 450, and I nodded to myself at the scr for their experience given. Continuing forwards, I searched every nook and cranny for some kind of carrot looking herb deep inside The Mine, my eyes scanning the walls and floor even as I kept my hearing focused on the sounds around me. Of course, I eventually found the carrots I was looking for, but not in the ideal spot that I was hoping for. Entering a small cavern around twenty feet in diameter, I was greeted with the sight of a giant rat gnawing hungrily on some old bones, its beady ck eyes and twitching whiskers alerting it to my presence. Dropping the bones, the rat - which was my height - turned to stare at me before releasing a loud chittering noise, its giant paws bounding against the stone floor as it charged at me. Chapter 359 358: Attempts At Satiating Lust (1)* Jahi PoV My lips mmed against Anput''s as I pushed her onto the bed, my puppy letting out a slight yelp as I pinned her under my weight. As for Leone, I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her down with us, my hand finding its way towards her plump ass as I searched for her slit. Both women moaned at my sudden actions, and I felt my pent up lust rising to the surface as my cock hardened in my pants. Releasing Anput, I looked down at her before growling "Strip me. Now. I want those lips around my cock in thirty seconds, bitch." Gulping, Anput nodded and moved forwards, her hands fumbling with my belt, while Leone shivered as I turned towards her. "Undress yourself. While I enjoy her throat, I want to taste you, Princess..." She blushed, her hands moving towards the crystal that hung around her neck. Feeling my pants fall to the ground, I watched as Anput began to undo the various straps of my armor, her movements frantic as she tried to keep herself inside the timeframe I gave her. Leone followed my orders as well, removing her robes and revealing the simple red bra that held up those luscious tits of hers, before she shimmied out of her pants, a matching pair of panties already stained by her bulging erection. Licking my lips, I raked my gaze over her plump thighs before gesturing to the bed, the Vampire nodding to me as she moved toy on her stomach at the top, her legs spread apart to reveal her glistening cunt. Ignoring therge pair of balls that rested against the bed, I stared at her perfect pussy before looking down at Anput, who had finally undressed mepletely. "Get naked as well, girl." I didn''t even need to order her, as she had already thrown off her armor and clothes swiftly, revealing her toned, lithe body to me, as well as her own knotted cock. Reaching forwards, I grabbed her hair and yanked her down towards my penis, rubbing my tip against her soft lips. Narrowing my eyes at her, I pursed my lips as she opened her mouth and swallowed my girth, taking it to the hilt. Positioning my body, I leaned forwards and grabbed Leone''s ass, spreading her cheeks apart to reveal more of her pretty pussy before I pushed my face against it, my nose filled with her scent as I began top at her cunt. With my cock sheathed in my bitch''s throat and my tongue buried in my Princess'' cunt, I felt my lust skyrocket as I enjoyed the tight, wet suction around my dick, while the cinnamon vor of Leone permeated my tongue. Moaning into the pillows, the Vampire shuddered as I relished her taste, all while my bitch was pinned firmly under my crotch, her hands grabbing at my thighs as she desperately tried to get me off. I could already imagine her lost expression as she was forced to breath only my scent, all while I upied her throat with my cock. Swirling her tongue around my shaft, Anput clenched her throat muscles as she rocked her head back and forth as much as she could, adding anotheryer of pleasure to her throatfuck, while Leone pushed her hips back towards my face, wanting me deeper. Their earlier words and concerns reverberated in my mind, and I was determined to try and y into their kinks as best as I possibly could. Anput loved scents and pet y, so treating her like she was actually my puppy would do wonders for her, and the thought of punishing my ''bad puppy'' and forcing her to do something embarrassing was really arousing. Leone, on the other hand, liked to dress up and role-y, which was something I was personally really into. I could get her some dresses from the various nobles around here, have her doll herself up as a Noblewoman - which she is - and role-y various scenarios; a knight and her mistress, a curious, lusty noble, a captured noble... So many ideas to be sought out with her... Moaning softly, Ipped up the small burst of fluids that erupted from Leone''s cunt, the sharp vor making my mind nk for a moment before I returned to my duty, wanting to get her sufficiently prepared for my girth. I wasn''t going to be gentle, and I wanted to punish Anput for her earlier actions at the Armory, while Leone was getting punished for her words earlier to Mom. Smirking slightly, I gyrated my hips a little to hasten my ejaction, moaning as Anput doubled her efforts as well, likely running low on oxygen. Alternating her tightening throat and coiling tongue, she brought me to edge swiftly, my previous arousal from todays events making her job easier. Leone also squirted again, her pants sounding utterly adorable as she came from both her cock and her cunt, her semen staining the sheets under her. Pulling away, I grunted as my balls began to contract, my ejaction starting. Thick ropes of my cum shot deep into Anput''s throat, and my puppy gulped down her meal greedily, even as I slowly filled her stomach. Eventually finishing up, I took deep breaths as I unsheathed myself from her throat, her saliva and specks of semen dripping onto her face as she gasped for air. Crawling up, I left her alone for the time being as I grabbed Leone''s hips, staring at the surprised Vampire with a smirk. "Princess, are you ready? Your Knight in shining armor is here, and she deserves a reward..." My raspy voice made her shiver, though she still raised her hips for me, arching her back perfectly to enunciate her thick ass even more. Taking that as an answer, I grinned as I lined up my slick cock with her drenched pussy, slipping inside and piercing her womb in a single thrust. "Fuck~! You''re as tight as always, Princess~! " She moaned loudly into the sheets, her cheeks flushed as she murmured "A-And y-you''re as valiant as e-ever, m-my K-Knight~!" With her hips in my grasp, I began to gently thrust forwards, massaging my cock with her spasming pussy as she orgasmed lightly once again, her sweet moans at odds with her sinful body. After a few thrusts in and out of her womb, I smirked down at her as she looked back at me, her crimson eyes widening as I growled "Sadly, Princess, you made a mistake earlier, and I deserve rpense! Forgive me in advance, but..! Argh~!" Grunting, I began to m my hips into hers, watching as her ass rippled under each thrust forwards with raging desire, wanting to see those perfect white mountains turn red. Even as she moaned out loudly into the pillow, I raised my hand and mmed it down on her ass, watching in fascination as her cheek rippled beautifully before reddening, all while her back arched down further while her head whipped back, surpriseced inside her eyes. "Sorry Princess, but... Your Knight needs to discipline you a little! It''s for your own good~!" Spanking her again, I grinned as she let out a pained, yet pleasured shout, biting into the pillow as I roughly pounded into her womb. With one hand on her ass, I raised the other to grab ahold of her long, ashen hair, wrapping it around my hand and tugging back. Yelping out in pain, Leone stared back at me with watery eyes, but the lust permeating those crimson orbs made me grin even more. "Are you enjoying this, Princess~? Enjoying having your Knight dominate you like some lowly whore~?" Gulping, Leone moaned out "P-Please, m-my K-Knight~! Please d-discipline this slutty Princess~!" My face began to hurt as I grinned further, and I gave her hair another tug as I nodded. "As youmand, Princess~!" Chapter 360 359: Attempts At Satiating Lust (2)* Pulling Leone''s hair back, I plunged deep into her overflowing cunt over and over again, knocking against the back of her womb and making my beautiful Vampiric Princess scream out my name. A growl reverberated in my throat as I sunk my cock into her pussy once again, her writhing folds and clenching muscles suffocating my shaft as she tried to desperately get me to erupt inside her womb. My hand fell hard on her ass, adding another red handprint to her lush cheeks that rippled under each thrust, and she screamed out even louder, only to yelp in surprise as I pushed her head into the pillows, muffling her voice. "Do you want the entire castle to know I''m fucking you, Princess?! Huh?! Are you inviting everyone to watch as I mold your royal pussy into my shape? Is that why you scream so loudly?!" Spanking her again, I shivered as she whimpered at my blow, even as she pushed herself further against my hips, forcing me deeper into her cunt. Her cock oozed semen onto the bed below, and I growled again as she managed to look back at me, her crimson eye flooded with lust at my actions. Giving her other cheek some love, I grunted as she tightened up even more, her moans stifled by the pillow she hugged to her face. Feeling something wet spurt against my thighs, I grinned at the Vampire as I continued to ravish her, before I nced back to see my puppy groggily watching me, her hand snaked under her knot as she fingered herself. "Come here bitch. Come satisfy your owner..." Anput shuddered, her expression one of rapturous need as she crawled over towards me, fulfilling her role as my pet. Seeing her tail wagging as she let her tongue loll out of those thin lips, I grinned at her as I reached over, pulling her into my side as I took those lips for myself, greedily exploring the inside of her mouth as I stroked the base of her fluffy tail. Clinging desperately to my side, Anput moaned into my mouth as I yed with one of her sensitive spots, only to moan again in need as I slipped my fingers into her cunt. Pulling away from her lips for a moment, I rested my brow against hers and stared into those hot obsidian eyes, smirking at her. "Will you be a good girl for me, Anput..?" Her breathing quickened, and those hot eyes grew even more heated as she nodded, her lips trying to find mine. Moaning softly as I slid another finger into her snatch, I whispered "Good girls don''t cum until their told to, Anput... So, if you cum before I say so, I will be punishing you, and not in a good way~! You just need tost until I cum inside the Princess here, and then I''ll let you ride my cock all you want... if you fail to hold it in, I''ll bind you down to the bed and force you to watch as I continue to indulge in Leone''s body... understood?" Gulping, she bit her lower lip to stifle a moan as I sped up my fingers, her hips quivering slightly as she pushed herself further into my body. "Y-Yes, M-Mistress..! I... I understand~!" Panting, she screwed her eyes shut, only to gasp as I mmed my lips against hers again, relishing the citrusy taste as I continued to finger her pussy. This entire time, Leone had been moaning hard on my cock as I continued to thrust against the back of her womb, her thighs slick with her juices as she came a few more times. As I plunged my cock deep into Leone, my fingers churned the drooling honeypot of Anput, her tail thumping against my wrist as she moaned into my mouth, and I relished in the warmth of the two women. We had time to spend, and I wanted to spend it deep inside both of them, whilst also unwinding a little of my desires. It didn''t take long for Anput to whine into my mouth, her body shivering as she tried hard to control her orgasm, to keep herself from squirting as I continued to churn her cunt, all while she was drowning in my taste and scent. Finding her pleading eyes amusing, I plunged my fingers deeper and began to explore the further depths of her mouth, enjoying the way she moaned harder into my mouth as we kissed. Finally, I pulled away from her lips and panted, smiling softly at her as I buried my nose into her soft hair, muttering "Go ahead girl... cum for me. Cum for me while I cum inside the Princess..." Feeling my cock pulsating inside her womb, Leone gasped as I started to shoot my semen inside of her, hugging the pillow closer to her face as she orgasmed from that, while Anput wordlessly came on my fingers, her eyes dull as she desperately hugged her body to my arm. Pumping my seed into my fiancee, I grunted as she grew tighter once more, her folds coiling around my shaft and pushing my semen out of my cock and into her womb, while I was being visually stimted by the sight of Anput''s lithe body trembling as she squirted onto the bed, her ears trembling and her tail pressing against her legs. When I finished, I pulled myself out of Leone and watched in amusement as she slumped forwards, her ass still raised into the air as she gave me a good view of her cum covered cunt oozing my seed. Blinking a few times, Anput finally came off her orgasm and gasped, her eyes falling down to my still hard cock. Before she could even think, the Jackalkin lunged down andpped up the semen and juices that clung to my shaft, her nose twitching as she inhaled my scent once more. Smirking, Iid down besides Leone and allowed the Jackalkin to enjoy herself, while I enjoyed how Leone rolled into my side and snuggled into my breasts, all while my cock was enveloped in the warmth of Anput''s mouth. Wrapping my arm around Leone, I watched as Anput finished cleaning me off before mounting me, her hands guiding my cock to her cunt. Dropping her hips down, she moaned loudly as she weed me back into her womb, and she leaned forwards to join Leone as she rested her head between my breasts. Smiling warmly at the two, I murmured "I don''t think I''ll be letting either of you go for the next few hours... are you ready for that? This was but an appetizer..." They both shuddered before ncing at one another, only to nod as they whispered "We... can take some more..." Chapter 361 360: Boss Time? Kat PoV A giant rat - roughly my height - turned its beady ck eyes towards me, its whiskers twitching as it stopped gnawing on the bones scattered under itsrge paws, before it started to bound over to me, gnashing itsrge front teeth. Raising my daggers, I waited for it to be a foot or so in front of me before I dodged off to the side, avoiding its chomp as it tried to bite my head clean off my shoulders. It looked at the spot I was in moments earlier in confusion, only to squeal in pain as my dagger scored a cut on its hind leg. However, even though I damaged the monster, I frowned as I noticed how shallow the cut itself was, meaning this monster was a tad more resilient to physical damage, or atst shing damage. Piercing damage was something I had tried yet, and if that failed, then I would begin to use magic. Jumping back, I avoided the swinging of its tail as it turned, the long, spindly pink appendage whipping towards my skull at shocking speeds. Gnashing its teeth at me in anger, the rat lunged forwards, its maw wide open as it feinted another chomp, only to swing one of its paws towards my face, the razor sharp ws gleaming in the harsh orange light. Ducking under its swing, I scored another shallow cut on its front leg, wanting to get some damage in when I could. Squealing at me once more, the rat pressed forwards, biting the air above my head as I narrowly rolled away, only to m both of its front legs into the ground, trying to break me under its weight. With its paws sunk slightly into the rocky floor, the rat needed to wrench them free, providing me a moment to attack. Lunging forwards, I raised my Protective Fang high into the air before stabbing it downwards, into the knee of its hind leg. My heavy dagger sunk deep into the rats flesh, tearing through it with ease before chipping the bone. Twisting it, I tore the muscles around its knee before pulling the dagger free, listening to the rats pained squeals as it tried to turn, only to squeal louder as it put weight on its nowme leg. As I prepared to lunge forwards again, I frowned as I instead backed away, noticing that its ck eye had shifted to red, and that the tips of its fur had begun to emit a red hue. Still squealing in pain, the rat red hatefully at me for a few moments more before taking a deep breath. Letting out a high pitched, echoing shriek, the rat stared at me triumphantly as squeaks sounded out around us, and I cursed softly as I heard the sounds of more rats scurrying towards us. Deciding to take it a little more serious, I activated a Wind Cloak and dashed forwards, sheathing the dagger in mana as well. Slipping under its paw once more, I stabbed up into its elbow, piercing the flesh easier this time as I dragged the de towards its shoulder, the rat squealing the entire time. Yanking the dagger free, I cursed again as the summoned rats made themselves known, scurrying into the room and leaping between me and the boss rat. Nursing its bloodied arm and hind leg, the boss rat squeaked, and the assembled rats lunged forwards. Frowning, I sheathed my dagger in more mana and created a longsword of coalesced wind, which I used to slice through the attacking rats. Severing them in half, I worked on the second wave of rats before turning back towards the boss rat, which I duly noted was much more red than before. Also, it no longer squeaked nor squealed, but growled. Oh, and those long, t teeth had shifted into curved, sharpened fangs. Opening its maw once more, I rolled away - through the now dissipating rat guts and corpses - and winced as the room began to heat up as a fireball sshed harmlessly on the ground beside me. Shooting another towards me, it swiped forwards with its uninjured paw, trying to corral me into being hit. Sadly for it, I had water magic, which I used to protect myself from the fireball before bursting forwards, surprising it. Clenching my de, I stabbed upwards and pierced through its jaw, shutting it closed as my dagger sunk deep into its skull next, cutting into its brain and killing it. The red fur it had begun to sprout faded away, while the red hue dissipated. Blood seeped onto my hands, and I yanked the dagger out and stared at the slimy blood that clung to the steel. Flicking it off, I sighed as I summoned a sphere of water, cleaning myself off as I waited for the monster to dissipate as well, taking this moment to recuperate and acknowledge the system. [Dungeon Rat (S) killed - 320 XP x 10] [Dungeon Rat (M) killed - 540 XP x 6] [Dungeon Rat (L), Fire Variant killed - 2,130 XP] Watching as my experience bar slowly filled up some more, I smiled softly before ncing at the dissipating corpse. "You were only arge one huh? Damn, wonder what a boss version of you looks like... You''re kind of like a boss though aren''t you..? For this floor, anyways... interesting. Seems rather fun." Nodding to myself, I looked around and grinned as I approached the Minka Carrots that I needed, inspecting them and making sure they were the ones I needed before harvesting them. With bundles of herbs and gels attached to my pack and hip, I brushed off my armor before finding the nearest symbol, walking in the opposite way it told me to go. Slinking silently through the floors, I avoided the other adventurers as best I could, and when I did need to walk past any of them I made sure to keep my cloak was draped loosely over my figure and head, keeping me hidden from them. Most just stared at me warily, while others nodded to me as I passed. Reaching the surface didn''t take long, and I emerged into the cool, crisp air of night, the sky a deep violet dotted with thousands of stars. Chapter 362 361: Goron Conquered Jahi PoV Wiping the sweat from my brow, I cleaned myself off with Light Mana before ncing down at Anput and Leone, both of my fiancee''s still sprawled out on the bed, fast asleep. Smiling softly, I rolled out my shoulders as I stood nude in our confiscated room, feeling much better after indulging for an hour or two. Walking back over towards the window, I looked out over the slightly fire lit cityscape with a smile, our mission for today aplished. Goron had fallen to the Empire, and from here on out it would be under our control. Most likely, Mom and the others were still debating the specifics for the imminent future with the remaining smart humans, letting them understand how the city would be run and who would being to take over for us when we left. Adelina would likely leave one of the Cohorts behind to keep the city from getting any ideas before having them rejoin uster, but for now we were resting, waiting for the orders to move out and continue on with the Crusade. Either way, I was able to unwind a little before we continued on, and this time would be useful to figure things out. Sitting in a chair, I stared out over the castles gardens, taking a deep breath and contemting today. My actions were unforgivable to certain extents, and they were all self serving, unnecessary things that I had done. Each caused my fiancee''s to question me, and each one only fueled on my own darker lust more than it should have ever reached. Do I still think that I would need to release some of that lust? Absolutely, but... ncing back at Anput and Leone, I shook my head and chuckled as I realized once more how selfish of a woman I was. I expected and demanded so much from them, yet I never seemed to do much FOR them. Maybe I could try and argue that being married to me, as well as giving themselves to me was more than enough payment, as I secured their futures and satisfied their bodies with each round we ''sparred'' in bed, but... that would be a tant lie. There was more to what we had then just satisfying our lusts and wealth. We meshed together well as a group - a family - and I wanted to maintain that bnce, even if one part of our family was currently missing. And in order to do so, I needed to step up and mature, to start taking responsibility for my actions and do what was right, not what I wanted. The first would be to restrain myself going forwards, to explore different avenues of sexual expression between us all so that I could both continue to satisfy them and maintain my restraint. Going celibate at this point was practically impossible, both for me and for them, so I needed to find ways to keep things fresh, exciting, and satisfying for us all. My earlier idea of exploring their kinks further and implementing slight amounts of my own was something I needed to think about, and my ideas on that front were already multiplying as I stared over their naked figures, both still glistening with sweat and other fluids. Turning back to the garden, I pushed the sexual side of our rtionship away, wanting to instead focus on what truly needed to be confronted. Going forwards without... her. For the foreseeable future, we would be on our own - just us three - and we needed to learn how to rely on one another just a little bit more, instead of relying entirely on her. Of course, my heart still ached fiercely at the thought of her being gone, and I... couldn''t even bring myself to mutter her name, too ashamed of myself and hurt to even think of doing so. That was something I couldn''t solve on my own, but what I could work on better was opening up and expressing myself to them more, even if it was small things that didn''t really matter. I... haven''t been the most bearable woman to be tied to, that much I am aware of, but I was also unsure of how to change. To me, actions meant more than words, and I believe I had been rather forthright in most of my actions with them... Though, improvements could always be made, and I was certainly biased towards my own actions. Letting out a low sigh, I lounged on the chair as I watched the sun descendpletely, shrouding the slightly burning city in night, leaving me alone infortable silence as they continued to rest behind me. ~~~ NIrinia PoV Sighing, I banged my head against the wall as I moved away from the room Lady Jahi had upied, my mind still reeling from the moans and screams echoing out of the room. The Marquess had sent me to check on her daughter a few minutes ago, and after searching for a bit I had found them, but... yeah, it wasn''t something I wanted to listen to. Voyeurism wasn''t my thing. However, their obvious lovemaking reminded me that I myself had been celibate for an unusual amount of time now. Weeks of being alone in a bed resurfaced in my mind, and I bit my cheek as I stifled a groan, feeling my body react immediately. Finding a random room, I slipped inside and copsed onto the bed, suddenly feeling tired as I stared up at the dark ceiling. Laying my forearm over my eyes, I took a deep breath as I tried to calm myself down, feeling the desire to embrace a woman slowly rise and fall randomly. "Damnit Adelina... what the hell am I meant to do now?" I didn''t want to hurt my already slim chances with the Lioness by seeking out another woman, but I was also reaching the end of my rope in that regard, the stress piling up from everything that''s happened. Every time I close my eyes at night, the sight of her bleeding, broken body enters my mind, and I jolt awake, unable to sleep as I worry that someone else was going to hurt her, going to take her from me. Even now, I had to resist the urge to open my eyes and return to the Council Hall, where I knew she was giving out her orders to the Councilors, all while the Marquess and Lady Sker acted as her bodyguards and advisors. I hadn''t had a full night of sleep since then, and I usually spent my nights somewhere near her tent, staring up at the stars as I wondered what I needed to do to rid myself of these feelings. It would have been so much easier if she hadn''t reminded me of times long gone. I could have severed thest small amount of love I had for her and moved on, continuing with my life unbothered by the idea of marriage or having a partner of any kind besides sexual. And yet, here Iy,pletely focused and incapable of doing anything besides worrying about her, thinking of her... Even though I had begun to hate how she invaded each thought I had, I couldn''t bring myself to me her for anything. That was why I cared for her, after all. It was because she was who she was that I had once fallen for her, and here we were now... "Goddess above, I fucking hate this all. I hate that I still care... Yet I don''t want to stop caring..." Sighing once more, I sat up and straightened out my armor before exiting the room, making my way back to the Councilor Hall. Hopefully an actual bed would put me to sleep tonight. Chapter 363 362: Potions Kat PoV When I emerged from The Mine with my spoils, I made my way over towards the alchemists and tried to find the woman from earlier, spotting her in the same ce I had left her in. Seeing me approach, the pale blue skinned woman smiled again, likely realizing I was going to give her another good amount of coin for her services... Returning her smile, I began toy out the various ingredients I had gathered on her stall counter, saying "I wish to prioritize stamina and dark vision potions, but if you could make anything else from what I have, that''d be nice..." Nodding, she sorted through the various gels, carrots, roots, and other small herbs I had picked, her deep blue eyes scanning over each before she said "That''s not a problem, but..? Are you providing the Mana Water, or do you need to buy some?" Shaking my head, I ced a small bowl I had on the table and filled it with water, before focusing some more mana into the liquid, watching as it shifted from crystal clear to slightly blue and sparkling. "Good! Alright, so, from what you have here, I can make a dozen stamina, a dozen dark visions, probably around four or five mana, and six healing potions. Additionally, if you wish to spend a little more, I can add some of my own ingredients to increase the effectiveness of any of my concoctions." Pursing my lips, I looked over the various ingredients before asking "For base potions, how much coin to concoct all of them?" Smiling at me, she gestured at the counter and said "For everything, I''ll do it for 70 Silvers. Upgraded potions will cost an additional Silver per potion, for a total of 1 Gold 5 Silvers." Drumming my fingers on the counter, I asked "What is the base duration of dark vision?" "Approximately 30 minutes per vial, though it could be as low as 20 depending on your body''s tolerance to potions, or even as high as 45 if your body is rather amodating to potions. Enhanced potions, with my ingredients anyways, double duration." "Alright then, all the dark vision potions I want to be upgraded. However, I don''t need healing potions since I know healing magics myself, so..?" "I''ll buy the ingredient from you for 3 and a half Silvers, bringing your total down to... 67 and a half Silvers." Staring at her for a little longer, I nodded before reaching for my coin purse, watching her features. Not sensing anything out of the ordinary, I ced my purse on the counter before saying "I want a disy of your alchemical abilities before I give you any coin. Concoct one of the enhanced dark visions for me, then I''ll pay you." Giving me a wry smile, the woman sighed as she shrugged, saying "I hate that I can''t even get angry at you for that... I understand it very well. Come on then, back here." Sweeping the ingredients off the counter into some baskets, she led me into her tent, which was lit up by various candles and littered with tomes and vials. Gesturing at a chair, she moved towards the alchemical set in the back, pulling it out and setting it on a workbench, before getting to work. She moved with practiced ease as she began to boil some Mana Water, all while she chopped the Minka Carrots into thin strips, which she then ced into a bowl of Mana Water, letting the strips bleed out their red liquids. When the Mana Water reached a boil, she squeezed the glowing gel I had collected into the vial before stirring it, and the sparkling blue liquid shifted to a more shining blue, emitting a soft glow. Using some tweezers to lift the Minka Carrot slices, she ced them in a separate dish before lifting up the bowl of their extract, pouring it into the vial next. Lastly, she grabbed some kind of lush green leaf and ground it down with the Minka Carrot slices, creating a goop that she added to the vial. Increasing the temperature, she boiled everything together before corking the vial and grabbing it with some tongs. Shaking it, she smiled to herself as the liquid turned a deep, rich purple that still shimmered slightly, small sparks of light like stars floating around the liquid. "And... done! One Nosferata Variant Dark Vision Potion~! Convinced now? You can stay and watch if you wish." She turned to me with a grin, and I smiled sadly as I nodded, the familiar disy of concocting a potion ovepping with Leone briefly. cing the purse on the workbench, I said "I''m convinced. Please, continue. I''ve always found alchemy to be beautiful to watch..." Chuckling, that familiar gleam of happiness at finding someone who enjoyed the art entered her eyes, and she turned back to her station and began to replicate the process, but on a muchrger scale. I sighed softly as I stared at the potion she had handed me, my reflection slightly visible in the ss vial, and I wondered what the others were up to at this point. What had they done after I had been wrenched away from them? Did the Empire pursue a war with the Kingdoms, or did they turn their entire attention to the Sariel Kameiel alliance? Was Anput still forging her des, or was her mind too distracted by my loss to make anything new? How was Leone taking this? Was the Vampire Princess capable of studying her magics and alchemy with me gone? Conversely, had she thrown herself into the various tomes she had and begun to ignore the others? What of Jahi? She''s never demonstrated an... entirely capable emotional eptance for hardships, so how was she faring right now? Had she done something drastic to push Anput and Leone away, or had she learned - or at least begun to learn - how to rely on them a little more? Each question I asked made me feel worse, my mood souring as I watched the woman concoct me my potions, and I sighed once more before clearing my mind, not wanting to add to the aching heart I already had. Chapter 364 363: Confessions Jahi PoV "This chair is ratherfortable..." Smiling softly, I lounged on the cushions of therge sofa chair as I continued to look out the window, enjoying the view of the night sky. The stars were shining brilliantly above us, partially obscured by smoke from the slightly burning city, and I briefly wondered if these constetions were the same ones that she could see wherever she was... Sighing, I closed my eyes and rxed, clearing my mind for a bit and letting myself rest without sleeping. For the moment, I wanted to remain awake, but I needed to rx for awhile. No thinking, no worrying, just existing on thisfortable couch in a room filled with the scents of my fiancee''s andplete silence. I was brought back to thend of the conscious when someone plopped onto myp, their warmth permeating my flesh as they rested their head against my chest. That one weight was swiftly joined by another, and I opened my eyes and stared down at the two drowsy eyes that looked up at me. Anput groaned as she nuzzled against my chest, while Leone sighed contentedly as she stretched, her muscles unwinding a little as she put her beautiful body on full disy. Draping my arms around their shoulders, I returned to looking outside the window, Leone following my gaze before murmuring "Why weren''t you in bed with us..?" Leaning down, I kissed the top of her head as I whispered back "I was thinking. Thinking about us, about her... What I needed to start working on, what we should work on, how I should do more for both of you..." Anput yawned and stretched, only to copse back onto my chest as she muttered "Good..." which made me chuckle. cing a kiss between her fluffy ears, I listened to her soft sigh as she curled up on myp, her eyes closing as she drifted to sleep. Leone smiled softly at that, before she turned to me and whispered "That is good, Jahi... So? What did you find with your thinking?" Resting my head on Anput''s, I stared into Leone''s crimson eyes for a moment before saying "Quiet a bit. I need to open up more to you both, to stop taking you both for granted. I realized that ying to your kinks would help alleviate my urges, that I need to stop pushing the responsibility for my own actions off to someone else... With her gone, it''s made me realize just how much she was doing for me, and I appreciate it, well and truly, but..." "You want to move on, to take care of yourself on your own, not needing others to help you as much as they have been." Nodding, I smiled at her as I added "I would still like to rely on you both - and her - with my problems, but I shouldn''t need you to solve them, to set me straight. That''s what I realized from all of this..." Reaching over, Leone stroked my cheek and ced a gentle kiss on my lips, before resting her head against my chest once more. "Good... we can work from there together. Acknowledgment is the beginning of so much, Jahi, and it''s not something easy to do on your own. For now though, let''s rest. We continue on tomorrow morning, so we''ll need all the energy we can get." "Alright, love...Good night, sleep well..." She smiled at me tiredly before yawning cutely, her eyelids drooping as she muttered "Good... night, lo..." Seeing her drift off mid sentence made me smile, and I leaned back into the chair some more, gettingfortable before closing my eyes, deciding to take her advice for now. ~~~ Nirinia PoV Wringing out my hands, I leaned against the wall as I waited besides the entrance to the Council Hall, my heart pounding in my chest as I stared at the ground. I had somehow decided that the best course of action was to simply tell Adelina that I wanted to try again, so that I could get a sure fire answer here and now. If she said yes, great! We would be together again, and I could put my heart at ease. If she said no, at least I ripped that bandage off swiftly and endured the pain now instead of letting the ''wound'' of love fester and swell further, to the point that it became something that changed me or prevented me from fighting as efficiently as I could. It was going to hurt still if she said no, and I was... scared of her answer. I didn''t know what to do if she said no. As much as I would like to say she would agree to my proposal to court her, I wasn''t that sure. Adelina wasn''t a ''normal'' woman like that; she wasn''t looking at me and wanting to be with me because of my status, wealth, beauty, or skill. The others were, which gave me an avenue to pursue as I whittled them down before getting to where I wanted, but with her, none of that would work. This was all new ground to me, and ground untrodden was frightening. So, before I could psych myself out of confessing to her, I remained besides the door, trying my hardest to not run away and instead going over what I would say to her, trying to n it out like it was a fight. That was how I managed to keep my cool, but I still cursed myself as I felt like I was little more than a socially anxious brat fresh into the Academy, unsure of how to pursue my crush. I''d rather be facing an entire army of soldiers right now then being here, but... Hearing the door open, I nced over to see the Marquess walking out, her ruby eyes filled with boredom as she stretched. "Oh, Nirinia. Where''s Ja- Never mind, I can smell it on you. Well, don''t be up tote. We depart a few hours after dawn." Waving as she walked away, the Marquess approached the stairs and went to one of the upper floors, likely to im a room for herself. Lady Sker gave me nod as she exited next, followed by the Councilors as she escorted them towards their quarters, where they would be ced under surveince. The Centurions exited next, likely having joined in to receive their orders for the uing day, and each gave me a nod or a bow. Finally, Adelina exited the room, her expression tired as she let out a sigh, only to sigh again as she turned to look at me. My heart clenched slightly as she asked "What do you want, Nirinia? If it''s not important, then please leave. I would like some rest." Taking a deep breath, I pushed off of the wall and stared down at the golden Lioness, her eyes narrowed as she stared at me, waiting. "Can we talk, Adelina? Just the two of us?" "About?" Herbative tone made me flinch, and I bit my cheek as I looked away, not liking my odds now. However, I would rather deal with this now thanter, so... Looking around, I took another deep breath as I saw the empty halls before saying "About us, Adelina." Her eyes turned cold, and I flinched again as she growled "I said that if it wasn''t important, then please leave. Why are you bothering now of all times, Nirinia? That me dwindled down long ago." Swallowing, I grit my teeth for a moment before replying "If we could rekindle that me, then I would like to try, Adelina... Please, at least think it over..?" ring at me, she scoffed as she said "Why? So that it can end the same way that it did before? With arguments and vitriol? Will you be able to abstain from sex like that, Nirinia? Or are you going to try and me me for your inability to manage your own urges?" Her words were sharp and cut deep, and I felt tired as I heard the beginning of the all to familiar argument that we once had. "Adelina, I never med you for my shorings. I just didn''t appreciate you not considering anything that I had to say on that matter! I didn''t ask you for sex, nor did I try to... what was it, ''cheapen you'' like you used to say! I just wanted to find something that would work for us both!" Scoffing again, she shook her head and began to walk away, saying "Work together!? You never once tried to see it from my side, Nirinia! Not once!" "Adelina, please! If you would just exin your side and what it is that you don''t want to do, I could at least understand it?! Why do you refuse to at least tell me what it is!?" Turning around, she red at me, her eyes heated as she growled "Exin it?! It''s rather simple, Nirinia. Sex is a sacred act for my Family! It isn''t something to be treated cheaply! You KNOW that, yet you push me to look for ''alternatives''!?" Remaining silent, I watched as she scoffed and turned back around, her long mane trailing behind her as she walked away, into the castles depths. Clenching my fist, I sighed as I stood there, my heart aching so much worse than before I hade here. "Oh fuck it... whatever. I tried, Lady D''Arcon. I tried, but we''re both too damn stubborn for our own good. So... sorry." Feeling something wet roll down my cheek, I bit my lip as I turned around, anger beginning to boil inside of me. "Damnit... Damnit it all. Who the fuck cares now..." Stalking through the halls, I found an empty room and barred the door, copsing on the bed. "Fuck this is so annoying... Stabbed, shot, burnt, broken, bruised... all of that amounts to little in front of this..." My breathing hitched in my throat, and I felt more tears pool into my eyes. Digging my nails into my palms, I held them back as Iy there, waiting for dawn. "Why..?" Chapter 365 364: New Orders Jahi PoV I woke up to a heavy feeling on my chest andp, and my groggy mind barely recalledst night as I blearily opened my eyes, looking down to see the nude figures of Anput and Leone lounging on myp, their heads resting against my chest. Staring at them nkly for a few moments, I eventually smiled as I leaned down and ced a kiss on both their heads before whispering "Wake up, both of you... we need to get ready." Anput''s ears twitched, and she whined softly as she nuzzled closer to me, while Leone yawned as she opened her eyes, blinking a few times before looking up towards me. "Morning..." Chuckling, I leaned down and ced a kiss on her lips instead of responding verbally, enjoying the taste of cinnamon as I indulged a little. Moaning softly at that, Leone blushed as she felt me pressing against her, and I grinned as she shimmied over, letting me start my morning off right. Anput awoke momentster, her nose twitching as she watched Leone, and a small pout tugged at her lips as she red up at me, only to gasp as I devoured her lips next. We moved over to the bed for a half hour, the light of dawn beginning to stream through the windows as we finished up, each of us satiated for the time being. Using my Light Magic to clean the room and us up, I began to strap on my armor and weapons, Anput and Leone mirroring me as we dressed, preparing to set off for the Council Hall first to figure out where we were going. The walk there was spent infortable silence, each of us basking in the night we had just had as we traversed the opulent castle, only to freeze as we reached the first floor. Standing near the bottom of the stairs was Adelina, and she was looking off towards the side with a mixture of sadness and anger, only to shake her head as she stalked away. Watching her go, I nced towards the direction she had been looking and sighed, seeing Nirinia currently locked in a tight embrace with some random Legionnaire, their lips fighting desperately as they rested against the wall. Sensing our gazes, Nirinia released the woman and smiled down at her, whispering something to her before watching as she walked away with an obvious limp. Turning towards us, Nirinia approached, the tall Djinn rolling out her shoulders and cracking her neck as she gave us a small, sad smile. "Ready?" She stared at me for a few moments, waiting for an answer, and I shrugged as I said "Yeah...e on then. Is the meeting still in the Council Hall, or..?" Walking beside the woman, I peered over at her expression, searching for what could have been wrong, but... Maybe there was a tinge of pain inside those eyes, but Nirinia seemed to be back to her former self, an arrogant smirk resting on her lips as she walkednguidly through the halls. Whatever happened between her and Adelina must have been enough to give her the closure she needed, I guess. "Yup, still at the Council Hall Bluey. Oh, and your Mom wanted me to tell you to be a bit more discreet with your fiancee''s; we had to vacate that entire hall since no one could stand the moaning." Anput smirked while Leone blushed, and I shrugged again as I smirked at Nirinia, saying "Can''t help that I''m good at what I do, now can I? Besides, she''s got no right to ask that of me when she never once made an effort to be quiet when I was a child." The Djinn chuckled at that, mirth filling her jade eyes as she added "She''s never been one for half measures has she?" Shaking my head, we turned the corner and entered the Council Hall, where most of the Centurions and other important people were waiting. ncing at Nirinia once more, I noticed that she wasn''t even looking towards Adelina anymore, instead moving over to Lady Sker and talking quietly to her as they waited for the meeting to begin. What I did notice was that Adelina was still roughly the same, ring at the Djinn as she entered only to return her gaze to the table, where a map wasid out. Making our way over to Iaso and Liga, I nodded to the two and spoke quietly to them as well, getting to know them a bit better as we awaited the arrival of Mom. She didn''t take long to enter, and she nodded to Adelina, telling her to begin. Clearing her throat, Adelina began to recount the various losses and gains from this opening engagement against the Kingdoms, reporting that only four people were killed yesterday,pared to the estimated four thousand humans killed. She also reported that our Fire Mages needed to be better at controlling their mes, as some houses had been burnt down near points of interest. Next, she went over how the Twelfth Cohort would be staying behind before traveling towards Romagi, where they would join up with Lady Sker and her detachment of half of the Legion to take over the strongest of the three Kingdoms. Giving her orders to those specific Cohorts took awhile, and when she was finished the hall was emptier then before, those Centurions excused to go begin preparations. Lady Sker also departed with them, nodding to Nirinia and Mom, who stayed behind. The Djinn made her way over to us, standing idly nearby as Adelina began to discuss our ns for making our way to Tragon, where the Gate Incidents had taken ce. We were meant to investigate what happened there, since the entirety of Tragon was rumored to be rather empty at the moment, the popce either dead or gone, long since departed from the abnormal area. ording to the Councilors, Tragon had been hit by dozens of Gates, meaning this was no small incident, and that the capital city Nogart had suffered attacks from around four such Gates. Additionally, the Councilors had said that a survivor from Nogart had fled to Goron, speaking of a giant metalloid monster capable of using all four basic elements as it razed the city to the ground. A dozen or so feet tall and two to three dozen feet long, the monster had a thick carapace of some kind of metal that wasn''t prable by anything they had seen used against it, and that the monster had been both in a frenzy and collected, sometimesshing out randomly before stalking around, hunting anything that remained alive. The Councilors had dismissed that persons ims as fantastical, since Nogart had some of the remaining Justiciars and some foreign dignitaries that were incredibly strong, so they believed that the persons ims were exaggerated at best. We all scoffed at the humans desire to avoid facing such a garishly obvious threat, something that was entirely within the realms of possibility for something that could create and control Gates. The Labyrinthian was something we knew nothing about, even to this day, so who knows what kind of creatures and horrors roam around its center? With that briefing over, Adelina gave out the orders for our march, pointing out key points of interest on the map that we needed to investigate, ces that had fallen first or simply seemed to have been subject to multiple Gates, if rumor and hearsay were to be trusted. There would be little fighting against the humans when we went to Tragon, but the dangers were far greater than those that went to Romagi. Adelina made sure each of us understood that we were facing something unknown, something that had the capability to wield Gates, was extremely tanky, strong, and unpredictable. Something that could utilize magics, wielded de like ws... Yeah, each of us understood that what we were getting into wasn''t something small, and we all left the Council Hall in a somber mood. Nirinia and Mom joined me as we made our way towards the garden, talking amongst ourselves as we discussed what the uing portion of the Crusade would be like, all while a Lioness watched as we left, her eyes filled withplex emotions. Each of us sensed her, but Mom seemed to not care as she focused on her Squire, while Anput and Leone had decided to let Nirinia deal with her own issues. As for the woman herself, the Djinn ignored the gaze of her childhood friend, instead asking Mom about just what we knew about the Gates as of current, her mind focused on the here and now. Chapter 366 365: Complete Restock Kat PoV The alchemist gave me my two and a half dozen potions after around an hour of work, and it was during her short breaks that I asked her about other kinds of potions, if she could perhaps think of any I could need for long travels. Tilting her head, the pale skinned woman thought for a few moments before asking me about where I was going, only to give me a wry smile as I simply said "North." "Hmm... well, maybe some kind of heat resistance for those deserts - if you''re going that far north, that is - or perhaps some scent recers? Not a potion, but handy little things for the forest northwards; lots of monsters and vicious tribal people live in those forests, so that could be an option." Leaning forwards curiously, I asked "Vicious tribal people? How so? Vicious like the Arese, or worse?" Chuckling, she lounged back in the wooden chair she had and said "Worse. I know the Arese; I''m originally from Pris. The Arese are civilized, good people. As long as you don''t piss them off or try to do something to them, the Arese very rarely do anything to anyone else. I think the worst I ever heard of them was a woman iming a few assaulted her, but it was proven that they had only flirted with her and that she had disliked them for a long time anyways... Oh, but the tribes! Okay, there are a few that I know of inside the forests. Most are... neutrally bad. They don''t go out of their way to hunt or kill people, but they don''t need a valid reason to either. Those also tend to be therger tribes; the Ilikomptet, Quetzals, and Pantharians. They''re Snow Giants, Harpies, and Pantherkin respectively. Each specializes in something different, but each rules arge part of the forest. Now, the tribes to look out for; Ligana, Horusia, and Moriartran tribes. Snakekin, Hawkkin, and Oni respectively. The Ligana kidnap travelers and force them into bing breeders. Horusia tend to use travelers as both breeders and experiments for their various weapons, while the Moriartran simply butcher anyone theye across. So... be careful out there, Miss. Those forests are upied by some very tough, ruthless, and strong tribes, and that''s not even counting the fact that the entire forest isden with monsters and caves..." Nodding, I stared at her as she gave me a wry smile, saying "Well, that''s about as much as I know of the forest. It''s... a really, really dangerous ce, Miss. Especially for women, but... if you''re going there anyways, then I would suggest those scent recers. It''ll help quite a bit...." "What do you need for those? Can I find the ingredients down in The Mine?" "Yup. Mana Water, Blue Gel, Green Gel, Glowing Red Gel, nk Ruby Dust, and Yorka Stems. nk Rubys are small opaque red gemstones that grow on floor four, and Yorka Stems are long green stems about three feet high that grow in the caverns of floor five. This won''t be a potion, but a pill that I''ll be cing inside a separate concoction, which I''ll be making while I wait for you to return. Each pill will cost you ten Silvers though, since pills are much harder to make then potions..." "Alright. I''ll be back here tomorrow then." Leaving behind The Mine, I went back to the run down houses where I had gotten rid of two nuisances, smirking a little as I saw the same group of homeless people sitting besides their fire, warming themselves up. Some still looked at me as I made my way past them, but most ignored me, uncaring now as they had likely forgotten about me. Entering, I ''locked'' the door with a simple spell and moved towards the closet, where I had stored my goods. I would need to sell of the enchanted weapons tomorrow for the coin, and then I would delve back down into The Mine to get the rest of what I need, as well as some more experience. Afterwards, I would purchase thest supplies I think I might need before resting for the night once more, only to depart before dawn and make my way into the forest. It was argend area, with seemingly no shortcuts or quicker areas to go through, so I would need to put my head down and trudge forwards, uncaring of all of the tribes around me as best I could. If I wanted to be much safer for that journey, I could remain here and grind out a little more experience and Shop Points to get myself a little boost, but I was also agitated the longer I thought about being separated from Jahi, Anput, and Leone. Seeing the alchemist work today made me feel much worse then when I had been cating my lust on my own; it made me realized how much I missed the small things rted to each. Jahi and her books as she lounged on the couch, softly humming to herself whenever she found something interesting inside the book. Anput and her excitable movements as she forged a new de, only to test it out momentster in the backyard, forcing us to create more targets for her to use. Leone and her study of the arcane, how she would sit at her desk or the kitchen table for hours on end as she poured over her own research and a tome, trying to make a breakthrough in any of the many fields she was determined to study. Those small things, like how Jahi hummed, Anput and her tails movements, and Leone and her pursed lips and raised brows as she scribbled things down made me feel cold, as I had no idea if they were still doing those things with me gone. I was entirely aware of how much they all relied on me, and I had... admittedly, changed myself to be that rock for each of them, so that they would never be able to leave me. Twisted desires to retain the love of my various fiancees could be backfiring right now, and it pained me to think that, but... I wouldn''t change anything. When I returned, I was going to continue to be that rock that they relied so heavily on, because I cated my aching heart whenever I thought that those impressive, gorgeous women might grow bored of me. Something I knew impossible, but something I had once thought impossible before, in a life long since ended. Chapter 367 366: Day In Nevrokopi Shaking the pitiful thoughts from my mind, I sorted through my items andid them out, running over the n for each when tomorrow came around. The des would be sold, likely to different vendors, and I would use that coin to purchase the remaining supplies I needed, but I would also like to retain some of my coin so that I could buy things in the Wekalian Steppes when I reach it. I could always use some more foodstuffs, some herbs, an extra set of flint, maybe some more rope, some other potions if need be... I''d rather be over prepared for this journey than under prepared, as it sounded much like this forest was filled with dangerous people and perilous monsters. If the people of the Nevrokopi State viewed it as somewhere to not go lightly, then I could imagine that it was at least a ce where I would need caution going forwards alone. While I may not have a good estimate on how strong ''strong'' is here, I would rather air on the side of caution with these things, since I was alone. Nodding to myself, I then turned towards the spare dagger I had, wondering just what I could put onto the de that I would need. Protective Fang was my go to weapon at this point; heavy enough that it was extremely lethal, but its defensive shield enchantments were really good as well. Breeze Fang was pretty strong offensively as well, with its enhanced piercing ability giving me something to use when things got too close to me, or I was sneaking up on them. I had a few ideas for water enchantments, but at the same time I did really want to create something... more vicious, and I had a rather good idea on that front. A smile tugged at my lips, and I shrugged as I set to work, starting with the ever trustful mana circuit. Next, I began toyer a primarily water enchantment on the de, before adding some wind runes to create ice. The focus of that enchantment was to do what I had tried earlier but make it ice instead of water; when I funneled my Water Mana into the de, I could create new shapes with it, allowing for a variety of weapon types to be made with just a single dagger. Then the wind magic would chill the water until it froze, which would solidify the new shape of the weapon and allow me to tap into my Ice rted skills, namely [Frost of Despoina], which let me spread my frost into my enemy. Finally, I added something rather... nefarious to the rune work I hadid down already. I added some runes for shattering into the Ritual Circle, which would allow me to, hopefully, create a core of water magic surrounded by wind - which would solidify into ice - and shatter that outer shell of ice... And then form a new shell momentster, which could be shattered once more. Simple, but deadly. Fragmentation of sharpened ice that spread a lethal frost inside the body that couldn''t be easily healed... I snickered as I imagined what damage that could cause to a person, especially when they can feel their skin numbing and cooling as it spread... Finishing the enchantment, I smiled down at my newly added Shatter Fang, the broad dagger gleaming a dull pale blue in the low light. Patting the de, I sheathed it and ced it to the side, before looking around and shoring up my barricades and moving to start a fire. Pulling out my jerky, I warmed it up and ate the salted meats, before stripping and finishing off my day like I always have. Dawn came quickly enough, and I washed off and gathered up all my stuff before setting off for The Mine. Along the way, I stopped at a food stall and grabbed something to eat - meat skewers and some rolls. Stepping down into The Mine, I moved around the various stalls that sold weapons and showed off the enchanted des, selling each off for a few dozen Silvers each, which fattened up my purse quite a bit. Venturing down into the mineshafts, I made a beeline for the lower floors, where I could find the materials I needed to get my potions and pills. Any monsters I came across, I dispatched swiftly with my new dagger, getting myself ustomed to the de and enchantment as I continued to delve deeper and deeper. The Dungeon Rats were the main ''danger'' of this dungeon so far, with them having pseudo boss variants that could be a pain to deal with. The slimes were easy tobat, and the bats were quick, but I was faster. So, when I ventured into the fourth floor, I made sure to avoid the Dungeon Rats if possible, but if not I made short work of them, making sure they couldn''t squeal for reinforcements. Sure, that provided a lot of experience, but I was on a schedule right now and wasn''t in the mood to fight hordes of rats. Add onto that the fact that there were still many parties of people down here, and I''d rather not have someone ''save'' me and demand I apany them for the night as payment for their valiant ''services''. Though, maybe I should, just so I could whet my de once more... Shaking my head, I continued forwards and fought my way into the fifth floor, where I harvested the materials I needed after fighting another of thoserge rats. My enchantment worked like a charm during the fight, as the rat was a water variant, so I froze its attacks and shattered them as well for more damage, leaving therge creature with dozens of cuts and shes across its body, while parts of its fur were frosted gray from my own attacks. Returning to the surface, I gave the materials to the alchemist and sold off the rest, bringing my costs down to just a few dozen Silvers instead of a few Gold. With that all out of the way, I did the rest of my shopping for the night, getting myself some herbs and some more dried meats before purchasing a few various ingredients, wanting to cook something good for myself tonight. Chapter 368 367: Conversing As We Travel Jahi PoV Setting out from the castle of Goron an hour and a half past dawn, we loaded ourselves into the various carriages and wagons before departing from the city, watched the entire time by the citizenry as they hid inside their homes. Some glowered at us, others scurried away as they saw us, while some seemed indifferent to our presence, likely thinking life would remain the same under the Empire. With Nirinia joining Mom and us, we began to make our way towards the south, where the Kingdom of Tragony in ruins. We would reach the capital Nogart in a day and a half if we made our way straight there, but since we were investigating the various smaller viges and cities located inside of Tragon, we wouldn''t reach it until three or four days from now. The first stop of ours was three to four hours away, being both a ce that had multiple Gates reported as well as the ''entrance'' to the Kingdom of Tragon, Huran City. With such a long amount of time waiting for us, we all nced at Nirinia, who was looking out the window of the carriage withplex emotions clearly writ on her face. Sensing our gazes, she nced back at us and sighed, her jade eyes tired as she rested her head against the cushioned seats. "What? Did you want to hear what happened? My romantic live can''t remain private?" Pursing her lips, Mom nced at me before grinning, shaking her head as she said "Nope, it can''t~! Besides, sometimes it is best to get it off your chest instead of mulling over it on your own. Maybe you''ve been too damn stubborn to see whatever it is from a new angle, or you''ve be so biased that something obvious remains hidden." Giving Mom a deadpan look, Nirnina said "Lady Chordeva, respectfully, please just say ''I''m extremely bored and what you to give me a distraction'' next time, alright?" Mom''s grin widened, and she shrugged as she said "Fine. Nirinia, please tell me why Adelina seemed odd this morning, and why you went from having a tant crush on her to fucking one of the Legionnaires? Better?" Rolling her eyes, Nirinia sighed before saying "Better... Anyways, I... I decided to just confess to Adelinast night, but... she brought up the same argument that separated usst time. Said that I wouldn''t be able to remain chaste with her until we married, and that me asking if we could find something that would work to keep me satisfied while also not having sex before marriage wasn''t ''seeing things from her side''." "Oh, the whole Leonisa thing where sex is a holy, sanctimonious act as they please their Goddess Serenata? Yeah, hate to break it to you, but they''re rather devout little followers of their Goddess. So... half point to her, as asking her to do anything sexual is something her family considers taboo to the extreme unless married." Scoffing, Nirinia clenched her fists as she said "So then what is ''sexual'' to them? Is kissing sexual? Because if it is, Adelina broke that taboo on her own!" Shaking her head, Mom pursed her lips as she stared at the carriage floor, her ruby eyes slightly distant. "No, it''s not... pretty much, the Leonisa''s won''t have sex - obviously - but that also included use of breasts or mouth, but... never heard anything about the hands? That, and if you''re into it, I guess the feet as well. Odd, but I''ve heard worse..." Nirinia gave Mom another deadpan look, before ncing at Anput and I as we chuckled. "Anyways, I asked her to try it again, since Lady D''Arcon''s magics made me recall memories I believe were best left forgotten, but... well, I fell for her again, and it seems that while I was willing to try, Adelina isn''t." Leaning into her seat, Mom smirked at Nirinia as she said "Wouldn''t count on that, my apprentice~! You might be a bit of ady killer and rather experienced with sex, but how often have you actually courted someone?" Staring at Nirinia, we saw the Djinn open her mouth only to close it momentster, making Mom nod. "Exactly. You''ve only ever actually courted Adelina, so you aren''t used to the signs of a crush or hidden love. You usually ''hunt'' those that have made their desires for you known, so when someone keeps those desires hidden... well, to put it bluntly, you''re fucking clueless." I snorted, nodding at that, while even Leone had to nod, the Vampire staring at Nirinia with slight pity in her eyes. "Clueless? How am I clueless? She explicitly told me that my confession wasn''t worth her time and that she didn''t care! The hell is that supposed to mean besides ''I don''t like you''?!" Taking a deep breath, I shook my head as I said "Depends on how she said it, honestly. Tone matters. What she did when she said it. All of that matters, and most likely she was trying to make you chase after her... for one reason or another. ''Cause, this morning, when you were enjoying the lips of that other woman, she was watching you... and she seemed jealous and annoyed at your actions, while also being angry, but considering how she stomped off, I guess that anger was at herself for pushing you away?" Nirinia blinked as she stared at me, confusion evident in those jades, and I chuckled as I shrugged. "Or I could be making all that up just to give you false hope since that would be entertaining as well~!" Leone rolled her eyes and pped my shoulder, while Anput shook her head, raising a brow at me. "No, she''s not trying to goad you into making a fool of yourself, Nirinia. Adelina definitely didn''t like that you had found another woman so quickly, but she doesn''t know how to confront you about it since you''re both adults and she pushed you away. Honestly, it''s a personality that I find annoying to deal with, but..." Shrugging, Leone added "Either way, Adelina feels something for you still, but she likely pushed you away since thest time hurt too much, so it''s both for her own protection but also because she''s angry. Everything is going to beplicated, and don''t take everything at face value so quickly. People areplex, but women more so." I nodded at that, earning another p as Leone growled "No need to agree so swiftly!" Giving Nirinia a look, I saw the Djinn was deep in thought, her eyes focused on the floor as she sat there quietly. "Well, let''s hope that gets her to think a little bit more now. Doubt much''ll change though." We all nodded at Mom''s words, while Nirinia nced at her and asked "Did you say something, Marquess?" "Nah, don''t worry about it. Think over your problems a bit more, alright?" Chapter 369 368: Traveling To The Forest Kat PoV After making myself a full course mealst night simply because I wanted to splurge before traversing the depths of a hostile forest, I managed to lull myself to sleep easier than normal, my temporary abode proving to be rather cozy at night with all the changes I had made to it. A simple fire and some nkets made the hardwood floor bearable, and at this point sleeping on something besides a bed was easier than sleeping on an actual bed, so... When I woke up early in the morning, I got up and reheated the leftovers ofst nights dinner; some homemade noodles covered in a thin white wine sauce, thin slices of mammoth steaks, and a small sd made from iceberg lettuce with some small tomatoes and olives. Everything was delicious, and I nodded to myself as I began to clean everything out, making sure I wasn''t leaving behind much of a trace of my stay here as I gathered up my gear and dressed. Strapping all my weapons and pouches on, I left the abandoned building and made my way back onto the main road, where I began to walk towards the north, which led out into the ins that separated Nevrokopi State and the forest. Like before in Pris City, I needed to wait in a line to leave the city, since anotherrge set of farnd was surrounding the outside of Nevrokopi. Getting through took some time, but once I was out I began to journey along the road on my own, passing by the various groups traveling towards the different viges and hamlets situated around Nevrokopi. Many of the travelers watched as I jogged past them, my bouncing pack and fluffy tail drawing attention. A few called out as they sat in their wagons and carriages, but I simply waved them off as I continued forwards alone, not wanting to deal with others at the moment. Some would be kind and helpful, others would prove to be more of a nuisance than anything else. No need to bother with them when I''ll do better on my own. So, like before, I lost myself to the joys of my feet pounding against the stone road as I ran, slowly increasing my speed as less and less people remained around me. I made sure to keep my speed at reasonable disys whilst I was around arger group, but the less people there were the quicker I went, hoping to reach the forest sometime around noon. It wasn''t a far journey from the city; probably around 30 miles, and since I had left around dawn, I should be able to cover that ground, especially with how few people lived this far from the city, and this close to the forest. The anklet felt cool on my skin as I ran, nestled snuggle inside my boots where it would remain free from harm and out of sight, and I could feel it pulsing against my skin, supplying me the extra 10% AGI and 5% DEX. I was excited for the possibility of upgrading it when I returned home, wondering if the challenge would spur Anput further into her forging career, while also curious if I could give these items to the girls as well. If so, could you imagine Leone with an essory that boosted her arcane prowess? Or Jahi with her physical strength? Wouldn''t that make them even stronger, allowing them to better protect themselves? [It is something you can do, if you wish. But... each of those items are rather expensive, and how are you going to exin where you got them?] That poured ice water on my mood, and I frowned as I thought about it. ''Maybe... maybe I could say I learned something while I was apart, some new kind of enchanting, but I don''t really understand it? Something simr to how Leone summons that Orthus of hers, Janus, but doesn''t actually know how she does it? That would work.'' [I guess it would, but the materials needed to create the base item are rather... expensive as well. That Anklet of the Zephyr is made from aposite material; Silver and Windstone. Silver isn''t rare, but Windstone is. Now I shouldn''t need to remark on how odd it would be if you started pulling rare material after rare material out of thin air, do I?] ''No... but still, a 10% buff to a primary stat and a 5% buff to a secondary stat is incredible... I''m sure I can think of something. Something that would allow them to ept the things I give them...'' Our talks had be more frequent as ofte, and I was happy that the system was still present, the desire to converse with someone - even if they were in my head - helping to keep me saner than normal. I bounced ideas off of the system as I ran, giving multiple reasons I could use to gift Jahi some ring that made her stronger, or a set of earrings for Leone that amplified her magics. Anput would be a trickier pick, as she was a rather bnced physical fighter. She moved quickly but still hit rather hard, and I imagine that I may have grown closer to her speed, but was stillcking in the power department. Maybe I would just observe her in some more fights when we reunite, get a better idea on what she could make better use of... Like I had predicted, as I was thinking to myself about what I would do when I reached home, I crested a hill and looked straight at the giant, wide forest thatid ahead of me, the trees thick and towering well overhead. It looked like a snowy jungle, what with the various vines that drooped from the trees and the thick, overgrown roots at the bottom. This was the forest, and inside were various tribes that ruled with an iron fist, each of them unique and each of them incredibly dangerous. From here on out, I needed to make sure I was stealthy and quiet, so that I wouldn''t attract the attention of those tribes. I would be outnumbered and in harsh, unknown territory, so caution would be my watchword until I made it out on the other side. Chapter 370 369: Huran City Investigation Jahi PoV Ourrge convoy of troops reached the city of Huran around the time we expected, and the light of midday certainly did help the creepiness of what waited for us. The entire city was razed to the ground, and the iron scent of blood wafted through the air, but the most notable smell was that of rotting corpses, which were strewn around the roads and sttered against the walls of the city haphazardly. Each corpses cause of death seemed different, as did the severity. A woman rested against the side of a broken, crumbling house, her headying on the ground beside her body, a look of shock and fear clearly written on her pale face. Across the way sat the remains of an unlucky human, their body broken and mangled from being stomped on aggressively, parts of them ttened and crushed while others were torn away, like something had begun to eat them. And not something like a vulture or rat. Somethingrge. Stepping out of the carriage, the entirety of the Legion that apanied us was silent, disturbed and disgusted by the sights thaty before them. Some of the buildings brick foundations had melted slightly under extreme heat, the rest of the building charred, while others were now housing dozens of earthen spikes, some of which had corpses impaled onto them. The air inside the city was still and silent, and the sounds of us slowly moving through the carnage echoed loudly, making us all wary. In the distance, therge mansion that oversaw Huran''s main district remained as a wreckage, half of its walls crumbled like something had charged through them, while the ss was shattered. Each of us walked through the ghastly city with our weapons drawn and mana circting, cautiously investigating each and every nook and cranny we could. I nced back at Leone, the Vampire staring at the destruction with narrowed eyes, while Iaso and Liga seemed slightly spooked, both constantly looking around like something was near. Turning towards Mom, I saw her frowning as she stood before the rubble of what looked to be a restaurant,rge oven like constructs situated in the back. Stuffed into the ovens were dozens of burnt corpses, and I shuddered as the line between monster and person began to blur considerably. What kind of monster would stuff people into ovens and then burn them? No, that had to be a person doing that... Looking away, Mom shook her head as she continued forwards, her squad sticking close to her as she walked through the rubble littered road, her ymore resting on her broad shoulders. Some of the shoulders whispered to one another or muttered prayers to the worst of the deceased humans, and I approached one of the other terrible scenes, unsure of what to think. A pit had been dug in one of the market squares, and thrown inside were half eaten corpses, but they all had their eyes gouged out and long, jagged cuts down their torsos, so that whatever did this could ess their internal organs. Adelina stared down at the pit with conflicted eyes, before she looked up towards the wrecked mansion. Leone frowned hard as she knelt beside the pit, and Adelina and I both looked towards the Vampire as she stared intently at the scene. "Leone..?" Scooping up some of the dirt, she inspected the rough grains before letting them fall, shaking her head slightly. "The traces of mana around the entire area is... suffocating, to say the least. Each grain of dirt seems to have been apart of the domain of whatever did this, but... for the effect of the domain to leave asting mark on the world instead of fading away is... worrying. Add on the very odd methods of killing, and... this is all just so..." She trailed off, shaking her head once more as she nced at me, those crimson eyes of hers filled with confusion. "The eyes, for example. Few monsters prefer the eyes to the point that they would ignore the meat of their prey to this extent. I mean, some do it, like the ss Eyed Bats or Panoptes Giants since it enhances their own magics, but... they''re few and far in-between. Additionally, from what it looks like from here, most of those corpses are missing their Cores as well; just their Cores, not their hearts. The heart is still present in each." Adelina crouched down beside Leone, looking into the pit before asking "So? What does that mean?" Shrugging, the Vampire shook her head as she said "I... I just don''t know. Nothing in there makes sense. The monsters I listed don''t go after Cores either, nor would they leave behind a perfectly good heart to feast upon. Most monsters actually prefer the heart the most; it provides the most power to them. Yet, here its left behind! Then there was the oven earlier... no monster does that. So does that mean this was a person? But how? How could a person that strong leave no traces of what they actually are, and have ravaged an entire Kingdom to the point that it''s no longer a popted ce? All on their own? Without anyone knowing who they were? Even Mom couldn''t do that!" I frowned, before gesturing towards the mansion. "I think we should continue forwards then. See what happened to the stronger of the humans here. Maybe they died differently from themon rabble? Besides, more... evidence and examples would likely be found along the way to help get something going." Leone nodded, getting to her feet as she cast her gaze onto the mansion. "Yeah... This is odd. The air is so still, the entire city permeated in foreign, malign mana... the ways the people died... Iaso, Liga, you both feel that, correct? How... off the entire ce feelspared to a normal battlefield?" I nced at the Snakekin and Tigerkin, and they both nodded; Iaso was still constantly scanning her surroundings, while Liga''s fur was standing straight, her eyes wide as she focused on Leone. Both seemed to feel something, and I took a moment to nce at the rest of the Legion. The legionnaires themselves seemed weirded out by the sights and scents, but that was it. They were creeped, but they still had a handle of themselves. However, the mages and healers were jumpy, constantly looking around, shivering, and making sure they were always in groups of five or more people, seekingfort in numbers. "Those more in tune with their mana are definitely more affected by this than the rest of us." Leone nodded at my words, her eyes narrowed as she added "It''s just... something off about everything. It''s all abnormal, unnatural. I might not have been on normal battlefields all that often, but this... this is different." Sighing, I shrugged as I gestured towards the mansion once more, beckoning them to follow me as we approached the ruined building that overlooked the city. Thankfully the suns rays were unobscured, because Gods know that I wouldn''t want to be here in the dark. And there is no way in hell I am staying here overnight. Chapter 371 370: The Silence Of A Forest Kat PoV Looking into the vine covered tree line of the forest, I had to frown as I noted theck of noiseing from such arge ce. Something that, on the maps, looked to be a thousand miles long, was seemingly silent and uninhabited, which... was impossible. Taking a deep breath, I followed the road down towards the edge of the forest, the trees looming so far above my head that they blocked out the bleary rays of the sun, shrouding the area in darkness. Snow sparkled on the ground,pletely untouched, while the frost covered bark of the trees shimmered with the little light that somehow managed to weave through the canopy. My nose twitched as I smelt the air, only for my frown to deepen as the scents of crisp cold air and earth permeated my nostrils, while my ears picked up nothing inside. Activating a few of my spells, I made sure my feet left behind no imprints as I walked, as well as guaranteeing that I made no noise as I ventured forwards. Setting a slower pace than normal, I delved into the roots of the forest and stalked through the snow, my senses constantly on edge as I tried to pick up anything wrong with the area, but no matter how I tried, the silence and basic scents were all I could gather. My eyes scanned around the dim forest, lit up by sparkling gemstone like frost and coated in the cold. The forests entire hue was blue and white; the bark was the main outlier, being a dark brown, but even the bark wasced with white veins. Leaves were deep, royal blues with sky blue veins, the frost was pale, ghastly blue, the snow pure white... If there was a word to describe this forest, it would be cold. So damn cold, both visually and in actuality. And yet, despite the bone chilling cold that permeated the air, I found the dim forest to be just as serene as the mountains I had woken up in not too long ago. The amount of Water, Wind, and Ice Mana that clung to the trees, rolled off the leaves, crept under the roots and wafted through the air made me feel like I was home. Like this forest was my ce, where I was supposed to be. My Core swelled with the influx of mana, and I could feel my body''s joy at this almost natural environment for me. However, that joy was undermined by theplete, eery silence that cloaked the forest, while theck of real visual stimulus and sense of deja vu as I walked only added to my unease. All the trees seemed the same. All the bushes and shrubs that grew between the roots felt simr. The frost reflected everything, and I could confidently say that a House of Mirrors held nothing to this forest. Leftpletely alone with nothing but your thoughts, I could easily tell how the tribes that ruled thisnd must have continued to secure their rights to it. Who would willing embark into such a creepy, frozen ce? It simply wasn''t worth it. From what I had seen in an hour of walking - which I made sure to face a single direction and never turn - there wasn''t much of value inside the forest. No herbs, no animals, no ores or geodes sprouting from the soil... Nothing. Maybe the trees themselves are valuable, but these trees are gigantic - simr in size to Sequoia trees, if notrger. Easily scraping against the sky, these thick trees would be near impossible to take down with ease, and then you need to question the worth of the materials versus the worth of thebor. To efficiently harvest a tree this size, you need so many people... Of course, I was still barely inside the edges of the forest, so who knows whaty in wait for me deeper inside. What I did know was that staying on the right track would be a pain, but I had a few ideas for that... I continued deeper into the forest, slowly picking up speed as I grew ustomed to the different terrain, all while I focused on leaving behind fewer and fewer tracks, hoping to reach the ability to leave behind none. The longer I spent traveling through the frostden forest, the dimmer the dazzling frost and snow became, and the temperature continued to plummet. I could feel ice forming on my skin, though a thinyer of my own ice kept me cool, but not cold. My breath crystalized almost instantly in the air, leaving behind white clouds that slowly evaporated away, while the thickness of the frost on the bark seemed to grow thicker. The air became dryer over time, the sheer cold sapping the moisture from the air and leaving behind a dry cold that hurt to breath. My surroundings went from slightly dim to dark in mere moments, and I paused my movements as I reached for one of the potion vials, thanking the Gods that whatever was used to make them prevented them from freezing. Maybe it was the Mana Water? Uncorking a dark vision potion, I downed the entire potion and grimaced at the sharp earthy taste, before I grabbed one of the scent diffusers pills and swallowed that whole. The world around me slowly grew brighter, though itcked the vibrancy before. Taking a deep breath of the dry air, I continued forwards, keeping track of the time as I traveled over the roots and past the undergrowth, wanting to go as far as I possibly could before stepping for tonight. The potionsted for a long time, though I eventually found my mind slipping as boredom settled in, so I have no idea how long it actuallysted. I did know that the effect gradually diminished, and as the forest around me began to darken once more, I settled under a root and carved a deep gouge into the frost - multiple actually, just in case the frost grew back further overnight. On top of that, Iid down some of my gear in arrows pointing towards the direction I needed to go, so that I wouldn''t remain lost inside this silent forest. Chapter 372 371: Mansion On The Hill Jahi PoV Leading the way towards the mansion that sat above the city of Huran, I frowned at the silence that permeated the air. No breeze, no sounds from insects or animals, nothing. Which was odd. Such an open city like Huran would have a perpetual breeze on these ins, while such widespread carnage and readily avable corpses would have attracted swarms of flies and other scavengers, and yet... nothing. The sun shone over head, expediting the rotting of the corpses, and yet not a single maggot writhed inside the flesh of the dead humans, nor did a single vulture fly overhead searching for an easy meal. No mice or rats scurried through the long grasses around the city''s edge, nor did any voles take this free opportunity to raid the various herb gardens left vacant. The air was still and humid, the city silent, and apparently the very earth itself had been ''imed'' by whatever - or whoever - did this. It was like time was frozen inside Huran, and I would believe it if I wasn''t currently walking through it with hundreds of other soldiers. Not even the city where we had found ourselves trapped with Lord Pele had been this eerily quiet, and I have a nagging suspicion that the Draconis we barely managed to put down that day held nothing to what we were currently searching for. We may have maderge strides forwards in our mastery for our respective fields of battle, but we were blind in regards to our enemy''s true potential. So, as we climbed up the hill leading towards the ruined mansion, I grew wary of any kind of trick or trap we might found ourselves falling into. The mansion itself was made from beautifully chiseled stone and dark woods, all of which was worn down and destroyed. Large wooden doors engraved with the crest of whatever family once ruled here were knocked down and splintered, allowing us to stride into the mansion unimpeded, while the ss windows were shattered, broken ss littering the floor inside the mansion. The smell of rotting corpses continued inside, and I curled my lip in disgust as I saw the piles of bodies strewn about, all in various states of dismemberment. A woman was impaled to the wall, three spears holding her up, while her eyes had been ripped cleanly from their sockets, though her chest remained untouched - save for the spear lodged into her heart. Two soldiers were crushed into a puddle together, the only tell that it was not just one being the three hands that managed to survive being stomped, as well as the legs. Blood crusted the floor and walls, while some of the dead humans had even dirtied the ceiling, and upon looking up we saw one unlucky man syed across the chandelier, his guts dangling from his ripped open chest. Paintings and maps were torn to shreds, pottery and sswork shattered, walls crumbling... The entire mansion was in disarray, and we filtered into therge entryway before Adelina used her hands to order troops to begin searching the house. A third of them went to the left, a third to the right, and another third apanied us into the mansions central depths. Wood creaked beneath our feet as we walked, while the asional shriek of rusted metal door hinges as we opened new rooms only added to the creepy ambience. All the ss and mirrors had been broken, while every corpse we had seen was eyeless, which made us frown. Whatever killed these humans didn''t want to be seen, even by the dead. However, unlike outside, the corpsescked the opened chest cavity, suggesting it either gorged itself outside, or there were at least two things that attacked Huran. Mom and Leone seemed to have reached that conclusion as well, frowning hard as we continued to search eachrge hall and small servants quarters located on our path, the body count only growingrger the longer we looked. While we were walking through the mansion, the mages and healers seemed to grow uneasier, and even now I too began to feel something odd about our surroundings - odder than the obvious corpses and blood. Something just seemed... off as we walked; it was a feeling in the pit of my stomach the closer we got to the center, and there was a part of me that wanted to just turn around and leave, to not venture further in. Leone trembled slightly beside me, her hands shaking as she took deep, even breaths, trying to remain calm, all while Iaso and Liga both fidgeted relentlessly, jumping at each of the few noises that echoed through the mansion. Sounds of doors opening and the creaking of the buildings foundations sent shivers down all our spines, even though we knew that those sounds were being made by the other legionnaires. However, with the dimly lit corridors and bloody halls, the small parts of our brains told us that those weren''t ourrades opening doors and moving around the mansion. It was something else. Something that was aware of us, and something that wasn''t going to assuage our fears. Even though we KNEW that wasn''t true, we couldn''t help but feel uneasy feeling that permeated our gut as we walked, and the closer we got to the center, the worse it became. The further into the mansion we got, the more bloody and brutal the mansion became. Corpses were no longer left intact, instead torn into pieces and devoured, leavingrge pools of dried blood and rotting flesh strewn about, with the worst cases of violent, creepy scenes being around the ss or mirrors. Pieces of human flesh were shredded into fine strips in front of those ss windows or mirrors, and the raw amount of visceral clumps of meat left behind in those areas spoke volumes on the thing that did this. The air itself was heavy with the scent of rot and iron, and the shadows seemed deeper in the corners, creeping ever closer as we moved forwards. Even when the sun shone clearly through the broken windows, the mansion just felt dark, and as we reached therge set of doors leading into the main hall, the sense of dread that sprouted inside of us only grew. Some of the mages fainted, while even the soldiers themselves trembled, their faces pale as they looked at the perfectly clean and intact doors in front of us. Something... Something waited for us behind that door, and none of us wanted to open it. And yet, it was our duty to do so, and Mom grit her teeth as she strode forwards, her ymore still resting idly on her shoulders. Chapter 373 372: Contact Kat PoV When I awoke the following morning, I quickly checked to see if the items Iid out and the arrows I carved were still present and unmoved. The items were, but the arrows were almostpletely gone from the frost; it seemed that the chillst night added to the frost coating the roots, covering up what I carved. That wasn''t a good sign, since that meant I needed to make sure my items were in a spot that wouldn''t be moved by my sleeping body, as well as under cover so that any winds or other factors wouldn''t move them either. Of course, I could always climb a tree and locate the sun, which would allow me to orient myself to the way I need to go, since I still remember where the sun was when I managed to activate the Soul Bond back then. Problem with that was that I didn''t know what lived up in the canopy of this frozen forest, and considering that alchemist told me one of the tribes that lived here were Harpy''s, well... That could very well be their domain. So after getting up and preparing for the day ahead, I collected the items I used as a marker, popped a scent diffuser, and set out once more, beginning my journey at a steady, solid pace as I moved through the cluster of enormous trees. Keeping my guard up as I ran, I made sure that my spells were running at constant effectiveness while keeping my speed manageable - yet quick - for the confines of the forest. Time passed by slowly as I ran in a straight line, my breathing even in the frosted air, and I weed the bone chilling breeze as it kept my body cool. The forest remained a silent ce as I journeyed through it, only adding to my desire to remain on guard as I scanned the various roots and shrubbery for hidden enemies. For a ce inhabited by many nomadic tribes, there seems to be a severeck of life past floral life inside this forest. No fauna, no monsters, no people. That was both a worrying fact and a relieving one, as the longer I could go not encountering anything inside this untouched forest, the less I had to deal with as I tried to escape it and reach the ins that awaited me north of here. I managed to travel another day and a half like this, weaving through the undergrowth silently as the forest offered no resistance to my movements, but by the end of my third day traversing the root system, I felt a pair of eyes - or multiple - watching my movements closely. Considering the forest was still silent around me, I couldn''t tell what was watching me, and I decided to not take any risks. Keeping my actions calm, I continued to run through the undergrowth, eventually slowing my pace so that I could reach for a dark vision potion and a stamina potion to use when it grew darker. Gripping them in my palm, I sped up once more, wondering if I had been just unlucky enough toe across one of the tribes while I had been running or if they had somehow smelt me despite the scent diffuser pills, which would be really bad going forwards... As the sun slowly fell, I grit my teeth as I uncorked the dark vision potion first, downing the concoction before uncorking the stamina potion and draining that next. cing them into a separate pouch, I grabbed another set and began to resume my prior speed, rushing through the darkened forest. I could still feel eyes on me as I ran, and I felt a shiver go down my spine as I traversed the roots, not knowing who or what was following me. Would they be the worst tribes that inhabited the forest? Maybe some kind of monster that enjoys the thrill of the hunt? Or would I luck out with one of the more neutral tribes, where I had the ability to negotiate peacefully ande to an understanding that didn''t end with me dead. Because, if they tried to sully me, I would take my own life... After going through all the options avable to me of course. My feet silently glided over thepact snow floor, and I maintained my pace as I constantly checked the area ahead of me, all while my hearing was focused on behind me. For a few more hours, that was how I traversed the forest, and I consumed three more dark visions - bringing me down to seven more - another two stamina potions, and two mana potions, all while something followed behind me. My mind was slowly fraying once more, the constant stress of keeping my spells active as well as my senses strained wearing down at my mind, resulting in a dull aching that throbbed in the back of my skull. Not knowing what was behind me only added to that stress, but I needed to persevere despite that. My desire to reunite with my loved ones gave me strength here, but strength wasn''t the only thing I would need. Well into the fourth day inside the forest, I eventually felt my body falter slightly, my mana no longer circting in the most ideal of ways, which lowered my speed slightly and resulted in a few of my steps leaving behind footprints. Gritting my teeth, I decided that I needed to make a choice; continue forwards until I copse, likely nowhere near the end of the forest, or stop and recuperate, all while I prepare for a fight. Taking a few deep breaths, I sighed as I gradually slowed my pace, finding a root to rest on as I carved the arrow towards the direction I needed to go. Keeping my eyes open, I focused on my surroundings as I breathed in the mana filled air, refilling my Core with what felt like premium mana. Minutes passed, and I felt my muscles burning from the shift from constant movement to rest, and I allowed my Water Mana to pulse through my body, knitting the torn muscle back together. With my dagger resting on my knee, I gnawed on some jerky as I waited, wondering if my watcher would show themselves. Tapping a finger on the metal de, I slowly rested myself back to my peak physically, but my mind remained aching. Getting up, I was about to resume my journey when someone stepped out from behind one of the trees, a small smirk on their lips as they looked at me. Chapter 374 373: Necrotic Lord Jahi PoV Pushing open the clean set of double doors, Mom grimaced as a wave of warm putrid air burst forth from the inside chambers and enveloped her. Curling her lip in disgust, Mom opened the doors further before stepping inside, and the rest of us gagged as the scent of rot permeated the air, before I noticed that the interior of the chamber was shrouded in a dull greenish yellow glow. Following behind her, I tried my best to take shallow breaths, saving myself from the wretched scent of decay that draped itself around the room. I could hear Anput retching slightly, the scent sensitive Jackalkin - and other Beastkin like her - remaining outside, their noses covered as they looked at the room hatefully. Adelina - despite being the same as them - stepped inside and ordered Anput to maintain position there, keeping our rear secured. Looking around, I noted instantly that the dull glow wasing from the kneeling corpse in the center, their side split open and allowing that decaying vapor to waft into the air. The room itself was a simple ceremony hall; on the far wall, a pair of tarnished gold thrones overlooked the hall, and two rotted, eyeless corpses sat lifeless against the frayed velvet cushions. borate tiles were cracked and covered in some sort of grime, while the paint on the walls was peeling and king off, revealing the hardwood and stone underneath. Pews, podiums, and an altar were all pushed against the doors on the left and right, blocking two of the three entrances into the hall, and corpses wereying overtop those hastily constructed palisades. And yet, the doors they were blocking were just as unblemished as the one we entered through, and the corpses were all suffering from a sh to the back... My eyes returned to the kneeling corpse in the center, and I clenched the hilt of my great sword as I began to trace out some runes with my free hand. Mom was focused intently on the corpse as well, and when she got to within ten feet of it, the corpse looked up towards the thrones. "Oh... How I have... failed you, my Liege..." I gripped my sword even tighter as I heard the gurgling, hoarse voice, and I grimaced as I heard the corpse take a deep breath, sounding like it was trying to breathe past a throat full of phlegm. "I... apologize... my Lady..! It seems that... I was... ipetent after all... For now... I serve another... Forgive me..! My oaths... of fealty... onlysted in my... initial life..! I now... live for another..." Wet pops echoed around the room as the corpse stood up, its knees and arms unlocking as it stood up, only for it to groan as the flesh it had began to stretch and grow, its bones cracking as it grew taller. It''s bones poked through its skin, and I watched in morbid fascination as the clothes it wore were torn by its now towering height, revealing the bony protrusions of its spine as it hunched over. Bringing one of its grotesquely long arms to its side, the corpse reached into the open, festering wound, which pulsed now with a brighter, harsher green light. Groaning once more, it snapped off a rib and pulled it free from its body, the curved bone shimmering with the same harsh green glow spilling from its side. "Who... might you be..? Why... are you here..?" The rib in its hand red as it began to straighten out, shifting from the curved, dull bone into a ttened, sharpened sword, its edges dripping a green liquid that hissed as itnded on the tile below. Turning, it revealed the melting flesh of its face, the skin slowly pulling away from the bone to reveal portions of its skull underneath, while long strands of oily ck hair cascaded down from its scalp. Like the rest, it was eyeless as well, but two dull green mes shone in its empty eye sockets. "Demons..? Beastkin..? Legionnaires... from the Empire..?" Tilting its head, the corpse stared intently at us, before focusing on Mom, who stared at the corpse with narrowed eyes. "Whom is the Fiend that you serve? Only they have the powers to alter the dead..." Tapping its de against the tile, the corpse stared at Mom for a moment before muttering "Sharp... Smart... Knows of Fiends..? Interesting..." Raising its de, the corpse fell into a stance, its long bone sword pointed straight at Mom''s ches, the t of the de resting on its off arm, keeping it steady. "In life... I served... the Hur Family... In death..." Looking at the Legionnaires that surrounded it, the corpse turned back to Mom and smirked, its lips pulled into a thin line as it finished speaking, making Mom grit her teeth. "I serve... Nua''Morte..." Raising her ymore, Mom growled "Nua''Morte... Arch Fiend of Deathly Pestilence? They''re back?" Chuckling, the corpse coughed before nodding, the mes in its skull ring as it said "Back... Stronger... Do you... want a taste... of their power..?" Her eyes widened as she tried to shout a warning, but the corpse moved with an unearthly swiftness as it mmed the sword into the tile below, the green glow pulsing off the de. "Rise and serve... once more... in the name... of Nua''Morte..! Rise... my beloved brothers... and sisters..! Rise and live again..!" Cursing, Mom dashed forwards and cleaved her ymore down, only for the de to tter off of that rotting green glow that enveloped the corpse. "Fuck! Everyone, watch the corpses! Go for the head and the Cores! This one is a Necrotic Lord now!" Growling, she allowed her mana to coat her de as she tried to pierce the barrier next, only to fail once more. Putrid green vapors rolled off of the Necrotic Lord''s bone sword, swirling around its body before shooting off towards the various corpses in the room. When it reached a corpse, the vapor entered the nostrils and mouth of that corpse before burrowing down into their heart and Core, filling them with a ''new life'' as they rose once more as undead. Cursing to myself, I activated a few spells in quick session before joining Mom, whaling away at the barrier surrounding the Necrotic Lord with powerful, Light imbued blows. The corpse flinched at the golden light that shone over it, and the mes in its skull shed with hate as it red at me. "Disgusting... Light..! I''ll kill you... first..." Twisting the sword, the Necrotic Lord allowed the remaining vapors to burst free from the ground before yanking the de free, the barrier pulsing out with raw power and sending me staggering back. Chapter 375 374: Tribes Of The Forest Kat PoV Stepping out from behind one of the trees, a pale skinned woman with long, pitch ck hair smirked at me, two fluffy, rounded ears atop her head. "Well well well... what have we here~? What''s a doggy like you doing all on its lonesome out in the forest, hmm~? Where''s your leash, doggy~? Or did you run from you owner~? It was a rather fun ''hunt'', doggy..." Her voice was smooth like silk, and I shuddered as her bright emerald eyes focused on me, the mana rolling off her lithe frame equal to mine. "However, the hunt ends here. You''ve no right to be in this forest whatsoever, doggy... None whatsoever. You outsiders only ever bring negative energy with you; negative energy that we forest dwellers want no part in." Raising my hands, I shook my head as I said "I just need to get through the forest! My destination lies on the other side!" Tilting her head, the Pantherkin smirked as she stepped forwards, staring intently at me as she asked "Should I care? I don''t care where a doggy goes on its own... it just can''t go here." "Please, just let me go through the forest! I won''t bother anyone!" "Hmm~? Why should I believe you though, doggy? You reek - when your scent is avable, anyways - of negative energy. You''ve already begun to attract the various monsters living inside the forest. Dormant monsters have awoken because of you. They smell a tasty morsel, and we want no part in dealing with those monsters. They''re being put to sleep again now, but the longer you linger around here, the harder that task bes, doggy. If I did let you through, doggy..." Stepping forwards, she grinned at me, licking her lips as she whispered "I would want something in return. Something equal to keeping you alive despite orders from my tribe. So? How about it, doggy? Want to be bred for a little bit? Otherwise..." She flickered forwards, her nails extending into ws as she tried to grab my face. Stepping out of her ''attack'', I red at her as I lowered myself into a stance. "Oh, feisty~! But... bad doggy. You''re supposed to do as your owner tells you to. Last chance, doggy~ Be my good little bitch, or die~!" Her ws extended further, and her emerald eyes gleamed as she stared at me, waiting for an answer. Pale green mana seeped from her pores, and I bit my cheek as her ws shone with a green light, the woman infusing her entire body with Wind Mana. "What''re you doing here, Erika? Shouldn''t you be back at home, whining to your mother?" I flinched as a new voice entered the clearing, and we both turned to see a Lamia snaking over the roots, her white scales blending in with the snow, while her white hair wasyered with bones. Completely naked from the waist up, the Lamia smirked at the Pantherkin as she rested her spear over her shoulders, disying her muscr torso with pride as she spoke again, her voice seductively low as she said "Oh, a Dogkin huh? Good catch, Erika... But this is Ligana territory, and I am stronger than you." Scoffing, the Pantherkin Erika growled "Stronger? Says who? Besides, I saw her first! Therefore, she''s mine." Giggling, the Lamia nced over at me and nodded her head, muttering "Perfect... rather suited for breeding, this Dogkin. Good..." Looking back at Erika, the Lamia grinned as she said "Well, this is why, Erika dear." I nched as the Lamia coated her body in a thin sheen of water, before I ducked as a small droplet flew towards my head at insane speeds. Erika dodged too, but her cheek got grazed by a second, making her hiss. "See? Stronger. Now, hand over the Dogkin, Erika... The Ligana are in need for a new breeder." Hissing some more, Erika nced at me before turning towards the Lamia, and she said "Doggy, do me a favor and help me kill this bitch. Then I''ll let you free... I swear that on Serenata, Goddess of the Moon!" Narrowing her eyes, the Lamia''s long tongue flickered out of her lips as she said "Dogkin, if you so much as move I''ll tie you up and let the rest of my tribe take turns using you as an egg bed. Stay out of this... and don''t you dare move." Pulling her spear off her shoulders, the Lamia sneered at Erika as the Pantherkin readied her ws before flickering forwards, her speed astounding. Leaving behind a green blur, Erika appeared before the Lamia and shed her ws towards the woman''s face, only for the Lamia to raise her spear and block the attack. A dull thud echoed around the clearing as Erika was shoved back into a root, coughing out violently as the haft of the spear was mmed into her gut next. However, she grabbed the spear and yanked the Lamia forwards, before her ws shed out and scored a shallow cut down the Lamia''s voluptuous chest. "Damn cat! You want to die?!" The wounds closed slowly as the water seeped into the open flesh, all while the Lamia retrieved her spear by mming the butt into Erika''s gut once more. Watching them fight, I looked down towards the arrow and took a deep breath, beforeyering as many spells on myself as I could in a few seconds. Sensing the mana, the two nced at me only to watch as I disappeared, flying through the forest at swift speeds. "FUCK! DAMN SNAKE WHORE! LET ME GO!" "OH FUCK YOU! SHE''S MINE NOW! GET BACK HERE BITCH!" The two screamed at the top of their lungs, and I nched as I felt them rushing behind me in pursuit, all while they still fought with one another, spells flying around at swift speeds. Dodging and weaving through the frosted trees and over the winding roots, I desperately pushed my mana into overdrive as I rushed away from them both, needing to escape from their pursuit. Chapter 376 375: Might Of The Necrotic Lord Jahi PoV Wrenching the sword of bone free from the cracked tile ground, the Necrotic Lord red at me, the green mes in its eyes ring hatefully as it wetly growled "Disgusting... Light..! I''ll kill you... first..!" The miasma gathering around its body pulsed before shooting off into the sky, seeking out new corpses to resurrect into undead. The barrier around the Necrotic Lord burst outwards, pushing me back a few steps, before my eyes widened as the corpse once more moved with an unearthly speed, appearing before me. Raising my sword, I blocked the bone de that arced towards my neck, intending to decapitate me in one fell swoop. Grunting, I withheld under the Necrotic Lord''s immense strenght, surging my Light Mana through my veins to grant me increased strength. "Horrendous... Light Magics..! Repulsive... Demon..." The Necrotic Lord growled as it leaned closer to me, its breath putrid and hot as it brought its skull closer to my head. Pursing my lips, I pulled my head back and mmed it forwards, cracking my brow hard against the creatures skull, making it grunt in pain as one of my horns dug into its flesh. Channelling my mana to my arms, I pushed the de away from me and created some space, ignoring the dripping, acidic blood on my gold tipped horn. Reaching up, the creature tried to inspect the deep gouge that I had created in its cheek with my horn, only to have a dark blue fist m into its jaw, unhinging it and spinning the Necrotic Lord around. "I don''t think you have the room to talk about repulsive, you damn undead. Let alone about my daughter." Walking towards the Necrotic Lord, Mom parried the creatures hasty swing as it tried to create some distance between them, its movements erratic as it saw Mom''s dark scarlet mes licking at her flesh. Raising her ymore, Mom cleaved down towards the creatures arm, splitting the bone cleanly in half with a sickening pop as its flesh burst under the blow, oozing from the wound. Crying out, the Necrotic Lord raised its remaining hand and sent a wave of that sickly green miasma towards Mom, the roiling gaseous cloud attempting to envelope her bulky frame. However, the gas began to burn as she red her mana once more, the mes embroiling her flesh intensifying with a harsh light as it burnt the very air around her. "Nua''Morte. Where is it? Where is your Fiendish master, undead? What does it know about the Gates?" The Necrotic Lord weeped - though no tears left its empty sockets - and it raised its hand once more, this time in surrender. The undead around us continued to w and bite at the legionnaires, trying to overwhelm them with number, but they were just basic undead, incapable of much harm to a trained warrior. Our legionnaires cut them down as they kept an eye on Mom and I, while Nirinia, Adelina, and Leone all waited to give their support to whoever needed it most, their weapons raised in preparation. "I... I don''t know..! I was... just raised... like this..! Alone... all alone..." Hearing its nasally, grotesque voice, I frowned as it tried to make itself look pathetic, all while a calcting light gleamed in those mes. "Mom..." "I know. Last chance, undead. Tell me what you know of the Gates. What opened them?" Shaking its head, the Necrotic Lord muttered "I... have no idea... but..." Looking towards the ground, the Necrotic Lord grinned as it said "I do know... what lies under... the mansion... under this hill... Another being... left to slumber... Nua''Morte told me... about it..." Mom stepped forwards, her ymore raised as she said "Nuh-uh, not happening." The Necrotic Lord looked up towards her, grinning madly as she sliced through its neck, severing its head from its body. Even in ''death'', the Necrotic Lord began to cackle, its mes dwindling as it muttered "Enjoy... Demons... My parting... gift to you..." Its torso mmed into the floor as it died a final death, but not before the green glow inside its chest red onest time. Bursting from the creatures corpse, the miasma burrowed into the ground, and Mom growled in anger as she tried to burn most of it, only to wince as a second nasally voice echoed around the chambers. "A worthy sacrifice warrants a prize... Ascend from the depths, my child... Spread pestilence once more across this vibrantnd! Sully it in the name of Nua''Morte..." "EVERYONE OUT! NOW!" The Necrotic Lord''s corpse exploded, more and more miasma seeping out of its shattered body and seeping into the ground. Above where it had perished, an borate symbol flickered into existence, and I felt my stomach roll as it began to shine. "LOOK AWAY! RUN, NOW! GO!" Yanking me back, Mom pushed me towards the open doors, and I felt nausea overtake my system as I spun around, the room spinning. Gritting my teeth, I balled my fist and cut into my palm with my nails, the pain overriding the nausea and letting me move freely. Leone was vomiting profusely, specks of blood joining the mess below her, while Iaso was twitching on the floor, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. Liga was on her knees, staring at the symbol with nk eyes, her breathing uneven. Grabbing Leone, I dragged her away, while Nirinia scooped up Iaso and Adelina, who was reacting simrly to Liga. Letting out a roar, Mom''s mana surged over the room, and most managed to snap free from the spell that the symbol ced onto them long enough to look away, scrambling to their feet as they began to run. The mansion began to shake violently, the tremors causing the paintings and mirrors to fall to the floor, while the ground trembled, the tilesing loose. Cracks began to splinter up the walls, and everyone began to stumbled towards the entrance, avoiding the undead that surged towards the symbol. Anput ran beside me, her face pale as she led the way out, her des singing in the air as she cleared us a path through the hordes that began to surge inside. Thankfully the mansion wasn''t thatrge, so we managed to rush out of the building before it finally came tumbling down, the violent earthquake shaking the foundations and destroying them. Most of the legionnaires managed to get out with us, but I could hear a few inside screaming as they were buried under the rubble, and I grit my teeth in anger as we continued out into the city of Huran, where the tremors subsided. Turning, Mom growled "That Necrotic Lord was a catalyst?! A fucking catalyst?! Seriously?!" We watched as the mansion continued to crumble, before the hill the mansion was built on began to crack apart as well. "Catalyst?" ncing at me, Mom snarled "A creature meant to summon another. Something that weakens the catalyst by arge amount, but it gives that strength in exchange for whatever it tries to summon! In this case, some kind of undead creature... One ''blessed'' by a damn Arch Fiend! Nirinia! Come here!" Releasing Leone, I nced at the Vampire in concern, her breathing still shaky. "You okay? Because I don''t think we have long, Leone." Nodding, she took a deep breath before wiping her lips clean; though, her face was definitely paler than normal. "Yeah... I... I''m fine. That symbol... felt so wrong. So... very wrong to look at. You felt it too, right? That nausea, the sickness? The world spinning round and round while your head feels like it was about to split open? The tightness in your chest, the inability to breath?" "I felt the nausea, yeah, but... that must have been the thing that the rest of the mages were feeling earlier; I only felt the nausea..." Leone stared at me in silence, before focusing on the hill that continued to crack. "Well... I''m better now... Let''s just focus on getting through this, alright?" Chapter 377 376: Hiding Kat PoV ncing over my shoulder as I ran, I felt my heart drop as I saw the snarling features of the Pantherkin Erika a dozen feet behind me, her entire body shining with a rich green as she tried to capture me, while a few feet behind her was the Lamia, her fangs extended as she slithered through the forest with ease. Despite being such a bulky size, her serpent tail managed to make little to no noise as she moved, and she was frighteningly quick despite not having a speed boost like Erika and I. Sending most of my mana to my legs - and some to my arms to help drive my momentum forwards - I desperately ran in a straight line, weaving through the trees as I tried to keep my lead between us. Erika had already disyed her adept agility as the Lamia hurled a spear made from water towards her, twisting around the attack and returning to her sprint as she surged towards me, determined to capture me. As for the Lamia, she too seemed capable of changing directions quickly, her control over her entire body enabling her to go from full... slither to turning in a mere fraction of a second, only to resume her previous speed in that directions. "GET BACK HERE DOGGY!" "OH I AM SO~ GOING TO ENJOY BREAKING YOU!" Their shouts echoed through the forest, and both seemed hellbent on subduing me and taking me back to their tribes as their breeder, and I shuddered as I felt their powerful mana surging behind me. Cursing, I grabbed a few potions - stamina and mana - and drained them as I ran, soothing my screaming muscles and replenishing my Core, all while I continued my headlong sprint through the forest. Fear permeated my mind as I thought about what they would do to me if I were to be captured - and how quickly I might fall intopliance under their hands. With such a double edged skill like [Nymphomania], I could very easily have spent my days sleeping with any and everyone, racking up the experience as I indulged in my desires day in and day out. If my Master / Mistress had been less possessive - and maybe of lower rank - I could have been a simple pleasure maid for them to use as they pleased, before being given to a guest to warm their beds at night. Looking back, if I had made the decision to save a few more of my points when I started by giving myself a worse Master / Mistress, then I could have very well ended up as little more than a prostitute... with a fancier title. And most likely, I wouldn''t have cared as I slowly grew stronger from my indulgence. That was the future that would await me with these tribes if I became captured; in order to cope with what was happening, my initial response would be to let them use me so that I could grow stronger and stronger... And that made me so afraid that I would quickly throw away what I held dear... That fear only added to the fuel inside me as I sped up, creating a little more distance between us all as I continued running. Looking around, I searched for a thicker part of the forest, a ce where I could potentially hide and escape from the Pantherkin and Lamia behind me. Reaching for a scent diffuser pill, I popped it quickly, renewing the effect as I weaved through the trees. Continuing my desperate sprint, I eventually located a portion of the forest where the trees were closer together, creating a maze of tight corridors and turns, while the roots were thicker and grew higher out of the ground. There were many possibilities there, and I swiftly turned and approached it, throwing my desire to remain on a straight path out the window as my survival and ''purity'' were on the line. Erika cursed as the Lamia hurled a barrage of water arrows towards and past her, wanting to hit us both with the storm of arrows. Slowing down slightly, Erika turned and swiped her ws at the Lamia, unleashing five keen des of wind that hurtled towards the Lamia, who needed to raise a barrier to defend herself. Seeing that the two weren''t as focused on me in that moment, I slipped under a root and created a wall of frost, cocooning myself under the tangled roots in a small corner. Making sure all ''entrances'' and ways to see me were sealed, I held my breath as I listened to them battling above me, before the Lamia shouted "DAMNIT ERIKA! THE BITCH IS GONE NOW BECAUSE OF YOU!" Growling, a wave of howling wind rolled over the forest as Erika attacked the Lamia once more, saying "She''s gone because you started attacking me, you overgrown snake! Fuck! Maybe she went up, into the branches! Probably double backed and is going north!" "How the hell would you know?! I think she hid herself under these roots, wanting to wait us out!" "Oh I don''t know?! Maybe because she was saying she wanted to leave the forest! Fine, check the roots you stupid Lamia! I''m going to check behind us!" "I don''t care! If I find her, I''m taking her home and putting her in her ce! Goddess be damned!" They continued to bicker above me for a few more moments, before Erika left the area, returning to the area we had been running through before. "Now if I was a little breedable Dogkin, where would I hide..." Hearing the Lamia above me hissing to herself, I remained as still as I could, herrge, serpentine body slithering over the roots as she checked underneath each one. "I know you''re here, Dogkin. I can... feel it. Something tells me you''re here... So, let''s y a little game, shall we? Youe out, and I keep you for myself; you and I get a happy ending, where I enjoy my time breeding you, and you keep all your limbs. However, if you remain hidden, when I found you - when, not if, but when - I''ll remove your arms and legs and leave you as little more than a perfectly warm hole for me to use whenever I want. Maybe I''ll let my sisters taste you as well~! Oh, that''s a good idea... It''s been awhile since we had a woman that wasn''t one of the weaker tribes inside the forest... not worthy of reproducing with, but good, wet holes to stave off our... appetites." She hissed amusedly to herself as she moved around, her voice getting more distant, only to return to being nearby. My heart was pounding in my chest, but I remained where I was, not falling for her mind games. Holding my breath was easy, and I made sure to use as little mana as I could, just in case she could sense it. "Oh Dogkin~! Where might you be, Dogkin..? Oh, are you hiding because you''d prefer to be with Erika? Ah, that hurts Dogkin... She''s a beautiful woman for sure, bute now... I''ll treat you real~ good if you juste out now~!" Chapter 378 377: Worthy Summon (1) Jahi PoV Leone and Anput stood beside me as we watched the hill slowly crumbled away, revealing a deep pit that flickered with the same sickly green light that we had been seeing ever since we had entered the mansion. An unearthly groaning reverberated from the pit, a low and guttural sound that shook the ground and rattled your bones, and many of the more sound sensitive Beastkin ttened their ears at the noise, visibly shaken by the groan. Pursing my lips, I stared at the pit before approaching Mom, who was shouting out orders to the various squad leads in the area. "Jahi, stick close to your squad. I don''t know what''sing out of that pit, but it can''t be good. Especially not when it''s a catalyst summon and the undead from earlier have all tumbled into that pit as well... Focus on avoiding the attacks until I say otherwise, alright? Keep your Light Magic to a minimum for the moment, since these things despise Light Magics. Alright?" Mom''s ruby eyes were deathly serious, and I nodded as she stared at me, her expression set as she scanned my features before patting my shoulder. "Good. Go. Be safe, help those that need it. This isn''t going to be an easy fight..." Gesturing for me to leave, I walked towards the thinner part of the assembled troops, wanting to bolster the line a little more. "Anput, make me a shield; arge one. Leone, when... whatever it ises out of the pit, figure out how to best defend against it; I have a feeling that this''ll be a defensive bout on our end for the most part, so... Iaso, Liga, you two need to get it together and focus up, unless you''re alright with dying; if you are, let me know so I can put you out of your misery now." I turned to look at the Snakekin and Tigerkin, both of whom shook their heads at me, fear in their eyes as they looked back towards the pit. "Alright. Well... let''s see what we''re dealing with..." Anput closed her eyes and summoned a thick sheet of metal before molding it into a tower shield, handing the simple metal te to me before creating one for herself, sweat gathering on her brow as she created metal from nothing, not having much on hand to work with. As for Leone, she focused on the pit intently, her crimson eyes narrowed as her fingers danced by her side, configurations of various Ritual Circles flickering in and out of existence near her thighs as she summoned multiple different configurations. We all waited for a few moments more as we stared at the pit, before the groaning grew to a crescendo as more and more groans joined it, creating a chorus of raspy, guttural groaning. The lights inside the pit flickered before growing bright and brighter, the ground shaking more and more as something ascended from the pit. "GET READY!" Standing the closest to the pit was Mom and Nirinia, the two strongest inside the group holding their weapons tightly as they observed the pit. Mom''s skin was stillyered withzy mes thatpped at her armor, while Nirinia was shrouded in a gentle breeze as her Dadao rested on the ground, the golden de shining in the light of day. A gigantic hand asrge as Mom was tall wed at the edge of the pit, and I grimaced as I saw the various pieces of skin grafted onto a grotesque skeleton, the various skin tones ced haphazardly over the thick bone structure and mass of flesh. On the back of the hand were a few faces that groaned in pain, their eyeless sockets weeping pus as the summoned creature rose from the pit, emerging in its contagious glory. Vaguely humanoid in shape, a three armed creature crawled out of the pit, unsteady getting to its feet as it stood up fully, towering well over forty feet tall. Parts of its skin and flesh were peeled away, revealing the fused bones underneath that created its skeletal structure, while the flesh looked melted and hastily pressed together. As for the skin, it was stitched over the flesh in patches, the various skin tones creating a patchworkyer of protective skin that shimmered with small runes. Two girthy legs ended inrge clumps of bone that resembled hooves, the muscle and skin bulging as the creature stood up, while the faces that were scattered about weeped a translucent pus from their eyes. The creatures torso was riddled with opened wounds that seeped festering blood, and maggots had already begun to crawl through the decaying flesh around the wounds. Like the Necrotic Lord, the creature had its ribcage revealed, where its giant Core pulsed with that sickly green light, almost like a beating heart. With two left arms and a single right arm, the creature disyed its rippling muscles as it reached down towards the earth, grabbingrge chunks of stone and wielding them like knives. Lastly, its short, stubby neck ended in what the Necrotic Lord had summoned; a giant, clean white skull rested on the creatures neck, and Leone muttered "A Fenghuang?" as she stared at the avian skull. Arge beak curved down, the darkened keratin of the beak peeling away, while the beak itself was chipped slightly, creating jagged edges along the already razor sharp beak. Like the rest of the undead, the Fenghuang skull had no eyes, instead housing those green mes, which licked gently at the birds bone, darkening the clean skull and warping it. Opening its beak, the creature let out a low clicking noise as it titled its head, looking down at the assembled legionnaires before raising its three arms. The groaning intensified as the various faces sewn onto its patchwork skin wept more, the pus coating the creature in a slick membrane. "What''s a Fenghuang again, Leone?" "A bird from the far west, tends to be tied to fire and purity since it starts the cycles of life in the great forests by burning everything down... Giant creatures that could raze cities if provoked, and deadly with their natural affinity for fire." Clicking again, the skull of the purity bird turned as it scanned the legionnaires, before it focused on me and opened that giant beak, letting out a sharp chirp as the mes in its eye sockets red angrily. "Well... shit. Alright, time to move!" Runes flickered to life inside its maw, and the Fenghuang began to shoot twisted magic at us, the mes green and sticky as they peppered the earth around us, sizzling and popping as they chewed through the rock. Opening its maw again, the Fenghuang was about tounch another barrage of those corrosive fireballs at us again when scarlet mes mmed into its chest, burning away the pus membrane and searing its flesh, causing the creature to let out a high pitched clicking sound as it turned towards Mom, raising those arms as it mmed the chunks of earth it grabbed earlier down at her. Gritting my teeth, I watched as she sliced through the one hand that mmed onto her, severing a few fingers off the creatures hand before she jumped back, avoiding the gout of green me that enveloped her previous spot. "Maybe this''ll be a worthy fight then..." Chapter 379 378: Overlap Kat PoV "Oh little Dogkin~! Where oh where might you be~? I''m starting to get a little... annoyed here, Dogkin. Come out now, Dogkin... If you make me wait any longer, I''ll enjoy your screams as I y the skin off your pretty body..." Slithering slowly over the various roots, the Lamia searched through them all incessantly, and I felt my heart pound inside my chest whenever she drew near. "I know you''re still here... Erika may have spoken to you, but there was a gleam of intelligence in those amber eyes of yours, Dogkin. The smarter move would have been to hunker down and hide, letting us fight it out before backtracking for you, hoping to find a track to follow... That''s what I would have done, Dogkin, so I''m sure you''vee to the same conclusion!" She continued to hiss softly as she moved around the trees slowly, and I held back a flinch as I heard her spear break apart some roots, her anger showing. "Fine then... be that way. When I have you screaming for mercy under both my knives and my cock, I''ll point back to this memory fondly, Dogkin. Maybe if you pleasure me well enough, as well as some of my sisters, we''ll let you keep your limbs as youy our eggs... However, if I kill you here and now, no one would know, Dogkin. My spear thirsts for blood, and one wrong slip-" Another loud crack echoed around the area as the Lamia thrust her spear into a cluster of roots, splintering them so she could inspect the insides. "Would mean your death, Dogkin. So,e on out...e on out before my spear slips and skewers your pretty little skull. I would hate to kill you, but at this point... I''m getting rather IRATE!" Snarling, she speared another section of roots, this once closer, only to hiss in annoyance as the familiar voice of Erika returned. "What the fuck are you doing, Selessei?! What if you kill her?! We need her alive for breeding!" Hissing at the Pantherkin, the Lamia - who I now knew as Selessei - growled "Then help me search through these damn roots, you stupid cat! Finally realize that I was right?!" "Shut up! My theory was valid too, Selessei!" "Was it?!" The two returned to arguing, but I heard another section of the roots shatter as they began to tear the ce apart. Oh, what the hell am I meant to do now?! "Hey, I''ll let you take her back; an apology for before, alright Selessei? But let me get a taste of her first? Come on, please?" Selessei let out a sigh as she opened another section of the roots, her search growing ever closer. "Fine... we can enjoy her together when we find her. I''ll bind her up so she can''t resist, then we can share her for a bit... it''s only noon, after all... I don''t need to be back to the tribe until dusk... Hear that, Dogkin~? It''s two on one now~!" She raised her voice at the end of her words, taunting me as she slithered around, her spear splintering open the topyer of roots with swiftness, while Erika checked inside. Gnawing on my lip, I didn''t like the chances that I had going forwards, but... I needed to do something before they found me. What awaited me under their ''ownership'' wasn''t pleasant, and I shuddered just thinking about what would happen. A small part of me was curious and wanted to be caught, but that small part of me was killed off quickly enough before it could grow. No, that wasn''t happening. I WAS escaping this, but... how? Do I make another run for it? Or can this ice cube I made fool them? Probably not, honestly... How fast could I run though when they''re both working together now? Cursing in my mind, I grit my teeth before freezing as a new voice entered the clearing, a deep, raspy voice that made me shiver. "What in the hells are you two doing here?" The splintering stopped, and silence descended around us all as the neer stomped into the clearing. I could feel the reverberations of their feet as they walked, uncaring of whether or not they left a trace behind. "M-Mirgraz?! O-Oh, we were j-just..!" "Just what, Selessei? You''re causing such a ruckus, you know. A dozen Geri wolves were racing towards this ce, though I must thank you for being idiots; I''ll be eating good tonight. So tell me; why are you destroying the root system of the great trees?" The Pantherkin and Lamia audibly gulped as they took a few steps back from the neer - Mirgraz - and Erika said "F-Fuck! Fine! There''s a Dogkin that entered the forest awhile ago, and she''s hiding somewhere under the roots! I think." "A Dogkin? You''re both causing this ruckus over a Dogkin? Why?" Hissing softly, Selessei said "She''s beautiful, Mirgraz. Plump too." "Oh, you want another breeder eh? I understand that... The harsh months just ended, and we''re all pent up. However..." Walking closer, the neer growled "That''s no excuse to act like imbeciles, especially not with the various monsters awakening inside the forest. Did you try and speak to the Dogkin? Negotiate with her for something? And I mean negotiate properly, not coerce and threaten her into being your toys..." The quiet around the clearing felt heavy, and the neer chuckled as she said "Of course not. Not very bright, are you? Everything''s got a price, especially in a ce like this. Are you sure she''s still here, Selessei?" "Y-Yes, Mirgraz. She... hid herself away after we had chased her for a few hours... quick little thing, that Dogkin. Erika checked to see if she might have doubled back, but found nothing, and I''ve been checking here..." "Hmm... Well, let''s see then... maybe..." My eyes widened in shock as arge, blue skinned hand reached down and ripped the roots above me away, before it shattered the ice I had been hiding in and grabbed me, yanking me out. "Well... would you look at that~! You were right, Selessei... she was here." I froze as the raspy voice washed over me, and I shuddered as a smirking blue faced woman stared back at me, her eyes ocean blue and filled with mirth. A single horn sprouted from her brow, and her long raven ck hair was pulled into a braid that wasden with bones, much like Selessei''s hair was. Around seven feet tall, the blue skinned woman grinned at me as she looked me over, her arms rippling with muscle as she held me with one hand, only to chuckle as I tried to cut at her arm. "Oh, a feisty one as well~! But..." Her grin faded, and I shivered as a familiar glint entered her eyes as she clenched her hand around my throat. My de had scored a small gash in her water imbued skin, and the wound disappeared in mere moments. "Bad dog." She narrowed her eyes at me, and for a brief moment the image of Jahi ovepped with this woman, their simr statures, attitudes, emotions, voice... it all ovepped, and I felt my body go limp in that moment, unsure of what to do. Chapter 380 379: Worthy Summon (2) Jahi PoV Mom''srge ymore sliced cleanly through the creatures fused bones, the me coated de burning the pus membrane away and allowing it to burn the skin and flesh as well, removing parts of the creatures runic protection. Therge skull of the Fenghuang shifted to stare at Mom as it let out a loud, reverberating chirp, the razor sharp beak it wielded mming down towards Mom''s head as it snapped its jaws closed. Before the creature could attempt to devour Mom whole, Nirinia flew in and mmed her shoulder against its beak, cracking the bone slightly as she forced it off course, though not before grunting as the creatures green mes seared her flesh slightly, rotting it away. Patting it out, Nirinia grimaced in pain as her skin and some of her flesh sloughed off, the Djinn pulled back as she approached one of the many healers, getting her wound healed instantly. Not allowing the opening Nirinia provided go to waste, Mom hefted her ymore and charged the creature, before shouting "BOMBARD IT WITH SPELLS AND ARROWS! TARGET IT''S JOINTS!" The legionnaires snapped into action, raising their weapons or hands as they began to attack the creature, which chirped in pain as Mom once more scoured a deep cut into its flesh, burning away more of its protection. Leone joined them, her hands shining with potent crimson light as she lent her aid to the legionnaires, our shift from defensive to offensive orders being taken with ease as Mom led the way, upying the creatures attention. Cleaving her ymore through a thrown boulder, Mom nketed the area around her with her own mes as the creature spewed the corrosive fire out of its maw, unleashing her domain and ring at the creature. As the creature raised its injured fist once more, Mom crouched down and waited, watching as the rotting flesh drew closer, before leaping into the air and enshrouding herself in her scarlet mes. Slicing through the hand, Mom''s trajectory carried her straight towards the creatures skull, all while it chirped in anger and pain as dozens of spells rained down onto its haphazardly assembled body. The fused bones were scorched and cut by bolts of elemental mana, while the rotting flesh and muscles were melted off, already half off the creatures bones from theck of strong, durable tendons and a ''shell'' of flesh. As for the skin and faces sewn onto that dposing, soft flesh, they burnt away with ease as the amount of potent Fire Magics - aided by the Wind Spells of the legionnaires - crashed into the creature, enveloping it in mes as it began to burn. It''s arms iled about randomly as it tried to stop itself from burning, and the creature walked in random directions as Momnded on its skull, staring down at it with serious gaze as she raised her ymore, wreathing her silvery de in scarlet mes. Sickly green vapors wafted from its eye sockets as it stared up at the woman standing on its beak, and it tried to shake her free as it stumbled around randomly, only to let out a long, ear splitting chirp as Mom shed her de downwards, her ymore cracking against the thick skull with an echoing thud. Letting out a grunt, she pushed down on the de as she tried to destroy the Fenghuang skull atop the creatures body, but she had to retrieve her ymore and leap free as the creature pped at its beak and skull with its three arms, forcing her away. The Fenghuang''s beak opened as it let out a loud screech, and it held its cracked skull with one hand, the other two syed out in front of its chest as it began to push the vapors from inside of itself out, forming runes and Ritual Circles around each giant finger. Everyone doubled their efforts as spell after spell, arrow after arrow was slung towards any and all openings the creature had, the legionnaires desperate to stop it, and I growled in annoyance as I too joined them, my fingers tracing the runes needed swiftly as I summoned a half dozen Light Discs, willing them forwards and causing them to explode on the creatures hands. Shrieking in agony, it turned itsrge head towards me, and I raised the tower shield and imbued it with Light Mana, creating a barrier as I saw its beak open wide, green mes spewing forth incessantly. Anput rushed to my side, linking her shield with mine as she growled "Don''t be so damn stubborn..!", her shield ring with dull brown mana as she erected walls of earth around us catching some of the corrosive mes. I nced at her and smirked, saying "I can try..!" before grunting, a bolt of that green fire impacting against my shield and forcing me back a step. A growl reverberated in my throat as I nted my feet, ignoring the acrid scent of melting metal as the fire chewed away at the shield, ncing instead towards Mom as she shouted "NOW! WHILE IT''S DISTRACTED!" Nirinia nodded beside her, and they leapt at the creature together,nding on one of its arms and raising their des. Mom burnt brightly with her scarlet mes, while Nirinia was shrouded by a gale of sharp winds, both women overflowing with potent mana as they cut into the creatures flesh, carving through the rotting flesh to get to the bone. Screeching once more, the creature stumbled as they slowly severed one of its three arms, leaping away as the limb fell to the ground with a wet thud, the flesh flowing off of the bone, which splintered under the impact. Half of the runes it had summoned flickered out of existence, but fiverge Ritual Circles still whirred around its other hand, each one adorning a finger as the creature aimed it''s hand towards therges cluster of the legionnaires, which had moved to bolster Anput and I. Adelina joined me on my other side, hefting a shield of her own as she added her mana to ours, while the various shield bearers formed a semi circle in front of us as howling and groaning could be heard from the pit. The mages, healers, and archers gathered behind us, still barraging the creature with spells and arrows as they tried to destroy the remaining spells, only for the Ritual Circles to begin to spin to life. "Prepare yourselves! Healers, buff everyone now!" Adelina shouted out her orders, and I felt various small spellsyer over my flesh, imbuing me with more power as we prepared to withstand whatever it was that this Fenghuang creature wanted to throw at us. Chapter 381 380: Choices, Choices Kat PoV Mirgraz stared at me in silence, her dark ocean blue eyes narrowed as she muttered "Bad Dog...", her voice raspy and heavy as it washed over me. The tall, muscr Oni frowned as she looked me over, her fingers clenching around my throat as she lifted me into the air, ignoring my kicks as I tried to break free. "Hmm... Yes, not bad..." My eyes widened as I felt her other hand roam over my body, and I grit my teeth to hold back a moan as Mirgraz groped my chest, squeezing each breast and kneading them with a nod, before she slid her hand down towards my rear, fondling it. Mirgraz looked up towards my face as I shuddered, her fingers wrapped around the base of my tail as she stroked the fur softy, each time she her fingersbed through my fur sending shocks up my spine. I had to bite down hard on my cheek as I red at her, even as my body grew hot under her touch, which the Oni seemed to catch on to, smirking at me. "What''s your name, Dogkin..?" Her rough fingers continued to knead my buttocks, all while her grasp around my throat remained firm and steady. "F-Fuck~ you!" Mirgraz grinned as I spat on her, those ocean eyes filling with amusement as she gently rubbed my chin with her thumb, before I gasped as she drove her other fist hard into my stomach. "We can be civil, Dogkin... I am willing to negotiate with you. Or, you can be a wild bitch and I can force you to submit. Currently, the only thing that is standing between you getting raped by Erika and Selessei and freedom is me, so try not to anger me, Dogkin. Now... What is your name? I won''t ask again. Piss me off once more and I''ll take more than just... surface level liberties with your body." I was still dangling from her grasp, coughing out as she pulled her fist away from my stomach, and I shuddered as her eyes hardened as she stared at me. "K-Katherine..." "Katherine? Alright then, Katherine... When I set you down, we are going to talk; if you try and run, I can introduce you - intimately - to what an Oni can be like when they''re angry... alright? Be a good little Dog and sit for me." Fixating her eyes on mine, Mirgraz slowly lowered me to the ground and released my neck, freeing me. The Oni took a few steps back and sat on one of the roots, before gesturing for everyone else to do the same. Erika and Selessei sat down as well, staring at me withplicated gazes before ncing at Mirgraz with fear, their prior domineering attitudes long since gone. Mirroring them, I sat a bit aways from everyone else, rubbing at my neck as I looked towards Mirgraz, who watched me like a hawk. "Good. Now, Katherine... what are you doing inside the forest? This ce is not friendly to outsiders..." She leaned forwards and stared at me, while Erika pursed her lips and Selessei crossed her arms under her breasts, all three women focused on me. "I... I need to get to the other side... to the north, so that I can reunite with someone..." "Ah, you need to travel through the forest... I''m surprised, honestly. Most people down in the south never even look towards the forest, let alone gather the courage needed to venture through it. The monsters inside are amongst the more dangerous variety, and our tribes have grown... barbaric as their wardens. Strength is all we value in order to keep hellish abominations at bay. Civilities and formalities have long since withered and died inside the confines of the great forest." Nodding to herself, Mirgraz took a deep breath as she nced at the other two, who were frowning slightly at her words, before she looked back at me, those blue eyes dark. "However, you don''t seem to be aware of it, Katherine. The smell that permeates your very being; not just your clothes, nor your body, but your soul. It''s... addicting to the monsters, and repulsive to us. Something festers around you, and you''ve begun to awaken the worst of the monsters inside the forest. So... we need you gone, confined, or dead. As such, I am offering you three choices, and I - as will Erika and Selessei - will honor whichever one you pick." Mirgraz red at the other two, and they hastily nodded under her heavy, bloodthirsty stare, their faces drained of color. "The first is the most simple, but the one that I''m sure you''ll decline. I kill you here and now, saving us the trouble of dealing with the monsters and allowing our tribes to coerce them back into their deep slumbers." The Oni smirked at me as I shook my head, continuing on quickly to the next choice. "Secondly, you satiate all three of us tonight and pick whoever you prefer to be your mate. You give them a child before we send you on your way, or you can remain with them for good as their mate. Like I said earlier, the harsher months in the forest are over, and we''re all rather... pent up. From what I felt earlier, you''re certainly not entirely opposed to being bred - your body was screaming its desire for another''s touch..." Her smirk widened, and the other two grinned as they stared at me, all three sets of eyes filled with hungry lust as they looked me over, and I gulped as I envisioned taking all three at the same time... It would certainly be a unique experience... However, I shook my head once more, making Mirgraz shrug as she said "Last option, you be bait for us to hunt a few monsters down, so that we can get a good haul of materials to take back to our tribes. Since you''re ''scent'' is drawing them over, if we ce you in a certain spot that already is teeming with monsters, you can gather us a horde to pick through... It''s a high risk, since none of us would care if you die, but it''s also the only option you have left... A shame, really, that you don''t want toy with us... I was looking forwards to dominating you as I got the chance to relieve myself, as I imagine Erika and Selessei were as well, but... oh well." I shuddered as Mirgraz leaned forwards, her eyes feral as she growled "Oh, but if you do die, try to leave behind a whole corpse for me, Katherine... I don''t discriminate, nor does Goddess Moriartra; a sacrifice is a sacrifice, even if its a dead one." Chapter 382 381: Worthy Summon (3) Jahi PoV "BRACE!" My voice boom around us as the Fenghuang''s spells materialized, the lurid green mana arcing through the air towards us, each long bolt dripping with corrosive energies that sizzled as they sttered to the floor. Everyone nted their feet as we braced for the impact of the magics, while the groaning and shrieking of the newly raised undead echoed out from the pit, the vapors rolling off of the Fenghuang giving new ''life'' to more and more corpses. Ironic, considering it was a creature that represented new beginnings and such... Letting out a piercing screech, the Fenghuang charged up another barrage of spells as we recovered from the first, its beaked head turning to watch as Mom and Nirinia had to begin dealing with the rising horde instead of it. Those corrosive mana bolts had mmed into our shields with the force of a hammer strike, pushing us all back as the metal shields in out hands began to melt, the acrid smell of dissolving metals joining the bouquet of rot and blood that permeated the air. The creatures mana was capable of dissolving more than metal, however, as it began to chew into our barrier and disrupt the various runes that floated around us, slowly peelingyer afteryer of our barrier away to reach us. "Leone! Liga! Bolster the barrier instead of attacking! Take my spot!" The two women nodded, switching their spells from offensive to defensive, their absence making itself known instantly as the rain of fire and wood that had been damaging the creature stopped, leaving the normal mages to slowly chip away at the creatures defenses. Even with Kolia present with us, we were being pushed back and forced to wage a battle of attrition; a battle that the creature was currently set to win. Tossing the shield away, I stepped back as Anput and Adelina closed ranks in front of me, while Leone and Liga stepped forwards, taking their spots behind the two women. I reached into my satchel for a few potions, uncorking the mana potions as I began to do something I wasn''t entirelyfortable with yet; spell crafting. Unlike Leone and... Kat, I couldn''t exactly say that I was the most in tuned with my mana; despite having a rare elemental affinity, I was more of a physical fighter, though I did dabble in the arcane here and there, mainly out of necessity. So, as I focused my mind not on the giant, decaying, putrid Fenghuang abomination in front of us but instead on runic theory, I took a deep breath and hoped my gambit would work. This creature hated Light Mana, as did the Necrotic Lord, which would suggest a fear of what it was capable of. Now, again, I wasn''t the smartest when it came to arcane subjects, but I was a warrior, and when someone was afraid of something, that suggested a weakness to that thing. So, I needed a potent Light Magic attack to deeply wound the creature, and I had a few ideas that I could already build upon; spells I already utilized regrly. I just... needed to upscale them by probably ten times... Taking one of my more understood spells - my Light Discs - I began tampering with the foundation of the spells structure, all while the second barrage of corrosive mana mmed into the barrier. Leone joining the group on defense was noticeable, as less of the mana sttered against our legionnaires this time, but even she let out a grunt as the creature began to charge up another shot. Shifting runes around from ce to ce, Iprised a new variation of what was a rather basic building block spell. I added new functions to certain parts of the spell - for instance, the power of the spell came from the speed and the explosions at the end, which I tinkered with to increase both as best I could, while still allowing the rest to work... For a hasty job, the new variant of my Light Discs seemed stable enough and potent enough, but the problem was the mana cost, hence the mana potions that were already uncorked in my palm, waiting for me to begin. As the legionnaires continued to stand firm against the Fenghuang creature, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, preparing to empty most of my Core of mana and pour it into the spell. This was going to feel... atrocious, but it had to be done. Opening my eyes, I began to funnel the mana inside me towards my hands, runes of golden Light Mana pulsing into existence around me, which the Fenghuang honed in on instantly. It screeched loudly with rage and desperation, stomping forwards as it tried to bring its raw physical might to bear, prompting Mom and Nirinia to shift focus from the rising horde of undead and instead begin attacking its legs, wanting to slow it down. My breathing grew uneven as I felt my stomach flip, while my heart pounded like crazy as the Core attached to it emptied, my hands trembling as I raised the vials to my lips. Drinking down the ocean blue liquids, I felt artificial mana flood into my system, slowly being converted to Light Mana and joining the growing mass of runes in front of me, which were slowly shaping themselves into a Ritual Circle. Legionnaires shouted out as the creature drew closer, its feet leaving behind craters as it stomped towards me, while it swept its arms out towards the ground, pushing any legionnaires out of its way. However, the creature could only screech in anguish as the golden light that shone in front of me red, covering the city of Huran in a harsh, blinding dome of light. Raising my hands, I growled as the Ritual Circle finished, spinning wildly as it began to chew into the ground in front of me, sending a barrage of dirt behind itself as I shot it forwards. Slicing through the earth before rising, the golden Ritual Circle became my Light Disc, shooting through the air and colliding with the approaching Fenghuang creature, which raised its pus covered arms to block the attack, screeching in agony as the mana that it coated itself with shattered. My spell cut cleanly through its arms and impacted the creatures torso, spinning rapidly and chewing into its flesh, shredding the decaying, gooey flesh and breaking the fused bones before burrowing into its chest, where it promptly began to shine. "EVERYONE! GET DOWN!" Dropping, I covered myself in mana, not even a second too soon as the Ritual Circle imploded, light bursting from the creatures chest before dissolving the creature as the runes flooded its body, eating away at the impurities. A wave of energy brushed over us all as the Fenghuang skull fell to the earth, chipping and cracking before crumbling to pieces, the undead following suit as they dropped to the ground, lifeless once more. Silence descended once more around Huran, but this time... it didn''t feel heavy andden with negative energy. It felt... normal, though the scent of decay and blood still floated around, just not as prominent as before. Getting to my feet, I grabbed another few potions and drank them, feeling my mana still draining away from me, and I stumbled to the side before steadying myself, shaking my head as I smiled tiredly at the awestruck legion. Chapter 383 382: Bait Kat PoV Mirgraz had led us through the forest for roughly an hour, the tall muscr Oni taking assured steps through the snow, while both Erika and Selessei remained behind me, the two making sure I didn''t try to run while also whispering quietly amongst themselves. Their gazes were obviously on my body as they walked, and I could almost hear their ns to follow me when we were finished, wanting to take me anyways when we were away from Mirgraz''s eyes. I had to stamp down on the desire to draw one of my des and throw it towards them, the hushed whispers behind me making my spine tingle and my heart palpitate with anger. Instead, I focused my mind on something different, trying to figure out what I should do when we reach wherever it is that Mirgraz is leading us to. From the sounds of it, this ce that she wants to visit is filled with monsters normally, but with whatever it was - likely the Soul Bond, or remnants of it - that was attracting monsters to me, it would turn into a damn swarm of bloodthirsty monsters that wanted a bite of me. Considering what Mirgraz said earlier - a pack of Geri wolves had been rushing towards us as she made her way over - I could only hope that the majority of monsters were around the level of the Geri wolves. From what I recall of the brief times I had read the entries of the monsterpedia, a Geri was a three eyed wolf that was a tad bitrge than a normal wolf, with a bit more power and a lot more reaction time and reflexes. They weren''t asrge as Dire Wolves, which were double the height of a normal wolf, but instead they tended to pack more muscle into their frame and be a pain to deal with up close, since that third eye perceived time at a different ''speed'' then the rest; it allowed the Geri to react much quicker than it should, since it could almost ''sense'' when the attack was going to hit it - granted that the Geri could see that attack with the third eye. A strong monster, sure - stronger than a goblin, definitely - but not something that had me extremely worried right now. However, I doubt that the Geri were the strongest monster inside the forest, even amongst the moremon monsters that lived here. That was why I believed I had two options The first was to stay and rely on these three to deal with the monsters for me, using my magics to assist and gather experience from the vast amount of kills that would happen in that location. Risky, but an option that had a lot of rewards attached to it as well. If I could reach some kind of agreement with Mirgraz - if she remained civil after dealing with the monsters, that is - to point me in the direction I needed to go and to retain some of the materials from the monsters I killed, so that I could try and mask my scent with the scent of the monsters. Again, really, really risky choice, but one that might be able to help me quite a bit. The second, and more likely option was to bail during the thickest of the swarm, to run through the forest and create arge amount of distance between me and them before I scaled a tree and repositioned myself. I would need to be aware of the Harpy tribe that likely upied the canopy, but I just need to see the sun when it''s past - or before - the point of noon, so that I could orient myself correctly. That would also likely enable me to try and tug on the Soul Bond between Jahi and I once more, to try and see if the range between us being lessened by a thousand-ish miles helped in my ability to utilize it... I NEEDED that to work, or else I might just be running blind inside a very hostile forest... With a mind full of thoughts, we eventually reached the ce that Mirgraz wanted to take me to, the blue skinned Oni turning back and grinning at me as she said "Wee to one of the few ces inside our forest that has a name. Bloodstone Clearing." Erika hissed at Mirgraz, saying "Are you fucking crazy?!" while Selessei looked around the clearing with narrowed eyes, her spear held at the ready. Bloodstone Clearing; like the name would suggest, situated around therge, open swathe of forest were giant crimson stones that flickered with red light, each one giving of a metallic scent simr to blood. The snow thatid around those stones shimmered with a red glow as the stones pulsed with dim light, contrasting the blues and grays that made up the rest of the forest. Mirgraz grinned more as she looked towards Erika, who''s fur was standing on end as she warily looked around the clearing, clearly ufortable. "What? Never hunted inside the Bloodstone Clearing before, whelp? If you wish to leave, go ahead... no ones stopping you." Erika hissed again, shaking her head as she remained where she was, which made Mirgraz chuckle. "Good. Alright Katherine, your role is simple. We need you to walk to the center of this clearing and stand there. Don''t move when the stones grow brighter; they cause no direct harm to you. The scent of blood will grow thicker, and when paired with your scent already drawing monsters over, well..." She licked her lips as a hungry, demented gleam entered her eyes, the Oni making even Selessei shiver as she said "We''re going to be practically swimming in blood... Now go, Katherine. Be our bait, so that we can hunt freely. Never leave the center of the clearing, but do protect yourself; it''d be a shame if you died, after all..." Waving her hand at me, Mirgraz gestured for me to step into the empty clearing, and I took a deep breath before walking forwards, past the first Bloodstone that began to shine with my presence. Cautiously, I had my spells at the ready, just in case this was a trap, and I unsheathed my daggers as I made my way to the center, my heart beating wildly in anticipation and worry for what''s about to happen. Chapter 384 383: Reconvening Jahi PoV It took me a few moments, but eventually I managed to stand on my own two feet without stumbling around like I was drunk - which I''ve never been, but I''ve seen enough of from the random adventurers back at the capital - and regained enough of my mental facilities to answer the questions that Leone berated me with. "Why would you do something so stupid?! I could of used a multitude of spells to achieve the same effect without straining my Core! What if you didn''t drink the potions in time?! What if the strain shattered your Core instantly?! What if- mph?!" Seeing the Vampire so emotional and animated with worry made my heart warm up, but her nagging was getting a little tiring - I know it came from a ce of love - and we had more pressing matters to discuss past my newly created spell. So... I silenced her in the best way I knew how; a very secret, special technique that would force her brain to stop functioning for a few moments... I pulled her forwards and mmed my lips against hers, slipping my tongue past her plump lips and kissing her deeply, all while my hands snaked down to her juicy rear and squeezed those two delicious mounds of flesh with gusto. Anput snickered beside us as Leone moaned into my mouth, before her face went crimson as she tried to push me away, punching against my chest as she desperately tried to save her image in front of the assembled legionnaires, all of whom whistled and chuckled at the Princess'' state. Letting her go when I got a sufficient taste of cinnamon, I grinned at the furiously blushing, yet quiet Leone as she red at me, her eyes watery as she stamped her foot on the ground. She red at me hard, those crimson eyes of hers matching her cheeks, and I chuckled as she stomped off towards Anput, likely wanting toin about me to our Jackalkin wife, who was smirking at us both. With Leone dealt with for now - I would sit down and go over everything properlyter - I approached Mom, Nirinia, and Adelina, who were standing by the Fenghuang skull and edge of the pit, staring at the corpses with frowns. "Mom? What was special about the undead that kept both you and Nirinia focused on them instead of the Fenghuang thing?" In response, Mom tossed me a rotting head, which I caught gingerly as she stared wordlessly at the Fenghuang skull, her ruby eyes narrowed. Ignoring the squishy flesh under my fingertips, I looked down at the decaying head, looking past the nched flesh that was peeling off the bone, oily hair that grew from parts of the scalp, and empty eye sockets, and looking at what Mom wanted to show me. She had peeled - or maybe it had fallen off naturally - a part of its brow away, revealing the dirty bone underneath, or more specifically... The symbol that was emzoned on the bone - the same symbol that we saw when the Necrotic Lord sacrificed itself earlier, and I instantly grew nauseous at the sight of it. "That... That''s what was special about them. They weren''t ordinary undead; they were ''blessed'' by the Arch Fiend of Deathly Pestilence itself, granting them an unearthly endurance that makes them nearly indestructible. Well... you can pull them apart and render them slightly harmless, but you get the point. All of them that crawled from the pit were stamped with that symbol. Which means-" "This was a former Ceremonial Grounds of some sort for Nua''Morte! Is it connected to the Gates, or is it purely coincidence? And yes, it''s a good thing you managed to hold them back Chordeva, Nirinia... We wouldn''t have been capable ofbatting such creatures alongside the Fenghuang construct..." Arch Mage Kolia strode to stand beside me, lifting the head from my hands without care as she studied the symbol, nching slightly and taking a deep breath. "Yes... most likely, these are the corpses of former cultists to the Arch Fiend from ages long past. And also yes, we need to see if the other ces where Gates were reported to have been seen were also Ceremonial Grounds or not. If they are, then the Fiends are back once more, wanting to return in power. If not, then this is one unlucky coincidence..." Kolia nodded, still staring at the symbol as she said "Further research is required for this, but for now I believe rest is warranted for the troops. The healers need to work overtime tobat the pestilence that was inflicted on some of the legionnaires, and the mages need to begin our study of what remains... If not of the Gate, then at least of the Fenghuang skull and these cultists; we may be able to garner something from their remains." "Do so, Kolia. Damnit, this would turn into a troublesome outing now wouldn''t it? Nirinia, stand guard over the Fenghuang skull. Adelina, go tend to the legion; get it back in order and set up camp for tonight. We''ll be here for tonight and tomorrow most likely now. Jahi...e with me." Mom handed out her orders swiftly, before beckoning for me to follow her as she walked around the pit, staring down into its depths quietly, leading me away from the others. "I''m sure I don''t need to say how stupid what you did earlier was... frying your circuits, shattering your Core, drying it out... Leone most likely has that covered. What I will say on that matter is... good job. It''s impressive that you were able to deal that much damage with such a half baked spell like that." She nced over at me, a small smile on her lips as she said that, before she looked back into the pit. "That aside, I believe we should have this talk now, considering all that''s happened, instead ofter, when I''ve deemed you worthy to take over the mantle of the Asmodia Family." Stopping, Mom took a deep breath and sheathed her ymore into the earth, leaning on therge de as she looked at me, her featurespletely serious. Chapter 385 384: Monster Horde Kat PoV Each Bloodstone around me pulsed with energies that I was unfamiliar with, but each of them oozed the metallic scent of blood that I had grown to love, the visible red haze around them making me wonder if these stones contained actual blood. Either way, it was a nice distraction to pass the remaining moments as I listened to the scampering and scurrying of the monsters in the distance, roars, howls, chirps and hisses filling the normally silent air of the forest. Mirgraz palmed some sort of enchanted bone rod, the top of which was fixated with a red cross guard, almost like it was the hilt of a sword that had lost its de. Selessei spun her spear and loosened her muscles, her long serpent tail thumping against the snow quietly as she observed the tree line behind her, looking for the monsters. Erika was the most fidgety, her ws extended and coated in Wind Mana as she shifted from foot to foot, her fur on end as she awaited the arrival of the monster horde. All three women had spread out across the area, taking a third of the avable space as their own as they hoisted their weapons, the noises from the horde drawing ever closer. As for me, I drew my Protective Fang in my left hand and newly enchanted Shatter Fang in my right, the two broad daggers reassuringly heavy in my hands as I too prepared for the fighting ahead. My choice had been made, and I decided that - after getting the others embroiled in swarms of monsters - I would take the opportunity to escape and run away for a few hours after popping a scent diffuser once more. I needed to escape these three women to preserve myself, while also allowing me to continue forwards and escape this forest. If need be, I would be running all day and all night until I escaped, after which I would allow myself to rest when I reached somewhere safe. A loud screech interrupted my thoughts, and I saw the first of the monsters burst out from the forest, it''s long beaked head attached to a wolves body as it bounded forwards, towards the Bloodstones and me. However, Selessei intercepted the creature, her spear shing out as she sliced cleanly through the bird headed wolf''s neck, severing its skull from its body in one glittering arc. Blood sttered against the ground as the wolf stumbled forwards a few more steps before copsing, dead. On Erika''s side, arge winged serpent shot through the lower branches and dove towards the Pantherkin, trying totch its curved fangs onto her shoulder, only to meet its end at the end of her wind enhanced ws. More and more monsters burst forth from the forest and charged towards me, and I nted my feet as I turned my attention from the women to the monsters. Leaping through the air at me was a Geri, and I coated my Shatter Fang in ice as I stabbed upwards, skewering its neck before pulsing my mana through the dagger, slivers of ice slicing through its muscle and leaving its head dangling to the side. [Geri killed - 890 XP awarded] As I pulled the dagger free from the Geri, I spun away from the outstretched ws of a cat-type monster and kicked it away, sending it flying with a hiss. Activating my Protective Fang, I blocked an dive bombing bird, the small monster crashing hard against the shield and shattering its bones, killing itself on the barrier. [Crowga killed - 346 XP awarded] Monsters continued to stream through the tree line, of all kinds of variations and lethality, and they were stemmed by the three women who tore through them, piling corpses around themselves as they ''hunted'' their prey. Mirgraz was the one that enjoyed this the most,ughing loudly as she swung a de made of water through her opponents, slicing cleanly through muscle and sinew, while her free fist mmed out and shattered bone. Therge blue Oni bathed in blood as she ughtered the monsters that approached her, while Erika and Selessei picked their fights with more strategy and care. As such, they were letting the most monsters through, and thankfully enough they were mainly weaker monsters like those Crowga''s or the Geri, which fell easily under my daggers. I moved around with a healthy mix of defensive techniques and offensive ones, dodging the weaker looking monsters and attacking the stronger ones, my daggers constantly moving through the air as I sliced through flesh and bone with ease. My Protective Fang provided constant barriers to protect my left side, the green Wind Mana pushing attackers back when they mmed into it, while my Shatter Fang eviscerated anything that got too close, shards of deadly ice cutting into the monsters flesh and spreading the [Frost of Despoina] skill like a poison. Additionally, a miniature domain of ice spikes erupted around me, skewering the paws of the monsters nearby as they charged at me, slowing them down as I dealt with the airborne monsters first. [Faux Quetzalcoatl killed - 766 XP awarded] [Ravenga killed - 392 XP awarded] [Crowga killed - 350 XP awarded] Notifications red inside my mind, joining the abundance of noise outside my head as monsters fell under my des and magics, the sheer number of monsters surprising me as I continued to kill more and more. How many of these damn things were hibernating inside the forest?! Even with those three stemming the tides, wave after wave of snarling, growling, slobbering monsters charged at me, falling swiftly to my attacks as I put them down. These were the weaklings, the advance party... Louder roars sounded out in the forest, roars that shook my body as I fought, and roars that were so deep and guttural I could barely imagine what wasing our way. However, through those roars another sound split through the air; sharp whistling sounded out from Mirgraz''s side, and I briefly turned to see her holding a thin bone whistle between her lips, an arrogant smirk on her face. She... was summoning her tribe, wasn''t she? Chapter 386 385: Serious Talk Jahi PoV Mom stared at me in silence for a few moments, leaning on her gargantuan de as she slowly gathered her thoughts. "So... Nua''Morte. Ka''Hondi. Both are Arch Fiends; Arch Fiend of Deathly Pestilence and Arch Fiend of Wrath respectively. Now, what do you know of what makes a Fiend a Fiend?" I frowned at Mom as she stared at me quizzically, her ruby eyes glittering in the descending sun''s light as she waited for an answer. "You told me that they were creatures born from strong negative emotions tied to certain ces or things. Specifically, you told me that Ka''Hondi was born from the anger and hate that festered between two giant powers millennia ago, that those people grew to hate each other so much that something was born from their hate and given form." "That''s... true. To an extent. A normal Fiend is indeed born of potent, bountiful negative energies, and they usually fall under four domains; four domains that we''ve managed to record ''names'' for, and understand what they are. There''s the Ka prefix, which deals with violence, anger, and bloodshed, and those Fiends tend to be angry, hateful beings that rarely manage to converse with others, even other Fiends; Ka''Hondi is amongst the rare few that retains some form of... sentience and consciousness, being capable of thought and understanding consequences. Then there''s the Nua prefix, which tend to be Fiends rted to decay, death, disease... physical rot is the mostmon amongst the Nua Fiends, and they are rxed, incredibly durable creatures that understand that eventually... everything crumbles under the ultimate rot; time. A rarer group of Fiends are the Tza Fiends; harbingers of change, deceit, and dark thirst for knowledge, the Tza Fiends hold secrets that could do both good and bad for the world. They''re hungry for new knowledge, and they will do anything to obtain that knowledge, even bargaining their very existence to others at the chance to study something that intrigues them. The prime example of that is Tza''Yul, the Arch Fiend that the Empress has bound inside after disying her arcane prowess to force it to yield... otherwise, such a proud, arrogant being of such vast arcane knowledge would never bend the knee. Finally, the more... odd cluster of Fiends; the , revelers and hedonists that lust after everything and pain or pleasure in excess. The are both the easiest Fiends to kill, and the hardest all at the same time. Unpredictable in nature, they thrive off of one of the mostmon sins of mortals, meaning their power can be incredible... Those four prefixes are the four domains of the Fiends, and made simple, they epass four of the seven deadliest sins us mortals fall victim too; Wrath, Gluttony, Greed, and Lust, while all four are Prideful and Envious to the extreme. That sound good for a recap of the Fiends?" I gave her a nod, watching as she smiled wryly at me. "Good, but it gets worse. Obviously, they aren''t all bad, since Pride - in certain amounts - is healthy and useful. Envy is the same - the desire to obtain something pushing you further isn''t wrong. But, it bes a sin in excess. Now, the Fiends are sinful creatures; obviously, since they were born in sin, they be sin itself. However, they epass more than that sin; pestilence isn''t a sin, nor is death, yet Nua Fiends all pertain to disease of some kind. They can epass good as well; Ka''Hondi is amongst the few that isn''t inherently evil, and that is because Ka''Hondi also draws power from Honor and Valor. Tza''Yul is an Arch Fiend of Arcane Knowledge. They''ve provided good to the world as well... but that is still outweighed by their evil. Now, why does this all matter? Why should I bother telling you - or reminding you - about Fiends that you will rarely ever see? It''s simple. Millennia ago, Fiends walked amongst the world freely, fighting amongst themselves to spread their respective ''domains'' amongst the mortals by establishing Ceremonial Grounds where they would draw power from. Those Grounds have all been destroyed or locked away with the sealing of the Fiends all those Millennia ago. However, with the resurgence of Nua''Morte, that suggests those seals ced amongst the Fiends are weakening, and that means that the world is about to get a whole lot more dangerous. Creatures that are nearly unkible will resurface and begin to once more spread their domain, and with such a powerful Fiend living in our basement, we need to make sure you are strong enough to keep that status quo. From here on out, the things you see will be more unexinable; things will happen that simply shouldn''t be possible. Creatures that should be weak will be real threats to cities, maybe even countries. As Heir to our House, I need to make sure that you understand that going forwards. When we get this over with, your Mother and I will sit you down properly and talk this over, but from here on out, understand that what we might face at each location isn''t just some normal monsters or people. They could be subject to those Fiends, or the Fiends themselves. Things will be stronger from here on out, and unluckily for you, that Light Magic you are so proud of? It''s like poison to Fiends, same with Dark Magic as well. The two fall under the same umbre for them, and they despise it with a passion. The way fire can melt flesh, Light and Dark Magic can severely injure those things that are incredibly hard to kill with such ease. You, Jahi, are a threat to them, and while the moremon Fiends might fall to your de and magics easily, the real threats - the Arch Fiends - will not. They will see a threat to them, and move to eliminate it before it can kill them too. Thankfully, Nua''Morte can''t do much after just managing to escape its seal, and it''ll take time for the others to escape as well, so we have time to get you stronger. Like... Knight level stronger." My brain felt warm after such arge influx of both incredibly useful information and the recap of older knowledge still processing as Mom stepped forwards and pped my shoulder, smirking at me as she said "Mull it over, but just know you have a year or two before things go to hell in a hand basket. More than enough time to whip you into shape and begin preparing for the worst of it. And tie up some loose ends as well... Either way though, oh daughter mine, it seems things just got a little more interesting~!" Chapter 387 386: Time To Leave Kat PoV I stared at Mirgraz in horror as she whistled through the thin bone instrument between her dark blue lips, which were upturned in an arrogant smirk. She chuckled as the whistle shattered, her water de still singing as she cleaved a Geri in half, and the Oni only continued tough and kill even as Erika and Selessei shouted out profanities towards the woman. Evidently, they understood that the Oni had just summoned her tribe towards us, all whilerger, stronger monsters slowly traversed the forest towards us, effectively trapping us here between bloodthirsty Oni and rampaging monsters. Reaching for my pouch, I swayed under the sharp talons of a Ravenga and grabbed a mana potion, stamina potion, and scent diffuser pill, swallowing down all three in rapid session as I prepared for what was toe. The corpses of monsters were piling up around all of us, their blood oozing from the wounds we inflicted and seeping into the snow, painting the normally bright, shining forest a dark crimson, feeding those Bloodstones. Deciding that it was now or never, I began to channel my mana and prepare tounch arge spell, wanting to clear myself a path to escape. As more and more roars, howls and screeches cascaded down around us, ear piercing whistles split through the cacophony of sound, signifying the imminent arrival of the Oni''s tribe. The thought of dealing with a dozen or more women, all simr to Mirgraz in strength and temperament sent shivers down my spine, and I sheathed my Shatter Fang and began to trace ethereal blue runes into the air, no longer holding back as I recognized that this was a fight against time. Monsters redoubled their efforts to kill me, their snarls bing the only thing I could hear as they leapt and wed at me, the horde of weaker monsters relying on their numbers to try and fell me. Barriers blocked the stronger of the monsters from reaching me, while the Protective Fang sang out as I cut and stabbed into the weaker ones, cutting down their numbers as best I could, all while my right hand traced out the runes I needed for an Ice Spell to get me out of here. I already had enough Wind and Water Spellsyered over my body, the enhancement spells having been cast at the beginning to give me an evenrger edge over the monsters; speed spells, healing cloak, sharpness enhancers... Everything that I had in my arsenal was put on disy, and I frantically finished my spell as I heard boomingughter and chatting from Mirgraz''s side. "What a good haul Mirgraz~! Oh, and we get three beauties to relieve ourselves with~? Damn, I knew the Chieftess picked you for a reason~! Alright girls! Let''s get to work!" A deep, raspy voice echoed around the clearing, and I shivered as I heard the sounds of the Oni reinforcements wading their way towards me, their des and clubs rising and falling as they killed and massacred the monsters around me. Finalizing the spell, I pushed my mana through my arm and activated the spell, therge Ritual Circle splitting apart into four smaller circles that all began to spray icicles over the clearing in front of me, slicing through the monsters and shattering apart upon impact, sending shards hurtling through the air and spreading the [Frost of Despoina] skill over the survivors. I bolted forwards without a second thought, funneling my mana into my legs as I swiftly rushed out of the forest, weaving past the horde of monsters and bounding over the roots as I began my desperate escape, wind buffeting my face as I listened to the Oni behind me shout in anger. There was no way for me to know if Erika or Selessei had the same idea, but honestly I didn''t care either way; rather, I wanted them to be swamped there so that the Oni had targets to focus on instead of me. After all, if I could at least lower the number of my pursuers, that was a win in my books. My feet glided over the snow, not leaving a mark as I rushed past the horde, the monsters not knowing what to do about the breeze that brushed past them now that the scent from the Bloodstone Clearing was gone. Should they pursue the mysterious breeze or go join the other monsters inside the bloody clearing that was filled with mortals for them to eat? They weren''t intelligent creatures, so the choice was obvious; continue forwards and join the fray, hoping that they would make it out alive and with some food in their belly. Some of the flying monsters pursued me briefly, only to be shot out of the air by the remnants of my spell, which was slowly trailing behind me as it utilized the mana I had poured into it. It would eventually dissipate into nothing, but for now it was sowing more discord amongst the monsters, and I veered off to another direction, wanting to make it harder for my pursuers. I continued running for hours, and eventually the sun began to fall, draping the forest in darkness once more; instead of stopping, I uncorked a dark vision potion and kept running, creating more and more distance between me and that clearing. As I ran, I tried to multitask, seeing if my bond trick would work once more; focusing myself on the remnants of the inactive Soul Bond, I dredged up memories of Jahi and tried to feel her through the link, wanting to orient myself using it once more... Thankfully, some how, some way, the bond pulsed slightly, showing me the tether between my Mistress and I, and I turned myself slightly to the left, pointing the tether slightly more to my left since she was past the Labyrinthian. With my direction secured once more, my journey through the forest continued forwards, and I swore to myself to never let myself fall into the position I was in earlier ever again. I needed to get stronger; much, much stronger, and I needed to secure my ce beside my loved ones side even harder when I returned, so that nothing, not even the Gods, could separate me from them again. Chapter 388 387: Going Forwards Jahi PoV "Eh stop overthinking it brat! Trust me, mulling over something asplicated as this isn''t good for your mental health~!" Mom pped my shoulder once as she grabbed her de and secured it on her back, a wide, toothy grin on her face as she looked down at me. "Wh- How-? No, of course I''m going to worry about it!? You just told me that Fiends areing BACK into the world and that they are nearly unkible creatures of sin that will utterly despise me and want to kill me! How in the ever loving fuck am I mean to NOT think about that fact Mom?!" She continued to grin at me, her ruby eyes sparkling with amusement as she looked down at me from her nose, arrogance oozing off her muscr form as she proudly stated "You don''t need to think about it because, until you manage to be stronger, I''ll keep you safe~! So don''t sweat it~! Ka''Hondi is by far amongst the strongest Arch Fiends, and I''ve beaten that insufferably resilient prick dozens of times over the years~!" I red at her, swatting away her hand as I growled "If you''ll excuse me, I do believe I need to go begin asking my fiancee to tutor me some more on magic, so that I can protect them and myself going forwards!" Mom''s chuckles followed me as I turned around sharply and stomped away, my mind whirling at high speeds as I tried to figure out what I needed to do going forwards. She did say that they wouldn''t be back to power until a few years from now, meaning I had time, but I needed to go from my level to the level of a Knight; I needed to do what Nirinia did in a decade and a half and do it in two or three instead. Which is utterly insane and almostpletely impossible to do! Though, as I continued to walk around therge pit and make my way back towards Anput and Leone, I don''t know about that... On the magical side of my strength, I could utilize the Dual Cultivation method that Leone showed us all a long time ago; after this crusade is over, whenever we have sex - which is often - if we utilize the Dual Cultivation method and grow the potency of our mana, we get stronger through just having ''higher level'' mana. Add on some more lessons in magic from Kolia or the others inside the Academy, and we could very easily increase our arcane prowess in a short period of time. The problem was - for Anput and I - that we weren''t the most proficient casters in the world, like Leone was; sure, we could do magic better than most, butpared to Leone, we were like peasants to nobility - a nearly insurmountable pinnacle that we wanted to climb. We also preferred the way of martialbat over arcanebat, so our magics and their uses would shift drastically from the norm as we tried to cultivate techniques that were more passive andplimentary to our dework. And in order to improve that, I know that the only way to do so is to either continue traversing the depths of Zhu''Rong Caverns and other dangerous areas, or train under the Knights of Cinder to learn all we can and refine our martial prowess. Maybe even request training from the Captain of the Knights herself, Lady Fenryas, Leone''s Aunt and wife to the Empress of Ash. Though, considering the fear that Mom disyed at her name, maybe we wait on asking her for now... Returning to the assembled Legion, I found Anput grinning as she stood beside Leone, the Vampire Princess flustered as she red back at the Jackalkin, the two exchanging words. The sparks that flew from Leone''s hair let me know just how animated she was, while the swishing of Anput''s tail was a dead giveaway to the enjoyment the woman was getting from teasing Leone. "Oh~! Here she is~! Your oh so Valiant Knight, my dear Princess~! I do believe she deserves another reward for her heroic efforts today~!" Anput''s exaggerated voice made Leone blush further, her red eyes snapping over to me as she red harder, her brow furrowed cutely as she pouted. Stomping over, the curvaceous Princess looked up at me and tapped her finger against my chest, saying "Never do that again, Jahi! It was so embarrassing!" I grinned down at her, lifting my hand and pulling her into my chest as I leaned down and whispered "But you''re so adorable when I make you blush, my dear... red really is your color, you know? I just love when you blush so much..." Anput grinned as she stood beside us, her obsidian eyes sparkling as she added "Besides, it''s not like the Legion wasn''t aware of what happened to us back in Goron~ We weren''t exactly... quiet about it." Leone''s blush deepened, and she mmed her fist against my abdomen, pushing herself free as she let out a huff. My chuckles joined Anput''s as we stared warmly at the Princess we both loved so much, before my smile faded as I gestured for them to follow me, leading them away from the rest of the Legion. Stopping a good distance away, I smiled wryly as I said "Mom just told me something... interesting. Nua''Morte, the Arch Fiend that we just faced via proxy? Well, that was the first of many Arch Fiends awakening, and it seems that - in a few years time - the world is going to grow much more chaotic. And since my Light Magic seemed to be something that angered them, well..." "The Marquess wants you to get stronger - around Nirinia''s level, I would assume - so that when the Fiends are back, you can defend yourself against them... Correct? Which would include us as well, since we WILL be by your side; if you even try to suggest I return to the Pce to hide behind my family, I will burn you." I grinned at Leone, shaking my head as I said "I wasn''t even contemting that, love. Besides, I''d be worried that something would happen to you where I couldn''t see it, even when I should know that nothing would get past the Empress and your family. No, I was going to say that from here on out, we redouble our training on all fronts... Anput, you and I need to refine our magics some more, which means sex is no longer entirely about pleasure; we''re going to use that technique that Leone showed us. Leone, you will be increasing your physical strength some more, just to reach a certain threshold so that we know that you can take care of yourself. All of us will be training hard from here on out, and I would say that in two years time, we need to reach the same level as Nirinia in terms of power, if not higher. If the world is going to change that drastically, well..." I looked towards the pit that the Fenghuang skulled creature had crawled out from, thoughts of the future floating around my mind. "We need to improve as well... a lot." Chapter 389 388: Escaping The Forest? Kat PoV With the way shown to me through a euphoric resurgence of the bond working once more, I resumed my rush through the frosted over forest, the chilly air filling my lungs as my feet glided over the snow. I had no real idea where the Bloodstone Clearing was in terms of my current position, as the hours I had run after managing to flee from the Oni and monster infested clearing were now nothing more than a blur to me, my heart still pounding at the thought of what might have been if I was just a tad bit weaker. Who knows what truly awaited me if I had been weaker and forcefully taken by such a powerful tribe of Oni; would I have still been the Kat that Jahi and the others had fallen in love with, or would I regress into the looser, unsessful Kat that I had once been in a life long since over? That very thought made me shudder, and I pushed past my strained, aching muscles and slightlybored breathing as I ran, wanting to leave this forest behind me and never see it ever again. I shook my head as I brought my thoughts away from such a depressing subject, instead focusing on the here and now. During my mad rush away from the Oni, I had consumed more of my potions, bringing me down to just two more stamina potions and three mana potions, as well as three dark vision potions... I had been chugging the alchemical liquids like they were water as I made my swift escape, and that meant that, going forwards, I would need to resume my more conservative, cautious, and realistic journey. Less potion usage, more actual rest, and stopping at reasonable times. As it stands, I hadn''t slept in a few days, and I could tell that there was only so much the potions could do for me now that my body had grown ustomed to the influx of magically enhancing liquid. So I tried to ignore the dull headache and strained, sharp burning sensation that assaulted my legs and back as I continued to run, the sky slowly darkening once more as I continued through the forest as swiftly as I possibly could. My speed seemed quicker then before, and I traveled between the trees quickly, the pale blue bark zipping past as I weaved between trunks and leapt over roots. Night fell, and I decided to take one of the three dark vision potions, wanting to make a little more progress before finally hunkering down for the night, giving my body some form of rest and sustenance for a few hours. I would desperately need it, since I could feel my body consuming my mana at an enhanced rate, recing my need for calories with mana. Sure, I couldst entirely off of the potent mana in the air for who knows how long, but food is still much preferred to doing that, even if it is just dried, salted jerky. Eventually I felt the dark vision potion weakening, and I sighed as I focused on the direction I needed to head before slipping under some roots, carving the direction and cing one of my daggers down facing that direction. Resting my head against the roots, I steadied my breathing as I allowed my Water Mana to wash over my exerted muscles, healing them and soothing me swiftly, all while I searched through my packs and removed the strips of dried mammoth, gnawing on them hungrily as an orb of water floated around me, allowing me to drink when I needed it. My ears were twitching as I focused on my surroundings, all while I made sure to take another scent diffuser pill in between bites of the jerky, keeping my presence down to a minimum as I rested up. The forest was back to being its silent, empty self, and I could only hope that it remained that way as night slowly gave way to the bleary light of dawn. Getting up, I took my dagger and resumed running, my body so used to the motions that I returned to my top speed in mere moments, my sense of time blurring as I wondered if I had ever stopped at all... The unending trees and roots weren''t doing anything good for my mental state, as I wondered briefly if I was just trapped inside the same small ring of forest and running in a circle, only to bite my cheek hard as I tossed that thought away. I needed to think positively, but it was bing harder and harder to do so inside this wretched frozen forest. Time lost its meaning as there was no sun to look directly at, nor was anything happening to distract myself from the monotony of traversing such arge wooded area. Even the stories and conversations with the system had grown boring over these long hours, and I could only grit my teeth and push forwards, desiring nothing more than to be free of this frost covered cell. Time continued to pass, and I would never be able to tell just how long I had been inside this forest as days melded together, my only driving force being the fear of being captured by any of the tribes inside the confines of this forest. Eventually, I somehow managed to reach the edge of the forest, looking out over the snowy ins that separated this forest from the Wekalian Steppes a few thousand miles to the north. Covered in a light flurry shower, the ins were peaceful and quiet; not silent like the forest, but filled with the swishing of a breeze and asional howl of an animal, while in the distance I could make out a small hamlet nestled into the side of a hill, fires warming up thendscape as the people huddled together, sharing in the warmth. I... was finally free, and I continued my journey forwards, putting distance between me and that damnable forest as I ventured out onto the next leg of my journey. Chapter 390 389: A Tug Here...* Jahi PoV I pped my hands together as I grinned down at both Leone and Anput, both women nude once more as we rested in our tent, which I had set up a good distance away from the rest of the Legion for one purpose... They watched as I rubbed my hands together lecherously above them, Anput raising a brow and smirking as she said "You look like some disgusting Noble who just caught herself two beauties to sully, Jahi... Not a good look for you, honestly." My olive skinned beauty looked utterly ravishing as she spread herself out on the bedroll, her muscrly lithe body so delectable to watch as she moved in any way whatsoever, and I smirked back at her as my cock throbbed with need. "Sounds like a fun role to y, doesn''t it~? You get the rough, demeaning sex you love, and I get to revel in dominating my little puppy for hours on end and making her scream as I breed her~! Doesn''t that sound excellent, Anput..?" She blushed at that, her tail swishing around as she stared at my aching cock with tant need, and I was about to lunge forwards and begin to ''sully'' my beautiful fiancee when Leone coughed, getting our attention. Our Vampiric fiancee was blushing as well, her thoughts on that type of sexual y evident by the giant hard on she herself was sporting, but she was the voice of reason even during our nights spent entwined together... "W-We aren''t h-having sex for pleasure anymore, Jahi! T-That''s what you yourself said! W-We''re cultivating from here on out, and that''s final!" Leone jabbed her finger into the bedroll, and Anput and I both nodded distractedly as we watched her bountiful chest bounce at the movement, neither of us listening to her words. Releasing a tired sigh, the Vampire looked at me with narrowed eyes as she said "Jahi,e over here and fuck me already." She managed to say that aloud without turning into a blushing mess - I don''t know whether to be proud of how I''ve corrupted her or saddened by the departure of my once pure Leone - andid onto her back, spreading her legs wide and weing me back to her tight embrace. "You certainly don''t need to tell me twice..." Anput and Leone shuddered at my husky voice, and I smirked as I crawled over to Leone, deciding to bring back that blushing mess I had fallen so in love with. My tongue extended out and trailed over her milky white skin, and she shuddered again as I went from her abdomen to herrge breasts, my teeth snagging on her nipple as I suckled for a moment. Ignoring herbored breathing and the thing poking my stomach, I moved on from her nipple to her neck, sucking on her smooth neck before nipping down, making her gasp as I muttered "You should learn how it feels to be bitten, Vampire..." Her hands reached for my head, only for her to gasp again as I pinned her down, shifting my position as I loomed over her with a grin. Entwining my fingers with hers, I stared into those crimson orbs filled with need and muttered "Tell me what you want again, my love... I want to hear you say it..." My hair fell onto her skin, the contrasting raven ck strands and pale flesh turning me on more as she began to turn red, her slightly pointed ears almost glowing in the dark tent. "I..." Those plump lips of hers pursed together as she stared at me, before she managed to say "J-Jahi, p-please insert your c-cock into my womb and pour your mana infused s-semen inside me..." "Good girl..." Her other plump lips kissed my scalding tip as I began to push inside her, causing me to bite my teeth as a growl reverberated in my throat, the feeling of my woman igniting my lust even higher. However, this wasn''t sex anymore; it was Dual Cultivation, and while we could still enjoy ourselves immensely during it, we needed to keep our minds focused on the purpose of the coption. So, as I slid into her tight folds, I clenched my fingers around her hands as I began to circte my mana throughout my body, before pushing it into her palms. I began the loop between us as I fed her my mana, using her incredibly powerful Fire Mana to temper my own Light Mana, all while my cock rested snugly inside her womb. Thrusting forwards gently, I focused mostly on the technique instead of the pleasure, relegating it to the back of my mind as we began the first step of the process. When I gathered enough of my tempered mana, I pushed it down towards my crotch and moaned, the warmth of Leone''s Fire Mana creating a unique sensation around my balls as I prepared to cum. It felt like someone was sucking on each of the plump orbs, but I could see Anputying beside Leone, watching us both with a satisfied, yet slightly envious face. I pressed myself as deep into Leone as I possibly could before grunting "I''m cumming~!" to my fiancee, letting her know to prepare to absorb the mana inside my semen. My cock erupted inside her, and we both moaned loudly as the molten, magma like cream flooded her womb, each rope sttering her insides messily. While I was pushing my refined mana into her, she was doing the same by pushing a bundle of her mana into me, the primarily Fire Mana bundle searing my mana circuits, though the pain I felt was by far weakpared to Leone. She writhed in agony under me, her face contorted in pain as she gasped and shook, before finally managing to grit her teeth and suppress the Light Mana that was running rampant inside her. I pulled out of her tight cunt, allowing my deep creampie to burst free as we both sat back, beginning to refine the energies we had given to one another. As I did so, I felt Anput lean down and begin to suck on my cock, her long tongue scooping my semen off my shaft as she cleaned me up, all while keeping it to a minimum so that I could concentrate. My Light Mana wrapped around the bundle that Leone had gifted me, and I slowly guided it up to my Core, allowing more and more Light Mana to swallow the Fire Mana and improve my Core''s size. Slowly but surely, almost in tandem with Anput''s raspy tongue, the bundle was being absorbed into me, and I moaned softly as I felt the Core warm up and grow, getting slightlyrger physically, while the mana circuits inside my body were flooded with a very small increase in size as well, allowing more mana to flow through me. When I finished absorbing the mana from Leone, I shuddered as my Jackalkin fiancee took my cock deep into my throat, her nose twitching slightly against my crotch as she inhaled my scent, before gasping as I began to cum once more. My hands fell onto her ck hair, and I held her steady as I began to feed her my semen, moaning the entire time as she greedily swallowed down my seed. Stroking her fluffy ears, I panted as I finally allowed her to breathe again, my cock stained with her saliva and my cum still the main focus for her. Anput mewled in want as she tried to return her lips to my tip, only to yelp as I grabbed her and pinned her down, much like Leone. We stared into each others eyes for a few moments before I leaned down and kissed her, my cock throbbing as I slipped it inside her tight pussy next. The night had just begun, and I still needed to give Anput a dose of my mana... And I needed to satiate my lust now that it was provoked... Chapter 391 390: A Tug There* Anput whined under me as I entered her cunt, her toned body giving her a tightness that felt different to Leone''s as I pushed forwards, spearing her deep on my cock. The Jackalkin panted with such obvious heat as she stared up at me, and I grinned down at her as I whispered "We need to start cultivating, Anput... If you don''t, I''ll begin to pour the rest of my lust into Leone instead of you..." She shuddered at that, and a certain rity returned to her eyes as she squeezed my hand, slight fear permeating her obsidian eyes as she nodded. Like before, I started the circuit between us, pushing my Light Mana into Anput, who returned it to me coated with her Metal Mana. I added more, she added more, and we allowed the two to temper themselves against the others mana, all while I lodged myself firmly into her womb, enjoying the sensation of her cervix tightly clenching around the top of my shaft as I gyrated my hips softly. The pleasure from being so deep inside my woman while only moving so methodically was different, but pleasurable nheless... especially if the quiet moans that Anput released were anything to go by. As we Dual Cultivated, I took the time to relish the sight of my lithe puppy under me. Her long ck hair was syed out across the bedroll, no longer held up in the tight ponytail she wore usually, and I smirked as I began to look lower. She wasn''t like the other two - nor like me - in terms of her chest, but I rather enjoyed these small mounds of flesh just as much as I enjoyed the two mountains that Leone had; they fit her body perfectly, and I loved how soft they werepared to the rest of her muscr figure. Going lower, Anput''s abs were pronounced, each ab solidly chiseled into her stomach and crawling down towards her navel, and the beginnings of the fourth set of abs could be seen atop the current set of three as it rested below her chest. Her sides were solid as well, and I loved the feeling of the hard muscle my little puppy was packing, the sensation making me euphoric as I knew that I was turning a strong woman into little more than putty in my hands as I ravished her. That was one of the reasons I loved her physique, with the other being that I understood just how much effort went into every line on her body, since I put forwards the same amount of effort... Then there were her long, toned legs that wrapped around my waist, holding me in ce as she desperately held back her desire to ask me to start going faster and harder, wanting me to make her my woman all over again. Even now she used her muscles to massage my cock, her control over her body much stronger than Leone''s as she mped down hard on my shaft, her folds writhing around it rhythmically. Continuing on with the ceremony, I pressed my body into hers and reveled in the warmth she provided under me, while my cute little puppy buried her nose into my neck and inhaled my scent. Like with Leone, I had no intention of holding back for the sake of prolonging this round of sex, so I grunted before muttering "Get ready, Anput..." Thrusting as deep into her as I could, I moaned as she covered my balls in her juices, cumming hard as I began to ejacte inside her womb. Thick ropes of mana infused semen sttered inside her, and she moaned alongside me as we exchanged mana intimately, all while I shot rope after rope of sticky semen. When my ejaction finished, I pulled out and away from Anput, doing the same as I had with Leone as I began to make the bundle of sharp, cool Metal Mana from Anput my own. However, I wasn''t going for the entire bundle this time, instead absorbing part of it as I tried to maneuver the pains of too much growth all at once. As I got to work, the Vampire finished what she was doing and mirrored Anput''s earlier actions, cleaning my cock off of semen and Anput''s juices as she prepared me for the real pleasure toe. It took around the same time, as I slowly absorbed piece after piece of mana from the bundle provided to me, but eventually I needed to let the bundle disperse as I felt my Core throb with pain as I pushed it to its limit. Groaning at the ache, I opened my eyes and focused on the bobbing ash gray hair of Leone as she slobbered on my dick, making me grin as I reveled in her excellent mouth work. Anput joined us a few momentster, and I moaned lightly as she began to polish each of my balls, helping Leone get me off. I shot my semen into Leone''s throat with a grunt, my fourth load of the night coating the Vampire''s throat and stomach with my creamy liquid, though Anput demanded some as well as she kissed Leone deeply. Watching two women sharing my cum like it was some delectable treat was great, and I enjoyed the show as they fought desperately for thest bit of semen. I reached forwards and grabbed Anput, flipping the girl around and lining her ass up with my cock, making her and Leone look at me in surprise before I rammed myself back into Anput''s pussy, making her ass ripple slightly as the small bit of fat was pounded in to. "Enjoy yourself, Leone... I''ll get to you in a few moments..." My hands were wrapped around Anput''s waist as I hammered into her hips, enjoying the way she moaned loudly as I returned to her bloated womb, all while her knot iled around wildly under each thrust. Leone understood my message, sitting in front of Anput and taking the woman''s head in her hands, parting her lips and spearing her between us. With a cock in her pussy and her throat, Anput was sandwiched between us and turned into our source of pleasure, which the Jackalkin epted swiftly as she arched her back for me while sucking audibly on Leone''s impressive dragon. mming my hips against Anput''s ass, I relished in the tight confines of her cunt, losing track of time as pleasure eroded my mind, only returning to consciousness when I began to cum inside her once more, done milking myself for the time being. I pumped my olive skinned woman full of semen, before looking towards Leone as she gasped, her hands desperately holding Anput''s head steady as she too began to cum, flooding another of Anput''s holes with hot, sticky cum. Pulling out of her a little early, I sttered thest few ropes of cum across her back, smirking down at her as I watched her tail wag relentlessly as I marked her body as mine. However, I gasped as I felt something inside me clench, and I stumbled backwards and clutched at my chest, my heart beating wildly. Leone saw that and grit her teeth, pulling free from Anput and trying to call out to me, alerting the Jackalkin to what was happening. My breathing grewbored as I sat down, my fist clenched over my heart as I stared nkly at the floor. "S-She''s... s-she j-just tugged at the B-Bond again..." Anput and Leone stared at me in shocked silence, before grinning wildly as they heard that she was still alive. I doused that happiness as I added "S-She felt... a-afraid and exhausted..." Their smiles vanished at that, and the previous light, lustful mood evaporated as it was reced by a somber, worried one. Taking a deep breath, Leone crawled over to me and gently ced her hand over mine, her crimson eyes filled with worry as she whispered "Everything''ll be alright, Jahi..." Anput joined her, sliding to my side as she wrapped her arms around my body, resting her head on my shoulder as she whispered "We need to just... believe in her, Jahi... Kat''s a strong, resourceful woman..." I nodded, but the sense of helplessness and anguish I felt about her being alone and afraid made it hard to think straight. The warmth that surrounded me was reassuring, and I briefly wondered what I would do if I had been alone in this situation... only to shake my head as I returned their hugs, even as my heart beat wildly in my chest. Chapter 392 391: Continuing Onwards - Jahi Edition Our passionsted long into the night, a new day beginning to rise by the time I had finally managed to calm myself down. Sttered with liquids, my two women were panting and covered in sweat, looking like fine art pieces that I myself painted, and I shuddered as I couldn''t help but imagine a third perfect body nestled somewhere around the other two, my heart clenching once more. My deep breathing as I tried to calm myself down again woke the two beauties up from their exhaustion, both staring at me with tired worry as they managed to sit up, groaning at the ''damage'' I had done to them. "Jahi... a-are you alright, love..?" Leone''s soothing voice was slightly t, evidence of her exhaustion as she looked towards me with droopy eyes, blinking the sleep from them as she yawned cutely. "Yeah... Just... Unwanted thoughts and all for a few moments, needed to calm down a bit..." Anput''s choice to soothe me made me moan, and I looked down at the lithe minx and chuckled, my Jackalkin speaking through her actions instead of her words, using those lips once more for something ''productive'' Obviously, I was grateful for the warmth she provided, and Leone made sure to join her as we started our day off right; I got to relieve some more tension, while they both received some delicious ''cream'' for an early breakfast, straight from the source. When we finished up, I used my Light Mana to clean us all off before we all got dressed, wanting to get out of the passion filled air of our tent for the moment. The sun was peeking over the horizon, and many of the Legion stumbled out of their tents, greeting one another as they began to pull outrge pots and pans that they hung over the fires, preparing the first meal for today. Anput''s stomach growled noisily as she watched a Wolfkin ce a bundle of ground meat onto her buttered pan, and my puppy looked towards Leone and said "I want meat." The Vampire smiled wryly at the olive skinned Jackalkin as she said "You always want meat, Anput... didn''t you make that clearst night?" I smirked at the barb Leone sent Anput''s way, which made the woman blink as she heard the uncharacteristic jab from the normally passive Leone. "You did too, you damn Vampire! Blood wasn''t the only thing you were sucking out of Jahi! And me! So don''t even act like it was just me!" However, Leone wasn''t fully developed for the verbalbat that the rest of us relished in, so she just blushed and looked away, forfeiting her battle against Anput as she began breakfast. Like before, Nirinia stumbled over with a giant grin stered on her face, the Djinn waving back at an equally joyful Orc woman who made her way towards herrades. Sitting down beside us, Nirinia raised her hands before any of us could speak and raised a small bundle, handing it to Leone and saying "A trade~! Use this for breakfast, and I get to enjoy some food from your pot~! Sound good?" Leone undid the cloth bundle to reveal a small stack of bacon, which made Anput salivate. "Fine... It''ll be ready soon." We watched with smiles on our faces as the Vampire began to cook, the scent of sizzling meats outweighing the other scents that clung to us all despite our best efforts... I chatted with Nirinia, learning that she was back to her old self once more as she decided to do her best to forget about everything that happened recently with Adelina, choosing to return to her happier, live life by the day mentality. When breakfast was ready, Leone handed us all a bowl of thick oatmeal and small tes of grilled bacon, before tossing us all the remaining apples to eat as well. Our mugs were filled with fresh water that Iaso came over to give us, before she returned to her father to discuss things, while Liga chatted with Kalia about the recent discoveries... with some fear still in her eyes. The sun had barely risen from the horizon when we finished everything up and began to pack up the tents, preparing to leave behind the city of Huran and continue onwards into the Kingdom of Tragon, where we would learn more about the Gates and whether or not whoever - or whatever - was causing them picked these locations because of the Ceremonial Grounds hidden beneath them... Of if it was just a crazy coincidence that an Arch Fiend was released because of something elses actions as they yed around with the Gates. Speaking of the Gates, as we climbed into the carriage once again with Mom, we were joined by Kolia, who began to go over her findings concerning the Ceremonial Grounds first, before switching to the little she managed to learn about the Gates. Apparently, ording to her conclusions, the two were NOT connected entirely, but further evidence would be needed to cement that as fact or not. Personally, she believed that the way the people died was entirely different from the typical kills of Fiends or Cultists - despite the insistence of removing the eyes from the corpses - and that the two things were unrted. Kolia believed that the people of Huran were killed by some form of creature that could open the Gates, citing the various different methods used to kill, which all were animalistic in nature. Torn apart, bitten, ttened, pierced... All suggested ws or talons of some kind alongside a sharp, razor fanged maw, as well as arge, heavy body that could squash a human male with rtive ease. As for the burns and other signs of elemental damages, Kolia believed the creature might have ess to either different enchantments on its body or it was capable of wielding all four basic elements, since there were some wounds that seemed to be made with each of the different elements. Burns, more jagged cuts, piercings, and blunt force trauma all spoke to Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth Magics respectively, and she wasn''t entirely sure how it might have gained all four - since that was theoretically impossible - but she wasn''t willing to rule it out just yet considering the whole ability to create Gates... All in all, our journey to the next destination was spent pouring over her findings and theories, with mainly Leone and Kolia talking as they discussed everything in great detail, while Mom, Nirinia, Adelina, Anput and I seldom spoke, adding a little here and there. Chapter 393 392: Continuing Onwards - Kat Edition Kat PoV When I had stumbled out of the forest and onto the snowden ins, the first thing that washed over me was the relief of being free from the clutches of such a dangerous ce. That relief made me stumble as I felt my body rebelling against me, the adrenaline that had been coursing through my veins for so long dissipating instantly, leaving me running off of the fumes left behind by thest set of fumes. That''s to say... I was on apletely empty tank of gas, and I could barely keep my eyes open as I stumbled forwards. However, I needed to walk far away from this damnable forest so that I could properly rest, and I grit my teeth as I decided to do something that would keep me awake. Without hesitation I unsheathed one of my daggers and stabbed the tip into my thigh, grunting as adrenaline resurged into my veins at the sudden pain. Taking ahold of the wound, I pinched the flesh and inflicted more pain as I began to walk forwards, making sure that the wound remained so that I could focus my mind on something besides rest. Obviously, I clotted the wound with my magic so that nothing could follow me, while also keeping a slight gale around me to diffuse my scent more, meaning the only way to figure out where I was was to use sight and hearing. Luck was finally on my side though as the flurries turned to true snow, nketing the ins in soft, fluffy white kes while the winds picked up, shrouding thend in the beginnings of a storm. Visibility was lowered and sound muffled on the open ins, and I smiled tiredly to myself as I walked through the storm, making my way over to the tiny hamlet I had seen off into the distance. I wanted to reach that small hamlet and ask for shelter - or at the very least proper food - so that I could recuperate my energy much faster, so I put up with the dull pain of the self inflicted wound and the exhaustion permeating my body. The hamlet wasn''t too far away, maybe about an hour walk, and I managed to turn my brain off as I trekked over the small, rolling hills covered in fresh snow to reach this ce, which was a cluster of about seven cabins and a few other smaller buildings, and I noted that the cabins were equipped with chimneys that spouted out smoke, suggesting warm fires inside. When I reached the smallmunity living in the wilderness, I approached thergest house and took a deep breath, dragging out thest of my mana and preparing to flee if I got bad vibes from the inhabitants. Really, I should have rested outside on my own, away from people of any kinds as I recuperated my strength, but I felt like I needed normal interaction and a real meal to get back to my peak, and I certainly didn''t have the energy to go hunting right now... Honestly, when I stopped I would likely be out like a light for a good few hours, so that was why I wanted to at least get a bite to eat before hunkering down for the foreseeable future. So, I rapped my knuckles against the door and waited, listening to the shuffling inside the cabin as my other hand rested on one of my daggers, prepared to free the de and defend myself. An old man opened the door, his wrinkled, weathered features paired with the long, flowing white beard making him seem ancient despite the rather fit, lean muscture that was hiding under his puffy shirt. "Oh? A visitor? How can I help you,ss?" His warm brown eyes were filled with wisdom as he smiled softly at me, and I smiled back, before looking past him to see a woman in her mid twenties looking towards me curiously. "I was just... wondering if you had some food to spare? I can pay for it, of course." I patted my coin pouch, and the man chuckled as he shook his head, stepping back and beckoning me inwards. "No need for that,ss. It''s a cold world out there, and I used to be an adventurer. Always been my policy to help those in need, since I understand the dangers of the world. Come! My daughter finished making some stew earlier... I think we have enough left over for you." The woman nodded, a warm smile on her face as she gestured to the firece, where a pot hung over the mes. Returning her smile, I stumbled inside and sighed, the warmth wrapping over my body wonderfully. I couldn''t sense anyrge quantities of mana radiating off of the two mortals; the old man had a bit more than the woman, but that would check out with his ims to be a former adventurer. An axe rested against the door, used for woodchopping, while a in steel sword hung above the firece on the mantle, surrounded by small knickknacks and trinkets. The cabin was small and cozy, filled with the bare necessities for two people; two beds in the back - both of which were curtained off - a table, kitchte, firece, rug, water basin... Everything they could need, they had. Gesturing to the table, the old man took a seat and sighed, rubbing at his knee as he asked "So what brings you out this far,ss? This isn''t exactly a... bustling province of travel." We exchanged smirks as he said that, and I sighed as I said "Nothing much, just... passing through. Storm got a bit bad, but I saw this little hamlet from afar and decided to stake a bet that I could get something to eat for the night." He nodded, gratefully epting the mug that the woman offered and sipping on it, before she ced a bowl in front of me. I gave her a smile before taking the bowl, discreetly sniffing the contents as I tried to determine what was used and if it had any risk before bringing it to my lips. Taking a ''sip'' of it, I watched their expressions cautiously, but saw nothing besides curiosity and understanding, so I swallowed the thin broth, the warm liquid seeping into my cold body nicely. "Well, we don''t have a second bed, nor does anyone else in themunity, so... sorryss, but..." The old man sighed as he looked around, gesturing at the floor, before looking at his daughter, who said "If you don''t mind, traveler, we can share a bed..." Her smile was warm still, and I could see that the old man was surprised at her words before shrugging. I looked her over for a moment, unsure of what to do; my stacks of [Arousal] had grown as I had ran, so I wasn''t of the soundest minds right now, but I was certainly too tired to do anything... not that I could anyways, inside a strangers house. "Uh... well, as long as we''re just sleeping, that''s... fine with me?" Her smile grew, and she chuckled softly as she nodded, saying "Either is fine, traveler. Go on, eat. Warm yourself up." She stood back up and moved towards her bed, yawning as she said "The bed''s a bit small, but we should fit together. Good night, papa. Don''t stay up too long now; the cold''ll harm your knee if you do." He just waved her off, remaining seated, and the woman rolled her eyes before turning in for the night, leaving me alone with the old man. Though, he turned in rather quickly too, yawning and getting up before shuffling to his bed, bidding me good night and going to sleep, his soft snoring sounding out rather quickly afterwards. They were... trusting people, it seemed, but... Sighing, I rubbed at my heavy eyes before walking towards the bed, deciding to take her offer for now. She was also sound asleep, facing the wall and curled into a ball, so Iid beside her and faced away, towards the firece, and closed my eyes, drifting to sleep in moments. Chapter 394 393: Some More Evidence Jahi PoV The carriage ride was spent listening to the two smart women riding with us debating possible theories and ideas, all while the rest of us listened on in silence as we mulled over whatever they pushed forwards as evidence or as theory. Possible motives for the appearances, how they might be linked to Ceremonial Grounds or Fiends, what is doing it... They used the little evidence they gathered to theory craft possibilities for what we might be facing, and it was a rather interesting thing to watch. You could almost see the gears turning in their heads as they bounced idea after idea off one another, only to be pulled back to more usible ideas when we noticed that they were getting off track. Sure, we didn''t contribute much, but we provided them the basic things they may have missed as they talkedplexities, and that was how we spent the ride over to the next location, one of three unnamed viges that dotted the map that Adelina had. We knew they had Gates because all contact with those viges was gone, and the Tragon Kingdom had sent people to investigate them, only to have those parties never return either. Something happened there, and we were of the mind to believe that the Gates were either still open, something had upied those areas, or now, maybe they were former Ceremonial Grounds. The evidence of what might have urred would be slim to none of a chance it was still there, but we needed to investigate either way, which is why we stopped a thousand feet away from the vige, overlooking it from a nearby hill. Adelina exited first, her swiftness letting us know she didn''t want to be near Nirinia, who still smelt slightly of sex, which made the Djinn role her eyes. Everyone else filtered out behind her, rejoining our squads as we prepared to march out down to the vige. Currently, we were looking down at a vige situated right beside a river inside a small canyon, the buildings built into the side of the hills, which were adorned with fields of untended crops. Going down to investigate, we found rotting corpses scattered about, all of which were bitten, wed, squashed, or cleanly cut - traces of Wind Mana lingered on those wounds. Those corpses that still retained their heads had their eyes removed brutally, usually a jagged gash across the face to blind them. Kolia looked around and made sure that there was nothing else amongst the dead, checking the small vige for mana that simply felt wrong, like back in Huran, but nothing was found by anyone. Just corpses and demolished houses, while the sounds of flies and scurrying of rats let us know that these corpses had been here awhile. The buildings were broken down like something heavy had barreled into them, while the few vigers that had tried to run were cut down by Wind Mana, like the creature or person who did this wanted to utilize close quartersbat above all else, only resorting to magic when it made killing those far away easier. No monsters skulked around the perimeter, and the only evidence we could find was a perfectly clean, untouched circle inside the center of the vige. Blood was sttered around the circle, but never crossed the line, while dead vigers were scattered about. Nothing passed over that line, and Kolia gingerly brushed her fingers over the dirt, pinching it before letting it fall down to the ground. "This... was a Gate alright. Sterile, even now... interesting. Faint traces of... something. Mana, perhaps? Simr structure and feeling, but not... exactly mana? Hm..." Leone knelt beside Kolia, staring at the dirt with interest before replicating what Kolia had done, pinching some of the dirt. Kolia began to collect a sample, all while under the watchful eye of the Legion, who spread out around the vige and searched for anything else unusual. "That is interesting... Was there not something simr to this back at Huran?" Hearing Leone''s question, Kolia shook her head, scooping some more dirt into the ss vial as she said "No. The Arch Fiend would have overridden the Gate''s contact point. My guess is that the Gate''s have the same... feeling of the Labyrinthian, while Fiends have their own unique feel, which pervades anything it touches. Am I correct, Marquess?" Mom looked towards the circle and nodded, replying "Correct. I''ve only been inside a few times, but the very fabric of reality inside the Labyrinthian is... different from the rest of the world. Things unnatural to us happenmonly inside the Labyrinthian, like the changing and shuffling of biomes and locations. As far as I''m concerned, the Labyrinthian is a living, breathing structure that does what it needs to survive. With the Fiends, they also have a different feel to them. Pervasive is definitely the right word to use..." She sneered slightly as she spat to the side, her ruby eyes ring as she muttered "Disgusting creatures, Fiends. Arrogant, pompous, disgusting things..." Kolia chuckled softly at that, before getting up and staring intently at the vial as she backed away slowly from the circle. "Good! I worried that the sample would lose its... essence if I moved away from the contact point, but..." She continued backwards, still looking at the vial before grinning. "Alright! I''ll gather a few more samples and then we should be good. I don''t think we''ll find much else inside this vige, but that does help us understand more about just what we could be dealing with. And I feel that the city of Huran was simply... an unlucky coincidence. I think that the Fiends aren''t connected to the Gates; like you said, two different entities." Beckoning for us to begin departing, the Snakekin woman continued to stare at her samples with a grin, before handing one to Leone as they began to once again debate the possibilities of what we were facing. It was a boring investigation, but at this point... I would take boring over something else crazy happening like at Huran. Chapter 395 394: Journey Resumes Kat PoV When I awoke from the deep slumber I had entered, I was greeted with the warmth of another person behind me, their arm draped over my body as they hugged me close to them, all while their nose was buried into the back of my neck. I smiled tiredly as I felt something hard poking against my back, and I shuffled back as I began to rub against it, my eyes still closed as I enjoyed the warmth around me, all while I grew hotter inside. The person behind me moaned softly into my neck, and I shivered again as that hardness throbbed against my butt, their hips jerking forwards a little as they situated themselves against me better. A hand rested on my stomach, and I smiled again as they traced a circle above my womb, like they were asking if it was alright to continue forwards. Before I could say something, a voice I didn''t recognize whispered "You were the one to say we would just sleep, traveler... any more of this, and I might take your actions as eptance..." I jolted awake at that, sitting up and looking down at the sloppy smile of the old man''s daughter, her hair all over the ce as she rested on her elbow, staring up at me. My breathing quickened as I saw the tent inside her pants, and that searing warmth and hardness made my mind nk out for a moment as I looked at it, wondering what it felt like in my bare hands, or what it tasted like. However, I shook my head and gulped, watching as the woman just smiled at me before shrugging her shoulders. "Well... thanks for that though... it was pleasant while itsted, traveler. Also, sorry... I move around a lot in my sleep; that''s how we ended up like that..." I nodded, watching as she sat up and stretched, before she smirked at me and said "Unless you want to watch, do you mind giving me a few minutes? I need to... take care of it before getting up; otherwise, it''ll just return in a few minutes." Standing up, I stiffly walked out of the small ''bedroom'' and pulled the curtain back when I left, giving her her privacy to... let it all out. I took a seat at the kitchen table and took a deep breath, opening my system menu and looking towards the 3 stacks of [Arousal], realizing just how potent they were. For a brief moment, I was contemting returning to that bed and relieving that woman myself, even if I was just using my hand or mouth; I wanted to feel that hot, sticky liquid again, to taste it... That was how I knew just how terrible of a double edged sword the [Nymphomania] skill was; at only 3 stacks of [Arousal] I was thinking of going back inside to relieve some stranger I had never met before. I was able to thankfully stamp down on that ludicrous thought, but what about when I reach 5 stacks? 10 stacks? How insanely horny would I be then? My fingers drummed along the wooden tabletop, and I frowned as I listened to the soft pants and trace scent of the woman''s arousal in the air, both of which stirred my insides more. I... would need to leave soon. Taking a moment to check over all my things, I made sure I had everything before opening my coin purse, pulling out a few Silvers and Coppers and resting them on the table. I should get going now... before something else happens. The door opened quietly, and a calm, peaceful dawn awaited me outside the warm cabin. Closing the door behind me, I drew up my hood and began to orient myself once more, running towards the direction that I needed to take to reach the Wekalian Steppes. If I wanted to cut down on time, I could traverse the desert that was to the southwest of the Wekalian Steppes, cutting through that to travel alongside the walls of the Labyrinthian and reach the Sultanate, where I would need to go find the Sultana or Kio to help get me home. Though, even the Sultanate would be a dangerous adventure of its own; the scorching heat day and night - fueled by the abundance of Fire Mana permeating thend - would sap my own mana from me, and the amount of dangerous monsters that lived inside the sandy dunes of the Sultanate were innumerable. Of course, the most dangerous part of the Sultanate would be the people; from what Anput''s said, and from her actions, I am a prime cut of steak walking through a den of ravenous carnivores. A beautiful, curvy Dogkin woman with some bite to her would entice most of the Sultanate, and in a culture where might makes right, well... I would be in trouble all the time. Especially since I''d be amongst fellow Beastkin. My own heat would betray me more often than not, and I''d likely find myself pursued no matter where I was as Anput''s people searched for a good mate to breed. The future looked... dim in certain aspects for me going forwards, but I should be able to traverse these uing legs of my journey with easepared to the forest or even the Rimnds. I was just unlucky with them, having run into tworge groups of people that only ever fought against high level monsters and were - if Mirgraz and the others were to be believed - keeping even higher level monsters in check. They were born for one thing and one thing only, whereas the people of the Sultanate were from a more... civilized society, where there were all kinds of futures to choose from. That was what was on my mind as I settled down for the night, back to living inside my cozy little ice cube as I hunkered down in the middle of the snow covered ins, gnawing on jerky before doing something about my amazingly horrifying skill. Chapter 396 395: A Whole Lotta... Jahi PoV We returned to the carriage after Kolia gathered her samples, and I and the others watched on in interest as she conducted some rather simple tests on them, speaking aloud the entire carriage ride to the next destination. So, what did we learn from some magical dirt? A fair amount of interesting things, actually. For example, Kolia managed to pinpoint what made the dirt feel off from, well, normal dirt. The mana that permeated the grains was intricate and ancient, and when she pulled out a curved piece of ss that magnified the grains for her to see, the Arch Mage let out a loud gasp as she studied them. "Whoa... How in the zing hells is that..? Seriously? Each grain is inscribed with miniature Ritual Circles of... of... something... Huh." Kolia frowned as she stared at the grains, before handing the magnifying ss to Mom as she asked "Marquess, have you ever seen magic like that before?" Receiving the vial as well from Kolia, Mom inspected the dirt before shaking her head, handing it off to Leone next. "No, I''ve never once seen runes like that. If I had to make a guess, just like the runes from the Southern half of the Continent are different from ours, I would imagine that the runes made from the Labyrinthian would be different as well. Like a whole othernguage." That made the Snakekin nod, tapping her fingers to her thighs as she waited for Leone to finish inspecting them. "I''ve never seen anything like this either. The control one would need to inscribe runes like this on something so small... Wait. These wouldn''t be inscribed; they''d be a byproduct of the Gate itself... Something capable of leaving behind miniature Ritual Circles thatst well after it disappeared... interesting." "So instead of leaving behind traces of mana, like a normal spell would, the Gate left behind spells of its own? That do... something, but are most definitely spells?" The two arcane obsessed women turned towards me, pursing their lips before nodding, looking back down towards the dirt as they began to think once more. After a few more minutes of studying, they managed to learn that there was also something that linked the grains together, meaning that the vial of dirt they were carrying was interconnected magically, which was slightly worrying to the rest of us, but insanely intriguing to them. It took us another hour of travel to reach the second vige on our journey to the city of Nogart, where we would hopefully find many more clues since it is such arge, better defended location than the rest of these ces. But for now, we stopped at a small vige that was situated on a hill above a lush forest, the fields of golden wheat swaying in the soft breeze that brushed over the destroyed town. Like before, we stopped a good distance away before disembarking from the carriage and making our way up onto the hill, where the vigey. We located the contact point of the Gate with ease; directly in the center of the vige, where arge mass of bodies were scattered, left in the same states as the previous two locations. Leaving Leone and Kolia to study the contact point, I wandered around the razed vige, taking it all in as I searched for anything at all. Corpses were strewn about in various states of decay, all running from the contact point with obvious fear on their rotting faces, and I gingerly nudged arger woman with my boot, wondering if she was undead or not. With no response to my touch, I looked out over the simple farming vige and sighed, wondering what these people thought when the end came for them. Unlike soldiers, who were meant to be prepared to die, these were just normal people; hard working, simple people that made ends meet by growing this wheat. Not a single one of them had a working Core in them, so these fragile humans had been butchered by something... for what? Why target a ce like this? The contact point was too perfect to not be deliberate, so why did this person or thing target this poor vige? Was it trying to eradicate all of the mapped settlements, or was this just a test location to keep news of its massacres under wraps? After all, I imagine the only people who would visit this out of the way vige would be tax collectors or traveling soldiers looking for a ce to rest. I can''t imagine this was a trading center or that it was on a normal trading schedule... As I was deep in thought, Mom stopped beside me as she looked out over the fields of golden wheat, a few corpses or body parts rotting in the fields. "This isn''t a bad vige. See the wheat? Notice how it''s growing from the stony ground? It''s a special variant of wheat called Soft Rock Wheat. When it''s ground down into flour, it makes softer, fluffier breads. Sells for more than normal wheat too, but still not by a lot; probably could get around 1 pound of it for... eh, 6 or 7 Coppers? Unprocessed, that is." I nced at her and frowned, and she just gestured to the golden wheat, saying "This is all ours now, so it''s nice to know what we''re getting. This vige will be kept and developed because of this. Though..." She looked towards our right, where the forest grew close to the vige. "Huh... There''s a trace amount of that mana down there too... Come on. Let''s see what it is..." Mom rested her ymore on her shoulder as she led me into the forest, the oak and beech trees creating a verdant forest ripe with undergrowth and animals. Wading through the forest, we eventually reached a rather... sad scene, and I pursed my lips as I looked around at the small clearing we found ourselves in. Another contact point was present here, suggesting this thing hunted the two women down to this point, not wanting them to escape and spread word of its existence prematurely. An older, yet awakened woman rested with her back against the tree, while a younger, unawakened woman was held closely in her arms. They were missing their upper torsos, their bones and organs open to the air while blood was covering the tree and ground around them. "Pitiful... It would seem that the Core awakened human tried to attack whatever was hunting them, but broke her hand doing so. Must have ran after realizing the gap between her and it, and this girl must have been a... friend, family member, or maybe a lover of hers that she escaped with. Got hunted down..." Muttering a small prayer for them, Mom and I observed the corpses for a few moments more before we looked around for anything else, returning to the vige momentster as we sprinted back. It would seem that we were indeed dealing with something smart, and something that could track down its prey and open Gates with ease. --- Callback to Chapter 221: Happenings of the Kingdom --- Chapter 397 396: Monotony Kat PoV Just like before I had ventured into the forest, I started my day off dealing with my double edged skill [Nymphomania] and removing my stacks of [Arousal] before setting off into the world once more. With open fields and no looming threats around me, I was back to the norm of my journey; funneling mana towards my limbs as I rushed over the snow covered ground towards the North, all while I kept myself away from any form of civilization as best I could. As I ran, I reviewed the gains I made from the hellish days running through the forest, and I realized that those tacky, almost cliche statements of ''you grow stronger under pressure'' waspletely and utterly true. In fact, my stats grew a good bit during those days, and it was... even more noticeable now; this is what they looked like now. [Stats: STR - 61 -> 64 CON - 65 -> 67 AGI - 65 -> 70 DEX - 65 -> 70 CHA - 64 -> 65 WIS - 63 -> 66 INT - 62 -> 66] With that, I now had 77 AGI and 73.5 DEX, which made running even faster and easier, while my body could take more stress as thanks to my higher CON. As for the WIS and INT upgrades, they made my mana easier to control and slightly more potent, which was really helpful as it helped me cut down on some mana cost while getting more for the mana I used; if I used 1 MP out of 100 MP to run a mile, I now needed roughly .66 MP for a mile. It just cut down on what I needed and let me run longer. Of course, my stats weren''t the only things to go up because of the journey into the forest; my experience went up as well, as did the Shop Points forpleting some of the daily missions. Some of the missions gave arge amount of Shop Points, and I was now up to 878 SP, which was nice since I could eventually manage to purchase another System Made Item (SMI) soon to help further my strength. My experience, on the other hand, was now at 253,980 of 1,000,000, so I was a quarter of the way through Level 29. Out of curiosity, I asked ''My current stat levels and actual level; how do they stack up in terms of others my age? Or against other... system users, if there are any.'' [Compared to other system users from other worlds and the like? On par with the average, but don''t be discouraged by that. Many took battle oriented systems, so their experience gains are astronomical. As for your statspared to your true peers, well... Currently, you are around 1.5 times stronger than the average student at the Vulcan Academy, and if I had to guess you and your Mistresses are all in the top 5 of the Academy for your year. That will change though next year; as everyone bes more ustomed to their own powers, thepetition will be stiff.] I nodded, this new piece of information giving me something to think about as I tried to break up the monotony of running. ''It''s not like I truly care about those at the Academy. I mean, from the sounds of it, my time would be better spent supporting Jahi and the others down in Zhu''Rong Caverns as we get practical experience instead of learning theory. Sure, I could pick up some skills at the Academy and broaden my knowledge, but...'' [Everything has pros and cons, yes. There is no correct answer, but I will remind you that there is power to be found in knowledge, just like there is power in first hand experience. Studying a monsters physiology can give you insights into its weaknesses, but sometimes it is easier to fight it instead of studying it. I am not suggesting you spend your time face first in a book, but perhaps it would be best to learn what you can of anything, so that you can better support those you love.] I fell silent at that, mulling over the words of my system as I ran. There was more to life than just studying, especially now thatrge changes are urring in the world. Jillian and A are - maybe - still a threat, there was that thing that was creating Gates in Tragon... Both are dangerous things that we need to prepare for, and then there''s the warning that I had from when I got poisoned after I got kidnapped years ago. From my ''future self'' that warned of something terrible happening in a decade and a half from now... Could that have been rted to the Gates? Maybe it was rted to Jillian and A? Or was it something that I hadn''t managed to encounter yet? What about Marco Sizali, the man that had piqued my interests back during our tests at the Academy? The one who acted too mature for his age, was too experienced with a de, and had that peculiar body that seemed far too advanced and resilient for a normal Human. ''I am the only one with a system in this world, correct?'' [Hmm? Oh, no. This continent, yes, but not the world. Don''t worry though, Gaia is... much, muchrger than your old. The chances of you encountering another with a system is slim to none. Unless you go looking for them, that is.] ''... This is just a plethora of information isn''t it? What brought this on?'' [You... asked a question? Unless asked, I don''t interfere with you at all. I prefer to remain dormant and watch, so... if you have a question, ask it. I''ve never hidden anything from you; you just never asked the right questions.] I let out a sigh as I shook my head, before smiling wryly as I ran over the snow covered ins, muttering "You sound like some devilishwyer, system..." We chuckled together at that, and I kept on running. Chapter 398 397: Reaching Nogart Jahi PoV Kolia was very intrigued by the two dead human women off in the middle of the forest, taking Leone out there to investigate the two corpses before retuning a few minutester, a small frown on her face. "It... would have made for an interesting story, but that is all... Body examination shows that the creatures skin or persons barriers that she hit were incredibly hard, even for a human with a Core... I mean, shepletely shattered her wrist bones and fractured her fingers... as for their death, it seems that it was a creature, considering the way their top halves were bitten off..." She continued on a little longer as she boarded the carriage with the rest of us, still theorizing about what we might be up against as we journeyed to the next city, a trading center called Emor. Like Huran and the viges, the city was a crumbling, burnt mess, littered with decaying corpses and burnt bodies. Emor, however, provided a ratherrge amount of evidence for Kolia and Leone to pour over, as the city was home to a few humans that held respectable Cores, which would provide some insight into what we were dealing with. Autopsies of their bodies, damage dealt to their weapons and armor, what their ''arenas'' looked like... all of it would help out the investigation greatly. Of course, with the city being sorge and the damage being so extensive, this was another multi day investigation that was spent scouring over rubble and the dead. Not entirely boring, as I was able to spend some time practicing my martial arts against Anput as we ''stood guard'' over Leone at the house we requisitioned for our personal use, while also meditating and honing my arcane arts on my own, all while the mages poured over the dead and looked for clues. One of which was rather intriguing; the people killed by whatever opened the Gates were incapable of being raised as undead unless it was by a Fiend. Something about how the residual mana left inside their wounds prevented the decaying of their own natural mana, which in turn results in ''resurrected'' corpses that we would need to put down again. The mana inside their corpses was nowhere near asplex as what was on the materials under the contact points, but it still was unique and ancient feeling. Speaking of, the contact point inside Emor was located not in just one ce, but three. The first that we found was - once again - located inside the center of the city, where it would have ess to arge amount of people right away. Corpses were piled up and scattered around a hundred feet around the center of the city, suggesting the creature not only moved incredibly fast but was also incredibly efficient in its kills, capable of ughtering swathes of humans in mere moments. That... was slightly worrying, but I do believe that isn''t a hard bar to clear despite how it sounds; give me a minute and I could probably ughter around two thirds of what this creature did, and that''s if I don''t have speed enhancements from some spells... The next two contact points were located inside the Emor Pce; the first inside the entrance hall, and the next inside the throne room, where it had butchered the strong guards with what seems like ease before leaving the Nobles as little more than chunks of rotting flesh and bone atop their thrones. Some of the more intact guards had simr ''self inflicted'' wounds like the woman in the forest did, and their Cores were significantlyrger than hers, reaching around the size of the average Empire mercenary. Even they had splintered wrists, cracked forearms, and broken hands, all while their des were bent in odd shapes and shattered. The mages poured over the scraps left behind by the creature, slowly solidifying that we were in fact dealing with a creature and not a human, since most of the bodies seemed to haverge bite wounds and chunks of flesh missing, suggesting it ate what it tore away. They managed to secure a better image of the runes inside the Ritual Circles they found, while also determining a little more about the mana itself, noting that the mana seemed to have trace amount of both Time and Space interwoven into it, but not enough to suggest someone or something with actual Time and / or Space Mana inside their Core. Perhaps a Time / Space Crystal from inside the Labyrinthian, which were considered unproven theory? There was a singr ount of seeing a Time Crystal inside the Labyrinthian, but the person who saw it went insane, so it wasn''t a credible, reliable source... Though, that also asks if the Gates themselves were things that were fueled by Time and Space Mana, and how that influenced how they worked. It was with those theories in their minds that the mages settled into the march as we made our way through the rest of Tragon, searching thest few small viges and cities that were rumored to be attacked by the Gates and solidifying more and more of what we knew, all while more questions were raised. What was creating the Gates; specifically, what kind of Ritual Circle was needed to truly warp something from one ce to another at such great lengths? The teleportation magics that we understand inside the Empire are primitive inparison; in order to go from one side to the other, we need to utilizerge quantities of all kinds of mana to even travel from one portal to another a few hundred miles away, let alone the thousands upon thousands that would be needed to go from the Labyrinthian to Tragon. How much more advanced were those Ritual Circles, and what was fueling them? Was this creature actually creating them, and if so how? Has the Labyrinthian itself managed to ''awaken'' and begin directing some of its inhabitants out into the world? So many questions were raised, but so very few were answered... It was with that that we reached the capital of Tragon, whichy in ruin. Nestled into a mountain was the city Nogart, capital of Tragon and where we would hopefully find more answers to our questions. Chapter 399 398: Gobo Desert Kat PoV I stood on the edge of a lush grassy in, each de of grass a mixture of either dark emerald green or a sandy yellow, and just a few dozen feet ahead of me begin the first of the few deserts that I would need to traverse through. My pack was on the ground in front of me, and I reached into it to take out the map figuring out where exactly I was and just how long I would be spending inside this ce. The Wekalian Steppes upied the northeastern border of the Labyrinthian, and above and below the mountainousndscape of the Wekalian Steppes were two deserts. The one above wasbeled as more of a t, dry expanse of a teau to me, as the keybeled it as a mixture of a desert and a in, while the coloring was a subdued yellow instead of the sharp yellow of the other desert or the gold of the Sultanate. That was called the Atacami Desert, and situated right in the center of the Atacami was a slightlyrger symbol for a dungeon, suggesting that the desert was home torger quantities of monsters due to ack of any cities nearby the dungeon. As for the desert just ahead of me, it was called the Gobo Desert, and the map insinuated that the Gobo had different regions inside it. Primarily sand and dunes, the Gobo Desert did house a few green patches ofnd, where both dungeons and cities resided. There was a dungeon situated on the western side of the desert itself, probably a few dozen miles from the giant mountains that formed the Labyrinthian''s borders. However, in terms of size both the Atacami and Gobo Deserts - both of which were roughly the same size - were probably around 750 miles from the spot I would enter to where I would exit, meaning I''d probably be traveling inside them for... My eyes fell down the map as I recalcted my speed, using the ins that I had emerged onto from the forest as my guide. It took me around four-ish days to traverse the roughly 400 miles from the forest to the point I was at now, and that wasn''t including the rest day when I first got onto these ins. With the increases I had in stats and therger increase from the Anklet I wore, that would exin the sudden surge in my traveling speeds... Certainly possible since I knew how much one point meant as the stats went higher, and I was nearly 7 or 8 points higher than when I started my journey? Probably more honestly, but still... Going from around forty to fifty miles a day to suddenly around a hundred was quite the jump. Though, again, I gained quite a bit in my stats, which mean my magics were stronger and my speed was quicker. Add onto that the straight forward nature of the ins, and I supposed it wasn''t incredibly hard to believe? Maybe. Either way, I was slowly reaching the halfway point of my journey, and all I had that stood between me and reuniting with Jahi, Anput, Leone, Mother, and the others was two small deserts, a few hundred miles of the Wekalian Steppes, and therge desert of the Sultanate. With March Asmodia being located on the Empire''s eastern border, it wouldn''t take long to at least reach home, where the Marquess, Countess, and Mother all were located. Rolling the map back up, I slid it into its container and secured it into my pack, which I slung over my shoulders. After taking a deep breath, I looked out over the dry sandy expanse ofnd ahead of me, smiling wryly as I began to walk forwards. Going from extreme cold, biting winds, and frost to extreme heat, dry winds, and scorching sun was rather jarring, especially since I was an Ice Magician. The difference in the mana was instant as I stepped foot onto the still, lifeless desert. Water Mana no longer permeated the air, reced instead with Fire Mana, while Wind Mana wasn''t as abundant as before either. My Core shriveled slightly as the excess mana I had been absorbing passively out in the open receded, and I was left with my base mana capacity. Layering some of my basic spells over me, I sighed as the heat diminished under my Water Clock, which was infused with a little ice to keep me cool, and I began to run over the sand, quickly noting the difficulty in doing so. Since the Gobo Desert was a dune filled desert, I had a lot of climbing and sliding to do, which slowed me down considerably as I made my way through this first desert. With my mana slowly seeping away under the continual onught of Fire Mana, as well as the sheer strain of traversing sand at high speeds, the first of my days inside the desert ended rather annoyingly, and I summoned a thicker ice cube to sleep in, the rolling dunes around me not once disying any signs of life. The temperatures plummeted at night - much like a normal desert - and slowly refilled my Core with the mana I needed to start the next day off better. Like I always had, I made sure to leave a mark to orient myself with before falling asleep, waking up just before dawn and resuming my journey when the air was still cool. It wouldn''t take long for everything to heat up once more. Bounding over the sand as swiftly as I could, I continued onwards towards the Wekalian Steppes, which I was beginning to see in the distance, the crowns of the mountains peaking over the dunes of the Gobo Desert. I had no desire to drop into any of the cities here, the sheer heat of the desert making my skin crawl, so I instead wanted to make my way towards one of the lower cities of the Wekalian Steppes, where I could restock and give myself a proper rest before venturing out towards the Sultanate. For now though, my time was spent watching as the mountains in the distance slowly climbed up the horizon, giving me visual gratification for my time spent running. Chapter 400 399: Discoveries Jahi PoV We looked up at therge mountain that housed the city of Nogart, all of which was in ruin - unsurprisingly at this point, as it seemed that the creature had a penchant for destroying everything around it whenever it arrived at its destination. A chunk of the mountain itself had been carved away and used to bury one third of Nogart underrge boulders and loose stones, and we had no idea on whether that was on purpose or if it was an ident. Either way, we journeyed up the path and walked over the battered, splintered gates that had crashed to the ground so many moons ago, taking our first steps into the capital city of one of our enemies. A city that would be rebuilt and reused for the Empire going forwards due to its strategic location and ess to the mineral rich mountains that surrounded it. However, it would certainly received a makeover as we looked around at the tantly obvious human architecture; nd,pact buildings built atop one another lined streets that were barely a dozen or so feet across, while narrow alleyways sliced through the pale grey stone that was used to construct the city. For some reason, the humans seemed afraid of expanding outwards and growing the size of their city, instead deciding that building upwards was a better idea, so that they could live atop one another and have no free space to themselves. At least in the crowded lower quarters of the Capital back in the Empire there were public spaces and market squares dotted all around the quarters. Here, there didn''t seem to be much except for a few select locations dedicated to public space, and even those were small. Really, they were such an interestingly... boring race. Anyways, we entered the city of Nogart and began to march towards the pce, which had a small chunk of it crushed under the rubble of thendslide. Adelina ordered her troops to begin sweeping the city for clues inrge squads, which we all felt slightlyfortable doing thanks to theck of unclean mana permeating the air like back in Huran. The road was a straight shot to the pce, and we walked over butchered corpses - civilian and soldier - as well as rubble before we reached the opulent pce that contrasted the city below. "Well... this city is a tad more destroyed... Huran was still standing at least, while that Emor ce was a mix of destroyed and still standing... This ce though... whew~ The creature went on a rampage here... like a dog that was excited with a new toy..." I nodded as I looked around, before hearing Mom chuckle as she added "By the looks of it, that rockslide was idental too; the curvature of the cut looks like a wind de curved upwards and sliced into the rock face. Must''ve been a really~ excited doggy that wanted to y with this ''toy''." Nirinia, Anput and I snickered at that, while Leone frowned at us, her more kindhearted nature showing once more as she nced over at the corpses, likely wondering about the pain they felt and thoughts that ran through their minds before they died. Kolia, on the other hand, was looking towards the mountain above us to confirm Mom''s theory, her slitted blue eyes narrowed as she squinted up at the rocks. "I... think you are indeed correct, Marquess. That would be an odd angle to cut the rock away at, while also being something I doubt a creature would even think about doing. Not when it is as strong as we believe it to be... There''s no reason to rely on a cheap trick like a rockslide to take care of the city... Interesting." With that confirmed, we pushed past thevish - yet broken - gates of the pce and took in therge hedges and gardens that had been burnt, cratered, gouged... Bodies in all kinds of states were scattered around, their armor and weapons rusting with blood or bent into unusable shapes, while a scarce few Nobles or Officials were mixed in with the soldiers, like they had tried to escape. All of the corpses were facing towards the gates, suggesting the contact point this time was inside the pce itself. Therge golden doors were broken to pieces across the tiled entryway, while the light from the sun barely shone into the pce, the suns rays blocked by the overhang. Leone remedied that problem by creating spheres of bright me that hovered over each of us, anchored to our shoulders and lighting the way. "Let''s find the contact point first, before scouring the rest of the pce. I would imagine we would find the most clues there..." Kolia led the way into the pce''s depths, and we were greeted with the stench of corpses once more, which was mixed with the metallic tang of blood. The halls were seeped in the crimson fluids, like the creature had taken the time to paint the pce with the blood of the humans it had killed... That, or the thing was so drenched in blood that it coated the pce when it moved outside, shaking it off before exiting. Either way, we were greeted by another massacre inside the throne room, where the King, Queen, and the rest of the Nobility were ughtered mid court session, all wearing shocked expressions, likely not expecting a Gate to appear randomly in the midst of the pce. Blood still pooled on the floor from theplete rending of the human bodies, while a suspiciously clean circle of marble tile was situated in the center of the throne room, the white material gleaming a myriad of colors. Resting my hand on my great sword, I looked around as we walked in, Kolia and Leone focusing on the contact point while the rest of us protected them. "It looks like they all died quickly... I imagine that was a relief for them. No drawn out wounds or kills that looked... inhumanely painful. Other than the burns, of course." Mom nodded, her ruby eyes fluttering around the room beforending on Kolia, who was studying the marble tiles. "I would say that was a relief, yes... Though, the fear of seeing whatever it was likely traumatized them in their final moments." --- I have to say lol, sometimes the problems with having arge, ongoing story is that I forget if I''ve named ces or people and all that; like have I given the Capital of the Empire a name? I know the mountain it''s on is Sanctus Ignacia, but did I name the city? Anyways, should be reuniting soon..? --- Chapter 401 400: Desert Heat --- Wow~ 400 Chapters~! --- Kat PoV Heat waves shrouded my vision of the dunes as I looked around, the scorching sun above me buffeting me with it''s hellish warmth as I stumbled through the sandy expanse of the Gobo Desert. My daggers were held loosely in my sweaty palms, and I warily scanned the swathes of sand around me, all while I left behind a trail of blood. Not my blood, but viscous blue blood that dripped from the tips of my two daggers, sizzling on the blistering golden grains of sand under my feet. My hair was ted with sweat andden with sand, while my clothes and boots were stained with blood and, again, sand. I was around two thirds of the way through the Gobo Desert, but it was at the half way point that I noticed just how much of a toll the heat was taking on me. The desire to rip my leather armor off and walk with just a top and some shorts was immense, but I knew that would be a terrible idea for multiple reasons. Firstly, I would only be burning my skin and worsening how I felt due to being buffeted by the scorching winds, all while leaving myself unprotected. That was the second reason, since by the time I had reached the halfway point the desert bared its fangs at me, with three variants of monsters trying to kill me. The first was a yellow carapace scorpion that waited below the sand, hunkering down as it waited for something to pass it by so that it could pounce. A long, sharp stinger was paired with two heavy pincers that threatened to shatter bone with ease, giving the scorpion a rather powerful set of weapons to use; if you were at range, it stabbed with the stinger before moving closer to finish you off with its pincers. Hardened carapace was its armor, and it took me using the Shatter Fang to pierce the scorpions shell and kill it. That was the first. The second were vultures that had wingspans around my height, at roughly six-ish feet, and they had razor sharp beaks that were made to pick apart flesh, while their talons and feet were perfect for snatching up their prey. As if that wasn''t terrible enough, they were fire breathers and waited for their prey to burn below them, which made them a pain to kill since they were always flying high in the air after dive bombing you with fireballs. Finally, and the one that I hated the most, was- Rolling to the side, I cursed as a fat worm burst from the sand beneath my feet, its gaping maw ringed with rigid teeth that threatened to tear my flesh apart. More sand clung to my sweaty, damp clothing as I red at the worm hatefully, watching as it burrowed under the sand once more. Like a normal earthworm, it had a fleshy body that allowed it to wriggle around and burrow into the ground, which meant that - should you get it before it returned to the earth - the worm was easy to kill. However, the things forwent defense in exchange for speed, moving faster than they reasonably should be capable of doing so with the size they were - around four feet around and ten feet long. Huge things that moved way too quickly, and were constantly under your feet... My eyes scanned the sand around me as I searched for the worm, before cursing as I felt the sand below my feet vibrate once more. I dodged to the side and watched as the worm erupted from the sand, its maw snapping shut over empty air. Before it could try and return to the earth, I raised my palm and shot forth a bullet of ice, which sliced into the worms flesh and exploded, causing the thing to screech in agony. Frost tried to creep over the worms flesh, but the desert heat was too strong for even my [Frost of Despoina] skill, causing the monster to just suffer from the initial wound instead of the damage over time I was so used to. Thankfully, once they were hit the worms seemed to be stunned, unknowing of what to do next now that they had been injured. It was like they were too surprised that something had managed to wound them for them to react properly, so I made sure to take advantage of that fact. Launching myself forwards, I raised my Protective Fang and stabbed it downwards, growling at the worm as I twisted the de inside its red flesh, blue blood spurting free from therge wound and staining my sleeves and chest. I yelled "Just fucking die already!" at the worm, pulling the dagger free and stabbing it again, anger coursing through my veins as I had to stop my journey once more because of this stupid monster. Its blood sttered against my cheek, and I just growled as it screeched some more, before finally falling silent as I stabbed it three more times. [Gobo Death Worm killed - 1,345 Xp awarded] I cursed once more as I stepped away from the worms corpse, shaking its blood free from my body before sighing, using some of my mana to clean myself off. With mana being a more scarce resource now, I didn''t want to waste it on small things, but damn did these worms leave behind a mess... It wasn''t even satisfying killing them, since they took so much damage and bled so much vicious blood that simply stankpared to that wonderful metallic scent... I turned away from the corpse and continued to walk towards the northwest, where I could see therge, t mountains of the Wekalian Steppes slowly growing closer; in fact, since the desert seemed to be sloping downwards towards the Steppes, I could see where thend changed from sand to dirt once again... I think tonight I''ll push forwards and get myself out of this atrocious desert heat... Chapter 402 401: In Depth Investigation Jahi PoV Leone stood up from the clean contact point, her brow furrowed as she began to walk around the circle, staring straight down at the rippling rainbow marble. "It''s... odd. The mana is ancient, yet new. It shifts between elements on a whim, following no set pattern whatsoever, and it is much stronger than the prior contact points... Why?" She walked behind Kolia, who was still crouched atop the blood and staring at the marble, her eyes narrowed as she tentatively stroked the flickering marble. "Perhaps it''s due to prolonged exposure? A Gate thatsted longer than it should have? Or maybe it was a different variant of Gate? No, that wouldn''t make sense... prior Gates that were opened within the Empire''s borders were investigated heavily as well, but no one reported things like this... So what..?" "But those were truly random Gates, both in location and in time spent open... Besides, this was created by something; something that rent open space itself and connected point a to point b... That''s a different level of power. Perhaps it leaves behind a different trace due to it being different in nature?" We all looked between the crouching Snakekin Arch Mage and Vampiric Princess, trying to understand where their minds were heading on our own, but... "Yes, I guess that would work? See this here; how this reacts to my own mana? What do you think of that?" A thin strand of azure mana arced from Kolia''s finger, and Leone let out a gasp as Kolia''s Lightning Mana collided with the mana on the ground, seeing... something happen. To me, it looked like the rainbow mana absorbed the Lightning Mana, as the azure strand simply dissipated when it reached the floor. "Wow... So the Ritual Circles here are different as well... Not only is it nullifying your attempt to use your mana to stop the flow, but it is absorbing and adding your mana to the flow... Why though..? What could adding more mana do for it..?" Mom rolled out her shoulders before moving towards one of the empty seats, her mana ring as she cleaned it off and took a seat, resting her ymore beside her. I mirrored her and sat down as well, understanding that we would be here for a while, and there was certainly no way I would leave Leone alone near some weird ''ancient yet new'' mana pool that was the residuals of a Gate. Yeah... no, so I sat down and watched as my adorable Vampire made the hundreds, if not thousands of gears in her mind turn at rapid speeds, her and Kolia bouncing words off of one another that made little sense to me the longer they observed the contact point. Anput sighed as well, moving to sit on my knee before stretching and leaning back to lounge on my chest, yawning tiredly as she began to nap. Nirinia had a simr idea, taking one of the free seats on the other side of the room and lounging down, her Dadao resting across her knees as she watched the two women in the center. Adelina stood beside the door, her body turned so that she could watch both us and the hallway, where the troops of the Legion scurried back and forth, searching the Pce for anything useful. The rest of my squad was out there as well, alongside Mom''s squad and Nirinia''s squad, aiding in the task of securing andbing through the Pce before they would begin to cleanse the Pce of blood and corpses, beginning to clean the ce up for future use. Most likely, this would be our new home for a few more days, so none of us wanted to reside in filth. While the two smart mages in the middle of the room began their investigation in earnest, Mom rested her chin on her hand and looked over at me, asking "Did you tell them what I told you?" Turning towards her, I nodded while stroking Anput''s hair, finding it soothing to have her warmth washing over my body. "I did. We''ve...e to an agreement on what we need to do, and how we should do it. A healthy mix of 60% to 70% of our time being spent in Zhu''Rong Caverns and other dungeons to strengthen ourselves while the rest would be spent at the Academy in sses that would allow us to both learn and still haverge amounts of free time... Maybe look towards the Hunting Grounds that the Academy has ess to, though I don''t know how valuable they would bepared to dungeons. Each of us knows roughly what we need to improve, and I think we might be capable of reaching the level you want us to in that time frame... but it''ll be close." Mom chuckled softly as she nodded, her horned head turning towards the center as she said "Of you three, the one I would say has the highest ceiling would certainly be a tie between you and Leone. Anput is strong, no doubt about that, but your Light Magic and her blood simply offer too much of an advantageter in your lives. There are ways for Anput to grow, and I hope she''ll look for them in the future... But for now, she might be the most ready of you three." We both looked down at the dozing Jackalkin that snored quietly on my chest, her cheek nestled against my chest as she hummed contentedly as my fingers ran through her soft hair. "Of course, I''m speaking of decades in the future regarding your ceiling and Leone''s. That''s also no slight to Anput, since her ceiling is just as high as the Sultana''s, if not higher; which is already incredibly powerful. After all, she falls just below the Empress in terms of strength... and still slightly above me too..." She smiled wistfully as she stared at the ceiling, before her - and my - head snapped down as we heard a tear echo throughout the throne room. Chapter 403 402: Wekalian Steppes Kat PoV The air was different as soon as I stepped off of the sandy dunes of the Gobo Desert, almost like I was ying a video game with how swiftly the biomes changed. It went from unbearably hot to just warm in mere moments and steps, and I let out a sigh of relief as I turned to look back at the darkening desert. "I never want to be in a desert again... and yet there are two more to go through..." I sighed once more as I watched the desert go from a blindingly gold to a subdued yellow, the sun descending behind the mountains that were to the west. My stomach growled at me, telling me that I needed real food soon, especially after the strenuous trek across unstable sand. The mana I wanted to use to steady myself was instead spent making sure I didn''t pass out under the heat, while I also needed to keep some in reserve for those monsters that hid under the sand. I couldn''t afford to put all my mana into my traveling ability, especially not when both the Vultures and the Worms were around my speed; I wouldn''t be able to outrun them at all. That wasn''t from ack of trying either, since I had attempted to run once from both, thinking I might just lose their attention, but the focus those monsters had was insane. Which... also makes sense, since they were likely starving and wanted to eat the bountiful meal that was me... However, I was now free from one of the three deserts that I would need to journey through, and for the next few days I would be going through the Wekalian Steppes to reach the next desert, the Atacami Desert, which would lead into the Sultanate. ording to the map, I was probably around a hundred miles away from the closest form of civilization, which was the Burial City Kha. That was its name on the map, and if I had to guess it was a ce they sent the Nobility of the Wekalian Steppes to be buried in, which might mean that the city is either off limits to people or its extremely unweing to outsiders... If that was the case, I could just visit one of the many viges nearby the Burial City Kha to purchase some more dried meats for my journey. For now though, I looked up towards the t mountains above and began to climb them, my ears twitching as I listened for potential prey to fill my stomach. The steep incline leading towards the first of the many giant expanses of grass and rock was barren, both of vegetation and of life. I made sure to keep an eye on the sky in case some bird monster caught sight of me, while also staying wary of the many crevasses and caves that I could see around me. The map warned that this area was a little monster heavypared to the rest of the Steppes, and that there was a portion of the Labyrinthian Wall - which I was climbing on now - that deformed the normally t Wekalian Steppes. Either way, the map also warned that the Wekalian Steppes were elevated above the rest of thends around this corner of the world, resting atop giant mountains that almost felt like support pirs for arge table. Considering how the Rimnds had been formed, I was willing to bet some strong monster or person created the mountains that the Steppes were resting on; some extremely powerful Earth Magician, or maybe an Earth Attuned creature / monster like Lord Ter''Ran, the Earth Dragon that protected the Empire''s southern border - which was shared with the Labyrinthian. It took me a few dozen minutes to reach the top of the incline, and when I did I was greeted with the t, grassy ins that was free from any trees or small shrubbery. For dozens upon dozens of miles that was all you could see, before a new mountain presented another incline to climb, which led to the next ''step'' of the Wekalian Steppes. I pushed forwards through the tall grasses, moving silently as I enjoyed the soft breeze and cool air, finally feeling at peace once more as I was presented with a temperate climate - albeit slightly dry. Still, it was better than the desert, and with the abundance of grass to snack on, well... I lowered into a crouch as I approached a herd of lean deer creatures, their antlers of jagged stone and sharpened hooves providing them some weapons to use against predators. My hand fell to my Breeze Fang, and I slid it free from its sheath and spun it around, holding it by its razor sharp tip as I stalked a little closer. With my gaze firmly nted on the deer, I began to carefully move some Wind Mana towards my Breeze Fang, making sure they couldn''t sense the stirring of the mana - just in case they were elementally attuned or sensitive creatures. Powering the dagger up enough, I activated the enchantment and threw the de towards one of the deer, a small smile blossoming on my lips as the dagger sunk to the hilt in the deers neck, severing its spine. The other deer all jolted back, staring at theirpanion as it slumped to the ground before looking around at the tall grass, unsure of what to do. Imbuing Wind Mana into my hands, I pped and made a loud boom, wind bursting from my hands and washing over the grass around us, scaring the deer off and away from my prey. My Protective Fang felt light in my grasp as I moved forwards, warily searching my surroundings as I prepared to butcher the deer for my food. Not seeing anything, nor hearing or smelling anything, I cleared away some of the grass and created a small circle for me to use as my camp, with walls of ice forming a barrier around me. Setting about creating a fire with the stones and grasses I had, as well as some spare kindling, I began to swiftly butcher the deer and cook its lean flesh over the mes, skewering its meat onto an ice stake that I left hanging over the fire. Tanning the hide as I waited for the deer leg to cook, I nned on creating another pouch for me to use to carry some of the meat, my Breeze Fang leaving behind shallow marks as I enchanted the hide with some durability enchantments. With my meal cooked and a new bag made, I rolled out my bedroll and stared up into the stars, smiling to myself as I fell asleep to a filled stomach. Chapter 404 403: Emergence Jahi PoV A tearing sound rippled through the air, emanating from the center of the throne room, right above the original contact point. Anput shot off of myp and readied her de, wide awake at the sudden noise, only to freeze as she stared at the widening tear in space in front of us. Floating above the contact point was a rippling green strand of energy that was slowly growing wider and wider with each passing moment, creating a perfect circle. A Gate was forming directly in front of our very eyes. And standing right beneath it was Leone and Kolia. Before I could even trulyprehend what was happening, I had shot out of my seat and shed forwards, Light Mana coursing through my veins as I tackled the two women away from the Gate, just in time as arge, dark silver taloned foot mmed down, cracking the marble tile. I spun around and reached for my great sword, only to curse as I realized it was still resting beside the seat I had been upying earlier. Thankfully, Anput managed to shake herself out of her stupor and slide the sword towards me, the dual metal de shining under the now multicolored light of the Gate. None of us remained motionless as the creature took a step from the Gate, taking the opportunity to buff ourselves with spells beforeunching a probing attack at it, getting a gauge of its defensive capabilities. What stepped out of the Gate was a hulking canine like skeletal creature made covered in a dark silver metal. Razor sharp talons, fangs, and tail spikes adorned the creature, while its lean frame was built for speed. Mom was the first to react, her ymore slicing through the air as she sent a crescent of condensed Fire Mana towards the creatures skull, which it shook as it stepped free. As her attack was flying forwards, I summoned three Light Discs and began to will them forwards, while Nirinia added some Wind Mana to Mom''s sh, causing it to explode on the creatures skull. Adelina began to shout orders out the door, remaining where she stood as she waited to assist where she was needed. Arcs of azure lightning crashed into the bony chest of the creature, alongside giant metal spikes that tried to pierce its armored flesh - though they did attract the lightning and amplify the strikes. Finally, anotherrge, superheated bolt of mes collided with the creatures leg, trying to melt and break the appendage to give us an advantage. The creature was shrouded in sts of mana that impacted its skeletal like body, and we all began charging up a second barrage of attacks, all while the room was lit up by the myriad of colors spilling from the Gate. An unearthly shriek that sounded like knives grinding together echoed from the creaturesrge maw, and it growled as its head swung towards Mom. Empty sockets flooded with rainbow light sparked with hate as the creature''s jaw hung from its head, barely attached. As for the rest of its body, my Light Discs left deep gouges in its metal like scales, while the Lightning Strikes seared and burnt the creature - though the metal spikes barely managed to leave scratches. The leg that Leone had aimed for was bent, the force from the st shattering the bone while also partially melting off the creatures scales, revealing the grey flesh that was hidden underneath. Before any of us could capitalize on the creatures injuries, it screeched again and pulsed with oceanic blue mana, its wounds healing in a heartbeat. My eyes widened in horror as I watched the tworgest spots of damage - its jaw and its leg - regrow and reattach with such insane speed, leaving the creature as good as new. "Watch out for its tail!" Mom''s shout echoed through the chamber, and I hastily erected a dome of Light Mana around Leone, Kolia and I, shielding us from the swift strike that was aimed for Leone''s skull. It growled in annoyance as its tail mmed into a barrier instead of her head, and it peered over its shoulder to re at us, those multicolored ''eyes'' shining. "Over here!" Another crescent sh impacted the creatures skull, and it shrieked as Mom''s scarlet mes exploded against its cheekbone, showering its head in potent mes. Using that momentary distraction, Niriniaunched herself forwards and shed her Dadao across its hind leg before jumping back, staring at the small gash she had inflicted. I heard Kolia mutter something to herself before turning to Leone, asking her something. "Jahi! Keep the barrier up and active! Give us ten seconds!" Instead of replying verbally, I just nodded my head as I traced out runes to strengthen the barrier, all while my free hand grabbed a few mana potions. Adelina slipped inside and joined me, adding her mana to mine as she bolstered the barrier as best she could, her golden eyes fixated on the roaring creature. Mom remained in front of it, Nirinia joining her as they both grabbed the creatures attention, their des coated in scarlet and green mana respectively. Thest person to move was Anput, and she swiftly erected a barrier of her own when the creatures tail swung out towards her, its spikes screeching against the Metal Mana sphere around her. My heart lurched as I saw the spikes leaving visible cuts on her barrier, the creature straining to puncture the sphere and skewer the Jackalkin inside. Silver mana pulsed from its tail, and the spikes grew ever closer to breaching her barrier, only for the creature to once more shriek in agony as anotherbined crescent sh mmed into its skull, distracting it. Anput made her move as it turned back towards the two Knights, slipping under the creatures tail and entering the dome with the rest of us, adding her own mana to it as she gave me a small smile. "You two good back there?! It''s ten seconds now!" Chapter 405 404: Burial City Khanla Kat PoV The Burial City Kha was situated on the same step of the Steppes as I was, and the path that led to it was a rather somber road. Grasses and vegetation in general had been cut away from the gravel path, and every fifty feet sat a set of statues that were left on the side of the road, their bases engraved with epitaph that told of the person the statue was dedicated to. The carved stone was pristine despite the conditions, thanks to the various runes that were hidden amongst the buried persons likeness. Each statue was of that person kneeling and facing towards the city Kha, in a posture of reverence and subservience to those buried inside the city itself. The epitaphs read of their service to their Masters, Mistresses, Generals, Ministers, or Kings and Queens, listing off their achievements and how they would still serve even in death. Around each of the statues were offerings to that person, flowers and baskets of food, all left untouched by the wilderness around us. Each of the statues radiated mana that felt... old; not ancient, but old, sophisticated. I had read a few of the epitaphs out of curiosity, but after the fifth they all seemed to read the same. ''The valiant [entombed] has served faithfully in life, and shall now serve faithfully even in death'' ''Their service at [location] under [someone] earned them [medals] and glories beyond physical reward'' The pattern was there, and I just continued forwards, ignoring the statues as best I could as I walked down the quiet road lit by the small fires that burned inside the incense burners the statues held, emitting both light and cloyingly sweet incense. Of course, I made sure to look behind me every once in awhile, not trusting anything after what I''d been through, and thankfully these statues were only statues, not some kind of monster that took the shape of a statue and moved when you weren''t looking. My footsteps were silent as I walked down the long road to Kha, the city appearing in the distance as I traversed the quiet road quickly. No walls surrounded this city, leaving it a collection of buildings and temples dedicated to the dead open to all. Temples stood at a maximum of three stories, each level enunciated by the pyramid like roof that syed outwards, the tile an emerald green that contrasted the redwood walls. The buildings were also made from redwood, but they had blue roof tiles, while their windows and doors were left open. It looked traditionally asian in architecture, though instead of lions and dragons and other animals associated with luck or fortune, the city of Kha had winged humanoid statues that looked like angels, their hands sped in prayer as they faced the centermost temple, which had gold roof tile. People dressed in in red robes walked through the streets, talking quietly amongst themselves as they went about their business, while winged Birdkin dressed invish robes sauntered about, going to certain temples. Stalls were set up along the main road, selling various snacks or incense for the worshippers to set out for their ancestors, while other vendors sold bouquets of flowers. No one nced my way as I entered the town, the people uncaring of how different I lookedpared to the rest of them. Those in the in robes were wheat skinned Humans with slightly longer ears, but I couldn''t feel enough mana from them to be Elves... As for those in thevish robes, they were certainly some kind of Birdkin, but I couldn''t exactly tell what kind; what I did know was that they all had mana around my level, and they seemed rather arrogant, but not insufferably so... Walking through the city, I looked around until I found a small building that emitted the scent of grilling meat, which I made my priority. Carefully cutting through the crowded street, I entered the busy building and made my way towards the counter, where a woman stood with a smile, her wheat colored skin glowing in the candlelit restaurant. "Greetings traveler! Are you looking for just a meal, or a meal and a bed?" Long gold streaked ck hair fell down her shoulders, and her robe did little to hide her curvy figure. "How much for a meal and a bed for the night?" She nodded at me, her smile widening as she said "2 Silvers, traveler! 3 Silvers if you wish for apanion to warm your bed tonight!" Her cheery voice as she openly discussed having someonee to my room for sex made me raise a brow, confused by how a somber city like Kha had a ce like this... Almost like she sensed that confusion, she chuckled before leaning forwards, cing an engraved medallion on the counter. "Here. 2 Silvers for a meal and a bed. This is your first time in Kha, right? If you want, I wouldn''t mind showing you what makes Kha special, traveler..." She licked her lips as she slid the medallion closer, and I briefly read what was engraved on it. ''Dual Practitioner Medallion; Worship through Flesh'' "Just a meal and a bed please. I... Will be fine on my own." The woman just shrugged as she took back the medallion and ced a separate one, this one reading ''Practitioner Medallion; Worship through Solitude'' I ced 2 Silvers in her hand before moving to an empty table, sitting and staring at the medallion in my hands. This was an interesting ce, and I could feel the gazes of men and womennding on me from around the room, everyone nursing tankards filled with a reddish alcohol as they chatted amongst themselves, smiling and joking freely. Admittedly, I was a little worried about the gap between the people inside and outside this building, but that wasn''t something a few wards and spells couldn''t fix when I reached my room - which I was certainly going to be searching for hidden entrances or the like. This ce just felt... weird. Chapter 406 405: Problems? Jahi PoV I could hear mana crackling behind me, whatever Kolia and Leone were working on slowly growing unsteady as the two poured what must have been an excessive amount of mana into their spell. "Just... another... moment..!" Leone''s strained voice entered my ears, and I grunted as the creature turned towards us, sensing therge buildup of mana and understanding it as a threat. Of course, doing so left it very open to attacks from Mom and Nirinia, but the creature had donned a Water Cloak, leaving the enhanced fire attacks weakened whenever they hit its body, though the impact still injured it greatly. They also took the opportunity to charge forwards and begin to utilize their des more, imbuing them with mana and chopping at one of the creatures legs, ripping past the scales and injuring it further. However, the creature deemed whatever Kolia and Leone had cooked up as more of a threat, as it opened its maw and revealed aplex, multicolored Ritual Circleprised of all four basic elemental manas. "NOW! OPEN THE BARRIER!" Gritting my teeth, I shrunk the barrier and created a path for the two mages to utilize, only to curse loudly - I would assume loudly - as a raw beam of amplified Fire and Lightning Mana shot into the creatures maw, shattering the Ritual Circle. The boom from the lightning striking the creature produced a physical sound wave that pushed me back a step, and I winced in pain as I felt blood seep from my ears, my hearing gone. Watching what happened next in silence, I could only say that I was inplete and utter awe. Where the crimson and azure beam had impacted, the creatures scales, flesh, and bone had all melted away, leaving a perfectly clean hole a few feet in diameter straight through its throat. Its spine was severed, flesh melting still, and its head now hung down at an odd angle, all while arcs of electricity continued to sear its scales. mes clung to the hole and continued to burn away its flesh and bone, liquifying everything it touched. Mom and Nirinia stood in stunned silence as well, staring at the creature with wide eyes, before we all froze. It''s eyes had never once dimmed, and before I could react the creature mmed its tail through the opened barrier and pierced my shoulder, its aim off due to its dissolved spinal cord and hanging head. However, the feeling of metallic bone slicing through my armor and my shoulder was very urate, and I grunted as I was impaled upon its tail, the others all shocked that the creature... was still alive. Retrieving its tail, it tried to attack once more, but this time the others erected a barrier to defend against its attacks, all as I fell to my knee to hold my nowme right arm. Something festered inside the wound, feeling like something was crawling and wiggling around the pierced flesh, trying to find its way further inside my body, but I could only wince as the open wound was cauterized by Leone, the Vampire saying something that I couldn''t hear. Pain clouded my vision briefly, and I grit my teeth hard as I began to push my mana towards my shoulder, elerating the healing alongside Leone''s own spell. When I finally could see - and hear - again, I was greeted with the horrifying sight of the creature slowly healing itself of all the damage it had received once more, all while its tail was arcing towards the barrier at rapid speeds, gouging out deep chunks of the mana to reach us once more. Leone teared up slightly in front of me, her hands trembling against my shoulder as she muttered "I''m sorry!" over and over again, her eyes filled with fear. Reaching up, I pinched her shoulder and said "Snap out of it! I''m fine! Let''s worry about this damn thing first, alright?!" She flinched at both the minor pain and the words, before nodding her head and speeding up her spell, making me wince as I felt my flesh knit itself back together while bone grew back. My shoulder was itchy and in pain, but I bore with it before standing up, rolling out the new muscle before adding my mana to the others, asking "Any ideas whatsoever right now?! If it could shake off that, then what can we do?!" Kolia was the one to reply - unsurprisingly - and she said "If we can''t damage the creature, than what about the contact point? Or the Gate? Maybe it''ll retreat then?!" I pursed my lips, my eyes moving towards the flickering Gate that floated in the center of the room, before I said "I don''t think it''ll let any of us get close enough to the Gate, and it''ll be wary of anyrge buildups of mana!" "Then we just need to pin it! It won''t get distracted, so if we work to bind it down and cut off its ability to move, we might be able to do something!" Adelina was the one to suggest that, and I looked towards Anput, who bit her lip as she felt my gaze. "I... Maybe? This thing is damn strong. But..." Taking a deep breath, she nodded, her eyes still fixed on the creature as it shifted its attacks onto Mom and Nirinia, swiping out with its ws and stabbing with its tail. "Come on then! Let''s try it!" Dropping the barrier, we all created our own before spreading out, preparing to try to bind the creature first. Legionnaires were making their way towards the throne room, the eruptions of Mom''s mana shaking the pce''s foundations as she attacked the creature, but it was to no avail. Even her strength barely left nicks on its flesh, only managing to peel away the scales before they were regrown momentster. With such a high regeneration ability, high speeds, incredible defense, and potent attack, the creature in front of us was... nearly perfect in all regards. However, everything had a weakness, and what gave this creature its strength - its feral nature and single mindedness to attack - would allow us to take it on. Spreading out inside the circr room, we all began to swiftly formte our spells beforeunching them at the creature, but because none were filled with incredible power, the creature remained focused on Mom and Nirinia, who were whaling away at its front half. We all threw long threads of mana over the creature, weighing it down and trying to bind it to the floor. My mana coalesced into arge, and I clenched my fists as I staked the to the ground with Light Lances. Anput droverge metal gates down onto the creatures limbs and tail, pining it with dozens of thick, sturdy three edged squares. Using those for her own spell, Kolia''s azure lightning arced over the gates and formed anotheryer above the creature, while Leone''s mes dripped onto the creatures scales, weighing it down as she began to dissolve it with her heat. Mom and Nirinia joined in as well, both stabbing their des deep into the creatures flesh and anchoring it down, grunting as they poured their strength into their des. With that, the creature shrieked in both agony and fear, and we began to turn to focus on the Gate itself. Chapter 407 406: Khanlas Mysteries* Kat PoV Like I had with the old man and his daughter back in that hamlet, I gave my food and drink a quick sniff, making sure it wasn''tced with anything that could put me in a terrible situation. All I could smell on it was the mouthwateringly perfect scent of seared steak covered in a lime drizzle and seasoned with a mixture of herbs, while the tankard of ale was sweet and smooth. And just like back at the hamlet, I kept an eye on the servers and patrons of this restaurant, making sure none of them were waiting in anticipation for me to begin eating my meal. After a few moments of looking around and preliminary testing of my meal, I dug into the steak ravenously, theck of real, cooked foods putting me in a sort of frenzy as I scarfed it down - albeit with manners. The meat was perfectly cooked - left with a tad of pink in the center - while the vegetable sd was drizzled with a light dressing of lemon-lime juice. And the mead... Well, I always preferred sweet drinks over hard liquor, so... yeah, the mead was damn good. I smacked my lips together in appreciation at the way the people of Kha contrasted their vors perfectly; the food was tinged with a sour taste, while their sweet mead perfectly countered that sourness, creating a perfect bnce between the food and mead. Most likely, they had an opposite dish where the meat and sd were sweeter and the mead sourer, but I was more appreciative of a sweet liquor... With that meal firmly inside my stomach, I left a few coppers on the table before taking my medallion towards the room I was given, using it as a key to unlock my humble little residence for the night. Barely a few feet wide and a dozen feet deep, the room was perfect for a temporary stay; a single bed, a dresser, window, washbasin... Exactly what I needed, and I set my pack down on the dresser before checking out the room - after locking my door of course. Not finding anything wrong with the quaint, cozy room, I swiftly went about setting up some basic wards and securing my residence, ethereal pale blue mana fading away into the wood. Now that I had my room secured and checked, I stripped off my gear and set about cleaning it all off, all while the cool breeze of dusk brushed over my skin. My window was covered with a thin shutter that still let air inside, and I hummed softly as I looked down at my weapons and armor that were on the dresser. Standing in front of the dresser nude, I sighed as I rested my hand atop the travel worn gear, knowing that I was wearing it thin with constant use. The leather cuirass, bracers, and shinguards were all scraped and fraying, while my des were all nicked and dulled, my desire to keep moving forwards wearing at my equipment heavily. So, I took a deep breath and grabbed one of the whetstones I still had as well as my Protective Fang, plopping a drop of water over the stone before beginning the boring process of grinding out the imperfections. I could, at the very least, take care of my des and sharpen them, but I couldn''t do much for leather armor in my current state. The materials I would need simply weren''t on hand, and I didn''t want to stop to gather them... Time passed by slowly as I honed the edges of my des back to rtive sharpness, and when I finished I slid them all back into their sheathes, before cing them around the room; one under the pillow, another on the dresser, and thest inside my bag. Just in case someone broke in, I could at least find myself a physical weapon quickly enough that way... As for my armor, I simply washed it off andid them out so that I could properly dress myself when morning came. Until then... Lowering myself onto the bed, I moaned as my fingers instinctively trailed down towards my pussy, which was already wet with need. One hand began to tease my clit and cunt, while the other roamed up towards my chest, pinching and squeezing my sensitive nipples. The pain was necessary for me at this point, Jahi''s demands of abuse pushing me further into the throes of masochism, and I just... didn''t feelplete without the pleasure pain brought me. Demoness in more ways than one, Jahi was a cruel and self serving Mistress, always seeking out her own pleasures and desires, yet those moments where she suddenly shifted and demanded that I do what I want were always wee. She would pound herself relentlessly inside my womb, tearing me open with that dragon that hung between her legs and pouring her searing hot ''mes'' inside me, filled me with such joy each time I was flooded to the brim. Whenever she took up a toy to spice things up, I would always shudder as she doubled her abuse on my body, her eyes sadistically golden as she beat her lust into me, the contrast of her very being always arousing me. Cruel and uncaring of others, yet someone who ced those she deemed worthy on such an opulent pedestal. Evil in multiple ways, yet a bearer of Magics that most would consider holy and good. Deceptively smart,zy, yet so proactive with what she wants... My breathing hitched as I curled my fingers deep inside my pussy, finding the spots that made me feel so good as I moaned. The bed was wet under me as I grew drenched with lust, and I writhed around, seeking out thefort of one of my lovers as I descended further into my building orgasm, my mind clouded with need. Burying my face into my pillow, I moaned as I slipped my other hand towards my pussy as well, my Ice Magic activating on its own as I created something long and solid to fill me up. Without wondering why I was so desperate to cum, I rammed that ice rod deep into my cunt and moaned again, my mind filled with a haze. "You were always... such a needy little girl, Katherine..." Just as fast as I had descended into lust, I swiftly found myself free of it, the rod that had just entered my womb leaping to my hand as I shifted it into ance to pierce the woman standing in my room. However, just before I could stab my intruder, the icicle stopped as I saw who it was, and my heart palpitated with too many emotions for me to understand. "It''s been awhile, Kat~! Did you miss me~? Because I certainly missed you..." Chapter 408 407: Yeah... Problems Jahi PoV With multiple different manas binding it to the ground - as well as two des - the creature let out an agonized, fearful shriek as Kolia and Leone turned towards the Gate, their palms shining with potent mana as they prepared to close it with their attack. As they did that, Anput and I strengthened the bonds holding down the creature, preventing it from moving and attacking us as best we could, all while Mom and Nirinia took this opportunity to silence the creature, slicing and chopping at its scaled neck. There was no guarantee that the creature would either weaken or die if the Gate was closed - in fact, we had no valid reason to hope that would be the case - so if we could both close the Gate and kill it, then that would be excellent. It tried to utilize its own mana to snap free of its constraints, only to fall silent as Mom pierced her sword through its snout, pinning its head to the ground. Chanting quietly under their breath, Kolia and Leone raised their hands and aimed at the Gate,plex runes and Ritual Circles ring to life around them. Leone in particr was surrounded by a single Ritual Circle that held multiple other smaller circles inside itself, each part rotating as she created aplex tapestry of mana, the runes shining a brilliant crimson as she prepared to unleash hell upon the Gate. Kolia was no less impressive, as she used her body as the conduit for her magic, both her sleeves burnt away to reveal azure tattoos that writhed around on her flesh, arcs of electricity singeing the air around her. The two women braced themselves as they began to unleash their magics, and we all watched in awe as they spoke the names of their spells, finalizing their magics shape through words. "Wrath of the Ardor Queen!" "Pyramidion of the Lightning Temple!" Named spells were amongst the pinnacle of magic, and they all had names that gave them power; names that held meaning to the caster, unique to them. Leone''s giant Ritual Circle erupted with reddish orange light, and mes began to spill forth around her, leaping through the air and coiling around the Gate, constricting and clinging to the rainbow entrance to the Labyrinthian. As for Kolia, her Lightning Mana focused between her arms before snaking through her hands, which were pressed together to form a triangle, coalescing into a singr bolt of solid azure lightning. It crackled through the air and mmed into the Gate, shaking the room as itbined with the tightening of the mes under Leone''s control. The air around the Gate was sapped of moisture from the raw heat that radiated from Leone''s fire, while Kolia''s lightning sparked and dripped condensed Fire Mana onto the floor, which smoldered andbined with Leone''s mes. Two powerful spells ravaged the Gate, and we watched on as the rainbow portal began to slowly shrink in on itself, the mana and magics supporting it being burnt away under the onught of the spells. The creature howled in terror as it watched the Gate begin to dissipate, and Mom was forced to m her boot into its skull, quieting it and breaking parts of its snout away, all while her ymore was left embedded in its head. We watched the portal begin to shrink, only to dismay as it was stretched open, a golden set of ws forcing it open - a set of ws that looked simr to the dark silver creatures. Ripping the Gate open more, another creature stepped through, its multicolored eyes roaming the room as it stuck its crowned head through the Gate, before it stopped on its bound brethren, which was currently under Mom''s foot. A low, raspy growl reverberated from its ted throat, and it opened the Gate further, allowing the two spells to wash over its golden scales. Unlike the dark silver creature, this golden one had thick, te like scales, while its body was built like a sturdy barrel. Where the first creature was made for offense and killing, this golden variant was born for defense, and we got a good showing of just what kind of defense that was. It stalked out of the Gate, the insanely hot mes and near solid bolt of lightning connecting with its scales, but not leaving behind a single mark. In fact, the mana from the spells was being absorbed into the creatures scales, a shimmer of crimson and azure mana covering its body as it lumbered out. A tad shorter than the first creature, this golden one was muchrger than its kindred, and it ignored the mes around itself as it approached the trapped silver creature, its multicolored eyes focused entirely on its kindred. The sheer weight of the creature shattered the marble tile under it, and its slow, methodical movements were vastly different from the silver one, who moved quickly. Opening its maw, it tilted its head and nced at the two spell casters, a Ritual Circle appearing in its jaws made from the same multicolored mana that fueled the Gate and formed its eyes. When itpleted the Ritual Circle, we all staggered back as a pulse of that mana burst over the room, and we gasped for breath as we felt the mana inside our Cores slowly deplete. All the mana that was inside the room faded away, and our spells flickered out quickly, leaving the room in silence. Silence that was only interrupted by the golden creature approaching Mom, ring at her as it looked towards the ymore inside its kindred''s snout. Mom was panting, her fist clenching her chest as she tried to stand, but like the rest of us she felt weak with the sudden loss of her mana, unable to get up. It opened its maw once more and roughly yanked the ymore free, throwing it aside before nudging the silver creature''s head with its own snout, which was blunt. Another low growl filled the room, but it faded away as the silver creature rumbled back at it, its ''voice'' small. The golden one red at the silver creature before looking up towards the rest of us, its multicolored eyes narrowed as it scanned each of us, before it turned and lumbered back towards the gate, growling at its kindred. Scrambling to its feet, the silver creature snarled as it raised its ws, wanting to kill Mom, but the gold creature hit it with its club like tail, growling harder at it. It let out a low whimper as it looked towards the golden creature, before shrinking as it was met with a second growl. We watched in stunned silence as the golden and silver creatures retreated through the Gate, before it was closed entirely behind them, the multicolored mana on the floor dissipating as well. With the Gate closed, mana rushed back into the room, and we as gasped for breath as our Cores began to replenish themselves, allowing us to breath normally once more. "W-What... What in the hells... was that?!" I rose to my feet unsteadily, looking over towards Mom, who was silent, her fists clenched hard. "T-There were two of them?! T-Two of those creatures?! Why?!" Leone rose beside me, leaning on my shoulder as she coughed into her fist, her body trembling. Anput growled, staring at the floor with her fists clenched as well. "What... do we do now?" Chapter 409 408: Meeting* Kat PoV My lust drained from my body in a single moment as I heard a voice I never thought I would hear again, and I turned around and turned the rod of ice I had been pleasuring myself with into ance, wanting to stab the woman standing in my room. However, when I turned and saw her face, I simply couldn''t bring myself to do it, even though I very much wanted to. "It''s been awhile, Kat... a really long time, hasn''t it?" Standing beside my bed with her cocky, assured smile was Kyoka, my lover from my previous life. It was her, and yet... it wasn''t. Sure, she was a few years younger than me, but here she stood in her prime, her skin smooth and unblemished, and her normally warm brownish ck eyes were a shockingly bright pink. "Y-You... You can''t be here..! This isn''t possible!" My growl filled the room, and she just grinned at me, as arrogant as ever. "Why not? Why couldn''t I visit the room of my former lover? I did tell you I would get you back, didn''t I~? Besides..." Her eyes raked over my nude body, and her grin turned lecherous as she whispered "You look like you could use an extra set of hands, Kat... One to fondle those beautiful tits of yours and another to fuck you senseless... You know I''m good for it~ I made you cum so~ many times with just a few fingers, didn''t I~?" My skin crawled as she smirked at me, my silence amusing her greatly. "Oh, but you always much preferred when I used a strap on, didn''t you~? It was something that you retained from being bisexual; that need for a thick cock stirring up your cunt... I remember that greatly... you used to scream my name when I ravished you from behind... oh, your screams were so~ damn delectable, Kat... I miss them." She tried to walk forwards, only for the icicle to press against her throat, my hand unwavering. "Kyoka... You can''t be here. It''s impossible!" My former lover just chuckled, her pink eyes flickering with amusement as she tilted her head to the side. "Is it? Aren''t you not meant to be here too~? Neither of us belong, and yet... here we are~! So if you can be here... why can''t I?" ''She can''t be here! Isn''t that what you said?!'' [It is... and she isn''t here. That... isn''t Kyoka] My eyes widened, and the pink eyed woman in front of me just giggled, her expression amused. "Ah, you finally realized it? That I am her, but also... not her?" I frowned, before my eyes widened as she added "Look closely, Kat... Watch, little puppy~! Let''s see if you can figure it all out..." Licking her thin lips, ''Kyoka'' grinned at me before her face began to shift, and I watched on in horror as she went from a thin, arrogant human to a tall, equally arrogant Elf. "You know very well who this is, do you not~?" Standing before me now was the sadistic, crazy Jillian, her pink eyes fixated on my body as she licked her lips, and I grit my teeth as her clothes faded away, revealing her bare body. "What do you think now, Kat~? How do you feel about me~? Want to have a taste..?" I bit my cheek as she grinned at me, her raspy voice and lean body shimmering as she stood in front of me, tempting me. "No. NO! Leave my room now!" The icicle in my hand pushed deeper against her throat, and the woman just giggled once more. "Mm~ I love when people get defiant... However, I do have to admit I am disappointed, Katherine Zara... I would have thought you''d have been more well versed in matters regarding Fiends~ Considering the scent of that honor bound prick Ka''Hondi lingers around you - the cloying scent of metal and blood and ash..." ''Jillian'' curled her nose in disgust, before sighing as she vanished. I searched the room desperately, my hands moving for the dagger under the pillow, but I yelped as I was pulled back onto the bed, Jillian holding me close. "You''re such a warm woman, Kat... The right amount of heat and instion from you fur, but still cool enough to hold for long periods of time... oh, and the scent~ You smell like lemons, my favorite~!" She wasying behind me, and once more I found myself being embraced from behind, a hard cock poking against my ass. My earlier heat returned, and I had to bite my cheek to stifle a moan from escaping my lips, which only made the thing behind me giggle again. "Well... very well~ If you don''t desire to have a taste of me, I suppose we could just chat, woman to woman~" The rigid cock that was poking against my back disappeared, and the woman vanished once more, this time reappearing on my dresser, wearing a new face. A new everything... Violet skin with a spattering of pink scales was left bare to the world, the woman forgoing any clothing as she sat nude in front of me. A curvy body to match mine, she left her legs open to reveal her sulent pussy, a sickly sweet scent wafting from between her legs. However, where her clit should have been was a hardened cock, pulsing angrily as it stood tall, and it was ribbed with scales. Instead of hair, the woman had snakes that hissed softly as they hung from her head, while a set of thin pink horns crowned her skull. Pink slitted eyes stared back at me, her pupils a striking violet, while her sclera was pure ck. Fangs curled behind her plump lips, and a forked tongue flickered out, tasting the air. "I was hoping that such an aroused Dogkin like yourself would fall to temptations, but... well, I guess your will is stronger than most, Katherine Zara. Allow me to introduce myself..." Trailing her wed hands over her curvaceous body, she moaned softly as she said "Arch Fiend of Hidden Twisted Pleasures, ''Caligo~!" She grinned at me, and I shuddered as I realized the enormity of what lounged before me. An Arch Fiend, a being of such incredible power that they could easily wipe out entire portions of the world if they desired... Killing a single woman was like breathing to them... "Oh, I won''t kill you, nor will I rape you, Katherine... that''s rather boring, and after being sealed away for millennia, I desire entertainment... Do you understand? I want to strike a deal, Katherine Zara." Her pink eyes red, and I shivered as the sweet scent filling the room grew stronger. Chapter 410 409: Concern And Resolve Jahi PoV The sudden development of having not one, but two creatures linked to the Gates that had leveled the Kingdom of Tragon was... harrowing, to say the least. The silver creature was built entirely to kill its opponents with speed and precision, while also having a repertoire of magic at its disposal; magic that seemed to be able toe from any of the basic elements. Lean and covered in tough silver scales, the first creature was already a problem in and of itself, capable of withstanding the onught of Mom, Nirinia, and the rest of us. Hells, it healed past an overcharged magical beam produced by one of the strongest Arch Mages and a daughter of the Empress, shrugging off what would normally damage even a Knight like it was nothing. Traditional methods didn''t seem capable of killing it either - that, or it actually had a Core of its own somewhere else that fueled and powered it, meaning that what we were facing was just its body; an indestructible body capable of razing cities to the ground with ease... Mom''s ymore stabbed into the marble tile, cracking the floor as she stared down at the clean contact point, where the Gate stood moments earlier. "This... changes everything. At a minimum, we are facing two creatures capable of utilizing the Gates into the Labyrinthian itself, and I have a strong feeling that there are more waiting inside. Creatures strong enough to shrug off a strike from Nirinia and I... to shrug off thebined magics from two incredible mages..." Her fingers drummed against the guard of her ymore, and she grit her teeth as she looked up towards the rest of us, including the legionnaires that had rushed over to support us. "Until further notice, Tragon will be left empty. Unless the Empress decrees it differently, no one is to remain inside these borders. We will be packing up and returning the way we came, where we will regroup with Sker and move back into the Empire. The Empress needs to be informed of what has happened both here and in Huran. Centurions, remain behind; legionnaires, begin the process for our return home." The sounds of fists mming against metal echoed inside the throne room, followed quickly by boots on the tile as everyone moved to do what they were ordered to. I nodded for Iaso and Liga to go help the rest of the Legion before turning and focusing on Mom, who was looking over the gathered leadership. "Kolia, continue working with Leone and the other mages to finalize anything you warrant necessary to collect inside of Nogart. You have two hours to finish before joining the Legion as we begin our march home. Adelina, from here on out rotate watch amongst entire Cohorts going forwards. If a Gate appears again, we need to be able to react quickly. Otherwise, this Legion is as good as dead. Jahi, Anput, Nirinia,e with me. We need to discuss the future going forwards. Centurions, oversee your Cohorts and guarantee nothing of importance is left behind. If it''s valuable, take it. I don''t think we''ll be returning to Tragon for a long time..." Once more, the sounds of the soldiers saluting filled the room, just not as loud this time. Nodding to Leone, I watched as she followed behind Kolia, the two women talking in quiet voices as they scurried away, wanting to find anything they could before we needed to depart. I led Anput over towards Mom, where Nirinia stood beside her, watching as the Lioness walked with her Centurions, giving them orders. "Alright... I''ve decided that, going forwards, we will all be training under Lady Fenryas when we return to the Capital to push ourselves further. With what happened earlier, we can''t afford to remain passive or go for small increases. We need to to improve greatly. The defensive capabilities of those creatures is... incredible. Simply put, as far as I am concerned only the Empress and her wives would be capable of truly damaging those creatures; maybe if all the Knights gathered we would be able to deal with that silver one, but... the golden one worries me." She retrieved her ymore from the tile and returned it to its sheath, ignoring the way Nirinia shivered at the mention of Lady Fenryas. "If the silver creature was already damn near impervious to both physical and magical attacks, then how resilient would the golden one be? Add onto that it''s ability to nullify mana entirely - inside our Cores as well - and you have something that might truly be unkible. That, of course, is impossible; nothing is unkible. Perhaps there is something inside the Gate that would weaken them? Hah... anyways, from today going forwards, we are all going to be training together. I''ll call for the Knights to return to the Capital as well, so that we might bolster our forces further..." Mom shook her head and scoffed as she added "Then there''s the fact that the Fiends are returning to the world. Everything just keeps getting worse huh? Loose ends with the Sariel and Kamiel Families, the resurgence of the Arch Fiends, and now this... Who knows how these creatures might affect the monsters inside the Labyrinthian? Lord Ter''Ran needs to be informed as well... Gods be damned, it would seem our peace is being bnced out by an age of strife..." We all nodded, our minds wandering down paths of thought regarding the enemies that were crawling out to fight us, each on stronger than thest. Each posed separate problems that were all terrifying. Jillian and A were still out in the world, and we were still unsure of just what they wanted to do, and how powerful they might be in the future. The Fiendsing back was problematic; all it would take is one strong Arch Fiend deciding to level a city and the Empire would be weakened. Add onto that the people that would be seduced by the power that they offered... Then there were the creatures, who were a bundle of scary unknowns capable of who knows what. Would the Empress even be enough for them? Nothing was known about our future, but I was determined to grow strong enough to assure the safety of my family. No matter what. Chapter 411 410: Deal? --- This chapter has spicynguage, but nothing happens to warrant a *, so just be warned in advance... --- Kat PoV ''Caligo, Arch Fiend of Hidden Twisted Pleasures... My mouth went dry as I stared at the violet skinned Fiend in front of me, her grin making me sick as I tried to think up ways to escape this situation alive and still myself. "Again Kat~? Please, do trust the word of an Arch Fiend; we have no reason to lie~! That''s so boring~ Instead, we prefer honesty and flowery words to wind you mortals up~! It''s sooo~ much fun watching you all go insane whenever you speak to us..." She leaned forwards and smirked at me, her snake hair hissing quietly as she continued on. "Now, like I said, my dear voluptuous Dogkin, I have a few deals I want to offer you. No tricks, no hidden loopholes~ Just a deal that benefits me, and benefits you. I might enjoy showing you the dark desires that linger deep within the gutters of your soul, but I am still an Arch Fiend of Pleasure~" As she spoke, the woman began to lounge on the dresser, her hardened cock pointing to the ceiling as sheid back. "You see, I was sealed in Kha for millennia. All the dead souls around here were my shackles. However... it would seem those shackles weakened over time, so I snapped them. A few months ago, actually. Kha went from my prison to my yground. A once serious, somber city turned into a pleasure den at night, temples dedicated to the men and women who sealed me away desecrated by orgies held from dusk to dawn..." A chuckle escaped her lips, and she flicked her finger at the window, opening it. "Listen. They''ve started." She smiled at me as she gestured to the now open window, and I felt my ears twitch as I listened, my eyes going wide. Moans flooded the street, the sound of flesh hitting flesh echoing around each building as the city descended into a lust filled frenzy. "For these months, this was enough to entertain me. Watching as those bastards temples were desecrated by their descendants was pleasureful, and I relished the raw desires that these people had suppressed inside their hearts. Some of them caught my eye, and I''ve gotten to enjoy the taste of mortal lust once more~" ''Caligo turned her pink eyes towards the window, her smile widening into a grin as she took a deep breath. "However, a little doggy wandered into my yground reeking of that bastard Ka''Hondi, ruining my appetite. At the same time, that smell reminded me... The rest of us should be awakening soon. The world show know of us once more. And honestly~?" Those pink eyes red, and ''Caligo features twisted, switching from easygoing and free to hateful, all while her snakes hissed angrily. "I dislike my brethren. So driven by umting power and not stopping to enjoy the pleasures of freedom. We''ve done this song and dance for millennia. I''ve seen kingdoms and empires rise and fall, heroes smite down mighty viins, only to be the viin themselves. I''ve overseen the downfall of some of the strongest races in the world, brought down and humbled by the weak... To you mortals, that seems like a petty, stupid reason, but to someone like me, who''s been alive for too long... well, I think the Fiends need some new blood amongst their ranks. Us older Arch Fiends have done a poor job managing our brethren... I had a millennia to think on it, and now... well, you just happened toe along, Katherine Zara." The Arch Fiend returned to her soft smile and seductive look, the snakes quieting down just like her. "You are an interesting woman. Your potential is limitless. Your will is strong. Oh, and your desires~! Your desires are farrger than most, despite seeming so humble. Those desires hidden inside your heart are so sulent..." Licking her lips, she smirked at me before sitting back up, resting her chin on her knee as she continued on. "So, the deal I want to make, Katherine Zara, is a simple one. I can give you the power you crave, as well as a quick hop over towards that bastard Ka''Hondi so that you can reunite with the ones you love. How, you may ask~? Simple, my love~ I wish to bond with you, much like Ka''Hondi has bonded with the Asmodia''s that you serve. You see, an Arch Fiend on their own is powerful; this world wouldn''t be able to withstand me if I desired to destroy it. But I like this world. We like this world. It''s ours. No, what I desire, and what many of my brethren desire is to shape it to our liking. To make this world better for us and our domains. Me? I want a world open and free, full of lust~ I''ve seen glimpses of it before, millennia ago... Another world that was exactly what I wanted... Yet it was closed to me. Instead, I was left here, where war and decay are so damn prominent. Blood is spilled daily, bodies left to rot in graves, all in the pursuit of knowledge or a desire to obtain something the other has. It''s sickeningly boring. You mortals know such beautiful lust, yet you suppress it so much. That is why I want to bond with you, my lusty little puppy. You would make an excellent catalyst for my desires, my needs. A perfect woman to fuel me with the power I need to pursue the freedoms I crave... I''ve seen what lies inside your mind, inside your heart. Your ''owners'' would greatly benefit both me and themselves with your eptance, Katherine." Slipping off the dresser, ''Caligo looked out over the candlelit city of Kha, her lips pulled into a smirk as she listened to the moaning of the residents. "The terms would be simple, Katherine. I would grant you parts of my power, as well as a warp from here to the March Asmodia, in exchange for you to be my beautiful Masque, the face of pleasures unknown to mortals of today... I want you to be my Speaker, my Masque, my Herald... ying with you mortals is fun, but picking those amongst you worthy of standing by my side is such a chore." Waving her hand tiredly, ''Caligo turned and looked at me, her smile warm. "It''s a lot to think about, I know, but... I am not lying when I say that you are a perfect Masque for me, Katherine. Deadly yet beautiful. Capable of hiding amongst the crowd just as much as you are capable of standing out. The perfect... power source for me. You generate such delectable pleasure on your own, so I can only imagine the exquisite taste of the pleasure you feel when you are under your Mistresses~! Think on it, Katherine. Consult the thing inside you, pray to your Goddess that granted you such a power, and decide on an answer... I''ll be back in an hour, my love, to hear your answer..." With that, the Arch Fiend of Hidden Twisted Pleasures dropped out of the window, vanishing onto the street below as she went to join the lust permeating the city. Chapter 412 411: Departing Tragon Jahi PoV The city of Nogart faded away into the background as our carriage rolled along the stone roads, each of us sitting in somber silence as we gathered our thoughts. Kolia and Leone had found a few more things to inspect; traces of the silver creature''s scales, portions of the rubble still afflicted with the odd mana, and some swift sketches and notes of patterns that they hade across during their two hours of searching. On the more practical side, we had filled a few wagons up with chestsden with raw materials that were all worthrge amounts of coin, as well as ingots of gold and silver to fill the Empress'' coffers when we return. A few enchanted items were also scattered around the pce, but they were small, inferior enchantments to what we were capable of producing en masse, so they were given to the soldiers who found them. This Crusade - our portion of it, anyways - was over, and it wasn''t concluded in the best of ways, nor were our gains asrge as we would have wanted. The Kingdoms of Slyak and Romagi were in our grasps, but the loss of the more temperate, fertile Tragon was felt much deeper than if we had lost one of the other Kingdoms. The hope had been to turn Tragon into the Empire''s breadbasket, where we could mass produce grains to fill our peoples bellies, but now that was an unreachable dream. I had doubts about us upying Tragon anytime soon, but for now we had more pressing matters to worry about. "So... a minimum of two of those creatures, and variants on top of that. They looked simr enough, very clearly built upon the same foundation, so to speak. Their bodies are primarily canine in structure - four limbs, elongated skulls, tails..." Leone drummed her fingers atop her knee as she fell silent, looking over towards Kolia who picked up where she left off. "Additionally, they have a simr hierarchy to wolves as well - based on the little we''ve seen. That golden one was far more threatening then the silver one, and it was the one to give the orders. Without that golden creature, we... maybe we kill the silver one, maybe we close the Gate, but it''s all unsure. Was the silver creature at its peak? Was it trying as hard as it could have been? There are so many unknowns regarding these creatures..." "You and Leone would have managed to close the Gate, Kolia; the mana forming it was being pushed into instability. Now, whether that would have affected the silver creature is a different matter. I believe it would have; it was growing far too worried seeing its Gate disappear. To me, that suggests that there is something else controlling the Gates, otherwise it wouldn''t have minded the Gate being closed." We all nodded at Mom''s words, and Kolia instantly begin to pursue that train of thought. "If that is correct, then perhaps a third creature remains inside the Labyrinthian and creates the Gates? Or at the very least manages them? The silver one was more of a physical fighter with ess to magic, much like you, Marquess. Potent mana, but it prefers fighting and killing with its own physical strength... The golden one is... a shield. A barrier. It had a bulkier body structure, was capable of absorbing mana, and it negated mana inside of the room. When acting in tandem with the silver one, it would offer protection while its kindred attacked and pulled away, relying on its speed to kill... That seems usible, does it not?" "And we would still need to focus on the golden creature despite it having little of an offensive presence; we would need to prevent it from casting that spell that sapped the mana from our Cores, or else we would be easy pickings... These are some highly evolved creatures, aren''t they? They act with intelligence and purpose, unlike monsters... Add on to it all that multicolored mana they posses, and well..." Nirinia frowned as she spoke her piece, highlighting the more pressing side of the discussion: how would we go about fighting them? "That golden creature is resilient, but we would need to find a way to bind it down, or at the very least prevent it from moving to support the silver creature. All while we defend ourselves from the onught of ws and magic from the silver one? Hah... This is insane." We all nodded once more as we heard Adelina sigh, understanding just howplex and difficult it would be to fight just those two. "When we return, let''s pray that the Empress has some wisdom to bestow upon us regarding this... Perhaps she''s seen something like this before? Maybe she heard of it? I refuse to believe that this creature is new to the world, that it hasn''t been around before. How could something as powerful as that just... show up? Surely it evolved from something?" Mom sighed this time, leaning back into the carriage''s seats and looking out the window, over the rolling grassy fields that made up Tragon. The carriage was filled with the discussion of how to present the creatures to the Empress, so that she would get the clearest picture possible. There was so much about them that we didn''t know about, so many nks that left too many questions and theories avable to us, and each time we encountered another unknown it just felt like another weight was added to our necks. Who could tell what these creatures could do to the Empire if left unchecked, or if they would evene to the Empire at all. What would they want to do? Our journey back to the Kingdom of Slyak was stressful, and I could only continue to stoke the desire to get stronger as we rumbled over the ins. I needed to reach a level I once believed far out of reach to me, so that I could protect what I had as best I could. So that when another situation like before happens, when someone threatens to take away one of the women that I love, I can prevent it from happening and keep them safe. Keep them by my side, forever. That was what I needed to do, but the start of that all would be to bring her back to my side, so that I could feel whole again. So that we all could feel whole again. Only then do I believe we all - all four of us - could make the strides forwards to be capable of meeting this new world that was preparing to dawn upon us. A new world fraught with peril and dangers, but a world full of opportunity to further our strength. A world in which we would all stand side by side, together forever. Chapter 413 412: Contemplation Kat PoV I gnawed on my lip as I paced the room, the usuallyforting weight of my dagger not giving me thefort it once did. The sounds of lust around me surprisingly left me unbothered, my mind more upied on my circumstances then the idea of letting loose and enjoying the pleasures of the flesh. What ''Caligo was offering was... tempting. Then again, she is a Fiend, and the ''apple'' that she ced on the table between us may look sulent, but I have no doubt that its poisoned. There is something that I am missing from her terms, something that will definitelye back around to bite me in the ass - and not in a good way. So, as I spun my dagger around expertly, I asked ''This needs to be addressed first. How was she able to... sense you? Is that even possible?'' [Yes... and no. See, I''ve mentioned before that I am from a set of Gods and Goddesses, correct? I believe THAT is what she could sense; the lingering divine power of the one who created me and gifted me to you. Reincantra is the name of this Goddess; she rules over New Beginnings and Storytelling, and a part of ''New Beginnings'' is reincarnation. Sometimes, she finds souls that she deems interesting enough to warrant holding portions of her power, and that... that would be me.] ''Alright, so she''s sensing divine power inside me - you - but doesn''t know exactly what you are, just that you came from this Reincantra?'' [Indeed. To sense divine power one needs to reach a certain strength, and I think the only reason no one else has sensed it from you was because your strength is still in its infancy. It''s... ah, like a lingering scent around you, but before - and still now - it''s covered by your ''normalcy''. I believe that if you had been around Ka''Hondi for a little longer, or if you were there now, they would be able to sense me as well... And going forwards, normal Fiends and even stronger mortals - like the Marquess and those stronger than her - would be able to sense it as well... In all honesty, this ''scent'' around you isn''t a big deal, even when you get stronger - like to the Marquess'' level - it would still be seen as little more than you being ''watched'' by a God or Goddess, given a small blessing for your devotion or how you interest them] I nodded, still pacing the room. ''Well, as nice as it is to know that others won''t really care about this... ''scent'' that you give me, that wasn''t the most pressing part of what just transpired. Her deal...'' [It''s an interesting one, alright] Nodding again, I began to flip the dagger around as I bit my cheek, thinking. ''Despite me feeling like I am so far in my journey, I really am only halfway; the next stretch will be another month or three before I reach the border of the Empire, and that can still be increased depending on the amount of problems that I run into across the deserts... Arge swathe ofnd covered in Fire Mana, filled with strong, hidden creatures like in the Gobo Desert... A people that revere strength over everything, and believe in might makes right... Her deal is really appetizing at first for that warp to the March Asmodia. Considering her mentions of Ka''Hondi, I imagine she has something she needs to do with them... At first look, this is such a beneficial deal, since I get to reunite with the Asmodia''s quicker and I would get more power, but...'' [It''s an Arch Fiend offering this deal] ''Exactly. There MUST be something hidden inside what she wants. She wants me to be her ''Masque''. Her champion, in other words. She wants me to be her champion... but for what? If she''s to be believed - and I don''t doubt this - the Fiends areing back. So... a war? Her hatred for her kin seemed real as well... Does she truly want to whittle down the number of Fiends and ''reset'' them? Why?'' I walked over towards the open window, looking out onto the almost empty street - a few men and women could be seen here and there, enjoying themselves - and I let out another sigh. ''Perhaps she wants a... leader for her mortal followers? Some kind of shepherd to lead the flock? What would I be required to do? She exined so much, yet so little at the same time...'' [If I had to wager a guess, her real desire for you was already stated. She said ''perfect power source for me''. She wants you to be her... battery. A cup that constantly fills up with lust and pleasure for her to drink from. Hidden Twisted Pleasures is her domain, and your ''twisted'' love for Jahi, Anput and Leone could be the perfect nectar for her. As for hidden, well, forgive me but you seem to be exploring more extreme sources of pleasure in this life then you did in yourst one...] My wry chuckle filled the room as I nodded, my mindtching onto the words of the system. ''A battery... How would she drain that power from me then? Would she try and force herself on me? And how would I manage to not go insane thinking about when she might just do something to me or my loves?'' More questions arose from this train of thought, and I began to pace around once more. ''Is there a way to make her swear - an actual binding swear - that she wouldn''t do anything to me or my loved ones? Would she even ept that?'' [Maybe..? I don''t know if she would ept it, but there is a way to swear to a God or Goddess directly and make it binding - even for a Fiend. See, the hierarchy of the world is Mortals / Monsters, Fiends, Gods / Goddesses. The divines might not interfere often, but they are still present and looking down upon the world. A Fiend is born OF the world, which the divines have full power over, so... yes, there is a way to bind you both to an oath] ''So it all justes down to more of what she wants? If what she wants is terrible, what chance do I even stand to say no?'' [I... don''t know that either.] ''Great... just great... well, we still have a good bit of time left; let''s look over everything else for the time being, see if we can get a group of questions to ask her... I can only hope that she continues to be reasonable...'' Chapter 414 413: Grievances Jahi PoV When we returned to Goron in two days time, we were greeted by the cold, yet frightened stares of the conquered people, all of whom were still scarred from the siege just over a week ago. In that week, changes had been made to the city, the upational force was only a day or two out, and reconstruction had already begun. The more damaged parts of the city were being torn down and rebuilt, moreplex housing being erected on thend to better fit this poption. Mom led Kolia, Nirinia, and Adelina off towards the pce, where she would get a report formted for the Empress on everything that had happened so far as well as getting a report about the current state of Goron. As for Anput, Leone and I, we were going towards the forges to have a break of our own, wanting to unwind and talk over everything that happened personally, to air out what we needed to in private together, so that we could move forwards better. The Jackalkin was the one to show her anger the most, hammering away at an anvil as she forged a new de as a way to regte her emotions. "I just felt so damn useless once again! It''s like every enemy we encounter is better suited to be dealt with by magics instead of des! Elemental attacks deal more damage to these creatures that cold steel, and what''s my primary magic? Fucking metal! That''s what I''ve put my time into, and yet every single thing we fight is physically defensive!" Leone pursed her lips, watching as Anput mmed her weighty hammer onto the anvil, sparks flying through the pit as she shaped out the curved de she was forging. "Even if I were to increase my Earth Magic, it''s still either a blunt force spell or a sharp spell like my metal! As for my Fire Magic, well, that''s the one that I struggle with the most!" I sighed as Anput growled, her eyes flickering silver as her hammer fell once more. "Anput, you''ve still been an immense help in each fight despite that. Not everything is about dealing damage. Your Earth Magic provides excellent defense, as does your Metal Magic. As for most of our enemies being physically resistant, that might change soon. From what Mom said, the world is shifting once more, and I imagine that quite a few powerful people will sumb to the temptations of a Fiend. Not everyone will be... immune to des like those creatures were. I mean, a whole branch of the Fiends are dedicated to learning more about the arcane! That would epass - no offense Leone - squishier mages in its majority. Most people focus on offense, meaning their defensive spells are weaker." The Vampire Princess beside me sighed at that, but she nodded as she added "She''s right, Anput. Being in a fight is more than just doing damage. Your magic is perfect for supporting; Earth Magic for defensive enchantments as well as slowing down the enemy - same for Metal as well - while your Fire Magic could be used to heal! Add onto all of that your skill with a de, and you could be a really versatile fighter Anput! Capable of restraining your enemy, strengthening and defending yourself, healing yourself... In all honesty, you have some incredible potential if you were to stop belittling yourself and started applying yourself!" Anput froze at that, her hammer resting in the air as she looked towards Leone, her silver eyes hard as she narrowed them at the Vampire. Leone was blushing, but she met and held the re Anput sent her, not backing down at all and standing by her words, wanting to use this confrontation to push Anput to do better. Silence reigned inside the forging pit, and Anput lowered the hammer and spoke, her voice still. "Belittling myself..?" Gulping, Leone shivered slightly but remained firm, nodding her head. "Yes! You constantly beat yourself down and iming your useless! You''re not useless! Realize that and push yourself to be better! To step away from being ''useless'' and grow stronger! You''re constantly undervaluing yourself, Anput! Where''s that pride that you used to disy when we were younger? The arrogance and self assuredness that you were better than everyone else?! Why are you acting like some helpless puppy instead of the predator you used to be? Why?!" Leone couldn''t even yelp as Anput appeared before her in a blur of silver, her lips pulled into a snarl. "I HATE that you''re right, Leone... Fucking hells, I hate it..." Her hand was grasping Leone by the chin, forcing the slightly taller Vampire to look down into her eyes. Anput took a deep breath before releasing the Vampire, turning around and quietly returning to her anvil, where she scooped up the hammer and resumed her forging. "You''re right... Presented with situation after situation where I felt helpless, I... lost sight of that need to get stronger. First Kat, then the Fiends, now the creatures... each one knocked me down, and I never bothered to climb back up... I thought I had, but... I guess I hadn''t." A pang imed my heart at the mention of her, and I grit my teeth as I too recalled just how helpless I felt after losing her. It had been weeks - perhaps months - and I still felt terrible, that day haunting me whenever I caught a whiff of her scent, the sound of her giggles from afar... Each reminder of her being gone was heart wrenching, but... "When we get home, we need to apply ourselves fully to getting stronger. I can have the Legion going out to search for clues and leads on her, but... I don''t think we can afford to go ourselves. Not when those creatures exist, and not when the Fiends are returning... At our current strength, we''ll die if we try and face any of them. So..." Leone nodded, her eyes pained as she muttered "We need to move forwards without her, for now. To hold out hope she''ll return to us on her own, without our help... Too much is happening for us to ignore, even though we want too..." We all fell quiet again, before the sounds Anput''s hammer filled the air once more. Chapter 415 414: Discussing The Deal Kat PoV The hour that ''Caligo gave me to contemte her words passed by quickly in deep contemtion, the System and I going over what she said in as much detail as we possibly could, trying to determine just what she wanted and just how badly it could backfire on us. By the end of that hour, we were going through so many loops and what if''s that I felt like I could write an essay on the terms and agreements that could be presented, but... well, time was up, and ''Caligo returned in her bare glory. Licking something off her lips, the pink skinned Arch Fiend returned to her ce on the dresser and sighed, her whole body sensual as she stretched, each minuscule movement enunciating her perfect curves and sexuality. As would be expected by someone like her, her lower half was slick and glistening in the candlelight of my room, and I could see something trickling down her thighs as she allowed the scent of her deeds permeate the room. "I imagine our hours were spent in vastly different ways, Katherine~? I have to say, you mortals sure can be different on a bed..." Her hands trailed over her body as she smirked at me, before those pink eyes of hers grew serious as she leaned against the wall, staring straight into my eyes. "So. I also imagine that this hour provided you the time needed to get some questions formted? To better understand what I want, no?" I nodded, and ''Caligo just smirked once more as she gestured for me to start. "Firstly... The matter of me being a power source for you... How would that work? What power would I be umting for you, and how would you ''take'' it from me? What would it do to me?" The Arch Fiend pped her hands together in excitement as she answered, her voice filled with joy. "The power should be obvious, my lusty puppy~! Each time someone orgasms into you, each time you orgasm... it adds a drop of pleasure into a ''chalice'' - your Core - and I''ll drain some mana from you and absorb it into myself. Now, if you weren''t such a devoted little puppy, the easiest way would be for us to have sex; I could take the pleasure from you and gift you my power directly through my own semen, but~ you don''t want that... Instead, I''ll just absorb some of your mana and siphon out that pleasure for myself. No, this wouldn''t be a permanent drain; you could replenish that mana over time, so don''t worry~! As for what it would do to you, well... there are a few little fun things that will happen, my love. First, your mana and Core will begin to change to better retain that new form of power. You mortals aren''t... entirely aware of it, but there are manas outside of elemental mana, and each of us Fiends have ess to those manas. For me, it''s Lust Mana - a mana that affects the mind, not the material. After a long enough time, well... if you''re smart enough, lusty puppy, you could perhaps learn to wield Lust Mana~? Secondly, there is a rather high chance that your mana will hone itself with the pleasure you receive - which is just Lust Mana in its purest state - and slowly strengthen you. Like a whetstone that continuously grinds away at the edge of a de. Whenever you receive that pleasure, it bes that whetstone, and your Core and mana will never break, unlike a de... Finally, this is a small onepared to the others, but by having such raw amounts of pleasure permeating your Core, well..." ''Caligo grinned at me lecherously, and she leered at my body before saying "You''ll grow far more beautiful, Katherine... It''ll affect your body and turn it from what it is now and shape it into something more perfect for my Masque... You would be ''an icon of lust'' in a way; perfectly sensual and ravishing when presented bare to man, woman, or futa~ Much like me, if I wasn''t being kind enough to hold back my presence, my love..." I gulped as the scent of sex filled the room, heating me up as ''Caligo let her presence leak a little, my heart pounding as I found my eyes drawn to the perfectly erect cock between her legs, wondering just how great that would feel in my womb. "See? Not that strong, but... you get the idea, Katherine." I nodded, my cheeks flushed as I felt myself grow wet from just that moment. Coughing into my fist, I asked my next question, which connected with what she said moments earlier. "What exactly is your ''Masque'' meant to do?" "Not much, my love~ You''d be surprised, but when you attain a certain level of beauty - be it elegant, sensual, or downright lustful - people do as you ask without thinking. The kinds of people who plead to be my followers are not smart people, but they are passionate. Think of them... well, like puppies, as funny as that may be~! Constantly looking to you for direction and not questioning your orders at all... Sure, you may need to rein them in, but~ that isn''t something a smile here or a sensual movement there couldn''t achieve~!" "Alright... so you ARE gathering mortals under your... banner then, correct? For what?" Yawning, ''Caligo gave me a chilly smile as she said "That''s a question for when you are my Masque, isn''t it? Come now Katherine, think a little~!" Gulping once more, I nodded before moving to the next question, wanting to bring her mood back up. "If I did take your offer, what... what guarantee do I have that you won''t harm me? Harm the ones I love?" She chuckled, her pink eyes shing with amusement as she said "Juste forwards and say it, Katherine. You want an oath between me, you, and that Goddess that blessed you. Something to bind me to you just as I want to bind you to me. As for if I''d make that oath, well~?" ''Caligo vanished before reappearing right in front of me, leaning down and cing her taloned fingers under my chin. She whispered to me, her voice silky and arousing as she drew ever closer. "For you, my love... I would. Your enticing, strong, have potential... Your connections are perfect, even if they are tied to that bastard Ka''Hondi. Your personality matches well with me, your desires arerge... Yes, I would make an oath to a Goddess for you, and I would do so much more." Her lips brushed against my ear, and I shivered as her breath warmed my neck, all while her potent scent washed over me. "All you need to do is ask, my love... Ask for it, and I shall give it to you... However, this would be a reciprocative rtionship, Katherine... I give, you give... Provide me the power I need, the entertainment I crave, and I can give you power far beyond what you would ever believe is possible... You just need to ask for it. So Katherine... are you going to ask, or shall I begin my search anew?" Chapter 416 415: Back Home Jahi PoV After the rather productive night inside of the newly acquired city of Goron, we departed for the Empire with haste, parts of the Legion remaining behind and helping with the rebuilding efforts while the other half traveled with us. Anput left that forge that night with a better, clearer, more focused mindset, her prior pride returning slowly as she hammered away at the anvil, forging a beautiful war scythe that was surprisingly light. With a new weapon firmly in her grasp, the Jackalkin spent an hour admiring her work and practicing with it before joining Leone and I in our room, her passion back as she whimpered beneath thebined attacks of the Vampire and Demoness. The next morning, we set out for the Empire, the mood in the carriage much lighter as we managed to get some work done the day prior; Mom and the others got their reports finalized, while we managed to work through some of our lingering mental traumas from weeks past. Our carriage ride back to the Empire was rtively quick, the hours spent going from Goron to the Capital filled with conversation regarding what we were going to do upon our return. Kolia wanted to ask if Leone could get her an audience with Lady Theresa, so that she might further her understanding on the arcane and strengthen herself for the changes to the world around us. Nirinia regaled Anput and I with tales of Lady Fenryas, making the two of us shudder as we listened to how she had been tortured for days upon weeks at a time, all under the guise of training. Mom added a few of her own experiences here and there, further frightening Anput and I as the woman that we both believed to be amongst the strongest spoke upon how she too had almost been broken before Lady Fenryas'' harsh training. Leone couldn''t even try and defend her Aunt, silently nodding her head off to the side as she listened, her eyes slightly hollow and filled with unwanted memories. However, Nirinia also joked about how it''ll be easier for Anput and I to bolster our morale, since we could just seek out one another after training was over. The Djinn added a jab to Adelina there as well, thinking out loud to herself as she muttered "That sounds like a n, actually... I wonder if Mn kept the Veritan open..?" "The brothel? Yes, it''s still open; in fact, I think it''s currently amongst the highest earning night establishments in the Capital!" Kolia was the one to inform those of us who were uninformed about what the Veritan was, and I could see Adelina clench her fists and grit her teeth at that, her gold eyes shing withplex emotion. It would seem the two childhood friends would never patch things up at this rate, though I don''t understand why they didn''t just marry right away if sex was the issue; that was the reason Adelina didn''t want to marry, wasn''t it? ''Sex was sacred'' or something... Either way it wasn''t my issue, and to be honest it was growing stale at this rate, the way these two danced around one another instead of just making the decision to either cut ties or marry. That was the only tense moment inside the carriage, as the mentioning of a brothel somehow led to the discussion of money and what we should do with the earnings from the Crusade. Leone wanted alchemical ingredients to concoct more potions and pills, Anput wanted metals so she could forge some better armor and equipment for us all, I... was going to relinquish my portion to them. Mom gave her portion to us as well, while Nirinia decided drinks were a good thing to spend money on, her lighthearted, free nature returning. Kolia began to rave about a tome that she had been itching to buy for years now, while Adelina said she''d put her portion directly into the Legion''s coffers, so that they could be better equipped as well. Topic after topic distracted us as we traversed the mountain border between Sk and the Empire, and eventually - as dusk fell - we arrived at the beautiful Capital. Better known as home. We took the carriage all the way up towards the Empress'' Pce and went to meet the ruler of our Empire, presenting our findings to her and giving her individual ounts for what had happened. This time, when we entered the Pce, we were greeted with all six of the Empress'' wives, each one present for the return of the Crusade and wanting to hear what had happened. I got to meet thest two wives of the Empress, who I had only known of through word of mouth and some of what Leone had said. Lady D''Arcon, third wife of the Empress was a slender woman draped in clean white cloth, her wrists adorned with silver bracelets while pearls hung from her neck, all of which contrasted the golden locks that cascaded down her shoulders. A white veil concealed her eyes and nose from view, but her white painted lips were curled into a warm, weing smile as she looked over us, her silver shakujo staff - the slender haft topped by a loop that housed four other rings dangling from thatrger loop - leaning against her marble and silver throne. She radiated a holy aura, and she looked every bit a priestess. Herplete opposite sat beside her, and when I sayplete opposite... A towering, hulking woman lounged on a throne made from shattered des and bone, her charcoal ck skin bare to the world as she wore little more than a cloth binding over her medium breasts and a pair of tattered leather pants. Muscle rippled with each movement she made, her body honed into the perfect machine for killing, and she sneered as she red at Mom and Nirinia, one of her eyes - a brilliant, shining silver - open and pinning the two to their spots. A gigantic ck metal scythe - a proper farming scythe, oddly enough - was resting against her throne, the weapon shrouded with an aura of bloodshed. Lady Fenryas was an arrogant woman, her ck skin cracked with crimson veins that pulsed angrily, while herrge, fluffy ck ears and bushy tail gave away her Wolfkin heritage. However, from what Mom had said, this woman was a Hybrid - a unique mixture - of old Demon blood and Wolfkin blood; she could trace her lineage back to Lilith, the oldest Demoness. Where Lady D''Arcon was a serene, calm woman, Lady Fenryas was like a barely shackled beast straining at its chains, wanting to run free and whet its appetite for blood. Under the presence of all seven of the Empire''s rulers, we presented our findings to them, each of the women giving a different reaction. Chapter 417 416: Deal With An Arch Fiend Kat PoV ''Caligo smirked at me as her hands roamed my body, taking advantage of my absent minded state to cop a feel of whatever she could reach. When I finally came back around, I angrily pushed her away - both because I was angry at her and myself for moaning as she used her talons to inflict some pain - and red at her, before taking a shuddering breath as she returned to the dresser. "I''m not lying, Katherine. Lying is a rather boring thing to do~ I prefer exaggerations, personally~ But I''m not exaggerating either when I say that you are a rather perfect fit for my Masque, and that I am more than willing to work with you to have you as my Masque, instead of forcing you. If you must know, forcing myself on someone for pleasure is like drinking a cheap wine; it works, but the taste is sour and it barely gets the job done. No, I prefer earning my drinks through honest seduction~ Maybe one day I''ll get to drink straight from your chalice, my love..." She grinned seductively at me, her fingers trailing over her body as she shuddered, the Arch Fiend obviously very aroused as she began to toy with herself. "I have to admit, I very~ much want to experience the whimpers of such a lusty little puppy first hand, and I feel hot thinking about you pleading for me to continue ravishing you... You are a very sexy woman, Katherine, and I lust greatly for you. However, I can separate business from pleasure - if the two don''t coincide, that is - and am more than willing to wait this out. I have a good feeling that I''ll get to taste you at least once before the decade is up, if you take my offer..." I gulped as her eyes red, that pink light filling the room as she moaned softly, her fingers working away at herself. "W-What do we need to do to make this oath? How do I know if it worked?" "Oh~ Mm, that feels excellent~ The oath, you say~? It''s a simple affair, my love. Pick your Goddess, and we shall both swear something to her. You''ll know it works because it''ll bind our Cores together, so that if either of us break the oath, we forfeit ourselves to the other... And not in a pleasurable way..." Nodding, I began to formte an oath in my mind before staring ''Caligo in eyes, starting to say it aloud. "''Caligo, upon hearing your oath to Reincantra-" She narrowed her eyes at that, the Arch Fiend leaning forwards and releasing herself as she grew serious. "-and deeming it equal to my own, I, Katherine Zara, hereby agree to bing your Masque and offering to provide you the pleasure from my own Core, so long as you never directly attempt to harm or influence those I care for, be it through your own actions or your orders / suggestions. Additionally, I will not go through with the oath if you do not swear to never force yourself on me or try to harm me without permission." The Arch Fiend of Hidden Twisted Pleasures pursed her lips before nodding, her voice just as serious as her expression as she began to speak her portion of the oath. "I, ''Caligo, Arch Fiend of Hidden Twisted Pleasures hereby swear to abide by everything Katherine Zara just stated. I shall never force myself on her nor her family and friends, and I shall treat her as an equal, not as a subordinate. This I swear on Goddess Reincantra, who can smite me down should I break my vows." My eyes widened slightly at her oath, and the woman just smirked before crawling onto myp, her voice soft as she purred "Was that good, Katherine? If it was, repeat after me..." ''Caligo pushed me down andid atop my chest, her hands gently caressing my cheeks as she whispered "I hereby ept..." Her warmth permeated my body, but I heard [Everything should be good, Kat. If you agree, seal this oath between the two of you...] from the System, reassuring me. "I hereby ept..." The Arch Fiend grinned at me, and her breath brushed against my lips. ""...to be bound by this oath..."" Caressing my cheek, she molded her body to my shape as she draped herself atop me, making sure she never once came into contact with my wet slit. ""... under the name of Reincantra. I solemnly swear to abide by my words under her name."" When we finished speaking, we both gasped as something enveloped our Cores, a searing hot energy coiling around the organ and burning itself into it, making us both writhe around in pain. It faded as quickly as it came, and we both panted as weid on the bed, suddenly feeling tired. "Oh, I really don''t like how that feels... never have..." ''Caligo''s eyes met mine, and she smiled sweetly as she whispered "Our oath is made, Katherine... my beautiful Masque... As a reward for my front heavy side of the deal, may I request something, my love..?" Her voice was as sweet as her smile, but I could feel the lust pulsing against my stomach. "What is it..?" "Mm, nothing much, my love... It''s just..." Rubbing her chest against mine, she moaned softly before asking "May I have a teensy tiny kiss, my love? An unofficial way to seal our oath... woman to woman?" I narrowed my eyes at her, but the warmth that permeated my Core didn''t re up once again, so I bit my cheek and leaned forwards, slightly brushing my lips against hers. She looked at me in surprise before chuckling, her perfect brow raised as she whispered "That was rather chaste, was it not?" "You said teensy tiny... That means chaste." The Arch Fiend froze, her eyes shing slightly before she pouted at me, asking "Then... could I have a proper, quick kiss? One with tongue?" It was my turn to raise a brow, and I shook my head as I said "No. I don''t know nor trust you enough for a kiss. We may have made an oath, but that doesn''t mean I''ll go along with your whims, ''Caligo... Now please, get off me. It''s been poking me this entire time..." Her pout deepened as she got up, the woman ignoring the small puddle she left on my skin as she muttered "No fun... no fun at all!" I cleaned myself off before looking towards the Arch Fiend, who was drumming her fingers along her plump thigh. "Fine... I guess I''ll earn my way to that kiss, Katherine. Hah... what a troublesome Masque you''ll be. Whatever. Come now, get dressed. I need to warp us over to that bastard Ka''Hondi so that I can see what the annoying prick thinks about everything... Oh, and I''ll give you your initial boost." She looked back towards me and added "Is there a portion of your body that you don''t mind receiving a tattoo? I can see the one on your upper left arm..." "Why a tattoo?" "It''s simple and effective? Besides, this is a rather... unique one that will amplify how you can limate to Lust Mana, and it also increases the size of your Core slightly alongside increasing the efficacy of your own mana. Oh, and it can be ced anywhere you want~!" The woman just smirked at me as she looked me over, causing me to do the same. In all honesty, most of my body was already reserved for certain tattoo''s that I wanted to get, so where could I fit this in..? "How big is it?" I had a few spots open, but the size would matter here... "About yay big~!" She used her hands to show me a size of around three by three inches, so... I blushed slightly as I realized a perfect ce for it, a ce that I had no ns ever getting tattooed, and a ce that was very ironic for who was applying it. "How about here?" ''Caligo could only grin as I stenciled out my groin, her eyes shing with amusement as she nodded and set to work. Chapter 418 417: Report Jahi PoV Mom was the one to step forwards and begin speaking, recounting our experiences throughout the entirety of the Crusade to the Empress and her wives, telling them of the easy conquering of Sk - while Lady Sker added that Romagi fell just as easily - before moving on to the more pressing matters. "When we reached the city of Huran, something wasn''t right. The air was thick with the scent of rot, the corpses scattered about the city, and the mages were skittish. Upon entering the pce, we made our way to the throne room, where we encountered a Necrotic Lord." Some of the Empress'' wives narrowed their eyes at just the initial description, with Lady Theresa being the one to curl her lip in disgust, likely understanding where this was going. "We exchanged blows for a few minutes, before the Necrotic Lord revealed itself to be a catalyst, and that it had been risen by Nua''Morte, Arch Fiend of Deathly Pestilence." "So they are back... Tza''Yul wasn''t lying..." Mom nodded to Lady Theresa, who was sneering, the usual warm, gentle expression on her wooden face long gone. "It used itself to summon a Fenghuang construct, one imbued with the power of an Arch Fiend. The battle was long and arduous, but we overcame that obstacle with Jahi''s Light Magic. However, I caught no sight of Nua''Morte at all during or after that battle... Likely already gone and pursuing its interests out in the world..." She let out a low chuckle as the women assembled all frowned, contemting what she had said. "Nua''Morte was no where near the worst thing we dealt with on the Crusade though, Empress. We... managed to encounter the things that are - at the very least - using those Gates, perhaps even creating them. We encountered them..." Trailing off, Mom took a deep breath before saying "And almost perished. They have ess to ancient magics, some of which Kolia managed to procure. There were two of them. A silver creature-" As Mom began to describe the two creatures to the room, I - and the rest of those that had been present - shuddered slightly as we recalled the helplessness we had felt in the presence of the silver and gold creatures. Kolia handed the vials she had managed to collect to the Empress, who studied the archaic runes for a moment before handing it to Lady Theresa, who frowned. "Two creatures, one made for offense, the other for defense. Capable of using magics far beyond what I''ve ever seen, and even capable of sapping the very mana from the air and from our Cores. A Gate that leads somewhere into the Labyrinth, which is these creatures home... Nearly uncaring of any damage we had dealt to them..." The Empress nodded as she leaned into her throne, her fingers steepled against her chin as she thought on Mom''s words. "When you say uncaring of damage, you mean they were capable of being damaged, but they just... ignored it? Even if it was fatal?" "The silver creature got to experience your daughter''s magic firsthand, all while she was being assisted by Kolia. Melted a hole clean through its skull, and yet... it simply regenerated from the attack. Even when we bound it down with magic, it didn''t seem to care, only reacting when the Gate was being attacked." Lady Lorelei nodded, before she looked towards Lady Fenryas who snorted, her single silver eye filled with derision. "Do I sense fear inside you, Chordeva? Presented with an enemy so formidable, so worthy to be your stepping stone, and you feel... fear? Pathetic for a Knight." Mom let out a sigh as she shook her head, her ruby eyes hard as she said "Of course I feel fear. Something wielding magics far beyond my understanding, living inside a ce entirely outside normalcy, and so... Yes, I feel fear. However I am not shackled down by that fear, Lady Fenryas." The ck skinned Wolfkin woman grinned, her hand reaching for her scythe as she replied "Good. At the very least, you seem to still retain some backbone. I imagine that you''ll be at my training grounds soon? Alongside your whelp and her mate? Oh, and Nirinia too, I would assume?" Lady Fenryas raked her single eye over each of us, making us shudder as her battlelust red. "Fenryas, rein it in. Chordeva, we shall discuss this further. For now, Theresa and I will be taking a far closer look at this mana you''ve brought back. Rest up. Arc, Yusa, Igna, call all our children back. I don''t want anyone outside of the Pce for now... Lorelei, I think it''d be best if you talk to Leone and begin tutoring her some more. Everyone else... rest. Begin preparing for the future toe..." The Empress rose from her throne and helped Lady Theresa up, the two looking down at the small vial in her hand as they exited the room. Lady D''Arcon, Yuga, and Igna all made their way out towards the front of the Pce, muttering quietly to each other as they prepared to recall their children to the Pce. Leone approached her Mother, nodding to me before following her deeper into the Pce, walking behind the Empress. That left just Lady Fenryas, who had retrieved her scythe and stood up, grinning still. "Chordeva, I hope your whelp is as teachable as you were. Otherwise, I do believe this uing world will be a tad more annoying than it should be... The loss of a good weapon like her would sting." Smirking at Mom, the hybrid Wolfkin sauntered out of the room, not even ncing at the rest of us as she went. Sighing quietly, Mom shot me a tired grin as she said "Well, I hope that you don''t have too big of an ego, Jahi, otherwise... well, Lady Fenryas will relish picking you apart if that''s the case. Come, let''s enjoy our peace whilst we have it. I''m feeling rather hungry." Chapter 419 418: Back Home - Kat Edition Kat PoV I... was embarrassed to admit that my moans had filled my room as ''Caligo applied her tattoo above my lower lips, which were slick with juices as pain coursed through me as each pink lineyered into my flesh burnt and throbbed angrily in a way that was just... Well, needless to say the Arch Fiend dealing in pleasures below me was rather happy with what happened, amusement and lust dancing inside her pink eyes as she cleaned off her fingers and face when she was done. "I''ll take that over a kiss ANY day of the week, Katherine... oh my, that was excellent, my love... truly sublime..." My teeth dug into my cheek as I blushed slightly, feeling well and truly embarrassed about showering her with fluids after she brought me to the edge... Interestingly enough, that brought my [Arousal] down to zero, though I was far too ashamed of what had just happened to notice. So, I tried to focus my mind on the tattoo itself instead of the tattooer or the experience, my eyes tracing the pink lines that crowned my lower lips. It... looked nothing like a subus crest, surprisingly enough; there were no hearts or flowing lines that traced out the shape of a womb and ovaries. Instead, it was a rather intricate cluster of snakes that formed the various runes inside of the dual Ritual Circle that now adorned my pubic area. Therger of the circles was a filled with small runes that shaped the majority of the tattoo, while the second of the circles was nestled inside therger one, but resting on the bottom; almost like it was a marble stuck inside a circr vase. I traced out the lines with my fingers before looking towards ''Caligo, who was back up on the dresser lounging around like before. "This... is not what I expected?" She just chuckled, pointing towards her nest of snakes as she said "What were you expecting? A goat? Maybe a bat? Or just some cheesy lines that would look like your vagina? It''s magic made from my own creation, Katherine, so of course it''ll look like me." I nodded at that, my fingers still tracing the lines as I familiarized myself with my second major tattoo, the sharp pink lines standing out on my paler skin. "Well~! Time to get going~! We need to visit Ka''Hondi so that that bastard can fix your Soul Bond to your Mistress and so that I can ask him a few things, and I imagine that your Mistresses will be scrambling back to find you when that bond is fixed... Which''ll mean I get my first real~ meal in millennia~! Come,e~! Over here now... gather your things, dress yourself! Oh, I can''t wait~!" ''Caligo was dancing happily in the center of the room, humming to herself as she watched me pack my equipment up and buckle on my armor. "It''d be best if you... ''dressed'' yourself as well, ''Caligo..." "Please, just call me Cali~! Hah... but I guess you''re right... I wouldn''t want to seduce your lovers away from you, now would I~?" She grinned at me before waving her hands over her perfect curves, ignoring the low growl that reverberated from my throat. Her violet scales began to grow along her body, slowly covering her breasts and sides in ayer of dark violet, while a long, flowing skirt made from thinner violet scales covered her toned legs. Cali gave me a twirl as she asked "Better, my love~? I think it''s the perfect blend of sexy and elegant~!" I rolled my eyes as she gave her chest a little bounce, thinning the scales out some more and allowing gravity to have its way with her breasts, all while her skirt began to shorten somewhat, revealing more of her soft, luscious thighs. With my armor firmly strapped on and my daggers all hanging from my belt, I took a deep breath as I approached Cali, her grin growing. "There''s something ravishing about a woman in armor, y''know~? So feisty and intimidating~!" The Arch Fiend slipped her arm around my waist and pulled me close, smirking up at me as she began to use her free hand to trace out runes with incredible speed. "You might want to hold on, my love. This could be a little bumpy~!" A blinding pink light spilled out of the runes she traced, and I felt my head begin to spin as her sickly sweet scent permeated my nostrils. Sharp giggling and seductive moaning filled the air, and Cali chuckled as the room around us began to blur. Shrouded in pink light, we teleported from the Burial City of Kha to the Marquess'' Mansion in March Asmodia; specifically, the front entrance hall of the Mansion. Cali groaned softly as she released me, her taloned hands moving towards her head as she staggered, while I barely managed to avoid crashing into one of the many suits of armor along the walls, my vision spinning. Some of the maids and butlers shouted in surprise at our sudden appearance, but two of them stepped forwards with weapons drawn and spells at the ready. Recognizing the twins, I raised my hand and managed to gasp "L-Lexi, Lexa, it''s alright..." They thankfully lowered their raised weapons and spells, but the two women stared at me quietly, before one of them rushed off to inform the Countess - who most likely was already aware of our arrival, if I had to guess... Casting a quick healing spell on myself, I managed to stand up without stumbling around, my vision back to normal. I made my way over towards Cali, who was still panting slightly as she stood stock still, her pink eyes closed shut as she massaged her temples, seemingly in pain. "You okay? What made you like this..?" The Arch Fiend could only chuckle as she peeked over at me, her eye shining with power as she muttered "I''ll fucking kill that prick when I see him... Ka''Hondi, you hear that?" Cali took a deep breath before standing up straight, her expression returning to normal as she said "I''m fine now. Just... winded." "Well, this is not how I imagined seeing you again, Kat." A smooth voice filled the hall, and I nced up towards the top of the stairs to see the Countess looking down at us, her azure eyes sparking. "Side by side with an Arch Fiend... How interesting. There had better be a good reason you seem so close with her, Kat. Otherwise..." The Countess only sneered as Cali began to chuckle, her eyes shing with amusement as she said "Otherwise what, Elf? I''ll admit you''re strong, but... well, you''re no Asmodia, that''s for sure." "Oh I know. My wife is far stronger than I am. However, it wouldn''t be just me you''d face, Fiend. If you haven''t forgotten, another of your kin resides in these halls. One far stronger than you." Cali and I looked around as the Banshee''s of House Asmodia made themselves known, their hands resting on their weapons as they stared at the Arch Fiend beside me. Raising her hands in surrender, Cali just grinned as she said "I know~ Ka''Hondi is still resting in your basement, aren''t they~? Well, Katherine, this isn''t the wee we expected, now was it?" I had to purse my lips at that, and I looked around before shrugging, saying "To be honest, this is much more tame than I expected. I thought I''d need to defend myself and prove I wasn''t corrupted or something..." Countess Ria just snorted, her eyes losing their azure luster and returning to sapphire as she walked down to meet us, her dark blue dress only ever adding to her elegance. "I can tell that you aren''t ''corrupted or something'', Kat. That still doesn''t mean you needn''t defend yourself; you and I will have words after this. However, for now, I believe there is a more pressing matter to attend to..." Standing in front of me, the Countess looked me over before smiling warmly, wrapping her arms around me as she muttered "Wee home, Kat... We were all worried." I returned her hug and nodded, the familiar scent of ozone still lingering around the Countess. "Your Mother will likely be here in a moment; Lexa went to fetch her." The Countess pulled away and smiled at me, before ring over at Cali as she asked "So why are you still here, hmm? Shoo." Cali stared at the Countess nkly before looking towards me, her cheeks puffing out as she huffed "No. I think I''ll stay!" As the two women began to re at one another, I could only let out a sigh as I wondered if Cali would only ever fight with the Countess, Marquess, and the others... If so, the headaches going forwards were going to be numerous... For now though, I was finally back home, and I looked up towards the top of the stairs and grinned once more, a more mature version of myself looking towards me with tears in her eyes. Chapter 420 419: A Creature Of Night And Blood Leone PoV Mother led me through the quiet halls of the Pce, her grey feathered dress blending in with the dim lighting that Mom preferred for her home. Her silent steps and calm, serious demeanor fit perfectly for the atmosphere, and I couldn''t help but fidget slightly as I noted that we were heading towards the lesser utilized portion of the Pce, where each of my Aunts were given their own courtyards to use if they pleased. None of which were ever used, as they all wanted to live as close to Mom as they possibly could, for various reasons... However, they were perfect for storage and ces away from the world, since no one - not even the servants - were allowed inside; only the woman they were assigned to and her immediate blood. And Mom, of course, since she set up the seals. "Leone." I looked towards Mother as we approached her courtyard, the double doors leading into her personal room engraved with arge full moon dripping with blood. It... had always been a peculiar choice, and it was one Mother never truly went into detail with. "Tonight, I''ll be exining more about... your blood. Not my blood, but how yours has changed because of your Mom. Things that you shouldn''t have been capable of till you became an adult - like you summoning Janus - were made possible because of your Mom''s blood. It''s been... purified, strengthened... improved. The ws and restrictions I lived with, and my parents lived with were lifted and made better. There are things that you will be capable of that I was never able to do at your age... and things that you - and only you - will be able to do. Your Mom''s blood is... unique, and when such a powerful bloodline like mine mixes with it, well..." She pressed her palm against the bloody moon, dark red runes flickering around before unlocking the heavy doors, opening it. "Technically speaking, Leone, you are a Hybrid just like Miss Fenryas. Your blood is just as unique as your Mom''s, just in a different way. Hopefully we can discover just what your blood has granted you ess to... and how we can better hone it. Your True Vampire form. Something I would have waited until you reached the Arch Mage level so as to avoid you identally killing yourself..." Beckoning for me to enter the courtyard, Mother closed the doors behind us and walked onto therge gravel square that was bathed under the light of the rising moon. "Sit. It''s warm enough outside." A fewrge boulders decorated the gravel square, and Mother simply rested on one, her crimson eyes staring up into the violet sky. I did as she said, sitting atop on of the boulders as I stared at her, waiting for her to begin. "Have you managed to master assuming your True Vampire form, Leone?" She looked towards me, and upon seeing my nod she smiled, relief evident on her face. "Good. I''d have been slightly disappointed if you hadn''t. Have you been using it, or just figuring out how to take on that form?" "No, I haven''t been using it. I can manage to enter my True Vampire form, but I cannot do it quickly. So... it hasn''t been used at all. Only time I''ve ever managed to enter it swiftly was when... Kat was taken." Her smile turned slightly sad for a second as she nodded, and she said "Yes, strong emotions tend to draw it out. But, from what was said earlier, Jahi got incredibly injured during a fight and you didn''t assume the form? Why?" "I... was too shocked. I wasn''t thinking with anger, just that I needed to heal her." "Well, you need to hasten your transitioning up, but the more pressing matter is learning what abilities you''ve inherited and what abilities you are able to learn..." As she spoke, Mother smirked at me as her skin began to shimmer with dark red mana, while her eyes colored overpletely in crimson. "For me, I was lucky. My Mother was given the ability to wield Blood Magic while my Father had the rarer, yet weaker Moon Magic. They are older, more archaic variations of the Elemental Runic Magics the masses wield today, and they offer their own benefits and drawbacks. Few practice those older magics - mainly because the knowledge on how to wield them is lost or tightly guarded. So... let me see if you''ve inherited either of their magics, like I did." Two separate runes - one the same dark red as her glow, and the other a pale white - appeared in front of her, and they floated over towards me. Instinctively I reached out and touched the two runes, and I hissed as they both fizzled into my flesh. "Oh, you did get lucky... interesting. On top of that, you summoned Janus... hmm... We''ll return to thister; for now, let''s speak on the powers you can expect, especially with ess to magics like that. A Vampire is something unique. A spattering of different races that were blessed - or cursed, depending on your view - to have a unique suite of gifts. Longer - far longer - natural lifespans, stronger control over our Cores, no need for food or drink, only blood... our bodies are stronger, our stamina vaster, our flesh harder. Vampire''s were given such bountiful gifts, and as such, we needed bountiful weaknesses. The most obvious is blood. Drinking the lifeblood of a living creature is rather... abominable, and so we were despised for that. Harsh light - especially sunlight - makes us weaker, sometimes downright damaging us. A low reproduction rate, far lower than Elves... All of those together made us targets for the weaker,rger races, and we were slowly hunted into near extinction. As such, we were pushed to our limits, and evolved. The strongest amongst us became True Vampires. We attained the might of our Goddesses - Serenata, Goddess of the Moon, and Sanguina, Goddess of Blood - and grew far stronger. We unlocked magics new to those domains and improved more. Those of the True Vampires managed to drag themselves back into society and curb the racism against us, for a time. With power like that, our control waned, and we grew reclusive, exploring those new powers and hoping to avoid another subjugation like before, but s, it happened... Ah, I said I''d tell you of your powers, not our history didn''t I?" She grinned at me, and I rolled my eyes as she coughed, preparing to return to what she was meant to say... To teach me about the power that coursed through my veins, and what... mutations I might see. Chapter 421 420: Touching Reunion Kat PoV My eyesnded on the woman standing at the top of the stairs, her visage near identical to mine, just softer and more mature. Her amber eyes were wet with tears as she stared at me, and I could see her tail swishing behind her back as she began to slowly walk forwards. I grinned at her, making my way up the stairs swiftly as I noticed her rather pronounced belly so that she wouldn''t strain herself. "K-Katherine..?" I threw my arms around her and embraced her, the familiar, calming scent filling my nose as I buried my face into her neck. "It''s me, Mother... I''m back..." My voice cracked as I said that, and my heart began to ache as I felt her tremble against my body, her soft sobs making me feel guilty for once again worrying her so much. Supporting her so that she wouldn''t fall, I helped her down the stairs with her still in my arms, my cor growing wet as she cried quietly, making me tear up as well. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, the Countess wrapped her arms around us as well, stroking our hair as she muttered soothing words to my Mother, who was - understandably - an emotional wreck. "I... I-I t-thought I had l-lost you, K-Katherine..! W-When Chordeva a-and Jahi talked a-abour what happened, I-I..!" "I know, Mother! I know... I''m sorry for worrying you... But... I''m back, and alive Mother... so please..." Trying to console a weeping Mother was... a difficult task, but I managed it a minute or soter, during which Cali stood off to the side and nodded, her features appreciative. When I finally managed to separate somewhat from Mother, Cali grinned at me as she said "Wow~ A pair of utterly ravishing puppies~! And they look so~ very sexy with tears in their eyes..." Mother red at the pink skinned Fiend, her eyes shing a dark blue for a moment as she growled "Who is this harlot then, Katherine? Why is she here?" I held back a chuckle as I wiped away my tears, the surprised face of Cali amusing me quite a bit. "I won''t deny that she can be a bit... of a rather loose woman, but this... Well, this is ''Caligo, an Arch Fiend." The Countess stared at Cali in silence, while Mother focused her attention on me, her eyes hard. "Why are you with a Fiend, Katherine?" The sudden shift from sobbing to angry was surprising, but I guess it made sense... especially for a Dogkin who was pregnant... I smiled at the Countess and at Mother timidly, trying to figure out a way to word what I needed to say properly... "Oh, that''s simple! She and I are bound together~! Just like that prick Ka''Hondi is bound to the Asmodia''s~!" Cali was going to be like this all the time, wasn''t she? Letting out a sigh, I nodded as I added "I met her in Kha, a city over in the Wekalian Steppes, and she... offered me a deal. After some deliberation - and an oath to a Goddess - I epted the deal, so now... we''re bound together, I guess." The Countess let out a low sigh as well, her sapphire eyesplicated as she said "I hope you made an airtight oath, Kat. Otherwise..." We all looked at Cali, who was grinning ear to ear as she shifted from side to side as she listened to us. "Oh, it was a rather fair oath, if I do say so myself~! It''ll be fun trying to find out what I can and can''t do to tease her~! Though, really, you needn''t worry~! Katherine here made me swear to Reincantra of all Goddesses~! I might be a little~ crazy after millennia spent rotting away beneath a drab city, but I''m not insane enough to piss of one of the Major Goddesses willy nilly. I do value my life, after all~!" The snakes nesting atop her head nodded as well, and we all stared at her for a few moments before turning back to one another. "Well, I''ll send word over to the Capital so that when Chordeva and Jahi return from their Crusade, they can make haste home..." My brow furrowed as I heard the word ''Crusade'', and the Countess just chuckled dryly as she said "Ah, we need to catch you up on everything don''t we? Come, let''s-" "Ka''Hondi~! Where can I find the ugly bastard? I need to have a word with them~!" Cali interrupted us, and I turned to see her still smiling, though her eyes were cold as she asked that. "What do you want with Ka''Hondi?" The Arch Fiend hummed to herself as she walked towards us, her eyes trailing over each of the Banshee''s that stood around the room. "A few things. First is to hit them a few times for leaving me all those millennia ago. The bastard used me for a year before just getting themself captured! Hmph! Fucking prick... the second is rather simple. All of us Arch Fiends are being released. I want to see if they''ll pick our worthless, idiotic kindred or if they''ll decide to be reasonable... Honor is such an odd domain, so who knows where I''ll find their loyalty..." Cali stopped and looked back towards me, grinning. "This will be the determining point of what I need you to do for me, my Masque... If Ka''Hondi is going to be a good friend and help me, then things will be much~ smoother! After all, as an Arch Fiend we can find all the lower ranked Fiends rather easily... and since I want to cull the idiots out, well... Ka''Hondi will be a rather useful ally~!" The Countess stared at Cali in shock as she asked "You want to CULL the Fiends? Your own people? Why?" Stroking her snakes, Cali hummed softly as she answered "Why would I want simpletons drunk on their own ''power'' sullying the world? They cause nothing except headaches for me, so I''ll have them killed before their idiocy causes more trouble than its worth... As simple as that~!" Mother frowned beside me, her hands clutching at my arm in worry, understanding full well that I was embroiled into another rather dangerous thing. Giving her aforting smile, I pat her hands and nodded before looking back towards Cali, asking "Can we eat and rest first, or do you need to see Ka''Hondi now?" "We can wait, fine... argh, mortals... So~ needy in so many ways... hah..." I had to sigh as well as I saw how swiftly the Arch Fiend''s mood changed, her constant shifting slightly tiresome. It would be something I would need to get used too though... Chapter 422 421: Dinner Jahi PoV Leone had followed behind her Mother to learn something that would help her ¨C and by extension us ¨C going forwards, but that sadly left me with just my one wife, instead of two¡­ I had been looking forwards to being able to just sit down and rest with both of my women, not just one; I didn''t want to think about anything, to even be king my thirst for their bodies¡­ I just wanted to rest and enjoy some downtime. So, I walked alongside Anput - who was humming quietly to herself as she took in the grandiose halls - and behind Mom as we made our way through the Pce, making our way towards one of the dining halls ¨C likely the one meant for the Knights of Cinder ¨C and get ourselves something to eat. With the Empress and her wives now gone, it was just the three of us. Adelina had gone to make sure the Legion got settled back into the Empire and hadn''t caused any trouble by celebrating too excessively, while Nirinia went off into the city with an anticipatory smile as she likely went to go visit that brothel. Kolia went to go purchase the things she needed as well as rx, and Lady Sker was doing the same, her hesitancy to be inside the Pce noticeable when she heard that the Knights would be training under Lady Fenryas once more. That just left Anput, Mom and I to enjoy our night off together, though how well ¨C and how long ¨C that would go on was up for debate. "So Jahi, what are you thinking of doing with the Tigerkin woman from your squad? She still gets that money from my pockets that you promised her, but are you going to retain her? What about Iaso?" Walking through the empty, dimly lit halls, I pursed my lips as I contemted what she was asking me, before I decided to ask her her own question. "What are you going to do with the people you drafted into your squad, Mom?" She smirked at me as she turned the corner, beckoning towards arge set of wooden doors. As she opened them, she said "There were two that I wouldn''t mind moving over to my personal soldiers. There was a rather skilled archer who used her magics quite well in tandem with her bow, and I think I can sway her over to join the Asmodia soldiers, but the other one¡­" We entered arge mess hall that had a few of the servants eating, all of whom nced over at us in surprise before bowing. Waving their formalities aside, Mom just nodded to the chef who peeked out of the kitchen, the chubby Pigkin woman beaming as she returned to her work a momentter. "That Oni woman. I find her rather curious. She has incredible control over her bloodlust, showed perfect judgement inside of a battlefield, and she was quite strong too. It''s just, she apparently prefers life inside the military to anything else, which includes a Noble''s personal army. I''m still going to try and offer her a position, but¡­" Shrugging, Mom sat down at a table, epting the proffered mug from one of the servants that scurried over, making sure we were served something to drink. The mugs were filled with a honey mead, and I sipped on it appreciatively before smirking at Mom, saying "You might want to be careful with how you word things, Mom~! Mother might not enjoy hearing you say another woman has you ''intrigued'', y''know~?" She just rolled her eyes at that, though she nodded and said "I know. Trust me, I don''t n on giving you any Aunts past Julie¡­ I think. I''ll y it as I see it." I chuckled at that, before sighing as I drummed my fingers on the table. "Liga and Iaso¡­ hmm¡­ Liga is a rather talented mage, but I just don''t know how willing I am to have her on my payroll just yet¡­ well, your payroll currently. It''s not an issue of skill or power, it''s just¡­" "You don''t think it''d be worth the coin as of current. She''s talented, and her magic is rather rare, but¡­ I understand that. What about Iaso?" I nodded, sipping at the mead once more and ignoring how Anput was already on her second mug. "If I can, I definitely would hire her. After a few more tests to actually see her skills up front, that is. If she lives up to her reputation, well, she would be well worth the coin. Healers are always a wee addition, especially a good one." A moment after I finished speaking, tes were set onto the table before us, and we all fell silent as threerge, juicy steaks were presented, as well as a few loaves of freshly baked bread. On top of the steak and bread, there was a fresh sdden with vegetables and covered in a thin drizzle of dressing, and a steaming baked potato sat off to the side as well, butter, chives, and cheese filling the slit. Our stomachs all grumbled in unison as the delicious food was presented to us, alongside a few pitchers of mead. Giving the waiting chef a nod, we dug in like a pack of ravenous dogs, tearing into therge slices of beef and devouring a third of it in mere moments. The spicy butter on top of the steaks added a nice heat to it all, while the sharp taste of lemon and some herbs rounded it out perfectly. Pair that with the honey mead, and you have one excellent meal. Seeing that none of us could even spare a moment topliment her, the Pigkin woman grinned and rubbed her hands together, looking proud of herself for her work. We ate in silence for a few minutes, getting our initial fill and eventually managing to reach a point where we could taste more of the food. Our chat resumed, and Mom and I discussed hiring Iaso on as a permanent addition to House Asmodia before moving the conversation on to asking Anput if she wanted to start arming some of the soldiers, alleviating the costs of needing to purchase fully smithed items and instead just buy the materials. As we were mud conversation about that ¨C Anput seemed rather excited at the proposition and was already looking forwards topleting it, wanting to further her smithing skills ¨C I frowned slightly as I rested my hand above my heart, wondering why I felt odd. Like there was something I was missing, and that something was tugging at me¡­ Chapter 423 422: Fiendish Reunion Kat PoV The Countess took us over towards the kitchens, dismissing the rest of the servants and having a few of the Banshee''s follow behind us just in case, as well as Lexa and Lexi, the twin human girls. Mother remained at my side the entire way, her arms wrapped around mine as she asked me mundane questions - how was I feeling, did I eat right when I was away, did I sleep well... Things that, on any other day, would be extremely minor questions that could end up being slightly annoying, but today... After finally getting to see her after who knows how many days, weeks or even months... It was... refreshing and rather emotional to answer, the two of us speaking quietly as we traversed the all too familiar halls of the Asmodia Mansion. Being surrounded by her familiar scent and warmth, while her voice sounded almost the same as she spoke to me - albeit a little shaky - and each and every other small thing about her just filled me with joy. I was well and truly back home, and I didn''t need to worry about whether or not someone was going to try and take me, whether or not I needed to run or wake up before dawn to make some progress... It was all just arge relief to me, and I could feel the exhaustion of those long weeks or months away finally catching up with me, weighing me down despite my desire to remain awake and ready. Dinner would only make that problem more apparent, but I needed good, proper food in my system after such a long time of eating off rations and even just going hungry... And the best person I would trust with making that meal - besides Mother and I - was Lesnera, the Dwarven woman who cooked for most of the Asmodia staff. So as we walked into the kitchen, I sat down besides Mother and the Countess as we began making small talk with the Dwarf, who only gave me a nod before turning towards her kitchen, shouting out orders to the poor sods working beneath her. Sadly though, as we waited for the food, my mind began to grow hazy as I grew more and more tired, the drain of my journey slowly catching up to me. Mother pulled my head down onto her shoulder and stroked my hair, lulling me to sleep with the ease only a Mother could manage. The next hour was spent in an odd trance; I would wake up to hear some chatter between Cali and the others, only to pass back out momentster. Then I''d wake up to food being served, and I scarfed it all down before resting on Mother''s shoulder once more. That repeated a few times as Lesnera piled more and more food on the table, and I sort of became like Jahi for a few minutes, eating whatever was ced in front of me like I had a hole in my stomach. However, that nap mixing with the food did me wonders, and eventually Cali got tired of waiting and woke me up properly - earning herself a re from Mother - and said "Come on Katherine, let''s get going! I want to see that bastard soon, so that I can get that bond of yours fixed. Your soul reeks of them..." Getting to her feet, the Arch Fiend grinned at me as she pulled me off the bench and buried my face into her chest, adding "Besides, if you want to rest, this is where you should be resting my love~!" I didn''t even need to turn to know that Mother was preparing a spell to hit, so I just freed myself from the two pillows on Cali''s chest and made space between the both of them, my hands raised as I said "Calm down, please. Cali, let''s not antagonize everyone, hmm?" The Arch Fiend just shrugged her shoulders, a smirk on her lips as she said "What? I wasn''t wrong though? These are much~ morefortable than a shoulder, and she certainly could have used them~!" Shaking my head, I turned and smiled slightly at Mother, saying "Sorry, I haven''t known her long, so... I don''t really know how to rein her in. Just... deal with her for now, alright?" She just nodded, before grabbing ahold of my arm once more as the Countess began to lead us down to the basement, where Ka''Hondi resided. The cer was just as I remembered it to be; shrouded in a perpetual darkness andden with powerful runes that were inscribed into each and every brick that made up this room. Each rune would pulse with power as they led us down towards the chained Ka''Hondi, who was still only a pair of floating red eyes inside the dark mist of the cer, not allowing us to see their body. Cali didn''t mind the heavy feeling of the air,den with the scent of blood and ash, and she just approached the chained Arch Fiend and sat in front of them, her pink skin shimmering softly in the dark. "''Caligo... what are you doing here? I believe I made myself rather clearst time we saw one another..." Ka''Hondi''s voice was grating and low, like the sound of two knives honing against one another. "Hmm, have you lost your touch over the years, you bastard? Those Banshee''s of yours didn''t ry you the information yet? Tch, weak fuck..." "''Caligo, don''t test me... I could rend you limb from limb right now..." "Could you? From where I sit, those runes around your chains are rather unbreakable." The two red at one another, before Ka''Hondi just let out a sigh. "What do you want?" Leaning back, Cali hummed softly before saying "To tell you that I''m back. We''re alling back. If you were still the same Ka''Hondi that I knew from all those years ago, I wanted to see if you wanted to rid this world of our more... corrupted, unneeded brethren. Will you help me, Ka''Hondi? Or are you too proud to help a Fiend of ?" A low growl filled the room, and Ka''Hondi nced towards me before looking back at Cali. "I don''t have much of a choice... in a few years, anyways. That brat is still tied with the Asmodia girl. That''s my condition, ''Caligo. My honor binds me just as much as these chains do, and I gave my word to serve the Asmodia family until I beat one of their sessors. The time for my challenge ising. If I win, I am free once more, and I shall do as I please. However, if I lose... I shall consider it, depending on the Asmodia girl''s choice. That is my answer." Cali clicked her tongue before getting up, shrugging her shoulders as she said "I thought as much... now, fix Katherine''s bond to the Asmodia girl. I didn''t think you were that terrible with your mana, Ka''Hondi, to let it be frayed like it is." Growling once more, the shackled Arch Fiend looked towards me and said "Approach me, brat. Let me reforge your bond once more, so that ''Caligo can leave me in peace." I looked towards the Countess, who nodded, before gently pulling my arm free from Mother''s, allowing me to approach the chained Ka''Hondi freely. When I knelt in front of them, the Arch Fiend''s red eyes narrowed as the mist around them turned into tendrils that approached my body, coating me in the mist. Letting out a gasp, I felt the mist worm its way into my veins and towards my Core, where it began to tighten and strengthen the fraying tether between Jahi and I. The sudden difference of not being able to feel her presence that much to suddenly being overwhelmed with her emotions and desires, as well as location made me hiss in pain, my head aching at the influx of everything from her... That pain only increased as I felt the incredulousness and joy from the bond as Jahi tugged at it, trying to confirm that I was really back. Even as the pain made my vision go ck for a moment, I grinned as I tugged back, just as ecstatic as she was to feel her once more... So, despite the wave of agony that threatened to split my skull in two, I was relieved that I could finally feel whole again. Chapter 424 423: Surprise Leone PoV "-s exactly the way that we were meant to control this magic! Good job Leone! I am rather impressed at how swiftly you limated to this different set of runes! Learning Moon Magic is extremely difficult, even for a True Vampire!" Pale white runes danced around my palm, their structure so different from what I was used to. Normal runes and magic - what Mother was calling ''Elemental Runic Magics'' - had uniformity and structure, using logical paths to achieve an end goal that you could determine by a correct set of runes. These ancient magics, however, barely utilized runes at all, instead only needing them to activate the first of many spells that was shaped by your will instead of your acumen. For instance, the first thing that Mother showed me with Moon Magic was rather... interesting, but rather situational. If given a few moments of respite inside ofbat, you could utilize Moon Magics to create illusions around your enemy, confusing and muddling their senses during your fight. It seemed that this ancient magic was more conceptual then structured, affecting things in a vastly different way then elements did. Where fire would burn the material, if I imbued it with this Moon Magic, I could create illusory mes that never actually damaged the targets body. On top of that, as its attacking capabilities go, Moon Magic seemed far colder than even Ice Magic, giving me ess to some rather interestingbinations... After all, when something was incredibly cold it could leave burns just as harmful as something incredibly hot, but... What could I create with mes that were so cold they still burnt you? It broadened my abilities far more than I could possibly imagine at the moment, and this was all with just Moon Magic. We hadn''t even delved into Blood Magic just yet, which would offer some rather potent abilities in all forms of ways; offensive, defensive, and supportive. To say that I was excited was an understatement, as the presentation of new magics to explore - magics that I could ACTUALLY utilize and not just specte over, like Summoning Magic - made me so very giddy to just sit down and put pen to paper as I unraveled the mysteries of these ancient magics. Especially since they grew to be double, if not triple as strong when I was in my True Vampire form, giving me the boost in power that I so desperately craved. "So Mother, these ancient magics... it can''t be just Blood and Moon, right? There has to be other kinds, just as conceptual as these are." She smirked at me, pride in her eyes as she nodded, saying "There is. In fact, your Mother just so happened to track down and... liberate a rather old tome from a group of idiotic Nobles a few years ago. It''s not as strong, nor as interesting as Blood or Moon Magic, but it does confirm that there is indeed other kinds of magics out in the world, waiting to be discovered and mastered! The tome I found was detailing how to utilize ss Magic." Frowning, I stared at her before looking towards the ground, wondering how you could utilize ss Magic. Reflections would certainly be apart of its repertoire, but what else? It might be a rather sharp cutting power, but its fragile - to the point that most normal magics could block it and prevent it from doing any damage... "Exactly! It''s so very... odd of a magic type, isn''t it? No true standout idease to mind with ss that you couldn''t do with Earth or Water. However, that confirms that there is different magics out in the world. Someone took the time - however many centuries, or even millennia ago - to learn how to create and wield ss Magic. The tome is an interesting read, but you are not getting it till after I see some progress with what''s already on your te!" She started off rather intrigued, but quickly turned into the strict, yet smart Mother that had raised me, even if I pouted at learning of something as juicy as different types of magics... pping her hands together, she told me to return to figuring out Moon Magic some more when I paused, my mind nking for a moment as I felt something. The small grey crystal that hung around my neck felt warm, and I frowned as I reached for the pendant, wondering what was happening. It was just around the corner of my mind, waiting for me to see it, but... I had no clue what was happening. I SHOULD know, but... I don''t. Or, a better way to put it would be I just can''t figure out what I need to know... Staring at the crystal for a few more moments, I blinked in surprise as I felt the mark I ced on Jahi re up, letting me know she felt a strong kind of emotion. A... happy one at that... What was she feeling? It wasn''t lustful, nor was it something minor like beating someone in a duel... No, it was more... "Leone?" "Jahi... is extremely happy right now... Why?" Mother just gave me a nk look, before her eyes widened slightly as she quickly said "You marked Katherine, didn''t you? Focus on it! There''s only a few things that would get that Asmodia brat excited!" My eyes went wide as well, and I swiftly shifted my focus from the mark on Jahi to the mark on Kat, and I felt my heart palpitate as I noticed something. She was close. Somewhere off to the east, and really, really close... Tears sprung to my eyes as I stood up, and I had to cover my lips before I screamed for joy, my heart beating wildly in my chest as I realized she was back. Mother said something to me, but I couldn''t hear it, my thoughts so focused on the mark I had ced on Kat, and how utterly glorious it was to feel it working again. With her having been so far away, I had no read on her mark, but now... She was back! Before I could even think, I was scrambling out of Mother''s courtyard and rushing through the halls, making my way towards Jahi, knowing we would be setting off right now to go find her. To get her back to our side, where she belonged... This time, I would make sure she never left that spot, that there was no way she would ever be taken from us - from me - ever again. Not in a million years... Chapter 425 424: Heartfelt Reunion Jahi PoV That odd feeling stuck inside my mind for a few moments, and I gradually removed myself from the conversation to focus entirely on what was happening, wanting - needing - to know what was going on with my body. It was weird - something was changing, reshaping itself inside me, but I couldn''t tell just what it was... My fork stabbed idly at the remnants of the steak on my te, and I frowned as I sifted through each and every part of myself, searching for what it was. Of course, my first reaction was to check the Soul Bond between Kat and I, since she might have reached the range again or maybe tugged once more, but there wasn''t anything there, so I went ahead and checked everything else in my body. My mana was fine, and by extension my veins and Core were doing alright, so it wasn''t that... None of my muscles seemed to be off, nor did any other organs, so what in the hells..? Moments passed by in silence, and I nced up at Mom and Anput who were staring at me with worry, making me mutter "Something feels off..." Slowly, more time began to pass as I confusedly checked over my entire body multiple times over, before I returned to the Soul Bond with onest desperate hope... Maybe, just maybe she was fine... Maybe she was back... Grabbing ahold of the Soul Bond, I tugged at it once before inspecting it, watching as the ''tether'' between her and I slowly wound together, tightening up and tucking the loose strands back into the rope like shape. My heart beat quicker as I watched the bond heal itself at a rapid rate, the fraying rope winding together and growingrger, before... In a mere moment, a sudden rush of information flooded my mind, and I felt joy overtake everything as I realized I could FEEL her again; feel her heartbeat, her location, her emotions... She was back. "S-She''s back..! S-She''s back at the March!" Anput shot up from her seat, staring at me with a gaping mouth, surprise and joy filling her obsidian eyes, while Mom just raised a brow before she too stood up. A grin spread across my face as I bolted from my seat and made my way towards the front of the Pce, Mom and Anput beside me. "Kat''s back? At the March? How? Ah, whatever. Are you going to get Leone?" I stopped for a second, my head turning towards Mom as I realized that - in my excitement - I had forgotten that Leone wasn''t with us. However, I could feel her rushing towards me anyways, so I just grinned and resumed my journey towards the front of the Pce, where our carriage was waiting. Or, more specifically, animals capable of carrying multiple people at the same time, since the distance between the March Asmodia and the Capital was rather vast. Before I could throw open the doors, Leone appeared beside us, her crimson eyes ring as she asked "Is she really that close? In the March?" Anput and Leone grinned as I nodded, and we swiftly exited the Pce and found one of the many tamed Draconic Horses that the Empress used for her personal carriages. Taking ahold of two of their reins, Mom nced at Leone and asked "You learned to ride one of these, right?" The Vampire nodded, climbing onto the tall ck scaled creature with ease before pulling Anput up. I joined Mom on the second Draconic Horse and held on as she cracked the reins, sending the creature lurching forwards. "Chordeva! The hell are you doing?!" Lady Igna stood on the road, her lips pulled into a frown as we drew closer, only to leap to the side as we shot past her. "Katherine''s back! We''ll be borrowing these for now!" I could faintly hear Lady Igna cursing to herself as she made her way back towards the Pce, but I couldn''t care about anything besides getting back to March Asmodia, so that I could see her again... The Draconic Horses made quick ground over three hours, covering half of the Empire and getting us to the ce we needed to go quickly. We traveled even as the sun fell, my Light Magic illuminating the road for us as we traveled fast, until we reached the tall walls of the Asmodia Mansion. Without a word Mom handed the reins of the steeds off to one of the Banshee''s that guarded the gates at all times, the hulking armor taking them off towards the stables to be cared for. These hours felt both torturous and beautiful, as I got to experience the bond all over again and understand more of what happened to my love, but I was annoyed that I couldn''t hold her in my arms... Approaching the giant doors that led inside, I watched as they were opened by the twin maids, who timed it perfectly with how swiftly we were moving. Each of us could sense where she was now through the different marks we had all ced on her, and I tore through the house as quickly as I could to reach the room we had once lived in, memories flooding back of simpler times. When I reached the doors leading into our room, I slowed down and swiftly cleansed myself of any dirt or grime, the others doing the same; well, Mom was already gone, searching for Mother and leaving us alone. Brushing off my clothes, I ced my hands on either side of the door and pushed it open, my heart in my throat as I wondered just what I would see on the other side. A few darker things ran through my mind, like her being maimed or injured, but I brushed those away and instead decided to just... take it in stride. The room I had grown up in was lit by dozens of small candles and Fire Crystals, bathing the tidy room in soft yellow red light. Standing in the center of the room was Kat, a soft smile on her face as she looked towards us, her hands lifting her long ck dress slightly as she curtsied, my Dogkin lover resuming her mantle as Maid. She was pristine; her ck and red maid outfit was perfectly ironed, her hair pulled into a ponytail like she normally did, and her features as soft and gentle as always... We all walked slowly into the room, our eyes fixated on her face as she stood back up, that smile widening slightly as her eyes flickered to their ethereal blue. "I''m back, Mistresses." --- Sorry for the double cliffhanger lol, but this was too~ good of an opportunity to pass up~! Besides, I got to introduce some interesting things, all while saving tomorrow''s chapters for some beautiful little *''s~! --- Chapter 426 425: Unrestrained Passion (1)* "I''m back, Mistresses." Such simple words made my heart swell inside my chest, the woman who spoke them aloud wearing the most beautiful smile as she sped her hands in front of her, standing with the posture and grace expected from the Maid of a Noble House. I slowly made my ways forwards, my hands shaking slightly as I hesitantly reached out towards her, wondering if this was all just a dream; something I would wake up from before I could touch her. Just like always, the Dogkin woman in front of me smiled as she reached forwards and gently sped my hand in hers, rubbing her thumb over my skin as she whispered "I''m back, Jahi...", her ethereal pale blue eyes meeting mine as she read me perfectly. My breathing hitched in my throat as her cool, familiar touchnded on my flesh, and I took another step forwards and looked down at her, barely able to believe that she was truly here. That she was back, in front of me, where she belonged... Pulling on her hands, I threw my arms around her and held her close, burying my face into the brown hair and fur and taking in the rich scent of soap and tart undertones of lemons that I had grown to love. Anput and Leone joined us a momentter, their faces resting against her arms as we stood quietly in the center of the room, the only sounds being the soft sobs of Leone and sharp breathing of Anput. Just holding her in my arms was more than enough to soothe my aching heart, slowly mending the cracks that had left it fractured from her unwanted departure from our lives. Of course, while just holding her may be enough, we were all greedy... "Kat..." My voice was raspy as I looked down at her, the Dogkin removing her face from my chest and looking up at me, those frosty blue eyes filled with lust as she smirked, understanding full well what wasing. Where she would have once nched slightly at all three of us staring at her with such undisguised and heavy desire, she now only grinned as she seductively bit her lip, slipping free from our arms and retreating towards the bedroom door. I barely had the mental capacity to realize that the Kat I was used too would have never been capable of escaping our grasps, nor could she move as swiftly and as fluidly as that... However, my mind wasn''t focused on how my prey had jumped free; no, I was focused on recapturing my prey and iming it, digging deep into her juicy curves and marking her all over again, making sure she wouldn''t ever forget my touch... And considering the soft growl from Anput and low hiss from Leone, they were on the same page as me as we watched the mischievous Dogkin Maid slip into the bedroom, the door closing quietly behind her. Without hesitation we all surged forwards, opening the door and revealing a sight that - days prior - we could only ever dream of... Kat sat on the edge of the bed, her dress folded neatly on the dresser off to the side, leaving her in just a set of ckce lingerie. Her milky white skin was as smooth and tempting as ever, while her voluptuous curves nearly spilled out of the ck bra and panties she wore, suggesting she might have gotten a sizerger during our time apart... However, unlike before, her stomach and long legs were toned and hiding some serious muscle beneath them, while her posture seemed more exaggerated then before... Another change that I filed away forter, since now I was thinking with a separate head. Kat smirked as we all swiftly undressed, our erections on full disy as we stalked near her, each of us intent on iming our prize. No words were needed, none of us needing to speak as wemunicated through action and feeling instead, the bonds between usden with meaning that thousands of words could never describe... Love heavier than mountains, desire as vast as the ocean, relief softer than feathers, joy that soared through the clouds... And, as Kat curled her finger at us, those ghostly blue eyes so utterly seductive, each of us felt a lust that would never be capable of being quelled. Lunging forwards, I pinned the Dogkin to the bed and sealed her lips with mine, my tongue plunging deep into her throat as I relished in the heat of her body. Anput and Leone sat beside us, their hands guiding Kat''s towards their cocks as they decided to show their love in other ways, understanding that they would need to wait their turn... My hands roamed her body as I unsped her bra and pulled off her panties, leaving her as bare as could be - the finesse and care for lingerie was not a factor tonight, as I understood full well just what I intended to do. With herpletely nude, I dragged my fingers over her wet lips andthered my fingers in her juices, using it to lube my cock as I prepared to take her. My lips never left hers as I shifted my body around, positioning my hips perfectly before I pushed inwards, spreading her cunt apart and filling her tight pussy. Kat moaned loudly, and I just had to release her lips as I grinned, amusement flooding my body as I watched the usuallyposed Kat writhe around beneath me, her face so beautiful as she relearned to take me inside her. "I missed this, Kat... I missed this so~ much... I missed you, my love..." I roamed my hands down towards her midriff, grabbing ahold of her as I left her chest open for Anput and Leone, who murmured "We all missed you, Kat..." Anput was the first to act, her lips trailing over Kat''s corbone as she made her way up towards the Dogkin''s neck, while Leone showered her breasts in love, kissing the bountiful flesh and worshipping the softness of our puppy. In between her moans, Kat managed to say "I m-missed you all s-so~ m-mmUCH~!" before letting out a gasp, her face twisted in pained pleasure as I slipped into her womb. Her breathing grew rapid as Anput sunk her fangs into her neck and pumped her nd full of her pheromones, all while Leched onto her nipple and greedily sucked on her flesh, all while she enjoyed the experienced touch of Kat''s hand. As for me, I licked my lips in anticipation as I felt Kat''s pussy writhe to life as I filled her with my girth, my heart at ease as the familiarity of everything washed over me. She was really back. My beautiful, seductive, hedonistic puppy hade home. Chapter 427 426: Unrestrained Passion (2)* Kat PoV My entire body was submerged in heat, the familiarity of my Mistresses girthy penises soothing the aching need I had deep inside my womb, which was further aided by the fact that Jahi was pounding her shape into my pussy again, reminding me of the cock that dominated my body in this life. Anput''s fangs inside my pheromonal nd made me dizzy, the scent of citrus flooding the room as my mate marked me as her bitch once more, all while my fingers danced along her sticky red knot, massaging her cock so that when she took Jahi''s spot, she would drown my womb in so much thick semen... Finally, Leone had searched my breast for the spots that made me moan the most, her fangs gliding over my skin as she used them to prick at my flesh but leave no punctures, giving me pain and pleasure in equal amounts before shetched onto my nipple, suckling on it like a newborn babe. I was back where I was meant to be; beneath these three utterly ravishing women and being used for their pleasure, to make them cum whenever they desired to cum. In this moment, my proper ce in this world was on their beds with my legs spread, weing their cocks so that I could service them all as much as they needed... The blue Demoness who owned me grinned as she watched me writhe around on the bed, my body having forgotten just how much pleasure each of these women could provide. Jahi ravaged my pussy with her thick cock, pounding against my womb as she lifted me by my ass, letting her cock reach farther into my pussy as she tried to wring out her semen from the pale blue globes that pped against my ass with each thrust. Her fingers dug deep into my butt, the Demoness taking liberties with my defenselessness and reveling in being able to control me so easily. It didn''t take long for Anput and Leone to decide that my hands weren''t enough, the two nodding to one another before shifting around my body. Anput smirked down at me as she rested her knot against my lips, drowning me in her scent and rubbing against my face, her intentions clear. Leone mounted my chest and enveloped her giant cock between my breasts, her searing heat almost scalding my flesh as she started fucking my tits. The low chuckles from Jahi made me shudder, the Demoness enjoying how I tightened up considerably as I realized that I wouldn''t be pleasuring them one by one, my naivety apparently lingering around despite having serviced all three before... I opened my mouth either way to wee Anput''s fleshy red cock, her taste so thick that I thought I had a slice of an orange coating my lips as she took my throat, the Jackalkin moaning softly above me. My body had be little more than a toy for the three women above me, and I shuddered in glee as Jahi began to take me harder, all while she kissed Leone - who was thrusting just as hard into my tits, her girth spilling out the tops of my breasts. I felt so full as the Demoness used me, while my appetite was being whetted by my mate above me, her knot pping against my lips as she gouged out my throat, her pointed tip drooling semen into my stomach as she prepared herself to eventually take me. With such tant domination over meing from all three of my lovers, it was only natural that the floodgates inside me had opened, my body overwhelmed by the pleasure of finally being back under them as I started to cum hard, my entire body jolting around as I moaned onto my mate''s cock. Every small touch and movement they made sent shocks throughout my nervous system, further adding to the pleasure I felt from orgasming as I sprayed my juices on Jahi''s thighs and crotch. Almost instinctively, Jahi pped her hand against my ass as she felt me cumming, her amused chuckle sounding out after I screamed on Anput''s shaft as she forced another orgasm out of me. All three girls were shrouded in dark amusement as they noticed that I was cumming on a hair trigger, my body needing time to limate to taking in their girthy dicks once again, but... None of my lovers were gentle, nor kind when it came to sex; Leone was the closest, but even she dropped her facade of timidness and softness when pushed past a certain point. A point that everyone in this room was long since past. They were amused as I was turned into a sloppy mess under them, my moans only stifled by the cock lodged in my throat as Anput enjoyed fucking my mouth. However, it would seem that they had alsocked the pleasure that I could bring to our bed as Jahi mmed her cock into the back of my womb, her balls clenching as she started pouring her thick sperm inside of me, painting my insides in her color. Her heat joined mine as she pumped semen into my pussy, which my body tried to expel as I came alongside her, my cunt writhing and spasming as I sprayed fluids all over my blue skinned lover. Grunting loudly, the other two looked back towards Jahi as she ejacted into my pussy, knowing that they were next. The deluge of sperm that filled me to the brim was never ending, and I moaned as I felt her scalding seed pouring out of my pussy and staining my ass, the sheer amount enough to thoroughly impregnate me two or three times over if I wasn''t on medicines... When she pulled out, I felt her p her cock against my creamy slit a few times before moving aside, letting Leone pounce towards my legs. The Vampire knew what she wanted, and she shifted my body around beforeying behind me, holding me tight against her warm body as she slipped inside, herrger cock making me scream in pained pleasure as she filled me. As for Jahi, she forced Anput to adjust a little before thrusting into the Jackalkin, who moaned as she was being pleasured from two different sources. The sounds of flesh hitting flesh had doubled, and I couldn''t help but smile as I felt that I was truly back home, where I belonged. This... was where I was meant to stay, and I loved every second of being back. I wouldn''t take this for granted anymore, and I reaffirmed my resolve to grow stronger, so that these three could always have me in their lives - and vice versa. ... Of course, my momentary moment of rity was stolen away from me as Leone slid her fangs into my neck, drinking greedily of my blood and pumping me full of that addictive liquid that made me feel so incredibly good... It would seem that I also needed to relearn just how swiftly these three could rob me of any form of thought with such simple actions... Either way, our night had only just truly begun. Chapter 428 427: Unrestrained Passion (3)* Somewhere along the way, I had been flipped around and spit-roasted between Anput and Leone, the two women pping their knot and balls against me swiftly as they relished my throat and pussy. Leone was panting desperately behind me as she fucked me hard, the woman wanting both to cum inside me and let her sperm join Jahi''s just as much as she wanted this tost longer, the Vampire very obviously clinging to the pleasure and preventing her orgasm from erupting inside me. As for Anput, my mate was slowly building up her semen, preparing to allow a deluge of cum to overflow my pussy when it was her turn; however, she wasn''t just enjoying the confines of my throat, her hands grasping my head and keeping me still. No, she was leaning over my body and moaning loudly as Jahi took her just as fast and hard as Leone was taking me, the Demoness putting the Jackalkin between the two of us and overloading her with pleasure. Thebined scent of sweet and citrus filled the air around me, heating my body up immensely as two of the three favorite scents I hat muddled my mind. Juices sttered against my face as Jahi swung her hips forwards and gouged out Anput''s womb, her precum and Anput''s liquids sshing against me as they enjoyed themselves. My mind was truly hazy as the searing heat of two cocks filled my body, the towering desire I had built up for this moment flooding out of me as I came once more, the pleasure bing too much and forcing itself out of my body. Leone gasped as I mped down harder on her thick cock, before her grunts filled the air as she began to cum as well, her plump balls draining themselves inside my womb and topping it off with a fresh load of baby batter. The Vampiric Princess moaned softly as she pulled out, her eyes likely glued to my twitching pussy as it leaked her thick cum, trails of scalding hot liquid dripping down my thighs. As she got her bearings, Leone rested her sticky cock between my cheeks as she yed with them, massaging and kneading my flesh as she idly knelt behind me, her first of many orgasms finally out of the way. Of course, with her cumming deep inside me, I was only waiting now for Jahi to finish up with Anput and allow my mate to im me as well, before our orgy began in earnest, my body free for use at anytime, in any way. It didn''t take long for Anput to milk out Jahi''s second load, the Jackalkin letting out a loud moan that was followed by Jahi''s grunts, the scent of my love''s creamy cum flooding my nostrils while the pheromones my mate released increased. My entire body was hot to the touch, and I wriggled my hips around to try and convince Leone to shove her fat cock back into my pussy and stir around her semen, my womb aching for more, but the Vampire had more control than I did,ying down beside me and watching as Anput took her ce. Draping herself over me, my mate sunk her fangs once more into my nds and marked me some more, all while her fleshy red penis prated me. The other two were watching with interest as I nked out, the pheromones Anput was releasing herself and the ones she pumped into me sending my body into overdrive to ept her cock; my pussy molded itself to her shape before secreting more liquids, cing me in a perpetual - yet minor - orgasm to ease her knot inside, while my womb expanded in anticipation of the deluge of sperm toe. My mate''s lithe, muscr body soothed my heart as she positioned herself above me, pinning me beneath her weight and using her strength to keep me beneath her, the Jackalkin asserting her dominance for our mating session. I readily took on the role of her submissive bitch, waiting for my mate to begin breeding me as my more animalistic instincts took over, shifting my mind and raising the pleasure I felt at this natural state between us. When she released my neck and moved to my lips, we shared our passion through a deep kiss even as she began to swiftly hump my ass, pping her thick knot against my pussy as she further lubricated me for her entrance. I had learned early on with Anput that sex between us would be far different than normal, and that it would be quicker with the thrusts but longer with the orgasm, as her knot stored most of her loads, whereas the other two were still raring to go even now; she was just different from them, and because we were both Canine Beastkin, well... That difference made our sex all the more special, and it was something that neither of the other two could ever replicate, no matter how hard they tried... And that difference began after the first dozen or so thrusts, her long time spent being edged in my throat paying off as she knotted me, that bulb spreading my pussy apart and sealing it off from the outside. Her tongue dominated mine as she began to cum, my mate doing her best to maintain our sealed lips so that I wouldn''t scream as she started to breed me. That bulbous orb was locking her to me, and I nked again as her nted tip lodged itself firmly inside my cervix and sprayed her semen straight into my womb. Geyser after geyser of cum spurted into my pussy, and I shuddered as I felt my body greedily ept the creamy liquid as my womb bloated. Leone and Jahi watched curiously from the side, their eyes roaming our conjoined forms before widening as they watched my stomach slowly bulge out, the sheer amount Anput poured into me surprising them greatly. Anput remained locked to me for around ten minutes, her cock lodged firmly inside me as she finished unloading her entire weeks worth of semen inside me, filling me entirely. When she pulled out, the Jackalkin grunted before her knot squelched free, and I moaned loudly as she released mepletely, falling back onto the bed and panting, utterly drained of her energy. I grabbed ahold of the sheets and panted, my mind swimming as I felt therge amount of cum slowly trickle out of me, staining the bed. I was awoken from my stupor as Jahi mounted me again, the Demoness uncaring of my need for rest as she lubed herself up and prepared to go again, her lips pulled into an arrogant smirk as she stared down at me with lust. Seeing her golden eyes, I shivered as my heart pounded inside my chest, the raw emotions flooding our bond almost driving us both crazy with lust... --- Doing another, final chapter of smut next (4 total) and the fifth will have a * but only because they''ll all be talking in bed, so... that''s the n for now, and I don''t n on writing anymore actual smut for a bit to even things out and get some more plot rolling~! --- Chapter 429 428: Unrestrained Passion (4)* "Oh by the Goddess~! You''re almost as tight as our first night together, Kat~!" Jahi peppered my face with kisses as she held me up against her chiseled body, the Demoness lifting me into the air as she pistoned her cock straight up into my pussy, drilling me hard. Her hands dug deep into my ass, and I had to bite into her shoulder as I felt Leone''s monster push into my ass, her semen lubed cock sliding right in. Sandwiched between two cocks once again, I moaned into my Demoness'' shoulder as I was forced to cum over and over again, the deep thrusts of tworge cocks like theirs driving me crazy with lust. "Ah~ I d-didn''t know if I could go on w-without y-your cocks~! I w-was so l-lonely~!" The two women grunted as they pounded into me, their balls pping rhythmically against my butt as they wrung themselves out using my holes. With Anput down and out for the moment - we had ced a healing spell on her to help her along - Jahi and Leone had taken full advantage of my body in that time, switching ces and using me to cum and clean off their cocks, resulting in me being stained in their scents and absolutely painted white. All of us disyed our unrestrained passions on this bed, the time spent apart fueling the current festival of sex we were having on our bed. Jahi leaned forwards and brushed her nose against my ears, whispering "We all missed you too, Kat... Everything was so different with you gone... Sex, normal life... it didn''t feel right without you there. Almost like it was... nd. No matter what I did, everything felt off. So..." Her low growl made me shudder as a rush of possessive glee flooded my body, her golden eyes as beautiful as ever. "I will be doing EVERYTHING in my power to keep you by my side... even if I need to chain you up and lock you away..." Leone''s dark chuckle filled my ears as well, and I felt her sharp fangs brush against my flesh as she added "We will NEVER let you out of our sight again, Kat. Never." A pained gasp left my lips as Leone bit down into my flesh once again, the Vampire feasting on my body and blood as she filled my ass and drained me of my blood. With two perfect lovers embracing me between them, as well as them filling me to the brim with such incredible cocks, I could feel my obsession spiraling further into the twisted depths. Our night began to blur after the two pumped their cum inside me again, filling me further with their seed before pinning me back on the bed, ravishing me some more. Leone shifted over to Anput, deciding the Jackalkin had had enough rest as she plunged herself into the dozing woman''s cunt, awakening her instantly. Anput and I were bothying beside one another, our asses raised as we weed the girthy cocks of our lovers into our cunts, and I could only moan wryly as I watched the woman who was my mate moaning just like me as she took a cock deep inside herself. Everyone in our group besides Jahi were switches, and it showed in moments like this as the normally dominant Anput - with me, anyways - was moaning like a bitch in heat as Leone scraped out her womb. The pairings shifted some more as time went on, and eventually Anput was recharged enough to get revenge on Leone, knotting the Vampire and breeding her for fifteen to twenty minutes as she watched Jahi receive the administrations of my tongue, the Demoness wanting to take a break from pounding me into the bed. Curled up between her legs, Ipped at her divine cock lovingly, my eyes drooping as her taste and scent - paired with the feeling of her stroking my ears - rendered my mind slow and addled, the Demoness I loved more than I loved life itself staring down at me with that all too familiar smirk. The room had be a den of lust, and each of us were willingly throwing ourselves further into its heated grasp as we indulged ourselves in excess lust. "Good girl... it seems you haven''t forgotten how to treat your Mistress~!" Her low growl of affection made me moan, my lips puckered as I took in her cock once more, thoroughly cleaning it off. Scratching behind my ear like she used to, Jahi watched me suck on her with a smirk, her body dripping with sweat that only further added to her overwhelming presence. With her back against the backboard, the Demoness enjoyed my throat to its fullest, her eyes twinkling as she looked down at my arched body and wagging tail. Anput and Leone finished up a few momentster, and they joined me between Jahi''s legs as we all began to worship her burly penis, the Demoness'' smirk widening as she stared down at her wives attending to her every need. To say that she was our perfect lover was an understatement, as she began to do the things that each of us found so endearing about her; a caress here, a soft word there, crisp p here, demeaning words there... Utterly perfect with how she navigated what made us tick, and she knew just when to give or take, and now... She was giving us her semen, bathing our faces in it as she came under thebined attack of our tongues and lips, spreading her cum out evenly before watching as we all began to fight over it, kissing and licking one another for just another drop of her seed. When we were all clean, the Demoness pushed us all down and began to take us all, alternating her attention between us evenly as she poured thest of her cum inside our bodies, reminding us all of who was in charge. Reminding us of who owned us; owned our bodies, our hearts, and our souls. Chapter 430 429: Show And Tell We wereying down in a pile, our limbs entangled as we lounged around together, enjoying the warmth and caresses of one another as we came off our hedonistic high, our bodies drenched in sweat, fluids and sperm. My head rested on Jahi''s chest, while Anput and Leone lounged on either side of me, all of us quiet as we took this moment to soothe our aching bodies and sore throats; few words had been spoken over these hours, but our voices were used for more primitivemunications... while our throats may have been used for other things as well... Anput was the first to speak, her fingers dancing over my skin as she caressed my slightly rounded stomach, the olive skinned Jackalkin stroking my muscles before she stopped, tapping the crest above my womb. "What... is this, Kat? Is this a magical tattoo?" Her words attracted the attention of the other two, and I chuckled wryly as I felt their gazesnd on the pink lines crowning my pussy lips, which were still twitching from the afterglow of our time together. "Took you all long enough..." Jahi was the one to respond next, her voice slightly t as she said "You spent most of this time lying on your stomach, Kat. How would we possibly see the crest atop your womb? We definitely noticed these lines on your left arm though..." My chuckles continued to fill the room as I stroked the white lines on my arm, before I leaned back entirely into Jahi, deciding to start from the beginning. "When I had been transported away from you, back at that border fight between us and the Western Kingdoms, I was thrown far off to the east, where I found myself trapped inside arge mountain range covered in snow... It was a rather beautiful, yet deadly ce, and I imagine if I hadn''t been a Wind, Water, or Ice Magic user I would have frozen to death in its depths... That was where I first tried to utilize our Soul Bond, Jahi... it let me know where I needed to go when I finally managed to tug at it. Using that to orient myself with the sun, I began to traverse the snow and made my way towards any civilization. My first meeting with people was a rather interesting one; a tribe known as the Arese who live near the Cimmerian Mountains - a border of the Labyrinthian - and maintain the seals of three Fiends trapped inside. I helped them, and they helped me; one of my rewards was the white tattoo you see here. It''s an incredibly useful tattoo; it numbs my pain receptors and strengthens my flesh, increasing my defensive capabilities slightly while allowing me to fight through any serious pain. Of course, it doesn''t nullify the injury, so-" "That''s a rather double edged tattoo then; nullifying pain to the point that you can barely feel it is really dangerous, but useful." I nodded at Leone''s interruption, my heart warming as I saw that familiar glint in her eye - that thirst she had for knowledge of any kind that rted to the arcane. "It is. That was my reward for helping them. After that, I parted ways with them and traversed the eastern side of the world, cutting through Nevrokopi and traveling towards the deadly forest that grows just north of it. I made a few stops inside Nevrokopi to resupply, but that forest was my second challenge. It''s filled with insanely strong warrior tribes that are very... primal in nature. To be honest, if I was even just a little weaker I think I would have... yeah. Not a pretty fate there. That forest drained me of energy, but I had to push on. Gobo Desert was my next destination, the Fire Mana that permeated the air sapping even more of my will as I walked for days through the sweltering heat. Wekalian Steppes - that was my destination, another stopping point to restock and prepare myself for the journey toe. Traversing another desert to reach an even worse desert - the Sultanate." Anput red slightly at me for that, before sighing as I let my Ice Mana pulse from my body for a moment, reminding her why I wasn''t keen on traveling through her home. "However, when I reached Kha, a city inside of the Wekalian Steppes, I... met something. Promise to listen to me first, before asking any questions?" The three frowned at that, and I could feel the suspicion and worry inside of Jahi, making me bite my cheek. Despite not liking where that might lead, the three nodded and waited for me to continue. "Inside of Kha, I met a Fiend." Those words made each woman inhale sharply, worry and other emotions dancing inside their eyes - however, they remained quiet. "Specifically, an Arch Fiend. Arch Fiend ''Caligo, who''s domain was of Hidden Twisted Pleasures. She... appeared before me during my stay, and offered me a deal." Jahi was already shaking her head, while Leone was staring at me in shock. The only one that remained neutral was Anput, the Jackalkin just staring at me with a t expression. "I... took it. We swore oaths on a Goddess together, and we struck a deal that benefits us both. I made her swear to never harm me or my friends and family, and in exchange she wanted to use my Core as a... crucible, to marinate a type of Mana for a bit before draining it from me. In a non sexual way of course." Silence reined inside the room, and I almost tore into my cheek as I looked between them, each showing a different response. Jahi was livid, her golden eyes aze with worried anger as she red at me, while Leone gave me a spective, almost untrustworthy look over, like she was trying to verify that I was still me. It hurt, but I could understand the concern and need to double check... Anput was, once again, the first to speak, our Jackalkin saying "You struck a deal that was mutually beneficial? And the terms are binding and sworn under a Goddess?" I nodded, and the olive skinned warrior just shrugged as she returned to caressing me, her voice uncaring as she added "There is no point in worrying then. We can''t do anything about it; it''s set in stone. Besides, I imagine it''s a rather lucrative deal on both sides. Personally, I can understand - and even support - your decision Kat, but..." She gestured to the other two, who were ring at her now. "They won''t. So, y''know... Enjoy." I almost had to chuckle at her nonchntness at what I just said, before turning towards Leone as she hissed "Where is this Fiend now?!" Almost on cue, Cali poked her head out from behind the door, her snake hair hissing softly, like they were trying to copy Leone. "You called~?" Chapter 431 430: Meet And Greet "You called~?" I almost had to sigh as I saw the pink skinned, snake haired Arch Fiend poke her head around the slightly opened door, trying to look as innocent as possible... All while we both knew she had likely been peeking; otherwise, how would she have managed to get here that quickly? Unless she heard her name from the other side of the Mansion and swiftly made her way over, like some kind of dog responding to its master... Cali pouted as she stared at me, before taking a few steps inside the bedroom, her body still covered in violet scales. "Arch Fiend of Hidden Twisted Pleasures ''Caligo at your service~!" Giving the group an exaggerated bow, Cali beamed at me as she took in my drenched state, her forked tongue flicking out over her plump lips. "Kat..." I nodded at Jahi''s low growl, saying "This is the woman - the Arch Fiend - that I made a deal with. I would... allow her to take Lust Mana from me, and in exchange she would give me a little boost in power. One with a small initial benefit, but something that has a higher curveter down the line." "Lust Mana? What..?" Cali grinned as she sauntered around the room, taking pleasure in looking at everything as she answered Leone''s question. "The same way you mortals have your elemental magics now, us Fiends have our own ''elements'' per se. Those of the domain have Lust Mana; Ka have Wrath Mana, Nua have Gluttonous Mana, and the Tza have just raw Mana - which can be shaped however they please. Each of our respective domains gives us the ability to wield that form of mana, which are... rather potent~!" She flicked her hand out towards us, tendrils of pink energy filling the air as she shrouded us in a haze. My breathing grew heavy as I felt my womb throb, while the heat inside my body doubled - no, tripled - in intensity, threatening to consume me. However, just as quickly as it began to sink its talons into me, the heat was drained from my body, leaving me feeling hollow and unmotivated. When the pink fog dissipated, I returned to normal, the disy of extreme lust to none whatsoever rather frightening as we stared at the pink skinned Arch Fiend in front of us. "That is but a taste of what Lust Mana is capable of. It''s a rather fun little emotion, Lust. Most akin it to pleasure, but you can lust for other things as well. Power. Wealth. Fame. Knowledge. So what happens if you were to... oh, I don''t know... sap an entire popce of its lust for power?" Her grin turned demented, and I shuddered slightly as her words began to weigh heavily in my mind, the sheer power from just that one disy making me realize the immensity of the Arch Fiend before me. Cali reined her grin in, going back to a sensual smile as she said "That is one of many ways Lust Mana can be used. Now, it is created in many ways, but the way that Katherine here will be making it for me is simple~! Ten points to whomever could possibly guess how she makes Lust Mana for me~?" Leone grit her teeth slightly as she growled "Sex." "Ding~! Correct~! Katherine here would be producing Lust Mana through the most optimal way possible; having sex with those she lusts after~! That means that, right now, she''s filled to the brim with juicy Lust Mana, and I want that mana for myself now... And no, little Demoness, I won''t be taking it from her the normal way, which would be to bed her~! It''s the same way you can take mana from her as well; creating a circuit between myself and the little lusty puppy there~! In exchange, I act as a whetstone for her mana to sharpen itself, giving her a boost here and there..." The pink skinned Fiend stretchedzily before plopping onto the bed, her eyes roaming each of us as she added "Though, I certainly wouldn''t mind letting you three pour some of your lust inside me~?" "Cali..." She shuddered slightly as she raised her hands, a soft smile on her face as she said "You said I couldn''t actively seduce them~? Well, that was just an offer! Not seduction. Anyways, what she said before is true; we''re both bound by an oath to a Goddess, just like Ka''Hondi is bound by an oath to your house as well, little Asmodia. No need to worry about me trying anything bad now, alright? I wouldn''t want to lose my precious Katherine..." Slipping off the bed, Cali hummed to herself before walking over towards the door, where she stopped and nced back at us. "All four of you are far more important than you realize, especially now that the Fiends are reawakening and reemerging. Tza''Yul, Ka''Hondi, me... You have three Arch Fiends bound to your group, while some of the strongest mortals to have ever lived are either friends or family. That ces thergest target on your heads, girls, so while you might not like us, we three will be your tickets to getting stronger. We''re entric, self serving, proud... but we can push you above even what your parents were ever capable of. Think that through before levying any judgements." With that, the Fiend departed from the room, leaving us alone once more to talk everything over. "The world is changing faster than ever before, ording to the Marquess and the Empress. There''s no guarantee that we can reach the level of strength needed to survive on our own within the timeframe we''ve been given. Any help is good in my books." "But she''s an Arch Fiend, Anput! That isn''t just ''help''! It''s a contract that most likely is weighed heavily in her favor, far beyond anything any of us could even begin to imagine!" The Jackalkin shrugged, her attitude still the same as she said "How would this be any different from when Jahi takes the mantle of Marquess? At that point, she''ll be directly ''contracted'' to Ka''Hondi, another Arch Fiend. What about your family, Leone? You were the one to tell us about Tza''Yul, and I can''t imagine that they''re staying with each of your families from the good will in their hearts." Leone could only growl softly as she looked away, likely trying to formte another argument, while Jahi looked down at me and asked "What exactly does she want? Besides the... ''Lust Mana'' that you''ll be producing?" "Cali wants to... whittle down the existing Fiend poption, removing the ones that she says aren''t beneficial to the world and allowing for new Fiends to arise." Silence once more filled the room, each of the women around me narrowing their eyes at that statement. An Arch Fiend wanting to purge out other Fiends was definitely fishy - even I could admit that I still had no idea on why she truly wanted to kill so many of her brethren, but... "Well... At the very least, we''ll have one active Arch Fiend around us, capable of giving us tips or advice on how to deal with the Fiends that are reemerging..." Leone said "Jahi!", her voiceden with surprise and shock as she stared at the Demoness, who was letting out a sigh. "They''ve already sworn an oath, Leone. There is little more we can do to affect that. And... Anput is right. We need the help now to prepare for what our ''tomorrow'' is going to be like... Fiends and those creatures we fought... They aren''t going to wait for us to figure out if a single oath is airtight or not. We need to get stronger fast." The Vampire grit her teeth once more, her emotions easily readable in her crimson eyes, before she too let out a sigh, slumping her shoulders in defeat. "Creatures..? And you all fought Fiends?" Jahi gave me a wry smirk, nodding as she began to tell me of what happened during my absence. Chapter 432 431: Making Decisions (1) I blinked a few times as I listened to the tale that Jahi and the others regaled me with, telling me of monsters and fiends and creatures that used magics far beyond their understanding... "Here I was thinking I would have the crazier story to tell, and then I hear all of this?" Jahi just chuckled, nodding as she leaned against the headboard and looked towards the ceiling. "It certainly was a rather action packed few days we had... twists and turns galore constantly keeping us on our toes. But, we made it out alive and well, so... It wasn''t that bad." "Well, you said that the Marquess told you about the Fiends and everything? Specifically how your Light Magic is really effective against them? Seems like you can no longer ignore your magic training, Mistress." She just rolled her eyes at me, flicking my brow as she said "I had never ignored it... I just didn''t ce enough attention on it is all." That made me roll my eyes as I replied "You mean one hour of magical training for every six hours of physical training?" "What is with this sudden shift to talking back, puppy? Do I need to remind you what these lips are meant for, hmm~?" Jahi took ahold of my jaw and stared down at me, an arrogant smirk on her face as I pouted. "I would say we need to retrain her thoroughly after being separated from us for so long... maybe she forgot the ''tricks'' that we taught her~!" Anput joined in on the teasing, and I red at my mate before moaning as she continued to caress me, all while Leone innocently lifted my arm and bit into my wrist, making me wince. The Vampire wordlessly stared at me as she drank some more of my blood, her crimson eyes free of any guilt or shame as she greedily fed herself. Jahi and Anput chuckled at that, before Jahi looked down towards my new tattoo and frowned. "Wait... Kat, you are on medicines, correct? Now is certainly NOT the time for... you know..." I nodded, a small smile on my lips as my hand joined Anput''s, who stopped as she too looked towards my face. "Yes. The Countess restocked our supply for whenever we returned, and I took them. No need to worry Mistress~! Though..." Shifting around - after having my arm freed from Leone - I gave Jahi a seductive grin as I stroked her chiseled abs, enjoying the firm muscle under my fingers. "Would you have preferred to leave it to fate~? The thrill of dancing on that edge of breeding me or me remaining without child~?" The Demoness shuddered as her eyes flickered gold, filled with passionate heat as she ''rose to attention'' once more, only to take a deep breath as she shook her head. "No. Not now, Kat... When this is all over, we can leave those medicines behind and y that game, but not now." I chuckled wryly at that, my wish already fulfilled as I began to stroke her member, getting her into the mood again. "I think... you were saying something about retraining me~? I might~ have forgotten a few things, Mistress..." Amusement danced in her eyes as she watched me carefully, a grin tugging at her lips as I beheld her magnificent member. That lead to another hour or so of passion, the four of us draining the rest of our lust out of our system before migrating to the bath, where we cleaned up and prepared ourselves for another meal. We had much to discuss about the future, and they hadn''t eaten yet, so I would be returning to making us dinner like I had always done before. And with ess to such arge, well stocked kitchen filled with luxurious ingredients, of course I was going to make the most of this opportunity. The n was simple. A three course meal consisting of an alfredo chicken dish, medium steaks braised in a wine sauce, and finally a thin vegetable stew to round it all out. I knew all three of the girls had appetites that were rather voracious - even Leone ate a tad more than a normal person, and with the time between my meals for them being so wide, and so much happening between them, I could only imagine how muchrger their appetites were. So, as I walked with them to the kitchen, we started to discuss the things we needed to do going forwards. Strength was paramount, that much was obvious, but there were many ways to go about getting stronger. "Then what shall we do? I believe a mix of theoretical and practical experience could be very lucrative for us all. Each of us has things we need to... figure out before attempting in realbat, which would lead to more things to figure out?" The others nodded as I spoke, my hands busy as I prepared the pans for the steaks, since they would take the most time. "The Academy certainly is a treasure trove waiting to be plundered, but we only have a year and a half minimum, two years max. There is only so much we can learn with our qualifications and understandings..." "Well, that is true Jahi, but the libraries areden with books containing many different things that will certainly be very helpful. Besides, there are theories on Enchanting, Alchemy, and Forging that could push our equipment over the edge, giving us something to rely on besides our personal prowess." Anput perked up at that, before resting her chin on her hand as she sniffed the air, more focused on the food than the conversation... though she still participated. "Well, we need lots of coin, and while we could certainly utilize the Marquess'' wallet, I imagine we can''t always have ess to her ounts. Forging and Alchemy are expensive hobbies, especially if we n on reaching moreplex and potent crafts. For instance, armor is a pain in the ass to forge, but that is the primary thing I need to learn to contribute to all of us. I mean, Jahi has a masterfully crafted de, and you and Kat rely mainly on mana to fight... As for me, my normal shifting of a de in the midst of battle is enough to confuse most, but... yeah." Rolling out the dough for the pasta, I nodded before adding "Our ventures deeper into the Zhu''Rong Caverns would be lucrative, especially with quests. That includes materials too... though we would need to research what we can get from those ventures. Oh, and look into the markets from other cities and dungeons. Which... we could venture out to find new things as well." Everyone nodded, and we continued the conversation on in earnest as I began to season the chickens and simmer the sauce, filling the kitchen with the scent of cooking food. Chapter 433 432: Making Decisions (2) With the broth for the vegetable stew simmering on the stove, I turned my attention towards the chicken and steaks, making sure each of the meats were cooking thoroughly and that the seasonings weren''t getting burnt off. I - of course - had extra portions cooking as well, since I could almost guarantee that the Marquess would be lured over here by the smell, and if she wasn''t then Jahi and Anput would devour the extras like the gluttons they could be. "I do think we should remain at the cottage in the Capital, so that we can have ess to the Academy and Zhu''Rong Caverns. If we need to, we can always journey out for a few days somewhere else. Since we need to study and practice in equal amounts, that would be the most ideal location." Jahi nodded, though her focus was mainly on the uncovered steak that I was poking with a needle, trying to make sure the juices saturated the rest of the meat besides just the outside. "Of course we have to remain in the Capital. Mom said that we''ll be training with the Knights if we want to get stronger, while Lady Theresa and maybe the Empress'' other wives could give us some pointers as well. I mean, isn''t Lady D''Arcon a Light Mage? That sounds like someone I should be getting to know." "Aunt D''Arcon would teach you a lot, but she''s always preferred being a Support Mage instead, with her repertoire of spells focusing on buffing and healing herrades. Though, she might have something in store for offense... She might not be the greatest teacher for you, actually, now that I think about it." We all looked at the Vampire in confusion, and she chuckled as she spoke in a wry voice, her lips tugging upwards. "Well, she is technically a Priestess... Her magic works based on her faith to her Goddess. Since mana can be... ''changed'' from person to person depending on how they want to use it, she found that treating it like some holy power she was being blessed with resulted in her having stronger magics. And well..." The Demoness became the center of attention after that, and she snorted as she said "Yeah, I don''t particrly believe in or put my faith into Gods and Goddesses. I don''t think they aren''t real, but I personally believe they don''t care about what happens down here... I''ll still see if I can learn something from her though." "Would Lady Theresa be willing to teach us all about magic? Or is she... selective with who she teaches?" Leone was about to answer my question when another voice entered the kitchen, speaking for her. "When she trained me, it was because she was selective. Now, however, with the threats looming over the horizon? I imagine she''ll take the time to tutor you all a little, before passing you off to someone else. Funnily enough, each of you likely has a respective tutor already nned at the Pce." The Countess strode in, her warm smile barely hiding the joy she felt as the Marquess and Mother walked beside her; like I had expected, the Marquess made a beeline to the steaks, while Mother came to stand beside me, looking into each pot and pan before nodding. "Kat, Lady Yusa will likely show you a thing or two about Ice Magic. Just like Duchess ki and her daughter Draka, she was born with inherent Ice Magic, and she is also rather adept at wielding it. Draka will likely be joining you in the Capital to learn from the Snow Woman, since the way she wields her magic is different from Duchess ki. Anput, your tutor... well, Lady Fenryas could be your full tutor for everything. She has an obsession with des, wields Metal Magic, and is one of the best de fighters in the world. The problem is that -" "She''s a hard bitch to please, and will likely take great pleasure in taking you apart piece by piece until you almost break, before forging you anew. She won''t be a fun mentor to have, Anput." The Marquess interrupted the Countess, but the Countess didn''t seem to mind as she nodded, staring at the dark blue Demoness who shuddered slightly and muttered "Crazy wolf..." "That is the problem with her. So... yeah. Then, Leone, you would be a perfect fit for Lorelei, Lady Igna, and the Empress since all three utilize Fire Magic, as well as some... others. And Jahi, if you can''t learn anything beneath Lady D''Arcon, I am sure Lady Theresa could guide you in how to improve your Light Magic in other ways. She is... an encyclopedia of knowledge, and a genius when ites to the arcane. Living multiple millennia would certainly help in that..." "Anyways~! Kat dear, did you make extra portions or no~?" I gave the Marquess a small smile as she continued to inspect the kitchen, her hunger obvious as her stomach growled. Even after the Countess swatted her arm, the Demoness smiled unabashedly at me as she waited for an answer. "I did, Marquess." "Good~! Good! I''ll be back in a moment... This calls for some good wine~!" Before the Countess could even stop the Marquess, she was gone, rushing down the hall for wherever she stored her good wines. Sighing, she looked at me and gave me an apologetic smile, which made Mother chuckle slightly beside me. "Ria, what did you expect? Chordeva has the appetite of four or five people most nights, and after... well, she certainly has enough for six." Mother blushed slightly, cueing us all in on what happened - not that there was any confusion on that front, since Jahi was almost a carbon copy of her Mom - which made the Countess smile wryly as she nodded. "Well, is there anything I can help with dear?" The kitchen felt even warmer as Mother and I began to cook up some additional meals just for the Marquess, keeping it simple yet filling as we moved around the kitchen, all while the others watched at the tables, chatting about the future toe, as well as the here and now. It felt perfect being back here, cooking for my family as they chatted nearby. I missed this warm, cozy feeling, and I swore to never take it for granted ever again. Chapter 434 433: Dining All Together Mother and I began to te the food and ferry it over to therge table, Jahi getting up to help and taking Mother''s ce when she saw the pregnant woman trying to maneuver around the kitchen. The Marquess returned with a few bottles of aged wines, uncorking the first and pouring everyone a ss as she watched Jahi and I like a hawk, making sure she would get the food she was ''owed''. It was amusing seeing her and Jahi fighting over who received which te, the two Demoness'' bickering over whether or not the steaks were the same size or not, all of which earned them res from the Countess and Leone. Anput was doing the same, switching her tes with mine to get herself the ''bigger portions'', which made me roll my eyes as I witnessed the antics of the three warriors of the family, while the mages seemed to be more reserved and willing to take whatever was given to them. Mother flinched slightly as she saw me nonchntly cut my palm and spill the blood into Leone''s wine ss, mixing it together before handing the Vampire her drink, which she epted with a smile. Healing myself, I looked over the crowded table and grinned, the warm atmosphere and bickering just right for everything that I remembered regarding this family of ours, and I was about to sit down when Cali appeared beside me in a burst of pink mist, her smile hungry as she looked towards the wine. "Pour me a ss, will you my love~? I haven''t had wine that fine in millennia..." The Marquess frowned as I nced at her, before shrugging her shoulders and giving me the go ahead. I poured out the rich purple liquid into a ss that Cali summoned for herself, and the Arch Fiend lounged contentedly on one of the nearby tables, sipping on her wine as she watched us dig in. When she noticed the nces thrown towards her, the pink skinned Fiend grinned as she spoke between small sips, purring slightly at each. "What~? I know you all will have questions about me, so why not do it over dinner like civilized people, hmm~? Believe it or not, I am a rather civilized woman, despite my... quirks." That made me raise a brow, though she was looking towards the Marquess mainly, likely seeking the approval of the strongest in the room first. "I would rather not sour my pte by dining with a Fiend, ''Caligo." Chuckling, Cali swirled the wine in her ss around a few times before replying "I would like to think I''d sweeten it, my Lady~! I could show you why I think I''m sweet if you''d like..." The Countess ced her ss on the table and red at the Arch Fiend, who justughed before getting up and refilling her wine. "Fine, fine~ We should talk soon though~! There is much to discuss..." With that, she disappeared in a puff of mist, just like how she appeared moments earlier. Everyone stared at the table for a few moments in silence before beginning to eat, washing away the interaction with Cali by using the wine. Twirling my fork around, I coiled up the spaghetti noodles I had made and took a bite of the chicken alfredo, nodding to myself as I washed it down with the smooth, rich vor of a ckberry wine. Jahi was sitting beside me, as was Mother, and they both started with the steaks, which had a beautiful pink center that was oozing juices as they took their bites, both looking towards me with satisfaction in their eyes. "This is really good, Kat. You have a knack for cooking, maybe even more so then Julie!" I gave the Countess a happy smile, while Mother nodded as she said "I would definitely agree. This is excellent, dear." Mother''s warm, gentle smile and the way she ruffled my ears made my heart melt, and I felt like a broken record as I continued to repeat to myself that I would never take this for granted ever again. Having lost it once was terrible; I never wanted to lose this warmth ever again, and I wanted to do everything I could to protect it going forwards. Jahi beamed at me as she devoured her steak, mopping up the juices with the rolls that Mother had made as I worked on the rest, the Demoness'' appreciation flooding our newly restored bond. Anput and Leone nodded in agreement, while the Marquess was silent, focusing more on her food than anything else as she moved from her steak to the chicken breasts. The kitchen remained silent as we all ate our fill, leaving only the wine on the table as we rxed and sat back, sipping on the ckberry alcohol as we resumed our earlier conversations. "Lady Fenryas will likely be training all of us for two weeks before letting us free for a bit, and she''ll be expecting us back by tomorrow around noon. So... sorry Ria, Julie, but we''ll need to be going again. If you want, I''d suggest visiting in two weeks time, since that will be when we should be allowed to do anything else..." The Marquess'' tone was filled with slight dread as she said that, earning herself a reassuring pat from the Countess who just nodded, while Mother looked at me with mild worry - neither of us wanted to separate, but we would need to. "After that happens, I would suggest a few days break from anything physically demanding, so go to the Academy and take a look around the libraries, meet with the Professors, and maybe see if the Empress and her other wives will be avable for some more personal teachings. As for you all nning on draining my wallet some more-" She red at Jahi as she said that, the Countess giving her daughter a half re as well, which made Jahi smile wryly as she scratched her cheek. "That''s fine, but I would like to see some returns on that investment in some way or another. Be it armor, weapons, enchanted gear, potions, materials, or just in old coin. Preferably you''d disy the skills that you''ve begun to hone, but... it''s your pick. To start, I''ll send you back with 10 tinums to utilize, but I wouldn''t try to rely on me for your money all the time. Put your skills to use and make coin that way; actually, you''d be surprised with how often people would prefer to trade instead of buy and sell, especially amongst the upper level merchants." I nodded at that, understanding the theory that went with it; trading a high level armor piece for a bunch of materials you need would certainly be preferable to haggling the coin amount, which can get really specific as you try and squeeze the most out of your ''rival'' in that situation... "Anyways, just prepare yourselves for a more strict lifestyle going forwards; everyst second that you can use will be managed into what you should be doing, and each second will matter. It''s a cruel way to live, but... well, the worlds getting a lot crueler, so get used to it. For now though, rest, and enjoy thest few hours you have of ''freedom''." She got up, prompting both Mother and the Countess to get up as well as they walked to her side, the tall Demoness'' eyes unwilling as she said "After tonight, you''ll be in hell for two weeks minimum. So... good luck to us all, I guess." We all nodded as we watched them leave, and I stood up and started to get the tes and utensils in order, while Anput and Jahi split the remainder of the wine, finishing it off. Leone joined me, and we all eventually departed from the kitchen as well, returning to bed as we whispered quietly to one another, losing ourselves once more to lust. Chapter 435 434: A New Morning Jahi PoV That night, after we ate and enjoyed ourselves once again, I couldn''t find it in myself to fall asleep. I didn''t even bother trying to fall asleep. The thing was, I was just too worried that if I closed my eyes and drifted away, Kat would drift away alongside me, and that I''d wake up to a bed with only two other people, not three. It was pure paranoia that she would be taken from my again, so I remained up and stroked her silky brown hair, enjoying the little warmth that radiated off of her bodypared to Anput and Leone. She wasying atop my chest, her face nuzzled into my bosom and her ears twitching asionally as I stroked them. This was all still so surreal to me, hence why I was so damn worried that I might not actually be seeing her right now, that this might all be a dream or my mind finally crumbling under the pressure and imagining things. She was really back. Kat was back with all of us, our Soul Bond restored, and almost as unchanged as ever. There was a few things that seemed off about her, things that were definitely chalked up to the things she had experienced off on her own; she seemed flighty - like she couldn''t remain in once ce for too long - she was constantly checking her surroundings, and she had a hard time falling asleep, even after all of what we did. It took a bit of coaxing from us all to have her drift off into sleep, and even now she seemed ready to wake up at a moments notice... Seeing it altogether pained me greatly, as her trauma that she tried to hide was evident in those little things, and her worry seemed just as great as mine... I hated that there was little I could do to fix it right here, right now, but I understood that damage to ones mind could take days, weeks, months, or even years to heal; it all depended on the damages severity and the resilience and will of the person affected. We could guide her towards healing, but only she could heal herself. Even though I knew that she was a strong willed, resilient woman, there was just that worry that came along with love that made me wonder just when, or even if she would manage to heal. Those were the thoughts that gued my mind all night long, even as I stared down at her now toned body and felt her faint warmth. I wasn''t only worried about her though, even if most of my worry was ced on her; no, I was also worried about Anput and Leone. Both had things that were worrisome - just like myself, I suppose - and I couldn''t help but hope that the lithe Jackalkin cuddling against my side and the voluptuous Vampire sprawled out on my other side could handle their own mental troubles with the help of the rest of us. Anput was the one to worry me more, her slight inferiorityplex that she had atplete odds to her usual arrogance and pride. Right now, it seemed like all of us had roads of greatness paved out for us, but Anput''s just seemed shorter than the rest. Leone had ess to an Arch Fiend, her family were immensely strong, and she herself had some of the most potent magic that I had ever seen. Add on to that her Vampire lineage, which seemed to be unique due to the Empress'' blood, and she has immense potential waiting to be tapped into. Kat is now bound to an Arch Fiend, has incredible magic on her own, a sharp mind that switches between offensive, defensive, and supportive depending on what we need, good physical abilities... she has everything at an even level, and could very well reach the same heights as us if she spent more time applying herself to her training and came out from under her ''mask'' that she wore. As for me, I had ess to an Arch Fiend as well, my Light Magic offers incredible benefits, my own physical prowess is higher than most races, and I apparently had the same potential as Mom, who the Empress had said was someone who could have reached her own strength if she had been born into a time of war instead of peace. Of course, it''s not guaranteed that I reach those same heights as Mom, but I damn sure am willing to put everything forwards to do more than she has done. That left Anput, who was incredible in her own right, butparatively... you could see the difference. Metal Magic is excellent for offense and defense, and her Earth Magic can be used for support. She has a knack for using real des, and she can alter them to fit her perfectly, giving her an advantage there. Her own lineage isn''t terrible either, as the Sultana is still one of the most respected and powerful women on this continent, but... The advantages that we all have make hers pale inparison, and I fear that that realization is eating away at her slowly but surely. And that is something only she can ovee on her own; no amount of support or advice from anyone will do anything to help her. Only Anput can help herself now, and I just hope she realizes that her own strength is more than enough. Besides, the changes happening to the world are boundless, and those changes will likely offer new opportunities with them, so there is a good chance that Anput finds her own opportunity to grow stronger and surpass her own limits in this new world. That is all I could ever hope for with any of these three women; that they would want to continue to grow alongside me and climb to the pinnacle so that we could all stand together, side by side, and never need to worry about anyone or anything. So that we could stake our im to this world and eventually settle down and enjoy life to its fullest. But we need to get there first, and right now, that climb to the top is barely even started. Those were the thoughts that were on my mind as a new morning arose, the sun peeking over the horizon and lighting the room up, causing the three girls to stir awake. With a new day came new opportunities, and we had our own ns to surpass ourselves from yesterday; ns that will help make that climb all the more bearable going forwards. Chapter 436 435: Morning Spar With everyone slowly waking up as the light of dawn spilled into the room, I smiled softly as I gently shook them each awake, making sure we were all up and ready to go before the sun left the horizon entirely. Kat was up in mere moments after I shook her awake, looking around the dim room with caution in her every motion and in her eyes, which made my heart ache some more, though her small wry smile as she shook her head soothed that ache slightly. Anput stretched out with arge yawn, going from being in a small ball to a long, thin line as she loosened her muscles and cracked her joints, moaning softly as she got everything back to normal. Leone sat up and yawned cutely, her ash gray hair a mess as she stared nkly at her morning wood, which made me smirk as I watched her nce at Kat. Without skipping a beat Kat began to service the Vampire and I, while Anput seemed free of the clutches of morning arousals, lounging beside us and observing it y out with interest. When Leone and I were taken care of, we all got up and made our way over towards the bath, alternating between being washed and washing someone else. Having Kat sitting in front of me again, her smooth, supple skin being thered in soap and her hair getting unknotted as I gently ran my hands through it was another soothing moment, the familiarity of this thing we had done hundreds, if not thousands of times feeling so good to return to. After I had gotten her thoroughlythered in soap and had her hair and fur cleaned, I rinsed her off before walking over to the bath with her, sinking into the hot water with a sigh. I had to fight off the lull of the water as it tried to muddle my mind and send me to sleep, but Kat made that easy as she sat on myp and faced me, her lipstched to mine as we began our servicing of one another anew. Anput joined in this time, and after we were all relieved of any urges, we left the bath feeling satisfied and clean. Throwing on our clothes, I watched as Kat slipped into her maid uniform, a small smile on her lips as she looked at herself in the mirror, her tail shifting slightly. The rest of us wore our normal clothing; Anput had her loose cloth coverings, Leone had her robe, and I wore my shirt and pants. Walking out into the halls, we made our way towards Mom''s room, where she, Mother, and Miss Julie were all lounging on the couch, talking quietly amongst themselves. When we entered, Mom grinned as she rang the bell, summoning one of the servants and telling them to get breakfast brought to our room. "We need to leave in an hour to reach the Capital by around noon, so if there is anything you want to do before we leave, now is the time." I looked over towards the other three, my lips pursed as I thought for a few seconds before saying "We''ll eat quickly then go spar. I want to expend some energy before we are cooped up in a carriage for hours again." That made Mother roll her eyes at me, though she smirked as she saw Mom nodding her head, agreeing with me wholeheartedly. Breakfast was a simple affair, consisting of scrambled eggs, pancakes, and sausage links, all of which we scarfed down in mere moments while leaving Mother and Miss Julie staring at us disapprovingly. Even Leone ate quickly, understanding that this was something we were all going to be doing, and she sated the rest of her appetite along the way as she drank from Kat''s wrist. Reaching the training grounds, we each began to go through the warmup routine that Nirinia had drilled into us before that event happened, getting our muscles and joints loosened and ready to go as we picked up some wooden weapons. I stepped out first, gesturing for Kat to join me as I said "Anput, guide Leone a bit on the basics again. I''ll see if Kat''s kept her edge..." The Dogkin raised a brow at me, her dagger held loosely in her hand as she stood quietly in front of me. Giving the sword a few swings to get a feel for its weight, I nodded to myself before pointing the de at Kat''srge chest, saying "Whenever you''re ready, Kat..." She spun her dagger around a few times before flickering forwards, her speed surprising me as she appeared off to my left, taking advantage of the one handed sword I had. Her dagger stabbed out towards my side, and I had to pivot around her de and prepare to block her next attack as we stared into the others eyes. I was slightly caught off guard by her speed, and I duly noted that her dagger had sliced through the air with more force than it normally did... It would seem that my puppy had sharpened her ws during our time apart... My sword connected with her dagger as she shed towards my abdomen, and I parried the de downwards, using that to flick my wrist up towards her chest. The tip rested near her throat, and she gave me a wry smile as she took a step back. "Not bad, Kat... certainly better then before, but..." She nodded, her ears twitching as she said "I didn''t have much chance to practice techniques... most of my fights were won in the first strike, or allowed to be led on..." I snorted at that lost part, understanding what she meant with that as I nced towards her sheathed daggers. "Still the same murderpuppy huh~?" Kat gave me a dry look before tapping the des, my gaze reminding her as she looked towards where Anput and Leone were. "I need to ask her to forge me another dagger or two... I broke my ranged enchantment when I was teleported. Maybe get something with a bit more reach this time..? A rapier, perhaps..." Seeing her furrowing her brow as she thought to herself, I nodded as I imagined what she could do with a rapier instead of a dagger; the same weight but with more range would certainly be deadly in her hands. Of course, she''d be trading off the cutting edge a dagger has for the piercing of a rapier, but that was what here enchantments and magics were for. We returned to our spar after a few moments, and I slowly began to hone her skills once more, all while I marveled at the new speed and strength that her body had. Chapter 437 436: Return To The Capital Kat PoV I rested my hands on Leone''s back and allowed my Water Mana to flow over her body, absorbing her sweat and cleaning off her clothes after a long hour spent inside the training grounds. All of us were sweaty and dirty, the hard exercise of mock fighting and being knocked into the sand making this a grueling, yet beneficial hour spent on this beautiful morning. I was both surprised and not surprised to learn that I had improved quite a bitpared to the others, my journey spent away from them reaping me many benefits, although I was still an all rounderpared to each of them being specialists. My over all stats had gone up, giving me more speed and power - along with precision and control - to bridge the gap between me and them physically, while my arcane stats were still unclearpared to Leone''s. Anput focused on speed and precision, while Jahi focused on raw power with a hidden control over her des. Comparatively, where they might be at around 90 in those respective stats - Anput with AGI and DEX, Jahi with STR and DEX - I was still at 70, but those were 70''s across the board. Add on the benefits of the Anklet of the Zephyr giving me an additional 7 to AGI and 3.5 to DEX, and I was closer to beating Anput than I was Jahi. That, however, was without utilizing mana whatsoever, and that was where our differencesy. For now though, my in depth analysis of each of my lovers was halted as we needed to scramble to take whatever we needed and pack it up. Some clothes, medicine, and a coin pouch that Mother handed me was all I had, while everyone else got their things together quickly enough as well. Walking with us to the front door, Mother stood quietly by my side as she watched them pack their things onto the carriage, which was being led by two Draconic Horses that they had apparently ''borrowed'' from the Empress without asking. "You just came back, and already..." Her voice cracked slightly there at the end, and I bit my cheek as I turned to look at her, donning a warm smile as I hugged her close. "I know... but I can''t be left behind by them, otherwise... well, otherwise I wouldn''t be doing my job as their maid, and as their lover... in my eyes, anyways. I have to go, Mother, so that I can take better care of them and myself. I... don''t want to go either, but I have to. I need to get stronger, so that I can look after myself and my two little siblings that are on the way~! Besides, we''ll see each other again in around two or three weeks... Doesn''t it feel relieving to know when you''ll see me again?" She gave me a sad smile as she nodded slightly, muttering "It''s preferable to before, but I still don''t like it... I just got you back, and I wanted... I wanted to spend more time with you, to do things that we should have done when you were younger... Things that I... failed to do as your Mother all those years ago..." I just pinched her waist at that, making her flinch as I said "You didn''t fail to do anything, Mother. You gave me a safe ce to call home, gave me a family that loved me, made sure I had what I needed... It definitely didn''t help that I matured quickly either, did it? If you''re still so... regretful about ''missing my childhood'', then put that energy into my two little sisters, alright? I was never going to have a ''normal'' childhood, not when I was the maid of the Heir to this House." Mother nodded again, her smile warming up as she stroked her pregnant stomach. "I... That makes you sound so mature, Katherine..." We smiled at one another before she kissed my brow and ruffled my ears, waving me off towards the carriage. "Go on then... Don''t leave them waiting again. I''ll see you soon, and I love you." Even though her eyes still held traces of sadness in them, Mother''s smile widened as the Countess returned to her side, wrapping her arm around the Dogkin''s waist and holding her close. Approaching the carriage, I turned and waved to them both before boarding first, assisting everyone else inside and eventually sitting down between Jahi and Anput. Leone and the Marquess sat opposite us, and a Banshee acted as our coachman as they started rolling us forwards, off towards the west where Sanctus Ignacia towered in the distance. ~~~ Julie PoV Standing on the walls of the estate, I watched the carriage slowly pick up speed as it rolled over the roads, carrying my daughter inside of it. My heart ached knowing that she was - once again - gone, but Ria rested her head on my shoulder as she muttered "You''re not the only one feeling terrible with their departure, Julie... All of us hate leaving the others. Chordeva made that apparentst night... Besides, I''m not happy either that she''s being called forwards for increased training. I know what that does to her, and after telling us about what''s happening, well..." She took a shaky breath before smiling at me, her sapphire eyes sparkling as she said "They''re going off to train for the fight toe... We need to do our best to support them when we see them again, to make them feel better. There... isn''t much training you can do in your current state, and I''ve reached my ceiling a long time ago. So let''s do what we can to make sure they can focus entirely on themselves and not worry about us. Alright?" I nodded and took onest look at the carriage before turning towards her, epting her hand as we began to walk back towards the mansion. Ria was right; there was no point worrying about them now. Instead, we should focus on reassuring them andforting them for what was toe, and make sure we take care of ourselves so that they don''t need to worry about us. I knew that, but sending them all away again was not an easy thing to do, even if I knew that they''d be safer in the Capital then anywhere else on this continent. It was just the fact that I wasn''t with them that made it seem unsafe and worrying... However, I needed to focus more not on myself, but instead on them. The two babies that were growing inside of me. They had calmed down recently, no longer giving me the fits that they were in the beginning as my body got limated to the mixed blood children, but I could tell that if I began to worry too much again, those fits would return. So, I needed to keep myself calm and collected, for everyone''s sake. As we walked back to the mansion and returned to theforting confines of the ce I had learned to call home though, I allowed myself a brief moment of worry as I thought about what they were going to train for, and who they were training with. I hadn''t experienced it personally like Ria had, but from what she had said, well... Lady Fenryas was certainly a Demonic woman, deserving of her half Demon blood. Chapter 438 437: Back At The Palace Kat PoV The carriage ride over to the capital was rather quick, and we spent the entire ride conversing about what ws were in desperate need of attention and the best ways to theoretically go about them, be it physical or arcane ws. Of course, it was mainly Leone supplying the arcane theory, as my grasp on thatplicated field of study had waned over the time spent away, and she had even taken a moment to inform us of her learning about other forms of magics, like Blood, Moon, and ss. All of that was really interesting, and I desperately wanted to sink my teeth into understanding those new fields of magic, to figure out how they worked and what I could possibly do with them; from the sounds of it, they were their own ''elements'', which suggested I could, maybe, learn about a ''Cold Magic'' to further enhance my Ice Magic. Or, you know, be a Blood Magic wielder as well. That was always a perfectly valid option in and of itself. Though, again, from what little Leone knew about it, it would seem that this was something that came to the person, just like our own elements that we have now; I might be able to learn the simple Blood Magic spells, but I just might not be cut out for wielding it. Besides the arcane side, the Marquess gave us tips for the shorings we thought we had, as well as giving review on our weapons of choice and the like. She suggested that, with Leone''s uncanny precision and control, she should utilize a rapier or some other light and thin de; she doubled down on that when she heard about how Leone had blocked a thrust with a thrust of her own before with such ease. The Marquess did agree that I should switch from only daggers to either a short spear or a rapier, adding some range to my arsenal of physical weapons so that I could branch off into different styles of fighting. As for Anput and Jahi, the Marquess just told them to continue what they were doing; Anput seemed to be rather excellent with most weapons, and with her magic allowing her to shift everything, that was a viable strategy she could employ in the midst of battle. For Jahi, she agreed that her frame was perfect for utilizing a two handed sword, and she was only suggesting giving the de she had some more weight and reach if she wanted, upgrading it from a great sword to a ymore like she wielded. Though, that was just her personal preferenceing into y. That was how we spent the carriage ride over to the Capital, and I got to see the familiar mountain that housed the Empire''s heart once more, the warmth of the location just perfect as we entered the city''s walls. Rolling through the streets of the Capital, we went past the road leading towards the cottage and instead made our way up towards the Pce, where we would be staying for the next few weeks as we received guidance from the Empress'' wives. Entering therge walled off Pce of the Capital, the Marquess had the Banshee park the carriage in front of the entrance, where we all got out and grabbed our luggage before bowing to the white robed woman who met us at the door. "Ah, I see you brought back Nai and Koko~! I was a tad worried about their disappearancest night, you see." "I apologize, Lady D''Arcon, but... well, we learned that Kat had managed to make her way back to us, and..." The holy woman just chuckled as she waved her hand, her blindfolded head looking towards me as she said "I understand. Family is very important, especially when you reunite with them. Come, the rest are waiting inside. Though..." She nced off to the side, her lips pulled into a frown as she asked "I am guess that she is with one of you? Otherwise..." Pale gold light flickered around the woman''s hands, and I sighed as I felt Cali scrambled behind me, appearing in a burst of pink mist. "Sorry. Yes, she is with me..." The light dissipated, and Lady D''Arcon nodded, though her lips were still pulled into a frown. "Be careful with whom you consort with, young one. Wisdom does indeede with age, especially when said age is past four digits." Cali pouted behind me, muttering "There was no need to speak on my age... How rude..." The others all nced at the pink and violet Arch Fiend that hid behind me before deciding to ignore her, walking behind Lady D''Arcon as she beckoned for us to follow her inside. It was interesting, seeing that Lady D''Arcon could tell exactly where Cali was; whether that was because she could truly ''see'' her or because Cali let her see was an entirely different debate, but... I was more inclined to believe that Cali was truly hiding herself. Her reaction felt to genuine, and there was a momentary distress in her actions as Lady D''Arcon let her Light Magic flicker. From what Jahi had said, Light and Dark Magic are their banes, so... that is a problem for Cali if Lady D''Arcon is that strong. The Arch Fiend walked behind me as we entered, my hands upied by the luggage as Lady D''Arcon led us towards our temporary rooms before ncing back at us. "Chordeva, Fen is waiting at the training grounds with the rest of the Knights. A few have yet to arrive, so you''re notte yet, dear. Since... well, since the Fiends areing back, and with that report you gave us, Theresa is insistent on you calling Ria here when your done with your own training. She wants to impart some more of her knowledge onto her protege. Perhaps you could learn a thing or two there as well~? If not, I believe Igna would provide some rather useful pointers. Good luck to you all..." She was about to exit therge cluster of rooms she showed us when she stopped, ncing back at Leone as she said "Oh, and Leone dear, please use the time that they are training to brush up on the rest of your studies. All of our doors are open, dear, and we have much to teach you... Especially Lorelei; those magics will be far more useful then you could possibly imagine..." With that, the white robed Lady D''Arcon was gone, and we all ced our luggage on the beds before turning towards the Marquess, who gave us a tight smile. "Well... Who''s ready for hell?" Chapter 439 438: Lady Fenryas The Marquess led us through the Pce halls in silence, her lips drawn tightly into a thin line as she took us towards where the other Knights had gathered. From what I knew of the Knights, it was very rare for there to berge gatherings of them in one ce, since a few were stationed away at areas that needed them, while others were given missions to do in secret, meaning... Few people actually knew where some Knights were, if they were still Knights or even alive, and you certainly never see more than four or five Knights in the same ce. Their exact number isn''t widely spread, since a few of the Knights prefer to work in secrecy, but others are very well known, like the Marquess. She is, after all, the unofficial second strongest Knight; the only one stronger than her amongst the Knights would be the Knight Captain, Lady Fenryas. So to say we weren''t curious about the gathering happening on the Pce''s training grounds would be an understatement, especially since this would be a gathering of the Empire''s strongest warriors. Throwing open the gates leading into the training grounds, the Marquess straightened her back and entered, leading us inside. Roughly two and a half dozen men and women upied the grounds, standing in neat lines as they all focused forwards, where Lady Fenryas prowled around with her scythe resting over her shoulder. "Finally. I was beginning to think that life of yours as a Marquess was softening you up, Chordeva. You were almostte." The tall Demon Wolf grinned at the Marquess before looking over the rest of us, her silver eye shining brilliantly as she approached. "Well, that one is obviously your whelp. That would be her mate there... So why is a maid traveling amongst you?" She pointed the end of her scythe at Jahi and Anput, before pointing it directly at my brow, a small frown on her charcoal ck face. "Hmm... Odd. For a maid, you feel too... conflicting. A perfect show of subservience hiding a rather entertaining woman beneath. Plus... her. You might want to drop the mask, dog. You won''t be fooling anyone here." Her frown deepened as I just stared at her, the thick stench of blood around her doing little to psyche me out as she looked closer at me, before shaking her head and making her way back towards the other Knights. "If she wants to participate, she can. Otherwise, tell your dog to leave. I''m already annoyed enough that I need to retrain you lot. Pathetic, each and every one of you..." Jahi nced at me with a frown, while Anput''s fur bristled slightly before she calmed herself, the two not enjoying the way Fenryas spoke at all. As for the Marquess, she just silently made her way to the front, beckoning for us to stand beside her as she looked back towards the rest of the Knights, who all gave her a small nod. After a few more filtered in from the doors - some running at breakneck speeds before screeching to a halt outside and walking in formally - the Knight Captain stopped prowling around and stood before everyone, looking towards the assembled Knights and Knight Squires with her lip pulled up in disgust. "I can''t say that I''m entirely proud of each of your reports. Giorni, three people died under your watch. That''s three more than what I trained you to do. Izzy, there was an outbreak at the dungeon you were situated at, which was just barely contained by the Guild and other adventurers. Ipetent. Yuo Can, your Squire is barely up to scratch given the amount of time spent training. That''s to say... each of you seem to need to be reminded that there is always room for improvements. If you think you can stop simply because you became a Knight, well..." shing her scythe towards the ground, Lady Fenryas scored a deep gouge into the earth as she crossed her arms, disappointment and anger filling her single opened eye. "I''ll say it once more. Kindly take the des you''re so proud of and stab yourself in the heart. You''re a waste and a stain upon the name of the Knights, and going forwards... ipetence is a death sentence. Either by my hand, or by the hands of our enemies, who only ever grow in number. If you understand that, either off yourself now and spare me the time, or show me the grit and determination that earned you your titles. Chordeva came back with a report from her little crusade. The first part is worrying, and I can verify it''s true since we have a peeper who refuses to show herself..." Lady Fenyras red at the spot behind me, and I sighed slightly as I felt Cali hiss softly in annoyance as she appeared, surprising a few of the Knights. "The Arch Fiends are reawakening, and with them so do the rest of the Fiends. They''re all back, and each of them is something that you lot could barely take on on your own. That''s the first part, and the more imminent threat to the Empire. The Fiends areing back, and as such I need to whip all of you into shape. No Squires will be Knighted for a long time toe, and the process to recruit a new Squire will change. They''ll need the approval of five Knights and myself to earn that spot; no point gathering new blood if they''ll only be sent to their deaths worthlessly. That''s the first piece of information that Chordeva brought back. With the Fiends return, each of you needs to step it up if you want to continue to live. The second part... well, something in the Labyrinthian has the ability to summon Gates. That''s how Tragon fell, and that''s what Chordeva found. Creatures capable of ripping open Gates between the Labyrinthian and anywhere else. One silver, one gold, with a potential third lurking somewhere inside the Labyrinthian. This is, roughly, what they look like..." Raising her hand, Lady Fenyras allowed her Metal Magic to spill out onto the sand and created two hulking monstrosities, making everyone frown. "That right, Chordeva?" The Marquess looked between the two before nodding, saying "Roughly so, yes, Lady Fenryas." "This silver one; lean and mean. Built for speed and swift strikes. Impossibly strong too. This carapace is rather thick as well. Add onto that an insane healing factor and ess to magics, and well... this thing evolved to be a perfect hunter. The gold one, though, is more worrying. Defensive through and through, it evolved to be a proper shield for the silver one, if I had to guess. From the little Chordeva saw, it''s a nonbative variant, focusing more on retrieving and protecting the silver one. The worst part is, it has an ability to sap the mana from the air and your Cores. Which means..." The Knights all frowned at that, focusing intently on the golden monstrosity as she finished speaking. "This thing has some kind of weakness. Perhaps a spot on its body that is unprotected, maybe an elemental weakness, or it has some out of body weakness, something that can injure it severely without ever facing it. We don''t know, but those were the things that Chordeva fought, and they barely managed to subdue the silver one. As for the gold one, they didn''t stand a chance." The training grounds fell silent, everyone staring at the creatures before Lady Fenryas dissolved them, picking her scythe back up as she said "Well, that''s beyond our thinking for now. The Empress is inspecting some of the things brought back, and the Saints and Saintess'' should be convening soon to discuss it. What we can do, though, is rather simple..." A wolf like grin spread across her face, the red veins cracking through her skin ring as she stared at each of the assembled men and women. "We can start training!" Chapter 440 439: Training Begins (1) "Well, you all know how training goes under my watch! The hells are you waiting for?!" Lady Fenryas hefted her scythe a little as she gave the training grounds a bloodthirsty grin, her singr silver eye ring with potent mana as the assembled men and women nced at one another before nodding. Without hesitation, quite a few of them burst forwards from the lines and charged at the Demon Wolf, their weapons and shields raised as they swiftly approached the waiting Lady Fenryas, while the remaining Knights - which included the Marquess and Nirinia - stayed back and watched, waiting. Sensing our confusion, the Marquess just smiled wryly as she muttered "No point being in the initial wave. To many bodies to try and fight through." That made us look towards the crowd that was surrounding the Demon Wolf, the sounds of metal hitting metal or flesh echoing around the training grounds. Some of the Knights that were Birdkin or had Wind Magics hovered in the air, staring down at the field with bows or spears readied, their eyes narrowed as they observed what was happening in the crowd. As an entire Knight flew through the air and pped into one of the hovering Birdkin, however, the Marquess just sighed and shook her head as she said "And so it begins.", leaving us all even more confused. "Chordeva, we''ve already ced bets on how long this''llst. Over or under three minutes, odds are 4 to 1 over and 1 to 1 under. Want to join?" A woman with ck, chitinous skin and a scorpion tail walked towards us, her red eyes filled with both amusement and eptance as she rested a giant mace over her shoulder. "Sker, you lot are really betting on this again? It''s always under three. Even with new Squires, that just gives Lady Fenryas an excuse to go harder on us all. I can''t believe you all still bet on this..." Of course, the woman only grinned as the Marquess tossed her a small pouch, which joined the others dangling on her waist. Jahi, Anput and I all gave the Marquess dry looks, but she remained firm as she said "Over. Maybe this time will be different? I very much doubt it though." The Scorpionkin chuckled as she nodded, looking towards the growing amount of Knights flying through the air. "It takes her a moment to warm up, but... Hah, whatever. Hey there blue brat, green brat. Oh, and the two pups as well. Quite a gathering around you this time, Chordeva." Nirinia grinned back at her as she threw her arm over Jahi''s shoulder, saying "Yup~! Bluey finally needs to get the shit beat out of her by Lady Fenryas~! The other two might as well! I mean, if we all have to suffer, why not enjoy it~?" Sker grinned back at Nirinia before they turned towards another Knight who approached, a man with a single cracked horn sprouting from his brow and dark crimson skin, a giant grin splitting his handsome face. "Ah, Chordeva~! It''s been a long time, dear cousin! Oh, and your daughter as well! Young Jahi, correct? Y''know, your dear old Mom used to gloat to my wife and I that she was finally having a daughter... always wanted to punch her in the nose for that, but..." He shrugged his shoulders as he grinned at the Marquess, who just rolled her eyes. "We''re loosely rted, Belian. Just because you and I are Demons doesn''t mean we are ''cousins''. As for children, well... I have another on the way." That made the mans smile crack, and his warm brown eyes narrowed slightly before he let out a sigh. Scratching his mop of ck hair, Belian shook his head before ncing towards the crowd, which was considerably thinner now. "Perhaps you really are blessed by Lilith, or the Gods Chordeva. Lucky, lucky you... Hah, well, we should catch up once this is all over. I imagine the rest of the Knights want to see the child begot between you and Saintess Ria. Rather peculiarbination, the two of you... But for now, let''s not break too many bones, hmm~?" He unsheathed a long, serrated sword and a thin, needle like dagger, both forged from a bronze like metal. Sker hefted her heavy mace, the sloshing of a liquid sounding out from the heavy spherical head, while Nirinia spun her Dadao around, her shield already strapped onto her arm. The three Knights - and one Squire - just took a deep breath before walking forwards, and the Marquess nced back and said "It''d be best if you three waited till after we go. She should be a tad calmer by then..." Our confusion was only growing after each thing that she said, but Jahi was the one to just shrug and draw her de - the replica, normal steel one, not her masterfully forged Celestial Gold and Stygian Silver one - and rested it on her shoulder, watching as the four approached the blur of ck and silver that was Lady Fenryas. "I guess we should observe then. See if there is anything to learn in their battle. Though, the idea that Mom would be so... epting and sure of her defeat is unbelievable." Walking beside her, I unsheathed my two daggers - Protective and Shatter - while Anput held a long rod of metal loosely in her hands, her obsidian eyes fixed on the battle toe. "Weren''t the rumors saying that Lady Fenryas is the strongest physical fighter inside the Empire - and likely the Northern part of the continent - widely popr? Perhaps they weren''t just rumors, but instead truth?" Jahi shrugged at that, replying "Perhaps. But stronger than the Empress? Really? I had always thought the Empress was excellent at everything..." That made me shrug as well, adding "Excellent, yes, butparatively to someone who only lives and breathes for martialbat, is she better?" Anput chimed in, her voice amused as she watched the four people we were just talking to begin to engage Lady Fenryas. "Well, I guess we''ll find out soon enough~!" Chapter 441 440: Training Begins (2) A few of the other Knights gathered alongside the Marquess, quietly speaking to one another before splitting back off into groups as they moved in to try and take down Lady Fenryas. The results were... varying. A Monkeykin woman mmed her bo staff down towards the Demon Wolf''s skull, only to grunt as she received a swift kick to her abs and was sent flying back a few dozen feet. Stabbing a spear forwards was a Lizardkin man, his tail whipping around to try and sweep her off her feet and into the waiting path of the spear, but instead Lady Fenyras stepped on his tail and pinned him there, before her scythe mmed into his side and sent him flying as well. With some audible cracking noisesing from his ribs, which made him hiss in pain. An Arachne shot some webs at Lady Fenryas before closing the gap and using both her front, purple carapaced legs and her dual scimitars to sh and stab at the woman, who briefly struggled with the webbing. One of the scimitars connected with Lady Fenryas'' shoulder, but the de simply nged off of her exposed ck skin with some obvious rolling to the weapons edge, which made the Demon Wolf growl as she tore free from the webbing and grabbed the Arachne''s head. Another crack echoed around the training grounds as Lady Fenryas dislocated the Arachne''s jaw with a single punch, forcing the woman to retreat. A few more Knights went down as they attacked the woman, only to receive a one sided, one or two blow beating. Up first from the group was Nirinia, and she raised her shield and decided to fight reflexively, relying on her swift movements to hopefullynd a blow or two. Seeing that, the Demon Wolf grinned and sliced her scythe through the air, aiming to hook the giant de behind Nirinia''s shield and hit the woman behind it. Before that though, the Djinn leapt backwards before bolting forwards, dodging the scythe and mming the small buckler into Lady Fenyras'' side with a dull thud. As she did that, Sker approached and swung her mace horizontally, the spiked head arcing through the air towards the Demon Wolf''s side. Nirinia''s Dadao stabbed forwards as well, but it only made the ck skinned Wolf grin harder as she spun her scythe and caught the mace, stopping it and making Sker stumble, before her free hand grabbed ahold of the golden Dadao cutting towards her. cing a sharp kick on Nirinia''s knee, she forced the woman to stand up before she was kicked once more, sent flying away like the others. With a swift flick of her wrist, Lady Fenryas embedded Sker''s mace into the earth before releasing her own scythe, balling her fists and throwing a jab towards the Scorpionkin''s nose. The battle between the two shifted to fisticuffs, which Sker quickly adapted to as she ducked under the jab and sent a jab of her own towards the Demon Wolf''s side, the blow connecting. She winced slightly at that, but she pulled her fist back and sent another towards the same spot, all while her eyes focused on her opponents hands. Grinning like a lunatic, Lady Fenryas waited for Sker to punch her again before her elbow flew out and collided with the woman''s cheek, forcing her back a step before she had her feet swept out from under her. The sand erupted as the Demon Wolf kicked the spot beside Sker''s head, the message clear; you lost, stay down. With that, there were only two more Knights standing, as well as us. Retrieving her scythe, Lady Fenryas turned her grin towards the Marquess and Belian, the blue and red Demons approaching with their weapons drawn. "Come at me together. You two always have great synergy..." Belian''s long ck coat buffeted slightly as he rushed forwards, the serrated de in his right hand shing down towards her chest, while the Marquess moved to the side and lunged forwards, her ymore stabbing towards the Demon Wolf''s ribs. Using the head of her scythe, Lady Fenryas blocked the ymore and used the haft of her weapon to catch Belian''s sword, disying an insane amount of control as she managed to block both attacks in one move. Belian retreated quickly, allowing the Marquess to step forwards and begin swinging her ymore around with more freedom, the giant de raining down blows on the ck scythe that stood between her and Lady Fenryas. With the Demon Wolf throughly upied by the Marquess'' attacks, the red skinned Demon blurred as he made his way around the training ground, taking the time given and forcing their opponent to search for him - all while she defended herself from the onught of blows from the Marquess. Even with such a full view given to us, we still lost track of the ck coat wearing Belian, his movements and presence gonepletely as he blended in with the area around himself. A snarl appeared on Lady Fenryas'' lips as she pushed the Marquess back a step, giving her the space needed tounch and attack of her own. The sharp scythe de arced down towards the Marquess'' skull, but she blocked it with her ymore before twisting her body to avoid a kick, a smirk on her lips. Pulling her scythe away, Lady Fenryas spun and shed at the area around herself, a shower of sparks erupting from her weapon as Belian blocked the blow. With that, the Marquess tried to get closer andnd a blow of her own, but the Demon Wolf red at her and mmed the butt of her scythe into the ymore, before pushing her scythe forwards and hitting Belian right in the ribs, sending him staggering back a few feet. After that, her scythe arced back down towards the Marquess, and their positions shifted as Lady Fenryas'' began to attack in earnest. Three or four strikesnded on the ymore each second, the ck skinned woman a blur as she attacked the Marquess, their des colliding at rapid speeds. It didn''t take more than ten seconds for the Marquess to slip, the scythe worming its way beneath her ymore and wrenching it out of her hands. After that, it only took a single blow of the weapons haft to the Marquess'' head to send her flying through the air, defeated. Before shended, Belian joined her as the Demon Wolf spun and did the same to the sneakily approaching red skinned Demon, trying to catch her off guard with his needle dagger. "Damnit, you two work together too well... Fucking Demons... Tenacious little pricks. Alright, now it''s your turn..." She grinned at us, and we blinked a few times as the woman began to approach us. Chapter 442 441: One... "Alright brats. One at a time now. Let me get a taste of your mettle, so that I can understand what I need to beat out of you... and what I need to temper with each of you. Nowe!" Her scythe rested menacingly on her shoulder, and the ck furred Wolf grinned at each of us as she stopped a few feet away. We looked at one another before I stepped forwards, deciding to allow myself to be the ''sacrifice'' so that the other two may learn something from my guaranteed defeat. Lady Fenryas looked me over, her eyes roaming my body as she took in every minute detail about me - I could tell that the woman wasn''t looking at me with lust, as she seemed more dismissive of my curvy frame then appreciative. She mainly seemed more caring of how I handled the two daggers in my hands, as well as how I distributed the weight that my body gave me. When I approached her, she stabbed her scythe into the ground like before, her arms dangling loosely by her side as she said "Come, little pup. Show me what I have to work with..." Hefting the heavy Protective Fang in my right hand, I spun the Shatter Fang in my left and shot forwards, shing towards her stomach with Shatter and stabbing at her throat with Protective. With what I had seen from her battles earlier, I wasn''t afraid about using sharpened des against a woman with ''unguarded'' flesh like Lady Fenryas, which made her smirk. "Good! You''ve some backbone to you... even the beginning of a fang! Some speed too. Not too shabby, little pup!" Her hand shot forwards and pped my wrist to the side, sending Protective off harmlessly past her neck while she tucked in her abs and arched herself back slightly, causing Shatter to miss her as well. Since her hand was already close by, she smirked as she jabbed her palm forwards, hitting me in the face and forcing me to stagger backwards. My nose audibly cracked, and I felt my vision blur as pain exploded throughout my head, blood pouring from my now broken nose. However, I had felt worse pain - though this still hurt like a bitch - so I managed to rally myself after that brief moment of pain and return to the fight. Lady Fenryas just grinned some more as she waited for me to return to the fight, likely using that as another test to see just how strong my will to fight was. Raising my des once more, I swiftly cast a healing spell on myself before activating the tattoo on my left arm, numbing my body instantly as I charged at her. Her grin faded slightly at that, though there was aplicated light in her silver eye as she blocked another of my attacks, using her palms to smack my daggers away from her body. "Foundation... not too bad. Utilization of mana in a fight... admirable. Weapons and skills... above average. Mentality... good. Alright little pup, you might be worth something after all. Ice Magic too; gives you versatility and unpredictability with multiple different attacks. However..." Both her hands swatted my daggers away once more, knocking them free from my hands - and in the process breaking my wrists - before her hand enveloped my face as she lifted me off the ground, her features still. "That tattoo... don''t rely on it. You''ve already broken your wrist with the first block of mine, and yet you couldn''t feel it. Any further and you might have caused irreparable damage to yourself, all in a spar. Perhaps your mentality for wanting to fight is teetering on being self harming... Not good. Understand me, pup? Use that tattoo in bursts. Never leave it on longer than a few seconds. Time it with the worst of your injuries - like that broken nose of yours - and enable yourself to surprise an opponent after that. A moment is all you need to win a fight. Nothing more." She released me and watched as I copsed to the ground, her words making me drop the tattoo as I prepared to analyze what I needed to fix in depth. That, of course, was a mistake. Waves of sharp, insufferable pain washed over me from my nose and my wrists, and I held in a cry as my vision blurred instantly. My mind was momentarily shaken from the sheer amount of agony I felt, my senses slowly dissipating as my body focused entirely on the pain. When I managed to get a healing spell out, I nearly cried out again as I felt my bones slowly knitting themselves back together, which made the Demon Wolf above me click her tongue. "Bright, but also rather stupid sometimes. At least the rest of you is good... You pass, pup. You''ve potential for something great, if only you get some of your idiocy and naivety beaten out of you. Next!" She left me on the ground, my mind barelyprehending her words as I focused on not fainting from the throbbing pains of my wounds. Blood dripped down onto the ground in front of me, and my wrists had already swelled up and had begun to turn a deep red, my body trying its hardest to heal my injuries naturally. Pained gasps escaped my lips as I sat up, looking over to where Lady Fenryas was slowly approaching Anput, who had shifted her metal rod into a standard de. Blinking the tears out of my eyes, I eventually managed to heal my broken bones and get myself back into a functional state as I stumbled over towards the side, clearing out the training grounds to give Anput and Jahi some room to spar. The rest of the Knights were slowly stirring, their own wounds causing the training grounds to be filled with groans and sharp inhales of breath as they all stumbled towards one another, checking on theirrades. Nirinia copsed beside me, wincing as she held her ribs, while the Marquess came over a few momentster, her head held in her hands as she stumbled through the training grounds. Everyone was injured, but each of us looked towards Lady Fenryas as we watched the ongoing spar. Chapter 443 442: By One Anput PoV My blood boiled as I watched Lady Fenryas m her palm into Kat''s nose, sending the Dogkin stumbling back as blood oozed from her broken nose, before Kat managed to put up ast ditch effort to attack the Demon Wolf. When she pped Kat''s arms away, I flinched at the sound of Kat''s wrists getting damaged slightly, before my eyes widened as Lady Fenryas did it again, worsening the damage done to Kat''s wrist before she grabbed her by the head. She spoke to Kat about her performance, but I couldn''t hear it from where I was, nor would I have been able to hear it over the sound of my heart drumming inside my chest. I was angry at the treatment given, even if I knew full well that that was the type of training we were to begin undertaking from this point out. This woman wouldn''t care about whether or not we could take the abuse she was dishing out; if we broke, that just meant we were weak and unfit to train under her. I know that, but it still didn''t ease the pain and anger I felt when I saw just how she hurt my mate; Canine Beastkin were territorial and possessive by nature, and seeing what was mine being damaged made me growl. When she finished up with Kat, the Demon Wolf turned towards me and began making her way over, her strides confident and measured as she grinned at me, her silver eye gleaming with thinly veiled amusement. The rod in my hand had already shifted into a double edged sword - the weapon I was mostfortable with - as I strode out to meet her, making her grin widen. Without any words we began our spar, my body shooting forwards as I closed the gap between us. The sword shed down towards her shoulder before flicking back towards her throat as she twisted to avoid it, making her nod in approval as she narrowly dodged the thrust as well. Gleaming silver arcs appeared around the woman''s body, and she used small movements to evade each and every single one, before she nodded again as I shifted the sword into a spear, creating distance as her arms began to tense up, like she was preparing tounch her own attacks. With distance between us now, I thrust the spear towards her as swiftly as I could, utilizing the reach to maintain this status quo as I peppered the air around her with metal, my arms moving quickly. I focused my eyes on her body, not her eyes as I observed the ways her chiseled muscles contracted and bulged, gauging her movements through those - though, I did asionally check her single silver eye, since that could give away more information to use. When she prepared to lunge forwards to grab the shaft of the spear, I yanked it back and changed the weapon in my hands once more, creating a long, thin katana that was as light as a feather. nting my feet, I took a deep breath beforeunching myself forwards once more, cutting through the air with the honed edge of this curved de. Lady Fenryas danced around each and every blow, her feet never remaining on the ground for longer than a moment as she evaded everything I sent her way. Our dancested for a long time, as I ran through my repertoire of weaponry to try and surprise her. War scythes sliced through the air and tried to cut into her limbs, only for her to twist her arms and legs out of the way. Rapiers were batted aside as I thrust the light weapons towards her torso. ymores forced her to dodgepletely as she rolled and jumped away, each blow leaving deep gouges in the sand beneath us. Kamas and sickles were only used once since she managed tond a solid palm on my shoulder when I got too close, brushing the skin and almost dislocating my arm with the force - I managed to barely twist away from it in time, leaving me with both my arms intact for the remainder of the spar. I could barely sense the Knights that crowded around us, watching our spar with interest as I managed to remain standing - despite the gap between the two of us being so apparent with how she handled my attacks. Like Kat, I knew that this was her test for me, the woman finding out just what I had for her to work with before she ended it all in one single blow, and that made everything tense. Knowing that the person standing opposite you in a fight was just toying with you was mentally straining, as you never knew when the predator you faced would lunge forwards and im its pray. Everything this woman does inbat has reason - every small movement, every decision, they all hold meaning, and it was up to me to figure out anything from her actions. To learn what I could through this spar of ours. It alles to an end, however, and Lady Fenryas ducked beneath the swing of a club and tackled me to the ground, pinning me under her as she smacked the rod away from me, disarming me. "Very good weapon skills, pup. You started with emotions clouding your judgement, weakening your initial barrage of attacks, but you reined yourself in quickly enough. The use of magic was admirable; constantly shifting styles is no easy feat, young one. If honed further, few would be able to stand against you with ease. You didn''t crack under the pressure, but instead remained focused on the fight itself, not the mind games that were in y. All in all... not too bad, pup." She grinned down at me, and she tapped my cheek as she added "Honestly, if I was your age I''d be doing everything in my power to tie you down to my bed. You''d make a perfect partner for me, but... oh well. You have some sharp fangs for a whelp. Let''s see if they chip or not." Getting off of me, she helped me to my feet before pushing me towards Kat, who was sitting besides Nirinia and the Marquess. One of the other Knights tossed me the rod, and I nodded to them before plopping down besides her and resting my head on her shoulder. I was... exhausted. The mana usage for that trick of mine was draining, since I needed to keep the rod - it''s base form - shifted constantly using my mana, which was a constant drip feed from my Core to the rod. Add on the fight itself and the mental exhaustion from having to focus so hard to not get overwhelmed, and well... Yeah, I was tired. So, I leaned on my mate''s shoulder and weed the tart scent that was soforting as everyone watched as Jahi stepped forwards, preparing to face off against Lady Fenryas. Chapter 444 443: Scion Of Asmodia Jahi PoV My lips were pursed as I observed the fight between Anput and Lady Fenryas, making note of how the Demon Wolf reacted to each of Anput''s attacks as she allowed herself to act as a sentient training dummy for my Jackalkin wife, honing her skills slowly but surely. Of course, I was still slightly annoyed at how she had treated Kat in the previous match, but after seeing the Dogkin sitting off to the side and nursing her wounds besides Nirinia and Mom, I calmed myself down. Obviously Lady Fenryas wouldn''t significantly and permanently harm Kat - that would be causing issues against the Asmodia''s for no apparent reason. But still, seeing her harm my love like that angered me, even if I could understand why she acted as she did. I drummed my fingers on the t of the great sword I was wielding, the de resting idly against my arm as I watched the end of Anput''s fight keenly, preparing and collecting myself mentally for my own fight toe. From what I had seen, the woman was testing us one something she made note of moments after the spar began; Kat was tested on her will and general skill, and Anput was tested on her skill with her armaments, both of which gave Lady Fenryas something to work with on the two of them. That meant that I should be able to figure out the thing she believes I need to work on the most quickly as well, which should help expedite my desire to grow stronger. When Anput was tackled to the ground, I sighed as I hefted the de and took in the sight of the ck skinned Demon Wolf sitting atop the Jackalkin, saying a few words to her before getting up. She even helped Anput up as well before turning towards me with a grin, her silver eye alight with battle lust and joy. "Well well well~! Yet another scion of the Asmodia House seeks me out for training! Another name to add to my list of blue skinned Demon brats desiring strength! You will be the fifth brat I''ve moulded into something better, something worthy of the name you bear. Tell me, will you continue the legacy that your forebears have set?" Stepping out to meet her, I allowed the great sword to hang loosely in my hands as I stared back at her, thinking for a moment before replying "No. I n on furthering it. Taking the Asmodia name and returning it to the same weight it bore with the first Asmodia. Perhaps even further than that." The Knights around us grinned - Mom included - as Lady Fenryas let out a sharp peal ofughter. "Oh really~! The first ever Asmodia... that''s a name few remember, but those of us who do know, know full well the weight it holds. Lofty ambitions and a voracious appetite for your future, young one. Now, let us see if you''ve the right to even dream of such a future! Come!" Without another word I lifted the great sword and rushed forwards, opting for a swift start that forwent raw power. It was an opener to test the waters, and Lady Fenryas ducked beneath the cleave of myrge de before jumping back to avoid the rapid follow up swing. Drawing the sword back, I instantly stabbed it towards her side and watched her reactions, searching her body for clues as I transitioned from a stab to another sh a momentter. There should certainly be some form of an opening... perhaps a cue she gives to a certain attack..? She smirked at me as I bashed at her chest with the t of the de, before leading with my elbow as I pushed her back when she raised her fist. Two swift, shallow shes with the tip of the sword cut into the air that she had previously upied, before I twisted my sword to block a well ced kick. The blow pushed me back a few steps as Lady Fenryas said "Well, that''s a good enough grasp on your offensive skills... now onto defensive. Prepare yourself now~! Just ask your deal old Mom how hard I can hit!" Her grin split her face as she flickered forwards, her speed far faster than Anput''s as her fist shot towards my face. With her so close, I needed to dodge instead of block, so I tilted my head to the side and narrowly avoided her strike before stepping away, my de once more pushing against her as I created some space to prepare for an onught. Smirking at me, she began to prowl around the training grounds slowly, making me narrow my eyes as I searched her for clues. Testing my patience, or perhaps seeing how I react to sudden shifts in the style ofbat? Should I pursue or wait? As I continued to observe my opponent, I made the decision as I stepped forwards, opting for the middle ground. I could bait while still remaining in a defensive stance by feinting an attack on her, giving me something to work with going forwards. Her smirk widened as I stepped forwards, and I hefted my de slightly as I aimed it at her throat, beginning to thrust it forwards. Seeing that, she blitzed forwards to try and slip under my guard, only for her fist to m into the t of my de once more. I felt the de buckle slightly beneath her blow, but I didn''t focus on it too hard as I jabbed the hilt forwards, trying to smack her in the face with the metal rod. Lady Fenryas leaned back and avoided the blow, before her leg swept out and collided with my knee, forcing me down onto the ground. Raising her fist up once more, she punched down towards my face in retaliation, and I once more blocked it with my de, which buckled again. I could see the metal bending and warping back towards me, an imprint of her fist slowly forming. My knee was damaged - either cracked or broken - but the pain didn''t stop me from trying to stand, to remove myself from this disadvantageous position. Before I could though, her foot mmed back down into that same knee and kept me down, all while her fists rained down on my sword and slowly destroyed it. I grunted as I tried tounch a counterattack of some kind, wanting to use the sword as a way to switch into an attack, but Lady Fenryas shattered that hope alongside my weapon, her smirk annoyinglyrge. Before I could do anything else, I was sent flying back as she punched me in the cheek, pain erupting alongside the side of my head as I tumbled over the ground. "Not too shabby, scion. There''s something to work with there, something good. A gem waiting to be polished and cut into perfection. I''m impressed. You may just live up to your bold words after all! Good job Chordeva! Your daughter isn''t a waste! And that Light Magic too... oh, she might just be something special... I look forwards to these uing weeks..." --- Side note, I feel like - once again lol - that I named the Asmodia founder a long time ago but I forgot and certainly have no idea where I did it, so... retcon time I guess lol~! If ites up again - or I make it more of a plot point, I''ll take note of her name (unless someone remembers) --- Chapter 445 444: Training In Earnest Kat PoV Anput helped me to my feet as Jahi finished up her own spar, the Jackalkin and I walking over towards the sprawled out Demoness with a bruised knee and cheek. The skin was turning a deep purple already, so I knelt beside her and rested my hands atop her body, letting my Water Mana flow through me into her. Keeping the healing magics soothing was easy enough, and she breathed out a sigh of relief as the pain was washed away, alongside with the decrease in her mobility. The other Knights all strode forwards as well when they saw Lady Fenryas take a deep breath, her eyes resting on Jahi for a moment before looking out towards the rest of those gathered, her silver eye narrowed. "Some of you are in dire need of some training. Others have barely managed to scrape by. Just a few of you showed some improvements. That is to say... all of you have been cking, and all of you will be here from two hours before sunrise to two hours after sundown. Any timeter and you give me 15 minutes for every minutete. Am I understood?" All the Knights shouted out their understanding, which made the Demon Wolf grin before she barked "Alright! Chordeva, Belian, Grendel, Vivian and Xietian! Divide the rest of the Knights amongst yourselves and begin spars! Renda! Take the Squires and tutor them! One at a time, all at once, I don''t care, just spar!" The Knights she named all stood up and saluted before moving off into different directions, their peers following behind them. "Now, as for you three, let''s see some more of your fundamentals, hmm? To start..." Lifting up the remnants of Jahi''s weapon, Lady Fenryas mended the de using her magic before handing it to her, saying "The two pups against you, brat. I want to see how you deal with those of the same level as yourself." Folding her arms, she stepped back and leaned against her scythe, watching as Jahi stood up and hefted her de, ncing at Anput and I. My mate grinned at me as she morphed her rod into a short spear, her intention obvious. Nodding at her, I unsheathed my daggers once more before staring at Jahi, waiting for the signal. When she lowered herself into a stance, the Demoness waited for us to begin the match, her eyes narrowed as she prepared herself. With a deep breath, Iunched myself forwards and crashed my daggers down into her great sword, surprising her with my frontal assault. Before she could react, Anput rushed in behind me and arced her spear around my body, stabbing towards Jahi''s abdomen. The Demoness was caught off guard by the sudden onught, barely managing to twist her body out of the way before pushing me back, using her superior strength to create distance. She blocked a second thrust from Anput before dashing forwards, her de cleaving down towards the Jackalkin''s head. As it was about to connect, Anput rolled away and Jahi was sent off bnce as I kicked her in the side, opening her guard up for a followup sh with my two daggers. I left behind two small gashes in her side as she tried to twist away once more, but it was barely enough to lessen the damage I dealt. With some damage on the Demoness, I leapt back and avoided the retaliation blow she sent my way as Anput moved forwards to attack as well, keeping the pressure up on Jahi. Her spear nged against the Demoness'' de harmlessly a few times as she tried to sneak past her guard. During that, I slipped behind the Demoness and rushed forwards, my daggers raised as I tried to plunge them towards her shoulders. Jahi growled as she pushed Anput back and stepped into the free space, avoiding my attack and shing her de back towards me. Rolling under it, I was about to lunge back at her when Anputnded a solid blow on Jahi''s ribs, smacking her with the haft of her spear before shifting it into a rapier, a storm of silver thrusts shrouding the Demoness. Anput stood just to the side of me, blocking my route to Jahi''s chest, so I took a breather beforeunching myself back into the fray. We lost ourselves to the spar, Jahi evenly matched with us as she began to fight with more and more finesse and power, relying on her defensive capabilities to score hits via ripostes and blocks. I don''t know for how long we sparred, but it eventually came to an end when I overextended on a single thrust, giving Jahi an opening to smack my ribs with the t of her de and knock me down, leaving just her and Anput. While Anput certainly tried to put up a fight against the Demoness, her ability to shift styles didn''t matter when Jahi could block most of her attacks with ease, all while dodging the others. Anput went down to a well ced punch to the cheek, dropping to the ground before freezing as Jahi leveled her de to her throat, ending the spar. We were all dripping with sweat, and a few of the resting Knights nodded in appreciation of our spar before focusing on their peers once again. Lady Fenryas chuckled as she approached us, nodding as she said "Not too bad. You each have some damn good endurance - sure thates in handy at night - and your basic techniques are polished. Could always be better, but for a first time disy... not too bad, whelps. Now, let me observe your skills once more." What followed was hours worth of sparring and physical exercise as the Demon Wolf got us all into a rhythm, demanding we push our bodies to the absolute limits on this first day. By the time we finished, everyone besides Lady Fenryas were panting and covered in sweat, each of us exhausted from the sheer amount of work she put us through every single second we were here. No breaks longer than a minute or two, and certainly no more breaks than one an hour... By the time the sun had set, we were still inside the training grounds for another hour and a half when Lady Fenryas decided to be merciful, calling the first session short on ount of us needing to settle in to the Pce. That, and Lady D''Arcon showed up as well, giving us all some healing as she cast an AoE healing spell and relieving us of our aches and pains. Though, of course, Lady Fenryas didn''t truly want that, but the Light Magician / Priestess just gave her a look, which made her roll her eye. "Fine, fine! Whatever... Even though the pain should teach them something..!" Letting out a huff, she approached the white d woman before smirking, licking her lips as she fondled the woman''s rear, her silver eye shining with a lecherous light as she towered over the holy woman. "You and I are going to have some fun tonight, Arc... I''ve been rather... stimted, so you wouldn''t mind relieving me, would you? Just like we used to?" Her red veins pulsed quicker as she stared down at Lady D''Arcon, who shivered. Before she could reply though, the Empress opened the gate leading into the training grounds and sighed, staring at her ck skinned lover as she said "Fen, what did I say about harassing Arc? Did I not make myself clearst time?" Lady Fenryas'' grin widened, and her eye sparkled with mischievousness as she only took more liberties with Lady D''Arcon''s body. "Mm~? No, no I don''t think you did? I seem to recall being given permission to do as a I pleased though..." Sighing again, the Empress just reached forwards and took ahold of Lady Fenryas'' arm, as well as Lady D''Arcon''s as she said "Then I shall remind you. Everyone, you are dismissed." The Marquess chuckled as the two women were pulled away by the Empress, most of the Knights grinning at one another as they took note of how easily Lady Fenryas'' got pulled away, her bushy tail wagging slightly. "Well, you heard her! Let''s go get something to eat and get some rest! Two hours before dawn we meet back here! Go!" Anput, Jahi and I all exchanged tired looks before dragging our feet towards the door, joining the rest of the Knights in a slow march to the kitchen to get something to fuel our bodies before getting some much needed rest. Some rest that I needed the System to wake me from so that we would make it on time - because I certainly wouldn''t be able to wake up in time on my own... Chapter 446 445: A Different Type Of Training Leone PoV While Anput, Kat, and Jahi were all following behind the Marquess to go and submit themselves to the torture that Aunt Fenryas calls training, I took a deep breath as I looked around our temporary abode and began to unpack our things, deciding to do this for them before I would go out and begin my own training. I was under no time constraints, unlike them, as my own training would require a clear, rested mind to obtain the best results. In other words, my time would be spent in short bursts of hyper productive research or practice before taking a break by going over some smaller, more fundamental things, whereas they could constantly be pushed to train and hone their bodies. I didn''t envy them whatsoever though. My mind was still filled with the scene of Aunt Fenryas training the Knights of Cinder and how brutal and hellish it looked to my younger self; blood flowed freely as the men and women were wounded by real weapons, their pained groans and cries of pain giving me nightmares. Nightmares that my Aunt tried to assuage by telling me that they needed to feel that in order to grow stronger, before making me watch the next portion, which was even bloodier... Needless to say, Aunt Fen got scolded hard by everyone for that, and I ended up sleeping in Mother''s bed for weeks on end as I dreamt of blood and screams. I chuckled softly as I folded thest pair of pants and ced them into the dresser, thinking of how my younger self would feel about the fact that I now readily - and greedily - drank the blood of two - sometimes three - women. Probably not that good, but I certainly felt good... I wonder if Kat would let me take a few sips tonight..? Or would she be too tired from her training? Letting out a low sigh, I stretched out my muscles before putting away the bags and packs we had, stuffing them into the closet before moving out into the Pce, walking the familiar halls. I was curious about what Aunt Theresa would teach me, and if Aunt Igna and Mother would be there as well - perhaps even Aunt Yusa? Maybe Mom as well? Though, Aunt Theresa and Mom would be busy for a little while with the samples Miss Kolia and I brought back, so perhaps it would just be Mother and I for a bit? Aunt Igna might have some insight as well considering her own age, while Aunt Yusa was more likely to be spending time catching up with her daughters. Shrugging, I made my way towards the Sanctum and unsealed the door, entering the ce I had grown up in. Mom was standing beside the tree growing in the center, caressing Aunt Theresa''s cheek as she rested on the roots of the tree. They both looked towards me and smiled, and Aunt Theresa gestured towards Mother''s room as she said "Sorry, Leone dear, but your Mom and I won''t be avable just yet. Perhaps another hour or two? Until then, do learn some more from Lorelei, alright? She is the only one capable of tutoring you on your Vampiric Blood." I nodded and turned towards Mother''s room, allowing them to return to their conversation as I knocked on her door. "Come in." Pushing the door open, I revealed the miniatureboratory that was Mother''s room and entered, seeing the pale skinned, gray haired woman that I took after dripping a few drops of her blood into a vial. "Leone? Take a seat over there, I''ll be with you in a moment... I was wondering if my blood might perhaps be a catalyst for a potion I was theorizing... we shall see shortly." Her red eyes never left the vials and alchemy set she had atop her many tables, while books littered the small table beside her, each page covered in tiny runes that wereprised of many, many theorems - some of her own creation. I did as she asked, sitting on the stool near her bed - which was barely made and stacked with books and journals - and watching as she continued with her experiment. Whilst I waited, I allowed my mana to circte through my body in set patterns, gathering it up and cleansing it of any impurities before returning it to my Core, doing some small training on my own. I made sure to keep the mana securely inside my body, preventing any leaks so that she wouldn''t be distracted. It took her around five minutes to finish, and she finished with a sigh as she ced a vial of dull red liquid into her stand, next to another dozen vials filled with simrly colored liquids. "Yet another failure... Damnit, what is it..? A break sounds good, actually. Come, Leone. Let''s practice your shifting into your True Vampire form now instead. I need to clear my head." Taking a step away from her tables, she cleared arger spot on her bed and pat the space beside her, before draping her arm over my shoulder as I sat beside her. "Now, like we did before in my courtyard, before you went rushing off without a word..." I rolled my eyes at that, which made her shake my shoulders slightly as we shared a small smile. "You were left with context clues to utilize, Mother! You knew where I would be going!" "Oh pish tosh! You still left without a word youngdy! Hmph! Now switch over!" When she finished speaking she shifted instantly into her True Vampire form, her skin shimmering with a dark red sheen while her hair became streaked with red and silver. Her fangs were more pronounced, her eyes were nearly solid red, and her nails lengthened into sharp talons, though she retracted them when they finished growing. Mother''s aura sharpened as she sat beside me, and I smiled wryly as I clearly felt the power ripping beneath her skin, her mana incredibly potent and oozing barely restrained strength. This was the beginning of Mother''s power - she could further her strength by using so many different enchantments and spells to boost herself that it was insane. That was the thing she was offering me - each of those enchantments and spells were unique to Vampires or to Blood Magic users, so I just needed to get a better grasp on my racial traits to get my own boost. The start of that was being able to enter this form at will, like she did. Currently though... Well, even as I closed my eyes and concentrated, I needed nearly a minute or two to enter it... Chapter 447 446: Research By the time that I had entered my True Vampire form, I was blushing slightly with shame as I nced towards Mother, who was staring intently at me. "Mm... Perhaps it''s the blood from your Mom that''s dredging down the shifting time? Even a rather inept Vampire shifts in around a minute t, but you were over... Though, it certainly feels farrger of a boost than that of a normal True Vampire form." She reached over and stroked the two small crimson horns that sprouted from my brow, before her eyes narrowed as she flipped over my cor, staring at the skin hidden by my dress. I frowned as she looked like she was about to try and rip my dress off my body, before she lifted my arm and stared intently at the outstretched limb, her fingers trailing over my skin. "Leone, could I... taste a drop of blood? This is curious..." My frown deepened at that, but I nodded anyways since I was sure this would lead somewhere - to have some meaning behind it that I wasn''t seeing just yet. Her nail lengthened into a talon, and she pricked my wrist before guiding the small bead of crimson liquid onto her tongue, using her Blood Magic to instantly seal the tiny wound. She pursed her lips as she tapped her finger against my wrist, saying "Peculiar. Obviously, your blood should have faint traces of both my own taste and your Mom''s taste, since you are our daughter, but there''s something far too simr between you and your Mom. It''s... the heat. Like a spicy curry, how it burns your tongue? You share that with her, just on a smaller scale. It''s not the taste that''s the same, but the very blood itself... Hmm..." "Would it be something rted to whatever race she is? How that could be affecting the Vampiric heritage on a vastly different scalepared to other races?" "Most likely yes, but it''s odd. For instance, there was a Catkin and a Vampire that run a teashop down in the city. From an old, yet weak n. Their daughter takes entirely after her Mother, the Vampire - that''s how our blood works; it overpowers the other races and allows only Vampire''s to be born inside us. The child still retains some traits from their other parent of a different race, and that usually shows inside their blood, right? That girl had a more... feral taste. Untamed, unruly, however you want to describe it, she had a far different taste, and it affected her Vampiric Abilities quite a bit. She had a small - minuscule even - amount of talent in Shadow Magic, which helps make her harder to detect with sight or sound. So maybe, since your Mom is of... some race known only to her, that it is something that could overpower even a Vampire''s blood? Or at least force such aplicated merging..." She turned and opened a nk notebook, using her nail to guide her mana onto the page and write down her thoughts. As for me, I looked inwards, towards my Core, and observed it, looking for any changes that might have urred to it. Not finding any, I began a swift analysis of the rest of my body, but found little more than the normal changes of a Vampire - streamlined veins,pacted muscle, potent mana... Though... "Perhaps her blood is what is enhancing the Fire Magic I have? You were both Fire Mages, but she... well, Mom is Mom. So perhaps her race has a disposition to Fire Mana, which would improve the mana inside me even more? I mean, I do have an above average sized Core, better control, and the mana itself is extremely potentpared to most other wielders of Fire Magic." Mother stopped writing as she nced at me, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly as she nodded, adding "We knew as much already for your normal state, but are you saying it might be for both? Where a normal Vampire slowly shifts their attunement for whatever legacy magics their n inherited - Blood and Moon for us - your magic remains rtively the same? You just... add on those inherited magics? That... yes, I suppose that would exin a bit..." "Or perhaps it''s tempering or mixing with those magics? I haven''t really delved into them yet, so I couldn''t be certain, but..." "Oh... Oh, yeah... That might be it? Maybe even giving your already mana sensitive body a further boost in a direction normal Vampires don''t have? Which would exin the differing times; so many changes happening would certainly need to take some time. After all, everything has cons." We both nodded, before she stood up and tossed her notebook back onto the bed, beckoning for me to follow. "Come. Let''s go to my courtyard once more. I want to see the difference in your base spells and spells inside your True Vampire form. That might give us some clues to what is changing? Besides, we would need the space anyways. I also want to see the fundamentals of your Fire Magic, alongside your moreplicated spellwork." Mother led me outside, and we continued our conversation as we walked, giving the others brief nods as we exited the Sanctum. We discussed theory and traded spections on my True Vampire form - which I had exited when we stepped outside the Sanctum - and came up with some ideas for what it might give me. Returning to her private courtyard, we moved around some things before she gestured towards one of the many boulders filling her space, saying "Simple fire bullet, once in your normal form, once in your True Vampire form. A quick way to test the potency of your mana. There''s also a smaller boulder that you should be able to lift now, and I want to time a sprint as well. Just some basic tests, but useful." I nodded, curious to figure out the rough increase of my different form, so I started to do as she asked. Starting with the bullet spell, I pointed my finger at the boulder and shot off a small bolt of me, which cracked against the boulders surface and scorched it. A few thin cracks webbed out from the impact point, and Mother nodded before gesturing to the smaller boulder. Squatting, I wrapped my arms around it before lifting it up, the heavy weight forcing me to put it back down momentster - we had no exact weight for it, but still, big rock = heavy, especially for someone who trained their mind, not their body... Which led into the sprint, going from one side of the courtyard to the other. It was a hundred feet - roughly - from the start to the finish, and I did it in around 5 seconds; Anput and Kat could probably do it in half that, maybe even less... With those basic tests out of the way, I walked back over to Mother and closed my eyes, returning to my True Vampire form to redo everything and see if we were right about some of our spections. As well as to gauge just what I gained from this form of mine. The n afterwards was to shift everything back to the more conventional training and research, to have me experiment with Blood and Moon Magic under Mother before seeing if Mom or Aunt Igna could give me insights on their ''versions'' of Fire Magic, which was different from Mother''s - albeit slightly. For now though, I stared back at the boulder and raised my hand, preparing tounch a bullet spell. Chapter 448 447: Changes A flickering wisp of condensed Fire Mana collected around my outstretched finger, emitting a sweltering heat that threatened to singe the hairs on my arm or even scorch my flesh. It was the same amount of mana as the previous spell, but the potency was so, so different. Mother stood beside me and observed the change with a nod, before turning her gaze towards the boulder that I was to hit. Using that as the signal, I shot the bullet forwards and gasped in amazement as it shrieked through the air, the mana more potent than I realized as it arced around, though it still smacked against the boulder. The bullet itself sparked and popped as it moved, until it impacted the boulder, cracking off arge chunk of the rock face and scorching the rest in a thin sheen of ck. Tongues of mespped at the boulder before flickering out, while the chunk that dropped to the ground shattered some more, leaving behind a pile of broken and chipped rock. Blinking, I looked towards Mother, who was staring at the boulder in silence with a raised brow. "Well over double, perhaps triple the potency? That''s... frightening. I have around 1.5 to 2 times the potency with my own mana, which is already considered incredible." She looked towards me and chuckled, her lips pulled into a wry smile as she added "That''s insane, Leone. Triple the potency of your Fire Magic, which could be further enhanced by your Blood and Moon Magics, as well as any enchantments that you might get. If you were to begin shifting towards using a wand or staff to focus and channel your mana, well..." I grinned widely at her, and she chuckled again as she pat my shoulder, gesturing to the smaller boulder next. "Come on, let''s keep moving. Time is of the essence after all." My joy remained as I jogged over to the boulder, swiftly wrapping my arms around it and lifting it up with ease, like it weighed merely a few pounds instead of hundreds. "That''s to be expected. After all, your muscles are flooded with more mana, and they constrict and tighten and give you better control over yourself. I imagine the sprint will be the same; done in mere moments instead of seconds." "Well let''s see then!" I quickly made my way over towards the starting line and waited for the nod from Mother before flying off the line, finishing the hundred foot dash in 2.5 seconds. My grin widened as I felt exhrated at therge boost in my power from just this form, though I could feel it slowly draining my Core of mana as it circted everything through my body. The muscles and flesh that was now enhanced gluttonously devoured mana at a swift rate, and any additional spell usage would further drain me of mana. Beckoning me over to the entrance of herpound, she led me inside and out of the sun, the both of us sighing in relief as we were free from the scorching rays of the ball of mes above us. It was an unconscious reaction from us both, as we were used to the cool embrace of the shade instead of the heat of the sun, but we were both slightly ustomed to that insufferable thing... Anyways, entering another of Mother''sboratories, she sat me down and handed me a tome, saying "We''ll use this time to look over your ability with Blood and Moon Magic further, so that I can get a n in ce on how to best tutor you going forwards regarding that. After all, your Core is draining at a considerable rate right now, and while mana potions are a thing, artificial restoration of all your mana too many times can do damage to your Core, so rest is still arge part of your recovery. That time can be spent studying, alright?" As I opened the tome I nodded, half listening to her words as I noticed that the runes and Ritual Circles inscribed on the books pages were entirely dedicated to Moon Magic, the runes that formted the ''element'' itself and some of the moremon, low requirement spells upying the first few pages. Illusory spells, cold spells, imbuing spells... This was more of a loose magic in terms of structuring, as instead of the various runicbinations that shaped our magics today, you only needed to cast the ''elemental'' rune of this new magic to start, before pushing out your mana and shaping it with your will instead. So, I raised my hand and gently expelled some mana from my pointer finger as I traced out the shape of the Moon Magic rune - an upturned crescent moon, unsurprisingly enough - and allowed some more of my mana to spill out as I began to attempt to cast spells. However, as I tried to cast a simple illusion - to form a Ritual Circle in my hand of the Water Element - the white crescent moon shattered in front of my hand, making me blink a few times. Retracing it out, I tried again only for it to shatter again, turning my grin into a frown. Mother just smirked at me from the side, before she opened up a book of her own and began to flip through the pages, saying "Enjoy~! If you want me to give you clues, I cou-" "No! I''ll get it myself!" Where was the fun in someone telling you the answer? So, even though I was annoyed that this magic refused to allow me to use it right off the bat, I looked down at the tome before trying again. I observed the mana inside myself, observed it when it moved out into the open, took the time to mentally review everything... I tried many things, but nothing I did allowed the magic to be cast. ring down at the tome, I began to decipher as much of the notes as I could before trying once more, opting for the brute force method to begin with. Chapter 449 448: Control Watching as the pale white rune shattered once more, I let out a frustrated growl before uncorking a mana potion, taking a few sips so that I could return to my training. I had gotten further this time than I had ever before, but it was so very frustrating to see that pale rune refuse to bend to my will. So what was I doing wrong..? My eyes returned to the small notebook that Mother had given me, and I scoured the first few pages once more, trying to find out what I was missing with this new form of magic. The shift from a structured, logical sequence of runes shaping magic to one that held no defining structure besides your will was one that I found difficult to transition to. I relished in understanding just what I was going to do, formting it, and watching as it did what I wanted it to do,pletely guaranteed because I knew it would do that. That was what structured runic sequences provided. This new version of magic relied entirely on your will, and while it would seem like the perfect fit for me, there was this small part of it that was entirely subject to unconscious whims and shifts that couldn''t be ounted for. That irritated me, but I was more than willing to deal with that since these two types of magics offered more benefits than downsides. Sighing, I tapped my fingers against the various notes inside the book before raising my hand once more, closing my eyes and concentrating on the flow of the mana. Perhaps, unlike the vtility of Fire, Moon Magic likely needed an unprecedented amount of steadiness; after all, I would imagine that in order to create illusions, the mana would need to be insanely stable in order to maintain the illusions. So I took a deep breath and allowed a small amount of mana to ooze from my finger, wrapping it in my will and ordering it to remain stable. When I felt the runeplete itself, I began to move onto the next part of the spell - visualizing the illusion I wanted and shaping it with my mana. More and more mana trickled out of my finger and into the room, and I took another deep breath as I felt my ability to control the mana begin to waver as more and more of it demanded attention. Gritting my teeth, I shaped out a simple rose, my mind recalling the vivid red velvety petals and beautiful shape of one of the most popr flowers. After a few moments, and after sensing that something was shaped, I opened my eyes and sighed in relief as a fist sized rose floated in front of me, its petals swaying gently like there was a soft breeze filling the room. Reaching forwards, I hesitantly touched the small flower and chuckled wryly as my fingers poked through it, brushing against air. "So? Figure it out?" Hearing the sound of a book closing beside me, I nced over my shoulder and nodded, replying "It needs a lot of control and attention - currently, anyways. I needed to maintain a tight grip on the mana in order to do... well, anything with it." Mother just grinned at me, adding "Oh, it gets much~ worse after this. Moon Magic is unreasonably hard to master, and it''s lower - and even middle - levels of magic are simply not worth the effort put into them. However, I saw my Father do things I never would have thought possible with Moon Magic. A pity you can''t meet him." I frowned at that, and she just gave me a half smile as she said "Your grandparents are... well, your Grandfather is dead, and your Grandmother is missing - likely dead as well. Your Grandfather saved quite a few of the smaller Vampire ns from hunters and the like before he was captured and executed, whilst your Grandmother went on a bit of a killing spree before escaping into the Labyrinthian, which just left me with a few of my rtives - Aunts, Uncles, Cousins - to grow up and do what I could." Looking away, she sighed before getting up and taking the notebook from my hands, smirking at me as she said "Luckily for you, I took the time necessary to get a rather good grasp on Moon Magic, and I can tell you that, despite being an incredibly hard branch of magic to master, it is very worth the time and effort put into it. Though, I''ve more of a liking to the multitude of uses Blood Magic has for us Vampires..." Tossing the book back onto her pile, Mother beckoned for me to move towards her, showing me her own spell as I stood off to her side. "This is something that you could eventually do..." The same crescent moon appeared on her palm, before I had to blink as a momentary sh of light filled the room. When I opened my eyes again, the room... was gone. ¡¤?¦Èm In its ce was a never ending field of red roses, the setting sun illuminating the field and bathing it in a bearable warmth. The scent of flowers filled my nostrils, and I could feel the breeze against my skin as we stood there, Mother smiling softly as she gestured towards this new world. "This is the power of Moon Magic. Illusions so strong that you could fool your enemy. With a little preparation, this is the end result. If they are of really strong will, it is easy to break free, but otherwise..." Snapping her fingers, Mother grinned at me before fading away, her whisper filling the air as she said "This is what they could experience. Find your way out, my daughter." With her departure, the sun began to rise, and I wrinkled my nose in confusion as a metallic scent reced the floral. Looking down, I frowned as I noticed that the roses were dripping with blood, sttering the grass in crimson. "Intriguing. So... how to get out? I''m still in the same room, so nothing in that regard - moving would be ill advised. This is a trick of the mind as well, so perhaps..?" Closing my eyes, I exhaled before pulsing my mana inside my Core, sending a burst of it towards my head and inducing a small ''wound'' to myself. When I opened my eyes again, I was back inside Mother''s room, the older Vampire beaming at me as she approached. "That was rather good! Many assume that there must be a physical thing sustaining the illusion, or that they can somehow find the caster and force them to drop the illusion. While possible, I wouldn''t advise it; you are effectively blind, deaf, and without smell inside a good illusion. Even tasteless, if they are really good. Touch is the only thing that might be capable of guiding you out, but even then..." She tapped my arm, and I stared at her in amazement as I noticed how soft - and nearly missable - her tap was. If an illusion was upying my other senses, I wouldn''t be able to sense that whatsoever. "Well! Come, drop the form. I can tell your around half capacity, and your Mom ising over soon. Let''s focus instead on your Fire, hmm~?" Chapter 450 449: Family Training We left behind the book cluttered room and returned to the courtyard, where I saw Mom standing in the center of the gravel filled square, her blindfolded head tilted up towards the sun. Long ashen hair sparked irregrly as she stood there, while her gray robes billowed in the soothing breeze that cooled our mountaintop pce. Every time I saw her I was awestruck by the sheer regal aura that shrouded her every action, while the power that radiated beneath her muscr frame seemed to ebb and flow randomly, sometimes making her seem like amon person, and other times disying the strength that made her the Empress. My Mom, the Empress. Sensing us, she turned her gaze from the sun and smiled softly, her serene expression as soothing as ever. "Lei, Leone. What have you tried so far?" That deep,manding voice that was oddly gentle brought a smile to my lips, while Mother rested her hand on my shoulder, grinning as she replied "It would seem that your blood has far more of an impact than we had once believed, my love. Leone''s True Vampire form is entirely unique to her; if I had to guess, even her children might not retain the same level of potency that she herself has, even if they''re half Demon." I blushed at her words, while Mom just chuckled, sping her hands in front of her as she said "Such is the weight that flows through my veins. Though, I do imagine the mixture of Demon and Vampire would bring about its own plethora of boons. Imagine the mana control of a Vampire mixing with the physical prowess of a Demon..." Mother nodded, looking at me with a small smirk as she pat my back, taking amusement at the embarrassment I felt at their conversation. "Now, I am rather intrigued to see where you currently reside as a mage, my daughter. You already surpassed where Misa, Lisa, and Roman were at this age with your magic, and I am certain that you''d be as strong as Monica... though I don''t know about Dante. He''s... special." I smiled wryly at her words, well aware of the den of insane monsters that lived inside this Pce; my eldest brother, Dante, was already a few hundred years old and easily Knight rank, but he had calmed down with age. Aunt Igna used to regale me with the tales of his exploits when he was younger, trying to stir something inside of me so that I could reach even greater heights - incredibly proficient with a mace and tower shield, Dante was a bulky Dragonkin, his scales far harder than most metals I knew of, while his wings had beenden with enchantments to carry the weight of his body and armor, giving him the ability to fly like a true Dragon. He had led expedition after expedition into the Labyrinthian and most of the dungeons inside of the Empire, charting and exploring their depths and cementing himself as the number one adventurer in the Empire - he was the leader of the top ranked party,prised of five other incredibly talented warriors and mages. That was the shadow I had cast over me as a child, but considering I had only met my siblings a handful of times each, none of that really bothered me. From the little I had seen of them, I loved them each, but... I didn''t particrly feel anything else from them. Though, that might change now that Mom has called them all back. Taking my hand, Mom rubbed my palm gently as she gave me a warm smile, herrger frame towering over me, forcing her to lean down as she kissed my brow. "Come, show me what you can do. Draw out your most potent spell that you can control; I am rather curious of your prowess, my youngest daughter." Releasing me, she took a step back and stood beside Mother, who instantly clung to her side, a content smile on her face. Holding back augh, I took a deep breath and began to trace out the myriad of runes needed for one of my newer spells, one that had taken surprisingly little theory crafting to create and one that I was rather proud of. Simplicity was beautiful, and in this case... I believe I had created a work of art. It was utilizing theplexities of embedded Ritual Circles as perfectly as I could, all while each Ritual Circle was incredibly simple. The foundation of the spell was that of a me Lance, while I embedded spells for speed and impact near the ''tip'' of thence and embedded control on the ''haft''. This would allow me to effectively summon a hugence made of condensed me that could pierce most things, while the speed and power behind it made it a devastating singr target or multi target spell. Simple, yet insanely lethal. It was also the first spell of a series that I was creating, but that was still in its early stages of creation, so... Mom stepped forwards, nodding her head as she walked slowly around the courtyard, inspecting the Ritual Circle above me. "Cast it. I''m curious to see it in action." I didn''t hesitate, understanding that Mom would be able to help me get rid of it despite its power. A giant me Lance appeared above me, the condensed mes sparking and sapping the moisture from the air, radiating a scorching heat over the entire courtyard. "Rather stable, potent, quick... Controble to a high degree. Well done Leone. Really well done..." Raising her hand, Mom pointed her palm at thence before balling her fist, snuffing the mes instantly and bringing the courtyard back to normal. The mana that I expelled to cast the spell was siphoned back to me, and I blinked in surprise as Mom walked forwards, her smile still gentle. "I do mean it, Leone. That was an incredible spell. To think that you''re still so young as well... I can''t wait to see what you will be capable of in the future, daughter of mine. Now that I''ve gotten a taste of your strength, let me see your control and fundamentals. Sit, let''s go over the basics now." We all sat down inside the courtyard, and Mom began to summon up the runes for each of the basic spells, guiding me through each and showing me different uses for each, all while helping me improve my ability to quickly cast them all. Delving deep into the fundamentals with my parents at my side, we spent the day discussing theory and putting it to practice, honing my skills and exhausting my mind as we trained and trained. By the time the sun was setting, Mom decided to call it for the night, giving Mother and I a kiss before making her way towards the training grounds, to make sure Aunt Fenryas hadn''t killed all of the Knights. As for me, I needed a swift breather before I made my way to the training grounds as well, nning on helping and talking with Anput, Kat and Jahi about today''s events and the future. If they were capable of holding in depth conversation, that is. Chapter 451 450: Large Feast For Voracious Appetites Kat PoV Anput, Jahi and I followed the cluster of Knights as we made our way towards a kitchen, where we would hopefully be provided something extremely nourishing to eat before we retired for the night. To say my body ached would be an understatement. Each muscle was bathing in a sea of burningctic acid even now, and the aches and pains of the various tears lingering injuries that threatened to bruise your skin once more was hellish. Add on the fact that Lady Fenryas had done a number on everyone and left real wounds on each of us, and that despite being healed the phantom aches felt just as real... Well, we currently looked like a horde of undead traversing the halls, no one talking or making any sounds beside groans and hisses. Nursing each of our wounds, we stumbled and shuffled around, and even though I was trying to do my best to maintain a healing aura around the three of us, I could feel my concentration wavering through the pure exhaustion. We had been pushed so very far, and while this might not be the same numbingly terrible headache that you get after spending hours spellcrafting, it was unique in the fact that your mental facilities slipped away into ''Lite'' versions of themselves. I was barely able to multitask, the process of putting one foot in front of the other taking most of my capabilities, leaving little in room for me to try and heal the rest of our wounds at this moment. We felt... pathetic, honestly, and if it had been only us training with Lady Fenryas, that feeling of being subpar and useless would have been exponentially higher. However, we had the Knights to look at, and see that they had been brought down to the same level as us, that the men and women we revered as strong were just as ''weak'' as we were. It was a petty thing to think, but it certainly helped us all feel better about ourselves. When we finally managed to stumble into the kitchen we sat besides the Marquess, all of us looking down at the empty tables with horror, before a Pigkin woman opened a door and shouted "Make space! The foodsing out!" Those simple six words sent sparks of energy through each of us, and we all sat ramrod straight and created gaps between ourselves, so that the kitchen staff could beginying out the bountiful feast they had prepared. Our table consisted of the Marquess, Belian, Sker, Nirinia, and another Knight - a white furred Snow Leopardkin man with a lithe frame and a quiet nature named Dion - as well as us, and that included Leone, who slipped in a few moments after we entered. The Vampire took a nce around the hall before smiling wryly at the state of each of us, keeping quiet as she took a seat on the end, beside Anput. We all watched as the kitchen staffid out tters and trays of meats, pots of soups and stews, bowls of greens, bowls of pasta, trays of bread... Everyone stared at the awaiting food with ravenous expressions, but they held back as they waited for everything to be ced down, only to lunge forwards when the Marquess shouted "Let''s eat!" I... was amongst them as I stabbed my fork forwards for a b of grilled steak, cing it on my te before adding a heap of pasta and some sd as well - I also filled a bowl with the beef stew that was ced before us. Not even bothering to cut into the meat - like everyone else did, except for Leone - I took a giant bite out of the juicy steak and moaned, feeling like I was in heaven. Anput and Jahi were the same devouring the three steaks apiece that they had grabbed before moving onto the chicken breasts, only to begin looking at other options of food when the meats had been depleted. When I hade down off my feral desire for food - so when half my te was gone, and my lips stained with sauce - I managed to begin pacing my eating a little bit, and I instantly took note of the fact that the meal before us had a very herbal scent. In fact, the stew and soup even smelt a bit like potions, and as I looked up towards the kitchen I saw the Pigkin chef beaming as she brought out some more tters of meat, these ones encrusted in an herbal breading. The sharp tang of medicinal herbs was well hidden under the scent of the meat, and I could already feel the potions and herbs working to restore my body''s strength. It was... wonderful, so I turned back to my te and resumed eating, enjoying the thin wine sauce over the pasta before figuring out that when mixed with the steak, it tastes even better! Then I piled some oiled greens onto a slice of bread and added some other meats to it, creating a sandwich for myself that I devoured quickly. Everything was excellent, and I was inclined to say if tasted even better than my own cooking. Mainly because I knew I didn''t need to clean up after the thirty some odd Knights inside the kitchen... but also because that Pigkin knew her way around food. To say that the Knights were incapable of speech at the moment would be an understatement, as we all constantly had food in our mouths as we pointed and gestured at one another, getting what we wanted through aplex system of bartering and trading foods. A Birdkin of some kind demanded a sd bowl from the Monkeykin woman, only receiving it after she offered a quarter of her meat to the woman. On our own table, Sker used her scorpion tail to reach the b of meat sitting in front of the Marquess, who then grabbed Sker''s tail and squeezed, pointing at the b of different meat on the woman''s te. While they did that, Belian slipped his red skinned hands onto the Marquess'' te, cutting off a portion of her steak and devouring it quickly, smirking at me when he felt my gaze. Nirinia and Jahi were ring at one another as they both had forks inside the pasta bowl, the two devouring the contents as they tried to out eat the other. To say that the kitchen was chaotic would be a severe understatement, but it was a lively, hearty atmosphere that made each of us grin. After all, what was better than arge feast after a hard days work of being beaten into an inch of your life~? Chapter 452 451: End The Day Off Right* After that giant feast of ours, we all managed to roll on out of the kitchen and make our way back to the room, where we wouldy down and sleep until morning. Leone walked beside me while Anput and Jahi walked in front of us, the Vampire telling me a little about her own training, keeping everything simple as we traversed the Pce''srge. "Mother has been showing me how to wield Moon Magic recently; it seems to be a rather interesting magic meant for illusions and colder attacks, and it requires an incredible amount of control and finesse to wield! She showed me the potency of the illusions capable with it, and it was amazing! One moment we were in her room, and the next we were in an open field of aromatic roses at dusk!" I smiled at the excited Vampire, listening to her speak with as much interest as I could muster in my exhausted state; I was truly interested, as this confirmed the existence of other magics, which was something that I was enamored with, but... Right now I was too tired to be able to give Leone the attention she deserved, though she seemed to understand that as she gave me a simple outline of what happened and what she was nning on doing. When we reached our room, we all stripped off our clothes and entered the bath, soaking in the warm water for a few minutes before getting out and drying off. Despite all of us being nude in the bathroom, Jahi and Anput weren''t to aroused by Leone and I, the two women only copping a few feels before stumbling out towards bed, dropping onto the clean sheets naked and going to sleep. Leone went out and opened a book of hers, deciding to take some time to read and study before sleeping, so I took a little extra time to make sure I was entirely clean inside the bathroom, where I got surprised by a pink skinned Fiend appearing on the counter. "Katherine~! I''m hungry..!" Swinging her feet like a child, Cali pouted at me as she said "I didn''t get to eatst time! You got so~ full of Pleasure that I was never allowed to ''eat''~! So..." Cali spread her legs, enunciating her erect cock as she said "Katherine dear... I need my fill~! So either get me off once, or... walk that pretty ass of yours outside and have sex with one of those three incredible cocks." Her pink eyes shed as she stared at me, and I just sighed as I pushed myself off of the counter, taking a drink of water from the sink before exiting the bath. I could hear Cali chuckling behind me as she vanished, so I looked towards Anput, Leone and Jahi, wondering who I should choose. There was no way Anput or Jahi would deny my advances, and while I wouldn''t mind doing the moving for them, they were already fast asleep. Which left Leone, who was reading her book intently. Crawling onto her bed, I gave her a seductive smile as I whispered "Shall we Dual Cultivate tonight, Leone? Further our training and blow off some steam?" The Vampire blinked at me in surprise, likely not expecting anything sexual tonight, but her cock rose faster than her mind couldprehend what was happening. My smile widened as I reached forwards, wrapping my fingers around her shaft as I whispered again to her, the Vampire shivering with arousal. "Do you want to get straight to it, or should we enjoy ourselves a bit..?" My fingers danced along her shaft, and Leone hissed softly as she closed her book, cing it to the side as she nced at our two sleeping wives. "You need rest, Kat... are you sure?" The worry that appeared in her crimson eyes made me warm inside, and I smiled at her again as I replied "I am... I have a few reasons, but... I''m horny, Leone... I want to have sex badly, to have a cock inside me to end my day off right. So please, fuck me good and Dual Cultivate with me?"I think you should take a look at Biting into her cheek, Leone drew in a shuddering breath before nodding, whispering "We need to be quiet, alright? So...e here." She opened her legs wider, and I hastily crawled onto herp, the two of us staring into the others eyes. Her scorching heat radiating from her ''dragon'' was perfect, and I chuckled as she reached down and lifted me by my ass, guiding me onto her cock. Feeling the familiar girth of my Vampiric Royal lover, I moaned gently before entwining us further as I embraced and kissed her, enjoying her cinnamon taste. Leone dug her hands into my ass before she began our Dual Cultivation, sending me a small bundle of her mana before weing it back when I mixed it with my own. Filling my womb with her girth, Leone and I passionately made out as we Dual Cultivated, enjoying ourselves immensely to end the night. We made sure to remain as quiet as possible, so that our two other wives would be able to sleep soundly and uninterrupted throughout the night - though I imagine it wasn''t difficult to sleep with how exhausted they were. Plunging herself inside me over and over again, we both moaned softly as we embraced, before Leone erupted inside of me with a grunt, flooding my pussy with her scalding hot semen. We both took a moment to bask in the afterglow of orgasming before separating, sharing onest deep kiss before I moved over to my own bed. Sitting in silence, I closed my eyes and focused on refining the bundle of incredibly potent mana that Leone gave me. Absorbing it took little time at all, and I could notice the refinement it provided to my Ice Mana, but before I could get too in depth of observing the changes, Cali appeared behind me, caressing my shoulder. "That was excellent, my love... a good meal to whet my appetite. Beautiful mixture of heat and acidic, the pleasure between you and that Vampire. Though, I am hurt that you didn''t even consider having a taste of me..." Cali pouted, and I red at her as she poked me with her hard cock, making her chuckle as she lounged across my bed, looking around. "Fine, fine~! I''d rest if I were you. Your body is screaming for some proper rest, you know? That Demon Wolf really did a number on you..." Arching her back, Cali yawned before curling into a ball, her sensual charm still oozing even from that kind of disy. "Sleep, sleep... It''s tiring watching you work and train, you know that? Hah... good night, my sexy, buxom puppy..." Cali closed her eyes and drifted away, making me raise a brow as I stared at the curled up Arch Fiend, wondering why she was sleeping on my bed. I had to let out a sigh as I walked back to the bathroom, smiling at Leone as she joined me in cleaning up... Though, considering how the Vampire bent me over the counter and came inside me again, I would be inclined to say that she was desiring more than just to clean herself... When I was all clean and Leone warded off for tonight, I plopped onto my bed and sprawled out as well, closing my eyes and falling asleep instantly. Chapter 453 452: A New Day [Kat, wake up!] The sound of the System screaming in my mind jolted me awake, and I panted as I was wrenched from the warm, cozy,forting, wondrous, perfect confines of sleep and instead thrown into the terrible reality of being awake. I groaned as I held my head in my hands, a dull ache forming from the sudden rude awakening - an awakening that was sadly very needed. Faced with the requirement of leaving thefort of a slept in bed, I could only let out another groan as I reluctantly threw my legs out from under the covers, standing up in the dark bedchambers that we had been graciously given. I looked around and noted that everyone was still fast asleep, making me sigh as I began waking everyone up. To start, I nimbly avoided the sweeping grasp of Jahi as she tried to grab ahold of me as I shook her broad shoulders, the Demoness growling in annoyance as I shook her once more. Twin amethysts sparkled in the low light as she finally opened her eyes, the exhaustion still evident as she tried to close them once more with a soft "Five... mo..." Rolling my eyes at her antics, I reached forwards and pinched her cheek, making the Demoness hiss as she red at me, now certainly awake. I released her cheek and danced away, grinning at her as she reluctantly sat up, rubbing at her eyes as she let out a yawn. Leone was far easier to wake up, as she just sat up and stared at the bed before getting up as well, especially when I gave her a swift kiss as thanks forst night, which woke her right up~! Anput wasn''t as easy, but she too eventually sat up, roused awake by a kiss and a whisper of things we could do tonight; she was a simple woman, and her return kiss let me know that she was very much interested in mating tonight. That, and the fact that she got up and draped herself across my back as I began to walk away, burying her nose into my neck as she had me carry her to the bath, where we all were gathering. Unlikest night, this short - yet rejuvenating - rest allowed all three women to disy their desires openly, and as tempted as we all were to act on those desires, we all knew that Leone was the only one who could physically afford to act on them, but even with the time constraints she just couldn''t. It was... annoying, having such an incredible ''feast''id out before me but not being able to taste any of it, though I certainly wasn''t against the eye candy. Jahi''s rippling muscles, Anput''s lithe grace, and the elegance Leone disyed were always sights to behold, and they certainly weren''t against ogling - and groping - me, taking mild pleasures in doing whatever they pleased to my body. By the time we had managed to escape the clutches of the bath, we were all taking deep breaths as we tried to rein in our arousal, which we barely managed to do as we all returned to our beds and got dressed, eyeing one another up as we did so.I think you should take a look at As a way to get us all thinking of something besides sex, I asked "What are we meant to do for breakfast? Get it ourselves, or..?" Jahi nced towards Leone, only for the Demoness to smirk as we all heard Anput mutter "You..." as an answer to my first question. Giving my mate a dry look, she just smirked at me as she pulled me into her arms, sinking herself into my body. Chuckling, Jahi nodded as she added "I did want a taste of you... especially considering you and Leone enjoyed yourselvesst night..." The Vampire blushed at that, before coughing as she said "W-We could certainly get something quick at the kitchens... fruits and meats made to go. If they haven''t prepared a giant array of foods already in preparation for this." I pped my hands - after freeing myself from Anput - and walked towards the door, smiling back at them as I said "Well, let''s get going! We still have ten or so minutes to eat and get to the training grounds early, though we can''t be longer than thirty minutes. So let''s go!" The other three nodded as they walked behind me as we made our way towards the kitchen once more, where we found a few of the other Knights lounging around snacking on whatever the Pigkin chefid onto the tables. The Marquess, Sker, Nirinia, and Belian were all at the same table fromst night,ughing with one another as they sipped on tankards and snacked on grapes and apples. Taking our seats, we joined them as we waited, only for the kitchen staff to stream out of the kitchen with tters of meat, which we all began to chew on as we filled our bellies. Of course, I focused mainly on the breads that came out, knowing that I needed carbs and proteins in equal amounts for the workout ahead; Jahi and Anput mirrored me when I ced a chunk of fresh baked bread on their tes, the two not questioning why I was handing them bread instead of any of the bacon or ham that was present on the tters. The Marquess smirked at that, while Sker murmured "She''s like a mother isn''t she?", making the watching Knights grin. ncing at them, I rolled my eyes as Belian added "Every group needs one... Besides, she looks the part, no?" The Knights all chuckled before returning to their own meals, with Nirinia looking down at a stopwatch as she said "We have five minutes before we should leave." Everyone nodded, and we spent those five minutes devouring whatever we could before getting up and making haste for the training grounds, wanting to be there before the Demon Wolf showed up - or at least before she could berate us for beingte. Chapter 454 453: At It Again Once more, Leone split off from us after taking us towards the training grounds, the Vampire going to take her own lessons beneath her parents and Aunts. We all gave the Princess a swift kiss before entering the training grounds behind the other Knights, and I took a moment to nce up at the sky. It was still incredibly dark out, and I was swiftly entranced by the simr - and different - constetions dotting the dark violet sky scape above us. Some of the constetions were ones that I had seen when I had been taken away, and I found an odd sort offort in still seeing them here, like it validated the journey I had made on a scale farrger than what I was used to. Like the Gods and Goddesses who created this world acknowledged the distance I had traveled to get back home. As for the different constetions, I decided that I needed to take a few nights and spend some time plotting them out, so that whenever I looked up at the stars I would be able to see a deeper beauty in the sea of glittering lights far above my head. Anput brought me out of my stupor by snaking her arm around my waist, the Jackalkin doing so with such smoothness and suave that I had to wonder who exactly she was practicing with for it to be so... natural. Obviously wasn''t Jahi, so I guess Leone had taken my ''spot'' during my absence as the ''woman'' of the group. "You okay?" Her soft whisper made me smile at her, and I nodded before returning my gaze to the stars, whispering back "I was just admiring the stars is all... Some of the constetions are the same from... where I had been sent. I guess I was reminiscing a little bit, at all the beautiful swathes of nature that I had happened across." Anput nodded, her hand squeezing my waist softly, like she was reassuring me that I was truly back. My heart warmed at this small, insignificant action of hers, and I could feel tears forming, though I blinked those away rapidly. We waited in peaceful silence for the Demon Wolf to enter, gazing up at the early morning sky and enjoying the bliss of having one another back. It didn''t take long for Lady Fenryas toe prowling into the training grounds, her confident stride and arrogant, self assured aura as strong as ever, while her scythe restedzily on her broad shoulders. Anput released me as we moved to get into line, standing once more besides the Marquess as the ck skinned woman began to call out the Knights by name, getting their affirmatives. Unsurprisingly, everyone was here on time and in gear, but we could all see that a few of the Knights were still tired, their stifled yawns and unfocused gazes speaking of the exhaustion. My guess was that those few Knights were the ones who stayed up farter than they should have, not getting the proper rest like the rest of us; the boon of a Core was bountiful when it came to physical conditioning, and the energy it gave you after an hours rest was almost like two and a half to three hours, especially if you slept. Perhaps, like I had, they had spent some time with one another or with some of the Pce''s maids indulging in the pleasures of the flesh, hoping to findfort in the embrace of another instead of resting. Sadly for them, that thought waspletely wrong - unless you were a subus, and I knew for certain that there were none here; I had checked - and would only harm them more instead of benefiting them, but... They were Knights; they should know that by now. "Well, at least you''re all here on time! Guess you learned not to bete after what happened during thest group training, huh? Yes, I''m looking at you, Trinity, and you too Aethi. Alright, to start, let''s get going with the same as always. Drop!" Anput, Jahi and I nced at the Marquess, watching as therge Demoness dropped to the ground and did a nk, which we swiftly mirrored, not wanting to deal with being yelled at by the Demon Wolf prowling around. "Down!" Her barks filled the entire training ground, and all of us pressed ourselves against the ground, maintaining that position until she barked "Up!" Returning to a normal nk, I groaned inwardly as she shouted "Stand!", my mind already knowing where this was going - burpees.I think you should take a look at "Jog in ce!" Fun, advanced burpees, because why not. All three of us began to jog in ce, but I very quickly realized that these uing weeks was going to require some additional ''support'' for my chest, as my time spent running through entire countries had so easily taught me. A lesson that I stupidly forgot to follow... "Drop!" Everyone instantly dropped back to a nk, and the routine started from there, forcing us into an endless hell of dropping, push ups, nks, jumps, and jogging in ce. Well, when I say ''endless'', I mean endless in the sole way that nks are capable of extending a minute into an hour, which put us in a really shitty spot. This continued for around - ording to the system, since my entire mind was filled with curses and agony - thirty minutes straight, before the Demon Wolf formed giant sphere of rock and tossed them our way, each of the Knights catching them. "On your backs!" Oh for fucks sake. We were going to be doing the entire regimen of a strongman from back on Earth, weren''t we? No... honestly, I feel like they''d cry too at this hell that we were being sent into. And this was just the warmups; this wasn''t even the actually training yet! Resting the giant sphere of stone on my stomach, I watched the Marquess curl herself up before twisting, the rock held the same distance from her body the entire time. Taking a deep breath, I began to follow along with her pace, ignoring the barks of the Demon Wolf and instead focusing on me and the Marquess, doing as she was doing. Now, whether or not I could keep up was a different story; I knew this exercise from back home, but using a medicine ball, which usually capped at 25 pounds, while the average gym had an abundance of ones that were always around 10 to 15. Instead, I was working out with a sphere of solid rock that was probably in the hundreds, so... I was already - by far - the weakest physically in this group, so having that weakness put on disy as I copsed onto my back, my entire body drenched in sweat as I panted... well, like a dog, was not a great feeling, especially not when Lady Fenryas came over and nudged my cheek with her foot, smirking at me. "Yousted longer than I thought, pup, but still..." She scoffed before poking me again, her bare foot looking extremely bitable as she continued to nudge me, which made her smirk. "Use that fire and give me a few more, pup~! Though, I can certainly say you''ve far more weight to deal with than the others..." Her toe nudged against my breast, and she rolled her eyes as I red at her, the Demon Wolf saying "Trust me, if I was interested in breeding a bitch, I could find me one. I know you''re marked; I can smell it. I''m making the simple observation, pup. Deal with it. Now, either pick that ball back up, or..." I red at her some more before lifting the stone back up, even as my arm muscles screamed at me, while my abdominal region weeped. Taking a few deep breaths, I started the exercise anew, all while Lady Fenryas watched me, her silver eye filled with amusement as she counted out the remaining curls and twists I needed to do. Chapter 455 454: Belian Jahi PoV Lifting myself off of the sandy ground, I brushed off my clothes before wiping the sweat from my brow, beginning to feel the onset of overwork from the burning of my muscles and tightening of my limbs. I could also feel my body begging for a rest, wanting to recuperate from the tears and strains from such strenuous exercise - we had done three separate sets of exercises, consisting of around thirty minutes apiece. Burpees for thirty minutes, with the addition of jogging in ce before we dropped back to a push up, which worked a good portion of our body on its own. Next were curls and twists with a heavy stone, which I noticed were denser depending on Lady Fenryas'' perception of your strenght; Anput had a lighter stone than I did, since we both dropped them from the same distance, but mine sunk deep into the sand while hers was slightly submerged. Those exercises were great for our core muscles and arms, since we needed to keep the stone at a certain spot the entire time; a few of the Knights added in some extra difficulty by peddling in the air while twisting, deciding to squeeze more out of an already strenuous workout. Finally, Lady Fenryas created arge swathe of weighted stone bars for us to lift and swing, setting us up with a full body workout with that as we did rows, squats, and so much more... By the time that we finished, the sun was beginning to peak from beneath the horizon, bathing the sky in a beautiful swathe of orange and violet, and it was at that time that Lady D''Arcon strode in, the white robed woman ''ring'' at Lady Fenryas as the Demon Wolf grabbed her and took her lips, initiating a deep kiss. For a few moments, the entirety of the training grounds was dead silent - save for the sounds of Lady Fenryas and Lady D''Arcon sloppily kissing - as all the Knights looked away, not wanting to intrude on this moment, leaving us all feeling awkward as we tried our best to not earn either of the women''s ire. Eventually, Lady D''Arcon pushed the Demon Wolf off of herself and red at her, huffing as she stomped her foot, saying "Didn''t you learn your lessonst night?!" "Hmm~? What lesson~? I only seem to recall-" "NO! Quiet! Just... be quiet! Hmph!" We all looked back to see Lady D''Arcon blushing as she stared up at Lady Fenryas, who smirked at her. "A-Ahem... Well, I came to heal all of you, so... Come, gather round." The ''pure'' Priestess gestured for us to approach her, trying to switch her tone from an exasperated one to her normally calm, elegant tone. Of course, we all conveniently forgot her momentarypse in character, since we would rather be healed by one of the greatest healers in the Empire then by someone else... Gathering around the other Light Magic user, everyone watched as she raised her arms and began to chant quietly to herself, her pearl bracelets and silver jewelry clinging together softly as a gold light enveloped her outstretched hands. That light began to expand further outwards, bathing us all in its brilliance and washing over our bodies gently, healing and strengthening our injured muscles. As the light faded, the white robed woman took a deep breath before smiling at us all, saying "Good luck, everyone. Try your hardest, alright?" It was odd how her soft smile and gentle words made you forget the hour and a half of hell that you had just been through, each of us nodding and smiling back at her before watching as she turned and exited the training grounds, leaving us all alone once more. "Fifteen minute break, then we begin our spars!" We dispersed and returned to the spots that we had been upying moments earlier, clustering together in groups and talking quietly together. Our group consisted of Mom, Nirinia, Sker, and Belian, as well as Anput and Kat; a few of the other Knights nodded our way as we sat down, before they made their way to other groups. "So, little Jahi~! I managed to catch a little of your spar yesterday. Not too shabby~! A bit better than your Mom here during her first meeting with Lady Fenryas, that''s for sure!" The red skinned Demon grinned at me, his brown eyes warm as he lounged besides Mom, who just rolled her eyes at him. The difference between the two was... striking, really. Belian was a lithe man, likely just under seven feet tall - so shorter than Mom and I - while his wiry frame was simr to the Sultana and Anput''s with how it hid their power, whereas Mom and I showed the muscle we had built up. He had an easy going smile and a warm aura around him, but considering his choice of weaponry - a serrated de and a needle dagger - I very much doubt that he was as friendly as he made himself out to be.I think you should take a look at As if sensing that, Belian chuckled as he leaned back, his smile widening as he said "Just like your Mom too; analyzing me first before speaking. Rather predictable bunch, you Asmodia''s. How you managed to retain your position and prowess for so long baffles me." "Sheer strength. You can understand what we will do, down to the smallest detail, but what good does understanding do if I can still knock down your door and ughter you without breaking a sweat?" Mom''s tone was chilly, which made the red skinned man grin as he raised his hands, saying "Yes, yes, the big bad Marquess is strong, I know~! Believe me, Chordeva, I certainly understand. It''s just... different,pared to us Beliali''s, who trade in secrecy and plots. It''s certainly different from the Cimeriesa''s, who are rather reclusive and arcane-oriented. Your n''s simplicity is an enigma to the others, Marquess... though, it''s not much of a n anymore, is it?" The red skinned Demon was treading a fine line of respect and disrespect, his words and tone entirely neutral as he spoke. "No, it''s not. The ambitions for a n died with my father, Belian. I''ve no desire to resurrect the Asmodeucian''s like he did, nor do I care that your n and the Cimeriesa n look down on me for that same reason. The Asmodia name is more than enough for me." My interest was piqued, and Belian grinned as he looked towards me, asking "What about you, little Jahi? Have you learned of the Asmodeucian''s yet, or has Chordeva left that portion of your history out?" Mom just clicked her tongue as she nced at me, her ruby eyesplicated. "Later. We can talk of itter, if you want. Politics between Demon ns is all it is. The ''fall'' of our ancestors due to their hubris, bringing us from ''Asmodeucian''s'' to just ''Asmodia''s''." I pursed my lips at that, alternating my gaze between the grinning red skinned Demon and the blue skinned Demoness beside me, unsure of what to say. Sker and Nirinia were silent, observing the two Demons as well as me, their thoughts unknown. "It was a shame, really, that you promised yourself so rapidly to the Princess and Begum; no offense, Begum Sera. There was always the option of marrying one of the remaining Demoness'' of the Beliali''s or Cimeriesa''s ns; two from the Beliali''s, four from the Cimeriesa''s. It''s been a long time since any unions between us and the Asmodia''s happened." Shaking her head, Mom sighed as she said "Belian, the reason has always been simple; one of the things even my father agreed with. Dealing with the constant maniptions of a Beliali woman or the haughtiness of a Cimeriesa woman would drive someone insane. That''s why you married a Goatkin, wasn''t it?" The man''s smile cracked slightly, before he just had to sigh as well, scratching his cheek as he replied "Yeah... Pure women of any Demon blood tend to... inherit the worst of everything, even if that''s bnced out by an increased talent in martialbat, diplomacy and espionage, or arcane studies..." Mom nodded, adding "I wasn''t against trying to deal with either of the n''s - before Ria, of course - as a wife, but after just a few hours with each I... couldn''t stand it. Imagining a life with one of them was... not pleasant. That''s why they''re all still single, even now." "Yeah... think that was our race''s giant w? Insufferable - yet immensely talented - womenfolk? Because the futa''s and the men are... bearable." "I wouldn''t say that, you red skinned prick. I dislike your word games and half truths." "Feelings mutual, muscle head. So boring to chat with..." The two red at one another, but I could sense a deeper connection between the two, something that was certainly forged through battle and hardships. That just made me more curious about everything, but before I could ask Lady Fenryas shouted "Get off your asses! It''s been fifteen minutes! Fucking slouches..." I frowned, and Kat rolled her eyes as she showed me her stopwatch, which disyed the time - not even twelve minutes had passed by, but no one was going to argue with the Demon Wolf. We all stood up with a sigh, preparing for the training toe. --- How in depth do you want me to go with the training? I can do less chapters dealing with it and blitz through it - like a time skip - or I can go ahead and do more of this, where it''s a mixture of training and other stuff. I''m good with either, just curious what more people feel like having - either way, next ~6 chapters are this training at a minimum anyways, since I have to do Leone''s magics and the others getting stronger. --- Chapter 456 455: Drive Anput PoV After having listened to the things that Belian and the Marquess had talked about, I was curious as well about the specifics of the Demon ns, what with how interesting Jahi and her Mom were already, I couldn''t imagine entire ns of Demons... However, for the moment I needed to focus on something else; the beginning of our spars for today, which wouldst until the sun set if I had to guess - just likest night in that regard. Patting the metal rod hanging on my belt, I stood with the rest of the Knights as we looked towards Lady Fenryas, who as on the prowl once more, her ck mane and red veins giving her an eery vibe as she silently walked around, looking each of us over. "Knights, pair off for an hour warmup. Choose someone whom you haven''t faced recently; trust me, I know who you have and haven''t sparred against on these training grounds!" All the Knights nodded, moving towards one another and finding space avable on the gigantic field of sand - something that reminded me of home, honestly - while Lady Fenryas pped her hands and approached us, her scythe resting over her shoulder. "Now, you three. Really, I am only obligated to train one of you - the little blue brat - but I''ve been intrigued by each of you in some manor from yesterdays initial spars. All three of you bring something interesting forwards, so do your best to keep my interest piqued. You might hate me to my core by the time we''re done here, but I''m not standing where I am today to be loved. What you feel means fuck all to me. All I care about is seeing three unpolished gems shine more brilliantly then before they fell into my hands. Again, it''s up to you whether or not you retain my interest and receive that polishing; hell, it''s up to you to determine if you are even wanting to be polished. If you''re alright with mediocrity, with being left behind, then don''t even bother. Now, blue brat, you and I are going to start the rotation; when I''ve decided to give you a breather, the Begum can step up and have her fill, followed by the other pup." Beckoning Jahi forwards, Lady Fenryas nced at Kat and I and shoo''d us away before squaring off against the blue skinned Demoness, hefting her giant scythe. While I was immensely curious about seeing Jahi against Lady Fenryas again, I had my own spar to attend to - Kat. Unholstering the rod hanging from my waist, I shifted it into a thin sword and stared at my mate, who had already unsheathed her two daggers. "Ready, Anput?" Her expression was one of concentration and seriousness, making me smile as I nodded, giving the sword a few tweaks as I waited for her to begin. Kat had certainly improved during her time away, but... Parrying the dual thrust towards my stomach, I slipped the sword beneath her guard and pressed the edge to her throat, smirking widely at her. Kat gave me a dry look as I leaned forwards and ced a quick kiss on her nose before stepping back, resetting my posture. "Just give me a few rounds..." Her soft growl was adorable, and I smirked more as I gestured for her to begin again, giving her the first move. The twitching of her ears and tail, paired with the narrowing of those amber eyes spoke far more than any curse as she red at me, her pride and ego wounded by that simple relinquishing of priority to her. It was fun to tease her like this, and I - of course - paid for it as Kat stabbed her daggers at me from two different angles, feinting one of them and pricking my oblique, her smugness just as adorable. "Now that we''re even again..!" Whilst I decided to enjoy the opening of our spar, I got serious afterwards, wanting to actually hone myself against my mate as best I could. We separated once more, and I raised my de and darted forwards, starting with a stab towards her throat. Kat disyed her speed as she darted forwards to meet me, ducking beneath the sword and attempting to sh her daggers across my abdomen, only for the two des to cut into only air as I arched myself out of their path. Reaching forwards with my freehand, I pushed her back and went on guard, watching her movements intently before reacting to her next attack. Her speed was far greater than before, slowly reaching the same level as mine, and the power behind her attacks were enough to make me wary. The usual finesse of a fighter wasn''t present in her moves though, suggesting a greater time spent fighting mindless monsters or going for instant kill strikes, not prolonged engagements... I frowned as I watched her rush an attack towards my ribs, all while her other dagger snaked towards my throat.I think you should take a look at Parrying the strikes were easy, and I pushed her back and pressed my advantage, shing at her chest before pulling back and stabbing at her stomach. She tried to catch and redirect my de away from herself, but I pulled back from her quickly and created space, resetting everything. The Dogkin grit her teeth in frustration as I slipped away so easily, and I felt a slight pang upon seeing that, though I squashed down on it for now. Deciding to switch it up a little, I lengthened the sword in my hand and gave it a curved edge, weighing it more at the tip as I copied the scimitars favored by my people. With a two handed grip, I rushed forwards again and cleaved downwards, deciding to contest Kat in strength instead of speed. Something that neither of us were great in, but something I knew I outssed her in. She caught this attack of mine easily, before grunting as I pushed down on the heavy de, her knees buckling slightly. As I pressed down on her, I delivered a swift knee to her stomach and forced her to her knees entirely, the Dogkin grunting once more as she blinked in surprise, not expecting that. Pulling the scimitar away, I backed up and said "Again.", resuming my stance as I looked her over. Kat got up without a word, her amber eyes narrowed as she focused on me once more, her knuckles whitening around the hilts of her daggers. Taking a deep breath, the Dogkin dashed forwards again, not wanting to fall victim to dealing with the weight of my de once more, opting for her strong suit - speed. In a sh of brown and ck, the Dogkin maid appeared in front of me, her two daggers arcing up towards my chest and impacting against the t of the scimitar, before she flipped the grip of her thinner dagger and slipped the de beneath the mine, pressing it against my chest. "We''re even again, it seems..." I chuckled as I nodded, pulling away as I stared at the Dogkin for a few moments, thinking to myself as she took a few steps back. Perhaps she had gotten far closer to me than I had thought; I was still certain that I was faster than her, as well as stronger than her, but... That gap that we used to have has only shortened in distance, and all it takes is for her to begin honing her technique to close that gappletely... I wasn''t afraid of having my mate be stronger than I; after all, I was entirely alright with Jahi, even if I was the ''submissive'' in that rtionship, whereas I was the ''dominant'' with Kat. That wasn''t something I cared for; no, instead I was worried that by being on par, or weaker than my mate, that I wouldn''t be able to protect her as well as I wanted, that I couldn''t be the person that she relied on for things. I needed to continue growing stronger, so that I could hold my head high as her mate... Though, seeing her improvements - on a more physical level, anyways - sparked my desires to be stronger than her just for the reason of being stronger. To have that pride once again of being her better; that natural instinct I felt of being her superior, to be stronger and make her mine through force. That more feral urge inside me that came with my Beastkin blood, and the urge that I used to give in to so frequently years ago. Looking Kat over, I tapped my fingers softly against the t of the scimitar before grinning at her, deciding to... ''return to my roots'' in a way. I knew what I had, the skills I had so desperately honed over years of training; I knew I had them, knew that they were superior to most people around my age. So why shouldn''t I show pride in it? Now that she was back, that would certainly be much easier to do... Chapter 457 456: Noticeable Changes Kat PoV After I had made the score even once more, Anput took a few steps back and stared at me, her obsidian eyes thoughtful. Sensing that my mate was deep in thought, I gave her a few moments, using this time to study her expression ad try and decipher just what had made her act like this. Whilst I might not be able to sense her emotions like I could with Jahi, there was certainly enough time spent between us for me to understand some of what she was thinking, especially when her ck eyes shone with that familiar light as she met my gaze. Confidence radiated from her again - more than it had before - and I bit my cheek as I felt her gaze shift even further, something about it speaking to my Beastkin blood as I needed to now resist the urge to lower my weapons, like me trying to fight her was just... not right, even as a spar. A small smirk tugged at her lips, and the olive skinned, ck furred Jackalkin raised her scimitar once more and said "Come on then, let''s see if we can break this tie, hmm~?" I nodded, slightly off put by this feeling in the pit of my stomach as I raised my daggers up, trying to ovee that odd feeling. I knew what it was; I wasn''t stupid, and I could tell what emotionsid inside Anput''s eyes now, but I was certainly surprised by how overpowering her ''control'' over me was. Either way though, I dashed forwards once more, closing the gap between us and dancing around the heavy swing of her scimitar, my arms still aching from when I had managed to block her initial downswing. Instead of blocking, I would rely on my speed and dexterity to avoid her attacks and go for swift, shallow cuts, deciding that would be far easier than trying to breach her guard once more. Anput had certainly smartened up to that, meaning that my previous trick was a one off... Leone and I may joke about her and Jahi being muscle heads, but they were both incredibly sharp thinkers, especially when it came tobat; something that I did once would be something she''d be ready to guard against for the rest of our spars together. That was something I could guarantee, so there was no need to bother with it. Pivoting away from a cleaving swing, I lunged my Protective Fang forwards and nicked her forearm, the Jackalkin shifting her entire body around to protect the initial target - her chest. Before I could even retrieve my dagger, Anput released one of her hands from the scimitars hilt and pped my arm away, almost sending the heavy dagger flying. That p sent me off bnce a bit, something that Anput took advantage off quickly. That same hand grabbed me by the cor and yanked me forwards, while her scimitar snaked behind me, its sharp, keen edge resting against my back, prepared to sliced through my spine. Her smirk widened, and she murmured "Three two, me." before pushing me back, giving her scimitar a spin, shifting it as soon as it returned to its normal position. In her hands now was a khopesh, the heavy belly of the weapon giving it some real chopping powerpared to other des, while the hooked tip made it a lethal stabbing weapon as well. Anput decided to one hand the de, her free hand now adorned with a small buckler perfect for parrying. I stared at the smirking Jackalkin, searching for openings as she stood opposite me, her arrogance so simr to when we had first met.I think you should take a look at She made no move as I began to stalk around her, the Jackalkin not even bothering to track me as she held her weapons loosely, her ears twitching as she listened instead. Aiming for her right arm, I lunged forwards before returning to walking around her, the Jackalkin not even reacting to the feint, only smirking more at me as I returned to her line of sight. Annoyed, I lunged again towards her chest, the two daggers in my hands arcing towards her sides as I attacked her left and right. As expected, her buckler smacked my right hand away, while her khopesh tried to hook around my outstretched arm and slice cleanly through my forearm, the hooked tip perfect for that. With two choices before me, I chose the one that went for mutual harm,mitting to the stab even if it meant that her khopesh would easily ''take'' my arm. However, instead of it ying out the way I wanted, her buckler blocked the stab perfectly, and Anput took full advantage of that as she continued her forwards momentum, resting the khopesh''s de against my throat. Her eyes sparkled with a few different emotions, and her "Four two, me." sounded less yful than before. Wordlessly, she shifted her weapons once more, a dius and pugio - a short sword and dagger - appearing in her hands this time, the Jackalkin mirroring my normal stance. Our spars continued onwards, and I managed tond a few wins here and there, the rust I had umted from fighting only monsters during my time away king off with each defeat, my body recalling the movements necessary to spar against another person. The end score was twenty to nine, Anput''s different fighting styles too difficult for me to limate to each time we began anew, but each one being more fruitful than thest. When Jahi was finished with her session against Lady Fenryas, Anput walked over towards me and yanked me forwards, her hands trailing below my waist as she gave me a deep kiss, muttering "Prepare yourself for tonight, Kat... I''ll be needing you..." Her self satisfied smirk as she gave me a firm squeeze made me re at her, though my heart skipped a beat as she tilted her head, her ck eyes firm as she said "Answer me." The low tone of my mate made me shudder, and I moaned as the lithe woman trailed her fingers towards my tail, pinching at the sensitive flesh. "Y-Yes, Anput..." "Good~! Now... I''ll be seeing you soon~!" She released me and pranced off towards Lady Fenryas, who was just watching with a bemused expression, while Jahi stood beside me and smirked, whispering "You''re cute when you act so demure like that, Kat..." I red up at the Demoness, who just chuckled as she wiped the sweat from her brow, wincing slightly as her bruised arm made contact with her head. "Well... Come on then. I got a slight view on your progress back home, but I am rather curious to see it once again, and alone this time. From what I can recall, we need to get you back into shape, my dear little puppy~! Those fangs need sharpening~!" I sighed at her amused, teasing tone, understanding full well that she wanted to move past thinking about what happened to me during those months, and instead focus on the here and now; a sentiment that I shared. Raising my daggers, I prepared for a new sets of spars, my body burning with different fires as I shed against the blue skinned Demoness that I was bound to. Chapter 458 457: Importance Of Fundamentals Leone PoV I frowned as I stared at theplex structure of runes before me, shining crimson inside the Sanctum. Standing in front of me was Mom, her head tilted slightly as she watched me attempt to decipher the mass of runes she had assembled in the air, with Aunt Igna, Aunt Theresa, and Mother watching from the side, each one curious to see if I could manage to understand the spell - one of Mom''s own creation. My fingers flew around as I reconstructed parts of her Ritual Circle, trying to locate the basics of the spell so that I could get a grasp for what it was meant to do - in specifics, as just staring at the spell let me understand how devastating its power was. Some of the runes I had never seen before, their origin unknown, and I could only groan as I realized that each part that I had designated as its individual parts all had those runes, further shrouding it inplexity. Before I could be overwhelmed by the frustration, I pushed all of the parts besides one away, deciding to focus all my efforts on just this individual piece before moving on; if I learnt what this part did, perhaps I could draw conclusions on the other parts? The string of runes floating in front of me were so heavily intertwined andbined with different runes that just deciphering one was a miracle. I could almost feel each grain of sand inside Mom''s hourss draining away, my time shortening at a rapid pace as I worked as quickly as I could, barely managing to determine the use for this small part of the Ritual Circle. "Time. So?" All of the runes in front of me vanished - even the ones that I had formed with my own mana - leaving the Sanctum illuminated by the rising sun instead of crimson light. I sighed, feeling slightly dejected as I said "I... know that it is some form of offensive spell. The part that I managed to... well, sort of understand was that the spell had to deal with ''pulling'' something upwards, but..." As I trailed off I shrugged, not knowing anything else besides that. What could she be ''pulling'' upwards? Was it another part of the spell - like a directional segment of her spell, telling it what to do? Or was it pulling on some outside force? Sighing again, I nced up at Mom and the others, only to frown as I saw that they were all grinning at me. "What? I failed, didn''t I?" Confusion flooded my mind as I saw their grins widen, before Mother couldn''t help it anymore, letting out a snicker as she stepped forwards. Pulling me into a hug, Mother stroked my hair as she said "Leone, oh Leone... Sometimes you''re far to smart - and far to critical - for your own good~! Did you truly think your Mom would have you decipher one of her strongest spells in an hour? When you have barely begun to explore the intricacies of the arcane? The fact that you managed to even determine that small part of the spell is amazing~!" Mom joined us as well, but Aunt Igna was the one to speak, the Dragon letting out a heartyugh before rasping "None of your siblings ever managed to decipher a piece of that spell until they were at least two decades old. Monica was the fastest at twenty, while Dante managed a few months after he turned twenty. So for you to do so at... what age are you? Seven and a half? Eight?" I just shrugged, not entirely sure myself as I hadn''t ced much care on that number in years, but Mother gave us the answer quickly. "Eight and a few months; over a decade before Monica and Dante... Good job Leone~! If it makes you feel better, I''ve barely managed to decipher a third of the spell myself... Many sleepless nights spent trying to figure out that spell of hers, yet I''m not that close..."I think you should take a look at Mom grinned as she ruffled Mother''s hair, before doing the same to me as she said "Then keep at it. I''m sure you''ve learned quite a bit trying to figure it out, haven''t you?" "I have, but still! Why won''t you just tell me what it does?! I AM your wife, after all!" Mother red at Mom, who just grinned some more before ncing back at Aunt Igna, who chortled in amusement. I red at Mother, snapping "That''s riching from you, Mother dearest. I do believe you''ve hung three separate magics over my head in thest few days, as well as dozens of research papers? Why have I been denied ess to them?" Before she could respond, Aunt Theresa sighed as she stepped forwards, her gnarled wooden ''flesh'' bathed in sunlight as she positioned herself beneath it, saying "Please, rein it in? We have only so much time. Leone, before you begin exploring new avenues of magic, you need to bolster your understanding of the fundamentals to near perfection. Lorelei, you as well. That spell isn''t asplicated as you think it is. The structure isprised of basic runes, and basic runes only. Now, let''s get back on track, hmm?" Mother and I froze, staring at the green eyed Aunt Theresa in shock before looking towards Mom, who just smirked at us. ""Wha..?"" "I was hoping you''d figure that out on your own, but... yes, that spell is made from only basic runes. Entire spells have been broken down to their fundamentals and transformed from Ritual Circles to individual runes." "117 runes, in total. It started as 234, but we managed to simplify a few more things." Now we nced at Aunt Igna, who''s smirk was identical to Mom''s as she stood up, her long, scaled tail thumping against the floor, highlighting just how amused she was. "You..! You said you didn''t know anything about it! You lied to me?!" Mom red at Aunt Igna, who''s shoulders trembled as she held in augh. "You were cute begging for it, but... it''s up to you to learn it, Lorelei. Just like it was up to me to learn it as well~! Though, I certainly wouldn''t mind letting a few hints slip..." I sighed as I watched Aunt Igna caress Mother''s cheek, the Dragon''s forked tongue flicking out over her lips. "No. No, not again. You took me for a fool the first time, Igna! Not again!" She just shrugged before turning towards me, saying "Leone, like Theresa said, focus some more on your fundamentals. What we''ve always advised - sixty percent on the fundamentals..." "Thirty on your current spells, ten on new things... I know." "Make sure to remember it. Advancing too quickly through different levels of magic might seem like it''s a good idea, but after a while it''s just shy with no substance. I''ve watched as a peasant who utilized nothing but simple Earth Magic defended himself against the sharp, piercing hurricane that a Noblewoman sent his way with ease, his rock never breaking under her onught of shy magics." Nodding, I shifted my focus onto Aunt Theresa, as Mother was currently bickering with Mom over how she had been mislead and didn''t appreciate it - we all knew she was just frustrated and didn''t mean it, and I could tell Mom was going to use this for her own gain - as she would now be my tutor for the foreseeable future. "Come, let me show you a few things, alright? The same things I''ve shown all the Saints and Saintess'', and the same things I''ve shown all you children. Learn what you can from it, Leone. Learn what you can from magic long since forgotten..." Aunt Igna waved goodbye to us as I followed Aunt Theresa over to her tree, the wooden Elf settling down on her roots and sighing, before extending her hand out and beginning to show me something I would never forget. Chapter 459 458: Renewed Appreciation Aunt Theresa extended her hand and smiled softly at me, her verdant green mana spilling from her palm as she showed me the beauty of her Nature Magic. "Each magic can be asplex, or as basic as you want it to be. Nature Magic is amongst the more...plicated elements, but it doesn''tck basic utilities... Things people have easily written off as no more than parlor tricks or useless spells. For instance..." Her mana coiled around her palm, and a small bud sprouted from the wood, before blossoming into a vibrant yellow flower. "Small, unimportant. Something few would waste their time on spare for some very specific situations. However..." More mana seeped into the thin stem and yellow petals, stimting the flowers growth as it began to blossom even more, its petals lengthening and bing blotched with other colors, while the stem sprouted additional flowers. My eyes widened in surprise as I noticed that the flower was an herbal one, and a rather rare, difficult flower to find at that. "See? Something made entirely with simple magic that any beginner of the Nature Element could learn. Now, obviously it''s different for Fire, since you cannot ''make'' something with it, but the consolidation and improvement of the simplest spell could turn a dandelion into a Golden Solium. If I was... well, if I wasn''t like this, I could take this further and evolve the Golden Solium into a Daeva''s Perennial, which only sprouts once a year inside three dungeons. That is the advantage of perfection,pared to adequacy. An above average Fireball could, perhaps, melt the surface of a steel shield and push it back. A perfect Fireball would punch through the steel and envelop the person behind it in mes, guaranteeing the kill. And when you manage to reach your Mom''s level - not if, but when, Leone, because I know you can..." Plucking the Golden Solium from her palm, the wooden Elf gave me a tired smile as she handed the flower to me, before leaning back and resting her head against the trunk of the tree. "Nowadays, Mages want to practice shier magics, thinking that they can win battles because their magic is moreplicated and looks stronger, but the spells have no substance. Sure, a high level spell could certainly deal a lot of damage, but why bother wasting that much excess mana when a simple spell could do the trick? That''s something that has slowly been phased out of existence with each generation... It makes me realize just how old I am, because half of the magics I see today weren''t even possible to be cast when I was just a girl. We practiced the foundational magic with a few advanced spells here and there, and that was all. Some of us got powerful enough to cast those basic spells without runes, like what I just did. Try to learn that, Leone, before learning to cast any new kinds of magic. It saved my life more than once..." She reached forwards and stroked my cheek, before yawning and shuffling over towards the tree, melding into its bark as she began to rest. Looking down at the Golden Solium in my hands, I nodded to myself as I gently rubbed its smooth petals, thinking. Watching as she grew a flower that was an important ingredient in so many mana and arcane empowering potions from just her own raw mana... And how she could have taken it from a rare, yet still obtainable flower to one that couldn''t even be purchased with entire chests of tinum was incredible. I hadn''t cked on the fundamentals, as they were such arge part of each and every spell that I ever wanted to make, but I had - foolishly so - believed that I had reached a good enough level that I was allowed to pursue the more interesting, newer magics that had been popping up left and right recently. Obviously, I was still going to pursue those magics - Blood, Moon, and one that I had been slowly understanding more of for years - albeit slowly - Ash - on top of more advanced Fire Magics, but I was certainly going to ce greater importance on bolstering the basics of my magic.I think you should take a look at Especially since I now knew that my True Vampire form boosted my prowess so much; being able to cast a simple bullet spell without any runes would be devastating for my enemies, and if I could further diminish the size of my Ritual Circles bybining more and more runes together, consolidating everything as much as I could... My mind was whirling with the possibilities, especially since I had found a way to embed Ritual Circles into Ritual Circles for far moreplex spells; this would make those far easier as well, and the power behind them... "So? Realize how potent and beautiful the basics of magic are?" Mom ced her hand on my shoulder, a soft smile on her lips as she looked towards the tree that Aunt Theresa was resting in. "Yes... Yes, I have. Aunt Theresa made this in mere moments... a flower that takes years to blossom in only certain conditions, yet it took her just some mana and seconds." "You would have been shocked to see what she was once capable of then. Large swathes of forests that grow inside our Empire were grown by her hand... Entire ecosystems changed because she willed them to. What was once a deste in became a verdant forest teeming with life, and she did so without any problem whatsoever..." Mncholy tinged her features as she looked towards the sleeping Aunt Theresa, before she looked down at me and ruffled my hair, gesturing for me to walk with her. "Your siblings areing back soon. Dante, Roman, and Vienna will be with Fen, while Monica, Misa, and Lisa will likely be studying privately. Ask your sisters about their magics, learn from their experiences... Lorelei can only teach you so much about the lower levels of magic, since she herself does most of her fundamental spell crafting unconsciously now. Your siblings might have better insights into it, as they aren''t on her level yet, but... Well, Monica might be, but Misa and Lisa certainly should be of help. Alright?" I nodded, wondering what my siblings would be like; I hadn''t seem them in a long time, and I was curious about how simr they were to their Mother''s; if they were simr, I feared for Anput, Jahi, and Kat as Roman and Vienna might only spur on Aunt Fenryas... "Don''t worry about your spouse, Leone. Fen is one of a kind, though Vienna has certainly copied much of her Mother''s attitude... hence why she''s still a bachelorette. Roman is entirely different from Fen, much to her chagrin." A smile tugged at Mom''s lips as she spoke, and I grew more curious about my siblings, but for now... Finding Mother still pouting at the kitchen table, I sat beside her and began to question her about some things, discussing foundational theory while Aunt Igna cooked, the Dragon humming to herself before beaming at Mom when she hugged her from behind. The Sanctum was as warm and weing as ever, and I grew determined to find a way to replicate this feeling in my own house, for my own family... A thought that made me blush slightly as I envisioned a family with Anput, Jahi and Kat, but one that made me feel incredibly pleasant as I wondered just what that life would be like. A life that I sadly wouldn''t get to experience until a few decades from now, as the changes of the world made this a terrible time to want to start, but... It was a thought that I wanted toe true, and a thought that I would cherish. Chapter 460 459: Another Day Done Kat PoV "Too slow! If you''re going to feint,mit to feinting! Stop trying to be cute with it!" My wrist stung as Lady Fenryas pped it away, nearly sending my dagger flying before her other hand mmed into my chest, pushing me back a few feet. "Trying to y mind games in meleebat is not something I''d advise until you reach a certain level, little pup. Especially not when your opponent is as strong as I am. Stick to what you know and don''t try to be fancy. You''re not as good with a de as your mate over there..." I frowned at that, only to decide to let go of my wounded ego and instead do as she said; this woman had lived far longer than me, and had likely spent her long life tempered in the fires of war, whereas I had only recently been introduced to life and death concepts. My first life was a cushioned one, where the worst fight I ever got in was with another girl over Kyoka, and even that only ended with me pping her once... That was the most physical I had ever gotten with someone, so I was going to take her words and try and do what I could with them, since there was sound logic in that advice. Feints and shy techniques were good if you were incredibly skilled with your weapons of choice, as well as confident that your opponent was either only just barely above your level or below you. However, with feints came risks, and Lady Fenryas was suggesting I forego the risk and instead stick to simplebat, relying on my physical prowess to ovee any of my obstacles instead. The ck skinned Wolfkin smirked as I clenched the hilts of my daggers and charged at her, one of them reversed as I began to unleash of flurry of shes and cuts towards her torso and limbs, wanting to entangle her in a web of attacks before trying to deliver the decisive blow. Arcs of silver filled the air between us as my arms moved as swiftly as they could, blurring together as my high stats made themselves known. The anklet inside my boot felt slightly warm as I pushed myself harder, like the Shop Made Item was being overclocked to keep up with my speed. Lady Fenryasughed as she blocked and pushed each attack aside, her speed matching mine as she fought me on even terms, forcing me to improve or be locked in a stalemate. "Better! Much better! You''re getting somewhere, little pup! Now let''s just see if you can keep it up!" Her leisurely amusement contrasted my intense concentration as I traded blow for blow with her, my daggers constantly moving as I tried tond a cut on her red veined skin, but it was to no avail as minutes slowly passed.I think you should take a look at My muscles began to ache with each movement, while my joints creaked slightly at the different attacks that I had to send her way; as for my wrists, they were currently screaming at me as Lady Fenryas constantly smacked them away from her, preventing any of my attacks fromnding. Time stretched out as I continued to spar against the Demon Wolf, until I eventually slipped up and made a mistake, costing me a dagger as Lady Fenryas wrenched it from my hands and pressed the cold steel to my throat, ending the spar. "Promising. Your endurance is pretty good, and your skills aren''t too shabby either. Some more polishing and you''ll be a decent enough melee fighter. ''Course, I smell the Ice Mana in your veins, and it''s above the average melee fighter... an all rounder? Hmm..." Handing me the dagger back, the Demon Wolf stalked around me, looking me up and down before saying "You''ll be like a Spellsword then... up close and personal magics and some more ranged spells to help close the gap, perhaps? Support spells as well if you''re working in a party... Should certainly be a rather useful pup to have around, I suppose..." Nodding to herself, Lady Fenryas nced towards the sparring Knights before saying "If you want some extra curricr studies, go talk to Princi, the Catkin woman in unnecessarily tight ck leather? She can be insufferable, but she''s adept with Wind support spells, so maybe you can find a useful thing or two inside her drivel..." She nced back down at me before gesturing for me to return to the others, saying "For now, pup, that''s more than enough from me. You still haven''t showed enough to warrant more than the minimum." With that, she turned away and moved towards the Knights, prowling around the training grounds and inspecting the various Knights, shouting and berating some. I made my way back over to Anput and Jahi, who were in the midst of a spar, their great swords ttering together as Anput danced around the Demoness, battering her with attacks. After healing myself up, I joined their spar when they finished their current bout, and we finished our second day under Lady Fenryas slowly, embroiled in constant spars as we alternated partners. Lady Fenryas sent a few Knights our way to spice things up, having them teach us what they could as we were forced to absorb experience through beatings. Phantom pains wracked our entire bodies as we ended the day off, and we shuffled once more through the halls before reaching the kitchen, where we devoured more than enough food to feed a vige for two weeks. Returning to our room, we bathed and got ready for bed, but an ambiguous, yet tired mood surrounded us as we split into pairs, Anput pulling me over towards her bed while Jahi took Leone, our lust ignited after such a strenuous day. My mate tossed me onto her bed before climbing atop me, her predatory ck gaze pinning me below her as she trailed her hands over my body and whispered "You make a fine reward for a hard days work, Kat... A very fine reward indeed..." Chapter 461 460: Mates* Anput PoV I raked my eyes over the supple pale skin of my mate, her body enticing me to ignore the aches from a long day spent training and instead dominate her body and soul, to mark her again and again as my property. Trailing my hands over her curves, I cupped my hand beneath one of her breasts, my fingers sinking into the globe of flesh and pulling me in further, all while that pinkish bud hardened as I brushed past it, making the Dogkin moan softly as I teased her nipple. My other hand trailed up to her cheek, and I caressed her reddening face, findingfort in those familiar ambers and soft features. My thumb stroked her plump lips, and Kat shuddered as I lowered my head andtched onto her breast, my teeth gently pulling at her nipple as I began to suckle. Before she could moan or say anything, I wormed my thumb past her lips and into her mouth, surprising her as I began to enjoy worshipping her tit, the tart scent of her body warming me up to my core. Kat understood what I was doing, her tongue coiling around my thumb as she relished my suckling, and I let out a soft moan of my own as I felt my cock slip entirely out of my body, the knot pulsing as it plopped against her toned belly, making her wiggle around as I showed her my heat. Shuffling around a little, I rested my cock atop her pussy, enjoying the slick feeling of her lower lips against my shaft as I began to grind against her, which made her wrap her legs around my waist, pleading for me to begin mating with her. I hid my grin as I peppered her breast with more kisses, before trailing my lips over her corbone, which made Kat release my thumb as she gasped, knowing what wasing next. Pressing my body against hers, I smirked up at the Dogkin before licking my lips, anticipation coursing through my veins. She shivered as I began top at her neck, my tongue roaming over her flesh and preparing her to be marked. As I did that, I guided my cock into her pussy and pressed forwards, slowing spreading her apart as my fangs began to ache. My anticipation grew toorge, and I opened my jaws and sunk my fangs into her neck, where her pheromonal nd resided. The moment I bit into her neck, I pressed against her cervix and prepared to explore her deeper part, making Kat writhe around in ecstasy at the dual pleasures. Entering her womb, I groaned as the pressure inside my knot increased, wanting to be released inside my mate as quickly as possible to impregnate her here and now, but... I wanted to savor this, to remind her that I was her superior and that I was the one who was going to protect her. My primal urges made themselves known, and I started pumping her full of my own pheromones, beginning to mark her even as I began to swing my hips forwards, finding immense pleasure in her tight pussy. Kat squrimed under me, panting and gasping as I pinned her under me, my arms wrapped around her as I hugged her close, wanting to feel more of herrge breasts and soft body. It took only moments for me to flood her nd with my scent, and euphoria washed over the both of us as I marked her as my mate. The scent of citrus and lemons filled the air around us, heating us up further as I released her neck and moved to her lips, kissing her. Comfort and pleasure filled me in equal measures as I embraced her close, the familiarity that I had been missing for so long now returned to me. Deep inside her womb, with my tongue coiling around hers as I tried to assuage the lust inside me as I embraced the woman who had enamored me for years; the woman who I had been determined to make my own. The one who stoked the pride of my more dominant side, who made me feel so strong as I made love to her. Kat meant so much to me, and I made sure she understood as I pped my knot against her wet cunt. As if she understood me, the Dogkin moaned into my mouth before trembling, her pussy mping down and writhing as she started to cum, her juices coating my thighs and knot. My ears twitched as I listened to the sounds of my cock sloppily scraping away at her pussy, while my nose was bombarded with her tart scent, further adding to the heat I felt radiating off of her body. Pulling away from her lips - where she added another pleasurable sense - I stared down at her flushed cheeks and hazy eyes, my mate stilling down from her orgasm. I didn''t stop for her, pounding into her womb even as she moaned loudly now that her lips were unsealed, but eventually she managed to regain some control of herself.I think you should take a look at "A-Anput..." She reached up and caressed my cheek, before trailing her hands over my arms and abs, her eyes shing with more lust. Smirking at her, I raised a brow as I flexed my stomach, feeling her fingers pause for a moment as she stroked my abs, before resuming her movements, tracing out each part of my abdomen. "You like them?" Kat nodded, her eyes and attention focused on my abs as she muttered "I do... they ah~ m-make me feel s-safe~ as you hold me..." I shivered slightly at her words, the Dogkin entirely unaware of that. "Kat... I want to cum soon, so... Let me take you from behind..." She nodded, her eyes shing with lust as she released my waist, allowing me to flip her over. On her knees now, the Dogkin pushed her ass back into my pelvis and speared herself on my cock, her tail thumping against my leg. Looking down at her toned back, I bit my lip as I admired the view, reveling in the natural pleasure that this position flooded me with. She was giving herself to me, and it felt so right... My hands sunk into her plump butt as I thrust wildly into her, before I leaned forwards and draped myself across her back, burying my nose into her neck and inhaling her scent as I felt my ejaction slowly rise. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I thrusted into her like a beast, my knot pping audibly against her drenched pussy while my thighs connected with hers, thins strings of her juices and some precum connecting us. Kat bit into the sheets and stifled her moans, while her bountiful chest rested against the bed - though they still jiggled with each thrust. "Kat~! Kat..! Kat!" I panted as I felt my knot swell up with semen, before I growled as I shoved it into her pussy, sealing it off and preparing her to be bred. She moaned loudly at that, her eyes rolling slightly as she felt me begin to cum inside her womb. My mind nked as my cum erupted from my cock, spraying thick ropes into her womb and coating it, all while her scent strengthened as she came too. The familiar all epassing pleasure eroded my mind instantly, filling it with just that pleasure as I came and came, the continuous ejaction inside Kat making us both high with lust as I bred my mate. I don''t know how long we were there, nor how much I came, but like always I eventually was brought back to reality feeling drained, yet fulfilled as I wrenched my knot from her pussy, a deluge of semen pouring from her abused hole. Copsing beside her, I was about to pull her over to me so we could rest when she suddenly crawled to between my legs, her tonguepping at my cock as she cleaned me off, her eyes sparkling. Smiling wryly at her, I watched in interest as she cleaned me off, before she trailed her tongue up towards my abdomen as she began to kiss each one multiple times, cleaning them of the sweat we had built up. Feeling my cock harden again, while my knot swelled with the leftover semen, I gestured for Kat to mount me, allowing my mate to take care of her needs as she began to shake her ass for me, herrge breasts bouncing in front of my face as I lied beneath her. That night, despite needing to get up early the next morning, Kat and I had sex for another hour, my mate wringing out the veryst dredges of semen inside of me as I ejacted three times inside her, before we both copsed onto the bed in a sweaty pile of flesh and fur. With my arms wrapped around her, Kat nuzzled into my chest, her hands resting against my muscles as she drifted to sleep. Observing her for a bit more, I was lulled to sleep as well by her tart scent, soft body, and sound breathing, my heart warm as I buried my nose between her ears. Chapter 462 461: The In-Laws Kat PoV The morning after that incredible night with Anput was hell. Our lusts were sated, of course, but the cost for contentment was... Terrible. Tired minds made for slow reaction speeds, and slow reaction speeds made for more hits taken, which meant pain. Pain. Lots, and lots of pain. Pain that Lady Fenryas used to tease and berate us, the Demon Wolf able to smell what we had done and using that as bait to anger us, forcing us to make more mistakes. Some of the Knights chuckled in amusement, while others gave us pitiful nces as we were beaten by the Demon Wolf, her tongue just as sharp as her scythe. We... thoroughly learned our lessons that day, since the Demon Wolf decided to make an example out of us for the other Knights - and Jahi - meaning that we left the training grounds bruised and battered, utterly drained and ready to di- I mean sleep, ready to sleep. Our appetites were more voracious than some of the Knights, and they all even tossed us some extra food for our terrible day; some did so with an amused grin, but most did so out of pity, giving us words of encouragement as they piled some extra pasta or steaks onto our tes. Leone seemed a little annoyed at the treatment her Aunt gave us, splitting off from us as we were making our way back to our room to go talk to her. Obviously that talk went well, the Vampire blushing slightly in shame as she shuffled into the bath, acting rather demure. That night, we all decided to cool it down with the post training sex, realizing it was more of a detriment than a benefit for us... Though, Jahi was still raring to go, and with me needing it for my skill and Leone wanting it... We both got our own dose of cream, while Anput cleaned us both off; the Jackalkin whispered to me that she would save everything up for me at the end of our training, so that we could enjoy ourselves for hours on end. To say that I wasn''t already anticipating that night with her would be a lie, and we fell asleep earlier that night, getting sufficient rest for the day toe. Already I was noticing spikes in my stats, while the experience I was getting from helping Anput and Jahi spar was decent - on top of my own gains for training too, which was nice. The stat to get the highest spike was - unsurprisingly - constitution, my body getting stronger as I took more powerful hits. [Stats: STR : 64 -> 68 CON : 67 -> 75 AGI : 70 -> 74 DEX : 70 -> 74 CHA : 65 -> 66 WIS : 66 INT : 66] As for XP and SP, they went up to 281,980 and 1,472 respectively, meaning I was closer to another Shop Made Item to purchase as a gift for Jahi first. I didn''t know yet how I would exin it, but... Whatever - future me will figure it out like always~!I think you should take a look at That next day, we were introduced to three of Leone''s siblings; Dante, Roman, and Vienna. Dante was the Empress and Aunt Igna''s son, the towering seven foot something Dragonkin man covered in dark red scales and wearing te armor over top of that, which was made from a ck and silver metal alloy. He had a calm, experienced air around him, his tower shield and mace made from the same materials and pulsing with potent enchantments. Casting his slitted ruby eyes over the assembled Knights, he nodded his head before looking towards his Aunt, who was frowning as she looked down at her two children. Roman was wearing a cocky smile as he stared up at his Mother, his pale gray skin and gray hair streaked with red - something I was noting was amon theme with the Empress'' family. Wearing a thin ck coat andden with daggers, the Wolfkin man was sharp and handsome, his cocky appearance and confident attitude certainlyting him many suitors... Like Lady Fenryas, his silver eyes were narrowed as he tested his Mother, before grabbing his head as his sister smacked him. Vienna - unlike Roman - was almost a mirror of her Mother, her ck skin and red veins pulled tight over her muscr frame, making her an imposing woman who stood over her brother but under her Mother. Her ck fur and hair was streaked with gray, and a pair of heavy falchions hung on her waist, their pommels decorated with gilded bones. She red at her bother and snarled "Stop being disrespectful, brother! She asked a reasonable question!" "A reasonable question? That would be ''Hey Roman, did you manage toplete the Crumbling Graveyard Dungeon?'' or ''Hey Roman, how has your de work been progressing?'' and not ''Hey Roman, why are you still not as strong as Dante?!''" His voice was calm, but his eyes were smoldering a bit as he red at his Mother and Sister, who were both about to say something before Dante stepped forwards, raising his hands catingly. "Please, Aunt Fenryas. I am nearly a century older than Roman, and I have Dragon blood as well as Mom''s blood in my veins;paring anyone to me is unfair, as arrogant and narcissistic as that sounds... Roman, you''ve progressed quite well from what I''ve heard. Good job, Brother." Dante''s voice was deep and sonorous, and his gentle smile as he pat Roman''s shoulder would make a woman''s heart melt - hell, even I was taken aback by how good looking and charming he was, and I was extremely smitten by my three lovers. Clicking her tongue, Lady Fenryas rolled her eyes as she muttered "Like that''s an excuse..." "A HUNDRED YEARS?! Mother, there is a limit to how utterly dense you can be! A hundred years is an insane gap!" Roman was incredulous at his Mother''s words, and she just clicked her tongue again as she said "Perhaps if you stopped bitching and moaning constantly, you wouldn''t have an ''insane gap'' Roman." "Oh for... whatever. Ah, Brother, there''s our youngest sisters fiancee!" The gray Wolfkin turned and smiled at Jahi, his eyes narrowed slightly as he looked her over before approaching, Dante following behind him with curiosity in his eyes. "Jahi Asmodia, correct? From what dear old Mom''s said, you''ve been treating our youngest sister right! Thank you for that. I do hope you continue to treat her good, for your sake~!" He bared his razor sharp fangs as he grinned at her, the wolfish smile fitting his features perfectly, while his fingers tapped against his many knives. Dante smiled as well, saying "A pleasure, Miss Asmodia. I''ve heard good things about you from the Academy. A studious student and excellent Noble. I look forwards to training with you." The two men nced over at Anput and I next, bowing their heads slightly as they said ""Greetings Begum."" Understandably, they both just gave me a nod before focusing on Jahi again just as Vienna approached. Nearly as tall as Dante, Vienna wrinkled her nose slightly as she stared at the Demoness, saying "You reek of something hideous... all three of you." Smacking the back of her daughters head, Lady Fenryas said "That would be Fiendish energy you''re smelling, whelp. I thought I had you memorize that?" Vienna''s previous confidence faded slightly as she nodded, her ears twitching as she stood quietly beside her Mother, who looked towards Jahi. "These three will be joining our spars from now on. Dante Ignacia-Ash, as well as Roman and Vienna Fenryas-Ash. Hopefully you can all learn something from one another... Now, let us begin our training! I''ve something nned for the uing days..." With those foreboding words looming over us, we began another day of grueling training, but this time with three new additions to the group - three additions that tested Jahi and Anput hard throughout the day, wanting to verify their youngest sister was in capable hands. Chapter 463 462: Siblings Leone PoV "Did you really think Fen was going to do anything differently, Leone? Really? I have to admit, that was... deserved on your part." I blushed slightly as I looked away from Aunt Igna, who was giving me a soft, yet exasperated smile, while Aunt D''Arcon was nodding off to the side, her golden locks and white clothing blinding as she lounged in a patch of sunlight. Mom was chuckling off to the side, while Mother just frowned before sighing, approaching me and patting my shoulder as she said "Honestly, we''ve all learned that arguing with that woman was a fruitless endeavor. Whatever facts and logic you provide to her means nothing, even if they are indisputable fact. She''ll just ignore them and do whatever she wants anyways. Even your Mom can''t win against her..." "Indeed... That was part of the reason I was so drawn to her in the beginning. She challenged me constantly, swearing that I wasn''t as strong as people said I was. So even after I beat her down multiple times, she would just spring back up and challenge me again... A rather tenacious woman, Fen. Perfect blend of Wolfkin and Demon." Aunt D''Arcon snorted at that, the woman''s lips curled in slight disdain as she added "Insufferable too! Never listening to whatever you have to say, never following any rules you may have set... She''s just so..! So..!" That made Mom chuckle again, her words making Aunt D''Arcon blush as she said "Isn''t that why you love her? Out of all of my women, you two are the only ones to consistently seek each other out in lust~! How often do I catch you both-" "ENOUGH!! I know, alright?! She''s just so..! Argh!!!" Getting up, Aunt D''Arcon stomped off towards her room, pouting hard beneath her reddened face, which made everyone else smirk at her departure. "Is Fenryas really that good..? That D''Arcon can''t walk properly despite being a healer?" Mother''s question made everyone in the room grin - not me, as I was slowly backing away to leave this conversation, not wanting to hear it. "If you don''t mind broken bones or immense pain, it is really~ good. Arc just happens to be... an extreme mascochist, so only our love and Fen have managed to satisfy her... As for Fen herself, the woman never holds back, and even with the constitution of a Dragon, I was hurting the day after..." "Broken bones..? What the..." Aunt Igna was nodding, while Aunt Yusa, who had just entered with three others behind her, said "Oh, you''re talking about Fen''s horrific style of sex? Yeah, I almost had to kill her when she pounced on me that first time... felt more like I was getting hunted than seduced. Terrible." Instead of focusing on my Aunt''s words regarding their sex lives, I focused instead on the three women that entered the Sanctum behind Aunt Yusa. Three of my four sisters - Monica, Misa, and Lisa. Monica was Aunt D''Arcon''s daughter, and her gentle expression - paired with her long golden hair - made her look almost identical to her Mother, while her height of around six and a half feet came from Mom. She didn''t inherit the Light Magic from her Mother, instead having Lightning Magic, which she seemed to take great pride in; her robe was azure with golden lightning bolts streaking across its surface, and the various golden rings and bracelets were all adorned with either sapphires or lightning bolt motifs. Everything on her person pulsed with the sharp power of Lightning Magic, and her azure eyes were ringed with a golden band that sparked. Incredibly beautiful and elegant, Monica strode in and approached Mom first, bowing her head and giving her a curtsy, which made Mom smile as she reached forwards and caressed her cheek. Behind her were two nearly identical women, their faces stoic and seemingly chiseled from snow. Misa and Lisa were both Snow Women like Aunt Yusa, meaning their entire body, hair, and eyes were white - however, Misa had blue streaks in her hair while Lisa had green streaks. They both were formidable Ice Magicians, but they had a preference for one of the two elements that made up Ice, making them different and distinguishable. Well endowed and wearing a blue and green dress respectively, Misa and Lisa looked very much like Aunt Yusa, but their more regal demeanor and serious attitudes were certainly from Mom - at least when she was ''working'', which they copied to perfection. Unlike Monica, the two Snow Women didn''t go straight to Mom, instead walking over towards me when they saw me, their clear white eyes finding me instantly. ""Leone.""I think you should take a look at They nodded to me, and I smiled back at them, having an easier time mentally speaking to them than I would Monica considering they were only decades older than me... Not over a century older. "Misa. Lisa. How''ve you been?" The twins nced at one another before saying ""Well."" Misa spoke first, adding "Our trip up towards the ki Dukedom was beneficial..." Lisa spoke second, finishing her sisters sentence, "Since Duchess ki showed us new ways to utilize Ice Magic." ""As well as our Water / Wind Magic..."" They nced at one another again, but this time frowning as they realized what the other had said - that they had specified one element. Aunt Yusa sighed as she stepped behind them, pulling on their ears as she said "If you try and begin another argument on which element is stronger, I will hit you. Either of you. Understood?" ""Yes, Mother dearest..."" The twins were still half ring at one another, making Aunt Yusa sigh before smirking, looking towards me. "That maid from the Asmodia House is an Ice Magic user isn''t she~? Think she''d be interested..?" Misa and Lisa''s heads snapped towards me, surprise in their white eyes, only to sigh as I said "After she''s done with Aunt Fenryas'' training, maybe." Monica approached us, done speaking to Mom, and she smiled softly at me, saying "It''s been awhile, my dear youngest sister~! Have you been keeping up with your studies?" She gave the twins a smile as well, and they turned and approached Mom, leaving me with Monica. "As best as I could be, considering recent events." "Ah, you mean that Crusade and the likes? Yes, I imagine it did chew into your studies... Though, you must have learned something from all that, no?" Her soft smile and friendly demeanor wasforting, and she gestured for me to sit beside her as we continued to talk, surprising me greatly at how... amiable and weing she was despite therge gap in age. The Sanctum was livelier now that most of Mom''s wives and children were back, talking to one another and discussing anything that popped to mind; Mother was in the kitchen cooking with Aunt Igna, while Aunt Yusa and her daughters lounged at the table, talking quietly. Mom was smiling at Aunt D''Arcon, who had returned after hearing everyone begin to speak again, and they made their way over to us and joined in the discussion, going over some arcane questions I had and guiding me to the answer, having me figure it out while they asked pointed questions and the like. Once again, I found that this Sanctum was incredibly warm as we talked and joked amongst ourselves, the only ones missing from the group being Aunt Fenryas and her children - Roman and Vienna - as well as Dante, Aunt Igna''s son. There was also Aunt Theresa, but she was currently resting inside her tree, rejuvenating whatever energy she could manage so that she could eventually join the rest of us. We talked and talked, my sister showing me better ways to draw up certain runes and giving me tips on how to more efficiently cast them, while Mom and Aunt D''Arcon sat beside us and listened in, before we all got up and moved to the kitchen to enjoy ate breakfast. Something that made me feel a little guilty, as I knew that my three lovers were currently in the midst of grueling physical training, but I pushed that down and decided to think up ways to make it up to themter... Chapter 464 463: Getting To Know One Another Kat PoV Dante, Roman, and Vienna disyed freakish talent with their weapons that even the Knights respected, all three children of the Empress managing tost around thirty seconds against Lady Fenryas in a one on one spar - the Marquess and Belian were both able to hold out for a minute on their own when Lady Fenryas was being generous, or forty-five seconds when she was ticked off. Sker and the other upper echelon Knightssted fifteen or so, while the ''weakest'' Knights were finished in five seconds; to give them credit though, they were all marksmen, preferring rangedbat to meleebat, their skills with bows and crossbows incredible, while their skills with swords were still rather good - a tad higher than Anput currently. With the addition of those three, Lady Fenryas decided that they were going to receive the same treatment as everyone else, beating them into the ground while we all watched from our various spars before releasing them to the rest of us, having them spar us and learn anything they could. Dante instantly made his way over to the Marquess, wanting to see how hepared to the other strongest Knight of Cinder, while Roman and Vienna stuck around us, wanting to see just how capable we were - and if we were worthy of their baby sister. I say ''we'', but I was mostly ignored, left to go find new partners as Vienna squared off against Anput and Roman chatted with Jahi. Since that was the case, I took the time to go ahead and mingle with the Squires, Nirinia introducing me to the five other men and women who were aspiring Knights to be. I sparred amongst them for a few rounds, the sessions with each rather drawn out affairs as we practiced techniques against one another, holding back on spar ending blows as we instead trained our endurance a bit. When I finished up with them I made my way over towards the sensual Catkin woman named Princi, her curvaceous body d in a tight ck leather that only served topliment the seductive grin that she wore. Everything about her screamed sex appeal, even her weapon of choice - despite it being a rather cruel version - of a whip, which wasden with razor sharp crystals, added to her oozing sexuality, drawing the attention of a few of the Knights around her as they took the time to appreciate how her body moved. Seeing me approach, she smirked as her yful yellow eyes fell onto my body, and Princi asked "Well well well~! I''d say look what the cat dragged in, but... I don''t recall ordering a beaut like you for tonight~!" I had to smile at her words, shaking my head as I said "Sorry, but I''m taken... Lady Fenryas suggested for me to ask if you could teach me a thing or two regarding using Wind Support spells?" "Oh honey, being taken doesn''t mean a thing~! Especially with how delectable you look... I wouldn''t mind having a bite of you, even if I needed to let that Demoness have a bite out of me~! Mm~ That actually sounds like a nice idea..." Raising a brow, I stared at the very clearly aroused Catkin and coughed, making her focus on me again. "Combat, please? My Mistress is entirely content with her partners." She smirked, running her hand over her body as she whispered "Honey, trust me when I say I could make her beg me for just a night... The devoted types are surprisingly easy to seduce; that forbidden temptation of another woman that isn''t your wife gets them so~ hot and bothered, y''know~? But... fine. Before Lady Fenryas decides to make my life a miserable hell again." Sighing, Princi cracked her whip and gestured for me to follow her, moving us to a more open space, where she began to disy the various ways she could cast spells whilst still inbat, exining the theory to me and having me try it as I fought her. There were a few different ways to do so; one handed attacks and having the other hand trace out the runes was the simplest, and I managed to get that down after a few minutes of trying, albeit at a slow cast speed. The other way was to use your weapons to create the runes, attacking in the pattern you needed to draw out and creating the runes that way; for Princi, this was easy as her whip was capable of forming those runes in mere moments with her precise movements and unique weapon. For me, using daggers, it wasn''t as simple, but I also managed to get that down today, albeit in three hours instead of mere minutes. Training under Princi was surprisingly beneficial and fun, the Catkin making lewd jokes the entire time whilst still retaining a level of professionalism that nudged me towards the right answers and ways to do things, teaching me into a better spot than I had been when I came up to her. Of course, some of herments were certainly... incredibly inappropriate and really uncalled for, which I made sure to point out to her. Not that she seemed to care, just shrugging it off and continuing on, working us both into a sweat that drew the eyes of many Knights. I could even feel Anput and Jahi looking towards Princi, which made me frown a bit as I red back at them.I think you should take a look at When the day came to a close, I thanked the Catkin for her time and rejoined Anput and Jahi, who were both resting against the wall, drenched in sweat. Roman and Vienna weren''t doing to great either, though they were still standing straight, sweaty just like the rest of us. Dante was one of the few on the training grounds not sweating, and that was only because he was from a race that didn''t sweat; instead, he was sipping on a waterskin and pouring some of it on his scaled skin. The Marquess and Belian approached, helping the duo onto their feet before leading us into the Pce, everyone beginning our pilgrimage towards our new holynd - the kitchens. Lady Fenryas decided to join us tonight, muttering to herself that she didn''t feel like dealing with the rest of the Empress'' wives just yet - that, and she was half ring at her children, who were walking quietly beside her. Of course, unlike the rest of us who werepletely wiped from an entire day of intense training, Lady Fenryas was perfectly normal, gulping down a tankard of wine before digging into a thick b of grilled steak, her daughter mirroring her while Roman rolled his eyes and ate his pasta, taking his time. Dante also ate in a reserved, calm manner, spacing out his meal so that he wouldn''t overeat and making sure he got an even mix of everything, while staying away from alcohol despite there being barrels of it brought out on Lady Fenryas'' insistence. Leone didn''t join us tonight, likely spending time with her returned siblings, so we were left to talk to the Knights and Lady Fenryas if we wanted to converse. "Miss Asmodia, your de work wasn''t bad considering your age. And from what I''ve heard, you''re quite the student as well at the Academy... What were you considering pursuing there - before all this happened, anyways..." Dante was the first to ask a question, everyone else too tired or too busy eating to speak. Stopping herself from devouring a second chicken breast, Jahi finished chewing before replying "Monsterology, History, some Magic Courses... I hadn''t truly considered it yet, but now? Mostly the same, but less of an emphasis on History and more of an emphasis on Monsterology and Magic." He nodded, taking a bite from his food and saying "Monsterology is going to be important, especially if you n on taking on Dungeons in these uing years. But that was it? No other specializations? Alchemy, Enchanting, Forging? Those are therge three specializations..." Jahi just smirked, leaning forwards as she said "No, but I''m rather lucky. Anput is pursuing Forging, Leone is pursuing Alchemy, and Kat is pursuing Enchanting. As for healing and support spells, bother Leone and Kat have that covered as well. For defense, Anput''s Earth Magic and my Light Magic work wonders, giving Leone time to set up arge spell for attacking. All in all, our party of four is rather good, but we could always take another member or two." The Dragonkin inspected Anput before narrowing his eyes as he nced at me, slight surprise in those red slitted orbs as he asked "Wait, you''re the woman who was born with Ice Magic, no? The one born to a normal Dogkin and an unknown father? Interesting..." His words were neutral, and I just smiled back as I took no offense to his statements; I didn''t care that Mother was called ''normal'' since, at the end of the day she was just ''normal'' to everyone else, while I had never met, nor had any intention to meet my ''father'' in this life. There was no reason to, so I didn''t care to do it; he didn''t love my Mother enough to stick with her through thick and thin, though I can''t be angry at him either since he likely had no idea I was even a possibility. He had the choice of either sticking with a woman who satisfied him sexually and risking death, or cutting ties and living for a bit longer; selfish, but understandable... Didn''t mean I wanted to meet him though. So again, I just nodded as I replied "That''s correct, Lord Dante. Mistress Leone wants me to ask Lady Yusa if she''ll give me some pointers on my magic, while Mistress Jahi wanted me to further my strength by training with her beneath Lady Fenryas." Slipping into the role of a maid was easy enough to me, almost like a second skin at this point, and the Dragonkin man just smiled and nodded, before looking back towards Jahi, asking her some more questions. --- Just the one chapter for today, and only one for tomorrow as well; have some friendsing over to chill. --- Chapter 465 464: Improvements That night, when Leone returned to our room to sleep, she excitedly told us about the return of her siblings and how much fun she had with each of them, telling us she also got to meet Dante, Roman and Vienna and that she enjoyed chatting with them too. Seeing her so excited over reuniting with her siblings warmed all of our hearts, but none of us could truly understand the joy she felt; none of us had siblings that were currently born. Anput was the one to voice that, making Leone freeze before scratching her cheek, only to pout as Anput began to tease her about her ''guilt'' for something that she had no control over and that didn''t matter. That night, we all fell asleep on the same bed, having talked for a bit before drifting away, none of us entirely in the mood to break the peaceful atmosphere Leone had built up by asking for sex, leaving us to just talk - which was just as pleasant as assuaging our lust, if not more so as we quietly talked about our interactions with the Empress'' other children. It was moments like that that made me realize just how much I enjoyed being with each of them, as we talked about any and everything that came to mind - each in our own manner too. Anput teased Leone about everything, while Jahi was both sarcastic and serious; the two lightened the mood with their antics, while Leone and I steered everything back on track before deepening whatever topic we were on. It was a dynamic that worked wonders, and one that I enjoyed as we spent an hour talking about... really, talking about nothing that mattered as we ally there, cuddling together. The next day was much of the same, spending our time honing our skills amongst the Knights as Lady Fenryas dangled something over our heads, the woman sadistically not telling us what she had nned for the uing days of training even as she grinned like the wolf she was. None of us were looking forwards to those uing days, but we trained harder with the threat of that looming over us, wanting to prepare as much as possible. Princi and I worked more on my support spells, tuning the casting speeds some more and helping me improve my concentration and dedication to casting them; if I stopped mid cast, I would need to restart, so she got me to hasten myself and increased my stubbornness to cast those spells. After all, they were spells that gave small improvements in the midst of battle, and once you got one going, the others just fell into line shortly after that, getting the ball rolling and making you from just a force to be reckoned with to a force of nature. Besides working on the spells, Princi managed to improve my techniques as well, her unique weapon forcing me to learn a ''new'' style of fighting as I shifted to entirely reactionarybat, using her moves against her tond blows against her leather d body. Anput moved between Knights at random, finding someone with a new weapon and sparring against them with whatever weapon she had fought against previously, treating this like a roulette game. The Jackalkin was deepening her understanding of many different weapons, getting herself ustomed to the basics of many different styles before branching off into her own styles, where she would use that one type of weapon for a few attacks before switching to something else, creating an ever growing chain of attacks that no one could predict. She might open up with a swift sh from a katana and transition into a spear, or she might open with a mace and shift towards a rapier. Each of her attacks kept you on your toes, not knowing what wasing up next as she unleashed a myriad of blows; each of those attacks was backed up by a certain proficiency that wasn''t at the level of a master, but was boy no means that of a novice. She seemed to get ustomed to those weapons she picked up in mere hours, learning what to do and not to do with each before experimenting with shifting them from one to another, adding more links to her chain. To say that she was an incredible martial artist was putting it lightly, and I could only watch her dancing with each weapon with amazement in my eyes, her lithe frame making her movements elegant and refined. My pride for having such a woman as my mate soared, and I blushed slightly whenever she gave me a smirk, knowing that I was admiring her physical prowess from afar. Unspoken promises of sleepless nights weremunicated to me inside those obsidian eyes of hers, and I shuddered just thinking about mating with her again.I think you should take a look at Of course, Anput wasn''t the only one showing signs of drastic improvements; Jahi was just as spectacr as Anput, if not more so as she trained with the two other Demons, learning more about the ancient techniques and philosophies that the Asmodia and Beliali ns had created. Seemingly taking after Anput, Jahi had shed her top in favor of a tight cloth wrap over her deceptively ample breasts, disying her chiseled body to the world without care. The Marquess did the same, outshining her daughter in that regard as her more experienced, battle scarred body held more ''masculine'' charm, causing quite a few of the men and women inside the training grounds to secretly swoon; Princi among them, of course. Seeing my blue skinned Demoness standing near the center of the training grounds with her chiseled body on full disy was simply unfair. Her muscles were constantly rippling as she moved, her blue skin pulled taut over the hard muscles she had painstakingly grown over the years, while beads of sweat gave her skin a shine that only further entuated her feral beauty. A solid, deeply etched six pack was present, while the beginnings of an additional two abs were visible beneath that; on her sides, three of her obliques were defined, with another on its way, only further adding to the sheer amount of perfect, divine muscle on her body. Her biceps were bulging as she swung her great sword, the veins popping out slightly as she sparred against the red skinned Belian, who was dodging and weaving away from her constant attacks before lunging his serrated sword towards her side, leaving a shallow gash that weeped crimson blood. Jahi retaliated by scoring a twin cut across his chest, forcing the red Demon back and resetting the fight. That was what they were up to during our long hours training, though Lady Fenryas sent us off an hour early with a smirk on her lips, telling us to get enough rest for the day toe... With that foreboding message given out, she left and took her children and nephew with her, going back to the Sanctum with a grin. The kitchen provided yet another excellent feast, and we all chatted amongst ourselves about whatever came to mind, trying to distract ourselves from the horrifying reality that tomorrow might bring. Leone returned to us quickly, confused by her Aunt''s sudden reappearance despite there still being time for her to torture us all, which sent the Vampire back to us. With this time given to us, we ate quickly and returned to the room, sitting on the bed once more as we held an impromptu session on magic, Leone and I guiding Anput and Jahi through some basics while also bouncing ideas off one another. Our room was lit up with red, silver, blue and gold light, the various runes we summoned making a light show as we practiced and showed off ideas to one another, trying to get some valuable input on what we wanted to do going forwards. Of course, after we finished practicing like that we began to Dual Cultivate, the Demoness being the first to push Anput down and begin practicing with her, while Leone grabbed me and started as well, the two women savoring our bodies all while sending their mana into us to have it tempered by our own mana. Eventually, they released their cream and half of the umted mana into us at the same time, pulling out and sitting down as we began to absorb our partner''s mana into our Core''s. Anput and I leaned against one another as we did so, before opening our eyes to see Jahi grinning down at Leone as she began to ravish the woman, her excess energy being put to excellent use. Before I could even do or ask anything, I was on the bed beside Leone, my mate ravaging me hard while her and Jahi made out, the two women relishing Leone and I with rough, self serving actions - much to our delight as we were brought to the edge many times. Chapter 466 465: Perspective When we returned to the training grounds the next morning, we were introduced to the remaining children of the Empress for the first time, with Lady Fenryas pulling them into whatever she had nned despite them very clearly not wanting to be here. As such, the Empress herself and all her wives had shown up, putting all of us in awe as we looked at the assembled women at the front of the training grounds. Seeing one or two - even three - of them together was already something special, as each of these women radiated power far above most of what I had seen before. For me, the pinnacle of strength that I had gotten to witness for the longest time was the Marquess and the Countess; the strongest Knight besides Lady Fenryas, and one of the Saintesses of the Empire. Leone had further borated on the title of Saint and Saintess for usst night, the Vampire describing it as a position that was reserved only for those Arch Mages that showed a certain amount of control and prowess with their magics. For example, Kolia is an Arch Mage who specializes in Lightning Magic as well as the more physical applications of magic - enchantments - and while she is certainly an incredible Arch Mage, she doesn''tpare to the Countess, who wields the same element. The title is conferred based on many things, but the mostmon is the element you utilize; Saintess of Lightning, for example, is the Countess'' title, and she is the only one to hold that position. There are multiple Saints and Saintesses of Fire, Water, Wind, or Earth, while there is only one per advanced element, mainly because of their scarcity. Then there are the Saints and Saintesses with special titles; Lady Theresa is the Saintess of Life, not the Saintess of Nature, and that is because her magic used to be so incredibly powerful that she could bring someone back from the brink of death, while she could turn arid wastnds into verdant forests in mere hours. Another example - one not from the Empress'' wives - is the Saint of the Dungeons, an extremely kind and patient old man who rules over thergest cluster of Dungeons in the Empire, hoping to guide and nurture anyone who wanted to be an adventurer into apetent, respectable person. Where a Knight is the pinnacle of the Empire''s physical fighters - which includes archers - the Saints and Saintesses are the pinnacle of the Empire''s wielders of the arcane. Both were needed, both were strong, and when put together, they tended to leave little behind whenever they fought the Empire''s enemies. However, the number of Saints and Saintesses were outnumbered by the Knights due to the far stricter, and far rarer circumstances needed to sculpt a person into such a powerhouse. Anyways, those were my experiences with the strongest people; the Marquess and the Countess stood above the masses as forces of nature. The Demoness who could singlehandedly deal with most monsters and wielded an immense de like it was nothing, backed further by her advanced understanding of Fire Magic as well as a pact to an Arch Fiend; Chordeva Asmodia stands atop a pinnacle that many will never be capable of climbing. And an Elf who wields one of the deadliest elements with insane precision and power, capable of fighting up close or from afar with equal grace and prowess; Ria Haniel might be weaker than her wife, but she is still a woman that had earned the right to look down at the masses with pride. Those were the two women that I had always seen and believed to be strong, butparatively?I think you should take a look at The weakest of the seven women in front of me was on par with the Countess - Lorelei Presa, Vampire and Saintess of Blood - with the remaining six only bing exponentially stronger from there. Each of them radiated raw power - even if they tried to hide it, it was just something that had been chiseled into their very bones - that you just had to bow your head in awe as they stood there. Ashen haired and ruby eyed, Leone''s Mother radiated the same threatening aura that the Countess had whenever she dropped the kind mask she wore in public - Lady Presa. A Dragon that draws strength from the very mountain we stood on, wielding Fire Magic as naturally as I breathed and as strong as the Marquess physically - Lady Igna. The blonde haired Priestess who smiled warmly at everyone, her white pearls shimmering gold while her fair white skin held a golden luster, the serene Lady D''Arcon. Beside her, the towering ck skinned Demon Wolf that we hade to know and respect, her muscr frame and arrogant smirk every bit frightening andforting - Lady Fenryas. As white as snow and confidently unting her curves, with a smirk daring anyone to take a peek while her aura remained as frigid as a blizzard - Lady Yusa. Gnarled wood constructed her body, and like her Priestess ''sister'' she wore a soothing smile, the Saintess of Life pulsed with power that whispered of the wonders and horrors it could bring in equal measures - Lady Theresa. Finally, the most imposing of them all, and the woman who had built this Empire from the ground up, a woman that everyone - no matter the country - respected and feared - The Empress of Ash. These seven were in a league of their own, a league that was capable of razing this country - perhaps even the northern half of the continent - without even breaking a sweat, their power so far above ours that it made me feel like the work I had put in was moot. I felt like a level 1 slime staring up at a fully kitted out level 100 character in an MMO; guaranteed to die just by existing in proximity of them. In fact, everyone in this room felt like that, as we all knelt respectfully to the seven women standing before us, while their children bowed deeply to their parents. This one moment - a moment that meant nothing to them - put a new perspective into each of our souls. A perspective that stoked the desires to get stronger, to perhaps reach a level where we meant something in front of them; to reach a level where we might instill the same feeling into someone else... And to do that, to reach that level where we might feel like we were making true strides towards the pinnacle that they upied, we needed to go through hell... That was exactly why the ck skinned Demon Wolf stepped forwards, grinning wickedly at each of us, her silver eye filled with such foreboding and promise that we all shuddered, only to steel ourselves as we prepared to listen to her words. Chapter 467 466: Monster Mash Lady Fenryas stepped forwards and grinned at all of us, her silver eye flooded with anticipation as she began to speak, her words washing over the assembled Knights like a cold ocean wave. "I was thinking, and that''s such a shame for all of you. See, I could keep continuing with the sparring, and add in some extra... ''oomph'' by forcing you all to spar against me one by one, and while that would certainly improve you going forwards..." She approached Chordeva and Belian, grinning wildly at them as she continued "Some of you wouldn''t get much of a return on that type of training. You don''t have much that needs polishing; you need more material to add to your ''des'' and further improve your strength. So how could I torture you all into acquiring that material~? That was the question, but then~!" Lady Fenryas turned and approached Lady Theresa, beaming at the shorter Elf as she gave her an exaggerated bow, which made the woman roll her eyes. "Our esteemed Theresa came up with an excellent idea~! What if I brought back one of the more... barbaric trainings of the Fenrika tribe? What if I had the Hunting Grounds of the Academy reserved for a few days and nights, and brought some of the tougher critters out of Zhu''Rong Caverns? What if we had someone with really potent Nature Magic - alongside a contingent of other Nature Mages - working around the clock to breed and stimte the growth of said monsters~?" Everyone stared at the Demon Wolf with wide eyes, not daring to think about any of the possibilities of what she was insinuating. "Hand selected, selectively bred and nurtured, for each and every single one of you~? Monsters that are around - or even above - your level and meant to challenge you and push you to your limits. To push you past those limits, so that you can finally be stronger, so that you can finally work past your ws in some realbat, and not spars. That is what we are going to be doing for the next few days. Each and every single one of you is going to be fighting against a monster selected and nurtured specifically for you... and that includes you, dear children. Both groups of you. There is no escaping this~!" Her grin turned evil, and we all shuddered as we looked towards the Empress, who was wearing a small smile as she nodded, confirming and sealing our fates. If the Empress thought that this was a good idea, and that she agreed with Lady Fenryas, well... There was nothing we could do to stop it. Even her own children - Leone included - were to be sent out to fight against a monster, but... "Respectfully, Lady Fenryas, how have you managed to locate, nurture, and contain a monster that Chordeva and I could possibly find challenging? There are few to be found, so..." The Demon Wolf grinned at Belian, who flinched as she cooed "Good question, my dear little Demon~! You see, you seem to have forgotten that we''ve a nice, helpful Arch Fiend chained inside the Pce, one that specializes in researching and experimentation~! Of course I took time to look after my two precious gems... Neither of you are exempt from being polished further, Belian, Chordeva." The Marquess just set her jaw as she met Lady Fenryas'' gaze, likely wondering just what abomination she would be facing down inside the Hunting Grounds of the Academy - a ce we had yet to step foot into, but one that was supposed to be home to various monsters that were raised and nurtured for the sole purpose of providing the students deemed worthy - and strong enough - a ce to temper themselves.I think you should take a look at "The tradition that Fen speaks of - the one that the Fenrika used to use to select their elite warriors - was called a ''Monster Mash''. Simple enough premise - the monsters either mashed you, or you mashed the monsters. Now, we can''t be losing any of you, what with the changes taking ce around the world at the moment, but that doesn''t mean I will be stepping in to save you should you be in mortal danger. Remember, Arc has potent enough healing magics to bring you back, and with the Nature Mages and the cooperation of Tza''Yul, you will not die. That doesn''t mean you should ck, as you will wish you were dead when you get to feel your body ripped to pieces. Not a pleasant experience, I can tell you that much." We all nched as the Empress smirked at us, while her children shuddered as their Mom all nced towards them, that same smirk directed at them. "That includes you, my children. Whilst it does pain me to say this, I will not coddle you going forwards. Another age of strife is upon us, and I will not rob you of an opportunity to improve yourselves, no matter how much it might hurt me to watch. Each of you is capable ofing out of this triumphant; you just need to apply yourselves..." She looked back towards the Knights, her smile softening as she added "That goes for you as well; each of you were carefully studied and provided a monster that you can beat. No matter how Fen tries to put you down, each of you are far more capable than you believe. Trust the skills that you''ve honed over these years, trust yourselves, and you can beat these monsters. You wouldn''t be Knights otherwise." Lady Lorelei looked towards us, her smile slightly pained as she said "As for you, Leone, and your group, try your best... and good luck." "Yeah yeah yeah, whatever. Either beat your monster and prove yourself, or enjoy the taste of death without actually dying~! I''m sure you can all do it, but that doesn''t mean I won''t find amusement if you fail~!" --- Webnovel added a new thing for every book to do, and some of you have likely already seen it; they added the ability for you to vote on characters inside the book - provided that I create the character entries. Just open up ''My Servant System'' to the point where you could read the synopsis and all that, and you should see the characters - currently I have Kat, Anput, Jahi, Leone, Chordeva, Ria, Julie, and the Empress. You have the ability to vote for free once a day, or vote with points, as well as voting with coins if you want to support me further. Anyways, that''s it; I''ll have characters on Reincarnated soon, so... yeah. --- Chapter 468 467: Mashing The Monster Before any of us could make an argument or try and skip out of this ''Monster Mash'' that Lady Fenryas wanted to subject us to, Lady Lorelei stepped forwards and tossed a scroll into the air, making the Marquess sigh. A brilliant light filled the entire training grounds, and we had to shield our eyes before we were blinded by the sh. When we were able to see once more, the first thing we noticed was that we were no longer inside the training grounds of the Pce, but instead... Elsewhere. The sand was reced with a thin, fine ck gravel, whilst the air was thick with heat haze as streams of magma slowly crept around the ins. "Was a teleport scroll really needed here, Empress? Could we have not just... walked?" The Empress chuckled, raising her hands slightly in defense as she said "We could have, but that scroll was just lying around, waiting to be used~ Besides, it was something that Tess drew up real quick for an asion like this, so... It''s fine." We all stared at the Empress nkly, wondering how it was just ''fine'' for us to waste such a valuable scroll like that on a whim, which made the entirety of our group just short circuit for a moment. Sensing that, the Empress just scratched her cheek before turning around, gesturing towards the giant cages that had been constructed, inside of which monsters growled and lunged at the thick metal bars, slobbering and snarling at our sudden appearance. "Look! The various monsters we requisitioned from the Zhu''Rong Caverns! Dracogriffs, Drakes, Smanders, Spartoi... All kinds of interesting things brought up from the mountains depth!" We gave her a dry gaze, letting her know that none of us were so young as to fall for her diversionary tactic, which made her chuckle again, giving Chordeva a smile as the Demoness stepped forwards and asked "So then, how are we doing this? Volunteers? If so, let me get this out of the way..." Lady Fenryas grinned, nodding as she waved everyone off to the side and walking beside the Marquess as she led her towards one of therger cages, where a scaled monster red silently at the two women. "Is that a..?" The Demon Wolf''s grin widened further, her silver eye shing with amusement as she announced "This is indeed a rare monster that we luckily found~! One obsidian scaled, magma bellied, extremely vtile and dangerous Volcanis Drake! Something that has scales harder than some of the strongest metals, a near impervious carapace to fire, sharp ws, fangs ready to rend flesh, and speed that shouldn''t be possible with its weight! What do you think, Chordeva~? Do you like my gift to you~?" Draping her arm around the Marquess'' shoulder, Lady Fenryas chuckled as the blue skinned Demoness replied in a dry voice, her ruby eyes narrowed as she said "Just lovely, Lady Fenryas. Absolutely perfect." Whilst they were speaking, the Empress guided us aside and waited for Lady Fenryas to return to us, after she told the Marquess "This is your arena, you insufferable brat~ Maybe a quality opponent that wants to kill you will drill some respect into that thick, horned skull of yours?" As she said that, the ck skinned woman raised har hand and lifted the stone ground that we stood on, arge teau of ck rock elevating us above the Marquess, who briefly nced towards us when she heard the noise. Shaking her head, she unsheathed her ymore and stared at the cage, which began to melt away as the Demon Wolf waved her hand. "This is NOT how I wanted to spend these days..." Everyone heard the woman''s exasperated tone, and I couldn''t help but smile wryly as I nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with her; I never thought that there woulde a day where my ''teachers'' and trainers would raise monsters specifically meant to counter my every advantage and kill me - all while telling me that, should I be ''killed'', I would just be brought back to life with all the memories of having been killed still in my mind. In other words, mentally scarred and traumatized for the rest of my third lease on life if I messed up.I think you should take a look at Shaking me from my thoughts was the deep, echoing roar of the Volcanis Drake, the ck scaled monster stomping out of its now melted cage and ring at the Marquess. Four legged, the monster was low to the ground and covered in sharp scales and spikes, whilst its every breath caused heat to radiate from its razor fanged maw and from between each te of scales, which gleamed in the orange light of this cavern. Without waiting for it to figure everything out, the Marquess shot forwards far faster than an arrow from a bow and mmed her ymore into its skull, shutting its maw and silencing its roar. The monster only grunted as the blow forced its head to bounce off the ground, its red eyes ring at the Marquess as it prepared to spring up. Before it could, she raised her booted foot and stamped on its head, before stabbing her ymore down. The tip swirled with red mana as she imbued her weapon with her arcane powers, only for that too to ricochet off the monsters hardened carapace. Clicking her tongue, she jumped back as a burst of mes erupted from the Volcanis Drake''s body, the mes spilling from between the scales and dripping onto the ck grain below, melting it together. "Fucking resilient... hate these things..." Resting her de on her shoulder, the Marquess sighed before watching as the Volcanis Drake began to rush forwards, roaring at her once more. "Shut UP!" Once more, her booted foot left the ground as she kicked the monsters jaw, cracking some of its teeth as she redirected its hungry charge. Before the Volcanis Drake could reorient itself, she shed her ymore straight towards the monsters maw, the sharp edge tearing through the flesh and cutting deep into its head. Growling, the Marquess wrenched the de forwards some more, cleaving her ymore through the monsters neck and snapping its spin with a quick flick of her wrist, killing it. Without even ncing at the quiet tform, she knelt beside the beast and began to wrench off its scales, piling them beside her as she shouted "I needed some new armor anyways, Lady Fenryas! Thanks for the gift!" "Oh you insolent little..!" "Fen,e now~! You should know better..." The Demon Wolf was ring at the kneeling Demoness, who was harvesting what she could from the rapidly decaying Volcanis Drake''s corpse, straining against the Empress arms and trying to lunge at her. "Chordeva is too... qualified for a test like this. We both know that. Whatever you ced in front of her on such short notice would NOT fare well against her... Though, I imagine the others will still struggle." She doused the hopes of everyone with a smile, which made the Demon Wolf grin as she turned towards the rest of us, noticing our slumped shoulders instantly. "Oh, you..! Haha~! I might not have been able to get Chordeva, but the rest of you~? Oh, I look forwards~ to this... Give me my show, my petent'' little Knights... Who''s next~?" Chapter 469 468: Equal Mash Jahi PoV Watching as Mom retrieved the various ck scales and long, grey bones from the now dead Volcanis Drake, I pursed my lips as I contemted what my opponent could possibly be. In theory, the Volcanis Drake was a perfect counter to Mom in many ways; extremely resilient scales, immune to Fire Magic to a high degree, strong, quick... It did everything right in its evolution to fight against Mom, but at the end of the day it was just a monster; it''sck of intelligence and sentience robbed it of the ability to be the threat to her that it was meant to be. Of course, I wasn''t deluded enough to believe that just because my Mom managed to easily win hers I would win mine, let alone in such an easy manner, and with Lady Fenryas'' words ringing around the clearing, I set my jaw as Mom jumped up to join us, her mana wrapped around the various monster parts in her arms. Far from enough to create a piece of armor from just them, they would likely be added to an alloy to further increase whatever she hadmissioned, either as is or melted down; I didn''t exactly know how forging with monster parts worked, so... Anput instantly was by her side, the Jackalkin curious as she inspected the small, splintered scale that Mom tossed her, like she knew that she needed to give the tanned woman some type of distraction before hand. "Alright! Who''s next?" There was a brief silence before the Knights began to mutter to one another, none wanting to go up just yet, so they started egging their friends to go first. I stepped up, wanting to get this out of the way and see just how terrifying the monster reared to counter me would be. "Oh~! So the brat wants to follow in her Mom''s footsteps~? Sounds like a n to me... Go, go. As soon as your down in the arena, search for the cage that''s melting quick; otherwise, just prepare yourself to get attacked..." Nodding, I stepped off of the tform without another word, unsheathing the great sword on my back and resting its edge on my shoulder, all while I scanned the surrounding area. Dozens upon dozens of cages were littered around the cavern, some illuminated by the magma flowing around the groundzily, others pitch ck. Looking between all of them, I found the one that was melting, but the monster inside was already gone. I strained my hearing as I stepped forwards, entering the open space and looking around, searching for any signs of the escaped monster; there was not a chance that it would be allowed to leave, not with the seven powerful women above looking down over the arena. Though, I could feel a multitude of gazes on just me, and three of them were burning a hole into my back, making me smile wryly. Probably should have said something to them, but oh well~ Hearing something behind me, I looked around my shoulder and frowned, not seeing anything - nor any disced ck sand or any tracks... So I''m fighting something sneaky - likely quick too, since those tend to be hand in hand on monsters, though it could be something like a panther or leopard; a stealthy, yet powerful monster... I continued to search the area around me before sighing, rousing my mana and sending it towards my hand as I traced out a rather simple, quick spell. A sphere of golden light appeared in my palm, and I tossed the sphere up, illuminating the cavern and various cages in bright golden rays, giving me a better view of the caged monsters and arena. Many hissed or growled as they shied away from the bright light, but I ignore the monsters inside the cages and instead focused on searching for mine, only to grunt as I felt something collide with me from behind. Stumbling forwards, I spun and grabbed for the thing that mmed into me, my fingers brushing against smooth fur. I barely managed to see the ck and gray furred monster that attacked me, its four eyes screwed shut as it hissed in pain. However, as I tried to kick the monster, it jumped back and hid amongst the cages again, slowly getting used to the harsh light. Chasing after it wasn''t a smart decision either, as the caged monsters were all trying to get free and attack me, and with them all ced with only a few feet between them, that would be a terrible idea. So, I had to track it with my eyes, following it as it prowled between the various cages. Around four feet long and three feet tall, the monster had a furry front half and a scaly back half, both of which were as dark as possible so that it could blend in with the surrounding environment. Those four eyes were gleaming with malice, before the monster surrounded itself in thin strands of green mana, its fur stiffening as itunched itself at me suddenly.I think you should take a look at Raising my sword, I prepared to swat it away before grunting, sharp pains flooding my side as the monster jumped mid air to crash into my ribs. Its fur pricked past my armor and peppered my skin with wounds, whilst the momentum cracked a rib. Before it could bring its ws to bear, I jabbed the pommel of my weapon into its temple, pushing it away as I tried to stabilize myself, only to grunt again as it just performed the same trick, creating a tform in the air to jump back at me. This time, it crashed into my knee, buckling it and forcing me down. Growling in annoyance, I flooded my system with mana and stood up, ignoring the pain and focusing on the blur of fur and scales that scrambled around me. Raising my hand, I began to trace runes before smirking, watching as it lunged forwards to attack upon seeing the golden runes. I cleaved my de towards its lithe body, watching as it avoided the sword once more, only for it to yelp as my fist crashed into its shoulder. Tumbling away, it got to its feet and red at me, before bounding forwards as it saw another rune flicker into existence. This time, it prepared itself for the feint and jumped twice, trying to avoid any attacks I could send its way. However, I didn''t bother and just finished the spell, only grunting as it mmed its head straight into my abdomen, cracking a few more ribs and knocking the air from my lungs. My fingers continued to move, finishing the spell even as its long ws sunk into my side, hooking into my muscles and trying to tear them out. A sh of brilliant gold erupted around us, and the monster screeched as it felt chains wrap around its body, constricting tighter and tighter as it wrung the things neck, earning a satisfying crunch. Dropping to the ground, the dual material monsterid there lifeless, blood clinging to its talons as its paw slipped from my side, making me wince. cing my palm on the wounds, I took shallow breaths as I began to heal myself, before gingerly lowering myself to the ground as I searched the monster for something valuable. Not finding anything, I shrugged as I instead decided to trust my instincts and unsheathed a dagger, plucking its eyes and opening it up, revealing its organs. Surely something here would be worth something... Wrapping each in a bundle of mana, I watched as the monster slowly turned to dust, leaving me with its four eyes, heart, liver, Core, and some bones, as well as some kind of sack... Shrugging, I stood up and looked back towards the tform, where I saw Mom staring at me with a neutral expression and Lady Fenryas frowning. I made my way back to the tform, jumping up and looking between the two. "Passable." "Fucking boring." As soon as I heard that, I just sighed and shook my head, walking past them and rejoining the three women who were half ring at me, a wry smile on my lips as I offered them... Organs. Oh, and I reeked of blood... Surely this would be enough of a peace offering to make them forgive me for not saying anything to them? ... Right? Chapter 470 469: The Monster Mashed Leone PoV After giving Jahi a firm talking too, the three of us looked towards the arena and watched as the next Knight stepped down - Belian. The red skinned Demon made swift work of his monster as well, his Earth Magic trapping his opponent whilst his serrated sword sliced through flesh and tore the serpentine monster apart, causing my Aunt to be slightly more irate. As such, she took Roman and shoved him into the arena, her son shouting back "Oh you have got to be shitting me! Mother, the hell..!" Unsheathing his daggers instantly, Roman looked around the arena warily, all whilst Lady Fenryas cackled above him, shouting "Good luck, Roman~! Have fun, my son!" Cursing loudly, he watched as a giant scaled Drake stomped forwards, therge wingless dragon exhaling ash as it red at the lithe Wolfkin man. Observing my Aunt''s expression as Roman began to run around the arena made me shudder, her wide grin filled with such malice and sadistic amusement that everyone around her backed away from her a step, including Mom and my other Aunts. Turning away from the cursing, scrambling figure of my brother, I looked back towards Jahi - who was huddling away from us, her blue skin slightly bruised purple from the multiple hits that we delivered to her - and lifted the proffered heart, staring at it. "This was your idea of a peace offering? An actual heart?" I tried to distract myself from Roman''s pained scream, but I had to look back and see his ck coat be stained with blood as the Drake scratched his chest, making me wince. "W-Well, y''know..? It''s something?" I shook my head as I watched Roman narrowly dodge the sweeping ws of the Drake, managing to not get his arm shredded to pieces. Cowering slightly as I raised a brow at her, I inspected the heart for a moment before handing it back to her, saying "It''s seble, at least... not useful for any potions that I can concoct though. As for the bones and organs, those are useful at least. Still, would it kill you to consult us before charging in recklessly?" The blue skinned Demoness winced at that, before gingerly standing up and approaching me, reaching out and embracing me from behind, trying to get back into my good graces. I enjoyed theforting warm embrace of Jahi as she draped herself over me, while Anput and Kat remained focused on the fight below, wanting to glean more information from the fight - as well as give Jahi the cold shoulder for the moment... Of course, I reached up and stroked the woman''s forearm, wanting to ''ingratiate'' myself with her some more so that whenever we get back to a bed, she could reward me and thank me for- My thoughts continued to drift, only to be brought back as I saw the Drake slice three long gashes into Roman''s side, making the man grunt as he stumbled backwards. His daggers were blunted, and he red hatefully at the monster before coughing up some blood as it mmed him aside. Rolling to his feet, he dredged up his mana andunched himself forwards, two new daggers in his hands as he tried to go for onest ditch effort against the Drake. Red mana coiled around his daggers, and he let out a strained shout as he stabbed the weapons deep into the Drakes scaly hide, causing it to roar in pain. Twisting the des, Roman showered himself in blood before flying back into another cage, the sound of breaking bones sounding out in the arena. Blood leaked from his lips, and he stared nkly at the approaching Drake before gritting his teeth, trying to raise his arm.I think you should take a look at However, his eyes widened as he realized he couldn''t, causing him to slump against the cage as he watched the approaching Drake. Everyone was silent as they watched this happen, none of us daring to believe that he was about to ''die'', but reality could be disappointing. The Empress set her jaw as she stared on, listening to Roman scream in agony as the Drake ripped an arm free from his socket, before its ws dug deep into his belly. The light in his eye began to fade as the sheer amount of blood weeping from his wounds pooled around him, forming a sticky pond of crimson around him. Before it could attempt to finish Roman off, the Drake was enveloped in a scorching ze that turned it to ash, whilst a deep, pulsing red mana gently wrapped around the nearly lifeless Wolfkin. Mom raised him up and pulled him over towards us,ying Roman out in front of Aunt D''Arcon, who instantly pressed her hands against his broken, bloody body. Everyone remained quiet, not daring to breath as the realization of just how horrendous this training could be set in. Watching as Roman''s body was slowly regenerated to its peak state sent shivers down all our spines; everyone here was ustomed to pain, to dealing death, but none of us ever looked like... that. Broken and battered, almost dead... Few coulde back from that, since an incredible healer was required to even stabilize that condition, let alone heal them. Mom was staring at Roman with a neutral expression, while Aunt Fenryas was frowning, her silver eyeplicated; as for Vienna, her features were hard, her eyes dark and flooded with emotion as she stood silently beside her brother. When he was finally healed fully, Roman gasped and sat up, his eyes wide and pupils dted as he reached instantly for his side and stomach, feeling for the wounds. Sweat poured from his pores as he panted, the Wolfkin barely managing to stabilize his breathing before swallowing hard, trying not to puke. Aunt D''Arcon gently stroked his back, her palm still enveloped in golden light, while Aunt Theresa knelt down in front of him, smiling softly as she reached forwards to caress his cheek, getting his attention. The man focused on her gentle green eyes, before leaning his head against her wooden chest as she embraced him. Vienna looked down at her brother and growled softly, before she retrieved the dual falchions from her waist and stepped off the tform, dropping into the arena. Aunt Fenryas just waved her hand, not drawing her eye from Roman as he quietly hyperventted in Aunt Theresa''s arms, her emotions tooplicated to decipher. Jahi squeezed me tight, her worry obvious as she looked back towards the arena, wondering which of the cages held my opponent. Anput''s opponent. Kat''s opponent. Chapter 471 470: Vampiric Prowess Vienna dropped down instantly into the arena, her twin falchions held loosely by her side as she strode to the center, looking around at the various cages quietly as she searched for her prey. Locating it quickly, Vienna lunged forwards to meet the monster, her falchions hardened by an extrayer of Metal Magic as she shed them down towards the scale armored Spartoi that lumbered out towards her. Raising its giant shield, the Spartoi blocked her blows - albeit needing to step back from the impact - before cleaving its equallyrge bone axe towards her head, looking to split her in two. It chittered in annoyance as she dodged the attack, her falchions scoring twin gouges on its shield and tearing away a few scales, making the bulky Spartoi chitter again, its thick bones rattling as it stomped forwards. Parrying her attack, it tried once more to sh the axe through her body, only to meet air as the ck skinned Wolfkin rolled under it,ncing a falchion up and into one of its ribs, cracking it. Growling, Vienna avoided another swing of its axe before narrowly rolling away from its shield, which it mmed down towards her legs, intending to shatter them. As she sprung to her feet, a pir of rock shot from the earth and impacted against her side, knocking her away and into the swing of the axe. A silver sheen covered her skin as she defended herself from the attack, but I still flinched as I heard her pained hiss as the heavy axe hit her other side. Before the Spartoi could follow it up, Vienna pressed forwards and tried to lower the monsters capabilities, barreling into it and staggering it. Whilst it was off bnce, she stabbed her falchions into its chest and pulsed them with mana, disrupting its Core and making the Spartoi freeze. Another pulse of mana weakened the Spartoi, and Vienna leapt at that opportunity. Releasing her falchions, she coated her hands in metal and reached forwards, taking ahold of the horned skull and squeezing, shattering it, before breaking apart its ribcage and yanking the Core out, crumbling the pulsing brown orb into dust as she retrieved her falchions. Breathing heavily, she stumbled over towards the tform before getting lifted up by one of the Knights, wincing as she held both sides of her own ribcage. Aunt D''Arcon gave Roman onest pat and stood up, making her way over towards Vienna and healing her - the Wolfkin woman was looking down at her brother once more, who had drifted asleep inside Aunt Theresa''s arms. From the little I knew of Roman, the man specialized in stealth and support roles, acting as a Rogue and Tracker for adventuring parties; he hunted, located, and trapped his prey, relying on preparation and teamwork to take down opponents on his own level. Not the strongest individual, but when paired with someone - like his sister, for example - he made for a lethalpanion, and one who''d ensure quite a bit of sess. He wasn''t a fighter, which was why the rest of us who were like him - ranged fighters, mages, or those that required preparation - were pale as we looked down at the arena, not knowing how we would manage. No one could avoid being in closebat situations, no matter how potent of an archer or mage you were, so this training was helpful - we needed to learn how to deal with threats stronger than us, or who were able to resist our magics - but that didn''t mean that we were all prepared to go through with this... As if deciding to try his luck, a Hawkkin leapt into the arena next, his longbow already nocked with an arrow ready as he searched for his prey. His taloned feet left no marks on the gravel as he walked silently, whilst his wings were tucked close to his back, making him a small figure. The fight between him and his equally small feline monster went on for a few minutes, arrows raining down around where the monster would flee too before it eventually took an arrow to the knee, allowing the Hawkkin to put the monster down. Not without a scratch either, as one of his wings was torn up pretty badly whilst his leg was shredded, forcing him to remain stationary inside the center of the arena. When he finally managed to kill his monster, I gently pried Jahi''s arms away from my body and smiled back at her, the Demoness gritting her teeth as she stepped back. Anput and Kat nced at me, their eyes filled with aplicated light as they watched me drop into the arena next. There was no point in waiting, so I began my transition into my True Vampire form, weing the shift as I felt mana flood my body, empowering me further. Time seemed to slow as I looked around, the sounds of the monsters breathing and snarling filling the air. Finding the melting cage, I stared at the giant serpent slithered out, its orange scales and ck patterns informing me that it was an Infernal Serpent, something nearly immune to fire. It''srge red eyes met mine, and I watched as the monster slithered closer and closer, swaying hypnotically as it opened its jaws, revealing two fangs as tall as I was that dripped with reddish ck venom. When the Infernal Serpent began to lunge at me, I waited for it to approachpletely before stepping aside, avoiding the powerful jaws and preparing an attack of my own. Before it could react, the Infernal Serpent writhed ufortably as a chain made from raw mana wrapped around its head, tightening and crunching some of the scales as I yanked back. Obviously, this monster was far stronger than I was, so I staked my end of the chain into the earth and moved away, taking a deep breath as I brought one of my sharpened nails up to my wrist. Cutting from my palm to my elbow, I hissed softly as I felt blood seep out of the thin - yet deep - cut, but I needed this medium to begin casting.I think you should take a look at My blood trickled down towards my finger, and I wove together runes to begin imbuing the strands of blood with my will, granting me power over it. All whilst I did that, the Infernal Serpent strained against its chain, trying to break free; it''s tail tried to stab at me, but I had ced myself at just the right spot to avoid the spiked tail, though debris did rain against my body. With everything prepared, I shaped the blood I had gathered into a loose orb, staring at it with interest before I began to rotate it, all while lengthening one side of the orb into a point. It built up speed swiftly, and after a few moments I nodded to myself, finding this speed and sharpness agreeable as I looked towards the Infernal Serpent. Hearing and feeling the mana chain snap, I hoisted the orb back and chucked it towards the monster, watching in interest as the blood collided with orange scales, punching through and entering the monsters body. Clenching my fist, I willed the orb to explode, causing the lunging Infernal Serpent to freeze as its spine was splintered, the body around the impact point bloating before bursting. Now in two pieces, the Infernal Serpent mmed into the ck sand, dead. Releasing my True Vampire form, I sighed as I felt the drain of mana inside my Core, its limiter back on and making me feel weak and lightheaded. However, I was done with my trial, Aunt Fenryas likely not expecting me to have made some progress with my Vampiric powers and hoping I would try and best the monster with my Fire Magic. Leaping back onto the tform, I saw another of the Knights drop down at the same time, beginning her trial. Jahi took my forearm and ced her palm over it, a harsher golden light spilling from her palmpared to Aunt Fenryas. The wound knit itself together rather crudely, my entire arm itchy, but it did the trick - especially after the Demoness took the time to remove the scar that would have formed through natural healing. With my arm taken care of, she lifted it up and kissed the bottom of my palm, her amethyst eyes relieved that that was the only wound I had taken. --- Got some art for some characters, but it may or may not post because of this site''s wonderful guidelines on pictures; so if they don''t sorry, but otherwise... Empress Igna D''Arcon Yusa Lorelei (Either or, it generated two women) Fenryas Chordeva Ria Kolia Kat Murderpuppy Julie Jahi Anput --- Chapter 472 471: Puppy One Anput PoV I rolled my eyes as I watched Jahi flirt with Leone, the two lost in their own world of pink roses as Jahi kissed the Vampire Princess'' wrist, before trailing her lips up towards her cheek - all while Leone was melting beneath her, swooning quietly as she blushed and yfully swatted Jahi''s arm, enjoying her attention and affection. Personally, I could never understand the whole courtship thing that the Empire had, the cultural difference one that never truly ''clicked'' for me - even when I tried to shift my personality a bit to conform to this ces norms for the one I loved, hoping it would secure my spot even further... Looking back, the moment Jahi robbed me of my virginity was the moment that I was guaranteed that spot, as the political discourse that would have overtaken the Sultanate and Empire would not have been worth the single session of sex between us. Besides, Mom would have willingly waged war against the Asmodia''s for that, and considering her personal strength is somewhere just above the Marquess'', well... The Empress might have just bound us together anyways to avoid dealing with the problems that would have popped up... So as I turned away from the flirting Demoness and Vampire, I instead watched as Monkeykin woman spun her bo staff and knocked away a thin needle that sped towards her throat, her furry arms moving around in a blur as she defended herself. Caressing the metal rod hanging from my belt, I wondered just what I should use as I watched the fight below, hardening my resolve toe out on top when I nced over at Roman, who was now standing silently off to the side, back to ''normal''. His eyes wereplicated as he stared at the fight as well, likely experiencing a mixture of anger, shame, fear, and more as he reyed the fight in his mind, and that sight made me want to seed even more than before. I wouldn''t EVER want to feel like that again; to feel fear after a battle, to be thinking about how I could have done something different to achieve an oue in which I won, and not lost. I had ''lost'' enough already, I had been ''defeated'' more than enough times. Not again. Never again... My thoughts had already been gued by enough ''what if''s'' and ''I could haves'' for a lifetime, and I never wanted to have to ask those questions again. Something that I had swore once before, but now? Now I decided to do ANYTHING I could to guarantee that, even if it meant pushing my body to it''s absolute limits. Setting my jaw, I approached the edge and watched as the Monkeykin grunted, her shoulder dislocated as the spined hound mmed against her, before she growled as it bit deep into her side, trying to tear away flesh. Grabbing it, the woman dug her fingers into its body and pulled, yanking out its ribs and stabbing it repeatedly with it, even as arge chunk of muscle was pulled from her side. Blood poured from their wounds, but the monster was the first to fall, the various stab wounds and broken bones finishing it off. Leaning on her bo staff, she dragged in a haggard breath before falling backwards, where she was enveloped in Lady D''Arcon''s golden light. Before anyone else could, I dropped into the arena, nodding to Kat as I did so and taking my ce at the center. Not even a secondter, a giant Firefang stalked over towards me, the feline monsterden with muscle and covered in thick orange fur. Seeing the familiar monster from the upperyers of Zhu''Rong, I frowned before shifting the rod into a naginata, the curved de and long spear shaft giving me shing power and reach needed tobat this agile, yet powerful monster. Sharp fangs, resistance to fire, speed, heavy weight, power, control, talons... Firefangs were versatile hunters, with mortals being their favorite prey. Normally, they weren''t too much of a problem for me, but this had been nurtured specifically for me. Likely stronger and faster, given an even mix of the two since I was a speedster myself, whilst its arcane prowess was likely tuned towards resistances... Adding some weight to the naginata''s de, I jabbed it forwards to see what the monster would do, beginning our dance with a simple thrust.I think you should take a look at Dodging the attack, the Firefang then lunged forwards as a counter, raising itsrge paw and pping it down towards me, hoping to turn me to paste. Instead, I retrieved my naginata and rolled towards it, slipping beneath the outstretched limb and jabbing the weapon once more, stabbing it into the monsters fur. I grunted as the monster hardened its fur with mana, the red glow of Fire Mana making the orange strands glimmer, stopping the naginata from pushing deep into its muscr torso. With one theory proved right, I rolled away again, instantly making the decision to aim for any avable orifice and deal damage from that; or if Inded a lucky wound somewhere, I could add onto that and slowly kill the monster. The Firefang began tounch itself at me, pressing an attack constantly as it swiped, snapped, wed, and swatted at me, trying to hit me. Each hit it tried tond was enough to kill, the weight and added sharp fangs / ws breaking and slicing into my body if they didnd. I doubt that I would be able to keep up this game of running away, but I needed an opening for the ability to do anything. Few other weapons would give an advantage here, and I would rather the reach and weight of a spear over anything else... Dodging yet another sh, I found the opening I was looking for - recognizing the feint as well, and ying into it - and stabbed the naginata towards the monsters eye. Shifting its head, the Firefang tried to bite the weapon and tear it from my hands, only to yelp as I too feinted, stabbing not at its eye but at its nose. The spear cleanly sliced into the soft flesh, and blood began to weep from its nostril, the monsters eyes wide as it tried to back away. Stimting the Metal Mana inside me, I shifted the naginata''s curved de into a ball, bursting the material and digging spikes into its snout, surprising it. Yanking back as it froze, I tore off arge chunk of its nose and grinned, blood sttering my body as I shifted the weapon once more, transforming it into a giant cleaver as I capitalized on the monsters shock. Two deep gashes cut through its face, one of which robbed the creature of an eye while the other deepened the wound on its nose - what was left of it, anyway. Growling in agony, the Firefang burst into mes and pounded towards me, making my grin fade as I coated myself in metal and created a shield, meeting its charge. I nted my feet into the gravel and encased my legs in rock, while I began to encase my shield in it as well, stopping the monsters frenzied charge. My arms burned as the metal of my shield began to glow red, the heat from the monsters magic almost as bad as Leone''s... As I stood firm beneath its various attacks, I traced a finger over the back of my shield and began to formte a spell, creating a Ritual Circle despite its onught. Tapping the set of runes, I activated the spell as soon as it finished, listening closely as pirs of rock erupted from the ground, spearing into the Firefang''s body and impaling it. Despite receiving various wounds, the monster shed through my shield and tore into my arm, its ws razor sharp and cutting through the metals. I had to clench my teeth hard to avoid screaming as I felt the muscles and bone tear and break, and the globs of condensed venom dripped onto my chest, sizzling through my mana and chewing into my flesh. However, as I was receiving wound after wound, the Firefang was being impaled by dozens of spears, each one bursting inside its body and shredding its organs and bones, killing it. When it copsed in front of me, I broke free from my rock casing and staggered towards the arena, trying my hardest to ignore the pains of ame left arm and the venom slowly eating away at my stomach. Blood dripped from my lips, but I sighed as a warm, gentle golden light was wrapped around me, sapping the venom from my body and mending the damage done. Another Knight dropped in as I was lifted out, Lady D''Arcon''s mana doing me wonders as I basked in its brilliance, before a different kind of warmth enveloped me as Kat pulled me over towards her. I could feel her Water Manapping at my body, doing a double check as well as cleaning me off as she held me, and I smiled at her as I rested against her, enjoying the attention. Chapter 473 472: Puppy Two Kat PoV I fussed over Anput as soon as she returned to the tform, my Water Magic gliding over her toned body and searching for any injuries that might have been left behind - despite knowing full well that Lady D''Arcon was NOT going to miss any wounds... Besides that, I hugged her close, my mind slightly in turmoil after seeing her get hurt during that fight; it was a reaction that I doubt would ever go away, despite knowing full well that all of us would get injured sometimes. Just seeing her have any kind of serious injury was enough to make my heart pound in my chest, dread filling my system and making me shudder as I felt like I had been submerged into arctic waters. My mate sensed that, giving me her signature arrogant smirk as she squeezed my waist, holding me close as I continued to look her over, until we were eventually resting our brows together, staring into one another''s eyes. "I''m alright, Kat... Really." I bit my lip as I searched those obsidian eyes, before I reluctantly sighed and tried to pull away. As soon as I did that, she adopted a pained expression and spoke in an exaggerated manner, groaning "Oh it hurts..! I can''t possibly stand on my own~!" Smirking at me, she pulled me back and leaned close, her breath warm against my cheek as she whispered "Since Jahi is buttering up Leone for our return, that means you''re mine, Kat... When this is all over, let''s mate all day long..." Anput nipped my neck before adding "Though, that''ll need to wait after a few hours... I have a gift for you." My ears twitched as I looked at her, curiosity filling me as I tried to glean anything extra from her, only to re at her as she slipped her hand lower, the Jackalkin''s lust obvious as she smacked her lips against mine. She indulged for a brief moment before simply holding me, uncaring of the various smirks and nces we were getting from the various Knights and Royal Family. Of course, they were also ncing at the blue Demoness who was whispering constantly into the now red faced Vampire Princess, with Lady Lorelei rolling her eyes as she watched her daughter be seduced so easily; though the Marquess was just smirking, pride in her ruby eyes. Leaning my head on her shoulder, I stood beside her and watched as the next few people challenged the monsters in the arena, wanting to indulge in this warmth for as long as I could. I wanted this selfish moment to go on forever, but by the time that I watched Monica - Lady D''Arcon''s daughter - smite a tiny feline monster with a barrage of lightning, I pulled away and stepped off the edge, deciding to take my own test. Without thinking I unsheathed Protective Fang and Shatter Fang, the two Fangs my preferred weapons by this point, and I began to search for my opponent, curious at what I would be facing. Jahi faced a Dracogriff - I presume, anyways - while Leone faced an Infernal Serpent and Anput faced a Firefang. What would I be facing..? That was answered quickly, as a sharp shriek filled the cavern as something stomped over towards me, its heavy body belying its speed as it appeared directly in front of me. Raising Protective, I created a threeyered shield as I poured mana into the broad dagger, stopping a set of talons from tearing through my throat. In front of me was an interesting monster; long serpent tail that shifted into the upper body of some type of hawk or eagle, where two giant wings and two taloned ''arms'' were outstretched, all while a beaked, feathered head stared down at me, its red eyes glowing with hate. No idea what it was, but what I do know was that it was strong and fast, its serpent tail whipping around and trying to m into my side, all while its talons shattered one of the shields. Jumping back, I avoided the tail and began to cast some spells, wanting to test the monsters resilience - it had greenish feathers and dark red scales, so perhaps a Lightning Element monster? My hands moved swiftly, and a barrage of water and wind bullets mmed into the monsters body, making it screech as it tried to move away. Small wounds were scattered around its body, but they healed rapidly as the monster shimmered red. Alright, that was a quick spell and it did a decent amount of damage for the speed andck of power behind it.I think you should take a look at Sidestepping another jab of its scaled tail, I began to trace out another set of runes with my Shatter Fang, using the Protective Fang to create various shields around me that blocked whatever attack wasing. I began toyer buffs over myself as I defended against the attacking monster, who was growing more desperate as it''s tail and talons mmed against the shields, shattering them. When I got to a point that I was confident with, I encased Shatter in water and froze it, creating a longsword that I spun once, getting used to the increased weight. nting my feet into the dirt, I shot forwards and lunged at the monster, surprising it as I went from defensive to offensive in mere moments. Opening its beak, the monster sent a bolt of lightning streaking towards my body, which I narrowly dodged as it arced towards me, honing in on the metal daggers. Another bolt struck the ground beside me, while the monsters tail began to stab at the ground, trying to push me into the bolts. I avoided all of them, before leaping up and stabbing the ice de into the monsters feathered chest, grinning as blood spurted out freely from the wound, showering my face in the red liquid. Pulsing my mana into the sword, I leapt backwards as the monster shrieked in pain, splinters of ice poking out of its skin as its internal organs werecerated. However, despite the [Frost of Despoina] activating and the damage dealt from the shatter, the monster remained upright and alive, ring at me as it began to spit bolt after bolt in rapid session, all while it shimmered red, trying to heal the wound. Sheathing Shatter, I encased myself in shields once more and began to rapidly trace out runes, the ethereal blue glow of my Ice Mana mixing with the azure glow of the monsters lightning. When I finished the spell, I watched as the dozens of arrows began to sling forwards at the monster, peppering it with splinters as they thunked into its body. Without missing a beat I started a new spell, the monster screeching as it tried to defend itself against the storm of arrows flying its way as well as stop me from casting another spell. Sadly for it, I had gotten the runes down swiftly, a giantnce of sharp, jagged ice appearing above my head. Simple, yet effective. Raising my hand, I chopped it down as I sent thence forwards, the monster trying to break it with its lightning before trying to block it with its tail. Thence pierced its scales with ease, before piercing the feathered chest of the monster as well, pinning its tail to its chest. Unsheathing Shatter again, I encased it in ice and approached, staring at the squirming monster that bled profusely, the arrows still impacting it. Its eyes held pain and anger in equal measures, but the monster was helpless as I stabbed the ice de towards its throat, piercing the flesh once more before shattering the de. [ipter Lamia - 78,260xp awarded] Seeing the notification, I grinned before searching the monsters corpse, looking for something useful as I began to butcher it. Scales, meat, and its Core were pulled free, as well as some of its green feathers, but I wasn''t lucky enough to know enough about the monster to harvest whatever was considered the most valuable parts... Either way, by the time I stood back up I was coated in blood, but none of it was mine; now that I think about it, I never showed Lady Fenryas the enchantments on my daggers, did I? Wrapping everything in mana, I made my way back to the tform and cleaned myself off, ncing at the Demon Wolf curiously. She was ring at me, snorting as she shook her head before looking towards Lady Lorelei, asking her something. Shrugging, I made my way over towards Anput and the others, showing them my haul and breathing a sigh of relief that this was over - for us anyways... Chapter 474 473: Mashing Over With all four of us out of our battles unscathed - or at least, having been rtively unscathed, with Anput taking the worst damage - we all rxed, grouping together to watch the final matches and learn what we could from the remaining fights. The relief that we felt knowing that - for now - none of us would get hurt again was soothing, and it just made everything easier as we stood together, despite the fact that a few of the Knights... well, a few of them ''met terrible ends''. An Orc got his chest caved in from a variant Drake mming its tail into him, while an Elf woman was bisected cleanly by a Firefang''s ws. The two were left to sit by themselves as they contemted everything, the fear that was in their eyes eventually dissipating as they overcame the mental trauma. Speaking of, Roman had returned to his normal self, though he was still quieter than normal as he chatted with Dante, who was going to gost. Vienna seemed to be relieved about that, her tense shoulders slumping as she managed to finally step away from Roman, listening to her Mother as she was drilled about what she did wrong with her fight, getting hit a few times as Lady Fenryas berated her. We all had gleaned some things from our fights, finding faults in our styles or things we should try to start doing to prevent disaster, and for me it was bolstering my enchanted arsenal and also the usual - furthering my stats and refining my technique. You could argue that relying on enchanted items was a poor decision - and I would understand that - but when I could change the tide of a battle simply because I had items enchanted with spells that could now be activated in an instant, well... Yeah, I was going to be kitted out in an entire suite of enchanted gear made by me and by the System. I mean, even if the ones made by me break, the power and utility they provide is insane... Especially if I could get ''lifesaving talismans'' figured out? Something that activates and redirects damage from you to itself, saving you from being injured? Yeah, those would be insane to have... As for acquiring more System Made Items, I was slowly ruing Shop Points from my daily quests, filling my wallet and preparing me for a spending spree when this was all over. I wanted to give each of them something, but I still needed toe up with a way to exin where they came from without going through the whole ''system'' thing. That... could lead to way to many issues that I simply never wanted to deal with, on so many different levels. Not risking it. Anyways, the mashing eventually reached a crescendo when Dante stepped out, the Dragonkin mannding on the ground with a thud, his heavy armor discing some of the ck grain sand. His tower shield and mace shone with red light as he strode into the arena, looking towards the remaining cage. A feline monster dashed out, its lithe body rippling with powerful muscles as itunched itself at the man.I think you should take a look at Raising his shield, he prepared to block it before shifting his body to the side as the feline jumped in mid air again, trying to surprise him. Its outstretched ws raked against his te armor, and I saw tiny runes sh as a sheen of red mana covered the tes, adding ayer of defense in top of the heavy armor. The feline barely managed to dodge the heavy mace, its ded head scratching the monsters hind leg as it flew through the air,nding a short distance away. "His armor is enchanted? Wow, that must have cost a pretty tinum..." I nodded, still leaning against Anput as I said "It lookedplex too... most of his gear is enchanted, actually. All of itplex too..." My mate leaned further against me, asking "Hey, so the Marquess wanted me to start making some gear for the Asmodia Guards... I think I''m going to start-" I listened to her as we watched Dante hone his skills against the feline, the man perfecting his timing and riling the monster up before bashing its skull in with the mace. Hearing that Anput was going to begin smithing on arger scale, I smiled warmly at her as I congratted her, before asking her to begin smithing on something for me as well - which made her smirk slightly, telling me that her ''gift'' was her smithing something personal for me... What it was, I had no idea, but I was looking forwards to it all the same. I have no idea on how long we were inside the cavern, but when we returned home to the Pce, we all reported to the kitchen and saluted the Pigkin chef, making her blush as she had the entirety of the Knights praising her and asking for her services. The Empress and her wives joined us as well, making the kitchen staff work in overdrive as they worked to the utmost of their abilities to impress the Empress. We all chatted as we waited for the feast, before digging in when it was finally served, our appetites more voracious than before. Ale flowed freely when Lady Fenryas announced that tomorrow would be a break - at the insistence of the Empress, who ''red'' at her Demon Wolf wife. The reason seemed simple, as the Empress was seated amongst her children and talking to each of them, though she - and his siblings - were mainly focused on Roman, though Misa and Lisa did get attention as well considering they had both lost limbs inside the arena; they just didn''t ''lose'' as much as Roman did. Hearing that we had a day off, it was pretty obvious what most of the Knights were thinking about, the ale and wine making everything more obvious as they whispered to one another quietly, talking about where - and who - they were going to visit. Nirinia was flirting with Princi, the two already getting heated in the corner as the Djinn caressed the Catkin''s thigh, which made the other Knights smirk. The Marquess was sighing, leaning against her chair as she and Belian both sipped on wine, annoyance in their eyes as they looked around at all their single - or open -panions discuss how they were going to ''blow off some steam'', all while their significant others were elsewhere. With that, the Monster Mash was over - for now - and we were all happy for that, retiring for the night and going to do something to take the edge off from everything that happened... Chapter 475 474: Heat Of A Demoness (1)* Jahi PoV That night, after we had arge meal and learned that we were getting tomorrow off, I had an inkling of something that I wanted. Something that I needed from Kat. That night, I enjoyed being atop all three of my women, the feelings of their insides unique and perfect, while the heat that they felt for me was reciprocated as I sshed their wombs with my scalding seed, taking them each multiple times as the night went on and on... Leone''s soft curves were delectable as I pounded her from behind, the woman''s bountiful breasts swaying hypnotically as I stared at her through the mirror that Kat had created from ice, teasing the Vampire with the sight of her own orgasmic expression as I dominated her body. Anput panted beneath me as I buried her nose near my armpit, dousing her in my scent as I pped my hips down against hers, gouging out her womb and enjoying the firmness of her muscles against mine, the sight of such a physically capable woman like her submitting to me and taking in my cock arousing me greatly. I gave them both as much of my love and lust as I could dumping thick loads of my semen inside their wombs; as for Kat, she attended to whoever I wasn''t pounding into the bed, the Dogkin maid using her breasts, lips, or pussy to get her partners off. ncing at her was always a pleasure, as I got to see my buxom maid pleasuring herself as she used Anput or Leone to get herself off, the two women unable to move after I was finished with them. Of course, I could tell that she was confused, always making a move to be my next partner, only to have her lips wrapped around my cock to clean me off, preparing me for whoever was next. I made sure to let her know that I had something for her though, as those ambers switching to ethereal, ghostly blue wasn''t a good sign; as entertaining as it would be to have her pounce on me, I didn''t crave that right now... So, even as I enjoyed the softness of her breasts or the sight of her ass rippling whenever I spanked it, I only ever took her throat for the night, and I could tell she expected something... exquisite for thisck of attention. And I nned on delivering... Before I fell asleep, I did give Kat a taste of the cock that had conquered her body, pummeling her into the bed before passing out on top of her, still buried inside her womb. That next morning, I was awakened to three tonguespping at my shaft, making me smirk as I looked down at the three women I loved pleasuring me first thing in the morning. Sitting up, I stroked each of them before cumming a few minutester, bathing them in sperm. "Let''s get a bath, and then... Leone, is there an empty room that I can use? Somewhere I won''t be disrupting anyone?" As we entered the bath, the Vampire frowned before nodding, not understanding why I was asking that. "Yes... the adjoining rooms to this one. Why?" My grin widened, and I nced over at the two Canine Beastkin, specifically staring at Kat, making her shiver.I think you should take a look at "Because I need my... ''fix''. If you two want to peep, you can, but otherwise..." Looking back at Leone, I reached over and dragged her into me, kissing her after whispering "The next few hours will be just Kat and I... She has some duties she needs to fulfill as my maid." The Vampire moaned as I lifted her up, my libido achingly high as I began to thrust up into her, our lips still connected. I could hear Anput and Kat mating off to the side as well, but for the moment none of that mattered. It took us an hour to finish up in the bath, and Kat swiftly cleaned herself out and got dressed, donning her red and ck maid uniform before slipping into one of the other rooms. Anput and Leone looked at me with slight confusion, only to shudder as my grin widened when I heard Kat begin to hum to herself in the other room. "Wait... Are you..?" I nced down at the Jackalkin beside me, who was blushing slightly as she added "Going to be... rough... with her? Like how you wanted to be with Leone and I back during the Crusade..?" "Mhm... Now that she''s back, I can... let loose again. Have her do things that I want her to do. You both have seen her act before, have seen how she can switch ''masks'' easily. She was always good at donning masks, but after a few sessions together, well..." I licked my lips, recalling the carriage ride home after the hunting event so long ago; the time that we had first role-yed me forcing myself on her forcefully... "Alright! If you want to watch, you can, but don''t interrupt us... no noises, nothing. Just leave us be." They nodded, before watching as I dressed myself in some of the clothes that I had brought from home meant for this; I had assumed this might be my reward for finishing the training, but who knew that Lady Fenryas would be so~ magnanimous to grant us a day off~? Patting the purple silk shirt and ck silk pants, made to fit me and sewn with rather ornate patterns from gold thread. Something I didn''t really care to wear, but hey, whatever, it was for this situation... Pushing open the door to the adjoining room, I grinned as I saw the Dogkin maid dusting one of the shelves, humming to herself as she worked. Her dress did little to hide herrge breasts, the two giant spheres hugged tightly by her ck dress, while the red apron highlighted their size. As for her curves, the dress did hide her waist, hips, and ass quite well, but with what I knew that lied underneath, I could only lick my lips once more in anticipation... Chapter 476 475: Heat Of A Demoness (2)* Striding into the room, I took a moment to just admire the body of the Dogkin maid in front of me, quietly sizing her up as I stood behind her. Feeling my gaze, she looked back at me in surprise, her amber eyes widening slightly before she sped her hands in front of her and bowed, herrge chest swaying as she did so. "Sorry, did you need something, Lady..?" "Jahi." She nodded, bowing deeply once more as she said "Did you require something, Lady Jahi? If not, I shall finish cleaning and leave your quarters..." I hummed softly as I looked her over once more, before I reached forwards and caressed her cheek, deciding to y a disgusting, entitled Noble for our ytime. Something about making her squeam in disgust as I ravished her sounded rather pleasurable. Nodding to myself, I brushed her brown hair aside, not missing the way she flinched or narrowed her eyes as she looked at me, as well as taking a step back. "I do actually require something, dear maid..." My voice took on a lecherous tone, and she shuddered, fear entering those amber orbs as I stepped forwards, closing the gap between us. "Something perfect for a woman such as yourself..." I caressed her cheek once more, before brushing my finger over her lips, smirking as she squirmed from that action. "L-Lady Jahi..!?" I continued to walk forwards, until she was pushed against a dresser. "Dear maid, I require some cleaning myself~! I have something that needs polishing and maintenance... Would you be a dear and help me with that~?" My breath tickled her cheek, and she shuddered as I guided one of her hands towards my hardening cock. "L-Lady Jahi, t-the maids of the P-Pce don''t do this kind of thing..!" "Oh? Are you sure about that, dear maid..?" Licking her cheek, I chuckled quietly as I pinned her to the dresser, my hands roaming her body as I began to grope her. "Maybe not for normal Nobles, but... Surely you understand who I am? Fiancee of the Princess Leone! Maids do ''this kind of thing'' for me all the time... and you shall be no different!" She tried to push against me, only to gasp as I pped her cheek, the crisp sound filling the room and silencing her as I leaned down, growling "Don''t even THINK to disobey me, you bitch! I could have you executed with just a word!" The Dogkin maid trembled, before reluctantly nodding as I began to grope her breasts again. "I-I... I u-understand, L-Lady Jahi... I s-shall... ''p-provide cleaning...''" "Good..! Good! Now..." My fingers yanked at her maid uniform, and I undid the buttons before pulling it off, revealing thecy underwear beneath. I grinned at her, cooing "You are such~ a slutty little liar! Wearing something like this to work... You were hoping someone woulde fuck you, weren''t you?! Horny bitch!" Her cheeks darkened with shame as I revealed thecy panties she was wearing, which were a tad darker than normal. Smirking, I guided her hand over my cock before lifting her onto the dresser, wrenching her legs apart. "You ready, whore? Are you ready to be fucked by a superior cock?!" I slipped my pants down and revealed my blue penis to her, making the woman nch as she stared at it, before her eyes widened as I rested it against her navel, showing her where I would be reaching. "Think you can take it~?"I think you should take a look at She shook her head, fear in her eyes as I began to grind against her stomach. "Well, by the time I''m done with you, you''ll be able to fit itfortably..." Ignoring her scared expression, I grabbed my cock and guided it into her wet pussy, not bothering to lube her up further or to do anything to help her; instead, I shoved myself inside and entered her womb, beaming as I felt her cunt tighten up around my shaft. "Fucking~ hells, what a tight bitch you are! This pussy was made~ to be fucked~!" My handsnded on her tits as I started to thrust forwards, the maid wincing in pain - yet moaning all the same as I wrenched open her womb and pummeled into it. "No... your entire body was made for sex... Why bother being a maid when being a harlot suits you better? Huh?!" She gasped as I pped one of her tits, making it sway and ripple as I continued to pound into her fleshy cunt. Her moans filled the room, albeit with a reluctant tinge as she was forced to take my cock deep into her pussy, the sounds of her cunt squelching as I fucked her making her blush. Watching her face slowly descend into pleasure made me grin, and I continued to hammer into her womb as she sat on the dresser, fluids pooling on the wood as we had sex. However, that pleasure vanished as I grunted "Are you ready for my cum, you lying bitch?!", reced instantly by fear as she tried to push me off. "S-Stop ah~! P-Please d-don''t ahn~! Cum inside m-me~!" "What was that?! Cum inside you?! Trust me, I n on it!" I grinned wildly at her as my hips mmed against hers, the Dogkin maid screaming profanities and begging with me as she beat my chest, trying to push me off. "Drink it bitch~! Enjoy my sperm~! Take my semen inside you~!" I roared inside the room, my balls clenching as I started spurting my cum inside her womb, the woman sobbing as she felt my ejaction flood her pussy. It took a few moments, but eventually I stopped cumming, my balls calm as I stared down at her despondent face - though there was a question in her eyes, asking if I needed to continue ying. Without responding verbally, I just pulled out and yanked her by the hair, tossing her onto the bed and mounting her, tearing my shirt off. "How was it, you lying whore? Is your thirst for semen quenched? Or are you going to lie to me again and say you didn''t want someone to cum inside you?!" I began to twist the silk shirt into a rope, tying it together as I stared down at her, before I grabbed the sheets as well. Binding her hands, I licked my lips as she tried to escape her bindings, making her breasts jiggle as she did so. "N-No! I d-didn''t want y-you t-to cum inside me..!" Nodding, I stared at her for a moment before grinning, the tied shirt pping across her breasts. "So you want to continue lying to me?! I felt you orgasm as I fucked you, I had you moaning in pleasure!" Herce covered breasts rippled as I continued to whip her, the studded shirt leaving marks on her pale, supple flesh. Reaching down, I yanked the bra off, before removing her panties and stockings entirely, leaving herpletely bare. "You are fucking gorgeous for a whore... Such a sinful body, fitting for a lowly bitch like yourself. Perfect hips to bear me children, bountiful tits for both my cock and for milk, and a nice ass to hold as I fuck you day in, day out... Y''know, why don''t you be my personal slutty maid? Hmm~?" Leaning over her, I licked her cheeks again, the salty taste of her tears as she sobbed so addicting. Her amber eyes were wet and puffy, and the fear inside them made me harder than I cared to admit as I pulled away from her. "And this face..! So beautiful when you cry~! So beautiful when you despair~!" Pressing my cock against her creamy pussy, I muttered "I am SO~ going to enjoy the rest of this..." Chapter 477 476: Heat Of A Demoness (3)* The Dogkin maid under me panted as I suckled on herrge breast, the hard nipple being rolled around in my mouth as I dined on her tit, all while I thrust my cock straight into her womb, stirring around the previous loads. I would asionally target those ces that made her gasp in pleasure, the ces that brought her ever so closer to cumming as I indulged myself with self serving sex, using her tight, wet hole for my own pleasure. However, she had long since turned her head to the side, her eyes hollow as she stared at the windows, only moving whenever I hit one of those ces. Seeing this ''broken'' version of her made me grin, my darker desires being stoked by this sight as I devoured her body for myself. Atticework of red marks covered her curvaceous body, the shirt that I had been previously wearingying on the bed beside her, while her raised arms allowed these twin mounds of perfection to beid bare for me. To end off this piece of our y, I released her breast and began to hit only the spots she liked, the Dogkin whimpering as she began to moan uncontrobly, her eyes regaining a luster as I slipped my tongue between her luscious lips. Kissing her deeply, I watched as she went from staring nkly at me to desperately trying to push me away, fear in her eyes - fear that mixed with pleasure as I brought her to orgasm once again. When I erupted inside her once more, the Dogkin maid shed some more tears as I pulled away, whispering "You''re excellent, my dear maid... utterly ravishing... but I want more..." I cleaned off her cheeks with my tongue, before I smirked as I pulled out, the flood of semen staining her pussy and bed white. Her eyes were staring at me with a foreboding dimness, the maid wondering what I meant when I said I wanted more, only to yelp as I grabbed her hips and turned her onto her stomach. "Raise that ass for me, whore. I''ll breed you like the bitch you are..." She red back at me hatefully, only to flinch as I grabbed ahold of the shirt turned whip, brandishing the purple silk and grinning at her. I had to lick my lips as she did what I wanted, that bountiful ass that rippled and jiggled as I pounded it now raised up for my use. It looked perfect, especially with the strands of white, gooey liquid that trickled down her thighs... My hands sunk into its rapturous embrace, her flesh almost consuming my hands as I held it, before my grin widened as Ished the whip down on it, leaving a thin red mark. She yelped and jerked forwards, but I didn''t miss how the juices trickling from that abused pussy became more abundant, making me smirk as I began to relentlessly whip the Dogkin maid in front of me, creating patterns as I hit each avable piece of flesh... But not her pussy, nor her inner thighs; ces that could give her direct pleasure were left tantalizingly barren of red marks, all so I could build her up to the point that I wanted... The yelps, moans, groans and other noises escaping her lips aroused me all over again, while the sight of her slightly shifting her rear so that she could try and have the whipnd on her juicy pussy was a sight to behold. When she was - in my eyes - sufficiently prepared, I draped myself over her back and blew into her ear before whispering "Are you ready to cum, my dear whorish maid~? If you want to cum, just tell me that you''re mine..." I brushed my cock against her slick lips, each time she felt my hardness making her shiver. "Tell me that you''ll be my personal bitch. My pet, meant to be used however I please... Or, I can stop right here, and go seek out the embrace of my fiancee..." I pulled my cock away from her pussy, smirking as I felt her m her ass back in search of it, all while her cheeks grew red with shame. "She''s not as...rge as you in some ces, but defiling her regal body and turning her from a Princess to a harlot is more than enough for me... So tell me, bitch, will you ept me as your owner, or should I leave you here, never to feel me again..?" My breath tickled her cheek, and I waited for her to answer, all while my lips caressed her neck. The shift from demanding and overly dominant to a subdued, gentle demeanor made her confused, and I could see that in her amber eyes. What I could also see was the tant lust and need for me back inside her, the Dogkin maid teetering on the edge of an orgasm after being whipped for many long minutes, her body covered in red marks. "I-I..." I kissed her neck and pulled back, staring straight at her and waiting for her answer. "P-Please t-treat this l-l-lowly bitch w-well, Mistress~?" "I don''t know... should I?"I think you should take a look at She blinked, not understanding what was happening as I began to grind my cock against her ass, enjoying the softness of her rear and the tickling of her fur as I rested my chin against her shoulder. "Why should I treat any of my possessions with care? Especially a possession that screams so beautifully when I break it..." Her eyes widened, before she opened her lips to scream - except, no sound escaped her mouth as she stared nkly at the wall, too overwhelmed to do anything besides... Cum. I plunged myself into her womb, before wrapping the shirt around her throat and yanking back, choking her as I began to beat myself into her pussy, uncaring of the giant orgasm that burst free after the first few thrusts. Her meaty pussy writhed uncontrobly as she came, juices spraying against my thighs as I pped my hips into her ass. Cutting off her breathing, I pummeled her womb into submission and carved myself into her body, the liquids gushing from her tight hole soaking the bed thoroughly as I began to ''break'' her. When she finally was capable of making sound, the only thing I could hear was a pleasurably pained gasp as she tried to breath, the realization that she was being choked finally setting in even as she continued to orgasm from my cock. I didn''t stop even as she went limp, though I loosened my grip on the shirt to allow her to breath subconsciously; the Dogkin maid was trembling as her pussy gripped at my cock, trying hard to milk me of my semen and flood her womb with it. When I reached my edge - which didn''t take long, considering her pussy was trying it''s damndest to tear my cock off with how tight it was - Iid myself over her body and removed the shirt entirely from her neck, the red mark making me smirk as I began to kiss it, all whilst my mind slowly grew nk as I ejacted hard. My vision went white as I drowned in sadistic pleasure, my maid receiving thergest singr dose of semen in her life from me as I filled her to the brim and then some, my ejaction never ending as I embraced her close. I idly managed to think that this... this was the pleasure that Anput felt on a regr basis whenever she knotted someone, and that made me wonder how she managed to cum multiple times in a night; just this once was enough to drain me entirely of everything. Semen, energy, will, lust... all of it was gone, shot into the Dogkin maids womb as I tried to impregnate her. By the time I finished, I was nkly lying atop her, the both of us twitching as the pleasure continued to rob us of basic facilities, needing minutes to finally return to a semi normal state. We both silentlymunicated that that was the end of the y, and Kat rolled onto her back and panted, her hands caressing her slightly bloated stomach as she stared at the ceiling. "T-That... W-What the hell..." With the pleasure gone, all that remained for me was a dull aching in my lower regions, any stimtion to my cock making me flinch as I realized I was running on empty. Copsing beside her, I joined her at admiring the ceiling before looking down at her content expression, the woman smiling at me as she whispered "That... w-was fucking excellent... I t-think I''m still cumming slightly... Goddess above..." I nodded, managing to ce my arm around her and pull her closer despite the sheer exhaustion weighing my body down. "Kat... I love you." She cuddled closer to me, her soft hair and warm body making me feel such happiness as I held her close, and the way her gentle voice filled my ears as she whispered "I love you too, Jahi..." made everything that happened disappear. To the point that, after a few moments - and a quick spell - I was back on top of her, my lips locked to hers as I decided to indulge some more. We had no need for words, no need tomunicate anything through any means besides embracing one another as we upied that bed, our Soul Bond and hearts doing everything as we made love to one another... All while two very different women peeped on us, their eyes wide as they observed us with heated eyes and needy bodies. --- Two things. 1) I''m curious, what''d you think of this? The throwback to their roleying sessions? 2) Started another book (I know, I know, but somehow that''s what helps make me motivated again lol) called Tiberius, Reborn and Lazy. It''s a male lead story, so if that''s not your cup of tea then continue along lol, I understand. Check it out if you''re interested, or just stay here in the beautifulnd of Yuri and check out my other works (if you haven''t already...) --- Chapter 478 477: Relaxing Bath Kat PoV To say that I was thoroughly exhausted would be an understatement as I finally was freed from the embrace of the blue skinned Demoness, the both of us drenched in sweat and other liquids as weid on the bed, our bodies shining with the light of afternoon. The golden light only made Jahi all the more beautiful, her blue skin shimmering under the light, the sweat and liquids covering her muscr frame enunciating each muscle, and I always had to make time to admire the chiseled lines of her body, the heat that we had both quelled getting stoked slightly as I gazed at such a work of art. Her abs and obliques were enough to captivate anyone with a kink for muscr women, each hard line and pronounced piece of blue flesh as hard aspiszurite, while the sweat cut clean lines over the already beautiful muscles... Oh, I loved~ this sight in front of me, and I loved the feeling of them beneath my fingers; especially when my Demoness smirked down at me and flexed the muscles that I was caressing, proudly showing herself off as I stroked each. There was something therapeutic to it as Iid atop her, my fingers caressing each and every ab before I moved to her obliques, enjoying the differences from each group of muscles - as well as the obvious arrogance in her eyes as she made my experience more enjoyable. They were so firm~ and fun to touch, so I lost myself to her abdomen, leaning my head against it as I rested, until Jahi reminded me that my touch was enough to get her into the mood many times over... So, instead of kissing each of her abs, I was kissing something else, giving her the attention she craved until she showered me in her appreciation - a thin, watery appreciation, making us both smile wryly as we realized that she was certainly... overtaxed. I was too, but I felt like I could keep going... though I''d certainly be requiring my partner to do the moving for me, since my hips and legs were utterly weak, even after some healing spells... With the both of us now exhausted but refreshed, we cuddled for a bit longer before Jahi lifted me up, muttering "If we''re going to lounge around doing nothing, let''s do so in a warm bath instead, Kat..." I nodded, hooking my arms around her neck as she carried me from the room, where we got to see two blushing women staring at us in shock - and lust. Smirking at them, Jahi proudly disyed my inability to walk - she even withstood my re and pout, annoyingly enough - and said "We''re going to go bathe for a bit; wanna join us?" Anput looked me over and nodded, while Leone just blushed further, staring at me in shock. Smiling tiredly at her, I watched as she nodded to, the two women moving forwards to join us as Jahi entered therge bathroom, cing me on the small stool and beginning to wash me off. Since I could barely move my lower half, I just enjoyed the administration of the Demoness behind me, her experienced movements andrge hands so reassuringly familiar, making me stare thoughtfully up at the ceiling, recalling the ''old days'' when we had just met. Anput and Leone sat quietly beside us, washing themselves off thoroughly before joining us in the warm waters of the bath, both looking at me as I moaned softly at the feeling of being submerged and surrounded by water. It really helped ease the muscle aches I had... "S-So... You two are just... able to do that and then move on..?" I smirked at Anput, nodding as I leaned against the wall of the bath, enjoying the water seeping heat into my bones. "Yes... She told me about it a long time ago, and I was curious... so we tried it, and well~? Damnit did it feel good... You both know far too well that I... well, if I''m going to have sex, why not make it intense and good? For me, that means pain in many forms, and for Jahi, that also means pain - just dealing it, not receiving it..."I think you should take a look at The Demoness beside me nodded, grinning as she said "I asked her to role-y being a helpless maid for me years ago, and on the carriage ride home from the hunting event, I... well, I got to live out that desire of mine as I tasted her entirely... This has been the... well, the ''actual'' second time that we truly had role-y and stuck to it. It feels so good for me, because she can act so well, and it hits the right ces for her. Literally~!" I snorted as I leaned against her, before looking at Leone as she asked "H-How are you able to d-do that though?! I mean, s-she practically..!" The Vampire was flustered, and I chuckled as I said "Raped me? It looked that way, didn''t it? Coercion and forcing me to acquiesce to her desires, before making me fall into the throes of lust by making me orgasm a few times, only to seal my fate by building arger one. In theory, it could work on any woman, but they''d... break. As for how I can take it? Again, Leone, I love when she hits me, abuses me..." She blushed, and I smiled gently at her as I said "We all have our kinks, Leone... Anput loves scents and fulfilling her ''role''. I love pain and being put in my ce. You enjoy rough and gentle in equal measures, and from a few of the things I can remember, you enjoy dressing up as well, alongside some tamer role-y. Jahi... enjoys being on top and in control, but besides that, as long as she''s fulfilling our needs, she''ll be fine. Though, without me here I imagine she got far rougher than usual?" The bath became quiet as the three women nced at one another, and I sighed as I looked up towards Jahi, who was scratching her cheek and looking away. "You did something stupid didn''t you? Let me guess... you couldn''t handle the stress and selfishly told them to satisfy you?" The Demoness just blushed, with Anput nodding as she said "She did. Jahi told us that she wanted to ease us into taking pain so that she could relieve herself. If I recall correctly..." Leone picked it up from there, ring at the Demoness as she finished speaking for Anput. "She was thinking of indulging her darkest desires with some of the humans during the Crusade, admitting to us that she might just use one or two to quench her needs..." I raised a brow at that, and the Demoness raised her hands as she replied "Listen, it was only a passing thought is all! I wasn''t ACTUALLY going to do anything!" We all stared at her, the Demoness smiling awkwardly as she raised her hands, the silver, crimson, and pale blue eyes making her gulp as we remained silent. "C-Come on, cut me some ck..? Please?" Tilting my head, I grinned at her as I asked "Why would we need to cut you some ck if you did nothing wrong, my love~?" "That''s right, Jahi~? Why are you asking your mates for forgiveness if nothing bad happened, hmm~?" "They have a point, dear~? Why do you look frightened, hmm~?" Jahi nched as we all smiled at her, the blue skinned Demoness gulping before standing up, only to have the water coil around her limbs and pull her back down. The tile of the bath anchored her wrists and ankles down, before a pale white light filled the bath as Leone approached, her stunning body ignored as we all watched the white runes in her hands exploded into a shower of dazzling light. "I learned a few things, so let me show you~?" Chapter 479 478: Getting Back To It We all smirked at Jahi as she red at us, the Demoness pouting as she hugged the pillow close to her chest. With howrge her body was, and how mature and serious she normally acted, seeing her act so childish was refreshing, and we all snickered as her pout deepened. "That was horrendous Leone! Why would you want a magic like that?!" The Vampire Princess giggled as she waved her thin journal around, replying to the Demoness with an amused voice, "I believe you answered that question yourself, dear~! Because it can be so ''horrendous'' to deal with~!" Neither Anput nor I knew just what Jahi had seen, but the Demoness was disgusted and affronted from whatever it was that she saw, making Leone smug. Puffing out her cheeks, Jahi looked away and out towards the setting sun, our time in the bath having taken far longer than I cared to admit; Jahi might have been running on empty, but she disyed a versatility as she put her dexterous fingers to use, all while she enjoyed the show of us three indulging in front of her. Now that it was all over, we were all lounging on our beds, our lusts sated for the time being and opening up some time for us to begin other ventures... Like magic. With it being arge part of my Daily Quests - which is my ie of Shop Points as well as experience - I very much wanted to continuepleting them as well as I could each day. Wind and Water Magic individually, as well as Ice Magic itself; that, alongside my Stealth Skills and Dagger Skills were the personal side of my Daily Quests, while I needed to help each of my Mistress'' with their own Magics as well as their physical training. So, with time now abundant and my mind no longer mush, I stretched myself out before rummaging through my belongings, pulling out my own journal and a pencil as I began to jot down ideas and spells. I wanted to make some new tattoos soon, since if I was going to use enchanted items I should branch into enhancing everything with tattoos, which would need a deep, thorough understanding of the magic itself. After all, I don''t want to just... put something on my flesh forever just because I THINK it might work; I need to KNOW it will work, and that it''s something that should at least always have a ce to belong in my arsenal. Nothing cutesy or some kind of shy trick spells, just increases to my power directly or spells that should scale appropriately... I had ideas for spells I wanted tattooed on my skin, and I was hoping that it could be a useful spell as well as a stylistic look to the spell whenever I went through and tattooed myself. Some of those ideas were small; I wanted Ritual Circles to go around my wrists - 2 per wrist - to create long des that sprouted out of my wrists, with a side handle baton like structure. One Wind, one Water, and they''d intersect to create an Ice rune, allowing me to shift between all three elements based on my opponent. For those, I was alright with the bracelet like design that woulde with them, but for another of my tattoo ideas, I needed something different. On my back, I had the idea of creating four Ritual Circles that would mirror one another; so onerge Ritual Circle on my shoulder de, and another smaller one closer towards my lower spine, which would then be mirroredpletely onto the other side of my back. The idea was to create tworge wings and two smaller wings, to grant me arge boost to mobility, and hopefully... flight.I think you should take a look at That would still leaverge swathes of skin for other runes to be tattooed, and I was curious to see if I could switch the Ritual Circles out for something else; otherwise, I wanted those circles to look as clean as possible. Besides that, they were ratherplex spells as well, since I needed to tune the mana input, mana distribution, make them strong enough to support my weight, hard enough to withstand at least an attack or two, and so much more... Those were the two that I was certain I wanted, and the eventual n was to beden with tattoos, and maybe figure out a way to conceal some of them, both because I didn''t want enemies to know what I had, and also because... Well, I was slightly worried that Anput, Leone and Jahi might not find them attractive; so far, only Leone has a tattoo, and it''s directly between her breasts. That was a small one; I was talking about getting giant tattoos across my entire back... However, I''d cross that bridge when I finally had a spell significant enough to upy such arge portion of my body. My pencil danced over the paper as I jotted down the specific parts of the Ritual Circles that I needed to begin improving. Leone hummed quietly to herself across from me, the Vampire doing research of her own as she allowed pale white and deep crimson runes to dance around her palms - the runes for Moon Magic and Blood Magic respectively, which I wanted to eventually see if I could use for myself... On her own bed, Anput idly shifted the metal rod in her hands into various weapons, staring at them before beginning to alter certain ones, creating weapons that would suit her better than just the base form. For instance, her scimitar was being lengthened and thinned at the base, while the head was being red out, providing more of a chopping weapon than a shing weapon, before she began to create a serrated longsword meant to slice through flesh and kill her enemies easily. My mate seemed rather amused by her different weapons, her obsidian eyes sparkling whenever she found one that worked best for her. I wanted to berate her for not finding out some better spells to use duringbat, but considering how she was with weapons, I decided to relent as she continued on, going through an entire arsenal. Besides, at least she was practicing using her Metal Mana to create and maintain those shapes. Finally, Jahi was staring up at the ceiling, a few golden runes dancing above her head as she flicked them around, shifting their structure andposing them into lines, trying to create spells of her own. I was sure that she realized the necessity of some powerful spells after our ''Monster Mash'', wanting to have an arsenal to fall back on when her de simply wasn''t enough anymore. At the very least, I wanted her to have some personal buff spells at the ready, but that would be a discussion forter as I turned back towards my notebook and continued jotting down ideas, eventually putting theory into practice as I traced out the runes and tested the spells stability as they hovered above my palm. When I was hitting a wall with my own ability to spell craft, I sat up and began to just circte my mana, doing that technique that she told us about a long time ago. Well, the fun one, where I crawled onto Leone''s bed and practiced that technique alongside her, before doing the same with Anput; that left Jahi to watch, still pouting as we all let out a ''hmph!'' and moved away from her, letting her practice on her own. Chapter 480 479: Pushing The Limits The next morning we had to - sadly - return to the training grounds, all the other Knights just as reluctant as us as we filtered into the sandy area, where an angry Demon Wolf prowled around. "You only got that break because the Empress decreed it! Don''t think today will be any easier... if anything, I''m pissed she let you all have a break to begin with!" Everyone flinched at her growl, and we all exchanged nces as we prayed that the Empress woulde back to save us once more. Sadly, it would seem that the Empress had acquiesced to her crazy wife''s demands as she made herself scarce; as did Lady D''Arcon, making us all understand just how ticked Lady Fenryas was as she thoroughly beat each of us into a pulp, mixing training and venting her petnt anger on us all. That day, we returned to how we ''trained'' on the first day, throwing ourselves at the ticked off Demon Wolf over and over again. The only healers we had were Jahi, myself, and two other ''magically attuned'' Knights, whose expertise ranged as far as... mending broken bones and knitting flesh back together at a slow pace. As such... well, Jahi and I were ced in a rather precarious position, as the Marquess, Belian, Sker, and a Tortoisekin named Xietian standing in front of us and trying to provide protection as we worked on casting magics over the group, keeping them fresh and ready to fight. Gold and blue light bathed the training grounds, making Lady Fenryas'' silver eye gleam maliciously as she began to work her way towards us, swatting aside the various Knights around her and ignoring the arrows that shattered against her ck flesh. "I knew you two would be a problem... Damn Light Magic... and you! Crafty bitch, aren''t you? Enchanted weapons, Ice Magic, all hidden from me! Mm, I''m going to enjoy this..." Herrge scythe rose and fell as she approached, Jahi and I nching as we began toyer spells on ourselves as well as the Knights in front of us. A dome of golden light surrounded us, while cloaks of water draped themselves over our shoulders, giving us some passive regeneration; though whether or not that would truly help was yet to be seen. The Marquess and Belian shrouded themselves in their own mana, moving forwards to meet the Demon Wolf and be the center of the fray, giving the other Knights some breathing room as they shifted towards more supportive tactics. With a constant stream of injureding our way, the two of us were working hard to keep the Knights healed and ready for battle, sending them back as quickly as we could so that we could remain away from the frenzied Demon Wolf, who was making her way over towards us. We both knew that eventually she would target us, as it was the logical decision to make; we werebatants in thisrge spar, and as such we would be targeted, especially because we had ''targets'' on our heads anyways. Jahi was high value due to her lineage, whilst I was a woman who ''slighted'' the Demon Wolf, earning her ire for my ''easy'' victory over the monster two days ago. So, as we watched the various Knights get stomped into the ground by what felt like war incarnate, we readied our weapons and prepared to meet her heavy scythe, gritting our teeth as the Marquess only bought us 45 seconds with Belian and the others. Thankfully, the passive healing of the Water Cloaks and Jahi''s dome were working overtime to get them back on their feet, so after we were floored they should be able to continue on... For another minute, anyways. After she punched the Marquess in the gut and left her kneeling on the ground behind her, the Demon Wolf sneered as she raised her scythe, using the thick de to block the barrage of icicles I sent her way.I think you should take a look at "Spellswords... so damn annoying to fight. I shouldn''t have sent you to Princi." Her silver eye met mine, and I shuddered at the promise of pain thatced the single orb, before she snarled as she blocked the cleave of Jahi''s great sword, which was covered in Light Mana. "I was going to get to youter, but fine..!" With the Demoness taking point, I weaved more and more spells together, casting support magics and offensive spells as quickly as I could, giving Jahi more speed, healing, and whatever else I could before sending another barrage of icicles towards Lady Fenryas. A thin te of metal encased each point of contact on her skin, blocking the ice and negating its damage entirely as she focused on Jahi first, hooking her scythe over the de and yanking back, trying to wrench it free from the Demoness'' hands. Managing to get it free in time, Jahi tilted the sword and stabbed forwards, only to sputter as Lady Fenryas mirrored her, jabbing the head of the scythe forwards and into the Demoness'' chest, sending her staggering backwards. The back of the scythe thudded hard against the side of Jahi''s knee, and she hissed as she was forced to the ground, her leg unable to support her weight. With her down, Lady Fenryas blocked my flurry of blows with ease, staring at me quietly before catching my wrist. Pulling me forwards, she mmed her head against mine and released me, allowing me to stumble back as my vision spun, a trickle of blood warming my face. "At least try to attack from somewhere besides the front..." I... don''t remember what happened after that, my vision going dark, only for me to awaken prone on the ground, my head pounding hard. Sitting up, I groaned as the world spun around me, though it eased up as my mana got to work... which allowed me to see the various slumped bodies of the Knights, all of us in terrible shape. Standing tall in the center was Lady Fenryas, and she was looking over us all silently. Minutes passed, before we all stood up and faced her once more, the woman simply hoisting her scythe as she beckoned for us to begin again, wanting to push us to improve. Sadly, that previous attempt onlysted around a dozen minutes, and we still had many hours to go... That meant we needed to get better, or we''d be here for what would feel like eternity, the damage to our bodies only piling up more and more as our mana dwindled. Despite being so powerful, there was only so much our own natural healing could do, and that was something that we all wondered if we could improve if this was to be our fates going forwards... Chapter 481 480: Demon Clans (1) Jahi PoV The next few days of training beneath Lady Fenryas were far more physically taxing then the first few days, as the woman upped our workouts - nearly doubling the weights and reps - whilst also lengthening our time spent sparring against her; we used to get a minute or two with her as she made her rounds, but now everyone gets at least 10 minutes, with Mom and Belian getting closer to 15. The Demon Wolf was always prowling around during the workouts, intentionally increasing weights or making you do more reps based on how well she viewed you performance, forcing us all to strive to do better so that we wouldn''t be the ones doing an extra 100 pushups. She really was doing us good with how she operated - I could already feel some changes happening with my strength and techniques, and this was just at a base level against stronger opponents - but even so, in the moment? We all hated this training deep inside our bones, and Lady Fenryas'' words of ''encouragement'' never helped... But, we pushed through each day and made our way towards the kitchens, where we would eat before stumbling towards our rooms, plopping onto the sheets and passing out - sometimes with a round of extracurricr training mixed in, to keep ourselves sane. One of those nights though, Mom and Belian remained seated at the table, the two Demons gesturing for me to remain with them - Anput, Leone and Kat as well, since they would hear this anyway. Nirinia and Sker remained back as well, while the rest of the Knights nodded and saluted Mom before leaving, giving us the kitchen for ourselves. "Well, we said we''d eventually go ahead and tell you about the Demon ns, so... why not now, whilst I''m still remembering? Because once Ria and Julie are here, I don''t think I want to do much besides ''rx''." Belian smiled wryly beside her, nodding as he added "When Tabitha makes her way here from the Beliali Lands to the west, I don''t think I''ll want to talk either..." "So, here it is, starting from the beginning. There were three ns of Demons - the Asmodeucian n, Beliali n, and the Cimeriesa n. Before the Empress united thends surrounding Sanctus Ignacia under her banner, the three ns ruled the east. Each had a specific role, and we were ''united'' in the loosest sense of the word. The Asmodeucian''s were the warriors and soldiers, specializing in martial prowess and anything rted to war. We used to forge some of the strongest des and armor in the entire Northern Continent, but that was lost to time... The Beliali''s were the negotiators and spokesman of the three ns; they went out to strike treaties and deals with any of the other influential tribes or ns around this area, as well as smoothing out any disputes that arouse. They sold their silver tongues for a premium, and many other people hired them to hammer out negotiations, which led to them bing adept at espionage. Finally, the Cimeriesa''s were reclusive, even back then. Entirely focused on magic and alchemy, they bolstered the strength of the other ns with enchanted gear and potions, relying on the Asmodeucian''s and Beliali''s to protect them and supply them. There was a bnce between us all, a bnce and harmony that remained standing for millennia. We weren''t the only Demons either, as Lilith wasn''t rted to any of our ns, nor were the ancestors of Lady Fenryas. We just were thergest gathering of one of the strongest races to ever exist... ever. No other ce on this continent had a gathering of Demons to that degree, which was also why we were so adamant to remain together.I think you should take a look at There''s strength in numbers, especially when we had such great harmony together. But, everythinges to an end, and that ''end'' wasn''t as drastic as many hoped. After the Beliali''s agreed to bend the knee to the Empress, the Asmodeucian''s and Cimeriesa''s followed swiftly, finding promise in the words of someone stronger. We acted as the Empress'' arm, mouthpiece, and mind, putting our talents to use and doing whatever we could to help her reach her goal - a united Empire where all were wee, so long as you respected thews she put into ce. Our history as the Empress'' de continued for centuries, and she put us to use wherever she could; waging wars against the then Sultanate and it''s far harsher ruler, the Western Kingdoms when they were upied by the Orc Tribes, and many more. We served her as we could, when we could. The fall of our n was a simple one. The Labyrinthian was where we ''fell'', as a giant outbreak towards the east - thends that we upy today - required our attention. As was our duty, we made haste towards the outbreak and did what we could to stymie the flow of monsters, but the horde wasn''t a normal one. At the time, there was a rising warrior amongst the Asmodeucian''s; Durukti, the founder of the Asmodia''s. She participated in the battle, and she was the one to realize that the Labyrinthian monsters were being led and corralled by a Fiend. An Arch Fiend, to be exact." Belian sighed, leaning on his hand as he looked towards me, adding "Unlike today, the Fiends were always a threat back then, and the Asmodeucian''s were specialists in dealing with them. The average warrior back then was the same strenght as Chordeva, making them one of the deadliest groups of soldiers... I would argue ever. Outfitted in armor that could rival the softer scales of a Dragon, wielding weapons that were sharper than anything made today, the Asmodeucian''s were... unstoppable." Mom scoffed, her ruby eyes dark as she said "Against most things, yes, but against War incarnate? Bloodshed and murder given form? They were torn to pieces, and the Asmodeucian n was killed off, left with a handful of members. Durukti barely managed to beat Ka''Hondi, but because she was forced to deal with them, the rest of the Asmodeucian''s needed to fend off the waves of monsters pouring endlessly from the Labyrinthian. Monsters far stronger than the Drakes and other monsters that Lady Fenryas abducted from Zhu''Rong. With that battle over, and less than a dozen of our people left, Durukti settled them down near that border of the Labyrinthian, which had been torn down and destroyed by Ka''Hondi. She moved the home of the Asmodeucian''s to the east, away from the other Demon ns. And at a time where harmony would have helped us grow again, well..." Belian smiled sadly, spreading his hands as he took over. "The west also got hit by an Arch Fiend. Drawn to us by the incredible knowledge housed inside the Cimeriesa''s libraries, Tza''Yul made its way into ournds and began to raze it to the ground, attempting to steal away with the knowledge gathered over millennia. We weren''t the strongest Demon ns, but we were still Demons. We tried to put up a fight, using our speed and the Cimeriesa''s magics tobat the Arch Fiend, but we weren''t a match. Thankfully the Empress and Lady Theresa managed toe to our aid, and they bound the Arch Fiend to themselves, but... the damage had been done. Many of the Beliali were dead, while the Cimeriesa''s whobated the Arch Fiend head on lost their minds, leaving behind husks incapable of anything - they too were ''dead''. All three ns took a loss, but the Asmodeucian''s were hit the hardest, and when the other two ns learned of that battle to the east, they were shocked. However, the Asmodeucian''s decided to move and upy thatnd, to protect the Empire from another outbreak, and..." Smiling wryly, he spread his hand and nced at Mom, who wore a neutral expression. "Well, the Beliali and Cimeriesa''s weren''t happy about that decision. The then heads of the Demon ns - Durukti, Belian, and Ahri - shed together about the Asmodeucian''s decision to move away, and the then Belian and Ahri put down an ultimatum -e back or drop the Asmodeucian name. The thing was, they didn''t know Durukti, nor did they truly understand that the Asmodeucian''s weren''t proud of their name - like the other two ns were - but instead proud of themselves. Proud of who they were as individuals. So, Durukti struck the name from any documents and instead said that she and her people would be the Asmodia''s..." "That was many centuries ago still, and since then, well..." Chapter 482 481: Demon Clans (2) "Since then, the Asmodia''s have maintained a cordial, yet distant rtionship with us, keeping to themselves and declining any help from us, even as their numbers dwindled. Even Chordeva''s father declined the help, despite having desires to recreate the Asmodeucian n. He wanted everything to be built with Asmodia blood and sweat, just like centuries ago..." "My father was an imbecile because of that. Throwing himself at whatever he believed would bolster and strengthen the foundations of the ''Asmodeucian n'' while ignoring my mother, even as she slipped away into aa and died. He spent more time as a warrior than a father, and his teaching methods were... criminal at best. Despite that, he was still a great warrior and excellent Knight, so at the very least I gathered what I could from him before he threw his life away..." Mom tapped her fingers against the edge of her winess, her ruby eyes conflicted as she stared down into the purplish red liquid. "Anyways, Durukti married two women, but only one bore her a child; we can trace our lineage back to her, which is also why we likely managed to remain alive... unlike the other Asmodia''s. She''s your great great grandmother. My father never knew her though, and his mother didn''t either; Durukti died inside the Labyrinthian a long time ago, but by that point her mark had been made. The Asmodia House was built atop thends that she managed to bind Ka''Hondi to, and using the wealth that she had amassed over the years, she created March Asmodia. The Empress gave her the title Marquess - not Duchess, because the Beliali and Cimeriesa''s made a fuss about it - and bequeathed thends to her, as well as some materials and workers to begin tending to the March. With ties cut between the ns, Durukti shifted her focus entirely inwards, stabilizing the living situation amongst the remaining Asmodia''s and preparing for another outbreak. That was how they spent the early years; building up the Asmodia House, amassing more wealth, attempting to re spark the Asmodia forges, and so much more, but sadly the constant stream of outbreaks robbed us of ourst Forgemaster, meaning the Asmodeucian forging techniques had been lost; it was a specific technique that was never written down, lest it be stolen, and it was passed down after oaths and more were sworn to bind master and apprentice..." Belian nodded, the red skinned Demon leaning back and sighing as he said "It''s a shame, that. All of our House''s have weapons and armor that are considered ''relics'' because they''re forged from Asmodeucian techniques. Beliali was gifted a few swords and a chestpiece, while the Cimeriesa''s have multiple staves. If I recall, if you hadn''t been gifted that Celestial Gold and Stygian Silver de, young Jahi, the sword your Mom wields would have been yours..." "Mm... Whenever I die, that is, and I don''t n on croaking anytime soon. It''s the sword Durukti wielded, and it''s... well, Lady Fenryas tried to steal it from me a few times, and if the Empress wasn''t as magnanimous as she is, well, our dear Commander wouldn''t wield a scythe..." Mom snorted before taking a sip of the wine, ncing over at Belian. "The history between now and when Durukti dies is just a long tale of reclusive ns and focusing on ourselves. Only recently have we begun tomunicate openly again, and that''s only because this prick here is a Knight." "Fuck you." "You wish. My father reopenedmunications again with the two other ns, and they began to talk once more. A few of the women from the two ns were interested in trying to reunite our bloodlines again, but like I said, and like Belian said, Demon Blood in general is... fickle. Because of Lilith being who she is, the blood favors pure women; not men, nor futanari, just pure women. Cimeriesa women are some of the most magically attuned people you will ever meet. Mana capacities nearly triple what you have now, Jahi, and the ability to absorb and recuperate mana at double the speed. Because of that, they tend to be researchers and magicians of some of the highest order, which makes them extremely entric. For example, the one Cimeriesa that I met wanted to know if she could try to research our child if we had one; to imbue it with more and more mana each month it was in her womb. Obviously, I told her to go find someone else. Beliali women are incredibly maniptive, constantly needing to get their own way and control each and every tiny little thing. They''re possessive and sadistic, with the skills to match. Able to don disguises that could fool almost everyone in the Empire, their ability to switch up their personality is downright demented, while the skills they''ve shown with small des lets you know right away that one wrong move means something is getting cut off. I love how possessive Ria can be - I know that makes me a bit crazy myself - but she''s tamepared to them... As for Asmodeucian women, they were... dominant. Comparatively, they had less ''mental'' quirks, but the sheer strength they had was enough to make up for that. They won''t submit to anyone weaker than them, and if they marry someone weaker, well, they''re the ones in charge. Of everything. Battle is theirnguage, and they can get really physical really quick, which can lead to them bing early widows. Since they''re usually so much stronger than the other ns, well... no one took them, and they were content with that. We have no real idea why the ''traits'' of each n is so prominent inside the womenfolk, but the best guess we all have is just ''Lilith was the Mother of all Demons'', so any female Demon is ''greater'' than the male or futanari. Orcs are theplete opposite, with their men being the ''greater'' of them, so there might be a corrtion somewhere, but I couldn''t care less. I just know I don''t n on ever getting near another woman of those ns if I can help it." Belian took a deep breath, smiling wryly as he muttered "I''d like to, but my older sister is... yeah."I think you should take a look at I looked towards Mom, ignoring his mncholic mood as he began to sip from his own winess, and I asked "So what if Miss Julie gives birth to a girl? How is that going to work?" She gave me a small smile, saying "It''s a 50-50 shot of being a futa or a girl, so I''ve made my prayers and my peace with whatever she gives birth to. If its a girl, well, we just need to remain a fair bit stronger than her, or else she''s going to be a pain in the ass. It would be in her nature to challenge us for whatever, whenever, despite knowing that we might be better for that role, or that that thing is ours. Competitiveness would be like breathing to her, and she''d drive us insane swiftly..." The table fell silent, before Kat asked "Marquess, what about the Countess and Mother''s child?" "Either a Dogkin or a knife-ear. Either or, and it doesn''t matter whether they''re a girl or futa. Should be fine. Only issue would be if they are primarily a knife-ear. They mature incredibly slow, even with Cores. Live far longer, but they can be ''stuck'' at certain stages in their life for multiple years. Ria, for example, was a teen for seven..? Seven years. Ended the second year of the Academy before reaching early stages of adulthood... Moody the entire time too..." Smirking, Mom downed the ss before looking at me, saying "We can get you to meet your... ''cousins'' for yourself if you want. Go talk to them to learn more details about this fragile bnce we have currently, determine if you want to maintain status quo or shift it to either side. Personally, I could care less. They can do as they please over in the west, so long as they stick their noses somewhere besides my business. The Asmodeucian''s are gone, and I don''t care to bring them back. For me, I''m content serving the Empress and protecting my home. You, on the other hand, can do whatever you want. Make your choice, but..." Getting up, she cracked her neck before patting my shoulder, her ruby eyes alight with amusement as she said "Don''t make anyrge decisions, brat, since I''ll be holding this position as Marquess for many decades toe. Maybe even centuries... So go get your own title if you want to make somerge promises... I have no ns on dying anytime soon, and I n on overseeing everything I''ve built and gathered for many years toe~!" Rolling my eyes at her, I watched as she left the kitchens, disappearing into the dark halls of the Pce. "Like your Mom said, the decision is ultimately yours. All of us Demons are proud, so unless you seek us out, we won''t speak to you unless necessary. Whatever you decide, just remember that we are still rted, albeit distantly. As for her remaining Marquess, well, I don''t think she''ll suffer the same fate as Durukti. The Empress haspared your Mom to her many times over, and I''ve listened to the praise enough to know that the Empress is holding back herpliments to keep your Mom''s pride down." He grinned at me, tapping the side of his nose as he added "And from what I''ve heard, she''s had good things to say about you as well, Jahi. Though, whether or not you''ll live up to those expectations is another story... However, dear niece, I do wish you well." With that, Belian left as well, leaving the kitchens empty as the other Knights - Sker and Nirinia - followed behind him. "That... was a lot." Kat nodded, while Leone looked thoughtfully at me for a few moments before asking "So, do you n on meeting them?" Anput lounged against the table, her obsidian eyes barely open as she yawned, making me smile. "I don''t know... maybe. To say I''m curious about them would be an understatement, and I do want to meet other Demons, but... There''s enough on our te already without them. Besides, at the very least I want to leave that option open for my younger sister when she''s born. Perhaps she''ll want to meet them. Maybe she won''t. Either way, for now I think I''ll leave that door open. Right now though, I think we should rest." We all nced at Anput, who yawned loudly before stretching herself out, almost letting out a catlike purr as she did so. Sharing small grins, we all got up and made our way to our rooms, wanting to get some rest before needing to get back to training in a few hours. Chapter 483 482: Training Ends Kat PoV After that night, Jahi was more thoughtful during the remaining nights of our training, thinking hard about the things we had learned about the Demon ns from the Marquess and Belian, the blue skinned Asmodia contemting her options and weighing the pros and cons. All she had to go on about the rtions of the ns was from her Mom and Belian, and none of us missed the fact that the name ''Belian'' had been used before as the leader of the Beliali; that meant that the man we were seeing now was either the descendent of that Belian, or ''Belian'' is the title / name given to those who lead the Beliali n. If he does, than we have two separate n Leaders telling us that the Demons inside the ns aren''t exactly the easiest to get along with, and that there would be problems between us and them. What Jahi needed to decide was whether those problems were worth facing at all, and how she should deal with them if she does face them. Did she want to recreate the Asmodeucian n? If so, how did she want to recreate it? Those were the questions on our mind as we went about our days like normal, each of us wondering what the woman we were to be married to wanted to do, and how we could support her to do that. Though, the answer for ''how did she want to recreate the Asmodeucian n'' was pretty obvious; she would want children from each of us to begin the bloodline anew. That... was something all of us were more than willing to help her with, but it needed to be during a more stable time. Either way, we were willing to offer her our support in any way we could, and I had a feeling that she''d have a distinct answer by the end of our training sessions with Lady Fenryas. The Demon Wolf was as unforgiving as ever during those weeks, pushing each of us to our breaking points as she introduced days where she wouldn''t hold back as much as normal, having Lady D''Arcon on standby as she breezed through us with her scythe, introducing us to pain in its rawest form as we were chopped, sliced, and beaten within an inch of our lives. Despite having been healed by Lady D''Arcon, we would still leave the training grounds nursing phantom wounds, our bodies unable toprehend that the hand you lost was actually reattached and working just fine. Logically, I could understand the purpose of being pushed this hard, as it built up a tolerance for extreme wounds and got us used to fighting something stronger than ourselves, hopefully preparing us for whenever we fought something above us again and giving us a better chance of escaping with our lives. However, just because the logic might be there didn''t mean that this was an easy to handle style of training; there were many nights where the three of us almost closed ourselves off entirely, wanting to escape the pain and never feel it again. Those were the nights that Leone would slip into our beds and hold us close,forting us as best she could before pulling us onto one bed, where we could feel the warmth of everyone. That wasn''t to say that the Vampire wasn''t facing her own set of trials where we couldn''t see; she returned to us each night looking haggard and frustrated, on the brink of giving up as she stared nkly at her meals before eating. Her trials were different from ours, but she still managed to push through that andfort us all, giving us the warmth and love we needed to finish out this training. By the time that the end of the trainings came about, we were utterly exhausted - all of us, including the Knights, and even the Marquess - and ready to copse, only to do just that as Lady Fenryas simply never showed up to the training grounds that morning, signaling the end of our torture. Personally, I was blessed with the ability to see just how much my abilities had approved under her tutge, as well as under Princi''s guidance as well, since my stats increased and my skills upgraded as well. [Stats: STR : 68 -> 85 CON : 75 -> 95 AGI : 74 -> 92 DEX : 74 -> 92I think you should take a look at CHA : 65 -> 75 WIS : 66 -> 74 INT : 66 -> 74] The extreme training regimen was physically centered, and with how often I was getting hit and how much I needed to improve just tond a hit, I wasn''t surprised that my physical stats left my magical stats behind in the dust. As for Charisma, I was told by the System that it was practically capped at 100, and that after 100 it was just a vanity stat; at that point, you were the most beautiful ''you'' that you could be in your natural state, and everything else relied on how you held yourself, spoke, and all those small details that usually go unnoticed. For my skills though, only a few ranked up - and I gained two new ones. [Dagger Proficiency (Adept) -> (Expert)] [Healing (Expert) -> (Master)] [Crucible (Novice) -> (Apprentice)] Those were my existing skills; my dagger abilities went up, my healing magic was more potent (albeit slightly), and my ability to Dual Cultivate with my lovers increased as well... For the two new skills, they were as follows: [Sword Proficiency (Novice) : Increases efficiency with all sword type weapons and makes them slightly easier to wield] [No Pain, No Gain (Novice) : The more damage you receive, the more damage you deal; additionally, your XP gains are doubled when you ovee a strenuous battle] I had been... ''gifted'' [No Pain, No Gain] from the perpetual beatings that Lady Fenryas had dished out to me, but the [Sword Proficiency] was one that I bought since I had leveled up as well, reaching Level 30. After multiple years, I was almost a third of the way to triple digits... You would think that was pathetic, but to me it was admirable and rather understandable; I wasn''t going out of my way to hunt monsters all the time, since this... this was my second chance at life. I wanted to live and do things that I never was able to do before, and make moments with my lovers whenever I could. If that meant a lower leveling speed, so be it... Especially since from everything I''ve seen,pared to others inside my own age range, I was progressing far faster than most. Of course, now with the Fiends returning and Jillian still out and about, we needed to get even stronger even faster, hence this training session with Lady Fenryas. Anyways, the reason for picking up [Sword Proficiency] was simple; I needed the range that a sword of some kind could provide, and while Shatter Fang could do that, I wanted a real de that I could add other effects too. My line of thinking was going towards a rapier, since currently I am more ''built'' for speed and precision, with the possibility of me getting a nce'' eventually, some kind of conical sword... I had many ideas floating around, but for now I was going with the rapier. But, now that the training was over, we were moving onto ''better'' things; better for our mental states, anyways... Chapter 484 483: Moving In With the training over now, we made our way back to the room and slumped down on the beds, Anput, Jahi and I passing out as we allowed our bodies to recuperate from the sheer exhaustion of the gauntlet that we ran through, wanting to be at a better state for when we began our next stage of training. Of course, we had discussed the ns before hand, with the best idea we coulde up with being going into the depths of Zhu''Rong and putting our new skills to the test, finding what needed to be tweaked and getting a better understanding of our current selves so that we could move forwards with a more specific n in mind. If we felt we needed more tempering on the physical side of things to a drastic degree, we agreed to subject ourselves to asking Lady Fenryas for an additional day of training; if it was to a smaller degree, we''d ask one of the other Knights to help us temper ourselves - either the Marquess, Belian, or Sker, since we were ''closer'' to them then anyone else. As for me asking Princi anything else, well, I didn''t want to allow the seductress Knight a chance to put her feminine wiles to use against Anput or Jahi; I have no idea how a Canine would react to a Feline''s attempt of seduction, nor do I want to even risk it with Jahi after learning that she was treading dangerous waters when I had been away. Not. A. Chance. With that in mind, and the potential return to Lady Fenryas'' ''kind'' hands, we all prayed that we could hammer out our own imperfections instead of needing someone else, but we were resolved to ask for help. If we felt that we were in a really good spot with this boost to strength, then we wanted to begin exploring more of integrating our mana into our fighting styles, so that we could improve our strength even more than what it was at currently. With the knowledge that her Light Magic would be our greatest weapon at this very moment, we needed Jahi to get better with it so that we could have a morefortable fight against the Fiends in the future. On top of wanting to focus on improving our magics some more, we were also hoping to better improve our current ''hobbies'' into something much more helpful, especially considering how potent they could be if we had more skill in them. Enchanted items have already shown their worth, but what good would that do on basic, mediocre gear? We needed a full kit of items made from good materials to better disy our strength, and if I enchanted that gear with some potent magic, well... What kind of boost would that be to our power? And if Leone could begin concocting powerful potions on top of that... potions that enhance our strength, our mana, or anything else, well... that''d be insane. For now though, that was all in the future, but another thing that we had alle to agree on was that - while it would feel better to have our own space - living inside the Pce would provide too many benefits to us to not take advantage of. ess to libraries with far more knowledgeable than anywhere else, ess to Leone''s family, state of the art facilities, good food, and a shortmute down to the Academy.I think you should take a look at And the safety thates with being near the Empress at all times. So we would remain here for as long as we were wee, which would hopefully be a long time since I was immensely hopeful that I could learn under Lady Yusa and maybe even Lady Theresa, as well as Lady Lorelei. As for Leone herself, she eventually joined us - I don''t know when, since I was dead to the world and absolutely relishing the bliss of raw unconsciousness. When morning came, we made our way to the kitchen after enjoying ourselves a bit, finding the Empress eating with her children, all of whom nced at Leone before half ring at Jahi, who awkwardly scratched her cheek under their collective stares. Taking our seats, we took our tes and began eating in silence, before Vienna nced at me, her eyes narrowed as she said "Surprisingly, you are the one with the most scent on you... odd." Roman sighed as he nudged his sisters shoulder, making her re at him before blinking as he hissed "You don''t always need to speak your mind, Vienna! By the Gods..." "What? It''s obvious though. Surprisingly, she has the most amount of scent on her. Especially Leone''s..." The Vampire in question blushed deeply as she looked at me from the side, making each of her siblings focus more on me now that their Wolfkin sister pointed me out. "It is interesting. A ''maid'' that seems so ustomed to being an equal, has the most attention on herself, and carries herself not with subservience, but with... something else." Dante was the one to speak, and everyone nodded, with the blonde haired Monica replying in a cool voice, her azure eyes looking me over. "Well that''s because she isn''t a ''maid'' anymore. Can''t you feel it? Oh, and the fact that she was with them for Aunt Fen''s training. What would make her of all people ept a normal maid? Obviously she''s just a member of their polycule; hells, with what Vienna said, she''s likely the center." Resting her chin on her hands, Monica smiled at me as she asked "I''m curious, what''s your secret? To have three high profile women pining after you enough to treat you as an equal?" The Empress sighed slightly, giving Monica a dry look as she said "Monica, tone. I know, and you know that you didn''t mean to be rude, but it came across that way." She just shrugged, muttering to herself as she kept her gaze on me. "I don''t know, Lady Monica. My best guess is that we''ve known each other for so long that it just... happened. Besides, my Mother is treated like a normal woman by the Marquess and the Countess, so maybe that?" Jahi gave Monica a slight re before returning to her food, allowing that to be dropped there. Chapter 485 484: Breakfast Monica fell quiet after that, though the woman was still looking me over as she picked at her food, despite her youngest sister giving her a pout for her line of questioning. Personally, I could understand the reasons behind her wanting to ask those questions, since - from everything I''ve seen so far - the entire family was a rather uniquely knit together one, with each sibling having a deep desire to protect one another. Even if they don''t show it, like Vienna; the Wolfkin woman hadn''t hesitated to go take her ''revenge'' on the monster down in the arena after Roman had gotten injured. Dante looked at the blonde haired woman and gave her a small smile, saying "Monica, it''s their private life; let them live it how they want to. As long as they''re happy." Leone gave her eldest brother a grateful smile, before looking dryly at Vienna as the she-wolf muttered "It''s still a bit odd, isn''t it?" She tore arge chunk out of the steak in front of her, looking at the table before ncing up at Leone, meeting the Vampire''s gaze. "What? From anyone''s point of view, this is odd. Add on the report that the Elven traitor seemed to be targeting her specifically, and how you all treat her, it''s weird. Weird, and obvious that she isn''t ''just a maid''. Not even Draka''s personal maid is as strong as this one, and she was hand picked by the Duchess." Her words made everyone in the room turn back towards me, their eyes curious and slightly usatory as they observed me. The Empress smiled softly, tilting her head as she too looked at me, almost like she was asking ''What now, little maid~?'' Feeling Jahi''s emotions rising beside me, I gentlyid my hand on her forearm and squeezed, before taking a deep breath as I turned towards the cluster of siblings. "I guess I''m not ''just a maid'', but instead their lover." Vienna frowned, leaning forwards as she stared me straight in the eyes and asked "Then why bother hiding it? Why try and keep your position and strength under wraps?" I had to chuckle at how simr she was to Jahi, the two of them equally straightforward and unable toprehend not showing off your abilities. "It''s - to me, anyways - a simple thing, and one that all three of them have heard many times over. Something that they all likely hate hearing by now, but something that I personally want. I don''t want the attention, the renown, the acim... I have no desire to be ced under a light and observed by the masses, to be famous and all of the problems thate with it. For me, I would rather be known only by those that I care about, allowed to live a simpler life. One that is spent lifting the three of them up to greater heights. Each has desires to be known for something, to leave their marks on history... Anput desires to be strong, and to let the world know that she is strong; she and Jahi share that desire. On top of that, she wants to be a great smith, to forge weapons that are on the same levels of any fabled weapons you can think of. Leone wishes to push the limits of any and all arcane fields she is able to practice in, to create new fields of magic and expand the existing theories. She has ess to a vast amount of knowledge already, but she wants to push those borders further... Finally, Jahi wants to surpass the Marquess, to grow as strong as Durukti and surpass even her. She wants to scale the same mountain that the Empress, her wives, and the Sultana upies, to reach such a level that everyone knows her name.I think you should take a look at They all want to be known, to havesting marks on this world... I don''t. The only mark I want to be left are the children I bear and raise. What I want is to let them shine, to let them thrive and be renowned... I don''t want that attention, that recognition. So if I can be ''just a maid'' to the masses, then that''s fine with me." Everyone was quiet for a few moments, before each gave their own reactions. Dante, Monica, and the Empress were neutral, while Roman nodded, seemingly understanding where I wasing from. As for the twins Misa and Lisa, they were frowning slightly, confusion in their eyes, while Vienna was frowning heavily, not understanding my desires at all. "That''s stupid. You want to willingly be viewed as some weakling? Someone undeserving of standing beside my sister?" I chuckled again, smiling at the ck skinned woman as I replied "The opinions of the masses don''t bother me. Nor do the opinions of those few ''on my level'' or above me. They aren''t arge part of my life. They don''t have anything that I care about. So... yes, I want to be willingly viewed as just the maid to these three. To support them from behind and help them realize their own goals. Like I said, my only desires are to see them seed, and eventually, when the world is at peace, start a family of my own... with them." Vienna scoffed, while Monica asked "What now then? When all the Knights know that you aren''t a maid, when all of us know that... I''m sure your ssmates at the Academy will see it when you return for any sses. Your professors will see it. How can you hide your strength from those that can sense it? Why go through the efforts to do so?" Shrugging, I replied "Just because. As for them seeing my strength, well... Respectfully, you don''t seem to realize just how much attention these three draw just by existing. A Princess of the Empire, a Begum from the Sultanate, and the Heir to House Asmodia; all three are incredibly well known just by their bloodlines, and now that they have begun to mature? Beauty, power, intellect... they have more of it than most of our peers. With three blindingly bright mes around me, who''s going to take notice of the dimmer, yet still impressive me near them?" The blonde''s azure eyes flickered in understanding as she nodded, muttering "Fair point..." before looking away, while Dante smiled softly. "I think you undersell your own ''brightness'', Miss. Objectively, as a woman, you are... on par with Leone. A different aura around youpared to her, but on par nheless. Respectfully speaking, you are a wondrous mixture of a sinful body and a mature face, and when your respectful demeanor and gentle grace is added in, well..." His siblings frowned at his words, only to nce at the Empress as she snickered, saying "You''re not wrong, Dante... Her and her Mother never seemed to understand just how tantalizingly gorgeous they were~! Lorelei told me many times about how Julie drew attention wherever she went, and that they were both considered the belles of their year. The only reason Julie didn''t get much attention was... well, her ''lower blood'' and her closeness to Chordeva and Ria; even then, people were afraid of the Demoness and Elf duo~!" Grinning at me, the Empress sipped on her wine before adding "He''s not wrong, Katherine Zara. You seem to not understand just how dazzling your own ''me'' can be if given space. A me that sparkles slightly with a rather ''Divine'' grace..." I stiffened a little at that, confusing everyone as I stared at the Empress in shock. "Surely you didn''t think I''d miss that now, Katherine? Especially not after it was strengthened by these weeks of training? You''ve been blessed by a Goddess... Few would recognize that anymore, especially not with the scent of two separate Arch Fiends cloying around your soul, but... Well, I''m... me." Leaning forwards, the Empress smiled as she tapped her wine ss, adding "Now whether or not you know who it was that blessed you is a different story, but you certainly know that you''ve been blessed... and those that have been blessed are always given arduous fates that can either lead to a hell of their own making or a paradise. Either way, I sincerely doubt that you aren''t going to stand beside them as an equal in the future... and there will be no hiding that level of strength. Once you ''scale the mountain'' that I have, hiding bes impossible." She stood up, smiling at us all before silently exiting the kitchen and leaving us words to mull over. Chapter 486 485: Talk With the Empress now gone, the kitchen was silent as we all digested what had just been said, resulting in everyone once again looking at me, wondering just what the Empress meant by me being blessed by a Goddess. I could tell that Anput, Leone and Jahi were all slightly hurt that I hadn''t told them, whilst also feeling immensely curious by how this blessing could affect me going forwards. Leone''s siblings on the other hand were staring at me like some kind of exhibit animal, their eyes narrowed as they explored their thoughts on their own, leaving us in a suffocating silence. One that was broken by Jahi as she stood up, the Demoness'' movements slightly stiff as she reached down and grabbed my wrist, pulling me up. "We need to talk... if you''ll excuse us, everyone..." She gave Dante and Monica a curt nod, the two eldest children of the Empress returning her nod as they watched her pull me from my seat, with Anput and Leone standing up and following Jahi out as we made our way through the halls. I remained quiet, waiting for us to return to our room to speak, with the others doing the same as we traversed the Pce in a tense, heavy mood, none of us making a sound as we walked. I could feel their emotions loosely as we moved, the two women behind me and the one in front all worried and irritated about me. Throwing open the doors, Jahi pushed me inside before closing the door behind her, pinning me to the center of the room with her golden gaze as she growled "What did she mean, you''ve been ''blessed''? Was this something you forgot to mention about your time away Kat?" I resisted the urge to quip back at her, wanting to bring up her own ws she kept hidden away, but instead I took a deep breath before sighing, taking a seat on one of the beds. "I... Eventually, yes. I would have eventually mentioned it, Jahi. I don''t know much about it myself, nor exactly what it means... All I know is that a Goddess - Reincantra - gave me her blessing, which does... something." Jahi narrowed her eyes at me, the Demoness leaning down as she growled "You''re not telling the entire truth... Kat, please don''t fuck with me like this? At the end of the day, your soul is attached to mine, and I can tell when you aren''t telling me the entire truth..." I pursed my lips, staring back at those golden orbs even as they welled with slight anger - anger that was understandable considering the situation. "She... gave me a way to get stronger faster. When I kill something, I absorb some of it''s... it''s... experience, which ''boosts'' my abilities a little. For instance, when I killed the Lamia monster down in the Academy, I absorbed some of its experience and got stronger because of it. I got a little faster, a little more powerful... That''s her ''blessing'' to me. A... ''shortcut'' to getting stronger." Jahi still stared at me with narrowed eyes, before she sighed and knelt in front of me, grabbing my hands and squeezing. "Weren''t you the one to tell me never to keep a secret, Kat? So why did you keep one thatrge? Something that can honestly be of use? Something that important to everything? The blessing of a Goddess... an ''ability'' to effectively snatch power from your enemies souls... Kat, really?" Her eyes returned to their normal amethyst, and I smiled wryly at her as I squeezed her hands back, muttering "I... was worried, alright? Going around saying that a Goddess of all things blessed me, that I had this new ability... What sane person would believe that, Jahi? Why would they believe that?"I think you should take a look at Leone gave me a small smile as I looked at her, adding "Especially you, Leone. You would have wanted proof. Some type of ''evidence'' to prove that I wasn''t just... crazy, or afflicted with some type of mental curse from Cali." "Nah, the only mental stunts I pull are getting people horny. Why bother with all that other stuff~?" We all turned to look at the pink skinned woman lounging on the other bed, her sinful body on full disy as she looked up towards the ceiling, before leaning her head over the edge and grinning at us. "What? You use me of something, I''ll defend myself. I have rights, y''know?!" Giving her a dry gaze, I shook my head as I said "Not the time Cali...", which made the Arch Fiend widen her pink eyes before she poofed out of existence, a cloud of floral pink mist shrouding the bed she upied. "I... don''t think I''ll ever get ustomed to her. Ever." I chuckled as I nodded, sadly allowing Jahi to release my hands as she stood up to her full height, stretching herself out some before looking back down at me. "Trust me, I understand the worry Kat, and I can understand thinking something is best kept to yourself, but... please, trust us a little more than that! We''re in this together, forever. After all, there is not a singr chance in hell that I am letting your ass leave~!" She grinned at me, and I rolled my eyes as she turned the already dissipating feel good moment into something else, though Anput added "None of us would let you go, ever... Kat, you are our everything. We''ve lost you once, and it almost... it could have very well torn us apart if you were gone for longer. Awakened things in us that shouldn''t have ever been there. You keep us on the straight and narrow in too many ways... We would never, not in a million years let you go. The things you do for us..." The Jackalkin trailed off, her silver eyes locked onto mine before I looked towards Leone, who picked up where Anput left off. "You center us, satiate us, support us... You, Kat, are what makes us so... Without you, we wouldn''t be where we are now. You soothe us and keep us grounded, guiding us into the right directions. Body, mind, emotions, physically, spiritually... anyway that you can, you support us. Sure, I might question something, but it''s not because I don''t believe you. It''s because I just want to make sure everything is fine, that you are okay..." She approached me, caressing my cheek as she added "Without you, we''d be vastly different women, Kat... To the world, to my siblings, you might just be some intriguing maid that has some promise, but to us you are everything... Just as Anput means so much, just as Jahi means so much, so do you... We would never let you go..." Her crimson eyes red as she bared her fangs, those needlelike white fangs turning the normally gentle Princess into a slightly feral woman, her Vampiric blood on full disy. Grinning back at her, I leaned into her palm before twisting my head to kiss it, making her stare hungrily at my neck as I whispered "Well, the same goes for me I guess... I will never let any of you leave me... never..." Crimson, silver and gold locked onto me, before I moaned as I was pushed onto the bed, the three women looming above me and looking to devour their prey, our emotions running high despite the sun barely having crested over the horizon. Chapter 487 486: Field Test (1) Wiping the sweat from my brow, I nced around the dimly lit cavern before looking back down towards the corpse of the Firefang that had pounced towards us, trying to catch us off guard and slice us to shreds with those giant ws it has. Already we were finding monsters that could, at the very least,st longer than a few seconds against us and giving us a chance to practice our skills against real opponents. Of course, this was still just a normal Firefang, nothing special about it and nothing impressive about it, but still, it gave experience and it provided us with some materials. Anput was dewing the feline monster, tearing the giant ws out with her hands and creating a small pile of bloodied keratin, while Jahi added the Firefang''s equallyrge fangs to the pile. Leone was rummaging around the monsters opened torso, digging around for anything useful whilst also breaking off any of the more thick or hardened bones, wanting to add some more to the material pile. We were down here with a quest for Firefang parts, since Jahi wanted to get us back into the groove of adventuring and rank our party up so that we could begin to make our own coin, though the Demoness didn''t tell us exactly why she wanted to begin pooling together arge quantity of money. Though, as I stood guard over everyone, ance of ice resting on my shoulder, I could certainly think of a few options. I had never asked, but I knew the Marquess'' age was above a century, just not exactly where; she always spoke in rtive terms, and to her, everything that''s happened feels like it happened yesterday. So if she was already in the triple digits and still considered ''young'' by the Empress, well, there is a high likelihood that she''s going to hold that position for centuries toe, meaning... Jahi wants to create her own house, since that was one of the ''options'' that her Mom had given her during the talk about the Asmodeucian''s, and considering how Jahi had gonepletely quiet regarding that talk, well... I didn''t need to be a genius to know that if you put two and two together, you get four. With Mother''s twins on the way in a week or so, Jahi was likely going to be looking to see if her half sibling with the Demon blood would be a futa or not, since that could certainly make everything easier on her end for starting her own House, or stop that n in its tracks. Like we had seen with the Countess, it was more often than not that women were married away to men or futa''s, just like in most other medieval situations; it was just easier to do that then get a man or futa to marry into a family, so it continued to be the norm here. Of course, I have no doubt that the Countess, and other women as powerful as her, could just say ''no'' due to their own power, so it isn''t as terrible... I don''t think, anyways... Either way, if Jahi really was looking to eventually restart the Asmodeucian n, that would pull her from being the Heir to House Asmodia and instead make her the Matriarch of the Asmodeucian n, though the Marquess certainly had a few options there too... Tapping the icence against my shoulder, I scanned the surrounding area before ncing back at the others, getting a grasp on their progress. Seeing that they were done, I took onest look around before dropping quietly from the tree I had been resting in,nding beside them and helping them clean everything off. We had arge section of the reddish orange pelt, a bundle of bones, a few fangs, and all twenty ws, which we began to wrap in special cloth before distributing amongst our various packs and pouches, spreading the load evenly.I think you should take a look at After that was done, I doused us all with Water Mana and got us clean from the blood, allowing us to resume making our way down towards the giant magmake which was our objective for today. "This is a good haul so far... quite a few materials that could make some decent gear to help us go further. Those fangs especially..." Leone nodded, ncing at Anput as she said "Split them 50 - 50? I need the venom for some potions..." The Jackalkin narrowed her eyes at that, before sighing as she nodded, muttering "I better get somepensation tonight, Leone..." That made the Vampire blush slightly before she too nodded, making Jahi smirk as she slipped beside me, whispering "Me as well, Kat... I''ll need some payment for the emotional distress you caused me this morning~!" I gave her a dry look, only to roll my eyes as she smirked at me, the Demoness'' hand roaming my back before dropping lower. Right as she was about to get toofortable, I stepped forwards and said "We still have to get the Magma Wyrm''s spines, so let''s get going. I don''t want to be here all night." Everyone nodded, and we resumed our trek through the stuffy ins of Yama of Zhu''Rong Caverns; though, I did notice thatpared to my time spent inside the Gobo Desert, this was much more bearable. The difference lied in theck of a sun and the scent of the air; here it was ashy and burnt, whilst Gobo Desert was just straight heat, each breath scorching your lungs. Without a giant ball of fire warming up an enormous swathe of golden sand, I would imagine that Gobo Desert would have been much more bearable... And the ins of Yama would be infinitely worse considering it was a giant expanse of ck sand and rocks. Smiling wryly at that small observation, I walked over the ins and led us towards the giantkeprised of magma, where our target would be found lurking beneath the burning liquid. We had been here once before, and it felt weirding back after so long and after so much had changed... A beach of ck sand littered with bones and monsters led into the orange-red expanse of magma, which a few monsters waded through to get from one ce to another. This would be where we got a decent grasp of how much we had improved, as the monster we were hunting was one of the more dangerous ones lurking beneath thatke''s surface, to the point that the Guild had almost refused to give us the quest based on our party rank. Of course, a double check of who we were made them rethink that decision, and here we were, ready to hunt ourselves a Magma Wyrm and make a profit. Chapter 488 487: Field Test (2) My daggers sunk deep into the ck scaled Lizardmen that prowled along the magma''s edge, their hodgepodge gear of various metals, bones, and hides doing little to protect them from a pinpoint precise stab, the ice coated de of Shatter cutting cleanly through their scales and tearing into the flesh beneath. Thick blood oozed from the monsters wounds, pooling around them as they copsed to the ground below me and slowly faded away into dust, leaving nothing behind besides some of their gear and the asional fang, w, or bone. They had little value to us - not when our packs were alreadyden with Firefang and Coal Serpent parts, anyways - to warrant searching, though when we killed the entire tribe we took a moment to harvest their Cores if we could, since those were always worth a few pretty Silvers. As thest Lizardman dropped to the ground dead, we all looked around the area before casting our gazes out onto the magmake, hoping to catch sight of the Magma Wyrm upying its depths. Sadly, the monster was just as rare as it was rumored to be, and we sighed as we turned to find another cluster of Lizardmen to butcher, continuing our mindless ughter of the monsters. While it was annoying, the raw numbers popping into my mind as I danced through the various clusters of monsters was worth it, each one around 6,000 XP a kill and slowly adding to my total, inching me ever closer to Level 31, which now cost me 1,250,000 XP instead of just the normal 1,000,000; every 5 levels added 250,000 to that total, making things a bit longer than before but keeping the challenge of leveling. So I had no problems chopping down each low level enemy as we waited for therge one to take the bait, using this time to practice striking with efficiency to save energy, whilst also curiously observing what [Frost of Despoina] did, seeing if I could understand what would make that skill level up. Each time I inflicted damage with an ice attuned attack, the frost would began to spread across their flesh and begin to damage them, preventing healing and numbing the area around the wound, slowing them down. It was a nifty little skill to have, but what could it turn into? That was the question on my mind, and I wanted to figure it out, but in order to do so I needed to understand what made the skill tick; that''s how you improve the skills naturally, instead of with Skill Points, whiche per level or achievement. Currently, I had no Skill Points nor any achievements I could think of, so the natural route was all that was avable to me. With [Growth], I had to obtain a certain amount of experience all at the same time; 100,000 XP to grow it from (Novice) to (Expert), if I remember correctly, and I had used Skill Points to increase it past that point, so it was likely either multiple instances of obtaining x amount of experience, or a veryrge number at once like... 500,000 XP? Those were the two feasible options that came to mind, so what could [Frost of Despoina] require to ''evolve''? Kills, a deeper understanding of Ice Magic, or a better understanding of the skills application. If it was kills, the only thing I could do was continue to add more and more to the tally as I reaped the lives of the Lizardmen and other monsters, keeping Shatter coated in a sharp case of ice that constantly applied the skill upon any injury inflicted. That was something I could do unconsciously, so now I could begin understanding the skill itself better. It activates on any type of ice attuned attack and debuffs the inflicted enemy, before giving me more damage against an enemy that is considered ''frozen'' or ''freezing''; likely a scaling buff to my damage based on the number of ''freezing'' stacks on their person, before they eventually be ''frozen''... Huh, thinking about it like a game makes this a tad easier... So if this begins to get them on the path to begin ''frozen'', it is both a damage increaser and a debuffer - making it an incredible valuable skill - then perhaps it''d be best to ''attune'' it to one of the two? Lace the spells or des I use with a spell that is meant to spread the frost quicker - effectively increasing the amount of ''freezing'' stacks I put onto the target - so that I could activate the damage quicker, or I could go the other route and instead focus on increasing the amount of damage I get by shattering a ''frozen'' target, like with Shatter Fang? Though, I could just do both couldn''t I? I have the know how to do both, considering how simple the spells are... With that, I slowed my murdering of the Lizardmen and traced out the runes I needed for a deep chill, cloaking the Shatter Fang in a gale of cold wind and shing at the chest of one of the Lizardmen. A thin gash appeared on its scaled chest, and the monster hissed as I dodged its spear thrust, my eyes focused on the frost that crept across its torso, encasing its scales in a thin sheen of ice. It hissed again as it pped its chest, only to widen its eyes in terror as a few of its scales dropped to the ground from the blow, revealing the darkening, frostbitten flesh beneath. Feeling the cold beginning to take its body, the monster looked at me before gritting its fangs, lunging forwards in hopes that killing the caster would stop the creeping frost from consuming it. Sadly for it, I was far more nimble than it was, and I dodged its spear continuously as I observed the effects of my experiment, formting another spell to improve upon my findings and grow my strength through magical means. The Lizardman gasped as its arm began to get coated in the frost, its hand shaking visibly as it tried to pull the spear back, only to notice that its muscles were locking and spasming randomly, unable to control itself.I think you should take a look at Tilting my head, I sliced the spearhead off and approached the panicking monster, tapping the hardened scales and nodding to myself as I plucked one off, crushing it between my fingers. "It can effectively remove armor from my opponents... the mana imbued itself into the scale and changed it from keratin to an interesting mixture of keratin and solid water... weird, but it''s magic, so..?" Allowing the dust of the ck scale to drift to the sand below, I used Shatter Fang to scrape away more of the Lizardman''s chest scales, all while it watched in horror as its body refused to obey itsmands, leaving it to my mercy - something that I had a short supply of. Next was the flesh, and I pricked the tip of Shatter against its flesh, cutting into it and revealing that the flesh had begun to die, resulting in necrosis of its flesh, and likely - if I gave it enough time - of its organs as well, giving my target a painful death... Out of curiosity, I sheathed Protective Fang and traced out the runes for a healing spell before pressing my palm against the Lizardman''s flesh, trying to revert the necrosis and bring it back to normal. My mana seeped into the monsters torso, and I frowned as I saw the flesh heal only to die off momentster, the [Frost of Despoina] skill showing its potency despite being only at (Novice) level. Though, when I tried to deactivate the skill on this Lizardman, it did stop spreading and allowed me to heal it, making me nod to myself. "Thanks for your cooperation, Lizardman... here." Balling my fist, I punched into its chest and grabbed ahold of its Core, yanking it free and showing the Lizardman, only to sigh as it slumped to the ground, dead. "Fine... I''ll take it." Shaking off its blood, I stored the Core into a pouch before looking up, where I saw the other three staring at me quietly, their eyes conflicted. "What?" Anput just shook her head, turning to observe the magmake, while Leone gave me a strained smile, saying "I understand the desire for real practice of your skills, Kat, but... that''s a tad... much." "Murderpuppy suits you a little too much sometimes, Kat..." I gave the two a shrug as I cleaned myself off, before smirking as I noticed a prompt appear in my mind. [Frost of Despoina (Novice) -> (Apprentice)] "Well, sometimes you just need to... experiment, y''know~?" Leone rolled her eyes before turning around as well, staring at the magmake with a frown. "Speaking of... hey, can I have that Core Kat?" Walking towards her side, I handed the Vampire the Core and watched as she sped her hands around it, funneling her mana into the small orb. Jahi and Anput took a position in front of us just in case, all three of us quiet as Leone worked on... whatever. Tossing the joy of the skill''s level up out for the moment, I saw Leone lift a shimmering orange sphere - the Lizardman Core - and observe it for a moment before chucking it into the magma, where it promptly burst into a bundle of mes. Silence reined around theke, before Anput chuckled as we saw four thin spines poke out of the magma''s surface. "Leone~! Sometimes you can be so~ smart, you know that~?" The Vampire muttered "Sometimes?" before looking towards the intrigued Magma Wyrm, epting the next Core I handed her and doing the same thing to it again. When this one sshed against the surface, the giant red scaled monster breached from the viscous magma, looking around as it loosed a roar, agitated by the bursts of concentrated Fire Mana. "Good job Leone! Anput, give us some defenses, Kat, focus on getting its attention. Leone, protect us from the magma! Come on, let''s hunt us a Magma Wyrm and earn some coin!" Chapter 489 488: Field Test (3) With Jahi''s orders still ringing in our ears, we set to work as the Magma Wyrm turned its enormous scaled head, looking from left to right in search of what caused those disturbances. Before it could lower itself back into the magma, I condensed an Ice Lance into a morepact, less likely to melt arrow that I thenunched towards the Magma Wyrm, nodding to myself as the arrow punched through the scales and burrowed into the meat, spreading a thinyer of frost inside the monster. It wouldn''t do a lot of damage, but the surprise puncture wound made the Magma Wyrm roar in anger, turning towards us and beginning to swim to the shore as quickly as it could. Remaining just above the surface, the monster gave its position away, allowing me to continue pelting it with arrows as I tried to keep its attention, all whilst the others bolstered our defenses and prepared to meet the monster head on. Anput constructed a tform around us and lifted it out of the shoreline, cing us a few feet above the magma and giving us some room to face the monster when it reached us. Jahi shrouded the tform in a giant sphere of golden light, protecting us from some of the attacks the Magma Wyrm might unleash, before switching her focus from defense to offense, joining me in pelting the monster with projectiles as we dealt as much damage as we could before it enteredbat with us. Leone had drawn out her giant multi Ritual Circle behind her, therge set of red runes and lines behind us adding to the illumination of the magma. With the amount of pain Jahi and I had caused it, the Magma Wyrm roared before leaping up into the air, trying to bathe us in magma as it crashed back down into theke, sshing the orange liquid all over the ce. The Vampire just waved her hands, the magma redirecting itself away from us and leaving the golden dome unscathed, much to the monsters annoyance as it breached the surface once more. Now that it was closer, I hurled a long, barbednce towards its body, sinking the ice deep into its flesh before shattering it, eliciting another roar that was swiftly silenced as arge chunk of rock crashed against the monsters jaw, snapping it shut. Two whirling discs of condensed golden light mmed into either side of its neck, scoring deep gashes as they tore away scales and churned the meat beneath. "That should be the first stage done! Now it really begins!" We all nodded at Jahi''s words, preparing another host of spells as we watched the monster transition from a simple scaled worm into something else. Two arms sprouted from its upper torso, ending in three digit hands that had enough reach and dexterity to wield a weapon, which it summoned from the earth, brown mana coiling around its hands. It''s red scales gained a silver luster, each of them growing spikes that threatened to wrench any weapon from your hands whilst also being arge threat in case it got closer. Ash spilled from its jaws, which were now illuminated with a dull red glow, and two new eyes opened just past its original set, all four now ring down at us as it coiled its body and ''stood'' up, wielding a giant de of stone. "NOW!" Having waited for its entire shift to ur, we unleashed a flurry of spells against the monster, peppering it with attacks that it tried to defend itself from. It''s sword sliced through mynces and blocked Anput''s sharpened stones, whilst its now silver mana blocked the deluge of mes that Leone tried to drown it in. However, the golden discs that Jahi loved to much shattered the screen of silver mana and cut into the monster once more, making it shriek as the discs scored deep gashes alongside its new arms. ring at her, it raised the de high and mmed it down, forcing Jahi to release the discs and instead reinforce the shield, with Anput encasing us in a dome of earth as well. A loud crash rang out from the blow, the sheer force behind it making us wince as the noise threatened to rupture our eardrums, whilst also making our knees buckle from the pressure. Thankfully, the dome remained intact, though Anput''s barrier was shattered by the stone de. Seeing that we were alright, the monster snarled as it began to transform the sword into one of metal, while its maw opened wide as it bathed the shoreline in noxious gas that blistered the air, turning an already insanely hot area into one that even monsters couldn''t stand. Lizardmen that had been watching from afar shrieked as their scales began to peel off, their flesh bubbling for a moment before contracting, the moisture inside them now gone. Leone summoned her own mes around us, which I strengthened with a sphere of wind to supply them with more fuel so that the gas wouldn''t reach us, all while Jahi''s fingers danced in front of her, aplex Ritual Circle forming. Distracting the monster with a barrage of attacks, Anput battered the monster with dozens of metal spheres andnces, puncturing through its hardened scales and making it hiss in agony as she disrupted its concentration, stopping the monster from transforming the stone in its hand to metal.I think you should take a look at Joining her in distracting it, I pelted its scales with bundles of frigid air, adding to the previous wounds and helping spread the frost further, slowing down its movements as much as I could before Jahi unleashed her attack. With Leonebatting the noxious gas that lingered in the air around us, Jahi had the most potent magic after her to deal with the Magma Wyrm, Light Mana outssing all of our mana on its own. The monster growled and halted the transformation of its de, shing it back down as it tried to stop us from casting more magic against stand damaging it more, only to hiss as the de crashed against a stone pir, slowing down its swing. With the weapon trapped, it tried to open its maw to breathe out more gas onto the golden dome, which had begun to flicker slightly as Jahi put her mana into another spell. Before it could, Anput and I closed its jaws by smashing the lower jaw with arge chunk of stone before I stabbed argence of ice up into its mouth, pinning its jaws closed. The ice was already melting from the heat of the magma, but now that it was coated in the Magma Wyrm''s sticky blood, that process was expedited. As the monster tried to free its jaws from that icicle, Jahipleted her spell and raised her arms, dozens of small spheres ofpressed light flickering into existence around her. pping her hands in front of her, the spheres streaked forwards and made their way towards the monster, exploding against its scales and ripping outrge chunks of flesh, dealing an incredible amount of damage. A good amount of the spheres targeted the monsters neck, chewing through its flesh and eventually severing the bone, causing its head to fall forwards and sink into the low tide of magma. The rest of its body followed quickly behind, mming down into the shoreline as the monster died, making us all grin. [Magma Wyrm - 144,780 XP] My grin was rather wide as well, considering that wasn''t the only thing that popped up... [Defend Mistress Anput / Leone / Jahi from the monster threat! Reward : 30,000 XP , 10,000 SP Bonus : Each Mistress is unscathed! Good job! Bonus : 15,000 XP , 5,000 SP] The real totals for experience were double that thanks to [Growth], and joy overcame me as I stared at the sheer amount of experience I had gotten today; just over 300,000 XP from just a simple outing into the Caverns, and I still had more to go with my other Daily Quests. Besides that, I got arge amount of SP to spend as well, making this singr outing one of the most lucrative things I had ever done... To say I was ecstatic as we began to butcher the Magma Wyrm would be an understatement, and our journey back up to the surface with our goodies was spent feeling giddy, each of us discussing the various things that we observed during the fight. Specifically, how often we wanted to try and locate a monster like the Magma Wyrm; monsters that shifted from one stage to another, making them far harder to fight. Attacking them during that transition from stage one to stage two, or - Goddess forbid - stage two to three would only make the fight harder, as instead of the ''base'' stage two, we would have been fighting stage 2+, with far more potent mana and arger increase in strength. It was something to do with how the monster responded to the increase in danger, its body going into overdrive to keep it alive and absorbing nearly double the amount of mana it needed to shift. That was what the Magma Wyrm was, and once we slipped past the Gate of Hades further inside the caverns, we would encounter more monsters with the ability to shift; monsters that were far harder to defeat and much more strenuous to n for. Some of the base monsters might be able to shift as well, making everything past that Gate of Hades to be far more lethal, but far more rewarding as their materials made for some really good gear if handled correctly. For now though, we were all looking forwards to returning to the Pce, where we could begin looking into how to improve further while Anput and Leone would start enjoying the fruits of ourbors as they began to craft and concoct things from the materials. Chapter 490 489: New Home, New Roommates..? We made our way to the surface after dismembering the Magma Wyrm, harvesting an abundance of scales and spines from the monster, along with its bones and fangs, filling our packs to the brim with monstrous goodies for Anput and Leone to utilize in their hobbies, and for us to sell as well. The mission itself paid us out around two dozen Gold coins and some Silvers, whilst the excess monster parts were haggled between the Guild''s Receptionist and I; the previous one was gone, having apparently transferred and moved away to support her daughter in a quieter ce and with her new lover. This new Guild Receptionist wasn''t as adamant with her prices as the previous, acquiescing to my demands much easier than before as I leaned on the counter, though I was certain that was because the woman sitting behind the desk was smitten with me, or at the very least lusting after me. She was a pretty Elven woman with long ears that twitched or jumped constantly, each movement making them move in some way; as for the rest of her, she was an Elf. Thin body with some supple curves that went for ''quality'' over quantity, golden blonde hair that was braided down her back, gentle features that could charm anyone, and dazzling forest green eyes that captured your gaze easily. Though, I personally think that thin, innocent Elf was hiding a rather pervasive futa that wanted to indulge herself, but that was only because I gave her a little ''show'' of resting my chest on the counter as I gave her a price that was a bit above average value, and she agreed without hesitation, all whilst her green eyes flickered from my breasts to my face, trying hard to not stare noticeably. So, with this being a battle of negotiation, I had no problem giving her that show and milking her for all the coin I could, making sure everything was believable and notrge enough to get her fired or moved so that I could have a reliable ''piggy bank'' going forwards. I mean, why wouldn''t I use this to my advantage to get some more coin for each item? I had the body for it, and theck of ''dignity'' that some would scold me for, but I couldn''t care about retaining some ''dignity'' if it meant easy coin; I had done worse in my previous life, so this was child y. Besides, the annoyed gazes of my lovers from behind me made me smirk, letting me know that I would be getting a very in depth exnation on why I shouldn''t do this, with the beginning lines being ''You belong to us'' as they demonstrated that en masse. So, with arge pouch of Gold coins in each of our hands, we browsed the markets for a few minutes before making our way up to the Pce, where we would begin to review our fight against the Magma Wyrm and where we could improve. For me, I had the desire to create some better defensive spells tobat gaseous attacks and hotter attacks, as well as a more pressing urge to experiment some more with the my skills and level them up if possible. I imagine that Anput is more so thinking about forging some weapons and armor from those materials, especially since she said she had a gift for me; a gift she has yet to give to me, I realized... ring at the Jackalkin, I pinched her waist as we walked, making the woman hiss in pain before ring at me, asking "What the hell was that for?!" "Hmph! Where''s my gift? Hmm? You promised me a gift, didn''t you? So where is it?" Her obsidian eyes were nk for a moment before she opened her mouth, only to close it as she looked away. "It''s uh... not ready yet. I needed to get some finishing touches done, but... well, yeah..." "Mhm..." I gave her a dry look before letting out another ''hmph'', making my way over to Leone and hugging her arm to my chest, leaning into her.I think you should take a look at Making my mate even more jealous was always a fun game to y, as her other unfulfilled promise to mate all day long was still there, waiting to be done... Jahi grinned as she forted'' the Jackalkin, whispering something to her as they walked side by side, the two eventually grinning mischievously together, staring at me. I sauntered beside Leone, amusing the two even more as I cast a knowing nce back at them, before coyly looking up at the blushing Vampire as I whispered "How did you want to join us, Leone~? Shall this ''humble'' maid service you, or are we both providing service to the Mistress~?" Licking her lips, she looked me over before ncing back at the other two, muttering "I... I t-think I''ll join you..?" I nodded, and I pulled her along quicker as we rushed towards our room, the other two matching our pace as we prepared to indulge first; that seemed to be a problem we all had, despite the others teasing me about being ''hedonistic''... Weren''t they just as insatiable as I was?! Reaching our room, I opened the door before freezing, finding a ratherrge ''party'' lounging around in our room. The Marquess, the Countess, the Empress, Mother, Lady Lorelei, Lady D''Arcon, Monica, Nirinia... Leone and I froze as we stared at therge cluster of people, before Anput and Jahi stopped behind us, staring at the group with slight frustration in their eyes. "You look like some deer that got caught in themplight~! What, were you nning on having some fun~?" The Marquess grinned like crazy at Jahi, pride and amusement in her eyes as she looked over the rest of us, while Lady Lorelei frowned at Leone, only to sigh as the Empress pat her arm. "Now youngdy, this is my house..." Hearing the Empress'' words, we all deadpanned as she tried to hold back a smirk, with Lady D''Arcon shaking her head as she muttered "Dear, really?" Releasing Leone''s arm, I allowed her to move around and enter the room, before making my way towards the small kitchte that was in the corner, pulling out a teapot. "What brings all of you here? Should I prepare enough tea for everyone, or..?" ncing over my shoulder, I saw the Empress nod as she replied "I think so? We need to discuss a few things regarding young Jahi''s time here... Like it or not, she is amongst one of the more lethal weapons in our arsenal, and I''d rather her be as polished and tempered as possible for the future." Filling the teapot with some water, I set it on the stove before sitting down nearby the kitchte, allowing them to begin talking. Chapter 491 490: Empress Plans I sat and quietly observed the gathering of the Empire''s most important people, listening in for what the Empress wanted from the Heir of House Asmodia - my lover. After all, whatever was asked of Jahi would, in turn, be asked of Anput, Leone and I as we worked to help Jahi reach her goals, all of us determined to be her support. Despite Anput and Leone having the ability to act the same as Jahi, they both were content with being her ''women'' when ites to her goals, joining me in helping Jahi achieve those goals before eventually moving onto their own goals. In a sense, we were all rather traditional women in that regard, doing what we could to support our futa first and foremost before using whatever time remained on ourselves... "Jahi, I can''t make any promises on just how much of a help Arc will be for you, considering your magics are of two different veins, but at the very least you might get a good grasp of what you can do and how well you can do it under her tutge. As I''m sure Chordeva has exined, Light and Dark Magic is incredibly potent against Fiends, and with both you and Arc having the ability to wield it, well, the Empire is lucky and blessed. That''s why I need to make sure that your arcane prowess is at least half of your physical prowess, so that you can rely on that powerful weapon more in the future, and so that the ce I have built over these long years can escape this new age unscathed. So, I want you to spend a few hours every day with Arc honing your magic. If you have inherited anything from Ria, this should be an easy bump in your strength. You might be of Demon blood primarily - and specifically of a strain that uses magic sparingly - but you also have Elven blood as well. Let''s hope it benefits you going forwards... Besides training under Arc, I would suggest seeking Chordeva out when you can, seeking out Tess if she''s up and about, and if you really desire it, seek out Fen for another training session. As it stands, your Mom will be able to best guide you along with the style of fighting that you Demon''s so heavily prefer, whilst Tess has a better grasp on magic than almost everyone else in this Empire. She might be able to guide you to new heights..." Trailing off, the Empress looked around the room before focusing on Leone first, adding "Leone, I would rmend spending more time with Lorelei and honing the magic unique to you Vampires, as well as some time with Igna for a new look at Fire Magic. Continuing your practices will still get your really far, but should you be stuck, a fresh set of eyes on what you''re doing can always be beneficial. Begum Anput, I would suggest seeking out Igna as well, but also Vienna as she too has Metal Magic, and I imagine the two of you would get along rather well... Additionally, Fen is always avable for you, should you choose, and perhaps you would benefit from a trip over to the forges? Ba''Ruk is our current forge master, son of So''Luk and inheritor of the Coal Scale Family... He''d be willing to have an apprentice to help around the forge, if you want." ncing over at me, the Empress smiled softly as she said "For our resident ''Maid'', if you were willing you could seek out Yusa and her daughters, though there is no promise that they''d help you. Yusa is azy woman, and our daughters are... entrics, to say the least. If you manage to convince them, learn what you can. Otherwise, Roman wouldn''t be a terrible sparring partner and mentor for you, considering your ''role'' inside the party, whilst Dante could give you some guidance on enchanting. Do with that as you will." She looked back towards the others, ncing at Mother first as she added "I think it''d be best to just rx for the next few days though... Or at the very least remain close by the Pce. I don''t think Miss Julie is too far off from delivery."I think you should take a look at Lady D''Arcon nodded, idly stroking her own daughters back as she said "You might not feel blessed just yet due to the... difficulties thate with twins, let alone hybrid twins, but..." Mother smiled softly as she stroked herrge stomach, her amber eyes flickering towards me for a moment before she replied "No... I feel blessed even now. The entire time, really... To be able to be a Mother is a blessing, even if the pain thates with it from my two hybrid children is great. Besides, I... I feel like I need this, to feel like I hadn''t failed the basic things with my first girl. Something that I can never move past, even if she insists its fine..." Everyone looked towards me, and I just gave a wry smile before moving over to the teapot, grabbing it from the stove right before it began to whistle. Dropping in the tealeaves, I began to pour everything out into cups before putting it back on the stove, beginning another batch whilst I served the first. The Empress continued to discuss things with everyone, giving us all a better idea on what we could look forwards to going forwards and some good ideas on what we should be trying to do first during our time here. Besides that, the Empress did allude to us being a tad more careful with our desires now that we were here, reminding us that whilst she doesn''t mind what we do, to just be careful not to go overboard, as well as to keep in mind time and ce since... well, we could return to our room filled with people again, and we couldn''t really argue about it since this wasn''t owned by us, just being graciously given. Of course Leone blushed at that reminded from her Mom, whilst her Mother red at her, Jahi, and the Marquess, like she was using the Demoness'' of tainting her daughter... which certainly isn''t far from the truth, considering Jahi ''tainted'' us all on a regr basis... Either way, we now had a good idea on who we should go to for training and who we should see for exactly which part of our training, as well as a careful reminder that breaks are something we should take regrly to keep our minds and bodies fresh. Besides that, I was looking at Mother, who was leaning into the Countess'' side as she idly stroked her stomach, which had ballooned out quite a bit now that two separate children were growing inside it. Chapter 492 491: Family Time The Empress stood up and gestured to Lady D''Arcon and Lady Lorelei, smiling softly at the Marquess as she said "Chordeva, I do hope everything goes just as well with this next daughter of yours as it did with Jahi... She certainly turned out rather decent so far." Smirking over at Jahi, the Empress added "I do hope you don''t make me take back my own words, young Jahi... Despite some obvious ws, I don''t particrly mind you as a daughter inw. I at least know that my youngest won''t be in bad hands with you." She looked back towards Mother and gave her a smile as well, nodding to her as she said "As for you, I do hope it all goes well Miss Julie. Hybrid children can be... a tad more taxing on the body, but luckily Arc is here to help. I hope the Gods bless you with a safe birth. Ah, and Ria? Congrattions on your second daughter as well, dear. Tess wants to congratte you too, so perhaps make your way towards the Sanctum tomorrow morning? She wishes to see you badly." The Countess nodded, whilst Mother bowed her head before looking towards me, a conflicted smile on her face. I could tell that she was still bothered by her own thoughts on having ''failed'' at raising me, the guilt she created for herself bing rather heavy despite us speaking about this before... Smiling back at her, I decided I needed to talk with her once again and just reiterate the words I saidst time, to really drive them home; apparently we were the same in terms of stubbornness that refused to go away even as people told us to do something differently... Monica stood up as well, the blonde nodding to Leone before following her parents out the door, leaving only family inside the room. Well, family plus Nirinia, as the Djinn sat awkwardly at the side, sipping on her tea as she tried to make herself as small as possible. The Marquess sighed as she nced at the green skinned woman, making her shrink in on herself some more as she avoided the Marquess'' ruby gaze, flinching as she coughed. "Nirinia, I would like some time with just my family..?" cing the teacup in front of her, the Djinn smiled stiffly at the Marquess as she said "Well, you''re my mentor, and as the saying goes ''A mentor is like the parent you never had''... or something like that." We all just stared at her for a few moments before the Marquess just sighed, waving her hands at the Squire as she muttered "Whatever, stay then..." The Countess just raised a brow at the woman before looking towards Mother, joining her in caressing her belly as they sat quietly beside one another. "Like the Empress said, I think it''d be best if you all remained inside the Pce for the next few days... Julie is due any day now, and it would be nice if you were all present for when she gave birth to your siblings. It''s... something unique and unforgettable, and whilst it is something you might find... harrowing in the moment, it''ll be a memory that you cherish. Though, I imagine it gains a more potent luster when it''s your child being born, and not just a sibling. Something special about the culmination of your love being brought into the world, I guess." Rolling her eyes, the Countess muttered "You guess..?" before she turned towards the rest of us, saying "She is right, it would be soothing for Julie if you were all present, at least. Technically speaking, Anput, Leone, you two would be one set of the babies Godparents... who the other set would be is beyond me at this moment, considering..." The Marquess grinned widely at her wife as she finished her sentence, smugly saying "We have no other friends? That it''s just you, me, Julie, and our children~?" "I really wouldn''t want to say it, but yes. That... is the case. If only~ someone else in this room was married, we could have them as a Godparent as well, but..." We all turned to look at Nirinia, who froze as she felt the weight of all our gazes upon her muscr frame.I think you should take a look at "Uhm... Sorry? Wait, I can still be the cool Aunt! Different title, but it''s still there! Just like I''m Bluey''s ''Aunt'' too!" Jahi gave Nirinia a dry look, shaking her head as she said "No, you''re not. You are no where NEAR mature enough to be considered anything above... a cousin, I guess? Even that''s iffy..." The Djinn donned a hurt look as she stared back at Jahi, before grinning stupidly as the Marquess agreed with her daughter, saying "You aren''t the sharpest de on the rack, that''s for sure..." "Still a de though~! And a damn good one~!" "Yeah... Sure. Anyways, what is going on with you and the Lioness? We haven''t seen her this entire time, so..?" Nirinia''s smile faded, and she leaned back into her chair with a sigh as she stared at the ceiling, mulling over how to answer. I grabbed the other teapot and refilled everyones drinks, just as Nirinia decided to answer. "We see each other here and there. I ignore her, she ignores me, so... yeah, it''s back to normal. Certainly doesn''t help that she catches me going to oring from the brothel most of the time, so..." The Countess rolled her eyes before dryly saying "Did you ever think to simply NOT go meddle with the whores and instead focus on deepening a real rtionship with someone? There''s a good deal of warriors, adventurers, and others who might just fit your bill, Nirinia." She just pursed her lips as she rested her chin on her palm, her lips pulled into a thin line. "See, you both act more like parents to me than my own do. Ma just tells me I need to get back to training and stop waisting everyones time, while Mom is as quiet as ever... The two of you at least take a moment to give advice. Wouldn''t that make you parents to me as well~? In other words, family~?" Nirinia grinned at them again, making the two nced at one another before they sighed together, making us all chuckle. None of us missed her redirection of the conversation, but Mother decided to ept her olive branch and changed the discussion, smiling softly as she asked for ideas on names from us all, apparently undecided and not too enthusiastic about ''Daega'' or ''Ca'', which were the names that the Marquess and Countess put forwards originally. The two seemed saddened by the way their desired names were pushed aside so quickly, but they recovered when we all began to toss names out, eventually setting on pair of names for each depending on whether they were futa or pure. After that, Mother stood up and gestured for me to walk with her into the other room, where we would talk privately for a bit. The rest of our family - blood rted and those brought in through bonds - remained inside the main room, chatting about the future in the broadest scope of the word whilst awaiting our return. Chapter 493 492: Reassurance Mother and I walked into the other room, listening to the now muffled voices of those that we held dear behind the door as we sat down on therge bed, side by side. I leaned into her side, resting my head on her shoulder as we both stared at the door separating us from everyone else, while I waited for Mother to find the words for what she needed to say. Her hand rested on my knee, and she squeezed softly as we sat together, until she eventually began to speak, her voice quiet. "Katherine, I... I''m sorry for everything... It''s been weighing on my mind this entire time that I''ve been pregnant, even after we spokest time..! I just can''t..! I..!" Her voice began to break, and I felt my heart ache as I heard that, though a twinge of annoyance filled my mind as well. "Mother, really! It''s alright! You didn''t... ''fail'' me like you think you have! I''ve still grown up into a woman you can be proud of, right? I still have my manners, my life in a good spot, a good family... I doubt that I''d be here if I was a ''failed'' child, Mother! Really... You taught me what I needed to know, taught me some extra on top of that, and did your best to provide for me!" She nced down at me, her amber eyes conflicted as she tried to say "But I-" "But you managed to escape a fate worse than death all whilst I was in your belly! You found a ce to call home, a ce that protected us both, a new family for us! Without that drive, without you wanting so badly to protect me, where would we have been? That''s not the sign of a ''terrible Mother''! You did so much to make sure I had a safe ce to grow, and you gave me what I thrive early on. Not many could say they had the Shield of the Empire and a Saintess guiding them through their childhood!" Mother gave me a small smile at that, her eyes clearing up a bit as I continued. "Listen, like I saidst time, the factors surrounding my birth and childhood were different than most others, Mother. I had to mature quickly, because I was Soul Bound to the Heir of the Asmodia House. I didn''t mind that, because I... even back then, I loved her. I wanted to help her however I could, and as such we were both ''robbed'' of our childhood! You should know that the Countess feels the same as you do in that regard, yet you seem to be neglecting the fact that she''s so excited now because she gets that chance again! Through the blessing that you are bearing for both of them!" "I... But still, how can you be so sure that I won''t fail again? That I won''t be able to give them what they need to have that childhood..!"I think you should take a look at Sighing softly, I wrapped my arms around her body and held her close, replying "Mother, the fact that you can talk and even think to speak about this with me shows that you KNOW you haven''t failed... After all, if you had failed me, why would you be speaking to me about it? Besides, I think that you''ll be stubborn enough to give them that childhood that you think they need. To let them grow unfettered by the real world like all children should. But if they mature quicker than normal, don''t be surprised; I hate to break this to you, but we''re no longer exactly inside of a ''normal'' family nor a ''normal'' time. Perhaps the Marquess'' child matures fast because Demon blood matters quick. Perhaps the Countess'' child matures fast because of the potent mana inside their Core... If they do, then just be there for them like you were me. Show them what they need to learn, help them through it, and let them grow." Squeezing her shoulder, I smiled at her before getting up, stretching myself out before adding "Besides, childhood can be rather overrated anyways Mother... I''m having much more fun as an adult then I did as a child... Though, admittedly, I do think my idea of ''fun'' was warped~!" She blushed slightly at that, before ring and huffing slightly as she stared up at me. "And before you try and twist that into something bad that you did, I don''t mind it, and in fact I wee it. Otherwise, I doubt I''d have been able to tame Jahi as mine first and foremost~!" I gave her a smirk before helping her to her feet, the woman still blushing as she muttered "I can''t believe that you''re so open about it..!" My chuckle made her re at me some more, before she pouted as I helped her out into the main room again, rejoining ourrge family in discussing the future once more, with Mother being the center of attention as everyone looked towards her belly, where two more additions to the family were waiting to be born. The Countess reassured Mother a few times as well, whispering something to her whenever the conversation shifted and likely saying what I said to her, telling her how she''d be a great Mother once again and how she knows - not hopes, knows - that their child will turn out to be a great daughter to them both. Even the Marquess showed a gentle side as she ruffled Mohter''s ears and kissed her brow, before getting up and winking at Jahi as she led everyone else out of the room, wanting to go rx out in one of the gardens. Of course, after having been talking about family for so long, Jahi got right into showing us just how she''d expand our family as she practiced thoroughly with all three of us, before we cleaned ourselves up and made our way out to the gardens as well, deciding that rest wasn''t too bad as we joined the others once more. Chapter 494 493: Delivery Day Not even a day had passed when Mother calmly announced that she was about to enterbor, sending the Marquess off to the Sanctum to retrieve the Countess and inform the Empress of this event, leaving me to look after Mother as I settled her onto a bed, her serene and calm smile as she sunk into the sheets at odds with what was about to happen. "I am not as thick headed as you think I am, Katherine. Last night I thought on it some more, and I... realize just how idiotic it was to think that I failed you. I mean, even if I had, you turned out far better than I could have ever hoped, so if this is me ''failing'' my child, well..." She gave me a reassured grin before looking up towards the ceiling, continuing on even as I frantically made sure everything was clean and ready for what was toe. Anput was out in the yard, but having heard themotion she returned inside, standing awkwardly off to the side with Jahi as they watched, while Leone helped me get everything prepared before Lady D''Arcon showed up to actually deliver the babies. "I guess I''vee to ept it, Katherine. I do want to give them a childhood; I want them to remain as children for a longer time than you did, even if kids can be a bit of a pain sometimes... There''s just something about watching them grow over a longer period of time that speaks to me, I guess..." I listened to Mother speak quietly, her words almost too low for me to hear as she leaned back into the pile of pillows. It didn''t take long for therge Demoness to return back with an Elf in her arms, having decided it''d be better to just pick her up and carry her back instead of allowing her to walk herself, much to the chagrin of the Countess who was punching the Marquess'' chest, though she was blushing slightly. Seeing the two women responsible for herrge belly, Mother smiled warmly at them as they took a seat on either side of her, holding her hands tightly as we waited for Lady D''Arcon, who showed up a few moments after that. Gesturing for Leone and I to move aside and free up space, the blonde haired Light Magician began toyer spells over Mother, making her smile more rxed than before as she was enveloped in warmth and given incredible healing spells to soothe the pain. Mother seemed to be just fine as sheid there, the only sign of difort being the asional twitching of her ears or thinning of her lips, likely having entered the early stages ofbor for awhile now. As for the rest of us, well, each second dragged on for what felt like hours as we watched, time slowly ticking by as we waited for something to happen. By the thirty minute mark Mother''s smile was gone, reced by a look of concentration as she began to feel her body trying to push them out, before the pain began to be apparent on her features. Despite Lady D''Arcon''s magical pain killerscing her body, Mother still seemed to be feeling arge amount of pain as sheid there by the time the first hour ticked by, and even more so when it reached the hour and a half after Lady D''Arcon''s arrival. By that point she was beginning to actually give birth it seemed, as she grunted and tried to push the twins out, evicting them from the warm embrace of her womb and forcing them to join us in the real world. This... was the stage that made everyone else queasy, with Jahi having to turn away alongside Anput, with Leone even needing breaks as she looked out the window, still watching through the reflection. The Countess winced alongside Mother, likely recalling her own experience with birth, whilst the Marquess grit her teeth and frowned, hating that she couldn''t do anything besides provide support. As for me, I forced myself to watch, wanting to see what it was like as a morbid curiosity took me over, knowing full well that I would eventually be in that position someday... That Anput or Leone might beying there, and I would need to be the one providingfort and easing their pains if I could. I sincerely doubt that there was much magic could do for such a painful event without causing problems with the birth itself; pain was a necessity in life, and if youcked the feeling when you should be feeling it, well, the consequences can be severe... Like when I almost lost the use of my arm when I used the tattoo on my left arm against Lady Fenryas; it might seem beneficial in the short term, but in the long term it could be drastically detrimental to you.I think you should take a look at And I doubt anyone wanted to risk anything severe with a child on the way. So we were forced to watch as Mother endured hours of pain and agony as she pushed and pushed, having long since lost her calm demeanor as she hissed and howled in pain, until... Something slipped into the awaiting hands of Lady D''Arcon, who swiftly began to shroud the child in ayer of soft golden light that cleaned it off entirely, revealing the deepvender skin of a baby Demoness, with two nubs on either side of her head, one on the temple and the other just above her ear. Swiftly wrapping her in a clean white cloth, Lady D''Arcon handed the child to the Marquess, who held her close as she sat down beside Mother, who was still straining hard, though her eyes nced over towards the Demoness pair beside her. Another twenty or so minutes passed by slowly, with the baby crying loudly into the robe before opening her eyes, revealing a set of ambers tinged with red streaks as she stared up at the Marquess. When her sister joined her, everyone watched as Mother rxed back into the mound of pillows as she waited for Lady D''Arcon to clean and swaddle her other child, handing her off to the Countess. The Elven child was pale with a small tuft of dirty blonde hair, her chubby cheeks and pointed ears making her rather cute. Lady D''Arcon stood up after a few more minutes and smiled at Mother, waving her hand and cleaning off her sweat as she said "Everything checks out so far, no problems to either you or your children... I''ll be back in an hour to check again. Enjoy..." She exited the room, allowing us to approach Mother as she nestled the twins to her chest, the both of them greedily gulping down milk as they got their first meal of their life outside of the womb. Looking at them both, Mother smiled as she said "Lakshmi and Alessandra... Wee to the real world, little ones..!" Lakshmi, thevender skinned Demoness, pulled away for a moment and nced up at Mother, before turning her eyes over to the Marquess, making a noise before returning to feed. "I would assume she approves of the name!" The Marquess was beaming as she stroked Lakshmi''s small back, whilst the Countess nodded as she stared at Alessandra with a soft smile, her sapphire eyes warm as she stared at her second daughter. --- If you haven''t noticed, all Asmodia names have been from Hindu Goddesses or Demons (except theirst name, that''s a Christian Demon, Asmodeus) As for Elves, I''ve decided to just stick with European, specifically Italy, France, or Germany for influence, with theirst names being derived from Biblical Angels in some way (Haniel, the Countess''st name, is from the Angel of Happiness and Joy if I recall correctly.) Just thought I''d mention this, in case anyone was wondering~! --- Chapter 495 494: What Were Fighting For After such an intense,borious event like giving birth to twins, Mother was understandably exhausted, drifting off to sleep with the two girls nuzzling into her arms, following behind her as they closed their eyes and joined her in sleep. The Marquess and Countess shoo''d us out of the room momentster, the twoying beside Mother and shoring her up with more pillows and nkets, making sure she wasfortable as she got the rest she needed to regain her strength. Jahi and I obviously wanted to remain inside and stare at our new siblings for a bit longer, but we acquiesced to their desires and left, returning to our own room - which had now been shifted to the third bedroom attached to the other side of this long hall that we were now calling home. We had changed the middle room into a living room instead, changing the beds for couches and setting out a few more tables and chairs so that everyone could have a ce to sit, whilst also making sure that the floors were all covered in soft, fluffy rugs. We also made sure that the furniture had soft edges so that when the babies eventually began to crawl around, they wouldn''t have anything to hurt themselves with. Anyways, we made our way into our new - yet identical - room and sat down on the beds, staring at one another silently for a few moments. Anput was the one to break the silence, asking "So... how does it feel to have some siblings now? And to know that now you two are tied together through Miss Julie?" Jahi and I nced at one another before looking towards the Jackalkin, both of us frowning slightly at her phrasing. "It''s an interesting feeling. Lakshmi is certainly going to be a unique looking Demoness, that''s for sure. And, thankfully, it seems that she''s also a futanari, so we are blessed for the time being in regards to a troublesome sibling... As for anything else, well, we''ll see in regards to her. Alessandra seems rather cute though, doesn''t she? Those chubby little cheeks..." I smiled softly as I nodded, adding "And her ears are already so long, aren''t they~? She looks utterly adorable~!" "Though, I''m curious... I know we sort of discussed it before, but why were they just... Demoness and Elf? Why were neither a Dogkin?" Leone was the one to answer Anput''s question, hugging a pillow to her chest as she said "It''s the nature of stronger bloods to overwrite those of... well, ''weaker'' origins. Demon blood is one of the oldest and strongest bloodlines in the world, whilst Elven blood is simr with its naturally attuned affinity with mana. Theypletely dominate the unborn child and mould it into that race. Of course, that doesn''t mean that there isn''t an ounce of Dogkin blood in them; they might have the heightened reflexes or enhanced hearing or smell that Dogkin do, and they might be a tad more physically fit. It''s just the nature of how races work. For us... well, for us, with Jahi as the Mom, it''s a guarantee that you and Kat would bear a Demoness 100 out of 100 times; no offense, butparatively Demon blood is like ichor, while your blood is just above normal. With me, I honestly can''t say; Vampiric blood is blessed by Goddesses, but Demon blood is so potent. Besides, with my own Mom''s blood inside me as well, things get even moreplicated..." Anput nodded, grabbing her own pillow as she rocked back and forth, ncing at me and asking "Then what about Kat and I? With howpatible we are, our daughter would just be another mixture of Jackalkin and Dogkin, no?"I think you should take a look at "Mhm. For me, there is a chance that Vampiric blood might be an... ''additive'' instead, where we would get a true hybrid of Vampire and Dogkin, but it''s extremely unlikely. Either way, the most pressing issue would just be how our bodies react to carrying undiluted Demon blood inside our wombs; it can be a painful experience, as I''m sure Miss Julie can tell us. Thankfully there are dozens upon hundreds of herbs and concoctions that alleviate those pains and help us be better carriers of Demon blood." Jahi was just smirking a bit, before her smile fell as she tapped her fingers against her knees, looking at each of us. "I don''t think I''d be able to sit there and watch you go through that though... I really don''t think I could? It was already so terrible seeing Miss Julie do it, but imagining one of you..." We all smiled at her, our hearts warm at how the Demoness assuredly assumed that each of us would eventually be pregnant with her child; it was a reassuring thought to know that she wanted to begin a true family with all of us. "Well, anyways, that''s for the far future. What matters now is that there are two adorable little girls in that other room who have been born into a tumultuous time..." Everyone nodded at my statement, and I continued on speaking, cing some personal weight on my own words as I said "I don''t want to have them grow thinking that the world is unsafe, nor do I ever want them to be in danger... I mean, already I feel protective of them, and they''ve just been born! They mean so much to my Mother, to the Marquess and the Countess..." Jahi gave me arge smile as she added "To me as well. I never thought I''d have a sibling anytime soon, not with how low the reproduction rates are between Demons and Elves. I mean, it took them a decade or two of seriously trying to have me, so... I had no hope, and yet..." "Somehow, they both managed to sow their seed so quickly again~! Hey, do you think it''s all Dogkin, or perhaps just Miss Julie? Or..?" Anput grinned at me, her obsidian eyes yful as she insinuated something to us all, shifting focus entirely onto me. Rolling my eyes, I just grinned as we continued talking, waiting for the time to be up so that we could return to the little ones that had just been born. Our conversation just reaffirmed that we now had something more to fight for, something that mattered just as much as each other. For Jahi and I, it was to protect the joy of our parents and the union of their love, to make the world a safer ce for our new siblings so that they could grow up in true peace. For Anput and Leone, it was to help us protect our new family and protect that idea that we might one day have that same union of love, as well as the hope that we might also receive the same help from others that we provided. Chapter 496 495: Little Ones A few hours went by, and we spent them infort as we snuggled together on one of the beds, deciding to get some rest while we could in anticipation of spending some time with the two little ones when they awoke. Lady D''Arcon checked in with Mother twice during that time, and she peeked her head in to tell us that everything looked perfect, and that Mother was doing better than she imagined for having just given birth to twins, though she certainly needed the rest. We nodded at that before returning to the cozy warmth of our pile, draping ourselves across the bed andying together, chatting quietly about anything that popped into mind without hesitation, be it about fighting, style, techniques, magic, sex, the future, ns, ideas... Anything we could think of was fair game, and that was a useful few hours for us as we rested and talked. Anput was excited to go and try forging with monster materials, wanting to try her hand at forging armor instead of weapons, telling us that the difference in style is a dramatic one that some might not be able to grasp and that she was looking forwards to the challenge, since she had ideas in mind for some better armor for each of us. Leone was looking forwards to her alchemy advancing some, since it was a nice change of pace and something fun to break the monotony of studying magic that could inevitably strike anyone, and like Anput she was excited to utilize the parts we got from the monsters down in Zhu''Rong to get some potions brewed and pills concocted. Jahi was a simple woman still, sticking to her norm as she expressed an interest in training more against some of the Knights that were going to remain inside the Capital for a little longer, whilst also wanting to spend more time with us indulging in her lust, saying that with a twinkle in her eyes. As for me, I wanted to enchant the gear that Anput made with some nice spells, further along my understanding of the arcane and eventually get myself some more tattoos, and keeppleting my quests so I could earn more Shop Points to spend on items for each of them to boost their stats further, which would make us all that much stronger. Eventually, by the time that the sun was dipping below the horizon we heard the sound of the two little ones crying out loud, signaling for us to get up and at the very least check on what was going on. This was one of the few times that we all could confidently say that the warm embrace of the bed wasn''t that all epassing that we didn''t want to get up from it, as we all sprung out of bed and made our way towards the other room. When we entered the bedroom that had been requisitioned by the Marquess, Countess, and Mother, we got to see thevender skinned Demoness snuggling against the deep blue skinned Demoness, her red streaked amber eyes narrowed with glee as she was brought closer to her Mom. As for the chubby cheeked Elf, she was crawling around the bed and exploring her new surroundings, her little limbs iling about as she did her best to move around, only to babble as the Countess lifted her up and ced her back on Mother''sps, making her pout slightly before plopping down and epting her fate. All five of them turned to look at us as we entered, and I smiled warmly as I approached Mother first, grabbing her hand as I nced towards the Elf, before looking over towards the Demoness. "Are you feeling better, Mother?" She smiled at me as I turned back towards her, replying in a tired voice. "Yes, I am... The pains gone, and I certainly feel lighter~! Just... exhausted is all. Yet, I can''t seem to sleep..."I think you should take a look at Mother reached down and stroked the little Elf''s tuft of hair, making the baby babble again as she looked up with a slightly irritated gaze, before surrendering to the warm hand that was patting her head, nuzzling into it. "I wonder why~? They''ve both been adorable so far... Lakshmi is certainly a Mommy''s girl, that''s for sure, and Alessandra here has an attitude on her!" The Countess coughed into her fist as she looked away, making Mother smirk as she added "Is it that Elven pride I''ve heard so much about, perhaps? Is that why little Alessandra just happens to be a tad... problematic already~?" Mother''s smirk widened as the Countess declined to respond, making the Marquess snort as she muttered "Aye, that''d be it... all knife ears are proud little pricks..." That made the Countess'' head snap back towards her wife, who just grinned at her as she gestured down towards the baby Elf, saying "Tell me I''m wrong, love~! Come on, tell me~!" "Chordeva... Don''t make me-" "Alright, please... calm it, will you?" They both fell silent as Mother ced her hands on their arms, before she retrieved Lakshmi from the Marquess'' arms, beckoning Jahi over. "Come meet your sisters, Jahi... I''m sure Lakshmi will take to you before Alessandra will..." Jahi hesitantly approached, before gingerly receiving the smallvender Lakshmi, who just stared up at her sister quietly. Rolling my eyes a little, I reached over and lifted Alessandra into my arms, holding her against my chest and smiling down at her, poking her cheeks a few times. The Elven baby narrowed her deep blue eyes at me, before she grabbed at my finger in an attempt to stop it, only to make an ''angry'' babble as she felt me poke her anyways. Grinning at her, I stood up and moved over to Leone, showing her the pouting Alessandra, while Jahi lowered herself to the bed so that Anput could see Lakshmi, who was beaming up at the two women. Meanwhile, the Marquess draped her arm around Mother''s shoulder whilst the Countess leaned against her side, the three of them staring at us warmly. Chapter 497 496: Work And Play We got to y with the little ones for a few more minutes before they both turned back towards Mother and whined, reaching out for her and demanding to return to her warm embrace. Alessandra nuzzled into Mother''s chest before searching for milk, whilst Lakshmi rested her head against Mother''s chest and promptly fell asleep, deciding that this was enough excitement for the time being. Seeing that, we all smiled before quietly talking, little Alessandra ncing between us all as she heard our voices all around her. "They''re already so adorable..." The Countess smiled over at me, nodding her head as she looked back towards the two babies resting against Mother''s chest, one asleep and one feeding. "You can already see where they''ll take after Julie or one of us... Lakshmi''s a tadzy, just like you Chordeva~!" The Marquess rolled her eyes at her wife, a smirk on her lips as she replied "When presented with such soft ''pillows'' like that, why would anyone refuse to take a nice nap~? Right, Jahi?" Her eldest daughter shared a look with her before smirking as well, ncing over at Leone and I as she nodded. "That''s true... it feels great to rest atop of them... or between them~!" The Countess gave the two Demoness'' a chilly smile, making them shudder as she turned towards the rest of us. "So, what are you all going to do now then? Stick close and remain inside the Pce, or..?" Taking a seat on the bed, I looked towards the tired expression of Mother as she supported Alessandra and Lakshmi, answering the Countess after a few moments. "For the next week or so... yes. I think it''d be best to remain here and be avable. There are three of you, sure, but I imagine there will be some times that you all want to... spend some intimate time together instead of watching over the children." The Marquess grinned, her ruby eyes sparkling as she spoke in an excited voice "Yes~! I would like that, Kat... Maybe we''ll get extremely lucky and have another one on the way~! From either Ria or Julie..." She licked her lips slightly as she looked over the two women, making the rest of us smile wryly as she openly disyed her voracious appetite, uncaring of the fact that she was saying so in front of her daughter and daughter inws... "Well... she''s not wrong. I think we''ve been spoiled by the... ''avability'' of Julie, so we''vee to require that taste on a regr basis." Unsurprisingly, the Countess also made her desires known, looking towards Mother with a smirk as she stroked her shoulder, making her blush as she avoided my gaze. "We''ll try and take over for a few hours here and there, but do try and give us a heads up; each of us has something that we''ll be trying to do during this week, so knowing in advance would help nning immensely. But... we should probably let you rest some more now, Mother... You look exhausted." She smiled tiredly at me, her amber eyes slightly dull as she nodded, sighing as she leaned back into the soft pillows. "That''d... be nice... ahh... Though, I know I''ll be hungry in a few hours, so..? Wake me up when dinner is ready..." It didn''t take long for her to slip into being asleep either, joining Lakshmi quickly as she rested her head against the mountain of pillows, her breathing evening out. Alessandra looked up at her curiously before resuming to drink, the baby Elf uncaring of the rest of us now. Smiling at that, I stood up and backed away, freeing the bed for the Countess to lie down beside Mother and watch over the two babies, making sure that they didn''t move or try and escape from the bed, whilst the Marquess got up and began to quietly pull another bed over, creating some more space for them toy on. We all nodded before exiting the room once more, letting Mother go back to sleep in peace for the time being. After all, I had no real idea on how babies were in this world, but if they were even remotely simr to those that I was used to, well, she might not get many chances to sleep peacefully. For now though, we all returned to our bedroom, and I grabbed Leone''s hand and whispered into her ear, making the Princess pounce on me as we began to Dual Cultivate, spending some time to strengthen ourselves whilst also enjoying the pleasures of the flesh for a little longer. Anput and Jahi mirrored us on another bed, until we all eventually were seated and focusing on the mana inside our Core, honing our own mana with the bundle that our partners had transferred to us.I think you should take a look at Of course, it was only right that we continued for a little longer after that, stepping into the bath and having some more fun before returning to the bedroom, where we each fell into our individual studies for the time being. With the sun going down and the day near a close, we wanted to remain inside and focus our efforts on the mind instead of the body, improving our magics in the peace and quiet of the Pce walls. I kept track of the time with my pocket watch, letting me know when a good time to leave and make my way to the kitchen would be so that I could ce an order for ourrge family with the Pigkin chef. When the time came, I walked through the halls in silence before reaching the kitchen, where most of the Knights and some new faces - the Saints and Saintess'' - ate together, chatting and enjoying their meal. Seeing me, the Knights waved before answering the questions of their newpanions, all of whom were curious about who I was. Finding the chef, I talked quietly with her for a few moments, asking her if she could prepare a tray of food meant for someone who had just given birth, only to have her smile at me and tell me that Lady D''Arcon had her prepare a whole assortment of dishes for us in advance. Nirinia approached during that conversation, the Djinn helping as I loaded three carts with the food, tes, utensils and more before we made our way through the halls as quickly as we could without risking the precious cargo of food; one cart in front of me, one cart behind Nirinia, and a cart between us. When we returned to the room, everyone made their way into the main room, with the Marquess helping Mother into a chair whilst the Countess carried the two babies, who were fast asleep in her arms. Mother too was still drifting in and out of sleep, but when I uncovered one of the carts and let the smell of excellent cooking waft into the room, her nose twitched before her eyes opened fully, locking instantly onto the te meant for her. A b of lean steak, a bowl of fried rice with egg, some grilled corn and steamed green beans as well as a few other smaller dishes, providing a wide array of foods for her to eat and replenish the energy lost from giving birth, as well as bolster what she''s going to continue to lose by feeding the two girls constantly. She got to work cleaning her te off instantly, rotating evenly from each portion until her te was left empty; by the time I finished handing out everyone else''s meals, she was handing me her te and asking for me, an innocent expression on her face as she held her te out quietly. Smiling wryly, I gave her another portion of steak and some more rice, before scooping some more vegetables onto her te as well, which she began to eat at a more reasonable pace this time. Sitting down, we all dug in, watching as the two little ones were roused by the scent of food, their curiosity piqued as they looked towards the various tes with wonder. Alessandra was ticked off when she tried to grab a piece of corn from the Countess, who swiftly pulled it away and ate it for herself, making her daughter re at her before she turned and reached for another piece, only to be restricted by the Countess'' mana. Babbling angrily at her Mom, Alessandra turned to see Lakshmi sitting on the Marquessp, observing her own Mom with wide eyes as she tore into a thick steak. Pouting at how her sister was allowed to ''roam free'', the little Elf red up at her Mom before huffing, her chubby cheeks puffed out slightly. We all had to chuckle at that, though I did decide I needed to study up some more on how babies act in this world... That felt too mature for her, but then again it is an Elf, and this could be natural..? As if sensing that, the Countess smiled wryly at me as she said "Elven children will be smaller longer, but their mental capacity is... a tad higherpared to other babies right off the bat. No idea why, but..." Poking Alessandra''s cheek, the Countess chuckled again as her daughter looked away from her, continuing on speaking despite the slight frown on her face. "This is apparently normal." "Aye, your Mother told me that you were a prick as a baby... So proud and arrogant despite being just a few days old~! She alwaysughed at how you changed from insufferable to so shy~!" The Countess red at the Marquess, who grinned back at her, not backing down. "Mother, will I ever get to see them again? Your parents, I mean. We haven''t seen them since... what, before we came back to the March when I was a kid?" Looking towards Jahi, she sighed before shrugging her shoulders, saying "Maybe soon. I imagine that the letters I sent reached them. It all depends on whether your Grandfather''s businesses require immediate supervision and whether or not someone pissed off your Grandmother... I wouldn''t count on it being within a week, but certainly in a month or two." Jahi nodded before returning to her meal, leaving the rest of us curious about the two Haniel''s that we had only ever heard about, but never seen. Chapter 498 497: BaRuk (1) Anput PoV That next morning I got up and yawned, feeling refreshed as I looked down at the pale skin of Leone beside me, her bare body looking absolutely ravishing under the pale rays of dawn. Feeling my knot swell again, I pursed my lips before shrugging, mounting the unconscious Vampire and awakening her with something hard,ying on top of her back and relishing the softness below me as I made love to her, starting our day off right. It took me a little longer to finish as we reveled in the early morning warmth of each others body, asionally ncing over at the other pair that were doing the same thing we were, only much messier and far louder. Shrugging, I rocked back and forth untilpletion, moaning softly as I kissed the Vampire and showed her how much I desired her, our tongues dancing even as our bodies remained stationary. When I finally got off of Leone, she was left sprawled onto the bed, her stomach curving outwards more than normal as she groaned quietly to herself, trying to find the strength to get back up. Jahi and Kat continued on with their indulgence, the two so far into their own world that they didn''t see me walk past them, nor hear me as I said their names, making me shrug again as I entered the bath, getting myself cleaned off quickly. Leone joined me eventually and I rolled my eyes as the Vampire pouted at me, presenting herself and demanding some reciprocation for earlier. Doing what she wanted, I stood up and wiped my lips clean before finishing with my cleaning, brushing my teeth and drying my hair and fur as I stepped out of the bath, finding the two still going at it wildly on their bed. Rolling my eyes, I dressed before peeking back in on Leone, who was dozing inside the warm bath. "Leone, I''ll be visiting the Pce''s forges, alright? If you need me, or they need me, you know where to find me." She nodded, idly waving her hand as she sunk further into the water, her eyes still closed. "Only a few days to revert to a bunch of sloths..." I shook my head and smirked as I exited the room, listening to the even breathing inside the other room, as well as the muffled moansing from their bath, making me roll my eyes again as I realized just how much it ran in the family. With a bundle of materials slung over my shoulder, I exited the Pce''s interior and made my way towards thergeplex nestled into the mountain, tall chimneys poking out of the cliff face above and belching out smoke into the cloudy sky. Made from dark ck bricks that were polished to a sheen, the Pce Forge was an ornateplex designed entirely for one purpose; to produce the finest arms and armor the Empire would ever see. Each brick thatprised the buildings walls were intricately made and engraved with the name of the smith who made them, leaving behind their legacy on this world, whilst the ss windows and wooden doors were just as perfectly made as the brick, given a level of care that many wouldn''t bother with for such a structure. Opening the dark red door and entering the forges, I was met with a familiar heat that made me smile, whilst the scent of smoke and metal began to coat my lungs, no longer as acrid as it used to be but instead something I weed. The sound of hammering echoed around the openplex, dozens of anvils set out and manned by various ck scaled Lizardkin, whilst the giant furnaces rising from the ground shone with vibrant mes that threatened to consume the smiths if they grew careless.I think you should take a look at Looking around, I found the taller, more muscr and most important looking person inside the forge and began to approach them, maneuvering through the forges and reaching him, waiting for his hammer to fall silent on his anvil. A long orange bar of metal was slowly being lengthened even further and kept straight as he alternated the sides of the bar he struck, the heavy hammer in his hand ttening and pushing the metal with ease. As he shaped the metal into what he wanted, I observed him and how he worked, taking note of anything new or different. Like the others, he was coated in ck scales as dark as coal, whilst his orange slitted eyes shone in the firelight. The red apron he wore to cover his chest wasden with smaller hammers, chisels, files and tongs, whilst the belt around his waist that kept his dark brown leather pants up was cluttered with tools as well, guaranteeing he would have what he needed. His arms were far darker than the rest of his body, and the muscles beneath his scales were almostrge enough to force the scales to snap off, each movement rippling as he raised the hammer up before mming it down, striking true on the orange metal. This time, he left the hammer on the metal and sighed, looking towards me. "What d''ya want, Begum? As ya can see, I''m in the midst of forging somethin'' for the Empress and her family..." I nodded, my ears twitching as I focused on his raspy voice in an attempt to tune out the hammering around me. "I know... The Empress said I could seek out Ba''Ruk and ask to learn under him for my stay here... You are Ba''Ruk, correct?" He nodded, his orange eyes roaming my body for a moment before he nodded again. "You''ve a decent build... still, I need to see it in action first, Begum, before I let ya remain ''ere. No point keepin'' ya ''round if yer useless." I held back a snort, cing my bundle down where he told me to before moving to stand in front of the anvil, taking his spot. "Alright, lemme see ya hammer some metal, Begum... Lady Lorelei wants another staff, y''see? To start, lengthen the bar some more..." Looking at his hammer that rested atop the metal, I shook my head as I handed it back to him and grabbed my own, catching the nod from the Lizardkin as I did so. Observing the metal, I tapped my own hammer against it a few times before grabbing some tongs, steadying it. I lifted up my hammer and struck the bar, a small smile on my lips as I began to forge for the first time in a long time. Chapter 499 498: BaRuk (2) Wiping my brow, I looked down at the long sheet of metal, about a half inch thick and around four feet long. I had toiled tirelessly to keep the sheet t and consistent, preparing it to be wrapped around a core of a durable metal rod that would give the staff its shape. Off to the side, Ba''Ruk nodded again as he looked over the metal, his orange eyes narrowed as he muttered "Not to bad, Begum... Alright, I''ll let ya work ''ere in the forges if ye want. Either on yer own or alongside another of us. If ya decide to work under me though, don''t expect anything past menialbor. Got that?" "Yes sir." He nodded once more before gesturing to the bundle of materials I had brought, the question obvious in his eyes as he waited for em to answer. "Those are monster materials that I wanted to learn how to forge into usable gear. They range from low tier materials like Coal Serpent Bones to middle tier materials like Firefang bones. Back at the Pce I also have a few Magma Wyrm spines that I won''t touch until I am confident enough in my ability to forge monster materials." "Hmm..." Stroking his scaled chin, Ba''Ruk stared at me for a few moments before approaching the anvil, lifting the sheet of metal off the surface and cing it on a waiting rack, where it joined a few other pieces of metal in all various shapes and sizes. "Tell me, Begum... Why do ye forge?" He tapped his own hammer against the anvil a few times, looking into the billowing mes of the furnace. "That question has so many answers... I forge because I enjoy shaping something new with my own hands, creating something from nothing and being able to make something that I want, that I need. I forge because I love weapons, and I want to be able to create a masterpiece of a de that might one day find itself in legends! I forge because I find it rxing and soothing to my soul, giving me something to pour my energy into besides fighting..." The ck scaled Lizardkin tapped his hammer a few more times, his slitted eyes flickering towards mine as he said "And..?" I chuckled at how he knew that I had more reasons beyond myself, the Forgemaster of the Pce more than just a strong man capable of swinging a hammer. "The real reason I love forging so much, and why I want to be better at it is simple. I want to protect the ones that I love, and the only way that I know I can do so without even being nearby is to forge them something that will never bend, chip, or break when they need it most. To forge something that can protect them from the harshest of blows and save their life should they ever be hit. I want to create weapons and armor for the ones that I love so that they can never need to worry about whether or not their able to face an enemy because their equipment is weak. I want to make something personalized for each of them, something that would stay alongside them forever and protect them in my stead, should I ever be away from their side." "Hmm..." Ba''Ruk looked back towards the furnace for a few moments more, before gesturing to the bundle of materials as he said "Get a Coal Serpent Bone out, Begum. I can show ya how to forge with monster parts, but the rest is up to ye." I smiled as I opened the bundle, sifting through the different bones as I searched for the thicker, longer bones of the Coal Serpent. Pulling one out, I approached the anvil and handed it to Ba''Ruk, who observed it for a second before beginning to speak, showing and telling me what he was doing. "The process is simple. Infuse yer mana into the bone like so; thoroughly and evenly throughout the entire bone. Don''t bezy, don''t skimp out on the work. Every inch of this bone needs to be seeped in mana... like so." Lifting the bone with a pair of tongs, Ba''Ruk showed me the long bone shimmering with a brown glow, turning the tongs this way and that to show me all sides of it.I think you should take a look at "When ya have it like this, ye just need to give it some time in the furnace ''till yer mana begins to dissipate. That time differs for each materials. Bones tend to take a little longer than scales or other monster parts. Thicker andprised of some tough stuff..." cing the bone into the furnace, he held it there with the tongs, which were also coated in his Earth Mana. "The end goal with this is simple. Bring the material to a high temperature and fuse it to a piece of metal. Anyone who just throws bones or scales onto a piece of armor or weapon is a fraud and should be beheaded for a waste of materials... Take the time to fuse the materials together, and ya get a far stronger alloy than ya would expect. As for how ya fuse metal and bone, that answer is simple as well; mana. Here, take that ingot there and ce it in the furnace as well. It should heat up to the same temperature as the bone now..." Grabbing some tongs, I took the ingot of steel and ced it into the furnace, watching in awe as the metal started to slowly turn orange in seconds, instead of a minute or two. "Aye, the furnace''s here are far stronger than anything ye would see outside... Lady Igna''s fire is... potent." A minute passed by in silence, and Ba''Ruk took the bone out, gesturing for me to take the metal out as well. "Now, like this... Wrap the bone in mana once again; evenyers, thoroughly coated... now, extend the mana to the metal as well, and begin to hammer down between them..." Hefting hisrge hammer, the Lizardkin began to m the heavy chunk of metal down onto the ingot and bone, slowly forcing the two to fuse together. "Turn it!" He switched the two materials and ced them onto their side, the metal below the bone, and began to hammer again. Ba''Ruk continued that for a few moments more before switching it once again, slowly rotating the two materials a few times as he fused them together. As they began to be one, Ba''Ruk sped up his strikes and focused onbining them further and further, until eventually a pale ingot of bone-steel sat on the anvil in front of us. "This... is the finished product. Ya took steel and Coal Serpent Bone and fused them together. Now, ye can try to fuse that bone to something stronger, like Battle Iron, but ya NEED more bone to make that alloy. The stronger the metal, the more of the weaker monster material, and vice versa. I rmend never going too far above or below. So those Firefang bones? Keep them until ya get Battle Iron, or only use half a bone on steel if you just want to get ustomed to forging with them. Alright? Now, this is all I need to show ya; from here on out, it''s just simple forging..." I nodded, before looking towards the bundle with pursed lips. "Thank you, Ba''Ruk! For now, I think I need to get some missions'' done, but if you''ll have me again, I wouldn''t mind helping out." The ck scaled Lizardkin nodded, before waving me off as he handed me the cooled off alloy. "That''s alright with me, Begum." Taking the alloy, I bowed to the man before finding a free forge, smiling as I started my work on Kat''s gift first... I had an idea in mind for her, and I had a feeling she''d like it~! Chapter 500 499: Family Time Once More Leone PoV I floated around tiredly in the bath for a few moments, enjoying the rxed feeling of having a morning that was so good like this as long as I possibly could. It could be even better; I could get out the bath and join the Dogkin and Demoness on the bed, but I was enjoying the heated waterpping at my skin and the bliss of having both taken and received some pleasure from this wonderful morning too much to get up right away. Though, I certainly didn''t mind slipping a hand down and quelling some of my lust as I listened to the two on the bed for a prolonged time, the guilty pleasure of hearing but not seeing or participating in it made me hotter than I cared to admit. When I was finished in the bath, they were just making their way in, the two still clinging desperately to one another as they just moved from one spot to another. Kat wrapped herself around the Demoness'' muscr chest and attached her lips to Jahi''s, whilst the Demoness took liberties with this position as she turned her eyes towards me, a question in those amethysts. My cheeks burned as I nodded, not letting this opportunity slide as I took my position behind Kat and joined in on their fun for the moment, slipping in and aiding Jahi in turning Kat into a puddle of satisfied lust on the floor when we were done with her. Filling her up, I stepped away and gave the Demoness a quick kiss before scurrying away, not wanting to be dragged in any further than I already had been... Sadly, the Demoness was far quicker than I was, her handnding on my rear as she sent me on my way with a grin, saying "Tonight you''ll be mine again, Leone..." before turning back to Kat, pouncing onto the woman again. With those words ringing in my ears, I threw on a set of clothes and rushed through the halls, my cheeks red as I made my way towards the Sanctum, where I then found myself listening to the two separate sets of moans from two ces. Aunt D''Arcon''s room, where a feral growl and yelp of pain could be heard, and Aunt Yusa''s room, her sensual voice slowly unravelling as Mom made the Snow Woman melt. The others were just lounging around with small smiles and chatting quietly, too used to this to mind it; even my siblings only seemed slightly disconcerted by the noises of the family, trying their hardest to focus on whatever was in front of them instead. Hearing me enter, they all turned towards me and raised a brow at seeing my red face - though Mother frowned - only for Aunt Igna to snort, her scarred features twisting into an amused expression as she asked "I''m guessing you got to experience the joys of a married woman this morning as well, Leone~?" My blush deepened, and Roman smirked as well as he said "Sister, you might want to learn to keep those emotions to yourself! If I had to make an... ''educated'' guess about your dear wife, I''d say she gets off on making your face as red as your eyes~! Ah, the Begum too; she seems far too arrogant to not be a sadist." Mother red at Roman, who just shrugged his shoulders and pointed towards Vienna, adding "What? Vienna here is proof; herst woman ran because she got too rough. Sadism tends to corrte with arrogance paired with strength, Aunt Lorelei!" "Still, that''s not what you should be sa-" "OH MY GODDESS~! P-PLEASE~! S-STOP A-ALR-~" "Oh shut the FUCK UP!" Two separate loud voices filled the Sanctum, making Roman grin wider as he listened to the scream of agonized pleasure and roar of annoyance. "Point proven, Aunt Lorelei... Now, you were saying?" Mother stared at Roman with narrowed eyes before sighing, closing her book and standing up as she approached Aunt D''Arcon''s room, tapping a few of the bricks beside the door and activating the spell that quieted the noise of the room, giving us peace...I think you should take a look at Well, sort of, until she went and did it for Aunt Yusa''s room as well... "Shameless..." Hearing Mother mutter to herself as she shook her head made Aunt Igna smirk, whilst Aunt Theresa smiled softly from the tree, looking towards the older Vampire as she asked "Is it? Comparatively, I do recall hearing a rather peculiar noise from your room a few nights back..." Mother''s cheeks darkened as well, before she red at everyone for a few moments, only to turn and storm off towards her room, mming the door behind her. "Ah, Tess! You made her angry~!" Aunt Igna grinned at Aunt Theresa, whilst Roman chuckled quietly, only to be hit by Monica, who was also blushing slightly. "Leone, did youe here for something in particr, or..?" As always, Dante seemed to have taken the role of being the eldest despite... well, being far younger than the Dragon and Wooden Elf sitting nearby, who were smiling at one another at their antics. Everyone turned back to me, and I pursed my lips before smiling back at my eldest brother, taking a seat as I began to tell them about the two new additions to House Asmodia, Lakshmi and Alessandra Asmodia. They all listened, only adding a few words here and there whenever I mentioned something interesting, like... "Ah yes, the primary w of the Elves~!" Monica grinned for a moment before coughing, ncing at Aunt Theresa as she muttered "N-No offense, Aunt Tess..." The Wooden Elf just smiled back at her, whilst Misa nced at Monica and innocently asked "Is this still the issues left over-" "From when that Elf decided to not propose to you a few decades ago?" Monica red at the twins, who only returned her re with innocent eyes as they waited for an answer, which made Vienna snort. "If you ask me, it''s a good thing that she backed down! Too much of a prick and not strong enough at all..." "She didn''t need to be strong! I loved her for her-! Argh, never mind!" Aunt Theresa pat Monica''s shoulder before saying "Yes, as Monica said, it is our race''s w, no matter the variant. We''re proud by nature, and it can be a boon or a bane, depending on who you ask. For me, I view it as a bane. It clouds judgement and promotes stagnation inside the Elf ovee with it. They lose the motivation to get better because, to them, they ARE the strongest, the smartest, the faster or most inventive... They be a shell of themselves, and it''s pitiful to see. Though, with a Demoness as a twin sister, I imagine little Alessandra will always have a reason to be motivated... The Asmodia''s have NEVER cked in their training, nor do they stagnate. They only know how to go forwards..." "Even if that''s a damn detriment to the rest of us... Durukti was an insufferable bitch sometimes, but damn do I miss her... As for Chordeva, it''s a shame she wasn''t born into a time of war; she could be so much stronger than she is now if she had the constant ability to hone her skills... Not to say she''s pathetic or weak or anything, just... the potential was there for something great." "Anyways, do tell us more about the twins, dear... I am rather curious to see them too, after they grow ustomed to the world!" Chapter 501 500: Concoctions --- Damn, 500 Chapters?! It''s been a fun journey so far~! --- After discussing the new sister inws that I had, Dante eventually brought the discussion around to more pragmatic matters, asking me "Leone, besides regaling us with the details about the new additions to the Asmodia Family, what did youe here for? Magic lessons?" Taking a sip from the tea that Monica had brewed, I stared nkly at the Dragonkin for a few moments before nodding, my mind finally reoriented for what I wanted when I escaped towards the Sanctum. "Ah, yes... I wanted to do some potion concocting, since I haven''t been able to do so in quite a while... Wanted to get back into the groove of brewing potions again, since I have some nice ingredients from our journey down into Zhu''Rong Caverns." Vienna nced at her brother before looking towards Misa and Lisa, asking "We should head down as well, don''t you think? I want to stretch my legs a bit..." Roman rolled his eyes, waving his hand at therger Wolfkin as he said "If the twins want to, fine, but otherwise... I''m content to just rx, y''know? We''ve been delving into dungeons for so~ long already... Besides, it''s not often that we''re back here and everyone''s present. I mean, we haven''t seen much of our dearest baby sister at all~!" He turned back to me and gave me his normal dazzling smile, only to nce at Monica as she spoke up, agreeing with Vienna. "I wouldn''t mind a group trip down into the Caverns... wouldn''t that be nostalgic~? C''mon Roman, let''s go~! We can talk to Leone when we get back..." She smiled at me, before adding "Aunt Igna should have an abundance of herbs for you to use in your potions, whilst Aunt Lorelei''s more... exotic garden should be free as well, unless she is using all of it. Do try and keep it basic for now, Leone; potion brewing isn''t a... ''hobby'', it''s a profession. An art. Treating it as anything else only leads to your concoctions blowing up in your face." I nodded, watching as Dante stood up as well, his red scales bathed in sunlight as he nodded towards our eldest sister, who was just a decade or two younger than him. "Mm, that wouldn''t be too bad. I don''t think I''ve been back to Zhu''Rong in... a long time. That sounds rather excellent." Roman sighed as he stood up as well, donning his thin ck coat as he cracked his neck, muttering "Unbelievable... We finally have a break and you all WILLINGLY want to head back down into the Dungeons... Not even a day or two of rest..!" Vienna red at her brother before looking at me, giving me a nod as she made her way over towards her room, where she grabbed her gear. Everyone dispersed, leaving Aunt Igna and Aunt Theresa to watch as the various siblings got their things together to head out. "Be safe!" "Don''t be too long now..." They all nodded at Aunt Igna and Aunt Theresa before exiting the Sanctum, making Aunt Igna sigh as she stood up as well, whilst Aunt Theresa made her way back to the tree, deciding to nap for now. "Well, you can borrow my ''primitive'' alchemy set, dear. I imagine your Mother is pouting in her room mulling over a problem or theory for now, so she''ll be rather... thorny." I smiled wryly at that, following the tall Dragon into her room, which wasden with flowers and herbs, books, and various small knickknacks. "Over there. Tell me what you want to make, and I''ll get the ingredients for you... Something simple to start, like Monica said. It''s easy to lose your abilities in alchemy, and hard to get them back. It''s a constant battle you need to wage every waking day, honestly..." I nodded, knowing for sure that I would be rusty with my skills, so I kept things simple; a three ingredient potion that I could always make use of...I think you should take a look at "Do you have the ingredients for a stamina potion?" That made Aunt Igna smirk at me, saying "For your daily ''trainings'', correct~? Yes, of course... Vis Root, Bloody Bo Petals, and Rhenia Nectar. Yes, I know that they''re not what you''re ustomed too, but they are far simpler to use... Besides, every region has their own ingredients; very few ingredients are the same from ce to ce. You''ll need to learn how to identify these ingredients and their use, but for now..." Using her talons, Aunt Igna sliced off what she needed from three separate nts around her room, cing them down on the desk beside me. "This is Vis Root, and it will be your primary ingredient. It boosts your bodies metabolism, so I''d suggest eating first. Additionally, this is a ''booster'' as well, so be careful with the dosage. Unless you like being treated like a thing... I''ve made that mistake before, and I don''t n on making it that often~!" She ced the brown and red marbled root on the desk first, about as long and wide as my thumb and covered in a thin fibrous fur. "This is a Bloody Bo Petal, and they are minor stamina boosters. Makes your body use your energy more efficiently, and keeps the blood flowing where it needs to go." Next was a dark red petal that was around an inch in length and a half inch wide, radiating a slightly metallic scent that wasn''t unpleasant at all. "Finally, this is a Rhenia Stalk, where the nectar is stored. This is the binding ingredient of your potion, making the Bloody Bo Petal and Vis Root more efficient at what they do and keeping the potion together. Additionally, it makes the potion taste less like a medicine and more like a sweet wine. Wondrous thing, this..." Thest ingredient was a vibrant orange stalk that oozed an orange liquid, its pores housing the nectar that I needed for my potions. "Now, obviously you have your base Mana Water as well, but no one counts that as an ''ingredient'' since... well, it''s in every potion. So, this is how you go about making everything..." The Dragon began to guide me through the steps of concocting this potion, using only her words to tell me what to do. I first filled a beaker with Mana Water - just water which I imbued my mana into, something everyone needed for any potion - before cing it onto a small hotte, which was being heated by a Fire Crystal. Whilst I brought that to a boil, I chopped the Vis Root into thin medallions which I then pushed off to the side, to be used in a few moments. The Bloody Bo Petal was ced into a mortar, alongside the medallions of the Vis Root, which I then ground into a pulp with the pestle, making sure to smoosh it all together andbine it thoroughly. When the water began to boil, I added the pulp into the beaker with the Mana Water, letting it boil out what I didn''t need as I began to extract the nectar from the Rhenia Stalk, which was far easier than I thought it''d be. All I needed to do was squeeze the hard stalk and push the nectar out, using mana to make my hands non-stick and letting the nectar collect into a small cup beneath me. After another minute, I took the beaker off the hotte and began to filter it through a few funnels, catching the now unneeded pulp and retaining only the liquid, which was now a vibrant red color. Thest step was to add the nectar and shake well for another minute, getting the nectar thoroughly diffused into the Mana Water and finishing the potion off. "There you have it~! Arge beaker''s worth of what I love to call a ''Stamina Potion''~! Now, for a Demoness I would suggest about a half vial for a manageable time, and a whole vial for... well, ''fun''. As for yourself, a quarter vial should do wonders, and a half vial would make you rather needy. Same goes for the Begum. I would NOT suggest giving this to the Maid; it''s not a potion meant for pure women." I nodded, pouring the now bright red liquid into some standardized vials and corking them, staring at the four and a half vials that I now had to y around with. Aunt Igna smirked at me, before she gestured towards the various nts inside her room, saying "We should move onto an actually ''useful'' potion, one with more practical uses for you lot going forwards... Mana Potions, or Healing Potions to start... Ah, here... Alright, next we''re going to-" We lost ourselves quickly to the wonders of concocting potions, and Aunt Igna carefully guided me through the various recipes, letting me end the day off with a basket filled with potions, all methodicallybeled and bundled together so that I could recall what exactly I made. The Dragon was enthusiastic about brewing potions, and when the others finally returned a few hourster from their quick delve, we ended our time together to spend some time with them, before I left the Sanctum with a smile on my face. Chapter 502 501: Selfish Demoness* Jahi PoV When I awoke that morning, I heard the muffled moaning of Leone, making me blink a few times before turning to see Anputying atop the Vampire Princess, pping her knot against the woman''s luscious ass as she enjoyed a bit of early morning mating. I observed them for a few moments, taking in the glorious sight of the muscr Jackalkin pounding the curvy Vampire into the bed, my heart swelling with pride at the thought that those two... they were mine; my women, my lovers, my wives. Of course, my heart wasn''t the only thing that swelled up as I watched them; my cock stood tall and proud alongside my emotions as the lust inside me made itself known, demanding I attend to it. And attend to it I did... Laying beside me was the perfect ce to submerge my morning wood, and I grabbed her with a grin, rousing her from her rest. Kat stared up at me blearily before yelping as I flipped her onto her stomach, my hands spreading her luscious ass apart and revealing her juicy garden to me, allowing me to plunge my tongue in for nectar. I obviously began to indulge in her tart vor, my tonguepping at her insides relentlessly as I prepared her for what was toe, before pulling away just as she reached the edge of an orgasm. Before she could let out those pitiful, needy whimpers, I pressed my tip against her soaked pussy and thrust inside, grunting softly as her meaty insides began to writhe around my shaft, demanding more from me. So, I did as her body asked of me, grabbing ahold of her perfectly round ass and beginning to p my hips against it, taking the woman below me hard as I enjoyed the softness of her body and her tight and wet pussy. When I neared my first orgasm of the morning, I draped myself across her back and wrapped my arms around her neck and stomach, holding her close as I kissed her cheek, making my bitch moan incessantly as I catered to her needs as well as my own. Those ambers were dripping with lust as I ejacted inside her womb, filling it with my seed and reveling in the ecstatic feeling of ''inseminating'' my Dogkin maid. After I came inside her the first time, I pulled out and stared down at her, before shaking my head as I realized just how pent up I was feeling, my need for her only growing despite having just blown arge load into her womb moments earlier. So, I grabbed her and lifted her into my arms, submerging myself back into her pussy as I walked us towards the bath, barely noticing that Anput was already gone as I entered the bath. Kissing me desperately, the Dogkin wrapped herself around my torso and gyrated her hips desperately on my cock, trying to get herself off once more as we moved. I did see Leone getting out of the bath, her rxed expression evaporating as soon as she saw Kat and I enter, making me smirk even as the Dogkinpped at my tongue, preventing me from speaking. However, I just brushed the Dogkin''s tail aside and spread her cheeks once more, a question in my eyes as I presented Kat''s empty rear, making the Princess blush - however, she did step forwards, her own penis springing up in arousal. Standing behind Kat, Leone slipped inside after I lowered myself a little, squatting so that the shorter woman could reach. The woman between us made a loud noise as she felt both her holes get spread apart, only for her eyes to go ck with pleasure as we created a rhythm inside her, threatening to split her insides apart with ourbined girth. Feeling Leone''s tip scraping against my shaft as I thrust up was wonderful, the added pleasure creating a crescendo of euphoria in my mind as I continued on, relishing the tart taste of Kat''s tongue and the tightness of her orgasming pussy as we double teamed her.I think you should take a look at The Princess didn''tst too long, spraying her semen deep into Kat''s ass before pulling out, freeing up the hole for the moment as she stepped back, panting. I could see her fangs slipping out and her cock throbbing with need, but the woman blinked a few times and scurried away, leaving just Kat and I to indulge in the warm waters... Not that I wasining as I poured my second load into her womb, our lips locked together in a demanding battle that I triumphed in. Semen sttered against the tile as I pulled out, making Kat whine as I left her feeling empty for the moment, the Dogkin pouting as I pulled back from her lips as well, her ambers needy for attention. "Let''s get washed first, love... We''re already here, so let''s enjoy the water..." Seeing her eyes sparkle made me smirk, the both of us in tune as I sat on the stool, the Dogkin slipping between my legs and pouncing onto my cock, wrapping her lips around it as she cleaned me off. Stroking her ears, I watched her wag her tail with a smirk, the Dogkin unaware of how gorgeous she looked as she shook her ass slightly in excitement, whilst her eyes were glowing with lovely lust as she sucked harder and harder. I ced a hand on the wall in front of me as I leaned over her head, breathing deeply as she swirled her tongue around my tip before plunging my cock into the embrace of her throat, which clenched and wriggled around my shaft as she showed off her wondrous technique. "Damnit Kat... This is just like our first time..!" Gritting my teeth, I red at the tile as I tried to hold back my third ejaction, only to fail as she ced her hands on my balls, fondling them around and coaxing out my semen. Looking down at her, I grunted as I fed my needy bitch her meal, keeping her lips pressed against my groin the entire time. Like a dutiful hound, my Dogkin did her duty excellently, swallowing down each drop and cleaning me off perfectly, earning herself a quick p as I grabbed her by her cheeks, forcing her to look up at me. "We''re not done just yet, Kat... not by a mile." She shuddered at that, before moaning needfully as I dragged her onto the stool, pushing her down on it and kneeling behind her. Spanking her beautiful ass a few times, I lined my cock up with her lubed up asshole and plunged inside, smirking as the Dogkin let out a sonorous moan, which echoed around therge bathroom. --- This is about to be a run of smut chapters, sorry in advance for that~ --- Chapter 503 502: Needy Puppy* With Kat sitting on the stool in front of me, I smirked as I shifted her butt off the seat and presented her twitching anus to me, the remnants of Leone''s creampie dripping out steadily from the Dogkin''s needy insides. Lining myself up with it, I knelt behind her and slid inside, humming in pleasure as I entered the hot, even tighter rear hole of my needy puppy, her surprised yelp making me smirk as I started scraping out her insides with deep, swift thrusts. Kat needed to grab ahold of the stool to keep herself from falling forwards, the Dogkin panting as I filled her ass from below and ravaged it, making her eyes narrow as I used her for pleasure once more. Those ambers flitted over to me, only to shudder as I reached my arms around her body and grabbed at those twin melons that dangled from her chest, my fingers getting dragged deeper into those soft, stic globes as I groped her, my fingers finding her hardened buds with ease even as I continued to thrust up into her juicy ass. "I just love~ the way you make me feel, Kat... Your entire body... it''s like it was hand sculpted for sex. Hand sculpted for me to indulge..." Kissing her cheek, I continued pping my hips against her ass and filling the bathroom with the sounds of us enjoying ourselves, the woman in question adding her moans of pleasure to the cacophony of lust as she stared back at me. My lips trailed down to her neck, and I sucked eagerly on her pale flesh, leaving a red spot as I marked her as my bitch, the woman moaning again at that action. "Kat... I love you so much~! From this wonderful ass to these incredible tits... and up to this adorable, gorgeous face..." She pouted at me as I spoke, before smiling as I added "To the hedonistic, murderous puppy that lurks beneath... my puppy. My wife..." Kissing her plump lips, I continued to toy with her nipples as I fucked her, the echoing ps of me hitting her ass filling the room as I gouged out her insides. Twisting those hardened buds, I buried myself to the root inside her ass, my balls resting against her butt as I started cumming inside her again, emptying myself inside her with a grunt. She leaned back into me as I came, deepening the kiss between us as I filled her with sperm before finishing up, my cock sufficiently wrung out for the moment inside her tight, constricting ass. My semen sttered to the floor as I pulled out, and the Dogkin took a few deep breaths as she sat there, before getting up and turning on the showers, allowing warm water to wash over us. Grabbing my penis, the Dogkin began to clean me off with her hands, her voluptuous chest pressed against my abdomen as she stroked my shaft, her soapy hands getting me all clean for what was toe. I pushed her down a little and slipped between her breasts, making the Dogkin smirk at me as she pushed them together, giving me a tighter embrace as I started thrusting forwards, the novelty of it getting me off. Our time in the bath was spent in various poses and positions, with the end goal being getting semi clean before heading back out towards the bed, where I would attend to her needs alongside mine...I think you should take a look at My beautiful puppy used her mouth, her breasts, her hands, and of course her pussy to get me off inside the bath, constantly finding a new way to make me cum as we enjoyed the heat of the water, until we both got dry and made our way out, wanting to continue this indulgent behavior on the bed. Throwing her onto my bed, I turned towards my dresser and ruffled around for a moment before retrieving the rope I had brought, smirking back at her as I moved over to the bed, where she awaited with an anticipatory grin as well. "When was thest time I used this..?" I stared at her with a grin as I unwound the spool, the thin - yet firm - fibrous rope containing so much promise as I already began to trace out patterns on her body, wondering what I should do with her now. It had been... honestly years since I bound her in a true way, making it an art instead of a ''need'', so I couldn''t help but smirk at her as I felt my lust swell in a very visible way... The Dogkinid back onto the bed and stared at me with a smile as well, excitement in her ambers as crawled atop her, cing a small kiss on her lips before whispering "How should we do this, love~? Hard and rough, or ease back into it?" Kat kissed me back and began to attend to my cock again, her soft hands gliding over my shaft as she idly stared at me, pondering my question. "Easy does it... Who knows when the Marquess or Mother might request our presence..." I sighed, but I returned the kiss and nodded, shelving my current lust for a more rational mind as I pulled her to her feet, giving me the space to work. Taking the end of the rope, I got to work as I looked at her beautiful pale skin, tracing out lines that I wanted before snaking the rope over her flesh. Since we had little guaranteed time, I went for simple, yet additive and arousing rope work, creating a basic pattern around her chest that enunciated herrge breasts and held them up; a line below her chest, a line snaking beneath her armpits, and two lines that traversed the canyon of cleavage down the middle, with the end product looking like a triangle diving between her breasts. As for her bottom half, I went simple again, binding her wrists together and beginning to create atticework of rope just made her curves stand out more, which I bound her wrists to, preventing her from moving her arms. The finished product wasn''t my finest work, but... Smirking down at her, I pushed her onto her knees and pped my cock against her cheek, loving how submissive she looked covered in ropes. My smirk widened as those amber eyes grew to match my heat as she opened her mouth for me, weing me insides withoutint as I began to truly use her as a trio of warm, wet holes meant to wring out my semen. Chapter 504 503: Empress Loyal Hound (1, Extra)* --- Felt like writing some smut for characters beside Kat and the others, and that included Chordeva, Ria and Julie for the moment, so... Here. --- Empress PoV, A long time ago "Hmm..." My soft hum filled the air, and I ignored the various looks sent my way as I strode forwards, my eyes locked to the sneering woman standing in the center of my court. I raised a hand before Igna could bath the woman in mes, surprising a few of the officials as I stopped a few steps away from the ck skinned, red veined Wolfkin, her twin silver eyes locked onto my face as she snarled "Fight me, bitch!" Tilting my head, I looked beside me and behind me, before turning back to her as I asked "Are you... talking about me?" Her sneer widened, and I felt a small jolt of incredulous joy go up my spine as she spat at my feet, surprising us all again. "Who the fuck else would I be talking to?! Fight me, you old bitch!" I stared at her face for a few moments in silence, raising a hand once more as I sensed the others step forwards in shock and anger. "Why should I? Who... are you?" The ck skinned Wolfkin snarled at me again, her deep voiceden with barbs and promises of bloodshed as she unsheathed the curved falchion on her waist, pointing it at my chest. "Fenryas,st of the Fenrika, Heir of the Bloodfang Tribe and Chieftess of the Ebony Mercenary Group! I challenge you and your self proimed ''strength''!" "Fenryas... Fenryas... No, not ringing any bells. Fenrika does though. Huh... I honestly thought they had gone extinct, but... Well, I guess not." Tapping my fingers against my crossed arms, I pursed my lips before sighing slightly as I heard the raspy voice of Kali, the Matriarch of the Asmodeucian''s. "Empress, let me take care of this whelp for you..." I didn''t need to turn to know that Kali''s single red eye was smoldering as she cracked her knuckles, the giant Demoness likely itching to beat this Fenryas into a bloody pulp. However, to say I was intrigued would be an understatement, so I just shook my head and spoke again, making everyone go quiet. "Very well, Fenryas. Come, let me see if you can back up that bark of yours." My mana dotted through the air, giving me a ''look'' at the entire room as I stepped forwards, staring down at the woman from beneath the blindfold. Her smile turned wicked, and her wild ck mane fluttered behind her as she dashed forward, her skin taking on a silver luster as she began to power herself up. Raising that falchion, Fenryas shed at my arm, and I decided to remain still, watching her as she flew forwards like an arrow loosed from a crossbow. Confusion danced in her eyes, but she didn''t hesitate as she tried to sever my arm from my torso, the Wolfkin woman trying her hardest to kill me. However, her de shattered against my arm, and before she could react I reached forwards, grabbing her by the face and lifting her up, staring into her eyes. "Not bad... The will is there, but the body is weak. You''ve brute forced your way through everything in life, haven''t you? No finesse, no technique... just raw strength." Those silver orbs smoldered, and I smirked as I released her, the woman rubbing at her jaw as she growled "Why bother telling me anything?! Just kill me already..." "Hmm... no. I don''t want to." Turning, I left her bbergasted as I approached my throne, taking a seat and looking back at her with a small smile. "Hybrids are rare. Especially Demon hybrids. Go. Grow stronger... Don''t get yourself killed because of arrogance. ept that I am above you, and grow from it." Before she could reply, I snapped my fingers and smirked as Igna sent her flying, the Dragon letting out a huff and muttering "Insolent brat..." as she wiped off her tail, while Tess just chuckled softly beside me, her wooden digits resting on my arm. Little did I know that the woman would just crawl back up to my Pce a yearter, this time armed with a broadsword and a shield as she challenged me again. Like before, I took her challenge and crushed her again, before she returned a yearter once more. Then again. And again. For seven years, Fenryas trekked up to my Pce and challenged me, each time making my intrigue grow more and more. I had the Beliali''s learn everything they could about her and keep her under watch, letting me know what she was up to on a periodic basis - despite not finding her to be ''worthy'' of my time. Each year I beat her down, and yet her indomitable pride never shattered, nor did it change. Many would call it hubris, idiotic, undiluted arrogance, but I saw it differently. She was training day in and da out, challenging stronger and stronger opponents as she bettered herself, never letting that pride ce her in a situation she couldn''t get out of - save for my Pce, anyways. I saw all of that, and... well, I fell in love with that simplemindedness. So when I saw her for the ninth time, I decided to make her mine... if I could, anyways. As she entered my Pce, I smiled at her as I gestured for everyone to leave, making the Demon Wolf stare at me in suspicion. When the room was empty, I stood up and took a few steps towards her, watching as she grabbed her scythe from her back and rested it against her muscr shoulder. "Fenryas..." Her name rolled off my tongue, and my smile grew as I stared at her, the woman''s ck skin surprisingly smooth for a warrior, whilst her scars only added to her feral beauty.I think you should take a look at "What? Are you finally going to fight me, you old bag of bones?" That snark in her voice was delectable, and I chuckled as I was about to shake my head, only to freeze as an idea popped into my mind. "Fenryas... If I agree to fight you seriously, to take you on like I would a true foe, would you agree to be mine? To be my wife?" She stared at me in silence, her silver eyes narrowed as she searched my features for a few moments, before shrugging her shoulders as she replied "Sure, why not." Grinning, I reached up and lifted the blindfold, before- . .. ... Well, anyways, that was how I captured myself a rather arrogant Demon Wolf for the first time, and I still recall the first time I tasted her... She was even more beautiful then I could ever imagine, her breasts spilling from my hands whilst her chiseled abdomen was firm and wondrous to touch. Fenryas was also a futanari, so her magnificent knotted cock stood just as proudly as she did, yet the woman was more focused on my own cock, which Iid atop hers as I knelt over her. Those silver eyes were indifferent as I pinned her beneath me, though they were focused on my bare eyes as I smiled at her, whispering "Are you ready, Fen~?" "Stop calling me Fen. I have a name, damnit." Her snarl was as cute as ever, so I just leaned towards her ear and whispered "Fen~" over and over again, making her growl in annoyance. "Just fuck me already! Damn old bitch..." Rolling her eyes, the Wolfkin flipped herself onto her stomach, freeing her chest from my hands and preventing me from caressing her abs, which made me frown, though a perfectly toned and impressive pair of dark cheeks were presented to me, with the pretty red slit of her pussy stealing my attention quickly. Resting myself atop her ass, I stared down at her sculpted back before grabbing her hips, admiring the work of art below me. I had made love to many beautiful women in my already long life, with Tess and Igna standing far above the others, but Fenryas... Oh, she certainly earned the third spot with ease, standing beside my two wives on even footing. These muscles, this body, the attitude, the color... It was all perfect. Grabbing my cock, I hummed sensually to myself as I pressed my tip against her pussy, before slipping inside, momentarily surprised by theck of resistance before shrugging as I delved deeper, finding her womb and entering it. "Don''t expect me to moan like a virgin. I lost that decades ago..." Tilting my head, I looked at the woman below me and shrugged once more, silently enjoying her tight pussy as I began to thrust forwards, pping my hips against her ass, which she arched back into me as sheid down atop the sheets. "Even I needed stress relief, and sex is the best at doing so... Sometimes, a man or a futa took my fancy, their strength rather endearing..." Nodding, I caressed her muscr ass before leaning forwards, replying "You needn''t exin yourself to me, Fen. I don''t mind that you''ve experienced something before me. I know I''m better than them." She just snorted, but remained quiet as I rested my chest on her back, rocking my hips back and forth. Despite her pussy wringing out a thick load of semen from me, I couldn''t help but feel unsatisfied, like this was more of an obligation than a desire on either of our parts... Whilst that was arousing in its own way to me, I didn''t like how Fenryas just sat up and tried to move away from me, her silver eyes uncaring of what we just did. Grabbing her wrist, I stopped her, making the Demon Wolf raise a brow as she looked back at me. "Let''s not stop there. You seem... unsatisfied. I dislike leaving my partners unfulfilled." "Why would you care? Use me until your empty; it''s your right as my better?" Hearing her words, I frowned before pulling her back onto the bed, saying "Fenryas, I might be stronger, but I am not your ''better''. You are my wife; my equal. You deserve to feel good when we have sex. Otherwise, you view this as a chore, and you look elsewhere to fill that void. I''m selfish, and I want you looking at me for that need. So..." I looked her over before pursing my lips, only to grin as an idea popped to mind. "Fen... Why don''t you do what you want to me? Ah, as a ''woman'' of course... sorry, but I don''t n on ever receiving during sex. Not my style..." She frowned at that, before her silver eyes sparkled slightly as she hesitantly asked "By ''do what I want'', you mean... I can do you however I want?" "Mhm~" "So if I wanted to hit you?" "You already do." "If I wanted to degrade you?" "You already do, part two." "Even if I wanted to... hurt you?" "There is no part three... Uh, you can certainly try? Just don''t go for my balls, else I''ll reciprocate." She chuckled, and I smiled back at her as she licked her lips, the Wolfkin''s excitement growing with each second. "Oh, I am SO going to enjoy this... I really, really fucking am, you old bitch~! Chapter 505 504: Empress Loyal Hound (2, Extra)* That night, after I relinquished control of the bedroom to Fenryas, I... found a new side of her that only further enamored me, her sadistic grin enough to make even me shudder a little as I wondered whaty ahead. Despite having already cum once, my cock was harder than ever as I stared at her, this new thrill of being the submissive partner enough to get me more aroused as she pushed me down, the Wolfkin uncaring of my semen that trailed down her thighs. Just moments earlier I had been pleasuring myself with her tight pussy from behind, her muscr ass in my hands as I mated with her like Beastkin, but now I was just her prey. Those silver eyes were excited as she looked me over, the ck skinned, red veined woman grinning like mad as she stared down at me from above, obviously relishing that I was ''below her''. She dragged in a shaky breath before crawling atop me, her wed fingers roaming my skin as she caressed me, until eventually she was holding my face lovingly, her thumbs brushing dangerously close to my eyes considering that wicked grin on her face. "Mmm~! This is... something..." Her voice was trembling slightly as she whispered that, before she leaned down and dragged her tongue across my face, going from my jaw to just beside my eye. "I don''t think... I''ve ever been this hot in my entire life... Why is the thought of dominating such an old bitch making me like this..?" I could feel just how ''hot'' she was, her pussy resting atop my cock and leaking fluids - my sperm and her own juices - whilst her knot almost scalded my flesh as it rested against my navel, twitching with need. Fenryas caressed me a few more times before bringing her hands down from my cheeks to my throat, her intention obvious as her fingers wrapped themselves around my neck. The Wolfkin was already beginning to rock her hips back and forth, her pussy gliding over my shaft as she tightened her grasp of my neck, trying to choke me out. Her silver eyes sparkled with arousal as she stared at me, before her smirk fell away, reced by a sneer as she pulled a hand away, pping me hard. "What, did you really think I''d get off with just some light choking?! You think I''m a fucking whelp?! HUH?!" She pped me again, her ws gliding over my skin and leaving a shallow cut on my cheek, which healed not even a secondter. Tightening her hand around my throat even further, she pressed her thumb against my windpipe as she grinned, her crazed light returning as she hissed "Since you can regenerate so quickly, this shouldn''t bother you..." I raised a brow as she pushed down further against my throat, cutting off my ability to breath altogether, before she raised her fist once more, grinning at me. Without a word she punched down, her fist scratching against my cheek as she tested my reactions, all while her pussy continued to glide across my cock. "Hmm~? This''ll be fun then... normally my toys are already screaming and carrying on... Good... Good~! Let''s y then..." Sliding her free hand down to my cock, the Wolfkin grabbed ahold of it and stood it up, idly stroking it before plunging me into her tight folds. "You''re not too shabby on size... Girth too... Maybe you will be a good toy then~? It''s been awhile since I got off..." Licking her lips, she began to gently gyrate her hips back and forth, submerging my cock into her sticky, clingy womb and using her muscles to mp down on it like a vice, spasming her pussy around my shaft and wringing out the next load of semen slowly. With a hand still on my throat, the Wolfkin nodded to herself before her other handshed out at my cheek again, her mood shifting instantly as she snarled "Stop looking at me like that, bitch..." I frowned, tilting my head as I wondered just what she meant, only for her to sp her hand over my eyes, robbing me of my ''sight'' as she covered them, though I could still very well ''see'' her actions. Did she know that? Even as she continued to ride my cock, Fenryas looked around and scooped up the blindfold I normally wore, draping it over my face and tying it around my head, covering my eyes and freeing her hands. "That''s better... perhaps some actual rope would be nice next time... Hmm..." Leaning down closer to me, Fenryas inspected my features as she muttered "You still look so young too... despite being damn near ancient..." Her breath warmed my lips, and I was enveloped in her taste as the Wolfkin hungrily kissed my lips, her slightly acidic vor sshing against my tongue as she drained her saliva into my mouth, like she was trying to drown me. Fenryas sped her hands onto my chest and began to move faster, her ws digging into my breasts as her fangs sliced into my lips, adding the metallic taste of blood to our kisses as she rode me. Minuscule sparks of pain erupted from each of her actions, my body healing each wound swiftly as my mana worked to return me to my previous state, the various tattoo''s hidden beneath my skin constantly active. Sensing that I was being healed of the wounds instantly, Fenryas growled into my mouth even as she kissed me harder, the Wolfkin smothering me with her body as she dominated our sexual encounter, doing all she could to find pleasure for herself. The woman didn''t only sense my healing, but also my ejaction that began to well up, making her sneer as she removed herself from me, standing up and looking down at me as her hands red with Metal Mana. "Nuh-uh... no you don''t... You aren''t cumming till I say you can cum, you old fuck..." A small ring appeared in her palms, and she grasped my cock and slipped the ring on, using her mana to tighten it and make me frown.I think you should take a look at "I learned about this recently actually... it stops you from orgasming through this thing here until I remove it..." Her grin returned, and I felt my heart flutter with both dread and anticipation as she grabbed my legs next, lifting them and making me wrap them around her waist as she slipped my cock back into her pussy, the woman practically sitting on my ass which was raised into the air. "This is a nice position, isn''t it? Here... You''re about here inside me, much deeper than before... Really, for an olddy you have an impressive dick. I can actually feel something!" Fenryas'' eyes went wide as she grinned down at me, caressing her stomach before she began to lift her hips up, separating us for a moment. Holding my knees, she dropped herself down and growled softly as I reentered her womb, before she began to repeat that over and over again, building a quick, rough rhythm that threatened to tear my member off with how tight she was, whilst her ws remained imbedded into my knees, causing my blood to drip down onto my stomach and chest. The grin on her face turned utterly feral at that, and I pursed my lips as I felt the ufortable feeling of semen well up in my testicles, only to not be allowed to spray out into her waiting womb. "Ah, you''re beginning to realize it~? That the ring really DOES stop you from cumming... I told you, you old witch, that you weren''t going to cum until I SAID SO!" What followed was an hour of uninterrupted, uncaring rough sex from the ck skinned Fenryas, her dedication to finding her pleasure leading to a few orgasms for herself, all whilst my own went unattended and left to fester inside my testicles. Of course, I couldn''t deny that the pleasure of being as hard as I was and constantly being submerged into Fenryas'' womb wasn''t worth that difort, especially when you added on her arrogant look as she rode me, using me as her toy to get off. When that hour passed, the woman reached down and tapped the ring, not giving me warning as she plunged me back into her womb, her eyes wild as she growled "Cum inside me! Impregnate me with strong pups! Come on! Cum! CUM!" I... Well, cum I did, as her pussy clenched around my shaft and massaged it tightly, whilst her womb sucked on my tip and mped down just beneath the head of my cock, stimting more pleasure into me as that ring dissolved, freeing my cock from its shackle. With the path now open, my semen surged forth and erupted from my tip, and I felt my mind slip momentarily as raw pleasure washed over me, each time sperm shot from my cock sending a new wave of ecstasy into my mind, robbing me of the ability to do anything besides ejacte. The Wolfkin just growled atop me, relishing the surge of semen flooding her womb as an hours worth of pleasure filled her up, only for it to begin dripping out of her as her womb held all it could. I came for almost a minute straight, my mind nk as sheer euphoria swept over me, and when I finally did regain my senses, the woman was back to bucking her hips, stirring my sperm around inside her womb with my cock, making me groan softly beneath her. That night, Fenryas rode me topletion a few more times, though I did eventually have enough of her self serving sex, pushing her down and snarling at her as she tried to ce the ring back on me again, making her smirk as we began to fight for dominance, our fists raining on one another as we twisted and turned, all whilst we remained connected by our hips. Obviously, the Wolfkin could only eventually submit as I pinned her under me, my mind reverting back to something more primal as I fucked her like a beast, making her growl softly as I made her my bitch for the moment, her pride refusing to make her moan as I came inside her again. We mated long and hard that night, and eventually I pulled out and stared at her, panting softly as I stared at her sweat stained, battered body, the twisted pleasure of having dominated herpletely making me grin. "Fen..." My voice was raspy, and her ears twitched slightly as at that, making her weakly snarl "My name... is Fenryas..! You senile... old witch..!" Chuckling, I sat beside her for a moment before smirking, looking her over as I asked "Fen, did you love that as much as I did?" My cock was still hard, and I could certainly continue, but the mental exhaustion had caught up to us both, making me throw in the towel for now. The Demon Wolf remained quiet for a few moments before quietly grunting "It was... passable..." Chuckling again, I stared at the ceiling as I basked in the glorious afterglow of our sex, before I just shrugged as I said "Fenryas, I love you." "Fuck yourself." "No... I''ll just fuck you instead..." Grabbing her, I pulled her over and pressed my lips against hers, before I nibbled on her fluffy ear as I whispered "You''re mine now, Fenryas..." She red back at me, before looking off to the side and growling again, only to growl louder as I entered her again, deciding to continue anyways. "Yeah... fuck you, you old, decrepit, senile bitch... Fuck you, and how you make me feel..." The proud Wolfkin refused to look at me, so I just buried my nose into her neck and mated with her, taking this - presumably at the time, and correctly in reality - rare chance to make her mine instead of the other way around. That was my first time with Fenryas, and since then I had gotten myself a loyal mate willing to do anything for me; even if it was something like pointing out my ws and forcing me to rid myself of a weakness, things that never would have been corrected if it wasn''t for her straightforwards, uncaring attitude and pride. This Demon Wolf was one of the six women who ever managed to make me feel something besides a fleeting fancy, and if I was being honest... Amongst those six, she was by far the most unique and pleasurable to be with in bed. Chapter 506 505: Feast For Many* Kat PoV With my arms bound behind me and attached to the rope snaking around my waist, I could only writhe around as a knotted piece of rope cracked against the exposed flesh, making me bite harder into my gag as the Demoness behind me snickered as she whipped me. "Oh my fucking~ Goddess above..! Kat... Oh Kat, Kat, Kat... Why do you enamor me so?! I was content with just keeping this roughly vani, but then you had~ to get yful! You''re a conniving little bitch aren''t you..?" I cried out in blissful pain as the knotted rope struck my inner thigh again, leaving a thin gash that stung as my pussy juices and semen dripped over the wound, only adding to the pain. My Demoness lover was grinning behind me, her eyes golden as she stared down at my raised ass, which was covered in red marks and sttered with semen, and I couldn''t help but wonder if I - perhaps - made a mistake in nipping shoulder when she had been pounding me into the bed, her face buried into my neck as she entered my womb repeatedly. That singr nip had made the Demoness re at me before pping my cheek, slipping us instantly from lovers into the roles of dominant and submissive, the both of us sensing that shift and acting on it as Jahi pped me again, before tugging on the rope and having it dig into my flesh as a punishment for my act. With her shift to dominant secured, the woman grabbed the remaining rope and created a makeshift whip with it, using it to punish me further and disy her authority over my body, making me cum like crazy as mark after mark appeared on my skin. The entire time her cock was deep inside my womb, spraying semen irregrly when she would begin to ejacte from the euphoria of dominating me and from the tightness of my pussy as I came. That singr nip sparked a fire inside the Demoness, and she used me to quell it as she fucked me for hours, never stopping as she used and abused me to her hearts content, only allowing me rest when she stopped to heal us both and let me drink some water. Though, she only fed me her cum for sustenance, and as delectable as that sweet cream was, I was eventually going loopy from the hunger and constant pleasure, making the Demoness stop for the moment. Jahi wiped her cock off on my face before moving to unbind me, freeing me from the ropes and only stopping once to fuck my breasts, filling my cleavage with semen as she unwound the rope around my waist. When she was truly finished, I sprawled out on the bed and watched tiredly as she cleaned herself off and dressed, going out to get us some food - it took her a few moments to calm down her impressive ''dragon'' that still yearned for more, though me rolling onto my back and showing her my cum soaked breasts certainly didn''t help... After she left, I summoned a sphere of water and drank from it slowly, soothing my sore throat and rejuvenating my mind as I rehydrated myself properly, before I just shrugged as I sshed myself with the water. Scooping the semen from my breasts, I drank it before cleansing myself entirely, leaving myself clean as I prepared to at least don a robe, not wanting to surprise anyone who might walk in... Thest thing I needed was for Mother to see me like this; we both KNEW that the other was sexually active and proactive, but we didn''t want to see that... And honestly, that extended to the Marquess and Countess; I didn''t want to see them nude ever again, nor did I want them to see me nude again, least of all after their daughter just got done railing me for hours on end... With that in mind, I loosely tied a robe over my body and lounged in a chair, waiting for someone to return first. What I didn''t expect was for ''Caligo to drop into myp, the pink skinned Arch Fiend poking her cock against my stomach as she caressed my face. "Oh my, Kat~! That. Was. Delectable~! The way she fucked you in the ass on that stool!? Oh, or the time she pushed your head down and raped your throat despite having just choked you for so~ long?! I... I''m honestly so~ wet right now..." Cali''s eyes locked onto mine, and the Arch Fiend leaned down as she whispered "Kat, please... can I eat her cum out of your pussy? I just want a taste of that Demoness... I swore not to seduce her, but...e on, baby... Just a taste?" "Cali..." Her hands dropped towards my robe, and I bit my lip as the Arch Fiend rubbed her impressive cock against my chest, her snakes hissing hungrily above us both. Despite the addictive scent surrounding her, or the heat I felt in my womb as her tip oozed precum, I shook my head at her, making the woman pout. Though, I decided to throw her a slight bone for this, after keeping my bases covered... "If I let you lick it from my fingers, can you swear to me that this is purely a pleasure thing? That there is no use for this besides your lust?" "On Reincantra? Oh baby, I would make that oath every waking moment... Yes, on Reincantra that is the ONLY thing I want from this... I just want a taste of her seed..."I think you should take a look at The desire in her eyes was heavy, and those pink orbs only widened with glee as I gingerly scooped some of Jahi''s leftover cum from my pussy, letting it drip from my fingers. "Thank you for the treat, Katherine..!" Grabbing my hand, Cali brought her lips close and began to suck eagerly on each digit, her tongue swirling around them expertly as she cleared everything off. Her lips were incredibly soft, her tongue so dexterous, and the noise she made as she sucked on my fingers was downright lewd; it didn''t take much to wonder what she would look like with a penis instead of a finger... Of course, what would be a better time for Jahi to walk in then right then? Seeing the pink skinned Fiend on myp, the Demoness raised a brow as she looked towards me, her golden eyes letting me know this wasn''t the best scene for her to see, but... "Jahi, really, I didn''t do anything past... this. I didn''t even know she would appear here..." She looked at us for a few moments more before smirking, her amethysts returning as she said "It looks like your feeding a pet, honestly. A really horny, busty pet..." That made me narrow my eyes as I saw the Demoness trace out the Arch Fiends curves, but I just sighed as I squashed that jealousy down early; we both knew that she was just looking, and that she wouldn''t do anything, just like she knew I wouldn''t do anything past this... ''feeding'' of Cali, who was still extremely absorbed with my fingers. Though, when Jahi lifted the tray off of the cart and took off the cloche covering the food, revealing a juicy steak and mound of creamy pasta, I looked at Cali and freed my fingers from her mouth, ''kindly'' smiling at her as I said "Cali, that''s enough." She frowned at me, before pouting as she floated into the air, muttering "You sound like a mother scolding her child... though, I guess you d-" "Cali, don''t make me hit you." I didn''t even nce at her, yet I could tell that the Arch Fiend was smirking as she puffed herself away, leaving just Jahi and I in the room again. Sitting down beside her, I dug into the food with the Demoness, the two of us sharing and - sometimes - fighting over the food, getting our energy replenished as we enjoyed our personal feast. Leone returned a few minutester, a basketden with potions in her arms, and the Vampire excitedly told us about her day, showing us each potion and telling us what it did, before eventually handing Jahi a vial only half filled with red liquid, saying "T-This is for tonight..." The Demoness stared at the liquid curiously, raising her brow as she saw Leone blushing hard as she squirmed around in her chair, trying her hardest to not look at Jahi. "And? What does it do?" Jahi was already smirking, the woman knowing damn well what that potion was meant to do all things considered, but seeing Leone so embarrassed was as adorable as ever. Before she could answer, Anput strode into the room with a grin, which only grew as she saw all of us together. "Ah, are we using potions to make tonight better~? Leone, you horny Vampire you~! Brewing aphrodisiacs..." The Jackalkin''s brusqueness made us allugh, with Leone only turning redder and redder as she listened to us all, her pout making her utterly adorable as she tried to snatch the vial back. Catching her wrist, Jahi grinned down at her as she whispered "No no no, not so fast missy... You brew me a potion like this and expect me to NOT use it~? No, you had best prepare yourself Leone... If your skills with alchemy are really up to snuff, I''m not letting you sleep tonight... at least, not without a nice shower and some deep, intense loving..." When Jahi uncorked that vial, we all shivered in anticipation, only to not be capable of remembering that night as the already voracious appetite of the Demoness was aided by the potent potion brewed by Leone... I... think we may have woken the entire Pce, honestly... Chapter 507 506: Time With The Babies We passed out in a pile that night, the potency of the potion that Leone brewed something we both praised and cursed as Jahi entered a new level of horny, the Demoness wearing a perpetual grin as she alternated between us all, doing her best to sow her seed whenever and wherever she could. She didn''t even mind that we eventually passed out beneath her, the Demoness just shrugging before continuing on, knowing that we wanted her to feel good even if we could no longer feel... that, and the fact that she would likely ''die'' if she didn''t deal with her raging erection, the agony of sporting that whilst surrounded by your wives - who you couldn''t touch - would surely drive her insane. So, we all drifted in and out of consciousness, the only thing we would see when we awoke again being the Demoness atop us as she forced us to wake up, wanting to ''y'' with us some more. It wasn''t the most rxing night, but that next morning - despite being rather tired - was incredible as we basked in the afterglow for minutes on end, our bodies thoroughly sated and attended to by the needy,rge blue skinned womanying between us all. Surprisingly, I wasn''t the one to reach towards her to start over again in the morning, with that honor going towards Leone as she snuggled closer to Jahi''s side, prompting Anput and I to join her in making sure our wife''s morning was a good one. After she showered us in her affections again, we migrated to the bath and washed up, before exiting the bedroom and joining the others in the main room, where we received a mix reception. Mother gave us a conflicted - yet understanding - look, while the Countess was ring at us all, envy and irritation dancing inside her sapphire eyes. As for the Marquess, she was just grinning as she held Lakshmi, who was cuddled close to her Mom and snoring quietly as she napped. "Did you enjoy yourselvesst night?" The Countess'' voice was scathing, making us all flinch, but Jahi stepped forwards and grinned, raising her hands as she said "Yeah, I did~! Just like you and Mom used to enjoy yourselves all~ night long back at the March~!" Snorting, the Marquess smirked over at her wife as she added "This isn''t our house though Jahi, but... fair. Besides, if I had to take a guess, Leone made those potions under someone''s direct supervision, so~! They had fair enough warning. Besides, we''re in our own ''section'' of the Pce; no one should be nearby~!" "That''s not the point! They were LOUD! ALL NIGHT LONG!" Mother coughed gently as she looked towards the Countess, saying "Like how you and Chordeva used to ''sneakily'' have sex in the dorm whilst I was asleep? Or how you two almost got kicked out because you were causing such a racket?" That made the Elven Countess clench her jaw before looking away, deciding to not continue. "However... do try and be a tad more quiet, alright? It''s... difficult enough to get sleep when these two are nearby, let alone with two babies now added to our bed." That made us all slump our shoulders slightly in guilt, nodding to her as she idly stroked Alessandra''s head. "Of course, I understand that you all need... your... ''time'' together, so don''t be pressured to stop, just... tone it down a bit?" She said that with a deep blush, which made the Marquess grin beside her as she added "Because of that, you four can watch Lakshmi and Alessandra for us~ Listening to that all night was a tad torturous, so..." Stepping forwards, the Marquess handed Lakshmi to Leone, whilst Mother handed Alessandra to me, the two babies staring up at us curiously before looking over towards their parents, wondering what was happening.I think you should take a look at However, the three women were already making their way back to their room, with Mother being swept up into the Marquess'' arms as she carried her away, whilst the Countess bit her cheek before sighing, seemingly ''reluctant'' for what was toe, yet following her wife anyways with anticipation in her gait. Being left behind by their parents, the two babies were surprisingly alright with what just happened, just looking up at us and seemingly asking ''Well, what now?'' Jahi stretched before rubbing her stomach, yawning and saying "I think breakfast first, then go out to a garden or something? Just rx for a few hours, let them get everything out of their system, ande back?" We all looked at one another before nodding, prompting the Demoness to guide us outside into the Pce, where we made our way towards the kitchen with the two babies in our arms. Alessandra was looking around curiously, studying her surroundings and babbling asionally to me as she pointed or reached for different things, wanting to experience more of the world. As for Lakshmi, the baby Demoness was resting her head against Leone''s chest and yawning, her red streaked amber eyes drooping as she fought the urge to fall asleep again. Reaching the kitchens, we talked to the chef and got our order in, which included a cup of heated milk for each baby. Some of the Knights and Saints looked towards the two curiously, before smiling as the two children looked around at all the new people. Alessandra wanted to see and speak to them all, whilst Lakshmi was shying away from everyone, clinging closer to Leone before eventually reaching for Jahi, forcing the Vampire to relinquish the little one to her sister. Lakshmi seemed far calmer and more at ease in the hesitant arms of Jahi, who was gingerly holding her little sister as she tried to replicate how Leone and I held the babies. By the time that food arrived, we were seated at our own table and eating, which proved to be a difficult task as Alessandra constantly tried to snatch the food from my te, wanting to try it, while Lakshmi demanded more milk, her little tummy rumbling. Trying to manage them was exhausting, but we managed somehow, getting them fed and keeping them under control, which made us relieved as we went out towards the gardens, where we showed them the various flowers and nts that the Empress and her family had grown, transforming this part of the Pce from something dark and slightly drab to a bastion of nature. The little Elf seemed far more at ease outside then she had inside, her sapphire eyes sparkling as we walked through the gardens, while Lakshmi dozed off in her sisters arms, uncaring about the beautiful scenery around us. Towering trees blossoming with beautiful buds and fruits, vibrant flowers and gorgeous nts clustered inside various areas in the garden... The sea of colors and scent filled air was immacte, and the atmosphere inside the garden was soothing as we walked around, like this garden was cut off from the rest of the world, free from strife and violence... It was a beautiful, wonderful thing, and time trickled by quickly as we rxed, taking in the various areas and munching on some of the fruits as we walked. The sun eventually reached its pinnacle, and with that we returned to the Pce, making our way back to our room so that we could begin some training for today. Chapter 508 507: Fruits Of Our Labor (1) After a nice, rxing walk out into the gardens, we returned to the room to see the Marquess lounging on the couch, a book in hand as she softly stroked the hair of Mother, who was napping with her head on the Marquess''p. The Countess was scribbling something down onto a page in a book, the Elf sitting near the window and enjoying the natural light streaming through, entirely absorbed into whatever it was that she was doing. ncing our way, the Marquess smirked as she closed the book silently, whispering "Unlike you youngsters, I know how to indulge in moderation~!" Jahi rolled her eyes at that, whispering back "I sincerely doubt that... If I had to make a bet, Miss Julie got tired and Mother decided to call it for the moment." Hearing her daughter, the Countess nced up from her book and said "I have no idea what she said, but I know it was likely against you, Chordeva, so it''s definitely true." As she turned back towards her book, the Elf tilted her head to the side and avoided the harmless sphere of mana that sailed past her, sshing against the ss and erupting into a beautiful sea of mes thatpped at the ss, before dissipating entirely. Lakshmi stared at those mes with awe, before turning to stare at her Mom and babble something out, making the Marquess go from narrowed eyes and a sneer to a warm, soft expression as she reached out and beckoned for Jahi to hand Lakshmi over. While Jahi did that, I made my way over to the Countess and ced Alessandra on the desk, watching as the little Elf crawled over towards the book and tried to read it, despite not even knowing what anguage was. Seeing that, the Countess just nced at the little Elf before continuing on anyways, which made Alessandra plop down beside the book and observe the quill that scratched over the pages, runes appearing on the thick paper as the Countess did some studying. I stood beside her for a few moments, keeping some attention on Alessandra to make sure she was alright whilst also curiously reviewing the Countess'' work, before nodding to myself and backing away when I was assured that the little Elf wouldn''t do anything dangerous or irritating. With the little Elf absorbed by her Mom''s book and the little Demoness being danced around by her Mom, we were free from the two cute, adorable babies and allowed to do our own things, which the Marquess further ordered as she said "Go on, scram. Spend that energy on something besides sex. I want to take you all somewhere within the month, so prepare yourselves." That made us all intrigued, but the dark blue skinned woman refused to borate as she instead just turned back towards the baby in her arms, smiling softly at her as she bounced her around, much to Lakshmi''s amusement. ncing at one another, we shrugged and left the room, stepping back into the hall and discussing what we wanted to do. Anput was the first to speak up, the Jackalkin taking a few steps back as she grinned at us, saying "I''ll be at the forge; I got a few things I need to finish up for each of you, so..!" Before she could run off, Jahi said "Anput, meet us at the Training Grounds by dusk, alright? We''ll resume our own trainings with Nirinia to end our day." The Jackalkin nodded before rushing off, making Leone cough into her fist as she too walked away, telling us "I''ll be at the Sanctum till dusk then. I need to practice with Mother..." Jahi and I nodded as she walked down the hall, leaving us standing outside the door leading to our room in silence. "Well, what do you want to do then? Spar?"I think you should take a look at I pursed my lips before scrolling through my Daily Quests, making my decision there. "Well, if its just us then we can do some magic practice and hone that? Some non sexual Dual Cultivation with an asional break for a quick spar? Since we''ll be with Niriniater. Though, we should really find her first and get her to agree to that instead of just... assuming she won''t be making her way to a brothel or something." Jahi just smiled wryly at that, before gesturing for me to walk beside her as we made our way to the kitchen first, wanting to see if we could find the Djinn there. As we walked, I browed my Shop and favorited a few items that I wanted to get the others, keeping them on the same level as my Anklet of the Zephyr so that everyone could get something. With the previous admission to... well, being ''blessed by a Goddess'', that gave me the perfect opportunity to just call these gifts from her. I mean...it was slightly farfetched, but with the Empress calling out that I was actually shrouded in Divine Energy, well, I hope that meant the others would believe me, especially since this wasn''t lying; technically, Reincantra was gifting me these items that were enchanted. So, I marked out what would be good for each of them and prepared to buy themter, so that I could give them something they could use to strengthen themselves further. Anput was getting a bracelet that boosted her Dexterity primarily and Strength second, giving her more control over her weapons and boosting the damage by a little bit. Jahi was getting an amulet that boosted her Constitution primarily and Strength second, making her more of our parties tank whilst also giving her a significant boost to power; I mean, 5% is stillrge for her strength, which was likely around 120ish now, or even higher. Finally, Leone was getting an earring that boosted her Wisdom primarily and Intelligence second, making her spells far stronger and boosting her control a good bit as well; honestly, those names weren''t the greatest for the stats since it didn''t actually boost your wisdom or intelligence... Seems like a w, but whatever~! Either way, we entered the kitchen and found the Djinn lounging at a table, smirking as she talked to Princi, who was smirking back at her as the two flirted. Interrupting them, Jahi gave a nod to the Catkin before looking towards the Djinn, who nced at her curiously. "Hey Nirinia, meet up at the Training Grounds at dusk. I want to resume the trainings we had before the war broke out." The Djinn frowned slightly, before shrugging her shoulders as she said "Fine, fine~! Anything for little Bluey..." Rolling her eyes, Jahi swatted the Djinn''s back before turning away, leading me back out into the Pce and towards the Training Grounds, where we would remain for the rest of the day. Chapter 509 508: Fruits Of Our Labor (2) When we reached the Training Grounds, the sun was beginning its long descent back down towards the horizon, but for the moment the harsh golden light of noon streamed down onto the ck sand of the Training Grounds. There were a few Knights and Saints practicing around the gigantic field of sand, some in pairs and others alone, whilst the ck skinned Wolfkin Vienna was practicing with her twin falchions, her muscr body surrounded by arcs of gleaming metal. Jahi and I found the sparsest area and settled down, sitting in front of one another and pressing our palms together to begin cultivating our mana. It was a simple procedure, and one that gave arge suite of benefits for us both as we swapped twin orbs of mana between one another. Being able to hone already potent magic even further would always be a boon, since even the smallest increase could inducerge amounts of damage onto our enemies. Besides, with a better understanding of my mana I could potentially unlock new skills or upgrade my current skills, and that coulde in many different forms. An offensive oriented skill like [Frost of Despoina] or an efficiency rted skill like [Chione''s Blessing] Something that could increase my damage output or increase how well I controlled my spells would always be beneficial, but to do so I needed to make progress myself to unlock those boons. For now though, I needed to hone my mana with the bundle of Light Mana that Jahi was sending my way, and that was something that would require all of my attention, lest I damage myself with the harsh mana that the Demoness nurtured within her Core. When the bundle reached a decent size, we each took one and began to digest the others mana, using it like a whetstone that we ground our mana on and sharpened it; for me, I picked apart the strands of my Ice Mana and individually tuned the Wind and Water Mana as best I could, so that it wasn''t just my Ice Mana that was getting stronger. Whilst it was the creation of thebined mana types, honing it all together as one type of mana was inefficient, since the Ice Mana was - in actuality - the sum of its parts. So, whilst it was slower and more tedious, it was far more helpful to take the time and grind out the imperfections of both individual types of mana and try and work from there. Repeating that another time, we eventually got up and practiced our spells against the long array of training dummies along the wall - which had been made from an extremely durable material, considering a Saint slung ance made of stone that shattered against the wall after passing through the dummy and didn''t even leave a scratch. As for the dummy itself, the Saint just erected another made from the earth and used that, deciding that the far more consistent dummy made by his own magic would be better to gauge his spells then the dummies themselves. Anyways, Jahi and I kept things small, both of us deciding to work on spells that we could get out quickly, spells that would be an additive to our closebat style going forwards. For me, I decided that making a spell that was quick and hard to dodge was important, so I decided to create a spell that just burst from the runes, extremely close range but nearly impossible to dodge. With Ice Mana, it would be like a grenade exploding in front of me, but the st was funneled entirely forwards in a conical shape that would catch an opponent off guard. To be safe, I made variants for the other two elements as well, just in case I ran into an enemy that was immune or resistant to just ice.I think you should take a look at My wind version pushed the enemy back andcerated their chest, whilst the water version was more like a fragmentation st or a shotgun, sending out pressurized pellets that punctured through the target. The ice version was a healthy mix of both, relying on spreading frost over my target while also cutting deep into their body. Jahi, on the other hand, was taking an interesting approach to her closebat spells. She was creating short swords that she could summon with just a few runes, simplifying the runic sequence as much as she could to speed things up before using that smaller de to entuate her great sword, which she could wield in one hand. Additionally, the Demoness had a knack for throwing those golden swords to give her some range, so that she could jump back and throw it, tricking the opponent with her various moves and keeping them constantly on their toes. The de itself wasn''t anything special, but it was incredibly quick and sharp, so in that regard it was impressive. Used as a way to cut her enemies quickly as they tried to dodge her main weapon or as a way to create space between them, this was quite the good spell for her, and if she tattooed that to her palm, well... That would be quite the useful spell inbat, since it would catch her enemies off guard. After practicing those spells for a little longer, we sat back down and returned to cultivating, creating a rhythm as we spent the day refining our mana and new spells. We added in some spars as well, keeping them basic as we traded blows and smoothed out our styles, until eventually the sun began to descend below the horizon, turning the sky a brilliant array of orange that was gettingpped up by a beautiful violet. Leone and Nirinia arrived together, the two finding us quickly and joining us near our space, where we began to talk about the things we did today and shared some ideas for our training, with the Djinn chuckling as she heard our reason behind wanting her present. With the threat of the Marquess'' words looming over us in the immediate future, she agreed that being prepared would be the best for us, so that we wouldn''t get caught off guard by whatever she had nned. It took another few minutes for Anput to join us, but when she did she had two bundles in her arms, each one a long object covered in dark blue cloth to conceal them from us. Wearing arge grin, she approached us excitedly, her fluffy tail swaying as she looked towards Leone and I, beckoning us forwards with a nod of her head. "Here, here! Kat, take the top one, Leone, take the bottom one~!" My bundle was a tad shorter and much thinner than Leone''s, and it weighed very little in my arms, making me raise a brow as I looked towards my mate, who just grinned excitedly. "Open them up~! They''re my gifts to you~!" Chapter 510 509: Fruits Of Our Labor (3) Chapter510 509: Fruits Of Our Labor (3) "Open it, open it~!" Seeing Anput grinning so proudly at us both as she stood in front of us made Leone and I chuckle, the Jackalkin looking more like a child showing off her work to her parents then anything else at this moment. Even her tail was wagging cutely behind her, and it just reminded me that this was what made me find this woman so damn attractive; this efficient, blunt single-mindedness that pushed her forwards at all times, not allowing her to do anything in half measures. She did something to the best of her abilities and was proud of it, and when that was paired with her devotion and loyalty towards us, her lovers, well, it was a damn beautiful thing to behold. Looking towards Leone, I nodded and had her go first, the Vampire gently lifting the dark blue cloth and flipping it back, revealing the weapon thatid beneath. Roughly two and a half feet in length, the sword that rested in Leone''s arms was a simple, yet incredibly beautiful work of art, its surface wless and oiled to a shine. The de was long and thin, giving it reach while also keeping it manageable in Leone''s hands, and it looked rather light despite its length. Probably around an inch wide, the long de was sharpened and tapered down, shaping it like a widened rhombus that made it an excellent thrusting de, but still capable of cutting to some degree. As for the metal itself, it was an interestingly bone color, but very clearly made from metal as it shone under the light of dusk, reflecting the light just as metal would. "Hehe~! It''s a shortened Estoc. A sword that''s light and meant for thrusts and piercing more than cutting, hence the shape of the de. With a lengthened hilt and a sufficient counterweight attached to the pommel, it can be wielded in one hand or two because I shortened it, meaning you could use it as your primary weapon or continue to cast spells with it in your off hand. I thought that, with your rather uncanny reflexes, a sword that was long and light would be better, and since you aren''t the most..." Looking Leone over, Anput gave her a wry smile as she finished in a low voice, making the Vampire frown slightly. "Physically capable, this was the best option for you..." Scratching her cheek, Anput coughed for a moment before stepping forwards, gliding her finger just above the de itself as she began to tell us about the material. "Ibined steel and Firefang bones to create the alloy for the Estoc, and personally I think it came out great. Because of the monster it was harvested from, the weapon reacts well to Fire Mana, so you can use it as a focus for your spells, while it also has quite the bite to it when you inflict a wound. Durable and light, it felt great for you, but you should let me know how it feels after awhile. After all, I have no idea just what will work best for you as an individual, so if this is too long or just doesn''t feel right, let me know and I''ll forge something else; after all, these materials are good, but they weren''t meant to be for our long term weapons." Leone nodded, inspecting the simple, yet beautiful de resting across her opened palms, before she looked up towards me and let me know to reveal mine. Like she had done, I lifted the blue cloth and flipped it forwards, revealing the thinner de that Anput had forged for me. Roughly the same size as Leone''s de, and forged from the same bony metal, a beautiful rapier with an intricate cross guard meant to protect my hand from harm as I stabbed and shed at my enemies. Light as a feather and incredibly sharp, the thin de was polished to a sheen and forged exquisitely, meant for all types of styles as it still had the width for cutting, but was perfectly lengthened and tapered for its real use, stabbing. The hilt fit my hand perfectly, with just a bit of space between my thumb and the cross guard, as well as my pinky and the pommel, making sure I wouldn''t be chaffing my hand whenever I wielded it. The cross guard wasprised of various thin, curved bars of metal that formed out the crest of House Asmodia in bronzed metal, whilst the other metals were normal steel. Both beautiful and capable of being used in battle, the rapier was perfect in many ways, though Anput smiled wryly at me as she said "It is made from the same alloy as Leone''s, so only your Wind Mana can be benefited by the Firefang bone. Didn''t have time to run down to the markets for something else, but again, these are just practice des to see if you should be using these instead of something else. Anyways, the rapier was something I thought fit you well, since it''s a precision weapon and incredibly quick, which ys to your strengths. One handed weapons are likely to be the best for you, though I have toyed with the idea of Manriki - a chain connecting a weight and a de together - for you as well, since that is also precision, but... yeah. Rapier for now, since your skills with a dagger are already so honed. This opens up a better dual wielding option and a broader catalogue of techniques, and it works rather well with your Wind Magic." I nodded, grasping the hilt and lifting it from the cloth, which I swiftly folded and handed back to her before stepping back, creating some space between us. Staring down at the rapier, I raised it and swished it down, listening to that crisp swoosh as it sliced through the air with ease. The de was bnced perfectly towards the hilt, so the weapon felt airy to move around and use, responding well to the various thrusts and cuts I executed as I got a grasp on the weapon''s performance. By no means a parrying de, the apier was meant to be used to stab and avoid attacks, forcing the wielder to be adept at dodging any attacks before being thrusted quickly in response, perfect for those with light feet and precise control over their body. In other words, a rather good weapon for me. Leone was also going through the basics with her Estoc, switching between one and two handed and nodding to herself as she found her own bnce with it, before we both turned towards Jahi as she coughed. "So... what about me?" The Jackalkin smiled at her and raised her hands, shrugging as she said "You already have a good weapon, and I haven''t learned how to forge armor just yet. Though, I do have something soon, I just need to finish it up..." Jahi just nodded, before adding "Well, you can give me something tonight~! After all, you could have still made me a dagger, Anput..." That made her freeze, before awkwardly scratching her cheek as she nodded, muttering "Yeah... I could have, couldn''t I..? Hah..." --- The reason Estoc is capitalized but rapier isn''t is because this site keeps trying to correct Estoc if I write it with an e instead of an E, so... yeah. Same goes with every other non English weapon, like Lady Sker''s Gurz, or the Manriki I mentioned earlier. --- Chapter 511 510: Testing the New Weapons Chapter511 510: Testing the New Weapons After Anput realized her mistake in not making Jahi anything at all, the Jackalkin let out a sigh as she stared at the ck grain sand below us, before shrugging and turning towards Nirinia, asking "What are we going to do then?" The Djinn stepped forwards and coughed into her fist, looking between us all as she said "I think the best thing for right now would be all of you against me like we did before, just so I can get a grasp on where you all are at and what you need to do? After that though, I think it''ll be mainly rotating you four out against me for one on ones, just so I can try and guide you through whatever you need on an individual, focused basis. So..." Strapping on her buckler and unsheathing her golden Dadao, the Djinn grinned at us as we all prepared ourself, her confidence oozing through her skin as she tapped her de against her buckler, signifying the beginning of this four on one. Anput and Jahi decided to take the bulk of the Djinn''s attention, with the Demoness getting up into Nirinia''s face while Anput skirted to the side, her rod of metal shifting into a long katana that snaked towards Nirinia''s abs. The Djinn used her buckler to p Jahi''s de aside, whilst she spun her Dadao around used the t of the de to block Anput''s thrust. Of course, the Djinn had to deal with more than just those two, so while Jahi was off bnce she pivoted and parried the Estoc that was thrust towards the center of her back, stepping into Leone''s attack to avoid the thrust of my rapier. "Sorry Princess!" Grinning at Leone, Nirinia mmed her booted foot against the side of Leone''s knee, forcing the Vampire down before pivoting once more, avoiding the sh of Anput''s katana. Nirinia jumped away and whistled softly at the thin crevasse that Jahi left behind with her cleave, before bolting forwards and mming her buckler into Jahi''s stomach, winding the Demoness and pushing her back a few steps. Anput and I shifted ourselves to the side and thrust forwards; Anput put power behind her singr attack, whilst I went with speed and sent a barrage of thrusts forwards, hoping to pin the Djinn between us and Jahi. Sadly for us, the woman was still just a tad too strong for something that simple, as she used her Dadao to almost send my rapier flying as she stepped in close, mirroring what she did with Leone just on a much quicker scale. Feeling her foot connect with my knee, I grit my teeth as my knee cracked, the sharp, hot agony of my knee being dislocated sending me to the ground, leaving just Jahi and Anput to contend with the Djinn. Leone had healed herself and moved to join the fight, only to redirect herself to me and swiftly try and bring me back, but Nirinia was prepared for that as she lowered her shoulder and mmed into Anput, sending her flying back and into Leone, causing the two to tumble to the ground together. cing my hand against my mangled knee, I began to heal it as I watched Jahi begin to fight Nirinia one on one, their des colliding together as they both sent heavy attacks towards one another, but the speed and advantage of the shield ced Nirinia above Jahi in this spar. When Jahi stabbed her de towards Nirinia''s midriff, the Djinn angled her shield to the side and allowed the great sword to slide along its surface, making Jahi stumble forwards into the awaiting Dadao, which pressed itself against the Demoness'' throat. We all stopped when we saw that, knowing that with Jahi ''dead'' the rest of us would fall quickly again, so we called it there. "Not too bad, but..." Looking back towards us, Nirinia pursed her lips before shrugging, saying "Kat, Leone, I guess that wasn''t too fair considering you''re both magically inclined and those are new weapons, but..." "The real world won''t care that we''ve never used these." Nirinia nodded at Leone''s words, adding "Nor will it care if you''re out of mana or you are in some area that prevents magic. So... yeah, you two need to get ustomed to those weapons, or figure out if you just don''t like them." Healing my knee, I nodded as I gingerly got to my feet, slowly adding weight to the limb before feeling like it was back to normal. "I''d like to go first then, Nirinia." The Djinn nodded and stepped aside, whilst Anput, Leone and Jahi gave us some more space, the three muttering quietly to one another before the Jackalkin and Vampire faced the Demoness with their weapons raised. Bouncing on my feet for a moment, I prepared myself to lean entirely into speed as I gave the rapier a swish, right as I shot Looking down at the rapier in my hand, I stared at it for a few moments before nodding, approaching Nirinia and signifying my readiness. Like before, she started the match with the ng of her de against her buckler before standing still, giving me the first move. Bouncing on my feet for a moment, I prepared myself to lean entirely into speed as I gave the rapier a swish, right as I shot forwards, my right hand raised andncing the rapier towards her throat. When I saw the buckler getting raised, I pulled back on my rapier and sent a thrust towards her hand next, trying to disarm her of her Dadao or at least damage her hand a bit to give myself some breathing room. Of course, whilst I was fast, Nirinia was faster, her hand lifting slightly as she angled her Dadao towards my chest, about to stab me straight in the sternum... if I hadn''t dashed beneath her arm and slid behind her, the rapier scoring thin cuts across her back as I stabbed it forwards a dozen times in just a second or so. Before she could turn and respond, I jumped back and reset the encounter, making the Djinn smile wryly at me as she muttered "Slippery little puppy aren''t you, Kat? Quite quick too..." Smirking at that, I lunged forwards and returned to attacking, deciding that making the Djinn go on the defensive would be best for me, since it opened up more opportunities for me to act first and n out my moves. For a few minutes I did just that, stabbing the rapier out towards her armored torso and trying to get the de tond somewhere lethal so that I could win, but the problem that I discovered with the rapier was just how close I was to my enemy, and whilst I was ustomed to utilizing daggers, theck of versatility with the rapier ended up causing my defeat, though that was certainly a user error and not the weapon itself. I was too used to shing with weighted des and not only stabbing with something light, but... "If you had magic during that fight, it''d be much different." I nodded at Nirinia, the Djinn resting her Dadao atop her shoulder as she looked down at me. "With Wind Mana across the de, you could probably gain some good cutting power whilst also amplifying your thrusting power by a good deal. But..." "Without mana I need to learn to use it better, yeah... It wasn''t that bad though." She nodded, before gesturing for me to switch out with one of the others. Chapter 512 511: Lady Fenryas (Extra) --- Forewarning, this was written a LONG time ago, so style has changed a lot and all that, but I could only get 1 chapter out today, so... Enjoy what Chordeva faced back in the day, I guess; and if there are any discrepancies in time or something, point them out but don''t rely on this for specific things, since they''ve changed since then. Anyways, enjoy~! --- Chordeva PoV Sitting behind the familiar desk back at the Estate, I stared down at the never ending pile of paperwork before me, making me sigh. Ria and Julie were still unconscious, as I had... Well, the stimtion of bedding two beautiful women, one of whom was pregnant with my child, and the other one was one I wanted to impregnate again... Sighing, I stared down at my not so little sister, who was staring back up at me. "I''m starting to think Lady Fenryas was right... the Asmodia''s vice is, and will always be, lust..." Leaning into my chair, I thought of the woman who had polished me from a damn good warrior into the Vice-Captain of the Knights of Cinder. Lady Fenryas... She wasn''t just a Wolfkin; her bloodline was a mixture of Wolf blood and Demon blood, resulting in her being a one of a kind Hybrid. As such, she was impossibly strong, with her physical prowess only being beaten by her mate, the Empress, and her magic being among the top, rivaling the Empress'' third wife, Lady D''Arcon, a Light Magician. So, the Demonic Wolf eventually took up the mantle that Lord Vulcan left empty all those millennia ago, bing the Captain of the Knights of Cinder. When we had finished our first year, Ria and I had both been offered apprenticeships due to our immense talent. Lady Fenryas approached me, and told me that she would be the one to teach me, saying my father wasn''t to be trusted to polish me to be something better. Which, younger me was surprised to hear, and even more surprised to see the man simply ept her words, scratching his cheek as the Demonic Wolf red at him, daring him to disagree. I epted her offer, since I was already guaranteed a spot as an apprentice to one of the other Knights, but now that the Captain herself was offering it... Of course, I was also rather annoyed; Ria had finally promised that we could start living together, and my year of celibacy was wearing at my mind. The Elf would constantly give me those empty gazes, her blue eyes turning into voids as she made sure I remained true to her; those eyes stimted me so, so much, and I could feel my will to hold back slowly fraying. However, Ria had been offered an apprenticeship by someone equally as important in our Empire; Lady Theresa, the Empress'' first wife. She was an old Elf, having lived almost as long as the Empress, and she was called the Elven Saintess of Nature due to her Nature Magic. When Ria had shown her incredible talent in magic, many Mages wanted her as their apprentice, but everyone backed away when Lady Theresa herself extended her hand to my wife. Since we were both to be apprenticed to the Empress'' wives, we would remain in the Capital City of Sanctus Ignacia, or more specifically, inside the Empress'' Pce. The move into the castle had been stressful, and I was more annoyed than ever before; I would need to start acting every bit the noble that I was when I was in the Empress'' court. Ria and I were on separate sides of the castle, and we both began our training. Lady Fenryas was as tall as I was, and her charcoal skin was cracked by her crimson veins. Long raven ck bristly hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she always wore little more than a cropped shirt and ck pants, revealing her chiseled abdomen and bushy tail. My first meeting with the woman had been intense; when I entered the castle''s training grounds, she had all the other Knights on the ground, bruised and battered. Her foot rested on a Minotaurs skull, while her ck scythe was impaled in the ground beside my fathers head. Her sharp features were pulled into a snarl as she stared at the four Knights, her voice scathing as she spat out "Weak! All four of you couldn''tnd even a damn scratch on me?! And you want to call yourselves Knights?! Fucking pathetic!" My eyes widened as I stared at my father; I knew how strong he was. Compared to me, the man was nigh unbeatable, and yet... There hey, underneath Lady Fenryas, who wasn''t even winded. Snarling again, she turned towards me as I entered, and she furrowed her brow. "Who the hells are you? Wait..." Getting off the Minotaur, she raised her scythe and smirked at me, ncing briefly back towards my prone father. "You''re the Asmodia brat huh? The one the Empress wants me to polish? Hmm..." Getting closer to me, she leaned forwards, and I widened my eyes as I realized that she was as tall as I was; reaching a good seven some odd feet. I mean, I was still growing, but damn... Her nose twitched, and her smirk widened while her steely gray eyes met mine. "Yeah, I can work with this..." Stalking around me, the Demonic Wolf sniffed me before adding "Not too bad... least that dolt over there didn''t waste your potential... Fire Magic; basic, but useful... strong muscles..."I think you should take a look at I stood still, scared to move; the pressureing from her was overwhelming, like I was a child standing before a murderous monster. Returning to stand in front of me, she grinned and said "Yeah, not bad! Come on whelp; let''s see what you got." Lady Fenryas nced over her shoulder and shouted "Get up! Lazy asses..." Shaking her head, she watched as the exhausted Knights scrambled to their feet, stumbling away from the red circle on the ground. My father nced over at me, and I shivered as I saw something in his eyes that I never thought I''d see. Pity. The tall woman walked to the center of the ring, and mmed her scythe into the ground. "Alright, take that de and try and kill me." I stared at her in confusion, making her smirk drop. "You deaf? I said, take your damn de out, and try and kill me." Biting my cheek, I drew my steel sword and charged at her, keeping my father''s teachings in mind. Since I was sorge, the ymore that I used seemed like little more than a normal broadsword to me, so I raised the wide de and used it as both cover for my right side, and a tip for my charge. Stabbing the sword forwards, I widened my eyes as she remained still, making me falter for a moment. A derisive sneer appeared on her lips, and the woman reached up... And grabbed my sword, stopping itpletely. "Pathetic. You think I''m some weak pup asking for you to assist my suicide? Are you fucking dumb? Again!" pping my de away, she remained still, and this time I mmed my sword against her side, only to grunt as I felt the sword ng against something solid. "The hell..? You''re not that weak are you? That didn''t even scratch me!" Looking at my de, I froze as I saw the edge was rolled, into the imprint of her muscr arm. Jumping back a few feet, I stared at her in fear, not knowing what to do. How the hell did she just... Tank a swing from my de?! Shaking her arm, she sighed as she said "Alright... looks like I need to break you down and build you back up... Hah... what a pain..." Pinching the bridge of her nose, she shook her head before ring at me, growling "Alright, lets get to it brat." I gasped, sweat on my brow as I finally broke free from my own reminiscing. That woman... Was a real monster. What had followed was exactly what she had promised; she broke me. She chipped away at my pride, shattered my body, twisted my spirit... When I had be little more than an unconfident, hollow mess of a mortal, she had taken those pieces and forged me back, stronger then I could ever imagine. It was painful. It was harrowing. It... was necessary. My previous broken self wasn''t broken; she had a small, insignificant crack that she constantly hyper focused on. Lady Fenryas had truly broken me. In fact, she had broken me so much, so quickly, that if I hadn''t had those moments with Ria, where I could simply... hold my fiancee; not even in a sexual way, just embracing her and taking in her warmth. My wife had an equally hard training, but only in the physical sense; she was exhausted, but still the same. Without Ria there, I would have shriveled away, never to return... Thinking so, I got up with a sigh, wanting to cast those hellish memories away. Shuffling into my bedroom, I dove into my women''s bodies, pushing those memories away for now. --- This was just a little introduction to the training that Chordeva received, and there will likely be a chapter about Ria''s as well... Date: 01/15/2023 --- Chapter 513 512: Preparing For The Excursion (1) After being rotated out from sparring Nirinia, I joined Leone and Jahi in their spar, the three of us using each other as whetstones to further our physical techniques and better learn about the weapons we wielded, all while we kept an eye on the Djinn and Jackalkin. We weren''t outside for too long all things considered, since we just went once against the Djinn before calling it quits for the day, heading back into the Pce for some rest and socialization before doing it all again tomorrow. When we returned to our room, we spent some time ying and interacting with Lakshmi and Alessandra, giving Mother and the two Nobles some time to themselves before they were supposed to go to sleep. The little Demoness was an active girl when Jahi was around, always crawling towards or on her sister and giggling whenever attention was given to her. As for Alessandra, she watched them curiously before focusing instead on the runes that I was scribbling into the air, the little Elf far more interested in the magic above her than something trivial like ying tag... It was fun and rxing looking over the two little ones, their liveliness and different personalities making them so interesting to watch, though I could tell that everyone had a simr thought in mind. What would our children look like? Would they be as diverse as these two were, or would they share more traits than we expected? Of course, with such a question came the heat that it bore, and each of us was sending ambiguous looks towards the others, knowing that our minds were tiptoeing on the same wavelength with each small smile and the barely concealed passionate gazes. Thankfully, before that heat could burst into a me that would be far from quenchable under reasonable terms, Mother walked out and yawned, her head wrapped with a towel as she dried herself off, plopping into one of the couches and sighing in relief as the soft cushions absorbed her body slowly. "Katherine... could you brew some tea please? Oh, and someone get dinner please... I''m famished." The mature Dogkin lounging on the couch was already dozing off slightly, her eyes closed and her breathing even as she enjoyed thefort of the cushions, before opening an eye to look down at Lakshmi, who was ced on herp. The little Demoness stared up at her for a moment before nuzzling against her chest, making a happy babbling sound as she rubbed her cheek against Mother''s chest. Reaching down, Mother stroked thevender skinned Demoness before smiling at Jahi as she got up and moved towards the door, making her way to the kitchen. Leone took Alessandra from me and showed her a different set of runes, capturing her attention as I stood up to make some tea for everyone. That night - and all the nights leading up to the excursion with the Marquess - was spent inforting bliss as we chatted about anything that came to mind whilst also looking over the two babies, who were getting more and more ustomed to the world with each waking moment. The Marquess was as tight lipped as ever, not letting anything slip regarding our destination or anything rted to where she wanted to take us and what she wanted to do, and she would only smirk whenever we asked questions regarding her ns, be they direct questions or pointed, hidden questions. When we retired for the night, we did as we always did, falling into bed together and indulging ourselves for an hour or so before falling asleep, tired and fulfilled. The next morning was spent much the same as the night, with us wanting ate start before going our separate ways; Anput to the forge, Leone to the Sanctum, and Jahi and I heading towards the Training Grounds, where we practiced with our magics and sparred for a bit as we awaited the return of the others, so that we could get some more in depth sparring in. On top of the spars and magic practice, I spent some time exploring the Pce and taking in its various wonders, all while keeping to the shadows and practicing my stealth skills against the maids and butlers, as well as some of the guards depending on the area. I kept to locations that were meant to be essed by anyone so that I wouldn''t get in trouble, but even so I still made some progress in learning how to walk, how to more efficiently slink through the shadows, and on some asions - if I was wearing my own maid uniform - learn to blend in as I just became another maid inside the Pce, though I didn''t do that too often since the maids were a tight knit group of women.I think you should take a look at Because of those adventures into the Pce, I happened toe across a chapel that was peculiarly empty, the walls and shrines left bare, while the stained ss windows were dull and simple patterns. Compared to the rest of the Pce, this chapel was undeniably in, but that only seemed to add to its charm as I walked inside, curiously looking around at the dozens of small shrines and altars that lined the walls, each one only topped with a statue or a emzoned b of wood or stone. Some were simple hand carved wooden statues, whilst others were chiseled masterpieces with such detailed expressions... Of course, I wanted to learn about the various Gods and Goddesses that apparently did exist in this world, but it wasn''t like I had found a book listing each and every single one... and if I had, I hadn''t been too interested to pick it up. So, I walked around the edges of the room and inspected each shrine and altar, hoping to find some form of signifier to whom they were addressed, but sadly I didn''t get that kind of luck. By the time that I had moved from the right wall to the left, I realized that I was no longer alone, a woman muttering quietly to herself at one of the shrines closest to the door. Whilst I was surprised that I had been so absorbed in admiring the various statues and symbols that I hadn''t heard her enter, I wasn''t surprised to see that it was Lady D''Arcon, the blonde haired, white clothed woman kneeling in front of a shrine and sping her hands in prayer. To be respectful, I made sure my movements were as quiet as could be as I continued my observations, only turning back to her when I heard her finish. Standing up, she looked towards me and smiled, her Khakkhara staff - the silver staff adorned with an ornate topden with extra rings - jingling with each movement and adding to the serenity of this quiet chapel. "Katherine, correct? The one that has Divine Grace..." Stopping in front of me, she looked at me, her soft smile dazzling beneath the suns rays before saying "Hmm... It''s a rather potent Grace too. You know who it is, don''t you?" I nodded and said "It''s from Reincantra, but I don''t know much about her, nor..?" Lady D''Arcon just chuckled, gesturing for me to follow her as she led me towards the front of the chapel, where most of the impressive statues and richer altarsid. "She is something that many refer to as a Major Divine. A Deity who rules over a vast, and important domain, a Deity who''s power is far beyond the scope of mortal contemtion. She is the Goddess of Reincarnation - named after her - New Beginnings, and Stories. As such, she is often depicted with a book and phoenix, though many cultures change out the phoenix for whichever monster is near immortal in their respective regions. Here, in the North, it''s the phoenix, but down in the South it''s a jellyfish; a peculiar creature, but fitting." Reaching forwards, she brushed off the statue''s book, revealing the carved runes of someone''s name. "Ah, and everything here was carved by a single woman. Racama, a rather talented artisan with a love for the Divines... She''s long since passed, and that''s why this chapel remains iplete..." Sighing, she stared at the statue for a few moments more before turning back towards me, chuckling as she said "If you want to learn more about the Goddess that decided to grant you her Grace, I''d suggest visiting the library sometime soon. The Divines have been arge part of our history, after all, so they are a well documented subject. Though, I think you''ll find prayer to be a more fruitful endeavor, young one." With that, the pearl d woman made her way out of the chapel, leaving me in silence as I turned back to look at the gentle features of the statue. Pursing my lips, I shrugged as I sped my hands together and knelt, deciding to see if prayer would indeed be beneficial for me, even if it was just as a form of meditation. Chapter 514 513: Preparing For The Excursion (2) --- This is going to be a few more chapters long, probably to 6 or 8 just to get a few things set / wrapped up. --- sping my hands in prayer, I knelt in front of the altar to Reincantra and bowed my head, clearing my mind of all thoughts as I closed my eyes. ''Prayer huh... never really did pray back in my old life, but...'' Holding back a wry chuckle, I centered myself for a moment before... well, praying. ''I don''t know if you can hear me, nor if you really... care to listen, but I guess I should take the time to say thank you. Thank you for giving me a second chance, thank you for cing me in such a perfect position, thank you for giving me... everything in this life. All the things I have, all the people I''ve met, I''ve been able to because of you. Without this opportunity, without your blessing, I would have just been some soul floating in that void for eternity, I guess. It''s easy to forget that I do owe this all to you; that without your pity, your blessing, your whim to see me begin an entirely new life, I wouldn''t have met Jahi, Anput, or Leone; that I never would have gotten to feel what true love really feels like. Without this blessing of yours, I might not have been able to withstand the desires of those three, I might not have even been able to catch their eye past a fleeting fancy. So I guess what I''m trying to say is... thank you, Reincantra, for giving me this new lease on life, for letting me harbor even a modicum of your power in the form of the System and giving me the ability to go as far as I can through your Divine Grace. I don''t know what exactly you expected or wanted from doing these things for me, but I do know that - unless given a reason not to - I n on doing my best to serve you and do what I can for you, since you have given me this second chance. I doubt I''ll receive word from you, nor do I expect it, but I can only hope that you know just how grateful I am for this, and that I can do my best to please you as I go on to live this second life of mine to the fullest, doing all the things I could only dream of back in my first life. I want to carve my own story - no matter how grand or humble it may be - into this world and leave behind a legacy for my children to follow...'' Muttering a few more words of thanks and reverence to the statue, I stood up and stared at it for a few moments, expectation creeping into my heart as I wondered if I would see a sign, but s, I was left in the quiet of the chapel with nothing changing. However, I found that there was a certain peace in the action of prayer, and I also guilty offered my sincerest apologies to Reincantra as the idea on how to offer Anput, Leone and Jahi their System Made Items popped into my mind. It was a scummy idea, but not entirely false either; I just hoped that the Goddess would ignore this ''transgression'' as I used her name to exin their existence; again, it wasn''t an entirely false story I was giving them either. In the midst of my prayer, four items appeared to me, their powers known but unreadable; a gift from the Divines in answer of my prayers.I think you should take a look at An item that would help me do more for her name, and a reward for what I had already done. That was my story, and I was nning on sticking to it... unless there was some clear sign not to. Standing in the chapel for a few minutes more, I pursed my lips as I looked around, before shrugging as I decided that Reincantra was either a ver hands off Goddess, of she was alright with what I was nning on doing. Bowing my head to the statue onest time, I turned and exited the quiet, serene portion of the Pce and made my way around the halls, eventually returning to the Training Grounds and joining Jahi in her warmups, getting ready to spar. The Demoness only nced at me as I silently joined her, not asking me any questions as she returned to her pushups, her focus back on her training. That evening, Anput returned to the Training Grounds with a dagger in her hands, which she offered to Jahi with a smile, making the Demoness chuckle as she epted the heavy, long dagger made from the same alloy as Leone''s Estoc and my rapier. With Nirinia joining us again, we got to experience more with our new weapons and continue improving ourselves, honing our techniques and further adding to our strength. During the spars though, I noticed that the Lioness - who had been missing for a bit - peeked into the Training Grounds and looked around for Nirinia, before pursing her lips and slinking away, confusing me. Did she want to rekindle things, was she making sure Nirinia was still here, or what..? Either way, it wasn''t my problem, nor did I inform Nirinia of the Lioness, deciding that the Commander had been obvious enough to get caught by the Djinn. When our session was over, we returned to our room and yed around some more with the two babies before retiring once more for the night, this time making sure to end the night off with a session of Dual Cultivation to further our training even more. Honing my mana further and understanding it more was my primary goal, as I believed - and had some evidence of - my physical prowess had reached a good enough level that it could be considered a sturdy foundation for everything, so I wanted to go seek out Lady Yusa and her twin daughters to ask if they''d be willing to teach me more about my Ice Mana, or even just about my Water and Wind Mana''s. Chapter 515 514: Preparing For The Excursion (3) After another fun filled night, I gave Jahi a quick kiss before leaving her behind to savor the taste of the two others, smirking back at them as I listened to the Demoness awaken entirely. Exiting the room, I stopped by the kitchen first to grab something light to eat before making my way to the chapel, hoping to run into Lady D''Arcon again so that I could ask her where Lady Yusa might be found. My n was to begin praying everyone day at least once, both because I wanted to see if I would ever reach Reincantra but also because I found the action soothing and enjoyable, giving me a moment of true peace away from the constant churning of time. As a form of meditation, I found that prayer was incredibly beneficial in regards to ''venting'' my problems or woes, the act ofmunicating them to someone that I hoped was listening being rather soothing to my soul despite theck of response. So I made my way to the chapel and knelt in front of the altar for a few minutes, finding some sce before I began my day in earnest, which meant exploring the Pce for a bit to see if any of the Empress'' wives were out and about this early... I looked through the long halls before entering the library, where I decided to see if I could find the books on Reincantra somewhere as I waited, making my way to the Divine section and browsing the various tomes that lined the shelves. Each of the names on the spines were dedicated to the God or Goddess that the book was about, so I made my way towards the R section and looked for Reincantra, only to see one of the books be pulled out by a dainty pale hand. "I thought you might be here, dear... Here. This should answer your questions about your Goddess." Lady D''Arcon smiled gently at me as she handed the heavy, dark maroon bound book to me. "Oh... Thank you, Lady D''Arcon! I was wondering... where might I found Lady Yusa or her daughters?" She chuckled, ncing over her shoulder as she said "Monica, where are your sisters at? You were with themst..." Peeking around the corner, the nearly identical - yet younger and more serious - Monica stared at her Mother and I as she replied "I left them outside near the water gardens. Aunt Yusa should be with them soon as well, if I remember correctly... Though she might bete." "Hm? Why?" Coming out from behind the shelf, Monica raised her brow as she said "You should know full well why, Mother... Everyone in the Sanctum knows." Lady D''Arcon formed an ''O'' with her mouth before chuckling wryly, looking back at me as she said "Then... dear, I''d suggest making your way to the fountains and being content with just Misa and Lisa. Yusa won''t be joining you anytime soon... But, that should still be rather beneficial for you. The twins are Snow Women after all, so their grasp on Ice Magic is only second to ki and her daughter Draka. Do bear with their... entricities though. They can go from rather calm to animated in a snap." Her daughter nodded, turning those deep sapphire eyes towards me before sighing, pinching the bridge of her nose as she said "Katherine, right? I''ll take you over there... The spot they''re at is out of the way. Besides, I wouldn''t feelfortable leaving you with the two of them anyways... Sometimes their rxed, other times they''re... carnivorous."I think you should take a look at I raised a brow at that, which made the woman nod again as she added "Trust me when I say that... for two Snow Women, they can get pretty heated. Despite the fact that they are - again - women, they are rather carnivorous for anyone that catches their eyes, so..." Rubbing her jaw, Lady D''Arcon tilted her head as she innocently asked "I wonder why that is?", which made Monica stare at her nkly before gesturing for me to follow her. "Ah, a moment please... Katherine, dear, is Jahi out in the Training Fields? I''d like to see if I can guide her a little regarding Light Magic. Even if our methods aren''tpatible, I imagine there is something there for me to impart unto her. Oh, and I''ll take the book there too for you, to get it out of your way. When you return it, just give it to Oppo at the front; he cares for all these books immensely, you see..." cing the book back in her hand, I bowed to her before following behind Monica, who was walking swiftly through the halls, her azure dressplimenting her golden locks. "I still don''t entirely trust you, nor do I think that what you are doing is even remotely understandable, but I can''t just throw you to two wolves hidden in sheep''s clothing... We already had a problem with them before when they were just reaching maturity; got a little too curious and experimented on a maid. We had to pay a good chunk of change to settle things, and thankfully she was understanding of what had happened, but still..." She trailed off before ncing back at me, saying "Imagine Princi, but subtle and impossibly persistent. They''ve gotten better, but... They can still be trouble. And considering your magic and your looks, well..." Pursing her lips, Monica looked me over before turning back around, opening the door leading out into the gardens. "Be careful. I imagine that after they listen to Aunt Yusa for a bit, the two will wonder if they could steal a spot with Jahi, or perhaps even bribe her for you. Singleminded and utterly determined... so damn stubborn, but it''s because of that that we all love them." I frowned at her words, which made the sapphire eyed woman smirk back at me, her tone slightly yful as she said "You heard correctly... you''ll have two well endowed, persistent, beautiful women pining not only after you, but after Jahi as well. Good luck with that~! I hear lust is a deep rooted vice for the Asmodia''s..." Giggling, she winked as she added "Though, I imagine Leone''ll ward them off. They might be determined, but they respect things that have been imed... too a degree, anyways~! Oh, Misa! Lisa! There you are..." We stepped past some hedges and emerged into a small collection of ponds and fountains, which is where we found the twins lounging on a bench, staring at a chess board between them created from colored ice. Looking up, they both tilted their heads as they asked ""Monica? What do you want?"" "Oh, nothing for me, but..! This is Katherine, Leone''s lover? The one that has Ice Magic as well?" That made their heads snap towards me, and I nched slightly as their blue and green eyes narrowed, pinning me to the spot. Chapter 516 515: Preparing For The Excursion (4) Standing up, the twins approached me curiously, their eyes resembling those of a person staring at a peculiar, intriguing animal that had caught their attention. Misa and Lisa stopped a few steps away from me, looking me up and down before they began to speak, their voices smooth as silk and beautifully t. "You are Katherine, the Dogkin maid that-" "-has Ice Magic and our younger sister''s attention?" Misa - the one with blue streaked hair and dazzling blue eyes that pulsed with mana - stepped forwards even closer, looking me up and down once again, only to be warded away by Monica. "Space, Misa. She''s a imed woman, alright?" That made the first twin nod, her eyes losing that luster as they returned to pure white, though her sister tilted her head as she asked "But she''s just a maid, no? Surely Leone wouldn''t mind giving us a taste?" Lisa''s sharp, deep emerald eyes almost bore a hole through my head as she stared at me, her green streaked hairplimenting the simple green dress that hugged her bountiful curves. "Hah... Lisa, sometimes status doesn''t mean everything, okay? Yes, she isn''t of noble blood, but she has the fancy of the Asmodia Scion, the Begum, and our adorable sister. That means you keep your hands to yourself..." She nodded, her eyes reverting back to their pure white as well as she turned around, picking up a piece on the chess set and moving it. "So? We were curious, yes, but..?" Misa also moved back to the chess set, studying the board carefully before she asked "Is she here to learn from Mother as well? Sorry Katherine, that''s not happening today. She''s currently getting her wo-" "Ah! No, shush! Be a bit more reserved, will you?! Goddess above..! Surely you two were nning on training together anyways? Let her join you and learn from your style of Ice Magic, and maybe learn something from her? Either way, being forced to answer a question is always a good thing with magic; understanding your power is the first step to truly bing strong." The twins just shrugged, their eyes still glued onto the board as they continued their game, before stiffening as Monica sighed and asked "Katherine, do you find Wind Magic to be more effective, or Water Magic?" Even though they were still staring at the board, I could tell the two were focused intently on me, their eyes returning to their blue and green states as they waited for an answer. Monica made sure to turn her head so that they couldn''t see the giant grin splitting her gorgeous features, while her sapphire eyes were smug as she beamed at me. "Wind or Water..? It would depend on the situation. What am I fighting, am I alone, do I have something to empower or hinder my magic? Am I supporting someone or doing everything myself? They are both incredibly versatile schools of magic with incredible depth and potential, so that''s a rather broad question with no correct answer." The golden haired Monica rolled her eyes at me, but her grin remained as Misa said "You can heal with Water, therefore it''s better; there is no use for magic if you''re dead or severely injured." "Then don''t get injured. Wind can wipe away any enemy through sheer force or cut into anything with enough power. Why bother healing when I can just kill the thing in front of me? Or run if I believe I can''t fight it? While your getting eaten and healing yourself with a fang in your ass, I''ll be a mile awayughing at you!"I think you should take a look at The two stood up and red at one another, before turning towards me and asking ""Don''t you get it?!"" Taking a step back, I raised a brow at them as I raised my hands, replying in a calm voice as I said "But why bother healing or running if I can just freeze the thing attacking me?" Misa froze, her brow furrowed as she fell silent, while Lisa replied "Then what if it''s resistant to being frozen? What then?" With how animated they currently were, I felt like I was entered dangerous territory, but... "Then... I''ll use Wind to bolster my speed-" Lisa beamed at me, while Misa frowned. "And Water to bolster my healing ability before alternating between a highly pressurized de of water and spears of wind, or vice versa depending on the enemy. That''s ONLY if my Ice is entirely useless though, since it is so much stronger than Water or Wind alone." Misa grinned at the beginning, swapping expressions with Lisa before sighing as she heard thest part, clicking her tongue as she muttered "Another purist... So boring." Monica turned back to the twins, coughing into her fist as she asked "Didn''t that ''purist'' of a Mother turn you both into sculptures earlier? Surely you can both recognize the potency of abined elementpared to a normal one? And you both can definitely recognize that this entire argument is pointless considering both sides areden with proof of working perfectly during battles! All you''re doing is simply arguing emotions, which is a waste of time." They both clicked their tongues as they looked away, making Monica mutter to herself as she looked towards the sky. "Whatever. Come on, let''s get some training in at least. I... agree that Aunt Yusa will be held up-" "Mom is certainly strong enough-" "To hold Mother up for long periods of time as she gou-" "SHUT UP! Oh for... Training! We are TRAINING!" Monica red at the twins, who just stared at her in confusion as they whispered to one another, like they were trying to figure out why Monica got angry at them. Staring at the three from the side, I blinked a few times as I wondered if this entire family was entric- Scratch that, I wondered JUST how entric they all were. But, even with them being a bit odd, it would be stupid to try and deny that they were incredibly strong and talented people, so I sat down with them and began to train my mana, observing what I could from them before showing off my own techniques. Chapter 517 516: Preparing For The Excursion (5) Anput PoV The sound of hammers pounding onto anvils echoed around the forgeplex, each of the Lizardkin and Dwarves continuing to construct masterpieces to supply the Empress'' Guard, the Knights, the Saints, and any other high profile, worthy warrior. Currently, I was amongst their number observing a wine red scaled Lizardkin woman hammering out a sheet of metal, which she thenid over a carved torso and began to shape the metal into a cuirass. Beside her, a younger Lizardkin worked on weaving small segments of chainmail together, before moving on to file out and finish up therge set of metal scales that would be used for another piece of armor. I wanted to observe first before trying my hand at crafting armor, since this was something that was just as important as the weapons that I forged. The alloys that I was making would improve the defensive capabilities of Jahi immensely, while the rest of us would benefit from something protecting the vitals... As such, I needed to see how they made armor before doing a few tests myself, and the current n was something simple to just dip my toes into it. So I stood there for an hour, taking note of what they were doing and how they did it before eventually making my way back to the empty furnace and anvil that Ba''Ruk had assigned me, where all my tools and materials were kept over thesest few days. Retrieving some steel and Coal Serpent scales, I started stockpiling arge amount of the ck alloy and set it to the side, wanting to get this preparation done first. On top of the alloy, I retrieved some of the tanned hides from one of the storage barrels and brought it back to my station, finally having what I needed to start. With a few hours left till dusk, I began with something simple to start; bracers. Specifically bracers for me, since I didn''t have any measurements for the others - though I could make minor adjustments to alloy using Metal Magic, I wasn''t particrly fond of doing so since it weakened it a bit. Pulling out one of the smaller ingots of alloy, I got to work hammering it down to under an inch thick, before tracing out the shape that I needed and the length I needed. Cutting off the excess, I continued to shape the metal before finding myself with a passable piece of ck metal; there were some obvious blemishes on the surface, some minor warping I needed to hammer out, but overall not too bad considering it was my first piece of curved alloy. Next I sliced off some of the leather and began to work on creating the straps for the bracer, losing myself easily to the simple process as time began to trickle by, the sun slowly descending towards the horizon. Before it could though, I grinned as I looked down at the simplistic metal bracer I had made, slipping it onto my left arm and tightening the straps, doing some basic shakes and jabs to see if it moved too much or if it hurt to wear. Ideally I''d pad the underside of the metal with a thinyer of leather to both add more protection but also make it a morefortable thing to wear, but for the time being this was perfect. Drumming my fingers atop its surface, I leaned against the anvil and looked towards the furnace, my mind working on some ideas for each of the women I loved.I think you should take a look at Leone would want the least armor, but a chainmail shirt, some bracers or gauntlets as well as some boots would certainly do her some good, but if I were to get into leather working as well I would go ahead and make her a tunic and pants of tanned Firefang pelt. Kat would be a simr build... or well, almost identical to Leone, since she is a mixture of a mage and a melee fighter, so chainmail and bracers would certainly be needed. Jahi was the only one of the three that would require heavy armor, considering her adamant desire to be the one protecting us all from the front, as well as the logical choice of her being up front with how strong she was and how her Demon blood gave her a boost in that regard. te armor would do her good, and considering the Marquess already has a set of te for herself, I know that the Demoness won''t notice the weight - while her Mom might be stronger then her still, the ease and quickness with which she moved despite donning such heavy armor left little to the imagination in regards of her capabilities. If Jahi could only tap into a third of that strength, she''d still be incredibly quick with te armor, but for the moment I can''t do anything to make that armor, as I have no measurements to work with, and armor making is all about precision. As for myself, I had a few ns for my own armor, and it would be a healthy mix between the two separate sets I''d be making; a cuirass, a pauldron, gauntlets, a rerebrace to protect my upper arm, and boots. That was the n; a protected chest, one armpletely covered, the other half covered, and the rest protected by leather or chainmail. Light enough to keep me agile, unobstructive enough to keep my attacks precise, but thick enough to protect against attacks. Taking another nce at the setting sun, I shrugged as I began to work on creating a spool of alloyed wire, which I would use tomorrow to begin making the chainmail for us all. When the sun began to sink below the horizon, I stored all of my materials away and wiped the sweat from my brow, moving out towards the door and exiting the forges. As I was making my way into the Pce though, I nched as I collided with the muscr form of the Demon Wolf, the tall woman having walked close to the door to exit. "Watch it, whelp." I nodded, before stiffening as I tried to move past her, only to have her catch my wrist. "Actually..." Looking back at Lady Fenryas, I gave her a shaky smile as she grinned at me, her single silver eye gleaming with a myriad of emotions as she leaned down. "Why don''t you apany me for some training, Begum? I need the distraction you see... and the old bitch has been pestering me to teach you a bit more." Her sharp fangs glittered in the dimming light of dusk, and I could only resign myself to this fate as she led me outside again, not giving me a choice in the matter. Chapter 518 517: Preparing For The Excursion (6) Kat PoV Training with the twins was... incredibly torturous, but really beneficial. I guess most geniuses tend to be entric to the extreme, but my lord did they both have an incredible grasp on Water and Wind Magic, and their Ice Magic..? Misa and Lisa had some of the strongest mana I''d felt in general so far, with Misa''s Ice flowing fluidly as she froze her Water Mana after casting, creating a dyed style of magic that worked entirely in her strength, which was utilizing her Water Mana for everything. She could freeze water with just a tap, and her Ice Magic was verging on being snow with some of her attacks, clinging to the surface of the target before being frozen over, encasing the target in a jagged shell of ice. As for Lisa, her Ice was sharp and quick, each speck of Ice Mana colder than thest as she plummeted the temperatures around her in a gale, creating a small domain that protected her from outside threats whilst also freezing anything that came into contact with it. Her wind was always chilly, and the Snow Woman had a level of coldness to her attacks that almost replicated [Frost of Despoina] They were both so incredibly strong, and when working together, they were capable of creating a frozenndscape in a moment, overwhelming their opponent in mere moments as they shrouded the world in ice. If this was what they were capable of, what was Lady Yusa capable of? Just how potent would her magics bepared to theirs? Honestly, that thought went for each of the Empress'' wives, since I got to witness Monica clicking her tongue as she returned the mountain to its previous warm state, making the twins frown as mes danced around us, melting the ice and pushing back the chill in the air. We traded spells and techniques for everything during those hours, with Monica tossing in her two cents whenever she could and helping us understand some things quicker or deeper as we talked, before putting those spells to use and trying them out on the garden, which we made sure to leave undamaged as best we could. When the sun descended down to the horizon, I got up and bowed to the three sisters, telling them that I was required to return to Jahi by dusk before leaving, the three just nodding before the twins summoned another chessboard, one that had an opening for a third yer that enabled Monica to y with them. I made my way through the Pce and returned to Jahi''s side, finding her sitting against a wall and staring up at the darkening sky, her amethyst eyes narrowed and filled with an unknown contemtion, though they softened as she turned towards me. "First as always, Kat~ You''re such a good puppy..." Getting to her feet, the Demoness leaned down and ced a swift kiss on my lips before retrieving her great sword, gesturing to the rapier and daggers that resided in their sheaths beside her.I think you should take a look at I took my weapons and unsheathed the rapier, joining Jahi for a spar as we waited for the other two. Leone arrived a few minutester, her Estoc strapped to her back and her armor secured to her body, the Vampire expressing an interest in sparring for longer tonight, before telling Jahi and I that Anput might not be joining us. When we asked why, the Vampire just frowned before saying "Aunt Fenryas.", which made us nod in understanding considering we had all been receiving our tutoring from the women the Empress advised, and Anput''s was Lady Fenryas. Nirinia wasn''t the only one to join us tonight either, as Dante, Roman and Vienna made their way in as well, watching us from afar before joining us as we began to do groupbats, working together to defeat the other team before shuffling the rosters to keep everything fresh. Each of them provided a new style for us to train against; Dante had a more reactive fighting style, using his shield to defend from attacks and only swinging his mace whenever someone got within range. On the opposite side of the spectrum was Vienna, who forewent defense and instead pushed forwards further and further, her twin falchions creating a sphere of deadly metal around herself as she mmed against her opponents, trying to overwhelm them with speed and power in equal measures. As for Roman, the Wolfkin man just used his daggers and needles to support whoever was on his side from afar, before slipping in to any gaps that appeared and delivering lethal strikes that usually ended spars. What we learned from this night of sparring was immense, and we stayed up far past the setting of the sun and trained beneath the light of the moon and of Jahi''s lights. The addition of those three made the spars so much more intense, and we all left the Training Grounds with muscles screaming in refreshing agony, proof of our hard work and improvements. Grabbing something to eat first, we returned to our room and found Anput passed out on the bed, curled into a ball and covered in nkets and pillows, the Jackalkin nested in the center of her soft mattress. Her ears twitched when we entered, but she made no sign of being awake as we took a bath and ended the night with some Dual Cultivation, preparing to start the next day the same as we normally did, wanting to use these days as best we could in preparation for the excursion ahead. Of course, with the training and honing of some skills, my others were slowly growing dull, and the prime one was my Enchanting, which was a tad worrisome considering I wanted to have all of our gear enchanted whenever we departed, but in order to do that I needed to give up some of these other trainings... It was a bnce that I needed to maintain, and that would be a hard scale to keep bnced out going forwards, but one that I needed to get set straight. Time was precious, after all, so I wanted to do what I could whenever I could... Chapter 519 518: Preparing For The Excursion (7) Before the sun rose that next morning, I slipped out of bed and made my way through the silent, dim halls of the Pce, making my way to the chapel and praying to Reincantra, beginning a new morning routine that I hoped to keep going forwards. While I was there, I purchased the three items for the girls, staring down at them with aplicated expression. [Windburst Bracelet : Increased DEX by 10% and STR by 5%] For Anput, the bracelet was a beautiful silver band that was around a quarter inch wide, its tops and ends embezzled withrge red gems that were shimmering with mana; simple yet elegant, and it would boost her prowess to another tier. [Protector''s Coin : Increased CON by 10% and STR by 5%] For Jahi, a golden coin emzoned with the wreathed head of a serene woman surrounded by interwoven bolts of lightning dangled on a thin golden chain, making for a rather unassuming piece of jewelry. [Arcane Droplet : Increased WIS by 10% and INT by 5%] Finally, Leone was getting a teardrop of what looked like a white and silver opal, connected to a hoop of silver to secure it to the ear through piercing. All three items cost me 1,250 Shop Points each, for a total of 3,750, but I believed it to be worth it; after all, I was getting 9.2 points of AGI and 4.6 points of DEX from my anklet, which pushed me extremely close to 100 points in both stats; my AGI was 101, while my DEX was 96 with the anklets buff. Small numbers, but considering I needed to almost die to increase my stats by arge amount these days, that was far from aughable increase, and if that was what it was doing for an allrounder, imagine the boosts for someone who is getting a targeted buff towards their highest stats? An incredible increase, and one that I could continue to build upon as I earned more and more points. With the three pieces of enchanted jewelry in my hands, I exited the chapel and made my way back to the room, slipping inside and quietly entering our bedroom again, where I saw the three yawning as they lounged on their beds, idly staring at one another as they tried to muster the will to get up. Seeing me return, they all blinked a few times before sighing and sitting up, partially leaving the warmfort of their beds as they curiously observed me, their eyes falling towards my hands to inspect the jewelry that was filling my palms. It took a moment, but eventually Leone got out of bed and approached me, her brow furrowed as she reached forwards to lift up the bracelet, staring at it in confusion before inspecting the others. "How..? What? Kat, what ARE these?! Their mana is so..! So..!" Hearing the Vampire''s intense voice, the other two got up as well, approaching me before picking up and inspecting the bracelet together. They both frowned as they stared intently at the pieces of jewelry, trying hard to understand just what they were. I took a deep breath before switching the jewelry to go to its respective person, pursing my lips for a moment as I looked at each. "These... appeared before me in the chapel, when I was praying to Reincantra to look over us all and give us aid... I thought it''d just be something mental, reassuring, but... I guess she took it literally? They should just boost your capabilities quite well." Leone frowned, inspecting the runeden opal earring, nodding as I added "You won''t understand the runes, because I don''t either. It''s like that Summoning Magic you have, Leone. You think you get a grasp of it, only for it to slip away the second you lose focus on it."I think you should take a look at The Vampire pursed her lips before looking at me, her crimson eyes questioning as she asked "But you know what they do then, don''t you? You knew who they went too, after all..." "Yes... Your''s increases your spells control and power, Anput''s makes her more precise and stronger, while Jahi''s increases her body''s toughness and makes her stronger. I... know they work because of this." Lifting up my dress a bit, I revealed the green anklet to them, saying "When I was in Nevrokopi State to the East, I prayed for a way to get faster, to make my journey from there to here quicker, and this... was something I found. It makes me faster and gives me some more control over my body." The three women stared at the item for a few moments before looking back at me, their expressions serious as they contemted their own pieces of jewelry. Before they could speak, ''Caligo appeared in the middle of us all, the Arch Fiend humming softly as she tapped each one, a wry smile on her face. "It''s been awhile since I''ve seen something besides a person be Divine touched... You were just the perfect little puppy to wander into Kha, weren''t you~? I know my words mean... little to you all, but do trust me when I say most Divine things from Reincantra tend to be exactly what they look like; she''s a benevolent - yet sometimes quirky - Goddess that simply wants to watch a new story unfold. Divine tampering is dull to her, since the world used to be filled with such stories. She prefers to let fate run its course, but if her devoted disy... well, their devotion, she doesn''t mind aiding them. However, she doesn''t smite them either, instead just grasping the threads of fate and forcing the devoted to either repent..." Turning back to me, ''Caligo grinned as she ced her taloned finger on my throat, her pink eyes filled with dark mirth as she whispered "Or die." The pink skinned Arch Fiend giggled to herself before turning back towards Leone, tapping the opal earring as she said "If you want more proof, go ask dear old Mom about the times that she grew up in. If there is any mortal that''s seen it all before, it''d be her. Mm... I guess that wooden Elf as well, since she''s just as old. Ooh, or go talk to Tza''Yul~! Bit entric, but Tza''Yul knows more than most about the Divines..." She looked towards Jahi with a grin, caressing the Demoness'' palm before muttering "Trust a bit more, Asmodia. The Divines are fickle, yes, but some mean well. Go read about them, and you''ll understand. Though, this natural distrust you have is valuable..." Chuckling, she vanished just as quickly as she appeared, leaving us standing there quietly as we looked at one another. "I don''t think I''ll ever get used to her popping in and out at random..." We all nodded at Jahi''s words, before the Demoness sighed and rubbed her jaw, staring at the coin in her palm for a few moments before sping it around her neck, the chain just long enough to dangle an inch below her throat. She scrunched her brows for a moment as she felt the enchantment begin to take effect, making Anput curious as she slipped the bracelet on, blinking a few times at the surge of power. Leone pursed her lips before shaking her head, raising the opal teardrop towards her right ear and slipping it on, her crimson eyes narrowing as she looked towards me. "This... is quite an increase. My mana is flowing far more smoothly than before. This isn''t just an ''increase''! It''s like being buffed by multiple mages!" Her excitement was restrained by her natural caution, and Jahi nodded as she tapped her abdomen, her eyes narrowing as well. "I can feel it too. It''s... odd. Like I have adrenaline, but... I don''t." They all looked towards me, before Jahi sighed as she gestured towards the book that Lady D''Arcon had told me to read. "I guess we need to get some reading done tonight. I''m... curious to go try these out now." Chapter 520 519: Preparing For The Excursion (8) That next training session was rather... intense and grueling, as the three women pushed their limits as best they could without almost killing one another, trying the Shop Made Items as much as they could during those long hours. Anput marveled at how much more control she had over her des, as well as the fact that the power behind them was greater then before, pushing her abilities even further than before as she struck with precision that could shatter our defenses with ease, all while hitting just that much harder. Leone cast her spells quicker and took note of how they all had more potency behind their sts, the Vampire shooting fireballs into the air and observing their explosions with and without the earring dangling from her ear, her crimson eyes sparkling with both intrigue and the bright shes of exploding mes. Finally, Jahi took a more... barbaric approach to her changes, taking the new dagger and slitting her palm open, observing the deepness of the wound and how quickly it began to scab over with and without her amulet, whilst also having Anput summon two identical stone bs for her to punch, observing the differences in power behind her strikes. All three of them took to their changes quickly, limating to the increase in their abilities before returning to our spars, continuing our routine for that day. With a week plus left to us to prepare for whatever the Marquess had in store for us, we put our heads down and did what we needed to get ready, all of us assuming the worst was toe beneath the Marquess'' orders. After all, she was the same woman who let us fight against a monster far stronger than us back in Fovos Forest, all while she watched from the tree line as we almost got killed. She got her just desserts from that encounter, but it was that mixture of callousness and harshness that we hade to expect from her in regards to training, so none of us were willing to be too rxed during these weeks. Anput spent as much time in the forge as she could, and we eventually got to learn why; two days after the gifting of their Divine touched items, the Jackalkin returned with a set of four chainmail shirts, each link made from a ck metal alloy that was slightly warm to the touch. They were well made and well woven, the ck circles interlocked in such a way that even a dagger would struggle punching through them, and the armor wasn''t too restrictive as we draped it over our chests. Of course, that made the Jackalkin smile wryly at us all, scratching the back of her head as she watched all three of us allow it to flow over our breasts, while the Jackalkin just watched it drop over her own chest... Leone and I even had to smile wryly as we handed the chainmail back to the Jackalkin, who needed to add another few inches to cover out stomachspletely. Letting out a low sigh, Anput just shrugged as she took them away, before grabbing one of the many potions that Leone had been brewing as she grabbed the Vampire, bullying the Princess for that night for having such a bountiful bosom. Speaking of, the Princess had been just as hard at work as Anput had been, the woman brewing vats of potions for us to use as well as to sell at the markets for rarer materials or more diverse ingredients, so that she could create a better set of potions for us to utilize on our journey. We had arge basket filled with bundles of potions of all colors, each meant for a different use that was tailored for each of us, the Vampire going above and beyond as she selected potions meant to hasten your movements, increase reaction speeds, harden the skin, increase blood flow, empower the Core, and so much more...I think you should take a look at Her skills had grown over these days, and as she eased herself back into the intricacies of Alchemy, the Vampire showed us her genius time and time again as she returned with more and more potent potions, creating arge stockpile for us to utilize whenever. This increased stockpile allowed us to train for longer and harder each night, supplementing rest and removing the need for the usual five hours of sleep that we needed, recing it with three. Obviously, artificial rest and supplements weren''t as good as the real thing, but it would need to be abused for a long period of time for it to begin damaging our bodies, and we were setting rest days to counteract that as best we could. Jahi continued to learn under Lady D''Arcon, who had shown her a new path of Light Magic that she wanted to begin treading, one filled with more supportive and healing magics then offensive. Of course, the other bearer of Light Magic had her fair share of attack spells that were far more destructive then her innocent, gentle appearance would suggest, but they were all fueled by her devotion to one of her Goddess'' - Luxiana, Goddess of Brilliant Light and Reflections. She ced her belief in Luxiana and cast spells in her name, intertwining her mana with faith in her Goddess and imbuing it with power that couldn''t be replicated easily. Most of her repertoire of spells were based on her faith and beliefs, but some of her spells could be replicated with a deep enough understanding on runes and sequences, which the Demoness was sufficient enough in to learn. Broadening her own repertoire of spells was important for us all, as the power in her mana was above ours most of the time, and having another person who could heal and buff would be invaluable going forwards, giving Leone and I less of a strain to only cast support magic so that we could join the fray. As for me, I continued to visit the chapel and soothe my mind through prayer, before joining the twins out in the gardens, sometimes with Lady Yusa, where we all studied something together to push our understandings further. The Snow Woman ced an emphasis on understanding the basics of our Ice, and giving us multiple paths to tread to reach her level; either study one of itsponent parts to the extreme, creating a variation of Ice Magic that was heavily weighted towards one element, or deepen our understanding of what Ice Magic was and how it worked on its own, treating the two elements as just their sum part - Ice - instead of two separateponents. All of her paths had pros and cons, and she herself showed us that her Ice only approach was not always the greatest in certain situations, since ack of certain things could lead to it being fragile or too unstable to be considered a reliable power, forcing her to switch to her weaker elements that she wasn''t too confident with. However, she also showed us that the paths the twins were treading - mastering a single of the two elements and building up that as the base - had its own set of problems, specifically how quickly the Ice could be shattered if more of that element was added, the mana imbnce causing a bacsh as the Ice was destroyed and sent back towards the twins. There were problems with all of them, but they were all valid paths that one could take, and I had a choice to make going forwards, but a choice that I wanted to ponder over before I made it, to make sure I was going to make the right decision for myself in the future. With the days drawing closer to the end of our preparation days though, we went down to the Caverns during thosest days, getting some experience on the field and putting our new gear to a true test. Chapter 521 520: Preparing For The Excursion (9) Thest week was dedicated to delving into the Zhu''Rong Caverns Dungeon, specifically reaching the Gate of Hades and even going past it. With that time leading up to this week, Anput had finished our chainmail entirely, as well as a set of bracers for Leone and I as well as a set of gauntlets for Jahi and herself, whilst also making a set of boiled Firefang leather tunics for Leone and I, having gotten our measurements earlier. Jahi had a metal cuirass that matched Anput''s, the Jackalkin having put herself into overdrive thesest few days as she prepared us for the excursion, taking great pride in having outfitted us with gear better than what we had before. It was far from perfect, but for her first set of armor, this was far above what we were expecting, and I did feel a bit morefortable having some true armor that almost matched the areas that we were delving into; steel could get shredded easily by the Spartoi and Drakes near the Gate of Hades, while this alloy might at least withstand a blow or two before being destroyed. That was enough for me, and considering the Gate of Hades contained stronger materials for us to use, well... that meant that with her newfound understanding on how to make armor, Anput could increase our quality of gear once again. And so, we delved into Zhu''Rong Caverns and began to put our new skills to the test,pleting some Requests as a party and earning some coin for our troubles as we started first at the magmake, before creeping ever closer to the Gate of Hades. Each delve into the Dungeon yielded us dozens of Gold, arge quantity of materials, and so much experience for me, making thest few days so worth it from a reward standpoint, but it wasn''t as helpful as all the theory crafting and practice that we put in the weeks before. Sure, we could easily pierce a Firefang''s skull and kill it with a single thrust, but we wouldn''t have been able to do that without the new weapons Anput provided, the items I gifted us, and the harsh tempering that Lady Fenryas put us through. My old daggers, enchanted or not, weren''t capable of puncturing that easily through Firefang bone, unless I used magic to artificially enhance the sharpness of my des and empower my body. However, the rapier that Anput forged for me was capable of piercing the thick bone te that was the Firefang''s skull with ease, while Leone''s Estoc caused even more damage with its longer de. Besides that, the various low level monsters were far more wary of us now that we wielded gear made from monster alloy, the armor radiating a natural repellent to monsters of a certain strength and freeing our time as we simply walked through the Ash Ghoul Hordes instead of cutting them down. As for the stronger monsters, they took us more serious because of that, making some of the fights a bit harder as we were shown a different style from those monsters now that they were aiming to kill right away instead of toying with their prey. Which was for the better as we got to utilize more of our own serious techniques to counter the monsters, resulting in a better understanding of our more advanced techniques and magics, giving us the opportunity to look them over and polish them further back home. Because of the constant delves into the Dungeon, experience had shot straight uppared to before, with each delveting me somewhere near 175,000 to 225,000 experience each time, which... Brought me up another level, giving me a free stat point to use as well as some more shop points, so my new totals looked like this: [Stats:I think you should take a look at STR : 85 -> 89 CON : 95 -> 97 AGI : 92 -> 95 DEX : 92 -> 95 CHA : 75 -> 76 WIS : 74 -> 82 INT : 74 -> 80] Of course, that wasn''t all we did during those remaining days; we made sure to take breaks and rest the mind, and the form of which that took was rather obvious. Spending time with Lakshmi and Alessandra, who were both bing more and more active and smarter by the day; they yed together whenever Alessandra wanted, napped the rest of the time, or just remained sitting on one of their parentsps, curiously watching whatever they were doing. For Lakshmi, this seemed to be the greatest thing ever as she alternated between rolling a ball between her and her sister, fighting her sister with dolls, reading with the Marquess, sleeping on the Marquess''p, or sleeping in Mother''sp. She was enjoying everything immensely, and even more so whenever she did those things with Jahi, forcing the Demoness to limate to handling a child quickly since her younger sister was so determined to be around her. As for Alessandra, she much preferred to study alongside the Countess or nap, but when she deemed Lakshmi far too annoying or energetic, she yed with her sister before tactfully retreating when someone else joined in, making us all chuckle at how she acted. These moments were peaceful and precious to us all, and we did our best to cherish them whenever we could, especially with the Marquess trying to hide more and more evil smirks as she plotted off to the side, much to Mother and the Countess'' chagrin as they wondered if she was as much of a child as the two little ones. Without much to go off of, we were stuck preparing in a broad manner on that final day, remaining inside as we got our gear together and tried to n for everything, allocating potions and tasks to each other in preparation for what was toe. There was only so much prep work to be done though, so we steeled our nerves and decided that instead of thinking about it, we would toss it aside and enjoy each other instead, relying on ol'' faithful to get us through thesest hours. Chapter 522 521: Pack Your Bags, Were Heading Out All in all, our time out in the Dungeon and time spent training back at the Pce was immensely helpful for getting us stronger, and it had only been a month since I had gotten back to the Empire. Already I was seeing a gigantic increase in stats, from mid 70''s to 90''s in just a months time; before, a handful of points in a single stat would take me multiple weeks to get, and that wasn''t excluding any level ups I might have gotten. Before the war, we simply never pushed ourselves as hard as we were now, and it was understandable; the worst we had to deal with was Jillian''s pettiness that we thought wouldn''t go past minuscule political attacks and the asional hit squad; in other words, typical Noble attitude regarding not getting what they wanted and seeing someone else thriving that they deemed beneath them. Now, however, we were surrounded by threats that were increasingly threatening with each new tidbit of information that we uncovered; an entire Noble Family gone and sheltered off to the West, the return of a race of beings that are above Mortals and capable of massacring hundreds in just an hour, as well as a monster or creature that has the ability to open Gates from here to the Labyrinthian. Things weren''t looking to stable right now, so we needed to focus on getting stronger and being capable of - at the very least - protecting ourselves and our family from this ever changing, increasingly dangerous world. This meant that those stronger than us were pushing us to be better, to slowly scale the mountain that they all resided on and reach one of the many impressive peaks below them, where we could find some degree of shelter from the cruelty of the world. First it had been the Empress and her wives, and now it was the Marquess; the sapphire skinned Demoness stood waiting in the living room, her arms crossed over her armored torso as she watched us say our goodbyes to the Countess, Mother, and the two little ones. Her ruby eyes were hard as she steeled her emotions, donning the mask of a seasoned warrior as she focused entirely on what was toe, putting everything else on the back burner for the time being. Kissing Mother''s cheek, I smiled at her and whispered "I''ll be back, Mother, I promise. I love you." Stroking my cheek, she smiled at me before turning away, her amber eyes wet as she muttered "I... love you too, Katherine... Be safe." She focused on Lakshmi in her arms, who was staring at her Mom and sister with confusion, wondering why she wasn''t able to be in their arms. As for Alessandra, she was resting quietly in the Countess'' arms, watching everything happen in silence as we hoisted our bags onto our backs and stepped away, nodding to the awaiting Demoness. "Alright. We''ll be back... sometime before the end of this month. Could be a few days, could be a few weeks. Take care of everything, Ria." The Elf nodded, her sapphire eyes moving over us all before returning to her wife, who nodded back before turning, leading us out of the room without another word.I think you should take a look at Waving to the two women and the two children, we followed behind the Marquess and walked through the halls quietly, with Nirinia joining us part way through, her own gear packed up. When we reached the entrance of the Pce, the Marquess began to speak, gesturing to the awaiting carriage that was being pulled by four Draconic looking horses, while a Banshee acted as the coachman. "Never speak of this ce to anyone outside of our family, ever. Otherwise, I''ll kill you, them, and anyone close to them." The Marquess'' red eyes were deadly serious, making each of us shiver before we nodded, her voice still low and sharp as her de. "Only myself, Ria, and the Empress know of this ce, and it''s to be passed down to you, Jahi, before it''s passed down to whomever you elect as your heir. That means none of your other children can know of it either, unless they are tied to the heir in some way. This is something we keep close to ourselves... and Nirinia, you''re onlying because I consider you family to a degree. Speak, and I''ll make the Radhi Tribe nothing but a footnote in history. Clear?" The Djinn nodded, her jade eyes meeting the Marquess'' rubies before she had to look away, the pressure far too great to maintaining contact. "Good. Get in. I''ll exin on the way." We exchanged nces before throwing our packs into the chests, climbing in after the Marquess and looking at her as the carriage lurched forwards. "As much as I say I hate the Asmodeucian''s, I have to admit that they were gifted in many ways, and one of the things that no one knows they were gifted in was Ancient Magics. No, I''m not teaching you any of it, since I myself know nothing about it. However, something that the people from millennia ago were good at was, apparently, opening and maintaining Gates. Things just... fell into line for the Asmodeucian''s during the height of their power, and they found something incredible. A Gate that led not into the Labyrinthian, but somewhere else. They''ve done sufficient enough research on the Gate over those years, and it''s the same as the ones for the Labyrinthian, but..." Waving her handzily, the Marquess looked out the window at the passing city and sighed, before turning back and smirking at us. "It connects to somewhere else, like I said. With some of the Ancient Magics that they found, they permanently opened that Gate and kept it linked to where it went. Of course, that''s a surprise for now, but what you need to know is that they found a wonderful little ce where we could - in theory - train an elite group of warriors far quicker than anywhere else. The process is simple, and honestly, if Lady Fenryas knew about it, I doubt she''d ever leave." The Demoness continued to drag us along, her smirk maintaining its presence on her face as she rested her chin on her palm. "When we get there, you''ll see it in its full glory. Honestly, the fact that it exists is surprising enough, and I find myself enjoying my time there immensely~! This ce is like a whetstone for warriors, and I do hope that you five will sharpen those edges further during your time there..." Chapter 523 522: Secret After a few more minutes of speaking in circles, the Marquess just fell silent and refused to answer any more questions we had, instead looking out the window and watching as thendscape drifted by an increasingly fast pace, the four horses now speeding up since we were out of the confines of the city. Seeing that she refused to borate anymore on thatrge information drop about being in possession of an active Gate, we all reluctantly fell silent as well, exchanging nces before we tried to rest, knowing that this might be thest peaceful sleep that we had in a long, long time. So, we closed our eyes and drifted off, hoping that thefortable embrace of sleep wouldn''t be scarce in our imminent future as we traveled to the North East section of the Empire, past the Blizzard Dukedom and far above March Asmodia, traversing into unimed, wildnd covered in a thin sheet of snow and frost. Nothing grew this far north, with the temperature being far too cold to allow much in the way of vegetation, while the monsters that might be able to live here chose not to due to theck of other animals to eat. In other words, this portion of the Empire was entirely barren of life, just left to be upied by therge expanse of snow and stones thatprised this monotonousndscape. It was like entering an entirely new worldpared to where we had been, the spotless blue sky above us allowing the sun to shine harshly down on thepacted white snow, creating a brightnd of such deep chill. Even inside the carriage we felt the nip of well below freezing temperatures creeping in through any slight cracks in the windows or doors, making each of us move closer to one another and rub at our arms to keep warm. The ss had begun to frost over, and when we looked out towards the Draconic Horses, they too moved together in a pack, making us wonder if they''d live when we reached where ever we were going. On a side note, we never needed to worry about being followed since thendscape was so empty and t, and we would have caught glimpse of someone already should they have tried to stalk us. The Marquess continued her self imposed silence as we traveled closer and closer to the dark blue ocean thatpped at the shoreline, the waves crashing against the sand and snow as the water continued to move, not allowing the growth of ice overtop its surface. When we reached a few hundred feet away from the shoreline, the carriage came to a stop and the Marquess stood up, opening the door and stepping outside, saying "Stay inside for the moment." Closing the door behind her, she took a few steps into the snowy ins before raising her hand, shing her palm open and letting her blood drip onto the snow, the liquid crystalizing almost instantly and creating small droplets of brilliant rubies on the snow''s surface. Healing her palm, she reached down and plucked each of the droplets, staring at them for a moment before tossing them into the air with a word that none of us could hear. The six droplets hovered in the air above her head, gravity not applying to them anymore as they floated around the area, before they shot off into the distance, leaving us behind. Opening the door and entering, the Marquess just tapped the window and had the Banshee get us going again, following behind the blood. It led us to a stretch of the shoreline a distance away, the six droplets floating in a circle before dropping to the earth,nding on stones that had been ced on the snow covered beach. When the blood hit the stones, a dark red Ritual Circle appeared between them, and the beach began to rumble as a fissure appeared, cracking through the sand and leading down towards the ocean, which was being held back by the magic of this spell. The fissure widened to a point that allowed the carriage through, and the Draconic Horses were coaxed into moving forwards, into the now split ocean and beneath the waves, which crashed above us against a barrier of mana. We stared at all of this in awe, before our eyes focused on therge set of stone gates that opened up, revealing a temple beneath the water.I think you should take a look at It was located a hundred feet off the shore, and as soon as the carriage crossed the threshold of the gates, the water behind us crashed back to the ocean floor, held back by the magical stone gates. The carriage came to a stop, and the Marquess once more opened the door, weing the warm air into the carriage and surprising us all. "Come on, out." Shooing us out of the carriage, she made us step into therge hall of this underwater temple, which was illuminated by a purplish light. The temple was shaped as a cube, each side matching the others perfectly at roughly fifty feet, and in the center of it all was arge tform about a dozen feet into the air. This temple was barren on the inside, no furniture or items covering the stone brick floor, nor anything hanging on the walls. Engravings lined the walls though, with runes and pictures working together to create a beautiful tapestry of Demons fighting against monsters, the detail remaining clear despite the obvious age of the stone. The air was warm and soothing around us, and it got warmer and warmer the closer we got to the tform, where we saw something familiar. "That''s the Gate, and that''s another of the Asmodeucian Secrets that''s been kept for centuries, if not millennia. It''s... a special thing, that Gate, and like my father did for me, I''ll do for you. This... is one of the things that will fall to your hands when you take over for me when I die. A part of the legacy for the Asmodeucian''s, a part of what makes the Asmodia''s still so strong." Looking towards us, the Marquess gave the Banshee a nod and had it begin to take care of the Draconic Horses, letting them roam free in the space and give them some of the feed she brought with us. "I have been alive for a long time - even if it doesn''t feel that long to me - and I can say this about my time in this world. Without the help of what lies past that gate, without the aid of Ka''Hondi, without the standing legacy of this family, I doubt I''d be as strong as I am now... at least as quickly as I reached it. The Empress is right; if I had been born in a time of war, I''d have progressed so much farther than I already have. There is no shifting of the Sultanate, no formation of the Western Kingdoms back when they were under Lycanthrope rule. The Dragons are quiet, the world in a lull. Conflict still exists, but past a certain level, conflict is meaningless. You need something more, something stronger to hone your edge." Stepping forwards, she looked up at the purple Gate and grinned, her dark blue skin reflecting the glow as she stared at the swirling mass of mana and magics, making her words even heavier than normal. "That''s what this is. A whetstone of the highest caliber for someone looking to get stronger. But, like all whetstones, it smoothens out and requires recing after use. It can''t be used constantly, or else it grows brittle and breaks. This Gate is our whetstone, and it currently is waiting to be given thest few scrapes of a de before it requires some time to replenish its grit and grain. You five shall be that de. I prepared this for you when you were first born, Jahi, so that I could show you this in simplicity. This relic of ours..." Looking over her shoulder, the Marquess aimed that grin at us as she made her way up, saying "Follow me to the greatest thing a warrior could ever ask for, oh daughter mine. Walk the same steps that each of the Asmodia''s before you have walked, and show me the de that I have forged you to be. Step into the fires that have tempered our blood for generations, and emerge as something new." With that, the Marquess vanished into the Gate, leaving us all alone as we stared at one another in confusion, barely able to grasp the myriad of surprises that have popped up one after another. However, Jahi took a deep breath and stepped forwards, not thinking about it and instead cing her faith in her Mom and in herself, following behind her and entering the Gate next. We all nodded and followed behind her, not wanting to let her face whatever was behind that Gate alone. And so, we scaled the tform and stepped through the purple Gate, instantly being embraced by a warmth and shrouded with mana as we were transported away. Chapter 524 523: Is This... A Trope? As soon as I stepped through the purple Gate, I instantly felt the familiar - and honestly disconcerting and dreadful - experience of being transported from one ce to another magically. I mean, can you me me? I''ve experienced it a few times in this life already, and only once was it pleasant... kind of. This was a bit different, but it felt roughly the same; warm energy wrapped around my body, the unfamiliar magic coating my entire body and all of my gear, almost like it was a cocoon around me, and then I felt a bit of... turbulence. I was lurched forwards and upwards at the same time, leaving my stomach to enjoy the fun elerations on a dyed timer as the acids swished around, making my head go light from the nauseating feeling. My vision was a warp of violets, purples, pinks and some sshes of wine red, while my hearing was limited to the sounds of my blood rushing through my body, trying to figure out what the hell was going on to my body. Thissted for a few seconds, but they were the type of seconds that were even worse then the seconds from a nk; they dragged on for what felt like minutes each, leaving us in this weird limbo of swirled purple, warmth, and nausea. However, time still moves, and everythinges to an end... even if it takes what feels like an eternity. The purple Gate spat us out somewhere just as warm as it, and I have to say... I was damn surprised by what I saw when I emerged from the gate. Situated before me was a verdant, tropical forest brimming with life, while a beach of golden sand ringed the forests edge, sloping down into crystal blue waters thatpped soothingly and calmly at the sand. We had been guided onto a beautiful tropical ind, and directly in the center of it stood arge mountain of grey and green rock, towering above therge trees and scratching against the clouds- No, never mind, that was smoke; clouds of smoke were draped above the ind, marring the serene beauty a bit as they only grew over time, the soft breeze doing little to diffuse the ash and smoke into the wider sky scape. My nose twitched involuntarily as I made that observation, and past the scent of salt, moss, and flora, I could detect a hint of acrid smokecing the smell of the air, just barely noticeable. This ind seemed to be hiding something, and it did that job well. Looking around, I saw nothing but crystal clear ocean in sight, meaning that this ind was far off from othernd masses; at least on this side, since we couldn''t see past the mountain. We all stood on the beach, the waterpping at our boots, and we stared at the mountain before turning towards the Marquess, who was looking up at the sun with a rxed smile. "I missed this..." Her mutter made us all frown, and we looked around once more to try and determine if this was an illusion or if something had took control of the Demoness in front of us, but... "Come on, let''s talk about what I brought you all here for." She strode forwards before plopping onto the sand, turning to stare out over the gorgeous ocean as she leaned back, basking in the sun. Sitting around her, we waited for the Marquess to finallye back to us as she continued to enjoy herself. "Honestly, I''d been wondering if I should take you all here or just Jahi, but with the recent happenings and the return of the things like her-" The Marquess nced behind me, and I sighed as I felt ''Caligo appear beside me, her head resting on my shoulder as she smirked at the Marquess, ignoring the Demoness'' harsh re. "I decided to say ''fuck it'' and bring you all. Tradition dictates that it''d be just Jahi and I, but no one''s around to tell me what to do with what''s mine, so who cares. This is Sisyphyea Ind, and it''s where - ording to tradition - the heir of the Asmodeucian n was meant toe to train and grow to a degree that the outside world would consider monstrous. Now, since you''re nowhere near the level required to actually take over the Asmodia name from me, I went ahead and toned this ''trial'' of yours down to something more manageable." She smirked at her daughter, who just raised a brow back at her before listening as her Mom continued speaking, exining more of this ind to us. "This ce - Sisyphyea Ind - is a... sort of Dungeon, I guess you could say. It''s a ce where monsters are born, matured, and pitted against one another in a constant battle for the thing that grows in the center of the mountain. From what I''ve seen, there are three ''factions'' inside the ind; the Guards, the Undead, and the Monsters.I think you should take a look at Firstly, the Monsters; it''s a collection of normal forest monsters dialed up a few notches. You have serpents, avians, goblins, treants, spriggans, and more waiting to find an opportunity to kill the others and im that thing in the mountain. The Undead, on the other hand, are just a spattering of skeletons of all kinds wanting to use numbers and poisons to destroy the ind and im that thing as well; pain in the asses, since they can''t be ''killed'' here and simply reknit themselves together in a few minutes. Lastly, inside the mountain there is a group of golems made from stone and metal - surprise~ - guarding that thing from the other two factions, and now us as well. The thing inside the mountain is a nifty little item that I''ve never seen in a ce besides a body." Peering over her shoulder, she stared at the mountain before looking back at us, her eyes sparkling as she said "It''s a heart. The mountain''s heart, and what I want you to do is go inside the mountain, and rip out it''s heart. Doing so causes the ind to die, before the Fire Mana pooling beneath the mountain turns the ind into a wondrous ce of me and brimstone, resetting it in a few years time." Leone leaned forwards and asked "Resetting it? How is that possible? This... sounds inconceivable." Chuckling, the Marquess nodded as she drummed her fingers in the sand, agreeing with the Vampire. "I know. Still don''t get it, but if I had to guess, the ind is alive. That heart causes the wellspring of Fire Mana it was gathering to overflow, and then it slowly gets everything back together, allowing the monsters to begin appearing again as the heart grows back. It''s a vicious cycle, and it''s one that we can use to our advantage. See, these aren''t just monsters or undead; they''re monsters and undead that fight, fight, fight, and fight. They don''t die easily, and they learn. If you were here from start to finish, they WILL begin to n ording to your tactics. The undead set traps. The monsters assemble a strong rearguard. If you use brute force, they grow stronger hides and create thicker bone tes. Speed? They match it. Power? They''ll be more offensive. Magic? They''ll NEGATE it. This ind is a home of war..." "It''s more than that; it''s a Ma for bloodshed. Everything about this ce demands blood, demands death. It''s... abhorrent." Cali sneered beside me as she said that, before almost snarling at the Marquess as she grinned at the Arch Fiend, replying "That''s a perfect description~! A Ma for warriors... Filled with herculean tasks that demand improvement lest you get squashed like a bug! Perfect for those with a thirst to get stronger..." "Barbaric. Why fall back on brute force all the time when words and sex can get more done in a far more productive manner?" Scoffing, the Marquess rolled her eyes as she turned towards Jahi, ignoring the Arch Fiend as she said "This is a watered down version of what this ce is meant to be. I did this exact same thing when I was younger as well, and it''s an addicting ce. Monsters and Undead that grow alongside you, learn to fight YOU on a more equal level... all of them only ever returning whenever the sun rises on a new day! You can fight and fight forever here..." "And get swallowed up by the enemies that scale to your strength? That learn from you? Are you insane?! How can you look at this ce and find joy in its existence?!" Leone and I nodded slightly at the Arch Fiend''s cautious words, understanding and partially agreeing with her point; this ce was a deathtrap after a few days, especially if it began to learn how exactly it was meant to kill you as quickly and efficiently as possible. Anput and Jahi, however, were staring at the tree line with a thoughtful, slightly hungry expression, their minds likely wondering just how close to the truth the Marquess was telling us regarding this ce; could they really fight an opponent created to counter them? Would they be able to ovee that disadvantage and maintain a superiority over something that powerful? "Then don''t get swallowed. Learn your limits, and break them slowly. Push yourself to the edge and learn to tiptoe along it, teetering between life and death on a thread. How else are you meant to grow past the level of a great warrior, and into the level of someone with a mere handful of equals?" Grinning maniacally, the Marquess leaned forwards and growled "How else could I have reached the level that I am at now, where I am capable of killing an Arch Fiend with a coins flip of a chance walking away with minor injuries? Where I am just a few steps away from making my way into a realm no one could hope to enter except for a dozen? Patience? Practice? No, because that leads to stagnation; an assurance that what you are doing is correct and the best you can do. It''s pathetic." Cali narrowed her eyes at the Marquess'' threat, before sneering as she looked away, not wanting to continue that conversation. "This is an opportunity that onlyes around once a decade or so, oh daughter mine. Take it, and use it. The monsters have been thinned enough to where they should be manageable. They only ever learn from being overwhelmed; otherwise, they stagnate as well. Currently, they''re at the same tier as the monsters past the Gate of Hades in Zhu''Rong. Oh, and this ind?" Gesturing around us, the Marquess smirked as she snapped her fingers, a small pulse of her mana gliding over the golden sand. "This is the only spot that monsters won''t tread. They stay away from the Gate, meaning that when night falls, and they grow more dangerous? Unless you return here, you''re not safe. So don''t get lost..." At her words, I had to purse my lips as I looked back towards the mountain, my own mind filled with questions as I stared at the ind that would be arge part of my life for the imminent future, and there was one thought in mind... Wasn''t this like some kind of ''Hidden Realm'' that a protagonist would find and use to get stronger in a Cultivation novel? A world separate from the rest, hidden away - hence the name - andden with treasures and opportunities to get far stronger than normal in a short period of time? Surely not..? Chapter 525 524: Reconnaissance My Protective Fang swished through the thick undergrowth, slicing through the various ferns and vines that dangled in our way as Anput and I took point, relying on our noses to sniff out where thergest concentration of enemies were so that we could investigate the happenings of this ind ''paradise''. The Marquess stayed back at the Gate, lounging around and talking quietly with Nirinia, who was to act as our ''reserve'' for when we deemed it necessary to have someone of her caliber aid us with this trial of ours. ''Caligo also stayed back after the Marquess threatened her, making the Arch Fiend pout as she sent us off with a wave, her pink eyes trailing behind us as we left the protection of the beach behind. As callous as the Marquess might seem sometimes, we all knew that she wouldn''t let any of us die during this trial... at least if she was able to prevent it; we could still lose our life if we made a mistake or got too cocky, but if she was capable of aiding us in a perilous situation, she would... But we couldn''t rely on it to always save us, hence our caution as we stalked through the luscious jungle, making our way towards the source of the ash and smoke, which waster joined by the sounds of battle as we got ever closer. With no real time limit given to us - besides that the Marquess might want to leave in a week - Jahi wanted to scout out the thickest of the fighting and get a good look at the things toe before retreating back to somewhere less intense, hunting around for any stragglers and testing ourselves against them to see where we stand. And with the Marquess having said that the enemies here will be post Gate of Hades level at the get go, well, I was assuming that this would be a strenuous battle no matter what; it won''t be that Magma Wyrm level of strength, since that was a ''unique'' monster for the area, but it definitely will be a bit more powerful than those Spartoi that guarded the Gate of Hades. With the addition of the enemies being subcategorized into Monsters and Undead, that meant that our opponents would be raw physical prowess and technique oriented respectively, giving two separate sources of experience for us to draw from. That was what was on my mind as we cut our way through the forest, until we eventually reached the edge of a gigantic clearing at the base of the mountain, where hundreds of monsters and hundreds of undead waged war against one another, all while a protective ring of golems made fromrge chunks of grey rock stood guard nearby the cave entrance carved into the base of the mountain. Like the Marquess had said, we could tell that these monsters were typical forest monsters, just... on some juice. The Goblins were now four feet tall with tiny bone nubs poking out of their skull, their dark emerald green skin pulled tight over their wiry muscle, giving them power to clobber their undead enemies with their clubs. Giant brown and green Serpents slithered around the clearing, their barbed scales scratching against the bones of the undead while their maws spewed gusts of wind, which demolished the undead. There were birds that screeched in the air, their multicolored feathers shimmering with green mana as they unleashed a barrage of wind bullets down on the battlefield with each p of theirrge wings. Feline monsters leapt through the crowds with grace as they mmed their weight or shed with their ws, while human sized ants barreled forwards, their chitinous carapace protecting them from harm as they charged.I think you should take a look at For the undead, there were Skeletons that looked humanoid wielding crude weaponry made from stone, and sometimes metal. Some of the Skeletons donned wooden bs of armor as well as shields, acting as warriors for the others to rally around as they created bastions in the midst of the chaos, stabbing out with their weapons and cutting down the monsters. Others remained away, shooting arrows from crude bows and hurling lobs of stone into the mix, whilst a smaller number stood atop pirs and shot at the bird monsters with Earth Magic, slicing through them and causing their corpses to plummet to the ground. There were a few Skeletons that resembled Beastkin of some kind, like a giant bone structure withrge horns and thick chest and arm bones, swinging around a giant log that smacked against monsters and sttered them, while another dashed around with elegance as it utilized a sharpened, jagged de of rock to slice through the monsters, killing them before they knew what hit them. Of course, there were Spartoi as well, the horned skeletal monsters that were double the size of humans and wielded weapons made from metal, their four arms cutting through everything around them as they battled the ants and Goblins. Constructs made from bone were also present, but they were few in number; arge lion with a fiery mane roared before spewing mes across the battlefield, while a giant spider cked around the clearing, it''s long, sharp limbs stabbing and impaling Goblins before it hardened its carapace with Earth Mana, protecting it from the Serpents that targeted it, as well as two other wolf constructs, which leapt around and massacred whatever they could before leaping away. They all seemed like basic monsters at first, but the damage they caused and the magic they wielded made everything much more challenging going forwards, and we nodded at one another before turning around, our reconnaissance done for the day. Sneaking back into the forest, we nodded again as Jahi whispered "This looks to be quite the tough nut to crack." Leone added "There were more monsters and undead pouring in from their sides of the clearing, so there has to be some kind of ''home base'' for them as well where they are created? That might warrant a look." Anput and I remained quiet, focusing on the path back as we slipped through the thick underbrush of the forest and guided everyone back to the beach, where we would discuss things first before hunting down some stragglers. We needed more information as quickly as possible, but there needs to be a n in ce to gather that information, otherwise everything begins to crumble apart around you... And thest thing that we would want is to be caught in the center of that battlefield, especially when there is the potential for reinforcements from either side showing up. Chapter 526 525: Dipping Our Toes (1) Crouching in the sand, I pursed my lips as I nced back at the forest, my ears still catching the sounds of battle in the distance despite the soothing sound of the ocean behind me, as well as the soft breeze thatpped at my skin. "So? What''d you think? Quite a beautiful thing, wasn''t it?" I looked at the Marquess for a moment and spoke before the rest, saying "I hate to say this, Marquess, but our views on beautiful are drastically different. That was..." "Demented." Leone finished what I was going to say, the Vampire frowning as she nced back at the forest as well, adding "It was mindless ughter just for the sake of ughter. They ignored the guards entirely and instead focus on massacring one another, all for what? To reset the ind and kill themselves? It just doesn''t make sense..." "Yes, it is all for a chance to be the faction that pulls the heart from thisnd, ending their generation and wiping the te clean. That, however, is so beautiful... Their devotion to annihtion and bloodshed, the singleminded focus on being better then the other faction no matter what... it''s. glorious thing to behold! Anput and Jahi agree with me... don''t you?" The Jackalkin pursed her lips before shrugging, while Jahi gave a small nod as she scratched her cheek, a smile tugging at her lips as she muttered "It... does seem rather entertaining, and there is a simple beauty to be found in their battle..." Leone and I just frowned at the two, before sighing as we turned back to the Marquess, who began to speak again. "This ind would have been even more beautiful if I hadn''t culled the strongest monsters and undead already... each time this ce gets reset, the two factions get a suite of evolved, upgraded monsters and undead that are leagues above the others, with the ability tomand the two factions as they please, making this more like an actual war zone then it is now, but because of that they onlye back whenever the ind is reset, so..." She waved at the forest, finishing what she was saying with a sigh. "What''s left are the chaff; the pieces of the factions that can be reced and remade whenever they need to be, so there is little innovation or semnce of strategy in their movements currently, but don''t let that lull you into a false sense of security. They''re still smarter then the monsters you''re opposed to, and the undead are almost at the level of humans with their love for swarm tactics and simplistic stratagems. Don''t knock it though, since they can be effective at any level and any skill; they are the foundational building blocks of what we use today, after all. NIrinia can tell you just how deadly throwing bodies at a meat grinder can be..." The Djinn nodded, her jade eyes narrowed as she stared at the sand for a moment, before her attention was drawn to Jahi, who stood up and brushed the sand off her body. "Well, if there isn''t anything else pressing, I''d like to hunt one of each of the factions before the sun falls to get a better grasp on their strength. Are you two just going to stay here?" "Mhm~! Sadly I need to remain here, lest the inhabitants of Sisyphea Ind begin to grow in leaps and bounds to match my threat to them, and the same goes for Nirinia; in theory you all could deal with a monster or two at her level, but in practice... I wouldn''t try to just yet. So go on, hunt your monster and undead; you have a few hours left here~!" The Demoness grinned at her daughter, before leaning back and sprawling out in the sand, sighing as she closed her eyes and basked in the sun, enjoying herself. Pursing my lips again, I sighed as I stood back up and gestured towards the left side of the ind, saying "Let''s go for a monster first then; they seemed closer than the undead. Besides, it''ll need to be a more diverse collection of monsters that we hunt since they''re all so different. The undead are at least all roughly the same." Jahi nodded, before beckoning for me to lead the way, motioning Anput to my side while Leone took the middle, where she was protected by all of us; the mage was almost always a ss cannon, and Leone hadn''t broken free from that mould just yet...I think you should take a look at So we set off, the Marquess, Nirinia, and ''Caligo watching as we marched over the beach and into the forest, keeping close to the shoreline as we began to move around the edge of the ind, back towards the fighting. It didn''t take long for Anput and I to catch a whiff of a monster, our noses twitching as the scent of something besides moss, dirt, and flora wafted through the air, and we motioned for the others to quiet down and be careful as we stalked forwards, our des at the ready. Already I had a wind sphere around us diffusing our own scent and silencing our noise further, increasing our stealth as we crept forwards, where we got to see a few Goblins hacking away at a tree, peeling the bark back and revealing the soft wood beneath. Their primitive stone tools weren''t the most intimidating, but they would do the trick against flesh, so we needed to be cautious against them; on top of that, axes and clubs were a perfect counter for chainmail, since they dealt far more blunt force damage then a sword did. However, we could take them all out before they realized we were here, and after getting a nod from Jahi we began to spread out, taking a Goblin each as we readied our weapons, preparing to lunge forwards and kill four of the five Goblins in the clearing. With another nod, Jahi lurched forwards and cleaved her great sword through the torso of her Goblin, bisecting it and killing it instantly, allowing her to turn towards the extra and stab it in the sternum. Anput raised her katana high and shed down, opening a deep gash across the Goblin''s chest that made it stumbled backwards, only to release a muffled grunt as her de pierced its throat, silencing it. Leone didn''t bother with her Estoc, instead hurling a simple Firebolt forwards and following it up with ance, which pierced the Goblin''s chest and enveloped it in me, burning it to a crisp. Lastly, I sprinted forwards silently and slipped my arm around its neck, grabbing its jaw and wrenching its head back, allowing my Shatter Fang to slide across its throat and freeze its voicebox, earning me a silent kill. [Sisyphea Goblin killed!] [9,890 Xp awarded!] Lowering the corpse to the ground, I raised a brow as I looked at the number, before focusing on the Goblin as it began to turn to dust. Something that easy provided that much experience? It hadn''t reacted to anything, and while it had a tough hide, the monster still died so easily... So... Wasn''t this going to be an absolute Xp haven? Chapter 527 526: Dipping Our Toes (2) Therge amount of experience that that singr Goblin gave was immensepared to its normal variant back in Fovos Forest in March Asmodia; probably equal to a higher level Hobgoblin in terms of the experience I get, but still potentially weaker then a Hobgoblin. Of course, there was little we could extrapte from the sneak attack that we justmitted on these Goblins, so Jahi just nodded at Anput and I when we noticed the Goblins simply... dissolved into dust and left nothing behind, not even a Core. Nothing was left in those piles of dust, which eventually got swept away by the soft breeze and leaving no evidence that the Goblin''s had ever existed in the first ce. It was peculiar, but we progressed deeper into the forest anyways, casting that from our minds for the moment as we prepared to face something else in an actual battle, just so we could test the waters of Sisyphea Ind. With our ears and noses guiding us deeper, we avoided the battlefield and instead made our way towards another set of scents, this one making Anput and I wrinkle our noses in slight disgust and irritation. Creeping into a clearing, we saw a few felines lounging around a rock, basking in the sun as they dozed off, their coarse fur getting ruffled by the wind. Their pelts were a gorgeousbination of grey, cks, and browns, creating a camouge perfect for this forest, but their beauty aside... Damn did they shed a lot, and their hairs filled the air, making Anput and I cover our noses as we felt a sneeze rising from everything in the air, deepening our dislike for these three monsters. Tapping our shoulders, Jahi pointed us towards one of the felines each, before gesturing for Leone to remain where she was and just watch over us, providing support should we need it. Stalking off to the left, I slid Shatter out of its sheath and clenched my fingers around the rapier, looking towards the other two as I waited for the signal, which made me sigh; Jahi just waited to see that we were in position before lunging forwards, erupting from the forest and making the felines hiss in surprise. Anput and I bolted out from the forest as well, drawing the attention of the felines as they realized that there were multiple enemies, forcing them to split their attentions to us all. Their fur bristled as they stood up, and their lips curled back to reveal razor sharp fangs that were perfect for tearing through flesh, while a green shimmer covered their limbs. They leapt out towards us, hissing and growling in anger as they extended their long ws towards our faces, wanting to rip us to shreds for daring to disturb their nap. I ducked under the feline''s outstretched ws and turned to face it as it skidded over the earth, still hissing at me. They were speedy little felines, but... Leaping at me again, the monster''s eyes widened in surprise as my rapier pierced its shoulder easily, the momentum driving the sharp de deeper into its flesh. Crashing to the ground, the feline gurgled as I stabbed Shatter into its throat, the icy de spreading frost over its neck before it died, turning into dust below me. [Sisyphea Ocelot killed!] [11,250 Xp awarded!]I think you should take a look at Flicking the blood from my weapons, I saw Anput and Jahi doing the same as we looked at one another, the three of us having finished at the same time. Leone stepped forwards and nodded, her crimson eyes narrowed as she said "They''re quick, they left behind some deep gouges in the earth, so they''re rtively powerful, and they can blend into the forest quite easily... Those were some dangerous kitties." Jahi chuckled, resting her great sword on her shoulder as she added "Individually, and out in the open they''re weak, but if you didn''t know they were there? Yeah, those could do some serious damage... Let''s get going towards the undead now; I''m curious about them." Returning to our stalking through the forest, we encountered one more set of Goblins - which we dispatched with ease - on our way to the undead side of the forest, where we could get a better glimpse at the second faction of this ind. The forest itself changed a little on their side, with the undergrowth being sparser and wilted, while the grasses were tinged yellow, like they weren''t getting enough nutrients. Trees were peeling bark and weeping sap, while the earth itself felt too loose and grainy to be viable for flora... We all recalled the words of the Marquess, who warned that the undead used poisons and the like to fight, so this area was likely a reflection of that. It didn''t take long for us to hear the familiar rattling of bones and chattering of the undead, so we lowered ourselves and moved more carefully, creeping through the forest and peering around the trees to see a contingent of skeletons stumbling through the undergrowth. Roughly a dozen of them moved through the forest, and Jahi tapped my shoulder and pointed towards their feet, before clenching her fist, making me nod as I understood her intentions through the hand signs and our Soul Bond. She and Anput crept forwards a bit more, while Leone remained beside me, her hands prepared to move for when she needed to cast any spells. When they were in position, I took a deep breath and began to trace out the runes for a spell, my fingers dancing in front of me as a mixture of ethereal blue and dark blue runes formed. The skeletons chittered in bursts as they felt the mana swelling at my fingertips, but they couldn''t react in time to the small wave of water that surged towards them, coating their feet and ankles before everything froze over, trapping them in ce. With their movement limited, Anput and Jahi charged forwards and began to cut the skeletons down, while Leone shot bolts at the skeletons skulls, knocking them away. When their skulls were either destroyed or gone, the bodies of the skeletons would il around for a few seconds before crumbling into a pile of bones, ''dead''. ording to the Marquess, they would return eventually, but for now they were dead. [Sisyphea Skeletons killed x13!] [33,785 Xp awarded!] Returning to our side, the two warriors nced at the bones before Jahi said "Let''s return for now; the skeletons are the bulk of the undead forces, and I doubt we can find and silently get rid of somethingrger. We can work with this..." Chapter 528 527: The Plan... Is Simple When we returned to the beach a second time, the Demoness, Djinn, and Arch Fiend were all bickering around a stable fire, their exasperated expressions and gestures making the four of us confused as we approached them, wondering what was getting them so animated. However, after we got in earshot of their conversation, we all sighed as the Marquess waved her hand at Cali, saying "It''s not always the best from the back! Sometimes they don''t have enough to warrant spending all that time behind them; just push down with your weight and smother them!" Snorting, the Arch Fiend rolled her eyes as she replied "There''s always~ enough to warrant being behind a woman! Ass is ass! Besides, the thrill you get when being pushed down andpletely covered by your partner as they use you for their pleasure is better in that position! You feel like they own you and your everything!" The Djinn just shrugged as she added "Personally, I enjoy when they''re on their side. You get the best of both worlds, and if you pick your partners carefully, you get one hell of a show each time~! Then I can push them onto their stomachs or backs depending on what I want~? It''s perfect~!" The Marquess and Cali both red at Nirinia, snarling ""That''s a cop out!"" before ring at one another. ¦Ñ¦Á¦°d¦Ás¦­¦Ïvel Seeing us return, both of the women turned their res at us, and the Marquess asked "Jahi, do you prefer doggy or missionary?" "Surely with three women like that it''s from behind, right?!" Jahi blinked in surprise at the sudden desire of the two women wanting to know her preferred sex position, making Leone blush as she turned away from the conversation. "Is this really what you''ve all been doing this entire time? Debating something as subjective as positions?" Sighing, the younger Demoness scratched behind her ear before saying "Doggy; I prefer to have a good, unobstructed view of their backs for when I..." She stopped herself, but it was toote as the Marquess raised a brow, her ruby eyes falling onto all of us as she appraised us, while Nirinia was grinning amusedly as she stared at Jahi, like an older sibling who was proud of what their younger sibling had said. As for Cali, she was beaming at the Marquess, who had entirely forgotten about the debate as she stared at me, her brow raised as she said "Was that what you meant around two years ago? When I asked why you were so confident that Jahi would continue to seek you out for sex? Because you enjoy getting whipped?" I met her gaze and remained quiet, my shame not rising as I stood there, though I could see Leone''s cheeks getting redder and redder as she listened to everything, while Anput fidgeted slightly, her tail twitching at those words. "Well, considering what she just said..." Leaning back, the Marquess smiled wryly as she muttered "You''re a hardcore masochist, aren''t you? She could whip them both and they might not mind it, but to keep her so... enamored, well..." Her smile was conflicted as she sat there, before she sighed as she looked towards the sky, a mixture of emotions on her face. "Feels weird knowing that... or, well, having it confirmed anyways; I could hear it, just didn''t KNOW it? Hah..." "Alright, my preferences aside, can we..?" Jahi gestured to the fire, and her Mom nodded idly as she continued to observe the darkening sky, listening to Jahi as she began to speak. "So, we got a good grasp on the strength of the average monsters and undead; not too shabby, but not too dangerous just yet. Now, you said that theye back at night? These... fodder level monsters and undead?" "Mhm." "Which means that they also ''learn'' about what killed them and... ''evolve'' to counter what killed them, correct?" "Mhm. If you used magic, they''ll be a tad more resistant to magic; if you used a de, they''ll grow thicker hide or bone. As for stealth, they might get some better senses regarding things that are hidden, so be careful with that too..." We all nodded, before Jahi continued on,ying out arge n for us to follow tomorrow; a n that could make things harder, or could make this trip an easy, short one. "The objective is the heart of the ind, so we need to break past the two factions fighting in front of the entrance, break past the guards, and locate the heart; I wouldn''t be surprised if the mountain''s tunnels are branching andplicated..." Seeing the Marquess nod, Jahi sighed as she rubbed her jaw before continuing further. "So we have a few options. We could test out abilities to push forwards against all odds, blitzing through everything and getting to the heart tomorrow; sure, we didn''t fight insanely hard monsters, but that would be a great test for our ability to adapt to arge battlefield and remain focused on the priority at hand, which is the heart. Another option is to just decimate the battlefield tomorrow and use it to test out our techniques, using the monsters and undead as training dummies before retreating for the day, giving them a chance toe back stronger and do it all over again. Problem is, when they get too strong that makes getting to the heart hard as well, and that means we need to create a bnce of raising their strength and prioritizing the heart. Lastly, we do a mix of the two; if we can get to the guards tomorrow, we push in and try to locate the heart and finish it in one fell swoop. Otherwise, we fall back and n ording to their strength and return the day after, where we will then go straight for the heart." With all three nsid out in front of us, Anput, Leone and I exchanged nces, debating them quietly as we pondered over the best option for us. I wanted the experience, but I also wanted to practice being cautious and realistic against an enemy that could kill us, allowing us to understand just where we sat with our morale and ability to remain cool under pressure. They were both equally important in my eyes, since I was already rather confident in our ability to not crack beneath pressure, but it was always better to be safe instead of sorry. Leone pursed her lips as she saw the excitement in Anput''s eyes, the Vampire pinching the bridge of her nose as she asked "If it does get too difficult, you said we could bring in Nirinia as reinforcements, correct? Someone to bolster our prowess and get this over with?" "Mhm... I don''t want you to rely on her, but most likely from here on out, someone stronger than you will always be nearby; with the Fiends returning, you four are a ratherrge hope for our future - amongst the Empress and those in the know, anyways - with Jahi being the true ''hope'' of the Empire. As such, we can''t leave you unattended, so there will always be a Knight or Saint nearby. Using everything around you to your best ability is a skill, so..." The Marquess gestured at Nirinia, who grinned at us as she pat her Dadao. "Then... Let''s do thest option. If we can''t sessfully eradicate most of the monsters and undead tomorrow - within reason - then we pull back and create a valid strategy to take everything on safely. No unnecessary risks unless we need to take them. That way we can treat this as a real exercise while still getting quite the swathe of experience regarding our abilities." Jahi nodded at that, before ncing at her Mom as she stroked her stomach, asking "So... what are we eating?" Chapter 529 528: Executing The Plan ? After Jahi asked that question, we all turned towards the Marquess, who just got up and entered the swirling purple Gate, leaving us behind for a few moments before returning with a sackden with dried meats, oats, and some other hard foodstuffs that wouldn''t go bad quickly, making all of us sigh. But, thankfully, we weren''t about to stoop to such nd rations if I could help it, so I had Anput make me a pan and a pot, which I then ced over the fire and began to heat up, adding some water to the pot and preparing everything else for a stew... as best I could, anyways, with the ingredients we had avable. The meats were recooked and added to the boiling water alongside arge amount of berries and vegetables we found around the perimeter of the forest, while Nirinia got curious and waded out into the ocean,ing back with a heavy fish as well. So, we could manage to eat something decent each night if we took time to prepare it, and everyone thanked me profusely for turning a terrible meal into a passable one, which we devoured before turning in for the night. The Marquess and Nirinia returned to the Gate with Cali in tow, the three still debating various things - now more openly as they moved away from us - and left us on the beach, since the Marquess wanted us to remain on the ind the entire time. With us spreading out our cloaks and weighing them down with heavy stones that Anput made, we had a nice ce toy down and stare up at the stars, all of which were new. Of course, Jahi couldn''t help herself - and neither could I - so we took a few minutes to enjoy the novelty of making love beneath a wondrous skyscape like this, trusting the wards that the Marquess said were ced around this section of the beach as we attended to our desires. Obviously we had to hold back, but I only needed the reset of my [Nymphomaniac] skill, while Jahi just wanted it to end the day off like we normally did. When dawn arose hourster, we were rtively well rested and ready to go out and execute our n, discussing some more intricacies and sub ns over the in taste of a fish that I caught from the ocean, which was washed down with the cool taste of water imbued with mana. With a few separate ideas floating around in our heads, we set off into the forest and made our way back towards the battlefield, where we would have quite the day ahead of us as we hoped we could cut down at least half of the chaff enemies avable, as well as some of the more elite enemies as well. Like before, the ns were rather simple, and I was happy with what I was meant to do; from what I had seen with the skeletons, I could still earn a little experience by assisting the others in their kills, so my part to y in this uing battle was one that would me quite the swathe of experience. We hade up with a few different ways to try and bnce out the damage dealt to the enemies, so that if we did fail or determined that this was too difficult to do in one take, the enemies that came back wouldn''t be too overly prepared for us tomorrow; their evolutions wouldn''t be as high in physical or magical defense. That would earn me quite the bundle of experience, so when we pushed through the forest and emerged near the battlefield, I couldn''t help but smirk as I wondered just how much experience I was going to get in total for this excursion of ours, since the sheer amount of assists would funnel arge amount of experience into me, while the kills would be rather juicy... As such, I kept my rapier in my right hand and Shatter in my left, going for a more offensive load out instead of relying on Protective, but if something did get closer, I was going to be shrouded in a Water Cloak and hoping that Anput''s forging skills are as high as she likes to brag about. Which reminded me that I still hadn''t gotten my actual gift from her, since she just lumped it in with the Estoc for Leone and the armor for all of us, making me frown as I nced at the Jackalkin beside me. Like yesterday, the monsters and undead were streaming together in front of the mountain, screeching and chittering at one another as they raised their weapons and tried to kill one another, blood and limbs flying as somended blows against the others, only to get hit by something waiting to attack. It was chaotic, but both Anput and Jahi were grinning madly as they looked over the intense battle happening in front of us, while Leone was frowning, her eyes scanning the field for the strongest monsters and making note of where they were. Before the two could turn to me and nag me like the overgrown children they were, I took a deep breath and channeled my mana into my hands, tracing out rune after rune as I crafted an intricate Ritual Circle in front of us, causing some of the monsters and undead to turn and look at us, before streaming forwards tobat this new threat. Pushing more mana into my fingers, I finished the runes right as they were about to collide with Anput and Jahi, who were hefting shields and preparing to defend against them so that I could get my spell off. A gale of cold wind billowed out of my palms, and it swirled around their legs and began to coat them in frost, hindering their movements and surprising them, whilst more and more of the two armies began to turn and make their way towards us, their grudges against one another briefly set aside as they felt the harsh bite of frozen winds. Slipping the shield onto her arm, Jahi wielded her great sword in a single hand as she lunged forwards, barreling into the group in front of us and reaping their lives easily, while Anput shifted the metal into a scimitar and danced behind her, cleaning up the monsters and undead unlucky enough to have survived the Demoness'' initial barrage of attacks. Maintaining the gale, I nodded at Leone as she began to charge her own spells, going for pinpoint uracy on therger targets and distracting them some more so that Jahi could make her way towards them unimpeded by ''strong'' monsters. Our opening attack swelled to it''s crescendo quickly, and without hesitation Leone and I switched gears and joined the fray, slinging spells into the fray and joining the two others in cutting down these armies of monsters and undead. Chapter 530 529: Battlefield (1) With their limbs now coated in a thinyer of frost, the monsters and skeletons tried desperately to shake it off or break it off, resulting in quite a few damaging themselves in the process; a skeleton snapped off its radial bone while a Goblin pped its arms together, only to hiss as the frost shattered and sliced into its flesh, spreading it further like a disease. Meanwhile, Anput and Jahi were rushing forwards, mming into the horde and hoisting their des as they began to cut down the chaff, cleaving a path through the horde towards the entrance of the mountain, where the guard golems waited with rxed posture, idling beside the entrance. With each rise and fall of their des, a ding sounded out in my mind, informing me of the iing experience as monsters and undead were killed left and right, the two working in tandem to protect one another as they pushed forwards, all while Leone and I sniped anything that got too dangerous looking or tried to flee. We walked side by side towards the horde, slinging spells with uracy and power that killed in a single hit, the damage dealt to the monsters and undead''s skulls too much for them to handle, making them drop to the ground. Of course, each of the two sides elites were aware of our inclusion, and I could see the skeletal spider construct scurrying towards the Jackalkin and Demoness, it''s mana infused spike legs impaling anything in its path as it rushed to deal with them. One of the monsters bounded after it, a giant feline creature that snarled at the spider before leaping at its legs, knocking it off bnce. Most of the elites were too wary of each other to bother truly facing us, but that might change soon as more and more of the chaff were dealt with, the ''never-ending'' horde of monsters and undead slowly but surely getting thinned out. Above me, a Ritual Circle red to life, my rapier finally finished tracing out the runes as I activated it, a smile tugging at my lips as I sent a barrage of ice arrows raining down towards the spider and feline, each one shattering into minuscule shards that sliced into their bodies and began to spread the frost even further, restricting their movements and dealing steady damage to them at the same time. As for Leone, she was basking in the heat of her spells as she hurled spheres of almost liquid me over the horde, which exploded and clung to the monsters and undead hit by the mmable liquids. I raised a brow at the casual use of something as dangerous as napalm by my lover, before shrugging as I realized that there weren''t many things that were considered ''war crimes'' by this worlds standards, especially when even amon mage couldmit atrocities with ease. However, the elites evaded the spheres of near liquid me and continued forwards, their focus shifting more towards us as we inflicted more pain upon them than they did on each other. Still, this clearing was gigantic, and before they could make their way to us to initiate a battle, we continued to thin the field of chaff in front of us, our weapons and spells reaping lives swiftly. The deluge of arrows shifted towards the back ranks of the monsters and undead, cutting them down and shattering against the ground if they somehow missed their mark, dealing damage that way as well. Paired with the napalm chewing through their bodies, the monsters and undead weren''t having the best of times as the two different elements wreaked havoc on their number, all while the ones up front had to deal with the two grinning battle maniacs who were relishing the moving practice dummies as they honed their skills. Anput shifted from de to de between each kill, practicing her ability to surprise her opponent as she shed, sliced, stabbed, thrusted, parried, and more with each new weapon, disying an impressive amount of control with each. Jahi, on the other hand, swung her great sword hard, bisecting a swarm of Goblins before stabbing down at a Serpent''s skull, shattering it and killing it, while her shield blocked the stiff attacks from some skeletons, who swung primitive weaponry at her. The two were a blur of steel as they whittled away at the number of enemies, and their bodies shimmered with a purplish glow as Leone and Iyered cloaks on them at the same time, buffing them for the real fight toe. The spider construct was the more worrying of the two elites, it''s size and power having already been disyed during our reconnaissance yesterday, so we prioritized it over the feline, who snarled and continued to hound the undead, trying to deal damage to it even as the constructs bones shimmered with a dull brown light. It''s two giant fangs snapped together as it looked towards Jahi, before they opened wide and created space for a brown Ritual Circle, which made Leone and I shift our focus towards it instead of the chaff, unleashing a spell each to disrupt its cast. Jahi noticed it as well, and she nted her feet and hefted her shield, preparing herself just incase we were toote to stop it from attacking. Anput continued to cut the monsters and undead around them down, slipping back behind Jahi when the twinnces of fire and ice mmed against the spiders small face, knocking the undead''s mouth to the side and making the heavy barrage of stones impact against the mountain, shattering and wearing at the grey and green rock. The feline mmed against the spiders leg, making it stumble to the side, before the feline turned and pounced at Jahi, believing it had an opening when the Demoness shifted her weight and moved the shield to the side, only to hiss in pain as a solid sheet of metal was pped against its jaw. Before it could react, two des shed down towards it, and the feline howled in agony as its front leg and chest were cut open, only to fall silent as Anput pierced its throat with a swift thrust of her spear. Chittering, the spider construct looked back towards us with hateful orbs, three of them blinking out as half of its head was charred ck and cracking off, while the other was covered in a sheet of ice, which crept further over its skull and into the sockets. With the death of the feline, some of the monsters howled and chirped in anger, turning towards us and moving towards us to avenge their deadrade, which made the undead follow behind them and try and kill them with this opening, plunging the battlefield further into chaos. Chapter 531 530: Battlefield (2) ? Now that the feline monster was dead, the battle shifted in a moment as the spider turned its damaged skull towards us, the charred and frozen bone giving it a ghastly appearance that only furthered the slight shivers that I felt seeing something like a spider. Even in a new world, that fear persists... Jahi set her feet again as she hoisted her shield, golden light shimmering to life around her arms and legs as she braced herself for the attacks toe, while Anput fell back and stabbed her sword into the earth, freeing her hands for a moment as she began to weave together runes into a spell. Leone and I nodded as we focused instead on slowing down the approaching onught of elites as well as the remaining chaff that continued to swarm their way over towards us. Just like in the forest yesterday, I began to trace out the runes I needed for a Domain type spell, trusting in Leone to hold them back for just a moment as I prepared to turn this portion of the tropical ind into a winter wondend, ethereal blue mana shining coldly in front of me. The Vampire continued unleashing torrents of napalm off into the hordes, burning down the lower level monsters and undead while forcing the elites to block or dodge each glob of liquid me. It didn''t take long for me to cast the familiar Domain spell that I had in my disposal, especially not when I understood it better then thest time I had truly cast a full Domain. Therge Ritual Circle shone with a bright, harsh pale blue light, and I pushed it further into the air, a small smile tugging at my lips as it began to snow. What started as flurries picked up into a full on blizzard secondster, and the winds pushed off into the monsters and undead, buffeting them with the sharp nip of frost and numbing their limbs. The snow melted quickly on the ground, leaving behind puddles of water that froze over instantly, spreading my ice further and further as the clearing was shifted from tropical to arctic with just one spell. Anput and Jahi felt nothing thanks to the dual Water and Fire Cloaks encasing their bodies, so they shot into action without hesitation,pletely unimpeded with the current blizzard whirring to life around them. The Jackalkin summoned giant gates of metal that mmed down on the spider''s limbs, locking them in ce and creating an opening for Jahi to capitalize on, the Demoness shooting forwards and cleaving her great sword straight through the spider''s skull, a golden trail following behind her as she moved far faster than I had seen her move before. Anput took the gates that she summoned and shot them towards the nextrge construct - the lion - before darting after them with a longsword in her hands, deciding that she wanted to take on the lion herself. Jahi stabbed the spider once more to make sure it was dead before casting her golden discs towards the avians dive bombing towards her, while her great sword parried the heavy axe of a Spartoi. Leone and I nced at one another before nodding again, the Vampire remaining where she was while I shot forwards as well, my dagger and rapier back in my hands as I made my way towards the hulking Oxkin or Bullkin skeleton, wanting to test out my abilities against somethingrger and stronger then me. Hoisting its giant axe, the skeleton cked its jaws together as it stared me down, the metal de gleaming in the snow as it used Earth Mana to try and keep its limbs free from frost. With the blizzard still in full effect around us, I decided to ''ditch'' magic for the moment and focus entirely on my physical strength, using my dagger and rapier the best of my ability as I slipped beneath the axe and scored a thin gash across the skeletons ribcage. It towered over me by a few feet, so I needed to wear it down before going for the head, which had been identified as the only way to kill these skeletons due to theirck of a Core. The heavy axe crashed against the earth and embedded itself beneath the rocks, only to be wrenched away by the skeleton and showering the area in stones and dirt, giving me a small opening to slip behind it and sh Shatter across the back of the skeleton''s knee, buckling it. Crashing down to the ground, the skeleton swept the axe around itself and tried to cleave me in two, but I just jumped back before lunging forwards again, stabbing my rapier through the back of its thick skull and cracking off a small chunk of parietal section, revealing the hollow cavern inside. I pulled back on the rapier and stabbed forwards again, widening the hole and killing the skeleton, only to jump back as four more basic skeletons stumbled towards me, their stone swords stiffly mming into the ground that I had previously upied. Dashing between them, I cut them down before making my way towards the next elite, which was a Spartoi a few inches taller then the Beastkin Skeleton, and much stronger. Four arms - each wielding a weapon - and coated in a thin armor of Earth Mana, the Spartoi''s were dangerous undead on their own, but with this ability to grow, I wasn''t looking forwards to dealing with them again if I didn''t have to. For an opponent like this, I wrapped my rapier in a gale of swirling green Wind Mana before lengthening Shatter with a full de of Ice, preparing to take on this heavy skeleton and reap my giant bundle of experience for a reward. As it stood, I couldn''t wait to turn on my System notifications again and see the raw amount of experience that I had gained from just ''assisting'' everyone with this blizzard, while I was also curious about the value of these elite enemies that I would be taking down on my own... Chapter 532 531: Battlefield (3) ? A long jagged de of metal cleaved through the air above me, while a heavy spear stabbed towards my chest, trying to impale me even as I ducked beneath the sword. Rolling to the side, I barely had time to roll again as an axe mmed into the earth beside me, before the sword and spear lunged at me from my left and right, trying to trap me between them and kill me. The Spartoi was a walking armorypared to most enemies, its four arms making it far harder to handle then the Beastkin Skeleton that I had dealt with, and with the various weaker skeletons and Goblins asionally making their way over, I had to keep myself on my toes and on the lookout for any attack, anywhere, at any time. It was draining, but... I would be lying if I said that there wasn''t a certain thrill in walking such a thin line between life and death, where your skills were drawn out and put to the test as you tried to survive another second, before doubling that effort to go further and for longer. Of course, this thrill was nowhere near the same thrill that I got from watching those Goblin''s get eviscerated or how their blood arced through the snow and wind when I carved them to pieces with a flick of my wrist, my rapier singing as I shed multiple times in a second. Putting some space between us, I frowned as another skeleton wandered into range, its bones coated in frost and its movements lurching and unbnced, but still a threat as it raised its club into the air. My rapier lunged towards its skull and shattered the frozen bone, shards of blue tinged creamy bone flying around the area as my Wind Magic made the skeleton''s head explode, though I couldn''t admire the beauty of the explosion as the Spartoi stabbed at me again, trying to skewer me when I wasn''t focused on it. Weaving around the swords, I stepped forwards and stabbed the rapier out again, the wind sheathed bone alloy de impacting against its thick ribcage and cracking the bones, making the Spartoi stumbled back a step. Pressing forwards, I thrust the rapier out swiftly a few times, impacting its torso again and again as I tried to create arger opening for me to deliver the killing blow. The barrage of thrusts pushed the Spartoi back further, its arms trying to move to block the rapier only to get stuck as frost built up around its joints, preventing in depth movements and giving me that opening. Its horned skull was left unguarded after I stabbed at one of its four shoulders, rendering that armme, before I swung Shatter down onto its head, activating the enchantment and spreading more frost over its body. Fractures appeared on its skull, and a portion of its jaw fell to the ground with a thud, followed closely by a horn and a piece of its temporal bone, making it stagger around for a moment. It tried to reach up and grab its head to catch the pieces, but the frost spread along the fractures and deepened them, making its skull crack apart and killing it in the process. I wasn''t allowed to rejoice in my kill just yet though, as another Spartoi lumbered towards me upon seeing itsrade die, a small contingent of skeletons stumbling behind it as it entered battle with me, while a Serpent slithered over slowly, it''s green eyes glowing with sluggish hate as it tried to get rid of the one making it so damn cold. As the two separate groups made there way towards me, I used my rapier to cast a Wind Cloak and darted off towards the Serpent, surprising it as I appeared right above it, the green scaled monster trying to lift itsrge head and bite me, only to hiss in agony as I extended Shatter''s de and stabbed downwards, piercing its scales and exploding the de before jumping away, leaving it to rot from the inside out with the frost as I focused on whittling down the horde of skeletons making their way towards me. Firebolts flew overhead and mmed against another Serpent that was slithering towards me, before a thicknce of mes impacted against an avian, burning it to a crisp and causing it to drop to the ground into a small group of Goblins, spreading the fire. With Leone watching over me from afar, I barreled into the cluster of skeletons and began to cut them down as quickly as I could before the Spartoi closed in, my rapier stabbing into skulls and releasing a burst of wind that shattered them afterwards, causing the rest of the bones to fall down and tter uselessly to the ground as the skeletons died again. I began to weave around the Spartoi''s attacks again as well, sheathing Shatter and freeing up my hand for spells as I created bursts of ice that burst from my palm, pushing the Spartoi around andcerating its bones with splinters of ice, spreading my frost. Dealing with this Sparoti, I earned a swift breather as I looked around the battlefield for the first time in a while, making me smile wryly as I shook my head at the sheer amount of jubtion that Anput and Jahi were disying, their wide grins paired with their silver and gold eyes respectively showing just how much they were enjoying this. Leone on the other hand was neutral as she slung spell after spell around the battlefield, bringing down enemy after enemy as she assisted all three of us, with none of the enemies being smart enough to target her and instead focusing their agro on us. However, even with a brief cursory look over each of us, I could tell that none of us were working at maximum efficiency, each of us taking some time to hone some of our underdeveloped skills and spells against these rtively challenging, yet manageable enemies. And even with our stamina still in the clear, I frowned as I saw a fresh wave of enemies marching into the clearing, the vast hordes of monsters and undead refilling the clearing that we had so diligently and effortlessly cleared, meaning... "Anput! Jahi! Start pulling back! Leone, focus on the neers! Keep them from advancing too far!" My voice echoed through the clearing, and the Jackalkin and Demoness both frowned before nodding, switching from their experimental fighting style to a more serious one as they retreated, their des rising and falling as they cut down whatever approached, joining me shortly. When they were by my side, I sheathed my weapons and traced out the runes for a spell rapidly, erecting a semicircle of ice that blocked the enemies paths and allowed us to sprint for Leone, who turned and rushed into the forest and back towards the beach, where we would regroup and ren this for another tryter on. Some of the monsters and undead made there way around the barricade and tried to pursue us, but all four of us sent a barrage of spells back and forced them to stop, before I smirked as I clenched my fist and made the barricade explode, sending a storm of icicles around the battlefield and killing a few more. We might not have reached the mountain just yet, but I''d say this was a sessful excursion so far... Chapter 533 532: Rewards ? Back at the beach, we plopped onto the sand once again and took some deep breaths, letting the adrenaline in our bodies slowly seep away as we evened our breathing and lowered our heart rates, all while sweat made our cloth undershirts and pants cling to our bodies. Leaning over, I tapped each of my lovers and cleansed them of their dirt, grime, blood and sweat, making them smile wearily at me as we allowed our bodies to rest for a brief moment, simply basking in thefortable weather and nice sun. The Marquess, Nirinia, and Cali were already lounging on the beach as well, chatting together like old friends as they continued their talk about sex and pleasure, only to fall silent and turn towards us as we sat down, the three already curious about what we hade across and why we were back. "What did you think?" Jahi pursed her lips as she leaned back, her blue skin shimmering beneath the suns gentle rays as she looked over the ocean, before turning to grin at her Mom as she answered "It was a lot of fun! The hordes of chaff and smattering of higher level enemies that held some challenge was great, giving the opportunity to hone various techniques of different calibers. Crowd control, mass damage, singr target damage, high speed and high power for burst attacks... Everything you could want to try, you could against one of those enemies!" Anput nodded, grinning as well as she added "It was also so~ much fun to just cut down a horde of Goblins and Skeletons to your hearts content, all while the asional tough enemy woulde around to give you a challenge! It''s just a shame that none of the monsters drop any materials; otherwise, this ce would be perfect!" The Marquess nodded at that, shrugging her shoulders as she said "That would make it perfect, but I assume that the cost of reproducing so many monsters and undead all the time means that everything gets recycled by whatever this ind is, so nothing could be harvested from the monsters or undead because of that. What about you two?" She turned towards Leone and I, making the two of us purse our lips as we exchanged a nce. "I... could go either way; this is a good training ground, but it''s far too easy to get lost in the thrill of battle and not realize that you can be overwhelmed and killed. Of course, that''s why it''s such a good ce to train, but that''s also why I''d rather not be here for too long, despite its benefits. It''s... too much like a drug; it gives a short term rush that can lead to long term consequences..." Leone nodded, her eyes flickering towards the other two as she added "Personally I would rather leave before night falls, but I can understand staying here one more day to hone things... the problem is whether or not the enemies have already begun to adapt to us as the Marquess has said they would, and how severe those adaptations are. What exactly is the process by which they adapt? Or how does one leave the ind after plucking out the heart?" "The monsters and undead adapt quickly; already they should be more resistant to however you killed them and aware of some of the techniques that you might have used, making them a tad harder to kill this time around. It shouldn''t be by a lot though; for instance, if your swords pierced their flesh like paper before, it should be like trying to cut through butter with a warm de... if that makes sense? As for the method to leave, it''s simple; pluck the heart and haul ass back to the beach, before leaping through the Gate to leave. You have roughly ten minutes to return before the ind begins to enter a catastrophic state, with fissures and magma pouring out from the crust and wiping everything clean, while the ocean bes rampant. From what my father said, someone stayed here for twenty minutes before being forced to leave, because the Gate began to close shut at that point. So be quick after taking the heart, otherwise you die." We all nodded, and I nced out towards the ocean as I wondered just what this ind was and where in the world it was located, before shrugging as Nirinia had Jahi join her to go fish, while Anput and Leone scrounged up some foodstuffs from the surrounding forest, leaving me to prepare everything for when the two groups returned, our fire and utensils from yesterday still here. While they did that, I took a deep breath and asked the System to unlock the experience points, letting me see everything that I earned... [Calcting...] [2,736,982 Xp awarded] [Summary avable, would you like to read it?] Staring at the number for a moment, I nodded slightly and pulled up the summary, blinking in surprise at the next set of numbers that showed up, especially some of the entries in that summary... [Sisyphea Skeleton x101 killed : 677,890 Xp] [Sisyphea Skeleton x132 assisted kills : 183,548 Xp] [Sisyphea Goblin x89 killed : 609,298 Xp] [Sisyphea Goblin x156 assisted kills : 226,906 Xp] [Sisyphea Serpent x2 killed : 67,340 Xp] [Sisyphea Bullkin Skeleton killed : 27,658 Xp] [Sisyphea Spartoi x3 killed : 187,534 Xp] The list went on and on, but... That was TWO entire levels that I just earned in a single engagement, bringing me up to Level 33 in just a few hours... And that wasn''t including the multitude of missions that I hadpleted during that time, all of which involved assisting and aiding my Mistress'' with my support spells,ting me another 360,000 Xp and 3,600 Shop Points on top of that... So in just a few hours, I gained 3,000,000 Xp, and there was still another engagement to go. Another. Engagement. Harder than that? Which means it''s more lucrative than that... More lucrative than 3,000,000 Xp..? Is... that possible? Chapter 534 533: Break Chapter534 533: Break "What''s got you smiling so much, Kat~?" Cali appeared beside me, her pink skin glittering in the suns light as she leaned down beside me, her chest resting atop my outstretched arm as she whispered sensually into my ear, making me shudder as I pulled away. Pouting, she stared at me before letting out a huff and plopping into the sand beside me, acting like a child as I rolled my eyes at her. "Nothing; just had a few ideas regarding some spells and how to get stronger. For instance, my Domain type spell could certainly be improved by adding some different structures, like-" "Ngh... Stop! No no no... I don''t wanna hear it! That''s sooooo boring..." Her pout deepened as she brought her knees up to herrge chest, resting her head against them and staring at me with her sparkling pink eyes. "Why can''t we talk about how heated~ this beach gotst night, or how utterly delectable~ that role-y was back in that stuffy Pce? Hmm~?" I gave her a dry look before waving her off, saying "Go talk to the Marquess then; I''m busy cooking..." "Cooking... sand? There isn''t any food yet Katherine~?" "Cali..." "Fine, fine~! I''m going..." Brushing herself off, she stretched before adding "The Divine Grace around you is thicker today. Noticeable. Be careful, dear Masque..." and walking away, back towards the Marquess and Nirinia, who had returned from the ocean. Jahi approached me with tworge, fat fish in her arms, which she continued to hold as she waited for me to create a table for her to ce the fish on. "You seem happy." I nced at her and frowned, only to sigh as she pointed towards my rear, where my tail was idly swishing side to side, the extra appendage something that I had grown so ustomed to having that I... didn''t notice that it was wagging. "Yeah... Remember how I said I get stronger when I absorb souls or energy from the enemies that I kill? Well... that encounter was a veritable feast for me. I can FEEL that I''ve gotten stronger from it..." The Demoness smirked as she epted the stool of ice I made for her, sitting down beside me as I began to descale and filet the fish. "That''s good. It''s a little enviable that you can have this sort of... short cut... ah, that feels like a terrible way to describe it... You know what I mean. Where Anput, Leone and I need to train and train before putting it to practice, you have the ability to leap ahead if given enough time and enemies to kill. Not to say you don''t put in the same effort or anything, but... damnit..." Scratching her ear, Jahi looked away and sighed before turning back to me as I chuckled, her amethyst eyes curious as she stared at me. "I know you don''t mean anything by it, love. And yes, I can understandpletely how frustrating it might be to see me get a bonus on top of everything that I''m already doing, making my growthrger than yours. I understand that, and I wouldn''t me you for feeling envious or jealous at some points, but..." I gave her a small smile as I lifted the dagger in my hands, making the Demoness smile wryly as she looked down towards the bloody steel that shone in the light. "Do keep those emotions in a healthy check, Jahi, or else..." The dagger waved through the air before stabbing into the ice b, making her flinch slightly as I gave her a chilly smile, and she waved her hands at me as she spoke quickly. "I know, I know! Besides, no matter how~ strong you might get, even if you get stronger then me, well... I know exactly what makes you tick, and I KNOW no one can make you whimper like I can..." "Hey! I can make her whimper too y''know?! So can Leone with that fucking monster dangling between he- oof!" Anput stumbled forwards and held her shoulder, ring at the blushing Vampire who red back at her, the two both holding arge bundle of berries and herbs in their arms. The Jackalkin rushed to the other side of the table and stared at the Vampire, who was trying to reach her and hit her again, only for the two to flinch as I snapped "What''re you, children?! Give me the herbs and berries already!" Anput smiled wryly as she dropped her haul into the bowl, which Leone mirrored before pping the Jackalkin''s shoulder again, making her growl as she tried to grab the Vampire, only to stop as I growled her name again. Before Leone could grow smug from that, I growled her name as well, making the two shrink as they stood quietly beside me, while Jahi held in her chuckles as she looked between the two, her eyes alight with mirth. My eyes flickered over them both before I turned back to the fish, which I cut into nice steaks that I prepared to saut¨¦ in the pan alongside the herbs. "Now, let''s change this topic, alright? What did you all think about the reinforcements that came in after we cleared everything out? I''d say we lowered the numbers on both sides evenly, so perhaps..?" Leone timidly nced at me before speaking, her tone respectful as she said "Perhaps the two factions have a home base or spawning grounds that they came from? Otherwise they would have been filtering in consistently instead of altogether?" I nodded, which made Anput frown as she asked "So you want to hit the bases before we actually go for the heart? That could certainly work, but who knows if those bases are guarded by a group of even stronger enemies or not..." That made Jahi grin, and she nced over her shoulder at Nirinia as she said "Well then we could make use of our stronger reinforcements, no? I want to take her with us anyways when we go backter just as a precaution regarding the adapted monsters and undead; who knows how many changes they made to themselves considering our diverse methods of killing them..." We all nced at the green skinned Djinn before turning back towards the fish, which Iid onto the pan and held over the fire, which Leone began to adjust to my needs as I started cooking. "Sounds like a n to me. I wouldn''t mind a more structured approach to the battlefield again, before we take some time to scout where the enemies areing from. For now though... get the table ready, the food''ll be done in a few minutes." Chapter 535 534: Battlefield... Again Chapter535 534: Battlefield... Again "Anput! Clear out the left side then regroup with me at the front! Leone, cut them down from afar! Kat, hold off the right side! Nirinia, just remain back for now!" We all nodded as the Demoness shouted out her orders, each of us springing into action to fulfill her desires as we hefted our weapons and readied our spells. Back at the clearing again, we burst forth from the forest and emerged into the battlefield that was once more being torn apart by legions of monsters and undead, all of whom turned and began to stream towards us as soon as we emerged. The Goblins were taller and bulkier, while the Skeleton''s had a thicker set of bonesden with bumps that acted as a sort of armor, while their incisors were lengthened and sharpened into fangs. They still wielded the simple weapons and some basic armor like they had before, but all things considered... Darting into the cluster of Goblins and Skeletons making their way towards us from the right, I pulled back my rapier and shrouded it in a gale of sharp winds, which eviscerated the bodies of the Goblins that I attacked. Their torsos exploded into a shower of blood and gore as the rapier punctured their hearts, dropping them to the ground before they faded to dust. As for the Skeletons, their bones cracked and exploded easily as the rapier mmed against their skulls, dropping them as well as I weaved from side to side, dodging the various attacks sent my way as I held back the wave of chaff that came towards us on the right, before I clicked my tongue and sent a burst of ice towards a group of Goblins as I saw a feline leap over the horde and try to pounce on me. My rapier flicked up and pierced the feline''s shoulder, making it yowl in agony before slipping free as I flung it to the side, the gale of wind shrouding my rapier tearing it apart from the inside as I pushed my mana into its body. That single second that I had been upied with the feline allowed the Goblins and Skeletons to push forwards and swarm me, their des and clubs rising and falling as they tried to smack me down, but a wave of my hand and a burst of iceter, and I had freed myself from the temporary prison as I pushed them back again. The two hordes were numerous in number as they continued to swarm towards us, and I kept my rapier dancing as I stabbed and shed at the enemies before they could get too close to me, taking advantage of the space between us as I cut down more and more enemies. I could hear Anput and Jahi doing the same as I was, their des hacking away at the various monsters and undead that made there way towards us as we used them to hone our edge. "This could certainly be doable, but we haven''t faced those elites yet!" Jahi''s shout made me nod as I flicked the rapier to the side, slitting a Goblin''s throat and killing it quickly before shouting back "Let''s take one down to see how they''ve improved before scouring the forest for their spawning grounds! If we can get rid of just one of them, we could easily make it to the mountain!" The other three grunted in agreement as we waited for the nearest elite - a gigantic bone centipede - to scurry over to us, its razor sharp legs slicing through Goblins and other monsters alike in its rush to make it to our position. The sheer amount of enemies between us and it made the construct slow down in the bog of enemies, giving us some time to prepare as we began toyer buff spells overtop ourselves before meeting it in battle, with the main spell being casteding from Anput as she fell back, Jahi and I taking over broader swathes of enemies as we protected her as she began to cast. It was only for a few seconds, but the weight of the waves of enemies increased exponentially as I unsheathed Shatter and lengthened the de to allow me to dual wield swords, giving me the reach to keep them at bay. The serrated de of ice on Shatter and gale shrouded needle of my rapier made short work of the various chaff around me, the spreading of frost taking them down easily as I killed and killed. When she finished casting her spell, the Jackalkin raised her hands and summoned giant gates of metal once more, the staple like gates falling hard on the bone construct and nailing it in ce, making it screech as it tried to burst free from the prison around it. The multiple gates mmed further into the ground as Anput pushed her hands down, before she took up her sword and shifted it into a heavy hammer, which she raised and mmed down towards the centipede''s head, shattering the skull and killing the elite in one hit, surprising us all. All of the lower level monsters froze for a moment, the bacsh of seeing something so powerful die so quickly making them stiffen up before getting cut down, Jahi and I taking advantage of that lull to kill some more. Anput jumped back and took control of her gates again, yanking them from the earth and sending them towards another elite and pinning it down as well. "Damn~! This bracelet is fucking great Kat~! Ah, it feels so~ good to be this strong now!" Her bloodthirsty grin made me chuckle as I nced back at her, before I turned back towards the chaff and continued to cut them down with prejudice, freeing up some space around me as I asked "We staying for a little longer or are we pulling out now?" "Why would I ever~ want to pull out, my little puppy~? Let''s stay for a little longer, alright~!" Chapter 536 535: Farming Chapter536 535: Farming I had to roll my eyes at the Demoness'' words, which had earned a snicker from both Anput and Nirinia, the two women enjoying Jahi''s little innuendo as we all turned to focus on the horde once more. Her idea wasn''t wrong though, and I wasn''t going to say no to some good old fashioned Xp farming against these easy monsters and undead, especially not after I got such an abundant amount earlier today; two whole levels plus some extra was certainly worth being here for a little longer, and considering the increase in strength of the enemies, I was likely earning more experience now per kill then I was earlier, which meant the numbers would be muchrger at the end of this battle. It was slightly mindless how we were ughtering these hordes of monsters and undead, with the asional moment where the elites pushed forwards through the sea of bodies and managed to get close to us, only to be cut down by ourbined attacks as we remained inside our formation. The n was - as always with us - rather simple; remain at the edge of the battlefield and cut down the hordes that swarmed us for practice, and in my case experience points that would push me closer to leveling up once again. Or a few times, who knows; there were more enemies here than there were earlier, so maybe I could get three levels? On top of that very trackable gain that I was going to get, I was also getting more ustomed to utilizing my rapier, as well as the short range burst spells that I had developed back at the Pce with Jahi, which were bing more and more refined as I shorted the cast speed and improved the power, resulting in some beautiful bursts of ice and wind depending on what I needed. Bone was frozen and flesh eviscerated as I alternated between the two, all while my rapier continued to cut and pierce into my enemies as I reaped the lives of the chaff in front of me, bathing in the excellence of such an easy farm for levels as I killed and killed. It was mindless, that was for sure, but like Anput and Jahi hade to love the sheer intensity of a full body workout, the burning of my muscles as I unleashed barrages of stabs with my rapier or how my calves burned as I leapt from side to side avoiding attacks was just so euphoric... Besides, just thinking about the number that I would see at the end of all this made this so much more enjoyable as we continued our massacre. Considering the new spells flying overhead that were melting and burning monsters and undead alike to a crisp meant that Leone was enjoying this to an extent as well, which was something that made the rest of us relieved, since her being more into wanting to be here meant we could perhaps eke out a little more time here as well... After all, the ''adults'' of this group were Leone and I, and while she usually conceded to my opinion on most things, it''d be best if we both agreed about what was best to do for this group going forwards. So with her testing out new spells and different variants of her existing arsenal, that meant that we could indulge just a bit longer. As for Nirinia, I could tell that she was waiting behind us with her de ready to support us should everything go south, reassuring us in the back of our minds. The extent of our magical attacks were restricted to Jahi''s discs - which were cleaving through the hordes in front of her while her great sword sliced anything else - Anput''s gates - being used to restrict and kill the elites - Leone''s repertoire of spells - burning down most of the clearing alongside the inhabitants - andstly my own burst spells. Not too insane on our parts, but we weren''t looking to be shy or incredibly magically focused at this moment, wanting to work even more on our de skills as we cut down the hordes, though there was a small part of me that wanted to join Leone and enjoy the beauty of spell casting to its fullest with such a wide array of enemies to pick on, but there was also arge part of me that was enjoying this way too much to care. The Goblins were especially thrilling to kill, since the monsters were still filled with that utterly delectable crimson liquid that made pretty patterns on the ground whenever I slit their bellies or throats open, and when paired with those squeals when the rapier lodged itself deep into their bodies? Oh, it was heavenly... Or when Shatter or the burst spells shredded their torsos open and revealed their beating hearts... I do believe that I was grinning as of this moment, especially considering there was something warm and sticky staining my cheek... I shuddered slightly as I weaved beneath the swing of a Goblin before cutting it in half, thenunching myself to the side and knocking a Skeleton onto its side before stomping on its skull, shattering it. Time became meaningless as we indulged in our ''darker'' desires of bloodshed and violence, killing and killing even as our bodies began to scream for rest, minute muscle tears and overextensions making our efficiency drop little by little as we continued on. As the number of enemies began to thin once more, and the number of elites dwindled down to a handful, Jahi finally began to step back, her Light Mana building in her arms as she shouted "Pull back now! Save some energy and mana for the search toe!" Anput and I dropped back instantly, the monsters and undead we were holding at bay trying to rush forwards and beat us down so that they could swarm us and tear us apart. However, Leone was still weaving new spells into existence, and she raised a wall of mes to cover our retreat, allowing us to slip back into the forest without any issues. Chapter 537 536: Scouting Chapter 537 536: Scouting With the forest shrouding us from sight and my spell diffusing our scent, we escaped the battlefield once more and made our way deep into the forest, where we could reorient ourselves and begin to search for where these monsters and undead areing from. It stands to reason that there are ces that they gather - at the very least, anyways - before making there way out to base of the mountain to initiate the battle for the heart of this ce. If it isn''t just a gathering spot, then perhaps some type of object that allows them to spawn again, or just a ce that all the energy gathers to reform and regrow the monsters and undead, since the Marquess told us that they are technically the same monsters each time, just evolved to survive better. There was a chance that we could destroy or at least hinder those spawning locations so that we could storm the mountain ourselves without needing to worry about the monsters and / or undead swarming us as well; they were passable enemies on their own, but there is strength in numbers, and that is something that they excelled in. The sheer amount of these enemies was incredible, and since we hadn''t breached the mountain yet to reach the heart, I wasn''t too keen on trying to do so with both hordes on our tail. Besides, we had no idea on the strength, number, or anything else regarding the third faction of the ind that we had yet to battle - the Guards, which were Earth and Metal Golems. Constructs of rock and dirt and metal... they''d be a pain to deal with on their own, and doing so with hordes of Skeletons or Goblins behind us wouldn''t be fun. On top of not knowing how strong their base Golems are, we have no idea if there is a boss Golem that protects the heart, and while my physical stats may have surpassed my ''intelligence'' stat, I was willing to bet everything I had that the ind had a guardian - or a group of guardians - protecting its heart, preventing it from resetting again. I was more then willing to bet on that, so we needed to prepare for the boss fight ahead as well, which would definitely need Nirinia to help us, even if it was just drawing aggression away from us and creating some openings for us to strike. Though, considering none of us had pulled out some of therger spells we knew, I was also willing to make a - albeit smaller - bet that we could do this on our own without Nirinia as well... Either way, that was the future, and right now we were once again rushing through the forest, the sounds of the two factions shing filling the air once more, but just past that, wafting through the trees and dancing on the wind was the sound of trees being felled in the distance, which both Anput and I caught as we nodded to one another. The ind was ratherrge, but with our speed we managed to coverrge swathes of ground swiftly, cing us on the edge of an interesting little clearing near the direct opposite side of the ind from our Gate. Creeping forwards, we pushed some underbrush aside and stared out into the grassy expanse before us, remaining deathly quiet as we watched Goblins pour out from arge cave, moving over towards the giant pile of logs that were being cut down and fashioned into clubs for them to wield. Boulders and rocks were stacked up around the clearing, and the entrance of the cave was surrounded by stones that led into the earth, where more and more monsters continued to stream out, blinking away the harsh light of the sun before arming themselves and setting out towards the battlefield. It was a never ending stream of monsters, with Serpents slithering out and allowing bunches of Goblins to hitch a ride on their back, while felines leapt out and bolted into the forest. Avians flew out and took to the skies, while the giant ants remained stationed around this clearing, their feelers twitching as they guided monsters to the right direction or guarded their ''posts''. Jahi pursed her lips before gesturing for us to pull away, getting us a hundred some odd feet away before asking Anput and I to go towards the Undead''s portion of the ind, back towards the shrouded, poisonous, decaying expanse that they called home. Like with the monsters, finding the base of the undead was easier then I expected, with their chittering and screeches letting us locate the fortress that had been erected in the forest, made from bone and stone and surrounded by a miasma of noxious purple gases. Skeletons armed with staffs lined the top of the fortress, directing the flow of the other undead below them as they pointed and gestured with their intricate staffs, while a few of the skeletons were wielding gigantic swords or axes made from metal and covered in thick tes of metal as well. The mage skeletons and warrior skeletons directed everything before sending the basic undead out towards the battlefield, with the asional Spartoi or Beastman skeleton leading the way, while a few of the leaders of the undead built new constructs slowly, piecing them together with magic and imbuing them with mana. They were more organized and methodical with their actions, and some of their actions were hidden behind therge bone walls of their fortress, but we got glimpses of the undead wing their way out of the ground whenever the gates opened, making us all purse our lips as we pulled back again, making our way out towards the battlefield onest time to finish of the day before retreating entirely. With both camps now preliminarily scouted, and a deeper understanding of what was going on on this side of the ind, we cut down some more of both factions before retreating before the sun set, which prompted us to return to the beach to eat and rest, our discussions taking us well into the night as we came up with a n on what we needed to do going forwards, and how much longer we were willing to stay here. Chapter 538 537: New Plan ? When we returned to the beach to end off the day, Jahi and Nirinia instantly waded out into the ocean, their stomachs grumbling something fierce as they began to fish, while Anput and Leone once more picked as many berries and herbs as they could, wanting to feast again tonight to get their strength up again for tomorrow. We needed to discuss just what we nned on doing for our duration here, and how exactly we wanted to go about getting to the heart so that we could finish our trial here. But, for the moment I was going over my gains from the days battles, a small smile tugging at my lips again as I went about preparing for dinner, getting everything ready for when the ingredients were brought back to me. [Calcting...] [3,189,024 Xp awarded] [Summary avable, would you like to read it?] That pushed me into level 35, which meant that my new total Xp required to level up was pushed to 1,500,000 Xp, which I was just a few hundred thousand away from. Besides the insane amount of Xp awarded to me, I also came away with another bundle of Stat Points and arge amount of Shop Points, and since I had reached another milestone level - anything ending in 5 or 0 - I was awarded a Skill Point as well, which I put into [Sword Proficiency] and took it from (Novice) to (Apprentice). It just made my understanding of my techniques that much deeper, while also gaining a small damage buff with sword type weapons against enemies that weren''t too heavily armored, so I was happy with that investment. Besides the level ups, my stats had also increased recently, with the addition of me utilizing spells finally yielding some more results with the inclusion of my magic in these ughters, especially the Domain type spell that I used earlier. [Stats : STR : 89 -> 93 CON : 97 -> 98 AGI : 95 -> 98 DEX : 95 -> 98 CHA : 76 WIS : 82 -> 88 INT : 80 -> 87] Everything was closing in on that juicy triple digit range, and I knew that just one more day might bring me to the promisednds of 100 in at least my AGI and DEX, perhaps even reaching mid 90''s with WIS and INT. As for my CON, I wasn''t getting hit, so the stat was only progressing through the damage that I was dealing to myself at the moment, which was enough to level it up once apparently; theck of pain and sheer healing factor of my Water Cloak meant I had no idea just what kind of damage I was dealing to myself, but I could only imagine how serious it''d be if I wasn''t in a world of magic... Either way, I was REALLY excited about where I was at currently, and this influx of experience was worth more then its equivalent in gold to me; this wasn''t something that I could buy with money, after all. Sort of; I could probably buy some monsters and have them bred to be livestock, but that''d be far too inefficient for the sheer cost put into it. Just seeing the number again was beautiful, and I couldn''t imagine getting arger amount of experience anywhere else in such a short amount of time... Of course, this influx of experience also made me curious about why [Growth] wasn''t leveling up, but like I hade to a conclusion with on [Frost of Despoina], I was likely at a point where I needed a sheer amount of experience to level it up in total, not just in one sum like it had been before. My guess was something like 20,000,000 Xp or something crazy in a short period of time, or perhaps it was still locked behind a lump sum of around 500,000 Xp gained from one singr monster. I didn''t know, but it was still at a high enough level that I was happy with the skill, which I still viewed as a ''cheat'' skill that any reincarnator would kill to have. A t increase in your Xp gains and being able to upgrade it too boot? Yeah, it was a cheat... Another beautiful thing that I needed to thank Reincantra for, since it had been surprisingly cheap despite it''s incredible use. When I thought as much, I checked on the progress of the two groups before kneeling besides the fire pit, sping my hands in prayer and taking this brief respite to center myself again, taking a moment to clear my mind of everything and mune'' with the Divine. After a short prayer on my part, I opened my eyes to see the others waiting off to the side with their hauls in their arms, the two groups not wanting to interrupt, which made me chuckle quietly before gesturing for them to approach. I set to work as I listened to Jahi, the Demoness sitting down near me as she waited for dinner, the three giant fishplying quite well with my knives as I sliced them into portions for us to eat. "So... as we felt, the monsters are still well within a manageable level, and I think that if they continue to adapt at this same rate, we could stay here for another day or two before we would NEED to go for the mountain... I''d rather stay for however long we could, but I will put it to a vote." The Demoness and Jackalkin raised their hands as Jahi said "Stay for as long as we can?" Leone and I nced at one another before we both nodded, raising our hands as well, though I added "I think we''ll need to utilize differing strategies as well each time, to keep their adaptations to a minimum; they are still weak to fire and ice despite Leone dealing a massive amount of damage with each. Their flesh is still soft, and the bone is still weak. But if we maintain just ONE kind of style, they''ll catch up quick." "But if we were to spread out the damage dealt and force them to strengthen everything all at once, they''d be more manageable as well? I... yes, I guess that would work. Then... shouldn''t we be switching out roles as well? Have Anput deal damage with Earth Magic, perhaps?" That made me shake my head, and Leone was the one to answer for me, letting me focus more on searing the fish. "Earth Magic - and Metal Magic - would be dealing damage through blunt force, meaning it''s still a... ''physical'' magic. Now if she were to start utilizing mud and trying to bake that with her Fire Magic, then perhaps. As for your Light Magic, it is more of a... ''magical'' magic? I can''t replicate it easily with normal tools is what I mean; Earth and Metal Magic can be replicated with a rock or a piece of metal, but it''s hard to shoot a fireball at something at high speeds... if that makes sense? Our magics are different from Anput''s in that regard, and against an enemy that adapts constantly to however it''s killed, well..." The Jackalkin nodded, leaning back in the sand as she said "I can keep up with my Metal Magic in regards to hindering the elites. Besides, despite having a magic considered powerful, I''d prefer utilizing a de anyways... So that doesn''t bother me. But I get what you''re saying. If we broaden the damage dealt, the amount of energy they use to adapt to resist that damage is spread out more, meaning we can be here longer. That''s still a double edged de though; if we push them too far, they get too strong for us to do anything to them." "Which is why I wanted to be here for a maximum of two more days; if this trend continues the same way it is now, that is where I''d befortable with having the enemies. Besides, we also need to scout the bases more thoroughly tomorrow as well... which means a siege of some kind as we find ways to block or destroy them. If we can do either, I''d feel more confident taking the heart inside the mountain." We all nodded at Jahi''s words, the Demoness ncing towards the other side of the ind with narrowed eyes, before she grinned at me as I said "Dinner''s ready." They all were simple creatures at heart, and I loved them for that as they swarmed me, trying to get their portions without fighting one another... since I would then take that portion for myself and deny them the food that they wanted. Chapter 539 538: Back To Farming ? "Like we nned, alright? Kat takes over for over all magical duties, while Leone provides support; if they work in the way Kat potentially thinks, then hitting them with Ice Magic might lower their Fire Magic resistances, which in turn means that when Kat goes up first tomorrow, her Water Magic should sweep them away when they switch once more. Either way, this gives us a good idea on what the adaptations are like and how they how might work..." Jahi looked over each of us before turning towards me, tapping the center of my chest as she added "Don''t overextend yourself, and don''t hit 50% on your Core, alright? We need your magic for whates next; have Leone take over while you recover for a little and drink a potion, alright?" I gave the Demoness a small smile as I nodded, before watching as she turned towards Anput, who handed her a heavy metal Kanabo, which was just a longer, heavier baseball bat... with small studs. They were also testing the theory themselves, with the two women opting for blunt force weaponry instead of their normal des, and since I would be in control of our magical attacks, well... ice shatters, no~? Besides, even without my direct willing of the ice to explode, the shards should still spread the [Frost of Despoina] skill across the hordes simply because I was the one to create the ice, so this should be a very easy farming session for me to take part in, especially because I have the various missions rted to protecting and assisting my Mistress'' during this uing battle. With that in mind, we made our way into the clearing and took the same positions as yesterday, except Nirinia was the one holding the right nk while I was in the back; we decided that as long as the Squire doesn''t utilize her entire suite of spells and techniques and instead just relies on her strength, she should be able to participate. And just like Anput and Jahi, the Djinn was wielding a heavy Kanabo as she strode off to the right, drawing the attention of the undead that turned and began to chitter and screech at the sight of new enemies appearing. As the two hordes turned and focused on us instead, I took a deep breath and steadied my mind, focusing inwards as my fingers began to dance in front of me, tracing out the borate and intricate sequences thatprised arger, deadlier Domain spell. With Leone taking over for me tomorrow, I focused more of my runes and mana towards Wind instead of Water, hoping that thebination magic hitting these enemies would make them switch their resistances from neutral to Wind and Ice instead of Water; while Leone could vaporize water with ease, it wasn''t something that would be sustainable tomorrow, so I needed to avoid giving them a resistance to Water, which would increase their resistance against Fire as well. Rune after rune appeared in front of me, and I smiled softly as the ethereal blue glow in front of me began to grow harsher and harsher, the sheer amount of mana inside the intricately crafted Ritual Circle something that I could have only dreamed about when I first got my hands on magic. Pressing my palms against its surface, I pushed the Ritual Circle out and watched in amazement as therge circle began to spin, staring off slow before picking up speed as it hovered in the air, the pale blue runes shing sporadically before the spell activated. Sharp winds billowed out of its surface, crashing against the oing hordes and momentarily stopping them as they were pushed back, small cuts and scrapes appearing on their bodies. Next was the plummeting of the temperature, the air growing so cold that steam rolled off of our bodies, the heat from producing any sweat now evident in the air as it grew colder and colder, making the monsters shudder, while the undead rattled their bones in a hope to rid themselves of the blood and gore on their bodies, which had begun to freeze over. Something that I had learned from the twins was that both sides of Ice Magic was entirely viable, with both offering such a potent benefit over the other; this sharp, deep chill that I had produced over the entire battlefield was enough to almost incapacitate the weaker enemies and weaker elites, with the most notable being the monsters and how swiftly they lost the capacity to fight. Utilizing Wind more than Water - especially in a tropical location like this, with a rather humid atmosphere - created such a deep chill that made it near impossible to operate at a normal capacity, and if I added some Ice runes to the sequence? The gashes and cuts that the billowing winds were leaving behind had already begun to spread frost like it was a disease, infecting the hordes with a slow, painful death as they were frozen over and sapped of life. And with it being a tropical location, the moisture in the air made the chill that much more noticeable as the water saturated their bodies and deepened the effects of the freezing temperatures. Anput, Jahi and Nirinia were shrouded in a Fire Cloak courtesy of Leone, allowing them to dash forwards utilize their Kanabo''s to brutal efficiency as they crushed and shattered the various enemies, with Anput asionally utilizing her gates to pin down any elites still struggling past the harsh temperature. Of course, I wasn''t idle either, my mana being sent two separate ways as I kept the Domain up and began to cast my own spells, slinging blunted arrows of ice through the air and shattering them on impact, further spreading [Frost of Despoina] The farming session was back online, and I could only grin as I watched the damage being dealt by this Domain and the three warriors, sheer havoc being wrought by ourbined efforts as the monsters and undead tried desperately to move through the chill, only to btedly realize how impeded their movements were. It was a beautiful thing to behold, and an even more incredible thing to witness as I wondered what kind of numbers I would get this time. Chapter 540 539: Reaping The Benefits ? With a wave of my hands, I sent a barrage of arrows flying through the air and watched as they shattered against a cluster of the Goblins, the cylinders exploding on contact and shredding through flesh with ease. Winds buffeted the entire battlefield, the strong gales scoring deep gashes on the enemies bodies and allowing the low temperatures to creep in even further, inhibiting movements and leaving them as little more than sitting ducks for the three women dashing through the battlefield with a vengeance. Anput had switched from the heavier Kanabo to something lighter and more agile, utilizing her agility to her benefit as she struck with precision, shattering skulls left and right before mming the t of her bat into their ribs, dealing incredible damage against whatever stood in her path no matter their faction. Jahi swung her Kanabo wildly, a grin on her face as she sent skulls flying through the air like baseballs as she tried to score home runs, while some of the elites were left sttered on the ground like bugs as she swung her Kanabo straight into the ground, beating them into a pulp below herself. As for Nirinia, she was copying Jahi to a tee as she grinned maniacally as well, going around and letting loose with her strength as she forewent technique for raw brute force, caving in skulls and sending enemies flying away with each swing of the heavy club. Blood and gore littered the earth before being frozen over, creating a beautiful red crystal scape below everyones feet as they moved around freely, shrouded from the cold and ice via Leone''s Fire Cloaks, which gave them a multitude of benefits. When I felt my Core dropping steadily towards its halfway point again, I reached towards my pouch and pulled out a vial filled with a deep blue liquid, which smelt sweet as I uncorked the vial and brought it up to my lips. Gulping down the thick, almost viscous liquid, I swallowed it down before corking the vial and cing it in a separate pouch, allowing Leone to fill it back up again when we returned to the Pce in a few days time. With the area around me being so cold and windy, my body was already absorbing the potent mana from the air and funneling it into my Core, but the potion allowed me to supplement the mana being expended quicker, allowing me to keep therge Domain spell up and running. Fog had filled the air after so much blood had been spilt, the sheer coldness of my magic making the heat visible as it steamed off of the red liquid, while each of the three women were shrouded in a perpetual haze thanks to their Fire Cloaks and sweat. As for the monsters, they had long since been swallowed up by the [Frost of Despoina], their flesh rotting away as the moisture inside them was frozen, making it impossible for them to move with anything more then small, basic movements, which did them no good as three battering rams were unleashed onto their horde. The undead fared a little better, but even they were affected by the deep freeze around them, the frozen gales slicing through their bones and impeding them almost as much as the monsters, and with Nirinia taking care of most of the monsters, that allowed Anput and Jahi to wipe the undead away with extreme prejudice, meaning... The two hordes were being massacred on repeat at this point, as more and more reinforcements marched into the clearing only to get slowed by the perpetual winds. All of the avians were blown to the ground instantly, as well as all projectiles that tried to target me or the Ritual Circle, meaning that as of current, there was nothing able to stop us from controlling this battlefield as our own personal training grounds, meant to be abused until we deemed fit. It was... bullying these poor monsters and undead, yes, but none of us were exactly ''good'' people anyways, so our inhibitions to see this as little more than walking training dummies wasn''t a problem. If anything, we all found this therapeutic, as being able to take out any negative feelings regarding anything on these poor monsters and undead was euphoric, and it provided the perfect outlet to let loose and enjoy ourselves to the fullest. Of course, I wasn''t about to let the ease of this session make my further excursions something that I felt conceited in, as I understood full well that this might be a one off experience for me to have, so I kept Jahi''s words ringing in my ears as I continued to pour more mana into my spells, utilizing only my magic to control and dominate this battlefield. She told me to keep it to a maximum of 5 potions, and that when I utilized thest potion to call them back and have us move on to the next part on our agenda, but damnit was I going to enjoy the time that those 5 potions gave me... I felt like a high level character going back to a beginning area with all the overpowered, broken gear and bullying all the small, pathetic monsters that once proved to be challenging to me, and it was cathartic to feel in the flesh. I wanted to feel it more often, to feel it all the time even, but I wasn''t an idiot, nor was I conceited. There would always be bigger fish, and if it wasn''t a fish, it would be a damn bird swooping down to clip your wings. The Empress is a testament to that, and I don''t doubt that even she has things she holds in cautionary regard, things that she HAS to respect, or else she faces heavy consequences. But, for now, I was indulging in my darker, baser desires as I reaped through the chaff in front of me, a grin splitting my features as I watched the bundles of experience make their way into MY Domain to die... Chapter 541 540: In Depth Scouting (1) ? A billow of steam escaped my lips as I sighed, staring down at the empty vial in my hands that numbered my fifth potion, meaning... "Start pulling back! We have another three minutes!" Slipping the empty vial into the pouch, I switched my magics around for a moment and covered the three warrior''s retreats with a barrage of icicles, cutting down the monsters and undead that tried to get closer as they began to pull back. Leone aided me in that effort as she sent small, condensed spheres of mana hurtling through the air towards the horde, exploding them just above the enemy and knocking them to the ground, burnt and charred. Each fireball added more fog to the battlefield, lowering our vision slightly as we clustered together, but the winds thinned it out in moments. Each of the warriors were releasing a torrent of steam each, their bodies far too warm for this atmosphere, and their sweat rolled onto the ground and turned into small crystals due to the cold, which had only dropped further over time. There is a beauty in simplicity, and I utilized simplicity to its fullest with this Domain; lower temperatures and hurricane type winds created a Domain that few would be able tobat without a strong enough Core to rely on, and if they were lucky enough to have a Wind or Fire attainment. Earth and Water would turn brittle or freeze over in these conditions, and I was getting to witness that first hand as some of the elites on either side tried tobat the temperatures with their Earth Mana, coating themselves in it and hoping to lessen the freeze, but... My Ice burrowed its way into their cloaks and broke it apart, making them as immobile as the Goblins and Skeletons that they controlled. With everything in the clearing being near frozen and immobile, Jahi took a deep breath and sent out her light discs, taking this opportunity to practice her control as she cut them down where they stood. As for Anput, she took the Kanabo from Jahi and Nirinia and used them to hammer down whatever was left from Jahi''s ranged ughter, the Jackalkin controlling the weapons from a distance and smack what was left on the side of the head, cracking their skulls and killing them. Nirinia just watched with a grin, her arms crossed as she observed the battlefield before turning towards me, saying "Not too bad, Kat. Even with a cloak on from the Princess herself, I still can feel that chill nipping at my bones..." "It is rather impressive, especially that you can keep it up for around six minutes before needing to take a potion? Such arge scale spell draining half your Core in six minutes... and that''s with you being able to utilize other spells alongside it too!" I smiled over at Leone as she pointed out the vast amount of mana that was required for this, which made Nirinia nod her head in agreement before she grinned at Jahi, saying "Bluey, you got a real~ nice catch with this maid, you know that? Brains, beauty, brawn... She''s got it all..." The Djinn nced at me before shaking her head, mock mncholy in her eyes as she added "If only I had found you first..! You''re far too perfect of a woman, Kat..." We all rolled our eyes at her antics, before I nced at my pocket watch and said "Alright, let''s get going." Anput and Jahi canceled their spells and stepped back into the forest, with the Demoness grinning at the Djinn as she said "I know I''m lucky, Nirinia. More so than you~?" Nirinia raised a brow as she followed Jahi out, leaving Leone and I to clean everything up as I got to work cancelling the Domain spell, letting it run on the mana left inside its runes as I severed the connection between me and it, with Leone inscribing runes onto the ground that shone red before fading away. Giving me a nod, the Vampire turned and moved into the forest, and I took onest look at the slowed monsters and undead before I too slipped into the safety of the trees, joining the others as we began to make our way around the battlefield and towards the Monster Den. Not even a minuteter we heard a loud boom that shook the forest, making us turn to look at the Vampire responsible, who only returned our gazes with an innocent look - a look that was far too quickly broken as another boom sounded out a momentter, shaking the earth this time as a giant cloud of smoke was visible from the direction of the battlefield. As she scratched her head and muttered out her reasoning - which came down to ''I wanted to do something...'' - I nced at my System notifications and sighed as I saw therge influx of assisted kills that came in, making me sigh one more time as I realized that the cute and refined Vampire seemed to be the cruelest of us all as she continuouslymitted what I considered ''war crimes''... Though, again, they weren''t that bad, and they weren''t against sentient beings, so whatever... We all shook our heads and continued our journey through the forest, heading towards the location that we had found yesterday - the stone covered, monster filled clearing that was presumably their spawning point. "Remember, we''re just going to go take a quick look inside and see what we''re working with. When we have that idea of what''s going on, we''ll pull out and head over to the Bone Fortress to take a peak there as well. As it stands, if we could take on the mountain tomorrow by noon after plugging these two locations up, that''d be excellent..." Reaching the edge of the forest again, Jahi turned and grinned at Leone as she said "Well, it would seem that you''re desire to ''do something'' was beneficial after all, Leone... Look." The Demoness gestured towards the clearing, and we all smirked as we saw the giant ants all marching towards the edge of the clearing, leaving their posts as they curiously - or worriedly - looked towards the battlefield, leaving arge portion of everything open. "Kat, sneak around and take point near the back. Anput, go off to the right, and Nirinia, take the left. We''ll hit them all at once and confuse them more." I gave Jahi a nod as I crouched low and began to move silently through the bushes, my eyes flickering between the ground in front of me, the trees, and the clearing as I made sure to track the monsters sight lines. Chapter 542 541: In Depth Scouting (2) ? Crouching low in the brush of the forest, I stared out over the empty clearing before sneaking forwards, my boots gliding over the leaf covered grass as I made my way forwards, flitting between rocks and boulders to reach a point near the back of the Monster Den. The Ants and other monsters were all gathering at the edge of the clearing, staring out into the sky and observing the billows of smoke that rosezily into the air, each of them grunting and growling at one another as if asking what that was and what happened. Seeing that they were all still so distracted - and that the flying monsters were taking to the skies to go scout the battlefield - I decided to scale the Monster Den and take position above the gathering of monsters, sticking low to the cluster of boulders and mud thatprised the entrance of this structure. I looked around the forest and located the others, before focusing on Jahi as she made eye contact with me, her amethysts hidden from this distance, but the sh of gold wasn''t. A sigh escaped my lips as I watched that sh grow to a blinding brilliance that stole the attention of the monsters, their grunts and growls growing louder as they made their way towards the light. Jahi leapt forwards with her mana spilling from her palms, creating a trail of shining gold that she hurled towards the monsters - daggers made of Light Mana sliced through the air and embedded themselves into the monsters skulls, killing them instantly. "I guess that''s the signal... hah..." Shaking my head, I stood up and traced out runes swiftly, waving my hands and sending out a barrage of icicles that shattered amongst the crowds,cerating the monsters and spreading my frost. I switched to single target spells after that initial volley, picking off the stronger enemies as Anput and Nirinia streamed forwards, their des raised as they crashed against the monsters, carving their way through them and making their way towards the entrance of the Monster Den. Leone stepped out of the forest and mirrored me, lobbingnces of mes through the air and putting down anything that looked dangerous or that got too out of line. We made short work of the monsters, with the Ants requiring the most attention as they molded their chitin with Earth Mana, turning the already hardened tes of armor into impressive defenses, but... Enough pressure or speed made those tes of mana imbued chitin worthless, and I got to watch as Nirinia and Jahi shed their heavy des through the armor like butter, while Anput pierced them with a rapier of her own. Besides them, Leone and I brute forced the Ant''s defenses and overwhelmed their mana with our own, killing them with powerful spells that cost us little to cast. It took not even a minute to reduce the clearing to little more than puddles of blood and blood stained rocks, the monsters still not reaching a level where they were past a minor inconvenience for us when we were fighting them ''seriously''. Dropping off the top of the Den, Inded beside Jahi and nodded to her as she led us inside, her palm radiating a bright golden light that illuminated the path into the earth while her other arm was hoisting arge tower shield that Anput made for her. The earth around us was dark and packed, with pirs of stone holding up the ceiling and supporting the walls, expertly made and crafted by - presumably - the Ants that we saw outside, or at least their worker equivalent if they were the Soldier Ants... We descended for a dozen or so feet before the tunnel evened out, and we sighed as we saw the various tunnels branching off of the path we were on, which lead further into the earth and farther away from where we were now; this was a massiveplex beneath the surface, and just a cursory nce around was enough to tell that this ce was going to be a pain to navigate. "This is... something. I doubt this would be as simple as plug the entrance and leave, since these tunnels... some look freshly made. Besides, the mandibles on those Ants outside were quite powerful, and even if the workers only have a third of that power, they could still make their way through frozen soil. So..." Letting the sphere of light float down the tunnel, Jahi nted her shield down as she nced over her shoulder, asking "Should we delve deeper and get a better understanding of what''s happening here, or should we leave and head over to the Bone Fortress? Either is a viable idea." Approaching her, I stared down the tunnel and inspected the various entrances, my ears twitching as listened to the sounds of the monsters approaching us steadily, replying "Perhaps a slight investigation would do us good? Maybe we''ll find out what is creating them, or where theye from? However, let''s notmit to being down here; I can already hear a vast number of monsters inside these tunnels." Anput nodded, flourishing her sword and gesturing towards the end of the tunnel we were on as she said "Let''s just go down the main path. Kat and I can block the entrances with our magics to stymie the flow a bit as we poke around. Though, I do hear somethingrgering from this main path, so maybe not..? Are we risking it, or..?" "No pain no gain, right? Risk is always bnced out with something needed, so let''s head down. Sound good, Bluey~?" Jahi let out a huff as she red at the grinning Djinn, picking up her shield and stepping further into the Monster Den, making the rest of us settle into the usual formation as we followed behind her, trusting the Demoness'' judgement like we always did. Besides, despite her jovial tone, Nirinia was right; risk and reward usually bnced one another out, and while we might not make away with any physical treasures from this, the knowledge and experience gained would make it worth it. Chapter 543 542: In Depth Scouting (3) ? Jahi walked forwards with a confident gait, her great sword resting on her shoulder as she marched down the tunnel towards the end, her eyes alternating between the branching tunnels around us as she kept her guard up for any monsters that would try and surprise us. Anput and I walked on either side of her, plugging the branching paths with Earth and Ice as we journeyed deeper into the Monster Den, hoping to find something that might stymie the production of these monsters even just a little bit, so that when we began our siege on the mountain we could do so without asrge of a horde following behind us. Leone was in the center of us all, with Nirinia following behind as we delved deeper and deeper, the air bing stale and hot as we moved further and further away from the surface. Jahi''s golden light illuminated the tunnel in front of us, though her hulking frame was just a tad too tall for the tunnel as it tapered inwards, forcing her to tilt her head and letting her ram horns scrape the dirt above us. Thankfully, the tunnel only began to growrger as we reached a newyer of the Monster Den, made clear by the darker dirt and addition ofrger stonesprising the tunnel, as well as the amount of Ants that scampered out of their paths to stop us. Before they could move or truly acknowledge us, golden daggers flew through the air and stabbed deep into their heads, killing them quickly and silently. We moved forwards quickly after that, not wasting any time as the sounds of more and more Ants scurrying towards the main path became loud enough for the others to hear it as well. Golden daggers flew down the paths that Jahi passed, slowing the flow as she bought Anput and I time to seal the tunnels, while Nirinia turned to more efficiently cover the path leading back to the surface. The air grew hot as we reached arge cavern, the heat visible as we stepped foot into the heart of the Monster Den, which, to no ones surprise, was host to arge gathering of monsters. Situated in the middle was arge pool or viscous reddish brown sludge, which was being fueled byrge ''pipes'' of organic matter that connected the pool with the ceiling, and you could see... something moving inside the pipes, which was shot out into the pool. After a few moments, Goblins rose in abundance from the sludge, their bodies covered in the reddish brown liquid as they wed their way towards the edge, where they shook the sludge off and revealed their muscr flesh and horn studded skulls. Staggering around the edge of the pool, the Goblins eventually opened their beady red eyes and snarled at one another, before making their way towards one of the many Ants that were situated around the room. Dozens upon dozens of Goblins rose from the pool every few moments, with the asional Serpent, feline, or avian making their way out as well, shaking the sludge free from their bodies before venturing off to one of the other pathways leading out. Situated in the back was a gigantic Ant with a muchrger abdomen than the others, and its head was crowned by a band of deep crimson horns. Eggs rested around its body, and asionally one would burst open, revealing an Ant covered in that same sludge. Of course... we were seen right away, all of the monsters in the room turning to stare at us in silence for a moment before shrieking and growling as they lurched towards us, prompting Jahi to turn around and begin a tactical retreat, all while Anput and I plugged the entrance swiftly with as much Earth and Ice as we could. "Those organic tubes might just be the key to slowing down the... ''production'' of the monsters! There were things inside those tubes being deposited inside the pool; likely the energy or mana that the ind gathered from the dead monsters! Since everything gets recycled here and all... Maybe destroying those tubes would buy some time? The problem is getting here again without wasting arge amount of mana..." We all nodded at her words, rushing through the tunnel and killing any of the Ants that managed to break through the blockades as we made our way towards the surface. "Besides, there was that giant Ant as well, which looked like a Queen? Something like that has to have arge amount of time between it being killed anding back to life? Surely?" "Maybe even permanently for this ''version'' of the ind? Perhaps - like the heart - it''s a one and done type of monster? Either that, or it does have a long period of time before ites back to thend of the living..." I flicked my hand to the side, sending a shard of ice hurtling down the hall and into the skull of a charging Goblin, exploding its cranium and slowing down the other Goblins beside it before continuing to speak. "That also begs the question of what big bad is waiting for us over at the Bone Fortress? There is now way that the Monster Den houses something asrge and important as that while the Undead are left with something weaker." The others all let out grunts and hums of agreement, and we continued running even as we reached the surface, disappearing into the forest and leaving behind the Monster Den as we made our way towards the Bone Fortress next, wanting to get a better idea on what the Undead were working with as well. We needed a more solid, tuned n for when we decide to end everything here, and from the looks of it that n will be a multi step, in depth sequence of affairs as we do everything we can to bring this ind under control. Chapter 544 543: In Depth Scouting (4) ? The Bone Fortress loomed ahead of us, and once more Jahi took the lead with everything,ying out a basic n that entailed me casting a weaker Domain spell than I had used earlier so that we could storm the gates and take a peak inside of this structure, to learn about what we were dealing with. Considering that - in terms of troop quality - the Undead outranked the Monsters with ease but lost in numbers, we were thinking that this Bone Fortress would be ''smaller'' than the Monster Den butden with danger, since a Spartoi outssed a Serpent nine out of ten times. Which meant that we needed to be in and out without muchbat, since we could easily get bogged down by the Undead if they swarmed us with arge amount of elite enemies - let alone if the Undead boss enemy took to the field as well, which would be a bit disastrous. However, we were more than equipped and prepared for a situation like that, so while it was a worry in the back of our minds, it wasn''t so pressing that we were second guessing our every move from here till we returned to the safety of the beach. So as I stood up and weaved together a sequence of runes to bring a blizzard into existence again, the others rushed forwards and took the existing skeletons by surprise, crashing against them and carving a path towards the gates. Leone was a step behind everyone else, her spells hurtling up towards the ramparts where the skeletons with staffs stood, knocking them down and killing them before they could begin to takemand of the other undead and get them into fighting formation. My Domain went up a few momentster, the winds and snownding on the bone and stoneden walls of the Bone Fortress and allowing me to move forwards and aid my lovers as we rushed towards the gates. As I did so, an idea popped into my mind - an idea that I really wanted to try, and one that would be beneficial to us all - which made me swerve off to the side, rushing through the weaker skeletons and finding me beside the wall. Jahi narrowed her eyes as she nced towards me, before continuing forwards as she saw me begin to climb the wall using tforms of ice, which sprouted from the bones as the snow thickened. After I reached a certain height, the skeletons and other undead below me couldn''t reach me anymore, only being able to attack me by throwing their weapons at me, but even that did nothing as a personal sphere of wind knocked everything away. While they pushed open the gates and entered from the front, I jumped onto the wall and stared out over the interior of the Bone Fortress, which made me smile wryly as I crouched along the edge, observing everything first. From where they entered at the front, there were dozens of low level skeletons and some Beastkin Skeletons roaming around confusedly, hidden behind barricades and piles of bone that provided them some cover from those below. Further in, the piles of bones were stacked higher andden with heavier, thicker bones that were being pulled out by spindly, thin skeletons and assembled on tables into the undead that we saw around us. Those tables were arrayed around arge pit filled with bones as well, which the base skeletons rose out of on asion, while further back was anotherrge hall made of bones and stone. Ringing the top of the fortress'' walls were a myriad of skeletons with staffs, Earth and Fire Mana coiling around the wood and bone focuses as they aimed them at me or at the others, reacting far quicker than the other undead down below. Right before they could fire their spells at me, I caught a glimpse of the doors leading into the hall opening, revealing a mass of bones and mana inside that radiated power, but I couldn''t get a detailed look as I dove to the side, dodging a sharpened rock that threatened to crush my ribcage. While Jahi and the others down below got to work cutting down the various undead as they pushed further in, I traced out some runes before firing back at the arcane skeletons, killing them as I began to run towards the other side of the Bone Fortress from atop the walls, Shatter in my off hand and coated in a thick b of serrated ice. Icicles burst from the Ritual Circle hovering in front of my palm, shattering the skulls of the arcane skeletons that I rushed towards as I made my way over the walls and towards the hall, which had a few windows and openings on its roof for me to slip into for a better look. Spartoi and Beastkin Skeletons down below bellowed and screeched in anger as they watched the weaker undead get butchered, raising their weapons and lumbering forwards to meet the intruders. Some of them saw me and tried to scale the walls to help the mages, only to slide back down and chitter in irritation as the snow coating the bones made it nearly impossible for them to do so, resulting in them turning to focus on Jahi and the others instead. With a Water Cloak draped over my armor and a gale of wind shrouding my immediate area, I swiftly rushed through everything up top and took out the mages before they could cause trouble for those below, allowing them to push forwards rtively unimpeded while allowing me to take a peek before they reached the gate, which... Well, I had to groan softly at the sight thaty before me, my mind split between anticipation and dread. Whaty inside the Bone Fortress'' heart was a rather peculiar creature assembled from bones and held together by powerful mana. Hunkered down at the back of the hall, the roughly humanoid undead was around eight feet tall when it was sitting down, meaning it was likely around ten to twelve when it was standing up; the height wasn''t the most frightening part of the undead though. Four thick, powerful arms sprouted from its armored torso, and three of them were wrapped around a giant metal sarcophagus engraved with intricate runes and symbols, it''s bronzed surface gleaming under the light cast by the silvery mana wafting off of the undead. It''s legs ended in avian feet, with three long talons stretching out front while a fourth poked out of the back, doubling as lethal weapons should the need arise. As for its skull, the undead had an elongated snout with dozens of fangs as well as a myriad of small horns and studs, giving it a mixed canine and reptile like skull structure. Two silver orbs of mana floated in its eye sockets, and the undead rose to its feet unhurriedly, hefting the sarcophagus over its shoulder and grabbing a pair ofrge sabers that were sitting beside it; one upper hand securing the sarcophagus, while both lower hands wielded the des, leaving the other upper hand free for anything. When the gates did open, I watched as the undead reached back and grabbed a chunk of stone that it had been resting on, hurling it towards the gate to start the encounter with us. Chapter 545 544: In Depth Scouting (5) ? I slung a spear of hardened ice towards the rock, hoping to push it off course at the very least before it could impact the gate, but I didn''t need to worry as therge stone was shattered by a precise bolt of mes, turning it into a shower of fragmented stone that bounced off of a golden dome. Seeing Jahi and the others step into the hall, I pursed my lips as I turned back towards the giant four armed skeleton in the back, my mind whirring as I observed how it just stood there, its twin des held loosely in its hands while the sarcophagus was secured behind its bulky frame. That sarcophagus had to be something extremely important for this Bone Fortress to operate, hence why it was being guarded by thergest, strongest skeleton construct on this entire ind. Metal Magic, something unknown inside that bronzed sarcophagus, two des held at the ready, and its own bulky, powerful frame made this Undead something that we would think thrice about facing even with some time to n. If I was right in my train of thought, specifically with that sarcophagus housing something important for the entirety of the Undead faction, then this was an unavoidable fight for us in the future, and one that we would need a very detailed n for. "Think we should pull back quickly now..." The Demoness bolstered the golden dome around them as therge undead took a step forwards, it''s silver eyes ring with power as its empty upper hand began to reach for the sarcophagus as well, the runes on its surface shifting and changing as they formed a Ritual Circle, allowing it to begin casting high level magic with speed. Pulling a thick, barbednce out of the lethargically spinning Ritual Circle, the Undead hurled it at the dome and observed the damage it caused, its hand returning to the sarcophagus and altering the Ritual Circle as it continued to walk forwards. "Yup, we''re pulling back! Anput!" Crouching, the Jackalkin pressed her palms against the ground and erected a towering wall of stone and metal in front of them, which began to crack as a barrage of metal spheres mmed into its surface, cratering the thick barricade. A thin sheen of gold covered the wall as well, reflecting some of the spheres and giving them some time as they turned and fled, making me do the same as I slipped out of the hall and back onto the roof, where I dropped down into the forest and rushed away silently, making my way around the long way to rejoin them. Just like before, Jahi was leading the way as she brought us back towards the battlefield, Anput arming herself and the other two warriors with Kanabo again as the Demoness said "That thing''s going to be a huge pain in the ass. Too many unknowns and not enough desire to get embroiled in a battle with it right now..." "We did the right thing by pulling away; there were still a lot of undead around the outside courtyard, and thest thing we''ll want to do with that type of enemy is fight them when they have a bunch of low level chaff around to pull some attention away from it. Not worth it. Besides, we need to make some ns for both the Bone Fortress and Monster Den, as well as check on these enemies as well, see if they''re still weak or not." Everyone nodded at my words as we rushed through the forest, eventually finding ourselves at the edge of therge clearing - that was now ckened and charred - and looking out over the sea of monsters and undead battling one another again, like nothing had happened earlier. Leone and I remained behind Jahi and Anput as they waded forwards, smashing a path through the hordes and guiding us towards the other side of the clearing, all of us wanting to sit down and discuss what had happened today as we came up with a more concrete n once again for this ind. Nirinia brought up the rear and made sure nothing could reach Leone or I, though we aided the others with pinpoint spells that knocked the elites away as well as utilizing buff spells to allow them to clear the way quicker, fueling their strength and speed. It wasn''t an ideal day out into the ind, but it was a fruitful one that was well worth the time spent and energy used, since the amount of experience and progression from this day would be far more than before. Besides the gains for my System - my levels and stats - we also gainedrge nuggets of information regarding two of the three factions residing on this ind, with potential understandings on how to stymie the flow of their troops even just a little. Therge pool of sludge getting fed by those organic tubes as well as the Ant Queen for the Monsters, and the pit of bones, thin skeleton crafters, and that sarcophagus for the Undead. Those clusters of knowledge would be useful in making a n for our conquering of the ind, and there were a few ideas already floating around in my mind regarding how we should tackle those problems. For now though, I took note of the ease of which everything around us was felled by the powerful swings of the Kanabo''s and our magics, suggesting that their adaptations to our earlier massacre either hadn''t fully taken ce yet, or it was as small as we believed it would be. Cleaving a path directly through the ocean of enemies was a bold and - admittedly - dangerous strategy, but it was one that we were capable of as we reached the edge of the battlefield once more, allowing us to slip into the forest and away from the monsters and undead who fruitlessly tried to chase after us. When we returned to the beach - like clockwork - Anput and Leone remained in the forest to gather fresh ingredients while Nirinia and Jahi dove into the ocean, searching for fish. As for me, I began to prepare everything I would need to make our meal while also opening my System and looking over todays gains, which brought arge smile to my face. Chapter 546 545: Leveling Up... Again ? [Calcting...] [Calcting...] Seeing the message repeat twice as the System tallied up my total gains from this days excursion was thrilling, and I could feel my heart begin to race as I waited multiple antagonizing seconds for the calctions toe through, before a wide grin split my features for a brief moment as thergest number yet appeared as a System notification. [5,498,780 Xp awarded!] [Summary avable, would you like to read it?] Maybe it was because it was a non stop day of killing, as well as the fact that the monsters were getting stronger and stronger after each ''reset'' we forced upon them, but this scaling number was getting rather addicting, especially when that scaling number shot my level up from 35 to 39 and some change, meaning I was closing in on another milestone level once more. Declining the summary, I turned my attention instead on the increase in stats that I had, my lips curling up into a smile as I saw the bump there as well. [Stats : STR : 93 -> 95 CON : 98 -> 99 AGI : 98 -> 101 DEX : 98 -> 101 CHA : 76 WIS : 88 -> 97 INT : 87 -> 97] My stats had finally breached the triple digits in two categories, with three more extremely close and another just a bit further off of reaching that promisednd; as for my Charisma stat, I wasn''t too pressed to get that up to 100, since I already knew what I had and how to carry myself well enough to captivate the women that mattered to me. With those level ups as well, I received a four Stat Points that I ced into WIS as well as CON, taking them both to 100 and unlocking an achievement that made me feel incredibly giddy [Achievement : Overachiever] Reward : 75,000 Xp, +3 CON, AGI, DEX, and WIS] That meant that both my AGI and DEX were 104, and my CON and WIS were 103, cing four of my seven stats at triple digits, and realistically meaning two thirds of my ''useful'' stats were now above 100, with CHA only being a ''vanity'' stat at this point. What had once been my ''pride and joy'' of a stat due to its swift advancement and higher value had be something that I cherished, certainly, but one that I didn''t mind wasn''t progressing anymore as a reliable speed. Having four stats above 100 was something that made me wonder if I was dreaming, thisrge leap in progress addling my brain for a moment as I stared at my slightly trembling hands, unsure of... almost everything. I felt stronger, but that could certainly be the rush of adrenaline from such an achievement happening, as well as simple cebo for wondering if breaching the triple digit threshold meant my strength was higher than it was before by multitudes; like how some novels or games made reaching the hundreds something worth more than reaching a new set of tens. [To rain on this parade, the answer is both. A point here is roughly... if the math is mathing correctly for me... approximately 1.15 of a normal point, so roughly every 7 points you technically get an ''extra'' point, but that''s just because your at a level now that allows more mana to flow inside your body with more ease. How to put it...] The System fell silent for a moment before finallying up with an analogy, all while I tried to control my breathing and return my excitement to its normal levels. [If before your body was like a towel, it''s now like a thick sponge; it can absorb more mana easier and release it easier as well, with less mana getting trapped and ''lost'' inside your pathways, meaning everything about your body should be working much smoother than before... if we were to get to a microscopic level. It''s not noticeable just yet, nor is it some Cultivation-esque boost in power, but it is rather significant in the long term. Anyways... yeah, that''s that? Enjoy.] I blinked as I felt the System return to its dormant state, the helpful ''voice in my head'' popping in and out whenever it wanted to speak for a few moments before disappearing, making me wonder if I was actually cra- [You are.] ''Thanks.'' Chuckling wryly, I held out my palm and summoned my mana, smiling as condensed, cool vapors spilled from my palm and dissipated into the air. Like the System said, it was a small change but one that I could notice if I paid close enough attention; my mana was smoother to utilize and certainly more potent. My mind went back to the time that we had been at the Blizzard Dukedom two years ago, when Duchess ki showed off two things that still awed me to this day. Her raw, potent mana capable of altering the world without the use of any runes or seemingly any will, as well as the indescribable depths that had been her eyes. It had been something that I had offhandedly noticed over these years, but when either I or Leone just tried to push mana out of our palms and do something without a rune, it only resulted in our hands being colder or warmer respectively, and not to a dangerous degree. For Anput it felt like she had a harder palm, while Jahi could create a dull glow with just her shapeless mana, but nothing insane. So for me to be able to truly see the difference meant that the improvement was certainly there, and it wasn''t just from the increase in my Wisdom stat, which had a corrtion with the potency of my mana. That made me happy and excited for more, but I reined in my excitement and instead dulled it with pragmatism as the others returned with their bountiful offerings,ying the fish and herbs on the table as they wordlessly pleaded with me to grace them with sustenance. Seeing them again made me push my desires for more personal strength aside and instead focus on us as a collective, since it wasn''t just me here; they were on this ind as well, and we had confirmed today that it wasn''t just a harmless ce to enjoy smacking around weak enemies. There were some serious threats waiting for us deeper inside, and we needed to be smart about everything, even if that came at the cost of me slowing down my leveling speed. After all, safety came first for them and me, and I could only imagine how much importance was ced on that idea after I had been taken from them once. I doubt Jahi, Anput, or Leone would want to risk any harming to me ever again; in fact, I could guarantee it since I myself was adamant to never let anything that might hurt them physically, mentally, or emotionally ever again. Not if I could help it. Chapter 547 546: Planning... Again Just like before, Jahi took the time to discuss our n version three while I was cooking, with Nirinia, Cali, and the Marquess listening from off to the side, their conversation as raunchy as ever as they debated the intricacies of how to finish off an orgasm, going over things like where to aim, how much, how deep... anything that you could think of, they were debating to iron out their ideal finish to sex. Obviously we ignored them as best we could, though I could see the others all nodding in agreement sometimes when they made a point that they liked, or tilting their head as they thought on it for a moment. And honestly, some of their points were worthy of agreement and distraction, but it was still a tad annoying to have our train of thought derailed as we all focused instead on the best ce for a futa to finish besides inside. So I ced a thin wind barrier around us and got us all back on track, allowing sound to slip out but not in as we discussed what we needed to without being distracted, which Jahi did with a sigh. "To start, let''s review the Monster Den. Those organic tubes were likely the first key for stymieing the flow of monsters into the battlefield, but that also means that the Ant Queen is important as well, since it was surrounded by eggs. We all agree that getting rid of those tubes would be the first priority, yes?" She looked around before continuing on when she saw our nods, saying "Then for the Ant Queen, I imagine it would be less of an attacker and more of a supporter type enemy. Something that applies buffs or directs its underlings to do the work for it, meaning we need to be able to hit it extremely hard before it can call for backup..." Slicing off a filet from therge fish, I nced over at the Demoness as I asked "Are we doing it with all of us together or are we hitting both the Monster Den and Bone Fortress at the same time? Split into two groups to do both before meeting up at the mountain?" Jahi frowned as she heard that, though Leone spoke before she could, making her frown deepen as the Vampire began to provide her own thoughts. "If we allow one faction to get reinforcements and stop the other, the faction that is being bolstered will be able to turn their focus onto the mountain, meaning the Golems will be attacking that faction instead. This is something that could be beneficial or it could be detrimental. It distracts the Golems, sure, but that means that we have two different enemies to focus on inside the mountain. If we stop both at the same time and clean up the battlefield, we deal with only the Golems. Both have upsides and downsides, so we''ll need to pick." Anput was the next to speak, her smirk aimed at Leone and I as she asked "Then if we were to split into groups, which would you pick for yourselves? We can''t send the two mages off on their own, so one of you will go to one ce and the other goes to... well, the other ce." I rolled my eyes at the Jackalkin''syered question, her intentions clear as she tried to get Leone and I to pick and choose amongst her and Jahi for this n, which made my mate smirk more as she looked between us, curiosity dancing inside her obsidian eyes. Leone and I exchanged nces before we looked at Jahi, then turned to stare at Nirinia as well as we considered what we would need at either location. "Wouldn''t it be best if you and Anput went to the Monster Den, and I took the Bone Fortress with Jahi and Nirinia? Thepact space would do wonders for your magic, and Anput should be the one to go to the Monster Den because of her Earth Magic..." "And if you use your Ice to slow everything at the Bone Fortress, that would allow Jahi and Nirinia to focus on that undead with the sarcophagus after clearing away the weaker undead, right? Anotherrge Domain spell over the Bone Fortress, lead the undead outside, and then bring it down... As for Anput and I, if we move quickly and she covers me for thirty seconds? Maybe a bit longer, we could probably kill the Ant Queen before retreating, and even if that fails we could use explosions to shake the tunnels and copse everything..." "Or that liquid fire you had; if you could use a lot of that, or find a way to make the spell easier to cast, that could be used to block off the entrances for a few minutes while you do anything else." Leone nodded at Jahi''s words, before leaning against the table as she began to think on her magics and version of the n, leaving the three of us to decide if that was good enough. "I don''t... particrly want the two of you to go off on your own, but Leone had a point with the reinforcements. All it would take is us getting unlucky during our subjugation of one of the two bases to have the mountain overwhelmed with the other faction, making it aplicated mess. But still, letting any of you out of my sight is..." Jahi grit her teeth and looked away, making the three of us smile back at her as we appreciated her possessiveness, though we pushed through it and returned to nning, discussing more and more of what we might want to do. The conversation eventually shifted from how we would be subjugating the two bases to when we should do it, discussing if we should take another day or two to hone ourselves further before taking this to the end. Like with the ns for the bases, all of our ideas had pros and cons that we needed to weigh carefully before executing them, and we eventually came to a decision on what we should do. Chapter 548 547: Another Day, Another Dollar ? After intense debate, a dinner break, and a resumption of the discussion on how to approach our remaining days on this ind, we reached a conclusion that made each of us happy, and it was one that benefited us all equally. We would remain here for two more days, with the first dayprising of another two sessions of massacring the locals for our own twisted amusements and benefit, while the second day would be one spent destroying said locals homes and then raiding the main attraction of the ind and plunging this ce back into chaos after we killed the ind itself! Sounds like a perfectly normal, reasonable, and entirely legal n for us to execute, does it not? Joking aside, we dide to the realization that another day spent training in our strengths would do us good, especially if we did so in two phases so that we could diversify our gains, which for me would be easily noted whenever we finished. The n - yes, we were making new ns every day it seemed - was once again simple; to start, Leone would be our sole ranged attacker while the rest of us fought on the front lines, going for sheer physical destruction while the Princess remained behind us, supporting and aiding us with her precise magics. Not the most exciting on her end, but manageable. The second phase would switch some of our roles as Leone took the foremost destructive role, allowing our innocent wife to disy that quirky gap of hers when she casually utilized some of the harshest methods to kill something on purpose, viewing the efficiency over the morality despite usually being the one amongst us to care about that the most... As for the rest of us, we would just cut anything down that got to close before switching to some magics of our own, picking off anything else and honing our mana control first and foremost. So with another beautifully simple n in ce again, we found ourselves at the battlefield all over again, but this time there was some... extra motivation amongst the others as I had pulled out the remaining jerky and used that to make something far more substantial for dinner tonight, meaning they had to earn that food properly. Of course, seeing them go all out early on was both amusing and irritating as I watched them idly for a few moments, before I took my rapier and dashed forwards, deciding to join them as I crashed into a group of skeletons, going for primarily undead enemies this time as I put my newfound triple digit stats to work, relishing the speed and precision I had. Targeting skulls and only skulls was fulfilling work as I weaved through crowds of bumbling undead, dodging their primitive weaponry and shattering their heads with swift strikes from my rapier, while my off hand sted them back if they got too close with a burst of wind. Anput danced between the monsters with precision as well, her thin katana rising and falling as she went for speed over power, relying on a sharp cutting edge and incredible speed to cut through her enemies even as they tried to bog her down with numbers. On the opposite side of the spectrum was the technique of a bumbling bull in a china shop that was our primary lover and unique Demoness, her wide swings of her great sword severing enemies into pieces as she spun around in a small area, leaving her soaked in blood and gore as she relied on brute strength to solve her problems. Leone watched over us all calmly from the back, asionally helping us out as she shot condensed spheres of me into the crowd and had them explode, thinning the horde a bit before spamming swifter, smaller bolts that maimed or killed whatever they hit, further allowing us to enjoy some good old fashioned melee fighting. Nirinia was with us as well, acting as an ace up our sleeves incase something went wrong suddenly, but she wasn''t sitting back and watching this time, once more hefting a Kanabo that Anput made for her and mirroring the Demoness as she whacked our enemies around with her superior strength. We immersed ourselves in the killing of the monsters and undead with almost reckless abandon in that clearing, our bodies constantly in a blur of motion as we stood our ground on this battlefield, indulging in this symphony of violence. Time lost all meaning as my world became centered around the rapier in my right hand, my mind working on overdrive as I slowly honed my skill in wielding it, cutting away excessive movements that saved me not even a fraction of a second in time and an ounce of energy in its execution. However, progress was progress, and the more I shattered the skulls of the undead in front of me - be it normal skeletons, Beastkin skeletons, or Spartoi - the more I could understand the perspectives of Anput and Jahi as the thrill of being so close to death flooded me with adrenaline. But, just as our fishy meals had bemon ce these days, these addictive moments spent mindlessly killing came to an end when Leone took a nce at the pocket watch I had lent her, gathering our attention with a bright burst of mes above the battlefield and signaling for us to pull back. The instant that I saw that re, and the moment that I began to retreat from the battlefield was the moment that I noticed the sheer pain that I was in, my muscles screaming at me to stop while my joints - particrly my knees and my hands - were burning harshly, this sudden shift from focusing on fighting to retreating allowing my mind to begin processing the damage my body had sustained through my own actions. It was an annoyance, but it wasn''t as bad as I thought it would be, bing manageable quick as I ran alongside the others, making our way back to the beach to recuperate and get ready for round two, where we would indulge once more. But, for the time being I had a rather sizable increase in my experience bar again,ting myself 3,198,980 Xp for this excursion and leveling myself up to level 41, meaning I now needed 1,750,000 Xp per level up. As for my stats, they looked like this: [Stats : STR : 95 -> 97 CON : 104 AGI : 104 -> 106 DEX : 104 -> 106 CHA : 76 -> 77 WIS : 103 INT : 97 -> 100] That included the two stat points - which went into INT atop the one point that I got for my constant use of a Wind Cloak - so I was extremely pleased with the progress made today, even more so when that Skill Point showed up as well, which I used to increase [Chione''s Blessing] to (Apprentice) level, raising my mana regeneration and potency inside of water, windy areas, or cold areas... or all three for a triple boost. Not a shy increase whatsoever, but a solid foundational increase that would certainly prove useful for what I had in mind for the future, which involved me needing arge amount of mana for something... Chapter 549 548: Calm Before The Storm ? It was allughter when we returned to the beach again, the thrill of the battle still coursing through our veins and giving us that addictive adrenaline fueled high that felt so damn good as we continued to move around. Paired with the joking and poking fun of each other, it only made each of us more and more giddy as we stepped onto the sand, where the Marquess and Cali sat across from one another, a chess set between them as they passed the time by talking. Hearing us return, they looked up and stared at us for a moment before going back to their chess match, the two in deep contemtions as they tried to outwit and outmaneuver the other in one of the best strategy games ever made, all while they - of course - discussed anything sexual. Jahi handed me one of the fish that we had begun to stockpile inside a small pool we built on the beach, which kept it fresh despite having been caught earlier this morning by her and the Djinn. I got to work even as the Demoness wrapped herself around me from behind, her breath warming my cheek as she rested with me in her arms. Anput and Leone watched in slight envy before Anput took matters into her own hands, grabbing the Vampire and dragging her into her arms, whispering a few things to the Princess that made her blush. It was as clear as crystal that we were all feeling a little pent up sexually on this ind, since there was little guarantee that we could enjoy each other without the Marquess or Nirinia popping through the Gate and catching us in the act, meaning... Yeah, I was umting a few stacks of [Arousal] on this ind, but it wasn''t too bad since I wasn''t all alone again; the kisses and embraces of my lovers assuaged my need for release somewhat, making this a bearable torture as we resided on this ind. That didn''t mean that there weren''t moments that I wasn''t just a bundle of poorly managed lust, since being shrouded in the sweet scent of my Demoness and enveloped in her warmth, all while something exquisite pressed against my lower back made me want to pounce on her and demand she give me the attention I craved... Which was only made worse as she whispered sweet nothings into my ear, her words dripping with honeyed promise as she told me about what she would do to me when we returned to the Pce, from the positions she wanted to take me in to the duration she wanted to be inside of me. All of it made this a slightly strenuous task, but I pulled through nheless, preparing us a meal to regain our energy before we rested for another hour, going over somethings on our own as we enjoyed the serenity of the beach and the beautiful blue ocean. When the sun had begun to descend from its zenith, we got up and went back to work, this time relinquishing the majority of the killing to Leone as she pulled out the full brunt of her arsenal, the Princess disying her True Vampire form as she decided to test out more and more things. A wicked smile adorned her lips as she stood on the battlefield, creating a cacophony of loud booms and crackling of mes as she weaved spells together, taking a scorched earth approach as she decimated the enemies in front of us, leaving little to do for the rest of us. With the small amount of enemies capable of even surviving past her initial barrage of spells, the rest of us had little we could do to help her, which resulted in us instead giving buffs to the Vampire to further aid her destruction of the enemies in front of us. Jahi kept things simple by giving her a Light Cloak and shrouding us with a dome of golden light, keeping us separate from the acrid scent of ash as well as the disgusting smell of burning flesh and hair. Anput created a small fortress around us as well, before she pushed Leone up slightly into the air to have a better view over the battlefield; inside the walls of the fortress, she made a few seats and lounged on one of them, watching everything unfold curiously. Nirinia joined her, not too versed in magic to offer much help anywhere, with Jahi sitting down as well as they began to talk about anything that came to mind. Their eyes never left the battlefield though, just in case Leone required aid or somethingrge happened, giving them the ability to react quickly to the changes. As for me, I gave the Vampire a boost by summoning a temperate gale of wind to fuel her mes, making them harsher and deadlier to the unlucky monsters and undead caught inside their scorching embrace. When that was done, I stood behind her and watched as tornadoes of me spun around the battlefield, burning everything in their paths and leaving nothing standing in their wake, while a constant barrage of ming arrows mmed into the earth. Besides the two spells working on their own, Leone wielded Moon and Blood Magic to a terrifying degree as she warped the fabric of reality for some of the elites, making them walk willingly into the tornadoes and burn themselves to a crisp, while the Blood of her enemies became a new weapon for her to wield. A long whip of crystalized Blood cracked through the air, slicing cleanly through flesh and bone equally as she indulged in her darker urges free of worry, safe in the knowledge that everything here was a monster or undead that held no sentience. In other words, we were witnessing the utter domination of this battlefield by a crazed Vampire that could wield two ancient magics and one elemental magic to brutal efficiency, all while she let go of her normal moral limiters. To say that we were all rather intrigued and aroused by this side of the normally calm and timid Princess would be an understatement, and I was rather curious if there was a way I could get this side to make an appearance every once in a while... Either way, this was a fruitful excursion even for us as we got to witness the power of Leone first hand, while also getting some slight practice with our own spells as we busied ourselves, waiting for the Vampire to run low on mana or decide that she had enough fun. She... was there for a half hour before she asked for a potion, making all of us smile wryly as we acquiesced to her wish. Chapter 550 549: Preparations For A Siege ? The second excursion of the day wasn''t as lucrative for us as the first one was, but it was nice to allow Leone to let loose some and get everything out of her system before we retreated to the beach to begin our preparations for the sieges toe, both groups needing to make some individual ns and preparations for the location that we would be responsible for. In truth, it would be Leone and I who were doing the actual preparations as we got everything together for tomorrow and hashed out the finer details, but the others wouldn''t be cking either, discussing strategies that we would need to employ to get through everything safely and efficiently. Leone and I would be enchanting the rest of our gear though, with the Vampire taking over the more basic, universal enchantments while I created the fine tuned enchantments for each person specifically, allowing them to employ a greater strength tomorrow against our respective bosses. I didn''t have the time nor the mana to make masterpieces, but considering the gear we were wearing wasn''t something that we nned on using for long due to upgrades, I had no qualms putting what I considered ''sub par'' enchantments on the armor since they were just a means to an end currently. That included my rapier and the daggers that everyone had on them as well, since Anput had already informed us that she nned on holing herself inside a forge for a week straight sometime soon to just forge some superior arms and armor for each of us, with her words being ''something that I could be proud of'' regarding the things she wanted to make. Everything we had right now was just practice to her, and we all had to admit - even Nirinia and the Marquess - that what she considered ''just practice'' was already leaps and bounds above some of the things we have seen on the market. I thought that she might have a rather deep talent for forging as well, which meant that the Jackalkin could secure herself a true foundation anywhere she went since smiths were always sought after, especially sessful ones. Anyways, as we returned to the beach and settled down after another long, fruitful day, we began our normal routine as Jahi and Nirinia refreshed the pool with fish, wanting to have arge feast for tonight, while Anput and Leone harvested what they could from the forest, bringing back an assortment of things to further add to our menu of foodstuffs. The star of the feast being the remaining jerky that I had let soak in a small pot of water so that it rehydrated itself, which the Marquess had - hopefully - changed the water of a few times to rid it of the excess salt that most jerky tended to have. Yes, that would rid it of the vor, but I had more than enough herbs to give it some sort of taste beside salty, and while salt was a wonderful thing for the body to have, I didn''t like the taste. Didn''t mean I didn''t have salt on hand though; boiling seawater after sifting out anything inside it, taking the paste that was made from the leftover liquid and salt and evaporating the water away resulted in me having some salt of my own to use however I wanted, which was excellent for the fish. As I was getting everything cooked, I nced over my stats and nodded, seeing that none of the stats had gone up after that second excursion, and I had only gained 1,103,850 Xp from it. Technically a ''waste'' of an afternoon, but it brought me closer to level 42 and it was a therapy session for Leone in a way, so it was a sess in my books. When I had cooked everything how I wanted, we had arge stone tableden with bowls and tes of wondrous foods considering theck of an actual kitchen and a set of limited ingredients. Fish fillets seared to perfection, beef stew, fish and herb wraps, grilled beef, sds... Not the finest of cuisine, but considering how most of it disappeared in mere moments, I counted that as a sess as well, though I knew that when we returned I would be tackling a few challenging recipes just to re hone my cooking skills, which meant quite a few long hours spent in the kitchens. Pastas and different types of breads, herb encrusted chicken breasts, fried foods, pastries,binations of opposites like sweet and savory... I couldn''t wait to indulge my own stomach with the things that I wanted to cook up... Sadly for us, we had nothing to eat after the meal itself for dessert or any wines to top everything off, so we just cleaned everything away before getting to work, the table getting cleared of tes and bowls and reced with des and armor, which Leone and I began to sort through and begin to enchant. Potions were shared between us as we infused the metals with our mana, bringing out some additional functionality that would give us the kind of boost we were looking for in the fights against the Ant Queen and sarcophagus wielding Undead. As we worked, the others moved away and enjoyed the cool water of the ocean as they discussed ideas and formations we could employ tomorrow, getting prepared in their own ways for what was toe. The moon cast its brilliant silver glow over the ind as the sun setpletely, and after Leone and I finished up we joined Anput and Jahi on the spread out cloaks,ying down beside them and sharing our warmth with one another as we talked quietly, keeping the flirting and touching to a minimum as we tried to get to sleep on time, not wanting to be out of energy for the fights we were to have tomorrow. The next time that we awoke, we would be resetting this ind and plunging it into chaos, ending our time here with a bang. Chapter 551 550: Monster Den (1) ? Anput PoV "Are you ready, Princess~?" Smirking back at Leone, I chuckled as I saw her roll her eyes at my words, before she blushed as I added "Remember, we have a lot~ riding on this Monster Den, alright? I even got Jahi to agree to it as well, so~! Let''s not mess this up, hmm?" My smirk widened as I stepped closer to the Vampire, admiring her rosy cheeks and sparkling red eyes that widened as I pulled her closer. "Though, don''t think that I wouldn''t mind us losing, my dear Leone... The sight of you being treated like that would be oh so~ delectable..." I licked my lips before giving her butt a yful squeeze, enjoying the way her entire body jolted at the action, thesest few days of no action between us making her as sensitive as possible... In other words, our regal Vampire was as horny as the rest of us, which made it far too easy to lean forwards and steal a kiss - tongue and all - from her as she stood there, trying to get her emotions under control. Giggling, I pulled away and sauntered over towards the Monster Den, listening to Leone ''angrily'' growl to herself before scampering behind me, trying to get back at me for what I had done. Sadly for her, I slipped from behind the tree line and took hold of my metal rod, shifting it to a longer two handed sword that bnced speed and power on a thin line; not quite an Estoc, but longer and thinner than a longsword. As the monsters turned towards me, I coated my body in a thin sheen of Metal Mana as well before dashing forwards, a grin tugging at my lips as I sent some mana down towards my boots, which activated the enchantment that Kat had given to me. My speed was boosted as small wings fluttered from the heels of my boots, making me more agile as I dashed through a cluster of Goblins, my de shing out far too quickly for them to react and severing their heads from their bodies in a single swing, leaving nothing but bodies in my wake. Leone strode out into the clearing as well, her hands creating borate symbols in the air as she cast her spells into the crowd, aiding me in clearing out the entrance of the Monster Den. Neither of us were adept at sneaking into ces like Kat apparently was, so we still needed to face this Monster Den head on and take care of everything above table, but that wasn''t an issue for either of us, especially now that we were utilizing our skills that we were adept in, instead of trying to be proficient in something else. I had enjoyed utilizing a variety of weaponry over thest few days, but now that we were heading out into the Monster Den that held a high level, powerful monster, we weren''t taking any chances. Besides, a longsword in hand felt just correct to me, providing that perfect bnce of speed and power, cutting edge and sharpened point... Especially with all the small buffs I was receiving from the various pieces of enchanted gear that I had on, as well as the Fire Cloak that aided me a little as well. Cutting down the various monsters in front of the Monster Den entrance was easier than before, especially since we didn''t have to worry about them splitting their aggression between multiple targets. Instead, they were focusing on just me as I took the vanguard position, while Leone remained just behind me, shielded from harm as I killed everything directly in front of us. The descent into the Monster Den was uneventful as well, since we had quickly killed everything up on the surface so quickly meaning that everything below had no time to prepare for us, with some of them not having heard us at all. Just like we had done the first time we hade here, I plugged up the various entrances with thick bs of stoneced with some Metal Mana and bought us some time to reach the sludge pool down at the bottom of the Monster Den. Anything that came out of those entrances were shed into pieces by a quick flick of my longsword, or a firebolt to the face from Leone. Reaching the bottom of the Monster Den was easy enough, and once more we found ourselves in front of therge pool where the Goblins and other weaker elites crawled out of, which was being fed by those disgusting organic tubes that belched mana and more sludge into the pool, refilling it. In the back was therge Ant Queen surrounded by her eggs and Ant Soldiers, which all turned to look at us as we entered the bottom of the Monster Den. Flicking the blood and gore from my de, I nced back at Leone and gave her a nod, receiving confirmation from her as I watched the Vampire close her eyes and begin to concentrate on shifting into her True Vampire form, so that we could easily destroy this Monster Den with her insane magical prowess. It had to be done now instead of before we entered because the Ant Queen might be hyper sensitive to mana or something, which would make this much more difficult if the Queen had time to prepare adequate defenses against us - even with Leone''s increased firepower, the thought of sting through this Monster Den with a horde in front of is didn''t sound the most... ideal. Albeit it was a fun idea, but... That meant that I needed to hold firm for around a minute in this position, with the monsters streaming towards me to try and defend their Queen. Taking a deep breath, I stared at the oing horde of monsters and raised my de, pointing the tip at the rushing Goblins and Serpents as a grin spread across my lips, the adrenaline beginning to pump through my veins as I entered another glorious battle against worthy opponents. Chapter 552 551: Monster Den (2) ? Blood sttered against the rock floor of the cavern as I sliced cleanly through a cluster of Goblins, their stomachs carved open and spilling their life essence in abundance, staining the ground red. They poofed into dust momentster, but I had already moved onto the next enemy, continuing to defend the Vampire that was inside a dome of rock behind me, waiting for her to emerge from the stone cocoon as a harbinger of fiery destruction. A minute was an interesting unit of time due to how long or how short it could be depending on the situation you were in. Forging or having sex made that seem minuscule and unimportant, and mere drop in the bucket of the time that you were spending doing something enjoyable and something you were focusing on; a minute there was short and quick, meaning you needed multiple minutes to make it worth while... Battling or working out was a whole different beast, with a minute dragging on slowly behind you like a pair of ten tone manacles attached to your ankles, bogging you down in something that ate away at your mind and stretched out for far longer than it had any right to. Right now, that minute that Leone needed to transform into her True Vampire form was incredibly long, especially as I weaved through a cluster of monsters, dodging attacks and wielding my de as I attempted to strike back, wanting to clear away the horde around me. The Goblins numbered in the dozens, the Serpents and Felines were a dozen each, and then the Avians numbered in the single digits, but made their presence more than known as mana infused feathers thunked into the ground beside me. They weren''t even the worst of this horde of monsters though, as the Ants easily imed that crown as they swarmed me, their hardened carapaces and potent mana making them an enemy that took three to five hits from my sword to kill as opposed to the one or two that everything else died to. That resilience was only further emphasized by how they moved strategically with the other monsters, never letting mend those three to five hits to kill them as they just pulled back and healed up from the Ant Queen''s powerful support magics. In other words... I was getting a little overwhelmed, but I was grinning all the same, enjoying this thrill as I pushed my body to its limits and tried to break past them, working Leone''s Fire Cloak to its limits as I pushed harder and harder to kill more and more monsters in front of us, buying my buxom lover some time. Ducking beneath the sharpened pincers of one of the Soldier Ants, I pierced my longsword through its thick carapace and skewered its head, smirking as I finally killed one of the Ants, though my celebration was short lived as I rolled to the side, avoiding a barrage of feathers that threatened to tear through my flesh. Waving my hand, I snorted as I heard the Avian screech in pain as a chunk of stone mmed against its wing, breaking it and dropping it into the sea of monsters below. My sword blocked the rudimentary cudgel of one of the Goblins, allowing me to flick the de down and score a deep gash across its throat, dropping it to the ground and allowing another to take its ce. I cleaved through a few more before side stepping a hissing Feline''s ws, my booted foot mming into its chest and shattering its ribs as I kicked it away into a cluster of Goblins. "Come on Leone! Any second now would be fucking great!" My words were lost inside the various growls, hisses, screeches and grunts that filled the cavern, making me growl myself as I dashed forwards, mming against one of the Serpents and throwing it off bnce, providing me cover from the Avians that had sent another barrage of feathers towards me. The Serpent didn''t even have time to hiss before I cleaved it in two, blood spurting from its deep green scales and coating my arms and sttering against my cheek, making me grimace slightly. I had no idea how Kat relished this... disgusting stench and feeling... Spinning away from another Soldier Ant, I parried its serrated mandible and cut into its carapace, making it chitter at me before backing away, allowing a few Goblins and Felines to take its ce as it found a new ce to attack me from. However, before the other monsters could begin to attack me again, the sound of the dome exploding drew the monsters attention, alongside with the ocean of mana that flooded the cavern as the Vampire inside began to bare her fangs. The temperature burst into an ufortable, sweltering heat as Leone revealed herself to everyone, making the Ant Queen chitter in a mixture of caution and fear as it ordered its Soldiers back. "Take a few steps back, Anput..." My grin widened as I did what she asked, pulling away from the awestruck and motionless monsters as I took position to watch what was happening, wondering just what this normally passive and reserved woman would do now that she had entered this form of hers. The gap between this and her normal self was always fun to see, so I rested my de on my shoulder as I watched Leone raise her hands, sparks of me bursting from her palms as she summoned her mana from her Core. With more and more mana flooding towards her palms, the Ant Queen screeched in terror as it ordered its Soldiers forwards, but it was too little toote as a condensed stream of liquid fire shot from Leone''s hands like a hose, sttering against monsters and stone and melting them both the exact same. She braced herself and began to coat the entire cavern in this sticky, ming liquid, causing most of the monsters to screech in agony while the cavern began to rumble, the loss of so much stone damaging its foundations and making everything unstable. "Aim for the pool too Leone! Then the Queen!" The Vampire nodded as she began to destroy everything in front of us, with the Ants dying first as the mes chewed through their carapace and gave them a painful death, while more of the cavern was turned into a scorched, melted puddle as she haphazardly hit everything. I chuckled as more and more of the ce was destroyed, before grinning wildly as I watched the Ant Queen and her eggs dissolve under the mes of Leone''s spell, which coated the ce and clung to everything it touched, spreading it further and further. When the beam emitting from her palm began to falter, I rolled my eyes as I swooped forwards and caught the unsteady Vampire, sweeping her off her feet and rushing through the tunnels as I left the acrid cavern behind. Looking into her deep crimson eyes, I smirked as I whispered "Say, how about I be your ''knight in shining armor'' for once, Leone~? Seems like quite the fun roll... especially considering the reward~!" Seeing her blush despite having just massacred hundreds of monsters and caused catastrophic damage to their home was amusing, especially when that blush deepened as I tantly groped her breast as I carried her, making her half re at me as I squeezed that wonderful orb again. "What, Princess~? I''m just getting a... downpayment for my reward, alright~? Though, I expect to be paid in full when we get back to the Pce, alright~? Does that sound good~?" Leone gave me an adorable pout as she smacked my chest once, only to wince slightly as she struck solid metal instead of flesh. My giggling also made her pout deepen, but I ignored it as I dodged the various monsters and brought us to the surface, before orienting myself towards the mountain where we would meet up with Kat, Jahi and Nirinia. For now though, it was just Leone and I, which meant I got to enjoy teasing this gorgeous Vampire all on my own for a little while longer~! Chapter 553 552: Bone Fortress (1) ? Kat PoV I crept through the underbrush and quietly observed the patterns of the undead that were ''on guard'' for the Bone Fortress, their hollow eye sockets still capable of some form of sight as they turned their skulls this way and that, trying to locate any intruders that might cause harm to them or their superiors. Sticking to the forest and hiding behind the trees, I slowly made my way towards the back of the towering walls of the Bone Fortress and prepared myself to climb up to begin my portion of the siege, which was toyer this ce in a Domain and aid the two warriors from above by casting spells to pick off whatever I needed to. My boots glided over the leaves and twigs on the ground, the thinyer of Wind Mana on the soles preventing them from making noise as I snuck around the back of the clearing, while the thin Wind Cloak I wore diffused my scent and kept some of the noxious gases from the decaying forest away from my sensitive nostrils. Shatter restedfortably in my right hand, the long dagger already covered in serrated ice as I prepared to use it to kill the things in my way as I got ready to scale the way. Thanks to the Bone Fortress'' location, the back of it was facing the ocean, with a thin stretch of forest separating it from the beach, meaning most of the skeletons around were focused on the front and towards the Monster Den, preparing for the incursion from the monsters should they overwhelm the battlefield or decided to take the fight to the undead. That meant that there were just a few undead milling around at the back, with only one of them being close enough to me to warrant killing; the other few were on the opposite sides and staring out into the poisoned forest. A small smile tugged at my lips as I reached the trees near where the skeleton was standing, my breathing shortening out as I quieted myself down as much as I could before I lunged forwards, slicing shatter through the skeleton''s neck and taking ahold of the skull before it could fall to the ground. I clenched my fist over the bone and crushed it, before allowing the skeleton''s body to rest against mine as it slowly faded away. Looking side to side, I checked on the others before nodding as I began to scurry up the walls, Shatter clenched between my teeth as I scaled the wall swiftly, reaching the lip of the palisade and looking over the Fortress'' walls as I searched for those mage skeletons. There were a few patrolling the walls, but not enough to warrant trying to sneakily kill all of them, even if that would make things easier on my part; we had a timeframe to stick to, after all. So I pulled myself over the wall, and crept towards the mage that was near me, killing it the same way that I did the skeleton below before slinking over towards the hall, where I scaled the roof and began to weave my spell into existence. The ethereal blue runes were quick to draw attention as more and more mana gathered in my location, causing quite a few of the undead to turn and chitter in confusion as they looked towards the roof, but before they could do anything, the gate was mmed open as a Demoness and Djinn burst into the Fortress, their des at the ready. With two separate threats now visible, the undead hesitated for a few moments before splitting their forces between the two of us, but those precious seconds were enough to gather the mana I needed to cast my Domain over this Bone Fortress, condensing the clouds above as I summoned snow and wind to besiege this ce as well. The temperature plummeted just like before, and frost began to creep its way into the undead''s bones as the gases and humidity in the air were crystalized by this mana induced sh freeze, instantly affecting the undead and allowing Jahi and Nirinia to swoop in and begin their massacre. With my Ritual Circle protected behind me, I began to weave other spells into existence as I took out the mages with swift arrows, before targeting the constructs limbs and felling them before they could be a threat. The two warriors below made short work of the various slowed undead, their des shattering bone with frightening ease as they worked their way towards the gates leading into the hall, where our true prey resided. I took care of the rest of the chaff with a barrage of icicles over the Bone Fortress, killing everything that remained and spreading more and more ice as I encased this ce in my element, making me grin as the chill rejuvenated me. Slipping off the roof, I found that window leading into the hall again and peaked inside, where I found the tall four armed undead resting against the wall, just likest time, and hugging that sarcophagus close to its side as it stared at the door, waiting for the attackers to make their way inside. Jahi and Nirinia mmed those gates open as well, allowing the wind and snow to begin to sneak inside the hall as they stared the undead down, waiting for it to make its move. Lifting the twin swords from the wall, it stood up and stepped forwards, its silvery orbs ring as it stared past the two warriors and glimpsed the destruction outside. The Demoness and Djinn stood firm as the undead took another step forwards, returning its gaze to the two responsible and tapping the tips of its des against the stone. With the sarcophagus resting over its shoulder and its remaining hand left free, we prepared for the battle toe as the canine skulled undead lifted its des and pointed them at the two warriors in challenge. Chapter 554 553: Bone Fortress (2) ? The tworge des were pointed straight at the two warriors in challenge, while the heavy bronze sarcophagus was still resting atop the broad bones of the skeleton''s shoulders, exuding a heavy, unknown aura onto the interior of the hall. Jahi and Nirinia readied themselves as they watched the undead construct take a few steps forwards, its taloned feet digging into the stone brick beneath it as it approached the two warriors, who were inching back towards the door. The silver orbs that hovered inside its sockets red as its fanged jaw unhinged, emitting a deep screech that made us shudder as it ran the edges of its des together as well, trying to psyche us out from the battle before it even began. Reaching for the sarcophagus, the undead construct began to prepare its spells for battle as it stared down the two warriors challenging it, only to stagger to the side as arge chunk of ice mmed against its arms, hairline fractures spreading throughout the two right arms. It turned swiftly to re at me, its silver orbs shing with hate as it tilted its body away from me, protecting the sarcophagus and shing its sword at me, sending a crescent of mes towards the rafters that I was hiding in. I leapt back towards the window and slipped outside, avoiding the potent wave of fire that threatened to consume me and burn off my flesh despite the Ice Cloak wrapped around my body. With the undead construct now distracted, Jahi took that moment to send a barrage of golden discs towards the undead''s arms and torso, retaking its attention and leading it outside as she targeted the sarcophagus, the Demoness catching on quickly that the bronze coffin was the undead''s weakness - be it physical or mental. The two burst out into the courtyard and blocked the barrage of metal rods that flew their way, redirecting the sharpened metal from themselves and leading the undead construct out into the open. I grinned as I watched it wince at the sudden shift in environments, the cold air and snow beginning to affect it the moment it stepped outside; as such, the thing tried to turn back and reenter the hall for a better environment to fight in, only to stop as the bones constructing the walls of the hall shattered and copsed the gate down behind it, cutting off its escape from the growing blizzard. It''s canine skull turned to stare at me as it highlighted me as a priority target, only to stumble as more discs mmed into its side, while Nirinia collided with the constructs legs, sending it to the ground. Screeching in anger at the sudden attacks assailing it, the construct mmed its open fist on the ground and swept it towards the Djinn, pushing her back as it wed its way back to its feet, hefting the sarcophagus and retrieving its weapons, which it flourished as it turned back towards us. It''s bones were covered in a silver sheen as the runes on the sarcophagus flitted around to create a new spell, which it cast instantaneously as it red at all of us. The twin des rose as it dashed forwards, colliding against Jahi''s dual metal great sword and showering the blue skinned Demoness in sparks as it tried to work past her defenses, before pulling one of its swords free from their contest of strength and parrying Nirinia''s attack. As it fought the two warriors on the ground, the undead construct hoisted the sarcophagus and erected a shield of metal around its side as I shotnces of ice towards its head, trying to aid the two on the ground. While it crossed swords with Jahi and Nirinia, the undead construct nced at me and retaliated by sending a barrage of metal nails straight towards me, each of which thudded against the sheet of ice that I raised in front of me out of instinct. Each nail thunked against the ice and began to crack it, making me grunt as I poured more mana into the shield in front of me to keep myself safe from the rain of sharp metal nails that the undead construct continued to shoot at me. The sudden shift from offensive to defensive made each of us frown as we tried to push back, more mana flooding our bodies as we sent spells and shes towards the undead, only for it to block them and begin to counterattack, making efficient use of its four limbs. Thickening the sheet of ice in front of me, I allowed the front of my shield to shatter as the storm of nails continued to whisk towards me, the silver Ritual Circle aimed directly at me even though the undead had begun to cast a new spell. Growling softly in annoyance, I rolled away from my shield and sprinted towards the hall, throwing myself inside even as the nails began to track where I was going,pletely shattering the bones and stone that made up the structure of the fortress. I slipped inside the hall and crept around, watching as the undead was forced to keep track of where I was even as it fought against Jahi and Nirinia, giving them a few openings tond a few deep gashes on its arms. Red joined the silver sheen on its bones as it began to heat itself up to melt away the frost, and while not ideal since it meant my Domain wasn''t doing as much as I would hope, it meant that the undead construct needed to relinquish some of its mana to ward of the chill. Observing the undead from the ruins of the hall, I began to weave a new spell into existence as it was preupied with the two warriors, hoping that this spell could do the damage needed to turn the battle even more into our favor. More and more wounds began to pile up on its arms, forcing it to adopt a more defensive style as the tides shifted once more, but all it took right now was one slip up on our part to turn that tide back around. Chapter 555 554: Bone Fortress (3) ? The more mana that pooled together at my fingertips, the more erratic the attacks of the undead construct became, the sense of danger breathing down its neck too great for it to ignore as it tried its hardest to break free from the confines of the two warriors and rush towards me, but it was to no avail as the pressure Jahi and Nirinia exuded only mounted further as they too sensed the attack I was brewing. The high speed winds made the debris around us shuffle around as bones smacked into the walls, shattering further, while snow began toyer the earth and paint it white as the deep chill of winter settled into ce, further bogging the undead construct down as it had to deal with both the warriors and my Domain. Runes began to intertwine as I constructed my Ritual Circle, my understanding of this magic system bearing fruit as I created something new andplex on the fly, my previous understanding of science from my own world mixing with this impossible ability to alter the material world with such frightening ease. When presented with such a deep cold like we have here - especially one imbued with mana on its own - metal could in theory be more brittle than normal, and with the temperature continuing to drop as my Domain took effect, and the undead construct having a thin sheet of Metal Mana around itself was perfect for me. Despite the Fire Mana trying it''s hardest to counteract the chill, the constant fluctuations were perfect for me as well, and there was something else that I learned about metal - or any solids in particr, anyways. With enough pressure, and enough of a sharp edge, you can cut practically everything, and I just so happen to have ess to a rather bountiful, incredibly sharp element. Not Wind, nor Ice, but Water; with enough pressure,pression, and direction and power, water can be used to cut most of anything, and when I add in the fact that it isn''t just water, but magical water, well... I am not the greatest at theory, nor at numbers, but I do believe that the stats of the water I was about to use were far greater than the stats of the Metal Mana around the undead construct. So with a smile on my face, I pushed more mana into the Ritual Circle in front of me and shot out a highly pressurized jet of water straight at the undead construct, inside of which were small crystals of ice to further damage it should this fail to kill it outright. The jet sliced cleanly through the armor that the construct had created for itself and cut into the bone, leaving a deep gouge that made it shriek in anger as the bones were weakened, giving more openings to the two warriors to exploit. Impacting the shoulders of the construct, I began to cut through the joints and force it to drop its weapons, before I shifted my focus from its weapons or its body to the sarcophagus, my intuition telling me to do so. It was protecting that too much for it to not be important, and there was little chance that there wasn''t something linked to the construct inside it, be it a controller of some kind - like a heart - or another entity altogether that the construct was meant to protect. As the jet inched closer and closer to the sarcophagus, the construct began to shriek as it dropped its des and covered the bronze coffin with its body, willingly letting the beam of water cut through it if it meant that the sarcophagus was safe. Not letting this opportunity go to waste, Jahi and Nirinia leapt forwards and began to break the construct apart, tearing its bones away and revealing the sarcophagus beneath as we butchered the construct, which I confirmed with a nce at the System notifications. Before they could reach the sarcophagus, and before I could begin to cut into it, we all jumped back as mana burst from beneath the lid, shattering the metal in an explosion and leaving a red light to spill from its interior. Potent mana roiled off of the metal, and a skeletal hand clenched at the edge, pulling the undead inside out and revealing itself to us. Metal chains were wrapped around the undead''s arms, while a metal chest piece forged for a woman adorned its torso, intricate runes engraved into its surface. A serrated longsword hung on the skeleton''s hip, while the chains dangled loosely from its wrists, jingling around as it stood up to its full height. Nearly Jahi''s size, the skeleton wore a tiara of dark ck metal embedded with arge ruby, which shone dangerously in the snowstorm as it unsheathed its de, igniting it right away. What stood before us looked like a warrior queen long dead, its bones browning with age and pockmarked with previous injuries, while its dark red orbs were aze with fury as it stared at us. Not letting it get the first blow in, Jahi lunged forwards and mmed her great sword down, intending to cleave the undead in two with a single strike, only for sparks to fly as her dual metal sword impacted the undead''s serrated fiery de. Nirinia rushed forwards to join her as well, while I deactivated my spell in fear of hitting the two warriors with this smaller target now being enveloped between them, instead opting to draw my rapier and join the fray as well, surrounding the undead and attacking its joints. It moved far faster than all of the other undead, while the blows from its de made even Jahi and Nirinia wince as it beat it''s ming sword against theirs, trying to overwhelm them with power and speed. Deep gashes appeared in the earth as it tried to cut me in two, its ming de popping as it cut through the snow and battled against the cold, filling the air with steam as mes began to lick at its chains, enhancing its power. If we thought the construct was tough, this undead warrior queen was on another level, but with three of us here it should be doable. Chapter 556 555: Undead Queen ? The definition of ''doable'' was incredibly loose sometimes, and we got to witness just how far that word could be stretched as we were faced with an enemy that only grew stronger the longer it upied the battlefield. What had risen from the bronzed sarcophagus was a true threat to us on a deep level, its power, speed, technique and battle acumen all far above everything that we had faced so far on this ind, while the weapon it wielded and armor it wore were of superb quality. The chains on its forearms acted as shields that it used to block our strikes, while the serrated de coated in an intense me threatened to decimate and devour our flesh should we get hit, pushing our defensive and dodging capabilities to the limit as we avoided this undead''s incredible technique. Even with the blizzard roaring around us, the heat emanating from the undead''s body counteracted my Domain and rendered it rather useless, so I severed my connection with the spell and allowed it to run on the vestiges of mana left inside its runes, focusing the rest of my mana into my body as I pushed myself further. My rapier whisked through the air with speed as I tried to pierce the undead''s skull from behind, only for it to sidestep the attack and flick the serrated sword towards me, forcing me back and granting it a moment to focus on the other two instead of all three of us. Protective rested in my off hand, the heavy dagger ready to cast a shield as I lunged back into the fray, joining Jahi''s whaling and Nirinia swift shes as we tried to overwhelm the Undead Queen with numbers. Stabbing the rapier out again, I unleashed a flurry of blows on the skeleton''s back before waving Protective in front of me, my eyes widening as the sword shed against the rounded shield of mana in front of me, nearly rending it apart as the jagged de and mes chewed away at the interwovenyers of mana. Focusing its red orbs on me, the Undead Queen parried Nirinia''s Dadao with its chains before pushing her back a step, giving it the space to duck beneath Jahi''s wild swing and allowing it to lunge for me, its serrated de aimed at my throat as it aimed to kill me in one blow, reducing the enemies it needed to face. I jumped away from the Undead Queen''s path, avoiding the attack and allowing the other two to reengage, all while I raised my hand and swiftly traced out the spell for my burst attacks, giving me a broader arsenal to work with as our dance of death resumed. It was dealing efficiently with my precise strikes, the measured blows from Nirinia, and the random attacks from Jahi, the three separate styles not overwhelming it despite it needing to alternated between different parrying styles as it withstood the crashing waves of attacks we sent its way. But, it only took one small attack of ours going through to begin knocking the dominoes down to signal our victory, and that attack belonged to me as I staggered the Undead Queen with a well timed wind burst, the sharp des of wind scoring shallow nicks across its back as I pushed it off bnce for just a moment. That moment allowed Nirinia to slide her Dadao around the Undead Queen''s sword and sh across the breastte, damaging some of the runes and quenching some of the mes that brushed out from beneath the bones. Its speed diminished somewhat after that, and it staggered again as Jahi''s heavy de mmed against its own, giving me another opening to send it staggering into Nirinia''s awaiting Dadao, though it parried that attack with its chains once more. Steam rolled off of us all as we continued to fight, the Undead Queen still providing a challenge as it tried to retaliate by utilizing its own mana more often, the mes from inside its skeleton erupting out periodically and forcing us back, giving it more room to fight as it alternated between us all, trying to figure out who it could eliminate first from the fight. As it tried to rush Jahi and overwhelm her with a coordinated set of attacks nned to overload her simple style, the Undead Queen was met with a dagger of Light Mana that sliced into its breastte as well as a horizontal swing that mmed against its lower torso, knocking it back as the damage from the dagger bought us a moment to capitalize on. Nirinia lunged forwards next, her Dadao cutting into its back and sending it closer to Jahi, before I slipped in from the side and pierced its skull from the side, just near the temple. The gale of wind surrounding my rapier red outwards as the de slid inside the Undead Queen''s cranium, making it explode in a burst of green mana and pale grey powder, the rest of the bones and metal ttering to the ground as we killed the Undead Queen. It dissolved nearly instantly, and we looked around the snow covered courtyard before Jahi sighed, saying "That was harder than I expected..." "But rather fun, no? It''s always a treat finding enemies that exceed expectations~!" The Demoness nodded at the Djinn''s words, before rubbing her jaw as she nced at the frozen over pits of bone and demolished hall. "Well... we''re done here. Let''s get going to the mountain. I wouldn''t mind staying in this ce for a few more days, but I really am starting to miss having a variety of foods... and a bed." She smirked at me with thatst part, making me roll my eyes as we set off towards the towered mountain quickly, leaving the Bone Fortress behind us. [Calcting...] As we ran, I opened up the System and gave it a moment to calcte everything, wanting to get my bundle of experience now before entering the mountain to face whatevery inside. [3,871,946 Xp awarded!] [Summary avable, would you like to read it?] Affirming that, I ignored everything else and instead read thest few entries, making me smile slightly as they appeared in my mind. [Undead Keeper (Greater) assisted! 825,000 Xp awarded] [Undead Queen assisted! 1,930,000 Xp awarded] [Mission : Assist your Mistress against this threat!] [Mission Completed! 500,000 Xp awarded , 1,500 Sp awarded] With that I went up to level 43 and gained some points in my stats. [Stats : STR : 97 -> 100 CON : 104 AGI : 106 -> 107 DEX : 106 -> 107 CHA : 77 WIS : 103 -> 105 INT : 100 -> 102] I used my two stat points that I got for leveling up right away to get my STR to 100 and bring my INT up another point, wanting to even it out again with my WIS for my own vanity. All in all, a pretty good haul for the Bone Fortress on our end, and for me it was an amazing haul since I got all of my noticeable stats up to triple digits now, with my two stats that were affected by my Shop Made Item getting evenrger, providing an even more noticeable boost. A boost that would hopefully prove to be useful in the mountain as we made our way to pluck out the heart of this ind. Chapter 557 556: Clean Up ? Weaving between the trees at high speeds was a bit of rxing fun after the ordeal with the Undead Queen, and it helped to ease the flow of adrenaline through our bodies and get us back to a normal state of both body and mind as we approached the mountain, where we would reunite with Anput and Leone. As I ran I drank down half of a mana potion, deciding to replenish some of what I had lost now and use the restter should I need it. Considering we hadn''t even touched the Golems inside the mountain yet, I was rather curious about how they would react to our attacks and just how strong they would be; did they receive the same information that the Monsters and Undead collected through their defeats, which was then put to use adapting the Golems against us? Were they naturally stronger than the Monsters and Undead by arge margin that they didn''t need to adapt at all to what had been happening? I couldn''t help but wonder what was awaiting us inside the mountain, cursing myself slightly as well when I realized we never once decided to try and fight just one of the Golems to get a grasp on their strength and resistances. But, that was in the past, and worrying about it wouldn''t do me much good as we made our way towards the mountain, where the sounds of battle had begun to wane, but were still present. Reaching the edge of the battlefield, we looked around before spotting Anput and Leone resting near the base of the mountain, the Jackalkin staring down over the battlefield from a small outcropping of rocks she had made for the two of them. Anput was smirking as she nced at the Vampire, who was blushing hard at whatever my mate had to say, making the rest of us nce at one another with small smiles as we made our way towards them. They spotted us easily and dropped down onto the ground, making their way over as well. "How was it?" Anput looked at me first before turning towards Jahi, who pursed her lips and replied in a low voice "That construct was just guarding a really strong undead inside that sarcophagus. So... difficult, but manageable and fun too. What about the two of you?" The Vampire stepped forwards and said "Easy; if we''re to assume correctly, the Ant Queen was trying to hatch a new batch of powerful ants to defend herself after seeing usst time, but they weren''t ready yet. A simple set of spells sent the ce into an early grave..." A slight snicker made us nce back at Anput, who just waved her hands and said "Nothing, nothing, sorry... Ahem, should we get going now? Clear out the rest of these stragglers before heading into the mountain?" I didn''t miss the way Leone squirmed as Anput stepped beside her, the swift shift of the subject used to hide what the Jackalkin was doing as she nced towards the mountain to emphasize her point. Giving Anput and Leone a knowing look, I nodded as I gestured towards the cluster of enemies battling in the charred clearing, adding "Let''s use as little mana as possible and make quick work of them with our des; save the energy for when we get inside. There isn''t anything incredibly strong remaining, so..." My rapier slid quietly from my belt, and the others drew their own des as we rushed towards the battlefield, splitting off from one another as we began to cut down the remaining Monsters and Undead. As we did so Anput appeared beside me, her obsidian eyes filled with mirth as she began to speak, all while her longsword rose and fell as she butchered the Goblins in front of us. "I honestly can''t wait for this to be over... everything has been too easy - albeit fun as well - for me to entirely shake off the need for you, Kat. Really, when we get back, I just want to push you down and ravage you for hours on end~!" I nced at her from the edge of my vision, catching the way her lips curled into a proud smirk as she looked me over, the Jackalkin dealing with her enemies even as she ogled my body. "Leone even agreed to be mine for a night because of a bet~! I just really~ want to return to the Pce now, y''know~? All the things I want to forge, the sex I want to have... it''s getting to be a little too unbearable here for my tastes..." "Is the thing that you want to forge my gift?" She froze for a moment before shing her longsword across a Goblin''s throat, blood sttering on the ground as she pushed it away with her shoulder, freeing herself up to stare at me in confusion. "Gift? The rapier was your-" "Ah! I KNEW you''d say that, Anput! How is it a gift for ME if you were doing it because everyone needed new weapons? This is just... an obligation! Like me making sure your foods are seasoned with hotter spices! That''s not a ''gift'' to you!" She frowned before scratching her cheek, muttering "I thought it was..." as she turned to look towards the rest of the enemies, before parrying the club of a Goblin and severing its arm. "I... fine. I did have something else in mind, but to me that was a gift? So how about..." Approaching me, she slipped behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist, taking advantage of theck of monsters around us as she whispered "I''ll make it up to you, Kat... I swear I will, so just be a tad more patient, alright?" Her warmth as she gave me a quick squeeze made me melt a little, and I nodded before giving her a small smile as I replied "Sorry, but you did promise something for just me, and yet..." "I know, I know... but, for now, let''s not worry about it too much, okay~? Besides, when we get back I can do something else to make up for it... Sound good?" Releasing me, she shed forwards and cut down the three Goblins and Skeleton that were making their way towards us, before returning to stand in front of me as she waited for an answer. "There is something that you can do when we get back..." Her lips curled into a smile as she nodded, her obsidian eyes heated as she understood exactly what I wanted, before she turned around and gestured towards the remaining stragglers, saying "Let''s get this over with then, hm~?" Chapter 558 557: Entering The Mountain ? With our flirting out of the way for now, Anput and I rejoined the others at the entrance to the mountain, where the Golems stood guard, watching over the now empty battlefield that reeked of blood and death before turning towards us, their stances neither aggressive nor friendly as they observed our actions closely. "I''ll take the one on the right; Kat, take the one on the left with magic only, let''s get a grasp on their resistances if we can, alright? I would like a little more information before we head inside, but..." Nodding, I stepped forwards and raised my hand, staring at the Golem in front of me and getting a good look at its structure as I tried to pinpoint somewhere to attack that could cause the most amount of damage. They were stereotypical Golems through and through; boulders and stones stacked together to formte their body in a roughly humanoid shape, and they stood around Jahi''s height, making them a rather imposing enemy for those of us not so vertically inclined. Their arms and legs wereprised of thick bs of stone that emted a rough type of armor, while their hands were either a set of four digits or some type of weapon, with the two in front of us sporting a club and a thin ded spear, meaning they could have an arsenal of melee weapons at their disposal. "Jahi, don''t take it down right away; let it move around to see how it reacts before destroying it, alright?" I nced at the Demoness beside me, who nodded in affirmation as she rested her great sword on her shoulder, cutting an imposing figure as she stared straight at the Golem in front of her. "Sounds good to me." After I received her affirmation, I took a deep breath before weaving together a spell as quickly as I could, my mana bursting forth from my Core and shaping together a sharpened, heavy spear meant to pierce even stone. Throwing it forwards, I watched as the brilliant ethereal bluence whistled through the air at high speeds, impacting against the chest of the Golem and drilling a hole clean through the monsters torso, making it stagger back a few steps before dropping to its knee. Summoning anothernce, I took aim and hurled this second one towards its head, sting it apart and watching as the rest of the Golem crumbled to the ground, lifeless. The stones making up its body crumbled to dust in moments, and I breathed a sigh of relief for the time being as a fear that lurked in the back of my mind was temporarily proven wrong; I had thought that the Golems might reanimate and put themselves back together after being defeated, but thankfully that wasn''t the case. At least, for now anyways. I nced over at my Demoness and watched as she ducked beneath the Golem''s clumsy swing, which while slow and rather wobbly, it held tremendous power as it shattered the rock that it hit, turning some of it to dust as it pulverized it entirely. Jahi allowed it one more swing before nodding to herself, getting a grasp of what the Golem was capable of before blitzing forwards and mming her mana coated fist against its chest, cratering it and sending the Golem staggering backwards before it copsed, dead. Shaking off her hand, Jahi turned back towards us and nodded, saying "Not that bad. Slow but really powerful, so don''t let it touch you. I have a feeling even a ''weak'' attack from one of these things would break bones. Don''t get cocky with them, and we should be good. Now..." She looked off into the tunnel, summoning an orb of golden light to illuminate the path as she said "We should look for the heart of the ind now, and hope that this is a straight shot towards the center of this ce... Otherwise, I think we''ll be here for a little longer than I want to be. Anput, Kat, listen for a heartbeat or movement and take us to it. Nirinia, bring up the rear. Leone, stick beside me." With her orders given, we got into formation and stepped down into the tunnel, which rapidly descended into the earth and wrapped us in a warm, still air that smelt of minerals and soil. The tunnel continued down for another minute or two before slowly evening out over the course of another few minutes, though it was also slowly spiraling to the left, creating arge corkscrew beneath the earth that lead us towards the heart... hopefully. It had no branching paths nor any other Golems, which was both nice and worrying as we began to make our way even further into the mountain, Anput and I straining our hearing as best we could as we quietly continued onwards. There was a very faint beating that sounded out every few seconds, echoing throughout the tunnel and creating a rather odd feeling inside our bodies as it vibrated the air just enough to be noticeable, but not enough to be able to tell without focusing on it too much. That was to say, everything about this journey into the depths was unnerving, and we eventually found ourselves stepping into arge cavern that was illuminated by vibrant crimson crystals that pulsed with mana, as well as the asional duller brown crystals, all of which were surrounded by Golems. Reaching the entrance of the cavern, we all stared at the mass gathering of Golems before turning our gazes upwards, cursing softly at the giant conduit that we found ourselves in, which lead straight up into the mountain and out into the open sky above. We weren''t in a mountain, it would seem, but instead inside a dried out volcano that was now being used as a base for these Golems, which all turned to look at us as we entered the volcano''s magma chamber, where they had been gathering. Chapter 559 558: Ascent ? The giant magma chamber was filled with various Golems, and we strode forwards to meet the wave of rock and metal that rumbled our way as we engaged the enemy, our des and magic carving a path through the earthen constructs and leading us towards the long spiraling ramp that led towards the vent of this now dry volcano. Some of the Golems around us were no longer made from only stone, but instead covered in thin sheets of metal orprised ofrge chunks of ore that empowered them even more, making them slower but far stronger and even more durable. This time, Nirinia and Jahi led the way as they spearheaded our efforts to reach the ramp, with Anput bringing up the rear and protecting Leone and I as we cast spells from the center of the group, aiding the Demoness and Djinn in front of us as best we could while also preserving our mana as efficiently as we could too. The beating of the heart was louder now that we were inside the magma chamber, thrumming through the air and rattling our bones slightly as we began our ascent up the volcano, hordes of Golems made from rock and metal blocking our path towards the heart of this ind. My ice hindered the Golem''s movements even more, turning them into glorified training dummies for the two warriors in front of handle however they pleased, while Leone melted through the stone and either incapacitated them or outright killed them with her precise spells. The duality of our attacks made it hard for the Golems to try and prepare to defend themselves, not knowing if a de or a spell wasing at them next as we switched targets on a whim, synchronizing together wordlessly as we went from Golem to Golem. Behind us, Anput warily watched the path that led back down into the magma chamber as we climbed higher, before turning and observing the two warriors at the front as they cut down whatever stood in our way. Despite being so young, both Anput and Jahi showedrge amounts of restraint as they did only what they needed to get us from point a to point b, not bothering with any heroics or trying to do anything unnecessary, making me more than relieved that they were so mature mentally in situations like this. If I had to assume, it was likely the constant battles and the teachings of both the Marquess and the Sultana that made them so reliable on these ventures of ours, and I was more than thrilled that they weren''t conceited young prodigies assuming that the world had nothing capable of harming them. Those thoughts left my mind as we continued onwards, the myriad Golems in front of us stomping away from the crystals that they were resting by and readying themselves for battle, their weapon like hands crashing or slicing towards us as they began to go on the offensive. Jahi raised a shield of Light Mana in front of her and blocked the attacks, while Nirinia deflected with her buckler before lunging forwards, her golden Dadao cleaving through the rock and shattering the Golem in front of her. Raising my hands, I summoned ance and hurled it into the air, destroying the boulder that had been hurled towards us before sending anothernce towards the one who threw it, skewering them to the Golem behind them. Leone''spressed sphere of mes melted away my ice before bursting inside the Golem''s wounds, eviscerating them from the inside out. Our ascent was aborious journey through a bog of powerful Golems, the sheer amount of them bringing Anput from the rear to join the other two at the front so that they wouldn''t overextend themselves against what felt like a walking wall of earth and metal. Leone and I shared our mana potions as we rationed out what we had by utilizing basic spells, while the others rotated out asionally to gulp down a stamina potion before returning to the fray, the constant fighting putting us all on edge. We slowly made our way higher and higher up the volcano''s vent, nearing the beautiful blue sky and inching ever closer to the pulsating heart thaty somewhere above us, the vibrations in the air growing stronger as we climbed higher. What had started as a barely noticeable tingling inside our bones had be something that rattled our teeth as we got closer, our ears popping and bodies shaking as we continued onwards, all while the Golems changed from primarily earth to primarily metal, the chunks of ore or sheets of metal giving them nearly double the defensive capabilities then their weaker counterparts. The drumming of the heart was unnerving as we fought, and for Anput and I were had to tten our ears against our heads before continuing on, the sound getting too loud for our sensitive hearing to bear. A dull headache took over, but I kept going even as the pain began to mount slowly, pushing through it and eventually finding myself at the top of the volcano, the Golems all dead after what felt like days of climbing. The path curved sharply to the side, hiding the heart behind the bend and whatevery in wait to protect it, which prompted Jahi to turn back and wipe the sweat from her brow, gesturing for us to take a quick break and regain some of our energy as we prepared to finish this. I summoned arge sphere of cool water for everyone to drink from and use to ssh their faces, ridding ourselves of some of the grime and rehydrating as we stood at the peak of this volcano. Taking deep breaths and focusing on the feeling of the mana inside my body, I began to ignore the dull ache as I waited for the others to signal that we were going in, pulling in what I could from the atmosphere and replenishing my Core naturally as we prepared for whatever awaited us around this bend. Chapter 560 559: Boss Fight (1) ? I took deep, even breaths as I sat against the wall, ignoring the consistent thrumminging from the heart just around the corner and dealing with the headache that lingered in the back of my skull, trying my best to keep myself focused on something besides the pain as I stared at the ground. Jahi approached me and crouched down, staring at my face as she lifted my chin to get a better look at me, her amethyst eyes slightly worried as she looked me over. "You alright Kat? Both you and Anput are really taking a hit with this aren''t you..?" Tilting my head to the side, Jahi caressed my cheek as she heard me reply "I''ll be fine... but I think we should get going now." Her thumb brushed just under my eye before she helped me to my feet, her hands reassuring as they enveloped my own, before I smiled wryly as she rested one of them on my head, fondling my ears yfully as she smirked at me. "Good. Don''t want my puppies getting cold paws, now do I? You ready to go, Anput?" Jahi nced over towards the Jackalkin, who groaned softly as she stood up, her ears twitching while her eyes narrowed as she red at the bend in the path, growling "Let''s finish this please... this fucking heart sucks! Such a pain in the ass..!" Snarling softly, she rapped her palm against her skull a few times before shaking her head, grabbing ahold of her longsword and gesturing for us to join her in taking on the heart of this ind, where we would end our excursion here and return to the Pce for some well deserved rest and rxation before getting back into the grind again. There were many things we needed to do before the rest of the Fiends awakened or broke free from their bindings, whilst also making sure to keep an eye on the countries off to the West for Jillian and A, since they were still unounted for. To get back to the Pce though, at least without the Marquess hounding us for failing or outright forcing us toplete everything, we needed to rip the heart out of the ind and reset this training grounds for the Asmodia Family, to be used again in a decades time. So we readied our weapons, spells, and Leone and I cast Cloak spells over everyone before we began to march into the chamber that held the beating heart of this ind, wanting to rip it out and smash it against the wall as hard as we could... Because damnit, this constant drumming and perpetual shaking of my body was too annoying to not warrant such a desired course of action! When we were all ready, we rounded the bend and emerged out into therge tform that rested beneath the cloudless blue sky, the top of the volcano not far above us as the perfect arena for the final area of the ind was created here, be it natural made or carved out by the Golems. Speaking of, various crystals were scattered around therge expanse of stone and earth, but no Golems rested around them, leaving the clearing eerily empty of any typeof enemies and providing far too much cover that screamed ''BOSS FIGHT!!'' to me, my previous experiences with games and novels making me even warier then I was before. What made mepletely and utterly worried was the giant spire of crystal that awaited us in the center, the brown and red crystals intertwined and seemingly welded together by strips of silver metal, all of which was constructed around a gigantic orb that was as tall as me. Made from something organic, the orb pulsated and beat just like a normal heart, while the wrinkly flesh like material squirmed around despite it being encased in powerful crystals, suggesting that there was a clear space inside that structure meant to house this heartpletely. The spire was twenty feet tall and utterly chaotic in structure, the crystals fighting against one another and trying to outgrow the other as they reached into the sky. But, there wasn''t anything else in sight, which made me stop the group as I gestured towards the crystal housing the heart, saying "Either that crystal spire is the monster, or we''re dealing with some type of flying monster or a burrowing monster. Everything else on this ind has been open about their allegiance and where they were, even that Undead Queen. So why would this one be different?" They nodded, and Jahi was the first to make a move as she sent a golden dagger hurtling towards the spire, slicing through a part of the crystal and waiting in silence as we watched that chunk drop to the ground, shattering into dozens and hundreds of pieces. We looked around before looking towards the sky, only to frown as nothing else happened, making us all look around the entire clearing as we took a tentative step forwards. Nothing was around us, but this was far to easy and good to be true, so we only deepened our guard as we approached the crystal spire, which eventually proved me right as the mountain began to rumble, signifying that something wasing. The beating of the heart grew faster as the rumbling worsened, and the others were now feeling the same pains that Anput and I were as we all clutched at our ears, with Anput and I grimacing as we felt blood leak onto our fur and hair as something got damaged inside. A ringing suggested that the eardrum took some bad damage, and while my mana got to work repairing that damage, I relied on my other senses to witness therge spire of crystal begin to crack and splinter away, the excess materials turning to dust as they shattered on the ground while something walked out from the spire, vaguely humanoid in shape and oozingtent mana as it took another shaky step forwards. The red and brown crystalsprising its body hardened and grew murky, the mana inside them thickening into a visible vapor that acted as this monsters blood or essence, creating the illusion of flesh atop the crystal body that stood in front of us. Again, it was vaguely humanoid, its legs too long and its three arms offsetting the idea that it might be something... normal. Two left arms and a right arm morphed into different weapons, while its crystal body darkened further and made it appear like some lost race of mortals. Two long ears gave it an Elfish appearance up top, but the barrel like chest and chiseled arms were more reminiscent of an Orc, while a long tail of jagged crystal dragged behind it. Spikes adorned its head, while its mouth slowly splintered open from the crystal and formed fangs, making me frown as I observed it for another moment, only for my eyes to widen in realization. "It''s... it''s copying a trait from each of us physically. This thing is some kind of mimic!" Everyone stared at the creature for a moment before cursing as it appeared in front of us, its sharp crystal des shing down as it began to fight us, all while the heart of the ind beat behind it, remaining locked inside the remnants of the crystal spire. Chapter 561 560: Boss Fight (2) ? The crystal monster appeared directly in front of us, its three arms raised and ready to eviscerate us as the jagged des adorning its limbs sliced through the air insanely fast, threatening to kill us here and now. Thankfully it was still within manageable speeds, as Jahi erected a golden shield in front of us while my ice managed to catch one of the swords, stopping it and shattering it. The crystal mimic like monster gnashed its sharp fangs in what seemed like pain as it staggered backwards, staring down at its now short limb, seemingly confused by the loss of the de that had once grown there. Before it could trulyprehend everything or make another attack of its own, Jahi and Nirinia shot forwards and swung their des at the Crystal Mimic, wanting to shatter it in pieces as their des came from both sides, where they would catch the mimic in the center. Its head snapped up and it shed backwards, firepping at its heels and leaving two long trails of charred ground that disyed its movement, sessfully escaping from the two warriors. Anput dashed forwards next, her longsword cleaving down towards the Crystal Mimic''s shoulder and aiming to slice off another of its limbs, but as she tried to get closer, the Crystal Mimic shot out to meet her, its remaining two des catching Anput''s and stopping her attack. The Jackalkin jumped back as the shattered limb tried toe from below and pierce her stomach, which would have been a debilitating blow to the Jackalkin and one that we would have been required to treat right away. The instant that Anput jumped backwards away from the blow, Jahi and Nirinia leapt back into the Crystal Mimic and tried to hit it, but the monster utilized its speed to avoid any attacks aimed at it and instead slipped from the two warriors and blitzed towards Leone and I, wanting to get rid of the two mages who were charging spells. mes erupted from its legs as it rushed towards us, catching the other three off guard at the sudden shift of focus from the Crystal Mimic, and I instantly switched my spell structure to one meant for defense as it appeared in front of us, erecting a thick b of ice between us and it that blocked its jagged crystal des. It chittered in annoyance at the ice in front of it, and I widened my eyes as I saw a momentary flicker inside its body, the thick, viscous mana forming runes inside the crystal body and allowing it to cast magic without the use of any external limbs. The de that I had broken earlier regrew and thickened out into a heavy machete type weapon, which the Crystal Mimic raised and used to hack at the wall, getting off three heavy blows that chunked out pieces of the ice and almost chopped through my barrier, thought thankfully it was pulled away by Jahi who grabbed one of its limbs and threw it back. "It can cast magic without any hands! There are runes inside the crystal body that form for the spells, so be careful!" The three melee fighters in front of me nodded as they readied their des, staring at the Crystal Mimic as it stood up, shaking off the dirt and tapping its des together, it''s horned head turning to stare at us as it''s fangs elongated. Hissing, the Crystal Mimic lowered its stance before shing forwards again, its crystal body thickening and hardening as it armored itself for close quartersbat. Entangling itself with the three warriors, it allowed itself to fight them three on one since it now made it too risky for Leone and I to engage in the battle, our spells - while quick and precise - not capable of aiding the warriors without risking them. I grit my teeth at the wit that the Crystal Mimic disyed, only to nce at Leone as she began to weave a new spell into existence, the Vampire shouting "On my signal jump away!" In a lower voice, Leone said "Kat, boost my spell with some of your Wind Mana please. Hopefully we can take it out in a single hit..." Nodding, I too swapped my spell around and studied the runes that Leone was inscribing into the air, matching my spell to hers and doing my best to aid her so that we could blow this Crystal Mimic away with one spell. It wasn''t honorable, nor was it anything to be proud of, but honestly none of us cared for things like that, and we only wanted to make it another day; if we could do so with Leone''s magic and make this easy on ourselves, then we would certainly do so. At this point I think we all just wanted to get home and rx for a day or two... So I created a spell to aid Leone''s as we watched the three women in front of us fight off the Crystal Mimic, before the Vampire shouted "Back!", the red runes in front of her ring to life as her mana flooded through them. Anput, Jahi and Nirinia all jumped back after beating down the Crystal Mimic, stunning it for just a second and giving Leone the space she needed to unleash her spell. The runes in front of her spun around before transforming into spheres of crackling me, which pulsed with a sweltering heat as my own spheres of wind encased them, fueling them and empowering them. Relinquishing control of my spell, I allowed Leone to cast her magic in its entirety, watching as those multiple spheres zipped through the air towards the Crystal Mimic, each one sparking before exploding on the Mimic''s body. The chain of a dozen explosions shook the area around us, and we all held our breaths as we stared at the cloud of dust and smoke that lingered around the location of the Crystal Mimic, which I blew away with a swift gust of wind. We all stared in astonishment as a new pir of crystal encased the Mimic, protecting it from the spell and shattering after it deemed itself safe. Stepping out of its shelter, the Crystal Mimic hissed again before it tapped its feet against the ground, a red glow emanating from its body. Mana leaked from its crystalline form, and we all cursed as another Mimic stepped out of the first, followed by another that joined the second. Three Crystal Mimics stood in front of us, and they all shook themselves and adopted new features, aligning themselves with the three warriors in front. One had a tall, jagged body withrge horns and long ears, while another was shorter and lean, a tail made of jagged crystal swishing idly behind itself. Then there was the original, who maintained its tall form and thinned itself out, lengthening its limbs and chittering quietly as it opened its crystal jaw wide, revealing a gout of me that shot towards us at high speeds. The other three leapt back towards Leone and I, where we summoned a dome of fire and wind to protect ourselves from the onught of mes that threatened to burn us to a crisp. "Now there''s three of these things?! Fuck! We need to go for the heart instead, but dealing with three of these things is going to be tricky!" Chapter 562 561: Boss Fight (3)

Chapter 562 Chapter 561: Boss Fight (3)

"Now there''s three of these things?! Fuck! We need to go for the heart instead, but dealing with three of these things is going to be tricky!" Jahi''s soft growl after she spoke made me nod, my eyes narrowing as I stared out into the mes and said "Maybe it split its strength three ways? Or at the very least relinquished its strength to make those copies of itself? If so, then it might just be bearable. Still, we need to meet each of them to get a gauge on their strength!" When the original Crystal Mimic stopped breathing mes onto the dome of wind and fire, Anput shot forwards and collided with the Canine Mimic, her longsword shing towards its head as she did as I asked without question, nor confirmation. Jahi and Nirinia bolted forwards as well, aiming to go one person per Mimic, but sadly the hulking Demoness Mimic insisted that they keep itpany, its bulky body hardening under a thickyer of opaque crystal that withstood their blows. That left Leone and I to cast our spells and neutralize the Crystal Mimic in the back, stopping it from casting anything else as we unleashed a barrage of arrows towards it, each of them exploding on impact and chipping away at its body. It regenerated itself with its mana, which was overflowing and potent despite having split between the other two, but I would assume that was because the other two were melee focused, whereas this one was magic focused. Even so, the sheer quantity it held was easily the same as what Leone and I hadbined, and while I might not have a Core asrge as my Vampiric lover, I still had more mana than other people, which made this monster... well, monstrous. So this was proving to be a strenuous task as we poured our mana together and went on the offensive, hitting the Crystal Mimic with spell after spell as we began to make our way over to the heart, Leone whispering "Think you can hold it on your own for a few moments? This crystal isn''t the strongest material in the world, after all..." as we walked to the side. "I should be able too. Though, are you sure that the crystal spire around the heart would be as weak as everything else? I wouldn''t think so..." "Hmm... We''ll have to see. Either way, I can get a spell to crack it open easily, though if it does prove to be tougher than I think, perhaps it''d be best to let your Ice shatter it? I''ll let you know." Nodding, I watched as the Crystal Mimic let out a cry of desperation as it noticed our movements, alerting the other two that we were moving towards the heart and prompting them to begin pushing back against their opponents harder than before, switching from a bnced, neutral set of techniques to outright recklessness as they opted for pure offense to slip away from the warriors. The Canine Mimic shed its wed hands at Anput, its two limbs ending in long talons of jagged crystal that threatened to rip the Jackalkin to shreds, while the asional twist of its body allowed its tail to lunge towards her as well, acting as a weapon to try and slice the olive skinned warrior in front of it. Anput expertly dodged around its every attack, her longsword dancing around and scoring thin cuts across the Canine Mimic''s body, slowly but steadily building up damage as she went for a kill via a thousand cuts against her opponent, willing to take a long fight that held more safety for herself over rushing it. As for Jahi and Nirinia, they alternated between blocking and attacking the Demoness Mimic, blockings its heavy machete des before mming their own des against its barrel body, splintering and cracking the crystal with ease. However, the Demoness Mimic had a regeneration spell etched into its insides, allowing the lost crystal to grow back and harden instantly, relying on the mana reservoir inside itself to continue fighting the two warriors for as long as it could, all while trying its damndest to butcher them both and reach Leone and I. We managed to get to the crystal spire after a few moments, and Leone said "Switch your spells now, and let me know when you''re ready; I''ll drop my spells and focus on the crystal spire when I get your word." I just nodded as I began to reshape the runes in front of me, adding new ones and constructing a Ritual Circle that would allow me to keep the Crystal Mimic at bay as Leone worked on cracking open the crystal spire and wrench out the beating heart of this ind, ending our time here on this ind. It would be a time that I would remember with mixed feelings, that was for sure; I would look back and kick myself for not grinding out much longer, but also a time that I was grateful to have spent as long as I had here. There was a lot to gain by being here, and if it was a ce with a little more... hospitality to it in terms of a constructed building and somewhere we had nned oning to, this might have been a ce we could have cloistered ourselves off in for a month, but s it wasn''t to be. Instead, I was staring down a Crystal Mimic with an array of runes shining in front of me as I said "Go ahead Leone!" before releasing a beam of extremely cold, cloying snow towards the monster, which clung to its crystalline body and began to cover it in frost as soon as the Vampire stopped heating the air around it. She turned instantly and began to work on the crystal spire, her mana forming into apressed foot of me that she shed at the spire, observing the damage done and tuning her spell before doing it again, creating a weak point to begin drilling. Chapter 563 562: Tearing Out the Heart

Chapter 563 Chapter 562: Tearing Out the Heart

Mana spilled from my fingertips as I sent apressed beam of ice straight towards the Crystal Mimic, shing against its heat and covering its crystalline body in a thinyer of frost that inhibited its movements, buying Leone the time she needed to crack open the crystal spire and tear out the heart of this ind. While water would counter the mes sputtering off of its body easily, the ice was doing more than enough to counteract the heat that the Crystal Mimic tried to bring forth with its various spells. Additionally, the slow that my frost applied to the monster was what I was truly aiming for with this spell, hoping to keep it slow and chip away at the crystals thatprised its body, my theory of the continual shifts of temperatures to damage the monster one that I hoped was true as well. After all, when something solid shifts between the high heats of being consumed by fire to the deep chill of being frozen, most of the time that causes quite the damage to that solid''s structures, especially something that is as frail as crystal can be. While I kept the original Mimic back, Anput, Jahi and Nirinia fought against theirs with vigor, their des shing against the Canine and Demoness Mimic''s weapons as they held the two Mimics back with their superior techniques and ability to utilize their own magics, while the Mimics fought solely with their desperation and reliance on physical capabilities, which were above ours. I could hear Leone behind me chopping away at the crystal spire, the Vampire grunting as she created a weak spot on her own before switching herpressed de to a rotating drill bit, deciding to crack through the crystal with her magic. Considering we had no real idea on what would happen if we destroyed the heart from range, we didn''t want to risk just sting this entire area with high explosive magic since there was no guarantee that the crystal spire would break nor was there a guarantee that the heart would be damaged, so we went for the more likely option of just tearing the heart out. It would seem that this safer, more guaranteed option held a longer required timeframe to work as we stood our ground for another minute, the Mimics growing more and more crazed as they watched the Vampire slowly make her way through the crystal spire, revealing the beating fleshy orb that was the heart of this ind. Crystal littered the ground around her as she chipped through the spire, widening the opening and allowing herself to slip inside the crystal spire, observing the wrinkled orb for a few moments before resting her hand on it. The three Mimics all screeched in desperation as they watched her begin to imbue the heart with mana, overloading it and raising its temperature drastically, making it beat wildly before it eventually began to sputter out mes. Flesh tore apart beneath the onught of her mana, sputtering mes into the air and mixing with the reddish silver liquid that sshed onto the ground as the heart continued to be burnt and eviscerated from the inside out. Screeches mixed with the sound of the flesh tearing apart rapidly as Leone overflowed the heart with her Fire Mana, the whooshing of mes joining the cacophony around us as the entire fleshy orb burst into mes, the outside ckening under the heat. The flesh sizzled as everything began to burn, and with another drop of mana Leone took a step back, tracing out a spell in a second and hurling ance through the heart, piercing the flesh and allowing more of that silvery blood to stter on the ground. With the heart burning and now impaled by a mingnce, the Crystal Mimic and its copies fell to their knees, wing at their heads and screeching loudly as they slowly tore themselves apart, chunks of their crystalline bodies scattering across the ground as they died. Approaching the heart, Jahi raised her great sword and cleaved it in two, letting the halves plop to the ground and weep blood into the volcano''s stone, silencing the beating and allowing Anput and I to take a breath and rx our ears. But, we couldn''t rx long as the mountain began to shake, each of us looking around before we rushed back towards the entrance of this tform, looking over the edge of the pathway and staring down at the glowing pit below. Magma began to seep out from the bottom of the pit, returning to its chamber and sloshing around as it began to slowly make its way towards the vent, filling the magma chamber and cutting off our original path. "Alright, Anput, we need you to take us down the side of the volcano. Let''s make a beeline straight for the beach!" Without further adieu, Jahi scooped Leone into her arms and began to rush towards the edge of the tform, returning to our battlefield with the Mimics and scaling the walls quickly, looking for where the Gate was that connected this ind to the Empire. As we stared over the forest below, we saw mes burst from the ground and begin to burn the trees, while the Undead''s portion of the ind was already aze, the gases in the air and dead vegetation making it prone to catching fire quickly. Portions of the volcano were already crumbling away,rge boulders rolling down the side and crashing into the forest, knocking down trees and destroying the forest in preparation for the eruption toe. Looking around, we located the portion of the ind that we were familiar with and turned towards Anput, who was scanning the side of the volcano for the best ce to descend. Finding it, she sheathed her de and began to cast a spell, creating small tforms of rock that we jumped onto as we began to descend, the Jackalkin making tform after tform in mere moments as she guided us down towards the ground. We reached the forest without issue, and we began our rush through the trees as the ind continued to tremble and quake, while the earth burst open to reveal the magma underneath, burning the once lush vegetation and trees to little more than cinders in moments. Casting a spell of my own, I hastened our movements and rid the air of the acrid tang of smoke, making it easier to reach the beautiful beach that we hade to know over thesest few days. Waiting for us at the Gate was the Marquess and Cali, the two women standing beside the purple Gate and staring at the tree line with narrowed eyes,pletely serious as they waited for our return. Upon seeing us, the Marquess just nodded and gestured towards the Gate, while Cali grinned and slipped inside of it, disappearing from sight. And just like that, our time on this ind came to a close as we rushed through the Gate, not taking a second look back as we transported ourselves back to the Empire. Back to safety, and back home. Back to where our family waited for us. Chapter 564 563: End Of An Arc ? Stepping through the purple Gate, I breathed a sigh of relief as I crouched on the stone floor of the underwater temple, the still, warm airforting after having run through an expanse of burning vegetation and bubbling magma. Solid ground, silent area, bearable temperatures and no threat to my life lurking just feet away from myself; yeah, this was a relief to be back, and I was excited to be crammed inside a carriage for a few hours as we returned to the Pce. The others also crouched beside me, taking in deep breaths before standing back up and moving around, enjoying thenguid atmosphere that resided inside the temple as we did some preliminary unwinding in regards to thest few days of constant killing. There were some moments here and there that weren''t marred by the blood of a monster or dust of a pulverized bone, but they were few and far between despite some of the actions that we all took to rx on that beach, with even Jahi and I having sex being something that was overshadowed by everything else. That, and the cleanup from sex on the beach wasn''t that pleasurable either, so... But, we were done with that and ready to return to thefort and luxuries of the Pce, where we could unwindpletely and not worry about needing to do anything strenuous for the next day or two - and as much as I would like to say that we could take a week off, none of us were capable of prolonged breaks at this point, having be too ustomed to doing something all the time. Sometimes, even sex was work for us, with the Dual Cultivation that we performed thanks to Leone pilfering the technique from her Mother''s personal library making the normally pleasurable experience something that could be a chore if we were too tired. Though, admittedly, that had yet to happen since all of us thrived on entwining our bodies together in lust, with my own love for sex reaching such a point that I hade to this world with a maxed out skill regarding it. Sitting down on the edge of the tform that housed the Gate, I leaned back and sighed before opening the System menu, curious about what I got for thest day of being on the ind. [Calcting...] Seeing the familiar screen, I tapped my fingers on the stone and waited patiently, before my entire body froze as I received the summary from thatst fight, the report leaving me stunned and bbergasted. [11,893,450 Xp awarded; would you like a summary?] I blinked a few times before rubbing at my eyes, staring at the number for a few more moments before realizing that I was - in fact - seeing a number with eight digits and not seven. Eight. Digits. Not just a million, not just a few million, but almost TWELVE million experience. I almost didn''t believe it, but I watched in awe as the experience bar began to rapidly fill, drain, rapidly fill, drain again, rapidly fill... All the way from level 43 to level 49. Mhm... 43 to 49. Six entire levels, from what honestly wasn''t even that hard of a fight... [There is a summary, if you would prefer understanding where the numberes from? Or we can continue to admire the extra digit; it is a rather pretty digit.] ''...'' [Hello~? Katherine? Summary is avable, if you''d li-] [Crystal Mimic killed; 1,750,000 Xp] [Crystal Mimic (Canine) assisted; 72,225 Xp] [Crystal Mimic (Demoness) assisted; 71,225 Xp] [Hidden Quest Completed : Destroy the heart of the ind without any of your Mistress'' sustaining injury!] [Reward : 6,000,000 Xp, 10,000 Sp] [Quest Completed : Destroy the heart of the ind!] [Reward : 4,000,000 Xp, 8,000 Sp] ''What..? When did I ever have a Quest? Why didn''t I see it?!'' [Ahem... Congrattions! You received a Quest! Destroy the heart of the is-] ''HEY! Why didn''t you tell me I had a Quest?! Don''t tell me you were asleep?!'' [...] ''System.'' [...] ''System, don''t make me be-'' [Alright, alright! Fine, I was taking a short nap! Deal with it! Goddess above, just be happy you still got the quests! I could have just never given them to you!] ''...'' [Y''know what, I think I can just take this experience back since you aren''t appreciating it en-] ''Thanks! Wow, you''re such a good System! What would I do without you~?'' [Could you put ANY of that 77 Charisma to use if you were going to fake the gratitude?] ''Why..?'' [Never mind... Alright, yes, I ''forgot'' to give the Quest to you, sorry, but..! I had a nice dream, so it evened out.] ''What? You know what, never mind... Wasn''t there a Second ss avable at level 50? I just need-'' [Level 49 : 725,986 / 2,000,000] ''1,275,000 experience to reach level 50! Wow... it feels like it''s been forever since I changed my ss that first time to Shadow Guard... not that I had much of a chance to lean into that role at all.'' [It has been awhile since then, yes. But, you still have a good bit till you reach level 50, and at least a day or two as I do some background work in preparation for it. Leaves you some time to think on it; this is a pretty important decision to be made for you, after all. Anyways, I do think you should focus on the real world again, before someone realizes that you''re crazier than what they thought.] I couldn''t even get a quip in before I felt someones handnd on my shoulder, shaking me back ''awake'' and making me look up, meeting the amethyst eyes of Jahi as she crouched in front of me, worry clearly writ on her face as she asked "Are you alright? You were incredibly spaced out right there..." Smiling at her, I nodded as I got up, epting her hand and leaning into her chest as I took a deep breath, her naturally sweet scent covered by sweat and dirt, but... I could feel my lower abdomen warm up as I blinked a few more times, trying to process the sudden spreading of heat inside my loins before realizing that it had truly been a few days since Jahi had sex with me, meaning... There were a few stacks of [Arousal] built up, and this was the second time that I was dealing with them; that was how active we usually were, so I had no real idea on how to react to this other than to cling to the Demoness and try and focus past it, but... "Kat, could you be anymore obvious that your horny? Gods be damned..." Lifting my chin, Jahi grinned as she stared at me, before tilting my head and making me look towards Anput, who was biting her cheek hard as she stared at me with a heated gaze. "Now both my puppies are in heat, and we''re still hours away from the Pce... the two of you can be such~ trouble sometimes, you know that? Well..." Stroking my cheek, Jahi smirked before shouting "Let''s get going, Mom. I think we should try to return as quickly as possible..." In a lower voice, she leaned down and whispered "Enjoy these next few hours as you stew in curiosity, my sexy maid... I have some ns for you..." Chapter 565 564: Back In The Saddle (1)* ? Jahi PoV I could barely contain my smirk as I watched Kat squirm around in her seat during the carriage ride back to the Pce, the Dogkin maid very clearly aroused and itching to be fucked as she sat beside the window, doing her best - to no avail - to hide her arousal. Because of the one puppy being in heat, the other puppy was as well, and she was sitting beside Leone, trying her hardest to not pounce on Kat as the tart scent of my Dogkin maid began to waft around the carriage, albeit as a concealed undertone for the rest of us. But, if I could smell it already, I couldn''t begin to imagine what Anput was smelling from her mate, though I could imagine what she was feeling considering the way she nkly stared at Kat with hazy obsidian eyes. Honestly, this carriage ride was torturous for us all, even Mom and Nirinia as we all had a single thing on our mind as we made our way back to the Pce - sex. It was all that was on our minds during those hours, but the two puppies were the ones to suffer the most out of us all. When we did reach the Pce, Mom threw open the door and began to grab her stuff, followed quickly by me as I took both Kat''s stuff and my own, before I grabbed the Dogkin''s wrist and pulled her inside, with Anput growling softly before she grabbed Leone, her eyes lingering on Kat before she relinquished her desires for the moment. Likely sensing that it''d be best for her to be somewhere else with Anput, Leone began to guide the Jackalkin to another room, allowing Kat and I to have some privacy as I dragged her into the bedroom, unceremoniously tossing her towards the bed. Dropping our stuff off to the side, I pulled my shirt off and unbuckled my pants, not wanting to wait a moment longer. The Dogkin''s breathing hitched as she watched me strip, her eyes tracing over my breasts before dropping towards my cock, stopping briefly on my abdomen. I didn''t need to say anything to her, my eyes now locked to her body as she threw off her clothes as well, letting her voluptuous breasts jiggle free from their constraints before slipping her pants off of her juicy thighs,ying herself bare to me. My hand was idly stroking my shaft, arousing me further as I gestured towards my maid, not trusting my voice for the moment. She flipped onto her stomach and unted her curvaceous ass for me, crawling further onto the bed and allowing me to get on it as well, staring down at the two tantalizing buns waiting to be zed. Gently brushing her tail to the side, I leaned down and spread her cheeks apart, revealing the plump lower lips that were soaked with juices and bringing my own lips towards them, kissing her pussy and relishing the taste of my lover. Kat moaned softly as I began top at her cunt, my tongue gliding across her slit before plunging into it as I started to eat her out, wanting to savor her taste some more before I devoured her entirely. Her scent permeated my head as I continued to enjoy my ''meal'', the tartness so refreshingly familiar and making me feel heated the longer I tasted it, which only served to make my cock that much harder as anticipation began to build. I made sure to observe her reactions for her uing orgasm, my Dogkin having obvious tells for when she was going to cum, and as soon as I saw the first tell, I pulled away and chuckled at how she whined, shaking her ass as if to beg me to return to her pussy. Crawling further up, I rested my cock atop her ass and whispered "Don''t cum until I say so, puppy... I want to cum inside you while you cum from my cock, alright? Fail to do so, and I''ll find a suitable punishment for you... perhaps I''ll ravage Anput and Leone in front of you while you''re tied up? Shower them in my seed while you remain dry..." Kat whimpered at my threat, her body trembling in slight fear as she envisioned a night where I alternated between only Anput and Leone, leaving her to an ''agonizing'' fate of only watching as I savored my other two women. Chuckling again, I sat up and grabbed my cock, pressing it against her drenched pussy and saying "Don''t cum until I do, Kat... so you had best make me cum quickly~!" With that, I lowered my hips and slipped myself inside, moaning softly inside my throat as the familiar tight, wet hole gripped my tip, swallowing it whole and greedily taking in more as I continued inside, submerging myselfpletely. Her cervix gave way instantly, and I smirked as I put my entire length into her pussy, which was writhing around and massaging my shaft like dozens of fingers trying to wring me out. Grabbing ahold of her hips, I groaned softly as she arched her back some more, lifting her ass up and presenting herself to me, making sure my visual stimulus was immacte in hopes of making me cum quicker. And after a few days of no sex, I was probably going to cum quick, but I had more than a full tank to expel, so... Smirking, I gyrated my hips and stirred around her womb for a moment before pulling out, leaving only my tip inside and chuckling at how her ears twitched in mild irritation, the Dogkin wanting me to take her hard and fast so that I could make her cum. Normally, I would want to discipline her more, but any thoughts on doing something besides fucking this Dogkin was scraped from my mind as I plunged back into her womb, the moan that escaped her lips akin to a Siren''s Call and luring me into thrusting inside her again, my hips mming into her juicy ass while my balls rested against her thighs. Biting my cheek, I couldn''t help but begin to thrust faster and faster inside her pussy as she moaned for me, the sound of her sulent pussy getting drilled joining in to make a beautiful symphony of lust as I began to enjoy the body of my lover, wanting to make her scream in pleasure as I disyed my prowess to her. So, I squeezed her butt and began to pound into her pussy, my cock gouging out her womb as I dove deep into its depths and dragged myself back out, hammering her cervix open and granting myself entry over and over again. --- Going to do another 2~3 chapters of smut before getting back to it, with 1 of those chapters (at least) being dedicated to an Anput x Leone chapter --- Chapter 566 565: Back In The Saddle (2)* ? The familiar burn in my hips as I relished the body of my woman was euphoric, especially when paired with the warm embrace of her pussy as I reminded her why she was mine, the cherry on top being the sweet moans filling the air as I pounded her under me. Her juicy ass rippled with each thrust as I took her, my cock wrapped in the fleshy folds of her pussy and hammering her cervix into shape as I filled her up for the first time in a few days. A short amount of time normally, but almost an eternity to me as I felt the sheer weight of my desires burning inside my loins, the need to cum inside someone creeping into my mind and making me growl as I continued thrusting into Kat, making the Dogkin moan louder before whimpering as her orgasm grew closer. "Remember bitch! No cumming until I do! If you fail..." My handnded on her ass, making her yelp in pain as a red mark marred her otherwise pale skin, all while her plump butt jiggled from the blow, making my growl deepen as I felt the urge to dominate her more, wanting to make those luscious cheeks crimson with prints or white with sperm. But for the moment I couldn''t stop humping her ass, gouging out her womb and pping my balls against her thighs as I relished having sex once again after what felt like forever. Riding my Dogkin lover was a pleasure as always, one that only Leone could replicate for me with her equally curvaceous body, but the differences between Kat and Leone were unfair to make. One was bound to my very soul, deepening the sense of dominance I had over her and arousing me more as I made her my bitch, while the other was someone I loved deeply and lusted for immensely, but wasn''t capable of taking the enormity of my desires to their fullest. My hips sped up as I fucked Kat harder, making the Dogkin gasp beneath me before whimpering into the bedsheets as she bit them, trying her hardest to hold back the orgasm that threatened to wash over her as I hammered her into my bitch. The form was as simple as it could be; in and out, hard and fast. That was all I did to Kat, but she was squirming and moaning beneath me with such need in her actions that made me grin, the feeling of ruling over her sexually sending a rush of joy to my mind as I continued to fuck her as hard as I could, until I let out a low roar as I started shooting my sperm into her womb, flooding her pussy with my semen and trying my damndest to impregnate her, even though I knew it to be impossible thanks to the medicines she was on. My body didn''t care though, as all it knew was that this fertile woman that I was inside of was awaiting a fresh batch of semen to knock her up, and my balls did their best to provide what was needed, thick ropes of sticky sperm sttering her womb in my color as I ejacted hard inside her. Feeling my cum sloshing around in her pussy, Kat released her own orgasm and screamed into the bedsheets, her entire body spasming - including her pussy - as she came from being creampied, finally allowed to erupt in pleasure just like I had. Her cunt mped down on my cock and massaged out the semen that lingered from the first batch, making me moan quietly above her as thest remains of my first ejaction trickled out. Squeezing her ass as I came, I waited until I was practically empty to pull out, letting thest few ropes ssh against her pussy lips as my cock twitched, wanting to be submerged inside her warmth still. But, I wanted something different, so I grabbed her and flipped her over, watching those beautiful breasts bounce around as I dragged her onto myp, her limp body like a dolls as I slipped back inside, my semen lubing her up even more for me as I began to bounce her on myp. Kat came around a few momentster, the feeling of my dick spearing into her womb pulling her free from her orgasmic high and making her cling to me as I plunged back inside her, her breasts squished against mine as she hugged me close. Tilting her head back, I leaned down and took her lips, my tongue slipping deep inside and mirroring my cock as I began to dominate her through a kiss as well, the Dogkin panting as I began round two. Vani wasn''t something that I preferred, usually enjoying something spicier or with more vor, but right now, in this moment, vani was exactly what I needed as Kat and I sat on the bed, the Dogkin shaking her hips for me as she took my cock to the base, her ass pping against my thighs as she fucked herself on my cock. There was no whips, no rope, no intent for pain past what was caused naturally, and it was...forting. Relieving. Exactly what I needed right now as I groped my lovers body, her bountiful tits nice and soft while her ass was perfectly firm as I squeezed it, all while her fleshy cunt gripped my cock and milked out a fresh batch of semen after she herself came, squirting a little on myp. Flooding her pussy with more cum, I grunted before kissing her deeply, my mind nking as the heat of her body on mine, the tart taste on her tongue, and the scent of her bodybined around me to send me over the edge, my second ejactionrger than the first as I pumped cum inside her for a dozen seconds. Pushing her onto her back, Iid on top of her and began to pound into her cunt without pulling out, stirring up my cum and continuing to make love to her as the night began in earnest, neither of us anywhere near satiated. Chapter 567 566: Family Time* (Extra) Chordeva PoV A small smile rested on my lips as I watched Jahi drag Kat into their room, the two young women uncaring of how obvious they were being with their lust for one another, reminding me of myself back when I was just as young as they were. Now though, I had been given three reasons by the Gods and Goddesses to rein in my own lust, though one of those reasons was fully grown now. I wouldn''t lie and say that I was anywhere near celibate, nor anywhere near being restraining with my lust, but it wasn''t as prominent as it was before. There were two beautiful little reasons for me to push that aside whenever I could, and as I opened the door leading into my room I got to witness those two reasons lounging on the bed. Lakshmi was sprawled out on the bed and dozing off, her chin resting against a pillow while the rest of her was stretched out and covered in a nket, the little Demoness presumably tired after whatever she had done today. Alessandra, on the other hand, was firmly seated in Ria''sp, her eyes glued to the page of whatever book my Elven wife was reading and trying her hardest to read... anything that she could, I guess. Everyone - save Lakshmi - looked up towards the door as they heard it opening, my smile widening as I set my stuff down and looked at the two women on the bed, saying "I''m back." Julie stood up instantly and made her way to my side, helping me take everything off - old habits die hard, I guess - before yelping as I pulled her into my chest, hugging her closely. All that I had thought about my lust earlier seemed like a lie as I felt myself get hard just from hugging her, the feeling of her soft breasts and warm skin on mine making me aroused, while the sight of my graceful Elf closing her book and lifting Alessandra into her arms stoked a different side of me. While she did punch my stomach to try and get me to release her, Julie wasn''t doing a good job in convincing me that she didn''t enjoy the embrace, what with her tail wagging from side to side all while she nuzzled against my chest. Removing an arm from her back, I extended my hand to Ria and smiled at the serious Elf, who stepped past my outstretched arm and instead rested on my side, her golden hair concealing her features as she allowed me to hug her as well. I leaned down and kissed both of their heads, before doing the same for Alessandra, who stared at me curiously. "Didn''t think I''d be back this quick... but I am certainly notining." Ria nodded, well aware of where I had gone and how long it usually took me to clear it out on my own, but I guess we both forgot just how talented the four girls going in were... as well as how strong Nirinia was. Hearing the voices in the room, Lakshmi stirred and yawned adorably on the bed, hervender skin almost blending in with the blue nket she was swaddled in as well as the purple sheets on the bed. Ria and Julie separated from me and allowed me to stride forwards, grabbing Lakshmi and surprising her as she went from solid ground to the air, though she calmed down instantly as she opened her red streaked amber eyes and stared at me. For a moment she seemed to be pulling a nk with who I was, before eventually beaming at me and reaching her short arms towards my head, babbling the entire time. Chuckling, I brought her closer and kissed her brow before sitting down on the bed, sighing in relief at finally having something soft to sit on. My wife and soon to be wife moved to sit on either side of me, with them both leaning against me as I stroked Lakshmi''s back and gave her the attention she deserved, with Alessandra watching on quietly. We sat there for a few minutes longer, chatting quietly about everything that went on during our stint at the ind and what I thought concerning the improvements of the four women, during which Lakshmi fought to stay awake, her eyelids drooping before shooting open as she rested in my arms. Alessandra too seemed tired, so I made noment on it - lest I jinx it - and continued to speak softly about what had happened, waiting for the two to drift to sleep. When they finally did, I couldn''t help but grin as I alternated my stare between the two women on either side of me, with Ria rolling her eyes while Julie blushed, both knowing what was going to happen. Getting up, I carefully ced Lakshmi in her crib with Alessandra, the two babies frowning before clutching at their nkets as they went from one source of warmth to another. Thank the Gods for these Fire Crystals that kept the crib perfectly warm at all times... With them now asleep, I didn''t hesitate to grab my two women and pull them over to the bathroom, smirking as I heard my daughter getting started with Julie''s daughter in the background, which made the mature Dogkin beside me blush even harder. Entering the bathroom, I stripped and revealed myself to them both, with Ria amusing me greatly as she continued to look stoic despite the throbbing erection she had as well, making me chuckle as I grabbed her first. The Elf''s facade melted away as I pushed her against them wall, lust warping her features into something I was ustomed to as I crouched down and buried my face into her slit,pping at her pussy and preparing her to take me. While I prepared Ria, Julie was standing off to the side, her tantalizinglyrge breasts on disy as she leaned against the wall, her fingers tugging at her clit as she watched on from the side. Lapping up my Elf''s juices, I slipped a hand around and stroked the underside of her shaft, smirking as I listened to the unrestrained moan that escaped her lips as I hit her sensitive spots. Doing it once more, I plunged my tongue into her snatch and enjoyed her taste before pulling away, standing up from my crouch and lining up my cock with her cunt. I grabbed her thin waist and slipped inside, grunting as I felt that familiar pleasure wrap around my cock as I prated my Elf, before I gestured towards Julie and took a handful of her juicy ass as she got near. Groping her for a moment, I slid my fingers down towards her cunt and began to finger her, enjoying the way she staggered forwards into my side as she suddenly was spread apart as well, though I seal off her lips with a kiss even as I started to thrust hard and fast into the Elf, who was leaning against the wall. With a slim, petite Elf arching her back and pressing her ass further into my groin every time I thrust into her and a busty, mature Dogkin moaning as I fingered her, I didn''t need long to feel the onset of an ejaction, my ''deprived'' body ready to return to normal levels of drained. The sound of my hips smacking against Ria''s perky ass filled the bathroom, along with the moans of both her and Julie as I pleasured them both at the same time, though the Elf disyed great vocals as I slid my hand from her waist to her own cock, stroking it and making her cum from both sides as I railed her. Semen sttered the floor below us as Ria came, before her hips trembled as her pussy convulsed, her juices joining the white liquid on the floor as I aplished my first task of the night. She moaned loudly in our bathroom as I took her some more, not giving her sensitive body any rest as I deformed her womb with my thrusts, eventually ballooning it as I came too, flooding her pussy with sperm as I tried to knock her up. Julie reached down and caressed my balls as I came, the Dogkin woman kissing me deeper as she felt me cumming inside of Ria and helping the Elf by coaxing some more cum out of me, making me grunt loudly into her lips as she did so. When I finished, I stepped back and let Ria fall to her knees, the Elf requiring a moment to gather herself for round two and leaving just Julie and I to continue on. Without much surprise, I pushed Julie towards the wall and had her take the same position Ria did, wanting to admire her juicy ass as I fucked her from behind. With her cunt already slick with juices, I grabbed ahold of her hips and slipped inside, admiring the way her curves reacted to me as I began to thrust against her. I wrapped my arms around her waist a few momentster, leaning over her and smirking as I began to take her like a dog, enjoying the way her head hung as her animalistic side got stroked as I made her my bitch. Kissing her neck, I further yed with her mind as I fucked her by finding her pheromone nd and stimting it a bit, making the Dogkin moan loudly before whimpering as she felt me move away, her eyes zing over slightly as the multitudes of pleasure points made her body into a mess. Gouging out her now empty womb, I slipped my hands up towards her breasts and began to milk the Dogkin as well, enjoying the way she moaned louder at that before trembling as she came, her ears twitching hard. Savoring her body for a few moments more, I pulled back and grabbed her hips, staring down at her ass as I hammered into it before looking up at the ceiling as I started to cum, my semen pouring from my cock and into her womb as I ejacted again. When I pulled out, I spanked her juicy ass before grabbing Ria, pping her back to reality with my cock and enjoying how her lips felt as she started to suck my cock next, my lust finding release now that I was back with my two wives. Chapter 568 567: A Bite Here, A Bite There...* ? Leone PoV I didn''t hold the actions and soft growl that Anput made against her, knowing full well that the Jackalkin was experiencing a myriad of emotions right now as we watched Jahi lead Kat off towards our room, the Demoness very obviously going to have intense sex with the woman of all of our desires. And for Anput, that woman was downright addictive, more so then any type of drug in this world could ever be; I could say so from my own experience, but also from what I knew about Canine Beastkin after I had researched them when I was younger... After all, I had fallen for not only Jahi, but Kat as well when we first met, and that curiosity of mine was a blessing and a curse, since I was drawn towards learning whatever I could regarding whatever captivated me. At the time, that meant learning anything about the Canine Beastkin, and a part of that - something that made my younger self feel guilty - was how their mate system and bodies worked sexually... The pheromones in Kat were something that Anput now craved on a multitude of levels, and as her mate and ''alpha'', Anput needed to re mark her mate often to remind her that she was hers, while also scratching that itch that popped up whenever she got a whiff of Kat''s pheromones. Considering I could even smell the tart scent of lemons around Kat, I couldn''t imagine what Anput was smelling, so I didn''t me the woman for seemingly being frustrated with having to have sex with me instead of Kat. Instead, I was just curious of how she would treat me during our night together; we had both picked up Jahi''s cues that suggested she wanted Kat all to herself tonight, so we had to make do... Which meant I led Anput to one of the many empty rooms in the Pce - one that was far enough away from our room as well - where I was promptly mmed against the door, the Jackalkin nipping at my bottom lip before sliding her tongue inside, her citrus taste exploding on my own tongue as we began to kiss. Her hands dropped instantly towards my rear, the Jackalkin growling softly as she sunk her fingers deep into my leather d ass, all while she gyrated her hips against mine, rubbing herself against my cock that hardened the moment we got out of the carriage. I held Anput against me, my hands resting on her back as I deepened the kiss while moaning quietly into her mouth, the sensation of her rubbing against my erection, her hands groping my ass, and our tongues dancing together eroding my mind with pleasure. Biting my lip again, Anput pulled away for a moment and stared at me, her obsidian eyes serious as she growled "Damnit... I''m so~ fucking turned on right now, but I have no idea what I want..." She chewed on her lip before her eyesnded on my lips, which I parted as I felt my fangs slide down from my gums, making her grin as she nodded, tilting her head to the side and revealing her neck to me. Without hesitation I lunged forwards, sinking my fangs into her olive neck and enjoying the taste of her blood, the hints of citrus refreshing as I finally got to feed after a few days of abstinence. As I drank freely from the Jackalkin, she too decided to indulge herself, muttering "Fuck it, why not..." before biting into my neck as well, making me groan as I felt two thin needles dig into my flesh. I... had never been truly bitten before, so it surprised me for a moment before I shuddered, feeling something warm flood into my body from the Jackalkin''s fangs, making me release her neck. Anput ignored me for a few seconds, doing what she wanted and not worrying about my confused nce until she finished, removing her fangs from me andpping at the wound. "What? I gave you some of my pheromones for the time being. Need something to take the edge off for tonight~! Besides, I can feel that... whatever it is that you Vampires use... rushing through my veins as well, so we''re even~!" I raised a brow before licking the remnants of her blood from my lips, making the olive skinned warrior grin as she tilted her head again, showing me the wound I had made previously as she said "Keep drinking. I like the rush... and I can tell you''re not full yet." She didn''t need to tell me twice, and I dove back in for seconds, enjoying some more of her blood while the Jackalkin amused herself by ying with my butt and erection, only showing some signs of being affected when she moaned quietly into my ear and shivered in my arms. When that happened, I released her and licked the wound, closing it, before watching in surprise as Anput pursed her lips and dropped to her knees, the Jackalkin nuzzling against my crotch. "Hmm... I want a taste before I fuck you silly tonight, Leone... Besides, it feels like a damn shame to not let this massive~ fucking cock get any use, y''know~?" My penis throbbed as I stared down at the proud warrior below me, her ears twitching as she undid my pants and pulled them down, revealing my stiff penis and rubbing her cheek against it as she stared up at me. Her hands caressed my balls while her lipsnded on my shaft, working their way up towards my tip as she stared straight at me, watching as I bit my cheek and held back a groan as she began to suck on it. Wrapping her lips around my tip, Anput swirled her tongue around it a few times and then proceeded to take me deeper, loosening her jaw and swallowing more of me. Her obsidian eyes were aglow with amusement as I began to pant, the Jackalkin showing her skills with her tongue as she slurped on my cock like it was a delicacy, savoring every inch as she took it into her throat. One of her hands slid back from my balls to my pussy, making me gasp before I shuddered as her fingers flicked my clit, the sharp jolt of pleasure joining the constant pleasure from being deep in her throat, which was convulsing around my shaft and massaging out my sperm. Anput used her tongue to tease my shaft for a few moments and then pulled away, focusing entirely on my tip as she sucked out the precum and fondled my balls and clit, the Jackalkin doing her best to make me cum quick. Which, embarrassingly enough only took a few more moments as she focused on my sensitive tip, causing me to shudder and gasp as I started ejacting, which was only furthered by her hands coaxing out more of my sperm straight from the source. Those obsidian orbs shone with mirth as I started cumming hard in her mouth, my semen spurting free from my cock and flooding her mouth, which she swallowed in thick gulps. Watching and listening to her drink down my seed with such ease was such a turn on, only for my mind to nk as I felt something erupt from my pussy too, juices spraying from my cunt as Anput made me cum from both ends. All the while, the Jackalkin was observing me with a smirk and amusement, enjoying the way I turned to putty in her hands as she made me cum with such ease. The warm pheromones she had injected into me stirred around my blood, making her eyes sharpen as I likely emitted the scent of a bitch in heat for her, shifting the Jackalkin from a woman toying with her partner to a predator staring at its prey. And there was no doubt about what was going to happen next. Chapter 569 568: Claiming Whats Due* ? I watched as Anput gulped down my semen, the Jackalkin stilltched onto my cock and sucking the remnants of my ejaction out of my urethra, all while her obsidian eyes sharpened as the pheromones she had pumped into me began to swirl around my veins. With an audible plop she released my penis and swallowed down thest few drops of my cum before standing up, her eyes locked on mine as she wiped her mouth clean. "Are you ready, Princess..? I do believe you owe me something from the ind, no?" Her words sent shivers down my spine as I was pushed against the door even further, the Jackalkin snaking her hand around my waist and sticking her fingers into my pussy, making me moan as she began to y around with my still sensitive body. I nodded, making her smirk as she lowered herself for a moment, wrapping both arms around my thighs and lifting me into the air, her smirk widening as I instantly clung to her, lest we both fall. In doing so, I buried her face between my breasts, while my legs wrapped around her waist, which meant my still erect cock was resting against her chest. Anput walked me over to the bed and gently ced me down, her eyes tracing over my curves as she began to strip, her clothes falling to the ground around her as she revealed her chiseled body. Unlike Jahi, who had mass, Anput waspletely defined, her lithe frame covered in cord like muscle that was tightly wound around her bones, but while I hade to realize I loved admiring the muscles of my Demoness lover and Jackalkin lover, they both had something that stole my attention away instantly... The red, fleshy tapered cock that hardened and pushed out from Anput''s loins until it reached its maximum length, which included the pulsing bulb at the base that provided such a unique experience during sex. Smirking down at me, Anput locked her eyes on mine and raised a brow, making me flinch as I scrambled to throw off my shirt and bra, revealing my breasts to her and making her smirk widen as she crawled onto the bed, looking eerilyfortable prowling around on all fours. Her tail swished from side to side as she pushed me onto my back, her surprisingly smooth hands pinning my wrists to the bed as she loomed above me, her own cock rubbing against my own as she lowered herself down. Using just one hand to keep me below her, Anput reached down and began to grope my tit with the other, while her lips found my avable nipple as she began to suckle, her teeth brushing against my flesh and making me moan again. Staring down at the olive skinned woman sucking on my breast while kneading the other, I couldn''t help but squirm as those hungry eyes looked towards me, the Jackalkin biting down a bit and making me gasp as pain suddenly burst in my chest, followed quickly by pleasure. She yed with my boobs for a few moments more before moving her cock from my own to my pussy, the Jackalkin releasing me and lifting my hips as she squatted down, staring at my eyes from just over my breasts. Feeling the scorching hot tip of her penis pressing against my lower lips, I bit my lip and shuddered as Anput slipped inside, her tapered tip piercing into me and spreading my insides apart. Her hands squeezed my butt as she pushed herself deeper, knocking her knot against my ass and squirming around as she widened my cervix, allowing her deeper entry and signaling the start of our first round. Anput loomed above me, smirking down at me as she started swinging her hips forwards, smacking her knot audibly against me and admiring the sight of my breasts bouncing around from each impact, her eyes locked onto them. Deep inside me, her cock seared my pussy while her precum scalded my womb, the Jackalkin prying me open and indulging herself inside me as she sped up, her smirk growing as I moaned louder with each thrust into my womb. With my legs draped over her shoulders and her hands groping my ass, the Jackalkin was enjoying herself immensely as she pounded herself into my pussy, her smirk slowly fading away as we went on for longer. My moans joined the sound of her knot pping against me, and I had to bite my cheek when I felt Anput slide one of her hands off of my ass and over towards my clit, rubbing it and enveloping my lower half in pleasure as she kept fucking me, until she switched from my clit to my dick, stroking me and building up another double orgasm. Pleasure robbed me of most of my facilities, and I couldn''t hold it in as she continued to pound her cock into me, my pussy squirming and massaging her thick shaft as she made me cum, resulting in the Jackalkin dropping her smirk entirely. When she slipped her knot into my pussy, my moan filled the room as I started ejacting as well, both of us cumming from our cocks at the same time. My semen sttered against my chest, each rope thick and sticky as I covered myself in cum, while Anput started knotting me, a constant stream of semen spurting into my womb. She leaned over me, applying more pressure to my hips and burying herself deeper, all while her hand jerked my cock hard, resulting my my cum sttering all over me as I came and came. Our minds slipped away from us as we orgasmed together, though I regained my senses quicker, which only made the feeling of my womb bloating that much more intense as Anput tried to breed me. The feeling of being pseudo impregnated with that much cum made me orgasm again, robbing me of my senses once more as I spurted some more semen on myself while my pussy mped down on Anput''s shaft, coaxing out more sperm for my womb to drink. She finished a minute or soter, tugging on my hips and eventually freeing her knot, allowing her sperm to burst free from my womb as she unceremoniously dropped me onto the bed, both of us panting. Anput stared at me for a few seconds more, her cock still hard despite having just unloaded everything inside me, and the Jackalkin shrugged as she grabbed me and flipped me over, prating me one more time and fucking me like her bitch, her knot pping against my thighs as she leaned over my back, enveloping me in her warmth. Stirring around her previous load, Anput groped my breasts as she fucked me from behind, her fangs sliding back into my neck as she marked me again as her temporary mate, making me moan as I was pounded relentlessly from behind. My partner and lover took me hard for another few minutes, her stamina impressive as she continued to make me cum in her hands like it was easy, sometimes going so far as to slow herself and milk my cock for a minute straight, enjoying the way I twitched beneath her as I orgasmed over and over again. We made aplete mess of the bed we were on, but neither of us cared as Anput began to knot me again, growling in my ear and iming her prize as she flooded me with her thick sperm, only to remove her knot and start anew, wanting to bepletely empty. I... couldn''t help but find her insatiable lust warming, even as I was given creampie after creampie that would normally be enough for just a single session, while my healing spells did little to ease the aches in my pussy and cock as I was made to cum once more. Anput used me as she pleased, before pulling out and copsing beside me, burying her face between my breasts and falling asleep quickly,pletely spent. I... also couldn''t help but slip my weary cock into her tight pussy, wanting to have a little fun myself despite not having much left in the tank, resulting in me passing out with the Jackalkin in my arms and my cock in her womb. In other words... a perfect night. Chapter 570 569: Regularly Scheduled Program (1)

Chapter 570 Chapter 569: Regrly Scheduled Program (1)

? Kat PoV To say that I was satisfied by the time that I woke up the next morning would be an understatement, my entire body aching in just the right ways as I mbered out of bed and stretched, enjoying the various pops and burns as I loosened myself for the morning toe, only to be dragged back into bed by the Demoness who refused to wake up early... Well, unless there was an ''incentive'' to do so, and I apparently unknowingly provided her that incentive as I was pinned below her weight, her muscr arms wrapped around me as she continued on fromst night, finishing inside me again and topping me up before finally deciding that we had done enough. Jahi remained sprawled out on top of me for a few minutes more, snoozing peacefully as she held me and pinned me below her, the Demoness'' nose buried into my hair as she dozed off, before eventually waking up fully when I nudged her wake with my elbow. Rubbing at her eyes, the Demoness yawned before following me into the bath, waddling behind me with closed eyes and relying on me to guide her as I began to rinse off her body, using this time to doze some more. She really acted like a big baby sometimes... Rolling my eyes at her actions, I showered her and got her into the bath before going to wash myself, enjoying the feeling of hot water running over my skin as I sat under the shower, getting myself clean slowly. When I got into the bath, I epted the embrace of Jahi as she pulled me into her side, the Demoness yawning again as she rested inside the warm water, letting it do wonders for her muscles as we just... rested some more from the long week of grinding and the incredible night of sex we just had. While we were sitting in the bath, Anput and Leone eventually joined us, the Vampire looking a little bloated as she waddled over towards the showers, and Anput sporting a proud grin as she helped Leone over, only to giggle to herself as she ''identally'' slipped into Leone, making our curvaceous Princess moan softly as she was used again. Hearing that, Jahi smirked over at me, her amethyst eyes lighting up as she pulled me to the edge of the bath, joining in with Anput as they both indulged a little in the morning. We finished up a dozen minutester, with Leone and I escaping from the bathroom when we were clean again so that we wouldn''t get roped into another round, which - while appealing on some levels - wasn''t what we wanted as we felt our stomachs grumble, demanding food. So, I led the Vampire towards the kitchte and scoured the pantry that we had inside the room, wanting to make something myself instead of having someone else make something for me. The Countess was already in the main room, reading a book as she sat beside the window with both Alessandra and Lakshmi in herp, the two babies fast asleep despite the sun streaming in through therge windows, illuminating their smooth skin. Seeing us emerge from our room, the older Elf nced over at us before turning back to her book, remaining quiet as she rocked back and forth in her chair, not disturbing the two children on herp. Getting the message quiet yet clear, I began to speak softly to Leone as I got her to help me prepare breakfast, the two of us working in tandem to remain as silent as possible as she turned some berries into a coulis while slicing the bread into even bs, preparing the easier things as I began to make the batter for French Toast... which wasn''t French, but I had no idea if there was a version of it in this world yet or not, so... Anyways, we did as much as we could while the other four members of our family - Anput, Jahi, the Marquess, and Mother - all finished up with ''whatever'' it was that they were doing, knowing that we would need to expend the entirety of the pantry to fill our stomachs. The smell of the cooking French Toast and sizzling of the bacon woke the two babies up, though the Countess didn''t mind it as she just migrated over towards a sofa, setting them down beside her and watching them as they slipped between awake and dozing, unsure of whether or not they should try to find that smell that had woken them up. It was refreshing to just be in a kitchen making food for everyone, with no pressing matters that needed to be attended to and knowing that our entire day was free for whatever we wanted to do, something that we hadn''t truly had in a long time. Surprisingly we only needed that one night to limate to being back in the Pce, with it almost feeling like we had never left despite my System very clearly telling me that I had made such a giant leap in progress. Speaking of, I still only needed a days worth of grinding to reach the next milestone level, which was level 50, where I would get a new ss for my System and further increase my strength with new skills or more Quests toplete. On top of that increase in my System''s capabilities, I had also be rather ''rich'' with Shop Points, which meant I could purchase a new set of Shop Made Items for myself and the others to further enhance our prowess, or I could browse some of the other things in the Shop to see if there was something that caught my eye... In other words, I had a busy suite of days after I took a short break, and I was immensely curious about everything toe, but for the time being I had a family I needed to take care of, hearing both the Marquess and Jahi exit their rooms and join the rest of us in waiting for breakfast, Anput and Mothering out momentster. Chapter 571 570: Regularly Scheduled Program (2)

Chapter 571 Chapter 570: Regrly Scheduled Program (2)

After a hearty breakfast eaten alongside thefort of family, where we shared some words regarding what had happened over thest few days, though we kept the specifics of the location and enemies we fought under wraps, since it was always better to exercise caution even in a ce you presume to be safe. Who knows if any of the maids or butlers inside the Pce have been paid or ckmailed into doing something nefarious, even if they were likely to be killed quickly due to be in such close proximity to the Empress herself. Anyways, being back in a ce that was safe andden with everything we needed was refreshing, especially when we migrated from the table over to the sofas and couches, sitting down and talking aimlessly while watching the two babies crawl around from person to person, curiosity dancing in their innocent eyes. Alessandra focused on the Countess, Leone and I, trying to get us to show her our magic as she tugged at our arms and fingers, doing her best to get what she wanted before eventually moving on to the next person with a pout, her chubby cheeks making her utterly adorable as she crawled around. Lakshmi, on the other hand, was primarily focused on the Marquess, Mother, and Jahi, though she did seem rather interested in Anput''s tail as well as my own, likely noticing the simrities between Anput, Mother and I through that simple fact, as well as how Mother and I looked eerily simr, which made thevender skinned Demoness alternate her gaze between us a few times. Observing them both was a treat for us all, with Anput and Leone enjoying thepany of their inws while Jahi and I looked at our half sisters with love in our eyes, already anticipating what it would be like in a few years time as we watched them grow up and mature. But, as most babies do, they eventually tired themselves out from all the crawling and promptly sat themselves down in theps of the person that they chose, which was the Countess for Alessandra, and Mother for Lakshmi. They both remained awake, but they were clearly tired as they eyelids began to droop with each passing second, only for them to jolt awake as they tried to listen to whatever we were talking about and get attention from whomever they were close to. Seeing that, the Marquess chuckled before waving us off, telling us to use the time wisely now that the two little ones were drifting off and give the three of them some time to talk amongst themselves. With our kind, yet clear dismissal, we got up and left the room behind us as we began to wander through the Pce''s halls, no objective in mind as we just talked and walked. When we passed by the chapel though, I excused myself for a moment and went inside, finding it empty as usual and making my way towards the altar dedicated to Reincantra, the one who had given me this second chance at life. Goddess of New Beginnings and Stories, and the one to take pity on my soul or perhaps glimpse something worthy of a Goddess'' attention in it? Either way, I knelt in prayer and gave thanks to her for everything once again, before also thanking the System that she gave me as well, since without it I would have had a harder time in this second life of mine, and likely a vastly different fate. The others had entered as well, with Leone and Jahi observing the empty room while Anput wandered around, admiring the various altars against the walls before standing behind me, curiously staring at the statue resting on the table. Getting up, I nced back at her and raised a brow, wondering what my mate was doing as she just stared at the statue, only to shrug as she turned and walked back towards the others, who were waiting by the door. We continued our meandering around the Pce for another few minutes, before eventually finding ourselves outside in one of the gardens, the warmth of the sun and floral scents around us rather calming as we made our way towards one of the secluded areas, sitting down at the table and enjoying the serenity around us. Of course, I also decided that we could enjoy this even more as I summoned up a chessboard made from ice, creating one set of pieces from my ethereal blue ice while leaving Anput the honor of crafting the other set with her Metal Magic, giving us something to do as we talked. Since we had been the ones to make it, Anput and I went first while Jahi and Leone watched from beside us, their eyes glued to the board as we began to move pieces around. "So what are the ns for the weeks ahead? Any ideas on what we should do, how we should train?" Sliding a pawn forwards, I nced at Jahi as she answered my question, her amethyst eyes observing Anput as the Jackalkin moved her own pawn forwards, mirroring my move. "Starting tomorrow, we can go to the training grounds and warm up some before heading down into the Caverns toplete some Requests and earn some more money, while also gathering some more materials for Anput and Leone. I''ll ask around for where the hardest Dungeon''s are of different types or elements, so that we can get some experience against monsters with affinities that aren''t just Fire. Besides, an Earth Dungeon would likely have some rather sturdy and durable materials, while a Water and Wind Dungeon would have materials perfect for some weapons for you, Kat..." I nodded, lifting up the knight and cing it near my pawn, beginning toyer some of my pieces for the battle toe. "We should also be looking for some kind of magically attuned materials down in the Caverns for Leone, so that she can get a staff perhaps? Something to further focus her mana and something that could be used to cast aplicated spell quickly. We would need arge chunk of Fire Crystal or something simr though, which is already so rare..." The Vampire nodded, before raising a brow as she watched me make another move, this time using a pawn to pin one of Anput''s pieces. "That would be rather nice, but I think we should focus on general gear for the time being. Give Anput the materials to work with to create some better armor and weapons for everyone. The more practice she gets, the more willing I would be to let her work on something so valuable. No offense, but a good chunk of Fire Crystal is worth too much coin to be handled carelessly." "Well, that goes for Kat too y''know? She needs to get back in the groove of enchanting again so that she doesn''t mess up on my armor or weapons~!" I gave my mate a dry look before pushing a pawn forwards, hiding the smile as I watched Anput''s aggressive style slowly entrap her further as she took it. "I do need to get back to enchanting, and I have a few ideas for some of our gear. Like that dagger spell that you have, Jahi? If I were to inscribe that onto the palm of a gauntlet, you could cast that spell so much quicker than normal. Or your shield spell, which I could put on your wrist or forearm. Same with you, Anput. But, before I do anything I do need to start enchanting again, yes..." Anput grinned as she took a knight, only for her smile to fade as I slid my rook forwards and took her pawn back, leaving my rook in a ''precarious'' position. Seeing the Jackalkin begin to stare at the board for a longer period of time then she had previously, we all chuckled and continued to discuss what we needed, waiting for her to finally realize the trap she had willingly put herself in. Chapter 572 571: Relaxation

Chapter 572 Chapter 571: Rxation

I couldn''t contain my smirk as I stared at Anput, my mate ring down at the board as she scanned over the various pieces in front of her, trying to determine what she could and couldn''t move, weighing pros and cons as best she could, only to realize... Well, the cons outweighed the pros by four to one, and even the pros came with two cons each. In other words... "Fuck! I give up! This is mate in two or three more, isn''t it?! Damnit!" She let out a huff and crossed her arms, before watching as I slid a few pieces around, showing her how it was actually mate in one depending on some of her moves. That only made her frown even more, the defeat in her obsidian eyes growing as she sighed and slid to the side, freeing up space for Jahi to take her ce. I slid aside as well, gesturing for Leone to face off against Jahi and chuckling as I stared at Anput, who was pouting at me, only to let out another huff as she looked away, refusing to meet my gaze. Reaching across the table, I grinned at her as I took her hand, stroking my thumb across the back of her hand as I said "Don''t be so down about it, Anput~! It''s just a game, that''s all..." She gave me a dry gaze and huffed again, making me chuckle as I found her current actions to be amongst the most feminine I had seen out of her, the contrast from her usual actions making this so much more amusing and adorable to witness. We both turned to watch the other two y a round of chess, less words being spoken this time as Leone slowly began to work her way towards a victory against Jahi, who made multiple valiant attempts to turn the game around as she devised new strategies and different tactics to use throughout the game, only for Leone to counter her counter instantly. Eventually Jahi just sighed as she reluctantly pushed a piece forwards, which Leone took and happily announced "Checkmate~!" to us all, the Vampire grinning as she proudly admired the board in front of her. Jahi frowned and gestured for me to take Leone''s ce, starting up a new game as we continued to sit out beneath the warm rays of the sun, basking in the warmth and taking in the scents of the garden as we rxed our bodies and minds after that long week. Even the intense games of chess that we yed out after the first few did little to tire us out, all of us finding them more fun and entertaining to do then draining, even if we lost a close game; Anput slowly came around and disyed a frightening acumen for disrupting traditional strategies by doing as she pleased, thinking multiple moves ahead whilst also prioritizing the capture of any piece she could. It was a good mental exercise that we all were more than willing to do, especially once Jahi began to add debates on top of the games, using that as a way to try and distract her opponents as she discussed whatever popped into her horned head. Weaponry, magic, monsters, stories, sex... she had a variety of topics on hand that she wanted to go through, and it didn''t matter who she was ying, she tried to rope them into the debate and seeded in doing so each time, much to our annoyance. Either way, by the time that we finished our fourteenth game and the sun was beginning to crawl towards the horizon, we dissipated the chess set and made our way back towards our room, with Anput leaving instantly after grabbing her tools and making her way towards the forge, wanting to unwind after a narrow loss to me again, while Jahi picked up a book and plopped onto the couch, finding Lakshmi crawling over to her momentster. Scooping her sister up, Jahi let thevender skinned Demoness rest on her stomach as she began to read, with the baby alternating her gaze between her older sister and the book in surprise, like she was thinking ''she really can read with me here?!'' It was amusing, though I got a simr experience as I ced a notebook in front of me, jotting down some simple forms that I could use to practice enchanting whilst also giving myself something that would sell for a higher price in the markets, though I would need to talk with Anput about that since the enchantments would be on her works. Either way, Alessandra waddled over to me after seeing the book I ced on the table, her blue eyes widening as she saw the symbols and realized they were simr to the things she saw when I showed her magic before, so she plopped down in myp and intensely watched what I was doing. Leone sat beside me and snickered when she saw that, before she did the same thing and began to work through some of her own ideas, giving Alessandra two people to alternate between for her ''fix'' of magic. Mother had been rocking in the chair beside the window, but now that we were back she yawned and slipped back into the bedroom, going to nap while she could and locking the door behind her, making the rest of us chuckle as we watched the Marquess stand in front of the door, frozen, only to turn around and roll her eyes at us. Time began to pass slowly as we all did something for ourselves, the room quiet except for the turning of pages and scratching of pens on paper as we worked, with the Marquess'' asional deep exhale filling the room as she dozed in a chair. I developed a few easy enchantments to try out on some basic weaponry, scribbling them all down on a single page and pushing the book over towards Leone, who finished what she was doing and pushed hers over to me, trading with me as we began to review each others work. Almost like school work in a way, but better since I wasn''t being graded nor was I... well, in school. Also, it was magic, so even better. Either way, it was nice to just be rxing again, living a ''slow life'' even if it was just for a day, though I knew that I would eventually go crazy if I continued to do nothing besides flutter from ce to ce, carried by the whims of someone else. I was a very action oriented person, it would seem, and this lull in life currently was something that was nice due to the novelty of it, but not something I wanted. Which was also why I was unsurprised when Jahi suggested we put the books down and go to the Training Grounds before dinner, to ''work up an appetite''. That very quickly turned into something else as the Marquess woke up instantly, deciding to join us and forcing the Countess to join us as well, instantly putting both Jahi and I on edge since... well, we had never seen the Countess spar besides with Lady Lorelei, so... Yeah, who knew what this would be like? Chapter 573 572: Family Spar (1)

Chapter 573 Chapter 572: Family Spar (1)

After knocking on the door and awakening Mother, the Marquess led us all towards the Training Grounds, telling the tired Dogkin that it''d be best if she got some fresh air as well - and that she could nap there too if she still needed it. The wonders of mana made itself known once more as Mother just yawned and sent a burst of her mana through her body, rousing herself from drowsiness and walking beside us without issue, her stomach having already shrunk enough to be almost unnoticeable beneath her ck dress. Alessandra and Lakshmi were resting in her arms, the two babies curiously looking around at the Pce as they were carried through the halls, this sudden change in scenery taking all of their attention. We reached the Training Grounds rather quickly, finding it rtively empty and making our way towards one of therger spaces as we began to prepare for the spars toe, with Mother thanking me as I created a chair for her made of ice, which I tried to make as neutral as possible temperature wise... though she didn''t seem bothered by the cool touch of the material as she sat down. The Marquess was the one to step foot into the center first, beckoning at someone to join her as we all took our spots around the space we had drawn up for the spars toe. ncing around at one another, I shrugged as I stepped forwards, deciding to be the one to take the first plunge into what would likely be a rather strenuous hell. The Countess strode back over with a bundle of wooden weapons in her hands, which she handed out to everyone. Taking the de, I spun it around before lowering myself into a stance, staring at the Demoness across from me and watching as she swished her de a few times, meeting my gaze with a smirk. "Ready, little pup? It''s been awhile..." I nodded, lunging forwards as soon as she beckoned for me to begin, the slight breeze inside the Training Grounds turning into a wind as began to flicker around the Marquess, my swordshing out towards herrge torso, only for the sound of wood thunking together to fill the air with the sound of battle. The Marquess remained standing still as I dashed around her, my de shing towards her constantly as I began to warm up, my speed only growing as I got into my groove against the Marquess, even if all I was doing was hitting her sword as she blocked everything. Everyone watched from the side as I darted around the Marquess, who was nodding to herself as the flurry of blows hitting her from all sides only grew in number, with each passing second allowing me to warm up to using this sword. "Not too bad, little pup, could always be better though. Like if I were to actually start attacking..." With that, the Marquess lunged forwards and swatted my de away, before hers began to snake towards my throat as she went on the offensive for the first time, which I narrowly avoided by spinning away, only to have to jump back as the Marquess shed at my chest. nting my feet, I shot forwards after her de swooshed in front of me, hoping to take advantage of her overextension and low a blow, but... I staggered back as the Marquess mmed her fist into my gut, followed quickly by a swift strike of her de that almost hit my corbone. Taking a few steps back, I took a deep breath and reengaged, opting for speed as I kept her sword engaged for a few seconds, honing myself against the Marquess before willingly taking a step back as she began to go back on the offensive again, not wanting to take another hit if I could avoid it. The Marquess just snorted as I stepped out of the circle, the Demoness rolling her eyes as I smiled wryly at her, before she focused on Jahi as she stepped forwards, taking my ce. Standing beside Mother, I watched as the two Demoness'' began to spar, forgoing the des after they shattered from the initial impact and instead resorted to grappling, utilizing their brute strength against one another. The Countess walked over and sighed as she watched the two muscr women go at it in the middle of the sand pits, muttering "Muscle heads, the both of them..." Mother chuckled softly, ncing up at the both of us as she muttered back "Isn''t that why we love them~? Besides, I do have to admit it is a rather good show, no~?" I nced at the Countess before we both nodded, small smiles on our lips as we agreed with Mother, with Leone joining in as she added "It is quite something to watch... and it is rather jarring to see just how simr they are to one another despite the age gap. More like sisters than parent and child." The Countess snorted as she nodded, though her eyes were warm as she said "Because theirbined mental age sometimes barely scrapes double digits... simplistic, childish, selfish, but..." She fell silent, watching as the two continued to grapple to the ground as the Marquess disyed her superior strength and technique against her daughter, where they began to vie for the win as they hooked their arms around the others limbs. It took a few moments, but the Marquess came out on top as she wrapped her arm around Jahi''s neck, forcing the stubborn younger Demoness to submit before she was choked out. The older Demoness was all smiles as she stood up, gloating her victory over her daughter as she grinned down at her, before helping her stand up, only to grin more as Jahi yanked her arm and dragged her back onto the sand, starting a new bout without much fanfare. We all just sighed as we watched them start anew, but it was a rather amusing thing to watch as we all settled in for another bout. --- Reminder : all uploads on Sunday EST will likely beter than normal since American Football is back on, so yeah... --- Chapter 574 573: Family Spar (2)

Chapter 574 Chapter 573: Family Spar (2)

"Alright! Enough already! Take a break and do something besides grapple, will you?!" The Countess stepped forwards and grabbed Jahi, dragging her daughter off of the Marquess before ring down at the grinning Demoness, who now scratched her cheek wryly as she met her wife''s sapphire gaze. Jahi smiled as well as she walked over to Leone and I, both of us giving her dry looks as we took in her sand covered body and bruised skin. I raised my hand and ced it on her arm after tracing out a few runes, getting her cleaned off and healed up despite the mild annoyance I felt at her actions, though that was outweighed by the amusement from having watched her and her Mom grapple for almost ten minutes straight, during which they tossed out verbal jabs as well. Listening to the two of them fight both physically and mentally was interesting to say the least, but there had been a point that they reached that made us go from amused to annoyed, and when they reached it the Countess stepped in. Shaking some sand out of her hair like a dog, the Marquess grinned stupidly down at the Countess, who was staring up at her with a raised brow before gesturing for her to go over to Mother, who was smiling softly as she caressed the two babies. Both of them seemed rather curious initially about what was happening, with Alessandra eventually losing interest after the first few minutes and instead babbling up at Mother about something, while Lakshmi watched the entirety of the spar with focus, the littlevender Demoness enthralled by the sight of her sister and Mom battling it out on the sand. It was something that was jarring for the first moment before I remember a myriad of things, like that these weren''t human children, they had mana and were ''smarter'' than normal, and that they were predisposed to different things gically... Alessandra was within reason for disliking physical fighting, but perhaps it was the Dogkin blood inside her veins that made her uncaring of the grappling in front of her? As for Lakshmi, she was a Demoness of Asmodia blood, which had a LARGE disposition to fighting and bloodlust; of course she would be enamored by the sight of fighting. That didn''t mean I was interested in showing her someone get seriously injured, blood, or someone getting killed though, and I would guess that even the Marquess was against it at her current age. Anyways, the Countess remained inside the circle and beckoned at Leone, saying "You need to exercise as well, Leone. Do the same as your Mother did a few years back, hmm? I''ll take it easy on you, I promise." Raising a finger, the Countess traced out a few red runes before pulling out a de of flickering mes from the Ritual Circle, her mana condensing the shape and lengthening the de a little as she perfected it for herself. Leone copied her, creating a de of fire as well before counting out the steps between her and the older Elf, waiting for the signal so that she could begin. Receiving a nod from the Countess, Leone approached and swung her sword, following it up with a thrust, both of which were of average speed - to us, anyways; I could still say that they were rather quick strikes to the average person of this world. The Countess went along with Leone''s slower, calmer training and parried everything sent her way, putting on a rather talented disy for someone who was primarily magically inclined. During their warm ups, Anput found her way into the Training Grounds and walked over, yawning before plopping herself against Jahi''s back, resting her head on the Demoness and staring tiredly - and happily - at me. "I got a lot of things done today~! Just... tired now is all. What''s happening?" Jahi gently dragged the Jackalkin out from behind her and instead pulled her into her front, giving Anput a better view of the Countess and Leone sparring as she said "Just some exercise to expend some energy is all. Get fresh air and all that..." Anput nodded before yawning again, leaning back into Jahi''s chest and muttering "Well, you all can have fun then... forgot how draining forging could be physically, but especially mentally... Can''t wait to show you what I made though~!" I raised my brow at that, before turning back to stare at the Elf and Vampire crossing des in the center, watching their fight. It went on for another minute, with Leone warming up quickly and beginning to introduce moreplicated techniques into her style, but still keeping it rather tame over all as they traded blows, their fiery swords sparking with each exchange. But, the Countess ended it when Leone overextended herself, snaking her sword around Leone''s and stopping the tip a few inches from Leone''s throat, ending it in a simr way to how my spar against the Marquess had almost been ended. Neither had been going all out, nor had they been trying to do much beside loosen their muscles in a friendly bout, which both Jahi and the Marquess found to be rather boring... not that they made that vocally known, lest the two women decide to retaliate in different ways. As the Countess was turning towards me to suggest I take her on next, Mother spoke first, saying "Ria, look after Alessandra and Lakshmi for me? I wouldn''t mind shaking off some rust now..." We all stared at the mature Dogkin in surprise before nodding, with my own surprise growing a bit as she gestured for me to join her, a long de of water appearing in her hands. "Let''s have a bout, Katherine. I am rather curious about where I stand currently... After giving birth and not fighting for a long time, I wonder if I still have it~?" She smiled at me inquisitively, and I warily observed her as she stood across from me, not knowing exactly how to feel. "Chordeva, a countdown please?" Chapter 575 574: Still Got It

Chapter 575 Chapter 574: Still Got It

I stared at Mother, who was standing across from me nonchntly, her grip on the water de loose as she met my gaze, those amber eyes still as warm andforting as ever... which made this even weirder as I too held a de, not sure of what was toe. It just felt... odd on my end, sparring a woman whom I had viewed as mature, gentle, kind yet strict, and otherwise as more like a Housewife then anything else, let alone someone who had experience with a sword. Like I knew that she had experience with it in my mind, but the contrast between what I had seen and what I knew was too stark for me to fully wrap my head around it... "Begin!" The Marquess - as always - just did as she pleased when she pleased, not doing a countdown and instead just shouting to get the match started, which I didn''t entirely expect either, just like I didn''t expect what happened next. My eyes widened as I leaned back, the water de in Mother''s hands almost nicking my nose as she stabbed forwards, her smile still on her lips as she fluidly pulled the sword back. Clicking her tongue, she shook her head at me and said "Don''t look so surprised, Katherine. You know fill well that I used to be an adventurer like you, just like you know I attended the Academy too. And I was the next in line to for the Zara Pack." Her smile grew a little as she finished "So don''t be surprised that your Mother knows a few tricks now~!" As soon as she finished speaking, her de danced towards me, twirling through the air and containing feints and real attacks, the sword shing from side to side as she cut and stabbed at her leisure. My own water sword moved to intercept hers, only for the older Dogkin to free her de with ease as she pulled back or moved with the flow, moving rather nimbly for someone who was still recovering. I could see the ''rust'' in her form as she moved around, some movements too exaggerated or uncontrolled while others were hesitant, resulting in some openings appearing in her style, but while she was rusty with her style, she wasn''t that rusty physically, her general movements and reflexes helping her out of any strenuous positions as she slid my de to the side or parried at thest moment. The entire time we fought, she was just smiling like normal, her amber eyes locked to mine as she moved around the circle, never leaving herself still as she yed into the strengths of our race; speed and control of our movements, as well as a higher reaction time. Parrying a sh, I stepped closer and stabbed towards her side, only to have my arm yanked to the side as she reached forwards, pulling me off bnce and extracting herself from that position resetting the engagement and watching me as I nted my feet again. "Do you want to continue dancing for a little while longer, Katherine? Or shall we finish this~?" Hearing that while she still was smiling with both her lips and her eyes was disconcerting, with the addition of her fluffy tail swishing side to side and her ears twitching only furthering that feeling I got. I pursed my lips as I lowered my stance, staring at her and waiting for her to make a move again, which made her smile widen as she nodded to herself, only to disappearpletely. Once more my eyes widened as I lost track of her, before I barely managed to turn and block the diagonal sh of her sword as she appeared behind me, her dress billowing in the wind quietly as she put her weight into the attack. "Didn''t think I could still move that~ fast still... but I certainly am notining~!" She chuckled as she exerted some more force on our des, making my knees buckle slightly as she began to angle the sword in her hands as well, bringing the tip down towards my throat whilst also locking my sword to hers. I couldn''t let go of the de without risking her cutting deep into me, nor could I move my legs since I was being pinned down - in other words, I was in a stalemate. Maybe I could oust her physically, but that wasn''t something I was certain of, so... "Mother, I forfeit..!" She chuckled again, the de vanishing from her hands as she stood up straight, brushing off some of the sand from her dress and smirking at me, before it was reced by the warm smile she normally wore as she pulled me in for a hug. After a moment, I returned it, my nose buried into her cor and enjoying the familiar scent and warmth of my Mother, only to pout as she whispered "Seems like I beat you handedly~!" I nced up at her and sighed, nodding at her words before my eyes narrowed as she began to stroke my ears, looking over towards the others as she said "How about some dinner now? I am rather hungry..." She pat my head a few more times before releasing me, her smile still gracing her lips as she looked around at the others, though I did notice the way her gaze rested on Jahi for longer than the others, which was curious... The Marquess nodded, a small smile on her lips as she stepped forwards and said "It has been a long time since you got to fight like that... a few years at least. Feel better~?" "Mhm~ Though, I always preferred other things... like food!" Mother stepped back as the Marquess reached for her, the giant Demoness smiling wryly as her hand grasped only air, watching as the mature Dogkin made her way over to the babies, who she epted graciously and brushed her nose against, making them both giggle as they reached for her. I stepped back as well, standing beside Jahi and the others and asking "Did any of you think she was that... strong?" Anput and Leone shrugged, while Jahi just nodded, smiling stiffly at me as she said "When you got kidnapped back when we were children, I got to watch as she massacred everyone in the ruined fortress you were kept in. She''s not... the most obvious with her strength, but I would certainly say it never left." We all looked back towards her, the older Dogkin grinning down at the two babies as they babbled to her, with Alessandra likely enamored by the sight of magic again while Lakshmi was interested by the fight. "That''s another person added to the list of who to not piss off. Also exins quite a bit..." I frowned as I nced at Anput, who was smirking at me as she raised a brow, adding "What? Don''t seem so surprised; just like the Countess, at a first nce Miss Julie doesn''t seem to be someone who fights, and yet... Besides, you saw how she was smiling the entire time? Yeah, that got passed down to you." My frown only deepened, which made Leone giggle as she said "Perhaps not as bad as you though, but you do have to admit it was rather jarring to see, no? She''s usually so kind and gentle, but there she was wielding a sword with rather high efficiency." Jahi just coughed, gesturing towards the door and leading us after the adults as we exited the Training Grounds, not saying anything in regards to what had just happened. "Ooh~! That''s right, I forgot! So I was making some weapons earlier, right, just to try out some new techniques and hone my skills? While I was working, I heard from some of the smiths that-" Anput began to talk about her time in the forge, the Jackalkin still walking with Jahi''s arms around her as we made our way towards the kitchens, where we sat down as a family and ate together again, ending our day together we made our way back to the room. Chapter 576 575: Planning the Next Excursion

Chapter 576 Chapter 575: nning the Next Excursion

"Oh? So you''re looking for elementally attuned materials of all kinds, correct? That''s not a bad idea at all, but make sure you get two and a half or three times the amount you think you need. Some materials are rather...plicated to work with, requiring an intricate control over the temperature or pressure, lest they shatter or break." Anput nodded at the Marquess'' words, her obsidian eyes serious as she tapped her fingers against the table, contemting everything that she had said so far. "The materials I think we would benefit from the most would be entirely earth oriented materials, since I could take advantage of their natural toughness for some good armor, especially if I alloy it with other materials catered specifically for each person? Or if I focus my works around further amplifying Kat''s enchantments, which she could work on with Leone or entirely on her own..?" The Jackalkin pursed her lips before she shrugged, scooping up her fork and spearing a cube of juicy beef seasoned to perfection and bringing it to her lips. "Well, if you want something earth oriented, there are a few ces around the Empire that are rather lucrative in that regard, but it all depends on what you want to do. If you wish to fight for the materials and harvest them from monsters, there is Poliakcia Mountain down south that is filled with all types of nasty critters. Chitins and mandibles would be the primary resource down there, and the monsters are resilient and persistent. If you instead want to just go for resources, there is the calmer Ungrida Canyon to the west, filled with a certain type of monster aptly named Resource Tortoise that have ores and gems growing off of their shells. They''re resilient as well, but they die easily enough if you know what to do, and with some pickaxes they can be some lucrative monsters. Again though, most adventurers there are more focused on cracking those Resource Tortoises open and harvesting what they can instead of fighting, though robbery is a very~rge problem in Ungrida." We all looked at one another as we weighed the two choices, with Jahi frowning as she likely was? forcing herself to drop her personal preference of going for the fights to instead focusing on the group as a whole, which meant going to Ungrida Canyon. "Ungrida Canyon... where is it exactly? How far, and howrge?" The Marquess smirked at her daughter before ncing at the Countess, who drummed her fingers on the table for a moment as she searched her memory for the information we needed. "Ungrida... That''s in the Dreadli March, right? Rtively neutral territory in terms of politics, especially now with the ''forced absence'' of the Sariel Family. From the Capital, it shouldn''t be more than a day and a half away, maximum two days. As for Ungrida itself, the Canyon stretches for around a hundred miles and is roughly eight hundred feet deep on average, with arge amount of caves and caverns littering its walls. A massive ce, and a majority of the monsters are those Resource Tortoises, though to bnce out them are the far rarer, yet extremely deadly Reaper Wendigo. Dangerous to most parties and immensely strong, they hunt down whoever remains in Ungrida at night and ughters them all, which usually makes Ungrida a day time only ce to visit." "Yup. From what I''ve heard - since I''ve never been - those Reaper Wendigo are tricky to deal with since they are tricky to locate once they start hunting you. Really quick, really strong, and really smart too. Not easy by any means, so don''t be out during the waning hours of the day." We nodded again at the Marquess'' warning, with the conversation going from which destination we should go to to when we should go, which none of us had a solid answer for. "We need some more materials here and to get a little more practice in before heading out, but we are on a - albeit long - time constraint for us to get stronger, so managing time wisely is something we should put a lot of effort into. Especially since the things that we are to face aren''t just some average monsters..." Jahi gave us all a look after she said that, adding "So I would suggest taking off a week from now, which leaves us time to get some progress done on our own personal projects and prepare for the excursion, which should be a week in length including travel times?" "Sounds good to me; Anput, you''re the one who is to make the final decision here, since you have gear to finish forging. What is the timeframe for all of that? What materials do we need from Zhu''Rong Caverns so that you can finish those things up?" The Jackalkin frowned as she stabbed another beef cube, observing the juices that seeped out before lifting it to her lips, biting into it as she thought for a few moments. "Not... too long. One or two more resource runs into the Caverns should do it, and then just another day and a half, two days of forging? I have a lot of prep work done in regards to the things that need to bepleted, so..? A week sounds good to me, honestly." Jahi took a deep breath as she looked around the table, her eyes eventuallynding on the Marquess as she asked "Could I take two of the Banshee''s then? I don''t want to take chances with our own safety, but also with the materials as well since I''m not familiar with the area. And two carriages would be ideal considering why we''re going..." The Marquess'' ruby eyes rolled around as she sarcastically asked "Anything else, oh daughter mine? Perhaps a gold covered sink to take with you? Ooh, or a stallion with the shiniest coat in the Empire?" The Mom daughter duo just stared at one another, with Jahi eventually sighing and looking towards the Countess as she asked "How did you manage to deal with her for so long?" "Liquor, sex, and a good grasp on how to deprive her of those two things as well." We all chuckled at the Countess'' words, with the Marquess raising a brow as she nced at her wife, rolling her eyes again as she retorted "I''ll have you know I was perfectly capable of being celibate, and I haven''t relied on liquor in decades! If anything, it was you who was being deprived whenever you decided to-!" The Elf just smiled at the Demoness, who promptly fell silent as she looked away, not trusting her wife''s smile and instead just saying "Fine, I''ll get you the two Banshee''s and carriages..." Chapter 577 576: Mirror

Chapter 577 Chapter 576: Mirror

I let out a low sigh as I tapped my pen against the notebook in front of me, my eyes tracing over the various runes I had scribbled down as I searched for a way to simplify and make this sequence morepact, quickening its cast speed and reducing some of the mana I needed bybining some of the runes together, but the problem with that was something simr to cooking. There were portions that needed to be present inside the recipe, and they needed to be put in at a certain time; on top of that, you can only simplify things down so much before it begins to lose its potency, and again each collection of runes present in a singlebined rune needs to work together in harmony for what it is meant to aplish. This was a difficult thing to do on my own, but thankfully this Pce was filled to the brim with people who were extremely helpful in guiding me towards the answer I was looking for, be it Leone, the Countess, or any of Leone''s family. I already had a few hints from Lady Lorelei, who hade to visit the Countess and see the babies, while Leone was sitting beside me, working on her own spells and deepening her understanding on just how far she could push certain theories. The one that I had only seen her utilize so far was iying Ritual Circles into another Ritual Circle, which both the Countess and Lady Lorelei confirmed as something new for a multitude of reasons, meaning that the Vampire beside me was exploring her own path of magic simply because she thought outside the box - or circle. We continued to exchange our notebooks back and forth, trying to get a fresh set of eyes on our works and relying on questions and rifications to further our understanding of our own works as much as we could, while also hoping that the person beside us could find a solution to the problem that we might have run into. Currently, my notebook was filled with various ideas for enchantments, ranging from some more simple offensive / defensive enchantments to moreplicated enchantments like the shield idea for Jahi and Anput, or the wing idea that I eventually wanted to get tattooed onto my back. Things that could be an immense help to us if I found out how to lower the strain these ced on the equipment and lowered the mana cost of each of them to make them more efficient, while maintaining a rather potent spell at the same time. Perhaps not the best time to do this as it was starting to be night time, but neither of us wanted to fall asleep yet and we were both also giving the Demoness some time with Anput before we joined in, so why not be productive? Of course, we could only concentrate so much before the scents and sounds got to us as well, with Leone sumbing first as she suggested we put this into a more ''practical'' use and Dual Cultivate together for a bit... After we enjoyed each others tongues for a few minutes, that is... ~~~ Jillian PoV "Fuck... Is this anywhere near enough? I''m starting to get annoyed with this..." I stared down at the curvaceous body of a Caninekin with a sneer, her pale skin covered in red marks and white liquid. "Hmm..? Oh, you finished up a few rounds ago, and since you seemed rather... into it, I didn''t bother stopping you. As for if it''s enough, wouldn''t it be best to ask that annoyance that we picked up?" Raking a hand through my sweat ted hair, I narrowed my eyes as I stared at A, my wife and aplice in all of this. "Would it kill you to be a tad more supportive, my dearest wife? You are the reason we are in this mess in the first ce." Her emerald eyes sharpened as she red at me, only to growl softly as I met her gaze, no longer as wary of her as I used to be. I had progressed just that much in my strengthpared to her, and on top of that... well, I was the one to procure everything we needed for this new... ''home'' of ours. Pulling out of the barely breathing Caninekin below me, I stood up and approached A, my eyes roaming the figure of the Kameiel Heir and woman who had done her hardest to captivate me. My fingers caressed her cheek as I loomed over her, making the other Elf shiver as her emerald eyes softened, while her sun kissed skin darkened as I brought my member towards her lips. Combing her green hair softly, I enjoyed the administration of A for a few moments, only tearing my mind off of her as I heard someone else speak in this dark room. "Jillian... We should be ready to move on to the next stage of the n soon... All we need is for you to give us the go ahead." ncing over my shoulder, I traced my eyes over the pink skin of the ''annoyance'' that A was against us using, but... "''Prumstu..." I chuckled as I stared at the Arch Fiend standing behind me, herrge breasts and wide hips reminding me of who had continued to pervade my mind all this time, while the pink skin and horns reminded me of who I wanted to kill so badly for taking what was mine. "Come here. Help me strengthen myself, dearest partner..." She chuckled and nodded, her three purple eyes narrowing into slits as she got onto her hands and knees and crawled over to me, joining A despite the Kemeiel despising this new addition of ours. Looking down at the two of them, I couldn''t help but grin as I mentally reviewed our n for the future, already envisioning the looks of horror and anguish on that bitch''s face as I ripped away everything that she held dear... Chapter 578 577: Resource Haul

Chapter 578 Chapter 577: Resource Haul

Kat PoV Twirling a dagger in my hand, I stared out over the ck ash ins around us as I listened to the others butchering the poor Firefang behind me, the monster having tried to ambush us as we made our way down towards the Gate of Hades, where we would find ourselves some real resources for Anput to utilize in the forging of some top notch gear. We had decided toe down here earlier after another debate on the timing of our expedition out towards Ungrida Canyon, with Anput eventually putting her foot down and specifying that she would want to prepare some more things for herself earlier instead ofter, and that some of the things she needed would be best done when she has all this time to ''mess around''pared to when wee back from Ungrida. Specifically, she said that the forging of the chainmail is a simple, yet extremely tedious process, and that her current ideas would be best done with some prep work now instead ofter, so we made our way down as a group to gather some materials for her to do whatever it was that she wanted. On top of Anput''s shopping list, we also had Leone''s as well since the Vampire asked her Aunt''s for some suggestions on ingredients to keep an eye out for, and apparently there were quite a few that we mighte across on our delve towards the Gate of Hades, so we had all been briefed on what to look for. After all, they might not have been the highlight of our experience on Sisyphea Ind but we all utilized the potions that our Vampiric lover had brewed, and some of the things that she could make with the ingredients we might find inside the depths of Zhu''Rong Caverns was certainly appealing. One of the rarest ingredients had a peculiar effect; imbuing your own mana with arge quantity of Fire Mana that didn''t mix nor impact your own mana, but instead added onto it, like a secondary effect. Now, again, it was one of the rarest ingredients EVER inside of Zhu''Rong, so who the hell knows if we''d evere across it, but that was just the cream of the crop that we might find down here, with a more realistic find being the herbs that temporarily widen your veins to allow more blood and mana to be pumped through your body quicker, which when you have spells healing your body back to where it can performfortably, would make you incredibly dangerous to face. Those were some of the things to keep an eye out for, but otherwise we were just here for some more monster parts and maybe some ores for Anput to use to forge some new weapons and armor. Which was why I was currently watching over the ins with my dagger in hand, eyeing the various adventurers meandering around the ins of Yama and keeping guard over the others as they butchered the Firefang; Anput was targeting her materials just like Leone was, while Jahi and I rotated out from butchering to guarding. When they were done, we packed everything that they harvested away evenly amongst our bags and began to march down towards the Gate of Hades, where we would find the stronger monsters lurking around. Specifically some Abyssal Hounds for their hide and bones, as well as Infernal Scorpions for their chitin and poisons. The walk there was quiet as we maintained our guard, keeping ourselves disciplined enough to react to anything should the situation suddenly shift in a direction none of us was prepared for, and something that we had all agreed to try more of in the future after being on the ind. Discipline might just save our lives more than our individual strengths could, depending on the situation, and we agreed to keep the flirting and joking to a minimum no matter where we might be... Which I could tell was quite hard for the Jackalkin and Demoness, though they showed admirable restraint as we traveled around the magmake and approached therge crevasse that was aptly named the Gate of Hades. It really did make me wonder how these locations shared names with beings I was familiar with from my old world... sometimes I wondered if they were inter dimensional beings, or if perhaps the names had been poorly thought out by a- Never mind. The rapier and daggerbination had been doing rather well for me so far, and as we approached a pack of Abyssal Hounds, it showed its worth once more as the midnight ck monsters streaked towards us, the mes licking at their paws threatening to burn our flesh while the ws of dark ruby promised to shred us into ribbons. Their bones were visible from beneath their fur, and their long snouts were covered in sharpened fangs and bony protrusions that made their heads deadly, while their growls were disturbing as they reverberated around inside their barrel like bodies. We split instantly, freeing up space and watching as the Abyssal Hounds skidded across the ck sand before being eviscerated by our weapons as we closed in on them, taking advantage of their incredible speed and slower reaction times as we stabbed and shed at them, cutting them down and demolishing the pack instantly. Anput began to look between them before pulling out a small knife and beginning to skin one of the Abyssal Hounds, while the rest of us turned and guarded over her as another pack rushed towards us, this time meeting them head on as we raised our weapons. Not the most intense delve into the Caverns, but one that was still lucrative to me experience wise as we cut down monster after monster together, slowly harvesting what we needed andpleting our first resource haul of the week, filling our bags and pouches to the brim with materials. The way up had a slight hup though, since nothing in life ever goes smoothly. Chapter 579 578: Nothing Ever Goes Right...

Chapter 579 Chapter 578: Nothing Ever Goes Right...

For some odd reason, sometimes things just couldn''t go smoothly despite the entire day having been as smooth as silk, with no hups or bumps in the road as we hunted down the monsters we needed and harvested the resources that Anput wanted. We had everything packed up and slung over our shoulders as we prepared to move out towards the entrance of the Cavern, which was located past that long obsidian riverbed flooded with Ash Ghouls. Everything about what we were about to do was simple and would just take around twenty to thirty minutes toplete, since we needed to traverse arge expanse ofnd with heavy materials strapped to ourselves, but it was supposed to be easy... Again though, life decided that not everything would be simple and easy, and as we were making our way through the ins of Yama with our haul of resources Anput and I nced at one another, our ears twitching as we heard something peculiar. Giving her a slight nod, I continued moving forwards and kept my expression nk, my lips barely moving as I said "Don''t react or look, but we''re being followed by multiple groups. At least... three behind us. Maybe more, and maybe some ahead as well? Either way, be ready." Jahi and Leone gave me shallow nods as I brushed past them, taking the front while Anput lingered behind, tightening the strap of one of her packs before hastening her pace to ''catch up'' to us. My eyes scoured over the ck ash around us, wondering where these stalkers of ours were leading us to or if there were really other groups lying in wait ahead, perhaps over in the tall yellow grass that the Firefang''s upy. I had to hold back the urge to caress the hilt of my rapier as well as sneer as I listened to the footsteps behind us, wondering just who decided to target us of all people inside the Caverns. Were they political opponents hoping to rid themselves of the rising star known as Jahi Asmodia, or maybe a group that wanted to hold either Leone or Anput hostage to get at their respective families? Or did we just get downright unlucky and happen across the sightline of some unscrupulous bandits that believed four women were easy targets for multiple reasons? The possibilities were all worrying to some degree; even the bandits could be problematic if they were coordinated enough and had backers. Either way, thinking on it wasn''t something that I could afford to do right now, so I focused entirely on the ins ahead of me as I lead us back towards the canyon that connected the ins of Yama to the upper levels of the Caverns, where the beginners lingered around to gather experience. Which would be the perfect ce to ambush us, making me sigh quietly as I watched the passage that connected the two separate levels of the Caverns together draw ever closer, all while the sounds of footsteps behind us continued to grow. As we approached the wide opening of the canyon, the sounds of the footsteps reached a crescendo while the noise of rattling armor and weapons could be heard from all around us as people got to their feet and brandished their weaponry, trying to frighten us. Their gear was diverse, with a few of the ambushers having pristine arms and armor while others had scraps and hand me downs, suggesting a hierarchy of strength inside this group. All kinds of colors and symbols could be seen amongst the crowd, and they were all of different races and backgrounds as they approached; some were dignified and clean, while others had sneers and dirty features, their gear showing signs of wear as clearly as their skin did with the various nicks and scars. Nothing seemed to unify this ragtag mob of characters in front of us; no racial unity, no symbolic unity, no colors or styles... all of them were different, but they all had one aim. To cause us harm. My eyes flitted around the mob as I counted them down, taking note of the ''elites'' and chaff that dared to stand before us. Roughly two dozen, I couldn''t help but sneer a little as I noticed that of those 24 plus enemies, only 8 had good armor and a respectable pool of mana that radiated unconsciously off of their body, meaning we had around 16 fodder to get rid of before reaching the true threats. Then again, judging a book by its cover never ends well, so I kept my caution about me as I shifted my gaze towards the stocky reddish browned skinned woman that stepped forwards, her bare arms covered in murky ck tribal tattoos that enunciated her bulging muscles well. Clicking her tongue at us, she gave us a small, yet sharp grin as she rubbed her hands together, those almond shaped eyes narrowing with lust as she looked us all over, saying "There''s strength in numbers, y''know? It''s a general rule of the Caverns - of any dungeon really - that anything below five is asking for trouble. Now... why don''t you prettydies make this simple for us, hmm~? Hand over the gear ande with us for a bit..." The stocky woman grabbed the giant ymore on her back and revealed a wicked de, its serrated edge shining crimson while the ck metal it was forged from seemed to growl hungrily as it was unsheathed. "Or we can do this the hard way, where we cut you down and ravish each of you until you die~? I can give you my word that after a few hours together - should you make things difficult - you''ll be begging me for the sweet release of death. Or I can give you my word that if youe with us peacefully, we can have some fun together before going our separate ways? The choice is yours..." My lips curled up in disgust as I stared at the woman, while the slight hissing from behind me let me know that Anput was showing the same signs as me. The temperatures rose around us as well, but all three of us couldn''t help but watch as Jahi stepped forwards, the giant Demoness towering over the stocky woman in front of us. Looking down at her, Jahi crossed her arms and tilted her head, making the red skinned woman frown as she tightened her grip on the hilt of her ymore. Silence shrouded the area around us, nearly palpable as the red and blue skinned women stared at one another, before Jahi snorted as she muttered "Pathetic..." Confusion appeared on the woman''s face, which was quickly reced with surprise as she felt something piercing her throat, blood spurting from the wound as my dagger embedded itself in her neck. The silence was shattered as she dropped to her knees, clutching at the de weakly and gurgling on her own blood before thunking to the ground, dead. --- Sorry for thete upload, had my power go down early in the morning and it just came back up an hour ago... an entire day gone by just like that... --- Chapter 580 579: Indulging a Little (1)

Chapter 580 Chapter 579: Indulging a Little (1)

The goons surrounding us were shocked by how swiftly their leader slumped to the ground, a dagger embedded into her throat and severing her cervical vertebrae, leaving her dead in moments as blood gushed from the wound. When they eventually managed to tear their gazes off of the red skinned woman and look for the one responsible, we had already unsheathed our weapons and were lunging towards them, with Jahi chuckling darkly as she nudged the corpse of the leader aside and dashed forwards, herrge fist mming into a poor mans skull and shattering it instantly. I pulled my eyes away from my lovers and focused on the three thugs in front of me, my rapierncing forwards as I stabbed at the weakest link, piercing her corbone, sternum, and heart with a flurry of blows as I stabbed repeatedly, only to frown as I took note of the thin holes that peppered this woman''s body. Thin holes that leaked droplets of blood instead of the fountains that I wanted to quench my anger... Ducking under the Catkin''s bident and Serpentkin''s saber, I stabbed my rapier out once more and lodged it deep into the woman''s stomach, guaranteeing her kill and using her as a temporary sheath for my de as I swiftly unsheathed Shatter, the dagger far morefortable in my hand as I closed the distance between us instantly. The Catkin and Serpentkin both had decent armor, though the Serpentkin had excess ornamentation and a more maintained weapon, which I took as a sign of seniority and importance, so I switched my focus entirely on the Catkin as I lengthened Shatter, surprising the two thugs. Ice coalesced over top of the metal dagger, lengthening it and broadening it out into a sword instead of a dagger, while the solid sheet of ice ked as I willed it to be serrated, each chip of ice dropping to the ground making my smile widen as I weakened underneath another stab from the Catkin''s bident. It was a unique looking weapon, but at the end of the day the technique behind utilizing it - at least at the foundational level - was much the same as a spear, and when you get up close and personal to a spearman, you earn yourself the advantage rather quickly. What was even quicker was how my Shatter sliced through the Catkin''s leather chest piece and tore into his flesh, ripping outrge chunks as the small hooked des dug into the meat and ripped it out. Blood sttered onto the ground alongside the bits of flesh as I continued to slide my de across his chest, revealing the white bones of his ribs and sternum andrge pink mass that was his lung. Watching in interest as it ballooned out before deting, I chuckled as the Catkin tried to stumble away, fear permeating his slitted eyes as he felt his blood pouring out of the wound, soaking his armor and sshing against the puddle that had already formed below his feet. All the while, the Serpentkin hissed in anger as she watched herrade get sliced up so quickly, the saber in her hands arching around as she tried to cut me back, only to hiss again as I ignored her and stepped out of reach, buying myself a moment to stab Shatter straight into the Catkin''s sternum and disy the reason I named my dagger what I did. The ice exploded and eviscerated the Catkin''s torso, shards of sharpened ice slicing clean through his flesh and leaving exit wounds behind like shrapnel, which spurted more blood out of his body and widened the puddle. Chunks of his lungs, heart, liver and stomach sshed against the pool of blood and signaled the demise of this Catkin thug, his entire chestid bare to the world and shredded beyond repair as he dropped to his knees, blood leaking from his lips and nose as everything began to go dark. As he began to fall, I smirked as my booted foot mmed into the side of his skull, a roundhouse kick destroying his skull and sttering his brain across the ck ash around us, while the remaining momentum tore his head off of his spine and ripped his neck muscles apart, resulting in his head flying through the air. The body flopped to the side and into the way of the Serpentkin, who stumbled as she tried to traverse over the corpse of her headlessrade, her own scaled features scrunched up in fear as she managed toprehend just how outssed she was. Reforming a de on Shatter, I idly stomped the ground and removed some of the viscera from my boot and pants, only to chuckle as it got dirty again in a second. My leg extended as I mmed my boot into the Serpentkin''s kneecap, shattering the top of her fib and tibia, bottom of her femur, andpletely turning the kneecap into dust; besides the bone, her muscles were squished and rendered useless as her leg bent backwards, a scream of pain making my lips curl into a grin as I approached the woman. My free hand lunged forwards and grabbed at her long ck hair, wrenching it up and forcing her to head up to stare at me, all while Shatter sliced cleanly through the forearm holding the saber, severing the limb and allowing the de to tter uselessly to the ground. "You and your friends made a mistake, snake... You made a real~ big mistakeing after us...ing after my Mistress''~! I was beginning to feel a little... pent up as well, so this... this is just~ great~!" My grin widened as I her slitted green eyes trembled with fear, growing wet as she shed tears from the pain of herme leg and severed forearm, before another scream tore past her lips as I stabbed Shatter into her shoulder,ncing the ice de clean through and leaving it there. Pulling away from her, I looked around and nodded as I saw the others beginning to finish up with their respective groups, Anput and Jahi surrounded by piles of bodies as they killed just under a dozen each, with Leone clearing out the rest with her Estoc dancing in her hands, the long de aze with her potent mes. Each of us had left someone alive, and I grinned some more as I dragged my prey back towards the center of the massacre, jolts of anticipation coursing through my body as I shivered, unable to contain my excitement as the Serpentkin whimpered in my grasp. Chapter 581 580: Indulging a Little (2)

Chapter 581 Chapter 580: Indulging a Little (2)

A burly Bearkin, petite Elf, and mature Cowkin all were thrown forwards, joining the Serpentkin in the center of our little massacre thanks to the shoves and pushes of my lovers, each one staring at me for a moment before nodding lightly to themselves. "Kat... find out why these idiots chose us. If they have a backer, have ties to any Houses, if they''ll be a problem going forwards... As for the rest of us, pick through the corpses and retrieve anything useful; weapons, herbs, potions, materials, undamaged pieces of armor, anything at all that we could make use of." I grinned widely at Jahi as she nced at me one more time, the Demoness shaking her head wryly as she watched me bind up the three tributes she gave me and turn my attention entirely towards the Serpentkin, who was trying to crawl away from me in fear. The other three moved away and began to ignore me as I got to work, the bare de of Shatter tracing a thin cut along the Serpentkin''s arm as I asked "So we could make this easy, with you answering my questions and earning yourself a painless death, or you can make this harder... for you. Either way I get my answers, but this is entirely up to you, pitiful snake~! Do you want to enjoy the kiss of my daggers upon your flesh, or will you answer me truthfully~?" Her green eyes shook as she felt Shatter slip deeper into her shoulder, the dagger easily piercing her flesh and inflicting pain upon her as I began to twist it to the side slowly, making her hiss in agony. I stared at her quietly for a few moments before standing up and moving over to the others, my fingers lodging a piece of ice into their ears and muffling their hearing as I turned them around and bound them together, allowing my frost to begin sapping their strength as their arms and legs slowly became encased. Returning to the Serpentkin, I knelt in front of her and smiled, asking "Now that they can''t hear, and I can cross examine you all, do you mind telling me who it is that you work for? Was this all just... an unlucky coincidence, or were you all ordered to find us?" My fingers tapped the hilt of Shatter, sending vibrations through the de and making her wince as it moved around inside her shoulder, though she focused through the pain and took a shaky breath, hissing "W-We work... a-alone. We h-have no backers, n-no allegiance... Y-Your party looked... like e-easy prey, ripe for the picking..." I stared into her eyes for a few moments before asking "Are there more of you? Others that would be searching for you after you have died?" "B-Besides... family, or lovers... none t-that I can think of... ah..." Blood seeped from her lips, and I watched in interest as her eyes began to dull, only for their luster to return as I ced my hand on her cheek, my mana seeping into her flesh and stymieing the flow of blood, confusion appearing on her face before she let out an ear piercing scream as I twisted the dagger around entirely. Yanking it out, I stabbed it into her other shoulder and twisted it again, blood oozing from the wounds as she sat in front of me, trying to wrench her hands out of their bindings. "I don''t believe you. Now, we''ll ask these again, and again, and again until you decide to be truthful with me, alright?" "W-What?! I d-didn''t lie to you! I s-swear it..!" I narrowed my eyes as I searched hers, watching as they flitted away from me while her jaw clenched; that, and the fact that her tone was fluctuating far too much as well... even more so than what was needed for the agony she felt already. "Who do you work for, and who is going toe looking for you?" I left the de inside her shoulder, tapping it once more as I watched her struggle with the pain, only to sigh as she began to say "I a-already said..! W-We work for n-n-oaghHH!!" She screamed again as I pulled the de free and stabbed it into her leg this time, slicing through the femur and sending a pulse of mana through the de, turning the insides of her leg to goop. "Last chance. Did you know that one of the scariest ways to die is drowning? The helplessness one feels as water slowly fills their lungs until they can no longer breath? The fever dreams that begin to take ce as the mind fractures before eventually suffocating as well, leaving you dead in more ways then one? Would you like to experience that?" Raising a hand, I summoned a blob of water and showed it to her, observing her eyes as they widened in fear, the Serpentkin trying to break free of the bindings as I brought it closer to her head. "W-W-Wait..! I-I d-don''t know much, b-but..! E-Esmerelda, our l-leader, used to meet with a-a few well dressed w-women at the Arena! S-She never told us w-who they were, but we always had w-work after she met them! T-That''s all I know, I swear..!" Clenching my fist, I grinned at her as the water slowly began to freeze over before shattering, her eyes flooding with fear as the crystals of ice continued to circle my hand, each sliver sharper than thest. "Well, we shall see, won''t we~? For now..." Lowering the sphere of shattered ice over her head, I watched in interest as the crystalline shards sliced through her flesh and embedded themselves into her body, traveling over her entire frame and slipping into her skin, covering her in cuts and frost. cing a spell over her to heal her periodically, I covered her mouth and stood up, approaching one of the other prisoners that we had gathered and dragging them away, preparing to get to work again... This time with a tad more prejudice..? Chapter 582 581: Indulging a Little (3)

Chapter 582 Chapter 581: Indulging a Little (3)

"Fuck..! You crazy bitch! I already sa- aarrgHHH!!" My knuckles mmed across the Bearkin''s cheek as I punched him hard, not appreciating theck of understanding from this meathead as he sat beneath me, blood painting the ground around us. I had inflicted minimal wounds to him for the moment, and yet he took this ''gift'' of less pain and spat in my face - literally - before insulting me, despite my questions being entirely valid. "Wanna repeat that? I don''t think I heard you properly..." The Bearkin red at me and was about to snarl something when I shed Shatter across his face, slicing through his cheek and rupturing his eye as I robbed him of one of the two orbs, making him scream loudly as he leaned forwards, blood spilling from the wound and sttering against the ground. My booted foot mmed against his mouth next, shattering his teeth as I kicked his head back, nearly snapping his neck as he sat back up from the force, his remaining eye rolling aroundzily as he slipped in and out of consciousness. I reached forwards and grabbed his head, my palm glowing blue as I began to heal his wounds and stop his gums from bleeding, the fractured teeth remolding themselves as my magic got to work. A groan escaped his bloody lips, and the Bearkin blinked a few times before focusing on me, fear beginning to creep into his single brown eye as I growled "Do you know who your leader met with? Where she met with them?" "I..! I-I d-don''t know t-their names, b-but Esmerelda u-used to meet some people at the Arena... and at the Mao Ling Teashop..! I-I swear that..!" A snicker escaped my lips as I stared down at the Bearkin, shaking my head as I muttered "Why even bother being defiant..? All it does is earn you suffering..." My lips curled into a grin as I reached forwards with my other hand, slowly pushing Shatter towards his remaining eye. "Suffering that I very much enjoy inflicting~! Scream for me now, you useless thug!" The dagger dug deep into his other cheek as I lowered the de, slicing the thin p of flesh open and revealing his teeth and mouth, before I shed the de down towards his chest, scoring a deep gash across his muscr torso. My dagger shed out again, crossing the first cut and opening his flesh up some more, giving me view of his ribs and sternum, which made my grin widen. Sheathing the dagger into his side, I mmed my fist against his sternum and listened to it crack, the bone splintering while the ribs that connected to it split away. I grabbed one and tore it free, the long, curved bone covered in red and eliciting a scream of terror from the Bearkin as he stared at it in my hands, only to fall silent as I stabbed it through his skull, using his own bone to kill him. Taking out Shatter, I shed the de across his throat as he fell, watching as the blood began to pool around his corpse and enjoying the patterns around me before moving onto the next prisoner. We had a time limit here, and I was being careful not to indulge too much... well, as careful as I could possibly be. The Cowkin was next, and I unveiled her head and grinned at her, uncaring of the blood that soaked my front and not bothering to hide the corpse of herrade behind me. Thoserge amber eyes of hers were already wet with tears, and I could tell that she would crack quickly, so I asked "Who did your leader meet with, and where? What was the purpose of you all being here to ambush us? Why?" The rapid-fire questions confused her for a moment, but she obliged and began to speak just as quickly, almost stumbling over her words as she desperately tried to be useful to me. "O-Our leader..? E-Esmerelda w-went to meet with s-some small Noble H-House at the Teashop..! M-Mao Ling..? I t-think?! Um... S-She t-told me one night th-that w-we had a big s-scoreing up... s-some sc-scouting and a shakedown! A lrge reward w-was promised if we could b-bring back the de o-of the Demoness w-we were meant to hunt!" I furrowed my brow slightly at that, ncing over at Jahi - who was standing nearby - and then at herrge great sword, the dual metal de shining in the dim light of the Cavern. "Who were they? Do you remember? Or at least any details about them?" The Cowkin shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks as she heard me sigh. "Anyone going toe after us when we leave the Caverns?" Once more she shook her head, and once more I sighed as I stood up, staring down at her before stepping around her. She tried to follow me with her eyes, but the Cowkin had a helmet of ice again a momentter, left alive for the moment as I approached the Elf, who was sitting still and trying her best to not move. "Why did you lote after us? On who''s orders?" The Elf red at me as I asked her a question, the helmet cracking away and giving her sight and hearing back. "Why should I tell you?!" Blinking, I just pointed behind me at the corpse of the Bearkin, the Elf''s blue eyes widening for a moment before she sneered, growling "Then just kill me! I won''t talk!" I frowned, before shrugging as I took Shatter and pressed it against her throat, staring into her eyes as I let the tip dig into her flesh. She remained adamant even as the de pierced the skin, making me nod in appreciation as I retrieved my dagger, deciding to enjoy this one a little longer... Grabbing her hand, I stared at her for a second before pressing her hand on the ground, the Elf frowning back at me before her eyes widened as she watched Shatter chop through her pinky, blood spurting from the severed digit instantly. Biting her lip, the Elf held back a groan as the pain washed over her, only to groan again as I chopped her ring finger off next, mimicking the motions of chopping carrots as I stared straight into her eyes, ustomed to this type of knife work. "Would you like to keep going, or will you speak?" Her breathing was a littlebored, but the Elf just red at me before spitting at me, making me sigh as I chopped off her middle finger next, followed quickly by her index finger and thumb, leaving her no time to process the loss of each digit. Her palm was slick with sweat and blood, but even that was gone soon as I remained on her right arm, Shatter cutting cleanly through her wrist and severing her hand entirely, making her groan in agony. "We can keep going then. I do admit I am a little... curious about your breaking point, and it''s been awhile since I had a resilient toy to y with..." I stabbed Shatter between her radius and ulna, surprising her and making her grunt again, blood now leaking from her right arm and her lips as she bit down on her tongue this time. A chuckle slipped from my lips as I smiled darkly at her, and I swiftly got to work with the Elf, taking my time and earning her screams... Chapter 583 582: Information

Chapter 583 Chapter 582: Information

"Kat, enough..." Those two words cut through the euphoric red haze that had descended over my mind, making me gasp as my consciousness was returned to me. The strong hand on my shoulder anchored me down as I came back around, and I took a deep breath as I ripped my gaze away from the bloody, horrific mess that used to be the Elf, who was now mentally dead but still physically alive. Releasing the spell, I allowed the frost that had turned the woman''s skin ck to eat her alive, shutting off her body''s systems and eventually granting her the sweet release of death. After a few more measured breaths, I stood up and cleaned myself off before sheathing my dagger and retrieving my rapier, my lips pursed into a thin line as I looked around myself, taking in the carnage that I had wrought with just the Elf and Bearkin. As for the Serpentkin, she had eventually died off as well when I unconsciously canceled the healing spell on her, the blood loss killing her from the myriad wounds scarring her body. That left only the Cowkin alive, and I had to resist the urge to kill her as well when a fresh - yet subdued - wave of anger washed over me as I was reminded of what I had learned; pieces of information that I had gotten from each and things that they all confirmed, with the Elf being thergest treasure trove yet as she confessed after the third regeneration. A smaller Noble House had targeted us to try and rob Jahi of the masterfully crafted sword on her back, something that the Empress herself had deigned Jahi worthy enough to wield despite being such a raw fighter at the time she received it. Celestial Gold and Stygian Silver - a rare material that was already worth so much in the Stygian Silver, but the Celestial Gold? Priceless. After all, the Empress was the only one who could create such an alloy of incredible power, making it one of the rarest materials in the entire world as far as I was concerned. Hence why I was also rather confused; no one would be willing to buy or utilize such a de in the open, and rumors spread fast anywhere inside the Empire, but especially in the underground, so why risk so much for something that no one would want to touch? It''s a material that would be retrieved by all costs, by either the Empress herself or House Asmodia, who are the current owners of said material... None of it makes sense, and least of all from a small Noble House; they don''t have the resources or influence to snatch such a weapon on their own, let alone sell it or trade it away. So who was actually behind it? Well, I was hoping to find out, so I reined in my anger and made my way over to the Cowkin lifting her up and walking her over towards the canyon, speaking as I walked. "She apparently saw who their leader - Esmerelda - made the deal with, and where. So perhaps she can spot them again? Either way, we need to get out of here for now and sneak her out of the Dungeon. Do we have a spare cloak?" The others ruffled through their bags before shaking their heads, making me sigh as I took off mine and draped it over her shoulders, before cutting off a piece of it and wrapping it around her eyes after dissolving the helmet. "Don''t try to escape, and don''t make a scene. Otherwise, you''ll die terribly. Got that?" She nodded like a bobblehead, her chapped lips stuck together as she allowed me to guide her towards the exit of the Caverns, where we would regroup and make a n. No one knew who their leader had dealt with, but they knew that a deal had been made and that the people who did it were small time Nobles; something that the red skinned Esmerelda made known to her ragtag group of bandits when telling them what their next - andst - score would be. With my hand firmly grasped on her elbow, the Cowkin was led back towards the surface without much issue, the three others following behind as we exited the Caverns and began to make our way over towards the Cabin instead of the Pce. No one stopped us as we quickly made our way through the streets of the Capital, most assuming that we were trying to find a ce to cure ourpanion who I was guiding through the streets, even though that couldn''t be further from the truth. Jahi opened the door leading into the Cabin and watched as we all entered, before locking the door behind us and gesturing towards therge bedroom, where the Cowkin wouldn''t be able to see anything that might give her location away. Sitting her down, I undid the blindfold and stared at her still wet amber eyes, a small amount of pity welling inside me at the sight that was quickly washed away by indifference. She looked between all four of us, our eyes hard as we stared quietly at her, and eventually the Cowkin clenched the cloak closer to herself and angled her body away, her cheeks darkening as she hesitantly said "I-If you''re g-going to r-r-rape me, g-get it over with..!" I blinked for a moment as I mentally reviewed what she just said, before my eyes lowered from her wet cheeks to herrge, fluffy breasts and thin waist, which billowed out into a wide pair of hips that gave her that fantastical hourss figure. My lips curled up in disgust as I stared at her, snarling "No one here is going to fuck you! By the Goddess... What, were you just going to let it happen?! No fight for that?" Indifference was reced with disgust as I red at her, before sighing as I shook my head, looking away from her and back towards Jahi, who just raised a brow as she inspected the Cowkin. Silence reined inside the bedroom, and the Demoness eventually lifted her gaze from the Cowkin and looked at her three lovers, her lips twitching into a small smile as she noticed we were all ring at her, daring her to say something. Raising her hands, she stepped back and left the room, followed by Anput and Leone quickly enough. I snorted at the Cowkin before binding her arms and gagging her mouth, leaving her in the room as I joined the others outside to discuss our ns going forwards. Chapter 584 583: What To Do... I joined the others out in the living room of the Cabin, the familiarity of the location and everything about this ce soothing my very soul as I instinctually moved towards the kitchen, where I began to boil some water and prepare the teacups for everyone. Of course, I couldn''t help but nce at Jahi with narrowed eyes, her previous silence and roaming gaze when the Cowkin said what she said still making my anger re slightly while the possessiveness bubbled to life. Sensing that, the Demoness turned to stare at me before smiling wryly as I looked away with a huff, not appreciating how long her gaze lingered on that Cowkin bitch at the thought of sex with her... Though, I also knew she wasn''t thinking much of it - likely little more than a passing fancy as she admired the beauty of the woman in front of her, but still..! Letting out another low huff, I tossed in some of the tealeaves that I had left behind in this house so long ago and began to brew us up some tea, all while the Demoness let out a sigh as she received a look from the other two women as well, making her say "I wasn''t thinking of touching her, alright?! Really... why would you think I would, hm? I have three perfect women to sate my urges whenever I want..." We continued to stare at her before I eventually said "They all agreed that it was a smaller Noble House, and that they always seemed to meet at the Mao Ling Teahouse to discuss business. Do we think they''ll be awaiting the return of Esmerelda? If so, should we try and capture them to learn more, or are we going to hand this over to the Marquess and Empress to deal with?" Jahi frowned slightly at how swiftly I changed subject, only to frown more as she heard my proposition, her pride battling with hermon sense as she leaned back into the couch, thinking it over. "Well, it depends doesn''t it? They were targeting Jahi specifically for her weapon apparently, so they know about her. If they know about her, they know about me, and they''ll be ready for Anput. But you... are a maybe. Those at a certain level of strength and influence know about you, but is this Noble House within that sphere? Can we trust the words of the bandits anyways, let alone trust the intuition of the bimbo we picked up?" Pouring out the tea, I chuckled softly at Leone''s words as I handed them out before taking a seat beside Jahi, saying "Perhaps not, but if we want to do this ourselves then I think its a lead to follow. One that we could easily capitalize on... well, ''we'' as in me. They know you all, like Leone said, but they might not know me. Besides, I also have fewer distinguishable features, and I can cover up or conceal the features I have with a cloak and some dye. I am also capable of following behind anyone quietly, so... and before you get angry or say no right away, you all can always set up outside the teashop and stake it out from the outside while I go in with the ''bimbo''." Jahi pursed her lips as she nced at me, while Anput sat back and rubbed her arms, her lips pulled into a small frown as she stared straight at me, eventually saying "I... I think we should let Kat take the woman into the Teahouse and have her stake it out for a bit on the inside, see if she recognizes the people the Noble House sent. Seems like that woman knew a bit more than the others thanks to her being the leaders woman of choice, but that works out for us..." Taking a sip of her tea, Anput drummed her fingers on the table before adding "Besides, Kat was right about her being the unknown of our group, and if this Noble House is dumb enough to target you for your de, I doubt they did much research into anyone besides the three of us. So... I say we do it ourselves, or at least try it once or twice. If it gets to be too tedious, we can hand the woman over and wipe our hands clean from this mess. After all, I still want to forge some stuff and train; this is eating into our time, remember." Jahi grunted at that, focusing back on me and staring at me quietly before looking towards Leone as she said "Perhaps this could be a boon for us. We need money, no? Even the smallest and poorest of Noble Houses have fortunes that we could take advantage of, as well as resources and potentially connections. Besides, I sincerely doubt this is just a Noble House on its own. Seems to... weird to not be connected to somethingrger." "I... yeah, I guess. Still, the idea of sending you in alone is just..." Patting her knee, I raised a brow as I said "Jahi, I won''t be ''alone'' in there. You three will be right outside, and we''re in a public space. You can react pretty quickly should something happen, and I can take care of myself... though saying that means nothing considering the track record so far..." She snorted at that, though her amethyst eyes hardened as she looked me over again, muttering "Now I want to just say no..." Leaning back, she sighed and closed her eyes, her arm draping over my shoulder and pulling me into her side as she said "Fine... we can give it a go first. Let''s get something to eat and store away our haul before setting out for the Mao Ling Teahouse. Hopefully that woman can make herself useful..." "Otherwise, I''ll have a toy to y with~?" Jahi just chuckled as I snuggled into her side, the Demoness opening an eye briefly as she gave me a side eye look that was exasperated, making me chuckle too. "Maybe... For now though, how about you ''eat'' something real quick, Kat~?" Chapter 585 584: Mao Ling Teahouse ? I let out a deep sigh as I lowered myself onto the cushion, my legs folded neatly beneath me as I took a seat inside the Mao Ling Teahouse, mypanion sitting beside me as we went through with our n... Her leaning her head on my shoulder as we whispered quietly to one another, acting out a loving couple as we waved down a waitress and ced an order. I held back a shudder as the Cowkin - Bessie - rested her head against my shoulder, while the urge to break her arm grew stronger as I held her close to me, utilizing people''s natural aversion to public disys of affection to stake out this ce in hopes of finding out who had the idiocy to target Jahi. "So... w-what happens to me if we find them..? Or if we don''t..?" Bessie''s voice was low and shaky, making me sigh again as I smiled at the waitress and epted the pot of tea, the scent of vani and chamomile tickling my nostrils as I began to pour out a cup for Bessie and I. "That... depends. As much as I would love to wipe my hands clean of this entire situation by killing you, I sincerely doubt Leone would approve of it... and I do believe in karma to a certain extent. Compared to your...patriots, you neither fought against us nor remained stubborn when I asked you questions. Killing you would bring bad luck to me, but I don''t want to let you walk free either." I sipped on the warm golden liquid in my porcin teacup, before smiling at the waitress again as she brought over a tray of light cakes and cookies, the Elf smiling softly back at me as she looked between Bessie and I, emotions flickering through her eyes. Looking at the Cowkin from the corner of my eye, I couldn''t help but shake my head slightly as I realized that if this was the previous me I would be giddy at the chance to be so close to such a beautiful woman. She really did hit quite a few boxes for me in regards to a sexual partner for women; breasts asrge as mine, soft features that made her so tempting to bully, plump thighs and an equally juicy behind, an adorable pout that seemed permanent on her face... Bessie was - at the end of the day - an extremely attractive woman, and there was a small part of me that wondered what it would be like to push her down and have sex with this woman, to feel her body on mine as we entangled ourselves on a bed, to hear her voice as I yed around with her... I was normally the submissive partner - both now and back in my first life - but even I had moments that made me want to take control and be on top, and Bessie hit every criteria I unconsciously had for such a submissive partner for myself... Which was also why I was feeling slightly disgusted holding her; [Nymphomania] was a skill that seemed to make this sort of situation difficult, as I wanted to feel even more of her, but I also wasn''t thrilled since I hade to love the full feeling that each of my lovers provided me with their respective members. Sighing again, I continued to speak as I cut a piece of the cake for her, sliding it over to her and watching as the gorgeous woman began to nibble on the corner of it, herrge amber eyes looking up at me from beneath hershes. "I don''t know... we''ll discuss it after this all goes down, so don''t push your luck and do your best... Now keep a look out for them, alright? We have a time limit of an hour, hour and a half tops; any longer and we begin to look suspicious..." She nodded, and I took another sip from the soothing tea as I scanned the people entering and exiting the teahouse, my lips pulled into a small smile as I maintained a mask for the outside world to see. After a few moments of silence, Bessie couldn''t help herself and said "Would... would you like to know what they look like, so that you can keep an eye out as well? Two sets of eyes is better than one, after all..." A simple nod and a ''Mhm...'' was all it took for the Cowkin to begin speaking quietly to me, her voice slightly shaky at the start before evening out as she got further in, using this as a way to get rid of her nerves. "W-Well, there were three of them, all petite and on the smaller side, around five and a half feet tall max. They wore very ''inconspicuous'' ck cloaks and always had the hood pulled up, and they also always paid in gold, even if the bill was just a few silvers. Soft spoken and presumably female, they only ever spoke to Esmerelda and ignored me and the others, like we were beneath them..." I rolled my eyes slightly, my lips curling into arger smile as I heard her descriptions, idly wondering if these were some cartoonish viins with how obvious they were with their actions and overbearing despite that obviousness. To ignore the entire crew that you were hiring besides their boss was ballsy, especially considering said crew was right in front of you. Then to pay in JUST gold? I meane on, how obvious could you be that you''re a Noble House? Who else would unt that kind of wealth so openly and freely without any hired muscle to back them up, or at least do it in a discreet way? Not merchants; if they got to the point that they have that kind of money, they''re shrewd, coin pinchers, and cautious to the extreme. So... this is either an upstart idiot of a Noble House or perhaps a second plus generation of an established, wealthy Noble House... Both of which have their own pros and cons, but... Sighing again, I continued to listen to Bessie as she spoke about herrades, all of whom were slowly rotting away down in Zhu''Rong Caverns. Chapter 586 585: Sprouting of Love (Extra)

Chapter 586 Chapter 585: Sprouting of Love (Extra)

Chordeva PoV Leaning against the headboard, I stared down at the Dogkin woman thatid beside me, her pale, yet wless skin slick with sweat as she stared at me, her face flushed. "You still blush so damn easily Julie~! That''s cute..." Her pout made me smirk, and the way she blushed as I ''rose up'' again made my smirk widen. "Surely you didn''t think I was one and done, dear~? I do believe you know better, little maid..." Guiding her hand lower, I narrowed my eyes in pleasure as I felt her expert movements, enjoying her attention. Pulling her closer to my side, I draped my arm around her as I stared at the ceiling, smirking as I muttered "Theres just something aboutzing around in bed while your beautiful maid takes care of you..." Feeling her dry gaze on me, I smiled over at her as I buried my nose into her ears, enjoying the scent ofvender wafting off of her body. "Y''know, I was surprised when Ria epted you into our house, Julie. I had thought our resident knife-ear would have turned you away, especially since she had just given birth to Jahi months before..." Julie nodded, her fluff tickling my face as she moved. "I... I was as well. I don''t know what I would have done if you did turn me away. I had no where to go; Katherine and I would have been on the run until they either gave up, or we were caught..." I could feel her stiffen against me, and her low mutter of "I wouldn''t have let them take my girl from me" made me sigh, holding her closer. "Isn''t that why I let you have your revenge on that idiot, love? But... yes, I do have to admit that I was more than willing to let you stay. I just... didn''t think Ria would have agreed." Staring up at me, Julie smiled softly as she asked "Why was that? Why did you want to let me stay?" Returning my gaze to the ceiling, I pursed my lips as I listed off the three answers that came to mind. "Well, it was partially my fault that the Zara Pack was allowed to crumble away, so responsibility to at least right some of my wrongs was there. Then there was the simple fact that I had just had my first child; I couldn''t imagine having to live on the run with Jahi, always wondering if today would be ourst together... that just... made me pity you." She nodded, before her features deadpanned as I added "Also, I was hoping that I could convince Ria to let me sleep with you again..." Rolling her eyes, I chuckled as I rubbed my nose against hers, saying "Just so you know, Ria was the one to suggest sleeping with you; she wanted to lose her ''male'' virginity, and I was rather interested in bedding you again..." She sighed, before I continued on, making her eyes go wide. "That wasn''t the main reason though, Julie. Ria felt a debt to you, for how you stood by her during our first year at the Academy. During our second, third, and fourth, she had grown to see you as a sister, someone she could trust and rely on. We might have... outpaced you, but you were still a sharp, intelligent girl, and your morality was apass that kept Ria and I from doing anything... drastic. Besides that, when Ria and I left for the Labyrinthian, she would always mention you, wondering how you were faring, if you still remembered us... thought of us. Then, when we went to aid the Sultana with her revolution, she had seen what had happened with the Sera Pack, and she was worried that something simr might have happened to you... I think that she''s just too damn stubborn to admit that she felt something for you; even now, I think she still believes that she was settling that debt she believed she had with you. Personally, I feel like she loved you then, but her obsession with me overshadowed that love, and her belief in monogamy was likely shrouding her desire to ask you to join us. Thank the Goddess that she doesn''t believe in it now..." Lowering my hand to her rear, I gave it a crisp smack as I rolled on top of her, gently entering her again. "After all, when a Demoness and an Elf, two of the races with the lowest reproduction rates marry, even a single child is precious... but now, we''ll have three directly rted to us by blood, and a fourth that will be our daughter inw..." Smirking at the red woman below me, I added "I think your daughter will take after you too in that regard... she might just give us some grandkids before we are even able to have another together~!" I chuckled as she blushed further, before her gaze sharpened as she said "She ah~ Better not! S-She''s ahn~! Too young!" Leaning down, I kissed her as I whispered "Well, with how calm and peaceful the world is now, I think we''ll be fine~! Besides, I said she might give us some before I get you pregnant again, love~! Even with you being more fertile than a human, that''ll take a while..." It was something that irked Ria and I over the years; being from two of the longer lived, stronger races, and being near the pinnacle of each, meant that our chances for children was low. Like, even after sleeping with her with the intent of having kids for a dozen years, we only had one child low. Which is why I was so damn happy that Julie came into our lives again; I wanted arge family, and sadly, Ria and I would need to spend a long time together to get that to happen. Time that I was more than happy to spend with her, but a piece of me wanted to bring in another few women to expedite that process. However, I really was so deeply in love with Ria, that I couldn''t really see myself treating those women as anything besides living breeders, things to pop out my children. Which was something the younger me wouldn''t have cared about, but now, it disgusted me. So when the Dogkin woman below me stumbled up to our door, her stomach round with her child, I had talked with Ria, prodding at her sensitive spots for the woman to let her in. I had always had a thing for Julie, but when I started truly loving Ria, I had sworn off others, content with the wonderful Elf. But, I really did feel bad for Julie, and when I had seen her at our door, pleading to let her find sanctuary at our home, I had almost ignored Ria''s opinion and let her in without hesitation. After we had talked, and we watched Julie give birth, Ria and I had talked again, and the constant sight of her walking around had made us both go crazy. We talked with the woman, and she readily fell into our bed, epting our lusts in exchange for a ce to raise her daughter. It was that conviction to protect her daughter that made Ria fall; the woman always loved family above all else, so when Julie made that sacrifice, allowing not one, but two women to bed her whenever they wanted, she had grown soft again to the woman. Which is when I started desiring her curvy body again, indulging my lust with both her and Ria, not holding back with either. What had started as little more than pity for a mother and her child had grown into love for the mother, and it only took root in my closed off heart. Ria and I had been surprised by how easily we both fell for the woman, and that even extended to her daughter. That year with Kat had been incredible; I viewed the calm, quiet, and serious girl as my own daughter already, her mature disposition bncing out Jahi''s free spiritedness. Of course, the little pup had her own moments; there were times with a de that she seemed to let loose, and her obsession with the arcane was almost childish in nature, so pure and innocent. As for Ria, she loved how Kat fit every role as a daughter and future mother; she was filial enough to us, good with house chores, able to calm and satisfy her wife, and she was damn good at bringing Jahi back to being rational. That would likely extend to her future children, and I was looking forwards to what she would be like when she got older, how she would change to help Jahi at every turn; the woman was bound to my daughter, yes, but I could tell that the possession she felt for Jahi was genuine, as was the love. So, I knew that I loved them both, almost as much as I loved Ria and my own daughter. And now, I had another childing as well, which made my heart swell. Indulging in my Dogkin maid, I couldn''t wait to grant her a title and take her as my wife as well, to have her stand beside me with pride. It was what I wanted to give her, and it was her right as the mother of my children. --- Date: 01/31/2023 Sorry, had a hard time writingst night and only got the one chapter out, and now Football ising on, so... here''s an Extra to keep youpany~! --- Chapter 587 586: Dastardly Plot (1)

Chapter 587 Chapter 586: Dastardly Plot (1)

"-is exactly what made her so appealing! Though, looking back at it, perhaps that was exactly why she wasn''t the best leader for us all..." A sigh escaped my lips as I lifted the teacup again, sipping on the more sedated,forting taste of green tea before taking a bite of the fluffy yellow cake that was on the te in front of us, trying my best to not roll my eyes as Bessie continued to speak. "Her charisma and strength made her a natural leader to us all! So easy to talk to, so easy to get along with, and so strong and dashing..." Bessie let out a sigh as well, leaning her head back down on my chest as she snuggled into my arm, the Cowkin sipping on the hot chocte that she had ordered and feeling right at home as she continued to yap and yap... Admittedly, it made the hour pass by rather quickly as she kept telling me about everything that happened, the Cowkin using this time to unload everything off her rather abundant chest and clean off her te as she tried to ingratiate herself with me. The hour had gone by, sure, but we had also had ack of any sightings regarding this group of Nobles who had dared to desire something that my Mistress owned, making my anger slowlye to a boil beneath the surface as we continued to sit there, waiting. The waitress was beginning to get a tad obvious with wanting to get us out of here to free up the table and earn her tip, so I pulled out the pocket watch I kept on me and took a look at the time, calcting how much longer we could feasibly stay in here without getting someone too annoyed and bing too obvious. "Five more minutes, Bessie, before we get up and return home. Finish your drinks and sweets now, dear." My voice was soft as I remained in ''character'' beside the Cowkin, taking another sip of my green tea and swirling around the remaining few mouthfuls that were inside the porcin cup, my mind drifting towards the gains from the excursion down in the Caverns. [763,086 Xp gained; would you like a summary?] ''Yes, but simplify it to the ''Monsters + Quests'' and ''Mortals'' please.'' [Calcting...] [Monsters + Quests: 633,284 Xp gained, 196 Sp gained] [Mortals: 129,802 Xp gained] That pushed me up towards 1.5 million total experience, meaning I had 500,000 experience left before I leveled up to 50, which ced me at the next ss Unlock for my System and opened up a myriad of ways to get stronger... I think. Besides that, the total of my Shop Points was getting high as well, so I needed to n out the next round of ''gifts'' that Reincantra would be kind enough to bestow upon me and my lovers, and maybe they could be on the ''stronger'' side of buffs? Or I could just get a few more things that are smaller buffs that stack up, improving everything we had all at once? Then there were the herbs and materials in the store that were avable for purchase, so I could certainly make use of those for Leone and Anput respectively, especially if they were rarer materials for them to make something awesome for one of us to use..? That would be incredible; a specialized metal that is attuned with Ice and empowers all of my magics with Ice whenever I use it..? Or perhaps a potion that increases how much Mana you absorb and can put out, increasing the damage of your magics by arge amount? The possibilities were endless, honestly, and I was looking forwards to browsing the store again soon and viewing all the goodies inside of it. Tapping my fingers against the table, I took thest sip of my green tea before filling the cup up with a little bit of water, which I used to wash away anything on my teeth and refresh my pte before letting out a sigh, ncing at Bessie as she scarfed down the cake in front of her. Did all of the weight go to her breasts and butt..? She ate SO much during this ''date'' of ours, and she even drank quite a few heavier, sugary drinks on top of that... so where did it all go? She didn''t really fight either, so..? Though, that thought made me realize that in this entire life, I had only ever been on a single actual date, and even then it had been spent being toyed with as my Demoness purchased that toy from the Subus to use on me... Was that a date I wanted again..? I idly allowed my thoughts to continue drifting as I kept an eye on the surrounding teashop, before eventually closing the pocket watch and storing it away, saying "When your done we''ll get going..." Bessie nodded, herrge amber eyes clearer than before as she remained snuggled against me, nibbling on a cookie now that she dipped into the milk she ordered. While she did that, I sorted through my coins and began to count them out, only to freeze for a moment as I watched three hooded figures enter the building, their ck cloaks sticking out like a sore thumb. Getting my payment ready, I saw them look around for a few seconds before talking to a waitress, who nodded before scurrying away, her lips pulled into a worried frown as she went to do what they asked. Bessie tugged on my sleeve, and I nodded and smiled at her, saying "Are you done, dear? We should get going soon..." From the corner of my eye, I saw the hooded figures waiting by the door before epting the parcel that the waitress handed over, only for her to gasp quietly as they dropped a few coins into her hand, the distinctive glint of gold rather obvious. They turned and left the shop, and I got up and began to follow them, waving down our waitress and handing her a few silvers before exiting the shop behind them, beginning to follow them as closely as I could. Chapter 588 587: Dastardly Plot (2)

Chapter 588 Chapter 587: Dastardly Plot (2)

Bessie walked behind me, the Cowkin trying her hardest to remain inconspicuous, and surprisingly she did a semi decent job, controlling her nervous expression and walking rather softly down the street as we trailed just behind the three robed figures, who were rather easy to track through the crowds. My eyes flickered over towards the rooftop that Anput was resting on, the Jackalkin nodding at me before slipping into a nearby alleyway and moving to cut the targets off whenever they turned into an alley, with Jahi and Leone already waiting inside the dark corridors. If they went to my right - where Anput was located - we would converge on them and work together, but if they went to the left I would pursue on my own for a few moments before the others joined me; either way, we were getting these three idiots tonight, and I was going to figure out what they had nned for us. Where I would then respond ordingly. Perhaps a few hours of torture lied directly in my future; hours that would do well to satiate my craving for blood and pain for a little longer... If not, then I could at least learn who it was that decided to provoke House Asmodia for a weapon that they couldn''t use in any way at all. With Bessie following behind me, we walked calmly through the crowd and maintained some distance between us and the group of three, who were cutting through the crowd and drawing more and more attention to themselves with each passing moment. They suddenly turned and slipped into an alleyway on the left, making me sigh softly before I followed quickly behind them, my ears twitching as I heard the quiet mutterings of the three people as they spoke aloud, be it to one another or to someone else... Protective slipped into my palm, the heavy dagger hidden behind my forearm as I stuck to the wall, straining my hearing and listening in to them for a few moments as I waited for Anput to lead Jahi and Leone over to us. "-posed to meet us there today! They were inside the Dungeon for thest two days..." "Maybe they were killed? Subdued, perhaps? This is THE Asmodia Family we are talking about, after all... that wouldn''t be out of the picture, no?" "Hng... No... Realistically speaking, no... Perhaps our Lady was wrong? She seemed... adamant about the Asmodia Scion being an ''uncut gem'', but perhaps she didn''t take into ount that even uncut gems are valuable, if you get what I mean? We should pull back..." The first voice was a strained, wary feminine voice, higher pitched and clearly stressed at the situation, while the second was a more mature feminine voice. As for the third, it was an older, raspy feminine voice, rounding out the assumption that the three targets were likely female, and with the thirds words taken into ount, they worked under a Lady as well... Hearing the soft click of Anput''s boot on the ground, I nodded as I turned the corner, wearing a harmless smile as I gazed out at the three robed women, who were huddled together in the center of the dim corridor, conversing amongst themselves. Their heads turned towards me as I rounded the corner, my body casting a shadow over the ground by their feet and alerting them to my presence, but I didn''t mind as I observed them for another moment, watching in interest at how the reacted to being caught by an ''innocent''. The older one cursed softly before tossing something at their feet, which burst into arge cloud of smoke, making me chuckle as I just waved my hand and blew the cloud away, revealing them trying to jump up onto the tops of the buildings around us. Ethereal blue light shimmered on the walls around us as I traced out some runes, before flicking my hand forwards again, sending thin needles whistling through the rather quietly as I targeted their limbs, my lips curling up into a small smile as they found their mark. The thin slivers of ice sliced through the ck robes and pierced the women''s skin, causing them to slip from the walls and fall back onto the ground, the sudden eruption of pain and chill making it harder to climb, even with mana flooding their veins. Anput and Jahi dashed forwards from behind me, their fists falling hard onto the skulls of the women, knocking them out cold and making us all raise our brows as we nced at one another, wondering if that was meant to be that easy. Jahi scooped up two while Anput dragged up the other, with the Demoness saying "Let''s get going to the Pce then... get some fresh set of eyes on everything. And some damn food..." I rolled my eyes at her before ncing back at Bessie, who was staring at us in awe, her jaw hanging open before she mmed it shut when she felt my gaze. "Come on then... let''s get these three back to the Pce and rest." Anput snorted at that, smirking at me - though her eyes remained hard - and saying "Didn''t someone~ here already have more than enough ''rest'' though~? With a rather soft, cushy ce to sit down and sip on tea~? Hmm~?" My gaze met my mate''s, and I rolled my eyes at her as well before quietly leading us through the alleyways and bringing us towards the Pce, during which Leone coldly slipped past Bessie to walk beside me, leaving Anput to bring up the rear as she trailed a few steps behind me. The journey was quiet, the only sounds being those of Anput and Jahi rendering their cargo unconscious again as we reached the halfway point of our walk, and eventually we reached the gates of the Pce, where the guards rushed forwards to help us, taking the three women from us and guiding us inside, with one running ahead to gather the Marquess and Empress. Chapter 589 588: Dastardly Plot (3)

Chapter 589 Chapter 588: Dastardly Plot (3)

The guards led us straight towards the throne room, where we found the three robed figures bound and left to kneel before the Empress, who was looking down at them curiously from her ornate marble throne, herrge frame more imposing then ever as she rubbed the side of her forefinger with her thumb, the rhythmical movement incredibly worrying for all parties involved as her head briefly turned towards us as we entered. She wasn''t the only one in the room either, as the Marquess stood off to the side, her face carved from stone to match the hard ruby eyes that scanned over the bare features of the three henchwomen that had targeted us, while Lady Lorelei, Lady Igna, and surprisingly Lady Fenryas as well were seated on their thrones. Of the three women we had captured, one of them was awake while the other two were out cold, and I couldn''t help but shake my head at how weirdly surprised she seemed to be with where she was at. Her long ginger hair and two fluffy for ears spoke clearly to her race as a Foxkin, while her smooth pale skin and plump lips gave her a softer look, not too sexy but definitely above ''cute''. She was looking around the room in bewilderment, her pale red eyes eventually returning towards the stoic face of the Empress, who was quietly observing the kneeling Foxkin. The other two were also Beastkin of some kind as well, with one having the rounded ears of some kind of predator Catkin while the other had floppy ears that were some variation of Dogkin. All three were good looking women and not exactly who you would assume would be stupid enough to target the Empress'' daughter''s lover, but the world is full of all kinds of mysteries. The guards saluted the Empress and bowed deeply to the Empress'' wives before turning and leaving the room, their boots rather quiet against the marble floor as they walked away, returning to their posts. Silence reined inside the throne room for a moment more, only to be pushed away as the Empress focused back on us and asked "Who, pray tell, are these three? What are they doing inside my Pce?" Her voice was t as she focused on Leone, who gulped and wrung out her hands for a moment as she noticed that her Mother was also staring at her closely, the older Vampire''s bright crimson eyes almost boring a hole into her daughters head as she awaited a response. "They... We got ambushed inside Zhu''Rong Caverns earlier today when we were leaving by arge group of bandits - the Cowkin behind us was apart of them, but she helped us... A-Anyways, apparently these three are working for a Noble House and hired said group of bandits to find us and... well, try to steal the great sword that Jahi uses. For the Celestial Gold, is my assumption..." The Empress turned to look at the Cowkin, who flinched and tried to hide behind me, acting like a child who got caught stealing from the cookie jar and not a former bandit who robbed and killed people. Though, if all of the Cowkin''s ramblings were to be taken as true - even with a grain of salt - she had only ''joined'' with the group because she had been seduced by Esmerelda and was looking for a thrill. She somehow thought that the group was more so a party of adventurers then bandits since they spent most of their time doing Requests for the Guild, so... Again, not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but... she can still be held ountable, hence her hiding behind me to the best of her ability. "Ambushed? Hah, cowards. And I assume that they''re all dead save for the dairy cow that you brought back?" Bessie shuddered behind me at Lady Fenryas'' words, who just sneered at her before looking towards Leone, who nodded as she replied "We... took care of them all. Kat... interrogated a few of them and learned that these three were the ones responsible, but we thought it best to return here before doing anything else." Lady Lorelei snorted as she stood up, stepping down from her throne and approaching the three kneeling women, two of whom were still unconscious thanks to the heavy fists of Jahi. "If you hadn''te back as soon as possible, I''d have been angry, Leone. Thest thing I want is for you to think you can navigate the political quagmire so early on by yourself... especially with something as sensitive as an assassination attempt. One wrong move and you begin to push certain Houses away for ack of knowhow and general repercussions with the public. Now..." Leaning down in front of the Foxkin, Lady Lorelei tilted her head as she stared at the woman directly, mere inches separating their faces as she whispered "Shall we do this quick and easy, or do you desire to be unraveled entirely? Pick not just for yourself, but for yourrades and your Lady..." Her pale red eyes widened at the threat, though hesitation clouded her gaze as she nced towards the two others before looking back to Lady Lorelei, who had a small smile on her lips as she gave the woman a moment. "Boring... just rip off an arm and leave her to bleed out for a bit... usually works wonders for getting answers. Ooh, or take a knife to their back and carve away like they were a turkey~! A piece here, a piece there~! They usually acquiesce quickly after the first few cuts..." Lady Fenryas'' sharp grin made everyone shiver, though Lady Igna shook her head as she replied "That''s boring as well, Fen. So... basic. Unimaginative. Where''s the fun in that? Why not let them boil from the inside out? Set their mana aze and watch as they squirm around on the ground like the worms they are, hmm? Not everything requires a de or brute force, you stupid Wolf." "Igna..." Growling at the Dragon, Lady Fenryas red at her before sighing, her lips curling into a smile as she looked back towards the three women, her single silver eye alight with amusement and curiosity as she muttered "Perhaps both then? See how swiftly they break from internal and external wounds..?" Lady Lorelei just sighed as she nced over her shoulder, looking at the two older women and saying "The both of you are so barbaric. Why inflict pain when it isn''t necessary? What is there to gain?" "Satisfaction." "Enjoyment." Lady Igna and Lady Fenryas spoke at the same time, smiling slightly as Lady Lorelei rolled her eyes, only to stiffen as the Empress finally said "Love, I do believe the most twisted one out of the three of you would - in fact - be you. Are you not nning on dissecting her mind utilizing an Ancient Magic? To wipe her clean and leave only what you want behind? I do think that is far crueler than the suggestions of the other two... not that I care. Targeting the Asmodia''s for a metal that is so easily tracked is in stupidity, especially when said metal is connected to me. Speak now, fox, or you can find yourself at the mercy of any of my wives. You''ve already heard how they want to deal with you..." The Empress leaned forwards and tilted her head, her voice containing such power and demanding attention that we all gave her, our breaths stopping in our throat as she added "Targeting my daughter was a mistake, even if it was by proxy of the one she loved. Above table too to make this far simpler than ever as well... So make your pick. Speak now, or someone in this room shall make you talk." Chapter 590 589: Confession

Chapter 590 Chapter 589: Confession

The Foxkin woman nched as she knelt in front of the Empress, the blood draining from her face rapidly as she was met with the sight of the Empress'' stoicism, Lady Igna''s small smile, Lady Fenryas'' grin, and Lady Lorelei''s ''soft'' smile. That wasn''t adding on the imposing Demoness standing just off to the side, her deep ruby eyes unwavering as she stared a hole through the Foxkin''s head, while the four of us all gazed curiously at the woman, treating her like some form of entertainment despite the possible repercussions we could face from our own actions. Bessie was just hiding from everyone as best she could, being as quiet as possible and watching from asfortable of a distance as she could manage while still sheltering behind me. With everyone staring at her, the Foxkin grit her teeth before saying "I... We work for the Rena Family, specifically Lady Vitra Rena, the second daughter of Lady Ithica Rena. Our Lady wasn''t the one to be selected for the position of Countess, which instead went to her older sister Lady Hanara. Lady Vitra had been searching for something to sway her Mother''s decision for over a year now, and it had started innocent enough..." Sighing, the Foxkin leaned back on her haunches, her bodynguage speaking ofplete defeat as she stared at the ground, continuing her story. "Opening various businesses, striking deals with other businesses and hiring a party of adventurers to delve into the Dungeons for extra coin... Lady Vitra tried it all, but her elder sister simply had her beat in too many ways; a tie to two smaller, yet powerful Baronies through marriage, a sister like bond with another Countess, businesses of her own, a sharper social acumen... Nothing she did could make her Mother pick her over Lady Hanara instead as Heir to the Rena House. One day she came back from working out deals with a myriad of merchant groups with something different about her. Lady Vitra was overly enthusiastic and ted, going around with a silly grin, proiming she had discovered a way to win over that spot as Heir once and for all. Lady Vitra wanted to bring back something utterly priceless to force her Mother to pick her instead of Lady Hanara. When she told us her n, we were stunned. Lady Vitra wanted to steal something from House Asmodia... something that the Empress herself had made..." Shaking her head, the Foxkin bit her lip as she slumped even further, only to have her ears tten as Lady Fenryas let out a low bark ofughter, the Demonic Wolf grinning madly as she said "That was a cute story... but why exactly should we give a shit about your idiotic Lady suddenly having the dumbest idea possible?" Lady Igna was the one to respond, a small frown on her scarred lips as she said "Because, Fen, it would appear that she wasn''t an idiot. Perhaps not the brightest, nor the sharpest, but someone with their head on straight and a decent ethic for improvement. I assume she made no assassination attempts or other underhanded moves against her sister?" The Foxkin shook her head rapidly, looking reenergized as she answered "No! Never! Lady Vitra loved her sister dearly! It was just apetition between the two of them, that was all!" "Hmm... A sudden shift could be many things, but the story is still not only biased but also has holes. Why did you lot ept such an oundish request? What made this seemingly normal Noblewoman suddenly take a turn towards obvious idiocy? Was she actually as you say, or was she perhaps wearing a mask over something more sinister? Either way..." Lady Igna drummed her fingers against the armrest of her throne, before she nced at the Empress, who said "Either way it doesn''t excuse your actions, nor does it answer our own questions. Lorelei, figure out the truth from each of them and piece together something more...petent. Don''t alter them at all though, dear. Leave them be for now." The Foxkin shuddered at the Empress'' words, staring at Lady Lorelei with fear in her eyes as the Vampire smiled down at her, her crimson eyes shing with something slightly sinister as she waved her hands, mana coiling around the three women and dragging them behind herself as she exited the throne room. "Now... why exactly were we only allowed to know when you deemed fit, hmm? Do I perhaps need to remind you four about thest group of people who decided to target you? Is caution not a word inside your vocabry?" We all gulped as the Empress turned back towards us, and Leone was the one to answer as she shakily replied "We believed it best to work fast before whoever responsible could learn of what happened... Otherwise the trail might have gone cold..." "Gone cold? Leone, my daughter, unless they utilized Ancient Magics, no trail goes cold. None." "Bah, who cares? If you keep coddling them, how will they grow? If anything that any of you say is meant to be believed, that tricky bitch got stronger after being kidnapped. Conflict and hard times stimte growth far faster thancency and caution. Let them live, let them learn. If they decide to be stupid and get themselves killed again, so be it. They weren''t meant tost long in this world anyways then." That made the three women turn to re at Lady Fenryas, who met their res and grinned, uncaring of the emotions they felt towards her words as she added "I said nothing wrong. Each of them has a multitude of things going for each of them. If they can''t take those gifts and strengths and grow stronger, then they don''t deserve them." The Dragon snarled "That doesn''t mean they should die you mutt!" before turning towards us, her anger only abating slightly as she added "And that doesn''t mean you lot should try and tempt fate as much as you possibly can! You''ve already been bitten by it a few times; do you need it to bite again before you realize it''s dangerous?! Especially you, Katherine!" I blinked as I became the center of attention, though it was only for a moment as the Empress just sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she said "Just... After everything that has happened, I know you doubt our ability to protect you, but now that we know more about the changing of the world, do believe me when I say nothing can happen to you inside the Pce, and unless you seek it out, nothing should happen inside the Capital. I refuse to allow something to happen again, especially so close..." Standing up, the Empress stepped down from her throne and approached us, her ''eyes'' searching us each beforending on Bessie, who shuddered behind me as the Empress added "Which brings us to you. What to do with you..." Lady Igna stood as well, approaching the Cowkin and appraising her for a moment, while Lady Fenryas continued to lounge on her own throne, observing everything from afar with a small smile. With the Empress and her Dragon standing before me, I dutifully stepped aside and left Bessie on her own out in the open, causing the Cowkin to let out a gasp of surprise at my sudden ''betrayal''. Chapter 591 590: Off the Hook..?

Chapter 591 Chapter 590: Off the Hook..?

With all the attention now on her, Bessie couldn''t help but shiver in fear as the most important people inside the Empire studied her like some kind of museum exhibit, the Cowkin likely praying to whatever deity she believes in toe out alive from this encounter. She audibly gulped as the Empress and Lady Igna stood in front of her, before stiffening as the Dragon said "The easiest thing would be to kill you quickly and rid ourselves of the problem..." However, Lady Igna sighed as she looked towards the Empress instead, asking "Should we though? She doesn''t seem much like a terrible person; her mana isn''t chaotic enough nor dark enough for it, and she does seem to hold genuine regrets... though they might just be for getting caught." The Empress remained quiet before turning towards us, waving her hand at Bessie and asking us "What would you prefer? After all, she is your problem to deal with, and I admit I am curious to see what consensus you four reach regarding how to treat a prisoner..." Each of us nced at one another, trying to figure out what we should do with the trembling Cowkin that had aided us in finding out that Lady Vitra Rena was the one responsible, and specifically that there might actually be somethingrger going on behind the scenes... Anput and Jahi were frowning, their eyes locked on Leone and I as they shook their heads slightly, causing the Vampire Princess and myself to look towards one another to converse quietly, understanding that the Jackalkin and Demoness were leaving it up to us to choose. "I... putting her to death seems wrong all things considered, does it not? She helped us, and Aunt Igna seems to think she''s not unredeemable... but that doesn''t excuse the fact that she willingly allowed that bandit group to do as they pleased. She might have been able to save the lives of many." That made me sigh as I replied "I agree with that, but cing the me solely on her isn''t right. What could she have done except leave? She''s not a fighter; we both saw that first hand. From what she said inside the Teahouse, she only remained with them because she was smitten with Esmerelda. That... doesn''t mean she deserves to die." Leone nodded, her lips pulled into a thin line as she nced towards the Cowkin, who was shuffling from side to side as she awaited her fate. "What about... serving some time as a servant? Bind her to... either the Pce or House Asmodia as a servant for a few years to atone before giving her her freedom back? Let her decide then how she goes about living her life? Room and board, perhaps some coin bi weekly to monthly that either goes into an ount in her name for when she ends her service or straight to her own purse?" Rubbing my jaw, I shrugged as I said "That''s not too bad. She still pays a ''price'' for her idleness but it isn''t something drastic, while still being treated decently well. Unless shemits another crime..." Leone nodded again, the Vampire looking at the Cowkin before turning towards the Empress, who was back on her throne, awaiting our decision. "I... I think she should serve time for her involvement, since death is too harsh of a punishment for what she has done. Five years service to either the Pce or House Asmodia as a servant of any kind, with the specifics being ironed outter between the respective parties? This way she still is charged with being inside a group that attempted to not only rob someone, but attempted to rob such high profile individuals, perhaps even with the intent to kill. Would... Would that work?" Lady Fenryas let out a low growl as she sneered at us, though she remained quiet as Lady Igna smiled softly, nodding her head as she nced at the Empress. "I think it could work. Maintain pay at a cut rate, provide a bed to sleep in and food on a regr basis, and allow her to work for one of the affected parties? It is incredibly favorable for her and fair considering her role." The Empress nodded quietly before ncing at the Marquess, who had remained silent this entire time, and asked "Chordeva, would you like to take her, or should I keep her here?" Stepping forwards, the Marquess stared down at the relieved - yet still afraid - Bessie with her hard ruby eyes, before she turned and looked at the Empress, speaking for the first time. "That depends on how you respond to my own question, my Empress. I have been meaning to ask for a long time now, so since we are here..." Taking a deep breath, the sapphire skinned Demoness asked "Would you allow for me to confer the title of Baroness to Julie Zara and create House Zara? So that I might elevate her to the corresponding rank required for a woman to be my wife?" My jaw dropped as I stared at the Marquess, who was focused solely on the Empress seated on her throne, the white robed woman smiling gently as she asked "Am I to assume thend that they are to upy would be that of the Zara Pack''s old territory? If so, then that does expedite many different things..." "I was going to ask that as well, my Empress. It is - ording to a myriad of differentws and agreements -nd that belongs to Julie Zara, the current Matriarch of the Zara Pack, which means that bestowing the title of Baroness is simple and, in my opinion, long overdue." My mind nked as the Empress nodded, her smile growing as she said "I would have to agree, even if all that remains of the Zara Pack is a mother and her daughter. The answer is yes, Chordeva; you may bestow the title of Baroness to Julie Zara, as is a right of any Noble at or above the rank of Marquess. The granting ofnd is also approved, as it does - as you say - belong to Julie Zara due to the agreements that were forged between the Zara Pack and House Asmodia. Now, in regards to the marriage, let me be the first to congratte you in regards to such a joyous asion, my wondrous Marquess." I could feel Jahi beside me, the Demoness grinning as she stared down at me, while Leone slipped her hand into mine, giving it a soft squeeze as she congratted me as well; as for Anput, she hugged me from behind, my mate chuckling quietly as we all became the focus of the room once more. "While you all are here as well, I must say congrattions to you as well, Katherine Zara. This does make things much easier for the four of you going forwards, even if this does shine some light on you now, dear. Though... this will call into question the Soul Bond between you and young Jahi, but that is very easily twisted into another form of marriage, no? I cannot think of anything more poetic then the union of two souls being quite literal..." I was still slightly bbergasted from what had just urred, my mind incapable of processing that happening despite me having known it would eventually happen anyways, for my sake or for my Mothers... And yet, now that it had indeed happened, I... didn''t know how to react to it. Obviously I was happy and ecstatic for both myself and my Mother, as it prevented most people from being able to ridicule our respective lovers for ''lowering'' themselves by bedding maids, and I was overjoyed that my Mother would finally be able to truly settle down after everything that had happened in her life, but still... Either way, no matter what I might think, it was happening anyways, and I decided to push away my unwarranted worry and negative thoughts and instead just embrace what was undeniably a happy asion. Chapter 592 591: Baroness Zara

Chapter 592 Chapter 591: Baroness Zara

I eventually found myself back inside the room with the others, my mind still crawling behind me and trying to catch up to reality as the Marquess effectively took arge portion of my life and just... flipped it upside down. My ''identity'' was almost stripped away from me entirely, my ''purpose'' in tatters beside it, while my resolve barely managed to keep them woven together... Admittedly, that was a drastic overreaction, but it still felt like what I had once clung so desperately to to maintain the life that I had created for myself - my status quo - was suddenly wrenched away from me and left me feeling bare and unsure of everything, thrust out into the middle of a heatwave with no oasis I sight. Again, that was certainly an overreaction, but being told that I was to go from what admittedly could be considered forced servitude, and if Jahi had treated me worse - like Jillian would have - you could argue like forced very in some regards with how utterly incapable I was to do anything on my own desires. Hell, you could argue it was worse since my will was quite literally not my own; whatever my Mistress tells me to do is what I HAVE to do, or else she can kill me with just a thought. Having what was - to me - afortable ''nket'' to wrap myself up in and hide behind the facade of a servant suddenly wrenched away was something that sent my mind reeling, though I did calm down when I remembered that there were Ladies in Waiting, which were just servants of a higher rank; what I could be considered to Jahi if I so chose to be, but... It was still something that thrust me out into unfamiliar territory, something that made me feel slight dread. I HATED change, and now I was to be faced with one of thergest changes in my life, even more so then when I had been teleported from the Empire over towards the Rimnds? There was no getting around it; I was terrified of this change, to the point that I couldn''t even begin to think rationally for a few minutes after it happened, hence why I suddenly found myself back in our room without any memory on being taken back here. Of course, after a few moments and a couple of deep breaths, I managed to calm myself down and move past this irrational fear I had; sure, now people would be truly aware of my existence, and that would definitely impact how I managed to act in the future, but the benefits of this change were tantly obvious. Mother could truly get married to the Marquess and Countess, past just the ''legal'' side which said she always could and instead checked the box that the social side had; not that we needed to care about it, but it was something that just made life easier, and not just for us. Mother and I could deal with the ridicule and whispers, but there was no reason to subject Alessandra and Lakshmi to those whispers and side eyes if we could prevent it; again, not that there would be any whispers of side eyes, since I would cut out their tongues and pluck their eyes if I caught them doing so, but it just made my life easier since I wouldn''t need to do that... often, anyways. Just like Mother, it also meant that my marriage to Jahi would be entirely legal and eptable, and while this was something that we had already technically ''nned'' to have happen, I never expected it this quickly... And apparently, Mother didn''t expect it just yet either, since she was currently staring nkly at the Marquess after having heard the news, her amber eyes unfocused as she tried to process that soon she would be a Baroness, and that I would be her Heir. Again... I was still processing it as well, since it really did feel like it waspromising my identity and goal for life in the short term, tearing away the nket that Ifortably hid behind that reflected all light towards the other three and allowing said light to shine on me, which I was not at all wanting to be in... So... yes, my Mother and I were just statues inside a room of otherwise enthusiastic people, though we both came around eventually to join their enthusiasm. Oh, and there was another person in the room too; Bessie. "Julie, that means that in a month or so, we''ll be announcing our marriage to the world, and in two months time we''ll be hosting our wedding~! Gives you enough time to slim down for a dress~!" The Marquess just grinned as she shifted herself to the side, avoiding the punch that my Mother sent towards her chest, her cheeks puffed out and her lips drawn into a frown as she pouted at the Demoness, growling "I am NOT fat! I''m just recovering, you insensitive Demoness!" Punching out again, Mother tried to hit the Marquess, only to blush as the taller woman grabbed her wrist and yanked her forwards, wrapping an arm around her waist and holding her arm out like they were about to dance, replying "No, you''re not fat my love~! Just nice~ and thick~! Completely opposite of Ria~!" Now the Elf was ring at the Demoness, while the Dogkin blushed hard as the Marquess crudely flirted with her and began to slowly dance with her, making Jahi chuckle as she asked "So, ''Baroness'' Julie, how does it feel~? Or you, ''Lady'' Katherine~? Do you feel like Nobles already?" Mother and I furrowed our brows at her question, only to re at the Marquess as she added "Fluffy Nobles at that~! Fluffy an-" She was silenced mid sentence as the Countess jabbed her side with her elbow, knocking her away and ring at her some more before smiling at Mother, taking her hands and saying "Congrattions, Julie... and I do hope you can withstand a more... official role beside us now..? Not that you wouldn''t have been there anyways, but now ites with paperwork and social obligations... sadly." We both winced at that reminder, neither of us caring for the social gatherings that the Nobles loved to hold in abundance, though we hadn''t been forced to go to any in recent memory, so that was a plus... "I... Despite the downsides, yes, I do think I am more than capable, Ria. After all, it was always a hope of mine, and triply so now that I have three children to look after~!" Mother turned towards me and smiled, making me smile back as my heart was filled with warmth, her amber eyes overflowing with love. Love for me, for Alessandra, and for Lakshmi, and although my two half sisters would be apart of the Asmodia Family first and foremost, now they would have im to yet another Family if they so wished it... not that they would ever need it, since the ''Zara Family'' is just another branch of the Asmodia''s. Jahi hooked her arm around my waist and smiled down at me, her amethyst eyes filled with warmth as well as she leaned down and ced a soft kiss on my lips, muttering "Congrattions, Kat..." The room was filled with a nice, soothing warmth as we all mingled together, only to be whisked away as we heard someone coughing near the door, making us all turn towards the now blushing Cowkin who was awkwardly standing near the far wall. Chapter 593 592: Deciding Her Fate

Chapter 593 Chapter 592: Deciding Her Fate

Hearing the Cowkin cough behind us, we all turned to stare at her in silence, making the woman shuffle around awkwardly as she tried to make herself seem smaller, only to fail miserably as her sped arms and pose enunciated her tworge breasts and disyed the mouth watering curves of her lower body. It took just a mere second of her being like that for Mother and I to nce at our respective partners and pinch their waists, since we knew them too well and understood that they would be looking at the two mountains that jiggled as Bessie turned away, her cheeks a seductive red. We also knew that they were only just looking, but even that felt like a crime against us, so we pinched them again and made the two Demoness'' hiss in pain as we red up at them, before we looked towards the Cowkin, our unappreciative stares making her unsp her arms and stand ramrod straight, like she was facing a drill sergeant. The Countess just snorted as she witnessed what Mother and I did at the same time, the Elven woman smirking at her wife and daughter before turning to stare at the Cowkin, saying "We do still need to figure out what to do with you, no? Iron out the specifics of your contract and make sure you understand just where you stand now..." Bessie shuddered as the Elf stared her down, with the Countess chuckling and saying "Ah, there''s no need to be afraid, dear. We can be quite fair and epting, so long as you don''t try and seduce someone; that won''t end well for you... but, I trust that you aren''t that much of an idiot~?" The Cooking nodded rapidly, stuttering "Y-Y-You d-don''t n-need to worry about me, Ma''am! U-Um, my Lady!" "Hmm~? There''s no need to be nervous, dear. Rx... Now, Chordeva, what exactly was the sry of our recent hires again? I only memorized what we give out to our long term servants..." She moved back to sit on one of the couches, gesturing for us all to join her - even Bessie, who continued to try and stand before reluctantly taking a seat on a chair nearby - as we began to discuss the fate of the Cowkin woman... right in front of her. "Base sry... was roughly 15 Gold a month, or 50 Silvers a day. That is in pure profits since room and board is included inside of their contract with our House, and they don''t technically pay for it, so all 15 Gold is theirs to do with as they please." The Countess nodded, before smiling at me as she asked "Katherine, could you brew up a pot of tea for us, dear?" I got up without question, frowning slightly as I walked away since I was unustomed to how leisurely the Countess was now acting, though she cut away that confusion as she said "Don''t act too surprised now, Katherine. You''re no longer a servant of House Asmodia, but instead a subsidiary Family that has marital ties to us. Of course things have changed~!" For a moment I froze again at hearing her say that, before smiling and nodding as I made my way over to the kitchte, where I began to brew arge pot of tea for us all, whilst still listening to the conversation. "Anyways, Bessie, correct? You won''t be getting the same sry off the start, but instead 10 Gold a month, which is around 30 Silvers a day. Half of that is being deposited into an ount under your name, so only 5 Gold coins will find their way into your hands every month. If you want to bank them as well, you can do so yourself inside of Phobos City, where most of the servants go on their off days. However, you cannot withdraw anything from the ount until the five years is up, so spend your money wisely. Now, as for what you are going to do..." The Countess trailed off when Mother tapped her arm, allowing Mother to speak as she suggested "Why don''t we ce her under the ''Zara Family'' instead? Leave her to me and Katherine to train as we see fit for the next five years, though still paid by you..." I looked back to see the Countess frowning softly at Mother''s suggestion, though the Marquess was nodding as she said "Not a bad idea; technically, amongst all of the servants inside of House Asmodia, none who are amongst the best have much free time to train or guide a new servant, and she could instead be your handmaiden? Someone to help do all of the menial tasks for you whilst receiving guidance from someone who was an excellent maid as well, sort of like an apprenticeship? Albeit a forced one, but..." The Demoness grinned as she stared at the Cowkin, who shuddered again as the Marquess finished with a growl "Not like you have much of a choice in the matter." "Ahem... Anyways, Bessie, besides signing a myriad of contracts with both myself and Chordeva, you would be bound via mana to not harm myself or anyone else on our estate unless they themselves are attempting to hurt you or express interest in hurting anyone else. This can all be further ironed out when we get back to March Asmodia, but this is just a preview of what is toe for you. Any questions?" Gulping, Bessie remained quiet for a moment before hesitantly asking "N-None of the other servants would try to... bully me or shun me, right..?" The Marquess snorted as she replied "No, unless you act like an idiot and mess up their work. I weed out those vain enough to have a false sense of seniority amongst my guards, servants, and others due to how unreliable they tend to be, and I''m not alone in that regard. Many of the senior members of my staff refuse to let such vanity go unpunished, so don''t worry. But, if you make too many mistakes or simply act like a fool, I cannot promise that they won''t look down on you. They take pride in their work, so stamping on that pride is foolish. As long as you show a desire to improve and show any actual effort, everyone should treat you well enough." That made the Cowkin breathe out a sigh of relief, and it marked the end of that part of the conversation. --- Quick question/survey : IF you ARE a premium reader, have you considered not renewing your premium with this novel and why? IF you WERE a premium reader and no longer are, why did you stop? Was it a loss of interest,ck of $, of something else? IF you AREN''T a premium reader, is it because you are a free reader with fast passes, or is it just because you are alright with waiting to read all the chapters? These apply to today (When this released) and the future, mainly because I am curious, but also because I am wondering about the dip in premium readers (from roughly ~125 2-3 months ago to barely 50 this month) --- Chapter 594 593: Familial Chat

Chapter 594 Chapter 593: Familial Chat

Mother had spent another few minutes informing the Cowkin exactly what she expected of her going forwards, from work ethic to how attentive she was meant to be, even going so far as to exin how hard she would be worked in the beginning to start building some muscle on the woman so that she could more efficiently help around the house no matter what task it might be. The woman in question paled rather quickly as she realized she was facing a rather daunting future, one in which her new Mistress and boss would demand much of her going forwards, though she blinked in surprise as Mother added that whatever skills she learned underneath her would be skills that would make her a rather sought after woman as a servant, ensuring her a rather stable and well paying job should she choose to continue along that path; otherwise, she was learning a set of skills that would be useful anyways even if they were used only on herself. After that was over, Mother and the Countess walked with Bessie towards one of the nearby rooms, where they would go over this in depth and draw out a contract for it, which would then be reviewed by Bessie before submitted to the Empress to be verified and legitimized, and Alessandra and Lakshmi went with them. Anput congratted me once more before going off toplete some more forging before dinner was going to be ready, which would be in a hour or so, leaving just the Marquess, Jahi, Leone and I to idle around and discuss what happened today... In other words, an awkward, quiet beginning that was spent with the Marquess just staring us down as she waited for one of us to start first, her ruby eyes alternating leisurely between the three of us. I decided to put my multiple decades worth of life experience to the test and be the first to speak, coughing into my fist before managing to say "We... didn''t mean to not tell you..?" The Marquess just tilted her head to the side and stared at me for a moment before rolling her eyes, saying "That''s a wonderful~ excuse you have there, Kat. Perfect! It exins everything! Though, unlike Ria or Julie, I don''t entirely care since you came back alive, and I know full well that I did worse when I was your ages. Besides, the encounter with the Draconis back when you first got into the Academy was one that was honestly far more terrifying... Still, yes, I would prefer if you decided to not pick the most dangerous moments all the time to try and show the world that you''re all grown up..." My lips curled into an awkward smile as I nodded, which made Jahi chuckle softly before she said "Mom, we were going toe back and drop of Bessie at least, but we made the executive decision to capture those three first, so that they wouldn''t be alerted to the destion of the bandits they hired. If we hadn''t, we might have never gotten them and lost our only lead on who it was that decided to target me, or more specifically my de. I''d say we had to have made that move then and there, but..." The younger Demoness just shrugged, which made the older Demoness sigh as she leaned back into the couch, crossing her arms and staring at the ceiling for a moment before saying "That is true, but so is the fact that returning to the Pce would only take a few minutes tops; even if you just sent Anput or Kat running to and from, it''d be just around ten minutes maybe. You had options, but you got tunnel vision. Either way, it worked out this time, so be thankful for that. Now, as for what to do going forwards... After we learn whatever else we can in regards to this Vitra Rena, we''ll need to pay them a visit soon enough to capitalize on whatever information we learn. It does sound like this Vitra had a sudden shift in personality, so perhaps we''re dealing with a separate enemy using her as a smokescreen? Of course that brings up the obvious choice of the Sariel''s, but that is a rather... iffy conclusion to jump to. There are many different other power Houses, individuals, or shadowy organizations that we could be dealing with. For instance, that Si.. Sizzle? No, what was it... Sizzy... ah! Sizali! That odd young man that you told me about once, Kat. Looking into them proved fruitless... on the surface. They were TOO clean to not be some kind of trouble, so... Besides them, there''s a few crime families or the Gregori Dukedom that might be interested in stirring up trouble; perhaps a Saint gone crazier then normal and desiring to crack open the secret of Celestial Gold?" She chuckled at the end, before letting out another sigh as she looked back down towards us, shaking her head and saying "But, spection gets us no where, so we should instead focus on what we know we can do. Continue training until we get a better understanding of the enemy, prepare for the fight, and then go fight. I''d suggest... indulging yourselves again since we might be in for another wild goose chase, and rests aren''t going to bemon." We all nodded at her suggestion, with Leone blushing at the Marquess being rather on the nose about everything, before we continued to talk about what we should be doing going forwards, enjoying the warm atmosphere as we lounged around for a bit, waiting for time to pass by infortablepany. Mother came back around twenty minutester with the others in tow, joining us on the couches and continuing to chat about nothing in particr, though one of the points was that they had managed to reach a rather fair - yet still slightly punishing - deal with Bessie, who seemed more rxed now that her future seemed sort of guaranteed for the time being. All in all, a fruitful discussion in the end. Chapter 595 594: Receiving a Gift*

Chapter 595 Chapter 594: Receiving a Gift*

Anput eventually returned to the room with a satisfied smile on her lips, the Jackalkin''s tail swishing happily from side to side as she watched Mother and I finish cooking up dinner, with Bessie helping us from the side as we evaluated her ability to cook as well. The answer to that question was a resounding... kind of. She wasn''t adept at it, but she certainly knew her way around the kitchen enough to be capable to cook up food that would be ptable; unlike Jahi and the Marquess, who burnt the ingredients and concocted some type of alchemical poison from whatever they were trying to make... When it was all said and done, we had a table covered with excellent food and filled with the people that we cared for - plus one - and it went by rather quickly, the casual chatter about Mother and I now being apart of the Nobility helping to further drive that home for me and make it less surreal, and I had a feeling that Mother thought so as well. Dinner ended rather quickly but on a high note, and we washed everything up before I was dragged away by Anput, who was excited to show me something. The Marquess took Mother away as well, leaving Bessie with the Countess and the children so that they could continue to iron away anything else that they needed to, while Jahi followed behind Anput and I with Leone in her arms, making it rather obvious what was about to happen. Entering our room, we shut the door behind us before Anput pulled me onto her bed, smiling at me as she said "Close your eyes for a moment, Kat." I did as she asked without hesitation, my heartbeat quickening as I heard the sound of her ruffling through her pockets as she pulled something out, piquing my curiosity as I wondered just what it was that my mate was doing. The gazes of both Leone and Jahi were also adding to my heart beginning to race, and I almost jumped as I felt Anput lift my hand and ce something cool in my palm, about the size of a coin. It was made even more apparent as she sped her hand overtop my own, hiding it from my sight as she said "Open your eyes now...", her smiling face and warm obsidian eyes greeting me as I did as she asked once more. Her tan hand rested atop of mine, and she chuckled softly as she spoke again, her voice soft as she whispered "I was going to get this to you earlier, but I needed a tad more practice to get it to where I wanted... and I changed the design a little bit. So... here it is." Removing her hand, Anput revealed what she had made for me, making me gasp as I stared down at her gift. Resting in my palm was an intricate circr pendant about two inches in diameter, made from a silvery red metal that fit the style of the piece rather well. The pendant was depicting a Phoenix, itsrge wings arcing around the edge of the pendant while its luscious tail feathers continued downwards, curving upwards toplete most of the circle shape, while the head was situated in the middle, looking off to the side. Its wings were made from sharper curves of metal while the tail feathers and head were gentler, and the entire thing had very little open space behind it, with it all being cut out to disy the shape as well as she could have managed. "I was going to do a pendant anyways, so I learned how to engrave and shape smaller pieces of metal, but eventually when I saw the statue dedicated to Reincantra, well, I had an idea... one that I hope you like..?" My lips curled into a smile as I nodded, admiring the smooth surface of the pendant before looking back up at her, my eyes watering slightly as I continued to nod. "It''s beautiful, Anput... really..." Relief swept over her face as she smiled back at me, before the Jackalkin widened her eyes in surprise as I leaned over and ced a deep kiss on her lips, all while the pendant was clutched close to my chest. My mate instinctively dragged me down onto the bed, rolling on top of me and taking over the kiss as she slipped her tongue between my lips, all while her hands roamed my body. Though, she pulled away after a moment as she stared down at me, her obsidian eyesnding down on the pendant as she muttered "Shouldn''t we put that on, or at least away first Kat? It is still slightly fragile..." I blushed at her words, making her smirk as she reiterated "Put it on for me, Kat... It''s another way I can mark you as mine..." My blush deepened as I felt her pheromones take affect, the citrus scent around her doubling as she licked her lips, and I nodded before reaching up to attach it to my cor, my fingers fumbling over the sp she had ced on it. Anput chuckled as she took it from my hands, expertly adding the Phoenix to the same hoop that the symbol of House Asmodia hung from, marking me as ''property'' to both Jahi and now Anput... Of course, she instantly moved her hands from adding the pendant to my cor to disrobing me and revealing myrge breasts to her, which she leaned down andtched onto instantly, making me moan as she began to suckle on them despite there being nothing inside. Anput''s ears twitched as she listened to me, before the Jackalkin nipped at my breast onest time and began to trail her lips down my body, where she eventually yanked my pants and panties off so that she could beginpping at my pussy. I bit my cheek as I felt her tongue glide across my lower lips, before I nced over to the other bed to see Jahi and Leone making out while Jahi''s fingers pumped away at Leone''s pussy, preparing her to have sex just like Anput was for me... Not that it would take that much, considering how quickly we all got aroused from one another, but... Reaching down, I caressed Anput''s head and pulled her deeper into my groin, moaning softly as I felt her nose press against my clit and her tongue begin to delve between my lower lips, caressing the entrance of my inner walls. Even though I was entirely ready to go, sometimes we all still enjoyed the gentle, tender actions of forey. Chapter 596 595: Another ’Gift’*

Chapter 596 Chapter 595: Another ''Gift''*

The feeling of Anput''s raspy tonguepping at my lower lips before she brought her lips up to my clit sent shivers up my spine, and I gasped softly as she nipped at the sensitive pearl that adorned my pussy, the sudden burst of pain making my insides clench for a brief moment in anticipation for more. Her obsidian eyes were flooded with warmth as she watched my expression, using that as a guide to reassure her that she was doing everything correctly as she continued top at my pussy, never once letting me go longer than a few seconds without moaning or gasping from her actions. On the other side, Leone was clinging to Jahi''s chest as she moaned into the Demoness'' breasts, trying her hardest not to cum as Jahi smirked at her, pumping away at her pussy and ogling how Leone shook her hips to try and avoid Jahi''s fingers, which were likely hooked inside of her. A brief nce at them was enough to arouse me further, the small kink of watching two of my other lovers going at it having taken root and grown inside of me over these years, especially when one of them was the subject of my darker desires. Watching Jahi y with another woman was thrilling - though only because I knew and approved of her partners to take such an incredible penis and make her feel good with their bodies, and that was because I myself knew they understood how to feel good with their own bodies... My thoughts were interrupted by Anput slipping a finger inside my pussy, reminding me to pay attention to only her as she began to finger me as well as taste me thoroughly, her goal obvious now as she sped up, pressing her index and middle finger deep into my pussy while her tongue danced over my clit, rolling it around and making my hips tremble as the pleasure mounted. Those obsidian eyes narrowed as she watched me bite my lips, trying to hold back a moan only to have to let it out as she slipped a third finger inside, spreading me open a bit and preparing me for what was toe. Pumping her hand back and forth, Anput worked hard and fast to make me cum, and she was rewarded for her efforts with a barrage of fluids as I came on her face, the Jackalkin smirking as she switched her fingers and mouth as she enjoyed her reward, all while my head spun as my entire body was covered in a tingling sensation, which heightened my physical sensations as each touch from Anput sent jolts snaking through my body. A muffled moan filled the room as I bit my cheek, keeping it in and rocking my hips back and forth on Anput''s lips as I rode out my orgasm, which my mate indulged in as she remained where she was. It took me a few moments to finish, and when I did Anputpped at me some more before sitting up, making a show of smacking her lips together before rubbing her toned abdomen, like she was feeling full from a good meal. Of course, her antics were overshadowed by the pulsing red rod of flesh that contrasted her olive skin, her pheromones rolling off of her bare cock and making my head swim as her body informed mine that we were going to be mating soon. Smirking at me, Anput crawled forwards and began to y with my breasts again, making me squirm in her grasp as her fingers sunk into the doubly sensitive flesh, my orgasm still affecting me as she crawled ever closer. Her fangs were tantalizingly close as she grinned at me, her obsidian eyes locked onto my eyes as she pressed me down on the bed, using her strength to pin me and tease me as she rested her cock just against my pussy. Those obsidian eyes lingered on my face for a moment before dropping to my cor, lightening up instantly as she stared at the Phoenix that rested against my throat, making her grin widen. "Now you have a much clearer, visual mark that you belong to me too, Kat... but, let me refresh the more important mark, hmm~?" A moan escaped my lips as she lunged down, her teeth finding their mark as she sunk her fangs into my pheromone nd, pumping it full of her own and marking me once more as her mate, and most importantly... For this moment, she marked me as her bitch, overwhelming my scent with her own and turning me into a drooling mess as my entire body heated up, the Jackalkin intentionally pumping as much into me before releasing my neck, her raspy tongue closing the wound as she smirked at me. Without another word Anput slipped her cock inside of me, the fleshy spear piercing my pussy and working its way towards my womb, which it pierced as well, submerging her entire shaft into my cunt and teasing my cervix. Her knot rested against my drenched lower lips, threatening to slip inside as well already as her cock pulsed with need inside of me, the Jackalkin growling softly into my ears as she got massaged by my pussy. I wrapped my legs around her waist just as she began to thrust in and out of me, the Jackalkin smacking her knot against my pussy hard as she began to mate with me, her hips moving back and forth at a solid pace. Her lips smacked against mine as she began to kiss me, distracting herself with both my tongue and my breasts as she continued to grope me as well, her fingers finding my nipples, pinching them and tugging at them, allowing her to devour my moans with ease as she remained on top of me. With my entire body submerged in her pheromones, each thrust of her thick cock made me shiver in anticipation, my womb thirsting for her thick, virile semen to quench my needs, while each time her knot pped against my pussy lips I felt sparks burst up into my body, preparing to set me aze with another orgasm as the looming event of being knotted drew ever closer... Chapter 597 596: ’Gift’ That Keeps On Giving*

Chapter 597 Chapter 596: ''Gift'' That Keeps On Giving*

Anput''s scorching cock mmed into my womb a few more times before the Jackalkin grunted, releasing my lips and gritting her teeth as she began to push her knot into my pussy, the bulbous orb that contained all of my mate''s semen slowly forcing my lower lips to open wider as they swallowed it whole, guaranteeing that her sperm would go where it needed to go to breed me. My vision swam around as the pain turned to ecstasy as Anput knotted me, her cock filling my pussy and dangling around inside my womb, with momentster another pleasurable factor joining in to make me moan ceaselessly into her ears. Semen erupted from her tip, spraying around my womb wildly and gradually filling it to the brim, before it began to expand as my mate continued to ejacte buckets of her seed into me, bloating it and - in normal circumstances - providing enough seed for me to get pregnant once or twice no matter what. Pumping me full of her cum, Anput grunted softly into my neck as she clung to my body, pinning me down more and shrouding me in her scent as she bred me, giving me the unique pleasure that only she could give of having this much semen shot into my womb at once. Even Jahi and Leone - as virile as they were - would take at least twenty minutes if they alternated between shots to release this much cum, and I had learned very quickly in this world that my body craved not just sex, but also semen in equal amounts, especially deep creampies like this. They just made my mind go nk and made it impossible to think of anything besides pleasure, doubly so when Anput was overwhelming all of my senses as she bred me properly, stoking not only my naturally submissive side but also my racial desire for this as she made my entire body her ything, increasing my sensitivity with her pheromones and stoking my instincts. When she finally finished cumming, Anput panted before sitting up, her hands grabbing at my waist as she began to unplug me, pulling at her knot and freeing herself from my embrace with a groan, while I groaned as well as the pain of having something yanked from my pussy was transformed into pleasure instantly. Crawling to sit beside me, my mate stared down at me before taking my head into her hands, rubbing her cum soaked cock against my face and wordlessly ordering me to clean her off in preparation for round two. My lips parted instinctually too as I allowed her ess to my mouth, the taste of citrus exploding on my tongue and numbing my mind as the thick cum that covered her fleshy cock soaked my mouth with each thrust she made into my throat. Meanwhile, I slipped a hand down to my pussy to stimte myself some more, ying with the semen that dribbled constantly from my loosened hole while the other caressed Anput''s knot, hoping to coax her body to produce more semen quicker if she was incredibly aroused. Her expression was one of rxed bliss as she watched me suck on her cock, the naturally submissive gestured made even more so when she would pull out to wipe herself clean on my cheek, the Jackalkin getting more pleasure from using me as she pleased. While we had been mating on our bed, Leone had been getting simr treatment as Jahiid on her back, an arm wrapped around the Vampire''s throat as she pounded into her meaty ass, her balls pping against her thighs and producing a sticky sound as semen permeated her groin. Anput and I watched the two of them for a few moments before the Jackalkin decided she wanted more, forcing her cock down my throat and suffocating me in her taste and scent before pulling out and pping my cheek a few times, smirking at me as I moaned from the treatment. mbering onto my stomach, the Jackalkin decided to get some more preparation in by sliding her heated cock between my breasts, treating them like a pussy as she made me hold them in ce for her while she groped them. Smacking her knot against them, Anput grinned at me as she listened to my soft moans as fucked my breasts, teasing me and enjoying the way I squirmed around as I tried to ease my needy pussy. After a few moments of indulging her desires, Anput slipped free and whispered "On all fours for me, Kat... I want to have you properly now..." I nodded, my heart racing as I rolled onto my stomach and raised my hips for her, showing her my dripping cunt and wagging my tail as I pleaded for her to continue, my voice not something I trusted after everything that happened... though I don''t think I was capable of speech anyways as I was too aroused to think straight. Her grin widened as she grabbed my waist, steadying me before sliding her cock inside, mounting my ass and draping herself across my back as we both gave in to our instincts and started to mate in earnest, her knot pping against my soaked pussy as she humped my ass hard, all while her tonguepped at my neck and cheek. She plugged me back up and stirred around her previous load, the gooey semen inside my womb soaking my insides entirely as she began round two. My moans filled the room with Leone''s, the two of us getting our due rewards as Anput and Jahi fucked us like sluts, pummeling our pussies into submission and feeding us their semen as we indulged some more, letting loose before the days toe where we wouldn''t have these opportunities. Anput''s hands fell onto my ass hard as she began to spank me, turning my cheeks red as she got up and put more effort into fucking me harder, ingraining the memory of her penis deep into my pussy as she knelt behind me, her hips pping against mine as we mated incessantly. The night was long, and we remained paired up this way for another hour, with Anput eventually ejacting inside me again and dumping more sperm into my pussy, before sheid down and gestured for me to ride her, making me shake my hips for her as I fucked myself on her cock. Not long after that the other two came over to our bed, and I got pinned between the three of them as Jahi slipped into my asshole while Leone took my throat, the three women using me as they pleased before we all passed out in a pile, covered in ejacte of all kinds, sweat, and each other. Chapter 598 597: Breakfast and Some News

Chapter 598 Chapter 597: Breakfast and Some News

"Fuck..! If this isn''t the best way to wake up in the morning, I don''t know what is..!" Jahi''s low, guttural growl sent shivers down my spine as she pushed herself deeper, the Demonessying on top of me and finishing inside me for onest time this morning... for the third time. Her hunger for my body proved to be insatiable even as the sun began to crawl above the horizon, the Demoness starting anew as she growled into my ears again, her hands sping my hips before she smashed down into me. My lover was determined to start the day off as she pleased, and as an aspiring dutiful wife, I did as she wanted and epted her everything and then some, joining her in union on our bed before we migrated from the bedroom to the bathroom, where I bathed in water and something else. Anput and Leone joined us not muchter, the two women getting their own baths from Jahi and each other before I became the focus of all three of them, only getting a break when Jahi switched targets and continued along like we had all the time in the world. By the time that we were truly finished up in the bathroom and ready to join the others in themon area, I was already feeling slightly full after everything we had done, but I also had an almost primal hunger after the long, taxing night and morning I had been through. So when we made our way outside, I got to work instantly as I scrounged around the cupboards and began to make a nice breakfast of everyones favorite food; pancakes. Eggs, milk, flour, a bit of sugar and salt, and butterbined into the perfect base for a diverse, yet familiar meal for the entire family, and I whipped it all up with Bessie helping me, though the Cowkin was blushing hard as she looked between me and the other three, already having caught on to what had happened... Well, less so caught on and more so ''witnessed'' what had happened since she had slept on the couch, meaning she got to listen to the sound of Leone and I all night long, and perhaps even the Countess and Mother, depending on how the adults decided to handle themselves. She seemed easily embarrassed on my behalf for what had happened, and I couldn''t help but chuckle as she continued to fantasize about what had made me scream the way I had, only to shudder as the hard gazes of the other threended on her when they sensed something was amiss with the Cowkin. Mother eventually exited her bedroom with a yawn, wearing a loose negligee that was covered by her unbuttoned sweater and making her way instantly over to me, patting my head and kissing my brow before beginning to help me. Soon everyone was out in themon room, united by the smell of delectable pancakes and their hunger as they waited for the food to be ready, making small talk about nothing in particr as time began to pass by slowly. Cooking for a family of this size was a difficult task, and doubly so inside of a kitchte, but Mother and I made it work as we found our groove, eventually cing a few mountains of fluffy pancakes on the table, along with a few cups of various coulis and syrups, while Bessieid out tes of bacon and sausages that she had been in charge of making. After that, I poured out the cups of tea, with Leone watching with childish anticipation as I opened a thin cut on my wrist to bloody her tea, the Vampire staring hungrily at me for more but epting the cup nheless when I handed it to her, though the others had weirded out nces as they watched her happily sip on what anyone else would consider disgusting. Healing myself, I sat down and began to eat, my appetite almost asrge as Jahi''s normally was after what had gone down the previous night, so I was slightly annoyed when I heard a knock at the door. Before I could get up though, Bessie shot out of her seat and scurried to the door, opening it and revealing the towering figure of the Empress, as well as the pale skinned Lady Lorelei, who smiled at us all as they entered. "I didn''t mean to interrupt you, but I''d rather inform you about this now so that you may better n for it. But please, keep eating. I can... tell you need to recuperate the energy." A small smile tugged at the Empress'' lips as she said that, though there was a slight pause as she looked at Jahi, who froze as the Mom of our mutual wife focused on her. But, it was only momentary, and the Empress took a seat on one of the couches and pulled Lady Lorelei down beside her, away from the sight of the Countess, who was ring at the Vampire. "Lorelei interrogated the three henchwomen that you had captured, learning more about them and their Lady Vitra Rena. Their own words and opinions do paint a slightly worrying picture in regards to the Lady; a sudden shift from what seemed to be a reputable, ethical woman eager to prove herself to something darker and far more... impulsive. Dangerous. Her former decorum and reservations had been weakened. Quicker to anger, pettier, violent. Unreasonable. Now, even if I take their words with a lump of salt, the reports from my own informants matches their own, and considering they were under a myriad of different... techniques, I am confident enough to say that it would seem this Lady Vitra Rena was used as a pawn for another party." Lady Lorelei nodded, adding "Truth potions and Moon Magics made them speak freely, and they all came to the same conclusions and presumptions, as well as speaking the same facts regarding their Lady. A sudden shift from reasonable and likable to an arrogant second generation waste. That doesn''t happen overnight. There''s something else at y, but we can''t be sure what. Nothing obvious is happening over in the Rena territory, and they aren''t being tied to any dangerous or worrying activities. Rather clean of most things, though like all Nobles they have their fair share of shady deals and weighted contracts..." The Marquess and Countess just smiled at that, making Lady Lorelei roll her eyes before she continued "As such, if you would like to go and bait out another attack from the seemingly controlled Lady Vitra, well... you certainly could." Chapter 599 598: No Rest For Us

Chapter 599 Chapter 598: No Rest For Us

"Of course, I am NOT sending you there alone. Chordeva, if you would like to apany them, that''d be excellent, but if not then I was going to send Sker and some of my own Guard along, as well as Arch Mage Kolia. Since we don''t know the extent of danger that this Vitra poses, nor the extent of danger that whoever or whatever is controlling her poses, I am not taking any chances." The Marquess sighed softly as she tapped her fork against her te, ncing over towards the Countess and towards Mother for a moment before looking towards Jahi. "I''ll go. She''s my brat, after all. Besides, I don''t have the best feeling in regards to the Rena''s, and I don''t care to leave things up to fate. Though, I really would love to have a nice, long break right about now..." She looked back towards Mother, who was holding Alessandra and Lakshmi, both of the babies sleepily looking around the table as they tried their best to wake up, only to be lulled back to sleep from the warmth surrounding them. The Empress nodded, her head turning towards Mother as she too observed the sleeping babies, understanding the feeling that the Marquess had in regards to everything happening. But, like she had said, none of us felt that this uing tango with the Rena''s youngest Lady would be a smooth affair, especially not with how the world had been changing recently. There was just something fishy about it, and we couldn''t exactly tell what type of ''fish'' we were dealing with... "Well... Sadly, I sincerely doubt that we''ll find a time of peace anytime soon, Chordeva. I believe we already lived through it not too long ago. Perhaps this age of strife won''t be as long as thest, but bnce is something you can expect from the world. It''s never unbnced for too long... Anyways, I would suggest leaving tomorrow morning at thetest then; the Rena County is a ways away, after all. And even though the three women had nothing to say in regards to sending a message, who knows if this Vitra had some way to tell if her ns were progressing or not. If she retained any of her intellect after this change, she could be a rather frightening young woman..." We all nodded as we watched the Empress stand up, the towering woman smiling softly at Mother and I as she said "Anyways, you''ll be pleased to know that the paperwork went through for your new titles, Baroness Julie Zara and Lady Katherine Zara. The Zara Family now has all of the privileges of a Barony and then some. Congrattions. Now, if you''ll excuse us." Lady Lorelei stood up as well, nodding to Mother and I before shing a chilly smile towards the Countess, who smiled back at her as well, the two women still feuding over... practically nothing, since both were happily married. At least Lady Kio and Mother had actual reason to feud with one another, considering their past, but the Countess and Lady Lorelei were at odds because of a ''what if'' situation multiple, multiple years ago. It was... baffling, but at the same time considering the Countess is who she is, I can''t exactly say I''m too surprised; thergest ''threat'' to her as the Marquess'' only woman was Lady Lorelei back then, and perhaps that had continued on to this day? Either way, it was weird and unneeded, but I guess it was too ingrained into them for it to be pushed away easily. When the Empress and Lady Lorelei had left the room, the Marquess nced at us and asked "So did you want to personally go and check on this, or are we allowed to rx? Wait, why do I even bother asking... We''ll leave tonight then." Jahi smiled wryly at her parents, who were staring at her quietly before they exchanged nces,municating silently. "Well then I need to get to work before we leave! I''ll be back an hour or so before dusk?" Anput shot out of her chair and rushed towards the door, briefly looking back for acknowledgment before exiting, making her way to the forge to finish up whatever she wanted to smith for us before we were going out on yet another excursion. Leone finished eating before excusing herself as well, going to visit Lady Igna to brew some more potions for the journey ahead, leaving Jahi and I on our own... though Jahi was swiftly dragged away by the Marquess, who was using training as a cover for needing to vent a little. That left Mother, Bessie and I to take care of the dishes and clean everything up while the Countess looked after the children, the Elf returning to her rocker and reading with both Alessandra and Lakshmi sitting in herp. When I finished up, I gave Mother a quick hug before exiting the room as well, making my way over towards the empty chapel and finding myself in front of the altar for Reincantra once again, a small smile on my lips as I knelt and began the familiar,forting action of prayer, easing my mind and ridding myself of any anxieties I had about my sudden shift from Servant to Noblewoman. Something that I couldn''t wrap my head around no matter how often I thought about it, but something that I was bing increasingly grateful that had happened, so I used this time to think and mull over everything, before I turned my attention from prayer to contemtion as I browsed the System Shop next. I had a lot of Shop Points to spend, and we were about to go into another battle, so perhaps these would give us the edge over our enemies..? Besides, I had quite the wallet currently of Shop Points, and it''s not like I got a reward for saving them, so I should spend them! As I opened the Shop Menu, I felt someone ce their hand on my shoulder, making me sigh as I felt the familiar presence of someone I was now bound to, and it wasn''t the Demoness... "Heya Kat~! Been awhile, hasn''t it~?" Chapter 600 599: Conversation ? "Heya Kat~! Been awhile, hasn''t it~?" A sigh escaped my lips as I looked back towards the violet skinned Arch Fiend behind me, her sinfully curvaceous body oozing sex appeal andcking the modesty and reservation expected inside of a ce of holy worship. As if sensing my thoughts, the Arch Fiend of Hidden Twisted Pleasures smirked as she allowed her thin pink negligee to dissipate, revealing her bountiful breasts and erect member to the world as she lowered herself to the ground, putting herself on disy as she excitedly said "Believe me, my love, I''ve done MUCH~ worse inside a temple... Would you like to join me in desecrating this one~? How about it, my scious Masque? Would you like to experience the throes of lust with me~?" I narrowed my eyes at her, before turning back towards the altar of Reincantra in front of me and sping my hands in prayer again, making ''Caligo roll her eyes and click her tongue. "Fine, fine... if it bothers you that much... So prudent in such weird ways. Justst night you were taking it from all ends, and yet here you are acting as if you''re some reverent Nun! Wait... actually, that gap is kinda hot~!" Kneeling beside me, Cali sighed and donned some robes again, covering herself up and ncing at the altar as she spoke again, her tone different from normal; no longer frivolous and jovial, but instead somber. "Believe me, if the Gods and Goddesses of this world cared that much about it, no one would risk being sacrilegious inside of a temple. However, they aren''t hands on anymore. Haven''t been for millennia. Even when they were, they never touched us Fiends, not unless we did something egregious. We''re... a necessary evil of the world. A counterweight to the mortals. We all might be ruled by our respective domains and emotions, but few of us are truly stupid enough to provoke the Divine." I looked over at Cali, the pink eyed woman staring intently at the altar before she smiled wryly at me, her snake hair hissing softly as they reached out towards me. "Especially not Reincantra. Altering a story of hers is a death sentence in quite a few regards. After all, what are we all if not a story? Each of us a piece in the Epic that forms the world?" My eyes widened slightly at her insinuation, and the Arch Fiend chuckled again before she let out a sigh, leaning over and resting her head on my shoulder, resulting in the snakes slithering over towards me and flicking their tongues out at my cheek. "Anyways, your miniature existential crisis aside, I showed up because you finally umted an excess of pleasure inside of yourself. More than I need to feed, and more than enough to begin tempering your own Core with it. Y''know, if you and your wives have foursomes like that more often, you could climb higher and higher faster than ever before~! Just saying~! Oh, and it''d be even faster~ if you and I got at it..." The snakes hissed softly at the violet skinned woman, making her frown as she red at the various creatures thatprised her hair, muttering "Traitors..." before removing her head from my shoulder when she saw my re. "Fine, whatever... you''ll be the first woman to continuously reject me, you know that? Kinda hurts, actually..." Sighing, Cali pursed her plump lips before she stood up, gesturing for me to do the same. "Let''s go somewhere less stuffy, hmm? There are a few gardens here that are quite beautiful~!" She held out a hand and smiled at me, which I stared at for a few moments as I wondered if I should take it, only to sigh myself as I reached forwards andid my hand on hers, my vision swirling as she teleported us from inside the chapel over towards one of the gardens surrounding the Pce. "See? I wasn''t lying. We DID ''sign'' a contract together my dear. Trust me a little more. Besides, if I wanted to kidnap you and ''force'' you into sex, I''d die, remember~? It''s better for us both if I just woo you instead with beautiful ces and excellent wine~!" Taking a seat at a pic table, Cali snapped her fingers and summoned two sses and arge bottle of wine, cing them on the table and gesturing for me to sit. She began to pour out the deep purple liquid as she spoke, her skin glistening in the sun while her soft smile made the area around us feel warmer. "To convert that excess pleasure inside of you into Lust Mana... it''s not a terriblyplicated process, and it is something that you yourself will have to begin to work on. That is a gift wrapped tightly and locked away in a box for you to discover on your own, my dear. Not everything in this world can be given away... but that doesn''t mean I can''t help you with a little push, alright~? Don''t say I never do anything for you~!" Cali ced her hand on the table again, palm up and awaiting my own as she lifted her ss to her lips, watching me intently with a smile. "Come on, let me show you what Lust Mana feels like. Perhaps you can find it on your own, perhaps you can''t. Put that intellect to work, my lusty puppy, and figure it out~!" cing my hand on hers once more, I felt something warm and soothing flow from her hand to mine, the strands of mana that she sent towards me gliding through my veins and heating my skin up. Not in the way that Fire Mana simply raises the temperature, but instead in a cozy, rxing way that loosened my muscles and rxed me. When it began to creep past my shoulder and into my torso though, that rxing feeling slipped away and was reced by an all too familiar heat around my pheromonal nd and womb, while my heartbeat sped up and my breathing grew uneven. Seeping into my head, I felt my mouth water while my eyes grew unfocused, my mind filled with thoughts of the night prior as my free hand unconsciously dropped from the table andnded on my thigh, sending jolts through my now sensitive flesh. All of that was ripped away and left me feeling cold and empty as Cali pulled her hand away, the Arch Fiend smirking at me as she sipped on her wine again, clearly enjoying what had just happened as she watched me pant and rub at my eyes, trying to focus. "Lust is a conniving bitch isn''t it? Is there not a worse feeling than being aroused and stimted by the things you desire, only to have it ripped away and leaving you feeling empty and unfulfilled? Unsatisfied? Notice how you are so dibobted and unable to do anything... If I did that to you in a battle, what would have happened? What would have happened if I heightened the sexual effect and made you think entirely about having sex? Would you have not epted whoever''s - and sometimes whatever''s - penis with no hesitation?" Cali''s smile became twisted as she continued speaking, her pink eyes shing with dark mirth as she said "Can you imagine the horror one must feel when theye back around to learn that they had given in to lust sopletely that theymitted such a deep sin? Or what about having all of that lust poured into your body only to have it suddenly ripped away? How confusing must that be for someone to experience? Is that not something that makes you feel so... hot inside, Katherine Zara~? Dangling such a tantalizingly juicy piece of meat in front of someone, only to fling it away and rece it with some rotted, infested piece of flesh? That is my power... and I offer it to you. All you need to do is discover how to grasp it." Draining her wine, she snickered as she stared at my shocked expression, her lips curling into a horrific grin as she said "Finally realizing just how potent lust is, my love? How it can ruin the world if left unchecked~? Sure, war, disease, and knowledge can cause chaos... but lust? People kill for less. What if they were told - for example - that whoever in the army has the most confirmed kills would be allowed to have baby making sex with the most beautiful princess in their kingdom? Would they not strive for that goal? Someone so beautiful and desirable could be yours! You just need to kill, and kill, and kill for it..." Chuckling, she poured herself another ss and swirled it around, saying "Give it a thought. The mind is a fragile thing, and one of the emotions that everyone has is lust. Lust for the flesh is the mostmon, but lust itself can be for power, money,nd, fame... anything. Sex is just the most widespread desire. Grasp it... and the world could be yours~!" Chapter 601 600: Shopping Spree ? Cali chuckled darkly for another few moments, before she sipped on her wine once more, staring intently at me as she watched me digest what she had just said. "Now, while your collection of noodles up in your skull is working in overdrive, let me give you another juicy tidbit, alright? The pleasure that you feel can be more easily converted into Lust Mana during or directly after when you are receiving it. Which means when you learn how to grasp that ''pleasure'' it bes easier to convert it if you are in the middle of ''earning'' more pleasure. However, there are other ways to do so, and right now is one of them. While your pleasure is practically gone, the pleasure of your three women are still lingering around inside of you, dripping out slowly. You can try and utilize that, if you''d like~?" Licking her lips, Cali once more coyly asked "Or we could skip all~ of that and I could inject a few thick, creamy loads of it into you right here, right now~? It doesn''t have to be inside your womb either; we could use the other two holes as well~? What do you say, my sexy puppy? Want to give that a shot~?" I took a deep breath as I recovered from the emptiness that I was feeling, reaching forwards to grab the wine ss and taking a small sip before ring at the Arch Fiend, who just pouted as I shook my head quietly. "Tch, fine~! Being around you though has been something... almost torturous, though I imagine that was because of our topic of choice~! Now if you''ll excuse me, I''ll be heading down to the city for some fun~! I''ll take you back to the chapel first though, my lusty puppy..." Taking another sip from the wine, I ced it down on the table and epted her hand, my vision swimming once more as we were teleported back to the chapel, this time though we weren''t alone. Lady D''Arcon was standing in the middle, and almost instantly Cali teleported away, pink mist swirling around her figure as she fled as fast as she could, which made the holy woman chuckle softly. "I cannot say I particrly condone consorting with Fiends, let alone Arch Fiends, but I am not blinded enough by my beliefs to im them to all be evil. Just... tread carefully by her side, Katherine. Rarely do people escape the clutches of an Arch Fiend, or remain sane by their side. It''d be a pity to lose you, my dear. But, enough of my ramblings; I came to say congrattions on the rise in rank, as well as to wish you good luck in the future, Katherine Zara. The Nobles can be insufferable to deal with, especially with their penchant to stick to the past. Ah, and... do try to keep the bloodshed to a minimum when the marriage proposalse in, hmm~?" She smiled softly at me as she said that, and I nched as I realized that would likely be something that would swamp House Asmodia in the near future; proposals for both Mother and I since we were very clearly connected to House Asmodia, but no one would know just how close we were tied to them... Chuckling, Lady D''Arcon waved at me before turning and leaving the chapel behind as she returned to the rest of the Pce, leaving me alone with my thoughts once more. Shaking myself free from said thoughts, I turned back to the altar of Reincantra and sighed, kneeling in front of it once more and opening up the System Shop first, deciding that I would need to try this ''conversion'' of pleasure to Lust Mana some other time... If the way I could do it now wasn''t the optimal way, then I would need to wait until I was in the midst of coitus to try, and considering it seemed simr to Dual Cultivation, perhaps I could learn how to do it quicker than I thought, or even Cali thought I could? However, that wasn''t what was happening right now, and instead I needed to focus my attention on some of the items inside the Shop that would be useful for the imminent future. Jahi had something increasing her CON and STR, Anput had something increasing her DEX and STR, and Leone had something that increased her WIS and INT. So what would be best for them now..? Perusing the Shop was a rather fun thing to do, and I hummed quietly to myself as I did so, marking out the items that I thought would be beneficial and creating a new catalogue of items to further trickle down into what was needed. That was when I came across an item that was a part of a set of items, one that had two effects like before, but if I managed to get another piece in the set, it would increase the effects by an additional percentage. [Raksasha''s --- : Increases CON by 15% and --- by 10%] That was the ''base'' set of the item, and when paired with a second piece, it was increased from 15% and 10% to 20% and 15%, then up to 30% and 25% with three, and finally 50% and 45% with four. I decided that it''d be easiest to exin all of us receiving the same gift, and something that we could all utilized was an increase in our Mana''s Potency, or an increase in our WIS stats. So I purchased four of one item for a total of 24,000 Shop Points, or 6,000 each;pared to the 1,250 each that I spent before, this was more than just a ''small'' increase for the stats, but it was apart of the set, so... In the future, this would be incredibly worth it, especially since this just made all of our physical defenses so much higher~! [Raksasha''s Earring : Increases CON by 15% and WIS by 10%] Four golden hoops appeared in my palm, small rainbow stones studding the bottom half of the hoop and glimmering with mana. For a moment I frowned, not knowing just how I was meant to put this on, before sighing as I thought about how Leone and Jahi had ''normal'' ears that they could pierce, while Anput and I only had these fluffy canine ears... Though, I knew that these could be pierced and that they weren''t seen as odd, since I had seen quite a few Caninekin adventurers wearing earrings as well, but still... it wasn''t something I was ustomed to seeing in the slightest. Chapter 602 601: Making Some Rounds Clenching the four earrings in my hand, I made my way through the halls of the Pce and returned to our room first, looking around and asking Mother if anyone hade back yet, only to get a shake of the head as she looked back at me from where she was standing, which was over a kneeling Bessie. I stared nkly at the scene for a few seconds before leaving it behind, not involving myself in it and ignoring the sight of the Cowkin pleading at me with watery eyes, the curvaceous woman trying her hardest to find a lifeline away from Mother, but... Well, if you''re already having a hard time with Mother, why would I try and ce myself in the middle of you two?! So I fled, leaving the woman to her fate and venturing through the halls again, this time making my way towards the Training Grounds to search for the Marquess and Jahi, deciding I would spend the day watching them and perhaps joining in as well, but only if need be; I was content to take the backseat today and just rx, putting my energy towards thinking over some of the ''problems'' I had instead of pushing my body''s limits. Not that that would be a waste of energy, but I was immensely curious to mull over the issue of making Lust Mana inside of myself, as well as developing a few new spells to add to my repertoire for the future, so I nned on just sitting back and thinking things over. On my way there I once again ran into another situation, making me sigh quietly as I hugged the wall to avoid being seen and interrupting another interaction, lest I be drawn in for one reason or another. Nirinia was leaning against the wall and smirking as she talked to Princi and another of the Knights, the three of them clearly treading a fine line between flirting and outright talking dirty to one another. The Catkin woman was smirking back at Nirinia as she joked with the younger Djinn, while the third woman and second Knight - a tall, thin Birdkin of some kind - was blushing softly while looking between the two, though she still joined in and made both Nirinia and Princi chuckle with whatever she was saying. Rolling my eyes at how they upied a main hallway for something like this, I observed them for a moment more before freezing, a small smile on my lips as I noticed that someone else was doing the same as me; a Lioness who I hadn''t seen in quite some time. Adelina was watching from afar on the other side of the hall as me, peeking around the corner and staring at the three women with narrowed eyes, her fingers gripping the marble wall tightly enough that I worried she might fracture it with her strength. Seeing her, I let out another small sigh before ncing around myself, finding a new route through the Pce and deciding to throw the Lioness a bone... though whether or not she took it was an entirely different question. Silently making my way over to her, I grabbed the lithe woman''s arm and dragged her away, ring at her as she tried to yank free and creating some distance between us and them as I made my way to the next intersection, where I let her go. "Commander Leonisa... No, Adelina. Woman to woman, I would like to give some advice, especially for dealing with someone as thick headed and hard to control like Nirinia. If you want her to pine after you, you''re mistaken. If you want to be courted like a Noblewoman, you''re looking at the wrong woman for it. You''ve made your previous choices crystal clear to her, and she is respecting them. If you have changed your mind, you need to inform her of such and be the one to initiate any form ofmunication. She will NOT being after you anytime soon, because you''ve made it clear that you don''t want her to. Now if you truly don''t want her to try and kindle something between the two of you, stop hurting yourself by watching as she lives her life. She is stressed, and one of the premiere ways to deal with stress as a single person is to go and have sex. Nirinia is a stunning, intriguing futanari who has a track record for being good in bed, meaning her partners are limitless. Either you try to rein her in and acquiesce to some of her demands - because she did try her hardest to meet you in the middle - or you give up and stop pining after her like some schoolgirl. Grow up, mature, and make a damn choice. Please, for all of us, make a damn choice. Nirinia is too much of an asset for us with the Fiends on the rise to have her muddled down because of your petnt mind games. Cut things off entirely, make your stance clear if you''re neutral, or tell her that you want to try it again. But make up your mind, please." The entire time I spoke, Adelina tried to interrupt me, only to fall silent and re at me as I said my piece before looking towards the area that Nirinia hadst been, her golden eyesplicated. Seeing that, I muttered a goodbye before walking away, leaving her to her thoughts and letting out another sigh as I wondered if I went too far, or if I had gotten my point across; Nirinia was still coping with what had happened, and it''d be best if this situation between them got resolved one way or the other, since we would need Nirinia to be at her best going forwards. As we would also need Adelina at her best too, since an excellent Commander of a Legion is hard toe by, and especially one that had a record like hers... even if the one time we experienced her work first hand, I got kidnapped. I made my way towards Training Grounds again and slipped inside, just in time to wince as I watched Jahi take a fist to the jaw, the Marquess striking hard and fast as the two women boxed, blowing off some steam and practicing unarmedbat at the same time. But, I winced again as Jahi was hit again, staggering back and barely blocking another jab that came for her nose before she retaliated, swinging and hitting the Marquess'' side and earning back some of the advantage she had given up to her Mom. Chapter 603 602: Another Round Of Gifts (1) ? I rested my head against the wall of the Training Grounds, watching as Jahi and the Marquess boxed away their annoyances and expelled arge amount of energy, the two Demoness'' trading blows continuously as they tried to force the other to submit, which resulted in a rather stubborn lock between the two fighters, neither willing to show that kind of weakness to the other. The fight in front of me was both admirable and enjoyable to watch as well as slightly harrowing, since this stalemate was driving them to serious injury as they boxed for a longer period of time than was necessary. Injuries that would have gotten them pulled from a ring in my old world were things they pushed through and used as motivation to hit harder and faster, trying to inflict that same pain on the other as they continued to box. Watching it was instilling a mixture of emotions inside of me, and I couldn''t help but watch even as I flinched from the damage either Demoness inflicted on the other, and the entire time they did so I rolled the four earrings around in my hand, the golden hoops warm from being sped in my hand for so long. The rainbow stones shimmered withtent power, casting a beautiful glow on the sandy ground, which reflected the light wonderfully, enamoring me further. As I stared at them, I didn''t realize that the fight had reached a conclusion, one of the two Demoness'' finally calling it quits and taking a break, which cast a shadow over my figure as they approached me. Looking up, my breath caught in my throat for a moment as I saw Jahi using the hem of her shirt to wipe off her brow, revealing her sweat stained abdomen to the world, while her muscr arms were defined even more with the sheen of sweat covering them; beside her, the Marquess wiped away her own sweat and disyed a collection of muscles that was even more chiseled than her daughters, with the addition of scars crisscrossing her sapphire skin granting her a feral, wild vibe. For a split second a thought crossed my mind, one that I was admittedly disgusted by afterwards, but... Wouldn''t it feel amazing~ to be sandwiched between the two of them in so many different ways~? I mean, sure, Anput was muscr to arge extent as well, but her muscles were more akin to rope instead of what the two Demoness'' were sporting; it was wound tight and made her lithe, whereas this Mom-Daughter pair had the very obvious bulging muscles that I was - admittedly - more drawn to. Again, after that split second I looked away, hating myself for thinking something so weird and honestly disgusting since I viewed the Marquess as a parent like figure, just like I viewed the Countess, but even so, it was hard to deny that that scene would be... thrilling. "Kat..? I didn''t think you''d be here..." Golden mana shimmered over Jahi''s pale blue skin and removed the various dark blue bruises she had umted, as well as closing the few cuts and scrapes that littered her body as well. Standing up, I doused the two in a shower of blue mana to remove the sweat from their bodies, making them both sigh in relief as the soothing Water Mana caressed their skin. "Mmm... I wasn''t entirely nning on being here, but I had no where else to go. So after cleaning everything up and praying at the chapel, I made my way here... and I got these." I opened my palm and revealed the four earrings to the two Demoness'', who frowned as they stared down at the peculiar pieces of jewelry, before Jahi smiled wryly as the Marquess muttered "What in the hells..?" Jahi reached over and picked one up, ncing at me curiously as she wondered if this was like Leone''s earring that only required one, or if she needed to take two. "Just one. And um... it should be simr to your pendant, but instead of boosting physical strength, it boosts your mana''s potency. Alongside your body being more resilient..." "What?" The Marquess'' voice was t as she looked between Jahi and I, only to click her tongue and snatch on from my hand, inspecting it with a frown before asking "What the hell are these, Kat? Jahi?" Coughing into my fist, I looked away from her as I answered "They''re... items that Reincantra - the Goddess who blessed me - gifted to me... or awarded, I don''t know. But I do know what they do, and she always gives something that is needed. So... perhaps we''ll need these..?" Therger Demoness narrowed her eyes at that, staring at me hard before looking back down at the earring, saying "Odd, the runes slip from my mind when I look away... Is it really Divine Touched, or..?" While she was inspecting the earring, Jahi gestured for me to put it on her, her slightly pointed ears twitching as I unsped the earring and pierced it into her flesh, keeping it close to where a normal earring would go and leaving it be after I healed the wound. Jahi inhaled sharply as she felt the 15% boost to her CON take affect, while the 10% boost to her WIS made her mana feel different inside her veins. As soon as I recalled the fact that they were percentage increases and not straight numerical buffs, my eyes widened as I turned to look at the Marquess, who was still staring at the golden piece of jewelry between her fingers. For us, I could confidently say our stats were hitting a maximum of 150 for any of the three others, while my own were lingering around 110 each, so a 15% increase for me was already around 16.5 points... and for them it was roughly 22.5 points. But what about..? [Yup... just think about how youpare to the Marquess from what you''ve seen, and take a crack at her stats... or the Empress'', if you would like. Then do the quick math of 15%. What exactly do you think these items would provide~?] ''I... That''s a hard question, since I''ve never seen her go all out, but... maybe we''re not even 10% of her strength? So-'' [10%? Really? Don''t get ahead of yourself; 5% is being generous. But still, go ahead.] ''S-So... 3,000? Her stats would be around 3,000 then, right?'' [Base stats, perhaps. But go on, do the math. Figure out just~ how potent that little earring is...] ''450 points... if she''s exactly that highpared to the 150 maximum that I gave the other three..? I mean, she has the facilities to be higher in all stats as well..?'' [Sure, we''ll go with that. Now take a crack at the Empress, just for fun~?] My mind nked, and I heard the System giggle in my mind as it said [Here''s a line you should be familiar with; Don''t know whether tough or cry. Isn''t that what you''re feeling right now? Incredulous at the potential strength of the one standing at the peak? Ooh, or what about Cali? Where do you think she falls?] Before I could respond, the Marquess ced the earring back in my hand and stared at me, her ruby eyes narrowed as she said "This would have been a nice thing to know about, Kat... and you might want to keep them concealed. Do you know just how invaluable something like this is? Or dangerous?" Blinking, I epted the earring back and btedly nodded, registering her words as I stood there quietly in front of her. "I doubt you actually do, but just know that even ONE of these things is enough to make some people go insane with greed. As for Fiends? They''d be moring to rip that from your grasp... So the fact that you have four..? Or more, considering you said pendant earlier... You need to be more careful, Kat. Really." I nodded again, clenching my fist around the three remaining earrings before looking at Jahi, who was pursing her lips as she stroked the piece of metal dangling from her ear, which made the Marquess sigh before she asked "So what does it do again? You said raises body resiliency and mana potency?" "Y-Yes. By a decent amount as well... So for Jahi, her Light Mana should be much more dazzling and powerful, and her already strong body should be even harder and resilient." The Marquess just grunted before gesturing towards the Training Grounds, saying "Let''s try it out then. You gave up too easily earlier, brat." Chapter 604 603: Another Round of Gifts (2)

Chapter 604 Chapter 603: Another Round of Gifts (2)

I couldn''t help but wince again as I watched Jahi take a hard blow to the cheek, the Marquess'' fist crashing against her daughter''s head and knocking it to the side, only to have to shift back a step as Jahi''s fist hooked towards her chin, the blue fist a blur as she struck fast, but sadly for her the Marquess was quicker. "Not bad. I can tell that you can take a bit more damage now, but still... I would suggest training without the aid of that thing as often as possible. Being ustomed to the power of a tool is dangerous, especially if that tool can be ripped away from you and result in you bing unustomed to the dip in strength. Be careful with them, alright? It''d piss me off to no end if I heard one of you died because of something so stupid as losing one of these Divine tools..." Jahi just nodded before lunging forwards, making the Marquess smirk as she pped Jahi''s fist away, snorting as she said "Feisty little brat... Did I not beat you enough as a child~?" "Maybe, maybe not... but I do need to even the score you old hag." The Marquess just blinked at that, before chuckling as she blitzed forwards and jabbed her fist into Jahi''s stomach, driving the younger Demoness back a step as she doubled over, the sudden burst of pain robbing her of some of her faculties and resulting in another harsh strike to her chin, spinning her around. "Don''t get cocky and conceited on me, Jahi. And I might be multiple decades older than you, but I am not ''old''! Respect your parents a little! Or do I need to beat that respect into you, hmm~?" Coughing, Jahi red at the Marquess before snarling "You can damn well try you OLD hag..." I let out a sigh as the Marquess'' smile stiffened, her ruby eyes twinkling dangerously as she stared at the defiant Demoness in front of her, casting a far harsher profile now that her entire demeanor had shifted towards something bubbling from deep within. Not as fiery as her normal temper, but more reserved and prepared to y the long game with her daughter, who decided to cast herself into the crucible willingly and added some more fuel to the fire. What came next was of no surprise to anyone inside the Training Grounds - if they were paying attention to what was happening, anyways - as the Marquesss began to unleash a brutal beatdown on the Demoness who decided to get chippy with her, even as she was taking blow after blow throughout the entire ''fight''. It got to the point that I turned away and began to trace out runes inside the sand as I tried to tune out the sounds of flesh hitting flesh nearby, which was apanied by the grunts and hisses of pain from Jahi every few moments as she took punches, kicks, elbows and so much more from the Marquess, who was proving her point... I guess. The asional wince and gritting of my teeth was the only reaction I had to what was going on beside me - in my world, child abuse and attempted murder, and in this world, just another training session. After a few dozen minutes of me trying to ignore the brutal boxing match in front of me by working through the various things that had been guing my mind and nagging at my curiosity, providing the perfect distraction as I simply... looked away from the beating happening just a few feet away from where I was sitting. For instance, the subject of Lust Mana was something that I wanted to tackle right away, but getting to the ideal environment to begin understanding that subject wasn''t something that I could reach soon, since we were heading out in just a few hours and wouldn''t be engaging in any sexual acts in the near future... maybe. I had to continue my willful ignorance of my wife to be getting beaten for a little longer before I was joined by someone else, and it was someone who would also be suffering alongside me as we ignored everything happening. Leone came back earlier than expected, and she sat down beside me with a few vials in her hands, her crimson eyes alternating between me and Jahi before she eventually focused entirely on me, which was made easier as I handed her the earring. Sensing the unique mana on it that was simr to her other earring, Leone blinked a few times as she observed it before reaching up to sp it into the same ear as the pearl she had been gifted before, her eyes narrowing as she felt its effects take hold. "It raises your residency and your mana''s potency by... quite a bit. I got four of the same ones for all of us, and I assume that it is to prepare us for what is toe..?" Leone pursed her lips as she rubbed the edge of the hoop, before she closed her eyes and focused her attention inwards, likely testing her mana to verify that it had gotten yet another boost. "By the Gods... It really does increase it by ''quite a bit''! Wow... This is..." Opening her eyes, Leone smiled at me and chuckled as she said "Really, this Reincantra is generous with you, Kat! These are some amazing gifts!" I nodded, feeling a little guilty that I was both misleading my loved ones like this and that I was twisted the truth in such a way for Reincantra, but that feeling of guilt was quickly washed away as I embraced the ''new truth''. It was a gift from her; this entire life of mine was a gift from her, and I was using it to make the lives of my loved ones better. The n was to eventually get some enchanted items for my Mother, the Countess, the Marquess, and especially Alessandra and Lakshmi to better protect them, even if they were already well protected by the Marquess and Countess. Either way, Leone and I continued to chat about the earrings for another while longer before we were eventually joined by Anput, the Jackalkin excitedly scurrying into the Training Grounds with another set of bundles in her arms as she beelined towards me, her fluffy tail swishing side to side as she grinned at me. Leone and I got up to greet her, and the Marquess finally relented with Jahi, taking a step back and allowing her to heal, before she pped her shoulder hard and grinned at her. Chapter 605 604: New Weapons

Chapter 605 Chapter 604: New Weapons

Anput was grinning hard as she scurried through the Training Grounds, the Jackalkin ignoring everyone else and beelining straight towards me with a few cloth covered bundles in her arms; she was so focused on reaching me that she somehow missed the two giant Demoness'' fighting one another, only recognizing that they were there when the Marquess stopped the spar and pped Jahi''s shoulder, grinning at her daughter with narrowed ruby eyes. Jahi rubbed at her bruised jaw before her golden mana coiled around her again, removing the various bruises and scrapes from her blue skin and healing her back to her normal state so that she could focus on whatever it was that the olive skinned Jackalkin was bringing forwards. There were three bundles in her arms, and she excitedly moved over to Leone and whispered something to her, having the Vampire lift the bundles out of her arms and allowing Anput to show them off one by one. Lifting the first one, Anput''s grin widened as she turned towards me, beginning what felt very much like a sales pitch or some type of presentation as she began to speak. "So I noticed that you weren''t the most...pleased with the rapier when fighting against things that bleed... which while that is an odd thing, knowing you it was a ratherrge reason I decided to make this for you instead, since it''s something that you find enjoyable during fights..." I raised a brow in the midst of her speaking, making the Jackalkin smile wryly before she flipped the cloth open to reveal a new de for me, one that made me pause as I studied it. "This doesn''t exactly have much of a... categorical name, but the closest thing that I could think of is a crescent de or a Khopesh. It''s a dual edged de with a hooked tip, giving it the ability to chop, slice, and even stab - though stabbing with a de like this is going to be a little awkward. As you can see, the inside of the crescent is serrated, so if you chop or sh someone with this side, it''ll inflict insane damage, while the outside of the crescent is just pure edge. It''s far heavier than your rapier, but still really light, and it has a longer than normal hilt to allow for you to two hand it, but still short enough tofortably one hand it." I nodded at her words, studying the de closely and working over how I would wield such a weapon. Like she said, the de was simr in nature to a Khopesh, which was a de that was sort of like the omega (¦¸) symbol of the Greek Alphabet that I was ustomed to, but more drawn out and ttened. The de started on one of the little prongs, connected it to the hilt via a straight piece of metal, before billowing down and arcing back up, like a crescent moon - hence Anput not exactly knowing how to categorize this de. The other prong was far more exaggerated than the connector one, with it being hooked back like a gut knife to allow for drastic damage should I stab with the tip of chop with the inside of the crescent. Serrated teeth lined the entire ''inside'' of the de, while the outside was smooth and gently curved, providing the perfect edge to cut with if I wanted clean kills. It was a deep red, made from the various materials that we had managed to get from Zhu''Rong - one of the Guards had returned to the Cabin to fetch them for us - and looked absolutely wicked, but at the same time incredibly in and elegant as well. No prominent cross guard, just a small disc to prevent my hands from slipping onto the bade, and no other fancy engravings or ornamentation, just a beautifully forged de. Taking it from Anput, I nodded to myself as I felt the difference in weight instantly, the longer, heavier de requiring a bit more strength to wield, but providing a unique bnce between just light enough to one hand and heavy enough to withstand being two handed. "This is beautiful, Anput... and rather unique." I smiled at my mate, who grinned back at me as she nodded, saying "It was fun to make, and honestly rather simple; the hardest part was filing out those teeth and not damaging the structure of the de! Which means I can make it again when I get materials suitable for you specifically, but for now this is another ''trial weapon'' to figure out what would suit you best. Now..!" pping her hands excitedly, Anput turned and lifted another bundle from Leone, who was observing the de in my hands curiously before focusing on the Jackalkin again. "Jahi! This is something that I will need a LOT of feedback on, and might not be the... greatest right off the bat. So... don''t be nice, be honest with it, alright? Ahem... So, I made two things for you. The first is a heavier close quarters de for when we are in any confined spaces again, like those tunnels? Or in a hallway... you get the point. It''s simple, but I think it''s a rather good de!" Pulling the de from the cloth, Anput handed Jahi a longer, wider dius, its t double edged de wider than my forearm and longer than it too, making it arge de for me, but for Jahi? It was a smaller sword, and she grasped the hilt and nodded, inspecting the de and moving it around fluidly, making what would be a longsword of some kind for me look like a dagger in her hands... Really, she was just that muchrger than the rest of us, and it was moments like this that made that even more apparent. Like my own, it was a simple, dark red de that was smooth and sharp, no ornamentation on it at all and almost textbook for what a dius looked like. "That''s the first thing, but the second are these..." Flipping the cloth away, Anput revealed tworge gauntlets of normal steel, meant for someone asrge as Jahi. Handing her new dius to her Mom, the Demoness approached Anput and reached down, grabbing one of the gauntlets and slipping it on, enshrouding her giant blue fist in metal and covering her forearms in steel. The fingers were made from interlocked pieces of metal, while the knuckles were studded with t bolts of steel, adding some protection or offense to the armor depending on how they were used. It was connected to a vambrace of simple red metal, three long ridges adorning the sides of her forearms as well as the top of her forearm, meant to catch any de sent towards her arm and lessen the damage done, while still remaining light enough to not hinder the Demoness'' movements. From what I could see, the inside of the gauntlets were lined with leather, softening the armor and providing anotheryer of protection for the wearer. All in all, they looked well made and decent enough, but I could tell that they weren''t the most masterfully crafted pieces of armor; but that was alright, since even as a non cksmith I could see just how difficult forging armor waspared to des. There were moreplexities and intricacies inside the armor than the des, and that meant more parts that could be messed up or entirely detrimental to the armor, whereas a de was far simpler to make - but stillplex. Clenching her fist, Jahi nodded before slipping on the other, frowning briefly as she adjusted to utilizing her new metal ''fingers'' as she strapped the second gauntlet on, before nodding again as she moved her arms and hands about randomly. "Feels pretty good; could be smoother, and less clunky, but all in all not that bad for some simpler armor. The leather lining could be a bit thicker, and the fingers asionally snag on one another, but..." She grinned at Anput, saying "They''re great, Anput. Really, they are." Anput''s own grin widened, her tail wagging excitedly behind her as she wasplimented by the Demoness, before she coughed and tried to regain her seriousness, turning towards Leone and saying "Thatst one is for you. It''s a dagger, perfect for self defense but primarily for harvesting ingredients or harvesting monsters." Leone opened her own bundle, revealing a small red dagger that was almost a foot long, its de thick and single edged, meant to slice through things and reveal the goodies that the Vampire needed. "I know that it''s not the greatest thingpared to the others, but it should make harvesting easier by a mile, so..." Anput shrugged, before she closed her eyes and leaned into the bare hand of Jahi as the Demoness began to stroke her ears, causing her tail to wag even faster as she was praised for her work. Praise that she deserved, and praise that I gave her as well after admiring my new de for a few moments more, already itching to test it out. Chapter 606 605: Renacla County

Chapter 606 Chapter 605: Rena County

The carriage ride over to the Rena County was one spent in peaceful quiet as the five of us rxed inside thefortable - yet discreet - carriage that the Empress had told us to use, with a nearly identical one following behind us carrying another seven people to aid us on whatever this excursion had in store for us. Those seven people were the Arch Mage Kolia, Knight of Cinder Budan, and five of the Empress'' Guards, providing us with a wide array of backup to aid us in all sorts of ways, be it magical, physical, or stealthy in nature. Amongst those five Guards - aptly named Wisps - was one that we were sort of familiar with from years ago; the Wisp that had been assigned to guard over Leone whenever she visited the March Asmodia, and the woman who had told us about Leone tattooing herself with something rather dangerous far earlier than she should have. We barely remembered her to begin with, but Leone was the woman''s only priority, and our Vampiric lover was just as in the dark about her Wisp as the rest of us, which was both worrying and reassuring since it meant she did her job quite well. Anyways, during the carriage ride down towards the southern portion of the Empire I spent most of my time cing some basic enchantments on Jahi''s new gauntlets and dius, enchanting them with some simple things like increased durability, toughness, and mana conductivity so that the Demoness could utilize them however she pleased, all while I made sure to leave myself some avability on the pieces of gear for any in-depth enchantments, making sure not to strain the metals too much with the menial things. I only had time to put an increased durability enchantment on my new Khopesh like de before we found ourselves at the Rena County''s city, known as Vulpe City, home to some of the Empire''s top leatherworkers and tailors. A rather peaceful, calm ce, Vulpe was where the fashion designers of the Empire gathered for the more freeing, liberal styles of dress; open and billowy, loose, however you want to describe it, the style in the south was more sensual and sometimes borderline ''improper'' due to the heat and dryness of the area, so people dressed loosely. Instead of the idea of dressing in loose, yet covering clothing like the deserts, the people of Vulpe decided to expose their skin and embrace the heat, since it was much lower than what the Sultanate got and far more bearable when under shade. From the brief amount I had stored in my head about the various ''capitals'' of the Empire, Vulpe was a fun, rxing ce that people vacationed to whenever they could, and as such it was more of a pleasure capital than anything else, with various entertainment establishments of all kinds flourishing beneath the umbre of the Rena Family, who were strict, yet fair rulers. Everything was kept clean and above table here, with any attempts to ckmail, bribe, extort or any other form of corrupt thinking getting stamped out by the powerful Rena Family. In other words, this ce was a bastion of pleasure, entertainment, fashion, and most importantly... wealth. Connections ran deep here, and as we crested the soft hills of the Rena County, we were greeted with the sight of the white and red city of Vulpe resting in the midst of a sea of dull green grass. The various roads leading into Vulpe cut through the ins that the city was constructed on, and in between each road was a vige of some kind, where farmers lived and worked onrge fields of greenish grain, called avenia, and it looked likerge emeralds that were ground down into flour and used to bake bread. Apparently avenia was a rather sweet grain that held lots of natural sugars, so the people of Vulpe loved to mix it with pomegranates, which were also grown in abundance here. Anyways, Vulpe City was a peculiar ce, and as such we needed to make sure we didn''t ''stand out'' too much as tourists... which was hard to do since we had two hulking Demoness'' who anyone would be able to spot. We didn''t want to alert this Vitra Rena that we were here, which was why we needed to do a little bit of swapping of some personnel. One of the Wisps was driving each of the carriages - with the Banshee that the Marquess was determined to keep took a spot inside the other carriage - and they were meant to smooth talk their way into the city and find us somewhere to stay for the duration of this excursion, preferably somewhere that wasn''t absolutely teeming with people. That was the first challenge of the day, and as we rolled up to the gates of the city, we all held our breaths as we waited, with the Marquess and Jahi both doing their best to hide their horns and cover their skin, since both horns and blue skin were rather rare on their own, but together..? Yeah, only a few people had that descriptor, and the Marquess was top of that list. But, besides someone opening the doors for a brief moment before shutting them, our inspection was short and to the point before we were moving again, making all of us raise our brows as we looked towards the Wisp driving our carriage, who slid open the shutter and spoke quietly to us, their voice low and carried by a soft breeze they created. "If the Marquess and Ladies are curious, there is a ''Noble House'' set up entirely for us Wisps to use, and it is of sufficient rank to get into most ces... so long as that ce doesn''t look too deep. Now, please remain covered up, and only move when I give the signal; Vulpe City is a rather oddly secured city, so please do not do anything until we reach our destination." Chapter 607 606: Barking Sun

Chapter 607 Chapter 606: Barking Sun

We did as the Wisp asked, hunkering down inside the carriage and waiting for us to reach our destination, each of us curious about what ''weird security'' Vulpe City had, which was made even more so curious as the Marquess shook her head, not knowing anything either. From what we could see from within the carriage, the city of Vulpe was a vibrant city made from white stone and covered in ster to smooth everything out, while the wood was a sulent red that oozed color into the surrounding area. Cloth coverings for the various pavilions set up between buildings were mostly a simr red as the wood, though there were a few stores or establishments that used other colors, primarily blue, purple, and pink. The people were just as vibrant as the city, walking around with merry expressions andughing with one another as they went about their business, their loose style of dress disying their tanned skin and toned bodies, allowing us to easily spot the people who weren''t native to Vulpe; paler skin tones, ''normal'' style of dress, and the different, non Beastkin races let you know that they were visitors. Everything looked clean and friendly, but then again it was a tourist oriented city, so... Making our way down the various smooth stone roads, we eventually found ourselves in front of a three story building that had the entire front painted to show andscape scene, adding more vibrancy to the city and making it a rather noticeable ce inside the city. The Wisps parked the carriages inside the smaller building that was attached to the main portion, unhitching the horses and letting them graze and drink inside their pens before opening the doors, allowing us out. "Marquess, Lady Jahi, if you would remain in here until wee and get you, that would be excellent. Lady Leone, Lady Anput, Lady Kat, if you''d like to apany us inside so that we could get ourselves situated?" We all nodded at the masked woman, the ck half mask that covered her mouth and cheeks rather indiscreet, usually used by mercenarypanies or adventuring groups. The Marquess and Jahi leaned against the carriages, watching as we left the barn like structure behind and entered the painted inn, finding ourselves inside a rtively empty, quiet and cozy setting. Red wood nks contrasted the white stone walls, while the window shutters were wide open, allowing the air to flow in and out of the inn and keep the temperature regted to a bearable degree; once out of the sun, the heat wasn''t as bad as you would think. Standing behind the counter beside the door was an older Dogkin woman, her graying hair and floppy ears making her both mature and gentle, and she smiled softly at us as we entered, her dazzling blue eyes dancing between us beforending on the Wisp who approached her. "Do you have four rooms avable? Room and board preferably." "Of course dear~! Y''know, you''re rather lucky; this week is the lull between the two separate vacationing crowds, so most ces are going to be rtively empty! Four rooms you said? Would you prefer being closer to the entrance or further away?" The mature Dogkin flipped through arge book and waited for an answer, which the Wisp provided after a few moments of thought. "Closer, please. Should be less sun at night that way." Chuckling, the Dogkin nodded before jotting down a few things in her book, saying "The price for four rooms is 20 Silvers a night, which includes two meals, served within two hours of both dawn and dusk. How many nights will you be here?" The Wisp opened a pouch and slid a Gold coin to the woman, before dropping a few more Silvers into her hands as she said "Just five, and that''s for you. May we use the connecting door between the barn and here to bring in our gear?" "Of course dear, let me open it for you... Really, it is nice having such arge party staying here for a few days~! I thought I was going to be bored out of my mind this week!" While she walked over towards a door on the far right wall, the Dogkin woman fiddled with a ring of keys and began to slip a few off, nodding to herself as she stared at them before handing them to the Wisp, who distributed them between Kolia, Leone, and another Wisp. "If you''re looking for some more innocent fun, try to be back here by dusk~! My wife and I will be? performing then, and usually quite a few localse around to drink and sing along~! During the day though, most people are busy at work, so don''t hesitate to chat with me! I can tell you so~ much about our beautiful city of Vulpe~!" I felt my lips curling into a smile as she continued to talk with us, fiddling with the keys again and opening the door that connected the barn to the inn. One of the Wisps nodded and began to talk to the innkeeper, turning her away and learning what she could about the city while we grabbed our stuff - and the Demoness'' - and made our way inside and upstairs, reaching our rooms and entering inside. With so many people, it wasn''t that bad inside the four rooms, with the most pressing matter being if we would have enough sleeping space individually, but that was only if we were sleeping on our own. After putting our gear down and returning downstairs - leaving the Marquess and Jahi upstairs for now - we gathered around a table and ordered some food, during which the Dogkin woman happily continued to chat with us. "Wee to the Barking Sun Inn~! Shoulda said that earlier, but it slipped my old mind! You''ll be rather close to quite~ a few great stores, theaters, music halls, gambling dens, and an escort hall, so do enjoy yourselves~! I''ll be back in a few minutes with your food; should still have some stew and bread baking..." We watched as she sauntered away, humming to herself, before we began to talk quietly amongst ourselves, discussing the n for today loosely. Chapter 608 607: Slinking Around

Chapter 608 Chapter 607: Slinking Around

"So how do we n to pay our dear friend a visit, hmm? Surprise them, or announce ourselves and let theme to us? Both have merit, just as they have their own downsides..." Budan - the other Knight of Cinder that the Empress had join us - was an indiscreet bald man with sun kissed skin and a gentle expression, his only defining feature being the eight pronged wheel that was tattooed onto his brow, the vivid green ink standing out rather well on his darker, brownish skin. His simple soft green robes and long metal staff were the only things that the man brought with him for this trip, and considering that the Marquess didn''t seem too concerned about it, none of us doubted that he was prepared for whatever was toe. "Get a feel of the city first; find some points of interest and peruse for a bit before making a true decision. Maybe we''ll hear something from the locals to give us a better idea, maybe we won''t. Either way, I think the rest of today should be spent settling in and getting some preliminary tasks out of the way. Perhaps some shopping?" The Wisp who spoke nced at Leone, Anput and I, adding "If the Ladies would like to, that''d be an excellent use of your time today. Get to see the sights and sounds of Vulpe City yourselves? Mister Budan, I do believe there is a temple here as well, if you''d like to visit it." The monkish man smiled softly as he nodded, his brown eyes holding intrigue as he said "Ah, that would be nice... Learning more about the people''s religion is always an excellent time; so much can be understood through faith, through belief." "Mm. Miss Kolia, if you wouldn''t mind apanying the Ladies for their shopping..? I do believe they still require a chaperone despite their age..." We raised a brow at that, before shrugging as Kolia gave us a grin, the Serpentkin woman''s green eyes sparkling as she said "Oh most certainly~! They can still be so~ mischievous sometimes, can''t they~?" Giving my former teacher a dry look, I sighed before ncing over my shoulder as I heard the Dogkin return, her happy humming filling the room before she spoke, dancing over to our table with the food. "Aye, it''d be best to keep an eye on any youngsters inside Vulpe~! Too many ''fun'' ces they could get lost in. Wouldn''t want them to be exposed to anything too~ unbing at that age, no? Ah, if it''s shopping you''re looking for though, go down the road just across from the entrance and browse those stores!" She chucked as sheid out the two tters she was carrying, one holding what looked like a cauldron and the otherden with breads and fruits. "If you want something besides water or the initial cup of juice, it''ll cost extra~! We do have some terrific pomegranate wines, or some sweet ales if you''d like~?" The Dogkin looked around expectantly, before she shrugged and grinned at us as we all shook our heads - Anput reluctantly - and made her way back towards her counter, saying "If you have any questions at all, dears, please feel free to ask me~!" We ate quickly before migrating back to the rooms for a moment, where we handed the two Demoness'' some bread and a small sphere of stew each that I transported up with magic, making sure it didn''t spill anywhere; after feeding them, we informed them that we were heading out, and that was when one of the Wisps told them that they''de back soon with some body paint to help them blend in. It was something that made us all stop for a moment before smiling wryly as we never even thought of something like that, making us appreciated the Wisps just a tad more as we began to make our way back outside. Honestly though, it was partially entertaining to think of the Marquess and her daughter sort of like puppies for a moment; left inside a room with food, water, and told not to break anything or cause any trouble. It was a thought that made me chuckle quietly to myself, and when we stepped onto the streets of Vulpe with our ''chaperone'' in tow, it made the othersugh too. "Don''t EVER let the Marquess or the Lady hear you say that, Kat~! Haha~! That''s too funny~!" Kolia was the one to get the most enjoyment out of it, nearly tearing up as she held her sides, which only made usugh harder as we made our way down the street, attracting only a little attention as we walked side by side. Eventually reining herself in, Kolia chuckled some more before looking around, asking "What do you girls want to see first then~? Clothes, jewelry? Walk around for a bit, go see a y?" I pursed my lips before smiling, my eyesnding on the various racks and mannequins of a storefront, specifically the colorful, intriguing pieces of clothing. Following my gaze, the others blinked a few times before they disyed a few different expressions; Anput was excited, Kolia neutral, and Leone slightly embarrassed. Like we had already noted, the clothing here in Vulpe was scanty and racy most of the time, and I was rather curious to see the others in it, as well as myself... honestly, this city seemed perfect to sit back and rx, even if the woman who was arge threat to us currently resided here. It just felt like a good excuse to let down my hair and have some fun, since we needed to act like tourists and all anyways, I was just thinking ''why not?'' Especially when I saw how red Leone''s cheeks got as she took a look at the clothing avable for purchase; it was simr to the extremely casual, low material articles of clothing, which consisted of tight tube tops, short skirts, hot pants, revealing dresses... Everything here screamed ''look at me'', with a few of the more covering articles of clothing still being far from what was considered the norm back in the Capital. Which was why I enjoyed dragging Leone over towards the store with a grin, not giving the Vampire much of a chance to react as I began to rifle through the clothes, looking for something that would suit her. Of course, I wasn''t going to let this be a ''waste'' of time as well, so I grinned at the shopkeeper - a sensual Rabbitkin proudly disying her toned abs - and began to ask a few questions, keeping them indiscreet as I opened a dialogue between me and her. All while I browsed the clothes, of course~! Chapter 609 608: ’Shopping’

Chapter 609 Chapter 608: ''Shopping''

Leone blushed hard as I lifted up one of the pieces of clothing and held it up to my chest, smiling coyly at her as I asked "What do you think, Leone~? Would this look good on me?" Watching as her pale cheeks turned red with two different emotions was quite enjoyable for me, and I felt my smile widen as she inspected the top I was holding before looking towards my chest, very clearly wondering what this would look like on me... or more specifically, just~ how much she wanted to see me in it. Though, I could clearly see her go from wanting to see me in it to never wanting me to wear it since it might just draw quite a bit of attention my way. I was holding up a simple ck tube top that would hug my chest tight and go down towards my stomach at best, or at worst end just below my breasts; either way, the stic top would entuate my bosom quite a lot, which was why I was enjoying teasing the Vampire in front of me. Of course, Anput was still around, and the Jackalkin had her own outfit already picked out, her lips curling into a sharp smile as she asked "Leone, what about this~?" Our olive skinned lover was far more ustomed to revealing her skin, and what was in her hands only spoke of that; ck straps made of the same thing as the tube top that were only three-ish inches thick and meant to connect to a cor, only covering your breasts and that was it. It was amongst the far more skimpy outfits on disy here, and even I had to raise a brow at Anput, before shrugging as I recalled that her normal style of dress was usually the exact same, but with transparent cloth covering her sides and abdomen. But, Leone seemed to have forgotten that as her blush deepened, clearly imagining the sight of our Jackalkin lover in such tantly sexy attire. Admittedly... I was imagining it too, and I had to admit that it was something I very much wanted to see... "Are youdies finding everything alright? Any questions? Or would you like to try on what you''ve picked out?" Anput and I grinned widely as we nodded, the Jackalkin going to the changing room while I asked "My lover is a tad shy, do you have anything here that''s a bit more... covering?" The Rabbitkin matched my grin, her lithe frameplimented by an outfit simr to what Anput wanted to try out, and she gestured towards a new rack and said "This would be the better ce to check~! We have quite a few dresses avable here, as well as some more ''formal'' attire, if you''d like~?" I dragged Leone over to the rack, stopping in front of it and beginning to flick through the various clothes, speaking as I did so. "Vulpe is a unique ce, isn''t it? So freeingpared to home." "Where are you from, if I may ask?" The Rabbitkin was leaning against the rack, her smile still painted on her face as she watched me closely, all while she made sure to keep the rest of the store in view - as well as the changing room. "Oh, we''re from the Yujoa Barony. Everyone there''s so strict and work oriented, y''know?" She chuckled and asked "Yujoa... that''s outside the Capital, isn''t it? Probably why it''s so stuffy~! All that formal, serious work... Blegh, I couldn''t take it. Don''t know how you could live all serious all the time!" "I get that. That''s why I decided to force her to take a break away from it all with me, y''know? Let our hair down for a bit, rx~! Enjoy ourselves... Ooh, this one!" I spotted a nice red dress, and I pulled it out and grinned at Leone, holding it beside her and nodding to myself as I imagined the Vampire wearing what I had picked out. The dress had acy front that revealed quite a bit of cleavage, while the midriff had a corset sewn into it, making sure that thece would pop and giving the wearer more of an hourss shape. Below, the red cloth remained in, though there was a long slit from the hem all the way up towards the upper edge of the thigh, revealing most of your leg, though to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions that might reveal too much, the slit was filled with the samece as up top, keeping the dress altogether and preventing any of it from being peeled back. Considering Leone''s voluptuous curves, this dress would make her even more of a knockout than she already was, and the Vampire blushed harder as she took note of that as well. "Nice pick~! If the idea was to make this beauty here stand out from the crowd, this will certainly do the trick!" I chuckled and nodded, before we looked towards Anput as she stepped out from the changing room, a smirk on her lips as she revealed her muscr torso proudly to the world, all while her breasts were held in ce by the ck straps. "Like it? I think it''s perfect~!" My mate rubbed her abs before rolling her shoulders out, loosening herself up before she flexed her muscles a bit, making me chuckle some more before saying "It suits you! Though..." Flipping through the rack a few more times, I tossed Anput a leotard and some hot pants, making the Jackalkin light up before she returned to the changing room. "Second lover, or..?" The Rabbitkin raised a brow at me, and I smirked back at her as I proudly answered "Second lover~! Rather lucky woman, aren''t I~?" She rolled her eyes at that, though she smirked as she said "If you want, there is a couples bar just down the way..?" Winking at her, I said "I''ll keep that in mind~!" before turning back towards Leone, handing her another dress before looking some more, beginning a new set of dialogue with the shopkeeper, who followed me around after noting that I was the one to take charge amongst our group. Everything begins one step at a time, and I had begun to take quite a few steps as I continued to shop, knocking a few things down with one stone as I began to pick out more clothes for us all, enjoying myself immensely. Especially whenever I got to see Leone''s red cheeks as she looked at the various outfits I asked for her opinion on; that was what made this so~ worth it. --- Having a little fun with it, sorry if it feels a tad~ slow right now lol --- Chapter 610 609: Outfits

Chapter 610 Chapter 609: Outfits

"So what''s Yujoa Barony like? Nice ce to live, or is it as stuffy as I think it is?" Holding up another dress, I admired the material and pattern as I replied "Yujoa''s not that bad; the city is clean and simple, and the countryside is beautiful and lush. A bit of a journey between Yujoa and the Capital, but nothing unmanageable." The Rabbitkin nodded, her eyes curious as she watched me sift through some more dresses before I moved over to a new rack, deciding to try my hand at picking out something racier for myself... You think I was going to be given these options and NOT take something that might just rile up my thirsty partners~? Of course~ I was going to tease my very easily aroused partners with something a bit more revealing... "If you don''t mind me prying a bit more... what do you do? How can you afford traveling here and staying for... however long? Though I have to admit, your timing is impable. We''re in a lull from the various tourist seasons, so most ces are going to be more forgiving price wise..." "Your''s too~?" She smiled wryly back at me, her eyes dancing over the various outfits already littering Leone''s arms as she shrugged, saying "Maybe." I giggled and nodded, before answering her previous question, continuing this line of questioning and adding in my own, navigating it towards something more beneficial for me. "Nothing special, we just run a potion store and sell to the adventurersing in and out of the Capital. We''re not the greatest in the world, but it pays the bills and then some~! Though it''d be such a stress free life if we were making dyes instead of potions, y''know? I always wanted to move away from the chaotic hubbub of those cities near Dungeons, move away from the danger. I''d always heard that the Rena County was a peaceful ce..." I observed the Rabbitkin''s face, and upon hearing her sigh and look away, I raised a brow and hesitantly asked "It is... right?" As if worried that I might be afraid for my safety right here, right now, the Rabbitkin grinned and shook her head, saying "Oh most certainly! Sorry, it''s just... There''s nothing wrong with the city, or some criminal loose. Just some unsettling rumor is all, and honestly one that I don''t ce much faith in, y''know? The city''s a safe ce, don''t worry about it!" Pursing my lips, I stared at the Rabbitkin for a few moments before turning to see Anput step out from the changing room, her new outfit washing away my ''unease'' as I admired her, liking what I was seeing. The ck leotard hugged her body closely, leaving her sides and arms bare to the world and - in my opinion - making her incredible alluring since her muscles were on disy, while her abs could be seen slightly underneath the fabric. As for the pants, the washed out ckish gray shorts stopped just a few inches down her thighs, leaving her legs bare and entuating her perky bottom, though the focus was on her fluffy tail as well, which matched with the pants. "What about this one~? I really~ like this one!" I didn''t miss the Rabbitkin sighing in relief as I approached my mate, having her spin around as I observed her from all sides before nodding, a smile on my lips as I said "It looks excellent on you, love~! Really, really good..." Anput smirked at me as she stepped closer, her scent washing over me as she whispered "That''s enough for me... Now I want to see you in something new, Kat... Try something on for me, alright?" I shivered as she gave my butt a yful p, looking at the clothing in my arms before picking one up and saying "This one.", scooping the rest from me and pushing me inside. Before I made my way into the changing room, I muttered "Ask the Rabbitkin about the safety of the area; act like a concerned lover, not a warrior, alright? Don''t push it, but pry a little..." Anput''s expression didn''t change as I said that to her, and without another word I slipped into the changing room, unfurling my new outfit and smirking as I began to strip and prepare myself for something that I had never thought I''d wear in this world, but something I had worn as just a dumb college girl. The tube top slipped easily over my head but not so easily over my breasts, the stretchy material still struggling to contain my size as I shuffled it around, before I rolled it down and smoothed it out, smirking to myself some more as I looked down at my now enunciated chest, before shimmying on the short skirt that did little to hide my curvaceous bottom half, a gust of wind threatening to put it on disy for anyone to see. Was it what I wanted? No; if anyone ogled me too openly or too perversely, I''d cut them, especially if they tried to pull something or flirt with me, but otherwise..? Wouldn''t this get my mate riled up just~ the right way if I wore it for just her~? Thinking so, I made sure everything was on before pushing the curtain aside and stepping back out into the store, enjoying the way both Anput and Leone fell silent and how their jaws dropped as they stared at me, clearly stunned from what they saw. The Rabbitkin nodded in appreciation, before she smirked as well as she took note of the expression on both of their faces, likely sensing a sale being made from just that alone. "Holy..." "Wow..." My smirk widened as I stepped forwards, sping my hands behind my back and leaning forwards as I gave them the view that they wanted, asking "What do you think~? Does it suit me~?" Surprisingly, it was Anput who stepped forwards to gently push me back into the changing room, a dress now in my arms as she said "Sexy, and I wanna push you down right here, right now... which means you need to change. Not a fucking chance someone see''s you like this except me..." Her soft growl made me shiver, and I felt my body tingle in all the right spots as the curtains were drawn back over the changing room, leaving me to stand nkly inside the small curtained off area contemting just how well I thought this through... Because now I was the one feeling a little bit thirsty... Chapter 611 610: Information

Chapter 611 Chapter 610: Information

All in all, I tried on around a dozen outfits but only purchased four of them, while Anput bought the two she tried on; as for Leone, she purchased the dress, albeit begrudgingly after feeling extremely embarrassed when she wore it. For my own purchases, I got a sleeveless, low cut dress with a corset sewn into it, enjoying the looks my two lovers gave me as I showed myself off, beforeing back out a minuteter with an outfit that almost matched Anput''s. A leotard hugged my chest tightly, while a pair of shorts did their best to conceal my lower half, and I even paired it with some stockings toplete the look, which drew Leone''s attention as she obviously ogled my legs. That made me feel quite happy as I struck a few poses for her, smirking at the flustered Vampire when she realized she got caught, all while Anput stared at me with a small smile that held quite the promise for the actions I had been taking. The third outfit was the most tame of the bunch by far, being a pair of tight ck denim pants that hugged my legs and butt closely, and I paired it with a sleeveless crop top, btedly noting that this was something that I had worn in my old life quite a few times... albeit with less confidence since I wasn''t as fit as I was now. Either way, it felt nice to be in something so... familiar, yet foreign due to what I was so ustomed to wearing inside this world, which was my maid uniform as well as the adventuring gear, so being in something so casual felt... refreshingly weird. Thest outfit was the one that had made Anput disy her possessive, obsessive side, which was the tube top and the short skirt, and I purchased that simply because I had a good feeling that if I wore it for any of my three girls, I could get myself one hell of a night from them... All in all, it was quite the haul, and a rather expensive one at that, but it was well within reasonable limits and was worth the price attached to it. As we paid for everything and ced them into two separate bags to be transported, I sent Anput and Leone away first before hesitantly asking "Earlier you said there was a rumor going around... may I ask what it was?" Seeing a silver coin appear on her counter, the Rabbitkin nodded as she epted the extra money, leaning on her counter and replying to me in a low, conspiratorial voice as she said "There''ve been rumors going around that the Rena Family is in a bit of a rut right now. Lady Hanara is the rightful - and undisputed - heir to the Rena Family, but recently her sister, Lady Vitra, has been making some moves to snatch that spot. Problem is, where she used to have some friendlypetition with her sister using their businesses as proxies, she recently hired a few adventurers and had them brought to the city..." She looked around the area before adding "There isn''t a Dungeon near enough to warrant that, and the only time adventurers are brought into the city is for transportation... yet there are no shipments being made. It''s caused quite a stir amongst us natives, but Lady Hanara is strong, as is Countess Rena. So don''t worry, but... be careful. I heard they''re unsavory types as well, and with how gorgeous you three are, be doubly careful if you ever find yourself on the north side of the city, where the Vulpine Manor is located. That''s it though... I hope you enjoy your time here~!" I nodded, slipping her another silver before turning and joining the others as we began to make our way down the road, browsing the various stores from the street and looking for the next ce to visit. While we were walking, I nced at Kolia and asked "Miss Kolia, you didn''t have anything you wanted to buy? No clothes for someone special~? Or is Jahi going to tease you again~?" The Serpentkin woman red at me before pouting, crossing her arms over her lithe frame and saying "I DO have a someone special now, thank you very much! And no, I don''t need to dress up for her! She dresses up for me..." She trailed off as she realized what she was saying, making me grin as I asked "Who is it~? Who managed to snatch our wonderful teacher and bring her out of her shell~?" Anput was smirking too as she watched the usually confident Kolia blush hard, while Leone just watched on from the side with a blush of her own, still stealing nces at me as she tried to forget what she had seen earlier. For the moment though, I was too curious about who Kolia was seeing, wondering just who was able to not only meet the woman''s standards but also make her happy, so the thought of teasing Leone slipped from my mind and was instead reced by this new nugget of information. "Fine! Since you''re going to poke and prod the entire time anyways, I''ll tell you! It''s a Wind Djinn named Aurae, alright?! You two know who she is!" Her cheeks turned scarlet as she said that, and I looked towards Anput, who grinned some more as she said "I never thought you''d go after someone like her, Miss Kolia~! She''s rather... untamable, isn''t she~? Ah, and Kat, she''s a pretty talented mage, which likely met our teacher''s requirements~!" Kolia''s entire head was red now, and the Serpentkin waved her hands before pointing at me, her voice slightly shrill as she asked "What did the shopkeeper say!? Did we learn anything?!" My grin didn''t leave even as I gestured for us to take a seat at a nearby table, away from the ears of the city folk as I said "Apparently the Rena''s are facing a bit of inside turmoil. V made a move and brought in some outside muscle, and the Rabbitkin didn''t know exactly what to make of it, but she said to steer clear of Vulpine Manor, since that''s where these adventurers are located. And they''re unsavory ones too, so..." Our Arch Mage was still blushing hard, but she managed to say "T-Then they should talk easily. Liquor and a few words to lead them away from theirrades before pouncing on them and interrogating them... Find out why they were brought in before determining if we need to move quicker or not..." I nodded, still grinning as I added "It all depends... though we should learn a bit more and get some of that ironed out with the other shopkeepers. Figure out what''s consistent. And as we do so, you can tell us all~ about you and this Aurae, Miss Kolia~!" Chapter 612 611: Report ? Going from store to store was a fun adventure considering our group; Kolia trying to keep us all focused and serious, Anput walking around and doing whatever she pleased, Leone being embarrassed by the openness of the citizens, and me being a healthy blend of both Kolia and Anput. Vulpe was an incredible city to experience, and the more we walked around to experience it, the more I was tempted to ask if we could stay when this was all over to rx and take advantage of the facilities this wonderful city had to offer. Walking through the streets with Jahi and hopping from bar to bar before going back to an inn, or perhaps if she wasfortable enough, going to a club and letting loose in the atmosphere only a club could provide... Gambling with Anput and betting on who would win more at the end of the night, tying our own rewards to the bets and enjoying ourselves that way before going home and receiving said rewards... Or teasing Leone as we walked around, staying clear of the facilities and instead just going to watch a y or listen to a band y, have a nice dinner with some drinks and ending the night off together... All of those sounded like wonderful ideas, and I was growing even more tempted to ask if I could make those fantasies reality when this was all said and done, but considering we have no idea on just what exactly is happening to Lady Vitra Rena, well, those would remain tantalizing fantasies, locked away inside my mind. Bringing myself out of my head, I continued to create a mental list of the various things that the shopkeepers and other citizens were saying whenever we entered a store or restaurant, making sure to keep an ear out for any juicy tidbit that we could. The Rabbitkin''s rumor was further confirmed and developed upon inside a knickknack shop, the kind older Mousekin man nodding and telling us ''young girls'' to steer clear of the northern parts of the city during our stay, lest we invite trouble unto ourselves thanks to the unruly hooligans that Lady Vitra brought in. ording to the random passerby that heard us, one of those hooligans had made a big scene over at a brothel in regards to his tab, demanding the Madame of the brothel to drop the tab since he worked for Lady Vitra, and that if anything, she should be paying him to visit her brothel. Of course, it would seem that the Pleasure Districts of any location were always run by men and women wearing false facades, as the adventurer had been seen screaming and holding his broken arm as the Madame watched him leave her brothel, so there was likely some more merit to the rumor... But at the end of the day, none of us had seen it, nor had we known anyone involved, so the amount of embellishment could be enormous, which meant we took it with a ratherrge grain of salt as we moved onto the next store. More and more variations and stories regarding the rumor were told to us after we greased the palms of the various shopkeepers, confirming that there was at least a group of unruly, unscrupulous adventurers that the Lady brought in to the city''s walls, while the various tales of their crimes alreadymitted seemed varied and exaggerated, but there was likely some truth there as well. After two or so hours had passed since our arrival, we returned to the Barking Sun and made our way upstairs, giving the mature innkeeper a smile and a nod before walking into our room, Kolia following behind us as we went to make our report to the Marquess and Jahi, who had been cooped up all day long. What we walked in on was an interesting sight, and we couldn''t help but purse our lips as we watched the two tall Demoness'' get their arms, legs, and faces painted dutifully by the Wisps, who were applying a dark brown paint to their bodies, giving the two women a rich chocte skin tone that looked out of ce for us, but... If you were to see them now, you might assume the Marquess to be a Bullkin or perhaps a rare variant of Earth Djinn, while Jahi could be a Ramkin or Earth Djinn as well. It was still hard to envision them as something besides Demoness though, and watching their blue skin get reced by a rich chocte color was rather odd, but it looked really good from a disguise standpoint as the two women were thoroughly painted a new color, altering their entire visage and then some. Of course, there was a small part of me that hated that the Wisps were being incredibly thorough with their work, going so far as to paint the two Demoness'' torso''s as well, allowing them to have some more freedom of dress should they need it, and as such the Wisps were getting a good feel of Jahi''s abdomen at the moment, but after a few deep breaths and noticing that the Demoness in question was zoned out, I let out a sigh of relief, my jealousy and possessiveness abating somewhat. "Hm? Oh, you''re all back. Find anything of use out there?" The Marquess was also zoned out, but as soon as we entered she focused on us, her eyes scanning us over beforending on the bags in our hands, curiosity lighting her ruby eyes. "We did some shopping-" That made the two Demoness'' frown, while the Wisps remained as quiet as possible, just listening to whatever it was that we had to say. "-and talked to the various shopkeepers and citizens about the city and anything happening inside of it that we should be aware of. They all had one thing to say; Lady Vitra has changed, and she brought in a party of bad adventurers to apply pressure to her sister more directly, with the adventurers ''apparently'' having a track record of crimes already inside the city, ranging from petty brawling to ckmail and even attempted rape. Not the best look for Lady Vitra, but these adventurers are certainly doing their job being nuisances." One of the Wisps nodded, their masked face concealing all emotions perfectly as they said "Quite a few of the citizens seemed both wary and afraid of us as we walked around. Some disyed distaste towards us too. On top of the averse reactions, we took a look over at Vulpine Manor, where the Rena Family resides, and it was on rather tight lock. More so than normal... Magical Barriers, guards every fifteen feet, guards hidden on the rooftops... Vulpine Manor has be a stronghold, and no one got close to the entrance at all. Either they''re keeping something out, or they''re keeping something in." We nodded, before the Marquess sighed as she said "Another day of skulking around it is then. We need to lure out one of those adventurers and interrogate them, and perhaps even a guard? If not, sneaking in might be a valid option to learn a bit more... With no idea on what has caused this change in this Vitra woman, we don''t really have any reasonable strategy to work on, do we? Hah... I despise slinking around..." Chapter 613 612: Night Out In The City ? When it was all said and done, the two Demoness'' looked likepletely different women, going from blue skinned behemoths of muscles to instead brown skinned behemoths of muscle. Doesn''t sound like thergest change in the world, but they were entirely different to those who didn''t know who they were, and as long as they didn''t slip up, this disguise should hold up for the foreseeable future, with some of our current ns benefiting from the ability to utilize the two women freely, instead of having to sneak them around hoping that no one noticed their unique skin tone. With this, they followed behind us as we began to make our way towards the Vulpine Manor, or at least the district surrounding it as we hoped to learn some more about the suddenly changed Lady Vitra so that we might figure out what was happening to her and better n for the future ahead. Budan rejoined us as well, the monk having little to report from the temple besides the exact same sentiment that seemed to be pervading the entire city of Vulpe, which was that their Lady Vitra had gone from being someone virtuous and kind to someonepletely different; impulsive, irritable, and petty were the words that the people used to describe her, and that was mixed in with the sadness and disappointment that the people felt regarding the fall of someone that they looked up to. What also seemed to be something pervading the city was that the Rena Family itself was being unusually slow in regards to acting on this sudden shift in Lady Vitra; nothing hade out of the Manor in regards to what they were nning on doing, or if Lady Vitra was alright... nothing at all, and that worried the people as well, but since the city''s infrastructure and government was still running smoothly and unhindered by this development, they were cing their faith once more in Countess Rena and her eldest daughter, Lady Hanara. That was always on our minds as we walked through the darkening streets of Vulpe City, but as we made our way towards the northern district, we maintained the appearance of a happy, anticipatory group as we made our way to one of the many bars in the city, talking andughing amongst one another as we watched the city change right before our eyes. Lanterns made from opaque red or pink paper were hung outside of doors and lit, dousing the streets in a red glow as the citizens prepared for the night, while more and more of the native Beastkin found their ways onto the streets to mingle around and begin a night of rxation in all senses of the word. Gambling dens, bars, theaters, and especially brothels became overly popted in a matter of minutes, and we were lucky enough that we had left so early to reach the bar in time, taking one of therger tables off to the side and grinning at one another as flights of wine were shipped to our table. The focus of us all was Kolia, who was blushing as she became the center of attention of the Marquess, Jahi, Budan and the three of us who went shopping with her, the beans having been spilt and on full disy for the entire party to inspect. The Wisps were splitting up amongst the city; one was left behind to look over us, while two went to inspect the Vulpine Manor, and the other two wandered the streets to take advantage of the lower guard of partying citizens. "You finally decided to be less of a prude then, Kolia~? I don''t think you ever had any sort of rtionship outside of your research and ''noves''!" The Serpentkin hissed softly in embarrassment as she took a sip of her wine, making her red cheeks even darker as she grumbled "Why is everyone so damn interested in my love life?!" Jahi was the one to respond, grinning as she said "Perhaps because it''s rather surprising to learn that you managed to push yourself away from those ''noves'' for a long enough time to snag a real partner~? We all knew you could do it, but seeing and believing are two very different things, my dearest teacher! Besides, we''re proud of you for that~! Little Miss Kolia, finally growing up~!" That made the woman re at Jahi, before she blushed even harder as the Marquess decided to be rather blunt about everything, asking "So is this Aurae incredible in bed, doing all the things you want and then some~? Or is reality not holding a candle to fiction?" Leone blushed as well, quietly sitting beside me and trying her best to tune out the conversation in front of her, likely still having shbacks to earlier as I caught her sneaking nces at me every now and then. "T-That''s i-incredibly inappropriate..! B-Besides, we a-are taking things slowly! P-Properly!" We all grinned at her, noticing that she was squirming around and not meeting any of our gazes, amusing us all greatly before Anput decided to throw a lifeline to the Serpentkin, changing the subject somewhat. "What do you all think about the city so far? I have to say, I quite like it~! Seems like a fun, freeing ce... bet it''d be even better if you were single, but it still seems like a lot~ of fun if you have the coin to spare!" Taking my cup, I sipped on the wine before pursing my lips, feeling the crest on my lower navel tingle as I said "Cali really likes this ce, and honestly? It does feel like such a nice change of pace. No one here is worried about being ''formal'' or ''proper'' at all, and it does seem like it could be fun to roam around aimlessly at night, going wherever and doing whatever." The Marquess nodded, adding "Been here once before a LONG time ago, and the ce has changed. Used to be more serious thanks to the various Nobles maintaining connections with the tailors here, but after they became independent and the Rena Family took more power, it''s loosened up." Our discussion continued on as we drank some more, maintaining the appearance of a table upied by awestruck and pleasure seeking travelers as we drank and enjoyed the rowdy atmosphere, but none of us missed the door opening and four people walking in, confidently and easily maneuvering through the crowd and upying the front of the bar, kicking the other patrons out of their seats and beginning to act like they owned the ce. Three men and a woman made up the group, and their armor and weapons told us exactly who they were as they began to ''flirt'' with the barkeep and other patrons, going so far as to pull one of the barmaids onto theirps and grope them before taking shots. We kept speaking, but we all were focused on the four adventurers, observing them and trying to learn more about our enemy, which they weren''t trying to conceal whatsoever. In fact, we learned very quickly what we were dealing with as they remained in the bar, all of our expressions stiffening slightly as we watched them closely. Chapter 614 613: Unmasked

Chapter 614 Chapter 613: Unmasked

Swirling the wine around in my ss, I narrowed my eyes as I listened to the soft whisper of Cali that graced my ears from afar, the Arch Fiend still hiding away from all of our views but remaining nearby enough to be able to see what was happening around us. "Eugh... they positively reek of Fiendish energy... ambition and alteration is rolling off of them in equal measure. It would seem an insufferable Tza Fiend is backing them... Though I have to admit I am surprised that a cult has popped up this quickly. That exins their uncaring attitude..." My lips were pulled into a thin line as I sipped on my ss, the smooth, rich vor helping to soothe my mind for a brief moment as I tapped my finger against the ss, getting everyone to turn back towards me. "Cali says it''s a Tza Cult, but she also seems surprised it popped up this early, so perhaps its a rudimentary one?" The Marquess snorted as she drained her ss, filling it up again as she muttered "Rudimentary my ass... Nothing rted to those bastards is rudimentary. Least of all anything rted to the Tza''s. They thrive off of trickery and hidden meanings, half truths and lies. In other words..." "A real pain to deal with. Layers uponyers of different goals and objectives depending on the level of the member, with eachyer gaining more and more strength if they can understand what is given to them... The mostplicated amongst the four branches due to not having an easily identifiable goal..." Kolia sighed this time, her green eyes now serious as she mulled over the new set of information, looking towards the four adventurers who were quickly drowning themselves in hard liquor, making her roll her eyes as she muttered "These aren''t anyone special in this cult; simply muscle meant to get the groundwork of whatever they want done. Too stupid and obvious to be anyone of value. But, maybe they know something that we need going forwards?" "At the very least we''d understand what they were brought in to do, and how Lady Vitra hired them. Perhaps a better look into the mind of our troubled young Lady? Just wonder if they''ll even be capable of speech by the time we manage to nab one of them..." I frowned as I nced at the Marquess, asking "Was the n really to just... grab one and question them? Wouldn''t that alert their party that something was happening?" She just shrugged, draining half of her new ss in one gulp before replying "With how drunk they are right now? No, not really. Easiest thing to do would be drag them over to a brothel and pay for the night before asking them some questions... let the workers take care of them afterwords." My frown deepened, before I sighed and sat back in my chair, shrugging as I replied "I guess that could work... So, how long should we wait for that opportunity? After they assault the barmaids, or..?" Everyone else looked towards the four adventurers again, following suit with the rest of the bar as everyone watched the poor barmaids getting osted by the unruly thugs, but no one made a move due to the fear of not only those four, but also being used of something by the Rena Family, specifically Vitra Rena; no one knew what ties these people had to the youngest Lady of Vulpine Manor, so no one wanted to risk anything. Of course, there was both a level of indifference and indignance inside of me at the sight; I didn''t know them nor have anything to gain by helping them, so I didn''t care about what was happening before me, but I also came from a world where crimes like this were all too familiar and even more downyed than here, making me feel like I should step in and help since I had seen what those actions could do to those women. Again though... I wasn''t the same woman I was in my previous life, and if helping them meant cing my priorities at a detriment, then they''d have to suffer the consequences of being too weak to help themselves; it was cruel, but it was realistic. There were too many ways to grow stronger in this world to excuse being easily taken advantage of, at least in my eyes anyways. Anput, Jahi, Kolia, and the Marquess seemed to share the same sentiment as me, watching on cooly, but we all knew that one of us certainly wasn''t going to let it slide... and that person was Leone, who was far morepassionate to anyone then any of us, or even all of usbined. The Vampire watched as the four adventurers osted the barmaids for a few seconds longer before standing up and making her way over, resulting in the rest of us sighing as we stood up and followed behind her, hoping to avoid a confrontation, but... well, none of us were putting any coin on that oue. Budan might''ve, but the monk was also wearing a sharp smile as he idly stroked his prayer beads, cutting a rather imposing figure due to the bare muscles and confident, assured demeanor he had wrapped around him like a cloak. The Wisp inside the bar also made their way over, quietly slipping onto one of the avable seats beside the adventurers and remaining away from their lines of sight, since they all turned to grin and whistle as they saw Leone approach, unaware that the grey haired woman wasn''t easy prey. My smile twitched as I saw their eyes roaming the Vampire''s figure, and I didn''t even need to look to see that Anput''s fur was bristling, while the bond between Jahi and I only amplified the disgust and anger I felt at the actions of these hooligans as they groggily stood up, clearly drunk but still exerting quite the amount of strength on the barmaids. Chapter 615 614: Confrontation

Chapter 615 Chapter 614: Confrontation

"Hehe~! What d''we have here~? Wassup prettydy..." One of the men - a hulking Orc - stumbled forwards with the Mousekin woman in his arms still, slurring his words as he managed to get out "Wanna join a real~ man for a... for a... a night to remember!" Leone''s face was chiseled from stone, the Vampire ring at the Orc for a second more before looking at the other three, who weren''t as drunk as the Orc but still tipsy - but they were sobering up rapidly as their instincts picked up on the dangerous gleam in Leone''s eyes, flooding them with adrenaline. "Release the girls..." Her voice was as cold as her expression, but the Orc was swimming to deep in the liquor as he just snickered, his hand roaming the Mousekin''s body as he responded "Aww... don''t worry that pretty little he... huck~ head of yours, prettydy... there''s more than enough of... of me to go around~! So c''mere..." He stumbled forwards and beckoned for Leone to join him and the squirming barmaid, only to be dragged back by hisrades as they stepped forwards as well, not wanting to lose one of theirrades. Of course, the Orc grumbled in annoyance as hisrades pulled him away from the prettydy who was clearly going to join him, therge man stumbling around as he tried to remain steady on his feet. By now, the other three were almost entirely sober, but they kept their hands on the barmaids even as they noticed that it was more than just Leone, using the women now not as a source of pleasure, but as a shield against us. "Why don''t you mind your damn business? Turn around and walk away before things get ugly... Wouldn''t want to piss off Lady Vitra Rena, now would you?" My lips curled up in distaste at the tant use of their backer, the three clearly ustomed to hiding behind someone stronger and not using their own strength to do anything of value, which had the opposite result whenever they went against someone with strength of their own... None of us batted an eye as we remained where we were, staring down the four adventurers and? applying pressure to them to resolve this peacefully, but... Jahi and the Marquess pushed back their cloaks to reveal the glittering sight of cold steel, while Anput idly cracked her knuckles, the Jackalkin grinning at the adventurers as she all but begged them to grow a pair and fight. The woman - a muscr Bearkin - frowned and growled before pushing the Elven woman away from herself, grumbling "Just do as they say... no reason to fight." As the Elven barmaid scrambled away, she was joined by a Dogkin and Sheepkin, though the Orc kept the Mousekin in his hands, clearly displeased with hisrades. "Uzgar! Let the woman go!" Our Orcish friend grunted in displeasure and reluctantly allowed the Mousekin to go free, the woman scurrying away insanely quick and joining her friends behind the bar, all four of them still shaking in fear as they watched the four adventurers stand in front of the seven of us. Our eyes locked together for a few tense moments, before the four adventurers decided to cut their losses and begin to walk out of the bar, each of them ring at us for ruining their fun, while their eyes spoke of the slight fear they had of our group as we watched them walk past us. The Orc was being pushed by the Bearkin woman, not allowing the still drunk man to cause any problems as they brushed past us, while the other two men - a Boarkin and a Lionkin - red at us as they passed. But of course, it would appear that stupidity ran strong inside this party of adventurers as the Lionkin hooked his arm around my throat and pressed a dagger against my side, snarling "You think you''re so tough huh?! Just a bunch of stuck up whores, that''s all you are! So unless you want me to gank this Dogkin bitch, you''d best stay where the fuck you are!" I could only sigh as the man tried to drag me back, his breath making my skin crawl as he whispered "We''re going to have some fun with you, bitch... causing problems for us?! US?!" Walking back with him, I muttered "You really couldn''t have picked a worse target... and you really had to make this harder for us all... but no matter~!" Even without seeing his face, I could tell the man was confused at my words, his friends rallying behind him and unsheathing their own daggers as they tried to browbeat the other six people into letting me get kidnapped, but... Leone''s eyes were aze with anger, Anput''s grin was gigantic andden with promise, while Jahi''s lips curled into a disgusted sneer as she red at the adventurers; as for the others, they had small smiles as they watched everything start to unfold. Mana welled up inside the palm of my hand, and a sharp burst of wind eviscerated the Lionkin''s side, cutting deep into his flesh and making him scream in pain as arge chunk of his side was cut away, flesh and organs dropping to the ground with a wet plop. That burst also pushed him back, and I jumped forwards and into the arms of Jahi, who spun me back around and gave me the view of Anput weaving through the bar and mming a bottle across the head of the Orc, knocking him out before ducking beneath the swipe of the Bearkin''s dagger. A bolt of condensed mes mmed into the face of the Bearkin, making the woman scream in agony as the mana clung to her flesh and burned her, all while the Boarkin spun around as Jahi''s fistnded across his jaw. I chuckled before asking "So... what do we do now, hmm~? I do believe this wasn''t in the n!" Chapter 616 615: Layers

Chapter 616 Chapter 615: Layers

The others all froze as they looked towards me, before shrugging and idly gathering the four adventurers into a bunch, with Leone reluctantly cauterizing the wound of the Lionkin and stymying the flow of blood so that he wouldn''t die of blood loss... even if we all wanted to rip him limb from limb. Or y his skin from his flesh and show him the horrors that I was entirely capable of... and more than willing tomit; in fact, I would positively love~ to hear him scream for mercy after what he had done. Of course, there was the teeny weeny problem that we were still in public, and that the weaker willed, average citizens were currently screaming as they tried to look away from the wounded Lionkin and burnt Bearkin, only to be incapable of doing so as their eyes were drawn to the horrific wounds they had sustained. "QUIET!" The Marquess'' shout sliced through the various screams and chattering of the citizens and silenced them, making her nod as she quietly said "Anput, cover the adventurers." Our mate did as she was asked, summoning a wall of earth around the adventurers and breaking the line of sight from the citizens, calming their nerves somewhat. Looking back at the crowd, the Marquess was about to begin speaking again when the doors to the bar were thrown open, a squad of three armored guards bursting inside and looking around the area, instantly focusing on us as they noted therge crowd of people grouping around the door or walls, standing far away from us. "Back away! Throw the weapons down!" The head guard raised her spear and red at us, while one of the other guards made their way over to the crowd and began to question the witnesses, getting an idea on what happened here. Of course, none of us particrly cared to follow the guards orders directly, instead sheathing any weapons we had drawn and keeping our hands in view as we stepped away, letting the head guard and her helper approach the four adventurers. "What the hell..? Did you all do this?! " The Foxkin guard pointed her spear at us, her reddish brown eyes narrowed as she looked between the seven of us, all while the Wisp remained nearby and ready to help. "Hmm? You mean those four idiots? Yeah, we put ''em in their ce." That made the guards pause for a moment, not knowing how to respond, though the Foxkin asked "Why?! What did they do that deserved such excessive injury?" The Marquess just smirked as she began to list their crimes, counting them out on her fingers. "Not paying for their drinks and refusing a tab, harassing the barmaids, threatening the barmaids with both violence and sexual assault, threatening us, attempting to kidnap one of our members, threatening to sexually assault her... Should I continue?" The Foxkin grit her teeth the longer the Marquess spoke, before reluctantly lowering her spear and letting out a sigh as she red over at the adventurers, clearly recognizing who they were and barely concealing her disgust as she looked them over. "No... That''ll do, so long as your story matches with- Oh, alright. That''s fine then; please let us take care of them now, and have-" She was stopped in the midst of her sentence by the third guard, who nodded at her to confirm our story through the crowd, before getting stopped again as the Marquess interrupted her to say "Hmm... no. I''d like to ask a few questions of my own to them." Frowning, the Foxkin looked down at the adventurers before sighing again, pinching her nose as she loudly said "Wow, who knew we arrived two minutes from now! We really got to get speedier with these times!" The other two guards raised a brow at her before moving to her side, sitting down with her as she sat at a table near the door, adding "We might not be here for two minutes, but that doesn''t mean I''m taking my eyes off of them. Time starts now." Grinning, I crouched in front of the four adventurers along with the others and grabbed the jaw of the Boarkin, who was by fire the most sound of mind and capable to answer our questions. For a brief moment his gaze was smug, but as soon as I pressed my dagger against his throat and he saw that the guard wasn''t moving, that smugness drained away and was reced with fear, clearly not expecting to be treated in such a way. "Now... Wanna tell me what possessed you four to act like this, hm~? Surely even Lady Vitra would be against such a grant disrespect of thew, no?" My de remained pressed against his throat, and the Boarkin shivered as he felt the cold kiss of steel, not enjoying this version of intimacy. Crowding behind me, the others nced down at the Boarkin and acted as a shield, doing a little to prevent the Foxkin from hearing everything. "Actually... I don''t care about that." My voice dropped lower, but my grin widened, and I whispered "Want to tell me what a bunch of cultists are doing in such a nice city? Oh, don''t act like you don''t understand me... you reek of Fiendish energy, you Tza scum." His eyes widened to match my grin as I pressed the de closer to his throat, fear flooding his eyes as well as understanding as soon as he heard ''Tza''. "Y-You..! You''re a cultist as well! What makes you think I won''t just-!" Before he could continue, my grin dropped as I jabbed my free hand forwards, mming my fist against his throat and silencing him, all while my de dropped from his throat to another sensitive, dangerous area for him. His crotch. "Pick your words wisely. I''d rather not have to kill my way out of the city, so be mum about it, alright? Makes things easier on us both, and maybe you get to live... unless you would prefer being a eunuch for thest few minutes of your life? I can make that happen." The Boarkin nodded as he gasped for breath, trying to regain his ability to breathe and not piss himself as the de remained where it was, as well as gasping again as he saw my palm shine blue, healing him and making me smirk as I saw his brain make the connections that I had more than just wind in my repertoire. "Good... good! Now tell me, what exactly is your n, hmm~?" Chapter 617 616: Upon Layers

Chapter 617 Chapter 616: Upon Layers

The murmuring and quiet sobbing of the crowd further muffled our conversation, the Boarkin hastily whispering his answers to me as I asked question after question, growing somber faster and faster as the severity of this cult''s ns - the outline of them, anyways - were beginning toe together. However, two minutes isn''t a lot of time, and when I heard the sound of metal boots tapping against the wooden floorboards, I couldn''t help but sigh as I muttered "Speak about any of this to them, and I''lle find you and make you wish you''d never been born. Got that?" The Boarkin nodded, his entire body oozing fear as he felt the dagger in my hand prick his lower body, while my grin remained as sharp as ever, promising many things to this man before I stood up and wiped my expression clean, turning and stepping aside for the Foxkin guard. "They''re all yours, Miss guard~! I do hope you keep them off the street... they seem to be entirely incapable of mingling with normal people." That made the Foxkin grunt in agreement as she reached down and yanked the Boarkin up, before gesturing at the other three to rise as well, her spear gleaming dangerously as she red at them all. "Up! Under ordance of ourws, you will be undergoing a trial for your crimes before being sentenced. Upon which, you shall-" Her voice filled the bar as she began to lead the four criminals out of the establishment, informing them of their impending future and leaving everyone else behind in silence as we watched the seven people make their way out into the night. Many of the citizens followed them outside, deciding to call it a night after what happened and return to their homes, while a few others made their way over to the counter and ordered another round of drinks, needing something to take the edge off and dull their minds or help them forget. The barmaids hesitantly approached our group, bowing deeply and heaping praises and thanks upon us for saving them from such a terrible fate, with the Elf and Rabbitkin going so far as to try their luck with any of us, only to smile wryly as their attempt was met with res and shakes of the head. We departed from the bar as well, wanting to go to a quieter, confidential ce so that we could further discuss what we had heard from the adventurers, each of us mulling over this new development as we made our way towards a ce that the Wisp guided us to, finding ourselves in an empty, deserted alleyway. "It''s honestly annoying how much we learned, yet at the same time I feel like we learned nothing!? So this cult is devoted to a Tza Fiend, yet they don''t know the name of it? They''re trying to bring about change amongst the Nobility of the Empire, and yet they haven''t the faintest clue on how they''re going to do that? They were ordered to start with Vitra Rena, but they don''t have an idea on why she was the first target?" Everyone nodded at my words, with Budan saying "It is indeed interesting how uninformed these cultists are. I understand the grunts or dregs would be only given orders to follow with no understanding of the specifics of their n, but usually they have some grand scheme that they are working towards. Yet, their grand scheme is an empty, soulless thing like ''bringing about change to the Nobility''? What does that mean? What change? For what? However, it is undeniable that they were granted some powers in exchange for what has transpired... as unholy as those powers are, I can understand why those of a weaker will would ept such a hollow ideal in exchange for power." "Understanding it means nothing currently. I sincerely doubt they''ll end up in prison for long, and this''ll all trickle back to Vitra in one way or another, so if she''s a cultist as well, then..." The Marquess sighed as she stroked her chin, staring at the wall of the alleyway before turning towards the Wisp, who said "If you would like to verify the allegiance of Lady Vitra, then we should know soon after we infiltrate Vulpine Manor. There is likely quite a bit to uncover inside the Manor, and Goddess be willing, those will be answers instead of new questions. However, that means-" "That we need to just sit back and wait, no? Hah... espionage and this sneaky bullshit is so annoying." Jahi and her Mom both grumbled roughly the same thing, before everyone nced at me as I asked "Would I be able to infiltrate the Manor as well? Get Cali a bit closer on my own instead of her risking revealing herself? I''d imagine she''d be able to glean more than we could, considering this is one of her peers." Everyone else frowned at me, while the Wisp remained as nk as ever, staring me dead on before asking "Have you ever done any sneaking whatsoever, Lady Katherine?" Before Jahi could interrupt, I shrugged my shoulders and said "Yes and no? Not entirely infiltration, but I would say I have a decent grasp on moving quietly and remaining undetected." To disy some of what I meant, I conjured a silent gale of wind around me and coated my boots in it as well, whichpletely silenced the sound they''d normally make as I stomped on the ground hard, showcasing the trick I picked up from way back when. "A preliminary trial would be best... Marquess, with your permission?" All eyes turned towards the now chocte skinned Demoness, who frowned as she looked me over before ncing at Budan, who shrugged his shoulders and continued to stroke the prayer beads around his neck. Then she nced at Anput, Leone and Jahi, who were all - unsurprisingly - against this idea, making her sigh as she looked back towards me and said "Depends on your skill, I guess. There were a few establishments around here, no? Take her to one and give her a test; if she fails, she doesn''t go, but if she can do it... As much as I hate Fiends, ''Caligo would know more about what was happening then us." Chapter 618 617: Practice Run

Chapter 618 Chapter 617: Practice Run

Taking a deep breath, I surveyed the building across the street and located an entrance, before turning and giving the Wisp beside me a nod as I whispered "So you want me to go in, retrieve something of value,e back out and hand it to you? Isn''t that both risky and incredibly illegal? What if the owner is looking for that thing?" The Wisp just stared nkly at me for a few moments, eventually asking "You were the one to suggest a trial like this. Don''t tell me you''re getting cold feet? You suggested the trial and the eventual incursion into the Vulpine Manor, which is far more illegal to breach than some strangers home. Besides, we do know a thing or two about the city, and this house is owned by someone who is treading that thin line between being a citizen and being a criminal. Don''t worry about them, and just find something that looks important." That made me sigh as I continued to scan the building I was meant to break into, asking "And if I am caught, what then?" "Don''t get caught preferably, but if there is no other choice or there is severe danger to your life, try to knock the person out with a quick, clean blow to the temple before restraining them with some rope or something. If you want some advice, I would rmend checking any doors that look more solid than the others, and the easiest way to tell is how the door is constructed. Multiple pieces means a solid door, while a singr piece is lighter; the heavier the door, the more likely there is something valuable hiding behind it. Do you know how to lock pick?" I gave the Wisp a nod, making the masked guard raise a brow before shrugging, instead gesturing towards the house and saying "Then get to it, and be quick about it - but don''t be stupid; we can afford a little time lost, but not a lot." Nodding, I slipped off the roof and joined the flowing crowd on the street, cutting across nonchntly and finding my way around the cluster of houses so that I could climb up onto the roofs unseen, where I began to silently creep across the roof and crouch next to the window that I had spotted from the other side of the street. Water spread out from my hand and slipped into the lock, shimmying the various pins around inside and unlocking it with a soft click, allowing me to smoothly lift the window up and slip inside. The house was dark, but it wasn''t a problem for my enhanced senses as I stepped inside and closed the window behind me, taking a quick look at my surroundings. I was in a long hall that led towards a set of stairs on my left and three doors on my right, with light flickering underneath the furthest door along with the sounds of floorboards creaking and a woman moaning. A quick sniff of the air let me know that they had been at it for a little while now, the intoxicating stench of sex permeating the entire hallway and making me shudder for a moment before I shook my head and began to creep forwards, studying the two other doors while keeping my hearing focused on the sounds of the couple making love in the furthest room, wanting to be warned if they stopped anytime soon. One of the doors was a singr block of wood, and when I approached it I quietly opened it and looked inside, testing both its weight and verifying the Wisp''s information as I was greeted with the sight of a library, dozens if not hundreds of books lining the shelves and revealing nothing else inside the room, just afortable chair and table for reading as well as arger, cozy chaise lounge. Besides looking like a viin''s room, there was nothing of interest except the books, which could very well be the most expensive things in this entire house, but without a better idea on what to look for, I decided to leave that room alone and move to the other door, which was a much more borate doorpared to the first. Feeling that it was locked, I slipped some water into the lock and unlocked it before pushing the door open, making sure to move it slowly yet smoothly, all while I continued to listen closely to the couple going at it in the other room, which was something that Cali made sure to tease me about as she whispered "Why don''t we slip inside and take a peak there, hmm~? Offer to join in and let off some steam..." She wasn''t anywhere nearby - visibly anyways - so I just rolled my eyes and slipped into the room I opened up, which seemed to be an office; arge desk rested against one wall, while a heavy metal safe rested beside it, with a bunch of shelves and tables lining the walls that wereden with more books and trinkets. Of course, I approached the safe first after scanning the rest of the room, my boots gliding silently over the floorboards and allowing me to stop directly in front of the metal box, which I began to appraise in the dark room. Not finding much on the outside, I continued my search anyways as I checked behind it and under it, feeling the four legs and wondering if I would feel any wires or something, only toe up nk on that as well. Narrowing my eyes, I slipped some water into the lock and moved to the side, consolidating the water and pushing in the pins, unlocking the safe and opening it up, using some more water to pull the door open further. All the while, I got to listen to the euphoric noises of a woman getting whatever she wanted done to her in the other room, making my mood sour as I waited to see if something would happen with the safe, which thankfully didn''te to fruition. Looking inside, I saw a pouch of coins, a bar of gold, a few tokens and loose gemstones... honestly, quite the haul for such an ''unprotected'' safe... which made me wary. But, I still grabbed everything I could inside of it of immediate value - the coins, bar, and gems - before closing the safe and locking it again, before exiting the room and closing the door. Locking that too, I nced towards thest room and chuckled silently, approaching it and locking the door as well when I felt that mild annoyance at the random couple surge, making me do something petty. Trusting that the Wisp was being honest with me - which I had no reason to doubt thanks to them being the Empress'' personal guard - I felt nothing as I took my haul and slipped out of the house, leaving it silently like a ghost as I left nothing to clue anyone in that I had ever been here. The window got locked behind me as I made my way out, and before I knew it I was already at the other rooftop, where the Wisp was waiting with a pocket watch in their hand, counting the minutes. Showing off the goods that I had lifted from that persons safe, I saw the Wisp nod before they said "Not too bad. Rather quick, though that could''ve been faster, and you got some valuables. Didn''t get too greedy either. Though..." The Wisp reached over and pat my shoulder, adding "You could''ve been a tad more perceptive and noticed that I was there with you, no? Doesn''t matter though... makes me feel better." I stared nkly at the Wisp as they stood up and dropped into the alleyway, before I fell to the ground beside them and began to pester the professional about what they meant, unbelieving that they were really in the house with me as I robbed it, only to make me growl frustratedly as they deigned to remain silent. Chapter 619 618: Infiltration (1)

Chapter 619 Chapter 618: Infiltration (1)

"C''mon! What did you mean you were inside the house with me?! How?! Where?! You can''t just say that and then act like it''s not a big deal!" The Wisp just continued to walk through the streets of Vulpe City,pletely unbothered by my pleading as I tried to get an answer from them, wanting to know how they were in the same house as me without me noticing. "Surely you''re not lying, right?! So how..? How?!" "Mm... They''re not lying, Kat... they were there." Hearing Cali''s voice trickle into my ears, I growled softly as I red at the Wisp some more, who finally decided to speak, just not about the thing I wanted them to. "While it wasn''t the most perfect disy of stealth, nor was there any adversity you faced inside, your skills were admirable enough for me to feel confident that you could sneak in and out of the Vulpine Manor without hindering us or giving away our position, so congrattions; you made a gamble and it worked out." I pouted as they continued to walk without turning to face me, the Wisp leading me back towards the Barking Sun where the others were waiting, and where we would be discussing everything that would happen within the next few hours. As well as stash the loot that I had lifted from that house, which I was still rather curious about, but... whatever. On one hand it was quick gains for us since we could use that money to buy some materials instead of harvesting them, but on the other I was a tad worried that the owner of the house wasn''t as ''criminal'' as the Wisp said... but again, it was out of my hands and I was only following orders, so who cares~! I''ll just push the me on the Wisp~! And future me; future me has dealt with a lot~ of problems because of past me though, so... Anyways, we made it back to the Barking Sun and rejoined the others upstairs - after greeting the Dogkin innkeeper, who was humming to herself as she rested against the counter. Jahi was pacing the room, while Anput and Leone were sitting near the window, looking out over the city with slightly nervous expressions, and the Marquess... was just lounging on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Hearing the door open, they all turned to look at the Wisp and I as we entered, before the other Wisps, Kolia, and Budan came in as well, making the room rather cramped. Under the gazes of everyone, I ced my spoils on the table and ignored the raised brow of the Marquess, instead turning to embrace Jahi as the Demoness pulled me into her chest, clearly not enjoying having been separated once again for such a long time. In some ways, our numerical age still shown through, with the other two joining in a momentter as theyforted themselves with a group hug, all three of them feeling unsure about letting me out of their sights again. The mixture of their possessiveness, overflowing love, and fear of things repeating was only amplified by their inexperience in the world, though I would argue that they have more experience in the world than most of the people did in myst life... only because of how drastically different these worlds are, of course. Either way, it was nice that they were all so worried about me, but I could still remember Jahi''s amused words when we were younger, the Demoness saying ''What are we going to be like when we''re forced to be separate for longer periods of time?'' after just a few hours away from each other back when we first met Anput and Leone. Apparently... we were going to be the same now as we were then; helplessly dependent on one another to an unhealthy degree... "Ahem... We are on a time crunch, so if you would focus, that''d be excellent... Anyways, Lady Katherine disyed a fair amount of skill in stealth and infiltration, both through her magics and her natural talent, so I vouch for her to join the rest of us in infiltrating the Vulpine Manor to better understand what is happening with Lady Vitra - courtesy of the Arch Fiend ''Caligo, of course." We all separated - though Jahi kept her arm around my waist, unwilling to let me go entirely - and I nodded as I heard Cali''s soft snort, saying "She is more than willing to aid us." "Hmph... Ordering me around like some lesser Fiend... How insufferable you mortals can be... though, if it''s you, my lovely puppy, I wouldn''t mind having you ''order'' me around in bed~! Ooh~! The idea of you stepping on me... Hehehe..." I shuddered for a moment as I heard her words, the image of Cali sprawled out below me as I dominated her shing through my mind for a split second, before I switched Cali with Leone... and felt a whole slew of new emotions... "HEY! Nonono! That FIRST ONE! Not her! It should be ME!" Ignoring her, I listened to the Wisp as they continued on, unaware of the sobbing Arch Fiend that was floating around me. "Depending on the severity of Lady Vitra''s involvement, we may or may not require a more forceful approach. If the cult is controlling her through unscrupulous means, we''ll try to free her; if not, then she shall be detained and brought back to the Capital with us. She is the purpose we are here, after all, and it''d be best to discover more about this new cult from the woman''s mouth directly if she is apart of it. If she isn''t, and is just a puppet, we need to cut the strings controlling her and trace them back to the puppeteer and learn about the reasoning behind targeting the Celestial Gold in Lady Jahi''s de." Everyone nodded, with Kolia saying "That could have been a diversion or smokescreen for something else, so be careful. I sincerely doubt a Tza Fiend is stupid enough to target Celestial Gold, no matter how curious they are..." Chapter 620 619: Infiltration (2)

Chapter 620 Chapter 619: Infiltration (2)

Crouching down near the wall of the Manor, I looked towards the Wisps beside me before following their lead as we scaled the wall swiftly and silently, our boots and fingers finding the various indents that were present on the brick structure. Not a perfectly easy wall to scale, but it was something that all of us could do rtively quickly and efficiently, eventually finding ourselves on the other side of the wall and within a field of grass. "Careful; there are Ritual Circles carved into the ground around us. Don''t step on them..." The soft whisper of the Wisp in front carried on a breeze back towards us, keeping the words entirely between them and us and not letting any sound diffuse into the air, alerting any of the many guards around the entirepound. Sticking low to the knee high grass that grew inside thepounds walls, we began to creep forwards in a line, following behind the front Wisp and stepping carefully through the grass as we avoided the inscribed Ritual Circles, the angry red mana of an explosive type trap hidden away beneath the dirt and grass. It was a rather brutal way to go, being torn apart and burnt at such a high speed, but it was one of the most effective traps to create with mana and leave alone to sustain themselves for long periods of time, as well as a rather hidden Ritual Circle thanks to its simplicity and adaptability. The Manor itself was around forty feet away, with only grass and trees to cover thend between the wall and it, though said grass wasden with mines waiting to eviscerate anyone stupid enough to trespass into a Noble''s territory. Made from a stunning, bright white stone - not marble, but perhaps limestone or some fantastical material I had never heard about - the Vulpine Manor stood thirty feet tall, hosting tworge stories and likely an attic if the windows were anything to go by, and each borate windowsill was constructed to be both beautiful and functional, with the panes of ss covering thin metal bars that added support and style to the windows. To break up the white stone, dark red y had been used to entuate the various entrances and create beautiful patterns alongside the various pirs and edges of the building, giving the Manor character and providing functionality too as the red y hid red runes, which I couldn''t decipher from afar but knew that they were there. My best guess was some type of barrier spell across the entire Manor to create anotheryer of defense in case of attack. The Manor was a mixture of Roman architecture and Asian style as well, having the curled lips at the edge of the tiled roof like a pagoda while also utilizing depth to create an borate design, with the pirs and strong foundation creating the base of the entire building. Positioned around, in, and on the Manor were guards wearing abination of metal armor and leather gear, finding the perfect medium for protection and weight as they patrolled their spots, resting their long, winged spears across their shoulders while curved Sica des hung on their waists, ready to be used for chopping of any kind. Their Beastkin nature made sneaking past them a difficult, strenuous task, and we often had to pause as they took positions near our side of the Manor, looking out over the sea of grass and yawning as the moon shone down from up high. Whenever they looked our way, we frozepletely and waited for them to pass, all of us understanding that the mortal eye was drawn to movement, while our gear was smeared with various paints of green, brown, grey, and even purple, creating a camouge that would help us blend in with the grass outside the manor; pure ck gear wasn''t as stealthy as people believed it to be, since few areas in the world are in raw shadows that dark, meaning when you wore all ck, you tended to be darker than the area around you, and that meant you were visible. With that in mind, the Wisps were prepared with a variety of paints and techniques, hastily teaching them to me before we snuck into the Manor. I took point as I swiftly unlocked the side door with my water, the Wisps keeping a lookout before entering one by one before me, spreading out inside and looking at one another before nodding. One of them tapped me and gestured for me to follow, while the others began to disappear into the Manor as they started to poke around, making me lose sight almost instantly as they spread out in various directions. Like the outside, the inside of the Manor was incredibly beautiful, with dark chocte hardwood flooring blending into the red moulding that trimmed the white walls, which wereden with various paintings of all kinds as well as shelves covered in knickknacks. I didn''t have much time to admire the simplistic beauty of the house as we began to journey towards the staircase, apparently needing to take the upstairs instead; the entire Manor was illuminated by candles and the moonlight, and the only noises inside was the shuffling of the guards and servants as they quietly went about their business, though it sounded like there were few that were still up and about. Sticking to the walls, we ascended the staircase and entered the second floor of the Manor, maintaining our position on the edge of the building as we started to map out theyout some more, the Wisp taking mental notes of the doors and marking them with priority based on appearances and clues from the little we could see. The obvious target was therge set of double doors with two guards standing on either side of it, though that would be a tricky ce to enter without alerting the guards or the entire Manor of our presence... Besides that, we found a few of the higher ranked servants quarters on this floor as well, and I was tempted to enter one and question the resident since servants tended to be wellsprings of information, but I made sure to do only as I was asked, not wanting to jeopardize the infiltration at all. Inplete silence, the Wisp led me down the long hall away from the guarded room, taking me instead towards the other side of the Manor''s second floor, which was mirrored from the first; upon looking down the new hall that we found ourselves in, there was yet another double door guarded by two alert Beastkin. Chapter 621 620: Infiltration (3)

Chapter 621 Chapter 620: Infiltration (3)

Cali''s whisper floated into my ears as we made our way even deeper into the Manor, the Arch Fiend half hissing, half growling as she muttered "It reeks of dry ambition in here... the stench ising from that furthest room there, down thest hall... Such an unpleasant scent..." Tapping the Wisp''s shoulder, I gestured towards the furthest hall and whispered to them silently, a small tunnel of wind connecting my lips to their ear as I whispered "Cali said the furthest room has the strongest Fiendish scent; most likely Vitra''s room." The Wisp nodded, continuing down the hall and keeping an eye and an ear out for the guards or servants that were still roaming about at thiste hour, though we were thankful so far to have not encountered any of them. With silent steps and smooth movements, we stuck to the wall before looking down the hall that led to where we assumed that Vitra resided, the two of us frowning as we tried to think of a way to get from here to there without the guards seeing us. It was a problem and a half, but eventually the Wisp gestured for me to join them inside one of the closest rooms, which I opened swiftly and let them breach first, the Wisp slipping inside like a ghost and moving to subdue whoever was inside. Entering behind them, I locked the door and saw the Wisp holding their hand over the Foxkin man''s mouth, along with a small, ck metal dagger pressing against the man''s throat. "Say something, and you''re dead." The man was breathing heavily as adrenaline swept through his exhausted body, his reddish brown eyes covered in the haze of sleep that was slowly being washed away with every passing moment, though he nodded as the dagger pricked against his skin and drew blood. "Good. When did Lady Vitra begin to act different?" Our voices were low, and after a moment I had a wind barrier around the entire room, concealing any excess noise and allowing us to work freely. "A-About... t-three weeks ago..?" The man didn''t want to test his luck though, so he responded to the Wisp in an equally low voice, which was trembling as he remained stiff in their arms. "What was the noticeable sign that she changed? Did she openly unt that change, or did she try to conceal it?" "U-Uh... N-Noticeable..! She c-came home o-o-one day and was talking about how she f-found a special artifact th-that could help her be stronger! For the f-first few days, it was different, but a g-good different, you know..? T-Then she got... a-arrogant. Insufferable. W-Went from the kind, gentle w-woman that we all looked up to to a p-pompous ass of a Noble... Looking down at us, yelling at us constantly... s-she even t-t-took... She took..!" His eyes grew wet before he dragged in a breath, managing to say "She took advantage of her maid, who had raised her since she was a baby alongside the Countess! B-Broke G-Ginny''s m-mind! And showed n-no remorse for it! None!" Fear permeated his moist eyes, and the man let out a sob before trying to calm himself, his previously bottled emotions fighting to the surface. "Artifact, what did it look like?" With something to focus on, the man''s emotions steadied out - albeit slightly - as he answered "I-It was a ne. N-Not the pendant, b-but the ne that was r-radiating magics. S-She never let anyone a-appraise it though... no one, n-not even the Countess!" While the Wisp continued to question the Foxkin man, I looked around the room before approaching the window, gazing out of it and appraising the security around us, taking quick note that all of the guards below were looking out towards the red lit city of Vulpe, with only a few ever ncing back at the house - and even they were once every few minutes it seemed, with only two looking back towards the guards behind them, likely wanting to have the cozier, easier job of being on one of the doors. Noticing my movements, the Wisp continued on even as their eyes shed at the unspoken question, a small, barely noticeable nod making me begin to unlock the window and slowly lift it up, taking note of the thin bars that were inside the ss itself. Perhaps meant to give an illusion of further security, whilst remaining practical in case of emergencies? Either way, I took a deep breath and slipped outside, grabbing onto the side of the house and beginning to scale up towards the roof, deciding to reach a spot that no one would look towards as I awaited the Wisp. The cool, soft breeze of the night brushed against my skin, while the pale light of the moon would''ve illuminated my pale skin easily, but not the multicolored me that was currently sitting atop a Noble''s Manor inside of ''hostile'' territory. Like always, my eyes were drawn to the sea of stars loungingzily in the heavens above, the clear sky allowing full view of the dozens of constetions that dotted the space above, surrounded by thousands of other stars and gigantic neb''s that colored the sky red, purple and blue. It was stunning, but I tore my gaze away from it and instead looked towards the Wisp as they climbed up to me, the lithe infiltrator nodding before leading me towards the other side of the Manor silently, the two of us sneaking far above the guards, just out of sight. Leaning over the edge of the pagoda like roof, we located a window and began to scale down towards it, with me taking the lead once more as I unlocked the window - after checking inside to see that no one was moving around in the room - and slipped back into the Manor, finding myself inside an ornate, posh bedroom. To the left was arge bed covered in white linens, while to the right was a small sitting area nestled between two other doors; one likely led to a study or the live in maid''s room, while the other door led into the bath. The room wasrge, but not as big as Jahi''s room back at the Asmodia Estate, so we had that to thank as we looked towards the bed, where a sleeping Foxkin woman lounged out, unaware of intruders. Closing the window behind us, I set up a wind barrier again while the Wisp looked around the room some more, checking the various shelves and drawers just in case, before she slipped into the unknown room to make sure we wouldn''t get interrupted. "That''s her. The scent of veiled ambition and darker desires for power lingers around her like a cloud..." Chapter 622 621: Lady Vitra Renacla

Chapter 622 Chapter 621: Lady Vitra Rena

Getting confirmation from the Arch Fiend that lingered around me was enough for the Wisp and I to continue preparing the surrounding area for the immediate future, weaving various spells together before moving towards the bed, where the troubled young Lady of House Renay, snoring softly and unaware of two potential killers standing above her. Unsurprisingly, the Lady of Vulpine Manor inside Vulpe City was - in fact - a Foxkin woman, though she was a tad more unique than the other Foxkin we had seen so far. Whereas most of the other Foxkin had the signature russet colored fur that people tended to think of with Foxes, the young Lady in front of us had midnight ck fur and hair, smooth as silk and such a deep shade of ck that it felt like one was looking into the void and not into the messy bedhead of a sleeping Lady. Smooth dark olive skin only made that hair seem darker, and Lady Vitra was just about a shade lighter than Anput with her skintone, giving her a rather ''exotic'' look from my point of view and striking a very beautiful image based on just that alone. High cheekbones and a narrow nose made her look rather serious even as she slept, while her plump lips and sharp brows made me curious to what she would look like awake. Every bit the sleeping beauty, Lady Vitra was a stunning woman through and through, and that extended to her body that was covered by the linens; two supple mountains were barely concealed beneath the sheets, and as she rolled onto her side, the curvature of her hips came into view, making me nod appreciatively for a moment before I focused on the Wisp, who had finished preparing everything on their end and reached forwards to shake the sleeping beauty awake. With a soft gasp, Lady Vitra shot up before frowning, her brilliant green eyes losing their sleepy haze in a second as she stared at us curiously, her hands pulling the sheets further up her body as she looked between the Wisp and I. "Breaking into a young Lady''s room... am I to assume that you both are unscrupulous? That my chastity is in danger?" Like the rest of her, Lady Vitra''s voice was beautiful, flowing from her lips as smooth as silk and containing a gentleness that belied the calcting gleam in her emerald eyes. "No, you needn''t worry about that. Instead, you should worry about the thing around your neck, as well as the crime for consorting with Fiends." Understanding dawned in her eyes, and she smirked at us as she slipped one hand from the sheets towards her throat, stroking the silver chain that rested against her olive flesh, contrasting her warm appearance with its cold shimmer. "Hm~? To know about Fiends, you two must be rather important... but how important? Considering you broke into the Manor without blowing yourselves up or alerting the guards... I''d wager your skills are up to snuff. Not a Barony, nor a County... perhaps a March or a Dukedom? Or maybe higher..." Lady Vitra''s smirk widened as she searched our expressions, an amused chuckle leaking from her lips as she leaned back into her pillows, tilting her head curiously as she said "And considering theck of emotion and little I can glean from your expressions and bodynguage... well trained in social environments as well. My other theory - that you''re cultists of some other Fiend - seems to be false, since I''ve yet to meet or find anyone in a cult with an ounce of social acumen. So some higher Noble''s sent you here... Well, I might not be the genius of geniuses, but I''d wager quite a bit that you work for March Asmodia~?" She continued to look over us both, before grinning as she said "Oh, I just knew~ that''d work! Really, curiosity sometimes kills, doesn''t it~? You couldn''t help but wonder why this ''lowly'' Noble would be so daft as to target the rising star Jahi Asmodia? Ha! The bait had been cast, and it would seem I reeled in exactly what I wanted..!" Lady Vitra chuckled some more as she looked between the two of us, before stretching as she added "I was tempted to send another set of assassins after her again, y''know? Make it something that wounded her pride in her House; a surefire way to rope in any Noble. We preach that we''re different from one another, and yet we all act the exact same at the end of the day." "So you being unsound of mind was just another ruse? One to lure us in and snag us easier?" Letting out a sharp peal ofughter, Lady Vitra continued to grin as she shook her head, those emerald eyes gleaming dangerously as she leaned forwards, hissing "Oh no... before, my mind was muddled. Cloudy. I saw the world through the lens of an idiotic mortal thinking of only the here and now. Maybe a few hours in the future, perhaps a few days. Now? Now I can see everything clearly... what needs to be done for a better tomorrow. For a better future. Better for me, anyways. Imagine being told constantly that you were never enough to take over, to be told by your own Mother that your dream was impossible and that you should give up, all because your dearest sister is perfect in every single damn way. Beauty, brains, brawn, charisma... she has it all, andes by it naturally. You work as much as her, yet it isn''t enough, so you work more, and more, and more... all for her to begin working harder as well, furthering that gap between the two of you more and more... Your efforts for more, to no avail. Why should I ept that? It''s mine, not hers. She mingles around and talks of an easy, peaceful life of status quo''s, denying risks and sticking to safety instead of trying to uplift this County into a March! Perhaps into a Dukedom... She''s unfit for the title Countess with that mentality, so I should be the one to take it over! I should be the next Countess, not her!" She ended that with a shout, leaning forwards and giving the Wisp and I a crazed look as she clung to that ne, her fingers curling over the metal and digging into her flesh as she red at us both. "So now... now that you are here, I can begin what I need to... What I need to take what is mine and bring about a new age for the Rena Family, for MY Family..." Chapter 623 622: Fighting Vitra

Chapter 623 Chapter 622: Fighting Vitra

The demented, twisted smile on the face of the beautiful Foxkin in front of us would have given me chills before I had been brought to this world, but now that I had seen what I had seen, done the things I had done... It feltcking in terms of raw horrorpared to those things, making me wonder just what this woman thought she had done and if she truly - deep down - believed that she was evil. "Now that you''re here... I can use the two of you for my own ns... to finish the things that Lord Tza''Delira desired so that I might take what is rightfully owed to me! Now why don''t you two-" The Wisp and I jumped back as a bolt ofpressed mana - not elemental mana, just raw mana - mmed into the floorboards where we had been standing, tearing into the wood and shattering the nearby nks, opening a hole into the first floor of the Manor. "-be good little pawns and sumb!" Vitra''s smile twisted further as she got out of bed, her hand raised and sending another bolt of mana hurtling towards my head, which I dodged swiftly before ncing at the Wisp nearby, wondering what they wanted to do. Dodging another, I felt my eye twitch as the Wisp stood back and watched, allowing me to take the brunt of Vitra''s crazed attacks as the Foxkin hurled bolt after bolt towards me, uncaring of the damage she caused to the wall behind me. "Why don''t you just give in... Forget the Master or Mistress who binds you and throw aside the shackle of servitude for something greater?! Why make this harder than it needs to be? You WILL sumb to my might... you will..." Growling softly at me, the Foxkin hurled another bolt before reaching up and sping her silver ne, making my eyes narrow as I felt the familiar presence of a Fiend begin to coalesce around her, only to dodge again as multiple bolts began to tear through the air at breakneck speeds, each one stronger and faster than thest. Casting a wall of water in front of me, I absorbed some of the impact of the bolts and slowed them down, making the Foxkin grin as she gloated "Elemental magic has its boons and its ws, and currently, you''re experiencing its ws! In the presence of such a powerful mage like myself, your Water Mana means little! For example..!" Iyered another barrier in front of me before rushing to the side, not wanting to test her theory - or my own - as I saw arge disc of mana appear above the Foxkin''s head, only for my eyes to widen as she hurled it not towards me, but towards the Wisp, who was still quietly observing from the side. Vitra began to cackle like a maniac as she shouted "Did you think I forgot you?! No, no I didn''t! I need just one mole to nt inside House Asmodia, and I think I prefer the Dogkin over YOU!" The disc sliced through the air and reached the Wisp in just a split second, but I breathed out a quiet chuckle as I saw the figure of the Wisp flicker from where it stood, sharp gusts of wind bursting free from where they once were; gusts that mmed into the disc and slowed it down to a crawl, drastically reducing the damage it did to the Manor. As for the Wisp, they appeared beside the surprised Foxkin in a blur, silencing the woman''s voice with a swift jab to the throat, followed up by a kick to the back of her knee, forcing her to kneel. Tendrils of wind sped at the Foxkin''s arms, yanking them back and threatening to tear into them if she tried something, removing her ability to cast Runic spells and effectively disabling her for this fight... if she was normal. "[Sharp Vocation!]" Vitra spat out those two words, her voice dripping with mana and twisted into something different as a de shot from her lips, scoring a deep gash in the Wisp''s shoulder and causing blood to ssh to the ground between them, with a few droplets of the red liquid sttering across her face. A soft hiss of pain was all the Wisp gave her for her efforts, the trained guard of the Empress stamping down on her pain and instead mming a hand over the woman''s mouth, silencing her for good this time as we both noticed the welling of mana in the Foxkin''s vocal cords. I approached the two and began to aid the Wisp in binding the Foxkin as best we could, water and wind joining together to block Vitra''s ability to do any magic as well as move as binds of the two elements gathered around her body. When that was done, I swiftly healed the Wisps''s wounds before looking at the kneeling Noble in front of us, my lips curled into a small frown as I studied the chain around her neck, wondering just what it was... With the cloying, disorienting and nauseating feeling of a Fiend growing steadily around her, I muttered "Cali..." before crouching and reaching for the ne, ignoring the thrashing Noble as she tried to twist away from me to prevent me from grabbing it. Staring into the emerald eyes of Vitra, I tapped my fingers against her ne before suddenly finding myself thrown back and on the ground, groaning as pain erupted from my left hand and arm, while my ribs felt cracked from the impact. However, even with the pain coursing through my system, I swiftly sat up and healed myself, staring at the smug face of Vitra before looking behind her, where I saw something looming over her in the shadows. As my fingers realigned themselves and snapped into ce, as my radius reattached itself and my humerus epted the splinters back into itself, I stared straight into the silver eyes of a Fiend, dread flooding my body as we locked eyes. Chapter 624 623: Tza’Delira

Chapter 624 Chapter 623: Tza''Delira

Those silver eyes locked onto mine, and my entire body began to tremble as various emotions flooded my mind, the raw cocktail of fear, dread, worry, nervousness, and so much more sliding down my gullet and climbing back up with bile in tow, permeating my tongue with the acrid taste. As quickly as that cocktail permeated my body with its intensity, it disappeared just as fast, leaving me feeling slightly confused for a mere moment as I blinked, but that singr moment was enough for the Fiend looming behind Vitra to make its move. Its sapphire skin was almost ck in the shadow of the room, while the silver of its eyes shone bright despite it not being near any light, the twin orbs of cold metal leaving behind afterglows as it appeared in front of me, its thin lips curling into a devilish smile as it lowered its elongated skull down towards me, muttering "The stench of one of the whores permeates your flesh, mortal... That is a mistake." ck teeth as sharp as knives rose from its gums, and the voice that slipped between its thin lips was surprisingly seductive despite its appearance, flowing smoothly after leaving its mouth and tickling your ears gently. A crown of horns sprouted from its long cranium, the ck bony protrusions studding its sapphire skull and looking like gelled hair, while the long, pointed ears that arced up to sit parallel to its skull were Elvish in appearance. It''s body was thin and spindly, with its limbs far too long for its torso, nearly tripling the length of its chest and giving it a gangly appearance, though the deadly ck spines that grew out of its arms and legs spoke clearly of its deadly capabilities. Small glittering onyx gemstones were embedded into its body all over the ce, and threads of ck mana slowly drifted between each piece of onyx like pathways, making its magical aura far stronger than most of the things I had seen so far in my life here. I took all of that in during the moment that it appeared in front of me, my mind working on overdrive as the Fiend grinned, reaching forwards to caress my cheek before hissing in slight pain as its fingers bounced off my flesh, the long blue digits twisted and bent in all the wrong directions. "Damn whore... Why don''t you show yourself, slut of ?" The deep growl it let out as it stood up to its full, imposing height made my bones rattle, while my mind was shrouded in a haze of fear that was swiftly brushed away as Cali appeared beside me, ring up at the spindly Tza''Delira with a pout. "Whilst I don''t particrly mind those names in bed, I most certainly dislike being called them casually! You''d do best to remember that..." Tilting its head, Tza''Delira sneered at Cali as it hissed "So it''s the famous ''Caligo, the traitorous bitch who is hated universally amongst all Fiends, even her own collection of whores... What are you doing with a mortal? Trying to get someone else to do your dirty work?" The Fiend''s words made Cali''s body stiffen, and I watched in interest - and slight fear - as her expression droppedpletely, the Arch Fiend narrowing her eyes at the opposing Fiend as she spoke, her voicepletely t. "I may not be back to my fullest potential, worm, but I have more than enough power to rend your soul from your mortal coil and subject you to an eternity of suffering. Try me again. I dare you." Much to my own surprise, Tza''Delira''s smile grew into a smirk, the blue skinned Fiend letting out a bark ofughter before hissing "I''d like to see you try, bitch. Not all of us are ascent as you are... Least of all me." With that, the towering Fiend snapped its fingers and sent a burst of ck mana towards the two of us, which Cali deflected with a wave of her hands, a dome of pink mana shrouding us - and the Wisp, who had made their way over as quickly as they could. Another burst of ck mana surged towards us, followed quickly by crescent shes of the void like mana, cutting deep into the pink dome and making Cali wince as she narrowed her eyes at the other Fiend. Meanwhile, Vitra was giggling maniacally as she stood beside her patron Fiend, ring at the Wisp and I as she shouted "You chose wrong, Dogkin! The world could have been yours... all you needed to do wase to yours sense! Perhaps I was wrong about you... maybe you''re not as smart as I believed you to be!" However, I paid her no mind and instead focused on Cali, asking "Anything I can do to aid you? That ck mana is..." "Mmm... No. Not directly, anyways... been awhile since I had to flex some of these muscles..." Cali''s murmur wasn''t the most reassuring, though the Wisp seemed to be uncaring of her words as the masked warrior summoned arge sphere of wind and aimed it at the Fiend, making Tza''Delira sneer as they reached up to swat it away, all while a gigantic spike of ck mana condensed in their other hand. However, the Wisp sent the sphere hurtling out of the window instead, exploding it in the air and making my ears tremble slightly as the loud bang of explosives echoed through the city. "They should be here momentarily. ''Caligo, what exactly are we capable of doing?" Snorting in amusement, Cali nced over at us as more and more pink mana poured from her fingertips, the Arch Fiend''s lips curling into a smile as she said "Well, if you''re insistent on helping... how about taking that ne off the poor girl already, hmm? That should sever the clods power some..." "I can hear you, you idiotic sex Fiend. Do you think you can keep ME upied enough to not have them get killed by me?! HA!" The waves of ck mana became amplified as Tza''Delira sneered at Cali, those silver eyes shining with malice as they growled "I''ll have you at my feet... where you belong." Chapter 625 624: Battle With a Fiend

Chapter 625 Chapter 624: Battle With a Fiend

Cali just grinned as she stared at the towering sapphire skinned Fiend, her eyes shining an eery shade of pink as the mana pouring from her fingers thickened into a mist, which began to spread throughout the entire room. Contrasting Cali, Tza''Delira frowned and noticed that the ck mana that was the source of their strength was being thinned out, eaten away by the pink mana and slowly reced, connecting to the threads that stretched off of the Fiend''s onyx gemstones. Tza''Delira let out a grunt as all of the ck threads were snapped, not allowing Cali''s mana to consume their own whilst also opting for a new strategy - a bold strategy, and one that made Cali''s grin fade somewhat as the Fiend shed forwards and raised a hand, swiping down at the pink dome and scoring a deep gash across the surface of the protective barrier. "Tch... I''ll give you props on your Lust Mana; I hadn''t anticipated that it''d be that strong yet, but..! Few of you whores are capable fighters! So what will you do now, ''Caligo?!" Swiping at the barrier again, Tza''Delira aimed a demented grin at Cali before ncing at me, adding "Oh, but I don''t even need to kill you, no? I just need to wrench the soul out of your mortal whore to weaken you... and then I''ll have an Arch Fiend groveling at my feet!" For a split second those silver eyes made my heart lurch around inside my chest, but a deep breath and shifting of focus made it far easier to deal with as I turned to stare at Vitra, who was still grinning like everything was under control and assuredly in her hands. "Does that not go for you as well..? I might not be the greatest at mathematics, but-" Canceling the wind barrier around the room, I nced at the door and watched as the other Wisps filtered inside, their eyes scanning everything before they instantly slipped into Cali''s pink dome, joining us in the ''safety'' it provided before beginning to formte a n with the other Wisp. And besides them, I could feel the one I was bound to drawing ever closer, and alongside her was someone who would certainly sway the tide of this battle into our favor. "-I do believe we have more people, and more people of a stronger caliber than you? All we need to do is grab her, no?" Tza''Delira snarled at my words, the Fiend glowering at me before stabbing their hand into the barrier, trying to cleave it open. "Who?! Who do you think you have that can go against ME?! You''re nothing but a puny, insignificant, weakling of a mortal! All of you! Before me, a Fiend?! You can do NOTHING!" Letting out a roar, the entire room was nketed in ck mana once more, and Cali sneered as she hissed "No you don''t!" Watching as Tza''Delira took a step back, Cali raised her hands and sent her mana straight towards their chest, a beam ofpressed pink energy impacting Tza''Delira''s torso and chewing into their flesh, devouring what was in front of it. The Fiend only grunted as the beam continued to bore into their chest, though a sickening grin was on their lips, dark blue liquid trickling out from the corner of their mouth as they muttered "[Appear]" Cali let out a curse as the ck mana began to coalesce around the room, bundling into humanoid shapes and solidifying after a second, turning into inky specters with eyes just as silver as their patron. "Phantasms! Don''t let them cut you!" Like their patron, these Phantasms were spindly creatures, their arms far too long for their bodies, to the point that their knuckled fingers scraped against the ground, scoring small gouges in the floorboards as their ws raked across the wood, disying their incredible sharpness. "Enjoy~! Unkible, immortal creatures of raw ambition given form! Now our numbers have evened out, haven''t they little pup~?" Instead of replying, I unsheathed my Protective Fang and Shatter Fang, the two daggers still reigning supreme as my go to weapons as I stared at the approaching Phantasms. The Wisps beside me unsheathed their own weapons, disying a diversity as they retrieved axes, swords, clubs, and even a pair of nunchucks, each of which had been made of colored metals that matched their attunements. My Wisp nced at me and asked "What is their estimated arrival time?", to which I replied "A minute. Seems the guards are adamant at being good at their jobs..." Nodding, the Wisp turned back towards the Phantasms and said "Well... try and make it to Vitra. That ne is the crux of all of this..." Raising my daggers, I nced at the Phantasms again before shrugging, deciding that I could ce my trust on the Wisps once more as I began to rush forwards, weaving around the misty amalgamations of a monster that were the Phantasms and making my way towards Vitra, who had begun to gather mana once more as she noticed the shift of the battle. Like before, the Foxkin shot bolts of mana towards me at extreme speeds, but a quick set of buffs on my end made them far more manageable than before, and I could hear the Wisps behind me battling against the Phantasms, keeping them upied for the time being as we began to mount a proper counterattack. Tza''Delira wasn''t too happy about this, but it would seem that maintaining the Phantasms required most of the Fiend''s excess mana, and the Fiend couldn''t spare more as Cali slowly got ustomed to her own mana once more, slowly but surely switching from the defensive to the offensive. All we needed to do now was maintain a status quo for a minute or so before our help arrived, and that would be when everything shifted into our favor heavily, but until then... Erecting a barrier with Protective, I blocked a bolt of mana before elongating Shatter, desiring more reach as I began to cut into the bolts, overloading them with Ice Mana and protecting myself further from Vitra''s magics. Of course, I knew better now that the Foxkin was just as tricky as her race would suggest, so I kept my senses tuned in as much as I could as I began to make my way over to her. Chapter 626 625: Reinforcements Arrive

Chapter 626 Chapter 625: Reinforcements Arrive

An agitated, angry yell escaped Vitra''s lips as the Foxkin tried to take me down, her powerful mana sshing harmlessly against my barrier and exploding upon contact with Shatter, driving the Foxkin Noble mad. "Why won''t you die already?! Just die! Die die die die DIE!" The bolts of pure mana became even more condensed and abundant as the woman drew from the deepest reserves of her Core, squeezing everything she could from the organ and causing blood to leak from her lips, nostrils, ears and eyes as all seven orifices took damage from her overexertion of her body, though she didn''t seem to care as she snarled at me, watching as another bolt exploded on the edge of Shatter. I remained silent as I focused on the attacks sent my way, my speed and control barely able to keep up with the bolts as more and more of them hurtled from the demented woman''s hands, her determination and desire to kill me oozing from her body in the form of a deep chill and scent of violets as her body went haywire with all the different changes urring. Cutting the bolts out of the air was a difficult task, but each bolt I sliced or deflected was another second that I bought for the others to arrive, their presence growing ever closer as they made their way into the Manor to aid us, forgoing the caution they previously had upon hearing and seeing the Wisp''s signal. Even now, in the midst of a deadly dance of des and magic between Vitra and I, I could feel the familiar, soothing presence of Jahi growing closer and closer as she rushed through the Manor, so I did my best to hold my ground and get everything ready for when she arrived. Behind me, the Wisps fought valiantly against the Phantasms, while Cali kept Tza''Delira upied as more and more of her prowess returned, the Arch Fiend flexing her muscles further as the fight continued to go on. "Argh! Damnit! You''re ruining EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING!!" Her eyes shone with a dangerous light as I drew ever closer, each step I took gained through defending myself from at least four bolts, and I hastily rolled away as I saw her lips part again, mana coalescing on her tongue as she spat "[Sharp Vocation!]" at me, the de ofpressed mana slicing into the floorboards and further destroying the room around us. I could hear the guards and servants scrambling away from the room, the various mana signatures and sounds of battle startling the people and triggering their instincts to run, though I could tell that some were brave enough toe forwards, only to freeze at the edge of the room as they witnessed two Fiends fighting against one another. "[Thunderp!]" Another shout from Vitra drew my attention, and I barely managed to block the wave of mana that washed towards me, the barrier from Protective cracking beneath the pressure as Vitra red at me hatefully, her green eyes aze with fury that didn''t abate even as she coughed up a gobbet of blood, further staining her lips. Internal damage was likely mounting rapidly inside her from the constant straining of her mana pathways, yet the woman didn''t care as she snarled "I was finally supposed to have everything MY WAY! It was supposed to happen FOR ME! Not them, but ME! So why?! Why must you be so..?! SO..?! ARGH!!" Dozens of mana bolts rained from her outstretched hands, making my eyes widen as the volley was unleashed on me, chewing through the mana barrier in front of me swiftly. Pouring more mana into Protective, I nted my feet and grit my teeth, funneling what felt like gallons of mana into the dagger and straining the enchantment, bolstering the barrier and watching as it was cracked and shattered beneath each bolt. As I was getting barraged by the bolts, I felt the presence of my lovers just outside the room, and theforting warmth of a Fire Cloak mixed with the familiar feeling of harsh tingling that came with a Light Cloak, informing me that they were in fact here now. The barrier thickened instantly as my body was further strengthened by my lovers spells, allowing me to more efficiently protect myself and shout "Grab the ne from her necks dn be careful! Don''t let her say anything!" I wasn''t able to turn to observe the efforts of everyone else, relying on my hearing to paint that picture for me as I continued to focus on what was in front of me, even if that tugged at the back of my mind as I wondered what was happening now that they were here. I wasn''t the most trained, disciplined woman in the world, but I had been through enough battles now that this curiosity no longer broke my focus and endangered me or anyone else, so I continued to watch as Vitra descended into the throes of madness, one of her hands clutching at the ne with a death grip as she heard my words, fear sparkling in those emerald eyes. Anput appeared beside me, slipping behind the barrier with me before muttering "I''ll try to keep her alive, but... she might lose that hand." Not giving me a chance to respond, the Jackalkin lowered herself and took a sprinters stance, her olive skin slowly bing covered in silver as she stared at the Foxkin expressionlessly, her usual lust for battle long gone. The Jackalkin shot forwards with incredible speed, her scimitar arcing around her as she flickered into existence besides Vitra, who gasped and tried to utter an incantation, only to scream as the arc of silver cut through her wrist and severed her hand neatly, allowing Anput to reach forwards and yank the ne from the Foxkin, causing her to slump to the ground instantly, unconscious. Vitra wasn''t the only one to scream, as two women standing fearfully from the outside of the room stared at the unconscious Foxkin with ghastly expressions, tears streaming from their eyes and causing them to tremble, the older woman copsing as she fainted from the shock. Anput stood idly beside the body of Vitra, her eyes focused intently on the chain dangling from her hand while her scimitar was loosely held in her other hand, the Jackalkin not moving a muscle as she remained where she was. Sensing that something was amiss, I lowered the barrier and kept my focus entirely on Anput, my daggers held at the ready on either side as I approached my mate, my stance low as I quietly muttered "Anput..? Are you alright?" Chapter 627 626: Tza’Delira’s Ambition

Chapter 627 Chapter 626: Tza''Delira''s Ambition

? "Anput..? Love, are you there? Are you alright?" I continued to hesitantly approach the stationary Jackalkin, her gaze locked onto the silvery chain that dangled from her tanned palm, those obsidian orbs unmoving as she focused intently on whatever it was that seemed to enrapture her in those links. My daggers felt heavy in my hands as I wondered if I had to try and hurt my mate, the sheer thought of such an idea sending shivers down my spine and dousing my heart in cold water. "Anput... please don''t be... please..." My mate stood a few feet away from me, still as nk as ever, and I couldn''t help but grit my teeth as I continued to shuffle forwards, knowing that I needed to grab that chain from her but feeling far too worried about this abnormal disy that she was showing currently. The sharp peal ofughter that Tza''Delira let out was like nails on a chalkboard, sending more shivers down my spine as I tried to tune out the horrendous noise, only to widen my eyes as the Fiend triumphantly growled "A new hand touches the ne! A hand more worthy of such power! Oh, so much more worthy than that Foxkin brat! Hahaha~! Oh this is just excellent..!" I took another step forwards, staring into Anput''s obsidian eyes and finding little there that reminded me of my mate, cracking my heart some more as I hoarsely whispered "Anput please... c''mon, stop messing around... Snap out of it, please..!" Not getting a reaction, I grit my teeth before taking yet another step forwards, my ears hurting slightly from the Fiend''s continuedughter. "Such a worthy subject! Such a worthy carrier of superior power! Oh my luck! My luck must have been waiting for such a powerful user of such potent mana! HAHAHA~!" Reaching out my hand, I grabbed Anput''s own hand and spoke quietly to her, hoping to shake her out of whatever stupor she had found herself in. "My love...e on, Anput...e back to us... pleasee back..." Clenching my jaw, I stared at her before my eyes widened as she looked towards me, her eyes moving swiftly to lock onto mine even as the rest of her body remained motionless. For a moment we were locked there, staring into one another''s eyes silently as the others all fought against the Phantasms and Fiend, trying to bring everything under control. "Kat..?" "Anput!" sping my hand around hers, I watched as the Jackalkin exhaled a shaky breath before ring down at the chain in her hand, which she clenched in her fist as she hissed "Stupid fucking Fiends..." I could hear some of the links snapping beneath her strength, and after staring at her for another moment or two and confirming that she seemed to be herself, I sheathed my daggers and sped both my hands over hers, saying "Anput, don''t destroy it... everything''s alright! We still need it for now..." Frowning, Anput looked at me before sighing, relinquishing her grasp on the ne and saying "Do you want to hold onto it then? I think I''ll break it if I keep it..." I nodded, and the second the pale silver chain was in my hands, Anput let out a sigh of relief before she red back at the lumbering blue skinned Fiend, shouting "You''re mind games are pathetic! Geared towards overtaking those with weak wills and even weaker spirits!" Tza''Delira growled in response, and I finally got to see the thin Fiend battling against the Marquess and Budan, the two Knights of Cinder wearing somber expressions as they swung their weapons towards the hulking Fiend, all while Cali aided them with her pink mana, empowering their strikes and attacking Tza''Delira as well. "Hrgh... Don''t mess with me..! There''s no way a mortal could withstand the lure of fulfilling their ambitions..! Least of all their true, locked away ambitions!" That made Anput chuckle as she squeezed my hand, ring at the Fiend as she replied "I can achieve my ambitions on my own. I have no need for outside help. The things I want shall be mine because I earned them... and only because I earned them. Besides, I can understand reality perfectly enough. Some ambitions are best left unfounded." My lips were pulled into a frown as I grew curious at what the Jackalkin was talking about, wondering what ambitions she had that were ''best left unfounded''. What was it that she wanted that she believed she couldn''t have? It was a curious thing to puzzle over, as well as the slight nagging feeling that I would hate not knowing what it was, but hate knowing what it was even more... "Impossible! Ambition is in every person..! How could you-?!" Sadly for Tza''Delira, the Marquess didn''t let the Fiend finish speaking as she shed her ymore across the Fiend''s lithe torso, cutting a deep gash into it''s blue flesh and allowing the Fiend''s dark blue blood to pour from the wound. Hissing in pain, the Fiend tried to counterattack the Demoness, only to let out a groan as Budan''s staff mmed into its arm, cracking the bone and allowing the pink mana swirling around his staff to shatter the onyx gemstones littering the Fiend''s arm. "Damnit..! This wasn''t supposed to happen..! Why are YOU here?! ARGH!" Letting out a loud roar, the Fiend allowed the Phantasms to dissipate before jumping away from the Knights, snarling "Everything was falling into ce! My n wasing to fruition! Damnit! You ruined everything..." Those silver eyes shed with malice as the Fiend turned around, its sharp ws shing through the air and allowing the ck mana to pour from its palm as it formed a portal, it''sst words being "I WILL free our glorious Sedis from their unwanted, unwarranted imprisonment!" With that, Tza''Delira stepped into the portal and left the Vulpine Manor behind, silence descending over the area as we all felt the domineering presence of the Fiend disappear, making all of us let out a sigh as we looked around at one another, the Fiend''sst words ringing in our mind. Chapter 628 627: The Renacla’s

Chapter 628 Chapter 627: The Rena''s

"Sedis... what is Sedis? Or more urately, who the hell is Sedis? What could make a Fiend cause such an obvious ruckus to lure people out for this ''Sedis''?" The Marquess'' growl was low as she crouched down and gazed at the unconscious Vitra, leaving her fingers in front of the woman''s nostrils before saying "Still breathing. Will need immediate aid and mental aid afterwards. Hey pinkie, know anything about Sedis?" Cali pouted at the Marquess from over my shoulder, the Arch Fiend sprawled out on my back and ''recharging'' herself as she clung annoyingly to me, though the rosy scent pouring off of her body was soothing after everything that had happened over this night. "Don''t call me pinkie! Stupid blue hunk! You''re lucky that you''re so damn ravishing, otherwise I''d hit ya!" Jahi red over at the Arch Fiend, growling "Don''t make a move on my Mom...", before she looked at me and added "Get off of my woman too." "No! I don''t wanna!" Cali''s pout deepened as she clung closer to me, and I let out a sigh as I felt the Arch Fiend entangle herself further on me, making me say "It''s fine, Jahi... let her be. Cali dear, do you know anything about Sedis?" "Hmph! Why should I answer, huh?! No one seems to appreciate me at all... buncha meanies..." I sighed once more as I felt the Arch Fiend rest her chin on my shoulder again, the woman grumbling to herself some more as everyone looked towards her. She was like a child in some aspects, though I imagine being that old and that powerful must make things boring if you remain serious and stuffy all the time. "HEY! I''m not OLD! Stupid Masque... You''re supposed to be on my side!" ncing at her, I raised a brow and watched as she let out a huff and turned away, forcing a third sigh out of my lips as I turned back towards the others, saying "Well, this chain is a clue as well. Perhaps there really is a cult..? Ahem, anyways, should we be discussing this here..? With..." My voice trailed off as I heard the sound of two people approaching, and upon turning I saw two Foxkin women rushing over to Vitra''s side, and I put two and two together and got four. The older, more mature woman with greying hair and creased eyes only amplifying her noble beauty, though it was currently marred by tears and maternal worry as she fell to her knees beside her daughter; Ithica Rena, Countess of the Rena County. "B-Baby..! Baby..! Vitra baby, wake up..! W-Wake up..! WHY WON''T SHE WAKE UP?!" Her voice was cracking and flooded with emotions as she gently shook Vitra''s shoulders, before she looked back at us and shouted thatst part, tears continuing to pour from her eyes. Hanara Rena was a bit more collected, and she held her Mother''s shoulders andforted her before hissing "And WHO are you all?! Why are you inside our Manor, and WHY did you bring harm to my little sister?!" Jahi sighed softly as she reached up and rubbed at the paint, her palm shining gold as she removed the brown body paint, with the Marquess mirroring her as the two Demoness'' decided to be straightforwards with this encounter like they were with everything. Hanara''s golden eyes widened as she stuttered "A-Asmodia?! Jahi and Chordeva Asmodia?! W-What?! Why?!" The Rena Heir stared at them in surprise, though the reigning Countess didn''t seem to care as she spat "I don''t care WHO you are!! Heal my baby! BRING HER BACK!" Leone nodded, stepping forwards and tracing out runes under the watchful eyes of the Countess, though the Heir couldn''t tear her eyes away from Jahi and the Marquess, shock shrouding her gaze. The red runes were gentle as the enveloped Vitra in a glimmer of crimson, the Foxkin groaning softly before blinking her eyes open with another groan, sitting up and cradling her head in her hands. Countess Rena let out a sob as she threw her arms around her daughter, the Mother-Daughter pair embracing as Vitra slowly came around, all while Hanara stood stiffly beside the two. Jahi spoke next, saying "We''re here because - inside her presumably mind controlled state - your sister ordered a group of adventurers to rob and possibly kill me and my fiancees so that they could steal my sword. That is why we are here. Hanara nched at those words, looking down at her sister worriedly before looking back towards Jahi, fear in her eyes. "Don''t worry; I''m not an idiot. I understand that she was used, though until I can verify the effects of the ne and maybe hear from her as well, I will be keeping some suspicion on her for the time being. If she''s cleared, I won''t be holding the Rena Family responsible. After all... I think you''ve endured enough, no?" The Marquess nodded, adding "I don''t give two shits about the normal rules of Nobility or the like. Besides, what took over your sister was something that only a few Houses could manage to deal with, and yours is not one of them. So don''t worry about retaliation from me... though I would appreciate being allowed to talk to Vitra about her experience. Where she got that ne and what it was like being under its influence." Countess Rena finally managed to get some of her emotions under control, her hands never leaving her daughter''s body as she stroked her hair and back, holding her close like she was afraid she''d lose her again. "Vitra... baby, are you alright..? I''m sorry..." Her voice was still hoarse, and the older Foxkin sobbed again as she buried her nose into her daughter''s hair, making the confused woman mutter "Yeah... yeah, I''m fine Mother... Where... What happened? Why am I..?" Vitra looked around, her emerald eyes so drastically different as she took in her destroyed room, before those emerald eyes widened as she turned away from her Mother and leaned over, vomiting out the contents of her stomach as recognition and remembrance entered those beautiful eyes. Tears welled up, before they dripped down her cheek as she dragged in shaky breaths, her body trembling as she retched once more, despair and anguish twisting her features, clearly distraught about everything that happened. Though if she remembered it vividly or like a dream was to be determined, and perhaps what she remembered as well; there were so many unanswered questions that we had as we stared at her, wanting to question her right away but also feeling slightly bad about what must be going on in her mind right now. Chapter 629 628: Vitra’s Experience

Chapter 629 Chapter 628: Vitra''s Experience

It took a few moments offorting and soothing to get the Foxkin Noble back to a calm state so that she couldmunicate with us in regards to what happened while she was under the influence of the ne, which was still something that we needed to understand further. Kolia was staring at the ne curiously as it dangled from my hand, but considering what had just happened with Anput - and how it seemed that Cali was making it impossible for the ne to dig its murky talons into my mind - I refused to let anyone else touch it for the time being, not wanting to have to fight someone I knew and cared for , and especially not someone who was as powerful as Kolia. Countess Rena continued to hold her daughter, murmuring to her as she stroked her ck hair and tried her best to reassure her that everything was alright, calming the panicking woman down slowly as she panted. Leone crouched beside them and rested her hand on Vitra''s cheek, her palm shimmering red as she murmured "Vitra... breathe in... breathe out... I need you to listen to me, alright? Take deep, even breaths. In... and... out. Just like that... In..." Seeing the Countess stiffen slightly as Leone got close, we all narrowed our eyes before returning to normal as she allowed the Vampire to help her daughter, not snapping at her or letting her emotions control her at this moment as we waited for Vitra to leave her panicked state. Vitra did as she was asked, and her panic slowly began to seep out of her body as she brought herself under control as well, the Foxkin blinking away the memories and grimacing as the terrible taste of bile clung to her tongue. Floating an orb of water towards her, I stared at her neutrally, not ming her for her actions while she was under control, though that seemed to confuse her as she likely thought I would hold a grudge for her attempting to kill me multiple times... and even insinuating something else back at the beginning. Vitra stared at the orb for a few moments before leaning forwards and taking a sip from it, the refreshing coolness of the water washing away the bile from her mouth as she rinsed her mouth out, before taking a big gulp of the water and letting out a content sigh as she rehydrated herself a bit. "You... wanted to know about the... ne, right..? Where I got it, what it did..?" She took another sip of the water before leaning against her Mother''s side, staring at us tiredly as she saw our nods. "It... was a gift that was sent to me. From a prospective suitor... Baroness Witrani sent it, along with a letter going on about how much she wanted to court me..." Vitra''s cheeks darkened for a moment before she let out a sigh, those emerald eyes filled with sadness as she continued on with a tired voice as well. "Of course, I was a little... taken aback. The words seemed sincere, the gift was simple but beautiful, and I could remember the bashful girl that had always seemed smitten with me from when we were young. So... I lifted the chain out of the box and wore it, admiring it in the mirror. At first, it seemed just like another gift, but I began to hear things. Whispers from the back of my mind, saying the things that I would only entertain for a fleeting moment before sending it away, social norms andmon sense keeping them as just things that I would think once before it was locked away for good. Slowly the whispers began to nag at my mind, small things at first, but things that I couldn''t entirely ignore. Business deals that weren''t as fair as I used to make them, employing people that weren''t up to snuff... It only snowballed from there, spiraling out of control and twisting everything even further. Adventuring Parties sent into high risk areas for high rewards, uncaring of their ability to return. Loans to people who weren''t experienced enough to understand that the fees would ruin them. Then I hatched an idea. Sis was away, and Mother was too busy to be watching everything I was doing, so I contacted a few groups and decided that... I would take the position of Heir for myself no matter the cost. I... I don''t know why, but the idea came to me that the easiest way would be to take the de that Lady Jahi had. The de that was rumored to be made from such a rare, valuable metal... It''s so stupid, but for some reason I was fixated on it; I was certain that having it would bring me fame and fortune, even though any second of critical thinking would be enough to know that wouldn''t work. I''d be dead before I could make any use of that de, and so would my family. After hiring that group through my guards, I began to chip away at Sis'' power inside the city, starting with her businesses and the guards loyal to her inside the Manor. I chipped and chipped, recing who I needed and browbeating who refused to be transitioned. During that time, I... Another thing popped into my mind, something that I had thought of before... I... I had Ginnye to my room before... before..." Vitra trailed off, taking a deep breath as she stared at the ground, sorrow in her eyes as she said "I ordered Ginny to strip, and I took her, my lust clouding my mind even more as I used her from dusk to dawn, doing as I pleased to her..." Her voice was cracking as she said that, and her Mother grimaced slightly even as she held her daughter tighter, conflicted on how to feel. "Baroness Witrani..? One of the servants said that you found that ne outside the city, said it was an artifact." Vitra smiled blearily at me, shaking her head as she replied "I hid it''s origins. Didn''t want anyone to know where it came from, who it came from. Baroness Witrani was the one who sent it... I don''t know if it was malicious or not, but..." Jahi let out a sigh, while the Marquess grumbled softly as the two Demoness'' pinched the bridge of their noses, clearly disliking having to follow a trail of clues to figure out where this cult might be. The questioning continued, though I switched to speaking to Cali as the Arch Fiend finally decided to grant ess to her wisdom after resting for a few minutes. Chapter 630 629: Unraveling the Layers..?

Chapter 630 Chapter 629: Unraveling the Layers..?

"Katherine~! Katty Kat~!" I had to raise a brow as Cali began to nuzzle my cheek, the Arch Fiend cooing my name in different ways as she pressed herself closer to me, smothering me in her rosy scent and purring like a cat as she rubbed herself all over me. "Cali... what are you doing? Could you not, hmm?" The Arch Fiend ignored me as she continued to nuzzle against my cheek as she purred "Katty Kat~! I like that~! Katty~! Kat~!" Taking a deep breath, I gave the pink skinned Arch Fiend a side eye before leaning my head away from hers, making the Arch Fiend pout and let out an "Aww..." as she tried to move her cheek back to mine. "Cali... please. Let''s not piss everyone off, hmm?" My voice was low - lest I disturb the others as they continued to question Vitra - as I reminded Cali that it could get messy if the others turned their focus from Vitra to me, since they wouldn''t appreciate the ''marking'' that Cali was doing to me as she continued messing around. "Mmm... But that makes the sex so much better~! Jealously drenching you in their scent as they override my own... Reminding you who you belong to as they let loose because of jealousy and desires~! Besides, I''m going to need a good~ refueling when we get back... that took quite a bit out of me, y''know? Didn''t think I''d have to deal with a lowly brat like that..." Cali''s pink eyes shone with a dangerous light as she stared at the chain in my hand, only to let out a sigh as I covered it up and took it from her sight, the Arch Fiend resting her cheek against my shoulder as she stared at me from the side. "Sedis... Every denomination of Fiends have a ruling caste of Fiends, and it''s not only the Arch Fiends. For us it''s the Animus, for the Ka it''s the Ensis, and for the Nua it''s the Aeger. The Fiends that take those titles, that join that caste, are the Fiends that work for the collective group, putting the entirety in front of themself so that they might overtake the other denominations. Amongst the Tza, the Sedis are some of the oldest, wisest Fiends to ever live, and amongst them... the only one that I know is captured and detained is Tza''Yul, but detained is a stretch. After all, can one be willingly detained for such a long period of time if you hold the key for escape? I doubt the Empress could contain that old bastard for so long... he''s just far to crafty and knows way too much about the world to be stuck. No, he''s not detained; he''s staying there willingly. Something is keeping that old bastard hooked inside the Empress'' Pce, and if I had to wager a guess... well, that''s something I''ll keep to myself~! No need to divulge personal information now is there~?" I raised a brow at her again, before backtracking as I asked "So this ''Sedis'' that Tza''Delira was going on about was Tza''Yul? That Arch Fiend that is bound to the Empress and locked away in the Pce? If you''re saying that he''s willingly residing inside the Pce, then why does Tza''Delira believe that Tza''Yul is being imprisoned?" Cali just rolled her eyes, replying to me with a dry, exasperated tone as she continued to lounge on my back. "Because they wants something from Yul obviously. Be it magic, techniques, a location of something; knowledge of any kind really. This brat doesn''t actually care about the old bastard, they just want something from him, something only he knows. Which... isn''t helpfully, since Yul is a reservoir of forbidden, lost, and ancient knowledge of all kinds. Farming techniques, tapestry colors of the first civilization, how to summon a portal, genderbending spells... I still hate him for that. Doesn''t want to share! How mean, right?!" Blinking a few times, I digested that before smiling wryly as Jahi finally turned back to me, her amethyst eyes switching to molten gold in an instant as she stormed over to me, growling "Get off my woman, Cali..." "So it begins~!" The Arch Fiend''s coo made Jahi''s eye twitch, and I was about to roll my eyes again when Jahi dragged me forwards and ced a kiss on my lips, the Demoness uncaring of time or ce as she locked her lips to mine, her sweet taste permeating my tongue as my Demoness greedily devoured my lips. Her hands slipped instantly, and I blushed as I felt eyes focus on us, my usually eptingposure of such affection now gone thanks to us being in public around strangers. Trying to push her away, I red at her, only to melt as those golden eyes locked onto mine and ordered me to ept it, her dominating actions and clear need making me tremble for a moment. It felt... nice, though I did push back at her again, starting with a nip to her lip as she tried to continue on, allowing me to slip away and re at her as I watched her from a few feet away, not wanting to further tarnish her image... even if I wanted to jump into her arms and return to thatforting warmth and wonderful sweetness. "Ahem... time and ce, daughter... please remember that. I know it can be tempting and fun to take your partner wherever, but it''s not... eptable." The Marquess'' voice was dull and lifeless as she warned Jahi about her actions, clearly not caring about it, while Anput was smirking, inching ever closer to me like she wanted to mirror what our Demoness lover had done. Leone blushed as well, her reaction the same as always and making me move closer to her, all while Vitra and the other Rena''s watched on, confused and blushing as well, not ustomed to such tant disys of affection. "Anyways, it seems we need to take a trip over to the Witrani Barony..? Is that what it''s called..? Yeah, that..." Chapter 631 630: New Leg of the Journey

Chapter 631 Chapter 630: New Leg of the Journey

With the recent revtions and a strong - yet hidden - desire from the ruling Family inside Vulpe City, we packed our stuff after another few hours of double checking and cross questioning that got us to the answer that we had known already. If we wanted to follow the clues, we would need to depart for the Witrani Barony and question the Baroness about the ne as soon as possible, which would likely lead to another location with a set of borate, confusing clues that no one wanted to really follow thanks to the wild goose chase we''d be on, but... It had to be done, and we loaded into our carriages and departed the city, with me making a mental note to return here when everything calmed down and we had free time in the future; I wanted to experience the fun night life with each of my three lovers here, and that likely would never change. Thankfully for us, the Witrani Barony was not only nearby, but also a smaller territory ruled by just a single woman - the Witrani Baroness - and hernd was ''within'' thend of the Rena County since they had ancestral ties or something. It was just a few hours away, and it gave us - me in particr - time to rest and sleep as we went from one locale to another, and with a battle most assuredly being on the horizon within this Barony, I needed the rest. Cali had ''disappeared'', and one of the Wisps remained behind to make sure everything was truly alright with Lady Vitra going forwards, double checking and triple checking her mental health as best they could from both the shadows and the light before making their way over to meet up with us at the Barony, so the carriages were lighter this time around. I fell asleep instantly, the warmth of Leone on my left and Anput on my right lulling me into that blissful state as I rested my head on Leone''s shoulder, while Anput kept her arm around my waist. It wasforting, though it ended up being the sort of nap that felt nothing like a nap; I closed my eyes and opened them back up like I had blinked, only to find myself having gone from the rolling hills around the beautiful white and red city of Vulpe to a rocky valley leading up towards a teau that was a drab mixture of browns, tans and greys that was utterly unappealing to look at. Jahi was the one to wake me up, nudging my leg with her foot and rousing me from that sea of ckness that wasforting to drift aimlessly in - otherwise known as a nap. The ne rested in my pocket, linked to my pocket watch and made sure to be secure so that we didn''t lose it, since this would be something worthy of being studied in depth when we returned to the Pce. Perhaps the Empress and her wives could glean something more from it that we otherwise wouldn''t see, or perhaps not; either way though, I had a feeling that this wasn''t the only artifact that the cult dedicated to Tza''Delira had amongst themselves, and if we really did end up meeting another controlled cultist - or perhaps a normal, willing cultist - we would need to search them thoroughly for anything else. Ascending through the valley and onto the teau, we found ourselves heading towards a quaint little farming vige nestled on top of the teau, growing golden wheat and plucking the fruits from trees, their hard work here feeding not only themselves and their neighbors, but others inside the Empire as well; work that wasn''t the most glorious, but work that was fulfilling and necessary. The single story stone houses that were gathered in small rings around the teau weren''t the most beautiful orrgest houses either, but considering the various Beastkin that milled around and went about their day, it was enough for these people. Situated far behind the small collections of houses andrge fields of crops was a slightlyrger, yet still humble manor that overlooked everything with its two stories, and that was where we were heading. Simple roads of cobbled stone led us there, and many of the farming Beastkin nced at our carriages curiously before shrugging, uncaring about what was happening as they returned to their jobs, likely deciding that we were here for their Baroness and that she would deal with us. The teau was expansive, and the multitude of acres covered in crops and orchards was a wonderful contrast from the drab mountains around us, though our focus was solely on the manor as we drew closer. Guards resting against simple spears shook themselves back to awareness and approached the carriage, raising their hands and asking us to stop so that they could question us. The Wisps handled the talking just like before, and we resumed moving forwards as we made our way towards the front of the manor, where the Wisps told us to disembark, the guards letting out quiet gasps as they saw the Marquess step out, followed by Jahi. Whispers flowed between the guards at the sight of the two Demonesses, with one of the guards making their way inside to speak to the Baroness. All of us caught that movement, our eyes narrowed as we waited out front, wondering if the Baroness would meet with us or run; we were curious about the woman''s allegiance, after all, and if she ran we would have confirmation that she was up to something. But a few momentster a scrawny, average height woman came scurrying out of the manor, her simple red dress making her auburn hair stand out even more as she rushed to stand in front of us. Her swarthy brown skin and rough hands spoke ofbor in the fields alongside her people, while the sharp brown eyes that looked worriedly between the Marquess and Jahi conveyed quite a bit. Wringing out her hands, Baroness Witrani gulped before hastily curtsying the Marquess, her voice shaking a bit as she said "T-To what do I owe the pleasure, M-Marquess Asmodia..?" Chapter 632 631: Cult of Ambition (1)

Chapter 632 Chapter 631: Cult of Ambition (1)

? "T-To what do I owe the pleasure, M-Marquess Asmodia..?" Baroness Witrani trembled for a brief moment as she stared at the towering Demoness, though she got herself under control a momentter - sort of, anyways - and asked "I apologize... I would have prepared something if I had known of your arrival, so again I apo-" "There''s no need to apologize, Baroness. Truly. I came simply because I have a question to ask, one that concerns the Young Lady Vitra of House Rena. She... gave me some troubling news. Do you know what I am referring to?" The tanned skin woman shook her head, confusion gracing her sharp brown eyes as she furrowed her brow, replying "No... I didn''t have any clue that something happened to Lady Vitra. W-Wait..! Is she okay?!" Baroness Witrani took a step forwards and almost reached out to grab the Marquess'' hand before stopping herself, though worry was clear on her face as she stared at the Marquess, waiting for an answer. Raising a brow, the Marquess looked down at the tanned woman and replied "That is yet to be seen. She''s currently in aatose state thanks to something that was given to her. Something that came-" The Demoness leaned down and said thest part in a quiet voice, meant only for the Baroness to hear as she stared straight into the woman''s eyes, studying her expression closely. "Straight from you. Someone hoping to court such an outstanding Young Lady like Lady Vitra... Why did you send it, Baroness? That letter seemed rather sincere. Was it just a farce?" Blinking a few times, the Baroness eventually shook her head and took a step back, those brown eyes growing wet with tears as she said "I-I didn''t do it..! W-Whatever happened to her... I-I d-didn''t do it..! P-Please, b-believe me! Y-You have t-to believe me! I wouldn''t hurt Vivi! N-Never!" Her distraught behavior seemed rather genuine, but who knew if it truly was, which was why the Marquess hissed "Really? That item you sent was something that poisoned that poor girl! You expect me to believe that?!" "I-Item..? W-What item? I o-only sent a letter! I s-swear it upon the glory of the Empress! I only sent that letter..! That was all! P-Please, believe me!" Tears pooled in her eyes now, her previous facade of confidence gone as she stumbled forwards and clung to the Marquess'' legs, having fallen to her knees as she sobbed to herself. "A-Ask m-my maid, E-Erica! S-She sent it for me..!" The Marquess gestured to Budan, who took a step forwards and spoke quietly to one of the guards, who nodded before leading the monk into the manor. They returned a half minuteter, a short Mousekin woman behind them nervously looking around as she stepped out, her eyes going wide as she saw her Mistress kneeling at the feet of a scowling Demoness. My eyes honed in on the maid Erica as she was herded forwards, clearly ufortable as she looked around the area, disying obvious signs of nervousness as Budan remained standing behind her, cutting off any escape routes. "Erica, yes? Your Mistress says that she only gave you a letter to send to the Rena County, specifically Vulpe City so that it ended up in Lady Vitra''s hands. Is that true?" The Mousekin licked her lips a few times as she wrung out her hands, staring down at the Baroness for a moment before shaking her head, saying "N-No, Mistress Witrani gave me a box too... it was a ne for the Young Lady..." "Hoh~? How''d you know it was a ne? Took a peek inside did you?" A grin split the Marquess face as she looked away from Baroness Witrani, who gasped as she stared disbelievingly at the maid, betrayal in her eyes as she said "W-Why are you lying?!" Jahi took a step closer to the Mousekin as well, who nched as she tried to take a step back, only to bump into the chest of the monk behind her. "Was there something off about that ne, little mouse? Since you saw it and all..." The piercing amethyst gaze made Erica nch even more as the blood drained from her face, only to flood back in as she red at the Demoness, hissing "It was a gift from our Lord! A gift she should have cherished! Whatever has happened to her is her just desserts for spitting on such a gift!" We all stared at the Mousekin beforeughing, with Jahi saying "You actually..! Haha~! You realize there was still so~ much leeway for you to wander through? So many ways to deny your role in consorting with Fiends and save yourself? Yet you ADMIT it?! Not so bright, cultist." Erica''s eyes widened while her cheeks burned with shame, though that was swept away by rage as she shouted "Our Lord of Ambition shall smite you down, you putrid, insufferable Demoness! Down with the Shield of the Empire, and down with the Empress! It''s time for the people to rule themselves, not some pathetic-" Sadly for her, before she could continue spewing vitriolic drivel to us, Jahi mmed her fist into the Mousekin''s stomach and silenced her, before her fist crashed against her jaw and knocked her out cold. Baroness Witrani let out a sharp gasp as she scrambled back, this sudden disy of violence frightening the woman as she stared at the unconscious Erica nkly from afar. Around us though, the citizens and guards turned and stared at us, their eyesnding on the unconscious form of Erica before some of them began to walk towards us, determination writ on their faces. "Well, it would seem we found out cult... just not in the way I was expecting, I guess. Let''s see what the nice people of the Barony think about this, hmm~?" We all unsheathed our weapons as we looked around us, the guards and farmers brandishing their weapons and tools as they closed in on us, making the Baroness squeak and shout as she watched Budan knock out the guard beside Erica as well, the man''s spear ttering to the ground alongside himself. "This''ll be interesting..." Chapter 633 632: Cult of Ambition (2)

Chapter 633 Chapter 632: Cult of Ambition (2)

"Are we keeping them alive or are we wiping the te clean?" Jahi''s nonchnt question was given an equally nonchnt answer from the Marquess, who looked at the approaching crowd with ruby eyes as she replied "Budan, do they seem to have any artifacts on their persons? If not... wipe the te clean." Baroness Witrani let out a choked gasp as she trembled behind the Marquess, tears welling in her eyes as she watched her people - the people she hade to care about and represented - raise arms against a Noble. The monk crouched and ruffled through the pockets and searched the rest of the guard''s and Erica''s bodies before shaking his head, saying "They''re clean. This is no control, no ckmail. Just pure, unadulterated belief it would seem..." The Marquess nodded, and without another word we unsheathed our weapons as we allowed the crowd to draw closer, observing them with each step they took. "Somethings beginning to connect between them... more of that mana from before, I believe. Might not be as simple as we think." Kolia''s words made the Marquess nod again, though the Demoness just hefted her ymore and replied "Even more of a reason to cut them down... No reason to risk anything by taking chances with such arge assembly of cultists. Though... Kolia, keep studying the connections, tell me how this affects it..." The Arch Mage barely had the chance to nod before a bolt of fire hurtled through the air and enveloped one of the guards, the man falling to his knees as mes shrouded his body, consuming him alive. His screams made the Baroness begin to shake as she looked away, and some of the people approaching looked back towards him, only to return their gazes towards us, almost uncaring of the sacrifice. "Nothing besides the threads of mana binding him to the others dissipating. It''s only getting stronger by the second though... I don''t know what it''s for, so..." Leone nodded beside Kolia, staring intently at the approaching crowd as she set aside her gentler side, focusing on how they were all cultists threatening us. "So kill them quickly then, I guess... There''s about a hundred. Roughly ten each then." The Khopesh in my hands felt great as I nodded, and knowing that I was about to test it out was even better. "Get to it then. I want to be done with this all..." The Marquess'' dismissive tone was felt by us all, and without any further adieu, the Wisps, Jahi, Anput and I made our way forwards, while the Marquess began to stroll forwards casually, leaving Budan to protect the two mages and the Baroness. Darting forwards, I felt a grin tugging at my lips as the Khopesh in my hands arced wonderfully through the air, the red metal looking gorgeous when it was joined by the crimson of blood when I shed into the neck of the woman in front of me, the serrated teeth chewing through flesh and slicing messily through her spinal cord as I decapitated her, sending her head rolling while her body stumbled forwards. None of the cultists seemed to expect us to be this quick, gasps and shouts as they tried to organize themselves filling the air alongside the screams and groans as they were cut down quickly, their numerical advantage wiped clean in front of elite talent. My mind remained untainted by the ughter around me as I chopped off the limbs of a guard before slitting their throat, their ties to a cult that desired to bring harm to my loved ones enough reasoning to put them to the de as I acted first, and would ask any questions I hadter. It was entirely one sided, and as I danced through the crowd, I left behind a trail of carnage as I whet my Khopesh''s thirst for blood, seeping it in its first ever battle against weak opponents. Even though I wasn''t focusing on the mana connections between the citizens, I could feel the spike in pressure as more of them were cut down, until only a handful remained stationed at the back, their eyes now ck orbs with blue specks glowing randomly across the surface, mana leaking from their pores as they became the catalyst of whatever these citizens had done before hand. I donned a Water and Wind Cloak as I copsed on the remaining cultists with the others, my de coated in a sheen of ice that shone a ethereal blue, contrasting the bloody red beneath. With mana swirling around my body, I prepared myself to dodge a spell as I drew closer to the five cultists that were left, only to frown as nothing came to be, my Khopesh slicing cleanly through the skull of the closest cultist, and a flick of my wrist sent the de arcing towards the next, lopping off their leg and slicing through their chest as I bisected them, bringing the total down to three. The pressure mounted, making me leap back as I observed the three remaining cultists closely, Jahi and Anput on either side of me as they too observed on, while the Wisps remained behind us, ready to support if need be. "Something''sing! Their mana is spiking again! Cut them down, quick!" Kolia''s voice broke the eery silence that had descended over the teau, and we leapt forwards without hesitation as soon as we heard her words, the three of us cutting down the three cultists with swift shes, hoping to sever their mana connection as well. We didn''t need a warning or a reminder as we leapt back again, creating space between the dead cultists and us as we waisted for something to happen, our guard still up even as the teau fell quiet again, the only sounding from the soft breeze that blew over the area, but besides that... I scanned the dead bodies of the cultists in front of us, focusing hard on them and trying to understand what happened; what was that spike, and what was their goal? Chapter 634 633: Cult of Ambition (3)

Chapter 634 Chapter 633: Cult of Ambition (3)

It would appear that their goal was simple; they were to use their bodies as containers of mana to fuel a Ritual Circle that wasn''t one that I could recognize or understand in a brief moment, though it was clear what it did as a billow of ck mana erupted from the center of it. These cultists here - either willingly or not, I wasn''t entirely sure - used themselves as the battery for a spell to tear open a gateway from one location to another; a gateway that connected somewhere else to here. Not a Gate; it wasn''t connected to the Labyrinthian, but instead to somewhere else inside the Empire - or perhaps outside the Empire - and allow another group of true cultists to spill out in droves. Draped in mantles of dark sapphire blue, the collective of various races poured out of the gateway and raised a myriad of weapons towards us, ck metal dripping with liquids pointed our way as they charged, trying to catch us unaware. Their cloaks of blue covered the ck metal cuirass, vambraces, and grieves that they wore, the armor doing its job to cover vitals and necessary limbs from damage while still keeping them light and their movement fluid. Shouts and cries escaped their lips as they all chanted "Bow before the Cult of Ambition!" over and over again, their des, axes, hammers and staves bing shrouded in raw mana as they charged at us, an unending stream of bodies pouring from the gateway. A moment was all I allowed myself to feel surprised at the situation, before my own spells draped themselves around me and my lovers as we prepared to face the onught of cultists,yering spells over one another and allowing light of gold, silver and blue to shine around us. Without any words we moved into ce, Jahi donning her Golden Cloak and setting her feet as she leveled her great sword at the rushing cultists, Anput and I at her sides with our own weapons ready. The Wisps behind us moved up and began to prepare a second line of defense for us to fall back to should we feel overwhelmed, before they began to draw runes and prepare spells to aid us from afar. My Khopesh was still dripping with blood, and my hands were wrapped tightly around the hilt, my eyes focused on the noisy cultists, making me flip the de from the cold, straight edge of the outside crescent to the serrated, hungry edge of the inside crescent, my lips curling into an anticipatory smile. With the Marquess joining us, we stood before the horde of cultists and allowed them to crash down at us, meeting their des and fury with our own, beginning the ughter anew. In front of us were hundreds of cultists once more, but this time they were armed and dangerous, but even that didn''t make me feel fear, instead allowing excitement to course through my veins alongside the adrenaline as I lunged forwards and began to cleave through the first, my Khopeshden with deadly frost slicing through the woman''s cor and cutting her cleanly in two, killing her before she even got a chance to raise her de. I moved with fluidity as I allowed the Khopesh to guide my strikes, using its momentum to begin my dance as I stepped aside from a sword swipe and responded with a cut of my own, lopping off the man''s wrist and following it up with a rapid cut to his throat, tearing the flesh apart and killing him next. Hooking the de forwards, the jagged tip of my de pierced into another man''s skull and stabbed his brain, pulling some of it out as I yanked the Khopesh back and moved around his copsing body, unleashing three rapid shes at the fourth cultists torso, tearing past the armor and opening their stomach up to the world, intestines spilling onto the ground and squelching as the cultist fell to their knees onto them. Removing my left hand from the hilt, I stuck my palm out towards a cluster of cultists and traced out the runes in a moment for the burst spell, sending shards of ice slicing towards and into them, the shotgun st putting them out of the fight as [Frost of Despoina] took effect. I kept that spell ready as I aimed at the next cluster, firing off another st before lunging towards them, using them as cover even as I shot a third st at them point nk, blowing their chests open and sending more splinters of ice into the crowd. mes fell to the earth around me, followed swiftly by the thunderous booms of lightning bolts that caused the fire to explode outwards, miniature bombs devastating the area as Leone and Kolia worked together once more. With a momentary lull as the cultists reeled from the st that happened nearby, I traced out the runes for a new spell even as my Khopesh rose and fell, decapitating a cultist and maiming another. A Ritual Circle appeared in front of my palm, and I hurled it into the air and grinned, watching as it spun and shimmered, activating after more mana seeped into it from my Core. Double handing the Khopesh again, I began to dance around the cultists around me as the spell started to take effect,nces of crystalized, jagged ice dropping to the earth and skewering people before exploding into clouds of shrapnel that tore through flesh like a hot de through butter. The massacre had begun, and there was nothing that the cultists could do about it as they continued to pour out of the gateway, none of them capable of withstanding the four separate bastions of ughter that were established around them. Nor could they hope to flee away from the gateway and away from us, since bolts of lightning or arrows of fire rained down on any who became too afraid to challenge one of us, hoping to escape. The death toll reached dozens in seconds, before turning to hundreds and hundreds as more poured out from the gateway, leaving the question of how many people were inside this Cult of Ambition... And how many of them wanted to die. Chapter 635 634: Cult of Ambition (4)

Chapter 635 Chapter 634: Cult of Ambition (4)

Bodies piled around me as I continued my dance of death, my Khopesh dripping with blood and caked with viscera, each sh into one of the many cultists further adding to the mound I had created. Limbs, heads and bodies littered the ground around me, while blood pooled into puddles as the death toll rose, the Cult of Ambition throwing body after body into the meat grinder that the four of us had be. It was hard to imagine what the Cult of Ambition was trying to gain through this attack, but our answers woulde to us as the horde of cultists gradually began to thin out, the fodder - nearly enough people to fill a small town - now dead at our feet, numbering potentially in the thousands. It was an astronomical number of people to be inside one cult, but as a dozen new people draped in ornate robes stepped out of the gateway - which fizzled out behind them after they exited - we got to learn some of the reason as to why. Silver and onyx studded their cloaks and armor, clearly an homage to their Fiendish lord that they worshipped so reverently, while the pressure of raw mana surrounding their bodies was higher than their followers by threefold, which was worrying as they stared towards us with disdainful expressions. "To think that the pathetic dregs of this backwater Barony would yield us such a big catch! It can only be thanks to His will that we were blessed this way! One of the many thorns poisoning this Empire stands before us, brothers and sisters! It is our duty as the new rul-" I watched - blood dripping down my body and breathing measuredly - as a bullet of fire mmed against the man''s chest, bursting against a thin barrier of pure mana that barely blocked the attack, silencing the man in the midst of his speech. As he opened his mouth to speak again, four more bullets mmed into the barrier, with the third cracking it open and exploding against his flesh, allowing the fourth to burst open his torso and cause him to go from preaching to screaming in agony as mes consumed him. "If there is a thorn to the Empire standing here today, it is not me but you. Disruption of order and the throwing away of lives for a false promise spoken by the forked, lying tongue of a Fiend. Any gripes you have with the Empress and thends she governs should have been taken up through debate and peace, and yet you resort to not only violence, but to selling your souls for a momentary hope at achieving your goals." The remaining eleven cultists stared at the Marquess with a few emotions - anger, hate, caution and fear being the prominent four - as she spoke, and a few of them tried to attack her, spells of raw mana hurtling through the air towards her, only for them to impact harmlessly against the Marquess'' own mana. "Pathetic weaklings wing at the poisonous promise of a Fiend, epting the ''boon'' of strength and hope without knowing just how fickle that promise was. What did you ask for? Power to tear down the Nobility? Did you think that you have the ability to contend with the foundations of this Empire now that some pathetic Fiend told you that you can?" Her words were scathing as she began to walk forwards, a shroud of red mana flickering around her as more and more spells impacted her protective barrier, which caused the cultists to panic and begin switching their focus towards the rest of us, hoping to distract or get rid of the Marquess by killing us. Coiling Wind Mana around my feet, I began to run forwards, weaving around the bolts and sickles of mana that threatened to rend my flesh from my bones and break me apart as I closed in on the cultists. Anput and Jahi took a more direct approach, silver and gold shields blocking the attacks as they too made their way forwards, their des gleaming dangerously. "Go on. Speak. Dere your goals with pride as I cut you down where you stand!" The eleven cultists nched as the Marquess slowly made her way towards them, before they found themselves embroiled between the glows of silver, gold and blue as we reached them first, descending on them with great speed. "For our Ambition! For the downfall of this blight on the world! Brothers! Sisters! Cut down these misbelievers and show them the strength Lord Tza''Delira granted unto us!" One cultist - braver than the others - attempted to rally the remaining ten, only to find herself the target of us three as we sped towards her, grabbing her and flinging her out towards the Marquess as tribute before returning to the new ughter happening where the gateway used to be. "Keep two alive!" A shout from one of the Wisps made Anput nod, and her sword switched towards a club, which she used to knock out her targets - picking one cowardly and one fervent cultist - while Jahi and I focused on cutting down the rest, pouring more mana into our attacks and engaging in duels. Ducking beneath a sword sh, I blocked another''s spear thrust before ramming my shoulder into the spearman''s stomach, pushing him back momentarily as I switched targets to the swordswoman, parrying her longsword once before scoring a small cut across her chest as she barely leaned away from the attack. The spear lunged towards my side again, and with the sword shing down at me as well, I jumped back before rushing to the side, around the spear and cing myself right in front of the spearman, allowing me to punch him in the gut before I smirked, shards of ice sting into his stomach and out his back as I activated a spell, knocking him to the ground and allowing my frost to im him. With him down, I stepped aside from the swordswoman''s attack and sliced horizontally towards her, the serrated teeth of my Khopesh catching her waist and slicing through her flesh easily, bisecting her. Killing my two opponents, I honed in on thest remaining cultist before watching as her head exploded like a melon as a bolt of mes entered her cranium, killing the woman instantly. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Leone staring at us from afar, her hand raised as she prepared to shoot another bullet if necessary, her newly crafted spell already showing its worth. "Another set of people to interrogate... damnit, this is tedious. But..." The Marquess looked down at the three unconscious cultists at her feet, sighing as she moved her gaze from them to the corpses instead, muttering "How has a cult grown to such a size without us knowing? Who controls it, and why..?" Chapter 636 635: Mission Report

Chapter 636 Chapter 635: Mission Report

"So there''s an entire... army of cultists hiding somewhere within the Empire? Capable of utilizing gateways and replicating Mana Batteries - albeit in fleshy form - preaching about the downfall of my Empire? I have to admit..." Leaning back into her throne, the Empress donned a small smile as she looked down at us, her gigantic frame seemingly amplified by the smile on her lips as her presence filled the room, a myriad of emotions washing over us from just those small actions. "I am rather curious about this all. How deeply ingrained was this Cult of Ambition? Where are they located, and why have my Wisps heard nothing about it? Is it truly inside the Empire, or just located nearby? Are they targeting us because they are discontent with the state it is in, or because they wish to witness the downfall of what I''ve built? So many questions, and yet... they know nothing." She drummed her fingers on the edge of the throne, stroking her jaw and staring down at the ck corpse of the cultist, their mind fragmented from the mysterious Moon Magic that Lady Lorelei ced on them to extract some knowledge. But, her attempts came up short as the cultist provided nothing for us to work on, unaware of the workings of the cult that they themselves seemed to manage; besides the general ''We''re against the Empire'', ''We number in the thousands'', and ''We serve Lord Tza''Delira'', all three of the captives we brought back provided nothing new for us whatsoever. To a surprising degree as well, since their vagueness of everything was uncharacteristic of such arge cult, especially one beneath the rule of the Tza domain. "However, you said that this Tza''Delira wished to free Tza''Yul from their imprisonment? Peculiar... Most Tza Fiends were rather happy that Tza''Yul was brought under my control, the power vacuum that it left behind allowing them to act freely without the looming presence of their Sedis. So what is it that this Delira wants from Yul..?" The Empress seemed only mildly worried about the looming threat of an unknown number of cultists threatening her Empire, since she instead was more intrigued by the words that the Fiend left behind for us over in the Vulpine Manor. "Additionally, the Cult of Ambition as a name... it''s rather broad, no? Usually Fiends and their respective cults mirror one another; for instance, ''Caligo''s cult would likely go under the name ''Cult of Twisted Desires'' since she herself represents all the hidden, dark lusts that mortals possess. Is that correct, Katherine?" Everyone turned towards me, and I blinked, to entirely sure since the Arch Fiend bound to me had made no mention of her ''cult'' whatsoever... "Rude! Not everyone is as nd and boring as that, Empress! You should know that~! Cult of the ck Roses, Cupido Infinitum, Nox Deliciae... Why go for something boring like naming it after myself? Sure, I''m lust incarnate and so~ desirable, but I''m not full of myself! If I was, do you think I''d be out searching for mortals to feed me lust, hmm? Actually... Oh, I''d love~ to be full of myself..." Cali appeared behind me at the Empress'' question, uncaring of how most in the throne room red at her, which was only amplified as she madements that were... par for the course with her, honestly. "You were responsible for Nox Deliciae?" The Arch Fiend just grinned as she stared at the Empress, who leaned forwards a little before sighing, saying "No matter, it''s a thing of the past... Still, what is the reason for such a broad name? Most cults are proud to proim what they are..." "Perhaps it''s more than just that Tza''Delira? A collective of ''ambition'' brought together under one banner, for one purpose? Wouldn''t be the first time that happened." Lady Igna was the one to suggest that, making the Empress sigh as she contemted the words of the Dragon, before ncing at the Demon Wolf who just growled "If it is, then can I finally stretch my legs a bit? Been far too long since something crawled to my feet to die..." "Fen... Hah... Chordeva, you mentioned that the Youngest Lady of the Rena Family was the one to ''facilitate'' the initial provocation? Mental maniption, was it? Is that artifact still on hand, or was it destroyed?" The Marquess shook her head, gesturing at me to hand the silver chain over to the Empress, the protection that Cali provided to me crowning me as the carrier of the artifact. I retrieved it from my pocket and handed it over, the Empress clicking her tongue as she inspected the ne for a moment, handing it off to Lady Lorelei a momentter. "Ancient Magics. Moon Magic specifically. Likely an actual artifact, or the Cult has ess to someone capable of wielding said magics... be it a Vampire or another Fiend." Leone seemed intrigued by that, looking towards her Mother and receiving a nod as the two Vampires grew closer, looking at the silver chain that was bathed in a pale white light from Lady Lorelei''s palms. "Chordeva, Budan, my Wisps... stay behind. We have much to discuss. The rest of you, get some rest. Besides the emergence of this Cult, there is something else that will require your attentions, if you decide to ept it... We''ll talk about itter though, so go; eat, rest, sleep. You need it." I looked towards Jahi and Anput, the two women yawning at the mention of sleep before moving over towards me, quietly asking if we were going to have something heavy for dinner or something simple as we filtered out of the throne room, deciding to take up the Empress'' offer without much contemtion. We were tired from what had happened, and I was grateful for the rest since I could look over my gains from the excursion, which I had to admit I was rather curious about... there was quite the reaping of souls earlier, and while they didn''t personally seem difficult to kill, that meant nothing in terms of experience, and with me being so close to crossing the threshold, I was even more curious if I would reach it tonight, or if I needed onest push to breach the halfway point to triple digits. For now though, I epted the hands of Anput and Jahi as we began to walk down the halls together, both of my hands enveloped in theirs as we slowly made our way back to the room, chatting quietly about what happened and discussing how Anput''s gear worked, or how well our spells worked and so on, deciding that - while we wanted it - we would wait to do anything ''fun'' until Leone was with us as well. Chapter 637 636: Fulfillment of Needs (1)*

Chapter 637 Chapter 636: Fulfillment of Needs (1)*

Anput and Jahi pulled me into our temporary room turned new home, where we found the Countess humming quietly to herself as she rocked back and forth on her rocker with the two babies fast asleep, the Elf dozing off while Mother hummed quietly in the kitchen, cooking something to eat alongside Bessie. Hearing us enter, the three women turned and smiled softly, with Mother gesturing to the kitchen as she said "I made everything already, it just needs to warm up... Go rinse off quickly before eating. Is Leone going to be here too, or..?" We nced at one another before shrugging, and I said "Maybe, maybe not. She was with Lady Loreleist we saw her. They found an artifact with Moon Magic on it, so... who knows." The Countess nodded and asked "And Chordeva?" "Mom should be back soon..? The Empress was getting thest of the report from her when we left." The two women nodded and gestured for us to go get cleaned up, the long journey back home with no stops leaving us aching and sore... though I could tell that this wasn''t going to be the swiftest of cleanups we had. While we wouldn''t truly start until Leone was back, it was quite clear that something was about to happen, and as soon as my armor was peeled away and the undershirt taken off, I felt two heated gazes glued to my curves, making me smile tiredly back at them before I entered the bath, putting some sway into my hips as I walked. Jahi and Anput growled softly as they walked in behind me, their cocks throbbing with need as they lunged forwards, the Demoness grabbing me and pulling me into her chest while the Jackalkin stered herself to my chest, sandwiching me between them. The heat from their skin permeated my body, though my focus was entirely on the scorching rods poking my butt and stomach, the physical manifestations of their lust making themselves clearly known to me. Thoughts of checking my System and making time to check it went out the window, the urgency instead to satisfy my urges and rid myself of the stacks of [Arousal] that had built up over thest few days far too strong to ignore. Even though we hade to a decision to not do anything without our Vampire lover present just minutes before, the instant clothes came off and we got to see one another, well... that decision almost became moot. Jahi was the one to start, her burly penis grinding between my butt as she buried her face into the crook of my neck, kissing it and enjoying the feeling of my body in her hands as she began to pleasure herself. As for Anput, the Jackalkin was leaning down and ying with my boobs, her lipstched onto one and her fingers ying with the other, making sure that both were stimted as she showed my chest the attention she believed it deserved. Having both their lips on my body was a warm pleasure, the tingle of Jahi''s tongue and Anput''s nips jolting through my body as I moaned quietly, only to let out a slight yelp as Jahi growled "Both of you, on your knees..." Anput''s ears fluttered at the Demoness'' voice, and we both felt our wombs throb at the familiar tone as we dropped to our knees, instincts taking over instantly. Even though the Jackalkin had been in her role as my mate a moment earlier, the second she heard that voice she switched, unable to deny the orders from the Demoness and joining me in the role of a submissive lover. That gap was hot for me, and I moaned softly as I stared up at the menacing blue cock that loomed over our faces, the thick shaft and red tip looking angry that it was so hard and not being attended to. "Well? The fuck are you waiting for, you sluts? Suck my cock. Worship it... We''re on the clock." Jahi''s scathing growl made us both shiver, and I beat Anput to the punch as I leaned forwards and wrapped my lips around my lovers dick, sucking eagerly on her tip and swirling my tongue around her penis as I stared up at her through myshes, enjoying the demeaning smirk that was directed my way. Her handnded on my head and pulled me forwards, and it was thanks to my experience that I didn''t gag or be surprised that I was now kissing her groin, instead focusing on how to better pleasure her now that she was deep inside my throat. Anput joined me, crawling forwards andtching onto one of the tworge blue orbs that dangled between Jahi''s legs, making the Demoness'' smirk widen as she stroked both our heads, clearly enjoying the sight beneath her. "My two slutty puppies... keep doing it just like that. Make me cum... switch, puppies... I want to give you both a taste." With a whine I slid her cock out of my throat, pouting as I saw the saliva covered dick pulsing right in front of my face, its sweet taste so close yet now so far, only for me to whine again as I watched Anput take my ce, the olive skinned Jackalkin just as experienced as me. Staring at my mate bobbing her head back and forth on Jahi''s cock was arousing, and my fingers found themselves trailing downwards, tugging at my clit and slipping into my drenched pussy as I began to y with myself, unaware that Jahi''s smirk had widened even more, her amethyst eyes shing with an anticipatory joy. Instead, my eyes were focused on my mate''s practiced movements as she sucked on Jahi''s cock with relish, before I moved forwards and began to kiss andp at my Mistress'' balls, my head swimming in their sweet scent. We alternated one more time before Jahi pulled back, her hand pumping at her cock and wordlessly informing us of what was about to happen, the Demoness grinning as she started to ejacte. Thick ropes of sperm shot out from her tip like a geyser, sshing against Anput''s face and my breasts as the Demoness marked us as her women, ejacting all over us and showering us in her creamy semen, painting our faces and my breasts in white. Chapter 638 637: Fulfillment of Needs (2)*

Chapter 638 Chapter 637: Fulfillment of Needs (2)*

Without too much surprise Jahi had us suck her cock for another ejactions as she sat in front of the shower, cleaning herself off and enjoying herself at the same time as we got ourselves ready for dinner, which we knew we couldn''t ignore. Not only had it been a long time since we had a proper meal, but it had been a long time since we had Mother''s cooking as well, so we didn''t want to miss it. Even if - in this very moment - we believed that Jahi''s semen was the tastiest, most delectable thing in existence, akin to the ambrosia of the Gods, we knew we needed real food in our stomachs, though that didn''t mean that my mate and I weren''t going to fight over who got more of Jahi''s semen after she came on our faces again. We kissed andpped at one another under her gaze, the Demoness watching with lustful amusement at how I stole a deep gulp of cum from Anput''s mouth as I surprised her with my vigor, causing me to smirk before I moaned as she lunged down andtched onto my breasts, cleaning them off for me. When we finished, Jahi asked me to douse us all in cold water to rid ourselves of the lust for a moment, which worked for them since they were unustomed to the low temperatures that I could conjure on their bare skin. For me though, I just got to watch as their body flexed unconsciously beneath the cold water, their muscles bing even more apparent and making me even hornier as I got to see the perfect shape they were in... Did I ever... mention that I loved muscles? The way Anput''s six pack rippled as she stretched, or how burly Jahi''s arms were as she dried off her hair with a towel. All of it made me feel so hot inside, which caused Anput to smirk at me knowingly while Jahi raised a brow, the two able to sense that as clear as day thanks to my scent and our bond respectively. Getting out of the bath, we threw on some clothes and made our way out into the main room, taking a seat and acting like nothing had just happened, enjoying therge bs of meat and bowls of cool noodles that Mother made, the meal simple yet fulfilling as we began to eat. The Marquess joined us a few minutester, yawning quietly before giving the two now awake children a kiss as she sat down, the thick b of steak getting devoured quickly in front of her. However Leone still hadn''te back, so when we finished eating Jahi sent Anput to get our Vampiric lover, telling her to tell Leone that she had ''obligations'' to fulfill and that we needed to talk as well. With both the Demoness'' making it clear what they wanted, we retired early and made our way back into our respective rooms, though Anput dashed out into the Pce to retrieve Leone so that she could get in on the action. Jahi dragged me back into the bedroom and grinned at me, her amethyst eyes twinkling as we both stripped, making me shudder as she pulled me forwards and sunk her fingers into my ass, massaging it as she leaned down to kiss me. Our lips locked together as we stood there for a few seconds, enjoying the taste of one another''s tongues as we kissed messily, and I once again got to perceive the glory of my lover''s cock pressed against my skin, each vein and inch of the rock hard penis known intimately to me. Pushing me back, Jahi tossed me onto the bed casually as she whispered "Stay, puppy...", winking at me as she moved over to the drawers, retrieving a spool of rope. I licked my lips at the sight, the Demoness unwinding it and slowly approaching me with a smile, whispering "I didn''t say you could touch yourself earlier, puppy... You know that''s a rule... When you pleasure me, make sure that I say you can pleasure yourself; you exist for my pleasure, after all. There are consequences for misbehaving..." With a gulp, I watched her slip onto the bed and pin me down, before her hands started to twist and loop the rope around me, expertly binding me in a basic pattern that removed my ability to move my arms while entuating my breasts. "And those consequences can be anything I want them to be... so for tonight, I think the consequences are going to be simple... Simple, yet so very effective." Finishing a knot, Jahi grinned down at me as she cupped my breast, squeezing it as she pleased and leaning forwards as she told me my punishment. "I think the best thing to make you remember your duty, puppy, is to breed both my women in front of you. To cum inside their wombs a few times each while you watch on from the side, left forgotten... It sounds like the perfect punishment to me, and then afterwards..?" I bit my cheek as I stared up at her, the contents of my punishment for something that felt so trivial making me shudder as my pussy spasmed, her fingers trailing over my lower lips as she caressed me intimately. "Afterwards, when they''re down and out, too tired to continue but still conscious, I''ll fuck my bitch over and over again, reminding her who owns her as I fuck her as hard as I can... Does that sound like a fun night to you, Kat~?" Before I could answer, Jahi grinned down at me sadistically as she stuffed a piece of cloth in my mouth, her amethyst eyes flickering gold with lust, even more so when Anput walked back in. "Leone said she''d- Whoa..." My mate stopped in her tracks as she saw me, before she too grinned as she slipped out of her clothes, her olive skin glimmering in the dimming light of dusk as she made her way over to join us. "Ahem... Leone said she''d join us in a few minutes or so; she also said to start without her, so..." Anput''s grin widened as she looked down at me, her obsidian eyes radiating her lust as she reached down and groped my chest, only to moan as Jahi pushed her down on top of me, the Demoness growling "Very well... You''ll help me dole out some punishment to Kat, won''t you my love? Put our naughty, naughty puppy in her ce?" "Mm~ I''d love to, Jahi... Tell me more~!" Chapter 639 638: Fulfillment of Needs (3)*

Chapter 639 Chapter 638: Fulfillment of Needs (3)*

? Jahi PoV Anput''s confirmation sent a shiver down my spine, and I licked my lips as I stared down at my olive skinned lover, her muscr formid bare to me once more and looking as appetizing as ever. Seeing Kat''s eyes widen after I informed her of her punishment was excellent, the Dogkin''s lust and desires running rampant inside those amber orbs as she watched me get everything set up. The ropes binding her made her pale flesh look all the more tantalizing, while those tworge mountains of flesh looked ripe for the taking atop her chest, each breath she took making them move a little, captivating me. Such a soft, curvaceous body for me to defile, and it always made me so damn horny whenever I watched the way her body reacted when we had sex, the maid turned Noble almost always being the sexiest in the room by far... and I owned her. Body, mind and soul, all of her belonged to me, and I felt my cock harden even further at that thought, my lips curling into a smile as I pushed Anput back, making her sit on Kat''s face as I said "Get her ready for me, puppy... Anput, tongue out." The Jackalkin shuddered as she felt Kat begin top at her pussy and balls, and as she stuck her tongue out for me to taste she shivered some more, the pleasure washing over her quickly as I leaned forwards and began to kiss her. My cock rested so close to Kat''s breasts, and I wanted nothing more than to slide between them and enjoy the two orbs to my hearts content, but as it was her punishment... I focused entirely on Anput, my handsnding on both her toned ass and her petite breasts. Her little breasts were a source for her mild jealousy of both Kat and Leone, though I found them to be perfect for her, especially since they were so sensitive to my touch whenever she was aroused. Pinching her brown nipple, the Jackalkin gasped into my lips as I devoured her tongue, while my other hand squeezed her butt and stroked the base of her tail some, making the woman shiver again as the pleasure mounted. I smirked as I felt Kat wiggle around beneath us, trying to assuage the fire in her loins as she was forced to inhale and taste her mate''s fluids in preparation for me. Anput''s toned body felt incredible under my touch, and I couldn''t get enough of having such a muscr and fit woman like herself begging for my attention, causing my cock to stand achingly tall. After a few more seconds of kissing - her citrusy taste permeating my tongue while her asional moan graced my ears - I pulled away and cleaned my lips off, staring into those hazy obsidians as I wordlessly gestured for her to turn around, the Jackalkin instantly doing as I asked as she got on all fours instinctually. Wagging her butt along with her tail, Anput brushed her fleshy red penis against Kat''s face as she begged for me to begin breeding her, and without any words I did what I wanted to do. Grabbing her hips, I moved up and smirked down at Kat before sliding my cock inside Anput''s pussy, the Jackalkin moaning as she lowered her chest and head to the bed and arched her back, looking back at me with hot obsidian eyes. Her folds wrapped around my cock and massaged my shaft, while her cervix gave way to my tip and allowed me to ess her womb. With her muscr figure, her cunt was tight, gripping my penis hard and wriggling around it in just the right way as I slid all the way inside, my entire cock submerged into her drenched pussy. I bit my lip as I stared down at her slight curves, the warrior''s physique of my bitch arousing me even more as I felt like I had conquered such a worthy opponent, her toned back and smooth ass drawing me in as I began to thrust forwards, stroking my tip and ns with her cervix as I rhythmically began to mate with her. Each time my hips hit her ass, the Jackalkin moaned into the bedsheets, her tail thumping against my thigh with each thrust. The sound of my cock stirring up her pussy was made even more arousing as I listened to the whimpers of my second bitch below us, her face getting sttered in Anput''s juices as I gouged out her cunt, speeding up as I craved that sweet release of ejaction. My hips move quicker and quicker as I mmed my cock deep into my lover''s womb, her muffled moans as I stuffed her to the brim and scraped out her deepest part arousing me further as I continued to thrust forwards, the feeling of her pussy wriggling to life around my cock bringing me ever closer to that euphoria. Each thrust made my mind nk a little as pleasure mounted inside my head, the warm, wet, tight embrace of Anput''s pussy on my dick and how her juicesthered my balls and thighs as she orgasmed lightly herself bringing me to the edge quickly, my lust finally allowed free after being restrained for thest few days. Raising a hand off of her ass, I mmed it back down and grunted, enjoying how her body trembled from the pain and how that tranted to her cunt, which mped down on me like a vice. Spanking her once more, I grunted again as I buried my cock deep into her womb, staring down at her shivering body as I started to cum inside her, my balls tightening against her perky butt and unloading themselves inside her womb. Semen sprayed from my penis and painted her pussy white, while my vision blurred as I came hard inside her, filling her womb with cum and breeding her thoroughly, even if I knew she was on medicines. As I came off my euphoric high, I pulled out at thest moment and shot the final rope of sperm onto her butt, watching as it dripped off her olive skin and onto the blushing face of Kat below, who had watched her mate get railed right on top of her. Evening my breathing out, I reached down and stroked my cock a little and ejacted another rope of cum, smirking at Kat as I gave her a small facial before I grabbed Anput''s hips and pulled her back, plugging her tight hole and beginning round two. Chapter 640 639: Fulfillment of Needs (4)*

Chapter 640 Chapter 639: Fulfillment of Needs (4)*

My grunts mixed perfectly with the shrill moans of Anput as I mmed my hips hard into her ass, sttering my previous three loads of semen onto the panting Dogkin below as my cock scraped out the now loosened hole of my Jackalkin bitch. I had yet to stop fucking her since the beginning, taking her constantly in this position as I ejacted whenever I wanted, that euphoria of cumming washing away the slight displeasure I felt in my mind in regards to the excursion we took. There was nothing more I wanted than to bury myself deep inside all three of my women over and over again before heading out to stretch my muscles another way, and yet it seemed that fate had other things in store for us since more and more piled up even as I actively sought to remain to myself. The Empress had a mission for us, and while I might want to decline it simply because I wanted toze around, breed my three lovers, and go hunting down in Zhu''Rong Caverns, I knew that I would be epted whatever it was, which was part of the reason I was smirking down at Anput as I raised a hand again and swatted her perky olive butt again, making the already tanned skin grow even darker as I made her yelp. That - mixed with her desperate moans - was like nectar for my ears, hitting all the right things to let me feel the most amount of pleasure possible, which came mostly from the still tight grip of the bitch below me. Her muscles spasmed as she squirted on Kat''s face, the Jackalkin letting out a howl when I continued to pound forwards and stir around the globule of semen that upied her womb, forcing it out and allowing it to ssh on Kat''s face. Below us, the Dogkin was panting and staring up at the swaying penis with a heated gaze, yet she kept her head down and allowed us to cake her face in various fluids, likely relying entirely on scent to keep herself from going crazy. I could see her asionally twitching whenever arge drop of semennded on her messy face, signifying her orgasm from scent alone as the lust overtook her mind. Teasing her like this was amazing, and I felt another rush as a different type of domination settled in, making me shudder before grunting hard as Iid over Anput''s back, my hips pistoning into hers as I felt my semen well up in my balls. Kissing her neck first and making my way up to her lips when she turned towards me, I continued to pound Anput from behind before spurting a fresh batch of cum inside her womb, our kiss consuming her moan as she felt a new creamy load upy her womb. My penis rested entirely inside her pussy, with my tip pressing against the top of her womb and allowing my fresh ejactions to push the old ones out. Her folds massaged my shaft constantly, while her cervix mped down on my cock as well, creating a pleasurable sensation as I moved softly in and out of her pussy. With our lips locked together, I continued to cum inside the Jackalkin as we enjoyed my fourth orgasm together, all while we teased Kat below us. It was during this fourth ejaction that Leone walked in, finally finished what she was doing earlier and stopping at the door as she stared at us nkly, only to have her cheeks go red as she met my gaze. Sliding out of Anput, I gave the Jackalkin onest p as she sprawled off to the side, panting as she caressed her bulging stomach and orgasmed lightly off of being full of my cum. When I got off the bed, I gave Leone a small smile as I approached her, whispering "Close the door, love... Wouldn''t want the sounds to leak out now would we..?" The Vampire''s blush deepened as her crimson eyes trailed down my body andnded on my dick, which was covered in semen and Anput''s juices, though she nodded and closed the door behind her, only to gasp softly as I reached forwards and pulled her into me. "Are you ready, Princess..? I''m in desperate need of you..." Her plump bottom was so different from Anput''s, and the feeling of herrge breasts made me lick my lips with lust, wanting to devour her so badly... There was just something different about making love to a soft, curvy woman like Leone and Kat that Anput could never replicate, but that also went the opposite way since making love to Anput had its own thrills that the other two couldn''t provide. With my penis pressing against her stomach, the Vampire gulped as she felt my searing heat through her dress, only to yelp as I reached down and disrobed her in a sh, revealing her ck bra and panties that barely contained what they were meant too... Most impressively down below was Leone''s own throbbing penis, the Vampire bing erect swiftly as I stared down at her almost bare body, and I smirked at her as I led her over to the bed, my fingers undoing the sp of her bra easily while she slid her panties off, trying her best to hide the very clear wet spot that had grown from when she entered the room. Her pale skin and voluptuous breasts shimmered beneath the dim light of the room, and as we mounted the bed she blinked, her expression cking slightly as she finally registered the state of our Dogkin lover, who was bound and caked in semen. Kat''s face was drenched in cum, and her breathing was shallow as she inhaled the scent, making me worry for just a moment before I smirked as I jolted her awake with a burst of Light Mana. Moaning, the Dogkin shuddered as she came from just that, before her amber eyes focused somewhat on me as I pulled the cloth from her mouth, grinning down at her as I cooed "I require your administrations, Kat... Worship my cock for me, my love... maybe I''ll free you from these bindings a bit earlier..." Leone watched from the side as I made the Dogkin roll onto her stomach and swallow my cock; the sight of Kat''s face utterly caked in cum was arousing, and I wanted nothing more than to fuck her throat and add to that mess, using her as a receptacle for my semen and nothing else. The Vampire moved over and watched closely as Kat eagerly sucked on my penis, the Dogkin bobbing her head and taking me deep as she worked to earn her freedom, making me narrow my eyes in sheer pleasure from each thrust deep inside. The mess transferred to my groin thanks to her gulping down my cock, but a simple gesture at Leone fixed that as the Vampire joined Kat in worshipping me, making me grin even as I was swallowed into Kat''s throat, which was tighter than I remembered. One tongue was swirling around my penis and pleasuring me directly, while another tongue waspping at my thighs and groin, cleaning me off and showing me the devotion I desired as I looked down at them both, only to feel my grin widen as I dragged myself out of Kat and plunged myself into Leone, groaning "Too slow, puppy... but..! Here!" Grabbing Leone''s head, I pulled her down and buried my cock in her throat, ejacting inside her directly before growling "Keep a mouthful, whore!" The Vampire trembled as she continued to swallow my cum only stopping when she felt my cock stop throbbing inside her mouth. Pulling back, Leone looked up at me with a mouthful of sperm, the white liquid swirling around in her mouth as she waited for her next order, which was "Let Kat drink it..." I watched the two turn to one another instantly, the Vampire angling the Dogkin''s head back and allowing my semen to drip onto her waiting tongue before leaning down to kiss her, transferring it from her mouth to the bound woman''s mouth. Grinning, I idly stroked myself as I watched it happen in front of me, continuing my pleasure as I watched my women do whatever I wanted them to do... Chapter 641 640: Fulfillment of Needs (5)*

Chapter 641 Chapter 640: Fulfillment of Needs (5)*

Even after cumming for the seventh time tonight, I felt ready for more, my mana and own virility keeping me hard as I pushed Kat back down a momentter, the Dogkin moaning for a split second before her mouth was filled with my balls. Grabbing Leone, I lifted the curvy woman easily and smirked at her as I lowered her onto my cock, spreading her lower lips apart and slipping inside easily, returning to the ce that belonged to me. While she wasn''t as tight as Anput, Leone had a searing heat that permeated my loins and made me feel a tad more sensitive, which helped when I wanted to cum quickly and consecutively. Holding her by her thick ass, I felt her wrap her legs around my body and cling closely to me, pressing thoserge breasts against my chest while her face was buried in the crook of my neck, muffling her whimpers as I spread her apart. With my hips feeling a tad sore from earlier, I began to bounce Leone up and down my shaft, all while Kat suckled on my testicles from below. Panting, I winced as I felt Leone sink her fangs into my neck, the Vampire unable to take it anymore as she began to feed, sending a cocktail of fluids into my body that made me even warmer and hornier. Her cinnamon scent exploded around me as I leaned down and kissed her neck, while the feeling of her own cock rubbing against my abs was an interesting one, her stiff penis leaking precum everywhere as the Vampire tried to keep herself contained for a little longer. Plunging in and out of her womb and massaging her juicy ass made that an impossible task for us each, and without warning I began to creampie her for the first time tonight, the fluids she injected me with and her own heat coaxing out my semen easily. Leone''s own balls tightened against my abs, and another source of warmth was added to the equation as she ejacted alongside me, moaning into my neck as she came from both her pussy and her cock. Semen sshed against our breasts and stomachs, while her fluids leaked down my thighs and balls, which were still being licked by Kat. My own semen sshed inside her womb, and the way she tightened up as she came coaxed out more of my cum, sending shocks throughout my body as I filled the Vampire to the brim. Leone let out a shriek and pulled away from my neck, pulling me from my daze and causing my heart rate to spike as I wondered what was wrong, only to chuckle wryly as I saw Anput behind Leone, her intention clear. The Jackalkin disappeared for a moment as she went down to prepare Leone,ing back up a few momentster and shuffling forwards, slipping her cock inside the Vampire''s ass and wrapping her arms around her waist, thrusting hard and fast into the woman''s other hole. Feeling something pushing against my cock inside of Leone''s pussy, I smirked as I joined Anput in ravaging the Vampire, who was cumming nonstop from both ends as she was sandwiched between us, fluids of all kinds leaving her as she was fucked by two cocks at once. Kat was left to herself as we lifted Leone up, drilling her hard together and pounding her pussy and ass as much as we liked, only stopping when the Vampire made us cum. I don''t know how long we held Leone like that, but I do know that I lost myself briefly to her body as Anput and I took turns breeding her, dumping our loads inside her pussy and ass and fucking her hard together, the two of us feeding off of one another''s lust as we used Leone as we pleased. Eventually I recalled my promise to Kat, making me pull out of Leone''s ass even as I felt my orgasm beginning to well up, instead letting it leave as I went over to Kat, who was staring nkly at the ceiling, her face still drenched in fluids. Unbinding her, I smirked at the Dogkin as she came around, her limbs finally allowed to move again and allowing her to wipe off her face, revealing the red cheeks below. Without being prompted, Katpped at her fingers and began to clean herself off, all while I sat atop her stomach and began to slide my cock between her breasts, doing what I wanted while I watched her clean herself. The tworge mountains were wonderful around my cock, and I was able to bury myself entirely inside her cleavage as I began to thrust forwards, making love to her soft tits as I stared down at her lovingly, enjoying the way she was graduallying around even as she unconsciouslypped the semen and ejacte off her face. "Kat..." My voice was slightly hoarse from the grunting and mild dehydration, but it was still clear enough that it sliced through the haze of arousal and neglect that Kat was in and made her focus on me. "Will you ride me for a round? I want to watch your ass bounce..." The Dogkin gulped as she felt my searing cock between her breasts, looking down to find it poking through her cleavage and staring at her, demanding to release its contents inside her. Wordlessly nodding, Kat gingerly got up after I got off of her, the semen in my balls demanding release and being denied once again, building up arger ejaction. Beside us, Anput had gotten the tables turned on her as the Vampire pushed her down and mounted her ass, pounding Anput into the bed once more and making the Jackalkin gasp as she took Leone''s thick penis in her ass, the Vampire getting her ''revenge''. Leaning my back against the headboard of the bed, I spread my legs and allowed Kat to sit between them, her knees folded beneath her as she dropped her voluptuous ass onto my cock, making me moan softly as I felt her incredible insides next. Anput was tight, Leone was hot, and Kat was drenched; each were unique, and I loved each and every single one of them for it. Fluids gushed out of my Dogkin''s pussy, soaking my cock and balls as she began to gyrate her hips around, slowly riding me as she got her strength back after being bound for so long. Watching her juicy ass bounce around as she picked up the pace, I couldn''t help myself as I spanked it, making it ripple and leaving a handprint on it that made me smirk, especially when her tail began to wag as I indulged her masochistic tendencies. My hands began to collide with her ass rapidly, beating it into whatever shape I wanted as she took my penis deep into her cunt, greedily swallowing it whole and trying to milk me of my semen. I couldn''t help it as I began to thrust up into her womb, making the Dogkin whimper as a new pain joined the spanking, though she made no move to pull away even as I matched her pace, resulting in my tip mming against her womb and pushing it around. My previous two would be ejactions made themselves known as her pussy mped on my cock like a vice, though I still slid easily around inside her cunt thanks to her drenched pussy, her folds only gripping at my cock for a moment before I moved past them. Wrapping my fingers around the base of her tail, I made her yelp and shudder as the sensitive flesh was toyed with, before she let out a scream as I spanked her and mmed her womb at the same time, the Dogkin trembling as her pussy writhed around my cock wildly. With her orgasming, I buried my cock deep inside and began to ejacte as well, grunting behind her as my semen poured into her body, flooding her easily. Not giving her a rest, I grinned as I pushed her forwards and mounted her ass, pressing her head down to the bed and keeping it in ce with my foot as I started to beat her ass again, my desires to rough her up leaking through and causing me to lose part of myself as I began round two with her... Round two of many. Chapter 642 641: Slow Start

Chapter 642 Chapter 641: Slow Start

Kat PoV I grumbled as I felt someone shaking my shoulder, burying my nose further into the muscr side of my Demoness instead as I tried to return to sleep, my mind and body exhausted. The room was a mixture of sweet, citrus, and cinnamon scents that swirledzily through the air, our deeds fromst night lingering around after the rudimentary cleaning that I attempted before I passed out, which contained a breeze out the windows that someone opened and a cloak of water that washed everything off of me, leaving me rtively clean and refreshed enough to fall asleepfortably. The hand on my shoulder pushed me some more, making my growl reverberate in my throat as I blearily opened my eyes, still clinging closely to the blue tower of flesh that released that addictive sweet scent that I knew and loved so much. ring at the person touching me, I unconsciously curled my lips back and revealed my teeth, snarling like an actual dog as I hugged my Demoness tighter, not wanting to get up. The olive skinned hand that belonged to my mate gently - yet firmly -nded on my cheek and made me blink, the crisp p sending a minuscule burst of pain through my mind and clearing it from the exhaustion that enshrouded it, waking me up properly. "Don''t growl at me! Jeez... Were you trying to act like a real dog there Kat?! Hmph..." Anput pursed her lips as she leaned back, her eyes lingering on my body as I sat up, those obsidian orbs easy to track as the Jackalkin tantly checked me out, before she looked back towards my face and said "You need to wake up, as does Jahi... the Empress needs to speak to us, remember? Should probably see her sooner rather thanter..." I rubbed my cheek softly and raised a brow at my mate, who just stared back at me for a moment before gesturing towards the Demoness, who was still fast asleep. "Leone''s already awake, and from the sounds of it Miss Julie or Bessie are making breakfast, so be quick. Or do you need something else to wake you up~?" Yawning, I shook my head and stretched, smirking slightly at how she had to rip her gaze away and walk away from me, the Jackalkin throwing on some clothes before slipping out into the main room, leaving just Jahi and I inside the bedroom. I looked over at the blue skinned woman beside me, sighing as I observed her sleeping form for a few moments before moving to wake her up, doing the same that Anput did to me as I shook her shoulder a few times, making the woman grumble, her eyes fluttering for a brief second only to remain closed as she turned away. Rolling my eyes, I shook her again and narrowed avoided the clumsy, tired grab that she made towards me, the Demoness trying to find whoever was disturbing her only to grab nothing but air. Once more I shook her, and she finally grumbled and sat up, her eyes opening up and pointed straight at the bed, clearly desiring to copse back into it again. "Jahi, we need to get ready. Anput reminded me about the Empress, so we should st-" Before I could finish, Jahi reached over and grabbed at me again, pushing me down and pinning me beneath her as she began to take me, the Demoness still working on instincts only, her amethyst eyes hazy with sleep and now with lust as well. Since I hadn''t been given a strict timeframe, I didn''t push her away or reprimand her, instead giving in and enjoying how she sought me out so quickly to satisfy herself, allowing her to do as she pleased for a quick round to wake up. When she finished, the Demoness groaned softly as she got off of me and got up, pulling me up as well and helping me over to the bath, even as she rubbed at her hips with her other hand and groaned again, the brief shine of golden mana healing her aches but not the exhaustion. In the bath, we cleaned up and soaked in the water for a few minutes, during which Jahi held me in her arms and enjoyed me once more, still craving me even after such a vigorous night. A night that I was going to remember, since it was something I was hesitant to say I enjoyed, even though I knew deep inside that it was a really, really amazing night for me. Being treated like nothing but an extra as Jahi yed with Anput and Leone was something that made me both jealous and aroused, the desire to be in their ces fighting with the fact that I got to see how beautiful they looked when they were confronted with such rapturous lust. On top of that, the sheer wall of scents that permeated my nostrils the entire night, to the point that just taking a breath was enough to make me feel like my tongue was swimming in those vors that I hade to love so much, and just smelling the concoction that had been poured onto my face was enough to make me orgasm multiple times. It was incredible, but at the same time it was torturous, since it only heightened my craving for the real thing, which I didn''t get for such a long timest night; they lost themselves to their own little world for almost an hour and a half - I think - before finally remembering that I was there, and that was so tantalizingly, excruciatingly hot that I didn''t know what to think about it. On one hand I was super horny just thinking about doing it again, but on the other I was hating the fact that that hour or so dragged on for what felt like eternity, and I didn''t like the thoughts that hade to mind a few times during that hour. All that was to say that even after having such a wild and oundish fantasy like that fulfilled, the vani cravings that Jahi had for me the morning after were much appreciated and incredibly desired by myself as well, though we sadly needed to keep it short and wrap things up quickly, though I did send Jahi out first as I cleaned myself further. Though the real reason I sent her out was simple; I needed to check my System for the experience I had gained from everything and if I was ready to cross that threshold into the fifties, halfway towards triple digits in levels and where I would unlock a new ss for myself to further make strides into being powerful in this world. And I needed to be powerful, for the sake of Jahi, Anput, Leone, our parents, and now my two cute, adorably baby half sisters. Chapter 643 642: A New Class (1)

Chapter 643 Chapter 642: A New ss (1)

When Jahi left the bathroom, I opened up my System and asked for a simplified summary of the experience gained through thest few days, not wanting the specifics... [Xp gained : 1,209,836 via kills / assists] [Xp gained : 100,000 via Quests] [Sp gained : 1,250 via Quests] [Level up!] [Level 50 : 35,822 / 2,250,000] A small smile graced my lips as I leaned against the counter, staring into the mirror and asking ''What''s the option list this time? I am getting my second and final ss, right?'' [Mhm. Wouldn''t say final, since both Shadow Guard and whatever you pick can be further evolved, but... yes, technically this is yourst ''option'' in regards to this. And it''s a little different fromst time... again. You don''t particrly rely on the System as much as you rely on yourself to get through any hardships. Perhaps you''d have been better off without a System at all, but we''re here anyways, so we got to work together. On my end, I''ve done some more tweaking to the way everything works, and it should be a bit more ''you'' oriented.] ''Me oriented? Isn''t everything already ''me'' oriented anyways? Besides, I personally don''t think that I would be where I am currently without you... though I admit that things would''ve been different if you weren''t as helpful of a System as you are, doing all the ''menial work'' without my input...'' [Well, that makes me feel better, but still... Anyways, you are eligible for either a ss upgrade on your Shadow Guard ss or take an entirely new ss if you''d like. The changes that I mentioned, the ''tweaks'' I made were to streamline what the sses benefits give you, and I came up with something that I believe is far better than what was previously utilized. Let''s go over that first, hmm? Before, when you became a ''Shadow Guard'', you received a set of daily quests toplete that awarded experience and shop points, meant to guide you down the course of enhancing the skills that worked hand in hand with that ss. Things that were done normally anyways and out of sight, out of mind. That''s good and all, but it felt like the ss meant nothing, that it had no purpose at all. It did nothing for you past being a title and new way to get experience. So these new choices that are avable for your Second ss are more specialized and more impactful, but due to being specializations, they aren''t going to be as broad and helpful on everything. Again, they''re specializations. They''ll provide a way to increase your strength as long as you put in the effort in that one field. So instead of daily quests, level ups will be providing boosts to your stats and skills, as well as boosts to specific things... which you''ll see when you peruse the options.] I nodded, finding my curiosity piqued by the vague exnation given to me, though I was excited to see what I could get from this Second ss, be it just stat increases or something more lucrative like an increase to my skills or even a new skills, and thatst part that suggested boosts past normal stat or skill increases was what really had my attention. ''So what''s the list looking like?'' [Second ss options first.] [Second ss, ranked based on Host''s preferences and talents ] The six top Second sses were quite the wide array of sses, with a myriad of different uses that were quite attractive on their own, which would make this selection rather hard to make. ''First, what''s the difference between and ? Do they not epass the same thing?'' [No, not really. is entirely based on your Ice Mana and - more specifically - making use of your [Frost of Despoina] skill to dealrge amounts of damage and control crowds with your Ice, be it through cutting them down or just slowing them. does use your Ice Mana, but it focuses more on utilizing your Water and Wind Mana instead, like how you controlled the battlefield back on the Ind.] ''Okay... that is different, albeit more of a situational basis since I use both equally... Which would provide more benefit..? Besides them, I notice that one of these is a repeat...'' [Ahem... Well, it''s a rather diverse ss that provides diverse benefits... that all stem from a single source. With the addition of Lust Mana - should you learn to use it - it could be a rather potent ss, but... well, y''know what it''ll require.] '' is a broad ss too, no? Is that just because it ''specializes'' in a specific school of magic like Support Magic and it offers little benefits for myself in specific?'' [Yes, so it''s benefits are limited entirely towards supporting someone else and applying either buffs or debuffs for aid. Not towards yourself, since that''s an obvious loophole. So again, you get a ''wide variety'' of benefits, but its all in one single field of Magic, so...] ''Then there''s , which is likely focused on des and agility or dexterity, right? Something focused on using my melee weapons more effectively, and with the ''Serrated'' keyword, I imagine it''d be a rather bloody affair, no?'' [Rather astute, aren''t you? Yes, it''s a ss focused on being elegant and ''seductive'' with your melee prowess, with a sprinkling of something else perhaps~? It is a rather brutal ss that was picked due to your... chaotic cravings. Attack focused and de focused, it''s entirely an offensive ss for you.] ''Then there is the ss, which should be entirely geared for me to enhance and create incredible gear with more benefits... I would assume this would allow me to squeeze out the most amount of efficiency in my enchantments and allow me to fit more on a weapon or armor piece. It''s not the shiest or most impressive option, but in the long run it might be quite the pick...'' Drumming my fingers on the counter, I took a deep breath and began to dry myself off and get dressed, still mulling over the options that I had and trying to determine which one that I should pick. Curiosity made me load a few more, though I couldn''t find anything that caught my attention; I guess that''s why the top six were the top six... ''The options are quite good, but I think I like these few more than the others, so which one should I choose..?'' Chapter 644 643: A New Class (2)

Chapter 644 Chapter 643: A New ss (2)

What exactly should I pick? Shadow Guard was something that would eventually need to be changed, but to what I don''t know yet; my hopes of remaining out of the limelight was a little bleak, and it was entirely likely that the raise from being a simple Maid who had the fancy of the Heir of House Asmodia to bing the Heir of a Barony myself would make me the object of scrutiny across the entire Empire''s Nobility, as well as the wealthy Merchants and prominent Adventurers. People would be curious about not only the Heir to House Asmodia - the attentiones with such a famous name like that - but also about me, the one who was now a Noble herself and had rather intimate rtions to the Heir of House Asmodia, with the eptance of both the Princess and the Begum. All of that meant that having a ss based around stealth and supporting my loves from the shadows would be far harder than it was before, though it was still possible. Scrutiny would be levied onto me, and a quick check of the results of our first year of being at the Academy as well as the records at the Guild for our excursions into Zhu''Rong Caverns would paint a picture of someone with above average talent and skills, as well as the value of being an Ice Magician... it all would ce limelight on me in abundance, but the question for myself would be if I ept the limelight or try to continue to avoid it. There were choices here that would go either way; , and would be things that would be easily concealed and entirely based on helping my lovers like I had initially wanted. Buffing them from behind, soothing them - and potentially empowering them through intimacy - as well as the increased value and strength of the enchanted gear would all keep me in the ce I wanted to be, doing what I wanted to do. And yet, the world was changing quickly, the appearance of Fiends - while slow currently - and the pop up of Cults again, as well as the Gates that had quieted down for now, though who knew when they''d be active again... With all those changes, was my desire to remain hidden away still a valid, possible goal? Would it not be better to ept and embrace that light and instead seek out more power openly so that I could better protect my lovers and my family, which would be where I would pick one of the other three avable sses. What I had avable was proficiency with a de and some ''hidden'' skills, a mixture of my mana types, or a hard pivot into straight Ice Mana so that I could deal heavy damage that way. All valid options, and all still very much able to aid my lovers from behind, though it also made it easier for me if I was in the midst of things as well. I could be both a support melee fighter or aiding with the use of offensive spells or a force to be reckoned with on my own; it offered a versatility that the other three sses didn''t on surface levels. In theory I could enchant gear so powerful that I wouldn''t need to worry, but Lady Fenryas and the Marquess made a perfect point that relying on gear like that and having it ripped away would leave me vulnerable. As for , I wasn''t confident that I knew what it entailed and if it would be worth it; being empowered by sex and sexual acts sounded great, but I hadn''t been plopped into an Eroge or some doujin world; it was one that ran on ''normal'' principles and one that made it hard to ept such a ss when the world was in turmoil. Besides, having sex before any battle could be detrimental, even if I was getting buffed or giving buffs for that slight decrease in physical performance thanks to the bodies release of things it needed during sex. Finally, had some weight to it, but if I wasn''t going to be adamant about my need to remain unseen now that I thought it''d be incredibly difficult then perhaps I shouldn''t go for it. Which left the offensive sses, and I needed to weigh those properly as well; two magical sses and one physical ss, and all three had merit to them too. The magical sses were going to be excellent at allowing me to flex the magical superiority that I was proud of, with two separate paths avable; a more crowd control focused ss or more single target focused ss. Then there was the ss that would amplify my melee prowess, and it sounded like it''d be something that enhanced both my de work as well as my footwork, with a? potential link to Lust Mana as well..? All three were entirely valid for different reasons, and I was thinking not on what would benefit me the most right now, but what would allow me to pursue strength further than I could naturally. Skills added something to my abilities that were impossible - or really hard - to replicate without the System, and that was part of what made this choice even harder than I initially thought. Should I be prioritizing the here and now? Should I be making up for my shorings or adding to my strengths? I believe that I can take my magic far on my own, so should I bring up my physical prowess to match it and even myself out even more, or should I y into my penchant for magic and add even more into that? So many questions continued to flutter around my head freely, and I took a deep breath as I paused in front of the mirror, staring at myself again and trying to envision any of the three choices, hoping that it would help. Was I thinking the right way, or was I not looking deep enough into it? This wasn''t something that I could just pick willy nilly; I needed to n this out and understand what I was doing and make sure I wouldn''t regret it, since this would be the only time I could do this. I didn''t know if or when I would be able to evolve my sses, and if that would even help, so this was something that needed serious contemtion. Sadly, for the moment I didn''t have the most amount of time currently, as Anput peeked back inside and curiously asked "Jahi didn''t wear you out, did she?" ring at my mate, I sighed as I pulled on my clothes and joined her outside, pushing the decision back for just a little bit. After I heard the Empress out, I would go and visit the chapel, using the calm, peaceful quiet of the chapel to further think over my choice, hoping a clear mind and clear environment would aid me even more. And maybe whatever the Empress had to say would give me some insight on what I believed that I needed... Or maybe not, but it was still something that I needed to do anyways, so... Chapter 645 644: Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It...

Chapter 645 Chapter 644: Your Mission, Should You Choose to ept It...

I made sure I was properly dressed as I exited the room, joining the growing family out in the main room and sitting down for breakfast, which made me smile apologetically at my Mother since I had been... preupied this morning and couldn''t help her get everything ready. Though, considering she too gave me a wry smile, I nced at the Marquess who was happily devouring her pancakes before looking towards the Countess, who was eating a bit more elegantly but still rather quickly, though her rhythm was broken up by the asional slip of her fork towards Alessandra, who would curiously take a nibble of the pancake before it was pulled away by her Mother, who finished it for her. Lakshmi was getting a simr treatment from the Marquess, who was only asionally remembering that she had a daughter sitting on herp thanks to the smaller Demoness tugging at her Mom''s shirt, making the Marquess look down in surprise before letting the girl take a nibble as well, and it would seem that the love for pancakes was hereditary in the Asmodia household since Lakshmi had no problem opening her little mouth wide open and chomping on the fork, determined to get that pancake. It was amusing to watch, and we all smiled softly at the actions of thevender skinned Demoness whenever she demanded to be fed, though Mother seemed to be a tad mixed about it since she eventually grabbed both of the babies and slipped into the other room, feeding them properly. When it was all finished, the Marquess got up and beckoned for us to join her on her way to the Empress, guiding us from the room and through the halls of the Pce, which were as empty and immacte as ever. The throne room was where we found the Empress, the giant woman lounging on her marble throne and nodding as she listened to Lady Lorelei speak, the Vampire flipping through a few papers and reviewing something with the Empress. Hearing us enter, Lady Lorelei fell silent and nced at her wife, who just pat her arm and said "Like I said yesterday, there''ve been a few things that have happened that I think will be of interest to you. The first is the artifact that you retrieved from the Rena County. It''s a fresh enchantment, something that was created recently and for the purpose of altering the mind of whoever wore it. There is a nk spot on the artifact as well, suggesting that there is a nted suggestion on the artifact. In this case... it was a suggestion to target House Asmodia." The Marquess frowned, though she continued to listen to the Empress as she added "This means that someone inside this ''Cult of Ambition'' has the ability to wield Moon Magic, and from your report, I doubt it''s that Fiend. Unless of course the ability to utilize such a potent magic was purposefully kept under wraps in the midst of the fight, which is possible. Though for an enchantment of that caliber, it would appear that the enchanter had a deep understanding of the Ancient Magic they were working with, and in the midst of a fight Moon Magic - that is understood at that level - is an incredibly potent tool." Lady Lorelei nodded, though she remained quiet as she allowed the Empress to pull us towards the next pieces of news, getting us towards the reason she brought us here. "Besides that, which is important, we learned of something during your absence, and something this morning. While you were gone, another Gate opened inside the Empire again, but this one was in the North, specifically the Dukedom of Blizzards. ki handled it swiftly, so no harm was done to any of her people or hernds, but still... it would appear that whatever lurks inside the Labyrinthian creating these Gates has finished resting from yourst meeting. Chordeva, I''d appreciate if you could go and investigate the area with Kolia and a few Wisps; just a quick journey to and from, to see if everything matches fromst time. As for what happened this morning, it would appear that the emergence of the Cult of Ambition is going to be a problem, since a Barony to the west has fallen, it''s ruler butchered and the citizens forced intobor for the people who decided to requisition the Barony. People that are proudly proiming that the fall of the Empire is nigh, and that the root of all problems is the Nobility, specifically the Royalty... All while they themselves oppress and exploit the normal people... idiots." Letting out a sigh, the Empress leaned back in her throne and turned towards us, a smile gracing her lips as she switched gears, saying "I heard you wanted some more experience against a variety of monsters and opponents, while you wanted to gather some more resources as well, no? Well, this Barony is at the edge of Ungrida Canyon, so perhaps this would be the perfect opportunity to go? The usurpers of the Barony will face their consequences either way, but if you''d prefer to go and take care of them yourselves, that''d be excellent." I looked towards Jahi, as did Anput and Leone, the three of us leaving the decision to the Demoness who was not only the head of our ''family'' but also the leader of our group during adventures. The Demoness was frowning slightly as she stared back at the Empress, only to nod and say "We''ll do it. We were going to head there anyways, so this would be ideal for all parties involved. Though I imagine you aren''t sending us alone, all things considered." "Correct. Since Chordeva needs to head north, and it''d be best if you headed out sooner rather thanter, I was thinking of having Nirinia continue to venture with you; she may not be a Knight just yet, but she is certainly capable of receiving that promotion. Along with Eriana and Cernia to keep watch from the shadows..." "Wait, aren''t the teleportation circles still up and active? I could just take the one linked between the Pce and the Dukedom, no?" The Empress gave a wry smile as she shook her head, answering with a bemused tone "Sadly no, since ki decided that the appearance of the Gate warranted a severance of the circles since they might be connected. A shame, but understandable; who knows just how the Gate''s work, and if they might be able to be linked between such Ancient Magics like the circles? So you''ll need to take a carriage there." The Marquess rolled her eyes and let out a sigh, ncing back at us before focusing on Jahi as she said "Don''t be an idiot." That made the younger Demoness raise a brow at her Mom, replying "If either of us would end up being an idiot, it''d be you. So YOU need to listen to your chaperone, alright~?" The two just smirked at one another, making the Empress chuckle softly as she added "It doesn''t sound like either should be a big deal, but you never know nowadays, so do be careful..." Chapter 646 645: A New Class (3)

Chapter 646 Chapter 645: A New ss (3)

"Ungrida... the home of Earth Attuned Materials that we could really make use of for our armors, right? A nice ce to get what we need and practice against enemies that have a more defensive preference, as well as the variety of enemies that will be lurking deep inside the Canyon. Then there''s the happenings at that Barony with the Cult of Ambition. I have to say that I am entirely in favor of butchering those idiots before heading off to Ungrida Canyon for what we need. If that''s fine with the three of you?" I nodded, as did Anput and Leone, the three of us giving our agreement to the Demoness who turned back to the Empress, saying "Then we''ll go with both Nirinia and those two guards. Should be quick and easy, and if a Fiend does show up... well, perhaps I can seriously wound them, if not scare it away. These guards are decently strong, right?" ""We would like to assume so, Lady Asmodia."" Two voices filled the room, making the Empress smirk as she watched the two owners of the voice sh behind Jahi, their armored formspletely silent. They were my height and covered in dark red metal armor, which left none of their body exposed; below their armor was a ck bodysuit that covered their skin, and hanging on their hips and back were a few different des, suited for them. "Yes, they are ''decently strong'', young Jahi. They have been thoroughly trained by Fen, after all... and tutored by Tess as well, so they are quite formidable. Would you like to see for yourself? I imagine you''ll need some time to get your things together before setting out... Maybe travel tonight and arrive under the shroud of night? It''s up to you..." Jahi looked at the two guards behind her, their red armor covered in ck runes that seemed dormant and their des giving them a rather serious disposition, even more so thanks to the helmets that covered their faces. "Sure, why not. Anput, want to join me?" The Jackalkin grinned and nodded, while Leone just smiled wryly at the duo''s enthusiasm, saying "While you two do that, I''ll be studying in our room. Enjoy yourselves..." Leone then cast a curious - and slightly hopeful - nce at me, which made me shrug as I remained quiet, letting them decide what they were going to do. "Very well. Like my daughter said, do enjoy yourselves... and don''t underestimate them, young Jahi... If you have anything to ask, do find us; otherwise, spend your time wisely." Taking that as a dismissal, we all left the throne room and went our separate ways, with me heading off towards the chapel to continue contemting my decision, a little more sure on some options now that I had some more time and an understanding of what was happening around us. The reminder of the creatures that could open and traverse Gates freely was one that made this decision much easier in a few regards, especially when I had heard the tale from the Marquess and Jahi about the encounter they had with the twin creatures. Little was known about them, but from the experience that my family had had with the, I knew that I couldn''t take a supportive ss; I needed something that could deal damage, and hopefully something that could chew through their impressive armor and maybe something that could work past that one creature''s ability to sap mana from the air... That would be quite the thought experiment that''s for sure, but it was an interesting one. Arriving at the chapel, I made my way towards the altar to Reincantra and knelt, closing my eyes and emptying my mind for a few moments, which would allow me to make my decision just a little easier. With the decision to focus on an offensive oriented ss, I had two that I actually thought would be best for myself, and they were or . My reasoning had two different paths to go down depending on the choice, and the reason I got rid of the was simple; I think I can go down that path on my own, and while whatever bonuses and benefits that the ss could offer would be nice, they wouldn''t be as valuable as the other two options. Now, the reason why I would select the was one that made sense for the immediate future, as well as the future many years down the line; my talent in magic was quite deep and able to be fleshed out, and I could continue to improve with my magic for years toefortably and easily. My skills with my des and physical fighting weren''t the greatest; I was still above average, but where I excelled and was incredible with my magic, I wasn''t the best with my physical fighting, so I could really make use of a ss that buffed that aspect of my skillset to even everything out. Besides that, the ''Seductress'' part was something that made me curious since I might be able to tap into Lust Mana, which I needed to try and ess soon... On the other hand though, I was curious as to what would happen if I selected since it would expand upon what [Frost of Despoina] did, which was so lethal already. Taking my strengths and expanding on it even more would be excellent, and while I could use the increase in power in close range, if I trained a bit harder and applied myself even more, then I wouldn''t need to worry about that since I could cut things down before they reached me... besides, I wouldn''t be alone in most fights. While my physical fighting might reach a ceiling, the sky would be the limit for my magic, which could do so many crazy things if I learned how to harness it''s power in the correct ways. Technically, in theory, I could achieve Absolute Zero, a temperature so cold that the very atoms in the air were suspended and frozen, meaning that technically... nothing would happen. No motion could ur, but obviously Absolute Zero was also impossible to reach thanks to the infinite amount of work require to contain and iste every atom and freeze them, which would make movement impossible as well as - technically - time. But again, it was impossible to do, but getting near it was... insane; absolutely and utterly insane, and absolutely possible thanks to magic and some scientific knowhow. If I picked I could try to reach that, and that was only if I focused on implementing my freezing abilities on atoms; if I made it simpler, couldn''t I dry out and freeze flesh, orpletely counteract any of the other elements? That was the highs that I could reach with , and while I was really tempted to select thanks to its rounding out of my skills and potential tie to Lust Mana, I knew deep in my heart that my childish yearning for all things magic was still strong, and not only was it strong... It was entirely valid. Chapter 647 646: Fleeting Touch

Chapter 647 Chapter 646: Fleeting Touch

Without much suspense, I decided to ce my eggs all in one basket and hope that I could bake something no one had ever seen before and something that was entirely worthy of what the System was able to provide for me. I wanted to take my strengths and push them to the extremes, and while that might not be entirely possible, I wanted to try and try and try again, fueling myself with my love for magic and my desires to reach the same mountain that the others were scaling, to go ahead and establish myself beside them as someone to view as worthy of their affections and strong enough that no one would ever question it. Whilst I still preferred thefort and bliss that shadows could provide, I understood now that I was no longer going to be allowed thatfort, that familiarity of being looked over for those that were beside me instead; no, I would instead need to embrace the dim light that would always be on me, since from now on I was no longer ''just a maid''. I was the Heir to a Barony that was tied to the Asmodia Family, and I was Heir to a storied Pack that used to have their own impact on the Empire. There was no blissful shadows for me to hide in anymore, and while it might beforting to try and cling to them, it was unrealistic and unavoidable. I needed to embrace who I was and what that meant before it hindered me in the future, and thest thing I wanted was for my three lovers to ever even think of me as a weakling that needed protection; in other words, a hindrance. ''System, I select as my Second ss.'' [Very well. Give me a moment to get everything done properly...] Opening my eyes, I stared at the statue resting on the altar for a few moments, waiting for the words of the System to enter my mind about what this Second ss was going to do. I didn''t need to wait long either as it said [Second ss installed : Frost Witch. Please open the System Menu to view the changes to your stats and skills. [Kat : Shadow Guard / Frost Witch Level 50 : 35,822 / 2,250,000 Stats : STR : 102 CON : 105 AGI : 109 DEX : 109 CHA : 79 WIS : 108 INT : 105 Skills: Nymphomania (MAX) Mana Control (Master) Hardworking (Master) Healing (Master) Dagger Proficiency (Expert) Load More] [Ah... wait... give me just a moment... and... there! [ss detected] [+10 WIS and INT] [Skills [Chione''s Blessing] and [Frost of Despoina] upgraded to (Adept) rank] [Skill [Crystalline Core] acquired] [[Crystalline Core (Novice)] : Your Core is now shrouded in Ice Mana, increasing the production of Ice Mana naturally and increasing its potency; Water and Wind Mana have a slight increase in potency] My stats increased a little naturally, while the selection of the Second ss increased my WIS and INT even more, as well as granting me an increase in my two Ice rted skills, while I got a new skill that increased my mana regeneration and mana potency, mainly for Ice Mana, but also for the twoponents. It would seem that - unsurprisingly - was a ss meant for Ice primarily, which would be useful since now one of myrgest damage dealing skills had been improved and my general attacks had be improved as well. [Further experimentation is rmended, as well as some level grinding. However, for now, that is all; there are no new Daily Quests, nor any new changes at this very moment. Enjoy!] ''You''re not slick; ''at this very moment'' and the suggestions... this is far from over. Only makes me more curious, but... we are about to go grind out levels thanks to this idiotic Cult, and it will provide some nice experiments...'' A small smile tugged at my lips as I envisioned some of my ''experiments'', knowing full well that what I was about to do would break many, many conventions andws in my previous world... but none in this world, so yay~! What I also needed to experiment on was Lust Mana, and after such a productive nightst night, I think I could manage to try and understand and grasp at some of it, though... why not get a fresh dose of ''pleasure'' to work with... My smile grew, and I licked my lips as I made my way back to the room, where the unsuspecting Vampire was studying, her head buried in her notebooks as she created and solved problems over and over again, trying to broaden her understanding of her own mana and what she needed to work on. Hearing me enter, Leone was about to say something when she froze, watching as my clothes fell to the floor before gulping as I began to approach her, the woman passively reacting to what was happening as she stiffened, only to moan softly as I pushed her back. Engaging in a few rounds of Dual Cultivation - the first two of which were failed thanks to us not being entirely serious - we eventually separated and worked on consolidating our gains, though in different ways. Instead of absorbing therge bundles of mana that Leone had so generously gifted me, I focused on them and studied them closely, picking at her Fire Mana and trying to understand what I was looking for. The memory of Cali''s usage of the pink Lust Mana was still fresh on my mind, yet trying to find it inside the bundles was difficult; maybe it wasn''t going to be entangled inside the Fire Mana, but somewhere else instead..? I began to scour the confines of my body for that pink mana, searching everywhere - primarily my erogenous zones - and looking for any trace of ''pleasure'' inside me, wondering just where and how I would locate it. For a moment I believed that Cali was lying to me, thepleteck of anything unusual inside me making me frown, only for me flip that frown as I felt something. Like usual, the bundle of Fire Mana inside me was hot - as was to be expected - but when I felt it from the outside, using my hands and not my mana, I felt small tingles of pleasure due to where it was located. Since I hadn''t been ''using'' the mana bundle, it was still located where it had been injected, and caressing that ce revealed tiny, minuscule, almost impossible to see threads of pink that were lingering around the angry red that was Leone''s Fire Mana. A soft sigh escaped my lips as I poked that ce again, before I opened my eyes and looked towards my lover, who was just awakening as well after digesting what I had given her. Leone''s cheeks were red from the sudden act of lust and love that had burst between us, though that burst was turned into a warm, cozy me as I whispered "Leone, my love... I need your ''help''~!" It was a fleeting touch of ''pleasure'' that I felt, but I now understood where it was and how to get it... the problem became though... How do I focus enough on extracting it when I have a ''dragon'' preparing to breath its ''fire'' inside me? Even asking said ''dragon'' to slow down was impossible, so... Well, it was a wonderful problem to have, and I decided that I was going to tackle this problem head on... and Leone would keep mepany the entire time. It was for both of our own good, I swear! I mean, she looks so~ happy as sheys on top of me, or how she hisses softly in pleasure before sliding those fangs into my neck... this is doing her wonders~! Chapter 648 647: Grasping at the Fleeting

Chapter 648 Chapter 647: Grasping at the Fleeting

After a few rounds of ''experiments'' with my more than willing Vampire partner, I managed to get... Nothing. I could feel the threads of pleasure tingling around in my body, but grasping them did one of three things, and they had a range of effects going from really, really bad to really, really good. The first was neutral; when I tried to grasp the threads of pleasure, they curiously wrapped around my own mana and inspected me, before slithering away and hiding from me, like they were shy animals wary of whether I would cause them harm or not. It was, again, entirely neutral and mildly infuriating for me, since I could feel what I needed to with them as I grasped them, and it was the mostmon response I got. The second was sheer, andplete euphoria of the highest degree; I grasped the threads and pleasure rocked my body,pletely overtaking my mind and making me writhe in such rapturous pleasure that I lost myself to it, unable to think about anything besides the thing inside me and the warmth of my lover on my body. Each thrust, each spurt of her love made me go insane with lust, and it was only when it wore off that I could feel myself again, feel like I was whole and... and here; that I was tangible and real. That was a scary feeling to go through, but at least it felt great to be forcefully sunk into that euphoria; to be submerged in lust and allowed to go through such rapture. It wasn''t as scary as thest response that I got, one that truly scared me whenever I felt it. I went numb,pletely and utterly numb to the world, to the sex I was having, and numb to life. Everything I was feeling was sapped from my body, and I would go from moaning and enjoying myself to just... empty and cold,pletely uncaring of the fact that I suddenly left my partner devoid of the responses that she needed, that she wanted from me; in fact, I was uncaring of the woman who was so desperately clinging to me, wanting to show me her love and the depths of her lust. That was something that - when I finally wed out of that hellish, dismal pit - made me feel so scared and horrified as I wouldy there, unable toprehend a world where I just... felt nothing. Cared for nothing. But, just like Cali had shown me before, Lust Mana was a double edged, incredibly dangerous sword that could overwhelm you with pleasure or sap it away entirely. That was it''s source of power, and that was what made it so utterly terrifying to go against; this was what made me desire it so much, and what made me realize just how utterly insane it was. It was why I wanted it, to the point that I subjected myself to this torture continuously as I alternated between moaning like amon whore to being entirely cold turkey, worse than a pillow princess. I had to give Leone an exnation after the first time it happened, the Vampire almost bing devastated as I went from such intense passion to nothing, worrying that she had done something wrong or that I was faking it. Upon hearing my exnation though, Leone tried to ask me to stop before relenting and settling for a rhythmic pace that would give me both pleasure and be tame enough that I could still focus. So I returned to my studying even as Iid beneath my lover, trying my best to focus on grasping those threads of pink mana that lingered in my loins with each thrust. My first idea that I had after feeling those experiences seemed to be the correct one; I needed to gather the threads into a bundle and guide them to my Core, where I could assimte them into my own mana and begin harvesting and utilizing it in my own spells. The problem was that the mana was so sensitive that if I wasn''t gentle enough, it would ''flee'' from my grasp, but if I wasn''t controlling it enough it would slip away as well, so I needed to strike a bnce. The other problem with it was that if I was too strict it would force one of the two extremes upon me, and finding that bnce was difficult. I was a tad concerned that Cali was joking with me and that mortals couldn''t grasp such a strong mana type naturally, but again she had sworn it all on Reincantra, so... Which meant that there was a level of finesse to this that I wasn''t capable of having at the moment, or perhaps I just needed to familiarize myself with it some more before I could truly make any progress. What I did know was that I lowered the amount of times I was too strict with the mana, meaning I wasn''t experiencing any sort of high highs or low lows that were dibobting as often now, though there were a few times where I found myself slipping and wanting to experience those high highs even more. It was addicting to enter that state of utter orgasmic rapture that I was provided with, though I made sure to restrain myself since getting ustomed to such euphoria would render my normal pleasure obsolete, ruining me as a person; if I needed to chase even bigger thrills to feel something, I wouldn''t be me anymore. So I made sure to keep fine tuning the way I was corralling the mana and tried my best to focus past the constant, steady, great thrusts of Leone as the Vampire made love to me, asionally forgetting that I was doing ''very important research'' and just losing herself to me, which was perfectly fine in my book. What wasn''t fine was when Jahi returned to the room covered in sweat, the Demoness freezing as she saw us before stripping and joining in, making it impossible for me to focus anymore and instead forcing me to give in to the pleasure. Even though I didn''t understand just what I was doing and what I needed to do, I was making progress in the right direction, and I had a feeling that Lust Mana woulde to me naturally eventually. Until that point though, I had enough that I needed to make progress with; my Ice Mana, my physical prowess, and my abilities as an Enchanter. Whilst I didn''t take that ss, I could more than definitely continue to improve to a formidable degree in that field as well... All of those things took time though, and it was a hope of mine that I would have the time needed to be just that much stronger... Chapter 649 648: Arbo City

Chapter 649 Chapter 648: Arbo City

Opening the door of the carriage, I got out and stretched, taking a deep breath of the crisp air and loosening up my muscles after a few hours spent cooped up inside a carriage with five other people. Anput, Leone, and Jahi were a given, and they stepped out behind me, staring down at the sleepy city below that was bathed in the pale light of the moon, each of us feeling refreshed from the power nap we took on the way here. Behind them came Nirinia, therge Djinn cracking her neck and rubbing at it too as she joined us, keeping her gaze neutral and away from thest person who had decided to apany us on this journey as well. A golden haired, golden eyed warrior woman with two fluffy ears crowning the top of her head, Adelina Leonisa had strong armed her way into this excursion under a guise of wanting some diverse training and to keep herself sharp, whilst also receiving a rmendation from the pure, gentle Lady D''Arcon, meaning we were going to allow the Lioness to apany us here lest we displease her. It was very clear what her reasoning for joining us was, and it had made the start of the journey rather awkward since she kept stealing nces at the Djinn before looking away, while Nirinia t out ignored her the entire time, looking out the window with a serious expression. After a few minutes though, we got used to it and fell asleep, trusting in the two guards that the Empress had apany us as well to take us to the Barony that had fallen to the Cult of Ambition. Eriana and Cernia both remained on the carriage, with one of them - we had no idea who was who since they wore identical armor, and although they had different weapons, they hadn''t introduced themselves either - saying "Please wait a moment as we store the carriage away. The Barony may look peaceful and neutral on the outside, but it is anything but on the inside." Nodding, we turned our gazes back towards the Barony below, taking in the sight of the simple city that had slight signs of destruction throughout its many structures. Due to its proximity to Ungrida Canyon, the Arbo Barony was a well off little city that was entirely capable of raking inrge amounts of profits, the bustling Adventurers Guild and various alchemists and cksmiths that live inside the city of Arbo. The structures were made from stone brick and entuated with different colors of stones mined from the Canyon, creating a beautiful array of buildings that were both simr and different at the same time. I looked back to see the two guards covering the carriage in ayer of earth and submerging it into the ground, while the steeds that had been used to transport us were let loose and allowed to roam freely, though the guards seemed to trust that the they could be found again. "So would you like to sneak in to the city or should we just-" Jahi and Nirinia nced over at the guards, the two bulky women raising a brow while Jahi said "Storm the ce. If they attack us, kill them. If not, spare them. Keep the city intact as best as we can but root out those damn Cultists as quickly as we can." Eriana and Cernia just nodded, slipping past us and taking a good look at the city below, with one of them saying "Very well then; just spear through the gate and cause as much of a ruckus as you can; we''ll go around the perimeter and clean up whatever is left behind. Work all together in or in groups of three or two, if you wish. Be careful though, since we aren''t sure if the Cultists have some advanced artifacts or if they can summon that Fiend. If they do, shoot a bolt of mana into the air to warn us." Jahi turned to us and said "Teams of two; Anput with me, Nirina with Leone, and Kat with Adelina. We''ll breach the city and split off to take everything over. Make sure the civilians remain unharmed if at all possible. Sound good?" We looked at one another, staring at our assigned partners before nodding and grouping together, appreciating the way Jahi spread our strengths out evenly amongst the pairings as best she could. "Well, let''s get to it then. No need to wait around. The sooner this is done, the sooner we can get to Ungrida!" Ignoring the fact that this entire excursion was based on both massacring this Cult and harvesting resources for ourselves, I still did want to help those unfortunates who were suffering inside the city, if only because I felt pity for them having their entire lives turned upside down. Besides that, I was a little curious - and slightly annoyed - about what Adelina would try to say to me during this siege on the city, since the woman clearly wanted to discuss whatever new had happened between her and Nirinia. I had a feeling that this would be a rather tedious - yet juicy - piece of ''girl talk'' that would keep me entertained throughout the course of this battle for Arbo City, and while I was slightly annoyed that she was barely taking my previous advice, perhaps there would be better progress this time around. "Alright, well if we''re all ready, let''s breach the gate and head inside! Leone, if you''ll do the honors..." The Vampire had a small smile on her lips as she began to trace out the runes for one of her spells, and we looked down at the stone city that would soon be illuminated by more than just moonlight, pity in our gazes as we settled down to watch what was about to happen. Leone''s smile only grew wider as more mana was funneled into her spell, and the brilliant crimson runes began to shine even brighter as her spell slowly came to fruition. Chapter 650 649: Casual Girl Talk (1) ? Leone''s spell emitted a powerful red glow, causing all of us to look away from her and focus instead on the gate of the city, watching it and ingraining it in our mind as we prepared topare it to what it would look like in a few moments. Since neither of the guards or Adelina said anything about this clear n of ours, no one stopped Leone as the Ritual Circle came to fruition, the runes ring to life and bathing the grinning Vampire in an eery sanguine light. Moments passed by in quiet, our sense of sight being the only thing that was being over stimted from the spell, though that swiftly changed as a three foot sphere of sparking mes appeared in front of Leone, with a dozen smaller spheres orbiting it at rapid speeds, each one bubbling with power. Raising her arms, Leone aimed at the gate and pushed outwards, sending the spheres down towards the gates of Arbo City. The light alerted the Cultists instantly to something being amiss, though what truly grabbed their attention wasn''t the light, but the rumbling and booming explosion as the orbs collided with therge wooden gate. Exploding brilliantly, therger sphere burst against the wooden gates and consumed them whole, including the stone that was supporting them as they opened up arge hole in the walls of Arbo City, but the real damage was done by the dozen smaller spheres. Clusters of Cultists had begun to rush towards the gate to defend it, and before they could do anything or even begin to retreat at the sight of the destruction caused, those orbs had begun to seek them out and blow them up, zipping through the air like crazed fairies before exploding amongst the Cultists, killing them instantly. A dozen smaller - yet still resounding - booms echoed around the small basin that the city was located in, all while the earth itself shook from the might of the initial explosion. We all turned and stared at Leone, who was smiling sheepishly as she avoided our gazes, the Vampire managing to mutter "W-Well... that was pretty strong, wasn''t it..? H-Haha..." Blinking, I stared at the Vampire for a second more before snorting, deciding to just leave it at that as I unsheathed my Khopesh and gestured at Adelina, beckoning for her to follow behind me. We rushed down the hill without a word, joined quickly by the others as Leone gave us the perfect ''ruse'' to lure in the Cultists, though it was quite a damaging ruse thanks to the molten stone that was cooling on the ground around the entrance, while the nearby buildings had been scorched ck and covered in small fractures, the impact enough to deal damage even if Leone had ''controlled'' her spell somewhat. But, I wasn''t one to care at the moment, instead leading Adelina off to the left of the entrance and darting into the city, my Khopesh held at the ready. The Lioness was just behind me, keeping pace in her metal armor and holding her longsword in a rest stance, unbothered by the weight of her gear and speed at which we traveled. While she was unbothered by that, as soon as I said "Go on, spit it out Commander." the Lioness pursed her lips, her brow furrowing as she moved to be beside me instead. ncing at her from the corner of my eye, I raised a brow before weaving to the left, avoiding an arrow and locking eyes on the archer responsible, who was cowering behind a cluster of Cultists. They were armed with some decent gear and emitting a decent amount of mana from their cores, enough to easily take over a peaceful city despite it being a home to some adventurers of renown. "Is... now really the best time to ''spit it out'', Miss Kat?" Adelina aimed her longsword at the chest of the Cultist in front of her, the man letting out a battle cry as he charged at her, only to blink in surprise as his torso began to slide to the side, the golden de blurring through the air and cleaving him in two. Whilst the Lioness fought with clean strikes and a merciful heart, I was slipping into my opponents guard and butchering them with relish, cutting them to pieces and allowing the teeth of my Khopesh to tear through their flesh with each swing. "Yes, now is the time to spit it out. No other time this excursion is going to be free of the others, Commander, least of all free of Nirinia. Considering you convinced Lady D''Arcon to slot you into our excursion, I assume you are here for a reason. A reason that you want to act on, but aren''t ready to act on, perhaps?" Despite the brutality of my attacks, my voice was calm and neutral as I decapitated the swordsman in front of me, kicking the man''s head shortly after it was lopped off and sending it flying into the chest of a nearby woman, staggering her. As she recovered, I clicked my tongue as I listened to Adelina''s response, all while my Khopesh eviscerated the woman''s stomach. "I did not convince Lady D''Arcon of anything! She was the one to tell me toe here! But... Yes, I did want toe anyways. I was... hopeful. Maybe being forced to be near one another would make it easier..." My shoulder mmed into the back of a woman, pushing her away and allowing me to sever her spinal cord, rendering her immobile before I knocked her out, saving her forter as one of my subjects. "Force something out... that never works well, Adelina. Perhaps if Nirinia was just horny and wanted to fuck you a few times, and you were willing to spread your legs for her? That would be fine through force. Do you really think you can just... take a battering ram to a ss pane and expect it remain whole? You have been that battering ram multiple times now, Adelina, and that ss pane was Nirinia''s heart. Of course, from what you both have said, it''s been mutual both ways, but recently..." The Lioness just growled in anger as she swiftly shed at the Cultist in front of her, four precise cuts appearing on the man''s throat, sides and stomach, leaving him to bleed out swiftly as she moved onto the next opponent. Cultists were streaming towards us, but a swift dome of Wind Mana around us kept us safe from projectiles and other mana, forcing the Cultists into close quarters. It would seem that arge contingent had taken over this city, but considering the size of the city, that made sense... Arbo wasn''t tiny by any means, and it was filled with tougher than normal citizens, but still citizens. Though, the invaders weren''t enough to threaten Adelina and I on a serious level, even if they were present in such numbers; my stats may be equal to theirs, but technique and magic made that simrity something insurmountable, and when I got going... Well, I didn''t want to stop, though I kept myself under control as Adelina replied "Then..! What am I supposed to do?! Apologize for something I didn''t do wrong?! Apologize FOR her when SHE was the one to make the mistakes?!" Oh... Well, I guess this would be an interesting few minutes, now wouldn''t it? Chapter 651 650: Casual Girl Talk (2) I sighed as my Khopesh dug into the shoulder of the Cultist in front of me, a quick yank back sawing through her flesh and bones with ease and making her scream so wonderfully. Sadly, I wasn''t in a position to enjoy the way she crumpled to the ground with tears streaming from her dimming eyes as blood poured from the vicious wound and pooled around her, my focus instead being on the angry Lioness who was cutting through the fodder Cultists around us, her golden de soaked with crimson viscera as the bodies continued to pile up. "No, I''m not saying you need to apologize for her, but you need to admit that you went way too far and refused to see things from her side. From what it sounds like, Nirinia was really trying to have a discussion with you when you became emotional, and you didn''t try to calm down and talk it out like adults! She wanted to search for solutions to make your rtionship work, and you instead decided to take the emotions you had and explode, giving in to anger and not figuring out what was wrong with your rtionship! Honestly, I have to wonder if you even wanted to be with Nirinia." The Lioness'' head snapped towards me at that, her golden eyes glowing with anger as she casually swatted a Cultist''s de away and skewered him, snarling "What''s that supposed to mean?! Of course I wanted to be in a rtionship with Nirinia! Do you think I epted her offer on a whim?!" "Did you want to be with Nirinia, or did you want to be with a woman that would court you, take you out to balls and theaters, cater to your whims and generally be just another tacky, useless Noble? The Nirinia that I know - and admittedly I have only known her for a short amount of time - is not the type to be romantic, to be waiting for you at the end of your job with flowers in hand and a ticket to see some y at a theater. She''s going to want to take you out drinking, walk around and enjoy whatever happens inside the city before eventually going home and being intimate. When you got with Nirinia, did you really want to be with HER as a person or with your idealized concept of a partner? One that waits on you hand and foot so that they might have the pleasure of courting you?" My words continued to rile up the Lioness, and after I wrenched my de free from the stomach of a Cultist, I nced at the woman and flicked the blood from my Khopesh, the silent surroundings making the entire area feel ghastly as we stood in a pile of bodies and pools of blood. Adelina mirrored me, cleaning her de off even as she red at me, before her golden eyes hardened as I added "For a Commander you seem rather vtile. Instead of bottling everything up and waiting for it to explode, perhaps it''d be best if you found an outlet for your anger. Perhaps something like sparring with Nirinia andmunicating with her in a way that you both are fluent in." She frowned at that, the Lioness gritting her teeth and giving off an angry appearance, only to allow it to melt away as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, calming herself down. "You need to talk to her about everything. Unlike you I am perfectly content with having sex whenever and wherever my lovers desire me, and it helps create a bnced life for us since I can relieve them of any urges and desires that they have, whilst epting their frustrations inside of myself. And with them being warriors, those desires and frustrations can be quiterge. Nirinia is the same, Adelina. You need to find a way to meet her some of the way to keep her satisfied and desiring you, whilst sticking to your principals." "It''s not that easy though..! My own beliefs, my own values go against that ''middle ground'' that both you and her speak of! So what, am I supposed to throw away my beliefs just to appease her lust?!" "Are you just... not listening to me? I never said you needed to help get her off to meet her halfway. You need to find SOMETHING to keep her appeased, and YOU need to ept that she is who she is. There is not a chance in hell that Nirinia will act like a Noble to court you. It''s not in her nature, and she isn''t a Noble either; she''s a member of an Orc n, Adelina. I hate to break it to you, but Orc''s aren''t really known for their elegance and willingness to speak in circles like Nobles either; they are straight forwards to a fault. You need to acknowledge that she isn''t a ''Noble'' and treat her as such. Once you can do that, perhaps then you can make some real progress in deepening your love for one another." Red dusted her cheeks as she looked away from me, trying to hide her slight blush at thatst line, only to growl "I don''t appreciate that you took this entire time to casually bash me, Katherine..." Raising a brow, I spun my Khopesh around and tilted my head, saying "Tough. Deal with it and move on. Or we could spar, here and now, if you''d prefer? Perhaps I could knock some sense into you." "That''s not verydylike of you, Baroness." I couldn''t help but snort at that as I stabbed the Khopesh into the corpse of a Cultist beside me, freeing my hands as I took a breath before changing my expression from a casual one to a serious one as I gave her a curtsy - despite me not having any sort of skirt or dress on. "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Leonisa. May the Empress'' mes keep you warm. Would my Lady care for a spot of advice?" ''Lady Leonisa'' narrowed her eyes at me as she looked me over, trying to keep up with the sudden shift as I continued onwards, only to shake her head and look away again. "Perhaps you would find better counsel from someone who was willing to listen to youin incessantly about why Nirinia was wrong? I apologize, but I don''t believe I am the one to ask in regards to that~!" "Fine, fine... I get it. I''ll... think of something. I won''t let the current... murky rtionship between Nirinia and I cause any problems, ''Lady Katherine''." I shivered slightly at the formal name, giving the Lioness a slight re as I retrieved my Khopesh and said "Please refrain from calling me that... you might just find that something unpleasant can happen if you do..." Chapter 652 651: Casual Girl Talk (3) ? I sadly pierced the skull of the writhing Cultist beneath me, the Lioness beside me shaking her head exasperatedly as she said "You were nning on experimenting on someone in the midst of a siege..? Is there something wrong with you?" Twisting the Khopesh, I saw the Lioness shake her head some more at the needless disy of brutality on the dead Cultist, making me roll my eyes as I replied in an equally exasperated tone, flicking the bits of skull and brain matter free from the hooked tip of my de. "Would there be a better time to do so than now? A fresh collection of idiots who were going to die anyways are the perfect host of specimens for me to try out a few things and hammer out the kinks of a few of my spells... As for if there is something wrong with me, besides a slight enjoyment from watching the life dim in someones eyes, no, I think I''m rather normal woman overall? Why would you ask that?" Adelina just stared at me for a moment before turning away, muttering quietly to herself as she walked free from the scene of carnage around us, her golden de sheathed on her hip. "What? What would make you assume that there is something wrong with me?" [Are we really..? You know what, never mind...] I frowned at the words of my System, before frowning more as Adelina nced back at me with a raised brow, saying "In the Legions, people who acted like you did were kept under close watch and usually sent off to the Muerte Corps, were they tended to... have short careers. And amongst the Draconias Families, well... let''s just say you''d be on a list." My frown deepened even further as I stared at the Lioness, before pouting as I said "I''m not crazy! Well... not too crazy! I don''t kill just to kill, y''know? Only those who deserve it... Sometimes." "Sometimes?!" She turned to stare at me with wide eyes, those golden orbs filled with shock before they narrowed as I chuckled, saying "The only ''iffy'' kill was a group of adventurers who jumped us in Zhu''Rong Caverns back in the day. When the Elves were going insane and acting stupidly. Feel a little bad about them since they seemed to be doing so against their will, but..." My voice trailed off, and I silently added ''They screamed all the same though~'' in my mind, not wanting to disturb the Lioness anymore than I already had. Though the Lioness still seemed iffy about me, her sense of justice or whatever still making her stare at me with searching eyes, making me twirl my Khopesh as I gestured towards the center of the city, where the sounds of violence could be heard. "Shall we? I still want to stretch a bit..." "Mmm..." I hummed to myself quietly as we left the butchery behind us, though Adelina eventually couldn''t take the ''silence'' anymore as she asked "Does... sex really feel that good?" ncing at her, I raised a brow and smirked as I happily answered "For me, it''s the best~ thing in the world~! I have three loving, doting, aggressive womenpeting to show me the physical manifestation of their deep love for me~! I mean, the first time I had with Jahi was... painful. Excruciatingly so, but it''s a good thing that I enjoy the pain. Anyways, yes, it feels wonderful to me, but that might not be the same with you? Depends on person to person, I believe. Why? Curious~?" Adelina''s face reddened the more I talked, and I snickered at her expression as we continued walking, our pace slowing slightly as the Lioness blushed further, wringing out her hands slightly. "So... I-Is t-that why Nirinia s-seeks out partners that often..?" Snorting, I rolled my eyes as I said "Listen, the pleasure that a woman feels and a futa or man feels is different. For us women, it''s a slow build up of pleasure; like the waves of an ocean slowly washing over your entire body. Then, when it fills you up entirely, it bursts out in a gigantic explosion of euphoria. Of course, if your partner is... unsatisfactory, that build up drains away quickly and leaves you feeling alright. For men and futa''s though, that pleasure is quick and makes them giddy for a few moments, and with a high virility... it''s like they get high on it. So yes, that is why Nirinia enjoys it; it''s an easy, quick way to unwind and feel great after a long day." She nodded, looking like a bobblehead as she stared nkly at the ground, before her shoulders slumped as she murmured "And how am I meant to give her something equal to that..?" I rolled my eyes once more, the mncholy descending quickly over Adelina, only to watch as it receded somewhat as I said "Did she not remain celibate during your time dating? It''s pleasurable, most certainly, but it''s not the ONLY thing that gives her pleasure. I love sex, and whilst I would hate losing it or being denied it, sometimes I enjoy the smaller things with my lovers instead; reading with Leone by a fire, sparring with Anput, cuddling with Jahi and chatting about nothing... They all provide pleasures that sex can''t, no matter how excellent said sex is. And that''s because I love those people. So if Nirinia did it before, and she was faithful to you about it... well, I would assume that she cared deeply about you." "Cared... deeply about me..?" "Adelina, please tell me you weren''t under the assumption that Nirinia was dating you just... because? I don''t think that woman''s ever dated anyone besides you." She blushed again, and I sighed as I shook my head, only to sigh again as a wave of Cultists poured out from one of the other streets, shouting "Death to the Nobility!" "We''ll speak more on thister then... I really would like to run a few... ''tests'' if you wouldn''t mind." Chapter 653 652: Running Some Tests ? I hung the Khopesh back on my hip as I stared at the oing cluster of Cultists, deciding to take an entirely magical approach to this confrontation to get a better grasp on how much of an improvement my Ice Magic got from bing a , which should be visible and calcble from this test... hopefully. To start, I traced out the runes for a long time favorite and one of my old reliable spells, summoning a long crystallinence that whistled through the air as I flung it forwards, straight into the chest of the Cultist at the forefront of the group. The ice tore through their chest and slid cleanly through, the smooth construction of thence allowing it to prate straight past the first and into the second, reaching deeper into the group and allowing me to inflict even more damage as thence exploded, a cloud of sharp slivers of ice slicing through the nearby Cultists and spreading [Frost of Despoina] over them all. Since I had targeted the left nk of the group, Adelina still had a portion of the Cultists to herself, the Lioness lunging forwards with her sword and granting her foes quick deaths as she cut them down one by one, bing a golden blur on the right nk. Those were the lucky people of this group, since the ones on my side were dropping to the ground and shivering, the warmth seeping out of their bodies as my Frost overtook them, spreading from the smallest cuts and gradually lulling them into a final sleep. Onence, one explosion, and I killed almost a dozen, all with a spell that wasn''t powered to the fullest, wasn''t tuned to be a multi target spell, and wasn''t meant for much besides chip damage on arger, stronger enemy. Whilst some of the Cultists were dying slowly from thence, I had begun to draw up another spell, one that was a partial experiment on its own thanks to theplexity of the spell, but one that I hoped would be a regr in my arcane arsenal. I was no where near the level of Leone when it came to inteying Ritual Circles into one another, but the technique to do so was one that wasn''t hard to grasp, least of all when you had a deep understanding of your spells and how they would interact together; I could say - with confidence - that I had that understanding in regards to my own spells, and so I was hopeful with this new spell I had created. The primary Ritual Circle wasprised entirely of Ice Mana, meant to create small shards of ice that I could st outwards and use like a shotgun tocerate my opponent in multiple areas, with it''s true purpose being to spread my Frost even further and quicker than with any other spell, be it on a single target or in a group. The secondary, embedded Ritual Circle was something that would help carry those shards further and faster than the base spell, and it was made from Wind Mana, acting as a supporting element to the entire spell whilst also having some damage of its own. Sharp gusts of wind carrying even sharper shards of ice that could inflict a damage over time effect on someone was perfect, and since it - whileplex - cost little mana on its own, it was something that I wanted in my arsenal going forwards. In essence, it''s an upgraded, more personal version of the Blizzard Spell that I had learned a long time ago, just condensed down into a smaller area and given more speed and damage instead of being meant for a Domain. The runes red to life, a speckle of green flickering inside a sea of pale blue as the spell was casted, and it was just in time as the Cultists let out a battlecry as they drew ever closer to me, their weapons raised as they threatened to kill and butcher me for my transgressions. A soft breeze blew out of the Ritual Circles, though it quickly turned into gusts of wind that only grew stronger with each passing moment, getting strong enough to make moving towards me a tedious task and threatening to tear away the weapons from their hands. The wind grew chilly, then downright frigid as it buffeted the Cultists, only to then be sharp. Small slivers of crystalline ice formed in the air, growingrger in size and leaving small scratches on the bare skin of the Cultists, who were stubbornly trying to approach me no matter what, only to be terrified as they grew numb. Those slivers grew evenrger, and eventually they reached as size that scored deep cuts in flesh and in armor alike, bing the entry points for my Frost to take root. I watched as a small dust of ice covered the hairs of the Cultists, though just like the slivers that dusting grew in size and intensity, moving from just the hairs to the flesh, turning their skin red for just a moment as the cold seeped in, only for the red to dissipate and leave behind a paler coloration on their skin. Slowly but surely, the Cultists were consumed by frostbite as the gale whipped more crystals at them, opening more cuts on their bodies and spreading more of that chill further in and on their flesh. All of this happened in a corridor that I created, and I smirked as I watched the various enemies in front of me fall to their knees, dropping their weapons and trying to tear away their metal armor, doing everything they could to rid themselves of the chill. Curiosity made me step into my own gale, walking amongst the dying idiots and inspecting their flesh and bodies to see just how severe the frostbite had be. Their fingers had already begun to cken, while the cuts around their bodies had also begun to cken, the top mostyer of their flesh dying out swiftly from the magically enhanced chill, and the cuts themselves had already stopped bleeding as the blood froze on the wound. All in all... it was another devastating spell designed entirely with the idea of Frost in mind, and it seemed to have done wonders already~! Chapter 654 653: Summoning...

Chapter 654 Chapter 653: Summoning...

"You... are a worrying young woman, Katherine. Really... really worrying." I donned an innocent smile as I turned towards Adelina, meeting her golden gaze and saying "What''s so worrying about me, Adelina~? I only retaliated. They attacked me first, after all~! What''s wrong with that, hmm? Should I have not killed them for trying to kill me?" "That''s... That''s not what I was saying, Katherine. I was saying- You know what... You''re messing with me, aren''t you? Hah..." The Lioness let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head and turning towards the center of the city, where the sounds of fighting had only grown stronger despite quite a bit of time passing since the start of this siege of ours. "Me? Messing with you? No... Never~! What would give you that idea Adelina~?" Snorting, she shook her head again and wordlessly made her way towards the center, stepping past the second pile of corpses that we had left behind today and heading off towards another location that we would pain red with blood. I couldn''t help but smirk as I walked behind her, my Khopesh finding its way into my hands again as I decided that trying to nab a few of the Cultists to truly run experiments on was a lost cause, both because of the morals of Adelina but also because there seemed to be no end to them, which made me a tad bit cautious. They had used one before, so there might just be a second gateway spell that they have hidden away, or even more since they had ess to someone - or something - that knew how to not only wield but also enchant things with Moon Magic. Something that Leone had been rather vocal about during our ''training sessions'' together, her mumbling and grumbling about it not being fair sounding really adorable to me, though I felt something farrger and not so adorable the entire time we were together... So who knew what these Cultists had up their sleeves considering everything we had seen so far. What I did know was that - whilst it seemed to be a rather popted cult - the members of the Cult of Ambition were not that strong, and theycked technique and familiarity with fighting, which was a peculiar little puzzle that I could try to solve as we walked through Arbo City''s stone carapace. Maybe they were drawing recruits from all walks of life, as well as from anywhere? There was likely a wide pool of idiots who believed that ridding themselves of their Noble overseers would somehow bring about a Utopia where everyone was equally wealthy or something, even though power would merely shift hands - and with it, the wealth. In fact, considering the way only a few of the Dwarves of Arbo City were amongst the Cultists, it would seem that the idea of being ''equal'' with your fellow citizens was already being disproven by themselves, since if they were as widely epting as they seemed this would be different. Then again, this is all general assumption based on their purpose andposition, though I would say that''s a damn good guess. Past that, the Cultists seemed to be strong for civilians, but they weren''t even the closest it came to being adept with their weapons, swinging wildly and hoping to hit by using their power, which made me curious. Was that because they had some way to get short term strength, like some sort of potion or spell that increased their immediate prowess? If it was a potion, I wonder if it could be altered to be safer and less damaging, since short term boosts in strength asrge as what we were seeing would certainly cause a lot of internal damages. There were so many fun puzzles to work at from this cluster of idiots, but for the moment I needed to shelves my ideas and instead join in on the massacre happening in the center of Arbo City, which I did so with a grin. The Khopesh that Anput had forged for me was a wonderful weapon, suiting me perfectly even if the rapier was technically a better weapon for my style. Itbined the speed that I utilized to one up my opponents with the power of a sword, all while having the ability to tear through flesh violently and appease my urges whenever they arose, which... was often. Quite often really, and I found the hooked teeth inside the crescent de to be one of the most beautiful things ever as I chopped off the head of another Cultist, the torn flesh spurting blood as the veins were ripped open, while the spine was revealed and splintered from the force of my swing. It was a violent, messy death, and it made me smile as I watched the blood sail through the air and paint the faces of the Cultists behind the one I had just killed. Like we had seen at the previous Barony, a gateway was in fact opened in the center of the city, and this time Cultists streamed through periodically, with the primary thing being transported into the city wasn''t mortals, but monsters. Goblins and Hobgoblins marched out of the gateway and stomped towards us, clubs and rusty weapons in their hands, while a cor of ck metal hung around their necks. Embedded into the center of the cor was a murky white gemstoneden with mana, and it made me even more curious as I studied the small stone, wondering just how that worked and how it had been mass produced. Something that could control monsters... It wasn''t unheard of, but it was still something that would be surprising to see if I wasn''t one - versed in some of the oddities of the world - and two - expecting something weird from a cult dedicated to tearing down an Empire that was rather fair and generous to its people. And to keep the surprises rolling in besides the Goblins, the ornate robe wearing Cultists gathered beside the gateway and began to chant, making Jahi - who was killing the mortals and monsters alike - growl in anger as she shouted "Anput, stop them!" As I lopped the head off of another Cultist, before cleaving a Goblin in two, I watched as Anput shot forwards swiftly through the horde of mortals and monsters, her scimitar rising and falling as she cut her way towards the chanting Cultists, who had begun to raise their hands. "Well... this is going to be interesting." I nodded at Adelina''s words, the two of us firing a bolt of mana into the air as we watched a second gateway form above the Cultist''s heads, one that wasn''t as shaky and nd looking as the current one. Chapter 655 654: ...A Fiend

Chapter 655 Chapter 654: ...A Fiend

Our bolts of mana exploded in the air, painting the sky violet as Adelina''s Fire Mana mixed with my Ice Mana, hopefully alerting the others that there was something happening at the center of the city. The deep blue portal whirled to life above the Cultists heads, spinning faster and faster as more mana was funneled into the gateway that connected Arbo City to somewhere else, somewhere that these Cultists had stored away reinforcements of some kind. Anput was a blur of silver and tanned skin as she carved her way through the crowd, her scimitar caked in viscera and flesh, all while her Metal Mana began to coat her entire body, deflecting des from piercing her flesh as she forwent defense and opted for offense entirely, her scimitar cutting a path towards the portal with fluid swings. Taking a step behind Adelina, I began to trace out runes of my own as I hoisted a crystallinence, which I hurled towards the portal, the long icicle exploding on contact and outright killing two of the Cultists powering the gateway, the shards of ice slicing cleanly through their armor and lodging themselves inside their flesh, spreading the frost deeper and quicker inside their bodies. The Lioness guarded me from attackers, her golden de twirling through the air in hypnotic arcs as she sliced and shed at the approaching Cultists and Goblins, allowing me the time to cast spells in support of Anput. Hurling anothernce straight at the portal, I clicked my tongue as I noticed that the gateway was already self sufficient, the mana in the air getting sucked into the spell and allowing it to work even as the Cultists channeling it were killed one after another. My mate managed to reach the portal a momentter, her scimitar cleaving the remaining imbeciles down and leaving her standing alone near the gateway, which continued to spin faster and faster as more mana was funneled inside from the surrounding area. Anput looked around before trying to cut at the portal, her scimitar shrouded in mana as she tried to use mana to cut mana, but sadly nothing happened as her de sailed harmlessly through the portal. Goblins streamed towards her, taking the Jackalkin''s attention from the portal to her safety instead, leaping away and putting some distance between her and the unknown gateway, returning to the fray and slowly culling the poption of monsters around us. The original gateway that had brought these monsters here was flickering out, it''s own mana being drained away by therger, stronger gateway beside it. The horde of monsters was easily in the hundreds, the sheer amount of one of the mostmon monsters in the world cramping the center of Arbo alongside the various mortals that had joined a Cult in hopes of power and wealth, and if one were to look from above to see the three separate bastions inside the hordes, you''d think that the four people fighting against this ocean of enemies would be overwhelmed and die, but... Goblins died easy, and the Cultists weren''t the most talented fighters - or even ustomed to fighting - so against a Commander of a Legion, an Heir to arge warrior House, a Begum to a warrior state, and a devoted woman keen on keeping pace with her lovers, the favors of this battle were heavily weighed in our favor. Even still though, we kept an eye on therge gateway that was continuing to form, the sheer amount of enemies around us not giving us the time to focus on the gateway and overload it with mana; Adelina could only do so much against a veritable wall of flesh that was pushing down on her, threatening to topple over her and break her against the cobblestones. So I took my Khopesh and joined her in the fray, my st spell on hand and cutting down swathes of enemies as I tore them apart with my de as well, killing and killing to my hearts content. Blood created beautiful arcs in the air, the violet glow of the gateway reflecting in the droplets and casting an eery glow onrge square that we were fighting in, while the corpses around us piled up - though the Goblin corpses dissipated into dust as per usual, leaving only a ck metal cor that ttered to the ground, though they too seemed to be cracking and breaking with each passing second. The cries of agony that the wounded made whenever I blew their arms off with apressed st of ice was music to my ears, while the gurgling and thuds as bodies dropped to the ground and bled out was just as excellent, each death bringing me small amounts of joy. However, that joy was short lived as something began to crawl free from the violet portal,rge wed hands grasping at the edges of the gateway and allowing the thing to pull itself out. Arge, blue skinned Fiend stepped out of the gateway, it''s four arms ending in hands farrger than normal, and each digit was adorned with a thick w that was suited for rending flesh apart. Muscles bulged on the Fiends upper body, while its legs were covered in thick scales, each one a deep ocean blue. Horns longer than my arms crowned its head, curling over the back of its skull and hooking back up into the air, giving it a slightly demented appearance that was only worsened by therge grin that threatened to split its features. Two slitted eyes opened up as it grinned more, its fanged mouth opening to reveal a forked tongue as it hissed "So this~ is the world of the living... It''s been awhile..." Rolling its shoulders, the Fiend continued to grin as it looked over at Jahi, its eyes narrowing even as its grin widened, flexing its four arms menacingly. "Ah... so you''re~ the little brat that the others were bitching about... You don''t look like much, pipsqueak! Light Mana isn''t all that it''s made up to be!" Stepping forwards, the Fiend stomped on a Goblin uncaringly, squashing the green monster beneath its foot and killing it easily, all while its blue skin began to shimmer with grey runes. "I''ll enjoy ripping your soul from your body and feasting on it~! Maybe then I can usurp that damnable Delira... always ordering me around! Like that bastard knows more than me! Tza''Inopia!" As the Fiend took another step towards Jahi, it''s eyes widened as a loud explosion sounded out behind it, the entire square getting bathed in a blinding orange light. The ground rumbled alongside the explosion, and when we could finally open our eyes and look towards the source of the st, we noticed instantly that the gateway this Tza''Inopia had crawled out of was gone, the area around where it had been scorched ck. Standing in the center of one of the many roads that connected to the central square was Leone, her eyes glowing a brilliant crimson as she stared at the Fiend with a t gaze, not saying anything. Nirinia, on the other hand, had already lurched forwards and mmed into the back of the Fiend, her golden Dadao sparkling with a green light as she tried to cut into the Fiend''s muscr body. Chapter 656 655: Creating a Benchmark

Chapter 656 Chapter 655: Creating a Benchmark

Nirinia''s golden Dadao left a thin gash on the Fiend''s muscr back, the flesh knitting itself back together even as the de remained inside the cut, barely allowing any of the blue blood to drip out of the wound. Hissing softly at the sudden - yet fleeting - pain, Tza''Inopia turned and mmed two of its fists down at Nirinia''s hard, snarling "You annoying little bug..! How dare you try to sneak attack me!?" As its fists were crashing down towards the Djinn, the Fiend narrowed its eyes and raised its other set of hands to summon up a curved disc of mana on its side, protecting it from a barrage of ming arrows that exploded violently upon contact. Growling, Tza''Inopia looked around the square, still grinning despite counting the various people around itself. Nirinia braced beneath the blow, her de catching and holding the two fists of the Fiend as she nted her feet, though considering the way she was grimacing and had blood trickling from her lips, it was safe to assume that the vibrations from the blow had rattled her insides enough to do damage. Adelina growled beside me, her two fluffy ears twitching as she stared at the Fiend hatefully, and without another word she dashed forwards, joining Nirinia in the close quartersbat against the Fiend. Anput wasn''t far behind, and Jahi had begun to wade through the remaining monsters to reach the Fiend, her eyes now gold as she stared down the Fiend, who was grinning back at her. "Pathetic! The little whelp needs help to take down a Fiend, hmm~? How utterly-!" "Shut up. I don''t need to appease to your useless vanity. My lovers and my peers are all rted to my own strength, Fiend. You''re just angry that you''re going to lose either way." Tza''Inopia''s grin twisted into something unpleasant as they hissed "Careful, brat. Pissing me off might not be the greatest strategy..." Cleaving a trio of Goblins in two with a single swing, Jahi snorted as she muttered "Real tough guy huh..?", which only made the Fiend angrier as they tried to move away from Nirinia and towards Jahi. However, as Tza''Inopia tried to do so, the Djinn below pushed back against the two fists and began to challenge the Fiend in a contest of strength, while Adelina arrived near the Fiend''s legs, cutting at them with her de and scoring thin, shallow cuts on the scales. As the Fiend tried to move one of its four hands towards Adelina, it faced an issue; Leone had two hands pinned with her arrows, which continued to explode against its barrier, while Nirinia demanded attention from below, threatening to deal damage if she wasn''t held back. That was still without Anput or Jahi doing anything, and me as well, though I focused on cutting down the remaining monsters and Cultists for the time being, supporting the others that way. The Jackalkin leapt up and mmed her shin into the Fiends face, while her de left a deep cut on the side of its neck, eliciting a hiss of pain from Tza''Inopia, though that hiss was nothingpared to the roar as Jahi barreled into the Fiend, ramming her shoulder into its chest and shing her great sword across its chest twice, marking it with a giant ''X''. Her dual metal de was shrouded in a harsh golden glow, and it was clear that the wounds left on its chest were taking longer to heal then the one on its neck, which had almost closed already and weeping a trace amount of blood. Tza''Inopia''s roar pushed the others back, manacing the sound and forcing them to protect themselves from the vocal attack, and the grinning Fiend spat "[Superior Vocal Rend]!" towards Jahi, a thick,pressed crescent of mana and sound slicing through the air towards her at insane speeds. The Demoness blocked the invocation with a barrier of glittering gold, and as the Fiend opened its mouth to spit another one out, it let out a shout of pain instead as the arrows from Leone changed course, going from straight on to falling onto the Fiend''s body, taking advantage of the momentarypse in observation from the Fiend and making it pay ordingly. Nirinia managed to push back against the Fiend''s fists as well during that moment, and the two''s counterattack left Tza''Inopia defenseless and off bnce as chunks of its flesh were roasted and blown off, while the sudden loss of something to take its weight was felt immediately. Anput joined Nirinia and Jahi in dashing forwards to attack the Fiend, and without hesitation the three coated their des in mana and attacked. The Jackalkinnced a spear through the Fiend''s upper shoulder, piercing its flesh and making one of its arms hang uselessly by its side, the bone or tendons inside severely damaged. Nirinia swung her Dadao down towards its knee, and the golden de crunched past the scales and splintered them, revealing the pale blue flesh beneath and cutting into that, dealing damage to the Fiend''s mobility. Finally, Jahi returned to the front of Tza''Inopia, raising her great sword and bathing it in golden mana, sneering at the Fiend before unleashing a whirlwind of shes, cutting into its chest and throat wildly and revealing the bones beneath, before they too were broken as the Demoness continued to swing her sword. Tza''Inopia was screaming in agony, it''s blue flesh bathed in blood and sliced open, while the grey runes that might have given it some offensive or defensive capabilities flickered out of existence as it tried to heal itself instead. Not wanting to be left out, I summoned ance and hurled it at the Fiend''s skull, lodging the crystallinence in its mouth as I shattered its teeth and impaled its throat, only for thence to explode and shred the inside of its skull. The screams persisted even as we continued to maim and tear Tza''Inopia apart, but they eventually began to fade as Jahi dismantled the Fiend and ripped off its head, promptly stamping her foot straight into its cranium and ending its existence, bringing silence back to the city. Of course, we all stood there warily as we looked around, wondering if this was some sort of trick or ploy from the Cult or from Tza''Inopia, not expecting the Fiend to be that easy, and yet... Nothing happened, and Cali popped out and looked around, her lip curled up in disgust as she maneuvered through the square, eventually reaching the Demoness. "Not too shabby, ''Bluey''~! It might not be the strongest of Fiends considering it was not only young but also a ''Thrall'' to Delira or someone else, but it was still a Fiend~! And you just killed it~! Congrattions to everyone~!" The Arch Fiend grinned widely at us all, before crouching down and poking the battered, bloody cheek of Tza''Inopia, murmuring "The first of many, hopefully..." Getting back up, Cali looked at everyone and said "Don''t think this will bemon though; this idiot was likely used as a way to figure out just~ how strong you lot are, though they probably never expected both Greeny and Goldy here to join as well... or our two lurkers." We all followed Cali''s gaze to see the two guards standing on a rooftop nearby, and they waved as they noticed we had seen them, the two dropping down and making their way over. "Really though, congrattions~! Not many could say they even harmed a Fiend, let alone killed one! Now, if you''ll excuse me, I think I shall be a ''lurker'' myself... nasty thing, violence..." With that, Cali disappeared in a plume of pink smoke, continuing her trend of appearing and disappearing randomly whenever she wanted, leaving us mortals alone inside the macabre square. Chapter 657 656: ’Warm’ Gratitude

Chapter 657 Chapter 656: ''Warm'' Gratitude

With the disappearance of Cali, the area became quiet again as we all looked between one another, before Leone walked forwards to join us, her thin knife appearing in her hands as she crouched beside the dead Fiend, beginning to pry off the scales and harvest some of the Fiend''s materials. I joined her as well, asking "Should we be harvesting the meat as well, or just the bones? Can we use Fiend flesh for anything?" Eriana - or Cernia, who knows - crouched beside me and replied "If you would like to, go ahead. There has been little experimentation done on anything rted to Fiends, so perhaps it has beneficial properties, maybe it doesn''t..." Sighing, I just began to slice through the flesh as best I could, sawing through the tough, almost metallic like muscle and tendons to reveal the silvery bones beneath. As I was working - alongside one of the guards and Leone - the citizens around the city had begun to peek out of their windows, the sudden noise of fighting nowpletely gone, making them curious even as they fearfully looked outside. Jahi and the others were standing guard around us, on the lookout for any stragglers that might have been hidden away somewhere in the city, and they instantly took notice of the citizens peering out from their homes, remaining in ce even as the braver citizens began to step out and enter the square. Short and stout, the burly, bearded Dwarves that stepped out stared at us fearfully, with a few shaking their heads and turning back to their homes as they got a better look at the scene of ughter around us. The bravest of the Dwarves took in the sight of the massacre and wrinkled their noses, approaching Jahi warily as she stared down at them, her dual metal great sword resting on her shoulder; beside her was Nirinia, and the Djinn only made the two look even more imposing as they stood together, their height making them tower over the Dwarves that approached them. Four were brave enough to approach the Demoness and Djinn, looking up at them with slight scowls as one said "I guess... we need to thank ye for savin'' us, hm? What a job ya did..." He looked around the square, his brown eyesnding on the various dead Cultists as well as the sheer amount of blood and viscera that caked the cobblestones and buildings. Though the worst offense was the cracked, broken and scorched cobblestones from Leone''s spells, the Vampire''s explosive ordnance causing quite a bit of damage to the area from the attacks sheunched towards the Fiend. The Dwarves took that all in on top of the bloody massacre, and the original speaker turned back to Jahi and repeated "What a job ya did..." The Demoness stared down at the Dwarves for a moment more before looking towards Nirinia, who just shook her head and muttered "Dwarven gratitude..." "What''s there to be grateful for..? They''d''ve moved on anyways, but now we got to clean all this mess up! Are ye going to pay for it?!" I raised a brow as I stopped what I was doing, looking back at the group of Dwarves feeling rather curious if this was natural for them, though Jahi seemed to have no desire to mince words or give the Dwarves any sort of ''Noble courtesy'' as she spat "They would not have moved on, you dumbass. They''d have stayed here and bled this city dry for their own gain, killing anyone who spoke out against them and enjoying the warmth of your women if they so pleased. As for the ''mess''? Unless you wanted me to take the time to render each and every Cultist unconscious and transport them outside the city to be killed, there would be a ''mess''. Deal with it. Your city is safe, just messy. Would you rather be living in fear of death and very instead?" The Dwarf grit his teeth as he stared at the glowering Demoness above, only to step back as the Djinn smirked at him, saying "You see thatrge blue thing right there? That would''ve dismantled this city brick by brick for its own amusement. It would have forced all of the city to ve away and rebuild something for itself, something that would be used to go against the Empire. So shut up and deal with it." The four Dwarves nced towards the Fiend''s corpse, and I smirked as I sliced off another b of meat, blood caking my arms and sttered against my face, making them shudder as they swiftly looked away from me, leaving me to continue harvesting these wonderful materials forter. Anput moved over to join me, inspecting the silvery ulna that I had removed and muttering "Do you think that these would make good weapons? It doesn''t appear to be attuned..." "Maybe. Feels and looks metallic, should be quite strong of a material. Don''t know about attunement or the like, but it wouldn''t hurt to try? If it isn''t, it would still be quite the trophy, no? A centerpiece for our future home, perhaps?" "Hmm... that sounds nice~! te the skull in some metal and adorn it with gemstones or something..." Nodding, I nced at Leone and saw the small pile of scales beside her, the three of us ignoring the small altercation between Jahi and the Dwarves, who were being a tad stubborn about whether or not the Asmodia House would need to pay for damages, and I had tuned out since I was getting just~ a tad angry at the Dwarves, though Adelina and the other guard joined the Demoness in defusing the situation, making sure it didn''t escte to something that would do harm to either party. All in all, the disassembling of the Fiend was a quick process as we turned it from a corpse to a pile of parts, with the meat getting bundled into packages of stone to keep them from rotting while the rest were just stored away, leaving us with quite a bit of materials to utilize. It - admittedly - felt a tad weird butchering something humanoid in appearance, especially something sentient, but at the same time it was a Fiend, so who knew just how valuable its parts were. So much so that I gathered some of its blood into vials that Leone had on hand, wondering if there were potions that could be concocted from this blue liquid... even if it was slightly disgusting to think about. But, I had long since epted that the things inside of potions tend to be quite... disgusting... Chapter 658 657: Raking It In

Chapter 658 Chapter 657: Raking It In

When it was all said and done, we had a bunch of earthen crates that wereden with materials, and we lifted them up and began to transport them towards the house that the temporary leader of these Dwarves - someone who had been apart of the governing council below the Baron - had decided to allow us to use an empty house during our stay here, even more so aftering out to defuse the situation between the stubborn citizens and the Heir to arge House. With our haul secured - which included any of the remains we could find of those ck cors as well as some of the weapons, which Anput wanted to smelt down and reforge into something better for practice - we made our way towards that house, perusing the stone building when we entered and preparing to unwind just a bit after everything that had happened. "So... what are we going to eat? There''s nothing in here..." Jahi had already moved on from the earlier altercating, the Demoness searching the pantries and sighing as she saw the empty shelves, taking herself over towards the small sofa and frowning as she plopped onto it, making the piece of furniture creak worryingly as her weight settled onto it. "Careful now, they might not be able to take your weight~!" Nirinia smirked at the Demoness before she too sat back in a chair, only to have one of the legs snap and send her tumbling to the ground, eliciting a bark ofughter from Jahi, who grinned at the defeated Djinn that was nowying on the ground. "What was that, Nirinia~? Maybe you shouldy off the meals..." "Fuck you, Bluey. I''m all muscle." "Sure, sure... anyways, food. What''re we doing?" Jahi looked over her shoulder and stared at me, the Demoness clearly equating homeliness to me in some regards, and I had no problem with it since I knew what I was good at, and keeping a clean home and full table had be one of those many things. Of course though, I had nothing to make and no idea about the city, but thankfully one of the two guards stepped forwards and asked "I can go requisition some foodstuffs. Any preferences?" """Meats!!""" I rolled my eyes at the chorusing from Jahi, Nirinia, and Anput, the three warriors being very clear in what they wanted for tonight as they almost began to salivate just thinking about it. The guard turned towards me and tilted their head, only leaving when I nodded, agreeing with the three warriors for now since we hadpleted such a monumental achievement and expended quite a bit of energy. "When they return, let me know; for the time being, I''ll be in another room." Walking over to the stairs, I went up and found one of the empty rooms and closed the door behind me, cleaning off a spot on the floor and kneeling down, closing my eyes and opening the system. [Fiend Tza''Inopia has been felled!] [Reward : 1,750,000 Xp , 20,000 Sp] [Goblins x43 killed : 27,884 Xp] [Cultists x151 killed : 339,750 Xp] [Reward total : 2,117,634 Xp , 20,000 Sp] [Level 50 : 2,153,456 / 2,225,000] It wasn''t enough for an entire level up, but it was damn near close, and it was something that made sense when I recalled that I had participated at the bare minimum for that kill - it was likely an ''achievement'' award instead of a reward for the assist. Either way, it was an impressive amount for taking down a Fiend, though for a split second I doubted the amount, only to recall that it had been felled... really easily. Cali even called it a ''lesser'' Fiend, something that was recently raised or just so weak that it couldn''t be called a ''true'' Fiend; like the difference between the Goblins and Hobgoblins, though it might be even greater. [Correct. Fiends are powerful beings, but what you helped kill could be considered a fledgling Fiend. Compared individually to you, it is still much stronger, but against the lot of you? No where near the strength that a ''true'' Fiend would have. You remember Tza''Delira fighting equally against Cali and the Marquess, right? That''s the norm amongst Fiends. They are just that strong.] I nodded, before closing out the System tab and taking a deep breath as I shifted my mind from the battle to emptiness, enjoying this moment of silence and time alone for as long as I possibly could. Sadly though, that time came to an end as Anput knocked on the door and slid inside, draping herself over my back and chanting "Meat~!" over and over again, nuzzling her cheek against mine. Letting out a sigh, I got up and began to walk downstairs with Anput remaining glued to my back, the Jackalkin wrapped around me like a sloth as she made me carry her - which with my strength stat, it wasn''t that much of an issue. When I returned to the kitchen, I found arge tter of meats and various vegetables covering the countertop, with a fresh set of firewood stacked beside the stove as well. Entering, I perused the various ingredients and began to sort them out into the things that I wanted for the moment, preparing to sear some steaks and grill some vegetables for us, keeping it simple for now. Though it was due to the fact that the stove was rather basic and on the smaller side, and I didn''t feel like cooking much at the moment, so I got to work with an oversized puppytched to my back, ustomed to the burden thanks to Jahi doing much the same back home - though it was easier with Anput since the Jackalkin was of simr size to me and not as heavy as Jahi. The sudden shift from running around and fighting to cooking and rxing was an abrupt one, but we had be ustomed to this abrupt shift in momentum thanks to our many experiences in thest few years - we weren''t veterans at this fighting life, but we were no rookies at it either. We knew we needed to embrace and ept the downtime whenever it appeared, especially when we would be heading back out in a few hours after a quick meal and nap; we had resources to gather after all. Resources that might just mix with the boxes of Fiend parts that we had harvested earlier to make some new and improved gear for us as we awaited the next confrontation with this Cult that was seemingly everywhere. Laying the various steaks on one of the pans I had found, I began to sear them lightly on each side in a simple butter sauce, saut¨¦ing and preparing some of the vegetables in the same pan so that they would absorb the vor. As they seared, I moved over towards the counter and began to get a dough prepared from the little amount of flour that the guards had managed to requisition as well, preparing to bake myself as many loaves of bread as I could with what I had, whilst also nning on filling them with some sort of vegetable mix to make them heavier, which would maybee from a stew. "Anput, Leone, make me another stove please." The Jackalkin reluctantly separated herself from my back to do as I asked, while the Vampire got up from her spot on the sofa toe and help, leaving Jahi by herself with Nirinia, Adelina, and the two guards in the living area. I began to work at a swifter pace so that we could avoid the awkward silence around the living area, where the Djinn could be seen ignoring the Lioness who was sitting opposite her, the Lioness staring pointedly at the green skinned woman. Adelina was being rather obvious with her desires to talk, though she seemed rather afraid to initiate something - sadly for her, she didn''t look too friendly or open, and instead looked like she was daring Nirinia to make a mistake, the Lioness'' serious nature working against her for the moment. As for the Djinn, she was having the time of her life tracing out the various lines on the wall, engraving everyst detail into her mind as she pointedly looked everywhere except towards Adelina. Meanwhile the guards were standing near the door and window, keeping - well, funnily enough - guard over the house as we rested and recuperated from the long night that we had just endured. But, for the moment I had no time to mediate between the two, nor any strong desire to as I wanted food and rest before we went to Ungrida Canyon to begin harvesting those Resource Tortoises, which I hoped had everything we needed and then some... Like some more meat, for one, and a good suite of ores and gems as well - that would be good too. --- Sorry for thete upload, today and tomorrow are only going to be a single 1500 word chapter each; need to get some stuff done and it''s been a hassle. --- Chapter 659 658: Ungrida Canyon (1)

Chapter 659 Chapter 658: Ungrida Canyon (1)

"And... here we are. Ungrida Canyon. Home of some of the most lucrative monsters known to live inside the Empire, and home to some of the dirtiest, scummiest adventurers to live inside the Empire as well. Profits here are the highest you can get legally, and some of the highest illegally too; as such, risks are some of the highest here as well. Gangs and bandits thrive inside the Canyon, evading the patrols of bounty hunters and soldiers alike." Adelina let out a sigh as she looked down into therge crevasse scouring the earth, the sparse vegetation adding some color to the sandy expanse ofnd that traveled to the west, albeit not a lot. We were all present here, with the group consensus being that it''d be best if we all traveled to Ungrida together and left Arbo behind, not wanting to deal with the Dwarves any longer; besides, soldiers hade to reinforce and recapture Arbo City from the Cultists, and after exining the situation to them, we left the city in better hands than we had found it in. Thankfully that had been expedited by the guards shing some medallions and Adelina knowing the Centurion thatmanded the century of soldiers that had arrived. Our carriage was once more submerged below the earth alongside the sensitive, valuable gear, and the steeds had been sent to roam freely once more, allowed to fend for themselves. The goal had been agreed upon before hand, and the more experienced members of the group had gone ahead and given us a better idea on what we should be realistically aiming for resource wise, from the type to the amount, even to the quality needed on certain things. Apparently the mostmon thing the Resource Tortoises carry is called Shell Stone; like the name suggests, their shells are made from a special stone that is a deep, rich brown and ringed with a darker brown. The darker those rings, the stronger the shell and the older the Resource Tortoise; the difference between a young and old Resource Tortoise''s Shell Stone was night and day. The lighter stone was strong enough to survive being hit with three or four attacks before cracking - from average adventurers, which were slightly weaker than us - while darker stone could be so tough that even Nirinia would need quite a few hits to break it, and she was much stronger than us. Then there was the gems that could be asionally found on their shells, and each gem was able to house arge amount of mana - sometimes enough to be considered full on Mana Crystals, and sometimes with more than enough to be worth an insane amount of money. Those gems could be either incredibly valuable for us to sell or strong enough to act as a battery for enchantments on our gear, increasing the strain that could be ced on the gear by quite a bit, which was just as valuable to us as coin. All in all, it was sounding like Ungrida was the ce to be, but like Adelina had said, there was an equal amount of risk to be had here, and there was one rule that everyone - even the bandits - tried to abide by if at all possible. Don''t be out after dark. During the day, Ungrida was a rtively ''easy'' Dungeon to traverse, with primarily Resource Tortoises roaming around and the asional earth rted monsters popping out as well, but to bnce out the good fortunes of the Resource Tortoises, at night Reaper Wendigos begin to hunt anything that remains inside the Canyon, killing each and every little thing that lives and breaths so long as they find them. It was something the Marquess told us to watch out for - even if she had never personally seen one - and something that was further supported by the guards, who were adamant that we would leave the Canyon hours before dusk just so we could guarantee that we were out and away before the Reaper Wendigos were out hunting. None of us were conceited enough, stupid enough, or cocky enough to try and argue that we should be here for as long as possible and that those Wendigos are surely exaggerated, so we agreed to leave well before the sun began to set, which was in almost ten hours. We had around ten hours of gathering to do, and while we might be strong and resilient, the idea of carrying around dozens of ores and gems as we harvested more wasn''t the greatest, so we needed toe up with a n before we entered as well, one that would aid us in keeping our loot safe and making sure no one tried to search for it. "I think the best thing would be to gather as much as we can from the first Resource Tortoise and determine if we could harvest another or not; if we can, we find one and get to it, and if we can''t then we leave and stash our haul somewhere safe, all while Anput, Kat, and Adelina take the rear. Your hearing and sense of smell will be invaluable here, while the ability to diffuse our scent will be equally as beneficial." Nodding, we continued to observe this edge of Ungrida Canyon, taking in the sights of the deep crevasse into the earth before following behind Jahi as she set off towards one of the many slopes that led into the Canyon. "If need be, we can always also leave behind materials we don''t need if we need to lighten the load a little; we can alwayse backter to harvest a new set of materials if we need to, and I would rather have us uninjured then have some ores that may or may not be useful. On that same vein, treat any party wee across as hostile, but only attack if you think they''re a true threat first. Most of these bandits will likely be easily spotted if they have bad intentions, while the adventurers should be just as wary of us as we are of them." "So no indiscriminate killing... Got that, Kat~?" I raised a brow at Anput, who snickered as she sauntered beside Jahi, her enthusiasm for this excursion almost palpable, the smith very obviously beginning to imagine the sheer amount of goodies she''ll receive to y around with. There would be ores abundant for her to tinker with, though that didn''t excuse her snide remark... even if it had a hint of truthfulness to it. Leone and Adelina were frowning at the Jackalkin, while Nirinia just chuckled on the other side of Jahi, who was also smirking as she nced back at me. Alternating my stare between the Djinn, Demoness, and Jackalkin, I shook my head and returned my focus towards the front, which had begun to even out as we reached the floor of the Canyon. It was still sloped slightly into the Canyon, where the depths would continue to grow deeper and deeper ording to the guards, but we were currently on the first ''shelf'' of the Canyon, and as such... the most popted area of the Dungeon. Already we could see parties of adventurers moving back and forth around the area, trying to haul their resources towards the top while others were heading further down, where there would be less people to contest their ims to a monster and its drops. A quick look around let us know that there were multiple parties that were already top of the list for suspicions, their ragtag gear and rxed posture as they waited around all to clear on what they were actually here for, and the amount of bandits seemed to be equal to the amount of people here to do some real work. We caught quite a few eyes as well, theposition of an entire party of women always going to draw negative attention, though the armor of the guards and the size of Jahi and Nirinia was enough to dissuade most of the idiots to look away, clearly able to understand that this wasn''t a party they could try to steal from or mess with. Of course, idiots would be idiots, and some had already begun to follow us as we entered the second shelf of the Canyon, going further into the depths and entering the real hunting zone of the Dungeon, where we could already see the abundance of monsters milling around. True to their name, Resource Tortoises were four legged grey skinned monsters that were rather bulky andrge, ranging from the size of a wolf to the size of a bear, which was made even more imposing by their studded, tantalizing shells covered in chunks of ore, spikes of rock, and asionally the small glimmer of a gemstone. Their tails were barbed with spikes, each of which had a metallic sheen to it, while their giant heads ended in a metallic beak, like a snapping turtle, likely fully capable of crunching past armor and snapping bone in two. Slow and heavy, these monsters weren''t dangerous per se, but considering the sheer amount of them and therge amount of materials growing out of their thick brown shell... Trying to fight one of these things would prove challenging enough, since it was clear that Earth Mana was rather abundant within them, meaning their already hardened shell and leathery flesh would be even tougher to get through, so long as they had a moment to prepare. All in all, this wouldn''t be a thrilling fight, but it would be a lucrative one... Chapter 660 659: Ungrida Canyon (2)

Chapter 660 Chapter 659: Ungrida Canyon (2)

The Khopesh in my hands was covered in a sharp gale, the red metal glimmering with a pale green light that reminded me of a rather fun holiday - if it was turned into a nightmarish weapon meant for ughter, that is. It''s curved, sharp outer edge sliced down through the air and attempted to slice into the neck of the Resource Tortoise, its grey flesh hardening beneath a shell of brown mana, but as soon as the gale I had surrounding the Khopesh collided with it as well, the shell shattered and allowed the de to sink into the leathery flesh below. Releasing a gargled cry, the Resource Tortoise''s head dropped to the ground with a thud, thick grayish red blood flowing freely from the stump as the entire monster stumbled side to side for a moment before slumping forwards, joining its decapitated head on the ground. "These are..." Jahi frowned as she looked down at the two corpses beside us, her great sword still clean despite a desire to cover it in viscera. "Weak? Yes, however they are lucrative. Now begin to harvest them please~!" The Demoness'' frown deepened as she turned her amethyst gaze towards me, before she looked over at Nirinia, who was also frowning as she stared at the pickaxe that Leone had handed her, while Anput happily made her way to Jahi to hand her one as well. Though, the Jackalkin summoned one herself and hummed quietly as she began to hoist it over her head, going for a powerful swing down to punch through the Shell Stone and get to the goodies stuck inside. Letting out a sigh, Jahi stabbed her great sword into the earth and moved over towards one of the corpses of the Resource Tortoises, staring at it ndly before sighing once more as she began to swing away, joining Nirinia as they began to rapidly dismantle the monster for its valuables. They wererge monsters, so ''rapidly'' was subjective, the rest of us standing around and making sure to guard over our two Resource Tortoises, all while we stared out around the second shelf and kept track of the various parties doing the same around us. The monsters on this shelf weren''t over popting the area, but they were abundant enough that - unless one got really greedy - there was no need to worry about kill stealing from someone else, though there were certainly parties that looked like they were trying to do so. While we stood guard, I curiously asked "Do the Resource Tortoises have higher quality resources on the lower shelves? Is it just Resource Tortoises that popte all of these shelves during the day?" I nced over my shoulder to see if anyone knew, wanting to break the ''silence'' that had descended around us and wanting to satiate my curiosity; did this follow the same game like rules that I knew and love, or was reality different? "They be reduced in number but increase in the quality of the resources they carry. Instead of roaming around freely like this, they are territorial and tend to have contingents of monsters guarding them. Specifically various types of worms that feed off of the materials the Resource Tortoises molt when more valuable resources begin to grow out of their shells." One of the guards provided that tidbit, and I nodded towards them before looking back out over the shelf, observing the various parties around us and their progress as they took down monsters of their own and began to harvest them. "Shouldn''t we head down another level then? Try to get some stronger, higher level resources for ourselves instead of just base level stuff? Or is the risk far too great for that?" I tapped my finger on the t of the Khopesh as I awaited an answer, watching in interest as a Catkin man slid beneath the snapping jaws of his prey, distracting it as his party''s tank bashed their shield into the tortoise''s beak, stunning the monster for just a moment. "It''s... entirely up to a consensus. We are capable of dealing with the monsters on the third shelf, and we could certainly gather some resources from the third shelf, but it is - again - up to the group as a whole." As a swordsman shed their de towards the neck of the Resource Tortoise - mimicking my earlier attack - I couldn''t help but smirk as I watched the man''s de shatter against the barrier of mana that the monster summoned, surprising him greatly. "Well, I would say it''d be rather valuable for us going forwards. The stronger the materials we harvest, the stronger the gear we can make. Especially if we get some nice gemstones as well; that would be perfect for some enchanted stuff." "It''s not like we have anything to do when we return to the Capital anyways, but I am NOT doing it for free! I demandpensation!" I turned away from the scene of the poor swordsman getting his arm bitten off to instead focus on Nirinia, who had looked up from the corpse and was pouting at me, her jade eyes narrowed as she added "I expect enchanted gear of my own! You ARE employing a future Knight of the Empire, after all! Hmph!" Raising a brow, I stared at her for a moment before snickering, her haughty, arrogant tone far too different from normal to not make meugh at her current appearance. "I am being serious, Kat! Don''tugh at me!" Snickering again, I looked away and heard Anput say "I''d like to go! Can we?! Can we go?! Ooh, you said they have higher quality materials right?! Higher quality Shell Stone alone would be worth it! Jahi, can we go?!" "Anput... are you a child?" The Jackalkin growled at Leone, and I had to nce back to see the ring contest between the two, always enjoying these rare moments of non sexual yfulness between them. Leone knew that she would act the same way, yet she still said that to Anput - who knew she would do the same thing Leone was doing if the roles were reversed, yet neither cared. "Yes, we can go. I would prefer to do whatever we can while we are here so that we don''t need to return, though we will still need to stash these all somewhere before we delve further." Jahi''s voice made the two women huff as they turned away, Leone returning to watching the various monsters wander around while Anput resumed mining away, making the Demoness sigh softly. "Alright, let''s finish up... this really is a boring ce, but damn is it lucrative..." Chapter 661 660: Ungrida Canyon (3)

Chapter 661 Chapter 660: Ungrida Canyon (3)

"So this is... quite the haul isn''t it? Wow..." We all nodded as we stared at the assembled materials, and I took a loose estimate of the resources we had harvested from just two Resource Tortoises, further surprising myself as I said them out loud. "That''s four crates of Shell Stone shards, two crates of Firmius Iron ore, a crate of Rubrum Copper ore, a crate of Fortis Silver ore, and a loose parcel of a few gemstones. Eight crates total, half being those Shell Stone chunks - though that is still really valuable - and a good amount of iron, copper, and silver. The gemstones were an added bonus as well. And I mean... these crates are ratherrge." I tapped my fingers against the edge of one crate, which came up to my hip, each of these stone boxes being a cube of three some odd feet on each end. Not thergest crates ever, but for two monsters? And that was only considering what was mined; we had another two crates to round it up to ten, with one filled with the bones and the other filled with the meats. "Yeah... Are we going to be able to get these back home without overexerting the steeds? I mean, this is a rather heavy haul to transport, with us on top of that. Plus the things we got yesterday... this is all rather... much." "It should be fine, though perhaps we will need to make two separate trips. That won''t be a problem though. Now, shall we be heading back?" Jahi nodded towards the guard before taking a look at the sun above, gauging the time we had left inside the Canyon before dusk would begin to paint the sky a beautiful shade of red and violet... and the dangerous monsters lurking in the Canyon''s depths came up to hunt. Everyone gathered around the crates and began to lift them up, with Jahi and Nirinia picking up two each before stopping at staring at Anput and I as we loaded up a sled with three crates, which we could pull using our mana. "Work smarter, not harder love~!" I smirked at the Demoness as Anput made another sled, loading the remaining three and harnessing it with her mana, the Jackalkin already beginning to move up towards the first shelf. One of the guards created another for the two muscle heads, letting them load up the sled and pull it, freeing up more hands just in case we got ambushed on the way up. Anput, Nirinia and Jahi began to haul our loot back towards the surface, and the rest of us spread out around them as we kept an eye out for the idiots from earlier, wondering if some of the bandits would want to try their hands at what appeared to be a good haul... and if any of them wanted to try their luck at ''flirting'' as well. It was an epidemic amongst adventurers to be amongst the bottom of the barrel in terms of smarts, since most of their energy went towards being strong and not being intelligent, so sadly it would seem that they suffered from being idiots no matter the location and no matter the world. Big and buff all to be stupid as well sometimes, and that was a tragedy... though admittedly, it almost always was the loudest in those rooms that tended to be the dumbest. So as we were dragging everything back to the surface, none of us were surprised to see a group of twenty bandits blocking the slope leading towards the ins surrounding Ungrida Canyon, their small smiles and arrogant posture speaking volumes about what was about to happen. "Heya there missies~! This ''ere is a toll road, yeah? That means that''cha need to pay up to get by~! Let''s say... half of each crate, some of coins from your pouches, and..." The one speaking was a slimy looking green skinned Lizardkin, his neck and forearms covered in scales while two small horns poked through his matted ck hair, which was pulled into beaded braids. A forked tongue slipped from between his lips and only made us all raise a brow, wondering if he realized how grimy he looked doing that. "One of you beautse to give us some... ''service''~? How about... you over there, the buxom Do-" Before he could finish, the Lizardkin let out an ear piercing scream as a golden dagger punctured his thigh and sliced through the muscle and bone with ease, blood weeping from the wound as he stared down at the de now lodged firmly inside his leg. "I''m not the most urate with a knife, but I think the next dagger willnd somewhere... else. So how about the rest of you fuck off and learn to use context clues, hmm? Do you know many blue skinned, horned, tall women? Or do you perhaps recognize this symbol here, hanging around my neck? Perhaps the sparking ash gray hair of my fiancee might also spark some recognition inside your hollow skulls as well?" The Lizardkin was panting as he tried to remove the dagger made of Light Mana, only to hiss as his hands were seared whenever he grabbed it, burning and blistering his palms. All of hisrades were taking a few steps back, staring at Jahi in fear before looking towards Nirinia, who casually unted her Knight''s pendant, while Adelina revealed her Commander''s Medallion. Then there were the two guards, who had stepped forwards and allowed their mana to leak out, swamping the area around us with a suffocating presence that made the bandits all freeze up; the rest of the shelf had turned to look at us after the scream, and a few felt and heard what happened, backing away further from the slope and giving us some more space. "Come on... I want to get out of here already. Let''s finish up." The guards nodded before reigning in their mana, allowing the bandits to ''breathe'' again before walking past them, with the rest of us following behind them quietly. Though... I stalled and grinned at them all, and as I turned around I hiddenly traced out a few runes, not wanting to take any chances. Chapter 662 661: Ungrida Canyon (4) Chapter 662 661: Ungrida Canyon (4) I hummed happily to myself as I watched about twenty notifications roll into the System, each oneting me roughly 8,000 experience each for a total of 162,422 experience, which pushed me over to Level 51, allowing me to ce a point into my INT to bring it closer to matching my WIS. My arcane stats were outpacing my physical stats with ease currently, though one real session of training with Lady Fenryas would fix that right up if I decided I wanted to enjoy the warm, weingfort of a hell bent Wolf that was determined to break as many bones in my body and carve pieces off of me like I was a turkey. I may be more than willing to break and cut into a living person however I pleased, but that didn''t mean I wanted to be on the receiving end of that treatment if I could avoid it; it may be hypocritical of me, but who cares? The ones receiving those broken bones and cut flesh are definitely~ deserving of it, and they could always pick the easy way out if they truly wanted to end their suffering earlier... it just seems that no one wants to take that route, which is a blessing for me~! Anyways, the others were currently unaware that the cluster of idiots from earlier had met an untimely - yet deserved - demise at the benefit of myself, which came in the form of experience and understanding just how far I could push the limits of my mana and ability to control my spells. A timed explosion of ice on your neck would certainly do the trick, but the real trick was in making sure that spell wasn''t noticed and as able to activate when I wanted it to activate, which would mean it functioned without being directly ''connected'' to me. It was all a bit of trial and error, and that trial went swimmingly for me. Watching as the others buried the loot and made sure to clean the area up, I continued to hum quietly as I stood guard, looking out towards the slope leading down to the shelf. There were a few peopleing up and leaving, but we were a good couple hundred feet away and nestled between some small boulders, so we were hidden enough from normal adventurers eyes. When they finished storing the loot away, we returned to the first shelf to find that everyone was keeping a wide berth from us, and I continued to hum even as the others all looked around curiously, wondering what had happened and if the entire area was now deciding to treat us with the caution they should have been using. Of course, it wasn''t able to remain hidden for long that the previous group had met an... unfortunate end, and upon seeing the various headless corpses scattered about the far edge of the shelf, everyone looked towards me, since a slightly closer look revealed them to have frost rimming their wounds. "Frost in a hot, dry ce... now how could that have gotten there~? Any ideas?" I gave everyone an innocent smile as I asked that question, and Jahi just shook her head before leading us down to the second shelf, not reprimanding me at all for that since she was also likely going to try and have them killed before we left; we were a rather tight knit, possessive group, after all... Everyone mostly ignored that, with only Adelina giving me a weird look before shaking her head as we traveled down past the second shelf and down onto the third, where we found less Resource Tortoises than before, but more normal monsters, specifically worms. The Tortoises were milling around in various locations, just roaming and doing nothing, while the worms moved around them like an entourage, their gaping maws scooping up and kes or chunks of material that fell off of the Tortoises, eating it down rapidly and sustaining themselves. Down here were fewer adventurers than before, most just going for the quick buck that was above on the second shelf instead of risking themselves for something more down on the third, which meant we had to keep an eye on everyone down here since they''d be a bit more seasoned and stronger. Unsheathing our weapons, we located a Resource Tortoise that wasn''t being hunted by another party and began to make our way towards it, moving around the various clusters of worms and going straight for our prey; we werergely ignored by everything, since the worms seemed more interested in feeding then fighting, and only the Resource Tortoises seemed to be bothered by us, turning and beginning to move away from us. The shelf was a bit darker than the previous ones, the sun needing to shine rather far down into the Canyon to illuminate the area, so it was cooler down here, the heat trapped up top and leaving the depths to mill at a set temperature, though the air was stuffy, dry, andden with dust... All around us was orangish brown dirt that asionally had a glimmer of metal kes inside it, while the thin patches of gravel usually were churned and broken down by the worms, creating new dirt to be spread across the shelf. Completely barren save for the monsters, the Canyon wasn''t the most visually stunning ce I had ever been to, but it was one of those ces that ced more importance on the contents of the ce and not its appearance. After all, the contents of this Dungeon just so happened to berge, rumbling Tortoises with thick, manaden shells that allowed various ores and crystals to grow freely, while the mana around us could - rarely - condense into a physical form in the manifestation of a gemstone. So while it was a tad hideous to look at, I didn''t care for this ce for its looks, but instead on how it could benefit me and my family; even more so since the hunting here was easy and to the point, unlike back at Zhu''Rong Caverns. Chapter 663 662: Ungrida Canyon (5) Chapter 663 662: Ungrida Canyon (5) "We''re just going to go with a single Resource Tortoise down here, alright? The materials might be of a higher quality but I don''t want to overload ourselves with things we can''t realistically take back with us. Besides, we have more than enough to create some strong alloys, right Anput?" The Jackalkin nodded, her eyes roaming around the monsters nearby as she tried to spot which one of the walking treasure troves she wanted to aim for, answering Jahi after a moment and saying "The Rubrum Copper and Fortis Silver can be melted together to create a stronger metal, and depending on the amounts used, I can get either a Bronze or a stronger Silver, depending on what I want to make. They''ll be much stronger than their base materials. The Shell Stone should mix well with some bones or other organics as well... I''ll need to experiment a little with eachbination to find the right one depending on what I want to make, so it''ll be a trial and error process." "So is that you trying to say you would prefer another Tortoise, or will one do?" "One should be perfect for what I want. Especially since we already have so much Shell Stone; armor will be easy to make with the amount we have. Ah, that one there! Let''s get that one!" We all looked towards where the Jackalkin was pointing, her scimitar aimed at one of the many lumbering monsters that upied the shelf, but this one had a spike of ore standing tall on its shell, one that wasden with a shining, brilliant b of silver, which reflected any of the light that managed to reach into the depths around itself. Of course, such a bounty was well protected; dozens of worms lingered around the Tortoise, their hairless, leathery skinned bodies constricting and stretching as they wiggled around the area, hoping to find something to eat from the slow, rich monster in the center of them. Readying our des, we nodded at one another and began to move forwards, carefully surrounding the Tortoise without alerting it and making sure not to bother any of the other clusters of worms that rested nearby, not wanting to invite more trouble onto ourselves unless we truly needed to. There were at least two and a half dozen of theserge, cylindrical chunks of flesh wriggling around the Tortoise, and their leathery hide and razor sharp fangs bnced defense with offense, while the coloration of their hide - a deep brown - made it clear that they had Earth Mana, which could go either way with them. With eight of us and thirty some odd of the worms, as well as the Tortoise, we had quite the outnumbered fight ahead of us, but after checking that we were all in position, Jahi urged forwards and sliced her great sword cleanly through the midsection of the first worm, a pulse of golden light searing its flesh and preventing it from regenerating whilst dealing a good amount of damage on top of that as well. Simrly, I covered the Khopesh in a casing of ice and pierced the worm in front of me, twisting my de and allowing my mana to burst inside the monsters body, sting a chunk of meat from its side and killing it quickly, allowing me to move onto the next monster. Each of us managed to take out at least one worm before the rest turned towards us, their mana already beginning to coat their bodies and teeth as they began to lunge at us, leaping through the air and crashing into the ground, threatening to bludgeon us down before chomping on our bodies. They were long logs of flesh about five feet long and about three feet wide, so each of us made sure to avoid the flying worms as they began to leap at us, gnashing their fanged maws and letting out low screeches as they tried to eat something besides minerals. Focusing on the ones leaping at me, I ducked beneath the first and sliced cleanly through it, using its momentum against it and cutting the worm in two, my Khopesh gliding through the meat easily, though I had little time to admire how excellent my de had performed as I rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding two worms that came from different angles, trying to catch me between themselves and rip me apart. Coming out of my roll, I chopped down into one of the closest worms and raised my free hand, sting away another and giving myself a moment to get up and lunge forwards, using the hooked tip of my Khopesh to dealrge amounts of damage to the insides of the worm that I had sted as I stabbed it. As I yanked the Khopesh free, I stepped to the side and watched as a worm crashed into the ground beside me, only to have its head pierced by a golden de, the monster having gotten to close to Adelina and prompting the Lioness to take action, giving me the freedom to blitz the Resource Tortoise as the others continued to take care of the worms. The grey skinned, brown shelled monster was chirping in fear before lunging at me, its beak snapping at the air as it tried to protect itself, only to fall silent as I moved to the side and pierced its neck, the barrier of Earth Mana not thick enough to protect itself from my attack. Frost began to spread as the Ice Mana coating my de took affect, and with a crisp twist of my hand I broke its neck, the muscles and bones nearby the hooked tip of the Khopesh moving in ways that they shouldn''t if the monster wanted to remain alive. The others finished around me momentster, their weapons and armor coated in the brownish blood of the worms, and without hesitation they epted the pickaxes that Anput made for them and began to get to work, breaking the monster''s shell apart and harvesting the goodies that were held in ce by it. That silver spire was the first to go, and Leone got to work separating it into appropriate chunks, while I went around and plucked out the various small gemstones that had grown on the Tortoise''s shell, adding them to a pouch and smiling softly at the materials that I viewed as more important for the moment. Chunks of ore were gradually retrieved from the Resource Tortoise, and like before we loaded them into crates and ced them on sleds before returning towards the slope leading out of the third shelf, not wanting to remain here any longer than we needed. After all, the sun was slowly beginning to go down, and the air inside the Canyon was slowly bing pregnant with foreboding dread as the shadows grew longer and fuller. Dusk was approaching, and none of us had a desire to face those Reaper Wendigos; I knew full well that trying something with a name like that would not be a fun time, and I had read enough books and seen enough of other medias to understand that if I were to try and mess around here... Well, there was no need to try and find out where it got the name from; and besides, we had gotten our haul! Time to go home and wait for the next sighting of this Cult~! Chapter 664 663: Wealth Chapter 664 663: Wealth "Well this is quite the haul... I said that already, haven''t I? I feel like I said it before... Either way, that remains true once again too. All this Shell Stone... that alone is enough to make quite arge amount of armor. Then these ores... and the gemstones too! Really, while it was a boring adventure for us to have, it was so damn profitable. How much do you think it''s all worth?" Leone and I nced at one another, taking our eyes off the beautiful rough gemstones resting on the leather pouch in my hand for the first time in minutes as we convened silently about their price. "Probably... what, like 35 Gold for the cheapest one, and even that could jump higher in price depending on the demand? This... heliodor though, it''s like... probably around 2 grams? 2 and a half? Which is like 10 carats, maximum 12? This is... expensive. Really, really expensive. Like, 5 tinum to just even think about purchasing it, and maybe even somewhere in the realm of 45 tinum. It''s got... a lot of mana in it. That''s why Leone and I have been so fixated on it! I mean, just look! This color, the size!" I held the stone up and showed the Demoness, who seemed mildly impressed at the beautiful - yet rough - yellow gemstone that was about the size of the first segment of my index finger. Inside, strands of Earth Manazily drifted around, giving the almost golden gemstone a vibrant hue that made it almost look illuminated, which was a ratherrge part of why they were so expensive. After all, the gemstones I was ustomed to were already so gorgeous to look at; the way they captured the light and how perfect they looked when ented with silver or gold, the vibrant colors and shades that you could find amongst even just a single type of gemstone, what shapes they had been cut into... There was so much that could turn this rough, colored stone into something so other worldly beautiful and that was amplified in this world thanks to the ethereal beauty that mana provided. On top of looks, the stone had real purpose past being a gorgeous piece of art thanks to the mana inside of it, allowing it to have functions that made it integral to having some high quality enchanted gear, which could be considered national treasures thanks to their value. "Besides that, these smaller topaz, gas, even a peridot... all of them are quite the haul, though the problem now bes how well Anput can integrate the stone itself into the things she makes, and if I can match my skill to their value with my enchantments. I wouldn''t want to identally destroy one of them because I don''t know how to utilize them properly. That would be a very expensive mistake." Jahi nodded, her eyes still resting on the heliodor for a moment as she saw only the amount of tinum it was worth, the small stone valued as something that would sustain a normal family for many, many years of decadence and maybe even multiple generations if they remained ratherx in their spendings. It was an incredible little stone, and while the money would be great to have, it was better utilized by us inside a piece of gear for someone, perhaps as some kind of protective amulet that we could pass between one another for whoever would be in the most danger at any time... There was a lot of potential in this stone, and it was easily worth its generational amount wealth. Adelina and Nirinia were both staring at the heliodor with nk expressions, the two unustomed to hearing about that type of money even with their prominent statuses in the Empire; a dozen tinum in current liquid assets was already rare amongst the normal Nobility, let alone having just a single item that was worth dozens. Again, most wealthy families tended to have their wealth in a mix of liquid and non liquid states, though it heavily leaned towards non liquid in most asions, so even a member of a Draconias Family and a future Knight of Cinder found this gemstone to be a crazy thing. "Would it make you all feel better if I told you that the theoretical value of the crates all values in the tinum range as well? The sheer amount of ore and Shell Stone is easily worth at least 5 tinum, and after I alloy it that price doubles. So... yes, this carriage is currently worth more than most County''s could even begin to imagine having on hand." Anput''s nonchntness with it all made the two women turn to stare at her in surprise, which made the Jackalkin shrug as she said "I''m ustomed to the money; people offer my parents literal wagons of gold on the daily in hopes of earning their protection, and perhaps even their attention. I''ve seen mountains of gold ingots before, though it did little good for the people offering it... Did the Sultanate a lot of good though. The Empire is different since you lot use tax instead of direct tribute; easy to cut costs and find loopholes to pay less here, while those in the Sultanate know exactly how much they owe, unless they want to earn the ire of their peers." "This carriage..." Adelina blinked, looking towards the parcel in my hand before ncing at the small window behind us, where the extension to the carriage had been constructed to hold all of our loot. "Is worth... multiple dozens of tinum currently?" Jahi raised a brow, crossing her arms and saying "It already had been just because of the upants, Adelina. A Commander, a Squire, two of the Empress'' guards, a Princess, a Begum, a Demoness, and a Dogkin who has ties to an Arch Fiend; each of us is worth our weight in gold. And none of us are exactly light... for one reason or another." Leone and I frowned, ring at the Demoness for her not so subtle meaning, while Adelina also frowned, ncing down at herself for a moment before looking towards Leone and I, her eyes clearlynding on our chests as shepared herself to us. Anput was the one to lean over and - not so quietly - whisper "Don''t bother... it only makes you feel worse. Trust me; I''ve experienced their bliss..." While Leone blushed, I raised a brow as I turned my re towards my mate, who only smirked back at me, before we all looked at Jahi as she sweetly smiled and said "Of course, I was speaking about their hearts of gold~! So gentle and caring and kind, they''re both clearly~ so valuable because of their hearts and nothing~ else~!" Nirinia snickered at that, the Djinn muttering "And that soul of cold iron your murderpuppy has. That''s heavy too..." Now I turned my re towards Nirinia, only to look towards Adelina as she shrugged and said "That''s true. It''s worrying, but... I guess it could be worse?" Everyone began to nod, so I just looked away and let out a huff, focusing instead on my beautiful and silent heliodor that couldn''t hurt my feelings... Chapter 665 664: Plots Chapter 665 664: Plots Jillian PoV "Did you hear, love, what''s been happening back at that godforsaken Empire~? I have to say, it''s rather amusing each time I think about it~!" I nced back at A, the sun kissed Elf grinning at me as she leaned against the doorframe, her emerald eyes sparkling with joy even as she watched me finish my ''training'', something she had be steadily used to over thest few months. "No, I haven''t heard about it yet, A. What happened?" My hand remained on ''Prumstu''s head, keeping the Arch Fiend''s lips just where I wanted them as I paid her for her services, feeding the pink skinned slut just what she needed - and enjoying everyst second of it too, especially as her tongue swirled around my entire length with ease, adding anotheryer of pleasure to this task. A walked forwards, shrugging off her green robes and climbing onto the bed with me, her petite frame a far cry from the Arch Fiend currently tending to me, but it was a figure that I hade to lust for so much in these months, so I reached over and pulled her into my side, enjoying the warmth of her smooth skin against my own as I leaned down to kiss her. Kissing me back, A indulged me for a moment before her excitement overtook her, the Elf pulling back and grinning at me maniacally as she cooed "There''s a Cult taking root over in the Empire, one led by quite~ a few powerful yers... one of them being a Fiend on the cusp of bing an Arch Fiend. And a few... familiar faces as well, my love. And their targets... Take a guess~! I''ll reward you if you get it right~!" I smirked back at her, pushing ''Prumstu''s head further down as two separate joys flooded my body, understanding clearly what this crafty, insidious wife of mine was insinuating. "That bitch Jahi and her fiancees..." "Correct~! Ah, and I think you''ll be interested in this... apparently that Dogkin slut is a Baroness now." My grin widened, and I leaned over and resumed kissing A, even as my mind drifted towards the lips of someone else. Wouldn''t she feel so~ much better than this Arch Fiend between my legs..? Or all those recements I had found for her... she would feel infinitely better then them, wouldn''t she~? Just thinking about taking her in front of her stupid, insufferable Mistress overwhelmed me with orgasmic glee, and I erupted inside ''Plumstu''s throat, still imagining it to be someone else. A indulged me once more, aiding me in riding out this wonderful orgasm before pulling away, her eyes coy as she added "Their target is simple too, and if they manage to seed, well... they''re looking to rip that Arch Fiend from the Empress'' grasp and use him against her. After all... if everything that we''ve found is to be believed, that Arch Fiend is the only one who''s ever-" "Tza''Yul is worth the risk, yes, but you mustn''t forget that centuries upon millennia have been spent in confinement... who knows if the bastard is the same." The melodic, yet raspy voice of the three eyed Arch Fiend cut A off, making the sun kissed Elf sneer, though she remained quiet as Plum continued to speak, her hot breath brushing against my skin. "Besides, Tza''Yul cares for nothing besides knowledge itself, which is why the bastard remains as one of the strongest Arch Fiends to have ever existed... back when the Divines walked the earth, Tza''Yul challenged them for knowledge, challenged them for a deeper understanding... and won more than a few battles. Something only that bitch has managed to do once... The Empress is a wellspring of knowledge. The only way to pry Tza''Yul away is to offer an equal bounty of knowledge that she could provide, and that... that is something no one can offer." Wiping at her lips, Plum sat up and stretched, her pink skin slick with sweat and other fluids that glimmered in the candlelight, which entuated her impressive curves. "Don''t get your hopes up, Mistress A. We still have a better chance on our own pursuits instead of relying on that Cult. Especially if it''s who I think it is. Coming up short happens to be their expertise... in more ways than one. If anything, you should be cursing them; their involvement is only a boon to the Asmodia scion. Now she has someone to test out her Light Magics on." Plum''s lips curled in distaste as she said that, before letting out a sigh and standing up, smirking at me as she added "Mistress Jillian, if you wish to continue to train, please find me... I''m always~ ready to be your partner... Or if you just need to empty your balls,e and fuck me however you want, alright~?" I smirked back at her, watching as she turned and vanished, the curvaceous woman leaving us behind with a pink smoke that rejuvenated my body and amplified our sensations. Pushing A down, I grinned at my wife as I entered her, losing myself to the insane pleasure I felt as I began to use her for my own lust, the crazy Elf beneath me squirming and crying out in glee as my hands began to fall across her smooth skin, darkening it as I started to hit her. We had made so much progress since leaving the Empire, and while my idiotic parents and old inws all had been bitching and moaning about how we had made a mistake, A and I had taken the reins of our remaining family and begun to make something for ourselves. I had gotten strong enough that those imbeciles were now rotting beneath the earth, serving a better purpose now then they had before, while my kinsmen toiled away to prepare us for our journey towards salvation and ascension, where we would be the paragons of the new world... The memories of embarrassment and resentment from the Empire only fueled me as I pushed myself down this path, pushed myself from being a pathetic, naive, lost Heir who believed in the ce she called home to bing a powerful visionary who wanted to change the world. Someone who wanted to own the world, and had the means to do so. This world would be mine, and with it, they would be mine. Katherine Zara and Leone Preda-Ash... I would make them mine. The Princess would beg for me to spare her wife, and I would make her my personal maid and use her in front of her wife, sowing my seed inside her and taking her back - back to whom she belonged. Then I would break that maid in front of the Demoness, branding her as mine and shattering her mind to the point that she could onlyprehend me as her owner... Those thoughts made me grin, and my fingers wrapped around A''s throat tighter as I imagined it was that Dogkin bitch below me instead, begging me to take my seed and begging me to breed her. They would be mine, along with the world itself, and no one would be able to say otherwise. After all, I had found the key to the world, cloistered away inside one of the most dangerous ces ever. The Labyrinthian. Chapter 666 665: Asking For Training

Chapter 666 Chapter 665: Asking For Training

Kat PoV Now that we were back at the Pce, we were free to do whatever we pleased until we were given another mission or task toplete, which would be soon again probably considering how active this Cult was, as well as the fact that we had a few ces to check out for other types of materials as well if we wanted to. Then there was the chance that we returned to the Academy to continue our studies, though that might not be the case if we have to constantly be traveling to take care of issues... though we weren''t required to do anything in actuality, if we didn''t think we needed to gain practical experience. I think we were all mixed on if we wanted to go back now; it was currently a tempting offer to remain in the Academy and study, but if we were going to be consistently missing multiple sses each month to the point that our overall grades would drop, we wouldn''t be in for that long. Besides, it was calm right now, but there was the looming threat from the Cult and the threats inside the Labyrinthian, so there was a chance we weren''t going back anyways if something big happened soon. That was why I wanted to push myself now to grow faster than ever before, and why I was slightly regretting not remaining on that Ind for a bit longer; I could have skyrocketed even more in levels if we had stayed, but that was risking something happening to us especially with the bosses at each location. It doesn''t matter though since what''s done is done and there is no turning back the clock, so I needed to focus on the here and now and on the future, though I was keeping my focus on the immediate time, upwards of a week forwards so that I could more efficiently n for something. And the first part of my n was something that I didn''t want to do, but something that I thought would be rather beneficial and helpful for myself. Currently, Anput was going to be taking all the materials we had gathered and beginning to forge them into something new, specifically newer versions of our weapons and some real armor for us to use, while Leone was going to be studying the Fiend parts with her family to understand what they could be used for. As for Jahi, the Demoness was pestering both her Mom and Belian to train her some more on the fighting style that only Demons seemed capable of harnessing, and that was thanks to their almost unnatural physiques and prowess, while the younger Demoness also wanted to learn more about their history, which the two older Demons seemed conflicted on telling. That left me to my own devices, and I knew that if I was subjected to more of the awkwardness surrounding the Lioness and Djinn that I would end up smacking one or both of them and having them sit down and talk about it forcefully, which would likely end up terribly with things being said that didn''t need to be said. Which was bad, since even if they were annoying I didn''t want to ruin their rtionship forever on my own, so... I decided to get away from the two, leaving them to figure it out themselves like the good adults they were as I went to do something that I was... likely going to hate while doing it, but the results would speak for themself when I finished. "The fuck do you want?" Standing in front of me was the gray skinned, ck haired, silver eyed Demon Wolf that hade to find me annoying thanks to me ''cheating'' her during the special training she had given usst time. Lady Fenryas red down at me, the muscr woman sneering as she watched me bow to her as I asked "Lady Fenryas, could I ask you to train me again?" "And why in the zing hells would I want to train you? Hmm? Are you going to cop out of the training again with your clever little enchantments, puppy? Refuse to learn the same way the rest of us did?" "Thinking out of the box is an invaluable skill on the battlefield, is it not?" "Ah, and you even got lip! See, I was thinking about telling you to fuck right off and go back to suckling on your Mama''s tit, but honestly the urge to knock that small smile off your lips is so~ damn tempting, brat. Is that what you really want?" Leaning down, the almost feral grin on her face sent chills down my spine, but I met her silver gaze and nodded, replying "I would like to get stronger, yes, and I understand that doing so requires a great amount of effort and pain. Being trained by the best in the harshest of ways would help me reach my goal faster, even if it is more painful than I expect it to be." "Oh, it''ll hurt alright. I''m going to break you down and enjoy doing so... You don''t seem to understand how much that little stunt you pulled irritated me, pup. Circumventing a lesson I didn''t even want to give ticked me off, and now you''re asking for MY help again? Oh, I am going to enjoy this so, so damn much... So don''t me me when I show you the pain I am able to dish out." Her grin widened, and the tall Wolfkin woman tapped my sternum as she added "I''ll even have D''Arcon present to patch you up when I break you. Wouldn''t want to be inefficient with this, now would we~?" The raw confidence and suppressed anger in her tone made me shudder, but I still nodded even as I felt fear staring at her, the understanding of our differences in strength making it hard to ept this, but... "So... when do we start?" Chapter 667 666: Dealing With A Problem (1)

Chapter 667 Chapter 666: Dealing With A Problem (1)

Nirinia PoV As soon as we returned to the Pce, we all filtered out of the carriage and went our separate ways, each of us knowing that we had something to do and something that would upy us until we were called upon again. For me, I wanted to go and train, to be alone and not have to worry about the golden eyes of a Lioness watching me wherever I was, though if that training ended up being with someone else, and located not in a ring but in a bed instead, I certainly wasn''t going toin... Maybe Princi was still avable somewhere, or perhaps one of the many maids inside the Pce would capture my interest and sumb to my charms... though that was unlikely thanks to their dedication to their jobs. It wasn''t that I was particrly lustful right now, but instead that I wanted something to take my mind off of everything that had been guing me during this trip, and getting my muscles burning was going to be the key to doing just that... even if I got them burning inpletely different ways. So I grabbed my gear and nodded towards the four younger women who had been upying arge portion of my time in recent months, each one having grown on me in one way or another. Jahi was the daughter of my mentor and something like a cousin to me at this point, someone I had seen go from small, swaddled babe to a ravishing, strong young woman, maturing immensely in such a short amount of time. And around her were women of equal beauty and talent, each one fully capable of having been the heads of their own families or powerful figures on their own right. Anput''s talent as a warrior and a smith were incredible for her age, and the Jackalkin had an easygoing personality that hid a rather sharp mind, making her a slick verbal opponent sometimes since her confidence and assuredness oozed into everything she did. Leone was easily on the path to be one of the generational brilliant minds that change the world, her understanding of magic always being pushed to its limits and allowing her to do things that few people ever considered, like trying to embed Ritual Circles inside one another or creating her own branch of magic, like the Ash Magic that she still wanted to understand. Finally, there was Katherine, the troubling, gorgeous Dogkin that wouldn''t have had any problems lifting her Mother and herself out of poverty and back into relevancy thanks to her wits and determination. I respected each of them immensely, and over these months I had grown to know them even more, to the point that I viewed them all as family, which was why I found their ''meddling'' to be a tad irritating sometimes... My social acumen might be a far cry from my martial prowess, but I knew that Katherine had spoken to her about us, and that Katherine had given her some advice on what to do or say to try and rekindle things between us... maybe. I can''t be sure what the Dogkin had said, but I knew that ever since they battled together in Arbo City, she had been rather obvious with her gaze for the rest of her trip, always looking my way and staring at me whenever she thought I wouldn''t notice. That was the main reason I wanted to be alone; I wanted to determine what I should do going forwards, and how I should act. Did I want to rekindle things, or..? If I did, do I think that it would be worth rekindling? We were happy for a time, before that turned into a terrible time spent arguing and hurting... So I wanted to think things over, and the greatest ce for me to think would be when I was training... or after I relieved myself, either or. Going to the training grounds, I was relieved to see that it was rtively empty, and without much hesitation I dropped my gear and approached one of the many benches off to the side, the various weights stacked neatly against the wall bing my goal as I retrieved the ones that I wanted. Laying on a bench, I began to press the heavy barden with weights up into the air, focusing on the familiar burn as I started with one of the lighter loads I was able to do, going for reps instead to help keep my mind distracted. There were a few things that I knew I felt with the Lioness, and each one made me feel differently... The hardest one to swallow was that... I still felt affections for the gold eyed Commander, even after all that has happened. She had been the fixation of my childish self, and that had persisted even as I matured, the woman ticking off all the right boxes for physical and mental attractiveness, some of which I didn''t even know I had. Smart, strong, muscr, charming, beautiful, witty, pleasant... Being around her was enjoyable in those initial months, and roaming the city and talking was something that I hade to crave again, being able to speak my mind to someone who understood what I was going through and understood where to find solutions was invaluable and soothing. Whenever we joked together and teased each other my heart always warmed up immensely, while the quiet walks hand in hand through the city at night was so... Then there was the physical side, what I found so appealing about her - and something that surprised me. When I had first seen her nude, I was surprised to find that seeing her abs, her toned arms and legs, supple skin and petite breasts... it was the sexiest thing I had ever seen, and I wanted to see it every day. Even though I had believed myself to always love curves the most, her slim figure and toned muscles seemed far and above the many women that I had been with... I wanted her so badly that I didn''t think I could hold back, and yet when she became so embarrassed at rushed to hide herself from me, I couldn''t help but feel ashamed that I had seen her, like it was wrong of me. She confused me so much; I wanted to have her beneath me, to make love to her passionately for hours on end, maybe even days, and yet her reaction poured a bucket of cold water over my head, washing that away and instead making me worried that I had messed up somehow. I wanted her to befortable and want to be with me, and seeing her running away from me made me feel awful... And yet, after that, she began to change somewhat. She seemed angry that I had seen her naked, argued with me over the littlest things, belittled some of the things that I had done for her... At first I tried to do what I could to appease her, hoping that a show of apologizing would help bring us back to the status quo that we had established for months, and yet the woman remained adamant that things needed to change, that we had to do things differently. We weren''t dating or in a rtionship; I was just meant to court her, to try and earn that privilege from her so that we could eventually marry. I had thought that I had been ''courting'' her all this time, that our walks and dinners and talks had all been leading towards a rtionship between us, and yet she denied that, denied that we had done anything and that I needed to go through the proper steps of courting ady, which just confused me even more. Why? We were both warriors first, Nobles second - hell, I wasn''t even an actual Noble! So why would I begin to recite her poetry and invite her to dances when I wasn''t that type of person? I was straightforward and clear with what I wanted; honest to a fault and sometimes rather crude, but that''s an Orc - or Half-Orc - for you. What the hell did she expect from me, and why did she expect that from me? It made no sense, and eventually the arguments began... That changed everything, and it made mee to the realization that it might not work out... even though I wanted it to. Deep inside I wanted this to work out, and that was what made me hate this even more. I knew what I wanted, and yet I couldn''t have it, and that hurt. It hurt so much, and it hurt even more when I realized I was unlikely to have what I wanted thanks to my inability to do what she wanted; I wasn''t changing myself so drastically for her, because then I wouldn''t be who I was. I would lose what made me... me. That made the pain worse, but like many things in life, I learned to cope with the pain and found my outlets. Work, liquor and sex were wonderful distractions, and when my work consumed most of my life, it was easy to forget everything. After all, I had no need for feelings when I was in the midst of battling the worst enemies our Empire has, nor did I have a need for a true partner when a few coins and a couple of jokes got the job done just as well... But was that what I wanted to do for the future as well..? Chapter 668 667: Dealing With A Problem (2) ? Pushing the weight up again, I took a deep breath before lowering it, allowing the bar to rest just above my chest before I pushed it up once more, enjoying the way my shoulders and pecs burned as I continued my mindless workout, going for endurance and not strength with the rtively ''light'' set of weights. It felt great to just have the cool metal in my hands and use it to push my muscles to do better whenever I could, and it helped to clear my mind and give me the time I needed to just think and not worry. There was nothing better than being alone with some weights and your own thoughts, working through whatever problem you had and hoping to reach the conclusion of it, or at the very least understand some more about what might help you solve it. Currently, I was able to identify some of the things that I had been avoiding for a little bit now; I still held feelings for the Lioness, I wanted to make it work and wanted to have her back, but I didn''t know if I wanted to endure the pain that woulde from either being rejected or from the constant arguments that had soured our rtionshipst time. There were many things that could do me harm, and yet when I had broken bones, been cut, had my abdomen almost sliced open, been bit by monsters, stabbed, shot with arrows, burned... none of that seemed topare to the pain that came from thosest few weeks of our rtionship; I could take the physical pain, take the aches and mind numbing stabbing sensations of any of those wounds and fight through it, but this... mental and emotional pain was something different for me. I didn''t know how to heal it, to get rid of it; I could suppress it, I could soothe it, but I couldn''t heal it, not now, and certainly not then. So what should I do? I so very badly want to get back with her, to hear herugh and see her smile, and yet the thought of being back with her just to have thoseughs and smiles turn to shouts and sneers... Should I take that risk and hope it''s different this time, or should I just continue to repress those feelings and instead focus on the things I know I can do, the things that I know won''t bring me that sort of pain? I could always dive headfirst into the training of being a Knight, I could always ept the missions that I was given and live out the rest of my life that way, and hope that maybe one day I forget her and move on. Would that be considered running away from my problems? I... guess it would. Is that a bad thing..? I... don''t know. This entire thing was conflicting for me, and I had no idea on what I should do or how I should act... What I did know was that this current weight wasn''t enough, so I hung the bar up and sat up, wiping the thin sheen of sweat off my brow and moving to grab some heavier tes, adding them onto the bar and doing some swift calctions in my head on the amount that I could bench easily, making sure I wasn''t hitting the realm where I would need someone to aid me. Getting back on the bench, I began to bench the weights I had put on the bar and allowed the heavy metal to begin straining my muscles as I resumed my workout, only to stop as a shadow was cast over me. Hanging the bar up again, I lifted my head and looked towards the person casting the shadow, only to let out a pent up breath and look away as I saw those narrowed golden eyes that I had been trying to escape thesest few days. "Nirinia... we need to talk." "Do we?" I almost flinched at how heavy my voice felt when I said that, and I peeked back at her before looking back down at the sand, not wanting to betray any of my emotions and give her some sort of leverage against me. "Yes, we do. If we don''t speak soon, I doubt that we ever will again, and... Anyways, Nirinia, I don''t want to lose that chance. I want to see what we can do; we''re both adults, after all." I remained quiet, nodding briefly before ncing back at her, finding those golden eyes instantly and trying my damndest to not lose myself in them. "So... Katherine made a good point. I... I made mistakes in how I treated you towards the end. I forced expectations that I knew you wouldn''t conform to upon you, and became angry when you didn''t try to conform to them. I got angry when I felt that you were going to try and force me into something that I didn''t want, something that I didn''t believe in... I got scared that I would break my own values and beliefs just to keep you, that I would lose myself so that I had you still." She spoke quickly, and I dragged my gaze off of the sand once more to look at her, before I looked around the training grounds and sighed, standing up and looking down at her for a moment, studying her surprised expression and finding it rather cute. Pushing that aside, I turned away and grabbed my gear before putting the weights away, creating a silence between us that was almost palpable with how desperately she was staring at me, only to flinch as I grabbed her wrist and began to lead her away, muttering "Let''s talk somewhere a bit more private, hmm?" Unexpectedly, the Lioness just nodded like a demure kitten as she allowed me to lead her out of the training grounds and out into the Pce, where I began to walk towards my room so that we could discuss this in more depth and without worry of eavesdroppers. Chapter 669 668: Deal With A Problem (3) ? Entering my room, I let go of her wrist and threw my stuff onto my bed, plopping down beside the pack and looking towards the Lioness, my eyes narrowed as I said "We can talk now. So talk." Taking a deep breath, she grabbed a nearby chair and pulled it over towards my bed, taking a seat in front of me and remaining quiet for a moment, just staring at me as she gathered her thoughts. "Katherine made a point. I was unfair to you. I was unfair to you in so, so many ways... Pushing ideals onto you that I knew deep inside were ideals that you would reject. I tried to force you to court me like you were a Noble, even though I know you despise acting on those expected actions. It was never in your nature to act like a Noble, even when your parents would ask you to apany me to any of those events... I knew that, and yet I wanted to experience what I''d seen happen to my peers, to go through the proper steps of being courted so that I could feel like a Lady, even if I am a warrior first and foremost. I just..." She let out a sigh, resting her head in her hands and shrinking in on herself a little, the Lioness who usually stood tall and proud now slumped back on a chair. "I just wanted to feel that special feeling that they were talking about. To feel like I was being swooned by someone who wanted to treat me like a Lady... Even then, I knew you wouldn''t want to do so, that you might still try, but it would feel unauthentic and forced. Something that I didn''t want to hear, yet something I still wanted you to try to do, to try and woo me, to treat me like a Lady..." "But you just said it! You KNEW I wouldn''t do it, because I don''t do that flowery shit! So why were you getting angry at me for not doing something that you knew I wouldn''t do?! What sense does that make?!" The Lioness just smiled wryly at me as she shrugged her shoulders, looking back up at me with a tired expression and answering in a quiet voice "It makes no sense... but I just didn''t care. I... wanted that feeling. Seeing all of our friends from when we were children, listening to their stories and listening to my cousins talking about how their spouses had courted them, or how they went about wooing their lovers and asking for their hands in marriage. I... I had been on the battlefield for so long, and... well..." Drumming her fingers on her knee, the Lioness sighed again before continuing on, her golden eyes slightly distant as she looked at the floor. "It... was something that I had always wanted when I was a kid, y''know? Just as much as I wanted to be a Knight, just as much as I eventually wanted to be a Commander as well. I wanted to have that magical experience of being courted, being treated like I was some... damsel in distress, some fragile girl who needed to be protected by her strong partner..." That made me raise a brow as I stared at the Lioness, her words a tad surprising and making her chuckle wryly as she stared back at me, shrugging her shoulders. "Yes, I know... the young Commander of a Legion, who has a rather storied career so far in her short time spent inside the military, wanted to be treated not like a soldier or a warrior who was capable of defending herself, but instead like a frail, weak Noblewoman that needs protecting. Stupid, isn''t it? It''s so stupid... but it''s what I want. It''s what I''ve wanted since I was a kid, even if it makes no sense for someone like me. I... want the same thing my parents had, y''know?" "But why try to force it? If you wanted someone to protect you, someone to be your rock or whatever, I was more than able to do that Adelina! So why take something that had been going so well and sour it with thosest few weeks?! And why were you so determined that I was going to make you do something you didn''t want to do?!" She nodded quietly, her golden eyes still locked to mine as she answered "I don''t know. Those months spent together were some of the best in my life, but... you know what my family is like. The beliefs we hold. When... when you saw me like that..." Her cheeks reddened as she looked away, the woman taking a breath before continuing on, saying "I saw the way your gaze changed afterwards... it scared me a little, how you showed such tant desire, such lust. I knew about your past, how you were... open. It made me worried that you would want me to do something... and you did eventually ask." "I asked, yes, but that was all; I wasn''t pressing or pressuring you to do anything. I didn''t remember how strict your beliefs were, so I thought we could try to do something... tame. But I never pushed you to do so; you made it sound like I was going to push you down and take you by force! I would have never done that Adelina! And yet each time I tried to tell you that, whenever I tried to tell you that I was fine remaining celibate until we married, even if that was years down the road! I told you that I was willing to do so, that I didn''t need anything! But you just blew up on me about it whenever I said anything!" She nodded again, her cheeks still incredibly red as she said "I... I have no real reason for that... I was scared, I was worried, and I just refused to hear reason. I thought that you would ask for more and more, ask for me to break my beliefs for you... and I couldn''t stand that. It was eating me away inside, and I just couldn''t stand it." Rubbing my temples, I let out a sigh before looking at her, muttering "So, was that it?" Adelina flinched, the Lioness wringing out her hands as she looked back towards me, her golden eyes unsure as she replied "I... I don''t want it to be it." Getting up, I loomed over her and whispered "Are you sure you don''t want that to be it, Adelina? Are you going to be able to be realistic this time..? Are you going to be able to ept that I won''t be your valiant, dashing Knight in shining armor treating you like a princess all the time, but instead treating you like my equal? My lover? I''m not gentle and noble, Adelina, but crass and honest. I want to be with you again, I really do, but if you can''t ept me for who I am, then we shouldn''t do this." Crouching down, I looked her straight in the eyes, my hands resting on hers as I added "Seriously Adelina... I want to be with you again. I want to hold you and walk with you, to train with you and joke with you. I want to eventually... maybe, potentially, have a future with you. Create something that we see all of our peers creating around us. I ept that there would be some hardships with that, but if I can''t trust that you won''t close yourself off and refuse to listen andmunicate, then I don''t want to risk this. So tell me, can you change? It''s not like I''m not changing for this either, so are you willing to change with me, so that we can work? So that there can be an ''us''?" Rubbing my thumbs over the back of her hands, I quietly waited for her answer, idly realizing that all the anger and irritation that I felt earlier had washed away, that everything I felt negatively about for this interaction had been swept away by hope and something else. Something warm. That warmth only spread as Adelina gave me her reply, though it wasn''t verbal. The Lioness took a deep breath before nodding, and before I could say anything she leaned forwards and pressed her lips against mine, giving me her answer that way. Of course, we had kissed before, though it was sparingly and rather tame, so I felt the need to hold back even as I wanted to slide my tongue between her lips and taste her directly. One of my hands found themselves on her cheek, and I was preparing to pull back when she leaned closer, surprising me again, though that surprise continued to rise as she clumsily tried to deepen the kiss, her tongue brushing against my lips. A low growl reverberated in my throat, and before I knew it I was pulling the Lioness towards the bed, pinning her beneath me and enjoying the taste of hawthorn that she willingly gave me as she epted the kiss. For a few moments we remained there, but I had to pull away as I hoarsely whispered "While I very much enjoyed that, Adelina... We should stop before I... Let''s just take this slowly, alright..?" She panted under me, before her eyes trailed downwards and caught sight of something that made her blush, and the Lioness gave me a demure nod as she remainedying down. Standing up, I moved away and tried to clear my mind, but the lingering taste of hawthorn made that a rather hard task... Chapter 670 669: Living Hell (1) Chapter 670 669: Living Hell (1) Kat PoV I was breathing heavy as I raised my Khopesh, the various cuts and gashes across my body inhibiting my movement somewhat, each one creating a spot of pain across my entire body that made it hard to focus. Each arm was riddled with scratches, my bodies natural healing and the spell that I had managed to cast on myself slowly maintaining my health, though I was taking more hits then I was able to heal through. Blood seeped from each wound, soaking my clothes and weighing me down as I continued to bleed, the gradual increase of the wounds only making this an even more noticeable problem. Of course, I couldn''t do much about it as a silver and grey blur crashed into me, a simple longsword arcing down from above and searching for a way to enter my skull, which I managed to barely block with the Khopesh as I shed upwards, sparks flying as the red metal de collided with the steel de that the Demon Wolf had summoned for herself. "Not doing too bad, pup! I thought I''d have lopped off a limb already, but you''re rather good at evading attacks! That''s a plus for you, though..." I felt my arms begin to tremble as Lady Fenryas pressed her weight and strength down on my de, pinning me down and cing me in a bit of a precarious situation. One that I had no way to extricate myself from no matter how hard I tried to push back against the sword slowly closing in on my neck, the grinning face of the gray skinned woman above me sending shivers down my spine as I grit my teeth and tried to push against the sword. "Sadly I have a bit more experience then you, little pup, and I can take advantage of almost any situation~! So here..!" Her silver eye shed with malice as she mmed her knee into my ribs, pain exploding in my torso as two of my ribs shattered, the bones splintering inside my chest and slicing into my lung, making it hard to breathe. Even then, Lady Fenryas mmed her foot onto the top of mine, her boot digging into the flesh and cracking those bones as well, creating another explosion of pain as I was sent to the ground, her leging around and mming into my side again, further damaging my ribs and making me cough up blood as my lungs werecerated by the shards of bone. Stumbling to the ground, I coughed again as I felt more blood begin to fill up my lungs, while the shards of bone pricked the sensitive organ in various spots, dropping me into a spiral of pain as blood spurted from my lips. Lady Fenryas stabbed her sword into the sand beside my head, the de nicking my neck and opening a new wound, adding to the dozens of cuts across my entire body. "You are a good evasive fighter, and your blocking is rather superb, but otherwise... you''re one dimensional. Perhaps that''s a result of your reliance on those trinkets of yours... a boon and a bane, those damn trinkets." Crouching beside me, she watched as I gradually bled out, my body far too battered for me to move yet, while the pain in my chest was debilitating; even so, I tried to lift my hands and cast a spell, to begin to heal myself and walk away from the bright light that quietly called my name. "You can be a clever little bitch with those enchanted items, and honestly it makes you an interesting fighter. Your magic, your enchanted trinkets... when paired with a decent enough swordsmanship, it makes you a tricky opponent. It''s your strength, but again, it''s a bane. Without them, you aren''t a hard fighter to figure out. Pretty one dimensional in some aspects, with shes of brilliance asionally. Not much I can do besides see if you can temper yourself and learn how to react differently. That, and make sure you get used to the pain~!" Her grin widened, and I shivered as I felt more blood seep out of the cuts covering my body, leaving me feeling cold and sluggish. "Arc! You can heal the bitch whenever you want y''know?!" Lady Fenryas barked at the golden haired holy woman, startling her into action and having her rush to my side swiftly, her hands glowing a soft, warm goldpared to the harshness of Jahi''s mana. "Were you waiting for a written invitation?! Damn! You''re here for one thing, Arc, and that''s not standing by the side to look sexy!" My muscles slowly began to return to normal, the cuts and tears knitting together while my bones returned to their previous spots, calcifying back into a single entity and returning to their strong selves. While that was happening, the holy woman flushed a deep red at the murmurs of the Demon Wolf, the berating and flirting at the same time making the woman act odd... and as a fellow masochist, I could tell that she was being turned on by the crudeness of the gray skinned warrior beside us. "Though if you want, I can have her do some conditioning while I go knot you for a bit, slut. Is that what you want~? To get broken in her ce and be bred like the useless bitch you are~?" As I began to return to normal, I took a deep breath and did my best to tune out her words, though it was hard as the scent of her pheromones swept over the entire training grounds, the Demon Wolf''s arousal quite clear and rather addicting, though her sharp chuckle as she growled "I''m not talking to you, pup. You''d make a good mate, sure, but I have my preferences..." Gulping, I blinked before pushing myself away, only to notice that Lady D''Arcon had shuffled away stiffly, her neck red as she separated herself from us, making Lady Fenryas shrug. "Whatever. Pick up your Khopesh, pup. The next round is about to begin." Chapter 671 670: Living Hell (2) Chapter 671 670: Living Hell (2) Sweat stained my brow as I shed towards the Demon Wolf''s exposed chest, my Khopesh arcing through the air in a blur of red metal that foretold of the beautiful liquid that would ssh across the ground should it connect, but sadly I was facing an opponent that made getting that beautiful liquid almost impossible. Her sword crashed against mine, sparks erupting from her simple longsword catching on the teeth that rose menacingly on the inside crescent of my Khopesh, and I tried to twist my de so that I could pull hers from her grasp, but s she was far too strong to allow that to happen. "Not bad, but you need to realize that there is a strength barrier for that move; someone double your physical prowess might be able to lose their grasp thanks to the momentum, but any higher and it doesn''t work. Really, it bes a hinderance for yourself more than your opponent. For example..." Yanking her sword free, Lady Fenryas swiftly brought her de down on mine, before stabbing it forwards and piercing my shoulder, making me grit my teeth and hiss softly as I felt my muscles tear, my left arm growing weak now that the upper muscles were damaged. She left her de embedded into my shoulder, staring down at me with a neutral gaze as she resumed speaking, her voice just as neutral as her expression. "You have neither the weight nor the strength to pin the weapon of someone far stronger than you. y to your own strengths, pup, and not to traditional tactics. I hate it, and despise it, but you fight better dirty than you do clean. You''re a better trickster and rogue then you are a warrior, and while I think they tend to be cowards and worthless wastes, I can understand their strengths and weakness well enough. Fight quick, sporadic, and with wit instead of head on. You''re not built for it." I gasped again as I felt her sword leave my shoulder, the Demon Wolf smirking slightly at me as she twisted the de before pulling it free, sending another wave of pain over my left side that joined the throbbing, sharp ache of the initial wound. That pain wasn''t present for long as the golden glow of Lady D''Arcon''s Light Mana washed over my arm, forcing the muscles to begin growing again and connecting them together once more, while the bone was reset to where it needed to be - something that I hadn''t quite noticed during the spar. Even though the wound was gone, my body refused to let me forget about the pain, a phantom ache throbbing on my shoulder and distracting me somewhat, adding anotheryer of challenge to this training session as I stared at the gray skinned in front of me, searching for the best opening for me to take. "Well? What are you waiting for? That same written invitation that Arc is waiting for?!" Her silver eye shed with impatience as she stared at me, and I held back a smirk as I began to walk around her, my eyes glued to her posture as I searched for a better opening, all whilst I did as she asked. ying to my strengths. One thing I had noted during these spars was that she hated waiting, yet the woman refused to attack first, giving me the opening blow in all of our spars - be it for some honor reason or because she looked down at me, I was sure that I could rile her up a little by taking my time. Perhaps a mistake woulde out thanks to her anger, maybe she''ll put aside her techniques and move to overpower me directly... maybe this is all a mistake, but either way, it was slightly cathartic to piss the insufferably powerful Lady Fenryas off. My Khopesh idly rested in my hand as I listened to her growl softly, her bushy ck tail swishing side to side as she slowly got angrier, while her eye narrowed as she watched me move around her. "Sometimes, pup, I rather enjoy teaching you to learn to fight better, though I do find that those moments are bing scarce... You learn rather well, but damnit if you aren''t a bitch to deal with..." I kept my face neutral as I listened to the maliceden praise she sent my way, herplimentsing hand in hand with berating words as she stood still, not moving at all as she relied on her hearing and smell to locate me. "There have been a few people like yourself that gradually piss me off the more I train them. Princi is the prime example; that Catkin ''Mistress'' spends just as much time training as she does in someone else''s bed, and most of my time with her is spent beating her back into something that resembles a Knight, and yet she tends to be one of the more aplished of the order... She''s good with that whip, good with des, and hard as hell to hit, but she ruins it all by trying to seduce me the entire time... I''ve been tempted to break her in bed as well, just to break her entirely, but..." Trailing off, the Demon Wolf raised her de and blocked my Khopesh, which I had shed towards her hip. "Then there''s the obvious duo; Belian and Chordeva, the two pricks. They''re both far too good at what they do, and they work together like they''re connected, even if they outwardly disy hostility towards one another." She continued to speak even as I began to swing my de at her as fast as I could, my arms covered in a green shimmer as my Wind Mana enhanced my speed. I shed at her body, her legs, her arms... my de was everywhere, and yet it was matched by hers, the longsword in her hands blocking each as she stood still, moving her arms slightly and twisting just a bit to block all of my attacks. "Training them is both entertaining and annoying. Chordeva''s brute strength is - almost - on par with mine, and her technique is slightlycking, but still incredible. Paired with the red bastards ability to conceal himself from most senses thanks to some brilliant skill and magic, the two can be quite the handful. Challenging, but manageable. You though..." Looking down at me, the Demon Wolf pursed her lips before shrugging, her longsword sliding past my Khopesh and cutting into my forearm, leaving a deep gash across my right arm that almost made me release my de. "You''re somewhere in the middle. You could be a challenge, but yourck of experience is clear. Though, I guess that is where Ie in, hmm?" I barely heard thest words she spoke as her sword found its way into my stomach, the Demon Wolf dropping me to the ground with a swift stab and a kick, before barking "Again!" Chapter 672 671: Battered Chapter 672 671: Battered My breathing hitched in my throat as Iid sprawled on the ground, my left lung punctured by a de while shards of bones cut into my right lung, making breathing one of the most painful things I had ever experienced. Meanwhile my body was covered in deep gashes that allowed my blood to seep into the sand around me, bringing me to a new level of coldness that I never wanted to feel again, and I could only hiss as I felt the fractures in various bones around my chest and legs, with the worst being the broken ribs and the cracked, splintered tibia. In fact, it was easier to count which bones weren''t broken or damaged then it was to count the injuries, since I had taken so much damage over thest three or so minutes in pursuit of increasing my strength, and sadly that cost me quite a lot of pain. So, so much pain... I doubt that I would ever - in the near future - see this as a worthy ''trade'' for the gains I have definitely made, but I couldn''tin about the increase that I certainly got. Problem was my head felt like it was split in two, and honestly... knowing Lady Fenryas, there was a good chance that the punches shended had actually cracked my skull, so... Yeah... I had faith in the kind, soothing Lady D''Arcon though, and I was blessed that someone of her caliber was residing inside the Pce to help me get back to normal, since these wounds would take Leone and I abined two or three days to heal properly. Which sounded absurd when I thought back to my previous world; injuries that would take months, if not years to heal - some that would never heal - were all healed in mere moments thanks to the insane prowess that Lady D''Arcon wielded or thebined prowess that Leone and I could muster together. That didn''t mean it was infallible or perfect - far from it, actually, and that wasn''t even considering the mental aspect of this all. "Fen, you need to either tone it back or stop! She can''t keep taking injuries as severe as this! Her body might go into-!" The Demon Wolf in question just clicked her tongue as she pulled the sword free from my chest, forcing blood into the lung and making me cough as I tried to clear out the space needed for air, not liquids. "Eh, if she wants to keep going, she can keep going. You''re not the greatest healer in the Empire for nothing, Arc. Now fix her up and let the bitch decide for herself. Either oue is great for you, isn''t it~?" My wounds gradually healed up, and I coughed out the remaining blood as I sat up, clutching at my stomach as I felt bile rise up as the metallic, coppery taste of blood permeated my mouth, my body''s natural reaction to such a heavy amount of it rearing its ugly head. "You want to keep going, pup, or are you done for the day? It''s been a hour or so already, so not that bad... Oi, don''t fucking hurl at my feet!" Lady Fenryas jumped back a foot as I proceeded to empty the contents of my stomach into the sand, the injuries - while healed - still having an impact on my body as I barely managed to remain upright, only the aid of Lady D''Arcon keeping me from damaging myself further through anymore strain or convulsions. That didn''t make the few seconds of vomiting any better, though I was immensely grateful at the help of the holy woman as I slowly came back to normal, the unpleasant concoction on my tongue getting washed away as I summoned a sphere of water with a simple flick of my hand and submerged my face into it, cleaning off my lips and washing my mouth out, before summoning a new one to drink from. "Tch... Yeah, you should cool it for a bit, pup. Hey! Uthgerd! C''mere you meathead!" I winced as the Demon Wolf''s shout made my head spin, my senses all out of wack as I gradually recovered from the wounds, my body slowly epting that the wounds were gone and that I was actually healed and safe... though I imagine just seeing the Demon Wolf would make me shudder from now on. A pale skinned, white haired Bearkin woman made her way over to the Demon Wolf who called her, the sweat covering her body causing her casual rough spun tunic to cling to her muscr frame, while the two fluffy ears on her head twitched as she asked "Lady Fenryas, how may I be of assistance?" "Uthgerd, take the pup back to the Asmodia''s room for me. Careful with her; she''s been injured a few times. Head''s not in the right spot. Make sure someone''s in the room when you drop her off; that knife-ear or her Mother should be there, so make sure they get her and know to care for her. Got it?" "Yes Ma''am!" "Good... Arc, c''mere. Got a tad frustrated with the training of this pup... want to let those frustrations out." The pale Bearkin lifted me off the ground gently and moved my arm to her waist, supporting me as best she could while keeping it gentle as she began to lead me away from the two -pletely different - women who were flirting. I remembered little from that walk back to the room, Uthgerd transporting me quickly to where I needed to be and handing me over to the Countess, who took me and guided me over to my bedroom,ying me on the bed and pressing her hands against my stomach, allowing her warm Fire Mana to spread over my body and begin healing me once again,forting me further. Mother went to go cook something nourishing for me as well, and I eventually drifted off into the blissful embrace of sleep as I crashed, my body demanding I reenergize through something so great like sleep. Wonderful, wonderful sleep. Chapter 673 672: Coping Mechanism (1)* Chapter 673 672: Coping Mechanism (1)* The Countess gently shook me awake, the Elven woman looking down at me with pursed lips and slight worry in her sapphire eyes, but after I sat up and gave her a tired stare, she nodded silently before cing a wooden tray on myp. A bowl of soup, some fresh bread, and a small te with a few thin fillets of fish sat atop the tray, and the Countess said "Julie has more than enough for seconds if you want, Kat. You need to eat before going back to sleep..." I stared at the meal in front of me for a few moments before nodding, taking the spoon and dipping it into the golden broth, filling up the bowl of the spoon with a few pieces of fish and spring onions, as well as carrots and peppers too, which made the entire meal ''warm''. The Countess watched as I drank down the mixture and went for another, nodding to herself again before standing up, saying "If you want more, just ask; the door will be open until Jahi or one of the others gets back, alright?" "Thanks..." My entire body felt like it was covered in one big bruise, and my stomach was still hesitating to ept food, but the longer Iid there in thefortable bed, the better I began to feel; I wouldn''t be up and about anytime soon, but I could at least feel alive and was able to remain awake. Leaving me alone, the Countess returned to the kitchen to apany my Mother at the table, and I leaned back into the various pillows behind me and let out a sigh, wanting to open my System and check out the gains but knowing that if I saw numbers now, I wouldn''tprehend them; my mind was groggy at best, and downright empty at worst. I knew that to be fact since I eventually looked down to notice that the bowl was empty, while the bread and fish had remained untouched, my hands moving methodically up and down to spoon out more and more of the soup until there was nothing left. Sighing, I began to finish the rest of the meal, taking note of how I remained slightly hungry but not starving, like my body didn''t know if it still wanted more calories or not. Taking a bite of the bread, I let out another sigh at how nd everything tasted, and that was likely thanks to my body being all out of whack, since I knew Mother was able to bake incredible bread and cook fish perfectly. Whilst I was finishing up the current meal, I looked up as I heard someone enter the room, and a small smile tugged at my lips as I saw the sweaty, muscr figure of Jahi. Rubbing at her jaw, she closed the door behind her and took off her shirt, revealing her deceptivelyrge breasts and chiseled abdomen, all of which was slick with sweat and glimmering in the dim light of dusk. "Kat? What''s wrong with you?" Her voice was slightly worried as she made her way over to me, and I leaned into her palm as she caressed my cheek, enjoying the warmth of her skin against mine as I replied "I did some training with Lady Fenryas... Pushed myself a bit too far, it seems..." Jahi''s amethyst eyes narrowed at that, and I just smiled at her again before watching as she let out a sigh, standing up straight and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Well... Hah... guess I''ll get you seconds then? I was going to eat with everyone else, but..." I just lifted my tray, not trying to convince her to leave me alone since that wasn''t what I wanted, making the Demoness smile at me wryly as she took the tray. Tossing in a loose robe, she slipped out of the room and returned momentster, arger tter in her hands this time that wasden with food. She sat down on the bed beside me and ced the tter between us, kissing the top of my head as I leaned into her, enjoying the warmth that spread between us as she draped the robe over my shoulders as well, her bare skin still hot from the training she had been doing. We ate in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the simple, yet nourishing food as we refueled our bodies, and I took note of how just being near my Demoness made everything a tad more enjoyable; the food tasted better, my body didn''t ache as much, and of course... Her sweet scent - mixed with that wonderful musk of sweat - made my head not as empty, since I was thinking of something in specific now that I was slowly getting ''better''. Something that the Demoness clearly was thinking of as well as the tter begin to tilt to the side, herp no longer an ''even surface'' as something rose to its full glorious form. I moved the tter over and looked down, smiling softly as I watched her cock stiffenpletelybeneath her pants, which the Demoness took off when she sensed my gaze. Springing free from its confines, the Demoness'' blue penis reared its head and ''stared'' at me, a small pearl of precum adorning the tip as Jahi''s arousal slowly rose along with her cock, and the sweet scent around her grew sharper anymore addicting as I stared at the thing I hade to love so much. Jahi took the tter and moved it away, only to groan softly as I leaned over and kissed her tip, licking that pearl off and enjoying the taste before parting my lips and allowing her to slip into my mouth. "Kat... Goddess above... Are you sure about this..?" Her sharp inhales as I began to suck on her cock made my heartbeat quicken, and I reluctantly pulled away as I looked up towards my lover, still nuzzling her impressive penis even as I said "Yes... I want to feel good, Jahi, not terrible... Besides, I need something to upy my mind. Use me however you please, my love... Use me to cum, use me to feel good..." As she narrowed her eyes, Jahi let out another groan as I resumed sucking her cock, my lips wrapped around her thick shaft while my tongue teased her tip, flicking at the ns and caressing the underside, where she was more sensitive. cing her hand on my head, the Demoness pushed herself deeper into my throat, making me kiss her groin and inhale her musk even more as she held me in ce, groaning with need as her penis throbbed inside my mouth. Chapter 674 673: Coping Mechanism (2)* Chapter 674 673: Coping Mechanism (2)* "Kat, are you sure about this? I mean... fuck... ah.... with how you''re feeling, can you take..?" Listening to Jahi''s adorable gasps as I throated her cock made my pussy wet, the sounds of her pleasure arousing me further as I continued to suck on the Demoness'' blue penis, swallowing down her sweet nectar as it oozed from her tip. Instead of replying, I just continued to indulge myself on her cock, the scent of her sweat making my head go warmly numb in the greatest possible way as her sweat and natural scent mixed together, overwhelming my nose and making me shudder as I grew even more aroused. It took little for me to get into the mood - as evidence of the [Nymphomania] skill that I had - and even less for any of my three lovers to submerge me into lust, our various bonds and the different kinks that they all assuaged for me making that easy. The Soul Bond between Jahi and I amplified the lust we both felt, feeding off of one another and reaching new levels, while her need for inflicting pain was perfect since I had a need for pain, allowing her to indulge herself as she used me for her darker pleasure. In other words, Jahi and I were perfect for one another, since I was so deeply entrenched in my masochism that in order for me to truly enjoy sex, to find it rapturous when other outside factors aren''t involved - like Leone''s fluids or Anput''s pheromones - sex just isn''t as rewarding, and for Jahi it seems to be the same; she wants to hit and hurt her partner, to ''damage'' them like a brute. That wasn''t to say that neither of us enjoyed vani sex either, as was clearly evident by the narrowed gaze and twitching penis that Jahi had, her heavy balls preparing to lose some of their weight after she came inside my throat, her ejaction drawing ever closer as I pursed my lips tighter and swirled my tongue around her tip. Ruffling my ears, Jahi leaned her head against the backboard and let out a low groan as she enjoyed my blowjob, herrge hand resting reassuringly atop my head as she relished my lips around her shaft. She let out a few groans during the next minute, before leaning over me and grunting "Cumming..!" as she forced herself deep into my throat, granting herself the most pleasure as she began to ejacte. Sticky ropes of semen sshed into my throat as she came, and I swallowed down her delectably sweet nectar before Jahi pulled me off her cock, her blue ''dragon'' covered in a white goo that looked so appetizing... "Goddess above... Kat, seriously... you suck on it so good that I could definitely enjoy a day of just blowjobs from you... damn that''s..." I raised a brow at the Demoness as I licked her seed off my lips, making her shrug before she asked "So how are we doing this, and how far should I go..?" Rolling onto my back, I grabbed a pillow and rested my head on it, sighing as the crick in my neck was eased. "Mm... I can''t do anything, honestly... my body aches, but I want you so damn badly... so... for tonight, let me be a pillow princess~? Be gentle, but just fuck me for however long you want... even if I fall asleep or say to stop, just keep going, Jahi... until you feel content, cum inside me or on me, I don''t care..." She raised a brow at me this time, before smirking as she nodded, watching me take off my clothes and admiring my body for a moment before crawling towards my legs, her amethyst eyes alight with lust as she brought her face closer towards my pussy. "Then I''ll do just that, my love... but to start, I''m feeling quite ''thirsty''..." Without waiting for a response, Jahi brought her face down towards my cunt and began top at it, her long tongue gliding over my lower lips before slipping between them as she began to ''kiss'' them, making me moan softly above her as I reached down and grabbed her horns, pulling her in closer. With how aroused I already was, and how good Jahi had gotten at giving oral pleasure, it didn''t take me long to reciprocate, orgasming lightly onto her face and into her mouth as she got to drink what she wanted. Pulling away, she smacked her lips and smirked at me before crawling forwards, her cock still stiff and ready to go as she pushed my legs apart and pressed her tip against my drenched lips. "Well then, if this is how you want to cope with being trained by Lady Fenryas, I have to say..." Her cock slid inside with familiar ease, finding its way back towards my womb and filling my insides up nicely, her heat spreading throughout my loins and making me shiver as pleasure coursed through my system. "I might send you to her more often~! An ''all you can eat buffet'' serving only Kat~? Count me in~!" She began to thrust forwards before I could even try to say something about that, the aches in my body slowly being reced by pleasure as she ced her hands beside my body and settled into a rhythm, staring down at me with a smirk. "Using my pretty little minx until I''M satisfied~? I don''t think I''ll be pulling out anytime soon, Kat..." Leaning closer, Jahi kissed my cheek and smirked as she added "I think I could make love to you for an entire day and still not feel content, my love..." Her lips trailed over my cheek and down towards my neck, where she focused on marking me as she relished my womb, rocking back and forth inside of me as she hit her stride, reaching a point that felt great for us both and was sustainable for a long time. Being held by her and flooded with semen was as euphoric as ever, and I loved every second of it as she overwrote my aches and pains with pleasure, her red tip catching on my cervix and giving me small doses of pain that made it all the more better, especially when she anchored herself inside me and ejacted her thick, creamy load into my womb. Shested for a very long time, as the Demoness put her incredible stamina on disy and continued to relentlessly pound into me until I passed out, my body finally sumbing to exhaustion even as she came many, many times inside of me, showing me that she wasn''t lying earlier. Chapter 675 674: Rejuvenated Chapter 675 674: Rejuvenated I slept wonderfully that night, the sheer exhaustion and the great amount of pleasure that I felt with each thrust of my giant Demoness lover making sleep something even more enjoyable than normal. I asionally was roused from my slumber by the neediness of Jahi, the Demoness - despite her words - still craving some form of acknowledgement of her skills in bed from her partner, unable to truly just use me without a care from me. It wasn''t that annoying though, since getting awoken to the desperate kisses of your loved one as they prepared to fill you with their love for the umpteenth time was exceedingly pleasant for someone like myself, and I especially loved when she would take a rest and justy atop me, her nose buried into my neck as she allowed her body to recuperate before she resumed, taking this opportunity to quench her lust as best she could. When she truly fell asleep beside me, she had turned me onto my side and wrapped herself around me, her muscr body enveloping my softer one as she held me close, cuddling me closely and breathing softly into my hair. The fullness that she left me feeling was exquisite, and I couldn''t help but nuzzle closer to her and close my eyes again, drifting back to sleep in her arms and enjoying the warmth that we shared on our bed, only awakening again when the sun had already crested over the horizon. With a soft groan she sat up, holding me in her arms and keeping me on herp as she blearily opened her eyes, those beautiful amethysts submerged in drowsiness as she continued to cuddle me, even as the sunlight streamed through the window and bathed our nude figures in the pale golden light of the morning. Of course, we weren''t the only ones to awaken thiste, as a nce over towards the bed beside ours showed Anput and Leone cuddling together as well, the Jackalkin''s head resting on Leone''s chest as she read a book and stroked her ears, letting Anput sleep a little longer. Hearing Jahi get up, Leone turned towards us and closed her book, giving us both a small smile as she gently shook Anput awake, who just grumbled and buried her face deeper into Leone''s breasts. Jahi just chuckled tiredly as she watched that, her eyes full of love as she looked over us all, though that love began to manifest itself into a physical form as she hugged me. With my body no longer aching as badly and my stomach no longer doing flips, I gave my lover a coy smile before relinquishing myself to her again, knowing that today would be a rest day for us all anyways. We could afford to have a slow start, though I doubt we''ll remain in our room for too long... Which was exactly what happened, the four of us entwining our bodies together for another hour as we enjoyed the touches and caresses of one another, making sure we were all satiated and satisfied with what happened as much as possible, before migrating over to the bath for another quick round or four. Each of us had quite the fill of one another, our partners alternating swiftly as we went from one person to another, before eventually someone tapped out and left three of us clinging desperately to one another. Perhaps it was my own skills, perhaps it was just who I was, and perhaps this was the reason [Subus] had been such a high priority ss, but each time I got to make love to one of my three beautiful, perfect, incessant lovers, I felt even more rejuvenated than before. By the time it ended, we had decided that we would at least act like this had been for ''training purposes'', beginning our final round and making it one of Dual Cultivation, honing our mana some more and slowly strengthening ourselves through something that we loved to do. When we left our room and entered the main room, we were greeted with the raised brow of the Countess, frown and blush from Mother, and a small smile from the Marquess as they sat at the table, arge mountain of food enveloped in a soft red mana waiting for us. Their stares made it slightly awkward, but like always Jahi just ignored it and sat down, going about life by fulfilling her body''s needs as she dug into the mound of pancakes and eggs that she shoveled onto her te, followed quickly by Anput, who seemed just as straightforwards as our Demoness. I found it to be an effective strategy as well, though my own hunger made itself known as my stomach growled at me, ordering me to follow behind my mate and my wife as I sat down, so I focused on refueling as well, leaving only Leone to timidly bow her head to both the Countess and to Mother. Bessie was resting on a nearby couch, napping quietly and oblivious to everything going on, likely capitalizing on the few breaks she got to reenergize as well. Breakfast was a swift affair, the mountain of food that the Countess had been keeping warm with her mana slowly disappearing into our stomachs as we began to eat and eat and eat, to the point that Mother got up and began preparing a small cauldron of oatmeal as well to help us refuelpletely, though that primarily went to Jahi and I; my body was still recovering slightly from Lady Fenryas''s beating, while Jahi needed to replenish everything she shot outst night and this morning. When we finished, the Marquess had already left to go speak to the Empress while the Countess had migrated over towards the rocker, Alessandra and Lakshmi resting on herp and staring at the book in her hands curiously, trying to make sense of the various characters on the page even as the Countess read quietly to them. As for Mother she was sitting back and rxing as well, enjoying thefort of the sofa chair she was sitting on and watching us as we finished eating, her amber eyes filled with a motherly warmth that we all appreciated. "So, what''s your ns for today then? Considering your... te start'', I imagine you wanted to rest today, though I doubt any of you are capable of truly resting..." Sipping on the tea that I had sweetened with some sugar, I hummed softly before shrugging, knowing that there were quite a few things that I could do today depending on how far I wanted to push myself. The others were the same, exchanging nces as they mirrored me and finished their tea, trying to figure out what we should be doing... Chapter 676 675: Family Ties (1) Chapter 676 675: Family Ties (1) Jahi PoV Leaning down, I gave Kat another kiss before ruffling her ears, the dozing Dogkin barely reacting as I gentlyid her down on the bed and covered her with a nket, her body and mind still recovering from yesterday even if she tried to im she was back to being normal. It was clear she wasn''t, since she had barely reacted to me this entirest round - a round that she herself asked me for - and it was clear that yesterday had taken its toll on her in more ways then one, which was to be expected. Memories of the ''Monster Mash'' that Lady Fenryas arranged for us were still clear in my mind, and the idea of having a more personalized, deadlier fight against not a monster, but an incredibly, mind boggling powerful woman like herself was enough to send shivers down my spine and make me want to run and hide. It wasn''t that I was scared of the pain itself or the woman who would be handing me that pain, but the fact that I would be confronted with such an insane gap between me and someone else that made me hesitant to want to try and do what Kat had done. Sparring against Mom was already jarring enough, since she handled my best with enough ease as it was, and considering I had watched her get taken down in mere moments by Lady Fenryas, well... I knew I was one to overthink things, and being presented with such hard, cold evidence that I was weak would be something that wormed around in my mind, even if I knew better. A problem that I would likely never be rid of in my life, if I had to guess; a problem that made little sense subjectively, but a problem that was ingrained into my very being at this point. Overthinking had led to many terrible mental states already in my life, and yet I had no idea on how to get rid of something that I had identified as negative. My overthinking aside, I made sure Kat wasfortable before getting up and letting out a sigh, rubbing at my jaw before turning towards Leone, who was lounging on her bed quietly and reading her book, having managed to redirect her focus away from Kat and I and instead focus on her studies, which was good, though... Considering the deep blush that covered her cheeks when I stood over her, I couldn''t help but reach forwards and grab her head, grinning at my adorable Vampire lover and having her perform some of her expected duties, though I did try to keep it short... And it would seem that our constant ''practices'' were paying off, since she got me to the edge in a couple of minutes, swallowing everything down before giving it a kiss, all while her cheeks remained that captivating crimson. Getting dressed, I nced over my shoulder and said "Look over Kat for me, Leone, and take care of her. Don''t leave her alone, and don''t let her push herself; she needs the rest. Though that doesn''t mean you need to treat her gently..." Leone''s cheeks darkened as I winked at her, and a chuckle escaped my lips as I closed the door behind me, leaving Leone with Kat and trusting that in a few hours when I returned, the Dogkin would be feeling better. ncing towards the window, I sighed as I noticed the sun had already reached its zenith, the day having long since been in effect, meaning I had wasted some precious time... though that wasn''t really time wasted since I had spent it with my family. That would never be time wasted. Mother looked back towards me, her sapphire eyes as sharp as ever as she asked "Are you heading out? Your Mom said you could find her at the training grounds, though that shouldn''t be surprising." "It isn''t. How''s Alessandra and Lakshmi been?" I approached her and looked down at herp, the two babies sprawled out and fast asleep, enjoying the warmth of the sun and their Mom as they recharged, oblivious to their older sister standing above them. "ording to your Mom, Alessandra is bratty and haughty already while Lakshmi isid back andpletely normal." She rolled her eyes at that, before smiling softly as she added "Of course, she says that but does whatever Alessandra wants, while Lakshmi rarely rests nearby your Mom, instead doing whatever she can to y. Without her here, they''ve both been a bit sad, but I think they''ve been doing well. Alessandra loves to read and learn things, while Lakshmi just loves to cuddle; they''re a nice little mix of what you were like as a baby." Mother looked up at me, her smile widening before she sighed as she began to rock gently back and forth, saying "It just makes me realize how old I already am, what with you being so mature already. Then there''s these two little ones, and watching them grow will be both devastatingly short and excruciatingly long at the same time. And I doubt we''ll get lucky for another few years, so..." She sighed, but her smile returned as she stroked Alessandra''s hair, before moving her finger over towards Lakshmi, who grabbed at her finger when she felt it, thevender skinned baby murmuring quietly and stirring in her sleep, though she was clearly still wrapped up tightly in its warm embrace. "Well, I imagine you''ll want the break between them and the next one more than you realize. After all, Elves mature slower, no? Alessandra will be fully mature at the same time as a human, right? Or sometime a bit earlier?" "That''s why I said excruciatingly long... yes, she''ll be ''mature'' by her twelfth or thirteenth year, though she''ll continue to grow until she''s sixteen. Meanwhile, Lakshmi will shoot up at five like you did, before peaking at seven or eight; you don''t realize it, but your Light Mana, Kat''s Ice Mana, Anput''s Metal Mana, and Leone''s blood made each of you mature so damn quickly. Sometimes... I understand what Julie talks about, saying she felt like she just blinked and one day Kat was a full fledged woman. I feel the same with... I can still remember the bratty little blue Demoness that whined whenever her books were taken away at night, or how you pleaded with your Mom to y just a little longer." I gave her a wry smile as she smirked up at me, scratching my cheek and recalling what I could from when I was a child, which really wasn''t that long ago. "But, that little blue brat grew up, just like the cute, adorable fluffy pup that followed you ever. Just like these little ones will as well, eventually. It''s apart of what makes us mortals, after all, and it holds its own charm." Mother rocked back before tilting her head, staring out the window and observing the gorgeous gardens outside of the Pce for a few moments before adding "Though sometimes, I do think that little brat was so much cuter and charmingpared to the hulking numbskull she is today~!" Raising a brow, I looked down at my Mother and snorted, before leaning down and gently tapping my head against hers, saying "My head ain''t empty, and you made sure of that. If Mom had her way with everything, that might just be true..." We both chuckled some more, and for a few more minutes we joked and chatted, enjoying the warmth and love between us for just a little while longer, before I bid her goodbye and made my way out of the room, heading for the training grounds to look for Mom and Belian, who had some more to tell me today. Chapter 677 676: Family Ties (2) Chapter 677 676: Family Ties (2) "There she is! Damn, took you long enough! Did you at least let poor Kat rest, or did you bully her some more~?" I rolled my eyes as soon as I entered the training grounds, the sight of Mom and Belian standing together in the center drawing everyone''s attention since the two rarely wanted to be seen together or spend any time together, and yet here they were, waiting for me together. "Y''know, I''m pretty sure most parents don''t ask their children about their personal, intimate moments? Is this something that ''only Demons do'' or is it just you?" "Just Chordeva. Not one to utilize tact and social norms... In fact, it''s almost like she''s allergic to them." I nodded at Belian''s words, saying "Ah, I do recall you quite literally ordering me to have sex once, to get my mind straight and focused after Kat got taken... That certainly isn''t a normal piece of advice." "No, no it isn''t. It''s rooted in some truth, but it''s not something you just say to someone, let alone your daughter... Really Chordeva, you are rather odd." "Bah, piss off. You said it yourself; it''s sound advice! Besides, you know that lust is the predominant vice for us Demons... Taking a sip or twelve from her various ''chalices'' would do her more good then brewing on it and thinking herself to death!" "That''s entirely because she takes after you, and it''s only muscle between the ears, not smarts." "Belian..." The blue and red Demons red at one another, before Belian let out a sigh and raised his hands, gesturing towards me as he said "Are we going to begin?" I looked at Mom as well, raising a brow at her again as she growled softly, though she turned and focused on me, ignoring the red Demon beside her and said "Come on then, let''s pick up from where we left off yesterday." Grabbing my practice great sword, I took a step forwards and lowered myself into a stance, staring at Belian across from me and watching as he kept his serrated sword in a loose grip, the cloaked man still wearing that warm smile that hid his deadliness almost perfectly. "Yesterday... ah, yes, the specifics of the Beliali''s and Cimeriesa''s in todays world. Well, let''s start with my n, hmm?" Lunging forwards, I stabbed the heavy de in my hands towards the red skinned man''s chest, though he parried it with a swift sh of his serrated sword, redirecting my de easily to the side and allowing him to slip free from the confrontation, resetting everything and giving himself the advantage. "Belian isn''t a name, but a title; one that someone adopts as their name as soon as they''re bequeathed it. Being the Belian means to be the head of the Beliali n, and it means to be the thing that our n represents. Espionage and disguises so immacte that no one knows what you truly look like. This-" Instead of pressing his advantage, the red skinned man just gestured to his face, a small smile on his lips. "-is not what I actually look like. Honestly, I''ve forgotten what I used to look like. I''ve simply picked the mask that I most prefer these days." "Yes, you heard him correctly, so don''t freeze up! Giving this prick any time is a bad idea, Jahi!" Mom''s shout pushed me into action, and I bolted forwards again, this time going for a horizontal sh that would force the man to dodge, the power behind it far too great to push away with ease. "Anyways, I head my n''s efforts in learning more about... well, anything, though it tends to be whatever the Empress needs to know the most. We have different branches inside the n; those that want to get their hands dirty, and those that prefer keeping themselves clean. Spies, assassins, body guards... we can do many things, and you might be interested to know that some of the Empress'' Wisps are Beliali Demons. Then we have ourwyers, merchants and diplomats that stay away from the bloodshed and death and instead bring in coin and secure deals to keep the n funds deep and our allies close. Any negotiation that the Empress wants done perfectly is headed by one of us. If it has words, intricacy, deals with people, and requires a soft touch or a silver tongue, the Beliali''s are usually the ones called in to achieve that." Weaving around my de, Belian smirked as he continued to y with me, his serrated de always threatening me from afar, even though its reach was far below my great swords. "Of the two remaining ns - and including your Family - the Beliali vaults are filled with more relics and antiques than we know what to do with, butpared to the Cimeriesa''s or the Asmodia''s, we are by far the weaker bunch. I am... one hell of an outlier. If you''re curious, the next closest in terms of fighting ability is around your level, whichpared to most of the Empire, is more than enough... especially since my sister only needs to be in the shadows to be lethal. We might not win in direct confrontation, but where the Asmodia''s are loud and in your face with your strength, the Beliali''s be one with the shadows and search for weaknesses, or convince someone else to fight our fights for us." "In other words, besides being smooth talkers, they''re a bunch of cowards. Slinking in the shadows like rats before lunging out to poison you or slit your throat. If that doesn''t work, theye crying to someone stronger to finish the job for them." Belian just rolled his eyes at Mom''s venomced words, though he didn''t refute it as he instead batted my de to the side and slipped into my guard, resting his sword against my throat. "While she isn''t wrong, don''t believe that something in the shadows cannot take your life. Hubris is something we Demons suffer from as well, and your Mom is a prime example... yet not, since she has the strength to back up her hubris. Few could stand to her and tell her otherwise." "So stop fucking saying it, prick." Pulling his sword away, he rolled his eyes once more as he added "Thankfully I am one of them, and I have to say that despite her idiocy sometimes, she is quite the impressive woman. A shame she''s... well... herself." Another growl came from Mom''s throat, making Belian snicker as he took a step back, ncing at her and saying "Nothing to say to that, Chordeva~? Is that - perhaps - due to it being a true statement? You ARE an idiot, yet still rather impressive despite that?" "Don''t push your luck..." Chapter 678 677: Family Ties (3) Chapter 678 677: Family Ties (3) "Alright, alright! Stop antagonizing my Mom please, Belian, and please stop letting his words get to you! Are you a child?!" I red at the two older Demons, both of whom let out a huff as they looked away from one another, focusing instead on me. "I shall certainly try, Jahi, but it is just so~ easy to rile her up, y''know? It makes it even more sweet when I know she can''t do anything about it~!" "Belian... don''t make me snap you in half, you red twig..!" "Oh you can certainly try, you blue imbecile! Gotta catch me first though~!" "STOP! Oh my..! For the love of all that is holy, just..! Belian, the Cimeriesa''s! What about ''em?!" Mom let out another huff as she turned away, her arms crossed over her chest as she red off to the side, while Belian twirled his de before gesturing for me to begin the next spar, the man still treating this training session the way I would prefer. "The Cimeriesa''s... well, I guess the best ce to start would be their prowess, no? If the Asmodia''s are raw strength, and the Beliali''s are sharp of wit and expert assassins, then the Cimeriesa''s are insane when ites to arcane prowess. Their Cores rival some of the strongest Elves on average, with the lucky few inside the n having Cores sorge that they could cast Domain''s over cities with incredible ease. Imagine that... a Domain spell spanning miles, with every single inch just as strong as thest." This bout, Belian was going on the offensive, his de crashing against mine as he forced me into a defensive stance, all while he chatted with me rxedly, which was slightly grating to hear... "Their minds arepletely and utterly geared towards unraveling the secrets of the arcane, be it spells, monsters, alchemy, enchanting... if it has some mystery rting to magic, they want to learn it. Sometimes it bes an obsession, and an extremely unhealthy one at that. They just can''t help themselves; they NEED to know what makes things work, even if that ruins rtionships or causes damage to themselves or others. If they weren''t Demons - who are naturally resilient as a race - they would likely be dead after a few years, but thankfully for them, they aren''t that weak." "Think cockroach, butrger and more annoying. And... well, if you dig crazy, they are rather... never mind." Taking a step back, I raised a brow as I nced at Mom, who was still looking away from us, watching some of the others inside the training grounds. "What she means to say is that the Cimeriesa''s are downright gorgeous. Thanks to therger Cores, they have more mana inside their bodies and as such, they tend to have fewer impurities inside their bodies. Yellow - sometimes green - skin makes them rather exotic, since only Djinn or Orcs have green skin, while yellow is another Djinn or Elf exclusive; pair those colors with a lithe physique and the sharp features of a Demon, and you have some of the most beautiful men and women in the Empire. But, like most things in life, that beauty is bnced by them being downright crazy." I raised a brow at that, which made the red skinned Demon cough before he lunged forwards, likely trying to distract me from what was just said - and how both he and Mom agreed that these members of the Cimeriesa n were just that good looking. Blocking the thrust from Belian, I nced at Mom once more before looking back at Belian, who began speaking again. "Ahem... Besides being magically inclined, the Cimeriesa''s are really smart and reclusive; they don''t like speaking ormunicating with anyone, and if you''re in the same room as them, you''ll be lucky to hear one sentence from them, even if you ask them a question. Socially awkward and damn near silent, they aren''t the easiest to work with, but again, that magical prowess makes that quirk bearable; who wouldn''t want a silent magician capable of razing entire cities with their tornadoes or lightning storms?" "Not only are they great magicians, but their enchantments are top notch. Like turn a basic steel knife into something capable of slicing through Drake scale like it was butter. Or make a chest piece that could deflect arrows like they were made from paper. Then there''s their potions that could do wonders; healing potions that can regrow limbs, strengthening potions that can make your flesh harder than iron, acids that can chew through metal, poisons that arepletely scentless and tasteless and strong enough to put down Orcs or Bearkin like they were toddlers." Sliding Belian''s de to the side, I mmed my shoulder into the man''s chest, knocking him back before trying to bring my sword around, only to let out a sigh as he slid away from it and pressed his sword against my chest, a smirk on his lips. "So... the Cimeriesa''s are a really strong magical n of good looking Demons... is what I managed to garner from all of this." Belian twirled his de again, chuckling wryly as he nodded, saying "More or less, that is a correct generalization. All you''re missing is that they''re just as crazy as they are good looking. Again, your Mom told you that the one who wanted to get with her asked if she could conduct experiments on their child while it was still in her womb, remember? No sane woman would agree to that, let alone do it themselves; only the insane would." "Then as a recap; the Asmodia''s are strong but stubborn, the Beliali''s are cunning but maniptive, and the Cimeriesa''s are really smart but also really crazy." ""Yup..."" The two Demons both nodded in agreement, before they nced at one another and sighed. "What makes it worse is that amongst the Beliali''s, I am rather... tame. I can''t help but embellish things, exaggerate or poke fun of, to use my wits to piss people off and find secrets, and yetpared to the others, I''m just some normal guy. For instance, that bond between you and the once maid Katherine Zara? Some rudimentary digging revealed quite a bit about her, and I have to say she''s quite the catch, young Jahi, but there''s so many things surrounding her that are... intriguing. I can restrain myself because I know if I go sniffing around, I''ll get a broken nose, but the members of my family wouldn''t be able to hold back. Curious to a fault." "Yes, I would slice your nose off for getting too close to Kat or to Julie. Meanwhile, the Cimeriesa''s would be more interested in nabbing Leone to bring back to their Citadel to question her about her Fire Magic, Moon Magic, Blood Magic, Vampiric Blood, that Ash Magic, her knowledge about the Empress, about the Empress'' wives... yeah, they would do whatever it took to learn what they could from her, even if it meant drugging her and hauling her back. Thankfully some of them are sane enough to not do that, and their n Head keeps the rest in line... That''s another thing that you should have noticed; the n Heads are more so decided on who can control the n, not who is the best at what the n does. That''s for the better too..." Belian nodded, before sighing again as he looked up towards the sky, his brown eyes filled with aplicated light as he muttered "And it''s quite the burden as well... having to manage a bunch of pathological liars and cutthroats... Sometimes I fear that Tabitha is going to be corrupted and stab me in the back..." "Would do the world a lot of good..." "Chordeva, don''t make me cut you." "You can try." "Oh for the love of..." Chapter 679 678: Musings of a Jackal Chapter 679 678: Musings of a Jackal Anput PoV Humming to myself, I made my way through the halls of the Pce feeling satisfied and rxed,st night still lingering in my mind as I recalled the wonders that was Leone. She was such an excellent partner due to her versatility; one moment she was the perfect mate to quench my desire to breed, and the next she was quenching my womanly thirsts with her magnificent member. Her curvaceous body and addicting scent made embracing - or being embraced by - her something that I looked forwards too, especially when I considered how far we hade. She used to be myplete pr opposite and someone that I even disdained slightly, her passiveness and shyness grating to me, while her ability to take Jahi''s gaze or draw Kat''s attention with her elegance and grace pissed me off. It was a slight dislike that I had of her, and it changed quickly, but it had once existed, and I acknowledged it; after all, that was the only way to move on. She had blossomed into a wonderful woman, her sharp mind and sex appeal stunning me when I saw her again, and when I learned that we were both so, so serious about making Jahi ours, well... That dislike sparked into apetitiveness that I had with Kat, which I could confidently say was what made me fall in love with them both;peting beside them for the Demoness'' affections made mee to cherish them, since I realized that the Demoness'' appetite was voracious and varied. One moment she craved that shy Vampire Princess, the next she wanted to tame a fellow warrior and proudly disy her might, and then she wanted to vent her darker desires inside her close, trusted, loved and cherished maid. We all fell in love with one another quickly, and I have to say that I was rather happy my youthful idiocy of trying to manipte them into doing what I wanted had fallen away; not only was I terrible at it, but it was incredibly damaging to all parties involved, including me. After all, if I had continued that path, not only would I have lost the firm, strong embrace of Jahi, but I would have lost the chance to sink into the fluffiness of my mate as well as the soft, warm embrace of Leone. Though... that made me wonder what heaven awaited me if I got both Kat and Leone to myself for a night; how insanelyfortable would it be to be pampered by those two buxom beauties~? I reckon I would feel like a Queen who''s two consorts were striving for her affections~! Now I really wanted to try it, though I knew it was unlikely to happen since Jahi would always be present, and while she didn''t mind watching... Even if I got to experience it, it would be short lived, which was sad, but I knew that that pleasure would be reced with something else~! I chuckled as I exited the Pce, my legs carrying me over towards the forge where I had all the materials we gathered stored away, ready and waiting for me to begin throwing myself into the wonders of smithing. So many ideas danced around my head as I envisioned different projects that I wanted toplete, with some being personal - weapons and armor for myself to satisfy my desire to own an armory - whilst most were for the other three. I needed to get Jahi armor, a better secondary weapon for closer quarters, and some utility des for harvesting and general use; all of that needed to get forged soon, since I had decided that she would be the priority for now. Then I had a few ideas in mind for both Kat and Leone, ideas that worked the same for both thanks to their more magically attuned selves. Amongst the most important was creating a solid, enchantable wand or staff for them both, something that they could enchant with one of their spells that was too long to cast in the heat of a battle but something that could endure being ced on a physical medium. Items that could capture one of their frequent spells and allow them to surprise the enemy by casting a middle tier spell that could cause some serious damage if cast quickly, leaving little time for the enemy to react. Getting something that was that durable that could withstand such a strong enchantment being ced but also being utilized would be a challenge, and it was one that I was more than willing to take on, since it would broaden my horizons and expand my repertoire of forging. They also needed some solid armor as well, and that woulde in the form of thin, light, yet durable chest pieces as well as greaves, with some bracers being in the equation as well... Besides that, I needed to get better at leather working as well, which would allow me to create lighter armor for them; pants and a tunic as well as gloves and hoods, things that would keep them mobile and unhindered while still protecting them. Lastly, the thing I wanted to do the most, but knew I would need to take time to truly understand, was using that Fiend''s scales to create some kind of alloy, and figuring out just what use said alloy would have. Would it be brittle and soft, or incredibly hard and impossible to shape? Would the alloy be too dense and thus unusable, or too weak to warrantbative use? What about using the scales not in metals, but instead by themselves as a scale mail? Could I work with them that way, and did they have any negative effects on their own? All of the materials we gathered from the Fiend were surrounded in questions that required multiple answers to understand, and that was fascinating to me;pletely and utterly captivating. I wanted to understand them no matter what, exciting me so very much as I entered the forge and found the station that I had been given, my eyesnding on the various crates around me that were filled with goodies. Time to start hammering away~! Chapter 680 679: Vampires Tired Mind Chapter 680 679: Vampire''s Tired Mind Leone PoV Lounging on the soft mattress of my bed, I sighed quietly as I stared at the ceiling, feeling a little worn out and tired after such a long night. Anput was a demanding lover sometimes, and I found her neediness to be rather adorable, like a cute puppy that continuously yapped at its owner to grab their attention; except instead of yapping, she was whispering into my ears and licking my face, which while that was indeed like a puppy, I certainly wouldn''t let a puppy do any of the things that she did to me after that... Where Jahi was straightforwards and dominant, Anput left behind the illusion of choice, the Jackalkin getting her enjoyment from hearing her partners tell her what they wanted from her before doing it, whereas Jahi just took what she wanted. Both were good, and I relished the attention of both, but I could certainly see the differences between the two. Then there was Kat, who was a devious minx that mixed the two into the perfect blend; she rarely outright said that she wanted to make love to a certain person, instead alluding to it and inviting them through her actions to get what she wanted, before taking the lead from there and extracting what she wanted from us after that. All in all, they were all tiring lovers since they demanded everything, but the sex was fulfilling... and whilst I was embarrassed to admit it, I was addicted to the action of fulfilling those desires, since they aligned with my own. Even now, napping quietly on another bed, Kat had left herself open for me to use if I desired it, the Dogkin briefly waking up a few minutes ago to tell me that if I wanted to, I could take her however I pleased as she slept... I had thought I was ustomed to the intricacies of each of my lovers, and yet it would seem that I was still finding out new things about them even now; I mean, who would want to have someone making love to them while they slept?! Was that seriously a kink that people had, and was it really something that Kat liked?! It boggled my mind, but... Well, I''d be lying if I said I didn''t want to partake in her once like this, since my curiosity to know what it would feel like for us both was quite high. However, for the time being I let my body rest, the strain from servicing my Sultanate equivalent still making me sore even now, and while I could just magic away my problems, there was something cathartic about justying in bed and thinking, taking this time to rest and knowing that I was allowed to do so. The mattress hugged my body from below, the sheets wrapped around my body from the top, and the pillows beneath my head and my feet brought the pressure off of those ces, leaving me feeling rather rxed as I justid there. It was bliss, so why not just enjoy that bliss and take this peaceful time to just think about things, instead of going going going like we had been for thest few months. These moments of peace were bing rarer, more of our time spent on the move to a new location where we would be fighting something or another before returning to the Pce for just a few days, and that was wearing down on our minds. I could tell that everyone wanted to take a moment to breathe, and I was the same; I loved my research, my alchemy and my spells, but I just wanted to let them sit to the side for now. My notebook filled with theories and ideas was beside me, but I hadn''t opened it in awhile, and the book on top of it was just a simple romance novel that Anput suggested to me... one that I had slowlye to the realization was just a glorified smut novel with a focus on building the rtionship between the adventurer and her childhood friend back at the vige she had been born in. It took a few chapters to realize that, and I still felt my cheeks redden when I recalled how it had gone from a heart thumping confession scene about their rtionship blooming into something new to a scene of the childhood friend offering herself to the main character and giving her a separate oral pleasure... Not something I wanted to read, but... Well, it was still on my nightstand anyways, wasn''t it? Pulling the nkets closer to my face, I turned over and nced at Kat, focusing on her sleeping face for a moment before letting my mind wander, finding myself thinking about the past. Back then - something that doesn''t seem fitting since ''then'' was just a handful of years ago - I was incredibly shy and reserved; meeting new people and talking to them just wasn''t something I wanted to do, and I found myself scared to do so. Especially since my peers were of the Nobility; they put on fake fronts and facades to act more mature and like adults instead of being the child that they were, and as such they suppressed their childish love for things like magic or y fighting. Magic was just a tool, or sword fighting needed to be taken seriously even if they were using sticks, not des. Everything was serious, and it felt stifling to me; I wanted to talk to my peers about the wonders and beauty of magic, and yet they didn''t seem interested. They were more focused on who was friends with who and how that power bnce worked; the economy of a certainnd, the feasibility of certain things. None of it should have mattered to children, and yet they were determined to discuss it, pushing magic to the side; it was only a tool, after all. I felt stuck and confused, the thing that I had viewed as so beautiful and fun now beingbeled as nothing more than a thing to use to do something else, to be stronger so that you can do this or that. It hurt me, and I didn''t like listening to it, but I was forced to; I was the Princess, and they were my subjects and future counselors, advisers and retainers. I needed them, and I needed to cultivate something between all of us to make that future smoother. When I learned of the Demoness awakening to Light Magic, I was curious to see her, and Mom decided that it would be rather beneficial if I did see her. Meeting Jahi and meeting Kat was so different from all the other Nobles; Jahi didn''t care for true decorum, giving me the bare minimum before focusing instead on what she wanted, while Kat very quickly captivated my attention. She showed interest in magic, and a deeper understandingpared to those that I knew. We talked, and before I realized it... I was hooked on picking her brain about magic, talking about this and that, how it affected that or how this was actually rted to that... It was euphoric, and I became smitten. Then there was the gant Demoness who was slowly bing the traditional knight in shining armor to me; handsome, strong, loyal... Jahi was bing more and more physically attractive, and her personality was refreshingpared to our peers; meanwhile, Kat became equally as attractive as Jahi, but where the Demoness was roguish yet valiant, the Dogkin maid was bing sexy and ravishing. Then her mind on top of her body only made her even more attractive to me, to the point that - should Jahi reject my advances - I was determined to swoon the Dogkin maid away from the Demoness and into the Pce, to be my friend and my lover... I wanted her, and I wanted her so bad... Magic united us back then, and it was magic now that kept us close; I held something special to each of the women I was in love with, but Kat would always bring me that youthful joy of learning something new... alongside the deep, almost primal desires to sink my fangs into her and ''own'' her. In fact... Feeling my body heat up even more, I blushed as I watched Kat nuzzle her pillow, deep in sleep and potentially dreaming of something blissful, and I couldn''t help as I got up, free from myfortable ''restraints'' and open to the world. I made my way over towards the sleeping Dogkin and pursed my lips, before I began to gently and methodically unwrap her from the nkets before recing that warmth with my own, embracing her and beginning to partake in her, doing as she had suggested earlier and allowing my desires to be fulfilled as I held her close. Her scent intoxicated me, but not as much as her blood did as I leaned down and sunk my fangs into her neck, taking a few sips of the tart ambrosia that was her blood while maintaining a steady pace. It was like heaven for me, and I could tell that after a few rounds, I would be enjoying the bliss of sleep again... but until then, I had a very different bliss to partake in. Chapter 681 680: Taking Advantage of the Quiet* Chapter 681 680: Taking Advantage of the Quiet* --- My mind is slightly numb rn, so smut it is lol... --- Ria PoV Taking a look at the closed door leading into the girls room, I let out a low sigh as the slight creaking of a bed slipped under the door, making it quite clear what was happening inside that room... Honestly, I was slightly exasperated at how voracious all of their appetites were, since I had heard them going at itst night as well, while the early morning had been yet another busy time for them; it was something that made me want to change our rooms, but having everyone nearby and in this single section was really what we all wanted, since - while it was distracting and mildly embarrassing to listen to - it didn''t outweigh the fact that Julie had given birth and that it''d be best if the two little ones had more interactions with their siblings and inws, even if that was just a fleeting interaction. At least here they were guaranteed to see and hear the two girls when they were awake, and those brief moments of interaction were needed so that they both grew up thinking that their sisters and sisters inw actually cared about them. I didn''t want them to think that Jahi or Kat thought nothing of them, and bonding at such a young, tender age was easier than people realized; simply being seen and hugging them was enough if done frequently, and with how often they were out of the Pce... Each moment counted. Just like each moment of these little ones being asleep mattered, and as I heard the moan of someone from the girls room, I closed my book and lifted the two sleeping children, making my way towards our bedroom and wrapping them in nkets beforeying them in their crib, feeling far too... ''needy'' to not act on it now. It was slightly embarrassing, but hearing them let loose without needing to worry was making me aroused, and I looked towards Julie with clear intentions, the Dogkin woman blushing as she watched me put our child to bed. My cock strained against the panties I wore, and I blushed as well as I approached Julie, noting that her eyes were already locked to my crotch and that her tail was swaying side to side hypnotically. "Let''s... go to the bathroom, hmm..?" The Dogkin shivered at my raspy whisper, but she nodded as she epted my hand, walking beside me as we made our way towards the bath, where we would have some privacy. Not the mostfortable, but certainly somewhere that worked... As soon as we were inside, I pulled my dress off and unsped my bra, watching as Julie did the same and freezing slightly, my eyes glued to herrge, bountiful breasts. Mild envy wormed through me, but I pushed that down when I reached over and grabbed her chest, my fingers sinking into those twin peaks and making my wife moan softly as she observed my actions, remaining passive. "I was always curious... Chordeva seemed addicted to it when I was feeding Jahi... She always focused on my breasts whenever we made love..." Leaning down, I brought my lips towards one of Julie''s nipples, my breath brushing against her supple skin as I looked up, catching the deep blush and hazy, lustful gaze that she aimed at me. Cupping my hands around her breasts, Itched onto her nipple and began to suck, squeezing the globe gently as well and weing a spurt of sweet, warm milk into my mouth, all while Julie moaned softly as she reached down and stroked my head instinctively. "S-She is r-rather focused on my b-breasts, t-though... s-she always has been... but now, s-she certainly is..." Her words made me envious again for a moment, so I nipped the perky nipple yfully and smirked at how she moaned louder this time, her cheeks flushing a deeper crimson. I gasped softly as she reached forwards and began to stroke my cock, her fingers dancing around my shaft and teasing my tip expertly as she jerked me off, all while I continued to enjoy my own fill of the milk that was nourishing my daughter. It tasted excellent, and there was a slight guilt shrouding the act, since I felt like I was stealing what was Alessandra''s, though the pleasure of being stroked while sinking my face further into the softness of her chest made that guilt wash away. Additionally, it would seem I was pent up enough as a ''male'' that just a minute of her stroking my cock made me cum, my balls clenching tightly as I began to ejacte over her thighs and stomach, shooting thick ropes of semen onto her body even as I continued to suckle. She gasped as she felt my cum, and I only stopped when her fingers stopped moving, the Dogkin no longer coaxing out my sperm with her soft, experienced hands, and as I stopped cumming, I gave her nipple onest nip before pulling away. "I... understand why she was so focused on my chest back then. This is... delicious." Julie blushed again, before biting her cheek as she felt me caress her juicy bottom, my cock resting between our stomachs as I embraced her. "How do you want me to take you, Julie..? We need to take advantage of this quiet moment, and I''m really, really horny... I need you so badly..." Kissing her cheek, I felt her furry tail brush against my hands as I squeezed her ass, and her pants as she felt my cock throb between us was adorable. "B-Behind..." She barely managed to get a word out, and I smirked as she gave me her typical answer; whenever she was just as horny as Chordeva and I, she wanted to be taken from behind, her desires as a Dogkin overwhelming her desire to experiment. And with a body like hers, neither Chordeva or I minded watching her ass ripple as we took her; in fact, we usually asked her to bend over whenever we had time on our hands, taking her swiftly and enjoying the way she melted beneath us as we pounded her from behind. Nodding, I walked her over towards the counter and allowed her to rest her hands on the counter, before her eyes widened as she looked up, realizing what I was doing. "I want to see your beautiful face as you cum, Julie... I want to watch these tits bouncing around as I fuck you, but I also want to watch your ass jiggle too... thank the Gods that mirrors were invented, hmm~?" Her cheeks darkened again, and I found myself grinning as I felt a sliver of what Chordeva felt, enjoying the way my partner became embarrassed as I decided to take it a step further, grabbing her arms and pulling them back as I forced her to arch her back, revealing her face and breasts even more and making her blush harder. Looking down, I guided myself towards her wet pussy and stroked my tip against its slick entrance a few times before sliding inside, moaning quietly as her juicy folds writhed around my shaft while her cervix kissed my tip. Pushing harder, I grinned some more as she moaned loudly, her cervix giving way and allowing me entrance to her womb, where just a short time ago my daughter had been growing. Buried to the root, I moaned again as I thought about the extremely unlikely odds of impregnating her again, but that made me so aroused that I began to swing my hips unconsciously, pping against her butt and making her moan crazily as I increased the pace. My entire penis was wrapped by her folds, which wriggled to life and tried to milk out my semen from my balls, which pped against her plump thighs, smacking against her own fluids and my previous ejaction. I couldn''t help myself as I pounded forwards, unable to hold back as I took advantage of this moment and made sweet, sweet love to the Dogkin Baroness - my wife, and mother of my child. Our moans filled the bathroom as we fucked, and unsurprisingly, her tight, soaked pussy brought me to orgasm swiftly, the sight of her ck expression and swinging breasts as I fucked her hard from behind, my hips cushioned against her thick ass, and how the sense of domination at ''trapping'' her here to take my cock all welling together in my testicles and erupting into her womb. I squirted semen straight into her womb incessantly, cumming hard and ejacting for the second time today as I tried to breed my wife once more. Her entire body shivered as I came, and I gasped as I felt her pussy tighten even more around my cock, mping down on it like a vice and milking out more cum from me as she orgasmed as well, the two of us fulfilling our needs together. Without much suspense I continued to pound into her, not feeling anywhere near fully sated and desiring more than just two ejactions, so I kept at it and held her up by her arms, while her legs eventually found themselves wrapped around my waist as her knees gave out, putting us in a rather... unique position. I didn''t care though, my entire mind lost to pleasure and reeling from the sheer amount of euphoria I felt as I came inside her over and over again, my everything focused on the Dogkin slut beneath me who wanted to take my semen into her womb for me. I was so focused on her and having sex that I didn''t know the door had opened, nor was I aware that a towering blue Demoness was watching with amusement as I lost myself to Julie''s body, bloating her womb and showing a very ungraceful side of myself... and a side that wasn''t very Elf like... Though, the Demoness didn''t care as she watched em ejacte again, letting me have my pleasure before making me yelp in surprise as a handnded on my butt, sending me forwards and deeper into Julie, who groaned as she was stuffed even more than before. "Having fun without me~? This was quite the sight to return to, and honestly..." Gently lowering the two of us to the floor, the Demoness grinned as she pushed me forwards and leaned down, her long tongue gliding across my slit as she tasted me, before muttering "It was quite arousing seeing my little Elf trying to be dominant... You looked stunning, Ria, really... but I think the sexiest version of you is the one that screams as I ravage her pussy to the point of ruin. Though..." Lapping at my cunt, Chordeva snickered quietly before kneeling behind me, and I gasped as I felt her thick cock press against my prepared pussy, her words barely registering as she threw me into a world of sheer pleasure. "How beautiful will the you be that is experience sex on both ends, I wonder~?" Chapter 682 681: Late Start Chapter 682 681: Late Start Kat PoV By the time that I finally woke up, it was in the midst of Leone partaking in me, the Vampire panting adorably above me as she tried to remain quiet, all while her - almost unreasonablyrge - member slid in and out in a rhythmic motion, pleasuring us both immensely. Her crimson eyes widened as I looked back at her, and I smirked as I saw her cheeks darken as she froze for a moment, before they went even darker as I said "Don''t stop now, Leone... if anything, go harder~! Make the most of this now before someonees back and ruins our alone time..." My words set her off, and before I knew it my arms were wrapped around my pillow as I hugged it close, my face buried into it as my Vampiric lover mmed her hips down like a jackhammer, going from a rhythmic motion that was pleasant and gentle to something hard and fast, which I loved even more than the initial movements. I bit the pillow and felt tears spring to my eyes as her size threatened to split me in two, even justying beneath her as she hammered herself into my deepest parts bringing me pain and pleasure in equal amounts as she used me thoroughly. It was one hell of a way to wake up, and my healed body enjoyed the use it got as Leone did her best to let it all out, pouring her lust out of herself and into me instead, which I dly epted with spread legs and a happy heart. Leone - even with as determined and hard as she was going - still took quite a few minutes to reach a point where she could say she was done and satisfied, and those minutes felt both stretched out to infinity andpressed down into mere moments as Iid there. Not my proudest performance as a woman who knew how to satisfy her partner - since on my end I was doing literally nothing - but it was Leone''s satisfaction that mattered the most here, and she was immensely satisfied. If my slightly bloated belly and numb legs were anything to go by, since she had made me orgasm multiple times alongside her, while her plopping onto the bed beside me with a sweat stained body was another thing to go by as well... Of course, I couldn''t help myself as I finished it all off the ''right'' way, making her gasp as I gave her the right amount of kisses and licks where it mattered before epting her love again. "Kat..." Just hearing her pant my voice was enough to rejuvenate me, and I did my best before epting it all, moving away only when she was finally soft. Leone''s gray hair was ted with sweat and clinging to her shoulders, chest and back, while her cheeks were a healthy rose color that would asionally darken as I snuggled beside her. "Kat... I-I think we should get up s-soon... it''s almost dusk..." My ears fluttered at that, her words making me look towards the window before I sighed, my lips pursed into a thin line as I realized a day had slipped through my fingers swiftly; the consequences of my actions and whatnot, but still... It never felt good knowing that time was ''wasted'', even if that time wasn''t actually wasted; I needed to heal up properly after such a harsh lesson, the various life threatening injuries I suffered having dealt severe damage both to my body and to my psyche, which worked hand in hand to tear one another down despite me being healed through magical means. I felt better now though, and quick peak into my stats showed that the hell I went through had been worth it. My CON went from 105 to 117, my STR went from 102 to 108, and both my AGI and DEX went from 109 to 118; that brought my overall stats back to a rtively even ying field, and it was a ying field that I thought was well worth being in. "Mm... Yes, we should... How about one of the gardens? Take our notebooks and swap ideas, enjoy thest bits of the sun... y some chess or shogi and rx. It''ll be productive enough and rxing as well, no?" Leone looked out the window as well before nodding, only to blush as she looked down at herself and took in her overall appearance, eventually taking in my own as well and tantly letting her gaze linger. "A bath first, obviously... I think we both need a very thorough cleaning..." Sitting up, I leaned closer to Leone and whispered "One that I am very~ happy to have to do, Leone... I love feeling it so deep inside me..." Before she could reply, I got up and sauntered away, enjoying how easy it was to get a rise out of her as I made my way into the bath, where we began to multitask extremely efficiently. Sometimes I wondered if I would hate this life if I didn''t have my [Nymphomania] skill, and other times I wondered if perhaps my three lovers wouldn''t be as needy if I wasn''t so eager to provide for them; either way, while it was a fun little thought puzzle, I rather loved the life I was living, so I didn''t think on it too much. "Would you rather talk about your normal magic - Fire Magic - your more advanced, and understood magics - Moon and Blood Magic - or would you like to explore the less understood schools that you have - Ash and Summoning Magic? I certainly have my own magics for each of those categories..." Leone squirmed slightly as I cleaned her from behind, my chest pressed against her back as I made sure to scrub everyst inch of her body like I had been ''trained'' to do by Jahi. "U-Um, w-what would those ah~! be..?" Enjoying her squirming and gasping, I hummed softly behind her for a few moments before answering "Water and Wind for ''normal'', Ice for ''advanced'' and Lust for ''less understood''. Each has a different level of thought process needed to make progress, no? We can swap an infinitesimal amount of theories and ideas for our ''normal'' magics and how to improve them or spells utilizing them, while the amount only bes smaller with the next step up. My Ice and your Moon and Blood are far moreplex, yet we both understand them to a certain degree that we can offer ''deep'' insight into them for the other. Then there''s the lesser known Ash, Summoning, and Lust Magics that we both are striving to attain and understand." She nodded, though her gasp made me drop the subject for the time being as I focused on something else... Chapter 683 682: Picking One Anothers Mind Chapter 683 682: Picking One Another''s Mind I hummed quietly to myself as I stared down at the chessboard, taking in the positions of the pieces and crafting a new strategy to counter Leone''s ambitious, entirely offensive strategy that threatened to break down my defenses and swiftly capture my Queen and King. The sun was slowly drifting down towards the horizon, the orange sphere of mes dangling in the clear blue sky warming up the Pce and gardens around it, bathing us in a nice warmth and leaving us feelingfortable as we sat in the midst of a sea of green. A nice floral scent wafted through the air, slightly sweet and slightly earthy, whichplimented the simple red wine that we had brought out with us to further enjoy this nice day, especially with the added enjoyment of ying a good game of chess. "So let''s talk basics then. Your Fire Magic; you tend to utilize the explosiveness of it only onrger, area based attacks. Large sts that burn down a set area. Only ever used to attack a group of enemies or used to separate arger, stronger enemy from us. While invaluable..." Picking up a bishop, I moved the piece across the board and nodded, looking back up at Leone and not letting her get a clue based on my eyes, simply smiling at her as she narrowed her eyes before looking down at the board, listening to me and thinking at the same time. "It could be better. Why not infuse a spear or fireball with that explosiveness? Single target spell to pierce armor - be it metal, hide, or scales - and utterly obliterate whatever is inside. That explosiveness doesn''t need to be the end of the spell; it can be the beginning. Utility to make something better." "Mmm... so as a starter for my spells instead of a finisher? Give the ranged spells some more ''oomph'' on a wider variety of my attacks? That''s... certainly a good idea. Could use that to make my armory more versatile and deadly, that''s for sure." "Or you couldpress the st for something closer range, or as a trap spell. Not as explosive as you would think, but enough to cause serious damage to someone who was unsuspecting. Like my own close quarters spells." Leone nodded, before picking up her rook and moving it a few spaces, trying to anticipate what I was doing and outy it, only to frown as I made a move almost instantly, surprising her. "Surprise can be quite the factor in a fight, and especially if that surprise is that a ranged attacker has something lethal up their sleeves for if they get dragged into the melee. No offense, Leone, but you aren''t that great with that Estoc, even if your reflexes are abnormally swift and your strength is - asionally - quite strong. Your footwork and melee acumen isn''t that high..." "Thanks, Kat, that''s a wonderful thing to hear." I chuckled at her dry response, observing the board closely as I continued to plot my next few moves, trying to anticipate the Vampire and begin sealing this battle in my victory. "Besides the explosiveness, you could also begin to explore more personal support spells; things to bolster your own strength and increase your potency on the battlefield. That crest that you tattooed onto yourself all those years ago, the one that draws more mana from the air and improves your mana regeneration. Perhaps explore a few more spells that would increase your regeneration or improve the strength of your spells. Honestly, your current repertoire of spells utilizing only Fire Mana is extremely broad and potent. There''s not much to improve besides the basics, which... honestly, you have a good grasp on and a grasp on what you need to continue working on." "I guess that''s true... besides, the basics are something we both have a deep understanding on, and unless we want to go quite in depth, then we should move on." Stroking her jaw, Leone frowned before reaching forwards, sliding a pawn forwards and sacrificing it in order to gain a turn to continue setting up her strategy. "Well then, your Moon Magic is perfect for support. Figure out how to alter the perspective of our enemies on the fly, corneal our locations, imbue your own spells with illusory properties to make them harder to anticipate and withstand... As for Blood Magic, it has an incredible offensive potential that is waiting to be tapped into. Learning to control the blood that was already spilled and crafting spikes and spears with them to attack the enemy from behind and below... Or using it to siphon off the life force of the enemy and heal yourself even faster while weakening them." "True. Especially if I continue to explore my True Vampire Form and learn to harness its potential far quicker than I am able to do so now. Ah, and your Ice Magic, I notice that you almost always shatter it before it could impact someone; why is that?" Studying the board, I answered "Shattering it into those slivers of ice to slice into the flesh of our opponents is the goal; I prefer crowd control and taking them out of the fight first before killing them afterwards. Besides, my Ice spreads a deep chill to anyone hit that makes it impossible to fight like normal. There''s no need to kill one when I can take out multiple opponents with that same spell." "And then when they get close you have that st spell that sends shards straight into their body, right? On top of the swordy that you possess... as well as the agility and dexterity... and the power..." I rolled my eyes as I took not her pawn, but her rook, trading pieces with her and beginning to turn the tides as she had to assume a defensive stance on the board. "Yes, I am a rather bnced fighter; something that Lady Fenryas has made sure to drill into my head... Comparatively, where youck in physical prowess you excel in magical prowess. y into your strengths, Leone. Bolstering your weaknesses is good and all, but not if you just simply can''t get any progress in them. Currently, you haven''t tried to improve your swordy that much, so of course itsgging behindpared to your spells. Don''t push yourself too hard to do something that you aren''t great at." She pouted at me, before letting out a sigh as she continued to trade pieces with me, our chess game continuing on alongside our casual chat, the wine and breeze creating a perfect atmosphere. It was quite the evening to rx, and we continued to talk about our magics even as the game made its way down towards a conclusion, our minds shing together and swapping ideas. Chapter 684 683: Good Stretch Chapter 684 683: Good Stretch "And... I think that''s checkmate, no~?" Leone smirked at me as she slid her remaining Bishop forwards, trapping my pieces in a perfect zone of lethality as each move I was able to make would only leave them ready to be reaped by the denser, solid pieces of ice that shimmered a pale blue. My own white pieces were locked in ce, and the most obvious of it all was the King, who stood alone next to two pale blue pieces, its Queen and Rook now resting on the side of the board, watching on from ''beyond the grave''. "That is checkmate indeed..." Sighing, I tapped the King and watched as it fell forwards, shattering against the icy board and signaling my defeat as I leaned back into the chair, reaching forwards and lifting my winess to help ease my woes. The fruity vor slid down my throat smoothly, and I let out another sigh as I looked up at the violet and orange sky, the sun slowly setting in the distance. We had been outside for well over an hour already, and each minute had been spent engaging in a battle of the mind as well as debating our minds as well, providing exnation and understanding for the reason we utilized our magics the way we had been, articting our decisions and making the other understand why we used our spells the ways we did. It was something that the two of us believed in deeply and felt worked quite well; having to give reason for why you did something and prove that your method was valid and the most efficient. Debating your techniques and understanding only worked to deepen your understanding of the topic, at least if the person or people that you were debating with wanted to be respectful and a decent person to you, giving you the time to speak and only speaking when it was their turn; arguing and debating were different, and too many people thought they were the same thing... Since we had deep respect and love for one another, we obviously weren''t arguing this topic, and instead enjoying the different perspective that our partner had on what we were doing; I made my spells far too crowd control oriented while Leone didn''tbine too many different elements into her spells, making them rather ''nd''. "Well, I think I learned a good bit... And it''s odd to say, but honestly... I want to spar. It''s been awhile, and I feel rather stiff and pent up." I gave her a quick, odd look which made the Vampire blush and shake her head quickly, saying "Not like that!" "Good... I was about to say, with how much we did it earlier, how would you still~ be pent up~? Only Jahi gets like that..." Her blush deepened as she heard that, and I chuckled as I waved my hand, letting the chessboard melt away before sending the water into the grass, leaving behind little trace of our match - both because I had to, and also because I wanted to wash away the shame of losing... because I can be petty sometimes too. Draining my wine ss, I let that melt as well before standing up and stretching, watching Leone mirror me before I gestured towards the Pce, saying "Let''s spar in the training grounds then. Should we use our normal weapons or sparring des?" I grabbed the bottle of wine and began to walk back towards the Pce, Leone beside me as we left behind the gentle, cool breeze of dusk for the regted warmth of the Pce. "Sparring des, please... I don''t want to be hurt or hurt you anymore than is necessary. Besides, like you said, this isn''t something I am too talented at; I just want to let loose and get rid of this excess energy. Feels like we''ve spent more time traveling than actually doing anything physical... though that''s a good thing." Letting out a hum of agreement, I led us towards the training grounds, not wanting to change into proper gear for this since it would be a very casual spar; besides, we were both dressed in our normal physical wear anyways; pants and a shirt alongside some boots. It was just what was near the bed when we got finished with everything... The bottle of wine came with us as well, which I left off to the side as we grabbed some basic des and moved over towards one of the empty spaces away from everyone else, making sure we were out of everyones ways and not hindering any Knights or Squires from having the space they truly needed. Of course, we could see the two Demons on the other side of the training grounds sparring casually, a blue and a red slowly increasing the pace as their swords shed together, the both of them to absorbed in their spar to notice us. Getting a feel for the heft of the de, I lowered my stance and watched as Leone did the same, the Vampire taking a deep breath as she stared at me before lunging forwards, stabbing her sword forwards and aiming for my heart. I stepped into the thrust and redirected her de to the side, causing her to stumble as her momentum carried her forwards, which allowed me to push her de down and bring my de to bear, though Leone used her stumble to her advantage as she pushed me back. Resetting my feet, I lunged forwards this time and brought the tip of my sword towards her shoulder, only to get a taste of her insane reflexes as she tilted her sword to the side and caught my thrust on the t of her de, blocking it. The reverberation traveled through my arm ufortably, but I ignored it as I retrieved my sword and shed towards her side, using my speed to my advantage. Leone took a step back to avoid the sh, her sword rising in response and pinning my sword to the sand, which allowed her to get a swing in before I could bring my sword back up. Our spar began in earnest, and each movement felt great as we exerted our muscles and began to work out and train. Chapter 685 684: Anput the Blacksmith Chapter 685 684: Anput the cksmith Leone and I got a nice spar in without being distracted by anyone else, our des crossing in simple, yet effective arcs as we enjoyed a casual spar that went back and forth,cking any of the usual finesse that one would expect from experienced fighters and instead being something entirely casual. I enjoyed the way it forced your muscles to stretch out and got the blood pumping, all while I could keep my mind calm and rxed, entering an almost dozing state as I responded to Leone''s attacks reflexively, while she seemed to be taking this time to think over what we had talked about over chess. The exercise was perfect for us, and after almost two to three dozen minutes of doing so, Jahi and Belian finally finished up and noticed us, making their way over and pulling us free from our rxed and contemtive states. Letting the dull metal de rest loosely in my palm, I controlled my breathing and began to rx my body, the heat pulsing through my veins in the form of adrenaline gradually abating and leaving me slightly tired and loose, my muscles still relishing the additional oxygen they were receiving while the small tears had already begun to heal themselves. I wiped the slight sheen of sweat off my brow and grabbed the wine bottle, concentrating my mana into a weak cloud of ice that chilled the liquid inside before creating a few sses, which I began to fill and hand out. "What brings you over here, Princess? It''s rare for you to join us in the training grounds." Belian gave Leone a bow before epting the ss gratefully, his brown eyes holding a curious light as he waited for an answer, all while his red skin glimmered beneath the torchlight, disying the hard work he and Jahi had been putting in for however long. "Just stretching myself is all; felt the need to exercise a bit, and what better way than a spar?" Jahi and Belian nodded, though Jahi was focused more on our appearances then Leone''s words, the Demoness taking in our sweaty visages and making it quite clear that she was quite fond of what she saw. Belian tactfully decided to ignore the younger Demoness, sipping on the wine and nodding appreciatively before saying "Well, I''ll leave you three to it! Thanks for the wine, Miss Katherine." With another bow the red skinned Demon turned away and left us, the winess still in his hand as he exited the training grounds. Sipping on my own ss, I raised a brow at Jahi and said "Love, you could be a bit less obvious with your gaze, y''know? You look like you just discovered what sex was." Her amethyst eyes turned towards me, locking gazes for a moment before she took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few seconds, calming herself down. Leone was blushing slightly as she stood beside me, fiddling with the winess in her hands and staring at the red liquid intently, trying to avoid the heated gaze of the Demoness in front of us; it was amusing to me how the two who had been the most ''active'' over thest day were the two that were still craving more. Though, that might just be normal for us now... perhaps I had been a bad influence to them but ''unlocking'' the gates to sex so early? Eh, who cares... Taking another sip of the wine, I was about to say something when I looked towards one of the many entrances, feeling the familiar presence of my mate drawing closer. Anput came into the training grounds with a grin, a box cradled in her arms and a bundle slung over her back, tied to her in a white cloth. The Jackalkin''s tail was wagging swiftly as she approached us, her obsidian eyes sparkling as she ced the box on the ground and untied the bundle, ignoring our raised brows and collective curiosity for a moment as she set herself up for a presentation. Looking back up, she began to say "So I made quite a few things- Ooh, wine!" I snorted at how quickly her attention was robbed from her works, but I still handed her a ss and filled it with the fruity red liquid, which she drained in a single gulp and shamelessly asked for a refill. Giving it to her, I watched the Jackalkin drain that ss as well before she handed me the winess, smacking her lips together appreciatively and returning her attention to the things she had made. "Ah, so I made quite a few things today, and I have a little something for everyone~! First, Jahi, I went ahead and made an upgrade for your dius. This one is made from an alloy of Rubrum Copper and Fortis Silver, which created a nice Vis Bronze if I researched everything correctly. Strong and rather attuned with Fire Mana, the bronze is naturally warm to the touch and heats up with just a bit more mana added into it. So be careful, but also... yeah, this is a nice~ de." Unwrapping the bundle, she revealed arge three and a half foot long, half foot wide sword that would be quiterge for Leone and I, but for Jahi... The Demoness just lifted it with a single hand and made it look tiny, whereas we would potentially need two hands to make the de work considering its weight and bnce. We could lift it easily, yes, but the ability to wield it rested in how well you could manipte that weight and length with one or two hands, and unlike fiction, swinging a gigantic sword around one handed leaves little room for technique, which leaves a tiny likelihood that you survive a fight. Giving it a few swings, Jahi listened as Anput continued on, the Jackalkin reaching into the box and pulling out a set of armor pieces. "Kat, Leone, these are greaves that I made for the two of you. You both have simr enough proportions for your limbs, but still let me know if they don''t fit. Alloyed Shell Stone and Firmius Iron to get a really tough metal, which is going to be the staple for our armor going forwards. At least until we find some stronger materials..." Simple metal sheets hammered into a curve were presented to us, the foot and a few extra inches of material meant to protect our ankles up to our knees, all while the leather padding on the inside made them bearable to wear and the straps allowed us to adjust them to fit over whatever clothing we wore. "I kept them simple since Kat can enchant them, and doing any extra work on them might impede her working area, so I opted for the simple, yet effective look. Not the prettiest, but..." "Pretty doesn''t keep us alive, Anput, so it''s fine." My mate smiled at me before handing them to us, and she continued on, saying "Besides that, I made you both vambraces as well, and they''re a bit moreplex than the greaves." Pulling one out, she showed us a hollow tube of metal, before unsping a piece and revealing that they could separate into halves. "This keeps you more protected while being easy to remove; just connect one half of it and ce it over the arm like so, before sping that part. These are connected by leather inside, so they should befortable and keep you protected, while allowing me to adjust them again should the need arise." Handing them to us, she took a deep breath and reached into the crate, saying "Finally, I made this for you, Jahi. A cuirass. I took the time to make sure it looked decent too, so instead of just Shell Stone and Firmius Iron, I used some Fortis Silver as well and burnished it. So instead of looking like a deep brown, its more of a bronzy color. Either way, its quite tough and still rtively light." Arge cuirass was thest thing she pulled out, and after looking between Jahi and the armor, I smiled wryly as I wondered how much extra material needed to go into making the Demoness armorpared to someone our stature. After all, on top of the sheer size of Jahi, she was also a rather endowed woman as well, so the cuirass needed to ount for that as well... Taking it from Anput, Jahi inspected the armor for a few moments before beginning to undo the straps, opening the cuirass up and trying to put it on herself, only to smile wryly as we all moved forwards to help her, strapping the thick metal te onto her and taking a step back to observe it. Like Anput had said, the metal was a deep bronze color, the torchlight making it slightly red and contrasting her blue skin, but just like I had said, it didn''t need to look pretty, it just needed to work. A wavy pattern across the entire piece showed the Shell Stone base, and the thin waves wrapped around Jahi''s entire torso, while the thin tes that connect to the waist of the cuirass - the tassets - rested against Jahi''s thighs, protected her legs and hips alongside her torso. Quiterge and with a lot of avable space, the cuirass was thick enough to protect the Demoness while still being light enough to not impede her movements. "You keep outdoing yourself, Anput. Really. It fits nicely, and it seems strong enough." "Oh, it is. I tested on a few sheets of alloy that I had left over to see how strong it was, and unless someone is mming a spiked hammer down on you with a lot of momentum, it shouldn''t break that easily." We all nced at the Jackalkin for a moment, and she just smiled and shuffled around, looking away as she muttered "What? It needed to be tested... I was just doing my job." "You seemed too enthused about that, Anput... but either way, thank you. All that''s left to do to them is enchant them, which..." I let out a sigh as I nodded, staring at the various pieces of armor in front of me as I said "I know... I''ll get to it soon." Chapter 686 685: Kat the Enchantress Chapter 686 685: Kat the Enchantress Returning everything to the box that Anput had brought into the training grounds, we gave the Jackalkin a few more words of praise - which she soaked in like a sponge and puffed out her chest in pride - before taking the box and leaving the training grounds behind, making our way back towards our room. The bottle of wine had been finished swiftly between all three of us - Leone taking a break and shaking her head, declining the offer - and helped keep us all warm from our exercise, as well as rxing our minds somewhat and creating an ambiguous mood amongst us all, though we were still in control of our actions, reining in that mood to something that wouldn''t impede us or cause any embarrassment as we entered the room. Already the smell of excellent cooking was making our stomachs rumble, and Mother turned to smile at us as we entered, though that turn was impeded by the gigantic blue baby attached to her back. I chuckled softly as I nced at Jahi, who ignored me as she made her way over towards the couch, plopping down and letting out a sigh before smirking as Leone sat beside her, making me roll my eyes as the Demoness tried to make me jealous by embracing the Vampire intimately. Anput went to put the armor into our room, and I walked over to the kitchen and took a peak at all of the pots and pans that were set out above the stove, nodding my head as the scent from each of them only made my stomach rumble some more, though Mother just gave me a smile and murmured "Go rest, Bessie and I have this. It should be done in a few minutes... Perhaps longer since I have to lug her around as well..." The Marquess just grumbled as she nuzzled her cheek between Mother''s ears, her ruby eyes cracking open for just a moment as she stared at me tiredly, only to close her eyes a secondter as she continued to embrace Mother from behind, enjoying the warmth of the Dogkin as she cooked everyone dinner. The Cowkin hummed quietly to herself as she moved around to a new pot, stirring its contents and doing her best to make herself small enough that no one would take note of her, which we all appreciated. Meanwhile the Countess was back in her rocker with the two babies in her arms, all three of them dozing quietly as they enjoyed the warmth of the nket wrapped around themselves. I took it all in for a moment before making my way into the bedroom, grabbing some of the extra weapons and armor that we had and bringing them back out into the living area, where I sat down on a chair andid the gear out in front of me, knowing that I needed to practice enchanting once more before giving our new gear some nice enchantments. Anput came out with me and fell onto the couch beside Jahi, lounging contentedly across the Demoness''p and stretching herself out some more before curling up, looking more like a cat than a canine. Ignoring the exceedingly smug Demoness, I grabbed the basic dagger that I had long since put aside from my arsenal and spun it around, inspecting the simple de and picking out some enchantments from my mind to put onto this weapon for practice. To start - like I always did - I ced the enchantment that would actively draw in more mana and allow the material to be soaked in mana, strengthening it somewhat and improving the capacity for enchantments even if the space became more limited thanks to this enchantment taking some up. Concentrating my mana, I began to trace out the runes for this enchantment and reacquainting myself with it as I started my work, focusing entirely on the task at hand and enjoying the quiet while itsted. The all too familiar enchantment went on swiftly, and I took another deep breath as I began to envision some other basic enchantments that didn''t need my elements to work, relying instead on basic, raw mana. An endurance enchantment, a sharpness enchantment, and a small cleanliness enchantment, rounding it out as a normal, yet reliable dagger for someone to take out into the city casually; a nice, average, reliable weapon that didn''t require much maintenance whatsoever. Everything went on smoothly, and I slowly lowered myself back into the waters of enchanting as I controlled my magic intimately, making sure to keep it steady, consistent, andpletely under control as I ingrained the metal with my mana, altering its properties and adding some extra oomph to it. With my confidence slowly returning to me, I grabbed the next dagger and started anew, cing on the battery enchantment and repeating the endurance enchantment, before swapping to my elements to begin the moreplicated enchantments that required a bit more finesse and understanding of both the materials and myself to go on smoothly. Not too much mana since that could render all of the enchantments useless and turn the metal brittle or too soft, but not too little that the enchantment I put on was barely worth having at all. I needed to find the bnce and understand what I was working with and what I could do with the gear I was enchanting. For the dagger, I started with water and decided to keep it simple on that front as well, since we had an excess of items for me to work with and practice on. I went with a crescent sh enchantment, the simple - yet effective and deadly - enchantment a staple of my early spell casting career, giving the weapon some needed range and surprise capabilities. Switching over towards my Water Mana, I made sure to let it flow through me and keep it calm, not letting my naturally chaotic and cold Water Mana get away from me and ruin my work, which was two times harder than enchanting with normal mana. Additionally, the Water Mana ced more strain on the metal then raw mana, which meant I needed to be doubly careful to not make the enchantment too strong since it would destroy the dagger. However, even if it was a bit harder then the initial enchantments, the entire thing was still well within my capabilities and still so, so easy to do, just needing to getfortable in the whole thing again. Still, I was getting back into the groove of it all rather quickly, but extra practice never hurt anyone when it came to preparing for something, so I took my time and took up another dagger, beginning another enchantment. Chapter 687 686: Enchanting Idea Chapter 687 686: Enchanting Idea By the time that I had enchanted the third dagger, dinner was ready and smelling absolutely delectable, everyone in the room making their way towards the table without hesitation as we watched Bessie and Mother ferry the tters of food over to the table, each one looking far more tasty then thest. Like everyone hade to expect, most of those tters wereden with steaks and various different cuts of beef; ribs, sirloins, ribeyes, nk steak... Each of those tters was filled with enough food to feed almost two or three average families for two days, and yet this would all be consumed by us in mere minutes; that wonderful Demonic metabolism that the Marquess bestowed upon her daughter guaranteed that, while the utilization of mana from myself and physical exertion from smithing that Anput did made our stomachs bottomless as well. Even Leone was quite famished, still needing to properly rece the calories she burned this morning and afternoon... What would look like a waste of food in my old world for a group this size was actually just the norm for us now, and I hade to ept that, even if I would feel guilty for a few moments before and after the meal since I couldn''t help but try to count the calories in my head. Though that was washed away when I realized I more then burnt what I needed and that I was entirely able to eat this much without worrying that I would get out of shape, so I didn''t let that guilt weigh me down for long... Dinner was a quiet affair, therge pots of rice and cold noodlesplimenting the star of the meal - which was always the meat - and the various bowls of saut¨¦ed broli and cornden with butter and seasoning filling our stomachs quickly. No one spoke, and we all devoured our first and second portions swiftly, with even Alessandra and Lakshmi joining the feast as they nibbled on some broli and nk steak respectively. The baby Elf was nestled on Leone''sp, while Lakshmi had found her way towards Jahi, plopped directly in the middle of herp and gnawing on the piece of nk steak she had ''stolen'' from her sister''s te. Water, tea and wine washed down the food and helped to fill us up quicker, making the third and fourth portions take longer to devour and grow smaller each time we got more food. After my own third helping of steak and rice, I decided to just mix some strips of nk steak with the cold noodles and some vegetables, chasing them down with wine and enjoying that euphoric rxed, tired feeling that came after eating so much good food, leaning back in my chair and letting out a content sigh as I sipped on the remaining wine and observed everyone else. Letting myself begin to digest everything, I enjoyed the sluggishness of being post feast, my body feeling heavier and tired, even if I knew that I had already rested for long enough. Jahi, Anput, and the Marquess continued to eat, cleaning off the rest of the tes and draining the teapots and wine bottles, while the rest of us just enjoyed the bliss and watched them lovingly. Eventually though, I got up and moved back towards the living area, taking a seat in the chair I had been upying before and picking up another dagger, idly realizing just how many we had. Taking a deep breath, I began to slowly reenter the zone of enchanting and focused on the de, continuing from where I left off and continuing to practice this skill of mine. It was a bit harder now that my mind and body were a tad more sluggish, but I took it as extra practice that would make me just that much better at enchanting, focusing my mana and engraving it onto the metal below. While I was doing so, the others all finished up as well, dispersing from the table and beginning to help cleanup, while Mother took the two babies and left to give them their proper dinner. The dagger didn''t take long to finish, and I ced it on the table beside the three others with a sigh, giving myself a moment to recover and regather myself before I reached for the final dagger, only to stop as I realized something. How would I enchant things in an element that wasn''t my own? For the simple enchantments the answer was simple; have someone else supply their mana to me and use them as a ''battery'' of sort as I did the enchanting, but the problem was when I got into the higher level enchantments. I couldn''t rely on their mana to not fluctuate too much or be too strong, and with someone like Jahi, well... I wasn''t toofortable or certain about her Light Mana not harming me in the process. Leaning back into the chair, I begin to ponder my new problem for a few moments, before looking over at Leone and asking "Leone, is there a way to store someone else''s mana into some kind of medium that I could then use to enchant something?" The Vampire looked over at me from where she was sitting, a book in hand as she rxed. "Something for enchanting..? I... don''t know. Perhaps. The only thing that I could think of would be taking a Mana Crystal and using that instead, but..." "Well, couldn''t I take a dried up Mana Crystal and have someone re imbue it with more mana? Or what about something like Jahi''s Light Mana or Anput''s Metal Mana?" Pursing her lips, Leone closed her book and drummed her fingers over the cover, thinking on it while the others just looked between us before going to their own conversations. "Perhaps... maybe you could take a simple, basic Mana Crystal - one without an element - and turn it into an elemental crystal through enchantments? I know that one of the mostmon enchanting tools - if you don''t have that element yourself - is a Magic Pen, which uses small Mana Crystals as a fuel source and is output from the tip of the tool, like an actual pen. If you could create your own fuel source with Metal, Light, Ice... hells, if we could find a way to do so with Moon and Blood Mana as well... The problem is getting it in solid form and separating it from our control, all while making sure it doesn''t dpose too quickly to be used..." I nodded, letting out a sigh as I realized I had just made a ratherplex problem for myself, but... it was one I would need to face soon anyways. Again, I could do basic Fire and Earth enchantments with Leone or Anput''s help, but I would not be able to do advanced enchantments for those simple elements or any enchantments for thebined elements like Metal. And I wasn''t certain about my ability to utilize Jahi''s Light Mana either, since it''s potencypared to the rest of us was just... too destructive. Using it without any proper understanding or a better way to control it might cause severe damage to my Core, which was far too dangerous to risk trying. Chapter 688 687: Tattoo Chapter 688 687: Tattoo Finishing the array of daggers, I let out a sigh as I set them on the table, staring at the newly enchanted des and appraising them mentally, trying to recall the prices that I had seen other des go for with simr suites of enchantments. I think basic enchants raised the price to roughly triple the normal price of the de, so if a basic steel dagger was - lets say 20 Silvers - then I could likely get 60 Silvers per the normal enchantments. Those normal enchantments being the sharpness, durability, and other non attuned enchantments that were quitemon and easy to apply to whatever weapon you had. Now for the attuned enchantments like the water shes or the piercing winds, I could probably get a Gold and some Silvers for them thanks to the harder process and more useful enchantments that they had; you were basically getting ess to a spell that you might not have been able to use normally since you only needed to supply raw mana to it to activate the spells that were iid into the de. People would pay more for that so that they could cover their weaknesses whenever they went out into a Dungeon, or just to have something more reliable to protect themselves with if they had the money. So in front of me I had a few Gold sitting on the table, and that wasn''t including the various swords that we had as well... those would be fetching multiple Golds if I ced some higher enchantments on them as well. Honestly though, that money would be going back into materials for Anput to forge me new test weapons so that I could continue to study enchanting as much as I could, which would be sold again and used to by more materials until eventually we were drowning in knives... and more knives, some daggers, more swords, axes, hammers... yeah... It would be quite the cycle to find ourselves in, and I couldn''t wait to indulge my enchanting prowess and use it to make money; even if Jahi was apart of a gigantic, wealthy, multi generational Noble Family that makes most other ces look like backwater viges... We couldn''t rely on ''Mommy''s'' money forever, least of all when we actually get past being just ''brats'' to most of the world; we still had a few years left on that front. So having a way to make a living ourself would be imperative, and thankfully - despite Anput and Leone having rather expensive professions - we were all talented enough to sell our wares for a premium, even if our names were left out of the equation. Besides that, the idea of being able to potentially create gear with multiple enchantments from differentbination magics was rather intriguing, since that Magic Pen that Leone mentioned was something that caught my attention rather easily, and if I could get my hands on one and tune it for our potent mana''s, well... it would be just the beginning of me churning out rather lucrative and powerful gear for not only us, but our own vaults as well as to y with the market and squeeze as much coin from others as we could. Nodding to myself, I nced up from the daggers and noticed that the living room was empty, my train of thought having taken me far from ''Reality Station'' and leaving me stranded in ''L Land'' to the point that I didn''t realize I was all alone. "Well... not always alone~!" Feeling Cali pop into existence beside me, I sighed as I grabbed the gear and made my way over towards the door, ignoring the Arch Fiend for now and instead deciding to strike while the iron was hot; I wanted to switch from enchanting to tattooing, since I had so many ideas I needed to get ingrained into my flesh. To start, I had those ''bracelets'' that I wanted to intersect on my wrists; one Wind, one Water, each to create des attached to my arms that would keep me armed no matter what - so long as I had mana, anyways - and even align them perfectly so that they couldbine into Ice des as well. "Hmph! Be that way then... I''ll just go enjoy watching the show..." Cali disappeared just as suddenly as she appeared, something I had be increasingly familiar with and unsurprised by, so I just continued to ignore her as I made my way into the bedroom, where - another thing I was unsurprised by - I found the ''show'' that Cali had been talking about, which I also began to ignore as I stored the various weapons away and sat down at one of the side tables, pulling back my sleevespletely and looking down at my pale wrists, before my eyes made their way up towards my upper left arm, where the white lines of the tattoo I had received during my ''journey'' resided. It was odd to think that I already had tworge tattoos and a smaller, insignificant one as well; back in my previous life, they would have been unthinkable - especially the one that Cali gave me - and yet here I was, wanting to add more. Just another thing that changed about me after awakening in this world... Though, I had always wanted them, so I guess the realization that no one here cared as much as in my previous world certainly helped that decision... Pushing those thoughts from my mind, I took a deep breath and centered myself as I began to imagine the runes for the spell that I wanted on my wrist, the two connecting rings taking up very little of my skin and leaving most of my forearm for any tattoos in the future. For now though, the first ring - the Wind one - was beginning to etch itself into my flesh, the mana I was pouring into the area pricking my flesh like a million tiny needles that were as cold as ice, making me purse my lips as the pain slowly but surely began to mount. I could handle it, but much like getting a cavity filled or having a blister wrapped up, the pain was enough to make thinking difficult, at least if I was only ustomed to small amounts of pain. Just a short while ago I had been introduced to pain that many would die from, so this was nothing - even if my constitution did little to ease the effects of ''self harm'' and how attaching a spell to my mana pathways was far too excruciating to be subdued by said constitution. Thankfully the spell was a rtively simple one, and it went on smoothly and swiftly, a pale green bracelet now resting slightly unevenly on my wrist, which would set off anyones desire for things to align, so I began to work on the second of four bracelets that I needed to tattoo onto myself, this time enduring the waves that came and went as the Water Mana lived up to its name, washing over me before falling away. But, just like the Wind Mana, the tattoo went on smoothly, a blue bracelet joining the green one and intersecting together just above and below my carpal bones, centered below my palm and below the top of my hand. Now I just needed to mirror that on the other side as well... Chapter 689 688: Tutor Chapter 689 688: Tutor Of course, I could only ignore the soundsing from behind me for so long before they began to influence my own state, the sounds of the two satisfied women and grunts from the dominant Demoness who was being serviced by her two fiancee''s was enough to pull me in as soon as I finished up, my tattoos finallypletely inked into both my wrists and done as perfect as I could get them. So without hesitation I stripped and joined them, falling into our bed and allowing them to partake in me for their own needs as I found pleasure in being of use to them, all while the constant praise and coy words only made me hotter as Iid beneath them. It wasn''t surprising that I had developed a praise kink alongside everything else I had, and the three of them were the reason it hade around; Jahi jokingly suggested that it was due to me being a Dogkin, so being praised by my ''owners'' would obviously make me happy. I wanted to refute that but it made sense, since I was in a position where - during sex, anyways - each of them had me in a clearly subservient role. Anput was my mate and as such, whenever we mated, she ''owned'' me and could - to an extent - control me with her pheromones, which took my mind and molded it into something better for Anput to use as she pleased, primarily as her sexual partner. Leone tended to be rather needy for my blood, pinning me down and drinking until she was full before pumping me full of her liquids, ''drugging'' me and bringing me to a higher state of euphoria as her slightly sadistic Vampiric side made itself more prevalent when given the opportunity. Then there was Jahi, who did actually ''own'' mepletely, our Soul Bond making it impossible for me to do anything should she order me otherwise, while her own nature was perfect topliment my own; assured and dominant, she made it clear that she was the one who was in charge and that I was her woman, a role that I was more than willing to ept. We all had our own strengths and weakness in thisplicated polycule that we had formed, but it would seem that we all offered something that the others needed, and that we had struck a damn good bnce with one another, giving and taking what we needed freely. With all of their praise being heaped onto me, I of course epted them openly as well, and we enjoyed ourselves well into the night, making sure to embrace one another and share our love as much as we could. By the time that morning rolled around, our urges had be more than sated and we were able to bathe without much else happening, though Jahi was still rather demanding there as well, having Leone and I clean her off in an interesting manner... which Anput demanded we replicate with her as well. When it was all over, Anput made her way back towards the forges to continue her work while Jahi set off with the Marquess towards the training grounds, replicating their work out from yesterday. Leone left as well, giving me a quick kiss before heading towards the Sanctum, going to do some Alchemy and be with her family some more as well, leaving me alone. I had my own list to begin working on, and the top of that list was to find someone who could help me make more progress in enchanting, and there was someone in mind that I needed to find for that; someone that I already trusted and knew to be rather bright in regards to all things magic rted. The problem was locating her, though that took less time then I thought as I scoured the Pce''s halls, eventually finding the tattooed woman that I was searching for in one of the many open libraries of the Pce, a mountain of books around her all open and turned to different pages as she studied. Of course, I noted the smaller, obscure book that rested beside her on the table, closed and ''hidden'' away near her arm, which made me smirk at her seemingly habitual need to unwind with something raunchier then magical theorems and studies. Long midnight ck hair and emerald green eyes that were slitted, the sleeveless robed woman was frowning as she tapped her finger against a book, trying to jostle something out of the book and into her mind as she stared intently at the words, reading and rereading them. A beautiful serpent was tattooed around her left arm, coiling around the thin limb and perfectly inked into her flesh, while her right arm was covered in various runes and Ritual Circles, leaving little of her pale skin free from red, green, or azure lines. Taking a seat at her table, I waited for Arch Mage Kolia to finish what she was doing, going through some basic mental exercises as I waited, keeping my mind clear and unbothered. It didn''t take long for her to notice me, and after she let out a sigh and leaned back, I asked "Having trouble?" "Mhm... Trying to figure out what exactly makes Lightning Magic somonpared to Metal, Nature, and Ice despite one part of it being rather umon - the Wind portion. Earth Mana is moremon inside the Empire, while Fire Mana is the most abundant; so it goes Fire, Earth, Wind, then Water. Hence why there are a total of like... a dozen Ice Mages total inside the Empire, but well over a couple hundred with Lightning or Metal. But why is Lightning moremon then Metal? It''s annoying, and if I think on it anymore now, I''ll go crazy. So... what did you want?" Giving her a small smile, I showed her my wrists and said "I wanted a few lessons from my old tutor in regards to enchanting. I don''t know if you knew, but we found a few gemstones imbued with quite a bit of mana at Ungrida Canyon, and I don''t want to waist them. I also want to learn how to tap into mana''s that I myself can''t use, like Fire and Earth, as well as - potentially, if it''s possible - the otherbination magics." Still leaning back, Kolia raised a brow and replied "That''s a tall ask, Kat. Seriously. Tapping into Fire and Earth is easy; we just need something to focus the mana from someone else into the enchantment. That''s not too difficult, and the best thing for it would be a Magic Pen, though they can run you a few dozen Golds. As for thebination magics... that''s damn near some of the hardest things an enchanter is capable of doing. Just storing the mana is hard enough, but being able to control it is... difficult. Like, trying to empty ake with just your hands kind of difficult. Theoretically possible, just... not actually something someone wants to do." I chuckled and nodded, before asking "What about working on it from a different angle; how could we store the mana of someone and not have it degrade over time, all while having a material that could easily control it? So... a set of Magic Pens, perhaps, made to eachmon element to help control the flow of mana? Is that possible?" "Nothing''s ever simple with you lot..." Chapter 690 689: Picking Her Mind Chapter 690 689: Picking Her Mind "Nothing can ever be simple with you lot, can it? I swear, it''s like there''s some weird Deity ying around with your lives... Light Magic, then a little whileter Ice Magic? And THEN you manage to snag the Begum of the Sultanate and the Princess of the Empire? By the Gods, I swear it''s impossible for you four to have nothing happening at least every other day..." I just chuckled at the Serpentkin woman''s words, finding it amusing and not wanting to give her the information that there was some Deity watching my progress, while she knew about the Arch Fiend already as well, so... there was that. "Well? Is it possible to create something like that? A set of Magic Pens that could harness the four basic elements and allow me to enchant and tattoo with them? And perhaps something that could harness thebined elements as well, like my Ice or Anput''s Metal?" Kolia just let out a sigh, rubbing her temples as she closed her eyes and thought it over, only to freeze as I added "Or Jahi''s Light Magic. That would be great too." She slowly opened her eyes and red at me, hissing "Do you think I''m some kind of fucking genie Kat?! I would LOVE to be able to harness Jahi''s Light Magic! Do you know just what I could do with that?! My lord!" I couldn''t help but chuckle again as I stared at her, the slitted, serpentine eyes that stared back slowly loosing their re as she let out another sigh, leaning against the table and tapping the surface idly. "Sorry... To answer your question, I don''t know about the ability to harness something like Jahi''s Light Magic; there are few things in the world that could handle having arge concentration of that imbued into them, and said materials are easily worth roughly two thirds of this Empire. There''s the naturally grown Light Crystals inside the Labyrinthian that are entirely spective and likely millennia in the making, and then there is the items that the supposed Angel left behind way in the south of the continent, their Light Magic imbued into various items that are locked behind vaults and mountains of security keeping them safe from anyone seeing them... Those are the only things I know of that can withstand holding arge enough quantity of Light Mana besides the person with said Light Magic..." She trailed off and let out one more sigh, staring at the books in front of her before continuing on a few momentster, having collected her thoughts after studying her books. "In theory, you could definitely create attuned Magic Pens that would work with each element, and if you managed to either find an excess amount ofrge Mana Crystals or create your own pseudo crystals, then you could definitely create them without much difficulty. There are a few rare materials that are attuned to that element and don''t absorb mana, instead letting it slide freely over the material and into the item or person you are enchanting. The one that I know of off the top of my head is the Phoenix Bone Pen that Ye Wan - the Chancellor of the Tian Dynasty to the west and wielder of Dark Magic - owns, which can channel Fire Mana effortlessly into an item and enchant it without difficulty, so long as he understands the spell itself. The materials are all rare, but obtainable, and that''s the problem; getting them isn''t going to be easy, even if you try to buy them from the people who own them. No one wants to separate from a Mana Crystal, and few will separate from those types of materials; Hejin Lion Fur is something that the Sovereign of the Juren Kingdom to the west wears as a mantle, and itpletely resists all - and I mean ALL - Earth Mana, to the point that the location around the Sovereign ispletely devoid of Earth Mana. That''s invaluable. No price could attached to that mantle. No amount of gold, jewels, people or blood is able to buy that item. That''s the kind of rare we''re talking about. Now again, you can make pseudo versions of those materials through enchantment, and they''ll work really well - like 60% the same as that rare material if you know what you''re doing - and be able to get you some really good results. For instance, Duchess ki has a pair of gloves that she herself enchanted to allow her Ice Mana flow freely from her hands, making her style of fighting - in humanoid form, anyways - rather unique and dangerous. Of course, they''re made from Dragon materials and different Ice rted materials that most would pay fortunes to have, so... yeah. In theory, what you want is possible, but you need to have a deep understanding of what you''re doing enchanting wise, good materials that aren''t riddled with impurities - so a really good smith is needed as well - and a way tobine anything together through magic and other means. All of that will take so, so much time and effort to do." Nodding, I gave the woman a small smile as I asked "How good of an enchanter does one need to be?" Kolia gave me a deadpan look, the Serpentkin woman''s eyes screaming that she wanted to strangle me right now, but there was also a hidden emotion in there as well, one that she seemed to ept as she let out yet another sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, replying "Like, you should be able to cover this Pce in a Ritual Circle type enchantress. Someone who could create and dissect most Noble Houses'' wards in moments. That good. And no, I am sadly not THAT good..." She continued to ease her rising headache as she mumbled "Though I am close...which is why I hate being a Serpentkin since my pride won''t let me shut the fuck up about it even though I know you''ll be harping at me now... god damnit." When she looked up, the woman could only stare at my innocent smile for a brief, fleeting second before her head mmed into the table, unable to keep her gaze on me for long. Chapter 691 690: Enchanting Practice Chapter 691 690: Enchanting Practice "I expect to get paid for teaching you anything! After all, this isn''t knowledge given out freely, least of all to such arge and powerful house like the Asmodia''s! I would be charging an arm and a leg for this, but I like where my arms and legs are right now..." Kolia let out a sigh as she lifted her head from the table, ring at me as she muttered "There is nothing more frightening than a woman hellbent on obtaining something, you know that? It''s in your eyes that you weren''t letting me say no... Where did that nice, well mannered little girl go?" I just raised a brow as I replied "She still lives somewhere. Just no need to use my ''well mannered'' self with people I know and trust. After all, I know you were going to teach me one way or another; the money wouldn''t be a problem, and if I needed to pay it all up front, well... I think you''d like one of the things that we brought back from our trip to Ungrida~!" Piquing her interest, I chuckled and said "If it isn''t coin that you want, I could interest you instead in two gasden with mana that we retrieved, or perhaps a bundle of alloyed metals for you to use? Ah, or perhaps you''d be interested in Anput making something for you instead as payment? Or..." I reached over and grabbed her small book with a grin, showing her the cover and watching as the woman''s pale cheeks flushed red, and I leaned back and avoided her snatching hands as I added "I could have Cali draw up a couple of nice books for my dearest tutor~? I''m sure I could pick her mind and find out some juicy stories for you to peruse freely... perhaps with that Wind Djinn Aurae~?" Kolia''s cheeks darkened some more, and I couldn''t help but chuckle as I handed the book back to her, further adding "Or I could ask Leone to brew up some ''useful'' potions? I can verify that they work... quite well too; those nights were rather unforgettable~!" "You..! J-Just be q-quiet! We''re p-perfectly alright!" "Oh~? But aren''t you curious~?" I didn''t even need a mirror to know that I had a sly grin on my face, the teasing of the usually soposed Kolia bringing me far too much amusement as she went from an Arch Mage to just a woman; perhaps Jahi had rubbed off on me, but watching both Kolia and Adelina blush so hard at the thing I viewed so casually was adorable, though I knew not to push it too far. "Well, if you want the coin, I can talk to the Marquess, or if you want the gemstones I can go get-" "... no." The Serpentkin blushed hard as she shook her head, making me pause as I stared at her for a moment, waiting for her to borate on that minuscule ''no''. Silence dragged out between us for a few seconds before she looked up and said "C-Could you g-get Leone to brew those potions..? A-And ask ''C-Cali'' to write those down..?" She couldn''t stare me in the eyes for long, and I held back from grinning like a loon as I heard her price, finding it extremely amusing that she was willing to ''sell'' her secrets to me for something as simple as aphrodisiac potions and smut stories... Though, considering how smart she was and who her partner was, there was a good chance they would break down a potion and begin concocting their own, while the stories would provide many different positions and interesting nights for them, so perhaps it was worth it... "Certainly~! Now, do you need preparation for this, or..?" Taking the lifeline gratefully, the Serpentkin woman coughed into her fist and calmed herself down, shaking her head and saying "No, since the first portion is non enchanting rted. It can be done anywhere, anytime." Not letting me question what she was talking about - or try to confirm my suspicions - Kolia began to close her various books and stack them neatly beside herself, while the thin book went back into her robe, hidden awaypletely this time. "The first part about enchanting that most people overlook - and think that they''ve mastered - is controlling your mana. The difference between having decent control and perfect control is quite vast." With her blush steadily receding, Kolia held out her hands and said "ce your palms on top of mine, and push your mana down towards me. Just like you were trying to enchant something. Don''t worry, I can block it and prevent it from actually setting into my flesh." Doing as she asked, I rested my hands on hers and took a deep breath, beginning to harness my mana again and guide it from my Core down towards my hands, before I gently and controbly pushed it into her hands. I waited for a signal, keeping the stream of mana consistent and smooth as I could possibly manage, only to stop as she said "That''s enough. Now, I want you to feel the difference." Nodding, I stopped my mana and waited, before furrowing my brows as I felt the slight warmth of her mana brushing against my skin, permeating the outermostyer but not pushing any deeper. It slowly grew stronger, but the gentleness of her mana remained the same even as the output increased, and I observed it in awe as she altered the output randomly, going from very weak to very strong to neutral, changing it constantly and yet still maintaining a perfect bnce that didn''t cause any damage. "So you felt it? How I can push out my mana in a thicker wave before quenching it momentster? That is what separates a good enchanter from an excellent one. Some runes are NOT needed in an enchantment as much as another, so this allows you to regte the strain of the enchantment and ease off of certain parts of it, while strengthening others. For instance, a simple de spell that could give your sword some more range and elemental damage? You don''t need the shape as much as you need the power, velocity, and density. The mana naturally takes the shape of the enchanted item, and unless you''re trying to cut something a hundred feet away, that shape rune can be weak. It''s still needed, but it doesn''t need to be so strong, whereas more strength in the power, velocity, and or density rune would be quite beneficial." "Then... doesn''t that mean there are a vastly different amount of possibilities with enchantments now..?" Kolia just grinned, and I felt a small headacheing on as I realized just how much research I was going to need to do... Though it would certainly be worth it. Chapter 692 691: Fiendish Experiments (1) Chapter 692 691: Fiendish Experiments (1) Leone PoV Unaware that my alchemical skills were being sold by my beautiful minx of a lover, I hummed quietly as I stared at the lump of meat resting on a sterile silver tray, wondering what this blue flesh could do for us, and if it was even worth having. Around the table stood Mom, Mother, Aunt Igna, and Aunt D''Arcon, while Monica stood beside her own Mother and stared at the flesh with a disgusted sneer, her blue eyes scrunched up. "So... this belonged to a Tza Fiend that thought it could do something..? Interesting. Very rarely do you ever get to capture a Fiend''s corpse whole. Most of the time the sheer amount of damage you need to deal to kill one is enough to ruin the body, or they just teleport away and die slowly somewhere else... So this..." Mother leaned closer and stared at the meat, her lips pursed as her crimson eyes narrowed, while Aunt Igna stepped forwards and pulled on a pair of red gloves that shimmered with her potent mana, lifting up a few surgical instruments and poking the flesh. "This is quite the gift, Leone~! I must say, I almost thought it was my birthday or something when you came back with these materials~! Though, I don''t know when I was born... Ah, and I thought you might have outdone yourself for our anniversary my love~!" The Dragon giggled softly as she remained focused on the lump of blue flesh, making me briefly wonder how she was observing anything considering both her eyes were long gone, but I looked back down towards her red gloves and made the connection instantly, instead just deciding that I should focus on what was happening and understand what I could from this session. "And it''s uncorrupted too... norge influx of foreign mana destroying its tissues despite... a rather destructive method of killing the thing considering your reports. Especially surprising considering just how potent and pervasive Light Mana can be." Aunt D''Arcon nodded in agreement, adding "Especially since the Asmodia Scion''s mana is incredibly vtilepared to my own. Probably because of her Demonic nature... they are a rather vtile, energetic bunch, not usually known for their refined control. Certainly doesn''t help that Ria is such a..." Trailing off, she nced towards me and smiled, shaking her head as she murmured "Never mind." Mom chuckled beside me when I turned to look at her, immensely curious about what my Aunt was about to say about the Countess, who I hade to respect but knew little about, especially in regards to her prowess. The little that I had to go off of was her title - Saintess of Lightning - and that one spar she had with Mother way back when, but that gave me so very little to base any sort of understanding of her on, so... "You''ll just need to learn about her yourself, my dear. Just know that she earned her position rather... quickly and explosively. Her and Chordeva are amongst the more respected of my advisors, and I tend to care more about their words than others. Hence why sometimes they''re regarded as my right and left hands... though that was more so back in the day than in recent times." Mom pat my head before staring at the flesh, suggesting "Igna, cut off a portion and bleed it properly. The blood and the flesh should have different properties. As for the bones, we can grind them down into a powder and study their reactive properties to some of the mostmon alchemical ingredients. I have to admit that most of the time, any Fiends that Ie across don''t have much of a body left behind..." "I think most people tend to tear Fiends apart, and rightfully so; why would I want to risk one of these tenacious bastardsing back from the brink and killing me when I could just bomb them to hell and back or rip them apart with my Blood Magic." "Mm... I know, Lei. I know... I can still remember that poor Noble who continued to harass you even after I made my im known..." Mother let out a huff as she crossed her arms beneath her chest, making Mom''s lips curl further as she listened to the Vampire hiss "She deserved it! Treating me like that... then having the audacity to take me on a ''date''! Honestly, I think that thing between your legs impairs more of your judgement then you lot care to admit!" Mom''s smile stiffened as she looked away, while Aunt Igna just snorted and Monica blushed, understanding the conversation perfectly; as did I, but I was just focused on the flesh now, ignoring them. The blue blood began to seep out of the meat as Aunt Igna sliced through it with her scalpel before pressing down on it over a bowl, collecting the liquid. "Leone, grind that bone down for me. Fine powder, very fine. Don''t lose any of it." I nodded, grabbing the chipped rib and cing it inside a bowl of its own before taking the pestle that Monica handed me, which I used to further break and grind the bone down, doing as Aunt Igna asked. We worked quickly, extracting the things we needed to begin experimentation with other ingredients to see if these things would have any actual alchemical use, or if we should just get rid of the meat and rid the world of its filth. A bowl of blood, a bowl of bone powder, and a b of meat; it looked more like the materials for an ult ritual instead of alchemy... Though I guess many would argue that they were simr enough in nature... With the ingredients ready for us, we began to gather the rest of the ingredients as everyone else watched on from the side, Aunt Igna, Mother and I working in tandem as we prepared the table for the uing experimentation, a variety ofmon, reactive ingredients waiting to be used. Chapter 693 692: Fiendish Experiments (2) Chapter 693 692: Fiendish Experiments (2) "Let''s try the healing or poisonous properties of it first; Leone, take the Volcanic Rosemary and grind it finely before adding it to the blood. If the blood has healing properties, the herb should increase the mana inside the blood and give it a slightly sweet scent. If not, then the blood should darken and smell slightly acrid. Lorelei, take some Obsidian Scale Mushroom and do the same. You know the reactions of it, right?" As I grabbed the red bristled herb, I saw Mother nod as she picked a ck mushroom from one of the many nters, setting it down and beginning to chop it with the knife that Mom handed her. To start, I took the stem of the red herb and began to slide my hand down its stem, removing the various bristle like leaves and separating them entirely, leaving me with a pile of leaves and the stem. cing the stem to the side, I ced the leaves into the mortar and began to grind them down, turning it from a small pile of red cylinders into a red pulp that stuck to the pestle, with me getting enough to form a small coin; I didn''t need that much, after all. Cleaning off the pestle, I took the vial of blood that Aunt Igna handed me and observed the blue blood for just a moment, admiring the liquid and wondering what result I would get before taking a small scoop of the Volcanic Rosemary pulp and dropping it into the vial. The red paste plopped into the blue liquid, and with that same small spoon that I used to transfer the pulp, I started to mix the two together, changing the blue liquid into a deep violet as they began tobine. Mom leaned on the table beside me, observing the changes alongside me as I continued to stir and mix the two ingredients, nodding to herself and muttering "Sweet... So this Fiend''s blood has healing properties?" I nodded alongside her, speaking after a few more moments as I recalled "The Fiend had regenerative properties. Natural too, not mana based. I think, anyways; too much was happening far too quickly to make detailed observations, but... Any damage done to it would begin to heal after a few seconds. Anput cut it many times just for the wounds to close, while Jahi''s de caused severe wounds that took longer to heal... Perhaps that was just its own nature?" "Perhaps. I know that Drake flesh and Wyrm flesh - as well as their blood - has regenerative properties, and that trantes to alchemical reactions as well. Some of the best healing potions on the market are brewed with their blood, while the rich buy their meat to ward off sickness and remain healthy. As well as for the taste." Aunt Igna cut off another slice of the meat and stared at it, before ncing at Mom as she added "Should I? I sincerely doubt a tiny portion would cause me irreparable harm. Especially cooked in Dragon''s Fire..." We all looked at the Dragon in surprise, our minds taking a second to process what she was saying before we froze as Mom nodded, causing Aunt Igna to roast the meat with a re of magic, cooking it instantly. Without hesitation she opened her mouth and ate the flesh of the Fiend, chewing on it for a few seconds before gulping it down, practically having inhaled the six or so ounces of meat that she just rudimentarily cooked. "Hmm... No pain, no poison... Surprising... Huh. It does regenerate mana quite quickly, and the amount inside the meat is high. Probably... like an hour''s worth oftent regeneration inside a small piece like that?" Licking her lips, Aunt Igna nodded and added "Tastes alright too. Slightly tough, but it has a naturally strong, bloody taste. Maybe that could be cooked out..?" Monica gagged beside me, while Aunt D''Arcon just curled her lip in mild disgust; as for me, I was staring at Aunt Igna with a conflicted gaze, which made the Dragon chuckle as she said "It''s the same reaction all the time... do I need to remind you lot that I''m a Dragon? I''ve eaten people before. Stopped because it was getting too annoying to keep nabbing the good ones." Mom shook her head and sighed, while Mother ignored Aunt Igna and instead focused on her vial again, leaving me to stare at Aunt Igna, still conflicted - and even more so now that I heard that. "Don''t look so surprised, Leone. Your ancestors ate mortal flesh as well. Hell, some would argue that your need for blood is still just as disgusting as eating the flesh; after all, few other races actively drink blood and can stomach it. Most have terrible reactions to the liquid... insanity being one such reaction. Though..." "The same goes for the meat, Igna. No one eats people anymore, at least in the Empire. We''re civilized enough to not eat mortals now..." "Eh~? Who cares~?" Tilting her head, Aunt Igna just grinned at Mom before gesturing to the b of meat in front of us, saying "I mean, if you don''t want such a bountiful meal, then please, allow me~! I quite liked it~!" Monica gagged again, turning away and refusing to look at Aunt Igna, who just chuckled some more as she observed us all. "It has strengthening properties as well it seems. Really, this blood is quite the valuable haul... Regenerative and strengthening... and we haven''t even tried the bone powder yet. And who knows if the Begum can alloy the other bones and scales to metals... though we should have Ba''Ruk do some as well, just so we can guarantee somethinges out of this." Mom looked towards Mother and nodded, before taking the vial from her hand and staring at the deep blue liquid that sloshed around as she shook it, admiring the reaction before handing it back to Mother. "Well, it really would seem that the Fiend was quite beneficial for us. Both as a way to see your collective strength as well as the materials harvested." Chapter 694 693: Fiendish Experiments (3) Chapter 694 693: Fiendish Experiments (3) Anput PoV "Now it is time to begin understanding you little beautiful things... you beautiful, beautiful little things..." I murmured quietly to myself as I stared down at the various bones and scales that I hadid out on the workbench, the silvery bones and dark blue scales glittering beneath the light of the many fires inside the forge as I inspected them, trying to envision just what these materials could alloy with sessfully. To understand what the material was like, I was going to run a few tests on a few smaller pieces to figure out what the properties of the Fiend''s bones and scales were specifically, so that I could better alloy it with different metals based on said properties. The mana inside the materials, the density and toughness of the materials, if the materials are good ''partner'' materials... There was a lot that I needed to consider, and like with many things, I wanted to start simple... after I took a small scale and a broken bone and began to experiment a little on them. Sometimes a hard metal alloys best with something softer to make it less dense and more moldable; sometimes a metal needs to be alloyed with something simr in strength so that it can create something stronger. There were a lot of things that could happen during these initial tests that changed my thought process, so I started with the scale first, picking it up with some tones and moving over towards the forge. cing it atop the embers, I lowered the door and began to stoke the mes with some more air, heating the furnace up and watching the scale with interest, keeping the furnace at a consistent temperature that I used for most of my forging. The deep blue scale was surrounded by a sea of red and ck as it rested atop the charcoal, but it eventually began to glimmer as the heat did its job quickly, so I pulled it out as soon as that glimmer grew a tad bit stronger before taking up my hammer and observing the reaction to a single, average strike. Its curved surface ttened as the hammer struck it, and I nodded as I raised the scale up and inspected it, not seeing any damage from that and noting that it hadn''t really changed much despite the high heat and decent hit while softened. Scales were less resistant to heat by quite arge margin, so it would make it easier to alloypared to the bone, but I needed something softer to make the material more pliable and workable; anything denser and the alloy would be too difficult to shape, and unless I wanted to spend hours simply hammering a slight curve into the alloy, I wasn''t nning on doing so. Now, doing the same process with the bone took quite a bit longer, the melting point for it being far higher than the scale but still much lower than most metals, and when I pulled it out and hammered it, the bone ttened somewhat, making me nod to myself as I let the two cool off for now, retrieving some other metals to try alloying it with. I examined their cool states and tried to see if the heat made them brittle, or if it damaged them in any way after being cooled, but I saw nothing and went to the next test; reheating them and trying to mold them. Using a pair of pliers, I tried to bend them and see just how pliable they were, before moving on to the final test; just using a file and testing the surface hardness of the materials to further understand what I was working with. All of this gave me a rather rough idea on what I could do to alloy these materials into something excellent, and to start I took the scales and started with one of the mostmon metals to alloy things with: Iron. Just simple, raw iron to start, and I began the process of merging the two together as I heated them up, before hammering away and wrapping the scale around the small bit of iron, eventually ttening it out and folding it over itself before ttening it again. I repeated this process a few times and made sure that it waspletely and utterly solid, moving onto the shaping process as soon as I could and forging a rudimentary dagger that could give me something to testter on. Next, I took another scale and tried something a bit lighter and more flexible, wanting to see just what the scale needed to toughen it up. Aluminum was next, though I did alloy it with some iron to begin before moving onto the real process, repeating what I did before and forging out another dagger, which I could tell was much easier to shape than the one made from raw iron. I repeated this a few more times with a few different metals; copper alloy, silver alloy, bronze, and steel were the others, and Iid them out before turning towards the bones, taking one of the longer ribs and separating it into six chunks, which would mirror the six daggers I made with the scales; I wanted to test the cutting edge of the alloys and their usability as tools, since that was the more prominent use for them at the moment. Armor was something that Shell Stone could cover for a long time, and with Kat eventually improving them with enchantments, I wasn''t in a hurry to forge immacte armor sets, since whatever physical weakness they had would be made up by our mana, which would boost our defense even more. Obviously I wasn''t going to ignore the potential wonders of these materials on armor, but for the time being getting some weapons made was the first priority, and depending on the tests that I wanted Kat or Leone to run, perhaps these would be excellent magical tools for them as well. Either way, I toiled hard inside the forge, hammering away at the anvil and creating twelve total knives that I needed to go sharpen and prepare for practical tests, which I wanted everyone to witness so that I could get multiple views on the materials; besides, some alloys might be better for one person whereas a different alloy would be better for someone else. Jahi would like a harder, heavier alloypared to the lighter alloy that Kat would prefer, while the mana conductivity of the alloys would alsoe into y as well. If an alloy was incredibly strong but couldn''t hold or ept mana, then we needed to weigh its value and determine if that was okay or not; it could be incredibly strong on its own, but if it couldn''t take mana, did we still want it, and if not, what was the next best thing? So many questions that I had, but I was making progress slowly and steadily. Chapter 695 694: Testing The Alloys (1) Chapter 695 694: Testing The Alloys (1) It took me quite a while to create all of the alloys and then shape them into something usable, and even longer to individually sharpen them to a point that would work for the uing tests, though that time was cathartic as I had time to just sit and think to myself, going over the various happenings and just enjoying the thoughts that drifted in and out of my head as I ground out theimperfections and put in a bevel, turning them from a lump of metal to a usable weapon. Thoughts about the weapons I could make with some of these alloys, ideas for what other alloys I could try, thoughts about the armor that still needed to be made, ideas for some gifts for each of my lovers... My head was full of ideas, and I just needed to find some time toplete all this work and all those ideas... which was bing harder and harder to do it seemed, but perhaps we were in for a lull now that we had killed that idiot Fiend Tza''Inopia? Or was that wishful thinking..? Ah, by the Gods, please let it be a lull... I let out a sigh as I stopped grinding the de in my hand, pursing my lips as I stared at it for a few seconds before muttering "Surely one of you Divine beings would be listening..? Just a few weeks... hell, even just two weeks..." Tapping my finger against the edge of the de, I frowned before adding "Never thought I would have been the one to ask for it, but just a small lull from thebat, from the traveling... that''s all I want for the time being. Please..?" Running the de over the whetstone, I continued to grind out the edge of the dagger in silence, my mood taking a slight dip as I finished up the work. Though, a quick shake of the head and cing my focus back on the present brought me back to normalcy, so I cleared my mind and finished everything up, bundling each of the pairs of knives together and gathering them up as I left the forge behind, nodding to the various Lizardkin who were working around me. Making my way back into the Pce, I went first to the room to clean up quickly, my body covered in sweat thanks to the sheer heat of the forge and exertion from hammering out a dozen des. While I was sure no one would mind, I just didn''t want to keep feeling so icky if I had the ability toget clean. So I went and took a quick shower before heading out towards the training grounds, where I found Jahi and the Marquess training, while Kat sat on the ground nearby, her lips pursed as she leaned against the wall and watched the two Demonesses spar. Approaching them, I watched as Jahi was knocked back by the Marquess as therger Demoness mmed her shoulder into her daughters chest, only to leap back as Jahi''s great sword arced cleanly towards the Marquess'' head. Sand exploded off the ground as Jahi''s de mmed down, missing its mark and giving the Marquess time to bring her ymore to bear, stabbing the heavy de forwards and trying to pierce Jahi''s shoulder. Twisting out of the way, Jahi mirrored her Mom and bashed her shoulder into the Demoness'' chest, resetting the engagement once more. I could sense the equilibrium that they had created, so I shouted "Wrap it up! I got something to show you!" and caught their attention, stopping them from repeating another bout that would only lead to another draw. They looked towards me and stopped, rxing their posture and taking some deep breaths to calm themselves before stepping over to me, curiosity dancing in the red and amethyst orbs that were locked on me. Kat also stood up, yawning tiredly as she made her way over as well, standing beside me and looking towards the bundles in my hands. "Where is Leone? Did she go to do alchemy with her Aunts?" "Mhm. Do you want her here as well?" Pursing my lips, I looked down at the bundles before nodding, which made the Marquess look over her shoulder and shout "Yulia! Go to the Sanctum and request Princess Leone''s presence for me! The Empress as well, if she''s avable." One of the Knights that was weightlifting stopped what she was doing and nodded, putting her stuff away and rushing off to do as the Marquess asked. "So, what is it? What did you want to show us?" "I made a bunch of different alloys with the Fiend scales and bones, and I wanted to test them out. One of the tests is mana conductivity, so I wanted to have someone with really potent mana - like Jahi - and someone with incredible control - like Kat or Leone - use them as well to see how the alloys react. I made six alloys of each, and I amparing them to learn more about the individual materials as well." The Marquess raised a brow as she looked towards the bundles, before reaching forwards and taking one form my arms and unfolding the cloth, revealing the silver alloy des and saying "Oh? Already? I thought we''d need to wait a few weeks to get to this point. I mean, you seemed so excited about the Shell Stone and other metals you brought back from Ungrida..." I chuckled, shaking my head as I replied "The opportunity to work with Fiend parts to forge something? Of course I wanted to sink my teeth into it already! Besides, I didn''t do anything to crazy; basic alloys just to understand what these materials are better for and need to be bolstered by. But yes, I was tempted to just forge more armor instead while I have the time. I mean, who the hell knows when we''re going to be sent out again, right?" Inspecting the des, the Marquess nodded, and we continued to wait for the Empress and Leone to arrive, so that the tests couldmence. Chapter 696 695: Testing The Alloys (2) Chapter 696 695: Testing The Alloys (2) It didn''t take long for the Empress and some others from the Royal Family to make their way into the training grounds, the news that I had already alloyed the Fiend parts drawing them out quicker then if it was anything else I had made. Leone approached me and gave me a quick kiss, before doing the same with Kat and Jahi, standing between them and waiting to watch the events unfold as the Empress stepped forwards and took a bundle from my arms as well, revealing the bronze daggers as she asked "These are all different alloys? Or is this bronze mixed with the scales and this is mixed with the bones?" "Correct, they''re paired up together; six total alloys for both the scales and bones, as I wanted to have a simple baseline to understand their differences better. Like if the scales react poorly to having a softer, lighter metal but the bones react excellently, then I can try to fine tune a new alloy to better work with those materials." "Makes sense. So, what exactly did you n on doing with them now? Basic durability, sharpness, and stress tests?" I nodded again, watching as Lady Lorelei retrieved a bundle followed by Jahi, leaving two in my arms, though yet another was taken by the humming Lady Igna, who seemed to be in a rather jovial mood. Looking down at the remaining bundle, I blinked a few times before shrugging, gesturing towards the training dummies and saying "If you want, go ahead and try to cut the fabric. Don''t put too much stress on the de, but still try to deal damage with it." I had given up on the idea that I would be able to create another baseline at this very moment using myself as the tester for each alloy, instead just embracing the fun that woulde from everyone trying it on their own... though I was worried about the Empress, Lady Igna, and the Marquess breaking the des since they weren''t the most refined weapons at the moment, and the strength those three possessed was rather... high. As for the other test - magic conductivity - I was afraid of ALL of them using the des, since each had their own unique and really potent mana, with some being vtile and others just being incredibly strong. So... I had no idea how their magical strength would trante to the des, but one could hope..? Either way, I was left with the iron alloy des, which made me rather happy since I could deduce quite a bit from just this alloy if all the others fail. Taking a deep breath, I cleared my mind and looked at the training dummy closely, raising my hand and holding out the scale alloy first, pointing it at the fabric torso before shing downwards, the sharp knife in my hand leaving a thin, clean gash from the shoulder down to the waist of the dummy. Well, it would seem it can cut... Eyeing the dummy again, I ced the de gently against the sternum and pulled back, before plunging the de into the fabric and piercing it cleanly as well, sinking it deep into the dummy - to the point that my hand was resting against the dummy''s chest. After pulling the de out I stared at its edge, before my eyesnded on the wooden arms attached to the side. Since it could handle fabric and the softer bundle of materials inside, I wanted to try it against something harder, so I angled the de and shed down at the wrist of the dummy, nodding as the knife sheared through the wood cleanly as well. Stabbing forwards next, I splintered the wood and left a rtively ''clean'' wound, able to clearly tell where the knife had been and where the force of the impact had furthered the damage. To round it all out, I shed and stabbed once more, verifying the results and inspecting the de, running my fingernail down the sharpened bevel and finding no rolls or warps, while the tip was still as straight as ever. The dummies weren''t made from normal materials either, so this was a good test for the alloy in my hand, making me a bit happy as I switched it out for the bone alloy instead, which was heavier and much harder to work then the scale alloy. I mirrored the tests on the other side of the dummy, creating a clear picture of their results as I shed, stabbed, shed, stabbed, and shed and stabbed again. The wounds were deeper and easier made, the de suffered no damage, and the only drawback seemed to be the weightpared to the scale alloy; if the scale was featherweight, the bone was middleweight inparison, almost 1.5 times the weight of the scale alloy. For a dagger that meant little, but the second I began to work on anything longer, thicker, or just generallyrger, that weight would add up quick. An example being the armor for Jahi that I had just made; if I made it with the scale alloy, it would be roughly 60 pounds, while the bone alloy would be 90 pounds, and that was with just general estimation. That... is a gigantic difference, which would ask the question; is that weight worth it, or not? To tell that, I needed to do something that most smiths hated to see, since it could show how imperfect your work was or just wipe away hours of work in mere seconds, but it was necessary... Creating a table swiftly from rock, I thenyered the top in metal and took a deep breath, before stabbing the de down once, twice, three times to observe how it reacted to such a strenuous test. Each blow hurt my heart a little since it could''ve broken very easily, but looking at it made me nod in appreciation at how the tip remained straight, while the de itself had no fractures or warps in it at all. Repeating it with the bone alloy, I got the same result and breathed out a sigh of relief, only to move onto the next test quickly, wanting to get it over with. Testing knives on a dummy was fun, but it provided only a little information, so I needed to do these harsher tests next to understand even more. Thest that I wanted to do in such quick session was testing the edge against metal instead, so I made a pipe and had it rest atop the table, before mming the de down again and again to test the edge. This time, the scale alloy did get damaged a little, rolling beneath the pressure after the third hit, but the bone alloy remained firm. Chapter 697 696: Testing The Alloys (3) Chapter 697 696: Testing The Alloys (3) Kat PoV Sitting back and watching the six women testing the knives, I couldn''t help but sigh at how enthusiastic all of them seemed; even Lady Lorelei was seemingly giddy as she expertly butchered the poor training dummy standing in front of her, shing and stabbing it over and over again to ''test the edge''. I think she was just a bit stressed, but who was I to say something..? Leone seemed to agree with me though, her cheeks slightly red as she sat beside me and watched as well, her eyes lingering on her Mother before moving towards her Mom, who was taking a more measured approach. But, just like with Lady Igna, the two women''stent strength was just a bit too great as they stabbed the dummy''s and sunk their hands into the fabric covered chests, doing more damage then the des themselves and making them both freeze for a moment before they tried again. The Marquess wasn''t far behind, frowning as she stared at the de in her hand before taking a measured strike at the dummy''s chest and shearing through the fabric, managing to control her strength enough to not destroy the dummy, but at this point the damage had already been done, so who knew if she got to actually test the weapon? Anput seemed to be the only one who was truly testing the des, though that came as no surprise considering she was the one who forged them. The Jackalkin was striking a metal te with the dagger rather aggressively, and after the third hit she pulled away and inspected the knife''s edge, looking for damage and determining the quality of her work, even as the others around her seemingly yed around instead. Jahi was the closest to being an actual tester, but it wasn''t like she knew exactly what she was looking for as she mimicked whatever the Jackalkin did, only to stop and watch as Anput approached Leone and I, handing the knives to us and saying "I want you both to cover the entire weapon in your mana to test how the alloy reacts to mana, and if they''re conductive, absorptive, or something else. Regte it as best you could, please." We nodded as we looked at the weapons, before Leone asked "Start at this amount and go up gradually every few seconds?" She held her hand out and shrouded it with mana, creating a soft red haze around it and showing me the power that she wanted to start with, getting an okay from Anput as the Jackalkin took a look at the amount. Nodding, I let the de rest atop my palms and began to bathe it in mana, pushing my Ice Mana out and letting the ethereal blue mana wash over the alloy, its dim gray surface beginning to glimmer as my mana continued to flicker around my hands. Focusing on the weapon, I watched it closely and raised a brow as I noted that the de was absorbing some of my mana, ''eating'' it and making the amount that I was shrouding it with slowly diminish over time. As I pushed out more mana, the de kept up at the same pace, continuing to cover it and observe how much of my mana was taken over the next few seconds. Reaching a certain point, I stopped pouring out my mana and allowed the dagger to absorb the remaining mana in the air, noting instantly that the de was now glimmering a nice blue, all of the mana from earlier stored inside the de. "That''s interesting. Is this the scale or the bone?" Anput looked towards me and raised a brow as she stared at the bluish de in my hands, answering "Bone. Leone has the scale, and as you can see...it isn''t absorbing the mana as well as the bone, but it is still absorbing the mana quite well... interesting. You''d think the scales would be more absorptive?" "Not necessarily, since the bones were inside the body and seemed connected to the Core in more ways than a normal mortal''s bones are. That silvery hue as well; those bones aren''t normal. Besides, this seemed to be a Fiend who was rather mixed with its offensive capabilities; physically and magically strong, so maybe the bones needed the mana to keep the body intact?" I nodded at Leone''s words, while Anput pursed her lips and looked between my bluish de and Leone''s slightly red one, likely thinking of the use for these alloys even as we barely scratched the surface for their capabilities. "Alright, let me see them both; I want to just enchant them with a basic battery enchantment, see if they are just absorbing the mana just to absorb it, or if these alloys can react excellently to enchantments thanks to their mana absorption." Leone handed me her de without hesitation, and Anput nodded as she watched me sit down and begin to focus my mana, harnessing the wild, arctic flow and bringing it under control easily as I started pushing it into the des, beginning to enchant them and test out just how good this alloy was that Anput had made. While I was doing that, Anput began to do the tests for the others as well, getting a better understanding of the bones and scales of the Fiend that had decided to try and kill us just a week or so. The enchantments went on smoothly, and after the second one I opened my eyes and inspected them both, feeling the flow of mana inside the metal and passing them to Leone as I said "The bones amplified the enchantment, its absorptive properties enhancing the flow of mana inside the alloy, while the scales reacted rather neutrally to everything. Not great but certainly not bad either." The Vampire nodded in agreement, feeling the same things I did before looking towards the Jackalkin, asking "If this is just with basic iron, then what would the alloys that used the more mana conductive metals like silver or bronze? Wouldn''t that be great?" "Well, remember, the tradeoff is that the silver alloy is softer than the iron, and bronze might not be that much better than the iron. We''ll see though. I certainly think that we should keep some of the bones and scales for when we have some even better metals. Especially if we can get some metal that is extremely conductive? We could make essories with that kind of alloy; something that would protect or heal in lieu of one of us?" "We certainly could... but that depends on Mom honestly. Perhaps she''ll want to purchase the materials and use them for the greater good of the Knights?" That made me sigh, but I nodded, understanding that that would be a great use for the materials, but still wanting to keep them for myself... Chapter 698 697: Results Chapter 698 697: Results The tests were finished up rather quickly, everyone giving the knives back to Anput sheepishly as they realized that they either had little understanding of what they were looking for specifically or that they just were too strong to test something not meant to be ced under so much stress. That allowed Anput to go about testing things on her end while Leone and Ipiled an understanding on the des magically, finding out the uses for each of the alloys and how well they reacted to the mana we exuded. Some of the alloys just didn''t work out that well, needing to be scrapped entirely since the Jackalkin couldn''t figure out a use for some of them, like the bronze bone alloy ended up shattering while the aluminum scale alloy bent far too much and snapped when she tried to tten it out. Some - like the copper scale alloy - were too malleable to be used in weapons or armor, but the mana conductivity made the copper scale alloy valuable as a support time gear like a amulet or ring. Meanwhile, others like the steel bone alloy were incredibly dense and heavy, to the point that even for a dagger - and someone with my strength - the weapon was a bit unwieldy, far too heavy for something that size but incredibly durable, not taking any damage even after Anput took it a step further by hammering the de down multiple times. Everyone watched those alloyed des get broken and winced, the loss of the material hurting us all a little bit and making it hard to watch her do that to another decent de, which made us breathe out a sigh of relief when it didn''t break. After everything got tested, Anput gathered up the various knives and began to mentally note what each one did, saying it out loud as she pointed to each on the table she made. "Iron bone is heavy, durable, and quite absorptive, while the iron scale is a bit lighter, just as durable, but not as absorptive. Additionally, the iron bone alloy could break due to stress with how dense the material is, though that could easily be fixed by enchantments. Aluminum bone is light and flexible, maintains shape quite well, and is average magically. Aluminum scale is far too fragile and is average magically as well, making it quite uselessparatively. The bone alloy would work well on light weaponry and perhaps armor as well, but not rmended. Copper bone is also too light, but it doesn''t maintain the edge as well as the others, and it warps easily as well. Copper scale is far too malleable to be used in weaponry, but is quite good with its mana conductivity. Could be used as a focus for magical weaponry, perhaps? Silver bone was durable and incredibly absorptive, and it maintained its edge and point perfectly. Silver scale was simr, just more flexible. Not as tough as iron, but quite impressive already. Bronze bone was too dense and shattered beneath excessive force. Bronze scale was rigid and brittle, though it too was quite an excellent conductor, so maybe there was something there? Though copper would be better suited for an essory and far easier to shape and maintain. Finally, steel bone was really heavy but really durable, maintained form perfectly and was sharper than iron. Steel scale was also heavier than the other scale alloys, but was flexible to a certain degree as well. Both could absorb mana too, but not as well as silver." We all looked at the weapons on the table, memorizing the Jackalkin''s observations on each alloy before turning towards her again as she let out a sigh and muttered "Now I gotta do all this fucking work again but with new metals..." I couldn''t help but snicker at that, making my mate turn and re at me as she heard it, only to turn and re at Jahi as the Demoness said "Oh no, you get to y around with various metals on the Empress'' coin~? Whatever shall you do~?" Grumbling to herself, Anput picked up her knives and began to ignore us, though she listened as Leone said "Well, you''ll be interested to know that the Fiend''s blood is useful as a healing ingredient. The meat too... if you''re alright with eating something intelligent." "Tasty! Incredibly tasty and packed full of mana!" We all looked at Lady Igna, who just grinned and licked her lips, making the Empress beside her sigh as she said "Igna, please... Let''s not regress to having a diet of mortals again, please?" "Hm... I dunno..." The Dragon just continued to grin, her scaled tail swinging side to side as she asked coyly "Maybe I could be convinced if I got to eat something else~? Something just as tasty..?" "Ahem, anyways, the blood is really good at regenerating, and it might have some abilities to regenerate mana as well at a higher pace, so the Fiend in general was a veritable treasure trove of materials for us, sent to us gift wrapped and ready to be taken." Lady Lorelei was the one to speak, and she looked down at the knives for a moment before adding "Begum Sera... Marquess. I''d like to purchase quite a few of the bones and scales." The Marquess just chuckled as she raised her hands and gestured towards us, saying "Don''t ask me, ask them. I didn''t kill this Fiend, so its not mine. Besides, my daughter is old enough to negotiate~! And old enough to do things on her own, like... get married and the like~!" "Indeed, indeed... Lady Jahi, you are still engage to my daughter, and while the initial dowry was-" The older Vampire shamelessly turned towards Jahi and began to say something, only to stop and frown as the Empress patted her shoulder and said "Lei, please... The dowry that you speak of was more than enough to warrant young Jahi being engaged to Leone, while the love that they''ve fostered is more than any gift they could have given... Let''s not strong arm them into something, hmm? Isn''t that something that you despise?" Lady Lorelei continued to frown before stepping back and sighing, still staring intently at the now smirking Jahi who looked back at her. "Of course~ I''d be willing to help my Mother inw~! The family discount for you, of course! 75 Gold per scale and 90 Gold per bone~?" The Marquess just snorted as she shook her head, while the Empress smiled softly at Jahi before shrugging, saying "Deal, daughter inw. But, you might want to learn to pick these kinds of battles a bit more carefully in the future, especially with Lorelei. Even with the wealth of an Empire at her fingertips, she remains rather concerned with the contents of her purse and tends to keep any deals she doesn''t particrly enjoy in the back of her mind. You''ll likely be paying interest some time in the future..." Jahi''s smirk stiffened, making Leone and I roll our eyes at the Demoness'' swift and impulsive decision that clearly backfired, but we weren''t too worried about it. It wasn''t against us, after all~! Chapter 699 698: Slow Transition Chapter 699 698: Slow Transition The funds for the bones and scales were given to us swiftly afterwards, the older Vampire smiling innocently at Jahi and handing her therge pouch filled with tinums, which the Demoness epted worriedly as she endured the various smirks aimed her way. I had already scolded her a bit after Lady Lorelei left to retrieve the funds for her purchase, pulling on her pointed ear and reprimanding her short sighted greed that would cost her in long term debt most likely, since the Vampire was much older than us and likely much wiser then us, and if some of the studies from my old world in regards to psychology pertained to this one as well, then she was also likely very spiteful and sociopathic, and even if her daughter was married to that woman, I have no doubt that the woman we were dealing with could - and would - separate personal ties from business ties. So I made sure to nag the Demoness a bit, though the Marquess stepped in and made me cool it by saying that Jahi needs to learn it first hand, and now she will. She very much will... Besides being paid our share of the profits, we discussed more about the alloys, with Anput taking the lead in that conversation and giving us ideas on what she was willing to make now and what she wasn''t willing to make. "I don''t mind the idea of making a few essories from the scales and either silver or copper alloy, but I wouldn''t want to waste the materials, so until I see consecutive proof from you, Kat, that you can ce enchantments worth being put on Fiend scales, I won''t be making anything at all. Sorry not sorry, but my love for you doesn''t equate to being a wastrel." I chuckled and waved her off, saying "Obviously, Anput. I was more so wondering if you were making armor from it or if you were going to wait, or weapons either. Those are more immediate things that we can take full advantage of, after all. If so, then it''d be best to prepare for them now instead of being surprised by their appearance?" Shrugging, the Jackalkin nced at the various knives on the table before looking towards everyone else, saying "I could, but again, I think I''d rather wait a little bit to do so, y''know? We''re at a good spot at the moment with gear, and I have materials I can use to bridge us over for a while, so I think I''d want to wait on it and improve myself first. Maybe get some far better metals to work with so that the alloys would be more effective than what they are now?" "If that is your wish, Begum, I would suggest determining a few more things with the Fiend materials before plotting your course throughout the Empire once again. Find some areas that provide the materials that you desire and hope that you can find them in abundance. Or perhaps, if you''re feeling rather risky, head off into the Labyrinthian to get a taste for the horrors inside. Under supervision, of course." "I do have a list of areas with materials that I want to get my hands on, and as for the Labyrinthian, I think I''ll listen to the advice of my parents on that one and stay away for now? Unless I absolutely need to, I don''t particrly want to step foot in there just yet..." Jahi, Leone and I nodded alongside Anput, while the Marquess crossed her arms and said "I agree; stay the hell away from the Labyrinthian for a bit. You are no where near ready for that. Strength wise, maybe, but I simply don''t trust you lot to go in ande out without significant harm to yourselves." The older Demoness just raised a brow as Jahi looked back at her, though we all unanimously red at Jahi to not do another stupid thing that had muchrger consequences than being a penny pincher and ''businesswoman''. Backing down, Jahi just epted what was happening before we began to go our separate ways, the fun over for today as we retired early and prepared for the days ahead. We each had our own work that needed to be done, things that we needed to improve upon and begin making deep progress on so that we could grow ever stronger; some had it moreplicated than others, of course, but we all had training to get to. I needed to study my enchanting and mana control, Leone was going to be studying her magics, Anput doing more forging and testing on the Fiends parts, while Jahi would be working out and training with the Knights. Might not be the mostplex thingpared to us, but the physical strain was undoubtedly greater, so... none of us wereining about the Demoness'' ns. Nor did we deny her the service that she requested of us tonight, letting our wife do as she pleased to us until dinner was ready, using that as a break and refueling with the wonderful meal that Mother made - as per usual with her cooking, as we hade to expect. When we got back to it, we didn''t stop until Jahi had sated her hunger, leaving us all drained and tired as we sprawled out on the bed, enjoying the warmth andfort of one another as we dozed in the dark room. Feeling great from it all, I idly yed around with the pleasure that I had been injected with, seeing if I could understand it some more while we were in a resting period; Anput was recharging herself as sheid atop my body, while Leone and Jahi tiredly - yet still with some passion - made out as they embraced beside us, waiting for their bodies to rest enough so that they could begin again. Just feeling the ''Pleasure'' again as was good for me, while the attempt to harness those bundles of ''Pleasure'' inside me and turn it into Lust Mana failed once more, but I just wanted to make sure I maintained my practice with it, even if I wasn''t truly going to be cultivating the new mana just yet... Chapter 700 699: Self Reflection Chapter 700 699: Self Reflection "See? If you maintain a constant output like this, it bes easier to fluctuate it at your will instead of at random. Starting at a lower output and harnessing itpletely and expertly makes far more progress then trying to do the same instantly at a higher output. Building blocks used to create a strong foundation to eventually erect a tall, solid tower. If the foundation is weak, that tower can be pushed over and copse." I nodded as I began to ease the mana out of my Core, stamping down on it and cutting it off gradually instead of instantly, wanting to further grasp my control and be able to understand just how to use it at a higher level. Even with my System, and with the skill I had to further my control over my mana, doing it myself helped me make the improvements more than just surface level, instead going deep inside and bing real, meaningful progression that would make the rest of my life easier. That isn''t to say that my control wasn''t already great; it was damn near superb, but like most things in life, it felt like there was something better waiting just around the corner, and in this case, that something as Kolia showing me the difference between just enchanting something and making a work of art with my enchantments, and to do so I needed to switch from a normal number two pencil to a suite of lead pencils ranging from .3mm to 3mm, giving me a wider array of tools to use to create a masterpiece. It was hard to not be entirely demoralized by the knowledge that I had been doing things so inefficiently and that there was another way to do enchanting far better than I could have ever imagined, but I just pushed down on that demoralization and instead allowed my childish joy for learning more about magic in all its wondrous, confusing facets to take rein and infuse me with the passion that I had beencking for this subject. Though, on that same vein, it was hard to not think that after so long in this world, I had onlye so far... 51 and a half levels in a few years felt so, so slow, but at the same time... Was it not an enormous amount of experience that I had gained, both for my System and for my own self? Had I not gone through intense things over these years? It felt like it had gone by in a sh; the years since I was a child to being a ''teen'' and then a woman almost in my prime again? So much had happened, and at the same time it felt like there had been long periods of time - like now - where nothing was happening... It all blurred together sometimes, while at others it felt like I could recall each and every single day since I found myself in that void, my progression from just a normal, average girl into someone who could kill without batting an eye... and even enjoyed it. This System of mine could do so much for me, and it had done so much for me, but sometimes I feel like I do nothing using it, instead just going for everything with my own two hands, wanting to make that progress myself and not rely on some outside force to mold me into something without much input from myself besides what I think I wanted. Just having things given to me because I had a System felt wrong, but on the other hand it was such an untapped resource... I mean, I had a plethora of Shop Points waiting to be used, and I could definitely find some tools or materials to aid myself right here, right now with my enchanting, but I didn''t use them. Should I? Or should I keep trucking forwards on my own, relying on my own two feet and hands to travel the distance and create something for myself? Something made from my own blood, sweat and tears as I toiled endlessly in this second life of mine? It was an enigma, and as I stared down at the book in front of me, the one that Kolia had ced in front of me flooded with theories and notes from previous enchanters, I took a deep breath and cleared my mind, wanting to figure out the answer to my more pressing dilemma first. Again, on one hand the progress made myself meant more, had more value in practice, and would give me that solid foundation that Kolia was talking about, but on the other I had an infinite treasure trove of incredible wealth waiting for me to tap into it, and I would be an absolute buffoon to not stick my grubby, greedy little paws into it whenever I could. Perhaps I needed to peruse the Shop again to figure out just what could fit into my paws and not ''ruin'' all of my hard work by making far too much of my endeavors meaningless or cheapening the future endeavors too much. That answer was simple, but therger question was if I would purchase solely materials, materials and items, or if I would also purchase techniques rted to enchanting inside the Shop; something that I had been ignoring for a long time now was the category inside the Shop dedicated to spells and martial arts that would be guides and fonts of knowledge. Should I use them..? Another breath as I tapped my finger against the pages in front of me went in and out as I thought for another moment, only to shake my head slightly as I decided that - while I would love to answer that question now - I needed to see the Shop in greater depth to make an urate decision that I was assured of. "Kat? Are you alright?" I looked towards my mentor and nodded, smiling softly as I said "Yes, just thinking. This theory here, the one that says creating visible threads from your mana to not only feel but see your abilities? If one were to do this, but instead-" The library was quiet save for our voices as we traded ideas and questions, my attention ced back entirely on the matter of bing a better enchantress and nothing else. --- Felt like this warranted a real note and not being ced below; what do you guys think about the current state of the novel? These bursts of action separated by lulls of Slice of Life stuff? I feel morefortable and in my element with SoL, but at the same time, like I wrote with Kat, I feel like these 700 chapters are just... fluff most of the time; I''m proud of my fluff, I love my fluff, but is it really worth charging people money for? It''s just something that''s been weighing on my mind recently, so I wanted to hear it from you, the readers, who are spending money and/or time on this book; are you happy and enjoying this as it is, or does it feel like I need to change and begin writing more of the ''story''? Go quicker with the Fiends, with Jillian, with the Gold and Silver creatures from so long ago? Or is the pace fine, and this has be something of afort to read just like it''s afort for me to write? Anyways, yeah, I just felt like that was weighing on my mind, so... --- Chapter 701 700: Hitting the Books Chapter 701 700: Hitting the Books "Alright, I suggest giving these both a read, and checking out the middle passages of this book as well Kat. The techniques that you can learn inside here - while not directly made for enchanting - transfer over to it thanks to theplexity of mana control in the higher levels of spell casting. The primary thing that I think you should focus on ispression and control. Learn to simplify your runes down to the very smallest amount possible and figure out how to rein in your mana and let it loose ording to your needs. Being able to control your mana down the most minute amount or extract a sizable amount in an instant can be really helpful for you. Seriously." I nodded, looking down at the books she had handed me before focusing back on her as she added "I don''t like giving out praise that often, nor saying things like this, but if you keep it up Kat, you''ll reach the Arch Mage level soon, same with Leone. One of the best ways to see if someone is Arch Mage caliber is how well they can control their mana. At the end of the day, the arcane studies are deeper than an ocean and taller than the sky, and anyone who thinks they know a lot, knows nothing. Even someone as vaunted as an Arch Mage only truly knows the surface level of magic. Your journey starts here, and it is a long one." Resting her hand on my shoulder, Kolia gave me a smile and finished saying "And that''s not a bad thing whatsoever, Kat. Realizing and epting that you have the ability and desire to improve - even on things that you deem yourself an expert at - is the best way to make more progress. There is always a better way to do something, a deeper meaning or understanding to be gleaned from the world around you." Letting go, she picked up her own books and nodded to me before walking away, leaving me alone inside the library with thosest words to mull over and contemte, words that would be beneficial if I did what she asked. To look deeper and search for hidden meanings inside things that seem simple, to try and learn what I can from the world and shape it into something beneficial for myself. Of course, I wasn''t about to be a terrible art critique who stared at a solid pink square and ''searched for the deeper meaning hidden beneath the troubled brushstrokes of the painter'', but I could understand that there was meaning in everything; I just needed to realize if that meaning actually mattered in the long run. Sitting back down, I leaned back into the chair and opened the first book, my eyes scanning the various words swiftly as I began to read, asionally stopping and putting the writing into practice as I tried some of them out a few times. The first was the one that I had asked Kolia about, and it was forming the mana into threads and weaving them around; apparently it had been popr in the distant past to help visualize everything better, and I gave it a try, letting my mana seep out of my fingers and keeping them connected to my fingertips, before watching as the wispy ethereal blue mana swished around beneath my fingers. Concentrating on them, I began to will them into the shapes of runes and tried to cast a small spell with them, narrowing my eyes as I exerted my will over the mana that was still connected to me, even if it was outside of my body already. Unlike with the normal methods used today, trying to shape the runes and keep them shaped after I managed to do so was difficult, but maintaining that shape proved to be a nice challenge that was clear with its benefits; forcing me to get better at controlling my mana even if it was outside of my body. With todays magic, I could just trace the mana into the air and loosely connect them to myself, the rune floating in front of me and slowly - very slowly, but still doing so - leaking the mana used to form it into the air, losing its potency. That was why casting a spell required speed to a certain degree, and why condensing your runes from just singr, basic runes to somethingbined was so important. However, with this technique I needed to maintain focus on all ten threads, keeping them shaped and at the same potency of mana, so my control had to be ster and my concentration immacte. Practical? No, not at all, but as a training exercise for control and splitting your focus, it was superb. The next potion of the book was dedicated to manipting your mana depending on its element, in hopes of attuning yourself to your Core even more and making the flow far more natural then if you were to just keep using the mana normally. Flow smoothly with the Water and storm out in a gale with the Wind, while my Ice would need to be a mix between the two, though trying to wrap my head around making my mana flow more attuned with Ice was something that I was struggling with a bit, since it had different forms..? Sometimes my Ice was solid and en masse, while other times it was shards and small amounts of crystal that plummeted the temperature thanks to the innate chill each sliver of Ice Mana possessed. Perhaps I just needed to practice that with my Water and Wind instead, to work on the foundations of my Ice Mana and seek improvements from there. Each passage in the book was interesting, the author having lived multiple centuries ago and providing interesting views on questions that had been answered more ''recently'', giving me a new prospective on things that I had taken for granted and showing me what used to happen to get the same result. This first book - the more I read it, and the deeper I went into the older theories and ideas - was a treasure trove of knowledge that most would take for granted today, and reading it sparked more than just an interest in the olden days inside my mind; it made me think about how certain processes - like going from long strings of runes down to the simplified runes that we used today, or amplifying their power by putting them into a Ritual Circle instead of remaining in that string. All of those questions on the processes we use today made me want to learn more, and I began to really understand what Kolia meant earlier; thinking you knew the answer to a question as open ended as magic was stupid, since that answer could always be better. I also understood that that question could be simplified orplicated depending on what you were looking to do, and doing so made the answers you got wildly different; changing the question or searching for a new answer all led to the same thing: a deeper understanding and appreciation for the world of magic and the arcane. Chapter 702 701: Useful Shop? Chapter 702 701: Useful Shop? Closing the books with a sigh, I rolled my shoulders as I leaned back into the chair, not having realized I was hunched over and straining my back the entire time that I had been reading. Time had passed swiftly as I studied the first tome, and after a while I got up and got myself some nk paper and ink, jotting down all of the ideas in my head and working out some of the questions the book posed as I used my own mana to move the ink from the inkwell onto the papers, practicing and taking notes at the same time. The words on the pages of the book were scrutinized heavily by myself as I likely joined a cohort of hopeful mages who used this tome, and during my small breaks I couldn''t help but think about those people that had studied these very words and tried to locate a new meaning from them, wondering if my thought process was simr to any of theirs or if I was zing my own path... It made me curious, but there was little way to know since I had no idea who might have used this book before, and even if I was able to speak to multiple people who had, what good would it do me currently? The various answers would only lead to more and more questions that I would need to pursue, diverting my already split attention from the tasks at hand, which could lessen my study time tremendously... which would be detrimental at this time. I needed to begin making progress with my arcane studies in leaps and bounds to maintain course with the others, who were progressing as steadily as ever... They would make leaps without any signs of a struggle, their bodies, talents and minds just working in ways that was different from my own, though that didn''t invalidate the hard work they put in. Anput was the one I was likely to close in on with my training, the Jackalkin progressing not in her strength, but instead in her ability to amplify our strength with good gear. And I was certain that as soon as she made a good set of armor for us all and improved our weapons, the Jackalkin would be diving head first into her training again, taking the steepest cliff to the next level by training with Lady Fenryas, which would break her like she had me. Staring nkly at the ceiling of the empty library, I closed my eyes after a moment and relished the silence, before I opened the System and made my way into the Shop section, a smile tugging at my lips as I heard the all too familiar,forting voice of my ever presentpanion. [Wee back to the Shop~! Almost thought you forgot about this nifty little ce! Had me worried for a bit... Whatcha lookin'' for?] The smile tugged further at my lips as I rolled my shoulders again, removing the kinks in the muscles and easing the pains in my back as I mentally said ''Anything rted to enchanting. Books or materials preferably, though I do also have a desire to learn about these Magic Pens that Leone and Kolia were talking about.'' [Very well! Let us see, let us see... Here are a few interesting tomes in regards to enchanting, each one priced appropriately. Remember, you are buying a... ''sh drive'' that ''downloads'' the contents directly into your brain to be studied, not a physical book. That''s why they are... pricey.] [Morgania''s Compendium : Enchanting knowledge written down by a fabled enchantress from the early years of the Empire, known for making basic iron weaponry capable of cutting through Drake scales. (45,000 SP)] [Cerulean Tome of Enchanting : A collection of the Cerulean Mages of old that specialized in mana gathering enchantments and mana amplifying enchantments. (60,000 SP)] [Crazed Thoughts of Athenia the Violet : All the delusions of grandeur scribbled down by a madwoman who attempted to enchant her own brain and partially seeded; Host will NOT go insane upon purchase, however any action taken after purchase using the information provided is NOT the liability of the System. (60,000 SP)] They were just a few of the various books and tomes that I had provided for me, and I mulled over the entire list for a few moments, taking in the various titles and descriptions as I weighed the price against the potential gains. ''Some of these are just... worrisome, and others seem far too outdated. Early age enchanting knowledge of a multi millennium spanning Empire seems... interesting yet also risky. Yes, getting a look into the mind of someone as talented as that would be incredible, but at the same time there''s the chance that everything she knows is so far outdated that it''s unusable. If I had such an excess amount of SP then I''d consider it just because... honestly that sounds cool, but I don''t...'' [Mhm, mhm... that''s why its marked down~! See, whilst I do~ have an idea on what it could contain, it does have some risk to it, and it does have less valuable informationpared to the others, but again, who knows right? Sometimes that cheap food you buy at a stall could be better than a high ss restaurant!] ''Or it could just be cheap street food.'' [Or it could be cheap street food.] Rolling my eyes, I pushed the tomes to the side for a moment and instead focused on something else, deciding that I should be more reasonable with my ''money''. [Waterfall Azurite : Gemstone imbued with rich, abundant Water Mana. (30,000 SP)] [Riverbed Silver Ingot : 500 grams of Water Mana imbued metal; malleable, flexible, and extremely durable. (37,500 SP)] [Borealis Emerald : Gemstone imbued with rich, abundant Wind Mana. (30,000 SP)] [Galestone Chunk : 500 grams of Wind Mana imbued mineral; extremely light, flexible, and durable. (37,500 SP)] [Frigid Diamond : Gemstone imbued with sharp, unbending Ice Mana. (60,000 SP)] [Winter Steel : 500 grams of Ice Mana imbued metal; naturally cold, durable, and conductive. (75,000 SP)] Each material I looked at cost a pretty penny to buy, but when I asked ''How do theypare to the gemstones we got back at Ungrida?'' I understood that the price was warranted. [They hold roughly 1.5 times more mana than the average gemstones that you found, while the pureness of the mana inside is double. Not as strong as that one crown jewel you found though, which is nearly double the strength of these ones. As for the metals, they''re rather rare to find, so the price per 500 grams is reasonable too.] I nodded, before taking a look at thest two things on the list that I wanted to see for the moment, knowing that I needed to n things out before I bought anything, since impulse buying was a bad habit to get into. [Magic Pen : Mana focuser used by enchanters to strengthen their enchantments and imbue the materials on a deeper level, reducing the strain and amplifying the enchantment. (25,000 SP)] [Hecrete''s Quill : A mana focuser made by a renowned Saintess from years past, crafted from a feather of an Anzu and perfect at amplifying any and all mana; sometimes thetent mana of the Anzu amplifies your enchantments by double their strength without any additional strain! (250,000 SP)] Now, I wasn''t swimming in enough SP to purchase that second Magic Pen, but it gave me an idea on the upper quality items inside the Shop that I could purchase if I wanted to. All in all, the Shop had many items worthy of being purchased inside itself, and some were more tempting then others... to the point that I wanted to make a purchase now, but I decided that I would do best if I gave it just a bit more thought. Chapter 703 702: Market Time (1) Chapter 703 702: Market Time (1) The next day, instead of hitting the books again right away, I took up the various weapons that I had enchanted and apanied Kolia down into the city, the Serpentkin needing to purchase some different materials for herself as well as replenish her stock of empty notebooks and ink, not wanting to rue a debt to the Empress or impose herself on the Royal Family; even after I asked if Arch Mages weren''t eligible for the support of the woman who cultivated them, Kolia just shrugged and told me she wanted to be self sufficient as much as possible, even if she could have her materials paid for by the Empire. Like she had mentioned before, the Serpentkin was rather prideful about her position and how she got to where she is, and a piece of that pride was that she hade from nothing. "My family never had much growing up, and I didn''t have that much mana inside my Corepared to now. I had to work as soon as I was able to, supporting my Mother while my Father worked the mines, and my sisters joined me not long after. I''m used to working for myself and caring for myself, and the principles I learned while I was poor and ''worthless'' have stuck with me since then. I applied myself as much as I could, learned everything that I possibly could, pleaded with the local mages or soldiers to show me how I could improve... It took a lot for me to get where I am today, and I made sure that I paid back whatever was given to me." She walked beside me as we made our way out of the Pce, everyone aware of our journey down to the markets. "I don''t despise the idea of epting aid from those who want to provide it, but if I can do it myself, I would rather do it myself. I worked to bring myself out of poverty and give my parents a better life, while my sisters grasped whatever opportunities they could as well. Liako wasn''t as magically attuned or magically driven as I was, but she loved to move and fight, so she joined the guard and eventually became an adventurer. As for my other sister, A, she found herself a good man and decided that would be her opportunity, raising her own clutch alongside her husband and enjoying the hectic, fulfilling, peaceful life of a housewife. None of us have waited for things to happen, for life to hand out something excellent for us to take; we did it ourselves, and that helped me w my way from just a random mage that got to peek around the Academy''s libraries for a year to someone who now teaches at that Academy. Someone who is in a position that few could ever reach on their own..." Kolia let out a sigh as she looked over the colorful Capital of the Empire, the sprawling city built into the side of Sanctus Ignacia bustling with activity and slowly beginning to swallow us up as we entered it from above. "All of that aside, it is primarily just my pride keeping me from allowing the Empress to simply gift me materials over and over again, even if I am owed such as an Arch Mage. Just doesn''t sit well with me. Besides, going out and interacting with the people and bing known to some of the shopkeepers is invaluable. Remember, these are the lives that are relying on you to seed against any threats. People who have never knownbat, who want to be painters, dancers, butchers, cooks, musicians, merchants... Seeing them and being amongst them is refreshing. It reminds me of where I''vee from and what I want to protect." The Serpentkin grinned as she nced at me, her slitted eyes filled with mirth as she added "Though I imagine you care little about this all; between the two of us, you are the more cold blooded, funnily enough~!" I just raised a brow before focusing on our surroundings again as we entered the adventurers area, the market stalls changing from food, clothing and necessities to weapons, armor and materials for battle. The people changed swiftly too; instead of colorful clothing and soft smiles, soft bodies and quiet chatter, we were surrounded by silver, bronze and steel armor, hardened expressions, scarred faces and muscr bodies, while the scent of the air changed from the delicious meat skewers to the acrid tang of ash and the distinct - yet subdued - metallic scent of blood. Men and women perused the stalls and haggled with the merchants, who would asionally gesture to the towering mountain of muscle beside them to intimidate and squash down on some of the more thuggish adventurers. Public disys of lust weren''t umon, some of the women clinging to stronger adventurers and whispering sultrily to them, with a few slipping into the alleys and finding a ce out of sight to ''get to know one another'', while the asional shout or growl could be heard as the wrong women were touched, the offending adventurer finding themselves on the ground as the woman or her party put them down. "It''s the same everywhere... so very crass and stuffy. And yet... I can''t get enough of this atmosphere. Come, let''s go check out some of the better enchanting shops first. Those des should be easy to get rid of; you did well with them, really. Should fetch some nice coin." I nodded, still taking in the ce I hadn''t been to in months, marveling at how it had remained the same even after all that time; how it would likely remain this way for the next few months, the next few years... perhaps even the next few decades. Zhu''Rong Caverns was never going to go away, and the Adventurers Guild that rented out the services of their members wasn''t going to refuse the profits of those who needed hired muscle... It was calming to know that this ce would likely remain unchanged, even if I found it rather... crude and filled with idiots. Chapter 704 703: Market Time (2) Chapter 704 703: Market Time (2) "Wee! I uh... I shall be with you in just a moment..! Ah, now where did I put that damn..?" A raspy voice sounded out from behind a few shelves, having sounded out after the bell attached to the door rang as we entered. The shop itself wasden with shelves that were filled with books, papers, inkwells and pens, the entire store dedicated to the fundamentals of any studious mages who wanted to make a name for themselves... somewhere down the line. Despite being a rather dim shop, the surface was immacte and set up to neatly, while the few candles that illuminated the interior burned brightly on the various candbras that rested around the edges. "Cloaked Emporium... doesn''t really sound like an enchanting store." Kolia chuckled, nodding as she approached a shelf and began to browse the various books on disy, tapping their spines and reading the titles before replying "It''s in the name, really. The entire store has two sides; this one, where they sell some of the more... base necessities, and the other side, which dabbles in true enchanting. Unless its a stall, most ces won''t put their high end items on full disy with an exit to the streets nearby. Least of all enchanted gear; this stuff can run you dozens of Gold if its touched by the right person, or even tinums if you get something that''s cream of the crop. You''ll see." Pulling one of the books off the shelf, Kolia then turned and picked up a bundle of paper and closed inkwell, carrying them over to the counter and adding "If you need any new notebooks or ink, now would be the time. This ce is cheaper then others, and the quality is higher since everything - and I do mean everything - is made in house. Unique little ce..." That made me furrow my brows as I picked up a few empty journals and an inkwell as well, inspecting their bindings and the small vial of ink, admiring the artistry that went into them even if they were rather simple. "Then how do they make a profit? Individually making each book and producing the ink, as well as creating the pens and paper? The ss too? How..?" cing my stuff beside hers on the counter, I stared at Kolia and waited for an answer, the older Serpentkin woman just smirking as she leaned on it and looked towards the various shelves behind the counter, where the owner of the store was still ruffling through some things. "This is an enchanting store, Kat, with quite an aplished family running it. Of course they can make things by hand quickly! I mean, their ink has a simple but effective recipe of ground charcoal, tree resin, water, and vigorous mixing with small iron bearings, which is rather easy to make en masse. Then the papers can be made simply as well, and binding books might take awhile, but if you constantly produce them, you never are truly out of them. Besides, the family here has the funds to bring in some help if they need it~!" I followed her gaze as I watched a short, thin woman step out from behind the shelves, her yellowish skin contrasting the heavy ck mantle that rested on her shoulders, while their slump and her arched back made her look even more unhealthy despite the abundance of mana radiating off of her body. Thick sses rested atop her thin nose, while her sharp cheekbones and brows gave her quite the intimidating look even with the body that she had; though what really brought it all together was her fierce golden red eyes. "Ah, it''s you... We weren''t expecting you back anytime soon, snake." The woman gave Kolia an indifferent stare before turning towards me, those eyes narrowing while she brushed her midnight ck hair out of her eyes, asking "And what brings you here, dog? Things to sell?" Her voice was extremely raspy and t, making it hard to gauge what her deal was as she stared at me, though theck of anything from Kolia made me sigh as I answered "Yes, I have enchanted gear to sell if possible. Daggers and a sword, each with a different enchantment on them." She stared at me quietly for a moment before ncing at Kolia, rasping "And she''s with you, snake?" "Aye, she''s with me, ''bird''. You need to work on that bad habit of yours Amenti. Calling people animals is liable to end in disaster for you one day." "Hmph... Nothing I can''t handle. The deer that came in a few days ago got to enjoy the irritation of an Arch Mage personally... stupid herbivore." Amenti turned and ced the bundle in her hands on the shelf before patting the counter, her eyes returning to me as she said "Let me see these ''enchanted'' items, dog. If they''re a waste of my time..." Her voice trailed off as she waited, which made Kolia chuckle as she gestured for me to do as asked, still unbothered by the Birdkin that was being rather rude to us. Iid the bundle that I had been carrying down on the counter and unwrapped it, revealing the individually wrapped des that had been enchanted not too long ago and spreading them out, allowing Amenti to begin perusing them at her discretion. "Water and Wind enchantments... at least that''s marketable. Few people have those elements inside the Capital..." Lifting up a long needle dagger, the Birdkin ran her finger over the de and murmured "Average craftsmanship on the de itself, but the enchantment... not terrible. Saturation isn''t bad, the potency is good... spell itself is workable. Not the greatest work, nor the strongest, but certainly..." Tapping her finger against the t of the de, Amenti lifted her gaze from the dagger to me, nodding as she muttered "Not too bad for a dog." "Not bad? Amenti, stop being such a stick in the mud! It''s good gear and you know it, you arrogant Hawk!" Amenti just gave Kolia a nce beforeying the de down and going for the next, ignoring her afterwards and continuing with her appraisal. Chapter 705 704: Market Time (3) Chapter 705 704: Market Time (3) "These aren''t that bad, dog. Very well, let''s take it all to the back and get it further appraised and valued by Mom. She''ll handle the pricing and sales. Snake, you know the way..." Amenti ced the sword back down and gave me a curt nod before turning around, returning to the shelves behind the counter as she resumed organizing them and doing what she pleased, all while Kolia rolled her eyes as she asked "Amenti, can you wrap these all up and ship them up to the Pce for us? We''ll pay with Miss Horusa in the back; it''s thirty Silvers for this total then, correct?" The Birdkin looked back and scanned the counter before nodding, not saying anything and instead picking up one of the long rolls of brown wrapping paper as well as some twine to wrap it all up properly, which made Kolia sigh before saying "Come on, let''s head to the back. That''s where the real goodies are at." Picking up my enchanted weapons, I followed Kolia to the side of the shop and helped cover her up as she began to tap on a few of the stones, her mana entering them seamlessly and creating a slightly audible click as each one was pressed back into the wall, eventually revealing an illusory doorway that Kolia stepped through. Inspecting it for a moment, I stepped through it after Kolia when Amenti said "Don''t even think about it, dog. Keep it moving.", getting her warning loud and clear and trying to not piss the resident Arch Mage off by trying to learn her family''s secrets. Kolia snickered in front of me as she spoke over her shoulder, smirking at me and saying "Trust me, everyone does it when theye here the first time. Only a few are stupid enough - or desperate enough - to try it again and against. Those people... don''t live long. Those of us in the know don''t want to take advantage of the Cloaked Emporium and have it closed to us. You''ll see why soon enough." The illusory doorway led into a hallway that slowly descended into the earth, and after turning for a few moments, we found ourselves in the real shop that Kolia had been telling me about. Like the upper, public area, the interior was dim and illuminated by sparse lights, though these were inscribed mes that hovered freely around their particr point, while the various tables allowed for clear line of sight over the entire area while each table was covered in various items that had mana wafting off of them. Seated in the back on a throne was another yellow skinned, thin woman, the ck mantle over her shoulders simr to Amenti''s though it was speckled with silver thread, giving it a unique appearance. Her braided ck hair was pinned with golden needles that held it in ce, though the mana lingering around each left little to the imagination that they were usable in some other way, all whileplimenting her golden eyes. Leaning against her throne was a tall, silver staff that radiated mana, the various gemstones embedded into the top pulsed with power, though not as much as the two women pining for the seated woman''s attention. The first was a tall, curvaceous pale skinned seductress dressed in a loose, flowing red robe, leaning against the seated woman''s chest and whispering into her ear, all while she lifted up peeled grapes and fed the seated woman, enjoying the attention she received in return. Braided red hair matched that of Horusa, who had grinned towards Kolia as we entered, and the beautiful wings that were folded over the curvy woman''s back were being used to conceal herself from us as she looked towards us, covering her body as she red over the feathered appendage. Meanwhile, standing beside the throne and wearing a more serious expression was an equally tall, yet petite Birdkin that was grooming Horusa''s wing, her white hair and obsidian eyesplimenting her chocte skin and white feathers. Her eyes narrowed as she looked towards us, before ignoring us entirely as she returned to grooming the Hawkkin Horusa''s wing, the deep ck feathers speckled with silver getting the most amount of attention that they could from the petite Birdkin. "Ah, Arch Mage Kolia~! My my, it has been a long time my dear~! What brings you back?" Horusa''s voice was brimming with energy and enthusiasm, while her golden eyes sparked with interest as she looked towards me, adding "And a friend! How rare! The solitary snake found apanion~! Ah, and one I think I''ve heard of! Aren''t you the new ''Lady Zara''~? Or her daughter, the one ''close'' to the Princess?" Giving the seated Hawkkin a slight curtsy, I replied "I am Katherine Zara. A pleasure." "A pleasure indeed~! What brings you two to my humble little store~?" Kolia snorted, shaking her head and saying "Horusa, this is anything but humble. Mana crystals just left lying about? Your definition of humble and my own are vastly different." Chuckling, the Hawkkin just grinned before focusing on the bundle in my arms, asking "Then I suppose you''re here for business then, and not a social call my dear snake~? What goodies have you brought to my Emporium, hmm~? They must be good if my daughter Amenti allowed you through. Bring them here, Lady Katherine." Horusa helped the curvy red winged Birdkin off herp before standing up, gently folding her wing back and beckoning me over, tapping an empty table nearby herself and saying "Show me then, Lady Katherine. I always enjoy seeing what new friends bring to my shop~! Hopefully its something good... or promising, at least. I think you''ll find that good friends are hard toe by in this profession." Holding out her hand, the silver staff leaning against the throne shooting towards her swiftly, making the Hawkkin smile softly as she tapped it to the gstones below, bringing a few of the hovering mes over to better illuminate the table. "Comee,y them out. Let us see what you''ve brought for me today, Lady Katherine~!" Chapter 706 705: Market Time (4) Chapter 706 705: Market Time (4) Horusa watched me closely as Iid the bundle on the table, flipping the cloth back and repeating what I did with Amenti as I revealed the various daggers and single sword to her and the two other women, who were staring at the cluster of weapons with indifferent gazes as they stood on either side of Horusa. "May I?" The Hawkkin gestured towards the weapons and waited for my nod to reach forwards and grab one of the daggers, undoing the cloth around it and looking down at the de, raising it closely to her face and shrouding the entire weapon in mana, looking at the runes that appeared on the surface and piecing everything together after just a few moments. "This is a Water enchantment... rare inside the Capital, so a tad more valuable. Expected since its enchanted from an Ice Mage who''s Mother has Water Magic. The potency is there, its well put together... sh enchantment is more utilitarian and used primarily with monsters only, though that''s not a downside. No speed rude, which is sad, but the power and density make it an offensive, short ranged powerhouse. Since most monsters here are weaker to Water Mana it should fetch a high price." shing the dagger at me, Horusa said "I''ll give you 60 Silvers for this.", her voice as confident as before as she lowballed me an offer. Kolia remained quiet, leaving everything to me as she looked on with a smirk, while the two other Birdkin narrowed their eyes and stared at me, like they were trying to intimidate me to say otherwise. "60 Silvers? I don''t personally know about your Emporium, Miss Horusa, but I do know a little something about the market. Water Enchantments are rare, the dagger itself is solid, and the enchantment is excellent. 60 Silvers is far too low when I KNOW you''ll be selling for well over a Gold. 80 Silvers, or I can walk and sell it by myself. It''ll take me some time but I can make far more than 60 Silvers." The Hawkkin stared at me silently for a few seconds, before tilting her staff and telling her two women to rein it in, a smirk tugging at her lips as she amusedly said "Got some bite to ya, don''t you Lady Katherine~? You''re lucky that I like that about people, because otherwise I''d kick you out of my store and see if you can do as you say... 80 Silvers it is. Sarki, keep track for me." Sarki - the white haired, white feathered Birdkin - just nodded as she red at me, those obsidian eyes smoldering slightly at the ''slight'' I had levied to Horusa, though I just ignored her as I watched Horusa lift the next dagger up, beginning her appraisal again. Going through each weapon was easy enough, the Hawkkin no longer trying to swindle me from each item as she bought the five daggers and single sword from me for a total of 6 Gold and 40 Silvers, which was quite the profit for weapons that I had spent maybe a Gold or so on a long time ago. "Redeva, go take 6 Golds and 40 Silvers from the safe please. Lady Katherine, a pleasure doing business with someone like yourself~! It''s rare to find someone who understands what''s happening at a negotiations table... people want the highest profit even if its unobtainable... I can''t tell you how manye into my store and expect to receive market value for their items. How would I sell those things for above market value without beingughed at? The idiots..." Clicking her tongue, Horusa said "Sarki, take the weapons away for me. Get them polished and ready for disy." Horusa looked back towards Kolia and I as she asked "So what did youe here for really? Sure, we don''t mind flipping enchanted gear whenever we can, especially gear like that, but that can''t be the reason that you came to my shop." "Eh, it''s not. More so wanted to introduce you to Kat here and browse any new additions to your collections. See if anything interesting or neat appeared, y''know? Besides, letting Kat know how to get in and out of here is nice, since she''ll likely be back. At least if you show some better hospitality~!" "Anything interesting..? There''s ALWAYS something interesting inside my Emporium, Miss Kolia! That''s what makes me one of the best merchants in the Capital! Anything interesting... Hah! What do you want? Enchanted gear, old tomes? Magical materials? Mana Crystals? I have it all!" Horusa practically preened as her wings fluttered behind her, adding to her rather imposing figure as she tilted her head and looked down at us, pridecing her tone as gestured at the store around her, the incredible staff in her hand glimmering in the firelight as she added "We have alchemical ingredients as well, though not in abundance, as well as some monster parts that don''t mix too well with magic." Kolia looked at me and shrugged, before looking back and saying "Let''s see the tomes then Miss Emporium~!" The words of the Serpentkin made the Hawkkin smirk, though she nced at me and asked "And you, Lady Katherine?" "I''ll just browse for now, Miss Horusa. Don''t have anything in mind yet, but who knows?" The two nodded, and Horusa led Kolia over to another table, showing her the various books and scrolls that were on disy proudly, discussing their contents and showing the Serpentkin the insides to verify that they were legitimate. As for me, I waited at the table for the red feathered woman to return with my payment and watched as Sarki sat down beside the throne and began to polish the des sullenly, asionally ncing back and ring at Kolia as she ''capitalized'' on the Hawkkin''s attention. I didn''t need to wait long as a pouch was thrust into my hands, along with the seductive redheads hiss "Don''t even think about Horusa, dog." flowing into my ears, making me chuckle as I took my coin and replied "Believe me hon, I don''t want her. I have my own lovers that pine over me~!" Redeva just narrowed her eyes at me before making her way over to Horusa, grabbing onto her arm and bringing it between her breasts as she red at Kolia, who ignored her. Seeing it in person was always a glorious thing, so I took a moment to appreciate the obsessive and possessive behavior exhibited by Redeva for her lover before I made my way around the shop, browsing through everything and taking note of the prices, finding a few things that I was interested in. Chapter 707 706: Market Time (5) Chapter 707 706: Market Time (5) "Have you found anything that piques your interest, Lady Katherine~? Or is there something in particr that you are looking for but haven''t found yet? Perhaps I could be of assistance in obtaining whatever it is that you need..." Horusa appeared beside me as I was inspecting the chunks of ore resting on table in the corner, the various metals glimmering different colors in the dim light as I pondered over what I was looking for, making a few decisions based on the prices that I had seen and the money that I had on hand. I had my own funds still that were separate from the others in the family, as well as the extra coin that Jahi gave me when she heard I was heading out, the Demoness wanting to make sure I had enough money on me for whatever I wanted, even if the amount she handed me was far more than a normal family would see in a half century... or even longer. Golds littered the inside of my coin purse, while two tinums rested in the midst of the sea of gold, given to me so that I would not be out of money unless I bought some ridiculously expensive items. Which, while there was a small - very small - part of myself that just wanted to go through the ENTIRE Capital and shop, shop and shop, I was more than able to rein it in and keep my spending to a minimum, with the goal being to find some things for us to use in some new gear, specifically for Anput and Leone to utilize and make some new things for us, which would then be empowered by myself as I enchanted the gear or aided Leone in making it. That meant that Jahi''s contributions to this all was solely mary in function, but I knew that none of us minded thanks to the Demoness being the one who had gently pushed us into each field, reassuring us that we could do it and supporting us by just being herself; what our Demoness brought to the table for our rtionship was stability and protection, while we did the rest to make sure it was something that worked. Very traditional in that sense, but in a world of magic, swords and monsters, stability and protection were worth their weight in gold, and Jahi was a very muscr woman... so in other words, entirely worth being able to do ''nothing'' while the three of us did some incredible work. Picking up a chunk of ore, I showed it to Horusa and asked "2 Gold?" before gesturing to another piece, adding "And 2 Gold for that as well?" The Hawkkin gently lifted the ore from my hand and picked up the other, her eyes narrowing again before she grinned and nodded, answering "4 Gold sounds reasonable, Lady Katherine. Anything else?" "Yes, there were a few things. I saw a small parcel of gas over there for 10 Gold, as well as a sizable peridot for 10; would you do 17 and a half for the both of them?" Horusa looked towards the table I was talking about, thinking on it for a moment and eventually nodding, gesturing for Redeva to fetch the gemstones, only to turn back as I added "And over there, there was a set of un attuned mana crystals for 2 Gold each as well as some un attuned gold ore for 4 Gold; could I get those for 6 Gold total?" She raised a brow at me before nodding, a smile tugging at her lips as she said "27 and a half Gold already, Lady Katherine... Don''t spend what you can''t afford to lose now~!" "And then,stly, I want that tome that you were telling Kolia about, the one that''s a deep dive into the materials of the world. I think that was 1 and a half Gold?" "29 Gold total~? Wow, you really are~ a Noble now, Lady Katherine! Such wealth to be spending so freely! Anything else~?" Horusa was rubbing her hands together in anticipation as she watched Redeva gather everything I wanted, making me chuckle as I nodded, walking beside the Hawkkin as I said "That''s all, Miss Horusa. I believe that''s more than enough for today. Besides, this isn''t the only shop I wanted to visit. So for a total of 30 Gold, could I have you ship everything I purchased today up to the Pce for me?" "Of course, of course~! Such a high spender you are~! 30 Gold exact for a chunk of Empyrean Silver, a chunk of Umor Titanium, a parcel of Fire Mana gas, a Wind Mana peridot, two un attuned Mana Crystals, a chunk of un attuned Lux Gold, and ''Vitrea''s Tome of Metallurgy and Enchanting'' as well as the shipment to the Pce. Is that correct?" Counting out the coins, I nodded as they were ced on the empty table in front of us, alongside a few books that Kolia was buying, which Horusa tallied up and epted payment for as Kolia handed her some Gold as well. "A pleasure as always, Kolia~! And here''s to a fruitful friendship between us, Lady Katherine~! Have an excellent day~!" Nodding to the Hawkkin, Kolia and I exited the Cloaked Emporium and emerged back onto the streets of the Capital, with the Serpentkin ncing at me and asking "You have that kind of money to spend freely? Not even a wince parting with that much Gold?" I gave my tutor a smirk and led her towards one of the many stalls, quietly replying "I do. Believe it or not, Kolia, I''ve made quite a bit from adventuring, and recently - albeit stupidly - Jahi sold something to Lady Lorelei for quite arge chunk of change. Additionally, whilst they both might be grumpy about it and make a fuss, the Marquess and Countess have been more than willing to spend their wealth on us. Partially because Mother and I were owed a sry, but also because... well, they are now officially my Mom and Mother inw, and even more so whenever they have the time to hold the wedding. Besides, I might be down on money, yes, but I can make it back quite easily..." Pointing at a few of the chunks of metal on table, I fished out another few Golds and tossed them to the merchant before picking up my purchases, moving to another table and doing the same. "Anput forges me something made from these better metals, I enchant them for practice and make sure to do well on them, and then Ie back to the Emporium and sell them off again; I spend 10 Gold now, make 30 Goldter. Rinse and repeat until I''ve made up my losses. And if I get Anput to make something with a lot of care, and I spend a lot of time enchanting it perfectly, I could be making tinums when Ie back. Unlike others who just say they can do so, I know I can do so~! Now, do you mind carrying these for me? We''re going to be going to another few stalls..." Chapter 708 707: Making Plans Chapter 708 707: Making ns Jahi PoV Wiping the sweat from my brow, I regted my breathing as best I could as I capitalized on the short break that we were taking from training, which was me, Nirinia, Vienna and Dante, the four of us upying arge corner of the training grounds as we made use of our day as best we could. The problem with the down time that we were currently finding ourselves in - these days where nothing was happening yet, but we knew something was likelying so we couldn''t do anything else - was that there was little that we could do to truly make progress that wouldn''t put us in a slump of exhaustion that might be problematic. We could train somewhat and rest our minds, eat up and shore up our strength, but we couldn''t make leaps and bounds in our training without the threat of being over exerted and ''useless'' for the beginning of whatever we were doing, which was - again - problematic. Hence this weird spot that we were stuck in, left to mingle around together and do whatever we could to not go crazy but have to forcefully limit ourselves. And sadly for myself, my need to remain active and train made this a frustrating experience, since sitting down and reading would drive me insane while trying to practice my magic wasn''t the most thrilling or rewarding process for me; I needed to feel my muscles burning or I went through ''withdrawals'', though that''s likely me just being dramatic... That was why Nirinia, Dante and Vienna all visited the training grounds, and upon finding me making use of the weights they decided that practicalbat training was a must. With three different fighting styles avable to me to train against, I had no issue epting the workout they wanted and capitalizing on their appearance to further hone my skills, and we had been doing so for almost an hour now. Dante passed a bottle to me, and I sniffed it before bringing it to my lips, taking a sip of the wine inside and not questioning why that was the first drink of choice for a break, just epting it and enjoying it as I handed it over to Nirinia, who took a swig as well. "Jahi, what exactly are your ns for the imminent future now? Thest time I asked, things weren''t as... hectic as they are now." Leaning on my great sword, I looked towards the Dragonkin man that was doing the same, his tower shield showing minimal wear and tear despite having taken a beating over thest hour, while his brown skin glistened beneath the noon sun, sweat gracing his brow just as much as it did mine. Beside him was Vienna, who was just as tall as I was and equally drenched, our sparsting a dozen minutes that left us drained and needing a breather, though the Wolfkin looked just as ready for another bout as she did look ready for a bath. Her interest in the question was also rather clear, but she remained silent and let her older brother handle the talking, though she did lean forwards and drain the rest of the wine bottle when Nirinia handed it to her. "That... I''m not entirely sure just yet. There''s a lot going on, like you said, and a lot that I want to get done. Anput wants materials for certain projects, Leone needs time to understand her magics better and make some more progress on her alchemy, and Kat wants some time as well to progress her enchanting skills... So I don''t know. We need the practical experience, but what good is practical experience if we don''t make any progress in understanding our techniques and the like?" Dante nodded, ncing at Vienna and saying "Practical experience is important; learning what works and doesn''t work is very needed to improve, but only relying on practical experience can be a downside, which I''ve tried to exin to this sister of mine many times..." The Dragonkin locked eyes with the Wolfkin for a few moments, only looking back at me when she looked away from him, her ears fluttering as she frowned sullenly. "I would suggest taking a week to let them do so, before picking a location and heading there to put whatever you learn in this week to practice. Learn something and return to make more improvements, and then head out again. You needed materials, correct? Pick the Dungeons you need and remain there for seven days. Go as far as you can, learn your limits, and find an understanding of yourselves if possible." "Indeed, it would do you all some good to head off on your own, without someone to rely on for backup... Though, I doubt the Empress will allow it. Perhaps whomever she sends can stay out of the way? Either way, I do think you should heed Lord Dante''s advice and head out soon, but after you progress some in your theories... Perhaps a visit to the Academy would be in order?" Wiping away some more sweat, I sighed as I thought about returning to the Academy, wondering who there would aid me that I didn''t already have ess to here; Mom was far and above any physicalbat teachers down at the Academy, and Mother would be an excellent teacher for magic, as would Kolia and and any of the Empress'' wives. Specifically Lady D''Arcon; I really needed to ask if she would be willing to share any of her understanding about Light Mana with me, and ask her about theplexities of such a magic. Then there was the general theories of magic that Leone was studying very closely, as well as Kat; those would benefit me greatly as well, if I had the patience to sit myself down and focus on my arcane prowess... Something I should work on, I guess. Whilst I was mid thought, someone approached us and joined our conversation, their red skin giving away who they were rather easily. "If you''re looking for something to do and some ces to explore, might I suggest the beautiful, familiar and newly improved Three Kingdoms of the former Human Country~?" Belian grinned at me, continuing on without waiting and speaking with an intriguing amount of enthusiasm. "The Empress wants to further cultivate the Three Kingdoms that we acquired and bring them into the fold of the Empire properly, and one said Kingdom has been... gifted to the Demon ns. Your Mom just refused any im to it though, epting coin instead, but I suggested that this might just be the perfect time for you to really get in contact with your dearest cousins, young Jahi~!" "Gifted... an entire Kingdom?" The red skinned Demon grinned even more, nodding and happily exining "The Empress decided that we were deserving of a reward for our long winded service, and she decided - in her boundless wisdom and benevolence - that our Demon ns would do well ruling over one of the former Kingdoms! As such, we are sending a preliminary force to begin setting up proper governments and improve the cities as much as possible before we send a branch n over to rule the Kingdom. Interested~?" Chapter 709 708: Interesting News Chapter 709 708: Interesting News "What would we be doing? Sure, it''d be nice to get to meet some other Demons from the other ns, but what''s the point if it''s just a diplomatic mission of sorts? We have no stakes inside that Kingdom, no need to help set up something that has no impact on us..." Belian just chuckled, resting his hand on the pommel of his sword as he answered "The Kingdoms that used to belong to the Humans might be rather ndpared to the Empire, but the soon to be renamed Tragon Kingdom does share a border with the Labyrinthian, and as such, the Dungeons nestled towards the south are more abundant with enemies and resources. The Human''s might not have been the strongest, but their Justiciar''s were admirable enough. Kept those Dungeons under control and exploited the natural wealth inside to build their own castles and cities..." Looking towards Nirinia, the red Demon smirked as he added "After all, even some of their Justiciar''s were almost Knight caliber, as Nirinia could more than tell you if you asked. Some tough nuts to crack over there~!" The Djinn just snorted as she turned away, which made Belian chuckle, the Knight focusing on me once more as he continued to speak, trying to convince me to join this diplomatic force. "There''s enough over in the Kingdoms to do, you just need to search! Tragon has had a... storied past of Fiendish activity, and the Dungeons are - again - abundantly wealthy if you know where to look. With most of the Kingdom being decimated by the previous famines and those creatures, there aren''t many there waiting to capitalize on said Dungeons. I would wager that they''re overflowing with monsters right about now, as well as with resources waiting to be used~! Of course, you still need to be careful since those Dungeons are likely connected to the Labyrinthian, so... don''t get too cocky." Pursing my lips, I nodded and mulled over Belian''s words, while Dante asked "You said that Mom gave the Three Kingdoms away then? To who? Tragon to the Demon ns, but what else?" "Ah, Slyak was ced under the banner of a former Justiciar that married the Heiress of the Vintiago Merchant Group, and the Kingdom is going to be entirely focused on agriculture and nothing else; there are a few Baronies that will sprout up over there as well to further manage thends. As for the Romagi Kingdom, some new Marquess named Feyra will be joined by two Counts and two Countesses to manage the harshernds and protect our new Western Border as well as work the various mines inside the mountains there. The Empress hasn''t set it in stone just yet, and she''s meeting with her Council to go ahead and discuss everything further." "A merchant group and a union of five Noble Houses..? Interesting. I sincerely doubt that the Council will let that get pushed through cleanly without trying to argue that this group is better or that this House deserves it more..." Belian nodded, only to smirk as he said "No one will deny us though, which is why I came to ask young Jahi about her interest in joining us?" "When would you be departing for Tragon?" "Hmm... Not for awhile yet. Two, three weeks? We would need to get the resources and materials ready for them, as well as select an appropriate group to represent both the Beliali''s and the Cimeriesa''s without having too much of a power imbnce and the like... which is where theck of an Asmodeucian n really begins to rear its head. Like I said, the Beliali''s are great speakers but we love our half truths and maniptions, while the Cimeriesa''s are quieter and reserved, but highly opinionated. You lot used to strike that bnce perfectly, but now you''re no more." I didn''t react to the other Demon''s slight, instead giving the idea some more thought before saying "I''ll ask the others, Belian, and tell you tomorrow." Retrieving my great sword, I nodded to the others and added "I think that''s it from me for today. Thank you for the spars." Everyone gave me a nod back as I walked away, leaving the training grounds behind and making my way back towards my room, where I would bathe and rx as I waited for the others; I was curious to see what Kat had bought, whilst also being intrigued by whatever Anput and Leone had done today, finding myself curious about all three of them. It was rare for me to be alone, and as I entered the room and slipped into the bath, I sighed as I sat there in silence, soaking in both the water and the instance of me being alone, finding it rather odd and something that I wasn''t entirely sure how I felt about it. Just being by myself, alone with my thoughts and nothing else was something that I tended to avoid, not wanting to confront whatever popped into my head and have to work through it, even if I knew that that was certainly healthier then letting it all bottle up inside without release. But just because I could understand that didn''t mean I wanted to do it, and I could only breathe out a sigh of relief as Anput entered the bath, joining me swiftly and nuzzling into my side as she slipped into the water. Having my olive skinned, muscr puppy in my arms made everything far easier, and it didn''t take long for my lips to find hers, enjoying the taste of citrus on her tongue and sharing our warmth in the already warm water. Before I could slip into a point of no return, I kissed her nose and pulled back, smiling softly at how she pouted at me, while her fingers danced beneath the water, trying to lull me back in. "What did you do today, Anput?" My eyes narrowed as she continued to disy her skills for me, making her pout shift into a smirk as she beamed up at me, her obsidian eyes glowing with pride as she got a reaction from me. "Not much, just made some more progress on some more armor~! Decided that would be the best course of action for us as a whole, especially since I have a nagging feeling that Kat''s journey into the market means more work for us all..." I chuckled at that, not disputing that the Dogkin''s venture with a purse full of coin would likely end with most of said coin vanishing mysteriously, reced with a myriad of things that - while expensive or abundant - would be of incredible use. That didn''t mean I liked thinking about those tinums or Golds disappearing though, but there was little I could do besides give it to her and trust that she would maintain being a much more mature person then the three of us could be... "Well, even if it is more work, we all know that it''s good for us. Besides..." Biting my lip, I gave my tanned puppy a sharp look as she began to use both hands, her smirk widening as she sessfully switched my attention from other things to her. "Who knows what she bought ''for us'' in the form of a nice gift... Now, why don''t you stop teasing me and do this properly~?" Chapter 710 709: Deciding Chapter 710 709: Deciding After a rather heated exchange between Anput and I, we dried ourselves off and meandered over into the bedroom, plopping down onto our beds and cuddling together as we waited for everyone to return, the skin to skin contact that wasn''t flooded with lust bringing me great enjoyment as Anput nuzzled into my chest, purring softly as I stroked her fluffy ears. "Sometimes I swear you aren''t a Jackalkin, but a Catkin of some kind instead Anput... Are you sure you''re not partially Catkin of some kind? Maybe Sphinx or something?" Shuffling around, Anput pulled her face free from my breasts and red up at me, her obsidian eyes narrowed as she growled "Don''tpare me to those damn weaklings! I''m Caninekin through and through! Hmph!" She pouted at me, before burying her face into my chest again and making me chuckle as I rubbed her back, soothing the ''hurt'' Jackalkin as I murmured "Sorry, sorry~! It''s just you act so~ much like one sometimes... Purring and curling into balls on myp, so easily distracted from things sometimes and utterly feisty when someone ''intrudes'' into your space." Anput looked back up at me one more time and frowned, saying "That sounds rather universal to most Beastkin, Jahi... like, really, really universal. Kat acts the same sometimes too you know?!" That made me purse my lips as I looked away from her, thinking on my experiences with Kat andbing through them for instances of her acting simr to Anput, only to shrug and say "Sort of, I guess. She doesn''t purr, though she nuzzles far more than you... and I guess she is more feisty than you as well. Well... a lot more than you honestly~!" She snorted as she matched my grinning face, before we both froze as we heard someone cough and say "More... feisty huh? I guess I could be, certainly... Should I disy that properly so you could more urately judge, or..?" Sitting up, the two of us stared at the curvy Dogkin standing in front of the door with surprise clearly written on faces. Leone stood beside Kat, covering her smile as she watched the interaction from the side, clearly enjoying herself as the Dogkin raised a brow and crossed her arms beneath her bountiful chest, drawing my attention towards it - though I sadly had to tear my gaze off those two fluffy mountains and focus instead on the serious gaze of the Dogkin, who was now ring at me as she waited for an answer. "No, you don''t need to disy it... we were only joking is all..? Besides, feisty is good! Feisty is really good on you, my love!" I gave her the best smile I could muster as I stood up, approaching the former Dogkin maid and stretching my arms out for a hug, before I just took the satchels from her and put them on the table, deciding that being helpful was better than ''fake'' constion..? I think..? Of course, Leone continued to giggle silently as she watched everything unfold, only to have her smile stiffen as I nced at her, the Vampire blushing slightly as her eyes dropped from my face to what was below my waist, the all too familiar ''dragon'' being unted as I moved around. "Uh huh... Sure. Anyways, Anput, I got you quite a few ores; some are valuable, others are just... basic. Oh and Leone, I have a few more ingredients for you as well for those ''special'' potions of yours~!" Kat ced the other satchel on the table before adding "They''re getting shipped here though. I also got some nice gemstones for cheap as well; Kolia took me to a neat Emporium that sells all kinds of enchanting goodies. They''ll let us y around with magical gear, Anput, since I got quite a few." Looking towards me, Kat scanned my naked body for a moment before off handedly saying "I also got a ''gift'' for you as well, Jahi, but I guess you can wait for it..." Turning her nose up at me, she let out a huff and made her way to the bed, plopping down beside Anput and giving her mate a deep kiss, making me roll my eyes and shake my head at her antics. I took a seat as well and beckoned to Leone, dragging her onto myp and giving the Princess a kiss before saying "Let''s talk first before going any further, hmm? We need to make a decision about our ns going forwards... again. I was thinking - no matter what - we remain in the Pce for a week to train and study before heading out somewhere for at least a few days to a week to put that weeks studying to practical use. But... the thing is, Belian told me today that the Empress is giving the Tragon Kingdom to the other two Demon ns. Apparently Mom also turned down being given a sliver of the Kingdom in exchange for coin, so there''s that as well." Leone looked up at me from her spot on myp, asking "She gave them... the entire Kingdom? Just like that, she gave the ENTIRE Kingdom to the Demon ns?" "Apparently, yes. And again, Mom declined and took coin instead. Either way, Belian asked if we would be interested in joining the Beliali''s and Cimeriesa''s diplomatic force to set up their foothold in the Kingdom. That way we''d get to meet the two other ns as well as check out the Dungeons down towards the south, which should - ording to Belian - be overrun with monsters and overflowing with materials." I looked back towards the two Caninekin and met their gazes as I added "I have to admit I am curious about them, but the question is whether or not the Dungeons in Tragon would be worth a damn for us? The time and distance is farrger than anywhere else, so we would need to take good care of managing our resources and the like alongside everything else, so..?" "I think it''d be worth checking out since I sincerely doubt we could remain situated here for longer than a week. None of us are used to just being stationary for too long, as sad as that sounds. Besides, I think the Dungeons would be worth it, as well as the solitary experience." Leone nodded, leaning back and enjoying my touch as I rubbed her stomach, slowly letting my hands move up and down towards the two ces I really wanted to caress - though I reined myself in and waited until we were done talking. "So are we in agreement that the trip into Tragon might be worth it after all?" Looking at each of them, I saw them all nod, making me grin as I let my hands go where I wanted them to, enjoying the incredible softness of Leone''s sexy body as I let my lust re up. Chapter 711 710: Obligatory Pleasure* Chapter 711 710: Obligatory Pleasure* ? One of my hands slid beneath the fabric covering Leone''s chest while the other slipped between her thighs, brushing against the Vampire''s pleasure garden. Fondling her breast directly, I licked my lips as I stared down at her and observed her closely, watching as her cheeks went from pale to red in mere moments, her own lust and mild embarrassment that never seemed to go away giving her an adorable blush that made me even more excited to devour her. My cock rested against her back, nestledfortably between her cheeks and poking her back, while her own cock strained against her pants, making her gasp as I reached down and freed it from its confines, wanting to feel her directly. Nuzzling my cheek against hers, I slid a hand beneath her testicles and found the wet entrance that was begging for my attention, whilst my other hand graced her cock, a thought entering my mind as I stared closely at her face. The Vampire hissed softly as I wrapped my fingers around her ns, stroking that sensitive underside while I slid a finger into her pussy, sinking my digit into the slimy, hot embrace of her vagina. Hooking it up, I found the spot that Leone loved having hit and began to prod at it, gently yet incessantly poking it over and over again, all while I stroked just beneath her ns, my fingers moving faster as her precum dribbled down onto them. I remained quiet as I observed the panting Vampire, her cheeks matching her eyes while her ash colored hair sparked, clueing me into just how excited she was with what was happening... which only made me harder as I pressed myself against her back, slowly gyrating my hips and rubbing myself against her now bare ass. Feeling that, Leone tore off her shirt and leaned back into me, wrapping her fingers around each of my arms as she allowed me to do as I pleased, her breathing hitching in her throat as we embraced closely, our bare skin allowing our heat to pass to one another freely. Without much fanfare I slipped another finger inside, eliciting a gasp from Leone as she wriggled around, her crimson eyes growing hazy as I began to speed up as well. Her juices coated both my hands, and I pumped eagerly at both her pussy and her cock, finding it amusing how she writhed around in my arms as I pleasured her immensely, all while my own cock yearned for release. The pleasure that I received from this wasn''t entirely bodily in origin - rubbing against the Vampire''s plump, soft butt was certainly a pleasure, but not the main one that I felt, which was more so felt inside my soul as I watched my lover gradually sink into blissful lust as I yed with her body. When a third finger slid inside, Leone gasped again, though this time she arched her back and pressed hard against me, and I smirked as I felt her penis pulse with need while her lower lips trembled, her insides contorting wildly as they tightened around my digits, spraying out a small amount of her fluids. That light orgasm sparked something inside her, and the Vampire moaned pitifully as she writhed around some more in my embrace, her hips bucking and sliding her cock between my fingers as she thrust into the air adorably, while her movements sent my fingers deeper and straight into her sensitive spot, which only made her moan more. Trembling in my arms, the Vampire opened her mouth wide and soundlessly moaned, her back arching even further as her hips lifted off the bed and allowed her cock to aim straight into the air, the long, girthy member spraying it thick load everywhere as she began to ejacte, while her pussy convulsed again, spasming around my fingers and trying to pull them deeper. Cum burst from her tip and sshed against her stomach and breasts, painting them even more white than before as she ejacted wildly, while an arc of clear liquids squirted from her pussy, joining the semen in making a mess. Though, it was a mess that I was proud she was making, since it meant that I had done an incredible job as she came from both her cock and her pussy, which was currently numbing her mind as she continued to thrust into the air and ejacte, cumming incessantly for another few seconds. The face she was making was adorable; her cheeks were red, her plump lips parted in an ''O'' while her tongue lolled out from between them, and her crimson eyes were covered in a lustful haze. It looked so delectable to me, and I couldn''t help but smirk as she slowly came back down, bringing her thick ass back near my cock and wrapping it in her glorious softness. Everything felt incredible, and as she finally began toe around from her twin orgasms, I nced over my shoulder and smiled as I saw Anput resting her head against the bed board, staring nkly at the ceiling while one of her hands rested on Kat''s head, bobbing up and down on her mates crotch as she gave her a blowjob, preparing her forter. Seeing that, I gave Leone another few moments to rest and return to reality before I pulled us both back to the bed board as well, joining Anput as I looked down and admired the slutty expression on Kat''s face. Anput looked towards me and gave me a loose smile, before it turned into a grin as I leaned over and said "I want your lips on my cock, Anput... and yours, Kat. I want all three of you so bad..." All three of my women stopped what they were doing and turned to look at me properly, taking a few seconds until they eventually nodded and crawled towards myp, doing as I asked. Spreading my legs wide, I gestured at Anput and had her take the front, wanting my toned puppy to throat my cock and make me cum first, all while the other two worshipped me from the sides. Besides, seeing their curvy asses raised into the air while Anput swallowed me whole was more than pleasurable, the thoughts of mming my hips into them and making them ripple beneath each thrust filling my mind even as Anput wrapped her lips around my tip, sucking eagerly on my cock and beginning our routine of incredible pleasure. Pleasure that orbited and focused on me as I felt three pairs of lips on my cock and balls, making me swell even more as a sense of dominant glee welled up in my heart. Chapter 712 711: Greedy Demoness* Chapter 712 711: Greedy Demoness* Resting my arms over the headboard of the bed and looking down at my three womenpping at my cock, I couldn''t help but grin as three separate tongues did their best to appease my lust, each of them giving me their unique style of oral pleasure as theyid between my legs. Kat was by far the most arousing with her mouth, the Dogkin being downright dangerous as she tried to suck my soul out from my dick, while the eye contact and expression on her face as she blew me was icing on the cake, with the sight of her fluffy tail swaying side to side atop her thick ass being that cherry on top as well. The sheer suction from her lips and the way her tongue glided over my cock was leagues above what should be possible by a mortal, which lead to a curious - and dangerous - thought about what ''Caligo would be capable of, what with her being an Arch Fiend of lust... I let that thought go instantly, understanding that if I ever got to feel such a thing it would be thest source of pleasure I ever felt - and that wasn''t because an Arch Fiend would just make everything else seem nd inparison, but instead because I knew I would be dead or chained up if it ever happened. Again, I might be impulsive but I''m not that idiotic, and evenparing the skills of the three women before me was dangerous enough, but it was something I couldn''t help but do. Anput was aggressive and sloppy with her technique, giving me auditory pleasure as she slobbered on my dick, her lips mping down on my girth like a vice and stroking me while her raspy tongue scratched at my member. The Jackalkin made it her job to get me to cum quick and hard with her mouth, needing that reward from me more than anything else as she tried to suck the cum straight from my balls, throating my cock and slurping on it like a straw, all while her hands yed with the source of her reward in an attempt to coax it out. Comparatively, Leone was gentle and loving with her actions, kissing and caressing my length before submerging my tip in a wondrous heat as she made love to it, flicking her tongue around it and doing her best to make my experience pleasurable as she gave me a blowjob, all while her flushed cheeks and embarrassed, shy gaze sent shivers down my spine as I forced her to take me deeper, loving how I could dominate her so easily. My Vampire was a breath of fresh airpared to the other two, the softer, slower buildup of pleasure nice to have and something that I enjoyed immensely, which I always made sure to tell her as I returned that passion and love to her twofold, doing whatever she wanted to start out night together. All three were unique and wonderful, and having them all at the same time was sheer unadulterated bliss, especially after I had been ced on the edge as I attended to Leone. All three were more than able to sense the welling orgasm that was steadily bubbling to the surface, and without hesitation they all pressed their faces closer together and stroked my cock, aiming it at their faces and opening their mouths wide, their tongues resting on their lips and extended to catch as much of my seed as they possibly could. Like the excellent lover I was, I gave my three women what they wanted and ejacted hard, my lust overflowing as I began to spurt semen onto their awaiting faces, thick ropes of my cream sshing against their skin andnding on their needy tongues. Painting them white, I grunted as I came, each rope filled with my love for them as I quenched their thirst, knowing full well that I was about to quench my own. By the time that I finished cumming, they were covered in my spunk and panting, their eyes hazy as their heads became shrouded in my scent and their tongues permeated with my vor, giving me quite the view as I looked down at the three of them, loving what I was seeing. Stroking my cock, I gave them each a little more as I pressed my tip against their tongues, a few more ropes spurting free and further quenching their thirst. When it was finished, I grabbed Anput without hesitation and put her on her back, admiring the chiseled abdomen and perky breasts beneath me, my lust still as high as ever as I pulled her closer and spread her legs, revealing her dew capped garden and preparing to dig in, all while her knot pulsed angrily, demanding release. Release that I decided she deserved, as I gestured at Kat and guided her onto Anput''s cock, the Dogkin understanding instantly as she sat on the Jackalkin''sp and leaned into my chest, her ass rubbing against my thighs as she looked down at Anput''s surprised face. A surprise face that was covered as Leone joined in as well, the three of us giving the normally arrogant Jackalkin her routine checkup to remind her that she wasn''t always above everyone else; now, she was beneath us all as we used her for pleasure, something that she admitted - reluctantly sometimes - she loved quite a bit. Sitting on her face, Leone ced her balls on Anput''s face and moaned softly as Kat reached forwards to jerk her off, while they leaned forwards and began to kiss, all while I started to thrust forwards and gouge out Anput''s insides, her tight pussy greedily devouring my cock and trying to lock my tip inside her womb. Grabbing Kat''s waist, I remained behind her and hammered into Anput''s pussy and her ass, smacking against it and enjoying the way she gyrated her hips back and forth as she rode her mate slowly. With her ass brushing against me while my cock was submerged into Anput''s tight womb, I grinned as our night began in earnest, the four of us letting loose as usual and beginning to release the lust that had umted from this morning. Chapter 713 712: Release* Chapter 713 712: Release* Watching as Leone ejacted for the second time tonight, I grinned as I leaned forwards and kissed Kat''s neck, enjoying the show as the Dogkin made sure to give the Vampire as much pleasure as was possible with just her hands, epting the Princess'' semen as she came over Anput''s chest and shot a few ropes onto Kat''s torso. The Jackalkin in question continued top at Leone''s pussy and balls even as Kat bucked her hips wildly on top of her, all while I got sucked into her womb as her cervix refused to let me pull out, choking my tip and doing its best to milk me of all my sperm. I mmed my hips forwards and enjoyed the way Kat moaned as I pseudo fucked her, her ass rippling beneath each thrust as I filled Anput to the brim with my girth and made love to the both of them. It didn''t take long for my ejaction to burst forth, the tightness of Anput''s pussy wringing me out as I buried myself to the root inside her cunt, spraying my seed inside of her and doing my best to breed her, all while I kissed Kat''s neck heatedly, my puppy''s lemony scent flowing into my nostrils as I embraced her from behind. Creampieing Anput took a few moments, my edging with Leone building up my load before I released it inside the Jackalkin, giving her what she wanted and draining any stress that I had into her womb, filling her with my love as best I could. My other puppy wiggled sexily beneath everyone as she received my love, her womb epting its nourishment and greedily gulping it down as I fed it directly, all while her mouth got filled with Leone''s juices as she was brought to orgasm again. Meanwhile, her cock was submerged inside Kat, the two Caninekin mating together and preparing for their own release, though Kat gasped as I pulled out of Anput and pressed myself against her tight ass, my sperm acting as lubricant as I prated her second hole, filling her entirely and moving onto my second woman, wanting to thoroughly taste them each tonight. Pushing her down, I crouched behind Kat and began to ram myself inside her ass as hard as I could, my sensitive penis further lubricating her insides as I ejacted a few small ropes with the initial thrusts, my orgasm carrying over from Anput to Kat. Before she could moan at being double stuffed, Leone made it from double to triple as she guided herself into Kat''s mouth, leaning over the two Caninekin with me as we began to kiss above them, enjoying the tightness of our feisty lover together and giving Anput a momentary reprieve from being used, the Jackalkin being left with just the pleasure of being submerged inside Kat''s meaty pussy. I could feel Anput''s hardness beneath my cock as I thrust wildly into Kat''s ass, my thighs pping against her butt and reddening her cheeks as I used the Dogkin as well, treating her the way she wanted to be treated and finding incredible pleasure from her ass. Feeling her tail thumping against my leg, I smirked as I continued to pound into her ass, all while my tongue danced with Leone''s as we kissed sloppily above her, the two of us thrusting in and out of Kat and using her as a convenient hole to wring out our cocks, all while her mate''s dick remained lodged inside her womb, waiting to knot her and breed her. Lust welled in my heart as I got to savor the tight insides of Kat while Leone''s cinnamon taste permeated my tongue, though the metallic vor of blood joined it as she slid her fangs into my lip, feeding as we kissed. In retaliation, I reached up and grabbed one of her breasts, squeezing it and pinching her nipple as she kissed me, smirking as her cheeks reddened even more while her eyes hazed overpletely, the Vampire shivering as her balls convulsed against Kat''s lips, cumming for the third time tonight already. Making Leone cum was easier than the other two, but Kat wasn''t far behind as she squirted on Anput''s thighs as well as my calves, unable to resist the pleasure as she was stuffed in all three avable holes, used as the center of our lust. She came even harder as I began to inseminate her ass, unable to resist the pleasure as well, though I continued to pound her juicy ass and enjoyed the lubricated insides as I ejacted again. All of us fed off of the others, with Anput reaching forwards and pressing Kat further against her body so that she could slip her knot inside, making our usually put together lover moan uncontrobly as all three of her holes were stuffed with semen, making sure she got the cream she deserved. I continued humping her ass even as Anput knotted her, while Leone pulled out and sat on the bed, panting and recuperating as she watched Kat with a heated gaze, clearly lusting after her still, to the point that she was masturbating as she watched, staring intently at Kat''s face as I grabbed her hair and yanked back, forcing her to reveal herself to the world. My cock sunk into her twitching ass repeatedly, making her squirt some more as she moaned loudly inside the room, her face ck with ecstasy as my other hand began to p against her butt, leaving visible marks as I started to indulge myself even more with her slutty body. Spanking her made her cunt and anus tighten up even more, and Anput groaned beneath the curvy Dogkin as she released all of her semen, all while I rocked Kat back and forth as I pounded her from behind. It didn''t take long for my arousal to peak again, the hard, fast thrusts into her ass far too euphoric for me to not cum quickly, and after flooding her intestines with my sperm I pulled out, releasing her and giving her a momentary break as I got up and made my way over to the drawers, searching through them. Leone didn''t wait, taking my ce and taking her turn with Kat, the Vampire entirely focused on the Dogkin as she leaned down and bit her neck, making Kat gasp before shuddering again, that addictive liquid getting shot into her body and heightening her pleasure. It made me even happier as I pulled out a few things to spice everything up, wondering if I could break Kat by the end of tonight or if she would manage to persevere and not lose her mind to the pleasure. Since we had agreed that we would take this week to do as we pleased, I had no issue with what I was about to do, my lips curling into a grin as I made my way back into the bed, my cock still so achingly hard and yearning for more despite having cum three times already. With what I had in mind, I wanted to cum until I physically couldn''t anymore, and I had done that only once or twice before... I knew just how much I had left in me, and it was more than enough to do what I wanted... --- I know I just talked about doing too much fluff, but this week is going to be fluffy because of Thanksgiving and my work, so 1) enjoy the extra smut 2) only expect 1 chapter on Thanksgiving and Friday and 3) look forwards to next week when we actually make progress lol; again, sorry, but it is what it is~! --- Chapter 714 713: Heavy Handed* Chapter 714 713: Heavy Handed* Watching as Leone swung her hips like her life depended on it was far too sexy, and my cock throbbed angrily as the buxom Princess pped her hips into the curvy Dogkin''s ass, their soft bodies making the most wondrous sounds as they made love together, while the sight was so very tititing that I couldn''t help but pause and simply watch. Anput was left forgotten at the bottom of the pile, though the Jackalkin was in her own state of euphoria as she knotted Kat the entire time, who was going in and out of awareness as her mate poured a bucketload of semen into her womb whilst her Vampire lover hammered her cock into her ass. Viewing all three of them having sex was amazing, my cock getting harder than before as I just sat back for a moment and watched, stroking myself and enjoying the beauty of my three women experiencing such love for one another as they copted, even if they were having such wondrous sex without me. It was refreshing to just watch them, knowing full well that the moment I reenter their space all attention would be on me; they would drop everything to appease my lust and do whatever I wanted, letting me use them to get off. After all, though Kat was by far the most extreme and deepest in that pit, they were all masochistic whenever I was present, all three of my women submitting to me and epting my particr tastes as I capitalized on my virility and strength to make them hurt oh so good. So, I lounged on the bed and stared at Kat''s expression, loving how it went ck as Leone let out a grunt, pulling out her fangs and screwing her eyes shut as she erupted inside Kat''s ass, the Vampire orgasming on a hair trigger and earning herself the privilege of being my target for tonight. After all, Kat needed some rest before I used her, and the thought of making Leone utterly cum drunk and pass out because she came so much was far too appealing to me right now... Besides, I wanted to introduce her to the wonders of being my cumslut the same way Kat was, and I got even harder as I scrutinized their faces, their ck expressions and raw pleasure fueling my lust even further. Leone pulled out of Kat and panted, plopping onto the bed and looking towards me before freezing, the sight of my hungry gaze and rock hard cock making her realize that she was my prey for tonight, even more so when a nce at Kat and Anput made it clear neither were going to be moving anytime soon. I lunged forwards and grabbed Leone as soon as she looked my way, not giving her the opportunity to run as I pinned her to the bed, getting to work instantly. Ropended on her skin, and the Vampire shivered as she felt me begin to bind her expertly, my knowledge from doing it to Kat so many times as well as the basics that Mom had me cover just in case I needed to restrain someone were made known to Leone as I bound her tightly, creating a simple pattern across her stomach and back whilst her breasts and hips were given much more detail. Seeing her abundant flesh getting pressed in by the rope was arousing, whilst the contrast between her pale skin and the dark rope was an excellent touch; additionally, the deep blush and anticipatory glimmer in her ''afraid'' eyes was just as arousing. My breath hitched in my throat as I leaned down, the Vampire shivering again as I licked her cheek and whispered "You look so beautiful like this, Leone... So utterly ravishing... So sexy with the rope just~ digging into your skin..." Licking her cheek again, I kissed her jaw before moving down to her neck, enjoying the way she shuddered as I gradually went lower, finding her breasts and giving them the attention they deserved as I teased her, loving how she was walking along the edge of ecstasy and being forced to look into its tempting embrace. Before she could moan fully, I slipped the gag into her mouth and smirked at her as her eyes widened in surprise, only for them to widenpletely as I reached down and slid my cock inside her pussy, its warm, wet embrace weing me as her previous orgasms made it easy to slide all the way to her womb. My hands sunk into herrge breasts, tugging at the ropes and causing the binding to work even more in my favor as I elicited a gasp of pain from her, the Vampire writhing beneath me as she experienced the wondrous duality of pain and pleasure. Like with Anput and Kat, I didn''t hold back as I began to thrust into her pussy hard, my cock spreading her apart and making her moan into the gag, while the motion of me pounding her made herrge breasts jiggle back and forth beneath my fingers, making my smirk widen at the extra wee visual stimulus. My seed was leaking from the womb of my toned puppy, the ass of my fluffy puppy, and now it was going to be permeating the womb of my Vampire, thoroughly sowed into my women and making my current primitive brain rather happy as it tried to tell me that Anput was definitely pregnant and that Leone was next, even if I knew it to be impossible thanks to the medicines we all were taking and basic gics. That didn''t stop me from getting horny at the thought, nor did it make it easier on Leone as I began to get more heated as I moved my hands from her breasts to her butt, lifting her up and getting as deep into her womb as I could, all while her cock oozed cum as she orgasmed again, the rough treatment doing us both wonders. Spanking her ass as I fucked her, I smirked even more as she moaned into the gag, her eyes begging me for more after each thrust; begging me for more pleasure alongside more pain as I moved from kneeling to crouching, going even deeper as I molded her to fit my cock, all while I relentlessly spanked her as hard as I could, loving how her ass rippled beneath the blows. When I thought she was ready, I reached over and grabbed the thin ck rod and used it to reach her breasts, whipping them with the soft - yet firm - rod and leaving thin red marks across those glorious mountains, getting closer and closer to her perky nipples that were as hard as her cock. Whipping the Vampire beneath me, I felt my lips curling into a grin as I submerged myself deep inside my lover, even more so when she came on herself again, her eyes rolling around for a split second as she ejacted on her breasts and face from where she was currently at, all while her juices from her pussy dribbled down her stomach, my thrusts making her overflow with lust as I used her for myself. The night was truly beginning in earnest, and I was ecstatic to continue it from here, especially when the other two rose from their slumber. Chapter 715 714: Lazy Morning Progress Chapter 715 714: Lazy Morning Progress Kat PoV With yet another incredible, harsh and euphoric night behind us, all four of us couldn''t help but remain in bed together as the sun began to peek over the horizon, illuminating our room in a dull gold and rousing us from our slumber, whilst also shining light on the ''damages'' from our lustful abandon. The sheets werepletely stained, the bed tilted the wrong way, various puddles littered the ground around us, our hair was a mess, spools of ropey randomly across the room, our bodies were entangled into an odd - yetforting - mass... Things were clearly not where they were meant to be or looking like they were meant to fromst night, but past the initial embarrassment we all felt at the mess we left behind, pride and lust appeared inside our hearts instead, the memories of what happened making us all look towards one another once more, starting everything over. Jahi rotated between all three of us freely a few more times, the Demoness sating her renewed desires once again despite having emptied herself of all her lust mere hours ago, disying her unnatural virility and high stamina as she grabbed us one by one, making love to us in a simple manner as the other two watched on, waiting for their turn. It was moments like this, whilst I watched Leone straddle Jahi''sp and hug her close that made me realize just how different my sex life had be; if I had to experience any of this back in my old world, I''d likely be out ofmission for a week at minimum, both because of the sheer size of my partners and because of how demanding they were. What was impossible in my old world but possible here and now always made its appearance in odd ways, reminding me that I was from somewhere else each time I saw just what was different, though I never dwelled on it for long since it no longer mattered. I was here, and I didn''t have any desires to return to my old world, nor any desires to leave this one behind in any way; my home was now centered around three people, and I wanted to remain in that ''home'' for time immemorial. When it was all said and done, Jahi helped us all to the bath and joined us in the water, lounging about and enjoying the calm, soothing atmosphere of the warm water, resting our bodies and allowing our mana to flow through our veins and mend the small tears in our muscles and soothe the strains we had umted from all of our ''exercise''. Floating around in the bath, I ignored how Leone remained glued to Jahi''sp, the slight ripples in the water and how Leone''s eyes remained closed as she moved around in her ''seat'' leaving nothing to the imagination, though for now just watching was pleasant enough for Anput and I. Turning towards my mate, I asked "Those small gas I bought, do you think you could iy a few of them into the pommel of a dagger for Leone? I had a few ideas I wanted to try, and I think that they''d do quite well with the added juice from the gas." "Made from some Fire attuned metals and meant entirely to utilize mana for any valid use? Is that what you want?" "Yup. Something small and quick for you to make so that I can experiment a bit. That parcel of gas has over a dozen stones ready for use, and whilst two stones is a big chunk of our resources, I think it''d be worth it in the end. Something to give me an understanding on mana imbued gemstones and how to better utilize them. You didn''t have any more pressing projects that need immediate attention, did you?" Anput looked towards the ceiling for a moment, thinking it over and eventually answering "No projects that demand my attention to the fullest, and since this sounds like an easy weapon to forge, I can use it as a break between those more demanding projects. Something small, like six inches? About an inch wide and light as can be?" I nodded again, meeting Anput''s obsidian gaze and giving her my answer, saying "About that size, yes. Something small andpact, and something that has those two gas iid into the pommel or cross guard, whichever is easier. Understanding these mana gemstones is the most important part for me. Oh, and I got you a bunch of ores to practice with, to make different weapons with or just try and better refine your technique if you wanted? Simple ores, like Battle Iron or Vitia Tin. Things to churn out basic projects of your choosing, and to be enchanted by me for further practice." "They''ll make nice warmup pieces then. You don''t mind if I alloy them then, do you? Or would you prefer just basic things to sell easier?" "Do whatever you want with them, just don''t break them or waste them! Because, while you are doing that, Leone''s going to help me take those Magic Pens and learn how to use them, before we determine the right materials we need to make our own Magic Pens for some special projects going forwards. I don''t want to waste the really expensive stones or the Fiend''s parts, so I need to practice just as much as you do." Floating over towards her, I rested my head on her shoulder and watched Leone and Jahi with her, the Demoness'' amethyst eyes sparkling as she lifted Leone up and made her way over to us, showing us just what she was doing to the Vampire and smirking, letting us know that we were next. With our conversation now ended, and our next course of action rather clear, Anput and I got to work tending to Jahi''s needs once more, bringing us all into the rapturous embrace of lust as we finished off thiszy morning start in the best possible way we could. Chapter 716 715: Relaxed Breakfast Chapter 716 715: Rxed Breakfast "So these are the Magic Pens that you got? Seem... simple enough. Rathermon too. You said that the Hawkkin woman you visited sent them for free, as a sort of... gift to lure you back to her Emporium?" I nodded, spinning the golden cylinder around and inspecting the small, uncut crystal that rested on one end of it, roughly about the size of a corn kernel, which would be where my mana would reside as I used the Magic Pen to enchant whatever item or weapon was in my hands. "They don''t look to bad, and if I was reading the attached letter correctly, the price of these are around 3 Gold each, so she was really~ trying to lure me back. I guess spending 30 Gold on the first visit would do that to a merchant though." "Yes, I think that would do it... Besides that, I have to say these were all very worth the money spent. This book especially! Getting something this in depth and detailed on all the metals known to be found inside Zhu''Rong Caverns and other Dungeons nearby is quite the catch and well worth the Gold spent on it. Even more so since its about the metal''s ability to retain and ept mana for enchanting. Quite rare... or my family doesn''t care about enchanting enough to have books like this? I don''t know exactly." "No,pendiums like this are quite rare, which is why I have to say I was surprised to hear you had bought it for a singr Gold, Kat. Even though I have little interest in enchanting myself, I would consider spending a dozen Gold to just add it to my personal collection back home. Perhaps this Horusa isn''t as smart as she likes to make herself out to be?" The Countess studied the other Magic Pen, inspecting the crystal before picking up the loose chunk that I had purchased as well,paring the two closely and nodding to herself before stretching her hand out just a bit further, preventing Alessandra from reaching her tiny little hands out to grab the crystal. "Well, that''s nice to hear then. d to know my intuition didn''t fail me this time. Did it fail with the rest of these, or..?" Getting a second opinion on pricing from the woman who has been alive for a LOT longer than myself and was partially responsible for managing arge swathe ofnd and the Noble House that resided there. The Elf looked over the rest of the items I had bought and inspected each of them, while Leone and I finished eating the leftovers that Mother had hidden away from the Marquess and Jahi, enjoying the bite sized quichesden with cheese and filled with small bits of bacon that tasted just oh so good. Munching on them alongside some regr old bacon without needing to worry if they''d disappear from my hands if I was too slow was nice, and what was even better was the scent of fried doughing from the kitchen, where Mother and Bessie were preparing a nice sweet treat for us as well. "The Lux Gold is a bit of a stretch on the pricing, but the Empyrean Silver and Umor Titanium were a bit of a steal with the other materials we have on hand. As for the gas and this peridot, they''re about normal price. These un attuned Mana Crystals are quite nice as well for the price. All in all, you probably saved around 3 or 4 Gold on everything else, but again the book is the real steal. It could easily go for 10 Gold on its own, so... yes, your intuition was great Kat." The confirmation made me smile happily, the words from someone I hade to respect and partially view as a parental figure making me proud, though that happiness was swiftly redirected as the violet skinned Demoness on myp babbled joyously as she snatched the quiche from my hands and shoveled it into her mouth, surprising me. Everyone looked at the small Demoness who was chomping down on the quiche, before Leone let out a snicker as she noticed my frozen posture, while the Countess just smiled from the side. "You thought you were safe now that Jahi was gone, didn''t you~?" Leone giggled beside me as she reached over and poked Lakshmi''s pudgy cheek, the baby hungrily devouring the quiche and staring at Leone for more, only to sigh and lean back into my stomach when she noticed that the hand touching her had no food. "Oh hush... Really Lakshmi..? I was going to eat that y''know? That was my quiche, not yours..." Poking the baby''s cheek, I earned myself a babble and a nk stare, the Demoness basically asking ''So what?'' as she upied myp. Letting out a sigh, I continued to poke the Demoness until she grabbed my fingers, babbling some more at me and giving me a pout, like I was the one in the wrong. "Well, to get us back on track, you n on eventually creating your own set of Magic Pens with this Lux Gold and the un attuned Mana Crystals, right? What was it... something about enchanting the crystals themselves to store different types of mana, correct? I remember Kolia telling me about it when you returned." "Yes, that is what the crystals are for... the problem is that I have no idea where to start currently, so for now they''re just going to be stored away forter. As for the Lux Gold, if I can find a better alternative, then I''ll use that instead, but for now the Lux Gold is the best mana conductive material we have that isn''t the Fiend materials." The Countess nodded again as she allowed Alessandra to take the remainder of her own quiche from her hands, the baby Elf happily biting into the ky crust and fluffy egg with a delighted expression on her face. Chapter 717 716: Magic Pens Chapter 717 716: Magic Pens After the two babies were allowed to roam free on the safe floor of the living room, Leone and I lounged on some pillows and nkets on the ground as well, with Leone scribbling inside her notebook and creating some new spells to try and things she wanted on that dagger I was having Anput make while I was looking between the two Magic Pens I had been gifted, wondering just how effective they would bepared to normal enchanting. Was there arger benefit to utilizing these Magic Pens over just doing it myself, or was the difference only infort and ease of use? It would definitely be a bit more precise, but I was already so precise with my mana from before, so how much more of a difference would this make? Was it worth it for casual enchanting, or no? That''s what I had on my mind, and the best way to test it was to take something I could enchant easily andpared the difference between the enchantments, and to start I used two small pieces of cloth to create some useful cleaning cloths for our weapons and armor; things meant to specifically remove the dirt and grime on a deeper level than just washing them with mana like we were used to. This would also help spread polish over the gear and keep them well maintained from rust, since that was a problem that we had with just using mana; the mana removed the thinyer of oil that we ced on the gear and left it exposed to the air, which could lead to rusting rather easily if we weren''t so careful. So, I took the first cloth and focused my mind, resting my hands atop the material and beginning to guide my mana into its structure, ingraining the fabric with the runes I needed and enchanting it swiftly. It only took a few moments, the runes needed being some of the simpler in the runguage, while the amount was small, making it something that took little time and even less mana. The result though was nice, and I lifted the four by four square of ck cloth and nodded, brief memories of when I was initially trying to learn how to enchant slipping into my mind - all the torn cloths, burnt cloths, damaged in all kinds of ways... Now I was cing a simr enchantment on these cloths in moments, without worry and without much effort either; in other words, a disy of my progress, even if it was a rather unimpressive disy. Letting that slip from my mind, I picked up the Magic Pen and allowed my mana to seep into the golden cylinder, watching as the colorless, opaque crystal on top began to glimmer as my mana filled it up. Inspecting it for a moment, I waited for the ''ink cartridge'' - the Mana Crystal - to be filled to a reasonable and safe degree before pressing the rounded point onto the cloth, guiding that mana from the crystal through the gold and then into the cloth. It traveled straight down without any fluctuations at all, pouring out of the nib and into the cloth smoothly; it was a tad easier than the normal, unassisted method for me at least, but I could see how many would view this as a worthwhile investment just for this reason; it was smooth and easy to dopared to doing it without the pen. And since mana control was a thing that took years for people to perfect without either insane talent or - in my case - a System that provided outside assistance, then this would certainly be a worthy investment. Inscribing the runes into the cloth, I nodded to myself as the Magic Pen did what it was meant to perfectly, tracing out the runes smoothly and letting the mana seep further into the material, and afterparing the two cloths closely, I noted that - on cloth, anyways - the enchantment was deeper and more ingrained into the material when I used the Magic Pen, which, while that might not make much of a difference on something as basic as this cleaning enchantment, on somethingrger that extra stability in the enchantment would provide a more efficient use of the materials mana capacity. And since I had purchased a few mana infused gemstones that could act as extra batteries to power up our gear, being more efficient would allow me to squeeze on either a stronger version of that enchantment or more enchantments in general, which is rather invaluable. But, I still need to check and make sure that the Magic Pens do that much good on actual gear for me to make a final verdict on their usefulness, and for that I got up and grabbed two of the short swords that we had left, cing them in front of me and watching as the Countess scooped up both Alessandra and Lakshmi as they tried to make their way over to me, the magic drawing in the Elf while the swords drew in the Demoness. They both red up at the Elf holding them before babbling towards Mother, who was lounging on the couch and resting, though she smiled as she looked over at them both, epting them as they continued to battle with the Countess. Even in Mother''s arms they stared at me intently, wanting to observe everything I was doing as I began to enchant the two des with identical enchantments, just like I did with the cloth; one without the Magic Pen, and one with. I wanted to get another sample of how helpful the Magic Pen was, and I wasn''t disappointed with the results; after the Mana Circuit went on, I put a vibrating enchantment on it as well as a water edge enchantment, creating a de that functioned much like a saw with highly pressurized water, giving them insane cutting power and making them rather dangerous against anything weak to Water Mana anyways. But, on the sword that I had enchanted with the Magic Pen, I could actually slip on one more enchantment, defaulting back on the simple crescent sh enchantment that would take the water edge andunch it with your swing, giving you some range on your weapon that was easily meant for close range. That difference easily upped the value from a dozen Gold to almost two dozen, and I nodded contentedly as I studied the de closer, feeling out the mana and continuing to make note of the differences before I reached for ''Vitrea''s Tome of Metallurgy and Enchanting'' to study up on the materials we had, wondering just how much that came into y. Chapter 718 717: Extra Practice Chapter 718 717: Extra Practice I learned a lot from the thick tome about metals and their reactivity with mana, allowing me to plot a course for some better gear for each type of enchantment that I had in mind, specifically with me creating a few alloys that I wanted to ask Anput if she could make for said enchantments. It was also something that I wanted to try out doing for our armor; could she switch some of the pieces from fully solid toposed of a few different pieces, so that each piece could be individually enchanted and given much more love and attention then if they were all together from the get go. Either way was fine, but if I could get a few individualized enchantments for specific pieces of armor into our arsenal, it would make quite the difference going forwards, especially since they were rather interesting ideas on my end. The first that came to mind was one I still needed to test and create for myself before tweaking it to perfection since it was one that I wanted to tattoo onto myself whenever I could; I was, of course, talking about an enchantment to ''grow'' wings that could actually let one fly. From what I had seen, flight was entirely possible in this world via either your race or through magic, and while many didn''t learn to wield magic to such a high degree that they were capable of flight, it was certainly an achievable goal for me to work towards, and if I could learn how to cast such a spell and cast it reliably and safely, as well as use it safely, then I wanted to share that gift with my lovers, and to do so I would need a piece of armor that could withstand such aplicated Ritual Circle; hence my current studying on mana conductivity between different metals. I needed the correctbination to reach the amount of strength in the armor as well as its ability to retain and utilize mana so that I could ce such an enchantment on it whilst keeping it durable enough to be armor. Of course, I could always have something like a cloak or something else created to do the same, but the problem therey in the fact that said cloak could get easily damaged beyond repair, whereas armor needed a bit more damage to reach the level of being beyond repair. Another idea floating around in my head was the possibility of creating extra ''limbs'' from mana to be used to attack or defend; whether they were arms or not was subject to change, but the idea was admittedly intriguing to pursue, though I could easily note its ws. Controlling that limb would require immense concentration and mastery over your mana, and while I think Leone and I might be able to feasibly reach that level in contained environments, I don''t know how well that would work in battles, where a quarter of a second mattered far more than you could ever realize, especially in a world of magic. But, again, even if it wasn''t the most ideal enchantment I could evere up with, I think I could learn quite a bit from it even if it failed; both from creating it and from wielding it, I think that the enchantment would be very much worth having written down somewhere, even if just as a novelty. The final idea that popped to mind instantly was creating weaponry from your mana in a split second and being able to use it instantly; a Ritual Circle on the palm of a gauntlet, for example, would allow for the creation of a sword and make it so that - as long as you have those gauntlets on - you would never go unarmed into any conflict. That, or just tweak it to create the de and shoot it from the palm at really high speeds but keep it short ranged; something to surprise your opponent and score an easy hit to tilt the scale into your favor, or as a nice coup de grace for an enemy that is searching for a way toe back from the brink. All of those ideas were floating around in my head, wanting to be put onto metal already and given material form, but I wasn''t able to do so just yet, so I instead took up the Magic Pen and lifted the sword, beginning to enchant it with another suite of spells that would make it rather valuable to a mid tier adventurer looking for a strong weapon. Not a masterpiece, but certainly something that could be a staple for a smart person to use to get out of any sticky situation. After the circuit went on, I ced the main enchantment on it, going a little further in depth with it and making sure that I could use as much ''storage'' as I needed with this spell, since it would be rather good for Zhu''Rong Caverns. Going with Wind this time, I created a spell that formted spheres of wind in front of the de, which could then be shot towards a target, where they would then burst and diffuse the mana in that area, weakening spells and damaging targets alike, whilst also being rather helpful to rid the ash from the air, giving you and your party clear visuals on what was happening. After that main enchantment went on, I turned towards the usual basic supporting enchantments that brought the sword into a new level; sharper edge, more durable de, mending, and more, allowing its wielder to take care of it far easier than a normal weapon. All it would need is a good cleaning, some extra sharpening, and some oiling to maintain it in tip top shape; sounds like a lot, but the edge shouldn''t take long to hone, whilst the cleaning and oiling should be done anyways. Either way, as soon as I was done with it I didn''t think about it too much, since I wasn''t going to be using it; why care about something that would leave my possession and never return to me? Unlike Anput, I hadn''t created this sword from nothing, and while the enchantments were mine, I didn''t have any attachment to it like others would; it was just a tool. A tool that I could learn to love and cherish, but one that would leave my possession before I could do so. Even my current array of Fangs weren''t too loved, with the only one that I felt much for being the Protective Fang, but I could tell that it was in dire need of being upgraded and reced, while Shatter Fang and Breeze Fang were appreciated, but not loved. Honestly, the Khopesh was still new enough that the idea of it breaking didn''t make me feel much either, though I would certainly need a new de if it did break; right now though, there wasn''t much of a bond between me and my weapons like Jahi had with her great sword, though I think even that was more so a distant appreciation as well... Perhaps Anput was the only one to truly love her weapons..? Though, she rarely used anything prebuilt anymore, since she could just shift her metal rods into what she needed; nothing to get attached to on that front. It just made me think, and currently, with a slightly aching body and a rxed, slow mind, these fleeting thoughts were more than enough, especially since going from enchanting to just... existing was rather easy. Of course, as soon as I heard the plopping of tiny limbs on the ground I looked up, a smile gracing my lips as I saw two curious, determined babies making their way towards me, crawling away from Mother and finding their way into myp. Mother just smiled as she watched from afar, her amber eyes just as rxed and tired as mine as she let the twins do as they pleased for now, which was pointing and babbling at me to show them the things they wanted to see; the Magic Pen for Alessandra, and the sword for Lakshmi. Their love for magic and weaponry seemed gic in its intensity, the two disying a rather high understanding for those things at their tender age whilst also having an intense yearning for them. Alessandra loved magic, always wanting someone to show her their mana and spells, before she tried to replicate what we were doing, tracing the runes out in the air before angrily pouting as nothing appeared; a yearning for the arcane that went beyond childish interest and seemed rather solid and anchored deep inside herself. On the other hand, Lakshmi was immensely curious with anything that looked like a weapon, which was far harder to try and say was a coincidence like Alessandra''s yearning for magic; where her sister could be said to just have an interest in the pretty colors and shapes, Lakshmi disyed an understanding of weapons for what they were, which was... interesting. She never touched the edge of any de, but instead grasped for the hilt or tapped the t of the de, while the few times she saw us with a weapon always resulted in her making cutting and stabbing motions with her tiny arms. The Marquess just brushed it off as something a Demoness would do, specifically one of Asmodia blood, telling us that Jahi did the same when she was a kid and that her father had said she did the same as well; it was interesting, and a curious thing to think about, but at the end of the day Lakshmi was still a baby, so when she reached for the sword in my hand I gave her a firm ''no'' and ignored her pout. --- Just wanted to say - especially since its the theme of today - that I''m thankful for all of you reading this, be it now or in the future; thanks for sticking with me through all these chapters and thanks for supporting me on this journey. It means a lot to see how far I''vee in a year, and to know it was all possible thanks to all of you, so thank you so much! --- Chapter 719 718: Family Chat Chapter 719 718: Family Chat With the twins snuggled together on myp, I shuffled my way over towards one of the sofas and leaned against it, resting my back against the soft cushion and looking down at the two babies with a gentle expression, finding it funny how they could go from so animated to suddenly fast asleep in mere seconds. After Leone took the sword from me and stored it back in our room, the twins pouted at me and gave me an earful before yawning and falling asleep on myp, snuggled against my stomach and cuddling together despite Alessandra usually showing a more ''independent'' side that made her push Lakshmi away. Of course, we knew that the little Elf was just being difficult with everyone, her urge to be bratty and snooty rather strong despite being so very young. Wrapping an arm around their tiny bodies, I kept them warm and nced towards the window, where the sight of the sun slowly rising into the sky could be seen, illuminating the volcanic mountain upon which the Empress'' throne had been built, the seat of her power as well as the source of power for her wife Igna. Another day began for this glorious Empire, and I momentarily wondered for just how many days this Empire had existed, and how many more it would exist for; it had already been around for almost half of my old worlds documented history just on its own. Multiple millennia old, and yet it was still here, still run by the same woman, still founded and operating on the same principals all these yearster. It was a curious thought, but one that fluttered away after a few moments of wondering since it did little good for me right now, and my attention was taken away by Mother reaching over and rubbing my shoulders from above, still stretched out and enjoying thefort of the couch for as long as she could. That was something I had learned quickly from her recently; to no ones surprise, raising children was a tiring task, and capitalizing on each and every moment possible to recuperate your energy was imperative. It felt like something that was so stupidly obvious when you utilized an ounce of critical thinking, but you never really realized just how important those moments were until you experienced them or got to see someone experience them. Mother had rarely rested when I first awoke here, always up and about doing whatever she could to remain busy, and that hadn''t changed over the years whatsoever. Now, however, I got to see a side of her that didn''t need to work, nor felt inclined to work either; she was no longer just a maid, but instead the fiancee to the Marquess and Countess, meaning menial tasks were below her station. Perhaps that lifted the weight off her shoulder of ''needing'' to clean and do chores and allowed her to truly rx, especially so with the two children being brought into the world. Sinking her fingers into my shoulders, Mother began to massage out the slight knots that inevitably appeared thanks to the tworge weights on my chest, making me let out a relieved sigh as I leaned back into her gentle hands, letting them do wonders for my shoulders. With the twins fast asleep, we quietly chatted amongst ourselves, just rxing and spending some time together as a family, not worrying about needing to do anything or prepare anything else forter and instead just talking about nothing. Talking about the Emporium I went to, the findings from Leone''s experiments alongside the other members of her family, ideas on what to do with the March, things we wanted to change at the house... Just random things that weren''t important to talk about, helping pass the time as we just rxed together, all while we asionally snacked on whatever Bessie was making, the Cowkin cooking up different recipes that helped broaden and deepen her cooking experience. Surprisingly for us all, the Marquess and Jahi returned to the room by noon, causing the twins to awaken and yawn before reaching for Mother, who took them and made her way into her bedroom, feeding them and calming them down from their initial excitement. "What made you two decide toe back this early? Usually you''re out till dusk and onlye back after exhausting yourselves to the point of hunger." The Marquess just chuckled as she plopped into a seat, sinking into its soft embrace and gesturing randomly as she answered "Jahi told me about her decision to travel with the other ns into the former Kingdom of Tragon to help them set up their diplomatic rtions with the surviving humans. Not that there are many, mind you, but it does need to happen. I decided that discussing it might be a better use of our time then training at the moment, since... y''know, those ns are not the easiest to get along with." The Countess nodded, looking towards her daughter and pursing her lips as she asked "Is this entirely just to meet your... ''cousins'' or is this motivated by something else?" "No, it''s not entirely focused around them, though I''d be lying if I said I wasn''t curious about them. Curious about other Demons, curious about their history and what they''ve done, what they can do. Curious to see if I can learn anything from them or forge connections between us again. But, the real reason was to go and indulge in the Dungeons along the southern border. Belian made a good point; now that the Justiciar''s are gone and the Kingdom is practically deserted, those Dungeons are overflowing with monsters and materials. Now would be the best time to go and harvest anything we could for ourselves." "Be careful with those Dungeons though. Sure, it might be inside the Human Territories - albeit former - but monsters are monsters no matter where you are. And monsters that have been left alone for multiple months now? Overpoption and time to do as they please would have bred some nasty critters over there, especially with the closeness to the Labyrinthian." We nodded at the Marquess warning, though Jahi asked "Would they not still be weaker than what is present inside Zhu''Rong Caverns though? The quality of the mana and quality of the monster is drastically less over in Tragon then it is on Sanctus Ignacia." The older Demoness let out a sigh before ncing over her shoulder, looking towards Mother as she rejoined us with two happy and fed babies, both of whom were looking this way and that as they took in the more crowded living room. Before she answered Jahi, the Marquess reached over and pulled Mother onto herp, sitting her down on one leg and reaching for the twins as she stared lovingly down at them both, cradling them alongside the Dogkin who was blushing at the sudden movement from standing to sitting on her loversp. "Yes, in normal times. But like I said, this isn''t normal. Remember, monsters are... ''omnivorous''. They primarily feast on mana, but they can - and often do - eat flesh, which usually contains mana as well. The mana here is thicker and richer, yes, but there is still a LOT of mana inside Tragon, and they have had time to absorb and utilize that mana properlypared to before. Additionally, the weaker monsters will get hunted and eaten by the stronger, raising the average strength of the living monsters by a little bit each time. They''re being forced to undergo evolution at an incredibly fast rate, meaning the weaker monsters who survive are transferring those traits that kept them alive to the new spawn, and that cycle is being rinsed and repeated over and over." "Additionally, like your Mom said, there is no outside force culling their numbers. Nor is there an outside force harvesting the resources that begin to pop up at random. Clusters of monsters will gather around mana rich resources and bathe in the denser mana atmosphere to grow stronger, before heading out to hunt and further power themselves up by devouring their weaker members. The amount of monsters, the quality of those monsters, and the abilities of those monsters is going to be far higher than normal, and until they are culled, those Dungeons are going to be far harsher and far more active then they usually are... For example, the normal Goblins that might have lived there will have adapted to being hunted and grown smarter and trickier, relying on their sharp wit and clever trap making to form tribes that could protect them from the more dangerous, yet simpler monsters that hunt them. Amongst those Goblins, the ones that survive will have more time to grow stronger, and when they spawn new Goblins, that next generation will have a higher starting point then their predecessors, and that will continue to repeat until they evolve into Hobgoblins, where it will continue to create a new territory for the Goblin species and repeat that cycle; from weak Goblins all the way to hulking Trolls, agile Celer, or magical Crones." We took in that information slowly, mulling it over and giving the Dungeons over in Tragon just a bit more thought now that we had been given a deeper warning then just ''they have been overpopted''. Another thing that felt extremely obvious, but it''s only been a few months at best; surely they haven''t evolved that much that quickly? That was what was lingering in the back of our minds, but not heeding the warning of a Knight and a Saintess was stupid, so we took it at face value. Chapter 720 719: Weeks Progress (1) Chapter 720 719: Week''s Progress (1) With the warning from the Marquess and Countess lingering in my mind, I decided that researching the various Dungeons that were located inside of Tragon would be a good use of my time, and since I was going to be frequenting the library anyways to pester- I mean learn from my loving and amazing tutor Kolia, I could use my breaks to research said Dungeons and create an itinerary for our trip. If I could get a loose, general understanding of the various Dungeons that we might be visiting, we could better n on how we wanted to tackle this ''challenge'' that was ahead of us, since the idea of an overpopted Dungeon just waiting for us to cut down to the proper size sounded like a lot of fun and a good way to grow, and to do so I wanted to understand what those Dungeons would contain. What type of monsters, what possible evolutions, what they had that was valuable, what they could be used for, the terrain, the natural resources, amount of area they covered, nearby cities or towns, which monsters could be used for sustenance and how to safely prepare them... There was a lot that I needed to research thising week, and I needed to do that on top of the other things that I was nning on doing as well; training my body and mind, enchanting the new gear, formting some new spells... That was on top of the research I wanted to do on our avable resources and be able to better utilize my enchanting abilities, the training I needed to do on Lust Mana still... And THEN there was the menial tasks that needed to be done and took up time, or the ''breaks'' that were going to be taken randomly whenever we had time avable; nning around those wasn''t the easiest, and especially not when Jahi could be rather sporadic with her needs. Yeah, this week would be hectic, and we still needed to get our gear together and have transport and resources arranged for our journey; stocking the carriage, plotting the route, and nning the trip would also take more time, so I got to work as soon as I could, finishing the conversation with the family before heading to the library, picking out the various tomes I would need tob through and stacking them on the table. "What''s all this for? That''s... a lot of books to read. Damn girl! You''re getting more?!" I chuckled softly as Kolia looked up from her side of the table to see therge pile that I had pulled together, roughly a dozen and a half books stacked up already while I went back to another shelf, picking up another two to add to the pile. "There''s a lot to do. We''re going to the Tragon Kingdom in a week and ''touring'' the Dungeons, so I need to get prepped. Know anything about them, or..?" The Serpentkin pursed her lips as she scanned the twenty books I had grabbed, each one covering a different topic that I wanted to look into. "Not a lot, but I know that the two mostmon types of mana in that Kingdom is Wind and Earth oddly enough; something about the open ins andrge mountains that separate the Kingdom from the Labyrinthian. That mountain range is sorta kinda apart of Lord Ter''Ran''s domain too, so it does have a bit of a richer mana concentrationpared to the rest of the Kingdom. Besides that..." Leaning back into her chair, the Serpentkin looked towards the ceiling for a moment as she thought about it, eventually adding "The monsters are rather basic too, but it has been awhile since that whole Crusade fiasco and the emergence of those creatures... so they''ve likely evolved... Not much help I can be in that regard; I don''t know the environment of those Tragon Dungeons that well. Sorry." Taking a seat, I shrugged and reached for the first book, opening it up and scanning the table of contents for an idea of what I might want to take a look at first. "It''s fine. To bring us back towards something that you are knowledgeable in, I gave those Magic Pens a try earlier, and I have to say they make quite the difference. More so than I thought they would..." Kolia snickered as she smirked at me, resting her chin on her palm and just judging me for a moment before saying "Who woulda thunk that using a tool specifically for something would improve your results doing that specific thing~? Revolutionary, I know!" Looking up from the book, I gave her a nk look that made her chuckle as she added "Kat, there''s a lot that can be done better ''by hand'' andpletely unassisted, but no one in this world can im to have such perfect mana control that a Magic Pen would result in a simr or worse result then doing it entirely themselves. Really, no offense Kat, but that seemed rather obvious as a result, no?" "No need to be snide." She just snorted in reply before pushing her book aside, freeing up some space as she put a nk paper down, grabbing a normal pen and scribbling some stuff down as she said "The difference between unassisted enchanting and using a Magic Pen is ratherrge, Kat, and not just for the control it provides. Thergest benefit that is far harder toe by is being able to push mana deeper into the material, which wastes less of the materials mana storage and allows you to do more with the material." Showing me the page, Kolia tapped the two math forms she used to show me the difference that the Magic Pens had made. The Serpentkin began to exin the difference in more depth as she dove into the equations and forms, showcasing and proving her im with theories and math as best she could as we sat in the library. Chapter 721 720: Weeks Progress (2) Chapter 721 720: Weeks Progress (2) "And that''s how you would go about merging the different types of runes to achieve a lower strain on the material you''re enchanting. The basis of enchanting reallyes down to utilizing the ''space'' or ''storage'' given to you as efficiently as you can; you can - albeit really unlikely - technically ce some ''Master'' level enchantments on basic steel so long as you simplify the runes and utilize as many tricks as you can, but again, whether or not that would be a true enchanted item or just a nifty one time use tool is another question." Jotting down a few things, I nodded as I filled yet another page inside my previously nk notebook, the neat runes and Ritual Circles all given enough space on the page, forming yet another entry into my understanding of enchanting, which was beginning to disy its depth andplexity at an increasing rate the more I learned about it. Questions that I didn''t even know I had started to pop up as I was able to explore this field of arcane study in more detail, showing me that ignorance really was bliss no matter what; not understanding something led to that beautiful simplicity that only those ignorant to the subject could understand. Checking my pocket watch, I took in the time and nodded again, saying "It was a pleasure as always, Kolia, being able to pick your brain on this. And see, youined about having to teach me, and yet here you are happily divulging your ''secrets'' to me~! Are you sure you weren''t just feeling lonely with Aurae not being around~?" Kolia''s cheeks darkened once more as she endured my teasing, though the slight sadness in her eyes didn''t go unchecked, making me sigh as I asked "Where is she, by the way? Surely you could have brought her to the Pce with you?" Drawing in a breath, Kolia gave me a wry smile as she said "Aurae had some things she needed to finish. Said she''d be here sometime this week at thetest." "Well, I guess I need to get Cali to get those books written down soon enough, hm~? And have Leone prepare some nice~ potions for the two of you to... ''study''." Her cheeks darkened even more at the reminder of what her payment was, before her entire head turned scarlet as she realized that meant both she AND Aurae would be partaking in these books and potions, likely wondering just what her new partner would do to her. Smirking at my tutor, I gathered up the books that held the most pressing information as well as my notebooks filled with all the new information and new understandings that I had made thanks to Kolia and stood up, leaving the Serpentkin to her own thoughts of the future as I slipped out of the library, making my way back towards my room to put everything away and refuel with an incredible dinner. During my walk through the halls, Cali popped into existence beside me, floating freely through the air and yawning before asking "What exactly did you promise that I would do for that cutie back there..?" Her own snakes all hissed softly before stretching out towards me, their tongues flicking out and almost brushing against my skin, making Cali pout as she gently pped them back, not appreciating how her own ''hair'' seemed to be more enamored with me then with her. "Nothing much. Just that you''d write down a story or two of some rather... raunchy and naughty scenes and give them to her as payment for her tutge. Should be easy for someone like yourself, no?" "What?! You..! You are supposed to work for ME! Not the other way around! What?! You..! You..! Hmph!" Raising a brow at her behavior, I watched as the Arch Fiend twirled around and looked away from me, trying to give me the cold shoulder before I said "Surely you wouldn''t mind scrounging up some of your old memories and putting them to paper? Turn those experiences into stories to share with the world and further increase the amount of lust that us lowly mortals could feel? After all, quite arge amount of people enjoy reading and... ''reading'' those smutty novels, y''know?" That made Cali twirl back around slowly, her lips pursed into a thin line while her snakes hissed at her, making the Arch Fiend pout as she hissed back "Don''t take her side! You little betrayers!" Her snakes only hissed at her more as she did that, prompting the Arch Fiend to re at me for a moment before letting out a sigh, looking up at the ceiling and floatingzily beside me in silence for a few seconds before muttering "That... might be interesting... Making some tweaks to my memories and turning them into rather juicy stories..? Couldn''t that be..?" Humming, the Arch Fiend began to swim through the air around me, adding in a more teasing tone "Or I could take the scenes of you~ getting some serious ''loving'' and gift them to your tutor~! Wouldn''t THAT be rather funny to do~? Just tweak the ''characters'' a little and make this tutor you respect so much read about you~!" She giggled to herself before letting out a sigh, floating away from me as I red at her, saying "Fine, fine... I have more than enough floating around in my head to put on paper and make some really nice stories for your tutor. I can guarantee it that she''ll love each and every single line she reads!" Reaching down for the notebooks atop my pile, the Arch Fiend snatched a nk one away and winked before disappearing, making me sigh as I approached the door leading into the set of rooms that my family lived in, the scent of immacte home cooking wafting into the hall and eliciting a grin from me as I opened the door, inhaling more of the delicious cream sauce and grilling chicken that made my stomach rumble. --- Next 2-4 chaps are going to be like this, sorry --- Chapter 722 721: Weeks Progress (3)

Chapter 722 Chapter 721: Weeks Progress (3)

"So these are the pens that have captivated your attention so much? You haven''t even looked up from your notebooks ever since you got these..." Feeling the strong, familiar hands of my Demoness lover, I let out a sigh as she rubbed my shoulders, the much taller and muchrger woman leaning down to rest her chin between my fluffy ears and look down at the notebook that I had open, as well as the two Magic Pens that were resting on the table nearby. I had been doing a little bit more theorizing on what I could do with the Magic Pens and how I could create a variant of them for myself that were meant for the things that I wanted - holding mana from other sources and allowing me to utilize and harness that mana to enchant our gear. There were runes and Ritual Circles that were meant for this sort of thing, but the problem was that they weren''t the greatest at retaining mana; they were usually used to absorb and negate spells that were being cast or disrupt the build up of mana in an area, but they weren''t good at using that mana to then do something. On top of that they were rather strenuous on materials no matter what thanks to theplexity, so how would I go about putting them on my versions of the Magic Pens and NOT have them break or explode on me when I use them? It was a dilemma that I was currently going over, and it had - admittedly - taken up quite a long time after dinner that I hadn''t even begun to realize as I puzzled over it incessantly, all while the others lounged around in the living room, discussing what they were going to do in this week and discussing the notebook I had handed them that was filled with the notes I had taken on the Tragon Kingdom Dungeons. "Mm... Yes, I''ve been rather captivated by these Magic Pens ever since I got them. It really changes everything for me, y''know? They are rather incredible to use..." The Demoness just hummed above me, likely scanning the words that were written down and trying to make heads or tails from my notes, only to give up and instead tilt her head downpletely and bury her nose into my hair, making me smile softly as I reached up and stroked her hands, which continued to push into my shoulders and roll out the knots that formed. "So? What conclusion did you alle to with the notes I took? Any thoughts on those Dungeons and any things that you think we NEED to do or get to?" "Hmm..." Jahi just grumbled into my head as she slipped her hands around my shoulders and hugged me, though it didn''t take long for me to sigh as her hands found themselves resting somewhere they shouldn''t be, so I reached for them and gave my blue skinned lover a dose of ethereal blue mana that made her swiftly retract her massive paws from my chest with a hiss. Looking up, I made her look me in the eye as I raised a brow, saying "Love, not in front of Alessandra and Lakshmi, please. We wouldn''t want them to turn out like you..." Her amethyst eyes narrowed at that, before she pouted as she stood back up, turning away from me with a huff and taking a seat at the table, ignoring the amused snickers that Anput and Leone let out from afar. "Hmph. Fine, be like that." Rolling my eyes, I closed the notebook and turned towards Jahi and the others, asking again "So what was the decision that you came to? Are we going to the Tomb of Grenbrom, or the Terracotta Grottos? Both, perhaps? Are there resources in either that could be worth an extremely deep expedition into either of them?" "The Tomb doesn''t sound like a bad ce to go and look around, since its rich in valuable monsters and seems to have a more streamlined experience ording to the books, but the Grottos seem far more lucrative, especially to me. Rich in ores and gemstones, the Grottos run deep into the mountain and are far riskier, but offer more rewards to bnce that out. Monsters seem easy enough so long as we are capable of reacting appropriately, and with them being Earth attuned monsters, we should have the advantage against them elementally as well." Leone nodded at Anput''s suggestion, adding "The Grottos are also more attuned with Earth Mana in the sense that the amount of herbs growing inside are rather abundant as well. Honestly, the most pressing issue with either Dungeon will tend to be just how much we''re able to carry... both during our expeditions and transporting it back to the Pce." "Well, what are the monsters that aremon inside each Dungeon? What could their possible evolutions be and what is the possible amount that could be present thanks to the time they''ve been left alone? Are any of those things pressing issues?" The three fell quiet, and Leone was the one to reply this time after a few seconds, blushing slightly as she tapped her fingers together, her voice barely above a murmur as she said "W-Well... we uh... we don''t know..? We d-didn''t even really pay too much attention to the monsters you had listed..." I just blinked at them, wondering why they weren''t taking the warning seriously from earlier, only to sigh and shrug it off as I saw Anput slyly trying to reach for the notebook again, wanting to try and ''appease'' me by doing that now. Of course, the sharp peal ofughtering from the Marquess cut through the ''serious'' atmosphere inside the room like a knife through butter, and we all turned towards the rxing Demoness to see what she found so amusing. The answer to that was seemingly Mother, who was pouting at the Marquess as she said "She''s a damn copy of you, Julie~! Completely and utterly identical~! So damn serious and organized no matter what, and holding everyone~ else to those same standards~! Oh, and not to mention..." Wearing a sly, slick grin, the Marquess made Mother yelp as she reached forwards and copped a feel, adding "That she''s just~ as ''fluffy'' as you are, my love~! Isn''t that just wonderful~? Spreading the wondrous cheer only a Dogkin can provide..." The Demoness ignored Mother''s re as she ''mmed'' her fists against the Demoness'' arms, instead just chuckling and enduring it as she continued to rx. Chapter 723 722: Weeks Progress (4)

Chapter 723 Chapter 722: Weeks Progress (4)

The dawn of a new day came around swiftly, and like the day before I remained in bed a little while longer, watching as Anput woke up first and slipped into the bath, the Jackalkin determined to squeeze out as much time as she could from this week to forge new things for us, and the workaholic woman had promised me that today she would be making that special dagger for me today, since she had to finish up the prep work for the entire week yesterday. Of course, she demanded payment for the work she was going to be doing for today, and that payment was expected to be as thorough and earnest as possible after shepleted her work, the Jackalkin making that rather clear to mest night, to the point that it was mildly - very mildly - irritating. So watching as she quietly made her way out of the room to head towards the forge, I smiled softly as I thought about what was considered eptable payment for her, beforending on an idea that made my lips curl up just a tad bit more than usual; an idea that I had contemted doing for a little while now, and she had just given me the motivation to make that happen. Stretching myself out, I gave Jahi a kiss before doing the same to Leone, just waving the Demoness off as she murmured something about not wanting to get up just yet, though her actions spoke otherwise as her hands pulled me closer and she pressed herself even further against me, before rolling toy on top of me. ''Waking'' up for Jahi was an easy task when we were in bed together, and the Demoness came alive quickly enough as she ''wrestled'' with Leone and I for a few rounds, going from dead asleep to panting in mere minutes as she took a bite from us both, sating her early morning desires and waking us both up even more as she savored each and every moment between the both of us. She never wanted to get out of bed, either wanting to sleep more or ''sleep'' more, but once she got up out of bed she was raring to go and do anything, not wanting to slow down until she was slightly tired or just bored; like I had alreadye to realize, my Demoness lover was a rather simple woman through and through, even if that simplicity was sometimes a pain to deal with. I watched her get up as well, Leone following behind her dutifully as they went to bathe, leaving me alone in the bed to just lounge around as I continued to rest, not wanting to leave the warm embrace of our bed for just a few minutes longer. By the time that I did get out of bed and cleaned up, the sun was already fully above the horizon and illuminating the Empire in its golden rays and the others had already awoken, with Jahi heading out to train again with the Marquess while Leone remained in the room, hovering behind Mother and Bessie as the two women showed the Vampire Princess some more tips on how to cook. As was her routine now, the Countess was enjoying her time with the babies on her rocker, a book in hand as she read quietly to them, the story enrapturing them as always as they read alongside her, focused on the words that they so desperately wanted to understand. Joining them in the kitchen for a moment, I looked around at the various pots and pans on the stove as well as therge mixing bowls full of what looked like some kind of pie filling, which was exciting to think about for after dinner tonight. But, too many bodies in the kitchen was never a good thing, so I stepped back and began to work on some more spells for myself as well as the spell that I wanted to ce on that special dagger that Anput was making for Leone. I had a few ideas bouncing around in my head, and the primary one currently was how to make the dagger something that would harness the gas in a worthwhile manner whilst still being something that I could confidently ce on the dagger, as well as being something that I could be proud of. That idea was to make the dagger the ''core'' of arger de made entirely from Fire Mana, which could be empowered by both the gas as well as the mana from Leone as well, and the other part would be the Ritual Circle for condensing andpressing that mana further, in an attempt to further empower the de and strengthen the mes. If strengthened enough and given enough fuel, those mes could cut through quite a lot of things without issue, so even if it was a simpler enchantment, the experience I gained from using mana imbued gemstones to power an enchantment as well as more experience using the Magic Pens was worth it, and this way the margin for error and possibility of failing was very low. Simple but effective, though that didn''t mean I could just wing this enchantment; I still needed to?n it out and make sure that the runes all interacted in the ways I wanted them to and that there was no problems with my spell, which would require a second look from the Countess and Leone just to verify I was correct. So as I was scribbling down a few variations of the spell I wanted, I would asionally nce up to see what they were doing in the kitchen, my heightened sense of smell giving me good clues onto what they were potentially making, and each minute that passed was another dose of something good being sprinkled into the air. Eventually, the door to the room opened and revealed Anput, who came in and ced a cloth bundle in front of me, grinning and giving me a kiss before happily leaving the room just as quickly as she came in, just dropping the bundle off and giving me another reminder about what was supposed to happen. Chapter 724 723: Weeks Progress (5) Chapter 724 723: Weeks Progress (5) Letting out a deep sigh, I pulled the Magic Pen away and nodded to myself, looking down at the crisp and uniform lines of mana that had been etched into the red metal of the dagger, the enchantment taking to the metal with impressive ease thanks to the materials Anput had used. It was an alloy of Rubrum Copper and Drake Scales with afortable binding around the hilt made from Kobold Leather, the entire de radiating a noticeable heat as the Fire Mana lingering inside the materials made itself known as you held the de. Meanwhile the pommel of the de held those twin gas that I had wanted iid into the weapon, the circr piece of metal housing those gas and having some darker red lines leading down to them, the enchantments circling the gas and using them as additional power. The de was an inch thick and six inches long, while the handle added another five inches total to the weapon, making it a rather small weapon in general, though it wasn''t mean to berge or have reach; that was the job of the enchantments I was adding. Setting the Magic Pen down, I idly watched as the red Fire Mana that had filled the Mana Crystal dissipated swiftly, no longer able to contain foreign mana as Leone let go of my arm, her job done. "Well, here we are. A nice little slicer, with quite the enchantment on it. This should be easier to carry and easier to wield then your Estoc, though I''d suggest keeping the Estoc anyways, just in case." My lover nodded, gently taking the dagger from my hand and admiring the ruby metal that had deeper crimson ent lines across its thin de, each line attached to arger Ritual Circle that epassed the entire weapon, inspecting each line and studying her new weapon, before standing up and taking a few steps away from the table. Holding up the dagger, Leone let her mana flow through the small weapon and activated the primary enchantment, sparking the de and watching as mes erupted from the hilt, each tongue of fire coiling around the ''core'' that had been created from the dagger, spiraling straight up and creating a de of condensed fire. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she pushed more mana into the weapon and watched as the mes red brightly, going from a dull red to a brighter, vibrant reddish orange, the heat rolling off of the dagger in waves as it continued to grow hotter and hotter, leaving the warm colors behind and bing blue, while itpressed down into an almost solid de. "It''s... It needs a few moments to start up, that''s for sure. If I don''t relegate my mana output I could shatter the dagger, but other then that, it''s pretty good. In fact..." The de of mes turned white a momentter, making Leone smirk as she moved the de around, the hissing and crackling of the superheated mes burning up anything in the air as it was moved freely, before it began to dim as she reined the mana in and dissipated the fire. "It can even withstand some serious output, though it needs to warm up before hand. I want to give it a try soon, but so far, so good! It''s rather impressive, Kat!" I gave the Vampire a smile and a nod before rolling out my shoulders and stretching a little, the posture I had taken to enchant that deing back to haunt me for a few moments as my muscles went from one strained position to the more rxed, natural position. Spinning the de around, Leone continued to admire her new weapon while I healed myself, eventually standing up and saying "Well, let''s go test it then. I could use some exercise, and I want to see it in action as well. Besides, I have a few spells that I need to use as well so that I can tweak them. I think that obsidian valley would do well, no?" With that, Leone and I gathered our gear and set out for Zhu''Rong Caverns, wanting to get some exercise and test out some of our progress - even if that progress wasn''t that vast so far. A guard trailed behind us out of sight, watching from afar as we left the Pce and made our way down towards the Dungeon that the Capital was built on top of, ignoring all of the adventurers around us as we stepped foot into the familiar ashy expanse of caverns that riddled the base of Sanctus Ignacia. We specifically traveled over to the obsidian valley that led down to the ins of Yama, wanting to partake in the enormous hordes of Ash Ghouls that lingered inside the valley that we used to frequent each time we came into the Dungeon. Here, we had arge amount of monsters to test our advancements on, with Leone focusing on her new weapon while I used the few spells that I hade up with, preparing to cut through the lumbering, stumbling grey skinned Ghouls that lurched towards us as soon as they saw us. For myself, I kept my weapons sheathed as I traced out some runes, aplicated sequence appearing in front of me as I went for one of the spells that was meant for area attacks, meant to spread out damage and be a surprise for my enemies... if they were sentient, that is. The Ghouls weren''t, but I needed to check the viability of the damage it put out for future use, so I used it anyways. The Ritual Circle condensed into an ethereal blue disc that felt weighty in my hands, though it flew all the same as I tossed it into the air, watching as it began to hover above the horde of Ghouls. As the timer went off, a cascade of sharpened crystals fell down at a rapid pace, dozens upon hundreds of them slicing down into the monsters and killing them quickly, before the crystals shattered and damaged more Ghouls. While I was showering the horde with deadly ice, Leone was slicing through the Ghouls that made it through with the new dagger, her condensed de of fire scorching their flesh and cauterizing the wounds instantly, though the ash coating their bodies burst into mes as well just by being near such a hot me. Each sh of her newly acquired de severed a limb or opened up the frail bodies of the Ghouls, revealing the crystals and cores inside their bodies that we wouldter harvest for Leone''s alchemy. Chapter 725 724: Excellent Payment (1)* Chapter 725 724: Excellent Payment (1)* After Leone and I had our fill of fun from the Caverns, we returned home with a bundle of materials ready to be used, as well as some well earned knowledge on our current repertoire of spells and a deeper understanding of the dagger that Anput had crafted and I had enchanted. It had done admirably against the Ash Ghouls, the de slicing cleanly through the flesh, while the secondary enchantment had done admirably as well, the bursts of me that erupted from the near solid pir that was attached to the dagger exploding inside the Ghoul''s bodies and destroying them internally, as well as bursting their chests open and tearing them apart... In other words, incredibly deadly, especially when timed with the thrusts and shes to create a wider array of damaged area, or when Leone began toyer spells on top of the de and begin turning that fire from its sma state to a liquid state, sshing her enemies with something that was rather demented as it seeped into their bodies and burned them from within, melting flesh and bone alike with frightening ease. When we returned to the Pce, the sun had already begun to descend down towards the horizon, and we went about finishing our day before night fell, doing some more research, some more enchanting / alchemy, and then some theorizing on how to make our own Magic Pens, all before Jahi and Anput returned from what they were doing for dinner. Dinner was eaten leisurely, the mountain of raviolis covered in a thick meat sauce getting served out unevenly to the family as the two Demonesses scooped up heaps onto their tes, while everyone else watched on as they devoured their food like it was just disappearing inside their stomachs. With bread to mop everything up and some good wine to wash it down, dinner was excellent, and as soon as it was finished I got up and grabbed some bags before heading out, smirking at Anput as I mouthed ''Find meter'' to her, the sparks in her eyes igniting as she watched me leave the room, clearly understanding that her payment had begun. Of course, Jahi frowned slightly before sighing, a small pout appearing on her face as she looked between Anput and I, the Demoness feeling left out even if Leone cuddled up beside her, those amethyst eyes filled with longing as she watched me leave. Finding an empty room that we had used once before, I slipped inside and locked the door, before entering the bathroom and washing up quickly, getting myself ready for Anput''s arrival as I opened the bag and pulled out what was inside. Something I had wanted to do for a while now with any of my three lovers, but especially for Anput; inside the bag was aplete traditional set of bellydancers garb tailored for my own curves, with some tweaking done to the golden discs to be a bit more subdued then normal, for my own sake. The cloth waspletely transparent as well, putting everything on disy for my lovers to look at as I gave them a show. Myrge breasts were barely contained by the sheer red cloth, allowing the viewer to see my nipples while the small discs attached to the hem of the bra dangled loosely, while the shin length skirt did nothing to cover my pussy or ass, still letting anyone just flip it up and slide right on in... Doing somest minute touch ups, I heard the knock on the door and smirked, grabbing another piece of cloth as I approached and asked "Anput? Is that you?" "Yes it is~!" My lips curled into a smile as I heard her answer, and I replied "Close your eyes for me, love, and keep them closed! If you peek, this payment ispletely off!" Giving it a few moments, I cautiously opened the door and peeked around it, staring at Anput and checking her eyes before grabbing her hand and pulling her hand, repeating myself as I closed the door behind her. Draping the blindfold over her head, I tied it loosely and guided her to the bed, smiling the entire time as I noticed that her tail was swaying excitedly side to side, the anticipation arousing her further. The scent of citrus wafted off her body in droves as she sat on the bed, and I silently stepped back a few feet and took a deep breath, my heart thudding inside my chest as I wondered if Anput would appreciate this. With the rooms ambience already set and everything just waiting for me to begin, I calmed myself down and said "Take the blindfold off, love...", my voice steady despite the slight nervousness coursing through my veins. Anput reached up and undid the blindfold, letting the cloth slip into herp as she opened her eyes, which widened instantly as she stared at me nkly, making my nerves do flips as I waited, each second ticking into what felt like years. That all was swept away as she muttered "Beautiful...", the word just slipping from her lips as she looked me up and down, before her lips curled up into a giant grin as she repeated "Utterly beautiful, Kat~! Downright gorgeous!" Her smile was infectious, making me smile back as I felt relief wash over me, the nerves going away instantly as I sashayed towards her, making excellent use of my high DEX to control my body perfectly for her. The Jackalkin leaned back as she saw that, watching me closely with that grin as I began to dance for her, the Begum of the Sultanate stripping herself off and revealing herself to me as I began to do the same for her. Getting closer to her, I put some more emphasis on the rising of my hips as I began to let the discs dangling from the bottom of the bra and skirt jingle together softly, each exaggerated movement I made setting them off and adding to my routine. If she had already been erect before, upon seeing that I wasn''t just going to be mating with her in her traditional garb but instead giving her her own special dance she got even harder, her knot swelling even more while her shaft pulsed with dire need, releasing even more of her scent into the room and making me freeze for a moment. For a single moment I felt like I needed to forget dancing and just mount herp, but thankfully I regained myself and made this a moment worth remembering for us both as I began to dance, putting on a private show for just my Jackalkin lover. Chapter 726 725: Excellent Payment (2)* Chapter 726 725: Excellent Payment (2)* Anput PoV My hands rested loosely on Kat''s wide hips as the Dogkin rubbed her juicy ass against my cock, the curvy woman turning the dance from something entirely traditional to start to something far more intimate. Her skin was warm to the touch, the tart scent rolling off her body in waves as she teased me, before pulling away and taking a step back, swaying her hips side to side while she shook her chest, making her giant breasts bounce around wonderfully. My eyes were glued to her body, from those perfect, luscious tits that were asking to be caressed and kissed to her toned, t stomach that always felt great to hold, down to her wide hips and meaty thighs that made it clear just how bountiful her juicy ass really was. Though, the crown jewel of it all was the slit that was drooling between her legs, her arousal continuing to match my own as her body reacted to my pheromones, the presence of her mate and her mate''s mounting desire to breed preparing her to take everything I had to offer so that we might conceive a litter of pups, even if we both knew pregnancy was impossible at the moment. Our minds might understand that, but the body didn''t care, instead preparing her to take her mate and drink down my seed to create new life, leaving her inner thighs slick with fluids that only continued to drip down her legs as she danced for me, giving me the best payment I could ever ask for. Kat continued to dance for me, swaying her hips side to side and gyrating her body so that the golden discs jingled with each movement, creating a sonorous background as I focused primarily on my sight, watching as she began to turn around and unt her perfect ass, her tail matching her hips as well. When she turned around fully, she started to shuffle closer to me, slowly lowering herself to her knees and bringing herself closer to my cock, her pupils dting as she took in my entirety, eventually nuzzling against my shaft even as she continued to shake her ass, the Dogkin far too enamored to contain her enthusiasm, which made everything even more endearing as I reached down and caressed her head, stroking just behind her ear and watching as those beautiful eyes narrowed in pleasure, her head tilting into my hand while her ears twitched. Scratching for a few moments, I gave my mate some simple affections before I spoke, my voice slightly raspy as I asked "Kat, shall we begin..? I want you so bad right now..." Opening her eyes again, the Dogkin blushed slightly as she nodded, her nose twitching alongside her ears as she sniffed my length, before she stared at me closely as her tongue flicked out, swirling around my knot and slowly crawling up towards my tip, eliciting a soft moan from myself as her saliva tried to quench the heat permeating my loins. Wrapping her lips around my tip, the Dogkin sucked eagerly on my cock and took me into her throat, her lips now kissing my knot and stimting me even more as I reached forwards and stroked her head, loving the feeling of being submerged inside her tight throat... but still craving more. I wanted... some more visual stimulus, and I wanted something that she had done to Jahi and Leone a few times now; something that looked like it felt great, but considering my constitution, I wasn''t really able to enjoy that much. Guiding her off my cock, I rested my length against her cheek and gave my mate a firm look, a slight shiver running through my body as I saw her body stiffen in reaction, the instincts of our Caninekin blood pushing her into a mental state of slight worry and anticipation, wondering what made me look at her like that. "Kat... I want your breasts wrapped around my cock while you suck on my tip. Get me ready to cum so that I can breed you thoroughly..." She blinked in surprise before nodding, moving to do as I said and bringing herrge chest up towards myp, those pale mountains surrounding and swallowing up the fleshy red cock that was the source of pleasure for us both. Burying my cock between them, Kat looked down and stared at the slight red bump that managed to peek through from her chest, which made me frown slightly as I recalled how the giant blue penis and evenrger pale white penis managed to have multiple inches avable for Kat to enjoy, and yet... As if sensing that, Kat leaned down and took in my tip without hesitation or struggle, before she started to bounce her chest up and down, her hands making them jiggle wonderfully in front of me as she pressed them together around my shaft. The pressure from those mountains made me inhale sharply as she began to move them, feeling even tighter then her grip and even hotter than her hands, while the softness enveloped my entire lower half and made me nk out in pleasure as my knot got surrounded by her tits as well. With that bulb being stroked just as much as my shaft, I couldn''t help shivering as I felt the sperm inside start swelling it up even more, while the suction from her lips kept my tip clean and free of precum as she drained it from my urethra, my mate doing everything she could to make me cum just like she did for our two other lovers. I so very much wanted to be able to ejacte on her body like they could, to be able to mark my mate with my scent both inside and out, but after I got the taste of cumming inside my partners, I just couldn''t bring myself to ejacte without being inside them, the sheer difference in pleasure far too great to justify the mental euphoria I would feel but ejacting on their bodies. The difference from cumming inside and knotting Katpared to just letting her suck on my cock till I came was like being enveloped in a nice, warm nket with a mug of hot chocte or coffee in handpared to just having a sweater on; one soothed the mind and bodypletely, the other was barely satisfactory. Yet, as I watched Kat bob her head up and down while bouncing her tits on myp, I was tempted to take that difference just to cum from this, though I made my decision rather quickly as I reached the point of ejaction, a soft growl reverberating from my throat as I reached down and pulled Kat off of my cock, surprising her. She yelped afterwards as I pulled her onto the bed, the Dogkin staring at me and managing toprehend how I had brought her from the floor to the bed in a heartbeat just as I pounced on her, my tonguepping at her neck and preparing her to be marked, all while I rubbed my cock against her slit. Her moans drove me on, and as she wrapped her legs around my waist and pulled me in, I bared my fangs and bit into her corbone, finding her pheromonal nd and flooding it with my own, marking her as my mate and my bitch once more. Chapter 727 726: Excellent Payment (3)* Chapter 727 726: Excellent Payment (3)* Kat PoV The feeling of my mate''s fangs sinking into my shoulder and pumping her pheromones straight into my body was addictive, the heat from both her body and her pheromones only adding to my own heat as I entered an almost feverish state, my everything so warm that bordered on ufortable but teetered into being so pleasant that I couldn''t think straight, least of all when Anput''s girth was being pumped into me steadily. Her knot pped against my lower lips rhythmically, that solid bulb stimting me further as she hit sensitive spots every thrust, all while her tip scratched the inside of my womb, giving me more pleasure that only grew as I wrapped myself around her, wanting my mate as close to me as I possibly could get her. Anput''s muscles and passion made the embrace even better, the safety of those chiseled arms wrapped around my back pairing with the way her silver eyes met mine as she eventually removed her fangs from my corbone, satisfied with the amount that she had pumped into me over thest minute or so. Licking the blood from her lips, she leaned back down and gentlypped at the two pinpricks she had created on my body, her saliva pairing with my mana rich blood to stymie the bleeding and eventually heal the wound entirely, making it look like nothing had happened. And yet, our sense of smell made it clear that something had happened; the scent of citrus flooded the room, overwhelming my own tart scent and permeating my head, the scent of my mate far too strong for me to maintain a basic line of thought, even more so when the pping of her hips against mine was added in. Citrus filled the room, and as the silvery eyes of my mate looked down at me, I could feel my body respond as my lower lips began to ept more and more of my mate''s knot, while my pussy writhed around her shaft and worked at coaxing the sperm from said knot. It didn''t take long, the heat still permeating my breasts from the tittyfuck that Anput had demanded earlier making it known that she was close to ejacting, while the pursing of her lips and speed of her thrusts made it even clearer. Slipping her knot inside, Anput grunted as she leaned down and kissed me, her tongue pushing past my lips and coiling around my own as she started to cum, thick creamy ropes of semen sshing against the back of my womb as she began to fill me up with her first load. Her ejactionsted for almost a minute, the Jackalkin pushing her knot as deep inside as she could so that she could have it wrung dry properly inside of me, spurting her cum in a continuous stream as we made out. My mind remained nk as my mate pulled away and spat into my mouth, her taste still on my tongue even as she sat up and pushed against my hips, pulling herself free from my cunt and resting her erect cock atop my pussy as she looked me over, those silver eyes tracing the outline of my outfit and slowly refilling with lust as she ogled my body. Reaching down, she groped my breast and pinched my nipple, beforeying her other hand on my bare thigh and sliding it down towards my ass, getting a good handful of both as she gave me a moment to recover. Only a moment though, her arousal spiking noticeably as she undid the binding of the bra and revealed my breastspletely, her eyes narrowing and her cock pulsing on my navel, all while her scent continued to thicken around us. Both of her handsnded on my breasts this time, and without hesitation she squeezed them and slid back inside my pussy, taking me harder now as her cock glided in and out of my lubed up pussy thanks to her sperm. Her knot - noticeably smaller but still as solid as before - pped against my cunt once more, but this time the added pain from her squeezing my chest fueled my own lust as much as it did hers, the two of us descending into the wonders of sex together as she leaned over me and pounded her hips down, all while she rested her weight onto my breasts, using me for her own gratification. My mate watched me be entangled in the throes of lust as we mated, her arrogant smirk and satisfied gaze as she began to knot me again sparking my need for her even more, igniting that fire and making it impossible to quench with just a few rounds. Pouring her semen into my womb again, Anput eventually yanked her cock free once more before crawling to sit on my stomach, grabbing my breasts and slipping her slimy penis between them as she started to make love to my tits instead, giving me another few moments to rest as well as herself. When she desired more stimtion during that rest, she moved from my stomach to kneeling just above my head, stroking her cock and rubbing her pussy against my face, her juices dripping onto my head and further shrouding me in that citrus scent that I loved so much, all while she enjoyed the feeling of my tongue on her lower lips, making me kiss them intimately and sloppily. The Jackalkin rode me until she was satisfied, her pussy trembling and squirting more of her fluids onto my face and making sure I waspletely covered in her love before she was ready to go again, this time grabbing me and flipping me around, pointing my ass towards her and slipping her cock into me from behind. Grabbing my arms, Anput started to pound into me and watched my ass ripple with each thrust, enjoying herself immensely as she praised me with sweet nothings for the rest of the night, doing her best to satisfy us both before we fell asleep in one another''s arms, feeling fulfilled and ready to tackle the rest of the week. Chapter 728 727: Rounding Out the Week (1) Chapter 728 727: Rounding Out the Week (1) "So as a recap, we have a bunch of things we need to sellter today, some perishables we need to purchase in bulk and prepare to store for the uing adventure, some minor gear tweaks, general purchases, and some other small things before today ends, so that this adventure goes smoothly?" I nodded, not looking up from the notepad in my hand as I jotted down the various items we had to sell and tallying up the total price I wanted to sell them for, before creating a secondary list of the realistic, more likely price I would get and adding it all up for a nice lump sum that would feed a family for years toe. It wasn''t even just the enchanted swords, daggers, maces and spears that were making us that kind of money; Leone had brewed a few vats worth of all kinds of potion as both practice and for use, and we were selling a few to help her pay off the debt she owed to her Mother for the alchemy set she was gifted when she first started. Some of the money was also going to be given to Lady Lorelei anyways since Jahi wanted to try and minimize the damage she had done before by ''gifting'' the older Vampire some money and other things, though there was the problem of trying to buy something for a woman who had the Empress'' own purse to y around with and had the Empress herself willing to procure anything within and outside of the borders for her if she wanted it. Besides paying off Leone''s debt and fishing Jahi out of troubled waters, we were nning on buying some more basic supplies and some necessities for the trip as well as some less needed, but definitely wanted items, which mainly included some basic herbs and basic ores for both Leone and Anput to use respectively to ward off boredom during the trip. "That sounds about right. Why?" The Demoness just let out a sigh as she leaned into the couch, staring at me as I continued to take inventory and calcte our earnings, which was then split into smaller portions based on what each person was meant to make and what was being ''gifted'' away to Lady Lorelei. "I just wanted to recap is all. Had to make sure I understood what the n was for today so I wouldn''t be surprised." I nodded again, continuing to jot down the prices before focusing my mind instead on the system, which I had been neglecting for a little while now; to no ones surprise, once I got going during this week in regards to my studying and training Ipletely tunnel visioned and ignored most things, so everything had continued to build up thanks to myzy nature. [Level 53 : 1,012,245 / 2,250,000 XP] [Shop Points : 145,688] [Stats : STR : 108 -> 110 CON : 117 -> 118 AGI : 118 -> 120 DEX : 118 -> 120 CHA : 79 -> 82 WIS : 118 -> 125 INT : 118 -> 125] [Skill Gained : Arcane Artisan (Novice)] [Skill Gained : Studious Mind (Novice)] [Arcane Artisan (Novice) : Enchanting, Brewing, and Spellcrafting are slightly easier and yield better results] [Studious Mind (Novice) : Absorbing and making use of newly gained knowledge is slightly easier and takes less time] ''As broad and basic as always, aren''t they?'' [I mean, if you don''t want them I can just-] [Skill Deleted : Arcane Artisan (Novice)] [Sk-] ''Whoa now, I didn''t mean that in a bad way alright?! Just making an observation here is all!'' [Oh, alright.] [Skill Gained : Arcane Artisan (Novice)] [Yes, they are broad descriptors, but I think they''re rather clear in their uses, no? Artisan makes your ''artistic'' abilities stronger sometimes and makes them a tad bit easier to do, while Studious Mind increases your ability toprehend things... though it might not be working...] ''Really..? Must you be like this when I finally begin talking to you again?'' [Perhaps I suffer from neglect, did you ever think of that?! Well... as much neglect as an introvertedzy ''thing'' can go through, anyways... and totally not just napping the entire time...] I felt my facial expression begin to slip at the words of my constant, yet quietpanion, though I kept myself under control as I mentally replied ''Then it isn''t neglect, is it? After all, this is a two way street; you can always initiate conversation if you desire it?'' [Why though? I''m content napping instead?] My mind remained nk for a few moments, before I mentally sighed and asked ''So are we fine then, my dearest System?'' [Yes? Why wouldn''t we be?] ''So you''re just going to..? Whatever.'' Hearing the slight hum of amusement from the System, I looked over the gains I had made before returning to the notepad, turning it around and showing it to Jahi to give her the rough estimate on what we could make. "If Horusa buys everything for a high enough price, the dozen weapons and many vials of potion could yield us somewhere around 3 tinum and 75 Gold? 3 tinum minimum. The debt that Leone wants to pay off would take 50 Gold from these funds with 50ing from her own funds, while your ''gift'' is an entire tinum as well as any interesting tomes we can find at the Emporium. Correct?" Looking over the numbers, Jahi remained oblivious to the voice in my head that was humming to itself now for fun, only to fall silent as I ''red'' at it, which only made me feel crazy as I sat across from my blue skinned lover. "Yes, that sounds and looks right." "Great. So if we take 1 and a half tinum away from the total, we''re left with 1 and a half tinum to 2 and a quarter tinum in ''profit'', though another expected 25 Gold is going to be spent on the perishables, necessities, and the things that Anput and Leone want, leaving us with 1 and a quarter to 2 tinum. Are there other things that you want to purchase before we leave, or will this be fine?" The Demoness stared at the book for a few moments, running the numbers and searching for anything else that might need to find its way onto our carriage, before saying "It might be a good idea to begin investing our coin in our own businesses and the like? Or putting it into some of the businesses that Mom already owns for a slice of the revenue each month? Besides that, perhaps some other things like properties and other ''necessities'' for ourselves like carriages, animals..?" I gave her a raised brow and took the notepad back, replying "Those are all wonderful things that I am sure are really good ideas, but I think we need more then just a few hours to make those kinds of decisions, my love. Like... a few days and some serious research?" Jahi just smiled wryly and nodded, leaning back into the couch and saying "Well, perhaps it is time we start nning for it though? Bing a bit more independent while we can still reasonably enjoy the luxuries of our youth isn''t the worst idea, right?" Chapter 729 728: Rounding Out the Week (2) Chapter 729 728: Rounding Out the Week (2) "Mmm... Lady Katherine, I have to admit I didn''t expect to see you again so soon. Least of all with a veritable fortune of enchanted items and potions~! Each of these are rather well made, and the enchantments are quite excellent as well~! These were all made ''in house'' then? Even the potions?" Horusa lifted up the heavy, two handed mace that Anput had made, its red plus sign shaped head emitting a dangerous brown hue as the Earth Mana engraved into its metal radiated steadily from the weapon, something that I had done purposefully to lure in the more gullible adventurers into thinking the weapon was stronger then it really was. A simple enchantment that Anput helped me produce the same way Leone helped me on her own dagger, it was meant to shatter the earth and summon spikes of rock to deal more damage to the area around yourself, while the ability to then shatter those spikes as well gave it a rather fun fighting style... if one was ying a game and had the ability to be that rxed in a fight. The mana wafting off its dark silver head was something that truly experienced and worthy adventurers would understand was simply for show, the mana leaking off the weapon to scare off those weaker and less experienced then you, though the enchantment itself wasn''t so great as to warrant the ownership of someone that strong. "Yes, we produced each and every single one of these things from scratch. Hence the prices and my adamancy to get said prices." The Hawkkin gave me a grin as she nodded, putting the mace back down and lifting up a short sword next, admiring the bronze de and inspecting the simple water enchantment I had ced on it, before looking towards the numerous vials of red, blue and green potions that Leone had brewed. "You said you were looking for some materials and a few books, correct? Look around and pick some out; I don''t like parting ways with multiple tinums if I can help it, so let''s trade a few of these and supplement the rest with coin?" I nodded, which elicited a relieved sigh from the Hawkkin as she gestured to the rest of her Emporium, which prompted Anput and Jahi to begin browsing, while Leone remained beside me. Anput came back with a few various chunks of ore and loose gemstones that she ced on the table, while Jahi returned with three books in her hands that made Horusa let out a soft sigh as she read the titles of each, though she maintained her smile as she calcted the difference and had her lover fetch the remaining coin, handing it to me and looking down at the pile of weapons and potions with a nod. With the tradeplete, we began to meander through the market and make the purchases that we needed as well as a few that we wanted, with Anput and Leone getting more of the things they wanted for the trip and with Jahi deciding that a few bottles of wine were a ''necessity'' for the cooking of the trip... as well as a bottle of brandy. Besides that, we did ce orders with a few of the butcheries and farmers markets to ensure we had some of the harder to find things as well as just to get some meats and other ingredients that we just wanted. With my Ice keeping them all chilled and sealed inside an air tight container, I had no worry about any type of foodborne illnesses or the food going bad, so I wasn''t worried about it. And since we were going to be clearing Dungeons for most of our time in Tragon, it made sense to ensure we had arge supply of food to refuel our bodies, just in case the monsters weren''t edible or if there wasn''t an abundance of wildlife around to sustain us. We could do as we did at the ind retreat, living off of the bare minimum of actual food and supplementing it with mana, but it wasn''t a needed route to take when we could just... purchase food in bulk now and take it with us. All in all, the preparations went by smoothly, and we returned to the Pce before the sun had even reached halfway down its gradual descent, leaving us enough time to do some more training and other preparations before turning in early to prepare for the departure tomorrow, which would be early in the morning. Since Tragon Kingdom wasn''t far, we could theoretically reach the capital Nogart before night truly fell, though it would take us longer since we were stopping at the Beliali and Cimeriesa''s territories to join up with the envoys they were sending to the Kingdom; a Kingdom that was likelypletely deste and empty thanks to the various atrocities that had urred within its borders in recent memory, but who knows if any of those cockroach like humans survived? After all, despite being surrounded on all sides by those physically, mentally, and magically stronger then themselves, they were still present to this day thanks to their ability to breed so damn quickly. We might just find pockets of them that survived those creatures and the Cult that had almost dealt serious damage to the Empire back then, or we might just find mountains of skeletons and hordes of undead wandering around the countryside. Either or worked, and from what the others had told me about the Crusade they had been on during my forced absence, the Kingdom wasn''t anything like the Empire at all. I wouldn''t be surprised to see that the race I had once belonged to truly was as helpless as I suspected, and I had been alive in this world long enough to have shed the ''shackles'' that once tied me to thinking I was human; now I was just a humanoid, and Ipletely thought of myself as a Dogkin no matter what. Thoughts on this journey that we would be partaking in continued to bounce around my head even as I joined Jahi for a spar, wanting to exercise my body now instead of my mind, wanting to feel thatforting, familiar burn ofctic acid and the tingling of muscle tears as I sparred with the Demoness. I was curious about the ce that would be the second home of the two Demon ns, curious about the Dungeons that were overflowing with monsters and materials, and curious to see what was left of an entire Kingdom that had been taken over after a Crusade. Chapter 730 729: Departing From the Palace Again Chapter 730 729: Departing From the Pce Again "Alright, that looks like everything. The ice chest, the materials, your clothing and gear... everything is packed and ready? All the things you need and all of your other things are all packed?" Jahi let out a sigh as she looked towards the Countess, who was standing by the side inspecting the carriage closely, doing her best to not sound worried while at the same time asking us the same question she had before for the third time now. "Yes, Mother, we have everything we need. Just like we had it five minutes ago..." The Demoness gave the petite Elf a reassuring smile as she stepped forwards and gave her Mother a hug, wrapping her arms around the smaller woman and doing her best to ease her Mother''s worries, before moving on to stare at her Mom, who just looked back at her with a neutral expression. "Don''t do anything stupid and don''t die." Jahi snorted at the older Demoness'' advice for her, the rest of us chuckling softly at it as well before giving our own goodbyes to the others who were watching. "Try not to antagonize the members of the other Demon ns, Katherine. From what Chordeva has said, they are... quirky. Sometimes rather insufferable as well, but they are important and proud. They''ll likely make a move on Jahi to try and form a deeper bond with the Asmodia Family, so that they can bring them ''back into the fold''. Just... don''t be rash, please. Thest thing we need is infighting..." I gave my own Mother a ''confused'' look as I tilted my head, which made her sigh in exasperation and say "Don''t give me that look, Katherine. I might not have been hovering over you for the entirety of your childhood, but I know enough to understand what you''re like." Reaching for me, she caressed my cheek before pinching it, giving me a stern re as she added "You look cute andid back on the outside, but sometimes you let your... crazy self leak out. And Chordeva and Ria have told me of your... ''inclinations''." I pouted at that, before hissing softly as she pinched my cheek harder and pulled on it, narrowing her eyes and doubling her stern re, making it rather clear that she was beingpletely serious. "I know, I know! Unless something drastic happens, I''ll keep myself in check Mother! Promise!" "You had better! This is serious, Katherine! Those Demon ns aren''t normal Noble Families that can be brow beaten or bowed with the Asmodia name! They don''t care about the Asmodia name that much either, they just care about the blood! So be careful." Releasing my cheek, she sighed before pulling me in for a hug, whispering "But if they do try to take her from you, give ''em hell. She''s yours, not theirs." Her voice was so soft that I thought I had imagined that, but the twinkle in her eye as she pulled away made me smile back at her, nodding at her before moving towards the Countess, who had beckoned for me to go over to her. "Kat dear, keep Jahi in check please. With everything. She is just as impulsive as Chordeva was, and unlike her Mom, she''s yet to reach the level that Chordeva was at when she was just as cocky. But, unlike her Mom, she has people around her who are able to support and temper her. So please, rein in her impulsiveness and keep her under control fr me, Kat." The Elf looked at me with a smile, before giving me a brief hug and speaking to Anput next, the Jackalkin getting a different talking to then I did. Our goodbyes were a tad long, but by the time that Belian finally made his way over to our carriage, we had been able to have our own moments with one another as well as with the Empress, who came out to bid us farewell too, primarily for Leone and to remind us that we would have aid from the shadows if we needed it. All in all, we were loaded into the carriage and setting off just as the sun began to peak over the horizon, with the red skinned Demon riding on his own steed and leading us towards thends of the Demon ns, where we would finally get to meet the other Demons who were rted to Jahi in a very distant sense. "I have to admit that I am looking forwards to this. Even I hadn''t met the young members of the Beliali and Cimeriesa ns, and I only really met you, Jahi, because of your Light Magic. I might have met you in passing at the many events that we both frequented back then, but not truly met you like I did." Jahi nodded as she leaned back into thefy cushions of the carriage, herrge frame allowed a lot of space inside what could only be described as a moving house - albeit a really small house - that the carriage was. It was a lot of space, but it had been made for people like the Marquess and the Empress in mind; those that were extremely tall and muscr, who would cramp up a normal carriage easily. "I am as well. I hope that Mom is just exaggerating their... uniqueness, but I doubt it. I hope that the envoys we are to travel with aren''t insufferable and too crazy, but I also doubt that as well. Either way though, just getting to meet them is going to be nice, and I want to see if forging a new bond between us is worth it or not. If dealing with said uniqueness is worth it or not." "It might be just for the deeper pockets and myriad pieces of knowledge that we could gain ess to by befriending them. Enchantments, techniques, alchemy, materials... so much is in their sole possession after all these years. Who knows exactly what is lingering inside their vaults?" Chapter 731 730: Meeting of Demons (1) Chapter 731 730: Meeting of Demons (1) Like we had expected, the journey over to thend that the Demon ns ruled was a quick and boring affair, nothing happening as we rode from the center of the Empire over to the western expanse, where the majority of the Empire''s breadbasket was located; smooth, rolling hills with an abundance of fertilend sprawled out on both sides of Sanctus Ignacia, but a lot of the more crop oriented Nobles and merchants upied the west. In the east, thend was just a bit harsher and less forgiving, so while food was still grown in abundance to feed the various territories built atop its rocky expanse, there was a slim amount of excess that was shipped out and sold to other parts of the Empire. The Demon ns themselves relied on not only their skillset to remain wealthy, but also on the fertilends around themselves to be independent whilst also offering arge quantity of crops to sustain the Empire, earning themselves an even deeper indispensable spot then they were already in. No one would want to anger them or get rid of them thanks to the services they provide - for the right price, of course, which is above most people''s spending range - as well as the fact that they are firmly entrenched in the agricultural sector as well. We discussed what we knew about these Demon ns on the way to them, with Jahi having the most understanding on her fellow Demons thanks to the rundown that the Marquess gave her as well as her prior studying on their history when she had the free time. So, besides chatting about what we expected to find when we reached the Demon ns territory, we just took in the beauty of the Empire around us as we traveled miles upon miles towards the west, traversing the luscious green grasnds and serene hills thatprised this side of the Empire. Cities and viges dotted thend randomly, each one connected to the others by aplicated series of roads that were well maintained and popted, with dozens of other carriages and convoys traveling beside us as we embarked on our journey. Hours passed by in a sh, and by the time the sun had begun to descend from its zenith we reached the giant city that the Demon ns of Beliali and Cimeriesa called home, the red skinned leader of the Beliali''s turning and grinning at our carriage as he stopped, waiting for us to pull up alongside him. Pushing the window open, Jahi looked towards the man and raised a brow, prompting his grin to grow further as he said "Are you ready, Scion of Asmodia, to see thergest bastion of Demon blood in the entire world?" Sadly for the older Demon, the theatrics that the Beliali''s might love to put on disy were lost and unappreciated by those with Asmodia blood, which made Jahi frown as she said "Belian, just get us into the city please. If I wasn''t ready I wouldn''t be here." Seeing the wind get taken out of the man''s sails was amusing, and we all smirked and hid our chuckles as best we could as we watched his shoulders slump and heard the sigh escape his lips, before he defeatedly turned towards the gate and raised his hand, letting his mana flow through his arm and pour out of his palm. We watched in awe as a brilliant, extremelyplex and enormous collection of dozens of Ritual Circles appeared on the giant metal gates, the runes beginning to move like the cogs in a machine and opening the gate like a door, the three to four feet thick metal bs silently gliding open. Each stone had miniature enchantments iid into their center around the gateway, while the various ss portholes that dotted the enormous walls were also shimmering with the familiar glow of raw mana, and we could spot a few eyes peeking out to observe us, wondering just who was entering the city. Remaining beside the carriage, Belian coughed and resumed grinning, getting some pleasure back in observing our awe at the grandeur on disy in front of us; there was absolutely no need for dozens ofplicated Ritual Circles to operate a single gate, even if they were defensive spells in nature as well. Absolutely no reason when a single dozen would do just fine. "Ahem... Wee to Arx Impius, home of the Beliali and Cimeriesa ns and seat of our power for thest several millennia." Nodding to the Banshee, the leader of the Beliali n began to trot beside us, remaining nearby as the carriage began to roll into the city, which wasn''t exactly what we were expecting. The architecture was split, with some of the buildings being built with one or two stories in mind but being absolutely long in length, taking on a squat, t appearance that relied on the material to provide depth and intriguing the observer, though the dark materials used and sharp, gothic pirs and ents only continued to blend various styles into one. Meanwhile, topletely contrast the squat, dark buildings, there were numerous towers that were tall and thin, reaching into the sky and made from brilliant white stone that shone withtent mana, while the golden ents only made them appear even grander. Interestingly enough, between each of these contrasting buildings were more... normal pieces of architecture, like someone hade in and individually upgraded certain buildings to be these unique ces whilst leaving some of those buildings normal. As if sensing our confusion, Belian gave us a smile and amusedly said "You''ll never guess why some buildings look like that-" He pointed at a squat building first, before gesturing to a tower as he finished "Or like that~!" "The Beliali''s are the more... sinister looking buildings, while the Cimeriesa''s have the towers? Which means any of the citizens who aren''t Demons live in the normal buildings?" "Correct~! It... takes a while to get used to, but that''s what happens when you bring together two different, proud groups of people with their own culture. If you were to go to Arx Maestus or Arx Doctrina, you''d find only Beliali architecture or Cimeriesa architecture respectively. Here in Arx Impius though, we''ve... attempted to mix. Key word attempted." Slowing down, the Head of the Beliali n gestured to the side of the paved road and dismounted, wanting to continue on foot towards thest building that caught our attention. In the middle of the city, a gigantic, grand and imposing temple loomed over everyone, its structure made from grey stone brick that was ented with various pieces of white and ck stone, the entire thing an absolute work of art. "That''s the Aedis, and it''s where the convoy should have gathered. Along the way we can look around the city briefly... and I can prepare you to meet the Demons you''ll be traveling with." Chapter 732 731: Meeting of Demons (2)

Chapter 732 Chapter 731: Meeting of Demons (2)

"So as you can see, the architectures are vastly different. Beliali architecture originates from our desires to create a darker, more sinister appearance to add just a little more intimidation to our iing negotiations. People see the spikes, the darker pte, the various motifs engraved into the materials and they have apse in their judgement about what to expect. Then when they see us... well, red tends to be offsetting for people, and the horns, height, and sharp fangs certainly don''t help. As for the Cimeriesa''s, the towers came around for a rather simple reason; the higher in the air they were, the less damage they could do when their experiments failed. They learned how to enchant the bricks for their towers to be more resistant, and each tower is built atop a... pir enchantment that can capture anything gaseous that leaks out. Then the color pte just came from them not wanting to put more effort into that when they could be studying more and doing more experiments." Belian gestured to the city around us, the various inhabitants all stealing nces at the red skinned man as well as at the blue skinned woman beside him, many furrowing their brows before their eyes widened in realization, causing them to rush away and spread the news. "Besides them, we have the various people we''ve... deemed bearable enough that inhabit Arx Impius'' walls. Former allies from ages past, tribes that are rted to us through marriage, random families that seemed useful... They''ve moved in and have set up their own homes here, which are the normal architectural designs you see. In total, Arx Impius has a poption of around 2,000 people, which might not be a ''city'' due to poption, but the size and importance of Arx Impius does make it a city on the maps." We nodded as we continued to receive a guided tour by one of the two direct leaders of the city,?looking around to see the various sights of the city whilst we approached the Aedis, which had arge collection of carriages waiting outside its front gate. "Ah, and it seems they are actually ready! Come, you''ll get to meet some of the other members of the Beliali n and finally meet the Cimeriesa''s! Just... do be warned that they aren''t the most subdued group of people, yeah?" Giving us a wry smile, Belian walked us towards the various carriages and stepped past the armored guards, who bowed and backed away from the Demon as he approached. Silence descended over the small gathering as all eyes turned towards us, the dozen some odd people all looking our way and beginning to approach as they gave Belian a curt nod. Four red skinned Demons and three yellow skinned Demons stood around us, with the remaining five people being different kinds of Beastkin and a single Human, who looked incredibly out of ce. Out of the seven Demons, five of them were women or futanari, with the remaining two being men, with one each respectively to the two ns. And... at a nce, it was clear which of those five were women, and which were futanari. The Cimeriesa was by far the easiest, the sheer amount of mana radiating off of her nearly golden skin enough to permeate the air and almost condense itself into raw droplets of mana - that was how much was oozing off of her, and besides the abundance of mana, the other really telling fact were her eyes. Belian and the Marquess telling us that the womenfolk of the Demon ns were rather... out there was barely enough to prepare us for the sight of someone who had literally enchanted their eyeballs, something that needed such insane precision, skill, and sheermitment that very few ever had, and that was how we knew that this Cimeriesa was a woman, and not a futa. Like all Demons, she was tall and fit, with smooth skin and sharp horns that made her heritage rather clear, but unlike most of the Demons her golden skin was covered in tattoos that glimmered and faded at random, each inch of her body enchanted to some degree that seemed almost obsessive in nature. Thin and hawkish, the Cimeriesa had sharp features and a serious expression, her Ritual Circle eyes looking us over while her general posture radiated arrogance as she sized us up; she was taller then me but shorter then Belian, somewhere in the high sixes, and her thin, petite frame almost made her seem like a feminine man if it wasn''t for the obvious curves and soft figure. Midnight ck hair was braided down between her four horns, the first front two starting on the sides of her skull and curling over and up her temple, while the back two curled around her ears and extended just past her jawline, the four burnished gold horns capped in a brilliant azure that sometimes sparked withtent electricity. The Beliali woman was easy to spot as well thanks to the demeanor around herself, as well as the general way in which she held herself and how the other Demons reacted to her. She was taller than Belian by an inch or so, likely just hitting the sevens, while her body was just as lithe and packed with muscle, though it wasn''t the usual spread of a warrior, but instead focused on her legs and shoulders, leaving her arms rather thinparatively; that made it obvious that she focused more on sneak attacks and ending a fight in a single, explosive blow instead of fighting for long periods of time. Her skin was a deep ruby red, and her eyes were a sharp and bright scarlet speckled with gold, the woman''s features equally as sharp as the Cimeriesa but less serious. Plump lips were proudly pulled back into a grin, revealing her curved fangs and forked tongue, while the twin horns atop her head arced back gently, giving her a more traditional Demon look. The leather coat and ck pants held up by a metal belt gave her a punk vibe, and like Belian she had a serrated sword hanging from her hip, its ck metal surface iid with a brilliant gold thatplimented her eyes, while a few daggers of all kinds were concealed on her body; Karambits, Dirk, Tanto, Stilettos... As for why we knew she was a woman and not a futa, it was rather clear since the moment Jahi stepped into the circle of Demons, she approached the blue skinned Demoness and grinned at her, looking up into Jahi''s eyes and coyly saying "Well well well~! Look at what we have here..." Chapter 733 732: Meeting of Demons (3)

Chapter 733 Chapter 732: Meeting of Demons (3)

"You didn''t tell me that she~ was going to being with us, Lord Belian~! The~ Scion of Asmodia, in the flesh~! My, I would dare say I''m starstruck at this sudden appearance!" The red skinned woman grinned up at Jahi, her razor sharp fangs glimmering beneath the rays of the sun as she met the Asmodia Demoness'' gaze, unflinching as those amethyst eyes were brought to bear. She didn''t even seem to care as she reached forwards and gently caressed Jahi''s forearm, stroking her muscr blue flesh and cooing softly before saying "Impressive~! You live up to your namesake, Scion of Asmodia~! Nice muscr arms... I bet they''d feel excellent~ wrapped around my body, no~?" Taking a step closer, the Beliali woman grinned even more at Jahi as she guided her hand towards her chest, only for that grin to almost split her features as she felt two des rest on her throat. Anput and I had moved forwards before we even consciously realized it, both of us cing our daggers against her throat and ring at the woman, making her freeze as she felt the cold kiss of steel against her skin, as well as the scorching heat of a pissed off Vampire behind us. "Come now... Surely you could tell I was doing this in jest, no~? Everyone~ knows the Scion of Asmodia is to be wed... and how protective she is of her women~!" Chuckling, the woman released Jahi''s wrist and took a step back, pulling away from the des that threatened her and away from the heat that served as a warning, though it would seem she couldn''t help adding "Surely you have room for one more though, Jahi Asmodia~? I''ve heard that you''re a rather lustful woman, so perhaps I could interest you in the pleasures of someone as acrobatic and nimble as I am~? I bet you''ve never been able to have-" Before it could escte some more, Belian let out a sigh and spoke up, cutting her off with a re as he said "Satanya, enough. I''d rather not have to worry about the lot of you trying to kill one another, so zip it. Luci, Leraie, please keep Satanya in check; Ronove, try to aid them if possible." Satanya - the Beliali woman - just clicked her tongue as the two other Demonesses grabbed her arms and pulled her back, restraining the woman before we could do anything else, with the man stepping between us with a small smile, shrugging his shoulders and trying to deescte the situation. "Satanya, was it? Touch me again and I''ll break your hand." Jahi red at the red skinned woman, who just smirked as she was released, her scarlet eyes sparkling as she replied "It''s a good thing I love~ pain in all its facets, Jahi~! Break me and fuck me at the same time~? I can take it all..." Her forked tongue glided across her lips as she eyed up the blue skinned Demoness hungrily, continuing to ignore the fact that Jahi was engaged to three other women as she tried to lure her over to herself, clearly wanting to bring union between the Asmodia''s and Beliali''s no matter what. Sheathing my de, I felt my lips curl into a sneer as I red at the amused woman, her attitude only angering me the more I stared at her, and Belian let out another sigh as he stepped into the center, standing beside Ronove and looking back towards us. As he did, I noted the way his expression froze for a moment, making me turn to see Leone being inspected closely by the Cimeriesa woman, whose Ritual Circle eyes shone with interest as she looked over the Princess. "Lady Ammit, please, let''s not antagonize the Princess..!" As if on cue, the two other Cimeriesa''s stepped forwards and retrieved the golden skinned Demoness, who struggled briefly before allowing them to take her, only so she could pull away and approach me next, staring closely at my face. "Ice... Interesting. Natural. Adorable." Her voice was raspy and low, contrasting the softness of her touch as she reached forwards and stroked my cheek, only to frown as I stepped back from her hand, the golden skinned Demoness tilting her head as she asked "Why? I can offer the same. Wouldn''t you be mine?" The fragmentation of her speaking was odd, though before I could answer her two retainers swiftly grabbed her again, the other Demoness sighing as she said "Sorry, she''s... unique. Lady Ammit, please, she is to be wed to Jahi Asmodia; she''s off limits." That only made the woman''s frown deepen, her unique eyes locked to mine as she said "Why, Nakith? I can offer the same as... her. So why not?" Turning to look at the Demoness holding her, Ammit tilted her head again, before looking towards the man as he said "Because, Lady Ammit, she is already... ''owned''. Jahi Asmodia has im to her, and will not revoke that im." He shed me an apologetic smile at the rather crude exnation of what the rtionship between Jahi and I was, but it made Ammit nod as she muttered "Fine, Setem. I understand." We all breathed out a sigh of relief, only to watch as the woman approached Jahi and asked "I want her. What can I give to have her?" Satanya just snorted, while Jahi narrowed her eyes at Ammit, who stared up at her without flinching, even as Jahi''s growl and golden gazended directly on her. "You. Can''t. Have. Her." "Even... if I give myself to you? My everything? Is she worth more than me?" The red skinned Demoness cackled, stepping forwards past her guards again - something that I noticed should have been impossible, since she was firmly behind them and being watched by them - and said "Yeah, is this beautiful, sinful, gorgeous Dogkin worth more then two fine Demonesses~? Two Demonesses who are in their ''prime'' and ready for union~?" All three ns were represented here, and their personality was but on full disy as Jahi just sneered, even as Satanya smirked and pulled Ammit into her side, unting their bodies for Jahi and hoping to capture her fancy. Chapter 734 733: Meeting of Demons (4) Chapter 734 733: Meeting of Demons (4) "Oh for fucks sake..! Satanya, Ammit! For the love of all that is holy, please do NOT piss off Jahi enough to the point that she''ll kill you!" Belian lunged forwards and pushed Jahi back before doing the same to the red and golden Demonesses, keeping himself between the three of them and wearing an exasperated expression as he kept his eyes trained on Jahi primarily, who was ring at the other two with those golden eyes of hers. We stood beside her as well, making the red skinned man grit his teeth as he observed the four of us for a moment before looking back at the other two, those brown eyes of his filled with a myriad of conflicting emotions as he remained between us. "Damnit... Nakith, Luci, hold onto these two for me, will you?! I''d rather not have to exin how they both got themselves killed for self induced idiocy!" The red skinned woman smirked as she stared at Belian, her scarlet eyes deadly serious as she ''innocently'' asked "You''ve said that twice now... Kill us? You think this fresh out of the womb brat could even so much as scratch me?" Her sudden personality flip made Belian sigh, and he just fixed Satanya with an equally serious stare as he answered "Perhaps not kill you, but I don''t doubt that an Asmodia would cause significant harm to either of you. To both of you. Do you not recall just how tenacious and stubborn they are? Have you allowed all of your teachings to slip from one ear to another, lost forever?" Satanya just narrowed those eyes, her smirk widening as she looked from Belian to Jahi, who was just smoldering silently beside us, her muscles clenched and disying her readiness to leap at either of them. Ammit was seemingly confused by this entire ordeal, the golden skinned woman tilting her head to the side as she looked at all of us, those intricate eyes doing little to convey emotions besides disying thetent power behind them, which seemed to only add to her confusion. "Sure, the Asmodeucian''s were tenacious bastards and strong to boot, but you expect me to believe some mixed blood whelp centuries removed from that greatness is the same?" She just scoffed as she red at Jahi, only looking back at Belian as the head of her own n nodded, replying "If you truly think that, you''re more of an idiot than I thought, Satanya. ''Mixed'' blood means nothing. Demon blood does not ''mix''. It just exists. She is a Demoness through and through, with the bonuses of Elven blood. Like her Mom has the bonuses of Elf and Orc before her. And where did that ''mixed blood whelp'' end up? Strong enough to level Arx Impius on her own if she was pissed enough. So go reevaluate what you know before you find yourself wondering why your head isying on the ground before you could even blink." The steadiness and assuredness of the red skinned man''s voice made Satanya''s eyes widen, the sincerity in her n Head''s tone and how unwavering his stare was forcing her to step back, where Luci and Rovone grabbed her, leading her away from us. As for Ammit, she was quietly speaking to Nakith, who was doing her best to exin what was happening to her Lady, who seemed far more bearable to be around if only because of her... absentmindedness. Following the cooling Satanya away, we were left with only Setem and Leraie, both of whom seemed rather embarrassed by what had just happened. "That... my apologies; I didn''t think Satanya would be that adamant with her desires to feel you four out. Everything is a game to her; the problems of a sharp, proud mind, I''m afraid. Ammit, on the other hand, is just... troubled. Like you saw, she has an impressive, nearly unobtainable mastery over her mana, but she became far too ambitious a few years back. Tried to enchant her brain, and while it was a sess in the general sense, she... did damage to it. Still, all it has caused is a rather simplemindedness with most things, but she retains her ability toprehendplicated subjects perfectly; justcks amunicative factor." Letting out a sigh, the Head of the Beliali n gave us a wry smile, which only fell away as he noted how Jahi stared at him uncaringly, clearly not impressed by the background of the two Demonesses we had just met. "Listen, I know that they''re both rather... unique and slightly insufferable, but please try to just... I would ask if you would ept it and deal with it, but I think I''ll settle for your word that you won''t kill them? This journey is their''s to undertake, and no one else''s. It''s a test of their ability to lead andmand those under them. I do apologize for that, really, but..." I took a deep breath, cooling off my own emotions, something that Anput and Leone did as well, though Jahi remained adamant about her stance, still staring at Belian silently, though she looked away as Leone said "We shall try. It was certainly a rocky first start, but they are not only an integral part of the Empire, but also... family. To a degree. No promises that they''ll returnpletely unharmed, but..." The Vampire took another deep breath as she clenched and unclenched her fists, making a show of reining herself in before smiling at Belian, who gave her a smile in return, the older, more experienced man epting the proffered olive branch. "I''ll have a talk with Satanya some more, and see if perhaps my sister could get to her better then I could. Again, really, I am sorry for her crass behavior Jahi, I really am." Patting out his leather coat, the man let out another sigh before giving Jahi a small smile, a hint of mischievousness appearing in those normally warm brown eyes as he added "Though, perhaps a disy of your physical prowess might curb her enthusiasm somewhat? At the end of the day, a Demon still respects strength above all else, and the Asmodeucian''s were renowned for a strength that put Orcs, Elephantkin, Rhinokin and others to shame; to the point that many said those races were like ants in front of our blue skinned cousins. A show of that same strength might just do you some good. Now, if you''ll excuse me, I''ll go and enjoy a chat with Satanya and my sister." Leraie and Setem bowed to Belian as he passed, though the red skinned Demoness stood up quickly and said "Lord Belian! The Madam is awaiting your return eagerly as always. And she asked if she might be allowed to meet the Princess and Begum?" Belian stopped and raised a brow, replying "Since when has Tabitha needed my permission to do anything? I''ve never needed to ''control'' her like that, and even if I had, she''d never listen anyways! Stubborn old goat..." We all looked at the muttering Demon for a few moments, who was rubbing his jaw and shaking his head, only to freeze as he noticed that our attention was still on him, and that it was asionally slipping to something behind him. "I... She''s behind me, isn''t she? Tabitha, I mean..." "As opposed to..? Were you expecting some surprise Mistress to wee you back, you red skinned swindler?!" A sharp, sonorous voice cracked like a whip through the air, making Belian jump a little before turning around hastily, raising his hands and smiling helplessly at the woman who had appeared, hoping to appease the unique - and equally dangerous - wrath of a wife who felt scorned. "No no! Of course not Tabitha dear~! You''re my one and only, you know that~!" We watched as Belian - the Head of an entire Demon n and Knight of Cinder - tried to appease his wife, each of us smiling as the former serious atmosphere melted away. Chapter 735 734: Tabitha Chapter 735 734: Tabitha Tabitha, the woman that Belian was wed to and technically the Madam of the entire Beliali n, was a gorgeous woman that looked just as regal and elegant as her station would suggest, though her sensuality wasn''t able to be hidden despite her style of dress and attempts to keep herself under wraps. Her skin was a smooth caramel color,pletely unblemished and untouched by age, weather or makeup, the Goatkin womanpletely natural and still this perfect. Slightly chubby cheeks rested on either side of her plump lips, while the button nose and rounded, almond shaped eyes further added to her soft and gentle features, though her startling blue eyes with the horizontal pupil were sharp andden with wisdom. Long brown hair was pulled into a tight braid, and in the sun her hair was speckled with gold, both naturally and with the various golden pins that kept her hair in ce; the braid was allowed to snake down over her left shoulder and rest atop her chest, its roots running between the two curled goat horns that started near her temples and curled up and down towards the back of her skull. Her body was d in a beautiful blue dress that hugged her bountiful curves closely, the cloth matching her eyes and ented with more gold that put her position on disy in a tasteful way; one look at the long blue dress would tell you that she had money, and paired with her serious expression and unwavering blue eyes, it was clear she was important as well. On her chest was a golden symbol that represented the Beliali n; a golden rod ran down between her cleavage, with arge sphere resting on the upper half of the rod, bisected cleanly in two parts, while arger semi circle divided that sphere in two again, pointing upwards like a pair of horns that ran perpendicr to the rod. A simple symbolprised of three shapes, the insignia of the Beliali n was disyed proudly on the Goatkin''s chest, as well as on the bangles that dangled from her fluffy ears, which looked simr to an Elf''s except... well, fluffy. Stepping forwards, the Goatkin woman looked up at her husband, her height simr to my own at around six feet, though the aura around her made even the strong Knight of Cinder cower slightly, the smile on his face strained as she forced him to stare her in the eyes. "Surely you didn''t think I had been grooming and preparing a new woman to be wed to you while you were away?" Her sonorous voice made Belian''s smile falter, the Demon instantly shaking his head as he replied "No, of course not dear! Why would I ever need someone besides yourself?! My one and only Tabitha, the woman who holds my heart in her hands?!" She narrowed her slitted eyes, saying "My old, wrinkled hands? ''Stubborn old goat'' was it? If I''m old are you not positively ancient, dear husband? If I recall correctly, you are thirty years my elder. Should I be referring to you as such?" Belian barely had time to shake his head before Tabitha continued on, her voice still just as scathing as she added "Perhaps its time for you to consider stepping down then, since you''re a fossil and all? I''m sure the n could produce someone worthy of assuming your mantle, no?" He shook his head again, a stiff smile remaining on his lips as he tried to think of a way out of this situation, only to let out a relieved sigh as Tabitha stepped forwards and pulled him into a hug, the Goatkin resting her head against his chest. "Wee home, dear." The sharpness to her voice was gone, and the Demon reached down and embraced her back, relief writ clearly on his features as he muttered "It''s good to be home, my love..." Of course, he yelped as soon as she pinched his waist, the momentary glimpse of the loving wife gone as the Madam returned, the Goatkin saying "If you had TOLD me we were expecting such honoredpany, I could have had a sufficient feast prepared! For the first time in what, nearly a century, an Asmodia is gracing these walls?! And you just SHOW UP WITHOUT AN ANNOUNCEMENT?!" She fixed Belian in ce with a rather impressive re before letting out a sigh, collecting herself as she turned to us with a smile, the gentle Goatkin recing the rather... scathing one from before. "I apologize for earlier; I saw Satanya storm off, so I can only assume she did something unbing of not only a Lady, but a member of the Beliali n. If I had known-" ncing back at her husband, the Goatkin narrowed her eyes for a moment before looking back at us, smiling once more and grabbing the hems of her dress as she said "Such honoredpany was to be joining us, I would have prepared something worthy of your stations. But, sadly that isn''t the case. However, I would still like to wee the Princess, Begum, Baroness and of course, the Scion of Asmodia to Arx Impius. Please, enjoy your stay here, however temporary it may be." Giving us a curtsy, the Madam of n Beliali smiled before turning towards Setem and Nakith, ordering them in a curt tone that brooked no questions from the two Demons. "Setem, head to the Aedis and inform the others that we have guests, and have something prepared; Nakith, find where Satanya is and have her sent to my office. We need to have... a little chat, it would seem." Seeing the two Demons hurry off to do her bidding, the Goatkin smiled at us once more before gesturing towards the gigantic temple behind her, saying "I understand you have little time to spend on anything besides the tasks at hand, however I would prefer if you departed tomorrow morn instead of tonight. I would despise sending you off with brewing hostilities; it isn''t bing of the Demon ns. So please, join us for dinner and rest for tonight." We looked towards Jahi, the decision lying with the Demoness who was the head of our own family, though it seemed she was leaving the decision to us as well, making me sigh softly before giving the Goatkin a curtsy of my own, my training as a maid still as engraved into my skull as ever before. "It would be a pleasure, Madam Tabitha, to stay inside Arx Impius for even just a night." Chapter 736 735: Arx Impius (1) Chapter 736 735: Arx Impius (1) "My apologies, but I should take care of Satanya and make sure she understands the severity of the situation she is in now, so I shall leave you with my dear husband to guide you around inside the Aedis. Please, look around and take in the rich history inside our walls." Tabitha gave us a nod and nced at her husband,municating with her blue eyes and making sure the man got the message before she walked away, heading into the gigantic monochromatic temple and leaving our sight. We stood in silence for a few moments after her departure, before I nced at Belian and raised a brow, the man coughing as I said "So... I assume she is the one with the pants in this rtionship of yours~?" The older Demon rubbed his jaw before gesturing towards the temple, saying "So the Aedis is a historic site as well as the crux of Arx Impius. If I recall correctly, it was built by the earliest settlers of this region, and the three ns came together to fortify this area even more, forming the start of Arx Impius. Now, inside..." Ignoring my question, Belian led us into the Aedis, taking the time to exin whatever he could as we awaited the summons for dinner, continuing to dodge the various barbed questions and verbal jabs that we teasingly sent his way. "This painting here is of the third Belian, which is four predecessors before me; I''m the seventh Belian, and we''ve no rtion to one another besides being inside the Beliali n. And on either side you can see the third heads of the other two ns as well; Apophis of the Cimeriesa n and Kabandha of the Asmodeucian n. The traits remain strikingly simr despite these being nearly a millennia old at this point; the red, yellow and blue skin remains the same, and each is clearly of those respective ns. The sharp smirk and calcting gleam in Belian''s eyes, the wisdom and Ritual Circles on Apophis'' face, and the derisive sneer and muscles of Kabandha." We stopped in front of a trio of paintings, which Belian dove into some more, clearly enjoying this opportunity to flex his historical knowledge. "These three were rather influential figures at the time of their reign. Belian had negotiated a deal with the then Sultan to keep the eastern borders a peaceful ce for a short period of time, something that had been seen as impossible thanks to Sultan Idris having a bloodthirsty personality. It was thanks to the brute strength of Kabandha that Belian was able to sit the Sultan down and strike out a deal, while the Cimeriesa''s sweetened the pot by trading the abundance of Mana Crystals they had with the Sultanate in exchange for some of the rare alchemical flora that grew in the few oasis that dotted the harsh desert." "So is my Mom also the seventh head of ''Asmodeucian'' n, or..?" That made Belian frown, the man staring at the paintings for a few seconds more before answering "No. She''s the ninth or tenth... I''d need to look deeper into it, honestly, since the Asmodeucian n''s history isn''t as documented as ours - for obvious reasons. After Durukti lost her life in the Labyrinthian, the position of n Head was in constant flux; constant inparison to our ns, anyways." Pursing his lips, he thought on it for a few more seconds, eventually adding "Chordeva is the ninth, which would make you the tenth, Jahi, whenever that timees. Between Kabandha and Chordeva, there''ve been a few notables; Durukti, obviously, but there was also Putana, a fearsome and rather deadly warrior who held back the swarms of the Cults inside the Human Kingdoms - which were primarily Beastkin at the time - for a month straight without rest. She killed tens of thousands of Cultists and dozens of Fiends before eventually managing to cull the worst of them, only toter sumb to her wounds, each of which were inflicted by said Fiends" "I''ll be the tenth? It''s... weird to think that there''ve been nine heads of a single n over the span of nearly two millennia, right? Or in the case of your ns, seven..." Belian chuckled, nodding and continuing to lead us around the various high ceilinged hallways that ringed around the inside of the Aedis, each oneden with various pieces of art and trinkets that held important pieces of history for all three of the Demon ns. "Well, when you pair an incredible suite of skills and immense strength and life force with a Core filled with so much mana that you can live for four plus centuries with ease, upwards of a millennia if you''re strong enough? Of course, that expected lifespan means nothing to warriors; I''ve seen some promising, talented warriors die young, and I''ve seen cowards live multiple centuries. It''s not difficult to lose your life in this world, least of all as a warrior. Keep that in mind... though I think you''ve all already gotten a taste of the lethality of this world once before. Especially you, Katherine." I nodded as I continued to take in the various artifacts and paintings of the Demon ns, my thoughts drifting briefly to Jillian and her attempts to kidnap me and bring harm to Jahi. Even now I felt my blood boil at the mere thought of that Elf, and my fingers itched to be wrapped around her neck, wringing it out until she was limp in my grasp. But, thinking about her was unpleasant, and I decided to just take in the various things around me instead as we walked through the Aedis, learning more about the Demon ns as we awaited the feast that was being prepared for our arrival and visit. Alongside that feast, perhaps we would get a deeper assurance that Satanya wouldn''t be as much of an antagonizing prick to us all in the future, and that she would learn to maintain and respect boundaries. Chapter 737 736: Arx Impius (2) Chapter 737 736: Arx Impius (2) "Howrge is the Aedis anyways? This ce seems... really, reallyrge. Like, asrge as the Pce..." Anput looked around with a curious gaze, her obsidian eyes scanning the various pale white columns that stretched up the walls and various archways that supported the sheer mass of this structure, voicing the question we all had in mind at the moment. "The Aedis is almost a quarter of a mile long on each side, and roughly two hundred feet high. And before you try to wonder how it is possible, just understand that magic can do wonderful things when understood so deeply and intimately. Besides that, the Aedis was built during an... age of abundance for us Demons, an age that hasn''t been achieved in a long time, though we have gotten close. Imagine, resources that the Asmodeucian, Beliali and Cimeriesa ns could pull together when they ruled this entire swathe ofnd!" Belian swept his arms around and gestured towards the gigantic halls that we were upying, the sheer size of the Aedis now known in dimensions even if we still could barelypute what that would look like, with Leone shaking her head slightly as she said "It''s almost the same size as the Pce... That''s... incredible. Even more so when this was built without the support of an entire mountain to help keep it stable. That just goes to show how great the craftsmen back then were." "Indeed, indeed! The Asmodeucian''s were rather adept with all forms of physical crafting, be it forging - which was by far their speciality - construction, leather working... they were really good at it all, apparently. Rather hands on type of people. The Cimeriesa''s enchanted each brick that made this glorious temple, the Asmodeucian''sid those bricks and created something wonderful..." "And the Beliali''s did..?" Jahi smirked at the red skinned man, watching as he coughed into his fist as he looked away, saying "We procured the extra materials through trade! The Beliali n contributed quite a lot as well!" We all snickered as he walked further into the Aedis, showing us a few more paintings, sculptures and trinkets that lined the walls, giving us the tour that he seemed to have always wanted to give before being interrupted by Nakith, who approached us from one of the many side halls that led into the main one, the yellow skinned Demoness stopping in front of us and bowing to Belian as she said "The Madam wanted me to inform you that the feast will be ready in a few minutes. And... she has talked with Lady Satanya, though it remains to be seen if Lady Satanya has learnedher lesson just yet or not." "Ah, alright. Thank you, Nakith. It''s in the main hall, correct?" "It is, Lord Belian. The Madam has asked for arge quantity of food to be prepared as well to make sure the convoy is sent off properly. There should be more than enough for everyone to eat their fill and then some." Giving another bow, the woman turned and left us alone again, leaving Belian to continue guiding us through the Aedis and taking us towards the hall that was hopefully filled with delectable foods - we had spent most of the daying towards Arx Impius, and as such, we were quite hungry. "Besides being ratherrge, and filled with an incredible amount of history, the Aedis was built to be a singr stronghold to withstand siege against nearly anyone. Some specte it was done in such a way that even the Empress might struggle to take it, though the Demon ns never actually fought against her; we hade to respect and revere her almost as soon as we had trulye into contact with her. As such, the Aedis was constructed with the idea of housing hundreds upon thousands of people at a time, and as long as we maintain our food stores at a high enough capacity, the Aedis can serve as the perfect ce to weather a siege for... upwards of three months, though if we had a Nature Mage in here as well..." Belian fell silent as he stopped in front of arge set of double doors, the wood engraved with a nice floral pattern that covered the entire surface, adding to the rich dark wood and creating a sense of anticipation as Belian pushed them open. Behind the doorsid an enormous, open hall filled with long tablesden with food and drink, the room illuminated by the dozens of chandeliers and candbras that lined the ceiling and walls, while orbs of warm orange me driftedzily through the air, keeping the entire hall lit up enough that you could see and appreciate the hall, but dim enough that you weren''t blinded by the light. Dozens of Demons rested on the benches inside, their red and yellow skin reflecting the orange light as they chatted quietly amongst themselves, while a few Beastkin and other non Demons sat around alongside them, and we noted that they were mostly women - or futanari, who knows. As soon as the doors opened, the crowd of people fell silent, turning to stare at us with curiosity dancing in their eyes, each of them wondering just what the Scion of Asmodia was like... as well as what her fiancees were like too. Seated at the far table - which was perpendicr to the other tables - was the Madam of the Beliali n as well as the Head of the Cimeriesa n, both of whom sat side by side and looked towards us as we entered, with the Madam standing up and donning a small smile as she beckoned her husband forwards, before raising a wine ss and saying "Everyone, raise a ss for the glorious return of Asmodeucian Blood to the Aedis! Wee the Scion of Asmodia to her ancestral home and shower her in the same pleasantries that you would for any of your kinsman! Let us show her the warmth of our hearth and wee her back into the fold!" Chapter 738 737: Arx Impius (3)

Chapter 738 Chapter 737: Arx Impius (3)

Everyone in the hall lifted their sses, staring at us with curious smiles and anticipation as they watched us walk towards the main table, Belian guiding us towards the Madam and the Cimeriesa n Head, who stood up as well and stared at us. Like Ammit, the woman in front of us was radiating an absurd amount of mana, and just like Ammit she had unique eyes, though unlike the gold skinned absentminded Demoness, the eyes that looked our way were filled with an astounding intelligence and sharp wit, as well as with a dangerous gleam that felt like the woman was staring not at living, breathing people, but instead at walking objects waiting to be experimented on. One eye was a ming orb that sparked at random, the embers each containing miniature runes that fluctuated in power, while the other was a beautiful, verdant emerald green, the sphere of wind rotating gently inside her eye socket and seemingly linked to the ming orb, with small gusts of its wind snaking across her nose and into the mes, stoking them. A crown of horns nested on top of her head, with eight in total; two were small knobs above her eyes, another two sprouted from her temples and curled back above her head, running parallel to her spine, and thest four hugged her skull tightly and came down above and below her ears, which were slightly pointed and supporting two small dangle earrings. Her hair had azure streaks through it, the vibrant blue mixing into her deep inky ck hair that was allowed to flow freely down her back, unsupported by anything. Thin and tall, the woman was just as regal as the Madam beside her, though the jagged gold bolt of lightning that acted as a staff contrasted the elegant appearance somewhat, its form savage and fierce. "Jahi Asmodia... You look every bit like Chordeva, though those sharp ears and your eyes are undoubtedly your Mothers. I doubt your dearest Mom ever spoke of any of us... least of all me." The voice that slipped past her pursed lips was filled with mana, reminding me of the Cultists who had used invocations instead of spells, while the flickering mana beneath her skin made it clear she was a master with those as well. Her two magical eyes were locked on Jahi, who smiled at the woman and gave a slight bow, answering "You are correct in that assumption, Lady..?" "Hathor. My name is Hathor, and I am the Head of the Cimeriesa n." Picking up the ss on the table, the serious woman raised it alongside the Madam, who was studying the Demoness beside her with an inscrutable gaze, the Goatkin disying her experience with these intriguing people. "Like Tabitha said, I wee you to your ancestral home, Jahi. The halls that were built thanks to thebors of your ancestors, the walls that were defended with their blood and their lives... you will always be allowed to return, even if you are no longer apart of the ns." Jahi just nodded, keeping pace behind Belian as the man guided us to the table and gestured towards the seats that were opposite of the Madam and Lady Hathor, as well as a few others; Satanya and Ammit included. Taking our seats, the rest of the hall sat back down again and began to fill their tes, ncing at the main table as they listened to whatever was being said... which was slightly annoying, butpletely understandable as they began to murmur to one another about the Scion of Asmodia, wondering what their long lost ''cousin'' would be like. "If you don''t mind me asking, why exactly would my Mom have not told me about you in particr? Not like she was telling me about any of this at all, and the general knowledge on the Demon ns is rather limited..." Lady Hathor nodded, slicing a sirloin with elegant movements as she looked back towards Jahi, though she briefly nced at Ammit beside her, the younger yellow Demoness staring at her te nkly for a few moments before blinking as Nakith beside her began to pile some food on her te for her, surprising the younger woman. "It is because - between both of our ns - I was the woman who was closest in age to Chordeva and the only one who was attracted to her. The others were lost in their own studies or already wed, leaving me to pursue her in hopes of attaining a union between the Demon ns again; between the Cimeriesa''s and the Asmodia''s, anyways. The problem was... I was young and dumb. Blinded by my ambitions and far too certain that logic ruled everything in this world. Logically,pared to your Mother, I was the superior magician and perfectlypatible to be Chordeva''s wife. Demon blood with Demon blood has a bit of a higher sess rate than other races, albeit by a minuscule amount. The problem that popped up was that the idea of wedding your Mom led me to a new vein of research, and one that is admittedly far too dangerous and idiotic to pursue; the nurturing of a baby whilst it is still in the womb in a different way. Sustaining it on mana and ''purifying'' it through that mana. My research was - and shall ever remain - entirely theoretical, but when I brought it up to Chordeva, she made it evidently clear that if I even suggested something like that when we were married, she would personally kill me as slowly as she possibly could. After that, she distanced herself from me, and understandably so." Belian coughed gently, looking towards Lady Hathor and adding "You also asked if she was willing to participate in a ''breeding program'', where you would bring forwardspatible women for her to seed regrly... and you didn''t care if they were willing or not. In other words, Hathor, you were sociopathic and utterly deranged. You saw your union as nothing more then some new way to research magic, and to someone who already had no remaining family, of course that would be a no go." Lady Hathor nodded, not arguing with Belian whatsoever despite the obvious insult aimed at herself, though she did say "And was your sister not simr in that regard? And is she still not? I seem to recall your sister asking if she could participate, only if it was because she wanted to use the child to control Chordeva and bring the Asmodia''s back to Arx Impius..." "I never tried to im that my sister was sane, now did I? Why do you think I am Belian and she is not, despite her being far more skilled than I ever will be?" My gaze alternated between the two, before they fell on the wine ss in front of me, making me sigh softly as I reached for it and brought it to my lips, understanding that I would be needing this for tonight... In fact, Anput and Leone were also mirroring me, sipping on the luscious pale gold liquid and enjoying the familiar burn of alcohol - though I suspect Anput was drinking just to drink... Chapter 739 738: Arx Impius (4)

Chapter 739 Chapter 738: Arx Impius (4)

"Well, my past with Chordeva aside, I think we should speak of the here and now instead of times long past. The Empress found it inside her magnanimous heart to award the Beliali and Cimeriesa ns the entirety of the Tragon Kingdom, and the Asmodia''s would have been awarded that as well, however..." Lady Hathor stared at Jahi pointedly for a moment before looking to the side, taking in the side profiles of Belian and the Madam, who were taking this moment to eat. "Chordeva refused thend in exchange for coin, which leaves therge Kingdom to us to cultivate and nurture into something our Empress can be proud of; something worthy of her trust in us. It was Belian''s idea to invite some outside help to contain and cull the monster poptions down on the southern border, and we agreed. We didn''t know that it would be the Scion of Asmodia joining us though..." The Madam nodded, sipping on her wine before adding "Initially we believed he was bringing a Knight or two over to aid us. That, or perhaps a contingent of soldiers to act as muscle. As such, we were fully prepared to have to negotiate over the pay for this uing venture, but as a show of good faith to you and your fiancees, Lady Jahi, we are willing to let you keep everything you find in those Dungeons, whilst also offering to pay anything extra should your services be required for Nogart or any of the cities leading towards the Capital of Tragon." I nced at Jahi, who was tapping her finger against the side of her wine ss, the Demoness'' amethyst eyes focused on the Madam and Lady Hathor, making a point to ignore the narrowed eyes of Satanya or the curious, almost empty eyes of Ammit. She was giving it some serious thought, and each moment that passed was strained with silence, the hall waiting to hear her answer and wondering what she was thinking. "That sounds more than eptable, Madam Tabitha, Lady Hathor. On the condition that you have both talked to your respective... envoys about their behavior going forwards? I don''t appreciate those coveting what is mine... even in jest." We all nodded, looking back across the table and staring pointedly at Satanya, who''s lip curled up into an arrogant sneer as she red back at us, the woman''s sharp fangs gleaming in the light. "That we have, and we will do so again, if needed. Those of us who are old enough aren''t willing to test the stubbornness of an Asmodia, let alone willingly draw their ire. Hathor can attest to just how long an Asmodia can remain... spiteful. Rightfully so, of course." Lady Hathor just nodded quietly, picking at her food for a moment as her multicolored eyes grew distant, making me wonder if she had actually wanted to be by the Marquess'' side - even now. The Marquess was certainly a catch that most woman would yearn for, but does that hold true for someone as powerful and influential as herself? It was... interesting to think about, and it made me nce at Jahi as I wondered if I would feel the same should we have grown apart during the early years; would I have tried to make a return to her side even after all that time? Sensing my gaze, the Demoness turned to look at me and smiled, her features softening as she patted my thigh, turning back to the others a momentter and meeting the various looks that the Demon''s gave her; Belian had a small smirk, the Madam remained neutral - albeit her eyes shone with understanding and appreciation - while Satanya and Lady Hathor both frowned slightly, for different reasons. "What''s the n for Tragon anyways? Surely you aren''t keeping it the same? When we were there for the Crusade, thend was untouched and waiting to be used... for anything. There are certainly ore deposits situated beneath the earth, there''s the expanses of fertile soil, some forests that likely are teeming with wildlife..." "The first thing we need to do - and the reason we are sending a small, yet elite convoy over first - is to make sure everything is clear and ready to be upied. We need an assessment on the cities, thend, and the Dungeons before we make any real moves. When you reach Nogart, the main thing that you will be doing is surveying the city and taking in its facilities. Can it properly house enough people, sustain those people, and provide other things for those people? Are the buildings still standing and rtively usable, are any survivors sheltering within its walls? We need to make sure that the Kingdom is ready to ept its new rulers and understands what is happening, and the best ce to start is their capital." Lady Hathor nodded at Belian''s words, adding "This is merely an expeditionary force. Satanya and Ammit are to head it, with Laraie, Luci and Ronove aiding Satanya and Nakith and Setem aiding Ammit. The seven of them were to work together and further their bonds on this trip, so that if they ever take over as important members of the n, they have a better taste of the responsibilities required of them. Now with you here, they get to learn how to work with outsiders as well, so that they might learn how to not antagonize those that could be helpful to them and potential allies in the future." The n Head of the Cimeriesa''s nced at Satanya as she said that, making the young Demoness let out a huff as she crossed her arms and looked away, much to the dismay of her three retainers. "Either way, this journey is needed in many different facets, and we are hopeful that you''ll help us on this diplomatic mission as well as potentially find it in your heart to rekindle the rtionships between our ns once more. Watching as the Asmodia''s have slowly dwindled down to naught but two remaining Demonesses was agonizing, even more so when Chordeva made it clear she wasn''t going to ept any help or aid from us..." "It''s three now, Lady Hathor. There are three Demonesses of House Asmodia; my Mom, myself, and my younger half sister Lakshmi." Murmurs erupted around the hall at that, with the woman staring at us in silence for a moment before nodding, a small smile on her lips as she muttered "A half sister, hmm..?" "Congrattions, Lady Jahi. We had heard the news that Baroness Julie Zara was pregnant, but no one had confirmed the children that she bore, and who exactly was the other parents; if it was just Lady Ria, Lady Chordeva, or perhaps both?" Belian wore a strained smile as he said "Both... it was both. Twins; Lakshmi Asmodia and Alessandra Haniel..." Chapter 740 739: Arx Impius (5) Chapter 740 739: Arx Impius (5) Jahi PoV Dinner was a strained affair at best, and after Belian confirmed the birth of both my half sisters, the meal was bing slightly unptable, only because of how much of a sore subject that seemed to be. Which made sense, honestly, since Demons have such a low reproductive rate to begin with; hearing that Miss Julie had brought two different lives into the world at the same time from two separate races that had low reproductive rates likely made those inside the hall who were currently trying for a child rather glum about it. Though, I didn''t miss the way Lady Hathor reacted, the yellow skinned woman staring at me with a slightly wistful expression, one that was obvious in its meaning ever since she had muttered the words ''half sister''. She was thinking about seeing if Mom wanted to give her another chance now, since it was clear that Mom was no longer single mindedly pursuing only Mother now and was open to the idea of bringing in another woman to be her wife; it was something that had made me feel... odd recently, since I knew Mom wasn''t as against the idea as she stated she was, while Mother was rather adamant on ''owning'' Mom in her entirety. I doubt anything woulde of it, but seeing the woman in front of me who had the potential to be an Aunt to me was odd... even more so when I thought about theplications and benefits that such a matching would provide. That was also what made me wonder just how Lakshmi would grow up, and with whom she might find herself attracted to and eventually with; considering she had less social pressure and more freedoms then I ever would have, it was a peculiar problem, and it was one that made me look towards Ammit and Satanya with a slight frown, meeting the Ritual Circle eyes and scarlet eyes of the two women who were - presumably - around my age. Satanya red at me, the Beliali woman still clearly disliking the earlier confrontation between the two of us, and thoughts about my little sister finding herself with such a spiteful woman made me re back at her, a terrible taste permeating my mouth at the mere thought of it. Which left the air headed Ammit off to the side, who was still staring at me curiously, though her eyes trailed over to Kat asionally as she checked out my Dogkin fiancee, and I held back a low growl at her obvious interest in my woman. It was... infuriating, to say the least, especially when I knew that the woman wasn''t the most socially adept to realize she was doing something wrong. "Then might I ask about the ns for thend itself then? Belian suggested that the entire Kingdom was going to be converted into a new agricultural center of the Empire..?" Lady Hathor snapped out of her miniature trance as she narrowed her eyes slightly, staring at me for a moment before Madam Tabitha answered "Yes, most likely the majority of thend will be utilized as another breadbasket of the Empire, so that we might sustain this sudden expansion of our borders. But, Lady Jahi, please do remember that whilst we are excited and appreciative of your visitation and seeming interest in the ns, you are... still an outsider, and you will continue to be an outsider unless you return to the fold. I''m not trying to be rude, Lady Jahi, but it is just the truth." The Goatkin woman was giving me a serious stare, while Belian wore his usual smirk, though theck of any ''aid'' for myself was very apparent... not that I med him for it; I understood that I was unlikely to get an answer. So, I just shrugged and looked towards Satanya instead, shifting the conversation and deciding that it''d be best to get this out of the way first before it festers into something worseter on; something that might legitimately cause a rift between myself and these ''long lost'' members of my family. "Satanya, are we going to go about this diplomatic mission on friendly, professional terms, or are you going to make this into something that would make the journey unbearable and otherwise annoying for us both?" With the topic shifted away from the more sensitive prying that I had done, the mood lightened as everyone returned to normal, though now the air was filled with anticipation as all eyes turned towards the red skinned woman, who tilted her head to the side and sneered as she replied "Oh, I dunno... Can''t say I care for the attitude around the four of you; so stiff and serious. Even going so far as to threaten little ole me~? Yeah, I dunno about our ability to work together... though, I certainly wouldn''t be opposed to a good tussle in bed~!" Her forked tongue slid over her lips as she smirked at me, and I felt my lip curl into a sneer while goosebumps rippled through my arms, the red Demoness continuing to piss me off at every opportunity she got. "Satanya! Must you be so crude?! Even at a dinner table?!" Madam Tabitha turned and red at the young Demoness, while Lady Hathor frowned, her unique eyes shing with power for a moment. "Should we settle this with a fight then, Satanya? ''Cause if you keep saying things like that, I don''t think I''ll be able to stop myself from hitting you... and if you try to touch me again, I''ll break you." The hall was silent once more, though I could tell that - despite me clearly threatening someone who was important to these ns - everyone was leaning forwards in their seats, excitement filling the air. Even Ammit had a giddy smile as she looked between Satanya and I, the air headed woman staring at us with excitement and a giggle as she watched Satanya stand up, the Demoness grinning at me with a malicious gleam in her eye. "Oh~? You think you could hit me, brat?! Break me?! Let''s see if you can... or if you''ll be sent crying back to your Mother''s tit!" Chapter 741 740: Satanya Chapter 741 740: Satanya ? Raising a brow at the standing woman, I snorted as I pushed back my chair and stood up as well, meeting her scarlet gaze and asking "Aren''t you Beliali''s meant to have a sharp tongue? That was rather childish and blunt, Satanya." She sneered at me further, though I just shook my head as I looked to the side, where the center of the hall was; I had been hearing the sounds of wood scraping against the gstones, but upon turning my head I could see that the Demons were clearing out a space for Satanya and I to fight, making me wonder just how deeply fighting was ingrained into us Demons... Not that it mattered, since my knuckles were currently itching for the familiar burning pain of a fist fight, while my heart had already begun to beat quicker inside my chest, warming my entire body up as adrenaline began to course through my veins. Walking around the table, the Demoness red at me and shrugged off her leather coat, tossing it to one of the Demons standing around the open space that had been made and revealing her thin, yet toned arms, the woman still having the sharp aura of a warrior around herself. That sharp aura that was made even clearer as I took in the sleeveless ck top that was d to her torso, putting everything on disy without an ounce of shame, while the Demoness in question unbuckled her various des and handed them away as well. I mirrored her, unstrapping the dius that hung on my hip as well as taking the three extra daggers I had hidden away out, handing them to Anput as my Jackalkin fiancee stood behind me, her serious expression as she stared at Satanya with a neutral gaze making me snort quietly. In fact, both Kat and Leone had neutral gazes as well, their eyes locked on the red skinned Demoness as they prepared to watch the fight, though I could see both of their fingers twitching as they held themselves back; Kat was even more obvious for me, the smoldering anger that burnt deep inside herself made known to me thanks to our bond, though I gently sent her a reassuring bout of love to help her restrain herself. I also warned her to keep out, even if that made the Dogkin switch her stare from Satanya to myself, clearly dissatisfied with that ''order''. But, I didn''t think on it too much as I turned back to Satanya, who had taken a few steps forwards and lowered her stance slightly, the muscles in her calves bunching up noticeably. "Well, let''s get this over with then, shall we? Go ahead. Make the first move." I took a step towards her as well, and upon hearing my dismissive words the red skinned Demoness snarled "Don''t get too fucking arrogant now, reject." "Reject? For not being amongst the ns? I do believe the history books make it quite clear why the Asmodia''s are not here." Satanya didn''t reply, and most of the crowd frowned at the light jab sent their way, though no one said anything as they watched Satanya closely, wondering if she was going to make the first move or not. She didn''t disappoint,unching herself forwards at an incredible speed as she swung her fist forwards; not towards my face, nor towards my upper chest, but instead towards my kidneys. The Demoness fought ''dirty'' and with explosiveness, and she was damn quick; almost too quick, but as I stared at her closely I felt like she wasn''t moving as fast as she actually was. A benefit of training with not only Mom but also Lady Fenryas was making itself apparent more and more as I got into close quartersbat; few could match their speed, and since I had been blitzed by them multiple times before... Stepping back and to the side, I felt her fist slide just past my stomach, the Demoness stumbling forwards as her momentum carried her forwards, past me. Momentum that I aided as I grabbed her wrist and yanked backwards, adding some more and resetting the fight as we flipped sides. Spinning on her heel, the Demoness lunged back towards me like a feral animal, but even as she snarled at me she kept her body under control, using that explosiveness to leap up towards my head this time, her fist arcing towards my cheek. I winced slightly as I reached up and caught the punch, only to wince again as Satanya grinned at me, her other fist mming into my abdomen once, twice, three times in quick session, each punch holding an incredible amount of power for the short amount of distance they traveled. Squeezing her smaller hand in mine, I made that grin disappear as her metacarpals began to fracture and break, while her fingers slipped free from their sockets, making her hiss in agony as I destroyed her hand. As I let her hand go, I felt her knee m into the same spot on my abdomen, only for her to go flying as I swung straight against her jaw, the woman traveling a few feet before sliding across the ground. Rubbing at the spot on my side, I grimaced as I felt one of my lower ribs move freely, while the paining from the organs inside continued to grow; even with the immense pain ring from my side, I continued to walk over towards the other Demoness, who had barely managed to get to her feet, her eyes slightly hazy as blood trickled from her lips. I towered over her, and as my shadow fell across her face, Satanya looked up before finding herself on the ground again, with her knee bent an odd way as I mmed my boot into it before my fist collided with her jaw again. Taking a knee beside her, I dragged her up by her horn and wrapped my arm around her throat, flexing the muscle as I muttered "Three taps... If you surrender, tap my arm three times. Otherwise..." Squeezing her neck tighter, I ced my other hand on her shoulder and pushed gently, making her eyes widen as she felt her cervical vertebrae begin to distance themselves from one another, the muscles and discs beginning to strain as I applied just a bit more pressure, the threat obvious. If she didn''t surrender, I would yank upwards and end her life swiftly, the damage done to her spine sending the rest of her body into failure swiftly thereafter... She tapped my arm three times quickly, and I released her and stood up, looking down at the Demoness indifferently as I said "You''re quick, certainly, but without a de and some surprise, you''re weak. Understand that, ept that, and perhaps you''ll learn how to be stronger... or don''t. I don''t care either way." Chapter 742 741: Result Chapter 742 741: Result Standing up, I winced as I felt my side again, the pain from the internal damages continuing to grow in intensity as I moved around, though before I could take another step I felt a cool pair of hands overtop my own, and I looked down to see the ethereal blue eyes of my Dogkin lover staring up at me, a deep, chilly anger permeating her eyes as she began to swiftly heal me, the darker blue Water Mana seeping into my side and knitting the torn muscles and organs back together. Kat stared at me pointedly for a few moments before looking down towards Satanya, who was panting on the ground as she groggily cradled her shattered hand, the red skinned Demoness still struggling with what had just transpired. After cing a timed healing spell on my side, Kat crouched beside the woman and not so gently took her hand, making Satanya hiss in agony before freezing as she met the pale blue eyes of my lover, fear creeping into her eyes even as she got healed. Feeling another set of hands on my side, I turned to see Leone standing by my side now, the Vampire gently fussing over my injury as she tapped and felt out where the damage had been done,yering Kat''s spell with one of her own, while Anput watched Kat from my other side, a small smirk on her lips at Satanya''s current state. I missed the re that Kat gave Satanya, as well as the low whisper that no one but the woman herself heard, unaware of what made the cocky Demoness freeze and stare at Kat in horror before watching as the Dogkin stood up and made her way back towards me, those ghostly blue eyes stillpletely frigid as she stared up at me. "Well... that was a swift fight, now wasn''t it~? Did you learn your lesson, Satanya, or are you still ignorant about the differences between yourself and an Asmodia?" Belian stepped forwards and wore his cocky smile like always, looking down at the young member of his n without an ounce of pity in his eyes, simply staring at her neutrally as he awaited an answer. "I... I understand." Her voice, once so filled with confidence and life, was now barely more than a whisper, and the Demoness bit her lower lip as she stared at the ground, not looking at anyone. Ammit curiously approached her peer, crouching beside her and lifting her previous injured hand as she murmured quietly to the woman, who nodded and epted the god skinned Demoness'' hand as she lifted her up, before walking out of the hall together. Looking towards Belian and Lady Hathor, I asked "How old is Satanya anyways? You said she was my peer, and yet..." Snorting, Belian gave me a rxed grin as he answered "She''s naught but a few years older than you, Jahi. The difference between the two of you is... interesting. Two vastly different skillsets that are tailored towards different things; skillsets that were tuned over the millennia to fit our particr routes of ''evolution''. Quick witted, clever and slick, us Beliali''s focus on word games and sneaking around, leading towards abat style that relies on either riling our opponents up, orunching a surprise attack. As for the Asmodia''s... well, your Mom isn''t wrong; there is no need for fancy swordy, footwork or strategy in the face of sheer, brutal, unyielding strength. Where we might be able to lift a hundred pounds at the age of five, an Asmodia would easily double that on their worst day. Add onto that your unique Light Mana that has empowered your body steadily since you awakened your Core, and well... you have the differences between us made as clear as day. You, Jahi, are an absolute menace of physical strength... the same way a Cimeriesa is an absolute monster of magical prowess. The same way we are sharp minded and excellent tacticians." I nodded as I looked back down at Kat, who was still staring closely at my face, the Dogkin ignoring everything else as she leveled that dead stare straight at me, even after I raised a brow down at her. "Well, like I suggested, you all can depart tomorrow morn and make it to Nogart at noon or so... Until then, continue to look around, chat, drink... Nakith, Luci, take them to their rooms first, then stick with them please. Guide them wherever they wish to go. If you''ll excuse us, Lady Jahi, my husband and I have some business to settle." The Madam gave us a slight curtsy before grabbing Belian''s wrist and leading him away from the hall, with Lady Hathor nodding to us and saying "I''ll be in the library if you wish to chat, Lady Jahi, if you have any questions about... anything. Please, make use of the Aedis'' facilities as much as you wish. There are but a few ces that are off limits, but Nakith and Luci are capable of guiding you." With the two heads of the ns departing from the hall, many of the other Demons got up and began to tidy the ce up, grabbing their own tes and cups before heading deeper into the Aedis, leaving a few behind who stared at me with curiosity in their eyes, clearly wanting to ask a few questions or speak to me. Luci and Nakith both nced at me and gave me a small smile, watching as I pulled a chair over and sat down, my hands finding their way onto Kat''s waist as I pulled the Dogkin over next, ignoring her ethereal blue eyes as I gestured for the rest toe forwards, wondering if any of them were actually going to ask their burning questions... Though I didn''t need to wait long as they dragged their own chairs over and sat around me in a ring, nearly a dozen and a half Demons - red and yellow - staring at me with sparkling eyes, each one unique and learning forwards in their seats to ask their own set of questions. Chapter 743 742: Extended Family Chapter 743 742: Extended Family ? "Is it true that the Marquess canst nearly a full minute against Lady Fenryas?!" A red skinned boy leaned forwards and stared at me with wide eyes, his youth showing through as he almost fell out of his seat upon asking the question, causing most of us in the hall to snicker at his enthusiasm. "Around that long, yes. Though it really depends on just how angry Lady Fenryas is at the time; if its just a spar, then yes, a minute is fine, but if my Mom did something that annoyed Lady Fenryas, or she was already annoyed beforehand, it usually barelysts fifteen seconds..." His eyes only widened further as he let out a low ''woah...'' upon hearing that, making the rest of us chuckle once again. "Have you really been able to learn from the Empress like everyone has been saying in the rumors? I can''t imagine what that would be like... let alone being rted to her, like you are Lady Leone!" This time a yellow skinned woman gave us a wistful smile, making Leone blush slightly as the Princess just nodded her head, still getting used to dealing with the rxed attitude around us; it was moments like this where I realized that - outside of a few events here and there - none of us really had many ''Noble obligations'' to fulfill, so all of the practice Leone had done as a child was now being forgotten... Though it was honestly for the better, since I never wanted to deal with that stuffy, annoying atmosphere ever again; another thing that Mom and I share, I guess, with yet another thing being the blessing of having a wife who would be able to handle that side of our responsibilities easily enough. Mother was excellent in social settings, while Kat was... adept at donning a mask, which she had shown from our childhood until now. Leone as well, though the Vampire was - at heart - shy and rather reluctant to speak to new people openly, so... and we couldn''t rely on myself or Anput for those events, since neither of us cared too much about being ''Nobles'' and having ''grace'' and ''ss''. My ''ss'' was that I was stronger than you - and if I wasn''t currently stronger than you, I will eventually be stronger than you, and that''s all that matters; who cares about flowery words and being overly kind to those that don''t deserve it when you can just be yourself and not face any repercussions so long as you aren''t an idiot? That was something that my Mother was likely still trying to teach me to not do, but sadly for her stubbornness runs in my veins, and that stubbornness makes me not want to change unless it is absolutely necessary. More and more questions were asked of me, and I answered each to the best of my ability while also soothing the irritated Kat, who sat firmly on myp and refused to look away from my face as she made it clear she was rather annoyed at both myself and at Satanya; I could feel her emotions bubbling beneath her icy exterior as she itched to hurt the red skinned Demoness back, and while I would have agreed with her when we first met the woman, now that we had brawled it out... Well, so long as she learned her lesson, that te was wiped clean, and until she did something to dirty it again with her words, there was no need to seek out trouble with a woman who was - hopefully - reforming herself and reevaluating her position. Perhaps the simplemindedness of Ammit will convince her to look at things at face value instead of trying to scheme something out of myself or my women... or perhaps she is just as stubborn as I am, and won''t change because she sees no reason to change. Eventually though, the constant stare from Kat became far too much for me as I sat there, so I stood up and smiled at the various Demons around myself, saying "I''ve enjoyed this immensely, and it''s been nice meeting all of you, but I have a few things I need to take care of... though I think afterwards I will definitely be taking a tour of the Aedis and some of Arx Impius, just to assuage my curiosity." They all nodded, a few wearing knowing smirks as they stared at Kat, who''s eyes were still that crystalline blue that send shivers down their spines, so they got up as well and began to put the hall back to its previous position, with Nakith and Luci standing up to guide us towards our room, the two Demonesses also understanding just what things I needed to ''take care of''. Anput and Leone walked behind me as I followed the two Demonesses, taking the time to view more of the sprawling Aedis that we found ourselves in, the various artifacts around catching my eyes as we walked. A shield with arge dent on its left side and a long, jagged scratch mark down its center hung on the wall, with the card beneath it reading ''Shield of Beryllie Beliali, famed warrior and honored Centurion of the me Tongue Legion'' Beneath the name was a list of various battles and opponents the shield had witnessed, and it was an artifact disying the devotion and bravery of one of the many members of the Beliali n over the years, something that I could appreciate. Nearby was a pen, the card beneath that describing the aplishments of the peacemaker who had ''wielded'' it, the variousws, treaties and negotiations that it had ben used in listed just like the battles and opponents beneath the shield. Each thing that rested inside these walls held history that meant something more to me, each piece of art, each item and each list of deeds painting arger picture of the extended family I had never been able to meet, and each of those things that I saw made me seriously think about how to go about this deployment with Satanya and Ammit; how should I act and how should I react to them going forwards? Did I want to rejoin these ''long lost cousins'' of mine and learn more about them and ingratiate myself to them so that I could... eventually, maybee back to be with my own people? To reignite the spark of the Asmodeucian n, perhaps? I wasn''t entirely sure just yet, and each second spent inside the Aedis made that decision just that much harder... --- Didn''t n on being here for long, but here we are lol; shouldn''t be much longer till we go to the Tragon Kingdom though, so don''t worry~! --- Chapter 744 743: Setting Things Straight Chapter 744 743: Setting Things Straight "We will uh... be in the room just across the way, Lady Jahi, so... if you desire to roam around once more, just knock and we''ll answer." Nakith gave me a small, awkward smile as she and Luci turned and entered their own room, leaving the four of us to turn and enter the one that we were given for tonight. It was a spacious, dual room suite that had an attached bath, though it was still smaller than the rooms in the Pce by arge amount; however, it was a nice set of rooms, and as we entered I dragged Kat over towards the couch and sat her down on myp again, staring intently at my puppy as I asked "Now are you going to keep etching my gorgeous visage into your brain or will you finally say what''s got you so... riled up?" Those ethereal blue eyes narrowed as the Dogkin stared at me closely, before Kat finally looked away with a slight sigh, her cheeks puffing up a tiny amount as she let that frosty, rigid exterior drop, even if her eyes remained just as icy. "Why''re you so fine with how... with how insolent she was?!" The Dogkin''s hiss made me raise a brow, my mind short circuiting for a brief moment as I tried toprehend just what she meant, only to have to sigh as I asked "You mean... why am I now fine with how Satanya acted and the things she said before I threatened to kill her?" Kat nodded, her gaze plummeting further at the reminder of Satanya''s ''crimes'', which made me chuckle as I stroked her back idly, soothing the Dogkin as best I could. "It''s simple, really. I''ve shown her that I am stronger than her, shown her that I don''t want her, and shown her that I can kill her. Now that she''s also getting some much needed reminders from not only her n Head, but also the n Head''s wife - who is likely the unofficial n Head as well - and the n Head of the Cimeriesa''s too..? And her peer in the Cimeriesa''s is likely talking to her as well... yeah, I don''t particrly think that she''ll continue stupidly pestering me. I mean, logically it makes no sense!" I chuckled again, only for Kat to narrow her eyes as she replied "Lust and desires never make logical sense either, nor do cravings. Who''s to say she won''t continue to pine after you even after having everyone talk to her about it?!" My smile stiffened for a moment, forgetting that simple fact; most emotions rarely ran on logic, and when she was meant to be an emotional person as well as someone who derived great pleasure from making others emotional as much as she could, and well... "See?! Even you know she''s going to juste after you again!? So why shouldn''t we just-!" cing a finger atop her lips, I raised a brow as I asked "Kat, she''s not someone we can just make ''disappear'' like you wish. Nor can we threaten her past what has already been put on disy... Dear, my love, there''s a certain amount of possessiveness that you can have before it bes... unhealthy. For yourself and for us as well." She red at me for that, and I pulled my finger back to allow her to speak again, lest I get nipped. "That''s a tad bit hypocritical, isn''t it? Weren''t you the one who threatened to kill a rather empty headed Demoness because sheplimented me?!" "Kat, she wanted to buy you off of-! Y''know what, why the hell are we even arguing about any of this?! Satanya is going to be alive and healthy unless she does something egregious, and so is Ammit! There is nothing that you nor I can do to change that, no matter how much we dislike how they look at either of us!" My puppy just gave me a cold stare before frowning as she found herselfying on the couch instead of sitting on myp, the two of us still locking eyes even as I swiftly and sloppily undressed her. "Damnit Kat, you KNOW I wouldn''t touch Satanya even if she threw herself at me! Why would I want her when I can have this work of art beneath me?!" Shedding my own clothes, I stared down at the pale flesh of the Dogkin beneath me, before I nced to the side and gestured at Leone and Anput as well, the two watching us from the other couch and wearing different expressions - Leone was surprised and embarrassed, though certainly watching us closely, while Anput was staring at us both closely with a smirk, her clothes already on the floor while her hands had begun to move ording to her desires. "Why would I want her when I have the three of you, huh?! Sure, she''s not a bad looking Demoness-" All three women paused, and I felt the sharpness of their eyes in that moment, threatening to cut me down where I sat if I said one wrong thing, which made my heart soar with pride at the three women that I had managed to rope into my harem, each one belonging to me and me alone... "-butpared to the three of you, she''s like a cheap wine; would do the trick, but nowhere near as fine! My three perfect wives, each one an ambrosia as unique as can be..." Trailing off, I leaned down and pressed my body against Kat''s, noticing that her eyes had softened somewhat from earlier, though she was still waiting for more. "MY ambrosias... my personal collection of the finest wines in the world; each one irreceable andpletely keyed to my tastes. Each one made for me, like I was made for the each of you. So ignore her. She doesn''t matter, nor does the other one. You are all that matter to me; all three of you mean more to me than anything else in this world. You all know that. So... trust me a little, like I trust you." I looked over at Anput and Leone for a moment before returning my gaze to Kat, who took a deep breath before muttering "I still want to kill her..." Snorting, I shook my head and stroked her ears, my puppy nuzzling into my hand and looking up at me with those warm ambers I hade to love over these years, and I smiled down at her as I muttered back "And if she tries something egregious, you can... but not until then, alright?" Chapter 745 744: Letting Loose Chapter 745 744: Letting Loose Exhaling, I stared down at the patchwork piece of art that was Kat''s back, admiring the work I had done in thesest dozen or so minutes as I pulled out of my now quiet puppy, her previous bite now gone after I had disciplined her adeptly. The twined up shirt I had used to create my art on her backid across her shoulders, like a brush resting beside a painting as the artist admired their work; different mediums and different canvases, but as I traced out the various red lines with my fingers, I felt like an artist myself, especially since I had taken the time to administer different amounts of force to create different variants of red. Both of us were now feeling satisfied and content, Kat having received her dose of severe pain that centered her mind and reminded her about why I was unlikely to leave, while I felt rxed andnguid now that I had emptied myself again, though I was still thirsting for another go at her body... Really, really thirsting for it, but as I looked to the side and saw my other two lovers embracing tightly on their couch, I decided that Kat could use the rest as I stood up and inserted myself into their moment, reminding them that I was their primary concern as I hugged Leone tightly from behind, joining Anput as we devoured the Vampire together, before I eventually had my other puppy put her tongue to use, cleaning me off as I prepared to leave the room and get a better look at the Aedis. Washing off, I donned my clothes once more and left my three wives to do as they pleased, knowing that if I spent any more time inside the room I would be pulled back in by my own selfish wants to copte, so I closed the door behind me and stepped back into therge, empty halls of the Aedis, the monochromatic temple only being broken up by the colors from the various artifacts and paintings on the walls; otherwise, it was a long expanse of grey, white, ck and brown. The door across from our own was identical to the others, its wooden surface engraved with various Ritual Circles, runes, and other symbology, made into a work of art that continued to proudly disy how much care was put into the Aedis. Rapping my knuckles against the door, I waited for a few moments before the door opened, revealing the surprised faces of Nakith and Luci as they looked out at me, though that surprise washed away quickly as they donned the professional masks that was expected of them. "Lady Jahi, we weren''t... never mind. Is there somewhere you''d like to visit?" A small smile graced my lips as I read between the lines, understanding that they were expecting me to take longer than just a half hour or so in bedding my three women, but I had decided to be efficient with my time... as best I could, anyways. "Apany me for a friendly spar, perhaps? I''ve been cooped up all day in that carriage, and I would appreciate the ability to move around and strain my muscles..." The two Demoness'' nodded, though the hesitation in their gaze was evident as they led me through the halls; it made me wonder if these two had been selected to be the ''servants'' of Satanya and Ammit because of their age as well, so that they could grow alongside their leader and adjust to their unique, quirky personalities easier. If that was the case, then where Satanya was a mild challenge for myself, these two wouldn''t be much better, especially not Nakith; even with a nce I could tell she was solely a mage, just like Leone was, and the muscles on her body weren''t as developed forbat or physical exercise in the slightest. She was still a Demoness, of course, so she had an inborn strength that many would need to work to attain, but that meant little when paired with poor technique... knowing how to utilize what you had was far more important that having more strength. The walk towards whatever training facility the Aedis had took a bit, both because of the sheer size of the temple as well as how often we stopped, my eyesnding on some interesting artifacts that only made my decision in regards to this extended family of mine harder and harder. The history was rich and deep, and I wanted to know more about them, yet on that same vein I knew that I needed to converse with Mom some more on this as well, to understand what made her refuse to so much as acknowledge this gathering of Demons. "Here we are... Considering your... prowess, Lady Jahi, we decided that the best ce to take you would be here. We call it the Crucible. It''s a ''relic'' from ages past, a ce those physically worthye to train. Thebined intelligence of our ns came together to produce a training facility to further hone our warriors, and this... this is the result." Luci pushed open arge set of stone doors, the rock face chiseled out to bear all three symbols of the Demon ns - the horned triangle of the Asmodia''s, the bisected horned circle of the Beliali, and the trio of circles - two Ritual Circles on top with a singr eyeball down below, in the shape of a triangle - for the Cimeriesa''s. Those heavy doors revealed therge room bathed in firelight, and the interior was a sand pit with piles of rocks littered around the area, making me frown for just a moment as I wondered just what was meant to make this ''Crucible'' so impressive. Only a moment though, as I noticed that the piles of rocks were covered in Ritual Circles, and the mana surrounding them pulsed as the door opened, like they could sense that someone was here to train. As soon as that mana pulsed, the rocks began to roll towards one another, the piles sticking together and morphing into a towering, rocky Demon rippling with ''muscles'' and wielding a gigantic sword. "The Crucible pits us Demons against other ''Demons'', and the rocks sense your power through your mana and matches it. They are - in other words -pletely the same strength as you, leaving only technique to determine the matchup. The problem is... they learn alongside you, so the longer the match, the better they be. Which means you can - technically - determine the difficulty of your match and have a certain quality sparring partner. You can also lock them at a certain level by speaking the control word ''Sera'' and unlock them with the control word ''Recludo''. Does this interest you, Lady Jahi?" I grinned at the two Demonesses behind me, nodding enthusiastically as I said "Does it interest me? Of course it does! This is incredible! I assume they reform when they are ''killed'' as well? So I don''t need to hold back at all?" "Correct. If they are ''killed'', the rocks all tumble to the ground and reform in ten seconds. They lose some of the techniques they ''learned'' and provide a suitable grace period before returning to the strength at which they ''died'' at. Afterwards, they climb further in strength at a quicker pace. Additionally, they are incapable of killing, but that doesn''t mean they won''t injure you either. Broken bones and ruptured organs aremon here, so please, do be careful. Nakith knows healing magics, and she can sustain your body for a few hours should you require it." I nodded again, before epting therge sword that Luci handed me, the Demoness adding "These training des were made for this specifically, so please utilize them." Feeling its weight, I moved it around and got used to it before stepping forwards, staring at the rocky Demon that was a few inches taller than me and grinning, looking forwards to what was about to transpire. Chapter 746 745: Crucible Chapter 746 745: Crucible ? "Whew~! That''s some excellent strength this thing has already~! I was not expecting it to live up to my expectations like this!" I grinned as I stared down at the pile of rocks, watching as the Demon slowly began to reform and recuperate, the rocks moulding together once more after having been beaten down for the third time. Nakith gave me a small smile as she cast a healing spell on me despite theck of injuries, while Luci nodded from the side as she watched on from just outside of the ring, observing from afar and appraising my skills, the craftiness of her bloodline making itself known in the gleam in her eyes. However, I didn''t particrly care, since there was a good chance that she would see me in action anyways on this mission over to Nogart; perhaps they would want to go and check out the Dungeons and get a first hand appraisal of what needed to be done to secure their southern borders, or perhaps they would just want to stretch after traveling all day. That... and I had a feeling that this wouldn''t just be a simple excursion into the countryside; there was a nagging suspicion that the Kingdom that had already housed some interesting events during the Crusade would be a hotspot once again for weird things to happen. It was an itch that refused to go away in my mind... I just felt like there was something significant about that location that we were missing, something that made me thing there was something that would happen there again. That was why I wanted to keep myself sharp, and why I was happy that the Crucible was proving its worth. So I lifted the heavy training de and gave the rock Demon a moment to recollect itself before blocking its swing, the chipped pir of stone that mmed into my sword rattling my arm momentarily as the rock Demon grew in strength, each moment empowering it further. It was - technically speaking - a golem, and as such it had slightly clunky movements as it began to warm up, the rock Demon''s joints and limbs bing more and more flooded with mana as it reacted to my techniques, slowly analyzing and copying me to provide a good training dummy. Pulling my de back, I lunged forwards and stabbed at its shoulder, the metal smacking against the t surface of its pir like sword and cracking it, only for the golem to stagger backwards as I lowered my own shoulder and rammed into its chest, pushing it back and freeing up some space for me to swiftly sh across its torso. Two shallow scores crisscrossed on its chest, and the golem grumbled as it brought its weapon to bear, swinging it overhead and mming the stone into the earth, missing me as I rolled to the side. Sand showered over me as the force of the swing impacted the ground, and I growled softly as some of those fine grains found themselves in my eyes, blinding me for just a moment. Even with the temporary blindness I continued to roll and evade, washing my eyes out with mana and ridding myself of the sand even as the golem continued to hammer the ground, spraying more everywhere. Bunching up the muscles in my legs, Iunched myself upwards and shed the de down across its chest again, this time having it bite deep into the golem''s natural armor as I cleaved it in two, killing it once more. Standing up, I nodded to myself and rested the de on my shoulder, muttering "Again." as I watched it begin to heal once more, signaling yet another round. One round turned into a dozen, and eventually I stood in the middle of the sand pit covered in sweat, a triumphant grin on my face as I stamped my boot straight through its ''skull'', having finally seeded in defeating this equal match of mine after nearly ten minutes of gruelingbat, during which... Groaning, I rolled out the agony that coursed through my arm as I felt the fractured radius and splintered ulna, my left forearmpletely destroyed thanks to a lucky swing by my sparring partner. Though, as I stepped back and out of the circle, Nakith gently took my arm and focused on healing the wound, my blue flesh steadily returning as the purple bruising faded, the yellow skinned Demoness treating me while Luci just stared at me with awe from the side, the Beliali Demoness seemingly impressed with my performance. "What''s the chances on me being able to buy the enchantments from these golems off of the ns? These seem rather... well, incredibly and impressively useful for training. Sparring against yourself to iron out the kinks in your techniques is..." Luci''s awe turned into guarded skepticism as she pushed herself off the wall and said "I... don''t think so, but the best bet would be talking to Lady Hathor about it, Lady Jahi. She is the one who would need to authorize such a thing... For a myriad of reasons." Cleaning myself off with a sh of golden mana after Nakith finished healing me, I handed Luci the training de and did some stretches to ease out of the training before saying "Well then... let''s go meet her. I was nning on going to the library anyways, since I wanted to talk with her some before we departed tomorrow." Nakith was the one who spoke this time, the yellow skinned Demoness giving me a tight smile as she said "Well, we should get going soon then; it is ratherte... but also, as a warning, Lady Jahi, there is a good chance that most of the library is off limits for you, so please don''t be offended if when we enter it, you aren''t allowed to browse..." "That''s fine, Nakith. I am more then understanding of wanting to maintain your n''s knowledge from an outsider; if anything, I would be more surprised if I was allowed to peruse freely... and slightly distrusting of the library''s contents if that was the case." Chapter 747 746: Library Chapter 747 746: Library "Well, I didn''t expect to see you so soon. Nakith, Luci, you can rx near the door; I''ll apany Lady Jahi around the library." Lady Hathor stood up from her couch and closed the book in her hands, its extravagant silver binding flicking in the candlelight, contrasting the woman''s warm yellow skin with its metallic sheen. cing it on her belt, the older Demoness chained her book to herself before approaching me, giving me a nod before waving her handnguidly at the other two, dismissing them from our presence. "Is there something in particr that brought you to the Aedis'' library, or were you just here for a chat, Lady Jahi?" Lady Hathor turned and walked slowly towards one of the many rows of bookshelves, guiding me further into the enormous sanctum of books, its wooden appearance softened by the beautiful tapestries that hung on the walls as well as the red and gold rugs that rested atop the wooden floorboards. "A mixture of things, I suppose. I have to admit I am more curious about the Cimeriesa''s then the Beliali''s; I feel like I can understand andprehend my red skinned, silver tongued ''cousins'', but not so much my magically inclined, intelligent and sometimes crazed ''cousins''." ncing up at me with a raised brow, Lady Hathor shook her head gently, her expression still as serious as ever even as her voice came out gentle, saying "Only an Asmodia would dare to utter those words in front of a n Head. Even the Empress highlights our positives and ignores the negatives; she hopes that a reminder on what we do good will push us further into those niches, and yet... we cannot help ourselves from exploring those darker, terrible paths. I myself happen to be one of the best examples, though Ammit... Ammit is the prime example." Around us, the shelves lined with various tomes and scrolls towered up almost towards the ceiling, with rollingdders attached to their surfaces to help maneuver the library, and various orbs of brilliant mana floated aroundzily, illuminating the space. "We Cimeriesa''s have an... innate thirst for magic. In all facets, passive or dangerous. It matters not to us, and we wish to understand it better, to grasp any and all threads of this intricate tapestry of mana thatprises the world around us. The tapestry that we ourselves be as we learn more. Ammit was one such hopeful. She hoped to understand not the world of magic, but the body of magic that we all possessed. To understand the Core on a deeper level, to study the mana pathways in our bodies and how they work. How they connect the entire body together. One such question she had was about the mind, and in her pursuit to quench that thirst, the young Demoness never once asked herself if... if she should. We all can do something; anything, in fact. Mortals are capable of a great deal of things, and so long as one has the willpower and the drive to do something, it is possible, no matter how improbable or impossible it might seem. What tempers your decision making is the realization of what can go wrong. The ''should'' to the ''could'', if you will. You CAN kill someone, but should you? You CAN build a house, but should you in that spot? She never asked herself if she should. She just... did. That is the w of all of the Cimeriesa''s, and especially the womenfolk. It is why, when we womenfolk seed in our experiments, it leads to something incredible. We could do something, and so we did. However, we never ask that question. None of us. I never asked myself that question, and my results were mild - to some, anyways. I lost a chance that I shall never get back. For Ammit, it was far more catastrophic. She damaged her mind; once so very sharp, now it has dulled, though it is no less brilliant. She is a powerful woman, but she has... regressed." Lady Hathor let out a sigh, her green and red eyes focused on the area in front of us as she led me into a new section of the library, one with rounded shelves that formed a barrier to the center, not allowing entry further into the library. "That is what you need to know about your ''crazed cousins'', Lady Jahi. We wish to learn, no matter the cost. We suffer from hubris that, because we can be so intelligent, because manaes to us far more naturally than others, that we are capable of great things. And yet, more often than not, we end up suffering for our hubris. The same way the Beliali''s suffer for their need to exaggerate and lie; the same way the Asmodeucian''s suffered for their insistence that they could do everything themselves, that their strength was greater than anything else''s. That is the bane of the Demon : Hubris." I nodded, watching as she unchained the book from her belt and ced it on the shelf, taking out a new one and chaining that one up, the silence between us bing palpable for a moment before she sighed, a weary smile on her lips as she said "I''m certain you didn''t wish to hear the mncholic bumblings of a jaded woman. Ask your questions, Lady Jahi." "No, that is what I wanted to hear. If you had ignored everything... ''wrong'' with the ns, I wouldn''t have listened to anything else you had to say. I dislike when someone constantly needs to embellish their good points whilst ignoring their negatives. If you can''t acknowledge the bad, it tends to fester and cause more damage... that I know personally." Those multicolored eyesnded on me, and I could feel the power radiating from those spheres of mana that Lady Hathor used for sight, each rotation of either one increasing its potency beforethey gradually began to decline in power, her fiery eye emitting sparks that quenched the worst of the mes. "Spoken much like Chordeva... You really are a near identical copy of her, Lady Jahi. Albeit with the temperance of your Mother... and her manners as well. When I... When Chordeva asked me that same question before - and I gave her a simr answer - she justughed and called me an idiot. It was infuriating; I didn''t understand what she meant, but I do now." Looking away, Lady Hathor sighed once more, before raising a brow as I asked "Well, to pull you out of your mncholy, and to show that I am indeed her child... Could I purchase one of those golems from your Crucible? They were really~ really fun to spar against~!" She stared at me for a few moments before sighing yet again, shaking her head even as a small smile tugged at her lips, the woman muttering "You truly are just like her..." Resuming her walk, Lady Hathor remained silent as she guided me back through the library, thinking it over before looking at me once more, asking "No, you cannot purchase one of the golems." I felt my shoulders slump in disappointment, feeling much like a child who had been denied their favorite toy, only to re inte as she added "However, Chordeva could. The expense of such a thing isn''t something you could afford, Lady Jahi. This would need to be a conversation she and I would need to have, but therein lies the problem. She refuses to speak to me, so-" "Ah, that''s simple. I''ll tell her she needs to meet with Belian, but forget to tell her that you''re with him. Lock you both in a room and force her to buy it... Simple, really." "I... sincerely doubt that would work. Not without me leaving that room severely injured, or remaining in that room a corpse." Rolling my eyes, I stretched as I said "Fine, fine... I''ll talk to her properly about it... Shouldn''t be an issue though, since the idea of that golem should intrigue her enough." Of course, as I nced at her from the corner of my eye, I didn''t miss the hopefulness on her expression as we made our way to the doors, where Nakith and Luci waited patiently for us. There was little doubt in my mind that hearing about Miss Julie had reignited the spark of hope inside her; hope that perhaps Mom would be... ''open'' to the idea of rekindling some talks between House Asmodia and n Cimeriesa. Whether or not she could temper her expectations with reality wasn''t my problem, and it wasn''t like I was guaranteeing her that Mom would speak to her outside of this business transaction; that was all on her. Chapter 748 747: Introspective Chapter 748 747: Introspective Kat PoV Standing beside the carriages, I looked at Jahi before turning my gaze back towards the other carriage that would apany us, its upants standing together and nodding as they listened to their respective n Heads, epting their orders and warnings with equal attention. My eyes lingered on the cocky, disrespectful red skinned Demoness who I felt like deserved to have more done to her than just a singr beating, hence why I threatened to permanently ruin her hand yesterday should she make another move on Jahi. I disliked her very much, and yet now Jahi seemingly was covering for her... though I knew in my soul that I was being illogical towards her; it was just... the first time that I saw someone actively going after Jahi in such an open and uncaring manner for the rest of us, disregarding us three fiancees and trying to snatch our wife right in front of us. It infuriated me, and I wanted to hurt the woman who dared to act so unscrupulously, and yet... Jahi told me not to, which I could understand, but I wasn''t in the mood to understand! I wanted to hurt her, to break her and make her understand that she wasn''t allowed to do that, even if I knew it wasn''t beneficial in the long run... That didn''t mean that I wasn''t going to continue ring at her, though Jahi had tried to make it abundantly clear that I needed to rein this in lest it affect whatever we did in the future, and to be ustomed to this; as we grew stronger and older, we would likely meet more people who acted idiotically like Satanya, or who believed themselves to be so great that they deserved to be married to Jahi or have Jahi marry them. The idea only made me feel worse, but Jahi continued to show me her ''devotion'' when she returnedst night in a good mood, telling me in passing about how excited she was to try and get this interesting golem thing from Lady Hathor to train against, whilst also recounting how it made her exert herself in such an incredible way... All while she tried her hardest to exert us both as well, using me like an outlet for her stress and a way to release her pent up energy instead of as a lover... which was exactly what I loved about her and exactly what I wanted from her. "Alright, I guess that''s it! You all be safe out there, alright? You''re just traveling over to Nogart and surveying thends along the way. No unnecessary fights or risks. Scouting only; if something pops up, make your way back instantly and head back out with reinforcements. Heroics get you killed..." Belian looked at us all sternly, before nodding his head and smirking as he added "But, if it seems manageable and winnable, go ahead. Just be careful and survey everything before making a move. Information is far more powerful when used correctly, andcking it can easily lead to an early grave. So... get going. We''ll see you by the weeks end, hopefully." He took a step back and snaked his arm around the Madam''s waist, ignoring her narrowed gaze as she tried to maintain a dignified appearance, though no one particrly paid her any mind as Satanya saluted her n Head and turned, gesturing towards the carriages as she shouted "Let''s get going then! We''ll make it to the city of Huran in two hours, maybe three depending on the mountain passes. That''ll be our first stop!" My fur bristled slightly at the red skinned Demoness'' efforts to take control of the entire group, only for me to let out a quiet huff as I felt the warning pulse through my Soul Bond, Jahi reminding me ''gently'' that this was Satanya''s expedition to lead; we were just apanying them as reinforcements, and as such we didn''t have the right to order her around. So, I climbed into the carriage first, taking my seat near the window and frowning softly as the others got in after me, my desire to further ''mark'' Jahi as mine and firmly disy my ''territory'' welling up once more... It was something that made me wonder why I felt this... peeved about everything; was it truly because this was the first time someone had been so forwards about their desires with us? After all, our only peer who ever had any sort of obvious and arrogant desire was Jillian, and well... she turned out one way that none of us expected right off the bat. Everyone else gave us a wide berth, and we generally stuck to ourselves otherwise; perhaps these years of being socially - and willingly - ''outcasted'' as not only a Noble but also as a group affected me more than I had realized? Or perhaps... the Soul Bond was just simply that strong, but I hadn''t noticed it thanks to theck of any real ''threats'' to our polycule? Then there was the simple answer that... I was just... that obsessive with Jahi now, after having ''lost'' her once before... having ''lost'' all of them once before. It was a certain possibility, and since my everything was tied to them - my lust, my future, my life, my strength, my potential, my love - this sudden encroachment was certainly... jarring. Perhaps we all were like that, but my own LIFE being tied to Jahi''s, my System being aided by their continued support, love and care... perhaps it was too much for me to handle; too much for this current me to handle. Someone who hadn''t experienced any ''threats'' on this lifestyle whilst still being apart of it; I''ve been taken from it before, but never here to experience threatsing at us whilst we were still together... Was this what Anput and Leone had felt when they had caught Jahi almost slipping back during the Crusade? This... This intense desire to make their mark on Jahi known to the world, to dissuade others from trying to take her from them? The want - no, the NEED to remind Jahi that she needn''t ever look anywhere else for anything, that we were all she ever needed; just like she was all we ever needed? As I settled into the carriage, I couldn''t help but think on it as we made our way towards Huran, knowing that I needed this quiet time to inspect my own mentality and correct it where it needed to be corrected, lest it cause us problems on this excursions. I... still wanted to kill Satanya though. Chapter 749 748: Back At Huran Chapter 749 748: Back At Huran The carriage ride into the Kingdom or Tragon was a boring affair thatster for around two hours, the estimate by Satanya being urate as we traveled over the dry, sparse mountains that separated the Empire from the former Human Kingdoms, though they now belonged to the Empire and expanded its domain even more. Which... was a mindbogglinglyrge acquisition on the Empire''s part, adding yet another 1,000 some odd miles ofnd to its already massive amount ofnd, which when I tried to think of in the size of my previous world... was absolutely massive. Especially since this was all habitablend able to sustain life, whereas something on this scale - as andmass with little water besides the asionalkes and rivers - was usually made up of uninhabitablend due to either extreme heat or cold, and that realization was something that was always startling whenever I made it. This world - Gaia - was seemingly unfathomably massive, since this... this all was on just a singr continent. A continent that contained morendmass than the supercontinent that was formed at the beginning of my old world''s ''life'' and surrounded by even more ocean; this Empire was already massive, but then you add on the other countries andnds that surround the core of this continent - the Labyrinthian - and you begin to wonder just how massive this is. Something that should be impossible was made possible thanks to it being a world of magic andunder the direct influence of Gods and Goddesses; gravity wasn''t abysmal, the world had a normal day night cycle... Everything felt surreal when studied from afar and with the knowledge of another world in my mind, and it was something that I just had to ept. Taking my mind off of the matters at hand and instead thinking of the world itself helped pass the time, our silent carriage ride only ever broken up by the asional murmur of Jahi as she gestured for one of us to entertain her, giving us a treat after breakfast. By the time we reached the first stop of our journey, the sun was still climbing towards its zenith, the fiery golden orb bathing the world in gentle rays of light, few clouds dotting the blue expanse above that signified a normal, calm day. Feeling the carriage stop, we got up and out of the cabin and stretched ourselves out, our eyes already focusing on the city waiting for us down the hill even as we loosened our bodies, preparing for anything that might be ahead. Satanya and Ammit approached with their retainers behind them, the Demons all dressed in proper gear as they looked down at the city of Huran with us, scanning its quiet, empty streets from afar. Each of the Demons wore enchanted armor of some kind, whilst their des almost hummed with power as they rested on their hips, each of them carrying some form of melee weapon; for Ammit, her staff was her melee weapon, the giant circr head tangled with spikes that gleamed in the light alongside the massive mana crystal embedded into the center of the disc. "So, Miss Jahi, this was where you and your Legion encountered a Fiendish Cult of some kind, correct? I believe the report was of an undead belonging to the Nua Fiends?" Keeping her tone curt and respectable, the Demoness looked at Jahi before looking back down at the city, inspecting it and trying to understand what had happened to this gateway city of Tragon. "Yes, it was a singr person who was worshiping Nua''Morte, an Arch Fiend. They were a... Necrotic Lord who was also a ''catalyst''. Summoned a gigantic undead construct from that pit there, where the mansion of the City Lord used to reside. This entire city though... it had been shrouded in an odd energy. Something I think belonged to the creatures instead of the Fiends." Satanya frowned at that, while Ammit tilted her head curiously and asked "Creatures? Oh, you mean those things that created the Gates? Interesting... What sort of ''odd'' energy was it?" Leone was the one to answer, the Vampire frowning as well as she exined "It was something that permeated everything in this city. Each grain of dirt, each brick, each corpse... Everything that was here was permeated by its energy, and whilst we can''t confirm it was the same as the creatures, that is a good guess... though it could have been the Fiend''s energy as well. Either way, it was pervasive, nauseating, and... wrong. Just... wrong. For myself, it was like staring at something that embodied ''anathema''; something so vehemently against myself that it tried to mentally damage me just by sensing it. Many of the mages in the Legion also felt the same. Which is why..." Turning to look at Ammit, Nakith, and Setem, the Vampire let out a sigh as she said "Be careful. I can''t imagine what it would do to you Cimeriesa''s; it got stronger the more attuned one was with their mana, and since I was probably the most attuned member of the Crusade - besides Kalia and a few of the other mages who were at my level. If we almost went insane from feeling it..." She trailed off, the message clear to the three Cimeriesa''s, though I couldn''t help but frown as I wondered just how bad it had to have been for Leone to shudder slightly as she stared out over the city - what was left of it, anyways. What had they experienced when I was taken from them? I... knew some of it, but there had been parts that had been glossed over or given rudimentary summaries, and most of their ''encounters'' had been swiftly summarized. Pursing my lips, I took a deep breath and nodded as Jahi said "Well... let''s get going then. See if anyone moved back to the city during our absence. Personally, I think this ce should be ted for cleansing. Tear it all down and try to just... forget about it. Seems far too entrenched with Fiendish energies and terrible happenings to warrant rebuilding." "I... would have to agree. Thest thing we would want is to build atop a Fiend''s prison of some kind. For now though, let''s check it out. See thesting effects from that Crusade and make sure thisnd is still viable for... something. Anything." Satanya pulled out a notebook and began to walk down towards the empty streets, her pen scratching at the paper as she wrote down her thoughts while we followed behind her, the quiet of the ins around us unnerving after everything we had just talked about. Chapter 750 749: Huran Chapter 750 749: Huran The paved streets were sted apart and left riddled with chunks of debris, whilst pieces of the streets were disced thanks to the attack that happened to the city; the attack, and the quickness of nature to reim that which once belonged to it, roots and grasses sprawling around and beneath the streets while flora grew beside the destroyed homes, growing undisturbed by mortal hands. Huran was a ghost town, the various destroyed buildings and rubble covered streetspletely deste and devoid of any sentient life, with the only sign of mortals having once lived here - besides the structures and the like - being the bones and skeletons that were strewn about, their flesh already rotted away and picked clean by whatever scavengers hade through, leaving only the whitish, calcified fragments of these humans behind. Arms and legs poked out of the soil, while skulls littered the ground, staring lifelessly out over the remnants of the city and bing the only signs of previous life in this area. The sounds of our footsteps echoed around the empty city, our boots tapping against the stone road as we walked through the rubble of Huran, looking this way and that as we investigated the ruins of this once popted human city, Satanya writing down anything of note in the area as we inspected everything. Leone crouched down and scooped up the soil, Ammit curiously mirroring her as she asked the Vampire about what they were looking for, while Nakith and Setem stepped in and out of some buildings, checking their structure and if there was anything of use remaining inside them. Satanya remained in the center of the road, with Luci standing beside her as a guard whilst Leraie and Ronove followed Satanya''s orders to investigate certain buildings and streets, helping the red skinned Demoness get a better understanding of what was left inside Huran and if any of it was worth trying to save. As for Anput, Jahi and I, we followed behind the blue skinned Demoness and stopped by the edge of therge, empty, dark pit that once held an Arch Fiend; or, at the very least, held a powerful follower of that Arch Fiend, one that had caused even the Marquess a trace amount of trouble. "This is where that construct appeared from. The rubble of the City Lord''s Mansion is somewhere down there, scattered Gods knows how deep... Nothing survived that fall; nothing of use, anyways. And despite having been where something of importance was located for who knows how long, it doesn''t look that rich in any sort of clues... A shame, that." Anput and I nodded as we looked into the dark depths of the pit, before my mate asked "How are they going to fill this in? This is far too wide and deep for just a few Earth Mages, right?" "Perhaps. Most likely, this will be worked on for a long time toe, filled gradually with whatever they have avable. Perhaps this will be turned into ake of some kind to enrich thend? Though, that all depends on if the soil is still fertile and uncontaminated." The other two nodded at my guess, and we looked down into the pit for a few moments more before Jahi said "Well, let''s make our way back. The dead in this ce have remained dead, the buildings and streets are... able to be rebuilt, but I doubt anyone would want to live here after everything that''s happened. All in all, I imagine this ce will be torn down and wiped from the face of the earth, never to be seen again. Not that it''ll be missed..." Turning, she made her way back into the city proper, where we found Satanya nodding as she listened to Leone, who was saying "-is not that bad, but there is still some trace amounts of something left over from before. It''s dissipated quite a bit, but... If you want to build here or use this for farnd, I''d wait a little while longer, or at least purify thend. Perhaps a good burn will reset thend to its natural state? Wipe the te clean and begin anew." "Yes... I do believe that will be the best course of action, Princess. Do you think its deep into the soil, or..? Because if it is, perhaps lighting this parcel ofnd aze would be the best course of action..." "I... I don''t know. It seems rather uniform on this topyer. If you''d like, we can have Anput dig a hole down... oh, let''s say ten feet? A dozen? We could get a better idea that way?" Satanya turned towards Anput and gave her a businesslike smile, gesturing towards the grass as she asked "Begum, might I ask if you could do as the Princess has suggested? A hole down into the earth, about ten feet deep?" Getting a nod from Jahi, Anput stepped forwards and began to dig, and whilst the Jackalkin did that, we all continued to look around and investigate, staving off the boredom as best we could as we made sure that the skeletons were merely ''decoration'' at this point and unlikely to return to thend of the living, while also sweeping the houses and making sure there were no inhabitants. We found... nothing, whilst Anput''s hole yielded some results; Leone checked the soil at each ''level'' - two feet increments - and discovered that the consistency of this foreign mana, meaning it was gradually being expelled from thend at an even rate, so a proper cleanse might be a bit harder, though not impossible; you would just need to do the cleansing in smaller areas to keep the heat localized, where it could wipe away this foreign mana and leave nothing behind. "Well... this was both relieving, and disappointing. No enemies, no hups... that''s a good thing, but I have to say that I was hoping to find something here. This ce being empty though... again, its good, but just... disappointing." Satanya let out a sigh before gesturing towards the carriages, leading us back as she said "Well, next is Emor, then Nogart. Maybe they''ll yield the same results... maybe not. Either way, this is the first part done, I guess." Chapter 751 750: Emor Chapter 751 750: Emor "Now THIS looks like it''ll be a bit more interesting... Don''t you think so, Miss Jahi?" Like with Huran, we stopped our carriages on top of a nearby hill and looked down at the trading city Emor below us, taking in its not so empty, ruined magnificence that was being popted by clusters of humans, all of whom were dressed in ragged clothing and rusted, damaged armor. Even from afar it was clear that these humans were here to loot whatever was leftover, their squads going into houses anding out with whatever they could find before piling their loot up into the streets, where the others were picking through it and taking out the valuables. "Think they might be bandits..? Perhaps just unfortunates who are hoping to strike it rich in this former ma of wealth inside the Kingdoms? Maybe people who used to live here and got lucky, returning after the decimation of their home?" Satanya snorted at Jahi''s words, the red skinned Demoness saying "Not thatst one; we''re months out from the end of the Crusade, so it can''t be that. They''d have returned already... besides, they ALL live here, and ALL lived in each of those buildings? No, I don''t think so. Besides..." Leaning forwards, Satanya looked closer at the various rubble covered streets of Emor, the walls that once protected the city nowying in ruin thanks to the rampage of an unruly creature and natural decay caused by months of neglect. The winds and rains infused with natural mana would chew away at the broken walls and roofs of the city, chipping away at the city even more and further destroying it; here, nature was far harsher than in my old world, and the less advanced techniques and materials used certainly didn''t help. Especially in an area that was less developed like the Human Kingdoms. With how far away we were, I decided that something that would be worthwhile would be getting a closer look... so I summoned a long cylinder of ice and frosted the sides, before bringing the clearer lens to my eye as I looked down over the city, altering the ice caps on either end of the cylinder and focusing everything as best I could to get a clearer picture. "Kat..?" "Mm... Give me a moment." The streets were just as damaged as the structures were, but I wasn''t looking at the city itself to see if it was habitable or able to be rebuilt; I was looking at the dozens of humans who were walking around those streets, inspecting them closely. Tattered leathers were the mostmon pieces of protection, each human having a coat or shirt of some kind to protect them, with a few having some pieces of metal sewn on or dangling for further protection; besides the leathers, there were some that had raw monster materials as well, though they were also tattered beyond belief and served to add little besides weight to their ''armor''. Then there was their weapons; rusted des of all kinds hung on their belts or strapped to their backs, horribly maintained and seemingly on the verge of being little more than scrap, though they were still dangerous enough to warrant some consideration... if you were as weak as they were. At the very least, they were disy pieces to elicit some reluctance to try and attack these hopefuls. "Shoddy armor, terrible weapons..." Switching from their gear to the people themselves, I took in the emotions on their faces as the humans all joked andughed together, with a few ordering the others around with a calcting gleam in their eyes. "I''d say bandits. Poor ones at that, but... they seem far too happy to be former residents; at least, former residents who areing back to search through their homes. Since this is now your n''snd, how exactly do you wish to proceed with this, Satanya? They don''t look... the mostwful right now, but they could be-" "We''ll see, I guess. The best way to know is to just waltz on in and see what''s going on. If they want to cause trouble, we can kill ''em. If they don''t draw their weapons or surrender, we keep them alive. Maybe. Honestly, I do think it''d be best to just get rid of them. No need to worry about anything..." Leone frowned at that, something I caught as I handed the telescope off to Jahi and turned towards the ''leader'' of this excursion, who stood beside Leone. "They don''t deserve death just because-" "Indeed, Princess. However, I sincerely do not care for the lives of these... lesser mortals. Least of all those that have not a clue what they are doing or-" "Hold on... Yes, we should probably kill these ones. Here, take a look at that banner, down towards the center of the city. Does that symbol look familiar to you?" Handing the telescope back to me, Jahi pointed towards the banner in question and waited for me to see it, before I handed the telescope to Satanya next. "I... Wait, is that..?" "The symbol of ''change'' that most Cults utilize if they worship any Tza Fiends? Yes, yes it is. I did a brief bit of studying on the Cults after ourst run in, and that symbol was something I read about. Perhaps they aren''t Cultists, but I don''t want to take any risks..." The symbol in question was a pair of triangles that crossed over and created a star like shape, each set of parallel lines a different shade of blue that created an interesting pattern; even more so on the faded ck cloth of the banner. "Well then, that changes quite a bit about this then. Guess we''ll just need to take these Cultists down and nab one for questioning. Think its a new Cult, or..?" "I hope its not a new one... A new Cult would mean that the Fiends areing back at an increased pace, and that... that''s not good news at all." Chapter 752 751: Clearing Out Emor (1) Chapter 752 751: Clearing Out Emor (1) "There''s only about three dozen of them total? Perhaps five dozen at max, if any are hunkered down inside those buildings, resting. It is getting a bitte, after all. And the city is pretty big... even if it''s been destroyed. Besides that..." Jahi sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest, her blue muscles flexing slightly as she frowned and looked down at the city, adding "There is a chance that one of them has the ability to summon reinforcements; over at Arbo City, where we fought the Fiend, they had a contingent of mages who utilized some older magics to summon Goblins and eventually draw forth a Fiend to their aid..." Satanya frowned as well, focusing still on that banner and asking "Do you think this is really that Cult? What was it... the Cult of Ambition? The one that had Tza''Delira at the helm, correct?" "Indeed. Like Jahi said, there is the hope that this is just a branch of the Cult of Ambition, as the appearance of something new would mean a fresh Fiend has stepped into the ''arena''. That... would be rather unfortunate, all things considered." Taking the telescope from Satanya, I scanned over the city for a few moments before asking "Would you like if I went in first? I could catch them off guard from behind once you all start to make some noise; make sure no one is hiding in the back, waiting to rush to their aid." I could see Jahi turn to say something to me, only to remain silent as Satanya nodded, the red skinned Demoness saying "Leraie''ll apany you. We''ll give you fifteen minutes before we head in, so be swift in clearing those houses; with your nose and her experience, this shouldn''t take you too long. Besides... they are just humans." The disdain in her voice didn''t go unnoticed, but no one seemed to care as we prepared to set off, the retainer of the woman I held in low regard standing beside me as she unsheathed her various daggers and checked their sharpness. Giving my slightly worried Demoness lover, as well as the now serious Jackalkin and worried Vampire lovers a nod and a smile, I set off down the hill and moved quickly and silently, Leraie right beside me as we crouched through the grass, approaching the wall and slinking over it without a sound, keeping out of sight from the few humans that seemed to enjoy staring out over the grassy ins around Emor. None were standing guard at all, instead just chatting and joking together as they stood around their loot, which was a surprising amount of things; valuables of all kind, like some various silverware and golden heirlooms, coins, books, and various tools or weapons that were far more serviceable than their own. Like we had taken note of, they were gathered primarily in the main street, clearing out the buildings that they were near and returning to the street to pile up their findings, so that the rest could sort through them and determine what was needed and what wasn''t. Leraie and I looked at one another as soon as we entered the city and nodded, the Demoness instantly splitting off and heading to the other side of the street, checking that side for more humans whilst I remained on this side, already slipping through the alleys and sniffing the air. Dust, nature and earth were the primary scents hitting my nose, but beneath that was the musk of sweat and various odors clinging to the humans, whilst my ears picked up on their footsteps and chatter far easier than my other senses; though, that was only because they were being so damn noisy. Continuing further into the city of Emor, I snuck past the main square and made my way towards the back of the main trade buildings, straining my ears and nose to pick up any hints of humans inside these grander buildings, instantly finding a few. Going around back, I inspected the brick wall in front of me before coating my fingertips in Wind Mana, strengthening them and taking a deep breath before leaping up the wall, stabbing my fingers in and using them to scale all the way towards the top floor, where I heard two people chatting quietly near an open window. "-ink we might get lucky here? The money left behind in this ce... I mean, man, it''s a LOT." "Yeah, we might just... Though, we need to be careful; if we miss the quota, it''s our asses in the fire. Besides... I''d like some coin for those dens back home, y''know~? Some top tier ''meat'' waiting to be tasted... and some of the finest herb!" A disgustingugh filled my ears, and I approached the window silently, climbing above it and peeking through from above, where I found two men lounging on a couch counting out coin and stacking ingots of silver, admiring the wealth they had found and not paying any attention to their surroundings. Looking much like the others, I covered the soles of my feet in Wind Mana before silently slipping into the room, the two men staring intently at the table in front of them, which was luckily angled away from the window. I drew up a Ritual Circle and left it hovering behind me, waiting to be activated to create a dome of wind to contain any sound inside this room; I had a few seconds to get into position before it went off, so I looked down at my wrists and smirked, the multicolored rings tattooed onto my flesh activating as two long, sharp Tonfa''s appeared, attached to the sides of my wrists. Ice spikes shrouded in a silent, yet deadly gale were waiting to be used, and I approached the couch with a grin, inspecting the two men and making my choice. When the Ritual Circle activated, and a dome of Wind Mana appeared just inside the room, the two men let out a shout before one of them began to choke, an icicle slicing cleanly through his neck and piercing his throat, spilling his blood onto the table, coin and couch, while it filled his throat. He died in moments, a sharp turn of my wrist snapping the neck and leaving his body numb and limp as it rested on the Tonfa, while his partner screamed in agony as I stabbed his shoulder, swiftly pulling out and stabbing his other shoulder as I maimed his two arms, leaving him helpless. Letting the one icicle dissipate, I watched the corpse drop to the ground with a dull thud, its blood weeping out of the wound and puddling around the man''s head, creating such a beautiful pattern... As for the other one, he finally was able to turn and stare at me, only to cry out as I backhanded him and pushed him towards another seat, sitting him down and resting the de of the remaining Tonfa against his throat, grinning at him as I watched tears leak from his eyes at the same speed as his blood poured from his shoulders, his two scap - the shoulder bones - broken and leaving his arms limp. "Now, I have a wonderful~ proposition to offer you, Mister Human~!" Chapter 753 752: Clearing Out Emor (2) Chapter 753 752: Clearing Out Emor (2) "We can do this the easy way, where YOU~ answer MY~ questions and get yourself a quick death, OR~!" Tapping the Tonfa against his cheek, I grinned as I watched him flinch away from the now red icicle, its surface covered in his blood now in crystalline form. "You can go ahead and NOT~ answer my questions~! For me, its a win win~! I get to learn what''s happening..." I tapped it against him once more, this time trailing it down the center of his chest and stopping just above another important region for him, watching as he paled and stood stock still. "Or I get to indulge myself a little... See, I''m rather... ''pent up'', and you~ look like just the right kinda guy for me..." Adding just a tad amount of sensuality into my voice, I held back the disgust as the man looked at me with a half lusty gaze, his fear still tempering his desires but those words of mine misleading him, to the point that I saw something begin to grow. Even though I was disgusted, the idea of toying with this man this way was thrilling, and I could feel a slight trace of Pleasure welling up inside myself, which caught me off guard, before I recalled just who I was serving. ''Caligo, Arch Fiend of Dark and Twisted Pleasures. Is this not a dark and twisted pleasure that I was partaking in? Was I not ''lusting'' after this man, just... not in the way that he was thinking? Silence descended over the room as I lost myself to my thoughts for a moment, before I returned and gave the man a good show, smiling widely at him and narrowing my eyes enough that my eyshes covered what was left, especially when I tilted my head somewhat. I could smell the lust beginning to roll off of him at this point, and it made me want to retch, to stab him right here, right now, but... My heart was thumping fiercely as I moved to stand behind the man, just out of sight with my Tonfa resting between us, keeping me from touching him; but, close enough that when I spoke, my breath tickled the nape of his neck. "So... how are we going to do this, Mister~? The easy way... or the ''hard''~ way~?" Hearing his breathing hitch slightly, I sneered as I held back from piercing his back, and the man swallowed hard before managing to get out - in a somewhat shrill voice - "T-The hard way..!" "Oh~? Bold choice, Mister... Really, really bold... I like that~! You think that you~ could satisfy me~? Keep looking forwards, Mister... I''ll take ''real''~ good care of you..." Gulping, the man shivered a little as he felt me lean closer to him, the Tonfa now squished between us as I pressed myself to his back for just a moment, tantalizing him before stepping back. Like I had thought, the more ''twisted'' this became, the more Pleasure that welled up near the crest that ''Caligo had given me, and the more I felt like I could probably grasp that Pleasure and learn to wield it. However... it was clear that what caused it to increase was me slowly doing something ''twisted'', which was... cheating and leading this man on. I have no doubts that if I were to use this man for sex I could get arge amount of Pleasure just because I was ying around with his life as I wanted, but that would mean I would be unfaithful to Jahi. To Anput. To Leone. To myself, really. So... I had to go about this in ways that caused them - my victims - to swell in pleasure whilst keeping myself ''pure''; that was the only way I could see this working right now, and sadly doing this in any capacity made me feel... unclean and traitorous to my lovers trust in me. But for right now, I needed to see how far this could go, how much I could reap from this, so I began to ruffle with my clothes, imitating the sounds of me stripping as I watched the man closely, coyly murmuring "Don''t turn around now, Mister... you do, and you''re dead. Just stand right there for me, okay~?" He nodded, but I could see him holding himself back from turning around and gazing upon my ''naked'' form, making me sneer even more as I finished up. Stepping back up to him, I pressed the Tonfa against his back and asked "How about this... you tell me something, and the more I like the answer - you being honest - the more you and I get to enjoy this, hmm~? Give me what I want, and I''ll give you what you want... and then some, Mister~!" His breathing remained all out of whack, and I could smell his lust for me rolling off of his body in waves, making my jaw clench as I held in a growl. "You''re a Cultist, aren''t you Mister? To whom~?" "I ah... I c-can''t..." "Aww...e now, Mister... we both~ know you''re a Cultist... It takes one to know one, doesn''t it~? I worship Pleasure and Lust... what is it that you worship~? Ah ah ah~! No turning now... That ruins the surprise~!" "I... F-Fine. I am a m-member of the Cult of Ambition! W-We were told toe here to take whatever we could find and bring it back to our base in Amioux! Gold, jewelry, anything worth a god chunk of change!" "Really~? Amioux... That''s to the west, right? Never been... sounds like a beautiful ce." "Y-Yeah, it is. E-Especailly now that the Governor is a member of the Cult! The entire city is ours!" "Well... if the entire city is yours, why are you all kitted out in such... unbing gear~? Surely you could have some better armor and weapons..." Running my hand down the back of his patchy leather coat, I rolled my eyes at how he shivered at that action, but I continued to listen even as I left my hands on his disgusting body. "W-WE! W-We um... W-We need to earn our gear back! E-Everyone starts from the bottom and works their way up! S-So that it is fair and so that w-we have to earn e-everything!" "Doesn''t that lead to envy amongst your ranks though? Someone who... climbs thedder faster than you... gets the better gear, the better food, the better women~?" He shivered again, before nodding as he spat "It does! We were supposed to be equals! All of us, beneath the banner of Change! A-And yet..! And YET!" Rolling my eyes again, I let out a low sigh before taking a step back, saying "Well... isn''t it your lucky day~! Turn around now, slowly... let me reward such a hard working, worthy man..." Watching as he turned, I didn''t bother holding back a grin as I saw his eyes widen in surprise, only for fear to retake them instead of lust as I stabbed him in the heart, my Tonfa spreading frost across his body and robbing him of his warmth. "Did you REALLY think I would dirty myself for a worm like you?! Some no good bastard who follows others blindly?! A pathetic excuse of a man?! No, of course not!" Twisting the Tonfa, I grinned at him as he fell to his knees, my voice filling his ears as I growled "No one would want to be with an idiot like you unless it made them coin. You threw away everything for a cause you yourself don''t even believe in?! Are you stupid?! Enjoy burning in hell for yourmentable choices... Like I would ept some subpar idiot inside myself..." As the life began to leave his eyes, I felt my heart skip a beat as I observed his death from up close, enjoying each and every moment of it... Shattering the Tonfa, I shook my head and watched as the life left his eyes, shock still noticeable on his features as he slumped to the floor, his chest weeping blood out dozens of holes from where the splinters of ice perforated him. "Well now, my dear, lovely puppy~! That was... honestly..." Cali appeared on the other side of the man, grinning down at his corpse before looking up at me, her lips pulled apart to reveal her pearly white teeth. Her snakes hissed alongside her in agreement as she said "One of the hottest things I''ve seen in recent memory, my big breasted Masque~! You got ME all riled up... See~?" Showing off her lustful body, Cali giggled as she spun around me, her addictive scent washing over me constantly. "C''mon Kat... just one go? Let''s enjoy ourselves... I can tell you''re in need of a good pounding~! What do you say~?" My entire body felt hot, her words, her scent, her body riling me up even more, that euphoric high I felt after killing someone amplified by how I had done it this time... My mouth was filled with saliva, and I yearned for the touch of a woman right now, but... But... Standing up, I shook my head and took a deep breath, before I hoarsely muttered "No, Cali. Just like I''ve said for months now... No." Chapter 754 753: Clearing Out Emor (3) Chapter 754 753: Clearing Out Emor (3) "Aw... C''mon, it''ll be fun~! Just the thing that you need right now..." Cali drifted near me before letting out a sigh as I swatted her hand away, trying my hardest to push down on the heat that was spreading throughout my body as I walked towards the door, ignoring the loot on the table for now as I instead went to a new room, focusing on the streets down below. "You sure? We could make it quick... It''ll take a little work from me and you, but I think you could make anyone~ finish quickly, Kat... really, you''re so~ sexy that it makes me ache something fierce..." "Cali!" Snapping at the Arch Fiend, I red at the pink skinned woman floating around before sighing and turning back towards the window, lifting it up as I tiredly added "Please, let''s just... not. You already know my answer; you know that I wouldn''t EVER cheat on Jahi. On any of my lovers. So... please. Just stop." She smirked at me, leaning against the wall beside me and watching as I created some thin, sharp arrows out of ice, overlooking the street below and counting out the various Cultists moving around and looting the buildings. "You are SO much fun to tease, Kat... you know that? You get so flustered, so emotional in interesting ways... It''s amusing. My little Masque is trying to control herself, trying to not give in to the throes of heat even as she yearns for sex~!" Giggling, Cali remained beside me as she watched me scan over the various buildings, my nose twitching as I tried my best to locate any stragglers; from earlier, there hadn''t been any scents lingering around other areas, so I was willing to just kill first and ask questionster. "I can feel it, you know? How tempted you were, both with that man back there and with me. For different reasons. You yearned to give that man the ride of his life seeking out power; for a fraction of a second, you considered and weighed that option, even if you try and deny it... I know it to be true." My lips curled into a frown as I lined up the arrows beside the window, waiting to be used. "Don''t worry, I know you never would~! Just understand that I could sense that the thought crossed your mind... that I could sense that if that Demoness wasn''t in the picture, or if your ties weren''t as strong, you''d have done it simply because of how aroused it would have made you... Then there''s me~! Try and deny it all you want, but no mortal would ever admit that the thought of bedding me, of engaging in sexual intercourse with lust incarnate didn''t tempt them... Not even your Empress can say that~! I know because I''ve heard a few things about her when she was young... young and alone~!" Giggling to herself some more, Cali floated to the other side of the window and continued to speak, the Arch Fiend ignoring my clear desire for her to remain quiet. "Well, at the very least you learned something from this, and it''s about damn time as well! Hmph, I could''ve sworn my Masque was a smart, sexy woman with a brain as big as her-!" ring at her, I lifted an arrow and pointed it at her throat, the Arch Fiend just giggling as she skipped over that part, saying "I could''ve sworn you''d have remembered that lust doesn''t just describe sexual needs! I mean, a majority of it are satiating your need for a warm body wrapped around yours, but that''s not the ONLY thing you can lust for! Lust for power, lust for love, lust for good food, lust for sex... it all falls beneath lust! A strong desire for something... Sex is just the easiest." I frowned again, though this time in contemtion as I pondered her words as I also maintained my watch over the city of Emor, creating myself an arsenal of deadly ice arrows for the massacre toe. "You lusted for information in that moment, and in order to get it, you yed to your strengths and used his lust for your own advantage. And before you ask, this wasn''t something small that you were lusting after, so that''s why you haven''t felt it anywhere else after learning about Lust Mana... to my knowledge, anyways~! Days blend together for those with millennia of life behind themselves~!" "It was also my lust to kill him fueling that, was it not? The bloodlust that I''ve had for a long time, something thates and goes alongside my emotions. I haven''t felt it this strong for a while now, but since Satanya is here..." "Indeed, indeed~! Your need to spill blood is also contributing to this~! Maybe this''ll be a learning experience for you on what you need to learn to harness this wonderful power I can provide you... Or maybe you''ll continue to flounder around aimlessly as you seek out Pleasure~!" The Arch Fiend giggled again before cing a kiss on my cheek, her snake hair hissing lovingly in my ears as she whispered "But... I believe in you, Kat... I think my lovely, lusty, sexy puppy can learn how to harness Pleasure like a tool... something meant to amplify what your lovers feel, and something meant to sap your enemies of their very will to live. I believe in you, my love... I really do." With that, she disappeared in a sh of pink mist, leaving me alone with my thoughts inside this empty building, the only things near me being a stack of arrows and the two corpses of some human scum. That silence was broken by a loud boom flooding the city''s streets as a blossom of mes consumed a portion of the wall, opening a gateway into the city that was directly aligned with where the majority of the Cultists were, making me smile as I lifted an arrow and slung it forwards, the sleek crystalline weapon slicing through the air inplete silence, arcing towards the back of the closest Cultist to me. Chapter 755 754: Clearing Out Emor (4) Chapter 755 754: Clearing Out Emor (4) My first arrow sliced silently through the air, the thin crystalline rod arcing down towards the closest Cultist''s back and sinking deep into their spine, severing it and dropping them to the ground with a thud; a thud that was concealed by the explosion of a second firebomb, which washed the street in mes and scorched the rubble. Lifting the next arrow, I slung it forwards and grabbed the next even as I watched my second impale a woman in the back of her skull, freezing her brain and killing her just as silently as the first, though this time herpanion beside her let out a scream as she watched herrade drop to the ground, her head leaking copious amounts of blood across the cobbled street. Her scream was cut off as the third arrow skewered her throat, but it was toote since the Cultists turned and caught sight of their three deadrades, though I could say it was toote for them as well since two Demonesses were waltzing down the street with weapons drawn. Jahi was wearing a small smile as her amethyst eyes located me, the blue skinned Demoness hefting her great sword and blocking the desperate spear thrust from a man that ran up to her, the sheer difference in size and strength made apparent when he stumbled forwards and mmed against Jahi''s body, horror spreading throughout his body as the Demoness reached forwards and lifted him by the head. Staring at him, she said something before squeezing her fist, her fingers sinking into his skull and cleanly shattering the bone as she popped his head like a watermelon, blood and gore pouring out of the lumpen mass that was now his head. Beside her, Satanya swished her serrated longsword around and walked calmly towards two humans, who were both shouting and pointing their own des at her, trying to get the taller woman to step back... or something... I don''t know what goal they had in mind, but I do know that the result was definitely not what they had in mind; a singr swift sh was enough to tear through their patchy leather coats and cut apart their flesh as Satanya cut deep into their chests, sending them reeling as they both received the same injury with one movement from the Demoness. Pulling her arm back, Satanya stabbed her arm forwards and skewered the throat of one of the men before yanking the sword free and cutting the other one down, leaving two bodies in her wake as she continued walking forwards, her gaitpletely unchanged as she made her way further into Emor. Watching as they continued on down the street, I lifted another arrow and continued on with my work, cutting down the humans who were trying to flee, Leraieing to my aid as she stood in the center of the road behind them, trapping them between us and the other Demonesses. They... posed little threat, their individual strength amounting to almost nothing as they tried to go against full fledged warriors from stronger races, doing their best to make their lives end quickly as they rushed straight into the arms of death, be it straight towards Jahi and Satanya or back towards Leraie and I. Cutting them down quickly, our group was left with an empty street that only held the sounds of two human''s screams, their knees pierced by icicles that robbed them of their mobility, allowing us to get some further questions asked about where they were from and why they were here. Amioux was a clue, as was the fact that this Cult seemed to be ratherrge if it spanned throughout the west... and had the ability to have branches all the way over in the Empire. That was worth looking into, and I couldn''t help but wonder what this Cult wanted to achieve; truly achieve, not the propaganda and wishful dream of a real breadth of equality for all, a world where the strong and the weak stand shoulder to shoulder without any qualms in doing so... An impossible world, because every mortal holds the capacity to sin, and sin... is far too easy tomit; far, far easier than virtuous deeds for your fellow mortal. Sex and liquor will forever run the world, and getting those things will alwayse with the need for money, wealth and a certain amount of prestige; things that are then earned through exploitation and murder. There is no such thing as equality between the strong and the weak, not in this world; a peasant cannot fathom the power of the Empress, let alone the average Knight of Cinder that serves her. The difference in what they provide is far toorge to equate to being equals; a Knight protects the Empire from internal and external threats, keeping thousands upon thousands of people safe, while a peasant might produce enough food to sustain their own family for a year and a half if they are lucky. That... is the difference between the weak and strong, and trying to tear that down and make them equal is idiotic and impossible; the strong will always be in power, either with their own physical or arcane strength, or with a dominant charisma that draws people together to work for them. So what was the real goal of this Cult, and... was there a chance that Jillian and A were aiding them..? We still had no idea what the rogue Elves were doing, and until I saw their cold, bloody and broken corpses beneath my feet, I would never not think about where they were and what they could be doing. Who knows what they could be capable of, since when we hadst seen them, they were still barely sprouting from being seedlings; had they sprouted into amon dandelion, or were they immacte roses? Not knowing this was something that weighed on my mind, but what was really weighing on my mind was my heated body, the sight of how casual Jahi had dispatched those humans stoking the mes that had sparked inside me earlier... Chapter 756 755: Field Play*

Chapter 756 Chapter 755: Field y*

Jumping from the window of the building I had inhabited, I made my way towards Jahi and the others, who were all gathering around the still alive humans and preparing to question them. Seeing me approach, Jahi gave me a smile before nodding as I began to speak, informing everyone of what I had learned as quickly as I could so that I might find myself in a position that I preferred very much to just standing up and talking. "That building back there, that I came from, had two humans in it; I interrogated one after killing the other, and he was a nice wellspring of information about everything. They are apart of the Cult of Ambition, which is both relieving and worrying." Satanya frowned at that, waiting for me to borate - everyone else wearing simr expressions as they stared at me curiously, clearly not understanding what I was getting at. "He mentioned that they were from Amioux, to the west, and that they even had the Governor on their side. That''s a good ways away from the Empire, and since they were in suchrge number there... Well, what exactly is the size of this Cult?" "Damn... Spanning across three separate countries; the Confederation of Wuleaux, the Three Human Kingdoms, and then the Empire? That''s... a rather worrying proposition. What else?" With this being something serious and requiring our willing cooperation, I didn''t re at Satanya despite wanting to, though I took a breath before answering her. "They also seemed to have a rather... interesting society over there. That branch of the Cult, at the very least, is true to their word on their ideals; they gave up everything in search of equality, and they have to work to attain... something better. Though... that only makes the problem worse when you think about it critically, but thankfully they all seem to be idiots blindly believing whatever is told to them..." Both of the leading Demonesses snorted in amusement at that, with Jahi saying "They give everything up and work towards something better..? Why ''reset'' your life just to do more of the same? And wouldn''t that mean that those with better talents or skillsets would profit quicker, recreating that gap between the ''wealthy'' and the ''poor''?" Hearing that, the remaining humans red at us hatefully, only to cry out in pain as the Demon and Demoness standing guard over them pressed their boots down on their nowme knees, reminding them of their ce. "Yeah... guess we''ll learn some more from these two. Kat, would you mind-" Before Satanya could continue, I approached Jahi and grabbed her arm, pulling it over towards my chest and burying it between my breasts, giving Satanya a ''sweet'' smile as I said "Sorry, but I have something I need to discuss with Jahi... it''ll take a few minutes. My apologies." Jahi looked down at me in surprise, before shrugging her shoulders and giving Satanya a smile as well as she was led away by me. Anput and Leone raised their brows, with my mate smirking as she sniffed the air, catching a whiff of my pheromones as I dragged my Demoness lover away to satisfy me, all while Satanya was left behind with an exasperated shake of her head. Keeping Jahi''s arm between my breasts, I moaned quietly as she slid her hand down towards my pussy, her fingers rubbing over it as she walked beside me, clearly liking that we were going to have some sex at this current moment instead of waiting for nighttime. Getting far enough away, Jahi asked "So what brought this on, hm~? Trust me, I don''t mind that you want to fuck after a day of traveling, but... gotta admit that I''m curious." Looking up at her, I smiled as I led her into a house, finding a suitable room for our quickie as I answered in a coy voice "Oh, a few things... Seeing you so effortlessly kill those pests was so~ sexy, and I''ve been feeling... needy all day long? I just wanted you inside me..." "Mhm... Kat... What did you do?" She raised a brow and pushed me against the wall, the Demoness looking down at me as she began to undo her belt, revealing her throbbing erection as she began to grope me next, cupping my breasts and leaning closer. "I ah... might have teased that poor human bastard a bit... made me so~ very horny when I thought about the expression on his face when he realized he was never going to get the chance to stick his cock in me, but instead die desiring something he was never worthy to have..." "You... little fucking minx~! Aren''t you just a twisted, demented bitch!" Jahi snorted as she grinned at me, though considering the golden eyes staring down at me, the Demoness had mixed feelings on it all, which was understandable. "Ah~! T-That''s why I wanted you so badly~! To w-wash away that dirty feeling and make me ''pure'' again~!" Chuckling, Jahi kissed me as I began to stroke her scorching erection, my fingers dancing over its magnificence as I yed with her tip and massaged her shaft, coaxing her precum out and letting it dribble to the ground uselessly. Her hands fell down to my pants as she undid the belt quickly and roughly, yanking them down and revealing my dripping pussy, the slightly cool air brushing against my body and making me shiver in anticipation. Stepping out of them, I moaned as Jahi lifted me up and pressed me against the wall, the giant Demoness enveloping my body and kissing me aggressively as we stood in that room, before she guided her thick cock towards my waiting cunt. She pierced me from below without hesitation, the blue skinned woman iming what was rightfully hers and dropping me down a bit to bury herself to the root inside my womb, filling me up and iming my everything. Her lips remained locked on mine as she held me up by my ass, the Demoness rhythmically thrusting up into my pussy and knocking on the back of my womb as she relished this opportunity to have sex before our ''allotted'' time. Pinned against the wall, I wrapped my arms and legs around Jahi''s muscr torso and enjoyed the feeling of being filled to the brim with her thick penis, each thrust into my womb slowly quenching the mes of lust inside me as she pounded me from below. Eventually, she pulled back and murmured "This is one of the things I love about you, Kat... Fuck~! This willingness to take me whenever, however, no matter what... I love it so much that you can be my perfect, tight little whore!" Submerging herself into my wombpletely, she grunted as she started to ejacte, her sperm sshing into the ovr container and filling it uppletely with her seed, uncaring of the fact that I would need to deal with having her cum dripping down my leg from now until it eventually was absorbed or dispelled from my pussy. "Gods above do I love you, Kat... So, so fucking much..." Feeling her cock twitching in my womb, I smiled at her before cing a kiss on her lips again, enjoying where it was, though... "I love you as well, Jahi... more than life itself sometimes..." She raised a brow at that, before grinning as I added "I''d love you even more right now if we kept going... they''re all adults; they can do without us for a few more minutes..." "They are indeed able to do that... so I guess we can enjoy ourselves a bit more." Dropping me to the ground, she pulled out and ordered "Spin around and stick your ass out then, Kat. I''ll give you two more fillings before we''re done here..." When I did as she said, the Demoness began rubbing her cock against my drenched slit, gathering some of her cum onto her tip and watched as her creampie dripped out of my pussy, the Demoness'' virility as high as ever as more and more of her sperm was pushed from my womb. After getting herself lubed up enough, the Demoness pressed herself against my ass and pushed forwards, prating me once more with a growl. "I''ll start with this tight ass~! God damn Kat~!" Grabbing my hips, Jahi mmed herself against my ass and began to plow my intestines, the sounds of her burly cock scraping me out mixing with my moans as we indulged in some guilt free sex. Jahi''s heavy balls pped against my semen stained pussy, those twin orbs gettingthered with juices as she fucked me hard as she could, wanting to make this quick whilst also wanting to orgasm hard a few more times. Clenching my muscles, I smiled lustily at the wall as I heard Jahi hiss, my ass wrapped tightly around her penis and bringing her to the edge quicker than normal, especially since she had already cum before. The heated growls of the Demoness pumping her cock in and out of my ass made me hornier than ever, whilst the heavy orbs pping against my pussy made it spasm as I came alongside her, squirting out some more of her semen and staining her thighs with fluids. Ejacting inside of me once more, Jahi pumped her baby batter into my intestines and thoroughly painted them white, her cum flowing inside of me as she buried herself to the root. Kissing my neck, she continued to wring herself out without hesitation, cumming as hard as she wanted before pulling out and sliding herself into my pussy next, returning to my womb and fucking me for the third time without stop. We mated wildly in that abandoned building, my buff Demoness lover bending me over and fucking me hard from behind as she emptied her balls inside mepletely, enjoying this moment of heated, passionate lust well ahead of schedule. Both of us ignored the time limit as she came inside my womb again, the blue skinned stud lifting me up and spearing me on her cock again as she started to manhandle me for her lust, uncaring of the interrogation going on outside. Something that I wasn''t going to reprimand her for... Chapter 757 756: Playing In The Field*

Chapter 757 Chapter 756: ying In The Field*

Jillian PoV "A dear, I thought I made it clear you needn''t bring me any more of these... recements." Looking towards my sun kissed wife, I raised a brow as I looked her over, our tent housing not three, but four people now. Giving me a wry smile, A just yanked on the chain wrapped around the woman''s neck and said "My love, while I want nothing more than to continue having sex with you, to satisfy you as best I can... we need me to be up to snuff for this uing venture. And sadly... you aren''t someone who does half measures~! Trust me, it... pains me to see you with these..." Trailing off, A sneered as she yanked on the chain again, making the mature Wolfkin moan as she stared nkly at the Elf, my wife really making it clear that she didn''t like this, but that she knew it was needed. "Furry whores, but with everything finally about to take off, we need you at your best, and well... Neither I or ''Prumstu can satisfy you currently; not without you taking me out of the equation or ''Prumstu taking you out of the equation." I looked down at the pink skinned, three eyed Arch Fiend eagerly slurping on my cock, her eyes alight with amusement as she neither confirmed nor denied what A had said... which I found just as amusing as I grabbed her horns and began to fuck her throat as hard as I could. pping myself against her face without care, I grinned at A and said "Fine, bring her in... When this is all said and done, we''re not stopping until both of you are pregnant with my children!" My sexy Plum sucked on me harder, while A''s cheeks darkened as she nodded, the way my beautiful, elegant, crazy wife rubbed her thighs together making my grin widen, knowing that this was bing a staple of our intimacy. Watching me indulge in others drove her mad with lust, and she hated that I was using other women to get myself off, and yet... when I had her beneath me, her thin neck firmly gripped between my fingers as I choked her, she loved every single damn second of it. Feeding Plum my seed, I grunted as I felt the Arch Fiend suck not only my sperm out of my cock - her long tongue wrapped around my shaft and milking me for all I had - but also extracting some more of my mana to feed herself with, making me blink a few times as I felt some exhaustion and dizziness wash over me at the sudden drop. "Fucking hells... That''s as good as ever..." zing her face with the remaining cum, I sighed happily as my balls felt a bit lighter, the deal between this big breasted, fat assed slut of an Arch Fiend making me eternally aroused in exchange for some power and some knowledge; power and knowledge that I was making good use of, while the Arch Fiend got the sex she so desperately craved. A win win for us both, and I grinned at her as I watched her float up, her enticing body on full disy as she drifted idly around, enjoying the facial I gave her. Taking the chain from A, I sneered down at the Wolfkin, though considering the amount of drugs and spells on her right now, she wasn''t capable ofprehending anything besides pleasure, which was why as soon as I pped her cheek with my cock, the woman''s tongue lolled out while her fluffy tail began to wag. "You always find me such wonderful bitches to breed, A... It makes me wonder if you love watching me with them~?" Pushing the Wolfkin woman down, I grabbed her juicy ass and leaned down, staring closely at my wife as I began to lick another woman''s slit, fueling her jealousy even more; I knew she was getting angry since she began to speak about something else, my wife sitting down on her bedroll and watching me with a neutral gaze. "We''ve gotten close to the edge of the Labyrinthian now without those idiotsing after us, and now all we need to do is get inside without losing more than half our forces... Hopefully our n works, and that the idiot who rules this fortress really is as stupid as we think he is." Burying my tongue into the Wolfkin''s drenched cunt, I inhaled deeply and felt my cock throb hard, my desire to cum still at an all time high even after throat fucking an Arch Fiend. "It should be... I sent in a living, breathing bundle of lust to interest him, whilst amplifying his own family''s darker desires. The entire upper caste of Castellum should be in disarray right now. And if it isn''t..." My Plum drifted towards me, licking her lips and showing me her creamy face as she whispered "I''ll go and make sure~ there is a distraction... You wouldn''t mind that, would you, Jillian~? A dozen men and women raping me over and over again until I''m just absolutely~ stuffed with their life energies and pregnant with a bastard child~?" I pulled away from the mature Wolfkin and raised a brow, guiding my cock into her prepared cunt and moaning softly as the mature slut''s thick ass rippled as I started to fuck her hard, quenching the heat in my loins with her soaked pussy. "Fuck if I care, you pink bitch. Go have a brood of bastard children if you want; so long as you maintain our deal, and eventually be MY seedbed, I don''t fucking care..! Damn she''s tight!" mming into the Wolfkin, I grinned as she moaned nkly, the pleasure in her body making her react even if she was nothing more than a husk at the moment. Plum just giggled as she continued to float around, allowing A to speak as she red at the Arch Fiend, disliking the woman still even after all this time... "Once we breach this fortress and take it for ourselves, we''ll be able to go in and out of the Labyrinthian freely. Perhaps we''ll get lucky and find what we need early on, or perhaps not... Either way, having Castellum under our rule is imperative. Especially so I can finally have my own permanentb! I''ve fallen behind on so much thanks to this..!" Grunting, I spanked the Wolfkin and enjoyed how she tightened up beneath the blow, her womb preparing to receive my seed while her body did its best to satisfy me. "This... is all~! Your doing anyways, A..! I was content to wait a little longer... to n it out some more... Though, I wouldn''t change anything..! Maybe just who we sent as Envoys into the Legion... Nabbing that Dogkin whore would''ve made this all~ the more interesting!" A just stared at me as I leaned over the Wolfkin and began to pour my sperm into her unworthy womb, my grunts filling the tent and making her even more jealous as I came and came in another woman. Though, when I was done I pulled out and dragged her over, burying her face into the Wolfkin''s pussy and growling "Drink up, my lovely wife... Drain my seed from her lowly pussy..." She shivered, before moaning as I yanked off her clothes and began to fuck her next, ignoring her ''protests'' as I imed what was mine, all while my Plum embraced me from behind and kissed me. Pleasure washed over me in waves, and each one was far more powerful than thest; literally, and figuratively. I began to umte Pleasure for my Plum to drink from me, whilst also enjoying the tightness and familiarity of my Elven wife, who had done so much to earn her spot as my woman. All of this was excellent, but what made it even better was knowing that this was getting me closer to the power I needed to kill that smug blue skinned bitch once and for all... after I turned her precious maid into my cumdump and made her watch as I did so~! And then there was Leone... perhaps I would keep the Princess as mine, to leverage the Empress into inaction as I imed her daughter as my Concubine, forced to watch on in fear of losing something so precious to her... I couldn''t help but grin as I imagined MY future in this world, where I would stand at its helm and rule it all. Chapter 758 757: Nogart (1)

Chapter 758 Chapter 757: Nogart (1)

Kat PoV "Well... did you both need to take that long, or..?" I grinned as I leaned over and gave Leone a kiss, the Vampire''s eyes widening at how I responded to her question while Anput just smirked, the Jackalkin giving us both a rather amused look. We were seated inside the carriage and journeying over towards Nogart now, the city of Emor now left empty and devoid of any mortal life, with quite arge amount of gain for us after we departed from it. Material wise, we managed to scrounge up some good loot from the city, namely arge amount of silver and gold that we decided to split 50/50 between our groups, totaling to around 60 Gold each, or 120 Gold for the entire city that we took the time to loot. Additionally, Anput bundled up the human''s weapons and some of the other weaponry we found and stashed it on our carriage forter, so that she could forge whatever she wanted during her ''down time'' when we were perusing the Dungeons. Information wise, the two humans that were kept alive from the main street were reconfirmed what I had heard, with their information being shown as ''truthful'' or something they believed to be the truth thanks to Leone''s poisons, the looming threat of torture from Setem, as well as a few magical spells of a wide range courtesy of Leone, Ammit, and Nakith. All in all, the trip was lucrative enough that I was looking forwards to scrounging around the capital of Tragon, though considering we weren''t going to be reaching the city of Nogart until dusk, it sadly meant that the day was sort of being ''wasted'' traveling throughout this ins covered Kingdom. "We didn''t need~ to take that long, but-" Jahi smirked as she reached over and patted my thigh, the Demoness positively radiating pride in how she had ravished me hard enough that my legs were both currently a tad numb, her strength matching her thrusts throughout that entire exchange. "-why shouldn''t I take it when I can get it, hmm~? I mean, I get ''it'' whenever I want, but the ce I just got it was enjoyable~!" Rubbing my thigh, Jahi looked me over and nodded her head, even more so when Leone gave her a questioning look, which prompted Jahi to say "In a ce where we could get caught? In an abandoned building where anyone could hear us~? Adds a certain thrill to the session, and Kat here is excellent~ at making a session all the better~!" Anput snorted, a teasing glint in her eyes as she tilted her head and asked "And we don''t add any sort of ''thrill''pared to her?" We all smirked as we saw the alertness in Jahi''s amethyst eyes as she sat up straight, suddenly aware of what she had said and thinking swiftly to rectify the ''slight'' she had given to her other two women. Teasing Jahi and then having some fun enduring her ''retribution'' made the time pass by quicker, and we were all thankful that the carriage driver was our ever trusted Banshee and not someone sentient who could judge us for an ''unseemly'' disy during our journey. Like we had anticipated, the sun was already beginning to descend down to the horizon by the time therge mountain that Nogart was built into, the - surprise - ruined city shrouded in shadow and radiating an eery vibe that belonged to all ruined cities that were visited at night. Considering we had to ascend some of the mountain to reach the city, Satanya stopped the carriages and got out to converse with us about how we should go about this, just in case Nogart was also in the clutches of the Cult of Ambition. Emor was a wealthy city, certainly, but it wasn''t of so much importance that they would send strong people to go and investigate it, let alone go to loot it; that was something that the grunts could do, and we had seen that first hand. Nogart, on the other hand, wasn''t just ''some'' city that had gold waiting to be imed; it was the capital, and anything that might have been missed on the first go through - which was a tad bit hectic and rather disastrous for the Empire - would still be worth quite a bit of coin and be quite important to a Cult that was trying to bolster its strength as much as it could. Materials, information, wealth... Nogart would have it all, and besides that, the city itself was still usable as a fortress for the Cult, so we needed to have a discussion on how to scout the city out and determine how we were going to proceed... Something that was rather simple, really... "Leraie and I can just go in first again, peek around and figure out what''s happening beforeing back down and telling the group. If Anput covers this area in stone and conceals the carriages, there''s little chance that the Cultists see you waiting down here; just make sure there are no fires." The red skinned Demoness that I had ''worked'' with before nodded her head, drawing her dark leather coat over her body and wrapping it closely to herself, adding "With Miss Katherine''s Wind Magic, we can effectively infiltrate Nogart and investigate whatever defenses remain. If we require aid, we can signal with a magical re; otherwise, we can do as she suggested and return to this spot with information. I see no qualms with this course of action." Ammit nodded, the golden skinned Demoness smiling gently as she said "It is a fine n. Easy. This... ''Cult'' is likely recruiting the dregs of society anyway to do their dirty work. Weaklings. Idiots. They will never notice youing, and if they do, they stand no chance against your des!" pping her hands together silently, the Cimeriesa woman turned and approached her carriage, rummaging through the luggage for a few moments before turning around with a vial in her hand, which she held up with a happy smile. "Oh, and use this~! It''s a quickness potion. Hastens your mana and loosens your muscles. Speedy. Helps do things with a sense of urgency~!" Handing it to me, Ammit made sure that I sped my hands around it as she folded her hands over mine, the golden skinned Demoness nodding to herself as she muttered "Soft. Pretty." to herself before letting go, turning and leaving the conversation just as suddenly as she entered it. I shrugged my shoulders and looked at Jahi, who had a slight frown as she stared at me, only to sigh as she nodded as well, giving her agreement for this course of action. Chapter 759 758: Nogart (2)

Chapter 759 Chapter 758: Nogart (2)

Just like with Emor, Leraie and I stuck close to the ground as we crept up the mountainside, using the long grasses and various boulders and clefts to sneak our way up towards the city''s walls, which were just as broken and ridden with gaps as those back at Emor, giving us ample entrances into the city proper. Our n was simr to the one back in Emor as well, with a swift infiltration and look around being the priority before making our way back to the others to inform them of what was lying ahead; that, or shoot off a re if the infiltration went south and we felt like we were in need of aid. And considering that we now knew that the Cult was at least showing an interest in the cities of Tragon, there was a good chance that the Cult was inside Nogart as well, and if they were... we could expect a few higher level enemies meandering around inside these walls. Even from afar, we could see movement atop the crumbling walls of Nogart, and Leraie stopped for a moment and signed something to me, the Demoness bringing her hands to her eye and making her message clear. Creating another telescope, I brought it to my eye and looked at the walls, which were nearly a hundred feet away and still just a little bit above us as well, the slop having begun to even out thesest couple hundred feet for something bearable. I gave the walls a good look over before handing it to Leraie, setting up a small, unnoticeable dome of wind around us as I asked "See anything special?" The vial of ''quickness'' that Ammit had given us was coursing through our veins, and I had to take deep breaths to calm myself down, the sudden rush of mana and what felt like adrenaline flooding my system giving me the shakes, while my senses seemed a little strained; I could hear more, smell more, and see further than normal, whilst the wind brushing against my hand, neck and face felt sharper and colder than before. Leraie looked much the same, the Demoness giving me a few nods as she answered "Not special, just noteworthy; they''re kitted out in proper armor this time, and the weapons seem to have some basic enchantments on them. Not the greatest armor or weapons, but still pretty decent; practically an entire new leaguepared to the Cultists back in Emor." "So we need to be a bit more careful with this. They had to ''earn'' that gear, which makes them a little more dangerous thanks to their experience. But..." "But they aren''t really impressive, no... If I remember correctly, there''s a clocktower or something near the far eastern corner of the city. We could use that to scout the damage and see if we can find their ''camp''?" I gave Leraie a nod and epted the telescope back, dissolving it and dropping the wind dome,?letting my actions speak for me as I began to creep forwards once again, approaching a dark, thin slice of the wall that was missing; something that wouldn''t be the ''main priority'' of a defender. Going through therger holes and entryways would be a bad idea if there was actually a sizable contingent of Cultists here, so we needed to continue ying it safe. With the suns rays giving way to the inky darkness of night, both of us weed the embrace of the shadows and slithered forwards, the rubble of the walls not hindering us at all as we moved atop the various stones and splinters of wood, entering the city without much issue. Above us, the few Cultists patrolling the walls chatted amongst themselves,zily walking and looking without much urgency or care for their ''job'', so assured that this empty Kingdom would remain just that; empty. The streets of Nogart were deste and littered with skeletons, the dead left toy where they had been in and - thankfully - devoid of mana, leaving them as merely reminders of what had happened to this once popted human city; a reminder to those still alive that somethingrger and stronger hade in andid waste to an entire city without much trouble. Storefronts werepletely empty, the ss littering the cobblestone and reflecting the little light inside the city''s walls, while the bricks from the walls and wood from the doorsy haphazardly about, the destruction of the city done in such a primal way that left little standing untouched. The bodies and the rubble were made even more eery during the night, but Leraie and I were unbothered by the creepy disy around us, slinking forwards over it all silently as we made our way deeper into the city, our hands lingering near our daggers in case we came across any Cultists. Our target was the looming structure dead ahead of us, standing over the city and facing the city proper, its twin faces that once disyed the time now left unmoving, the gears andrge clock faces now untended to and allowed to fall into disarray. It was still standing, its structure surprisingly untouchedpared to the rest of the city, though the sheer amount of boulders and rubble resting nearby made it clear that the tower was just a recipient of luck, the cliff face that had been cleaved away destroying everything near the tower, whilst the za that it was in was rtively clear. Looking this way and that, Leraie and I continued going from street to street, the tower getting ever closer whilst the sounds of the Cultists remained in the distance, though... Rounding a corner, we found a small group of three lounging at a ruined cafe, dozingfortably and enjoying theforts of a dwindling fire, a pile of gear and valuables resting behind them. Leraie nodded as I unsheathed a dagger, both of us moving around the group and positioning ourselves outside of their line of sight for the moment, watching them closely before pouncing forwards, making our attack swiftly and silently. Chapter 760 759: Nogart (3) Chapter 760 759: Nogart (3) Looming over the dozing human woman, I silently raised my dagger and nodded at the red skinned Demoness standing nearby, her own dagger held at the ready as she waited for my signal, which I provided by mping my hand over the woman''s mouth and sliding the dagger across her bare throat at the same time, cutting into it and flooding her windpipe with her own blood, forcing her to choke on it. After I killed her, I leapt onto the other and stabbed him in the throat instead, twisting the dagger and snapping his spinal cord with a quick twist, leaving this small encampment of Cultists dead. "Drag ''em into the store and hide their bodies. I''ll clean up the blood afterwards." Leraie gave me a curt nod and lifted her kill, carrying them into the destroyed store and hiding them behind the counter, before taking the body from me as I walked in behind her. Cleaning the camp up swiftly, the two of us removed as much evidence of their death as we could in as little time as possible as a precaution, just in case these Cultists were on a rotation or something with other Cultists; the longer we went undetected, the better. When we finished up, we sheathed our des and began to journey through the city once more, bing one with the shadows and making our way towards the clocktower that would serve as our vantage point and allow us to spot where these Cultists were hiding. By the time that we reached the clocktower, the sun waspletely beneath the horizon, leaving the world to be illuminated solely by the moons light; though even that was shrouded by the clouds, descending the world into darkness that only mes and mana could ward off at this time. Fire and mana that would give away your position, and as we scaled the walls of the clocktower and situated ourselves on the edge of a ''shelf'' we found ourselves privy to those locations, a few streets of the city bing illuminated by the lights of fires and mana orbs for thefort of the Cultists below, who were beginning to settle in for the night. "I count... three major glows and six minor glows... Two of those minor glows are on the walls, so those are the sentries; then there is thatrge glow just behind the wall, which is likely the sentries ''camp'', away from the rest." Leraie nodded, epting the telescope again and adding "Those two other major glows are... I believe that is the garrison and the... perhaps the forge? That makes sense; those would be the two areas that would potentially hold the most valuable gear, and if they were hoping to bolster their strength..." "They would target the locations where the weapons and armor would be stored, with the materials to make and maintain said weapons and armor being the next likely target. Then the other glows are probably banks,rge stores or merchant houses, if I had to guess. Maybe that store we were at earlier belonged to someone important?" "Perhaps... How do you want to deal with this? I think we could hit those smaller glows on our way out. Take to the rooftops and rain down silent spells onto the camps, wipe them out, before rushing down towards the others?" I pursed my lips and tilted my head, looking over the city and mapping potential routes before saying "We''d need to take the sentries out then, to make it easier. Clear out the camp and the patrols swiftly; simultaneously would be best. They might have beenzy earlier, but that could be end of shift fatigue as well as a belief that with the suns rays shining on the mountain, they could see anythinging up. Now that it''s nighttime..." Leraie nodded again, turning her gaze back towards the walls and scanning them, reporting "There are two patrols of two Cultists. And... they aren''t all humans; I see some kind of Birdkin and an Orc, and potentially an Elf..? So this batch of Cultists are a bit more troublesome." "Though, that smaller group was solely human... just coincidence, or discrimination in the ranks? I guess we''ll find out... If it is, that''s very important to make note of. Division could be easily made if we could make some sort of statement to the Cult, though I doubt they would listen to a word we say..." Humming, Leraie let the telescope dissolve in her hands as she began to climb back down the tower, the Demoness asking "So are we going to hit the smaller camps together or separate?" Grabbing ahold of a ledge, I looked down and briefly thanked that I wasn''t as afraid of heights anymore as I dropped down a bit, taking ahold of another ledge and continuing to descend towards the ground. "Together. If we saw races besides human, there is a chance they are in the other camps as well, and unless they are just talentless weaklings, they pose arger threat to us than we initially thought. So... let''s be careful. especially since there might be a mage with them, or someone who is allowed to summon forth those monster hordes or potentially even Fiends..." We reached the ground a few momentster, and without hesitation we began to move back into the city proper, forgoing the openness of the za and returning to the narrow streets that the humans apparently favored for their architecture, sneaking back towards the middle of the city where we had seen the firelight of the Cultists. A mental image of the city was constantly being imagined for me, making this easier as I plotted the course through the various streets and alleys to reach the points that I had marked on said map, with each one being valued differently. This first stop was a ways away from therger glows, meaning we had some time to work on this ce and a chance that any noise we made would go unnoticed... not that we would make a mistake like that though. Chapter 761 760: Nogart (4) Chapter 761 760: Nogart (4) Crouching low on the rooftop, I stared down into thezy atmosphere that surrounded this first smaller camp, the three barrels that were perforated on the upper rim emitting a warm glow around the street, keeping the area illuminated andfortable during this cool, breezy night in Nogart. Palisades of splintered wood and small walls of rubble had been erected around the area to block out that wind, creating aplicated corridor that maintained the heat of those barrels and allowed the Cultists to have afortable ce to rest. Numbering just under a dozen, these Cultists were spending their time chatting and waiting for a fewrge chunks of meat to cook over those barrels, spreading the delicious scent of slightly charred meat across the corridor while they sat around and counted out the wealth they had rued. Comprised entirely of humans, this group wore some better gear than the ones we had seen over in Emor, with actual quality leather draped over their shoulders, beneath which tes of steel glimmered in the firelight; their armor was what I would call ''medium load'' armor, with a nice mix between the lighter leathers and heavier tes, all of which was held together by some chainmail that further protected them. Rather uniform in appearance, the Cultists all wielded some basic weaponry as well, with swords being the most prevalent in the group, after which a few spears and a single longbow rounded out this group; none of them radiated arge amount of mana, and that was a relief as Leraie and I crept over the root tiles and looked down at our prey, waiting and watching. None of the Cultists were asleep yet, but they were huddled around those barrels seeking out warmth, which made me gesture towards the barrel in the middle and sp my hands together, before pointing at Leraie, showing her the further barrel. Understanding the signs, Leraie left my side and began to approach the other barrel, the Demoness slinking above them and staying out of sight, relying on the worse eyesight of the humans as well as their vicinity to a light source to get as close as possible. Doing the same, I idly traced out the runes of a spell, creating a disc ofpressed wind that rotated silently in my palm as I mirrored Leraie, taking a wide berth around the corridor and cing myself in the best possible location. The Demoness found me and nodded, before beginning to work as I nodded back at her, the woman watching as Iunched the disc towards the center barrel. It silently hovered above the barrel before bursting, the rush of air mming against the ground and causing the mes to erupt before they vanished, surprising the three groups and drawing their attentions towards the center. Away from Leraie and I. Creating the twin Tonfa''s again out of Ice Mana, I dashed forwards and pounced on the unsuspecting Cultists, sharpening the two rods to a point and stabbing them into two of the three Cultist''s throats, killing them quickly before yanking the Tonfa''s free and skewering the third member, both rods sticking into his chest and shattering at mymand. Each rod sent dozens of crystalline shards coursing through the man''s body,pletely destroying his internal organs and giving him a painful death, one that was well deserved for a Cultist who wished to bring harm unto my home. Reforming them a momentter, I dashed forwards and blitzed the center group, who were barely about to turn around at the sound of bodies thunking around them; they had been slightly blinded by the re of mes and were confused on what was happening since Leraie and I were being swift with their execution. We met in the middle of this corridor, Leraie''s serrated sword slicing through the neck of one Cultist while my Tonfa''s mmed against the head of another, cracking against her skull and splintering her neck as the impact traveled down her spine. The final two humans looked at Leraie and I with wide eyes, their mouths opening to no avail as the Demoness and I lunged at them as well, our weapons free and ready to reap their lives as quickly as we had theirrades. Seeing their shock at this sudden turn of events from being suddenly thrust into danger was amusing, and I smirked as I stabbed one Tonfa up through the human''s jaw, bypassing the helmet they were wearing and killing them instantly as I froze their brain and shattered it with a rapid twist. Letting the corpse fall to the ground, I looked at Leraie and nodded, both of us leaping onto the rooftops again as we continued on our journey, heading towards the walls and therge camp that awaited us there. With the kills done quickly and quietly, the rest of the city was left unaware to the two killers that snuck around in their midst; two killers who had taken away a dozen of their number without issue. But, the real challenge rested ahead in that front encampment, where the other races resided from this Cult; they would be harder to sneak by and take by surprise, especially if they were magically attuned as well. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, Leraie and I made our way over towards the wall, dropping to the street before the sentries above could catch sight of us and returning to thefort of the shadows as we crept forwards, locating the encampment swiftly. A dozen and a half Cultists milled about, and instantly we noted that each and every single one of them was of a different race, spiking this difficulty even more as we prepared ourselves, clinging to the darkness and observing the camp from afar. However, as Leraie and I settled into the house, using the windows to look out onto the streets, we both turned sharply as we heard the sound of the door opening, a curious - and cautious - voice sounding out in the empty building. Chapter 762 761: Nogart (5) Chapter 762 761: Nogart (5) Leraie and I both turned to see the neer that entered our building, surprise etched onto all three of our faces as we stared at one another in silence. My Demonesspanion and I both reacted as fast as we could, our hands moving even as we stared at the Elven woman in shock, wondering why she was entering this ce and why she had looked towards us so quickly, finding our hiding spot and reacting just a moment after we did. I flicked my hand forwards and threw a dagger towards the Elf with lethal precision and insane speed, but I was still a moment toote as the Elf let out a shout, her voice infused with mana as she tried to shout "[Barr-]!" Sadly for her, my dagger sunk into her throat and robbed her of her voice - as well as her life - but the damage had been done, her sudden shout drawing the attention of the other Cultists as they turned to stare at the building in surprise. The mana from her attempted incantation - something I dully noted was a staple amongst the Cultists, and something that I should pursue to learn - alerted them that this wasn''t the shout of a surprised woman seeing a rodent or stumbling on something, but instead of a woman who had found something dangerous, something that warranted the use of mana tobat. As such, the Cultists grabbed their weapons and armor and began to march over towards the building, shouting and beginning to encircle the area as they peered in through the windows, their own mana being used as they illuminated the area in a myriad of colors. Leraie cursed, her dagger finding its way back into its sheath as she summoned a sphere of her own mana and shot it into the air, surprising the Cultists and forcing them to take a step back, wary of the sudden sphere that appeared above them. "Why the hells did shee into this building?! Did she see us?" "She must have! It doesn''t matter; they know we''re here now, so let''s make a break for it! upstairs and onto the rooftops again, before making a run for the walls!" The Demoness nodded, raising her hands and summoning walls of stone around the building, buying us a second as we both turned and made our way onto the second level, where we climbed out of the windows and scaled the side of the building as quickly as we could, whilst also trying to remain out of sight. Her re burst and sent a thunderous p throughout the city, which gave us a minute before the others found their way into the city as well to aid us; until then though, we were on our own. Reaching the rooftop, we both cursed as a bolt of mana arced from the ground up towards our position, the Cultists below aware of our movements and sending attacks up, with a few leaping into the air and trying to scale their way up as well. Leraia raised her hands again and swiftly cast a few spells, sending the Cultists flying as she bludgeoned them off with pirs of stone, while I erected a dome of wind around us and protected us from the next barrage of spells. With the dome up and at full strength, I switched from defense to offense, maintaining the dome but prying small pieces of it off to attack instead, flicking my hand around and sending crescents of sharp wind hurtling through the air, slicing cleanly through armor and flesh alike as I targeted those that radiated more mana then the others. The Cultists shouted and began to defend themselves with their own mana, countering my wind crescents as best they could before dodging the pirs that Leraie made; for a moment the battle was at a standstill, but that changed swiftly as I sent arger, morepact crescent straight at one of the Cultists, slicing through their ward and bisecting them in two, creating a gap in their defenses that Leraie exploited instantly. Pirs erupted from the cobblestone around them, mming into their sides and throwing them around, audible cracks and cries of agony filling the air as bones were broken from the impact of both the pirs and the crashes, while one died as they tried to dodge a pir and instead had it smack them in the cheek, twisting their head and snapping their neck cleanly. That gap was filled swiftly though, the Cultists rallying and boding their mana together once more, this time ovepping it and ring up at us as they created a unified front, with a few stepping forwards and beginning to chant quietly, their hands pulsing irregrly with raw mana as they stared up at us. Frowning, I bolstered the dome around us and prepared to attack once more, while Leraie shored up our defenses as well before raising her hands, only for the two of us to shout as a heavy pressure descended on the area around us. Mana pressed down on the dome, trying to stifle the winds and remove that protective barrier so that it could instead press down on us, though even with the tightly knit dome we could feel the solid pressure of this mana intimately, Leraie and I both buckling for a moment before adjusting, standing against it and gritting our teeth as we stared at the chanting magicians below. Before we could do anything else though, the roof around us buckled too, and my eyes widened as I heard the support beams below emit a crunch as they snapped, dropping the Demoness and I into the shell of the building violently as the second floor crashed to the ground as well. We fell hard and fast, the added pressure of the mana working with gravity to m us to the ground and disorient us, knocking the air from our lungs and surprising us both; the wind dome weakened as my mind was taken from it, and a volley of concentrated spells exploded against its surface, trying to tear through the wind and reach us beneath its almost solid shell. Chapter 763 762: Battle Begins Chapter 763 762: Battle Begins Pain erupted from my back as I crashed against the ground, and the impact sent shockwaves through my body as Iid there, the air pushed from my lungs and escaping my lips in a forced gasp. My vision darkened and spun for just a moment, but that moment was enough for me to lose concentration on the spell above, the wind dome losing its connection to me and beginning to fade. A volley of explosive, powerful spells mmed against the wind dome, draining it of its power and slowly whittling down the defenses that I had erected, but thankfully I had ced enough mana into the spell to give us a few seconds to try and collect ourselves, Leraie and I slowly pushing ourselves off the ground and getting to our feet. As I stood up, my finger danced in front of me, and a cool blue light descended over my body, easing the swelling of the bruises and filling in the cracks that had spiderwebbed around my bones from the fall. Healing Leraie as well, we both began to instantly shore up our defenses once more, this time taking some more care to ensure there would be no more surprises for us should they begin to utilize some magics that we had no idea about. To say I was confused by what the earlier spell was would be an understatement; I could understand what happened and that it was casted by the Cultists, but I had no idea on how they did it. It was like the mana in the air was not only multiplied, but made heavier so that they could turn it into a weapon utilizing gravity; not something that seems possible, but this is a world of magic, and that could definitely be a lost magic... I certainly was intrigued by it, but my desires to learn more about the wonders of the arcane world were stifled currently by the fact that the people wielding that magic wanted to kill us - just like we wanted to kill them, I suppose - so I had no time to ponder the causes and intricacies of that spell; instead, I needed to prepare to kill the ones who had almost done serious harm to me. And Leraie, I suppose; the Demoness was growing on me a bit, but she was still THAT woman''s follower, and I really didn''t like that woman at all... The wind dome above began to buckle beneath the power of the spells mming against its surface, the Cultists determined to pop the bubble and bring about another wave of that pressure down onto us to restrict our movements and make us easier to dispose of - or capture. So, Leraie and I worked together to create protection for ourselves, with the Demoness summoning a dozen of those pirs to support a gigantic, thick b of rock above us, before connecting the pirs with atticework to ensure that the pressure wouldn''t break the b and rain stone down upon us. On my end, I summoned another dome of wind and shored up the underside of the b, before focusing most of the power of the dome on its sides, which were facing the street; I then began to pull the other dome down even further,yering it atop the b and sandwiching it between twoyers of wind. With that, we had created a miniature fortress, and Leraie began to box us in on all sides except the ''front'', where we were staring at the Cultists through the cracks of the rubble. Most certainly the other Cultists in the city had heard the noise of our battle - even as short as it was - and were making their way here now, whilst Jahi and our group was rushing up the mountain toe to our aid. Until then, we needed to keep ourselves safe, and with the Elf having spotted us, we were now stuck inside the city until they came to help us take down this Cult. Shouts rang out from the street as the Cultists began to coordinate once again, and the ground rumbled as spells moved from bursting against the wind dome above to instead clearing out the rubble in front of us, hoping to find a weakness on the sides instead of on top, where they had been targeting before. However, Leraie and I began to weave together a new set of spells as we watched the rubble get sted away, and I held back a smile as the ethereal blue mana of my Ice Magic illuminated the inside of our fortress, a spell ready to cut down the Cultists outside. Shaping a disc, I iid dozens of runes and began to fuel it with arge quantity of mana, making the glow brighten as the discid in my hands, ready to be used. Stones and tiles shattered and flew away as more spells mmed against the rubble, revealing more and more of a hole that we were going to be using to engage inbat with one another, and as soon as it was a decent size, I threw the disc out and arced it up into the air, copying my spell from earlier that dropped wind down into the barrel, but this time... The Cultists stared at the disc and ducked, avoiding it and turning back to stare at me as they began to sling their own spells, but after another moment they all cursed and hastily erected barriers around themselves again, staring up at the disc hatefully. Icicles crashed to the ground and shattered, the shards slicing through the air and threatening to deal damage as I enveloped their group in a storm of ice, forcing them to defend themselves against its onught, all while Leraie let the brown Ritual Circle in front of her sh as she began to cast her own spell; this one targeted them not from above, but from below once more. Spikes erupted from the ground and stabbed at the Cultists, the rock shattering against the mana barriers but drawing the attention of the Cultists as they defended themselves from this new attack, before they shouted again as they tried to create a haven in this sea of attacks. Ice arrows shattered against the barrier, whilences of solid rock threatened to pierce the barrier as they joined my arrows, the barrage now hitting the Cultists on all sides. Attacks from above, below, and the sides threatened to eradicate this group of Cultists, but their reinforcements reached them before ours did,ing in all shapes and sizes. Cultists stood at the end of the road,ing from deeper in the city and looking down the street to see our battle, and before Leraie and I could react, we saw blue and violet colored portals open up in front of those Cultists, with monsters spilling out and swarming the streets. Chapter 764 763: Battle of Nogart (1)

Chapter 764 Chapter 763: Battle of Nogart (1)

Leraie and I stared at the oing horde of monsters in silence, therge, muscr, and powerful Ogres stomping down the street with those ck metal cors firmly coiled around their bulging necks, allowing the Cultists behind who summoned them to give them orders to attack us. The group of Cultists in front of us were still sheltering in ce at the onught of attacks that were sent their way, but with this new threat steadily approaching us with the strength and simplemindedness only a monster could boast. With Jahi and the others who knows how far out, Leraie and I needed to continue to hold our own against this onught, just like the Cultists in front of us did as well - so, we poured more mana into our defenses whilst trying to maintain the spells attacking that group as well, hoping that we could create a stalemate to stall for just a little longer. That was all we needed - a little bit longer; just a few more minutes, that''s all. Diverting our mana from one set of spells to another meant that the one receiving less mana weakened significantly, and sadly that was the offensive spells that were trying to reach the group in front of us... but thankfully they were still strong enough to keep them on their toes and on the defensive. Ogres stomped down the street and snarled at us, their bulging stone gray flesh rippling with power as they made their way towards us, their horned heads and sharp, deep brown eyes promising violence should they reach the dome. Mingled in with the muscr hulks that were lurching towards us were the usual little goblins that scrambled between the legs of the Ogres, trying their best to avoid getting stomped into mush beneath the stampede of Ogres that had flooded the street. With a horde of monstersing from one way and a group of magically talented Cultists in front, Leraie and I were in a bit of a tight spot, but one that we were more than capable of getting ourselves out of. Siphoning a bit more mana away from the offensive spell above the group of Cultists, I instead used that mana to instead repeat my techniques again, sending crescents of wind whistling into the oing horde and catching the off guard as I cut a few Ogres and Goblins down. The crescents sliced cleanly into their flesh and cutting them down, arms and legs dropping to the ground whilstrge gashes appeared in their chests or heads, revealing the bones and muscle beneath their rough, leathery flesh. My hands blurred in front of me as I waved them this way and that, looking like a conductor more than a magician as I directed the choir of wind around us to create a killing crescendo for the horde. Those crescents flew through the air swiftly, but as soon as the first row of Ogres fell to the sudden and deadly gale of magic, the ones behind grunted and growled as they coated their grey flesh in brown mana, toughening their flesh at the cost of mobility as they slowed down. However, that added defense was damn near impervious to the speedy, yet somewhat weak des that rained down on their sluggish advance, meaning the only things that fell beneath my assault were the Goblins and the asional Ogre that had a weaker body and weaker mana than its brethren. Behind them, the portals remained open, spilling forth more and more monsters that began their march on our fortress, their mortal overseers giving them orders to advance forwards and tear down the building around us so that they might expose us and attempt to kill us. "I''ll focus on the defenses, Miss Katherine..! Please, push them back before we are overwhelmed!" Hearing Leraie''s strained voice, I nodded and fueled the dome just a little bit more before pulling back all of my mana, beginning to weave together a new set of spells as I stared at the oing horde. Tracing out dozens of runes, I crafted a spell and tossed the Ritual Circle into the air again, letting it expand and enveloped the surrounding area in my personalized Domain, the temperature dropping as the breeze picked up into a gale, while ice formed on the ground, rubble and walls, emitting a chilling frost. With my Domain beginning to take effect around us, I started weaving together yet another spell as the Ogres began to slip on the ice on the ground, stumbling together and slowing their march even more, while the Goblins unfortunately found themselves slipping and sliding aroundrgerrades. Meanwhile, the Cultists across the street began to drop their barriers and try to resume their attacks, taking this lull and trying to retake the advantage as they began to chant again, their unusual magics ring up once more. However, their voices caught in their throats as they heard the sound of one of their number fall to the ground, her blood and brain matter painting their cheeks a reddish pink. Looking down, they saw a headless corpseying in a pool of blood beside them, the Deerkin''s body twitching as her muscles enjoyed thest few electrical impulses of her life, which had been cut short as an arrow of ice exploded inside her skull. Another Cultist dropped, suffering the same fate as the first as two arrows struck their body, one to the head and one to the chest, the wind swirling around the arrow''s tips exploding as soon as they entered their target, ripping outrge chunks of flesh with ease. Their barrier barely returned as a storm of those arrows rained down on their position, and with its swift return itcked the power needed to withstand such a concentrated attack, allowing a few to crack open their protections and create entrances for the other arrows to slice on through. Impacting the cobblestone, the ice arrows shattered and sent my deadly crystalline slivers flying through the air, cutting into their flesh and spreading frost amongst them, eating away at their flesh and stymieing their mana, causing the barrier to falter and eventually break as more and more arrows rained down on their position. Cutting the Cultists down with a storm of dozens of arrows, I turned the Ritual Circle from the group of mortals to the horde of monsters, redirecting the storm and bringing it to bear against the mana d Ogres, who stomped forwards and walked into the rain of arrows with that idiotic determination that made them so dangerous. Chapter 765 764: Battle of Nogart (2)

Chapter 765 Chapter 764: Battle of Nogart (2)

Aiming the Ritual Circle at the oing horde, I unleashed a hail of wind empowered ice arrows that mmed against the brown mana shells of the Ogres, listening to the sounds of the arrows exploding as they crashed against the Ogres bodies, creating chinks in their mana shell that slowly leaked the rest of their mana into the air, weakening the shell. More arrows mmed into their bodies, and with each new arrow raining down upon the horde, I gradually weakened and slowed them down even more, the hulking grey skinned monsters raising their arms and trying to swat the arrows away, only to have them explode against their forearms now and blow chunks of their flesh away. The Goblins weren''t even noteworthy, the crystalline shards that had be a staple of my fighting style flying through the air after each arrow found its mark, slicing through the smaller, weaker monsters and inflicting them with a deep frost that eventually killed them - if a myriad of puncture wounds or being stepped on by the Ogres didn''t do that first, anyways. Behind the horde, the Cultists remained by the portals, channeling their magics into maintaining the doorways between Nogart and wherever they were keeping these monsters as livestock, tapping into their reserves and trying their damndest to overwhelm Leraie and I with the sheer number of these bulky Ogres. Now that the imminent threat had been taken care of directly in front of us, Leraie joined me on the offensive, redirecting her focus from the fortress she had created to instead the horde stomping down towards us, each of their footsteps impeded by the thick ice sheet beneath them and the frigid temperatures. Leraie kept it simple for herself, so that she could redirect her attention again if she needed to with no issue; a bunch of stonences began to whistle through the air as she hurled them at the monsters in front of us, relying on the weight and velocity of thences to tear through the Ogres mana shell and destroy the meat underneath. With my arrows and hernces raining down upon the horde, we slowed them down to a crawl, bodies piling up in front before eventually evaporating into dust like usual, their ck cors and the asional material remaining behind from the corpses of the monsters we killed, while theirrades behind them stomped forwards anyways, determined to reach us. Seconds ticked by slowly, each one keeping the air pregnant with suspense for Leraie and I as we scanned the streets for any new threats, wondering if the Cultists had something else in store for us now - like that magical gravity pressure attack from earlier, or a new monster - or if the other Cultists were joining the fray, nking around us and trying to catch us off guard. We were ''stranded'' in enemy territory, and caution was the only way we would get out safely, leaving each second to stretch on for eternity... yet also fly by just as quickly as normal. The more I rained my arrows down on that horde, and the morences that mmed into their front ranks, the quicker time went by as I absorbed the information being presented to us, calcting the numbers of monsters left, seeing if the Cultists were still in the back with the portals, gauging the distance between us... All of it made time pass at an interesting, fluctuating rate that I could barelyprehend as we remained in our miniature fortress, slinging spells around and cutting down the horde as it approached us as quickly as it could on the frozen street. Each Ogre that fell was quickly reced by another, and the unending horde of monsters was slowly - very slowly - inching closer to us with each passing second, their roars of frustration and sharp ws and horns glittering in the pale light of the ice. Though, they began to glitter in something else as a blinding light filled the street, followed immediately by a wave of blistering heat that created a wall of steam as the ice melted a little beneath the inferno that mmed into the front of the horde. Looking towards the wall, Leraie and I saw the brilliant red Ritual Circle rotatingzily in front of a ashen haired woman, her smoldering crimson eyes visible from this distance - the same as the pair of liquid gold eyes that loomed behind her. Another gigantic ball of mes began to gather and rotate in front of Leone, with the golden skinned Demoness standing beside her andyering another Ritual Circle beneath Leone''s, supporting her spell and creating something more destructive as lightning arced randomly around the fireball. "I think we should get down for this one..." Leraie nodded, and once more we switched our mana from offensive spells to defensive spells as we consolidated our fortress and added more and moreyers of protection, with my Ice and Leraie''s Earth alternating as we slowly created a tiny box for us to stand in, hoping to withstand that powerful spell. We could feel it when it got cast, the earth rumbling as the fireball chewed into the street and rolled towards the Cultists, where it evaporated the monsters and consumed most things in its path... All of that was assumptions, since I was just staring at an ice wall hoping that there wasn''t a counter to a spell of that magnitude inside the Cultists arsenal, so I just took a deep breath and waited for the sounds and rumbling to stop before creating a small window for me to look out of. The street was bathed in mes - like I had expected - and there was little for me to actually see from where I was, but I knew that I could begin making my way back onto the street... if only because the bond between Jahi and I grew closer at a rapid pace, telling me the Demoness was rushing towards my position. Leraie dropped the walls at my nod, and we stepped onto the burnt, melting and ssed street of Nogart, the smell of ash permeating the air alongside the scent of burning blood and flesh, making my nose scrunch up as all of that rushed into my nostrils and overloaded my sense of smell. However, it was quickly reced by the naturally sweet scent of Jahi as she appeared in front of me, the blue skinned Demoness pulling me into a hug and holding me close, despite knowing that I was perfectly alright. But... I just enjoyed the warmth of her embrace as we stood there, and I didn''t particrly mind being held like this after what just happened; it made me ''feel'' like I was a maiden who had just gone through something unbelievable, despite me having taken care of myself... Chapter 766 765: Sweep

Chapter 766 Chapter 765: Sweep

Jahi PoV Pulling away from the soft body of my Dogkin lover, I looked around and chuckled softly as I saw Leone and Ammit walking through the scorched street, each brick and cobblestone covered in a ck soot from the immense fireball they had decided these monsters and Cultists deserved. "Was that entirely necessary? Now we have nothing to go off of for their purpose here or if there are more inside of Tragon. We could have kept it to a minimum, no?" Ammit was the one to reply, the gold skinned Demoness tilting her head as she observed the damage done with a neutral expression, her azure tipped horns still sparking sporadically as she answered "I was holding back quite a bit though..? Weak. They were rather unimpressive for Cultists..." We all stared at the woman for a few moments, making her confused as she joined us in inspecting the damages done to the city, which were... abundant. Really, really abundant. Leone was blushing slightly as she looked around with us, before shrinking in on her self for a moment as she muttered "W-Well... Y-Yes, t-they should have blocked some of the attack... right..?" I raised a brow as I alternated my gaze between the two magically adept women, before sighing as I turned towards Satanya, who was just smirking as she shook her head, seemingly ustomed to the overkill that Ammit was capable of. "Well, we still have arge amount of the city to pour over and search. Who knows what we''ll find... and if someone was hiding themselves away from having toe forwards and fight. Groups like these always tend to have cowards..." Satanya walked forwards and nudged one of the charred corpses with her boot, sneering down at the burnt, ckened body and giving it a dismissive kick as she looked around the area, gesturing towards the clusters of mortal bodies as she asked "These ck cors... or what''s left of them, anyways... these are the things that they use to control monsters, right? Something magical about them or something?" "Yeah, I think Lady Lorelei found out it was Moon Magic that was controlling their minds or something... I don''t really know the specifics, but..." Ammit''s ears perked up at that, the woman''s thirst for any and all knowledge rted to the arcane arts drawing her interest as she approached me, staring at me with those unique eyes as she asked "She did?! Moon Magic?! Ooh! Curious! Very very curious! What else did she say? Anything?" The Demoness leaned forwards and ignored the soft growling from Kat''s throat as she grabbed my arm and tried to pull me closer to herself, the woman''s eyes sparkling with desire as she repeated "What else did she say?!" She failed to even make me move, but the sheer amount of curiosity in her eyes and the way she stared up at me with a slightly innocent expression was..." Well, I can understand why Kat growled at the woman, even more so when Ammit tried to close the gap between us to bring her face closer to mine. Thankfully Nakith grabbed her and pulled her away, before the bristling puppy that was now clinging to my side could nip at the Demoness. That forced separation made Ammit take a breath as she instead leaned down and picked up the fragments of the cors, forgetting me and instead muttering to herself as she studied the fragments, looking at them intently. I chuckled softly as I gave Kat a yful pinch, reminding her that I understood who I was tied to and who I would always love. "Well, we should go ahead and begin to search the city then, no? Perhaps we can find ourselves one of these Cultists cowards, or maybe some letters or orders that they had stashed away at one of their camps?" Satanya just gave Kat and I a once over before giving a curt nod, turning towards Leraie and saying "Tell us what you saw inside the city before being discovered, and lead us towards any points of interest. Miss Jahi, take your group and start sweeping the city as you please. We''ll reconvene at the city''s center when you''re finished. And if ANY trouble happens, send up a re; I don''t care how small the threat may be, we need to be aware of it. If they have ess to portal magics, then who knows what could be lurking around any of these corners. Understood?" Despite her tone being slightly grating to hear - my natural stubbornness and desire to be the one in charge showing through for a brief moment - I mirrored Satanya and gave her a nod as well, stifling my other feelings and focusing entirely on the task at hand as I replied "Got it. To make it easier, we''ll take the western half of the city and make our way towards the castle before heading back towards the center." Saying so, I gestured for Anput and Leone to join Kat and I as I set off towards the next street over, all while my adorable, territorial murderpuppy clung to my arm, a small pout on her face as she reenacted some of what happened back in Emor, though on a lesser scale. Sensing the mood, Anput grabbed my other arm and stuck her tongue out at Leone, who pouted and blushed as she noticed me smirking back at her as well, so she walked forwards and walked just in front of me, doing her best to imitate the way Kat sometimes walked whilst keeping it slightly natural... though her red ears and cheeks made it clear she was struggling to do so. We left the others behind and made our way onto a non burnt street, with Kat pointing in a new direction as she guided us towards one of the ces she had determined as a point of interest inside the city, all while teasing me as we unwound just a tad; though considering how her ears were twitching and her gaze never lingered on me for more than a few moments, she was still alert, something we all picked up on and copied as we walked through the silent streets of Nogart. Chapter 767 766: Letters

Chapter 767 Chapter 766: Letters

Kat PoV (no idea why I switched to Jahi PoVst chapter lmao) "Oh, look at this~! Ain''t this a great find!" Anput untangled herself from Jahi''s arm and bounced over towards the long, weapon covered racks inside the rather fortified, stone brick cube that we located, its purpose quite clear; it was a forge and an armory, and considering the fires outside and the now empty tents set up around the area, this was one of the points that the Cultists turned into a campsite so that they could take stock of the loot. "A good amount of weapons, surprisingly... and raw materials as well. It was out of the way too, so I guess we missed itst time since we were... preupied." Jahi was frowning as she looked around at the various weapon racks, taking in the various spears and swords that glittered in the firelight, though Anput looked into one of the furnaces and said "No, these were freshly made. There''s a good amount of ash inside these furnaces that''s fresh... The materials might have been here, but I think these Cultists were here longer than we expected. Though..." Lifting one of the swords from the rack, Anput inspected its surface for a brief moment, running her finger down the edge and frowning as she asked "Why make the weapons here, in Nogart, instead of transporting the materials back and making them at their home base in Amioux or wherever?" Leone was the one to specte, the Vampire looking around the forge as she said "Perhaps they were tasked with turning Nogart into a base of operations? Stock it up, repair it to an extent, and maintain it so that whenever they decide to garrison it, they have what they need? Honestly, after the creatures made their way through Tragon, I wouldn''t argue with someone if they said that the poption of this Kingdom was zero. That creature seemed to be whetting its appetite for violence inside this Kingdom... for one reason or another." Feeling Jahi rub my back, I looked up at the Demoness and tilted my head, inspecting her features as she said "I guess that makes sense... Especially since that other Cult was here, albeit briefly. Though, I wouldn''t call that Nua Arch Fiend''s appearance the appearance of a Cult; it just raised the dead of that city and summoned up that old monster. Still..." Taking a deep breath, Jahi pursed her lips and stepped forwards, inspecting the various weapons with Anput before looking at Leone as she added "It would be weird for the Cult of Ambition to want to nab Nogart for themselves. They have to know that the Empire wasing to take the Kingdoms; it wasn''t hidden knowledge, and while these Cultists seem to believe this Amioux city is their main base, I don''t buy it. I think they''re more rooted into the Empire than they let on." "I... That makes sense actually. For them to have Rena County - specifically Vulpe City - as well as arge chunk of the poption of the Witrani Barony beneath their control, they have to have a significant force in the Empire. And while the Confederation is a semi powerful area, it isn''t the Empire; resources and information are less abundant there, and for a Cult... the risk is not outweighed by the reward of being inside the Empire. Least of all if they can blend in." Leone gave me a nce and nodded, the Vampire letting out a sigh as she recalled the time in the Rena County with mixed feelings - some good, some bad. "Alright, well lets check the containers and stack everything nicely for when wee back... and ce some defenses around this. I am NOT convinced that we killed all of the Cultists back there, not one bit..." We all nodded at Jahi''s words, and I reluctantly released her arm and made my way over towards a chest, smirking inwardly as I felt the three gazes of my lovers on me as I began to look around. It was obvious what they were looking at, so I gave them the show they wanted whilst keeping it tame enough that we didn''t get pulled into something risky in enemy territory... but it was hard to not unt myself when they were all really obvious with their wants~! Opening the lid of the chest, I nodded to myself as I lifted out a bar of metal, its makeup eluding me for the moment as I inspected its silvery blue surface and showed it to Anput, who just nodded before making her way over towards another container, opening it up and rifling through it as well. Lifting the bars, I made sure there were no other types of metal sorted into this chest, before stopping for a moment as I saw the edge of a piece of paper poking out from beneath one of the bars. Freeing the paper, I lifted it out and turned around, leaning against the chest and reading the letter out loud. "Belkan, make sure to keep an eye on Yulie whilst you''re in Nogart; that knife eared whore has been sniffing around for evidence on our deals with the Deacon Fulbargn. If she makes any moves, you know what to do." It was a small slip of paper, and I raised a brow as I handed it off to Jahi, who reread it and shook her head slightly, bbergasted at the words inked onto the paper. "Who the hells sends this to someone whilst they are deployed..? Anyone could havee across this, especially someone who liked this Yulie woman... Though, I guess this goes to show the Cult of Ambition has some fractures already... and their leading caste - or at least, the caste above the normal members - are called Deacons and have some form of authority or power to make some deals. Interesting." "Ah, there''s another one over here!" Leone was rummaging through the bags left near the door, and she pulled out a letter and read "Mission Statement : Secure Nogart for future use. Bolster its defenses and prepare to receive reinforcements at midnight on the night of the full moon. Allmand will be relinquished to Deacons Fulbargn and Renama upon arrival. Mission Reward : Fifty Marks per person, with an additional set of Marks being awarded for those that go above and beyond." She handed it to Jahi as well, before taking a look outside and staring up at the moons,ing back in and saying "Well... good news is, its not the night of either full moon. Bad news is... that''s likely tomorrow or the day after? For at least one of them. A week for the other..." The Demoness snorted and shook her head, looking down at the two letters as she said "That''s... quite lucky, I guess. We have time to go back and get reinforcements from Arx Impius to capture the Deacons and learn more about this Cult. Shouldn''t take more than a day to get back to Arx Impius and then return to Nogart, so long as you travel fast. Gives us time to prepare as well." We all looked at one another, before Leone and I rolled our eyes at the obvious excitementing from both Jahi and Anput as they were promised a fight against something a bit more challenging than monsters... and were likely hoping that the Deacons would put up a semnce of a fight. Chapter 768 767: Fortification (1) Chapter 768 767: Fortification (1) Sweeping the rest of Nogart yielded very little else of interest for us as we cleared the rest of the western side of the city, looking through all sorts of buildings and meeting with Satanya in the midst of our route when we both were looking closer to the center. Upon hearing the news of the impending arrival of the Cult, the Young Miss of the Beliali n frowned and epted the letter we handed her, going over it herself before handing it to Ammit to read as well, her lips pulled into a frown as she pondered what she read. "This is... a boon, yet also a rather annoying happening as well. Ronove, take one of the horses and make haste back to Arx Impius. Tell Lord Belian, the Madam, and Lady Hathor about these Cultists arrival, and give them the letter to read too. Bring back a dozen warriors at least before dusk tomorrow. Go quickly now..." The red skinned man nodded and swiftly turned to leave, heading out of the city before being followed by Luci as Satanya added "Luci, bring the carriages in for me. That Banshee can bring their carriage in, it just... needs supervision is all. Park ''em in the center. I want to go ahead and start making this city a deathtrap for those damn Cultists..." Looking back at us, Satanya pursed her lips and said "Finish the rounds quickly. We need to begin fortifying this shit hole of a city into something we can defend from whatever the hell the Cultists bring down upon us. I don''t want them to take this ce, nor do I want them on ournd!" Jahi just snorted as she nodded at the red skinned woman''s fervor, saying "Aye aye Miss Leader~!", which made Satanya raise a brow and roll her eyes before turning and leading her group back into the city. Our findings weren''t impressive, with the only things of note being that armory, two banks, a merchant hall and then the general money we found left behind in some of the buildings, all of it amounting to a nice amount of general wealth, but... Nothing impressive, really. Anput was excited though, since she now had an abundance of metals to y with, adding to her already deep reserves of materials that I sincerely doubt she will ever manage to get through... but I wasn''t going to rain on her parade at all. As for Leone, there were a few alchemical ingredients being used as housents and being grown in some of the richer houses gardens, and she was willing to try some rudimentary alchemy with some thrown together equipment that both Anput and I could throw together for her. And... the wealth that we gained was important, since it would help Jahi establish her own funds to begin doing legitimately anything with, be it investing inrger businesses, starting her own businesses, buying properties, employing skilled people... there was a lot that we could do with this extra influx of coin, and so long as we yed our cards right, we could snowball this initial wealth into generational kinds of wealth that the Marquess had umted for herself. From what I could remember Mother offhandedly telling me - as well as the words of the Countess whenever we went shopping - the Marquess had an absurd amount of money in coin, as well as quite the amount in hard assets across the Empire; plus... well, the Vice Captain of the Knights of Cinder could definitely go on a mission once or twice to earn more money than some smaller Noble Houses would see in a few years... So it wasforting to know that we were able to fall back on that mountain of tinum''s if we ever needed it, but all of us wanted to be able to create our own mountain of coin to use whenever we pleased, and I think we were beginning to create that mountain slowly but surely... But, that mountain needed time and care, and right now wasn''t the time to think about this proverbial ''mountain'' that was nothing but a thought, so instead I returned my focus towards the clearing that was in the center of the city where we had set up our base of operations. Our carriages were here, and Satanya had a table made in the center that held up a map of Nogart, one that they had from who knows how long ago. "Alright, I think the best thing for us to do would be funnel them down certain paths, no? Wall off certain streets and createyers of said walls to ensure they instead head for one of the more open pathways, which would lead them straight towards us..?" Satanya looked up and looked between Ammit, Jahi, and Leraie, the older Demoness pursing her lips as she leaned over the table and studied the map. "I... don''t think that works with these Cultists. Respectfully, of course, Lady Satanya... but they aren''t a normal army. They have ess to those portals. I think it''d be best to focus our efforts on creating a smaller area for us to upy and work out of instead of trying to upy the entire city. They could be marching over to Nogart, or they could teleport here based on something we haven''t seen. Maybe one of the Cultist left behind some sort of mark or there''s something hidden inside the city for these Deacons to use? We just don''t know how they''ll get here, and I think we need to ept that they could either attack the walls or appear inside them." Jahi tapped the center of the map, where we were located, and said "We can take this za and make it into a fortress. Fill in the various buildings around us, wall off some of these other streets, and create concentric rings around this za to defend. Just keep going until we feel satisfied? I agree with Leraie though; we have no idea how these Deacons will appear here, and since the letter specified full moon for the time, perhaps this is for a ritual or something. Portals might just be the best option for them, no?" Sighing, we all looked around therge, empty za and turned towards the Earth Magicians in our group, who smiled wryly as they just nodded and leaned closer to the table, where we began to create a rough model of the area to better n everything out for the battle toe. We needed to prepare ourselves, and the rest of tonight, all of the next day, and then a few hours into the next night were ours to use; we needed to create a trap for these Cultists and capture one of those two Deacons, so that we could better understand the enemy we were dealing with. Chapter 769 768: Fortification (2) Chapter 769 768: Fortification (2) "Anput, thicken this wall here by another foot." Tapping the rock wall, I nced at my mate and watched as the lithe olive skinned Jackalkin stomped over to me, her pout reminding me of a child''s as she ced her hands on the wall and imbued it with her magic, grumbling quietly to herself the entire time. "''Thicken this wall'', ''Make this one taller''... ''Hey Anput, we need a wall here''..!" Letting her grumble in peace, I swiftly scaled the building beside us and looked out over the city, taking in the concentric rings that protected the city center, where we had built our base of operations; really, we just had a few rudimentary tents set up for now, with all of us focusing instead on fortifying the area. Leone, Ammit and Nakith were going aroundcing the streets and buildings with traps, while Anput, Leraie, and Setem were erecting walls for us to us; Jahi, Luci and I were just roaming around to gather up the remaining gear and bring it back to the center, where we could make use of it and begin to note down what we had. Currently, I was supervising the Jackalkin as she was doing her job, the woman not entirely pleased with how thorough we wanted to be with the defenses - though we all knew that was just on the surface, since she still went above and beyond with the tasks at hand without us needing to press her for more. Making sure she did what was needed wasn''t hard, but sometimes she needed a reminder that some of the walls really weren''t that expertly created by herself, since they were just a bit thin or bit short; I could understand why she was zoning out doing this, but I still made sure to remind her. "Am I even getting paid for this?!" As I dropped to the ground, I snorted as the words of my mate drifted into my ears, her obsidian eyes narrowed as she red down at the cobblestones, tapping the tip of her boot against them and pouting some more. Rolling my eyes, I approached Anput and grabbed her hand, making her look up at me as I whispered "You''re not being paid in coin, no, but if you do your job and do it well, perhaps you and I can work something out..?" Seeing the familiar embers of lust beginning to burn inside her obsidian eyes, I smiled as she swiftly pushed me against the wall she had just made, her leg finding its way between mine while her hands pinned my wrists to the rock, trapping me between herself and her wall. Anput leaned closer and kissed my jawline, before trailing up towards my lips as she whispered "I want the same treatment Jahi got, back in Emor... You, me, a random building somewhere within the city limits, and not a damn worry in the world..." I met her and gave her an answer through my actions, rubbing my leg against her and kissing her back, enjoying the flood of citrus on my tongue as she gave me a deep kiss. She released my lips and kissed my cheek again, going down towards my corbone as she gently licked the flesh above my pheromonal nd, her eyes taking a silver hue as she looked up at me through hershes, a heated promise waiting in those brilliant orbs. Reluctantly pulling away, Anput freed me and looked me up and down, clearly anticipating the payment that she desired from me, which made my smile widen as I pushed off the wall and yfully tapped her cheek, whispering "Sounds good to me, my love... Though, that means you should finish up quickly here, so that we can have some time to ourselves before the sun rises~!" Grinning back at me, Anput nodded and licked her lips, before sending me on my way with a yful swat on my bottom, which made me unt myself to her as I walked away, the extra sway in my hips and exaggerated strut grabbing Anput''s entire mind and forcing her to hold herself back from pouncing on me, something that made me quite proud at how Ipletely enthralled this woman who could have the world at her beck and call thanks to her own potential and her status as Begum. It was the same thrill I got whenever theuded Scion of Asmodia turned to mush in front of me when I made use of her bottomless sexual appetite to ''control'' her, or how enamored the Princess of our Empire became with a mere touch and a sweet whisper in her ears; both were such unique pleasures since I knew I was the only one able to make them act that way. Making my way back to the center with a giddy, warm heart, I slipped into the silent encampment and got to work setting everything up for dinner tonight, knowing that everyone else was going to be ravenous after an entire day of travel and fighting once again; we thankfully had decided to pack a bunch of excess foodstuffs for just this asion, so I had more than enough ingredients to turn into a scrumptious feast for ten people... I hope, anyways; Jahi ate more than Anput, Leone and Ibined, making her roughly four people by herself - Anput ate for two, while Leone and I were usually normal with our appetites - so I was hoping that the other Demons weren''t that ravenous as well, since... well, we had a lot of foodstuffs, sure, but... Not that much. If they all ate at least double, I would need enough food for around two dozen people, and that was if they were ONLY double... Hopefully Jahi was the outlier in that regard thanks to herrger frame, muscles, and physical strength, leaving the others to only eat enough for two normal people... If not, then the idea of a giant vat of stew was already going to be strained, since the hope of filling their bellies with liquids to attain that ''full'' feeling was my primary n for this dinner. With everyone out and about fortifying the city, I was content to remain back in the middle of this crumbling city as I began a fire and started heating up a giant cauldron of water that I had Anput make before we set off to work; alongside that, I used the pots and pans to begin cooking the rest of the meal, cutting the meats into smaller cubes while the bones cooked inside the pot, creating a rudimentary stock for the base of the stew. Besides the stew, I also nned on making some basic breeds and noodles with the dough I had brought along, which was chilling inside the ice chest attached to our carriage; I packed quite a bit of foodstuffs since I didn''t know just how long we''d be gone, and I knew how much we all preferred a real meal over whatever I could just throw together haphazardly. Preparing the meats, vegetables, and stock divided my attention really well, and I didn''t notice anyoneing back to the camp until I felt the familiar giant of a woman drape herself over my back, taking her ce and following me around as I continued to cook, not thinking at all about the battle toe tomorrow night. Chapter 770 769: Payment* Chapter 770 769: Payment* Bringing the bowl to my lips, I drained the rest of the stew from the container and nodded to myself as I finished off my meal, the beef stock seasoned with a few different spices I had brought along, adding some well needed heat that kept us warm inside, whilst the mes of our campfire kept our skin toasty too. "Damn... that''s rather good for something quick! How''d you learn to cook like this, Miss Katherine?" Leraie gave me an appreciative nod as she smacked her lips together, the Demoness mirroring me as she finished off her own bowl - albeit with the much more efficient mopping of the broth with her bread. "My Mother mostly, though practice was what made this perfect~! d you appreciated it, Leraie; and the rest of you... all of you." I added thatst part quietly, but everyone here had heightened senses, so they just gave me a wry smile - while Ammit tilted her head and looked around, focusing closely on Satanya, who just raised a brow at me - before they too began to finish their own meals, creating a pile of bowls and utensils that I needed to clean. Something that might have taken a dozen minutes or so with the proper tools and basins only took me a moment as I absorbed everything into a sphere of water and began to clean everything off, the sphere of dirtied water getting dissolved by my mana before dissipating awaypletely. Standing up, I stretched and nced at Anput, who got up as well with a small smile, her ''hunger'' still clear as she began to make her way towards me, saying "Kat, think you can help me bring back some of those containers from the forge~? I think we forgot to bring them all back in our rush..." Ammit watched us again in confusion, the golden Demoness turning back to Satanya and looking for an answer, those Ritual Circle eyes glowing brightly in the dark of night still managing to convey her curiosity and inability to understand perfectly well. Satanya just rolled her eyes again and muttered "Here I thought I was bad..." before waving us away, only to sigh deeply as Jahi stood up and added "That reminds me! Leone, there was a few herbs that we forgot back at that merchant hall! C''mon, let''s go~!" The other Demons all gave us bemused looks as they watched our group split into two and leave the campsite behind, going off to relieve ourselves under the guise of bringing back materials that we ''forgot'' to retrieve before... As soon as Anput and I were out of sight, the Jackalkin let out a satisfied growl as she pped my ass and sunk her fingers into my butt, pulling me closer as she pressed our bodies together, sharing her warmth and drowning me in her scent as we made our way to the forge. "For hours now I''ve only thought of devouring you, Kat... it''s been torturous, y''know~? Such a promising, extravagant reward waiting to be imed made each second stretch out for millennia..." Leaning into her side, I smiled and enjoyed the way she groped me, my body bing hotter and hotter as I inhaled her pheromones - something those spices could never replicate was this heat that permeated my chest, wrapped tightly around my womb and my heart as I walked beside my mate. Anput whispered sweet nothings into my ear as she pushed me into the forge, the empty building bing our temporary den as the Jackalkin stripped, revealing her chiseled body and pulsing red cock, filling the area with her scent as she watched me closely as I began to slowly and tantalizingly strip off my clothes as well. Resting against an anvil, Anput smirked as she stroked herself, drinking in the beauty of her mate as I allowed my shirt to drop to the floor, my bra revealed to her whilst my toned stomach and pale skin was allowed to be kissed by the cool air. Undoing the belt, I turned and gazed at Anput from over my shoulder as I began to shimmy my pants down to my ankles, bending over and unting the ass that she had been ying with the entire trip here, though her ''reward'' remained hidden behind my panties. Stepping out of my boots, I stood in front of Anput and turned back around, unsping my bra and smirking at her as I saw her lean forwards, her eyes glued to my breasts as she awaited the reveal. My heart leapt around my chest happily as I shrugged the simple ck bra off my breasts, revealing them to her and feeling ted at how her eyes widened and her breathing quickened as she began to stroke herself faster. I stepped closer to her, bringing her gaze from my chest to my face as I whispered "Do you want to take thisst piece off, or should I..?" Anput pushed off the anvil and stood in front of me in a sh, her hands already on my hips as she pulled me close, mming her lips against mine as she hungrily began to kiss me. Her knot rested just atop my crest, the heat sending sparks up my spine whilst her nibble on my lower lip made me moan loudly, joining that spark to light the mes of desire inside my mind, pushing me further into my ever present lust as my mate held me close. "Is... Is that even a question, Kat..? Any day, any hour, anywhere... I will ALWAYS want to strip you myself... to be able to bask in your scent directly..." Anput began to trail her kisses from my lips down towards my jaw, speaking between each kiss and enunciating her desires with said kisses, before dropping down to my corbone and reminding me of the marking toe as she pressed her lips against the skin that protected my nd. "To be able to taste my mate and prepare her for what is toe is an honor no Caninekin would refuse, no matter what..." Her lips brushed against my breasts like the airpped at my skin, finding her way down my body as she worshipped it all, nuzzling against my breast before kissing and tugging on my nipple with her lips, that all too familiar teasing light making me shiver before I felt my womb throb as she went lower, kissing my abdomen and crouching down. "I love being able to show this care before and after, Kat... to be gentle before I get rough with you, to be gentle after I ravage you... You needn''t ever ask if I WANT to be soft with you, my love... To hold you and prepare you to be knotted, to soothe you afterwards..." Anput trailed her tongue around my belly before reaching my crest, tracing out the lines and making me shiver as she got closer to my sensitive, needy pussy, which was still covered by a piece of cloth, separating her from me. Getting onto her knees, Anput rubbed her cheek against my pussy and smiled up at me, before hooking her fingers beneath the straps and pulling them down, staring at me from up close and making me blush slightly at the show she put on for me, switching the roles without hesitation. Despite having shown her myself countless times already, and having been in much less ttering positions, watching her observe and lovingly stare at my pussy as she revealed it was embarrassing, especially since I could feel a strand of liquid connecting my panties to my pussy, my arousal manifesting itself into physical form. As she pulled them down further, Anput leaned forwards and kissed my lower lips, digging around just beneath the crest and making me gasp as she pushed my lips aside and found the pearl hiding beneath them, which shetched onto a momentter. Sucking on my clit, Anput pushed me back and summoned a throne made from metal for me to sit on, before she heated it and adjusted the temperature ording to my reaction, all while she flicked her tongue over the small orb that sent shocks throughout my body. I leaned back in the seat and blinked rapidly as my mate focused solely on my clit, the sensitive pearl enjoying the lips, tongue, and sometimes teeth of one of the women I loved as she amusedly imed her reward, enjoying this moment of having me on the ropes as she took control from the get go and didn''t allow me to do anything; a rarity, since I always relinquished control after the initial pleasures were over with, but this time... Panting, I grabbed her head and pulled her closer, the Jackalkin wrapping her arms around my thighs and narrowing her eyes with immense pleasure gracing those obsidian orbs as I pressed my legs together, keeping her in ce and moaning above her as I rode out the waves of ecstasy that washed over me with each passing second. Stroking my thighs and burying her nose into myp, Anput began to be aggressive with her oral, making me gasp and writhe around in the throne as she tugged and sucked on my clit with great need, her chin soaking in my juices as I held her close. My clit was in pleasurable hell, constantly feeling something that sent euphoria streaming into my mind, and when it was paired with the piercing, pinning stare of my mate, I couldn''t help but cum quickly as she did as she pleased, thisbination of things muddling my mind and making my body shiver as sparks flew from my loins, warming my muscles everywhere as a rising wave of pleasure built up inside me. A wave that crashed down and made my moan fill the forge as my eyes rolled around in my skull, my everything submerged in ecstatic glee as my pussy trembled, my lower lips spasming and releasing that wave of pleasure onto Anput''s face, the Jackalkin moving from my clit to my entrance as she eagerly swallowed down my ejacte, those obsidian orbs radiating with lust as she watched me cum thanks to her mouth. Seconds passed, and I eventually came out of the tsunami of pleasure and looked down at the woman responsible nkly, wondering what made her decide that this was the first part of our sexual escapade inside Nogart... Licking her lips, Anput pulled away from my pussy and grinned shamelessly at me, her mouth and chin slick with my juices, though I focused more on her words as she said "Thanks for the meal, Kat~! That... was a worthy payment for my services~! A meal, and a ''meal''~!" Kissing my lower lips again, she got up and showed me her throbbing knot, her grin widening as she added "Though, I think I''ll move onto my dessert now... I was craving a creampie; what about you~?" Chapter 771 770: Princess Knight* Chapter 771 770: Princess'' Knight* Jahi PoV Smirking down at the pale skinned, red cheeked woman in my arms, I continued to grope herrge breasts while my other hand fell lower, my fingersnding on her thick, giant cock that even outsized me, someone who had something well above the average rge'' size... Something that made me a tad jealous as I looked down at it, but there wasn''t anything I could do about it, so I instead focused on the woman it was attached to, whispering "My honorable Princess, I do believe you promised your valiant knight in shining armor some form of reward, no~? And yet here we are, my elegant and beautiful liege asking me to serve her still~?" Leone shivered as she felt my fingers wrap around her shaft, the Vampire unused to feeling any sort of pleasure with this portion of her body when it was just her and I, though it had be something that I was more than willing to try after I thought up a few interesting things to do with it... Namely, deprivation and edging. Pressing myself against her back, I began to tease her sensitive mountains, my fingers pinching and rolling that wondrous pink cap that had hardened with her arousal and the cool air, eliciting moans from my beautiful Vampire lover as her sensitive chest was given just the right amount of treatment to make her push back into my body, our bare skin sharing our heat as we embraced inside the room I had picked inside the merchant hall. The focus of us both right now though wasn''t herrge breasts - though I really loved the feeling of her giant tits in my hands as I groped her - but instead her throbbing cock, which threatened to burn my hand as I jerked her off, my fingers stroking the right ces as I targeted her thick ns and sensitive underside, each stroke sending shivers up my lovers spine and spilling out from her plump lips as she moaned, staring intently down at her hard cock. Leone''s crimson eyes were both muddled with pleasure and sharp, the Vampire trying to figure out where this was heading even as her mind threatened to switch off thanks to my hands, whilst also thinking about my own erection pressed between her ample butt as I stood behind her, repeating the same posture we had thest time I yed with her like this. Feeling her hips buckle slightly as she thrusted forwards, I chuckled as I leaned down and kissed my Vampire''s neck, whispering "Feeling good, Princess~? Your Knight is here to serve, after all... even if I am off duty, your pleasure is my priority... Your everything is my priority..." Her cheeks darkened some more, and I smirked as I kissed her again, enjoying the way that small action sent shivers throughout her body as she pressed herself further against my chest, her body reacting to my touch in such arousing ways. She just mewled in pleasure, unable to vocalize her answer to me in a coherent sentence as she just continued to lean against me, doing her best to not melt into a puddle as I stroked her cock for her, my heart beating quicker as I felt her ejaction beginning to rise, meaning I could try to do what I was inherently interested in doing. Panting, Leone squirmed in my arms as I continued to stroke her cock, until eventually her penis throbbed hard as she tried to cum, her heavy testicles rising and preparing to shoot a deluge of sperm across the room, but... Wrapping my fingers around the base of her shaft, I mped down and grinned as she gasped, her ejaction stopped and held closely inside her still, the Vampire squirming as she tried to cum and force my hands away, but a quick kiss to her neck and a low whisper made her shudder. "Now, I think I deserve my reward first, my Princess... You are allowed to be greedy, of course, and order me to finish this off, or... You and I can have some more fun, and I can make you cum so hard your brain turns to mush~!" Kissing her ear this time, I watched her pull herself from her haze as she turned to look at me, those red eyes filled with such a deep need to cum and such a willingness to do whatever it took to get her ejaction, which sent sparks down my spine and set my loins aze. "I-I... I-I..! T-Thetter..!" Hearing her struggling to speak, I smirked and felt my cock harden so much more, my arousal spiking to new heights as I nodded, loving the way she stared at me with such a pleading gaze... My fingers remained wrapped around her shaft, and I chuckled quietly as I began to wrap a ring of golden light around her cock, recing my fingers and making her ejaction remain where it was, much to her mixed feelings. "Very well, my Princess~! Come here... Let me show my devotion to my beautiful liege..." Stepping away from her, I sat down on the bed and patted the clean sheets, my mana removing the dust and giving her a ce to sit without worrying about bing dirty. Leone approached the bed, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she panted, trying her hardest to not have her hands drop to her throbbing, angry cock, to seek the pleasure of masturbation whilst I was still in front of her. Getting onto the bed, my lover stared at me hesitantly, wondering what was in store for her before moaning as I gently pushed her down onto the bed, putting her onto her hands and knees as I whispered "We''ll keep the position simple for now, my gorgeous Princess... I want to gaze upon your divine body as I make love to it from behind, to lose myself to your perfect curves..." I moved to kneel just behind her, my hands rubbing her round butt as I appraised her curves, all while I poked her drooling pussy with my tip, teasing her some more as I rubbed myself against her, enjoying the strained and needy moans that escaped her lips as I knelt behind her, just out of sight. The light from her new ring shone brightly in the room, and I smirked some more as I stared at her needy member some more, wondering just how muddled her mind will be when I release that ring of mana... For now though, I was owed my own reward, and I groaned softly as I pressed my cock against her pussy, soaking my tip and enjoying the way she squirmed as I entered her for a brief moment, only to pull out and p my girth against her cheeks, enjoying the way her ass rippled beneath the blows. When she pressed herself against my cock and submerged my length inside her pussy, I chuckled and grabbed her hips, taking the hint and giving her the pleasure she needed as I stared to thrust away, smacking my thighs against hers as we began to have sex. Her folds wrapped tightly around my length, each one writhing and clenching on my cock as I began to create a steady, quick rhythm, unable to hold back as I enjoyed the firm pussy of my regal lover. Each thrust sent ripple through her juicy ass, eliciting a moan from Leone as I plundered her womb for myself and unabashedly pleasured myself using her body, doing as I pleased with her even as she was restricted by the ring around her member, which bounced around freely with each thrust. I moved one of my hands from her hips to her hair, wrapping the ashen locks around my palm and pulling back, making her gasp before she cried out in ecstasy as I started to fuck her harder and faster, filling her with my girth and pounding into her dense cheeks. The room was flooded with the sounds of her moans, the squelches of her drenched pussy, and the pping of our thighs together as I made love to my Vampire, her curves molding to my body as I used her for myself, adding my grunts to the cacophony of sex as I reached my climax. Our earlier forey had gotten me close, and the need to release my seed was as potent as ever - even more so after Kat teased me when she was cooking, my Dogkin rubbing herself against my cock and whispering lustful promises into my ears about how much fun we could have when this was over. Now though, I was losing myself to the meaty folds of Leone as she moaned beneath me, her body trembling as she tried to ejacte onto the bedsheets below, only to find herself unable to do so thanks to the ring. Growling behind her, I repeatedly plunged into her tight womb and prepared to fill it with my sperm my heavy balls pping against hers and further arousing the Vampire as I fucked her roughly, the finesse that I wanted to use long gone thanks to my desires to cum. Yanking on her hair, I made her gasp before I buried my cock inside her body, my other hand dropping from her bubble butt to her cock instead, the ring dissipating as I started to jerk her off instead, making her gasps transform into wordless shouts of bliss as we came together. My cum erupted into her womb and filled it to the brim, thick ropes of sperm sshing around inside her as I ejacted hard, doing my best to impregnate my regal lover and beget an heir for myself, even if it was impossible to do so. As for Leone, her eyes were rolling around in her head as she began to cum just as hard as me, her cock spraying her seed onto the bed below in an unending stream of white as her balls were finally allowed to release their load, replicating the knot of Anput as she just came and came. That pleasure from her cock transferred to her pussy as well, causing it to mp as she began to squirt too, massaging my penis and extracting more sperm while her juices drenched my thighs, the Vampire cumming from both ends as she descended into the throes of lust. We both came hard, though Leone''s mind just shut off as she went limp, the pleasure consuming her as she twitched beneath me, her body overwhelmed by the rapturous orgasms she had just experienced. Mild worry washed over me for a moment, and I healed her a little with my magics, only to see those lust filled red orbs turn towards me and plead for more, to be made to cum over and over again as I used her. So... I obliged, grabbing her ass again and pushing her face down into the bed,ying on top of her and growling in her ear as I mmed my hips down like a hammer, fucking her not like the Princess she was, but like a harlot meant to quench my thirst... Chapter 772 771: Reinforcements

Chapter 772 Chapter 771: Reinforcements

Standing atop the sturdy walls that now sliced through the city of Nogart, I crossed my arms over my chest and looked out towards the ins, which were bathed in rays of glittering gold as the sun reached its zenith, signaling the remaining hours we had before the Cultists made their showing. Perhaps they would being at dusk, perhaps they wouldn''t show until midnight; perhaps they wouldn''t show at all, since the Cultists that were stationed here might have sent a message back to Amioux or wherever else they were stationed, telling them to steer clear of Nogart no matter what. We just had no guarantee that any of those suspicions had more merit than the other, since they could being for revenge, could need this area for an important ritual or just desperately need a new base of operations outside the Empire and away from the Confederation, or maybe they just had no idea that the Cultists here were dead. There just was no way to tell, and I couldn''t help but sigh at that, drawing the attention of the red skinned woman beside me as we overlooked the ins, awaiting the arrival of either the Cultists or our reinforcements. "Even after such an... eventful night, you still feel the need to sigh? My, what a privileged life you''ve lived, Scion of Asmodia~!" Satanya smirked at me as she slowly pped her hands together, the woman not hiding her slight disdain for me at all as her scarlet eyes traced over my body, her general demeanor still one of superiority despite having been put in her ce recently. Raising a brow, I met her gaze and stared at her silently, looking down at the woman and making sure to exaggerate the fact that I was taller than her, meaning that despite her need to feel better than me, I was ALWAYS going to be looking down at her. It seemed to work wonders as her lip curled upwards, a sneer recing the smirk as she red at me, her barbed words and haughty attitude not drawing the response from me that she wanted. "Indeed. Even after such wonderful blissst night with my future WIFE, I can still focus on the task at hand; the uing attack that we''ll have to weather with or without the aid of the Demon ns, depending on the arrival time of these damn Cultists." Her sneer deepened as I empathized that Leone was to be my wife, her scarlet eyes ring with anger before she reined it in, turning the mes into embers that threatened to erupt once more. Clicking her tongue, Satanya sat down at the edge of the wall and kicked her feet back and forth, letting her boots tap against the wall as she said "The letter said they''d be here at midnight on the night of the full moon, not after or before that period of time. Though, admittedly, they could arrive earlier if they were warned, or avoid appearing altogether... Either way, we learned that they have a base in Amioux, which is bountiful enough. Knowing of one of their bases of operations is invaluable. And now that we have a better understanding of the Cult itself, albeit at a surface level..." The woman switched from personal to professional in mere moments, reminding me of the masks that Kat was able to don and shed at a moments notice, sending a shiver down my spine as I imagined dealing with someone like that every hour of each day... As if sensing that, Satanya smirked back at me, licking her lips as she coyly asked "When you were courting the Princess, what was the first thing that drew your attention~? Her voluptuous curves, her gentle and kind nature, or her frighteningly sharp mind~? Or was it her status and the thrill of conquering such a valuable woman~?" Her lips curled up this time in amusement as she grinned at me, enjoying the way I just silently stared at her, before her features stiffened as I asked my own question in response to hers. "When someone courts you, what''s the first thing that they say when they decline to court you again? Your bitchy attitude, your horrendous personality, or your constant need to jibe with them?" Smirking at her, I looked away from her hardened expression and instead focused on the ins, leaving her to smolder in her anger silently before pointing towards the grassy expanse, saying "Seems like Ronove made haste alright. That''s rather fast." Satanya just snorted as she slid off the wall, dropping to the ground silently and storming away from me, making me grin as I watched her leave, before dropping down behind her and making my way towards the real walls of Nogart. Ronove was at the head of a dozen riders, the Beliali man leading eight other Beliali warriors and four Cimeriesa mages towards Nogart, each of them equipped with impressive gear and the confident, subdued arrogance that seemed innate to Demon blood. Stepping out to meet them with the irritated Young Miss of the Beliali n, I nodded at the various red and yellow skinned Demons, each of them dismounting from their horses and saluting both Satanya and I. "C''mon. We''ll brief you on what we know and show you around before midnight. Did the Madam say anything? Lord Belian or Lady Hathor?" Satanya beckoned for everyone to follow as she marched back into the city, her leather coat and braided hair billowing out behind her as the winds swept over the mountain and down its slope, carrying a slight chill. "Nothing of import, Young Miss. Just to be careful and anticipate the unexpected. These Cultists are considered a threat now too, though Lord Belian and Lady Hathor agreed that they were a manageable one for our forces." She nodded at Ronove''s words, ignoring me again but not saying anything as I said "They''re individually not the most impressive fighters or mages, but... Some of them use incantations instead of runic spells, and they do have ess to some older magics as well. Additionally, they are able to potentially summon a Fiend to their side, which is problematic but... manageable. Especially with a Banshee here and the amount of Demons we now have. Be careful though; Cultists are fanatics, and as such they can be... unpredictable. Who knows what they want to do..." Everyone behind me gave me a curt nod, the dozen Demons not treating me any different than they did Satanya, though I had no doubt in my mind that they would follow her orders over mine - as they should, but it was nice to see that only the red skinned Young Miss was being problematic... Chapter 773 772: Midnight

Chapter 773 Chapter 772: Midnight

Hefting the heavy dual metal de that I had been gifted years ago, I admired its surface before looking around the various walls around the clearing, wondering from where and how the Cultists would show up. The moons above were almost at their zenith, midnight drawing ever closer as yet another day crept by without much happening, the reality of any sort of battle makings itself known once more as we idly patrolled the za and the walls. Most of the time in a war was spent waiting for something to happen so that you could n an appropriate reaction before executing said reaction; more time was spent waiting, traveling, or preparing than actually fighting, and that was where most warriors tended to fester, mental wounds slowly worsening or appearing as you were given time to think and overanalyze things. Waiting for an attack to happen from a group that was of an unknown strength was straining on the mind, and it took a lot of willpower to not sumb to that mental pressure, to remain assured of oneself and prepared for the dance of death that was about to unfold. Thankfully we were all of tougher stock, with my own three bundles of energy having found themselves sufficient pastimes to distract their mind and remain calm; Anput was honing the edge of her various daggers and sword, sharpening them for the uing battle and using them for the familiar monotony that she loved so much. Leone was concocting potions and distributing them to everyone, the various herbs she had found allowing her to create stamina enhancers and healing potions, which would give us a beneficial edge going into the battle. As for Kat, she was humming to herself as she sat on the edge of one of the walls, the Dogkin blending into the shadows and only alerting people to her presence thanks to her hums and the scratching of her pen on paper, her notebook in hand. All of us were rxed, but I couldn''t help but let out a sigh as I looked up towards the moons above, wondering if this would all be for naught or if time was ying its all too familiar tricks on us. It wasn''t something that one could be ustomed to, those tricks; drawing out a second for what seems like a millennia, only to then turn minutes into seconds when you''re able to focus yourself and find enjoyment in that subject. Each burst of fighting seemed to vanish instantly as soon as they began, barely whetting my appetite for a real fight where I could stretch and flex my muscles a bit before grinding myself against a worthy opponent, removing the rust and sharpening my edge so that I could be better... And yet, those bursts were surrounded by periods of time that just slowed to a crawl, and I found them to be more than irritating as I was dropped into yet another dreadfully slow wait with few feasible things to keep myself upied. I couldn''t spar since there was a chance I would need as much energy as I possibly could muster, I didn''t have any books on hand that would ensnare my attention - not that I would want that, since a single second could be the difference between life and death if the Cultistsunched a surprise attack - I couldn''t indulge my lust, I couldn''t really do much... except wait. That... was irritating, so I tried to upy my mind instead with thoughts on the imminent future after this battle; the things I wanted to do and the things that needed to be done when we returned to the Capital. The influx of coin we received on this venture would be best used preparing for our future - years down the line, if not decades - via the acquisition of some properties and the securing of our own wealth passively. Business ventures were the primary thing on my mind, and I had a few that would certainly work; things that I could certainly do with the coin we had on hand as well, and depending on the area, there were certain workforces that would start at a cheap price - rtively speaking, anyways. With all three of my wives having marketable skills on their own, it was entirely possible to put them at the head of a business each, and if we hired on those hoping to learn a skill in exchange for a lower rate and the ability to eventually make themselves into something, that would be an excellent thing for us to try. Anput with a myriad of apprentices learning to forge, trying to aid her and doing the menial work as we took on contracts with mercenaries, adventurers, Nobles and more. Leone and her alchemy creatingrger batches of ''sub par'' potions - to her standards, anyways - to go along with the gear Anput sold, all while she continued to pursue a higher understanding of alchemy alongside her students..? Kat with a few magically gifted apprentices learning how to imprint magic onto the material world in a way thatsts longer than a spell, be it through enchanting weapons and armor or enchanting flesh. Each had something they could offer to the wider markets, and that was only if they were alright leading a more work oriented lifestyle, instead of an action oriented one like the life we live currently. Teaching those hoping to make themselves into something in those respective fields would earn us a hefty profit through the things sold as well as the connections made, and we could certainly- My head snapped towards the entrance of the city as a bright cerulean sh illuminated the darkness around us, drawing my attention and snapping me free from my thoughts as I leapt up onto the wall to get a better look. The others followed after me, all of us now dragged free from our respective pastimes and our thoughts as we looked towards the looming portal resting atop Nogart''s outer wall, where dozens upon dozens of figures could be seen walking out and stepping into the city. Chapter 774 773: Arrival Chapter 774 773: Arrival The cerulean portal flickered before dissipating entirely, leaving behind just under a hundred Cultists total on the outer walls of Nogart, their eyes drawn towards theyered concentric walls that resided in the middle of the city. As such, their eyes were drawn up towards us, and we met their gazes as we stood atop our wall, nearly a quarter of a Century strong of elite, powerful soldiers, consisting primarily of Demon blood. At the forefront of that collective of Cultists were two people radiating a sense of strength from even this distance, their blue robes lined with silver and emzoned with a silver ''star'' symbol proudly disyed above their hearts, the symbol of Change visible from here. Besides their better robes - which were of a deeper blue and less patchypared to their fellow Cultists - they also wielded unique weapons made for them, instead of simple des and spears that one could find anywhere, meant for anyone. On the left stood a man - Fulbargn, if they were the Deacons - wielding a thin silver staff that switched from uniform and symmetric at the bottom to chaotic at the top, the silver twisting around in odd ways whilst various blue and amber gemstones glittered beneath the moonlight, mana swirlingzily around the twisted silver head and radiating an equally chaotic power. A sleek silver pauldron rested on one shoulder, whilst a collection of silver roots gnarled together on his other shoulder, the man deciding to y heavily into the whole ''change'' theme that he had subscribed himself to; everything about him was asymmetrical and in constant flux, but despite his questionable fashion choices, the mana resting inside his Core was certainly at a high level. Hooded andnky, the manzily stepped forwards and raised his staff, tapping it against the gstone and pointing it towards us, ordering the Cultists forwards without much fanfare - like he had suspected this would happen. On the right stood a woman - presumably Renama - wearing a set of silver te beneath her blue robe, and the gigantic silver axe that rested on her shoulder was apanied by a silver chain that acted as a counterweight to the heavy weapon, dangling loosely around her wrist and suggesting a rather interesting fighting style that was hard to master. Unlike her malepanion, the woman proudly disyed her sharp, thin features to the world, her pale skin broken up by a deep blue tattoo that started at the center of her brow and wrapped around towards her jawline, snaking beneath her right eye and continuing on towards her jaw. Her silver hair was cropped short, but what drew my attention was the fluffy triangr ears atop her head, which when paired with the fluffy silver tail behind her made it clear she was a Foxkin, making me wonder if the bulk she exuded was actually her own muscle or if it was just the armor that was visible beneath the robes she wore. She dropped from the wall before shrouding herself with a cloak of green mana, shooting forwards and leading the charge as she rushed towards the walls, the other Cultists letting out shouts and battlecries as they joined her, their mana ring and bringing a frown towards our faces as we noticed that each and every one of the Cultists had an above average amount of mana seeping from their pores. A few of the Cultists stayed back, gathering around the staff wielding man and forming a semi circle with him at their center, their own staves and wands raised as they focused their mana and channeled it towards him, lending him their power. "Ammit, Leone and the rest of our mages, focus on that man and keep him upied. Kat, slow them down for us, will you? The rest, let''s enjoy ourselves~!" Grinning, I nced at the Demons beside me and leapt forwards, wanting to meet that silver haired Foxkin in battle and test her might myself; I could hear Satanya grumbling something, but considering the red skinned bitch was speeding alongside me, I didn''t question it and instead hefted my dual metal great sword, the silver and gold de shining in the moonlight and reflecting the golden hue that shrouded my body as I began to empower myself, my free hand tracing out the runes I needed for my spells. Feeling a frigid breeze carrying me forwards, my grin widened as frost began to spread across the streets, the variousnes leading towards us upied by these Cultists now, providing my fluffy lover the perfect array of targets to release her suppressed frustrations and test out her magic, all while the main road leading into the heart of Nogart was left to Satanya, Luci and I, the others taking the surrounding streets and meeting the Cultists head on. Leraie had stayed back alongside one Beliali warrior, protecting the mages just in case whilst aiding us from afar with their ranged spells, which was evident by the rocknce that splintered against the t of the Foxkin''s axe. A good foot and a half under me, the woman was just as tall as her weapon and likely just as heavy as it, which made it all the more impressive when she hurled it at me with immense speed and power, the gigantic silver axe slicing through the air in a haze of Wind Mana that threatened to cut straight through me... If I had let it hit me straight on, unimpeded that is; instead, the axe was stopped by the t of my great sword, its weight sending tremors up my arms that got my heart pumping with that familiar glee as she yanked the weapon back, retrieving her axe and transferring the chain to her free arm, fixing us with her startling emerald eyes. "This is all the better... A host of inglorious Demons ying at Nobility, iming to have the elegance and ss needed for such a station; iming to have the smarts and heart required to lead the people! Those who''ve reaped the suffering of the weak to steal the wealth from the people for far too long have delivered themselves to me..." Her ears twitched, and the Foxkin sneered as she batted a thin needle out of the air, making Luci click her tongue before she threw out a dozen more, this time sending them flying past the Foxkin and towards the Cultists thatgged behind. "[Insolent]!" Shouting out a single word - a single, mana filled word - the Foxkin sent the various needles straight back at us, watching in anger as they embedded themselves in the golden shield that appeared in front of us before ttering to the cobblestone harmlessly. "Only cowards and frauds utilize underhanded methods to fight! As expected of such unclean, unworthy Nobles..! Such insolence to mar the honor of a sacred battle with such..! Such..!" Gnashing her teeth, the Foxkin red at Luci before looking straight at me, her emerald eyes shing to match the burst of mana that exploded from her Core, the woman sinking herself into a storm of harsh winds as she hoisted her axe into the air, preparing to fight once more - to fight alongside her Cultists as they caught up to her. "My words are wasted upon you filth! Die knowing that it was the axe of Renama the Just that sent you to hell, where you belong!" Chapter 775 774: Deacon Renama (1) Chapter 775 774: Deacon Renama (1) I stared at the silver haired Foxkin in front of us with a frown, her haughty sneer and arrogant posture unbing of someone who looked more suited for regal environments, acting elegant instead of arrogant. Thatrge silver axe glittered in the moonlight, and the Foxkin snarled "I''ll do this world a favor and rid it of you unworthy leaches!" Saying so, she dashed forwards in a dazzling re of green and silver light, her mana ring and dousing the street in her power as she shot towards us, her heavy axe raised and already arcing down towards my skull as she targeted me first. My great sword moved up just as quickly as her axe descended downwards, the two des colliding and sending tremors arcing through our arms as we red at one another, pressing ours weapons together as we tested each others strength. "Luci, Satanya! Take care of the Cultists for me! I''ll handle Miss ''Just'' over here..!" The mana seeping from the Foxkin''s pores spilled out in abundance before wrapping around her arms and shoulders, taking the form of another pair of arms that gripped the handle alongside the Foxkin, applying even more pressure to me as she tried to overwhelm me in this physical contest. "[Sumb to Change]!" Snarling at me, the Foxkin bolstered her new set of limbs and made me grit my teeth as I felt the pressure begin to mount up, though the Deacon wasn''t the only one who had potent mana coursing through her veins. My Core leaked my mana into my veins, and I grunted as I pushed her back, forcing her silver axe to the side and allowing it to crash into the cobblestone below as I twisted my body, freeing myself and taking a leap back as I gave myself some space to work with. Runes flickered into life around me as I began to cast a spell, causing Renama''s emerald eyes to widen as she tore her axe free and rushed towards me, a mana filled "[Insolent]!" flying towards me just as swiftly. However, as thest runepleted the Ritual Circle, I enveloped my body in a shower of golden light that wrapped around me like a warm nket, my limbs growing lighter and my muscles bulking up just a little bit more, the flow of blood inside my body quickening even more at this magically enhanced adrenaline rush. The mana filled shout mmed against my de, the hazy bubble of magic trying to move past the de, only to be warded off by the Light Mana that shrouded my sword, blocking her verbal attack. "Oh, it''ll be a pleasure ridding the world of your filth, Scion of Asmodia! You are a looming threat to bringing about a true golden age for the people! So DIE!" As herrge axe once more descended towards my skull, I smirked as I stepped aside, narrowly avoiding the heavy counterweight that the Foxkin hurled towards my stomach, the spiked weight sailing harmlessly past my torso and thudding into the cobblestone street, tearing through the stones and revealing the earth underneath. Clenching her jaw, Renama yanked back on the chain and grabbed her counterweight, all while her two right hands raised the axe and shed it towards me, her strength having increased enough now that she was utilizing that peculiar incantation. ttering against the t of my de, the axe stopping as I defended myself against the Foxkin, continuing our stalemate as we felt one another out to understand our opponents strengths and weaknesses. "You are unworthy of having been blessed with such strength! This world has such ursed luck to allow a leach like you to harness the powers of such incredible magics!" Renama pulled the axe back before swinging it at me again, ''one'' handing the weapon and attacking me with a flurry of swift strikes, battering my great sword with a storm of blows. Blocking her attacks, I watched as her left arm pulled back, the chain dangling loosely in her grasp as she prepared to fling that counterweight at me again, hoping to do something with the spiked orb and long chain. It was a peculiar style, and as I stepped to the side to avoid the chain, she flicked her arm to the side and tried to wrap it around my waist, all while that axe lurched forwards and cleaved down towards my skull, trying to trap me between her attacks; even more so as I saw her lips part, her emerald eyes ring as she began to channel her mana towards her vocal cords tounch another incantation point nk. Pumping out some more mana into my veins, I grinned as I felt the world slow just a tad, the rush of adrenaline doubling as I empowered my Light Cloak even more. With more mana flowing freely inside my body, and with my already impressive physical capabilities, I leapt to the side and rolled out of the way, leaving the Foxkin to stumble as all of her attacksnded on nothing, giving me a moment to capitalize on as I created a dagger of golden mana in my free hand and hurled it straight at the middle of her back. The de flew through the air and sliced into her side as she turned, the Foxkin not wanting to leave her back exposed to me as she retrieved her weapons and looked my way, only to have the dagger pierce into her ribcage. Growling at the sudden pain, Renama reached down and shattered the dagger, her Wind Mana enveloping the wound and stitching her flesh back together, all while her giant axe lifted into the air and blocked my own swing as Iunched myself at the woman. "Like I said before... cowardly. Relying on something like that to-!" "So you''re a hypocrite as well! Ha! That''s amusing to hear; your entire fighting style relies on surprise and underhanded tactics, you idiotic Cultist!" The Foxkin''s eyes glimmered with rage as she pushed my de back, snarling "I am NOT a hypocrite! I am blessed! I am a harbinger of Change to this world! YOU are what''s stopping this world from bing better! YOU are the problem!" Her shout echoed around the street as the Foxkin lunged forwards, her axe cleaving down towards my shoulder and threatening to cut me clean in two, all while she continued on with her tirade, my usation clearly having struck a nerve. "Everything that is wrong in the Empire stems from a rotten core that corrupts everything it touches! You Nobles think you''re better than the people who MADE you! You think you can siphon off wealth and get away with it because you were born into power!" Blocking her axe, I snorted and met her emerald gaze, our des locked together once more as I said "Some Nobles, perhaps, but they get weeded out quickly when they begin to truly be a problem. In the Empire, those of us with titles have earned it, and we continue to earn it through our aplishments. If you think you can do better..." Leaning closer, I grinned at the angry Foxkin and whispered "Then prove your damn worth and be a Noble. Be this ''Change'' that you speak of, instead of resorting to murder... But I know why you haven''t. Deep in your heart, you know as well... You aren''t worthy of being a Noble. You''re weak. Weak of body, weak of mind, weak of spirit. Unfit to be a true catalyst of change, to better the life of those that you care about! Isn''t that right, ''Renama the Just''?" Her thin lips threatened to crack her gorgeous visage, her fangs bared as she growled at me, unable to form words as she instead added more weight to her axe, trying to prove herself to me and herself by killing me. Chapter 776 775: Deacon Renama (2)

Chapter 776 Chapter 775: Deacon Renama (2)

I held back a smile as I dashed to the side, the shouts of the angry Foxkin causing real damage to the building behind me as she gave chase, growing more and more infuriated with each passing second that I remained out of her grasp. "[Insolent]! [Insolent]! [INSOLENT]!" Waves ofpressed and mana infused sound mmed into the brick wall, exploding and tearing out chunks of the building instead of my flesh, which was what Deacon Renama wanted to happen as she red at me, those emerald eyes carrying a murderous promise as she heard me chuckle as I avoided those sts. Situated in front of her and facing the street away from the za, I could see Satanya and Luci entrenched in a battle against a dozen or so Cultists, each of which somehow having above average mana output and the ability to utilize incantations, which was starting to surprise me less and less despite it being a rather ''lost'' form of magic... The two Demoness'' were putting up quite the fight against arge amount of opponents out for their blood, using their speed to their advantage as they avoided the various attacks sent their way and searched for openings, which they exploited as best they could as they hoped to return to aid me. Though... I didn''t want aid as I leaned away from the crashing sh of the silver axe that this Foxkin woman so expertly wielded, her lips pulled into a snarl as she watched me yet again dodge her attack; I wanted to continue to fighting this crazed woman as long as I could, because... shing quickly at the Foxkin, I smirked again as she raised her axe and blocked the blow, those extra limbs from her other incantation proving to be quite useful as she stopped me from shing through her thin arm and revealing the bone beneath. Honestly, this was such a fun fightpared to most others, the difference in strengths not mattering thanks to her techniques and magic as she shouted "[Insolent]!" once more, trying to st me at point nk range. Leaning my head to the side, I felt it scrape against my cheek, making the Foxkin grin at me as she saw my blood trickle down the side of my face, finally havingnded a blow of her own. "Congrats Miss Hypocrite~! You sorta kinda evened the score out with that~! But..!" Lowering my shoulder, I mmed it against her axe and pushed her back, before shing at her again with the tip of my great sword and cutting off portions of her robe, scoring thin gashes across her silver te armor below. While I didn''t do damage to her, it made her angrier as she red at me, that grin fading fast as she tried to m her chained fist into my stomach, creating another opening for me... though it was a mutual trade. Letting her m her fist into my stomach, I grunted as her fist bent the cuirass I wore and crack my lower rib, sending a burst of pain through my body that was swiftly suppressed by my mana, allowing me to raise my booted foot and m it down atop her own, mana swirling around the sole of my boot and making Deacon Renama grunt just like me as I cracked the myriad bones around her ankle, doing damage to her mobility and creating a worthwhile trade as I leapt back, letting my mana heal me before setting my stance. "[Inso-]!" As she was mid shout yet again, I lunged forwards and stabbed my de towards her chest, watching as her eyes widened at the sudden shift in style as I forwent my reliance on the heavy edge and instead attacked with the tip. Even though her incantation was interrupted and her foot was damaged, her arms were working perfectly well, and the Foxkin grabbed the haft of herrge axe and raised it up, redirecting my de away from her armored chest and towards her side, where it sliced through her te and created a fresh cut along her side, joining the previous wound from the dagger and creating a weakness in her defenses for me to exploit. "You keep using that word and it starts to lose meaning, Miss ''Just''~! I might be arrogant, but I am not~ showing ack of respect to you~! Just treating you like the stepping stone you are~!" Growling, she leapt back, mirroring me as we reset the fight and began to prowl the street, our eyes locked as we hoisted our des and prepared for our next engagement, all while watching out for the small tricks of the other. My daggers weren''t as plentiful as her incantations were, but they had been used strategically to scare her off; meanwhile, her incantations hadn''t scored a true hit yet, but they were used enough to discourage me from being offense heavy in this fight. A mixture of offense and evasive defense was needed to win this battle, and that was different from my usual style; going fifty fifty on my attacks and my movement was a foreign concept, but I knew how to adapt. Knew that the only way to win was to adapt; otherwise, I left this battle as a corpse. "That right there is the definition of insolence, Demoness. A tant example of why you are one of the priorities on our kill list. You and your arrogant, insufferable parents... Each of you Asmodia''s need to drop into an early grave, so that the world can experience the change it needs. The people can utilize your-!" "The people could utilize our what? Wealth? Sure, they could, but would any of you know what to do with it? Would you understand the repercussions of reintroducing such an obscene amount of money into the economy? You would single handedly destroy the meaning of our currency; Coppers would be worthless, Silvers would mean little, and Golds would be your newrge Silvers, if we''re being generous. Bread would rise from a few pieces of Copper to a Silver! All this would do is change the prices and create an even poorer poor! When your Coppers are worthless, and the Silvers you were given out of pity are only slightly better, what the hell was the point?!" Renama growled again, her anger continuing to rise as I fought her physically and philosophically, challenging her beliefs and forcing her to split her focus between the battle happening out here, and the battle in her mind. Did I believe that the reintroducing of our wealth into the economy would ruin everything? It might, but what mattered now was that I was targeting the clear weakness of this woman in front of me; not her battered te mail, not her heavy weaponry or damaged foot, but her mind. That was what mattered currently, and the more I ''damaged'' her mentality and got her thinking, the more openings I could find; the more openings that opened, the better, since she was a stalwart fighter that left little open for me to exploit without an intricate series of attacks and feints to create some kind of opening... Chapter 777 776: Deacon Renama (3)

Chapter 777 Chapter 776: Deacon Renama (3)

Deacon Renama looked almost rabid as she blitzed towards me, that heavy silver axe moving at incredulous speeds as she chopped it towards me seemingly at random, each swing leaving behind a glittering arc of greenish silver as her mana and incantations further empowered her already impressive strength. Meanwhile, the silver chain attached to the bottom of the woman''s axe flew at my face at even quicker speeds, threatening to rip my head clean off my neck as she battled me with all she had; her anger, her beliefs, her strength, her endurance... All of it was pushing its limits, and I couldn''t be any happier as I weaved around the random swings, analyzing them for a pattern and disrupting it with attacks of my own as I switched to a reactionary style of fighting, taking advantage of her mistakes as she continued to shout at me, her emerald eyes wide and bloodshot whilst her lips were peeled back to reveal her pearly white fangs covered in saliva. "[INSOLENT]!" A wide arc ofpressed sound shot forth from her lips and cut through the air, while her axe cleaved down from my left and her chain arced around from my right, effectively trapping me between three separate attacks once more. If there was something that this Foxkin was adept at, it was coordinating her attacks to weave together an intricate pattern of death that threatened to introduce me to that concept intimately, but... That only made it all the more thrilling as I got to dismantle that weave and pull the threads apart, revealing the ''ws'' in each pattern that could only be exploited by someone with strength like mine. Focusing my mana in front of me, I created a thick shield of golden light that absorbed the incantation, while I stepped to my left and swung my great sword up to meet her axe, ignoring the chain as it sailed harmlessly past me and instead focusing on the weapon that was aching to drink of my blood. As the incantation dissipated uselessly against the golden shield, I strained against the axe as I lifted two of my fingers off the hilt of my sword, losing a little bit of power and bringing the axe a little bit closer to cutting into my flesh, but with those two fingers I could control the shield some, and in doing so... Rotating the shield onto its side, I sent it flying towards the Foxkin woman''s chest, sending her back a few steps as the solid, dull shield mmed against her ribs and broke a few of them, surprising her and relieving me of the pressure from her weapon, which was pulled away from me just like her. Not letting up, I dashed forwards and raised my sword, cleaving it down towards her exposed shoulder and forcing the woman to block with her chain covered arm, since her axe was still being disrupted by the backwards momentum of her body. Renama raised her arm, that translucent green arm wrapped around it protectively alongside the chain, and the Foxkin grit her teeth as she watched my dual metal great sword sh down towards her arm, the woman unable to do anything besides pray as she tried to regain her breath, to regain control of the rest of her body, but... Those emeralds glittered with a new sheen of water as we both watched her chain snap, the momentum of my downwards swing and the golden light that clung to the edge of my de easily slicing through her mana, her chains, and her arm. The incantation that had summoned a new set of arms was damaged as my Light Mana severed the forearm it created, a pulse of light traveling up the remaining portion of the arm and traveling down towards the other arm, while the chain ttered to the ground as multiple links were split apart cleanly. With the breath still not in her lungs, Renama could only blink and stare at her left arm nkly, her forearm ttering to the ground and bouncing as it rolled out of the chains, blood pooling around the dismembered limb whilst more blood spurted from the stump that was her arm. Already, the poison of the Stygian Silver was getting to work, the flesh around the wound darkening as the manatent to the weapon I wielded began to eat away at the woman''s body, threatening to consume her in a minute or two as it traveled from her arm towards her Core, where it would feast upon her mana and kill her quickly... and painfully. However, before she could do anything about that, she needed to ensure she survived me first, the de that was the cause of her wound arcing towards her stomach and gleaming dangerously as it drew ever closer. Renama managed to pull her axe towards the trajectory of my de, stopping it with the t of her axe and sending herself skidding back a step, only to let out a surprised gasp as I pulled and hand off of my sword and followed her closely, taking a step with her and throwing a swift punch towards her temple. Caught off guard, the Foxkin couldn''t react in time as I mmed my knuckles into her skull, cracking her head to the side and causing her eyes to roll into the back of her head as she slipped into unconsciousness, our battle reaching its conclusion. Letting her drop to the ground, I swiftly knelt and grabbed her left arm, unsheathing one of my dius and swiftly lopping off the dead portion of her arm, saving her from the poisons of the Stygian Silver. I needed her alive so that we could learn something from her, though keeping her in custody would likely prove to be a difficult endeavor... Seeing her eyes flicker open at the sudden onught of pain, I pulled back my fist and punched her again, sending her back into the warm embrace of unconsciousness before getting to work, tying her up and ensuring she wouldn''t be any trouble as I pulled her away from the battle, which was slowly being won on our street. However, this entire battle was far from won, and I looked towards the wall and frowned, my eyesnding on Deacon Fulbargn and his contingent of mages that continued to chant, wondering what cmity they were trying to bring about with the sheer amount of mana being pooled together. Whatever it was, it wasn''t good, but to get from here to him I would first need to take care of the Cultists still battling against Satanya and Luci, their numbers giving the two Demoness'' a challenge that would be made easier as I joined the fray. Chapter 778 777: Shifting Tides

Chapter 778 Chapter 777: Shifting Tides

With the first of the two Deacon''s now taken out of the fight, the sight of victory was looming ever closer as I scooped up my great sword and joined the two Demoness'' in clearing out the remaining Cultists on the main street of Nogart, which were proving to be rather tenacious little bastards in their own right. An even mix of humans and other races, the Cultists were all equipped in navy blue robes that covered a silver cuirass and some bracers, which was attached to a leather shirt for further protection; they were decently armored for a Cult, suggesting that these were some of the ''elites'' of the Cult of Ambitions normal members. Those who have proven themselves to be admirable warriors capable of surviving some pressing situations and dealing with some tough opponents. Of course... whether or not those individual achievements would ce them on the same level as some of the Legionnaires inside the Empire''s Legions, but... in number, these Cultists were proving to be a good challenge as well, their weaponry and armor made from some sort of silver alloy that reacted well with their mana, which was above the average level by a good bit. Strong, well equipped, deep reserves of mana, rather well versed techniques... These were some good fighters, and as I grabbed my de and stood up, I took a deep breath and smiled, looking forwards to further whetting my appetite with these juicy morsels before heading for yet another big bite. My eyes moved from the various Cultists to the chanting mages surrounding the thin hooded man trying to weave together a spell or ritual of some kind, though considering the lightning shrouded fireballs that exploded against the mana dome around the Cultists above. Fire illuminated the city in a harsh orange light, while the booming of thunder as lightning struck the dome as wellyered a set of auditory and visual stimulus that threatened to capture your attention and made it far harder to hear or see anything else without being distracted. Thankfully... I was already ustomed to rather shy spells, since Leone and Kat were rather adept at wielding spells that were quite...rge and intense, with wide range and incredible powers that always left me in awe at their abilities. So I was able to dash forwards and capitalize on the brief moment of overstimtion that caused the Cultists in front of me - as well as Satanya and Luci, albeit to a lesser extent - to freeze for just a moment, but that moment was all I needed as I picked the blonde human man standing in front of Satanya and cleaved my great sword down, using this moment to cut the man in two and lower the difference between our side and theirs by one. While my de was on the rebound, Satanya''s eyes widened before sheunched herself to the side and skewered another Cultist in the throat, her serrated de tearing through their flesh and almostpletely severing his head from his body. Pulling back, I stabbed forwards and caught the arm of a woman, drawing a scream out of her lips as she watched arge amount of her upper arm fall to the ground with a wet squelch, the flesh already greying as the Stygian Silver poison began to consume the leftover mana, just like that poison began to travel through her body and worm its way towards her Core. Leaving her to suffer in herst moments, I looked up and stepped back as a spearnced towards my stomach, trying to gut me with its barbed tip and avenge the two Cultists who had fallen to my de already, but sadly for the Lizardkin woman who was ring at me, she was no longer apart of the winning side. Luci''s needle dagger pierced the side of the Lizardkin''s head, slicing through her brain and killing her instantly as she twisted the de with a quick snap, giving me a curt nod beforeunching herself towards a new enemy, making me snort as I stood there with three bodies at my feet, their corpses still radiating heat as life seeped from their open wounds. The tides of this battle shifted instantly, the addition of myself and the loss of Deacon Renama sealing the win for us as we began to battle the Cultists with an increased fervor, wanting to get through them to reach Deacon Fulbargn. But, they were still tricky nuisances for us, and even with their numbers being reduced by four - thanks to the three that I had killed and the fourth that Satanya had killed - they were quick to recollect themselves and resume working together to face us, their numbers still greater than ours. Eight Cultists red at us as we flicked the blood of theirrades off our des, and with a smirk I shot forwards again, my boots pounding against the cobblestone and mirroring the way my heart pounded in my chest, my body responding to my craving for more battle and amplifying the adrenaline high that I already had. I thundered forwards and crashed into the mana shields of the Cultists without a care, my body encased in a brilliant golden light that absorbed the impact and allowed me to swing my sword horizontally, trying to catch as many of the Cultists as I could with that singr swing. Sadly, I only managed to bisect one unlucky Cultist who reacted too slowly, cleaving them in half and showering the others in that unfortunates blood, though they had little time toprehend what had just happened as Satanya and Luci joined me, sprinting around me andunching their attacks on the sides, trapping the Cultists between the three of us. Raising my de again, I swung down and shattered the thin longsword that an Elf tried to block my great sword with, surprising the man as the heavier dual metal sword continued to slice downwards, chopping through his head and splitting it in two before heading further into his body. As the sword cleaved into the cobblestones, I released a hand from the hilt and summoned a golden dagger, parrying the spear that thrusted towards my neck before flicking my wrist towards the human responsible, nailing them in the brow and killing them too. Down to six, the Cultists lost another two and were brought to four as Satanya and Luci killed one each, and those unlucky four were caught between us, our des stabbing and shing at them swiftly as we cut them down without hesitation, leaving no one alive from the Cult on this street besides Deacon Renama, who was bound and unconscious. Chapter 779 778: Battle Against The Cult

Chapter 779 Chapter 778: Battle Against The Cult

Satanya, Luci and I marched down the street towards the wall, each of our steps apanied by the booms of the explosive spells cracking against the mana dome surrounding the other standing Deacon and his contingent of magically talented Cultists. With my great sword in hand, I frowned as I continued to watch the various spells streak over head, the lightning bolts and fireballs illuminating the sky above as they constantly filled the airspace as they tried to breach the dome that protected the Deacon, though that dome proved to be quite the tough nut to crack. If this barrage of powerful spells wasn''t enough to break that dome open and roast the Cultists inside, then what was powerful enough? Just how strong was the Deacon standing above us, and how strong were the Cultists aiding thatnky man? And sadly enough, as I caught sight of them past the explosions for just a moment, they all were rather unimpressive specimens of physical might, meaning that should I split that barrier in two and slip inside, it''d be a swift massacre as I butchered them without much challenge. Again though, the toughest part seemed to be that barrier, and we were still a good ways away from the wall, after which we would need to scale the wall without being sted down by the spells from our supporting mages. "How''re we getting up there then? Just scale the wall quick, or..? ''Cause I''m going to be real honest, I don''t want to get anywhere near an artillery barrage of Cimeriesa spells..." I chuckled as I nced over at Satanya, the Beliali woman frowning as she observed the spells flying overhead, though she maintained the jog alongside me - more of a sprint for her and Luci, but the two Demoness'' were ustomed to runs it seemed. "Well, a signal would suffice to stop them, no? Besides, we should consolidate our forces now." She nodded, before turning towards Luci and saying "Double back, tell them to begin moving forwards. Secure that Foxkin bitch too; I don''t want her biting her tongue or something stupid. She''s a damn goldmine of information for us, after all. Make it quick too!" Luci turned instantly and began to sprint back towards our walls, making me chuckle again as I watched her go before turning towards the Deacon, who was standing tall above us and continuing his chant, which was indecipherable both because of the various loud noises booming around us, but also because of it being in anothernguage... which caused my chuckle to fade as I listened to it for a moment. "Don''t know what the hell he''s saying, but it can''t be good." I nodded, before letting out a sigh as I saw a few cerulean portals appear in front of us, saying "I would assume it was a summoning spell then... damn, that''s annoying..." We both watched as monsters began to crawl on through, alongside a few extra Cultists that instantly brandished their weapons as their eyesnded on us, which made Satnaya snort as she asked "Wouldn''t that excite you more, Scion of Asmodia? More things to die before your de and whet your voracious appetite... though recently, I''ve been wondering if that appetite is more for lust than an appetite for battle~?" I nced over at the red skinned Demoness and raised a brow, the both of us taking this moment to cast as many supportive spells as we could, which for me meant a renewed, adapted Light Cloak as well as a Light Shield, while Satanya sheathed her arms and de in mes alongside her long legs, focusing herself on speed and precision over defense. "You could call me an omnivore in that respect, Satanya. I''ll always have a ''sweet tooth'' for my women; wherever, whenever, however they want to be devoured, I''ll take them. But that doesn''t mean I don''t love the thrill of battle, or the wondrous exertion I feel as I push myself to my physical limits. And this..." Waving my de towards the monsters that spilled out of the portals and began to charge towards us, I smirked as I added "Is just what I needed~! Though, yeah, I am annoyed that this Fulbargn bastard is trying to waste our time with this... So let''s get rid of these whelps swiftly!" The red skinned woman beside me just smirked as well, dashing forwards and cutting through the wave of monsters as she shouted "How about the one with the most kills gets to order the other to do WHATEVER the winner wants~? No questions asked... Sound good?" Blitzing forwards behind her, I shook my head and rolled my eyes as I swung my de one handed, using the longer reach to cleave through a number of what appeared to be blue skinned Imp like monsters, their tall frames smooshed together to create a smaller,pact body that allowed them to leap explosively thanks to their powerful legs. However, they were thin and weak everywhere else, though their horned heads did try to damage us as they swarmed both of us, but... "Sounds like you still haven''t given up yet despite me making it crystal clear, Satanya! What makes you think I''ll keep my word on this, hmm~?" Severing the head of a Cultist and piercing the skull of one of those Imps, Satanya just cackled as she leapt over a kick and continued to butcher the myriad monsters and Cultists, shouting back "Oh, because you''re apetitive Demoness too proud to think you could be beaten! Therefore there is no risk to yourself and only something to gain~! After all..." I couldn''t help myself as I looked towards the Beliali woman, blocking a kick with my shield and snorting as I saw her arrogant, ''thirsty'' grin as she stared at me, blood dripping from her cheek as she twisted her serrated de inside the belly of an Imp. "You Asmodia''s are much more proud than us Beliali''s, and with your martial prowess and the like... of course you''ll ept!" mming my shield out, I raised a brow before grinning, saying "Fine! When I win, I want quite a bit out of your n, Satanya~! Not if I win, but..." Raising it again, I bashed the disc of golden light into the skull of the Cultist, breaking their nose and sending shards of bone back into their brain, ridding the world of their filth. Then I swiped my great sword and cleaved two Imps in half, watching the Demoness closely and seeing her eyes lose that heated luster and instead take on a calcting light as she watched me wade into the monsters, killing more and more. "When I win. And I WILL win!" Chapter 780 779: Tricky Cult (1)

Chapter 780 Chapter 779: Tricky Cult (1)

Kat PoV "Alright, I''ll head out first! Leone, Lady Ammit, please keep applying pressure to that Deacon opposite us! We can''t let him have the luxury to do as he pleases, or else we''ll be dealing with an unpleasant amount of summons instead of this manageable amount!" My Vampiric lover nodded, her eyes still that zing crimson as she hurled yet another sphere of condensed mes straight towards the Deacon, giving me her answer through actions instead of through words. Ammit did the same, the usually air headed woman surprisingly serious as she weaved together red and green runes to create an azure Ritual Circle, summoning lightning bolt after lightning bolt to continue applying pressure to the Deacon''s defenses, though sometimes she aimed not for the dome of mana but instead for Leone''s fireballs, imbuing them with her mana to amplify their power by at least twofold. Getting the answers I wanted, I turned towards Luci and said "Locate Anput amongst the other squads and tell her to hurry up. That''s if she isn''t already done ying with her food..." The Demoness just nodded, before watching as I dropped down to the ground silently, my Wind Mana slowing my fall and allowing me to shoot forwards like an arrow out of a bow as I made my way towards Jahi, the sight of the tall blue skinned Demoness surrounded by dozens upon dozens of monsters and Cultists making my blood boil. First though, I stopped amid the dozen corpses that had been the first to fall amongst the Cult, looking them over and frowning before releasing a miniature blizzard around myself, freezing the corpses and sapping the mana from their bodies to prevent the rise of any undead, before making my way over towards the still breathing, silver armored figure of Deacon Renama, who was leaning against a building and unconscious. To be safe though, I held up my Khopesh and tapped her shoulder, before tapping it against her throat, studying her facial features and searching for any signs ofprehension in those muscles. Finding none, I nodded and swiftly began to make sure her body was secured, moving her weapons away and doubling the initial bindings that Jahi gave her, encasing her limbs in blocks of solid ice and freezing them to the ground, before ripping off a long strip of her robe and stuffing it in her mouth, which made her wake up, startled at the sudden rough treatment. Her emerald eyes red with power, but sadly for her there was no way to output that power reliably, and with the cloth stuffed between her jaws, the woman''s favored form of attack was gone; invocations needed words to give them shape, the same way runes were needed to give spells shape. Without them, you were more liable to hurt yourself in an attempt to wield that mana then you were to do any good, and unless she wanted a blown apart jaw and a slow, agonizing death, she would just remain here. Thinking so, I leaned down and gave the Foxkin aforting pat on her cheek before whispering "Be a good girl now and sit tight, hmm~? Otherwise, you and I can have some real~ fun times together as I take my time peeling you like an apple~! Either way, you WILL be suffering some, but you can perhaps atone in your final moments... or not; I don''t care either way. But... just sit tight, alright~?" I giggled at the enraged Foxkin, her eyes smoldering as she tried to break my ice, only to have those eyes go wide as I pulled back the Khopesh and dug the hooked tip into her shoulder, still grinning as I twisted the de and ruined her right arm, leaving her without the use of either limb thanks to the damage Jahi had done earlier. She screamed into the cloth, those eyes now wet with agonized tears as she red at me, only to flinch as I pulled the de back again and tapped its blood soaked tip against her hip this time, threatening her with the same treatment. The woman fell silent a momentter, and I nodded before standing up, grinning down at her as I felt that familiar pleasurable rush that this sort of thing gave me. The scent of her blood, the way those eyes continued to moisten even as I moved the de away, the beauty of those crimson droplets... All of it was beautiful to me, and I had to reluctantly tear my eyes away from my prey as I looked towards Jahi, the rush of amusement and determinationing from her side of the bond making me frown as I wondered what happened. Seeing her grinning at that damnable Satanya, I snarled quietly before making my way towards them both, the previous joy I felt from toying with that Foxkin now gone and reced with an irritation that threatened to give way to anger. The various monsters around Jahi tried to kick, w and skewer her with their long limbs and sharp horns, their gangly forms making them quick yet frail, and in front of Jahi they weren''t even quick. Her de rose and fell as she cut through the various monsters to reach the various Cultists instead, locating the mortals amongst the crowd of monsters and wading towards them, prioritizing their demise over anything else as she blocked and cut the monsters around herself. Clenching my hand around the hilt of my Khopesh, I felt my lips curl into a sneer as my eyes flickered towards Satanya, who was wearing an arrogant smirk as she darted around the battlefield, leaving behind corpses whoever she went. I set into a sprint as I saw that, my eyes narrowing as I allowed my Wind Mana to surge into my veins, hastening my body and allowing me tounch myself into the fray besides my Mistress, piercing the skull of one of these monsters with the Khopesh as I sheathed it in Ice, splintering the bone and discing the brain as I killed it instantly. [Imp of Change killed, 18,750 Xp awarded!] Chapter 781 780: Tricky Cult (2)

Chapter 781 Chapter 780: Tricky Cult (2)

Reading that notification, I pursed my lips even as I pulled my Khopesh back and shed it out towards another of these monsters, its clean, sharp curved edge cutting easily through their leathery skin and chopping through their bone as I cut down another. An ''Imp of Change'' was an interesting moniker for these things, suggesting that each of the Fiendish Groups - Tza, Nua, Ka, and - had their own group of monsters derived from their respective Domains... or these were some kind of altered Imp monster that the Cult repurposed for themselves... Either way, all I knew was that these monsters pouring out of the cerulean portals were NOT going to remain near enough to Jahi that they could damage her, and I knew for damn certain that I wasn''t going to let Jahi remain near that irritating, smirking Demoness just a few feet away. It was NOT happening. Especially not because I could feel that amusement in Jahi''s portion of the bond as we were wading through the sea of blue skinned monsters and Cultists, our swords rising and falling as we chopped and cut and stabbed whatever moved around us. It wasn''t that I didn''t trust her, but instead that I didn''t want to put the idea to the test that this harlot was able to worm her way into Jahi''s mind with her word games and the like to secure herself a ce in MY Demoness'' bed; that space was already filled, and it would only ever be upied by our children whenever we all slept together as one big family at night. That was it; no other women were ever going to im a spot near Jahi. Ever. That single thought fueled me more for this fight than any potion of spell could ever manage to do, and I growled softly as I flicked my free hand to the side and sent a barrage of icicles shooting off into the awaiting face of an Imp, littering its cranium with a few more ''horns'' that promptly exploded a few momentster, shattering its head and sttering its blood around itself. Raising my Khopesh, blocked the axe of the Cultist that tried to surprise attack me and flicked my free hand toward her, watching with suppressed glee as her blue eyes widened as she stared at the ethereal, frigid cyan of my Ice Magic spell as it activated on my palm. A shotgun st of sharpened ice erupted from my hand and streaked towards the woman, and she had no time to do anything as she felt dozens of slivers of ice stab into her torso, piercing her armor and sinking into her flesh as the ''poisonous'' frost linked to my ice began to take effect, killing her slowly whilst sapping her strength. Dropping to the ground, the Cultist stared at me hatefully, opening her mouth to say something only to have one of the Imps nearby stomp on her skull as it leapt towards me, the simple creature not even caring as it killed its ally. My de made short work of the hopeful monster, slicing straight through it as I severed its skull in two and used its momentum against it, my de cutting deeper and deeper until eventually it exited the monsters body, leaving it in two halves behind me somewhere, where it would eventually dissipate into dust. Looking towards Jahi, I watched as my lover and owner raised her dual metal de and swung it horizontally, slicing through three monsters in one swing before she expertly pulled back and stabbed forwards, moving fluidly as she wielded her giant de with one hand. Her golden shield moved reactionary to whatever was happening, going from motionless to fluidly intercepting whatever wanted to attack her as she blocked their blows, creating an opening for herself to exploit that resulted in yet another dead monster or Cultist. More and more monsters poured from those portals, and I frowned as I noticed that even as more of our reinforcements came to our aid - Anput included - the numbers were severely weighed in favor of the Cult, so I turned my gaze towards one of therger portals and began to make my way towards it, cutting down whatever stood in my path. In such close quarters, and with such limited movements avable to us all, the monsters and Cultists were the ones at the disadvantage as their strengths were significantly below our own, and for me, while I wasn''t the strongest - and sometimes wasn''t even stronger than the Cultists - my magic made up for that fact as I butchered everything around me without much difficulty. A gale of frozen winds spun around me at high speeds, and with simple redirection I could cut down whatever decided to get in my way; besides that, the ''shotgun'' attached to my palm was proving to be deadly enough for this crowd of enemies, each st from it taking at least one enemy out of the fight and leaving them to die eventually. If that wasn''t enough, my Khopesh was dancing in beautiful arcs as I extracted the blood of my enemies with swift shes and pinpoint stabs, using as little of the de as I could to inflict the most amount of damage; control was where I bested these monsters and Cultists, the control I had over my body and deing in clutch as I cut down whatever was around me before they could try to overpower me with their superior strength. Each and every step I took towards one of the Cerulean portals was grueling, apanied by a half dozen to a dozen deaths as I cut and stabbed and shed and sted, trying to open up a path that was less perilous the closer I got, but that was proving to be near impossible to do. What I did know was that Anput was cutting her way towards me, my mate silently alerting me to her presence through the more primal bond we shared as she grew closer, the scent of citrus drifting through the air past the metallic tang of blood and the musk of sweat, bringing with it enough ''information'' for me to know that she was going to aid me in whatever I was doing. Chapter 782 781: Tricky Cult (3)

Chapter 782 Chapter 781: Tricky Cult (3)

Bodies dropped to the ground around me as I constantly moved my arm, the Khopesh in my grasp creating beautiful, glittering arcs of deep crimson as the red metal and scarlet blood joined together to paint a picture of death and massacre as I waded through the sea of foes, cutting down those that stood between me and my objective. Joining the red arcs was the res of cyan light that erupted from my palm as I sted monsters and Cultists alike with bursts of crystalline shards at insane speeds, ripping through their flesh and breaking their bones as the impact alone damaged their bodies, allowing the shards to deal more internal damage as they sliced on through into my enemies bodies. So far, nothing was proving to be too much of a trouble for me, the only problem with the current situation being the never ending rush of bodies trying to push me to the ground and tear me apart, but besides that... None were much of an individual threat, and while the sheer volume of enemies was problematic, it was yet another wonderful gift that fell onto myp, the amount of experience I was gaining from them slowly but surely mounting to some insane number that would push me further along in terms of strength, which was something that I had a deep, insatiable craving for at this point. Just a nce at the red skinned Demoness, who was grinning as she darted through the horde, cutting and cutting and cutting constantly as she wracked up more and more kills was enough to make me slightly angry, even more so when I noted that Jahi would asionally nce at the woman too; not in the way that arade looks to check up on their fellow fighters, but instead like she was curious about the progress of Satanya. That... just irked me, since I wanted to pull Jahi away from this silver tongued bitch as quickly as I could; just looking at her sent shivers down my spine and made my furs stand on end, my instincts telling me that she was just bad news all around. For myself and - most importantly - for Jahi. Also... for herself, since if I heard her utter yet another flirtatious line that suggested she didn''t know her ce, I was going to yank her tongue from her throat and strangle her with it... But, I had to look back towards the cerulean portals as I inched ever closer to them, with Anput finally making her way to my side as my mate swung her long, yet thin ded Odachi around in semi circles, using the length to tear through the various monsters that crowded around us, the giant katana covered in an extrayer of Metal Mana easily cutting through flesh and bone like paper and butter. "What''s the y here?" Bashing in the skull of an Imp, I grunted as I had to dodge a flying kick of another Imp, though it paid for that mistake as I sted off its legs, swiftly bringing my boot down onto its head as I killed two monsters in swift session. "I''m going to overload this portal and begin making my way towards the next. Hopefully the operators of these portals suffer a bacsh!" Trying to keep it short enough, Anput gave me a nod as she continued to stand her grand, the lithe Jackalkin clearing the area and silently ordering me to go ahead and do as I said, which made me smirk as I sheathed my Khopesh in the torso of a Cultist, releasing the de and freeing my hands for what I was about to do. Standing in front of the portal, I first erected a thick sheet of ice in front of it and prevented anything froming out of it, before moving on to ce my hands on either side of the ice and begin pouring my mana into the portal, locating the swirling runes thatid beneath its surface and tampering with them. I learned quickly that the portals were actually spinning Ritual Circles that had a mirror like coating on their front to showcase where they were connected to, and those runes were exactly what I was looking for as I began to focus my mind, tuning out the fighting around me and cing my trust in my mate, who battled behind me. Finding the runes that seemed the most important to the structure of the Ritual Circle was rtively easy, since my guesswork on what made this thing tick was entirely based on my own knowledge on how ancient magics worked... which was zilch. Some of the runes werepletely foreign to me - roughly a third of them - whilst another third werebination runes that had a familiar feeling but weren''t quite things that I understood, whilst thest third were runes I was extremelyfortable in... and were the least important runes to the structure. Picking out a few from the few dozen inside the Ritual Circle, I permeated them in my own mana and began to overload them with power, which led to the person channeling their own power into this portal to increase their output as well, trying to keep up with the influx of mana and prevent it from being destroyed. Sadly for them, I had arge reservoir of mana to utilize for myself, and this battle between us was brought to a rtively quick conclusion as they retracted their mana before it could get any worse, resulting in the mirror surface rippling before disappearingpletely. I pulled out of the Ritual Circle and nodded as I watched it shrink before vanishing, instantly reaching for a mana potion and drinking down half the vial as I replenished my Core. When I was done, I grabbed my Khopesh and wrenched it free from the Cultists corpse, watching the blood ssh around me for a moment before I turned to Anput, saying "Let''s get going to the next one, on the right!" Chapter 783 782: Tricky Cult (4)

Chapter 783 Chapter 782: Tricky Cult (4)

"You done yet?!" Hearing the strained voice of my mate, I grit my teeth and poured more mana into the portal, fighting hard against the operator of this Ritual Circle as I tried to overload it with my own mana, only to have to stand here for longer as they managed to match my output tit for tat. Ever since the first portal went down, the rest of the monsters and Cultists had bunched up around the portals to defend them with their lives, and they were doing a damn good job with it too. "Just... a few... more... moments..!" Straining my Core to squeeze out just a few drops more of mana, I continued to empower the runes that I had determined to be of vital importance to this Ritual Circle that was standing between us and reaching that chanting Deacon above; yet, with each drop of mana I spent to target certain runes, an equal amount of mana was sent into the others to stabilize the spell and maintain it, which allowed the monsters and Cultists waiting to be transported through to our side attempt to break down the ice sheet I had set up for protection. In other words, I had to divert my mana to two different things, and with someone with a seemingly equal amount of mana battling against me, this was slowly bing a losing battle... if I didn''t have any mana potions on hand to replenish my reserves and keep going. Behind me, I could hear Anput swinging her Odachi around swiftly, the giant de whistling through the air and easily culling the poption of monsters around us, whilst the Cultists could only reluctantly reveal themselves as the numbers of their allies dwindled down, pushing them to the front and leaving them ripe for the taking as Anput targeted them first. The sounds of battle and death behind me mixed with the scent of blood to create a concoction that tried its hardest to lure me out of my focus, the promise of the wonderful dance of death that was waiting for me to join in making me shiver slightly, but I focused on the portal with my everything. To shake it up, I began to target new runes at random, taking them over and unbncing the Ritual Circle as I moved from rune to rune, forcing the operator to retake those runes and bnce the rest out, only to watch as a new rune was overloaded severely. This strategy was far more draining for us both, but it yielded results instantly as I caught the operator by surprise, resulting in the portal dissipating and allowing me to retrieve the rest of my mana, or at the very least as much of it as I could. Without missing a beat I retrieved my Khopesh again and began to aid my mate, cutting down the remaining monsters and Cultists around us and saying "Let''s just regroup with some of the Demons first! Then we''ll keep going!" Getting a nod from her, I looked around before beginning to move in the direction of a few of the Demons, their leather coats and dark metal armor and weapons slick with blood as they formed inds of death within this sea of foes. Multiple portals still spewed out these damnable Imps and some more Cultists, though I noted that the number of Cultists had slowly been reduced by a lot ever since a few of the portals had been taken down by me, meaning they were either running low or decided to cut their losses somewhat on this excursion. That only made me wonder just how many people were making up this Cult, and how deeply rooted they were in either the Confederacy or the Empire. Maybe the other Kingdoms as well? Those were things that I hoped that Foxkin could answer for us, so I cast the thought from my mind and focused on cutting down the various Imps around me, both because I needed to but also... because I wanted to. I enjoyed seeing their skulls be torn apart by a well timed st from the simple shotgun spell I recast on my palm, or how wonderful they looked when they were cut into pieces as they tried to leap at Anput or I with those long legs of theirs... which always ended up back on the ground, twitching. Besides that, the knowledge that these simple, yet powerful monsters were worth somewhere from 15k to 20k a kill was even better, and I was itching to see howrge of a number I would earn for myself at the end of this. Especially when the experience for the Cultists was tacked on as well; that was something I really wanted to see as well. And to get a higher number, I needed to kill more of these blue skinned monsters that leapt around us like frogs, or tried to stab at us with their talons or horns; a task that wasn''t the most difficult toplete since they weren''t the most intelligent with their movements. They were quick, and really powerful if they managed tond a hit on you, but their patterns were far too easy to read and predictable, while their defenses were rather low; they died easy, but hit hard if they managed tond a hit... Which they didn''t. Anput and I were more geared for dexterity and swift movements then power, and that made this really easy as we adopted a reactionary fighting style that used the movements of the Imps against them, allowing us to kill them during their moments of weakness. We cut our way through towards the closest group of Demons from the ns and joined them, informing them quickly of my ns to close as many of the portals as possible and bring this all to a close. But, as I spoke to them, we all fell silent as we watched the portals flicker out of existence one by one, the mirror like coating on their front fading and allowing us to see the runes beneath, which pulsed as the Ritual Circles began to move towards one another,yering themselves and forming arger, more powerful portal that we had already seen once before, back in Rena County. Chapter 784 783: Round Two Chapter 784 783: Round Two "Oh for the love of..! Pull back! Regroup!" Jahi''s shout drew our attention, and without hesitation Anput and I did as she asked, dropping back and maintaining a unified front with the Demons beside us as they followed a momentter, trusting the judgement of their ''leader''. "This is just like Rena, isn''t it? Gods be damned..." Anput growled softly as she stared at the growing portal, causing the Demon beside us to ask "What is it? Besides arger portal, anyways..." The red skinned man kept his shield raised and eyes focused on the portal even as he walked backwards, his footing even and assured - though as soon as he heard what we said in answer to his question, the Demon stumbled briefly, surprise sending a shock throughout his body. "IF it is the same - and let''s hope it isn''t - this was the type of portal we saw back in Rena County not too long ago, and it summoned forth not a monster, nor any Cultists, but instead a Fiend. So... let us pray this isn''t the same type of portal. But, prepare yourself just in case it is." Jahi joined us a momentter, her eyes fixated on the portal as she cursed softly, before turning her gaze up towards thenky Deacon above, who was grinning madly down at us as he continued his chant, the rain of spells that were previously splitting his focus quieting down, and a quick check with my ears picked up the pattering of boots on cobblestone as Leone and the Cimeriesa''s moved to join us. "Alright, the best bet for this is to bombard it as soon as it appears. Charge up some spells. Anyone with Earth Magic, begin fortifying this area a bit, something for us to fall back to or hide behind briefly." Turning, Jahi shouted "All of you, charge spells! Keep focus on that Deacon though! If he tries something, defend us from it!" before looking towards me, the Demoness asking in a low voice "Could you coat this ce in ice, ready to be used as a weapon for you? A Domain, though not as draining on your Core; we''ll need all the power we can get, and having you tied to something wouldn''t be ideal." I nodded, tracing out the runes needed as soon as she asked even as I watched the portal regain its mirror surface, noting that this time, instead of showing the interior of some sort of stone fortress or something, it instead showed an expanse of blue leaves and grass that swayed with a gentle breeze. The backdrop wasn''t what got my attention though, as instead the thing that really upied my sight was the blue skinned thing that stepped towards the portal curiously before stepping out of it, looking around before it focused its eyes on us. Tall and thin, the blue skinned Fiend was probably at the ten foot mark, whilst its body was rather malnourished in appearance, its bones prodding against its skin and threatening to break past if even the smallest amount of force was applied. Bare chested, the Fiend proudly disyed the swirling tattoos that were inked onto its skin, while a pair ofrge grey wings unfurled behind it, pping a few times as the Fiend brought itself off the ground, hovering there with the aid of magic; beneath the first pair was a smaller pair of grey wings that mirrored the movements of therger pair. In its hand was arge silver hoop that was engraved with various runes, while a blue orb floated gently in the center, coated in ayer of mana that fluctuated in power each second; it was a peculiar item of some kind, its abilities and uses unknown for the moment - though if I had to wager a guess it was a fancy kind of focus, meant to channel the mana of the Fiend into the orb to cast spells... The legs of the Fiend ended in royal blue scales that ovepped one another, before a set of talons hooked down atop each toe and behind the ankle, merging a bird and human foot together alongside reptilian scales. Finally, thest - and most notable difference - was the feathered neck and head of a raven, the deep blue, almost ck feathers reflecting the moonlight as the Fiend turned its head towards us, those beady cerulean eyes narrowing as it tilted its head, its beak opening a momentter. "Ah, I see now why I was summoned by some mere mortals... Delira did put a... ''hit'' on you particr pests, and it would seem I was the only one capable of responding in time." The voice that spilled from that beak was deep and melodic, contrasting the scrawny body of the Fiend as it nodded to itself, only to chuckle in amusement as it raised that silver ring and spoke again, stunning us for a brief moment. "You are... unlucky. I recognize you yellow skinned Demons; Cimeriesa''s, aren''t you? Magic is a powerful, divine tool to be wielded by all. It does not discriminate, it does not care about the one to wield it. As a tool, it has many facets, many avenues of study. Many roads to take and survey. The road I chose was a unique one. One treaded by a select few, even now. You see, magic..." The blue orb floating around in the middle of that silver ring grew in size, its surface cracking apart before it revealed a pulsing, ancient rune that began to absorb the spells hurled towards it, uncaring of the power or potency of the magics it was ''eating''. "All stems from the same ce. The world itself. If you learn to work with the world, and not against it... to take the world and use it as a partner, not a master, then you will find that sometimes, things you believe to be impossible..." The orb began to return to its previous form, and the raven headed Fiend nodded as it stared at the blue orb closely, studying its surface for a moment and ignoring us. "Be possible. I walked the path not of a mage, or a sorcerer; not an enchanter, or an alchemist. I didn''t choose to work against the world, to try and control it, but instead to give myself to it, to let it flow through me and guide my body, my mind. And what it has shown me... well, it has been nothing short of magnificent." Shaking the ring, the raven headed Fiend just chuckled before turning back towards the Deacon, those cerulean eyes narrowing as it stared straight at thenky man, who managed to gather the courage to say "O-Oh mighty Fiend! Lord Tza''Orbias! Please, grant unto me thy power so that I might aid you in your battle against those insufferable Demons!" Tza''Orbias just nodded, before raising its ring and staring at the Deacon as it said "No... No, I don''t think I will. I... dislike being told what to do, especially by those as pathetic as yourself. Though, perhaps you will be of some use..." The Deacon''s expression went down and then went back up, glee appearing in his eyes as he knelt in fervor, that silver staff tossed aside as he sped his hands together, trying to show a reverence that felt insincere even from here; an act, a y, nothing more. His expression dropped once more as Tza''Orbias reached out and tapped the ring against the Deacon, who suddenly began to scream as he dropped to the ground, writhing in agony as his skin began to turn blue. His mana began to seep through his flesh and flow into the orb, and Tza''Orbias shook its head as it said "Give me your mana. All of it." Chapter 785 784: TzaOrbias (1) Chapter 785 784: Tza''Orbias (1) "Now, where were we? Ah, that''s right... I was informing you pests about the road that I took to acquire the power I had today." Tza''Orbias turned towards us and nodded, uncaring of the life it just took from one of its loyal followers and not showing an ounce of interest in the other Cultists that stood on the wall, ignoring them as it turned its attention back towards us. "You see, many of my opponents love to tell me that exining my sess leaves me open to defeat, but all of them died to me, so... I have continued this, to relish the despair in your eyes as you begin to understand that my power... my vast sea of knowledge gathered over millennia, gathered through sheer determination and cleverness. To see the difference between you, the pests..." Raising its arms, Tza''Orbias focused those cerulean eyes on each of us before pping its wings hard, raising a gale that buffeted against us and forced us to nt our feet firmly on the ground. "And me. Fiend of the Worlds Knowledge, Tza''Orbias!" Following that initial gale, another wall of pressure mmed into us, the manaden sound pushing us back a step as the raven headed Fiend unted itself, pridecing its posture and tone as it hovered there. "I may not be an Arch Fiend yet, but when I mount ''Caligo''s head on a pike and siphon the secrets from her pretty little brain, well... That will change, will it not?!" Those beady eyes stabbed towards me, the raven''s re as it looked for the Arch Fiend hiding near me making me shudder as another, morepressed wave of sound threatened to cave in my chest. However, Cali appeared in front of me andzily waved her hand, sending the sound bouncing towards one of the buildings behind us, cratering its walls and sending an explosion of rubble onto the street. "Will it? If the things required to take you from a mere Fiend to an Arch Fiend are the vast amount of sexual techniques and stories I have stored away forter, than by all means, let me show them to you... personally~?" The seductive pink skinned woman giggled as she stared at the towering raven headed Fiend, uncaring of the malice that shone in its eyes as she disyed her sexy body freely, trying to entice the Tza Fiend. "No~? Then shut up. You think a whelp like you could kill me? Someone who has begun to walk the path that that old bastard paved? I was there when it was paved; there when it was tested against me, against Ka''Hondi! You think you can use that, against ME?!" Tza''Orbias tilted its head, before snorting as it replied "It is not our Sedis'' path anymore. It is my own. I took our Sedis'' brilliance and altered it. Created something new. Something meant for me, and me alone. Something that can, and will bring an Arch Fiend down to their knees. Something that I am more than confident to say will allow me to be an Arch Fiend, and eventually a Sedis myself! I shall lead the Tza back to their glory! And to start..." The silver ring was pointed at Cali, the blue orb rotatingzily even as it gave off a ravenous aura that made its desire to consume all of our mana crystal clear. "Well, I need to kill you and absorb your Lust Mana. Absorb your knowledge. You like to joke, to downy your age, but I know you, ''Caligo. One of the oldest living Arch Fiends. Someone who could have been an Animus, yet someone who decided to cull the Fiends for no apparent reason! I shall do my fallen Fiends a service by killing you!" "Magic won''t be that effective against him. Only Fiendish Magics could circumvent that orb, and whilst I have an abundance of it, well... I''m not much of a fighter, now am I~? So this is going to be a battle of des; a mana-less dance of death." Cali ignored the Fiend as she looked towards Jahi, specifically at the de in her hands as she added "Your Empress'' Celestial Gold is strong enough to deal significant damage to a Fiend. And unless that orb opens up, magic can be used, so time your strikes and imbue that de of yours with Light Mana and kill this bastard for me, alright~?" She raised her dainty pink hand and waved it to the side, redirecting the gale and making Tza''Orbias snarl in anger as it watched us from afar, its wings still pping steadily behind its blue body. "Enough! I shall absorb each and every single one of you! I shall finish what the Sedis started all those years ago and take more Demon blood for myself! I shall finish what Ka''Hondi refuses to do and im the blood of the Asmodeucian''s for myself! All of you! Each and every single one of you..." Blinking forwards, the towering Fiend appeared in front of us and raised the silver ring, showing us the spinning blue orb that began to rotate faster and faster as it loomed over us. "Shall be nothing but mana inside my orb! Die for me, so that I might ascend further! Allow me to rid this world of some pests!" Like before, the orb cracked open and revealed a rune, this one far different from the other as it released a tidal wave of mana down onto us, forcing each of us to erect a barrier to protect ourselves as we were washed beneath this wave. Crashing against the ground, the wave of mana that poured from the orb cracked the cobblestone and pulverized the stone a momentter, turning it to dust and making all of us nch at the sheer power it disyed, our barriers holding up just a little better than the street as we strained ourselves, trying to keep ourselves from being squished into nothing on the ground. Sadly, one of the Demons'' mana wasn''t strong enough, and the cracking of their barrier rang out on the empty street, followed closely by their shrill scream that was suddenly cut off, reced instead by the wet squelching as their body was crushed beneath the immense pressure and reduced to a mangled mess. Chapter 786 785: TzaOrbias (2) Chapter 786 785: Tza''Orbias (2) "The first of many toe, pests... Now, you can make this easier on us all and drop those barriers, or..." The raven headed Fiend leaned down and stared closely at the barriers, its cerulean eyesden with maligned amusement as it softly cooed "We can do this the hard way if you''d prefer... I can crack these shells and pulverize the tender meat waiting for me inside at my leisure... Perhaps I could interest you all in some of my experiments? I have been in desperate need of some worthy test subjects..." Inside the silver ring, the blue orb disying that spiteful ancient rune as it regurgitated mana onto us en masse, using no sort of technique or elegance to attack; just raw, unadulterated manathat poured onto us like a tidal wave crashing against a beach. Cali frowned as she looked up at the blue skinned, blue feathered raven headed Fiend, her pink Lust Mana slowly moving to epass us all and give us equal protections from the perils of this Fiend''s unique way of attacking, which made Tza''Orbias click its tongue in annoyance, growling "On second thought, I''ll keep the bitch alive and y her in front of you, ''Caligo. Watch as you lose your power thanks to an idiotic bond between mortal and Fiend." Her frown deepened, before the Arch Fiend just rolled her eyes and said "You talk too much. All Tza Fiends do... so damn proud of being so~ smart and clever... you''re just insufferable, you know that? More of you die due to your own self induced stupidity than the other Fiends do to legitimate threats! Pathetic!" As the Arch Fiend bought us time to regather our wits and regather our mana, the Tza Fiend clicked its tongue before retracting the silver ring, allowing the orb to lose its momentum and ''shut off'' as the rune dissipated. "You think I''m not wise to your tricks, ''Caligo? Could you be anymore obvious with what you are attempting to do? Do you think I am so stupid as to allow you to buy yourself some more time to prepare for this fight?! Let me tell you, I am a-!" "Shut up, for the love of all that is lustful! Quiet! Are we fighting or debating?!" The raven headed Tza''Orbias recoiled backwards at the vitriol in Cali''s tone as she growled at the Fiend, before it raised the silver ring and blinked backwards, creating space between us and it. "Very well then. I shall silence myself and allow my actions to speak for me, for they are to be the harbingers of change for this world!" "And it still... whatever." Letting out a sigh, Cali shook her head and stroked the hissing snakes that flicked their tongues out at her, nodding and muttering to them before gesturing towards the Fiend, saying "Careful; the path chosen by Tza''Orbias is a deadly one to face off against, but it is not without ws. Sadly, those ws are hidden to me since it is a different one from that bastard, but... I believe in us~!" We all nodded, before Satanya growled "We''ll feel this bird head out and learn its weakness quickly enough... nothing is without weaknesses...", the red skinned woman''s eyes smoldering with anger as she briefly nced towards the dead Demon beside us, causing her anger to swell before it cooled as she took a deep breath, turning back towards the Fiend and staring at it calmly. The silver ring remained raised as the Fiend observed us from near the wall, its wings ppingzily behind itself as it waited for us to make the first move. "Altogether? Sounds good!" Jahi just leapt forwards without a care, making my heart lurch as I swiftly darted behind her, my mana covering us both as I red at the Demoness before focusing on the Fiend, who tilted its head as it watched us grow closer. Anput followed swiftly behind myself, with the Beliali Demons just a moment behind her as they nodded and rushed the Fiend in a wave, wanting to feel out the abilities of this foe of ours whilst Cali, Leone and the Cimeriesa''s began to weave together a protective safe haven for us to retreat to... My Khopesh remained steady in my hand even as I watched the silver ring begin to rotate, the runes engraved into its surface glowing at random as the blue orb reopened, revealing yet another rune of unknown origin as the Fiend observed our approach. Mana coalesced around the orb, gathering in immense quantities as the Fiend aimed the silver ring at us, releasing it from its grasp and allowing the instrument to do as it pleased as it hovered just out of touch from its owner. Ritual Circles appeared around the edge of the ring, and we all scattered and donned our own Mana Cloaks as we focused on the spells forming around the Fiend''s weapon, only for our eyes to widen as the raven cawed "[Perish]!" in a booming voice, activating all the spells at once. Fireballs,nces of rock, water crescents, and spirals of condensed wind shot towards us at astounding speeds, each one cast with the entire might of an average mage behind them as they tore into the city of Nogart without an ounce of care, ripping the cobblestone street, brick buildings and tiled roofs apart as the spells were cast at random. Grasping the Khopesh tightly, I stared up at the Fiend and coated my de in Ice Mana as I sliced up into the stonence, shattering it and redirecting the worst of the shrapnel to the side as I continued forwards, a burst of Wind Mana on the soles of my feet allowing me tounch myself into the air and above the spiral of wind that threatened to rip apart my flesh and rend my meat from my bones. I raised my de and red at the Fiend who had appeared before us, its cerulean eyes unreadable even as I began to cut down towards it, the Khopesh singing as I swung it through the air with all my strength. Chapter 787 786: TzaOrbias (3) Chapter 787 786: Tza''Orbias (3) I grit my teeth as I utilized my momentum to drag the Khopesh down from above me into the edge of the silver ring, opting instead to inflict some form of damage on the instrument that was making this fight far more difficult than it needed to be; after all, I wasn''t the only one who was leaping towards the Fiend. Satanya and Anput were flying through the air as well, their weapons aimed towards the Fiend''s chest as they went high, while Jahi and Ronove hoisted their heavier des and swung towards the Fiend''s legs, going for the scales and getting an idea on those. However, Tza''Orbias wasn''t focused on anyone except me, those cerulean orbs glittering in the moonlight as the raven headed Fiend observed my attack closely, watching as my Khopesh descended down towards the ring at high speeds. When my red de covered in a sheet of ice made contact with the engraved silver ring, I noticed right away that what I actually hit wasn''t the ring itself, but instead a thinyer of mana that absorbed the impact of my attack and then redirected it... Straight back towards my de, sending an immense amount of force up the length of the Khopesh and then straight into my arm, before enveloping my chest and throwing me backwards as the rest of the mana exploded outwards, catching me by surprise. I flew away from the silver ring in agony, the bones in my right arm cracked and splintered thanks to the sheer force of that rebound explosion, making my mind go nk as I felt nothing but pain. Shards of my arm cut through the muscles surrounding it and further damaged me, tearing through thepact tissues and severing them easily as I flew back towards Cali and the others. White hot needles of agonizing pain were stabbed into my right arm, each one eliciting a muffled cry and tears from me as my arm was mademe, the structurepletely deformed. To add onto the wave of hellish heat that washed over my body, I mmed into the cobblestones and felt the air escape my lungs as I skidded back, my ribs cracking as my armor did little to absorb that impact either, the blunt force dealing even more damage to me as I was flung away like a used washrag. Incapable of breathing, consumed by pain, my vision swam as I stared up at the moons, their simple brilliance blinding me as the tears amplified their light, while my mind couldn''tprehend what was happening or how this had happened. That changed in a moment as somehow, someway the tattoo on my upper left arm began to activate, numbing my everything and sheltering me from the pain, even if my body was still mangled beyond belief; the pain was stripped away from me, allowing me to finally take in a breath and blink the tears from my eyes, those torturous ''needles'' of hellish heat - my broken bone - no longer as unbearable as before thanks to me feeling... nothing. No pain, no damage, no broken bones or serrated muscles... just... nothing. Which, was both a blissful boon and a terrible bane as Iid there, taking a few breaths as I gathered myself before I raised my left arm, which had been left rtively undamaged all things considered. Currently, I couldn''t focus on much besides myself, the fleeting memories of that torment that had upied only a few seconds yet had stretched for what felt like eternity stealing away my ability to think even when that pain was taken from me, meaning I couldn''t hear the shouts of my lovers or the sounds of battle as spells continued to rain down on them, or the cawing of the raven as it continued to loom over the battlefield, watching everything unfold as it merely reacted to everything, watching, learning. Shakily, I began to trace out the all too familiar runes of a healing spell from muscle memory, guiding my mana agonizingly out of my Core and up towards my left arm, before letting it trickle out of my fingertip and create the runes I needed to begin healing myself. Well... as best as I could, anyways. I sincerely doubt my arm will be brought back just that quickly, but... perhaps I can return to a fighting form before long..? I needed to help them with this Fiend, after all... we are going to need everyone in order to stand a chance against this opponent; this is the first time that we don''t have someone at the level of a Knight fighting by our side against a Fiend. This is actually just the third time that we''ve fought against a Fiend, and so far they''ve been really, really varied in strength; Tza''Delira was stronger than Tza''Orbias, though that was bing harder to determine by the second, whilst Tza''Inopia was a mere... ''appetizer'' of a Fiend for us to fight... When we fought Tza''Delira, we had the Marquess, Nirinia, Kolia, and Adelina at our sides, but now we have a host of Demons by our side, who may or may not amount to thebined prowess of thetter three women..? Drawing in a shaky breath, I noted that the blue runes above me had shed, signaling the beginning of the healing spell and allowing me to begin switching my focus from that to anything else. The first thing that caught my eye was the shards of red metal that were scattered across the ground in front of me, my beloved Khopesh no more as the force of that blow destroyed it alongside my arm. The next thing I noticed was the fact that the silver ring had stopped spinning, whilst the blue orb had closed once again, the rune inside its structure gone and leaving the silver instrument as little more than a piece of metal that the Fiend was swinging around to bat aside the des aimed at its body. After that, I took note of the fact that the Fiend''s left arm - the one not grasping the silver ring - was covered in bony protrusions that glistened and dripped with a clear liquid, which it used to attack the various mortals around it through punches and ps, hoping to pierce them with those spines. Information flowed into my mind as I stabilized myself, the pain long gone now that the tattoo from the Arese had taken full effect, numbing my entire body from feeling any sort of pain or other stimtions. I analyzed the battle as I took a few moments, easing the mana flowing through the tattoo and appraising my arm, which made me wince as I rose to my feet, my head spinning once more as the internal bleeding took effect. Taking out a healing potion, I downed the reddish liquid and tossed the vial aside, letting it do its work as I continued to analyze the battle, looking for any sort of clues, any at all that might let us win this fight and kill this Fiend. Anything was helpful, and I ignored the dull throbbing of my arm as I continued to ease off the effects of the tattoo, before my eyes widened as I found a nugget of information that might just be what turns the tides in favor of us. Chapter 788 787: TzaOrbias (4) Chapter 788 787: Tza''Orbias (4) "Kat? You good girl, or..? Holy hells, your arm is a mess!" Cali approached me and reached for my shoulder, before stopping as she stared at my arm in shock, swiftly turning her gaze from my arm to my face, saying "How the hell are you not a sniveling mess on the floor right now?! What the..! Wait, that tattoo! Oh, you clever little-!" "Cali! Just... quiet for a moment." I was still looking intently at the battle in front of me, watching as Jahi mmed her great sword against the Fiend''s chest and drew out a shallow cut as the edge managed to slice through its leathery blue flesh. Meanwhile, Anput was leaping around and upying its attention as she attacked it from up high, her long spear giving her reach and keeping her rtively safe from being hit back as she moved around swiftly, with Satanya and Luci aiding her as they employed hit and run tactics as well. In frustration, the Fiend swung its arm out and tried to m Jahi to the side, those spikes dripping a clear liquid that fizzed when it hit the cobblestones below, suggesting it was an acid of some kind. And yet, even as more and more Demons piled up to attack it, the Fiend didn''t bring that silver ring to bear, instead relying on its spineden arm to bat away any attacks before swinging the ring as a weapon. That orb remained dormant in the center, whilst the runes were lifeless andpletely ornamental, making me frown as I continued to study the battle, using it as a way to ignore the pain as I continued to ease off of the tattoo, reducing my pain immunity into pain tolerance that threatened to bring tears to my eyes again, but... "The... The ring... That silver ring, it... It doesn''t have the ability to cast spells all the time! It can''t activate back to back! The instrument needs time to recharge before it can be used again!" Cali stared at me in shock before turning her gaze towards the Fiend, watching as it let out a caw and brought the silver ring up towards its chest, which made me shout "Retreat! Pull back now!" as my eyes widened in fear, wondering what ancient rune was about to be brought out next. Jahi and the others didn''t hesitate as theyunched themselves back towards the protective dome, which the Cimeriesa''s were beginning to power up with as much mana as they could, preparing to withstand whatever was thrown our way. "Oh no you don''t! [Warp and Rend]!" Gritting my teeth, I lifted both arms - ignoring the white hot knives that sliced into my right arm as I did so, and fighting through the pain - and began to cast a spell, green runes appearing in front of me as I summoned a gale to help pull ourrades return to the dome, cing some wind at their backs so that they could remain safe. But, Tza''Orbias'' words allowed the orb to crack apart and reveal a new ancient rune, this one duplicating itself around the raven headed Fiend before shooting out sts of raw mana that shot through the air so fast that it did just as it''s invocation suggested. It warped space and rent flesh as bolts of mana rained down on ourrades, and I felt my heart clench as I saw another Demon drop to the ground, skidding to a halt as her head suddenly exploded after a bolt collided with it, whilst another fell to the ground and cried out in pain as his leg was severed from the knee down, though he began to crawl into the barrier and into safety with everything he had. When I heard Anput''s hiss of pain though, my heart skipped a beat as I looked towards the Jackalkin, dread welling inside my mind as I prayed that I had either misheard that or it wasn''t anything serious... What I saw was a gash across the top of her right arm that bled profusely, the muscle sttered across the ground as the bone was revealed to the world, but otherwise... it wasn''t a ''serious'' wound in this world, which made me let out a sigh of relief as I watched her slip through the barrier as well. Jahi and the rest managed to escape with light wounds as well, and we all panted and gathered our breath as we watched those bolts crack against the surface of the barrier, the light pink shield warding off the attacks of the Fiend as it stared at us with narrowed eyes. "Well... that is annoying. Only two dead, one seriously wounded... Am I losing my edge, perhaps? Decades of sleep must have marred my abilities... Must have. Perplexing." The orb reknit itself together, those runes disappearing as the ancient rune dissipated from the center of that blue orb, which made me narrow my eyes before I hurled apressed spear of wind towards the Fiend''s chest, making it click its tongue as it said "Not so fast now, girl." Waving its hand, the Fiend redirected the spear to the side, only to click its tongue again as I said "Its orb seems to have a recharge timer. Don''t know how long, but it can''t be used back to back... so..." Jahi stood beside me and kept her gaze from my arm, those golden eyes locked to the Fiend''s head as she said "Good to know. So it has a period where its vulnerable.", which made the raven shake its head in mock disappointment. "The puppy thinks of herself as clever, hmm~? I don''t think you are..." Blinking forwards again, Tza''Orbias raised the ring and revealed the first rune, the orb splitting and ravenously absorbing the mana around us as it cackled "Not so clever now, are you puppy?! ARE YOU?!" Watching as the mana swirled around us and was absorbed into the blue orb, I grit my teeth as I felt the mana of my healing spell begin to get siphoned off into the orb, along with the mana in the air itself as well... Chapter 789 788: TzaOrbias (5) Chapter 789 788: Tza''Orbias (5) Holding the silver ring above our protective barrier, the raven headed Tza''Orbias cackled maniacally as it began to absorb the mana around us, though as it did so I was counting down the seconds, timing the duration of the rune''s appearance and mentally noting just how long itsted, before starting a new time as the blue orb began to sputter out. The barrier held thanks to the sheer quantity of mana around us, the work of Ammit, Leone and Cali anchoring it with such potent magics whilst the other Cimeriesa mages aided as well, creating a veritableke of mana that the Fiend tried to eradicated with ten seconds of absorption. If I had to quantify how much mana was taken, I would say around a third was swallowed up, but it was being reced swiftly as we all restored the barrier, staring at the Fiend silently, whilst I mentally counted down towards the next activation. "You lot are a tougher set of nuts to crack than I gave you credit for..." Tza''Orbias stopped cackling and stared at us closely, before blinking back to its original spot and turning to grab one of the Cultists that had managed to survive till now; not for long though as the Fiend lifted them and threw them towards its beak, gulping them down in a shower of blood and bones as it swallowed most of the Cultist in one bite. "But, even the thickest of shells have a weak point, and that weak point is obvious. Duration. How long can you sit there and fuel this barrier? Hmm? Not for an entire day... Even if you have an Arch Fiend on your side, that doesn''t matter now does it?" Tapping its silver ring a few times, the Fiend cooed softly in amusement as it stood there, before blinking forwards again and revealing the blue orb, which cracked apart and disyed the same rune as before, which began to ravenously devour the mana in the area once more. I had to hold back a grin as I began a new mental clock, the times of everything starting to make sense as I looked back at the beginnings of the battle, when Tza''Orbias had absorbed our spells and capitalized on that shock to speak, distracting us so that this orb could recharge. Ten seconds between activations, ten seconds of an active rune. So, if we were to attack him and force out a desirable rune, like that one that cast a myriad of normal spells, we would have twenty seconds to damage this Fiend before retreating as it used this absorption rune to scare us away... or perhaps a healing rune was stored inside that orb as well... That meant we needed to attack hard and fast, not letting Tza''Orbias retreat and heal, so... Jahi would be crucial in more than one way, since her Light Magic was what would kill this Fiend, but also... it was what could contain this Fiend, and prevent it from fleeing. Not only her though, as Cali''s Lust Mana could do the same; something that I was angry at myself for not going out of my way to obtain now that I saw just how invaluable that would be for us. And maybe Leone''s Moon and Blood Magics would be of use as well; her True Vampire Form most certainly would be. When the ten seconds were up, I took a deep breath, drained the entirety of a Mana potion, and said "Leone, transform. Jahi, gather your mana. Everyone else, barrier." My orders were rapid fire, which surprised everyone, including the Fiend as it stared at me, before those cerulean eyes narrowed as it clicked its tongue, muttering "So she was a clever little puppy... no matter." Cali drifted over to me, before leaning closer and chuckling as her snakes licked my cheek, the Arch Fiend whispering "Oh, you really are~ a clever little thing... That makes you even sexier, my Masque..." "Yes, or..?" I nced at Jahi and saw the beginnings of a Ritual Circle in front of her, one that had no real purpose just yet and was - as such - indecipherable to those who weren''t Soul Bonded to her; the question was offensive or defensive magics, and I could tell which one was ''yes''. Giving her a nod, I turned back and continued to count down, before smiling as Tza''Orbias blinked forwards again and raised the silver ring, the Fiend no longer as amused as it snarled "Don''t get conceited now, you insignificant mortal! You think you know of my power?! You know NOTHING!" The rune for absorption appeared again, but this time the Fiend let the silver ring go and allowed it to float above us, instead coating its now empty fists in raw mana as it began to punch forwards, mming them into the slightly weakened barrier as Leone was taken from the equation to shift. But, as we saw the rune appear yet again above us, we all drew out the mana from our Cores and began to empower the barrier, maintaining its state even as Tza''Orbias rained punch after punch on the solid pinkish shell around us. Each punch sent tremors through the earth, the towering Fiend disying a strength that was aplete dissonance from what its scrawny, thin form would suggest, but each punch - while they did tear away some more mana - wasn''t strong enough to break open the shell, even with the rune above. When it disappeared, Tza''Orbias growled and blinked back, not wanting to remain close to us as its primary weapon recharged, which caused Satanya and Ammit to gasp as they both said ""It''s on a time constraint!"" I looked towards the two Demonesses and smirked, replying "Took you long enough. Ten seconds in an active state, ten seconds to recharge. Got that?" They both nodded, and Satanya looked back at Leone, who was standing still with closed eyes, the Vampire frowning as she tapped into the power of her blood, which made my smirk widen as I felt the explosion of mana erupting from her Core, the transformation taking ce. Beside her, Jahi continued to funnel her own mana into a Ritual Circle, which shone brilliantly in the dim street, a golden light illuminating the surrounding area. A True Vampire, Light Magician, and an Arch Fiend... That was one hell of a lineup to go against, and I turned back to Tza''Orbias with a grin, wondering if this imbecile would stick around to find out just how broken that lineup was... Especially when you added a contingent of Cimeriesa''s, a bunch of angry Beliali''s, a pissed Jackalkin, and of course... Me~! Chapter 790 789: Tza’Orbias (6)

Chapter 790 Chapter 789: Tza''Orbias (6)

Having repeated the action of absorbing the mana around us one more time, Tza''Orbias let out a frustrated caw as it watched the barrier remain standing despite its repeated attempts to bring it down, both its special magical instrument and its own prowess proving to do little more than temporarily weaken the barrier before it was replenished a momentter. ss shards littered the ground around us as we drank our mana potions and tossed the vials aside, returning to powering therge dome of mana around us as we protected ourselves from near certain death; something that we were vividly reminded of when we saw the headless corpse, mangled corpse, and the Demon that had its leg sted off. Each one was a reminder that we were in perilous danger, and a slip up here could cost us our lives with frightening ease; the sheer power behind Tza''Orbias'' spells was enough to chew through such a thick barricade of mana, so the thought of seeing it do that to flesh was... terrifying. But what made it less scary to think about was the brilliant golden lighting from Jahi''s spell and the explosion of mana from Leone, which grabbed all of our attentions. Her skin turned from a pale, almost paper whiteplexion to a deep, regal crimson that matched the Beliali''s, while her hair sparked far more frequently as runes of small me spells took ce of the embers, disying her heightened mastery over the Fire Mana inside her body and outside her body as well. Two horns sprouted from her temple and pointed into the sky, whilst her fangs and eyes grew sharper; the Vampire became far more elegant, regal and beautiful as she stepped forwards, staring at the Fiend with an indifferent gaze, studying its form. "Oh, so you ARE one of HER brats then... Now I have to stay and rend you limb from limb... Drinking your blood, consuming the Scion of Asmodia''s flesh, subjugating the Arch Fiend traitor... My, this is my lucky day, isn''t it!" Chuckling softly, Tza''Orbias looked us over before nodding, muttering almost silently to itself as it scanned over each and every single one of us, appraising us like we were cuts of meat at a deli. "Kat, you said this... instrument has a ten second grace period before it can be used again?" I blinked as I heard the softer, more melodic voice of Leone from beside me, the True Vampire staring intently at the Fiend with a frown that felt like it belonged in a renaissance painting; something that made me shiver as the gorgeous Princess turned her head slightly to look at me, those sharp crimson eyes pairing with her new skin tone to make me swoon as an utterly divine woman looked my way. I had to blink again and cough as I nodded, my cheeks flushing slightly as I managed to get out "Yes... a ten second activation, ten second rest, rinse and repeat." Thankfully the Princess was far more focused on the Fiend than she was on me, so she didn''t take notice of my rather embarrassing state, but of course Cali did, the Arch Fiend grinning at me from ear to ear as she kept mum about it for the time being, though the twinkle in her eyes let me know I had just given her some rather powerful ammunition. Coughing, I added "So we should be going for a heavy, yet fast attack to capitalize on that, which means..." "Jahi and I at the front, the rest of you following behind us to overwhelm it? Should be good enough." The confidence that radiated from Leone''s words made me shiver again, and I could feel my tail refusing to remain still as it swayed from side to side, which made my blush return before I bit my cheek. "I can still hear you, y''know? Think I''ll just let you pests swarm me and try to bite?!" "Well, yes, since you aren''t really the sharpest knife in the drawer?" Jahi smirked at the Fiend as she continued to work on her spell, surprising everyone as the Ritual Circle became more borate with each rune she added. "I''ll go first then, my love..." Leone stared at Jahi with a heated gaze before stepping forwards, ignoring the caw from the raven as it raised its silver ring, preparing to crash heads against us once more. My eyes were drawn to the back of my usually shy lover, her confidence and power radiating off of her body in waves as she stepped past the barrier, before I looked at Anput as she shot past Leone, rushing past her and giggling as she shouted "I might not have any kind of fancy power up, but hey~! Fuck it!" Her unserious attitude was infectious as the other Beliali Demons rushed forwards, Satanya leading their way as she shouted "Coulda been worded better, but damn is she not wrong! Let''s wipe this blue stain off the face of the earth!" The Demons let out a shout as they joined Anput, and a barrage of lightning bolts crashed down atop the raven headed Fiend as Ammit stepped forwards, the golden skinned Demoness chuckling quietly as she muttered "No fair, Satanya... I wanted to say that!" Watching as the Jackalkin and Demons began to attack the Fiend, I watched from afar and snapped out of my stupor, raising my hand and tracing out some runes as I prepared my own spell, observing the movements of our foe as I remained on the edge of the barrier, waiting for my time toe. Spines sprouted from Tza''Orbias'' body as the Fiend tossed the silver ring up and opted for meleebat, swinging itsnky arms around and sweeping them through the cobblestone as it destroyed the street, keeping everyone away from itself as it snarled and fought back, the hissing of that clear liquid growing in abundance as Tza''Orbias produced more. Ritual Circles appeared around it as it cast spells of its own, using its own mana to fight alongside invocations as it shouted "[Thunderous Knockback]!", using the mana imbued sound to send the Demons skidding back. The battle returned to its hectic state as the Demons and Jackalkin darted around the legs and torso of the Fiend, whilst bolts of mes and lightning mmed into its upper chest and head, every inch of its body getting damaged, though its natural regeneration healed those wounds up almost instantly. The blue orb remained silent, and as I kept my eyes locked on it I felt someone drape themselves across my back, tworge mountains of soft flesh pressing against my back whilst the soft hissing of many snakes filled my ears. "Don''t you desire to be of more use here, Kat~? To take revenge for your earlier mishap? Don''t you lust to see this unworthy, pathetic Fiend dead at your feet, its blood sshed across the walls and street of Nogart? Its blood dripping down you fingers as you hold its Core in your hands~? Don''t you want that, my Masque? Tell me... do you desire any~ of that? Don''t you desire to show Anput, Leone, and Jahi just~ how powerful you can be? How important~? Well? Don''t you~?" Chapter 791 790: SlaCaligo Chapter 791 790: ''Caligo Cali''s breath brushed against my cheek as she whispered ''into'' my ears, the Arch Fiend clinging to me from behind as she traced her fingers around my heart and Core, getting suspiciously close to my breasts. "Well? Do you desire those things, my Masque? Is it a burning well of need inside your very soul to aid those that you love, to bring death upon those that you hate? Do you hold those desires inside yourself? A... lust to be of even greater use for your lovers, both on the battlefield and in bed? A lust to drive your opponents to an even greater despair than they already would feel when your des slice into their flesh? Tell me the answer..." Her words dripped with such a sweet, yet poisonous honey as she leaned against me, the pink skinned icon of lust studying my face from the side, an expression of twisted glee doing nothing to mar her beauty despite it being such a frightening expression to look upon. Each syble slipped into my ears and caressed my mind, their sweetness making it hard to focus on anything else as she remained on my back, the Arch Fiend of Hidden Twisted Pleasures living up to her moniker as she added "Wouldn''t it be nice to be able to draw Jahi''s attention just like how Leone has currently? A way to enhance your scent so that Anput couldn''t even dare to turn away,pletely intoxicated with your smell and taste? To make the hidden side of Leonee crawling out to im you as her own? Wouldn''t you like that~?" Tracing a circle over my heart, ''Caligo giggled as her many snakes hissed and licked my cheek, each one trying to convince me further on the words of their Mistress, who continued even as I shivered, the smells, sounds, touch... all of it that was radiating off of ''Caligo was stoking something in me, making it harder to breathe as I felt my cheeks flush and my lower half begin to heat up. The crest that had bound me to her was on fire, each line of the pink tattoo searing itself back into my flesh and making me shiver as the pain gave way to indescribable pleasure, but... "C-Cali..! W-What are you... d-doing?!" I barely managed to get that hiss out before a moan slipped from my lips, making ''Caligo giggle again as she raised her hand from my chest to my cheek, stroking it as she whispered "It''s simple... showing you how to finally, finally harness the powers I had so graciously allowed you to have. Tell me what it is that you desire. Right here, right now, what is the thing that you want the most~?" Blinking, I panted as I felt my legs go weak, my body refusing to listen to me as I slumped against her chest, suddenly feeling incredibly weak as I stood there and observed the battle, which had slowed down to a crawl. Time seemed to have lost all meaning as I watched Anput glide through the air like it was a syrup, moving barely an inch even as her mana swirled around her body; the long, heavy war spear in her handsnced forwards towards Tza''Orbias'' shoulder, and yet the strike that should have been lightning fast was slower than a babe. "We have time, my Masque... so answer me. What is it that you desire?" Each time she spoke, I felt my mind go muddled, while the heat that permeated my body continued to rise steadily as I tried to bring myself together, but... All I could think about was her words; what was it that I desired? "I... I want..." Panting, I blinked a few times as I tried to speak, the amused hisses of the snakes cutting through the haze as they nuzzled against my ears, allowing me to finally speak... even if I wanted to say something different. "My desires... is to keep them safe, no matter what... to always have their backs, to let them continue climbing-" "Is that truly what you desire? Just to have those three safe, and that''s it~? Come now, my Masque... We''re talking about your lusts now~! Do you think I don''t have an inkling on what your lusts truly are~? Tell me the truth." ''Caligo grinned as she lovingly stroked my cheek, the Arch Fiend making a show out of everything as she sensually caressed my body, whilst her warm breath spread her sweet scent even more, further ensnaring me in her web offortable bliss. "I... I want to... N-No, I WILL k-keep them for myself..! I desire to... to be the first thing on their minds! Thest thing they think about... before they go to sleep... and the first thing they look for... when they wake up!" "Good~! Now, tell me, what do you desire to do to those that... threaten to steal away that attention? The people and monsters who threaten to bring harm upon them~? What do you lust after when you think of a scenario like that?" Her whisper made me growl, my mind switching from theforting, beautiful pink haze into a red one that only grew darker as I snarled "Tear them apart... They are MINE! MINE!" "Oh~? So if a beautiful, buxom woman wanted to throw herself into Jahi''s bed, to warm the blue skin of your lover and serenade her with her moans... what would you do?" ''Caligo continued to stroke my cheek lovingly, slowly tilting my head to look towards the Demoness in question, who was now no longer formting a Ritual Circle, but instead smiling down at a faceless woman, her blue hands lifting the woman''s head and slowly drifting down towards her hips... before heading lower. Chuckling, Jahi smiled at the woman before leaning down, her lips pursed as she went to kiss the woman... all while her amethyst eyes were locked to mine, an amused glint brightening them up as she watched me closely. That previous heat that had permeated my loins spread rapidly towards my head, before I cooled down as I turned my gaze from Jahi to the woman, imagining the way she would scream not in pleasure, but in agony as I took my des to her pretty flesh and robbed her of the things that allowed her to even think of taking what was mine... My thoughts were filled with blood as I imagined skinning her before slowly, carefully keeping her alive as I did as I pleased to her, subjecting her to the deepest colds I could conjure up before allowing her to thaw out as I healed her body, working away at her mind instead... Afterwards, I would find ways to- "Now now now~! Let''s not lose ourselves to it~! Come now my Masque... tell me, what would you do?" ''Caligo''s voice snapped me from my mind, and I kept my tone level as I murmured "Simply put... I would make her regret being born; make her regret having the ability to see my Jahi, regret having a voice to talk to my Jahi, regret having hands to feel her... I would break her down, robbing her of each sense before leaving her to rot in a random grave, a healing spell engraved into her flesh alongside a Mana Crystal to power it, so that she could live for months, perhaps years before finally dying..." "And what of Jahi~? Did she not stray from you~?" "I..." My mind faltered as I saw Jahi standing there, all alone as she smirked at me, her eyes golden this time as she dared me to try something. "Ah~! You find yourself conflicted, don''t you~? I would too... the sin of straying from her wives would be great, but she would alwayse back to you, wouldn''t she~? Yes, yes she would... After all, your lust for her stems from her lust for you... You WANT to be owned, my Masque... Is that not why you''ve never, ever even thought about the Master-ve bond between you and her? You say you wish to own her, and yet... She owns you~! But is she not able to be reined in through pleasure? Pleasure... only you could provide?" Humming, ''Caligo chuckled again before whispering "There''s nothing wrong with that, but couldn''t you do a better job at this~? Couldn''t you ensure she would never look elsewhere by showing her a sort of pleasure no one else could ever hope to provide? Do you recall that bliss you felt when you were tapping into Lust Mana? Imagine sharing that with them... that all consuming bliss as you join together in union to satiate yourselves..." She let me go as she walked around this slow, slow world, looking around and raising a hand as she let her mana spill from her palm. "Notice how the world sharpens? Colors are more vibrant, the air feels cooler and graceful against your skin... Scents are stronger and more fragrant, vors are richer..." I looked around with her, and we both took in this new, beautiful world, before everything was sapped away; the sharp, vibrant violet blue sky turned grey, the sweetness of the ozone turned nd, the taste of metal dissipated, while the caress of the soft breeze on my skin fell away. "Now, notice how the world is nd and boring? Grey, with no feeling, no signs of life, of... anything. Nothing at all. No desires. Look inwards, my Masque. Tell me, what do you see? What do you feel in this world?" Chapter 792 791: Power Up Chapter 792 791: Power Up "I... I d-don''t..." I swallowed hard as I touched my stomach, where the sinking feeling was taking root as I looked at ''Caligo in a slight panic, only for that panic to disappear too, leaving me entirely... Entirely... "Nothing... I feel... Nothing. No anger, no... sadness. Worry, joy, motivations... Just... empty." "Good~! Now, can you tell me something, my Masque? What makes you desire something?" Blinking, I stared at the still pink Arch Fiend, the only source of color in this- no, one of two sources of color in this now grey world. I turned my head to the side and saw Jahi still standing there, the Demoness back in her normal position as she held up her hands to prepare to cast that spell, her blue flesh standing out all the more in this sea of grey, whilst her amethyst eyes stole my breath away like they always did. "The... happiness and pleasure thates from attaining it. Wanting to have that thing no matter what... Biologically, dopamine is released when you want to get something, as a motivator for you to get said thing. Psychologically though... you''re chasing that high to have something that makes you feel good. The rush of adrenaline, theforting pleasure... anything like that would make you want it more and more, until-" "Until its not enough, and you crave more~? For instance, going from an untouched, inexperienced virgin into a needy woman who needs pain to get off, who wants to be choked and beat and dominated until her body is forced to acknowledge her inferiority?" I swallowed hard again, nodding as I looked back to Cali and saw the arch Fiend smirking, the world slowly regaining its color as she stopped using her Lust Mana, the woman walking towards me as she asked "You understand the concept well enough, and I''ve seen you try to attain it before, but... perhaps having it for a second will ignite the desire to obtain it again, permanently. We are bound together in a unique way, my Masque. You have the ability to tap into my own reserves of Lust Mana, just as I have the ability to absorb the Pleasure from your body to empower myself. Try it. You want that power, don''t you? The power to be of more aid than just some sharp, clever mind~?" She appeared in front of me again, lifting my chin and leaning closer as she whispered "To steal the spotlight from Leone, to steal the hearts of your lovers all over again? To show this insufferable Fiend that its unique trinket means nothing to you? Tza''Orbias made Anput bleed, after all. Doesn''t that deserve repayment? If you think it does..." Pressing her brow against mine, Cali''s lips lingered dangerously close to my own as she stared me dead in the eyes, the Arch Fiend enshrouding me with her scent, her heat, her softness and her beauty and almost her taste as well. "Then take that power from me and use it to kill this bastard. The battle is in our favor already, certainly, but let''s not take any chances, hmm? Don''t you want to ensure that this Fiend''s blood gets spilt by YOUR hand? That YOU were the one to kill him? Think of all the power you could siphon off of its death... that''s how your blessing works, right? You wanted to get stronger... so take it. Take my Lust Mana and wield it alongside your Ice Mana so that you can kill Tza''Orbias." Circling around me, Cali kissed my cheek as she added "I know you can do it, my Masque... You have great potential in all sorts of things, and Lust... Bloodlust, sexual lust, or just power lust all flow through you equally, even if you don''t think they do~!" The world began to return to normal, Anput flying through the air and stabbing her spear forwards into the Fiend''s shoulder, the heavy metal weapon piercing its leathery blue flesh and mming the weighty tip against its bone, drawing Tza''Orbias'' attention away from the others for a split second as the Fiend snarled at the pain, only to have a serrated de slice across its stomach, Satanya dashing across the street and scoring a cut before rushing away, much like the other Beliali Demons. The words that Cali and I had shared echoed in my ears as I saw Anput nod at Satanya as she flipped away from the Fiend, the Jackalkin grinning as she summoned a new weapon made from her mana,unching herself back towards the Fiend a secondter. Seeing her acknowledgement and growing respect for Satanya, paired with the soft mutter from Jahi as she said "Not too shabby...", which made me grit my teeth as I red at the Fiend, directing my petnt anger towards someone that deserved it instead of uglying myself by being angry at someone I could be better than. I know I can be better than Satanya, that I can do more damage than a simple gash! Envy was a strong motivator, and when I wanted nothing more than to prove myself not only to them, but to myself, well... Taking a deep breath, I focused on that me that smoldered atop my crest and ''grabbed'' at it, feeling something pleasant swelling around the crest that leeched onto my mana and began to change it. The threads of ethereal cyan Ice Mana that I sent down towards the crest came back tinted pink, and I could feel an incredible amount of power pulsing off of that strand as it made its way back towards my Core, which painted a smile on my face as I began to swiftly circte my mana down towards the crest so that I could infuse as much of my normal mana with as much of this Lust Mana as I could. Each moment added more and more of thisfortable bliss to my Core, warming up my entire body and making me feel giddy as my Core was slowly refilled. Looking at the silver ring, I refocused my attention on the battle at hand, not wanting to be so distracted that I couldn''t act properly when I needed to, waiting for it to fluctuate with power like it did whenever that blue orb began to awaken. That moment when it did would be when I would strike, and it would provide an opening for the others to capitalize on. Jahi''s Light Magic spell, Leone''s potent Fire Magic, Ammit''s powerful Lightning Magic, my new Lust infused Ice Magic... All of that would be more than enough to bring this raven headed Fiend to its knees, and all we needed was an opening. An opening that I know I could provide. Chapter 793 792: Tza’Orbias (7)

Chapter 793 Chapter 792: Tza''Orbias (7)

"Argh... Perhaps you aren''t pests..! Damnit! [Back]!" Letting out a shout, Tza''Orbias pped its hands, which emitted a shockwave that did as the Fiend demanded it do; pushed everyone back a step, whilst those in the air were sent flying back before crashing to the ground, though they did swiftly get up. "The lot of you... Who would have thought you could make ME go on the defensive?! Hah... I swear, I shall rip you all limb from limb and feast upon your Cores as primitively as I possibly can!" As the Fiend reached up, I smirked as I finished my spell and kept my eyes glued to the silver ring, which slowly made its way back down towards the Fiend''s hands where it would turn into a weapon. The blue orb pulsed to let Tza''Orbias know it was ready, but just as it wrapped its fingers around the edge of that silver instrument I stepped out of the barrier and cast my spell, thebination of Wind, Ice and Lust powering up an initial spell meant solely to distract and stop this Fiend from activating that orb. Leading with my left foot, I twisted my body and stepped into my throw, the heavynce of jagged pinkish ice surrounded in a gale of green light as it revved up, only to slice through the air without a sound as that gale - paired with my own strength - sent thence flying far faster than the barrier of sound could anticipate, and far, far faster than Tza''Orbias was prepared for. Arcing forwards in a pink blur, thence targeted not the blue skin of the Tza Fiend, but instead the blue orb that was housed ''within'' the silver ring, hoping to give Jahi and the others a moment to work with as thence did some damage - or at the very least, surprised the Fiend. We could see Tza''Orbias'' cerulean eyes widen as it saw thence crack against the orb before it could react, the thunderous boom finally catching up as thence''s tapered tip met the crystalline form of the blue orb. Mana formed a thin protective barrier around the surface of the orb, holding thence in ce as it continued to spin and dig towards the orb, its pink surface radiating a looming sense of power as it battled against the royal blue mana shrouding the orb. Small cracks formed on both the tip of mynce and the surface of the orb''s barrier, and Tza''Orbias'' eyes ticked as it tried to further empower the surface of that barrier with more of its own unique mana, repairing it and then strengthening it as my ''impure'' Lust-Ice spear began to crack more and more. Even though the spear was slowly losing power though, the Fiend continued to focus on it until it eventually shattered, but by then two more were flying straight towards both the Fiend and the orb, causing Tza''Orbias to grit its beak and go further on the defensive, which... As soon as my two spears mmed against their targets, a blinding re of orangish red light filled the city as Leone mimicked me, hurling her own spears at the Fiend before summoning three more, which she threw not at the Fiend, but at the area around it, letting them fly through the air until they reached a certain point, the spears losing momentum and hovering around the Fiend before mming into the ground. Whilst Leone began to work on her own spell, Anput used her Metal Magic to summon a giant, heavy chain that she hurled towards the Fiend, wrapping it around Tza''Orbias'' body and yanking forwards, bringing the blue skinned, raven headed Fiend to its knees as she staked the chain to the earth, before going on to summon what looked like metal Torii Gates to pin its body to the ground as well. Now kneeling, the Fiend desperately tried to activate the silver ring in its hands, but before it could do so clouds gathered over head, sparking and flickering an azure blue before its contents crashed against the Fiend, a thick lightning bolt mming into the back of Tza''Orbias and eliciting a scream of agony as the chain and Torii Gates amplified the strike of electricity. Spells began to rain down on the Fiend one after another, this moment of inaction and loss of focus on its end bringing about a single monumental turn in the battle, one that gave us all we needed to slowly but surely kill this Fiend. Not to be outdone, I tinkered with the new, pleasant Lust Mana inside my Core and shaped arcs of Wind Mana with them, which I sent shrieking towards the Fiend, watching as they cut into its flesh and revealed the silver bones beneath, blood sshing to the ground as each cut deeper than thest, my focus on one of its arms gradually weakening the muscles beneath before I managed topletely sever its arm, which flopped uselessly to the ground, still grasping the silver ring strongly. The other wounds on the Fiend''s body showed signs of regeneration, slowly knitting themselves back together or stymieing the spill of blood from those wounds, but the cuts caused by my Wind des didn''t heal at all, and now that its arm wasying uselessly beside it... Jahi took a step out, the Demoness grinning at me as she asked "Got a mirror~? I recalled a spell that you came up with sometime ago, and it needed my little puppy to work~!" Nodding, I swiftly created arge sheet of transparent ice, its pinkish color surprising Jahi for a brief moment before she just shrugged, knowing she would get the answerter; instead, she just nudged me using our bond to give me the idea on where to ce the ice, allowing her to work her magic. Multiple sheets of ice appeared as I recalled the spell as well, a smile on my lips as I set everything up swiftly, before watching as Jahi allowed the Ritual Circle to finally cast, sending a beam of golden light streaming through the first ss and watching as it began to split into the rest, all of which were aimed at Tza''Orbias. Chapter 794 793: Tza’Orbias (8)

Chapter 794 Chapter 793: Tza''Orbias (8)

Those beams of golden light split upon contact with the first ice block, redirected to the four sheets waiting further down the street, each time those beams touched a new sheet of ice the spell woven into them took the mana from the contact points, amplifying themselves and imbuing them with a frosty chill despite being, well, light. And now, instead of just a frost chill, the beams had a pinkish hue to them as well, the Lust Mana inside my magic now further empowering the spell Jahi had casted as she allowed the beam to go on for another second, creating a long, thick stream of light that traveled towards Tza''Orbias almost instantly. As it traveled through the air, arcing between the street and bouncing from mirror to mirror before streaming through focusing lens, the spell that Leone had set up began to activate as well, a spell we had seen before back when she first activated her True Vampire form all that time ago. Back in the fight against ''Lord Pele'' the Draconis, she had summoned pirs of me that she used to trap and burn the ignorant Lord into nothing more than a crisp; then, they had been impressive pirs of fire that threatened to burn everything, but looking back, they hadn''t been truly impressive since theycked the finesse and power that Leone had now, which made this spell all the more terrifying as we saw it again. Each spear turned into a towering tornado of me that began to spin faster and faster as they absorbed the mana and oxygen around themselves to burn stronger, slowly tearing their way towards the bound Fiend andyering the impending doom it must have felt as everything came crumbling down around it. Missing an arm, burned on the back thanks to Ammit''s lightning, bound to the ground by Anput''s chains and Torii Gates, and covered in various wounds that sapped its strength, the once proud Tza''Orbias had been humbled quickly, and now all it could do was watch as beams of amplified, focused Light Mana and tornados of slowly whitening mes approached it far faster than my spears had. The beams connected first, slicing into its flesh and causing its skin to bubble as its weakness to Light Mana was disyed, each beam cutting cleanly through its muscles, tissues, bones, and organs, slicing off parts of its body and severelycerating the rest, while the intense heat found within the beams began to ignite its flesh, burning it and drawing out screams as the Light Mana got to work. Each beamsted for two seconds, which sounds short but gave me more than enough time to rotate the lenses freely and cut the Fiend into pieces, parts of its body smacking against the ground with a wet thud as its blood poured out freely, staining the cobblestones below blue. As I cut the Fiend apart proxy Jahi''ssers, Leone''s hellish pirs closed in and merged together overtop the kneeling Fiend, burning the oxygen straight inside his lungs and not allowing him to make a sound as his flesh began to melt, the intensity of the mes illuminating the entire city whilst melting my mirrors in mere moments; everyone leapt back and protected themselves with their mana as they watched the True Vampire control this tornado with no issues, it power frightening. The cobblestone ground began to melt into magma, whilst the ss panels that were lucky enough to remain during the battle began to drip, eventually sliding free from their spots and crashing to the ground, joining the magma and adding to the superheated soup that was the street; stone, brick, ss, and all of the bodies of the Cultists melted beneath this tornado, leaving nothing behind as Leone made sure there would be nothing left of this Fiend. The mes consumed everything, shrouding our view of the Fiend as it was bathed in a sea of white me; whilst we couldn''t see it now, when we saw itst inside the fiery vortex it''s flesh was melting, revealing the bone beneath. For better or worse, Leone was burning this Fiend down to nothing... Sure, it was an abundance of materials waiting to be utilized, but were those materials worth risking such a powerful enemy surviving and potentiallying back to fight us? No, no it wasn''t, so we watched as Leone used her magic to consume the area in white mes, until eventually nothing was left. As the tornado slowly began to dwindle into just three white spears, we saw that there actually was something left; the silver ring and blue orb were steaming, but they remained intact atop the magma, which quickly hardened as I bathed the area in Ice Mana, counteracting the damage done by Leone''s Fire Mana. The True Vampire stepped forwards to retrieve it, only to pause and look back as Cali tutted and said "Nuh-uh~! Don''t touch it lest you want to test your mental fortitude against something a few dozen times older than yourself~! Besides..." Blinking forwards, Cali elegantly reached down and picked up the silver ring, a smile tugging at her lips as she turned back towards us and raised it up, before wrapping her fingers around the orb. "Wouldn''t you like to see a trick~?" Without waiting for a reply, Cali clenched her fist and shattered the orb, her hand ring pink as she destroyed the orbpletely, allowing the ring to fall harmlessly to the ground as she tossed the dust into the air, revealing the fragmented shape of Tza''Orbias, who was trying desperately to run away. "Look~! So much for being an impressive listener to your Sedis~! The world might listen to you sometimes, but you can''t work with it like he did, Orbias. No one can. That''s why HE is a Sedis, and you aren''t even an Arch Fiend. If you had listened, you''d have understood that while the world might listen... it doesn''t care about you at all. You are just another piece of it, and it owes you nothing. Now... perish." Enveloping the fragmented Fiend in her mana, Cali grinned as she watched Tza''Orbias squirm beneath the nket of pink, trying to throw it off only to scream silently as she squeezed the remnants of the Fiend into nothing, killing it. [Fiend Tza''Orbias has been killed!] [Congrattions, Kat... another one felled, yet there remains so very many far more powerful than this one. Please... be careful.] Blinking, I felt my crest go cold, causing me to gasp as all the mana that Cali had gifted me drained away, returning to its true Mistress, who was still grinning as she stared at me, those pink eyes holding a single question. ''What are you going to do now~?'' Chapter 795 794: Power Down..?

Chapter 795 Chapter 794: Power Down..?

My vision swam for a brief moment as my body went weak, causing me to lean over as I stared at the ground before my body returned to its normal equilibrium a few secondster as my mana was flushed of the excess Lust Mana and allowed to return to its pure state. Taking in a deep breath of the warm, sizzling air, I gathered myself and stood back up, looking around at the devastated street that was scorched, broken and utterly unrecognizable from just ten minutes before, when it was covered in monster blood and mortal corpses. Now, instead of those Cultists corpses we had two dead Demons and one severely injured Demon, who was already getting medical attention from Leone as the True Vampire knelt beside them, her palms radiating a softer glow than before as she tried to do everything she could for the wounded Demon. We hadn''t left this battle unscathed; the mages werepletely drained, our Cores aching and throbbing inside ours chests as they demanded rest, resulting in the dull headaches and woozy feeling we all had now, whilst the warriors suffered physical wounds like scrapes, cuts, bruises and some more severe injuries. Anput''s arm was still heavily damaged, the Jackalkin shuffling her feet over to me as she pouted, holding the wound and whining "Kat, it hurts..!", while Jahi rubbed at her ribs, the Demoness flinching as she poked a spot too hard and aggravated the wound a little too much. Smiling wryly at my mate, I gently took her arm and began to inspect the wound, which had been treated rudimentarily earlier but still needed some serious treatment; though as soon as I touched her arm, the Jackalkin hissed and frowned at me, her obsidian eyes getting a tad wet as she pouted harder, which made me roll my eyes. "You''ll be fine, you big baby... If you can fight with it, you can deal with the treatment." "But it hurts more now..! Ouch! Hey! Careful, careful..!" Watching as she continued to flinch and wince as I started to heal her, I rolled my eyes again and continued to heal her, the soft blue glow of my Water Mana washing over the wound and elerating her healing factor, which allowed the Jackalkin to slowly stop focusing on the pains and instead... "Hey... Kat? Can I uh... I think I''ll need a checkupter tonight, y''know? Just to make sure everything''s good with my arm and all..?" The small smile on her face as she stepped closer to me made me smile back at her, though the appearance of a towering blue skinned Demoness made us both freeze before we looked up towards her smirking face, those amethyst eyes glowing with amusement as she said "No, what you need is some conditioning Anput~! Make sure it can take some more stress... Don''t worry, I can heal you too~!" Anput shivered, but she nodded as she pursed her lips, looking up at the Demoness from the corner of her eyes and blushing softly, though it was hard to see on the dark street... her tail swishing side to side wasn''t though, which made Jahi''s smirk widen before she looked at me, that amusement disappearing as she asked "So that pink hue on your ice... what was that?" Keeping my eyes focused on Anput''s wound, I watched as her flesh and muscle began to regrow and reknit beneath the blue haze of my healing spell, which was hastened by the potion Anput drank as she waited for an answer as well. "Cali gave me ess to her Lust Mana. A... taste of what it can do. A way to ensure that this Fiend died, that we didn''t allow it to escape. So... she let me siphon some of her mana through our bond and tried to make me understand how to ess it in the future. A lesson and a necessity at the same time, I guess." "Lust Mana... I thought only Fiends could utilize the mana of their domains though? Or is that bond between you and her that strong that you are able to cultivate this new mana alongside your own?" I nodded, only to sigh as Cali appeared beside me with the silver ring in her hand as she giggled, amusing herself with the silver ring as she spun it around her arm and saying "Something like that, little miss Scion~! That crest atop her groin is a container that either of us can ess. A cup of wine that she can sip from, or I can take a sip from. Because I decided to take her in as my dear, sexy minx of a Masque, she has a certain privilege that other Cultists don''t have; she can make use of ''Fiendish'' Mana so long as she is tied to a Fiend. Me~!" Leaning forwards, the Arch Fiend kissed my cheek before dancing away, adding "I''ll go have some fun teasing that stuck up Foxkin now if you don''t mind~! I want to read her a story and watch how quickly her face goes scarlet! Hehe~!" With a lusty grin on her face, Cali waved goodbye before sauntering down the street, swaying her hips and humming as she yed with the silver ring, which was all that was left of the Fiend that was Tza''Orbias. "I... cannot get used to her. I really can''t." I just chuckled at Jahi''s words, nodding before taking some of the cloth from my cloak and rinsing it with water, both of my lovers watching me closely as I tied it around Anput''s arm, saying "Keep it there; the pressure will do some good as you get used to the new muscle and tissues. Don''t strain yourself just yet; go rest, get something to drink. Now, what hurts?" Jahi gestured to her ribs and raised her arm, giving me ess to her torso and watching me with an amused, heated gaze as I began to tend to her injury next, the Demoness privy to some of my thoughts as she murmured "You know, you''re starting to remind me of myself right now... Why''re you worrying that we won''t look for you, Kat? That we won''t think of you when we''re injured, when we''re lonely, when we want to beforted... when we''re aroused? If anything happens - we wake up, we fight, we drink, we train, we just... exist - we''re going to be looking for you and you only, before looking for the others next. So... why are you so..." Trailing off, the Demoness pursed her lips before looking back towards the other Demons, her amethyst eyesplicated as she finished "Envious..? Jealous? Worried? Hmm?" Chapter 796 795: Quick Chat

Chapter 796 Chapter 795: Quick Chat

Anput had already begun to walk away, the Jackalkin giving us some space as she went to go help the Demons gather whatever was leftover to take back towards the camp, which wasn''t a lot, but... When the Fiend had died, so too had the remaining Cultists on the walls above, and they were currently ck, charred corpses with half melted armor and weapons, but those things were still able to be recycled into something new, and they would provide some more clues onto the average strength of the Cult through the materials used; it all looked to be the same kind of silver alloy, after all, so we could learn quite a bit through just the metal itself. But... that wasn''t something I was thinking about currently; what I was thinking about was the blue skinned Demoness who was staring down at me with a patient gaze, her amethyst eyes locked to mine as she waited for me to answer her question. A question that I HAD to answer, but one that didn''t truly have an answer... not a logical one, anyways. "I... I don''t know." "Kat..." Leaning down, Jahi caressed my cheek before forcing me to look at her, the Demoness staring me in the eyes as she repeated "What is making you feel so envious, my love? Tell me." I couldn''t help but lean into her touch as she continued to run her thumb across my cheek, the warmth from her hand pairing with the sweet scent to soothe me some more, heating me back up after that sudden loss of power from the crest. My body began to warm up slowly, causing Jahi to smirk at me softly as she tutted her tongue and shook her head, teasing me somewhat. "I... I didn''t like... that you were looking at Satanya, praising her for doing something that I knew I could do as well! Something I could do better! I don''t know why it''s irked me, but..." Chuckling, Jahi patted my cheek as she asked "Well, she has been the first real ''threat'' to your im on me, hasn''t she? One that wasn''t someone you liked - Anput or Leone - and someone that you can''tpletely and utterly say you are certain I wouldn''t be interested in?" My gaze sharpened at thatst bit, making her grin at me as she leaned closer and whispered "The truth is, if I didn''t have three gorgeous, perfect, crazy, lovable wives already, or they didn''t have such a deep grasp on my heart, I wouldn''t hate the idea of courting her. That is the truth... IF I didn''t have the three of you. Yes, she''s beautiful, she''s a Demoness, she''s fun topete against, and she''s probably great in bed, but..." Ignoring the re I sent her way - that previous warmth giving way to a frigid anger that wanted to crystalize into a dagger to stab her with - Jahi continued to speak, stroking my cheek still even as she took note of my current expression. "She is all those things, but I have you. I have Anput, and I have Leone. Even one of you is more than enough to have capitalized my love, but all three of you? Why would I ever have a need to look for someone else? Same goes for Anput and Leone. They could have been in ''my position'' for their own harems, and yet here they are, with me. MY wives. Not the heads of their own families, but apart of MY family. Just like you are. So don''t worry about us, Kat. If anything, the one you should be the most wary with is that Arch Fiend of yours. I mean, she IS lust incarnate, is she not~?" I blinked, before I began to say "That''s different! She''s bou-!" only to be cut off as Jahi ced a kiss on my lips, quieting me down with a deep, hungry kiss that made it hard for me to think, only to pull away and say "It''s the same. You have such a beautiful woman following you around all the time? Do you think we didn''t worry at first that you might be tempted? We were, but we decided that this decision of yours was made with things like that in mind. We trust that you won''t do anything with her, because we know what you''re like, Kat." Swallowing down my rebuttal - and the remnants of her saliva - I stared at her for a few moments more before swatting her arm as she added "Really, isn''t this supposed to be you in our rtionship? The logical, assured, mature woman who thinks everything through and provides answer~? What happened to her, hmm~?" Moving her hand from my face to my waist, Jahi began to sway side to side with me, sharing a smile after I eventually stopped frowning at her, instead enjoying the way she reassured me and didn''t say anything unkind or usatory in response to my... ''worries''. No argument or usations, just a logical direction in this dialogue between us, which usually came from me as I overlooked these three, and yet... Ignoring the way her hand ''slipped'' like it always did, I leaned my head against her chest and just enjoyed her warmth, only for the two of us to stop as we heard someone coughing nearby. "You two done? We should probably go question little miss Foxkin back at camp, and... go over everything." Satanya stared at us with a cool stare, her crimson eyes neutral as she watched Jahi hold me even tighter, like the muscr Demoness was slightly worried I would regress on our understanding and begin hissing at the other Demoness. "And... I think you won that one, Jahi. You can ask anything~ of me at all... Any. One. Thing~!" Sadly for her, she forgot that we were dealing with someone who would go out of their way to sow discord simply because it was amusing, and considering the grin on Satanya''s face as she leaned down and showed some cleavage to Jahi, well... Yeah, I had to be restrained a little, lest I stab her and pull out her sternum. Chapter 797 796: Bountiful Rewards

Chapter 797 Chapter 796: Bountiful Rewards

Eventually Satanya walked away with a haughty, grating bout ofughter as she waved back at us, the red skinned Demoness'' hips swaying side to side as she tried to entice Jahi some more, though the blue skinned Demoness just gave me a deep kiss and dragged me into a building instead, defusing the situation by injecting me with some of her love... We made it quick and only had a round to ourselves, the Demoness having me clean her off before she left me to clean myself off and rejoin everyone eventually, though she had made that difficult since my legs were currently numb and my brain a tad scrambled. Something that made the Demoness quite proud of herself as she let the building, which I could feel clear as day inside our bond as she left me alone in the dark, knowing that I would need a moment to myself to gather my thoughts and emotions before making sure I was able to deal with Satanya without wanting to kill her for her transgressions... Which would take me a few minutes, and to help take my mind off of her and how irritated she made me, I focused instead on the gigantic influx of experience that I had umted during thesest few hours, which turned out to be a rather...rge number. Like... really, reallyrge, and something I had never exactly thought I would ever see all at once. [16,822,078 Xp earned!] [40,800 Sp earned!] [Summary avable!] [7,500,000 Xp earned from : Killing Fiend Tza''Orbias] [2,791,048 Xp earned from : Killing Cultists (Assorted) x34] [3,510,030 Xp earned from : Killing Imps of Change x156] [3,021,000 Xp earned from : Quests] [Summary Avable for Quests; View?] I let out a sigh as I took in the sheer number of experience I had gained, shaking my head to ease the headache that I could feeling on thanks to the numbers and trying toprehend everything... especially since I was currently tired, drained, anding off of an orgasmic high. [Level 60 : 834,323 / 2,750,000] [Awarded : 20 Stat Points] [Awarded : 12 Skill Points] [Stats : STR : 110 -> 120 CON : 118 -> 130 AGI : 120 -> 140 DEX : 120 -> 140 CHA : 82 -> 85 WIS : 125 -> 130 INT : 125 -> 130] [Skill Awarded : de Dance (Novice)] [de Dance (Novice) : Consecutive attacks executed with precision increase damage slightly and boost speed slightly] With the skill points, I increased [Sword Proficiency] up to (Expert), which improved my abilities and efficiency with my sword... which was currently shards of metal on the ground, so I needed to get that reced soon. Then I increased a skill that worked in the background, something that would shore up my foundation and further empower me going forwards; I raised [Crystalline Core] from (Novice) to (Expert) as well, giving my Ice - and subsequent Water and Wind - Mana a bump in potency, in regeneration speed, and adding the effect that my frost would linger for a little longer as well. It made my Core stronger in general as well, allowing me to hold more mana and improving that mana too, which was a nice buff to have. Finally, I ced thest of the points into [Enchanter], going from (Expert) to (Master), which would help me further perfect my enchantments, make creating those special pens easier, and continue to deepen my foundations, which was sorely needed going forwards. Before I could focus on earning and purchasing new skills for myself, I needed to make sure that my base was as strong as possible, so that when I got those new skills, I could make the most of them; anything rted to enchanting would go ahead and be boosted by this skill, whilst all my magic skills were boosted by the increase in [Crystalline Core] and so on and so forth. All in all... this was rather lucrative, and I couldn''t help but giggled as I leaned against the wall, taking in the sheer amount of experienced I had gathered today pushing me up into a new bracket of power as my stats increased and my skills increased as well, though... [Do you... even remember what half of your skills actually do?] ''I... Yes, certainly. I do indeed know what they-'' [Skill : Crucible] [Tell me, what does it do?] Blinking, I stared at the wall for a few moments before snapping my fingers, saying ''It''s for the Dual Cultivation! Hah! I remember that one! Improves the mana injected inside me and makes it more potent for whoever is retrieving that mana for themselves! Heh, I kno-!'' [Skill : Studious Mind] [This one?] ''That''s uh... helps... me... think better? Right? Concentration and understanding is deepened, or something like that...'' [...] ''Was I... right? Wrong?'' [Hah... Yeah, I''ll ask you again when you''re not maintaining consciousness through willpower and lower levels of adrenaline, alright? So until then, have some fun and rest. Just saying, the damage done to your body and your Core are still lingering just a little bit, so be careful.] ''Hey, was I right or wrong?!'' Not getting a reply, I rolled my eyes and let out a huff, before pouting and kicking my foot out when I noted that my skills section was locked out as well, not letting me verify my answer. ''Cheeky little System! So I might''ve forgotten a skill! Hmph! Doesn''t mean you need to be rude!'' When it remained silent, I sighed and stood up, only to groan softly as I reached towards my lower back and rubbed at the muscles that seized up slightly from the movement, making me murmur "I''m only like... a decade old! Why''s my back hurting like this?! Isn''t this just too much..?" Stretching, I groaned again as I felt my back crack a little, sending jolts of pleasure through my torso and making me shiver as I tried to crack it again, only to sigh as the pressure and tightness in my back lessened, making me feel better. "Wow... I really need to take a rest huh... Ow..." Chapter 798 797: ’New’ Leone (1)*

Chapter 798 Chapter 797: ''New'' Leone (1)*

When I finally managed to get up and stable, I made my way out the door and back onto the scorched street, where I found Leone - still in her True Vampire form - staring up at the moon as she leaned against the wall of the building I had been in. Her side profile that was illuminated by the moonlight took my breath away, especially when she turned to look at me, her ashen hair sparking and adding more light to both her features and the area around us. She looked so much more regal and exotic now that her skin was this beautiful red, those horns adding to her height and making her a tad more imposing, whilst the sharper, unwavering gaze and innate confidence that came with this form was so different than normal that I couldn''t help but stand there, losing myself inside those crimson eyes. "You took your time... are you feeling okay?" Even her voice was slightly deeper and tter than normal, no trained twinge on her words that most Nobles were taught at a younger age, so as she pushed herself off the wall and stepped in front of me, I was met with a rather unique version of Leone that was... honestly... Incredibly hot. Especially as she reached forwards and gently lifted my chin, inspecting my cheeks before brushing her thumb over my lips as she waited for a response. "Oh... uh... Y-Yeah, I''m fine, just... tired." My cheeks grew warm as Leone nodded, the Vampire staring at me closely before murmuring "Surely not too tired, correct?" as she leaned closer, her breath brushing against my lips as she continued to draw closer. "N-No..." I barely managed to say anything before she kissed me, the Vampire slipping her tongue between my lips instantly and seeking out my own before pressing her lips against mine, sealing them off. Kissing me deeply, Leone began to walk me back into the building, surprising me at how swift she was to take the lead and how uncaring this version of her was to being found out; though, considering the heated rod pressing against my leg, I guess I could understand why she was so eager... Returning to the dark confines of the rtively intact building, I was pushed back until my back hit a wall, where Leone then slipped one of her legs between my own and pinned me there, rubbing her knee against my pussy and continuing to kiss me as she pleased, only stopping so that she could slide her fangs into my lower lip to feed. The sudden bite made me gasp as I felt them slide easily into my flesh, blood weeping from the puncture wounds and blending with the sharp taste of cinnamon that Leone possessed to muddle my mind as she continued to keep me there, both for her to feast and for her to seek pleasure from... One of her hands slid down towards my butt as she kept sucking my blood, and I moaned as her leg pressed deeper between my own, responding to my slight twitches as I began to grind on it, sparks of pleasure traveling up my spine as I was so easily pinned. Fondling the base of my tail, Leone devoured my surprised gasp as she moved back to my lips, her crimson eyes sparkling with amusement as she felt me shudder at that touch, before my back arched as she did it again, but this time tracing her finger around the base and teasing me with her touch. Paired with the firm leg lodged between my own, I was slowly melting into her arms as she dominated me through technique instead of force or instincts like my other two lovers, doing everything that I didn''t even know I was weak to. When she pulled away suddenly, I was left feeling cold as that heat was taken from me, only for me to gasp as I watched the Vampire kneel down and unbuckle my belt, revealing my lower half to the world and showing her just how much she had aroused me as my wet lower lipsid before her gaze. Without a word Leone leaned forwards and ced a kiss on those lips instead, sending a jolt up my spine that outshone the sparks from earlier, only for that spark to ignite something in my pussy as she began to feast again, but this time sliding her fangs into the top of my thigh, all while her fingers slipped into my pussy and began to churn up my drenched insides. Drinking my blood so close to my overly sensitive - and cum filled - pussy made me go nk as I felt Jahi''s earlier creampie drip down onto her fingers, something the Vampire didn''t seem to mind as she kept moving her fingers back and forth inside my snatch, pressing them deep inside my cunt and curling them to hit the spots that made me see stars as I leaned against the wall. My hands found their way onto her horns as I pressed her deeper, wanting to feel her warmth and her breath some more on my skin as she knelt there, pleasuring me even though it was a byproduct of her desire to feed. That scorching liquid began to be pumped into my blood a momentter, the Vampire preparing me entirely to take her thick cock as she kept fingering me, cleaning me of the Demoness'' thick load whilst also ensuring I was ready to be split apart by her girth. My fluids and Jahi''s semen dripped onto the ground as Leone kept fingering me, the Vampire showing an incessantly stubborn side as she continued to use her fingers for good, before pulling her fangs from my thigh and instead locking her lips around my clit, finding it in moments as she made it her goal to make me cum. With that liquid coursing through my veins now, I pulled her even deeper into my pussy as she began to focus on my clit, igniting my lust even more as I moaned inside this decrepit building, my usually shy, reserved partner now taking the lead so assuredly and making it her mission to make me into a mess. Chapter 799 798: New Leone* (2) Chapter 799 798: ''New'' Leone* (2) Sliding her tongue between my lower lips and pressing it deep inside my pussy, licking out the cum from earlier and forcing gasps out of me as she focused on ''eating her meal'', the Vampire ravenously and greedily devouring my juices as she ate me out. Holding her horns firmly in my hands, I pressed her face even closer to my cunt and rubbed against her lips, loving the way she sucked and slurped on my pussy as she cleaned me off and brought me to the edge, her longer tongue hitting all the right spots as she knelt in front of me. My loins were on fire and my head muddled, the two separate bites from Leone having injected me with that wondrous fluid that Vampires had, easing my body and intoxicating my mind as it allowed the Vampire to feed upon me freely, and in the case of being used on certain areas, well... It induced my heat easily, my Dogkin heritage epting that this woman was doing something simr to Anput''s bite that stimted my entire body and brain to prepare me to bear children, which threw me into the throes of lust easily and made me far hornier than I had any right to be. So, in ordance to my physiology, I was currently drenched and aching for release; release that Leone was readily providing for me as she stuck her tongue deep into my pussy, poking around and scratching those itches I didn''t know I had, making me shiver as I felt something building up in my loins. With a firm grasp on her horns, I looked down at the red skinned Vampire and moaned loudly as she reached up with one of her hands and began to flick my clit, keeping her touch semi rough as she stimted me in just the right ways. A low groan escaped my lips as I shivered, my hips trembling while my legs shook as I felt my lower half go numb for a brief moment, all feeling in my lower half leaving me before an eruption of jolts and goosebumps shook my entire body as I began to cum. My pussy twitched and trembled as Leone kissed it passionately, before she opened her mouth wide andtched on as I began to squirt, my body releasing my excess pleasure as euphoria washed over me, robbing me of my vision and ability to reason as I pulled Leone even further in, smearing her face with my juices and shaking with rapture. Leone didn''t mind as she drank it all down without a worry, her hands moving back towards my butt as she hugged me closer, allowing her to take it all and support me at the same time. As I began to lose control in my lower half again - this time due to overstimtion - Leone just allowed me to slowly make my way to the ground, making sure I didn''t injure myself or fall suddenly as she began toy me down, making her intentions clear as crystal. Even more so when she pulled away from my pussy and wiped off her lips, those red eyes glimmering with amusement as she said "That was delicious, Kat. Thank you." before reaching down to undo her own belt, stripping herself and revealing her impressive member. Seeing that her ''dragon'' was now red, it seemed far more imposing and angry as it throbbed and drooled its ''fire'' onto my stomach, its heat certainly much stronger than before as it made me whimper when itnded on my skin. As she shed her upper half of clothing, I did so as well, freeing my breasts for her and watching as the Vampire leaned down to grope them both, cupping them in her hands and giving them both a kiss, her plump lips brushing over my hardened nipples as she showed them some love. Remaining in her hands, my breasts turned into toys as Leone smiled at me, the Vampire squeezing them and tugging on my nipples suddenly, before her thick cock slipped inside my drenched cunt and found its way into my womb, making me cum again as my pussy was assaulted alongside my boobs. Leaning over top of me, Leone continued to roll them around in her hands as she watched me closely, inspecting my flushed face with interest as I came on her cock, squirting a little again and shivering all over as ecstasy shot through my body like a drug. My body became even more sensitive, the cold air, heat from her body, and her bulging, girthy penis mming into the back of my womb all amplified now that I had came, which caused my lips to part to release a moan that never sounded out as my brain short-circuited, unable toprehend what was happening... Only for Leone to smirk as she continued to thrust down into me, smacking her hips into mine and gouging out my womb as she enjoyed herself, showing that as she licked her lips before leaning closer, parting them to reveal her sharp fangs and long tongue, which dribbled her saliva onto my own. Cinnamon flooded my mouth as she shared her taste with me, before the Vampire smirked as she spat onto my outstretched tongue and released one of my breasts, that handnding on my chin and forcing my mouth closed before she turned my head to the side, allowing her to lunge down and sink those fangs into my neck. Drinking, groping, and fucking me all at the same time, Leone was acting so different from normal that I couldn''t properlyprehend it, each action she took ticking off a kink of mine perfectly and resulting in me feeling even more pleasure as I was filled to the brim with her burly cock. Then I was filled with her sperm as well as she came alongside me, my wet pussy earning its drink as she pped her hips down quicker and quicker, until she had to m herself inside my womb and press her tip against my deepest part, spraying her seed violently inside me even as she continued to suck my blood, her fangs deep inside my neck. ''Lava'' filled my pussy as she came, her semen hotter than normal and ''burning'' my insides, the mana lingering inside each cell of sperm amplifying the feeling and bathing my womb and vagina in this unique sensation. All while she made my vision swim as I was drained of my blood, creating an extremely unique high as I was brought to a state that made me feel slightly delirious whilst the mana injected inside me in the form of a creampie helped sustain me... though I couldn''t remember most of what happened after that, only that I felt really, really good... Chapter 800 799: Turning in for the Night (1)* Chapter 800 799: Turning in for the Night (1)* Jahi PoV Entering the tent that we had set up for ourselves, I smirked back at Anput and pulled her forwards, finding her lips as I fell back onto our bedrolls, my puppyying atop my chest and cuddling with me as we kissed, enjoying ourselves after a strenuous battle. My hands roamed her muscr back before sliding down towards her perky bottom, her tail brushing against my fingers as I gave each cheek a firm squeeze, loving the firmness of her muscles whilst that thinyer of fat gave them a perkiness that I found to be more than entertaining to y with. Anput had no issue pressing herself deeper into my body, her hands on either side of my face as she kissed me like her life depended on it, which made my heart warm as I enjoyed the citrus permeating my tongue. When she finally had toe up for air, the Jackalkin began to shed her clothing, tossing it to the side and revealing her olive skin to me, my eyes tracing out the soft curves of her chest that flowed down into the hardness of her abdomen and obliques, my puppy soft in the right ces and muscr in the others. As she began to take off her pants as well, I took off my top and raised a brow at her as she ''identally'' had her handnd on my breasts, the Jackalkin smiling at me for a moment before letting out a sigh, envy filling those obsidian eyes for just a moment as she muttered "No fair..." Chuckling, I stared at her bare figure before looking towards her face, reaching up to cup it as I said "It doesn''t mean much, I''m sure, but I have to say that I am quite enamored with your petite figure, Anput... sometimes far more than I am with the soft, abundant curves of Kat or Leone." The Jackalkin just pouted at that, letting out a low huff as she looked away, replying "Yet that didn''t stop you from taking Kat aside and fucking her when we were all still working!" I couldn''t help but chuckle again as I nodded, drawing a hard re from Anput before she moaned as I grabbed her butt again, sitting up to look her face to face as I whispered "Certainly, the sensation of Kat''s juicy ass as I fuck her from behind is insanely pleasurable, and the sight... there''s nothing like it, but that doesn''t mean I ONLY want an ass like that rippling as I make love, y''know? Variety is the spice of life... or whatever the hell the saying is. I find both my puppies to be insanely sexy; Kat is nice and thick, able to absorb my lust and give me thefort of her juicy ass and those pillowy tits..." Anput red at me, before moaning as I pulled her close and traced my fingers around her lower holes, teasing her as I continued to whisper the truth into her ears, a truth that wasn''t the prettiest or easiest to take, but something her personality would ept as I gave her that truth. "On the other end of that spectrum, you are petite andpact,den with muscles and so, so very appealing due to that. These are proof of who you are, and I love being able to show you how much I appreciate who you are, even when we make love. Besides..." Grinning, I watched as she shivered slightly as I slid a finger inside both her pussy and her ass, the Jackalkin already so wet despite there being little forey besides that deep kiss. "I quite appreciate the difference in size, y''know? You being so much shorter and smaller than me makes me so fucking horny when I pin you down and smother you~! Or the sheer difference of my cock against your face when you''re losing yourself to my scent... Just seeing that is something that the others can''t give me, Anput..." Her cheeks darkened, and I ced another kiss on her lips before deciding to y with some fire, wanting to potentially rile her up and make this a tad more interesting as I asked "Question... Would you say Satanya has the same build as you? Just... taller?" Those obsidian eyes made their way to mine, darker than the igneous rock I oftenpared them too and emptier than a cloudy night sky, which made my grin widen as I continued to hold her, even as she showed such a dangerous expression. "Why?" That single word was filled with such vitriol that I couldn''t help but snort, though that did little to ease the Jackalkin''s empty stare. "Just curious." Narrowing her gaze, Anput red at me before letting out a soft growl, the Jackalkin reaching down towards my belt and undoing it with practiced ease, pulling them off and revealing my erection for her to y with, which she began to do as sheid down between my legs. "Don''t think about her like that, Jahi... Or else..." Feeling her fingers gently wrap around my testicles, I just smirked at her as I got to see my cock resting against her cheek, the Jackalkin trying to threaten me even as her nose twitched cutely and her eyes grew hazy, the scent of my own musk as well as the lingering scent of her mate causing the Jackalkin to freeze up. I decided that now was as good a ce to stop as any, especially as I gave thepetitive puppy the encouragement she needed to make me do as she asked. "Why would I think of her when my beautiful petite puppy is gargling on my cock and ying with my balls~? Hmm~?" Without hesitation Anput did as I asked, her lips parting as she took in my girth with ease, the time spent together as partners making it possible for something so thick to be taken into her mouth like it was nothing, even if the size difference should be considered a threat to her health. Pulling over some crates from inside our tent, I leaned against them and rested my hand atop her head, anguid smile stered on my lips as I felt my girth get swallowed up by the jealous, demanding puppy as she did her best to take my mind away from Satanya, who she believed I was lusting after. Watching as Anput eagerly sucked on my cock and kissed my groin, I stroked her ears and enjoyed the way she went about doing just that, grabbing my attention and retaining it as she swallowed my entire penis andpped at the underside of my cock with her rough tongue, sending shivers traveling through my spine and muddling my head as I sat there, enjoying everything. Chapter 801 800: Turning in for the Night* (2)

Chapter 801 Chapter 800: Turning in for the Night* (2)

Having Anput''s fingers stroking and rubbing my balls while her lips kissed my groin was more than enough to make me cum, but the cherry on top was her adorable ''re'' as she stared at me the entire time, those wless obsidian orbs making me shiver at how empty they were... Yet at the same time, deep within the confines of that void was a passionate heat that burned wildly, letting me know just how much my puppy wanted to be taken by me even past her discontent with my earlier words. Besides her eyes though, watching her lift her perky butt a little and wag her tail despite those ''empty'' eyes of hers, which did little since her mouth was stuffed full of my cock. "Just like that, Anput~! Oh by the Goddess..! I''m cumming..!" My handnded on the top of her head, keeping her where she was as I started to ejacte wildly, pouring my sperm into her throat and groaning blissfully as pleasure pulsed throughout my body as I came, each spurt of my seed creating a new wave of pleasure as I leaned against the crates, enjoying the confines of my olive skinned Jackalkin. Swallowing some of it down, Anput pulled away and showed me the remaining puddle of semen in her mouth, her eyes twinkling in amusement now as she watched my cock throb at the sight, the enjoyment of seeing her savor my cum like it was a delicacy keeping me far too aroused to think of anything else right now... Which was her n, if I had to take a ''wild'' guess~! Her lips closed as she began to swallow the rest of my cum down, each gulp visible on her slim throat as she drank it all, before parting her lips again to reveal her clean mouth and tongue, which made me smirk as I leaned forwards to kiss her, my hands returning to her perky butt as I pulled her up onto myp. "I''m still not ah~ forgiving you just yet..!" Even as she pressed herself against my chest and kissed me deeply, Anput managed to re at me as I spread her lower lips and slid inside, entering her tight, hot pussy and making my way towards her womb in a single thrust. Her knot pressed into my stomach, its heat permeating my abs as she jerked her hips forwards, rubbing against me and moaning again even as I invaded her mouth once more, this time with my tongue instead of my cock as I kissed her deeply. Lifting her by her ass, I started thrusting up into her womb and meeting her own movements, which was her gyrating her ass back and forth as she massaged my length inside herself, epting every inch of my penis and preparing to take in my seed as well. Her smaller frame made it easier to keep her close as I loomed over her, my arms wrapped around her back and lifting her by her perky butt as I kept thrusting upwards, not giving her any room to escape as I imed what was mine and devoured it to begin, not relenting at all even as she pressed herself further into my body. Shivering, Anput''s tight cunt mped down on my cock, making me raise a brow as I felt her insides tighten even more while her pussy leaked some fluids onto my thighs as she came, amusing me and arousing me at the same time. My lips pressed against hers and allowed me to slide my tongue further into her mouth, before I pulled away and listened to her breathless moan as I grinned at her, admiring her face from up close as she squirted a little and massaged my length with her pussy, while her cervix squeezed around my tip and stroked my cock in the right ways... She wordlessly moaned as I kept fucking her from below, before I couldn''t take it anymore as I pushed her back, pressing her onto the ground and taking her harder, my rising orgasm demanding I dominate my partner for the most amount of pleasure possible. mming my hips into hers, I epted her legs wrapped around waist while her arms were flung around my back, allowing her to dig her fingers into my muscles and deal a bit of pain to me as I kept attacking her womb, until eventually she let out a euphoric shout as I pressed myself as deep as I could, my balls resting against her butt as I started to cum. I began to kiss her again as I ejacted, filling her with my sperm and enjoying her citrus taste on my tongue as I devoured my olive skinned wife with gusto, trying my damndest to impregnate her despite the medications. My second load was just as thick as the first, and I bathed her womb in my sperm as I relished the feeling of her smooth, supple skin on mine while her scent and taste permeated my head, fueling my need to feel more of her on my body, to dive into her smell and relish her taste as we made love passionately inside our tent. When I finished filling her with my cum, I pulled out and away from her, making the Begum stare at me in confusion before she yelped as I grabbed her and flipped her over, presenting those divine, luscious cheeks for to devour next as I rubbed my cock against her pussy before pressing it against the other, tighter hole, grinning at Anput as I slid inside and began to pound her ass next, making the Jackalkin moan loudly as I grabbed her hands and pinned them to the ground,ying atop her and smothering her entirely as I began round two, working for the third load. Burying my face into the crook of her neck, I indulged in her tight ass, her scent, and her moans as I fucked her harder than before, my sperm lubricating her insides and allowing her to ept my girth as I filled her second hole, all while those twin buns softened my thrusts as I mmed down into her like a hammer. Like we had discussed before, she wasn''t as soft as Kat or Leone, but the size difference and the muscles on her back made me far too horny to care as I pressed this capable, deadly warrior beneath me and made her my bitch, alternating between breeding her sublime pussy and ravaging her asshole like she was some kind of whore meant to be used to vent my lust. And... she was; she was my lover who was getting flooded with my sperm to conceive, she was my bitch to dominate however I pleased, and she was my whore to fuck until my balls were empty... For that, I loved her that much more as I continued pressing her beneath me and using her for my own pleasure, which granted her her own euphoria as I filled her holes with my sperm over and over again. The night had been long, but now it was made short as I emptied myself inside her before passing out, our voices used not tomunicate with words but instead with moans and grunts as we made love like animals. Chapter 802 801: After Action Report

Chapter 802 Chapter 801: After Action Report

Groaning, my eyes fluttered open as I heard the nging of metal on metal, followed quickly by a low shout from a feminine voice that filled the square. "Wake up! Let''s get a move on now!" Staring up at the top of my tent, I groaned again as my hips angrily screamed at me, demanding rest after such an eventful, wonderful night; battling some powerful foes followed by some delectable, ravishing sex with one of my three gorgeous women... what better way to spend my time, hm~? Though, as I sat up, I winced as I rubbed the flesh over my hips before trailing my fingers up towards my ribs, which were still healing as well after being broken just a few hours ago; there was only so much magic could do, and while it facilitated your healing quite well, it took your body a little longer to realize that the damage was gone and that it didn''t need to warn you about this injury potentially getting worsened. It was an intriguing phenomenon certainly, but I could think on itter; what I was focused on now was the olive skinned beauty nuzzled into my side who was rubbing at her eyes, her messy hair and fur making me smile as I reached down and brushed a few strands away from her face, staring at her tired features and watching as she yawned cutely, her fangs glittering in the dim light of the tent while her eyes barely managed to open up. "Good morning, Anput..." "Mor... hnm..." Her exhausted ''reply'' made my heart swell with pride and amusement as I continued tob my fingers through her hair, fixing it as best I could and smiling as she began to lean into my touch, letting me do this for her. Of course, it was inevitable that one thing would lead to another, and I decided that the best way - the only way - to wake up my lover was to show her just how much I loved her, so I moved around her lithe body and pushed her down, my hand grasping her hair as I began to wake her up as I entered her again. Moans filled the tent as I took my adorable, sexy warrior wife first thing in the morning, and I couldn''t help but grin as I began to fill her with my seed once more, making the most of our time as I gave her what she craved whilst enjoying myself as much as possible. Afterwards, I handed her her clothes and watched as she got dressed, her obsidian eyes never looking away from my abdomen or my member as I dressed alongside her, the Jackalkin clearly yearning for more, but sadly we were expected to wake up in a reasonable manner. Grabbing my great sword, I strapped it on and opened the tent p, taking a deep breath of the crisp, non sex filled air of the outside world, followed by Anput as I exited the tent. In the center of the square was a nice fire crackling as it was tended to by my other two wives, their expressions far different from one another; Kat was smiling happily as she prepared food alongside another Demoness, the two chatting as they sizzled some meat and seared some vegetables, before moving on to tend to the giant cauldron of oatmeal that would be the main star of our meal. Meanwhile, Leone was back to ''normal'', but her face was still red as she sat quietly behind Kat, the Vampire asionally looking towards the Dogkin only to grow more flustered as she yed with her hands, making me all the more curious on what had transpired between the two; I recall seeing her waiting outside the building I had taken Kat into for a quickie, and she had been in her True Vampire form still, so... Besides them, all of the other Demons were out and about as well, with Ammit sitting right beside the mes as she spun around an ember that floated above her hands, staring intently at it and staying to herself, while Satanya was sitting atop a barrel listening to Luci and Nakith reports. Seeing me exit my tent finally, the red skinned Demoness grinned as she said "Jahi, over here~! We have some unfinished business to attend to..." Anput remained at my side as I walked over, something that made me want to smirk as I felt the Jackalkin staring at Satanya with a nk look, while her tail was bristling behind her; something the Demoness across from us found amusing as well, before that smile dropped. "Firstly,st night. That Fiend - Tza''Orbias - managed to kill two of my nsmen; Azleo and Ingrid." The mood turned somber instantly, with Luci gritting her teeth while Nakith looked towards the cobblestones, her eyes closed as she muttered a prayer. My own amusement at Anput''s actions slipped away, and I nodded as I looked down at the serious Beliali woman, saying "They fought well and died well, Satanya." "Aye, they did. We burnt their bodies after the battle ended, and we collected the ash so that they can return home. Meanwhile, Malphas lost his leg, though the healers back at Arx Impius can reattach it as good as new. Thankfully, we only lost two Demons in this battle against an enemy that... we are lucky to have beaten." Satanya looked towards the crate beside her, on top of which rested two inconspicuous urns with the names Azleo and Ingrid inscribed onto the surface. "If it had been just us here, Jahi, all of us would have perished. Tza''Orbias was far too strong for us to deal with on our own; perhaps we could have pushed the Fiend back, but it would havee at a hefty cost. For that... we thank you. All of us. Your Light Magic, Katherine''s pact with another Fiend, Lady Leone''s bloodline, Begum Anput''s own strength... all of it was what allowed this to be a victory achieved with minimal losses." The Demoness looked back at me a momentter, her crimson eyes narrowed as she added "Truly, without your aid, without your insistence, we would have likely perished here. I doubt we would have done anything besides gathered reinforcements - like we did - and remained here to battle against the Deacons until that Fiend was summoned." Luci and Nakith nodded, the two Demoness'' looking towards the urns for a moment before turning back towards me, making me raise a brow as I studied their expressions. "Now we have a Deacon in custody and have brought about the demise of a Fiend! Far more than we could have anticipated, and as such it''s far more that we now owe you, so..." Sliding off of the crate, Satanya stood in front of me, the lithe red skinned Demoness looking up into my eyes without a trace of her usual snark and mischief, but instead with a serious gleam in her eye as she said "Until you decide to return to Arx Impius, we''re yours to use as you see fit. It''s the only way I can think of repaying this debt myself; I don''t want to rely on Belian to settle my tabs for me, so... From now till we return back to Arx Impius, myself and the other Beliali nsmen are yours to utilize freely. Within reason, of course." Chapter 803 802: Host of Demons Chapter 803 802: Host of Demons Taking a good, long look at the serious face of Satanya, I nodded and turned to look at the other Demons as well, wanting to see their reactions to their leaders words, wondering what they thought of this sudden pledge of their allegiance to me. However, as I turned and looked over each and every member of the Demons gathered from the Beliali and Cimeriesa ns, I was met with only determined and epting gazes, each of them nodding to me as they showed their agreement to Satanya''s words. Of course... Ammit made her opinion known verbally, the previous serious atmosphere broken by her words as she said "Satanya said this was a good way to repay you. Disy gratitude. Thanks. Of course, it also is in our own interests as well. Cultivate a rtionship with the Scion of Asmodia. Perhaps more. Something romantic, perhaps?" The gold skinned Demoness looked over at us with her unique eyes shining beneath the morning light, making the surrounding Demons all let out sighs and groans as they shook their heads, while Satanya clicked her tongue. "What? Did I say something wrong? Incorrect? Unnecessary? I was only telling-!" "Yes, I understand Lady Ammit, however sometimes... saying less is more, y''know?" Nakith knelt beside her Lady and smiled wryly at me, adding "Please don''t pay her any heed, Lady Jahi. She was simply indulging in fantasy is all." I smirked at that, watching as Ammit tilted her head and said "No? I was hoping to cultivate a romance between Jahi and myself? Perhaps Katherine as well? Especially Katherine... Or not. Perhaps a friendship instead? Though... a union of blood would be preferable. Children." "Lady Ammit, please! Just... quiet for now, please... let''s not anger Lady Jahi..!" "Anger? Why? Is it not logical to merge physical prowess with arcane might? Desirable?" Seeing the confusion on her face, I chuckled as I held back the swift rising of anger and instead answered "It would be logical, yes, but I don''t want my children borne out of logical decisions. The heart - and by proxy, love - is entirely and wholly illogical. My heart has already been upied by my three fiancees, and eventually, in the far flung future, I will have a child or three with each of them." Her confusion deepened, before she turned to inspect each of the women I had been blessed with, that confusion dissipating as she nodded, returning her gaze towards the mes as she muttered "eptable. A worthy mix.", making my smirk return as amusement flooded my system. Satanya clicked her tongue again as she leaned against the crate, staring up at me as she said "Anyways, like I said before. Most of us are at your disposal going forwards, so long as its a reasonable request. A few of us need to take Malphas back to Arx Impius, as well as that Deacon. Depending on what you wish to do, I''ll send more or fewer Demons back to Arx Impius to report back and begin learning what we can from our prisoner." Nodding, I crossed my arms and nced back at Kat before saying "It was the Terracotta Grottos, correct? That was the Dungeon we decided was the best location for us to head to? Rich in natural resources, and should be ripe for the picking now that most of Tragon''s human poption has been killed?" The Dogkin nodded, still standing beside the fire and preparing breakfast as she replied "Yes, the Terracotta Grottos was the destination we had in mind. The raw materials that have formed in the absence of any mortals to harvest them should be impressive in quality and quantity. Though that means the monsters should be tougher as well." "Not as tough as a Fiend though~! Either way, the Grottos are quite the tight spaces ording to our records. Caverns connected via thin, winding tunnels... not something we would want arger party for, but we certainly could use the manpower for the harvesting of the resources, no?" Satanya let out a low sigh, though considering the neutrality of her gaze, I doubt she particrly cared about the adventure itself and instead was thinking on what she needed to do and what she should do to irritate me some more... "Ronove, Setem, pick three of your nsmen and head back to Arx Impius after the meal. That should leave us with enough bodies to make the Terracotta Grottos a cakewalk. We''ll need to make our own carts though, but that shouldn''t be an issue. Sound good?" The surrounding Demons all nodded, making their way towards the fire to pick up their bowls and utensils as Satanya added "Well, let''s eat and get ready!" After that, Satanya leaned forwards and smiled up at me, ignoring Anput as she whispered "And perhaps during this time together, you and I can work out just what your reward is of me, Jahi... After all, I did say I would do~ anything if you beat me in thatpetition of ours... Anything at all..." The Demoness gave me a seductive smile, only to tilt her head as Anput created a dagger from her mana and stabbed it forwards, cutting the Demoness'' cheek as she hissed "Unless she wants to skin you from head to toe, Jahi''s notying a damn finger on your body! So back off before my dagger slices through your throat instead!" "Ooh~! Feisty, feisty~! So~ scary, Begum... So, so scary..." Reaching up to wipe away the trickle of blood that wept from the cut, Satanya just gave Anput an empty smile as she pushed off the crate, her hand reaching for her belt. Sadly for her, I was just a tad quicker, and I snagged her wrist and pulled it forwards, making her stumble as I growled "Boundaries, Satanya. Respect them." Chuckling, the Demoness rxed and stared at me for a moment, before grinning as she raised her arm and looked at Anput, her voice almost singsong like as she said "Look~! She''sying a finger on me, Begum~! See~!" Letting her go, I sighed as I watched the Demoness leap back to avoid a swift cut from Anput''s dagger, before the Jackalkin gave chase with murder on her mind, something that made the Demons all chuckle as they watched from around the fire. Both Kat and Leone were ''smiling'' as well, staring at me with hollow gazes as they ''warned'' me about my ''infraction'', which only made me chuckle wryly as I shook my head, moving to join my fellow Demons around the fire for breakfast. It made me realize just how utterly insane my Mom and I were for our peculiar tastes, since something that wasn''t even my fault was getting me in so much trouble, but... That trouble would be worth it the next time we had sex; their craziness was matched by their passion, which made it oh so worth it~! Chapter 804 803: Preparing to Set Off (1) Chapter 804 803: Preparing to Set Off (1) Kat PoV Jahi made her way over to Leone and I after sensing our gazes, the Demoness smilingnguidly as she moved to stand behind us, her arms wrapping around our waists as she pulled us in for a hug, muttering "Now now... Don''t get any ideas in those pretty little heads of yours~! I made that bet because I wanted to get something from the ns themselves, though hopefully it isn''t something that needs Belian''s or Lady Hathor''s permissions..." Stroking our stomachs, the Demoness leaned down to ce a kiss atop our heads as she added "Besides, even without the Fiend appearing, I was ahead of her in kills by a wide margin, so there was no risk at all~! And in terms of value, I had captured a Deacon whilst she struggled with the normal Cultists~! So there was no~ issue whatsoever. Ah, and I did~ have a few things in mind to ask of her, though we can alle together and talk it over as a family." Each word that fluttered from her lips led to a new, interesting destination as she took Leone and I for a ride, riling up our ''anger'' whilst assuaging our ''jealousy'' at the same time, with thest word spoken making us both calm down as we nodded, liking the way that word made us feel. "Now, enough about that~! Leone, did you have some much needed fun with Kat, hmm~? Say, you have to tell me what she was like with you Kat! What was our shy, reserved, sexy Princess like with a... fresh coat of ''paint'' and an influx of power? Was she haughty? Arrogant? Oppressive~?" I felt my crest tingle as I was reminded of the night Leone and I had shared, a smile tugging on my lips as I looked over at the now red face of our royal lover as she recalled the way she had acted all ofst night, the difference in her attitude and how direct she was making me shiver in delight as I too recalled how she tormented me with such an expert touch... "Oh, she was very~ talentedst night... So certain in her actions, so adamant with what I was to do for her... Hungry for more even after I gave her my all. Passionate and dripping with finesse as she used me for her-!" "E-Enough!" Leone''s face had gonepletely crimson, and she reached over and mped her hand over my mouth, pouting at me as her hair sparked fiercely, disying her embarrassment even more for Jahi as the Demoness chuckled, looking at Leone with intrigue in her amethyst gaze. "Oh~? That reaction told me far~ more than anything Kat could say... sometimes, Leone, actions speak far louder than any words..." To further add to Leone''s current flustered state, I licked her palm and smirked at her as she pulled her hand away, before she let out a small yelp as Jahi''s hand drifted down towards her thigh. However, we were in public still, so Jahi lifted her hand a momentter as well, releasing us both as she pointed towards therge cauldron, saying "Well, let''s eat then, hm? We need to recuperate still." I nodded, dropping the flirting and beginning to fix up a bowl for Jahi, all while Leone cooled off on the side, the Vampire''s flushed cheeks gradually returning to their pale state as she made her own bowl, taking a seat on a crate and beginning to eat slowly as she looked around the square, taking in the damages caused byst nights battle. Handing Jahi her meal, I made up my own before taking a seat beside my blue skinned lover, who was eating swiftly as always, like she was afraid someone would steal her food from her despite that being borderline impossible. Anput eventually made her way back, the Jackalkin glowering as she allowed the metal spike in her hand to dissipate before grabbing her own portions, plopping down on my other side and leaning against me as she began to eat. I nced at her before smiling wryly as I asked "Anput... I uh...", getting her attention before having my mate roll her eyes as she nodded, the Jackalkin saying "Your Khopesh is broken, I know. I saw that happen. If we take a few hours here to rest, I can make a new one for you with some of the metals we have on hand, but the weapon won''t be that impressivepared to your initial one. When we get to the Terracotta Groves though... that''ll be a different story." Satanya grinned from afar, the red skinned Demoness perking up as she said "Oh that''s right! Begum Anput, you are a smith, are you not? We could take the day ''off'' and rest some more while you tend to the worst of our weapons and armor? I know a few of the others have dabbled in smithing as well, so the small things can be handled by them..." ring at the woman, Anput clicked her tongue before looking towards the rest of the Demons, who were all neutral to the suggestion, just staying away from the ''conflict'' and enjoying the food they had. "Yeah... I can repair any damaged weapons and armor. If it''s too damaged though, the best you can hope for is to scrap it now, or save it for when you return to Arx Impius. There''s only so much I can do with what I have avable to me. No new weapons, no new armor; just repairs." The Demons all nodded, returning to their meals instantly and going to grab seconds if they could, leaving Anput to sigh as she looked towards me and asked "Do you want that Khopesh again, or are you in the mood to try something different? Perhaps a katana, or a scimitar? Falchion, maybe?" I shook my head, taking a bite from the oatmeal before replying "No, the Khopesh was wonderful. Had everything I wanted from it~! Though... are you sure you want to make something thatplex here? I can use something else if that''s too much work?" Anput just grinned at me, reaching up to caress my cheek as she cooed "Nothing is too much work for you... nothing at all~!" The Jackalkin stroked my cheek once more before leaning over to kiss me, uncaring of the eyes on us as she slid her tongue between my lips to deepen it, only pulling away when I pinched her waist, warning her not to take it too far. Smirking, she gave me another kiss anyways before pulling away, humming to herself happily as she finished her meal. Chapter 805 804: Preparing to Set Off (2) Chapter 805 804: Preparing to Set Off (2) "So what should we know about the Terracotta Grottos, Kat? I can''t entirely remember, so... Remind me." I gave Jahi a dry re as she just smirked at me, the Demoness uncaring of the slight twinge of irritation that permeated my very being as I heard those wordse out of her mouth; I had made them all study that damn notebook so that we could avoid this very thing, and yet..! Taking in a deep, soothing breath, I continued to re at Jahi as I said "The Terracotta Grottos are a collection of various caverns inside the southern mountains of the Tragon Kingdom connected by long, winding passageways that are meant to be rich not only in ores, but also in monsters. Said monsters are borne of the rock and pull themselves out of the rock, meaning that every inch of the Dungeon is a dangerous location no matter how clear it looks. Thanks to its mana affinity being Nature - rtively rare amongst the various Dungeons inside the Empire, Sultanate, and Three Kingdoms - all of the monsters are either of the Earth element or Water element, meaning this is a tricky, dangerous ce to be, but that also means the rewards are that much better. Tougher, resilient, and regenerative, the monsters are quite strong and hard to kill. Of course, with how utterlymon they are, there are Goblins and their evolutions running amok inside the pathways; Goblins, Hobgoblins, and primarily Ogres, though there are a few Trolls as well as Crones lurking around as well. Then there are the Duergar; short, dark skinned monsters that resemble Dwarfs down to a tee. Barrel chested, muscr, and fascinated with anything rted to minerals and metals. ssified as a far more dangerous monster than normal, they have a higher intelligence and craft their own weapons, have their own fortifications... Besides the Goblins and the Duergar, there are various animalistic monsters that roam around, only now with Earth or Water attuned Cores; Raindrop Wolves, Stone Crag Bears, Muddy Felines... Apparently the monster poption is incredibly diverse, and now that they''ve been left to be amongst themselves for a rather long time, well... I imagine those monsters will have further evolved into stronger variations. Perhaps some unique appearances as well? Finally, I would also imagine that the Nature Mana in the area will be imbued into the monsters as well, meaning that those that reached the pinnacle of this Dungeon in terms of strength, they''re going to be really, really strong. Like... unbelievably strong. Monsters aside, the resources should be far more abundant now too. Abundant and of a better variant; normal metal ores like iron, copper, tin and the like should have been upgraded and infused with enough mana to go up a few ''tiers'' in strength. Then the herbs should be less abundant, but still equally as desirable. Monsters''ll have likely feasted upon the strongest of those to power up, whereas the metals are rtively safer. As for the structure, again, its a myriad of Grottos connected by pathways;rge, lush caverns filled with vegetation and beautiful scenery only marred by the monsters that live inside. We''re talking miles of paths twisting around the inside of that mountain range, connecting dozens, perhaps even somewhere in the lower hundreds of Grottos that are just waiting to be plundered. It has a lot of entrances, so the city built near the Dungeon has dozens of paths leading up into the mountains. I... think that''s the gist of it." Jahi just nodded her head, before looking over towards Leone as she asked "You got that, right?", continuing to ignore my irritation as I blinked a few times, holding back the urge to shout at her; an urge that was taken away when she asked me "So the Duergar will be the primary challenge inside the Grottos? Should be fine. But... why are they called Terracotta Grottos?" I felt that irritation leave me as I realized she was just messing with me, though I still let out a low huff as I looked away from her, refusing to answer her new question despite full well knowing the answer to it. Sadly, Leone also knew that answer, saying "Because back in the day, the Three Kingdoms used to harvest the rich mana y from the Grottos and use them to create golems - magical constructs to do their bidding and their fighting? The terracotta appearance was misleading, making many think these golems were fragile, but Earth Mana is the strongest physical enhancer amongst the four primary elements, so they tended to be just as hard as metal. So they were called the Terracotta Grottos because of that." Jahi nodded once more, this time grinning as she took a swig from the waterskin in her hands and turning her amethyst gaze back towards me, asking "Does the mountains being close to the Labyrinthian cause anything special inside the Terracotta Grottos?" "They shouldn''t... There is a ratherrge distance between the mountains and Labyrinthian, surprisingly enough. Probably like a mile of solid rock acting as a barrier? These mountains are rather giant and the mountain range is quite big, so... There should be no interesting interaction between the two at all." "That''s a relief to hear... I wouldn''t want to be dealing with the shenanigans of the Labyrinthian that Mom told me about; switching biomes and all powerful monsters that have long since been extinct around the world... How far is it away from here? And that city... how big is it?" "I think... wasn''t it called Custodia? Aptly named since its the guardian of the Kingdoms from one of therger, more dangerous Dungeon''s within their borders. Ruled by a Justiciar and home to arge gathering of Praetors, but now... Well, I think Custodia is going to be rather empty~!" Satanya grinned as she slid into our conversation, the red skinned Demoness taking a seat beside Jahi and hugging the muscr blue arm of our lover to her chest, giving Leone and I a rather smug grin before slipping right off of Jahi when the blue skinned Demoness took notice of her. "Please keep your hands to yourself, Satanya... lest you lose one of them." She just chuckled as she stood nearby, the Demoness wearing a smug grin as she replied "My, you surround yourself with some incredibly feisty women, Jahi~! They all have some bite to ''em, hmm~? Is that what you find attractive? A woman with a bit of a bite to her? Cause I can show you how I ''bite''~?" Leaning down, Satanya tried to grab Jahi''s attention by shing the Demoness with a bit of her cleavage, though all she got in return was two death stares and a futanari who refused to look back at her, instead focusing on finishing up thest bit of her oatmeal instead. Chapter 806 805: Custodia Chapter 806 805: Custodia "And there it is... Custodia, the primary bastion holding back the hordes that linger inside the Terracotta Grottos. Before the Crusade - and the appearance of those Gates - our estimates concluded that 10,000 to 15,000 people lived in and or nearby the city - give or take a few hamlets and viges, of course." Satanya sat atop the carriage and looked at the illuminated walls of Custodia, the brazers lining therge stone walls all filled with firewood and currently casting light across the outskirts of the city, keeping it lit up alongside the light of the moon overhead. Scanning over the walls, I frowned as I took note of the dozen men and women that walked across its surface at random, no discipline in their patrol as they made their way from one brazier to another, all while they asionally looked out over the ins. Thanks to the mes from their braziers though, not a single one of them was able to see us with how far out we were, even though we could clearly see them. "They''re all humans from the looks of it. No uniform color scheme, noprehensible kit... If anything, their gear is haphazardly thrown together monster parts and nothing else. No symbology, no royal blue that we would think of for the Cult... these are just... bandits." "Or they''re thest survivors of Custodia trying to keep it that way... well, while we could have you and Leraie infiltrate the city again, I think it''d be best to just take the front gate, y''know? See if they have some good intentions, intelligence, or if they''re human supremacists through and through... After all, if they ARE original inhabitants of Custodia, then perhaps they''ll see reason and ept that they are now under the Empire''s banner... Or not, who knows~!" Handing the telescope off to Leone, I looked up towards the red skinned Demoness on the roof of the carriage and asked "You want to see if they''ll agree to being your subjects? I''m going to be honest, I sincerely doubt it." "Oh, I do as well, but I need to give them the chance before I kill all of them. Honestly, the reason we took Tragon over the other two Kingdoms wasn''t for any other reason then it having the lowest remaining human poption..." Satanya just grinned as she got off of the carriage, her ck leather coat barely making a sound as she dropped to stand beside me. "Well, let''s get going hmm? Luci, Leraie, take point on horses; be ready to defend yourselves from arrows or magic. We''ll be right behind you, and if you''d take the rear for us, Jahi~?" Grinning at Jahi now, Satanya licked her lips before making her way to her own carriage, ignoring the irritated gazes from Anput, Leone and I as we watched her walk away, while Jahi just shook her head and entered our own carriage. With my newly forged Khopesh I climbed onto the roof, sitting down and gathering my mana in my hands as I started toyer a defensive wind spell over our carriage, preparing to defend against any sort of projectile just in case. Nodding to Anput and Leone as they got inside with Jahi, I kept the spell up around the carriage as we began to set off towards the city''s gates, our caravan of three carriages and a few horse riders approaching the gate swiftly, attracting the attention of the humans patrolling the top of the walls quickly enough as we didn''t bother to conceal our presence. Shouts erupted up on the ramparts as the humans rushed to investigate, before one of them turned and made their way deeper into Custodia, likely to warn whomever was in control of this stone fortress that was called a city. We drew even closer, with Leraie and Luci nudging their horses further up the path to stare up at the assembled humans, who all stood near the edge with their weapons brandished in an attempt to appear more threatening... though in doing so they only disyed their ineptitude andck of discipline. Now we knew what we were dealing with, after all... "W-Who are ye!? What do ye want?!" The thick, slightly slurred shout of the man in the center made me raise a brow, whilst the hesitation and fear in his voice was barely concealed as he leaned over the edge, staring down from the wall to look at the assembled Demons, who all stared back with bemused expressions. Satanya opened the door of her carriage and stepped out, stepping forwards to stand between Leraie and Luci as she shouted back "Tragon Kingdom is under the banner of the Empire of Ash from here on out! Tragon Kingdom in particr is now ruled by the Beliali and Cimeriesa ns, of whom we are a part of! We have visited a few separate cities, and yet Custodia is the only city with a poption that still lives. So..." Brushing her coat aside to reveal the hilt of her sword, making the humans above shuffle around for a moment as they saw that as a sign of aggression, especially as she added "Let''s keep it that way, hm~?" They murmured to one another as they discussed what was happening, before that man shouted"W-What do ye mean, beneath the banner of the Empire?! This is still a Human Kingdom! We are still the rulers of these-!" He stopped mid shout as a myriad of runes began to appear around each of us, the slight signal from Satanya as she raised her hand making it clear that this was to be a show of strength to try and dissuade the humans from trying something stupid. Various colors illuminated the area around us, silencing the man and hisrades as they stared down at us in awe, before they turned to watch as an older, mature woman draped in a heavy bear pelt looked over the wall, her eyes calm despite the situation she was in. "Let them in. I have no desire to lose my life today because of ignorance... Open the gate!" Chapter 807 806: Citizens of Custodia (1)

Chapter 807 Chapter 806: Citizens of Custodia (1)

The gates opened at the order of the older woman, who turned and descended from the wall to meet us at the gate, while the rest of the humans watched us with wary eyes as we began to make our way into Custodia. Just like the rest of the cities inside Tragon, Custodia was damaged and ugly in appearance, the squat stone city crumbling slowly and rather empty as we made our way in, no humans lingering around the streets or bustling to and from point a to point b. The older woman walked towards us, her bear pelt cloak making her thin frame feel even smaller and more fragile, though the heavy mace hanging from her belt had far too much wear to be just for show, meaning thatnky frame was hiding some serious power. Besides her pelt, the woman had some scaled te covering her chest as well as some leather bracers and boots, protecting her from attacks somewhat even if it looked haphazardly thrown together. As for the other humansing down to stand with her, they were armored simrly to her, with monster parts hanging on leather clothes acting as armor for them, while their weapons were rather ill maintained as well; rolled edges, slight rust, warps and chips... "To whom do we owe the pleasure?" Stepping forwards, the older woman looked towards Satanya before scanning the various Demons around her, looking at them all before turning towards me, a small frown on her face as she watched me silently slide off the roof of the carriage, opening the door for the three women inside. "Satanya Beliali, Ammit Cimeriesa, Leone Presa-Ash, Jahi Asmodia, Anput Sera, and Katherine Zara. Surely a few of those names ring a bell?" Her weathered features twisted in surprise as she raked her eyes over us, with them stopping as she stared at Leone, the Vampire Princess capturing her attention as she nodded towards the mature woman. "Now, who are WE talking to? I don''t recall their being an older woman ruling this city..." "Aye, you wouldn''t... Ahem, excuse me; that is correct, Lady Beliali. The Lord Justiciar perished alongside the rest of the city when that abomination attacked months ago. Just suddenly appeared before butchering and destroying Custodia and its people! We were lucky enough to have been either on the outskirts, far enough away, or up near the Grottos... We were just lucky..." Those brown eyes were filled with regret, sadness, and mncholy as she let out a sigh, before she took a deep breath and focused on us again, adding "My name is Mary Ixan, and it''s an honor to be in the presence of not one, but two Princesses! As well as the storied Demon ns... Though, my apologies, the name ''Zara'' doesn''t ring any bells..." I just smiled at the older woman, shaking my head and saying "I''d be surprised if you had, Miss Ixan." "Please, just Mary. Ah, where are my manners. Come, let''s chat somewhere a bit morefortable, hm? I will admit that we haven''t been able to properly fix up the buildings, but they should be morefortable than the open streets. Nothing a good firece and some tea couldn''t fix, hm?" Gesturing towards the building resting at the end of the street, Mary gave us a small smile before leading us down the clean, yet pockmarked street, with some of the bricks stained a suspiciously darker color than the rest. "So all of you are the survivors from that creatures attack? How many total? And what have you been doing to survive thesest few months?" "Hm... Only a hundred and three of us survived; we have sixteen children, twenty-three elderly, and the rest are of varying ages, from teenagers up to those teetering on that elderly mark like myself! As for how, we''ve been living off of whatever we could scrounge up, the crops that were waiting to be harvested on the outskirts, and hunting whatever we needed to make up the difference. That includes some monsters that have begun to push out of the Grottos..." Walking behind Mary, we were surrounded by the able bodied men and women who were defending this ce now, all of whom were staring at us with uncertain gazes as they tried to determine how they felt about their leader divulging this information to potentially dangerous people. "That''s more than I expected. A blessing, for sure. The monsters though; how many, and how often have they been migrating out of the Grottos?" Satanya frowned, while Ammit stepped forwards and looked around curiously, the golden Demoness drawing the most attention thanks to her very... eye catching appearance. "They have been left unchecked for months, Satanya. Of course they are abundant. Plentiful. Hungry. Someone needs to take the position as predator for them, but no one can step into that role. Until now." "Damn straight. Miss Mary, how often have you been sending people out to hunt them? Repeating the question, Satanya looked towards the mature woman as she waited for an answer; Mary was just staring straight ahead as she thought on it for a moment, her chapped, thin lips pursed into a thin line as she kept walking. "It... It''s been an every other day event, right Petri? Our hunting parties head out every other day and encounter various groups of monsters... As for how many, it was what, anywhere between two dozen and five dozen depending on the location? Simple answer: a lot of monsters." "T-That''s correct, Custodian..!" The man from before jumped at being asked a question, making Mary sigh as she shook her head briefly at his nervousness, the woman saying "Petri, if they nned on killing us, we''d be dead already. Believe me. Ah... no disrespect meant..." "None taken, because you spoke the truth. I''m liking you more and more, ''Custodian'' Mary Ixan~! The few human''s I''ve met haven''t been as calm and collected when speaking with me, let alone with a host of my nsmen as well." "Yes, well... watching your home be turned to rubble with your husband and child still inside will do things to you, Lady Beliali. Come, we can treat you to some tea and keep talking inside." Chapter 808 807: Citizens of Custodia (2)

Chapter 808 Chapter 807: Citizens of Custodia (2)

The building we entered was arge hall that had been stripped of all unneeded ornamentation - statues and pirs that weren''t needed were taken down, freeing up some more space for the many bedrolls and mattresses that wereid out - as well as all sorts of other furniture and even what seemed like a few walls, opening the space up as much as possible. Inside, we found dozens upon dozens of people milling about,ying on the bedrolls, sitting in chairs, standing around and chatting, but as soon as we entered they all turned to look at us, with many letting out surprised gasps and taking a few steps back, like we were here to kill them. Children rushed to hide behind their parents or guardians, whilst the elderly red at us without care, not bothering to hide their hostility as they remained where they were, though one had the courage to shuffle forwards and re not at us, but at Mary as this older man hissed "Now why are you consorting with those murdering, monstrous Demons Mary?! Don''t you know that they''re-!" Before Mary could try to calm the man down, Satanya just grinned as she approached the man, who now showed some fear as the taller, grinning Demoness loomed over him, hissing "Murdering, monstrous Demons? Perhaps you should take a better look at your own people''s history, human. It was your kind who ughtered innocent viges on the border, your kind who initiated those wars with the Empire. We killed because of YOUR blind arrogance. Remember that, human. If we wanted you gone, you would be gone. Now shut the fuck up and go wither away for your remaining years and let those of us who are still of use talk about the future instead of being stuck in the past." We all gave Satanya a look before shrugging, while Mary pursed her lips and stared at the Demoness and older man for a few moments, before letting out a sigh and wearily saying "Please, Joffrey, just... be quiet. I saw the wars happen like you did; they were wars to us, but mere skirmishes to them. Let''s look forwards to a better tomorrow instead of holding onto the past, alright? That... That goes for all of you. The Beliali and Cimeriesa are here to help us as the new rulers of Tragon." Murmurs filled the hall as the humans all looked towards the mature woman with mixed feelings, though many just fell silent as the gazes of the various Demons swept over them, our group scanning the group and mentally taking note of any humans that seemed especially disgruntled with that announcement, knowing that those would be the first ones to try and undermine the attempts to integrate Tragon into the Empire. Satanya just continued to grin at the man before turning away and walking with Mary towards the?far end of the hall, where a giant round table remained,den with maps and books that made it clear it was being used as the headquarters for these survivors. "Sit. Alessia, Jenny, Mike, get some tea on and tell the others to help prepare a meal please." Mary took a seat and gestured for us to do the same, though she stared at Satanya in surprise as the Demoness turned and said "Luci, Leraie, take the rest of our supplies and help them. Take a few of the others as well. Let''s patch some of the holes in the building as well." "Oh, you don''t need to do anything Lady Beliali! Really!" Satanya looked back at Mary before waving the Demons off, replying "It''s either let them do something or have them linger about and do nothing. Besides, the appetites of you humans and the appetites of us Demons is vastly different, so I''d rather have my people help out. Now, let''s get to talking about you and your people, Custodian Mary Ixan." Leaning forwards, Satanya began to talk with the Custodian about the changes that were going to being soon, while discussing the happenings around the area to get a better idea on what was going on; personally, I began to lose interest rather quickly as I focused instead on the maps on the table, studying them as I left the business to Satanya. The idea of having to hash out legalities wasn''t that intriguing to me, so I picked up the map and began to look over the various reported groups of monsters, ''copying'' the map into my mind and using it to understand what we would be dealing with in the uing days. Behind us, the various humans muttered and whispered to one another as they tried to remain ''quiet'' as they discussed whatever idiocies and fears pervaded their minds; I could still sense the unease permeating their minds even from here, making me shake my head as I focused back on the map, finding it far more interesting. Especially as I began to cross reference the other maps to get a better idea on what was happening; monster groups on one, animal locations on another, damage reports to the city and nearby viges, patrol routes, hunting routes. All of it was fun for me to cross reference and understand what we were working with, creating an ideal route depending on the things we wanted to get done; if we wanted to just hunt monsters, route a would lead us through the various hot spots and allow us to hunt to our hearts content. If we wanted to get some materials and food for the people, route b would be perfect to harvest all sorts of materials, like wood, crops, animals, metal and more for them to begin repairing Custodia. Some new clothing, nkets, some better bedding, repaired structures... all sorts of things could be done to help these people, which was what Satanya was currently discussing with the mature Mary who was listening intently to the ns, all while her people continued to stare at us with wary gazes. Leone and Jahi joined in to add their opinions to Satanya''s, giving the Custodian some more ideas and choices on what to do in these uing days. Chapter 809 808: Midnight Hunt

Chapter 809 Chapter 808: Midnight Hunt

"Now, what exactly is the reason we''re sitting in the middle of a forest at such ate time right now? Instead of... oh I don''t know, finding ourselves a nice,fortable building and having sex until the sunes up?" Giving Jahi a dry stare, I rolled my eyes and gestured towards the moonlit forest around us, the trees canopy thin enough to allow the moons light through but thick enough to provide shelter for animals, meaning... "We''re here to find some more food. For us, for the Demons, and for the humans. I... might not like most of them, sure, but I don''t want to eat them out of house and home. Especially not the children; they''ve yet to do anything that deserves the life they''ve currently been forced to live. They might have gone hungry before, but they shouldn''t go hungry now. Besides..." Looking at Jahi, I continued to walk forwards and whispered back "I never said this would take all night. Let''s get ourselves some prey and head back before the sun gets up, hm?" I didn''t even need to turn to know that the Demoness was grinning now, nor did I need to turn to know that she had reached forwards to try and grab me to begin what she wanted, so I just leapt up into the trees to get a higher vantage point... Coincidentally just as her hand brushed through the air where I had been a moment before. Coincidentally, of course. Looking around, I hummed softly as I scanned the area, looking for any tracks,ndmarks, or any roaming animals to pick off for ourselves, only to let out a low sigh as I saw nothing. Jahi remained below, staring at me heatedly from her stationary position on the forest floor, though she remainedpletely still, not wanting to alert any potential prey that I might have seen; of course, as I saw those amused, patient golden eyes staring up at me, I shivered before leaping to a new tree branch, leaving Jahi behind as I began to head deeper into the forest. She stalked through the forest below me, watching both me and the area around her as she quietly trekked through the underbrush, waiting to be of any use or for me to fall into her arms; it wasn''t a suspicion I had, but something I knew that would happen if I found myself in her grasp before we happened across any prey. If I dropped to the forest floor and let her get ahold of me, then there was no hunting until she was finished relieving herself of her urges... which could take one or two rounds, or it could take until dawn. Like I had said before, I wanted to replenish the food stores that we had emptied somewhat earlier, and even though we were going to be helping the humans out for the next few days, I wanted to get this done now with just Jahi; something like a date, I guess, even if it''s not entirely what I wanted in a date. Though, considering our lifestyle and current circumstances, a normal date was not only inefficient but also unlikely, so I was going to take what I could get. Besides, I found it more amusing as I leapt from branch to branch then any date possibly could be, since it was a rather ''dangerous'' game of tag that would only end when we found an animal or I made a mistake... And I was tempted to make a mistake. Really, really tempted, but as I got us even deeper into the forest, I paused and gestured down towards Jahi, causing her to freeze as she stopped to study the area around herself again, noticing the ratherrge, muscr monster that snarled quietly as it picked at the carcass of a bear. Standing around seven feet tall, the monster looked much like a deer, though instead of furry, hoofed legs, it had scaled limbs that ended in birdlike talons, whilst its tail was long and spiked, much like its head. Antlers sprouted from its skull and glittered in the moonlight, covered in a metallic sheen that clearly disyed their sharp, de like edges, while its ck furred head was nuzzling against the corpse of the bear, which it was chomping down on with razor sharp fangs as it devoured its meal. A smile sprouted on my lips as I saw the monster, taking in its sheer size and body and knowing that it would feed even those one hundred humans for around four days if used properly; maybe a week if rationed out. One animal, almost a week of food for such arge amount of people; that was one hell of a steal, and I wasn''t doubting whether we would get this monster down one bit. It WAS going to die here, and I would make sure of that. As it was busy gorging itself on the bear, I began to trace out the various runes needed for a simple, ssic spell of mine as I stared down the monster, while Jahi began to creep closer and closer with her own fingers twitching as she waited to cast her own spell as a follow up just in case. Pale cyan runes flickered into existence before arge, jagged, spikednce of ice appeared in my hands, which was hurled as soon as itnded on my palm; I reared back atop the branch and threw thence with as much power as I could muster, hurling it towards the monster and catching it entirely off guard as I targeted its meaty neck. Thence whistled through the air and pierced the monsters neck easily enough, the tapered, heavy tip of mynce tearing through the flesh and slicing into the muscles, causing the monster to lurch back and let out a pained, high pitched bleat that reverberated throughout the forest, though it was silenced as a golden spear mmed into its neck as well, a wet crunch taking its ce as the spear was twisted, snapping the monsters neck and killing it. Chapter 810 809: Shy

Chapter 810 Chapter 809: Shy

"So tell me again why we needed to do this? I seriously can''t see this as being so incredibly worthwhile for right now. We were going to be hunting tomorrow anyways, if Satanya''s words are to be trusted. So why are we here, skinning and butchering this..." "Kindred Sword Stag." "Butchering this Kindred Sword Stag instead of resting and enjoying ourselves back in Custodia? Sure, we might not havee across this monster in particr, but we most certainly would have found more than enough monsters and animals to hunt tomorrow when the sun is shining." Sliding my dagger through the dark crimson meat, I cut another b of what looked most simr to venison but far more firm than normal, whilst the level of fat surrounding certain portions of the monster wererger than normal as well, meaning this would make a damn good steak... Adding that b of meat to the ice chest, I sighed softly as I began to cut off more, moving quickly and efficiently as we forced the monsters corpse to remain corporeal with our mana, though that would only prolong its physicality for so long. As a whole, if left connected and together as a corpse, the mana would eat everything that remained and return it to the earth to be used for the next monster, but when it was harvested that mana that once belonged to arger entity - the monster - was cut away from being a collective, allowing it to exist on its own. A ratherplicated set of conditions and reactions that I wasn''t the most studied in, but it really boiled down to this: if corpse, dissolve; if outside mana is introduced, remain until outside mana dissipates, then dissolve; if a piece is removed from corpse, that piece is no longer a part of the collective. That was my understanding of this phenomenon, but I wasn''t allowed to think of it for long as I replied "The reason... It boils down to the children, I guess. Even with us utilizing most of our own supplies, the amount of food we consume is damn near equal to the humans, and that brought them down to a low amount of food left in reserve. I could care less about the adults and elderly amongst the humans, but the children are innocent and undeserving of being left to starve. It''s... not something I want to see. They don''t deserve what happened to them, they don''t deserve to go hungry in the morning and be forced to wait until wee back with food..." Jahi pursed her lips as she looked at me for a moment, returning to carving the monster up as she nodded, only to smirk as she said "Then the reason is you having a soft spot for children? Despite being a rather cruel, sadistic murderpuppy, you DO~ actually have a heart hiding beneath that abundant chest of yours~!" ring at her, I raised the dagger a tad, only to roll my eyes as Jahi''s gaze grew hotter, the Demoness returning to harvesting the monster only because we were on a timer, though I sensed the hastening of her movements as well... "Well, it is good to know that you''d go this far for some random brat that you know nothing about. It inspires confidence in me for when its not just some random brat, but our child instead." I froze for a moment before continuing on, my heart skipping a beat for what felt like no real reason since it was a rather normal thing to say, but... "I mean, I''ve been able to see how you''ve acted with our younger siblings, and that was warming enough to witness, but this... this is nice as well. You already act like such a Mother to the rest of us, so I can only assume that that would transfer to the children you would bear for each of us... as well as the children that are borne from Anput and Leone as well." My cheeks reddened as I kept carving; not with the blood of the monster, but with my own blood as I blushed, finding this avenue of conversation to be rather tititing despite its rtive ''innocence'' from Jahi''s words; there was no crassness or sexinessing from her voice, only fact as she sliced another b of meat from the monster, adding it to her own ice chest and continuing to speak, ''unaware'' of my current tumoil... as unaware as a woman who ''owns'' my soul could be. "Mature,petent, gentle and loving with us, sometimes it''s hard to remember that those aren''t just... natural traits to everyone, I guess. You show an ability to nurture andfort us all the time, and while its incredibly nice to feel as your lovers, I can only imagine that those traits would be perfect for a Mother. And now that I got to see another... ''side'' of you, I guess, I can appreciate that even more. After all, if you''re willing to go this far for those human children, I would think that the amount you''d do for our own child would be significant as well." I blinked as I stared at her, wondering if my lover was doing this to make it easier to get inside my pants or if she was returning to being her rather honest, yet so damn oblivious self as she knelt near me, her eyes focused on the carcass and not on me. "Sometimes, I really do think it''s a shame that we were born as we were; into a House as storied and valued as my own, and born into a time where things seem particrly unstable. The idea of just being a low level Noble - hells, just some random woman really - and being able to focus entirely on you, and only you sounds like such a blissful existence. Just me and you, married and living together, a nice, slow, peaceful life together as we go about our days and return to one another at night, making love and unworried about the time as we began a family of our own... maybe we''d find Anput and Leone somewhere along the way and manage to convince them too..." Trailing off, Jahi looked up from the monster and met my eyes, her wistful tone at not having such simple life of just me and her adding thest piece of kindling to the fire inside me as I felt my heart pound inside my chest, full of love and want as I stared at the Demoness. A scenario that we both knew had been impossible from the start, an alternate universe where we were able to just be ourselves; no worries about fighting or managing arge swathe ofnd as Nobility, no worrying about death or Fiends, nothing. Just us as we lived a normal, uneventful life. Jahi and I, and like she suggested, perhaps Anput and Leone would find their way to us again as well, but until that happened... Just Jahi and I, until eventually someone else came to join us; a result of our love, growing and making itself known inside my womb... A world that we wouldn''t be able to see ever, but one we could eventually make for ourselves; peaceful and stable, ready for us to take that step from just lovers to something more... Perhaps I was overthinking things, perhaps I was simply horny, perhaps I was being affected by the life I had once lived, where I had been incapable of even imagining a life like this... A life where I was loved by someone so much that they wanted to go further, to stay by my side forever as we fell further in love, to the point that it bore fruit. To be able to pursue the unique love of being a Mother; to have that warm, whole feeling as I epted my wives everything and turned it into a product of our love... Having a child... Chapter 811 810: Passion* Chapter 811 810: Passion* "Kat..? Are you okay..? You''re a little red." I blinked a few more times as I stared at Jahi, before deciding that for this current moment in time, it''d be best to be straightforwards and just tell the Demoness what I wanted and needed instead of having her guess or not understand what was happening - for someone usually so intelligent, she was sometimes rather dense, and this... this was not a time I wanted her to be dense. "Get over here and fuck me." Now it was her turn to blink a few times, confusion muddling those amethyst orbs for a second before being reced by lust as she tossed her knife aside and cleaned herself off, not hesitating at all to make her way over to me and pull me in for a kiss. Herrge handsnded on my ass as she pulled me close, before her lips found mine as we kissed beneath the moonlight, her sweet scent mixing with the scent of blood as she shuffled me over towards rtively fresh grass to push me down into,ying on top of me and giving me a passionate disy of lust and love. Palming my butt like a toy, the Demoness rubbed herself against me and locked her lips to mine, draining her saliva into my mouth and sloppily devouring me, before pulling away to unbuckle her pants, giving me a moment to do the same. "What brought this on? Talking about us having children? Got horny thinking about me putting a few kids in you? Was that it?" Seeing that rock hard blue cock, I licked my lips and savored the sweetness of her taste before looking towards her eyes, shimmying my pants down and revealing my drenched pussy for her to im as I replied "Just shut up and get me pregnant." Despite us both knowing that was impossible, that even if I was off my medicines that was still near impossible thanks to her being a Demoness, despite all of that... I was far, far too horny to give a damn, and the use of that one, singr word got us both going more than we could have ever imagined. Jahi grabbed her cock and just shoved it inside me, the Demoness getting far too horny to care about finesse as she grabbed my hips and started fucking me hard on the grass, her thick penis finding its way into my womb as she pinned me down and used me. "You want me to get you pregnant, huh? Want me to put a baby in you and turn you into a Mother? Hm? Beg me for it, Kat... Beg me to knock you up, here and now..." Her voice gradually deepened as she smacked her hips against mine, our still clothed forms doing little to prevent us from exchanging our heat as we began to make love in the grass. "J-Just shut the fuck... ah~! Shut up and fuck me!" ring at the Demoness, I moaned loudly as she sneered down at me, the woman''s blue handshing out to smack against my cheek as she pped me - enough to get me even more aroused, but light enough to not do real damage - before she grabbed my throat and squeezed, growling "No, why don''t YOU shut the fuck up and just take my sperm like a good little bitch!" Wrapping her other hand around my neck as well, she sneered as I nipped her arm when it got too close, making her p me again as she growled "Try me again and I''ll tie you to a tree and leave you here bathed in my cum." For good measure, the Demoness pped me again before grabbing my throat, her hips smacking against mine speedily as she grunted, her thick cock rampaging inside of me as we let our urges free, making me idly wonder for just a moment if this would be how we would actually conceive... ''Fighting'' one another until I submitted and got filled with cum like a good little whore, before Jahi made me her bitch for hours on end... However, I wasn''t allowed to think at the moment as she grunted again, this time leaning down to sloppily kiss my cheek, jawline and neck as she muttered "Get pregnant you stupid slut! Take my seed and get pregnant! Get pregnant!" Repeating herself quietly, Jahi choked me and fucked me hard in the middle of the forest, the carcass of the monster long since dissipated even as the scent of blood lingered in the clearing, but neither of us cared as our focus was ced onto a single thing; sex that led to me bing with child. Even as my oxygen was limited thanks to her muscr, strong fingers mping down on my neck, I was still lucid enough to see the glee on my lovers face as she ''raped'' me in the forest, pinning me down beneath her and having her way with me like we were some random adventuring party and she had gotten far too horny. My strong ''tank'' pushing me down and demanding I milk her fat cock and plump testicles of all her semen and get impregnated by her superior seed before we returned to the others, my womb filled with cum as we acted like she hadn''t just ''raped'' me for her own amusement. The story, the ''lore'' behind this scenario that I felt like we were ying out made me even more aroused, to the point that I orgasmed and choked out a moan past her hands, making her amused sneer widen as she pounded me even harder. "You''re cumming because I''m going to get your inferior pussy pregnant?! What a stupid, dumb fucking whore! The greatest thing that''s happened to you is me deciding to fuck you like the bitch you are! So just get pregnant! Get pregnant you worthless Dogkin bitch!" pping me a few more times, Jahi grunted and filled the forest with her aroused shout as she started cumming inside me, her cock spurting out her thick seed as she tried to do as she shouted, filling me with her cum and trying to impregnate me. Hot, gooey semen scalded my womb as Jahi came, before I was flipped onto my stomach and pressed into the grass again as she began to fuck me some more, this time clenching her arm around my neck and squeezing, while she slid her other hand beneath my shirt and groped my tit. We... didn''t stop for a long, long time, and by the time we were done, both of us were so drained, yet so fulfilled as Jahi stuffed me with more cum before finally deciding that we should get back. Chapter 812 811: Making Our Way Back Chapter 812 811: Making Our Way Back "Damn... That was... probably some of the best sex we''ve had." I continued to pant, my throat sore both inside and out as I nced over at my lover, who was leaning against the ice chest and staring up at the still dark sky, her own breathingbored as she came off of her orgasmic high alongside me, the two of us incapable of much as we lounged inside this clearing. My neck was slightly raw, the imprints of the Demoness'' fingers and arm still very visible and very obvious on my throat, whilst my vocal cords were recovering slowly from the sheer amount of moaning she had made me do; meanwhile, my belly felt full despite only one hole getting used, the sheer amount tricking my body into thinking I was full thanks to the way my insides were now arranged. Mentally, I was still groggily descending from seventh heaven, my mind slow to return to normal as pleasure filled my body, which was only made worse as the mental facilities I did retain were now being devoted to capturing and harvesting that pleasure forter, to try and contain some of it for study so that I could unlock the ability to - at the very, very least - infuse my mana with Lust Mana, giving it that boost that only someone linked to a Fiend could receive. If I had to give it numerical representation, the potency of my Ice Mana felt like it received a ten percent minimum buff, if not a maximum of twenty percent; in other words, a rather sizable boost for just having my mana beced with this newer, stronger mana variant. Trying to learn how to permanently unlock just the ability to infuse my mana with this stronger mana variant would be a significant boost, let alone being able to wield that mana variant directly; I had seen the power of it first hand merely in passing, and it hadpletely and utterly altered my mind as it was wielded. Sure, I might not be as adept with it as an Arch Fiend with who knows how much experience with it, but still! Even in a child''s hands a knife can be immensely deadly to anyone who that child tries to attack. So learning how to harness Lust Mana was a priority of mine, and I continued to harvest the Pleasure that was permeating my crest and store it away forter, when I had a few minutes to myself to study and understand it better. Perhaps I could learn how to wield it sooner than I believed now that I had gotten a taste of it directly, and that taste had showed me a key factor in wielding Lust Mana, something that seemed rather foreign... but that was forter. Looking at Jahi, I smiled tiredly as I caressed my stomach, saying "You said that same thing when we first started roleying during our trysts after social events. The sex itself was much the same, was it not?" She just smirked as she said "Sure, the movements were the same, but the mentality and passion far surpassed what we normally have. The suddenness, the words spoken, the exchange we had, the passion we both showed... all of it changed this from something normal to something rather unique." Her observation of what had just transpired made me nod in agreement, my mind still muddled somewhat as I sat their tiredly, before I added "You were a bit more heated the entire time, weren''t you? Rougher andcking in that finesse that usually hides beneath your powerful performance that you proudly put on disy..." A chuckle escaped her lips as she lifted herself off the grass, a golden light shrouding her for a moment as she said "Just like you were. Usually you slip into some sort of character to spice things up, or remain rtively quiet and tame as you let me treat you like a toy, but this time you made it clear what you were looking for. You ''challenged'' me, taunted me, demanded things of me... you didn''t let me be directly selfish with everything, instead making me ''earn'' it as I took you for myself." I nodded again and epted her hand as she lifted me up, the Demoness leaning down to kiss me again, after which I began to clean us both up properly as my Water Mana cleansed the excess scents and ''grime'' from our bodies, preparing us to set off back for Custodia with our haul. "Kat, you do understand how sexy that was in the beginning, don''t you? The way you cut straight to the put and demanded I im you as mine, the directness of your actions and words? And you do understand that before we tried to do something we both know is impossible, the words I spoke were true?" With her hands still on my body, the Demoness made me look into her eyes and give her an answer, the blue skinned woman who had such confidence all the time now staring at me with an anticipatory gaze, waiting and hoping for a certain kind of answer. An answer that I gave her, an answer that was the truth; even if that answer made me blush slightly, embarrassment gripping my heart as I nodded and said "That I would make an excellent mother, correct? I do... and I hope I can live up to your expectations as well in that regard, someday." Jahi beamed at me before she kissed me again, and this time I leaned into it as we embraced in the middle of the forest again, though we kept it brief and entirely romantic... or at least as romantic as Jahi could manage, which wasn''t as much as I would have liked, but was about as much as I knew she was capable of giving. And the amount she gave was of higher quality than I felt like I deserved, causing my heart to leap for joy as she kissed me again, even if her hands found themselves ''ruining'' the moment as she lifted me up and walked me over to a tree, undoing my efforts to clean us off as she got the two of us dirty again... But, I was more than willing to clean her off again as she poured her love for me inside me one more time, all while her lips were locked to mine. Another moment that would forever be engrained into my memories for as long as I lived, even if it was something that ''looked'' like many others in my short life in this world. Chapter 813 812: Helping Custodia

Chapter 813 Chapter 812: Helping Custodia

"Well well well... look who finally~ showed up after sneaking out in the dark of night! Pray tell, where might the two of you have gone, hm? Because I asked your two wives that you left behind and they were just~ as confused as I was." Satanya was grinning at us in front of therge hall that housed the humans, making Jahi and I both roll our eyes as we stared at the red skinned Demoness for a few moments before I answered "Hunting. We went hunting." "Oh? I wasn''t aware you considered yourself as prey, Miss Katherine~! You did a decent job covering and washing the scent away, but perhaps you need a few days away from the potent smell of your lover to recognize it again? You''ve gone a tad nose blind..." Jahi just let out a bark ofughter as she grinned at Satanya, uncaring of the woman''s frown as she said "Nah, that just means I did a better job than I thought I did~! Besides, I gotta make sure I mark my ''property'' well, y''know? Helps keep pests away." Satanya''s frown deepened, before she sighed as Ammit stepped out of the building and approached us, the golden Demoness donning an inquisitive expression as she looked between the three of us, eventually asking "What happened? Where were they? Hunting?" "Yes, we went hunting. Brought back a ratherrge haul of meat-" "Proper, edible meat or the meat you like to eat~?" "From a Kindred Sword Stag, probably around a hundred pounds total? Oh, and some bones and the like too, since those can be used for some meals if need be. Bone broth and all that." Ignoring Satanya, I gestured towards the two ice chests that rested behind Jahi and I, their contents kept cool as we hauled them back to the city, with the sun slowly making itself known as the horizon gradually began to brighten, signaling the eventual arrival of dawn. "Ooh... a Kindred Sword Stag..." Walking forwards, Ammit nudged one of the chests open and added "Never heard of them." as she looked inside, the Cimeriesa looking over the rather standard red meat that was stacked up inside the chests, moving to the side to allow Jahi to pick them up and take them inside. "Looks like a lot. A hundred pounds, you said? Impressive. Fatty. Tasty?" Mumbling to herself, Ammit walked into the hall behind Jahi, continuing to speak quietly and leaving Satanya alone with me, the red skinned Demoness still smiling at me, even though her eyes were rather neutral. I took a step forwards and smiled back, looking up at her and muttering "Take a nice, deep whiff, Satanya... that''s the only time you''ll ever get to smell MY woman''s scent, so savor it." My lips curled into a smirk as I met those crimson eyes for a moment, before I walked inside and took my spot beside Jahi, leaving Satanya behind and happily strutting beside her, Jahi''s words from earlier still ringing clearly in my ears. Her heartfelt honesty as she thought about having children with me, that admiration and expectation she had of me being the Mother of her children, the way she so passionately and assuredly handled me in the forest... All of it had assuaged some of my ever present possessiveness and need to ensure Jahi, Anput and Leone weren''t looking anywhere else besides towards me, and with the happenings after fending off Tza''Orbias, the marking of my nds, and the events inside the forest, well... I had managed to assuage that worry of mine for now, each of my lovers firmly and utterly enamored with me, just as I waspletely and utterly enamored with them. So I was a rather happy, content Dogkin as I walked into the hall, specifically towards therge collection of fires and primitive ovens that acted as the kitchen for the humans. Thanks to a rather thorough loving from Jahi, I was wide awake and able to remain this way for a good while, with my mana and eventually some good food and drink keeping me awake even longer, until I eventually would need some proper sleep; like I had discovered a long time ago, my new active lifestyle and stronger body - which included my Core that was filled with mana - allowed me to do things I wasn''t able to before, and going without sleep and remaining in a real,pletely functional state was one of them. Sure, I used to pop a couple of energy drinks, eat my fair share of filling foods and do a bit of exercising, but after a certain period of time the human body began to lose its efficiency, something that was now pushed way back with both my Dogkin physique as well as my mana. So, I had no issue taking over the kitchen to begin cooking up the meat we had harvested from that stag, preparing to make a feast for everyone when they woke up soon and ensure that they started the day off properly. I wasn''t too thrilled to be making meals for some of these humans - already I had seen the lust in their eyes when they looked at us, or the hate and anger burning deep inside themselves - but unless they acted on those emotions, I was going to treat them with indifference. They could eat, they could benefit from my presence, but they would get no more from me, and unless they did something that I found reprehensible, I wasn''t going do anything to them. But if they decided to act upon their anger, their lust, then I would have no issue putting them in their ce and showing them the difference between some random human and a member of the Asmodia Family. Until then though, I began to work with the kitchen that I had avable and began to start cooking up a storm as I took those bs of meat and bones and put them on and in pots, pans, skillets, and in the ovens, preparing many different types of meals to be partaken of when dawn rolled around and the sun was shining down upon this city once more. Chapter 814 813: Breakfast

Chapter 814 Chapter 813: Breakfast

"I... You... Did you make all of this? H-How?! W-Where did the meate from? These bones..?" I smiled at the bbergasted Mary, the older woman looking around at the various pots and pans with wide eyes as she took in the meat lovers breakfast that I had made for everyone; steaks, stews, strips, fillets, and so much more. Of course, I knew how to bnce a breakfast as well, so there were loaves of bread, a cauldron of oatmeal, and then therge collection of fruits that the humans had stockpiles of from a nearby vige. They had been lucky, honestly, with what had been left untouched by the attacks; fields of wheat and barley, orchards of apples and oranges, verdant forest filled with various herbs and animals... Custodia was located in an extremely bountiful area, rich in natural mana that allowed all of those things to flourish and prosper without much difficulty, creating an abundance of foods for the people to eat. The amount of grain they had stored away was more than enough for this hundred strong group of humans, but grain wasn''t the only thing these people needed to sustain themselves; it was their other stores that were taking thergest hit, hence my desire to replenish those stores first now that we would be imposing on them for the foreseeable future. "Yes, I made everything here, with the help of Luci and Leraie. The meates from a Kindred Sword Stag; big ck furred deer like monster with ded antlers. Jahi and I hunted itst night." "Last night?! And you''re still awake now? Why didn''t you get some rest and let someone else do the cooking?" Smiling at the worry the mature woman was showing, I waved her off and gestured instead towards the tes and bowls, saying "There''s more than enough. Help yourself." Mary just stared nkly at the various tters that were being used to disy the mountains of meat I had prepared, whilst therge vats of stews and oatmeal were ced low to the ground, allowing everyone to take thedle and scoop out what they wanted. There was enough variety to make this a breakfast that had something anyone could eat from; the Demons were quick to partake in a meat heavy diet, though most of them did so by using the bread to contain more of that meat to help fill their stomachs quicker, whilst also going to grab a bowl of stew to wash everything down. They had no issue grabbing themselves some food, though I couldn''t say the same for the humans. Even as I revised my Wind Dome to no longer conceal the heavenly scent of cooked food and instead pushed the smell outwards, they stubbornly remained away from the kitchen, staring at it with wary eyes as they hesitated, waiting for someone to act first. The herd mentality put on disy would''ve been enough to awe some scientists with how they remained rooted in ce even as their stomachs grumbled, making me sigh and roll my eyes at how they seemed reluctant to do anything first. When I looked towards the cluster of kids that were alternating their hungry gazes between their protectors and the food that was slowly diminishing, that sigh deepened as I began to create a tter up, ensuring it had a variety of things before lifting it and making my way out of the kitchen and towards the children. Smiling gently at them, I crouched and showed them the tray, ignoring the adults nearby and saying "You''re all hungry, right? Then eat. It''s only getting colder." Watching as their noses twitched due to the proximity of the meat, and seeing how their eyes now no longer left the food as they all tried - and failed - to hold themselves back like their protectors were was rather amusing, and I nodded as they reached forwards to eat, only to frown as one of the elders pped their cane down atop the tter, sending the food sliding across the ground. "I know what you''re up to, you Dogkin bitch! You''re going to poison us! Do you think we''re that dumb?!" I took a deep breath and tore my gazes from the surprised faces of the children, looking instead towards the older woman above me who raised her cane again, trying to threaten me, only to have her eyes go wide as I stood back up. Very rarely could I say I was a tall woman, but that was only when I was surrounded by all the various races of the Empire; six foot was the new average, give or take a few inches above and below, but few races were shorter than that, and if they were, they gained something in exchange for that height. Humans though remained just as varied as they were in my old world, meaning this elderly woman - who was hunched over and clutching her cane in fear - was much shorter than myself. So, I leaned down and brought my face closer to hers, staring at her silently for a few moments and enjoying the way her eyes - yellow with age, whilst the brown lens had begun shifting to a slight blue hue - shook and watered as I stood in front of her. "If I wished to poison you... any of you... I would have done so as you slept soundly in your beds. But I didn''t. Because I have no need to poison you. None of you are even a modicum of a threat to me. Not a single damn one of you. If I wanted you killed..." Raising my arm, I activated the tattoos on my wrist and disyed the serrated ice de to the woman before resting it against her throat, relishing the way the woman shivered and tried to move away, only to have her body fail her. "I would slit your throat before you even realized I was there. You. Are. All. Weak. Do we have an understanding? You are no longer a member of the Three Human Kingdoms; you are a member of the Empire, and as such, you are beneath the Empress of Ash as one of her many citizens. I will treat you as such, so long as you act civil. Now, get on your hands and knees and pick up the mess you made. I cooked for nearly three hours to make that, and I don''t appreciate seeing it be wasted. So you can eat it. The meat, the apple slices, the oatmeal. Hell, I''ll even say the stew as well! Am I understood?" My voice remained steady as I stared straight into the woman''s eyes, before allowing the ice de to disappear as I took a step back, staring at her still as I waited for her to do as I said. The hall was silent, only for that silence to be broken as a woman took a shaky breath behind me as she said "Beckandra... Do as she says. You... You should know better than to waste food. Even if it was poisoned, you of all people can''t go hungry... But..." Hearing Mary beside me, I didn''t let her try and plead as I shook my head, my eyes never leaving Beckandra as I calmly said "Clean it up. You''ve had decades on this to my own few measly years, and yet I have a firm grasp on manners and an understanding of my ce. What have you been doing with your time? Have you always been taking food away from children?" Her body shook with anger and shame, but the old woman couldn''t say anything as I stared at her, alongside everyone else in the hall; no one moved, not even the Demons as they watched from afar. Though considering the amusement I could feel from my bond to Jahi, I could only imagine that everyone from the ns were just as amused at this as she was... So, we all got to watch as the elderly woman gingerly lowered herself to the ground and began to clean up the mess she made, her bluish brown eyes watery with tears as she was subjected to humiliation in front of everyone. "Now, I do apologize for that, but I believe the punishment fits the crime. My hard work sent sliding over the floorboards, my desire to ensure YOUR children didn''t starve because you thought that we were no better than monsters wanting to poison you? Pitiful. Even as you''ve been brought down to such a low point in your existence, you cling to some undeserved pride, believing that we would need to employ underhanded tactics to take you lower?" Snorting, I shook my head and made my way back to the kitchen, swiftly fixing up an identical tter and taking it back to the children, who were even more scared than before, their eyes wide as they watched me closely. I couldn''t help but click my tongue as I saw that, shaking my head again before gently saying "Eat. You''ll need to fill your bellies to grow big and strong." Not pushing them anymore, I stood up and walked away, mild irritation filling my heart as I looked around the hall once more, wondering if I should bother with manners at all... Chapter 815 814: Differences Chapter 815 814: Differences "Was that..." Mary trailed off as she stood beside me, the mature, conflicted woman alternating her gaze between me and the elderly woman still cleaning everything up from the floor, her old bones working against her as she tried to make amends for her mistake, trying to gather pity from everyone else, but... Sadly for her, those that had influence here, those that mattered, had no pity to spare for an ignorant, idiotic old woman; not myself, not Jahi, not the other Demons, not the Vampire Princess, and not even her own leader. No one was able to help her, for fear of being punished themselves of a severeck of care as they continued to eat their own meals - and interestingly enough, some of the humans fell into thetter, staring at Beckandra with disinterest, whilst a few even had smugness in their eyes. It was interesting, seeing some of my knowledge of psychology being validated thanks to their reactions - how most found the scene pitiful and wanted to help, how some couldn''t care less, and how some simply found it thrilling to know that they were above this woman. "Was that entirely necessary? Was that what you were going to ask?" I used thedle to fill a bowl with some of the stew and handed it to the woman beside me, staring into her eyes as I added "Because if so, then yes, it was. On one hand, I''m a petty woman. I spent time making that food. Time preparing a meal to sustain you and your flock. Specifically, I did it for the children; they''ve been through enough, and I didn''t want them waking up to no meal because we ate most of what you had for dinnerst night." Mary''s eyes dropped to the bowl that was now in her hands as I began to make up another te, this one for myself as I continued to speak, not caring if she had understood what I had said or not; uncaring of the way she might view me for what I was saying. "On the other hand, that sort of behavior is not tolerable, least of all in someone as old as she is. Someone who should have seen those wars that you humans seem to believe held any importance to us. What you saw as wars, as battles against a greater force trying to take yournd, the Empire didn''t view as anything more than a border skirmish. The records of the Empire''s wars and significant battles only mention the Three Kingdoms in passing. That is the difference between us, and you. We look at your ''wars'' and scoff, because any random bandits inside our borders could have likely pilfered and destroyed many viges and some cities within yours. Do you understand now? How utterly insane and self absorbed you humans have to be to believe that we would need to stoop as low as poison to remove you from the world of the living? Your average citizen is weaker than some of our children. Why would I need to poison your children? Do you see how stupid that sounds? Thatparison?" Mary continued to stare at her bowl for a few moments more, before looking up at me with gritted jaws, making me scoff as I met her gaze, uncaring of the mixture of emotions that rested inside. "You look and act like someone who''s seen those wars first hand. Maybe not a soldier, but you certainly felt the impacts of them. Tell me then, Custodian, do you think we need poison to get rid of you? Us? A host of Demons, a Princess of the Empire, and a Begum of the Sultanate? Tell me." Silence rose between us as Mary kept staring at me, only to let out a sigh as her shoulders sunk, shaking her head and muttering "No... Just one of you would be enough to kill us all. Former soldiers, former adventurers, none of us would stand a chance." It was my turn to sigh as I observed the defeated expression of the woman in front of me, though they began to brighten slightly as I rested my hand on her shoulder and said "Then it''s a good thing we''re not enemies, right? We''re here to help you now, not harm you. The Empire is different than your Kingdom, sure, but I think you''ll find that we''re more alike than you believe. Just because you are no longer Tragon does not mean you are third rate citizens. Unless youmit a crime, you remain a free woman able to do anything within your means that respects thews. All of you, even her. Just understand that your ''position'' has changed; you are no longer rtively the same strength, same value as everyone else. You''re weak, and that''s alright. Not everyone needs to be strong. Just understand that there are certain things you shouldn''t do to earn yourself public ire and you''ll do well! It''s the same as your old life, just... a tad more power focused." She nodded again, this time wearing a wry smile as she looked back down at the stew, replying "I... understand. I''ll make sure everyone else understands as well. It''s just... I worry that stubbornness and anger might make things difficult, and-" "And they''ll learn through their mistakes. Maybe they''ll think of it as prejudice, maybe they''ll realize that they can''t do certain things without consequences. Where you might have been able to bad mouth someone and not worry about repercussions, in the Empire you''ll learn that you need to be able to ept that there are repercussions, and so long as you aren''t maimed or killed, there is nothing a Guard will do. Make sure they understand that. It''s a tad barbaric, but it''s effective; if you can talk some smack, you can take a smack." Her smile widened a tad at that, and I smiled back at her as I patted her shoulder, only to gesture to her bowl as I said "Eat. It''s getting cold." Looking towards the rest of the humans, my smile faded as I shouted "Eat while its hot! Or don''t; you''re all adults, capable of making your own damn decisions. You can either eat or starve... not like I care." With my own te now properly made up, I made my way over towards Jahi and sat beside her, starting to eat even as I continued to watch the struggling woman from afar, wondering just how long it would take before she cracked. When would she snap and demand aid, or plead for forgiveness and desire to be granted mercy, to have her punishment rescinded? I was curious, so I continued to watch, observing not only her, but the rest of the humans as well. How would they all react..? Chapter 816 815: Table Talk Chapter 816 815: Table Talk The incident with Beckandra undoubtedly earned me in specific the ire of the humans of Custodia, but there was nothing they could do as they ate their meal and watched on from the side, fear and reluctance radiating off of their bodies. But, as Mary made her way around the groups of her people and talked to them, checking on in them and speaking to them individually, she managed to get rid of some of that fear as she did her rounds, informing her people about their new ce inside the Empire and making it clear that there was no need to be difficult. Meanwhile, the meat I had so ''difficultly'' hunted and prepared was devoured until there was little left, with two dozen pounds resting inside the ice chests - a rough estimate, anyways - as well as a fewrge bones, meaning that hunting parties needed to be sent out to acquire some more food for the people. Something that got the Demons excited as they returned to that giant table in the back of the hall, where all the various maps of the nearby area resided as well as a fresh map that I had crudely drawn up to disy the ideal routes, which had been cross referenced and evaluated by the others before being confirmed. Those were the routes that we would follow for the next few days with little divergence, since those were leading towards areas that were apparently rich in monster appearances, which weren''t something the humans were thrilled about,pletely opposite of the Demons who were itching to get going. Another difference that was made obvious between the two races, with the various hunters and adventurers that the humans had showing reluctance to head out; that difference was doubly obvious when Mary informed us of the number of humans willing to head out to hunt anyways. Of the one hundred some odd humans, only a dozen were willing to go hunting, with another dozen remaining back as guards and a handful traveling to the nearby viges to harvest the crops beforeing back. Roughly a quarter of the people here were willing to contribute to their continued survival, with Mary even telling us that another quarter refused to do much of anything, whilst the third quarter wasprised of the elderly and children - a group that could do little of aid anyways. That left another quarter to maintain the hall around us and create a hospitable atmosphere, something that all of us had snorted and shook our heads at; Satanya had made it clear she wanted to see that quarter of people who refused to be of any aid to tell them to either pull their own weight or face some consequences. All in all, it only became more apparent the longer we were here that even when something as disastrous as a city ending event happened, humans were still rather divided people, not wanting to do anything that was best for the collective and instead focus on themselves even when cooperation was paramount. Though, that was a trait every sentient being had, so we weren''t the most surprised or angry at that revtion... only disappointed that they put that trait on disy so readily. At the table, Satanya and Mary were looking over the maps and chatting quietly, before they both looked up when Jahi and I joined them, the two women raising a brow as Jahi decided her best course of action at the moment was to drape herself over my back and hug me close, the Demoness uncaring of where we were as she dozed off above me, all while I was reminded of our intimacy not too long ago as something rubbed against me down below. Thankfully I was able to contain my slight embarrassment as she did that, even as Anput and Leone joined us as well, the two ncing our way with small smiles before pointing towards the maps, both of them too ustomed to Jahi''s actions to care. "How do you want to do this, Satanya? Organize groups and send them out in shifts to keep a constant presence up in the surrounding area? Maybe... teams of five - three Demons, two humans - and send out two teams for two hours, before sending out another two teams to hit a different area? One hunting, one resource gathering?" The rapid fire questions from Anput didn''t do much besides confuse Mary as she looked over towards Satanya next, who nodded as she tapped two specific maps. "Something like that, yeah. We need to clear a path to the Grottos anyways, but now that the people of Custodia are under the banner of the Empire we need to ensure their prolonged survival and begin rebuilding Custodia. That means resources of any kind. Introducing trades to these people and teaching them how to better care for their home, whilst also ensuring they have what they need. We''ll require safe paths here, here, and here. The forest for wood, fruits, herbs and hunting, this quarry for stone and ores, and this path leading up to the Grottos." Mary blinked a few times as she observed what was going on, the Demoness beside her tapping certain parts of the maps and marking them as points of interest, all while her people were being treated not as just hers, but as the Empire''s. "W-Wait. The forest here is safer and closer; why should we switch focuses from the smaller, yet safer Parvus Forest and instead head towards Magna Forest? As for the quarry, don''t you have Earth Magicians in your employ? Why waste the manpower there instead of just having them use their magic?" Satanya smirked as she looked towards Mary, answering her questions calmly even as her fingers continued to tap on the maps, amplifying her reasoning. "This... ''Parvus Forest'' is small. New trees can be grown, yes, but dealing more damage to this forest would do harm not only to its ecosystem, but also to Custodia. So, we''re switching our attention to Magna Forest instead so that we can ensure we''ll still have two forests nearby, instead of just one. As for the Earth Magicians, well... We won''t always be here, and we won''t always be working for free. Currently, we''re settling an honor debt to the Scion of Asmodia, and that makes our services free. After that debt is settled, unless you have the coin, you need to start working to solve your own problems." "Our own..." Muttering to herself, Mary''s eyes widened as she saw Satanya''s smirk widen, the Demoness adding "You do n on remaining in Custodia, correct? Your home? If so, you need to have some ability to manage your infrastructure and the like. Someone here will have a knack for masonry, for carpentry, for farming and for organizing. People always have something they''re good at, it''s just a matter of finding that talent. If not, you can teach people to a certain level, and those skills will eventually develop into something adequate." "You''re... You''re trying to have us be self sufficient enough for the future? But... why?" "Because, Custodian Mary, you and your people are apart of the Empire now. For a while you might be exempt from taxes and the like, but eventually you''ll need to contribute. And eventually people will be moving here to garrison the border of the Labyrinthian. We need you to begin running this city properly, and we can teach you how to do so. You are a member of the Empire, and unless you give us a good reason to take you away from the leadership role of this city, you are the perfect bridge between your people and ours. That is why we are trying to impart trades, knowledge and skills to you and your people." All of us nodded at Satanya''s words, before I added "There might only be a hundred of you, but if there is something that is certain about humans, it''s your ability to reproduce. This hundred will soon grow torger heights, and with new citizensing eventually, well, you need to be able to create a society and maintain it. And currently, you are being reasonable speaking to those that aren''t human, and still have the respect of your fellow humans. Meaning..." "I... You want me to be the person that helps integrate both poptions together, to work and live together inside of Custodia?" We all nodded again, watching as Mary set her jaw and stared at the table, the realization of her position settling onto her shoulders, but thankfully she nodded too and looked back up, her eyes filled with understanding and confidence as she said "I''ll try my best. For all of us..." Chapter 817 816: Downtime (1)

Chapter 817 Chapter 816: Downtime (1)

"Alright, well I''ll get some teams drawn up; Mary, stay with me and give me an idea on the strengths and weaknesses of your people. I''ll call the rest of you back over in an hour or so. Until then, go do whatever. Just remain nearby and otherwise ready to work at a moments notice, so no mysterious disappearances! Got that?" Satanya red at Jahi and I as she said that, with Jahi lifted her head from my shoulder to smirk as she said "Sure, sure..." while I just shrugged, not giving the red skinned woman a definitive answer. Snorting, she just decided to ignore us and get to work, looking down at the maps before grabbing a new piece of paper and jotting some things down, talking to Mary in a quiet voice. "So what are we going to do?" Looking at Jahi, I reached up to pat her cheek as I said "I''m going to be meditating for a bit, figure out how to tap into that new mana some. So... I''m going to need quiet and peace." Pouting, Jahi just looked over at Anput and Leone next, before her pout deepened as I added "And try not to be a disturbance, Jahi. Surely you can find a corner to train in, or perhaps there''s a library in the city somewhere? Just... don''t be a nuisance." "I would NEVER be a nuisance! Hmph... Fine! I''ll take a walk around the city, get an idea on just what state it is in. Leone, want toe with?" Releasing me, Jahi looked towards Leone and smiled as she nodded, before turning to me and smirking as she said "See? Not a nuisance!" I just rolled my eyes at her as I watched her saunter off with Leone beside her, the Vampire stopping to get her notebook as the two made their way out into the city to take a better look around and take notes as well; what needed to be patched, what needed to be evaluated further, and what should just be torn down to make way for something new. All of that was what was going to be on their minds, and I was confident that they would get some valuable work done before or after Jahi has her fun... I could tell even without the bond that she was going to find somewhere suitable to pounce on the Vampire, who walked beside her anticipating said pounce. "Well, I think I''ll bring in some of the metals and set up a forge nearby. Just make some basic weapons and tools for them to use, I guess. Good practice for myself. Though... Do you think you could create a sound barrier around me so I don''t disturb everyone?" My mate stood beside me as she looked around for a good area to create her forge, and I nodded as I pointed towards a far corner that wasn''t being used currently, saying "We can work over there. How much are you nning on making? A lot, or just a little?" "Probably... Well, there isn''t that many fighters, so about six swords and spears, whilst the tools would need to be in more abundance; a dozen pickaxes, axes, hammers, hoes, then some carpentry things like nails, screws, bolts, hinges, locks... Honestly, I have a lot to make, but they shouldn''t take that long to produce." "Alright. Well, let''s get your materials. Leraie! Help us move this stuff inside real quick!" Calling out to the Demoness lingering around the edge of the hall with a few of herrades, I gestured for her toe with Anput and I as we went out to the carriage, the Demoness nodding and following us before helping us bring the materials Anput wanted into the hall, much to the curiosity of the humans inside. Moving it over to the corner we had designated moments earlier, I started to sort through the metals and various tools whilst Anput used her Earth Magic to construct a furnace, then used her Metal Magic to construct a reliable anvil and the remaining tools she needed for forging. When that was all done, the Jackalkin first engraved a Fire Ritual Circle into the bottom of the furnace and ignited it, after which she shoveled some of the coal she brought into the furnace to fuel the mes even more, allowing her to focus on her forging instead of keeping the mes going. After that, she picked up an ingot and got to work, cing it into the mes and organizing her workspace whilst I ced a barrier of wind around her to keep the sound from leaking out, drawing even more attention to this corner as the humans muttered to one another curiously. We both ignored them, and I took a seat just outside of the dome and pulled out one of my notebooks, beginning to go over what I knew about my incredibly brief ability to utilize Lust Mana and try to figure out a way to regain that ability, even if it was in a limited capacity. To start, I took a moment to recall the talk between Cali and I, going over the words she spoke and the potential cluesced within each one, jotting down the obvious and working my way into the nuance. What was immediately crystal clear was that where my Ice Magic was entirely logic driven and based in cold, hard equations, interactions and reactions, truths and falsities, the realm of Lust Magic was entirely driven by emotions and desire. There was no runes to give shape to this type of mana, no sequences orbinations to take the raw product and create something new; with it, you took the mana directly and molded it to your will, something that seemed so foreign to me now that I had been so engrossed and ustomed to the current system of magic I found myself in. Rune Magic and Incantations were both simr branches of magic in the sense that they took the mana and funneled it into a vessel - runes and words respectively - to give them shape and purpose. The runes for a healing spell, the words ''heal'', ''cure'', ''mend'' and more both gave meaning to the mana, and that meaning was set in stone; no matter what, those spells would heal someone, though the strength of the spell depended on the mana. I couldn''t recall ever once seeing Cali truly utilize any runes in her disys, instead just waving her hand and willing her mana to do something that she herself desired; that was the initial clue I had been given, and it was there that I had to start as I began to write whatever came to mind in my notebook. Chapter 818 817: Downtime (2)

Chapter 818 Chapter 817: Downtime (2)

In my spot near Anput''s forge, I used my time wisely as I went over everything I knew about Lust Mana, Pleasure, and my experiences with both of them as best as I could recall. I took a deeper look at them, trying to understand just what I was gifted the chance of beholding during the fight against Tza''Orbias, trying toprehend the powers that Cali wielded so freely and the powers that she promised were within my grasp. If I was correct in my first assumption - that this was a type of magic that worked not on logical sequences and structure, but instead on emotion and willpower - then I would need to begin testing some theories in that regard as well, since that might be the key to unlocking just a sliver of Lust Mana to work with. Having some would be monumental in learning how to gather more and utilize more, since I could replicate what I did to acquire it initially to begin stockpiling a higher quantity of Lust Mana. My next assumption was one of my original ones as well; I needed Pleasure to unlock the ability to utilize Lust Mana. Part of my deal with Cali so long ago had been that I would gather and umte Pleasure for her that was stored in the crest that bound us, and the reasoning she gave me for that was that the Pleasure was what allowed her to restore her previous quantity of Lust Mana, meaning there was a corrtion between Pleasure and Lust Mana. There had to be a way to transform Pleasure into Lust Mana easily, and that was where the words she had spoken to me during the fight against Tza''Orbias came back to the forefront of my hypothesis. I had to desire something - well and truly desire something, anything at all, from sex to blood to love, anything worked so long as I desired it enough - to begin tapping into the ability to utilize the Lust Mana she imparted to me. She had made me voice my desires out loud and confront them head on instead of as just fleeting thoughts; I admitted that I wanted Jahi, Anput and Leone to look at me and only me, that I wanted to be of use to them to the point that they never needed to look anywhere else. I admitted that I desired to have a hand in killing Tza''Orbias, that I wanted to be the one to deal a significant amount of damage to this Fiend that had dared to cause harm to one of the women that I loved with my body, heart and soul. When I had finally admitted that I had those desires, when I had epted them and began to act on them, I was able to grasp and utilize the Lust Mana that Cali had left unlocked inside of my crest, the Arch Fiend allowing me to tap into the power that I was capable of so long as I learned how to wield it. So, that meant that the key to wielding Lust Mana had to lie in a strong, all pervading desire to have or do something, to acquire something no matter what. Ity with my lust to fulfill my sexual needs, my lust to spill blood, my lust to upy the hearts and minds of my three lovers... Tapping my pen against the pages of my notebook, I pursed my lips as I looked over everything that I had just written, reviewing it and trying to formte a good ce to start that would take what I think I knew and give me the ability to act on it properly. There were a few ways I could go about this, since my lusts were varied enough; those three lusts I had, that I admitted and epted were inside of me, where excellent ces to start. Each provided a different beginning for me to explore, and they were easily explored as well. Sex was the simplest; I just needed to repeat my experiments that I had conducted during my first attempt weeks ago with Leone, where I harvested Pleasure from intercourse and used it to fulfill my lust for me. Perhaps leaning into my kinks would provide a more significant yield of Pleasure, and as I indulged in said kinks, I could try to unlock my Lust Mana? Last time, with Leone, I had rather tame sex as I tried to use the Pleasure I was acquiring and turn it into Lust Mana, which resulted in those heightened or lowered sensitivities to pleasure in general... Then there was my bloodlust; if I wanted to kill again, wanted to bring something pain and agony, did that not provide its own sense of pleasure for me? That man in Emor, the one that I had teased and yed with for answers, was that not one of the ways I sought out to assuage my bloodlust? Toying with my prey before pouncing and killing him after getting his mind all sorts of confused as I promised to use him to assuage my sexual appetite, only to kill him afterwards... that provided arge amount of Pleasure for me, and listening to his whimpers and gasps as I ended his life was rather thrilling as well... Then there was the time that I had killed and killed the Cultists beside Adelina, using my Khopesh to butcher them and utterly tear them apart, ensuring they died a bloody, gruesome death... That all provided me Pleasure, did it not? And as such, it was something that I lusted after, something that was buried and more controlled now, but something that I used to crave, something that I needed for release outside of my time spent getting pounded into a bed... Then there was thest of the three major lusts of mine, the lust to be of use to all three of my lovers, to the point that they would never need to look anywhere else for someone to fulfill their needs, to help take care of them, and to join them in battle; that there would be no need for them to ever even think about someone else that wasn''t me. Was that not also something that I craved deep inside my soul? That the bond between Jahi and I, the mark that Anput had made to my pheromone nd, and the mark that Leone had made to me in general when we first made love... was I not craving for those bonds to remain and grow even deeper, so that there was no feasible way to separate us? Could I not act upon that lust to acquire Lust Mana? After all, if I had Lust Mana at my fingertips, I could make them feel pleasures beyond their wildest imaginations, I could fight against Fiends for them, I could be stronger than anyone else we knew... So doesn''t that mean I am lusting after Lust Mana itself? Does that count as a source of desire; my desire to get stronger via the acquisition of Lust Mana, which is desire in magical form? Could I make use of my lust for Lust Mana to pursue my lust for majority possession of my lover''s hearts and minds, which would further amplify my lusts? Where did it stop..? Or could I continuously lust for more and more, never finding an end for the power I craved? Chapter 819 818: Downtime (3) Chapter 819 818: Downtime (3) During my contemtions on just what would epass something that I lusted after - and contemting just how deep my lust might need to be to further unlock my ability to utilize said lust in a corporeal form - someone approached me, casting a slight shadow over my notebook and causing me to look up at whom it might be. To my surprise, standing in front of me was a small, wiry young girl with long, curly brown hair and bit amber eyes, which were currently drifting from my face towards my ears as she looked at me, all while she tried to gather her courage up to speak to me. Seeing that, I smiled gently and asked "How can I help you, little miss~?", which made those amber eyes widen just a tad more before her pale cheeks reddened, though instead of bing so shy that she ran away or remained quiet, the little girl instead pointed towards my head, her curiosity too strong. "W-Why do you have doggy ears on your head? Don''t you have normal ears, like these?" My smile grew slightly bigger as I heard her question, the innocence in it and the way she saw no issue asking something that would otherwise be offensive was the unique privilege of a child, which was made even more apparent as she tapped her own ears, all whilst still staring at mine. "Haha, no, no I don''t. Just these ones; see?" Brushing my hair back, I revealed the t side of my head that would have ears, but didn''t thanks to me being a Dogkin; instead, I only had the tworge, fluffy triangles atop my head, which I twitched to show that they were real. Her eyes widened again as she leaned forwards to see them, before her face brightened as I said "Go ahead, you can touch them. Just don''t tug.", her lips curling into a smile of her own as she reached forwards and did just that. Tilting my head, I let the child stroke my ears, her eager hands rubbing and scratching at them a tad bit rough, but nothing I wasn''t able to handle as she began to smile even more, finding the fluffy, furry ears to be rather enjoyable to caress. "Woah... they''re so soft! So..! Kya~!" Letting out an adorable squeak, the girl continued to rub my head, making me chuckle as I closed my eyes, my more ''animalistic'' side finding this to be even more enjoyable as the various ''pleasure'' nerves were stimted, making me feel good. "C-Can I get ears like this?! Oh, they''re so fluffy~!" I chuckled again, before leaning away from her hand to look her in the eye, which made the girls smile fade slightly as she pouted at me, clearly wanting to pet me some more. "Sadly no, little miss. You won''t be able to grow ''doggy ears'' as a human." Her pout deepened as she asked "Why not?", causing me to pause for a few moments as I tried to figure out a way to word it without being ''mean'', which was proving to be harder than I thought. "Because... sadly, little miss, you were born a pure human girl. Whereas I was born as a Dogkin, a member of the Beastkin race? So even though we look simr, we''re actually rather different." She frowned at that, her amber eyes filled with confusion as she mulled over my words, before nodding as I exined "Think of it this way; you know how there are different kind of dogs in the world? Small, fluffy, floppy eared ones andrge, short haired, defined eared ones? And all the types in between?" "Yeah..? Miss Jenny had a big doggy that she took hunting, while Mister Paul had a tiny doggy that he carried around with him. Like that?" "Like that, yeah. You know how they are both dogs, yet are still so different? That''s... sort of like us; we''re both mortals, but you''re a human and I''m a Beastkin. Currently, you''re that tiny doggy while I''m the big doggy. Does that make sense?" "I... am the tiny doggy? Can I be the bigger doggy?" Tilting her head, the young girl stared at me anxiously, her tone and expression making it clear that she was not too thrilled with that sort of analogy, which made me smile wryly as I waved my hands at her, saying "It''s just a way to help you understand~! You''re still growing, after all; I was just saying that right now, that''s what its like, alright? As long as you keep eating well, exercising, and sleeping good, you''ll eventually grow up to be big and strong." "Really? Billy and Annie always make fun of me for being so small though... Can I really be bigger? Stronger? Like you? Like Miss Mary?" "Certainly! You just need to never give up and focus on yourself, alright? Keep exercising, keep being healthy, and eventually you''ll be able to be big and strong, just like Miss Mary." Her anxiety faded, reced with wonder and anticipation as she nodded, smiling again as she muttered "I can do that..! Yeah!", before looking up at me and grinning, those amber eyes filled with such joy as she threw herself into my arms, making me smile in amusement as I hugged the girl back. "Thanks Miss~! Hehe~! Big and strong..!" When she pulled free, my smile lingered as I watched her scamper away, the young girl making her way through the hall all the way towards a thin, pale man, who was sitting on a bed and holding a ne to his head, muttering something to himself as he prayed, only to look up as the girl approached him, grinning. Watching their interaction, I saw the man look towards me with worry before blinking a few times as I nodded to him, making him blink before he nodded back, a relieved expression clearly written on his face as he turned back towards the girl. My eyes found themselves on the girl once more, and I tapped my fingers against the notebook as I realized that I had ''forgotten'' a fourth major lust of mine, something that Jahi had reignited and fueled the night before. My lust to eventually have children of my own to shower in love and teach the ways of the world, to coddle them healthily whilst watching them grow up to be big and strong, all while having the ability to determine what they wanted that strength to go towards, be it physical, arcane, social, mental... That was what I wanted, and that it was something that I deeply, deeply desired for myself in the future... Chapter 820 819: Downtime (4) Chapter 820 819: Downtime (4) Leone PoV "That was... very much needed~! Thank you so~ so much, Leone..." My cheeks darkened as I looked up at my blue skinned lover, her satisfied expression and warm amethyst eyes making me shiver slightly as I watched her clean herself off before pulling up her pants, signaling the end of our fun times for right now. And considering the scorching heat that was permeating my insides currently, that was likely for the best as I began to clean myself off as well, all while she watched me with an amused smirk from above. "Now, since we''ve gotten that out of our systems, let''s get back to surveying this... fine city, shall we?" Helping me up, Jahi gave me a yful pat just below my waist before pulling me into her side, leading me out of the building and taking a deep breath of the non sex filled air as we resumed our tour of Custodia. "It really isn''t a bad city though, Jahi. Just... damaged." "And inefficient. Theyout is far too... hurried, too cluttered. These buildings are also rather... hideous. I mean, look at the architecture! t, boring surfaces, few windows, the rooftops are t yet aren''t being utilized as gardens or patios... Everything in this city just screams unimaginative and boring." I took a look around and eventually nodded, finding it difficult to justify the style around us even though I knew that these people were likely trying their best to create something wonderful for their home, even if on the outside it looked... nd. "Well, the city has some upsides though. The positioning and some of thend around the city is perfect for supporting a growing poption, while the buildings inside can be upgraded easily; keep the rooftops and just add gardens and the like to each, so that each family can grow their own vegetables, herbs, or just some pretty flowers." I nodded again, taking note of the buildings themselves and deciding which ones were truly unneeded or which ones needed desperate repairs to begin the effort of restoring Custodia, and potentially turning it into something more. "Besides that, there is the potential to expand not only outwards, but upwards as well. Depending on the amount of people that want toe start a new life in Custodia, I think it might also be prudent to work from the city''s center or at least one of the quadrants and add a third and potentially fourth level to those buildings. Use them for governmental work and potentially for merchants as well? Something to help keep jobs in a single location..?" My pen scratched at the paper of my notepad as I walked beside Jahi, doing my best to ignore the sweet scent that clung to her skin, or the way there was just a tinge of musk that her rudimentary cleaning couldn''t get rid of. Or how her big her hand felt on my hip as she kept me close to her, reminding me of just how closely we had been locked together minutes earlier when she had demanded pleasure from me... which I had willingly provided. "Then there is a need for a few market squares, something to bring people together and create an area for trade andmerce, as well as dedicated districts to said things; mercantile districts, housing districts, recreational districts of any~ kind..." Jahi squeezed my hip as she said that, making me jump slightly at the sudden lustful action, only for me to moan as she muttered "Honestly, I think we can just say most of the city needs to be repurposed and reimagined for more efficient utilization of space, so how about instead of touring the city, we make better use of this hour and get back to it my love~?" My blush deepened as she looked down at me with a smirk, those hungry amethyst eyes tracing out my body as she held me closer, her hand firmly attached to my hip before it began to move elsewhere, all while she started to walk me back towards one of the buildings, that hunger growing and growing, disying the voracious, boundless appetite that the Demoness never deigned to hide from people. "W-Well... I-If t-that''s what you... what you want..." Chuckling, she pressed me against a wall and leaned down, her lips finding mine as she kissed me gently, before murmuring "Oh Leone... that is what I ALWAYS want... be it you, Kat, or Anput, I always, always, always want to have a taste of my wives... Anytime, anywhere, I will ALWAYS want to have you... The question is, do YOU want ME?" Kissing my cheek, she moved towards my neck and kissed me some more, all while her hands enjoyed themselves on my waist, the Demoness slipping them beneath my shirt as she added "I will always ask before hand, unless the answer is as clear as crystal... So tell me, Leone, do you want me?" Moaning softly at the warmth of her hands on my skin, I tilted my head to the side and gave her better ess to my neck, the Demoness greedily kissing and nipping at my flesh and doing as she pleased, marking it for herself despite not having fangs like Anput or I. "W-Well... I... I..." The need for me made her movements and kisses slightly rough, stoking my needy, submissive side perfectly as we enjoyed ourselves against the side of a building, the open air around us and the bright light of the sun keeping everything thrilling as I wondered briefly if we might get caught, but... "Yes, my Princess? What is it~?" The amused tone of my Demoness made me shiver, before I finally managed to say "W-What did y-you and Kat do, lst night..?" She paused, before her eyes sparkled ''dangerously'' as she whispered "Oh, we had ourselves a nice time in the forest... I pinned her down and beat her into submission before trying to get her pregnant... I used her for my own pleasure and sought out even more as I tried to get her knocked up with my child..." Gulping, I blinked a few times as the Demoness'' smile grew sharper, before I was barely able to let out a moan as she pulled me into the building to show me exactly what she had Kat had done, all while we were supposed to do some touring and note taking of the city. Though, I think anyone could argue that what we ended up doing was far more important, this hour being spent in the best way possible... Well, we both agreed on that, at least... Chapter 821 820: Downtime (5) Chapter 821 820: Downtime (5) Kat PoV My eyes lingered on the man and the young girl for a few moments more before I looked back down at my notebook, flipping to a page and writing down all four of my primary lusts so that I could go over them further, trying to find a way to perhaps link them together and create an interconnected web that would empower one another. With the listplete, I let out a low sigh as I tapped my pen against the page, taking a few moments to think it over before deciding that for the time being, focusing on one would be enough of a start to try some of my many hypothesis. The one I chose was the one that was rather simple and important enough for cultivating this ''new'' power that I was finally able to think of harnessing; I went with my lust to be strong enough that my three lovers would never, ever feel the need to ask someone else for help ever again. I could enchant things, I could do some basic alchemy, I could maintain weaponry, I could fight, I could defend, I could cook... The list of what I was capable of was rather long, and ensuring that that list was able to bepleted to a high level was something that I took pride in, and being able to be stronger meant being able to do those things better; a deeper mana pool, a higher level of physical strength and speed, endurance... So, I closed the notebook and shut my eyes, pulling my focus from the outside of my body and sending it inwards, where I began at the organ that housed all of my mana, shrouding it in my attention and harnessing the mana that resided inside. Releasing some of the mana into my veins, I guided the mana from my Core down towards the crest that adorned my groin, the pink tattoo filled with the Pleasure from hours before, where Jahi had made true to my desires and filled me with her own desires, even though we both knew they were for naught. To start, I split my attention from my mana and began to focus on the Pleasure as well, that unique energy swirling aroundzily inside my crest and taunting me as it did so, fleeing away from my attempts to harness it and ''watching'' me warily. However, as my mana seeped into the crest, that unique energy began to get curious, and as I calmly, gently, and slowly introduced that Pleasure to my mana, the two began to mingle together, reminding me of how I had introduced my Water Mana to my Wind Mana. And just like when I needed tobine my two elements together to get the strongerbined element of Ice, I needed to find the correct bnce of a firm hand with the gentle caress needed to get the two to mix properly. But besides that bnce, there was a whole other ingredient needed to get everything mixed together properly, to acquire the thing that I needed in order to get stronger, was bringing my own emotions and desires into this usually logicalbination of ingredients. So, I began to do just that, starting off with that logicalbination as I began to merge the mana with the Pleasure, seeping my Ice into the fleeting, jittery, yet potent pink energy that swirled around in my lower body, its source still lingering as well... As the ethereal pale blue mana mixed with that pink energy, I took a deep breath and pursed my lips as I ''watched'' the pink energy begin to pull away, not wanting to embrace the cold mana near its side, but as it did that, I closed my mana around it and reintroduced the two together, all while my desire to capture this energy for myself made itself known. Initially, the Pleasure had tried to repel my mana, pushing it back and doing so quite fiercely, but as soon as I began to show my desire for this power, show the need I had for it so that I might get stronger, it grew sluggish and malleable, allowing my mana to reintegrate with it so that I could capture it. When I had first tried to do this, back when Cali had showed me this power and told me I could potentially harness it for myself, I hadn''t been showing a desire to get it that wasn''t deeper than surface level; I wanted it for no specific reason other than to have it, to just say I did it. Now, however, I wanted it because it would make me even stronger, that it would allow me to take that strength and turn it into something that I could use to earn the appreciation and admiration of my lovers. So that I could captivate them once again. That was why I desired this power now, and there was not a single chance that I would let it evade me again; I had tasted it before, and I wanted to taste it again. I wanted this power for myself, so that I could ensure I got stronger no matter what. That desire was what was missingst time, and now, as I nketed the pink in a pale blue cloud, I took a deep breath as I wondered if I was able to do that, only to grit my teeth as the pink energy rebounded and red with power again, pushing my mana back. Willing my mana to return to the fringes of the crest, I began to build up more and more mana inside the crest before sending it forwards in a wave, epassing the pink energy with my mana and taking a more forceful approach as I once more seeped my mana inside the Pleasure. A chill spread throughout my body, followed by a wave of numbness as the pink red once more, though this time it began to sap my body of all feeling as itbated against my mana. But, even as I felt my body numbing and felt my mind gradually lose any sense of emotion, I pushed forwards and fueled my mana once more, this time separating the Pleasure into groups and working away at it separately. Chapter 822 821: Power Unlocked..?

Chapter 822 Chapter 821: Power Unlocked..?

With the Pleasure now separated into four equal groups, I began to work away at each independently, my concentration on a single group meaning that the other three were left to mingle together without issue, the Pleasure not sensing any ''danger'' as it was shrouded with Ice Mana. The group that was the center of my attention however did sense ''danger'', fighting back against my efforts to tame and rein in this unique power as I continued to meditate by my lonesome, doing my best to understand this problem I had as I searched for an answer. With these smaller groups, I began to work away at them quicker, the potency of the Pleasure no longer as high thanks to being separated, and when I tried to begin integrating that pink into my blue, the efforts of the pink to repel my blue was far weaker than before as well; my entire body no longer went numb, nor was I sapped of all of my emotions, instead having to deal with a tingling that traveled along my body that came with a slight difort, like that portion of my body was no longer my own. It was still jarring and rather scary to deal with - imagine feeling like the hand you''ve had since you were born was no longer yours, but instead someone else''s, listening to a brain that wasn''t your own; that was how scary it was, since I could feel the muscles and nerves there doing whatever they pleased with not a care for what I was doing already. Muscles clenching or rxing, spasming, or having your skin feel foreign, all while you were trying to concentrate on aplex problem that demanded 110% of your brain toplete; that was what I was going through right now, and I couldn''t afford to mess up. The pink energy that I was currently focusing on only made that more apparent as it began to eat my mana, chewing through the blue cloud around itself and freeing itself from containment, before ring and rushing into my body, sending a wave of orgasmic pleasure throughout my nervous system followed by apleteck of any feeling. Gritting my teeth, I held back a moan as I felt that insane high, only to gasp softly as it was followed by an equally insane low as all of my receptors deactivated for a single moment, leaving me with that terrifying feeling that I had gone through when I first began this journey. Floating through nothingness andpletely devoid of any ability to feel emotions or sensations... simply drifting in an expanse of nothing at all. Now that I had three left, I grit my teeth harder and began to grasp those strands of pink energy and weave them together with my Ice Mana, gently entwining the two different things together and trying my best to ensure the pink energy wasn''t able to escape. I filled the crest with my consciousness, focusing entirely on that new ''container'' that had been added to my body, and made sure that the contents were there to stay; that they knew they were going to be mine as I stubbornly wove the two different things together, trying to marry them in a perfectbination. Abination that I began to move from that crest up towards my Core, shivering as I felt this alternatingbination of intense heat and deep cold traveling through my veins, but my determination and concentration was not going to be broken as I guided it from the crest up into my chest, taking it through the pathways that led towards my heart and my Core, even as that heat and that cold made it impossible to breathe, or how they made both of those organs ache fiercely, trying to rob me of my determination and concentration. And yet, despite the pain, despite the inability to breathe, I still managed to guide thisbination of pink and blue into my Core, which made me gasp as a rush of ecstasy washed over my body, making me shudder as I felt such joy at this new energy upying my Core. Specifically, the pathways that I had used to transfer that mixture from the crest to my Core were the real treasure, since now they were permeated with that pink energy, which as I began to weave together another of the bundles together inside the crest, I noticed that as I guided it towards my Core it traveled far smoother than before... Those pathways were getting stronger and stronger as they were bathed in thisbination, allowing them to take and contain that alternating heat and chill that I had felt earlier to a better degree, making it far easier to transfer raw Pleasure up into my Core to be used with my mana. Each moment that this concoction of power was traveling through my body, I noticed that the areas around it would get slightly stronger and more resilient, though that was truly to a minute degree as the Pleasure seeped into the areas around the pathways, making it more sensitive before dissipating as the energy moved into my Core, which was slowing being tinged pink. If before it ''looked'' more like a ball of frigid pale blue ice that contained a tornado swirling above a pool of water, now it was a blueish pink ball of ice containing those two things; only the Ice Mana was changed, though when I tapped into the two elements that made up said Ice, I could tell that they too were tinged pink. As I went back to my crest for thest remaining bundle of Pleasure, I could only moan as it escaped before it could be woven in, the energy bursting out of my mana''s embrace and flooding my body once more, making me shiver as I felt my midriff grow hotter and hotter, which was thanks to the Pleasure lingering around that area, stoking something in me. But, like the other times, it faded as I concentrated on the linger energy, causing it to dissipate and fade away, leaving me panting beside the Wind Dome that I had created for Anput. Chapter 823 822: Progress

Chapter 823 Chapter 822: Progress

?It took me a few moments to relegate my emotions back to normal levels again, with that euphoric high that I had felt slowly fading as I emptied my mind of anything I could, leaving it nk and allowing myself to rx again. My Core alternated between hot and cold as it rode out that wave of euphoria, until it too faded to a normal level, leaving the mana inside to mingle with the new pink energy that I had managed to harness somewhat. When I inspected the interior of my Core again, I sighed as I took note of what exactly was inside; my Water Mana swirling around at the bottom, forming a pool of frigid dark liquid that promised to steal your breath away, all while a sharp gale of Wind Mana roared above it, forming a tornado that scratched the surface of that pool. Around it was a sphere of solidified, freezing Ice that epassed the entirety of my Core, which was abination of deep blue, green, pale cyan, and now... pink. But, where the deep blue, green, and pale cyan were thick and viscous, dripping with power andpletely opaque, that pink was transparent and thin, drifting aroundzily between the Water and Wind Mana before finding its home inside the Ice Mana, swirling around my Corenguidly and enjoying itself as it did so. Tapping it, I injected it into some of my Ice Mana and moved that out of my Core and into my hand, tracing out runes and noting instantly that the coloring was different; cyanced with a pink outline and middle appeared at my fingertips, and I could tell instantly that the power difference between this and a normal rune was immense. However, that source of power was quite clear; the pink energy that I used wasn''t replenished like my Ice Mana was, meaning that it was now a limited resource that needed to be cultivated and harvested regrly. And since it wasn''t as thick as my mana, that made me think that the pink energy wasn''t on the level of being Lust Mana just yet... or at least not a true mana like what I had already; perhaps ''Mana Lite'' if I was going to be generous, but nothing else. Which begged the question: what did I need to do to get Lust Mana itself? True, proper Lust Mana, and not this trial version of it that I had now; did I need more of it, or perhaps I just needed to limate myself to it to extract more of the power from the Pleasure I had gathered before? Both were incredibly feasible possibilities that I needed to investigate, but for now this was a significant gain on its own, amplifying my abilities by quite a fair amount, but... To say I was satisfied with what I now had would be a lie, since I was rather annoyed that I had not?only lost two bundles of Pleasure but also that the rewards I got for this was rather... minuscule inparison. I wanted more. I NEEDED more of this power... Sadly, the source of this power was empty inside my crest, leaving me with no way to gather more pink energy to give me an edge over whatever awaited us around Custodia, so I stood up and brushed myself off,ing to terms with it and walking into the Wind Dome to check on Anput and what she had done during my meditation. The instant I stepped from outside of the barrier to inside of it, I was greeted by the wave of sound as Anput hammered away at the ingot on her anvil, the heavy metal mallet in her hands rising and falling rhythmically as she shaped the metal from a simple ingot into a t square. Beside her, sitting on a stone table that she had made for herself were a half dozenpleted des, each one waiting to be fitted with a handle and sharpened to a keen edge. Looking up from her forge, Anput rested the hammer on the anvil and gave me an enthusiastic smile, her olive skin slick with a thin sheen of sweat as she asked "Finally done meditating or whatever? Could use some help to round out this batch here." "Yes, I finished my... ''meditating or whatever''..." The Jackalkin just chuckled as she moved the ingot back into the mes, her ebony hair glimmering in the firelight as she said "Did it go well? You seemed to have rather fluctuating emotions there for a minute." "It went wonderfully, though it could have always been better. You want these sharpened or fitted first?" "Fitted. What went ''wrong'' with your meditation? Mishap on your end, just not get the result you wanted? Still feel stressed or something?" I picked up a block of wood andid the tang of one of the des on it, using a needle of ice to carve out the outline before thickening the needle into a chisel, which I used to begin chipping out the section I outlined to allow me to rest the tang inside. "A mishap. There were these four bundles of energy that I was trying to convert into mana, right? Well, one of them escaped from my grasp before I could even try to convert it, whilst another battled against me and won, though the remaining two were cooperative enough... but that still wasn''t ideal." "Got half of them though. Cup half full, no? It could have been worse, and now you have a better idea on how to convert this... energy. Is it that Lust Mana that ''Caligo uses?" Resting the tang into the block, I nodded as I started on the next, which would be glued and pinned together to create the hilt. "Yes. Whenever I have... a lust fulfilled, I receive ''Pleasure''. An energy that collects inside that crest I have. Trying to convert it into Lust Mana is difficult, but I managed to do it... sort of. It''s rather thin and weak at the moment." "Well, again, you DID get something from it, no? That''s a start, and if I am understanding this correctly, well..." The Jackalkin just grinned at me, winking as she let that part remain unsaid before she returned to shaping her ingot, ttening one side and beginning to taper it to a crescent as she created an axehead. That just made me roll my eyes, but I smiled back at her as I shook my head, finding it amusing that the rather ''childish'' woman was the one reassuring me instead of the other way around. But, it was something I hade to expect from her, these moments of reassurance and positivity, even if sometimes they were apanied by either her own crassness or a slight. Chapter 824 823: Assignments

Chapter 824 Chapter 823: Assignments

?"And... there we go. Six perfectly mediocre swords and one carpenters axe. Should be a nice refurbish for the minute amount of fighters these humans have..." I smiled at the small amount of disdain that dripped from her voice, my mate shaking her head at the idea of a majority of these humans not knowing how to at least wield a de properly... or at the very least, be able tofortably lift and swing one. As if sensing that, she looked up at me and shook her head again, saying "I mean, really? Isn''t it kinda sad that its only like a dozen, maybe two dozen out of these hundred survivors? That''s pathetic... Back home, in the Sultanate, even the cowards at least understand how to lift a de and swing it properly! Though, again, they are cowards, so no on expects anything from them." "Anput, they are from an entirely different culture than us, and the location is vastly different. You grew up in a harsh, deadly desert ruled by the strong, they were born into the bountiful ins and fertilends of a temperate climate. They never needed to pick up a sword." She just snorted, her obsidian eyes filled with derision as she replied "And that''s why they lost their homes so easily to the Empire, is it not? This... weakness that permeates them?" At that, I just shrugged as I finished shaping the hilt of thest sword, the wood no longer in the shape of a block but instead shaped like a cylinder, which would do better if wrapped with some leather to cushion the grip, but for now they were done. "Well, not all of them are... weak or bad. Besides, now that they are apart of the Empire, they need to adapt quickly, or they''ll find themselves left behind, all on their lonesome." "Like that old bitch from earlier?" I tried to hold back a giggle at that, only to fail as I nced towards the older woman - Beckandra - that had tried to ''save'' the children from being poisoned by me, but the audacity of such an elderly woman doing what she believed was heroic even though it was idiotic was far too amusing as I just nodded. "Yes, just like that dear olddy... I would like to think that the youth will adapt and ept a new life beneath the Empire; the adults are another question, but one that holds little importance in the grand scheme of things." "That''s true... Oh, there''s Jahi and Leone~! Could Leone be any more obvious about what they were doing though?" Following Anput''s gaze, I chuckled as I shook my head, answering "No, no she couldn''t..." as I observed the Demoness and Vampire that walked back into the hall, their hips practically glued together as Jahi held Leone by the waist. Leone had one hand on Jahi''s hip and the other stroking her abdomen, which she had to be doing unconsciously as she looked around with a slightly red face, her cheeks blushed as she tried to see if anyone could tell what they did... which was made even more obvious by her actions. And considering the way she was leaning on Jahi to walk, well, only those that had no idea what sex was weren''t aware of what had transpired, which made me shake my head while Anput whistled inside the Wind Dome. "Must''ve been a nice session huh~?" Rolling my eyes, I swatted Anput''s hand and cancelled the spell, picking up some of the weapons and making my way towards the table, which was the target of Jahi and Leone as well. Mary and Satanya were still located at the table too, with the mature woman writing some things down as she listened to Satanya''s low voice, the red skinned Demoness sitting on the table and watching Mary closely, before turning to shake her head as she saw Jahi and Leone. "Wee back~! Have fun, Princess?" A smile loosely hung on her lips as she looked Leone over, causing the pair to shuffle closer together as they met her gaze, though as Satanya followed that up with "I do believe you were going to do some work, no?" Leone blushed some more, realizing that we all knew what had happened, much to the hidden amusement of the Demons around the table as well as Anput and I. "We did! Most of the buildings here need desperate improvements anyways; the t rooftops are perfect for either patios or gardens, and the streets are at least well nned. Besides that, just build upwards for another story or two on the houses and we''ll be able to fit more people of any kind. Also, this city is in desperate need of districting. Here, Leone wrote it all down for you." Jahi tossed a book onto the table and gestured at it, causing Satanya to reach forwards and roll her eyes at the other Demoness'' actions before flipping through the pages, scanning what was written down. "Alright. We''ll need to take a better look anyways, but it''s a start. Now, let''s move on to the more important things, shall we? Refurbishing this hall - at the very least - and restocking our supplies. Food and wood are the primary goals for now, so I want the first team to head to this vige here to harvest the remaining wheat and fruits from the orchard, while the other team heads to Magna Forest to begin harvesting some wood and hunting whatever is nearby. That''ll let the second group of teams to go deeper into Magna Forest to hunt some monsters and clear the area. Sound good?" Looking around at the others, Satanya nodded at the confirmations we gave her, before the woman said "We''ve alreadye up with the teams, so listen up! Katherine, Leone, Leraie, Jackie and Harry, you''re team one; go to this vige and harvest as much as you can before returning in two hours time. Team two is Jahi, Anput, Nakith, Amanda and Zachary; head to the forest and start hunting and cutting down some trees to be transported back. Team three-" Chapter 825 824: Patrol

Chapter 825 Chapter 824: Patrol

?"At least the weathers nice, hm? Nice clear skies, barely a cloud in sight... slight breeze and warm. Matches this quaint vige rather nicely." I nodded as I stood beside Leraie, the two of us looking over the empty vige for a few moments before I turned and waved the other three over, watching as Leone led the man and woman towards us with a brisk walk. Jackie was a shorter, yet rather stout young woman, her ck hair pulled into a messy bun behind her head whilst the leather and monster scale armor she wore hung loosely over her lithe frame, all while it added to her rugged appearance and serious expression. Sharp brown eyes and a permanent frown gave her a resting expression that many wouldn''t want to approach, though beneath thaty a rather calm and rxed woman who was just living in the moment, focusing on the here and now and wringing out as much as she could from each and every second. Meanwhile, Harry had a rxed outwards expression as he smiled and looked around curiously, his height just above my own whilst his broad shoulders and muscr arms disyed his strength freely, though it was apparent that he wasn''t as bulky as before thanks to a forced diet, but even then he was just naturally ratherrge. HIs imposing physique was soothed by his smile and friendly demeanor, and so far both he and Jackie had remained quiet, leaving most of their personalities shrouded, though what I did grasp was that he was just as rxed and jovial as his face would suggest, but that didn''t mean I was willing to stop observing him or Jackie just because of cursory inspections. Either way, I looked away from the two humans and instead returned my attention towards the vige, waiting for them to approach before I asked "Did Mary already have you go through the vige itself, or did you onlye here to harvest the crops?" "Ah, she had us check the houses too, Miss. Wasn''t much of use to be found here, but we did check." Harry''s voice was slightly rough, matching his body perfectly, while his words were spoken clearly despite the slight drawl on his ''ee''s. "Good. Well, let''s get to harvesting I guess. Leone, keep watch over the ins please. Don''t particrly care for a monster attack at the moment..." The thatch huts and wooden houses werepact and built together in rings around fire pits, with there being three rings total smack dab in the middle of a giant field of wheat. Beneath the unblocked rays of the sun, we were surrounded by a sea of golden grain that was begging to be harvested, with the only other ssh of coloring from the trees that were nted in their own ring nearby, ripe fruits hanging from their branches waiting to be picked. It was an abundance of food that we had found here, and all it needed was to be harvested and refined from its raw state into something that was edible, which wouldn''t be difficult at all; grain took a little bit of work to turn into anything edible, sure, but itsted long enough as flour and was both filling and nurturing when turned into bread, so long as some of the grain was left alongside the flour. Boring, tedious, slow, but it was easy to harvest, especially as Leraie and I introduced our magics into the equation to make harvesting easier; I utilized my Wind Magic to create sickles that harvested the wheat in wide arcs before carrying it back to me to be bundled up, while Leraie used her Earth Magic to do something simr, albeit slower. Meanwhile, Jackie and Harry were chopping away with sickles they had brought along, cing the bundles on carts and working the normal way as they harvested this bounty alongside us, all while Leone watched from a nearby rooftop as she kept watch. Each wave of my hand resulted in another swath of wheat falling to the ground, before a second wave brought what was cut back towards me to be bundled up and tossed onto a cart, making me sigh slightly as I looked around and wondered what the other team was up to. This was another of those conundrums that you never really expect to be in until you are right in the middle of it; it being uneventful was good, since that meant we could harvest more and work uninterrupted, but it was also so dreadfully boring and slow that you almost wanted something to happen, which made you think about how bad that would be before you found yourself stuck in a loop of thinking about how tedious this was and how you wanted to do something else, but knowing that this was what you needed to do and that- Yeah... All in all, I have to admit that this wasn''t what I was thinking of when I thought of us going to the Terracotta Grottos, and while this wasn''t that ''fun'' or engaging, considering everything that had happened in recent times, perhaps this period of boring nothingness was exactly what we needed. A few days to rx and reset our minds so that when something did inevitably happen, we could be prepared to react to it ordingly... Humming to myself at my brilliant round of reasoning as to why this nd period of time was required, I eventually realized I had harvested more than enough wheat and turned to focus on getting what I had harvested bundled up properly and sorted through, getting rid of the bad stalks and tossing the rest onto the cart to be taken back to Custodia. Leraie and I had harvested a good amount of wheat, with the extras from the two humans adding enough to make me rather pleased with this outing, knowing that this would be enough for a few days at the very least on its own, which wasforting to think about. Chapter 826 825: Aiding Custodia (1)

Chapter 826 Chapter 825: Aiding Custodia (1)

?Unsurprisingly, our first patrol ended rather uneventfully and quietly, with Leraie and I creatingrge wagons to store the wheat before pulling them back to the city alongside Jackie and Harry, the four of us exerting even more physical effort as we transported arge amount of grain back to Custodia to be used for bread. We had decided that the grain alone would be the best thing to harvest at the moment, so we left the orchards alone for now and instead returned before the two hour mark passed, ensuring we would return within the timeframe that Satanya had given us. nd and tedious to the extreme, but when it was over it was something that we could appreciate, the sheer amount of golden grain resting inside the wagon enough to make those long two hours worth it since this would feed the humans for many days toe on its own. When we returned to Custodia, the other two teams were preparing to head out as well, the three Demons and two humans in each group talking quietly amongst themselves as they reviewed their assignments and got to know one another. As we were storing the bountiful harvest away into the hall that everyone lived in, Jahi and Anput returned with their teams, the Demoness carrying a giant green furred deer of some kind across her shoulders, whilst Anput had a few fat birds hanging from her shoulders as well; the others were hauling sledsden with logs back into the city, all five of them disying their haul proudly. "Wow... That''s..." Mary stood in front of us, the mature woman appraising both of our hauls with wide eyes, her surprise at this one singr expedition from both of us yielding so much bing as clear as crystal as she shook her head in wonder. "Quite a bit... So much wheat! And that deer! It''s a monster, isn''t it?! And yet..! Wow..." I chuckled softly at the amazement in the gaze of the older woman, continuing on with my work as I loaded the wheat into barrels to be stored until their eventual use, all while Jahi and Anput began to work on butchering the monsters that were shrouded in mana, working quickly before they could dissipate. We all worked swiftly, with Leone and I beginning to grind the wheat down into flour, which we stored inside rough sacks, while the meat was stored inside some of the ''permanent'' ice chests I had created to keep cool and fresh for a few more days. Our work took a bit of time, and when we finished up we made our way over to Satanya and Mary to go over the map again, informing them of our activities and nning the second - and final - patrol for ourselves on the day. Two total outings per team per day was the agreement that we came to, and for Leone and I we decided that it''d be best if we just remained as harvesters for now, agreeing to clear out a certain section of the forest and hunt whatever was nearby for this second and final outing. Meanwhile, Satanya wanted Jahi and Anput to press deeper into the forest to clear out some more of the monsters and begin clearing a path up towards the Grottos, which was our goal in a few days time. It had been decided that we would aid the humans long enough to ensure that they had enough food for a week or two when we finally left, allowing them to survive on their own until a fresh group of Demons are sent out to continue developing and repairing this city. To do so, we needed to replenish their resources - materials, food, water, and medicines - as best we could, whilst also cutting down the surrounding monster poption to a manageable degree. With that in mind, we waited for the second set of teams to return before heading out once more, the sun beginning its slow descent down to the horizon, giving us more than enough sunlight to work as we made our way towards Magna Forest, albeit in two different directions. Guiding my team towards the fringes of the forest, I located the area that we had deemed as receable and began to order my team around as I designated certain trees for removal and had Leone inspect the herbs that grew around the trees for anything useful, all while I kept my eyes on the depths of the forest just in case. The sounds of axes chopping into the trunks of the trees reverberated throughout the forest, and unsurprisingly some monsters became curious enough to investigate, bringing a smile to my lips as I swiftly and cleanly dispatched them, getting myself a few different meats to work with for these uing days, as well as a deeper understanding on what lived inside the forest. Those birds that Anput had hunted were the most abundant - Stone Beak Dodo''s - which were fat birds about three feet tall and a foot wide, with w studded wings and sharp talons waiting to rend flesh, though the deadliest part of them was their jagged, heavy beak that threatened to snap bone with one crunch. Four of them appeared at once, and I listened to their screech once before swiftly lopping their heads off, before getting to work in butcher the meaty birds, which were an abundant source of protein and soft feathers. Then there was the other two monsters that approached us as well, with the first being the more worrying of the two. Silently getting within a dozen feet of me, a scaled, camouged monster crept closer and closer, not alerting me until it was almost toote as it hissed, causing me to turn towards it and raise a shield of ice, which blocked a gobbet of acidic spit that sizzled against the barrier. A crest of feathers red around its neck as it raised its head, the monster looking like a cross between a Komodo Dragon and a feline as it began to run forwards at a high speed, baring its serrated fangs and long forked tongue. Sadly for it I was faster, and I used the curved edge of my Khopesh to slit its throat, revealing the venom sac that red as it tried to spit again, only to realize it couldn''t now that its throat was cut in two. Not the strongest physically, but instead rather hard to spot and able to get close to me without alerting me, which was worrying in and of itself, meaning it was a damn good hunter since it wasn''t spotted until thest moment. As for thest monster, it was a basic cat like monster that had stone ws and a nasty set of teeth, though it was rather weak and smallpared to the others. Of the three, that Viridian Latro was the most dangerous monster, whilst the Rock Ocelot was cute and the Stone Beak Dodo were wonderful sources of food. The others managed to get a few trees felled and cut into logs, while Leone had a satchel of herbs that she could use to brew into some basic potions, meaning this was quite the haul as well. Chapter 827 826: Aiding Custodia (2)

Chapter 827 Chapter 826: Aiding Custodia (2)

?Besides our patrols that went out twice a day for two hours each, there was other things that needed to get done inside the city as well, things that took up a good amount of time and were just as important. Anput was aided by a few of the Demons and two humans at the forge, which we moved to a nearby building so that they would have more space and be far enough away from us that the hammering was no longer an issue. They were working on forging an arsenal of weaponry to arm the popce as well as getting some tools together to help in other everyday tasks, like axes, hammers, chisels and pickaxes, all of which was set aside on racks for general storage. Leone and Ammit worked together to brew as much as they possibly could with the ingredients we had avable, concocting vats of potions from very little that would help keep the people healthy and able bodied. In all honesty, the potions were subpar and considered waste in most of the Empire, but here they were treated like an ambrosia by the humans, who had rarely seen potions, let alone potions in such abundance. The potions themselves were slow acting health potions that helped treat minor wounds and illnesses, which was good for these people, but nothing that would be lifesaving; for that, Ammit convinced Leone to create a highly concentrated batch of ''super potions'' that would be able to heal most semi lethal wounds. Then there was myself, working with the humans to turn the meats we had an abundance of into jerky just in case, to create a store of foodstuffs that were able to withstand a few months in these cool temperatures. Jerky, flour and nuts were the main things stored away, and we worked quickly to turn whatever we could into non perishables, before turning towards making some other foodstuffs that wouldst a bit longer - albeit slightly - like biscuits and nut butters, which we ced into jars and sealed with cloth and twine. That was when the idea came to check on some of the further viges for cows or other bovines, which would be a good source of food eventually as well as milk, and to also look for any other farm animals that could be brought here to be taken care of and reared. If we had ess to milk and eggs, that would increase the variety in the menu and add another thing to nurture these people, while the wool from sheep and feathers from any birds would providefort. The feathers from the Dodo monsters were being put to use already to create pillows and duvets to keep everyone warm at night, while the extra hides had been turned into clothing to rece the tattered attire of the survivors. Meanwhile, Jahi worked alongside Satanya and Mary to go over the city and what needed to be torn down, repaired, reced and such, drawing up new ns for the city and going over the pros and cons of every decision that they coulde up with, which turned into lengthy conversations between the Demons and humans as they argued practicality against sentimentality, trying to find that middle ground that would allow harmony and inspire change, though that was apparently difficult to achieve. Mary was willing to concede certain things for change, but some of the other humans were clearly not, arguing about the importance of structures and how the decision should be left to them, which was beginning to test the patience of Satanya and Jahi as they continued to calmly describe why change was needed. "This isn''t your city, nor was it ever apart of the Empire! These buildings - the Maxim House, Primas Studio and Aperta Theater - are all historical locations that hold deep meaning inside the hearts of the citizens of Custodia! Us! Not you!" A middle aged man red at the two Demonesses as he stabbed his finger down onto the new map, while a slightly younger woman beside him nodded and added "Besides, the city stood for centuries as it was! Why change what clearly doesn''t need fixing?!" A chorus of agreements came from the surrounding humans, and I sighed as I saw the humans working beside me leave their stations to go join in, leaving two Demonesses to help me finish everything up. "Max, Alyssa! It''s alright! They''re not suggested everything get torn down, just that we make some changes for the future. Remember, it''s not just-!" "Really?! You call yourself a ''Custodian'', and yet you''re alright with them tearing away our history from us?! We make a change here, we give them this inch, they''lle back demanding a foot next! Then a yard, then a mile! Where will it end?!" Max leaned forwards and shouted at Mary, who just let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, the mature woman shaking her head and falling silent, her posture slumping as she expressed her exhaustion - physically and mentally - without meaning to, which gave her charges the opportunity to pounce. Sadly for them, Satanya pped her hand against the table and asked "Alright then smart guy. Tell me, what was the poption of this city again? Roughly a few thousand, correct?" As soon as Max nodded, Satanya pressed forwards, her eyes glued to his as she said "And the average height of a human is what, five foot eight? Five nine? Average weight varies between male and female, but lets be generous and say one fifty average between both. Sound correct? Well, let me tell you about Demons. Average height is in the mid sixes; already a head taller than humans. That adds more weight, then there''s the fact that on average, all Demons are muscr. Even more weight. Which makes us even bigger then humans, and not just in height. Please tell me where you think we would fit inside this city?" "Nowhere, because you don''t belong here! It''s OUR city, not yours!" "Really? Do you honestly believe that?" Satanya rolled her eyes as she gestured around the hall, adding "Take a look around. A good, long look around. Then tell me that again." The man did as he was asked, and as he turned to observe his fellow humans, he caught the unmistakable horned heads of the Demons standing around the outside of their group, before his eyesnded on the carts and wagonsden with materials and food. Others began to do the same, while Mary sighed again and leaned against the table, the woman exasperatedly asking "Max, do you want to say that again? Can you not use those eyes of yours to see how in just a single day, we went from worrying about our next meal, worrying about the chilly nights, to being able to confidently say we have a good chance of surviving to next month? Let''s not even talk about the Demons standing around us with steel sharp enough to cut through stone and mana that''s even stronger. Let''s not discuss the Princess of the Empire happily concocting potions - Gods be damned POTIONS - over there. Or the Caninekin that has churned out more steel in a day then we are currently armed with? What, pray tell, is our HISTORY doing for us at this point and time?" The humans looked towards Mary as she spoke, and before the man could speak again, their Custodian silenced him with a re as she said "You asked me why I call myself a Custodian? Because none of you were able to get your heads out of your asses when we came back to naught by ashes and rubble. I rallied us together, I organized us, I gave you direction and purpose. I gave us a chance, a hope that we could keep living, a chance to continue on in the stead of those that died. Custodia and its history is not gone, and it never will be gone. What the FUCK does a building mean?! Who gives a damn about the Maxim House?! What do they mean without a story attached to them? Do you care about the building, or the meaning that was behind it? Maxim was a founder of Custodia, yes, but what would Maxim say now that Custoida is in ruin? That its people are ughtered? Tell me what Maxim would say. Go on. I know YOU know it." The man gulped as Mary continued to re at him, sweat appearing on his brow while he wrung his hands out, nervousness settling in as he was singled out. "As... As long as there is a... a heart beating with our peoples blood, Custodia shall continue to live on." "Is your heart still beating? Is my heart not still beating? Are these one hundred other people''s hearts not beating?! Well?! ARE THEY?!" Max flinched at the sudden shout, taking a step back as he stared at Mary with fear, only to swallow hard and nod, unable to speak. "Then Custodia continues to live on. Now, can you give me a reason why we should give a damn about these buildings? The people who are giving us a chance to live a normal, cushioned life again are here to stay. The people who could have taken our Justiciar and turned them inside out just for fun. Do you want to try and tell them that Custodia isn''t their city again? Because I quite like the way my body is currently, minus the age. So unless you want to try that - or any of you other weaklings - let''se to terms that Custodia is no longer just ours. It''s the Empire''s as well. We can keep the culture alive, the history alive, but it is entering a new age. And unless you want to im that you are able to replicate Maxim''s feats from the legends, shut up and focus on the future. The past is done, the present it fleeting, and the future is all that matters. Got that? Now, let''s figure out how to make that future one that benefits us, hm? I don''t know about you, but I would like to die peacefully in my sleep and not in the belly of a monster or freezing to death..." Chapter 828 827: Aiding Custodia (3)

Chapter 828 Chapter 827: Aiding Custodia (3)

?After that outburst by both Mary and the other humans, that bnce was reached as the people she was leading finally realized that the Custodia they knew and loved had been turned to rubble, and that something new would arise from its ashes. That didn''t guarantee something great, but instead something fresh and malleable, ready to be shaped into something that was great, something that weed both new and former citizens into its walls equally and promised a new lease on life. ns were being made for the future, and the humans all made their way back to their stations as they mulled over everything that they had heard, allowing us to finish up what we were doing and turn in for the night, which was a benefit for everyone, and especially me. To no ones surprise, we found ourselves splitting off into two pairs to wander the city at night, with Anput iming me instantly and leaving Leone to Jahi again, though that wasn''t an issue for any of us as we found ourselves a spot and had some fun. For me, I pleaded with Anput to dual cultivate as well, which the Jackalkin didn''t entirely feel like doing but did so anyways, which was a benefit to us both in many ways... besides, I made sure to treat her right afterwards, rewarding my mate properly. With two gigantic bundles of Pleasure now secured inside my crest, I harvested some more of that thin and paltry Lust Mana as best I could and got even stronger as I did some cultivation to end the night. Harvesting as much of that Lust Mana as I possibly could to store inside my Core was of the utmost importance going forwards, especially if we encountered any more Fiends any time soon; having Lust Mana for the next encounter would make things exponentially easier, especially if I had an abundance of it avable to me. Doing that alongside giving my lover the attention and love she needed was immensely helpful, and the better part of that was Jahiing around to trade Leone for Anput, the Demoness pouncing onto the Jackalkin and taking her swiftly, while Leone ''innocently'' approached me and took me as well. It was a fun night for sure, and got even more benefits out of it past the obvious physical satisfaction and mental gratitude that came with receiving someones love deep inside myself before falling asleep in their arms; I got stronger as well, and the experience that came with it was always a plus as well. When morning came around, we started the next day in earnest as well, heading out into the waiting Magna Forest to begin clearing it out of monsters and acquire some more resources for ourselves as we made the path to the Grottos slightly safer, but only slightly. The monsters that we came across were strong for where they were located, and each group that we happened to find or that we actively hunted down were strong enough to easily wound or kill Jackie and Harry, the two humans who rounded out the rest of the team with Leone, Leraie and I struggling against the monsters on their own. It was obvious that after we dispatched the monsters with practiced ease and excellent coordination, the two humans viewed us differently - with more respect and wariness as they traveled alongside us, finally able to begin grasping the difference between their rudimentary training and newness to this lifestylepared to our experience, as well as the difference in the natural strength that we all had. Something that would likely be spread to their peers as they recounted their day over dinner, which would hopefully dissuade any idiotic actions in the future, though if there was anything else that I retained from some of my psychology courses back in college - and general experience with almost an entire life behind me - it was that people were unpredictable no matter what. Logic ruled only a small portion of our lives, while illogical actions formed a majority of lives despite us believe we were acting logically or doing things that just made sense; stubbornness and simpleck of knowledge caused us to act in weird ways, whilst the idiocy that permeated us all made itself known far more often than people wanted to believe... All of that is to say that until I can physically see that these people have released any stupid ideas or general dislikes - and sometimes hatred - towards those different then them, I wasn''t going to let my guard up whatsoever. People are capable of terrible things when pushed to their perceived edge, and sometimes that perceived edge doesn''t make any logical sense at all. So for now I kept my guard up and judgement clean on all of these people, watching and observing from afar and listening in to whatever caught my attention, all to ensure that nothing happened to bring harm upon anyone inside the hall. In and out of the hall, nothing interesting happened as the next two days passed us by smoothly, the patrols yielding only good results as we harvested lots of food, materials and herbs all while slowly clearing out the surrounding area. Inside the hall, Anput forged more gear for everyone, Leone brewed more potions, Jahi helped repair the hall and aid in other manualbor jobs, whilst I kept cooking and also took some time to enchant some basic things for the humans, surprising them as I gave them cleaning cloths, durable clothing, and other simple things. During this time as well, I harvested more Lust Mana and began to experiment with it a little more, deepening my understanding of it and gradually growing in strength as I went about life as usual, something that made me far happier than I cared to admit. If Tza''Orbias was going to appear in front of us now, I was confident that I could be just as dangerous to that Fiend as Jahi could be, and if I was going to be conservative with my estimations, I was at the very least able to restrain and damage them better than I did before, to the point that it would take the pressure off of Jahi and Leone almostpletely. All in all, whilst the days were boring and the time spent doing things seemed long, I did reap arge amount of rewards from this, and we weren''t even in the Grottos yet! When we got there, I couldn''t wait to give this new power of mine a proper try and satiate my other needs some as well... it had been a ''long'' time since I was able to let loose, after all~! Chapter 829 828: Off To The Grottos

Chapter 829 Chapter 828: Off To The Grottos

?"Now in a mere three days, we have replenished your food stores, helped repair your primary housing locations, created a few work stations for stonecutting, woodworking, forging and leather working, harvested arge amount of resources... All in all, I would say this was a sessful, bountiful three days, no?" Satanya was looking around the hall with a satisfied expression, the red skinned Demoness smirking as she took in the way the hall changed over thesest couple of days, with the most notable being the people themselves. Now that they had secured a good amount of food for themselves, had better clothing and sleeping areas, and were no longer as worried about risking their lives each time they exited the city''s walls, everyone looked far less gaunt then before, and their eyes had regained a certain luster that came from being safe. Obviously, there was still the wary looks in their eyes as they observed us from afar, or the slight fear that came with it as the humans who apanied us on hunts got to experience some of our strength first hand, but more often than not they were looking far more rxed and happy then they were when we first showed up. I imagine that meal security, warmth, and the looming threat of death being lifted from your shoulders would do that to most people. "And we could never thank you enough, Miss Satanya. You have given us hope where there used to only be despair. Sincerely, thank you very much. All of you." Mary bowed deeply, showing her gratitude in the most obvious way before looking back up as Satanya clicked her tongue, saying "Don''t bow too deeply now, Custodian Ixan. You are the ruler of Custodia now, remember that." She blinked a few times in surprise at Satanya''s words, though a small smile wryly tugged at her lips as Satanya added "Besides, I dislike formalities. Far too time consuming to go through consistently. Now, let''s not worry about the past few days, but instead focus on the daysing up. We are going to be heading up into the Terracotta Grottos now that the path is clear of monsters. With the hordes around the city thinned, and arge stockpile of materials and food inside the hall, I''mfortable enough to leave you rtively on your own again." Mary nodded, looking around the hall and taking in its repaired state with that smile still on her lips and relief in her eyes, though she returned to Satanya as the Demoness continued speaking, giving the Custodian a good idea on what was going to be happening over the next few days. "A majority of us are going to be heading to the Grottos, but not all of us. I''m leaving behind two Beliali and two Cimeriesa Demons to continue helping you and your people, and to act as liaison''s when the rest of our people begin to move out into Tragon. They''ll be here to help hunt, repair, and cook until then. They will also listen to most of your orders, with the only exceptions being anything that brings them direct harm or causes harm to your people; the usual things that are in ce just in case something warps your mind..." Satanya trailed off as she studied Mary''s face for a moment, before she looked back towards the rest of the humans around us as she added in a low, almost silent whisper, "They are also here to maintain watch over the rest of your people. I am not entirely convinced that any and all thoughts regarding your puritan ideals might still be in y, so... I don''t want to risk having my hand bitten by those I feed." Mary nodded again, her expression remaining the same despite the tant threat spoken to her, and she replied "That''s eptable, Miss Satanya. What exactly are we to expect going forwards though? For this uing week, anyways. We discussed the arrival of your nsmen and other members of the Empire in as much depth as we could manage, but we never touched on this excursion into the Grottos..?" At that, Satanya nced over at Jahi before returning her gaze to Mary, answering "We will return once to three times, depending on the loot we gather inside the Grottos. Each time we return, it will only be to deposit our loot and rest for a little before returning to the Grottos. We will be there for no longer than two weeks, but we will be there for at least a week, so you should have more than enough food tost that long. Going forwards, this is going to be primarily your leadership once again, with the addition of four Demons who can make hunting easier for you, should you believe a refresh of your food stores is required. Otherwise..." "We won''t be seeing much of you, Custodian Mary. After we depart today, we will see you at least twice - once to drop off our loot, and the second time toe back and collect it for a return to the Empire. Other than that, until the new upational forces of the Empiree by, it will remain just you and your people." The woman nodded as she took in Jahi''s words, before letting out a sigh as she said "Even though we were nowhere near being friends, it will be a shame to lose yourpany. All of you. Ah, perhaps that''s entirely selfish of me to say though; we never had a talented smith like yourself, Begum, nor a person capable of brewing potions like the two of you, Princess, Miss Ammit. And the food... It''s been some of the best I''ve ever eaten, despite uscking so many ingredients and spices, Miss Katherine. Thank you, all of you. I hope you''ll return some time in the future? To see how Custodia has progressed?" We all smiled at the human woman, nodding and giving her our best wishes before turning and loading ourselves into the carriages, preparing to set off towards the Terracotta Grottos, which had been our primary objective this entire time. Chapter 830 829: Journey To The Grottos

Chapter 830 Chapter 829: Journey To The Grottos

?"What a sight to behold... never would''ve thought that beneath that beautifulndscape that seems far too gorgeous to be real, there are hundreds and thousands of blood thirsty, flesh hungry monsters waiting to tear my face off my skull." I let out a sigh as I turned away from the window of our carriage, focusing on Jahi and Anput, the Demoness who said that getting a nod of agreement from our Jackalkin lover, both of them staring at the tall, sky scraping moutnaintops covered in snow and forests that were illuminated by a soft golden light and almost ruining the natural beauty that rested right before our eyes. Towering mountains stretched out as far as we could see, holding back the horrors of the Labyrinthian from spilling over into the rest of the world, whilst a luscious forest of green, red and orange sprawled out over the sides of those snow capped mountains. At their base, the mountain range was covered in those same trees, whilst the brilliant blue waterfalls and rivers that asionally cut through the forest could be seen from afar, albeit only if one was looking for them. All in all, the giantndscape in front of us made you feel small and insignificant, a startling reminder that no matter how strong you might be, you were still mortal at the end of the day; the rock that made up these pirs, the trees that lined said rock, all of it was far older than we could possibly imagine, and behind ity something far more ancient and deadly than we could ever hope to be. Our goal, however,y beneath these beautiful forests, beneath that ancient rock; what we were looking for were the myriad caverns that dotted the insides of these mountains,den with treasures and perils alike, even more so now that they had the privilege of basking in untouched, raw mana for thest few months, which was both the blink of an eye in nature as well as an eternity. "Must you ruin this moment of wonder and awe by speaking about such things? Can you not just appreciate what is there, on the surface?" Jahi focused on me with a smirk, the Demoness tilting her head as she said "But I did appreciate it. I see its beauty, its wonder. I have taken in its serenendscape and picturesque appearance already, however I can''t help but think on the things waiting within its beautiful appearance. The monsters that lurk within, thend formations that threaten to trap one inside. In its own way, does that not add to its beauty?" I rolled my eyes as I shook my head, with Leone adding "Not entirely, no. You highlighted the worst it has to offer and somehow are trying to twist that into being a positive? When it already has so many positives to offer at just a nce?" "And that in and of itself is a negative, isn''t it? A false sense of security thanks to the utterly gorgeous view that we are currently able to take in, which would eventually lead to our guard being down as we bask in this impable disy of natural beauty? Besides, to me that makes this an even more perfect location; I get to kill things that are dangerous and do so in an astounding paragon of nature''s brilliance?" "Yeah, that''s right! Think about it Kat; you''re fighting a... Giant or something, wielding your Khopesh expertly and dancing around it beneath a sea of emerald leaves, before going in andnding a swift sh across its stomach. Splotches of ruby join that emerald beneath the sun, sparkling such a vibrant red and painting the area around you... Is that not appealing?" I turned my dry gaze towards my mate, who only grinned at me as she tried to utilize my... ''quirks'' against me in an argument, something that wasn''t going to work so easily, though I had to give her some credit for understanding me so well. "That''s... not the point. Anyways, we should be approaching the first entrance soon. A small outpost marked down on the map as Outpost Epsilon, I believe? If I remember correctly, this is the fifth guarded entrance, following the human''s variations of the runguage. Their ''runic alphabet'', I believe its still called. There are 26 outposts for the 26 runes." "Fifth... of just over two dozen. And that''s only of the entrances that they deemed the most in need of guarding, correct?" I nodded, my eyes glued to the mountains that were gradually growing taller as we approached, the perspective making itself known even more with each foot we traveled. "Far too many to count, actually. The amount of caves and crevasses inside these mountains is almost innumerable, with new ones forming yearly and old ones closing as well. The estimates ce it just around a hundred or so per mile of mountain, and with the mountains being so... mind bogglingly ginormous, well..." The carriage fell silent for a few moments as we all took in the target of our desires, the mountains containing the Grottos slowly epassing a majority of our vision as we rolled into Outpost Epsilon, which was a slightly crude, yet efficient and well camouged wooden base in the midst of the forest, its only giveaway being the well trodden path leading straight towards its gate. Our convoy approached slowly and carefully, with two Demons taking point to check and see if there was anyone still living inside the outpost, but as we got closer it became increasingly clear that if there was something living inside the outpost, it wasn''t a human. The wooden walls had been torn down and splintered with great force, whilst the stone buildings and fortifications that lined the inside of the outpost wereid bare and turned into rubble; the earth it was built on was churned up and freshpared to thepact dirt around us, while the most obvious signs of this being an ''unupied'' outpost came from the ghastly groans that sounded out from the buildings. Nothing mortal lived here any more, since all of the mortals were dead and turned into undead, causing us all to unsheathe our weapons in preparation for a fight. Chapter 831 830: Outpost Epsilon

Chapter 831 Chapter 830: Outpost Epsilon

?Hearing the grumbling and groaning of the undead as they shuffled out of the various ruined buildings inside of the outpost, I reached for my Khopesh and exited the carriage first, taking a cursory look before nodding at the others, signaling for them to exit the carriage as well. "That''s a sizable number of undead for a mere outpost... Do you think some of the citizens escaped from Custodia and made their way here? To the other outposts as well, hoping for rescue and shelter?" I shrugged as I looked over the approaching undead, their flesh a dried out, withered grey that belied the strength coursing through their scrawny bodies, their appearances deceiving to those that had never encountered the undead before. Mana streamed through their rotting veins and kept them functional, even as the cartge between their joints and the muscles connecting their body together rotted away, or how their flesh was pierced, cut, shed and otherwise damaged to the point of being non functional; mana allowed such a heinous creature to continue operating in ways that shouldn''t be possible, and it gave them more strength then they had in their life. In this form of ''unlife'', the new, putrid mana running through their Core and coursing throughout their body grants them a new strength, one that was locked behind their body''s natural reluctance to utilize its entire strength, that was blocked by their Core not desiring to be emptied of mana and drained of all life. So, what was shuffling around in front of us was a hideous monster that went against most of nature''s set rules, and as such we needed to take it seriously... well, at least as seriously as we could manage against something as easily defeated as undead. Much like the Ash Ghouls we were ustomed to killing over in Zhu''Rong Caverns, these undead would need to have their heads or their Cores destroyed to die, and they weren''t the fastest or most coordinated enemies either. "They might have been refugees, yes... Especially considering their attire; it seems far too casual for somewhere like this. Most would remain equipped with at least their leathers to have some protection just in case, yet they seem to have simple cloth... interesting. Well, not like it matters; they''ll die all the same." The Demons apanying us got out of their carriages as well, unsheathing their weapons and approaching the outpost, with Satanya leading the way as the red skinned Demoness shot forwards with her serrated longsword, signaling for the rest of us to join in as more and more undead poured out of the broken buildings. Dozens of undead began to make their way towards us, shuffling and groaning as they raised their taloned hands and rusted weapons, all while the scent of death and rot permeated the air around them, which only got stronger the closer they got to us. Coating the edge of my Khopesh in a thick sheet of ice, I darted forwards as well and primed up my new favorite spell - the ''shotgun'' of ice that resided in my palm, waiting to st out into an unsuspecting victim and tear them apart - as I sped past the others and entered the midst of the undead horde, ready for a fight. Turning my sword into a club with that ice, I swung it at the undead''s head in front of me and smirked at the satisfying crunch of their skull shattering beneath the impact of my weapon, their frayed and thin ck hair turning dirty red as their blood and brain matter burst out of their head. The stench surrounding them doubled after their skull was turned into a dozen shards of bone across the ground, making my nose wrinkle unpleasantly as I moved onto the next undead, this time aiming my free hand at its chest and sending a st of sharpened ice pellets straight into their torso, tearing through their withered flesh and weakened bones to shred the Core that rested inside, pulsing angrily with this decayed mana unique to the undead. Letting out a grunt, the undead staggered backwards before falling to the ground as a second st mmed into its chest, dozens of holes peppering its torso which leaked blood and liquified organs, though I had little time to appreciate the different ''style of art'' that I was creating as I went on to the next, swinging my Khopesh and snapping its neck with the impact, nearly tearing its head off of its torso with just the force alone. Groans and hisses sounded out around me as the others began to cut down the undead as well, redirecting some of the attention away from me as I began to push deeper, wading into the sea of walking corpses and finally stretching my body properly as I kept the Khopesh moving constantly, swinging it around without pause as I went from one undead to the next. Bashing in the knee of one, I brought its face down to the level of my palm and blew off its head, all while my Khopesh was arcing up towards the chin of an undead beside me, cracking against the bone and destroying the jawpletely, sending splinters of bone and teeth straight into the undead''s brain, though it needed another whack to fall down for good. Beside me, Jahi went for utter destruction of the undead by coating her great sword in Light Mana before cleaving it through their bodies as swiftly as she could, bisecting them cleanly and stomping on their heads or chests to finish them off, should they have survived the initial attack. Anput used a long, heavy headed spear to obliterate the skulls of the undead from afar, or to stab their Cores with precise thrusts, which kept her at range and away from the disgusting blood that poured from those wounds. Meanwhile, Leone was taking this time to practice with her Estoc, the two handed de singing through the air as its me coated surface sliced through flesh and bone with ease, burning the undead and cauterize the wound, keeping the blood from ever being spilt. Each of us took a unique route to the same end result, and we did so with the same amount of efficiency as well; what felt like a hundred, perhaps two hundred undead was whittled down to zilch in no time at all, corpses piling up around us as they finally died their final death, free from the corrupted mana and allowed to rest properly... The horde died quickly, and we all looked at the hellish sight behind us with pursed lips and conflicted emotions... with the mostmon one being an annoyance at the suddenck of enemies to fight. But... this was merely the appetizer anyways, and now we were able to head out for that main meal... The Terracotta Grottos. Chapter 832 831: Base Of Operations

Chapter 832 Chapter 831: Base Of Operations

?Taking the carriages back out of the outpost, we moved away from the shroud of decay and death and watched as those that could wield Fire Magic remained back, their mana channeling into Leone and Ammit as the two women prepared to cleanse the area of those terrible undead corpses. "Hopefully that makes this area usable. I know we said that we were going to transport things back to Custodia once or twice, but..." "There is no reason to trust them around such valuable ores, herbs and other materials, yes... Who knows what they might try to do if they saw a mountain of gold ore? To them, it''s just gold, but in reality it''s even more expensive then just normal gold... Or any of the gemstones that we retrieve? Crystals? I might - just maybe, not entirely - trust Mary to not touch our loot, but the rest of them?" I shook my head as I watched the Demons and Leone begin to cleanse the area, pouring their mes over thend and burning away everything inside the outpost, ridding the world of some filth in rapid fashion. "Yes, greed is a rather interesting thing, especially in those of weak will. The thought to steal from the pile of loot would be overwhelming for some; the idea that we won''t notice one or two gemstones missing, or a few chunks of ore... It''s something I don''t want to deal with at all. And I truly have little trust in any of them..." Jahi let out a sigh as she watched alongside me, only ncing at me briefly as I added "It''s a shame too, since I imagine these could be capable citizens if they could just remember what civilization was like, and learn from the way their city was demolished that there is always something stronger waiting for them... perhaps they could prove to be valuable members of society." She just raised a brow at that, before chuckling as she asked "Is it perhaps thanks to the way their diluted blood makes it easier to procreate? Maybe we''ll have a bunch of thin blooded Beastkin and Demons running around in a years time?" That made me roll my eyes, though I didn''t disagree since that was a rather obvious benefit to having arge group of humans; they were able to mix with any race thanks to their - as Jahi so eloquently put it - diluted blood, which came from the ''weaker'' of any race procreating with another ''weak'' member, which caused the unique traits found in Beastkin to be taken out of the gene pool and create the first humans. With that stronger blood reintroduced, they would return to the race they once were and procreate with others as well, creating more ''half bloods'' due to their higher reproductivity. "Well, if we do or if we don''t, all that matters is if they can hold themselves in check if we do decide to go back to Custodia. Otherwise, we''re going to need to rebuild some of this outpost for ourselves." "We were going to rebuild it anyways to act as our base going forwards. Somewhere outside of the Grottos to regroup and rearm. Though the real n was to find a serviceable area within the Grottos to act as our base. Only if the monster level was manageable, anyways. Ah, they''re done. That was quick..." We approached the outpost again, this time with the smell of ash and smoke filling the air instead of decay, whilst the area around us had been charred ck thanks to the fiery cleansing that we had enacted, the controlled mes doing their job to keep everything contained. "That was refreshing. Letting loose. Unrestrained... Pleasant." Ammit was smiling happily by the side as she looked over the burnt outpost, her Ritual Circle eyes losing their reddish luster as they returned to a ''nk te'', disying her neutral mana at this moment; the longer we were around her, the more interesting I found her eyes to be. Satanya on the other hand was frowning, the red skinned Demoness letting out a sigh as she said "Well, let''s get this repaired and smelling of something besides char... We need sleeping quarters, a forge, a kitchen, and walls! If you don''t have Earth Magic, start identifying the faults in the walls and mark them out, before pairing off and scouting the surrounding area! Let''s make this quick and work efficiently!" Anput made her way to the center instantly, joined by the other Earth Mages inside our group as they began to work on restoring some of the camp, leaving the rest of us to make ourselves useful in any other way. I started by summoning a gentle breeze inside the outpost, billowing the ashy scent up into the air and away from us, hastening the venttion of the area before joining the other Water Mages in washing away the worst of the char with a light drizzle, which was dried out afterwords thanks to Wind Magic. After we marked the portion of the walls that needed the most repair, Leone, Jahi and I grabbed our gear and made our way out of the outpost, heading east into the forest and looking around, searching for tracks and other signs of monster activity, as well as any other potential entrances to the Grottos. We found traces of a few monsters, and we also came across a ratherrge boar monster as well, which we killed swiftly and butchered before carrying it back to the outpost, securing the first meal for everyone - on the way back, Leone pointed out some herbs to us that were hiding around the forest that we could use for seasoning or for basic medicines should we need them. No new entrance to the Grottos were found by us, but there were three that the others had found, which brought up the discussion of whether or not we should take the main entrance and work from there, or if we should explore the other entrances we found... Chapter 833 832: Discussing The Split

Chapter 833 Chapter 832: Discussing The Split

?The decision was made quickly, and now we stood by the main entrance of the Terracotta Grottos, ready to plunge into its monster infested depths in search of treasures and fights - depending on who you asked. Most of the Demons seemed far more interested in the potential changes that the monsters might have undertaken thanks to the abundance of Nature Mana in the air, whilst Anput, Leone and I seemed to be the ones who were more interested in the resources that we would find, especially since this would be an opportunity to find some really cool things... With how much mana is in the air, it wouldn''t be surprising to find a bunch of Mana Crystals and potent gemstones waiting to be utilized, and if we could find a few Water Mana Crystals, well... I could only imagine what incredible items I could make with those. And to be fair, Ammit seemed equally interested in everything, the air headed Cimeriesa muttering to herself about the ingredients to be found inside the Grottos, which woulde from both the earth itself as well as monsters, so there was one Demoness who seemed less interested in a good fight. "So how do we n on splitting what is found? We agreed to help, yes, but that doesn''t mean we aren''t getting paid... and considering how thick the Nature Mana is in the air, well... I expect there to be an absurd amount of wealth waiting for us in those depths..." Satanya was the only other one thinking about something besides the resources or the monsters, and instead focusing on the third, obvious option that no one else was truly focusing on; money. She wanted to earn some serious coin from this endeavor, or at least make away with some serious profits in the form of materials - not because she actually wanted or needed materials, but because she could use them to barter and sell off for both her own gains and for the benefit of her n... Jahi nced at her before looking around at the others, finding that most of the Demons were leaving this up to her, though it was clear they expected a cut from this... which was only logical, since they were doing something dangerous. This might be a debt that Satanya wanted to pay, but that didn''t mean they were working entirely for free, and that was understandable. "We get priority on 8 items, meaning we''ll take 8 things guaranteed. 2 per person of my party. The rest will be split evenly between my party and yours. If we get a pound of herbs, we both get a half pound; if we get 50 chunks of ore, we both get 25 chunks. Sound fair?" Satanya pursed her lips, before she too took a look around and saw most of the Demons shrugging, with Ammit being the one to speak up as she curiously asked "8 items of priority? 2 per person? Agreeable. Understandable. After all, there will be more than 8 items of interest inside the Grottos. Abundant. Powerful. I see no reason to decline?" "How do you want to issue that priority? Like, you have priority over an entire vein of ore or gemstones? An entire monster corpse?" Jahi pursed her lips this time, ncing at us and getting her answer that way as we all nodded, each of us thinking about the things we could get with our 2 items of priority. "Yes. That''s exactly how it will work. That should be agreeable, no? If we find a vein of... let''s just say gold, and nearby is a second, smaller vein, you can go ahead and im that. It''ll be split, but... you get the idea, no? With how potent the mana in the air is, I imagine we''ll be finding more than enough to go around. And we can discuss different splits on different things if you want; if there is an ore that you want more of, we can trade." "That''s... yes, that''s eptable. This was supposed to be your own expedition, but we joined you, so us getting anything from this is a bonus. Does everyone else agree?" Satanya looked around at the other Demons, who all nodded in agreement with the terms; terms that were weighted in our favor, but if we were right about this Dungeon, it wouldn''t matter much at all. If you equated the mana in the air to humidity, each breath felt like we were swimming in a stew of Nature Mana; it clung to each breath you took, it thickened the area around us with natural power and pressure... Even those with pure Fire Mana - like Leone - were benefitting from this mana abundant atmosphere, getting a nice amount of energy and strength from the atmosphere, whilst those of us with either Earth or Water Mana were benefitting even more... Our Cores were being filled with more mana, which allowed us to cast stronger spells and strengthen our bodies even more, all while we could regenerate mana at a quicker rate. If this was the atmosphere at the entrance of the Grottos, then what would it be like deeper inside this Dungeon? If we were benefitting like this already after just a few minutes of being here, then what would the monsters be like who were living in it? Both of those questions were exciting to think about, since it meant that the monsters were definitely stronger and that the Grottos had created an abundance of mana rich resources inside its confines, which was both a boon and a bane. Wealth waited for us within its depths, but so did danger; greed for more resources, lust for another battle... both could lead to overestimating our abilities and lead to injury or death, and that was a fine line that we would need to tread. How much could we extract from this Dungeon before needing to pull back and rest? What could we fight within reason without risking tiring ourselves out and potentially injuring ourselves? Being deep inside hostile rich territory with no strength was a death sentence, after all... Chapter 834 833: Terracotta Grottos (1)

Chapter 834 Chapter 833: Terracotta Grottos (1)

?The main entrance to the Grottos in this portion of the mountains was a verdant cavern that beckoned you in with such a natural beauty, its luscious, leafy edge giving it a softer appearance despite it being the entrance into a Dungeon. Flowers blossomed on the shrubs and vines, filling the air with a sweet scent whilst adding to the vibrant cavern, and the inside was illuminated by the sun andrge glowing petals attached to thick stems that blossomed off of the rocky walls. "Oh. Glow Flis! Ah, such beautiful flowers... Bright. Vibrant! Pretty~!" Ammit stepped forwards and looked around, the Cimeriesa Demoness admiring the greenery of the Grotto''s opening for a few moments before adding "A shame they lose that luster when plucked. Dull." She peered back at us and tilted her head, asking "Are we entering, or talking still? Time is passing. Wasted." Satanya snorted as she shook her head, the Beliali Demoness gesturing to Jahi and saying "She''s the leader here, so ask her! Are we heading in, or are we dallying around for a bit longer?" That made most of us raise a brow at the woman''s shamelessness as she began to walk forwards, her leather long coat pping behind her slightly as she unsheathed her serrated longsword, raising her guard for any potential threats that might lie ahead. "Well, you heard the dallier! Let''s get a move on! We want to check out the main paths as much as we can before the sun sets!" Snickers could be heard from the group - myself included - as Jahi drew her great sword and rested it on her shoulder, striding past the red skinned Demoness who stopped in her tracks, ring at the taller, stronger, better looking Demoness... only to re at me as I walked past her as well, a smug grin on my face as I moved to the front, where I would take point. Anput stuck her tongue out at the woman as well, while Leone gave her a ''gentle'' smile as we all moved up towards the front alongside Jahi, causing the Demons to snicker again as their leader let out a low growl of annoyance. Stepping into the caverns, I nodded to myself at the sudden, familiar shift in the atmosphere as we made our way into the Dungeon, the pressure in the air changing slightly whilst also getting cooler, as well as ''heavier'' with mana. The sweet scent from before stagnated a tad and mixed with the scent of earth and the musk of monsters, while the Glow Flis and asional opening in the ceiling kept the area bright enough to see, but still dim enough that you really needed to pay attention. It was my job as well as Anput''s to guide everyone into the Grottos and begin sniffing out the routes that wereden with monsters or resources; the benefits of our Beastkin blood being put to great use, even if it was a tad demeaning to be turned into hounds... Something Jahi found amusing as she whispered to Leone, who tried to hold back chuckles of her own... Either way, the greenery of the caverns remained just as abundant as the surface, with vines draping down from the high ceilings and shrubsden with flowers and other herbs blossoming from the rocky floor. Moss and lichen stuck to the rocks and boulders that were scattered throughout the tunnels, and the deeper into the mountain we got, the air grew even more cool and humid, the Water Mana found inside the Nature Mana keeping things at a ''neutral'' levelpared to normal caverns, though that humidity did no favors at all. Already I could feel my skin growing mmy even beneath my own Water Cloak, with the others wearing slightly irritated expressions as water began to stick to everything, all while the silence around us as we walked deeper into the Grottos began to wear on the mind. The tunnel that carved deep into the earth from the entrance was steep and slick with moisture, the uneven terrain slowing our pace as we continued on down into the mountains, before eventually Anput and I nced at one another, the silence finally broken... albeit with an almost undetectable sound. ncing at me, my mate raised a brow before looking back towards the tunnel, causing me to nod as I created a Wind Barrier around us, saying "That''s running water... far away, but carried by the tunnels. We should be close to the first real Grotto..." I ryed that back to the others after Anput gave me a nod, straining her hearing and confirming that I had heard correctly. We continued on down into the depths, our footsteps quiet as we traveled the first tunnel, not stopping for anything at the moment, though we did take note of the basic ores and herbs that lined the walls; things we would harvest on the way out, but not now. The tunnel began to tten out, no longer as steep as we saw the walls begin to curve out to join the wide, spherical shape of the first Grotto, its splendor stunning us only for a split second. A towering ceiling that resided so high above us was peppered with bright crystals and giant buds of Glow Flis, whilst the walls were just as coated in moss as before, but now giant chunks of rock jutted out and glittered in the light, disying different colors that signified the ores that formed beneath. Easily around 150 feet in diameter, the Grotto was ratherrge, and the source of water that Anput and I heard sshed into a pool at the far end of the cavern, around which a myriad of bipedal emerald skinned monsters gathered. Outcrops littered the walls above, the many tunnels of the Terracotta Grottos branching off of this singr cavern into who knows where, all while monsters of all kinds roamed around, patrolling the area and asionally pouncing on the weaker ones, killing them and devouring them swiftly. That pool formed a smallke on the far side, which fell down into a deeper level below, whilst a hill on our left arced around the circumference of this cavern, leading into the many tunnels and giving the monsters the ability to traverse freely. Every second we stood at our own tunnel, unmoving and silent, was another moment that we took to drink it all in, searching for thergest threats and evaluating the area, even as the Grotto continued to attempt to lull us into a false sense of security as the grasses and waterfalls painted a serene picture. Chapter 835 834: Terracotta Grottos (2)

Chapter 835 Chapter 834: Terracotta Grottos (2)

?Of course, the moments we took to search for thergest threat inside the grotto all came to the same conclusion; thatke a hundred feet away from us surrounded by emerald skinned Goblins and their evolutions was the priority of this grotto, with the monsters that were roaming around being nowhere near as dangerous as the Goblins. Jahi gave Anput and I a nod, signaling for us to lead the group forwards through the grotto and into battle; we would cut our way through the giant verdant cavern and take on the Goblins first, before clearing out the rest of the monsters and securing this area as our own. With my Khopesh in my right hand and a de of jagged ice sprouting from my left wrist, I looked towards my mate and nodded, the Jackalkin shifting the metal rod in her hand into a long, thin Estoc that would give her the reach and agility she needed to keep up with me. I shot forwards after casting a swift spell on my legs, shrouding them in a gale and rushing forwards as I led the charge into the clearing, no longer silent as I whistled through the air, my strides echoing throughout the cavern and alerting the monsters to our presence. A long and limber feline monster snarled in surprise at our appearance, only to yowl in agony as I chopped its front leg off, the thin patches of frost gracing the metal de spreading onto its deep, almost ck fur coat as my skills got to work. Blood gushed from the wound, and the feline dropped to the ground at the sudden loss of one of its limbs, only to fall silent as the Demons behind me took care of it. I continued forwards unbothered by the damage I had just dealt, my body remaining bnced and steady as I maintained my pace, heading straight for the collection of Goblins in the distance. A darker green then normal, the difference between these Goblins and the Goblins I was used to was clear with just a single look; two twigs sprouted from their brows like horns, whilst leaves grew out of their shoulders and wrists, both of which were fading from green into brown as they took on a bark like appearance. In fact, as they turned to inspect the disturbance, that bark began to shift and sprout out of their skin, growing and covering their flesh and turning them from a rich emerald green into a dark, whorl covered brown. Roughly five feet tall and thin, but not emaciated like their distant cousins, these Goblins were tough and wiry, the various wooden clubs and sticks they wielded far more dangerous looking then they sounded; that deep green Nature Mana coiled around the wooden weapons and glimmered with power, gnarling and knotting the wood into stronger weapons with each passing second. A long stick suddenly was adorned with what looked like a pinecone, which only grew sharper and more pointed as the Goblin raised it and grunted at us, its wooden armor hiding its features but not its eyes, which shone with malice. Some were taller and far more muscr, others were a tad shorter and more spindly, but one thing they all had inmon was the Nature Mana that seeped from their Cores, which only made the air around us grow thicker as we got closer. Grunting and growling at one another, they began to move from theirke and march forwards, with the spindly Goblins wielding small daggers, swords and clubs rushing forwards to meet us, allowing therger, slower Goblins time to march forwards undisturbed. I cleared that hundred feet in a single beat of my heart, meeting the Goblins far quicker than they could anticipate as they rushed to meet me, giving me the edge as I shed my Khopesh forwards, catching them off guard. The iceden de created a pale arc in front of me that they stepped into, the smaller, faster Goblins widening their eyes in surprise as their wooden armor was splintered with a single sh, revealing their flesh beneath as I attacked first. That sh cracked open their armor and sliced into their bodies, eliciting squeals of pain as the smooth, sharp edge of my Khopesh cleanly cut through armor, flesh and bone, the icy de severing their arms and cutting deep into their torsos, drawing the first blood of this battle. Three dropped to the ground, dead, whilst two more stumbled past me, clutching at their stumps and coughing out blood, only to be cut down by Anput, who was a breath behind me. Multiple dozens of Goblins remained, and they marched into the fray right as the others joined me, all of us surging forwards to press this advantage as best we could as we selected our targets and got to work. A towering Goblin with thick arms that ended in gigantic wooden spheres roared at me, its height just above my own whilst its mass was easily double mine, making the raised arms that acted as clubs a severe threat to me; something that was made pressing by the two normal Goblins on either side that stabbed at me with swift thrusts, trying to skewer me and keep me in ce. However, despite their speed, the two weren''t as quick as I was, and I stepped back and allowed their spears to cross where I once was, meaning the meteoric impact of the two wooden clubs splintered their weapons as the giant Goblin mmed the ground. As soon as those twin orbs were buried into the rock and gravel ground, I jumped forwards and used the Goblin''s arms to get close, stabbing the sharp Tonfa into its skull before leaping over its head,nding behind the other two Goblins who had stumbled forwards thanks to theirpanions attack. Anput pierced one with her Estoc, leaving the other to me as I turned and stabbed the Tonfa through its neck, the jagged ice severing its spinal cord and dropping it to the ground as it lost control of its body. Spinning back around, I pressed on without hesitation, leaping into the next group of Goblins and continuing the fight, targeting those that were lingering near the back as I allowed the Demons to take the brunt of the battle, which they desired heavily if the sounds of bodies hitting the floor and shouts of amusement were anything to go by. That sound was joined with the howls, barks, hisses and caws of the other monsters, though those sounds were swiftly tinged with pain as the mages worked on the monsters that poured into the grotto from the various entrances, leaving the Goblins to us. Chapter 836 835: Terracotta Grottos (3)

Chapter 836 Chapter 835: Terracotta Grottos (3)

?Spittle flew past my face as thest remaining Goblin - what I now knew was the evolved variant called an Ogre, albeit a weak example of the evolution - roared at me, its wooden armor splintered and cracked everywhere as blood trickled through the myriad puncture wounds that peppered its body. Despite the disgusting wave of hot, repulsive, putrid breath that was sted against my cheeks, I was grinning as I danced to the side, pleasure rushing through my body as the Ogre swung its gigantic gnarled tree trunk club straight at me again, though the power behind it was severelycking thanks to the many wounds I had already inflicted on it. My Khopesh remained silent as I relied on my Tonfa alone, the spike of ice caked in the wonderful, beautiful red liquid that I had be addicted to, which dripped onto the floor to create some pretty patterns. Panting and growling, the Ogre stumbled as the club missed me, only to grunt as I stabbed it in the gut again, piercing the Nature Mana infused wood armor on its stomach and putting another hole in the monster, causing more blood to ssh to the pool below, widening it. "Kat,e on! Surely that''s enough?" I clicked my tongue as I heard Jahi''s exasperated shout from thekeside, the others all waiting alongside her as they began to search for anything of importance, which was... rather annoying for me; I wanted to y a little longer, and yet... Pouting, I looked towards the Demoness, who only shouted "Kat!" in response to my look, causing me to click my tongue again as I dashed into the Ogre''s chest and stabbed the Tonfa into its Core, while my Khopesh sank into its ribs as I stabbed it again, ensuring it died here and now. Sliding the Tonfa and Khopesh free from its flesh, I watched sadly as the Ogre fell to the ground with a heavy thud before fading away, the giant, squishy, blood filled toy no longer alive, leaving me to just sigh as my source of amusement was taken from me so suddenly... "Really? You look like I just stole away your joy, your reason for being here! Melodramatic murderpuppy..." I red at Jahi before letting out a huff, crossing my arms beneath my chest and looking away with a pout, not liking the words she used and the fact that she had, indeed, taken away my source of joy! "There there..." Anput came over and pat my shoulder, though she did add "She has a point though Kat. We need to get deeper into the Grotto''s, not dally around here..." Another huff escaped my lips, though I begrudgingly muttered "Fine..." even as Anput''s hand drifted to a ce it shouldn''t be, the Jackalkin giving me some ''encouragement'' that I weed with a soft moan, making her shiver. Usually I shot down these public advances, but as Jahi watched on from afar, I made my ''displeasure'' known by letting Anput take some liberties with me, causing the blue skinned Demoness to growl as she looked away and began to organize the other Demons to start searching the area for anything of value. Of course, when my mate''s hand got too adventurous and made its way towards the ce she loved to show her devotion to, I nced at her and made her back away, but not before she took another squeeze and gave me a good spank just to push her luck. Giving her a dry look, I used the spank to take a step forwards and leave her behind, the Jackalkin watching me hungrily as she remained where she was. Approaching thekefront, I joined the others as we took a look at the crystal clear water that gathered at this edge of the grotto, investigating it to see if there was anything hiding beneath its surface. "Is that..? Oh~! Interesting~!" I spotted something deep in the middle of theke, and I gestured for Leone toe over, pointing it out and asking "Doesn''t that look far too... unnatural to just be a piece of rock? Like... it''s a stgmite that grew far too perfectly, no?" The Vampire leaned forwards and studied the area I pointed at, with a few Demons getting curious as they too looked into theke, only for Leone to nod as she said "It does look just a little too perfect... slight arc one direction, jagged, splintered branches off the ''trunk'' of the stgmite... I would bet that that is a monster of some kind, hidden beneath the rocks." "Indeed. Shall we find out? Quickly? Efficiently?" Ammit approached us with a innocent smile despite the electricity that was crackling between her outstretched hands, causing me to inadvertently chuckle at the Demoness, who tilted her head at the sound. Satanya chuckled as well, the Beliali woman nodding her head as she said "That''s smart, Ammit. Think you have that kind of power though? Spark up this entireke?" The gold skinned Demoness furrowed her brow and looked at Satanya with a slight frown, like she was insulted that the woman would question her ability to turn an entireke into a deadly pit of electricity infused water. "Go ahead. Everyone get ready I guess... see if this is actually a monster, something like that would certainly be strong, what with it being all hidden in the middle of ake and all that..." Jahi was also amused as she stared at the perceived horn, clearly hoping that this out of the way, hidden ''monster'' would be strong enough to provide more of a fight than the Goblins and their few evolutions did. Huffing, Ammit flicked her sleeves as best she could as she turned away from Satanya curtly, the Demoness ''offended'' by her friend as she approached the shoreline and knelt on the gravel beach, beginning to trace out runes for a gigantic Lightning Ritual Circle and preparing to fry this entireke of any and all life that was lingering inside its clear depths. Chapter 837 836: Terracotta Grottos (4)

Chapter 837 Chapter 836: Terracotta Grottos (4)

?Power surged around Ammit as the Demoness prepared her spell, the azure Ritual Circle growingrger and beginning to rotate as she slowly reached the end of her preparations. Inside theke, that horn remained still, making it even harder to determine whether or not it was actually a horn or just a piece of rock that was tricking us so much... but, since we were here, and we had potions to spare just in case, we decided that we could check before beginning to harvest this entire cavern for any and all natural resources it had... "Think it''s actually a monster, or are we tricking ourselves into thinking it has to be one?" I shrugged as I kept my gaze focused on that ''horn'', replying to the muscr Demoness beside me even as she got back at me for earlier, her hand roughly ruffling my ears as she looked down at me. "Could be either, honestly. It seems... too perfect, and too weird to be a rock formation? Curved and honed like a horn, and yet... I mean, nature does weirder things on a regr basis, so who knows. I''d rather get it out of the way before we start mining and all that; just in case it is, you know?" Jahi nodded, watching as the Ritual Circle waspleted, where it subsequently red a brighter azure as Ammit guided the spell to float over the water, before a cascade of thick, brilliant bolts of lightning mmed into theke''s surface, which would normally diffuse instantly on the topyer only, but... Each bolt streaked through the water and mmed into the rocks below, far too powerful to be held to natural standards as the mana lingering within each blue streak of light pierced the water and ensured the entireke felt the impact. The water was illuminated by Ammit''s lightning storm, but our focus remained on that horn, which... much to my relief, began to lift out of theke bed as arge stony head emerged from the sediment, followed quickly by four stumpy, taloned feet, all of which poked out from a rounded stone covered shell. "Some kind of tortoise or turtle monster? What was the difference again?" "Looks... like a tortoise, though it''s weird that its in ake? Either way, we were right~!" I smiled as it began to push off of theke bed and float up towards the surface, pirs of stone emerging beneath where it oncey to expedite the process and take it out of the now electrocuted waters, which were dealing steady damage to it. Despite Earth Mana being resistant to Lightning Mana, being trapped in a cage of lightning would still hurt immensely, especially if you were unprepared for it, which this monster was. Sadly for it, even as it cast more defensive Earth spells on itself and tried to emerge from the waters, it sumbed to the thunderous barrage of lightning bolts that were now focused on it''s shell, each bolt mming into it and dealing a mixture of direct damage and damage from the nearby area thanks to the lingering electricity. So... we watched as what breached the water''s surface was not an angry monster, but instead a corpse that had been bullied by a Mage who wanted to prove something to herpanion. Ammit stood up and let out a huff as she tilted her nose up at Satanya, daring the red skinned Demoness to say something about her performance or abilities before walking away when she had nothing, making the rest of us chuckle. "Reel it in! We''ll need the shell and meat of this thing for a base down here! Quickly now!" Satanya barked out her orders quickly, watching as the Wind Mages and Water Mages worked together to retrieve the corpse of the tortoise monster, which was butchered as soon as it found itself on the shoreline, hammers, pickaxes, and cleavers hacking into its corpse as we tore it apart quickly for its materials, all while some of the Demons remained on defense just in case more monsters came by. "Not bad for a first grotto, is it? Lots of ore in the walls, multiple paths, a fresh source of water, herbs, and a lot of monsters... This would do well for a base of operations inside the grottos, should we desire one." Jahi nodded as she yanked some of the meat from the ribs, tossing it into the giant ice chest I provided as storage, before she looked towards Satanya and asked "We could strip this grotto of everything and work from here if you want. Send parties to scout the nearby tunnels and pick which ones we want to pursue? Only problem is how stifling the atmosphere is, but..." "It''s manageable, so long as we regrly output some mana to keep our Cores from being strained... The only other problem is the monsters, but like I said..." Grinning, the woman turned to watch as two Demons skewered a leaping feline monster with their spears, gesturing at the monsters that asionally popped up as she finished saying "We need to keep our Cores from being strained, and this is the easiest way. Besides, after a few ''waves'' of monsters, this area will be ''marked'' as our own, so fewer wille here thanks to the sheer amount of blood spilt. They''re not the brightest things, monsters, but they rely on their instincts to survive, and walking into a butchery isn''t something they would do willingly." We all nodded, before ncing at Anput as she added "And as long as we plug up the tunnels that lead nowhere or seem the most dangerous, we can relegate where theye from. Especially if we make use of monster parts to do so; like this shell? If we make the walls of our base from this shell, we could make monsters wary of approaching this part of the grotto specifically, though they will need ess to the water, so..." "Build on one of the sides, leave the other side for them, and we should have a slight harmony with the Dungeon? Sounds good! Alright, let''s get everything moved and prepare to strip this ce of all its valuables~!" Satanya''s orders made us all cheer as we began to drag the giant shell over towards the side of theke that didn''t lead deeper into the grottos, instead positioning ourselves beneath an outcropping... which we instantly had some Earth Mages go clear out and guard as we got to work quickly, creating a new base camp and then grabbing the pickaxes and hammers that Anput provided for us as we made our way around the grotto, harvesting what we could. Chapter 838 837: Terracotta Grottos (5)

Chapter 838 Chapter 837: Terracotta Grottos (5)

?"And... that''s... the...st... of... that..!" I let out a grunt as I pulled the pickaxe back, staring at the mound of excavated ore that rested on the ground beside me with momentary exhaustion as I let the pickaxe rest on my shoulder, finally done with this vein of ore. "Yeah, it''s finally excavatedpletely... Gods above that took forever!" Leraie wiped the sweat from her brow as she mirrored me, resting her pickaxe on her shoulder and nudging a chunk of the bluish silver metal that we had worked hard to mine up, which had a tinge of Water Mana within its surface. "Did you think this was what you would be doing when you joined the expedition out into the Human Kingdoms? Mining away inside a Dungeon for an hour, all while monsters probe the area around us?" She chuckled and shrugged her shoulders, the Demoness crouching to inspect a piece of the ore as she replied "Yes and no. There was a possibility that we would do menial tasks no matter what, and with there being a few Dungeons inside the Kingdom''s borders, we knew we might end up inside one of them. Now, whether or not I thought that we''d end up in one of the more dangerous ones, no... not at all." As she said that, we both looked towards the source of an explosion, watching in bemusement as chunks of a Goblin sttered against the wall thanks to the Fireball traps that lined an entire tunnel, something Leone had done alongside Ammit when we found out that said tunnel was incredibly popted with Goblins. Even now the Vampire and golden Demoness were standing at its entrance, talking amongst themselves even as anotherndmine went off, sending a Goblin''s head flying through the air just a foot away from them. "Nor did I expect this. But, I have to say I am excited. Both because this will provide a good fight - hopefully - and because I''ve been wanting some better gear recently. Which might be easier than I thought considering..." She gestured towards the pile around us, and I nodded as I bent over to pick one up, admiring its surface and saying "Anput is going to be in heaven, and we have so many damn resources already? Not great ones, but... not terrible either." "Exactly. Begum Anput has disyed a great talent for smithing, and with all these resources, well, I hope she might forge us new gear so that we can morefortably press deeper into the Dungeon. And since she''s already forged a great shield for Lady Jahi out of that tortoise shell, I am even more hopeful." I chuckled, ncing back towards the base we had created beside theke and taking in its rough, yet organized walls from all the way on the other side of the grotto. Anput''s suggestion to use the shell for the outside of the base had been implemented, and with the back of the base facing against the walls of the grotto, we only had to construct a semi circle to house our loot and ourselves, alongside clearing that outcrop above us as well. Tortoise shell and rock had been used to make the walls, and even now there were Demons covering the wall in a paint concocted from monster blood, adding to the oppressive air surrounding the base that would hopefully repel monsters. "It doesn''t look great, but we don''t need looks, do we? Well, let''s get this back to the base, and then we can see which tunnels haven''t been scouted just yet. I want to whet my de as well..." Creating an ice chest - something that had now be second nature - and filling it with the ore we had gathered, Leraie nced at me and raised a brow, asking "Yeah, that earlier battle wasn''t enough, huh?" Her amusement drifted over to me, and I smiled back at her and nodded, replying "No where near enough for me... I wanted to paint a pretty picture with that Ogre''s blood..." She just snorted and stood up, taking one of the chests and walking beside me as we went back, where we found Satanya standing around a model of the grotto that an Earth Mage had made for her; she was using it to mark out which tunnels were scouted, which ones were priority for resources, which were dangerous, and which were still unknown, all while updating the inside of the model to determine the areas that had been cleared. Jahi stood beside her, the two bringing their minds together to make this as efficient as possible, all while Anput stood a dozen feet away from them, constructing her forge once more with a wagging tail as she constantly saw more and more materials brought in. It almost looked like we were paying her tribute as more and more chests and bundles of things were stacked near her forge, something that made us all smile wryly as the Jackalkin danced around the area and appraised everything. She looked slightly childish as she did so, yet also rather regal in an... odd way as she maneuvered the piles easily, getting it sorted based on usefulness; it felt like she was a Dragon organizing her hoard of treasure, despite this being all of our loot and not just hers. "Ah, Kat, Leraie! You wanted to head into a tunnel, right? After you put those chests down, get over here." We nodded at Satanya, doing as she said and joining her at the table, the red skinned Demoness tapping one of the markers and saying "This here is a tunnel near where you were just mining. When you were there, did you notice anything about it? More verdant, stronger mana surrounding it? Anything?" Exchanging a look with Leraie, I pursed my lips before saying "It was a bit more verdant, yes. Had arge root growing out of it that wasden with flowers, and the moss and vines were far more abundant. Not stronger mana though... why?" "Good... Alright, so we found a few corrtions that need more evidence to be ''proof'', but the gist of it is this; the more greenery by itself, the more resources. The stronger the mana, the more monsters. Both means... well, both. These tunnels here, here, and here were floral and abundant in nt life, but not super strong in mana. A cursory investigation revealed a few giant ore veins as well as some herbs in each. These had mana, and specifically this one, the one that Leone and Ammit are currently having fun with... so, our theory is the entrance of the tunnel can decide many things, and we want you to add another piece of evidence to this? So go to this tunnel and look around. Only go in about 150 steps maximum, alright? Any signs of danger - like a horde or very strong monster - you are to turn back around instantly and return to the grotto! Got that? No heroics, no greed, no battle lust. Keep it in check!" Satanya stared at Leraie and I for a few moments before nodding as Jahi added "Just go in and check, ande back out, please. We''re trying to figure out which tunnels we should prioritize and which we shouldn''t, and when we do that, we can begin harvesting them in earnest. And considering this initial haul..." We all turned to look at the mountain of ore behind us, which Anput was beginning to smelt down into ingots to make transpiration easier, alongside another two Demons who also were skilled enough in smithing to help her. "Well, we discussed it further, and we determined that not harvesting this now would be stupid, and as long as its safe, we should stay and take what we can. Sound good? Then get going; this tunnel here, above and to the right of where you were mining. Good luck, stay safe." --- Going to do a LOT of chapters here; some ''slow'' with chats and upgrades and the like, and others with action, as well as a potential few ''fun'' chapters too; don''t know how many chapters in total, but it''ll be a bit I think, since I have a few ns. Enjoy~! Chapter 839 838: Terracotta Grottos (6)

Chapter 839 Chapter 838: Terracotta Grottos (6)

?Taking the first step into the verdant tunnel that Satanya and Jahi had wanted us to scout out, Leraie and I raised our weapons and began to head deeper into the luscious tunnel, walking silently over the gravel ground that was gnarled with roots and flowers. Glow Flis were the most abundant by far, and they illuminated the path with their soft, pale light, allowing us to see deeper into the tunnel and take note of the bend that went deeper into the earth. Leraie focused on the path in front of us whilst I scanned the walls, floor and ceiling for anything of interest, be it ores or herbs; but, the only thing I could see was the dark grey rock thatposed most of the grottos, which were then covered in moss and vines that had no significance whatsoever. By our fiftieth step - which Leraie let me know by softly tapping my shoulder once - we had begun to walk down on the slope that the tunnel had formed, which started gradual before bing slightly perilous as it got steeper and steeper... only to head straight down for a dozen feet, causing Leraie and I to exchange a nce. Already, we were using mana infused into the bottom of our boots to hold ourselves in ce, forming spikes on the soles that dug into the rock and kept us here, so seeing a straight drop was a bit... annoying, but it was manageable. So, we nodded and began to descend to the ground, doing so as quietly as we could manage until we were on t ground once more, causing us to blink in surprise at what we found. Another cavern - not asrge as the grotto?- sprawled out in front of us, filled with stgmitesden with ores and sometimes glittering with gems, and to our surprise we didn''t find any monsters roaming around, though we needed to verify that as quickly as we could. Taking another step into the cavern, we looked around its perimeter and noticed that there were two other tunnels that connected to this one cavern, and after nodding to one another again, we split and walked around the perimeter towards those entrances, going to scout them out whilst also surveying the middle of this cavern. Like we had first seen, the ground was free from most vegetation and covered in various stgmites that were rich with materials of all kind, be it bluish silver metal, coppery metals, silvers and russet irons, and even a deep green near the middle; there was all kinds of metal waiting to be mined up, and atop some of those stgmites were chunks of gemstones and crystals that shone with the mana inside of them. An entire cavern of metal ore and gemstones... Anput would have a field day in here, and I wouldn''t be surprised if sheined about her tail aching after walking through this field of stgmites! There was nothing slinking around between the rocky pirs, nothing nesting nearby or above, nothing crawling around on the walls or ceiling... it was eerily quiet, but as I reached my assigned tunnel, I realized why. Peering into the darkness of this new tunnel, I held my breath as I saw arge amount of monsters hanging from the ceiling, their leathery wings and jagged, rough and rocky ws drawing my attention first, whilst the sight of theirrge blue bodies that were approximately four feet long was worrying enough. After a good nce into the short, yet upied tunnel, I took a step back and nodded to myself, before looking towards Leraie and shaking my head, cing a finger to my lips and pointing back towards the way we came, getting a nod from the Demoness. Slowly, silently, we circled around the stgmite filled, smaller grotto and began to scale the rock wall swiftly, returning to therger grotto and breathing a sigh of relief. "Arge amount of bat monsters were nesting in my tunnel; what about you?" "The same... I also got a better look at the interior, and it looked excavated out already, like these bats had drilled their way into the side of the grotto to im it for themselves?" I nodded, letting out a sad sigh as I sheathed my Khopesh and walked beside Leraie back into the base, many other Demons walking in pairs nearby heading to and from the various tunnels. "Looks like Satanya and Jahi have organized everything nicely. Hopefully we''ll find a path that takes us somewhere with a good fight..." Mypanion just chuckled as she nodded in agreement, the two of us yearning for a strong opponent forpletely different reasons; I wanted to make something bleed and yowl in pain for hours on end, and Leraie wanted a challenge to push her body to the limits. We were not the same. Though, I feel like people would make the argument that it was better that way; that most of the people in this group wanted to have a challenge and learn instead of tormenting some unfortunate monster until it dies... When we returned to themand table, we found that it had been expanded with a far better model that was updated properly, and many Demons were standing around listening to the ordersing from the Beliali woman and the Asmodia Heir. Settling into the line that was leading to the table, Leraie and I listened in before stepping up to give our own report, earning a nod from the two and moving off to the side to let the next group speak, slowly getting more and more of an idea on what was around just this one grotto. We knew it was a gigantic array of grottos going into this expedition, but hearing all the various pathways that might lead deeper into the mountains from each group was enough to give us a headache. Trying to keep that all in mind and organize this host of Demons must have been a significant undertaking, and whilst I didn''t really like her as a person, I had to admire the acumen that Satanya was putting on disy as she managed to do just that; organize the reports and make more and more changes to that model after each report. By the time thest group returned with their report, we were staring at aplex model that had so many different branching paths someone could easily mistake it for a piece of art... albeit a confusing one that ''would make you think, therefore it is art'' or something like that... Chapter 840 839: Terracotta Grottos (7)

Chapter 840 Chapter 839: Terracotta Grottos (7)

?Grunting, I raised the Khopesh and blocked the outstretched ws of a rather determined feline monster that had leapt over the tortoise shell shield that Jahi was hoisting, pushing the monster back and watching in slight irritation as a spear stabbed into it''s skull, killing it instantly. But, we had bigger issues on our hands as we watched the three tunnels connecting to this grotto overflow with more and more animal esque monsters, each one rushing at us as a bud grew uninterrupted in the middle of the grotto. "Who would''ve thought we''d get so lucky right away, huh?! That thing is absolutely engorged with Nature Mana! Betcha it''s something good ah?" The Demon who had robbed my kill just grinned at me, his cheek sshed with blood andplimenting his natural red skin tone, whilst his scarred lips somehow didn''t make him look ''scary'' or unapproachable, but instead jovial as he kept grinning, even as he turned back towards the fight and readied his spear again, stabbing it forwards over a shielder''s shoulder and piercing the shoulder of a bear. A horde of animal monsters were charging towards us, the allure of the bud that was - as the Demon had said - engorged with Nature Mana far too strong for them to ignore, since just a bite of whatever emerged would be rather beneficial for a monster who needed mana - and mana alone - to get stronger. Almost like a Cultivation resource in how it overflowed one''s Core with mana to use to get stronger, and whilst mortals could use it that way, there were far more sophisticated and varied ways to make use of such a Nature Mana rich item. Healing potions primarily would be one of the best uses - where Water Mana and Fire Mana were excellent at healing people, Nature Mana was even better, almost to the point that it could be coined as ''Life Mana'' in the way it operated with healing. And some studies were in fact recorded and stored in the Empress'' about how some Nature Mana healers were almost able to resurrect people with their magics, so it was something I was willing to give a little credence to. Light Magic was still rather disputed with Nature Magic in terms of healing though thanks to the rarity of the element. Anyways, that was all to say that this herb that was preparing to blossom inside this grotto was the thing that we were after as well, which had been reported by one of the groups that returnedst; it would appear that the abundance of Nature Mana was bearing more fruits then we realized, since there was another group that reported a second urrence like this in a separate tunnel, which was where Satanya was with both Ammit and Leone, taking the two Mages in lieu of arger group like ours. With Jahi at the forefront, our group wasprised of mostly melee fighters equipped with spears, shields and short swords, creating a wedge that the animals were charging at, only to get themselves cut down. I was here to provide support as best I could, which currently meant I was casting arge healing spell over the area before switching to offense as I shot arrows of ice down into the horde, peppering them with preliminary damage that slowed them down, allowing the melee fighters to finish them off swiftly. Something that earned me arge quantity of experience as I assisted so many people in their kills~! Already, a hundred - maybe more - monsters and fallen to not only our des, but also one another as they surged towards us, wanting to kill us off before fighting one another for the right to eat that bud for themselves, and there didn''t seem to be an end of them in sight. Not that anyone here wasining, since all of the Demons were itching for a battle like this, while I was a tad annoyed at the organized style of fighting, though... I have to admit, watching as Jahi stood so tall and valiantly in front of me, her heavy shield raised and deflecting the iing attacks from the monsters before her right arm snaked out and thrust one of her twin dius'' Light infused de into said monster''s body, stabbing it and twisting the de before yanking it back out, sending their lifeless corpse to the ground with a thud. Sadly her actual armor prevented me from seeing the artwork of muscles that was her back as she performed these actions; the thought of her chiseled muscles flexing and writhing beneath her blue flesh was enough to make me swoon... if I wasn''t able to see the bloodthirsty bear that was barreling towards her at the moment, its red eyes glowing murderously. Bears, felines, wolves, disgustinglyrge rats, bats and more charged at us, and all of them were taking pot shots at one another as they rushed us, fighting amongst themselves just in case they somehow managed to kill us before that fist sized bud blossomed. Raining icicles down upon the horde, I said "We should probably begin moving forwards to im it. Who knows when it will bloom...", which got a nod from Jahi as the Demoness shouted "March forwards! Keep shields locked! Ten paces!" We began to march forwards, pushing into the horde and growing closer to the bud, causing the monsters to roar in anger and double their efforts, but it was clear that they had already begun to thin out, our des working far too efficiently at cutting them down as we reduced the monster poption by a sizable margin. With the thick Nature Mana swelling inside this grotto though, I wasn''t expecting this massacre to diminish the poption truly anytime soon; by the end of the hour, more monsters would have manifested inside the Dungeon, but for now, they were slowly reaching their end. Circling the bud, the Demons began to nt their feet and create a new bastion inside the grotto, taking this area as theirs and not giving up an inch even as monsters continued to pour inside. Meanwhile, as they focused on the monsters, I began to work at securing the area through my Ice Magic as I erected walls and a dome above us, preventing us from being surrounded and attacked from behind, before I approached the bud and sheathed my Khopesh, inspecting it. Nature Mana rolled off of it in waves, radiatingtent power with each second that passed by as I stood beside it, inspecting its emerald green sepals and wondering what resided inside the bud, though I didn''t need to wait long as the Nature Mana inside the grotto swelled by multiple times, causing the monsters to go crazy as they roared even more, mming themselves into the shield wall in hopes of getting closer to the bud, which was the center of everything. It hurt to breathe somewhat as I stood beside it, and I nced over my shoulder and made sure everyone was still doing alright before returning my attention to the bud, watching in amazement as those sepals slowly peeled off of the bud, revealing the petals within. Chapter 841 840: Terracotta Grottos (8)

Chapter 841 Chapter 840: Terracotta Grottos (8)

?When the bud began to bloom, the Nature Mana that had gathered inside the grotto swelled and pulsed as it was funneled into the blossom, pulling the lush green sepals back one by one to reveal the flower within. A set of rich, vibrant purple petals blossomed when the sepals fell, revealing a globr flower that released a bitter, yet fragrant scent into the air, whilst a secondary, hidden sweet scent wafted off of the center of the curled petals. Hundreds of these petals formed a gradient from that dark, royal purple into a strong bloody red in the center, where the petals grew smaller and morepact, creating a beautiful, uniquely colored flower. A nectar was already beginning to form in the center of its petals, the red gold liquid moistening the petals and threatening to drip down onto the ground. All of the Nature Mana swirled around the flower and seeped into its stem, stimting its growth and making the flower even more beautiful as the colors deepened and became more saturated, whilst the scent became more abundant as well; specifically the scent of the nectar, which was almost as thick as honey thanks to the Nature Mana swirling around inside it. Honestly, the nectar almost seemed like Nature Mana taking a liquid form, that was how seeped in mana the red gold liquid was... Meanwhile, as I was observing this absolute masterpiece of natural beauty, the monsters were going rabid trying to reach it, something that made Jahi grunt as she pushed one of them back, only to ask in a strained voice "A little help here, Kat?! This is thest of ''em, but damn..!" I nodded, taking my eyes off of the flower and returning to the spell thatid dormant above us, fueling it with more mana and raining icicles down on the grotto, the icy projectiles slicing through fur, scales and flesh all the same, giving the Demons a bit more breathing room as they finished the monsters off with precise stabs and shes. The monsters stood no chance against a shield wall and perpetual rain of sharpened ice, getting cut down in swathes as my icicles either killed them or maimed them, which left them susceptible to the spears and swords of the Demons. I lost count of how many monsters perished beneath the storm of icicles, but what I was sure of was the fact that we had killed far too many monsters already for there to be that many more waiting behind, and lo and behold, the monsters eventually stoppeding... only because the sheer amount of blood in the area and piles of dissolving corpses warded away whatever was still thinking about testing its luck. Again, not the brightest things, but when weighing pros and cons they were rather efficient and understandable, and currently, the pros were not above the cons... With the horde now dead at our feet, we all turned back towards the flower and observed it for a moment, before Jahi asked "So... how do we harvest it without ruining it?" Giving her a dry look, I pulled out a knife and crouched beside the nt, studying its stem and gauging the length before swiftly cutting it down, keeping as much of the stem as I could before creating a vase and filling it with Water Mana, letting the flower remain somewhat nurtured as I said "Let''s get back quickly and have Leone take care of it, hm?" The scent of the sweet nectar was almost dizzying as I held my new vase, and the others all sniffed the air before scrunching up their noses, not the biggest fans of this overpowering, almost sickly sweet scent. "Hm... Leraie, Lucy, head back with her. Everyone else, start dismantling these monsters! Let''s get some meat for tonight!" The Demons all let out shouts of acknowledgment and happiness as they unsheathed their own knives, getting to work on the various monsters around us and butchering them for their materials - primarily their meat, much to my amusement. The two red skinned Demoness walked beside me with their weapons and shields raised, protecting me and the flower as we made our way back to the main grotto, the journey taking a good ten minutes as we traversed the long tunnels andrge grotto. We weren''t that far awaypared to some of the other reported areas, but it was still a slightly tense walk as we returned to the base, wondering if the Dungeon was going to raise monsters nearby to get its flower back, which was still oozing Nature Mana. Thankfully, we got back to the base without much issue, and we found the others had already returned, with Leone standing over a giant metal cauldron as she stirred around a viscous red liquid, Ammit right beside her and pouring some more liquid into the cauldron. Seeing us, they both frowned as they looked for the others, though a quick nod and Lucy going to exin to them what happened was enough; meanwhile, I ced the vase on therge table that had been constructed in the middle, waiting for them toe over and join us. "Jahi remained back to harvest the monsters. We ran into a rather sizable horde... what about you?" Satanya continued to fiddle with her model, the Demoness having taken a liking to it over these hours, and she answered me without even looking my way. "Not arge one, but instead we had to fight a tribe of Goblins for the garden of flowers and roots that was growing inside their grotto. Ogres, Trolls, and even a damn Crone, all with a few dozen Goblins shooting arrows at us. Thankfully Ammit and Leone are precise with their spells... they sniped the Crone before sting down the gate, letting us go inside and massacre the remaining Goblins." "Well, that''s good. And the flowers and roots you got, is that what is in that cauldron already?" "Yup. Healing ingredients primarily, and the two of them think that they''ll also work as buff potions too. Minor boosts to muscle strength and blood flow, as well as a heightened reaction time. I made the executive decision that those herbs should get turned into a potion as quickly as possible so we didn''t lose any efficacy, and Leone agreed. That flower is the reward for yourbors?" I chuckled, looking down at the purple and red dahlia for a few moments before I replied "If I had to take a guess, it''s more so the nectar that''s the reward, instead of the flower itself. But... yes. It would seem so." As well as the copious amounts of experience I had gathered from this outing as well, of course~! Chapter 842 841: Terracotta Grottos (9)

Chapter 842 Chapter 841: Terracotta Grottos (9)

?"So we just... eat it? Really? Something that valuable, something that precious and rare and hard to obtain... and we just... eat the damn thing?" "Yes. Or you could just drink it raw if you''d like. It''s the same effect, really. From what I can tell about this flower, the petals are nothing special - just really pretty - and its the nectar instead that is valuable. I just thought you all would prefer something tasty and rewarding after a long days work is all." Jahi let out an aggrieved sigh as she slumped her shoulders, the Demoness staring at the bottled nectar on the table with slight annoyance before just shaking her head and walking away, leaving me to stare at it as well. "Different question... you said you wanted me to make honey cakes with this..? You do understand how difficult that is with a... ''kitchen'' like that?" Leone turned towards me and just smiled, nodding her head and saying "I''ve been craving something sweet - something more than just honey - and after fighting all day long, harvesting ingredients, and brewing potions, I just really~ want a cake~! Surely you could do that for me, Kat? Pretty please? Hopefully with some kind of sugar on top..?" Giving the Vampire Princess a nk stare, I eventually sighed and carefully took the bottles of nectar, saying "Just so you know, the difference between honey and nectar is different taste wise. Andposition wise; honey is thicker, nectar is... like sugar water. But..." "You can make a cake?!" My ashen haired loved lunged forwards to grab my wrists - doing so carefully as well lest she damage the bottle of rare nectar - and shook me gently to convey her excitement, making me smile despite feeling a tad bit annoyed at being volun-told into doing something, though... Just seeing her smile and anticipation as she beamed at me was enough payment to make it worth while, and admittedly... a cake didn''t sound too bad right now, especially not when the ingredients were surprisingly easy to find. We had taken arge amount of grain with us - some Demons had been sent back out to grab our supplies and haul them back into the Dungeon for use - and we had also found some eggs, meaning all I really needed was some oil to make it fluffy, which was also easy to do since we had an abundance of different seeds in the area as well, so I could make seed oil. It was... not what I expected to be doing in any Dungeon ever, but it certainly wasn''t an unwee surprise at all; I''ve cooked before, and the only difference now is that instead of doing so in a dozen minutes, I''ll be cooking for a few dozen minutes... Even with magic avable to me, prep work andbining everything together, then letting it bake took what felt like forever, especially as I began to get everything together with the bottle of nectar ''staring'' at me, an invisible timer ticking down above it as the efficacy of the nectar slowly diminished. Leone was certain that baking it wouldn''t do much to the efficacy since other alchemical ingredients didn''t lose their efficacy in mes, so long as it wasn''t burnt, anyways... She heated things up all the time when she was brewing potions, after all, so it only made sense that it would still work, though... obviously I was worried, but there was little I could do to dissuade her, and the others seemed to be looking forwards to something sweet too, just not as feverish in their desire like Leone was. It was an interesting way for me to remember that before she met us, Leone wasn''t preparing to go out and fight, or sleep in a tent and eat whatever we could scrounge together; she was a Princess, after all, and unless she herself desired it, she never would have needed to step foot onto a battlefield, let alone a Dungeon. She should be eating cakes and drinking tea with the obnoxious and backstabbing snakes that call themselves Noblewomen, fighting not with magic and steel but with wits and charm, wielding her influence instead of her mana... though, I have a deep feeling that she wouldn''t have been a typical Princess even if she had never met Jahi and I. Leone would have yearned for more in life than just chatting and sipping tea with someone who was equally likely to either help her or kill her. Those thoughts made it easier for me to get everythingbined into a metal tray that Anput made for me,thering the sides in abination of oil and flour to prevent it from sticking before cing it into the oven, where I had a Demon sitting and controlling the mes, the yellow skinned man bought over with the promise of more sugar on top of his slice. It was something that made me wonder if all Demons were as simple as Jahi was... When it was in the oven, I pulled out my stopwatch and used it as a timer, handing it to the man and telling him to call me back over in 25 minutes on the dot before beginning to work on the real meal next, staring at the mountain of meat that rested on the cooking table, which whenpared to the small mound of greens... Looking around myself, I saw a few Demons look away as soon as my gazended on them, and I sighed as I saw the bundles of herbs and other vegetables they were hiding away, each one of them trying their damnedest to ensure we had a meat only dinner. Sadly for them, I wasn''t going to let it slide, and they all reluctantly returned the greens to the table and allowed me to make something that would actually do them some good, despite their firm belief that they were entirely carnivorous... despite having mrs, the sign of a herbivore. Again, were they all just simple with everything besides fighting and whatever vice took their interest? Perhaps I would need topile a report on it for future generations to understand these fascinatingly paradoxical ''creatures''... Chapter 843 842: Terracotta Grottos (10)

Chapter 843 Chapter 842: Terracotta Grottos (10)

?Dinner was an... interesting time, most certainly... which came as no surprise since I had to not only manage such arge quantity of food, but also because I needed to ensure that things were bnced enough for such arge group of people. Cooking for just the Demoness I was to eventually marry - despite already feeling like a wife since we first confessed our feelings to one another - was already an arduous task, especially with the added Jackalkin who had a ratherrge appetite as well. Even when I cooked for the Marquess too it never got to this size, so this was a rather challenging endeavor, but I was able to pull through and make some delectable cuisine for us all, as well as make sure that the cake that Leone had requested was done correctly as well. Multiple different pots, pans and skillets were being juggled as I zipped around my open kitchen, and I would asionally see the area around me being changed as the Demons prepared for dinner as well, creating tables and chairs for themselves as well as other dinnerware too. All in all, by the time that I announced that everything was finished and ready to be eaten, I was far more exhausted than I had been with the mining, scouting or the fighting, which made me wonder if I would have been capable of this without mana..? Probably not, which was something that made me both proud and bemused as I stared at the rapidly diminishing mountains of meat, cauldrons of stew, loaves of bread and - of course - the various saut¨¦ed vegetables and sds, which I made sure everyone got as I stood behind the counter, smiling at everyone and pointing towards the greens. I was able to do something that I wouldn''t have been able to do as a normal human - hells, probably not even as a normal Dogkin either - which was something to be proud of, but to think that my greatest use of my body''s strength so far today was ensuring this entire group got fed was... conflicting at best. By the time that I had managed to throw together my own te, most of the Demons were already going back for seconds, and I got to watch as an hour or so of hard work and dedication was slowly fading away before my very eyes, disappearing into the bellies of the Demons we had partied up with. Everyone ate rather swiftly, and by the time I finished my first te, they were heading back for thirds... Thankfully I had stashed away a second te of my own since I had known something like this would happen, so I still got more than my fair share of food to help replenish the energy from today''s activities. And for tomorrow, we still had more than enough meat to feed us all of tomorrow as well, and I was thinking of using the tortoise''s meat in a stew tomorrow with a myriad of herbs and vegetables, which would replenish our mana and give us a little excess as well, something that would help us strengthen our Cores. Honestly, each meal here was more than just replenishing our energy; they were strengthening us with each bite we took of anything, and that was something I was excited to think about as we spent more and more time here. Being able to get somewhat stronger just by eating? Who would say no to that? Of course, by the time that dinner was over, they all turned their hungry gazes back towards me, and I sighed as I began to take the cakes from the oven and ce them on the now clean countertops, cutting them into portions and ensuring that everyone here got a piece, watching as they all happily scurried away and settled back down, chatting and joking with one another as they waited for everyone to get a piece. Satanya came at the end with Jahi, the two making sure everyone had their own before grabbing their slices, with Satanya turning to look at her nsmen whilst Jahi slid over to my side of the counter, standing behind me and resting her chin on my head again, therger Demoness wrapping me in her embrace. "Now, besides being a nice little treat to end the day with, this cake was made with that nectar that Jahi and her group obtained. What does that mean, exactly? Well, it means that after you finish eating it, each and every single one of you are going to focus on absorbing the Nature Mana inside the cake and tempering your own mana with it. When you finish, drain out your Cores however you please; cast a bunch of simple spells, enchant something, just let it pour out of your palms, I don''t care. No one is going to get overloaded on mana here, right?" Her gaze raked over the crowd, and everyone shook their heads as she looked at them, before she continued to speak, redirecting all of our attention off to the side. "Coming around now is a special tea that we will be drinking every night. You get one cup, and that''s it. The herbs that Ammit and Leone turned into a healing potion earlier isced into the tea to help heal any internal damage that you haven''t discovered just yet. It''s just enough to mend small wounds, and after discussing it some more, we decided that this was a good use of the potion; hells, the two of them brewed enough for a year or so anyways..." Ammit and Leone were walking around with pitchers of hot tea, which they poured into everyone''s cups, the Demons grinning at one another as they realized the extravagance of our meal now. "Yeah yeah... you''re eating like kings and queens! Get over yourselves. Make sure to drink everyst drop of that tea, and you''d best like those damn tes clean, you hear me?! Now, let''s eat!" A cheer filled the air as everyone began to dig into their dessert, and I leaned back into Jahi with a sigh, enjoying the mixture of hard muscle and soft breasts as I did so. "Good job today, Kat... everything was delicious~!" I just hummed softly, before raising a brow as I saw Jahi''s fork make its way to my lips, the Demoness trying to feed me as well - something I didn''t deny as I took a bite of the cake I had worked hard on making. Compared to the savoy meats and wonderfully neutral vor of the bread, the sweetness that exploded on my tongue as I took a bite from the red gold cake was more than wee, especially when it was followed by a rush of mana that swelled inside my stomach, further adding to the experience. Taking another bite, I moaned softly as I felt my stomach warm up with the mana whilst my tongue experienced bliss in the form of sugary greatness thanks to the nectar, which was far more potent than normal nectar, but not overpoweringly so. Each bite was absolutely perfect, from the fluffy, airy cake to the sweet nectar that permeated the entire pastry; when Jahi brought the teacup to my lips next, I was able to wash down the sweetness with a slightly tart citrus vor, which paired well with the cake, the two different vors adding to one another instead of detracting. I enjoyed it even more since the scent of my Demoness lover was washing over me as well, that sweaty musk that I hade to appreciate mixing with her now natural sweetness as she embraced me from behind, and I could tell that she was also enjoying this moment, if the way she held me was any indicator... Especially with the stiff thing poking my back, as well as the way she was burying her nose between my ears and kissing my head; she was doing all the things that let me know just how much she needed me at this moment, and I loved it so very much~! Chapter 844 843: Appreciation (1)*

Chapter 844 Chapter 843: Appreciation (1)*

?By the time that Jahi and I had finished eating the cake and drinking the tea, she was rock hard and groaning softly into my hair as I ''tortured'' her some, taking this opportunity to tease this big blue bully as best I could, which was primarily me rubbing my butt against her giant cock, making sure to massage it properly as we stood together. Her groans were addictive as I kept going, knowing that just this alone would be able to make the usually ''resilient'' and controlled Demoness cum if I kept it up; with how often we were all over one another usually, and how filled her Core was with Mana right now, it was no surprise that she was about to burst with lust, and considering the way our two other wives were slinking our way, it would seem that they were experiencing this as well. That made me shiver in anticipation as I felt their lusts wash over me like a tidal wave, their gazes hungry for my body and absolutely primitive in how severely they desired me, which only made me wetter as I continued to rub myself against Jahi''s penis, making sure that the Demoness was tantalized enough to fuck me the way I liked. Though... I don''t think Jahi liked fucking me any other way besides as rough and demanding as she possibly could; it was just in her blood to dominate and disy her superiority over her whores whenever she got the chance... When she ced the te down and lifted the cup from my hands, I moaned softly as her handsnded on my waist instead, the Demoness not caring whatsoever as she began to grind against me as well, imitating what was about to happen as she enjoyed the softness of my butt. Looking up, I saw that most of the other Demons were beginning to pair off as well, seeking out partners as they grinned and smirked at one another, finding their partners for the night and retreating towards their tents. Meanwhile, Satanya looked over towards us with a frown, which only deepened when I moaned again as Jahi pulled her hips back and thrust forwards, mming herself against my ass and bending me over slightly to get a better position. Ammit, on the other hand, was looking around curiously before shrugging her shoulders and heading towards the wall, the Demoness taking a seat and looking out over the grotto as she separated herself from the happenings in the base. "Damnit... I can''t take this anymore..!" Growling into my ears, Jahi roughly yanked me around and walked me into our tent, the Demoness continuing to growl as she pushed me with each step, watching as my hips swayed enticingly or how I coyly peeked over my shoulder to smirk at her, egging her on even more. Not that she needed it, of course, but it certainly made things more interesting, especially since Anput and Leone were grinning as well, the two of them looking forwards to the show and being allowed to join in on showing their ''appreciation'' for me. By the time that we reached our tent, moans were already filling the air as the others got started first, and hearing that made Jahi push me forwards quicker, getting me into the tent and pushing me once more, this time to get me on the ground, where she promptly shed her clothes and ripped mine off. Her rushed, brutish treatment made me cry out in ''fear'', causing her cock to twitch as an all too familiar mask was slipped onto both our faces; the masks of darker pleasures as we began to role y me getting raped by her, something that only fed into our twisted, lustful minds all the more. My submissiveness to this Demoness as she grabbed my head and yanked me towards her cock rose rapidly as her sweaty musk was swiftly filling my nostrils, whilst the scorching heat of her erection threatened to scald my cheek as she pped me with her burly cock. "Suck it, bitch... Clean off my cock like the good little slut I know you are..." Her voice was oozing with promise as she clenched my hair, her hand balled into a fist as she pulled me closer towards the drooling blue dragon I had be far too intimately familiar with. From the side, I could see Anput and Leone stripping and leaning into one another, stroking their cocks and eventually vying for superiority as they mimicked us slightly, though nowhere near as rough as Jahi and I liked as the Demoness pped my cheek hard, definitely leaving a handprint on my face as she hissed "Suck my fucking cock already, you dumb slut! Make yourself useful for once and pleasure me you dirty whore!" I shivered as she pped me again, not giving me any time to do as she ordered and marking my other cheek with her hand, before raising it threateningly as she pressed her cock against my lips. Shivering in fear, I stared up at her with wet eyes and tried to shake my head, but as her hand morphed from an open palm to a clenched fist, I reluctantly parted my lips and swallowed her girth, gagging on the saltiness that permeated her cock as her dried sweat made itself known further. Lowering her hand to my head, Jahiid it on the top of my head and sat back, watching me with an arrogant, demented grin as she made me suck her cock of my own volition, not moving my head at all and watching me oh so closely, her grin never reaching her golden eyes. The threat was clear, and I began to do my best to pleasure her, sucking her precum out of her urethra and generously applying my saliva to her entire length as I tried my hardest to make her cum quickly and with as much pleasure as I could manage, going so far as to lift my butt into the air and wiggle it around, moving her gaze from my puckered lips and redirecting it towards my tail and soft cheeks. Gradually taking her deeper and deeper into my throat, I blinked away the tears as the Demoness ensured I couldn''t pull away, her strong hand resting between my ears and clenching every few moments to ensure I didn''t forget it. To ensure that I was sucking her cock the way she wanted me to; like a whore who was being paid to pleasure her, even though there was no transaction here, just unadulterated lust that reached uncontroble levels as the Demoness took me as her own. The way she smirked down at me as she made me do such a demeaning act out of nothing besides pure malice and lust was enough to make me shudder, even more so when that smirk widened as she held my headpletely still with my lips kissing her groin, forcing herself into my throat as she grunted "Cumming~! Oh fuck, I''m cumming..!" Feeling her balls pulsing against my chin, I widened my eyes before a deluge of her thick sperm sted down my throat, the Demoness grunting hard as she ejacted inside my throat as hard as she could, draining her testicles of their cum and feeding it to me instead. Her eyes narrowed in glee as she forced me to drink down her semen lest I drown in it, and I tried desperately to swallow it all down as she wrenched my jaws apart with her girth and spread my throat wide open. Those eyes - those golden, vicious eyes - locked me in ce and robbed my mind of the ability to think, toprehend anything as she sneered down at me with such terrible pleasure clearly writ on her face. Chapter 845 844: Appreciation (2)*

Chapter 845 Chapter 844: Appreciation (2)*

?Sweet yet musky cream filled my mouth, and I coughed on her cock as some of it leaked, the sheer volume of cum something that was impossible to keep inside my mouth without spilling, but she didn''t care as her lips curled up into a sneer, the Demoness pushing herself as deep as she possibly could before beginning to skull fuck me, mming her hips against my face heatedly. "Did I say you were allowed to spill a drop of my cum?! Hah?! Did I, you pathetic little bitch?! Ah! No I didn''t! So drink it all down!" Cum still sprayed from her tip, the blue Demoness riding out her orgasm as long as she could as she held my head firmly and raped my mouth, before eventually pulling out and shooting thest of her ejaction onto my face, mixing the sperm with my tears and ensuring I remembered this forever. My mind was too hazy to keep up with her, but I did feel her hands grabbing at my body as she pushed me down and grabbed my ass, spanking it and enjoying herself as she groped me without a care, before pping her thick cock against my lower holes and sneering "You''re drenched! Little whore was looking forwards to this huh?! Were you looking forwards to me fucking you like the slut you are, you Dogkin bitch?!" Feeling her thick tip brushing against my pussy, I shivered and shook my head, earning myself a scoff as the Demoness pped my ass again, making me yelp in pain as she did it again and again. "You say no, but your cunt is drooling at the thought of devouring my cock~! Nasty little slut... Let''s hope you''re tight enough to make me cum!" Without further warning, she pushed herself inside me and reached my womb in a single thrust, the Demonessying on top of me and mming her hips down like a hammer as she started to fuck me hard, grunting and groaning as she murmured "Oh fuck are you tight~! Oh by the..! I''m gonna get you pregnant! I am SO going to get you pregnant~!" I shivered again at her words, but I couldn''t say anything as she pressed my head into the ground, silencing me as she fucked me at her own pace - like that of a meteor as she mmed herself into my ass and let her cock rearrange my baby room as she pleased, preparing to put new life in it as her burly, abhorrent cock scraped me out and made me feel oh so good... My mind was scrambled with each thrust into my womb, and the Demoness snarled viciously above me as she continued to rape me without remorse, pinning me beneath her weight and robbing me of any semnce of purity I might have ever had. She had conquered me, reverting us both back to primitive times as she dominated me thoroughly, carving herself into my womb and enshrining herself as my owner as she ensured I would never recover from this, all while her heavy testicles reminded me of her desired oue of all of this... iming me as her bitch, the Demoness used me as much as she wanted before snarling again as she made sure to press down on me as much as she could, her muscles rippling against my back as she started to cum inside me, flooding my tainted pussy with sperm and trying her best to impregnate me. Her wordless, guttural noises as she inseminated me pervaded my mind, and before I knew it she had flipped me onto my back and was fucking me again, this time groping my breasts and kissing me hard... and I was kissing her back. My legs were wrapped around her waist, and I felt my womb clenching around her cock as it submitted to her mighty penis, causing the Demoness to grin as she fixed that golden gaze on me. "You''re mine, little bitch..." Those words were enough to make my mind slip, and I found myself at her mercy, at her pleasure as I began to do as she asked, unable to resist the sexual desires filling my mind alongside her semen as she made me shake my hips for her, taking her penis deep and riding it until she came again, before sucking on her cock andcleaning it off, only to scream as she began to fill my other hole with sperm as well, beating my cheeks and rampaging inside of my asshole however she pleased. When she came for the fifth time, she pulled out and let her creampies drip out of my holes, inspecting my pussy and asshole closely before grinning as she said "Leone, Anput...e here~! I have a present for you~!" My eyes widened as she called the other two over, and I shivered as I saw the lust radiating off of their cocks as they grinned down at me, far more aroused than normal as they looked at me like I was an offering... "Leone, enjoy her ass some~! I''ll nt my seed in her some more, so Anput... either take some time with Leone, or p that juicy knot of yours against her face some~! Jahi''s amused tone sent shivers down my spine, but what went down came straight back up as a monstrous cock pressed against my slightly loosened asshole, Jahi''s sperm acting as lubricant as Leone pushed herself inside me with all her might. The Vampire moaned loudly as she inserted her full length inside of me, before moaning again as Jahi slipped back inside my pussy and wrapped her arms around the two of us,ying under me and allowing Leone to fall onto my back without a word. Leone let out a pleasure filled scream as Anput began to fuck her instead, the Jackalkin waiting her turn as she and Leone thrust together, creating a tower of sex with me near the bottom. Even as I was fucked over and over again, even as these three futanari used me for their own pleasure, my mind couldn''t drag itself away from those luscious gold eyes, which stared at me with barely concealed amusement as she watched me descend deeper into the throes of lust. That night... they further showed me why they owned me, why I was so willing and epting to ept the idea of being just their property if they deemed that fit; they just made me feel far too good to not ept that oue, and that... was one of the main reasons I had fallen so hard for them. Each of them had something I wanted, I needed, and they provided it just as much as I ever needed it, and then some... Chapter 846 845: Terracotta Grottos (11)

Chapter 846 Chapter 845: Terracotta Grottos (11)

?"Now this... this looks like a ce we''ll be stuck in for a long, long damn time..." I smiled wryly as I stared out over the vast multyered grotto in front of us, the hundreds upon hundreds of feet of grass, vines, roots, herbs, rock and ore sprawling out above, below, in front and even behind us, the entrance that we took to get here cing us smack dab in the middle of the grotto. "This ce... is far too massive... like, seriously, how the hell did this get formed..?" Jahi''s muttering made me shake my head, unsure of how to answer as I joined her in looking around, taking in this incredible view for a few quiet seconds before asking "How do we want to tackle this ce then..? It''s... massive. Goes up, goes down, connects to other grottos..." The Demoness kept taking it all in, eventually looking back towards us and inspecting therge party of Demons that were also basking in the natural beauty during this moment, her lips curling into a frown as she let out a deep sigh, mulling over the problem some more as she tried toe up with a solution. Even Satanya was momentarily stumped as she scanned the various paths leading up and down the grotto, each teauden with new riches and dangers aplenty and requiring a new n to take on thanks to the sheer amount of distinct territories within this singr grotto. There was a few Goblin encampments throughout the area, and between them were all sorts of beast monsters that were roaming and prowling around silently, looking for anything to eat and also avoiding thoserger than them. Monsters with wings flew around the grotto and nested far above us, small outcroppings in the rocky walls allowing them to rest far away from every other monster whilst also allowing them to stealthily hunt whenever they pleased. Some monsters burrowed into the dirt, others swam within thekes and rivers, and some stomped around without a care in the world, assured that nothing would target them thanks to them being therger, strongest monsters around. "Honestly... we just chip away at it until something happens I guess? There''s not much we can do besides pick an area and just go for it, y''know?" Anput nodded and instantly pointed towards a giant spire of rock that was a jutting out from a few floors below, leaning against the teau we were on and saying "Then let''s go there!" The Jackalkin just grinned at us as we turned to stare at her, not caring that she was being so brazenly open about her selfish desires as she continued to point at the spire, causing Satanya to chuckle as she said "Course that''s where you want to go, Anput. Showing your desires far too easily huh?" "Of course I am! All y''all being indecisive and awestruck by some pretty scenery! Someone''s gotta have their head on straight!" "I think that''s just greed, Anput. Just greed." My mate clicked her tongue and red at me, before shrugging her shoulders as she said "Fine, then I''m greedy. Can we get going to the spire and mine up some more ore? I''m itching to get back and start forging again..." "And that''s an addiction." She clicked her tongue again before smirking, her obsidian eyes glowing with mischief as she cooed "You''d know about addiction, wouldn''t you Kat~? The way you were pleading for-!" Leone mped her hand over Anput''s mouth, silencing the Jackalkin before I could reply, though I did give her a simple stare that made the Jackalkin shiver, though she had no remorse as Leone released her, just grinning at me and winking before making her way towards the spire. "It''s a start, I guess... Besides, we can use the ore we mine to get better gear and kit ourselves out for specific areas, I guess. Anything we make that we don''t want to keep can be stored inside Custodia''s armory afterwards, so... let''s get going, I guess." Everyone nodded, and we followed the excited Jackalkin as we walked across the grassy grotto, avoiding the herds of monsters and keeping far away from the Goblins; the things around us kept a wide berth, curious but not wanting to risk anything with the unknown. Along the way, we got to better scout out this grotto, and honestly... every moment spent was incredible in terms of scenic beauty, the spherical cavern covered in Glow Flis, shining crystals, and various greenery and flora, whilst the area around us was a wonderful globe of nature kept hidden away from the world. In the distance, an entire portion of the wall was covered in giant crystals that glittered beautifully, whilst nearby a grove of trees bearing sulent fruit grew tall, their canopy home to various monsters thatzed around as they watched us from afar. Everything around us was beautiful, but what mattered here and now was the gigantic rocky spire that rose from the depths of the grotto and scaled up towards the ceiling, almost like it was a supporting pir for this entire grotto. Ores, crystals and gemstones littered the dark rock in front of us, and I could already feel Anput getting more and more excited as the various veins of material goodies came into view, each vein a different color and size waiting to be harvested and utilized. Nesting on the side of the pir were various avian monsters, whilst arge herd grazed on the abundant grasses that sprouted around the edge of the teau, using the cliff to protect them as they faced out towards us. Every step that we took away from the way we got into this grotto was careful, and as we approached the herd, they raised their heads to stare at us, snorting and stamping at the ground in warning. "Well... maybe we can get some good meats here too~? Actually... that''s a bovine monster, right? Anyone thinking thin steaks on some nice bread?" Chapter 847 846: Terracotta Grottos (12)

Chapter 847 Chapter 846: Terracotta Grottos (12)

?The bovine monster that Satanya was talking about was, of course, thergest, most muscr monster in sight, standing somewhere in the mid eights in terms of height andden with bulging muscles. Two sets of long, sharp horns sprouted from its head and curled around down towards its snout, which sported two tusks reminiscent of elephant tusks, creating a rather dangerous nest of keratin and ivory that threatened to tear whatever was on the receiving end of that apart. All four of its legs were meaty pirs half as wide as I was tall, and just as tall as I was, supporting a giant barrel of flesh and muscle that was covered in a grassy fur coat that hid its whorled brown skin that almost looked like bark, except for the fact that it moved and stretched like skin. It was imposinglyrge, and considering the smaller, less dangerous versions of it standing around munching on grass, this would be a battle against the entire herd, not just this singr bovine. Though, as soon as Satanya mentioned steaks to the rest of the Demons, our course of action was set in stone as they all turned their hungry gazes towards the bovine, who blinked its fourrge brown eyes at us, wondering what the hell was happening as it watched more and more Demons crowd around it. I let out a sigh as I nced at Leone, who was watching this happen just as wryly as I was, the two of us the only ''sane'' ones amongst this party as everyone else began to brandish their weapons and buff themselves with their magics, forcing the two of us to step forwards and begin to help this selfish attack on the otherwise peaceful and slightly adorable bovine monster that watched us from a few dozen feet away. There were easily another dozen smaller bovine monsters grazing around, but as soon as therger one let out a warning grunt, they raised their horned heads and stamped their hooves, looking around at the Demons around them. Feeling the mana gathering around us, therger bovine decided to not take a chance and instead snorted as it stamped its hoof once more, this time imbuing its thick leg with Earth Mana sending a wave of stone spikes towards us in warning. Almost like a shockwave, the spikes stabbed towards us before shattering, sending sharp rock flying through the air towards us before a new row of spikes was formed, traveling across the t top of the teau with surprising speed. However, our own Earth Mages stepped forwards and erected a wall, blocking the spikes and stopping the bovine''s spell from reaching us, though considering its angry snort and second stomp, it would seem we were now deemed a threat since we blocked instead of running away. This time, gnarled roots shot out of the gravel and dirt to stab towards our positions, the twisted wood leaping out of the ground before stabbing back into it to travel towards us from beneath the ground as well, causing Satanya to shout "Split!" Leone leapt backwards, before beginning to enshroud herself in a ball of mes, raising herself into the air and away from the roots; meanwhile, the other mages were having simr ideas, their physical prowess not high enough to dodge a sea of deadly wood snaking beneath the ground, so they fell back and began tounch spells at the bovines, all while the rest of us started moving to the side before closing in, our des ready as we drew closer to the herd. Shaking its head, therge bovine snorted once more, raising its hoof threateningly and showing us the emerald green Ritual Circle that appeared beneath it, before stamping down again and sending another wave of roots spiraling towards is, followed by another assault of rock. Some of the Demons - like Jahi - raised their mana imbued shields and nted their feet, creating small inds in this sea of rock and roots as they endured the attacks, preventing the roots from reaching them as they splintered in their mana instead. The rest of us relied on our quick feet to dodge through the various attacks, jumping and rolling to avoid what we could whilst trusting in our Mana Cloaks to block the rest; and thanks to the mages in the back, we were receiving a mixture of direct support in the form of buff spells, and some indirect support as theyunched spells towards the herd. Firebolts flew through the air at breakneck speeds, mming into the grassy hides of the bovines and eliciting shrieks of pain as they endured the initial barrage, the Water Mana lingering in the grass blocking the worst of the mes whilst their thicker skin and muscles helped alleviate the damages caused by the stones and rocky spears hurled their way. This raid on the monsters and their leader was a precarious one for us both; for them, they had nowhere to run since their backs were against the edge of the teau, making them dangerous, and we had the ability to run, but doing so would mean trekking through other monsters territories. So... obviously, the solution was to just win, and with our melee leader shrouded in gold wielding a shield and sword far toorge for even her size, and with two extremely deadly mages behind us, well... winning was rtively easy, just... time consuming. After all, how easily can you hack through a woven armor of grass and roots, such thick, Earth Mana infused skin, and then the incredible muscles thatid beneath all of that? It would take time, and as we reached the area around the giant bovine, we were no longer fighting against just it and its stomping spells, but instead against a herd of smaller, yet still deadly bovines that wereing to their leaders aid, mooing and snorting as they stomped over towards us at slow, yet extremely heavy runs, their sharpened horns lowered and aimed at our chests. Chapter 848 847: Terracotta Grottos (13)

Chapter 848 Chapter 847: Terracotta Grottos (13)

?Raising my Khopesh, I rolled to the side as a gnarled root burst from the trembling earth and spiraled upwards, trying to stab me from below and allow the charging bovine time to gore me with its long, sharpened horns. The smaller monsters had only one set of horns as opposed to two, and their tusks were much shorter than therger one''s tusks, but that didn''t mean they weren''t dangerous; far from it, since they were stillrger than normal bulls by a good amount, and they were hopped up on Nature Magic, so... Staring at the stampeding bovine, I leapt to the side again as another root shot towards me from behind me, the creaking and grating of the wood growing and rubbing together alerting me to its presence before it hit me, so I had ample time to dodge. The bovine took advantage of that time to slow down and shift its body, turning to face me before stamping back down and charging forwards, this time at a much closer distance. Strength rolled off of this monster as it charged me, each stamp of its hooves against the gravel sending vibrations through the ground, and when it got within striking distance of me, it pushed off the ground and revealed its hooves, which were radiating a deep brown light as two Earth Ritual Circles appeared beneath the ck keratin adorning its feet. mming its front hooves down, the bovine monster moo''d at me as it sent multiple spikes towards me, but sadly for it I was already on its side, my legs carrying me swiftly from right in front of it to the right, where I was able to raise the serrated, toothed inside crescent of my Khopesh and swing it down like an axe towards the bovine''s grass and root covered body. Ice lined the teeth of my weapon, and the Wind Mana billowing off of the de as I swung it down as swiftly as I could for added kic energy, which would hopefully be enough to break through the bovine''s defenses and deal some serious damage. It''s moo turned frightened as it realized that I had dodged the spikes it pushed out of the earth, but before it could do anything to protect itself besides brace, the Khopesh was already slicing into its meaty side, the serrated, ice covered teeth chewing into its flesh and ripping at the muscles beneath its brown, almost wooden skin, whilst tearing through the grass that added a thinyer of protection. On force alone the Khopesh dug deep into the bovine''s side, but when I added my weight to the de afterwards and wrenched the de free with a harsh yank, I dealt more damage and made the bovine squeal in agony, its front hooves lifting again as it tried to pull away from the weapon. Ritual Circles appeared on its hooves again, and I yanked my Khopesh away and leapt back, away from the nest of earthen spikes that erupted from the ground as it stamped its legs back down, now bleed profusely from the side but still just as powerful as before. Flicking the blood from my de, I observed it before lunging forwards again, this time leaping into the spikes and kicking off of them as I made my way over the bovine, relying on itsrge body and inability to manipte saidrge body quickly to let me get another attack in. Going to the other side, this time I targeted its hind leg, switching from the serrated inside crescent to the slick outer crescent, honing its edge with more ice and hacking away at the limb with efficient swings, scoring a dozen cuts across its meaty leg. Whilst I took care of one of the bovines, the others were holding their ground and doing the same, with Jahi, Anput, Satanya, Leraie and a few others battling to take down therger one, moving around it and going for a death via a thousand cuts. Tearing my eyes away from therger monster, I focused on my own as it squealed again, before it once more stamped its hooves down. Another wave of earthen spikes targeted me, and the monster screeched in fear as it wondered where I would attack next, though it got that answer quickly as I leapt into the air once more, this timending not on solid ground away from it, but instead on its broad, muscr back, startling the monster. It tried to shake me off, but before it even had a chance to react, I covered my Khopesh in a thickyer of Ice Mana and shed down at the monster, my lips curling into a delighted grin as I watched the outer crescent slice cleanly through the bovine''s thick neck, revealing therge white bones thaty beneath the muscr, dense flesh of its neck, though they were swiftly covered by a pool of blood as the bovine stumbled, unable to control itself as the nerves that traveled from its brain to its body were mostly severed. Leaping off of its back, Inded in front of the monster and watched as its four eyes blinked in surprise, only for the light to leave them as it dropped to the ground and began to bleed out, its spine damaged. With some nning and good execution, the bovine filled with Nature Mana and incredibly tanky - with insane defensive capabilities, given a little time - fell so easily to my de, and so beautifully too... though it could have been better. Staring at it for a moment, I unsheathed my dagger and swiftly carved away its chest, revealing its heavy Core, which I yanked from its insides and stored inside a pouch, before doing the same to the heart, which was about the size of both my hands and then some... and damn heavy as well. Securing them both, I washed my hands off quickly and lifted my Khopesh again,unching myself towards the ''raid boss'' bovine and joining in the efforts to take it down. Chapter 849 848: Grades

Chapter 849 Chapter 848: Grades

?"YYYYYEEEEESSSSS!!" We all jumped slightly at the sudden, almost ear piercing scream of joy that came from the forging area, causing us all to look towards the source of said noise before ncing at one another, seeking out an answer from people who were just as confused as we were. Hesitantly making our way over to the forge, we saw Anput grinning form ear to ear as she bounced around, waving her tongs in the air and happily humming to herself as she danced around and stared at whatever it was that she was holding between the metal tongs. With her tail wagging as fast as possible, her lips parted in a grin that would put the Cheshire grin to shame, and joy almost always exclusive to children, Anput was in her own world as she continued to dance around like she just didn''t care about anything besides whatever it was that she had done. Sensing us, the Jackalkin looked around with excited obsidian eyes as she said "Look! Look! I did it~! I really did it~! Haha~! HAHA~!" "Yes... very good, Anput... you... did it. Um, what exactly... is ''it'', my love? What are we looking at?" Between her tongs was a still hot, orange sphere of... presumably metal, but that did very little to narrow it down; what we could all tell was that whatever she had done, was something that radiated a lot of mana, and specifically a lot of Earth Mana. "Hehe~! HAHA~! I did it~! I really, really did it~! I managed tobine not two, but three separate mana rich metals together, alongside a fourth material! Three metals and some monster bone, and I managed to make this..! This beautiful thing~! Oh so beautiful..." It was still cooling off, but now that we had heard what she had said... we all still stared at her, wondering if there were a few screws loose in her head; even the Demons familiar with the intricacies of forging were blinking in confusion, not understanding the significance of what she had done to warrant such a reaction. Noticing that none of us were giving her the proper overjoyed reaction she wanted, Anput clicked her tongue and instead said "I took three mana rich metals as well as a mana rich monster part and managed to create aplex alloy that is high in mana conductivity, high in durability, dense, and extremely, extremely easy to work with when hot. And when I say high durability, I mean it shouldn''t dent even if Jahi takes a giant hammer to it... well, at least not a lot." The blue Demoness perked up at that, making Anput flinch as she hid the alloy away behind herself, staring at Jahi with narrowed eyes as she hastily added "Not that I want to put it to that kind of test, mind you, just that... in theory, it should. Ahem, now anyways, the significance of this is that if we were to assign grades to metals, we would have basic steel at a solid D, right? Reliable, works for most people, not the best for anything besides everyday appliances and the like, right?" We all nodded, which made Anput nod as she began to ''teach'' us about her very important alloy, which was something she was evidently quite, quite proud of... "Then there are the basic alloys of non mana rich metals and a mana rich metal; something like basic tin and Rubrum copper for a bronze alloy. That would be your C grade metals, things that are above average, pretty good, but could certainly be better. Your B grade would be what almost all of us are used to using, right? Two mana rich materials, sometimes three put together into an alloy and honed for specific elements and all that. Takes a bit of time to make, a bit of time to shape and forge, but the end result is an extremely reliable and high quality weapon or armor that shouldst you a lifetime... as long as you don''t run into a Fiend, of course." She smirked at me before coughing when I raised a brow, the Jackalkin returning her gaze to the alloy in her hand as she continued on with her lesson, which was bing slightly interesting... slightly. "Now, making B grade alloy is easy enough, and going from making C grade to B grade takes some practice, some experience, some finesse, but you can do it, right? Cause when you mix a mana rich metal with one that''s not mana rich, or mix two mana rich materials together, you need to use your own mana to help fuse them together properly, alongside actual forging techniques, right? Which means almost everyone can do it so long as they know what they are doing and want to do it. It''ll take some time, but... once you get it down once, its simple to replicate. But..." Anput raised the alloy in her hands and grinned at it, her next words taking this from slightly interesting to just... interesting. "Going from B grade to A grade is rough. A grade takes higher quality materials and asks more of the smith; more concentration, more control, more understanding. It''s... three, four times harder to grasp than B grade, which is already ''difficult'' enough to grasp. Takes a lot of time, or just being damn lucky and being born with Metal Magic... anyways, point is, A grade takes some skill, finesse, and good materials to pull off, and of course the end result is really good. Like... really, really good. This is A grade right here, and this means I know how to forge some good shit! Course, now I just need to forge an entire ingot to actually make something with, but..." My mate jumped around again as sheughed dementedly to herself, before stopping when Jahi asked "Then what about my sword? The Celestial Gold? Is that A grade?" "A grade? No no no. That right there is A++++ grade. Fuck if I know how the Empress made it, nor do I have a single iota of a clue on where she even started. The metal itself is made from Ritual Circles, which I guess is a clue, but not when there are almost like... a thousand of them linked together in a chain. Seriously, not a single portion of my brain wants to understand how to do that, because I think it''ll just ruin my confidence and understanding of smithing..." The Demons all snickered as they nodded in understanding, before Satanya stepped forwards and asked "So... are you going to be spending time making this... A grade or whatever alloy, or are you going to be making a bunch of B grade alloy for us?" Anput blinked a few times, before staring at the alloy that had cooled off to a reasonable level, her obsidian eyes showing clear reluctance even as she sighed and said "Yeah... I''ll keep forging B grade alloy for the expedition... we need it, after all. Damn..." Looking like a child who just got a toy and was told they can''t y with it, Anput sighed again and stared at her alloy some more, before blinking a few times and looking back at us as she asked "I... didn''t wake you all, did I?" Chapter 850 849: Upgrades People, Upgrades (1)

Chapter 850 Chapter 849: Upgrades People, Upgrades (1)

?I plopped down inside the camp and let out a sigh of relief, rolling out my bruised shoulder and healing the surface level damage I had sadly taken thanks to a minor mistake in a fight against a Goblin... which ahed slightly, but nothing that I couldn''t handle as I rested my back against the sturdy wooden wall. "Damn... I didn''t think that Goblin would slip past me like that, Kat. My apologies..." Leraie sat beside me, the Demoness just as exhausted as I was thanks to the outing we had just taken of our own ord; something the two Demoness'' in charge of our group decided would do us some good. Each day, we would have the ability to head out in a group of any size that we wanted to do as we pleased, so long as we got it cleared by Satanya and Jahi first - that usually meant them giving us suggestions on where to head and us making the choice before heading out to do as we pleased. Leraie and I had wanted something simple to get our bodies moving again to start the day, and sadly we underestimated the tenacity of some Goblins, with one of them rushing straight past Leraie and mming its club into my back when I was taking care of the Crone further away from us. Though, after I got hit, I turned and stabbed it in the face before blowing the rest of its head off for good measure, but I still got hit... But, it was worth it for a multitude of reasons, with the primary one being the gigantic vein of not ore, but gemstones that we had found, even if they were primarily lower grade gemstones that had little actual power inside them, which was a shame... The second reason I was happy was because Leraie and I had found our own veins of ore to mine up, giving me a chance to go ahead and spend some of the Shop Points I had on some better ore to gift to Anput; it cost 1,000 SP per chunk, was extremely rich in mana, and was Water attuned, so it was an... investment on my end to spend 15,000 SP on 15 chunks. I mixed them in with the rest of the ore and gifted them to my mate with a grin, alongside the various Earth and Water gemstones we had found to add to the ever growing pile of goodies we were finding here. And I made sure to remind her that she was to make me a proper Khopesh soon out of those chunks of ore, which were a pretty blue color as well~! After these past two days of being inside the Terracotta Grottos, I had already umted a substantial amount of Shop Points, Experience Points, and increased my stats by a small amount as well; it was just another lucrative stop for me before I returned to the Empire and made proper use of my System, no holds barred and consequences be damned for now. The fight with Tza''Orbias had made it abundantly clear that I could try to continue squeaking by via my own merits, or I could go ahead and power up directly with a few purchases from the Shop inside the System, be it materials, direct items, essory items like my anklet or the earring I had, or techniques and spells that could be used to further my power. All of that was avable to me, and after the fight with Tza''Orbias, I wanted to go ahead and make proper use of it, but for now, I was going to continue using it sparingly in the presence of others, though I was going to begin using it to miraculously find some better ore to give Anput for current upgrades. Our armor was of lower quality than I would like, my weapon was basic - ording to Anput, it was C grade alloy - and we were deep inside of a Dungeon filled with dangers... Fuck trying to wait around and leave everything to fate; I want to get my higher quality Khopesh back so I could dismember all the Goblins I see with brutal efficiency as I paint the grass with their disgusting blood..! Ahem... Anyways, I was also eyeing up the various Magic Pens that were inside the Shop, looking over how they were made and trying to piece it together to make my own... and make it believable that I could make something like them. I wasn''t above iming someone else''s ''work'' as my own, because I earned those Shop Points and bought them fair and square, therefore I did earn those Magic Pens and could definitely make it myself! Most certainly I could make these incredibly powerful Magic Pens, promise... Having my level go up and my stats increase was as revitalizing and refreshing as ever, and earning more ''money'' for myself to spendter was also great, so I let out a deep breath and rested my head against the wall, letting my body heal up as Leraie and I rested up for our next excursion, which would be arger one orchestrated by Jahi once more. There was another portion of that grotto from earlier with the bovines that we were interested in, one that had not ores or herbs, but instead a slightly rare monster that would be quite nice to turn into some armor. Leone and Ammit identified it as a Wurm of some kind, a distantly rted monster to Wyverns and Drakes, meaning it had slight Draconic blood in its veins and was therefor something we needed to hunt down and turn into a fresh set of armor. Something about the leather being light yet super resilient, really mana conductive, and perfect for armor, whilst the bones were great for weaponry, and the various organs and some other parts were great for potions too. It was just something they wanted us to kill so that we could get some more upgrades going, which was the entire goal of these first few days inside the Dungeon now; we wanted to get geared up so that we could head deep into the Dungeon to find the real goodies~! Chapter 851 850: Upgrades People, Upgrades (2)

Chapter 851 Chapter 850: Upgrades People, Upgrades (2)

?I watched as the Jackalkin approached me with an unusual gait, her backpletely straight whilst her steps were evenly paced and rhythmic as she walked forwards, almost like she was marching. Raising a brow at her antics, I held back a snort as she stopped in front of me and bowed at the waist, going almost an entire 90 degrees as she held up the bundle in her hands like an offering, the long, cloth bundle held out to me and waiting to be unveiled. "I managed toplete it in time, my ''Goddess''~! Please, ept this lowly one''s humble offering!" Anput''s voice was just as dramatic as her position was, something that made me all my eyes and shake my head as I looked down at her, though... I had to admit that being able to trace out the muscles of her back from above and enjoying the defined curves of her body as she took on a submissive posture was... quite the sight for me, and I''d be lying if I said I didn''t like the look of it. And corsdering the way her tail swished side to side idly, she was having some fun with this too... probably because she was being a bad ''worshipper'' as she stole nces at my hips and thighs, which just~ so happened to be level with where her head was. Definitely not on purpose at all, no... Perhaps I could convince her to role y with me as well... something about her worshipping me would probably get us both so~ into heat that we might just create a new pinnacle of sex for just the two of us, just like how Jahi and I had our own role y that satisfied us both on a primal level. Anyways, I reached down and gently unfurled the cloth bundle, revealing the offering thatid beneath, which caused me to gasp as its beauty was revealed to the world. It was the same shape as my current Khopesh, yes, but just like the same shirt can look so different and go from ugly to average to gorgeous with just a different shade, so too could a weapon... especially if the quality of materials changed as well. The primary color was the deep, regal blue that almost seemed ck in the shadows, looking like the depths of an ocean as it reflected the firelight back at us, giving it a colder appearance that suited me just perfectly. However, like I said, it had a primary color and a secondary color; running through the deep oceanic blue in thin, yet bright waves was a soft, simple green, traveling up the Khopesh and breaking apart the blue in multiple different lines, meaning this wasn''t just a normal alloy, but... I reached down and lifted it up, bringing the de closer to my face and inspecting the beautiful blue and green metal, before my eyes widened slightly as I noticed that the de reacted quite well with both my Water AND my Wind Mana... Sensing my confusion, Anput rose from her bow and smiled at me, her obsidian eyes filled with pride as she said "I brought some Wind attuned materials to tinker with when we set off, and I decided I should save them until I absolutely knew what I was going to do with them... and I found out what I was going to do just a few hours ago~! You noticed it already, right?!" Anput''s smile turned into an excited grin, and I blinked a few times as she leaned forwards and stared at me in anticipation, her tail wagging behind her faster and faster as she waited for me to say something. "Yes, I did. It''s both Water and Wind attuned, though not Ice attuned..." She chuckled, shaking her head as she said "Well, I can''t merge the two together just yet to create apound element like Ice... not yet, anyways. But! This is already pretty good, isn''t it? It has both the elements you need and use, and if you have a high enough control - which you do - this should be a nice bump to your Ice Magic, though only if its cast via this Khopesh as the medium. Isn''t that awesome?!" Myughter made her grin widen, and I reached forwards and ruffled her ears, staring at her warmly as I nodded and said "It''s a wonderful gift, Anput. And..." Spinning the de in my hand, I grinned as I saw therge blue gemstone nuzzled into the bottom of the hilt, which made Anput smile wryly as we both stared at it, the Jackalkin whispering "I might have... snuck one of the gemstones already, yes... Sadly we don''t have any Wind gemstones on hand, but this''ll be another boost..." I snorted at that, making her smile widen as I said "It''s more than just a boost, Anput. This takes this from a really high quality melee weapon to something that I can actually turn into a pseudo staff via enchantments! The amount of mana inside this stone is enough to power a high quality spell on its own, and I already have a few ideas thanks to the dual element alloy you forged it with~!" Her obsidian eyes shown with pride, before she looked at me from the side and licked her lips, her nose twitching as I took a step closer to her, letting her catch a whiff of the pheromones she had be addicted to. "And of course, such a perfect, incredible upgrade to my current weapon, something made just~ for me by such an incredible, aplished smith like yourself... obviously, you need to be rewarded for your work..." Stepping in front of her, I reached forwards with my free hand and grabbed ahold of her butt, grinning at her as I saw her eyes widened in surprise, before she grinned back at me as I rested my brow against hers, whispering "And I think I know just~ the thing to reward a capable, talented woman like yourself... and maybe, just maybe, if you worship me like before, perhaps we can speak on further rewards..?" Chapter 852 851: Upgrades People, Upgrades (3)

Chapter 852 Chapter 851: Upgrades People, Upgrades (3)

?Wiping off my lips, I smirked at Anput as sheid sprawled out on the bedroll, my mate utterly drained and exhausted after being taken for the ride of her life, something she requested of me as ''payment'' for the new Khopesh leaning against the tent pole. I was now feeling full in more ways than one as Iid down beside her, cuddling her into my chest and enjoying the way she nuzzled into me instinctively, burying herself into my bosom and embracing me back as we cuddled together, indulging in some fuzziness together. "Kat..." Looking down at her, I raised a brow as she popped out from my breasts and stared up at me, before I sighed as she asked "Can we do that again sometime? Like... tomorrow? Maybe tonight? Or... right now..? Yeah, can we do it again right now?" "No, no we cannot, Anput. We have to head out into the Dungeon soon, and thest thing the two of us need is to bepletely and utterly drained of all our energy before joining everyone on therger excursion. You know that..." She pouted at me, poking me a few times to try and convince me otherwise before sighing, puffing out her cheeks even more as she huffed "Fine... be that way... I go out of my way to make such a masterpiece of a de, and I get-!" I silenced her with a kiss, surprising the Jackalkin for a brief moment before she kissed me back, trying to take that as me relenting and giving into her whims; to a certain degree I was, but even as she slipped back inside and snuggled closer to me, I leaned down and whispered "You can finish now and seek out Jahi or Leone for tonight, tomorrow, and tomorrow night, or you can hold it in and be a patient girl..." She blinked a few times, before grumbling as she reluctantly pulled out, making me chuckle as I added "I''ll make sure it''s worth it, my love... I promise. Now, let''s enjoy a few more minutes of quiet before getting prepared for the excursion, hm?" "You promise..?" Stroking her ears, I chuckled some more and smiled at her, nodding as I whispered "I promise... When have I ever broken a promise, Anput..? And when have I ever~ left any of you three feeling unsatisfied..?" My mate stared at me in silence for a few moments more, eventually whispering back "Never...", her obsidian eyes filled with such need and want that I was tempted to give in so that we could both feel good, but we really did need to get prepared soon... "Which is what''s making this so difficult right now... I want you so badly, and yet... I gotta wait! Hmph!" In ''anger'', she buried her face into my bosom again and this time, making me gasp as she bit my chest before biting my shoulder, sinking her fangs into my nd and pumping me full of her pheromones once more in retaliation. When she finished, Anput pulled away and smugly grinned at me, licking the blood and clear fluids from my nd away as she whispered "There... now you have to suffer alongside me~! Now you WILL be here again tonight, no matter what..." Those ck eyes were like voids as she said that, and I shivered as she kept her eyes focused on my own even as she licked the wound she created, healing it for me and doing exactly what a mate should in this situation: remind the submissive of their position and make it clear what is going to happen. An interesting feeling, having your instincts shape your mind into a certain set of thoughts and feelings for you... and not an unwee one either since I agreed to this arrangement. My arms wrapped around her muscr body and held her close, though as she did the same, I felt myself instinctively allowing the slightly shorter woman to hold me instead, fluidly switching from who was embracing who and using this moment to unwind as we gave in to our instincts somewhat. The scent of citrus filled my nose, and the heat from her body as she stroked my back and rubbed her face between my ears was refreshing to say the least. When it was over - by the time we both felt back to normal and ready to begin preparing - she reluctantly released me and got up, leaning into my hands as I cleaned her off with my magic before getting dressed, kissing me once and making her way out of the tent. I cleansed myself as well before taking my Khopesh and sitting in the tent for a little longer, deciding that the best course of action for now was to enchant my new weapon and make myself stronger that way, so I took my Magic Pen and began to create a spell that I thought would make proper use of the weapon. One big spell, or two medium spells..? Or I could do three smaller spells as well, to give it some variety? The gemstone really opened more doors for this weapon than I could have imagined, but I decided that doing anything more than two would be creating unnecessary clutter in battle for me mentally; I would still have an ''offhand'' to cast spells with anyways, so keeping the Khopesh ''simple'' was a good idea. To that effect, I came up with two ideas; both medium range spells, but one for single target damage, and the other for area of effect and crowd control, both of which were Ice Magic and both of which would be ced alongside the crescents. The inside crescent was going to be used for single target ranged attacks, with the spell being a rather simple one, a favorite not for me, but for Jahi instead; I was going to create a discus of sharpened ice tounch at people at great speeds, utilizing both the razor sharp edge and the fragility of the ice to deal an incredible amount of damage. Hopefully, if I use some Wind Magics alongside it, I can control the trajectory of the discus andunch it forwards at an angle, arcing it through the air to curve back into the target; something to just catch people off guard and try to attack weakpoints. It was an easy enough enchantment - after the basic enchantments were put in ce, being the mana battery, durability enchantment, and the keen edge enchantment - and it took up a rtively small portion of the Khopesh since I was now able to make the runes smaller thanks to the Magic Pens. Then there was the second enchantment, which came as an idea after fighting the bovines; couldn''t I send icicles erupting out of the ground in front of me to push enemies away or trap them in a field of ice? This one took much more nning and a deeper, detailed execution as I engraved the runes along the outer edge of the Khopesh, the sequence of runes leading up towards the tip where I would be able to cast the spell in a rather... showy movement, but one that was sadly needed at this moment, since I required an outlet for the spell. My discus was able to nestle inside the crescent andunch from there, but this wave of icicles, this condensed and directed Domain spell required contact with a surface to cast, and the easiest way to achieve that was raking the hooked tip of the Khopesh along the ground. So I finished the sequence out on the tip of my new de, engraving the icy cyan runes onto the oceanic blue and green metal with control and precision, letting out a sigh of relief as the enchantment took to the material and was epted. Though I yelped when Leone entered the tent suddenly, my partially covered body surprising the Vampire before enticing her as she approached me, ''pleading'' for me to take care of her before this excursion. Chapter 853 852: Terracotta Grottos (14)

Chapter 853 Chapter 852: Terracotta Grottos (14)

?Keeping low to the ground, I crept through the grass and scouted the area around me, the overhang above shrouding this portion of the grotto in darkness as it blocked the light from the gigantic crystals that sprouted out of the walls. Tall grasses concealed my figure as I slowly made my way forwards, our target residing beneath this overhang and inside the den that was nestled under the rock, just out of sight for most other monsters even though it was located in such a monster rich area. That''s what made it perfect for the Wurm we were hunting though; this inconspicuous den was located in the midst of what could only be described as a buffet for a carnivorous monster like itself, especially one that was as adept at hiding and so lethal in its hunting habits. My ears were strained and my nose constantly twitched as I scanned over the grassy area around myself, searching for anything that might give away the location of this distantly rted Draconic monster, only to frown as I found nothing. Slinking forwards in a crouch, I kept my movements to a minimum as I swiveled my head side to side small amounts at a time, whilst my feet floated just over the gravel thanks to the thinyer of Wind Mana covering the soles of my boots. I took in the underside of the overhang, the rocky walls, the grass around me... and I f course peered into the entrance of the den from where I was, but I still couldn''t find this Wurm, which meant it was either deeper into the den, or out hunting... If it was hunting, then the others were the ones in danger since they had created a ring around the overhang, waiting for me to lure the monster out into their waiting spells and weapons; meanwhile, if it was in the den, then I would need to get much closer. Much, much closer... Holding back a sigh, I continued forwards and approached the rocky entrance into the earth, keeping my senses strained as I prepared to peek into the den, hoping to find the Wurm somewhere inside. The trickling of water from the river above, the slight breeze that filled the grottos from the many openings as well as the various changes in air pressure within the grottos, creating a special sort of wind that- never mind. All of that was to say that this entire area was filled with scents, sights and sounds that tried their hardest to distract me from what I was searching for, and that made it difficult to approach that den without my body releasing arge amount of adrenaline, my recent run in with the Goblin reminding me that I was, in fact, mortal and able to die if I wasn''t careful enough. Thankfully I relearned that lesson with the monster that was attacking with a blunted club instead of a razor sharp w, but still... I needed to remember that even these monsters that were weaker than a Fiend could bring me to death''s door with express delivery. So, I really needed to focus myself on this scouting adventure, tuning out the background noise of each sense and searching for shifts or abnormalities within them to locate my prey - orck thereof in this case. Creeping forwards steadily, I reached the edge of the den and took another silent, slow and steady look around before peering into the den, my nose twitching as the stench of death and blood mmed into my nostrils like a truck. My ears fluttered as I listened to the sounds within the den, and my eyes widened as I heard the muffled, distant snarls of a monster devouring its meal, the wet, sloppy sounds of a carnivore tearing into the body of another monster carrying up towards the entrance of the den on a rtively silent cloud; without my heightened hearing and mild ability to filter out sounds on a whim, I wouldn''t have ever heard the Wurm deep inside the den, though... Running my hand over the edge of the entrance, the packed gravel that the Wurm had burrowed into began to loosen, and small rocks and pebbles were sent ''crashing'' down into the den, causing the Wurm to go silent. Rubbing out some more of the gravel, I began to sneak back into the grass, waiting and watching as I kept my attention honed on the entrance, before another idea flitted into my head, one that might make it far easier to lure this monster out. I took my Khopesh and caressed the outer crescent, before clenching my palm over the sharpened de, drawing blood; the smell of the beautiful crimson liquid filled my nose swiftly, and I squeezed my hand and allowed the liquid to drip to the ground, creating a tiny pool atop the rtively impervious surface. Continuing backwards, I created a trail of the strong smell, and a smile rose to my lips as I saw arge, smooth head slowly emerge from the shadows of the den, its forest green scaled skin almost blending in with the shadows as it looked around, a long, forked tongue flicking out from between its lips. Tasting the air, the Wurm grabbed the edge of its den with its short, wed arms and pulled itself out, revealing the serpentine body and beautiful leather and scaled flesh that we were hunting it for. Along its spine, the bones protruded from the skin and split, caressing the outside of the Wurm''s body like a second pair of ribs, giving it further protection from threats whilst its only set of limbs - its upper arms - were adorned with three frontal talons and a smaller, backwards facing w, almost looking like hands as it dragged itself outside of its den. Hissing almost silently, the Wurm tasted the air some more and slithered into the grass, its green skin shifting to match the tall grass and making me quicken up somewhat as I continued to backtrack, not wanting to test its ability to hunt me within its preferred domain. Chapter 854 853: Terracotta Grottos (15)

Chapter 854 Chapter 853: Terracotta Grottos (15)

?I healed the wound on my palm as I moved backwards, washing away the blood and ensuring my hand would be able to grasp the hilt of the Khopesh without issue, whilst also getting rid of the slight sting that stole away some of my attention - I would be needing all of it as I continued to silently move away from the Wurm. I couldn''t see it directly, only the faintest of outlines as it leaned down to sniff the patches of blood I had left behind, its long tongue flicking out and appearing suddenly within the grass, the ck appendage far too dark to blend in perfectly like the rest of its body. The slight tremors pulsing through the ground as it crawled towards me were able to be felt as well, albeit briefly and very faintly, the monster''s sheer size and weight making it almost impossible for something that big to remainpletely unnoticeable, but the fact it was barely noticeable was already scary enough. Now that it was out of its den, by my estimates it was around ten feet long, upwards of fourteen or fifteen feet in total, whilst its width was easily within the three feet range, keeping it slightly slim for its length but still borderline huge for and monster. Then there was the fact it had taloned hands that seemed capable of gripping things; they weren''t exactly fingers, but the talons were attached to small digits, whilst the talons themselves seemed flexible... which was disturbing and worrying. Keeping my pace, I eventually reached the ring that the party had formed around the den, and as Jahi gave me the nod, I made myself known, stamping down too hard on the ground and ruffling some of the nearby grasses, luring the monster out even more. The air was tense as I froze, trying to mimic the actions of an animal that had just given away its position as I waited for the monster to make its move, the others hidden away and waiting to spring out and attack. My eyes raked over the grasses, before I grit my teeth as I watched the Wurm leap free from the sea of green and arc downwards towards me, the monsterunching itself and reaching for me with its outstretched hands, those talons gleaming with a rich green glow that would help it kill me in a single strike. Sadly for it, those talons screeched against a golden barrier, blocking its attack and surprising the monster, but it didn''t remain stunned for long as it swiftly retreated, its eyes narrowed as it studied the barrier of golden Light Mana around me. Standing up, I grasped my Khopesh and ran my mana through its de, activating the outer enchantment as I raked the tip along the gravel covered ground, sending a wave of icicles out to catch the monster. Raising itself off of the ground, the serpentine Wurm spread its arms before mming them back into the grass, countering my magic with its own as it erected a wall of stone around itself, cutting off my line of sight. In fact, the wall arced around it, shielding the monster from the various spells and arrows that flew towards it, ensuring it would be protected as it prepared to do whatever it was doing behind that barrier. Jahi rushed past me, the Demoness leading with her tortoise shell shield raised and held steady, whilst her great sword was pointed at the barricade, its de covered in Light Mana. The others rushed in behind her, whilst the mages bombarded the barricade, cracking it and reducing it to rubble to allow the melee fighters to get within range of the monster, turning the grotto from a rtively quiet, peaceful ce to one echoing with explosions and shaking as mana was unleashed upon a singr spot. The overhang above shook and rained down dirt and pebbles onto the earth below, whilst the cries of monsters nearby joined the booming explosions that filled the air. Meanwhile, the Wurm was hissing as it reared its head back, standing tall on its serpentine body and brandishing a twin set of long, gnarled root whips that were covered in thorns and surrounding rocks. Its body was covered in a growing, alive armor made from roots as well, slowly encasing its entire green serpentine body and protecting it as it brandished the whips, swiftly turning the tide of the battle as it cracked them out towards us. Arcing through the clearing, the heavy, stone and thornden whips crashed against the shields of the Demons, pushing them back and even sending the surprised ones stumbling back quite a few steps as the roots dented their shields and fractured their arms. Hissing at us, the Wurm fluidly brandished the whips again, cracking them back down, but this time creating a giant ''X'' that targeted one person; Jahi, who was right in front of it, and the one it had identified as the most dangerous thanks to the Light Mana surrounding her person. nting her feet, Jahi raised her shield and grunted as the two whips crossed over her shield, mming into it with enough force to crack the ground beneath her as she endured the blow, surprising the Wurm. However, that surprise didn''tst long as the Wurm continued to crack those whips, its short arms fluidly directing the long, nimble weapons with such ease and elegance; elegance that wasn''t tranted to the damage dealt as it cut through the air and mmed against the shields again, only to then spin them around itself and block the spells that the mages had barraged it with. They had tried to catch it off guard with a singr wave of attacks, but the Wurm saw them and blocked it all, only to then raise its arm and crack the whip yet again, this time sending the mass of vines and rocks snaking through the air and above our heads, aiming instead for the mages behind us. The roots twisted and lengthened with its mana, and we heard a mage hiss in agony as the whip pped against their body, breaking through their mana barricade and making it clear that the Wurm had the ability to reach the mages with frightening ease. In mere seconds, the Wurm had already attacked more than once, its eyes filled with malice as it red at us all, its wooden armor and weapons far more durable and lethal than one could expect from just a nce. Already, it was living up to its Draconic lineage, disying power well above the other monsters nearby. Chapter 855 854: Terracotta Grottos (16)

Chapter 855 Chapter 854: Terracotta Grottos (16)

?The Wurm let out a long hiss as it tugged back on its whips, retrieving their length and shortening them some as it raised its arms again, beginning its assault once more as it red down at all of us melee fighters. Turning my Khopesh, I activated the enchantment on the inner crescent and created a heavy discus of ice, using the de as auncher as I shed at the Wurm, sending the discus flying straight towards its face, catching it in the midst of its swing. With no time to deflect the discus with its whips - which were snaking through the air horizontally and crashing against the shield wall - the Wurm snapped its jaws shut and tried to twist its head away, aiming to avoid the headshot from the projectileing its way. Its eyes were clenched shut as well, the Wurm protecting its weak spots as best it could even as the discus mmed into its wooden helmet, the razor sharp edge cutting into the woven root te mail and trying to chew through the armor to reach the flesh beneath, only to shatter before that happened, the slivers stabbing into the roots and lodging themselves there for now. While the discus had been flying through the air, Iunched another two, one towards its skull again and the other towards its torso, my projectiles buying the others a few seconds tounch their own attacks, capitalizing on this moment as the Wurm raised its whips up, trying to block anything that mighte and attack it whilst it was temporarily blind. As such, my two discuses mmed into its whips instead, though they almost managed to cut through the gnarled roots, only to shatter once more as the force of impact finally cracked their surfaces. Jahi was the first to recover, the blue skinned Demoness rushing forwards once more, her shield still raised and ready to defend against those whips should the Wurm begin attacking again, whilst her sword was pointed straight forwards, unwavering even as she ran. The others recovered a split second after her, shaking off the worst of the damage they had taken from those whips and charging forwards, covering the ground between them and the Wurm in just a few breaths, their weapons shining with the colors of their mana as they began to attack, all while the mages in the back moved forwards as well, getting a bit closer as they started to support the fighters with support magics. As for myself, I maintained my position on the in between, remaining close enough to jump in and help any of the Demons who seemed to be getting ahead of themselves or were in imminent danger whilst also being far enough away that I was able to continueunching projectiles at the Wurm, peppering it with discuses of ice and observing its reactions as I searched for weak points in its armor. The Wurm shifted the whips into straight, fixed des as it began to fight us at closer quarters, hissing and snarling at us as it continued to swipe its long weapons around itself, clearing space and giving it some breathing room to continue attacking, whilst also further funneling its mana into the wooden carapace that covered its leathery, scaly flesh. Those des rose and fell with deadly efficiency as the Wurm shed and stabbed at the Demons around it, while the wooden armor continued to block the worst of the projectiles, the mending capabilities of Nature Mana ensuring any damage we dealt was repaired within moments, making it difficult to locate a weak point to target. shing at Jahi, the Wurm hissed as its sword was blocked by her shield, though it continued to push and ce it weight down on that weapon as it pushed the Demoness back, all while its second sword hacked and shed at the other Demons, keeping them at bay for just a moment. When it found the opening it was looking for, the Wurm took its other sword and tried to stab the pir or roots and stones down at Jahi''s head, but as it was pulling its arm back Iunched another discus at it, aiming for its arm. Instead of attacking, it was forced to defend and pull its first de away, swatting the discus out of the air and hissing once more as it red at me, only to have its attention snatched by Jahi as she took the opening I gave her and stabbed forwards, her great sword thunking against its armor before splintering the wood, allowing her to stab the flesh beneath and make the Wurm shriek in agony as it was finally wounded. With another discus heading towards its face, and a few other bolts of magic racing to m into its body, the Wurm was momentarily frozen as it tried to determine what was more of a threat, staying its hands for just a heartbeat before deciding to target Jahi, deeming her to be the bigger threat. Sadly, the Wurm wasn''t able to make a proper choice as Jahi yanked her sword free and stabbed it forwards again, further cracking the wooden armor around its lower body and revealing the flesh beneath, before it was hidden again as she pierced its skin and buried her de into its flesh, the Light Mana almost able to shine through its body. It shrieked again and tried to bring its wooden weapons down on her again in retaliation, but the other Demons stopped it from attacking, blocking its strikes and redirecting them elsewhere, allowing Jahi to twist her sword and yank it back out, another slew of blood erupting from the wounds and drenching the ground in front of her before she stabbed it again. Then the discus mmed into its helmet, knocking its head back and making its shriek disappear as it tried to hastily shut its mouth, only to swallow a few thick shards of ice and begin to choke on its own blood. Those bolts mmed into its upper body and splintered the wood, impacting against its flesh and jostling it around some, before the Wurm fell limply onto its back, the sword stuffed into its stomach and the blood in its throat taking it down. A monster that would prove troublesome for even just half of us was trivialized thanks to the numbers, the sheer amount of attacks and different angles those attacks came from, rendering its incredible abilities useless thanks to the amount of people attacking it. Something that would not always be the case, but an advantage we were going to make use of in these uing days. Chapter 856 855: Terracotta Grottos (17)

Chapter 856 Chapter 855: Terracotta Grottos (17)

?Butchering the Wurm took no time at all, our knives and short swords making quick work of the dead monster''s flesh as we skinned it, butchered it, and further desecrated its corpse via dismantling its skeleton. The meat filled multiple chests, the skin wasyered and ced into three chests, the bones filled multiple chests, and the various other ingredients - like its organs - were ced into another three chests, meaning... We had a gigantic caravan of chests we needed to haul back to the base, which we stacked together and began to lug back, attracting the attention of the monsters nearby as they curiously watched us get to work, only to ignore us as they felt the mana pulsing off of us as we walked, or the scent of a powerful monster lingering around us pushing them away even more. But, we went straight back out as soon as we deposited our loot back at the base, not taking a rest as we returned to clearing out this other grotto, making it another safer area as we prepared to excavate all of the resources inside it for our own benefit... Even though there was a good chance that some of the materials would be left behind, we still were driven by a slight greed to have as much as we could and - at the very least - upgrade our gear as much as possible and continue delving into the depths of the Terracotta Grottos to try and find the real, mouthwatering goodies that currently eluded our grasps... The only ones we had found so far were those two separate herbs, which were nice to use, sure, but not the greatest finds ever; we certainly got a boost in strength from them, and having a really powerful healing potion on tap was great, but they weren''t shy acquisitions in any stretch of the imagination. Not much happened on the next excursion, so we pulled back to the base once more after harvesting some more monsters for food and some extra materials, which were put to use right away as we got to work on curing and tanning the pelts and hides that we acquired to create some better armor and repair the damage we had taken. Besides that, the whips of the Wurm had dented and cracked some of the shields, so Anput was doing repairs to those as well to reequip us for the next excursion, with some of the Demons approaching me asking for basic enchantments... which they bartered for using their ''profits'' that had been earned throughout these days. Getting our weapons and armor tended to was great, and now that I was cing enchantments on everyone''s gear, we were readying ourselves for the next excursion, which would be to search for another grotto that had things we were searching for, which was primarily going to be ore at this point. While I was enchanting and Anput was mending, Leone worked with Ammit and continued to brew potions, whilst Jahi continued working with Satanya to brainstorm our next move, the two appraising the model and updating it with their new ideas and eventual ns. After a while of inscribing the exact same runes on different pieces of gear, I eventually got up and found Leraie, the Demoness staring at me in confusion before nodding as I asked "Wanna head out for a quick hunt? I need to move around..." "Sure, sure. Let me grab my gear real quick." The others watched as we left with slight pouts, the Demons who were hoping to get their enchanted gear not too pleased with my departure, whilst the ones who had gotten their gear enchanted gloated to their peers, causing fights as they continued to gibe and goad one another into spars, enjoying their downtime the in one of the only two ways all Demons seemed to know how... Giving Jahi and Satanya our destination, Leraie and I returned to the grotto once more, aiming for one of the Goblin tribes that dotted the area and creeping towards them, our Wind Cloaks and light feet making it impossible to smell or hear us as we approached the haphazardly thrown together base. Sticks and logs were stacked randomly alongside rocks to create walls, whilst the crudely tanned hides of monsters patched any immediate holes in the walls to keep the entire thing insted from the breeze, keeping the camp warm as they ignited a gigantic bonfire inside their camp. Along the ''ramparts'' of the walls, Goblins stood around andzily looked over the grotto, their bows and spears resting on their shoulders as they yawned and dozed off, whilst the grunts and growls of the others inside the camp spilled into the air. Unsheathing a dagger, I scanned the walls and nodded to Leraie before sneaking forwards, out of sight and hidden from the monsters that I wanted to take my irritation out on... both for earlier, and for the amount of repetitive enchanting I had just done. So, I slunk forwards towards the wall and crouched beneath it, before lunging upwards and yanking the Goblin down from its perch atop the rock it stood on, startling the monster before it stared at me in fearful surprise as I swiftly slit its throat. Obviously such a maneuver attracted attention, but before they could investigate the sudden disappearance of theirrade, a giant earthen spike erupted in the center of their camp, startling them. Jumping onto the rock that the Goblin had once upied, I spun the bloody dagger smoothly and threw it towards another monster, before unsheathing my Khopesh andunching a projectile towards the Ogre that stood in the center, its slow mind trying to catch up to all of these sudden changes, causing it to freeze up. Because of that... the ice discus shed into its chest and tore through its muscr torso, bisecting the Ogre and causing the top half of its body to slide to the ground with a wet thud, startling the rest of the Goblins into action... even though it was toote for them. Chapter 857 856: Terracotta Grottos (18)

Chapter 857 Chapter 856: Terracotta Grottos (18)

?After I watched the ice discus chew through the Ogre''s muscr torso and relished in the shower of gore the shattering of my icy projectile brought about, I clenched the hilt of my Khopesh with a grin and bolted forwards, running along the edge of the wall and making my way towards the next rampart. Grunts and chirps filled the camp as the Goblins tried to organize themselves, but the green humanoid monsters had no time to make a noticeable difference as Leraie and I fell upon them like a crashing wave, surrounding them with our power and dragging them into the depths of despair as we began our massacre. Switching to the jagged, serrated edge of my Khopesh, I grinned as I swung the curved de down towards a Goblin''s skull, its elongated cranium turning as it tried to raise its spear to deflect the attack, only to stand there limply as my de sliced messily through its body, bisecting it in yet another shower of gore. Tearing through its flesh, the saw like teeth of the inner crescent made quick work of the poor Goblin''s green flesh, my blue de easily slicing the Goblin in half and causing a deluge of blood and flesh to stter wetly to the ground around us, creating a beautiful, captivating art piece. I drank in the scene in front of me with a shuddering breath, and before I knew it I was lunging for the next Goblin, running along the top of the wall once more and making my way towards the Goblin I had thrown my dagger at, the monster mewling in pain as it tried to w the de free from its shoulder without causing itself more agony, even though that was impossible. Reaching it, I yanked the de free before stabbing the monster in the eye, swallowing hard as it shrieked some more before falling silent as I twisted the de, killing it with brutal efficiency after listening to its scream for another second or two. When it slumped against the dagger in my hand, I pushed the corpse off and used the dagger once more, its de still covered in crimson blood and fleshy pink matter from the Goblin before, only to get covered some more as the de sailed through the air and punctured another Goblin''s skull, killing that one instantly. Leraie was standing in the middle of the camp, her stone pir gone and reced instead by herself as she cut down the Goblins that rushed towards her with swift, minimal effort shes from her sword, slitting throats and cutting through their chests and stomachs with singr attacks, ensuring her opponents fell quickly to her de. It was... and efficient style, yes, and one that most people would even say it beautiful with how simple yet effective it was, but... I stared at her with a slight frown, noting that the Demoness was treating this not like a fight, but almost like a job, her eyes not interested in what was happening past the calctions on the best way to cut down the enemies around her; she looked almost bored, which was something that I dreaded. Finding no enjoyment in such a one sided massacre would be a curse, and just ncing at her seemed to sap the enjoyment from my mind, so I tore my gaze away from her and found another Goblin, my grin returning as I blitzed forwards and decided to take my time with this one, wanting to regain the blissful feeling of satiating my bloodlust once more after Leraie inadvertently sapped some of it from me... The shorter, green skinned monster blinked a few times in shock as I appeared in front of it, its club held loosely in its hands as it tried to make a decision, only to look down in shock as the club dropped to the ground, alongside its two hands. Blood squirted from its arms like water from a faucet, and the Goblin stared down at its missing hands dumbly, unable to process what had just happened for a few moments, all while I stood over it with a grin. Watching the understanding dawn inside its beady, idiotic eyes was euphoric, and I couldn''t help but giggle as the Goblin looked up at me in horror, the realization that it had just lost both of its hands finally registering in its pea brain. The pain followed quickly afterwards, and my lips curled further into a sadistic grin as the Goblin teared up, its lips quivering as it took a shaky, uncertain step back, waving those stumps around as it tried to plead for mercy, even if beneath those watery, pain filled eyes I could see malice and anger welling up alongside the tears. Watching it step back, I hooked the Khopesh under one of its hands and sent it flying towards the Goblin, who flinched as the mass of flesh and bone pped into its chest, smearing its own blood across its green body, causing it to blink a few times as it once more stared at its hand. The hand that had just been used to hit it. Dropthe act, the Goblin let out a pained snarl as it red at me, before it began to rush forwards as fast as its stubby little legs could take it, only to blink in surprise as its view on the world spun sideways. Landing on the ground with a thud, the Goblin looked down and saw its legying on the ground a few feet away, before looking back at me as I crouched beside it, my grin widening even more as the monster finally whimpered at the situation it found itself in. My Khopesh stabbed into the earth beside it, and I giggled at how it flinched at the action, its beady eyes moving from the de to me as I unsheathed another of my daggers, its short, steel de free of any gore and grime... for now. Chapter 858 857: Experiment To Learn

Chapter 858 Chapter 857: Experiment To Learn

?Using my Ice Magic to create heavy manacles on the Goblin''s handless arms and remaining leg, I grinned down at the helpless monster as I cooed "Aw, you must be in such~ horrendous pain, little one... such, such terrible agony..." Leaving it there for a second, I retrieved its hands and its leg andid them beside their respective origins, all while the Goblin stared at me with those beady eyes filled with such delectable despair that it made me shudder, a jolt of glee rushing up my spine and tickling my mind as I looked down upon it. "Let me make that better for you, hm? Oops, my hand slipped~! How clumsy of me..." A thin, yet deep cut appeared on its cheek as the dagger sliced through the flesh, revealing the bone and teeth underneath and staining them red as the Goblin tried to cry out, only to find a chunk of ice forcing its jaws to remain stationary, the ice growing around its gums and anchoring them together, not allowing it to make any noise past whatever it could muster up within its throat. Whilst the ''music'' had been quieted, the main event was yet toe, and I hummed along with its pained gasps as it watched my knife move around its bodynguidly, my eyes tracing out its muscles as I wondered what might get the best reaction from it, before going for a ssic. Not giving it any time toprehend what was happening, I stabbed it in the shoulder and twisted the de, forcing those beady eyes to go wide as it tried to scream past the ice chunk, something that made me chuckle as I released the grip of the knife and stood up, looking back towards Leraie for a moment. The Demoness was wiping the blood from her sword as she inspected the encampment around us, only to sigh as her eyesnded on me and my prey, the increasingly wonderful Demoness just shaking her head as she hopped onto one of the nearby rocks and created a whetstone, maintaining her sword''s edge as she left me to my own devices. Smiling happily, I knelt back down beside the Goblin and resumed my humming, my fingers dancing in the air above the green skinned monster''s chest as I traced out the various runes for a healing spell, tweaking it as I went and deciding to put my skills to the test with this very willing participant... To start, I healed the various smaller, less significant wounds around its body, closing the holes and knitting the flesh together as I treated it gently, before making my way down towards its right hand, inspecting the cracked bone and torn tissues on its wrist. It was by no means a clean cut, but as I ced the hand against the stump of the wrist, I hummed alongside the Goblin''s pained, muffled cries and began to knit the two separate tissues back together, going slow and steady as I controlled the blue Ritual Circle in my left hand, hovering it above the two separate pieces of flesh that I held together with my right. Watching as the flesh began to reconnect and crudely heal was captivating, and I paused my humming as I tilted my head, observing the healing process closely as the outer tissues were mended, making me wonder if the tissues beneath - as well as the bones - were being mended as well, though I needed to heal the entire thing in order to sense if that was the case. Even as I sent my mana deeper into the Goblin''s stump to try and feel if that was happening, I wasn''t really able to perceive it thanks to the monster''s idle mana trying its best to attack my own whenever I pried, its instincts of self preservation making themselves known whenever I tried. So, I was forced to y the waiting game as I slowly and meticulously healed the monster''s wrist, trying to reattach its hand and understand if I had made that leap in healing talent yet; my skills might say my healing is more efficient, but if I didn''t actually know the spell to reattach limbs, no amount of bonuses to my healing would help me achieve that goal... And it''s not like I could practice on myself or on others, at least not without severe risk to myself or them in case it went wrong, and whilst I was alright maiming random strangers for my own gain, doing so to those that were either useful or important to me was something I wanted to avoid for obvious reasons. So... monsters were the perfect subjects for me to conduct these tests on, and it also allowed me to satiate my urges as I got to force them into the situations I wanted to try and learn how to treat, making this a win win for me~! And... well, a lose lose for the monster, but who cares about them~? As soon as the hand waspletely reattached, I released the manacle and watched as the Goblin raised its arm, the monster reaching for my chest as it tried to w me, making me sneer as I pped its hand away, causing it to grunt as the force of my strike broke its bones. "Damnit... must you be such a terrible little Goblin? I was just trying to see if I could... never mind. Let me heal you again..." Sighing, I healed the broken bones and watched as it raised its arm again, this time trying to move its fingers and making me frown for a few moments, before I grabbed its hand and individually manipted the digits, watching as the Goblin slowly but surely regained control of its limb. So were the nerves damaged somewhat still, or was it''s brain trying toprehend how it had gone from having this hand, to not having it, then to having it again..? Casting a basic healing spell, I left the Ritual Circle hovering around the Goblin''s hand as I suspended the arm with my ice, before I made my way over to the other and began to get to work again, reattaching its other hand whilst the first continued to heal. I tweaked my spell again and tried to do a deeper, slower spell that would hopefully regrow the bone and calcify them together before reattaching the strands of muscle, veins and other tissues together as well, allowing it to take two, three minutes instead of just one as I worked at a steady pace, continuing to experiment and work my way towards a reward... Chapter 859 858: ’Healer’; Chat

Chapter 859 Chapter 858: ''Healer''; Chat

?Releasing the spell holding up the Goblin''s right arm, I watched and observed the monster try to w at me again with its now free hand, its digits extending and contracting as it utilized the now healed appendage to try and attack me, much to my amusement. It tried to snarl and snarl at me, but the chunk of ice lodged between its jaws prevented it from doing anything besides releasing a guttural, deep throated growl that barely made any noise, all while its beady little eyes were filled with so many sulent, delicious emotions... Pain, fear, despair, and rage to name a few, all of which made me shiver as I sat atop the Goblin''s chest, my dagger still firmly lodged in its shoulder. I grabbed it and twisted it some more, snapping the upper ends of the humorous and the furthest side of the shoulder de, causing the Goblin to twitch beneath me as the pain only grew stronger with that simple motion. "Shh... quiet, quiet... If you would stop trying to attack me, perhaps we wouldn''t be in so much pain, now would we..? Shh..." Soothingly stroking its cheek, I wiped away its tears with a gently smile before I grew curious, my thumb trailing closer to one of its eyes, which only made it shiver and thrash around violently as it tried to escape from its bindings. Its hand tried to w at me again, but sadly for it I was quicker, so I pinned its arm and shackled it?again, before returning my hand to its cheek. Shushing it, I tilted my head as I stared down at its tear stained face before grinning as I plunged my thumb straight into the fleshy, jelly like orb resting in its skull, causing the Goblin to thrash around in zing agony as it was robbed of one of its eyes. My grin widened as I slowly extracted my thumb, the mixture of red and yellowish white liquids making me happy as I wiped off the gore on the Goblin''s brow, before tracing out the runes again for a healing spell as I tested more of my abilities. If I could reattach a limb and get it working just fine, could I do the same for organs and other body parts? This was something I needed to test, and Mister Goblin version two was the one to help me... perhaps junior would be a better name for him, or perhaps Cousin Goblin..? Humming to myself, I debated what I should call this unfortunate Goblin as I continued to experiment on him, healing his wound and ensuring his life continued on for as long as I needed it as I learned whatever I could from him. My attention was stolen from the issue of not knowing what to call this Goblin when I noticed that the tissues of the eye were actually regrowing, which only made me wonder how I could test this Goblin''s sight without being able tomunicate... before shrugging as I nced at the dagger again. Seeing the fleshy orb slowly regenerating inside the socket was interesting, and considering the Goblin was still trembling and thrashing around beneath me, it was likely an extremely ufortable experience feeling something as sensitive as an eye regrowing inside the socket, though I couldn''t care about the Goblin''s experience since I only cared about the results. When it finally was fully regenerated, I mped my hand over the Goblin''s other eye and yanked out the dagger, staring closely at the newly healed eye and studying its surface, before shrugging as I brought the dagger down towards the Goblin''s face, watching as it blinked multiple times, only to begin shaking its head and trying to shy away from the dagger. "Alright... so you can~ see again... interesting... Though, whether or not this eye is as strong as the original is unknown, and thesting effects are also unknown. Same with the hands... Perhaps Lady D''Arcon will have some insights on this subject..? Hmm... Well... now that this is all done..." My grin returned, and for the next few minutes I lost myself to the desire to draw and shed blood as I carved away at the Goblin, enjoying myself immensely as I treated its skin like a canvas and its flesh like a lump of y; I carved, I etched, I shaped and I molded this Goblin into something new as I did as I pleased, only stopping after my healing spells could no longer offset the damage I was dealing, causing the Goblin to die... Letting out a sigh, I summoned a sphere of water and washed off my blood soaked arms, sheathing my dagger and cleansing my body of the red liquid before standing up, finally feeling somewhat satiated. ncing back at Leraie, I saw the Demoness shaking her head again as she stood up as well, joining me as we began to walk back to the base to get some rest for the night, and soon enough she said "Y''know, Katherine, I have to admit..." She looked at me, her lips pursed as she stared me in the eye, saying "Any and all lust I felt for you has thoroughly dissipated." That made me smile and raise a brow, and she continued to speak, uncaring of the things she was admitting as well as how empty my smile likely was. "You are certainly a sexy woman, and I have to admit I was curious about what it would be like to bed you, but after watching that... all of that curiosity and potential desire I had to sleep with you is sufficiently gone." "Oh~? And why''s that~?" "I don''t mind crazy, and to some degree I think good looks can make someone ignore crazy, but... I have to wonder how Lady Jahi keeps a woman like you... ''in line'', I guess, and how she hasn''t had to either protect herself or attempt to change you..." Chuckling, I looked away from Leraie and let go of the slight anger I felt at her words, instead replying "I might be crazy, but I am also the only one who can quench Jahi''s thirst as deeply and as easily as she wants in bed~! She needs my ''crazy'' to get off properly, and I need her to bring me in line through sex. Besides, Leraie, you don''t think my looks give me a pass with what just happened~?" She looked down at me and snorted, shaking her head as she answered my question swiftly and without any hesitation or uncertainty. "No, no it doesn''t. Respectfully, that level of crazy is something almost everyone would be too off put by, but..." "Good thing I''m not looking for just any futanari to fill me up then, hm~? Besides, you knew I was Jahi''s; don''t tell me you thought you had a chance?" She snorted again, the Demoness grinning as she said "No, no I didn''t. Doesn''t mean I couldn''t lust for you, Katherine. I knew I had no chance, and now I know that if I was stupid enough to even try, I''d have lost not my life, but my loins... Besides, appreciating and imagining you without acting on it is harmless enough, and I know to keep fictions different from reality." I grinned back at the Demoness as she added "Either way, the other reason most of us think of you that way is how often Jahi so tantly goes after you. That was why on the first night, most of us did the same; lust is a popr vice for Demons, and the two of you ignited it." "Or you were all just horny anyways?" "That too. Anyways, I just felt like chatting to make this walk less boring, and that felt like a good topic." "What? That you wanted to fuck me for thest few weeks, but now that you know what I''m actually like, you lost that desire~?" Rubbing the back of her neck, Leraie smiled wryly as she looked away from me, the Demoness muttering "Well, when you put it like that..." Chapter 860 859: Sufficient Release*

Chapter 860 Chapter 859: Sufficient Release*

?Not only was the experience of butchering and experimenting on that Goblin enough to get me more wet than theke that resided beside our base, but the chat with Leraie just made me even hornier as we walked together, the [Nymphomania] skill working overtime as it deepened my thirst for cock and prepared me to take the pounding of a lifetime from anyone who pushed me down and told me we were going to fuck. For a brief, minuscule moment, I observed Leraie and wondered if the Demoness would try and do just that, and I wondered what it would be like to let her have a taste of me as she acted on the lust she had admitted she harbored for me, but I shook that away as that all too familiar feeling of disgust welled up in my womb at the thought of letting someone besides Jahi, Anput or Leone cum inside me. If I hade to this world not as a Servant, or if the woman who had been selected as my Mistress wasn''t someone who ticked all the boxes I wanted in a partner, perhaps my life would be drastically different; perhaps I would be stronger only because I would have had various Sex Quests to act upon instead of the tame ''make Mistress X ejacte 20 times''... Selling my body for some coin and using it to barter with people, or seducing whoever I needed to get what I wanted and taking advantage of those quests whenever they popped up... [Sex Quest : Service Leraie and allow her to give you either a vaginal or an anal creampie 3 times Reward : 35,000 Xp and 1,000 Sp] Just seeing the quest was tempting, and the idea floated in my head as little more than a fantasy as I hummed beside the Demoness, who was avoiding looking my way since even her nose had picked up the scent of lust wafting off of my abundant curves as we walked back into camp. Enjoying my debauched fantasies - which would only ever remain debauched fantasies for as long as I lived this life - some more, I hummed and sauntered over to Anput, my mate upying her forge as she hammered away at some ingots, only for her to stop and freeze as I got closer and closer to her. The scent of my pheromones had attracted her quickly, and I smirked as she turned and grinned at me, her nose twitching whilst her eyes shed silver as she set her hammer down and grabbed my arm, pulling me away and into our tent as fast as was possible. Citrus tickled my nostrils as she threw me inside, and before I could do anything, Anput had thrown off her clothes and unbuckled her belt, revealing her fat knot and long, angry red cock, which she shoved into my face and pressed against my lips. Grinning down at me, my mate watched as I started to suck on her scorching, pulsing dick without any hesitation, my lips puckered as I kissed her knot and took her length into my throat, giving her a blowjob to prepare us both for the sex toe. Her silver eyes grew hotter as she watched me shed my clothes as well, my ability to undress even as I sucked her cock sloppily making her even hornier as she ogled my bare breasts and juicy thighs, before she couldn''t hold it in anymore and pushed me forwards, keeping herself in my throat as she ravished me with a few short, yer powerful thrusts as she squished her crotch against my face. Turning around though, sheid across my chest and buried her face into my own crotch as she began to lick at my pussy, cleaning off the juices that had gathered on the way here and indulging herself in both my taste and my scent as she reciprocated my blowjob, shoving her tongue between my lower lips and showing me plenty of love as she eagerly drank down my juices. Her hands squeezed my thighs and moved them closer to her head, burying herself entirely between my legs and pping her knot against my lips as she did as she wanted, fucking my mouth and eating my pussy like she hadn''t had a meal in weeks. It didn''t take long at all for the Jackalkin to make me cum, her incessant sucking of my clit or deep licking of my pussy sending jolts up my spine to meet the heat that already permeated my head, her thick penis buried inside my throat and suffocating me in citrus. As I began to tremble, my body descending into an electric bath of ecstasy as I orgasmed hard to start off our session, Anput pped her knot against my lips one more time before gyrating her hips, the Jackalkin groaning into my pussy as that bulbous sack threatened to enter my mouth and inte there, which would undoubtedly kill me. No matter how much I wanted to try, I was incapable of not only going without oxygen for two minutes straight but also swallowing down a bucketload of cum without choking on it... I really wanted to try though, and it seemed that Anput did as well, but we were both smart enough - and sane enough - to leave it at this as we both orgasmed, with my mate leaking a copious amount of precum into my throat whilst I squirted on her face. When she finished her ''meal'', the olive skinned futanari reluctantly pulled out and rested her knot on my face, panting slightly as she cleaned off her face before asking "Where do you want my cum, my love..?" Sitting up, she spun around again and sat on myp, pping her cock against my tits and smearing them with my saliva and her precum as she waited for an answer, watching me with a cocky grin as I gulped down air and tried to put together a sentence and spit it out... "Ass..?" "Ass." Nodding, Anput grinned as she rolled me over and sat atop my butt, the Jackalkin rubbing her erection against my pussy to apply some more lube to it before prating my ass in a single thrust, the two of us moaning as she went knot deep in one go. "Fucking... Oh my Gods..! I forget how tight this is..!" Grunting, she grabbed each cheek and started to pound my ass as she reached her orgasm, her knot swelling and filling with sperm as she fucked me hard and fast, only to groan loudly as she pushed her knot inside without a care, letting me scream in pleasure as such a thick and hot orb was shoved into something that was meant to be really tight... A momentter, a deluge of hot sperm was ejacted into my ass as my mate knotted me, the two of us going against instinct to breed and instead seeking out this unique pleasure as she erupted inside the other hole, giving me my meal now instead of the other way around. Having her knot inside my ass was a unique feeling, and I couldn''t hold back as I moaned loudly inside the tent, cumming from being anally fucked as Anput filled me with her seed, the two of us seeking out more pleasure as sheid on my back and bit me. Before I knew it, her knot was yanked from my ass and pping against my cheeks a momentter as she started to fuck me again, ready to go once more even after bloating my intestines with her sperm. "This is one hell of a way to pay me, Kat~! But I think when we get back home, I want to see you dance for me again... and I want Leone to dance as well~! Maybe we can all dress up and give Jahi a show, hm~? Oh fuck... yeah, let''s do that..!" Grunting into my neck, the Jackalkin started to hump my butt even harder as she got herself further into the mood, something that made me hornier as well as I squirted once more, unable to handle the thought of Anput, Leone and I dancing for Jahi before letting her fuck us like courtesans ormon whores... Wouldn''t that role y be something else to experience? A wealthy Noblewoman buying herself three different dancers to satiate her lust for the night... Oh, already I was imagining the potential, but Anput made sure to remind me that there was something happening here and now as she began to get rough with me, spanking me hard and fondling my butt whilst staring down at my back as she took me from behind, my tits pressed against the floor of our tent and providing little stimulus for her... only for the Jackalkin to yank back on my hair and lift me up as she grabbed one of my arms, causing them to sway back and forth as she prepared to knot me again. Chapter 861 860: Promise

Chapter 861 Chapter 860: Promise

?"Did you need to be that... noisyst night, Kat?" Jahi looked down at me with a conflicted expression, the Demoness'' golden eyes telling me just how serious her thoughts were as she stood beside me, the two of us looking over arge swathe of stgmites that grew inside a field of grass; it was what Satanya had designated as a ''Mining Field'', and currently the others were down amongst the jagged spires of rock swinging their pickaxes as they retrieved the resources that resided inside each spire. A quarter of our forces were standing around the edge of the field, guarding the workers and keeping an eye out for any and all monsters that might be attracted to this area thanks to the noise of metal breaking into rock. "Hm~? Are you jealous that Anput was making me scream, or..?" The Demoness grunted as she stared at me, her eyes making me squirm slightly as I enjoyed the weight of her gaze, feeling like a naughty student standing in front of a teacher who was disciplining them... "Any of us can make you scream like that... and yes, I was a tad annoyed that I wasn''t able to have a go at youst night, especially after hearing your screams, but... No, I was irritated that you were being so loud before we had even reached the end of our day. Everyone inside the camp got to listen to you, and while most of us couldn''t help but join in and find partners, I don''t like that you held no inhibitions..." I took a step closer to her and grinned, trailing my hands up her armored abdomen and shivering with lust as I felt her grab my waist, the Demoness'' instincts to hold me outweighing her anger for the time being. "Well... it sounds like you weren''t jealous of Anput, but instead jealous of everyone else~? You didn''t like that they heard Anput rearranging my insides then~?" "No, no I didn''t... And if you understand that, then why-?" I couldn''t help giggling as I stood there, the two of us staring into one another''s eyes as I coyly whispered "And yet, the first night that we stayed inside the base, was it not you that pushed me down and ravaged me without a care in the world? Could they not hear my screams that night too?" Gritting her teeth, Jahi stared down at me with a set jaw and those brilliant, sharp golden eyes, her displeasure and slight annoyance leaking through the Soul Bond as she continued to hold me, her hands tightening around my waist. "That''s beside the point, Kat." I tilted my head at that, still smiling at her as I asked "Is it though?", which made the woman who was used to only having my agreement frown as she searched my facial expression as well as the Soul Bond, something that made my smile widen as I studied her closely. "We''re not arguing about this... of all damn things, this is NOT something I am going to debate with you. You''re MY woman, same as Anput and Leone; if it was one of them instead of you screaming like a sexy little harlot inside the camp, I''d be saying the same to them too. Got that?" "Mhm... But we weren''t even ''arguing'' yet, darling~! I didn''t even have the opportunity to ''brandish my ws'' just yet~!" Snorting, Jahi slid her hands from my waist and grabbed my butt, the Demoness squeezing my cheeks before lifting me up slightly, making me moan quietly as she whispered "And I don''t want to give you a chance, Kat... Wordy is more of your forte than it is for me, so that would be a losing battle. And I definitely want to have my thick minx beneath me during this expedition, so... no arguing." I just chuckled as I stared into her eyes, which had lost that golden luster and reverted back to her normal amethyst, and I loved the way they sparkled as I whispered back "Then when we get back to the base, why don''t you do just that, hm? Put me in my ce... Make it impossible for others to hear me and have me however you want..." That gold reappeared just as quickly as it left, and the wicked grin that spread across her blue face made me shiver as the Demoness nodded slowly, her expression enough to frighten away most women as she leaned closer, only for the two of us to freeze as we were rudely interrupted. "Why don''t the two of you go fuck already?! Damnit, I told you to stand guard, not flirt with one another!" Releasing me, Jahi took a deep breath and nced towards Satanya, before she grinned again as she shouted back "Sounds good! We''ll be back in a few minutes~!" "HEY!" Jahi was grinning hard as she grabbed my waist and walked me a few steps, before she rolled her eyes and created a Light Shield to block the dagger that had flown towards the back of her neck, which Satanya had thrown with incredible precision and power despite being a good thirty feet away. "Yeah, yeah..." Waving her hand dismissively at the other Demoness, Jahi walked back to our post and stood there quietly for a few moments, smirking at Satanya before looking down at the various Demons who were looking between the two of them with small smiles, causing them to turn away instantly and return to their work. "Kat, when we get back, I am going to take my time devouring you, I hope you understand that..." Her voice was almost quiet, yet the amount of obsession and lust dripping from it made me shiver, my body already anticipating what was toe as I tried to hide my glee, though I shivered again as she added "Your a little minx, but you''re MY minx, MY bitch. So I will do as you want; you won''t be able to make any noise as I enjoy you like a five course meal." She nced down at me as she said that, and the arrogant, chilly smile that graced her features made me wonder if I had pushed this too far, crossing the line of getting my ''just desserts'' and being well and truly ''punished''... And as if sensing that, Anput and Leone looked up from their spots and grinned as they stared at us, making me blush slightly as Jahi added "And a five course meal can be shared, but I think I''ll have my other two wives watch as I eat most of it myself... Besides, they are their own meals as well, and seeing them yearn for what''s mine is an excellent feeling..." Chapter 862 861: Kat The Snack (1)*

Chapter 862 Chapter 861: Kat The Snack (1)*

?The haul from the Mining Field was a good one, and it sparked the debate between Jahi, Satanya and I about whether or not we truly needed to strip that entire Grotto of all of its riches or if we needed to take a more realistic approach and gear up for a deeper dive into the Grottos. It was a heated debate, with neither side being the correct answer to our question; on one hand, mining and harvesting arge quantity of low to mid grade materials would be beneficial for not only ourselves, but also for Custodia and for the ns. The sheer amount of low grade materials was already an insane amount of wealth despite that moniker of ''low''; normal steel still sold for a good amount of coin back in the Empire, so having something that was above steel would fund the Demon n''s and their new Kingdom for who knows how long, especially if they treated the materials properly and used them wisely. Then there was the mid grade materials too, which were worth well over double, maybe even triple of the low grade in terms of coin, and that was why this option waspletely and utterly valid; besides, our gear was all currently made from a mixture of low and mid grade, so if we had arge quantity of mid grade materials, we could upgrade ourselves into an entire collection of mid grade armaments, which would boost our power by a good amount. However, who doesn''t want to try and find some more high grade materials to either sell for a king''s ransom or use for some incredible gear for ourselves? Greed was naturally present in us all, and denying that any of us was greedy was dishonest and not true to who we are as people; it sounds ugly, but all of us were able to openly admit we wanted more wealth, wanted these high grade materials for ourselves... And that was okay, since we coulde together and agree that we were greedy and that we were able to understand that we would share in this greed together, should we acquire the things that we were being greedy for. So when we put it up for deliberation and asked the entire party what they wanted to do, most voted for being greedy and going deeper into the Grottos, so we decided to heed the majority ruling and begin nning for tomorrow, while I retreated into the ''kitchens'' and prepared dinner for everyone. The entire time, my earlier chat with Jahi continued to y on repeat inside my mind, and I worked with an obvious swiftness as I tried to get dinner prepared and served in as little time as possible so that I could eat a different kind of meat... With a dripping pussy, throbbing womb and heated lower half, I was a horny mess as I imagined Jahiing over and taking me here and now, or having ''Princess'' Leone giving me orders to service her in her quarters, and also having ''Begum'' Anput demanding I bend over for her to breed me... All sorts of thoughts flitted through my mind as I worked, and working with my pussy being absolutely drenched was a not so unique experience as I got everything whipped up in the kitchen before serving it, with Jahiing to stand behind me and tease me some more as we ate together, this time joined by Anput and Leone as they leaned on the counter on either side of us, watching as Jahi rubbed her erection against my ass and proudly disying their own as they kept the fronts of their bodies hidden from the others. Anput took it a step further and unbuttoned her shirt, shing Jahi and giving the Demoness a show as she continued to press herself against my ass, making Jahi chuckle as she pulled back and started to thrust against me, smacking her hips against mine and making me moan before I was suddenly pulled away, taken to a tent and wordlessly told that my meal would be semen and not food. Something I was entirely alright with as they led me away, and something I weed as I was forced to kneel and given a buffet of my own choosing as three magnificent, perfect cocks smacked against my face as they pulled down their pants. A thick, long cock about the size and length of my forearm - at least with this forced perspective currently... - pulsing with need rested against my left cheek, its pale flesh holding a surprising heat that threatened to scald me; Leone was looking down at me with embarrassed passion as she put her giant cock on disy. On my right, the angry red canine penis that oozed a citrus scent rubbed against my cheek, its owner smirking down at me as she once again got to enjoy some oral pleasure from me; Anput wasn''t even hiding the arrogance she felt at this moment as she stood above me, the Jackalkin''s curled lips making it clear she loved seeing me in this position. Finally, right in front of me, a veiny blue cock throbbed against my brow whilst the heavy pair of testicles rested against my lips, the Demoness sneering down at me as she gave me no time toprehend my position or appreciate her cock as she snarled "Start sucking, bitch." Taking her balls into my mouth, I suckled on each orb as I reached up and began to jerk off the other two cocks, giving all three of them pleasure of some kind as we began our session with preparations forter, my saliva lubricating them all for the fun toe as I moved from suckling Jahi''s balls to throating her cock, something that was ''forced'' as she tilted my head back and wrenched my jaw open, allowing her to slide inside without issue. As soon as she was inside, she released me and grabbed the asses of the two women beside her, making them moan softly as she pulled them into her sides and began to kiss them, alternating between them and getting them to fondle her balls and stroke her cock for her, all while I slobbered on her tip. She refused to let me pull away and give the other two penises smacking against my cheeks any attention past stroking them, the Demoness grinning with clear lust and greed in her eyes as she hissed "I cum first, then them, then you." All of us shuddered as she raked her golden eyes across us, and we nodded as we began to work together to make that happen, our submissive sides stoked by the emergence of our blue skinned wife as she continued to fondle their asses and fuck my mouth. Chapter 863 862: Kat The Snack (2)*

Chapter 863 Chapter 862: Kat The Snack (2)*

?Jahi PoV With both my hands sinking into bliss and my lower half being worshipped so fervently, I couldn''t help but take in a shuddering breath as I stood there in our tent, my eyes half closed as I drank in the moment and savored each and every second of it. The suction of Kat''s lips around the tip of my cock as she sucked me off, all while her hands jerked off the two other cocks that demanded attention on either side of her made looking down quite the treat, while a quick nce to either side got me further riled up. On my right, Leone was pressing my arm against her ample breasts, the Vampire blushing hard as she looked down at Kat''s face, taking in the sight of our ever horny, always ready for sex Dogkin wife who was sucking my cock so expertly, all while she gave Leone''s rather giant penis some loving as well. With one of my hands sinking ever deeper into her thick bottom, Leone turned to stare at me and gasped as I rubbed a finger over her drooling slit, only to moan softly as I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers, kissing her and enjoying the way she pressed herself against me even more as she tried to get a better taste, only to whine quietly as I pulled away and looked to my left. Completely opposite to Leone, Anput''s olive skin was so warm to take in, whilst her perky breasts and chiseled muscles gave her such a unique look as she arrogantly grinned up at me, her cute little fangs sparkling in the light whilst her bushy ck tail swished side to side, thumping against my wrist. Compared to Leone''s soft ass, Anput''s was far more firm and springy, and she made sure to try and meet my lips halfway as I leaned down to kiss her as well, her tongue fighting against mine as she captured my attention and lust perfectly inside her mouth. The contrast between what I felt on my right to what I felt on my left was wonderful, but what was really excellent was what I felt in front of me... Breaking the kiss from Anput, I ignored her mewl of displeasure as I looked down to see Kat staring at me with determined, heated amber eyes, her lips still wrapped around the tip of my cock, but this time the main source of pleasure came from the two giant tits that were wrapped around my shaft, my Dogkin using her arms to keep her breasts held up whilst still jerking the other two off. Sometimes - albeit briefly - I wondered if most of her talents resided in being able to pleasure a cock more so than her abilities to fight with both de and magic, but I knew better than to voice that thought... Another shuddering breath drew all three women''s attention, and before I knew it, my lower half was entirely consumed in pleasure as Anput began to fondle my balls and Leone stroked my lower abdomen, the Vampire heating her hand and sending waves of her Fire Mana into my body, making me moan softly as I experienced something new. Something that made me cum as I enjoyed the love and affections of my women as they pleasured me, causing me to erupt between Kat''s breasts and pump my semen into her mouth, surprising the Dogkin for a moment before she began to swallow it down. Pulling my other two women closer, I grunted as I filled my minx''s mouth with my seed and began to alternate between the aggressive, demanding kisses of Anput and the reserved, yet passionate kisses of Leone, all while I emptied my balls into Kat''s throat, feeding my needy bitch exactly what she wanted. Kat sucked down everything and drained my cock of any and all semen that she could get, all while her tworge udders were firmly wrapped around my shaft, heating it up and snuggling it into that soft embrace. Growling softly, I kept ejacting as my women continued to pleasure me, before eventually finishing off after puffing Kat''s cheeks as I forced more and more of my sperm into her mouth, something the Dogkin was conflicted about as she half red, half pleaded with me the entire time I came. "Keep it in... Anput, Leone, help out the little minx..." Letting them go, I watched as they both swiftly knelt and reached for Kat''s head, fighting over the Dogkin before eventually ring at one another, only for Leone to proudly smirk at Anput as she kissed Kat and drank down some of my cum, releasing her and looking back up at me with hopeful eyes. Anput lunged at Kat and stole the rest, making the big breasted minx blink in surprise as the sperm left on her tongue was all she had left, therge quantity she had extracted from me now gone and inside Anput''s and Leone''s mouths. Chuckling, I grabbed her head and had her suck my cock again, my eyes lingering on my other two wives as I grinned and said "Swallow it and get punished~! I''ll tie you up and enjoy someone else all night long, so... keep it in your mouths..." They blinked, their pride and their joy melting away as they watched me pull out of Kat''s throat once more and push the Dogkin down, my former maid and forever lover staring at me in surprise as I flipped her onto her stomach and lifted her ass, prating her instantly and getting to work as I grabbed her wide hips and started fucking her pussy hard. My two other women watched in disbelief as I began to fuck my minx in front of them, the looming threat of no sex and no relief freezing them in ce as they were forced to watch me devour my ''meal'' like a beast, no decorum or control in my movements as I mmed myself down into the juicy ass of my bitch, filling her womb with my cock and making her whimper as I started to p her as hard as I could, leaving marks on each of her round, voluptuous cheeks. When she tried to let out a scream of pleasure as her pussy spasmed at my treatment, I snarled and mped a hand over her mouth, quieting her and ensuring that the only sound filling this tent was the wet, fleshy ps of my hips against her ass and the squelching of her pussy. Her folds came to life as she squirted, the Dogkin cumming from this sudden heavy handed sex that she loved so very much, her pussy squirming and gripping my cock as I pounded it further into submission. The heat and wetness of her cunt as I mmed my dick deep into her womb was exquisite, and I grunted above her as her pussy jerked my cock off whilst her cervix stroked my tip each time I entered and exited her womb. Meanwhile, sitting on either side of us and staring at this scene with such lust and overwhelming need were my other two women, their cheeks puffed out and eyes hazy as they tried to keep themselves sane as they watched me devour Kat in front of them. When I pushed her down entirely andid down on her, using my farrger body to smother herpletely into the floor so that I could hump her juicy ass and fuck her at my leisure, they both tried to reach for their cocks, only to flinch as I growled "Did I say you could do anything?! Just sit there and watch..." With Kat perpetually cumming beneath me, and my two other lovers watching me in confused arousal as I fucked my third lover hard, it was impossible tost long at all, especially not when I had said third lover milking my cock with her perfect pussy and squirming beneath me as I used her for myself, causing me to give her womb a healthy dose of sperm to bathe in. My grunts filled the tent again as I ejacted inside Kat, and I grinnedzily as I poured my sperm inside her pussy without a care, my semen streaming out of my balls and flooding her insides at a constant rate as I came for what felt like eternity. The entire time, the watchful, horny eyes of Anput and Leone made me cum even harder as they took in the scene of Kat being inseminated in front of them, their cheeks dark and puffed out while their cocks looked like they were ready to burst. My grin widened as I looked towards Anput and said "Swallow.", the Jackalkin''s eyes wet with tears as she tried desperately to refrain from stroking her cock doing as I asked and gulping down her mouthful of my cum, only to scramble over when I pulled out and gestured for her to take my ce. I watched in amusement as Anput started to fuck Kat as hard as she could, the Jackalkin almost drooling as she pinned Kat down and mmed her hips into Kat''s ass, the two Caninekin going at it as roughly and as crudely as possible before Anput began to knot her mate, not evensting a full minute. As I watched, I grabbed Leone and pushed her down toy beside Kat, her mouth still full of my sperm and looking even more adorable as she pleaded with me using her eyes, only to groan in a mixture of lust and torment as I whispered "Keep it in, Princess... Keep it in until I cum again, and I''ll reward you, I promise..." Repeating what I did with Kat, I started to fuck my Vampire lover the same way, enveloping her body with my own and ravaging her needy pussy, all while I watched Anput''s expression continue to cken as she came and came inside her mate, which I found rather cute. Though, when I heard Kat moan out loud, I frowned as I grabbed someone''s discarded panties and stuffed them into her mouth, surprising the Dogkin before she fell even further into lust as someone''s taste enveloped her tongue. Leone performed admirably as well, keeping my cum in her mouth the entire time I fucked her like a whore, my penis shoved deep inside her vagina and keeping it in my shape as I battered her womb over and over again, until I eventually ejacted again, flooding her insides with my sperm and giving her the same deep, inseminating creampie as Kat, doing my best to try and knock up the Princess of the Empire... Listening to her gulp down my cum when I finally did give her permission made me even hornier, and before she could say anything I started fucking her again, mping her mouth shut and fucking her just like Anput started to fuck Kat; like a convenient pussy that had no right to do anything besides take our seed. After I came again, I grinned as I released Leone and lifted Anput off of Kat''s back, pushing the Vampire onto Kat''s ass and watching as she instantly began to fuck Kat''s other, tighter hole, stuffing the minx with cock and assuaging her fat futa cock''s need for a hole to fill with her sperm. Taking a seat beside them, I grinned as I watched Kat get devoured, her body turned into an all you can eat buffet of sex as our two wives lost their control, turning into animals as they swung their hips for pleasure and that was it. It would appear I found a new way to y with my toys, and if my rock hard cock was anything to go by... this was a really fun new way to y with them... All three of them, forever mine and mine alone, to be used, broken, and mended by just me... Chapter 864 863: Another Harvest

Chapter 864 Chapter 863: Another Harvest

?Kat PoV Taking a deep breath, I maintained my focus as I drew in the mana around me and used it to continue to aid my harvesting of the Pleasure within my crest, which was being funneled up into my Core in small, manageable chunks as I crudely siphoned away some Lust Mana from the sex we had enjoyedst night. Such ''powerful'' sex had yielded a veritable gold mine of Pleasure for me to harvest Lust Mana from, and I needed time to slowly, steadily and reliably transfer the pink energy from one ce to another, fostering arge quantity of it inside my Core and giving me more and more power ready to be tapped whenever I needed it. I still wasn''t even near being considered a novice at using Lust Mana, but I had to start somewhere, and this was as good a start as any; understanding how it worked alongside my Ice Mana was imperative on its own, and that was made twice as important when I considered needing to study this Lust Mana on its own. Cali wasn''t being the teacher I was hoping for in regards to Lust Mana - hells, I had a better professor in college that refused to teach us, but at least he gave us something to work from even if it was just a textbook - so I needed to learn this all on my own with no reference materials. And currently, the ONLY Lust Mana I was able to study was the Lust Mana I produced on my own, which was not in its pure form; it was instead intertwined with my Ice Mana, so I was hoping that if I acquired arger quantity of this intertwined Lustful Ice Mana, I would be able to determine a way to separate the two without damaging my Core in the process. Meanwhile, as I was training with a unique type of Mana unseen by the masses, so too was Leone training her own unique Mana types, the Vampire tinkering with Moon and Blood Mana beside me as we both used the time avable to us in the calm of the morning to hone our skills, all while Anput hammered away outside and Jahi did a workout in front of us, the Demoness topless and currently covered in a nice sheen of sweat as she did some pushups. Afterst night, all of us were feeling a slight aversion to anything sexual, with the three futanari''s grimacing slightly when I even suggested something quick to start the day off, while my own insides hurt at a level that was switching between feeling good and feeling terrible. Besides, we knew that we were far too drained at this point to even consider anything else, especially if we were finally going to begin heading deeper into the Dungeon today, where we would likely find some stronger adversaries to test our strengths against. So, we were trying to recuperate as best we could, giving our minds and our bodies some much needed rest whilst also doing something productive at the same time; the only reason we were functioning was thanks to the dualyered Water and Fire Mana Ritual Circles that resided inside our tent, the two separate healing spells mending our bodies quite well. Anput had decided to head out anyways, the Jackalkin doing the best out of all of us thanks to her less extreme actionsst night that was only possible due to her own constitution and how she tapped out far earlier than us all, meaning she had more time to rest and was less ''damaged'' by the end of it. As such, the Jackalkin was outside doing what she pleased, which was forging some more weapons and armor at the behest of the Demons who were making use of their spoils already, wanting to be better armed for the delve toe. Weapons and armor I was going to be asked to enchant, most likely... Sighing, I opened my eyes when I finished harvesting the Pleasure fromst night, catching Jahi''s eyes as the Demoness held her position, now doing sit ups instead and maintaining that upright position as she asked "All done? I think I heard Satanya shout twice now for everyone to wake up." I sighed again as I gave the Demoness a dry re, only for us both to share a smile as we heard "HEY! Wake up already!" right outside the tent, making Jahi say "Scratch that, three times." "You should have roused us from our meditations sooner then, Jahi. We have a schedule to keep, after all..." "Eh, who cares... I wanted to rest some more, and both of you look so~ damn adorable when you''re meditating~!" I heard Leone sputter beside me as she looked at Jahi''s topless body, her eyes tracing out the almost perfect abs that had been chiseled into that blue flesh; our Demoness wife was working her way into an eight pack that was solid instead of almost there, and her obliques were bing more and more defined with each passing day, further cementing herself as a sexy hunk that belonged entirely to us... Licking my lips, I took in that divine sight for a few more seconds before standing up and tossing Jahi a shirt, only for me to smile coyly at her as she stood in front of me, the Demoness looking down at me with a small smirk as she waited. Caressing her abdomen, I wiped away the sweat before leaning closer and kissing each individual ab, making her groan softly as she ruffled my hair and let me do as I pleased, only for us both to look towards Leone as she she stuttered "W-We really should be... s-should b-be..." Chuckling, I raised a brow at her before licking Jahi''s stomach, making the Demoness groan some more as she gave me a ''dangerous'' look, something that made me grin as I stepped back and washed her off, leaving her standing there and making sure to drag Leone out as well as we exited the tent. Chapter 865 864: Scouting

Chapter 865 Chapter 864: Scouting

?"About damn time! Gods above, what were you lot doing in there for so long?!" Satanya red at Leone and I as we exited the tent, and I couldn''t help but smugly grin at the red skinned Demoness, making her growl softly as she turned away, not wanting to see my arrogant expression any longer, which made the other Demons chuckle quietly as they continued to rx around the camp. She made her way back towards the model, cursing to herself as she stamped her feet and got her anger out that way, while Leone and I shared a slight smile before heading off to do our own things; Leone made her way towards Ammit, who was sitting beside the cauldron swaying side to side, while I made my way over to the kitchen, Leraie and Lucy joining me as I began to prepare breakfast. When Jahi came out of the tent a minuteter, Satanya clicked her tongue and red at the taller Asmodia Demoness, eliciting a confused raise of the brow from Jahi as she approached the woman near the model, only for her to sigh and roll her eyes as Satanya began to berate her for her actions, only to have the Beliali Demoness snort and shake her head at whatever Jahi said to her. After breakfast was finished and eaten, Satanya grabbed everyone''s attention andid out our n for today, telling us that we were going to be picking a new branch of the grottos to delve into and begin searching for the next big haul, be it mid grade materials or a high level monster; both of those were things we were desperately searching for anyways, and that was what we had decided to focus on. So, we geared up and set off for the next primary grotto that we had found - which was the one that we had hunted the Wurm in and that I had found a very willing test subject in - and picked one of the many branching paths at random, breaking ourrge group down into four smaller groups to make exploring easier. Ammit, Lucy, Leraie and I - alongside a spattering of other Demons - were in a group together, and we decided that if we wanted to find something, we should head not only deeper into the Dungeon, but also deeper into the earth, so we chose to head down, to the bottom of the grotto we were in; it was a logical conclusion that we were hoping would pay off. Since today''s first goal was to just scout, we were all given an hour time limit to explore before returning to base, and we specifically were told that if we weren''t back in an hour and a half, everyone would begin searching the location we were scouting for us instead, so we were on a strict time limit. I was at the front of our party, my ears and nose able to pick up any sounds or scents well before the Demons could, so I was the one who was going to be doing most of the scouting as we descended down the waterfall and approached theke that pooled at the bottom of this grotto. Around us, monsters roamed and dove into the water, where fish and other monsters swam around freely, exploring the vastkebed and eating what they could, only to be eaten themselves when the various avians, canines and felines leapt into the crystal clearke. In the center of theke was an ind, and I stopped for a moment as I studied it, before turning my gaze from the ind and instead focusing on the giant archway that rested on the other side of theke, which was diverting some of the water from theke into a river that traveled down into the earth. There were two other exits for us to take, and I pursed my lips as I looked between them all, only to shrug as Ammit pointed at the giant archway, deciding for us; in her words "It''s far toorge to be nothing. Must lead somewhere. Anywhere. Deeper." With the rocky overhang of the main teau sprawling above us, and a deepke stretching out in front of us, there were only a few ces to go, and we walked along the shoreline towards that specific exit, passing one of the others that looked promising as well. A breeze brushed our skin when we passed that first exit, and the damp, musty smell of old wood tickled my nose, alongside the ever present, clinging scent of rock and dirt; as for sounds, I barely managed to pick up the roaring of something inside its depths, alongside the trickling of water, which came from the droplets sshing down from the roof. I took note of that but continued towards the exit that Ammit wanted to check out, my ears continuing to pick up the sshes of monsters leaping into the water and the various growls and snarls of them fighting and hunting, alongside the sound of the waterpping at the shoreline or mming against the rocks that jutted out of thekes depths, the small waves caused from the waterfall continuing to create a cacophony of noise that threatened to distract me. Reaching therge archway that seemed broken into the wall of the teau, we paused and took a moment to gaze into its depths, the exit branching into two paths almost instantly, with one heading down into the earth and the other spiraling up into the teau, though as we looked up, we saw the spiral end. "If something is up there, it''s asleep. As for below... well, the river is masking most of the noise from below, so I am not really sure..." The others nodded, and we appraised the ten foot wide path that descended gradually into the earth, the Glow Flis illuminating the pathway and making the water sparkle as it rushed down the middle of the pathway, perhaps having been one of the causes for creating this pathway..? "Well... let''s get going then, I guess. We''re on a time constraint, and I''d like to get back soon... well, only because Begum Anput is making me a new de, but..." I raised a brow and nced at Lucy, who just smiled back at me as she added "And I''d appreciate if it could be enchanted as well, Miss Katherine~?" Letting out a sigh, I just took a step forwards and began to head down into the earth, wondering what we would find next; another gorgeous pocket of nature hidden away from the world, or perhaps a in, boring cavern of rock and nothing else? Perhaps a giantke of glittering blue, filled with all sorts of fish and monsters? Either way, we were likely in for a treat no matter what if our surface level experience with this Dungeon was anything to go by... Chapter 866 865: Terracotta Grottos (19) Chapter 866 865: Terracotta Grottos (19) ??"Well... that''s rather..." Leraie stopped beside me, and the two of us stared out over the grotto that we emerged into, only for the red skinned Demoness beside me to grunt as Ammit identally bumped into her, sending her skidding dangerously close to the edge of the cliff we stood on. Grabbing her arm, I pulled her back into myself and nced at Ammit, who was staring wide eyed at the scenery in front of us, uncaring of how she had potentially almost sent herrade flying off of a really tall cliff to almost certain death. And honestly... as I released Leraie, I couldn''t really me the Cimeriesa prodigy, my eyes returning to the grotto as I took in the sights, scanning over everything and wondering just what happened here. Down below us, inside this giant ovr grotto that descended deep into the earth, were dozens of Undead monsters roaming around and groaning at one another, moving around aimlessly whenever there wasn''t something living nearby - if there was, the monsters heads all snapped to look at the thing that dared to live in their presence as they swarmed towards it, going frompletely stationary to running at incredible speeds that shouldn''t be at all possible in their various states of decay. Muscles hung off of exposed bones, fluids leaked from their torn and cut flesh, pus oozed from their disease ridden skin... the scent of rot pervaded the entire grotto, its sickly sweet smell wafting into our nostrils and almost making me gag at the tinge of acidity thaty beneath that disgusting sweetness, reminiscent of bile. "How..? Interesting. Perplexing. Undead in such a high number... Undead variants of normal monsters. Turned. Infected. Not the usual catalogue of Undead. No skeletons. Zombies. Ghouls. Just..." "Infected, like you said. All of them were killed and then brought back... which should have turned them into shells of their former selves, and yet here they are, stronger... The question is how? And what are they doing down there? They aren''t approaching any of the entrances, even the ones that have monsters that are still clearly alive... They only attack those that step foot down there." Ammit nodded, the gold skinned Demoness staring down into the depths and frowning as she tilted her head, observing the happenings of the Undead monsters that roamed aroundzily and muttering to herself as she appraised this peculiar sight before us. "Who would have thought we''d find something like this right away... I mean, we just picked this grotto of all grottos to follow? And it lead to this? What are the chances?!" Leraie shook her head as she joined Ammit at the edge, staring down with her and clicking her tongue as she added "And what could they be doing? Guarding something? They don''t leave this area, and the only sign of aggression is whenever something approaches; otherwise, they just... meander." I had no answer, so I remained quiet as I too took in therge clearing filled with Undead monsters, trying to locate something that they might be protecting; the river that had traveled with us down the path rolled over the cliff and fell down into a small puddle at the bottom, which was currently being tainted by the Undead as they walked through it, leaving behind parts of themselves and various fluids that stained the clear water a cloudy greenish yellow. A hundred feet below us, the monsters just roamed around aimlessly, and there was nothing of interest that I could see; small boulders and rocks littered the ground, whilst a thinyer of decaying grass covered the gravel ground, and no other shrubs, bushes, flowers or trees grew near the Undead, so there wasn''t some kind of herb causing this or something. Meanwhile, the two exits that were near the Undead were filled with monsters doing the same as us - appraising the horde of Undead and asionally taking a step out to investigate, only to get promptly swarmed and torn apart. Not turned into Undead, just utterly killed and devoured by the Undead monsters, leaving behind nothing as they crunched on the bones as well as slurped up the blood. None of the Undead stood out as particrly strong or unique, so there wasn''t some kind of leader guiding them or someone that they were protecting... So then what is going on down there, and why are there Undead inside the grottos? Like Ammit had said, Undead have their own catalogue of monsters; Zombies, Skeletons, and Ghouls are the main three that people see, and they tend to be naturally urring as well as things that can be produced, but these weren''t those sorts of monsters. They were existing monsters - wolves, felines, birds and bears that had been transformed into something else, which shouldn''t be possible unless someone was controlling them and changing them, but that begs the question... Who was doing that, and why was there someone inside the Dungeon that had that sort of power? "We can''t learn more from up here. Let''s head down. Observe. Learn. Kill. Perhaps we can find more clues after clearing them out?" Ammit began to walk down the winding path right away, causing the rest of us to sigh and follow behind her withoutint, our own curiosity to learn what was the cause of this making it an easy decision; that, and the sight of the Undead struggling with a giant bear that we had killed with ease before was reassuring, so we knew that they were a manageable set of monsters to deal with, we just needed to be careful. The stench of decay only grew stronger as we descended into the grotto, with the underlying metallic smell of blood and acidic smell of bile only making it a disgusting cocktail of scents that made me want to hurl; it was yet another strong case against why having a strong nose could be a downside as well. This and the ash in Zhu''Rong were both strong cases against it, while the ability to smell more from my cooking and general nature was a rather strong case for it... But right now, I really didn''t like my nose, especially not when we came face to face with the sickly, pus ridden monsters that snarled and hissed at us, their decaying bodied moving surprising fast as they rushed towards us, their ssy, unfocused eyes glimmering with the familiar malice of a monster, as well as something else... What it was, I wasn''t sure, but I was sure that my Khopesh was going to need a thorough, deep cleaning after this... as would I. Chapter 867 866: Terracotta Grottos (20) Chapter 867 866: Terracotta Grottos (20) ??The Khopesh that Anput had recently forged for me swung up into the belly of the leaping feline monster, its curved outer crescent slicing cleanly into the diseased flesh of this Undead monster, something that made me grimace somewhat as my de tore open its blighted body and allowed its putrid blood to explode outwards in a shower around me. Slicing the monster cleanly in half, I grimaced again as the scent of its decay was amplified, its flesh sloughing off of the bone in an almost liquid state as the mana that kept it solid dissipated, the monster now dead for good. I had little time to sate my morbid fascination with what was keeping these monsters moving and maintaining them in a state of strength to allow them to run and jump as quickly as they do; instead, I reached for the hilt of my Khopesh with my other hand and swung it back down, meeting the head of a deer monster that wanted to stab me with its antlers. The inside crescent of my Khopesh was going to remain unused for this battle, since this was one time that I didn''t want to cause unneeded damage to my enemies - doing so would result in their impure blood being spilt more than it needed to, and it wasn''t just the scent that I despised, it was the color too. Instead of that brilliant, beautiful scarlet that painted such impressive and lovely paintings wherever it was spilt, this putrid liquid was a dark brownish red that looked hideous and evoked no emotions inside me past disgust. So, I cleaved the skull of the deer monster in half with a single sh, before yanking the de free and taking a step back as a gobbet of acidic spit was lobbed at me from afar, followed swiftly by a bundle of Wind Mana that exploded upon contact with the ground. Retracing the origins of those projectiles, I spun the Khopesh around and activated the inner enchantment, creating a discus andunching it through the air towards a pair of monsters that seemed to have been fused together. Arge, hulking Ogre limped slowly towards us, half of its skull missing and allowing its brain to be seen, while a green scaled snake was woven around its body, its own head resting just beside the Ogre''s cracked skull as if protecting it. Hissing, the snake parted its jaws and tried to shoot another projectile, only for it to widen its eyes as the discus sliced cleanly through both the Ogre and the snake, cutting them in two and sending them falling to the ground with a wet thud. The booming crack of lightning filled the grotto as Ammit hurled lightning bolts at random, the golden Demoness smiting those that stepped out of line all while she caged one of the monsters inside a dome of lightning, incapacitating it and saving it for further investigation. The rest of the Demons all brandished their des and efficiently cut down that which was in front of them, and as I focused on the closest monsters again, I spun the Khopesh back around and sliced upwards, activating the outer enchantment and summoning a slew of icicles that stabbed into the bellies and feet of the monsters that were lumbering towards me. When the icicles shattered upon impacting the monsters, I got to relish the increase in strength of my magic as I watched the all too familiar scene of ice tearing through the decaying flesh of those monsters, spreading frost over their bodies and causing them to stumble into my de. Swift, precise shes finished them off, and I continued forwards as we cut down the horde of Undead, only to have to switch to the normal monsters as they too swarmed into the grotto, taking this chance to rid the Dungeon of these impure creatures all while they also tried to kill us as well. A small, yet swift ferret lunged for my throat, only to be swatted aside as a bear reared up onto its hind legs and swiped its giant paw at my face, identally hitting the Undead ferret instead and almost making the fluffy diseased rodent explode from the force of the blow. Rolling to the side, I felt the paw hurtle through the air above me as the bear maintained its attack, only for it to growl as it looked down to see me stabbing my de towards its mattered, root covered fur. That growl gave way to a roar as my Khopesh pierced its side and slid into its muscr torso, and the bear snarled not in pain, but in anger as it swiped its paw at me again, forcing me back as I yanked my Khopesh free, pulling out a long strip of its flesh and causing its blood to ssh against the gravel below. As it tried to lunge forwards and snap its wide, saliva coated jaws over my arm, the bear grunted as an Undead wolf mmed into the side that I had just stabbed, likely aiming for me but instead hitting the bear, which was pushed back at the sudden impact. ws shredded through the bear''s flesh as the wolf tore into it, only for the Undead to yelp as it was swatted away with a crunch as its back and ribs were shattered when the bear retaliated. Roaring, the bear returned its focus on me, but the wolf had given me more than enough time to work with as I rushed forwards and chopped my Khopesh into the wounded side of the bear, eliciting another roar as I hacked at its ribcage and revealed the lungs beneath... as well as the beating heart, which burst when pulsed my mana through my de, showering my arms in gore as the bear began to fall forwards. I pulled away and leapt to the side, avoiding the almost silent strike of a serpent as it smacked into the bear, its fangs lodged into the meat and pumping it full of venom instead of me, which made it all too easy to just decapitate the snake with a single strike. Chapter 868 867: Terracotta Grottos (21) Chapter 868 867: Terracotta Grottos (21) ??Piercing the neck of the final Undead, I twisted my Khopesh and listened to the satisfying crack of its spine as the monster fell limp at my feet, before it began to liquify and dissipate now that it was truly dead. The clearing was silent now that thest of the monsters had been taken care of, but still the stench of decay and disease lingered in the air, permeating each breath we took and pervading the ground we stood on, something that we all noticed as we held our weapons at the ready, wondering if there was something hidden nearby. Ammit had the final monster still trapped inside a cage of lightning, its body locked thanks to the static shocks coursing through its veins, and as she waved away the cage, the golden Demoness took a step forwards and crouched beside the wolf she had captured, inspecting its body and muttering to herself like usual as she tried to figure out what caused these monsters to rise from the dead. The Demons were already standing at the two exits of the grotto, defending the ways in and giving Ammit protection from any form of harm, so I moved instead towards the center, wanting to take a better look around and see if I could spot anything that might hold a clue for us. The grass that remained was sapped of most life, each de a pale green bordering on yellow that crunched beneath my boots, and the air itself was thick with that sweet scent of decay; meanwhile, the pus and blood from the monsters remained sttered across the ground, the asional chunk of meat strewn about at random from wherever the monster it originated from had died. At the back, below the entrance we took to get to this grotto, the river from above cascaded down into a puddle at the base of the rock face, the water greenish with pus and releasing an absolutely putrid stench into the air, but beneath its murky surface I could see... something. Coating my Khopesh in Ice Mana, I approached the edge of the small pool and submerged the tip of my de into the water, my curiosity only spiking as the water began to bubble around my de, reacting like acid as I tried to tap whatever it was at the base of the pool. "I wouldn''t do that if I were you... well, you can, but... it''s not a fun time, y''know?" Cali appeared beside me, the Arch Fiend resting her arm on my shoulder and staring at the puddle with a small frown, startling for a moment, but not enough for me to not pull my de back instantly, heeding her warning without question. The ice on the tip of my Khopesh was dripping off, melted and utterly- "Decaying. The binding of your mana - the intricate weave of Wind and Water Mana that forms Ice Mana - is being dissolved and aged at a rapid pace. Interesting, isn''t it? Fascinating, in a morbid way. Tell me, do you have an idea on what it could be?" Looking at Cali, I opened my mouth to answer her question, only for Ammit to answer for me, the Cimeriesa now standing beside me as she stared at my de in awe, only for her to grin as she turned those Ritual Circle eyes towards Cali and I. "Is it perhaps a Nua Fiend? That would exin the strong sense of decay around each monster. Thick. Putrid. Disgusting... yet powerful. Ancient. There was no signs of mana deprivation, mana fluctuations, or any type of Undead-ification that I could spot. Curious." "Correct~! That, beneath the surface of this puddle, is a Rune of Decay. A tacky little thing that the Nua freaks love to spread around. It''s... sort of like a trap rune. Anything that dies within this area will be imbued with Decay Mana - or Disease Mana, whatever they call it nowadays - and will just... linger around, waiting for anything to step foot into this area so that they can kill it and spread the disease. Fascinating stuff, and also rather boring..." I frowned, looking at the rune again before turning to focus on Cali, who was still frowning as well as she focused on the puddle, not looking away at all. "And no, that doesn''t mean that there is a Nua Fiend around us at this very moment. It''s rtively new; a few months at least. I don''t sense anything nearby either, but this ce is also utterly seeped in Nature Mana, so I can''t get a good feel of anything past two, two fifty feet away..?" "Wait, so there WAS a Fiend here recently though? That..." She nodded, pushing herself off my shoulder and turning away from the rune, answering "Yes, there was a Fiend here recently, and likely still here. Obviously it wouldn''t leave. The same reason you lot are here is the reason it is here. All those herbs, ripe with Nature Mana..? Something that could - theoretically could - be likened Life Mana? Yes, that Fiend is still present inside these grottos, getting stronger and stronger with each passing day. Such a perfect area for it too. Nua Fiends aren''t widely epted by mortals like the rest of us are. Fiends are able to grant pleasures, Ka Fiends can grant physical strength, and Tza Fiends grant knowledge. Only the most twisted and desperate turn to Nua Fiends..." Stroking the snakes that hissed gently on her head, Cali frowned as she looked around the area, before sighing as she turned back to me and said "Don''t worry about them for now. I''ll continue lurking around like I have been; I''m never far, believe me. But I would suggest heading back now and making sure this is reported. Heading further would be best done with that blue hunk of yours~!" She finished with a grin, making me roll my eyes at her as she disappeared in a puff of pink smoke, her coyughter echoing throughout the grotto and drawing the attention of the Demons guarding the exits - if they hadn''t already been staring at her, anyways... "Well, we should probably heed her advice, right Ammit?" I looked back and sighed, finding the golden Demoness crouching beside the puddle and staring at the rune beneath the water closely, only for her to look away and proceed to dry heave as the stench and disgust that permeated the area around it got to her. Pulling her away, I cast a healing spell on her just in case before guiding everyone back up the ramp, heading towards our camp as I wondered just what else might be residing within these grottos... Chapter 869 868: Terracotta Grottos (22) Chapter 869 868: Terracotta Grottos (22) ??"A ''Rune of Decay''? Something that a Nua Fiend created? Damn..." Jahi pursed her lips and rubbed her jaw as she nced down at the model, watching as Satanya updated the ever changing model of the Dungeon, continuing to track our progress visually and listen on as we swapped our stories about what had happened. "Yes, Cali said it was a rune made by a Nua Fiend, and that it was recent. Months old, at the very least, which lines up with the amount of time between the other Fiend''s awakenings as well as war against the Kingdoms. Which means that its had ample time to hunt and harvest whatever is rich in Nature Mana on that side of the Dungeon, so who knows what its strength is like now." "That is worrying... but, it is still manageable. I think. Thest Nua Fiend we had the pleasure of encountering didn''t actually fight against us directly; it used that Undead Construct to do so. And it was also an Arch Fiend, so there''s that. Cali would''ve been able to sense if it was an Arch Fiend, right?" "Obviously I would, you sexy blue hunk~!" Appearing beside Jahi, Cali driftedzily in the air and caressed Jahi''s muscr arm, only to giggle to herself as she floated away when I red at her, the Arch Fiend rising up and lounging freely above us as she added "I would have sensed if it was an Arch Fiend, yes. Unless they are thousands of feet away in this miasma of Nature Mana, I would be able to tell. Conversely, that Fiend - if it is just a normal Nua Fiend - will not be able to tell that I am here unless it gets much closer thanks to said miasma." "So we''re dealing with a normal Fiend at best, an Arch Fiend at worst... well, isn''t that thrilling to hear?" "Oh, it''s vastly unlikely that the Fiend here is an Arch Fiend. That rune we saw was sloppy, and while Nua Fiends are usually sloppy, no Arch Fiend would leave behind a rune like that at all. It''s a matter of pride, you see? A mark, a... calling card, if you will. It''s instinctual to leave behind a perfect mark if you make one at all, because that mark represents your Domain." "Still, that doesn''t make this any better. We''re still dealing with a Fiend of unknown strength inside these grottos!" Satanya looked up and frowned, adding "On top of that, we don''t know if there is anything else waiting for us down here! That Wurm was really close to the surface, and while it might not have been the strongest ever, it is still a dangerous monster. If that''s up here, and a Fiend is over there... what the hell else is around us?" We all exchanged a nce, understanding what the Demoness was getting at; was the risk worth the reward if we stayed inside a Dungeon that potentially had a Fiend inside it? Was it worth it to stay here if there were monsters vastly stronger than the Wurm lurking deeper inside the Dungeon? "I think we should stay. Avoid that side of the Dungeon, and continue down this side. If we leave, nothing changes here; we''ve barely scratched the surface of the Dungeon, so someone else will be dispatched here to cleanse it. Hells, even if we explore for the next week and hunt as much as we can, we''ll still have barely cleared any of it. But I think that risk is worth it. The hide of that Wurm, all the metals, those herbs... we should take them for ourselves now and continue to prepare for the fights toe." Everyone looked towards me, and I just shrugged, standing by what I said and making my stance abundantly clear; there was logic in retreating now, and there was logic in staying, and to me, the obvious choice was to stay and get stronger. The world was only going to keep changing, getting tougher and more dangerous with each passing day, so if we could grow alongside it, that would be best; both for us, as well as for each other. Fiends were waking up, Cults were on the rise, and there was still that bitch Jillian somewhere out there, doing who knows what... She might be getting stronger, she might not, but thest thing I want to do is ignore her and be weaker than her if we ever meet again; if I''m weaker than her, how the hell am I going to beat her down then begin dissecting her piece by piece over days, months, maybe even years..? Resting my hands on the table, I breathed out and calmed myself down, before looking back up at everyone and adding "Yes, we won''t be able to clear out Terracotta Grottos, but we should certainly be looking to harvest as much as we can from here. Try things out, make use of these herbs to push our limits... We have an entire Dungeon to ourselves, overflowing with monsters and resources, and now we know that there is a Fiend here, can we really just leave?" Jahi and Satanya raised a brow at that, while Anput and Leone just shrugged, making me smile slightly as I added "Think about it; a perfect test of our strength waiting for us somewhere inside the Dungeon, and the reward for killing it is an abundance of alchemical ingredients as well as bones stronger than most metals? And unless we go seeking it out - and as long as Cali here wants to keep us alive, which she does since she bound herself to me - we can take our time to prepare to kill it?" My smile widened as Jahi''s eyes shed with battlelust at the idea, while Satanya pursed her lips and looked away, towards the Demons that were taking a break around us; Anput was grinning, and Leone just had a small smile on her lips as she stared at me closely, knowing what I was doing. "There is no reason to leave, and if you truly think it''d be best to wait and leave the Fiend to someone else, we can. But I think it''d be a waste to leave the Dungeon now, when we haven''t even gotten to enjoy it yet. From what you said, the grottos that you scouted over here were home torge groups of monsters, right? That''s a lot of materials walking around... and I bet you that one or two of those monsters are much stronger than the others; maybe another Wurm, maybe another of those giant bovines?" "Fine, fine... yes, I agree we should stay... And... yes, we saw a ratherrge monster in here, a weird leafy monsterden with herbs. More herbs means more potions, which means-" Jahi grinned at Satanya, who rolled her eyes even as her own lips curled into a grin, the Beliali woman nodding as Jahi said "We can push ourselves even more~! Have some fun and let loose, thene back and heal up like nothing happened... Hey Leone, do you think Lady Fenryas would like it down here~?" We began tough and chat, all while we started to n a deeper dive into the Dungeon to get even stronger, all whilst acknowledging the threat of the Fiend nearby. Chapter 870 869: Terracotta Grottos (23) Chapter 870 869: Terracotta Grottos (23) ??"Here! Got these done in a jiffypared to how long I thought it''d take! Honestly kinda surprised at how workable Wurm Leather was..." Anput pressed two bracers into my arms, making me blink at how suddenly she had given them to me, only for Leone to mimic me as a pair of bracers were pressed into her arms as well, forced to ept a gift that she had no idea she was getting. "Well, and I was going to work on making you both a cuirass each again, but uh..." The Jackalkin stared pointedly at our chests, her lips curling into a childish grin as she reached forwards and made a grabbing motion with her hands, causing Leone to blush and making me roll my eyes as I slipped off the old bracers and put on the new ones, giving them a try. "Don''t act like you don''t have our sizesmitted to memory, Anput... I know you do, especially after the first cuirass you made for both of us. You spent a long, long time getting our measurements that night, and I KNOW those sizes are right inside here, even if there isn''t much else..." Her childish smile turned wry as she shrugged her shoulders, ignoring how I was tapping the side of her head to emphasize my point, only for me to give her a dry stare as she reached forwards and grabbed my breasts in retaliation, shifting her smile once more to be innocent as both her hands sank into my chest. Giving them a good squeeze, the Jackalkin enjoyed herself for a few moments before releasing me - only after she took it too far by seeking out the twin buds that capped my breasts, causing me to re at her - and taking a step back. "Yeah, seems like I can remember now! Funny how that works! Maybe I should get back to work, hm~? Yeah, sounds-!" "Uh-uh. Nope, you''re heading out with us Anput! Who would tell us what metals are worth a damn and which ones to avoid, or who would order us to go hunt some random monster for its skin, hm?" Smiling at her, I looked into the obsidian eyes of the Jackalkin and enjoyed the way she pursed her lips, before she eventually sighed and shook her head, muttering "So helpless without me, the lot of you... Fine, fine, I''ll head out with you~! No need to pull my leg..." Grabbing my waist, Anput smiled at me and pulled me close, making me raise a brow at her sudden suave moves of my mate, which was only ruined as she whispered "But you could pull on something else instead baby~!" I rolled my eyes at her actions, only for us both to smile as a third joined us, therge hands that went low making us both jump before we grinned as the deep, husky voice of the Demoness sounded out as she said "Or, conversely, you both could be pulling on mine tonight again instead~?" "Okaye on! Why are you ALWAYS flirting whenever I look your way?!" Jahi looked over towards the angry Demoness behind us, smirking as she remained where she was, while Anput and I only snuggled closer to her chest and turned to stare at Satanya as well, shing triumphant smirks at the woman as we made our im known. "Perhaps because we have a really~ healthy, physical rtionship together, and I LOVE reminding them about it whenever and however I can~? Oh, and it''s also really~ fun to tease you like this, especially after everything that happened on the way here~!" "I..! Argh! Come on, let''s just get a fucking move on, yeah?!" Satanya let out a huff and stomped away, causing us all to chuckle as we indulged in some more physical intimacy for a couple of needed moments before separating and grabbing our gear and joining the Demons to head out into the Dungeon once more. Specifically, we were heading over to the grotto that they had discovered earlier, which was on the opposite side of the Dungeonpared to the expected location of the Nua Fiend. With Cali remaining as our radar, we set off into the Dungeon once more, and we marched in silence as we kept our guards up, preparing to head into what they had described as a rather active and dangerous collective of monsters. As we moved from one grotto to another, the branching tunnels that were coated in vines, greenery, and made from stone blended together as one grotto looked simr to the others, something that was both able to get us confused but also appreciated since the natural beauty of this Dungeon just kept on providing scenic battlefields for us. Fields of grass dotted with stgmites, the asional river orke to change things up, and the copses of trees that provided shelter all blended together in each and every grotto we had seen so far, and the resources just continued to make themselves known as we traveled deeper into the Dungeon. Entering the Dungeon they had scouted earlier, I nodded to myself at just how many monsters were roaming around, snarling and grunting at one another as they grazed and drank beside one another, most of them traveling in herds as they sought safety in numbers, which prevented the few entirely carnivorous monsters that were inside the grotto from easily hunting them whenever they pleased. Bovines, deer, bison, antelope and so many more herbivore animals had been monsterified inside the Dungeon, and they all lingered together as they grazed on the abundant grasses and drank from the crystalkes, keeping themselves together so that the wolves, bears and other monsters couldn''t pick them off at random and turn them into a meal. There were easily hundreds of monsters around, and as we stepped out onto the giant field of grass and shrubbery, they all looked up and over towards us, sensing the arrival not through sight nor sound, but instead through mana as Ammit erected a barrier, blocking a spiraling, twisting root from impaling one of the Demons the moment we entered. And just like that, we brandished our weapons and settled into a defensive position, watching as monsters began to stream towards us rapidly. Chapter 871 870: Terracotta Grottos (24) Chapter 871 870: Terracotta Grottos (24) ??Watching as the various herds of monsters stamped towards us - some more aggressively than others - I began to use my free hand to trace out the runes for a spell, making use of the sparse few seconds we had to try and cut down as many of these monsters as I possibly could. The ethereal cyan mana poured from my pointer finger as I swiftly created a Ritual Circle, and as the herd of tall, lithe deer monsters galloped closer, I tossed out a discus that was as tall as me and had it hover overhead, its t surface producing dozens of icicles as the water rune iid into it began to create spouts of water that was instantly frozen into icicles. Then, when the deer galloped far too close and far too fast to stop, those icicles began to snap off the bottom of the disc and slice down towards the ground, where the deer just so happened to be passing. Thick, sharpened spears of ice crashed down onto the monsters, cutting into their thick hides and breaking their bones with frightening ease, and the disc continued to produce water, which was then frozen and turned into another set of icicles that crashed down to the ground a few momentster. The ''lucky'' few monsters who made it past the floating discus were met with a wall of sharpened metal wielded by bloodthirsty Demons hungering for both battle and for the meat that was leaping into their arms willingly. I could already tell that most of the Demons were motivated more by the idea of a b of juicy venison then they were at the idea of fighting, and it was something that made me roll my eyes as I raised my Khopesh and blocked the lowered antlers of the deer that tried to skewer me onto them. Gnarled wood sprouted from their heads and wereden with flowers and vines, the defining feature of these monsters; otherwise, they just appeared to be ratherrge bucks that were eating really good and had little to fear from predators. Though, when you were a walking barrel of flesh and muscle that easily weighed a couple hundred pounds, and two giant trees were sprouting from your head that ended in sharpened points, I imagine the fear of predators wasn''t asrge as it normally was... I grunted as I blocked the stabbing antlers of the deer in front of me, the weight of its body adding arge amount of force to the blow that pushed me back a step, but that was both a boon and a bane for therge monster. A boon because it made me go on the defensive, but a bane because it just mmed its head against a hard to move object, which caused all of that force to rebound off of me and travel back into its antlers, which were connected to its skull. And inside that thick skull was a helping of pink noodles that were really sensitive, and currently they were being sloshed around thanks to the decision to head butt me, which gave me an opening. With the monster stunned thanks to its own actions, I sent mana into my arms and activated the circlet enchantments on my wrists, creating a giant de of ice that arced straight into the monsters meaty neck, startling it and making it take a step back, untangling my Khopesh from its antlers and allowing me to then lunge forwards with a followup attack. Stabbing the twin Tonfa des into the deer''s neck again, I drove the ice des deep before shattering them, stunning the monster again as a significant amount of damage was dealt in a swift second, only for it to let out a gargled cry as I buried the outer crescent of my Khopesh into its neck next, cutting through arge portion of its muscles and killing it with that swing of my de. It dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, and I looked up and caught sight of another deer charging at me, this one smaller and not leading with its antlers. When it got within a foot of me, the deer bucked back and tried to punch its hooves at me, iling its front legs wildly and let out a bleat as it stood on its back legs, only for it to fall to the ground as well when I ducked beneath its hooves and stabbed its stomach, using the serrated inner crescent to carve a jagged, rough line from its ribcage down to its pelvis. Blood showered around me as I cut the deer open, but I sadly had little time to relish the burst of red liquid that I had created, the sight of an intriguing monster yanking my attention away from that beautiful sight. Bounding forwards with an uneven gait, a top heavy bovine- esque monster snorted as it charged at us, its bullish head sporting two bull horns and a third, serrated horn that grew from the center of its brow. Its front limbs resembled gori arms that were thicker than I was, and the rippling muscle beneath the emerald green fur felt like they were threatening to tear through that fur with each movement of the monster. That green fur covered its torso, and as it drew closer and pushed off the ground, I blinked as I saw the smaller, yet still incredibly muscr hoofed legs that it walked on as it raised its two fists, snorting again as it stared down at Jahi, deeming her the biggest threat in our entire group. As soon as it approached her, Jahi hefted her heavy tortoise shell shield and braced herself, but the attack didn''tnd properly as the monster released a pained bellow thanks to the ice discus that mmed into its side. Not cut... mmed and shattered. Bringing its fists down like hammers, one of the giant hands skidded off of Jahi''s shield in a ncing blow, but the other onended perfectly in the center, making the Demoness grunt as she blocked the hit, her armor buckling for a moment whilst the shield barely remained solid after being struck like that. Roaring, the monsternded back down on its hands and red at Jahi, before leaping back as her great sword snaked forwards and tried to stab it in the skull. With the other monsters rushing around it, the Minotaur-esque monster snorted and raked itsrge, red eyes over the line of Demons, before snorting again as it pped the discus I had sent towards it out of the air, its giant arms moving far too quick as it shattered the ice discus and red at me. Something that was traveling really fast and had a razor sharp edge was just swatted out of the air like a fly, and there was no sign of its arm suffering any damage from being hit by said edge... So it was resistant to sh damage, was quicker than it had any right to be, and it was immensely strong..? My eyes traveled from the monster to Jahi, taking in the slight cracks in her shield and the way her legs remained nted where they were, suggesting she was winded and dealing with minor internal wounds... When they returned to the monster, I could only curse as I saw it not running at me or Jahi, nor it charging up a magical attack, but instead the still alive, bleating body of a deer monster being hurled at my face like I had ordered it with express delivery. My body moved before I could register that the deer was being hurled at me, and I threw myself to the side and rolled away as fast and as far as I could, only to have my eyes go wide when I heard and felt the monster crash into the earth just a few feet away, its neck and ribcage breaking upon impact as it skidded across the ground, leaving a small divot in its wake. Chapter 872 871: Terracotta Grottos (25) Chapter 872 871: Terracotta Grottos (25) ??The deer monsterid limply a few feet to my left, its body mangled and twisted from the impact of being thrown at me, and I couldn''t help but stare at it as it tried to lift its head and bleat at me, its eyes drowning in hot agony as it felt the life drain from its body, its blood pooling around its mangled and broken body. Its ribs and other bones were splintered and poking through its skin, one of its antlers had snapped clean off and was impaled in the ground a few feet away, its brown fur was matted red in more than a dozen ces, its fleshying on the grass beside it. If I had been the one to cause that damage, to torture the monster like that, perhaps I would have felt more than a fleeting satisfaction as it bleated once more, only for its heavy head to m against the ground with a dull thud as the life faded from its eyes. Sadly, I wasn''t the one to have killed this magnificent monster, and as I scrambled to my feet and began to run further to my right - towards Jahi and the others - the one responsible snorted and grabbed another passing monster, this time lifting the all too familiar bovine above its head and roaring as it hurled it forwards as well, throwing it ahead of me. Skidding to a halt, I leapt back and watched as the leafy bovine crashed into the earth in front of me, its heavy body leaving behind a divot in the ground as well, though this one was deeper than the one the deer left behind. The ear splitting roar of that Minotaur filled the grotto once more as it started to charge forwards, ignoring the spells that arced down towards it and instead relying on its incredible, mind boggling speed to rush towards me, each time it took a bounding step forwards using those giant fists and heavy hooves sending tremors through the earth, cracking the ground with each step it traveled. Heavily resistant to sh, I frowned and grit my teeth as Iyered Mana Cloaks on my body and darted to the side, hoping that its speed was one directional and unable to be change; a hope that would go unrealized as the Minotaur dug its fists into the earth and changed its momentum as it pivoted to face me again, snorting in delightful malice as it resumed its titanic strides to reach me, all while I tried to think up some strategy to counter it. If it was resistant to cutting edges, than logically its emerald fur should be neutral or weak to piercing or blunt damage, right? if that was the case, then I needed to stab it or club it to deal some actual damage, but getting close to it to fight was idiotic; I was fast, but one mistake and I would be turned to a meat paste on the ground, and while I trusted my speed, well... Considering the Minotaur was almost at my same speed, that made me doubly as certain that I couldn''t just employ hit and run tactics, so what the hell could I do? Leading it towards Jahi was also not a great idea either, so I switched my pathing and rushed instead back into the horde, listening to the stomps and feeling the tremors traveling up through the soles of my boots as I ran as fast as I possibly could manage, taking the Minotaur away from the others for now. The Minotaur snorted and barreled after me, likely deeming me as the most dangerous now that I had attacked it twicepared to Jahi''s defensive measures, prioritizing the attacker in hopes of being able to whittle down the defense of the Demoness at its leisure, which made me grit my teeth as I was forced to reevaluate its acumen as well. Each step it took shook the earth, and it just grunted whenever a spell mmed into its muscr hide, the mes and rocks doing little besides spurring it on as it remained fixated on me, ignoring the others and instead allowing the monsters that were charging at them to steal away their attention instead. With my left hand still free, I began to trace out runes even at the cost of some speed, trusting the distance between us to remain far enough that I could get this spell out before it could close that gap, even if my heart was pounding inside my chest far harder than Anput could hammer at an anvil. The green runes glimmered in the air around me as I rushed forwards at high speeds, and as soon as Ipleted the simple Ritual Circle, the winds aided me further and gave me a boost as I started to run swiftly through the herds, stopping and shifting momentum on a dime and using the monsters to my advantage. My pursuer simply barreled through them without a care, using its giant fists to smash the monsters into a paste or flip them into the air, clearing a path straight towards me and cutting the distance that way, though whenever a lightning bolt or fireball mmed into its head and arms, the Minotaur slowed for a brief heartbeat, giving me time to widen that gap again. We were ying a numbers game at this point, and I understood that I needed to either deal with this monster on my own or wait for those numbers to dwindle down so that I could get aid from the Demons, and both had merits and detriments to them. I didn''t have time to study those upsides and downsides like I loved to do, so I instead went with my gut and acted on instincts, keeping my left hand raised and harnessing some of the mana inside my Core, specifically the pinkish cyan mana that I had been harvesting and storing away as soon as I discovered I could gather it. With a resistance to sh known, and a rtively high defense known as well, I needed to do somethingplex in order to break through that emerald fur and get to the flesh beneath; if something was able to be cut, logically it could be punctured, and if it couldn''t be cut OR punctured, then thest remaining weakness was blunt force trauma. It being resistant to both cuts AND punctures was unlikely, and there was another variable to consider that I hadn''t tested yet, but something that I knew to be true; if a projectile had enough speed, it would almost be able to pierce almost anything. Something that had been ingrained into my mind through study and prior applications was brought back to the surface in my time of need, and I traced out the runes for a simple arrow spell before supplementing some of the other runes for speed and velocity runes, overloading it with any type of speed I could in ce of power. My finger danced in the air as I traced out my spell, and as I heard the roar of the Minotaur grow closer, I grit my teeth and looked back after securing a stretch of grass in front of me, pointing the spell back at the monster and ''pulling the trigger''. Chapter 873 872: Terracotta Grottos (26) Chapter 873 872: Terracotta Grottos (26) ??Pointing the spell back at the rushing Minotaur monster, I exhaled and ''pulled the trigger'', activating the spell and grunting softly as apressed wave of wind sshed back against my arm and torso when the miniature ice bullet shot off from the Ritual Circle. A small, tapered projectile made from pink ice sped off as soon as the spell was cast, the bullet traveling far faster than I could see and shrieking through the air as it raced towards the Minotaur, who widened its eyes and tried to bring a nearby monster up to block it, only for that to fail. Impacting against its cranium, the pinkish blue bullet brushed aside the emerald fur and pierced into the flesh below, before splintering against the bone, eliciting a shriek of agony from the Minotaur as it skidded to a halt, blood pouring from the shredded flesh on its head. But, it was only shredded flesh and slightly cracked bone, the monster''s defense far stronger than I had anticipated, but I still got the one of the results I wanted; I stopped the monster for a single moment and gave myself time to funnel some more mana into the Ritual Circle, creating a second bullet and shooting it towards the monster''s skull once again. Another st of wind blew back against me as I turned and shot once more, and the pinkish blue projectile raced forwards and mmed against the Minotaur''s head again, drawing another angry, pained snarl from its lips as a second portion of its flesh was shredded from the impact, whilst the cracks in its skull thickened. Snarling at me, the Minotaur ignored the blood pouring from its head and took a shaky step forwards, its depth perception failing it thanks to the blood aggravating its eyes, while the pounding headache that it must be feeling and utter agony permeating its head only robbed it further of any intelligence it must have had. Taking another step forwards, it tried to use its arms to block the third bullet that I shot, but the speed was too quick as it hit its mark yet again, blowing another chunk of flesh away and revealing the bone beneath; this time, arge chunk of its temple was revealed, making the monster sway on its feet for just a second, but that second was all I needed to increase the size of the projectile and take another shot. This time though, the bullet mmed into its arm, tearing off a sizable chunk of muscle and sttering more beautiful scarlet across the grass below. Each bullet was draining me of the Lust Mana I had harvested over thest few days, and I warily watched the monster take another step, gauging the amount I had leftpared to the damage I had already dealt. Was it worth taking a fifth shot at this monster and using up more of my Lust Mana, or should I begin to lead it back to the others and save as much of it as I could? That question stayed my hand for a single heartbeat, and before I could realize it, I had shot again when the Minotaur snarled at me, my bullet tearing another giant chunk of flesh off of its arm and further hindering the monster''s ability to put weight on that limb. I was removing its muscle and flesh easily, but the damage to the bone was not what I wanted it to be, least of all since that first shot had been my hope at killing it swiftly. Now though, I was standing still, far away from the herds of monsters and the Demons, and a swift check of my surroundings made me nod as I took a sixth and seventh shot, blowing away more and more of the monster and pinning it in ce. As it stood there, bleeding from the various wounds peppering its arms and its head, I erased the bullet spell and swiftly replicating the Torii Gate spell that Anput love to use, recreating it with Ice Mana and trapping the Minotaur down, ensuring that its limbs were anchored down and unable to be moved as I began another spell. A long, heavy pole of ice appeared in my hands, and the bottom of that pole began to taper into a spearhead of sorts, morphing into a rectangle that gradually formed a point, using the least amount of mana to get the result I wanted. Standing above the Minotaur, I ignored the snarls and re it sent my way, ensuring that the monster was firmly and utterly trapped before raising that heavy ice pole in my hands and unceremoniously stabbing it down, targeting its skull that wasid bare to me thanks to the bullets. The spearhead mmed against the bone and shattered, making the monster screech in agony as it tried to break free, only to fall silent as I reformed the spearhead and tried again, targeting the cracks that had widened on its thick skull. Stabbing it down again, I pierced its skull and pierced its brain, silencing the monster instantly as the spearhead shattered once more, this time onmand as I turned the contents of its skull into a paste, all while its blood poured out over my boots and sshed against my ankles and calves. [Virdis Bestia Minotaur killed - 972,340 Xp awarded] Allowing the spear to dissipate, I breathed a sigh of relief before shrouding the monster in my mana, maintaining its corpse for disassemblyter. Turning, I looked towards the others and took a moment to myself before beginning to aid them from afar, creating arrows from normal Ice Mana andunching them at the monsters from behind, cutting them down and ensuring nothing would happen to the corpse of this ''Virdis Bestia Minotaur'' that I had taken down myself. Some quick thinking, speed, and an understanding on how projectiles work turned a dangerous monster that would turn me into a meat paste with a single attack into a rtively easy fight... but still a heart pounding, anxiety ridden chase that admittedly took a year off of my life since one misstep would mean death, but hey! I am not only alive, but also unharmed and still raring to go, so I would call that a major win in my books! Chapter 874 873: Terracotta Grottos (27)

Chapter 874 Chapter 873: Terracotta Grottos (27)

?"Tch, who''s grand idea was it to push forwards into this damn grotto?!" My growl reverberated in my throat as I shed down at the Ogre in front of me, scoring a deep gash across its chest and earning myself a second to leap back and away from its heavy tree trunk club, which crashed into the earth and sent rocks flying everywhere. As soon as my feetnded on the ground again, I darted forwards and stabbed the Khopesh into the Ogre''s chest, twisting the de and rupturing both its Core and its heart, going for a quick, clean kill that ruined the gains instead of a slower, more material efficient kill that I would have preferred... If we weren''t currently surrounded by a horde of Goblins and their various evolutions, of course~! "I do believe it was yours, Kat! Something along the lines of ''oh, but why shouldn''t we use forwards some more before the day ends? We ONLY killed a damn Minotaur~''!" Clicking my tongue, I ignored Satanya beside me as she darted past, her speed matching mine as we worked in tandem to cut down as many of these hulking, dimwitted Ogres as we possibly could, all while bolts of magic zipped overhead as the Crones and Mages engaged in a ranged magical duel. "Besides, we took a vote and most of these dumbasses agreed with you! Maybe you should give me a listen sometime, yeah?" My eyes met the rubies of Satanya as she shrouded her serrated longsword in fire, allowing it to be both a beacon and an incredible weapon as she plunged it into the neck of an Ogre, the various cuts and orifices on its body erupting with mes as she pulsed her mana inside. "Now why would I want to do that?!" Flipping the Khopesh over, I guided my mana into the inner crescent andunched a discus at the Hobgoblin leaping towards Satanya, slicing it in two and sending its corpse sliding along the ground, leaking blood and leaving behind bits of its intestines and other organs across the grass. "Perhaps - just perhaps - because I utilize logic when nning things out?! Instead of ''blood looks pretty~'' like a certain dog eared prick?!" "Sounds boring." "Oh for the love of..!" ring at one another, we darted forwards again and mmed into another Ogre, startling it as our des reaped it of its life in two swift shes, ourpetition continuing on even though we were in the midst ofbat; I still could remember this Demoness bitch pining after MY Jahi, and I wanted to make sure she understood why she was NEVER going to be picked... On that same vein, Satanya was trying to prove to me why she deserved to be with Jahi and how she would earn it by being better than herrgest obstacle - me. Even as we continued to tally up kill after kill though, neither of us could bring ourselves to genuinely and truly despise the other even after all that was said, a begrudging respect and understanding of the others skills appearing as we fought side by side. I still was tempted to plunge my Khopesh into her spine, and considering the way her hands strayed towards her daggers whenever we were too close to one another, it would appear the feeling was mutual. However, we redirected that ''hatred'' and used it to continue blitzing forwards, the two of us using our speed as weapons as we acted as the spear tip of our attack, prating deeper into the Goblin horde and working our way towards the towering musclebound Ogres and other Goblin variants that waited for us there, leaving the cleanup to the others and opening a path for the ''haft'' of our spear to join us as soon as possible. Jahi, Anput and a few of the other stronger Demons were a dozen feet behind, finishing off the Goblins that we left behind and following in our wake as we pressed deeper, giving Satanya and I freedom to attack as we pleased since they would clean up any mess we made. Stabbing the Khopesh into the earth, I sliced it forwards and up as two Ogres and a spattering of Hobgoblins snarled and growled at me, their emerald skin covered in vines and wood that protected them somewhat from our attacks, but not well enough as icicles erupted from the earth. Ripping my de from the earth, I ran through the field of icicles and shed at their chests, snapping the frozen spears and sending the monsters reeling from this sudden attack, which was one that would slowly im their lives as the frost spread throughout their organs, attacking their Cores, lungs and hearts equally. On the other side, contrasting me as much as possible, Satanya zed through her enemies and used her mes to enhance her speed further to cut them down with precision and power, severing limbs and decapitating whoever she could before stabbing the remaining enemies and twisting the de, going for clean kills. Her Fire Mana consumed whatever it could and proudly made itself known through the heat and light, while my Ice Mana crept along slowly and silently, spreading itself far and wide to consume whatever was in its path in a grueling, agonizing death. Each style reaped its own share of lives at the same pace, and we both couldn''t help but re at the other as we resumed our rush forwards, Satanya''s serrated longsword wreathed in me and leaving behind beautiful and shy arcs as she cut and shed in borate patterns, while my toothed Khopesh fell heavily upon my foes, going for brutal and bloody cuts as I tore them apart with brute force instead, enjoying the way the gore rained down around me as I killed and killed to my hearts content. Behind us, Jahi led the others in a controlled, unified front that pressed our initial attack into a wide open incursion into the Goblin''s territory, allowing us to break through their lines and head deep into theirnds as we went for the jugr instantly, wanting to take out the strongest so that the rest would fall quickly afterwards. Chapter 875 874: Terracotta Grottos (28)

Chapter 875 Chapter 874: Terracotta Grottos (28)

?Digging the Khopesh deeper into the throat of the Ogre, I pushed the de to the right and cut through the thick muscle of its neck in order to free my weapon, allowing me to push off of the Ogre''s chest and avoid the crackling bolt of un attuned mana flying towards my back. As soon as Inded on the ground, I took my eyes off of the now dead Ogre and traced out where that bolt wasing from, watching as it punctured the Ogre''s chest and blew out its back in a shower of gore and shards of bone. Finding the Crone who had cast that spell, I enhanced the Wind Mana around my feet and dashed towards the gnarled, hunchbacked Goblin evolution that was lifting its wooden staff high in the air, channeling the mana around itself into a new bolt and preparing tounch it at me again. Sadly for it, the chaos of the battlefield made it impossible for the Crone to call for help, and it could only stare at me in surprise as I appeared in front of it, my Khopesh shing down in a brilliant arc of blue and green as the iceden edge sliced through the gnarled brownish green flesh of the Crone, bisecting it from the shoulder down towards its opposite hip. As the two chunks fell to the ground with wet squelching, the Crone''s staff exploded as the mana that had been collected around its tip was suddenly freed from control, the noise of the explosion drawing the attention of the nearby Hobgoblins and making them click their tongues as they approached me with their spears raised. Before they could take more than three steps forwards though, a wave of mes washed over them and began to burn their flesh ck, making them screech as their wooden armor acted as fuel alongside the grease on their skin. It was my turn to click my tongue as I red at the woman responsible, her lips curled into an arrogant grin as she flourished her me coated de and saluted me, only to step to the side to let my discus bury itself into the chest of the Goblin that was leaping for her. "You have a peculiar habit of leaving yourself open, Satanya~! Might want to correct that w, hm?" My grin matched hers as we stared at one another for a second longer, only for our eyes to be drawn instead towards the hulking blue skinned Demoness who stepped between us, her great sword d in a harsh golden light. "Will you two stop taking jabs at one another and focus on the monsters, please? We still have that big bastard to deal with!" Pointing her sword at the gigantic mass of green flesh at the back, Jahi let out a huff as she raised her shield and deflected an arrow that arced towards her skull, the Demoness'' raven ck hair swishing behind her as she looked at both Satanya and I, those amethyst eyes filled with exasperation as we just darted forwards wordlessly again, mming into the Ogres that remained near the giant Goblin monster in the back. Parrying the rock de of the Ogre in front of me, I let my eyes stray towards the monster behind as I appraised it for a brief moment, trying to figure out just what it was and what danger it posed to us as it continued to lounge around deep inside this encampment. Far too fat to move on its own, the Goblin was a giant mountain of flesh and fat that just sat there, drinking whatever was in that chalice as it watched its inferiors protect it, the indifference in its hazy,zy eyes rather surprising considering how many monsters had already perished at the ends of our des. Roughly ten to twelve feet ''tall'', the Goblin was using its pudgy arms to lift up arge cauldron that it sipped from like a chalice, and its wrinkled green skin was stretched over some portions of its body to keep the fat in, giving it a rather disgusting appearance. Leaning against a throne made from various monster hides and bones, the Goblin almost resembled a King overlooking its subjects with that ''regal'' indifference, all while personifying the embodiment of greed, gluttony and sloth that such a monarch would undoubtedly hold within their heart. Tearing arge gash open inside the Ogre''s stomach, I let it fall to the ground and stare at its intestines as I moved on to the next, only to grit my teeth as the Goblin finally made its move... with minimal actual movement of any limbs. "[Rog Ug-Bali]" A deep, gravely voice filled the encampment, and not even a momentter a wave of mana rushed behind the sound, illuminating all of the other Goblin monsters and their evolutions in a haze of rich Nature Mana. ncing at the Goblin responsible, I saw it take another sip from its chalice like nothing had happened, despite there being a noticeable green glow to its eyes now, one that seemed far too sharp for azy monster like itself. Three Hobgoblins - now enshrouded in Nature Mana - leapt at me with frightening speeds, their long spears and short rock knives glimmering with mana as they stabbed their weapons at me, their eyes crazed and their movements slightly erratic, like they were hopped up on far more adrenaline than they should be. Altering the Ritual Circle on my free hand, I raised my left hand and shot out a barrage of ice slivers as long and as thick as my fingers, catching one of the Hobgoblins entirely off guard and blowing arge hole in its side, whilst the other two were peppered with a few shards each. That didn''t stop any of them though, and I narrowed my eyes as I switched to the outer crescent of my Khopesh and swatted their spears away, taking advantage of the now slower, and less coordinated Hobgoblin as I stepped to my left and avoided the attacks, only to then press my hand against the wounded Hobgoblin''s head and send a barrage of slivers directly into its elongated cranium. Chapter 876 879: Terracotta Grottos (29) Chapter 876 879: Terracotta Grottos (29) ??As the brain matter of the first Hobgoblin sshed across the grass below, I raised my Khopesh and parried the spear thrust of the second, redirecting the momentum of the Hobgoblin and allowing me to bring my left hand to bear, activating the spell for the third time and pumping some ice into its torso. The final Hobgoblin tried to stab me desperately as I was upied with its two peers, and even with the buff from the Goblin King - or whatever it was called - sitting at the back of the encampment, the Hobgoblin was still far too slowpared to me to be able to actuallynd a hit. Allowing the second Hobgoblin to slump to the ground with a giant hole in its chest, I stepped to the side of the thrust and allowed the third to get intimate with the edge of my Khopesh, its momentum bringing about its downfall much like the second, albeit in a different manner. Running into the sharpened edge of my iceden de, the Hobgoblin had no chance of stopping itself or preventing what was going to happen, so it could only watch in horror as it ran straight into the de and bisected itself, its arms and torso sliding to the ground with a wet thud. Now that all three were dead, I nced back at Jahi and the other Demons to check their situation, watching on with a proud heart as Jahi stabbed an Ogre through the chest with her great sword and stopped it in its tracks, only to then stumble backwards as her booted foot mmed into its stomach and pushed it off of her light covered de. Meanwhile, Satanya was zing through the remaining Hobgoblins with her ming longsword, cutting them down cleanly and efficiently, all while the remaining monsters were cut down simrly by the others, or sted into bits by the mages behind us, who were finally free from their duels against the Crones. "That''s one big bastard... in far too many ways." Stepping forwards, Jahi stood beside me and stared up at the Goblin King, who sipped nonchntly from its chalice again like we hadn''t just killed practically all of its monsters, which only made us wary of it since it was impossible for a monster to have this much arrogance and confidence without reason... It wasn''t just blind arrogance either, but instead something that felt far too... mortal, sharp, intelligent even... so to say we were eyeing up this ugly monster warily would be an understatement. Even with all the bloodshed around us and the piles of slowly dissolving monster corpses that spanned throughout the entire camp, the Goblin King just sipped from its chalice and fixed those glowing green eyes on us, its fat body conflicting with the power that radiated off of it. Its thick, leathery lips were wet with whatever it was drinking, and as it smacked them together and idly spun the chalice around, we all raised our guard, much to the monster''s amusement as it rasped "[Ya Goi Lobda]", the three ''words'' filling the air once more as the monster utilized invocations. The ground began to tremble, the blood from the monsters starting to trickle back towards the Goblin King and traverse the shaking earth without issue, ignoring the workings of gravity and physics for now and instead moving thanks to magic as they pooled together in between us and the Goblin King. Raising its chalice, the Goblin King tilted the container slightly and allowed a few drops of the silvery liquid that was inside to drip to the ground, sshing atop the blood and causing the rumbling to worsen, the tremors traveling up into our boots and reaching our knees, making us sway. "Damnit! I absolutely DESPISE these damn summon type monsters! And the fact that this mountain of fat is ABSOLUTELY going to have two stages MINIMUM! Gods above I HATE this!" Satanya''s voice wasced with potent vitriol as she hissed that, the Demoness reigniting her longsword and shrouding her boots and her right arm in mes as well, her unique, targeted me Cloak giving her blistering speed and an increase in power to that specific arm, whilst a thinyer of Fire Mana protected the rest of her body, giving her some minor healing as well. The rest of us followed suit, taking this required few seconds of waiting to apply buffs to ourselves, as well as prepare some spells for whatever was toe; attacking the Goblin King now or trying to prevent... whatever was causing this shaking would only make this fight exponentially harder, the ''use'' of fighting Boss type monsters both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because - again - you could use this time to buff and prepare, but a curse because this was the perfect opportunity to attack whilst the monster was doing nothing, but if we didn''t absolutely and utterly kill the monster, it would be enhanced beyond belief as it overloaded its Core with the nearby mana and supercharged itself in hopes of surviving... or at the very least taking us down with it. So, we were forced to wait as we stared at the blood pool, something that Ammit and Leone were extremely curious about as they almost leaned forwards to observe it, their minds ensnared by this intriguing happening, though I nudged Leone and said "Wanna switch over to that True Vampire form? And summon Janus, perhaps? Haven''t seen him in awhile..." The Princess just stared at me for a moment before nodding, her crimson eyes closing as she took a step back and started to trace out the runes for the Summoning spell that would bring her Orthrus - the two headed, wine colored dog - Janus into the world, the runes flickering and changing whenever I tried to stare at them, inducing a headache that forced me to look away. Simr to the runes on my System Made Items, the runes of Leone''s Summoning were unable to be memorized or recreated by anyone besides her, something that still confounded us both to this day, and considering how much has been happening, well... it slipped our minds, I guess... As the earth continued to tremble, our forces were bolstered by one as a giant, dark red furred dog appeared beside us, its twin heads almost asrge as my torso was, both of which were lined with razor sharp fangs waiting to shred flesh. Snarling softly, Janus remained in front of Leone, its four eyes focused entirely on the Goblin King above and only briefly focusing on the puddle below, making me frown for a moment as I too turned back to stare at the Goblin King. With the chalice pressed against its lips, you could just barely notice the wide, arrogant grin that it wore as it looked down at us, causing my eyes to widen as I felt the mana around us begin to thicken. Chapter 877 880: Terracotta Grottos (30)

Chapter 877 Chapter 880: Terracotta Grottos (30)

?As soon as I saw the shit eating grin on the Goblin King''s face, my guard was raised even more as I looked around and tried to figure out what wasing, what was making this monster act so smugly as it stared down at us and grinned arrogantly. With the ground shaking and the blood of all of the monsters we had killed pooling together, it felt like some sort of summoning ritual, and the addition of those silver droplets that the Goblin King was drinking made it feel doubly so, but... What if it wasn''t? That was why I was looking around frantically, and with each second ticking by on the imaginative clock inside my mind, I grew more and more worried as I tried to find what was missing from this equation. Sadly, the answer leapt at us before I could look at it, and it came in the form of another invocation spoken into being by the Goblin King, who spoke into its chalice and chuckled afterwards, mirth echoing inside its voice. "[Ya Goi Dirkta]" Instantly, the pool of blood erupted upwards and formed a swirling pir in front of us, before small droplets of the blood streaked out from the pir and flew towards us at astounding speeds, zipping through the air and exploding upon contact, making us all grunt as our Mana Cloaks protected us from most of the damage... but not the force of the explosion, which pushed us back a step. A rain of pellets sshed against us, the blood bursting and dealing minute damage to us, but even a thousand small cuts could kill someone far too easily... The crimson liquid was coated in a metallic, silvery sheen that came from that mysterious liquid that the Goblin King was drinking, but I had little time to try and evaluate the effects of this liquid as the pir of blood began to shrink and condense itself into a sphere, still spinning rapidly and spitting out those droplets as swiftly as it possibly could. "[Fridt Ir Ya Goi]" Another invocation rang out from the Goblin King''s lips, and we watched as the sphere expanded, the blood creating a spherical helix that revealed something in the middle, though it was hidden from view as the Goblin King raised its chalice again and sshed the helix in silver, chuckling as it added "[Rog Ir Natt]" The helix whirled before dropping to the ground, the blood sshing harmlessly onto the gravel and grass before rising back into the air, this time in the shape of feathery wings that pped towards the back of the monster that hovered in the air, its body of pure silver emitting a green hue as it cradled its knees to its chest. Humanoid in appearance, the monster slowly released its arms from their embrace of its knees, allowing its limbs to extend so that it could finally stand tall, roughly the same height as Jahi and just as imposing. Smooth silver ''skin'' was pulled over a lithe frame, and the only ssh of color was the green eyes and veins it had, as well as the crimson wings that were unfurled behind its back. "That... looks way too much like a human, and not enough like a monster..." Satanya''s words made us all nod, and we restored our mana cloaks before moving forwards, taking a few steps forwards so that when this... thing came out of its introductory phase, our weapons and shields raised as we got close enough to react to whatever action it took; not too close, but not too far either. The mages were charging up spells just in case as well, and it seemed that Leone was close to transitioning into her True Vampire Form, which would be an immense boost to our prowess, and it had been a long time since I had seen Janus, so who knows how strong the Orthrus was now... Feminine in appearance, the silver ''human'' stood tall and proud in front of us, its nk, smooth face tilting as it furled its wings and ''stared'' at us, only to then raise one of its thin, dainty arms and send out a shockwave of condensed, pure mana, pushing us back. Riding the shockwave it had created, the silver monster pped its wings and leapt backwards, taking to the air and pping its hands together, sending out a second shockwave that washed over us much like the first, forcing us to nt our feet and steady ourselves. As it pulled its hands apart, green mana swirled together and created a long, gnarled wooden sword, which it grasped in both hands and lifted above its head, stabbing the point into the air and shrouded itself in a Nature Cloak, the green veins swirling furiously across its silver body. Stabbing upwards again, it encased itself in a sphere of wood and roots, blocking the bolts of me and chunks of rock that were hurled its way, alongside a heavy, barbed tipped spear from Anput and a discus of ice from me. A bark filled the air, and not even a momentter two spheres of mes exploded against the roots, enveloping it in mes and charring the surface of the silver monster''s defenses, surprising us all. Janus was ring at the sphere, both of its heads growling hard as the giant Orthrus stood in front of Leone, who was still standing there,pletely still as she switched from her normal self into the True Vampire Form. "[Og Ur]" However, those mes were doused as arge globe of water enveloped the roots, quenching the fires and blocking the rest of the magical attacks, which allowed the silver monster to break free from its cocoon and shoot forwards, the blood wings carrying its tall, thin form swiftly as it leveled that wooden sword at Ammit, targeting the Cimeriesa first. Aplex azure Ritual Circle was in front of the golden Demoness, and it had drawn the ire of the monster as it sped forwards, the Nature Mana swirling around the tip of its de ready to puncture any defenses she could conjure up. Before it could reach though, the wooden de mmed into the tortoise shell that Jahi was using, stopping the silver monster from moving any further and switching her aggression from the mage to the warrior instead. Now that the monster was stopped, we were able to copse around it and try to bring it down quickly, using our numbers to trivialize yet another fight against a difficult opponent, but as we were streaming forwards with our weapons raised, the voice of the Goblin King rang out once more, and the earth began to tremble alongside it. Chapter 878 877: Terracotta Grottos (31)

Chapter 878 Chapter 877: Terracotta Grottos (31)

?"[Hagh Un Bori]" Another invocation spilled out from the Goblin King''s leathery lips, filling the air with the monster''s power as it once more made its presence known, forcing all of us to blink in surprise as the earth began to tremble once more, giving the silver monster a single moment to capitalize on, which it did. Sensing all of us around it, the silver humanoid pped its wings of blood once and flew backwards, away from us and out of reach of our weapons, all while its wooden swordnguidly rested on its shoulder, its eyeless face clearly observing us as it hovered a dozen feet away. Turning to guard ourselves from both the Goblin King and the silver humanoid, we raised our weapons and tried to ignore the shaking earth, only for our attention to be stolen again as the earth cracked in multiple ces, making us curse as we realized that the fight was no longer going to have the numerical advantage belong to us. Stony, rough hands shot out of the earth and grabbed at the grassy ground, pulling the rest of the body out and rising from the earth like zombies, but instead of decaying flesh andical slowness mixed with incoordination, the things that rose were instead well equipped, formidable looking opponents who moved rather smoothly. Just like the silver monster, they were humanoid in appearance as well, their bodies made from stone and carved to be realistic as well as armored, something that made me frown as I looked closer at the stone monsters that pulled themselves out of the earth, even as the others began to sling spells and rush forwards, engaging them inbat. Instead of heading forwards, I stepped back and remained beside Janus, looking over the battlefield and scanning the happenings for a few moments, wondering what was bugging me about their appearances... only for it to click. Armored, humanoid, uniform and rather well managed? A silver variant that hovered above, acting as the in between of the Goblin King and the rest of these stony troops? What does that sound like in regards to this location..? The namesake of the Dungeon, perhaps? The engraved armor, the unity between their appearances and their actions, the location we were in... were these not the Terracotta Golems that the old human Kingdoms used to utilize for their wars? That realization brought about dozens of other questions, but as the winged silver humanoid pped its wings again and began to dive towards Leone, I tossed all of that from my mind and instead focused on the silver blur that was making its way towards me, the barks from Janus and the screaming of my instincts to raise my Khopesh and slice diagonally upwards causing me to move before I could even think. My icy de collided with the wooden great sword of the silver ''angel'', and I redirected the gnarled wood to the side and stopped it from skewering me, all while my off hand reached for my belt and unsheathed one of my daggers, which I stabbed swiftly towards the angels neck. The green in its veins pulsed angrily, and wood formed over its neck, stopping the dagger from puncturing its silver flesh and protecting it from harm, even as I ran my mana through the metal and pulsed it, trying to overpower the armor and st it away. Spinning, the angel swung its heavy de down towards my head again, only for it to stumble backwards as two fireballs mmed into the wooden de, sting it back and creating an opening for me. I lunged forwards with the Khopesh and coated the edge with ice, bringing my off hand down after throwing the dagger forwards and two handing my Khopesh, heightening my control and power with my de as I shed down at its chest, hoping to deal some damage. Batting my dagger away, the angel pped its wings and rose into the air, avoiding my swing and the gouts of mes that were spewed over my shoulders, allowing it to grasp its de once more and stab it into the air, casting a spell of its own. The earth rumbled beneath me again, and I leapt back just in time to avoid the tightly knit spiral of roots that would have eviscerated me, before leaping back again as the woven spike was unwound, each individual root flying at me from different angles and trying to turn me into a pincushion. As I was dodging them all, I briefly caught sight of the others fighting the legion of Terracotta Golems that had risen from the earth, numbering in the dozens and surrounding the Demons, preventing them froming to my aid... What made it worse was the gravely, yet amused "[Ro Guban]" that came from the Goblin King, who''s voice rippled over the battlefield and made the earth start shaking yet again, creating a theme of the fight that I was not a particr fan of, least of all now that I had to dodge roughly nine speedy roots that were hoping to find nutrients from my blood. I liked spilling other people''s blood and not my own, so I would like to dodge these roots, and yet now I had to worry about the earth softening beneath my feet as the Goblin King''s invocation did... something. I couldn''t really look down to confirm if ALL of the ground was turning into a soft mush, but what I could do was drag my Khopesh through it and funnel some mana into the de, before cutting upwards and creating arge wall of icicles, buying myself a moment to trace out some runes with my other hand as I sought a way to thicken those spikes and create a barrier in as little time as possible. The runes came to me swiftly, and they appeared in the air before shing, the mana inside working its way into the real world and altering it as I spread the icicles thinner and created a wall, which was then bolstered as I arced it around myself and extended it to cover Janus, even though the Orthus was already billowing mes into the air and shaping a shield around itself and Leone, who was still changing... Something I would DEMAND she work on whenever she had time now damnit! The nine roots stabbed into my ice and cracked the outeryers, trying to burrow in and reach me so that they could kill me, something the angel made even more apparent as it stabbed its gnarled wooden sword into my barrier as well, widening the cracks and making me grit my teeth as I stared up into its expressionless, nk silver face... Though those green eyes smoldered as they stared down at me. Chapter 879 878: Terracotta Grottos (32)

Chapter 879 Chapter 878: Terracotta Grottos (32)

?Meeting those all too familiar malice filled eyes of a monster, I grit my teeth and continued to pour mana into the barrier, before swiftly tracing out the runes for another spell as I ced some trust inside my barrier, something that the angel must have found irritating if the way it repeatedly stabbed at the ice with short, controlled thrusts was any hint at its feelings. With the roots and the gnarled sword mming into the barrier over and over again, I had little time to do much else as I stood there besides cast a single spell and return to fueling the barrier, which was now covered in a regenerative bubble of water that froze over whenever a portion of the ice dome was cracked, supplementing the damage done and working alongside me to keep me safe. As if sensing that the barrier was now being reinforced and healed by two separate forces now, the angel pped its wings once more and leapt away, studying me from afar and sping the hilt of its de in both hands, stabbing it into the air and casting a new spell of its own. Now that the angel wasn''t directly on my barrier, I swiftly cast some spells of my own, freezing the ground beneath me and creating a thickyer of ice down below, before gradually expanding the barrier to encapste Leone as well, protecting her from the angel as I began toyer out the barriers as well, bubbling outwards and ensuring I would have some more time to do as I pleased. Just like the angel now had the time to do what it pleased as it stabbed that sword upwards, a sh of blue mana making me frown as it ignored the stronger Nature Mana instead, going for Water Mana... though my eyes widened when I saw the small sphere of water appear above the tip of its de, which was swirling faster and faster as the angel hovered in ce, gathering its strength and gradually lowering the de to point towards me. Pulling the sword back, the angel pped its wings and gently floated backwards, before the blood wings furled up and allowed the angel to dive towards my barriers as swiftly as it could, its sword pointed directly at the domes of ice around Leone and I while that sphere of water continued to swirl around as fast as it could manage. When it got within a few feet of the barriers, the angel stabbed its sword forwards and sent that spiraling sphere ofpressed water hurtling towards the ice, before pulling its de back and stabbing forwards again, sending out another sphere. One after another, four spheres mmed into the ice and cracked the surface, the power gained from such high rotational speeds as well as how they lined up to aid one another in shattering the ice slowly tearing away the first barrier, but when the angel pulled its de back again and covered it in water, I grit my teeth as I watched it dive forwards once more, stabbing the ice and shattering the first barrier with ease, giving it ess to the second. Those four spheresnded on the next surface of ice too, joined by the angel as it began to stab down at the barrier with a vengeance, the water gathering at the tip of its de dealing most of the damage here. As I began to trace out some more runes, I felt someone grab my shoulder, almost making me jump, but when I heard the familiar voice of Leone say "Break the barriers, Kat.", I just blinked before doing as she asked, letting the runes fade away as I instead focused on the various sources of mana I had created and shattered them all, surprising the angel as the domes of ice exploded around itself, each sliver rushing towards it and peppering it with small cuts. The four spheres were pulled back and rotated around the angel, blocking the ice and protecting it from further harm, but as soon as the barriers were gone, another threat emerged to the angel, one that it wasn''t entirely prepared for. Leone. Ance of extremely condensed white mes streaked past me and collided with the chest of the angel, and before it could react, thence exploded and turned into a cocoon of chains that snared the angel in its fiery embrace. The water spheres bubbled and hissed at the heat, and I watched as they gradually evaporated when they tried to douse the mes of the chain prison the angel was now in, only for each to burst as a bolt of fire mmed into their sides and explode, tearing thepressed water balls apart and making the angel writhe in agony as it tried to break free from the chains, only to deal more damage to itself with its wriggling. "[Unum]" Another invocation rolled over the battlefield as the Goblin King frowned, its mana roping out and wrapping around the angel and pulling it back and away from us, only for its frown to deepen as Leone threw anothernce, this one trailing behind a long chain that she grabbed onto and yanked on, pulling the angel back. Janus grabbed the chain in his two jaws and aided Leone, who asked "Kat, you can go and help the others... I have this." I stared at the True Vampire for a few moments, unused to the unwavering confidence she exuded naturally in this red skinned, horned form of hers, her crimson eyes and smoldering hair almost the same as always, just... filled with more power, and as those two crimson orbs nced my way, I shivered and nodded, grabbing my Khopesh and rushing towards the legion of Terracotta Golems that were attack the Demons. As I was sprinting forwards over the soft earth, I heard "[Rog Bi g]", the Goblin King once more speaking out an invocation that influenced the fight in ways we weren''t entirely prepared for... Chapter 880 879: Terracotta Grottos (33) Chapter 880 879: Terracotta Grottos (33) ??As the invocation spilled out onto the battlefield again, I grit my teeth and pumped my feet against the ground, running as fast as I could even atop the soft soil, rushing towards the embroiled Demons and mming into the backs of the Terracotta Golems. My Khopesh shed down into the armored back of the nearest Golem, and I was rewarded with a satisfying crunch as the de cracked apart the hardened y armor that it was made from and revealed nothing besides a giant Core inside, which pulsed with mana and shattered as soon as my Khopesh traveled through the Golem''s back and into its chest. Crumbling to the ground ''dead'', the Golem began to break apart instantly, returning to the earth and freeing my de up for the next Golem, all while I looked out for whatever the invocation had aplished; each one so far had been of significance and has altered the battle in one way or another, so I was partial to believing the Goblin King didn''t speak without reason. That theory of mine was proved as I felt something grasping at my boots, the soft soil below now writhing to life with small roots that tried desperately to anchor me down, whilst the asionalrger root stabbed at me with incredible velocity, trying to pierce my calf and hold me in ce. Now that I had attacked one of the Golems, the others were made aware of my appearance, and they turned and acted ordingly, the ones too far away from the Demons to help but still pressing forwards to constrict them being the ones to engage with me first, the various terracotta weapons raised at me threateningly as the Golems marched forwards. Not in a rigid, mechanical sense like one would believe a bunch of soldiers made from terracotta would move, but instead rather fluidly and precise, almost humanlike in how well they moved and handled their weaponry, which made them all the more difficult to fight now that I had lost the element of surprise from before. Still, it felt more like moving training dummies that may be able tond a blow that would kill me, so I fought with the obvious and usual caution and understanding that a mistake would cost me dearly or my life, but I still couldn''t help but wonder how they had been magically ''programed'' to move like they did. Blocking the swing of a straight sword, I guided the de down and slid the outer crescent of my Khopesh along the t of the Golem''s weapon, bringing my sword to bear and smacking them in the chest, the thick coating of ice gathering on my Khopesh turning it into more of a club than a sword. The impact cracked the terracotta cuirass and sent the Golem stumbling backwards, only for it to slump forwards as I followed up my parry and riposte with a t palm strike, clubbing their cracked chest and caving it in, allowing me to rip out the Core and toss it to the side, where it fell uselessly on the soft soil, caressed by the roots. Taking a few steps back - both to move away from the other Golems and also to pull my boots away from the roots - I brandished my sword and stabbed it at the nearest Golem, chipping its shoulder as it tried to parry my de, only for it to be dragged forwards as I twisted my hand and hooked it back towards me, using the curvature of my de in a unique way. As it was pulled forwards, I coated my fist in Ice Mana and punched its chest, mirroring the earlier kill as I ripped out the Core for future use and tossed it aside, letting the Golem drop useless to the dirt with a soft thud as I moved on to the next Golem. A spear was thrust towards my side, and I pivoted to avoid the attack, only to have to pivot again as a new Golem shed at me with its sword, trying to catch me off guard as it corralled me back towards the legion of other Golems nearby. Fighting against multiple humanoid opponents was a rtively new thing for me, especially multiple opponents of a rtively solid caliber like these Golems were, but it wasn''t something I was entirely ill prepared for; I was quicker than I was strong, and that gave me an edge in an uneven fight. Reaching for my belt, I retrieved Shatter and coated the de in ice, turning it from a dagger into a sword in a mere heartbeat, which allowed me to parry the spear when it was stabbed at me once more and follow up quickly from range, stabbing the Khopesh straight into the arm of the Golem, cracking it and causing its arm to fall limply to its side. When I took a step forwards and cross chopped the Golem with my two des, I moved just out of range of the others for a brief second, allowing me to turn and restart the fight on my terms now as the fourth Golem fell to the ground, dead; there were still plenty more to go, but their numbers were beginning to dwindle as we rallied and aided one another. I could hear the sound of Leone dueling with the angel from afar, and while I wanted to go to her aid instead, I decided to trust her and instead free up the rest of the Demons, hoping that after we were free from distraction we could rally once more to take down the silver angel and the Goblin King. Stabbing Shatter into the chest of one of the Golem''s, I sent a pulse through the ice and let the namesake of the dagger be known once more, before throwing it and sinking the heavy, long dagger into the head of another Golem, killing two swiftly. I blitzed the remaining one and chopped at its chest, cracking it open and allowing me to yank out the Core, only to grunt as I felt something smack against my calf, threatening to tear through the Mana Cloaks I had draped over myself. Wriggling against the blue mana that shrouded my entire body, a thick root was trying to drill into my leather boot so that it couldtch onto the bone and tendons thatid beneath, and I clicked my tongue as I pulled my foot away from the annoying root. Chopping the root, I retrieved Shatter and rushed into the remaining Golems, all while I listened to the explosions in the distance, praying that Leone could keep herself safe for just one more minute. Chapter 881 880: Terracotta Grottos (34) Chapter 881 880: Terracotta Grottos (34) ??"Where''s Leone?" The first thing that Jahi said as soon as I broke through the barrier of Golems was that, and I raised a brow as I asked "Can you not hear the explosions? That''s her. She told me to help you all out first, so... here I am!" Blocking the heavy swing of a hammer, I cracked off the Golem''s hands and kicked in its chest, the Wind Mana surrounding my boots allowing me to shatter such a resilient material with ease thanks to the speed at which I kicked. "She''s dealing with that weird silver angel thing then? Also, these are the Terracotta Golems, correct? The ones that the humans utilized all those years ago?" Jahi casually blocked a hammer swing and pushed back with her giant shield, the Demoness'' lips curling into a slight smirk as she sent the Golem sprawling onto its back, where she mmed the edge of her shield down and into its chest, cutting it in two. "I am not a hundred percent confident in that idea, but they certainly look it. The question is just... why were there still Golems waiting around, and how does a Goblin King monster - or whatever the hell it is - have ess to them? And what is that angel?" "Those are some very good questions I am sure Ammit and Leone will eventually provide answers to~! For now though, how about we focus on breaking these Golems into shards hm?" The Demoness just nced at me with a smirk when she said that, making me roll my eyes as I parried a sword thrust and cracked open the chest of the Golem yet again, going for as much profit as I could from these monsters as I yanked out their Cores and tossed them aside for future use. Switching to the inner crescent of my Khopesh, I began to chop at the Golems indiscriminately, making use of the sharpened teeth to puncture the terracotta and weaken their armor, if it wasn''t fully shattered thanks to the first blow. They were skilled opponents, but the noticeable difference was theirck of magic topliment their fighting style; thanks to that, they were rather nd fightersparatively, and if I had to take an educated guess, that was entirely because those Cores were being used to sustain their ''life'' and maintain their form, giving them a ''strong'' defense and rtively high mobility. Against other humans, they would likely be formidable opponents to face, but currently for us they were just arge collective of training dummies with pointy or heavy rocks waiting to be broken. And considering we had gone through some serious training ourselves - Lady Fenryas for us, and likely Belian for the others - this wasn''t the most trying fight, just one of minor inconveniences and numerical disadvantage. Though that disadvantage was being cut down rather swiftly now that I hade to bolster our numbers and helped remove a handful of the Golems too, giving everyone else some breathing room to work with. Seeing Jahi shield bash another Golem and send it flying back into the heavy Konbo that Anput was now wielding was certainly a treat, and the sound of the terracotta crunching whenever you cracked and smashed one of the Golem''s was also a nice rush of dopamine that we were all feeling, turning this from a serious battle into an almost rxed party of smashing things. Of course, the background noise of explosions made sure we weren''t tooid back, and the asional root trying to burrow itself into our calves was that second reminder that we needed to work quickly, so the antics stopped as quickly as they started. Dozens of Golems were reduced into piles of terracotta shards in less than a minute, the magic coursing through our weapons making quick work of the magically reinforced y that made up our enemies, and the only things left behind of them were the fist sized orbs filled with mana that were rolling around, waiting to be picked up and used. "Anput... do you think you could figure out a way to make these things? That''d be rather fun to spar against, don''t you think?" The Jackalkin lifted her Konbo out of the shattered head of a Golem and stared at Jahi for a few moments, her obsidian eyes narrowed as she made both Jahi and I wonder what she was thinking... only for her to confidently say "I know how to shape metal, not magic. So... no. Kat might though, and if she gives me the spell, I''m likely able to cast it?" "You''re helpless... abination element almost feels wasted on you." She rolled her eyes at my quip, shrugging her shoulders and altering the Kanabo in her hands into a long, barbed tip spear that she rested on her shoulder as she replied "Maybe, but I think simplicity is key most of the times~! Besides, I seem to recall that not even Jahi has a winning record against me in sparring when I actively switch weapons? And Lady Fenryas did give me a crash course on how to effectively utilized each ss of weapons?" "Can you lot talkter and focus instead on the... well, I was going to say the angel thing, but uh... it would appear that Leone is doing a rather good job with that..." Satanya redirected our attention quickly to the air, where a giant sphere of mes had spontaneously appeared, slowly but surely shrinking upon what was likely the silver angel, something that made the Goblin King rather irate. Even when another invocation was spouted from its lips in an attempt to put out the ming sphere, it could only watch on as the water hissed and evaporated thanks to the heat of the fire, which only grew brighter, transitioning from red to orange, and then eventually to white, which we could feel from here, the temperature in the encampment reaching a new high as we watched Leone burn that blood winged angel into dust. Chapter 882 881: Terracotta Grottos (35) Chapter 882 881: Terracotta Grottos (35) ??The white ball of mes continued topress and condense despite the Goblin King''s best efforts, which came in the form of the same invocation spat out repeatedly - "[Og Ur]" - that summoned a sphere of water that tried to quench Leone''s mes, but our True Vampire Princess didn''t seem to care that much about the entire ''water beats fire'' idea that many people were ustomed to, since she just... burnt away the water. Evaporation worked wonders on ridding the world of those water spheres, but the heat from that white ball of mes was slightly irritating in the moment for me, reminding my time spent walking in the deserts far to the east of the Empire and reminding me about how much I actively despised severe heat, even if my mate was barely reacting to the same heat I was feeling now... But again, it was a momentary, idle thought that sprung up at the difort it provided, something that was overwritten as I told myself to just suck it up and think of the benefits of that heat, like the angel being melted into a silver puddle or the way the metal chalice was now giving the fat Goblin King some difort as well as it frowned down at the cup. "Well damn... I guess we''ve seen it before, with that Fiend, but... that is some serious power isn''t it? Even with a slight heat resistance thanks to my blood and my mana, this is almost enough to make my blood boil..." "And think, if that wasn''t controlled by her mana, everything in this grotto would be melting. From the obvious things like the grass, herbs, flesh over to the more ''obscure'' things like the metals and most likely the rock too. So... I would not like to imagine what it''s like to be inside that sphere. Surely..?" I didn''t even finish my sentence, not wanting to jinx myself as I stared up at the blinding white light for a moment before remembering that eye damage was a thing, turning my gaze to the side and looking towards Leone instead, who was grasping aplicated, multiyered Ritual Circle in one hand whilst using the other to stroke the ears of one of Janus'' heads, the Orthrus mirroring its master as it rxed with one head and had the other billowing mes up into the sphere, burrowing through the water spheres and aiding Leone''s own death sphere. The True Vampire version of Leone was also rather gorgeous to look at from the side, her red skin and horns giving her a devilish look instead of the Demonic appearance of the Beliali n - perhaps it was the aura around her, the knowledge that she wasn''t a Demon, or maybe it was something else that made her appearance ''different'' than a Demons, but either way, it was undeniable that this version of Leone was also far more confident and assured than her normal self. She was assured of herself to almost an arrogant degree, simr enough to how Jahi was confident in herself and her skills to the point of being hubris sometimes, or how Anput was confident that she was able to be the most talented cksmith ever in history; it wasn''t exactly hubris, but it was certainly bordering on it. The way her ashen hair was sparking with what appeared to be miniature runes of Fire, her rich, smooth crimson skin, the twin horns that sprouted from her temple and pointed straight into the sky... everything about her was breathtaking, down to the way she nced back at us and raised a brow, her body oozing regality and her aura demanding respect as she asked "I might not need the help, but I would appreciate it. Perhaps you can begin working on the Goblin King now that I have the angel trapped?" Even her voice was enhanced and ''improved'', filled with unwavering confidence and grace as she so easily gave us what felt like an order, something that was so different from her normal self; something that Jahi, Anput and I struggled to grasp for just a moment as the usual shy and reserved Leone had been reced with this far more mature and assured version of herself. I could also tell without looking that we were all thinking the same thing, even in the midst of a battle against a giant Boss type monster; god damn is she sexy right now... We all joined the Demons in rushing towards the Goblin King that continued to lounge inside the encampment, itsrge body not allowing it to move easily despite that being the clear course of action it should be taking even if it was going to rely on invocations to fight against us. Though, the Goblin King proved me wrong swiftly as it sneered, taking its chalice and sshing the contents forwards between us and it, words spilling from its lips like that silver liquid spilled out of the cup, which was thrown forwards a momentter. "[Fridt Hagh Tros Vuuni]" Whatevernguage it was speaking - and it had been speaking this entire time - was one that none of us were familiar with, but even the battle addicted, meat headed Jahi could recall that ''Fridt'' and ''Hagh'' had been used thest time the Goblin King had summoned something, so we warily appraised the silver liquid even as we continued forwards, wanting to get into range of the Goblin King to attack it directly. Ammit ignored that and instead raised her hands, tracing out runes in mere breaths as she created aplex Ritual Circle, which she began to spin and aimed at the Goblin King, beginning her attack well before ours, stealing most of its attention away as a barrage of lightning bolts were spewed out of the Ritual Circle, mming against the Goblin King as it raised its hands as well, coughing out "[Rog Bani Do]" after being hit a few times. ck marks marred its skin now, and the scent of burning flesh filled the air for a brief moment before the ground trembled slightly once more, though this time the roots that erupted from the ground weren''t targeting us, but instead shooting towards the Goblin King, wrapping around him protectively like a cocoon. Chapter 883 882: Terracotta Grottos (36) Chapter 883 882: Terracotta Grottos (36) ??Even with those potential summons behind us, Jahi and I pushed forwards without hesitation and reached the base of the fleshy mountain that was called the Goblin King, and it stared down at us from under its wooden armor with vitriol in those eyes, disdain and anger permeating its gaze that promised death should it get the advantage. Some of the Demons spun around and engaged with the various silvery Golems that rose from that liquid, holding them back and giving the rest of us the ability to attack the Goblin King and end this fight before it dragged on any further. "[Rog Ir Am]" Another invocation washed over the battlefield, the [Rog] keyword letting us know it was some sort of Nature Mana based invocation, and if I was sitting down with some paper, I could probably begin deciphering the words more in depth, but what mattered now was that we knew what the element was and that this would likely be an offensive or supportive spell, not a defensive one. Nature Mana billowed out of the Goblin King like a fog, filling the air and brushing over us as it made its way towards the silvery Golems, imbuing them with more power and giving them the strength to push back against the Demons, while a portion of that gale of Nature Mana surged towards the ming sphere that was still being slowlypressed around the angel, which was clearly fighting back against its imprisonment as the sphere was asionally deformed and stretched in random areas, only to be brought back down into its original shape. When we raised our des and began to hack away at the roots that armored the Goblin King, it growled and raised its arm, the fatty limb crashing down towards us as it tried to smash us into a paste, before it spat out "[Rog Za]", controlling the roots that were wrapped around its arm and having them shoot over towards us, hoping to catch us off guard. Anput erected an earthen wall between us and those roots, buying us a moment to fortify ourselves and resume hacking away at the wooden armor in front of us, our des coated in mana that splintered the roots and revealed more wood beneath, which began to knit back together whenever it was given the chance. An armor that regenerated and was multyered... it would be a pain to deal with if we weren''t all suited for going against this element in particr; the Demons all had either Fire or Earth Mana, Jahi''s Light was always going to be strong, and I had Ice Mana, which could deal with this easily. Stabbing the Khopesh into the wood, I began to trace out runes swiftly with both hands,pleting a mid tier Ritual Circle as quickly as I could before pressing it against the Goblin King''s armor, activating it and watching as the water traveling through the wood began to freeze, the sheer cold pulsing out of my hands spreading a frost over the area around me that weakened the wood and allowed Jahi to chop away at it far easier than before, her great sword covered in a golden light that only grew harsher as she imbued it with more mana. Anchoring my spell to the Khopesh - which was stabbed into the wood and almost hitting the Goblin King''s flesh - I continued to fuel it and freeze the Water Mana inside of the Goblin King''s Nature Mana, forcing the monster to focus all of its attention on itself and no longer give support to the silver Golems that were pressing towards us desperately, allowing the Demons to cut them down one at a time and join us. Anput and a few of the Earth Mages continued to wall us off, while Ammit and a few of the other Mages outside were bombarding the Goblin King with spells, spreading out the damage far enough that it had to choose what to focus on but still keeping the damage close enough that we could work off of one another. The cracks and splinters caused by our attacks were further opened by the Mages and vice versa, allowing us to slowly peel away a giant section of wood to reveal the flesh underneath much to the Goblin King''s distress. Invocations spilled out of its lips as it tried to stop us in any way it possibly could; from attacks that mmed into the earthen barricade around us to spells that tried to regenerate the wooden armor, even going as far as to summon more normal Golems to attack us from within the barricade, but everything it did now was only prolonging its death. Even when it moved its attention towards the trapped angel it couldn''t achieve anything, the continued existence of that ming sphere only making it stronger the longer it spun, consuming the oxygen in the air to get hotter whilst also being fueled not only by Leone, but also by Janus, which was of an unknown level of strength at this moment. A monster who''s personal strength came from the summons of other monsters was weak on its own, and it learned that instantly as we began to carve away the fatty meat of the Goblin King and kill it through blood loss, our des hacking away at its now frozen flesh and tearing away chunks with each strike, killing it slowly yet efficiently. Its cries as it was carved into pieces were only broken by the desperate invocations that it spouted whenever it could, but they were of little help to the monster as we eventually reached its Core and heart, which we destroyed as soon as we saw them, killing the monster swiftly. Far toorge to transport, we cut our losses with the Core and just stabbed it, and without much fanfare afterwards, the Goblin King began to dissolve, only leaving behind its bones that we wrapped in mana for eventual use, the rest of it either too disgusting or just not useful. Like that, yet another major battle inside of the Dungeon had been finished, and we all let out a sigh of relief as we plopped onto the soft soil, dragging in breaths and giving our bodies a moment to heal. Chapter 884 883: Rest Chapter 884 883: Rest ??As the fatty Goblin King slowly dissipated, turning into an ash that seeped into the earth and left behind no traces of its existence, we all crouched, knelt, and took a seat on the ground as we breathed out a sigh of relief, our bodies strained slightly and requiring some rest to return to a state that we werefortable in. With the sudden disappearance of such a powerful monster, the rest of the monsters in this portion of the Dungeon should be rather wary of approaching us, but even still most of us turned our backs to the area that the Goblin King had once upied, keeping a look out while the others gave the ce a once over, making sure there weren''t any goodies hiding somewhere nearby. Jahi and Anput plopped down beside me and shook their heads, their adrenaline slowing down and forcing them off of the battle lust fueled high they had been on moments before, causing their bodies to crash somewhat as they just sat there, their eyes holding a tired light while their general reluctance to move was rather amusing to witness. Seeing the two bundles of energy being reduced into motionless, tired warriors sitting on the grass staring at the area around themselves was such a drastic difference from their normal selves that I couldn''t help but find it slightly amusing, though only because I knew they weren''t injured physically or mentally. They only moved forwards to sip on the sphere of water I floated their way, the two just taking a sip by submerging their faces into it and letting that clean them off as well as quench their thirst, something I had to help manage as I kept the dirty water from entering their lips... Shaking my head at how I had to ensure they weren''t drinking bloody, grimy water of their own creating, I dispelled the sphere and nced towards Leone, who was staring at the ce the Goblin King used to be with a tilted head, whilst Janus just stood beside her calmly. Seeing nothing wrong with her and assuming she was just lost in thought, I rested my head against my knees and opened up the System menu, checking out the gains from this fight and overall gains from the day, something that made me smile a little as I watched the big numbers get even bigger. [Goblin Monarch killed - 1,304,552 Xp awarded] [Level 60 -> 61 (530,788 / 2,750,000] [Stats : STR : 120 -> 125 CON : 130 -> 132 AGI : 140 -> 145 DEX : 140 -> 145 CHA : 85 WIS : 130 -> 135 INT : 130 -> 135] Another small surge in power was always wee, and knowing that we would be here for a few days more was relieving to hear; this was the second time in this new life of mine that I was in an area rich in giant bundles of experience waiting to be absorbed and used to grow stronger, and I intended to make the most of it, just like I had with the inds. The umtion of the Shop Points was also rather useful since I would be using them throughout this adventure as well as back home, where I would go ahead and buy some of the things I need to supplement my strength and further add to it, alongside the knowledge I would learn from the books I purchased. On one hand, as I looked back on the time I had been here, I was a tad annoyed with myself for myck of progress, yet on the other hand, I was more than content with the time I had spent and the way I had spent it. Getting stronger was important, but what was also important was just... living this life, and I wanted to continue striking that fine bnce between the two going forwards, since I needed to be strong to keep living, but what was the point of being strong and alive if there was no one to care for me, right? The most efficient thing would be to remain here until I hit a wall with my abilities and strength, head back to the Empire and do some studying before going back out to a new Dungeon to put that studying to use, getting stronger again; that was what some would do in my ce, but... then I would be leaving Anput, Leone and Jahi behind; I would be leaving Mother, the Marquess, the Countess, Alessandra and Lakshmi... That was something that I didn''t want to do; a life that didn''t feel warm, didn''t feel worth living, and it was something I understood even more now that I hade into yet another bountifulnd of experience waiting to be gained. The temptation to grow stronger without a giving a damn about anything else was a strong one, something that stroked my ego and subconscious as it spoke to the things I lusted for; being able to have more power, to be able to do what I wanted, to be able to stand behind my lovers and protect them from anything, to be someone they rely on... It was tempting, whispering to me seductively and trying to rope me in, but I was adept at dealing with those sorts of temptations, the ones that are entirely theoretical and based upon only possibilities and hopes; I could remain here and get stronger, yes, but would Anput, Leone, and Jahi allow me to remain here? Would they ept that of me and willingly let me go, or join me in this endeavor as we cleared this entire Dungeon? Probably not, because each of them were seeking out more than just strength; they wanted to create a family, to improve their rtions with the family they already have, to deepen the love we have for one another. That was what was important, so my guilt and mild irritation faded away as I stared at the System menu for another few seconds, looking it over and appraising my gains over these short yet long years, wondering where the time had gone and why it felt like it had been far longer than it actually had, the conflicting feelings making me sigh as I hugged my knees closer, lost in thought. When I turned my thoughts away from the past and focused on the future instead though, I was a bit excited to see how far this Dungeon would take me, to see where I would end up and what I would learn from my time spent here, something that only made me even more excited as I sat there, regaining my energy for whatever was toe. Chapter 885 884: Discovery Chapter 885 884: Discovery ??"Hey, think I can get another sip of water, Kat?" Jahi crouched in front of me and tilted her head, the Demoness'' ck hair ted with sweat and sticking to her blue skin somewhat, though even in this physically exerted and recovering version of herself I found her to be stunning, far more beautiful than anyone I had ever seen in my previous life. Even the people that I had been blinded by lust and love for stood no chances against Jahi, her sheer size and raw confidence something that no one could have replicated in my ''advanced'' society; the figure of someone who lived for fights that determined life and death, the arrogance of a Noble who knew she was better than everyone else and was able to prove it... Those were things that were never seen in my previous worlds, and if someone had something rtively simr, they just... didn''t carry themselves the same way, and that was what made her so damn gorgeous, to the point that I think I''d be able to spend all day just staring at her, which she clearly knew if that smirk was anything to go by... Lifting my head from my knees, I summoned a sphere of water and let her drink from it, the Demoness still staring at me as she studied my expression for a few moments more, before she took a sip and nced towards Anput, who made her way over as well, the Jackalkin crouching down as well as she asked "Was I the only one surprised by the way that giant Boss monster died so easily?" "Goblin Monarch, and no, I was surprised a bit as well. Though, really, it makes sense when you think about it; unlike the Magma Wyrm that we fought back in Zhu''Rong Caverns, this Goblin Monarch is a support type monster primarily, and it isn''t ''built'' for fighting. It can buff and cast spells of frightening power, but when you get close enough, it''s entirely at your mercy. It has all of the weaknesses of a Mage minus the intelligence to weave together spells that cover your close range, mid range and far range engagements, as well as the fact it literally couldn''t move." "I guess... still, that was a big bastard, wasn''t it? Those bones are quiterge, and I bet I could make some good stuff from it! Though, I do wish we had gotten some of that silver liquid. That looked interesting..." Jahi and I nodded, before we nced over at Leone as she said "Oh, so I was right... everyone,e here please." Exchanging a look with one another, we got up and made our way towards the still red skinned Leone, who was staring at the wall that the Goblin Monarch had been leaning against, appraising it and waiting for us to make our way over to her, not saying anything else as she waited. Satanya, who would have normally said something snippy to the Vampire asking about what she was right about, was quiet as she stared at the Vampire for a few moments, taking in the red skin and horns that she had before ncing at Janus, who sat beside his master and stared at the wall with her. Giving the Demoness a half re, I took another step forwards and stood beside Leone, asking "What were you right about, Leone? Is it a secret wall or something? Not really there, built up over something..?" She gave me a curt nod and raised her hand, summoning a ball of mes and shooting it at the wall without another word, surprising us as we listened and felt the explosion of her fireball, though we were more entranced by the fact that there was a cave beneath the wall to really care about the close range st she had caused. "There is. Which... is interesting. I wonder where it might lead? Perhaps it''s a clue on to how this random Goblin Monarch had ess to the Terracotta Golems? Those weren''t just any normal Golems it made, let alone the ones made from that mercurial silver; those were far too detailed and humanoid for a monster to make on a whim. So... that begs the question..." "Where does this go? Interesting. Peculiar. Should we head in now? Is everyone rested? Ready? Healed?" Ammit moved forwards and appraised the tunnel, before ncing back and asking that, the golden Demoness not waiting for an answer as she just nodded and took a step inside, making Satanya let out an aggrieved sigh as she stormed forwards, moving to walk beside Ammit as she growled "If you''re going to ask something, wait for a damn answer! Leraie, Lucy, remain back and cover the entrance. We''ll take a look beforeing back out. Twenty minutes. Got that?" She red at both Ammit and Leone, both of whom just nodded before ignoring her entirely, walking down into the depths and making her growl again, something that brought a smile to my lips as I stuck my tongue out at her, enjoying the way she was slowly ''losing control'' over everything; it must have been so~ grating for her too, which made it all the more amusing~! Brushing past her, I reached Leone''s side again and asked "How did you know, by the way? It didn''t look that different, and yet..." The entrance of this tunnel that Leone had found was normal in appearance; just a rock wall that had been slightly smoothed out and built in front of, and yet somehow, someway she had located this tunnel. Darkness was cloaking the entire area, but Leone just summoned a small ball of fire that hovered over her head, followed quickly by Ammit doing the same and then Jahi illuminating everything with her Light Magic, allowing us to see... nothing except rock. "I used my mana to cover the area and feel for something different. Janus got a feeling of a slight breeze and echo on the wall, so I studied it. And now... we have this. It looks rather rough, doesn''t it? Like it was primitively excavated..." Looking around, I pursed my lips and nodded, stopping for a moment as I studied the wall, running my hand over it and saying "It does... like someone was using rather basic stone tools to break this rock. It''s too chipped, to jagged to be entirely natural, especially whenpared to the other walls and tunnels we have seen. Besides, there''s no foliage here either..." Leone stopped beside me as well, the Vampire nodding as she added "So what else could have broken this rock besides the Goblins? Perhaps they felt something beneath them, perhaps this tunnel was widened out by them... so I wonder where it leads? Perhaps that is where the Terracotta Golems were found?" Chapter 886 885: Piece Of History Chapter 886 885: Piece Of History ??The tunnel was a long one, and the further we walked, the more I was certain that I was correct with my appraisal and that Leone was correct with her assumption; this tunnel was widened and or mined out by the Goblins with primitive tools, and it led down into the earth before connecting with a slightly wider, more natural yet still excavated tunnel around two hundred feet from where we entered. Slightly sloped and winding slowly, there wasn''t a good way to gauge how deep we had gone into the earth or what direction we might be facing, but what I did know was that it was slightly surprising that the Goblins had been able to find this tunnel at all, and that they somehow, someway discovered a way to reach it with their own skills. That begged a wide variety of questions that I wasn''t close to getting answers to, but for the time being we were all walking steadily forwards, our weapons at the ready as we traversed yet another portion of the Dungeon in search of ways to get stronger. Surely whatever waited for us at the end of this tunnel would be of value to us to some degree, right? Either way, just learning what was down here was well worth the time, though I could tell that everyone was beginning to truly feel the fatigue slowly set in from the constant ups and downs ofadrenaline; no matter how strong one gets, being thrust into multiple battles against enemies that can take your life will result in a level of exhaustion that can only be ignored for so long before needing to be reset through sleep. Our tanks were still quite full though, so that was of no issue at this current moment, but I wasn''t keen on heading into yet another engagement so quickly after the one we were just in; gear needed to be checked and repaired, our Cores needed to be replenished, our bodies needed more energy as well as rest... That weighed on my mind a little as I took each step into this tunnel, but those thoughts were tossed aside the moment we went from walking in a tunnel illuminated only by our own light into a cavern that was illuminated by a ceiling made from brilliant crystal that acted like a sun for this area, bathing it in a cool, yet slightly harsh blue light. Roughly fifty some odd feet in diameter, the cavern was a simple sphere covered in sparse foliage and boasting little in the form of minerals, but that wasn''t what captured our attention; it wasn''t even that beautiful ceiling of blue and white crystals that shone with a unique natural light made from the minuscule amount of mana lingering within their surfaces. No, what stole our attention away and refused to give it back was the building that stood in the middle of the cavern, its pirs and t, boring architecture far too familiar for us to not guess where it was from, but even though we had that idea, it was just... hard to believe we would see it down here. "That''s... a Custodia building, isn''t it? At the very least, it reeks of the human''sck of creativity and desire to squeeze out as much use as they can from something in all the wrong ways..." Satanya''s murmur made us all nod as we looked at the building, before taking a look around at the cavern it was situated in, making sure there wasn''t something waiting to attack us from around the building or near the only cluster of rocks nearby. Seeing nothing, we remained wary as we moved forwards, approaching the squat, t building and preparing to head inside, the open archway allowing us to see inside the building from the ''safety'' of the outside, something that made us all narrow our eyes curiously as we saw rows upon rows of Golems standing absolutely still within. "Think they''re ''alive'', or..?" Jahi''s whisper made us all re over at the Demoness, who just shrugged as she hoisted her shield and took another step forwards, entering the building and approaching the Golems, using her great sword to tap one and observe its reaction. Some of us followed her inside, with Leone and I staring at that Golem closely before looking around in wonder, taking in the various rows of Golems and what looked like workbenches lining the walls, while the back of the building was free from those Golems, moving our attention once more. "No, not alive... interesting... They look the same though, don''t they? This interesting pattern engraved onto their torsos, the way they are shaped to look like soldiers; uniform and sharp, professional... It''s odd. Just... weird." Walking between the rows, Leone and I nced at the smooth,pletely nk faces of the Golems, which made me shiver as I wondered if there was meaning behind that stylistic choice, or if there was something missing perhaps... and I couldn''t help but shiver again as I prayed these smooth surfaces would remain smooth. There were six rows of Golems in total, with each row containing fifteen Golems for an overall total of 90 Golems, which was a rather high number of soldiers waiting to be used forbat, and considering the detail engraved onto their bodies and the fact that they really did look like statues that you wouldn''t be surprised to see at some Noble''s Estate, it showed that they were both tools and pieces of art. "All of them are unarmed. Those tables lining the walls... it looks like parts of Golems on some, and weaponry on others. This was a factory that assembled the Golems before sending them out; we aren''t terribly far from the entrance into the Grottos that we took, and there is the possibility that there is another that''s even closer..." I nodded at Leone''s words, before adding "Though that doesn''t exin why it would be hidden? Did Custodia not always have control over the mountains? Were their enemies able to infiltrate into the Dungeon and make their way over to Custodia that easily that they needed to hide these... factories?" Reaching the front of the rows, Leone and I nced back at all of the Golems before turning and looking at the empty space around us, which was home to a wide pit that was a couple feet deep, with the dirt and gravel inside beingprised of a far softer, finer grain and lighter color than we had seen before. Crouching, I cupped some of the dirt and looked around again, saying "This might be a temporary factory, perhaps? They looked for patches of this finer dirt and would use water to create a y, which they then shaped into the Golems and fired to create their Terracotta army? Or maybe they ground down the dirt by hand using mallets, then added the water? Can''t be too sure with any of it..." The tables in front of us wereden with piles of dirt, chunks of dried y, rusted tools and rotting wood, while front and center were three giant, human sized furnaces that were likely used to fire the Golems and prepare them for their ''life''... Letting the dirt trickle out of my palm, I stood back up and took a look around at the square room, wondering just what kind of stories it could tell if it was able to speak... Chapter 887 886: Revelation Chapter 887 886: Revtion ??"So they were making their terracotta inside the building... does the dirt look different or feel different besides just being of a finer grain? Mana, texture, anything at all?" Jahi made her way over to Leone and I after she perused the Golems for a few moments, the towering Demoness walking carefully inside this factory lest she damage one of the Golems on ident and break them. "Not... particrly, but you also have to remember that this building, these Golems... they are really, really old. Decades at the minimum since they werest seen and touched, maybe even centuries. This soil could have been so drastically different back then, or it really was just the same soil as the rest of the Dungeon, just... ground down and turned into y." Leone nodded, the Vampire crouching beside me and scooping up a handful of the dirt as well, before her hand froze for a moment as she reached back down and brushed away the soft dirt, revealing the rougher, coarser grains beneath. "It really was an excavation pit of some kind... this topyer turned into this fine grain, then it was harvested and mixed with water - likely over there, on that set of workbenches. See the pots and containers? Might''ve held the dirt and the water, which they mixed into the y before transferring over to any of the other workbenches to be shaped and moulded, then taken to those furnaces to be fired. Though... this is nowhere near enough dirt to produce more than one of these Golems, so..." "Perhaps they dug out this pit first and used it to store what they wanted to smash into that finer, smoother dirt? Create a working area for themselves? I mean, the dirt is everywhere around us, so they could''ve just dug outside and brought it inside. That way any monsters that did find this ce would need toe into the building first before attacking." "usible. On the other hand, these Golems could be here to be repaired. Mended. Restored. The workbenches hold random parts of the Golems; hands, arms, legs, heads... And all of these Golems have sustained some form of damage. Minor. Inconsequential. But still damage." When Ammit joined us, the Cimeriesa observed the shallow pit for a brief second before heading towards the furnaces, which she peeked inside of and looked for any other clues. "That''s not a bad theory either. If this is closer to the surface than we think, it could very well be a repair station for these Golems. Somewhere to bring them after a battle and repair what they could. Rearm them with new weapons depending on the fight. Curious..." "This is curious. Come here." Ammit waved us over, and as we rose from the pit and approached her, Cali appeared, the Arch Fiend humming to herself as she floated over and nodded, saying "I was wondering who would find it first. It''s a very old, very weak mark, but... it is still here. Interesting." The sudden appearance of the Arch Fiend made me frown, but as I peeked inside the center furnace with Ammit, I understood why she was here; carved into the roof of the furnace was a rune I hadn''t seen before, etched into the stone and very faintly glowing red. It radiated the scent of blood and pulsed with anger, though both were so weak I wasn''t sure if I was imagining things or it was really giving off those smells and feelings. "A ''Rune of War'' or something like that? Something that belongs to the Ka Fiends? Which means we have two different Fiends lurking around inside the Dungeon now?" "Something like that, yes... It''s a Rune of Blood, to be exact. War is but a single part of their domain, and while it used to be abundant, well... murder and anger are far more prevalent than war ever will be. Anyways, yes, there is a chance its lurking down here, but this mark is rather old... So unless it was either a newly risen Fiend or one that slipped free from its chains far before the rest of us, you shouldn''t need to worry about it. Though... it does beg a few questions, doesn''t it?" The pink skinned Arch Fiend just grinned at us as she floated around, taking in all of our expressions as we contemted her words and the sudden appearance of this rune, which undoubtedly threw a wrench in our ns going forwards to a certain degree. "Now, I will admit that the abilities disyed so far from all of you are able to take on most typical Fiends, but I wouldn''t say you''re entirely ready to battle against two at the same time... though the fact that its a Ka and a Nua does make this a bit easier. Ka Fiends are simpletons 99 times out of 100, while Nua Fiends are just absurdly resilient but also rather slow, both physically and mentally. So if there were to be a pair to go against, it would be these two. But again, it would be a really difficult fight. For just you mortals, anyways~! I am here still, and unless you want me to fight alongside you or you are in need of saving, I will only watch. Unless asked, of course~!" Her ramblings made me and the others frown, unsure of what we should do now and how we should act going forwards; us leaving doesn''t change the fact that Fiends are here, inside this Dungeon, and on one hand we should hunt them down and kill them, but on the other, that was a rather substantial risk for us... I could tell that Satanya, Jahi, Leone and I were struggling with the same thought, while Anput only shrugged and Ammit was staring at the rune still, studying it closely; the others were willing to leave the decision to us, confident that whatever we decided would be the right option. And I wasn''t worried about them not agreeing with us or having objections of their own; so far, none of the Demons have ever had any qualms voicing their thoughts, even if that could be taken for insubordination by their superiors. They were a free spoken, unbothered people who would let you know if they thought differently, so if they were silent now and had nothing to offer at the moment, that meant they were just as conflicted as we were, weighing the pros and cons at the same time. Having this revtion that there was a Fiend of Bloodshed and a Fiend of Decay roaming around inside of this already bustling Dungeon wasn''t one to be taken lightly, and we gave it even more thought before reaching a decision. Chapter 888 887: Making Some Decisions Chapter 888 887: Making Some Decisions ??"Well damn, this changes things even more doesn''t it? Not just one Fiend, but two of them? Of differing domains and unknown strengths, with who knows what goals in mind for this Dungeon, connections to Gods know who..." Satanya''s sigh as she lounged at the edge of the pit, tapping the tip of her longsword against the dirt and tracing out runes before looking up at the rest of us, gauging our reactions to Cali''s information and trying to figure out what we should do going forwards, though... "We should remain, even with the revtion that there are now two Fiends here. There are too many materials to gather, too many monsters waiting to be killed and used for our gain. Too much we can learn about our strengths, our weaknesses... And with an Arch Fiend acting as a guard for us all, we can rest easy that if we do run into them, we can deal with them." The Demons all nodded their heads and continued to think on it, while Cali - the guard in question - red at Leone and asked "Now why should I want to act as a guard this ENTIRE time?! None of you show any sort of gratitude to me that would earn that sort of privilege! Hmph!" Crossing her arms over her over abundant chest, Cali floated around and looked away from us all, with Satanya looking towards me as she asked "What sort of ''gratitude'' does the sex doll want exactly, Kat? She''s your responsibility, no?" The Arch Fiend sneered as she nced at Satanya, before cocking her head back proudly as I said "She''s still a ''person'', Satanya, even if she is a Fiend. And no, she is not my ''responsibility'' since she isn''t a pet of some kind. We''re... mutually bonded together, I guess. Partners of a sort." "Doesn''t change the fact that she''s a damn Fiend." "Watch your tongue, whelp, lest I tear it out and choke you with it." Satanya red at the pink skinned Fiend in front of her, while Cali''s lip curled into a snarl as she inched ever closer to the Demoness, only to begin to raise her hand and shroud a finger in that all too powerful and familiar mana, which made me step forwards and re at them both. "Cali, don''t even think about it! Satanya, don''t try to fight someone that''s nearly a hundred times stronger than yourself!" They both froze as I stood over them, and Cali let out a soft growl as she turned away and began to float to a different side of the room, grumbling to herself as she continued to make her displeasure known. Looking down at Satanya, who was grimacing slightly as she avoided looking at me, I sighed before pointing my finger at her, deciding that scolding her would get it through her thick, horned skull better than just a simple exnation. "I don''t know what the hell your problem is, but try not to pick a fight with the being that''s lived for as long as your entire CLAN has existed perhaps?! Try not to pick a fight with something that could easily turn you into a mangled corpse inside this pit?! Is that something you can do?!" "Why should I?! It''s her kinds fault that-!" "But it isn''t hers! So don''t be a dumbass and keep that to yourself. She''s here helping us, got that? Besides, what happened has already happened, so move forwards and do something about it if you want, but only when you really can do something. Got that?" The red skinned Demoness just red at me before letting out a huff, remaining quiet as she sat there and withstood my re, eventually turning away as I continued to stare at her and ensure she understood I was being serious. "Alright, so any objections to wanting to leave?" Looking around at the assembled Demons, I got no objections at all, with most of them alternating nces between me, Satanya, and Cali, who was still floating around and sulking as shenguidly moved around the building, keeping to herself now. "Now that we know there are two Fiends here, we should probably prioritize getting our gear upgraded as soon as possible, which means not only prioritizing minerals over other materials, but also..." I looked towards Anput, who just blinked as all attention was redirected on her, everyone now focusing on my new line of dialogue instead of what was previously spoken, which was what I wanted at this moment. "That means you need to forge it. The Begum, anyways. Our materials. Her skills. New creations... Is that what you are insinuating? We need to understand the reward split and ensure we are keeping to our side of the deal?" Ammit was the one who spoke, and I nodded as I said "Since it is your materials and her skills, yes, that is what needs to happen. As for the fee that should be there for forging and maintaining new gear, well... we are in a desperate situation, no? So we should be forgoing such things, but..." "Arger cut going towards you and your party, in exchange for your services. The enchanting. The forging. It... is fair. Understandable. Irritating. However, like you said, we are in a desperate situation. Two Fiends. Monsters." The Cimeriesa pursed her lips as she looked towards Satanya, who was still sitting glumly on the edge of the pit staring at her longsword, though as if she sensed the unique gaze of her fellow Demoness, she looked up and nodded. "Fine. We need to work together and all that, I guess. We need to employ your services to ensure we ovee this obstacle and improve ourselves. The experience we gain here is worth the price we''ll pay..." I could tell she was still mulling over the ''argument'' we had, causing me to sigh as I just turned and looked towards Anput again, who shrugged as she said "I can do it, but it''ll take time. Obviously. The prep work can be shorted with their help, and the minor things can too, but forging well over a dozen different and unique pieces of armor, all those weapons... its gonna take a lot of time, Kat. That''s gonna cut into our allotted timeframe by a good bit." That made me nod and rub my jaw, before I turned towards Jahi and sought out a second opinion, which she provided quickly as soon as she saw me seek her out. "Then I think we should strike a middle ground, no? Let''s take the next day, day and a half to harvest as much ore as we can, as many bones as we can, before heading back to Custodia. Check in with Mary and the humans, and have someone travel back to the Empire to send word to them. It''s about a days ride to and from, right? That''s enough time to get our gear forged and prepared, and enough time to at least let them know what''s happening. This Dungeon isrge, and while I would love to continue to believe we can clear it out ourselves, I just... don''t think that''s feasible, so..." We all sighed, the slight greed we all held getting hurt by that realization, but it was assuaged when Satanya added "Even if they send over arge amount of people, the splits will still be more than enough for us all. If anything, they''ll just upy the upperyers and begin working their way down after clearing each grotto entirely, so we''ll have time to delve deep and search for the good stuff ourselves." With a clear n now in ce, and everything feeling slightly smoother between everyone now that our focus had shifted again, we got up and gave the building another look over before heading back towards the base, where we would begin acting on our n. Chapter 889 888: Rest Day (1) Chapter 889 888: Rest Day (1) ??"Hah... I have to say, even though I was one of the ones to suggest going full steam ahead and asking for us to perfect our schedule down to thest second to be as efficient as possible, this... this is nice..." Laying down on a pile of fluffy, freshly cleansed pelts that I had been working on, I let out another relieved sigh as I justid there, enjoying the ability to do nothing at all and giving myself the rest I craved, both physically and mentally. "Yeah, it is nice isn''t it... Besides, I think we all came to the conclusion that we would need this break anyways. It''s been a few days of non stop fighting and traveling, harvesting and mining... we all need a small break, don''t we?" Leone took a seat beside me on the pelts we had been tasked with cleaning, the furry softness of each monster we had killed providing excellent bedding as we just lounged around for a few moments, causing me to nce over at the now pale skinned, back to normal Leone. "Hey..." She looked towards me, her brow raised as she wondered what I wanted from her, only to smile wryly as I said "You need to practice getting into that True Vampire Form of yours, Leone. You need to get quicker with that transition so that it can expedite the fights we are in, at least the ones that require something as strong as that." "I know, I know, it''s just... difficult. Tiring. The strain it ces on me when I return to my usual self is already rather monumental, and trying to streamline that process is something that will take some time... I don''t really know how to exin it. It''s... I guess its like having a second version of yourself locked away, waiting toe out? Trying to unlock them from their cage, guide them up into your mind, but making sure you don''t identally slip up and lose control? All of it is taxing, so trying to get quicker at that is... difficult. Just... difficult." Rolling onto my side, I stared at the Vampire for a few quiet moments before asking "What if you had something to help focus your mind better? Would that help? Something that puts you at ease, something that ensures you are able to remain yourself?" "Like what? There is magic like that, sure, but it would need to be incredibly potent to help me with that version of myself, and traditional, more ''primitive'' ideas of focusing the mind won''t really work, so..." I nodded, only to smirk as I asked "Then what about blood? Would Jahi''s blood, Anput''s blood, my blood help you at all? Something to give you some strength, something to focus on..." Seeing her blush slightly at that, I chuckled as I continued to stare at the Vampire, drinking in the way red suited her on two separate levels; her adorable, ever sexy blush when she was shy and embarrassed, or that mature, confident red skin from her True Vampire Form... Even though that side of her was something that was so sexy on so many different levels, it still couldn''tpare to the refreshing, ever present shy and adorable Princess that I had fallen in love with, and I was certain that the others would agree with me on that. "Your... blood..? I... I guess..? But how would I get it in the middle of a fight?! Or Jahi''s, or Anput''s?! That would endanger you all if you lost even a drop during a fight, wouldn''t it?!" Hearing her worry and anxiety at a situation that hadn''t even happened yet, I chuckled again and reached for her hand, grabbing it and guiding it towards my heart - which was, obviously, beneath the tworge mountains that all three of my lovers were always fixated on - as I said "Yes, but what if you could carry around our blood in vials or something? We could give it to you before a battle, that way we could regenerate whatever was lost and you could still have it inside the battle?" Letting her feel my heartbeat and enjoy the softness beneath her fingers, I smiled coyly at Leone and took in her darkening cheeks, before she coughed and looked away, still leaving her hand with mine as she said "I-I... I guess.. that would work, yes... But how would we be able to maintain its... ''freshness''? Ensure that it was still potent enough?" "That would be a mixture of my Ice Mana and your Blood Mana, would it not? Something to maintain its purity and keep it cool enough to not evaporate or coagte. If it''s a sealed vial that''s acting as its own environment, would that work?" Her blush slowly receded as she was presented with a theoretical and magical question, the Vampire''s analytical mindtching onto this problem and beginning to work away at it, though her blush returned with a vengeance when Jahi came over and said "Hey, you were supposed to be treating those pelts, not using them as beds! And Leone, I know Kat''s breasts are amazing, but you ARE in public, y''know?" That made Leone yank her hand away and gopletely crimson, something that made Jahi chuckle as she looked over us both, watching as Leone stood up and tried to move away while I continued to lounge on the pelts, enjoying their softness for a few moments more. "C''mon Kat, get! Anput needs these now for the leather!" Reaching down, Jahi grabbed my wrist and pulled me up, ignoring thezy re I gave her as she got me off of the pelts, though considering her other hand went low and copped a feel, I forgave her swiftly, especially when she whispered "Let''s take a break from this work, hm? I need you badly, my love..." Giving her a nod, I smirked as Jahi did the same to Leone, making the Princess blush as she was pulled into Jahi''s side, the two of us cushioning her muscr body between our softer ones, which only made the Demoness all the more arrogant as she paraded us back to our tent. Chapter 890 889: Rest Day (2)* Chapter 890 889: Rest Day (2)* ??Jahi PoV As soon as we entered the tent, I leaned down and began to kiss Kat as hard as I could while squeezing the Princess'' ass just as hard, enjoying the softness of their bodies pressed against mine as I let my lust take over, finally able to give in to that addictive high as I held two of my women close. Having my sexy, busty maid kissing me back and leaning into me further as she caressed my cock was as great as ever, her tart taste continuing to grow on me even more the more I got to indulge in it. Meanwhile, the heat of the Vampire on the other side and the way she stroked my abdomen to spread that heat further was just as excellent, and I couldn''t help but moan softly as I felt her mana seep into my skin, giving a new form of pleasure that only grew alongside my love for Kat''s taste. Breaking away from Kat''s lips, I turned and gave Leone that same deep, loving kiss, making sure the Vampire felt just as wanted as my puppy so that there was no lingering thoughts in her pretty little head that I didn''t lust after her the same I did Kat. That was thest thing I wanted any of my women to feel, and with how virile I was and how swiftly I could get in the mood, ensuring they all understood I lusted for them all equally no matter what, and that I found each of them uniquely satisfying to bed. When I got done giving Leone some loving too, I released them both and stripped out of my clothing, revealing myself to them and grinning at how they mirrored me instantly, with Kat proudly bouncing her chest to entice me while Leone was trying to cover herrge breasts with one arm and hide that monstrous cock with her other... which made me chuckle and give her a one over, loving what I was seeing. In fact, as I looked between the two of them, I moved back and plopped down on the cushions and pelts that we had earned for ourselves, sighing softly before gesturing towards the bedrolls, grinning still as I said "Go ahead and enjoy yourselves... I want to watch for a bit~! I want to see you two make love for my entertainment~!" Kat just raised a brow, but the Dogkin had no questions as she sat on the bedroll and guided Leone over towards herself, with the Princess blinking and opening her mouth before closing it repeatedly, likely wanting to ask why I wanted to watch or if she could justy beneath me instead, but Kat made that impossible as our minx pulled Leone''s hand away and swallowed her cock to the root instantly. My lips curled into a smirk as I watched Leone''s face go ck right away, before the Vampire reached down and grabbed Kat''s head when the Dogkin began to sloppily bob her head back and forth, giving the Vampire a rather dangerous blowjob right off the bat. Seeing Leone''s knees tremble and getting to see Kat''s tits bounce around as she moved her entire upper body around to give me a show was excellent, and I started to stroke myself without a care as I enjoyed the scene in front of me, finding a new form of pleasure in it that wasn''t as good as the real thing, but... When Leone''s expression went ck even more and she started to p her hips against Kat''s face, I felt my hand speed up as I took it all in, quickly forgetting about how much better I would feel if I was pping my cock against Kat''s face and instead enjoying how good I felt and how much I loved what I was seeing. They were my women first and foremost, but they were still in love with one another too, so seeing them indulge in each other was always refreshing, and it was even better when I got to see Leone lose herposure to Kat''s extraordinary skills. After a few moments more, Leone couldn''t take it anymore as she blew her load inside Kat''s throat, gasping and moaning while she had the sperm sucked straight out of her balls and into Kat''s mouth, feeding the minx and making her amber eyes glow with joy as she got to taste her favorite treat once again. The Dogkin pushed away from Leone and made the Vampire spray her remaining cum onto her face, giving herself a facial and turning to show me, something that made me grin as I got up and approached her, tilting the Dogkin''s head back and taking it in. The cum pooled in her mouth, the two sshes of cum streaking across her right cheek, those amber eyes pleading for another load... all of it made her even sexier, but what I wanted to see was something else... Releasing her, I pushed her down and said "On all fours. Leone, have some fun my love~! My ''gift'' to you..." The Vampire nodded nkly, stilling off her high but cognizant enough to know that the sight of a juicy, plump ass in front of her was arousing and needed to be taken for herself, so she grabbed Kat''s hips and slipped inside, moaning softly alongside the Dogkin as they began to have sex ''without me''. Crouching beside them, I took in the Vampire''s deep thrusts and watched at how Kat''s ass rippled with each of them, before smirking as the Princess gave that ass a good p, making Kat moan harder as she was stuffed to the brim and given a helping of a pain that she loved so much. Meanwhile, those twin mountains jiggled and swayed with the rhythm of their bodies, and Kat''s head hung, allowing her hair to cover her face as she was fucked in front of me, her moans sounding out alongside the ps of Leone''s plump thighs against her thick ass. All of it was so incredibly stimting visually, and as I watched it even closer, I could help myself any longer as I moved to kneel behind Leone, grabbing her ass and allowing me to slip inside her royal pussy, unable to abstain any longer as my lust continued to heighten. Finding her womb, I groaned softly as I filled it and caused her to tighten up around my girth, her insides squeezing my penis hard and making it hard to not just pound her onto Kat''s back as I reached around her and ced my hands over hers, looking over her shoulder as I whispered "Just look at that, Leone... Isn''t it perfect~? This juicy butt, the fluffy tail, the way she arches..." Leone nodded, panting as she was stuffed full from my cock and currently enjoying the meaty pussy of Kat, who was pressing her ass back into Leone''s hips to make it impossible for the Vampire to escape. "Wouldn''t it feel best to take her nice~ and slow, to tease this naughty bitch and make her cum whenever you want her to, or..." Leaning closer, I held back a chuckle as I felt Leone''s cunt squeeze me even tighter as she got more aroused, her womb sucking on my tip and giving me all sorts of loving as I embraced her from behind. "You could always just not let her cum~! Make her plead for that release as you pleasure yourself... doesn''t that sound great, Leone~? Doesn''t it sound so~ very nice..?" She nodded again, before gasping as I gently thrust into her, starting to take her as I whispered "Then follow my lead, my Princess... let''s make her a sopping mess together, before devouring her for ourselves, no~?" Chapter 891 890: Rest Day (3)* Chapter 891 890: Rest Day (3)* ??With Leone''s soft cheeks pressing against my groin, I couldn''t think of anywhere else I would rather be at this very moment, my entire girth buried inside her equally soft and wonderful insides as I enjoyed every second of her slowly fracturing mind. The pleasure was too great for her to remain ''sane'' as she was squished between my embrace and the tight, meaty pussy of Kat, who was desperately trying to get herself off as she smacked her ass against Leone''s thighs, enticing the Vampire more and more. "Come on, my love... If you don''t want to withhold pleasure from her and instead want to overwhelm her with it, you need to move... like this!" Thrusting forwards, I smirked as I watched Leone''s face twist into one of euphoria as I started to indulge in her womb, forcing her lower half to move forwards to meet Kat''s butt as we began in earnest, something that would undoubtedly make Leone go crazy with lust soon enough. With me buried deep inside her pussy smacking against her ass as I created a controlled pace and her own monstrous length submerged into the sublime pussy of the thick Dogkin in front of us, she was receiving two incredible pleasures at the same time, something that made all three of my women slip up. It wasn''t even something they could prepare themselves for or get ustomed to; Kat was the closest, but even she was brought to the edge of sanity when we stuffed both of her lower holes, let alone how crazy she could get when all three of us used her all at once. Knowing that I was the one responsible for their gradual descent into this twisted, beautiful lustful state that left them twitching and pleading for me was my greatest pleasure, and I so desperately wanted to taste it once more as I continued to thrust up into my royal lover''s womb, making her curves ripple as I added some more power to my thrusts to get her spurred on properly. Leone moaned loudly as I smacked into her womb while her cock hit deep inside of Kat, the Vampire receiving both forms of pleasure inrge quantities at the same time, while her body was being held by me the entire time. Reaching up, I groped her abundant chest and pinched her hardened nipples, eliciting a gasp from those plump lips of hers as I twisted them roughly, giving her what she craved whilst also whetting my own thirst to inflict pain. My fingers sunk into those soft, pillowy mountains while my hips smacked against the equally pillowy butt below, and I leaned down and kissed my Vampire''s neck roughly, nipping at the flesh and giving her a taste of her own medicine, though when she whimpered and turned to try and kiss me, I didn''t hesitate norin when she slid her fangs into my lip. While the taste of cinnamon was still what I tasted mainly, the metallic tang of blood marred the experience somewhat for me, but considering the way she was desperately kissing me like her life depended on it, or how she sucked on my lip to quench her own thirst, I couldn''t be bothered that I wasn''t receiving the perfect experience. What mattered the most was that this ashen haired beauty got to feel as good as possible when she was being embraced by me, and I found arge amount of my own pleasure from that, though I certainly could be selfish with any of them when I pounded them for hours on end without stopping, emptying myselfpletely inside their wombs... For now though, I kissed Leone back and enjoyed the way she melted between Kat and I, the Vampire following the rhythm of my thrusts and ensuring that Kat was enjoying herself as well, though whenever I looked towards the curvaceous puppy, I couldn''t help but smirk at how she was just teetering on the edge of the type of pleasure she so desperately craved, our pace currently doing little more than teasing her, building up her orgasm but not allowing her to dive into it. Meanwhile, Leone was being tossed into it whether she wanted it or not, the Vampire being brought to that edge swiftly as I stirred around her womb and prepared it for my semen, while Kat''s drenched pussy sucked Leone further inside of itself and ensured she was going to be milked, which made our usually bright and intelligent Vampire lover moan stupidly as she lost the ability to speak. When she broke away from my lips and rested her head against my shoulder, I chuckled and took one of my hands off of her breasts, making her whine for a brief moment before her crimson eyes went wide when she felt where my hand was going. Trailing it down her abdomen then around her waist, I snaked my arm between us and felt just under her balls, where her clit was currently hiding, surprising her at the sudden use of this part of her genitalia that usually went unnoticed and unappreciated. It''s not that I forgot it existed, but instead that I didn''t need to use this fun little button of hers to make her go crazy and squirt like a fountain, but now that I wanted to break this royal toy of mine, well... what better way than to give her a pleasure she sparsely feels, all while she is assaulted by two separate, familiar pleasures~? Pinching it, I made Leone gasp loudly inside the tent, her body quivering between Kat and I as she started to orgasm, only to spasm as I started fucking her faster, reaching my own orgasm soon, which caused her to be thrust deeper into Kat and milked by the Dogkin''s greedy pussy. When I started to spurt my cum into her womb, the Vampire let out a euphoric shout as she started to cum alongside me, her own cock throbbing inside of Kat and filling the Dogkin with her seed while her pussy quivered and spasmed, my teasing of her clit making her mp down on my cock and refuse to let it go, all while she leaned back into my body and tried to bnce herself. Filling her with my cum, I grunted and held her closer, seeking her lips and silencing her moans as I kept cumming inside of her, while I could feel her balls clenching as she did the same to Kat. My mind whited out as I onlyprehended my balls being drained by my Vampire lover as well as her cinnamon taste, something that permeated my head as I held her close and indulged in her warmth. "Aw, you all started without me!" The voice of my final lover snapped me out of the high I was on, and I nced to the side to see her olive skin and angry red knot being unted freely as she crouched beside me, and as I broke away from Leone''s lips I couldn''t help but growl "I didn''t forget you, bitch. Down." Seeing her shiver and nod at me demurely only made me growl some more as I continued to creampie Leone, my balls growing lighter and lighter as I shot my seed inside her like it was water, but all good thingse to an end eventually... Pulling out, I gentlyid Leone down as she fell backwards, the Vampirepletely drained and cumdrunk as her body refused to do as she wanted, her pussy still spasming and leaking juices while her cock twitched and shot small ropes of sperm onto her stomach, making her twitch some more. Kat turned and tried to mount the Vampire, to get that pleasure back and get herself off, but as soon as I grabbed her and dragged her over to Anput, the Dogkin sought me out instead, her amber eyes pleading with me to let her truly cum as she unted her thick ass and creamy pussy, begging me to fill her up and fuck her up. Sadly for her, I was more intent on the olive skinned bitch beneath her, who was shaking her toned butt around and enticing me with that haughty smirk, her submissiveness giving way to her desire to challenge me at every turn... So, I ced Kat on top of her and grabbed my Dogkin''s hips even as I slid inside of Anput, who was now pinned down beneath the soft body of Kat. Chapter 892 891: Rest Day (4)* Chapter 892 891: Rest Day (4)* ??My hand rested on the top of Kat''s back as I pressed the Dogkin back down, making it impossible for her to get off of Anput''s back even as she wiggled and wriggled around in an attempt to slip free, to continue seeking her own pleasure so that she could finally get the orgasm she so truly desired, only to whimper as she was pinned to Anput''s back. Her selfish and childish actions to seek out what was best only for her was done only to rile me up more, the Dogkin''s smugness not being hidden well enough in her eyes whenever she pouted at me, nor through the bond we shared as she also tried to entice me to stop fucking Anput and pound her instead. The olive skinned Jackalkin below was moaning hard as I continued to scrape out her womb, my cock spreading her muscr pussy apart and guaranteeing I was being sufficiently pleasured as she milked me with her vice grip, making it impossible for me to pull out even if I wanted to. With Kat pinned to her back and me buried deep inside of her, Anput was basking in this loss of control unconsciously, the Jackalkin lifting her hips as much as possible while also tightening up even more, letting me swing my hips forwards to smack against her toned cheeks and choke out my tip with her cervix. Her folds wormed around my shaft and gripped it hard, while her womb sucked eagerly on my tip and tried to drain me that way, all while she and I enjoyed the softness of Kat''s body atop of her. Twin pillows rested on her defined back, while the cum filled pussy of her mate rubbed against her lumbar region, smearing her darker skin with a concoction of sperm and vaginal fluids that made the ''massage'' she was getting even better. My hips moved as quickly as they could, my prior orgasm making me hungry for far more than just another ejaction at a slower pace; my ns for a long, gradual buildup of pleasure was thrown out the window now that I craved them so desperately, so I had no issue postponing that idea for a time where I was more focused and less stressed. With the discoveries we had made, I was in need of a sufficient distraction and release to recenter myself, and that woulde from my three women being filled to the brim with my seed and then some, so I wanted to get to work on that properly now as I smacked my hips against both Anput''s and Kat''s asses, the contrast between the firm and soft cheeks making me lick my lips as I got harder. Two different, yet perfect beauties that were entirely mine to devour, two women who were easily amongst some of the most desirable partners sexually wereying here now, beneath me moaning my praises as I prepared them to hold my seed... They were mine, and only mine; even their love for one another circled back to me in a way, and that mark I had on them, the im I had on their very beings only made it even sexier as I felt my orgasm welling up again, my love for them rising alongside my ejaction as I kept going. What made this even better was the way Anput mewled in disappointment and pleaded for me to cum inside her when I pulled out and grabbed Kat''s ass, spreading her creamy lips and inserting myself inside her instead, Leone''s previous load making it easier to go all the way inside Kat''s meaty pussy. Raising myself slightly, I pounded the Dogkin hard as I switched to her, wanting to feel her plumper folds and wetter cunt on wrapped around my dick instead of Anput''s tighter and firmer pussy, though it wasn''t for long as I gave her a few pumps before returning to the Jackalkin''s pussy, making the two women moan louder as I leaned over them and growled "Each of you gets five thrusts... make me feel good, and you''ll get my cum... don''t, and you can enjoy listening to me breed your mate." The two gasped at that, something that made Anput tighten around me even more as she tried to make me cum right away, the Jackalkin trying to stake her im to my seed as she listened to me count out each thrust, which was as deep and exaggerated as I could make them. Starting from the edge of their pussies, I started slow and submerged a quarter of myself inside them before speeding up, picking up the pace so that when I mmed into their cervixes, they cried out in painful glee as I broke into their wombs, before I did the reverse, pulling out slowly to start then going quick to the edge, where I started again. Five thrusts was all they got before I pulled out, and I made sure to take a few seconds to tease their lower lips to let my ejaction build up, wanting to give the ''winner'' the biggest load I could... Grabbing Kat''s ass, I smacked against her pillowy thighs a few times before pping my cock against her cheeks, guiding myself back into Anput and grabbing her hips instead, alternating between them once more. When I returned to Kat, I grit my teeth and grunted loudly as I started cumming on the fourth thrust, deciding to toss out the rules I had made for myself as I started hammering her cunt as hard as I could to wring out my balls, ejacting the entire time and flooding her with sperm as I tried to knock her up, making Anput listen to me seed her mate. Two fluffy tails pped against my legs as they both experienced bliss from the situation, and I grinned as I poured some more cum inside Kat before releasing her, gently pushing the Dogkin to the side and letting her bask in her reward for a moment as I flipped Anput over and enveloped the smaller, muscr woman''s body with my own. Wrapping her legs around me, Anput took my creamy cock without issue and moaned into my mouth as I started humping her, hammering her womb and holding her close as I wrapped my arms around her, ensuring the smaller woman was stuck to my chest so that I could fuck her even harder. What was meant to be a brief respite from the stress turned into a long break as I indulged in all three of my women, filling them with five or six loads each as I released my pent up libido and ensured they were sufficiently drained of their own lusts... despite us all having work to do still for the day... Chapter 893 892: Rest Day (5) Chapter 893 892: Rest Day (5) ??Kat PoV "Gods above I love you so, so much..." The coarse voice of the Demoness behind me made me shiver slightly as I leaned into her embrace, her strong arms wrapped around my waist tightly and ensuring I couldn''t escape her at all, even though that was thest thing I wanted to do. Jahi gave me a slight squeeze as she added "It''s honestly scary how much I love you, Kat... really, it is. It''s like watching my heart walk away from me whenever you leave, or having the color of the world sapped away whenever your not by my side..." My heart throbbed at her tone of voice, and I couldn''t help but try to turn over so that I could disy my affections to her physically instead of verbally, but her embrace was too tight to let me do that, and all that happened was my butt rubbing against the thing that had made us both sore... Of course, she knew what I was trying to do, but the Demoness couldn''t help herself as she rolled onto my back and resumed where we had left off, taking us from a nice, romantic exchange into something more carnal, and even though I was slightly irritated that that nice atmosphere was taken away so easily, I knew that what was happening suited us both much better than any sappy, lovey dovey things could ever manage. It was just how we were, I guess, and while I did asionally crave that romantic, quiet moment with Jahi, just having her bottomless lust constantly targeted at me was a reward enough since it proved how much she craved me and how desperately she wanted to sow her seed inside me, and the few times that she did go the sappy route, it was always something I could feel genuinely deep inside myself. A boon of the Soul Bond we shared, and a reason that I had no qualms about the actions she took with me to quench her thirst and hunger, something that I didn''t have ess to in my previous life. Something that made it all the easier to tell that the honest and arrogant Demoness was actually an honest woman, and not one who would lie to me like my previous rtionships... even if that lying was what got me here in the first ce, which was a blessing I didn''t deserve... So I was content with serving Jahi whenever she wanted me, the Demoness'' voracious appetite for sex something that I could withstand and sometimes even crave more than her as we enjoyed ourselves to the fullest, even if we were both aching and drained of energy by the end of it. Anput and Leone were in the same situation as we were, the two women watching on with tired lust as Jahi finished inside me once more, though they were just as drained as we were, treading that fine line between wanting more and knowing that if we did anything else, we would truly be too tired to do anything else. But, life must move on, and we weren''t in a position to drain ourselves of any will to do anything besides indulge our lusts, so after Jahi finished she pulled away andid on her back, pulling us into her arms and holding us all; Anput slid onto her chest without issue, while Leone and I cushioned her sides as we cast our healing spells over us, taking this time to rest and heal ourselves, as well as discuss what we should do going forwards. "Weapon wise, all of us have that covered, but armor wise I need to get that going for all of us... which is a pain and a blessing - making armor is so much more work than making des, but it''s rather fun and something I need to get better at, so... I''m not against it. Just... man, I really don''t wanna be making THAT much armor, y''know?" I gave her a dry stare as I said "And I don''t want to enchant all of it, and yet we will need to. Two Fiends is both a bounty and a challenge, and I don''t know about you, but the idea of killing two of them... doesn''t that sound tempting? Another way to ensure our skills are up to snuff, another good fight, another bundle of powerful materials... I really like that idea..." Jahi and Anput both nodded, while Leone raised a brow and asked "Isn''t that because your Divine Blessing gives you strength whenever you kill something? Absorbing parts of their souls or something, right? So those two are ratherrge bundles of strength waiting to be absorbed by you, no?" They both nodded again, and I chuckled as I joined them, saying "That too, I suppose. But besides that immediate benefit, we should also get some more experience fighting against Fiends since they''re awakening again, and while the Empire might not have any troubles with them now, it''s only a matter of time before moree to pick a fight with the strong warriors and mages within the borders..." "They''ll being eventually, yes... Cults are a small amount of power for a Fiend, but even that small boost could be the difference between life and death~!" Cali appeared above us, the Arch Fiend grinning as she looked down at us and drank in the sight of our four naked bodies, something that made us all frown as we red at her. "Whew~! I knew you were all rather sexy, but this is just a feast for the eyes~! Especially you, Princess... aren''t you just a versatile lover, hm~? So~ thick in so many ways..." "Cali..." Sitting up, I stared at the Arch Fiend and made her chuckle as she drifted down, stretching out her hand to caress my cheek as she coyly said "Don''t worry, I know our deal, my love... I just needed to take my mind off of the idea of breaking that brat''s mind, hm~? Ah, and to tell you that I DID in fact feel the Ka Fiend, so there''s that~!" Chapter 894 893: Rest Day (6) Chapter 894 893: Rest Day (6) ??We all stared at Cali for a few moments as the Arch Fiend grinned at us, her pink eyes brimming with amusement as she took in our reactions to both her action as well as her words, which came across as a surprise. "Firstly, hands off my woman. Secondly, what do you mean you felt the Ka Fiend? Like nearby, or..?" Snorting, Cali floated away andzed near the top of the tent, looking down at us from up high as she answered "Firstly, I have a im to her too - she''s my one and only adorable little Culitst~! And secondly, I felt their energy and mana, a few grottos away. So no need to worry about that, you ravishing hunk~!" Leone pressed herself closer to Jahi and tried to pull the nearby nket over herself, while Anput just rolled her eyes and stared up at the Arch Fiend as she asked "Could you puff yourself away for a few seconds so we can put some clothes on? You might befortable speaking to people naked, but we aren''t. Please and thank you." "Well, since you asked so~ nicely, Miss Knotty~! Twenty seconds starting now~!" Puffing away like Anput asked, Cali disappeared and allowed us to swiftly get up and grab some clothes, with Leone almost tearing hers with how quickly she superheated her body before dragging on the pants and tunic, whichpared to the morenguid approach we took made it all the more amusing when she pouted at us, trying to egg us on to move faster. Jahi only pulled on some pants before leaning against the crate in our room, the nket draped over her chest and allowing the Demoness to just lounge there, while I slipped on my underwear and a shirt, wanting to rx some more too. "And~ I am back~! Oh, the variety~! What a sight, what a sight~! All of you are such~ delectable snacks that I want to take a bite out of... really, I wouldn''t mind showing you all a thing or two~?" Floating down towards the center, the Arch Fiend looked between us all before spinning aroundnguidly, taking each of us in individually and trying her hardest to entice us all, only to sigh as I asked "How far away? Multiple grottos, or just a ''few''? And how strong did they feel? Like Orbias'' level, weaker by a smidgen, or much weaker?" "Well aren''t you just full of questions~? Well, I don''t mind since you defended my honor so valiantly earlier! Oh, how that made me swoon~! My own knight in shining armor~!" "Aw, I wouldn''t of broken her THAT badly now... just sapped her of any will or desire for an hour or so and make her feel like a stranger trapped inside her own body the entire time~! Nothing too bad..." The lightless look in her eyes as she said that made us all shiver, and I shook my head and replied "Just a single second of that was terrible, Cali. I can''t imagine thirty seconds, a minute... let alone an entire hour. I think that would genuinely drive anyone crazy for a few days..." "Try a week." shing a devilish, joyless grin at me, Cali floated around some more before taking a deep breath and saying "Oh yeah, the Fiend... right. Um, it''s not that strong? A fledgling Ka Fiend, but I mean... if there are Fiends that should be worrying in battles it''s them, since... well, that''s what they were made for? Tenacious, resilient, strong and stubborn all make for one hell of a warrior, and the longer it is allowed to linger around and hunt, the more power it gets. Like you all, if it can test out new ideas and hone its skills, it only gets deadlier." "Fledgling? I though you said that rune was old? So how is it still a fledgling after all this time? Oh, and how does itpare to Orbias'' exactly? That''d be nice to know..." "Dearest Asmodia, surely you canprehend that a few years is merely a drop in the bucket for how long a Fiend is able to live for, right? It''s ''old'' for you mortals, but nothing more than a fledgling to me. A sharp toothed, energetic cub that thinks it can hunt with the wolves... that''s all it is. If you so desperately want aparison, it''s probably a fifth of Orbias'' strength. Including that pricks artifact that it relied so heavily on..." Clicking her tongue, Cali drifted around before tilting her head at us as she added "Though remember, that prick was magic based, and this fledgling will be melee based. Different fighting styles, different pressures, different weaknesses. All of that means a different fight and different everything... Even the weakest Ka Fiend has some serious power in its punch, so trying to defend against that would be a good start I guess... then there''s the fact their skin is like leather, so their defense is high... honestly, they''re a pain in the ass..." Looking towards the ceiling of the tent, she tilted her head the other way as she murmured "Though, that can be fun too I guess..." before ncing back down at me as I asked "So besides being red and angry, is there anything we should know? Like are they honor bound like Ka''Honda is, or is-" "No no no! Hell no. Ka''Honda is a unique bastard who follows their own set of rules; that''s why they''re so damn strong! No, this fledgling is a murder, and Ka''Honda is a warrior; they both kill, both fight and both love bloodshed, but the discipline is what makes the difference. Ka''Honda tempers instincts with intelligence, something that almost all Ka Fiendsck. You''re fighting an idiot with super strength, so n ordingly... hah... all this thinking makes me tired~!" Chapter 895 894: Rest Day (7) Chapter 895 894: Rest Day (7) ??"And a little like that... something like this... and... a bit... of this..." I could feel my tongue poking out from the side of my lips as I tried to mimic what Anput had done, my dexterity that usually matched hers in a fight struggling slightly with these new movements as I helped her with the armor, folding and stitching the leather together to create ayered sheet that would eventually form a cuirass. Softer leather on the inside for cushioning - both to absorb the blow and to feelfortable when wearing it - while a harder, boiled leather was on the outside, meant to be the primary form of protection. Then Anput wanted toyer some thin alloy scales on top of that boiled shell to make it harder to sh apart, whilst also giving it anotheryer of protection that would make something special; a hybrid armor that was light andfortable whilst also providing a high amount of resistance to one of the mostmon forms of damage on the battlefield - sh. When covered with a Mana Cloak or customized further to hold heavier, yet stronger tes, this cuirass would be able to withstand piercing and bludgeoning attacks as well, and depending on the element used, some magic attacks too, which made it a rather nice piece of armor to have. The problem was the material cost and the time to make it, as well as the fact that the thing was damn difficult to get assembled, but... "Aha! Finally got it! Here you go..." Anput took the stitched leather from me and hummed to herself, the Jackalkin adding it to the pile before handing me another two sheets of leather, her lips curling into a smirk as she heard me sigh. "Don''tin now Kat~! You were the one to ask if I needed help, and I said yes, to which you offered yourself to me~! Besides, we''re almost done! Just another three more of these to get today''s quota done before I have to move onto the more custom fits... like Jahi''s, yours, and Leone''s..." Her eyes dropped to my chest, which made her sigh as she looked down at her own chest a momentter, something that made me smirk at her as I said "Don''t even act like you don''t enjoy the extra work... I know your mind is filled with ''references'' whenever you make our armor, you horny little Jackal..." We smirked at one another as she shrugged, not denying my usation at all as she got back to work, which I begrudgingly did as well, though I felt a tad morefortable in what I was doing, so I asked "Do you think that Ka Fiend will prove to be an issue, or do you think we''ll be fine?" "An issue..? Not particrly, but only if I can get some better shields forged out of the remaining tortoise shell. Something to protect against a thing that strong. Especially if we can work some gemstones into its surface to add anotheryer of protection, something to make Jahi''s defensive capabilities rise up even more. As for the normal shields, I think coating them in mana and locking them together so that we create a wall would be more than enough, and as long as the mages cannd their spells and weave them together to create something intricate, it shouldn''t be that much of a problem..." Cutting into the leather, I pursed my lips and began toyer them properly, trimming what I needed to before starting to stitch them together a momentter, making sure everything was neatly lined up and ready to go. "You really think you can forge something that can withstand a Fiend''s strength? A Ka Fiend at that?" My mate looked up at me and raised a brow, waiting for further exnation on why I was doubting her skills, something that made me stop what I was doing as well as I raised my hands and said "I''m not saying you can''t, I''m just asking to make sure you are 100% certain that you can do something like that, Anput. I mean, it''s only been a few months right? You might be naturally talented and a quick learner, but..." Those obsidian eyes narrowed for a second as she stared at me in silence, before letting out a sigh as she replied "I understand what you''re saying Kat, and on one hand I get it, but... really? The answer is yes. The materials I have and the skills I know for sure I have at an excellent level are more than enough to work against something like that. Especially when infused with mana. I know the logical leap from making basic weapons and armor that would withstand basic monsters into making gear meant to withstand Fiends is arge one that seems difficult to do, but... it isn''t. The same way Leone is able to handle far purer and higher quality materials to make incredible potions, I can do the same. Besides, can''t I say the same for you? Are you sure you can make an enchantment strong enough and intricate enough to do the things that we want?" Pursing my lips, I nodded my head somewhat as I muttered "Fair point.", prompting Anput to wave her hands at me like she was saying ''See?'' before returning to her own work, sorting the leather sheets out and cing them into the piles that would be turned into individual pieces of armor. "I didn''t mean to question your skills and qualifications, but-" "I know, Kat. I know. And I''m not angry or disappointed or anything, alright? Just... didn''t expect it is all. Like I said, the logical leap that someone who doesn''t work with those things would make would be to question it, but the reality of it is that the forging process is roughly the same with most of these metals. Nothing here is a unique material like Fiend parts or other rare ores or materials, so the process is the same; only difference is heat and how long it retains that heat. Otherwise, all Water attuned metals follow strict ''guidelines'', just like all Earth attuned metals do. I memorized and practiced with each at this point, so I know what I can and can''t do. Just like you''ve memorized and practiced the runes you need for enchanting and how to do them. Theplex enchantments aren''t much different form the normal ones, are they? Just infuse the mana into the surface of the thing you''re enchanting and vo, you''ve made a magical piece of gear." Blinking, I stopped for a moment and looked up at the Jackalkin, who was staring back at me and wearing a small smile, which only grew as I nodded and muttered "I guess... that''s right, and that makes sense..." Chapter 896 895: Back To Custodia (1)

Chapter 896 Chapter 895: Back To Custodia (1)

?"Whew~! This is thest of it, right? Everything we''ve managed to get mined up and everything we''ve harvested... How the hells are we going to transport this?" Jahi stood beside me and looked out over the sea of crates and bags we had filled during our time here, the Dungeon''s bountiful offerings prepared to be shipped out into the open world for further use by whoever''s hands it ends up in, be it ours or the Demon ns. Not a significant, monumental shipment of goods, but something that would make most Noble Houses salivate, including some of the bigger ones; there was a lot of short term benefits to be found in these crates, but their long term impact was dependent entirely on who made use of them. In the hands of the Demons, these ores, bones, pelts, herbs and gemstones will solidify their foundation even further and give them some serious bartering power over the next few months, but in the hands of some others... it might be ripped away quickly or wasted by idiots. My trust in the general popce - even of the Empire - was nil, and my trust in the Demon ns was only slightly better thanks to the time I had spent with them, but even then it wasn''t the highest in the world; the Cimeriesa''s were geniuses of the highest caliber, but that also meant a lot of this would go to waste on their experiments, some of which might not see the light of day or even be deemed worthy enough to keep funding, so... On one hand, it would be wasted, but at least I knew that the people wasting it were doing so in a worthwhile manner, I guess... and I was also assured that a good chunk of everything we worked for in this first delve would be made into gear right away so that our next delve would be even more bountiful. But on the other hand, knowing that some of this material would bepletely wasted was a slight sore point, but there was nothing I could do about it since that wasn''t my material, but instead theirs, and it was theirs to do with as they saw fit, which could be to just toss it intova to see its melting point or something stupid... "Two, three trips. That''s how we''ll get it out. There is far too much for a single trip, at least with our numbers. Even with everythingpressed down to the refined versions of themselves, we still have this many crates... Honestly, I can see why some people fall so easily to greed. Imagine having rooms of this..." "Oh, I would love that so damn much... just giant vaults filled to the brim with hundreds of thousands of ingots waiting to be forged... I would kill for that. Like, massacre an entire city of innocents. Honestly, I think I would." We all turned towards Anput, who was staring at the crates with a small smile and a distant look in her eye whilst nodding her head, only to p her hands together and act like she hadn''t just let her inner voice slip as she said "Well, let''s get everything packed up, hm? The sooner we get back to the city, the quicker I can start. It''s a days journey - plus or minus a few hours - back to the Empire, and we need to use these days wisely to prepare! Which is going to be me churning out dozens of weapons and armor, which will then be enchanted and distributed before we arm ourselves and return for even more goodies! Ah, I can''t wait..." Silence shrouded us all as we stared at Anput, and the Jackalkin just tilted her head as she innocently asked "What? Is there something on my face?" when she noticed that we weren''t moving, only to shrug and get to work, prompting us all to look at one another for a moment before joining her, though not before Jahi muttered "Well, we all have our sins, and it would seem greed is hers..? Good to know, I guess..." "Yes, it would seem we will need to invest in vaults so that she doesn''t go on a murdering spree... or perhaps we need to steer away from vaults so that she doesn''t go on a murdering spree to fill them even more? Quite the conundrum..." Chuckles filled the air as we began to load up the various sleds we had and tie them all together, making sure everything fit and was secured before beginning our journey out of the grottos and back up into the world above, where the sun was shining and the breeze was filled with more scents than just sweat, dirt, earth, flora and more dirt. Though, the sun was damn near blinding as we emerged into the forest above, and the walk back down towards the city was spent readjusting to this openness and freshness as we walked down the mountain paths, which were not obstructed by anything, thankfully. No monsters, no fallen trees or overgrown path, nothing; we reached Custodia in a hour or two - honestly, judging time was odd now that I had the sun again, so I wasn''t too sure since I wasn''t checking it as often, nor using my pocket watch since I was trying to break the habit of checking it every few moments to see how much time had passed, which I had created down inside the earth thanks to theck of sun... Honestly, being able to answer the question about what happens when you ''lose'' the sun for a few days was interesting enough, and as we approached the pockmarked walls of Custodia, it was one that was interesting to look over and answer, even if it held little real importance to my life. All I was really trying to do was re limate myself to the fresh air and keep my mind from going crazy now that I was walking without my guard up and constantly focusing on the air on my skin or its scent to worry about monsters; that overload of information was rather debilitating when it was of no use anymore... Chapter 897 896: Back to Custodia (2)

Chapter 897 Chapter 896: Back to Custodia (2)

?"Wow... That... that is a LOT of crates... you were only down there for what, a week total?! How did you manage to get ALL of this?! That''s..! That''s insane!" Mary was looking over the various crates we had unloaded into the main hall, the older human woman staring at the hundreds of ingots and tanned pelts with wide eyes as she tried to mentally calcte just how much we had brought into her city, before those eyes turned towards us and stared at us in awe as Jahi said "And we have around two shipments more waiting inside the Dungeon. Come Leone, let''s get going. The quicker we transport everything, the better..." We had discussed what would happen when we returned, and the conclusion we came to was a simple one; Anput, Leraie and I would remain back at the city, the two who were already here would take some horses and make haste towards the Arx Impius to deliver the letters that Satanya was currently drawing up, whilst the remaining Demons and Leone would head back into the Dungeon to grab what we had left behind. "T-Two..? T-Two more... j-just like this one..?" Blinking hard, Mary rubbed her eyes and stared at the crates some more, causing all of us to chuckle quietly as we nodded, making the human woman take a step back and turn away as she muttered "I... I think I should focus on something else... yes, dinner... we need to get dinner sorted, right..? Yes, dozens of pounds of meat... why is that more believable than hundreds of ingots..? Oh..." The absentminded bewilderment on her face was amusing, and Leraie chuckled some more as she followed behind her, the Demoness taking on the role of aide to Mary while Anput and I got to work right away, wanting to make as much use of whatever time we had to churn out the armor and weapons that we wanted for this uing delve. Weapons and armor that needed to be of enough quality to withstand the battle against not one, but two separate Fiends, which was what felt like a monumental task, but it was a monumental task that Anput seemed to be more than willing to tackle head on. And the best ce to start was where we left off inside the Dungeon; preparing the materials to be of use before separating them into the piles that would be used for each person, which Anput had already mentally calcted so that we could work smoothly, the Jackalkin cing ingots, pelts, leather and a few other things - bones, tendons, and other monster parts - into piles for the armor she was going to make as well as for the weapons. There was still a lot of prep work that needed to get done - some of the metals needed to be further worked on, the pelts needed to be tanned and treated, the leather needed to be cut... things that would usually take an absurd amount of time needed to be done within the next two days, maybe three, and while that was a lot of work, we could do it. For now though, I let my mind rest as I picked up the leather and began to help my mate in what I was familiar with - using a knife to cut things into shapes - as I began to trim and shape the leather sheets into what she wanted, which had been marked out by her own knife. I was creating the different shapes she would need to work with for different things;rger rectangles for cuirasses, smaller rectangles for bracers, long strips for extra workings... there were a lot of things that needed to be shaped, and that was my current job. Meanwhile, as I was shaping everything, Anput began to refine the rest of the materials into what she needed, mixing monster parts with ingots to create the alloys she wanted for each person before cing that alloy to the side to start anew. The entire time, the humans watched us from afar with curious and greedy eyes, some of them almost salivating as they saw the sheer wealth residing in the crates around us, and I had to hold back a snarl as I nced over at them all, wondering if any would be stupid enough to make a move. On one hand, I wanted to believe that they weren''t that stupid to try and steal from those stronger than them, but on the other hand I wanted them to so that I could have an excuse to have some fun with my knives... Leather was satisfying to cut - what with it being treated hide - but it wasn''t as satisfying as harvesting that hide from the monster it came from, and I was just itching to return to some of those monsters already... which was something I had to deal with soon, I guess, since I could tell that that lust was only impairing me whenever I actually got into a battle. Though... that meant controlling my urges even inside of a battle, which would be harder to do than I ever really wanted to, so... was it worth it? Probably yes... which only made me sigh before taking my knife and gently gliding the honed tip over the resilient material, following the line I needed and ensuring I had control over my hand and my de so that I wouldn''t need to go back and clean up after myself. Doing it right the first time cut back on SO much time, so I concentrated on my work again, only stopping when I heard the others return to drop off even more crates, which made the humans eyes bulge as they saw more and more materials being stacked up in the corner of their hall. More wealth than they had likely everid eyes on was being so casually stacked up nearby, and that would make anyone feel a little greedy... all that remained was hoping someone wouldn''t be stupid enough to make a move on it, and considering the way the Demons all subtly unted their des to the humans, I was praying that the message came across. For their sakes, not ours. Chapter 898 897: Armor, Weapons, Magic, Oh My~!

Chapter 898 Chapter 897: Armor, Weapons, Magic, Oh My~!

?"Argh, this is so dreadfully dull! The same enchantment, the same pieces of armor, the same type of weapons..! By the Gods this is driving me insane!" Gently putting down the Magic Pen, I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, unable to bring myself to enchant another piece of armor or another weapon of any kind, my Core running low on mana while my patience was getting thinner and thinner with each and every enchantment I ced. "Well... I would say the variety should be doing enough to keep you interested and ''fresh'', but uh... apparently that''s not the case huh?" Opening my eyes, I red over at Anput as she ced yet another finished piece of armor in front of me, adding to the backlog of things that required my attention and expertise and fueling my ''anger'' even more, which I made known as I grabbed her hand and held her in ce. "I had best be getting some real~ good attention and loving after this damnit!" Raising a brow at me, Anput looked into my eyes for a few moments before looking away with a small smile as she said "You sound more like the futa here than I do, demanding sex so easily and openly~! But... if that''s your wish, my love, I''ll ensure you can''t walk properly tomorrow morn, if that is what you desire..." "It is, so make sure it happens!" Releasing her hand, I huffed grabbed the vial of mana potionying on the ground beside me, uncorking it and downing the blue liquid to replenish my Core, only to close my eyes and meditate for a few moments to absorb some more mana from the air around us as well as maximize the gains of the potion too. Night had descended long ago, and food was still being prepared as the humans scrounged together everything that they had gathered during our absence as well as some of the excess meat we had brought with us from the most recent kills inside of the Grottos. Leraie and Lucy were busy in the kitchens with some of the other Demons and humans, making arge quantity of food to celebrate our return to safety and restore moral now that the battle hungry Demons were being taken away from their favorite pastime of battling incredibly dangerous monsters because it was just ''fun''. Now that we were here to properly rest and recuperate, the others were lounging around and napping already,with Jahi leading the way as she dozed atop one of the crates, sprawled out and ''guarding'' our goods by simply sleeping on top of them like a dragon of some kind from the fairytales. Regenerating my mana didn''t take too long, so I picked my Magic Pen back up and got to work on the next cuirass, flipping it over and beginning to engrave the various runes I had picked out for the armor pieces; the obvious battery, a minor self repair enchantment, a hardening enchantment, durability enchantment... There were a lot of runes that I needed to etch into the leather, but they were all barely medium grade enchantments at best - both because that was what this leather could handle to be overall rather good, but also because my repertoire with armor enchantments was regretfully shallowpared to what I could do with weaponry. And like I had said, it wasn''t theplexity of the runes nor the amount of them that was driving me crazy, but the repetition of doing the exact same enchantments on the exact same gear that was being made; it was mindless ''slop'' that drained all creativity and joy from me, but knowing that the result was a host of Demons fully kitted out in enchanted gear ready to go butcher a Fiend for some experience made it worth it in the long run. It was just that short run that was proving to be meddlesome to me, and I couldn''t help but sigh again as I picked up the next cuirass and began to do the same as I did before, all while Anput hammered away at the anvil beside me as she started on getting the weapons churned out now instead, switching to keep her own mind fresh. Meanwhile, Leone worked alongside Ammit to produce another vat of regenerative potion that we would be ''spiking'' each meal with to ensure our bodies werepletely healed, as well as getting some other general potions prepared for the fights toe, which was going to be a test of endurance too since we wanted to ignore the general materials and focus only on the higher quality things that we could find in the Dungeon. Having everything gathered in one ce, being able to work on it all, knowing that the next day was just one to rx and not one that needed to be spent hunting monsters and battling against whatever we came across. When dinner was ready, I was granted reprieve from my enchanting hell and brought to a heaven of sorts where there was piles of meat standing tall on a te that was carried over to me by an excited, hungry Demoness, only for me to sigh as I noticed a distinctck of anything green on the te, causing the Demoness to scurry away before I could reprimand her for an unbnced meal. But... as I stared down at the seared steak, grilled chicken and roasted venison, I... really couldn''tin as I just began to gnaw on each, wanting to replenish my strength and mental fortitude through this rather crude method of just devouring more meat than I should eat, though that was something that no one else shared as they too just dug in without any issues... though I guess Leone was like me in that regard to, though her ''resilience'' to an all meat diet was nowhere near my own. Maybe because she also was drinking from Jahi''s wrist at the moment, so her actual ''needs'' were being met I guess... Chapter 899 898: Reinforcements

Chapter 899 Chapter 898: Reinforcements

?"You guys finally managed to get everything finished? I honestly thought this wouldn''t be done for a few more days... that''s impressive." Jahi looked down at Anput and I, the two of us sprawled out over one of the remaining pelts and staring up at the ceiling with nk eyes, the mental exhaustion finally iming us now that we had - like Jahi had so astutely observed - finished making and enchanting all of the gear. New armor - cuirass, bracers, faulds, and boots - all enchanted with around four spells each, while the new weapons - swords, spears, and maces - were all enchanted with some simple spells of the element that their new owners utilize. Everything was finished, and such a bountiful yield was something that came at the cost of our mental fortitude, though again, it was a bountiful yield for everyone, but also for me... mainly for me, since I got more than just some upgraded armor from all this. The main benefit was the increase in my INT and WIS through hundreds of enchantments being ced down, as well as an increase in my CON thanks to the exhaustion my mind felt, which extended onto my body despite me not having done much that was physically tiring. Getting 5 points in both INT and WIS and then 3 points in my CON was nice, and it made it easier to look at the mountain of gear positively instead of feeling a small amount of despair whenever it entered my vision... "Yeah... we got a lot done in thest 40 hours... oh, go look at the shield leaning against the wall; it''s yours specifically. An upgrade from the one that Anput made in the Dungeon..." Waving the Demoness away, I sighed and closed my eyes, only to have something warm draped over them that made me moan softly. "Take a few minutes and rest. You both deserve it... and besides, our ''reinforcements'' should be arriving soon, so you need to be ready." Leone''s gentle voice filled my ears, the Vampire patting my hair before doing the same to Anput, who groaned as she sprawled out, upying even more of the pelt and stretching out her muscles; we were currently feeling two separate exhaustions, since mine was entirely mentally produced whilst hers was overwork of her muscles from the forging and detailing. And... we weren''t really done either, since Anput still needed to get the cuirass'' done for all of us whilst I still needed to enchant them with more care and love than I did the others, since they were going to be for us and not for some Demons I didn''t actually know much about... But, just thinking about that made my head throb painfully, so I just stopped and let my mind gopletely nk, letting my body do its thing as I drifted aimlessly in that empty ckness, the mild panic that I would normally feel at such a familiar and harrowing experience being thankfully alleviated by the rhythmic strokes of Leone''s hand on my ears, as well as the random chatter and other noise that filtered into my ears, reminding me that I wasn''t dead, just... resting. Even after all this time, that void that I had upied scared me - not because of what it was, or how it felt, but instead because of what it signified. I could actually admit that the experience there was a nice one; left with nothing but your thoughts ying on like a movie, with the ability to skip and jump to new or old fragments depending on your mood, it wasn''t that bad, but being back there meant that I would have to leave this behind, and... that was what scared me. When Kyoka killed me, I... was at peace briefly, able to rx and just... not care about what had happened, what I had done, but now..? Now that I had Anput, now that I had Leone, now that I had Jahi? Mother and the Countess, the Marquess, my two new sisters? I... I didn''t ever want to leave them behind, and that realization was a scary one; I don''t think I had ever felt this strongly before, but now I do, and being reminded of that void where it was just ME and no one else was... terrifying. Thankfully I had the Vampire to ground me and the Jackalkin''s scent to remind me that I wasn''t going anywhere, and that made it all the easier to just slip away and float in that shroud of darkness for as long as I was able to, though when I felt the warm towel be gently lifted from my face, I opened my eyes and let out a sigh, looking towards the smiling face of Leone as she whispered "They''re here. And... it looks important, so wake up." I sat up and stretched, with Anput doing the same beside me, only instead of a good yawn and a slight groan, my mate made various pops as she cracked her entire body, something that made me raise a brow as I watched her twist herself and moan almost orgasmically at how many of her bones were being ''stretched'' and allowed to ''crack''. When she finally finished, she just limply sat there for a moment, taking in the bliss for as long as she could before standing up, acting like she hadn''t just sounded like a bunch of firecrackers going off all at once. Standing up beside her, I made my way over to the table that had be the ''center'' of Custodia, where Mary Ixan stood staring up in awe at an all too familiar red skinned Demon wearing anguid smile, whilst his warm brown eyes hid the slightly sinister nature that seemed innate in his nsmen. "Ah~! Miss Katherine, Begum, Princess! It''s a pleasure to see you again~! I do hope that everything inside the Dungeon went well? Besides the obvious reports, of course." Belian stood in front of us, the tall Head of the Beliali n looking us over before gesturing to the side, where arge group of Demons stood around, waiting for further orders. "You requested aid, and considering the contents of the letter, well... we decided this would be satisfactory enough, no?" Chapter 900 899: News

Chapter 900 Chapter 899: News

?"Why are you here, Belian? I know we requested support and all that, but did you really need toe in particr? Aren''t there more pressing matters for you to take care of or something?" The red skinned man frowned as he looked at Jahi, who was leaning against the table and watching as the various Demons he brought with him began to disperse slowly, making their ways around the hall to inspect it and talk to their fellows who had been here longer than them, wanting to catch up and learn everything they can before we went back out. "Ooh... that''s cold, my dear niece~! Can I not just be a concerned man worried for the safety of his charges?" "Sure, but it''d be more honest to say you''re worried about your skin than ours, isn''t that right?" Chuckling mirthlessly, the man rolled his eyes and turned towards Mary, who was still looking around in awe at all of the new Demons here, as well as being captivated by the rather tall, handsome, dangerous man in front of her... though I was thankful to see that there was just respect in her eyes, and not hopeful lust like she thought she was in some book... "Mary Ixan, correct? The woman acting as Custodian for this once... prosperous city?" "Ah? Oh, um... yes, that is correct Lord Belian..!" Startled, she looked up into this brown eyes before blinking a few times as he said "Well, you''ve done an excellent job so far, Custodian Mary. I do believe many of your fellows would have either given up or lost control of their people early on, and yet you''ve managed to keep them all together and hopeful this entire time. It''smendable." "Uh... I-It was nothing much, my Lord, just... w-what I was supposed to do..?" He chuckled again before adding "You went above and beyond, Custodian Mary, truly you did. But for now, might I have a moment alone with my nieces and the others?" Mary nodded and bowed, taking a few steps back still facing us before turning and retreating away, her curiosity apparent but not overriding her manners as she gave us the space that was requested. "Now, to start, I think I should begin with the obvious. Of course I am here, because in your letter you informed me that there was not one, but two Fiends within this Dungeon. I am NOT going to tell Chordeva OR the Empress that I let you go alone whilst I knew of that information. Wait... let me correct myself and say I am NOT going to tell Ria or Lorelei that I let their daughters go into a dangerous situation that I knew about. I personally like my skin where it is, my blood in a liquid state, and my organs working properly. So... yes, I am here, and no, there is not anything more important than that." His voice was quiet enough that the humans who were trying to eavesdrop couldn''t, but still audible to us with heightened hearing, something that made it clear that there was going to be some important things to discuss soon enough, but for now... "Is it toote to remind you that we took care of a Fiend on our own without your help before? Does that not qualify us to do this on our own? And besides, do I also need to remind you that Kat has an Arch Fiend on a leash following her around?" Belian opened his mouth to reply, only to pause as Cali''s voice filled the air, the seductive twinge making it hard to ignore as she said "Ooh, that''s kinky~! The puppy walking me like a puppy..?" Exchanging nces, we all decided that we needed to ignore her instead, with me receiving most of the looks as they silently asked ''are you going to say something?'', which caused me to just wave my hand for Belian to continue. "That is something I took into consideration, yes, and decided that I still like my skin where it is. I... don''t think YOU all understand how terrifying Ria and Lorelei are, or how swiftly a single word from them causes both Chordeva AND the Empress to deliver me to them on a golden, bejeweled tter. So... that is amazing that you''ve done that, however I will be your chaperone going forwards." Jahi just groaned and rolled her eyes, while Satanya pursed her lips and stared at Belian with a slightly irritated expression, both Demonesses making their dislike of that statement known at the same time. "Besides that, you have only fought Fiends one at a time before, and while Ka and Nua Fiends despise one another, all Fiends will work together to continue living; they might not always be the brightest, but they will fight for survival no matter what. So this is going to be an entirely different battle if they decide to fight together against you all. That is why I am here... primarily. My other reason is a simple one; the Empress wants you all back by the end of a week. Well, you four. I would say why exactly, but..." His lips curled into a wide grin as the man donned an expression that only seemed to personify his race entirely; something that was extremely demonic and rather creepy as he leaned down and continued speaking, his voice taking an excited, yet conspiratorial tone as he said "That would ruin the fun, now wouldn''t it~?" That grin disappeared as quickly as it arrived when he stood back up to his full height and donned his usual mask, his tone switching as well, acting like he hadn''t just done that. "So that means you girls have a full week ahead of you to do as much as you can before you have to return, so make the most of it, hm? Whatever you don''t harvest will be harvested by us after you leave, and if you want it, well, you''ll just have to buy it from us~! Until then though, whatever you lot find is yours to keep; a gift from me to you." "And what does it cost, hm? I find it hard to believe a Beliali gives something away for free." Belian and Satanya both gave Jahi a half re before sighing, not disputing that im at all when Belian answered "Not much, just that you don''t mention any of what I just said to the people I said those things about? That''s all, really." His words made all four of us grin at one another before we looked back at the poor red skinned man, unable to help ourselves as we spoke in unison, causing his eyes to go wide when he heard """"We''ll think about it~!"""" Chapter 901 900: Chaperone Belian

Chapter 901 Chapter 900: Chaperone Belian

?"I have to admit, seeing all of these Demons in entirely enchanted, above average armor and weapons at the age their at is quite the sight. Usually they need to prove themselves and save up for a couple of years before our cksmiths and enchanters even think about giving them custom gear. Still... I do hope you lot know how to make use of all of this. Otherwise, it''d be a shame for you to have it." Belian looked around at our group before looking back at his, taking in the slight difference between the two that came entirely from the new gear that was being utilized by our own group; the leather armor beneath the leather trench coats of the Beliali or beneath the cloaks of the Cimeriesa''s, as well as the darker metal weapons that were sheathed on their belts. Everyone had an aura of passive mana circling around them thanks to their gear, which only made it more noticeable, especially to those with a higher sensitivity to the mana. The group that Belian brought with him - two dozen strong - were slightly older than the Demons we had been traveling with so far, their experience showing in the way they carried themselves and their eyes, which were calm and unsurprised at everything they were seeing. The Demon ns that had a ''low poption'' were likely in the hundreds each at the moment, while the Asmodia Family was numbering at... three Demoness'', which was still better than the two it had been for a few years, and even more impressive than the single Demoness it had been for many, many years. "Well, like I said, I''ll just be tagging along with you all keeping watch. No help from me unless you really need it, or I deem it necessary. My two squads will be clearing out the grottos methodically and ensuring that there isn''t anything left behind, whilst we head down into the depths and harvest all the goodies. Sound correct?" Rubbing his hands together, the Head of the Beliali n looked around at everyone, getting nods in return before he gestured at Jahi, Satanya and Ammit, saying "Well, lead the way. We''ll break off from one another at this camp you mentioned, which is where we''ll meet tonight when we''re done." "I was just about to when you so rudely interrupted me and took over my role..." Satanya was ring at the Demon now, causing him to just freeze for a moment before smiling wryly as he waved his hand forwards and pinched his lips, signaling for her to get going and lead the way. The older Demons behind were smirking as they saw Satanya continue to re at the Head of the n for a few seconds more, only to then spin on her heel and begin marching down into the Dungeon, making it clear she wanted to do things on her rules and not his... which only made Belian and the older Demons more amused as they waited for us to enter before following behind us. "So moody all the time, isn''t she?" The soft, almost inaudible words that Belian spoke to one of the Demons beside him entered my ears, but thankfully my hearing was just good enough to pick it up and hers wasn''t, something that the man noticed when I nced back at him, causing him to wink at me and ce a finger on his lips. Shaking my head, I focused on the path we were taking and ignored both the stomps from Satanya and the quiet chuckling from the Demons behind me as we made our way into the Dungeon, where the natural beauty gradually eased both side''s into a neutral state. Even seeing it once again after living with it for so long was enough to make me pause for a moment to bask in its beauty; the lush greenery, the warm glow from some of the flora that contrasted with the harsher, brighter light that came from the crystals, the clear rivers that carved through the rock... Everything was stunning to see, and I don''t think I would ever get tired of seeing it - it was just that kind of natural beauty that was refreshing to look upon no matter how often or how long you gazed upon its splendor. It was even better thanks to the serenity that took in this first grotto thanks to theck of monsters roaming around now, with our temporary base still standing on thekeside waiting for our inevitable return. When we went in, Satanya brought everyone over to the giant table that housed the ever growing and changing model of the Dungeon, using it to show the other party which connected grottos they should go to first and which to be more worried about. "This was where we found the Rune of Decay, and this is where we found a Rune of Blood..? It''s not an actual grotto, just a small cave connected to one; there''s a tunnel that burrows into the wall... around here I believe, and it took us to some kind of workshop for the Terracotta Golems that the humans used." "Oh? You found one of them? Interesting... I have to admit I am surprised that one is still standing. Most were found and destroyed during the war, and after as a sign of solidarity. So for one to remain is fascinating..." "Yes, and we found many Golems waiting for repairs down there, but they were all inactive, so we just left them. But yes, those were the locations, so this grotto here, the one with the Decay, is where we should start, right? We need to head deeper, yes, but should we also not try to hunt down one of the two Fiends as quickly as possible to decrease the odds of running into both at the same time?" Satanya nced at Belian for confirmation, but the older Demon just smiled and raised his hands, shaking his head as he remained silent, making it clear that this was going to be left to us to decide. Jahi pursed her lips as she looked over the others, her amethyst eyes narrowing for a moment before she sighed and said "I think we should, right? Not knowing their strength levels is worrying, and whilst we might be confident andfortable dealing with one at a time, dealing with two at the same time is unknown territory, so we should attempt to ensure it''s only one at a time. Besides, we don''t know if that Nua Fiend traveled deeper the way we want to go, or if it went to another grotto, so who knows what we''ll find either way, right?" Chapter 902 901: Spectator Chapter 902 901: Spectator ??"Ooh~! That''s an interesting weapon you have there, Miss Kat~! It''s a older design of a de from the desert, right? From the Sultanate? I believe it was two, three centuries ago that the Sultanate''s warriors wielded that de over the scimitars of today, to help entuate their brutality and strength, correct? Interesting, interesting..." Belian''s voice came out from behind, the Demon standing somewhere nearby and watching all of us fight against the vast horde of Undead monsters that were pouring out of the nearby caverns anding to attack us. My Khopesh sang a sharp song as I chopped and cleaved through the various decaying monsters around me with wanton strength, the de coated in ice and spreading a frost over the already diminishing monsters that further robbed them of their abilities, allowing me to leave them to die on the ground as I danced forwards and set a rhythm, ensuring that my de rose and fell on a timer to keep the experience flowing in. Of course, I also relied on my off hand often as well, the familiar explosion spell waiting on my palm as I aimed my hand at a nearby Deer that had one of its antlers cleanly snapped off, the blood vessels that ran through the bone oozing a nasty pus onto the smooth surface, coating it in a disgusting liquid that the Deer used as a weapon, shaking its head and sending gobbets of that pus flying in hopes of distracting me with it. As it did so, I aimed my hand at its head and sent a dozen small spikes of ice into its skull, shattering the bone and sending the remaining brain matter sshing across the ground as I stopped its deranged rampage quickly, giving me a brief moment to nce towards the source of Belian''s voice, only to fail to see the Demon. "Ah, don''t bother looking for me, Miss Kat~! Even Chordeva has troubles finding me visually, so I sincerely doubt you will be able to locate me with your eyes! The wonders of an insane genius single mindedly pursuing as many different magics as they could! The ''Mantle of the Trickster'' or something like that... nifty thing, isn''t it~? Oh, on your right." My head snapped back towards the battlefield, and I grit my teeth as I flicked my dominant wrist, sending my Khopesh snaking through the air and into the thick neck of an Undead Bear monster, slicing through the rotted meat and sending a deluge of curdled blood sshing to the ground. "Anyways, it is a Fire enchantment if I remember correctly. Something about heat being able to disce and alter visual stimulus or something... Honestly, Ammit might be able to figure out some of its workings, and I know Hathor spent a long time studying it. Nifty thing though. Cancels the ability to see and smell the wearer, but not hear them, feel them, and you can technically ''taste'' the heat, I guess..?" The Demon rambled behind me about his stupid coat, watching as I sidestepped the Bear''s forward momentum that threatened to send me flying, its charge almost hitting me thanks to said Demon behind me that was STILL rambling, something that he refused to stop doing ever since we arrived here. Criss crossing two thick gashes in the Bear''s side, I moved onto the next even as Belian added "Back to your sword. It''s dual enchanted, correct? Meaning, it has two ''primary'' enchantments that work as spells? Fascinating. Usually people cap it to just one, but... I do believe that is entirely thanks to the limitations of both the metal and the enchanter themselves. Of course, I have seen some weapons and some staves that have more than two; the staff that Hathor made for herself has six spells etched into it, each one with a very different use." Stabbing a snapping Wolf in the throat as it leapt at me, I used its momentum to throw the monster behind me and aimed it towards the source of the voice that was nagging me, which only made the man chuckle as he kept watching and speaking, taking that hint and throwing it back at me in response. "Perhaps that should be your next goal, Miss Kat. Instead of relying on your off hand to cast a new spell, you should invest in a wand; something to trace out runes still, yes, but primarily to use as a medium for your two favorite spells. That st spell is powerful but limited to being extremely close range, so a long range spell would do wonders. An ice bolt maybe, or an arrow? Ooh, or you could use it to quickly cast your Domain spell! That would be a dangerous tool to have in your arsenal! Gods, I am SUCH a fountain of ideas today aren''t I?" My right arm left behind a blur of cyan as I swatted aside a Snake that lunged towards my throat, sending it crashing into the ground with an agonized hiss as its bones crunched from the force of the blow, while the diving Avian let out a caw as it tried to w at my face. Raising my left arm, I stared at the grey skinned, barely feathered abomination that somehow was still soaring through the air even with wings that were mostly long hooks of bone and skin, though I was only able to take in its appearance for a moment before it was turned into a bundle of gore that crashed to the ground in front of me as I sted it down. "Lord Belian, respectfully, do you EVER shut the hell up?!" My growl caught the attention of the Demons near me, and each of them shook their heads as minutely as they could even as they continued to fight, something that made the man behind me snort as he said "No, no I don''t, and you can''t stop me! I''m stronger than you, wealthier than you, older than you, more important than you, far more handsome-!" "And MUCH more of a chatterbox, apparently... If you need to bother someone, why not go nag Satanya about how terrible her leadership ability is with how she constantly tries to snatch what isn''t hers? That seems to be a better use of your time, hm?" Splitting my focus between Belian and the fight was difficult, and it was hard to ignore him since his voice was always just close enough to make your brain prioritize its sound but far enough away that it allowed room for you to keep fighting, a skill that he had likely honed thanks to his peers trying to do what I did earlier... "Hmph, youngsters these days... just try to offer them advice and they snap at you! This new generation is doomed, I tell you! Doomed!" Chapter 903 902: Advice Chapter 903 902: ''Advice'' ??Stabbing my knife down into the thick neck of the Bear sprawled out on the ground below me, I twisted the de and snapped its cervical vertebrae, causing the monster''s nervous system to tline instantly and making it twitch a few times before remaining in a static position, indicating its desired demise. As I wrenched my dagger free from the rotted meat - doing so carefully to avoid sshing its nasty blood on myself or have pieces of its flesh be dragged away with the de - I checked the System notifications and nodded to myself, content with what I was seeing. [Undead Silex Ursa killed - 202,046 Xp awarded] The experience I was receiving for these Undead monsters was higher than what I received for their normal, living counterparts, and I could tell why rather easily. Despite their looser, more uncoordinated movements and rasher actions, the Undead were stronger and far more resilient than their living counterparts, roughly by 1.5 times and sometimes upwards of 2 times in both those categories. Normal killing moves - like snapping the neck - still ignored that resilience thanks to how the body works for most living, flesh having mammalian creatures, but otherwise, these Undead lived through attacks that would put it''s living variant on the ground writhing around in agony before eventually sumbing to the wound. It was an interesting observation I had, and one that made me curious about the tattoo on my left arm; was there a corrtion between the tattoo that increased my own resilience and the thing that increased the resilience of these monsters? The Nua Fiends; were they walking tanks that could absorb an astronomical amount of punishment before even faltering for a brief moment? If so, then we really need to find it on its own, since the idea of fighting a veritable tank with an angry, demented attack dog in the Ka Fiend was one that I wasn''t too keen on experiencing at the moment, especially since I had no idea what these Fiends were capable of on their own... Though, the idea of fighting both at the same time was an intriguing one, especially since it would give us practical experience against battling multiple strong foes at the same time, which was something that we desperately needed to get under our belts soon. Most of the enemies we came across so far haven''t provided thergest amount of challenge for us as a collective, and now that we had a Knight of Cinder watching over us but not actively participating unless we required it, what better time was there to seek out said strong enemies than now? Also, the thought did cross my mind to leave this Nua Fiend forst so that we could fight some more Undead, which would allow me to rack up arger amount of experience in mere momentspared to the usual hordes we found; roughly double what I was normally getting, which had given me arge leap in my current level, which was on the cusp of going form 61 to 62. I wanted to be greedier and greedier down here, to make up for the moments where I was living this life to its fullest not worrying about the fighting, about the life and death battles, so that I could bnce out my gaining of strength and my gaining of love to be roughly equal, and besides the Ind that the Marquess took us too, this was the next best ce for me to grind levels... Even more so with the two Fiends waiting for me to kill them; Tza''Orbias gave me 7.5 million experience, and while Cali said that they weren''t anywhere near the level of Tza''Orbias in terms of mana strength, the fact that there were two of them might make this a more impressive gain than battling that blue bastard. Besides, the Tza Fiends were the ones that used magic more than anything else, so their mana strength might becking, but that doesn''t mean they couldn''t be as strong as Tza''Orbias, just in a different way. "Miss Kat, are you calmer now?" Sheathing my dagger, I let out a sigh and turned around, my eyesnding on the red skinned man behind me who was rubbing his hands together and staring at me inquisitively. "I would argue - Lord Belian - that I was never once NOT calm during that fight. Why?" Pursing his lips, Belian tilted his head and prepared to say something, before decisively closing his mouth and nodding when I raised a brow at him, taking the hint for now and leaving that part of whatever he wanted to say inside his head. "Well then, might I ask what the n is going forwards? We havee rather far this delve, but time is continuing to tick." "Why ask me and not Jahi or Satanya?" We both looked towards the two Demoness'', who were currently finishing off their own fights and back tracking towards us, stabbing and finishing off whatever monsters were tenacious enough to live past their initial battle. "I think you know that answer, but I''ll go ahead and say it anyways. Satanya wants to make a good impression on me, hoping to prove that she is ready for more responsibilities and as such, a higher position in the n. She is looking for results as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, Jahi has the blood of the Asmodia''s in her veins, so her desire for another battle is strong, whilst her stamina is just as high as it ever was. Neither are currently thinking of much besides themselves and their own desires, and that''s not an issue. Hence why I aming to you." The Demon''s words made me furrow my brow as I turned back to him, something that made him chuckle softly as he added "They want to push forwards without thinking about every variable; at least, in this moment, they are experiencing tunnel vision. See, notice how they are approaching us swiftly, but not taking a look around; neither has tried to determine the current standing of their party, and are instead looking to gather with the ''important'' members of the party to ask a simple question... listen. Don''t say anything, just... listen." He fell silent when they came into earshot, and I frowned for a moment before looking towards the two women, letting the frown dissipate as I donned a neutral mask, curiosity filling me as I wondered if Belian was correct or not. "Well, that''s all of them, right? Wasn''t that bad, even with them streaming from the nearby caverns. Which makes me wonder if said caverns are connected to actual grottos or if they are just small pockets that used to house some groups of these monsters, like the Deer or the Wolves." Jahi nodded at Satanya''s observation, looking around at the various entrances that lined the rocky wall of the grotto before saying "We should split up into groups and check out each of them, like we used to. Two hundred steps, retreat at any sign of danger. Check them out and figure out where we need to go from here." I took in both of the Demoness'' expressions as they talked, and seeing how Satanya would peek at Belian constantly before focusing back on Jahi as the two continued to chat was something that I might have picked up on before, but now that it had been pointed out to me... The two were already nning for us to not only continue on, but to do so in split groups that would spread our strength, and while that was both a valid and reliable strategy, as I took a look around at the Demons, I couldn''t help but think that Belian was right. We all were still ready to go, but considering most of the Demons were sitting or leaning on their weapons silently, keeping to themselves for the moment and regting their breathing or meditating, it was clear that they had taken a significant hit to their energy for the moment, and leaping into action right away would mean sending them out with a slightly higher risk of making a mistake... Something that I hadn''t noticed before, because obviously fighting leads to a decrease in your energy; that''s incredibly obvious, but it wasn''t something that popped into my mind right away, especially not when I knew that my own Core and that my own body wasgging behind a bit. I had used a lot of mana and energy in this fight, and most of the others had as well, but... "See?" That single word made Jahi and Satanya fall silent, the two looking at Belian in surprise as the Demon spoke, while I nodded as I looked between the two of them; it wasn''t a problem, wasn''t a fault or a mark of a terrible leader, but- "Different perspectives are crucial, especially in a situation like this. Understanding when to press forwards without rest and when to stop is just as important as being strong enough to do those things. This is a moment where forgoing rest leads to far too much risk. There is no need for that risk besides the desire to keep moving. Understand?" The confusion that gripped the other two only grew as I nodded, making Belian chuckle as he shouted "Everyone, take a few minutes! One sip of each potion, sit, and gather your strength!" In his normal voice, he looked back at us and said "Take a look at the people in your party, then make a judgement. This lull needs to be used before pushing forwards. If you have doubts, get a second opinion and then make your choice. Kat, give that second opinion before they even have to ask for it. You all have good potential, but currently your inexperience is holding you back a bit..." Chapter 904 903: Deepening Understanding Chapter 904 903: Deepening Understanding ??"Do you understand now, you two? Can you see the difference between their neutral postures a few minutes ago to their postures now? Can you feel the difference in the mana that oozes off of them?" Belian was alternating his gaze between Jahi and Satanya, who were looking around at the various Demons standing around us waiting for the announcement that we were heading out, each of them taking each and every second they were offered to recuperate as much mana and energy as they could. "Yes, though it''s not that different..." "Well, the thing you should be looking for specifically is their breathing rate and bodynguage; deeper breaths with a longer breadth of time between them as well as the slumped, unmoving posture will be your key indicators of how ready they are. Quicker breathing and unmoving means they''re in need of rest soon; one or the other means a rest would be advised but not necessary, and depending on the severity of any wounds or damages done to gear, rest might be advised anyways. Those are the things you''re looking for with parties asrge as this. Remember, retreating with small groups - upwards of five people - is far easier than taking a dozen and a half and retreating." We all nodded, before the Demon gestured around us as he added "This is one of your first times leading a group thisrge, Satanya, as well as you, Jahi, so I''m not surprised that you aren''t the most adept at doing so. Just remember, don''t overwork people, don''t doubt yourself, but be open to others ideas and always take a second look at things, either to assure yourself of your decision or to just reevaluate things. If you have someone appointed to take that look at the bigger picture, that makes things easier and smoother for everyone, but remember; you are the leader, not them, so the decision falls to you. Unity and confidence in one another is another important thing to consider." Anput approached us and asked "Are we just waiting around for an invitation to fall into ourps, or..? Time''s a wasting, y''know?" I red at my mate before sighing as Belian just chuckled, the older Demon remaining silent besides that single expression of amusement as he stared pointedly at the three of us, leaving the decision to us. Jahi looked towards me first, while Satanya frowned and looked over the others, which I did as well as I took in the general mood that had fallen over our party, judging their current energy levels and willingness to push forwards as best I could anding to a decision after just a few seconds. If these were warriors from any other race, I might have had a bit more trouble deciding what to do, but Demons were rather open and honest with their feelings, and so was their mana; nothing was truly hidden with them unless they were going into the efforts to conceal it, so looking over the various Beliali Demons and the few Cimeriesa''s, I eventually turned back to give Jahi a nod. "Let''s get going then. We have... six entrances to check out, and one of them has to lead into a new grotto; we just have to find it." Seeing the smile tugging at Belian''s lips, I frowned and tilted my head as I tried to figure out what I had missed, before he simply asked "Do we need to check all six ourselves, or do we have ways to check them without wasting much time and energy?" For a few seconds that seemed to drag on forever, we all looked at one another and tried to decipher his words; what did we have that would let us check all six openings without us heading into them ourselves? But, as I recalled what we were tracking - the Nua Fiend - I snorted and shook my head, feeling rather dull as I asked "Cali, are you there?" The others all blinked at that, only to look towards the pink skinned woman that appeared behind me, her silky and cheerful voice sounding out as she replied "I''m always~ nearby, my love~! Just ask, and I''ll rush right on over to your side~!" Draping her arms over my shoulders, the Arch Fiend shed me a smile, only to nod as I asked "Are any of those six openings ones that lead to either a new grotto or have a stronger aura of Decay? If so, which ones?" "Hehe~! I was wondering when you''d ask me to just guide you there... That one there heads out into a new grotto, and that one there has a lot~ of Decay around it. The other four all stop in a hundred feet or so. Whether or not they have any goodies in them is another question that you~ need to find out on your own~!" "Make use of whatever you can, whenever you can, to learn about anything you possibly can. ''Information is power''. It''s a saying for a reason, and it''s one that I took to heart. You''d be surprised how easy it is to acquire information of any kind at all. And you''d be surprised how any morsel of information can be used in either a battle or in other everyday activities. If you ever start a business, being able to acquire and utilize information could take you from earning a normal profit to something egregious - in either direction. So make use of it, and learn how to get it from a source that''s trusted. Now, do we want to go find the Fiend, or do we want some materials?" With two separate options open to us, we were left standing there for a moment, still taking in the nuggets of knowledge that the older Demon was tossing our way whilst also determining the best solution to the problem in front of us, which was made simpler as Jahi asked "Do we want some more preparation for this fight, or to just go fight it right away? I think we should do a bit more preparation." Satanya nodded, while Anput shrugged as the Jackalkin said "The preparation is just me smithing, so yeah, that''s fine. Maybe we''ll get some better metals, maybe some crystals... or maybe we''ll get some herbs for some potions?" "Preparation it is then." Giving us all a small smile, Belian gestured towards the first entrance that Cali had pointed out, and as soon as he did so both Jahi and Satanya got everyone ready to move out, informing them of the decision we hade to. Chapter 905 904: Learning Experience Chapter 905 904: Learning Experience ??"So... is there a reason we are both standing back here?" I tapped the tip of my Khopesh against the rocky earth below rhythmically, itching to be joining the others in this fight against a horde of Undead monsters, only to find myself held back and told to stay my hand for now. Despite not truly knowing or caring for the Head of the Beliali n, I wasn''t stupid enough to ignore his words and advice - anyone who could be both the leader of a Demon n as well as a well respected member of the Knights of Cinder likely had some nuggets of advice that I could make great use of going forwards, but that didn''t mean that I was loving the way he was going about giving me those nuggets. Currently, while the others were embroiled in a close quarters frenzy against arge tribe of what used to be Goblins and their evolutions, fighting and killing freely with their weapons and magic, Leone and I were stuck standing far away, on the other side of the grotto left to watch as this battle unfolded in front of us. "Ha! Chordeva and Lady Fenryas both imed you had a wellspring of patience inside yourself, Miss Kat~! Were they wrong?" "No, but you cannot me me for wanting to be by the sides of those that I love when they are currently engaged in a fight against four separate Ogres, who are boosted by a Fiend''s magics. Standing back and doing nothing is circumventing that patience..." Chuckling, Belian nodded his head before waving his hand at the battle in front of us, saying "I know the four of you are ustomed to fighting, but I thought I''d take this chance to help you grow, you know? Give you something to think on and improve upon. Because when it is just the four of you, I don''t think there is much advice I can offer, but when there is more than ten in your party, well... you''re treading new waters, and I am not that confident you know how to swim in them just yet. Call me old fashioned, but I want to test you before letting you do something on your own; experience is a great teacher, but blind experience is just as detrimental as never doing something. Bad habits and the inability to see what you did wrong can lead to death in this line of work. Now, again, when it''s just the four of you, I notice that you work... very simr to a spear. Humor me for a moment; Jahi is the spear tip - reliable, unstoppable, entirely focused on pressing forwards and making use of herrger frame and incredible strength to bully whatever is in front of her. Nothing wrong with that, especially not since she does it so damn well." We all focused on the towering blue skinned Demoness who was shrouded in harsh gold light, the giant shield strapped to her left arm blocking the club of an Ogre and allowing her to swing her equally giant great sword diagonally up into the Ogre''s chest, cleanly cleaving through its decaying flesh and shattering the Core inside, killing the monster instantly. "Meanwhile, if Jahi is the tip of the spear, Anput is the rest of the spear de; she is versatile, and can work in many different ways. She can act behind the tip fo the spear, she can attack on its sides, and she can move quickly and erratically. Where Jahi is singleminded and attacking with brute force, Anput works with velocity and the power she generates with that speed, attacking the weak points she can spot each time she pulls back. See? Disengaging with the enemy, taking a breath to look over the entire front line, then lunging back into a new location." Leone and I nodded as we watched the tanned Jackalkin do just that; she leapt back and stood a few feet away from the monsters, scanning the enemies in front of her and shifting the metal rod in her hand from a simple longsword into a curved, single edged scimitar, allowing her to flow along the sides of the area that Jahi was standing in to cut and sh at whatever drew near. "Now, if Jahi is the tip of the spear, and Anput is the rest of the spear head, what exactly are the two of you? Any ideas?" Belian''s half smirk was both grating and motivating as Leone and I exchanged a nce, unsure at first before the ashen haired Princess hesitantly asked "Would... Kat be the haft and I the heel..?" "borate." Frowning, Leone narrowed her eyes at me before turning to observe both Jahi and Anput once more, taking a few seconds to gather her thoughts and formte a response. "Kat... ''controls'' their movements, guiding them to where they would be the most effective and giving them either a push or a pull depending on the situation; she presses forwards and pushes Jahi deeper, and subsequently creates a new area for Anput to work with, or pulls back and resets the fight in a new area. She''s just behind the two and fighting alongside them, yes, but she primarily is keeping her focus on the area around us all, whilst still being far enough back that she remains nearby me..?" "Correct. In this ''formation'' of yours, Kat does indeed act as the haft with how she keeps the tip and the de controlled and gives them an idea on where to go. From what I''ve seen - and heard - she doesn''t head deep unless she is required to be that far in, or if the threat is deescted enough to warrant the formation dropping. Now, why are you the ''heel''?" Leone blinked, pursing her lips as she tried toe up with the next answer, only to look towards me as I said "I would argue she is another ''de'' and not the heel. A double ded spear of sorts, I guess. Jahi and Anput are almost purely physical attackers, whilst I have a mixture of abilities, though... I would like to believe I am coordinating everything as best I could, but... Anyways, Leone is another de, but one made almost purely from magic instead. She can attack from afar, strike deep or cut across the front lines, she can bnce us out with her support magic..." "Correct again~! Yes, if it was just the four of you, the current situation would look something like this; Jahi would remain where she is, as would Anput, but Kat would be working opposite Anput, cleaning up after her or preparing an area for the Jackalkin to attack next, all while remaining ''free'' toe to Leone''s aid should she need it. A mage is an incredibly powerful ''de'', but also a fragile one; if they are pulled into the melee, it bes a detriment as the ''de shatters''. But..." Seeing the smirk getting wider and wider on Belian''s face, I sighed as I said "But we''re not just a ''spear'' anymore, right? Is that what you were getting at this entire time? That when it is just the four of us, this formation of ours is excellent, but it bes a hinderance when we''re with others?" "Yes... and no. A spear can be short and thin, or long and wide, right? Different types for different fights. Learn how to shift yourself around and make the people you add to your party work in different spots. Satanya, for example; she is another ''haft'', but also an excellent ''de''. Depending on the situation, she can switch between being a pure attacker or being amander. Make this influx of people work with you. Like you''ve heard many times now, the world is changing slowly but surely, and some of these fights that you''re going to be apart of are going to berger than this. Or they''ll be this size. You need to understand what you''re working with, and how to make use of it as efficiently as possible. Jahi and Anput don''t need to do much besides get stronger, faster and more resilient; you two, however, need to get a better understanding of how to make the most of those two, as well as any like them. With a proper formation, even a collection of dull, weak people can be an impressive ''weapon'' to be wielded with devastating effect. That is what I was getting at. So tell me... how can you efficiently work with this group of warriors?" Chapter 906 905: Advice, Advice (1)

Chapter 906 Chapter 905: Advice, Advice (1)

?"So is that the end of our impromptu leadership training, or is there more wisdom waiting to be imparted unto us thanks to your silver tongue and elderly head?" Leone held in a snort beside me as she turned away, the Vampire trying to hide her expression of amusement from the Demon who was now half ring at me whilst still smirking, his eyes twitching in both ''anger'' and amusement too as he answered "No, no it isn''t. Next is practical experience, and that wille with the next grotto that we head into. For now though... it would seem that we are done here - in just a few moments, anyways. The number of monsters has stopped increasing, which means we can begin harvesting this area for anything of importance. Remember, anything we harvest could make a difference in many ways; we can waste time getting something that might not be of use, or we could create something pivotal in the uing fights. Keep that in mind, but don''t worry. We''re really not on tight time constraints." I nodded, and before he could say anything else I shot forwards and joined in the cleanup, wanting to whet my de a little before I had to sheathe it for the time being; joining Anput, I worked alongside my mate as we cut down a small contingent of Undead Goblins that were covered in bark, their armored forms shuffling around slowly whilst their gnarled, rooted gauntlets ''whooshed'' through the air threateningly as they tried to w at us. Again, it would appear that the pros and cons of being an Undead was an increase in strength and resilience, but a decrease in control and speed, making it an easy and fun task to lop off the Goblin''s arms before carving away their chests, revealing the Core inside. A normal Core was a spherical organ made from a thicker, smoother tissue than the heart, giving it an odd appearance that felt like it was between organic and inorganic, especially when it was filled with mana of any kind; that made the tissues appear to be more of a solid than anything else, and that was why they ''shattered'' the way they did. When I peeled away the bark chest te that the Goblin was ''wearing'', I revealed that intriguing organ to the world and got to study it up close once more, only to then take some enjoyment from plucking it from the Goblin''s chest and squeezing my fist around it, shattering it and pulverizing the pieces, taking some satisfaction from the execution method I employed. Meanwhile, to my side, the other Goblin grunted and growled as it reached for me, only to stumble forwards a step before dropping to its knees, its body losing its ability to function in a coordinated manner when Anput''s heavy spear caused the monster''s head to explode, the Jackalkin utilizing one of her own preferred execution methods that was also rather messy... It was one of the few times she and I felt simr in terms of ''desires'' when it came to fighting, since I found the sight of the monster''s head exploding to be a rather pretty and interesting thing to observe, whilst she enjoyed making it go ''pop'' so suddenly. Though, when I side stepped the remaining Goblin''s swing and grabbed its arm, she just rolled her eyes as I proceeded to shatter its bones and cause the limb to fall limply to its side, blood oozing from the dozens of smallcerations that I had created with that move. Then, when it tried to take another step towards me again, I mmed my boot into its kneecap and bent its leg in the wrong direction, stopping it from moving and allowing me to unsheathe a dagger, which I used to peel back the bark like I had with the Khopesh, but this time I began to just cut and cut as I swung the dagger as quickly as I could, covering its body in blood. Not wanting to take too long, I left its chest in tatters before plunging the dagger into its throat, piercing its spinal cord before snapping it with a sharp twist, causing the Goblin to fall limply to the ground with a wet thud as it bled profusely. "Feeling better after Belian refused to let you fight?" Looking towards my mate, I cleaned myself and my weapon before nodding and doing the same to her, which gave her the time to ask "What was he talking to you two about anyways? You both weren''t able to join in at all, which was kinda annoying..." "Imparting his oh so vaunted wisdom upon us without asking if we wanted it... though honestly, it wasn''t terrible, especially since it helped avoid the potential danger that would havee with finding out we needed to learn this lesson, so... yeah. He just told Leone and I to pay more attention to the grander scheme, to better ''use'' you and Jahi via orders, and for Leone and I specifically to stop fighting like we are still in just a group of four." "Oh? So he wants you and Leone to begin manding'' everything? Not Satanya?" Hanging the metal rod on her belt, Anput looked around before walking over towards arge boulder, listening to me as I replied "He didn''t say she wouldn''t be working alongside me, but he also made it clear that he is testing her as well, and if I had to guess..." "One of the things he wants to see is how she reacts to be ordered around by someone outside of the n? Will she be prideful or will she put that aside if it makes sense? Ah, knew it! Here we go..." Tapping on the rock, Anput nodded to herself before taking one of the smaller rods on her belt and shifting it into a small chisel, which she used to chip away at the surface of the boulder to reveal arge vein of crude gemstones, which pulsed with mana. Chapter 907 906: Advice, Advice (2)

Chapter 907 Chapter 906: Advice, Advice (2)

?"Wow... look at all of those... such a nice color too; a rich, oceanic blue. And the mana! Oh, the mana is quite potent too, isn''t it? How did you sense these, Anput? There wasn''t much leakage from the rock, and yet..." Belian ced the rough chunk of blue stone back into Anput''s hands, allowing it to join the dozens of other chunks that she had excavated from the boulder; thergest was around three inches long and an inch and a half thick, with some of the boulder still clinging desperately to its treasures and making it difficult to tell the exact dimensions and shape of the gemstone, but we could be certain that this was a BIG rock that was going to be worth quite a bit. That could likely feed us for a few months, even with us buying a bit higher quality meats and grains in abundance thanks to the voracious appetites of both Jahi and Anput; that was just how big, how beautiful and how mana rich that gemstone was, and if we took in the various other smaller gemstones, well... It was quite the haul, and I looked towards my mate as well, wondering how she had known to check that boulder in particr out of the various boulders around us, something that seemed far to certain and practiced to just be blind luck. "Oh... uh... We''re far too deep into the Dungeon for most of these boulders to be just boulders, and the mana felt a bit thicker around that particr boulder, so I just... took a crack at it, I guess? I thought it''d be ore, not gemstones... so I guess I got lucky~?" We all stared at her for a few moments, before Belian just chuckled and shook his head, the man staring at the gemstones for a second more as he said "Well, sometimes that luck is a skill in and of itself. Also, I believe this brings up another fun lesson for some of you~! Kat, Leone, what would you say to having a focus to use when casting spells? Something to help channel your mana and maintain some of its potency?" "You said something about a wand earlier, didn''t you? Would it really make that much of a difference besides just being able to cast a spell or two without needing the Ritual Circle?" "''Just being able to cast without needing a Ritual Circle?'' Are you hearing yourself, Kat? How long does it take to draw out a Ritual Circle, hm? Two seconds, maybe three?" When I nodded, I froze as the man stepped forwards and appeared in front of me, his hand an inch from my throat as he continued to speak, acting like he wasn''t about to lift me up by my neck and snap it with disturbing ease. "Would you have had the time to cast a spell here without it, perhaps? A wand can be two things; an enchanted stick that has a spell or two ''pre saved'' for your future use, and it can be a way to channel your mana more efficiently. Now, it has pros and cons, but..." Dropping his hand, the man ignored the re from Jahi as well as the frowns from Anput and Leone as he turned to address everyone, taking this moment to impart more of his wisdom unto us all free of charge. "For some of you - the melee fighters who utilize magic sometimes in the midst of said melee - a wand could be something that gives you an impressive edge. Enchant it with simple close or medium range spells and you can catch someone off guard. Thin, slim, light, wands are extremely easy to both conceal and wield, but the problem is a simple one; its fragile, expensive, and takes a skilled artisan to make. You can just make a metal stick, yes, but a proper wand is best made with elementally attuned materials of many kinds, and it needs a ''Core'' of its own. Something rich in mana to power itself. Gemstones, for example, or a part of a monster that is rich in mana. Feathers, horns, ws and the like. That makes it expensive and difficult to produce, and makes it devastating to use in close quarters, hence why most spell des - magic and physical fighters - utilize their hands. Now, for the pure mages here, wands are an eventual must have - or a staff, depending on your preference - if you want to travel into far more dangerous areas. There''s just a bit of a boost to utilizing a focus that makes magicians even more of a powerhouse on the battlefield. Anyways, a focus is valuable to you because it boosts your mana''s strength as well as allows you to ''save'' some spells onto it in the form of enchantments, which can be cast instantly. Well, ''instantly'' inparison to the seconds it takes to cast the spell yourself. That swiftness can be rather monumental in a fight, can''t it? Everyone here is aware of how valuable a second is in a fight, right?" Seeing that we all nodded in understanding, the Demon nodded back and turned to me, asking "Understand now? Something to empower you in close quarters, and a way to make your spells stronger at longer ranges. But, it is expensive to make, and difficult too, so..." Belian trailed off, still nodding his head and making sure I understood before turning away and saying "Well, since this boulder had a vein, let''s check out the others. Usually finding one means there''s another nearby, and if we can get a bunch of these gemstones, we can say that this excursion alone was worth it~! All that money we can make from selling these... or the items we can make too! Oh, it''s so~ nice being back in a Dungeon... I missed this..." He rubbed his hands together greedily as he walked over to another boulder, staring at it intently as if he was trying to peer beneath its surface and locate the treasures that might lie within, something that made us all stare at him for a moment, only to shrug and spread out tob over the grotto we had cleared out, taking this time to rest just a bit as well as harvest some resources forter. Chapter 908 907: Kat the Commander? Chapter 908 907: Kat the ''Commander''? ??"Now, just like I taught you, go ahead and give the first orders Kat. Tell Jahi, Intri and Liak here where they need to go, before assigning them ''helpers'' to clear out the grotto." I gave Belian an odd look as I asked "By teaching do you mean giving a singr piece of advice? I guess that could be called ''teaching'', but... that''s kinda sad for a teacher, no?" "Just give the orders already, Kat... If you want me to be a proper teacher, I will go ahead and have multiple critiques ready for you upon yourpletion of this task; hell, I will even go so far as to give you a written copy that you can frame and hang in your home if you so please. But firstly... give the orders out." His strained, yet patient voice made us all smirk at the older man as he stood tall in the center of the group, trying his hardest to not talk back too much and maintain a dignified air around himself - something that we all knew he was ''letting slip'' simply because it was amusing, the master of disguise in front of us more than capable of acting out any part he wanted if he chose to do so. "Fine, fine... Jahi, take the middle and draw the most attention; shy magic, loud, all that - these are monsters that are drawn to noise, after all. Intri head left, Liak head right. Hook in from the sides and work your way towards Jahi. All three of you, prioritize therger, stronger monsters. Everyone else, pick a spot in between them and clean up after them. We want to get this cleared out soon so we can go back and grill up some of those steaks right?" If the assembled Demons could have turned to look at me any quicker than they did, I think they would have broken their necks from the whish as they began to give me 110% of their attention, with Jahi, Intri and Liak - our three ''spear tips'' thanks to theirrger size and more aggressive natures - being the ones to lean closer and ensure I knew they were paying attention and willing to do whatever I said. Of course, most of them were ying into the bit of all Demons'' being gluttons, but considering how we had already fought through one actual grotto and a smaller chamber that was a midpoint between that one and this one, we had racked up quite the hunger, and in that chamber we had found arge bovine monster with juicy meat and a good marbling on it, which... was likely why they were so willing to show off their gluttonous sides. "And I think that there are some herbs back in the previous grotto... sweet ones, that should do well recing sugar, perhaps? We did have some flour with us too, so who knows~? Maybe... just maybe, if we get this ce cleared out quick enough, we might just be able to have some time to make something sweet?" Belian just frowned as he stared at me, before taking a look at the surrounding Demons who were all nodding and grinning at one another, their teeth almost bared with how hungry they seemed to be, which only made the man more confused, though he remained silent and let me do as I pleased; what better way to learn than to do everything yourself and study the results, right? "Jahi, Intri, Liak; make sure to press forwards and ignore the fodder enemies. Mana Cloaks, shields, and spells from the mages to aid you. Everyone else, stay within reach of one another and ovep your attacks. Simple strategy to follow. Understood?" Everyone nodded, and I gestured forwards and said "Ammit, Leone, Priscia; give everyone some basic restoration Mana Cloaks please. You three, c''mere." Draping the threerger Demons in Water Mana Cloaks, shrouding their legs in Wind Mana, and then covering their arms in a frigid gale, I sent the three off to their respective sides with some good buffs and watched as the others got into ce behind them, creeping up behind the dozing herd of monsters that upied the middle of the grotto. This grotto was a dim one, theck of glowing flora and the soft, yet dim glow from the crystals far above our heads did little to illuminate the area around us, leaving this grotto feeling like a normal cavern instead of one of the ''magical terraglobes'' that we were more ustomed to seeing, though... the glowing from the water as well as the fact that most of the monsters here were radiating a very trace amount of green or blue light was also ''magical'' in its own right, just not in the same serene elegance as the prior grottos. "Why... What the hells happened here before I arrived? Why are they so riled up for some meat and some sweets?" Watching the melee fighters creep closer before leaping onto the sleeping monsters whilst the mages remained a dozen feet back and began tounch spells in support, I nodded before ncing at Belian and chuckling, while Satanya wore a small smile as she nced at Belian as well. "One of the first days here, we found ourselves some powerful nectar, and Leone wanted me to make some ''honey cakes'' with it. We also came across a lot of really tasty monsters, and I know how to cook - nothing against a nice charred piece of meat, but uh... that gets nd after the first day. In other words... unsurprisingly, good food does wonders when stuck in a Dungeon, and so do sweets." Belian blinked at that, the older man watching alongside Satanya and I as we overlooked the massacre that wasmencing, the threerger Demons pressing their surprise advantage to prate deep into the herd and get into battle with therger, stronger monsters, all while the others began to clean up what was left. A simple strategy for a simple battle, but one that worked rather well against these rather unsuspecting enemies. "Ah... this new generation... so soft and coddled..." Which made it all the easier to just chuckle as I heard Belian grumbling to himself, taking this time to appreciate an easier battle as I joked "You mean so well learnt and resourceful to be able to cook a good meal in a Dungeon? My apologies that my elders weren''t aware that cooking pots and herbs could be so readily avable and easy to carry." "That''s what I said. Soft and coddled." Chapter 909 908: Kat the Commander (1) Chapter 909 908: Kat the Commander (1) ??"Now, just remember, that this is what would be called a what?" Belian, Satanya and I were still standing two dozen feet away from the current battle, the Head of the Beliali n making use of this time to continue teaching the two of us in the art of being the mander'' in a party; not the leader, which was what Satanya and Jahi were, but the strategist for the battles we would take. He wanted to continue grooming the talents he said he saw in us that made us perfect for the role; the ability to see a bigger picture when fighting, the way we fought, our instincts as well as a few other smaller things, all of which were the perfect recipe for us to be strategists and the mander'' in a party, as he called it. Our job was to take the battle we were seeing and find the ways to make it easier on our party as well as eek out as much probability of victory as we could, all while we minimized the risk to the people who were truly fighting; it honestly felt odd, not being the in the thick of things, but the Demon was adamant that we needed to look at everything first and get a better understanding of it this way instead of being by their sides fighting. We needed to take this time to observe the pieces we had so that we could make better use of them going forwards, even if we were both itching to draw our des and charge into the fray. "A small scale battle?" "Correct Kat. Now, Satanya, tell me - what is the difference between a small scale battle and a medium scale one? What are the things you are to look for when appraising the ''scales'' of these battles?" "Quantity of enemies, quality of enemies, location, battlefield, and your own troopposition to name a few. Currently, there are a lot of enemies, but they aren''t strong; additionally, the battlefield is t and wide, while there is a slim chance of reinforcementsing to the aid fo this herd. Finally, with a host of Demons, a Vampire, and a Jackalkin, we have a rather highbat potential of our own, so therefor... this is a ''smaller scale battle'' thanks to how quickly it will be finished." "Good. Now Kat, can you tell me what would shift this into a medium scale battle? And how would you change the current strategy employed to amodate that sudden shift?" Feeling like I was back at the Academy - and back at College - answering an essay orally and having to disy my understanding of the subject as well as the ability toe up with an answer quickly, I took a deep breath and continued to watch the battle in front of us, making sure that there wasn''t anything happening besides the usual massacre of weaker monsters. "There are many things that could happen, and each would have it''s own reactionary strategy that would prevent it from getting out of hand too quickly. If somehow more monsters came to reinforce this current herd - and they were around the same strength - I would have the mages shift focus to slowing down their approach before taking one of the ''spears'' and shifting them to this new group. If a monster was actually hiding its strength and suddenly powered up, that would call for one of the ''spear tips'' to intercept that monster and buy some time for the others to deal with their own fights before going to their aid. If there was a sudden change in the battlefield - an earthquake or something else that alters thend - then I would call everyone back and begin attacking from range, or I would order them to press forwards and secure a new area for us to work from depending on the situation." Belian nodded beside me, all three of us watching as Jahi lifted a bovine over her head and mmed it back into the ground, the monster''s barrel chest skewered by her great sword and showering her in some blood; meanwhile, behind her, Anput was making use of a scimitar once more as she carved away at the smaller bovines, chopping and cleaving at them freely as she tried to alleviate some of the pressure that the two Demons beside her were feeling, all while they did the same as well. "Hypothetically, let''s say that one of the Fiends appears here, right? That would escte this situation into arge scale battle, correct? How should you react?" This new question made Satanya and I look at one another as we mulled it over, before she gestured for me to speak first, the Demoness tilting her head as she waited for me to make a mistake first - and allow herself to see just what he was expecting to hear so that she coulde up with something better. Giving her a dry look, I eventually said "Depending on how persistent the Fiend was, I would advise a retreat at this point in time. We''ve reached a threshold of being just tired enough that fighting against a powerful foe like that would be entirely ill advised and far too risky to tackle head on, but the likelihood of us being able to retreat without be pursued is rather low. However... with both Fiends in the area being a melee fighter and the other being a walking disease, I believe having Leone power up and having the mages support Ammit would give the warriors an opportunity to retreat, before the magic gives us all an opening to pull back. We could get some more information from that one magical barrage and potentially allow us to flee and reset the fight, or - best case scenario - actually be able to rest." "Alright... Satanya?" Pursing her lips, the Demoness crossed her arms and thought on it for a moment, only to eventually say "I don''t think we can escape easily from a Fiend; Jahi has Light Magic, so they might act irrationally now that they know we have someone with the ability to easily threaten their life. Therefor, I believe the best option we would have would be pulling back and rallying around Jahi, with Leone and Ammit going on the offensive while the rest of the mages erect a ward. Then, the melee fighters create a shield wall and add to the defenses, giving Jahi some time to charge up an attack and deal serious damage to the Fiend before we head in for the kill." "Alright... Alright, those are both rather excellent answers, and there is merit to both. One is more cautious and preservative, whilst the other is more straight forwards and-" In the midst of his grading of our answers, a loud roar filled the air, followed swiftly by the crashing of water as something burst free from the rivers nearby, one after another. Chapter 910 909: Kat the Commander (2) Chapter 910 909: Kat the Commander (2) ??"Well then... this is quite a fortuitous encounter for us, isn''t it? Two separate tortoise monsters, ratherrge and quite strong... This would be two medium scale encounters mixed into one, no? Making it arge one. Now, do you wish to take one each, or are you going to work together?" Rising from the rivers on either side of us were two enormous monsters resembling tortoises - they had leathery blue skin that was coursing with mana filled veins, a deeper, richer blue emitting from their flesh and letting us know from that alone that they were Water Mana attuned, which... Well, besides being rather obvious, it was also a bit of a problem since Water Mana tended to mean a more resilient monster that had a high healing factor, so any damage we dealt had a good chance of being negated in a few moments if pressure wasn''t being constantly applied; even then, if we weren''t putting out enough damage, we could be here for a long time as the wounds heal faster than we can add to them. Besides the blue skin, they had a pretty turquoise shell that rippled and had some pronounced bumps, which would let them blend in on the bottom of the rivers as they lounged around and did little besides rest and wait, though theirrge taloned feet and sharp, hooked beak made it abundantly clear that they were able to deal some serious damage as well. "This is fortuitous to you?!" Belian grinned as he nodded at Satanya''s question, before he just hummed softly as I stepped forwards and unsheathed my Khopesh, shouting "Jahi, Anput, Leone; we''re taking the right one!", which made Belian nod some more as he said "Well, that''s an answer to my question, I guess..." Growling, Satanya unsheathed her own sword and shouted "Intri, Liak, with me! Everyone on the left side, with me as well! Right side, go right!", earning another nod from Belian as the man remained standing in the center, his figure gradually fading from view as he continued to observe us, letting us have this practical experience to ourselves and guide us on where we went wrong afterwards. With the monsters in the middle being just as surprised as we were, the Demons were able to put them down swiftly and efficiently, freeing themselves up to switch targets to the tworge tortoises that were pulling themselves out of the rivers, their talons sinking into the soft riverbed and leaving behind long scores in the gravel as they did so, all while their beaks parted to reveal the rows of razor sharp teeth that lined their throats. Hissing at us, the tortoises steadily made their way forwards, their heavy bodies not making them the quickest to move, but that w of theirs was supplemented by the mana that pulsed from their bodies as they walked forwards. "Jahi, take point; Leone, intercept the magic it''s about to cast! Everyone else, spread out and attack its legs!" Keeping my orders as concise as I could manage, I took the ten or so Demons I had to work with and spread them out, while Leone stopped and was joined by two others as they began to trace out the runes for their spells, which the tortoise matched as it wrenched its hooked beak apart again and revealed its maw, where mana began to swirled around rapidly as it charged an attack of its own. Leading the way was Jahi, her shield raised and covered in golden light as she took her ce at the center of the formation, drawing the monster''s attention as well as buying us the seconds we needed to spread out and begin closing in on the tortoise, aiming to reach its fleshy limbs and impair its movement as much as we could. Mana continued to swirl around in its maw before the tortoise aimed the sphere at Jahi, preparing to shoot of the giant projectile of Water Mana straight into the charging Demoness, but before it could do so three fireballs exploded against its lower jaw, knocking its head back and causing the sphere to be shot out into the ceiling, where it sted apart some of the stone above and showered down rock and water in equal measure. A pained groan escaped its now charred throat as it''s head fell down, level with us once more and revealing its angry red eyes, the ckened skin king to reveal a new patch of blue skin beneath, it''s healing factor already making its appearance. Smacking her shield into its beak, Jahi thrusted her great sword upwards, skewering its throat and showering her arm in thick blue blood, making the tortoise groan again as it''s head snapped to the side. Raising one of itsrge, taloned feet, the monster mmed its foot back down and pushed itself back, trying to return to the water and gain the environmental advantage, something that made me curse slightly as its other foot mmed into the earth on the other side, pushing some of the Demons back as they avoided the heavy blow. With thick chitin protecting its body, the only avable parts of its body to attack were its limbs, and even they were proving deadly as the tortoise lifted them once more and mmed them down, continuing to push itself backwards and submerge half of itself into the water, only to hiss again as another pair of fireballs exploded against its face, blowing off a chunk of flesh and burning the rest. And yet, even as those fireballs tore away a piece of its flesh, now that it was in the water the tortoise covered itself in a thinyer of the water, which shone blue and rapidly healed the damage it had sustained. Seeing that, I sent a discus hurtling towards its skull and made the tortoise hiss for a third time as the water on its flesh froze, halting its healing for just a moment before the ice cracked and fell away, the water beneath flowing over the burn and rejuvenating the flesh. And then it lifted its head back and parted its jaws, another sphere of blue mana gathering between its beak and radiating power as it red down at us. Chapter 911 910: Kat the Commander (3) Chapter 911 910: Kat the Commander (3) ??"Pull back, raise shields!" Rearing its beaked head back, the tortoise red down at us as a new sphere of water gathered between its jaws, something that we had gotten a brief taste of earlier when the magic had been redirected into the ceiling - something that was still causing chunks of rock to fall and crash to the earth beside us. The Demons pulled back and raised their shields, pushing their mana out of their arm and creating an interlocked barrier as the tortoise began to lower its head, aiming its maw at us and releasing a barrage of pressurized water. Dozens of smaller spheres burst free from its beak, separating from the main sphere and hurtling down towards us like buckshot from a shotgun, crashing against the barrier and exploding as the mana was mmed against another, stronger barrier of mana. Each sphere burst against the barrier and tore away a chunk of mana, which was swiftly reced as the Demons held their ground, their feet nted firmly whilst their shields rested against one another, with Jahi taking the middle and anchoring both walls of shields on either side of her with her giant tortoise shells shield. I watched as the burn and missing flesh on the tortoises'' face was regenerated, that thin epidermis of water giving the tortoise an incredible healing factor that was proving to be troublesome - just like I thought it would be. And as it parted its maw again, I clicked my tongue before shouting "Dig in! Anput, Leone,e here!" The two women turned and swiftly made their way over, and I quietly cursed as I realized how trivial this fight would be with Ammit, the Lightning wielding Demoness having perfect synergy with Anput to roast this tortoise alive withrge quantities of electricity flowing through metal rods. But, as I nced at Leone, I frowned for a moment before quickly asking "Leone, can webine our magics to create Lightning, or no? My Wind, your Fire?" She blinked in surprise - and Anput just stood there waiting for her part - before opening her mouth, only to close it as she gave it some more thought; meanwhile, the tortoise sent another barrage of bullets hurtling towards the barrier, each bullet bursting and showering the barrier in water that chewed away at the Demon''s mana slowly but surely. "I... no, not just off the cuff with no preparation or research." She came to a quick conclusion though, which made me sigh as I shook my head, scrapping that portion of the idea, though I had some more - with a high healing factor, outputting arge amount of damage all at once could kill this tortoise easily, or we could go the long haul with it; Jahi could manage to kill it, yes, but... "Anput, restrain its legs and prevent it from moving. Leone, take a crack at its shell before focusing on its head again. Since it wants to cover itself in water, we can burn it away or freeze it... or both." My two lovers nodded, and Leone began to trace out runes instantly, sending a bolt of mes hurtling through the air and exploding it against the tortoise''s head, knocking the water sphere away again and buying us a couple of seconds to work. The line of Demons in front of us remained in ce, watching on as spires of rock erupted from the earth beneath the tortoise''s feet and pierced into the flesh, before spikes jutted out of the main spire and hooked into the monster''s flesh, ensuring it couldn''t escape easily. Those spires took on a metallic hue as Anput strengthened them, and as the tortoise let out a long hiss of agony at having its taloned feet anchored to the ground, it could only try to intercept therge sphere of mes that Leone was moulding above her head, the yellow mes gradually whitening as they became hotter and stronger with each passing second, something that the tortoise was determined to avoid, and yet... It couldn''t, not when its front feet were anchored to the ground, and so it charged up another water sphere and send it flying towards Leone, who shot her sphere forwards without a care, the two colliding and producing a loud hiss as the water was boiled away almost instantly. Floating slowly towards the back of the tortoise, the sphere elongated and turned into a giant spear, before it plunged down and mmed into the shell of the tortoise, boiling away the water and making the monster screech as it tried to move. Meanwhile, as Leone charged that spell, I decided to do the same, only instead of going for the harder outer shell like Leone was, I targeted the belly instead, the runes of a spell shing in front of me as I crafted a Ritual Circle in moments, which I sent sliding across the ground until it was just below the tortoise before activating it. From above, a giant spear of mes was boiling the monster''s blood and trying to pierce its thick shell, cracking it and allowing the heat to seep further into the monster''s body, while below nearly a dozen crystalline spears stabbed into the softer shell covering its belly, searching for the kinks in its ''armor'' and exploiting the weaker chitin from below, which allowed my spears to puncture through and burrow into the meat. Two extremes were targeting its body at once, and it couldn''t move much thanks to the metal spikes that had broken and reced the bones in its front legs, trapping the tortoise right where it was and allowing this to happen; but, the monster wouldn''t go without a fight, and it screeched again as it summoned the water from the river to coat its shell, trying to extinguish the ming spear from above, whilst the water that went below tried to push my spears out and allow it to heal. "Jahi." As it did so, I just said the name of my blue lover and watched as she rushed forwards, breaking away from the shield wall and taking advantage of the tortoise''s split attention to close the gap between us and it. It wasn''t the cleanest fight, nor the most... efficient - that I can already tell - but it got the job done and ended when the Demoness shed her golden de up into the thick neck of the tortoise, cleaving through the blue skin and severing its head from its body, killing the monster quickly enough. As soon as her de made contact with the monster''s neck, Leone''s ming spear dissipated, leaving some of the previous shell for us to scavenge for some armor... and enticing us with the interesting smell of cooking tortoise meat. Chapter 912 911: Review

Chapter 912 Chapter 911: Review

?I pursed my lips as I stared at Belian, the Demon looking back at me with a neutral gaze as we stood away from the main group, who were all currently busy butchering the tworge tortoises for any and all meat, bones, organs and of course, as much of their shells as they could manage to sessfully harvest. Satanya and I were here to get our review, and Belian decided to start with me, which was why I was currently standing there with a hint of nervousness as memories of my days in school way back when resurfaced, the all too familiar feeling of being ''judged'' for my work resting on my shoulders once more. "So... how do you think you performed, Kat? Let''s start with that... self reflection is an equally important way to learn, after all. It ensures you can locate your ws yourself and find ways to correct them, or locate what you do well and find ways to keep doing things well. So go ahead; give yourself a review." The utter neutrality of which he spoke and the nk expression he wore just made it harder to not feel like I was being judgedpletely, but I had lived long enough to understand that this wasn''t cruel, malice fueled judgement, but instead a critique for me to learn from, so I took a breath to calm myself and gathered my thoughts. "It wasn''t the greatest. On one hand, I was trying to work with a group and do things with more than just Anput, Leone and Jahi, but on the other hand I wasn''t able to truly separate my group from Satanya''s. My initial n for the tortoise was to have Anput spike the tortoise with metal rods before having Ammit use her Lightning Magic to bypass the epidermis of water that the tortoise was using to heal itself, but obviously... I didn''t have Ammit in my group. So... I sort of... not panicked, but certainly faltered. Reverted back to thefortable mentality of only working with my three lovers and not with the group, which meant they remained only as an afterthought in this battle. They were utilized as a shield wall and that was it. Especially after the initial idea of trying to engage it up close in meleebat - which was both a very unlikely hope but also a way to scout some of its defenses and abilities. They were turned into a glorified wall after that happened... and then I had Anput and Leone do most of the work." "Then would you say you ''passed'' this test, or failed it? With what you aplished and how you aplished it." "I..." Frowning, I took another breath and looked over towards the dead tortoise, deciding to take the realistic option for that question. "I passed. Not with flying colors, and certainly with arge amount of room for improvement, but I think theck of casualties, the end result, and how rtively ''easy'' it was to get that result mean I have passed. Again, not a perfect grade, and barely a passing one, but a passing grade none the less." "You would be correct. The results speak for themselves, and the method used wasn''t the worst, but certainly not the ideal. You felled your foe, correct, but the moral of your troops, their opinions on how the monster was felled, the way they were so quickly forgotten and given a menial task without second thought... With most soldiers, this would be eptable for a certain amount of time, and most of the Empire''s troops are result driven - a Legion seeds as a Legion or fails as a Legion, meaning if the Legion failed, you failed, and vice versa. Just because they are result driven does not mean they have foregone viewing themselves as a singr entity. Their group might be satisfied with a victory, but the individuals will feel neglected and useless. Remember that. Especially with higher level, stronger soldiers; ego is important, and hurting it can cause more damage to your collective then any enemy could hope to deal. Now, that all is to say this; there were worse ways to go about it, but also better ways. For example, the tortoise''s underbellies are soft, and they instinctively protect them. Using your magic, you could create an opening and allow your troops to close the distance, pinning its limbs themselves and earning this victory for one another. Some battles that are medium scale need to be treated as... moral victories, and not entirely focused on the results. But again, the result is an ideal one, and no one will fault you for being efficient, especially if you are keeping them safe. Just... don''t coddle them. Soldiers in the Empire want to fight, so let them." I nodded, a new facet of what I might need toprehend for managing arger group of people being brought to light - one that seemed small and insignificant, but was an integral part of everything that was needed to keep a squad, a battalion, a Legion in good spirits and working together like a well oiled machine. Moral, aplishments, and ensuring their more emotional needs were met... And it was something that applied to any group activity, be it for a squad of soldiers or a family; if the end result was to make dinner as a group, but I did all the cooking, all the ting and didn''t let Anput set the table, have Leone help prepare some of the ingredients and let Jahi meander around ''taste testing'' things, would dinner feel the same? Would they all feel fulfilled even with a wonderful meal in front of them? Surely not, especially when I took their flirting into ount, as well as the random things we talked about; that made dinner all the more special and made them want to remain with me in the kitchen, even though they themselves were contributing little to the food being prepared. It was something that they equated dinner to now, and it made them feel like they were included and needed - which they were, obviously - but it gave them that sense of belonging and joy... which was what was taken from the Demons after they were told to just block the magic attacks. They weren''t able to participate and ''earn'' that win; they watched as Leone sted the tortoise from the top, watched as Anput stabbed its legs and held it in ce, watched as I attacked it from below, and then had to watch as Jahi killed it. All while they stood in the back, not doing much besides blocking attacks that only came a handful of times... I frowned, before noticing that Belian was wearing a small smile now as he nodded at me, the man noticing the gears in my head turning from his critique, before that smile fell away as he turned to Satanya and said "Your turn. Do you think you passed, and why?" Unlike me, the Demoness nodded instantly and said "I did, yes. End result: a dead tortoise. The method: half of the troops barraging the tortoise with magic whilst the other half used their des to hack away at its legs. No casualties, no difficulties. Therefore, I passed, and I believe that would be a better grade than ''just passing''." The smugness in her tone as she smirked at me made me roll my eyes, though her smirk faded somewhat as Belian said "Now, don''t be getting too cocky. Yes, you managed to utilize everyone equally, but ask yourself; was there no casualties because of your method, or because of the quality of your troops? Was that strategy risky at all? The answer is yes. If these weren''t Demons, but instead the troops of the Empire, would you have been able to aplish the same thing with the same strategy? No, probably not. The barrage of magic worked because Ammit had an elemental advantage - and it''s Ammit. Additionally, the Core of a Demon is usually only weaker than that of an Elf and a spattering of other magically attuned races, so the guarantee of distracting the monster is lost. Then, there is the physical attack. Enchanted weapons, powerful arms... those made it easy. Add on the fact that its skull was currently in the midst of being chipped away and melted, and that made it a breeze to get it down and attack its head. The point is, Satanya, that there is always a certain amount of risk that makes strategies worth it or reckless, and yours was teetering on reckless... if you had anyone but Demons, of course. Additionally, putting your troops at risk just to feel like you have to make use of them to meet the requirements for something can make them feel like objects and not soldiers. That''s another fine line that you have to walk." The Demoness just stared at Belian for a moment before snorting as she asked "Why are we being graded on whether or not we ''could'' have been leading a group of fighters that weren''t Demons? We DO have a host of Demons to lead, so why should I think up a strategy that ANYONE could do, and not do what I know Demons can do?" Even I had to nod at that, something that made Belian sigh as he looked up at the ceiling for a moment, something that made us both roll our eyes as he said "Practice for when you do have to lead a group of others, perhaps? Do you think that could be a possibility?" "But then you would tell me to make use of what I have at disposal and make the most of my troops potential. This just sounds like we were going to ''fail'' parts of your test no matter what! Damned if we do, damned if we don''t." "She''s right, Lord Belian... All of those things are important to know, yes, but if we have a tool that others don''t, why shouldn''t we use it? We have it, after all... so why shouldn''t we use a sword to cut butter, hm? Instead of hammering the sword down into a butterknife just because everyone else is using it..." "I... oh whatever... just trying to teach some important lessons for you both, and yet here you are,ining... Gods above..." Chapter 913 912: ’Business Transaction’

Chapter 913 Chapter 912: ''Business Transaction''

?"All of this... Gods above, I''d be so damn happy if I could double this and have an entire week to myself... I''d be so~ damn happy..." I couldn''t help but raise a brow as I stared at my mate, her blissful tone and slightly ck expression making me snort at how utterly captivated she was by the assembled materials in front of us, which made me feel a twinge of jealousy at how these inanimate objects were able to receive a simr loving and desired filled stare that I was ustomed to, which only grew somewhat as the Jackalkin turned to me, likely sensing that and deciding that she could have some fun teasing me as well. "I''d even forgo sex if it meant that I could get double of all this and a week to just forge away~! That''s how much I would love that~!" "Well then you can do so." As I turned away and let out a small huff to express my displeasure, Anput chuckled and grabbed my arm, pulling me into her embrace and resting her head on my shoulder as she whispered "But I don''t have double of these materials, and we don''t have a week, now do we~? So that means I have no need to forgo giving my beautiful, exquisite, unique and incredible mate the loving that she so clearly deserves, hm?" I remained silent for a moment longer, making the Jackalkin''s heart thump in her chest as she wondered if she had ''pushed'' me too far with those remarks, only to let out an inaudible sigh of relief as I said "And then some, right?" "Of course... anything you want, anything that I can get you... it can all be yours~! Of course, I might be able to be... ''motivated'' to get certain difficult things, but... that shouldn''t be an issue, should it?" Peeking at her face, I raised a brow as I repeated "Anything at all?", to which she just nodded and gave my waist a squeeze, reminding me that there should be an ''incentive'' or a ''reward'' involved depending on what it was. Tilting my head, I looked over the various materials in front of us before turning my gaze towards the others, who were mingling around in the camp, taking a much needed break and chatting to one another now that the other group of Demons had returned with a bountiful haul. That was why Anput was looking over this giant collection of materials like it was her child; it was because there was just so much here of such a decent quality that any notable cksmith would likely be unable to contain their excitement at being able to utilize any and all of the materials in front of them. "Well... perhaps I could be convinced to purchase another special outfit for a special night when we return home? And perhaps... perhaps I could?be convinced to rope Leone into being apart of that special night as well?" I could feel Anput''s excitement at that idea very clearly as she pressed herself against me even more, ensuring that I could feel just how excited she was getting as she whispered "Go on...", clearly rather keen on that idea. Especially now that we knew Jahi was of a mind to sit back and watch for a little while, meaning that for a brief moment, Anput could be the ''head'' of the group as she indulged a little in Leone and I by herself. "All for the low, low price of a wand, perhaps? We have water attuned metals, water attuned bones, and of course... that gemstone chunk filled with Water Mana..." I held back a grin as I peeked at her face again, watching as my mate blinked a few times before she stared at me and said "''Low, low price''? Kat, that''s a rather expensive ask, you know that right..?" "Oh? But Leone and I dressed in ceremonial garb dancing for you is something that should be valued lowly? Hmph, good to know." "That is not what I said! I just..! Fine! Fine! I''ll see if I can get it made soon..." She let out a sigh before giving my waist another squeeze as she quietly asked "Are we talking full ceremonial garb..? Paired with the traditional dance..?" Hearing how her voice was dripping with lust at this idea, I couldn''t help but smirk as I turned and stared my mate in the eyes, enjoying the silver gleam that filled them as I whispered "We''ll make you feel like a Sultana who just received the treasures of a lifetime..." Anput shivered behind me as her silver eyes narrowed with glee, and she couldn''t help but give me a deep kiss before whispering "This will be the best damn wand in the entire world, Kat... so let''s make sure my reward is just as great, hm?" Biting her lip, I returned her kiss and whispered back "Oh, it will be... and then, when you''re fulfilled, we can all~ give Jahi that same treatment... end the nightpletely and utterly drained... doesn''t that sound perfect?" "It does... so go tell her, and perhaps we can start ''training'' our amazing Demoness to have a tad more restraint so that she can watch for just~ a little longer than usual, hm?" We shared a giggle before Anput separated from me, my mate giving me onest kiss and rushing towards the pile, finding the things she needed and getting to work right away, only for me to roll my eyes as I felt someone take her spot instantly. "What''s got my other puppy so energetic, hm? And what has got my murderpuppy feeling so gleeful?" The firm, muscr arms of my Mistress and lover were wrapped around my waist, and her face was buried between my ears as she took a deep breath, enjoying herself as she waited for an answer. "Just a... business transaction between the two of us. She makes something for me, I ''pay'' her for her work. And if she does good, then she gets a ratherrge bonus..." "Can I request a business transaction~? You take care of my needs, and I take care of yours... what do you say~?" I rolled my eyes again, but I didn''t stop her from pulling me into our tent and conducting a mutually beneficial transaction... Chapter 914 913: Lust Puppy* Chapter 914 913: Lust Puppy* ??"Oh by the Gods... you are SO~ damn good at this, Kat..." The Demoness I loved so dearly was lounging on top of our bedrolls, her chiseled and delectable blue body on full disy as she enjoyed herself immensely, taking this moment to unwind as she requested - no, demanded - that I give her a blowjob before bending over for her. Something that I was more than happy to do for the woman I loved so deeply, something that would continuously prove to her just how much I loved her, desired her, lusted after her, and so, so much more. It wasn''t even just ''sex'' anymore - not with any of my lovers - but instead a profound expression of our true selves to one another as we bared our hidden, twisted selves to one another and gave them love for who and what they were, something that meant just so much more than we could ever put into words. Of course... it was still ''just sex'' with what we were doing; there were kinks involved, things we were far too aroused by to never not do with one another, but at the end of the day, Anput, Leone and I still ended up stuffed full of someone''s cum while Jahi ended the day with her balls empty, which only made us all happier whenever we fell asleep. I was usually the one to push everyone to that point of beingpletely empty - eat ejaction from them earned me experience and allowed me to store up more and more Lust Mana, after all, and I needed to gather as much as I could with the uing battle against not one, but two Fiends. It would be one of the many deadly weapons we could have in our arsenal at all times going forwards, with Jahi''s Light Magic, Leone''s Blood and Moon Magic, and Anput just... being a damn good warrior and the one responsible for us having some top notch gear. So that was why I was content toy down t in front of my Mistress and swallow her thick cock to the root and kiss her groin like a long lost lover, all while she stared unabashedly at myrge breasts and watched as they moved around whenever she gyrated her hips. Despite being the one in charge of the tempo - and usually being the one to treat me like a rag right off the bat - Jahi was currently slowly and teasingly sliding her cock in and out of my mouth, bringing her red tip to my lips before guiding herself back down a momentter, letting her balls rest against my eyes and cover my visionpletely. "I can''t even fathom how lucky I am that I got YOU as my partner... right from the start too... From that day that you decided enough was enough till now, I can''t believe that I was so lucky to have such a perfect, lusty puppy as a maid~! Mm... Fuck..." Groaning above me, Jahi leaned forwards and rested her hands on my breasts, finding my nipples instantly and tugging on them as she started to quicken up by just a bit, unable to help herself anymore. "I got so fucking lucky with you... with Anput... with Leone... all three of you are so damn perfect~! Easily trainable... sexy as can be... loyal to a fault... oh Gods..." Each time I heard her groan, my mind and heart fluttered together in joy, making the slightly ufortable feeling of having a giant foreign object lodged inside my throat more bearable than normal as my Mistress and lover continued to fuck my mouth steadily. It was like a siren''s song that rejuvenated my body as I heard the Demoness'' noises of pleasure, and even as she tugged harder on my breasts and left herself buried inside my throat as she grunted, I couldn''t help but suck harder on her cock and enjoy the heat of her balls against my eyes. "Fucking..! Oh, I want to have you drink my sperm down so badly, but I also want to cum on these giant whorish tits too..." She grunted again, before growling "Fuck it, I''ll do both... swallow my cum, slut... enjoy your meal, my sexy puppy... Oh fuck! Ah..." Feeling her testicles spasming against my face, I prepared myself as she started pouring her semen into my stomach directly, the Demoness ejacting inside my throat and ensuring I didn''t waste a single drop as she plugged my mouth with her fat cock, not letting up at all and giving me a delicious, sweet treat to savor, all while my chest tingled beneath the all too familiar abuse. Apparently, it was universal that everyone appreciated a good pair of breasts, and whilst mine were certainly on the rger'' end of that spectrum, all three of my lovers enjoyed using these twin mountains as stress balls to y with as they pleased, so I had developed a slight resistance to them being fondled, but even then... Jahi wasn''t just ''fondling'' or ''ying'' with them; she was abusing them as she pinched and twisted my nipples even as she pulled on them, molding my breasts into various shapes as she enjoyed herself above me, cumming in me and fondling me at the same time. The musky sweetness that was currently enshrouding my head entirely made my mind take a swim inside a lustful ocean of orgasmic bliss as I was fed a sizable helping of semen straight from the source, whilst the heat only made that swim better as Jahi rubbed her balls all over my face. When she eventually stopped cumming, I could barely breathe and do much besides twitch as a minor orgasm wracked my body once more, my pussy quivering and expelling a trace amount of juices as it prepared itself to be prated, though... "Press your tits together, bitch. Squeeze ''em around my cock and let me fuck ''em..." The raspy voice of my owner made me shiver as she slipped out of my mouth, her slimy cock resting on my cheek as she waited for me to do as she asked, forcing me to inhale the scent of her sperm as she seared my face with her giant blue ''branding rod'' and left behind trail of saliva and semen. Cum drooled from her tip and enticed me to try andtch onto her cock again, but as soon as she felt my lips pucker around her cock, the Demoness growled softly and pped my thigh, eliciting a startled yelp from me as I felt a sharp sting spread throughout my leg. "Press your tits together... don''t make me repeat myself again, you dumb fucking whore..." Blinking, I tried to look up at her, only to have the Demoness shift herself slightly and block my vision with her testicles, making me moan softly as my mind nked for a moment, only to be drawn back as the Demoness pped my other thigh. Before she could speak, I reached up for my chest and hugged my boobs together, making the Demoness groan as she moved herself from my face to my chest, finally allowing me to see again, just in time to watch as she plunged her cock down into my cleavage and started pping herself down into my tits, treating them like a pussy. As she began to fuck my breasts, the Demoness grabbed both of my thighs and pulled them apart, allowing her to hunch over my body and begin to suck on my pussy, her long and wide tongue slipping between my lower lips as she started to kiss it intimately. "You taste so damn good for a whore... I could eat this all~ day long... this, those fat fucking tits of yours, and your actual lips as I make you mine... Sharp and refreshing... Gods I love this..." Burying her face into my crotch, the Demoness continued to p her hips against my breasts as she fucked my boobs harder, rubbing my nipples and sending shocks coursing throughout my torso that were amplified by the deeper, more significant shocks that traveled up my spine from my vagina. My pussy was experiencing the beginning of its bliss as the Demonesspped at it incessantly, while my chest was gradually heating up as her fat cock prated my cleavage and rubbed against my sternum, traversing its depths and marking what it found. Moaning, I looked up and found myself staring at something that I rarely got to see; the usually hidden lower lips of the Demoness, usually untouched and of little importance to our sessions, and something that was considered ''off limits'' by us all since Jahi made it clear she wasn''t interested in utilizing them... So of course... I was tempted to give them a kiss too, but as if sensing that, the Demoness looked over her shoulder and fixed me into ce with a stern stare, her amethyst eyes holding a warning that trying would result in some actual punishment... And I wasn''t too keen to find out what a real punishment from her would look like; I was content enough with my ''fake'' punishments where she beat me and raped me instead, so... instead, I focused on her plump testicles, coaxing out her next batch of sperm as Itched onto her sack and suckled on them both, making the Demoness shudder as she let out another addicting groan, which only made me moan as I felt her groan on my pussy. Slowing down a bit, the Demoness allowed me to suck on her balls whilst she continued to eat me out, and eventually she groaned loudly again as she started spraying her semen into my cleavage, pumping her seed between my tits for a few seconds only to pull out and spray the rest of her cum onto them directly, drawing out a gasp from my lips as I had my entire chest covered in cum. Watching her cock throb and jump around as she blindly ejacted on my tits was arousing as all hells, and I couldn''t help but reach for it and jerk her off a little to milk her of as much sperm as I could, wanting to bathe in her seed and ensure that my body reeked of cum so everyone was reminded that Jahi owned me. Chapter 915 914: Satisfaction*

Chapter 915 Chapter 914: Satisfaction*

?Jahi''srge hand rested on the back of my head as the Demoness loomed over me from behind, her muscr figure giving her the ability to easily pin me down beneath her as she moved on from fucking my tits to fucking my pussy instead. "Having a wife like you... think I used up all of my previous and future lives luck to score a perfect woman like yourself? So... ''refined'' and elegant during the day, so damn slutty and sexy at night..." Gyrating her hips, Jahi teased me relentlessly as she poked and prodded my cervix with her tip, the Demoness only thrusting every few seconds to give herself some pleasure as she hammered the entrance of my womb and made me moan loudly, pleading for more. More that wasn''ting any time soon, the Demoness'' other hand holding my hips and keeping me in ce as she made it extremely difficult to push myself back and fuck myself on her fat, meaty cock... Something that she was deriving great joy from as she gave my ass a firm squeeze, leaning over me and whispering "Can''t I savor my wife lovingly~? Like a fine wine, meant to be sipped and appreciated?" With my face pressed into the bedroll, I couldn''t really respond, especially not when my blue skinned voracious lover was so adamant on teasing my sensitive cervix and refusing to let me tell her that I need her to stop thinking of me as her ''lovely wife'' for a few minutes and instead treat me like amon, cheap harlot that she had kidnapped off of the street... "Y''know... I was thinking, we don''t actually make love very often do we? It''s rather... animalistic and primitive most of the time..." Humming softly, Jahi continued to rub herself against my cervix before slipping inside, only for a brief moment though as she pulled back out and began to explore the rest of my pussy closely, gradually pulling herself out of me almost entirely as she began to soak just her tip between my lower lips. The fact that she was speaking so casually despite having just showered me in so much sperm just went to show how mercurial her need for sex was, the Demoness content to just get her dick slightly wet at this point despite my tits being drenched in seed and my stomach holding a thick load as well. "Would you like that, Kat~? Me making love to you like a ''normal'' couple instead of just... pinning you to the bed and pounding away like a beast? That just sounds so much more... interesting to me, since we rarely do it gently..." Letting go of my head, the Demoness grabbed each of my cheeks and pushed down, ttening me onto the bedroll and pressing them together, giving herself an even better cushion as she began to slowly thrust in and out of my pussy, finally breaking into my womb and giving it a few pokes before pulling back out, drawing out a variety of moans from me as she did so. I grabbed at the fluffy pelts that we had beenying on and moaned into them, the scent of my lover permeating the fur thanks to the semen that I had rubbed onto it and weakening my mind as I was subjected to a nice, calm version of sex that focused on making me feel good over Jahi''s immediate pleasure. "Y-You... You c-can... you can go faster..! Harder..! Please!" Turning to stare at her, I pleaded with my lover to return to the usual, but instead she just chuckled and buried herself to the root, rubbing herself against my ass as she asked "Should I though~? I think doing this makes it more interesting... you''re utterly drenched, your cervix has reached a nice tightness, your womb is sucking on my tip... all of it is so~ nice to feel..." She squeezed my ass before taking one of her hands off of my cheeks, trailing it up to the base of my tail instead and drawing out a yelp from my lips as she firmly wrapped her fingers around the sensitive area. "I always forget about this... You tightened up so~ much right there~! Do you like me ying with your tail~?" Biting the pelt, I shuddered as she gave it a soft squeeze, sending wild shocks traveling up my spine and into my brain that just absolutely muddled me, the pain that would normally make someone cry out and plead for Jahi to stop only making me more aroused, which... "Oh~! I guess that means you do huh~?" Only did the opposite for me; that pain caused my brain to send twice the shocks back down my spine and into my vagina, which spasmed at the sudden overload of ecstasy and tightened me up quite a bit, causing another part of my loins to loosen and tighten in a way that made me squirt into the pelt, though the part that was felt immediately by us both was the way Jahi''s balls enjoyed a nice soak, something the Demoness found arousing too. "Gods... You make it so fucking hard to do something besides ravage you... Ah damnit! Whatever!" Giving my tail a controlled yank, Jahi ignored the scream of joy that erupted from my lips and instead wrapped my hair around her other arm, yanking back on my head and letting her look down at my expression as she started to hammer herself down into my ass. "Fuck! I wanted to try and treat you nice, but you''re such a fucking whore! How can I control myself with a pussy like this, huh?! With an ass as fat as this?! Fuck!" Jahi growled behind me, finally giving in to her lust and treating me like an object to be used instead of a woman to be loved, the time and ce for both of those things making themselves rather clear; in bed, I was just a tight, wet hole perfect for her to shove her penis in whenever and however she wanted, and outside I was a woman requiring love. There was a clear difference between the two, and they just... didn''t mix well; I craved this absolute dominance from her, and she craved my absolute submissiveness to her, which created the perfect concoction that ensured we both had a healthy rtionship... as crazy as that sounded. But as the Demoness yanked on my tail again to make me cum all over her cock for a second time, only to then start pping my butt and watching as it rippled with each thrust and p, was it really crazy at all? I certainly didn''t think so, and I was doubly as certain that this was what we needed when the Demoness mmed down into my womb and growled above me like an animal, her cock throbbing wildly as she ejacted extremely thick ropes of semen like they were going out of style, ensuring that I was filled to the brim before she began to go again. And again. And then again... Over and over until her balls werepletely empty and she was satisfied with how I was merely a twitching, cumdrunk slut leaking sperm and asionally orgasming at simply having so much sperm inside me; sheid beside me, her cock still buried inside my womb, and held me close, showing me the care required after ravaging me like she hadn''t partaken in sex in years... despite it being merely a day at max. Of course, when she got horny again in a few minutes, the Demoness returned to pounding away at me like the convenient hole I was, only to pull out and p her cock against my ass a few times before slipping inside my other hole, filling that one too for another eternity... The entire time, I was justying on top of the pelts and enjoying the boundless stamina that Jahi made sure to train into herself, bing the fruit of herbor as she put her training into use - it''s real use, which she whispered into my ears as she fucked me over and over again, telling me how I was the reason she was determined to get stronger. All so she could try to achieve her goal of being able to be inside me for an entire day without needing to stop, something that should have been entirely impossible for so many reasons, yet only seemed to be growing into something that was gradually possible for her to do... though she was still a ways away from that goal. But, it wasn''t like she hadn''t already done something that wasn''t impressive; I don''t know how long we were in the tent for, but I do know that eventually, an exhausted, horny Jackalkin stumbled into the tent and stripped down,ying beside us and watching as Jahi took me for another ride, sitting on my upper thighs and using short, powerful thrusts to rearrange my guts in the most pleasurable, painful way ever... "I managed to do it... kinda. Your wand, I mean... it needs some fine tuning and some work from you, but I managed to get one working. After... a failed attempt with some lesser materials... Ah, but you can''t really understand me, can you... How long..?" She was right; I wasn''t able to understand a word that came out of her mouth, but I could understand that her knot looked far too full and ufortable, so I of course offered my services to my mate, drowning in her scent as Jahi just wordlessly lifted me and allowed Anput to thrust into my creamy pussy, the Jackalkin taking me without hesitation despite there being so much of Jahi''s cum inside me. Chapter 916 915: Wand

Chapter 916 Chapter 915: Wand

?By the time that we had finally managed to quell our lusts, both Anput and Jahi were in desperate need of a real rest, while Leone - who hade by to check on what was happening before being roped in and ''forced'' to join - just sat by the side staring nkly at the ceiling of the tent whilst enjoying the idle pleasure of my mouth onest time. Her strong, sharp vor of cinnamon flooded my mouth as she grunted above me, the Vampire grabbing my head and pulling me deeper into her body before eventually releasing me when she was finished, not wanting to continue whatsoever... even when I tried to entice her as I climbed onto herp. Pouting, I looked around at the three women and let out a slight huff of displeasure at how each one was currently utterly drained and unable to continue, with Jahi tiredly ncing my way and muttering "How the hells are you still wanting more..? I feel like you''ve drained me over everything that I possibly could have for the next week..." I just tilted my head at that, only to roll my eyes as Anput groaned and tried to stand up, my mate saying "I swear she isn''t just a pure Dogkin... the bitch has to have some Subus in her or something... fuck fuck fuck... Leone, did she tire you outpletely, or can we get some non biased, actual healing..? Fuck... ow..." Anput winced as she climbed onto one of the crates, rubbing at her hips and shaking her head as I pouted at her, the tanned Jackalkin adding "I am NOT asking you, because I have a sneaking suspicion that I know where you''re healing spell willnd, Kat..." "Hmph... No fun." "No fun? My love, you''ve managed to make us all orgasm more today than we have this entire week... No fun... What''s no fun is having a feeling that I can''t get it up tonight, so after we eat I''ll have to just head straight to bed!" That made my pout grow ''worse'' as the idea of just going straight to sleep almost made me physcially recoil at how utterly mundane and boring that sounded, only for Leone to idly say "That doesn''t sound half bad... maybe some meditation, some mana practice, normal Dual Cultivation... all of that could get us sufficiently tired and not be physically demanding? Or we could also push past it and spar some... either way, I think I want to turn in early tonight..." To emphasize her point, the Vampire yawned and slowly stood up, her amazing body - both for its feminine grace and sex appeal as well as the way she was a shower and not a grower with her futa side - being put on full disy as she stretched, letting out a soft moan as her muscles were allowed to lengthen and increase the blood flow throughout her body, healing herself naturally. Though the red glow that radiated from her palms was what really healed us all, a warmth descending onto our slightly aching and ''damaged'' bodies, repairing the various tears, aching and other smaller things that were ''wrong'' with our bodies; our blood flowed quicker, the muscles were knitting back together... all of us surrendered to this wonderful warmth and allowed it to heal us back to the top, though the mental exhaustion remained. Even with the mental exhaustion though, Anput got up and stretched as well before saying "I got a few things to show you all, soe on~! Was able to get some work done rather quickly... and I am going to bepletely honest here; I think I might actually want to take a week or so off from doing like... anything at all when this is over. Put my head down in a forge and just make things..." Rubbing at her jaw, the Jackalkin nodded a few times and added "Too many ideas floating around in my head, and I was thinking about that contract that the Marquess brought up, y''know? Unless the thing that Belian said is waiting for us back at the Empire is serious, I think we really should start putting some stock into our future, y''know? Get some stuff nned out, figure out what we need to do now and what can wait... Startworking, investing, creating, preserving... all that and then some." "Hng... I really don''t want to think about all that right now... too much detail and depth for the current me, yeah? So c''mon, let''s go see what you made, then maybe I can convince a few of the Demons to spar me..." Jahi rubbed her temples before walking towards the entrance of the tent, only to stop and look down at herself as she muttered "Oh right, clothes...", which made all of us roll our eyes at how absentminded the Demoness was... though considering all that happened, I felt a tad proud that I had managed topletely sap away her brain power over however long its been... Yes, that made me rather proud, especially considering this was one of the first times that I had seen Jahi so out of it after sex, even more so than whenever we fulfilled our darker kinks together... and that might just be because I was determined to keep going in order to ke my boundless thirst for more... Which was seemingly actually boundless considering I was still craving more, but I sadly had to rein it in as we dressed and walked out into the camp, where a few of the Demons were lounging around chatting and meditating, and a couple of them raised their brows or smirked at us, which made Leone blush hard as the Vampire came to the realization that our tent wasn''t soundproofed. Approaching the forging area, Anput spun around and spread her arms wide, grinning at us all as she said "So I have two things to show to you; a prototype, and apleted product. Let''s start with the prototype first. It was an idea that came to me to get thepleted product fine tuned and perfected as much as I could, and here it is..." Reaching for the cloth on one of the anvils, Anput pulled it away and revealed a... "What... is it, exactly?" Lifting it up, the Jackalkin proudly disyed... whatever it was... to us, showing off the fist sized, rounded pommel esque item that pulsed slightly with mana, the blue steel and gemstoneden thing not answering our question. "It might already have an official name somewhere out in the world, but I call it a ''Channeler''. Attach it to a weapon, wear it around your neck, doesn''t really matter. It''s function is simple; it can be a medium for you and your mana, sort of like a pseudo wand or something. Funnel your mana in, charge it up, before using it to cast a spell. If you put it on a weapon, you can use it to forgo needing to use runes at all - just like a wand - but it can be ced on a two handed weapon and used to cast that way." "It looks like a pommel for a sword, so is that where it would go?" "Correct~! Put it on the bottom of the hilt, and cast a spell that way. Obviously not somethingplex, but imagine being able to catch someone off guard by resting your sword on your shoulder in a ''resting'' position and firing off a bullet spell at them suddenly? Isn''t that neat? Again, it''s a prototype for now... no idea if it actually works as intended, or if it works at all, but hey, I learned something from it~!" "And you used some more of the gemstones..." The Jackalkin just ignored Jahi as she moved over to the other anvil, pulling away the cloth and revealing a foot long metal rod that was about a half inch thick on one end and slowly tapered into a ttened point on the other. Blue metal was used just like with the prototype ''Channeler'', and the same gemstone was used as well, but this time it was faceted into the thicker side of the wand, sparkling with power and a beautiful simplicity. "This is the wand that I figured out how to make~! It actually... wasn''t that hard, but it isn''tpletely finished yet. I kinda figured out what Belian was talking about when he said they were hard to make. There''s two portions of its forging, right? The physical forging - making the wand itself and ensuring the materials are correct, properly forged and all that, but you also need to ''bind'' the ''Core'' to the rest of the wand; this gemstone needs to be... how to describe it..." Tapping the wand against her jaw, Anput pursed her lips before just shrugging as she approached me, presenting the wand and continuing to inform us about something that looked rather simple, though we knew that it was anything but considering the mana that coursed through the metal wand, which was far more than normal weapons had - probably sitting easily at three times more than what our own des had. Obviously not Jahi''s though, but still... it was close. "The gemstone - this wands ''Core'' - needs to be... wired into the rest of the metal to actually connect all the mana pathways properly and strengthen it some more. You can use it as is, but it wouldn''t be efficient. So... yeah. I can''t do that. You can. But, I did learn how to ensure everything else is done; the materials are properly attuned andbined, everything is working together except for the Core, it is durable... everything that I could do, I''ve done as good as I can at this moment, and I now think I could do it again without much issue. So when we get a break again, I can make a staff for you, Leone... if I had a Fire attuned gemstone or something else to act as the Core, anyways." Taking the wand from my mate''s hands, I nodded as I looked over the simple blue ''stick'' that she had offered - not the most beautiful or intricate work she had made, but considering what it was made from and what it was meant to do, I could consider it amongst her best works so far. "We just need a unattuned mana crystal and have Leone pour her mana into it to make it a me Crystal. It wouldn''t be the highest quality Core though, so maybe she could get a wand as well to start..?" "That would work, I guess..." Flipping the wand around, I began to appraise the gemstone and take in the simplicity of its outside appearance, only to then extend my own mana into the cluster of raw Water Mana that rested within, a small frown tugging on my lips as I realize just how much work I would need to do to finish this wand properly... Chapter 917 916: Getting Used To It... Chapter 917 916: Getting Used To It... ??With a flourish of my left hand, I controlled a sizable wave of water and sent it flying through the air, wrapping it around the neck of a leaping wolf and mming it into the ground with a sickening crunch as its spine was snapped on the jagged, ore filled rocks below us. Unwinding the water from the monster''s now crooked neck, I sharpened it and used the water to eviscerate a second wolf, slicing cleanly through its stomach and causing its organs to ssh along the bloodied ground with a wet thud that just made me shiver in joy... Finally, I balled the water up and flung it swiftly towards thest monster - a reptile of some kind this time - and watched in amusement as the bullet slipped into its skull and sted out the back of it, doing exactly what I wanted it to do as I killed the little lizard thing in a single hit, just like the others. "So? How''s it feel? Does it work well, or have any issues? At least, on the physical side of things? Difort, not solid enough, too heavy, too light?" Anput rushed forwards to my side and began to appraise the wand in my hands, the Jackalkin lifting my arm and ensuring she could get a closer look at the entire thing as well as my hand as she tried to ensure there was nothing wrong with her craftsmanship whatsoever, something that I found rather amusing. "There are no issues with it, my love. It''s a tad light, but there isn''t much you can do about that except waste material; besides, it only feels light because I am ustomed to daggers - and now my Khopesh. But everything else is good enough. Maybe something to ensure it never slips from my hand though? A leather grip, perhaps? But besides that, this is rather good! I can''t wait to enchant it properly too..." Releasing my hand, Anput nodded to herself and gave me a smug grin, that ''worry'' of hers fading instantly as soon as I praised her work and her skill, the Jackalkin turning her nose up into the air somewhat as she did everything she could to look haughty and proud. I wasn''t lying either - not that I ever would - but the wand was surprisingly quite nice to wield, even in my off hand; the control it had over magic was nicepared to my hand, whilst the enhancement to my mana was not by a lot, though ''not by a lot'' was still a buff that I could get behind. And honestly, she wasn''t the only one proud of it either - I was proud of my work too, with how utterlyplicated it had been to bind the water infused gemstone into the water attuned metal used to create the bulk of the wand. It truly was akin to wiring something together, if those wires were all tangled and jumbled together inside the gemstone and not color coded or sensiblybeled to go into the awaiting wires inside the metal at all... So being able to get the wand into a workable, plete'' state was something that I was proud of, though I still had some ways to go with getting the two connected - I had messed up on some of the initial wiring as I learned what I needed to do, not doing it in the most optimal way and losing out on some of the potential of the materials, which lost me some of the ability to retain my mana''s potency as best it could, lowering the purity and therefor lowering the damage. But, it wasn''t by a lot - though like I said before, ''not by a lot'' was still a buff, or in this case it was still a debuff that I was not particrly wanting to have... All in all though, it was still a pretty good addition to my arsenal, and this little test run of it was proving that to be truer by the second with each enemy that I killed... not that we had run into anything high level or particrly dangerous just yet to give it a good test yet, but... well, ask and you shall receive, right? That''s usually how these things worked in books or whatever, right? "It''d be nice to test this wand out against something a bit more difficult though, y''know? Get a better grasp on just how much power I can get from it, and how quickly?" Saying so, I looked around in hopes of some hidden monster deciding that now would be the perfect time to pop out and begin attacking us because of divineedic timing, but s, there was no such luck on my end, leaving Anput to just nod and look around too before sniffing the air. "Well, there''s some more monsters wandering around for some further testing, but I doubt they''ll offer much in terms of a challenge. Still good to get a feel for the wand though, right?" "I guess..." Looking around once more, I sighed and took a sniff of the air as well, catching the scent of the various monsters that were still lingering around inside this grotto and tracing them to their positions, deciding that if I couldn''t do a power test against a resilient enemy, then a power test against a weaker enemy was still valid. After all, depending on how mangled their corpse was after Iunched a spell at them with as much power as I could, that could be a good way to understand just how strong the increase was and allow me to create realistic expectations for what I now had to work with. So, Anput and I took care of the three monsters I had just killed, dismantling them quickly and harvesting the parts that we truly wanted from them forter use, which we stored inside an ice chest that Anput encased in stone before creeping away towards the monsters we both had caught the scent of, which happened to be a grazing herd of scaled deer of some kind. All that mattered was that they were numerous, had obvious Earth Mana attunement thanks to the rocky, scaled legs they had, and weren''t able to sense us just yet, so I had the opportunity to create a baseline damage to measure the uing, wand enhanced damage against. Handing the wand to Anput to hold temporarily, I traced out the runes for a simple water arrow spell - a tad more power and velocity than a bullet spell, and bigger - before leaving the runes floating as I did the same with the wand, allowing me tounch both spells at the same time. As soon as the runes were traced out and I was ready, I cast both spells simultaneously at two of the five deer monsters and watched as two separate, and slightly - very slightly, but still sort of noticeable - arrows whistled through the air at high speeds, puncturing the torsos of the deer and creating two separate, very different wounds. The non buffed spell punctured into hide of the deer before bursting, dealing damage to the internal organs andpletely killing the deer from the inside out, before creating an exit wound that was slightlyrger than the entry wound that allowed all of that internal damage to ssh onto the ground. The buffed spell simply made the deer''s torso explode in arge shower of gore, reminiscent of a watermelon being smashed; it was a crystal clear difference in power that made Anput and I both stop for a moment and just take in what happened, before I swiftly cast three more spells that I made sure wouldn''tpletely ruin three perfectly fine walking meals... Instead, swift crescents shed into the deers necks and separated them from their body, decapitating them before they had much of a chance to react to the deaths of their fellow deer, something that gave Anput and I the time to properly stare at the head, legs, and small portion of body that were left from that initial buffed spell. "I am... unsure of how to feel about that..? Is it that much of an increase, or is the scaling just too great between the two to be easily judged..? Like... the wand is too powerful for something that is so weak? Or would the quality of the monster not really matter?" My mate''s question made me shake my head as I idly replied "I think it mattered, but I don''t know by how much... wow, wasn''t that rather pretty though? The way it burst into a cloud of red, the ssh of its blood across the grass... oh, it was so~ very pretty..." "Pretty... is not the first word that came to mind, but sure... you can call it that I guess..." I just giggled as I nodded, staring lovingly at the four ''whole'' corpses and singr heavily damaged one, my gazending on the thing responsible for it all - the wand that Anput had made for me, something that would earn the Jackalkin a rather suitable reward... Chapter 918 917: Dinner Time

Chapter 918 Chapter 917: Dinner Time

?"So how''d it go? Was your wand worth the material cost, or is it a flop?" Belian nced at Anput and I as we entered the camp once more, the older Demon lounging on a chair that he had made for himself that allowed him to look over the entire camp and assume an important looking position despite not doing much at all currently. "It went better than expected honestly. I had low expectations for just how much of an improvement there would be with the addition of a focus, but it actually provided a sizable increase to my mana''s potency... though perhaps I simply am far too much of a ''purist'' when ites to mana, since I thought the same with Magic Pens... It would seem that I need to start viewing things more neutrally instead of dismissing them right off the bat without any evidence..." "Yes... who would have thought being unbiased might just yield some intriguing results to things? That is an impressive logical feat right there, Kat... impressive indeed..." Giving the man a dry stare, I rolled my eyes and instead turned to Leone as I said "I think something simr to this would benefit you immensely, truly. Let''s just say it''s a 5% to 10% buff to your mana''s power, right? That percent increase for you is going to be exponentiallyrger than the percent increase that I am receiving, which is already rather good. I hope we find some unattuned mana crystals soon, or at least earn enough money to buy a solid Core and other Fire attuned materials to construct a staff for you." "If you do end up needing to buy materials, at the very least you''ll be able to make some back - sort of - since I would like tomission a few weapons, armor, and wands or staves from you and Anput if at all possible? I believe that would do us both well, hm?" Jahi pursed her lips at that, while Leone raised a brow as she asked "I thought that the Cimeriesa''s had a rather deep understanding on how to create and maintain wands and staves? And a rather adept skillset to produce them too? Why ce amission with us instead of just working in house?" "It''s rather simple, isn''t it? Surely you can answer your own question? Why would I go ahead and ask a third party to produce something that I myself am able to produce easily? What do I - and in turn, my n - receive formissioning you?" I was about to answer when Jahi dryly said "To ensure that there is some good will andmunication between us and you. Foster a rtionship between the new generation of the Asmodia Family to circumvent my Mom and hope that by doing so, you might be able to convince me and my new sisters to potentially reforge the bonds between the three ns again. That''s what your goal is, correct?" We all stared at Belian and watched as his smile widened into a grin, the Demon not denying Jahi''s im and instead saying "Simply wanting to be as efficient as possible, hm? I don''t think you realize just how incredible it is to be able to forge a wand at such a tender age - it''s not unheard of, or insanely rare, but it is still impressive. Being able to be on good terms with a cksmith like that is always a good idea, and it just so happens that the woman she''s engaged to is someone I also want to be on good terms with~! Besides that, there''s the fact that if we do business now, we can do business again in the future, no? For weapons, armor, potions, enchanted items... recruit the services of some excellent warriors and mages? Is that not a valid goal?" Rolling my eyes, I just said "It is, but I don''t think I''m too thrilled about the idea...", which only made the others nod as they gave Belian a slightly distrusting gaze, something that made the man chuckle as he shrugged and replied "You might not be thrilled about me personally, but when I open the drawstrings of my coin purse..." "Yeah yeah... money makes things better, I know. Trust me, out of us four I understand that the most..." The other three all turned and pouted, ''betrayal'' painting their faces in an interesting way as they tried to guilt me into saying that it wasn''t true, despite me being the one in charge of our finances and being able to understand the differences between what we were earning, what we needed to spend, and what we wanted to spend... though that was what allowed them all to be the people they wanted to be, even if those people were really, really expensive and required lot of managing... "As long as we can understand that reality of the world~! Some people like to cling on to worthless morals and prejudices in the face of cold hard coin, which I find to be stupid beyond belief. It''s refreshing to find someone who can put that aside and instead just appreciate the money itself~!" That made me shake my head, but I remained quiet and instead moved the ice chest over towards the kitchen, instantly grabbing the attention of everyone as they watched me pull out the various bs of venison and other meats from the chest, stacking them on the table and preparing to get them seasoned and sliced into serviceable strips and chunks for the inevitable feast toe. Like usual, the meat heavy carnivore diet was something that I was alright with so long as it wasn''t a permanent n going forwards for all our meals, but even so I was already growing tired of ''cooking'' the same few things; steaks, stews, steaks again, perhaps a stew to spice things up? It was all the same, so it was boring to make each and every meal, especially since I knew that anything I made to go alongside it wouldn''t be properly appreciated and enjoyed like it would if I was cooking for ''normal'' people. There was only so many side dishes that the Demons enjoyed or were ''willing to tolerate'' alongside their steaks, and even they were ''simple'' to make; vegetables braised in a thin meat broth, bread, and pasta. All of it made me rather irritated the longer I made it, but I couldn''t deny that the simplicity was what made this not unbearable after an entire day of fighting, harvesting and walking; if I was expected to make some high quality meal each night, I might be even more irritated... so this was just my irrationality bleeding though into my thoughts. Putting my head down and beginning to sear as many steaks of venison as I could, I then got to work on the dough for the breads using some of the flour that we had restocked on beforeing back down here, creating something that wasn''t the tastiest but was quite filling, as well as rather thick and heavy. Something to help fill stomachs quicker and put down the meat consumption even by a pound per Demon present... if that was at all possible. Cooking allowed me to just think about nothing and skip through time with rtive ease, moments passing by only for me to realize it had been minutes and not just a few seconds; the constant moving and altering of heat and position and adding or reducing things just made for a task that epassed a lot of processing power in the brain, which was rather nice, especially since the end result was so tasty and necessary for my continued survival. As I was cooking everything for dinner for everyone, the others were continuing to refine the materials we had harvested into their processed forms, be it ores into ingots, hides into leathers, herbs into potions or whatever else needed to be done, all while Belian watched it happen from his chair, not lifting a finger to help, but thankfully not getting in the way either, which I guess was good enough. The scent of cooking meat was what spurred everyone on to working as hard as they could, wanting to earn the meal that wasing and ensure that their stomachs were as empty as possible and ready as possible for the sheer amount of food that they were yearning to consume to rece the calories lost, something that had only be so familiar now that I had been living with a veritable ck hole masquerading around as a Demoness for a few years... The amount that could go in to rece what was expelled through energy seemed impossible, but clearly it was thanks to the fact that it happened over and over again, so I had given up on trying to understand how the stomachs of the Demons worked, especially since it was clear that a portion of the answer was enough for me; it''s just magic, and nothing else... That was all I needed nowadays to understand something, my desire to know being tempered by the reality that sometimes, it was just magic that made things possible here. With how simple the meal was, it didn''t take long at all to amass a mountain of meat that was meant for the Demons to feast upon, nor was the baking of the bread something that took too long either with the effective ovens I had that were able to be regted thanks to the Demon that I was ''employing'' for a cheap fee of an extra juicy steak. Chapter 919 918: Surprise Dessert Chapter 919 918: Surprise ''Dessert'' ??"Go on and eat up! Don''t let it get cold!" My shout caught the attention of the entire camp, and they all rushed over and began to ''fight'' over the tes so that they could get to the giant mountain of meat first, before heading to the loaves of bread and tearing off chunks for themselves. Of course, I also watched as they scooped a small amount of vegetables onto their tes before skittering away, knowing that I would berate them for not eating any but not wanting to be forced to eat too many of them, so they ran before I could say something. A vat of simple stew was also steadily drained as the Demons grabbed a bowl of that too to wash down the meat, alongside the various pots of tea and water that were sitting out, ensuring that everyone had something to drink as well. All in all, it was actually kind of saddening to see the sheer amount of food I had just cooked be devoured so quickly, but it was also nice seeing everyone being so ravenous and semi primitive with their actions, something that only made me sigh and roll my eyes as I grabbed my own te and joined Anput, Leone and Jahi to eat. "So the wand turned out well?" I took a bite from the venison and nodded, chewing on the tender, herb roasted meat and basking in its wonderful vor for just a few moments before I turned to Leone and answered "It turned our really well. I think you''ll like the staff you eventually get too, especially if we can manage to acquire some high level materials for it. Imagine the power waiting to be harnessed with that... and honestly, I bet it won''t be too hard to find those materials either. Not with the sheer amount of ores we have avable to us at the moment. Trades will be easy, and we have some coin too to fill the pot. Maybe some decent enchanted items as well?" "Yeah, I hope that whatever is waiting for us back at the Empire isn''t too big, y''know? All this stuff about the Fiends returning... sounds like a lot of fun, but it also just means we have less time to ourselves... and I wanted to get started on a couple of things..." Jahi shook her head and let out a sigh as she mopped up thest of her stew with her bread, the Demoness cleaning out the bowl before doing the same to the te, which was almost lickedpletely clean. In only a few seconds, she had devoured everything she had grabbed, and now she was walking back to grab seconds... Anput, Leone and I all exchanged nces, before the Jackalkin shoveled everything down and swiftly followed behind Jahi, not wanting to lose out on the possibility of getting seconds if she actually took the time to savor what she was eating... The Vampire and I just rolled our eyes at the actions of our more fight oriented lovers, though I rolled my eyes again when Leone took the spot beside me and gently rubbed my arm, waiting for me to offer her my wrist so that she could supplement some of the food for blood instead, which I did after a moment. With her fangs sliding into my flesh, I watched the other two return and begin scarfing down their tes again, and I asked "What were the ns you had exactly, Jahi? Was it what we''ve been discussing loosely for a little while now? Investing,working, purchasingnd... all of that?" She just grunted and nodded in response, taking another giant bite from the venison and grinding it down into a paste that she could swallow with her powerful jaws, all while ignoring the way I shook my head at her actions. Despite being a member of the Nobility, I never really got that impression from her, though my overall view of what the Nobility were meant to be has changed drastically ever since I arrived here... something that happened courtesy of the Marquess and Jahi, who were both more honorable than I could have ever imagined, as well as the overall actions of the Empress and her wives. "Well... I wouldn''t mind the idea of getting started making our own ce... find a plot ofnd, build it up, make it into something suitable for our needs... it''d cost a damn lot, but if we pick the right location, we could earn money in many different ways. Of course, that''s assuming the Countess wants us out or not; I have a feeling your Mother would be more adamant about us remaining at the manor instead of moving outpletely on our own..?" That made Jahi pause for a brief moment as she got to a point that she could ask "What makes you say that?" to Anput, who just raised a brow and replied "Your two new sisters for one? I doubt the Countess likes the idea of you being elsewhere when your siblings are growing up. Wouldn''t want them to think your distant or something..." Now it was my turn to blink as I stared at Anput for a few moments, before Jahi and I shared a look as we realized that most likely, the ONLY plot ofnd we could buy and move into would be one that was right next to the Asmodia Manor... or somewhere at the Capital, and only because the Marquess and Countess would be there often as well as time moved on. It was a surprise wrench in the immediate ns, but a wee one as we both smiled and nodded, knowing that we''d rather give up a tad of our privacy and independence if it meant being closer to Alessandra and Lakshmi, who felt like they had been just born yesterday whilst at the same time feeling like its been years since we hadst seen them... Removing her fangs from my lips, Leone licked the two puncture wounds and smacked her lips together briefly before adding "Family will always be important, which is also why I think - if we ever have the time - we should go and travel to the Sultanate? It''s been a long time since youst saw your parents Anput..." That made the Jackalkin pause for a moment as she blinked a few times, only to chuckle as she shrugged and said "It''s been awhile, yes, but it''s fine. I''ve ''changed hands'' after all. It''s expected for me to be here, and not there." "That''s besides the point, Anput. Don''t use your culture to deflect it either! You can just admit that you miss the desert and Sultanate!" We all stared at the Jackalkin, who just smiled wryly as she shrugged again, though it was clear she agreed with how her eyes grew distant for just a moment, as well as the twinge of sadness that permeated her expression. I was about to say something - as was Jahi - when a fifth voice sounded out in our group, one that we were familiar with at this point and understood that whenever we heard it, we should listen first before deciding if her words were to be taken seriously or not, and now... "You might want to grab your weapons and armor. It would seem that the Ka Fiend is tired of waiting around and is making its way straight here... in around thirty seconds, perhaps?" Cali appeared in the center of our group, and as soon as her words entered our ears and registered in our minds, we stood up - our tes discarded and forgotten, ttering to the ground and drawing the attention of the others - and began to rush towards the tent, all while Jahi shouted "Gear up! Fiend approaching!" The other Demons followed suit, their own tes dropping to the ground as they began to rush around the camp and grab their gear, armoring up and unsheathing their weapons before returning to the center, where Belian stood calmly as he looked towards Cali, who was still drifting aroundnguidly despite what she had just said. "Where from?" "Thata way~!" Smiling, she pointed her long, slender finger over towards one of the lower entrances of our grotto, and we all turned and stared in that direction for a few moments, continuing to strap on our armor and toss away what we couldn''t get on as we prepared for this sudden attack, which was announced properly by a reverberating roar that filled the grotto and shook the earth a momentter. "Out of the camp. Orderly; shields up front. Jahi, take the center. Mages, remain inside the camp. Ammit, Leone, begin amassing some mana, but don''t shape it. Quickly!" Belian''s orders were calm and smooth, the red skinned Demon sping his hands behind his back and walking straight out of the camp, looking like he was taking a stroll and not going out to face an unknown strenght Fiend in the middle of a Dungeon, with too many other unknowns taking up the world around us. Chapter 920 919: KaMinvis Chapter 920 919: Ka''Minvis ??The bestial, reverberating filled roar that shook the entire cavern continued on for many long, anticipatory seconds as the Fiend announced its presence, something that allowed us to begin painting a picture of what this Fiend might just be like, albeit a picture that had many different routes it could take. That roar could be an announcement to allow us to get prepared, a challenge that it was levying unto us and giving us forewarning of its intent toe and fight us, or it could be the mere wordless, mindless roar of an animal that craved nothing but violence and death for the sake of king its thirst for blood and flesh. Sophisticated and honor bound, perhaps this Fiend was a warrior wanting to challenge us to a battle, to test its might against ours in a battle to the death where one side woulde out on top, stronger and more experienced than before. Or perhaps it was simply an animalistic beast that didn''t want to do anything but fight and kill, something that acted entirely on instincts and had no purpose behind its challenge besides going for a kill. Each required different nning and strategies, but we wouldn''t know until the thing that was releasing this evesting roar decided to finally make its way towards us, showing itself to us properly. We were in a good location - a wide, t in that was unblemished by any rocks or trees - and we had arge amount of warriors ready to fight, their shields raised and their des drawn as they looked around for the source of the roar. As it began to quiet down, the silence only became more deafening as we waited for the Fiend to make its appearance, the suddenck of noise putting us all on edge before we heard a deep, raspy cacklinging from the other side of theke. Turning, we were greeted with the sight of the towering, muscle bound ''man'' standing on the edge of theke, staring at us with an amused gaze. It''s head was that of a lion, its fur a deep bloody red while its mane was an ever deeper crimson bordering on ck; red gold eyes were narrowed in amusement, and a row of golden fangs made the Fiend''s ''grin'' even more apparent, though considering the way its jaw was far too unhinged for that of a lion made it even more creepy. Fur covered its shoulders and upper arms, before fading into a dried up bloody leather that acted as armor for the Fiend, save for the bones that crept out of its forearms, knuckles and ribs; besides the bone knuckledusters it was sporting, the Fiend also had long golden ws that it scraped together to create that metallic shriek that sent shivers down your spine and was otherwise unpleasant on your ears. Although the rest of its body was vaguely humanoid in appearance, there was just something off about it as the Fiend took a step forwards, its movements both far too fluid and far too janky at the same time, creating an odd dissonance inside your mind as you watched it do anything at all; add onto that the way its lower jaw dropped down to allow it to speak, and the Fiend was much too creepypared to everything I had seen in this life... which wasn''t a lot, but was certainly more than I had seen in my previous one. "Ah, what a veritable feast of sublime flesh and mana... if I was only better equipped and not... injured, perhaps I could partake in this feast as I pleased! Sadly... Oh, sadly I am injured, but I am no coward, nor am I an idiot! Asmodia blood... Ka''Hondi''s favorite pets!" Giggling to itself, the lion headed Fiend rubbed its hands together and continued to walk along the top of theke, its taloned feet leaving behind no ripples in the water despite it clearly making contact with the surface, something that spoke somewhat to its control and skill. "As such, and since I know I have little choice - hello there, ''Caligo~! Since I have little choice in the matter, I would like to request something, little Asmodia girl... humor a Fiend, will you?" It''s long, ck tongue rolled out from its mouth and licked at its chops as it stared straight at Jahi, before its eyes flickered over towards Belian and then towards Cali, the Ka Fiend staring at the two warily before giggling again as it leaned over, shrinking its muscr stature as best it could to try and appear less threatening... despite still grinning madly and rolling its unhinged jaw around as it stared at us with those powerful eyes. "How can I ''humor'' a Fiend if it doesn''t even give its name? Are you trying to be an animal, or are you civil?" "Ah, my sincerest apologies~! You''re right, you''re right... where ARE my manners? Forgive me, yes..." Stopping far enough away from us to leave both us and it time to react, the Fiend rubbed its hands together some more before giving an exaggerated, clumsy bow as it said "Ka''Minvis at your service, little Miss Asmodia~! A... humble Fiend of Ka; an aficionado ofbat, a lover of all things rted to battle and fighting. Seeker of thrills, a lover of all the things that make your heart palpitate as you live your life on the edge of life and death~! That is me~! Ka''Minvis..." The dissonance between its voice and its actions, between its movements, the oddness of its jaw... the longer I looked at it, the more unnatural it became, and when it looked back up and grinned at me, I shuddered at how its eyes sparkled knowingly. "Now that I have stated my name, my title... might I ask once more that you humor a Fiend like myself? It isn''t everyday that you stumble upon someone with the mark of an Ensis, much less THE Asmodia Family that has managed to bind THE Ensis all us Ka Fiends look up too... yes, I implore you, little Miss Asmodia... humor me." Switching its gaze to Jahi, the Fiend sped its hands together and reined in its grin, tilting its head and staring intently at the blue skinned Demoness, not even taking its gaze away from her as Belian cooly asked "And why exactly should we, Fiend? Why should we humor a wretched creature like yourself?" "I wasn''t talking to you, Beliali..." The glee and humor in its voice drained away, returning to that raspy, cold voice that held some power on its own, something that made us all raise our guard even as the Fiend didn''t move its eyes away from Jahi''s, nor change its expression; a simple shift in tone got us all on edge again without any effort whatsoever. "What is it that you want to ask of me, Ka''Minvis?" "Oho~! You speak my name?! Interesting, interesting~! Does the prejudice against Fiends not run as strong anymore, perhaps? Ooh, or are you more epting of us because of ''Caligo, perhaps? Bedding a Fiend- no, you''re still sane... Ah, she''s bound to the pup, and the pup is bound to you~! Interesting, interesting~!" "What is your question?" The t tone of the Demoness made the lion headed Fiend chuckle as it tilted its head, twisting its neck rather far as it did aplete ny degree angle, not showing any signs of being in pain from twisting and damaging its tendons and spinal cord so easily. "It''s a simple one, a very simple one... the fight between me and you is inevitable. You desire power - I can smell it on you, like a cheap perfume. All of you do, but you, your soul bound pup, the other pup and that masked Demoness... you four crave it like your lungs crave oxygen. It drives you, sustains you... it is your meaning, your purpose. Since we are to fight anyways, why not make it interesting, yes? I want to see why my Ensis is so so so determined to mark out your bloodline as its own. I want to see if you are worthy of that attention, of that affection... and if you aren''t, I want to feast on you." Giggling some more, the Fiend tilted its head to the other side, switching from the left to the right but maintaining eye contact with Jahi as it continued to speak, never once looking away from her or dropping its grin. "Since we are to fight, I want to fight you, the pups, and the Demoness... you four, against me. Winners walk away with their lives, the loser dies... simple, yes? I want to fight that which has grabbed the attention of the one who stands at the top... and I want to test your mettles and deem them worthy or not. As is my calling as a Fiend of Ka. To test the wills and spirits of those who im to be warriors. So what is your answer, little Miss Asmodia? Are you brave enough to ept a challenge? You, your peers, and me... a battle to the death~? It will happen anyways..." I frowned as I stared at the Fiend, wondering why anyone would ept that challenge - logically, the battle was leaning entirely in favor; we had numbers, power, and so much more over this Fiend, so why would we bother to discard those favors in exchange for something so idiotic? The problem was... well, I was thinking with normal logic, and I heard Belian sigh as he watched Jahi, Anput and Satanya step forwards, staring at the grinning lion with determined, excited stares as they moved to ept its challenge... reminding me that they worked on a very, very different brain than I - and apparently Belian - did, something that I knew intimately... Chapter 921 920: 4 versus 1

Chapter 921 Chapter 920: 4 versus 1

As I watched Anput, Satanya and Jahi step forwards to meet the Fiend''s challenge, I couldn''t help but sigh as I looked between each of them, shaking my head at how they willingly let go of their advantage without any hesitation, despite their opponent being a Fiend. Who knew if the lion headed thing was being truthful with us, or if it was going to renege on its word and take this opportunity to try and kill some of thergest threats to the Fiends going forwards in one fell swoop, using their hubris against them. Its raspy giggle filled the air again as the Fiend righted its head and turned to look at me, still grinning as it said "Fear not, pup... I might not be the sharpest de in the drawer, but I am no idiot. Sneak attacking you here does not end well for me, and it isn''t even because of ''Caligo there... No, I would be dishonoring my Ensis, and that is thest thing I want..." Cali floated down to my side and nodded as she added "Don''t worry about it too much, Kat... I can still protect you if Ka''Minvis decides to pull something tricky. Besides~! The four of you should have no~ trouble at all with this~! Trust me on that." Patting my cheek, the pink skinned Arch Fiend grinned before winking at Ka''Minvis, who just snorted and shook it''s furry head, not appreciating what it was hearing but not refuting her im at all, and I could sort of sense why... Of the four it chose, Jahi was the obvious threat to it with her Light Magic and general strength, but Anput was a diverse threat on her own as well, while Satanya had some strenght to her as well; then there was me, with the pseudo Lust Mana I had lingering around in my Core, which would be weaker than Jahi''s Light Magic but still rather strong on its own. This fight was weighted in our favor, which only made it odder to me that the Fiend would willingly ask for a fight like this instead of challenging just Jahi, but I decided to stop thinking as I unsheathed my de and took out my wand, moving forwards to join the other three as we drew closer to the surface of theke, which Ka''Minvis still stood on, waiting for us. "Now, are we ready..? Yes? Good, good... Beliali, might I have you announce the start, hm? I''d rather have someone... not bound to one of the fighters do so." Rolling out its shoulders and lowering its stance, the lion headed Fiend clenched its fists and cracked its knuckles that way before opening them again, extending its golden ws as far as possible and ensuring that its ''weapons'' were as evenly spaced as possible to ensure a wider surface to attack with. Power rippled over its muscled form in invisible waves, each time it twitched or shuffled its feet to perfect its stance sending its muscles into small spasms, while the suddenck of joviality from the Fiend that had only been grinning and joking around made the serious expression all the heavier. Its jaw was still unhinged though, and the Fiend asionally gnashed its teeth and exhaled sharply, a small cloud of moisture and heat billowing from its maw and clueing me in slightly to what it was doing, which I vocalized as soon as I could, not waiting for Belian''s signal. "It''s using some kind of enhancement spell,pletely internal. Heightened physical status. I''ll lead with a domain to start." Seeing its lips twitch slightly at my words, I narrowed my eyes before flexing my hands, ridding them of the minuscule nervous cramps that were wracking my body as I waited for the signal, which Belian was being rather slow in giving, something that was a boon and a bane... though he wasn''t being annoying with it, as the shout "Begin!" boomed across the grotto. Following that shout, Ka''Minvis shot forwards like an arrow from a bow, it''s feet not touching the water as it flew straight at us with its hands outstretched, looking like a grappler preparing to engage its opponent... despite it being taller than all of us by multiple feet. As it shot forwards, I traced out the myriad runes I needed for a Domain spell as quickly as I could, but the Fiend was quicker as it appeared in front of Jahi and pped its hands down towards her, only to finally nt its feet against the ground and leap into the air, jumping over the Demoness and avoiding her great sword entirely as it flew towards me instead. Those red gold eyes were flooded with bloodlust as it sneered at me, its lips pulled back to reveal its golden fangs that matched the golden ws that were crashing down towards my head, trying to kill me before I could even cast my first spell. My eyes locked to its as it descended towards me, and I felt my hairs stand on end as its balled, clenched fists hurtled down towards my skull like a meteor, breaking through the air and whistling with the promise of bursting my head like a melon before smashing the rest of my body into the ground, turning me into a paste of meat and blood within mere breaths from when Belian shouted ''Begin!'' As those sped red hands descended towards me, my mind froze as it wondered if I was about to die, if I was to return to that void without even being able to protect myself, if I was going to lose everything thanks to the stupidity of my actions in allowing this challenge to be epted. And yet, those thoughts were erased instantly after they appeared, the collective anger and desperation from both Jahi and Anput being funneled towards me as they both reacted just as fast as the Fiend had, their des shing straight towards the Fiend and allowing me to react as well, no longer locked up with fear as I began to leap backwards and tilt my body away from its fists. My speed wasn''t the fastest, nor was theirs, but adrenaline and sheer willpower were far stronger than anyone could have anticipated, much less the Fiend that was suddenly smacked to the side by a heavy metal spear and had its spine severed in two as the Demoness behind it shed at the Fiend as swiftly as she could. Having my life almost sh in front of my eyes as the Fiend suddenly targeted me was not something I was expecting, but I couldn''t really think on it too much as I continued my backwards trajectory as much as I could, throwing myself to the ground and traveling away from the Fiend as far as I possibly could. My spell was interrupted, but as the Fiend was mmed aside and had its attention diverted away from me, I breathed a sigh of relief before resuming the Domain, ensuring it went off this time as I shrouded the immediate area in ice,yering the gravel with frost and trying to encase the Fiend''s legs with frost too, though that was harder since it continued to move around as soon as it could stand again. Its wounded flesh knit back together again almost instantly, and as Jahi yanked her de free from its spine, the Fiend stood up and moved away from her, not letting her get another swing in without earning it as it leapt back onto the water and moved away from the fight, creating space between us and allowing it to appraise everything without worry for just a second. A second that it barely got as two giant silvery spears were hurled at its head, followed by a discus of golden light that sliced through the air in incredible speeds, forcing the Fiend to defend itself lest it receive arge amount of damage. Satanya was a tad slower than the other two - not to any fault of her own, but simply because currently the other two were relying on the vast amount of anger that had suddenly erupted inside them from the Fiend''s initial attack, something that was clearly felt in how they moved and what they were doing, which was opting for an entirely offensive strategy for the moment. Four crescents of boiling me leapt off of her longsword and joined the other two attacks as they began to press the Fiend back with this sudden onught of magic, and when Jahi leapt forwards and cleaved her great sword down towards the lion''s head, the battle began to feel far too easy despite having just begun. Ka''Minvis had pressed the advantage so quickly before simply giving it up and being pressed back instead, and despite having shown clear speed, it had been retaliated against in a lightning fast manner that left me wondering what was happening, but that didn''t stop me from channeling my Lust infused Ice Mana into my wand and tracing out the runes I needed for a concentrated beam of frost that would further hinder the Fiend''s movements and allow the other three to attack more freely than they already were... Though I was trying to keep an eye out for what the Fiend''s game n was, but I sadly had too little information to call upon to formte any semnce of an idea on what was going on inside its furry head. With no clue what it was nning and very little understanding of its strength, I had to continue to study the Fiend even as it blocked Jahi''s great sword simply by raising its arms and catching the de on its ulna. Chapter 922 921: Challenge Chapter 922 921: Challenge ??Jahi''s great sword cleaved down and cut deep into the Fiend''s crossed arms, its leathery flesh getting cut with ease as the Demoness tried to carve into the Fiend''s torso, only to have her de lodged deep into the forearm of Ka''Minvis, the lion headed Fiend giggling quietly as it endured a devastating strike. "Powerful, powerful~! That''s that Asmodia blood for you... powerful indeed~! But... is it-?" Clenching its arms, Ka''Minvis used the fact that Jahi''s de was lodged into its flesh to its advantage as it tightened its muscles around the de, allowing it to pull back and try to yank the sword free from Jahi''s hands, even as Anput mmed her heavy spear into its side and punctured its flesh. Even as Satanya flickered behind it and began to carve away at its legs, the Fiend remained locked with Jahi, refusing to budge as it continued to pull her sword from her hands, trying to disarm the Demoness even as more and more of its body was decimated with injury... Or at least, appeared to be decimated with injury; each cut that Satanya scored on its legs, the giant gaping hole on its side, the scorched flesh on its body... all of it was healing at insane speeds, and Ka''Minvis just giggled again before releasing a breath of turbid, torrid air from its unhinged jaws, which caught my attention immediately. With the Fiend now temporarily stationary, the Domain got to work almost immediately and began to encase its feet and calves in frost, which was beginning to rapidly spread upwards, creeping into the regenerating cuts and slowing them down briefly, while also making it easier for Satanya''s de to cut through the leathery flesh, giving the Demoness some deeper cuts as she increased the power of her swings. Feeling the frost begin to make its ascent, the Fiend grunted as it tried to take a step back, doing its best to ignore the wounds on its legs and using its sheer willpower to lift the damaged limbs and move them, allowing it to also engage Jahi in a tug of war for her sword, the two still pulling and trying their best to gain control of that dual metal de. My wand shed around as I traced out the runes for a spell, the usual cyan glow being reced instead with a softer, brighter pinkish glow as I funneled some of the Lust Mana out of my Core and into the wand, instantly catching the attention of Ka''Minvis and making the lion snarl as it turned its head towards me, only to have Anput m her spear into its jaw and crack its neck to the side, giving me the second I needed to create a giant de of ice that I raised straight up towards the ceiling, illuminating the area in a pinkish glow that radiated a bone chilling freeze, bing the center of attention instantly. Ka''Minvis tried to free one of its arms as it watched the de begin its ''slow'' descent down towards its skull, but as it did so, Jahi angled her sword and tried to push it forwards, forcing Ka''Minvis to pick between my towering de of pink ice or her dual metal, Light Mana infused sword that was pointed straight at its Core. The choice it made wasn''t an easy one, but it grunted again as it watched the dee crashing down onto itself, using thest moment it had to shift itself to the side and escape being cleaved cleanly in two down the middle and instead sacrificing its left arm and some of its leg, the de smashing into the earth and shattering upon impact. A wet thud followed the crunchy crash of the de exploding, and a leathery, red furred arm found itself on the gravel below, the sudden severance of its connection from the Fiend unclenching its muscles enough to allow it to slide off of Jahi''s de. Bright crimson blood spurted freely out of the arm socket for a brief moment, only to coagte almost instantly as the flesh knit over itself, the muscles and tendons beginning to reform as the Fiend''s insane regenerative factor was put on disy, but before it could truly be made use of, I flourished my wand and controlled the myriad slivers of pink ice, forming a cloud of sharpened shards that flew straight towards the Fiend''s shoulder, as well as the wound on its leg. As my ice burrowed into the wounds and began to counteract Ka''Minvis'' healing, Anput pulled her spear back andnced it forwards once more, this time aiming for the Fiend''s other arm and dealing significant damage to Ka''Minvis'' remaining arm, cutting the muscles and snapping the tendons in hopes of allowing Jahi to free her de or slide it forwards. Behind, Satanya aimed instead for the Fiend''s lower spine, carving away the flesh around it and revealing the golden bone that held so much importance to the Fiend''s physiology, attacking it a momentter and making the Fiend go limp as it suddenly lost control of its lower half, the damage to the nerves that were bundled around and between the discs of the spine being added to a swiftly growing list of wounds that it was unable to heal immediately. As soon as Ka''Minvis fell to its knees, unable to stand now that its nerves had been so badly damaged, Jahi was able to utilize her newfound leverage and her strength to stab her de straight into the Fiend''s chest, sliding the golden de into therge red torso and causing Ka''Minvis to cough up blood as she twisted the de a momentter. Missing an arm, most of its lower back, having a giant wound in its side and its remaining arm, and now having a de lodged into its chest infused with Light Mana... it would seem that Ka''Minvis had made a significant mistake in its challenge against the four of us, not ounting for our strengths, our abilities, and our mana types... It would seem that the Fiend was done for as Jahi sent a thick pulse of mana flowing into her sword and caused most of its torso to burst outwards in an explosion of red and gold as arge hole formed where Jahi''s de was, but the fact that Ka''Minvis was still grinning, that it''s eyes were still glowing with mirth and bloodlust... All of that - paired with theck of an System notification - made me trace out another spell as Iunched a thick rod of ice straight into the cranium of the lion headed Fiend, not wanting to risk allowing it to go into a second phase or somehow regenerate everything by informing us that its Core was actually in its skull... and yet, as its head popped and showered Jahi and Satanya in blood, I still was left with a silent mind, no notification popping up at all at the ''death'' of Ka''Minvis. Jahi pulled her de free and took a step back, watching as the rest of the Fiend''s ''corpse'' fell t in a pool of bright crimson blood, while Anput and Satanya both mimicked the blue skinned Demoness as they stared at the headless, heavily damaged corpse of Ka''Minvis, only for all three of them to turn to me as they watched my frost continue to spread and consume the rest of its body. When its body shatteredpletely, I still was left frowning as my mind remained silent, and that made all three of them frown as well as they looked back towards the puddle of blood and pile of ice shards, wondering what had caused me to go ahead and destroy the remnants of a valuable trove of materials. But, when the sound of pping echoed around the grotto, we all looked back towards theke to see a tall, lithe red skinned man pping slowly, a wide grin splitting his handsome face. Long golden hair flowed down onto his shoulders, whilst the ck and gold coat that covered most of his body from sight was flipped back to reveal the twin curved des that he unsheathed, each one dripping with blood already. "Not too shabby, not too shabby~! That was rather impressive, you four~! Splendid coordination, incredible wit, beautiful execution~! Impressive, impressive~!" Flourishing his des, the man took a bow and continued to speak, his silky voice contrasting the sharp, twisted des as he said "I will admit that Min isn''t the strongest or the smartest ever, but the healing factor is what makes Min strong. That speed, the power... second to none as well for what it is~! Ah, and Min did well, didn''t they? Come on Min, we need to take a bow for the opening act~! Comee~!" Standing back up, the man smirked as he tapped the two des together, only to tilt his head to the side as a spear was chucked at him, causing him to click his tongue and shake his head, feigning disappointment. "Opportunistic, but rather rude! We are in an interlude, Miss Jackal! An interlude! The actors are to take a momentary pause as we move on to the next scene... Come on Min." Tapping his des once more, we all leapt back as we heard a soft, annoyed growling from the pile of shards and pool of blood, which we watched swirl into the air before reforming the lion headed Fiend from before, the giant, muscle bound creature growling again as it rose beside the man, getting to its feet slowly but steadily. "Now, I believe proper introductions are in order, hm~? I am Ka''Vis, and this is Ka''Min; we are... bound together, as one - Ka''Minvis. And today, we shall be giving you the show of a lifetime!" Chapter 923 922: 4 versus 2 Chapter 923 922: 4 versus 2 ??With another tap of his des, Ka''Vis gave us a wide, dangerous grin before flickering forwards, appearing in front of me with both des arcing straight down towards my chest; even as that happened in mere fractions of a second, the Fiend''s voice was still clear andprehensive despite it not being possible for him to say what he wanted before I would inevitably be cut into pieces. "My dear, I do apologize, but Ka''Min was correct in targeting you first~! You are far too disruptive to this y of ours to be allowed to grace the stage for any longer!" Two golden arcs glittered with specks of crimson as Ka''Vis shed his twin des down at me, and as the blood that continuously flowed throughout his golden swordsnded on my skin, it began to sizzle and burn with an intense heat, though that was the least of my worries at this very moment. I was anticipating being the target of one of the ''two Fiends'' that we were now tasked with facing, so unlikest time, I was more prepared for this sudden attack, and as such I was able to leap back to avoid the cross chop that would have separated me into fourths, though the ssh of blood that rained down onto me anyways was enough of an attack that Ka''Vis didn''t seem too disappointed. Each droplet of that pretty red liquid betrayed me as it sshed across my armor and began to sizzle and crackle, steam wafting off of it as it burnt itself up on my armor or skin - and if itnded on my skin, it sapped some mana from that area and disrupted the flow alongside burning me. Meanwhile, Ka''Min rushed forwards and used its long limbs and sharp ws to force the remaining three into fighting it head on instead, though considering Ka''Vis'' cement between me and the other three, that meant they weren''t fighting with as much assuredness as before, since this red skinned, golden haired man could decide to turn and attack them instead. "Nice footwork~! Elegant yet simple, refined and graceful! My dear, you surprise me..." Flourishing his des, he spun them in each hand and chuckled softly at how I raised a barrier of water in front of me with a flourish of my wand in retaliation, not allowing that blood tond on me once more. "Intellect and physique paired beautifully together! High mana, hidden power... and dare I say an appealing visage to~? My dear, you have it all! A shame though..." Spinning the des once more, he raised one and pointed it at me, and I narrowed my eyes as I watched the blood begin to gush out of the edge, like an artery had been cut inside the metal and was bleeding freely, which allowed the man to simply shoot the heated blood straight at the barrier in the form of a drill. Instantly the water began to boil and bubble, while the blood diffused a little into the barrier and began to dissolve it at a rapid pace, which allowed Ka''Vis to lunge forwards and attempt to burst straight through the barrier, wanting to catch me by surprise or simply blitz me instead, only to be met with extreme prejudice as my wand danced through the air and left behind a beautiful pinkish glow. A sphere of pink ice rotating immensely fast suddenly shot forwards to meet Ka''Vis, about the size of my fist and packed to the brim with energy that would not do wonders to the red skinned man''s devilishly handsome face, something that made him flinch as he tried to tilt his head to the side, only to have it sail straight past his face... but still carving out a sizable portion of his right cheek. Another chunk of ice formed at the tip of my wand, ready to be shot straight into the Fiend''s skull at almost point nk range, but upon feeling my mana swelling inside the metal focusing rod, Ka''Vis sneered and pulled back, taking a step before leaping back over the three others to join Ka''Min, who was still swinging their arms around and throwing wild, yet dangerous punches around at the three warriors it was tasked with fighting. Cutting his des outwards, Ka''Vis sent a wave of blood sshing over all three of them before leaping back again, with Ka''Min mirroring him as they returned to thekes surface and disengaged with the fight. Ka''Vis let out an angry growl as he released one of his des - which began to hover where he left it - and reached up to caress his cut cheek, gently tapping the split flesh and staring at his hand when he pulled it away, watching as his own blood dripped down from his fingers and into the water below. It was... mesmerizing, in it''s own way, watching this handsome man go from confident and jovial to serious, seeing how he slowly got angrier yet kept control of his temper as he swirled his blood around his pointer finger and ran it along the cut, healing the wound. "I... almost forgot I could bleed. Congrattions on reminding me, my dear... at just how much I despise this lingering feeling of mortality that such an action brings about. Though-" Twisting his body to the side, he reached up and caught the spear that Anput hurled at him again, the Jackalkin repeating her earlier attack to draw him back into a fight instead of allowing him to continue speaking, though this time, instead of letting it fly past him and do nothing, he grabbed it mid air and spun it around before hurling it back. "I thought I told you that was rude, Miss Jackal... It''s not apart of the script whatsoever." As fast as Anput had thrown it, Ka''Vis threw it even faster, and the metal spear mmed into the earth where we had been standing and shattered, sending up a shower of gravel and metal fragments. "As I was saying, whilst the feeling is rather... unpleasant, I have to admit that it is refreshing. That swift reminder of mortality is far too familiar too me, especially since I was once like you. A power hungry mortal who craved nothing more than a good fight and the thrills that came from it. The rush of adrenaline, the high of bloodlust whenever I killed... the cacophony of screams of a battlefield, the shrieking of metal on metal. All of it... oh, all of it... I miss it so dearly sometimes." sping the hilt of the floating de, Ka''Vis nced at Ka''Min and asked "Do you miss it too, my friend? That final battle where we took the plunge together, from mere mortal warriors into Fiends?" Ka''Min just grunted, the lion headed Fiend rolling its shoulders out and allowing its wounds to heal as it stared out over theke, observing us closely and making sure Anput wasn''t preparing another spear. "Wait... you were once mortals? I wasn''t aware you could... ''ascend'' or ''descend'' into being a Fiend; I thought you all were born from your respective domains like lust or bloodshed?" Jahi''s words made Ka''Vis chuckle as he shook his head, his golden hair bouncing around as he looked back at us with an arrogant smile, the two red gold orbs glowing with amusement as he said "Most are, yes, but not all. Some rise up and walk onto that stage willingly, taking the role they want and bing a part of the grand y that is the world around us. Most are simply created for that y by the y itself. Min and I willingly took to that stage because the promise of power was too tempting. Too seductive to be ignored. So... we cast aside the shackles of being a member of the audience and instead took on our roles in this grand y, even if that role is a small one." The twin golden des tapped against the surface of theke as Ka''Vis continued to speak, the man still smiling as he took this moment to recuperate, as well as brag about bing a Fiend; and Jahi and I were more than willing to give him this moment, our curiosity piqued as we were reminded about our own intimate connection to Fiends. We were both bound to an Arch Fiend, and while Jahi might need to wait to eventually truly be bound with hers, I was entirely paired with my own, and hearing about this was... interesting; it was knowledge that was being given to us freely, after all, and it might eventually be useful in some way in the future. "Min and I decided to grasp the power offered to us, to take what we wanted so desperately from the world itself and make it our own. Blood called to me, fighting called to Min, so we began to seek them out together once more, this time though we were changed... no longer man and beast working alongside one another, but a pair of warriors made into a Fiend that grew stronger together. We ascended onto that stage together and imed a spot for ourselves, and now... well, the script says we need to kill you to continue on~! So please... kindly die for us~?" Chapter 924 923: Stage Exit (1) Chapter 924 923: Stage Exit (1) ??Ka''Vis darted forwards once more, but this time he remained engaged with the other three as they moved to stand in front of me, their weapons raised and prepared to retaliate against the theater obsessed Fiend that was attacking us. His twin des were enchanted with powerful and unique magics, and I was admittedly curious on what exactly those enchantments were - just like I could tell that Anput was just as curious as I was about what they were made from - but the two of us were keeping that curiosity reined in as we observed his charge and swift opener. Each stride he took was apanied by a flourish of his des as he kept them moving, allowing the blood that flowed through the metal to be miniature projectiles that he aimed at Anput and Satanya, angling his swords in a way that showered them in the special blood and creating an opening for Ka''Min toe forwards and take their attention, all while he targeted Jahi. Those golden swords crashed down against Jahi''s own golden de as the two became locked in a bout of strength, one that ''surprisingly'' was being won by Ka''Vis as the man applied pressure to the Demoness; visually it looked impossible, but considering the turbid breath that escaped his lips, it would seem both him and Ka''Min shared a simr self buffing technique that was entirely internalized. And with him being so close to Jahi, trying to angle myself in a way that would make it possible to hit only Ka''Vis was impossible, especially considering how much bulkier the Demoness was inparison; there just wasn''t enough of an opening for me tofortably take, even with my level of control. Considering how Ka''Vis was twisting and contorting his body to manipte the power being exerted on his weapons already, I was bing increasingly certain that he could move Jahi around enough to get them both hit with a spell, and for now that wasn''t eptable. Any injury that she took would create an opening for Ka''Vis to pounce onto in order to worsen that injury and possibly kill her, so I unwillingly turned my attention instead to the other,rger target, deciding that getting the lion headed Ka''Min taken care of would be of a better use of my time and efforts at the moment. Ka''Min was trying very hard to contain and counter the two quick fighters in front of it, with one constantly shifting her weapon around and attacking it from new angles and distances whilst the other peppered it with various ming attacks, leaving behind terrible burns that required immediate healing lest it have its range of movement jeopardized and allow the two speedsters to begin piling on even more damage. It was being very conscious of its cement on the battlefield, remaining with its back to Ka''Vis and close enough to its partner that Anput and Satanya couldn''t make a move behind it lest they invite its attack onto Jahi as well, so it was able to focus on a rtively manageable portion of the battlefield by itself as it swung its muscled arms around like hammers, whilst its golden ws shrieked through the air and threatened to cut whomever they came across into meaty ribbons. Now that I was returning to the fight after a single moment of appraisal though, Ka''Min was ced into a not so favorable position as it was forced into using one of those arms to block the flurry of icicles that I shot towards its face, each one grown around a core of Lust infused Ice Mana that would deal significant damage if they were allowed to pierce its defenses. With one arm now being taken up by my projectiles, Ka''Min was steadily losing its advantage as it was subjected to an endless barrage of ice as well as two separate attackers that were beginning to make use of the singr arm being used to defend against the two of them; and as soon as I infused the spell hovering at the end of my wand with more mana, I darted forwards and joined them in close quartersbat, my Khopesh beginning to draw blood once more. A guttural growl reverberated from Ka''Min''s throat as the lion red at us all, trying to step away from the projectiles only to have its left kneepletely shattered and decimated as Anput mmed a gigantic hammer into it, dropping the Fiend to the ground. Following that, Satanya and I began to hack away at its ''free'' arm, cutting away chunks of flesh and revealing the golden bone within that started to chip and break as our des rose and fell rhythmically on the muscr limb, ensuring that it wouldn''t make a swift return. Even as the flesh continued to pulse and spasm with mana, trying to regenerate itself and reconnect overtop the bone and continue protecting the Fiend''s internal structure from failing it, only to fail on itself as the amount of damage outweighed what it could heal, something that was bing more apparent to the Fiend as it tried to smack and bludgeon us away, only to have its head snapped to the side as Anput mmed a spear into its jaw, breaking it and sending a few fangs scattering across the water before drifting down onto thekebed. With its hand dangling uselessly from its arm, Ka''Min tried to bludgeon us with its arm like a il, swinging it around and continuing to attack blindly even as Anput scored another clean hit against its head, this time cracking its temple and making the Fiend groan as its bright blood sshed across the wet ground. It was outnumbered and overpowered, its other arm continuing to absorb the damage of the icicles in all the wrong ways as frost spread across the limb, halting its regeneration and making the limb easier to damage, sting away more and more of its flesh and leaving the bone to dangle there before it cracked and shattered too, freeing up its head for a barrage of icicles. That growl returned as the lion unhinged its jaw and unleashed a wave of mana filled air, a cloud of red pouring out of its maw and spilling onto the ground below, filled with blood and mana that began to consolidate and condense into droplets. Those droplets shot towards us at high speeds, and I grunted as I felt one pierce my armor and puncture the flesh on my side, the blood trying to attack my own as it spread into my veins, only to be pushed away by my Ice Mana - though Ka''Min got the effect it desired as I relented for a moment, surprised by the sudden pain in my side and diversion of my attention, which was just enough for it to drag in a deep breath and let out an ear piercing roar, another cloud of red mist billowing out of its mouth and enveloping Satanya and I. It felt almost solid despite being simr to a mist, and it pushed Satanya and I back a few steps before it too condensed into dozens of small droplets, which shot towards us at high speeds and tried to pierce our armor and burrow into our bodies, giving the Fiend enough time to shift its body to the side and allow Anput to puncture its shoulder with her spear. As soon as the weapon was buried into its flesh, the Fiend stood up and swung both its damaged arms towards the Jackalkin, forcing her to release the spear and leap back to avoid the two golden clubs that were the Fiend''s bones, which would almost certainly have shattered her own bones. Snarling, Ka''Min''s eyes shone a brilliant red as it stood back up, its body healing almost instantly back to its natural state as it funneled mana throughout its veins, repairing itself and allowing it to return to the fight at a high level. With its ws back, the lion headed Fiend pounced forwards and rushed towards me, trying to take me out of the fight first once again as it categorized me as thergest threat to itself and to Ka''Vis, but as soon as I finished defending against the dozens of blood bullets, I spun my Khopesh around and stabbed the hooked tip into the earth, before shing it forwards - outer crescent first - towards the Fiend, sending an eruption of icicles straight into its regenerated body. The momentum it had shattered the icicles, but the overall effect I wanted was achieved - I slowed down the Fiend and allowed myself to jump away from it, just in time as a wave of mes washed over its pierced body and began to burn it, followed immediately afterwards by a giant metal Torii Gate mming down onto its back, pinning it to the ground. Sending another wave of icicles bursting up into it, I bunched up my legs and shot forwards, coating my Khopesh in Lust Mana and swinging the de straight into the Fiend''s skull, splitting it in two and stopping it from roaring again, before pulling my de back and stabbing it straight into the center of the Fiend''s back and pulsing my mana inside its torso, damaging its insides with as much mana as I could reasonably afford to make use of. With the first Fiend down for a few moments, we all looked up to see Jahi and Ka''Vis crossing des violently, the air around them thrumming with mana as harsh gold light and brilliant red blood shed, the various supporting spells apanying their casters as they swung their swords in vastly different manners. Jahi''s powerful, slower style didn''t care at all for appealing to the eye, while Ka''Vis'' constantly flourished his des and utilizedplex patterns and footwork to attack; they were different, and yet that was what was making this such an interesting fight as they strived to outdo the other. On this stage of Ka''Vis'' own design, there could only ever be one winner, and with two strong, determined actors fighting desperately to im that stage as their own, it was only a matter of time before one of them came out victorious and stronger from this borate y. Chapter 925 924: Stage Exit (2) Chapter 925 924: Stage Exit (2) ??Jahi PoV A grunt escaped my lips as I cleaved down towards the golden haired Fiend''s skull, my great sword slicing through the air as the red skinned prick danced to the side, allowing my de to ng against the wet shore and send up a wave of sand and gravel around us, as well as a ssh of that annoying blood that seeped out of his swords. They were both long, curved, golden des that had scarlet veins running throughout their surfaces, which led down into the cutting edge and weeped blood at a steady rate, supplying Ka''Vis with an ample amount of blood to utilize as he pleased, which was currently being utilized to annoy me to death as he tried to ssh arge amount of it across my face. When my barrier of golden light red and evaporated the blood, Ka''Vis sneered and instead lunged forwards, capitalizing on the fact that my form was still in a recovering position from my prior swing so that he could chop both of his swords down towards my chest, trying to cut me into pieces once more. His style relied heavily on flourishes and feints, things that would allow him to spread that blood as far and as wide as he could whilst also providing openings for him to exploit whenever he found them, and that made this a tedious - yet eyeopening - fight, one that would yield arge amount of experience for me to look back upon and improve myself with. Ka''Vis was an irritating mix of Kat and Anput''s most annoying styles ofbat; feints and close quarters magic paired with adept footwork and high reflexes made it hard to block his blows and determine what was a feint and what wasn''t. This current attack wasn''t a feint though, his forwards momentum and current inability to nt his feet firmly making me confident enough to lower my shoulder and bash forwards, catching him off guard as I mmed my ted shoulder into his chest and prevented his des from slicing into my armor. The force of my bash outweighed the force of his forwards momentum, causing him to suddenlye to a halt and actually begin moving backwards, which didn''t do his internals any favors as he stumbled backwards, coughing and trying to drag in air. Each exhale of his wasced with a boiling heat, and I could sense that the few cracks I had caused in his skeleton were now being healed - much like Ka''Min from earlier, it would appear that the man in front of me had an excellent internalized spell, one that I would love to get my hands on... That was forter though, as I was currently in the midst of raising and cleaving my de diagonally across his body, hoping to catch him in the midst of his own recovery phase and deal a significant amount of damage, but a single deep breath and re of his mana allowed him to leap back, away from my heavy de and far enough away that we both could take a breath without much worry. "I can see why the Ensis is so~ enchanted with the Asmodia Family... such power, such vigor! Such determination and emotion behind each swing of your de... You wear your heart on your sleeve, and it matters naught because you will not tolerate it being used against you... Fascinating. Truly fascinating..." Chuckling, Ka''Vis nced to the side and stiffened for a moment, something that caused me to peek to the side before returning my gaze to the gold haired man, not showing much of a reaction to what I saw. Kat, Anput and Satanya were standing over a motionless Ka''Min, who was currently having Kat''s Khopesh rece its spine as the Dogkin stabbed downwards and ensured its current position would remain as it was. Motionless and not a threat. Ka''Vis chuckled again - though it was strained and angry - as he looked back at me, his eyes burning as he said "It would seem that all of you are determined to take me off of the stage... how boring. Predictable. I regret to inform you though..." He shed forwards, lunging towards me with a higher speed than before as he tried to pierce my abdomen with his des, which had be elongated by the blood coursing throughout their structures. "I will NOT make a stage exit! Not when I have so many more parts to y! I refuse!" Ignoring his hiss, I twisted my sword and used the t of the de to block his thrusts, catching both of his blooded swords and pushing against them as I funneled my Light Mana into the Celestial Gold surface, creating a dazzling and harsh glow that drew out another hiss from the Fiend. Stepping forwards, I listened to the blood fizzle against my mana and stared at the man''s contorted features closely, wondering what he had been like in life and if that version of him would recognize what currently stood in front of me... and I also had to wonder if he would recognize that older version of him. The weaker version that he has cast aside when he became a Fiend. "Your part ising to a close, Ka''Vis. It was set when you challenged me. Surely you could recognize that? Being the aplished actor you are... right?" I shed the man a smile as I continued pressing back, before snorting in amusement as he tried to pull his des away, only to have my de smash into his chest and crack a few ribs, while theLight Mana tore at his coat and began to shred his red flesh, drawing out a cry of agony and disbelief from the man''s sculpted lips. "You willingly picked a matchup that was ill favored for yourself, and you somehow believed the result would be different? You further cast aside your chances when you didn''t capitalize on your advantages. Another rush at Kat would have worked; it would have been a mental blow at the very least to us." As he staggered back, I grasped the other end of my de and twisted myself, bringing the pommel straight up into his chin as I smacked the Fiend again, snapping his head to the side andopening a long gash across his jaw as he stumbled back another step, giving me the room to hoist my de and take another swing. "You''re surprised that the role you willingly took ended up being exactly what you epted? A stepping stone for us... a way for us to get stronger..." He tried to take a deep breath and heal his injuries, but as soon as he tried, I lopped off his left arm and stopped the de just short of his torso, drawing it back and stabbing it through his right shoulder a momentter, making the Fiend grunt as he suddenly lost control of both upper limbs. A swift kick to the kneecap shattered it, and as he fell to the ground, staring up at me with myriad emotions flickering across his eyes, I asked "Did you truly expect a different oue? If so... I question how you managed to survive this long." Stabbing the de into the dirt, I released the hilt and reached forwards, grabbing ahold of his neck and wrapping my fingers around it, bringing myself lower as I began to squeeze, the mana dancing between each digit searing and cutting into his flesh, burrowing inside his body and beginning to spread alongside the ''poison'' of the Celestial Gold and Stygian Silver, slowly consuming him from within. "It''s good to know that you Fiends can fall easily enough... perhaps you were still far too weakened, perhaps you weren''t even considered much in the grand scheme of things, but... a victory is a victory, isn''t it? And besides... you targeted Kat not once, but twice, and both times you almost managed to seed. That was a mistake. Not that you could have known that, of course, but... well, it doesn''t matter." I could feel his mana swirling around inside his body, trying to fight against my own and muster some sort of attack that would get me away from him, but it was toote; too many different things were stacking against him at this point, and while the individual strength of a Fiend might be higher than my own, having their weakness coursing through my veins was more than enough to even the battlefield. The blood, the healing factor... they were excellent tools, wielded well enough in Ka''Minvis'' hands, but at the end of the day, they were merely tools; the healing wasn''t infallible, and the blood was predictable. Their fighting styles were excellent as well, but everything had a counter, and once you steal away the advantage from someone who relies on feints, it only snowballs from there; unless they can retake the advantage or reset the fight altogether, pressing them back and overwhelming them bes an easy task, and again... I have arge amount of experience against Kat and Anput, both of whom are excellent fighters as well; fighting against someone else with that sort of fighting style isn''t new or difficult for me anymore, at least not when they are merely at this level. As I watched the light slowly fade from the eyes of the Fiend beneath me, I couldn''t help but wonder if the Asmodia''s - or Asmodeucian''s - before me had ever felt this same way... So utterly certain about this oue that it didn''t even feel worth celebrating at the moment;pletely and utterly assured that you were going to win that winning didn''t even feel like winning, but instead like taking a sip of a familiar wine. You know what ising, it feels nice, but it isn''t surprising or exciting at all... Giving the Fiend''s neck another squeeze, I listened to the crack and gasp that ran through his body before it went limp, and the light faded entirely from his eyes. It felt like I hadn''t just killed a Fiend, but instead just somemon monster or mortal, and that... was a curious feeling. What made this go from something that appeared difficult to something that was so certain, and was that something I could control? Was this a power, or was I just mentally in an interesting, unique ce? Chapter 926 925: Relaxing After A Battle Chapter 926 925: Rxing After A Battle ??Taking a step back from the corpse of Ka''Vis, I pursed my lips before ncing back at the floating Arch Fiend and asking "Hey Cali, is he dead or just faking it again?" Humming to herself, the floating pink skinned incarnation of lust drifted over to me and looked down at the body of Ka''Vis for a few moments, before turning to stare at Ka''Min, who was sprawled out on the ground a few feet away, still beneath Anput, Kat and Satanya. "Unless they have a method to stop their heartbeat, mana flow, expel their remaining mana and dim their soul to the point of non existence, then yes, I believe they are dead... a shame too... this Ka''Vis was a handsome stud... wonder what he looked like down there... or Ka''Min..." I just gave her a dry look before retrieving my great sword and cleaning off the Fiend''s blood from the de with a swift chop to the side, ensuring it was free of contamination with a re of my mana afterwards as I turned and made my way over to the other three, looking them over and making sure they weren''t injured. "Everyone okay? No injuries of any kind?" "Nah, besides being kinda disappointed in the entire fight in general though...pared to that bastard Tza''Orbias though, he seemed kinda... kinda like a letdown, I guess?" That made me chuckle as I nodded, though Kat was the one to speak up as she said "Comparatively, this one was far weaker than Tza''Orbias, and was also a better match up. Pure physical strength with magical gimmicks is easier to fight against then pure magical strength with some physical gimmicks... especially when it is easier to fight against physicalbatants for us in particr. There is also the fact that he made it easier by challenging us head on without much fanfare. No herd of monsters to corral against us, no Cultists to attack us, nothing... just straight forwards and relying on strength he believes he had." "Still... it was kinda a letdown, you can''t say it wasn''t. Not as challenging as I would expect a Fiend to be, y''know?" We all shrugged at that, only for Belian to approach us as he said "Remember, he was apparently wounded, or at the very least not at full strength. Additionally, like Kat said, he was a rather ideal matchup for you all. Your strengths lie within... well, your strength, but your mana types too. And just to let you know, like mortals, Fiends range in power, from very weak to very strong. Some Fiends aren''t even really what most consider ''Fiends'' thanks to how weak they are..." "Oh, you mean those cute little things that love to im they are ''Fiends'' thanks to having a smidgen of mana from our Domains? Yes, we usually call them Servies~! Like servants, but more annoying and not that useful. Well... I can find uses for them, of course, but uh... they usually die afterwards, so..." Snickering, Cali drifted around before blinking a few times as she donned an innocent mask, acting like she wasn''t insinuating something rather crude and dark to us as she added "What? They aren''t really that important, so who cares what happens to them, right?" We all stared at the Arch Fiend for a moment before Belian decided to just ignore her, turning back to us and saying "So there are a variety of Fiends that can be encountered, and some are either too strong to deal with - like this one - or too weak to care about - like those... Servies... So just understand that sometimes, it might feel ''underwhelming'' fighting some Fiends, and others will be extremely difficult, or sometimes downright impossible for your current selves. If you were to fight... well, again, this one, Tza''Yul, or Ka''Hondi, you would die in a heartbeat. Any Arch Fiend, really, as well as some of the ones wing at the edge of bing an Arch Fiend." "Okay... and are they in the majority, like us mortals are? More often than not being this semi strong strenght in one aspect but weaker in another? Is that what you''re getting at?" He nodded, and turned to look down at the corpses for a moment before saying "Alright, lets get these corpses dismembered and organized! They also rudely interrupted our dinner, so get the base cleaned up! You four, you''re fine to just do as you please; you fought, after all." Everyone else began to rush forwards or back into the base, wanting to get their taskspleted so that they could return to rxing and doing whatever they pleased until it was time to turn in for the night, the tiredness still catching up to them... and us too, as we stood and watched as the two corpses of the Fiends we had been fighting moments earlier were swiftly separated and broken down into their respective parts. "So, how are you all feeling after that? Having this realization that while strong, they have weaknesses of many kinds that you can find and exploit? Analysis of your opponents needs to be swift and decisive, but you also need to be flexible in your understanding of what is happening. Don''t be utterly certain about something until you have multiple instances of that thing happening. Anyways... yeah, again, how do you all feel after that? Excited? Relieved? Anticipatory?" "Horny." His smile froze as he nced at me, and I just shrugged in response as I made my feelings known, something that made Anput smirk and made Kat roll her eyes; as for Satanya, she shook her head and walked away, saying "I already said how I felt... I''m gonna go get some rest then. See you in a couple hours..." "Ahem... well uh... I guess I should leave you to it, huh..?" Nodding, Belian curtly turned around and walked away, leaving us alone with one another as we too made our way back to the camp, where Leone was waiting for us with a soft smile and a pot of hot tea. "Really Jahi? Horny? That''s your reply to that kind of question? Where''s your ss, your-!" I nced at Kat and raised a brow as I replied "He''s practically family - albeit in a loose sense. Who needs decorum and grace with family, hm? Besides, I wasn''t lying... I could really~ use a good fuck right now..." "That''s beside the point! Its crass and unbing of you as a Noble!" The Dogkin was pouting at me as she crossed her arms beneath her bountiful chest, giving those amazing ''weapons'' of hers a good disy as she teased me whilst also scolding me, something that she knew just drove me up a wall and made what was toe all the sweeter for me as I made her ''repent'' for her actions. "Ohe on~ Kat, it''s not that big of a deal... He''s a Demon, she''s a Demoness... Lust ismon enough vice for most people, but for them~? Oh, isn''t it such a clear vice~? And an amazing one..." Draping herself over the Dogkin''s back, Anput just smirked at Kat before turning that smirk to me as she added "Though I have to admit, I don''t think you''ve ever been that~ forward with your desires in public... just outright saying them~?" "Well, I was asked a question so I replied honestly. I could make do with some post battle ''service'' and unwinding, you know? I truly am a tad highly strung at the moment. Stress and exhaustion fighting inside me demanding something to soothe me... What''s better than having sex after a battle?" "Wine, pastry, a bath, a massage, just cuddling, talking, rea-" "Or we could have sex." Kat pouted at me again as I cut her off, and I couldn''t help but chuckle as I said "Kat, that all sounds great, but they would all end up bing me on top of you making you scream until you passed out and you know it. Maybe after you can give me a massage, or we can cuddle before falling asleep together. But don''t act surprised that I want all three of you for a proper ''dessert'' tonight; that will never change and you know it~!" I gave her a smug grin before taking a seat inside the camp, enjoying the way Kat just sat opposite me and looked away as she continued to sulk - it was adorable how she so casually acted different roles - whilst also taking in the sight of Anput taking a seat on the ground so that she could rest her head on Kat''s thighs and enjoy a head scratch, the Dogkin running her hands gently through her mates hair even as she ignored me. Meanwhile, Leone busied herself with making tea, and it was just another thing that I found easy on the eyes as I gazed at her figure as she moved around, continuing to realize just how blessed I was to have each of my three wives~! Chapter 927 926: Slow Night Chapter 927 926: Slow Night ??My teeth tugged at Kat''s supple neck as I kissed and nipped at her flesh, marking my puppy as much as I could despite it being beneath her cor, finding the primitive action to be soothing to my mind and spirit as I got to do as I pleased with her. Well... I had already been doing what I wanted with her anyways, just like I had been with Anput and Leone, who were watching me from the side with exhausted expressions that had that wonderful afterglow of being used like the rags I wanted them to be tonight... The softness of my puppy - as well as the fluffiness of her tail - sent me over the edge once again as I erupted inside her, giving her a healthy dose of my seed and doing my damndest to thoroughly mark her insides as well as her outside, finally reaching a level of relief that I wasfortable with and happy to be at. So, now that I was finished, I justid on top of her and buried my face into her fluffy ears, enjoying the heat from her body - even though it was generally colder than the others - as well as the general way her body clung to mine as I pressed her beneath me. "Oh that was... just what I fucking needed... Though, does anyone else want some more loving~?" Grinning at Anput and Leone, I enjoyed their shudders and shaking of their heads, the ''fear'' in their eyes at being sucked into another pleasurable storm giving me even more joy as I just hugged Kat even more, loving the softness of her sinful body even more... "Well... since we''re not doing anything, and clearly this isn''t going to round... what are we at?" Anput rolled her eyes at me as she flipped onto her back and stared at the ''ceiling'', saying "Round like... twelve or something for you. Almost twenty for Leone here~! The sensitive little princess~!" She teased the Vampire, only to flinch as Kat mumbled "There''s nothin'' small about her, Anput...", which I nodded to as I repeated "There is nothing small about her AT ALL~! Though there isn''t anything wrong with small, my naughty little puppy~!" Anput just gave me a dry look, though her cheeks darkened as I asked "Want me to prove it~? I''ll give you some real~ passionate loving to make sure you get it~! I love you just~ as much as I love both Kat and Leone, and you know that~!" "I know, I know... just... not something I like hearing, y''know? Especially not when... well..." She pointedly stared at all of our chests, before staring specifically at the curves of Kat beneath me and the rather delectable curves of Leone as she tried to cover herself, which only made her more arousing to stare at - a conundrum for sure, but a funny one considering she blushed harder at the attention, but still pressed her arms against herself even more to block our gaze. "That''s not gonna help you, Leone~! That reminds me, I think we said something about getting our Princess here dressed up and dolled up for some y, right~? I think we discussed that... and alongside that, perhaps we get the two puppies dressed up as well~? Mm... ah, Kat, since you''re a true Noble now too, you DO~ need a wardrobe~!" Kat groaned at that reminder, before turning to pout at me as she said "Do I have to? That means I would need dresses for balls, events, outings, special asions... then ''casual'' clothes too?" She groaned once more, and I raised a brow as I asked "Aren''t you usually the one who wants to go shopping all the time anyways? Why don''t you want to get a bunch of clothes and have an excuse to get us clothes too?" "Cause that means I gotta wear them somewhere, which then means going to those stuffy, boring events!" My lips curled into a grin as I looked down at the pouting Dogkin, her pout deepening as I pulled out of her and moved to sit down normally, allowing her to get up as I said "You really don''t like them huh? You might dislike them more than I do..." Kat just let out a huff as she sat up, the Dogkin beginning to clean herself off as she replied "I do, and I doubt that will ever change. I''ll go, and I''ll y nice, but the fact remains that most Nobles we''ve met have been... not the best, and on top of that there''s the fact that my Noble status was one that brought me frommoner to Noble on what many will say was just courtesy by the Empress? Yeah... I really don''t ever want to go to one of them, but I''ll have to eventually... when the world is normal again." We all shared a look at that, and I chuckled wryly as I said "I... never really considered the fact thatthe world has changed just THAT much already... or at least, that it''s changed enough that we really won''t need to go to Noble events anytime soon, hm? Since we''re apart of a Warrior House and all that. With the Fiends back, we won''t really have time to socialize and mingle amongst our peers huh?" "A shame... a damn tragedy." The dry voice of Kat made me chuckle again as the Dogkin rolled her eyes and looked away, only for her to smile slightly as well as I asked "Is that because YOU don''t want to go, or is it perhaps because of what happens whenever I am at these events~?" She might have been smiling, but her eyes were cold as she said "Do you really~ need me to answer that question, my love~? Surely not, hm~? What happened at almost ALL~ of thest events we went to~?" "Hmm... I think I got hit on multiple times, people proposed and tried to seduce me, that Steele County girl pleaded for me to teach her, Jillian obviously... was there more?" Each thing I listed made the three women around me frown, with Kat staring at me with frosty blue eyes while Anput''s silvers were far too neutral for her, considering her natural arrogance and confidence; then there was the zing fury in Leone''s eyes at the mention of Jillian, the Elf who had caused us so much turmoil and stress... and the Elf who was still very much alive, just... missing at the moment. That reminder made me groan as I leaned back, though Kat and Anput were still staring at me at the reminder of what used to transpire at those events, and Anput grumbled "That already is far too damn much, and you know it... especially since I wasn''t there for most of them!" Seeing her bare her fangs was cute, and I chuckled once more as I sat up and said "Don''t worry~! Kat was more than well equipped to handle those situations, for the most part anyways. Did quite nicely luring me away from all the pretty girls throwing themselves at me~!" My lips curled into a wide grin as they all red at me, and I could feel the lust begin to swell up inside each of them as their urges to mark me this time, which I wasn''t entirely against, though it would seem that they were in that limbo between being horny and being exhausted, which I could understandpletely. "Well, on another note, we were talking about going to visit the Sultanate soon too, right? I think that would do us some good as well. New environment for us three, new ces to explore and learn from, maybe some new teachers in the Sultana and Lady Kio? Or some others of the Sultanate." Kat groaned again, making Anput frown as she turned towards her mate, only for us all to nod knowingly as the Dogkin said "Respectfully, Anput, I really don''t like the idea of heading to the dessert... especially not one that is apparently hot enough to just leave a pan outside and use it to cook a full meal on... sounds so grimy and disgusting... but I''ll go, of course. You have family to visit, family we need to meet again..." The Dogkin let out a sigh and looked straight at Anput again, grumbling "Doesn''t mean I won''tin about that damnable heat though... bleh." We all chuckled at Kat''s unveiled disdain for the heat, the Ice Mage obviously not overly found of the heat, and I have to be honest that I wasn''t either, though I wasn''t too off put by it; especially not since it meant Anput would have an excuse to return to her traditional cultural garb again, which would be a rather wee change to her wardrobe. And speaking of wardrobes, wouldn''t Kat and Leone look absolutely ravishing in that style of dress~? Just imagining all three of them lined up wearing next to nothing and dancing for me was enough to get me in the mood again, none the wiser to the fact that was actually a n of theirs for the imminent future. Chapter 928 927: On The Prowl Chapter 928 927: On The Prowl ??Kat PoV [Fiend Ka''Minvis killed - 6,000,000 Xp gained!] [Questspleted x7 - 1,750,000 Xp gained!] [100,000 Shop Points gained!] [Level 61 - 530,788 / 2,750,000 -> Level 64 - 30,788 / 2,750,000] [Stats: STR : 125 -> 128 CON : 135 -> 140 AGI : 145 -> 152 DEX : 145 -> 152 CHA : 85 -> 86 WIS : 140 -> 142 INT : 140 -> 142] A nice boost in experience after fighting Ka''Minvis, as well as a good boost in stats as well, which was always a wee sight no matter what; any increase was a good increase at this moment, and adding more funds to my already bulging wallet was also a boon. Not the most insane haul all things considered, but for a ''single'' target - Ka''Minvis - this was better than I had expected, especially considering Tza''Orbias had been at 7,500,000 on its own, with therge additions of the Cultists and monsters that were summoned to be a nuisance to us during the fight. It was enough to improve my level even more, and the more funds I had the better for the eventual spending spree I was going to go on when we returned to the Capital, so I was happy with it, especially since some more bonus experience was added on for our voracious appetites being slightly whetted afterwards, so I was quite content when we eventually drifted off to sleep, prepared to take on the morning with some fresh energy. Which turned out to be an eventful one as we swiftly prepared breakfast and came together to cast a vote for the continued direction of the expedition; did we want to prepare for a little longer, or were we going to hunt down the remaining Fiend as quickly as we could now that we knew there was only one more remaining? And what was the n for after that? Were we going to be sweeping through the various tunnels and grottos onest time or were we just going to call it quits and head on home now, the exhaustion from being inside the Dungeon continuing to mount day after day. The constant battles against simr opponents, the tedious tasks of mining, harvesting and refining the things we found, theck of real beds with soft sheets and nice pillows, the almost identical menu for food each morning and night, no real sun... All of it was continuing to add up, and I could tell that we were all reaching that point where it was bing a bit of a detriment to our mental states, but even then, I voted to remain a bit longer afterwards, and surprisingly everyone else also voted for that too; the desire for more materials of our own was apparently stronger than the desire for real sun and fresh air... Which said a lot about the depths of our greed and the current situation of our mental states than anything else, and whilst it was interesting, we had alsoe to a conclusion on how we wanted to operate going forwards. Specifically, if we were going to continue preparing or not, and it was another decisive vote that was of little surprise to me; everyone wanted to hunt down the remaining Fiend and get it over with now, with most of us having the sinking feeling that the Nua Fiend would be of a simr level of power as Ka''Minvis. Strong and tricky to fight at first, but easily figured out and overwhelmed with our current collective abilities and strengths - even if they had the ability to summon and controlrge hordes of Undead, Ammit, Leone and I had impable crowd control magics on standby, and our single target were just as impable. And when Jahi was added into the mix with her Light Mana, well, it just seemed unfair all things considered, but we were aware that life was neverpletely fair... you had to make it fair to yourself by going out and doing something about it, using your strength, willpower and intelligence to shape your life as you pleased. Something we were more than capable of doing ourselves for quite a long time now, and something that might not change for quite a long time; the cards were stacked in our favor from the beginning, yes, but we made sure to grow the hand we were given into something that would allow us to beat most things thrown our way, and if the four of us weren''t capable, well... We knew people who had stronger,rger decks than our own, and they would take care of it for us; through obligation and love, which made it all the more likely that things would remain stacked in our favor. Of course, I wasn''t going to tempt fate like that, so I focused instead on what was happening here and now, which was primarily me lowering my other senses and focusing on my nose as I sniffed the air, Anput and I searching for that sickly sweet scent of decay as we guided everyone through the grottos and around the monsters, following the heavy stench of death and rot with no help from Cali, who invisibly drifted along with us as she continued her observation of everything from ''afar''. The initial signs of the Nua Fiend were extremely subtle and easily missed if you weren''t looking for them specifically; the few herbs around us were slightly wilted and generally on their way to bing fertilizer, the monster poption was down and steering clear of certain tunnels, the asional sweet scent that wafted through the air... Then it got more obvious; the grass was bing paler and crunchier, their were corpses of monsters that hadrge chunks missing, the edges of which were festering and infected, while there was an unnatural silence and unnatural ''weight'' to the air. It was obvious that something was wrong, but if you weren''t in the know about what it was, you wouldn''t be able to ce your finger on it for the life of you, and that only created a sense of unease that pervaded your mind and made sure that you were constantly on edge; adding on the random shrieks in the distance, and it was an unease that seemed to slide beneath your conscious and simply add on a vibe that made it impossible to feelfortable and safe. When we reached the fifth grotto from our base camp, the sudden shift from a nuanced set of signs to something that was more in your face was jarring; the monsters that were previously just dead and decaying were stumbling around and growling at one another, whilst the air was thick with the smell of death and decay, its cloying scent clinging to your nostrils and almost making you gag with how horrendous it was. The smell of bile and rotting meat pairing with the stillness of the air was a recipe that should have never made it out of the cookbook, whilst the obvious Undead tried to im your other senses; the sounds of their groaning and growling, as well as the wetness of their movements as their blood and flesh sloughed off to the floor, the sight of their body dposing slowly but surely paired with their horrendous appearance, the way the smell forced itself upon your tongue... The air itself grew heavier again, an unnatural pressurending on your shoulders and making you conscious of each step as the mental exertion of just moving your body started to be a small, yet noticeable thing. Everything mixed together into this unnatural concoction that we were forced to push forwards through as we sought out to go deeper into the Dungeon, following that revolting scent past the Undead and into the sixth and seventh grottos, which only grew exponentially in how utterly nauseating they were, your head sent reeling at the sensory overload that was happening whilst your mind shouted at you to turn around and walk away. Even with a barrier of Wind Mana around us pushing the air around and cycling it into something not as disgusting we were still feeling sick to our stomachs, and as we watched the water go from crystal clear to murky green and yellow, watched as the monsters became more and more disfigured, felt as the air got thicker and heavier, that ill feeling mounted, threatening to break our wills with just how all epassing it was. It was ustrophobic in nature, utterly dominating each sense you had and doing its best to make you submit to it, to fall to your knees and despair at the unquestionable power of decay and death; seeing the grass, nts, and water gradually be diseased and filled with sickness of different kinds was jarring, but when we saw rocks gradually breaking down and turning into sediment, or the light crystals that illuminated each grotto gradually switch from a neutral, sterile white into a pale green and yellow, it only grew stronger within each of us. That realization that even the world itself was decaying slowly but surely, that sheer horror that consumed your very soul as the never ending march of time was put on full disy in front of us as we watched the grottos gradually be more and more inhospitable and dangerous not only to the material, but also the immaterial. Our bodies were shown the eventual reality of what would happen to us in death, whilst our minds were allowed to peek into the magnitude of just how enormous the Domain of Decay was, each passing second doing its job to show how minutes, hours, days and more gradually led to this. It was horrifying in a way that only the realization of just how insignificant an individual was could provide, and as the hearty, amused chuckle reverberated around the grotto, we were finally able to gaze upon the thing responsible for the horrors around us. Chapter 929 928: NuaFel Chapter 929 928: Nua''Fel ??A wet, phlegmy chuckle filled the air as we entered the final grotto, and a voice grated into our ears as the speaker turned to stare at us. Arge mountain of fat, the Fiend looked simr to the Goblin Boss that we had seen days prior, but instead of simply being a living, breathing pile of flesh and an icon of gluttony, this Fiend was revolting to look upon, as well as downright nauseating after anything longer than a couple of seconds. Pallid green flesh hung off of its frame, the fat weighing it down and stretching out its skin, whilst pockmarks scattered across its flesh and revealed the sickly green sinews that wept out pus beneath; alongside the pockmarks that damaged its appearance,rge pimples and boils gathered in clumps all over the ce. Pus leaked from the open wounds and welled up inside the Fiend''s e issue, each one jutting out far from the Fiend''s flesh and threatening to burst with the tiniest amount of pressure, joining with the pus that already leaked out of its skin as well as the oils and umted grime, creating a concoction of filth that was caked onto the Fiend. "Wee, wee~! Ah, I knew you''de sooner rather thanter~! Yes indeed I did..." Threerge chins fell from the green face of the Fiend, and it gave us a wide, toothy grin as it stood up from the small pool of murky ''water'' far away from us, revealing more of its disease ridden body and making my lip curl in disgust as I felt bile rise into the back of my throat, almost making me gag. Each tooth was either charcoal ck or mustard yellow, and a visible hot vapor puffed out from its thin lips whenever it spoke, whilst the two nubby horns on its head shone beneath the pale light of the grotto. "You killed off that rather annoying Ka bastard that was prowling around for me... saved me the trouble! Hah! Got what they deserved... these are MY grottos! Mine! All this Nature Mana, waiting to be converted and changed! Ah, what better ce for Decay to take root! Now all I need is for you to die as well... Yes, that is all I need now..." Rubbing its hands together, the Fiend climbed out of the pool and revealed the rest of its humanistic body, the only differences being the taloned toes and long reptilian tail that swishedzily behind it; otherwise, it was just a nine or ten foot green skinned fatty with severe hygiene problems. "Ah, but of course... there''s also the venerable ''Caligo present, yes? Hm... is she as beautiful as all of the others always proim? I wonder..." The Nua Fiend stroked its chin before waving off the various Undead around us, taking a few more steps forwards just to pause when Cali appeared beside me, wearing a rather obvious disgusted frown as she looked the green skinned mountain of fat up and down. "Oh... Oh yes... They were right~! Such beautiful curves, such delectable skin! Why are you mingling with the mortals, ''Caligo? Why don''t youe andy with me, hm? I can give you so much if you''d just give me the chance..." She shuddered as she sneered at the Fiend, shaking her head and drifted back a few feet as she hid behind us, saying "I''ve only everid with a single Nua Fiend before, and that was more than enough for my entire lifetime! So damn greasy, so hideous, utterly deplorable! All of you!" Chuckling in response, the Fiend just shrugged and added "Even with a body fit for a Nua''s all epassing, heavy love~? Are you certain, ''Caligo?" "Something that should be considered entirely a boon can sometimes be a damn bane..." Her murmur made me nce back at her - mainly so that the nauseating feeling would subside a little for the moment - and she just smirked at me as she said "My appearance takes on whatever is the most arousing for that individual, so currently... I''m probably rather hideous in that bastard''s eyes." That made me frown as I looked at her, before ncing at Anput, Leone and Jahi, wondering just what they saw... and just how tempting Cali was to them; I was obsessed with them, yes, but objectively, Cali was always the finest eye candy ever, and if I wasn''t willingly bound to each of my partners, I would definitely not be opposed to seeing what this Arch Fiend of Lust had in store for me... "Aw, you tter me~! Trust me, I want to show you as well, but someone~ just wants to be so annoyingly loyal and devoted... hmph..." Shaking her head again, she looked back at the other Fiend when they coughed and said "Enough... if you won''ty with me, ''Caligo, then I''ll just need to kill you, hm? Or at the very least, kill your pet mortal... weaken you some, before taking you for myself... Yes, that will do well, won''t it? Go, my lovelies~! Go on and give me the opening I need... Let these pathetic mortals know the name Nua''Fel!" Grinning, it waved its hands forwards before raising them, sickly green mana swirling around its armsnguidly as it began to cast its own magic, all while the Undead horde that lingered inside the grotto groaned and stumbled forwards, marching on us and beginning their impable strategy of drowning us in bodies and filth. Like their master, each of the Undead were riddled with boils and covered in pus, their flesh oily and extremely soft, something that put an idea into my head; if their fur was now covered in oils, their skin covered in oils, and their flesh generally weakened, what could be of the most damage to them at the moment? "Ammit, Leone! Utilize area of effect spells! Burn them away! Those with Fire Mana, head to the front and coat yourselves and your des in fire! Everyone else, support them!" The quick orders spurred everyone into movement, and the Demons began to reorganize themselves into their new positions as they did as I asked, mes illuminating the area around us in a bright orange light as their weapons and their arms were engulfed in fire. Seeing Belian nod slightly, I turned back to the Fiend and took my own spot in the middle, watching as it''s grin widened slightly as it harnessed more of its own magic, drawing mana from the various pools of water nearby and enshrouding its arms in a miasma of green. Runes flickered into existence around it, but they also began to appear around me as I took out my wand and started to swiftly umte my own Fiendish Mana, the pinkish blue mana that lingered inside my Core spilling into the wand and taking the shape of a myriad of runes as I traced out a Ritual Circle quicker than Nua''Fel couldplete its own spell. A sphere of ice about asrge as my head spun in front of my wand for a few moments, gathering speed and allowing my mana to cloud around it in a miniature contained blizzard, modeling itself after an electron cloud that was tightly woven around its nucleus. When it had enough spin and was strong enough, I shot it towards the Fiend and watched as it''s grin faltered, its eyes focusing on the projectile that was hurtling towards its face, and in ast ditch effort to defend itself, the Fiend raised its arm and tried to smack the ball of ice away, only to shatter it and eviscerate its hand as all the shards embedded themselves into its palm and wrist, worming into its fatty flesh and beginning to numb everything as frost began to gather on its skin. The cloud of frosted air that I had created around the sphere now clung to the hand that had been used to deflect the sphere, nipping and biting at the flesh and freezing away the oilyyer of pus and other liquids that coated the Fiend''s skin, encasing it in the beginning of a deadly ''disease''; frostbite. Its grin continued to fade as it looked up and saw another sphere flying towards it, which it was forced to dodge - or at least attempt to dodge - as it continued to gather mana around its undamaged hand, the amusement and rxed nature it had before giving way to a seriousness as it tried to lock in. ring at me, Nua''Fel raised its other arm and decided to just take the blow to the shoulder, its sickly mana coalescing around its palm and creating a sphere of gas that shot towards me in retaliation, hoping to sow this cloud of Disease inside our party and begin whittling away at our strengths, giving its Undead more time to pick off everyone until no one remained, but... Well, a third ball of ice shot forwards and collided with the gaseous sphere, the two ''fighting'' one another as severe cold and Lust fought against Disease and Decay, a battle who''s oue was decided soon enough. The green gas began to slow down as the temperature continued to drop around it, until eventually the pinkish blue bundle of mana managed to attack it fast enough to begin liquifying the gas, turning it into green droplets that sshed onto the ground and fizzled out harmlessly. Not all of it though, as the Lust and Ice Mana sphere gradually weakened and eventually dissipatedpletely, but the previous cloud of gas was now little more than a slight mist lingering in the air,pletely and utterly worthless as an attack. An attack on the senses, maybe, but nothing more, and that made Nua''Fel frown as they began to reevaluate the situation they were in. Chapter 930 929: Cleanse the Unclean Chapter 930 929: Cleanse the Unclean ??Summoning yet another cloud of contained blizzard orbiting around a sphere of ice, I shot the Fiend once more and turned my focus down onto the battle happening in front of me for just a moment, wanting to ensure that everyone else was handling this horde of Undead well enough without my direct support. The slow, resilient Undead stumbled forwards and clumsily swung or bit at the Demons, only to reel back as a wave of mes crashed down over them, their flesh bubbling and contracting on their skeleton as they began tobust, only to continue walking forwards anyways as they tried to w and snap at the Demons once more. Only when their Cores were broken did they finally be truly dead, and that required the targeting of those organs thaty deep inside the various monster''s bodies, but it was no difficult task for the seasoned warriors around us, least of all those that fought with brute strength and simply cleaved through their opponents in one or two blows. With their situation adeptly handled, I turned back towards Nua''Fel and studied the towering Fiend, its filthy and greasy body slowly bing more resilient to the frost that crept along its flesh as it plucked out each sliver of ice with its mana, dissolving the spells that were targeting it and allowing it to return to the fight, though that was an opening enough for me to decide how to go about this. "Anput! Start pulling back to me!" My mate nodded, her gigantic de dancing between three separate Goblins that were shuffling towards her on an uneven gait, the Jackalkin killing them before leaping back to stand by my side, tilting her head curiously as she waited for further instructions. Before I said anything else, I traced out the runes for another spell andunched a beam of ice at the Fiend, taking it by surprise and capturing its attention again as I forced it to defend itself, its size bing a disadvantage as it gave me more surface area to target and more surface area for it to have to defend, which when paired with its slow movements, made it easy to take the Fiend out of the fight. With it focusing on not bing a frozen mountain of fat, the Fiend wasn''t really able to hear me as I quietly said "It''s covered in oils and not exactly the quickest, right? So I want to take advantage of that; you''re going to turn it into a pincushion with metal rods, as many as you can. Long, thick, and able to resist corroding away upon contact. Make it seem like your just aiding me at first, beforeunching arge quantity of them, alright?" Anput nodded, confusion etching her features as she tried to understand where I was going with this, only to smirk as I muttered "Ammit." to her, the Jackalkin getting it instantly as she took a step to the side and began tounchnces towards the Fiend, splitting its attention to two separate attackers now. Individually, the Fiend was a problem, yes, but it seemed to have easy enough weaknesses to exploit; its size, its movement speed, and its arrogance were all easily exploitable, and when paired with the sheer variety of tools I had to work with to get this job done, it was unsurprisingly easy toe up with a solution. One that I had already had before, but never got to execute; now though, I could do it, and that was something I was giddy to see, perhaps because it was such a simple yet efficient way to kill something. Nua''Fel''s strength came from its Decay Mana and its ability to raise and control the Undead, but it was currently doing a poor job at that; a horde was attacking us head on and trying to overwhelm with just numbers, all while the one controlling them simply watched on from the back without any intent to aid ormand them past that initial order. That made it even easier, and with Nua''Fel being so far away from us and unable to weave together any sort of spell to attack us with, it only got easier and easier with each passing second, something that I knew would likely remain a rarity going forwards, so I made sure to savor it as best as I could. Anput''s metalnces were being swatted away by Nua''Fel''s free hand, but after another few throws, the Jackalkin found the right bnce and managed to pierce its hand, allowing her to start targeting itsrge torso in multiple areas, doing just what I wanted her to do. "Ammit!" Shouting the Cimeriesa Demoness'' name, I saw her turn and look at me with a curious gaze, her head tilted just like Anput''s was as she waved her hands and sent another wave of mes over the battlefield, before casually approaching me and asking "Yes?" like it was me summoning her to do a normal household chore. "Lightning Magic, use Anput''s metalnces as conducting rods and chain your magic between them and the Fiend. As strong and as hot as you can. Burn this bastard." Her glowing eyes sparked with amusement as they took on an azure sheen, the Ritual Circles rotating quicker as she turned back towards the battlefield and raised her hands, multiple runes appearing around them as she swiftly got to work. Anput continued to puncture Nua''Fel''s fatty body, embedding more and more rods into it and making the Fiend grunt in annoyance as it tried to push each one out, all while it blocked my beam of ice with its hand, keeping it from reaching its skin. With the Undead still being burnt to a crisp in front of us, Anput, Ammit and I were free to do as we pleased, gathering our mana and calmly working together to take out the Fiend, which it only began to realize as it looked up from its body and saw the additional figure standing beside me. Nua''Fel''s eyes widened as it saw the azure runes around Ammit, realization dawning in its eyes, but it was toote - a sh of bright azure light filled the grotto, and Nua''Fel went from grunting to screaming as the thick bolt of lightning began to arc between each rod, heating them up and allowing them to slide deeper into the Fiend''s flesh, all while the oils on its skin erupted and began to burn its skin. The wordless shrieks of pain that burst free from its thin lips were like music to my ears, and Ammit seemed to feel simr as she sent another few bolts arcing towards the Fiend, adding anotheryer of intensity to the nket of pain that was being wrapped around the Fiend, each one gradually turning Anput''snces from silver to a glowing orange. The power increase made Nua''Fel''s skin go from green to ck as well, the Fiend slowly crisping over as each bolt jumped fromnce tonce, and with newnces being added to its body, the spread of the voltage was only increasing, allowing for it to be shocked in numerous areas at the same time now. But, even as it gradually burnt before us, I said "Ammit, charge up a stronger spell, but hold it for now. I''ll enhance it with my Wind Mana... I have a feeling Nua''Fel has something in store for situations like this." She nodded, and not even a secondter I was proven right as Nua''Fel let out a loud shout, sickly green mana exploding out of its Core and corroding the variousnces stuck inside its body, freeing itself from its electrical prison and from the burning, searing pain of being electrocuted over and over again. The shout turned into a roar as it covered itself in mana, shielding itself from a few of Anput''s newnces as the metal rusted over and fractured upon contact instead, whilst the few that made it through cracked and dissolved a moment after prating Nua''Fel''s body. "YOU..! I..! I''M GONNA KI-!" Another resounding crack of electricity filled the grotto, and Nua''Fel staggered backwards as a pronged bolt of lightning sped forwards and mmed into its Mana Cloak, the heat burning away the Decay Mana as the small amount of Lust Mana and sheer heat of the Fire Mana did everything possible to breach that shell. mming against the flesh beneath, the bolt ripped out arge chunk of flesh and revealed the silvery bones below, which seemed to conduct electricity rather well... When a second bolt mmed into the exact same ce, the Fiend once more shouted out in agony as its ribcage redirected some of the electricity, dispersing it throughout its body and causing it to seize up and spasm, only to let out a pained gasp as the bolt traveled towards its Core. And as the third crashed down onto its chest, we got to witness the swift demise of an ipetent Fiend, and the familiar dinging of the System notifications made me chuckle and shake my head. That was two easy battles over with, though this one... this one was quicker, all thanks to the Fiend itself... Chapter 931 930: Journey Home

Chapter 931 Chapter 930: Journey Home

"That... was both incredibly long, and rather short. But it was undoubtedly really lucrative all things considered. In the experience we gained, the materials we earned and harvested, the things we managed to learn... all of it was well worth the effort. Don''t you agree?" Jahi leaned back in her seat and looked over each of us, her eyesnding on Anput, Leone, and I one after another as she gotfortable in the carriage, which was traveling in the middle of therge convoy of carriages headed for the Capital of the Empire. We were on our way home after a long time spent inside the Terracotta Grottos, and the end results were well worth it; like she had said, the materials alone made this worth it dozens of times over with how many different resources we had mined up or harvested, and for me, the sheer increase in my level also made this an invaluable use of my time. I had leveled up quite a bit since we left the Empire, and the things I had learned and grasped were strengthening my foundations even more, preparing it for the pirs of strength that would rece the old ones; my dagger proficiency would be reced with the proficiency with the Khopesh, the gaining of the wand reced the slower, weaker spell casting with just my hand, the acquisition of Lust Mana - albeit in a limited version - was a new pir all together... All of that was learned in a measly few weeks, and I was able to continue on learning more and more even as I grew ustomed to certain ways of doing things; though I will admit that I was rather stubborn and stuck in my own way, which was why it usually took quite a bit to convince me to shift to something new. Either way, with everything that had happened, all the revtions I hade to and the newfound wealth that was entirely our own and not linked to the Marquess or Countess - or even the Empress - I was confident enough to say that this was by far the most impactful stretch of weeks we had had together as a group, and hopefully we could mould something great from what had happened. And whether or not we could begin something soon or we would need to divert our focus once more to a new thing when we returned to the Capital was yet to be seen, the head of the Beliali n still refusing to tell us what it was that was waiting for us back home, only smirking at us and letting us know it wasn''t pressing enough to require our immediate presence. "I don''t know how long in total we spent, but... thosest four days after Nua''Fel seemed to stretch on forever, didn''t they? The exhaustion and suddenck of any real threats seemed to just... take everything out of me. I mean, I wasn''t even that excited to see the giant vein of Earth Mana Crystals and Gemstones! Or that giant Ore Golem thing that we fought! Everything just seemed less... lustrous, I guess." My mate''s words made Leone and I nod as we shared a look, with the Vampire adding "And the continued deprivation of proper housing, sunlight, the ability to just rx and be in an enjoyable area to do so... all of it was draining. I want to be back home already, honestly... or at the very least, inside a true bedroom with a real bed and soft pillows..." "And have a proper kitchen stocked with real ingredients of arge variety... that carnivore diet was beginning to grow old for me. Ah, and the makeshift desserts that I had to bake using primitive methods... I just want a tub of sugar and a jar of honey, really." Jahi chuckled as she continued to look at each of us, taking in our tired states and obvious relief at being ''free'' from the Grottos for a few moments more, eventually saying "I understand that, but I do hope you realize that there is a good chance we are going to be on the move almost as soon as we return, right? It might not be pressing, but I doubt that whatever is important enough to have Belian sent to personally tell us is going to be something we can allow to keep waiting for any longer..." I groaned softly at that, the idea of being told we needed to head out right away again making me visibly shudder as I pulled my knees towards my chest, hugging them close and warming myself up as I shook my head and said "I sincerely hope not... I want a good pot of tea, some cakes, and a warm bed for a day or two!" The other three smiled at me, before their smiles stiffened as I asked "I''ve been meaning to ask anyways, and now that I can move the topic away from that horrid idea, might I ask just what Cali looks like to each of you..? I don''t think we ever really assumed she would look different for each of us, but..." On cue, the Arch Fiend in question appeared in the middle of the carriage, sitting criss cross in the center and looking between us all as she grinned widely, asking "Are we talking about me~? I love~ talking about me!" I rolled my eyes at that, and when she turned to me to ask "And Kat, my lovely puppy, are you sure~ you want to hear about the form I take with each of them~? It is different for each of them, and based upon their deepest, darkest vices you know... you might learn something you don''t want to hear, or you might just be jealous at what it is that they want~!" I just frowned, my gaze leaving the pink skinned Arch Fiend and traveling up to the others, who were all also frowning as they stared intently at the woman. "Ah, you know what~! To hell with it! Here, I''ll just go ahead and show you~! Let''s start with... ah, the Jackalkin! Here we go~!" Anput just blinked before watching as Cali was shrouded with a pink mist, the Jackalkin ncing up at each of us for a brief moment before looking back at Cali when she stood up, striking a few separate poses in her new body. The pink skin and snake hair remained the same, but otherwise... now, instead of her seductive and jovial face, the Arch Fiend wore a cocky grin that resembled Anput''s far too much, whilst the slender figure and toned muscles were entirely different from any of us; Jahi was chiseled and rather bulging, whilst I had some definition, but not enough topare to Cali, and Leone was ''softer'' than I was... "Hm... rather traditional for the Sultanate, isn''t it? Though I guess for a Begum who could have anyone, perhaps having a fair maiden who isn''t afraid of biting the hand that feeds her would be amusing enough~? The body isn''t what attracts you that much though, is it..?" Cali grinned at Anput, who blinked once before her lip curled up slightly as she sneered at the Arch Fiend, making Cali chuckle as she ran her hands over her slender figure one more time before slipping into that cloud once more. "I personify your twisted pleasures primarily, which usually means I would have a personality of some kind that sparks your deepest, darkest and guiltiest desires, so the physical form does it little justice..." Her muttering made me nce at Anput, who was still sneering as she watched the Arch Fiend closely, before she met my gaze with her silver eyes, theplicated emotions that ran through them confusing me slightly, especially when she turned back quickly to watch as Cali revealed a new version of herself. "Oh? Ah, yes... Again, I believe the lusterys within the personality for this one, but I also believe the implications are rtively clear..?" Looking at Leone, Cali smirked as she stood tall and unted her petite figure to us all, whilst the snakes that nested atop her head couldn''t hide the long, sharp ears, and the way her skin continued to whorl and thicken made us all blink in shock before staring at Leone, who was just as confused as us. "No need to be confused~! This is your ''deepest, darkest and guiltiest desire'' made manifest, something that you yourself might not be aware of... interesting~! A case of ''mother issues'', perhaps? A yearning for a different kind of love from a maternal figure~?" Snickering, Cali''s twisted grin and shining eyes made it clear just how much she was enjoying this, and considering she refused to let any of us speak - our lips sealed and unable to be opened as she waved her hand - it would seem she was determined to let this y out, to go ahead and reveal things we would have likely wanted to keep hidden. "Next~! The Demoness~! Though, I would imagine everyone here knows your darkest desire, no~? You try it every so often, after all... just not in the way you actually~ crave deep down inside your soul..." The pink mist rose and fell swiftly, recing the slender Elven Cali with a curvaceous, yet muscr woman who was kneeling and grasping at her chest painfully, staring up at the Demoness in fear. "Oh~!" Despite being ''clearly afraid'' of Jahi, Cali spoke normally, her features remaining the same as she said "So it isn''t exactly the same, but instead a mixture~? A... concoction of all three of your women... the body of the puppy, the muscles of the other puppy, and the regality of the Vampire~! All in a package that utterly fears you and hates you, yet cannot help but crave you... fascinating~! Yet not surprising, right? We all knew your desires... you wear them on your sleeves, after all..." Chuckling, she ignored Jahi''s snarl and golden eyes as she turned around to stare at me, enshrouding herself in mist once more, though her own eyes were still visible, narrowed in such glee as she whispered "Which form should I take for you~? You seem to have a few separate dark desires in there, Katherine... oh, perhaps we should stick with the person they know, hm~? Yes... does this one seem familiar~?" The mist fell, revealing the tall, muscr body of an Elf who sneered at me with an arrogance that was far uglier than I remembered, whilst her overall posture reeked of control and narcissism. "The one who would have turned you into nothing but a true ve for her lust~! What an interesting dark desire to have, Katherine~! Truly, what a fascinating peek into your mind, hm~? Well, wasn''t this just informative and a valuable use of our time~? Ah, but I imagine you want some time to yourselves now, hm~? Ta ta~!" Chapter 932 931: Therapy..? Chapter 932 931: Therapy..? ??Cali left us a few moments after that, herughter haunting the carriage that had be as silent as a graveyard with her departure, all of us ncing at one another as we tried to decipher the things that our partners truly lusted after, which was unsurprisingly easiest enough with Jahi. Her lust was simply abination of us all put into a single person; a strong, curvaceous warrior who was able to be dominated in bedpletely and utterly, with no hopes of escaping her fate as she was made to orgasm over and over again until her mind was sufficiently broken. Being able to take a strong, sexy woman like that and overpower her before raping her over and over again was Jahi''s darkest desire, and it was one that we were all too familiar with; one that, like Cali had said, was a rather open desire of Jahi''s, one the Demoness wore on her sleeve and was ready to admit to wanting. That was why Jahi was the most unbothered at the moment, looking between us curiously as she tried to wrap her mind around what she had just seen; Leone lusted specifically after Lady Theresa, while Anput had some lust that was entirely personality based within a woman who was rathermon to find inside the Sultanate? Of course, they were all also staring at me with incredulous gazes, wondering why one my darkest desires was Jillian of all people, something that my surface level thoughts instantly tried to deny and say was incorrect, but it was something that I knew deep down inside myself was true. So, I decided that I would be the one to speak, to get us moving along from just our thoughts and instead try to work towards a solution, or at the very least an understanding that would benefit us going forwards, or leave us at a neutral standpoint, which would be preferable to having this awkwardness that spread between us. "Yes... I can see why I would desire... her, of all people. It would be one of the few people that could utterly rob me of everything I have, everything that makes me... me. And in doing so, she would be my owner,pletely and utterly in control of my life. That''s what I find so alluring about Jahi, what sparks me with you two as well; how well you are able to take control of me and tell me what to do, to make me do that thing using your unique traits. It''s something that she could do as well, and in the darkest corners of my mind, I think I find that arousing on a primitive level. Being owned by someone as little more than their sex ve, nothing more than a nice ass to breed whenever they get horny." They all frowned at that, and I took a deep breath before continuing on, saying "It''s just how I am, really. Sexually, my preferences have always been, and will always be submissive in nature, and she is just one of many different types of dominance that I might crave. A suffocating, all epassing dominance that wouldn''t allow for me to be who I am, but instead demanding I be something else. That''s what a part of me yearns for; to be made into something for someone else forcefully. It doesn''t make logical sense, but the things that get you so profoundly aroused never really do, do they?" Jahi just grunted, deciding that my approach to this was worthwhile and needed, so she said "I think my own was clear enough, right? My ''ideal woman'' sexually would be Leone''s body, Anput''s warrior spirit, and Kat''s masochism put into one; a woman who is strong and beautiful, who could have it all for herself but is instead a thing for me to use to get off, a ''nice ass to breed'' as Kat put it. I want someone so obviously strong to beg me to stop, to plead for me to get off of them, only to scream as I refuse and take them even harder... that''s what I want, and I''m blessed enough to have gotten it, only it seems to be in pieces..." She smirked at that, lightening the mood somewhat before we looked at Leone, who blushed as she spoke next, the Vampire fiddling with her pants and looking away from us as she opened her mouth to speak. "I... I guess... Maybe it is... Maybe it is my desire for that ideal Mother figure that Aunt Theresa was for me..? To be able to have a woman like that... I just... I don''t know..? I never actually thought about that, never had that thought cross my mind, so I''m really just confused about it? Perhaps it''s the fact that my own Mother was more... strict and almost professional in her manner of raising me? Whereas Aunt Theresa was like a... not a ''real'' Mother, but more of a rxed,idback Mother who gave me an extra snack or let me stay upter to read a book that wasn''t on something I needed to study?" Leone seemed more confused the longer she spoke, and I smiled and reached over to grab her hand, surprising the Vampire as I rubbed my thumb across the back of her hand soothingly, saying "It might just be that you wanted thatx Mother, Leone, and nothing more... and the fact that you did grow up listening to the two of them potentially make love? It might have influenced your younger mind somewhat. At the very least, it seems like you do indeed prefer some gentler treatment and softer warmth, hm~?" We shared a chuckle at my insinuations, casting a nce at the Demoness who typically did the opposite of all of those things, her purple gaze bright with amusement as she just shook her head and swiftly made it clear that there was going to be no gentle treatment from her anytime soon, something that made us chuckle some more before we all turned towards Anput, who was still silent. Feeling our gazesnd on her, the Jackalkin looked at each of us before simply shaking her head, her silver eyes still asplicated as before as she turned back towards the window and continued to remain silent, not budging at all even as Jahi asked "Anput?" She just simply shook her head again, her gaze fixated on thendscapes that passed us by as we traveled over thend of the Three Kingdoms, heading towards the mountain range that created that natural border between the Empire and the Three Kingdoms... though now it was just the eastern portion of the Empire. Her silence and refusal to speak was both surprising and unsurprising at the same time... I was surprised because we had all openly shared our own without any desire to hide it, so that everyone could understand what had just happened, but I was also unsurprised because... none of us knew what it was that she saw in that slender Caninekin version of Cali. We had no idea what story that form had for her, what meaning it had or any of that; we knew nothing, and the only person who actually knew didn''t want to share, since it clearly meant something to her that made her feel so conflicted internally. Prying would not end well - a benefit of the Core and it''s influence on the body was that you could visibly tell when someone had one or more of their emotions heightened to a certain degree, and it usually took ce in the eyes. And considering Anput''s eyes were still a brilliant silver, it was clear she had some sort of spiked emotion at the moment, and with us being in a confined space with her, pissing her off was not an ideal oue, but it also wasn''t something that we could just let remain untouched and unspoken about. Something she seemed to know, but something that she didn''t give a damn about at the moment as she just stared out the window, ignoring us all and not moving a muscle as the carriage just rolled over the gravel roads of the Kingdom, taking us back to the Empire. Silence took back its ce inside the carriage as we exchanged concerned nces with one another, trying to see if someone had a nugget of information to share that might help us crack this open, but none of us knew anything, and it wasn''t something that we could just ask - she was making that clear. So we just had to wait until the Jackalkin wanted to open up to us about it, which only made the rest of the carriage ride home all the more awkward as time gradually - slowly - passed us by, with the sun rising to its zenith as we crossed over into the Empire and made it to Arx Impius, where we were going to make a brief stop to eat and discuss what was going to happen with the materials. Chapter 933 932: Home Sweet Home Chapter 933 932: Home Sweet Home ??The stop at Arx Impius was a swift one, with Belian and Lady Hathor hosting us for an hour or so whilst we discussed the split of materials, which was sort of mind numbing as we drafted up the papers and signed deals with one another, ensuring that we would have our portion shipped to the Capital in a few days, as well as the exchange we did of some of the materials as well. We ''purchased'' some more gemstones and higher quality materials from them in exchange for the lower level materials, as well as the selling of our services, specifically Anput''s and my own, with Belian wanting us to create some Wands and Staves for the Demon ns with the materials we had acquired. The entire time, Anput was rather distant and quiet, the usually boisterous Jackalkin listening to us closely but not speaking that often, only doing so when she needed to as she gave answers to questions or inputs on what she needed, wanted, or didn''t need or want from the ns. Belian noticed this change instantly, ncing at us confusedly before shrugging when we just shook our heads, the man keeping away from this as he focused instead on his own woman, who was doing her best to ''fight'' us for every pound or every ounce of material that she could, whilst still remaining courtesy enough to relinquish some without issue when she was gently reminded that we had worked to harvest them, therefor we deserved a certain cut. It was a grueling hour long ''battle'' between Anput, Leone, and myself against Lady Hathor and Madam Tabitha, but it was well worth it as we managed to get the exact list written down andpletely assured between both parties, an oath and binding signatures ensuring that no one would gyp the other for more profit. All of this was done over a nice meal consisting of a paste with white wine sauce as well as some grilled chicken, with sides of freshly baked bread and sds; light enough to not send us into a fooda right away, but heavy enough to stave off our hunger forter, when we reached home. When it was over, we took our contract and returned to the carriage, before resuming our journey as we settled in and waited for enough time to pass, the sun''s descent allowing for an easy enough understanding of the time as we silently rode home, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Jahi and I exchanged nces frequently, trying to understand the Jackalkin still, but after an hour or so had passed, we gave up when she just nced back at us, her eyes still slipping between being silver and obsidian as she dealt with her desires in her mind, keeping it to herself for now. It was paining me to see her so clearly struggling with something inside herself and not being able to help, nor being allowed to help; she was currently refusing to let any of us in, and it only pained us all as she continued to keep whatever darkness Cali had reminded her of locked inside her heart, where it began to fester with each passing second. There was little help we could give her if she wasn''t willing to ept any help at all, and that was what was eating away at me as I stared at my mate for a few seconds more, wondering just what was going on inside her mind at the moment that she refused to let out. Even to the people that should be closest to her, she was adamant about not sharing it, but because of that, there was little we could do without simply irritating and angering her with our pestering, something that we all understood and had to begrudgingly ept as we traveled back home. Reaching the Capital before the sun had begun to set was nice, the light illuminating Sanctus Ignacia and the city that had been built around its center, the waving roads leading up and into the city bathed in rays of reddish gold as the sun shone down onto the seat of the Empress'' dominion. The dark mountain being bathed in a light reminiscent of mes was suiting, and despite being someone who had always disliked the heat - with even more reason now thanks to how it worked against my Core - I just couldn''t help but view this mountain as something sublime and gorgeous, its warmth and powerforting on a spiritual level. It was one of the ces that I associated home with, and seeing it after so long -beneath the sun, which I had beencking in thest week or so - was almost enough to bring a tear to my eye as we rolled ever closer, heading up the cobbled road and around to the entrance, where the many colorful cloth awnings added to the happiness I felt, seeing the familiar streets, markets and stores together with the familiar style of dress causing my heart to further warm up. By the time that we had reached the gates leading into the Pce, we were all feeling much better and slightly giddy as we entered the area that only those epted by the Empress could enter, returning to the ce that was important not only to the Empire, but also to us. The carriage rolled to a stop right in front of the beautiful doors at the front of the Pce, and likely having sensed us drawing closer, there was already a small party of all too familiar faces waiting for us; Mother and the Countess, each holding a baby, while the Empress and two of her wives stood together, alongside their own children. Lady Fenryas was staring at the carriage with a bored expression, whilst Lady Igna was smiling warmly as she watched the door open; Roman was smiling as well, though Vienna was wearing her neutral expression, standing beside her Mother silently and staring intently at the door, waiting for Leone to exit. Meanwhile, Dante was leaning on his tower shield, a small smile on his lips as he nodded at us as we exited one by one, the marks of sweat, dirt and more on his gear and his skin making it clear he had just finished training or diving into the Dungeon. "Wee back. I trust everything was pleasant over in the Kingdoms?" The Empress was wearing a knowing smile as she looked down at us, the giant pale skinned woman clearing ''staring'' at each of us one by one, her wrapped eyesnding on each of us as a minuscule - but noticeable - pressure weighed on our shoulders, something that was also far too familiar, especially for Leone, who strode forwards and epted a hug from her Mom. "Why bother asking if you already know?" Huffing at the Empress, the Vampire pouted at her before melting into her embrace when her sparking hair was stroked softly, the sea of ash gray locks calming down at the familial caress of both the Empress and Lady Igna. "''Cause that brat told us it was a powerful Fiend that you were facing off against? Oh, and the letter arrived saying you fought against another two, perhaps? That might just be why..." "Fen, please... must you be so serious all the time?" The Demon Wolf just snorted as she crossed her muscr arms and shook her head, her silver eyending on Jahi as she asked "So? What was it like? Did you cower away or face ''em head on?" "Did you not just say you received a report?" "Tell me in your own words, horn head." The Countess just sighed as she walked forwards and stood between Jahi and Lady Fenryas, while Mother approached me with Lakshmi in her arms, the purple Demoness blinking tiredly as she looked around before her eyes brightened as she saw me. Taking her from Mother, I listened to the Countess as she gently said "Let''s allow them to have a rest, hm? You can drill themter, Lady Fenryas... You all must be tired. Come, I''m sure dinner is close to being prepared. Eat, rest, then talk..." She looked towards Anput as she said that, the Jackalkin still being rather... obvious with her struggle, her distance and nk expression clear to everyone here, though thankfully no one - namely Lady Fenryas - pressed her, allowing the Jackalkin to just walk inside alongside us and head towards the dining hall, though I could tell that the Demon Wolf was just itching for an excuse to drag my mate away and make her talk. The further we walked into the Pce, the more people joined us, with the Marquess and the rest of the Empress'' wives streaming in at random, alongside Adelina, Nirinia, and Kolia, everyoneing to hear about our time over in the Kingdom. Each addition to our group only added to the warmth we felt as we entered the dining hall and sat down, with us at the center and everyone else sitting around us, waiting for us to begin our recounting of events. Chapter 934 933: Dinner Talk

Chapter 934 Chapter 933: Dinner Talk

"So, how was it? Fighting against Fiends like that on your own?" Lady Fenryas asked that as she gnawed on arge, juicy piece of meat, the Demon Wolf forgoing table manners as she opted instead to just eat as she pleased, which currently meant devouring roughly an entire cow on top of downing a barrel worth of mead all on her own, much to the general displeasure of the other members of the Empress'' family. "And don''t you get smart with me, horn head. We got that silver tongued fools report, yes, but I want to hear your own words, with your own emotions behind them, not some intricately crafted report." Stabbing her fork at Jahi, Lady Fenryas'' single silver eye shone dangerously as she waited for an answer, which Jahi decided was unimportant enough to wait to answer as she instead turned towards the Marquess, saying "When we stopped at Arx Impius the first time, we got to meet Madam Tabitha and Lady Hathor." "Hey, don''t you fucking ignore me brat!" The bark from the Demon Wolf was silenced as the Empress calmly said "Fen, let the girl speak, hm? She''ll get to you in a moment... perhaps this is more important to her and her family?", though the entire time she was staring at Jahi ''curiously'' as she rested her chin on her hand and waited as well, likely wondering where this was heading. "And? What exactly did our oh so wonderful distant cousins want?" The disinterest in the Marquess'' tone - paired with the way she swirled around the wine in her ss before downing the entire thing - caused Mother and I to share a bemused nce at how stubborn the sapphire skinned Demoness was. "Well, while we were there, I got to try out their sparring Golems; they have some sort of... learning matrix imbedded into them that allow them to learn alongside you and challenge you further, and I asked Lady Hathor if they were for sale." "Hathor..? Let me guess, the answer was ''not to you, but to your Mom instead''? Crazy woman..." The Marquess'' ruby eyes flickered towards the Countess, who was just smiling softly as she held Alessandra close to her chest, her neutral expression making her wife turn back to Jahi with a slight shudder as she watched her daughter nod. "There is no promise there... likely, the price for something as advanced andvish as one of those Golems is something utterly inane like having me seriously consider her as a partner or something... remember, they don''t really want for much, the Demon ns... Generational wealth can''t even begin to describe just what sort of hoard they sit on, what with all the secrets and abilities they have. Hell, I wouldn''t even be surprised if they have some stuff squirreled away from everyone, even the Empress." Jahi just let out a sigh at that, the slight hope she had to be able to receive one of those training Golems dimming by arge amount at her Mom''s words, and a nce at both her own Mother and my Mother was enough to confirm it, the two women giving her gentle smiles that made it clear that would likely never happen. "A shame... I always had hope that you''d reconcile with them, Chordeva... Really, I did, but I can understand the... ah, reluctance to do so." "Reluctance? Respectfully, Empress, Hathor wanted to experiment on our child whilst it was still in her womb - whenever we got lucky enough to conceive. How utterly insane is that?! And then there''s the Beliali women... bah, they''re just maniptive brats that don''t take no for an answer!" The Empress just chuckled softly before turning back to Jahi, the younger Demoness continuing to ignore the bristling, grey skinned Demon Wolf as she added "On another note, Belian wants to hire both Anput and Kat to produce Wands and Staves for the Demon ns; something about fostering rtions with me instead of you since I might be more malleable and willing to converse with them,pared to your more... unbending stance." "You''ve already said more words to them than I have in multiple decades, Belian excluded anyways... so yes, you are more malleable, sadly enough..." Refilling her ss, the Marquess took a sip and nced at Anput, who was seekingfort in her own bottle, the Jackalkin bncing herself between consecutive sses of wine andrge chunks of bread, making sure she wouldn''t get drunk but using the sharp vor of the wine to distract herself. "Besides, you do still have the offer from me as well, Anput. To forge for the March in bulk; hand forged des and armor,pensated properly for your work. Materials provided, forge provided should you need it, as well as assistants. Still up to it?" My mate shrugged her shoulders and instead asked "Do we have time for a job like that? We were called back on ''important news'', after all, so depending on that, well... can''t really take arge job like that in good faith, right?" We all looked at the Empress, who just smiled in response before shaking her head softly when Lady Fenryas growled "Brat, I swear to all that is holy that if you don''t answer my fucking question, I WILL break each and every single bone in your body..." "Please, do answer her already... I would prefer a calm Sanctum tonight, if at all possible?" Amusementced the Empress'' tone as she nced at her irritated wife, who was doing her best to not crush the tankard in her hand as she red at all of us, even the cleanly Lady D''Arcon beside her who tried to soothe her. Jahi''s lips had a small twitch as she finally turned back towards the Demon Wolf, something that made me roll my eyes as I wanted to tell her that this was not the right woman to y these sorts of games with, though I sincerely doubt she would stop even if I asked her to... "The first we fought - Tza''Orbias - was a tough battle because they had a weird magical tool they were using to cast various spells instantly and with enhanced power. A really difficult battle against them, one made even more draining thanks to the Cultists we had to deal with before hand. It was tough and grueling, but thanks to Leone''s True Vampire Form, Ammit''s incredible magical prowess, as well as ''Caligo and Kat working together. Certainly a learning experience, and one that will be hard to get more experience on in a more... ''casual'' setting since finding mages that strong to spar against without risking severe injury is difficult." "Not impossible though, and you have one of the greatest healers ever sitting right here, so stop making excuses. Each of us here could mop the floor with you if you wanted, or you could look a tad closer to home and ask that knife ear of a Mother to go ahead and zap some sense into you a few times." The Countess just rolled her eyes at Lady Fenryas'' words, before she cast a re at the Marquess, who was smirking at her for the all too familiar insult. "Then there was Ka''Minvis, which was an interesting fight. High regenerative abilities, able to ''split'' into two separate entities that were still considered one Fiend. Quick, strong, that high regeneration... it wasn''t difficult per se, but certainly one that revealed a few ws in our current levels. Reaction speed needed to be higher, formation needed to be tighter and moreyered, but all in all, I''d go so far as to say that it was actually pretty ''fun'' all things considered. Finally, we had Nua''Fel, which... wouldn''t really be a fight, at least for me; I only got to fight the myriad Undead that were under its control, and not the Fiend itself. Ammit and Anput burnt it to ground, and Kat distracted it and directed everything, so... it was underwhelming, but certainly not something that I regret not being able to fight. Disgusting and rather... yeah, just disgusting really. All the pus and bile..." Shuddering, she made a few of us groan as we put down our forks or sses for the moment, memories of things we had fought before gracing our minds at the moment and making any liquid or soft food seem like it was something else, which... was not what you wanted to envision eating. Even Igna, the Dragon who had admitted to eating people before shuddered, her scarred face twisting in disgust as she muttered "That is the ONLY word to describe them... one of my few regrets in life...", which only made us all stare at her in mild horror as those words registered a momentter. "What?" ''Looking'' around at us, she pursed her lips before shrugging as she focused on Jahi, bringing the conversation back around to more ptable subjects as she said "So this means the only type of Fiend you haven''t fought is one of the variety. Honestly, I don''t know whether to say that is a blessing or not... it''ll happen eventually, after all, but uh..." "No, we haven''t really fought against one, but ''Caligo has decided to willingly give us a taste of what that might be like, which..." Jahi nced at Anput, who just frowned before sipping her wine again, remaining quiet even as the focusnded on her. "Anyways, yeah, we haven''t fought against a Fiend, and I can already tell that they''ll be the most tricky..." "Aw, but of course~ we''re the most tricky~!" Popping into existence above us, Cali drifted around and grinned as she looked over everyone, though her smile stiffened as the Empress slowly lifted her head to stare at the Fiend, and when Lady D''Arcon smiled softly as well, Cali floated down towards me and took refuge by my side, the pink skinned woman back to her usual form as she muttered "Scary..." Coughing into her fist, she rested her head on my shoulder and spoke in her usual coy voice, acting like nothing was wrong at all as she said "Ka Fiends are direct and physical fighters. Nua Fiends tend to be physical as well, but they do have rather good magical prowess as well. Tza Fiends are tricky with their own magics and understanding of things. So where does that leave us~? Well, we aren''t the strongest physically, not the most threatening magically -rge spells and powerful spells, anyways - but the magic we do have is... more than enough~!" Giggling darkly, the Arch Fiend looked around before focusing on Jahi as she added "After all, why bother fighting you when we can just... sap away your will to live and watch as you wallow in nothingness~? Or have a different kind of ''fight'' with you instead~? Very few could actually resist that kind of fight..." Chapter 935 934: ’Important News’

Chapter 935 Chapter 934: ''Important News''

With that tidbit of information now securely lodged inside our minds, the Arch Fiend giggled again before snuggling closer to me, wearing a content expression as she closed her eyes and began to rest, ending her participation in this conversation. "Well... like she said, I have a feeling that fighting against most Fiends will be far trickier and difficult than I would care to partake in, and yet I guarantee that they will be not only unavoidable, but also something that will be far more difficult than fighting the other Fiendsbined." "If you all weren''t already hitched, I''d say training yourself through sex and just enjoying yourselves a bit would be the easiest route; pussy is out of this world, and if you can manage to remain sane during it, they get really cocky and lower their guard, making it really easy to just slit their throats after you reach climax. Honestly..." Lady Fenryas leaned forwards and stared at Cali with a small smile on her face, the Demon Wolf ignoring the way all of her sisters and her wife turned to stare at her quietly as she added "I wouldn''t even mind having a go at an Arch Fiend~! Bet it feels real~ nice inside you, hm?" "It''s amusing you think you couldst longer than three pumps inside me, little pup." Cali just smirked back at Lady Fenryas, making the Demon Wolf stiffen for a moment before anger flooded her single silver eye, something that made Cali snicker as she added "And even if you did manage to get a fourth in, your mind would be broken beyond mending... You think you canprehend what it would be like to have sex with Lust incarnate? Not even she could go for more than a few rounds, and even then... one slip up and I''d have her wrapped around my finger..." ncing at the Empress, Cali just grinned before shrugging her shoulders, going back to ignoring the Demon Wolf as she finished speaking, making sure to cover all her bases as she said "Not that I want to try that, but still... just saying, y''know? Since we''re being open and all that..." Her head returned to my shoulder, her snakes all slithering towards me as they flicked their tongues out and hissed quietly, nuzzling against me and ''biting'' my hair, making me gently shake my head as I wondered why her snakes were seemingly opposite of her. "''Cause they like you and have the intelligence of a child... on a good day, anyways." Cali''s murmur made me blink, before I frowned as I nced down at her, not knowing if I should be worried about how casually she could ''read'' my mind or if I should only be cautious about it, which just made her chuckle softly as she remained where she was. "Anyways, like I said, I think it''ll be challenging, but perhaps manageable? I think we''ll need to see if ''Caligo can be gracious enough to ''train'' us against Lust Mana, but otherwise, it sounds like mental fortitude is the key there, so... maybe we''ll need to find other methods to defend against them. Either way, I am confident enough in saying that we could likely find a way to defeat the other three types of Fiends given they weren''t able to just... kill us outright, so yeah." All of the ''adults'' nodded and remained quiet, letting Jahi continue if she wanted to, or allow any of us to talk, but that silence continued for a few moments as we all just looked at one another, wondering who would speak next. There wasn''t anything else that happened that was truly important to share with everyone present, so we just sat there for a couple of seconds before the Empress broke that silence, the blindfolded woman leaning against the table and lifting her winess as she got everyone''s attention. "You were likely wondering why we were calling you back with ''important news'', so we mind as well get that out of the way now, before you go off to rest and recuperate. There were a few things, ranging in levels of importance. The first was that the Sultana sent a letter describing the general state of the Sultanate, and one of the key things was that there are a few Fiends awakening within the Desert. She wanted to know if she and her Death Jackals should take care of it or if she should let them be for now, so that you four could get some more experience against them..?" The Empress looked between us four, with the most emphasis on Anput, who was now paying attentionpletely to the conversation as she stared at the Empress with slight worry, before relief showed on her expression at the end of the Empress'' question, her concern for her family and for her people obvious. "We were thinking of heading over anyways to give Anput some time with her family as well as see if we could learn something from the Sultana, so this is ideal... though that letter should havee in days, if not a week or so ago, correct? Can they really afford to let the Fiends wander freely during that time?" "I guess you''ve never actually seen Anubi fight, have you..? The Sultanate is in good hands, Jahi, and most likely the Fiends have already been corralled into certain areas of the desert by Anubi and her Death Jackals. She is quite the talented warrior, almost as much as Chordeva... albeit with less natural born boons like Chordeva, though I would argue she strives for excellence at a greater pace." "You''ll get no argument from me on that front. The Sultanate is a harsh ce to live, and considering everything she went through? Yeah, she''s got grit, that''s for sure." Anput was almost beaming at the praise being heaped upon her Mom, though the tanned Jackalkin refrained from outwardly disying the grin that she likely wanted to wear in exchange for her tail swishing side to side beneath the table, almost out of sight and mind... "That was the first tidbit of news, and I''ll send word to her tonight. The next was that the general state of the world has slowly begun to deteriorate, at least from the news that trickles in ever so slowly through ourworks. Fiends are appearing in greater number far sooner than we thought they would, with the Dynasty to the East and the various Confederacies to the West taking substantial losses to their Labyrinthian bordering cities, since most of their sealed Fiends were locked within the Labyrinthian or within the mountainous walls that contain it." Solemness filled the room at that, and I briefly wondered how the Arese were handling themselves over in the Rimnds, their home built near the mountains of the Labyrinthian - a home built to allow them easy ess to the cages of the Fiends they had trapped many years ago - likely at risk now, and it was hard to not worry about the entric, unique tribe that had helped me in my time of need. But from what it sounded like, the entire world was feeling this event, and reaching the Rimnds would require crossing THAT forest again, which... was not a ce that I wanted to step foot in ever again, even when I was much stronger now than I was then; as useless as it sounded, I was going to put the Arese inside my prayers and pray that they would make it through these ordeals. Their tribe was born and moulded for the singr purpose of holding those Fiends at bay, so I could only pray they were still as strong and ready for that task today as they were when they originally managed to seal those Fiends away... "Because of the world being at a general... imbnce at the moment, fortifying the newly acquired Kingdoms had moved up in importance, so there is the option of returning to the Kingdoms to aid the Demon ns in establishing their rule over Tragon if you desire, though heading to the Sultanate makes more sense in many separate facets..." A quick nce at Anput was enough for Jahi, Leone and I to nod in agreement, and we turned back to the Empress as she got on to the next piece of news, which was seemingly far more important than what had already been said. "The awakening of the Fiends has done damage to many ces around the world, and as such, it''s already begun to have its chain effect on the world in ways most don''t tend to think about. Smaller states and groups are being swallowed up by therger to acquire morend, materials, people and power, and as such, the borders are now in a constant state of flux. Obviously we aren''t entirely free of me or scrutiny either, what with the conquering of the Three Kingdoms, but watching as our neighbors begin to scramble for short term gains is... unptable. Especially since it is being done in messy fashion." I couldn''t help but raise a brow at the Empress'' words, something that she caught as she smiled softly at me and said "I am aware of how ''hypocritical'' that seems, as well as how self important and arrogant it sounds, but believe me when I say there is a difference between what we have done and what is currently happening. Full fledged invasions, weaponizing of the Fiends awakenings, backroom deals between countries... all of it is different from our own approach, and the amount of countries that have begun to change allegiances, grow and shrink, change name or simply disappear is astounding. The amount of piging and other crimes beingmitted are increasing exponentially too, Katherine. That is the difference." "Whilst I can believe that, I still do not see why it entirely matters..? Past the obvious shift of the world power bnce, that is, which is arguably rather important... Is it simply a caring for the wellbeing of themon popce, or is it in regards to other changes thate along with it?" Lady Lorelei was the one to answer, the mature Vampire tapping her fingers on the table as she said "The simple answer is just ''yes'', Miss Katherine. The people are suffering, the economy is in constant flux, chaos is rising... it is simply bad for the world in the long term, but those that are taking advantage of the chaos don''t care about the long term, only the short term. Stability means little to thempared to the power and wealth they could gain with each passing day. It''s impacts are quite... far reaching. The fall of the mining city Cai Liao in the Dynasty has cut off one of the Northern Region''srgest suppliers of Mana Crystals, while the burning of Erntehaven lowers the supply of wheat to most of the Erz Reich, which means they will be looking for new ways to sustain themselves... everything that happens has ripple effects that travel far and wide, even if people don''t believe they do." Chapter 936 935: Traces; New Faces

Chapter 936 Chapter 935: Traces; New Faces

"Ahem... well, yes, the current climate of the world is currently on a rather sad descent, and I simply want you to understand that the outside world is experiencing a general regretful trend of sorrow and depression. To make sure you understand just what the difference is between us and them, as crass as it might sound." The Empress gave us a wry smile before adding "It is important that you know this now and understand it, so that if you are outside of the Empire''s borders - or outside of any of our allies borders - that things are vastly different, and not just culturally either. Some countries are still rather... primitive, some are ruled by glorified warlords and dictators, and others are entirely set up for the benefit of the few and the detriment of the many." Jahi just grunted in response, waving her hand idly as she said "Wouldn''t want topare other ces to the Empire anyways; what''s the point? Besides, I might think and believe that we''re superior, but I won''t be stupid and act like everywhere should be like us... I''ll just judge them silently~!" Everyone stared at the Demoness with conflicted gazes, though the Marquess just snorted and said "Well, as long as you don''t go looking for trouble, silently judging everyone is alright~! But again, don''t be stupid, and don''t go unting your pride so readily, alright?" I just let out a sigh as the Marquess turned towards me and confidently added "Kat, make sure to keep her in line, yeah? And I trust that you''ll do better at talking to people than she ever will, so it only makes sense..." That made both the Countess and Mother give the Marquess a dry look, but the Demoness just ignored them as she asked "Well, can we get to the real juicy stuff now, or are we gonna continue to beat around the bush?" "Patience, Chordeva... patience should have been learned already, and yet it seems you have ignored that lesson altogether over these years... but yes, let us stop ''beating around the bush'' and tell you what exactly we learned during your absence." Draining the remainder of her wine, the Empress ced her ss on the table and smiled at Lady Igna as she refilled it, drawing out the silence for as long as she could and making both the Marquess and Jahi lean forwards, waiting for the news... despite the Marquess already having heard of it clearly, considering her excited grin. I have to admit that the drawn out wait was making me more curious too, and it made me realize that the Empress still seemed to have that mortal tendency of being as dramatic as possible with certain things, which made what she had to say all the more surprising to hear. "Whilst you were away, we received a letter from someone familiar, but someone who hasn''t really been around for all that often. With the awakening of the Fiends and all the chaos of the world, it would seem she''s decided that it''s time toe out of whatever ce she''s been hiding in and rejoin us in the real world again. It''ll be your first time meeting her, and it''ll be amongst the few times you''ve even heard of her... Well, no need to draw it out any longer I suppose. Lilith, the ''Mother of all Demons'', sent a letter letting me know that she is going to be making her return now, after however many years its been. How long it''ll be till she shows up is still unknown, just as the meaning behind her appearance is unknown. What I do know is that she will quite appreciate getting to see that the Asmodia line has made some progress in repopting itself, and that the daughter that Chordeva had is on the right path." The smug grin on the Marquess'' face as the Empress said that was enough to make Lady Fenryas growl "Stop being so damn excited about it, Chordeva... she''s just an old hag, like this giant bitch here..." "She is around my age, yes, but I would like to remind you that she is not appreciative of being told that, Fen... I believe thest time you even so much as joked about that, she put you in bed for a week straight even with potions and spells working overtime to heal you. Besides, she is worthy of your respect." The Demon Wolf just grunted and looked away, but she didn''t refute the Empress'' words at all, nor did she try to reprimand the Marquess again as the Demoness looked towards her daughter and spoke excitedly, trying to make Jahi understand just how important this was. "Lilith is the oldest Demon alive by... I don''t even know how many centuries. Each of our ns have had our Elders killed off either through battle or simple illnesses that they could no longer battle against - old wounds and the failing of their bodies making it impossible to sustain their lives - so having another person who was alive during the time of Durukti and earlier..!" She seemed so giddy as she grinned, and Jahi''s amethyst eyes began to glow too as she grinned alongside her Mom, the history buff inside her likely bing more excited than her usual self at being able to meet someone as mysterious and important as Lilith. "The things she knows... maybe I can pry some secrets from her that you refuse to share, Empress~? You aren''t worried about that at all?" "I would be surprised if she deigned to share any of them. You don''t reach our age and forget how to hold a secret, Chordeva. Least of all Lilith; I have no idea where she''s been or what she''s been up to, and yet now I found a letter informing me that she should be arriving sometime soon. I am as curious as you are, and doubly so since it is during a time like this. Perhaps she has news about the Fiends, perhaps she simply learned that you had a daughter, perhaps she heard about Jahi obtaining Light Magic... who knows. We won''t truly know until she is here, which could be tomorrow, or it could be in a month." "Either way... Lilith will be here? What is she like? What is her actual rtion to the Demon ns?" Lady Lorelei and the Countess just smiled at me, whilst the Empress smirked as she said "Wouldn''t you like to know beforehand, little one? Sorry, but I''d rather not spoil that surprise. The library is open to you... All you need to do is find the right book if you are that curious~!" Pursing my lips, I looked between the three women before turning towards the Marquess as I asked "Would she know the old forging method of the Asmodeucian''s, perhaps? Or maybe the intricacies of the Cimeriesa''s spell casting abilities? Speaking of, are they aware of her return as well?" "Maybe, maybe, and not yet. Trust me, when she gets here that forging method is the first thing that I want to see if she has! But..." Letting out a sigh, the Marquess frowned as she tapped her finger against her wine ss, ncing at the smiling Empress as she regretfully said "I doubt she''ll give that up without a hefty price, and it isn''t one that will be paid in coin... Honestly, she coulde here and be really open and helpful, of she could be really reclusive and secretive... I have no idea at all..." Coughing gently, the Countess grabbed everyone''s attention as she spoke next, looking specifically towards Jahi as she said "It isn''t as exciting as the arrival of Lilith, and since you can''t do anything besides specte, I thought it''d be time for you to meet your grandparents, Jahi? My Mother and Father areing around to finally meet you, now that they have a lull; as well as to meet Lakshmi and Alessandra, of course. They should be here in two days time." Jahi blinked a few times, the word ''grandparents'' slowly registering in her mind as she just stared at the Countess nkly, something that made the Elf shake her head softly and smile wryly as she added "Yes, you heard me right dear... After all these years, they''ve finally been granted a reprieve from work..." "I will just say that I gave them ample opportunity to take a break, but they refused, so do not me me for their actions orck thereof, Ria." The Countess just nced at the Empress and smiled, though it wasn''t warm nor cordial as she remained quiet on the matter, something that made the Empress look away as she instead focused on the amused faces of her wives. "Now that all of this has been abruptly dumped on yourps, how about you go to your room and sleep, hm? You all look exhausted, and we can talk more in the morning when you''ve properly rested." Chapter 937 936: What Better Way To Rest?* Chapter 937 936: What Better Way To Rest?* ??Stretching my arms as far as I could above my head, I let out a pleased groan as I felt my muscles extend and ease off the aching from a long day spent riding in a carriage, followed by the delighted groan as my spine popped a few times, the pressure that had formed between each segment of my spine being alleviated with a wonderful pop that just made me feel oh so good. I went through the full range of motion using my entire body as best I could, stretching out each muscle group and cracking as many joints as I could, which only drew the attention of the Demoness lounging in front of me as each groan and crack broke the silence of the room. Of course, after taking a look at my face for a brief moment, Jahi swiftly focused instead on my bra d boobs, watching in mesmerized fashion as they jiggled around with each movement I took, something that made me raise a brow as I twisted my waist and further cracked my back. "Want some help~?" As had be custom for her, the Demoness was already topless and braless, whilst her loose pajama bottoms did little to hide the enormous blue dragon that resided within its confines; already it was beginning to rear its head, and the fabric was doing its damndest to not tear. Sometimes I worried that she would somehow, someway manage to tear the enchanted fabric that was meant to stretch with her and always remainfortable, and yet it never seemed like it could contain her erection, not with how hard and thick Jahi''s penis could get. I didn''t say anything to her as she pushed herself off of the bed and made her way to stand behind me, the Demoness'' hands trailing over my skin teasingly as she helped me stretch, all whilst she indulged her desires to cop a feel whenever she could, which was helpful since the way she lifted my breasts helped my shoulders immensely. Feeling her cock press against my butt, I went along with my Demoness'' wishes and bent over, reaching for my toes andpleting my back stretch, much to her immense enjoyment as she leaned over me and pressed down on my spine, ensuring I was touching my toes... and that my butt was firmly ced against her cock. "So..." Jahi rubbed herself against me before helping me back up, where she then returned to groping my chest as she quietly asked "What do you think happened with Anput..? She''s really... out of it." My previous lustful and relieved mood was washed away with that question, my lips curling down into a frown as I leaned into the Demoness'' warm embrace and nuzzled my head between her own breasts, something that was surprisingly soft for her usually hard and firm body. Casting my gaze towards the bathroom door, I remained quiet for a moment as I listened to the soft moans of Leone, paired with the pping of wet flesh as Anput and Leone enjoyed themselves in the bath, leaving Jahi and I out here. "I... I don''t know. I suppose she will eventually tell us, and I would suggest not poking and prodding too much, if at all. We don''t want to make her upset or feel..." "Targeted? Singled out? Something like that?" "Something like that, yes... Believe me, I want to learn what is paining her and do what I can to soothe it, but if she doesn''t let us know, there is little I can do to help. Little you can do to help. Pressing her for what is wrong could lead to us pushing her away, and that is not what either of us want..." Squeezing my breasts softly, the Demoness nodded before letting out a sigh, pursing her lips as she muttered "And here I thought you might have some super mature, super thought provoking answer on how to get her to feel better..." That made me roll my eyes as I looked up at my lover and said "My super mature, super thought provoking answer is to be nice to her, act normally, and likely have as much sex with her as you can manage. Anything to take her mind off of whatever it is that is bugging her... but also, let her have space. She''s probably going to go forge all of tomorrow, so don''t interrupt her. Let her think on it by herself, and when shees back, be gentle and loving for her." "Fuck her as much as I want... I guess that is a thought provoking answer... Would you say my dick is powerful enough to alter someones mind?" The ''innocent'' curiosity that pervaded Jahi''s amethyst eyes made me roll my own once more as I just said "Shut up and fuck me already...", to which the Demoness had no issue giving me a curt nod and pushing me onto the bed, pressing me down against the soft mattress and caressing my raised butt as I enticed her toe closer. "You really don''t even have to ask that, Kat... Me, Leone, Anput... all three of us want to make love to you all day long if possible. We want to ingrain ourselves inside you over and over again no matter what you cry out..." Her breath brushed against my pussy as she slid my panties to the side, revealing my lower lips and granting herself ess to them as she leaned forwards and began to kiss them, showing them the devotion and love that she wished to express to me in one of the few ways she knew how to do immensely well. Grabbing my thighs, Jahi buried her face between my cheeks and slid her tongue into my pussy, the long, slimy appendage seeking out the spots hidden within my folds that would make me feel good, all whilst she inhaled my scent and lost herself to it. Her tongue wriggled around wildly, whilst her lips pressed against my own and moved them around, allowing her to get better angles as she tried to make me cum from just oral, something that I did for her quite often. Reciprocation was something that the Demoness did in odd ways usually, but here she was eating me out with a passion and determination that made me bite the sheets as I pressed myself against her face and smothered her with my butt, to which the Demoness responded by squeezing my thighs and pressing herself further into me. It didn''t take long for her deep tongue kissing to send me over the edge, my pussy spasming as I sprayed my juices onto her face and gave her a facial of my own, returning the favor to my lover and likely entrenching the idea that cumming on someones face was a pleasurable idea... which I was certainly never against nowadays. Giving my pussy onest lick, Jahi sat up and licked her lips, grinning down at me as she shuffled forwards and began to rub her cock against my pussy, the Demoness enjoying herself immensely as she said "That was wonderful, Kat... but I know something that will feel even~ better~!" Caressing my butt, the Demoness pped each cheek before reaching for my arms, pulling them away from my sides and taking control of my body in one fluid motion, making it impossible for me to run away and even easier for her to shove her cock inside in another single motion. Jahi''s girth spread me apart instantly as the Demoness prated me in one thrust, and before I knew it she was swinging her hips forwards without a care in the world, smacking her hips against my ass and watching as the impact made my cheeks jiggle, alongside the way my tits bounced back and forth with her hammering. Not being allowed toy against the bed and bite into the sheets meant that my moans filled the bedroom quickly, and like a siren''s call they drew in our other two lovers, who exited the bathroom and approached us hungrily. Grinning over at them, Jahi just kept pounding me before saying "Come here, Anput... I want to alternate between you and Kat~!", her words making the Jackalkin shiver with excitement as she rushed towards me, getting behind me and guiding her creamy cock into my ass. Laying on top of me, Anput joined Jahi in hammering my lower holes into submission, all while Leone sat in front of me and rubbed her penis against my face, the Vampire biting her lip as she forced the cinnamon and citrus scent of her genitalia to was over my mind, thebined smell making me go crazy alongside the cocks in my pussy and in my ass. When Jahi pulled out and began to fuck Anput instead, we both moaned - me in sadness at the loss of her thick cock, whilst Anput moaned happily as she got made into the Demoness'' woman once more. The Demoness began to alternate between the two of us every few thrusts, prolonging her own ejaction and making us both cum hard as she did so, with Anput going ck over top of me as she flooded my ass with her sperm, knotting me and doing her best to try to get me pregnant... despite being in the wrong hole. Meanwhile, Leone let me suck on her balls after a few seconds of hearing me whining for something, and the Vampire stroked her shaft and stared at all three of us heatedly as we descended into a lust filled craze, unable to help ourselves as we fucked over and over again until we passed out. Even then, whenever one of us woke up, we began to fuck whomever we wanted however we wanted, ensuring that the orgy continued for as long as it possibly could... it was our way to rest, after all~! Chapter 938 937: Trying To Cheer Her Up*

Chapter 938 Chapter 937: Trying To Cheer Her Up*

"Ah... I''m notining, and I don''t want to give you the idea that I am, but uh... shit... just like that Kat... lick it right there for me..." Moaning softly, Anput shivered as my tongue danced across her soaked slit, the Jackalkin stroked her hard cock whilst I gave her pussy some deep loving, scooping out the leftover semen from the night before as my mate sat on the edge of the bath. She couldn''t achieve a true ejaction from what she was doing - one that would relieve her bulbous red knot of all the sperm that had gathered during her time asleep - but instead she could spurt out a few ropes of cum that would alleviate her pressing need for pleasure by a small amount, so she did just that as her pussy lips quivered and secreted more of her delicious juices. Sperm sshed on the top of my head and against my ears, the Jackalkin just cumming into the air and moaning again as she achieved a dual orgasm, her eyes rolling for a moment as she leaned back and just kept cumming from both her cock and her pussy, before smiling at me as I began to suckle on her knot instead. "Really, I love having your tongue all over my genitalia, but... this seems far too generous from you. No offense, but usually this sort of incredible pleasures costs something or other, my oh so devilish mate~!" Rolling my eyes at her, I gave her knot one more kiss before pulling away, resting my cheek against her sticky red flesh and honestly telling her "I want you to feel better, Anput, so I am going out of my way to do things that will make you feel better. Isn''t that what a mate is for? I know you don''t want to speak about it, and I''m not asking about it; I just want that smile to be as annoyingly proud and cocky as it was before, alright? So shut up and just let me suck your cock." Her smile widened as she listened to me, her obsidian eyes filled with warmth as she nodded and leaned back, resting her hands against the tile and saying "Then do it properly and take it in your mouth, Kat... I still wanna cum some more, y''know? Oh, and uh..." Watching me do as she asked, the Jackalkin chuckled and reached forwards, brushing my hair away from my face before resting her hand on my head between my ears, using it to guide my movements despite me knowing exactly what to do. "Maybe, just maybe... holy shit, I understand why Jahi has you blow her so often... oh fuck me that feels incredible~!" Anput let her head fall back as she stared at the ceiling, unable to formte her thoughts properly as I throated her cock and kissed her knot once more, just instead of being the smooth, ''t'' surface that had no obstructions, I was now taking her entire shaft and kissing its root, which made the Jackalkin moan crazily as she held me there for a few moments. "Oh seriously..! Kat, can you give me more blowjobs please?! This is just..! Just..!" The pleasured sounds spilling from her mouth only made me hornier for her as we continued to ''y'' together in the bath, each moan, groan, grunt and surprised yelp fueling me more as I put my practice with Jahi and Leone to use and gave my mate the pleasure she craved. "I SERIOUSLY want to knot you, but knowing I can''t is so~ fucking nice~!" She leaned forwards and held my head in both hands, ejacting again and spurting a few ropes of sperm into my throat to continue to stave off her pressing need to knot me, though the angry throbbing against my lips only made us both all the more excited. All it would take would be one single push by her, and she could start knotting my mouth and flooding me with cum - drowning me in the process, but it would be a euphoric way to go, that''s for sure... But of course, she held back and simply pulled out, shooting the rest of her cum onto my face and smirking at me as she wiped herself off a momentter, using my face of course. "Alright... like I was gonna say, maybe you could apany me for the day, hm~? Keep mepany and all that... I was gonna work on getting some simple stuff forged out just to pass the time, things you could enchant if you want. Oh, and obviously I wanna fuck all day long too, y''know? Make love to this thick ass of yours over and over again~?" Dunking my face into the bath, I washed off her cum and raised a brow at her, before doing so again as her seed refused to be washed off so easily, all whilst her smirk widened as she waited for me to answer. Before I could, Jahi opened the door and walked inside, Leone moaning softly into the Demoness'' neck as Jahi just kept thrusting upwards as she walked, pounding the Vampire''s pussy from below and letting her seed drip out of Leone''s cunt with each step. Anput and I looked over at the blue skinned woman, watching as she confidently strode in, unbothered by our gazes, and set the Vampire down so that she could pull out, her cock throbbing hard at the sudden loss of stimtion whilst Leone let out a whimper that almost pulled her back in. However, she was clearly on a mission, and that mission was to finish inside Anput, the Demoness advancing on the Jackalkin and grabbing her in a single fluid motion, making her blink in surprise before she instantly submitted to our lover, presenting herself and spreading her juicy pussy, which was quickly stuffed with cock again. Leaning on the edge of the bath, I began to rub my pussy as I observed my mate readily give herself to another woman to be fucked like a bitch, my instincts going haywire as the woman who was supposed to protect me was made to submit so easily, meaning that the blue cock that was rampaging inside Anput''s womb would be best served inside my womb, where I could bear her children... Tugging at my clit and churning my pussy in the water, I enjoyed myself as I simply let my mind go hazy with lust, my body locked in ce as the view of Anput being bent over and fucked doggystyle seared itself into my brain. Her swarthy olive skin that was glistening from the water sparkled in the light of bath, alongside her long raven ck hair that was ted from earlier, each strand dangling down towards the tile and swaying beneath the mighty pounding of the Demoness. Each cluster of muscles on her body rippled as she spasmed beneath the rough, dominant fucking she was forced to endure, and the way the blue skin of Jahiplimented her darker skin was sublime as the Demoness groped my mate''s body freely, spanking her ass and pinching her nipples, or even going so far as to mp her fingers around Anput''s jaw and make her stare at me, all while she grinned sadistically at us, knowing that the mate bond made this all the more thrilling for both of us. Seeing my mate getting so crudely fucked in front of me was horrifyingly arousing, though only because I knew that the one pounding her ass and licking her cheek was someone I could trust and someone I loved; otherwise, this looked just like a scene out of a very terrible doujin... which I may or may not have used as a guilty pleasure... The absolute lust on her face as she was made into Jahi''s bitch was enough to get me into heat as well, but the firm look from Jahi as she sensed that made me freeze, unable to get up and move to the avable cock in the room - Leone - and instead remain in the water, where I was made to watch everything happen. Her twisted, loose expression, the way her obsidian eyes were filled with the same heat I was feeling, the ck hair sticking to her face and the saliva on her cheek from Jahi''s tongue; the silver rune adorning her brow, and the way she was staring nkly at me as she was pounded roughly from behind... All of it was making me want something thick and long inside me, and as I watched Jahi snarl and drape herself over my mate, I knew it wasing to be my turn as she started to ejacte inside Anput, pressing the Jackalkin against the ground and cumming relentlessly inside her womb, all while she let out a victorious shout for having ''defeated'' her opponent so thoroughly. Pulling out and discarding the Jackalkin, Jahi smirked down at her limp, almost unconscious figure before stroking her cock some more, spraying out some more sperm and cumming on her body, thick ropes of white sshing across her brown skin and ck hair. "Fuck that was great... c''mere bitch, put that mouth of yours to use." Grabbing my hair, Jahi dragged me from the bath and smacked me with her meaty penis a few times, smirking down at me as she nodded towards Anput and said "I''m gonna fuck you like I did her, then I''m going to fuck you again. Make sure to please me like you would her, hm~? And maybe I''ll let you go~?" The sudden slip into proper role y made me shiver, but I fearfully nodded and got to work sucking the cock that had previously been inside Anput, making sure to do my best to make it feel good so that we could ''be freed'' from this together. When she had had enough of my mouth, Jahi pushed me down and fucked me just like Anput, pounding my ass hard and ejacting inside me in a few thrusts, before stuffing my womb full and resuming her pounding of my cheeks as she churned her cum inside me. All the while, Anput was left twitching on the ground beside us, orgasming over and over again from the aftershocks of Jahi''s ever so rough loving... Chapter 939 938: What A Mate Is For*

Chapter 939 Chapter 938: What A Mate Is For*

Anput PoV Setting the hammer down, I took a deep breath and looked at the finished weapon resting on the anvil, its surface gradually losing that orange luster as the heat dissipated away from the metal inside the surprisingly cool forge. The reason the forge was asfortable as it was was currently sitting behind me on a stool, her warm amber eyes following me around as I did my work and prepared something else for her to enchant with her increasingly impressive skills. Her spell was keeping the air flowing and circting in a way that would keep me feelingfortable whilst the forge remained hot, while the moisture that usually pervaded the air was lessened, making this an even better forging session then I was ustomed to. Of course, what was making this perfect was the fact that we were in a private room, and my mate was not bothered by my request for her to wear only her bra and panties... for obvious reasons; if she was going to be here, in my personal space, I wanted her to be ready at all times to pay the price of invading it, even if I was the one who epted her offer; that was just how it worked, and that was why I was alright with my alone time being lessened. I was also wearing just the cksmith''s apron that I had made for myself a while ago, meaning I could just slip it off and I would be in just my own panties, which were doing their job to protect me from the onught of cum that threatened to ssh onto the ground thanks to Jahi''s attempt at making me feel better. "Got another sword done; a longsword made from an alloy of medium grade Earth ore and lesser grade Fire ore. Think that pen of yours can handle conflicting elements?" Spinning the fancy new golden stylus around her fingers, Kat nodded at me as she looked down at the ornate pen, therge crystal that rested on top currently being colorless, though as she handed it to me it began to turn red, my mana siphoning into the crystal and allowing her to enchant Fire based enchantments now. "Kolia was quite nice with this; finding me a Magic Pen like this. A shame that she refused to let me repay her for it... makes me feel bad." Taking it back from me, Kat raised a brow at me as she noticed that my gaze rested entirely on herrge, fluffy tits, which were d in a sexy ck and blood redce thatplimented her amber eyes and rich brown hair. "Did you want to go again, my love?" Biting my cheek, I tore my eyes away from her twin mountains and instead focused on her warm, seductive smile that drew me in, my heart soaring as my nose picked up the subdued scent of citrus wafting off of her curves; my pheromones were dwindling in her veins at the moment, but even then my scent was strong on her body, and when it was paired with the tart scent of lemons that she naturally exuded, I felt like I was going to go crazy with how hot my loins felt. I just wanted her so so so damn badly... "Not yet... Not just yet. Since you''re gonna be here anyways, mind as well talk for a bit, right? We uh... We rarely seem to just talk. Any of us." We shared a wry smile with one another before I turned back to the anvil, appraising the sword and gently tapping its surface, making sure it was cooled off enough to lift and hand over to my mate. The de looked rusted over thanks to the coloration of the alloy, something that wouldn''t earn it many second looks since people were instinctually going to make initial judgments with their eyes - that pained me to think about, but even I had to admit that this de just... wasn''t that appealing. "I''ll just start this off with saying... I don''t want to talk about it. Still. Unlike Jahi, unlike you, my ''darkest, most twisted'' desire isn''t something that I can link to my personality, something that I can ept and embrace the way you two can. Jahi''s inclination for rape and sheer all epassing domination of her partner is understandable. On the flip side, your desire to be raped and to lose all control over everything in your life, to be nothing more than a tight, juicy pussy for someone to rape whenever they want... is also understandable. Odd, but understandable. Then you have Leone, and her possible emotional lust for someone mature, motherly and loving. To have that person in her arms and be pampered by them, even as they engage in something that isn''t eptable socially; to have sex with someone she shouldn''t have thoughts like that for. That''s also understandable, and something that she can ept as apart of her..." Turning back around, I gave Kat a smile as I ced the ''rusted'' sword on her waiting hands, the Dogkin staring at me with a neutral expression as she listened to me, not saying a word or trying to either argue or offer a counterpoint of some kind; just sitting there, looking sexy as ever and listening to me as I spoke. "But mine... I can''t ept it. I won''t ept it. It''s hideous, it''s not apart of who I am, who I want to be... It disgusts me, repulses me, makes me feel things I never want to feel ever again. It is NOT who I am.... and I''m afraid that if I let you all know about it, it''ll change how you look at me. I don''t think its something that can be easily dismissed and ''worked on'' like any of yours. So... I don''t want to talk about it." Laying another chunk of ore on the anvil, I let out a sigh before switching the subject, leaving it at that as I instead asked "Did I ever tell you much about my siblings?", taking my mind off of something I hated and instead recing it with something that I adored. "No... honestly, I don''t think you ever said a thing about them. Only that your Mother might have gotten pregnant on one of your visits to March Asmodia?" That made me let out a bark ofughter as I nodded, my eyes boring a hole into the blue metal as I let my mind idly figure out what I should make, before I nced back at Kat and smiled softly at my mate. "Yeah... Pretty sure my Mom got her pregnant during one of those visits. When she was ''punishing'' Mother for how she was talking to Aunty~? Since then, Mother''s been busy raising a new litter of pups; she and Mom were ecstatic to hear she was with more than one child. As was I, honestly." "Oh? How many siblings do you have now?" Tapping the ore, I smiled as I replied "Four, and who knows? Mom might''ve struck while the iron was hot and added more to that number whilst I was away~?", before exhaling sharply as I just ced my hammer back on the anvil and turned around, unable to focus now. "Gods Kat... Do you know how much I used to pray that I could have a litter or two with you? I used to imagine that before I went to sleep... made a mess of my sheets, but damnit was it worth it..." Shrugging off the apron, I grinned at my mate as I stalked towards her, watching amusedly as she ced the sword off to the side gently and stood up, understanding what was happening and doing everything right as she turned around and bent over, offering her ass to me and letting me know she was ready to fulfill her role as my mate. I slid her panties to the side and grabbed my cock, shuddering at how good it felt to just wrap my fingers around my shaft as I stood there behind her, the angry red of my penis contrasting her almost milky white skin, just like it contrasted against my darkerplexion. My cock slid inside her without any issue, and her soft moan as she epted me into her cunt was as insanely incredible as it was the first time we had mated, stimting my senses and making me all the more sensitive as I pressed my knot against her ass and moaned myself, unable to hold back. My hips moved on their own, swinging back and forth as I started mating with Kat once again, seeking out that pleasurable bliss that came with making love to the most beautiful woman in the world. "How many pups do you want with me, my love~? How many litters of pups are we going to have together~?" Holding her fluffy cheeks in my hands, I mmed myself forwards as fast as I could, my knot kissing her pussy lips over and over again as we made love in the all too familiar rough and instinctual fashion that we always did, letting go of ourselves and just doing what our bodies craved the most. "I-It''s... not like I''m ah~ Not like I''m gonna have a choice, is it~? Ah~! T-The way you three..! Ah~ AH~!!" Hanging her head, Kat gasped for breath as I beat her womb into submission and prepared her to receive my seed, getting my mate ready to be bred and able to carry my pups when I impregnated her, shocks traveling up my spine as her juicy pussy squished my cock in just the right ways. The wet sounds of her pussy squelching with each thrust made her moans even sweeter as I made love to her perfect ass, smacking it and marking it with handprints as I made it ripple and jiggle as much as I could. "I f-feel~ like I''ll be pregnant~! Ah~! F-For quite a long time~! W- When~! AH~! AH~! H-HARDER~!" Making the usuallyposed Kat be such a mess was also thrilling, and I continued to beat her cheeks relentlessly as I reached my orgasm, my knot swelling and growing hot as my sperm prepared to make its way into her womb, where it would take root and get her pregnant... Getting my bitch pregnant with a litter of pups... I really did use to dream about it almost every night after I first met her... Letting my knot fill with more and more sperm, I continued to fuck Kat silly and make it impossible for her to do anything besides moan and eventually scream when I grabbed her thick ass and pushed myselfpletely inside her. When I started to ejacte, I moaned crazily as my mind nked, ecstasy flowing through my veins as I pumped my sperm into my bitch, my instincts ring up and shrouding my mind in bliss as I tried to get Kat pregnant. Leaning over her, I bared my fangs and bit into her flesh around her corbone, finding her nd quickly and pumping that full as well, making sure my mate was properly marked and properly taken care of. After half of my knot had been emptied, I came back around and removed my fangs from her flesh, licking the two wounds and savoring the taste of her blood and pheromones before whispering "You''re right, Kat... when we settle down and make a family, I don''t think you''ll ever have more than a few days where you aren''t with child... We''ll be making sure of that, my love... We''ll impregnate you every day we can, to have as many children as possible, all because we love you and want to breed you... to have as many offspring as we can... Gods above I want to get you pregnant so bad..." Kissing her neck, I kept pouring my semen into her womb and bloating her belly, all while I held her close and clung to her, seekingfort from her body in more ways than just sexually. Chapter 940 939: Familial Bliss Chapter 940 939: Familial Bliss ??Holding my mate close to myself, I enjoyed the pleasure she gave me for as long as I possibly could, before she finally came back around and leaned into my chest, her handnding on my cheek as she caressed me. "I love you... Anput... so please stop hurting..." Her barely lucid speech made me smile softly as I squeezed my arms around her, trailing my hands over her smooth skin and relishing in the unique hot yet cold feeling of her body as much as I could, all while I was still firmly inside her depths. "That''s a tough ask, my love... You just don''t understand how hard you make me~! Nor do you understand the pains thate with being so madly in love with a woman and having your body give such a visible indication of your love... Or how the aching inside my loins will never cease when I am in your presence~!" That made her snort in amusement as she rubbed herself against me, her soft body making me lick my lips as I tried to hold back from taking her again, only for me to snort as well when she said "Yeah... having an erection must be such~ a big pain... really, Anput?" "What~? It is... I get so~ hard just thinking about holding you... is that not a pain? Or how much my heart aches when I can''t have you in my arms..." "Romantic... especially considering where your hands are ced, my love... my heart is just aching for you at the moment." Her dry voice and exasperated expression made me chuckle as I gave her breasts a firm squeeze, showing them some love and enjoying their softness as my fingers sunk into their depths, something that my mate just endured quietly as she let me do as I pleased. "Hey, tonight, I wanna fall asleep with my face on your butt." "What?" "What?" We stared at one another for a few moments before she just chuckled and shook her head, that exasperated expression not leaving her face at all as she just repeated "What?" one more time, as if she couldn''t believe what I had said. "I wanna fall asleep on top of your butt. It''s so soft... and it smells great, especially after I finish knotting you." "What... Never mind; though I am curious... why not on my chest?" "That is a very close second, but uh... the thought of falling asleep with my cheek on your cheeks is nice, and I get to be close to your thighs and your tail? It''s just a win win for me..." "Alright... yeah, whatever... do what you want, horny jackal..." Chuckling, I kissed her neck some before finally pulling out, loving the pained gasp she made as I pushed against my pillows for tonight and freed myself from her insides, allowing my seed to spill out like a waterfall onto the floor, making me shake my head as I turned away from my mate as she started to clean up. "Kat, really, I can''t promise that this won''t be a... an interesting couple of days, honestly, but I''ll be fine, really. Just need some time. Oh, and remind Jahi and Leone that during these next couple of days, if they want to, they can just pull me aside whenever they want and fuck me. That''ll be one hell of a help, honestly." "And not me?" Letting out a bark ofughter, I turned back around and grinned at Kat as I said "Baby, I''m going to be using you once an hour at the very least, trust me. You all are tip toeing around me like I''m sick or something, and the only cure is to make me feel good? Fuck yeah I''m going to abuse this privilege! Your ass is mine for a few days~!" Kat just gave me a dry look in response to that, but she sighed and muttered "I hate how I know that''s going to happen... I want you happy, and they both just don''t think too deeply about this in the same way; Jahi loves the excuse to use you freely, while Leone''s way of solving this problem is taking the most obvious solution and handing it to you on a silver tter..." "A tter that I will love~ to lick clean whenever and however she wants~! But seriously Kat, I''ll be good. Just... let me be, go about your day normally... don''t worry, I''ll be perfectly alright. Just need some time is all. Speaking of, that pen of yours; how''s it feel?" sping on her bra, the Dogkin nodded and pursed her lips, staring at the pen and epting this subject change once more as we got back to work, the dynamic of one second being all over one another and the next second being hard at work forging and enchanting. "Good. Each type of mana so far seems to have its own sort of... personality, I guess? Even from the same element, they all act differently. Your Fire Mana is rough and powerful, while Leone''s flows like water almost, but the power in it is... incredible. I can''t even begin to wonder what Lightning Mana feels like... hells, or Light Mana honestly." "Well we knew that, right? That old guy at the Academy, our professor or whatever? Didn''t he say that your Wind Mana was like a gale whilst that random pipsqueak had a soft breeze or something? Mana is kinda tied to the personality of the wielder and also to their over all mana type." The Dogkin behind me just nodded, raising a brow as I ogled her covered chest before I just turned away and rid myself of the horny... as impossible as it was, picking up one of the other chunks of ore as I got an idea helped quite well to getting me back to a normal state of mind. "Just like how these two ores here are both Water attuned ores, right? But this one is dense and brittle, whilst having a higher mana capacity, and this one is malleable and soft, but has little mana in it. Both are Water attuned ores, but... they really are not that simr past that descriptor. Also... where did you find this? This is rather potent and of quite a good quality too... few imperfections that I can see... fucking hell, honestly it might be mostly pure already..." "Oh... y''know..." Raising my brow, I nced back at the Dogkin, staring at her sexy body and how utterly- Taking a deep breath, I focused on her face and not those mountainous- I mean... Gods be damned it''s hard NOT to be horny when she''s just practically BEGGING to be bred again... How much stronger can her scent be?! And why is she looking all sorts of adorable as she squirmed around and hesitantly nced at me from the corner of her eye?! I just wanna pounce on her and make her my bitch all over again... but we just finished a few minutes ago... but I was so damn horny too... but we just did it... My mind ping ponged around as I went from being horny to being able to think about why it was odd she was still quiet, before it just settled on horny when she shyly said "I just... got it? From... somewhere." "Oh for... No, nope, get naked, we''re having more sex right now. Like three rounds minimum... Oh fuck me, just keep looking at me like that and it''ll be five minimum..." Throwing off the apron that I had ced on myself again, I just pounced on my mate and started to take her again and again, unable to help myself as she mewled and pleaded under me, begging me to rough her up and make her entirely mine once more, something that only fanned the mes of lust inside me until I waspletely and utterly empty... upon which Kat cast a healing spell and helped me regenerate some more spunk for herself. Really, she was just the perfect lover in all sorts of ways~! ~~~ Jahi PoV "Oh... Kat is certainly having an incredible time right now..." Looking up from my book, I nced at Leone and smirked at how my Vampire blushed at that news, her red cheeks matching her eyes now as she hesitantly asked "And... where is she..?" "With Anput over at the forge. Cheeky little pup is probably milking this situation as much as she can... but, if that''s what makes her feel better, than I certainly don''t mind. Especially not since she seems to be even more in heat than normal. Bet you''re loving that huh, Princess~?" Getting up, I made my way towards the chair Leone was sitting in and sat on the arm, leaning down to bury my face into her soft hair and enjoy the spicy, warm scent that was so deeply ingrained into my psyche as the scent of MY woman... It was to the point that cinnamon WAS Leone''s, so every time I smelt it it made me think entirely of her, just like I hoped anything sweet made them think of me. "Hey, could you two stop doing... whatever this is out in the open please? Try to get yourself proper for when your grandparents are here, alright?" Peeking out from the nest of soft grey hair, I stared at Mom and just shook my head at the Demoness who was telling me to tone it down, when she herself was enjoying the embraces of both of her women, who were sitting on herp. Mother was rolling her eyes, whilst Miss Julie was blushing slightly as she tried to push away from Mom, who responded with the ever so powerful grab and drag, where she grabbed Miss Julie''s butt and pulled her back over, all whilst squeezing and making the Dogkin even more embarrassed and shy then she was before. "And why should I do that when you aren''t..?" "Huh? They KNOW that I am like this, and that there is no ''saving'' me or ''saving'' their daughter; what they don''t know is that you are just as much of a horn ball as I am, so try to keep up appearances?" "But... why?" Ruffling Leone''s hair just because, I stared at Mom for a few moments before looking at Mother and instead asking "Wouldn''t it be best to just be myself and let them see the real me instead of putting on some fake mask? I feel like a businessman and an assassin sh spy would see through that right away, no?" Mother just let out a sigh as she nodded, the Elf looking rather tired and unenthusiastic as she replied "That would be best, yes..." before ncing at Miss Julie as she added "On one hand, I envy you for being able to have a daughter as refined as Katherine, but on the other... well, we both know she isn''t really that... ''refined'' either..." Surprisingly, Miss Julie just smiled wryly and nodded as she said "I know, but... that''s what makes her unique and so lovable, isn''t it? Besides... she is well behaved and mannered." "And I''m not?" "HA! Fuck no you aren''t!" I just blinked, before Mother and I both said "She is (I am) more refined than you are!" at the same time, making Mom freeze before she just snorted and shook her head. "Nope, incorrect. Besides, I have the ability to unt my Knight status and wealth to excuse what you call poor behavior! Not many people can im to be the inws of Knights you know!" We all gave Mom a dry look at that, the pride thatced her tone as well as the sheer arrogance in her promation making us all shake our heads, before Mother spoke up again. "And not many can say they have my Father or my Mother as inws, or say they are married to a Saintess, and yet here you sit..." Mom just frowned before rolling her eyes and looking at Miss Julie, who was giving Mom a nk stare as she muttered "Can you believe this knife ear?" "Jahi, just don''t grow up to be as dimwitted and as suicidal as your Mom, and I think your grandparents will consider that a win." The sharp scent of ozone made Mom freeze, and I smiled wryly as I said "Yeah... also, Mom, might be time to drop that ''nickname'' huh..? Don''t know why you haven''t learned yet..." Pursing her lips, Mom stared at Mother out of the corner of her eye as she just responded "Risk and reward, Jahi, risk and reward... The risk is high, but damnit is the reward not worth it and then some. Honestly I think you were conce-!" She was shocked swiftly before she could finish that sentence, and I raised a brow before tactfully nodding at Miss Julie when she gestured for me to leave now, instead of prying into... whatever that was. And considering the azure eyes Mother currently had, as well as the red ears and cheeks, I guarantee that this was something I really, really didn''t want to hear... Not ever... Chapter 941 940: Take, Give, Take

Chapter 941 Chapter 940: Take, Give, Take

Kat PoV "Anput~! Anput..!" Moaning the name of my mate, I forcefully pushed her off and half red at her as I pointed down at her loins and said "Listen, I know you want to keep going but you are literally unable to at the moment! Calm down! Please! We''ve been going at it for too long!" Pursing her lips, the Jackalkin looked down at herself before sighing as she muttered "Damnit... sometimes I dislike not having a humanoid version... could keep going if I did..." I rolled my eyes at her as I began to clean myself off, washing away the seed that soaked my inner thighs and doing my best to wash away the scent too, so that I could walk around the Pce without feeling embarrassed; I could ept a lot of things, but even I was still not entirely ''slutty'' enough to openly parade myself after many, many vigorous rounds with my mate. That was just asking for trouble in many different ways, so I wanted to avoid it as best I could, which made my mate pout as she watched me ''undo her hard work'' and get myself clean and sightly, before I started to get dressed as I said "Take some time for yourself, Anput... I think it''ll do you good. You were already nning on it, but uh... it seems that I can''t get you to talk about it and it also seems that me being here will just lead to more..." Trailing off, I waved my hands at myself and at her nude body, before she let out a sigh and made her way back to the anvil, nodding and quietly saying "Yeah, I think it''d be best... Where are you going though? To rest, or..?" "I was thinking of heading to the markets with Leone, have a look around and get some different things if I could. Find some inspiration, perhaps? Don''t know, but I want to walk around and do something besides just have sex, as surprising as that sounds, and I think I just want to be back inside the city, y''know? It''s...fortable, in a way." "Yeah, I guess it can be. Familiar and all that. Well, let me know if you find any ores that are interesting, or old weapons that can be smelted down and forged into something new. Keep adding to that stockpile of coin for the future." "Ah! That reminds me, Jahi needs to start looking into that. Deciding which sectors we should invest in and get some ideas on what would do well for us at the moment. I doubt we''ll have much more peace in the uing years, but if we can umte more wealth whilst all this chaos is going on..." "We''d be set for the rest of our lives and able to do whatever we want~! Working to get our future secured would be nice, but it''s also nice to know we can always make money no matter what; my forging, your enchanting, Leone''s alchemy... all of it is so lucrative~!" I chuckled at that, pulling on my shirt and giving myself one final wash as I added "And Jahi''s strength and influence means we could secure good loans too if we were ever that desperate... and that stubborn as to refuse financial aid from someone close to us. Besides that, she could also make money selling her sword; someone''s always going to need something roughed up or killed." Leaning against the anvil, Anput smirked as she crossed her arms under her perky chest, the Jackalkin''s obsidian eyes shining with an interestingbination of possessiveness and amusement as she said "And if we weren''t as... close to one another, I would dare say we could a fortune selling her ''sword'' to someone too~!" That made me snort as I raised a brow, my eyes meeting my mate''s as I replied "And if we weren''t as close, I could also sell my ''scabbard'' and more than a fortune, but we both know that is impossible. Because I''d be chained up in some reclusive dungeon in the middle of nowhere before I had the chance to. Same with Jahi..." Anput snickered at that, her eyes shing silver for a moment as she nodded and let her overall expression speak for herself, something that made me shake my head as I added "Why even bother joking about it if it gets you slightly irritated, Anput?" "I... Just go already and stop making sense woman! Jeez... can''t I just have a guilty thought every once in awhile? Hmph..." "That''s not a guilty thought, its borderline masochistic and suicidal if you keep thinking about it around any of us, my love... you know that..." She just waved me off and turned back around, looking down at her forge and fiddling with the chunk of ore thaty atop the metal surface, which was my cue to leave and head back into the Pce, walking through its magnificent corridors and finding my way back to the familiar room that we had associated with home, joining a small list of areas that I wasfortable enough to describe that way. Inside, I found myself frowning at the lingering sweet scent of ozone and the various moansing from the room that wasn''t ours, only to shrug my shoulders and head into the room that was, which... also had moans, though... "Fucking... hells... I didn''t know you were... so good at this, Leone..." Laying t on her stomach, Jahi was sprawled out on the bed and moaning happily as the Vampire sat on her thighs and pressed her hands into the chiseled muscles of the Demoness'' back, working at the kinks and knots that had formed and loosening them up. "I didn''t either..." Seeing the confused, yet happy expression on Leone''s face as she pressed deep into the Demoness'' back and pushed forwards, I just coughed gently and grabbed their attention, with Leone blushing like she had just been caught doing something naughty whilst Jahi nced at me curiously as she asked "Where''s Anput?" "Still in the forge... She was... milking my kindness a tad too much, so I decided to escape for a little while. Wanted to see if Leone would apany me into the city..? And before you ask, I think it''d be best if you get to nning, my love. Figure out what we should do with our money?" Jahi groaned at that, burying her face into a pillow that she grabbed as she grumbled "I don''t wanna be responsible... it sounds so boring and annoying..!", which made Leone smile wryly as she opened her mouth to say something, only to remain silent as I gave her a small smile. "But you ARE supposed to be Head of our Family, are you not~? This is YOUR responsibility... and besides, surely you don''t want to be heading out to fight monsters every day to keep food on our table when we finally have children, right? To be away from them and have Anput, Leone and I working hard to provide as well, all while we care for YOUR children..." cing emphasis on a few words, I listened to Jahi grumble and groan for a few more seconds with a smirk on my face, before I wiped it away and gave her a small, sweet smile instead when she looked at me with those dazzling amethyst eyes, making my smile widen somewhat with how she stared at me and how she peeked at Leone, who was blushing. "I... hah... when you put it like that... yeah, I guess I need to start now, huh..? I really don''t want to... it sounds so boring and in, but... it needs to get done... Fine!" Shaking her legs, she signaled for Leone to move before sitting up, staring at me pointedly as she added "I''ll do it, but I want something for it! Motivation, not a reward! So promise me, while your both out..." Her lips curled into a smirk as she looked between Leone and I, her amusement and lust spiking very noticeably even without the bond as she coyly said "I want you both to go to a boutique, right, and I want you to pick out a nice, elegant dress. One each, I don''t care how much you spend on it. Something for a ball or other kind of snobby Noble event, and I want you toe home wearing them..." Leone blushed even more as she watched Jahi''s dragon rise for the asion, ready to spray its fire once more as she envisioned Leone and I in some formal gowns ready to be unpackaged like dolls. It was obvious she wanted to y with us and let loose some more despite how vigorously we had been going at it since we returned, and while any normal women might try to get out of this for fear of their bodies and minds, Leone and I weren''t going to deny this Demoness her due rewards, since we too were craving even more... And besides, Leone was someone who was excited by that kind of thing, and I was more than open for more y of any kind, especially something that could very easily be a new version of the usual y Jahi and I have together... A frightened Noblewoman being taken advantage of by someone bigger and stronger wasn''t much different than a frightened servant being taken advantage of, but that small shift was more than enough to keep it fresh and interesting for us~! "But of course~! The only thing is... we need a guarantee that you keep up your end of the bargain properly, my love~! So how do we know you won''t just pick up a book, seek out Anput, go train or do something else, all while we go out and get pretty for you~?" Teasing her was so much fun, since the Demoness was very unustomed to being doubted and otherwise told a variation of ''no'', so seeing her frown at me and lean forwards was amusing, especially when it came from us. Her wonderful, supporting wives who never told her no and instead made sure to do what she wanted~! To be fair though, she was rarely wrong or in need of being told no - the wonders of being wealthy, strong, and otherwise decently smart in most things - which made it all the better to watch her mind short circuit in person at this simple ask. "I..." Biting her lip, she tried to first voice her emotional response for that question, only to have her logic oriented mind stop her and cause her to doubt herself for a moment, wondering if she should voice her very mild hurt at my doubt of her honor before realizing that this was actually a logical thing for someone to do in this situation, to ask for a guarantee. Then she got to the very obvious logical answer that I was just messing with her, my smile and emotions very clear to her, to the point that she sighed quietly and hung her head, only to shake it as she said "Kat, I''m going to break you tonight. Maniptive bitch... Wanted to get me annoyed at you, huh?" My smile widened, and I practically preened as I nodded and replied "The sex is even better when you are annoyed with me, my love~! You need to vent it in some way, and what better way then to vent it into me~?" "Or I could just go workout? Hit the weights for a bit before setting pen to paper anding up with ideas?" That made my smile falter, and the Demoness smirked as she used my tactic against me, only to roll her eyes as I let out a huff and said "Fine, no dresses.", crossing my arms beneath my chest and pointedly looking away from her. "Fine, no sex." "Wha..?" Looking back at her, I pouted again at the Demoness as she smirked straight back at me, adding "And don''t even think of asking Anput or Leone to help you tonight~! I''ll take real~ good care of them at the same time... you know very well that I can multitask in bed, my minx~!" "Fine! I''ll get the damn dresses!" Chapter 942 941: Shopping Spree

Chapter 942 Chapter 941: Shopping Spree

"So... what exactly are we looking for out here..? Materials, weapons, ingredients..?" Humming to myself, I continued to lead Leone through the bustling market by the hand, weaving around and sometimes between people as I took us to where we needed to go, even if the route didn''t seem the most ideal. The market was as busy as ever, the sheer number of peopleing to buy things of all kinds and in all kinds of quantities filling the space to the brim and then some, which... On one hand, I felt rather cramped in this tight space, and I disliked how close we were to other people who were able to try and ''identally'' brush against Leone and I to cop a feel, though the mana I had lingering around my body and hers made that impossible. They only came away with cuts on their fingers or arms for daring to do something stupid, and whenever someone tried to say something to me about it, I just smiled sweetly at them and continued to walk, taking this time to practice my control in many different ways... If they truly did identally brush against us, they were left without any cuts and were just pressed away gently by the wind, but if they did reach for us - either for our waists, our breasts, or our butts - they got cut, in and simple. On the other hand though, I really enjoyed this melting pot of people and the sheer amount of stuff around us waiting to be viewed, upying my mind to most of its capacity as I entered ''shopping mode'', determined to look at everything I could and spend the money I had on whatever I wanted. Seeing all these people and all these goods was great, and I loved the way each trip was unique no matter what, the constant influx of new items keeping the market fresh whilst the vendors had to constantly adapt to the shifting avability of items, creating this intricate bnce that needed to be struck. It was just so fascinating to me in this world, where everything was sold and purchased on an individual level and not on a corporate level; most people bought and sold from small collectives of people and not gigantic collectives, meaning there was always a deal to be struck and middle ground to meet upon. Negotiations were required here, and the battle of wits and honing of your verbal prowess was just so damn addicting to me, the same way that Jahi and Anput found violence addicting or how Leone found alchemy addicting. It was just a skill that I had that I could further hone in unique ways for unique reasons, and now that I had ess to Lust Mana, I was tempted to begin utilizing it to make these deals more weighted in my favor... Though the thought also disgusted me a tad, something that made me smile wryly at how different I was nowpared to my previous life; the previous me would have loved this sort of thing, being able to go around and make people crazy with lust before pulling away and fading away, getting deals and gratification alike. "Materials primarily, my love. Ingredients included in that, of course; same thing, different system of use. See if we can find any sort of interesting things to make use of, be it ores, gemstones, crystals, bones and any other thing that Anput could make use of. And of course, any herbs and alchemical ingredients that you might be interested in. Otherwise... I don''t think there is much else of interest for us, is there? Besides the dresses, of course~! Ah! Let''s look here~!" Of course, I didn''t say that I was going to be slipping chunks of System purchased ores and the like into the various bundles of things we bought, which I would have Anput utilize to make us some really powerful gear; enchanted gauntlets, bracers or gloves that have some great support spells, boots that have speed spells, weapons that I can enchant with a myriad of things... Wands and staves as well, one for each of us going forwards; Leone could utilize a nice staff with a really big chunk of Fire Mana infused crystal on its top, while the Jackalkin could probably make do with a simple wand to spice up her fighting style, same with Jahi. Then there were the alchemical ingredients for Leone to brew up some vats of potion that could make fights easier, or perhaps she could get into the medicinal salves and pills that were moreplicated but had more benefits to them that needed time to get to work... There was a lot of things I wanted to get, but the primary wants that I had were more System Made Items for all of us, as well as for the Marquess, the Countess, Mother, and of course, Lakshmi and Alessandra; something to keep them safe and help them going forwards, and it was something I was more than willing to splurge on and try to find a way to exin... It would need to be a matching set of things, something that all of them would wear and something inconspicuous too, but something powerful... it would take a bit of time to look through all the options, but I was going to do it tonight, back in the miniature church inside the Pce. "How can I help ya, Miss~? Ah, Miss''s! My apologies~!" A jolly Cowkin woman grinned at Leone and I as we entered a simple store, the horned anvil sign ?drawing me in out of curiosity, which was promptly rewarded as the beautiful Cowkin woman and her gigantic Bullkin partner smiled at us. The Bullkin in the back was standing beside an anvil, where his tongs and hammer rested as he waited for something inside the forge, while the Cowkin was walking around and helping the customers inside the store, her corset propping her gigantic chest up and making it clear this was a marketing strategy... One that worked wonders considering the amount of people inside looking to buy some self defense daggers or some simple tools of some kind, all while they tried to subtly ogle the Cowkin woman without alerting the Bullkin, who was just smirking as he looked around proudly. "Good evening. We were looking for any materials you had..? Raw ores and the like, if you sell them." "But of course~! Over in that corner there, all the raw ores, ingots, and other materials are situated on those three tables and those shelves~! Go take a look, and call me over if ya see something ya want~! Oh, yes dear~?" She darted from customer to customer, keeping her hands up in a rather unique pose as she pressed her elbows together to emphasize her chest, which bounced with every single little movement... "She''s uh..." Leone''s murmur behind me made me chuckle as I pulled her over to the tables shown to us, which wereden with various goodies for me to investigate as I looked over everything. "She''s making a lot of coin, that''s for sure. And I bet her husband back there loves it too, being able to show off his wife so freely and not worry about someone trying something; I mean, he''s nearly seven feet tall and made entirely from muscle. And that hammer is pretty heavy..." The Vampire smiled wryly at that, before she lifted a gemstone and stared at it for a few moments, catching my attention too as I asked "Want that for a staff, right? It''s a pretty ruby too, but..." "It''d be alright for what we want, but yeah... not enough juice inside it. Though..." "Could make a bracer with some sort of healing spell enchanted onto it? Or some kind of glove for an offensive spell." "Mhm..." cing it back down, Leone joined me inbing through the materials, before we stacked together a small pile of goodies that cost us a dozen some odd gold, which the Cowkin very happily promised to ship up to the Pce for an extra gold coin when Leone showed her the Royal Medallion. With some ores and the like secured, we went next door to the alchemist shop and perused their herbs,ing away with a few bundles of different leaves and twigs that looked simr, but had vastly different effects... ording to Leone anyways. Then we went across the street to another cksmith shop, then we went to another ce, then another, then another... Time began to blur together as I dropped coin after coin in each ce, securing a giant haul that would instantly be turned into enchanted gear that I would then sell for double to triple the total I spent before doing it again, and then again, and then again... During those trips, I added a thing or two here and there when they epted the bundles, which we ced into containers before handing them over; containers that were made from my Ice Mana and sealed securely, so that they couldn''t see the prime goody I had added... which was whenever Leone was looking away. We both added things that the other didn''t see, so I wasn''t too worried about it, and the alchemical ingredients would be fun surprises for her when we got back home, something to make her all the more giddy and loving as we cuddled together before bed. Besides that, we also stopped at a few stores that sold normal ingredients as well, Leone wanting me to bake some treats tonight or tomorrow that needed us to ensure we had the right things, so we bought those too. But, it all led up to the boutique that we now stood in front of, thevish exterior and almost formal aura around the store making me feel underdressed already, though when Leone just walked inside without a care in the world, I followed her this time as we entered territory that she was more familiar with than I was. And it was a good thing too, since she practically had to keep the medallion in her hand and raised up at eye level considering the amount of people giving us odd looks when we entered, something that made me click my tongue as I felt my skin crawl slightly. I really disliked ces like this, but... The dresses were absolutely stunning, so it was well worth it. Chapter 943 942: Preparations

Chapter 943 Chapter 942: Preparations

"What kind of style should we be going for, Kat? I don''t... really know what to look for at the moment..." Leone was in a constant state of blushing as she looked around the boutique, the Vampire trying to determine which dress would look best on her and which one Jahi would like the best, which was leading her then to the actions that would follow us acquiring those dresses... She had always been such a cutie in regards to these sorts of things, her embarrassment never fading even as Jahi introduced her to more and more types of y and simplyid with her more often than she could have likely ever imagined. Somehow, someway, Leone was still rtively ''pure'' in this regard, unable to take this tant disy of lust without being somewhat embarrassed about it, though I knew she would toss away her embarrassment without any hesitation when she actually got into the mood, but that was only ever when she was in bed or about to be bedded. So I just smiled softly at her and replied "Whichever style you want, Leone. Do you want to be really fancy and dolled up, or do you want it to be a bit more subdued and formal? Trust me, Jahi will love either one very, very much, and she will definitely make sure to create some form of y for whatever~ you choose here, my love... believe me on that." Her cheeks reddened even more as she peeked at me, ogling my features as I appraised the various dresses around us and ced myself within each, trying to figure out what I wanted to wear as well. Unlike Leone, I had a very clear style that I wanted to go for, and it would elicit my desired reaction from Jahi, meaning the problem now was finding the dress that suited my tastes... and I was going to be really picky with this, since I can make use of this dress many times over. "May I be of help to the Princess? I overheard a smidgen of your conversation - my apologies for that - but it appears that you require a dress for a y of some sort..?" An older white haired man approached us out of the blue, his wrinkled face showing his age and his wisdom as he looked between us, his backpletely straight whilst his butler suit hugged his surprisingly muscr frame quite well. It was always a joy to see a proper butler no matter how many times I saw one, so I gave the older man a small smile and a nod before I returned to my own viewing, leaving Leone to blush as she hesitantly nodded and said "I... Yes, for a y. It''s... not too rich of an event, but..." Her voice trailed off as the Vampire entered the unfamiliar grounds of spinning a web of white lies to get what she wanted, and it was far too amusing to me to witness, so I remained quiet and simply smiled as she looked between the butler and I, who also nced at me for a very brief moment. "A y... Ah, it''s not too rich, but you still have appearances to upkeep, yes? Something elegant and refined, something with ss, but not something shy or gaudy... Hmm... yes, we have a few dresses that fit those requirements, Princess. If you would, please follow me; I shall guide you over to those dresses. And Miss..?" "Katherine Zara. A pleasure~!" Giving him a curtsy, I maintained my calm smile even as he nodded and gave me a bow back, his eyes shining with understanding as he said "Ah, Baroness Zara! I knew I recognized you, but I didn''t want to be rude... Are you attending the same event as the Princess?" Hearing the butler say my new title out loud was weird, and I almost shivered as I had to refrain from telling him to drop it and just treat me like a servant, which I no longer was... it was my first time really experiencing this with someone I wasn''t close too already, so I just kept smiling as I shook my head. "I am attending the same event, yes, but I have a style in mind for myself. Please, give Leone your undivided attention. I''m more than ustomed to finding dresses for myself and for others." The butler gave me a small nod, his eyes holding some confusion for a brief moment before he did as I asked after giving me another bow, turning back to Leone and leading the confused Vampire away. My lips twitched into a smirk as I watched the Vampire hesitantly follow the butler along, though she quickly donned her own mask as she slid back into the regal attitude that was expected of a Princess, though I could tell from afar that she didn''t really know what to think of the dresses presented to her. But, now it wasn''t my problem, though I kept my eyes and nose trained on her as I walked around on my own, looking at the various dresses on disy and giving each a grade in my mind based on the criteria I wanted. A long, flowing red dress that was strapless with golden ents along the corbone, down the middle and down each side of the legs clung tightly to the mannequin, entuating the soft curves of the wooden figure and making it hard for me to really figure out if that dress would even work on my body. My chest alone would be rather troublesome... for more reasons than one. It would definitely be too tight, meaning my breasts would probably spill out of the dress, while it was also too low cut for my figure as well, meaning a mountainous amount of cleavage would be on disy... Which wasn''t what I wanted, surprisingly enough. Next, an emerald green velvet dress entered my vision, and I approached it curiously as I took in the frills around the neck, waist and ankles, which were stitched with silver to add an intriguing shimmer to the entire thing; that silver thread was also used to form floral patterns across the torso, breaking up the monotony of the green and giving people something to look at. The chest waspletely covered, and the bottom portion seemed to have a small hoop to ensure it didn''t cling to your figure at all, which was... also not what I wanted. I wanted an in between of racy and formal, something that showed off my curves but did so in a tasteful way, while also wanting something that would look a bit elegant and refined; something worthy of a Baroness. Not too rich, but not too simple either; like porridge, it needed to be just~ right for me, and that was a mark that was bing increasingly rare it seemed... The next dress was a beautiful dark purple that had an opaque ckce boob window and a thigh to ankle slit of a more transparent ckce, revealing some of your leg and emphasizing your chest whilst still keeping it covered. The neckline was a simr ckce - almost like a cor - while the dress revealed a good portion of your shoulders, a ''n'' of sorts hooking up around the front of your neck and revealing a good portion of your upper back as well; it was interesting, and certainly a dress to keep in mind, but- "Oh~? I think that would look downright ravishing on you, my Lady~!" A voice sounded out beside me, and I frowned as I nced to the side, my eyesnding on the smooth olive skin of a Lioness that stood a head taller than me. Lithe and looking rather handsome in a full ck suit, the Lioness'' fluffy golden hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail, while her lips were painted an opaque yellow that matched her hair, which... was an interesting choice. Golden earrings, a gold ne with a pendant hidden beneath her cor, golden pocket watch, rings and a bracelet... she wore quite a bit of gold on herself, and the subdued sandalwood cologne that was spritzed across her suit was well thought out, meaning... "Purple would suit you well, but I do think red fits you best, my Lady... there is a red dress over here that would look perfect on you..." Smiling at me confidently, the Lioness gestured towards another dress and took this moment to look me over, her green eyes not showing much emotion besides interest and lust as she gave me a one over, though just like her outfit and her style, she wasn''t overstaying her wee with her gaze either, looking back at my face and maintaining her smile. "Don''t you think so too, my Lady? I noticed you were against that other red dress - far too revealing and unbing for someone as elegant as you - and that you seemed interested in the green dress, but..?" Walking forwards, the Lioness kept herself a pace away from me and used her hands to entuate her words, though that meant that they strayed too close sometimes, which was very clearly on purpose as she continued to grab my attention and pull me into her flow. "It was too formal, correct? Hence the next option - that purple dress. It was a suitable in between, but like I said... purple would look wonderful on you, but red... red is truly your color~! So, might I suggest this dress? Ah, and in case you were wondering, yes, I am an employee here, not just a futanari hoping to court you~! Unless..?" My eyes flickered over to Leone for a moment, but seeing that she was busy with the butler, I mentally shrugged as I decided to have some fun and y along, not giving the Lioness a yes or a no as I simply looked at the dress she picked. Chapter 944 943: Whispers

Chapter 944 Chapter 943: Whispers

"Now, you clearly didn''t want something too over the top, but wanted something that wasn''t in or simple either, so a touch of richness is where we shall start. A tad more subdued, but far more close to what I think you would appreciate from one of our dresses. Red satin with golden threads woven along the edges to give it some of that extra ''oomph'', whilst still being rather tame. Exposed shoulder - either one, depending on preference - with this soft sash that would go up and around the neck like so, holding the dress up and helping to support your chest. This was made for women of all busts in mind, so unlike the prior dresses, this will certainly amodate ady like yourself." The Lioness gave me a small smile as she turned and stood beside the dress, her hand hovering just over the area that she wanted me to pay attention too as she continued to speak, trying to sell me on the dress whilst still being ''nice''. "Slightly lower cut than normal, but still within reason and able to be adjusted by folding or unfolding the sash as much as you pleased. If you look closely, the torso area of the dress is embroidered with roses in a slightly darker red thread; from afar, the dress is simply this beautiful scarlet, but up close it is clear there are patterns. The waist is brought in somewhat with the corset that is hidden within the dress, though it is far looser than most corsets, with its sole purpose being to ensure your figure is as you want it to be. Down below, the satin flows like water andes down towards your ankles, but the design makes it difficult to step onto the dress and cause yourself to stumble. Tighter up top but flowing down below. What do you think, mydy?" I looked the mannequin up and down a few times before giving her a slight nod, making the Lioness smile softly as she turned and began to appraise the other dresses, finding me another option. "Was it too tame, or simply not suitable for your tastes?" "A bit of both." "A bit of both... something more risqu¨¦, or something more elegant? Stick with the red, or shall we begin considering other colors? Purples and blues primarily... perhaps neutrals instead? cks, greys, maybe whites?" "Red, a bit more risqu¨¦, but not by a lot. I... want some eyes on me..." I gave the Lioness a small smile, one she returned as she nodded and gestured for me to follow her again, giving me full view of her tail swishing side to side as her hopeful excitement continued to rise somewhat. And as I looked her over, I nodded slightly at what I saw, not minding it one bit; she was eye candy, that was for sure, but the actions she was taking and the rather obvious hope to ''court'' me was a definite turn off for me now, especially since I could just nce at Leone and reground myself without any issue. Unlike before, when I thought about what would happen if Leraie pushed me down after confessing that she had lusted after me when we first met, I wasn''t really looking at this futanari Lioness with any sort of debauched lust, just amusement and pride at being able to make a rtively attractive and desirable futanari lust after me once more. It was a petty, stupid thing to be proud of, something that was entirely vain and served no purpose, but the more she looked at me like that, and the more she acted the way she did around me, the more I felt amused and found myself enjoying this shopping trip even more, though when a certain voice rang out in my ear as a seductive whisper, I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. "What''s wrong with being revered and seen as a gorgeous, sexy woman with an ass so perfect most men, futanari, and even some women want to worship it~? Isn''t that what you are owed as a beautiful woman, an icon of what lust represents~? Isn''t that your right, my Masque~?" Cali''s voice filled my ears as she floated beside me,pletely invisible and unnoticeable to anyone else besides me as she added "Why not tease this futanari some more, Katherine dear~? unt this sexy body of yours, give her some material for tonight... earn yourself a discount for this dress~! What''s wrong with that~? It''s not cheating, nor is it being disloyal... after all, you''re saving your blue hunk some money doing something so harmless~!" The longer she whispered in my ear, the more I felt like I was listening to a Devil, not a Fiend, though I wasn''t really sure there was a distinction between the two; either way, her dark, desireden voice was so sickly sweet as she dredged up memories of when I used to do just that. Head into a clothing store and try things on before someone said something about what I looked like, using others to gauge what looked best on me before giving them some ''service'' as I posed or winked at them, making many men and women blush... Disgust warred against lust inside me as I recalled my past self, one that felt like it was from so many years, so many decades ago, and yet something that was actually not even a handful of years in my past. Maybe a decade most since I was that... vain, but still, it was... hard to believe, what with how long my time has been inside this world, and as I looked at the futanari Lioness again, I was reminded of just how different it was from my old one... how different I was from my old self... In some ways... "So, something a bit more risqu¨¦ but still ''decent'' enough to get you into most formal events, save for the more strict, dress code oriented ones. This is made from ruby silk, so it is a bit on the darker side, which would be bestplimented by a brighter jacket or a scarf. Now, the dress itself is more than just ruby silk; as you can see, it has ace chest and neckline, whilst the back is a bit of a lower cut, ending around the middle of your back. Like the previous, this dress has a corset sewn inside, and there is a slit snaking up from your ankle to the middle of your thigh. No sleeves, slightly revealed shoulders, tight material... It is revealing, but also ssy enough to draw eyes, not lust. Across the torso, cloudy gas have been used to create this beautiful mystic knot symbol on your left side, whilst the slit on the right thigh bnces out the dress and creates a flow up towards thece, which is also sewn as repeating mystic knots. Transparent, but not entirely see through." The dress she had in front of me was quite the dress, hitting many of the marks I wanted and even appearing to be quite affordable too at sixty gold... Arge chunk of change for most average families in the Empire, but thankfully I wasn''t from an average family, and I had the means to make that much in a few mere hours by selling some enchanted gear, or healing someone of their injuries, or killing a monster... "Is it at all possible to try it on..? It does look quite beautiful and what I was searching for, but seeing it on a mannequin and seeing it on myself... it could look entirely different!" Smiling at the Lioness, I watched as she looked between me and the dress a few times to envision what I would look like in it before she said "I would need proof of fund and a small downpayment to ensure you don''t attempt to steal the dress, or in the case that you damage it in some way... The downpayment would be returned to you upon the return of the dress, of course. And we have maids on staff to help you in and out of the dress, free of charge." Taking out the coin purse, I opened it up and showed her therge collection of gold coins, before I fished out ten as she said "The downpayment will be ten gold, mydy. Please make your way over to changing room five please; one of the maids will be joining you in a minute with the dress. Might I have a name..?" She opened a notepad and began to jot some things down on the paper, nodding to herself as I said "Katherine. Kat works well too.", which made her look up and smile at me as she nced at my ears. Smiling back at her, I added "Amusing, isn''t it? I don''t think my Mother really thought about that when she named me...", earning a chuckle from her as she nodded again. "It''s certainly memorable, Lady Kat. Hard to forget the Dogkin woman named Kat, isn''t it~?" Chuckling softly, I nodded before making my way over to the dressing room, but not before I heard Cali whisper "Why not ask her if she''ll let you know how well you look in the dress, hm~? In a slightly shy tone, something to spur her on~? Get her excited and anticipatory..." The Arch Fiend''s whisper was flooded with that sickly sweetness from before, and a shiver went down my spine as she brushed her lips against my ear, clearly enjoying this immensely as she was given such a prime opportunity to try and twist my mind for her own gain. "Wouldn''t it feel so~ good seeing her bing so~ excited to see what you look like~? I mean, we all know you''ll be a knockout, Kat... utterly delectable in a dress like that. Downright seductive in something that many women would struggle to pull off properly... But shouldn''t we enjoy ourselves, hm~? Get her riled up thinking about these ''puppies'' of yours beneath thatce, or seeing just how slender your waist can be inparison to your hips~? Mm..." Another shiver traveled down my spine, and I fought the urge to snap at the Fiend as I entered the dressing room, but not before I nced back at the Lioness and met her gaze, her eyes hungry and utterly delighted as she smiled at me warmly, all while her gaze felt just like the predator she was ''rted'' to... Chapter 945 944: Dress

Chapter 945 Chapter 944: Dress

Entering the dressing room, I let out a low sigh before ncing back at the semi visible face of Cali, who drifted around the room with a grin on her face as she whispered "Wasn''t that such~ a hungry, primal look she was giving you~? I don''t doubt that if you asked her toe in and dress you up, the two of you would be at it like rabbits~! Her skin pressed all against yours... your bodies molding together with sweat and other fluids as you make sweet, sweet love inside this dressing room..." The Arch Fiend shivered as her grin turned even more smutty, getting clearly aroused by the idea of a quick rut inside the dressing room, the idea of being found out by someone else working here and just the thrill of meeting someone and instantly bing intimate with them getting her turned on like a light switch. Though... considering who she was, I wasn''t too surprised that she was this excitable at something that seemed so trivial and obvious. Floating towards the ceiling, she continued to grin at me as a maid entered the room, her petite frame hugged closely by the frilly maid uniform she wore, the ck and white clothplimenting her fair skin and midnight ck hair. "Lady Katherine, correct? This is the dress that you wished to try on?" She held up the dark red dress, showing off the cloudy gas andce that made this dress rather recognizable and unique in its own sort of way, even if the two things weren''t unique to this dress. "That is correct, Miss. How are we going to go about this..?" Hanging the dress on the wall, the maid closed the door behind her and locked it, sealing us into the room together and giving us both security and privacy as she turned back to me and said "To start, we are going to get you out of these clothes and down into your undergarments. I... understand that this might be embarrassing, but please-" Nodding, I set my extra gear off to the side and began to unbutton my shirt, surprising the maid as I pulled it over my head to reveal my bra d chest to her, which I noticed instantly she stared at with a mix of lust, surprise, and envy, though it dissipated quickly as she swallowed her words and instead said "Give me a moment, Lady Katherine. Allow me to stand behind you... We are going to need to take off the bra for this, so... apologies." "No need. That is what you are here for. And I imagine any undue action is expected to be punished ordingly..?" I didn''t need to turn to know that she shivered at the words, since my mana trickled out of my body just enough to let her know that I was rather strong, dispelling any terrible idea that she might have had... as long as she wasn''t of simr strength, but I could feel the mana inside her body and gauge her movements well enough to know she wasn''t a threat. Unless, of course, she was hiding all of her strength and was actually an assassin, but a quick nce up had my worries proven unfounded as Cali just continued to smile, taking in the sight of my cleavage with glee in her eyes as she shook her head slightly, answering my unspoken question and enjoying herself as well. So, I reached behind my back and unsped my bra as well, groaning softly as the support for my back was lost and I was left standing there with two heavy weights adorning my chest, though I was more than happy to bear that weight and had never really given much thought to losing it... Then I stripped downpletely to just my panties, which caused the maid to gulp behind me before she managed to pull herself together and grab the dress again, helping me into it. Like most clothing for women, it was a task and a half to just get it semi on my body, with no tightening, adjusting or anything at all still taking well over three minutes, the two of us struggling to pull it up and get most of it on my body. Then came the fun part of getting it adjusted to fit properly, with the constant shimmying and pulling being more than enough to be a workout on its own as I tried to get the dress fitted to me, its material being somewhat stic, at least to the point that I could reasonably fit inside it and begin the adjusting part, doing small tweaks here and there with the help of the maid. We were silent the entire time, working together toplete the task at hand; she would be tightening and looking after the corset whilst I made sure thece leading to my neck was smooth and seated properly on my skin, before she began to work on the silhouette while I worked on my chest. That took another four, five minutes at least to get finished, and by that point we were both staring at the mirror nkly as we gave our minds a brief moment of rest, all while we admired the final result; not thinking and just doing was a wonderful thing that happened during this process, and sadly my favorite part was one that I could only do a tad to help with. Red silk hugged my skin tight, the corset bringing my waist in just a bit while my bust and hips were allowed to re out as much as they wanted, giving me the hourss shape that was undeniably attractive and really difficult to obtain normally, though... Magic was a girls best friend, it seemed~! The slit was a bit more widened and pronounced on my leg then it had been on the mannequin, while thece window above my breasts revealed some more as well, though the longer I looked, the more I found it to be more appealing as I imagined the reaction that Jahi would have to it. Then my mind wandered to what Anput and Leone would think of this dress, one thatplimented my hair and eyes and contrasted my mana and general attitude, all while being such a contrast to my typical attire. My maid uniform was a ''dress'' of sorts, yes, but it was nowhere near this level of vish'', and I always wore a shirt and pants if I was out of the maid uniform, so this was definitely a rare sight for all three of my lovers. Speaking of, I nced at my slightly messy hair and ruffled fur on my ears, causing me to purse my lips as I nced at the maid behind me, who was giving the dress a look over from both sides as she searched for any damages or areas that needed more adjusting. Giving myself a small turn, I looked at my revealed back and tail, which was also ruffled and in need of some care too, drawing a sigh from my lips as I asked "Do you have a brush on hand, Miss?" The maid just hummed and nodded, looking me up and down one more time before approaching the small table behind me, which seemed to hold all sorts of tools needed for a ce like this. Taking the brush from her, I began tob out my fur and straighten my hair, which made the maid frown slightly as she hesitantly asked "Forgive me for prying, but... Lady Katherine, were you-?" "Once a maid? A servant of some kind? Yes, yes I was. Even now, I technically am still a servant, even if my title doesn''t say it. I enjoy it enough to not mind, though I am aware it appears odd to someone from the outside..." "Oh, not at all, I was just... curious is all. It''s rare to see a Ladye in and do her own hair, let alone manage to get it into a style of sorts without any aid..." That made me chuckle as I nodded, finishing up with the brush and using my mana to remove the hairs and strands of fur that were woven between the bristles, something that made the maid blink in surprise once more before turning to look at my visage again in the mirror. A loose bun held up my long auburn hair, allowing my neck to be exposed and keep the rest of my back viewable as well, while my fur was no longer a twined mess; paired with the dress clinging to my curves, the open slit for my thigh, and thece window for my breasts... well... "You look quite beautiful, Lady Katherine." Giving the maid a small smile, I just said "I know, and thank you." before turning around, unlocking the door and gesturing for the maid to follow me as I exited the dressing room, wanting to get the reaction from Leone. Of course, waiting outside of the room was the Lioness, who perked up and froze as she watched me stride back out into the store, her eyes widening whilst her lips parted into a small ''o'' as she stared at me. I gave her a small smile before ncing around the store, finding Leone with her back to me still talking to the butler, who had two separate dresses hanging from his arms. Walking across the Lioness'' view, I continued to smile at her even as I gave my hips some sway, while my back remained straight and I sped my hands in front of me, adopting a noble pose and donning a teasing smile as I approached my Royal lover. My feet glided across the floor silently, the boots that were barely visible with each step being the only part of the outfit that seemed off, though it was - again - barely visible and not an issue for me as I just moved to stand behind Leone, catching the butler''s eye and making the man blink in awe as he looked at me. Gazing between the two dresses, I let out a soft cough before saying "Lady Leone, might I suggest that gray dress on the left? It matches your hair quite well." The Vampire heard me and nodded, though she said "I thought so as well, but I was thinking that the orange dress might be an interesting choice as well, since-" and began to turn around, only to fall silent as her jaw dropped when I smiled at her getting the reaction I wanted from who I wanted. I didn''t care about the Lioness checking out my smooth back or shapely butt, I didn''t care about the maid admiring my style and enviously ring at my breasts before staring at her own, I couldn''t give a damn about the nod of approval the butler gave as he took in my hairstyle and expression. None of them mattered to me, and none of them really made me feel much that went deeper than useless vanity, so when Leone was silenced and stuck staring at me with an open mouth, I felt my heart flutter inside my chest. Giving her a twirl, I maintained my calm smile and asked "So~? What do you think of this, Lady Leone~? Does it suit me~?", each word I spoke making the Vampire blush more and more as she looked me up and down again and again, unable to take her eyes off of me. Chapter 946 945: Preparations For The Future

Chapter 946 Chapter 945: Preparations For The Future

Jahi PoV Letting out a long sigh, I spun the pen around atop my hand and stared down at the three papers in front of me, going over the numbers once again and linking them together to see just what was needed of me, needed of us as a group, and needed to earn in returns to at least break even within a certain amount of time. It was far moreplex then I had initially realized, and seeing it flowing all together to create a picture in my mind on what I needed, what I wanted, and how I was supposed to get it was almost enough to make me balk at the mere idea, but I was going to need to do this eventually, even if that idea was still frightening... I needed arge quantity of gold - scratch that, make it tinum - to even begin considering this idea of ours, and then I needed to continue pouring more and more gold into the idea to even get it operational, adding to the overall cost and making it even more hurtful to think about as I imagined spending that kind of coin. All for the CHANCE to make it back in a few months, maybe not even until the year itself was out from the start date; that was what truly made it scary to think about. The thought that this might just fail and we would simply lose all of that coin in a single moment, forever lost and never to be regained? Yeah, it was more than enough to make my stomach do twists already, and I didn''t actually have that kind of coin on hand at the moment, so... all of this was just hypothetical, which made it worse. If this was how I felt just thinking about it, how would I feel actually doing it..? ce me in front of a Fiend again and I would be just fine, but ask me to invest in onepany out of many and earn enough to cover that investment and then some, and I feel like quaking in my boots. So I kept spinning the pen as I tried to think on what would make the most sense, was rtively risk free, and would be enough for me to earn experience and build confidence in this new field that I wanted to learn about; what could I invest in and try to fund out of my own pocket that was a stable field, had low risk margins, and afortable profit margin? Of course it took a few minutes toe up with an answer, my mind defaulting to the things that I thought would be obvious, but after giving them another modicum of thought, I realized they weren''t as profitable and ''friendly'' as I believed. Food is something everyone needs, and yet the amount of variables that go into each and every single day is far too vtile to be worth it. Carpentry is another worthwhile trade, but enough people do their own repairs or have a close friend or a rtive who can help them, so there isn''t much avable there, especially not if I don''t have contracts lined up. Potions would work if I could find someone to brew them consistently, but then the realization of the equipment cost, ingredients, and so much more made me sigh and write that off as well. So what could I go with then if those were closed to me..? What was something I could appraise and understand enough to mitigate most of the risks and instead befortable selling to someone for a reasonable price? Of course, the first thing that popped to mind was muscle, and I leaned back in the chair as I mulled it over again and again, looking at it from all sides. Investing in a mercenarypany or adventuring party would be ''rtively'' cheap if I went with lower level people first and trained them up into a higher level, or I could just start at a high level too; either way, they were going to need funds for gear, repairs, rations, normal pay and then a few smaller expenses, all to have them delve into a Dungeon and hunt monsters for me. It wasn''t extremely lucrative at the lower levels, since the split in pay between me and them would be minuscule; if they earned 10 gold from the Guild, and I took 2 gold and 50 silvers, they would have 7 gold and 50 silvers to split amongst themselves, which could be a nice payday... or it could barely be enough to sate their greed. And that pay split would only get more and more egregious and vtile the stronger they got, seeing how much money I was taking from them for doing none of the actual work, so would it even be- "Whatcha thinking about? Rarely see you with more than two or three thoughts behind your eyes." Lowering herself into the seat opposite me, Mom gave me a teasing smirk as she slid the papers over to herself, raising a brow instantly and saying "Thinking about investing your pitiful wealth already? Just save up and wait." Another sigh escaped my lips as I ced the pen on the table, staring at her and replying "Kat wants to think about investing now, and honestly... I should start now. At the very least, I should try to dip my toes into the business side of being a part of a Noble Family. The idea of having to rely on you and Mother for everything is just..." I shuddered a little, making Mom snort as she rolled her eyes and shook her head, the older Demoness instantly saying "What do you think your Mother and I saved up all that coin for? Because it looks pretty in the vault? Makes a cool number on the bank statements each month? No, we saved it up so that we - and by proxy, you - would never need to worry about money in our long, long lives. I have more than enough coin tost my lifetime, most of yours, and make sure whatever brats you beget will have some freedoms too." That made me roll my eyes back at her as I shot back "And why would I want to use YOUR coin for MY children? I can provide for myself, my wives, and my kids... whenever they''re born." "If you don''t want it, fine~! That''ll all just go to Lakshmi and Alessandra then, and whatever other childrene along down the line! Ungrateful brat... So, what did youe up with? Ah, wait... let me guess... Mercenarypany." Her ruby eyes sparkled with amusement when I remained quiet, before I sighed as she let out a bark ofughter, unable to help herself. "Thought so~! Like I said, less than three thoughts behind those eyes~! Simpleton~! You have three uniquely talented, sexy women pining after you with skills that earn more than enough money on their own. Meanwhile, all YOU are good for is to swing around a sword. I can find myself a warrior easily; they''re about a gold a dozen these days. But an enchanter? cksmith? I''m lucky to find apetent handful in that dozen. And alchemists? Hells! I might - MIGHT - find one in ever dozen." Sliding the papers back over to me, Mom smirked at me as she added "Don''t bother with warriors for now. When you have a solid, consistent flow of coining in, that is when you get into the vtile things. And with the people around you, the amount of cost mitigation that woulde from having all three of those sectors on your own payroll is astronomical. I got lucky cause Ria''s parents are well connected, so in turn she is well connected, and since I own her and she owns me, I''m well connected. You''re in a simr boat, but luckier since you don''t have to deal with inws constantly reminding you about that fact..." She let out a sigh this time as she leaned back, ncing towards the door that led back towards her room - where Mother and Miss Julie were certainly lounging around in bed recovering - before looking back at me to say "Speaking of, you get to meet your grandparents soon, and you''ll sort of get to see what makes Ria... Ria. She''s got the screws loose, but the overall structure is easily identifiable. The old man is calm, collected, quiet and unbelievably savvy, but not really a people person. Likes his books over everything else, and doesn''t care if that is a business journal or a novel." With the conversation switching over to what Mother''s parents were like, I blinked away my surprise and leaned closer, listening to her as I got to assuage my curiosity. I vaguely remember them from when I was extremely young, still just a baby and unable to do much except for exist; honestly, most things before me ''returning'' to the Manor and uniting with Kat were a blur, so I wasn''t surprised, but I seemed to recall that they were interesting people even to young me. Even with my parents being very interesting on their own, my grandparents were even more so, which... now made me slightly worried. "Yeah, they aren''t the most normal people around, but they are damn good at masking that fact. The old man is just quiet and reclusive, even for an Elf. Thing is, he doesn''t really like people, but he can read them like a book, and he''s quite... serious when ites to anything that could make him money. Like... deadly serious. Part of the reason I have so much wealth is because he threatened me with financial death if I didn''t do the things he wanted, which would us both profits most people couldn''t imagine. Then there''s the olddy. Sharp, forwards, honest, dangerous, versatile... She''s a warrior, an assassin, a spy, an archer, but most importantly... she''s a Mother. Her own words. Threatened to get rid of me if I turned down Ria back then, and she also threatened to use her magics to castrate me if I ever cheated on Ria, which..." She shuddered, and I nced at the door as well as I asked "Does... she know about Miss Julie?" "Yes..." That one word answer was enough to make me shudder as well, wondering what she would think and wondering if she was terrible enough to warrant a shudder; I had only seen Mom do that once before, and that was with Lady Fenryas... which certainly warranted more than just a shudder. Obviously my Grandmother wasn''t of simr strength to Lady Fenryas, but I imagine the fact that she was Mother''s Mother gave her a certain... boost in strength and dangerousness against Mom, something that made me blink a few times as I realized that my own inws were far ''worse'' than what Mom had to deal with. The Empress... The Sultana... Miss Julie... I... really didn''t have any leeway at all, did I..? One small mistake that gets any of them involved will have me regretting many, many things all at once... things that I didn''t even do, I''ll likely regret as well... That was more than just a scary thought; it was almost a nightmare, and considering Mom just gave me a small smile, she was more than aware too... and she was relishing in my ''pain'' once again too. Chapter 947 946: Teasing Chapter 947 946: Teasing ??"So besides them both being... unique, is there anything at all that I should know before they arrive? I want to be myself, yes, but..." Mom got up and moved from the table to the couch, sinking into the softer, more rxing embrace of therge seat as she shook her head before shrugging. "A few things, but not many that really matter. Your Grandmother is a stickler for presentation, be it oral, physical, or emotional. Part of the reason she fell so damn hard for the old man was the fact that he was honest, well spoken, handsome and refined. Everything the knife ears love in their partners. So try not to be ''unsightly'' if you want to impress her. As for him, just be honest. Don''t over exaggerate things, don''t try to unt something that isn''t truly yours, don''t be disingenuous. I never really had a problem with him, though Ria swears that he dislikes me more than her Mother does, so..." "That''s because he does. You''re pompous, arrogant, loud and crude. My Mother can tolerate it since she values strength just as much as you do, but he looks at your title and then looks at you; to him, a Marquess should be polished and noble, and yet you..." Hearing Mother enter the room, we both turned to see her shake her head and let out a long, low sigh, her shoulders slumping as she muttered something to herself, only to look back up and stare at me as she said "Just don''t be some brat and you''ll be fine, dear. Besides, I imagine they won''t be as strict with you since you''re my child; they don''t need to worry about raising you right since you''re our responsibility. Just... don''t be stupid, okay?" That made me blink a few times as I watched Mother walk over towards the couch and take her ce besides Mom, who was also blinking away her surprise as she tilted her head and tried toprehend what was just told to us. "Huh..? I thought he didn''t mind me..?" "He doesn''t mind you; he simply prefers being away from you. There is a difference." Grabbing Mom''s arm and pulling it onto her shoulders, Mother leaned against her side and stared at me some more, those sapphire eyes of hers sending small jolts throughout my body as I felt like I was being appraised not as a person, but as a thing... A thing that she could ''fix'' and make presentable... "What''s Jules doing?" Thankfully Mom redirected Mother''s attention with that question, the blonde Elf raising a brow as she snidely asked "What do you think? The babies are awake and they''re hungry. No, sit down! THEY are hungry; you are just horny." That made me roll my eyes as I turned back to the papers on the table again, ignoring them as Mom muttered "Same thing, aren''t they..?" and instead focusing on the issue at hand; getting something ready to show Kat so that I could earn my reward for tonight. "What are you puzzling over, Jahi?" "Ah, she''s trying to figure out what she should invest in or something. Apparently Kat asked her to start looking..? Probably put quite the incentive on it too if she''s so adamant about doing it now." Mother just sighed before asking "And what did youe up with..? Please don''t say mercenarypany...", only to sigh again as I stiffened and Mom snickered, earning me a voice that sounded both tired and exasperated. "Why not try something in the weapon industry first, Jahi? Have Anput forge arge amount of things, then get Kat to enchant them with something basic? And if you REALLY want something unique, have Leone try to alter the metals with her alchemy; there are a few different spells and the like that you can use. Artificial metals that are stronger and more impressive to look at then things you can find naturally." "That''s what I said, but who knows if she''ll listen to that... or if Kat would ept that as an answer? Since it technically isn''t an investment, just a current job? If she''s anything at all like Jules, you know she''s picky as all hell with things like this." I frowned at that and sighed, ncing back at the two and asking "Is that something she inherited then?" "What? Being as stubborn as a mule? Very much so. It is kind of impressive just how much of a replica she is of her Mother... Think that has something to do with her Father being just... bleh?" Mother shrugged at that, though her blue eyes held aplicated light as she nced at the door, something that made Mom slightly shake her head and roll her eyes as she looked at me instead, clearly poking fun at whatever Mother was thinking... "What do you think about investing into apany here in the Capital? One that is already established? Is it too risky, or is it alright..?" Leaning back into the couch, Mom shrugged this time as she answered in a bored voice, her eyesnding on the ceiling as she just lounged there with Mother nestled in her arms. "Personally, I dislike it unless I am a majority owner. Hate having to deal with someone feeling like they can lord their shares over me to make my ideas invalid, or just how stupid some people can be now that they have me as one of their backers. I prefer to just own thepany entirely so that I control everything that happens with it. Makes things so much easier... Honestly, I think the best thing you could do would be to talk with that bastard Belian and ask if you can purchase and develop some of thend over in the Kingdom. Slimy prick would probably sell it to you for a decent amount just to get you closer to the ns, so you can take advantage of that. Then you just need to use thend for something... like farming, which is simple and easy enough to manage. Speaking of, that Hathor is supposed to visit..." The slight twitch of Mom''s right lip as she peeked at Mother to her left was a clear indicator that this was a rather dangerous game she wanted to y, though considering the ever clearer frown and sparkling blue eyes Mother gave her in return, I could... understand why she loved to y it. The rewards were oh so worth the risk, though I stopped thinking about that as the main door opened and Anput walked in, yawning and stretching as she shuffled towards me with eyes that were barely open. Falling into myp, the Jackalkin yawned again and turned herself so that she was nuzzling into my chest, her face buried between my breasts as she hugged me and drifted off to sleep, ignoring how this position hindered me and not caring about how utterly adorable she was with this behavior. Embracing her back, I quietly turned the seat around and looked towards both Mom and Mother, who were watching us from the couch with varying expressions; Mom with a smirk, Mother with a small frown, though that was directed at Mom as she turned back to her and asked "Who cares that she''s supposed to visit?" "Hm? Jahi cares, that''s who. She wanted to have me talk with Hathor to discuss acquiring that training golem thing, remember?" "And?" "And I think it''d be a worthy investment anyways, especially for Lakshmi - and maybe for Alessandra too. Doesn''t hurt to at least hear her out, right?" Mother''s frown deepened, and I saw Mom''s lips twitch again as she added "Besides, it''s been a couple of years since Ist saw her... wonder how things have been over in the ns. Curious to see if she''s changed at all." The dangerous game continued on, and I couldn''t help myself as I smirked, though I just buried my smirk into Anput''s ears as I hugged the Jackalkin closer, hiding my expression and watching everything unfold in front of me. "And why are you curious?" "Wouldn''t you be curious to see how someone who once suggested experimenting on an unborn baby inside their own womb has changed? They''re either finally sane, or so clinically insane that you can''t help but feel some soul deep relief at dodging such a massive bullet." Mother let out a huff as she ced her hand on Mom''s thigh, which made her jump slightly as Mother gave her a shock and a re as she hissed "Stop trying to hide your smirk! Both of you!" We both stared at her in surprise before guiltily looking away, only to flinch when she added "And if either of you try something stupid when ''Hathor'' gets here, I WILL make you regret it... understood?!" ""Y-Yes..!"" "Good... Now, Jahi, as idiotic as your Mom usually is, she had a point; broach the idea of buying farnd over in the Kingdom to Belian sometime soon and pool together your funds. I know you dislike the idea, but most likely your Mom and I will match whatevernd you buy to get enough for a ntation and a vacation home. Just to ensure that Belian is willing to sell to you without any issue. It''ll be... a controlled test for you four. Something that will have us entirely hands off, but still there to help. Now, that doesn''t mean to stop thinking about individual projects, understood? Especially not with my Fathering in soon; anything you can think of, he''ll have some answers or suggestions for you if you want them. That''ll be more than enough to cate Kat." Mother nodded and looked back at Mom, only to frown and nce at me again as she asked "Speaking of, where is she? Her and Leone?" "Shopping. And they''re taking a bit longer than usual because they''re also heading to a boutique for a dress each." She narrowed her eyes at that and dryly asked "Why..?", to which I gave her a wry smile and shrugged my shoulders, leaving the answer at that and making her sigh, while Mom nodded in approval. "I should send you and Jules to a boutique soon. Sounds like a fun night~! Besides, I bet it''d do Jules some good; postpartum mentality can be quite~ the wonky experience, and even though she seems fine..." "At the very least, it would do her well to begin expanding her wardrobe... I just dislike the fact that it has to start in a way so..." "Incredibly thoughtful and amazing~?" "So fetishy is what I was going to say. I know exactly why you want us to head to a boutique... and it isn''t just for the dress, is it?" Mom shook her head and confidently said "What outfit isplete without a good set of lingerie to go with it?", to which I widened my eyes before cursing quietly, earning a re from Mother as she hissed "Don''t agree with her!" Chapter 948 947: Just What We Needed (1)* Chapter 948 947: Just What We Needed (1)* ??"Well, I think this should be the cue to head off to bed, no? It seems we are all in an... interesting spot, so let''s uh... just retire for tonight. Yup, sounds great~! Real~ great~! Night night~!" Mom stood up and dragged Mother into her arms, not allowing the Elf to refuse or argue before walking confidently into their bedroom, leaving me with Anput at the table and a decision to make; should I ''join them'' in this wonderful idea of going and fucking the brains out of my lovers, or should I keep at it ande up with some more ideas for Kat to look over..? I was really horny at the moment - being pent up in that Dungeon for what felt like months was enough to make me crazy - but I was also still lucid enough to get this work done and make sure that Kat was happy with my efforts, and if I made her happy, I was able to be happy too. Happy wife, happy life and all that... Though, when I felt Anput stirring a little and rubbing her perky butt against my crotch, I held in a sigh as I felt my cock harden in my pants, only for it to get painfully erect when she removed her face from my chest and muttered "Finally, they''re gone... Took forever and a half, didn''t it?" Looking up at me from herfortable spot, Anput blinked a few times and yawned again, only to smilezily as I stood up and carried her into our bedroom, the Jackalkin apparently quite happy with this arrangement and making one third of my heart happy as I made my way to the bed. I ced her down and peeled off my clothes, unting my body for her before gesturing for her toe closer, my cock aching fiercely as I looked down at the lithe body of my Jackalkin, her muscles rippling beautifully as she crawled forwards and started to suck on my cock without me needing to ask. Her lips wrapped around my tip and submerged it in a delightful warmth that I was all too familiar with, though I was never going to tire of... ever; that was something I was certain of as I gentlyid a hand on the back of her head and pulled her closer, guiding my Jackalkin to take even more of my cock and eventually kiss my groin. "This is as pleasant as always... my puppying over and licking me so lovingly~! Of her own volition too... good girl, Anput... good girl..." Stroking her ears, I smiledzily down at her as she shuddered, the slight praise from me doing her wonders mentally as she started sucking harder, wanting to earn even more praise alongside my cum. It was always interesting to witness the differences between my women whenever those differences presented themselves; Anput loved being told that she was my good girl, that she was doing well and that I was happy with what she was doing, while Kat just gave me a raised brow and a knowing gleam in her eye as she silently told me ''yeah, I know''. Meanwhile Leone got even more embarrassed whenever Iplimented her, so I usually couldn''t help myself as I began to tease her and get her more worked up, so I don''t really know what she''s like when I just stand there and let her do the work, earning herself some praise without any of the teasing... I could change that tonight, I guess, but I doubt I''ll be doing much standing around tonight... hells, even now, I want to just grab Anput''s hips and fuck the shit out of her here and now; I want to use her like a toy and cum inside her repeatedly, though if I did that and didn''t have enough to satisfy Kat or Leone, that would be an issue... So until they returned - which should be any minute now ording to the Soul Bond between Kat and I - I was going to enjoy the mouth of my olive skinned lover as much as I was able to, which was certainly quite a bit. Especially since she was rather good at sucking my cock in ways that I loved; sloppy and determined to drain me of my sperm, anytime Anput was giving me a blowjob, I knew I was in for an incredible orgasm of some good proportions. And this was no different, my lover kissing my groin and using her raspy tongue to ''scratch'' both sides of my shaft whilst her throat constricted around my tip, squeezing it tightly and drawing out a soft gasp from me as I held her there for another couple of seconds, loving how her eyes grew hazy as I choked her out with my girth. I gave my puppy some non verbal praise as I scratched behind her ears, before gradually allowing her to pull away from my cock so that she could breathe, though my tip remained inside her mouth and coated in saliva as she gulped down air quickly, returning to blowing me as she began to move back and forth. Bobbing her head back and forth, she took in half of my cock and stroked the remaining half, giving the entire thing some love while sheid t against the bed, her lithe figure bing even more enticing to me as I watched her from above. When she rolled onto her back and hung her head off of the bed, I smirked as I shuffled forwards and bulged out her throat, my testicles resting against her eyes and blocking her vision, which allowed me to reach down and pinch her perky nipples without her being able to see my actions, surprising her greatly. Moaning on my cock, Anput shivered as I twisted them slightly before pulling up on them, the Jackalkin experiencing a pleasurable pain as I toyed with her from above, all while her mouth was upied entirely by my penis as she continued to blow me. Moving myself back and forth inside her mouth, I gradually built up my orgasm as I began to time it with the approaching duo, a small smirk tugging on my lips as I felt one puppy grabbing at my thighs and not knowing if she wanted me deeper or wanted to breathe, while the other was making her way here with anticipation and confidence, something that made me excited to see what she hade up with. Anput''s tongue on my shaft and her hands on my thighs were as delectable as ever, and as I created a slow, deep rhythm with my thrusts, my smirk began to widen as I continued to toy with her body and mentally observe the emotions of my other puppy, loving how she seemed to believe in her choice so much that she just couldn''t contain herself... It took a bit of a mental order to ensure she didn''t try to ''swindle'' me out of my due by taking Leone to the side and having a quickie before reaching our room, even if it was just a blowjob to get them ready; that wasn''t apart of our agreement, and the thought of so clearly unting that I was pleasuring myself with Anput whilst they had to rush back here was enough to make me close my eyes and focus so that I didn''t cum early. Making Kat slightly irritated was always a joy to experience, the passion that it sparked as she took out her ''anger'' on me and rebnced her emotions through sex making it some of the best we ever had, even more so than our casual ys that involved me pushing her down and just using her when I felt the need. That was what was fueling me on currently, and hearing the main door open and close before listening to their footsteps approaching sent shivers up my spine, shivers that were apanied by a whitening of my vision as I started to ejacte inside Anput''s throat, cumming inside her mouth and leaning over her body as I listened to our door open. The instant that door opened, Kat''s emotions shifted into a few separate ones, with the main ones being lust, exasperation, and irritation, though lust quickly won out as I just kept cumming inside Anput''s throat and turned to look at my other puppy, who was frowning slightly at me. Pulling out of Anput''s throat, I caked her face in sperm before shooting thest rope onto her chest, marking her darker skin with my seed as I said "Well well well~! Look at that..." I wiped off my cock on Anput''s face and turned around, ignoring my nudeness and instead approaching the two women, taking in their dresses and nodding to myself as I smirked at them both. Kat''s giant tits were d in a nice red thatplimented her hair, and I could clearly look down into her mountainous cleavage thanks to thece; her juicy thigh was also barely revealed to me too, and her waist was thinner than normal, the corset below doing the work of the Gods as it helped hold up her tits and emphasize her perfect hips. The simple bun and slightly messy hairstyle of having her uneven bangs and two long strands framing her face, softening her features somewhat and making her amber eyes all the more warm and gorgeous as they were given a darker brown to contrast against. Leone on the other hand was dressed more formally, though her figure was just as outrageously sexy as Kat''s was, and just as impossible to hide; her dark, storm cloud gray dress was loose and flowing, but her chest wasrge and caused the cloth to drape down over her stomach, the gap between the cloth and her belly noticeable enough to make me nod in approval at the body it hinted at, whilst her long sleeve and posture caused her own wide hips to be noticeable. She let her hair hang naturally, joining her dress in the flow and making her red eyes and cheeks even more apparent, something that always caught my gaze whenever I looked at her, and something that always made me smirk as I felt the urge to tease her swell up inside my chest, alongside the way my cock swelled up at the thought of ''bullying'' her until she was cumming like a fountain from both ends... Chapter 949 948: Just What We Needed (2)*

Chapter 949 Chapter 948: Just What We Needed (2)*

"Well well well~! Don''t the two of you just look ravishing~! I think you might''ve taken a wrong turn..." Taking a step closer, I smirked at the two women and unted my body freely to them, finding it amusing how Leone peeked at my slimy cock and blushed before looking away, while Kat just looked down and gave my penis a nice, long look before turning back to me, a brow raised. The unspoken ''are we starting already..?'' was amusing, and I gave her her answer by taking another step forwards and reaching for her chin, lifting her head up and forcing her to look at me as I said "You''re a sexy thing aren''t you..? And you know it too with this dress... but do you have someone who''s able to handle all~ of this here~? Surely that blushing mess beside you isn''t the one taking care of you every night..." The Dogkin pursed her lips and kept her brow raised, before tugging her chin away from me as she said "Well, she IS~ bigger than you, so I think she can handle me just~ fine... though, I handle her more than she does me~! And... I don''t think I much appreciate you touching me..." A thrill shot through me as I heard her confrontational tone, and I shivered slightly as my smirk widened, loving every second of this now as I was able to act on my darker desires. "Well... who said anything about you needing to appreciate this~? Walking in here looking like this... you''re just asking~ for a good dick tonight, aren''t you~? I can give you some good dick if you want, my Lady~? Or perhaps your friend there would care for some instead~?" Reaching for her again, I grabbed at her chin and smirked at her as she tried to pull away, only for her eyes to widen as my mana trickled onto her skin and made it clear I was stronger than her. "Pick... Do you want to pleasure me, or should I use your friend there instead? Make the choice, my Lady~! Pick which of you gets to be defiled~!" I took another step closer and stared down at her from up close, poking her red d stomach with my cock and enjoying the smoothness of the silk against my tip, all while I drank in her conflicted expression and the confused indignation and embarrassment on Leone''s face. When Anput finally managed to pull herself together and sat up, she turned and got to see me standing over Kat with a smirk, while Leone watched on from the side with that helpless expression, instantly understanding what was going on as she too joined me, sauntering her way over not to Leone, but instead to Kat as she looked the Dogkin up and down and licked her lips. I held back a chuckle at how Leone frowned at being ignored, briefly ncing at the Vampire before looking back at Kat when Anput reached forwards and grabbed the Dogkin''s ass, making her shiver. "Goddess above, aren''t you just downright seductive... You have to have some Subus blood in you, cause hot damn... you''re just perfect~!" Being sandwiched between two nude and rather endowed futanari, it was obvious that the Dogkin was going to sumb quickly to this lust, even more so when Anput slid around behind her and ran her hands over the woman''s exposed back, sliding them into the dress and going to grab her breasts directly. I pressed the advantage and smacked my lips against hers, not letting her think for a moment as I forced her to kiss me and got her further pressed between Anput and I, our nude forms getting her into heat easily as the scents and sensations washed over her. Sloppily kissing her, I watched in quiet joy as her amber eyes began to grow hazy as her tits were yed with and her mouth dominated, while her own hands pressed against my abs and tried to push me away, only to weakly pat my stomach when I started to suck on her tongue. Meanwhile, Leone watched from the side in ''horror'' as her partner was so easily swept away from her, unable to save herself from this torrent of lust as Anput and I yed with her as we pleased; it wasn''t as convincing as Kat''s expression though, so I gave the Dogkin another kiss before saying "Hold her still..." to Anput, who smirked and nodded as she used her magic to restrain the Dogkin as she watched me move from her over to Leone. "Aw... don''t worry, you''re just~ as sexy as your bitch over there, Lady~! Love the formal dress, and I certainly~ love these too~!" I reached forwards and groped her chest, shocking the Vampire as I took a direct approach, one that made her shiver and look at me meekly as I pulled her closer and grabbed at her ass next, trapping her in my embrace. "Oh, I certainly love all~ of you... say, wanna have a go with me~? I mean, you DID walk into MY area looking like a whole meal... of course I want to take a bite~!" Palming her cheeks, I smirked at the Vampire and nodded to myself as I spun her around, hugging her from behind as I forced her to look at Kat, who was blushing and struggling against Anput unsessfully. I leaned over and brought my lips to her ears, whispering "I''m going to fuck you hard in front of your bitch, my dear Lady... I''m going to nt my seed in your womb and make her watch as I start fucking you again, before making her watch as my partner there fucks you a few times as well... I''ll make sure to take real nice care of your noble pussy though... real nice care..." Leone shuddered in my arms as I rubbed against her ass, all while I stared straight into Kat''s eyes, loving the way she widened them in surprise before trying desperately to break free from Anput''s embrace. Sadly for her, it was for naught as I pushed Leone forwards a step and made the Vampire lean against Kat, who watched on in horror as I slid the dress above the Vampire''s juicy ass and revealed her sopping wet pussy to me, as well as her long and hard cock that pulsed with need, wanting release. Release that would nevere as I slid a hand down to her waist and wrapped my index and thumb around the root of her cock firmly, preventing any potential ejaction and making her gasp as she alternated her gaze between Kat and I, trying to figure out what to do. Her thoughts were swiftly disrupted as I mmed my other hand onto her cheek, making it jiggle and marking it red before spreading it open and revealing that regal pussy that was ripe for the taking. Guiding myself inside, I grunted softly as I was enveloped in her hot folds and weed into her womb swiftly, and I grabbed her arms and pulled them back, trapping them behind her back and allowing me to control her even more as I started to thrust forwards, pping my hips into her juicy butt and showing Kat the ''reluctant'' pleasure of Leone as I fucked her in front of her. It was a twisted y to do - especially since it was one that worked around neglecting the horniest of us here for as long as we could manage - but it was so thrilling to me as I watched Kat''s amber eyes grow hotter as she was both fondled and forced to watch as her lover was given love from another woman. Looming over Leone''s back, I just kept thrusting and churning up her greedy pussy without saying anything, to focused on how tight and hot it was around my cock to give a damn about furthering the y vocally at the moment, but Anput didn''t have those restrictions... "Look at that~! So refined and regal looking a moment ago, and yet here she is, moaning like amon harlot as she''s fucked by someone else... her expression is so~ loose, but it seems like her pussy isn''t~! I wonder if yours is... considering how fat your lover''s cock is? Surely she makes love to this sweet ass every~ single night at the very least~? Maybe she has you for breakfast and lunch as well as dinner~? I know I would..." Anput was restraining Kat''s arms and fondling her tits at the same time, the Jackalkin enjoying herself immensely as she rested her chin on the woman''s shoulder and watched as I fucked Leone with a smirk, one that made it clear she was enjoying herself quite a bit too. Idly, I became happier as I saw that familiar smirk, as I saw the lust and focus in those obsidian eyes as she leaned into this unfamiliar territory with appreciation and fervor, wanting to indulge and join Kat and I in our preferred kinks. After so long of being made to be rather controlled, it was just what we needed, and considering the visitors arriving soon, and then the departure to another new, unfamiliar ce filled with who knows what sorts of perils, this seemed like the only time we would have to indulge as we pleased. And damnit, I was going to enjoy each and every second of our rest between each of our battlefields doing what I needed to do. Satiate my lust as much as possible and make sure all three of my women understood just how much I loved and needed each of them... Chapter 950 949: Just What We Needed (3)*

Chapter 950 Chapter 949: Just What We Needed (3)*

Chordeva PoV Leaving behind my oldest daughter and dragging her Mother away into the bedroom, I hummed softly to myself as I tossed her unceremoniously onto the bed and began to peel off my clothes, ignoring the two separate, yet simr stares from my two women as I got undressed quickly. Julie was sitting in the chair with both Lakshmi and Alessandra in her arms, the two babes suckling on her tits and greedily gulping down the milk that had made her already bountiful chest evenrger and heavier, something that I very much appreciated. "Put ''em to bed already... As soon as Ria''s parents are here, we won''t really have much chance to go at it how I like, so... yeah." Despite sighing and rolling her eyes, Ria began to undress as well, slipping the straps of her dress to the side and allowing it to fall down her petite body, baring herself for my hungry gaze and showing off the body that had kept me captivated, happy and satiated for so many years... "At least you aren''t trying to hide the fact that you''re horny... though, why do you assume that we can''t have sex when they''re here? It''s not like they''ll be sleeping in this room with us..." Snorting, I caught the balled up dress that she threw at me and brought it towards my face, hiding the smirk but not the amusement as Ria rolled her eyes at me again, though considering the fact that her bra and panties were thrown at me afterwards, I just ignored her exasperation and inhaled her scent indirectly for now, watching as Julie stood up and began to walk towards the two enchanted cribs, where Lakshmi and Alessandra would drift off to sleep and be ''removed'' from our sight, but not from our hearing. They couldn''t hear us, but we could hear them, and so far both of the babies were excellent sleepers, able to go through the night without much issue, something I was rather relieved with... "They might not be sleeping in this room, but your parents are both expert analysts of bodynguage and they are both incredible judgmental with anything rted to sex. Honestly, I believe that if you weren''t conceived so early into their marriage, they might not have had kids! I don''t even know if your old man actually knows what a cock is." "Chordeva..." The exasperated tone from my Elven wife made me shrug, and as Julie lowered Lakshmi into her crib, I stepped forwards and presented my cock to Ria, who leaned forwards and began to suck it without any hesitation. "Honestly... I am such a lucky woman to have a knife ear who loves sex as much as I do..." Reaching down to stroke her golden hair, I sighed contentedly as she took me into her throat with practiced ease, though her attempt to ''scold'' me by nipping at my tip just made me chuckle as I responded with my handnding on the back of her head, trapping her in ce. "I love you with all my heart, Ria, but if you had been like any other typical knife ear andpletely against the idea of sex... I don''t know if this would have worked out..." Despite this being another ''dangerous'' subject, I looked down into her sapphire eyes and allowed her to pull away, the Elf ring at me as she released my cock and replied "You''re right, it wouldn''t have; you''d be dead." I chuckled again as I tapped her cheek with my cock, smearing her saliva around and enjoying the way her cheeks darkened as her lust continued to grow, heightening even more as Julie walked over and joined us, sitting on the bed beside her and leaning forwards to give my cock a kiss. "Now, can we not try to argue..? Is that at all possible?" Smirking down at Julie, I switched from Ria''s face and instead rubbed against hers, forcing the Dogkin to smell my cock and finding more enjoyment as her cheeks darkened instantly too. "It wasn''t an argument, Julie, just facts... really though, do you think they are that against us making love? Why would they? We have children, so they obviously know we have sex..." Julie began to suck on my cock even as Ria nuzzled against her cheek, the two women ''fighting'' over who could pleasure me and staring up at me, sending a small shiver up my spine as I rested a hand each on their heads. "No, I don''t think they would care if we just had sex, but I do think they would care if we show up each morning appearing drained, exhausted, and clearly riding an orgasmic high. It would be unsightly and unbing of nobles or something... that, and your Mother would filet me if she learned that I beat you when we get really~ into it together..." Ria just rolled her eyes at that, though she said nothing as we both knew just what her Mother was like, something that she couldn''t even begin to try and deny. "Besides, while they might just be more taken in by Lakshmi and Alessandra, I don''t think that will give us much room for error; they want to make sure we are raising them properly and whatnot, just like they did with Jahi. Even if this time they might be more present instead of just sending letters." I let out a content sigh as Julie throated my entire cock, the Dogkin kissing my groin and using her tongue to stroke my shaft, trying her hardest to make it impossible for me to speak; it was incredible as always, and with Ria staring at my face with a small smirk, I just had to yank her up and have her stand beside me, her own cock pointed straight at the Dogkin''s face. Grabbing at her perky butt, I made her moan softly as I yed with both of her holes, teasing them both and making her blush as I gave her anus just a bit more attention, the novelty of something we rarely did continuing to excite her. I pulled Julie off my cock and instead had the Dogkin suck off Ria, watching as the Elf gasped and stiffened as she was given the same blowjob I was, our former buxom maid and current sexy wife sucking on the Elf''s dick with the same whorish experience as she did me. "And now that we have Julie here to give such~ excellent head whenever we want it, of course I want to end my nights with my balls empty and your wombs full! I want to get you both pregnant again as soon as possible, and while it might not have any verifiable effects on your abilities to get pregnant, I want to fuck you both till you can''t move..." Tracing my fingers around the entrances of both of Ria''s holes, I watched my wife''s expression cken as the Dogkin kissed her groin, this still proving to be somewhat of a novelty toopared to what she was used to, which was me dominating her constantly with only my penis. "And since we don''t know when they arrive here, I want to make the most of our time together to do just what we need..." Moving to stand behind my gorgeous, amazing wife, I slid inside her tight pussy and made her gasp as she was suddenly prated and given pleasure from both her womanly parts and her futanari cock, which was still stuffed deep inside Julie''s throat. My handsnded on her hips and gave me the leverage to begin thrusting into her perky ass, her slender figure enticing me in ways I had never thought possible as I lost myself to the tight cunt of the woman who held my heart in her hands so easily... My hips smacked against her butt as I stuffed her womb with my cock, and I looked over her shoulder to stare down at Julie as she continued to suck on Ria''s cock, the two of us turning the Elf into a sloppy mess that only spurred us on further as we watched her descend into her lust. Just seeing the way her expression ckened as I pounded her pussy as hard as I could was reward enough, but I still craved more, and as I stared down into Julie''s eyes, I smirked as I continued to fuck the Elf between us even as I had an idea pop into my head. "She gives some of the best blowjobs ever, doesn''t she..? Goddess above, back in the Academy I used to have her milk me dry at night sometimes..." Ria had a brief return of rity as she heard that, and I chuckled quietly into her ear as I muttered "When I wasn''t making sweet love to that thick ass, of course... I used to cum inside her daily for a week straight, you know? Back when we all first met, and you were... still reserved. I used to sneak into your shared room and pound her thick ass until you came back, none the wiser~!" Teasing my wife was always a fun thing, and even as her scent spiked in sweetness and her golden locks drifted upwards somewhat, I just kept drilling her pussy and making love to her in a way that we both knew was toxic and wrong, but it was just the way we were... "Though... When we started having sex, I thought I was going to drown in just how excellent it was with you... those nights spent embracing for what felt like ever... it was perfect, my love, absolutely sublime... but I have to admit, I think we are both happier with having this juicy ass to fuck whenever and wherever we want, right~?" Ria panted as I constantly hammered her womb with my cock, beating it into shape and preparing it for the deluge of sperm that was welling up in my balls, but she still managed to bite her cheek and re at me as she hissed "D-Don''t..! S-Surprise me like... that~!" I just chuckled again before groaning as I started to ejacte, filling her up with my cum and helping myself to the sheer amount of pleasure that awaited me as I made her orgasm from both ends, her testicles clenching as she started cumming into Julies throat while her pussy tightened and milked me of all my sperm. "Surprise~? I honestly thought you knew I was rather lustful back then~! Of course I was going to go after this beautiful busty woman and make her my bitch once or twice..." Pulling out, I spanked Ria before grabbing Julie and pulling her onto the bed, turning her around and sliding into her pussy next as I started to fuck the Dogkin woman moments after cumming inside my wife, who watched on from the side for a brief moment as I started to mate with Julie instead of her. "She was our friend though Chordeva! You don''t just..! Just go after a friend like that!" Even as she said that, Ria stood beside me and watched as Julie''s ass rippled with each thrust of mine, and I smirked as she gave the Dogkin''s juicy butt a firm p. "Tell me, Ria... how often did you think about making this ass jiggle back in the Academy? I dreamt of it sometimes, when we first met her... A body like this was made for sin~!" My wife just pursed her lips and looked away from me, not answering as I continued to thrust inside our mutual love and make a mess of her meaty pussy, the plump lower lips and tight womb begging to be bred once more as it tried to milk me just like Ria had milked me. We fell silent as we just turned to using Julie for ourselves, and after I came inside her womb I pulled out and let Ria take my ce, the Elf having no problems slipping into the creamy cunt of the Dogkin as she too tried to breed our bitch, while I took a seat in front of them and had the Dogkin blow me again. It really was just what we needed... Chapter 951 950: Midnight Prayer

Chapter 951 Chapter 950: Midnight Prayer

Kat PoV By the time that Jahi and Anput hade off of their self induced orgasmic high, the two futanari had passed out quickly thereafter, with Leone joining them as the Vampire had been the primary focus of everything that had happened tonight. Something that I was mixed on personally; I understood the thought process behind it, and admittedly I enjoyed it quite a bit too since it was a unique, fresh experience, but damnit I wanted them to do all of that to me too! Not that I was feeling unsatisfied, of course... I don''t think that will ever happen whenever we have sex, but there was a lingering sense of mild disappointment that I wasn''t currently cum drunk and unconscious like Leone was, or riding off the high of orgasmic bliss like they were; I was just on the cusp of that high, but still so lucid too... With the room being dark and the night sky being painted in a beautiful color by the moons and stars, I was left with a rather intriguing choice; simply stare up at the sky that I was still oh so captivated with and eventually drift off to sleep with the warm familiarity of my lovers nearby, or I could clean myself off and do... something to work off this lingering frustration, be it enchanting something, or perhaps going to pray..? Well... both to actually pray, and to go ahead and receive some more Shop Made Items that would be promptly gifted to everyone in the morning; my reward for the killing of those three Fiends, perhaps? That would be a reasonable backstory to exin the appearance of these items, and it wouldn''t be far fetched to understand that a loose worded prayer like ''I just want my family to be safe'' could result in a set of jewelry that kept us all protected from harm. With that decided, I silently stood up and began to wash off, before I grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt that I just loosely wore, since a robe went over them and kept me both warm and covered from anyone''s potential gaze. ncing back at the messy bed, I smiled softly at the sight thatid before me; Jahi sprawled out in the middle, her blue skin stained with sweat and other fluids as she held both Anput and Leone in her arms, the two women cuddling against the Demoness and unconsciously taking advantage of the sudden vacancy that I had opened up. Anput crawled onto Jahi''s chest and acted as a nket for the Demoness while Leone curled into a ball next to her, cuddling into the crook of her arm and being surrounded on all sides by warmth of some kind, be it from the skin of our lovers or the nkets that were tossed around haphazardly. It was an all too familiar sight now, seeing those three sleeping in various positions and so utterly carefree as they took up as much of the bed as they wanted, and I loved that it had be a sight that I was equating with normalcy at night, especially whenpared to the dingy, dark apartment that I had lived in on my own in my previous life. I cast that thought from my mind as soon as it appeared, not wanting to dwell on it any longer as I turned around and crept out of room, sneaking past the sleeping Cowkin maid and slipping into thevish halls of the Pce, which were illuminated by the moons and the stars. Natural light guided me towards the Chapel alongside my own memory, and I eventually found myself inside the quiet, peaceful room that housed the various alters carved out of respect for a variety of Gods and Goddesses. I still needed to actually sit down and study up on the various deities of this world that were apparently real ording to the System, just... absent and distant from this world, delegating themselves to the roles of watchers instead of active participants. Learning about them might be something useful in the future, or it might just be a fun time brushing up on the various myths in this world; what sort of stories would a group of people capable of living centuries with ease and millennia with some dedicatione up with? Humans already crafted some reallyplex and incredible works of art throughout all of our ages living mere decades, so what could be created when given more than just ''one lifetime'' to flex your creativity? What epics and poems had been written by the people who had seen so much more than I could possibly imagine in a single lifetime? I was immensely curious, and I focused on the phoenix statue in front of me as I wondered just what epics and poems were created in the honor of the Goddess who had apparently granted me a second chance; Reincantra, the Goddess of Stories and New Beginnings. Approaching her altar, I knelt down and sped my hands in prayer, my eyes closing shut as I began to clear my mind and focus myself, taking in the silence and bing one with it as I tried to... create a ''connection'' between her and I. ''It''s been quite a while at this point... or maybe not; time is rather mercurial on the best of days, and recently it''s been... not the best of days. Simply... days. Ah... Anyways, I should try and get into the habit of praying more even without an altar; Anput did forge me that pendant of a phoenix, so I could always pray to that, I guess... I guess... again, I just wanted to offer my thanks, for everything. The more I look back and appraise the choices I made, the results of those choices, and the overall oue that I could influence despite not being the most influential or strongest person ever is just... incredible. And the more I look at it, the more I realize that it wasn''t just luck that ced me with someone like Jahi, it wasn''t just luck that brought Anput and Leone to us either, nor was it just luck that molded the ''Evil Marquess'' I had chosen into someone who simply forwent social norms and instead did what she wanted, how she wanted, when she wanted, no matter how others view it. That isn''t exactly evil, now is it? Certainly not ''Good'', nor is it just ''Neutral'' either, so I guess it has to fall under ''Evil'', but even then... isn''t it rather intriguing how someone with a personality like mine, someone who craved control and strength to do things that would keep people doing what I wanted, when I wanted, managed to end up with a ''Mistress'' who matched my own energy? Someone who could take me for what I was and roll with it no matter what... All of that is to say... I know that there was a better chance for a snowball to form in a zing hell scape then for me to get that lucky on my own, for the stars to align with the moons and thes in such a way that I managed to find myself with Jahi, Anput, AND Leone... with a Mother like... well, Mother, and also another set of parents in the Marquess and the Countess. For me to be a big sister to two adorable girls... For me to find myself in thepany of this world''s strongest so casually, able to talk to people that others simply dream to meet even a single time just by walking down the hall and knocking on a door... So... thank you, Reincantra. I don''t really care if I am just a story for you to read at your leisure, if I am just some small passion project of one of the ''Powers that be'' or whatever... It doesn''t matter to me, since it seems my hand was determined for me before I was even dealt it, and everything since then has been me ying this hand to the best of my ability. I''m not really the reverent type, not one to grovel and worship so freely to someone who may or may not listening to me, but... sincerely, thank you. For everything. You didn''t have to do anything. You could have just left me to drift in that void, a soul wandering aimlessly for being too heavy with sin but still too light to fall into hell, but you didn''t. Instead, you gave me a chance, and I am eternally grateful for that. So if it''s a story that you want... then it''s a story you''ll get. It doesn''t seem like an interesting one, but it''s a story nheless, right?'' I chuckled quietly as I opened my eyes, the prayer ending as I looked up towards the altar, feeling slightly better as I just... let my mind drift and dredge up whatever it wanted, which I then formted into something coherent for prayer; by no means was it conventional, but honestly... Who gives a damn? I just chuckled again before opening the System Shop, only to pause as the mental image of the screen that I would usually browse was left nk, confusing me for a moment only for my eyes to widen as runes began to appear on its surface, scrolling through dozens at a time beforending on the one that it apparently wanted. Around my neck, the phoenix pendant grew hotter as it lifted off of my skin, snapping free from my cor and floating into the air to rest before me, the screen of the System ounting for the pendant and rearranging the runes around it. ''It is a story that I want, little one, and you are right; it is a story that I shall get. I tend to allow stories to write themselves, to y out as Nature and Fate intend, but... sometimes, I grow curious. I grow enamored and intrigued. Sometimes, my stories capture my attention, and make me want to read more. Make me crave certain things. So here, little one... a gift. For one so loyal, so devoted, so interesting. Make an excellent story for me, will you?'' Those runes shed inside my mind, their meaning and unfamiliar shapes searing themselves into my brain before appearing in the real world, each one shooting forwards into the pendant and infusing the metal with an incredible amount of power. As the words of a Goddess appeared in front of me, I was given a tangible piece of evidence that here, in this world... they did exist, and that they were watching; it wasforting since it was her, the one who had gifted me a chance, but as the warmth receded from both the runes and my emotions, I was left slightly cold, wondering who else was watching. Chapter 952 951: Matching Set

Chapter 952 Chapter 951: Matching Set

The phoenix pendant floated in front of me for a few seconds more, like it was unting its newfound luster and shimmering, enchanted glow to me, only to then drift back towards my cor and reattach itself to the ck leather, rejoining the Asmodia pendant and allowing people to see my allegiance on both the mortal ne as well as the ''heavenly'' ne. It''s newfound luster aside, the phoenix pendant was given a screen inside my System to show of its new use as well, since it was now an item blessed by the Goddess who had given me this System; it wasn''t just a normal enchanted item, so I was curious to see what the stats would be like... [Storybook Phoenix (Dormant) : Increases INT and WIS by 10%, Regenerate Mana 25% quicker, Increase Mana Capacity by 25%, Increases AGI and DEX by 5%, Increases Healing Spells Efficiency by 25%] The long list of bonuses that this small pendant was giving me was quite something, and the longer I read it, the more I wondered what the hell this thing would do when it was ''Awakened'' or whatever; what bonuses would it provide then? Would it increase my stats even more, increase the rest of my stats, give me more damage, more mana, more efficiency..? What would it do? Actually... how the hell do I even awaken it? Do I... pray to it more? Give it some of my experience? Feed it blood? What do I do for it to awaken? Or... well, it IS called a Storybook Phoenix, so perhaps it requires ''stories'' to get stronger, though that wasn''t really much of an answer to my questions at all since I had no way of knowing how I to give it those stories... like did I go read some books, or just live my life and show it MY story? After all, it was MY Storybook Phoenix, so wouldn''t it make sense for it to be about MY story? Right..? ... Not getting an answer from the System nor from Reincantra, I just let out a sigh and instead reread the benefits of my new pendant, which were incredibly lucrative; it shot up my INT and WIS by 14 points each, my AGI and DEX by 7~8 points each, increased my overall Mana Capacity and Regeneration by 25% - which was why my chest was currently beginning to hurt as the orb resting beside my heart began to swell up with more liquid mana - and finally made it so I could heal people better, which... I mean, who is going to say no to increased potency of healing spells? Certainly not me, that''s for sure. That was really generous for a ''dormant'' item, and it got me excited to see what the ''awakened'' state would look like, but for now... there was little I could do besides specte on what it would be, so I instead decided to make use of my time in the best possible way by opening the System Shop and opening up my bulging wallet of Shop Points. After saying a quick thank you prayer to Reincantra, of course; I didn''t want to seem ungrateful, but I was equally as excited to spend my 320,000 Shop Points after what felt like months of ruing them, since thest major purchases were the earrings we all wore that increased our CON and WIS by 15% and 10% respectively. And they were roughly 6,000 a piece, so now that I had a ratherrge budget to spend on something I deemed as a necessity, well... wasn''t that just exciting~? Things I hadn''t even looked at yet were open to me now, so I began to browse the store after setting some parameters, with the first being the limitation to jewelry, and the second being to limit everything to some sort of support or healing focused item that had more than just one single use. A few things popped up that interested me, things that would maybe be useful, maybe they wouldn''t be used at all; who knows, but I will not beining if they never get used since its a reassurance for me anyways. I also had to ce a point limitation on them as well, capping them at 30,000 points each since I needed to make 9 separate purchases to obtain one for each of us; me and my three lovers, Mother, the Marquess, the Countess, and my two sisters. [Vitrea Ward Ring : Capable of blocking (2) severe damage strikes before breaking [30,000 Points]] [Molt Chain : Increases bodily regeneration by 10% [20,000 Points]] [Cottonbead Bracelet : Absorbs some physical damage away from the wearer [22,500 Points]] [Golden Tortoiseshell Pendant : Increases CON by 65% [22,500 Points]] More and more options filtered in and out of my mind as I scrolled through the list, highlighting and marking the traits that began to appeal to me more whilst also marking out the items that I liked enough to give a second look. What was I looking for exactly; something to heal, something to block, or something to support? All three were valuable in their own right, and I had to remain kneeling for a few minutes more as I went over each in my mind, weighing pros and cons for each as I tried toe to a decision... whilst also taking price into consideration too, since I wanted to get as much as I could for how much I was spending. I wasn''t being cheap, I just wanted to make sure that I was being efficient with my ''money'' and getting the most out of it, which was why I gradually found myself leaning towards two items. The [Vitrea Ward Ring] and the [Molt Chain] were what I had my eyes on the most at this moment in time; the ring would provide two instances of being able to block severe damage, which was always a nice thing to have no matter what type of world you could find yourself in. ''Severe Damage'' was a loose enough parameter that I was confident it could block either a physical attack or a magical one, as well as anything slow acting like poison, though I was less certain on that thought. As for the chain, simply boosting the healing factor someone had by a good amount seemed useless when magic exists and healing magic is rtively easy to learn, but having it act in the background or during a fight would be nice, and it would make anything that happened in day to day life easier to deal with... Though the more I weighed the two against one another, the easier it became to just ept that the [Vitrea Ward Ring] was well worth its price tag, and it would work for everyone no matter what; the Marquess would be able to not worry about two life threatening wounds in battle, while Mother could feel safer just going about her daily life. My two sisters could be safer as well from something that might end their own fragile lives at the moment; they were of strong races, certainly, but their bodies were still weak and able to be injured easily, so having this to safeguard them from any sort of fatal mistake or ident was also a huge relief. And a ring could be worn as a pendant too, making it something they could and would always have on them, which was just as reassuring; it wouldn''t be something they thought of after the first week of wearing it, and it wouldn''t get in the way of their hands if they wore it that way. Finding myself liking this idea even more, I just took the plunge after a quick double check of the items I had highlighted, purchasing myself 9 [Vitrea Ward Rings] for 270,000 points in total... which was enough to make my already hurting chest ache even more as I watched the number slowly be subtracted from my wallet, leaving me with only 50,000 points to spend on something else. For now though, I looked down at the 9 separate rings in my hands, each one identical to one another and each one looking rather beautiful. Smooth and thin bands of red ss riddled with dark gold veins, the [Vitrea Ward Rings] were simple and elegant in appearance, the only sign of their incredible power being the way the gold veins slowly wriggled beneath the surface, dispersing the power evenly and constantly. Each one was light and solid, the material not cracking or responding at all as I gave one a test squeeze, making sure they weren''t actually made from ss - or at the very least, a breakable ss that would shatter with ease. When they withstood my swift test, I slid one on and nodded at how it shrunk down to fit my finger snuggly, and when I moved to slide it off, it expanded and allowed itself to be removed with ease as well, showing off the wonders of magic in such a simple way. With my new haul of impressive magical gear, I stood up and turned around, heading back into the Pce and making my way back to the room, where I would wait until everyone was awake to give out the wonderful gifts I had managed to obtain for them. Chapter 953 952: Family Gifts

Chapter 953 Chapter 952: Family Gifts

When morning came around, I was awakened in the normal way; someone was grabbing at my body and pulling me towards them, first as a pillow, and then as a toy to be used, and I was surprised to see that it was Leone, which I knew to be her even before opening my eyes when I felt two sharp fangs pierce my neck and not my corbone. The Vampire started early, and before I knew it each of my lovers were taking turns with me, watching on from the side as they got one on one time with me, which made the morning feel rather ''long'' already, and even more so when we moved to the bathroom, where I was just turned into a buffet meant to be devoured by everyone at the same time. It certainly took some time for them to get everything out of their system - and I promise I certainly did NOT ''identally'' sit on Jahi''sp or give Leone a coy smile and a small show by bending over right in front of her, I swear - but when they did, Anput FINALLY realized I had a new ring, which she only realized because of where she had me put my hand... Was I a tad surprised it took this long to notice the ring? No... no, not really, since it still surprised my lovers that I had a tattoo above my special ce that they paid a LOT of attention to most of the time, but I did find it funny how they tunneled in on making us feel good that those sorts of ''trivial'' things escaped their attention. "Kat... what uh... what is that..? Wait... You didn''t cut me, did you?!" The Jackalkin''s erotic expression faded instantly as it was reced by fear as she leaned over and inspected her member, looking it over desperately and searching for some kind of injury - to the point that her cheeks lightened up as she tried to find something that wasn''t there. It was hard to notugh out loud at how amusing it was to see her fussing over herself like this, though it earned the frowns of the three futanari as both of the others looked at themselves before shivering at the thought of being injured slightly down there. "No, no I didn''t cut you down there, you idiot~! Why would I do that?!" I stared at her incredulously before my expression went neutral as she looked at me and said "Cause you have hidden sadistic tendencies that are both unnerving and extremely frightening, especially when directed AT me." "Anput..." "Okay, so if you didn''t cut me, what red thing is on your finger?!" She pointed at my hand, causing me to lift it up and show them all the new ring, each of my lovers blinking a few times as they appraised the ring from afar, only to furrow their brows as I said "Get washed up and we''ll talk about it outside, with everyone... Goddess above, you lot are so~ quick to judge a girl who does what she likes! And for the record, I have never actually done bodily harm to you just for the hell of it! Believe me, you would know if I decided you''d be better as a eunuch; I wouldn''t just knick you." They shuddered again, with Jahi nodding and gulping as she muttered "That''s for damn sure... murderpuppy here wouldn''t make a mistake...", which made the other two nod their heads in agreement before flinching as I just growled at them. So, in retaliation, I got up out of the bath and stalked out, leaving them to deal with their washing themselves as well as the remaining need to relieve themselves, though I was pleasantly surprised to see that they came out a minute or soter, with Leone hugging me and giving me a tender kiss while Jahi just ruffled my ears and muttered "Sorry..." I had her keep petting me for a few moments more before I finally said "It''s fine.", though I also red at Anput and watched in hidden amusement as she approached me and hugged me from behind resting her chin on my shoulder and holding me tightly as she too muttered "I''m sorry, Kat..." Letting them both pamper me was nice, and I gave them each a few seconds to really show how sorry they were before I said "It''s fine, really... I''m not that~ fragile emotionally, you know that right? Because if I was... something would have happened already~!" My upbeat tone as I smiled brightly at each of them made them all flinch again, but they rxed as I added "So don''t worry about it and just be careful~! Besides... an adequate amount of pets is enough to earn back my graces~! Now, get dressed! I have gifts~!" "Gifts..? Oh, wait..!" Leone stopped me as I was about to go grab myself some clothes, the Vampire''s eyes twinkling as she stared tantly at my cleavage - no, it was my pendant, obviously, but the other two took a brief moment to catch that, raising their brows at her actions before realizing what she was actually looking at, and bing just as surprised as she was. "Get dressed so I can exin it to everyone at the same time, hm~? Sound good?" Giving them each a nod, I pulled on my clothes and grabbed the remaining rings before heading out into the main area, where I found Bessie standing beside Mother in the kitchen helping to cook breakfast, while the Marquessid straight across the floor with both Lakshmi and Alessandra crawling over her, trying their best to avoid her hands as well as the small gusts of wind that brushed over them from the Countess. "You lot are finally awake and sufficiently drained~? Might want to learn how to keep it down, y''know~? Was a bit of a pain for Ria to keep the your room''s sound insted..." Sitting up, the Marquess scooped up both of the babies in a single motion, making Lakshmi giggle madly as she tried to escape, while Alessandra let out a huff and begrudgingly epted her defeat, ''reluctantly'' nuzzling into the Demoness'' arm. Leone blushed, Jahi smirked, Anput shrugged, and I just rolled my eyes as the Demoness continued to grin at us, showing that pride of a Demoness as she gave her daughter a nod of approval for her ''prowess'', despite the rest of us thinking it to be a tad awkward. "Ahem... since we have free time- ah, Bessie, do you think you can go fetch some oranges, vani beans, and a bag of flour for me? And some sugar too. We''ll be needing it for the arrival of the Haniel Family." The Cowkin blinked in surprise at being asked a question, before hesitantly looking towards Mother and getting a nod, causing her to wash off her hands before rushing out to do as I asked, the woman either too simple to know I was getting rid of her for now, or being tactful enough to not try and pry. Either way, now that she was gone, I leaned against the table and reached up for my cor, thumbing the pendant and drawing the attention to it, instantly noticing how everyone leaned closer before their eyes widened at the power that lingered around it. Not instantly noticeable, I was happy with that result as I showed it off to them for a few moments more, before smiling wryly as I decided to start with "Sost night, I went out to the Chapel when I couldn''t sleep, and I decided to pray to Reincantra like normal; give thanks for everything that''s happened, give thanks foring out of the ordeal against the Fiends, and it seems that my reward for being faithful and something of a... ''deal'' between us was given in the form of this enchanted pendant. It''s uh... from what she said, quite powerful. Boosts my magics by a lot, including my Core capacity and regeneration... But..." Opening my other hand, I allowed the rings to trickle down into the opened palm, before spreading them out on the table and continuing to speak, beckoning everyone closer and gesturing for them to take one each. "She also... decided to ept my prayer for the safety of my lovers, my parents, and my new sisters. These rings are... powerful, to say the least. Two... ''charges'' each that protects you from a severe injury before breaking. That''s what Reincantra said, anyways... and I managed to get one for each of us." It was an interesting thing, watching as they each picked up a ring; Jahi and the Marquess both narrowed their eyes and studied the red ss, their emotions on this idea of being able to ''cheat death'' twice clearly conflicting inside their minds. On one hand, it was logical to ept such a boon, but on the other it was against their pride as a warrior to rely on such a thing. Meanwhile, Anput was studying it before she just slipped it onto her right index finger, finding it fascinating to see it adjust instantly before moving it to a new finger, the artisan in her wanting to figure out how and what else she could do with it... while the degenerate in her wondered what else she could do with it... Leone studied its surface and seemed fascinated by the runes inscribed, the simrity between them and the runes for her Summoning Magic speaking to her academic mind, and it was there that the interactions stopped being about the rings, and more about the meaning behind them. Both the Countess and Mother turned to me first, with Mother staring at me in shock and with slightly wet eyes and making her way towards me quickly, while the Countess smiled gently and made her way over as well. Wrapping me up in an embrace, Mother held me close and rubbed her cheek against mine, the older Dogkin sobbing slightly as she managed to choke out "Thank you, baby...", her emotions surprising me a bit, though I could understand it as she added "D-Don''t be pushing yourself..! O-Or t-trying to do more for us..!" I had to chuckle at that as I hugged her back, stroking her back and replying "I''m not, Mother... I''m not, don''t worry...", before turning to look at the Countess, who stepped forwards and hugged me around Mother, embracing us both and saying "Your ''parents'', hm~?" That made me smile wryly at her as I nodded, and the Elf smiled back as she said "Even if you and Jahi had never worked out, I would have considered myself lucky to be able to say that you were my ''daughter'', Katherine. Truly." Stroking my ears, the Elf leaned forwards and ced a kiss on my brow, before she gently peeled Mother off of me and led her over to the table, soothing the woman and slipping the ring on her right ring finger with a small smirk and a brief nce at both me and the Marquess; the symbolism was clear, and the intention even clearer. It wasn''t a wedding band - that would be weird since it was a ring I procured for the family - but it was still on that same finger, and she made sure to be the one to do it, that slight maniptive quirk of hers shining brilliantly at this moment as she pulled Mother back into a hug, making me chuckle again as I just shook my head. Looking over everyone, I took in the two Demonesses contemting the rings, the Jackalkin ying around with the ring, the Vampire studying it, and the Elfforting the Dogkin, all while the two children watched on as well, not knowing what was happening but knowing that it was good and a happy asion, so they both were smiling and trying to get anyones attention to share that happiness. Chapter 954 953: Familial Love

Chapter 954 Chapter 953: Familial Love

It took a few minutes for Mother to eventually calm down, the mature Dogkin Baroness still biting her lips asionally to stop herself from crying again, but otherwise she was able toe back to me and give me another hug, leaning side to side as we embraced. It was soft and warm and something that even now, even as someone who had a high overall age - at least whenpared to humans - I just knew I would never be able to get enough of, especially since I had once lost the ability to feel this warmth and love. In this life though, I was going to do everything I could to ensure it remained with me, and that the woman who had ''brought me into this world'' would remain in it for as long as she possibly could and as long as she wanted to; that was why I had searched for those rings, and it was also why she was so emotional at the moment. "I want to only be proud of you, Katherine, but... it just feels like a reminder that I''m not the one who is able to just say ''everything will be alright, you''ll always be safe''... and that just... that just-!" Hugging her back, I felt my eyes grow wet as I cut her off and said "You did keep me safe; you still are keeping me safe. Besides, Mother, I''m grown! I have to take care of myself, and now that I am grown, I have to take care of you! Please, focus on Alessandra and Lakshmi; I''ll be fine! You raised me right, and showed me how to find my own safety..." She buried her face into the crook of my neck at that, her arms tightening around me as she gave me a squeeze, though we both froze for a moment as the Marquess approached and gentlyid her hands on our shoulders, wearing a gentle smile. "If anything, you should~ be throwing yourself at me, Julie~! I''ll be the one to keep you, my adorable daughter inw, and the two new babies safe~! So stop crying, alright?" Mother pulled away from my neck and frowned at Chordeva, before narrowing her eyes as the Demoness'' smile turned sultry as she leaned down and asked "And question... was the way she showed you to find safety... was that by finding yourself an excellent, amazing, hung like a horse stud of a Demoness~?" Of course, it was almost instinctual with how the Marquess needed to ''ruin'' the moment, something that seemed to have been inherited by Jahi as she just smirked and tried to hide her expression from me, but I clearly caught it; however, as much as it did ''ruin'' the moment between Mother and I, we both were well aware of its real purpose, which she attained with efficient ease. She made Mother forget about her self induced ''ws'' and instead gave her something else to focus on, which was punching the Demoness'' stomach and ring at her as she unleashed her emotions in another way; was it healthy though? No, but really... nothing about how this family of ours works is healthy; it''s maniptive, self absorbed, toxic, and it works so damn well with how each of us function as a person that it''s damn near scary to think about for too long. A single session with a therapist would have said therapist bleeding out on the floor before any of us decided we wanted to actually work through some of the problems we had, but hey, recognition is the first step on the path of healing or whatever. The Countess came back over to me and showed me the red crystal ring that she wore on her right index, the blonde Elf giving me another hug as she said "Thank you, Katherine... it''s a wonderful, intricate gift. It means a lot, even if..." Her voice trailed off as she nced at the Marquess, who had decided enough was enough and she was going to retaliate, which was simply done by spinning Mother around and out of our sight so that she could silence her woman in the only way she knew how; a deep, passionate, sloppy kiss that made me cringe as I looked away instantly. Even though I knew well enough what sort of equipment the Marquess wielded, and knew just what she did with it and who she did it with, I still didn''t want to see it, which the Countess knew as she let out a sigh and said "Chordeva... please. Not in front of the children..." Rolling her eyes, the Countess looked back at me, allowing me to say "I know that you and the Marquess don''t really need it, but-" "Katherine... you said it yourself, my dear. We''re family; practically your parents in a few separate ways. You don''t need to keep using titles to address us." That made me blink, my brain short circuiting as I tried to piece together what she was saying and tried to make sense of it, only to fail as I stared at her nkly, something that the Elf found rather amusing as she chuckled beside me. "This goes for you two as well; there is no need to refer to Chordeva and I as ''Miss'', ''Lady'', or by our titles. If you would like, ''Mother'' and ''Mom'' will work just fine. You can add our names to that too to be less confusing." Reaching over, the Elf pinched my cheek and smiled at me as she said "Go on, try it.", her eyes sparkling with both mischief and anticipation as she waited for me to say something, and for the first time in a long time... I felt my cheeks flush with blood, arge portion of my face going red as I became rather embarrassed, something that had be a rarity when it was genuine, and now... now I was staring at someone I respected and loved the same way I respected and loved Mother, albeit not to the same heights. But still... To be asked to show that affection verbally in this way was... "M-Mother Ria..?" Her lips curled into a grin as she nodded, her sapphire eyes sparkling with joy as she said "Yes, Katherine~?", making my blush deepen for a moment before she turned me towards the Demoness, who was staring at us with a narrowed gaze. "M-Mom..?" The Demoness just blinked once, before ncing to the side and looking at Jahi, who met her gaze and raised a brow, only to roll her eyes when the older Demoness said "Now why can''t you sound like that? Respectful and nice..?" "Chordeva..." She rolled her eyes this time and looked back at me, tilting her head slightly before shrugging as she said "Yeah?", those ruby eyes staring straight at me without an ounce of confusion, boredom, or anything else that would make this awkward; it was just matter of fact and epting, which... Mother Ria ruffled my ears and smiled at me, before sauntering her way over to Anput and Leone as she stared at them expectantly; unsurprisingly, Leone was blushing just as much as I was, with her gaze flickering between Mother Ria, Mom, Mother and Jahi, beforending back on Mother Ria as she hesitantly said "Mother... Ria..? Momma Chordeva..?" The two nodded, before Mother smiled softly even as she wiped at her cheeks and dapped at her eyes when Leone added "Mother Julie..?", the Vampire deciding to not forget her other Mother inw too as she looked between the three. What was surprising was the fact that Anput was rather twitchy and refusing to look at anyone, her face darker as well while her ears twitched constantly, and when everyone gazed at her, well... it only got ''worse'', and she knew that the only way to alleviate this was to say it, so she too managed to mutter "Mother Ria... Momma Chordeva... Mother Julie..." She peeked at each person as she said that, hesitation and slight fear permeating her obsidian eyes as she studied their reactions, only to flinch when Mom stepped forwards and ruffled her ears, the Demoness saying "Stop with the weird sentimental emotional thing; we all know you as a cocky little prick..." That made Anput blink in surprise, though she just chuckled wryly when Mother Ria let out a sigh but didn''t say anything else, which made relief seep into my mates eyes as she nodded, slowly returning to her usual self. "Well, can''t say I really wanted to ''adopt'' the lot of you all at once - seems like a damn poor investment if you ask me - but to hells with it, whatever. Just don''t get weird or something, yeah?" Mom waved her hands and walked away, scooping up the two babies and returning toying on the floor as she started to benchpress both of the babies, sending them high into the air before bringing them down to get a kiss on the brow. Lakshmi just giggled maniacally as she was sent up and down and up and down, all while also leaning in to get her kiss and enjoy each lift and lower, while her sister squirmed around and looked desperately at her own Mom, who shook her head slightly beforeing to her rescue. The room descended into that wonderful warmth again, though it was momentarily broken by the younger Demoness as she approached Mother and stood in front of her, scratching the back of her head and seeming far more meek than ever before, while Mother''s expression went t, her eyes steady as she stared at the Demoness straight on. "I... guess I should say thank you, Mother Julie..?" She stared back into Mother''s eyes, waiting for a response as Mother just looked at her, before she let out a sigh and said "I guess you should, Jahi..." Taking a step forwards though, she brought her finger up and pointed at Jahi''s chin, staring up at her and saying "And if you ever put my baby in harms way like that again..." She narrowed her eyes, before letting out another sigh and hugging the Demoness, surprising her before she just said "I forgive you for the previous ones, but going forwards... I''ll kill you myself if she gets hurt." The dark, oceanic blues that stared up at Jahi made the Demoness shiver, and for a moment the entire room waspletely still as we all looked at Mother in surprise, only for her to take a deep breath and smile gently as she added "Otherwise, I do think the two of you are a perfect match~!" Patting her cheek, Mother continued to smile at Jahi before letting her go and walking away, joining Mom on the floor and stroking Lakshmi''s head as the baby Demoness stared at her for a few moments, before extending her arms straight towards her chest and babbling incoherently. Chapter 955 954: More Family Chapter 955 954: More Family ??Being able to finally say that they were truly my family, and that I could address them as such was an interesting feeling; I had... almost always - after the first few months or so, anyways - considered them as my family. A mixture of the instincts of the body I had inhabited, my brain developing like it had once before, the state of my mind and the craving I had for a family yet again, the need for something stable and warm and lovingpared to what I did have before... all of that merged together and allowed me to easily ept them as family, but now I could finally say it. Perhaps it waste, but like many people say, it''s betterte then never, and I would have to agree; for the longest time, I had looked at Mother Ria and seen her as the Countess - someone I was to look at from a confusing distance that was both far and close, and someone that I needed to treat with respect but also someone that I was far too close to to always address by their title... It was a confusing thing that''s for sure, but I suppose the elevation from servants to Nobility for Mother and I made it far easier to switch things up to their proper, deserved states, so now we were able to address one another as we had long since felt we should. She was very much like a second Mother to me, if only because she taught, provided, and protected me like a Mother should, while the Marquess did the same, albeit in her far more crass and informal style. That was all the more evident now as I looked to the side, where I could see Mom lounging on the floor casually tossing Lakshmi into the air and catching her as she fell back down into her hands, with Mother watching on with a slightly worried expression as her eyes followed thevender skinned baby going up and down - even as said baby giggled andughed with eachunch into the air, that instinct to keep her baby safe made it hard to trust even a Knight of Cinder with something like this. Meanwhile, lounging on the sofa and running her hands slowly through Alessandra''s golden hair, Mother Ria also watched Mom do as she wanted with a small smile on her face as she groomed the baby Elf in herp, who was gradually dozing off as the warmth andfortable bliss of being pampered got to her, though she certainly made a fighting effort to not fall asleep as she shook her small head and looked this way and that. "Mother, when are your parents supposed to arrive? It was sometime today, right? Should we just stay in today, or can we..?" Jahi''s voice broke thefortable silence - well, silence save for theughter of Lakshmi, anyways - and we all turned towards the older Elf as we expressed our own curiosity at the question, only to smile wryly as she raised a brow and instead asked "Even if they arrived tonight, or tomorrow morn, would it kill you to remain inside with us today? Just for once, truly sit back and rx? Hm?" I nced at Jahi and smirked at how she frowned before letting out a sigh, her broad shoulders slumping slightly as she grumbled "No, no it wouldn''t... just wanted to know if I could go spar or something instead of just sitting around..." "As odd as it is for me to say, you should try to take advantage of the quiet and peace now, since the moment you step foot over in the Sultanate, I doubt you''ll be stationary for long. Be it because you''re going out to fight monsters or because you''re being told it''d be best to join them in the morning training, afternoon training, dusk training... You really won''t have much rxing time over there." Anput frowned this time before smiling wryly instead as she nodded, the brief moment of wanting to ''defend'' her homnd losing to the reality of what it was as she said "Yes, it is a very active and martial ce. That is going to be the most jarring difference between the Empire and the Sultanate; just how straightforwards and brutal it can be. But, that''s why it''s so great~!" "And why I was more~ then willing to threaten to secede from the Empire and join the Sultanate instead all those years ago when the Empress ''threatened'' me with a few separate things~! She knew I would do it, so she conceded and let me do what I wanted. Sucked for that Noble House though... a real~ pity for them." We all looked at the Demoness with a frown - Jahi and Leone with the most confused and concerned expressions - but none of us got an answer as the sound of knocking filled the room, causing us all to stop. Each rap against the thick wood was evenly spaced and weighed, almost down to the most precise millisecond and ounce possible, making it rtively easy to determine who it was; someone strong and someone who dealt in precisions like that. Mother and I moved towards the door at the same time, her years of experience and my self induced nature causing us to move together to get the door despite others being much closer, and we shared a small smile at that before she opened the door to reveal two Elves standing together. The one directly in front of the door was a tall, slender woman, her lithe body and sharp features vaguely resembling the Elf inside, while her bright blue eyes and long golden hair that had been pulled into a ponytail were much clearer and obvious hints. A long ck overcoat covered her emerald green and gold suit, while the midnight ck fur that was stitched into the cor of her coat slightly softened her features, though it made her eyes all the more bright and cold as she narrowed them, looking down at Mother and I. Her hands found their way back into the pockets of her coat as she tilted her head, her green lips curling into a slight frown before returning to a thin line as she looked up and over us, towards the tall Demoness and Elf that she was familiar with. Behind her stood a thin man wearing a simr ck overcoat, though his suit was a simple ck with silver ents, which matched his slicked back ck hair that was beginning to turn silver too. A monocle rested in front of his right eye, a thin silver band holding it in ce via his pointed nose whilst the silver chain that draped off the side connected to his ear, which was pierced in multiple ces; each earring shimmered with mana, as did the ss of his monocle. He snapped shut the heavy book in his hand and nodded once as he looked at us, his green eyes filled with recognition as he asked "Ah, are you the two Dogkin that we''ve heard about? Julie and Katherine Zara, I believe? It''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Taking a step forwards, he extended his free hand to Mother first, who hesitantly shook it as she looked between the two with concealed confusion; when it was my turn, I almost flinched at the shock that traveled up my arm, something that the man seemed to catch as his brow arced for just a moment. "Father! Really now?" Mother Ria stepped forwards and let out a sigh, only to stiffen as the woman muttered "Ria...", her blue eyesnding on her daughter and narrowing further as she watched an equally blue hand drape itself over the younger Elf''s shoulders; when the amused and carefree voice of Mom joined in, well... "Madam Haniel~! Mister Haniel~! Wee, wee~! It''s been a few years, no? It is a shame we aren''t back at the Asmodia Estate, but hey, who canin about the Pce, hm? Come in~! We can have some tea and catch up?" Letting go of my hand, the older man ''smiled'' gently as he nodded and said "Yes... I think that would be excellent, Chordeva...", and I didn''t know what to do since his eyes remained as neutral as before, while his wife seemed to be trying to kill Mom using just her gaze, which... honestly might have worked on someone with a weaker will and not as carefree as Mom was... So I just stepped to the side and let them walk inside, though Mother and I exchanged nces as we gently took the heavy coats off of their shoulders, which the two Elves let us do as their attention was quickly stolen from any of us as someone else walked closer. Jahi stopped a few feet away from the two, and in her arms were both Lakshmi and Alessandra, who were both staring curiously at the two neers - Lakshmi with what seemed to be just the question ''Who are you people?'', while Alessandra seemed to recognize and understand that they were just like her own Mom, making this a rather peculiar and interesting thing for the Elf baby. The room went quiet again as those three ''new'' members of the Asmodia Family looked at the two main members of the Haniel Family, their two separate and strong gic trees entwining and bearing two separate fruits that now stood in front of them. Two separate, wonderful, strong and unique fruits, which captivated the two older Elves as they looked between Jahi, Alessandra, and Lakshmi too, before finally returning their gaze to the branches that hade together and entwined to bear these fruits. Chapter 956 955: The Haniels Chapter 956 955: The Haniel''s ??I shut the door behind the two Elves after they entered the room, my eyes still on them as I watched the blonde assassin and ck haired businessman remain frozen in ce as they looked at the three people in front of them. "Hello, Grandma, Grandpa..." Jahi smiled stiffly at the two Elves, her amethyst eyes alternating between the two as she held both of her sisters in her arms, who were looking at the Elves as well, their curiosity only growing as they waited for some sort of reaction from these two new people. "Mother, Father, this is Jahi; it''s been a couple of years since you''vest seen her, after all... and these two are Lakshmi and Alessandra. They... were born from Julie over there, who got lucky enough to bear both Chordeva and my child at the same time. We were very lucky in that regard... though at the time I''m sure she found it to be unfortunate at some points haha~!" They were still frozen in ce even as Mother Ria tried to lighten the mood, which made Mom chuckle softly as she said "Y''know, you CAN go ahead and say something to your oldest granddaughter, my dearest parents inw~! It''s been a few YEARS after all, so of course she''s grown quite a bit! Demoness gics and all that... might be surprising to you Elves..." That finally managed to get Lady Haniel to react as she narrowed her eyes and dryly said "It''s not surprising, Chordeva. I knew she would grow, but still... it hasn''t been that many years, has it? It feels like just yesterday she was but a babe... and now she''s infuriatingly reminiscent of you." "Most people would say that that is actually the most preferable oue of her being my daughter. Especially those three over there~! I think they are very~ happy that she is almost~ a spitting image of me~!" She couldn''t help herself as she smirked at the blonde, who frowned as she nced over at Anput, Leone and I, all of us standing together a few steps away from the Demoness and not meeting her gaze as we decided it''d be best to stay silent. Of course, no one wants to hear that - least of all us - but it... wasn''t entirely false, and that only made Lady Haniel click her tongue as she said "Crass as always, your blue brute. I see not even the wonders of parenthood have tempered that edge of yours... a pity." "Nope, not at all~! If anything, it just made it all the more sharp as I constantly whet it~!" We all red at the smug Demoness as she smirked at Lady Haniel, but this time it was Sir Haniel who spoke as he said "Chordeva, I truly hope you haven''t imparted this... behavior of yours onto our grandchild..?" That only made her even more smug as she answered "She has three wives, one of whom was with her since she was able to talk and walk around freely, AND she is a Demoness? I didn''t impart anything besides my perfect genes~! And besides... do you see whom she is going to wed? I''d be surprised if she was celibate, and from what we hear... she very much isn''t." Jahi red at Mom before looking back at the two Elves, who were frowning again as they stared at the younger Demoness, and Lady Haniel clicked her tongue again as she said "A shame... well, I guess it can''t be helped. We knew what would happen when Ria decided to choose you of all people..." "Mother!" Mother Ria frowned as well, ring at her parents as she added "I''ll have you know I asked both of you for your blessing in regards to Chordeva, and you both agreed to it! Besides, she has been more than incredible as my wife, and as a parent!" "Hmm..." They both seemed unconvinced, but Sir Haniel let out a low sigh before nodding, saying "Correct, we gave you our blessing, and besides her... rambunctious attitude and inability to be civil, she is quite the catch. As depressing as that is now... anyways, Jahi, it has been quite some time." His frown turned into a small smile as he took a step forwards, his emerald eyes flickering between Jahi, Alessandra and Lakshmi, eventuallynding on Lakshmi as he gently reached forwards and took her from Jahi with practiced ease. "I do regret not being able to see more of you over thest few years, but the Empress did have us running about doing this and that... still, it isn''t an excuse to have never once visited. My apologies on that... time simply slipped us by... Hello little one! Lakshmi was your name, yes? Ah, you have your Mother''s eyes! Unique too..." Lakshmi stared at the man before babbling something, making him nod his head sagely as he added "Yes, red isn''t thatmon amongst other races. The ambers are nice though. Ah, and the curiosity is boundless!" She had reached forwards and grabbed at his monocle, and I blinked in surprise as he just... let her take it from him, the two staring at the ss in her small hands like it was some new curiosity, despite it being his for who knows how long. At the same time, Lady Haniel lifted Alessandra from Jahi''s arms and said "Like my dearest husband said, I regret leaving you with your Mom for as long as I did, but I truly wasn''t within the Empire''s borders for very long... and if I was, I was a tad preupied. You have grown far more than I had expected though; thest I had seen of you, you were just a wee little thing, a bit bigger than this munchkin here. Barely able to say much, though I do recall Ria going-" Alessandra reached up and poked her cheek, making the woman tilt her head as she raised a brow, though despite it being a rather ''scary'' expression with how neutral and cold her eyes were, Alessandra just poked her again, before reaching for her ears next. The baby Elf touched them before touching her own, her lips curling into a frown as she then turned to stare at Mother Ria, then back at Lady Haniel, which made her brow arch even further up. "Yes? I am indeed an Elf, just like you are little one. Is that curious to you?" Alessandra tilted her head the opposite way that Lady Haniel did, the two staring at one another for a few moments before the baby pointed at her and babbled, only to then point back at Mother Ria and babble something else. "Yes, she is an Elf too. You are to her what she is to me. Though... can you understand that? Hm... Ria, have you been reading to her? Did you read to Jahi?" "Of course I''ve read to her, and to Jahi. They''re both curious by nature anyways. Jahi was reading properly when she was three or so, and she has her own library back at the manor. Alessandra will likely be even more of a bookworm all things considered..." "Good, good..." Nodding, Lady Haniel walked past Jahi and made her way to the couch, taking a seat and staring at Alessandra still as she muttered to the baby, leaving us all to nce at Mother Ria as she just shrugged and mouthed ''They''re both entric'', which wasn''t caught by either of her parents as they just focused on the babies in their arms and lost themselves into their own little worlds... whilst leaving Jahi to just stand there looking between the two of them before turning to stare at us, confused. "Um..." Both Mother Ria and Mom smiled wryly at Jahi and just shook their heads, with Mom heading over to a chair and taking a seat before patting herp, weing both Mother and Mother Ria as she waited and watched the two older Elves. "So... This is not what I was thinking of... at all." Her voice was a tad quiet as she nced back at the two Elves, who were sitting beside one another now looking between the two babies that were in their arms, causing Leone and I to reach forwards andfort the slightly hurt Demoness. Caressing her arm, I whispered "It''s fine, Jahi... I mean, honestly, the babies ARE a tad more interesting and... not ''important'', but... you get what I mean. In a few minutes they''ll be talking to you, don''t worry..." She nodded, smiling wryly as she whispered back "I know, I know, just can''t say it doesn''t sting a bit. But... what can you do." before gesturing for us to join her on the other couch, staring at the two Elves and waiting for them toe back around to Jahi. It was a bit interesting to see just how ''entric'' they were though, and it seemed that even Mother Ria was bing bbergasted with just how focused her parents were on only two of their three grandchildren. Chapter 957 956: Grandparents

Chapter 957 Chapter 956: Grandparents

"Mother, Father, don''t you think..?" The two Elves looked up when they heard Mother Ria speak, and instantly the woman frowned whilst the man narrowed his eyes, both of them not being particrly happy with howfortably and unbothered-ly Mother Ria was with sitting on Mom''sp in front of them, nor were they too happy to see the slight smirk Mom had as she rested her hands on both Mother and Mother Ria''s thighs. "Think..? Usually I do think, yes." The dry tone that the blonde took was enough to make Mother Ria roll her eyes as she said "Mother, I mean don''t you think you''ve been a bit too engrossed in Alessandra and Lakshmi? There is your original grandchild still waiting for any sort ofmunication between the two of you..." Her sharp blue eyes made their way over towards Jahi at that, whilst the emeralds of her husband joined in as he tilted his head, only to let out a quiet ''Ah!'' and nod as he said "Apologies, truly! We''re not trying to ignore you, Jahi, it''s just... well..." He trailed off and looked down at Lakshmi, who was still ying around with his monocle like it was some cheap toy and not some instrument that he seemed to value greatly, his lips curling into a smile as he said "It''s been a long time since we''vest had a baby in our arms, and I have to admit... despite looking more like Chordeva, Lakshmi here is quite reminiscent of little Ria. Curious and absolutely unable to keep her hands to herself! If she sees something she thinks is interesting..." "And Alessandra here simply looks too much like Ria, from the rich golden hair to the chubby little cheeks... you used to be so adorable. What happened?" "Mother..." Giving her Mother a cold re, Mother Ria let out a sigh a momentter and said "So you''re just reminiscing is all? Neither of you ever seemed the types to look back; always pushing ahead no matter what..." "It''s within any sentient beings nature to look back and be retrospective; back then, when we were raising you, there was little for us to learn from since we were sessful. Even now there is little to look back on. But... the one thing that we will always look back on and wonder about... it''s our baby girl, obviously. We never got lucky again, so we... always wonder if we did everything the best we could have. And now..." Letting out another sigh, the man stared at Lakshmi and smiled again, finishing his small speech with a nod of his head "Now we''re presented with a baby that looks just like you... and we get to see that the baby girl we had raised so long ago has finally grown to the point that she too has children. It''s a curious thing... plucks at the heart in certain ways..." Poking Lakshmi''s cheek, he made the baby Demoness giggle before gently taking the monocle away from her, cing it back in front of his eye and handing her to his wife so that he could stand up and approach us, gesturing for Jahi to rise as well. She easily stood above her Grandpa, and yet the older man still demanded quite a bit of attention, especially when he reached forwards and rested his hands on her arms and looked her up and down, sizing her up and seeing just how much she had grown. "Even for a Demoness, this is quite the rate of growth! Perhaps it has something to do with your Light Mana? And besides that, you do seem to have far more manners than your Mom, even if some of her other... tendencies have leaked into you." With that, he nced over at us and raised a brow, only to turn back to Jahi and add "Though that is only because our views on such things are as drastically different as they possibly can be. Honestly, we were rather surprised when Ria told us she wanted to wed a Demoness of all people." "It was only surprising because she finally decided she wanted to be a proper damn Haniel for the first time ever! Not just another Elf... a shame that it had toe because of the likes of her..." "I''ll have you know that I had no direct influence on what made Ria change her ways; that was entirely her own whims and desires being made manifest by herself, nothing to do with me. Though I am eternally grateful that she did decide the way she did." Kissing Mother Ria briefly, Mom shared a smile with her before looking back at her inws, who were both frowning and rather clearly against that public disy of affection, even more so when Mother Ria leanedfortably into her wife''s arms. "Anyways, I suppose it''s to be expected that your... appetite would be as voracious as it is, but still... at least you chose quality and quantity together, and not just quantity. We can be relieved with that - all of us, I imagine. Anput Sera, Leone Presa-Ash, and Katherine Zara... quite a bouquet, no?" Releasing Jahi''s arms, the older man approached us and smiled at each as he said our names, sizing each of us up as well before looking back at his grandchild, who stood beside him quietly. "And quite the aplishment, if only because one is a Begum and the another a Princess. The third is also technically a Noble through loose treaties and agreements, but... either way, the here and now is what matters, and that is what makes it even more fascinating. I imagine Belian and Lady Hathor are both scrambling around trying to figure out ways to build rtions between us and them?" Now he was looking towards Mom, who just nodded and watched from afar, still longing on the couch with her two wives resting on herp, clearly enjoying herself at the moment. "Well that decision is entirely up to you, Jahi. It''s an intriguing thing, the rtion between the ns. And with your current position, you do wield an impressive amount of influence at such a young age... even more so since both Belian and Lady Hathor know that any hopes they have to reach Lakshmi here will rely on keeping things amiable between you and them. They don''t need to worry about Chordeva as much anymore, which is a blessing and a curse for them." "She''s still my daughter first and foremost, Pops. Like it or not, they will need to consider my opinion as much as they always do, and unless she wants to taste that ''forbidden fruit'' that badly, I''ll be doing my damndest to not let them arrange a marriage between her and one of their girls." "Clearly you don''t understand just yet, Chordeva, but you''re already being reced... ah, you won''t listen anyways. Jahi, just decide as you want. Now, you three... I suppose introductions are in order? Proper introductions, not just... whatever you may have been told from Chordeva there, or from Ria." Straightening his suit, the Elf cleared his throat before giving us a half bow, his emerald eyes sparkling in the light as he said "Count mar Haniel at your service, though do just call me Grandfather or Grandpa; either works. And call my dearest wife Grandmother or Grandma. Dear..?" He turned slightly, looking at the still seated woman as she idly stroked both the babies heads and kept them amused, though her blue eyes flickered over to meet her husbands gaze as she just said "Countess Minuvae Haniel." before looking back down at the twins, who were enjoying her caresses very much. "As you likely were told, I am a businessman, and my dear wife is... many separate things. Saboteur, spy, assassin... So we have a varied skillset that we are more than willing to offer, so long as the reason is right and it isn''t illegal. I do hope that you all continue to treat Jahi well going forwards." Bowing again, Grandpa kept his smile before looking back at Jahi, gesturing for her to sit with him as he asked her "Have you decided on a date for the weddings, or is that still in flux as well? Since you four are technically nothing more than fiancees..." That question made Anput, Leone and I blink before staring at Jahi intensely, leaning forwards and waiting for the Demoness to answer as she was suddenly put onto the spot; she didn''t even turn to look at us, and outwardly she seemed unbothered by the question, but through the bond... Well, I could feel her emotions do a few flips as she tried to maintain her calmness, and it made me narrow my eyes as I appraised the Demoness, only for her to let out a low sigh of relief when another knock at the door saved her from the question. For now, anyways. Chapter 958 957: Like Usual

Chapter 958 Chapter 957: Like Usual

The knock on the door saved Jahi from needing to answer that question right now, but even as I walked over to open the door and let whomever was outside into the room, I nced back over my shoulder and narrowed my eyes at the Demoness, making her smile wryly at me as those amethyst eyes filled with a few different emotions. Everyone caught that nce, causing everyone to smirk whilst Grandpa and Grandma tilted their heads, unustomed to how we acted with one another and unsure of whether to view that as okay or not, though as soon as they caught the reactions of everyone else, they remained quiet and just focused on the door. Opening it up, I raised a brow at the very stiff, very scared looking Cowkin woman that was standing in front of the Empress, Lady Igna, and Lady Yusa, the three royal women smiling softly at the door as they waited to be invited in, all whilst Lady Igna seemed to enjoy the difort that Bessie was showing. I bowed before stepping to the side, gesturing for the three to enter and marveling somewhat at the different presences that each had; the Empress was a gentle warmth thatpped at your skin, Lady Igna was a suffocating, cloying heat that tried to sap any moisture from your body, while Lady Yusa was such a deep and bone chilling weight that didn''t match her coy expression. Each was a unique and powerful woman in their own right, but together in a small room with another few women with powerful presences, it was almost hard to breathe in this room now, and it was made even worse for Bessie who had little mana to begin with, so I just smiled at her and pulled her inside. She needed to get used to it anyways... "Ah, mar, Minuvae! It is nice to actually be seeing you in person again! I trust everything has gone well?" Both of the Elves stood up and bowed deeply to the Empress, with Grandma being the one to answer as she respectfully said "As well as it always goes, my Empress. And it is our honor to be in front of you once again!" "As serious as always, I see. So, how have the introductions been? Are you surprised by your granddaughter''s growth? She is quite the talented girl, after all. Quite bright, quiet strong, surprisingly well mannered too, all things considered." The Empress briefly nced at Mom when she said that, making both of the Elves frown as they turned to nce at her as well, not appreciating the fact that she had made no move to get up and bow to the ruler of our Empire, and not happy with the fact that neither Mother nor Mother Ria had done more than bow their heads. Before they could say anything though, the Empress smiled at me as I pulled over the various chairs from the table and gestured for Jahi and the others to vacate the couch, which I then offered to the towering woman and her two wives before making my way into the kitchen, putting on a few pots of tea. "Well, I came over for a few reasons. Let''s start with the obvious; mar, Minuvae, I truly am curious as to what you think about young Jahi, as well as the two little ones. It''s likely the most excitement you''ve had in a few months now, right? Which, let me make abundantly clear, was entirely optional and not needed. You could havee home and let someone else take over your posts..." Still frowning, Grandma red at the older Demoness before turning back to the Empress and nodding, her expression growing neutral as she answered "We know, Empress, but one of the first lessons I ever learned was a simple yet important one; if you want something done right the first time, do it yourself. The mission was far too vtile to be left to someone else, so I stuck to it.?As for what I think..." Falling silent, she stared at Jahi for a few moments before her gaze alternated between all of us, eventuallynding on Leone as she added "I think we''re quite lucky. She seems to have grown properly and into a sought after, important, reasonable girl who has taken clear advantage of the hand she was dealt. I just hope she never slips up and causes any sort of harm to the Princess..." "Ha! We all hope that, ''cause it''d be difficult to exin to Chordeva why her daughter was burnt beyond recognition!" "Or dealing with severe frostbite that simply would never go away..." The two wives of the Empress ''smiled'' at Jahi as their mana leaked out of their skin, the contrasting waves of heat and cold enough to make your head reel as it was switched between two extremes, only to fade away a secondter and make you question whether or not it happened at all. Poor Bessie was sweating in the corner beside me, trying her best to look small and insignificant as she trembled like a leaf, only to almost jump out of her skin as I muttered "Get the tea for me, Bessie." "Trust me, she knows better than to do something stupid like that. Besides, Jahi was the one to ask Leone to be her fiancee and not the other way around, and so far she hasn''t shown any signs of idiocy. If anything, I''d argue that Leone does more damage with her fangs than Jahi ever will do to her~!" The Empress'' smile stiffened for a moment as her head turned to face Mom, who just grinned as she just kept her streak going of insinuating so many different things. "Well, besides the fact that your granddaughter will eventually wed my daughter, is there anything else, or have you only been here for a few minutes?" She returned to the two Elves without a word to Mom, who just chuckled quietly as she leaned back into her seat and withstood the res from the others. "We''ve only been here for a handful of minutes so far, Empress. But I do have the letters still that Ria sent us, so I am curious to have some alone time with her. Get to ask her some questions and maybe even spar with her. As for the little ones, they''re both adorable." "Well, that''s good to hear. Now, I don''t want to keep you all for too long, so let''s move on to the other reason that I came by. Another letter came in from the Sultanate, and Anubi told me to tell you four that in a week and a half, a few of her soldiers wille by to escort you into the Desert and over towards Al- Mayt. Apparently, Anubi has a couple of surprises in store for you, which doesn''t include the various Fiends popping up around the Desert begging to be dealt with. Many of which are Ka Fiends too, so that should be fun~!" Rubbing her hands together, the Empress smiled at each of us before focusing on Anput as she said "This will be your first time back home in a long time, won''t it Begum? Excited?", drawing everyone''s focus onto the Jackalkin who was just lounging on her chair and smiling slightly. "Very much so. Obviously I lucked out with Jahi, but I was prepared to be ''stuck'' here for a long time. It was a part of what I was told before I left; that I might note back for years. After all, I was marrying into a rather important family." The Jackalkin seemed unbothered by that admission, which made her frown as she saw both Jahi and Leone frowning at her, the two clearly displeased with that assumption that she had so breezily made. Before she could ask them what was wrong, Lady Yusa cut in and redirected the flow of the conversation quickly, pulling everyone back to more lighthearted topics as she asked "Your Mother - Kio - had a few children recently too right? So you have an entire brood to return to that you haven''t seen in a while either? Simr to these two?" Both Alessandra and Lakshmi were seated securely on herp somehow, with Lakshmi taking this opportunity to sprawl out and nap as she enjoyed the cool skin of the Snow Woman, whilst Alessandra seemed more partial to the heat of Lady Igna nearby, but Lady Yusa kept her seated on her soft thigh. "Correct~! They were only crawling around when I left, so I have to admit I am curious to see what they''re up to now, and curious to see if the parenting style is still the same. Aftering over the first time, Mother got really strict and fired up, so..." Anput and I nced at Mother when she said that, catching the small and proud smile on her face as she looked between the two of us, only to return to her neutral expression when everyone else looked at her as well. Chapter 959 958: Make The Most Of Your Time Chapter 959 958: Make The Most Of Your Time ??"Well... like I said, that was really all I came over to say; of course I was also curious to see mar and Minuvae in person for the first time in a long time, as well as to see how my oh so incredible Knight and Saintess were doing. If you have any need of me, I''ll be in the Sanctum, preparing for Lilith''s arrival. Hopefully she decides to show up before the week is out!" Standing up after finishing her tea, the Empress gestured for both Lady Igna and Lady Yusa to continue walking with her, the two curvaceous yet different women taking either side of their wife and giving us nods, only to leave quietly, more focused on their wife than they were on anyone else. With those heavy presences finally gone from the room, Bessie was able to stop shaking somewhat and get to work without fear of spilling everything, though by now there was little need to actually make tea and prepare some biscuits, but I wasn''t going to say no to her doing so... I could always go for a pot of tea and some biscuits, especially when it seemed we were in for some more conversation with the two neers who had returned to the couch; already, they were back to amusing the two babies and keeping quiet. "Since it''s back to just us, why don''t you go and spar with Jahi, Mother? Chat with her about the things she''s missed, about our family..." Mother Ria was smiling tiredly as she looked between her parents, both of whom nced back up at the rest of us and blinked a few times before nodding, like they just remembered that there was more people in this room then just them. It was... a certain type of entricity to be able to do that so quickly, and yet they were capable of losing track of everything in the room besides the things right on theirps with such ease it was almost frightening, though after they gently brought the two babies over to Mother Ria and Mother, they turned towards us and nodded. "Yes, I probably should... hopefully you aren''t an exact copy of her in all regards... and from what I''ve heard, you are quite aplished already. Fiends and a pseudo war... quite impressive for someone your age." Grandma gestured for Jahi to follow her, whilst Grandpa smiled at us three and said "And I heard that the three of you are all artisans in your own regards, correct? What was it... a cksmith, an alchemist, and an enchantress? Quite the lineup of lucrative professions! Have you sold any of your works just yet?" As Grandma and Jahi left the room, we followed them a momentter, Grandpa''s eyes sparkling in a way that they hadn''t even when he had Lakshmi on hisp; it seemed that the businessman was one of those types, the ones who were cutthroat and obsessed with money and profits to the point of it being an unhealthy obsession. But of course, those were the types of people who were extremely capable of making gigantic leaps in any sort of field thanks to that obsession to make money; the problem always justid in how they went about making those leaps and whether or not they wanted to share their findings. "We haven''t sold anything that we''ve honestly put a lot of effort into; all of Anput''s practice and warm up weapons were enchanted by me and sold at a store down in the city, while Leone has traded her potions around instead of selling them directly. Most of our ''art'' is kept personal..." "For now, anyways. When we finally get a long period of peace and don''t need to worry about running around like headless chickens, I wanted to crank out some high grade weapons and have you both help enchant them and fortify them with different alchemical thingies. I read about that somewhere but don''t really get it..?" Anput nced at Leone, who was frowning before she asked "Are you asking about chemical baths and infusing? Most of the time that''s simply ornamental in nature; it makes any forge lines or patterns in the metal more obvious, it can darken or lighten the metal, or it just gives it a nice gloss that does little for the structure of the weapon... and infusing is only beneficial if you''re trying to make something simple like steel have an elemental attunement." "Ah, not entirely urate, Lady Leone. Infusing can be used to bolster the elemental attunement and make it stronger, or if you create the right concoction, it can actually strengthen the overall structure of the weapon and make it harder, softer, denser or lighter. You just need the right herbs to do so! But... most of the time, yes, it is ornamental." ncing back at us, Grandpa smiled softly as he added "However, just like with food, people are more likely to enjoy things that have an appealing visual style, so if you decide to make anything with metals that are more nd and boring, infusing can be of great importance for making arger sale. And any important work that you make that utilizes something as beautiful as Damascus or any other folding patterns would benefit from the chemical baths to enunciate those patterns and disy its artistic beauty even better!" While Leone and I just nodded, Anput was smiling as well as her gaze wandered up towards the ceiling, imaging the swords she could forge and make more visually appealing with those chemical baths or infusings, the cksmith inside of her bing giddy at that idea. "Additionally, were you aware that there are ways to make your enchantments more visible than before? To add a colorful sheen to the weapon and make it even more visually stunning?" Grandpa looked towards me with that question, only to enter the training grounds and quickly stick to the wall as he found a nice spot to upy that was far away from his wife and granddaughter, who had picked up some of the simple metal training weapons and now stood across from one another in the middle of the sandy area. "Unless it was an item that wasn''t required to be used in battle, making the enchantments more visible is counterintuitive; yes, people assume you have an enchanted weapon when you reach a certain level, but otherwise, letting them confirm that with no effort at all is not the greatest idea." His smile wilted somewhat at that, before returningpletely as he pointed out "You said if it was to be used in a battle; otherwise, this would be ideal, no? It''s a basic enchantment, should be in any workbook that involves enchanting! Tableware, jewelry, clothing... all of those could benefit from it!" I shrugged at that, making the man sigh slightly before turning towards Leone to finish off his spiel to convince us to do things that could make more money; and honestly, his advice for Anput was solid enough to consider for anything, since it could either improve the weapon for ourselves or for when we sell it. So I was curious to see what ideas he had for Leone, and if they were things we had considered already or at the very least a twist on the things we already knew. "Obviously, potions aren''t the end all be all of alchemy, as you surely know. Salves and creams, the herbs by themselves, soups and pills... there are a lot of different things that you can utilize alchemy for, but one of the more ignored, but one of the most lucrative fields of alchemy has always been using it not for healing or for getting stronger, but instead for beauty." That made me smile wryly as I leaned against the wall, my eyes seeking out the battle between Jahi and her Grandma as the two shed together swiftly, their des sparking against one anothers as they disyed to different, yet effective fighting styles. Jahi utilized power and her size to keep the Elf at bay and threaten her whenever she tried to get within her des range, whilst Grandma darted around swiftly with a longsword and a dagger, testing the Demoness'' defenses. "Concocting salves and creams that nourish the skin and keep one looking youthful for far longer than normal, concocting perfumes to have scents that you can''t find with normal herbs, creating makeup that helps your skin instead of damages it... surprisingly enough, few alchemists want to utilize their skills for it, but unsurprisingly enough, people want to remain young and beautiful for as long as possible, and those without strong Cores only live for so long in their prime. A single vial of skin cream sells for a couple gold each, and if you dilute the form and sell it for silvers instead... well, your customer base explodes, meaning more and more people wille to you for this cream that maintains their beauty!" His excitement at the idea was slightly infectious, if only because the amount of money that could be made was extremely appealing... Chapter 960 959: Propositions

Chapter 960 Chapter 959: Propositions

"Making beauty products is certainly an idea that we could cash in on, especially if we determine which herbs are needed for certain things ande up with a few of our own recipes to make our products unique; give them a fragrance or a certain smoothness that other ces can''t match..?" My musings made Leone nod as she too considered the idea, before Grandpa added "You can also go ahead and create different lines for different races, different lines for men, futanari and for women, different lines for different ages... all of those things could gradually expand your consumer base to epass more people than other ces as well. All you would need to do is determine what each category would generally like, and work from there." That made me nod as I began to recall all of the various skincare products from my previous life, which had men and women lines that appealed to their different thought processes and the specific ideas that society had for each of them; that would work well here too, and with everything being a bit moreplex thanks to the addition of futanari and the fact that the ingredients here were things I had nevere across, it was a curious idea that we could certainly pursue. The only problem we had was what Anput had said before; "We sadly aren''t in a position right now to be creating and running a business, especially not since we are constantly on the move and going out to fight the Fiends or train ourselves to get stronger." Grandpa nodded at that, a soft smile gracing his elegant features as he replied "I understand that... and it only makes my heart ache all the more, knowing that this weight has already begun to settle onto your young shoulders. This should be time spent enjoying the low responsibilities of the Academy, hanging out with your peers and exploring your interests, not heading out to fight..." He let out a sigh at that, only to shake his head when Anput idly responded with "I don''t think we would have ever had the choice, nor would we have chosen to remain in the Academy; each of us were in positions too far up that were alreadyden with responsibilities. It''s what was expected of us and what we were raised to do. No point in fantasizing about something that would have never happened; that energy is better put to use making sure we can do our jobs easily." "That''s exactly my point... you''re still young; you shouldn''t need to be worrying about those things at all! You should be able to enjoy being young without any issue, and yet..." Leone and I just smiled wryly at one another as Anput replied "And yet we can''t, because we were born into these positions. A Princess, a Begum, and the daughter of one of the most powerful and ancient bloodlines in the entirety of the northern continent? Who also had one of the rarest types of magics ever? We were never going to have a normal, typical childhood. Especially not with the Fiends returning now; it just wasn''t in the cards for us. And honestly, I don''t think we mind that much; sure I would love some peace and to have to do nothing, but I also love having this purpose to push forwards and get stronger." He sighed again before nodding, looking back towards the sparring duo and watching on as his wife ducked beneath a heavy swing from Jahi''s de, only to be forced back when her sword crashed against the Demoness'' weapon, which she had positioned to cover her side. The dagger in her off hand was about to stab forwards into Jahi''s side, but she was caught off guard when the Demoness jabbed at her chin with a straight punch, taking a hand off of the hilt of her sword and opting for more offense. "Besides... Jahi was never going to want to sit still for long anyways. It''s part of who she is to be out fighting." "I suppose that is true... something all Demons possess, even if they try to deny it. Well... still, consider it. Surely you can realize the benefits of pursuing a passion that can make you money? You won''t always be able to always rely on others for funds after all. You''ll need to start procuring your own wealth, more than what you currently have saved up." It was my turn to sigh as I nodded, knowing that he was telling the truth since it was something that I had been thinking about recently as well; that need to be more independent even though we had one of the greatest and wealthiest safetys to fall back on whenever we felt the need; Mom was the primary ''carer'' in this situation for us, but the Empress and the Sultana would likely offer help if we ever requested it as well. If not them, there was always the aunts and siblings from Leone''s side, or we could ask for some aid from our ''new'' grandparents; if worsees to worst, we could also ask for a loan from the Demon ns, but that would be a slippery slope I never really wanted to find myself on. But, none of that was ever going to happen since we could always secure money for ourselves with rtive ease; monster hunting, enchanting, cksmithing and alchemy all were lucrative enough in the short term, and each had their own long term wealths waiting to be realized if we were smart enough. "We''ll certainly consider it soon, and I don''t doubt that we''ll be experimenting anyways with some of the suggestions you had; Anput seems interested in the infusions and baths, while we could create our own lotions and the like to get a recipe together. As for enchanted items, I already do all of our enchanting for us, and I''ve always been able to make a good amount of coin quickly selling off our old gear." "Then... I suppose when things quiet down and the world returns to its peaceful state, you cane and find me for aid; I have more than a few stores waiting to be properly used at the moment, ones that are being rented or simply held whilst the surrounding area develops into something worthwhile. Or if that is too... imbnced for you, I can always offer a fair amount of coin and set up meetings between you and other investors if you prefer. I would just need to know." We all gave the man a smile and nod, before our attention was drawn back to the sparring duo when we heard a loud ng and a grunt, which hade from Jahi as she found a sword resting against her neck and a dagger pressed against her ribs, preparing to slide between them and into a lung. Her own sword was resting in the sand, its hilt bare and waiting to be grasped again, but sadly the Demoness who had been wielding it was raising her arms in surrender, a fair amount of surprisecing her amethyst eyes. "I will admit I thought this would take less time... I''m not much of a warrior, but I do know a thing or two about fighting, and well..." Chuckling softly, the Elf walked forwards and made his way over to the duo, his emerald eyesnding on his wife as he asked "Didn''t you say before that you were going to-" "Quiet, mar." Her icy voice only made the man chuckle some more as he nodded, the easy smile on his face not fading at all despite the woman turning to re at him, before her eyesnded on us, those deep blues filled with challenge. "Well, I suppose I am next~?" A challenge that Anput decided to ept as she grabbed the de from the sand and began to shift it for her purposes, her mana snaking over the metal and altering itsposition slowly as she created a thinner, single edged scimitar that she seemed to prefer now over her longsword. "Very well." "Ah, let''s take a step back again then. Minuvae, don''t... never mind." Smiling at Jahi as she joined us, Grandpa kept walking back as he asked "Were you surprised? She doesn''t... well, I guess she does; give off the vibes of a fighter, I mean. At least through her eyes, anyways. I suspect that you are a visualizer, much like your Mom is; you judge with what you can see before tuning your judgement with reality. You see the lithe frame, neutral stance, and don''t think that she can be that strong, only to be surprised when she can match your strength?" "Something like that, yes... I thought she would be simr to how Anput is in a fight; quick with some bite, but more of a reflexive fighter instead of a strength based one." He chuckled some more as he nodded, gesturing for us to focus on the fight again as he said "That''s because she has a unique style that she created for herself. Psychologically maniptive is what she loves to say; she utilizes small bursts of mana to match your strength and put you on edge, goading you into thinking too much. Something she does instinctually now. When you look at her, you see the sharp gaze and lithe frame and assume she is someone who fights with speed, only to start doubting yourself and her as you trade blows. Fascinating, isn''t it?" "It is... though that almost feels impossible to do; how do you manage to control your mana in such a way without giving it away? And the amount she needs to match some of my swings... how does she know how much to use?" "She''s an assassin, remember? Her observation skills are honed to a deadly extreme. As for her control, not only is she an Elf, she has been working on making the most of her Core since the day it was awoken. Each day was spent using almost all of her mana to maintain her body to a certain degree, before she slept to regenerate everything. Her original family was quite... unique in that regard. Prioritized mana control over anything else. Could take a normal spell and make it do things no one''s ever seen before..." Chapter 961 960: Forced RnR

Chapter 961 Chapter 960: Forced RnR

"Holy hells... that was harder than I thought it''d be! Quite a nice spar though, Granny~!" Anput grinned breezily at Grandma, who just stared at the Jackalkin for a few moments before giving her a curt nod and replying "It certainly was a spar.", which made Jahi and I chuckle silently as we stared at our free spirited lover, enjoying the way she just shrugged at the response she was given. "Well, shall we keep the rotation going, or are you in the mood for something else Granny? Perhaps some chess, checkers, maybe some other board game? Or we could just chat some, be it about the present or the future." She began to list off ideas whilst manipting her de into new shapes, going from scimitar to katana to a mace and then back again, flexing her magical control and her skills in doing this one thing as she spoke, uncaring of how Jahi and I had found amusement in her casualness with this woman we knew little about. Leone spread her hands and shook her head as she said "I have no ns to spar, not today''s anyways; it doesn''t sound that appealing at the moment.", something that made me raise a brow before I smirked at her as I realized why it didn''t sound that appealing to her. We had gone through a rather rough night after all, so I guess it makes sense that she wants to keep her movements to a minimum as she just rxes and doesn''t do much, though I couldn''t say I didn''t understand that sentiment, especially since I was the one who got the roughest treatment. "By the way, how long were you on the road to get here? You arrived in the morning, so..." Grandpa was the one to answer, the more talkative of the two still smiling softly as he stared at his wife for a moment before answering "Around a day and a half, I believe? We came from... quite a ways away. Oh, but don''t worry, we''ll be fine! We''re used to it by now, so really..." I frowned at that, looking between the two for a moment as I studied their appearances as I then asked "What was thest time you had a real, proper meal then? Something you could sit down and enjoy?" "Around two da-" "Alright, we''re going back to the room now. Anput, head over to the kitchens and tell the chefs to give you the ingredients for a chicken alfredo, as well as some sds. Leone, could you go get some of the herbs from Lady Igna; muscle rxers primarily, but healing herbs would do fine as well. Ones that have good tastes too please." Grandma frowned at that, the blue eyed Elf looking down at me as she said "We''re fine, Katherine. We''ve done this for centuries at this point. We''re able to go weeks without-" "Just because you can does not mean you should. Come. Thest thing I want is for the two of you to enter my ''home'' and be... unhealthy. You need food and sleep before anything else. A day and a half traveling... and you can go weeks without any rest?" Snorting, I just shook my head and gestured for the Jackalkin and Vampire to go get what I needed before having the remaining three follow me, which took a slight re towards Grandma before she let out a low huff and joined Grandpa in the journey back to the room. When we entered, I was unsurprised to find that Mom was in the same spot as before, though this time it was the twins in herp instead of Mother Ria and Mother, who were currently enjoying thefort of the couch as they dozed off - they sat up quickly when we entered though. "Why are you back already?" I made my way to the kitchte and beckoned Bessie over, the Cowkin maid in training joining me without a word as we began to get everything prepared for the work toe. "Katherine here heard that we had traveled for a day and a half to get here, and that we hadn''t had a sit down meal in around two days, so... it sounds like she wants to give us an herbal tea and a proper meal before sending us to bed..?" The slight amusement in Grandpa''s tone made me roll my eyes as I nced over my shoulder and rified "I''m nning on drugging you to the point of your body demanding sleep so that you don''t pass out in a few days randomly... two weeks without rest, even for someone with a Core, is extremely unhealthy and only worth doing if there is a mission toplete or something stupid like that..." Shaking my head, I turned back to the kitchte and started to set out the pots and pans that I would need, before organizing my mixing bowls and sorting through the ingredients I already had in the cabs. "You two still haven''t kicked that terrible habit? There''s no need to be like that anymore, you know that right?" "It''s efficient." "It''s unhealthy. Just because you can doesn''t me-!" Grandpa chuckled and cut off Mother Ria, saying "Doesn''t mean you should? Katherine did say the same thing. I suppose you helped in raising her alongside Miss Julie Zara here? She certainly... is responsible." Mother Ria, Mother and I exchanged nces for a moment, before I said "I had to learn since someone is required to make sure she remains healthy. Asmodia Demons are many things, but capable in a kitchen is not one of them, nor is being smart about their bodies during rest one of those things." ""Hey!"" Both Mom and Jahi pouted at me, only to sulk as I said "Thest time either of you were in a kitchen was back in Fovos Forest, and you managed to turn a bunch of solids into a purple, poisonous goo that would have killed me if I ingested it. As for being smart during your rest, neither of you believes in rest unless it involves a bed and someone else." They didn''t say anything to that, looking away from me and ignoring the others as they tried to salvage their pride somewhat, even if there was little of it to begin with in this area of discussion. "Mother, Father, really though, why are you still working like this?" Mother Ria brought the conversation back around just as Anput walked in with a big cartden with ingredients, which she brought over to the kitchte and handed off to me before going to sit with Jahi. "It''s habit, and it''s efficient. Why bother changing it?" I rolled my eyes again as I started on the noodles first, Bessie and I pouring the flour and salt mixture onto the table before creating two wells, one for each of us; inside the wells, we cracked some eggs and poured out some milk, which we whisked before gradually adding the surrounding flour so that we could create the dough. "Because Mother, it is terrible for your body and for your mind. Hah... why do I even bother..." "How long are you both nning on staying for? I imagine your curious about Lilith''s arrival sometime soon, so surely you don''t n on leaving within a couple of days?" "No, not at all! Too many reasons to stay, and most of our work is finished for now. We made sure of that, hence the... ahem, ''habits''." That made me peek over my shoulder at the two Elves, who were looking towards me as soon as Grandpa said that; he was smiling and seemed sort of apologetic, whilst she was a neutral as ever. Kneading the dough out was ''tough'' work as always, the applications of strength and consistency making it harder than normal as I had to keep myself at a mortal level and ensure everything was mixed properly, though I adjusted quickly as I settled into my groove. Leone arrived with a few separate herbs as well, and she set them down beside us before hesitantly remaining between the kitchte and the living area, clearly wanting to be of help but not knowing how to do so without disrupting Bessie and I. Smiling at her, I shook my head and instead turned back to the two Elves as I asked "So you''re going to be staying for a few weeks then? Good. I don''t feel as bad making sure your knocked out today..." "You are one honest Dogkin, aren''t you? Is that inherited, or..?" Grandpa alternated his gaze between the three other adults before looking towards my lovers, who just smiled back at him and shrugged their shoulders; meanwhile, Mom idly said "Inherited most likely. If she hadn''t been a maid for as long as she was, I guarantee Julie would''ve been as upfront about everything like Kat is. Though..." Looking Mother up and down for a moment, Mom shrugged as she added "She is honest too, so...", which earned her a quick p to her muscr arm and a re. Chapter 962 961: Making Something Special Chapter 962 961: Making Something Special ??Perusing the herbs that Leone had procured for me, I picked up a few of them and browsed my mental notes on what they were and how to cook with them, something that I had picked up from our delves into Zhu''Rong Caverns since herbs were in high supply and one of the only ways to make food taste good without lugging down my own seasonings, so I needed to know what I could use and how to use it. There were a few here that were quite excellent, and they would do well inside the alfredo not only to give it some color, but also to enhance the creamy taste and give me what I wanted; a meal that would help rx the body and make everyone a bit drowsy. When I paired it with the heavy meal and the fact that there was going to be a nice, special tea for the two older Elves concocted with other herbs to amplify those effects, I was hoping this would knock the two stubborn Elves out and make them sleep properly for at least a few hours. Not even because I wanted to be able to collect my thoughts and speak to my lovers without needing to worry about them, or because I wanted to have a few quickies to relieve my urges - though I wouldn''t deny that that was a part of it - but instead, it was because it just seemed egregious and foreign to me. Food was excellent and it was one of the reasons that made life worth living, whilst sleep was something incredible and another part of life that was almost wless in how it could just help reset your mind and give you a fresh, clean te to work with whenever you woke up. Not having either of those would honestly drive me crazy, and I was curious to know if the reason that Grandma seemed so grumpy was because her body was screaming at her for proper care that she refused to give it. So that was why I was adamant about cooking something up for them to eat, as well as ensuring that they were going to actually enjoy their time here and not just sit idly whenever we needed rest; all of us could go without sleep, yes, but like I''ve said multiple times before, if there was no need to skip sleep, I wasn''t going to skip it. It just wasn''t a good idea, and I loved that blissful state of unconsciousness too much to let it go. "Since we have you here and not doing anything, why don''t you help Jahi with her ideas for investing Gramps?" "Hm? Oh, I gave her three fiancees a couple of ideas on what they could do to earn a lot of coin, and each of them seemed to take it into consideration. All they would need really is a store to operate out of and staff to work for them; otherwise, I think they could make a quick profit no matter where they go." I listened idly from afar as he began to go over the specifics again, letting everyone hear the ideas and how they could be implemented easily so long as we had some time to spend on getting them started up and properly set up... which we didn''t have at all currently, at least not in consecutive days, weeks and maybe even months that would be needed to ensure everything could operate without us. Of course there was always the option of having it under partial ownership of someone else and earning a portion of the profits with a business partner, but that wasn''t something any of us found thrilling, so we just ignored it and instead chatted about whatever came to mind. Well, they chatted about it; I was focused on the kitchte and the meal that I was preparing, which required most of my attention if I wanted to make it properly and up to my standards. Alfredo was something that could be ruined really easily with how the cream and cheese interacted, the temperature it was at, and so much more; the cheese was the part that required the most attention, since it needed to be mixed in at the end and leaving it in for too long on too high of a heat could cause the proteins in the cheese to separate from the fats, creating small clumps of disgusting ''cheese'' that ruined the entire dish. Then there was the herbs that I needed to worry about too, alongside the fact that I was giving the chicken an herbal crust as well that would infuse it with vor and pair well with the sauce, though that was being left to Bessie as the Cowkin stood by the stove and carefully looked over the dozens of breasts, flipping them over regrly and ensuring the herbs didn''t burn up. "Bessie, did you know how to cook before this, or..? I don''t think any of us really asked about what you did before this... and if you did tell us, I can''t remember. Sorry." She just smiled wryly at that, shaking her head and replying in the same low tone as we conversed quietly, separate from everyone else. "I knew the basics well enough that I could make some moreplex dishes, like pasta and pastries without messing them up too badly. Learned to grill primarily, but my favorite - and what I was best at - was saut¨¦ing vegetables. I can eat meat, but I don''t really like it too much..." I nodded at that, even though I could personally never understand that mentality - I understood that it was preference, and that it had something to do with the texture, taste, or worries about the animal or something, but just like with chocte it was just something that seemed odd to not like. To each their own, I guess; that just meant more meat for the rest of us today. "Were you self taught then, or learned from a parent..? Friend or lover, perhaps?" Chuckling, Bessie shook her head at thatst part as she answered "Do you remember thest person I had as a lover? They weren''t really... a homebody. As for friends, I had few; kept to myself. I never was the strongest, nor the brightest, but I can kinda read people enough to know that most people didn''t want to be friends... without some benefits, anyways. But it was my Mom who taught me to grill, and my Mother who taught me how to do everything else." I nced at the Cowkin for a moment before nodding again, understanding her plight; she was extremely curvy and pretty, and she had that slight ditzy charm that just made her all the more irresistible to ''carnivores'', so of course she had to deal with that sort of thing a lot... I know I did too, back in my old world... how else would I have ended up with the [Nymphomaniac (MAX)] skill? "And you''ve been enjoying this so far? Or still scared and worried about what might happen?" "Um... not scared so much as anxious... I mean, I can hear everything that happens..? So obviously..." She gestured to herself, and I didn''t miss the blush as she peeked over her shoulder to stare into the living area, where there were a LOT of high profile, amazing futanari''s sitting around chatting; my eyes narrowed when she looked back, but she looked mainly at Mom and Mother Ria. Mainly; she still peeked at Jahi, Anput and Leone, but she turned back when she heard thedle p against the side of the pot, the ding pulling her eyes back to me and causing her to shiver as I stared at her. "A-And I don''t want to be the one who''s med! S-Since that would mean... w-well... a-also, I''ve read enough romance books to know how perilous the role of a maid can be! I don''t want that to happen, but..!" Her cheeks darkened as she imagined something, and my eyes narrowed again before I sighed as I asked "Would you like some coin to head to the red light district, Bessie?", surprising the woman greatly and making her entire head go red as she stared at me nkly. "Don''t let the chicken burn." Scrambling back to her position, she flipped the meat over and lowered the temperature before sputtering "R-R-R-Red light?! L-Lady Katherine, w-w-what?!" I chuckled softly at her, before saying "Y''know, the ce where you can pay for some service. Help get that edge rolled out... and a few other things. Quench your thirst, so to say. Make you forget about those hopes of yours..." Her blush only continued to darken as she shook her head and tried toe up with something to say, but it seemed that her mind had reached its boiling point as she envisioned what I was suggesting... and then some. It was amusing, and it certainly made the meal all the better as we finished up a few minutester; the wonders of a magical kitchen and magical ingredients~! And a hungry woman who wanted some chicken alfredo... Chapter 963 962: Lunch With The Family

Chapter 963 Chapter 962: Lunch With The Family

"Come on then, get to the table. Grandma, Grandpa, over here. Everyone else, find a seat. Bessie, start with the pasta, I''ll te the chicken." The migration from the couches over to the table was a quick one, though the only one who didn''t instantly take a seat was Mother, since she went ahead and took the twins and went into the other room to feed them their own meal. "Light on the chicken for us please, Katherine. You can give part of our share to Jahi instead. She''s still growing, after all." Grandpa began to tuck his napkin into his shirt before sorting through the avable silverware, cing each in a particr order that made me inwardly cringe as I recalled having to briefly learn about proper table etiquette and how to manage with all of intricate rules... The Cowkin carted the giant cauldron of pasta over to the table and began to serve it, cing it in the center of the tes and giving me space to drape the chicken breasts around the edge like a ring; it wasn''t pretty ting, but we weren''t going for pretty, not with two Demoness'' at the table. And a Jackalkin who was likely just as hungry as I was, so there was that too. "If you say so... Slide your teacups over towards the right please, and mind yourselves..." When the chicken was on the te, I went back around with the two teapots and poured them into the awaiting cups, with the two older Elves getting the special brew that they both curiously sniffed, clearly wondering if they were getting a medicinal concoction instead of actual tea. Only to blink in surprise when it smelt only like tea, and not like herbal medicines - bitter and unptable for most people, left to cool down in their mug after three sips before being spilled out and reced with something else. Getting everything ted took a minute, but it happened quickly with two sets of hands working to get everything out, and I got to sit down between Jahi and Anput to a heaping pile of alfredo that was waiting to be devoured; the fruits of mybors were right in front of me... "Looks tasty." Twirling the pasta around my fork, I nced at Grandma and smiled, nodding before taking my first bite and letting out a happy sigh as the explosion of creamy richness with subtle herbal undertones caressed my tongue, followed quickly by the warmth of the sauce spreading throughout my body as I swallowed everything down. The noodles were soft and rtively vorless, doing their job of keeping the sauce sticking to their surface perfectly and being the vehicle to carry everything from the te to your mouth. Meanwhile, I could use my fork to slice through the tender chicken and reveal the steaming white meat beneath the greenish yellow ''crust'' that had darkened the outer skin thanks to the herbs and butter infusing into the meat; juices weeped out of the chicken and made me salivate somewhat as I stabbed the small chunk after gathering more noodles. I was very happy when I took that bite and got the burst of tangy, slightly sweet herbs thatplimented the sauces''s smooth richness in the perfect way, with the soft meat falling apart as I bit down on it. Oh I was so very happy with this; all it was missing was a bit more cheese on top, loosely sprinkled on and allowed to melt on its own... or maybe I could try baking it inside a pan with the cheese on top to give it some more texture..? A pasta bake... wouldn''t that make this a lot better, especially since I could pre make the sauce and jar it to be used forter? Quite the idea there isn''t it... well worth being remembered for when I need to create my ownpendium of what I should be making for my family in the future, especially since it can feed many, many hungry mouths so long as I think it through. As I sipped the non spiked tea, I washed down the richness with something more subdued, the simple tea reseting my pte for the gooey, creamy goodness to return in another bite, though I certainly would have preferred the smoothness and floral taste of a good white wine, which would keep in the theme of the meal. What let me know that I wasn''t alone in feeling that this was an excellent meal was the fact that everyone was silent, their attention entirely directed at the te and cup in front of them as they ate. Jahi and Mom were tearing up their chicken before shoveling the noodles into their mouths, whilst the Elves were all properly twirling their forks and taking collected bites, showing the difference between the races and their upbringings as they ate their meals, but even then... Considering theck of reprimanding from Grandma on how Mom was eating, I took that as an even better sign as I briefly watched her take another sip from her tea before cutting another piece of the chicken for herself. Finishing my mouthful, I got up when I nced back at Jahi and Mom and saw that they were in the process of almost licking their tes clean, heading over to the cart and getting them their next portion, before topping everyone else up with an additional scoop or two. As we got into the midst of that refilled te, everyone finally reached the point wheremunication was an option again, and it was Mom who looked up and asked "So where exactly are you two going to sleep? There is a room a bit down the hall you could use, or across the way." "Well... if you don''t mind, we could just take the couch? We''ll likely only be asleep for a few hours at most, and I don''t particrly want to be away from everyone; we finally got here, after all. We want to make the most of our time." Grandma nodded at that, only to frown when Mom frowned and peeked at Mother Ria, which made Grandma ask "What? Is that a problem?" "No... not particrly, just... the nights can get a bit noisy around here. On both sides." That made her frown deepen as she looked between the two Demonesses, who just returned to their tes instead of borating, though Mother Ria sighed and said "If you''re alright with the couches, we can bring out some nkets and extra pillows. They''re ratherfortable on their own... and if your really, truly think it''ll just be a few hours, the rocking chair has lulled me to sleep multiple times already. Alessandra loves it too." Those piercing blue eyes remained glued to the two Demonesses as Grandma continued to judge them, before she nced towards the window and nodded as theynded on the rocking chair instead. "If you don''t mind - and if they are alright with it - we can have the twins tonight..?" Mother Ria shrugged her shoulders, replying "If they''re alright with it, sure. It would be nice for them too, getting to know you now instead ofter." before she too returned to her te, taking a bite and nodding as she nced at me to say "It really is excellent, Kat. I think Les would be quite proud of how far you''vee." That brought a small smile to my face as I recalled the Dwarf woman back in Asmodia Manor, her brusqueness and pride in her craft still something I remembered even after all this time; a part of me missed the interactions with the other servants, even if they were very, very limited. My role as Jahi''s personal maid meant I had little time to do much else in the Manor, so I was always with primarily Jahi, and if it wasn''t her, I was with Mother tending to the general area that we all lived in. "Thank you, Mother Ria." Everyone else swiftly gave me their ownpliments, during which Mother returned and took a seat, smiling at me before she too dug in and replenished her own energy, all whilst the twins sat on herp and looked around before focusing on the food, demanding some for themselves despite having just been fed. Lakshmi in particr was at war within her mind as she tried to figure out if she wanted to be on her Mom''sp, her sister''sp, or her grandparentsps, or if she wanted to have a bite of whatever it was that her Mother was eating at the moment, which looked really good... Alessandra was craving it as well, but she was always more tame in this regardpared to her sister; even then, she was tugging on Mother''s sleeve and trying to get a bite for herself, even if it was clear that Mother was focusing on feeding herself instead of them... Though neither of the twins were going to let her ''forget'' about them as they kept up their assault. Chapter 964 963: Aged Dessert* Chapter 964 963: ''Aged'' Dessert* ??Chordeva PoV I hid the smirk I wanted to wear as I watched both mar and Minuvae gradually begin to feel the effects of the herbs despite their strength - hells, even I was feeling those herbs a little bit at this point, my muscles rxing far too muchpared to normal and pairing well with the heavy pasta to induce some drowsiness in me, though it wasn''t enough to actually put me down just yet. But for those two, who were already battling with their bodies to stay awake all because they were damn stubborn and too set in their ways to acknowledge that they were stubborn, this was just what they needed served to them straight to finally get some damn rest, and it was showing as they swayed and blinked more often than normal. "Katherine, why don''t you fix them up some coffee? Something nice and warm. Julie dear, would you get some nkets and pillows from our room and bring them out? Oh, and the extra ottoman; Anput, get that for them please." Ria wasn''t hiding her smile as she stared at her parents, watching them sway with slight smugness as she added "Feeling tired Mother? Father? You should move over to the couch or rocking chair now, before you fall asleep at the table." Minuvae red at Ria before taking a deep breath, which proved to be a mistake as she reluctantly yawned, making her re even more at her daughter as she said "Don''t act so smug, Ria." "Dear... perhaps she was right though..? We can stay awake, yes but ah... oh... shouldn''t we be... ''all'' here for our family? Not fighting or tiredness?" Thankfully the businessman found the logical solution quickly and recognized the benefits that it yielded, even as he yawned again and had to shake his head at how quickly his body was preparing for sleep - even more so when he saw the sheer amount of fluffy,fortable nkets and pillows being brought out, which made the two little ones excited as well. They loved the softness, and since I oftenid on the floor with them out here, sometimes they wanted to do so in our room, so I sometimes brought out the nkets and pillows and tossed them down to create a makeshift bed that I would fall asleep on, all whilst they both draped themselves across me, be it my stomach or my arms. So of course they were quite excited, and that made Minuvae''s re fade as she lifted Alessandra again, studying her granddaughter''s happy expression for a moment before nodding as she stood up, heading over towards the rocker and taking a nket and two pillows, which she used to make her sleeping space more weing. With a pillow on herp for Alessandra, Minuvae put her feet up and looked out the window as she began to gently rock back and forth, signing her own one way ticket to sleep as the movement and herbs took effect; when a steaming cup of coffee was ced beside her, that ticket was stamped when she took a sip, the heat rxing her muscles even more and stopping her mind from doing anythingplex. Meanwhile, mar had taken Lakshmi over to the couch and arranged it in a way that would give the baby Demoness a small well of fluff to sleep in, which she imed instantly and curled into a ball, staring straight at the older Elf before yawning, causing him to yawn too. It all made me smirk as I leaned back and gave Katherine a nod, the younger Dogkin smirking as well as she got her wish and then some; this would make sure that the two Elves were sufficiently rested and give us all some alone time, which we had feared would be in short supply this week... Not that it would stop me from just leaving the room and taking either Ria or Julie with me to satiate my cravings before returning, but still, I wanted to do it on ''my'' bed and not have to worry about being found out by the Pce staff. The two older Elves swiftly entered sleep as soon as they got into theirfortable ''beds'', and we all shared a bemused smirk at how the twins followed them quickly; Alessandra was leaning against Minuvae and enjoying the hug she was given, while Lakshmi was passed out in her small bundle of bedding, holding mar''s hand as the two slept on the couch. We all looked over the happy scene for a few moments more, before I got up and said "Well, guess we should leave them to it, right? I''m going to go... take a bath. Ria, Julie?" Jahi cast a nce at me before nodding as she said "A bath sounds nice, right Kat? Anput? Leone? Come, let''s go rest and rx~!" Ignoring her, I gestured for Ria and Julie to follow me into the bedroom, loving the exasperation on Ria''s face and the small blush on Julie''s as they both walked behind me; I also didn''t miss the blush on the Cowkin''s face as she watched us all leave, something that made my already hot loins ignite even more. It was arousing to see the Cowkin slowly walk beside the edge of her lust day in, day out with no reprieve in sight, and on top of that she was a pretty, curvy girl... certainly well within my younger self''s strike zone for a bedwarmer. But, nowadays, I had a sexy, mature, curvy Dogkin that I enjoyed pressing beneath myself, and then I had my ever incredible and lovely Elf that stroked my ego every time I conquered her, so this Cowkin maid of Julie''s wasn''t of much interest to me. As soon as we entered our room, I turned and pulled the two women into my arms, my hands finding their asses as I waddled backwards, eventually falling back onto the bed and finding myself beneath them both as theyid on top of me. Before Ria could speak, I found her lips and began to kiss her, that sweetness that confused me so much dancing on my tongue as I held her close, all while the Dogkin nuzzled against my shoulder and grew hotter as I fondled her juicy ass. When I felt her tongue brush against mine, I gave Ria''s perky ass a squeeze before deciding that ying with fire was a fun idea, so I broke off the kiss and rolled her off of me so that I could roll on top of Julie, smothering the Dogkin beneath me and tearing off her dress. Those giant, milk filled tits bounced around as I yanked off her undergarments too, whilst a long trail of clear liquid connected her panties to her plump lower lips as I stripped her downpletely, allowing me to wrench her legs apart and give me ess to her cunt. Peeling off my own clothes, I stroked my erect cock for a few seconds as I peeked at Ria with a smirk, the Elf staring at me with narrowed eyes as she watched me guide myself into Julie, her azure eyes sending sparks down my spine and making my cock tingle. I sped my hands with Julie''s andid down on her body, pressing her beneath me and ensuring she couldn''t escape, all while I slid deeper and deeper into her pussy, finding her womb and lodging myself inside, reminding the busty woman I hade to love of her ''role'' as my wife. Her nipples leaked milk as I pressed my chest against hers, but for the moment I was more focused on her red cheeks and lustful eyes as she moaned beneath me, the slight pain of being suddenly prated with a cock asrge as mine gracing those beautiful ambers and stirring my lust even more. "Fucking hells... you''re so fucking tight, Jules... so soft as well~!" My hips moved up and down slowly as I moved over her body, spearing her womb on my cock and drawing out another moan from her as she blushed some more beneath me, only to blink in surprise as something smacked across her brow. Pulling away slightly, I nced to the side and smirked at the sparkling blues that red at me as I kept thrusting into the Dogkin, uncaring of the annoyance that permeated Ria''s face at the moment. "Was that entirely necessary, Chordeva?" Julie tightened up considerably now that Ria was rubbing her own cock across her face, forcing me back somewhat as a form of retaliation for what I had done, though that was exactly what I wanted from her. Seeing her shudder as Julie started to lick the underside of her cock was well worth the risk, but I wanted more from her as I kept going, loving the way she was ''challenging'' me with that re and getting me even more turned on as I just continued on with Julie, who wrapped her legs around my waist to ensure I couldn''t escape from her. "It''s always necessary to get you irritated, Ria... you look so adorable when you re at me like that..." Shifting myself, I sat up and started taking the Dogkin with short, swift thrusts and gestured for Ria to face me, which she did after taking a seat on Julie''s face and burying her cock inside her throat. Kissing my adorable petite Elf, I removed my hands from Julie''s and grabbed Ria''s ass, making her shudder as I indulged myself even more, making the absolute most of this break we had... and making sure we were quiet so that we didn''t disturb the sleeping Elves outside... For now, anyways. Chapter 965 964: Delicious Cakes* Chapter 965 964: Delicious Cakes* ??Grabbing Julie''s arms, I pulled back and lifted her torso from the bed, allowing Ria to take a seat right in front of her and guide her head downwards, locking the Dogkin between us and getting closer to our orgasms. Smirking at my Elven wife, I admired her loose expression as Jules began to kiss her groin, the Dogkin far too ustomed to this now to not be able to multitask and pleasure us both, though I think she''s always been talented at this sort of thing, even if she herself didn''t know it... Those nights that we spent together all those years ago, back at the Academy, were proof of that to me, and I turned my gaze back down to her smooth back and plump cheeks, which absorbed my pounding like sponges. I really enjoyed this ass back then, even though it had been a bit of a risk all things considered; even now, it was a bit of a risk, since I wanted to keep drowning myself in this softness and painting her inner walls white with my seed, even more so than I did with Ria sometimes. But, even though Julie had her own crazy tendencies - which seemed to have been dormant within her and passed on down to her daughter instead - they weren''t numerous enough for me; Ria had that over her, and the fact that she and I had been together for far, far too long for me to even consider turning away from her. So I had no problems leaning forwards and kissing my adorable Elf and ejacting inside the Dogkin at the same time, burying myselfpletely to the hilt and making Jules squirm below as she was filled to the brim with cum from both ends. Ria was the one to pull away first as she managed to stop cumming inside Julie''s throat, the Elf moving to sit beside me as she waited for me to finish, her impatience making it take all the longer as I just kept cumming, especially when she reached over and stroked my balls to help get everything out. I smiledzily at her as I deposited my seed into another woman, something that made her pinch my waist as she expressed her annoyance at that, though when I finally finished and pulled out, she had no issue cleaning me off, licking my cock and showing it the love I craved, only to then grab Julie and start fucking her instead... And I decided it was fine to make some noise, so I mounted Julie again and slid into her other hole, making the woman gasp before she bit the sheets and tried to endure what was about to happen... Only to fail when I started moving, her pitiful yelps and lustful moans spurring me on to go even harder as we made the bed rock constantly, uncaring of being quiet at all; and considering the soundsing from the other room, it would seem we weren''t alone in that regard... ~~~ Jahi PoV "Well that was quick..." I smirked briefly at the wry voice of my tanned puppy before burying my face back into Kat''s butt, drowning myself in her taste and scent as Ipped at her cunt and got her ready for more. Anput and Leone were sitting beside me watching as I began to feast on Kat''s pussy, both of them sporting erections and clear desire to be in my ce, but knowing that they weren''t ''allowed'' just yet made them seekfort in one another first as I continued to plunge my tongue in and out of her pussy, indulging in her tart, lemony taste. Sliding my tongue in and out of her lower lips a few more times, I gave it a deep kiss before pulling away again as I nced at Anput and said "We don''t have much time now do we? Who knows how long they''ll be asleep, and honestly... it''s been a tad stressful and hard to deal with, so I want to blow my load a few times and just... rx. Now, either get over here and suck my cock while I get Kat ready, or y with Leone. I want to make the most of our time." She pursed her lips at that before nodding, so I returned to Kat''s juicy ass and plump lower lips, which I started to feast on again as she remained on her stomach, waiting for the attention and loving that she deserved after making such an amazing meal. My ears were following the movements of the Vampire and Jackalkin, so I wasn''t too surprised when I felt the bed shift beside me and felt someone bounce off of the surface, before a moan tickled my ears and made me harder than before as it was quickly followed by the sloppy sounds of Anput giving Leone a blowjob instead. They weren''t always happy with me for picking to fuck Kat first, and this was usually how they made it known; they would y with one another beside me instead of pleasuring me, and I always made sure to give them something more when I got to them. It was the main ''problem'' of having a harem and having someone that was... not exactly the ''favorite'', though I guess it''s not entirely wrong, just not entirely correct either; I loved them all equally, but Kat truly ticked all of my boxes for casual sex, for kinky sex, for lovey dovey and passionate sex... And she was my first, so I felt the best with her as I was reminded of how I lost my virginity to someone as beautiful and amazing as this each time I got to make love to her again... But still, it was hard to not pick her first, but I also ensured that both Anput and Leone were given the proper amount of extra attention afterwards to make up for it, even if they always made sure to show their dissatisfaction instantly by doing this. ncing at them, I saw that they were going for the mutual pleasure route as Leone sucked on Anput''s cock and Anput slobbered over Leone''s, who wasying on her back; both of them were staring at Kat and I from the corners of their eyes, waiting and watching. I gave Kat onest deep lick before sitting up, enjoying the way my puppy instantly shifted herself and lifted her hips for me as she arched her back and presented her slick pussy, giving her butt a wiggle and drawing me in as I grabbed her hips and prated her in a single fluid motion. "Goddess above I needed this..." Groaning softly as I felt my cock get enveloped in Kat''s meaty, sticky pussy, I rested my hips against her ass for a moment as I just soaked in this situation some more, letting her womb massage my tip while her folds wriggled against my shaft. "This is just what I needed... such a delectable ''dessert'' after an incredible meal like that, Kat... These two soft, spongy cakes waiting to be devoured... The only thing missing would be a ss of fresh, warm milk~!" Leaning over her, I wrapped my arms around her body and enjoyed the cool sensation of her flesh against mine, her natural body temperature still noticeably lower than most people thanks to her magic; not drastically, but it was certainly something I could feel, especially when I was only touching her skin... Even then, her body heated up quickly as I kissed her neck, making the Dogkin shiver as I teased the two spots that she hade to associate with unique pleasures; her marked neck, and her marked corbone. Both were unique to the two futanari beside us, but even then just kissing those spots made her squirm in anticipation, making her greedy pussy gush just a little as her mind was teased, though her whimper and those needy ambers made it hard to maintain this state of rest... so I began to move. Starting slow, I pulled out of her womb before sliding back inside, going for short yet deep thrusts as I further prepared her for what was toe, before I gradually pulled further out of herwomb only to m back inside. When I reached the edge of her pussy, Kat was moaning crazily as I teased her, my hips gyrating a little as I toyed with the outside of her cunt before I mmed myself to the root, knocking against the back of her womb incessantly. "Do you want me to ze your cakes, Kat~? Or should I give them a nice, deep, creamy filling~?" The squelching of our slick thighs pping together filled the room, and after getting a taste of her moans again I mped my hand over her mouth, silencing her and ensuring we were as quiet as I wanted us to be, though I allowed her a moment to speak as I asked her that question. "F-Fill me up~! F-Fill me to..! To the brim~! Cum in me! Cum in me please!" The desperation in her voice as I pounded her ass was so sweet despite her lips being so tart, but it was just what I needed as I kept my hips moving, making her thick ass ripple as I kept my pace as fast as I could, all while my hands slid up to her breasts and gave them a firm squeeze. All the while, my two other women watched us from the side, preparing to drown themselves in the others ''milk'' before they got to have a piece of the ''cake'' that was in the process of being filled. Chapter 966 965: Making a Gift

Chapter 966 Chapter 965: Making a Gift

"Wow... they still aren''t up yet. Should we wake them up soon, or..?" ncing at Mom and Mother, I saw that they were both frowning as well, clearly not expecting this oue as we turned back to Grandma and Grandpa, who were sleeping soundly on the rocker and couch respectively, breathing softly and not moving a muscle past that. "I... don''t think so. If they are sleeping this deeply and its the first time in who knows how many days or weeks that they''ve finally decided toy down and rest, then its their bodies saying that they need this. Go do... something else. Be back in an hour or so; they''ll likely be up by then. If not, we''ll wake them up for dinner before sending them to bed again." Mother shook her head with an exasperated sigh as she looked between her own parents, taking in their sleeping figures and muttering "Shows them though..." before turning away and heading back towards her room, where Mother Julie had remained this entire time. It was rather clear why that was, but we all tried to keep that from our minds as we tiptoed out of the room and into the halls, wanting to do something productive and get rid of some of the energy that remained inside us after quite a long time of making love. I could have gone for a few more rounds - both stamina wise and ''need'' wise - but we hade to a group decision to instead temper our desires for now, so that we could get used to reigning in our lusts and being able to do something else with that time... I sincerely doubted we would stick to this n for very long at all, if only because we happened to have an extremely needy and lustful minx in our mist who loved to try and act like she wasn''t a minx, even though she made sure to do the things we all loved before just so happening to put herself in a ''vulnerable'' position waiting to be taken advantage of. So with that in mind, we came together and decided to do something as a group that wasn''t sex or sparring, which was hard for me toprehend for a moment since those were the two things I was good at, but the other three seemed excited about this idea of theirs. They wanted to give Grandpa''s advice a try to create something for both Grandpa and Grandma, and the consensus that we had reached was that a pendant would be the best since it could be out of the way yet always worn; it wouldn''t inhibit anything for either of them like a ring or bracelet might, and we had settled on the idea that jewelry was the best idea since it was ''quick and easy'', ording to Anput. "Anput gets to forge it, Leone puts it in a chemical bath, and then Kat enchants it... I can''t wait to give them a gift that I didn''t partake in~!" I grinned at the three women as we stepped into the forging area that Anput had requisitioned, causing all three to roll their eyes and ignore me as they went about getting their things ready; Leone had a servant rush over to the Sanctum to retrieve some herbs from Lady Igna, so all she needed to do now was prepare a small bowl with mana water and make sure it was sterile. "We decided on a type of thing to make, but not exactly what to make. We need some ideas, Jahi? There are three physical parts to this n of ours, but we can''t enact them if we don''t actually know what we''re doing..." "Ah, so I get the pleasure of being the ''brains'' for this operation of ours~? Are you all sure of that though~?" Kat sighed and rolled her eyes again as she said "Not entirely, but there isn''t exactly a reason to distrust you with this just yet. Don''t give me one, please? Now, what should we make? Something quick and appealing, but also something meaningful. Any ideas?" They all looked at me, making me sigh as I just leaned against the edge of the table and began to spitball random things that popped into my head for the time being, just getting things out there and thinking out loud. "Haniel, Elves... something natural, something simple... Not a tree..? Could do a tree though, but it feels too on the nose. Haniel... If I am remembering correctly, it loosely means grace, elegance, happiness or joy in Elvish..? So something happy and graceful... or perhaps something that''s just elegant in a ''happy color''?" My musings being vocalized made all three of my fiancees purse their lips as they listened and thought alongside me, trying to figure out something that would work and determine what would make the most sense, only for me to disrupt everything as I asked "Does it need to be a pendant?" "What?" Looking at Anput, I ignored Kat for a moment and asked "How long would it take you to make a replica of some flowers? Life size and of different colors. They aren''t that big though, about... this size, kind of?" "That... would depend on the flower. And how many? Just one ''replica'' or..?" "Again, why Jahi?" Both of my puppies were staring at me curiously, though Kat''s gaze was heavier as she waited for an answer, something that made me chuckle as I instead asked "Do you know anything about the ''flowernguage'', Kat?" "A little, here and there. For the third time, why?" "Because one of the flowers that represents happiness and joy grows in groups, and we could specialize each flower to represent one of us, as well as Alessandra and Lakshmi. If each is made from a different metal, given a different bath, and enchanted to glow and maintain its state, wouldn''t that make an excellent gift? Instead of a pendant, though that wasn''t a terrible idea." Anput nodded while Kat and Leone exchanged nces, their surprise almost beingpletely hidden from me and making me roll my eyes this time as I quickly added "You three seem to forget that I do actually know how to read, and quite enjoy it too. All thanks to an Elven Mother who didn''t want me to be aplete copy of my Mom, even though she is just as well read as I am." "You... rarely act like it though, Jahi." "Hey. Be nice. Anyways, I was thinking we could do Lily of the Valley; its a flower that grows off of a bunch of stems in as I am." "You... rarely act like it though, Jahi." clusters, and they- actually, Kat, can you make one with your Ice Magic? You know what that looks like, right?" The Dogkin nodded, and her finger shone that arctic, ethereal blue as she traced out a rune, summoning a block of ice and moulding it into the shape that I wanted to convey to Anput, who may or may not have seen this flower before; it wasn''t something that appreciated dry, hot areas after all. A long stem that had six shoots appeared in Kat''s hand, the stem point upwards and tilting slightly to the side beneath the weight of the shoots, which ended in downwards facing bell shaped flowers, their bulbous petals and small, simple shapes making for an interesting sight. "That''s... not too difficult. Six small sheets of metal gently wrapped around a sphere, red at the edges and given an opening for something to create the flowers, a simple cylindrical stem with small hooks for the flowers to hang from... I guess I''ll be engraving our names onto each? If I don''t fully connect one of the petals I can create a small ''door'' too that lets you get into the flower itself, so Kat can enchant the inside of the flowers... and if I put a small hook inside as well, we can hang bells or something inside, I dunno..." Anput was studying the replica closely, and Kat was nodding alongside her mate as they both appraised the flower, all while Leone went to ept the herbs from the servant and request a few more, now that she was going to have to make baths for different metals, which needed differentpositions. "I have to say, I''m rather surprised by this Jahi..." I gave Kat a nce as I snorted, replying "Yeah, I figured that out.", which made here over after handing Anput the replica and give me a hug, her head resting against my chest as she stared up at me. Sensing that she was about to apologize, I just chuckled and stroked her head, stopping her as I scratched just behind her ear and made use of that sensitive spot that she loved, allowing me to lean down and whisper "I really don''t care, Kat... If I did give a damn about appearing schrly and learned. I know what I know, and I''m content with that. So don''t worry, I don''t mind. Though that doesn''t mean I appreciate theck of respect..." Leaning down closer to her, I nced at Anput and Leone for a moment and smirked as I added something to that, something that made Kat nod demurely before she fell to her knees, showing me her sincerity the way I wanted it. Chapter 967 966: We Just Got A Letter

Chapter 967 Chapter 966: We Just Got A Letter

Kat PoV "How much longer on that flower, Kat? We still have..." Jahi counted the remaining flowers and handed one of them to Anput, who began to work on getting it reattached to the now glossy and emerald green steel stem that she had forged, the colorationing from some of the herbs she had used for the bath and making this intricate ornament even more beautiful than it would be originally. "Three more to go after that one. Though Anput is still waiting for thest sheet of metal to be forged, so there is that. Is iting along well though? ''Cause this one looks really pretty. Almost the same color as Lakshmi''s skin..." "Yes... The runes needed aren''t thatplex, it''s just awkward to enchant the inside of these flowers... and the runes need to be small too, so there is that. But again... not hard, just odd. It is refreshing to know I don''t need to worry about the ''mana capacity'' of the metal though, since these enchantments aren''t that difficult or that draining." The Magic Pen in my hands slowly and methodically traced out the runes required to make this bell flower all the more gorgeous and impressive to gaze upon, what with the ethereal, magical glow as well as the utility enchantments to keep it clean, sparkly and sturdy. I had already finished the one for Lakshmi, which was - as Jahi had said - a pretty, soft purple color that really did match her skin tone, while the second one was still undecided, but it was a deep, vibrant red that glistened in a way that made it almost seem like it was going to be dripping blood... "I think this one should be Kat''s, for... reasons. And the pink one in your hand, I think that should be Alessandra''s or Leone''s. Both of you are far more ''girly'' than the rest of us, and it suits you well." The Vampire looked up briefly from the bowl she was concentrating on, the deep sapphire blue flower slowly turning brighter as she tried to match it to Jahi''s skin, and briefly she frowned as she tried to determine if that was a slight against her or not... before just shrugging and returning to the bowl, rotating the flower carefully. "So we have flowers that are red, pink, purple, blue, yellow and..?" I ignored Jahi and instead looked towards Anput, who was multitasking as she gently folded the metal back into ce after heating it, all while she kept an eye on the metal inside the forge that was getting up to a high temperature for her to work with and ''weld'' with. "Orange. I was thinking that we could do red for you, blue for Jahi, pink for Leone, purple for Lakshmi, yellow for Alessandra and orange for me. Does that work for everyone? I think it matches us enough to make sense... though if I am recalling correctly, most of those aren''t colors for lily of the valley, but I could be wrong." "Most of the time they are white, but they can be pink, sometimes red, but otherwise... yeah, they''re white. So yes this is ''wrong'', but honestly who cares." That made me roll my eyes as I continued to enchant the pink flower, though I had no issues with the colors chosen as I said "I think that will work well; each is a defining feature of that person and something to identify them with. Orange for the desert, red since itpliments my hair and fur, pink for the ''girly'' Vampire, blue for your skin and purple for Lakshmi''s, while the yellow is for Alessandra''s hair. All on that green stem, and each engraved and enchanted to make them more unique." "I was thinking red because you''re a sadistic, bloodthirsty murderpuppy, but that certainly works as well~!" Jahi just grinned at me as I red at her, the Demoness giving a bit of payback for what I had said and done earlier, even if she had made me apologize to her in other ways two times already... "They don''t exactly know that about her, Jahi, so they''ll likely think its just apliment to her fur." Leone was the voice of reason, even though she too was staring at the Demoness with narrowed eyes, as well as me for our reasoning behind her being pink... "Well, who cares really, right? Each one is a unique color that is individualized for each person, and it lets them look at this ornament and easily identify who is who. I hope they like it. It wasn''t difficult to make, but still..." Anput pulled the orange metal sheet out and began to work on the final flower, using the smaller hammer and a red cylindrical metal piece to shape the metal into the rounded petals that would then be attached to one anotheryered in a way that resembled real petals. We fell into afortable silence again as we worked to get this done before someone came to get us or the pocket watch in Jahi''s hands disyed the time we had agreed upon with Mother Ria. It wasn''t a test of our skill or a deep learning experience for anyone besides Leone, and even then she had a really easy job of just mixing a maximum of two herbs into mana water to create a mixture that would alter the metal to make it either brighter or darker as well as glossy; this wasn''t a difficult process for any of us, and that was why we were hopeful that they truly liked it. Perhaps we were being selfish, but the idea of spending this hour or so on a project that they didn''t appreciate felt like a waste of valuable time that could have been used to produce some new gear, enchant our existing gear, and get some potions brewed for our journey out to the Sultanate. That would annoy me a little if this time felt wasted, but I wasn''t going to try and guilt them into loving this either; I didn''t really know them, and while I wanted to get to know them and wanted to start caring for them, at the moment... I had no rtion to these people outside of them being the parents of someone I considered a parent, and while that sounded heartless and selfish, it was the truth; I had no reason to care for them. That didn''t mean I didn''t want to of course; Anput, Leone and I all wanted them to like us, since their flesh and blood Granddaughter was the woman we had decided we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with, so they were supposed to be in our lives as well... The same way that Mother Ria, Mom, the Sultana, Lady Kio, the Empress, and all of the Empress'' wives were supposed to be in our lives as well as extended family; that was what was supposed to happen when you married someone. A merging of your family and theirs... except for Jahi and I, that seemed to have been taken too literally by Mother and Jahi''s parents... not that I wasining of course, despite it being a tad weird. Before I could continue my musings though, someone knocked on the door and dragged us all out of our trances, surprising us before we watched the door open up, revealing the ever domineering figure of the Empress as she curiously looked around. "One of the servants did say you were all together in a small room... and considering I didn''t hear much, I took a risk. Sorry. But, I felt like it was needed. This came in." She raised her hand and slowly waved around an envelope, which made us all blink before Leone softly cursed, the Vampire yanking the flower out of the mixture and heating it up to dry it off as quickly as she could. "Did I interrupt something? Apologies." "Nothing important, no. Grandma and Grandpa are asleep, so we wanted to get out of the room to let them rest. Decided to make something for them whilst we waited. Who''s the letter from?" Jahi nced at the pocket watch before returning her gaze to the Empress, who nodded as she studied the singr dangling flower on the stem before looking at the others, which were waiting for final touches before they too would be hung on the stem. "It''s from Lilith. Sadly, it seems she is either very far away, or is currently in the midst of something. She informed me that she won''t be arriving for at least a month now, and to ensure that when she does get here, you, your sister, and your Mom are all present at the Pce. She didn''t give me an exact date, only a loose timeframe. Is that a lily of the valley? Suitable. I think you''ll find that mar will quite like this gift. Minuvae as well, but mar in particr. He has a garden that he is quite proud of..." Chapter 968 967: Week Goes By (1) Chapter 968 967: Week Goes By (1) ??After revealing something so important to us, the Empress leaned closer and appraised the flower we were making before nodding and turning away, leaving us standing there in the forgepletely confused and reviewing everything she had said, only to look towards one another and curse softly at how swiftly she had escaped from us. "Lilith is going to being in a month, and she wants us here?! Isn''t that a bit demanding for a woman who could have showed up whenever she wanted?" Jahi seemed the most irritated, especially since she added "This means we have to cut the trip to the Sultanate somewhat short, doesn''t it? We have only a certain amount of time to be there before we need to return to meet her!" Anput - the one who should have been the most irate - just shrugged as she replied "I guess we will, but who knows what she''sing back to the Empire for. We could just be back for a few days before returning to the Sultanate to tie up loose ends? Or we could be told something drastically important and necessary to our future ns that requires an incredible amount of plotting and understanding to put into motion? Either way, we''re still going to the Sultanate in a week, but it just seems we''ll need to be efficient with our time there too." "That..! That''s exactly why I''m so irritated! It feels like we''re constantly needing to manage our time down to each second in each minute, of every hour for each and every single damn day! I was hoping we could be in the Sultanate for however long we wanted doing whatever we wanted whenever we wanted! But now..!" Jahi growled softly as she clenched her fist on the edge of the table, the outburst of irritation surprising me for a moment as the Demoness expressed her frustrations verbally and put that slight exhaustion that we all felt into words, before she took a few deep breaths and calmed herself. "Besides, this was supposed to be a trip for you in particr, Anput. To let you spend a lot of time with your parents, your siblings, back at your birth home doing as you pleased without needing to worry. We could head out and hunt, simply train, walk around the city, partake in your homnds culture and cuisine as you show us the things you enjoyed... and now we need to make sure we n everything yet again..." The Demoness was staring at the table for a few moments before ncing at Anput, who was smiling softly as she shrugged again, even as Jahi muttered "I''m getting sick of it..." when she looked back at the table with the flower ornaments on it. "Well... it seems like it''s something we just need to get used to for now, Jahi. We aren''t exactly in a period of time that allows for us to live peacefully and leisurely, nor are we in a position to go ahead and just ignore everything happening to do so." Laying my hand on Jahi''s forearm, I smiled gently at the Demoness and managed to get her to sigh again, her amethyst eyes filled with myriad emotions that usually never graced them; as if sensing that, she closed them and took another deep breath, muttering "I know that, Kat... I do." When she opened her eyes again they were as clear and confident as ever, and she pushed herself off of the table to stand straight, saying "Let''s finish this up now, yeah? We should probably take a few hours to get a n written down for everything; things we want to see or do, things Anput wants to prioritize whilst she''s home..." Nodding, I turned to my mate and smiled at her as I said "This''ll get youpletely out of that slump you were in, won''t it? Being back with your parents, seeing your siblings... Back in a ce where everything is familiar?" Her smile stiffened for a moment before she looked away, causing me to frown as I instantly began to review what I said and tried to find what had caused her mood to drop suddenly, though as she picked up thest flower and resumed working on it, I wondered if I had just imagined it. "Yeah, it''ll be nice being back home. Different, since I''ve gotten so ustomed to so much over here, but it''ll be nostalgic andforting being back in a ce that is so familiar to me, somece that just can''t be replicated anywhere else." The way she spoke normally and seemed to be reminiscing about her home made me even more confused as I stared at her, wondering what I had just seen and if I was going crazy, or if she had actually gotten stiff there. And considering both Leone and Jahi were staring at her closely, I was more inclined to believe I hadn''t been imagining things, but I don''t know which would have been moreforting to me; me being crazy, or me being right. "Kat, this one is almost done and ready for a bath; that means we''ll have three waiting for enchantments. Might want to get a move on there..." She smirked at me like nothing had happened, poking fun and reminding me instantly in the same breath that I needed to get back to work as well, leaving me to puzzle over my thoughts as I tried to figure out if I should just shake this off and leave it be, or if I should worry about it... But for now, I did need to get the enchanting done quicker, even if the angle that I had to enchant from was really awkward and required me to take slower, more deliberate strokes as I ensured that the Magic Pen put out the correct runes for the flowers. "It is turning out quite well; we just need to get it finished and covered so that they don''t see it when we return. Think they''ll still be asleep?" Jahi brought the conversation around to a new talking point, deciding to leave Anput alone regarding that and instead making small talk as we worked, which certainly helped make the time pass by quicker as we finished assembling the lily of the valley replica. Red, pink, yellow, orange, blue and purple flowers on an emerald green stem, with each of the flowers glimmering beautifully as the mana within them made itself known to the world visually, emitting a soft glow and working wonderfully as a centerpiece on a mantle or something. Each flower was also engraved with the full name of each of us - or at least, the full name that we would eventually have, which was just ''First Name'' Asmodia for Anput, Leone and I, whilst it was the current name of the other three. I was really happy with the oue of this project of ours, and if they didn''t like it I was certain that Mother Ria would love to have it back at the manor, so at least I knew it wouldn''t be for naught. Though the Empress'' casual mention that Grandpa liked flowers made me hopeful about what we had made, but we wouldn''t know until we had given it to them, and to do so we needed to return to our room. Covering it with a cloth, we cleaned up after ourselves and made our way back to the room, a few minutes behind the allotted time that Mother Ria gave us, but considering what we were carrying, I think she would forgive us. Just in case they were still asleep, we softly opened the door and crept inside, and upon doing so we saw Mother, Mother Ria, and Mom sitting at the table sipping on coffee and looking towards the spots that the two older Elves had upied, which... were still upied. Noticing that we had entered, the three of them turned and gave us a look, so we walked even quieter over to the table and sat down with them, ncing at the still asleep Elves and the twins, who were also out like a light still; it made me briefly wonder if I had done too good of a job with their tea, though when I saw them both move slightly in their sleep to getfortable, I let out a sigh of relief. "They''ve been asleep this entire time... with no sign of waking anytime soon. Oh, I can''t wait to hold this over them~!" Mom snickered quietly as she stared at the two Elves smugly, before she gave me a small nod when I erected a dome of wind around us to keep sound in and allow us to speak without waking them up. "The Empress came by and told us that Lilith would bete, and that you lot were working on something special. Let''s see it then." Where Jahi had expressed her irritation for Lilith''s changing ns, Mom seemed indifferent to it as she just gestured at the cloth covered ornament, showing the maturity that she sometimes exuded. Chapter 969 968: Week Goes By (2)

Chapter 969 Chapter 968: Week Goes By (2)

"So let''s see this gift that you were making for your grandparents, since they''re so deeply asleep at the moment... Don''t think they''ll be getting up any time soon." Snickering at the two asleep Elves, Mom smirked at us and gestured at the covered ornament, waiting for it to be unveiled to her and clearly waiting to judge whatever it was that we made if that smirk was anything to go by. She was not a typical parent, that was for certain, but we all knew that already from the years spent with her watching over us she parented with tough love that sometimes was simply downright mean and not excellent for raising normal children, but since we all matured quickly and were being raised to kill people, gentle, nurturing love wasn''t something that was in her mind. Not even Mother Ria gave us that gentle and nurturing love of a Mother, since it was instead tempered with expectation and seriousness, though I suppose we lucked out with Mother, who was rather tamepared to the two. Either way, this tough love that we hade to expect from the Marquess was not something that we actually needed to worry about right now since we knew for certain that this gift of ours looked excellent, and as we revealed it, we were proven right with how Mom furrowed her brow but didn''t say anything, that slight nod all we needed to know that she thought we did a good job as well. Mother Ria and Mother obviously had the better, more refined tastes on things like this, so I cared more about their opinions then I did Mom''s, and when I turned towards them instead and saw Mother smiling gently and nodding her head as she looked closer, while Mother Ria had already pulled the ornament over to herself to appraise each of the flowers, I was happy with that too. "A lily of the valley... and each flower bud has your names engraved into them... even Alessandra and Lakshmi are here. It''s quite beautiful, and even more impressive since you managed to make it so quickly. Which..." Mother Ria raised a brow as she raised her gaze from the flowers and looked between the four of us, asking "You really managed to get all of this done in an hour? That seems... impressive. Especially since its so well put together and thought out." "The metal was simple enough and thin enough to heat quickly, and the enchanting seemed pretty simple too; the most difficult and time consuming part was the baths that each flower got from Leone, and even that was simple enough. All in all, I think it took about the entire hour to get it together, which is why we were a bitte..." Anput was the one to answer, and she looked away at thatst part since we all knew that a timeframe given was meant to be followed, and likely in a hope to divert Mother Ria away from the fact that we werete Jahi said "I was the one toe up with the idea as well, Mother~! All those books on flowernguage you made me read when I was younger came in handy, didn''t it?" "You were the one toe up with this? That is a bit of a surprise, but again, I never made you read those books in particr. I simply gave you an option for when you were meant to be reading, and that was what you chose." "Well, the options you gave me were flowernguage, the political situation over in the Dynasty, or the fairytales of the Sultanate, and whilst thosest two were interesting enough, they didn''t really seem like things I wanted to sit down and read..." "Did you eventually look into those fairytales, or no? If you did, we could go check out some of the locations that they supposedly took ce in? There are a few within the capital, actually. Parks and bazaars that were home to the more tame, friendly fairytales, as well as some gambling dens and arenas that were apart of the ''climactic'' and ''dramatic'' portions of those fairytales. There are also more than a few of those same areas that are infamous for... other things." "Ah, I was going to ask about that as well; are you all still going now that Lilith has pushed her arrival back, or what? And if so, you are aware that this is a really tight window that you need to hop through if you do go?" That made us all sigh as we leaned against the table and exchanged nces, before Jahi answered Mom with a nod, saying "We''re still going, and yes, we are well aware that everything needs to be carefully and intricately plotted and bnced so that we can return within a months time. Thankfully its only a day away and not more than that, so we have some leeway in that regard, but otherwise..." "That is true, but still... what are you hoping to do during your... three weeks over there? It''s a lot of time, but also not that much time at all since there are so many things you need to do whilst your there, like sharpen your skills some more against Fiends." The reminder that we would have to fight not one, not two, but more than a handful of Fiends whilst we were over there was both an exciting thing and something that I partially dreaded, since there was no guarantee that they would be easy fights... But the harder they were the more rewards I got out of it in the form of experience and Shop Points, which could go to something else; just taking a brief nce around the table confirmed that that alone would be worth it, since I saw the red ss ring on everyone''s fingers, or for Mom and Jahi, around their neck on a chain. That was what I was truly earning whenever I fought tough battles out in the world; something to keep them safe no matter what, even if they were rather strong on their own already. I just wanted that reassurance that they wouldn''t be taken from me and leave us alone in this world... "Yes, that will likely take up a good portion of our time, but that doesn''t mean we can''t explore the capital of the Sultanate at all! Besides, it''s a big ce, but at the same time its really easy to traverse, so we can get a lot done really quickly if you just want to look and see certain ces." "We haven''t really been out to much of the Capital here either, so... what exactly are we supposed to do? Go out and see a y, walk around the various bazaars, stop at the teahouses and the food stalls..? Head back to the pce and enjoy the luxury afforded to us thanks to your parents?" Jahi''s musings made me smile wryly as I shrugged my shoulders, the realization that we really hadn''t done much inside this city making us all feel a tad embarrassed; I mean, Jahi had taken us all on an individual date each, but past that... we really only stuck to the adventuring district and the road leading up to the Pce or the road leading to that cottage... Wasn''t that kinda pathetic for three born Nobles and one raised Noble..? That''s actually... really sad now that I think about it, but we were all more ''homebody'' than social, and when you add on our libidos... I guess it makes sense. Still sad though. "There are a myriad of restaurants, food stalls, teahouses, and other ces to eat, as well as many entertainment areas that serve food during whatever entertainment you''re there to partake in. Then there''s all the arenas that we can visit and participate in ourselves for whatever we want wager. We can go out on Worm Hunts and head out to go visit the various oasis that dot the desert. There''s a lot that we can do over in the Sultanate." "The arenas will likely be a one time thing that you can participate in; once you beat the snot out of someone the first time, few will want to challenge you... unless you offer up something worthy of being almost killed for. Wealth might not do it, but..." Mom snickered as she stared pointedly at me before looking towards Jahi as she added "If you want to fight a lot~ of people, you could always offer up a night with someone sitting at this table~? It would definitely draw interest... especially since they are all predominantly Caninekin..." That made me raise a brow, even as Mother and Mother Ria red at Mom and pinched her waist at the suggestion; meanwhile, Jahi was frowning as she shook her head, and both Anput and Leone were ring at Mom for that suggestion. "That could certainly be interesting... it would be a way to earn a lot of money doing something that you know you''ll win at~!" When they heard me going along with it, all three of my lovers turned to frown at me instead, only for Jahi to shake her head once more as I added "Make them pay arge price as a wager then swipe it from them, all whilst you get them all~ sorts of hot and bothered with the idea of a night with me?" "No." "Definitely not." "Absolutely not happening." All three of them just red at me, making me chuckle as I said "I know, I know~!", though I did have to admit that the idea of swindling a bunch of helpless idiots with my looks did sound appealing... especially since I could take that as a way to practice utilizing my Lust Mana, perhaps? Chapter 970 969: Week Goes By (3) Chapter 970 969: Week Goes By (3) ??"Like hell you will Kat! You even think about it more than once and I''ll-!" "I know, I know~! Just a suggestion is all~! What better way to get dozens of challengers than that tantalizingly sweet, yet absolutely venomous treat that I could offer to someone~? I think we could find dozens~ of idiots desperate enough to try and fight for a night with me~!" Whilst it was a revolting thought to have a bunch of Caninekin drooling over me and hoping that they could beat Jahi or Anput in a duel so that they couldy with me, I was also heavily aroused at that idea too; to get that ''princess'' sort of treatment as my ''Knights'' defend my honor, or to do it myself and get to make those horny dogs reel back in surprise when they realized I wasn''t just some fragile maiden in desperate need of some soft cushions and fervent loving... Wouldn''t that surprise on their faces, the shock at being beat down by the object of their lust make it all the sweeter for me when I unted their idiocy to them and went back to my actual lovers to be fawned over and given a proper, deep loving~? A shudder ran up my spine, and I needed to wipe my mind clear lest I get wetter than I already was... which made my cheeks redden slightly as I felt everyone''s eyes on me, embarrassment coursing through my veins as I realized just how horny those thoughts made me... That was made even worse when it was Mother staring at me with a worried, conflicted frown and Mom raising a brow with a smirk as she easily read my emotions like a book... and then having Jahi, Anput and Leone frowning at me for what I was thinking about... "Ahem... d-does anyone want some more coffee..? Maybe I should make a cake? Yes, a cake sounds good..!" Getting up from the table, I hastily made my way over to the kitchte and began to get busy, ignoring the gazes that followed me as I tried to get my mind right, wondering why I had so easily lost myself to those thoughts even as the others eventually managed to bring themselves back around to nning the trip out and making normal small talk. I didn''t have to wonder for long as the source of those thoughts sat on the counter beside me, her nude body partially transparent and covered in a thinyer of smoke that barely hid her breasts and loins, though there was no hiding her amusement as she grinned at me like a loon, those pink eyes glowing with mirth as she swayed to the rhythm of her own mind. "There''s nothing wrong with wanting to y with some horny, lusty idiots to make yourself feel better~! You''ve got the beauty, the unparalleled power of such a sexy body that makes others turn into idiots... so why not use it to get what you want? You want money? unt these curves. You want something done? Use your voice and your eyes to get someone to work for you under false hopes. You want your lovers to lust after you with such a primal urge? Make them jealous and give them a reason to work for your body..." Snickering quietly beside me, Cali reached over and stroked my cheek as she whispered "Make use of the power thates from sex, thates from lust. Use it as a tool to get what you want, when you want, how you want. If you can twist and make use of someone''s simple mind, make use of their need for sex and their desire to obtain and own your body, then why shouldn''t you? Is that not what this power I gave you is for? So long as you don''t actually let those idiots touch and defile your body... is it really bad if you seduce someone~?" She pulled away and leaned against the cabs, looking towards the table that was hosting my three lovers as she added "Didn''t it feel so goodst time? Promising that Cultist that you would make him feel good in exchange for information... wasn''t that thrilling? Didn''t that make you so aroused when you yed with his emotions like some basic toy? Didn''t it make the sex with your Demoness over there that much better? That pride and knowledge that she was just simply better endowed than that pathetic idiot you were ying with?" As could be expected of an Arch Fiend, her whisper was like honey to my ears as she seduced me with her propositions, stroking the egotistical and Nymphomaniac parts of me with promises of men and women pining for my attention and having my lovers desiring to take me every time they ever saw me, even more so than normal... To have that forbidden fruit oh so close all the time, the rush and thrill of potentially having to withstand a night with someone else because they fought and beat me down just so that they could take me for hours and hours... Biting my lower lip, I leaned against the counter for a moment and rubbed my thighs together, before swallowing hard as I walked past Cali to get to the sugar, so that I could start making a cake for everyone to enjoy... though that didn''t mean it was easy since Cali was a persistent Arch Fiend. "Just think about it Katherine... all those people, drooling over everything that you can offer... Over in the Sultanate, where the style of dress is loose and revealing? Let them see your curves, let your dress billow in the wind and reveal a little bit more of your smooth skin... have them pining after you like you''re the first cup of water that they''ve seen in days out in that hot desert... milk them for all they have, just in hopes of being able to wet their tongues with your taste... Isn''t that just so~ tantalizing? I know I love those types... get them wrapped around your finger, willing to do so much just for that faint hope you''ll call for them to grace your bedchambers..." She shivered beside me and arched her back as she stared at the ceiling, unting her own perfect curves and making me gulp again as I tore my gaze away from her body, trying to quench this heat inside myself. "I''ll leave you to it, Katherine... think on it. Convince your wives to let you do this, make use of your powers to get the things you want in those arenas... visit the gambling dens and clubs, make the people inside pay for everything for you. Give them a smile and sh a little skin, then head to the back and let that stud of yours rearrange your insides over and over again before heading back outside to rinse and repeat." Pushing herself off of the counter, Cali groaned before whispering "I''ll be back in a few hours... I need to make someone''s day... need to drink something straight from the source. Maybe I''ll let a guardhouse use me... head down and let an adventurer take me however they want... think on it, Katherine..." Just as suddenly as she arrived, she vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving me with my thoughts and allowing me to Directly support the authors on WebNovel! finally stop heating up down below... though that was barely happening as my thoughts remained stuck to that idea she had given... all because I was imagining Jahi doing just what Cali said; taking me into the back of a club and pounding me for a few minutes before walking out like nothing had happened. Something that I had experienced before, but not with someone like Jahi... and if I had to deal with not one, but two, or all three of my lovers all because they were jealous of what I was doing..? All of them fueled by the need to punish me and make sure I learned my lesson... that was exactly what I wanted from this, wasn''t it? I had to stop and clench my fists as I cleared my mind again, making sure I wasn''t going to mess this up and ensuring I wasn''t overflowing with pheromones to the point that even a non Caninekin could smell them... since that would be even more embarrassing than what I had already gone through. Honestly, who would have thought that after all this time, it was still something that got me embarrassed despite the things that happened behind closed doors... or in public spaces just out of sight of other people... or in public spaces with people, just with a careful expression... Yeah, perhaps I shouldn''t be as self conscious and worried about what they think, but at the same time they were my parents, so... that was always going to be awkward, wasn''t it? The easiest way to clear my mind and not think about anything, and to not be embarrassed anymore was to start making this cake and getting a rudimentary icing whipped up so that we could have something sweet for tonight, all while the two older Elves continued to sleep. After they woke up, maybe we could get some more time in with them, or perhaps they had overtaxed themselves so much that they were going to sleep like a bunch of bricks until tomorrow; if that was the case, should we remain here? I did have a backlog of basic things to enchant for more practice, and there was the theory that Leone and I had on making a Magic Pen that could withstand Light Mana... or we could focus on some more spells that we wanted to get fine tuned. Perhaps we should work on getting some tattoos done as well..? And by we I mean me... Chapter 971 970: Week Goes By (4)

Chapter 971 Chapter 970: Week Goes By (4)

Despite my best efforts to stifle my heat, it had apparently gotten to the point that my mate had sensed it, and when that prior conversation and the emotions it had elicited were added to this equation, Anput grabbed my wrist when I gave everyone their coffee and cake and pulled me away from everyone, taking me out of the room and into another somewhere down the hall to ''cool off'' and rid me of this heat. There was no helping it at this point; I was too wound up from my thoughts and from Cali''s talk, and Anput was too irritated and too aroused thanks to the pheromones that had been wafting off of my body for this to not be the case, so I happily went with her and allowed her to help me. And considering they were still asleep when we returned who knows how long after we had left, it would appear that we weren''t really that missed, so we took a seat and returned to the conversation of nning this trip of ours as best we could. Loose nning was what I always stuck by in this situation; no strict deadlines or timeframes for anything whatsoever wherever we went, since it only invited undue stress onto us and made for it to be an unpleasant trip if anything interesting popped up that we wanted to do during a time we already had something nned for. And considering the type of people we were and the things that we wanted to do, strict nning would never work out for us since we were all open to do whatever whenever we could, and especially if it meant we were either fighting or ''fighting''. "The decision was for us to spend a day at one of the arenas - be it watching or participating - so that we could unwind after one of the many days spent out in the sand dunes battling the various Fiends. On that same vein, there are two amphitheaters and teahouses that seem interesting ording to Anput''s memories, and then we have some fun clubs we could visit if we want some different kind of unwinding..." Jahi looked around the table before adding "There are also a myriad of restaurants that serve all sorts of incredible foods that are native to the Sultanate, like the various curries, kebabs, barbecued meats, stuffed peppers and cabbages, some kind of bread called... naan..? All of that sounds excellent. Spicy, but excellent." "And rice dishes, though they are more exquisite and expensive than the others since rice is only grown within the oasis scattered across the desert. But otherwise, most of the cuisine within the Sultanate is entirely meat oriented; even the stuffed vegetables are primarily focused on the ground meats that you stuff said vegetables with. Far more meat heavy than the Empire, though we do enjoy a good amount of grains as well." "Something to do with the primary popce being Caninekin, perhaps? The Sultanate is roughly 60% to 70% Caninekin, with the remaining being a mixture of other Beastkin and then Elves, Dwarves and Orcs right? Makes sense to me that they would all be primarily carnivores, and the diet would reflect that." Anput shrugged her shoulders and replied to Mother Ria with a small smile as she just said "Meat just tastes better anyways, and it has most of what you need. Especially since the water in the oasis'' have a lot of minerals in them, and we do love bread as well; helps make all our meals filling no matter what." "The seasonings are delicious too. Honestly, what with us being so close, I made Les learn how to cook some of the Sultanate''s dishes just so she could transfer that over to our meals, and damn did it work out... Best things we got from the Sultanate seasoning wise was cumin and nutmeg. Cinnamon too, but that grows in parts of the Empire quite well and quite abundantly so I don''t count it. They really are dead asleep, aren''t they?" Mom turned and looked back at the sleeping Elves before sighing as she added "You four should probably go and do something for a couple hours... looks like that concoction of yours really put them on their ass Kat. Gods know what that''ll do to a normal person..." "Probably aa, if I had to wager a guess~!" Jahi smirked at me before standing up, ncing at Mother Ria and only continuing on when she got a nod in return, which made her look back at us as she said "Let''s go then. I think I want to run a small test before we go do our own things; Anput, could you forge two identical des, and Kat, ce identical enchantments on them, but only after Leone puts them in a bath?" We all got up and began to filter out of the room, with Mom leading the other two back into the bedroom to leave the older Elves to themselves once more, which would hopefully lead to us returning to them being awake... Just in case, we ced the ornament in a cab before we left, returning to the forge afterwords and getting back down to it as we spent a couple of hours shacked away in that small room, working together on a few different things as Jahi ran us through a couple of ideas she wanted to work on for the future. Even after the Fiends were taken care of - or not, depending on when we got to it - people would still need weapons, and she wanted to see where the baseline for eachy and how far we could push certain materials to be as profitable as possible, and to do so she had us calcte the base cost of said materials and then had us produce two identical weapons from those materials. The catch was one would be subjected to beautification and the other would be left alone, and that meant we had to calcte the price of the herbs as well, but that wasn''t too difficult to do; after that, we just stowed them away and decided to ce some bets on what would the most money. Jahi said swords - specifically broadswords - while Anput said longswords, then Leone came out with the more ''oundish'' prediction of the warhammer being worth the most, though the reasoning was simple enough with her arguing the material cost meant it would have a higher base cost, which would be more than enough topete with the swords. As for me, I said that the spear would the most money, since it was the easiest weapon to use here and the cost to make it was so low thanks to the wooden haft and small amount of metal used; it would have more profit than the other three picks because of that, at least in my mind. All that was left was to go get them appraised and sold, but that wasn''t to be done today, so instead we put them in storage and made our way back towards our room, finding a dozing Grandma resting in the rocker and Grandpa sitting up sipping on something warm, albeit with hazy eyes and a nk expression... which was mirrored by Lakshmi beside him as she yawned and stared nkly at the floor. "Grandpa, Grandma. You''re finally awake! Sleep well?" I smiled at them both as they turned to me, and I noticed instantly how Grandma narrowed her eyes whilst Grandpa shook his head in byed amusement at my jovial tone, whilst the smugness on my face was poorly concealed. "You... You are a dangerous woman, Katherine... What was in that tea?" Those sharp blue eyes were trying to bore into my soul as Grandma asked that, and I wondered if the assassin in her was curious because she wanted to use it on someone... or if she wanted to try and develop an immunity to it so that going forwards, I couldn''t knock her out like this. "Oh, you know... herbs, water, love. The usual~! Did it taste good~? I bet it really~plimented the chicken..." Instead of giving her a direct answer, I just grinned at her and kept her attention as I approached her, allowing Jahi to go grab the gift without alerting them too much about it, so that they couldn''t catch a glimpse before hand. "You never answered me though, Grandma~! Was your sleep good? Feeling well rested now? Are you going to be able to spend quality time with everyone and not feel sluggish?" She gave me a small frown before looking towards Jahi, who had coughed and decided to interrupt us so that we could get on with the reveal, something that made the two Elves raise a brow when she said "Whilst you were asleep, we went ahead and made you something. An... ornament to remember us all by. Something to have back at your own home." That grabbed both of their attention easily, and they got up with the twins in their arms to approach the table and take a seat... though Grandma frowned at me again when I poured her a cup of coffee with a smile, the Elf tapping the edge of the cup and appraising it before ncing at her husband, who shrugged and sipped on his coffee in response. "What brought this on? Something to remember you all by... We''re old, but we''re not senile. Still have a few more centuries before that point. Maybe not if Katherine here keeps spiking our tea..." "There are no promises there, Grandpa~! You need to sleep to remain healthy, after all~! Perhaps it was just your bodies demanding you make up for the time you''ve spent awake, and nothing~ to do with my ability to brew an excellent tea for sleep..." I just smiled back at Grandpa after he said that, the older man chuckling quietly at his own joke before gesturing to the cloth covered ornament, waiting for the grand reveal... all with Lakshmi yawning on hisp and rubbing her eyes as she fought to remain awake, and with Alessandra sitting on the table with Grandma holding the scruff of her neck to keep her from crawling over and unveiling it herself. Chapter 972 971: Week Goes By (5)

Chapter 972 Chapter 971: Week Goes By (5)

"Well, you two might not be senile, but damn does it feel like you are getting close~! Keep it up with this no sleep thing and terrible health management and you might just reach that level~!" Mom walked in with a smirk, therge Demoness taking a seat and being unbothered by the res sent her way by the older Elves, both of them frowning and trying to browbeat the Demoness into disying proper manners and filiality... which we all knew was a losing battle. Mother and Mother Ria walked out behind her and took a seat quietly, ignoring everything for the moment and just staring nkly at the table before epting the coffee that I handed them, using the warm liquid to center themselves once more. "Ahem... Well, go ahead and unveil it then, Grandpa, Grandma. Oh, and we made use of those techniques you told us about; we were curious to see how well they worked, and I think it turned out really, really well all things considered." That made Grandpa raise a brow as he stared at the cloth covered object, preparing to tug the cloth off when he asked "So it''s something made of metal and something enchanted? Interesting... but that only makes me rather curious about what it is, since you said you made it whilst we were asleep..? We weren''t asleep for an entire day, now were we?" "No, not at all. Though I can fix something up for you both if that''s what you want~?" Smiling at them, I too ignored the res they gave me as I suggested giving them another extremely healthy and potent tea that would do them wonders... on catching up on weeks worth of sleep. "I appreciate the concerns, Katherine, but-" "I don''t." Giving his wife a small smile, Grandpa continued on with a nod as he said "I don''t think we need to be aided to sleep anytime soon. Now, let''s go ahead and see what this is, hm? Should we let Alessandra unveil it, or is it delicate..?" "She can help, but don''t let her knock it over?" He nodded again and nced at the baby Elf, who instantly crawled forwards to stare at the cloth with indignant blue eyes, the curiosity inside her hating that she couldn''t see just what was beneath and understand what it was and what it did; I had to admit I was curious if she would retain this quirk of hers growing up, and if she did... How amusing would it be to give her one of those presents that is stuck inside a few different boxes? Watching as she excitedly opens it up to reveal another box inside, only to open that up and find another box, going all the way down to something small just to get on her nerves... Wouldn''t that just be absolutely amusing~? Meanwhile, Lakshmi was curious as well, but she was more than content to just sit on Grandpa''sp and watch from afar as her twin sister tugged at the cloth, pulling it off of the green stem and revealing the flower ornaments with a slightly aggressive flourish... with the help from Grandpa and Grandma, who were watching the baby Elf like hawks as they ensured she didn''t break anything. As soon as the cloth was gone, the two older Elves paused before leaning closer, instantly taking note of the glimmering flowers and seeing the engravings on the sides, with Grandma deciphering them first as she gently pulled Alessandra over to the yellow flower and showed it off to her. "Look. It''s your name, on this yellow flower..." "It''s a lily of the valley... A y on what Haniel means in Elvish, isn''t it? Joy, happiness, family... all found in both the meaning of the flower, and the meaning of our name. Who thought of it..?" He was gently turning and lifting the various flowers closest to him as he asked that, but when Jahi proudly said "I did~! Mother had me study flowernguage when I was a child, and I have a rather sharp memory, so..." "Flowernguage... Ria, did you..?" Mother Ria just coughed and looked away, making us all furrow our brows in confusion as we focused on her, only to turn to Grandma when she asked "Was it Beaux De Durand''s ''Introductory To A Beautiful Language''?" "Potentially..." "And did you give her two other nd options that you knew wouldn''t appeal to her, perhaps?" Coughing gently, Mother Ria turned away and muttered "Does it matter..?", only for Grandma to raise a brow as she said "I seem to recall that being a certain someone''s favorite book growing up... and I also seem to recall offering a certain someone three options of books and her picking that one..." "Mother, you..?" Jahi stared at Mother Ria for a few moments, her incredulous expression making Mother Ria cough again as she looked towards Mom, who just smirked back at her and said "I told you she''d realize that eventually, dear... I''d almost forgotten about that; you used to carry it around at the Academy and read it during breaks, right?" "Chordeva!" pping her arm, Mother Ria red at her wife before turning back to Grandma when she said "There''s nothing to be ashamed of; it was a really well written book, and well deserving of being passed down to the next generation. All of that is to say: Jahi, whilst your Mother might have..." Tapping Alessandra''s head and catching her attention so that the baby didn''t yank the flower off of the stem to see it closer, Grandma trailed off and entered a staring contest with the smaller Elf, who was adamant that she was allowed to do whatever she wanted. "What she means to say is that while Ria might have been a bit... maniptive in how she got you to read it, it is a really good book written around two and a half centuries ago? And one that Minuvae and I quite enjoyed as well when it came out. So it''s nice to see that it is still receiving its praises so long after it was penned. Even more so since you seemed to have enjoyed it just as much as Ria did..." "I did enjoy it, but... Mother, you could have just given me the book you know? We could have read it together because you wanted to read it instead of having to ''trick'' me into it... just saying. But yes, the book was good and its contents were rather nice to memorize. That''s where this came from; a fun project that has many meanings and helped us practice, all while it could be a set piece for the two of you." "It certainly turned out quite well... the metal is beautifully worked and shaped, the glimmer of the enchantment and the engraving of the names... the colors too are impressive! And I sort of see some corrtions between the colors and the person too... Very well done, very well done indeed." "Yellow matches Alessandra''s hair, the violet matches Lakshmi''s skin just like the blue matches yours... orange for the Sultanate, I suppose? The heat and the sand..?" Grandma looked up from Alessandra, who was now firmly and securely seated on herp and not allowed on the table anymore, much to her immense displeasure as she huffed and pouted. "And I imagine the pink is supposed to be a y on Leone being a Princess, correct? Albeit the more stereotypical princess color... but a pretty shade and a color I think works well for her. It''s just..." Grandpa and Grandma looked towards the red before looking at me, clearly trying to find the link between the color and me, with Grandpa hesitantly saying "Red certainly matches your hair and eyes, but..? Blues and greens have always been the colors of the Zara Pack, no? And you are an Ice Mage, correct? So why red..?" Mom and Jahi chuckled at that, grabbing the attention of the two Elves and making me sigh as I realized there was no stopping the two Demoness'' from amusedly grinning at one another before saying "It''s because she''s a sadistic little puppy, that''s why~!" "Sadistic..?" Mom was the one to borate further, grinning from ear to ear as she said "She looks all adorable and well mannered most of the time, but give her a de and a hapless, blood filled monster or person and you get a much~ different person~! She''s a closeted sadistic~! I got to watch her butcher a goblin a few times over in Fovos Forest, and from what Jahi''s said..." "She''s a murderpuppy~!" Grinning at me, Jahi ignored my narrowed gaze and instead turned towards our Grandparents, who were frowning slightly as they stared at me curiously, only to add "She''s also a bit of a conniving, deceitful thing who likes to wear masks. Probably why she and ''Caligo click so well together... isn''t that right, my love~?" Anput couldn''t help herself either as she snorted, while Leone just looked away and remained as neutral as she could, though I did note how her lip twitched a bit, so... Crossing my arms, I leaned back into the chair and raised a brow, staring back at Jahi and watching as the Demoness'' grin stiffened, though my clear displeasure at this crude mentioning of my nature didn''t stop Mom from adding "I guess that does make more sense~! In more ways then one, all things considered~!" The two older Elves frowned some more at that, the mentioning of an Arch Fiend clearly setting off some rm bells in their minds as they turned towards me once more, only for that frown to deepen as Mom added something else, making this even more embarrassing. "Might also want to be careful~! That concoction of hers worked quite well, didn''t it~?" Mother just sighed as she peeked at Mom and whispered "It did, and who would she use it on now? Miss Minuvae, or you?" That made Mom''s smile stiffen as well, and I just tilted my head and smiled innocently at the Demoness Mom-Daughter duo across from me, remaining quiet and letting them both shudder as they realized just~ what trouble they might have gotten themselves into. Chapter 973 972: Week Goes By (6) Chapter 973 972: Week Goes By (6) ??After watching as both the Mom Daughter Demoness pair were brought down to shuddering messes, Grandma tilted her head curiously as she asked "This is a first... how have you managed to make not only Jahi, but Chordeva of all people fall quiet? I must learn this trick..." The older Demoness instantly shook her head and gave the Elf a shaky smile as she said "No trick here, Minuvae! Nothing to learn, since it''s rather... innate to the little puppy! Can''t really learn something that she was born with, now can you?" That only made her more confused as she looked between Mom and I, clearly trying to decipher whatever the hell was going on and figure out if it was something that she herself could replicate, but... "This ''little puppy'' would have to reluctantly agree as well, Grandma~! I simply don''t think it''s something that you are able to pull off..? After all, you don''t have... hmm... how to put it... ah, the ''keys to the kingdom'' would be an apt way to express it! Does that make sense?" "Keys... to the kingdom..?" Frowning, she stared at me before looking towards her husband, who was now coughing and trying not to choke on the coffee he had just taken a sip of, drawing everyone''s eyes as he incredulously asked "W-Wait wait wait! Wait a moment! Katherine, you aren''t?! Surely not?!" "Surely not what, mar?" That only made Grandma all the more confused, but it made me amused as I chuckled and shook my head, pointing at Mother instead and saying "No, I''m not, but she is. And I would like to think that a Mother would support her daughter before her wife~?" "In this particr instance, where there is no mutually beneficial, neutral ground to stand on... that is a correct assumption. After all, that ''little puppy'' is my daughter, Chordeva~? Surely that didn''t just... slip your mind or anything?" My smile widened as I watched Mom shudder again, before her shoulders slumped in defeat as she muttered "I keep forgetting because of how young you look, Julie... and how mature Kat acts... the two of you are more like sisters than you are as a Mother Daughter pair... honestly!" "Compliments aren''t getting you anywhere right now, Chordeva, but thank you. That is what I would like to be hearing after giving birth, so do add it to your vocabry, perhaps?" Mom just nodded demurely, remaining silent and staring at the table as she tried to make herself look as small as possible, all while Grandma gradually put the pieces together to what had just happened. It would seem that the assassin wasn''t incredibly well versed in the nuances of sociality, whilst her business oriented husband most certainly was if his slightly flustered reaction and quick sigh of relief after I answered were anything to go by. "Oh... I... I suppose..." She looked towards Mother Ria, who only shook her head at the silent question and took a sip of her coffee, letting Grandma know there was no such luck on that end either to try and make this attack against Mom all the more ''deadly'' to her, something that made Mom breathe a sigh of relief only to shiver when Mother Ria said "Don''t act like that means I''ming to your aid, dolt. This is the one singr part of your blood I do actively hope I can train out of Jahi, but I suppose it''s Kat''s job now... but this simplicity and stubbornness is what made me fall so hard for you, I suppose..." After taking another sip, she set her cup down and reached over to pat her wife''s arm, giving her a momentaryfort before she asked "So what did you think of the ornament, Mother? Father?" "The..? Oh, yes, the ornament. The craftsmanship is beautiful! And the meaning and thought behind it makes it all the more priceless! It is truly a wonderful gift, you four. Truly; the only downside is that Alessandra and Lakshmi didn''t have a hand in making it, but that can''t be helped; they are both still far too young for something like this..." "And they would create a rather... negative contrast with your work if they did make something for this." Grandma''s bluntness made us all raise a brow, whilst her husband''s sigh made her ask "What? Am I wrong? It''s so well crafted and perfect for disy... If two crude, childish ornaments joined it, it simply wouldn''t look this gorgeous." "The sentiment behind them having a hand in it would make it more beautiful, Minuvae... It''s not always about physical appearance; the emotion behind it, or the meaning can make something... ''crude'' appear utterly sublime." That made her frown, clearly trying to understand why that would be the case when crude appearance meant crude appearance to her, before she just said "If you say so..." toy this all to rest, which made Grandpa sigh once more. "Well, I have to say that surprisingly, I am rather famished after that nap! I don''t know why... but I am! So... might we have a normal, no herb seasoning involved dinner? If that is possible, Katherine..?" Chuckling again, I got up - with Mother and Bessie moving over to join me - and made my way to the kitchte to begin cooking again, preparing something simpler but something that could always be appreciated. Sandwiches. Usually a thrown together meal at thest minute, we made sure it wasn''t that as we baked the bread and cooked all sorts of meat cuts for the meal, alongside the chopping of some vegetables and a bunch of other smaller preparations to get this going; I took it a small step in an odd direction as I made a bowl of mashed potatoes for myself, something that made Mom furrow her brow in confusion before she watched as I also made myself a small thing of gravy, some corn, and began to stuff it into some rolls alongside shredded beef. It was an oddbination, but it was one I gave thanks to for how utterly divine it was in being such a great mix match of vors that just worked well together; it''d be better with turkey, but we didn''t really have much turkey here, and I wasn''t in the mood to prepare an entire turkey for a small craving of mine... Beef, chicken, and pork are all so much quicker to cook, and so much more varied in preparation to achieve different, incredible vors. Simply put, I was partiallyzy and partially active in my cooking, just like always; if I could circumvent something by recing something, I would, and if I couldn''t... well then that recipe sucked. in and simple~! "You know..." Taking a bite of the amalgamation of meats that she hadyered between two pieces of bread, Anput drizzled some more of another amalgamation she had made - mustard, mayonnaise, and some of the gravy - onto her sandwich and finished chewing when I red at her, all so she could say "We haven''t had any monster meat in a long time. I know we could also just... ask for it, but uh... let''s go hunting tomorrow. Always tastes better when we actually obtained the food for ourselves, y''know?" "Monster meat..? Hah..." Sighing slightly, Grandpa nodded his head and nced at Minuvae, who was in the midst ofbining chicken, lettuce, vegetables and a light drizzle of vinegar for her next sandwich,pletely enamored with it and missing her husband''s look. "We aren''t the biggest fans since few people can actually manage the richness of those meats, but... we can try it. Perhaps we''ve just be far too ustomed to normal meat at this point? It''s always been something that was just too little benefit for the price, and we have... other things we could be doing instead." "Now that you mention it, I do recall there being an odd disconnect between my meals and yours. Whenever I was given some monster meat to help stimte my growth, the two of you used to either forgo the meal entirely and not attend that meal, or snack on something else and im you weren''t hungry... I never thought our chefs prepared it poorly though?" Mother Ria frowned at the two, and that managed to get Grandma''s attention as she asked "Apologies, but what? Our chefs prepared what..?", while Grandpa just replied "It wasn''t that they did it poorly, but... ah, it might just be our minds ying tricks on us. Beef from a cow type monster always tasted far too fatty and richpared to normal beef, and it was just... far too strong of a vor profile for us to stomach. Besides, the benefits of such a meal are negligible to us unless we were dining on something incredibly powerful." "I recall Lady Igna mentioning something simr; I believe she''s said that after she had been... ''tamed'' by the Empress, she stopped eating monster meat as often because it wasn''tparable to mortal flesh?" "Chordeva... that is an extreme example; Lady Igna ate PEOPLE. And not just any people; she ate the strongest people she could find simply because she could. There was no... ''nutrition'' to be found for her." The conversation began to deviate somewhat as we started discussing pros and cons of monster meat, ideas on how to prepare it better, things we could do with it, the price... everything you could think of, we discussed, all whilst we continued to eat dinner together and stuff ourselves as much as we could on meat and bread. It wasn''t a shy evening, nor was it one that particrly stood out to me as unique or special, but... it was a memory I think I''ll have for awhile going forwards... Chapter 974 973: Week Goes By (7) Chapter 974 973: Week Goes By (7) ??"Been a long, long time since we were down here... this feels nostalgic, but at the same time... damn this acrid stench is not something I missed though, or this cloying, terrible heat!" Jahi scrunched her nose and looked around thevake, taking in the all too familiar view that we hade to associate with everything Dungeon rted thanks to its excellent learning potential for new and intermediate adventurers. "The Sultanate isn''t this bad, is it? Like your skin is being dried outpletely no matter where you might be?" Anput smiled wryly as she shook her head and answered "In some ces it''s worse. Remember, the Sultanate is open dunes of sand being baked by the sun constantly; funnily enough, you''re lucky if the air is still and stagnant. If it''s windy, you''re getting battered by sand and subjected to even worse heat thanks to the grains clinging to your body and creating a sort of... nket around your skin." "In other words, it''s going to be absolutely dreadful and I already hate it." The thinyer of water around my body did little to keep me cool, and already I was beginning to yearn for the humidity of the Terracotta Grottos over this, despite usually viewing humidity as worse than raw heat; right now though, that was preferable, and I let out a huff as I added "Can we get these Magma Crabs or whatever they are already? I wanna go home." "You sound like a child Kat~! Just bear with it for a bit, yeah? We wanted to stretch and let loose a little, remember? We can stop on the way back to the surface and let you have your way with a goblin. Sound good?" I raised a brow at that, making Jahi raise a finger as she said "You know what I mean; stop being a hedonistic puppy now Kat...", with Anput chiming in to say "You''ll be fine over in the Sultanate Kat, at least in the city; all the shade really alleviates the heat, and since you''re a Water Mage you can always be hydrated, which is also a really big help." "How are we really going to let loose with a bunch of crabs? One good smack and their shell breaks. Not really an engaging fight... and we can''t smack them too hard because we need to keep their legs intact for the meal tonight. And really, you all wanted a ''seafood boil'' that consisted of... primarily crab? No other fish or anything that you want to add? Couldn''t I just do some kind of surf n turf style dinner instead?" "Well obviously you need something else to go along with it, but that is something I already asked the kitchens to procure for us; shrimp and lobster from the Blizzard Duchy are rtively ''cheap'', and Mom agreed that it would be worth it. Besides... did you want snake? Big cat? Doesn''t really sound the most appealing, especially not when ced beside crab. Crab thates pre seasoned too, I might add; they have a bit of heat to them thanks to their innate Fire Mana." "Fine... but still, beating on some crabs isn''t really much of a workout, is it? Were you nning on heading further in, or..? We aren''t really... at level here anymore, and heading deeper isn''t something I would advise without proper nning and-" "I know, I know~! We''ll just head to the gates and pick on any Spartoi that show up, or hope we can find ourselves a Magma Wyrm hiding inside theke! Don''t worry so much Kat~!" Brushing off my concern like it was no big deal, Jahi tapped her fingers on the hilt of her great sword, which was resting on her shoulder and glimmering beautifully in the orange light of the Dungeon, its gold and silver surface radiating the importance of the piecepared to the rest of our weapons. Leone''s Estoc that she only had as a precaution, Anput with her morph-able metal rods that weren''t of any high quality metal - it was still an alloy, but it wasn''t an impressive one - and my Khopesh were all severely outssed by the great sword that Jahi wielded, but when the golden Light Mana began to seep out of her palms and coil around her wrists, it made sense that she was given something as impressive as that de. Still, I wanted something of my own eventually, but still, for now we were all left with rather ''nd'' weapons, though for Leone and I that wasn''t entirely a problem, and for Anput it didn''t matter since she could simply switch her style up to confuse her opponent, or have whatever made the most sense for the situation at hand. "Alright, alright... c''mon, let''s get to it. Hopefully they don''t spoil by the time we return to the Pce." Setting off down towards the ck ash and sandden shore of the magmake, we looked around and made sure to give the other groups of adventurers wide berths to avoid any sort of situation with them, all whilst we kept our eyes peeled for the crimson and ck shells of the crab monsters that we were hunting for. "Their chitin will do wonders as armor too, especially for you and I, Leone. Not the strongest, nor the heaviest, but pretty good for what it is. Workable base too. If you get Kat to imbue it with Fire Mana enchantments, it could do even better." Combining her twin rods, Anput created a long, heavy spear that she rested on her shoulder like Jahi, the Jackalkin scrunching her nose for a moment before simply lifting the bandana from her neck and securing it around her lower face to keep the worst of it out. Mimicking her, I asked "It would take me some time, but if you want some enchanted armor I could make it for you, you know? I just need to know what you want and what materials I''m working with. Still think we should be looking at getting ourselves an actual set of personalized gear made sooner rather thanter." Everyone nodded at that, which only made me all the more confused as I asked "Then why haven''t we? Just haven''t wanted to work up from basic gear, or what? I mean we kinda have a set each, but..." "All of it always boils down to time, Kat. We haven''t had time to go through the usual set, and when we did have time... we weren''t thinking about getting that gear. Hodgepodge sets made more sense since we were just starting out, but now? Ah, here we go." Raising her de, Jahi grasped the handle in both hands before cleaving downwards, slicing into the sand and revealing the thick chitinous shell of a crab, which she yanked out of the ground and kicked over to me. Unsheathing my dagger, I began to slice off the legs and pry off the shell from the crab without any hesitation, not bothering to ask Jahi how she spotted the ck shelled crab, and she kept talking like it was nothing at all. "And honestly... when we do have time nowadays, I think we all know where that time goes... it''s either physical training, magical training, studying, or rxing. Even when we have time to pursue any interests outside of fighting, it isn''t for long. If we managed our time better and got ourselves into a crunch, we could definitely manage it. I just haven''t felt the need for it so far." Kicking another crab over to me, Jahi looked around before turning to watch as I broke off the ten legs and tore off the shell, adding "I mean, our fights have been well handled and more about finesse than what we were armored with. What good does a high grade metal te cuirass matter when the Fiend punching you will just scramble your insides no matter what? Or when the thing pukes on you, orunches bolts ofpressed and supercharged mana at your skull?" "We should still prepare for the normal battles anyways, especially if the world is slowly going into a chaotic period. Who knows who we might have to fight next? Hungry, greedy, desperate eyes will turn towards the stability of the Empire soon." Leone epted the legs from me and looked towards Anput as she tapped the edge of the shell, prompting Anput to sigh and rub the back of her neck as she said "Fine, I can try and churn out a set each if you want. I think I can really get a set and a half done this week if we want quality, so the other set and a half will need to wait for when we get to the Sultanate. We''ll also need to go over the materials we have ande up with alloys and the like that make the most sense with the enchantments we want..." "Oh boy, more prep work and studying. Fun. Well, betterte than never right? Besides... I dunno; the whole ''world going into chaos'' just feels like rubbish right now, but I have a feeling if I really say that with my whole chest right now, it''lle back to bite me in the ass." Chapter 975 974: Week Goes By (8)

Chapter 975 Chapter 974: Week Goes By (8)

"See~! Trust the process Kat, trust the process... Though, this is a big ol bastard isn''t it? Hey, do you think Wyrm meat tastes good? Wyrm''s are just lizards or something, right?" Jahi was grinning from ear to ear as she stared up at the orange and ck scaled monster that rose from the depths of the magmake, its body dripping that viscous dark orange liquid as it continued to rise up, its reptilian body glistening in the light. "Close enough, but it should be somewhat close to chicken in vor, albeit a bit finer and likely more gamey. It is NOT going in a seafood boil though." "Well, obviously it isn''t. Maybe a meat pie though? You make some fine dough Kat... always so ky and buttery..." Seeing the Demoness almost salivating over the idea of yet another meal before we could even make use of the things that we had already harvested, which was... about par for the course with her, though it was still exasperating to witness once again, especially when the damn thing was still very much alive and still very much a threat. It was just on the cusp of that ''level'' between being not a threat and being a threat, and since it was ratherrge and hissing with anger, it was likely considered a ''Boss'' level monster anyways, so who knows what it was capable of, hence why Leone and I had already begun to erect defenses and buff up everyone as we stood on the shore of theke. The Demoness hoisted her great sword and coated the entire de in golden light, before swiftly tracing out a handful of runes that sent her Light Mana coursing through her arms, empowering her even more; beside her, Anput had shifted her spear tip into something heavier and thicker, meant to prate scales as thick as a Wyrm''s, all whilst her mes and stone began to coat her arms in separate buffs, mimicking Jahi somewhat. "Ooh, and we could have some rolls to mop up the creamy filling of the pies... or maybe we could get some grilled Wyrm and put it on some tbreads?!" Hissing at us again, the giant Wyrm raised its ttened, reptilian head and bared its many sharp, needle like fangs as well as its forked tongue, which it showed us for a few seconds as the back of its throat began to glow red. Erecting a dome of water, I watched the Wyrm breathe out the mes before cursing softly as it sshed against the shield, the ming liquid burrowing its way into my water and chewing through the mana at a rapid pace. Apressed bolt of me smacked against its head and briefly turned it away from us, but the Wyrm just hissed and continued to bathe the sphere in liquid me, all whilst its taloned hands reached into the magma below. "Leone... my love, it''s a monster that lives in magma; I don''t think..." "I-I know..! It''s just habit alright?!" The Vampire hissed at Jahi just like the Wyrm did, making the Demoness snicker as she continued to stand at the front, all rxed and unbothered as she looked up at the scaled monster, who had just yanked out a chunk of the earth below to use as a weapon. "Focus on buffs and defense then Leone, unless you want to practice your Blood or Moon Magic right now? Do you even still remember how to-" "I DO!" Now she turned to re at me, before she looked away again as her cheeks reddened when I raised a brow, her little outburst only amusing us all the more and making her feel embarrassed... "Well pick, quickly. Not that I think we''ll be here long..." My gazended on the Demoness, who was still clearly sizing the Wyrm up, before switching to the Jackalkin who was crouching down and doing the same, preparing herself tond a single, decisive strike. "Defense then. It makes more sense..." Pouting, the Vampire took a step back and instantly cast a few separate spells, the runes simply appearing in front of her as she raised her hands to disy her magical prowess, almost as a way to redeem herself for her ''blunder''. Letting her dome of translucent mes rece mine, I reshaped the water sphere into ance and hurled it forwards, only to watch as it was redirected to the side as the Wyrm used its stone de, leaving it unharmed. But, it was an opening that it provided, the movement causing it to stop spewing the liquid me and cing its stubby, scaled arm to the side, opening its other side and allowing Anput to shoot forwards and stab her spear into its torso. The heavy weapon prated the scales easily, and the Jackalkin used her momentum to lodge the spear even deeper before swinging around its body and grabbing onto its back, surprising the monster. Roaring in pain and to bolster itself, the monster reached for the Jackalkin only to have anothernce of water m into its arm, piercing the thinner scales and distracting the monster for just a single moment, which was all Jahi needed to join Anput up in the air, the golden mana that sparkled around her legs leaving trails in the air as she hurtled towards the Wyrm''s head. A single cleave was all it took to shatter the scales around the monster''s neck and reveal the angry red flesh beneath, and a spray of its blood and mes creating a glorious mist around its head, which was snapped back as Jahi kicked off of the monster''s jaw to head back to the ground. Anput yanked her spear out on the way down and gave the monster another wound, but by now it was wing at its neck trying to stop the flow of its blood, only dealing more damage to the wound and sending more of that crimson liquid flying into the air, where it began to ''loosen'' and enter that state between liquid and gas. A haze of red filled the air, following the Wyrm as it crashed down to the shore and thickening as it tried to make use of the magma to clot the wound, but it was too little, toote... which only made me annoyed as I saw that its body had gone limp and the scales were beginning to ke. "That''s disappointing." "You''re telling me... maybe it was just an overgrown fledgling? It did just kinda... rush straight at us." Flicking the blood from her sword, Jahi frowned as she walked behind us towards the corpse, joining in on dismembering its body for parts and joining in on the cloud of dissatisfaction that hung over us. "I feel like I just got edged. Such a decent looking opponent that fell to the first strike? Blegh... So annoying..." "Well... like I said, it can''t be helped. We''ve learned to fight by going for lethal hits first and foremost; it''s efficient and makes the most sense, after all. And with there being four of us... and only one of these Wyrms, well... what can we do?" "Still..." Comining about the unfairness of such a boring fight, Jahi wrenched a scale off and worked begrudgingly, before she paused for a moment as she idly muttered "Maybe I should go piss off Lady Fenryas for a good fight...", instantly making us all freeze as we looked at her in shock. "Go right ahead, but make sure you do it on your own..." "I think I should go practice my alchemy and my two other magics instead." "I need to forge all our gear, remember? Go right ahead..." All three of us instantly shook our heads and made our opinion as clear as crystal, which made Jahi chuckle wryly as she said "It sounds crazy but it''s probably what I need... instead of being blue balled like this with monsters that look strong, but are weak..." "Take that ring off before you go and get yourself killed multiple times for the hell of it; don''t waste it for training purposes. And actually... I have been in need of some healing practice, so..." I gave Jahi a small smile, the memories of what was said earliering back to me as I did so, and she instantly sensed that something was off as she shuddered, not liking that suggestion one bit... But I could always count on my mate to be rather ''simple'' and straightforwards, and she managed to distract Jahi by asking "Aren''t your balls always blue though? How would this be any different than normal?" "Anput... you know full well what I mean. Stop taking things literally..." "If you have blue balls, I could certainly help you whenever~ you want, Jahi... Hey, there''s a small cave over there..." Rolling my eyes, I nced at Leone and shared an exasperated smile with her when we heard Jahi growl "Then get this thing butchered and get your ass over there, Anput... little minx." It would seem that some things would never change, even if we did grow stronger and outgrew these ces; the people we were remained the same so far, and that was a relief, even if that meant standing guard by a cave because one of us was being a bit too adventurous... And for once, it wasn''t me being the one asking to try new things for the hell of it... especially things that sounded like it would leave me with a limp for a couple of hours, if the pathetic mewling and pleading was anything to go by... Chapter 976 975: New Ink Chapter 976 975: New Ink ??"You sure about this, Kat? Last thing I want is for you to put something this big on me without knowing if it works..." I rolled my eyes as I stared at the shirtless Demoness, her chiseled abs and ripped arms drawing my gaze so easily once again as I held back the urge to reach out and stroke them, since doing so would certainly get in the way of what I was doing... After all, the scent of Anput still lingered on her skin, and the intoxicating smell of semen and sex wafted off of her loins, which were barely covered by her underwear as she sat on the bed, watching me closely. "Wanna fuck first? I''m still horny." "You''re always horny Jahi! And no, I need to be focused and collected for this; it''s going on your body, after all, and it is difficult as all hell to purge from your skin." The Demoness just sighed and epted the table that Anput had dragged over, resting her arm on it and giving me a surface to work on as we all got together around the bed for what was about to happen. "Well, how are you going to be focused and collected when you''re basically begging for my cock with the gaze of a needy bitch?" I rolled my eyes again as I looked over the notebook that Leone handed me, the Ritual Circles that filled the paper interlocking in a way that would give the Demoness some additional help in future battles; it was three separate spells interlocked into one, giving her a buff, a heal, and an attack all in one single tattoo, which we had asked Kolia to review and approve before getting her inked up. Leone was more than content to create her own eventually, but the Vampire wasn''t too interested in any ink at the moment, while Anput showed a tad bit of interest, but wanted some more time to think about what it was that she wanted; that left me with the myriad of ideas I still had floating around, like perfecting a Wind spell that would allow me to fly - or something simr - as well as getting my ankles tattooed to be simr to something like Hermes'' sandals. A boost of speed that could carry me in a single direction far faster than someone could anticipate would be quite the nifty spell to have ready to be instantly cast whenever I needed it... There were more waiting to be inked onto my body, but they all needed more work and research before I was willing to let that happen, so for now I was just content to keep working on that instead, though Jahi had asked for some tattoos for herself. That hade as a surprise, but hearing that she was interested was enough to get us all together to make something for her, and upon hearing what it was she wanted, we spent an hour getting three basic, yet foundational spells together and got to workbing them slowly into something that looked like a trinity knot, where the center was the rune for Fire. It wasn''t big, nor was it a difficult task to aplish, but we made sure to double check everything before we put Magic Pen to skin, and after getting the verification, Leone charged the Magic Pen with her Fire Mana and Anput went off to get the herbs she requested to help alleviate some of the pain if Jahi needed them... which she rejected almost instantly. "You sure about this? Again, once it''s on, it won''t be easy to remove. You would need to use a stronger Mana to ''kill'' the tattoo before letting it heal for a long, long time... and that''s if you haven''t had this for more than six months; after that point, its almost impossible to remove." "I understand, Kat, and unless you think me being able to instantly cast a buff spell on my dominant arm, a healing spell, and an offensive spell that grows another arm made of me that I can control is not worth a measly five inch diameter circle on my arm... then damn girl, let me know what incredible spells you got stowed away inside that pretty head of yours~!" Grinning at me, Jahi just waved off my concerns and showed me her right arm, flexing it for a moment and showing off her impressive muscture in hopes of changing my mind on her earlier request, so instead I just reached over and pinched her before taking a seat and taking the Magic Pen from Leone. "Alright, let me know if you''d prefer the numbing salve or the pain relievers. This could take a little~ longer than usual thanks to your Light Mana..." Wiping her smooth, firm blue skin clean, I gave it a pat and smiled at my lover, loving the way she smiled back confidently like she wasn''t about to experience quite the pain being injected straight into her arm for a few dozen minutes at least... But it was that brazen confidence that made me love her so dearly, and it was what made it so sweet that when I ced the tip of the pen against her skin and began to gently push the mana out and into her flesh, she hissed and flinched slightly, her muscles tensing and making me snicker quietly beside her. "Rx a little, my love~! It''s not that~ painful right? I need to ensure the linework is smooth and fluid..." ring at me slightly, Jahi just gave me another smile as she tried to rx her muscles, and I raised a brow as I got to work again, beginning the centerpiece of this tattoo and making sure that it was not only functional but also elegant and beautiful. The Magic Pen grew warm in my hand as the mana within it began to travel down into the flesh below, coursing through the conductive metal and finding its way onto the Demoness'' blue skin, where it appeared as angry, blood red ''ink'' that was whatever shape I wanted it to be. Being able to not be the one on the receiving end of this pain was marvelous, though seeing Jahi grit her teeth and stare determinedly at the wall as she tried to ignore the pain was difficult, since all I wanted to do was soothe her and make her feel better, but I suppose that was what was expected of me after I finished tattooing her. Channelling the mana from the crimson crystal atop the Magic Pen, I concentrated on the threads of mana and guided them down fluidly and evenly, ensuring that the mana was equal everywhere I tattooed as I began to work on the healing spell first, which was the leastplicated spell of the three. Less runes but morebined runes made for an interesting Ritual Circle, itsplexity giving it some charm as I carefully traced out each and every line of the seven runes that made it up, their familiarity making this the easiest one to tattoo. Compared to the others, it was the most ''perfected'' and efficient spell by far, since it had thebined expertise of both Leone and I within each rune; we both were rather adept at healing magic, and since most spells were interchangeable with the elements that fueled them up to a certain level, we both knew most of the same things. Next, I moved on to the buff spell, which would enshroud her arm in me and allow her to punch or sh forwards explosively, making her already devastatingly powerful attacks even stronger and ensuring that whatever wanted to stand before her de... Well, it wouldn''t stand for long as she cleaved it in two. It was a bit more tricky since it was dealing with runebinations that were seldom used on Ice Magic spells, specifically the use of power runes and explosive runes and how they fed into one another instead of being standalone runes excellent at being the primary focus. Since I wasn''t as familiar with them, I slowed down a little on the buff spell as I ensured I got the runes correct, which sadly meant that Jahi needed to sit in silence and ''suffer'' beneath the Magic Pen as I continued to imbue her flesh with the Fire Mana supplied by Leone, who was sitting beside me and watching over what I was doing. Meanwhile Anput was lounging on the bed naked, enjoying herself as she dozed off with a nketzily draped over herself, content to let this go on for however long it needed, her urges and needs sufficiently met already from what had happened inside of Zhu''Rong Caverns. "You''re doing well, Jahi... on to thest spell now, so don''t lose yourself just yet. It''sing along very nicely..." She just nced at me after I said that, the Demoness not wanting to look at her arm, at the Magic Pen, or really at me either since doing so would ce the former two in her peripheral vision. But, like the tough Demoness that she was, she sat through the entire thing without much more than a grunt here and there as Ipleted all three spells, creating that interwoven trinity knot on her upper arm that would provide her many benefits going forwards. Of course... right after, when Leone offered her one of the pain relieving herbs, the Demoness took the herb and instantly began to chew on it, turning it into a paste inside her mouth before gradually allowing it to dissolve with her saliva, only to then look at the two of us with a narrowed gaze, her intentions obvious. Chapter 977 976: Relaxation*

Chapter 977 Chapter 976: Rxation*

To no one''s immediate surprise, the instant that I removed the Magic Pen from Jahi''s arm and she was allowed to move around freely, the Demoness grabbed me and pushed me down between her legs, not saying a word but making it clear that I had a job to do still. As soon as she ced me there she reached over and pulled Leone into her side, swiftly ripping the Vampire''s shirt off and revealing her bra, which was then yanked off so that she could start to suck on the Vampire''s nipples hungrily. Unzipping my lovers pants and revealing her throbbing cock, I blinked as the heavy sweet scent washed over my senses and robbed me of any deep thinking skills, though I really didn''t need them at the moment, least of all when I felt my mate join me on the floor as she pulled off Leone''s pants as well. Two long, hard cocks were waiting to be sucked right in front of us, so we didn''t give it much thought at all as we dove forwards and began to do just that; suck their cocks and savor the vors that exploded on our tongues, especially since it had been a long day... For two Caninekin who were heavily influenced by scent, this was one excellent and wee addition to our session tonight as we kissed their groins and reveled in the way they both stroked our heads, even if Leone was busy moaning from the double stimtion she received as Jahi continued to feast on her breasts. Seeing the Demoness sucking on her nipples and even going as far as to ''bite'' them, using her teeth to tug on it and making the Vampire gasp as she was given pain and pleasure in equal measure was arousing for me, and I felt myself get wetter than before as I imagined her doing that to me... Filling my throat with my lover''s girth, I kissed her groin again and decided to allow her to bask in the tightness of my throat, even though it made it impossible for me to breathe and almost made me pass out, but it was well worth it since it made the Demoness released Leone''s tit and looked down at me with a loose expression filled with lust. "Holy hells Kat... oh this is..!" Jahi grabbed my head and leaned over me, gasping as she jerked her hips up and down to fuck my throat even deeper, the Demoness shoving her penis as far down my throat as she could and choking me on it, bringing tears to my eyes and making my vision darken a tad as I was deprived of oxygen, all because the Demoness thought my throat felt that incredible. "J-Jahi... s-she''s choking..!" Leone tried to warn Jahi of what was happening, though that only made the Demoness moan louder as she kept fucking my mouth with her fat cock, something that made the Vampire shake Jahi''s shoulder, the Demoness snarling "I know the slut''s choking!" For a few more seconds more she used me like a cheap hole before finally, mercifully pulling out and pping my face with her cock, sneering down at me as I gasped for breath and tried to fill my lungs back up with air that wasn''tced with the sweetness of her body. "Come on then... choke on it some more for me, Kat... I''m getting close..." Jahi stroked my cheek tenderly despite having just smacked it with her cock, leaving behind a slight mark as the weight and force dazed me for a moment; that roughness made it an easy choice to do as she asked once more, swallowing her cock down to the root without any issue and depriving myself of oxygen once more, all because this got me hornier than I had been in a few days. My pussy was quivering with anticipation as I choked on her dick, and my panties were soaked with my juices as I prepared to take her cock and get pregnant with her seed, my body letting me know just how arousing this was and that I should let this Demoness use me freely. "And Leone... either put those lips to use or be quiet! I know what this whore likes..." The ''anger'' in her eyes made Leone shiver for a moment before she nodded, the Vampire shuffling closer to her and instantly giving Jahi a kiss to giver her an ''apology'' despite not having done something wrong. A hand rested on my head and kept me where I was as the Demoness moved up and down to her hearts content, before once more burying herself inside my throat so that her sperm would find its way straight into my stomach. Hearing her grunts as she ejacted inside my mouth made choking bearable, the thick, sweet cream sliding down my throat and filling my belly with its heat, which diffused over to my womb and made me even hornier than before as I felt tears drip from my eyes, staining my cheeks as my vision faded, my world bing the hardness of her cock, the heat of her cum, and the sweetness of both. Devouring the lips of Leone and pouring her sperm into my stomach, Jahi moaned once more as she sat there, basking in the joys of having two of her three partners tending to her wants without asking a single question as to why, instead just doing what she wanted right away. Though after she got done pouring her cum down my throat and pulled out, and I managed to get my breath back, I looked up at her rxed face and asked "M-Mistress, do you care for a bath..?" Anput nced over at us and began to work harder at making Leone cum, the slurping sound of her sloppily sucking the Vampire''s cock drawing all of our attentions as we watched her work, fanning the pride of the Jackalkin as she slobbered on the Princess'' penis and made her ejacte all over her face and tongue. "A bath... sounds good..." Swallowing her reward, Anput smiled at us like she wasn''tpletely caked in sperm, though that only made Jahi and Leone harder as they stared at the contrasting colors on my mate''s face, something that brought us all to yet another height of lust. Migrating to the bath was a quick affair, only slightly hindered by how Jahi decided to scoop me up and hold me close to her so that she could tease me further, while Anput hugged Leone from behind and rubbed herself against the Vampire''s ass, walking stride for stride with her. As soon as we got in, I escaped from the Demoness'' grasp and gestured for her to sit, ignoring how she raised a brow and instead looking towards the other two as I said "Let''s get Mistress clean together, alright?", getting a nod from them both as they got closer to me. Leaning in, I whispered a few things before watching as they set off to do what I asked, all while Jahi sat on the stool and waited for us to attend to her, the Demoness watching our every move like a hawk. Turning the shower on, I positioned it so that it would rain down on Jahi''s head, even as she reached forwards and smacked my ass as I walked past her, going about my duties whilst the other two got to work cleaning her off. Jahi watched as Lehered her breasts in soap before going to kneel behind her, using her tits to sponge down her muscr back and get her clean, all while she hugged Jahi and kissed her back to show her devotion. Anput did the same, but she took her spot on Jahi''sp and guided the Demoness'' cock into her pussy, beginning the festivities whilst also cleaning off the Demoness'' front, even as Jahi reached forwards and grabbed her ass so that she could start thrusting upwards quickly. Grabbing one of her arms, I made the Demoness frown before she smirked as I guided her arm between my legs, squishing it between my thighs and pressing my drenched cunt against her wrist. The thick bones that the Demoness had were perfect for me, and I started to rub myself along her arm, giving her a different kind of wash as I moved up and down her arm, loving the way she tried to ''help'' me whenever I reached her upper arm by reaching for my tail to give it a slight yank, or to spank me. "This is one hell of a bath... especially the way my back and arm is being cleaned~! I love~ that... and Anput... tighten up some more and clean my cock properly for me, my lovely Begum~! Holy... I love all three of you so fucking much~! So much!" Moans began to fill the bathroom as we rxed after yet another day of preparation, our time this week being spent in ways that we had just described as being not the greatest use of our time, but as Jahi erupted inside of Anput and pulled Leone onto herp, I just couldn''t say that it wasn''t what we wanted... Not when we all were so willingly drowning in our lusts as we gave ourselves to one another, wanting to reaffirm our love in the way that we all knew how; incredible sex, whispering sweet nothings,ying atop one another and kissing... It was such a major point of our lives that I simply couldn''t say would be a waste of time even if it wasn''t aplishing anything for the future. Chapter 978 977: ’Royal Treatment’*

Chapter 978 Chapter 977: ''Royal Treatment''*

"Was there anything that brought this on, my loves~? Or are you all just in the mood to pamper me like I am royalty~?" We were still in the bathroom, basking in the afterglow of the initial orgasmic bliss that came from the gift we had given to our Demoness, and upon hearing that question we all nced at one another despite being rather preupied... I was in the midst of bouncing on Jahi''sp, leaning back into her chest and relishing her embrace as I gave her cock a deep and thorough cleaning, giving it that polishing after Anput and Leone had taken their turns to ensure that it was a beautiful pir of sculpted sapphire. Anput was leaning on Jahi''s back and kissing her neck passionately, whilst Leone knelt beside Jahi''s arm and did everything she could to sink the Demoness into softness as she massaged her and ced her hand on her breasts. The air in the bath was seeped with the scent of sex, and while our original goal was to get clean - honestly, that was a lie - we were barely clean at all, the water soaking our bodies and washing away the surface level grime but leaving behind the smells as we did everything except wash. Filling me up with another thick load of her seed, Jahi grunted as her free hand pulled me further onto herp, ensuring that she could give me thergest creampie possible whilst also ensuring I was avable for the next round, even if that meant ignoring the rotation we had set up... "Because I am more than willing to pamper you all like the Princesses you are~! Well... sort of... I''ll ensure you carry out your primary responsibilities as Princesses and receive my genes for the next generation~!" With her cock still lodged inside my womb, Jahi trailed her hand up my back and over to my chest, pulling me into her chest and allowing her to kiss my neck again as she added "If you want to continue in here, I am more than willing, but I think we should finish up and move back to theforts of our bed, no~? Prepare ourselves for sleep... even if I n on indulging until the sunes up~!" "What do you want, my love~? Use us however you please tonight, fuck us however you want~!" "You don''t need to tell me twice~!" Kissing my neck once more, Jahi grabbed ahold of my breast and began to thrust upwards, all while she got to enjoy the softness of Leone and the eager washing from Anput, who had began top at the Demoness and massage her back. Matching my movements to hers, I bucked my hips wildly and rode my lover as hard as I could, all while she smacked her hips into my ass, the earlier creampie lubricated her penis enough that she could slide in and out of my greedy pussy with ease, giving my Demoness the ability to fuck me senseless on herp. "After I cum again, I want you three to line up against the wall for me, alright~? So... Anput, put that tongue to better use ande lick my balls instead~! And Leone... stand above Anput and cum on Kat. I want her drenched in cum all night long~! Like the good rag she is..." Jahi pulled her arm away from Leone and instead grabbed my legs, lifting them up and holding me in ce so that she could drill my pussy from below, which created space for the other two to do as she asked of them. Anput knelt down in front of Jahi now and began to suck on her testicles even as she watched Jahi rail me from up close, while Leone stared at me with a blush as she jerked off to the sight of my breasts bouncing up and down, her giant cock twitching cutely as she pleasured herself. A thick penis in my womb, my mate sitting right below me as I was made into another''s bitch, and the Vampire who marked me stroking her cock and eventually shooting her sperm onto my face and chest, her goopy strands of sperm sshing onto my skin and slowly trickling down my body as Jahi vigorously fucked me. It didn''t take long for the Demoness to blow her load again, her need to fill me with seed matching the Vampire''s need to cover me in it, which was a lot considering Leone was cumming for a third time onto my tits, her expression overwhelmed with pleasure as she yanked on her nipple and milked her cock. Creampieing me again, Jahi grunted a few times as she delivered her seed straight to my womb, only to pull out and allow that seed to ssh onto Anput''s face as the Jackalkin continued to polish the twin orbs that were always yearning to be emptied. With her cock syed out across Anput''s face, my pussy dripping with her cum, and Leone standing above us still jerking her cock like her life depended on ejacting on my face again, Jahi let out a relieved sigh as she gave me a kiss, the two of us basking in the afterglow for just a little while longer. "Alright! I''m still very~ horny, so line up against the wall, ass towards me! We''re going to y a little game~! It''s called ''Who can make me cum first?'', and the rules are simple~! I thrust fifteen times into you before moving on to the next pussy, and whoever makes me cum first gets three more creampies as the others watch from the side~! Sounds like fun, right~?" All three of us lined up against the wall and leaned against it, sticking our butts out towards Jahi and moaning softly as she gave us each a firm spank before she just suddenly inserted herself into Anput. The Demoness''s cock prated its way into the Jackalkin and moved in and out swiftly as she pressed down on Anput''s back, smacking her hips against Anput''s toned ass and making the Jackalkin moan loudly as she tried to milk the Demoness. Sadly, Jahi pulled out and gave Anput a firm spank again as she said "Not too bad~! But don''t worry, I''ll be back soon~! I just came after all..." before grabbing Leone''s hips and prating the Vampire, beginning her fifteen thrusts. Anput and I could only watch as the Vampire moaned crazily as Jahi pounded her hard and fast, the Demoness grinning as she stared down at how her ass jiggled with each thrust while her cock bounced up and down, ropes of sperm caking the wall. Sharing a wry smile at how easily Leone came, I bit my lip as Jahi smacked Leone''s ass hard after pulling out, the Vampire''s knees shaking somewhat as she tried to keep herself standing upright, but I lost focus on her as Jahi pped my ass as hard as she could and inserted herself right after, making quick work of her fifteen thrusts as she pressed my face into the wall and ravaged my cum filled pussy. I mewled in disappointment when she pulled out, the thick cock that had filled me up nice and snug suddenly disappearing and leaving me feeling empty inside, especially when I nced at Anput and saw the Jackalkin arching her back and pressing herself against our lover as she tried to make Jahi cum. When she pulled out of Anput this time, her cock looked angry as it throbbed and drooled precum, all whilst it glistened with the juices of all three of our pussies, which Jahi was obviously proud of as she moved back to Leone, who weed her back by smacking her cheeks against her thighs and fucking herself on the Demoness'' cock. Smirking at that, Jahi spanked Leone and took her fifteen thrusts, making the Vampire quiver as she was robbed of her source of pleasure even though her cock pulsed as she sttered more of her seed on the wall. The Demoness continued to rotate through us two more times, fucking us hard and fast and making us all orgasm once with just how riled up we were and how divine her skills were with sex, and it was this next rotation that we all knew would yield the prize... but to who we weren''t sure. Her expression was tighter and her eyes narrowed, her penis was harder than ever and her movements were greedy, so we all knew she was close to ejacting, which was why the moment she slid into Anput, the Jackalkin clenched her muscles and tried to make Jahi cum right then and there, but to her immense disappointment the Demoness pulled out and pped her cock against the Jackalkin''s ass a few times before beginning to fuck Leone. I watched with a bated breath as Jahi pounded Leone into the wall, only to let out a sigh as the Demoness went past that fifteen because she started ejacting into the Vampire, letting out a satisfied grunt as she erupted inside the Princess and signified that she would be the one getting the premium treatment and pampering of the Demoness, which left Anput and I to watch as our lover was picked and used to satisfy the Demoness. Chapter 979 978: Time With Family

Chapter 979 Chapter 978: Time With Family

"Last night... was beyond excellent~! Did the three of you enjoy it as much as I did~?" Jahi was lounging on the bed,pletely syed out and basking in the morning sun as she watched the rest of us roll out of bed and massage our aching muscles, unable to understand how we were so different from the Demoness regarding how we felt after everything. She was raring to go again and perfectly able to resume where she had left off, her hips apparently not hurting at all despite having spent so longst night pounding us into the bed and showing us her love; meanwhile, we were all achy and barely able toe to grips with the idea of resuming those activities even though we might want to, our bodies telling us to take a break and rest instead. It was fascinating since I liked to think of myself as ready to ''y'' whenever, but even I had moments after waking up from a long passionate night where I was just... entirely against the idea of doing anything more. "It was... but I really need a break..." Leone blushed as she nodded in agreement, the Vampire peeking tentatively at Anput and I as memories fromst night filled her adorable head, the clear ''favoritism'' that Jahi had shown herst night causing her to feel a bit worried that we would hold it against her. We didn''t of course, and Anput made that known by giving Leone a spank and a smirk before beckoning for her to enter the bath, the two showering swiftly before submerging themselves into the heated waters and embracing, showing one another some more love before they somehow got the energy to start again. Bath time was as scripted as it ever was, the four of us cleaning one another off and indulging to start the day the ''right way'' before heading back out into the main area, where we found everyone sitting and sipping on their preferred morning drinks, chatting quietly. "You really think that then, Chordeva? That there is a need for something as garish as that?" "Garish? It isn''t garish mar, it''s a tactful disy of wealth and power all in one! Don''t tell me you think its a terrible idea?" Grandpa let out a sigh and shook his head, the older Elf clearly finding whatever Mom had said to be rather... conflicting, since I could see the small smile on his lips even though he was clearly against whatever it was. "Ah, girls! Good morning! Today''s thest day we have before you depart for the Sultanate, correct? Is there anything in particr you want to do?" He gave us all a smile and watched as we took our seats, though I went to join Mother in the kitchte and began to help her finish up her cooking for breakfast. "No, not really... It''s been good having a ''break'' again, being able to not have to rush around to get certain things done. Still getting training in, honing our skills, but not in a mad dash to go fight this thing or go harvest that thing... I hope our trip will feel more like a vacation than a switch in training locations." "Bah, sounding like some soft bellied brat... Maybe I should go find Lady Fenryas again~? Or I could beat you down again too if you''d prefer..." Mom grinned at her daughter, who just rolled her eyes as she epted the coffee from Bessie, not taking the older Demoness seriously as she instead asked "So what garish thing did you want to do, Mom?" "It isn''t garish! Ria, back me up here!" Mother Ria took a sip from her cup and looked down at Alessandra, who was staring at her own smaller cup with intrigue before she red at Lakshmi when the baby Demoness picked it up and sipped it. "Blegh!" Spitting out the warm liquid, the Demoness scrunched her nose and ced the cup back down, causing Alessandra to point at her sister and babble something to Mother Ria, who nodded and said "I know, it''s a waste of tea. Would you like another sip?" "Hey! Don''t..! Bah!" Waving her hand, Mom''s lip curled slightly in annoyance as she turned back towards us and said "I wanted to get a renovation done at the manor, something tomemorate our family growing. A big overhaul of the garden, giving it sections dedicated to each person within the family and filled with things of their choosing! So obviously the statues would need to reflect the people well, and I said we could go ahead and make use of some of the many monster parts that we have stashed away to make those statues look as impable as possible!" "Monster parts... for statues? Why not use them for the guard, or use them to trade with other Noble houses for something that we actually need? That is rather garish and ostentatious of you, Mom." "It is not..! You know what, fine. I won''t make use of them and instead just put them away into the vaults for Alessandra and Lakshmi. Fine. I thought a statue of myself with a Drake scale cloak would look rather cool..." Crossing her arms and pouting slightly, the Second in Command of the Knights of Cinder looked away from everyone and fell silent, ignoring how Grandpa rolled his eyes or how Mother Ria shook her head slightly at her wife''s attitude. "Alright, breakfast!" Though that poutingsted all but five seconds before it was reced with a grin as a giant te of pancakes was ced in front of the Demoness, each fluffy, golden ''cake'' glistening with butter and hiding the wonderful, gooey goodness of chocte chips within, making the Demoness forget about her ''pride'' and instead focus on the thing that mattered more; good food. "Are you going to want to spar after this again then, Jahi?" Grandma looked at the young Demoness with a tilted head, before she nced at Anput and I as she added "As well as the two of you?", her sapphire eyes hiding the desire she had for me to say yes so that she could enact more vengeance on me for what had happened at the time of our meeting. As such, I gave her a smile and shook my head, answering "I sadly won''t, Grandma, nor will Anput. We have some work we need to finish, and getting it done before the trip to the Sultanate was our goal all this week. It is almost done, so perhaps we shall join youter..? But please, don''t wait for us!" She narrowed her eyes at me for a brief moment before looking towards Jahi, who was nodding excitedly as she replied "I will, Grandma! I think I have an idea now on how to deal with your swiftness, so hopefully..." Trailing off, she just smiled and made Grandma nod, though Grandma did frown when Mom swiftly interjected herself into the conversation as she said "Oh, I''ll tag along this time I think too~! Been sitting still for too long, and I do need another way to work off calories... even if I much prefer the other way~!" Winking at Mother, Mom smirked as she made the Dogkin blush, though she swiftly stepped away from the conversation as she carved the pancakes up and began to devour them, entering her own little world and happily upying it despite the looks she was receiving... "Do you all already have everything packed for the trip? Or are you going to go with the bare minimum and get what you need when you arrive? Because if you do... I might suggest that Leone and Kat bring some of our clothing, just to... avoid causing a ruckus?" Mother Ria gave Leone and I a small smile before pointedly staring at our chests, the meaning quite clear; if we wore the garb of the Sultanate, which didn''t really leave much to the imagination... how would most of the Sultanate react? More specifically, how many men and futanari would we need to deal with just going from point a to point b? It didn''t sound that pleasant, but like with the suggestion for the arena''s, I nced at Jahi and Anput with a small smile, wondering how they would react to that; they''d be quite enraptured by that sight now wouldn''t they? But they would also be walking around, daggers in hand to gouge out the eyes of anyone who ogled Leone or I, and that just wouldn''t be something we could have the Sultana excuse now would it? "You also have your itinerary all worked out already, right? Or as worked out as possible at this moment in time?" "As much as we can, yes. Ideas on where to go and when to go, things we want to do... all of that was nned out a few days ago and has been going under review and revision since. All that we have left to do until tomorrow is just spend time with everyone~!" Chapter 980 979: From Grass To Sand

Chapter 980 Chapter 979: From Grass To Sand

"Be safe, alright? The Sultanate is-" "mar, they have someone who used to not only live there, but used to be in concession for the throne of the Sultanate. I don''t think you need to give them warnings." Mom smiled kindly at the older Elf, who paused for a moment before chuckling as he replied "Ah yes, that is indeed correct! My apologies, Begum. It''s just... the Sultanate is certainly far more dangerous than the Empire is in the average area..." He rubbed his jaw and gave Anput a small smile, only to nod as she replied "And whilst you view that as a negative, I find that to be a brilliant part of the Sultanate''s charm. It''s an area that weeds out the weak and enables the strong, and to me that is the greatest possible society that I can think of. However, I will admit I am biased simply because I am apart of the ''strong'' and not the weak, and such a society benefits me more." "Well... to each their own, I suppose. There are pros and cons to each, but let''s not get into a debate about it now, yes? We can do soter, when you return I suppose. I have to admit I am intrigued to hear your views on such a system, but s..." Sighing softly, Grandpa waved his hand at therge, gorgeous carriage that the Sultana had sent for us, the twin Jackals that were pulling it just as sleek and beautiful as the carriage was; both were a glossy, smooth ck with gold and silver ents - cors and ws for the Jackals - whilst the asional ssh of orange added quite the glow to them both. Around the carriage, a dozen warriors draped in loose, flowing ck cloth and watching us from beneath their ck veils waited patiently beside their own Jackals, who were sitting andying around the front of the Pce, basking in the warmth of the volcano. Their lithe, rope like muscture was on full disy, the flowing ck clothing that they wore revealing arge amount of their swarthy skin that was riddled with scars, and they had beltsden with small trophies and ornaments that must have had a deep significance to them culturally since they were otherwisepletely and utterly silent as well as rather uniform. A heavy scimitar, a curved dagger, some potions and what looked like a whistle all hung from their belts, and they had ack of real armor as they instead relied on their ability to dodge, and perhaps they made liberal use of enchanted items to mitigate damage... They were the special guard that the Sultanate had, simr to the Knights of Cinder if I was remembering correctly; seeing so many being sent to escort us from the Empire over to the Sultanate meant that the Sultana was not willing to take any chances at all with this trip, and that she was extremely sincere about ensuring all of us were safe heading over to her country, something that the Empress appreciated as she watched from afar. The few bags that we were bringing with us were already stored away in the carriage, leaving us to do nothing except head on in and set off for the desert, after saying goodbye to the family of course. It had been a short meeting with Grandpa and Grandma, but considering they weren''t making a big deal about us heading on this trip and iming that we needed to spend more time with them lest we not be able to when we return, we weren''t too bothered by this week long timeframe where we had known them. Obviously we wanted to spend more time with them, but that woulde after this trip, and as we gave a hug to everyone, Grandma said "When you return to the Empire, we will have to spar again. All of you. I am expecting improvements from this trip." She fixed us each with a stern stare, one that only softened slightly when she turned to look at Mom when she said "All of us are expecting improvements, from all of you, in all fields. Combat and ''utility''. There are things over there that you can learn, things that you can earn through disys of strength." "Thanks for the vote of confidence and totally not adding any pressure to our shoulders~! That makes this trip all the more anticipatory and excites me to head on out!" Jahi grinned at Mom, who just rolled her eyes and raised her hand like she was about to smack her daughter for being ''smart'', only to instead reach forwards and flick her as she replied "Then since you know that, get going! You''re dawdling here!" "Yes, you should be departing soon, otherwise you''ll arrive sometimete tonight; toote to do anything of importance anyways. So go!" Mother Ria waved us away after a quick hug, and as I was in the middle of hugging Mother she whispered "I hate that you have to go again... It feels like I get you back for just a brief moment before you leave yet again... all so you can head off into danger and risk your life to get stronger... it hurts my heart each time, Katherine..." Squeezing her slightly, I basked in the unique warmth of my Mother before whispering back "I know Mother... I don''t like it either, but it''s what we have to do. Maybe when this is all over we can go out as a family, peacefully. Visit all these ces and share them with the twins?" "I would like that a lot, Katherine... I just worry that that day is far, far in the future, and that by then..." She fell quiet and squeezed me back, letting me go a momentter and waving me away with a "Be safe, and be careful with the Sera Pack...", her amber eyes narrowing slightly as she nced at the various Jackalkin and Dogkin that were around us. That just made me raise a brow before I gave the others a hug, including the twins as I approached Grandpa and Grandma, who had taken over as the primary ''carriers'' of Lakshmi and Alessandra respectively. "Have fun over there, Kat. Don''t cause a ruckus now, alright? At least... one that you can''t handle on your own, anyways." Mother Ria gave me a small smile as she nced over at her daughter, before she nced at the various Jackalkin and Dogkin around us, each of whom was wearing those traditional Sultanate clothing that left little to the imagination. I got her point more than instantly, since I wanted to wear something like that for once and get my lovers absolutely rabid for me since I tended to either cover uppletely or bepletely nude - albeit with the few times I wore lingerie and the likes - so this switch up would be one that just got everyone acting different as they got to see me revealing my body but still ''appropriately'' dressed. I also wanted to see Jahi in something like this, since the guards around us were certainly in my ballpark for attractive people; musclebound and dangerous looking, serious and clearly interesting people, each one was something to look at even if it was just to see how defined their abdomens were... Almost chiseled enough to grate cheese on their stomachs... this world really spoiled me with my lust for muscr people, and specifically that incredible duality of a muscr woman or futanari; the beauty of a woman paired with the handsomeness that came with muscles... Goddess above I loved this world dearly, and if I wasn''t a newly devoted and loyal partner to my three varied and incredible lovers, I... The things I would let this group of hardened warriors do to me... they could fill an entire book... "Kat." Anput stared at me and waved her hand in front of my face, before leaning closer and whispering "If you want to ogle the muscles of our guards, you can do so... just don''t start drooling... because if you do, you''d best be drooling over me and giving me the sloppiest appreciation you can manage~!" Pinching my waist, she grinned at me before heading over to carriage, beckoning for us all to follow her into the carriage and get ready to head out into the Sultanate, which made the entirety of the guard mount their Jackals and prepare to head out as well. "Be careful you four. But... learn everything that you can, alright? We shall see you in a few weeks when you return... and by then, Lilith might actually be here." The Empress strode forwards and nodded to the various guards before giving everyone a small wave as she added "Either way, enjoy your trip everyone. I believe you''ll have more than enough fun there." Loading ourselves into the carriage, we waved back at the assembled family outside and closed the door behind us, sinking into the seats and sharing a smile as the carriage began to move. Chapter 981 980: From Peace to Violence

Chapter 981 Chapter 980: From Peace to Violence

"It is odd to be seeing our actual home passing by in the distance... knowing that we aren''t returning to it anytime soon is quite the feeling, really. I wonder how everyone is doing back home? How well they''ve been since we left, how they''ve grown..." Jahi let out a sigh as she stared out the window, looking over the rolling hills and peaceful, serenendscape that we hade to know and love as home, its beauty still so breathtaking even to this day. "It is a shame we haven''t been back in so long, but s, what are we going to do? There is no need to disturb them simply because we wanted to pop in and check on them..." "Yeah... but still, it''s been a long time since we were at home, within our bedroom, eating from our kitchens, making love in our bathroom... Though I suppose we can now do it in Anput''s bedroom, in her bathroom~?" The Jackalkin just smirked at that, nodding and rubbing my thigh as she said "There''s more than a few ces I wanna take you all... Jahi has a few, Kat has a few, Leone has a few... though honestly, there are a couple that are risky, and a couple that are safe and scenic~! One of them is going to have to wait though, until life settles down and we can think about making some babies!" That caused the Demoness to perk up instantly as she leaned forwards and asked "Oh? What is this ce that you hold so important? Is it a culturally significant ce or is it more personal?" The interest in her eyes and the way I saw that Leone was leaning closer as well made me chuckle, though when Anput gave my thigh a squeeze and began to trail her fingers up and down my pants, I raised a brow and met her heated obsidian gaze. "It''s a tad odd, but it''s both. It''s a ce that was apparently blessed by a fertility Goddess to create the oasis that is there now, and it is also the ce that my parents believe I was conceived at; they said the atmosphere and passion they felt there hasn''t been matched by anywhere else, and if Mom says that..." She chuckled softly and moved her hand towards somewhere rather intimate, drawing a slight moan from my lips as I continued to stare at her, wondering what exactly she was hoping to aplish with this. "Then that just means there is something special about that ce. She''s usually got the emotional range of a teaspoon on the best of days, especially for the brighter, more peachy emotions of life. So if she said that this ce made her feel passionate and riled up enough to get Mother with child despite a fewplications, well~!" Grinning at me, Anput leaned over and gave me a kiss as she whispered "Then I think I''ll take my chances there of all ces when I want to put my pups in you, Kat... From dawn to dusk and then to dawn again, I''ll make love to you for that singr purpose..." She just suddenly smacked that area and made me gasp as pain coursed through my body, amusing Jahi enough to snicker as she watched us from the other bench, though she said "Now you have me thinking I need to actually n out borate locations and situations for when we can finally settle down. I was just nning on stealing away the herbs that you all have to take and doing something likest night..." That made us all chuckle and roll out eyes at her, and I replied "I would hope you do something special for the ''beginning'' of that portion of our lives. But also, do remember that there is a good chance Anput and I conceive together before we do with either of you, and that there is a low chance that either of you manage to conceive with anyone thanks to your incredibly potent genes." "I know, I know... well, that isn''t for a long time, so maybe we can pray to that Goddess of yours for some assistance hm? See if she has any ideas on how we could conceive easier. But if she doesn''t, that''s fine too. I''ll be enjoying the daily ''risks'' far too much to give a damn~!" We all smiled at that, knowing that each of us would find that thrill of being off any medication at all to be addicting to the extreme, and it was something that sent shivers up my spine already as I imagined those days, wondering what it would be like and just how sweet those rewards were going to be. Though she also brought up an excellent question, and it made me open up the System Shop as I began to browse the items for sale, using the keyword ''Fertility'' to see if there was something useful for the future. I did that all whilst the other three chatted about locations and ideas that would be special to them, and specifically what they would try to do for the others individually, which was rather amusing to think about; the family tree that we nted would be extremely borate andplicated if we all went about it the way they wanted, and that... was fine with me. [Potion of Lesser Fertility : Increases libido moderately and chance to get pregnant by a minuscule amount. 30,000 SP] [Libido Ring : This ''spiked'' ring increases libido drastically and increases the potency of seed by a moderate amount. 100,000 SP] [Lust Arts: Seeded Cauldron : Turns the user into a cauldron for seed and ensures that they be pregnant, however it is with a child conceived from all participants, and it boosts their stats by 10% at the cost of 5% of the cauldron''s stats. 1,000,000 SP] Just a few of the options were enough to raise intrigue, and I had to admit that I was curious to see if I could manage tobine all effects together on all of my partners, and how they would react to thatst one in particr. My thoughts were filled as we began to gradually switch from grass to sand, and chatting with my lovers whilst we observed that change was immacte, even if one of us was native to these sands. That was what made it all the better, and we were soon introduced to the other change that was less scenic and more... cultural not even an hour into the journey from the Empire''s border into the Sultanate. As the grass shifted from green to yellow and then to dirt, before finally switching over entirely to sand, we were assaulted by the heat and blinded by the suns golden rays, and as we traveled deeper into the sands of the Sultanate, a peculiar rumbling caused Leone, Jahi and I to sit up and look around, on guard and wary of whatever was about to happen. Conversely, Anput was rxed as she leaned back into the seat and stared out the window, watching as the various guards closed in on us and formed a protective ring around the carriage. "What is that? Anput, are we..?" "We''re fine, we''re fine... This is what they get paid for, and it shouldn''t be..." Trailing off, she stared at the sands for a little longer before nodding her head and cracking the door slightly, allowing her to listen to whatever the guard beside the door said. "Ah. Yes, it''s fine. It''s only a baby Worm, perhaps a stunted adolescent at ''worst''. Par for the course in the Sultanate. Just sit back and rx~! They''ll take care of it." Closing the door a few secondster, Anput took a deep breath and continued to watch what was happening outside, directing our attention towards the desert as she said "Over there, you can see the shifting sands right? How its vibrating and moving around? The Worm should be emerging right about... now." As soon as she said it, a giant, fleshy monster exploded out of the sand and let out a deep roar, its circr head opening up to reveal a fanged maw that was drenched with saliva and caked in old blood and other organic liquids; each fang was longer than my arm, whilst the monster''s flesh was leathery and wrinkled from its lifestyle below the sands. Rising into the air and looking down at the carriage, the Worm roared again and began to fall towards us, its towering cylindrical body rushing towards us, threatening to tten us into the sand and turn us into a meat paste. "Anput..." Jahi was staring at the monster with narrowed eyes as it drew closer, the Demoness leaning off the edge of her seat and showing a clear urge to leap out of the carriage and onto the sand so that she could fight this monster, but Anput leisurely sat there and waved her off, once more saying "It''s fine. Watch." As it drew closer to the carriage, the Worm suddenly found itself suspended in the air as multiple different pirs of earth rose from the sand and skewered its body, stopping it from crashing onto us and allowing the warriors to pick it apart at their leisure. Arcs of wind and balls of fire joined the pirs as the warriors swiftly butchered and burnt the monster in front of us, allowing its segments to fall to the sand lifelessly as golden blood painted the area in a metallic sheen. "See? Nothing to worry about!" Chapter 982 981: Welcome To The Sultanate

Chapter 982 Chapter 981: Wee To The Sultanate

The number of Worm attacks reached almost a dozen by the time we reached the depths of the Sultanate, and each of them were dealt with that same brutal efficiency as the first one was hours ago, their bodies left to dpose atop the golden sands or be picked apart by the vultures that we saw circling overhead, following us as we went so that they could partake in a free meal. Each time they attacked us, the warriors instantly formed a defensive ring around us and ensured we were protected before turning their des towards the outside threat, all whilst we sat within thefort of the carriage, not needing to lift a finger at all to help despite being more than capable ourselves. After hours of traveling and hours of chatting, flirting, and thinking, we arrived at the capital of the Sultanate, a city of many names, but the one that Anput seemed to prefer was "Wee to Muqai Al-Maedin, city of metal forged warriors loyal to a single banner! Also known as... my home." The dunes around us were simr enough to the hills back at home; rolling and creating aplexndscape that helped lead down into the metallic walls that shone brilliantly beneath the descending sun, the silvers and golds of the wall reflecting out into the world and very clearly letting everyone know where they were. It was like the city itself was saying e and take a look'', only to smirk at you as you inched closer and saw that its shiny exterior wasden with sharp des and adorned with clear warnings for anyone arriving with bad intentions. "Each de iid into the wall was taken from an invading army, a defector, or anyone else with ill intention towards our home. Each one is a reminder that our ''City of Metal'' has withstood many attacks and that it will withstand many more, be they from inside or from outside. They are the ''fangs'' that scare away any hoping to attack, so to speak. But once we are inside, you shall be witnessing the wonderful culture of the Sultanate in all of its glory!" Anput grinned at all of us as the carriage rolled down the sandstone brick path that led into the city, our carriage ignoring the line of other carriages that were waiting to enter and drawing many eyes, though those eyes were swiftly diverted when they saw the ''Death Jackals'' roaming around us. Opulent carriages made from foreign woods and ornamented with luxurious metals all waited in a line to enter, their drivers wearing keffiyeh''s that protected their heads from the sun and their faces from the sands should they need it, whilst some wore kavuk''s - therger, moreyered turbans that could be decorated or used to disy wealth, amongst many of the other meanings they had. Tanned skin that glistened like bronze wasplimented by dark, midnight ck hair that was barely visible beneath their headdresses, whilst their physiques were disyed thanks to the more revealing style of dress within the Sultanate, though some wore the long robes - called thawbs - that covered everything. Whenever the men or women looked towards our carriage to see why we were allowed to pass them and ignore this long line, their darker faces nched slightly as the ck clothed Death Jackals sauntered around us, looking away quickly as they saw the elite warriors escorting this one single carriage. "Are your people usually... afraid of your warriors?" The question from the Demoness made Anput chuckle as she shook her head, the Jackalkin showing great pride and joy in being able to show off her home to us after so long of having lived within our ''home'' of the Empire, and seeing her like this was a contrast to the sight of her on the carriage ride back to the Empire naught but a week or so ago. "No, not of our standard warriors or even the other caste of elite warriors - the Dune Striders or the Magi - since they look at them the same way your people look at your Legionnaires. With reverence and respect, admiration and gratitude. Here, we love the strong, worship the strong, and shower them invishness and praises so that they might remain strong, or get stronger. The difference is a simple one; the Death Jackals are stronger than everyone else, and they are my Mom''s personal soldiers. They are the... cream of the crop, the best of the best. Even the people of the Empire look away when they see a Knight, do they not? Such greatness is to be worshipped... but only from afar, and from privacy. They are above everyone else, and so they shouldn''t be worried about anyone else." That was something that she said like it was natural, and whilst I could understand it - the idea of looking upon someone so powerful whilst you were someone so weak was a scary one, since one misstep on your part could lead to consequences you weren''t ready to bear - and even was able to ept it, Jahi seemed slightly conflicted on it whilst Leone didn''t seem to like it, if her frown was anything to go by. "I understand it sounds harsh and elitist, but these are the ones who are entrusted with the lives of everyone. They are the assassins of any upstart imbeciles, they are the des that sever the lives of any outside force that wants to attack us, they are the ones who maintain this peace. And they do it with a brutality that ensures there will be no repeat anytime soon. To themon people, the Death Jackals are like reapers; bad luck and an ill omen if you try to get close to them. It isn''t a title given to them loosely, after all; they wear death like they wear their masks." "But to have your own people be afraid of you? Is that truly something to be proud of?" Leone''s more friendly and people oriented style of thinking was always a direct sh of Anput''s more arrogant and elitist point of view, and this was a sh that was inevitable between them, since the Jackalkin beside me saw nothing wrong with this healthyyer of fear inside of her people''s hearts whenever they saw these elite warriors. "Even I have to admit that being afraid of your own protectors is... a tad extreme." The Jackalkin only chuckled though as she shook her head and gestured outside, towards the gate that was growing closer and towards the dozens of people that were being shepherded inside by the normal warriors of the Sultanate. "That fear ensures order. It reminds them that there is something terrifying close by, something that lives amongst them and something that they need to be aware of. Living so nearby to these warriors makes it difficult for our people to feel true fear against any of our enemies. After all, when we have someone at our gates, that is the time that the fear of the Death Jackals is turned into reverence at a profound level. What could get past them, the ones who walk with death? Why should we be afraid when we have them on our side? You view it as extreme, but it has served us well for many, many years. A healthy dose of fear to remind you that whilst you might be important to the Sultanate, there is something dwelling within Muqai Al-Maedin that is more important. It quells any idiotic thoughts and unifies more than it divides. Besides..." As we rolled into the city, Anput grinned as she pointed out the window, directing our attentions towards the other carriage that was being stopped, the dozens of crates and multiple people being searched and investigated by the guards. "The Sultanate is harsher than the Empire by a mile. The various oasis around the Sultanate only thrive because of our warriors, and as such we are owed some of their wealth for providing protection. We keep them safe from the Worms, from the monsters, from outsiders, and they give us goods. Some of these people, these merchants that owe us for the protections we provide... they need that reminder more than ever." A shout and a swift, unceremonious punch to the jaw of a portly man made me blink in surprise, while Leone''s frown deepened as she watched the man drop to the ground whilst the guard unsheathed his sword, shouting at the fallen man. "Not giving the proper tribute and disying your wealth openly like that... some people need to understand we work together to maintain peace. In the Empire, you can get fat andzy on power earned generations ago. You can be a humble farmer who worked up into something more, and so long as your farm produces and your taxes are paid, you are given leeway to do what you want. Here? You have exact requirements, and we know them. You know them. Not meeting them whilst wearing gaudy rings, having three ves, an armed guard and arriving in a carriage painted gold?" Anput snickered as she watched the man try to get to his feet, only to be kicked back down as the soldier pointed his de at the crates, which looked to be three quarters full at best. "You''re going to be reminded that we work together, for everyone''s benefits. Your tribute to the Sultanate is set in stone each year, and failing to meet it warrants that fear being founded. Badr! Remind our friend here, hm?" Closing the door after giving the order, Anput smirked as she felt the carriage slow down, and we watched as a Death Jackal nodded and dismounted, her lithe body exuding a coldness that seemed foreign within the heat of the desert, and it was felt by everyone, including the merchant who watched her approach with wide eyes, his entire body shaking as she inched ever closer. The harshness of the Sultanate was shown to us in full once more, and the stark contrast in mindset between the Empire and the Sultanate was made crystal clear as Anput just watched the man from afar with a smirk... and so did everyone else, pity in their eyes as the man was lifted to his feet by someone he had never wanted to meet. Chapter 983 982: Differences Chapter 983 982: Differences ??"I don''t know, Anput... this seems more thuggish than anything else, honestly... This man can''t meet his ''tribute'' - his taxes - and you publicly ost him in front of everyone, and publicly threaten him? That doesn''t seem-" Leone was cut off by Anput, the Jackalkin grinning widely as she said "It is ''thuggish'' whenpared to thete fees and false promises that can be found in the Empire. If you were curious, I did a little research before I moved over to live with you, and the things I found... None of them were pretty, and while the status quo for the average person is more than serviceable, there is arge amount of corruption and lying going on amidst your wealthy citizens. They can do certain things to avoid paying certain prices, they can extort or browbeat someone into paying a higher or lower price for something just because, they can enve through terrible contracts that no one verifies. How is that any different? Because you cannot see it, therefor what we do - what we show you on the surface, with no holds barred - is thuggish? I don''t think that is fair to say, Leone~! Besides... this tribute that they pay is not simply being hoarded inside our vaults. It is redistributed and used to pay for the infrastructure of the city, for the security of the city, used to pay for the wages of the soldiers and set aside just in case they perish... We retain a small amount of wealth from what is given to us. Come." Opening the door again, Anput peeked outside and nodded at the Death Jackals, all of whom dismounted and moved to stand beside the carriage as soon as they noted that their charge had decided to head outside, their gazes focused on the area around us as they continued to protect their Begum. They weren''t the only ones to notice Anput, as the soldiers guarding the wall all straightened up and gave Anput a salute, their eyes filled with reverence as they shouted "May the Gods bless the Begum!", and a momentter that portly Caninekin merchant shouted the same thing, albeit with a shaky voice and fear in his eyes. Waving off the acknowledgements of her presence, Anput strode forwards and stopped a few feet away from the man, her eyes narrowing as she asked "Do you know what you''ve done, peddler?" "B-Begum, I sw-swear..! I swear I d-didn''t mean to-!" "Didn''t mean to what?" He flinched at the harshness in her tone, the fear almost bing a palpable scent that rolled off of his sweaty skin and expensive fabric, not masked by the sweet perfume that lingered around him either. "I t-thought that all of the crates were filled! I swear it! On my life, I swear that I thought these crates were filled! I would never try to skimp on my tribute! Never!" A growing confidence radiated off of him now instead, and he turned to re at the kneeling woman beside him as he snarled "Dani! Did I not tell you to double check the tribute?! Now our soldiers - our glorious and amazing soldiers - won''t be properly paid! How could you be so ipetent!" The Death Jackal looming above the man remained motionless, though when she heard Anput snicker she reached down and grabbed him by his clothing and yanked him up onto his feet, before pushing him to stand in front of her Begum so that Anput could say "A mere ve is the one you trust to organize and prepare your tribute? Certainly not, peddler. No one would trust a servant to organize their tribute... besides~!" Grabbing the man''s hand, she raised it up and tapped each ring, making him flinch as the Death Jackal red at him from the side, only to almost jump out of his skin when Anput yanked on one finger and grabbed his attention again. "Focus on me, not her. I''m your bigger worry right now, peddler. See, it isn''t just me here today; my fiancees are here as well, and they think that we are... barbaric. That''s not the case, is it? We aren''t a barbaric people... We can be violent, we can be brutal, but it is all warranted, no? The harshness of the desert begets..?" Squeezing his finger, Anput smiled at the man and made him gasp "I-It b-begets h-hardiness..! Hardiness and togetherness! Because together we are strong, together we can survive!", and as soon as she got the answer she wanted, Anput released his finger and turned towards us with that same smile. "We do things differently here to get the same results, Jahi, Leone. The desert is harsh, dangerous, and ready to take your life the moment you let your guard down. Going alone is a death sentence. Together... Only together are you able to survive. Together, we can prosper. Together, we do prosper. But if we don''t work together... if not everyone pulls their own weight, if they don''t provide for the well being of the collective..." She turned back and punched the man in his stomach hard, making him double over before sweeping his legs out from under him, letting him drop to the ground with a thud and a groan as he curled into a ball, trying to protect himself from another blow. "This man is a merchant. His usefulness is in his ability to procure materials and goods for everyone, but if he is trying to skimp on his tribute? A servant ve, two pleasure ves, a guard from one of the many oasis cities... all of those rings..? But these crates aren''t full... Tell me, what does that tell you? Ipetent management, or perhaps something else? Guard, does this peddler have marks against himself already?" "No Begum! This is Nasir''s fifth tribute, and each of them before this has met the quota required!" Nodding, Anput looked towards the kneeling warrior that this Nasir had hired as a guard and asked "You! Tell me, is this peddler trying to grift some extra money by skimping on tribute? What is he like back at his home?" Looking up in surprise at Anput, the guard blinked a few times before swiftly answering her, his voice slightly shaky for a few breaths before stabilizing as he said "I believe..! I believe Boss Nasir is attempting to grift some extra money, Begum! Boss Nasir is a greedy man, as expected of any merchant - he tried to renegotiate my contract thrice already for ''performance issues''!" "Oh? Well, that seems par for the course... Badr, have this ''Nasir'' brought in for an interrogation. Go over the records and look into them for me please. If the results are not in his favor... well, I suppose you have found yourselves a new training dummy for the day~! Load everything back up! While we''re here, let''s go ahead and observe the next one, shall we? We have the time, and this will give Mom some time to prepare whatever it is she wants..." The soldiers got to work quickly loading those crates back into the carriage, and the Death Jackal grabbed the merchant by his neck and dragged him away kicking and shouting, that fear returning as he tried to plead with everyone to let him scrounge together the rest and then some. "This still... hasn''t proved anything, Anput. If anything, it''s helped support my ims more..." That made the Jackalkin shrug as she replied "I can''t do anything else besides show you, now can I? This is how the Sultanate has worked for centuries now, Leone. We have a bnce; a fine, delicate bnce between our citizens and the government, and that bnce has kept us alive and thriving. Whether or not you ept those differences is something else. To me, the softer ways of the Empire were foreign and idiotic to me. Prime example; that bitch Jillian. We knew she was out to get us. Your Mom knew she was out to get us. The rest of the Nobility knew she was out to get us; remember Draka? She stopped talking to us at the Academy because of that. And yet... we couldn''t do anything. Even though we KNEW she was an evil bitch who was going to try and kill us... That is the difference between us and you. Over here, if I think someone is plotting against me, I take my troops and march on their home to demand an answer. If they want to fight, I fight them, and if I win, then they die. If I lose, then I die. Lines are drawn, deals are struck, and decisions are swift. We don''t beat around the bush; we burn it. It''s effective and efficient. Why both negotiating if I think a bunch of weaklings are plotting against me?" "What if they are plotting for a reason? What if they are-" "Then they are stupid, and stupidity should be weeded out of the gene pool as quickly as possible. If you are envious of the things I have, get stronger and either take them from me, or earn them yourself. Comining that I have a lot of things and you have nothing does nothing for me nor for you, so shut the hell up and do something about it." Leone frowned at that, the Vampire watching as the next carriage rolled into the gatehouse and unloaded their cargo, this time their crates and barrels almost filled to the brim with goods and gold, causing Anput to grin as she said "That wine will be used to celebrate a victory or a return. That silk will be used for the dresses of the Shaykhah - our Noblewomen - so that they can present themselves to the worthy warriors as a woman worthy of being the main wife. This gold will fund the maintenance of the roads, of the buildings, pay the workers and ensure the warriors have wealth." She looked over each crate before beckoning for us to return to the carriage, adding "Everything you see is used for good, and a small amount of it is stored away forter, whenever we reach a period that might not be as prosperous or lucrative as it is now. We don''t grow fat on thebor of our people and not lift a single finger; we work for them like they work for us. The difference is we are strong enough to have them at our beck and call and not the other way round. Nowe, let''s head towards the pce." Chapter 984 983: Similarities (1)

Chapter 984 Chapter 983: Simrities (1)

984 Chapter 983: Simrities (1) The carriage ride into the city was initially very quiet, with Leone frowning to herself as she thought over the Jackalkin''s words while Jahi pursed her lips and stared out the window, the two needing some time to go over what they had heard and seen at the gatehouse. As for me, I was of a mind that both sides were right; there were moments where it had seemed rather thuggish to me, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense that this harshnd would have harsh rules. To live and thrive here, you needed to work together, and if someone began to pull less and less weight, they were a liability and a threat to the collective; even though this country seemed to praise and idolize the individual, they understood that being an important individual meant being a greater part of the collective. It wasplicated and simple at the same time, and although it was somewhat barbaric in its execution, considering the sheer amount of Worm attacks that had happened and the fact that the desert was chock full of harsh Fire Mana, this wasn''t a peaceful ce like the Empire was. There was little you could do to find water - even as a Water Mage, providing arge quantity of water was near impossible, and considering thisnd was attuned to Fire primarily, then Earth and Wind secondarily, there was no room for Water to thrive since it was burnt out by the Fire - and there was many monsters waiting below the sand hoping to catch you off guard. I understood the mentality, and honestly... this idea of strong equals right was just as wed as the oligarchical society that the Empire foster, since here those strong people could run the country into the ground, just like the people in power who don''t actually deserve it, but have the position thanks to their parents could also run the Empire into the ground. It was an imperfectly perfect system that worked here thanks to the powerhouse that stood at the pinnacle - the Sultana could rule these harsh sands with an iron fist because, simply put, she offered stability to an otherwise unstablend, and she also left no option for someone who wanted to live on hernd. You y by her rules or you die, and the choice... should be a simple one; y by her rules and live a happy life. She was fair, albeit with a heavy hand and a sharp de, but fair nheless, so not epting her rules meant you either stayed and died, or fled and lived elsewhere. That was what I got from it, and it was a thought process that took me minutes to wrap my head aroundpletely; during those minutes, I was looking out onto the city and watching as the sandstone buildings and colorful, beautiful cloth canopies that provided shade from the scorching sun. People walked from shaded area to shaded area, their bronze skin and long ck hair on full disy no matter where you looked; the men wore loose vests and puffy pants or robes, whilst the women wore revealing tops that hugged their breasts with long skirts, or they wore robes as well, depending on their desires. Some of the women were clearly futanari, their more reserved style of dress pairing with the hard muscles and swagger that seemed to be found on all warriors here marking them as futanari in my mind, whilst some were very clearly just women. Perhaps here that difference in role depending on your gender was more stark than other ces, or perhaps it was just my own mind tricking me into thinking that the women unting chiseled abs and strutting about with swords and daggers just had to be futanari, despite me sitting near a futanari who was not muscr nor overflowing with that same swagger. Stalls were lining the areas beneath the canopies, various goods being peddled to passerby''s with shouts and over exaggerated pitches; clothing, weaponry, food and jewelry dominated the area, each one clearly denoted by a white, ck, red and blue g respectively to show what they were selling. Dozens upon dozens of people walked the streets, and each building seemed to hold a dozen more as the windows opened to reveal the inhabitants; getting a breeze into the house, allowing them to drape their clothing out to dry, simply watching the street below... almost everyone was busy and bustling around, doing something. The amount of Caninekin was drastically above any other race, though I did spot more Orcs and Ifrits walking around than in the Empire, and there were a fair amount of Human''s as well, though they walked more cautiously and reservedly then the others did. "Wee to the Sultanate~! Not as colorful as the Empire, but I dare say it''s got simr quality architecture~!" The first words spoken since the gatehouse were filled once more with pride and happiness as the Jackalkin gestured to the window, showing off her home and looking at us each pointedly as she waited for a reaction. Each building was made from sandstone bricks that gave them a unique texture, whilst the windows were slightly angled into the building, allowing the winds that might blow into the town to slip into the buildings; around the area, the canopies provided shade over the various alleyways and some of the streets, ensuring that there wasn''t too much sun to bake the area. "It''s certainly different, but... I have to admit it is a gorgeous city. Well thought out too; the roads arerge, the alleys connect to multiple different ones, the buildings are diverse enough to keep things fresh despite likely serving the same purpose..." Jahi leaned closer to the window before turning her attention towards the pce that loomed in the distance, its marble towers and golden ents causing her to whistle as she added "That pce though... that is a work of art. Certainly something that stands outpared to everything else." "Yes, whereas the Pce back home has a darker palette and is more focused on matching the mountain it was built from, this pce is meant to be a monument of opulence, albeit one that isn''t gaudy or out of ce. The use of spheres too makes it all the more marvelous too..." "I... can''t tell if you''re trying to continue arguing with me about the pce being an unwarranted use of resources or if your praise is genuine." I chuckled softly as I stroked Anput''s arm, soothing my mate somewhat as I answered for Leone, saying "It is genuine. The pce is gorgeous; the marble is clean and brilliant, while the gold is used sparingly in ideal areas. It looks wonderful, and from what you said, there are giant gardens and arge za reserved entirely for the Sultana and her family?" She quickly went from frowning and staring at Leone with wariness to grinning and tilting her head upwards slightly as she proudly said "That''s right! There''s a wonderful garden filled with citrus trees, cinnamon and nutmeg, and the za is ours, yes, but Mom uses it to train all of the soldiers, so it''s been mostly converted into a training grounds! There''s so much space for you to run and have mock battles, or practice your magic. Mom even brought in some me Dune Scorpions to battle one time! That was fun..." "Oh, so just like how our Pce has a giant training area for the Knights, yours does as well? Is it outfitted with anything, or..?" "Just left alone. We spar together, or run individual drills. Going through the movements to ingrain the idea into your muscles before engaging in a real spar. Practice dummies are excellent, but a sparring partner is better." That made Jahi nod in approval, before she peeked back outside and asked "So we are to stay inside the pce, correct? But we are allowed to leave whenever, and go wherever we want? Though I assume we''ll be tailed by some of these Death Jackals..." "Most likely, yes. We can do what we want, when we want, but don''t be surprised if we have one or three of these Death Jackals following us around. Oh, speaking of! There''s this excellent ce that sells the fluffiest, tastiest saffron cakes nearby! Sometimes they drizzle the cake with this amazing raspberry syrup that adds some tartness to the sweet cake! Or a ssic citrusy syrup that just tastes sublime!" I raised a brow at how excited she seemed about this saffron cake shop, the Jackalkin almost drooling at the thought of it and making me ask "When did you develop the sweet tooth? I thought you were a carnivore through and through?" Anput just beamed at me as she said "I always had a sweet tooth! Always have and always will~! I just think you never noticed it because Leone here is the one demanding more cakes and treats then I ever have~! Besides..." Winking at the blushing Vampire and ignoring the indignant re sent her way, Anput smirked and licked her lips sensually, looking Jahi up and down before pointedly staring at one single spot as she whispered "I think we all~ have quite the sweet tooth, don''t we~? Someone~ here got us all~ addicted to sweets..." My brow arched further before I rolled my eyes when Anput smirked back at me, the Jackalkin rubbing my thigh and stroking my belly as she said "You and your excellent~ cooking and baking is going to make us all gain a few pounds if we ever stop this active lifestyle of ours~!" Chapter 985 984: Similarities (2)

Chapter 985 Chapter 984: Simrities (2)

When we entered the giant walls surrounding the marble pce, the scenery changed almost instantly; gone was the golden brown sandstone brick, gone were the dusty roads, gone were the dozens upon hundreds of people... In their ce, polished white marble and colored terracotta gave the area color and life, while the brick road was swept clean and spotless; the nts around us gave the dry area some more life, but the absence of people around this road was a stark contrast to what we had seen moments before. That wasn''t to say there waspletely no one inside the pce walls, butpared to before... it was almost a ghost town; a clean, beautiful, but empty pce that had no real soul to it, what with theck of living, breathing people inhabiting its walls. In the distance, I could see thevish gardens that Anput had told us about, the various trees and shrubs a vibrant, healthy green that felt out of ce inside this sandy expanse, and I could hear the shing of des and shouting of warriors in the distance, which only grew louder the closer we got to the main pce. The pce itself was of interesting design; the walls and structure of its ''main'' building was simply various rectangles that were ced around to create an interlocked building, with arches built going up those rectangles to give the design depth. The same terracotta used out here was used on the walls for vibrancy, and gold was used between each terracotta tile to add even more beauty to this marble structure, while above, atop the rectangr framework, spheres adorning the tops of those main structures and giving this entire pce a unique design. Coming to a stop in front of the pce, we were greeted with the giant doors opening up to reveal arge assembly of servants, warriors, nobles and more, all of whom strode out onto the road to approach the carriage with smiles and reverence on their faces. The Death Jackals instantly formed a ring around us once more, uncaring of the crowd and doing their job even now, with one of them opening the door and allowing us out of the carriage for the first time... well, since the gatehouse, but that barely counted. As soon as we stepped out, the instant raising in temperature simply because the sun was now shining straight onto our skin and not onto the carriage made me shudder, the heat already causing me to sweat somewhat and giving me a slight feeling of dread about what was going to happen going forwards... If it was this hot just standing beneath the sun, what the hell was it going to feel like when we began to actual move around and started doing literally anything at all? Though I do know that the clothes we were wearing were not doing us any favors at all, and that was part of the reason that I was so excited to go shopping for new clothes here, especially since I had an agreement with Anput that we could get some more revealing and spicy clothing to have some fun in, which I think we were both looking forwards to quite a bit. And if the sights I had seen on the way to the pce from the gatehouse was anything to go by, I think I was going to very much enjoy the clothes I had to wear and the clothes that the others were going to wear; seeing what we were going to be in was rather... tititing for me, but the most important thing here wasn''t sex... Though I wouldn''tin if we just took an entire day to indulge, or if we were going to have spontaneous and incredible sex wherever and whenever we wanted, I wasn''t going toin. No, the most important thing about this trip was making sure Anput recovered from whatever had troubled her with the surprise meddling of Cali, and after that it was just ensuring that Anput had the most amount of fun and got to spend as much time with her family as she could before we went back to the Empire. That was something that still worried me to this day, and I was hoping that I might learn what had caused her such great distress back then, but unless it came up naturally I wasn''t going to push the issue whatsoever. Now that we were out of the carriage, I couldn''t help myself as I stretched out my legs and back whilst keeping myself rtively ''still'', since we had a ratherrge gathering of people around us, anding down the steps now was the Sultana and Lady Kio, the two heads of the Sultanate walking hand in hand to greet their daughter. The quiet moring of the servants and nobility around us was merely background noise as we all stepped forwards and bowed to the veiled Jackalkin, her tall, lithe figure exuding a sharp, cold aura reminiscent of a de. Beside her, the short, olive skinned Dogkin sauntered about confidently as she looked around the assembled people with a smirk, before her eyesnded on us - specifically me - causing her smirk to widen as she raised her free hand and ordered "Stand down. Farah, go inform La that Anput has returned. I suspect the rest of my pups will be curious to see their eldest sibling~!" One of the Death Jackal''s nodded and disappeared quickly, rushing into the pce in a silent blur, leaving the rest to fall to a single knee as they looked towards their leader, who just waved her hand dismissively. Without any additional words, the rest of the Death Jackals disappeared as well, and a palpable wave of relief washed over our observers as they finally found it easier to breathe now that all of the deadly warriors were gone. "Anput..." The raspy voice of the Sultana made my mate shiver slightly, but it was clearly something positive since her lips were curled in a wide, happy grin and her tail was swishing from side to side; the moment that the Sultana raised her hand and simply curled her fingers a few times to beckon her daughter forwards, Anput leapt into her embrace and nuzzled against her muscr chest. Lady Kio leaned down and gave Anput a kiss between her ears before looking towards me, her smirk fading slightly as she shook her head and muttered "I still can''t believe a daughter of mine would willingly mark a Zara bitch..." Despite the words being rather demeaning, the woman herself was staring at me with slight respect and eptance, though I had a feeling she was going to remain stubborn for the rest of her life and never admit that I was a good choice for Anput. "I heard Julie finally moved from being Chordeva and Ria''s ''personal maid'' to being their marked woman? About damn time..." Rolling her eyes, Lady Kio released Anput and nced back at the pce, before turning towards Jahi and Leone as she scrutinized the two of them, mainly Jahi as she looked the Demoness up and down before nodding, which only earned a soft grunt from the Sultana as she simply muttered "Kio..." "What? Her personality might be just as rotten as her Mom''s, but we both know her genes are top of the line! Talk about some impable blood!" "Kio... she is more than just some gics, you know?" Gently untangling herself from Anput''s embrace, the Sultana let out a soft sigh as she muttered "Besides, now is not the time nor the ce to discuss something like that, Kio. We are in the presence of outsiders..." "Fine, fine... Come, let''s head inside. It''s been a long time, Anput... a long, long time..." Lady Kio smiled at her daughter before peeking at the Sultana, who was studying the visages of everyone outside before she turned to look at us, the tall, dark skinned warrior looming over us not only in stature, but also in presence. Almost as tall as Jahi, she feltrger than life as she looked us up and down, studying our appearances andmitting us to memory before striding confidently back into the pce, gesturing for the others toe inside as well. That confidence and ease with which she walked was rarely seen, and it was the reason that she seemed so gigantic and imposing despite not even being as tall as the Empress, nor as tall as Mom. "It has... What''s happened since then? Besides... well, the obvious." Snickering at her daughter''s question, Lady Kio tilted her head and asked "Besides me having a litter of pups in your absence? Not much... well, I say not much, but your Mom has been trying to convince me that she needs another woman, and at this point..." ring at the Sultana, who just shrugged and said "I simply brought up the idea, Kio.", the Dogkin sighed before saying "I might just let her since I think I''m pregnant again, and if that''s the case I really don''t feel like having to deal with the whims of your Mom yet again..." That made the tall ruler of the sands stop mid stride, her ck ears twitching a few times while her veiled face turned towards Lady Kio, who just kept walking and humming to herself besides Anput, who was also struggling toprehend what she just heard. I also noticed instantly that Lady Kio''s tail was slowly swaying side to side, whilst her bodynguage spoke of amusement, leading me to believe that the Dogkin was more cunning than she let others believe with her brash and straightforwards way of speaking. Either way... that was a rather surprising piece of news to start the visit on, and it made me smile wryly at how simr the Sultanate was to the Empire; the grandeur I expected from a government body ruling over a gigantic swathe ofnd filled with powerful people was instead reced by simple warmth and emotions, the individuals responsible for these governments andnds seeming far too ''human'' for what I had expected. But it was that ''humanness'' that made me believe they were excellent rulers because of that; they were ''the Empress'' and ''the Sultana'' not just in title, but in soul as well; as an individual, that title was synonymous with them, and that allowed them to hold this un replicable swagger that I had never witnessed before in my previous world. Chapter 986 985: Puppies Aplenty Chapter 986 985: Puppies Aplenty ??"What..?" "I didn''t stutter, Anubi. I believe that after many nights of passionate lovemaking, intense knotting and an unquenchable thirst for my body, you have nted your seed inside me once more and gotten me pregnant again. s, because of that, I might just have to allow you to seek out a new woman to satisfy you whilst I carry around another litter of puppies for you." Lady Kio nodded and continued walking inside, her hand firmly grasping her daughter''s arm and guiding her in alongside her as she toyed around with her wife''s emotions to get the result she wanted. Was it maniptive and conniving, her words and actions towards the Sultana? Most definitely, and whilst many in my prior world would have viewed such actions with contempt, here, being able to rein in a powerful partner like the Sultana and get her to eagerly and excitedly stride into her own pce to catch up to her own wife to convince her that she needed no one else in her love life... Well, that was simply incredible and something that I could respect, even if the woman herself was just a tad rude to me and my Mother; what she had just pulled off on someone who had more power and influence at her fingertips than I could possiblyprehend at this moment in time was impressive, and I could admit that without any issue whatsoever. Exchanging a nce with Jahi and Leone, I shrugged and walked in behind the Sultana, ignoring the moring nobles and merchants that were trying to figure out what had just happened and heading after my mate, who was finally home. The inside of the pce was just as wless and clean as the outside was, the sheer white walls and liberal use of terracotta tiles to ent said walls opening the space up even more visually, and they helped ent the giant oil paintings that were hung up around the entryway, the depictions of the city, the desert, and of the pce all done with impable brushstrokes and vibrant paints. Pottery and other items rested on pale wood shelves or tables gave the ce a bit more substance, but the real eye catching objects were simr in nature to what decorated the entry hall of the manor back in the March; weapons and pieces of armor that were lovingly made and given small ques that described their importance, but right now we weren''t really able to take any of that in. Instead, we were following the excited Sultana and her cunning wife as they went deeper into the pce, their strides very different; the energy and joy could be seen in the Sultana''s, whilst Lady Kio took measured and simple strides, though she was just quick enough to remain out of reach of her wife... Just barely, but not enough after they reached the depths of the pce, giant doors of that same pale wood springing open to reveal yet another spacious hall, though this one was filled with luxurious sofas and chairs, tablesden with drinks and food as well as many, many different board games, namely chess, manc, and various decks of cards. Lunging forwards and grabbing Lady Kio by the arm, the Sultana pulled her into her arms and asked "Are you really pregnant again, Kio? Please tell me you are!", her raspy voice filling the hall as she embraced her wife, who just snickered as she looked up towards the dark veil that covered the Sultana''s face. "I can''t be certain, but I am pretty sure I am. Does that make you happy~?" Seeing the smaller, shorter, less threatening Dogkin being spun around by a lean, towering Jackalkin who usually emanated a cold and sharp aura that promised pain with frightening ease was quite the sight, especially since the Sultana lifted Lady Kio into the air a momentter as she just said "Happy?!" Before she could say something else, another set of doors on the other side of the hall opened up, and we all turned to see multiple dark skinned, ck haired Caninekin sprinting forwards, their varied height and appearances doing little to separate them at the moment as they simplyunched themselves at the Sultana and Lady Kio, clinging and hugging their bodies. The various giggles and shouts of joy as all of the children crowded their parents filled the hall with echoes, the sight warming my heart before I tilted my head as I looked at Anput, who was just standing there with a small smile and uncertainty in her eyes. It took a moment, but the Sultana ced Lady Kio back on the ground and ruffled her hair, ignoring how the shorter woman red at her as she instead looked down at the various Caninekintching onto her. "All of you, down!" Lady Kio was the one to snap at them, and instantaneously they all released the Sultana and stood straight, staring at the Dogkin and waiting for her to say something else, before they all turned - one by one - to look at Anput, who was staring down at them from the side. "Mama, who''s that?" "Mother..?" "Mommy? Who she?" Three of the Caninekin spoke up, whilst two others remained quiet and just observed, allowing their siblings to be the brave ones and say something to their parents, all while they warily stared at the Jackalkin who was extremely simr in appearance to them... but hadn''t been around for a long, long time. "Um... Mother, did you have a second set of children after I left..? These two are so..." Leaning down to look closely at the smallest two Caninekin pups, Anput tilted her head some more and stared closely at their faces, only to raise a brow when thergest Caninekin pup stepped in front of them and raised her arms, saying "Hey! Give them some space!" The way the pup red at Anput and bared her small fangs was utterly adorable, whilst the way she let her mana re somewhat as she tried to intimidate therger Jackalkin made it hard for me to not chuckle, but her sister just smirked and said "Oh? Or what?" Both the Sultana and Lady Kio remained quiet, and that made the two quiet pups look towards their parents worriedly, before they looked back at Anput and watched as she reached forwards and coated her hand in Metal Mana, intimidating her sister. Frowning slightly at that, I wanted to say something but decided not to since Lady Kio was holding back a smirk, leaving this all to the parents and the siblings to deal with; and as if sensing that I was thinking about stepping in, Jahi just grabbed my hand and shook her head. That silver hand made the pup flinch, but she only scrunched her face slightly when Anput flicked her forehead and said "Gotta say something before I do something, brat. That''s how you deter someone from doing anything to your little sisters." The pup rubbed her brow and frowned at Anput, only to blink a few times when Anput added "Well, it''s a good thing your big sister is back to teach you those things~!", whilst the rest of the pups all stared at her nkly for a few seconds. "Anput... stop teasing them. Aisha, greet your big sister; Mariam and Batul will always be safe with me around, so you needn''t worry. Samira, there is no need to hide; Safa, it''s alright..." "You needn''t coddle them so, Anubi." Lady Kio rolled her eyes before saying "In line, introduce yourselves to your big sister. She''s finally back after all this time...", which made Anput smile wryly at her Mother as she stood up and took a step back to get a better look at the five pups. "Aisha!" Thergest of the pups stood straight and stared at Anput with narrowed eyes, her braided ck hair slinking over her shoulder and almost reaching the middle of her torso; she was still young, but already her muscles were beginning to show themselves, and she had a clear preference for her legs since they were far more toned and were as unhindered as possible. "S-Samira..." Compared to her sister, Samira was a bit shorter and thinner, while her straight hair covered the tops of her eyes and reached her shoulders, giving her the ability to ''hide'' from people''s gazes, and her dress matched that, covering most of her olive skin. "Safa..." Almost identical to Samira, Safa stood beside her sister and looked Anput up and down, before she turned back to stare at the Sultana, who just gave her a nod; taking a deep breath, Safa nodded back and clutched the hem of her dress as she tried to appear confident in front of her oldest sister. "Mariam!" A messy ponytail and a warm smile, Mariam grinned at Anput before adding "My name is Mariam! It''s nice to... nice to meet..? Nice to meet you!", the pup stammering for a moment as she tried to determine what the right thing was to say, and after that she nodded to herself and stood as straight as she could, like she was trying to impress Anput. Finally, Batul stepped forwards and murmured "Batul..." before yawning, her eyes gradually closing before she blinked herself back awake, only to yawn again and slump against Mariam, who held her up and in ce as the pup continued to yawn, clearly still very tired. "Aisha, Samir and Safa are all from the first litter, and Mariam and Batul were from the second. Anyways... girls, this is your older sister, the ''original'' Begum of the Sultanate and the one who was shaped into being the de of the Sultanate, until she was wed to someone else." Chapter 987 986: Feast

Chapter 987 Chapter 986: Feast

"Alright, alright... Kio, they''re children, leave them be. Everyone, this is your eldest sister Anput, and she was wed to that Demoness over there, Jahi Asmodia, as well as to the Princess of the Empire Leone Presa-Ash, andstly..." The Sultana stared at me for a few moments, and I saw all five of the pups turn towards me, their noses twitching cutely as they sniffed the air, sensing the simr scents that bound Anput and I together and gradually cing each piece of this puzzle together as they peeked at their older sister. "Her mate, Katherine Zara. If you recall your Mother''s... teachings... then you would know that the Zara Pack is a simr collection of Dogkin, just like the Sera Pack that now lives within the Sultanate." Hearing the towering warrior speaking so softly and gently to her children was a bit of a surprise, especially since I seem to recall her being a bit more hard on Anput when she was a child, though even then I suppose she was rtively ''gentle'' as well... "Then... big sis is already married out of the family, right?" Aisha was the one to speak, the confident andrgest pup looking back at me as she added "And how is she your mate if she is her wife? How does that..?" Smiling at her, I nced at Anput and said "We''re all in a rtionship together, equally, though I guess you could say that Jahi is the ''head'' of our family. Otherwise, we''re all in love with one another, and seeing as I am a Dogkin and Anput is a Jackalkin, it only felt natural to be mates." "But mates are exclusive partners! And one mate has to be the dominant mate, so how can you both be with-!" "Aisha, all you need to know is that rtionships aren''t as simple as you think they are, least of all romantic rtionships. Your sister... epted the idea of being the submissive mate of Jahi Asmodia, but seeing as Jahi Asmodia already had lovers, and that one of those lovers was a Caninekin, your sister also became the dominant mate of one of those lovers. It''s...plicated. Focus on other things first, alright?" The Sultana leaned down and ruffled the pup''s fluffy ears, chuckling quietly at how Aisha shied away for a moment before leaning in closer to her Mom''s hand, all while the four other pups continued to study their ''new'' sister and her lovers. "Sultana! The feast is prepared in the dining hall; how many seats would you like?" A man dressed in a sharp ck vest and harem pants stepped into the hall and looked straight for the Sultana, who nced at him briefly before turning her gaze towards the various nobles and merchants that had hesitantly followed us into the hall as well, their silence and positions making the warrior shake her head slightly. "Eleven. Three for our guests, eight for my family and I. Bring out the pomegranate wine as well. As for the rest of you, today''s meetings are adjourned until further notice. Compile any reports or requests and submit them instead. Good day." Listening to the pitter patter of footsteps leaving us, my lips twitched as I held back a smile at how the nobility and merchants were treated more like children instead of influential figures of the Sultanate. "Let us have an early supper before we head outside and enjoy the gardens, hm? Chat a little and get to know one another better. Discuss the ns for this visit of yours and decide if there are things you should prioritize doing." She lifted Mariam and Batul into her arms, the two youngest pups nuzzling against her shoulders and hugging her close as they looked at us from the same level, whilst Samira and Safa moved to stand beside their Mother, grabbing ahold of her skirt and making the Dogkin woman sigh even as she rested her hands on their heads, patting them. Aisha was the only one not seeking out one of her parents, and instead she was staring up at Anput with narrowed eyes, scanning her sister''s face before turning to look back at Jahi, Leone and I for a few seconds more, various thoughts going through her young mind that none of us were privy to. "Mother, don''t you think you two should take a break from... well, not utilizing protection? This is... quite a big group, is it not?" Anput smirked down at her sister, ignoring the way Aisha''s tail bristled slightly at the provocation and instead turning to look at her Mother, continuing to ignore the pup and rile her up even more. Lady Kio simply shrugged and answered "There is no reason to. We''ve managed to attain safety, prosperity, and stability in the Sultanate, we''ve secured ourselves as its rulers, and now... we can finally rx a little and not worry about the plots of other countries, the greed of our own people and advisors, the animosity of those we had ''wronged''. So the answer is no; I want it raw, and I''ll get it raw." "Kio!" The Sultana whipped her head towards her wife, who just shrugged again before turning and making her way towards the far door, heading even deeper into the pce and towards the scent of exquisite cuisine that had begun to trickle its way throughout the corridors, calling to those of us with sensitive noses toe and feast. "Raw? Like that one dish..? Cavia... Cavy..? Caviar! Like caviar? What does Mother want raw?" Aisha looked at her Mom, who just shook her head and strode after her wife, her own tail bristling slightly in agitation, something that made me shake my head again as I asked "So... do you think every high profile, powerful family is like this? The ones who''ve reached this level?" The big pup turned towards me and stared at me curiously, remaining with us even as her siblings were taken further away from her; Anput began to walk slowly after them, guiding us towards the food with a slightly amused, slightly exasperated expression. "Most likely, if I had to take a guess. From what Mom has said, reaching this level is sort of like... acquiring a new point of view, a new outlook on life itself. The small things, the big things, and everything in between is just... different to them. Being apart of a select few so powerful that you''re considered practically immortal must do something interesting to your mentality. Why bother be high strung and worried all the time when you''re just... a monster walking around in mortal clothing?" "Has the Empress expressed simr thoughts before, Leone? I know Mom has admitted to viewing little of the world asimportant enough anymore, and she isn''t even at that level yet." As Leone went to answer, she was interrupted by a ''smaller'' voice, the pup that was walking with us looking towards Leone and I as she asked "Um... what are you talking about? Level? What... What does that mean?" The curiosity in her eyes that was directed only at Leone and I was amusing, and watching as shepletely ignored Anput when she said "How strong they are, and how in tune they are with their Core, their Magics, the world and themselves. That''s what we are talking about." was extremely amusing, especially since Aisha repeated "What does it mean?" Chuckling softly, I repeated what Anput said and observed how Aisha had a slightly sour expression at the verbatim response, before I added "Your Mom is really strong, Aisha, and that is the level that most of us dream of reaching some day. It''s the level that we''ve all dreamed of since we learned about it." "Then... what was the raw thing Mother wanted earlier?" "Something you aren''t ready to learn just yet. C''mon, let''s go eat." Anput grabbed the pup and nudged her forwards, much to Aisha''s annoyance as she tried to slip free from Anput''s grasp, only to pout when Anput remained steadfast and walked her into the dining area, where we found the others already seated. "Well this is certainly one of the better spreads you''vee up with, Yusuf. What brought this on? Hearing about the potential guests from the Empire, perhaps?" An olive skinned man in a thawb nodded as he stood beside Lady Kio, who was seated and looking over the table with an appreciative nod, taking in the various ttersden with heaps of food. "That is correct, Lady Kio. I have toned down the heat somewhat, although there are still a select few dishes that arepletely traditional. Heavy on the rice - like always - but also arge amount of naan so that our guests might feelfortable creating their own dishes. Barbecued chicken garnished with chili and cumin, chicken baked in lemon and cumin, roasted tomatoes and a spinach sd are the primary dishes on the table. I also went ahead and simply left some of the ingredients separated for our guests to utilize." Giving us a bow, the man addressed us directly as he said "If you weren''t aware, naan is rather delicious on its own and more than capable of being used to create ''sandwiches'', if that is what you desire. Rice in the ce of pasta, and I am confident in stating that these chicken dishes will rival any found within the Empire." Jahi leaned back in her seat and gave the man a small smile before reaching for one of the traditional dishes, something that made him raise a brow but remain silent... and something that made me raise a brow too since I had a feeling ''spicy'' wasn''t even able to begin describing how that dish would taste. Chapter 988 987: Chatting With The In-Laws

Chapter 988 Chapter 987: Chatting With The In-Laws

We all watched as the Demoness loaded her te up with the traditional grilled chicken dish that the man had prepared, Anput raising a brow and sharing a nce with her Mother as they both grew more and more amused at her actions, while I just sighed quietly and began to scoop some rice out for myself, deciding to treat this meal simrly to how I ate at the Empire. The cuisines were able to be prepared simrly enough - instead of pasta, they had rice, and just like with a chicken parmesan I couldther the rice in sauce andyer some meat on top of it to create my own dish. Then there was the delectable naan that was waiting to be used as the shell for a wrap if I wanted it to be a new dish as well, or I could simply eat it as is and enjoy the fluffy bread on its own, what with its oil infused crust and impable vors from the herbs that it had been baked with. There were so manybinations with the ingredients on this table, and I was more than aware that grabbing a te of chili and cumin infused chicken was not the greatest idea for my stomach when the hottest things I had been eating had been crushed pepper and a few other spices... But, this was a learning moment for the Demoness I loved so dearly, so I remained quiet about what was a rather bold and arguably a terrible idea and instead began to dig in to my own meal, sating my hunger with the fragrant rice and delicious curry, all while the natives to the Sultanate remained quiet as well. Lady Kio was smiling slightly as she watched Jahi take a big bite of the grilled chicken that had a rather noticeable red tinge to its flesh, while the Sultana passed tes around for the pups, who were all mimicking their Mother as they stared at the Demoness. Leone too had paused for a moment, but seeing that I had begun to eat she just shrugged and got her own te together, though she observed how Jahi''s blue face darkened a few seconds after that chicken hit her tongue, and how swiftly her eyes began to water as she reached for her ss. "Ah, bad idea. Here..." Anput decided to help somewhat with this, the Jackalkin taking Jahi''s ss and pouring some lemon juice into it before handing it back, something that Lady Kio found unsatisfying as she sighed and muttered "Should''ve let her suffer and learn like the rest of us..." The Demoness didn''t hear her though as she started to gulp down her water, trying desperately to wash away the heat that permeated her head and tongue, this new pte choice surprising her body immensely as her cheeks continued to flush, turning her skin purple. "Does lemon actually work? I never really tried it - since we don''t have anything this spicy that I deem worth making - but I had heard that acidic things help alleviate the heat? I know in some ces its really popr to have milk afterwards, but..." "Yeah, it does. Well... I think it does, anyways. It was how I learned to deal with the heat. I know Mother doesn''t really believe it does, but Mom was the one who told me to try, so... do with that what you will." The Sultana nodded after handing a te to Safa, the warrior adding "It helps enough, the same way that sugar might help or that milk might help. They''re all personal preference really, and I find it easier to acquire acidic things then sweet things, and milk... I just don''t like milk." Snorting, Lady Kio rolled her eyes and ignored the way her wife turned towards her, the Dogkin instead taking a bite of her own curry andthering some of the sauce onto her naan, which she promptly tore apart. Chewing carefully, she looked at Jahi once more before focusing on her daughter as she asked "So what was your ning here? Surely you had an idea on things you wanted to do, ces you wanted to go. I know you wanted toe meet your sisters, but that wasn''t the only thing you had nned, right?" Anput was still observing Jahi from the side, the Demoness needing that help as she was given another ss of lemon water to try and help her learn from her mistake, but Anput still replied to her Mother after a few moments. "Well that was the main reason we came back, yes, but the other main part was the letters concerning the emergence of multiple Fiends within the Sultanate? That was what really got us over here; we still need the experience against them and to continue learning about what we do well and what we need to improve upon. Besides that, there were a few Dungeons we wanted to take a look at, and inside the city we nned on just visiting some of the ces found in the various stories native to the Sultanate. Parks and zas that were interesting, restaurants and tea houses, even some of the clubs and gambling dens... And then there was the obvious calling of the arenas too, which would definitely be one time things that we could take advantage of; if we weren''t out and about, then the n was to stay here and take part in the training of the soldiers or just lounge around." "That''s about what we figured... Unlike the Empire, there is little to do outside of the city since everything is just sand, and within it... well, I would like to believe we offer our own array of cultural ''wonders'' to partake in, but that is still up for you to explore and determine for yourselves." The Sultana gave us a nod and reached over to wipe off some of the curry that strained Batul lower lip, the tired pup still yawning even as she slowly and methodically shoveled the curry covered rice into her mouth, her ears twitching and her eyelids continuing to droop as her Mom cleaned her up. "The benefits of everything outside being just sand alwayse in the most surprising ways, and currently that benefit is that the Fiends aren''t really making any moves. They''re just roaming around and getting ustomed to their bodies again, so you can hunt them freely and without worry for now. I have people watching them and reporting on their location every few hours, so they won''t leave our sight anytime soon either." Lady Kio let out a sigh as she watched them from the side, but ever since before I had decided to observe the woman closer to get a better idea on this ''rival'' that my Mother had made, and so I was able to see that despite seeming to be against the idea of coddling their children, she was still quite happy with the Sultana''s actions... Even if the words that came out of her mouth were "Batul, stop letting the curry drip onto your chin! You''re old enough to know how to eat!", her eyes were still rather warm, but the moment she noticed that I was observing her, she turned towards me and snapped "What?", that warmth leaving her eyes instantly. "Nothing. Just thinking, Lady Kio. I''m curious about the woman my Mother spent some time with in the Academy." She snorted and looked away, mild disdain filling her obsidian eyes as she said "Well, don''t be. Whatever your Mother can do, I can do better, and she knows it. Better grades, better family, better skills!" "I believe that would mean you don''t have a better personality, Kio... Miss Julie was rather-" "Hah?!" ring at her wife, Lady Kio sneered at the Sultana and almost snarled as she said "She was rather what?!", which made her wife sigh and remain quiet, letting her simmer in her own anger for the moment. "Why were you and Mother always... butting heads together? It doesn''t really make much sense, especially now. You were both next in line for your respective Packs, yes, but that doesn''t mean you needed to harbor animosity towards one another, especially since the Zara and Sera Packs were neutral to one another." "Bah, what the hells would you know... You were never directlypared to someone else, told that they did this better, that they had higher hopes for this thing... Your stint in the Academy was what, a single semester? You didn''t see how harsh it can be, how much is required of you in order to pass. Add onto that the pressure of your Pack as they judge you from afar... of course I disliked the bitch!" Even as she said that, Lady Kio leaned back in her chair and looked towards the windows, staring out over the city and falling quiet as her dark eyes filled with memories, but just like I hade to expect her mercurial personality caused her to return to being annoyed as she added "Especially not after that day; I owed her for it, even if I hated it, and then I owed her again since she helped me figure out who the hell had drugged me! Just thinking about it pisses me off again!" Grinding her teeth together, the Dogkin was about to say something else when another servant entered the dining hall, this one female and quite beautiful too, and as soon as she entered she smiled, her expression warming and lighting up as she said "Begum Anput! You''ve returned!" Such a promation was of course warranting the scrutiny of Leone, Jahi and I, so we turned towards Anput and inspected the expression she wore, the surprise and recognition in her eyes causing us to narrow ours as we wondered how she ''knew'' this servant... Chapter 989 988: The Servant Chapter 989 988: The ''Servant'' ??"Begum Anput, you''ve returned!" The Dogkin that walked into the dining area was quite the beauty, something that was made apparent the moment your eyesnded on her visage; some people were simply blessed with that sort of beauty, the jaw dropping and attention stealing gics that simply reminded everyone else that life was often a cruel and unfair mistress who never gave a damn about you in the first ce. Bone structure that seemed deliberately chiseled in such a way that her smooth, wless olive skin would be flowing seamlessly across her face, giving her an ovr canvas that was simply sublime in its natural state; her sharp, pointed brows were softened by her warm amber eyes, which glimmered like honey beneath the sun. Her plump lips were soft and inviting, their involuntary and simple curl upwards brightening her expression even more, her bubbly aura trying to lure you into a state of rxation and admiration. ck locks that we had seen on everyone else within this city seemed different on her, the long braid that snaked over her slender shoulders drawing our eyes downwards, whilst the two smaller braids that were formed out of her bangs framed her face perfectly, the golden and orange beads adding to her bright and cozy aura. Everything about her oozed the warmth of the Sultanate in its gentlest capabilities; the soft breeze as you sat in the shade, the way the sand wrapped across thends like a golden nket that kept everything warm, the serenity of the dunes... But when you looked lower, following that snake of ck threads, you were greeted with the sight of her own ''dunes'', the twin mountains of olive goodness barely concealed beneath an orange tube top that only made her bust all the more impressive, and for a brief moment... I looked lower and had to appraise my own size, nodding to myself as Ipared her to me and came back with theforting realization that I was still bigger. Even then, as I looked back up and saw the way her waist slimmed down before ring back out into her wide hips... well, I couldn''t help but feel ''threatened'' as a woman at that moment, even though I knew logically that - whilst she was certainly an attractive and incredible woman - I was still ''above'' her in the sense that I was Anput''s, Leone''s, and Jahi''s lover, there was that innate desire to remind them about that fact, to ensure that they knew I was her ''better''. The longer I looked at her, the more I realized that she was almost identical in sex appeal, warmth, maturity and even in attitude to Mother, the more I couldn''t help but feel... odd about her; threatened and confused, but also having a small desire to get to know her and connect to her. It was odd, and it made my mind short circuit as my logic and illogical thoughts shed together, bringing me to a standstill as I watched her continue to walk forwards, her body swaying seductively even as her expression remained innocent; hernguage, both in body and in sound, was ''innocent''. There was no intentions to seduce, no intention to allure and ensnare, but instead just the familiarfort that everyone had from living within their own skin, that natural gait and typical vocal tones as she smiled at Anput. "My, how you''ve grown~! To believe that it''s been... well, years since west saw one another~! I hope everything has been well over in the Empire, Begum Anput?" Stopping a few steps away from the Jackalkin, she turned towards the Sultana and Lady Kio to give them a rather deep curtsy, the familiar movement executed fluidly as she showed her respect to her employers first before turning back towards her Mistress, who she gave an equally deep curtsy. Her tail swishedzily from side to side, and her ears twitched as she stood back up straight after a few seconds, staring at Anput as she awaited an answer from the one she had served for who knows how long. The longer I stared at her, the more illogical I felt as I studied her stance; that uneven posture with one foot slightly offset from the other, the way she naturally puffed out her chest to maintain a straight spine, the way her hips were off tilt... It was a ''natural'' stance that seemed foreign to meing from a servant, but outside of that I knew it well; it was a confident, assured stance of a woman well aware of her charm, and it was one that I made use of as well... which only caused me to clench my teeth for just a moment as I held back a growl. The prolonged silence from my mate seemed to speak volumes as I too waited for her to say something, this ocean of emptiness pulling us all down into its depths as we were left with nothing but our thoughts and the little information we could pull from both the servant... and the master. "Yasmin... everything has been swell in my new home. There are things I miss from my birthce, yes, but I''ve adapted, like I was told I would. Doesn''t mean I don''t miss the heat of the sands, but I suppose I''ve simply traded it for ash." Anput finally spoke up, and the small curl of her lips as she stared at the servant only irked me more, my tail flicking to the side as my fur bristled, all whilst I maintained as neutral of an expression as I could... "Ah, I don''t think I could ever leave the sands behind..." Shaking her head, Yasmin let out a sigh and nced at the window, taking in the goldenndscape that resided behind the walls of Muqai Al-Maedin and letting the hall fill with silence once more, only to then look back with that same grating smile as those ambersnded on Jahi, Leone, and then me. "And you must be Lady Jahi Asmodia, Lady Leone Presa-Ash, and Lady Katherine Zara, correct? Please, ept my thanks for epting and loving Begum Anput; I know just how much each of you meant to her when the marriages were first proposed. Thank you." Bowing again, Yasmin only rose again when Anput said "Yasmin please, it''s embarrassing!", the Jackalkin''s ears twitching as she tried to wave away the words of her servant, who only smiled back at her and said "Apologies Begum, but they do deserve to know~! You used to be rather ecstatic whenever a letter arrived from either Lady Jahi or Lady Leone~! Each one caused you to hole up in your room-!" "Yasmin!" Anput was blushing slightly as she ''red'' at the woman, and it was that familiarity and thefort she had that continued to stoke my illogical side as I observed this, not liking it one bit... even if I knew fully well that this was a healthy, wonderful rtionship that she had seemed to foster with someone when she was younger. This entire time the Sultana and Lady Kio had been quiet, and the pups had all been eating quietly as well, watching from the side and trying to understand what was happening, but now that the subject had been brought up, Lady Kio spoke up with a smirk, her mischievous nature making itself known once more. "Oh, she did more than just ''hole up in her room'' after getting those letters~! How often was shete to training or outright skipping them simply because she was ''drafting'' a response~?" "Mother!" Now Anput was ''ring'' at her Mother, but the moment her Mom poured herself a ss of wine and muttered "More than I care to count, and more than I want to remember..." she blushed hard and looked away, hiding her expression from us but not controlling her ears nor her tail well enough to hide the ''shame'' she felt. The Sultana sighed as she swirled the dark scarlet liquid in her ss, before lifting the veil slightly to reveal a scarred visage and thin lips as she took a sip, momentarily diverting my attention. "It was far too often... and each one was just yet another ''cruel'' reminder of what was toe." The mncholic rasp made Lady Kio roll her eyes as she said "Personally, I was just happy that the ce didn''t reek of citrus when she left!", something that made Anput almost shout, an odd strangled noise escaping her lips as she looked towards the petite Dogkin. Jahi raised a brow and murmured "Well that is certainly good to know~!", which made Anput growl softly as she clenched her fist, still ring at her Mother. Leone was blushing, peeking at Anput before peeking at Jahi instead, which the Demoness caught as she smirked at both Anput and Leone, loving this new ''ammunition'' that had fallen into herp. All the while, Yasmin was watching their antics with a warm, motherly smile, before she looked towards me and tilted her head, our eyes meeting as I continued to observe her. Chapter 990 989: Musings Chapter 990 989: Musings ??The feast was wrapped up not long after that, the servant lingering around for a few minutes more before excusing herself as she went off to prepare and ensure that Anput''s chambers were ready for her return, as well as ensuring that her chambers were stocked for three additional bodies. The conversations during the feast returned to normalcy, the digs and jabs at Anput for her not so hidden ''alone time'' after receiving a letter from either Jahi or Leone fading away and being reced instead by suggestions and ideas for us to follow going forwards. Head to this tea shop, try the food at this ce, go and party at this club and stay away from this club, if you want to train with us we train at these times primarily, the importance of eating either dinner or breakfast with the family no matter what unless we were outside of the city; everything that could be told to us as ''rules'' and suggestions were given, and whilst it wasn''t the most captivating discussion, it was necessary. It also lulled the pups to a state of tiredness that Batul had fully embraced, whilst the others all fought against their drowsiness as hard as they could, only to let out adorable yawns and rub at their eyes in the fleeting hope of staying awake. But, like children tend to do, they listened to their bodies and drifted off at the table, signaling the end of the meal and prompting everyone to get up and begin making their way to wherever; the Sultana and Lady Kio were going to put the pups to bed for a nap before returning to that initial hall, where they nned to rx until nightfall, indulging in some wine and games. As for us, we had different ideas on what to do, with Anput yearning for some physical activity whilst Leone made her desire for the soft embrace of a mattress quite clear, leaving Jahi to linger in the middle as she appraised each of us. This entire time, I had been listening but notprehending what was happening, my mind more upied by what I had felt earlier when Yasmin''s eyes met mine; I was out of it currently, and they could tell that, but none of us knew how to really bring me out of that state, not even myself. So I just agreed to follow Anput towards the pce''s forging area, my desire to ask some questions and sort out my scrambled mind making that choice easy as I continued to mull over what I had felt. That brief, fleeting moment where our eyes met felt far too familiar and far too foreign at the same time; I felt threatened, but I also felt attracted, intrigued... I wasn''t thinking about how this gorgeous Dogkin would likely be an incredible partner in bed, nor was I curious to see the reactions she would give when I teased her or yed with her in bed; that wasn''t the attraction that I felt. It was something moreplicated, its entanglement to that feeling of being threatened confusing me even more as I walked behind Anput throughout the spacious halls of the pce. That threat I felt from her was a clear, obvious thing; I was threatened because, like I had noticed before, she was extremely simr to me appearance wise, and whilst I logically knew that Anput and the others lusted after me because of what was inside of me, I also knew that they craved my ''outside'' as well. That was where the illogical thinking began to beat down the logical side of me as I worried that this buxom, sexy, olive skinned Dogkin could cause some ''home troubles'' with MY lovers, that they would feel attracted and aroused by her if she ever tried to seduce them. I had faith in all of them, but that wouldn''t stop me from fretting over this idea of cing a juicy, heavenly steak in front of ravenous futanari who had voracious appetites that could sometimes match mine, and sometimes dwarf mine. That was what I felt threatened by, but that attraction was confusing; was it simply because she was... ''me'', but in a different location? Was that the ''attraction'' I felt between me and her? This... simrity that was far deeper than just our bodies being simr, or our positions in life being simr; was it something moreplicated..? I had been given choices at the beginning of my ''life'' here, on Gaia; choices that could havended me anywhere on Gaia, choices that could have ced me here, as the servant to someone who was a ''Princess equivalent'', what with a Begum being just another way to call someone a Princess and vice versa. Was that perhaps what I felt between me and her? Could... Could that have been me, if I had chosen instead to be the servant of a Princess instead of the servant of a Marquess? And if so, did that mean that I was ''fated'' to be with one of these three futanari no matter what, and potentially with all of them considering the course of events that had transpired outside of my control? That was what was muddling my mind, and as I entered the smithery of the pce and followed Anput towards an anvil, I couldn''t help but nce at the Jackalkin, taking in her happy and content smile as she did her pre work checks on the tools and work area, observing how light her steps were and how her body radiated excitement and familiarity. When Cali had shown us the things we all secretly desired within the shadows of our hearts, it hadn''t been Yasmin that had showed up, had it..? It had looked like a normal Caninekin, but as I thought on it some more as I took a seat, I couldn''t help but wonder if that was a memory dredged up from so long ago Yasmin had simply looked different..? She could have continued to grow and mature during Anput''s absence, after all... "Kat? Whatcha thinking about?" Her voice was filled with warmth as she ignited the forge with a snap of her fingers, the whooshing of mes preluding the ttering of metal on metal as she ced her hammer on the anvil. I listened to the crackling of the mes for a couple of seconds before answering "I''m... Anput, was Yasmin your servant growing up? Like how I was Jahi''s; a... in the Empire, I guess we are called handmaidens, or some variation of that. Personal servants devoted to one person and then to a family or group." "Hm? Ah, she is a sayida, or a... what''s the equivalent... oh, a Lady; someone who has a family of her own that is reputable but is still ''lesser'', I suppose. Technically yes, she is a ''maid'' to me, but she also taught and guided me with a few things." Anput ced an ingot of simple steel into the forge and began to hum to herself, leaning against the anvil and tapping the hammer against her palm as she added "Yasmin is only a couples years older than us, but her Father decided to try and ingratiate himself with Mom by giving her away as a potential concubine. His reasoning being that her Mother was beautiful, so in a few years the Sultana could have cultivated her own beautiful flower, ripe for the taking..." Curling her lip in disgust, the Jackalkin nced at me and said "The idea of giving his daughter away - of ''selling'' her - angered my Mom. I''m sure you recall that my Mom herself was a ve once. The practice of selling and treating living people as nothing but livestock for no reason past personal gain, without having the actual strength yourself to subdue and ''own'' those people... it''s disgusting. Even when the strong tried to keep ves when she ascended to her position, she made it clearer than the waters of an oasis that such an act would be met with the de of her scimitar kissing their necks." She chuckled softly and shook her head, only to say "Whilst the idea behind the ''gift'' was disgusting, now that her Father had been killed and her Mother left to try and salvage a broken and weakened family, Mom decided to take her in anyways as an apology; she gave the Mother arge sum before shooing them away, leaving them to fend for themselves. I was getting older, so Mom wanted me to have someone a bit older than me but still close in age to take care of me. Someone to teach me and guide me on the things in life that an adult wouldn''t think about. That was what Yasmin was paid to do." "You... never felt weird having someone like her as a servant? Someone who has nowhere else to go, someone who is almost ''forced'' into this position?" I wanted to ask something else, but for now... I had to admit I was a tad curious, and learning anything at all about Anput whenever I could was always a good idea, even if it was done only because I had... worries. Chapter 991 990: Instincts* Chapter 991 990: Instincts* ??"Did I ever feel weird because Yasmin was left with few options to pursue in life? No? Not really... I mean, looking back on it it was a bit odd and exploitative, but... what were we to do? Send her back to a family that let her be sold off - as a child, mind you - to a powerful ruler so that she could be cultivated into a ''pretty flower''? I know I usually say might makes right, but as a Mother, if you really let your child be sold off to be a sex ve without even lifting a finger..." Shaking her head, the Jackalkin sighed as she caught the head of the hammer, her metal coated fingers crushing the metal as she nced at me and said "Then you deserve to burn in hell. Just because you are strong doesn''t make you right, and just because you are weak doesn''t mean you are incapable of doing the right things. That''s just the truth. So no, I don''t feel bad that Yasmin was taken from a shitty family and added to our own. She got more from us than she ever would have gotten from them." She restored the hammer a momentter, her mana allowing her to alter the shape of the simple tool freely as she prepared to forge something random, just to get her excess energy burned off after being cooped up inside the carriage for hours. "Besides, she''s paid well, given benefits and is in the safest location within the Sultanate at all times; there is no reason for her to have wanted to not be a servant here. She wasn''t a young, stupid child, but instead someone on the cusp of bing a teenager. She understood what she had been sent here to do, what future awaited her if Mom wasn''t benevolent and so against the idea. Yasmin understood full well what her Father had done, and what her Mother had allowed. To this day, her Mother still begs for forgiveness, but she''s hasn''t been given any and will likely never receive any. Yasmin also took in her siblings as well, protecting them from that weak willed woman..." The metallic ng of the hammer against the anvil brought me back around to my senses, but as I went to ask another question Anput turned away and grabbed the ingot from the forge with some tongs, bringing out the glowing orange ingot and cing it down. Seeing her concentrated expression silenced me, and I watched as she appraised the ingot for a couple of seconds before that hammer rose into the air, only to crash down towards the anvil again as she started to shape the metal the same way people had been shaping metal since the idea had been discovered. Each strike lengthened and widened the billet of steel, ttening it too as she formed out a long sheet of metal that she started to curl around the horn of the anvil, creating a cylinder of some kind. Settling into the seat, I just watched my mate work from the side in silence, enjoying the way her obsidian eyes shone from the firelight and loving the way her olive skin glimmered and rippled as she worked. That concentration was so serious, making it so different than her usual arrogance and ir that I couldn''t help but love witnessing it yet again, especially since she looked so sexy whenever she was anywhere nearby an anvil. All of my lovers were sexy in their own ways; Jahi was a muscr warrior who simply radiated power and dominance, Anput had that swagger and charm of a confident warrior as well as the muscles to back it up, while Leone was more ''traditionally'' sexy with her curves and even sexier with her shyness and ability to tease her into a blushing ball of pillowy goodness. And when I got to see each of them unting their skills and focusing intently on what they loved to do, I got hot and bothered quicker than I ever imagined I could, which made this all the better as I watched Anput swing her hammer and gradually shape a cuff of some kind, splitting the metal cylinder in two to create a matching pair of metal cuffs that would fit loosely on someone''s wrists. Going from the heavy swings down to the gentler ones as she began to chisel out patterns onto the cuffs was also candy for my eyes, the care and focus she was exuding as she worked on finishing these cuffs stroking my heart in just the right way. Who knows how long she spent making them, but considering her strength and control was well above a human''s, and that the forging process here was far quicker than back in my old world, it couldn''t have been that long... So it was obvious that we had something else we needed to do to get rid of her excess energy... "Whew~! Finally got them done~! What do you think?" Getting up, I approached her and hugged her from behind, resting my chin on her shoulder and looking down at the twin cuffs, trying to muster as much interest as I could even as my attention gradually shifted towards the bead of sweat that slowly rolled down her temple, making its way towards her jawline and giving her side profile some more definition. "They''re beautiful..." The Jackalkin smirked as she looked at me from the corner of her eye, the twin cuffs in her hands getting ced on the horn of the anvil again as she murmured "Are we talking about the same thing here, Kat..?" Her nose twitched as she kept looking at me, and I gave her a small smile as I murmured "I don''t know... are we?", my lipsnding on her neck as I hugged her tighter, pressing myself against her and enjoying the slight musk of sweat that clung to her skin; that salty smell joined with the citrus scent I hade to love so dearly, and I couldn''t help myself as I ran my hands over her stomach before trailing them further down. Letting me do as I pleased, the Jackalkin leaned back into my embrace before asking "What brought this on, Kat~? Not that I''mining... I love having you fawn over me. Tickles my pride in just the right way... " Undoing the buckle of her belt, I slowly began to undress the Jackalkin as I replied "Nothing in particr... just... want to do this.", even though I made sure to kiss her neck and suck hard on her skin, leaving a mark behind that made her groan softly. "Uh huh... Well, we don''t have too much time... I mean, we do, but... if they''re still on the same schedule as always, there should be quite a few desserts being served soon, so..." I suddenly found myself draped over the anvil, the Jackalkin pressing me down and standing behind me with a smirk as she made use of her strength and speed to move me so effortlessly, turning me on even more. Smiling back at her, I just couldn''t help myself as I nced at the cuffs, asking "So... who are those for, Anput..?" even as she pulled down my pants and panties, revealing my pussy, which she buried her face into as she began to inhale my scent andp at my lower lips. I let out a quiet moan as I felt the familiar rough tongue of my mate brushing against my lower lips, the Jackalkin wetting her tongue and getting me ready for what was toe, taking her time to savor this intimacy and my taste. Plunging her tongue in and out of my vagina, Anput took her sweet time indulging herself before pulling away for a brief moment to answer "Yasmin...", instantly pressing herself back against my pussy and busying herself with that, ignoring how my lips curled in distaste at the mention of her name. Hearing that she had went ahead and made something for her servant was grating, and it made my heart clench ufortably as I sneered over at the cuffs, a petnt desire to break them blooming within me, but I held back and instead decided to go a separate route. Instinctively, I reached back and pressed Anput''s head against my bottom, keeping her there and rubbing myself against her face, sufficiently marking her as my lover as I spread my scent over her. Her ears twitched whilst her tongue moved quicker, the Jackalkin mistaking my jealousy as a desire to make me cum before moving on to sex, her eagerness feeling bittersweet as I gently squeezed her head, trying my best to let it go. It made sense that she wanted to make her servant a gift, that she wanted to show appreciation, but still... I didn''t care; I didn''t give a damn about it whatsoever, and the sight of her smiling at Yasmin only made my lips curl even more but as she tapped my thighs a few times to let me know she needed air, I wiped that sneer off my face and instead let my pleasure take over. And yet, even as she gave me that smirk and took in a few breaths, even as I gave her a sultry smile and bit my lips, it only felt like I was donning a mask, which was souring the pleasure I did feel, and it wasn''t in a good way. There was no Lust Mana to be taken from this, no benefit to it whatsoever; I just felt irate at myself, and at her, and even her expert tongue work as she began to eat me out again did little to assuage my emotions. Chapter 992 991: Impulse* Chapter 992 991: Impulse* ??Just like I knew she would, Anput made expert use of her tongue and got me drenched and teetering on the brink of an orgasm, the Jackalkin burying her face into my butt and eating me out like I was to be herst meal. Usually forey for us was barely a minute long before we dove head first into the ''meat'' of what we were doing, but today... well, I wanted her to spend as much time with me as possible, all so I could infuse as much of her skin with my scent as was humanly possible. I wanted to mark her as my mate and make sure that wherever she walked, whoever she talked to, whatever she was doing, my scent would be extremely noticeable and let everyone know that she was mine and that I was hers; sometimes I liked to do this when we were just making love, the same way she injected her pheromones into me to mark me as her ''property'', but right now... Right now I was doing this with clear purpose and jealousy in my heart, my impure intentions still unknown to my mate as I moaned above her, the cool metal of the anvil doing little to assuage the heat that was rising within me from her incessantpping. But, as I reached the edge of my orgasm, the Jackalkin pulled back and chuckled quietly at the whine I let out, her hands roaming over my cheeks as she whispered "You''re close to cumming, aren''t you~? I just thought it''d be a waste to have you cum whilst I got... nothing..." Her scorching hot cock pped against my cheeks as the Jackalkin took her spot behind me, sending a jolt of excitement into my womb as I felt her rub herself up and down my butt, before she ced her tip at the entrance of my pussy, teasing me as she gently slid in and out. "I''m also rather curious to see how tight you''ll get when you cum right~ after I prate you... so cum for me, Kat~! Alright~?" Each of her fingers sunk into my flesh and anchored her to me, whilst the heat of her penis diffused into my usually cool body and started to melt away my worries and jealousy; her cock was this~ hard because of ME. She was going to be having sex with ME in this room, not Yasmin... Her lust was focused at ME and not Yasmin... All of it was MINE. All of her was MINE. MY mate, MY lover... Those were the thoughts that were rushing through my mind as I wiggled my hips, enticing her to start fucking me and tilt the cup of euphoria that was threatening to overflow within me, bringing me to arge orgasm just by sticking her cock inside me. "Fucking... Gods above I love this ass~! You and Leone both... it''s heaven when you''re both on the same bed together! Seriously..." One of her hands pulled back and crashed down on my cheek, sending sparks through me that drew out a moan as I nced back at her, waiting even longer for her to begin and make me cum. "It''s just perfect... all of this, perfection..." Spanking me again, Anput muttered quietly to herself before grabbing me and thrusting forwards roughly, her cock spearing into my pussy and spreading me apart without any warning; all of her saliva and my own love juices made that far more pleasurable than it would have been, though no matter what I would have loved it... The pain of the sudden deep insertion that turned into a selfish pounding as the Jackalkin smacked her knot against my ass was enough to tilt that orgasmic chalice inside me over, spilling its contents and letting them flow straight out of my pussy as I squirted instantly. She pped my ass again and kept pounding me even as I came, my mate groaning as she sated our lusts at the same time, building up the inevitable creampie with each thrust all while I turned into a moaning mess on the anvil. The inside of my pussy was writhing around her shaft wildly, and I tightened myself as I clenched my muscles, making my mate moan harder as she tried her best to hold out for a little while longer, the pleasure she was receiving from this growing to match my own. "A-Anput~! P-Please, mark me~! Mark me again~!" I turned once more and met eyes with the Jackalkin, those dark obsidian orbs filled with such lust that even I had to shiver as she continued her pounding, though as soon as my plea registered within her mind, the Jackalkin smirked and spanked me some more, her hands crashing down on my cheeks repeatedly as she left marks on my pale skin. "Don''t worry bitch~! I''ll let the world know you''re my personal cum slut~! Don''t worry at all~! Just keep yourself tight like this..." She let out a low growl as her knot grewrger, the semen that welled up inside demanding to be released inside my bitch pussy and allowed to search for my eggs, that realization and reminder turning me on even more as I let out a crazed moan and mmed my ass backwards, trying to knot myself. In return, I earned a harder p as Anput growled again, her expression twisted in irritation as she growled "Don''t get greedy, bitch... I''ll knot you when I want to knot you...", before she spanked me once more to make sure the message got across properly. I whimpered at the sudden abuse of my ass, but my mate didn''t really care as she pumped her cock in and out of my needy pussy as fast as she could, the wet sounds of her scraping out my insides and utilizing the abundance of love juices I had produced filling the forge,bining with the crackling of mes to create a unique atmosphere. The heat from the forge and the heat from my lover - who''s body was attuned with Fire Mana - easily overrode my own body temperature, whilst my self induced heat only made that ''worse'', my entire body feeling like it was on fire and causing me to sweat, though considering Anput simply ran her hands over my skin and eventually leaned over me, it seemed clear that she was aroused by the sight before her. Feeling her lithe muscr body draping itself over mine wasforting, like a weighted nket meant to lull me to a blissful, rxed state... if that nket was also funneling itself into my womb and pounding euphoria into my very being. Anput moved her hands from my hips all the way up to my breasts, trapping me beneath her and above the anvil as she kept pounding me as hard as she could, just like she hammered her metal into the shape she wanted it; as she pinched my nipples and tugged on them, the Jackalkin licked my neck and whispered "I don''t think there''s anyone else in the world who could get me to feel like this, Kat... no one..." My heart throbbed at that, happiness flooding into me the same way her sperm was about to flood into me as she grunted and pushed forwards, slipping her thick knot into my pussy and spreading me wide apart. The moment her knot was inside me, she whispered "And if it''s a mark you want, it''s a mark you''ll get, my lovely bitch..." before baring her fangs, timing herself with her ejaction and biting into my corbone the instant her knot pulsed, signaling the beginning of the real fun part. Sperm gushed out of her cock and into my womb just as she sunk her fangs into my nd, the hot liquid carried by her fangs matching the molten spunk that shot out of her tip in thick ropes, both of them heating my body up even more and making my mind go nk. The scent of citrus started by tickling my nostrils before it grew pungent, the smell almost bing palpable as my mate marked me as hers once again; meanwhile, below, her knot remained the same size even as she bloated my womb with her seed, the two of us indulging in her giant ejaction. Time passed by infinitesimally slow and rapidly like a lightning strike at the same time, the dozens of seconds she needed to cum crawling by before abruptlying to an end, ending the connection we had and resulting in her knot being empty. Groaning, Anput gently pulled her fangs from my nd andpped at the twin pinpricks, closing the small wounds and simplyforting me as she kept licking, riding out her orgasm as best she could and helping me through mine. By the time she finished giving me a creampie, Anput was kissing me passionately as we remained locked in ce, neither of us wanting to move just yet as we simply enjoyed this heat that we shared, and yet, just like her ejaction, everything had toe to an end, and for us that happened when someone knocked on the door. Reluctantly pulling away, Anput looked towards the door and shouted "What?" even as her hands made their way back towards my ass, my mate rubbing me on the outside and the inside as she thrust forwards slightly, enjoying herself as she wrung out every single drop of sperm that was left within her knot. "Begum, the Sultana has asked if you would be joining her and Lady Kio for desserts?" Instantly, my euphoric mood was soured somewhat as I recognized the voice of Yasmin, but just as quickly as it soured, it returned to normal before jumping back to euphoria as Anput replied "Yeah, I''ll be there soon! Give me a couple minutes!", her hands still roaming my body while her lips curled into a perverted smirk. Yasmin said something back, but I had to hold in a gasp as Anput wrenched her knot from my pussy, pain ring within me as she crudely removed herself only for her to then start pounding me again, the Jackalkin starting round two with an arrogant smirk as she started taking me harder than before. Chapter 993 992: Questions Chapter 993 992: Questions ??"That... was beyond excellent... and just what I needed..." My mate was panting behind me as she got herself dressed, the two of us stilling down from our orgasmic high that felt so much better than usual, especially since Anput had decided to go for that second round after hearing Yasmin. I... really needed to get over this odd jealousy I had, but still, after what happened in the carriage when we were returning to the Empire and the odd feelings I had about the Dogkin servant, I wasn''t willing to just let this rest for now, even though it only seemed to bring about negative emotions within myself. Curiosity killed the cat was a saying I was beginning to understand intimately at the moment, and I really didn''t want to leave this be since that would only eat away at me from inside each time I saw the woman. "Kat, what exactly brought this on? I''m notining or anything, and I had a good feeling that we''d end up having sex here, but... you were way more enthusiastic and needy than normal, which again... I am NOTining about in the slightest~! Never have, never will~!" Buckling her pants and smirking at me as I pulled up mine, Anput watched me and waited for an answer, which I gave her after a moment of hesitation, weighing the pros and cons before deciding to just be honest with her. It was the best policy to follow, and it would keep things between us clear and above table, letting us both make the proper judgements that were needed for a healthy rtionship to continue being healthy. "I... I wanted to mark you, and I wanted you to mark me. I want to make sure that everyone we meet for the next few days can smell me on you and understand that you are my mate, and only my mate." That made the Jackalkin raise a brow, though she kept quiet for a few moments as we finished getting dressed, eventually asking "Is... there a reason you need to have my pheromones refreshed now? Oh, you''re still thinking about that n of offering yourself at the arena, aren''t you? Won''t this just make that n impossible, especially when it''s MY scent clinging to your body?" "Yes and no? For thatst point, some people are driven by the desire to have something that they aren''t supposed to have or something that belongs to someone else. And I was thinking of sticking to that n since it would not only be an excellent way to harvest more Lust Mana, but we could also make a whole lot of money off of horny people''s stupidity. But still, the real reason..." I trailed off and took a deep breath, deciding that I really should juste out and say it now that we were here, alone, and in a position that we could discuss this without needing to worry about others butting in or drawing those people in if we did get a little... noisy. "The real reason is because I wanted to make sure Yasmin could smell it." "Yasmin? Why would you want to make sure she could smell my scent on you and vice versa?" The genuine confusion on her face as she asked that made me feel relieved, that minuscule part of me that had worried there was perhaps something within her that did want her former servant to be more than just a servant finally being able toy to rest now that I had seen her reaction. "It''s a stupid reason, really. I mean, tell me, when you look at her and then look at me, don''t you think we''re rather simr? Almost down to a tee in certain areas?" "Simr..? What, curvy Dogkin who are servants to important people? I guess the maturity and how efficient and incredible you both are is the same too, and objectively you both have the same... ''archetype'' of beauty? Just where you''re more seductive and coy, she''s a bit more strict and innocent? I guess?" "Yes, and do you see why I might just be a bit... I dunno, feeling like I need to mark my territory? Surface level only, are we not both exactly your type?" "I feel like this is a trick question; a trap you''reying down for me to fall right into and use against me..." She frowned and studied me closely, her obsidian eyes narrowing as she tried figure out if answering that ''dangerous'' question would have bad results, but when I said "I''ll answer for you; we''re both buxom Dogkin women with mature features and motherly aura''s, but she''s olive skinned and dresses ''looser'' than me while I have pale skin." "Since you said it... yes..." I nodded and stroked her arm before patting her shoulder as I added "Then can you see why I wanted to make sure you smelt like me? I don''t want you waltzing around the Sultanate smelling suspiciously free of a mate, and I bet you feel the same way, don''t you?" Looking away from me for a moment, Anput murmured "Well, yeah, but still... that''s different!", though when she looked back at me it was with a smile, which ced one on my lips for now. "And Anput?" "Hm~?" "I also just wanted to ask... and please don''t get angry with me, since you asked us all to not pry, but... I can''t help but be curious if Yasmin was the Caninekin that Cali showed us in the carriage ride back to the Empire?" And just like that, the smile that had been on her face disappeared, the Jackalkin turning away and walking towards the anvil to lift the cuffs from the horn before walking towards the door, making me bite my cheek as I watched her walk. "If you knew and remembered that I asked you to not pry, why did you pry? If I wanted to talk about it, do you think I wouldn''t say a word?" Her voice was t, and when she nced back at me I had to hold back from biting through the flesh of my cheek as I swallowed down my emotions too, not really wanting to cry or get angry at something that I myself caused. "Because I don''t want you walking around carrying... whatever it is for however long you were nning on carrying it! It isn''t healthy and it''s-!" "And it''s MY problem, so I''LL deal with it! Kat, I''ve said it before; let''s not argue about this, especially not now. I''m finally back home, I''m able to deal with this on my own... just leave it be, alright? Just leave it be..." Anput opened the door and stepped outside of the room, looking both ways down the hallway before ncing back at me and gesturing for me to follow, her neutral face a far cry from the passionate warmth that had been on it a few moments ago; but, like I was well aware of, actions had consequences and this was the one action that I knew would have a consequence like this, yet I still took it... Swallowing down any other words I might have wanted to say, I stepped out of the room as well before following the Jackalkin through the halls, the two of us remaining silent for the entire walk down, which had be another of those moments were time stretched yet folded at the same time; it felt like forever as we ced one foot in front of the other, but at the same time, it was over really quickly too, which only made it worse when we entered the main hall again and found everyone else seated around some tables, chatting. My eyes lingered on Anput''s side profile for a few seconds as I watched her don her usual smile, so I decided to do her this one courtesy as I too donned a mask of familiarity for the others even as Anput walked her separate way, keeping herself away from me. My mate went ahead and took a seat amongst the pups, surprising them and joining in on their own game that they were ying, whilst I went and took a seat beside Jahi, findingfort in the all too familiar, strong presence of the Demoness I was bound to in so many different ways. She was in the middle of ying a game of manc, the gorgeous blue and silver t pebbles that they were using as pieces sliding from hole to hole as she slowly learned the game from none other than the Sultana herself, who sat across from us. Jahi gave me a small smile before focusing on the board again, watching as the Sultana took her turn and began to gather up the various pebbles, before depositing them into herrger hole that acted as her ''home''. They were both quiet as they yed, so I remained quiet beside them even as I nced over at Anput, who was shuffling a deck of cards for the pups; I wanted to ask some questions, to speak my mind and express so many different emotions, but at the moment... speaking only felt like it would lead to more troubles, for all involved. Chapter 994 993: Game Night Chapter 994 993: Game Night ??"And... that is my win. You''re learning well though, Jahi. Quite quick on the uptake, aren''t you? I must admit it surprises me somewhat, even if the game itself is simple enough." Chuckling, the Demoness smirked at the Jackalkin across from us and replied "I know~! Everyone seems to look at my Mom and just assume that her muscle headedness is all there is to her, and by extension me as well, but honestly... we''re both adept at strategy. It''s just the best strategy for the two of us happens to be-" "Brute force and unyielding determination, paired with confidence and sheer strength of will means there is no need to worry about strategy, since you can simply power through it. Indeed, it is quite the excellent situation that you two find yourself in, and one that people tend to forget to n for since... well..." "The times that she needed to utilize strategy are either only because she is restricted from fighting, or the people that the strategy were used against were dead! Yes, it is quite~ the fun problem to have, isn''t it~! So instead, might we move on from manc and perhaps y something else? Chess, perhaps? One game from your country, and one from ours?" "Chess, hm..? It has been awhile, and usually Kio gets... indignant after the second game. She''spetitive, but she dislikes losing, and sadly for her I am quite the strategist, especially when it revolves around trooppositions and formations... I even went ahead and had a custom, ornate board made for ying Shogi, which is the chess equivalent over in the Dynasty. Did you ever y?" Handing the manc board to Lady Kio, who had wandered over after chatting with Anput for a moment, the Sultana nced at her wife and asked "Where is the chess set? Would you get it for me please, my love?", though the Dogkin just huffed and replied "Sorry, I am feeling rather ''indignant'' at the moment, dear. It might take a few minutes..." The Sultana just let out a low sigh as she watched Lady Kio saunter away, the Dogkin taking out some mild frustrations on her wife for that ''slight'' and causing Jahi to chuckle quietly, which grabbed the attention of our host. "Sorry, but it''s just... it feels like all the people we''ve met who have been at your ''level'' are all... really down to earth and less uptight than what would be excepted. It''s just amusing to see, really. All those formalities and the arrogance that you would expect from a Sultana or an Empress, or a Duchess who works for said Empress..." That made the lithe woman chuckle softly as she shook her head and said "No, no one ever expects it, but honestly... I think you''re rather ''spoiled'' since your Mom is so close to reaching this level at such a ''young'' age. As far as I am aware, I have more than a few decades on her and yet it took me quite some time to reach this level, and only because I was in quite the predicament for quite a long time. Meanwhile, Chordeva has lived... a more peaceful life, and yet she is on the cusp. It is a matter of generational talent slowly but surely being molded and bred into something superior, and Chordeva is a living testament to that ideal. So are you, but currently you are but a whelp. Conversely,pared to the wellspring of talent that you both had been blessed with, I had to squeeze everyst drop of potential out of myself that I could, and then I paired it with the blood, sweat and tears that came from my situation..." Giving the servant who walked over with a giant tter of desserts and drinks a nod, the Sultana slid a te over to Jahi and said "Try this; it''s a citrus saffron cake. Rather tasty, especially when paired with a cup of coffee." For me, the Sultana slid a te over that had a bava resting on it, theyered pastry oozing a sweet scent that only made the ky golden dough look all the more appetizing, whilst an identical cup of rich pale brown liquid was ced before me as well. "Now, Katherine Zara..." Lowering her voice down to nothing but a raspy whisper, the Sultana tilted her head and asked "What did you and Anput argue about? I know neither of you are naive enough to think that we can''t smell what happened, so the only reason the two of you would separate and head your different ways without so much as a word to one another... well, something happened, no?" epting a cup of her own, the Sultana took a sip before leaning back in her chair, the velvet cushions hugging her wiry muscles as she lounged around, waiting for me to give her an answer as to what happened between me and her daughter. And before I could try and say ''Nothing happened'', she murmured "I know something happened; your scents are off. Hers is fluctuating far too much, and yours is subdued, like you''re saddened. So what happened?" I peeked at the Jackalkin I had be mates with, observing her rxed smirk and warm obsidian eyes from afar and feeling my heart ache slightly since... well, I had to observe those things from afar and not by her side. "It is my fault... I pushed for an answer to something despite her telling me to give her time. She didn''t like me asking for an answer, so... I''m giving her space again." "You mean she is telling you she wants space. What is this about?" Jahi was the one to answer, though she did so with a small smile as she said "Respectfully, Sultana, it is neither our answer to give nor your right to know, not without her permission. So I apologize, but that will have to remain unknown." The Sultana''s hand paused mid air, the coffee cup a few inches from her veiled face and causing me to swallow hard at how Jahi spoke to her, worry ring up for a brief moment; we didn''t know the Sultana like that to warrant speaking like this to her, and even with the Empress I usually wanted to air on the side of caution at least, if it was only out of respect at the bare minimum. "You''re right, of course... If it is her problem, then it is her right to let others know or to keep it to herself. Still though... do be careful, Jahi Asmodia... I dislike being spoken to like that." I didn''t even need to see her eyes to know that they were open, my entire body getting covered in goosebumps as the power within herself began to leak out ever so slightly, that sharpness that seemed ingrained into her very being pressing against our throats and quieting us down instantly, only to disappear after a second and leave us both wondering if we had imagined that or not. Memories of Duchess ki only made me shiver again as I recalled the other time I had been given a first hand taste of how potent and oppressive the aura of someone could be, the Dragon of the North using but a single eye to almost send my younger self into a panic attack and existential crisis simply because she was interested... And now, we had someone who was a tad irate at being spoken to like that using both eyes... though I honestly had little real understanding of what that meant in this world, but even then... I had a lot of ''inspiration'' to draw upon in regards to what it could be like. "Now, Kat, I will admit that it is likely simply a result of... Kio being Kio, and our own innate stubbornness as Caninekin, but do understand that if we say we''re going to do something... we do it. If she has said she will figure it out on her own, she is in the process of figuring it out on her own. She doesn''t need help directly." With the sudden drop of that sharp aura, the Sultana took a sip from her coffee, turning away and lifting the veil ever so slightly as she did so, revealing the mess of scars that covered her skin for a single moment. "It is stubborn, childish, and altogether unhealthy, but it is how she is. Changing that means changing her, and sometimes forcing a change can result in more than a few different results. If you wish to keep trying... then be my guest. Just don''t be surprised if things turn sour for a bit. Still... that doesn''t excuse her being rude, but I''ll sort that out tomorrow morn. Are you up for a game of chess, perhaps? I seem to recall you having a sharp wit as a pup." Switching the subject swiftly, the Sultana looked to the side and nodded at Anput as she took a seat, the Jackalkin smiling at Jahi as she said "That is one of my favorite desserts, and something I did sorely miss after some meals~! I hope you like it~! Ooh! Mom, can I have a bite?" When a chessboard was ced between us, the petite Dogkin woman who carried it over nced down at me not with a smirk, nor with arrogance, but instead with neutrality that reminded me all too much of Anput, which only made sense since she was my mate''s Mother. Being given such a stare before she simply turned away was worrying, but for now I took a bite of the bava, nced at Anput and then moved a pawn forwards, starting the first of many games tonight. Chapter 995 994: Night In A New Place Chapter 995 994: Night In A New ce ??The games went on for hours, the shifts from games native to the Sultanate and games native to the Empire keeping everything fresh and exciting as we - the visitors - got to y games we were familiar with and believed we would at least be on the same preparedness as the Sultana''s family, as well as to y games that were new and exciting to learn. What made it even better was the constant influx of sweets and coffee to keep us energized and ready for more, with each new sweet being something new and interesting to try out as we got to see the versatility of the Sultanate''s kitchens, and eventually the chefs seemed to challenge themselves to match the sweets to the game being yed... somehow. Fast paced and thrilling games that were moving as quick as a snap were given sharp vors and shots of stronger coffee to really drive the point home that these games were going to be rapid, whilst the slower and methodical games that required more thinking than doing were given subdued and ''calm'' vors. We all eventually gathered at a single table together and started ying in asrge of a group as possible, usually split into the ''actual'' games with only us adults and the watered down versions with the pups, who were trying to learn alongside us. Aisha was absolutelypetitive and had a deep yearning to learn how to do whatever we were doing, and I could already tell that this emergence of an older sibling had sparked her desire to get better in all aspects so that she could continue to be above her younger siblings. Not in a bad way either, since she then in turn guided the shyer Samira and her quiet twin Safa, who were both far too reserved to ask someone to help and instead just observed from the side to learn for themselves; then, when they understood, Aisha would confirm or deny whatever im Mariam was making before trying to keep Batul from falling back asleep. All the while, Lady Kio rxed on the side with a bottle of wine that she was determined to finish on her own, her eyes flowing from person to person as she quietly observed from the side, taking it all in and likely recording everything down in her memory. We yed and yed till the moon was peeking just beneath the tops of therge windows, the desert now bathed in rays of silver instead of gold while the stars spotted the pitch ck sky scape that made thendscape seem all the colder. Getting deeper into the night, we eventually called it quits and stopped with the intake of sugar and caffeine and got up, following Anput through the long halls and down towards her own suite of rooms - after saying goodnight to the little pups of course, who were all yawning and fighting to stay awake. Even Batul had joined in the festivities after we moved on to a card game that she had enjoyed, something that made it all the more enjoyable since we had managed to get all of the little pups to join in and y, allowing us to break that mold between us just a little more. They were all still wary of us a little bit, but progress was progress no matter how minute it was, so we were happy with it since we would be here for quite a while, and getting to know Anput''s family was one of the main goals we had for visiting the Sultanate, even if the others were far more ''selfish'' in origin than that. But the night was beginning to wear on them, and it was on us too since we still hadn''t had a proper sleep since we had gotten to the Sultanate, that long carriage ride making us a tad groggy and drained even if it wasn''t really that bad. Besides the carriage ride, the sheer amount of sweets had also made us tired since we were gradually crashing from the overflowing energy they provided, so we wanted to justy down now and sleep until the morning, where we could make a fresh start in this wonderful country. The things that we were waiting to do were exciting and making me yearn the morning, but at the same time, sleep was beckoning us, and sleep was something that we all loved even if it was no longer as desperately needed as it once was. Reaching Anput''s suite of rooms, we found ourselves in quite the luxurious area, something that matched the same luxury that the Pce we now called home had, just in a different way and in a unique style. Where the Pce was more segmented and built with designated rooms for specific things, the Sultanate seemed to be the opposite, with this suite of rooms actually not having many walls at all and instead relying on standing partitions and curtains to create rooms. The roof was far above our heads, with arches supporting the marble structure and allowing it to be as spacious and open as possible with as few pirs as possible, while the partitions that stood between said pirs were all works of art on their own, the thick sheets of paper painted with various animals and warriors engaged in fiercebat with one another, whilst some were more peaceful withndscapes of the oasis found around the Sultanate. Fabrics of all kinds of vibrant colors hung from the arches, blocking the winds somewhat and recing partitions in some areas to keep the giant room feeling unique all the way through; it wasn''t only used for curtains though, as wooden furniture was given cushions and pillows of the same colors and patterns. The bed was the same, and it certainly was quite the bed; nearly a dozen feet wide and easily longer than that, the giant ''bed'' was covered in pillows and nkets, allowing someone to sleep... well, anywhere they wanted on it without any worry, which was just... odd to think, since I was ustomed to having a set spot toy. Shelves and tables were ced around seemingly at random to create smaller ''areas'', each one designated for something else - like sleeping, rxing, reading and so much more - whilst the asional bookshelf added some more depth to the room. All in all, it was organized chaos made into a room that just worked, and it definitely represented my mate quite well in how she acted and how she worked, since it had a very specific flow to it that all seemed so innate to how she thought and functioned as a person. "Wee to my room~! I miss it quite a bit, and I really hope that if we ever build our own ce, we can have this as our room instead~! All open and spacious... Isn''t it just great?" She took a few steps forwards and spun around, soaking it all in and smiling at us as she added "And ites with one hell of a view too~! C''mere, look! A nice view over the city and the desert~?" Anput led us to the back of the room, where giant curtains hung where a wall should have been, the enchanted fabric preventing the winds from billowing in but allowing a breeze instead, and when she brushed them aside and took a step out onto the balcony... Well, the cool and crisp breeze slid over our skin and kissed our cheeks, that slight nip in the air barely being felt as we looked down over the sandstone city, the various canopies and rooftops illuminated by the moon and the asional fire or torchlight to paint one of the most beautiful scenes I had seen so far. Perhaps it was because the volcano that the Pce was built on simply wasn''t... aesthetically pleasing, but this view was gorgeous, and whilst it couldn''tpare to the natural beauty I had seen before, it was still something that made me pause and simply soak in this wonderful sight. "Haha~! Beautiful, isn''t it? Seems quite simple from down there, but up here? Gorgeous... The colors, the architecture, the firelight... all with the ocean of golden sand surrounding us being illuminated by the silver moon... Nothing canpare." The pride in her voice was nice to hear, and when it was paired with the joy that she had expressed earlier about being back, it made me quite happy even if we were both still... not entirely ready to speak normally again. "It is beautiful. Though I don''t know how well this would work in the Empire, if only because the idea of having an open balcony like this... with the snow or the rain, the wind..." Jahi cringed slightly as she stepped out further to look around, making me chuckle as I replied "Magic is a wonderful thing, isn''t it my love? We could make this work back in the Empire, rather easily too... We would just need to find a view that was worth the effort." Chapter 996 995: Night Chats* Chapter 996 995: Night ''Chats''* ??"You really think so?" Jahi lowered herself onto the lounge chair that we had pulled out, sinking into its soft embrace and pulling me down with her, staking her im to me for tonight and instantly lowering her hand to grasp one of my breasts, her desires remaining high despite her sugar levels going down. Sinkingfortably into her muscr body, I ignored how she swiftly slid her hand into my shirt and yanked off my bra, the Demoness wanting to feel me directly instead of through my clothing, her need for me warming my heart just like it did all the times before this. "Yes, I think we could make something like this back in the Empire. But again, the problem would be finding a spot that is worth constructing a ce like this. We wouldn''t want just any view, now would we? And that means finding a plot ofnd that is worth the effort, and then nning out the architecture and getting the materials." "Gods, you''re so sexy when you get all mature like this~! I love it so~ much~!" The teasing tone she took made me raise a brow, but I ignored her as she leaned over me and gave me a kiss, her fingers digging into my breast as she enjoyed herself, the sweetness of her saliva tasting even better after all the desserts from before. On the opposite lounge chair, Anput and Leone were already far ahead of us, the Jackalkinying back and staring blissfully at the stars as the Vampire Princess eagerly sucked on her cock, the two of thempletely naked already and enjoying the nip in the air. Our tongues danced together for a few seconds before Jahi pulled away and began to strip, gesturing for me to do the same after she nced over at the other two and saw what they were doing. "How''s it feel to be back, Anput~? And is it fun to be having sex in your childhood room~? I bet~ you used to dream about doing this all~ the time, didn''t you~?" Turning to stare at Jahi, Anput rolled her eyes even as she replied "More times than I care to admit... It''s embarrassing how often I used to be overjoyed at the letters you both sent. Mother made fun of me far too many times because of it..." "Oh? So you weren''t just~ imagining being my woman, but also looking at Leone the same way~? I guess that would have made some sense since you''re both people of importance. I just have to wonder though..." As she was speaking, Jahi grabbed her cock and pulled me down towards it, the Demoness expecting a blowjob but instead getting her penis submerged between my breasts, causing her to raise her brow before returning to her chat with Anput. "Who would have been married to who between the two of you~? Leone''s the youngest, you''re the oldest, so logically the Princess would have been sent to the Sultanate, but... fuck sake... It would have been entirely possible to have you wed to Leone if the Empress decreed it that way." We all looked down at Leone, who was blushing as she was held in ce by a smirking Anput, the Vampire''s mouth full of Caninekin cock while her own penis rubbed against the chair, its sheer size still something to behold even now. "Oh, I dunno... Before I knew she had a monster~ like that under her dresses, I envisioned having her as my wife more often than not, and from some of the discussions that I had with Mom, it seemed that if I wanted to court her, I was likely one of the top candidates for her hand. Me, Draka, and a few others were the ones potentially aiming to make her our woman, and there were dozens of others waiting to be her women." Finally releasing Leone after she pped Anput''s thighs, the Vampire blushed as she took a few breaths before saying "I-It w-wasn''t set in stone..! I could have been the one to court you!", her red eyes narrowing slightly as she red at the Jackalkin, who just smirked at her and replied "You? Courting me?" The amusement in her voice and the way she was already guiding Leone back onto her cock made the Vampire''s ears go red, but despite her opinion instantly being questioned she resumed giving Anput a blowjob, which only made the Jackalkin smirk more as she leaned back and pped her knot against Leone''s lips. "No, Leone, it would have been me~ courting you, my love~! For this exact reason... You''re gorgeous, elegant, smart and perfect as a woman~! It''d be easier for me to court you than the other way around, and besides~!" Pulling Leone away for just a moment, Anput covered the Vampire''s face with her penis before guiding her down towards her knot, this time leaving the Vampire''s mouth free as she instead said "I''m far more dominant than you, and it wouldn''t have worked between us if you were trying to take me as your woman. It''s just how it is... now go ahead; bite me. I''ve found that feeling to be so fucking great when I''m pounding your thick ass..." Jahi and I both raised a brow at how Anput smirked down at the Vampire, not pulling her punches at all and telling her straight to her face that they would have never been good together if Leone tried to take the lead, but as we watched Leone do just what was asked of her without any hesitation, the point just seemed to prove itself... The Jackalkin let out a relieved sigh as Leone bit her inner thigh, her body shivering slightly as that liquid was pumped into her bloodstream and sucked straight into the nearest thing that needed a lot of blood; her erection. "Interesting... never thought to do that before... but also, Anput, I have to ask... how often were you envisioning trying to steal Kat away from me~?" I felt my breath hitch in my throat for a second as I looked at Anput, the ''confrontation'' from earlier still eating at me somewhat, but I got over it a secondter and waited to hear her response. She was leaning back and staring at the sky with half lidded eyes, but she managed to reply "Oh all the fucking time... such a prime candidate for a mate, such a perfect woman to make my wife? Gods above I used to think about that the most... and then I thought about how I could use it to leverage getting you as well~!" Smirking over at us, Anput added "I also thought of the other way round often as well. I was going to find some herbs to induce a heat onto myself, seduce you, lead you away and steal you away~! Then by proxy I would get myself a sexy maid too~! Used to be quite the cunning, conniving bitch~!" "Yes... you used to be rather...petitive andbative with me, didn''t you? Trying to make me jealous of whenever you and Jahi were alone together..." The thick cock between my breasts pulsed as I said that, and the Demoness chuckled as she said "Oh, when you both were at one another''s throats for the smallest things~? I remember that well... it was a tad irritating too, honestly, but only because I was - and always will be - a greedy Demoness." Leaning down, I gave that ''greedy Demoness'' some extra service as I began to suck on her cock as well, making her groan contentedly as she too leaned back and stared at the stars, enjoying herself immensely. "Y''know what... to hell with the view; I want a balcony now... This feels so great to not have it sometime down the line. A nice cool atmosphere to contrast the heat of your bodies... who wouldn''t want this?" "That''s what I''ve been saying, my love~! See~? It feels so damn good... Hey, Leone, turn around for me. Arch your back too... I''ll give you what you want and then some~!" "You too, Kat..." I nced over at Leone and smiled slightly at how the Vampire instantly did what Anput asked, raising her hips and wiggling her butt to entice the Jackalkin into taking her once again, not even trying to beat the Jackalkin''s allegations from before. Mirroring her, I moaned softly as Jahi slid inside without any forewarning, the Demoness just getting right to it as we began to make love beneath the stars, her penis finding its way straight into my womb and reminding me of just how thick and long she was. My body epted something so big so easily, and as I felt her press down on my lower back so that she could appreciate my curves even more, I looked over and caught Leone''s eye, the two of us staring at one another as we gave our partners free rein of our bodies without any questions. Anput was hammering Leone''s pussy while Jahi took deep, rhythmic thrusts, but the oue was the same either way; both of us were pleasured by our partners, and we both were used all night long, left on those lounge chairs as the two futanari alternated between using us for the entire night. Chapter 997 996: Dawn In The Desert Chapter 997 996: Dawn In The Desert ??By the time that the sun began to peek above the horizon, we were already awake and enjoying the remnants of the cool breeze from the night before, basking in the slow shift from cold to hot as weid on those lounge chairs. It wasn''t a special night in terms of actions taken towards one another, but it was certainly a special night thanks to what had been said, and the discussions that we had in between rounds as we bantered and chatted. The verbal jabs at one another fueled the fun some more, the realizations and understandings we gained from said jabs as we defended ourselves or one another only made the sex all the better, and now, looking back at it all, we were all smiles as we lounged around on the balcony. "Gods above that was excellent... That''s one hell of a way to start off the day, huh? All we''re missing now is a hearty breakfast and a good bath to tie things up, and then we''ll be golden~!" Jahi stretched beside me, the Demoness letting out a soft moan as she cracked and loosened her joints and body, before draping her arm over me again and hugging me close as we looked over at Anput and Leone, who were finishing up yet another round. "Yeah... We''re going to need to take today slow, I can already tell... Stay in the pce and just rx. I think I might have actually pulled a muscle... that''s a first..." Rubbing her lower back, Anput slowly pulled herself out of Leone and sat on the edge of the chair, the Jackalkin''s ebony hair falling down towards her knees as she looked down at the ground for a moment, catching her breath and letting her body heal the small tears in her muscles. I watched as she ran a hand through her hair to flip it back, my eyes drawn towards the messy, yet sexy disy as my mate took a few measured breaths, her olive skin glimmering in the light of dawn, that thin sheen of sweat over her muscles casting the Jackalkin like a bronze statue. An utter masterpiece and unique, incredible futanari who had the makings of a storybook character; that charm, the swagger, the looks... she had it all, and as those obsidian eyes looked up from the ground and met my gaze, I felt a swelling of pride and heat inside my heart as we stared at one another for a few seconds. For a few long, hot seconds, Anput and I stared at one another with such deep and passionate yearning that I wondered if the space between us would simply shrink to bring us closer, only for those seconds - this impable and spontaneous bnce between us formed from just a single nce - to shatter when Jahi chuckled and said "Don''t be getting any ideas now, you two~!" It was both irritating and amusing how Jahi so easily twirled us both back around her finger, the Demoness'' own maic and selfish personality drawing us both in as she propped herself up with a single arm to get a better look at the Jackalkin as she added "I know we were talking about how you two would''ve been perfect~ mates just meant~ for one another, but that''s in another reality, not this one~! Just remember who owns you, hm~?" Snorting in amusement, Anput brushed some of her loose strands of hair back as she replied "How could we ever forget, Jahi? You aren''t exactly some easy to ignore person y''know?", which made me snicker as I leaned back into the Demoness'' chest and craned my neck to look at her face, adding "And you are quite literally holding my soul in your hands, so how could I forget out of anyone here?" "Just making sure... just making sure that my two puppies remember their master~! Now! Anput, is there a bath that connects to your room, or do you have to take a walk to get to a bath? While I don''t mind parading around the various ''achievements'' I madest night, I would imagine everyone else wouldn''t appreciate me doing so... least of all your parents." "Yeah... I think she''d probably beat you into a pulp if you tried that. The bath is just inside... but man do I really not want to move just yet..." Leone sat up and yawned, the Vampire showing the most drowsiness of us all as she barely managed to open her eyes to look around, instantly shielding them again as the sun''s rays became harsher with each passing second. "Bath..?" Rubbing at her eyes, she yawned again and mimicked Anput as she sat at the edge, her ashen hair sparking at random as she stared at the ground, the Vampire wincing again as the light only grew brighter, while I began to squirm slightly at the rising heat. "Yes, a bath..." "C''mon, get up now... the sooner we get into the waters, the sooner we''ll feel better~! Right Kat~?" I just rolled my eyes as Jahi''s hands began to roam, but as she got up off of the chair and stretched, I raised my arms towards her and stared at her amused expression, the Demoness looking down at me for a second before scooping me into her arms and carrying me into the Jackalkin''s room. Anput mirrored Jahi as she scooped up Leone, who gasped in surprise as she was suddenly taken off of the lounge chair, but after a moment she surrendered to the Jackalkin''s arms and allowed herself to be carried inside as well. The bath was just as spacious and ornate as Anput''s room had been, the giant pool of water slowly whirling around as the various Mana Crystals kept everything moving and kept the water fresh and cool, the slight current brushing over our skin nicely as we submerged ourselves into it. Almost instantly I floated out towards the other side of the pool, away from the others and into my own ''zone'' as Izily raised a hand and traced out a few runes, sighing contentedly as I created my own bath. Ice walls raised around me and swiftly chilled the water around me, working well against the heat that trickled in from the open windows and making me sigh happily as I gradually lowered my body''s temperature simply because... it felt better this way. "It''s still so odd to see... maybe its because Anput and Leone are Fire Mages, but this is just... weird to me." Jahi had waded over to lean against the ice wall, looking down at me and pursing her lips as she felt the shift in the temperature instantly, the Demoness trying her best to withstand the colder water only to shake her head and retreat back towards the other two, who were far enough away that the water remained at a ''bearable'' temperature for her. "It is because they''re Fire Mages... which is why they can stand this sted heat... and you''re Light Mana - and being a Demoness - seems to have made you more adaptable to the heat since they feed into one another. Light creates heat and heat creates light. Meanwhile... I dislike the heat. Very much." Dunking my head beneath the water, I got up and leaned against the wall where Jahi had been, staring at the three futanari who had stolen my heart in their own ways and taking in their beauty from afar, before adding "Still, I guess this is ''training'' for me, in its own way. Annoying, but needed." "It doesn''t seem fair, does it? How Fire Mana lets us remain warm even in the colder areas, and yet Ice Mana makes the hotter areas unbearable for you without sufficient preparation. It''s fascinating." "Fascinatingly annoying." Leone smiled at that, the Vampire shrugging her shoulders before resting against the wall of the pool, soaking in the bath and letting the ''filth'' fromst night be cleansed as she asionally shrouded her body in mana. "And just think, it''s only dawn and you''re alreadyining~! I wonder what noon will bring, hm~?" Anput smirked at me as she nestled into Jahi''s embrace, the Jackalkin finally getting the Demoness'' attention and affections after a long night spent being one of the ''dominant'' partners. "Oh hush you." Rolling my eyes at her provocation, I dunked my head again and enjoyed the cold water around me some more before emerging again, this time to the sight of Anput and Jahi kissing passionately. "Well... I guess that isn''t really surprising." I sighed as Iid my head on the ice wall, watching them from the other side of the bath and enjoying the view as Jahi cupped Anput''s cheek and slowly kissed her, sucking on her tongue and making the Jackalkin moan as they shared their passions. Leone was watching as well, though I could tell she was yearning to join in since her cheeks were red and she was twiddling her fingers as she watched, the Vampire unable to sit still and just appreciate a good show... though I didn''tin as she just made the show even better from my side, and I smiled as I thought about how our mornings would be the same no matter where we were. Chapter 998 997: Some Bets Chapter 998 997: Some Bets ??Heading back into the same hall that we had spent so many hours in yesterday, we were greeted with the sight of the five pups and two older Caninekin lounging around the various tables snacking on sliced fruits and small cups of what looked like yogurt, which had been topped with small clusters of nuts. The Sultana was inspecting a hand of cards as sheid on her side, the ck clothed futanari idly tossing one out and making Aisha growl in annoyance as she tossed her own card down in defeat, while Lady Kio was tossing peeled grapes into her mouth as she watched the twins y a game of chess against one another. As we hade to expect, Batul was fast asleep, the small pup curled into a ball beside her Mom and soaking in the sun, her tail almost managing to cover her face with howpact she was making herself so that she wouldn''t be a distraction. Comparatively, Mariam was beaming as sheunched herself at the Sultana, giggling as she said "Haha~! You won Mommy~! I knew you''d beat Aisha~!", which made the oldest pup snarl "Oh quiet Mariam! I coulda won!", though she shrunk slightly when Lady Kio nced over at the sudden burst of anger that she heard. "Blegh~! Maybe if you weren''t such a meanie, you woulda realized how to win!" Sticking her tongue out, Mariam turned back to her Mom and nuzzled into her chest, her grin widening even more as she was embraced and had her ears stroked, though when she heard us enter and take our own seats nearby, those same ears twitched as she pulled away and looked towards the sounds that caught her attention. "Oh! Good morning!" Smiling at us, Mariam waved her small hand and greeted us, but I noticed how she remained right where she was and kept herself close to the Sultana, who was still patting her idly. Mariam''s eyes were flitting between her oldest sister - whom she still had no idea how to feel about - and Jahi, who was... admittedly, quite intimidating for a child to see, especially one with no knowledge of Demons. Someone who was almost as tall as the Sultana, rippling with muscle and had two gold capped horns on her head, paired with a sharp pair of amethyst eyes and a permanent smirk? I can''t really me the girl for being wary of Jahi, which made me chuckle quietly as I nced at the Demoness in question and wondered if our own children would be slightly intimidated by her stature; even now, I was sometimes wary of her simply because I was just reminded of how strong she was. I knew she wouldn''t hurt me, but seeing her so easily destroy a monster - not kill, not injure, not fight, but destroy - was a morbid reminder that thoserge blue hands that usually roamed my body could be used in some terrible, deadly ways... which was really more of my own mind being odd than anything that she could control. Conversely, Mariam didn''t seem to regard Leone and I in any sort of light at all; neither a negative nor a positive one, just a neutral light of healthy caution but also healthy intrigue, and I had to wonder if that was because we were both gentler in nature. Well, Leone naturally, and me because it was the easier mask to wear when I was walking around in public, though most of the time it was a genuine smile I had; I had a lot to be happy with in life, especially afterst night~! Batul remained asleep, Samira and Safa were still quite shy and sitting beside Lady Kio, while Aisha was staring at Anput with a small frown as she noticed how casually the older Jackalkin had lifted a deck of cards and began to deal them, gesturing towards the Sultana as she asked "A game before breakfast?" She just got a nod in return, but it made Aisha''s frown deepen as she opened her mouth, only to remain quiet as a cardnded in front of her and her sister said "You y too, Aisha.", the pup looking at the card for a few seconds before picking it up alongside the other that Anput dealt her. "What did you want to y? ckjack? Three card poker?" The Sultana kept her cards face down, before epting the third and nodding as that answered her question instead, though she nced at Aisha and said "Don''t look at them yet." before asking Anput "Are you wagering something, or are we just having fun?" "Asking your own daughter if she wants to wager something~? How crass~!" "Aye it''s crass; deal me in. If I have a better hand, I want a massage from you, brat. You used to shirk that all the time..." Lady Kio sauntered over before plopping down beside the Sultana, who was sitting up now as she tapped her fingers against the backs of her cards, the futanari still facing Anput even as her wife joined her. "Fine, fine~! That''ll be your wager, and if I have higher, I expect a massage Mother~!" "One you''re not ever going to get since I''ll have the better hand." The Sultana tapped her cards a few more times before saying "If I win, you spar against me ten times in a row, no holds barred. You win, I''ll set reservations at the Damawi Kas for you four.", which made Anput perk up before she quickly narrowed her eyes and replied "Then I want a guarantee you didn''t just read your cards." "Oh~? Do you not trust your own Mom, Anput~?" Snorting, Anput raised a brow and quickly answered "Not in a million years when ites to cards. You used to cheat every other hand when I was a pup!", something that made Lady Kio chuckle and look away, hiding her smile behind her hand. "Hey! Mom would never cheat!" Aisha was the one to be indignant about this stinging usation, and it only made Anput roll her eyes as she said "Yeah, she does. On a regr basis with every game that she can. All that honor that she preaches about is tossed aside like a dirty rag the moment she sits down at a card table. Don''t know why, but she does." "Just like I don''t know why you seem to be barking more often now than you did when you were a pup. Did I make a mistake? Where did thise from?" Tilting her head, the Sultana stared at Anput before turning her head slightly towards Lady Kio when Anput shrugged and answered "Mother. Ie by it honestly, unlike your wless record in poker." "Hey!" Lady Kio red at Anput before letting out a huff as she growled "I can bite too! Just ask-!", only to be silenced as the Sultana ced a hand over her wife''s mouth, preventing her from saying something like that in front of the children, who were all watching with bated breath. "Mom..?" "Hm? Don''t listen to Anput; she rambles and seems to have forgotten a few things. Time away has blurred her memories. If you truly want me to have a new hand, then fine, I''ll have a new hand." The Sultana just waved away Aisha''s concern, making the pup nod as her Mom remained pure and stalwart within her mind, despite this eptance of a new hand proving Anput''s concerns and causing Leone, Jahi and I to mentally note that we were NEVER going to y cards with the Sultana again. Or... at least a game of cards that had wagers behind it... and any other game that had wagers on it too, just to be safe. "So, what do you want to wager, Aisha? Got something you want~?" With the cards from the Sultana back in the deck - after Anput looked at them and rolled her eyes at her Mom, since the hand she had was Ace King Queen - the Jackalkin turned towards the remaining yer and smirked at her, baiting her into epting. "Yes! If I have a winning hand, I want you to apologize to Mom!" ring at her sister, Aisha''s tail swished behind her while she bared her small fangs, making her look rather adorable as she tried to intimidate Anput, who just nodded before asking the Sultana "Has she begun training yet?" "The basics, yes." That simple answer made Anput grin, and she turned back to Aisha and said "Then if I have the winning hand, I want you to run a fullp. Not your normalp, not ap around the training grounds, but ap around the pce~!" "Anput..." Lady Kio narrowed her eyes at her eldest daughter''s wager, only to sigh as Anput replied "Mother, you were the one who used to threaten me with that for not attending studies, so it''s only fair." "I ept!" Before the Sultana could speak her mind on it, the pup agreed and nodded at Anput, who just chuckled as she added "I said the entire pce, Aisha. Think your little legs can carry you the entire~ way without issue, hm~? I won''t carry you if you fall~!", which made Aisha growl in annoyance and nod once more. "Alright, very well~! Don''t curse me when I win~!" Shuffling the deck once more, Anput dealt a hand to herself and to the Sultana, who picked the cards up and flipped them in a single motion, this game of luck making itself known as she revealed a rather mediocre Pair of Queens. Not too bad, but when Lady Kio turned over a Flush of all hearts, it seemed like luck was siding with the Lady of the Sultanate instead of its Sultana, and it seemed like luck had abandoned little Aisha as she revealed an Eight High, which deted the pup instantly. "Not too bad~! Maybe you''ll get that massage after all, Mother, and it seems like I might get that reservation~! And someone~ has to do a full~p of the pce~!" Deciding to y into the theatrics and be the arrogant Jackalkin we all knew and loved, Anput flipped her own hand over one card at a time, revealing a Nine of Clubs, a Ten of Clubs, and... A Ten of Diamonds, which meant that she had a Pair of Tens, something that made her dete just as quickly as Aisha did, the consequences of her arrogance making itself known now that she would need to spar her Mom ten times... no holds barred. Truly, her luck had not been with her tonight, and that made me chuckle silently behind her as I watched Anput dejectedly collect the twelve cards and put them back in the deck, which she shuffled again before quietly saying "How about a few games with no wagers..?" Chapter 999 998: Payouts (1) Chapter 999 998: Payouts (1) ??"Sometimes, Anput, it might just be better to keep your confidence down a few notches in things that are out of your control, such as card games that have no strategy whatsoever... That might just save you some heartache in the future, just saying." I gave my mate a small smile as we walked across the open and surprisingly lush pathways that were within the pce''snd, various flowers and trees providing a ssh of green to this otherwise goldennd that was so sapped of color thanks to the harsh environment. Kicking her feet out and pouting, the olive skinned Jackalkin - that was dressed once more in her country''s garb, showing off that sun kissed skin and her hard earned muscles - nced at me and said "But if I don''t have confidence in everything I do, that means I will be doubting myself in some shape or form! And doubt is terrible for a warrior!" "Doubt can be healthy; doubt can lead you to question your motives and understand what and who you are. Excessive doubt - like most things done in excess - can and will be excessive and lead to negatives. Understand that, and move forwards after taking a moment to doubt." The Sultana walked beside us with a confident stride, her veil concealing her expression whilst her bodynguage remained as straitced as ever, so it was impossible to read her as she continued forwards, unbothered and uncaring. "Besides, I have doubted many things in my life before. I have doubted my abilities to rise up as thisnd''s ruler, I doubted my ability to maintain the peace, I doubted my skills as a warrior when I first met the Empress. That doubt only made me want to move forwards and improve. It never got in the way of what I was doing though. Never." That confidence was quickly called into question though as Lady Kio snorted and asked "I seem to recall you doubting if you ever even wanted children, and then doubting if you could ever find yourself a partner! All while I was right in front of you! You didn''t move forwards and improve with those things; I pushed and pulled you forwards!" "Yes, but we still needed to take those steps together, Kio. It... takes two to tango." "Wasn''t much about that ''tango'' that required you to do anything at all! I was the one doing all the ''dancing''!" She snorted once more and brushed past the Sultana, who had paused for a moment as she deliberated replying to that, only to let out a sigh and resume walking, though she nodded when Jahi asked "Is she always that... brash?" "Watch your tongue blue skin!" The sharp bark from in front of us made Jahi stiffen, and I had to roll my eyes as I said "Jahi, she is a Caninekin; her hearing is extraordinary. Perhaps wait until she is more than just a dozen feet in front of us?" "You too, you oversized bimbo!" That made me roll my eyes again, but I refrained from making ament lest it create an argument between myself and this woman who was supposedly the same age as my own Mother, who was far more mature and ''sightly'' than she was. "And don''t think anything rude either! I can tell you''re thinking something rude right now! Respect your elders!" And instantly, that desire to remain cordial and nice faded away with but a single phrase that I tended to dislike, causing me to say something before I could even realize I was speaking. "Respect is earned, not given." Lady Kio''s head whipped around at that, and I just gave her an assured smile and nod as I added "That is something that my Mother taught me when I was young; she used the Sultana as an example of someone whom I needn''t meet in order to respect. I have to admit, I really was fascinated by the few records we had of your rise, Sultana. However... she never said anything about you in particr, Lady Kio?" "You..!" A growl rumbled in her throat, and I held back a smirk at how easily wound up the Dogkin got at such a simple statement, one that was made even sweeter with how the Sultana turned towards me curiously as she asked "Really? Howe?" "Anyone who could have risen from something as demeaning and nihilistic as very and wed their way into a position of power to make change is worthy of respect, even if you don''t agree with everything they are for. That perseverance and determination is admirable, and then there is the fact that you are near the Empress'' level in terms of strength as well? That is beyond incredible, and more than worthy of my respect, even before I got to meet you or fall in love with your daughter." "Hey! Don''t think you can butter up my wife to get out of disrespecting me you brat!" Lady Kio was standing in front of me now, the Dogkin''s fur bristling as she bared her fangs and growled, still rather upset about my statement and clearly not liking that I was ignoring her and trying to get the stronger person here to be on my side or agree with me instead. "Additionally, whilst I must admit I am unaware of the details themselves, I know some of what you had went through - at least, what you allowed to be transcribed and shared with the world - and I can say wholeheartedly that a majority of people wouldn''t have been able to endure what you did without breaking." "Perhaps it is because I haven''t traveled abroad as frequently as I should have, or perhaps it is because I tend to keep to myself, but... it is nice to hear that others appreciate the things that happened to me and specifically the results that came of it." Nodding her head, the Sultana turned to stare at the wide open, and crowded za that we had arrived at, the various warriors in the middle of training and sparring with one another gradually realizing we were here and prompting them to pause their actions and swiftly kneel down as they shouted "All hail the Sultana!" The bristling Lady Kio continued to growl even as we entered therge za, all of the warriors that were training to defend their home and serve their Sultana and her family getting to see that the Lady of the Sultanate was currently in a really, really bad mood. Looking around briefly, I noted that the Dogkin were rather unperturbed about the woman''s current attitude, but the Jackalkin all seemed rather confused and unsure of what to do; they were half ring at me before realizing that the Sultana was right beside, and she hadn''t moved a muscle to reprimand me, which seemed odd since her mate was being slighted, right? Even the veiled Death Jackals were looking my way without moving, their mysterious and dangerous aura''s fluctuating from afar as waves of dread gradually crashed against me for but a moment, like they were contemting how easy it would be to abduct me and teach me a rather permanent lesson... before it faded as the looming, towering figure of the Sultana registered in their minds once more. "Does this remind you somewhat of how Lady Fenyras acted when we returned?" I just nced at Jahi and asked her that, causing the Demoness to snort in amusement as she nodded her head briefly, the memory of her goading one of the most deadly and petty women likely in the entire world bringing a small smile to her lips. A sigh from Anput made me turn around, the Jackalkin staring at me pointedly as she shook her head and asked "Could you please not wind up my Mother to the point of exploding due to anger? That''s my job.", something that didn''t seem to go over well with the woman she was talking about since the growling only got louder. "Alright, alright... enough, please. Some of us still need to reside with her for the rest of the day." The Sultana''s ''cations'' had the opposite effect since Lady Kio snarled "No you don''t! You can just find yourself that concubine and go to sleep happy! Hmph!", though the Dogkin relented when the Sultana simply stared at her for a few moments in response. By now, we had reached the center of the za, where the Death Jackals resided, the elite warriors now watching on from the sides in obvious confusion even with their veiled faces; their bodynguage was all sorts of odd, the confidence they carried themselves with and the way they tried to minimizing their presence conflicting with the minute tics in their muscles as they nced at all of us, trying to understand what was happening. "Well! How are we doing this? Becausest time I checked, we didn''t have a healer on hand that was good enough to warrant a ''no holds barred'' fight, so unless you managed to obtain one..?" "I did." That short answer made Anput dete again, and I had to purse my lips as I curiously asked "Sultana, how would youpare against Lady Fenyras? Would you win handedly, win by a stroke of luck, tie..?", something that drew all eyes towards me as I couldn''t help but ask that. "Fenyras? Tie at best. Worst, one of us is walking away with a very severe injury. We... don''t y nice." "Ah..." Looking towards Anput, I gave my mate a smile as I said "Well, do your best~! Leone and I can try and aid this healer as best we can to try and get somewhat close to Lady D''Arcon''s level, so it should be just like the times you trained with Lady Fenyras!" She only shuddered at that, and her obsidian eyes began to fill with doubts as she looked towards her Mom, who was in the midst of arming herself with one of the Death Jackal''s des; my mate was clearly not excited about this match against a simrly skilled opponent to the one who had once tried her best to ''break'' her, and I couldn''t really me her. But, that is the consequences of losing a bet against someone as skilled as this, and she needed to learn to be a bit more cautious going forwards... Chapter 1000 999: Payouts (2) Chapter 1000 999: Payouts (2) ??The screeching of metal followed by the showering of sparks as the two Jackalkin engaged in a deadly dance of des drew the attention of all standing within the za, and the initial curiosity and intrigue that had drawn them in was now reced with morbid fascination as we all watched the spar in progress. The third spar of the series that was owed to the Sultana and already Anput looked absolutely battered, but she needed to push on and give it her all even if she wanted to rest, hence why her grunts had be more plentiful as she went on the offensive, seizing the initiative and trying to take control of this spar. Her olive skin was riddled with cuts and bruises, while her sweat ran red as it dripped down her muscles and over those open wounds, shrouding her in a glimmering red sheen as she lunged forwards, the scimitar in her handncing straight for the Sultana''s head. By now, we were all watching on with bated breath, following the trajectory of the scimitar and wondering where it would be in another second, since the current target was the ck veil that covered the Sultana''s scarred visage... and that simply wasn''t going to be where itnded. And right on time, the Sultana flicked her wrist and used her own scimitar to m Anput''s down towards the ground, the flourish moving the curved de to the side before she pushed it downwards and into the ground, trapping it with her own. Then she took a step forwards and mmed her free hand forwards, her palm striking against Anput''s sternum and sending the Jackalkin staggering backwards, gasping in agony as the thick, t bone was cracked beneath the force of the Sultana''s blow. Even with the agony of a cracked sternum, Anput pushed forwards and yanked her scimitar back, raising it just in time to block the heavy overhead swing that threatened to cleave her in two, though the nging of the metal as the two des met was a terrible sound for us all Anput in particr as she listened to the sharp, high pitched crunch as part of her scimitar cracked, the power behind the Sultana''s attack almost shattering her weapon that had been coated in mana and forcing Anput to make a swift decision. The Sultana was fighting with a single hand on her de and the otherpletely unhindered, relying entirely on technique instead of power - though she had an ample supply of that lingering within in her rope like muscles - as well as speed, so Anput was in a precarious position. Trying tounch another attack with a cracked sternum and scimitar was extremely difficult, but she couldn''t let the Sultana have time to contemte what to do since that would allow the veiled woman to begin weaving traps into her current fighting style, setting the younger Jackalkin up for guaranteed failure. So what could she do to try andst a little longer than she was currently? In the same moment that her scimitar was damaged, Anput angled her de and made the Sultana''s slide downwards, forcing the taller woman to lean forwards somewhat as the momentum of her swing carried her that way, which left her open for her daughter''s counterattack. Though instead of aiming for the upper body like most would expect, Anput just raised her foot and mmed it down atop her Mom''s foot, specifically on her ankle, which made the Sultana shudder slightly as the pain of the stomp coursed up her leg. Kicking off of the Sultana''s foot, Anput moved backwards and dragged in deep breaths, all while her scimitar began to morph into a longer, thinner de, one that she stabbed instantly towards the stationary Jackalkin''s shoulder, hoping to score a blow whilst she was still shocked from the attack. Sadly, the moment that thin de seemed destined to pierce through the Sultana''s shoulder, the lean Jackalkin swayed to the side and allowed the de to brush past her harmlessly before swinging her scimitar straight up into Anput''s weapon. Specifically straight into the still present crack, and without much surprise Anput''s weapon shattered from being targeted a second time, the shards of metal whistling through the air and stabbing into the ground around us, whilst the half of the de mockingly ttered against the tile, audibly letting Anput know just how screwed she was. With half a de in her hands now, Anput tried her best to fend off the flourishes from the Sultana, the various swings and cuts aiming to inflict small yet substantial wounds on her and make her fall a painful one, and Anput knew that... but was unable to do anything about it. Her broken weapon was too short to catch all of the attacks and too light to be useful against the ones that she did catch, and we all watched as she was given a few more nasty cuts before the Sultana lunged forwards and rested the edge of her scimitar beneath Anput''s chin, forcing her to look up and into her veil. "Finally decided to start making use of your magic? I thought you told me you were adept with more than just a single weapon... show me. Stop waffling about and be decisive." Anput gasp as the Sultana bashed her corbone, pushing the Jackalkin back and towards the thin man that reeked of medicinal herbs as well as Leone and I, giving her her third break as she instead turned towards her Death Jackals, gesturing for one of them to offer up their des. Ignoring her for now, I joined the older man and began to heal my mate''s cuts and superficial wounds, my Water Mana washing over her body and seeping into the cuts as I did my part, while Anput leaned into Leone''s hands as the Vampire gently pushed her mana into the Jackalkin''s back, her mes sinking into Anput''s muscles and working at the tears and cuts. The Jackalkin gulped down the potion that the older man handed her, the reddish gold liquid sliding down her gullet and infusing her body with more mana than it knew what to do with, spurring her awake and getting her worst injuries healed. All the while, the Sultana appraised the weapon handed to her before walking back towards the center of the ''arena'', where she waited for Anput to return so that she could hand her daughter a new weapon to begin round four. "She''s right you know. You need to start fighting like you always do; stop being reluctant to switch it up. This weird reluctance to step away from the traditional fighting style..." Pinching Anput''s arm, I red at the Jackalkin when she opened her mouth to retort me, only to remain quiet when I added "You aren''t here to earn brownie points with the Sultana, you''re here to showcase your skill and show her how well you''ve improved. So stop being stubborn and fight like you always do. Last minute muscle memory will only make this more painful than it needs to be!" Biting her lip, she looked away from me and kept quiet, saving her energy and breaking away from us after her wounds healed, the Jackalkin stepping back into the arena and epting the scimitar the Sultana tossed her way. Instantly, the younger Jackalkin turned the scimitar into a straight edged de, which she lengthened into a longsword that she seemed to be morefortable with after all this time fighting inside the Empire and training against Jahi. Like the other three rounds, this one was started by Anput whenever she wanted, a single benefit given to her for these spars, and one that she always tried to make the most of. Leone and I retreated away and rejoined Jahi, who was watching the fights with a stoic expression and crossed arms, her attention given wholeheartedly to the fights, entirely undivided and unable to be taken away by anything else. Meanwhile Lady Kio remained in a mood as she stood with her five pups, the Dogkin ring at me whenever she could before asionally giving an answer to Aisha, who watched the fights with curiosity and slight fear. Lunging forwards and stabbing at the Sultana, Anput made use of their now equal reach to remain just outside of the Sultana''s range, which allowed her to push the Sultana back just enough to give her the time to switch her weapon again. Now wielding a spear, Anput stabbed forwards as swiftly as she could multiple times, forcing the Sultana back even more as the older Jackalkin constantly leapt around, trying to find an opening around the various metallic stars that dotted the air around her. When Anput''s thrust almost nicked her cheek, the Sultana stepped forwards and into the range of the spear, but as Anput was yanking her weapon back, the spear tip curled around as she shifted the weapon into a scythe, which was about to pierce the back of the Sultana''s skull. And yet, we were once more reminded of how far above these warriors were when the Sultana grabbed the haft of the scythe and stopped it in its tracks before stepping into Anput''s guard, her scimitar snaking towards her daughter''s belly. It was also where we were reminded that we were born of the stock of these warriors, since Anput had no issue mming her knee into the Sultana''s groin before kicking at the Jackalkin''s knee, resulting in a groan of pain from not only the Sultana, but also all of the men and futanari around us. Chapter 1001 1000: Payouts (3) Chapter 1001 1000: Payouts (3) ??By the seventh sparring match, we were all slowly returning to doing something else, with the spars between the the Sultana and her eldest daughter still being the central point of our attention but not consuming all of it. They weresting longer now that Anput had tossed aside her odd reluctance to fight like she normally did, the Jackalkin''s weird desire to stick entirely to the scimitar and fight like one of the Death Jackals hindering her and doing her more harm than good. Now that she was back to her usual jack of all trades style of fighting and making use of all sorts of weapons, the Jackalkin was able to eek out a few minutes of sparring instead of merely a single minute, which allowed her to hone her skills even more than before. Swinging a heavy axe down towards the Sultana''s skull, she made use of the weight to force the Sultana into shifting positions, the idea of attempting to block something like that with a mere scimitar not much to her liking. Leaping away from the axe, she suddenly found herself being stabbed at by a spear, which she could block with a scimitar, albeit not well with how she was currently on her back foot and still moving backwards. I paused what I was doing to watch as Anput''s spear delivered a small cut to the Sultana''s bicep, one of the very few wounds that she had managed to leave on the Sultana''s body throughout these spars, besides the various bruises that we couldn''t see on her feet, legs, and of course... groin. Anput had paid dearly for that one with a rather nasty cut that traveled from her left hip all the way up and almost around her right shoulder, though it had been rtively shallow all things considered, so it would seem that the Sultana had gotten her ''revenge'' for such an honor less attack. "Big sis..?" Batul yawned before looking at me confusedly, the small, ever tired pup ignoring the sounds of battle and reaching for my cheek, not happy that I had stopped bouncing her to lull her to sleep yet again; she wasn''t a baby, but she certainly acted like one... which wasn''t an issue since she was just tired. I don''t know why she was tired all the time, but it might just be that this heat, the sun, and the constant antics of your family might simply get you to this point no matter what... "Hm?" Looking back down at the pup shaped shield I had acquired, I tilted my head before nodding as I began to bounce her gently, eliciting another yawn from her as we continued to watch the spars together... or at least I was watching them, and she was napping. "Mm..." Closing her eyes, she snuggled against my chest and fell asleep again, and after a moment of studying her smooth olive skin and silky raven ck hair, I shivered slightly as the re from her Mothernded on me once more, Lady Kio still a bit irritated from earlier but unable to do something now that I had Batul in my arms. Beside me, Leone was lounging on the warm tile with Samira and Safa, the two shier children watching the Vampire in amazement and unknowingly letting themselves be distracted from something rather ''heavy'' for their eyes, which was good; the various ming objects that Leone molded from her mana into, like flowers and birds. Then there was Jahi, standing stock still and watching the spars with narrowed eyes, observing each and every minute movement the two Jackalkin made to try and learn whatever she could from their sesses, their failures, their mistakes and everything in between. It was beautiful to see, and also intriguing to see how the Sultana fought in a way that almost seemed far to in and simplistic that you wouldn''t expect her to be at the level she was at, but like with everything, I could recognize that the perfection in the moves she disyed were far superior to anything I had seen before in our own fighting styles. Hence why I was more than content to remain quiet and not make a bet with her to spar, and why I was also not really wanting to spar Lady Kio either, since I had a feeling the woman my own Mother imed to be rtively her equal in everything they ever did - down to the way they managed to get partners that were on the same level - was probably going to beat me just as easily as my own Mother had. And this Dogkin in front of me had extra motivation to make sure her hitsnded a bit harder than Mother did... So I was going to really rx today and bezy because... damnit I wanted to bezy today, and now that I had a tiny puppy nestled into my arms I had no real reason to be doing anything that would tire me out physically, like sparring some really strong people just because. Instead, I could just rx and y around, all while the looming dread of needing to head out into the desert sands to hunt down Fiends of all things darkened my future, but hey, at least today I could eat some good food, lounge in an amazing pce, talk with my inws and lovers before retiring when the sun fell. Whether or not I was actually going to be able to do those things is another story though, since the gradual viewing of the spars began to taper down as they finished out, the time passing by swiftly as the score rounded out to an unsurprising 10 to zilch. Even if she lost every single round of the spars, Anput still showed improvement since she no longer looked like she was going to die each time she lost, and instead just looked exhausted and in need of a boost of energy, which was given in the form of that reddish gold liquid that she drank each time. I just knew the crash from that was going to be harsh since she had ten of them in such a short period of time, but considering the Sultana trusted that older Caninekin enough to give her daughter ten potions straight, I imagine it had already been tested and found to be safe for consumption. That wasn''t to say that Anput looked fine and ready for a night out on the town, since she didn''t; her eyes were listless and her skin was bruised, while her body creaked slightly as her muscles and bones gradually returned to their normal spots, the over exertion and mental drain evident in the way she carried herself over to us. I approached her first with Batul in tow, giving my mate a smile and leaning over to ce a kiss on her cheek, only to have her growl "I''ll need those lips somewhere elseter..." quietly into my ear as she kissed me back, making me roll my eyes at how she brightened up slightly saying that. After my kiss, she bopped Batul on the head and woke the pup up, much to her disgruntled annoyance as she red at her eldest sister, but that only earned her another poke before she was sadly and unwillingly stolen from my arms by Anput, who made her way over towards the others. With my pup shield now gone, I tried to make my way over towards someone, anyone at all to save myself, but instantly a slightly shorter, petite woman found her way over to me and was ring up at me, her lips curled into a sneer as she said "C''mon then, brat. It''s just you and me." The others all watched as I was dragged over towards where the Sultana remained standing, and I sighed as I was nominated as this petty woman''s chew toy for the next few minutes, something that made Jahi smirk at me from afar as she remained quiet, noting to my defense at all. I would remember thatter tonight... "What do you fight with, brat? Short sword? Or was it a dagger?" Taking a scimitar from one of the Death Jackals - who swiftly handed the irate woman their weapon before leaping away like they were in the danger zone - Lady Kio flourished the de a few times to get a feel for it, only to frown when Anput came back a momentter and handed me the weapon she had been using, albeit in a new form. The crescent de felt all too familiar in my hands, and I sighed as I epted it, not wanting to fight but... I needed to do this now, or I would likely never have peace in this pce for as long as I lived. I had to admit I contemted throwing the match just to get out of it - perhaps holding Batul rubbed some of the pup''sziness onto me - but that would likely only earn more of her ire than anything else... But I couldn''t win either because that would only make the Dogkin dislike me even more since it would wound her pride... I was in quite the predicament... Chapter 1002 1001: Lady Kio Chapter 1002 1001: Lady Kio ??"You''re Mother rubbed off on you far too damn much, brat..." Glowering at me, Lady Kio twirled her scimitar twice before raising her free hand, the petite woman curling her fingers back as she invited me to attack first, all while she growled "Always questioning those above you, always being rude and hiding it behind a mask... both of you are insufferable!" "Because I believe respect is earned and not given? Interesting... that is certainly an interesting stance to take against a statement that is objectively true, but I am not here to argue with you, Mother inw~!" Smiling sweetly at her, I twirled my own de and listened to her growl again, her irritation causing her tail to swish back and forth swiftly while her eyes narrowed and her pupils constricted to small pinpricks that made her look rather inhuman... "Is it now..?" Despite that resulting in a rather cold and grating growl, I continued to smile and nodded, saying "It is indeed~! And so far, all I can say I understand about you, Mother inw, is that you seem to have an odd obsession with my own Mother?" "Are you going to keep talking or are we going to spar?!" "Hm? Why not both?" I tilted my head, making the older Dogkin snarl at me before she suddenly lunged forwards, her scimitar arcing towards my neck as she tried to slice my head off with a single swipe in order to win this spar instantly, as well as scare me into submission I suppose. Taking a step back, I watched the de sail harmlessly past me and observed how Lady Kio was forced to step forwards topensate, keeping her bnce after a missed attack and leaving her side vulnerable to a counterattack, though as I tried to make a move on that, the petite woman traveling with her momentum and adding to it as she utilized a burst of mana from the sole of her foot to turn all the way back around and cleave downwards. Another burst of mana into her arm this time forced that de to move far faster than I anticipated, but I could still counter it as I grasped the hilt of my Khopesh and swung it upwards, meeting her scimitar. Without a word she sneered at me and used that technique once more, this time returning to her foot as she drove her knee into my gut and forced me back a step as pain erupted inside my torso, my ribs cracking slightly as I now had to take a few steps back to alleviate this sudden pain that had been inflicted onto me. "Not so chatty now are you brat?!" In a blur of olive and ck, the petite Dogkin appeared in front of me and stabbed the scimitar towards my stomach, her elbow shrouded in a slight afterglow of mana as she continued to utilize that technique, something that would definitely make this spar one hell of a headache for me. She was far too close and fast to leave this position we were in unscathed, so I grit my teeth and twisted myself to the side, ignoring the new hot pain that scorched my abdomen as her scimitar sliced through my flesh and scored a deep enough cut to ensure the rest of this spar would be in pain. But, like before, her de was rtively unhindered as it slid forwards, giving me ample time to lower my shoulder and m myself into her chest, surprising the Dogkin and knocking the air from her lungs. It was quite satisfactory to hear her gasping for breath as she stumbled backwards, and I ignored the wetness of my blood soaking into my clothing as I followed that up with a cut of my own, the inner crescent of my Khopesh descending towards her side as I tried to reciprocate what she had done to me. Of course, I expected her to try and escape from being injured, and I had to hold back a grin as she stepped away from my swing, just out of reach of the crescent since she then raised her de and blocked the blow with the mere second she bought from stepping away. Lady Kio was about to say something when her eyes widened as she felt the hooked tip of my de sink into her back, digging into the muscle and causing her to let out a pained cry as she staggered forwards, carried towards me by my Khopesh. Lunging forwards, she cracked her skull against mine and grunted as she stumbled away from my de, leaving her blood to stter across the tile as it seeped out of her back. My vision spun and blurred as I clutched my nose, the sensitive nerve cluster messing with all of my senses as the pain overloaded my system for a moment, my blood was all I could smell and taste, my ears were ringing, and I was temporarily blinded; thankfully so was she since the Dogkin had to head butt upwards did so whilst in pain, so... I was able to flood my body with gentle Water Mana that healed most of my wounds away and refreshed myself enough to catch sight of the scimitar stabbing towards my stomach once more, and it was still quick as lightning as the woman snarled at me once more. With my vision returned, I got to watch in wonderful detail as I caught the scimitar with my abdomen, the puncturing of my flesh and the explosion of scorching hot agony that flooded my torso reminding me just how terrible of a person I could be since this... was what I lived for, albeit on the other side of this current situation. But even then, I tried to ignore the pain as best I could as I grabbed Lady Kio''s hand and pulled forwards, lodging her weapon inside me and relying on my dwindling strength to bring my own weapon to bear, trapping the Dogkin in a mutual dance of death as I raised it and pressed the tip of my Khopesh beneath her breast, aiming it straight at her heart. Coughing slightly, I frowned at the metallic taste that pervaded my mouth before rasping "I think... I win..?", causing Lady Kio to frown too as she felt a small cut as I pressed my de deeper into her skin. The heat that shrouded her de gradually diminished as well, and I felt myself getting uncharacteristically cold as my blood continued to drip down onto the tile, pooling at our feet. She stared into my eyes quietly as we stood there, before the Dogkin ced her hand on my stomach and gently pushed me back, pulling her scimitar free and opening the woundpletely, causing more of my blood to spill now that it was unobstructed. But, just as I was ''freed'' from the embrace of the scimitar I was caught by Leone, who had shot forwards the second I was about to stagger and fall as my strength continued to seep out of me every second, and I smiled at the Vampire as I said "I''m fine... just gimme a moment..." Her crimson eyes were burning as she just stared at me, so I chuckled and rested my hand on the wound before tracing out the runes needed for a healing spell with my free hand, swiftly closing the wound and knitting the muscles back together using my Water Mana. Leone aided me from the back, our mana meeting together in the middle as she healed me as well, hastening this process and ensuring I was back up to full health in a manner of moments, which allowed me to look back towards Lady Kio as I asked "That was a rather swift spar, no?" The Dogkin was rubbing at her back, the potion in her other hand sliding down her gullet as she healed via alchemy instead of magic, and upon hearing that she raised a brow and replied "It was, and I would say it was a tie at best. Before you brought that de up, a twist and a punch would have knocked you on your ass. Still..." Handing the empty vial back to the older man, Lady Kio looked down at her bloodied weapon and nodded, before looking back at my own bloodied Khopesh, saying "We traded blows, nothing more. I believe that calls for round two. Besides, I am far from convinced of anything at all, and still a tad irate. So apany me for another, will you?" Even if her tone and her expression were still as crass as before, I noticed that it was her words that hinted me in on how she was feeling, not how those words sounded or how she carried herself; she wasn''t belittling me or cursing me, so perhaps some progress had been made? No ''brat'' or other demeaning title was spouted in those sentences, so I took a deep breath and nodded, deciding that I would humor her for this once... even if I desired to see if I could injure her again for what she had said earlier. Chapter 1003 1002: Further Exchange Chapter 1003 1002: Further Exchange ??Sparks rained down on my face and singed my skin, but even as they showered us in light and heat I kept my eyes open, staring straight into Lady Kio''s eyes as we traded blows once more, going for a more direct and ''traditional'' spar that was meant for learning. In reality, it was not as nice as that sounded, since Lady Kio was intentionally lowering her speed so that she could further draw these spars out, allowing her tond more hits and vent her frustrations all the more, but... Well, since she wasn''t moving as fast as she was in the first fight, I was able to keep up and work out a way to attack her in a consistent manner that allowed me tond all sorts of hits on her as well, which only seemed to increase her frustrations since it showed that I was, in fact,petent enough to battle her on an even ying field. Even though she had lowered her use of those mana bursts somewhat to hasten her attacks, I decided that the best thing for me at this point was to leave a Water Cloak active to passively regenerate any damage done to me whilst also activating the tattoo on my upper left arm, the pain nullifying enchantmenting in handy yet again as I was able to ignore the pains entirely from the cuts and asional stab wound that were inflicted onto me. I still ''felt'' them, each of the wounds that she inflicted onto me, but I didn''t feel the pain; it was odd, since I could feel my skin being puncture, my flesh being sliced apart, I could feel the cold metal followed by the warmth of the blood, but there was no burst of hot pains whenever she cut me, only the sensation of those things happening. It was surreal, and I knew that as soon as this tattoo was deactivated, I was going to suffer from a wave of repressed agony that would suck all the vitality from my body, leaving me as a husk for a few minutes as my mind worked through the sudden influx of pain that I had felt. The pros and cons of being able to entirely ignore pain itself momentarily, but those pros and those cons were evenly bnced, even if they didn''t really feel like that once this tattoo was sapped of mana. Pushing her de to the side, I switched my de around and used the inner crescent to keep it in an odd spot, the hooked tip catching her scimitar and locking it in ce for just a moment to allow me to throw a swift hook towards her jaw, though I btedly realized we had the exact same idea... Which ended with her grunting as my fist mmed into her jaw, the Dogkin''s head snapping to the side as my knuckles connected with her head, while I narrowed my eyes as I felt her fist m into the bottom of my chin, forcing my head upwards. I could feel some of my teeth cracking from the force, and blood began to fill my mouth as one of my teeth sliced my cheek open from the inside, but like before I simply ignored the sensation and threw a second punch, hitting the same spot and staggering the Dogkin momentarily. Yanking my de free, I moved into my swing and tried to catch her off guard, only for her de to crash into mine as she made use of her mana once more, redirecting my de and momentum at the same time, which allowed her to then make use of another burst to bring her scimitar straight to my throat. "Fucking... enough already!" Her growl of annoyance as we paused where we were made me raise a brow, and as I felt her scimitar kiss my neck, I slowly turned myself to the side and spat out the gobbet of blood that had gathered in my mouth, the Water Cloak healing the wound and allowing me to speak without needing to worry about choking on my own blood. "Why? I can still go on." Lady Kio lowered her scimitar and glowered at me, her ears twitching in irritation as she growled "That''s the problem! You fight through injury like a crazy bitch! If I try to end the spar like we did the first time, you''ll get yourself fucking killed! What the hell is your issue?! Do you have brain damage?!" Her voice was slightly shrill, and I had to tilt my head at her as I looked down into her eyes, wondering what brought this on before realizing instantly that behind that irritation and anger, Lady Kio was genuinely concerned for my well being, and that she was worried that if we kept going, I might get seriously injured. "No, no I don''t. If you must know..." Stabbing the Khopesh into the tile, I rolled up my sleeve and showed her the glimmering white tattoo, the tribalistic lines almost matching myplexion in this lighting, but as she leaned closer and inspected my arm, the Dogkin clicked her tongue and said "You''re crazy." "I would beg to differ. Besides, I got this under the premise that it would be a pain... diminisher, I suppose. It was supposed to lower the pain I felt and allow me to push myself forwards just a bit harder than my brain would reasonably allow, and yet... it seems that the enchantment took to me quite well and turned into a pain nullifier. Which..." Could I turn it into a pain amplifier? I stared closely at the lines for a few moments, trying to understand how this variation of magic worked and if I could determine a way to change it to do the opposite of what it does now, but after a few brief seconds Lady Kio grabbed my attention again. "So you are crazy. You willingly use something like this in spars?!" She grabbed my arm and shook me slightly, bringing a small smile to my lips as I nodded, eliciting another click of her tongue as she shook her head. "Crazy... Absolutely crazy..!" Letting me go, Lady Kio turned and tossed her scimitar towards the Death Jackal she had borrowed it from, who just stared at the damaged de for a few moments before sheathing it without a single word. Approaching Anput - who was in the midst of her rest after doing some workouts with Jahi - Lady Kio jabbed her thumb back towards me and said "You picked a crazy bitch to make your mate.", which only made Anput blink a few times as she stared at her Mother, clearly confused. "Not only is she crazy, but she''s Julie''s brat too! Argh! I want to strangle you so damn bad!" ring at her daughter, Lady Kio muttered a few curses to herself as she looked between Anput and I, only rxing slightly when the Sultana approached her and ced a hand on her shoulder, grounding the Dogkin somewhat. "On the other hand, I would argue that this is a rather incredible union, one worth celebrating. Is it not? From all I can remember, you always described Julie as a rather impressive woman who was smart, strong, witty, mature, kind and beautiful, and that seems to have transferred into her daughter in more than a few ways. Albeit unique ways..." I smiled at the Sultana as I lowered myself to the ground beside Anput, only to groan as I deactivated the tattoo and endured the waves of dull agony that washed over me now that my body''s pain receptors were functioning again. "I never said ANY of those things! She was a conniving, arrogant, mask wearing prick who only ever got on my nerves!" Stamping her foot, Lady Kio glowered at her wife this time, before letting out a growl when the Sultana said "Must you act like this? We both know it to be a farce...", which made her reply "It is NOT a farce!" "No? I seem to recall you being rather worried the entire time between her arrival here and the news of her finding shelter with the Asmodia''s. You used to pace every night and even had some of the Death Jackals head out to trail after her." That brought me out of my agonized stupor, and I looked up at the woman in surprise, my eyes meeting hers for a single moment; it was only a moment, but in that moment, I felt like I got to see the real emotions she held within her heart, and that... shocked me. Pride, joy, concern and more lingered within her eyes, but she swiftly spun around and stalked away, her fur bristling as she cut her way directly across the za, her anger rolling off of her in almost palpable waves that forced all of the sparring warriors to hastily retreat from her path. As she stormed back into the pce, the Sultana watched her walk before looking down at Anput and I, her head tilting to the side as she asked "Did I speak wrongly?", which made me roll my eyes before I grabbed my head as that single action made the agony rather insufferable for a moment. Chapter 1004 1003: Warrior Culture Chapter 1004 1003: Warrior Culture ??"Did I say something wrong?" The Sultana''s confusion persisted even as my headache began to subside, and I couldn''t help but sigh as I nced up at her for a brief moment, just long enough to ask "How long have the two of you been together now?" before looking back at the tile, which was much less harsh on my recovering eyes. "A long time now. Why?" "And you still haven''t learned that Lady Kio is a bit too proud to admit certain things to certain people..?" I didn''t need to see her expression to know that she was staring at me in shock, her lips parted in an ''o'' as she stood there frozen, the pieces of this rather simple puzzle clicking inside her mind and making me sigh again as I added "My Mother is her... ''rival'', I suppose, at least inside her mind. And again... her ''rival'' is my Mother, so by extension she''s treating me simr to my Mother." She nodded slowly at that, before turning to look at the pce that Lady Kio had retreated to, her tail swishing side to side as she lost herself to her thoughts for a little while, leaving me to nestle against my mate and enjoy the soothing pats that trailed down my back and the asional ruffling of my ears. "Mother had a point y''know. That tattoo is both a boon and a bane to how you fight, and this... this is the bane of it. If you were actually fighting, or were sparring against someone who was being serious about beating the lesson into you, this wouldn''t be beneficial whatsoever." I groaned softly as she pinched the middle of my back, the Jackalkin ensuring she had all of my attention as she scolded me, which was a rather odd thing considering our usual rtionship dynamic; and yet, the concern in her eyes, the way she wasforting me, the slight strain in her voice... All of it made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside, and a small, darker part of me was absolutely tickled pink at how my mate was fussing over me, focusing on me, and only on me... and not on anyone else. So I leaned further into her pats and indulged myself in her care, loving the way she ran her hands through my hair to untangle it or how she stroked my back carefully, all while the others stole nces at us and did their best to give us space, save for the Sultana who eventually turned back and looked down at us, still perplexed about earlier. "But it''s been literally decades since they were in the Academy together? If not longer? Why is she just now..? What?" Opening my eyes again, I stared at her veiled face and wondered how she hadn''t been seriously harmed just yet by Lady Kio, only to realize why when I dredged up my memories from both today,st night and thest time we had seen them. She was just... the ideal mate for a Caninekin, and that confidence, perfect body, deadly aura andmandeering demeanor that made it impossible to say no to her was all she needed to get by a majority of the time. I mean... Peeking at Anput, I wondered if I would feel the same if she got much stronger than me; would I acquiesce to her demands simply because her being so much stronger than I was made it instinctual to listen to her without question? Obviously I wanted to say no, but even now when she said something as an ''order'', I usually felt inclined to do whatever it was she ''ordered'' me to do even if I wanted to do something else, so... "You are... Never mind. If you haven''t learned yet, you''ll never learn." "Even I barely understand it, but hey, we all can agree that women are rather... impossible to understand on the best of days~!" Anput grinned at me, even as I pinched her waist for that jibe of hers, but I didn''t say anything to disagree with it since... well, we both knew it was true; people in general were extremely hard to understand, let alone women who irritated at their lovers for whatever reason that may be. Still, I red at Anput before instantly whining when she stood up, my lips curling into a pout as I tried to keep her sitting beside me, only to let out a reluctant sigh as she shook her head and grabbed her spear, giving it a twirl as she nced at the Sultana and asked "Which of the Death Jackals would you say is better atbatting a spear? N? Abdul?" "N! Come spar your Begum! Just remember that N is a bit long in the tooth, Anput. Try not to cause any harm to her now~!" A low chuckle reverberated from the Sultana''s throat as she watched a tall, lean woman stalk over to us silently, the lower part of her face covered by a veil and allowing us to see her narrowed grey eyes, which were filled with a mixture of respect and feistiness as she bowed to Anput. Watching the two take a few steps out onto the za away from us, I pursed my lips as they began to spar right away, Anput stabbing her spear at the Jackalkin''s head and forcing her to duck and dodge, only to sh at the Begum''s stomach as she lunged forwards. "Surprised at how quick and vicious they are?" Still standing beside me, the Sultana observed the two before turning towards the Demoness that was nearby, who was in the midst of grappling with a few Caninekin at the same time, her size difference giving her the advantage one on one but not three on one... which was what she was doing currently. Leone on the other hand was chatting quietly with the older man who the Sultana trusted as a healer, the two discussing whatever came to mind in regards to potions and alchemy, leaving just me to try and figure out what to do to entertain myself... Which was clear as I nced up at the Sultana, deciding that speaking with her one on one would be worth more than some training right now... mainly because my head was still killing me and the idea of wanting to spar again almost made me vomit... "A bit. Perhaps being exposed to Lady Fenyras numbed me to this style of training, since I can see the worth in harsher sparring than what I was previously ustomed to. Still... seeing it in everyone around, and not just the ''elites''... that is the surprise. The margin for error isn''t a concern for you?" "Oh, it is. Some still perish in simple spars, and they are regrettable losses, but even then... the amount is negligible every year, and those who perish... well, usually we have already advised them to give up the mantle of a warrior, but they don''t listen. In the Empire, the average soldier spars till exhaustion but with limited risk to their well being. Here... we fight, we bleed, we break. It forges stronger warriors, and it shapes them into a well trained, well oiled machine that few other countries want to go to war against." "Iron sharpens iron?" Looking down at me, the Sultana nodded, and she muttered "Iron sharpens iron, and blood whets the des. You either rust and break, or you add to yourself with the blood of yourrades. It is a cruel methodology of training, but it works. Oh, it works..." "Is this a new methodology, or has it always existed?" "For as long as I can remember, the strong ruled the weak. If you could fight, even as a ve you were treated like royalty. The stronger you became, the more respected you were. There are few things from my years as a ve that I genuinely look back upon fondly, but the cruelty around me and the motivation to break free from my chains..." Her voice trailed off, and she stroked the edge of her veil gently, before peeling back a corner of it and showing me the patchwork scars that covered her face, the sheer amount of burns, cuts and missing flesh causing me to unconsciously pull back for a moment, something that made herugh mirthlessly. "My owner was a bitch. Her wife envied my looks, hated how I stole her wife''s attention from her. Hated how her mate snuck into the ve''s quarters just to rut with me. So, she thought herself superior since she was free, and I was not, and to ensure that I was reminded of that... she snuck into my quarters one night, and she did so with des and acids clutched in her envious fingers. She tried to break me, but in her jealousy she forgot that her wife did so as well... just in different ways. That night, I got to witness how the strong can cull the weak in a mere heartbeat. The sound of her neck snapping still rings in my ears sometimes..." Crouching down, the Sultana stared straight at me, her eyes beneath the veil hidden, but so clearly open as she leaned closer and whispered "And when I tell you that that sound is sweeter than any sugar or nectar you could find in this world... I would kill again and again just to hear it. The same way I would kill to hear my Mistress'' pleading as I served her her due desserts. You understand that feeling, don''t you? I can see it in your eyes, pup..." Chapter 1005 1004: Similarities Throughout Generations Chapter 1005 1004: Simrities Throughout Generations ??"What do you mean you can see it in my eyes? See what?" I tried to feign confusion at her words, hoping that the dense Sultana from before remained right in front of me instead of this sharper, crueler version that was crouching and staring at me, but of course... I was out of luck in that regard, and honestly, I wasn''t surprised either when she leaned closer and whispered directly into my ears, the older, stronger Jackalkin not giving a damn about my personal space. "Don''t y dumb, pup. I can see it in those ambers of yours; a thirst so carnal and dark that it can make eyes even as beautiful as yours dim. Your lust for blood and desire to y flesh simply for the hell of it. I can see it, I can smell it..." She pulled back after a moment, but even then it felt like her presence enshrouded the entire world as she looked me up and down, her gaze heavier than almost any I had ever felt before; it pierced into my very soul and made me shiver, my everything going cold as I was reminded yet again that I was merely prey masquerading as a predator in this world. I was reminded that the fish in this ocean were far deadlier and ravenous than I could ever imagine, and that what was crouching before me wasn''t a fish in that analogy, but instead a bird of prey waiting to swoop down and snatch me from the ocean''s waves. It was a horrifying feeling that I never wanted to feel again, and yet the source of it didn''t relent as she whispered "You''re a killer, a murderer, but unlike everyone else here, you relish the stter of blood across your face, the rush of adrenaline that courses through your veins whenever someone pleads for mercy... You''re a hedonistic bitch, aren''t you?" Swallowing hard, I steeled my resolve and tried to stare into her veil - and for a moment, I felt more like I was staring into the void once more - only to have to look away, the fear that gripped my heart making it hard to breath as I remained rooted in ce, but even then... "And so what if I am? Does it matter?" I nced back at her and froze once more, unable to take my eyes off of her veil as she leaned closer to me, before she chuckled quietly, her raspy vocals causing that to be a rather grating sound as she nodded and answered me after a moment. "It does... It makes me rather happy and expectant for the future, Katherine Zara. My wife might say that you will dilute our gene pool, but I think differently. I couldn''t think of a better mate for my eldest daughter than you... I think you''re an even better partner than Jahi Asmodia is for Anput..." She pulled away from me and stood up, finally closing her eyes and relieving me of that oppressive, frightening aura that almost made me fear for my life, and as she looked down at me the Jackalkin nodded to herself once more before turning to look towards Anput, who was still in the midst of sparring. "Something about meeting yet another Caninekin who has a trait as old and primitive as this... it''s cathartic." I took a few deep breaths to steady myself, ridding myself of these negative emotions and trying my hardest to keep myself from ''regressing'' as memories of the void began to seep back into my mind and pull at the fringes of my consciousness, that loneliness and despair that I had felt after who knows how long drifting returning slowly but surely as I thought about it more and more. "Why is it cathartic..? Why would you want someone like me specifically for Anput..?" To distract myself, I asked the Sultana questions, despite her being the cause of my current state as I lingered between normalcy and fear, something she certainly sensed within me, but interpreted differently than what I was actually feeling. "Because it is what used to be the norm for our kind. Bloodthirsty, prolific killers who yearned for blood. Perhaps in the Empire and the other countries of the world, this trait was seen as negative; something to be avoided as much as it possibly could. None of them wanted to have this primal yearning for blood diluting the gene pool, none want to have someone ''unwieldy'' and dangerous walking around, let alone many of them... But here? It''s something that I miss from my time as a ve. The amount of us that were forced into bing bloodthirsty and sadistic. The progress we made as a warrior society was unparalleled throughout most of history. The warriors we produced, the strength we rued... all of it was ushering us into a golden age for the Sultanate, but... sadly, a byproduct of my revolution and rise to the mantle of Sultana was that many of those ''true warriors'' wanted to settle down. Peace was acquired, and there was no need to fight anymore... It is a shame that I don''t despise as much as I should. Myrades... those that died... they deserve the peace, but watching as these strong warriors settled down with their mates to raise children who knew nothing of the violence and cruelty of the world was painful. The stock of which these children were born with was inferior by far, and it only gets worse as time progresses." She let out a sigh before looking around the za, towards who I was inferring were the ''children of inferior stock'', which... as I watched the various warriors training against one another in harsh, brutalbat as they cut, shed, stabbed and bashed one another, I wondered just how much more brutal herrades had been if this was considered ''inferior''. "Compared to your Empire, we seem far more violent and strong, far more physical and talented inbat, but the reality is that those who are old enough to remember know that the Sultanate... it isn''t what it used to be. But, I am but a jaded old futanari clinging onto the glories of the past. The world has changed far too much from then to now... that is why I am happy to see that trait in you. I was happy when I realized Anput was a battle junkie, but when she had her first kill, I was disappointed to see that she relished the battle itself more than the kill. Still, I couldn''t be prouder of her..." Trailing off, the Sultana nodded when Anput mmed the side of her spear into the abdomen of the Death Jackal, folding the warrior in half and dropping them to the ground with that final hit before pressing the tip of her spear against the Death Jackal''s neck, pinning them down and forcing them to concede. As soon as she won, Anput turned and grinned over at both of us, her chest heaving as she dragged in breath after breath from an intense fight, and that made the Sultana drop the conversation instantly. Smiling back at her, I remained seated as I watched her help the Death Jackal up before the two sped forearms in the typical warriors handshake, with the Death Jackal giving the Begum a few quiet words before they went their separate ways. Sauntering over to join us, Anput continued to grin as she stretched and relished in the after glow that came from a good workout and a win against a tough opponent, though she looked between us and asked "So what were you two talking about? I saw you were rather close..." The Sultana snorted in amusement at that as she replied "No need to get defensive, Anput. I wasn''t making any moves on your mate, just asking her some questions. I have to admit... I used to question why you were so enamored by some random Dogkin from the Empire, but I understand it now... albeit from a different perspective. One that you likely don''t have..." "What''s that supposed to mean?!" ring at her Mom, Anput leaned forwards and tried to take up and intimidating posture, though considering everything that we had witnessed merely a little while ago it just made it seem rather... odd. Something the Sultana knew too since she just met Anput''s re and said "Want to go again then, Anput? Feeling confident after beating a Death Jackal once?", which made my mate take a step back and smile at her Mom instead as she shook her head and replied "No, it was just a momentarypse of judgement~! I didn''t mean anything by it~! Hey, are we going to have some curry for dinner?" She snorted again as she nodded, though she nced back at me and just said "See?" before walking over towards the Demoness instead, watching as Jahi began to lift one of the Dogkin above her head and m them down on the tile. "What was that about? What did you talk about?" "Nothing much. She just asked me about your Mother and my Mother some more... she really doesn''t seem to understand why they have a ''rivalry''." Chapter 1006 1005: Happenings Of The Desert Chapter 1006 1005: Happenings Of The Desert ??Panting, Jahi stood over the three Caninekin that she had been wrestling, her broad shoulders heaving up and down and her blue skin glistened with sweat beneath the noon sun, painting a rather powerful picture as she looked down upon her opponents and took in their bruised and battered forms. To win three on one wasn''t easy - as shown by her sweaty, tired stance - in any circumstances, but beneath this scorching sun, in the middle of this za that seemed constructed to keep the heat amplified? It was impressive that she had managed to subdue three of the Sultanate''s warriors in hand to handbat, and it was something that had already drawn the attention and the respect of the warriors around us; some were staring at the Demoness with intrigue and appreciation, some were appraising her muscture and showing that familiar tick that meant they were itching to try and fight her themselves, and there were also some who were looking at her as if she was some never seen before specimen. There were also a few that were staring at her with lust in their eyes, this contest of strength arousing their interests even more than normal and causing them to covet something that they shouldn''t, but thankfully the moment Anput approached Jahi with a towel, they all decided they liked their heads where they were and looked away. It was an interesting feeling, having such a high profile, highly desirable woman as my lover; on one hand, I wanted to gouge their eyes out and force them to eat them for even daring to look at Jahi like that, but on the other hand it stroked my pride and my ego immensely whenever I noticed that arge amount of people were smitten with MY lover. They all wanted a piece of Jahi, but sadly for them that Demoness had already split herself evenly between us three, and there was no way she was going to be able to take in another... not for ack of trying, mind you - like I said, she could have her pick of the litter here to add another warm body to her bed - but when she even thought about trying to find another room within her already upied heart for someone outside of us three, it would only result in their warm body going cold in front of her, and her finding her bed empty. Pushing myself to my feet, I joined them both and began to wash Jahi off, the sudden ssh of cold, icy water making her jump slightly before she rxed somewhat as I enveloped her entire body in it, ridding her of the sweat and cooling her off, all while the Caninekin around us watched this with slight awe. "Hah... Water Mages..." Clicking her tongue in mock disappointment, the Sultana stood beside us and shook her head as she watched me wash Jahi off, though she said nothing more as I flicked a small sphere of water at her in retaliation, which she simply let ssh against her chest without any desire to protect herself. Some of the Death Jackals had unsheathed their des partially at that, taking steps closer to try and protect their Sultana, but she just waved them off and chuckled quietly at my antics, amused by the novelty of the situation. "This is what I was talking about... few here would even dare to think about doing something like that! I must admit I admire the courage to do so, Katherine... but do be careful, hm?" In response, I decided to lighten the mood somewhat as I sent another two spheres flying through the air, albeit in different directions; one went back to the Sultana, who did the same as she did before, whilst the other sshed against Anput''s face, the Jackalkin not expecting to be a target. Pointnk water ball to the face wasn''t the most fair way to surprise my mate, but it made things funny since she yelped and jumped back, the sudden explosion of ice cold liquid on her face allowing me to take her spot beside Jahi, who was just smiling in amusement at what was happening. "Careful of what?" Tilting my head innocently at the Sultana, I ignored Anput''s soft growl and stared at the taller woman, who just wiped the water off herself and stared at the droplets that clung to her fingertips, watching as they dropped to the tiles below and instantly began to sizzle, the heat too strong for them to continue existing here as a liquid. "yful as well..." Looking back up, the Sultana stared at me before turning her head towards her daughter, who was still glowering at me for my surprise attack, though when her Mom said "I suppose I shouldn''t be surprised that you both seem to have simr personalities... the amount of times you were such a brat that I wanted to smack you upside the head are far more than I could ever anticipate... and it seems to only continue to grow as the years go on." She let out a sigh as Anput pouted at her, the younger Jackalkin saying "You told me to ask questions if I ever was confused! Sorry if those questions annoyed you or something!", which made the Sultana shake her head as she replied with a rather tired voice. "It wasn''t the questions, but how you went about asking them Anput... more specifically, your timing with them. Always right in the midst of something important..." Clicking her tongue a few times, the Sultana turned and looked out over the various warriors, causing them all to flinch as she asked "Are you expecting a break?", causing them all to instantly scramble to get into fights with one another lest they earn the ire of their Sultana. "Alright, let''s get-" She paused as she turned towards the other side of the za, redirecting our attention towards a Dogkin man that was running towards us as quickly as he could manage, weaving through the za and skidding to a halt right in front of the Sultana, who was looking down at the man silently. Dragging in a few breaths, the man straightened himself instantly and began to deliver a report to the Sultana, not bothered by the people around her and instead focused entirely on his leader, who needed to hear whatever it was that he knew. "Sultana, the... the Khisba Oasis is under siege..! One of the Fiends..! One of the Fiends is attacking Khisba!" "That was quicker than I expected... Which one? Was it a Ka Fiend or a Nua Fiend? There were two active in that area... or did another dig itself out of the sands?" Sensing that the man was on the edge of his rope, battling against exhaustion and likely about to suffer from both dehydration and heat stroke, I stepped forwards and began to heal him at the same time that he resumed his report, his willpower keeping him on his feet and able to speak even though most people would have already passed out by now. "It... It was a Ka Fiend... four arms, wings... and... and it had..." Swaying, the man almost fell straight to the ground, his eyes rolling around in his skull as it all caught up to him, but before he could copse and crumple Jahi caught him, keeping him upright. Even then, he still fell unconscious, but he had already given us the information we needed - at least some of it anyways - and without much fanfare the Sultana gestured for us to follow her as she marched off to the pce, with some of the Death Jackals peeling away from their spars to join her. "If it is who I think it is, this is quite the boon that it''s happened now. Four armed, winged Ka Fiend... That is likely Ka''Vn, a fascinatingly weird fellow with an obsession with this desert. Specifically, Ka''Vn wants to paint the sands red, and interestingly enough, not with blood. Despite being a Ka Fiend, Ka''Vn is one of the seldom few with an affinity with mana outside of the usual Wrath Mana that all Ka Fiends have No, Ka''Vn wants to turn this entire desert into a fiery wastnd that is overflowing with Fire Mana, which could then be used to conquer the nearby countries with little to no issue. And when I say ''overflowing'', I mean each particle of mana in the air would no longer be pure, but instead Fire Mana. Each breath would scorch your lungs, your skin would blister and slough off within minutes, your bones would char after an hour... Hell on earth made manifest. But, like all Fiends did, Ko''Vn got sealed away within the heart of the desert many centuries ago, and I learned about all of the Fiends through the folklore and fairytales that our people have told for even longer than that. Ka''Vn... is a worthy opponent for you four. Fighting fire with fire is a valid strategy, no?" Chapter 1007 1006: Vastness Of The Desert Chapter 1007 1006: Vastness Of The Desert ??"A shame, really... I was hoping that we could have enjoyed that curry before we had to do anything, but oh well... If Khisba Oasis is being threatened, I suppose we needed to head out right away..." Anput pouted slightly as kicked her foot out, sending a small wave of sand into the air as we inspected our mounts and double checked our resources and maps, making sure we were heading the right way with the right stuff. I nced at my mate and said "Whilst I don''t particrly care about this ''Khisba Oasis'', must you be so selfish at the moment? Aren''t these your subjects that are being potentially butchered at the hands of a Fiend? But all you''re worried about is the curry that may or may not have been served tonight?" That made my mate pout as she kicked another small cloud of sand up into the air, watching as it descended slowly down the dune and joined the rest of the golden grains that sprawled out in every direction around us; it was almost unfathomable to think that this desert could be so vast and almost unending, and yet... it felt like it, and even on the map it was a sizable chunk ofnd that was about two thirds or so of the Empire, which, again, was absolutely massive. Now just because it was massive didn''t mean it would take forever to travel, and as the sounds of light snarling and grunting filled our ears, I doubted it would take us longer than three or four hours to reach Khisba Oasis on mounts, but still... That was a lot of sand thatid between us and Khisba, and the amount of grains that resided between us and there was probably a number I had no idea even existed, let alone couldprehend. "Bah, the only benefit of Khisba is the grain that they grow thanks to the water they live around. The people there... all of them suck. So stuck up and boring as a collective, so desperate to remain mediocre so that only one of them has to do any sort of thinking... Khisba is a terrible ce to be. Beautiful, but terrible. I think the only reason people visit Khisba willingly is to find themselves a quiet, shy concubine to amuse themselves..." Tapping her chin, Anput stared out over the sands before turning back to me, the Jackalkin shrugging her shoulders as she said "Why you would want a thoughtless, quiet woman to be your concubine, I have no idea. Sounds boring and terrible for a home life.", which made me lessen my stare somewhat as I watched her turn fully to gaze upon our mounts. "The reason people like Khisba women, dear daughter, is because they don''t have a thought in their heads! It''s everything you could want from a concubine if you n on having a harem. Someone who won''t get in the way of the wife, won''t get any ideas about the children, someone who will just do what you want whenever you want them to. That''s why people appreciate Khisba women." The Sultana strode forwards with an equally tall, actual Jackal beside her, the two looking at us with stoicism as they joined our group, which was a bit of a surprise since I had assumed we were going to be traveling with just a few Death Jackals instead, but... Well, again, I won''t deny the supervision of someone this powerful, and when she added "Ah, and yes, I will be joining you on this one. I want to gauge your skill level from afar and understand where you currently reside strength wise. You will be fighting Ka''Vn without my assistance though, so don''t expect help. I just want to observe." I nodded in understanding, though I nced at Lady Kio afterwards since she was glowering at the Sultana. "Observe their fight or observe the women of Khisba? Don''t think I forgot what we were arguing about before they arrived, Anubi!" "It wasn''t an argument Kio." Clicking her tongue, Lady Kio rolled her eyes and turned towards Anput, who she pointed her finger at and hissed "You had better watch your Mom and make sure she doesn''t get any stupid ideas! Unless you want an Aunt for all but of two days before she has to return to Khisba in a basket." Anput blinked before smiling wryly at her Mother, who kept staring at her with determined, slightly angry eyes as she tried to get her point across, before nodding when Anput said "No, I would rather avoid that sort of trouble." "Kio, I must admit I am a tad insulted that you think my taste in women is that nd. If I ever take a concubine, she''ll likely be from Sak''hrat Hakim." "Huh?!" Lady Kio''s head whipped around almost fast enough to crack her own neck as she red at her wife, who just nodded and stroked the silky smooth fur of her mount, who was doing its best to stare straight ahead and avoid looking at anything nearby. "Yes, Sak''hrat Hakim... The city of our schrs and artists. A beautiful city full of beautiful women, smart women... If I take a concubine, she will be from Sak''hrat Hakim, and likely from one of the Academies that specializes in our culture and traditions. Yes... that would be quite nice..." She nodded to herself and followed the gaze of her mount, all while Lady Kio''s lips curled up into a snarl as she held back the desire to rip the Sultana limb from limb, which I had to admit was rather admirable; the rest of us silently stood in ce, not wanting to potentially attract the anger of this already aggressive woman. "Well, we must be off soon; I don''t entirely like Khisba either, but it is still apart of the Sultanate and is therefore entitled to protection. Don''t miss me too much now, my love." The Sultana reached for Lady Kio only to pause when the Dogkin pped her hand away, her anger ring and causing us all to hold our breaths as we watched from the side, wondering what would happen next... Only to be surprised when the Sultana just shrugged and reached for Lady Kio again, who pped her hand away again, but didn''t expect her wife to do so once more, and seed as she moved faster than Lady Kio could. Pulling her forwards, the Sultana looked down at her snarling, angry wife and tilted her head as she said "Kio, my love, I''ve told you many a time that I will not take a concubine unless you agree.I want harmony within my family, and harmony stems from the Mother, and no one else. If she isn''t happy, no one is happy." "Then don''t mention-!" "And besides, Kio, you need to calm down my love. It isn''t just you who is angry right now; our pups are boiling inside you as well." Touching Lady Kio''s stomach, the Sultana somehow made the woman freeze before her anger fizzled outpletely, leaving behind a rather tame Dogkin woman who just nodded and let the Jackalkin pat her head. "Take care of yourself for me, my love. I''ll return soon." Kissing Lady Kio, she let her go and nodded to her, and we watched silently as the previously growling Dogkin demurely turned and made her way back into the city, joining the various Death Jackals and returning to the safety of the city''s walls. "Come on then. Get mounted; we have a long journey to make." "How..?" "Hm?" Giving Anput a nce, the Sultana followed her gaze back to the city and nodded as she said "Kio has always been temperamental, and she can be a tad hot headed, but she listens well, especially when ites to family. Besides... she usually isn''t calm when we discuss this subject?" That made me blink, and before I could think about it - and think if I wanted to know the answer - I blurted out "That was calm?!", which was mimicked by Jahi and Leone, who were staring at the Sultana in shock. "Yes. If she was actually angry, she would have tried to pull that dagger of hers. I can''t tell you how many times she''s tried to stab me to prove a point... and she is one of the few that has managed to actuallynd a blow within thest few decades." Shaking my head, I turned away and began to grab my bag and bedroll, tying them onto the back of the Jackal''s saddle and ensuring they were secured before climbing onto the giant ''dog''s'' back, idly noting its soft golden fur and how it didn''t even let out a huff at me mounting it. "That''s enough of that, let''s get going! The sun is wasting and we should get there before nightfall right? Let''s talk and ride!" The others seemed like they wanted to get to understand this a bit more, but after I pointed at the vast ocean of golden sand in front of us, they all nodded and got onto their own Jackal''s, preparing to set off towards Khisba Oasis, where we would have our first ''trial'' in the Sultanate. Chapter 1008 1007: Khisba Oasis

Chapter 1008 Chapter 1007: Khisba Oasis

Jackals... were interesting creatures, and as we rode over the dunes and throughout the vast golden desert, we had all the time in the world to think about things as we pleased, and considering the current conversation that was going on between Jahi and the Sultana - discussing the best way to lift someone so as to m them down straight onto their neck to kill them - I was enjoying my thoughts for the time being, since they were calming and helped me ignore the damnable heat. Jackals looked almost damn near identical to wolves, just with a few slight differences that you could easily point out... if you knew about them, and if you were someone who actually needed to point that difference out just to know what wasing to bite you. In all, they had longer torsos that were perfect for carrying people, a lithe frame that was morepact with the muscle than a normal wolf - making them lighter and thinner, but no less powerful - a shorter, yet still fluffy tail and a snout that was really narrow andden with sharp, needle like fangs. Their fur was shorter but thicker, and they were rather soft despite that; coloration wise, they ranged from gold to ck, but nothing else, and currently my Jackal mount was a beautiful golden color that almost blended in with the sand. Meanwhile, the Sultana''s was a pitch ck Jackal that was farrger than the others, and its fur was a bit closer cut to show off its more defined muscture, which only made the Jackal all the more imposing as it bounded over the sands in long controlled strides. Additionally, they were rather quiet over all, their smaller paws making them really hard to hear even as they rushed over the unsteady ground, and I couldn''t help but notice that their ws were very long and gleaming sharp. They were beautiful creatures and deadly creatures in equal measures, which only made them all the more appealing as I leaned down across the Jackal''s back, resting my head on its neck and watching as the sands passed us by. Soft and warm, my Jackal was quite adept at maintaining a stable back, and it made the ride all the more pleasant as the wind brushed against my skin, cooling us both down slightly even as the rays from the sun baked the entire desert; perhaps the reason my Jackal was so pleasant was because I was keeping us both cool with my magic, shrouding us in a thinyer of water that worked against the desert heat while ayer of air above that did its best to redirect said heat. That might just be it, and I found this to be a much more pleasant experience in the desertpared to my first time in a desert, which had been... hellish and insufferably annoying, what with the constant attacks, impossible heat and stress of being away from everyone. This was much better, even if I had to know that a Fiend wasying waste to an Oasis in hopes of converting this country into a wellspring of Fire Mana so that it could bake the rest of the world, which simply wouldn''t do. "Kat!" Turning my head, I remained draped across my Jackal''s back even as Jahi called out to me, but when I saw that she was pointing forwards towards something, I reluctantly sat up and followed her finger, blinking as I my eyesnded upon something that usually would not be real in a ce like this. Lush greenery surrounding a beautiful crystalline blueke of water rested in a deep basin of sandstone, and we were looking down upon it from a dune high above its tallest trees and even the tallest buildings, which were constructed around the greenery. Normally it would be a beautiful and surreal sight toy eyes upon, one that made you question if the heat was ying tricks on your mind or if there really was a slice of verdant green situated within this horrendous expanse of sand, and with the simple sandstone city constructed around its edges, you would normally think ''wow, this is quite the city we stumbled upon~!'' And yet, currently, it was anything but traditionally scenic; there were fires zing around the city,rge pirs of stone that had chunks missing, patches of sand that were more crystal than grain, and around the entire city a giant sphere of mana held strong against the fury of the towering, red skinned Fiend just outside their walls. "Oh... we''re here already? Aren''t you just a fast thing..." Patting the Jackal''s neck, I traced out a few runes and created a small telescope for myself, using it to get a closer look at the Fiend we would be fighting soon and trying to see if there was anything noticeable about it that we weren''t told about. Tall and red skinned, the Fiend was very humanoid with a strong, chiseled physique and square chin, all of its body seemingly cut from stone and shaped roughly into a giant mound of muscle and power. Each of its four arms was bulging with power, and the balled fists were about asrge as the Fiend''s head, giving it even more force as it shrouded them in mes and punched at the barrier relentlessly, trying to crack it open so that it could enter and sunder the Oasis. Giant leathery wings red out behind its back as it stepped into its punches, and I could see that the wings themselves were covered in dark crimson ink, likely some buffing spells tattooed into a part of its body that would be hard to notice them on, while it''s skin was rather unblemished. Save for its arms, which had scales and small bony protrusions piercing its flesh, but otherwise Ka''Vn was a ''normal'' human, just with four arms, wings, and about twelve or so feet tall; nothing really noticeable about this Fiend besides that, and that only made me more curious about its strength. "So do we want to head into the city, rally the people and lead a counterattack with precision and coordination, or do we want to handle this ourselves? Khisba is currently between us and Ka''Vn, so if we are quick we can slip into the city without much risk. Or we can circle around, take an advantageous position and bombard the Fiend from afar?" Handing the telescope to Jahi, I resumed stroking the Jackal''s soft fur even though I was still staring at the zing fists of the Fiend, trying to gauge their power from quite a ways away. "We could... and that would be the smart thing to do. It might wield mes, but I doubt it could survive Leone''s, especially if she switches into her True Vampire Form. Then with Anput''s Metal and my Light... but that would be boring." "Jahi..." I let out a sigh and shook my head, but I didn''t bring up how there were currently men, women and children fearing for their lives within the city, who would appreciate a timely saving of their hides right about now... "It would be boring, but Ka''Vn is currently trying its damndest to break into the city, and the barrier is... well, looks like it''s beginning to crack. Are there warriors and mages in Khisba?" "Some. Not well trained, not the brightest, but some. The mana array is doing its job though. It''s been like this for around a day most likely. Impressive..." Crossing her arms, the Sultana stared out over the city and fell silent, leaving everything to us even as the Fiend seemed to be widening the cracks it had made, and that made me purse my lips as I turned back to the city. "Saving the people should be the priority. If you want a fight, I suggest we get Ka''Vn''s attention with a strong attack and lead it away. Give the array some time to recuperate just in case. Want to give Ka''Vn a deep scare or just piss them off?" Jahi handed me the telescope back and nced at Leone, who was tapping her leg and waiting impatiently for a decision, the Vampire Princess not appreciating how we were taking our time deciding what to do. "Scare. Your Ice, my Light right? How close do we have to be?" Hearing her answer, I grinned and shook my head, nudging my Jackal and making my way around the lip of the basin, towards the Fiend that was likely beginning to be aware of our presence. "The question is how well I can aim, and the answer to that is quite well. I have to admit, this might just kill them if they aren''t that strong~! I wouldn''t be angry about that though... this would be some good practice~!" Jahi set off after me, while Anput, Leone and the Sultana followed behind her, the five of us rushing towards the spot I had picked out to potentially kill this four armed Fiend in a single attack. After all, Light Mana is their weakness, and when it''s amplified by my Ice and by my Lust, it will only be stronger~! Chapter 1009 1008: Ka’Volan (1)

Chapter 1009 Chapter 1008: Ka''Vn (1)

Explosions filled the air as the four armed Fiend continued to punch the mana array with its ming fists, trying to prate the shield over Khisba so that it could crawl its way inside and burn everything to the ground, all while it shed that hideous grin at the warriors who were trying to whittle it down with arrows and paltry spells. Each punch cracked the barrier even more, destroying the mana within its surface and forcing the various mages powering the array to pour more of their mana into it lest it crack and let this Fiend in, and each punch carried with it the full unbridled strength of a Fiend determined to destroy everything around it. The Fiend was a mass of ripping muscle shrouded in mes, and as it stepped into each of its punches it pped its wings to create a backdraft to fuel its fire, empowering it even more and ensuring that the people of Khisba had a full view of what a Fiend was. Even from up here, the winged humanoid was giant and imposing, and if I had none of the strength that I had now, and if I had never killed before and was inexperienced in this sort of thing, I had to admit that this Fiend was rather terrifying; not in the ufortable sort of way that the Nua or some of the Tza Fiends had been, but in that traditional horrifying way of seeing someone hellbent on doing you and your family harm sort of way. Big, crazed, just slightly not ''human'' and capable of wielding strength and powers beyond your ownprehension; that was how I imagined the people of Khisba were feeling right now, and even if they were supposed to be the ''hardier'' people of the Sultanate, they too must have been despairing beneath the assault of something that they could do nothing against. Even their warriors were cowering behind the barrier, but I couldn''t me them either for that since few people could withstand the power of something like this Fiend, and only a handful more could deal damage to it that would go over its passive healing. Which was where we came in from the edge of the basin, staring down the side of the sandstone bowl and at the side of the Fiend, who was still punching the barrier and ignoring us even as we began to set ourselves up. "Well that is one arrogant prick... Ka''Vn knows we are here - knows you are here - and yet it ignores us anyways? Does it want to make this easy for us?" "Overly confident and full of pride, the same as all Ka Fiends. The same as all Fiends, really. Besides, it simply knows someone strong is watching it, not who. It knows not that I am here, just that five ''strong'' people are staring at it, watching it, observing it... I doubt it even knows who you are, let alone that you have Light Mana. So make it pay for that. Though I would enjoy seeing you four all taking it on in closebat instead, I won''t encourage recklessness that could lead to death for no real reason." Dismounting her Jackal, the Sultana stood on the sand and stared down at the Fiend, before crossing her arms across her chest as she leaned against the sturdy side of her mount, who had sat down to watch what was about to happen. "Do as you please. If you find it to be more ideal to kill this Fiend instantly, do so. If you want a little bit of practice, that''s fine too. I would suggest making your move soon, before Ka''Vn breaks into Khisba and burns it to the ground." "Yeah yeah... we get it. Would you prefer if Leone and I go and meet our opponent for a two on one, after you fire the opening volley? Does that sound like a good idea to you, or would you rather something else?" I nced at Jahi and left it to her, the Demoness clearly wanting to get in there herself since her hand was stroking the hilt of her great sword, itching to unsheathe it and charge on in to battle, but after a moment she sighed and dropped her hand to her side, her amethyst eyes holding a reluctance as she nodded at Anput. "Go ahead, but only after I say so. Kat, let''s be quick about it then, yeah? Get those lenses up and aim them at the Fiend. Let''s try and get about half of it burnt to a crisp... at the very least, let''s take an arm off of this bastard. Sound good?" Instead of answering verbally, I began to trace out the runes I needed to create therge transparent discs of ice that would amplify Jahi''s Light Magic, though to do even better I created multiple of varying shapes and sizes; one to catch the light and amplify it, and others to funnel it into a pinpoint urateser that would slice through the Fiend''s flesh. It took little time to do so, and as I created and aimed the discs at the Fiend, Jahi began to charge up her own spell, funneling her mana into the Ritual Circle and preparing to cast it whenever I was ready, and as soon as she did so Ka''Vn halted its current punch to look towards us in surprise, but it was too little toote. "Ready~!" Crouching down, I lowered the discs and felt Jahi move to stand behind me, the Demoness grunting quietly as she cast her spell and sent a beam of concentrated Light Mana towards the Fiend, who was trying its best to run away and ce the mana array between us and it, but again... it was too little, toote. I didn''t know of anyone who was able to outrun light at this point, so I just giggled softly as I angled the discs and aimed theser across the basin, directing a thin yet powerful beam of Light Mana towards the Fiend. Wherever itnded, the beam scorched the sand and left a charred line behind it as I quickly calibrated the discs based on what I was seeing, and since light was really damn fast, I managed to hit the Fiend within a second or so from Jahi casting her spell, and the results were... interesting, to say the least. Crossing its arms in front of itself, Ko''Vn exploded with Fire Mana as it created a dome around itself to try and block the Light Mana, which created another explosion as the two sources of heatcollided together. I kept the beam concentrated and focused on cutting a hole through the Fiend''s shield, and as I was doing so Jahi said "Go on! Whilst it''s distracted!", causing Anput and Leone to charge down the slope and closer to the Fiend. The beam tore away the Fire Mana and cut deep into the Fiend''s flesh, eliciting an agonized shout as it felt the Light Mana slice through its skin and cut the bone, interrupting the magical shield it had created and revealing its body once more, which opened it up to more attacks from the other two. Redirecting the beam upwards, I cut through one of its arms, sliced deep into another, and cut through its shoulder, creating a long, jagged wound from its stomach all the way up, which was scorched andpletely cauterized, though that only amplified the pain right now for the Fiend. "Enough..." Cancelling the spell, Jahi unsheathed her de and leaned on it, watching the two closely as they approached the Fiend with their weapons drawn; Anput led with a giant Kanabo clutched in her hands, the Jackalkin taking long strides down the slope beforeunching herself into the air just as the spell ended, while Leone raised a wand and sent a bolt of me hurtling towards the Fiend''s face, testing its resistance to it''s own element. Before it could even recover from the pain of losing an arm and being cut from stomach to shoulder, the Fiend was smacked in the chest with a heavy metal club, cracking its ribs and doubling it over just after Leone''s firebolt sshed across its face. Howling in pain, Ka''Vn spat out blood and tried to say something to us as it raised its head again, but before it could do so Anput swung her Kanabo again and cracked its neck, almost detaching it with a single hit with how deep the crunch sound was even from afar. Then it was met with another attack, this one from afar and of a different element as the Vampire shot a crescent of blood at its head, cutting into its cheek and revealing its teeth as the de dug deep, dealing even more damage to the Fiend. All in a few seconds, Ka''Vn had suffered wound after wound, but still it stood strong, even if its face was a battered mess that dripped blood and flesh, its bone structurepletely different from before. Chapter 1010 1009: Ka’Volan (2)

Chapter 1010 Chapter 1009: Ka''Vn (2)

"ENOUGH!" Fire erupted from the sands around Ka''Vn, and the Fiend stood to its full, intimidating height behind the curtain of mes and let out a roar of anguish and rage from having been so easily pushed back. "You DARE wound the great Ka''Vn?! You pesky, irritating mortals!" The reverberating boom of the Fiend''s shout filled the basin, and I tilted my head to the side as I looked down upon the fight, taking it all in from a distance and preparing myself to step in should I need to, but... The curtain of mes crashed back down to the sands and leapt at the Jackalkin, who was staring down the taller, bulkier Fiend unabashedly as she hefted her Kanabo, not taking a step back to retreat even as the fire washed over the ground towards her. Stamping her foot, Anput unleashed a wave of raw, uncontrolled Earth Mana through the sands in front of her, creating a shield with that as spikes of rock burst from the ground and protected her from the mes. A wide arc in front of her was now covered in stone spikes, and to further aid her Leone wreathed the Jackalkin in her own mes,bating fire with fire as she controlled a pir of her mana to protect the warrior, whilst she remained safely behind her and far away from the melee oriented Fiend. "Gods be damned I despise this desert..." A soft growl echoed from the Fiend''s throat as it shrouded one of its fists in mes again, though this time it did so to begin healing its lost limb as it ced its palm over the stump, slowly regenerating the lost flesh and bone. With two of its arms now out ofmission, the Fiend was left with only two to fight, but that wasn''t exactly as much of an advantage as it should be since it was still more than capable of fighting back efficiently with ''only'' two arms, especially since there was only one person fighting it in closebat at the moment. "Or more urately, it''s people! You damned Caninekin are always so damn tenacious! I cannot WAIT for the day I crown this desert as my throne! I will indulge myself with the screams of your kind as I burn them slowly... from the bottom of their soles to their scalps." Ka''Vn lunged forwards into the sea of spikes, barreling through them and ignoring the fragments of stone that embedded into its flesh from that reckless action, all so that it could reach Anput before she reached it. Pulling back both of its free fists, the Fiend punched down into the earth and channeled its mana into the ground, cracking it further and causing another explosion as the mes burst out of from the sand to try and consume Anput. Even wreathed in me she needed to be wary of the Fiend''s mes, so she leapt up into the air and swung her Kanabo upwards as well, cracking it against one of the Fiend''s arms and snapping the bone inside, but this time the Fiend didn''t even let out a peep as the club forced its arm into an odd, unnatural position. Landing on the Fiend''s shoulders, Anput leapt away instantly and created space between her and the Fiend, whilst also cing it between her and Leone, forcing the Fiend to weigh its options and make a decision that would influence the battle immensely. It could go after the mage and try to take her out, but leaving its back exposed to the warrior would spell its demise almost instantly; and yet, turning its back on the mage was a deadly endeavor as well, since she had already shown she had spells in her repertoire that would deal damage to the Fiend. Stuck between a rock and a hard ce, the Fiend needed to act quick to get out unscathed, and I narrowed my eyes as I wondered how it would do so, only to smile wryly as I watched those leathery wings p a few times before the heavy Fiend lifted itself into the air. mes coursed over its wings as it rose into the sky, and after a brief second of hesitation Leone sent a storm of blood needles towards the Fiend, trying to bring it back down as she targeted its wings and began to tear through the leathery membranes. Growling again, it punched its fists together and sent a shockwave of mana around itself diverting some of the needles and giving it a moment to regenerate the lost membrane, allowing it to remain in the air as it turned towards Anput and returned its anger to her instead. Another shockwave sted out around it before it folded its wings and began to dive towards the Jackalkin, hurtling towards her like a meteor and forcing the Jackalkin to leap back again lest she be crushed beneath the weight of the Fiend or be burned by its mes. The impact of the Fiend mming into the basin was enough to create a sizable crater right where Anput had been, before a secondary explosion coursed through the sands towards Anput to try and catch her just as shended, but the smaller Jackalkin was far more agile than the Fiend expected. Leaping across the sands back towards Ka''Vn, Anput swung the Kanabo hard down towards the Fiend''s head, while Leone unleashed another storm of blood needles towards its back, catching it once more between two powerful attacks. It didn''t have enough time to react to either as it rose from the crater it created, and as soon as Anput''s attacknded it was pushed back down into the crater, its entire body shaking wildly as she cracked its skull. The barrage of needles pierced its back and punctured dozens of holes into its flesh, dealing even more damage to an already wounded Fiend and making it let out another agonized groan. "All talk, no skill..? How is this thing a Fiend?" Jahi''s murmur made the Sultana chuckle quietly as she said "Because its raw strength outweighs its ipetence. It is nowhere near its full power right now... remember, Ka Fiends have a wide array of emotions and variations of those emotions. What do you think Ka''Vn''s premier ''emotion'' is?" We watched as Anput continued to swing her Kanabo over her head and down onto Ka''Vn''s head, hammering it down into the crater it had made and not giving it a moment of respite to gather itself, all while Leone continued to utilize the low damage, yet it was a constant buildup of damage across the entire back of the Fiend, opening a myriad of wounds that wept blood to weaken the Fiend even more. "What emotion..?" After the fourth blow from Anput, the Fiend let out an agonized and enraged scream as it crossed its arms above its head and caught the weapon on its arms, before another explosion of fire tried to melt the metal and scorch Anput''s flesh. "Anger. More specifically rage, if I had to take a guess. Which means the current peppering of needles and the heavy, domineering blows from Anput are probably pissing this Fiend off more than anything else in the world..." "Correct, Katherine. Fire is many things, but one of its constants is how vtile it is, no? Even in a contained environment, there is the chance that it burns too much or boils the thing you are heating up. Saying you can control fire and its byproducts is only something that fools say. So what happens if that fire is smoldering within the center of your mind?" "You would get a rather vtile person. Our elements already affect us somewhat simply by having them within our Cores, but... are you saying that it''s different for Ka''Vn? That the Fiend has its mes consuming more than just its Core?" "Correct again. Where us mortals are constructs of flesh and bone built around our hearts, minds, and our Cores, Fiends are constructs of mana and emotions primarily that usually just so happen to have flesh and bone attached to them. So if their primary emotion grows to a boiling point... you get that." As the Sultana was speaking, a loud boom shook the basin and caused Jahi and I to widen our eyes as we watched the Fiend catch Anput''s Kanabo again and yank it from her grasp, all four of its arms wrapped around the weapon as it shouted wordlessly at the Jackalkin. All four of its arms were back, but instead of being only flesh and bone like before, they had be transparent as the mana flowing within them red to new heights, and the missing flesh and bone was reced entirely with mana, creating limbs from nothing and ignoring the Fiend''s regeneration altogether. As soon as she lost her weapon, Anput turned tail and began to run away, giving herself time and space to create a new weapon while Leone began to solidify her position with defensive wards, all while a spell loomed over her head that spat a constant stream of needles at the already irritated and enraged Fiend. "This is where it gets interesting... but it''s still manageable for them, if you must know. There is no need to join in just yet..." Chapter 1011 1010: Ka’Volan (3)

Chapter 1011 Chapter 1010: Ka''Vn (3)

"You really think they don''t need any aid? I mean, look at that..." Jahi gestured down at the sea of mes that had sprung from the earth after Ka''Vn mmed its four ming fists down, the Fiend unleashing a Domain type spell that empowered it within a small area, which it was using as a shield against Leone so that it could fight Anput one on one. "At what? An uninteresting, basic Domain that anyone fresh off of a Core Awakening could conjure up with enough mana, or the fact that Anput has to actually begin trying in this fight? Ka''Vn has raw strength and a fury to make it dangerous and unpredictable, but as you are likely well aware, raw strength has nothing against good technique. If you cannot control your strength, you should not have it." "I understand that, but still, being trapped within a Domain - be they a basic one or aplex one - is still dangerous on its own, and this Fiend has a high amount of Fire Mana and a decent control over it! Why shouldn''t we just make this a four on one?!" Jahi''s anxiousness at wanting to be there for our lovers in a battle was obvious, but as soon as the Sultana nced at her and said "The answer is simple; ganging up on an enemy and tearing them down with numbers does nothing to improve your skills. You killed a Fiend but learn nothing at all. If you desire to do so, be my guest; I won''t stop you. Just know you are stifling the growth of your lovers - one of which is my daughter.", her t tone giving Jahi pause as she nced back down at the two mortals and one Fiend. "They''ll be alright, Jahi. Leone has magic that can even the fight some more, and Anput has Fire Mana as well; she won''t be too vulnerable in that heat. We should trust them and let them learn here. Besides, we both know that the next Fiend wee across - if it isn''t too bad - will fall on your shoulders and mine instead of theirs. So let''s just believe in them and let them train against this Fiend." The Demoness bit her cheek as she stared down at the two, her amethyst eyes filled with reluctance and worry as she watched Anput summon a weapon for herself as she rolled away from a triple punch, the Jackalkin making liberal use of her agility to outmaneuver the unwieldy Fiend to buy more time for not only herself, but also for the Vampire who was in the midst of unweaving the Domain around her. Her concern trickled through our bond as we watched Anput roll once more, the roaring Fiend swatting at her and trying to catch her from all angles, each of its fists crackling with power as they sted through the air towards her body, which she had begun to coat in her Metal Mana as a precaution. Taking her hand in mine, I soothed the Demoness as we continued to watch from afar, this odd experience that we rarely subjected ourselves too making it hard to settle down and not lunge forwards to join them, even if I get the logic behind why we should remain afar. It was logical but I sometimes despised how logic worked, and that only made me slightly more annoyed as Anput spun away from a jab and retaliated with a swift set of cuts straight to Ka''Vn''s arms, her katana dancing around as she began to leave even more into her speed. Shallow cuts appeared on the Fiend''s arms, her Metal Mana infused de dealing damage even to the ming constructs that it used as limbs, something that the Fiend wasn''t expecting as it suddenly found it harder to control one of its arms, which had crisscrossed cuts going up and down all the way to its elbow. With another flourish, she cut an ''X'' on the Fiend''s chest before leaping backwards, resuming her run as one of its fists was cocked back and aimed at her head, resuming the hit and run tactics that bought Leone even more time to utilize to aid her, as well as further anger the Fiend to bait it into the shier, more open attacks so that she couldnd even more hits. And right away the Fiend dove for the Jackalkin, trying to catch her mid stride and end her once and for all, all four of its ming arms cast out as wide as possible like a as itunched itself towards her with a p of its wings and a st from its soles, but the downside of being so muscr and sorge was that its version of being quick was still much, much slower than what Anput was capable of. Matching it''s technique of expelling mana from her feet in an non concentrated st, Anput shot herself towards the Fiend instead of away from it, heading just above the Fiend as she spun and scored a deep gash on its back, her katana shing through the air in a glittering arc of silver before she skidded across the ming sands behind it. Meanwhile, Leone had approached the edge of Ka''Vn''s Domain and was directly influencing the loose, messy tapestry of magic that it had erected as a barrier, the Vampire expertly plucking away at its weak points and revealing an entrance for her to make use of, which she used right away tounch a flurry of needles at the Fiend, her spell from early still active. Not even a secondter she forged her blood into a hefty spear that she hurled at the Fiend''s torso, plunging thence into its stomach and staggering the giant red skinnedbatant, giving Anput the opportunity tond yet another attack easily on Ka''Vn. Another burst of mana from her feet sent her flying straight at the Fiend''s head, and yet another flourish of her curved de cut deep into Ka''Vn''s neck, the Metal Mana severing the sinews and threads of mana equally and dealing a heavy blow. "It''s all about momentum, these fights againstrger enemies. Especially with a numerical advantage on your side. Build up that pressure slowly but steadily, and you can win more often than not. Reach a certain point and begin striking hard and fast, and these types don''t know how to react. Wounded and overwhelmed is a deadlybination, but not one that guarantees victory." Like she said, the Fiend let out another roar and disyed its unearthly constitution as it mmed one of its hands on its neck, scorching its red flesh and charring it to close the wound and allow it to ignore the severed sinews, substituting them with another re of magic. Spinning around swiftly, Ka''Vn caught Anput mid jump with a backhand, sending the Jackalkin flying in a direction she didn''t want to go in, earning itself a moment to p its wings and send the mes around it into a frenzy. Another barrier blocked the needle storm, giving it just a moment to recuperate mentally so that it could turn and send a rapid barrage of fire bolts towards Leone, peppering the area around her and driving her back out of the Domain, leaving Anput alone with Ka''Vn once more. The curtain of mes thickened as Ka''Vn shouted "[Ignasia Maceria]!", making use of an incantation to further iste Anput from Leone as it flexed its raw magical strength, and as soon as we heard that shout, Jahi wrenched her hand from mine and grabbed her great sword, preparing to rush down into the basin to join Anput. "You have little faith, Demoness, and it is both endearing and irritating." That simple utterance from the Sultana gave her pause again, the Demoness gritting her teeth as she snarled "I have faith in Anput, but if I can help her, why shouldn''t I?!", something that made the Sultana nod as she remained silent. Not getting a response from the veiled woman beside us, Jahi turned back to the basin and was about to rush down once again, though this time it was Anput who gave her a reason to pause as she saw the Jackalkin dart beneath the Fiend''s legs and crouch behind it, avoiding the reactionary backswing and giving her the freedom tounch herself once more. But this time, instead ofnding a simple attack and running, the Jackalkin decided to be greedy and go big, so she leapt into the air and plunged her katana straight down into the Fiend''s neck, the silver de encased in a cocoon of rock for even more damage. Stabbing the katana into its neck, she twisted the de instantly and ignored the Fiend''s gargled roar as it tried to reach for her, only for it to go limp as the katana in her hands vibrated, that cocoon no longer remaining on the metal as it instead bounced around within the Fiend''s body, decimating its insides and doing severe damage to its spine. It might be an abomination born of the anger found from the world, but even still it was a living, breathing thing, and like most vertebrates, dealing damage to the spine led to the inability to do most skeletal functions, leaving the Fiend to stand there unmoving. "You have little faith..." Clicking her tongue, the Sultana stood up from her spot and approached Jahi, patting the Demoness'' shoulder as she said "Though I must admit I thought we still had another minute or two before Anput decided to go for a killing blow. The world is full of surprises... like that this Fiend isn''t just dead yet." Chapter 1012 1011: Brief Second Wind

Chapter 1012 Chapter 1011: Brief Second Wind

The mes began to dwindle around the limp Fiend, its magic slowly but surely draining away from itself as it''s blood seeped out of its neck and into the sands, dying the grains red instead of gold. Anput twisted her katana onest time before yanking it free, allowing a geyser of blood to squirt into the air as the wound was finally opened fully, before she grasped the hilt of her weapon in both hands and chopped towards the Fiend''s neck, attempting to sever its head from its shoulders and end this once and for all. Ka''Vn gargled on its own vitae and tried to do something, anything at all to dodge or block this attack, the fiery Fiend showing its fear and desperation as that de inched ever closer to its neck, but there was little it was capable of with a severely damaged spinal cord and a myriad of internal injuries guing most of its major organs. If it was a mortal, it would have died already from these extreme wounds, but it wasn''t a mortal; it was anything but ''mortal'' - it wasn''t anything like us, not really - and it made that clearer than some of the crystals of sand around us that had been ssed thanks to the heat when its entire body shimmered and pulsed with power. Explosive power - as had been its signature so far this short yet eventful fight - coursed through its body and set off warning signs in all of our minds, and as soon as she noticed that Anput leapt far away and began to raise defenses around herself, which was then cocooned in mes of Leone''s own creation to further protect her from whatever was toe. She wasn''t even a moment too soon since Ka''Vn''s flesh rippled and pulsed as its power continued to mount within its coil, the Fiend charging something up and preparing itself for whatever was about toe. "This is why I despise Fiends... the tricks that they all tend to have that makes them unique and gives them their arrogance. So dull and boring." The Sultana clicked her tongue once more as she continued to observe this next phase of the fight, and she didn''t even flinch or show any signs of surprise when the Fiend just... exploded. Its body burst open and unleashed a wave of scorching hot yellowish white mes across the basin, bathing the area in an unimaginable heat that damaged even the mana array that had been bolstered during this fight, cracking parts of it and making the warriors and mages behind it nch as fear''s wed grip wrapped around their hearts and gave it a painful squeeze. Flesh and blood rained down around the area from the Fiend''s bombastic exit, covering the area in sizzling meat and bubbling blood, but not even a moment after that a being stood tall amidst the mes, one that wasposed entirely of the fire, fueling the fire. "Oh I will burn this pathetic desert and turn it into a wastnd of ss and dust... You Caninekin are going to be boiled and crisped before I dine on your corpses one by one..." Ka''Vn spread its fiery wings and raised its arms, channeling its magic into the air and controlling the scorching ocean around itself to erupt into pirs, which spun around like a vortex around the Fiend as it brought them towards the small earthen shell that Anput was hiding under. The vortex of mes that encased Anput''s shell red to match the Fiend''s mes, before swiftly surpassing them in heat and power as the fire went from yellow to white, and then began to shimmer blue as Leone empowered it even more, the Vampirebatting fire with fire and doing so in a way that the Fiend couldn''t find victory in. Consuming the oxygen in the air and sucking it away from the weaker tornadoes, before she went on the offensive and sent her vortex towards the Fiend, who had begun to back step as it realized just how outssed it was in terms of mastery over its mes. It might have more magic than Leone, and the fires might still be burning thanks to its anger, but now that anger was being dulled by the anxiety that had wormed its way into the Fiend''s mind as it watched that vortex inch ever closer to its elemental body. "This is also... not terribly surprising, but I have to admit seeing a scion of the Empress have such abilities at this tender age is rather... conflicting. I am grateful that we have mutual ideologies and respect for one another, which has led to a fruitful partnership between our countries, but seeing this only reminds me of the difference between the Empire and the Sultanate. Though I have always been aware of the gap in power between us." The Sultana''s words were a tad mncholic as she watched the Fiend continue to backpedal away from Leone, while Anput cracked herself free from her shell and summoned a new weapon for herself, one that allowed her to split the Fiend''s attention and begin peeling away itsyers of protection. A heavy spear flew through the air and sunk into the mana body of the Fiend, before crashing into the sands behind it as it tore a giant hole into Ka''Vn''s body, which was regenerated swiftly as the mana swirled back into ce, but that was enough to distract the Fiend for just a single second and loosen its grasp on its own defenses. As the bluish tornado crept ever closer, the Fiend tried to p its wings and take to the skies in hopes of escaping the heavy damage that woulde from being consumed by Leone''s fire, but just as it tried to do so a wall of stone jutted out of the sands and rose into the air around it, blocking its path backwards. It still tried to rise upwards, hoping that its speed could make a difference in this set encounter between it and them, but sadly yet another b of rock joined the first, this one jutting out of the previous one to block the Fiend''s ascent. Trapped with its back against the wall and a roof above its head, the Fiend turned towards the tornado and tried to overwhelm it by sending a myriad of its own fires into it, hoping to destabilize Leone''s spell and create an opening for itself, and its desperation fueled its anger as it screamed "NO! I WILL NOT DIE LIKE THIS!", but it was trapped between a rock and a fiery demise. The unique mana of a Ka Fiend flooded the air as its rage fueled itsst stand, that heavy, violent mana weighing on our shoulders even up here, trickling into our minds and filling us with a small amount of anger, trying to get us to join in the fray and cause chaos wherever we went, but it was a minute impulse that was easily stamped out. Anput erected another b of stone and further entrapped the Fiend, while Leone directed her mes to begin consuming the Fiend, the Vampire''s ashen hair glimmering orange and red as she concentrated her everything on killing this Fiend and ridding the world of its stain. Letting out another scream of anguished rage, Ka''Vn beat its wings and tried to rush into the tornado, hoping to push through the heat and push past the threat to its life so that it could escape, but the instant it did so it found itself trapped with the now blue mes. Its screams continued as it was burned by a hotter me, and the air was filled with a stifling heat as it was consumed entirely by Leone''s hungry mana, the Vampire giving it her all as she drained most of her Core to deal with this threat, earning herself arge amount of the credit for this kill. When the screams began to die down, she maintained the mes and continued scorching the desert around us with that boiling heat, the air itself blistering our skin somewhat and causing the mana array protecting Khisba to bubble as it was subjected to an intense wave of heat. She kept that tornado up even as she began to ss the area around us, the Vampire ensuring that the Fiend was truly dead and not simply ying dead, drawing those seconds out into a hellish eternity as she flexed her arcane might and let loose. I had to cover myself in thick sheets of ice to endure this heat, my body feeling far too hot for me to function properly and causing my insides to bubble, which hurt far more than most things ever could; even the Sultana was donning a thin cloak of mana as she watched the tornado continue to spin, but as it began to dwindle and flicker out of existence, all of us just had to remain silent as we looked towards the swaying Vampire, wondering just how she had managed to cast such an insane spell. Chapter 1013 1012: Khisba (1)

Chapter 1013 Chapter 1012: Khisba (1)

By the time that Leone had cancelled her spell and allowed the desert to return to normal, the area around her was incapable of doing so; where before the glittering gold grains of sand had rested in the thousands, catching and reflecting the rays of the sun to create a serene and beautiful - and hot -ndscape that was such a simple yet incredible sight, there now rested a rather unnatural and horrifying ne of clear-ish ss above the sands we were familiar with. Even if this ss would eventually crack and break before returning to the sands from which it came, it was still a promation of Leone''s might that would never be forgotten, not by those of us who had witnessed it. The Vampire responsible for it swayed on her feet after the spell ended, and before anyone else reacted Jahi raced down the side of the basin, rushing towards the Vampire''s side in hopes of catching her if she fell, but Anput was closer and quicker, even if she reacted a smidgenter than Jahi. Clicking her tongue, the Sultana had all of the Jackals follow her down towards the two fighters, and I walked beside her as I continued my analysis of the Vampire from afar, giving her a few moments of space and ''peace'' before she would be surrounded by people, since I had a feeling the mana array was about to drop any second now. With Anput and Jahi already fussing over her and her obvious exhaustion, I was more than fine allowing her to have a few moments to breathe without being cloistered between multiple bodies, and since I knew that she was suffering from mana exhaustion only, I could logically push my worry away and instead focus on something that caught my eye, something that was really interesting to me. Where Ka''Vn had been, there obviously was little trace left of the Fiend, but it was a little trace that fascinated me since that sort of heat, empowered by magic; there wasn''t anything that I could think of that should have survived that heat, at least nothing that I could recall from my studies and what I thought I knew from both my world and this one. So for something to survive that heat - and for that something to havee from a Fiend - I had to say that I was far more curious than a cat as I peeled away from the Sultana, heading across the ss and approaching the object of my curiosity. The ss shattered under my weight, the sound of crunching filling the air as I put all of my focus on whatever it was that had dropped, not bothering to try and have my boots glide across the surface instead. What rested atop the ss was an interesting thing that was hard toprehend on why it was here considering what had happened, because... well, a spattering of ruby bones - slightly charred, but otherwise unblemished - rested atop the ss, and one of those bones was the Fiend''s skull. "Cali, is this some sort of trick, or..?" "Hm~? Oh, this?" Appearing from my shadow, the Arch Fiend hummed to herself and drifted around mezily, basking in the sun and stroking her serpentine hair as she stared at the bones for a few seconds, before turning to me with a small smile. "Wanna touch Ka''Vn''s big, hard bone~?" I blinked once before deadpanning as I turned to stare back at her, making Cali chortle in amusement as she continued to drift around freely, unhindered by anything at all, which seemed to include both shame and a good sense of humor. "Well, besides this Fiend being a bunch of hot air condensed within a skin suit constantly over hyping their abilities, Ka''Vn wasn''t too special amongst the Ka Fiends. Just a tenacious bastard who liked killing things, like all the others, but instead of beating them to a pulp or running them through with a de, Ka''Vn liked watching them burn. So you tell me; does the idiot who ys with fire ''cause it''s funny to hear people scream anticipate being burned alive?" "Probably not, but when have you Fiends ever followed a logical and normal thought process? Maybe this idiot wanted to know what sort of pain it inflicted onto people by doing it to itself? That wouldn''t be a first. Or maybe this is a genius ying around at being an idiot? Also not a first." "Well, just like your first, Ka''Vn is gone and nevering back~!" The Arch Fiend snickered at her own jokes, and I just red at her before turning back to the bones, asking "So are they trapped or not, Cali?", which made her hold her sides as she spun around a few times, enjoying herself far too damn much. "No, not at all~! This idiot didn''t even think that death was an option for itself, so there was no reason to bother trapping its bones like the rest of us do~! Well... the paranoid of us do, anyways." "Thank you." Ignoring the floating pink skinned model that continued to yammer on with no sign of stopping, I crouched in front of the ruby bones and began to gingerly separate them from one another, creating a few groups based on how much mana was inside them. Not all of the Fiend''s bones were here, but there were enough from the two hundred or so more bones that it should have - if it had a simr skeletal structure to humans, anyways - to be considered a substantial haul, especially with the potency that each bone had. For instance, this tiny knuckle bone had a vast amount of Fire Mana lingering within its calcified surface, and the giant, thick femur bone had a simr quantity too, which made this a lucrative haul; the amount of mana was incredible even for the little I knew about Fiends and their parts, so I was a little excited to show this to the two victors who had the rights to these spoils. The skull was the real prize here, the vast amount of mana lingering beneath its surface giving me a moment of exhration as I wondered just how powerful a weapon or piece of armor would be if it was made from this... It would be a tad primitive in appearance and rather crude too, but if we made a staff out of this skull for Leone to wield, how much further would she be able to amplify her magics and how much stronger would they be? How much stronger would the tornado that she summoned earlier be if she had this skull to cast her spell through? Each of the bones were really potent, so this was one hell of a haul that we hade across, and I could only imagine that when we have a better skillset in enchanting and smithing, these would be the beginning of some of our greatest and strongest weapons and armor going forwards. We might already be at that level, but I could only imagine that we were both more wary of using these materials and making a mistake with them, which would waste them forever, then we were unsure that we could actually do something with them. I think we were skilled enough to forge and enchant them, but only time would tell, so I scooped up all of the bones and made my way over towards Leone and the others, who had been crowded by the people of Khisba. "This ce is boring." Cali drifted beside me, her body going translucent as she hid herself from the people of this Oasis, but she remained noticeable to me as I asked "How so?", which only made the Fiend sigh and twirl around as she replied "Because these people have little ambition. They are a literal people, a logical, serious people. They do what they need to survive and asionally enjoy the finer things of life, but not often. I can feel it on them... so boring..." That made me shrug, not really caring about what this group of Caninekin and other Beastkin were like, nor really finding myself that interested in them at all since I had other matters that were far more pressing, like delivering the bones of our enemy to the Jackalkin and Vampire who killed them. They were a tad heavy, but not that bad to carry, so I just waltzed on over to them and cut through the crowd of people who were ogling their saviors and whispering to one another about how they should reward them for saving them, and it was clear that Cali wasn''t lying about them being a rather logical and serious people. Their voices trickled into my ears as I heard the ideas of pooling together coin to pay Anput and Leone, the idea of offering food and water for free and hosting a feast for them, and even a few that were suggesting giving Anput and Leone ves if they so desired... Chapter 1014 1013: Khisba (2)

Chapter 1014 Chapter 1013: Khisba (2)

"Besides being exhausted, are you feeling alright Leone? I saw you using that magic, so I assume you''ll need something to drink soon?" I pushed my way through the crowd, not caring to be nice about it as I made my way towards Leone and the others, deciding to just take the swiftest route, which was straight through these people who were just milling about with no clear purpose. The ashen haired Vampire looked up from the ssy ground and stared at me, her pallid face remaining nk for just a moment before her crimson eyes focused on me, which made me tilt my head slightly as I realized just how exhausted she was after that fight. "I... I should be fine... besides, I think... I know what I want to drink tonight..." Leone nced over at Anput, who was grinning as she indulged in the attention of her people, though when she heard that she nced back at Leone and met her gaze, the Jackalkin just shrugged and didn''t give her an answer, which in and of itself was, in fact, an answer. "Well, that''s good to know. I think I need a drink myself, just to be able to ignore this damn heat... anyways, it seems we got a bit lucky! Ka''Vn decided to leave some of its bones for us; such a charitable Fiend, Ka''Vn. A shame there seemed to be too much muscle between its ears to help us even more~!" Showing off the pile of bones in my arms, I grinned at Anput as she sauntered over to take a look, the Jackalkin once more having her attention shifted as she went from each thing she liked; the praise of those weaker than her, the desire from any of her three lovers, and something that she could forge into a new weapon or piece of armor. "Oh wow... this is some nice loot for a fight like that~! Hey Leone, look at this skull! Whatcha think? Would make a really cool staff wouldn''t it?! If I use some of these other bones as decorations - amplifiers, really, but ornamentation is important too - I could make a pretty awesome staff for you~! All we would need is some other metals to conduct your mana - or wood, depending on the specific look you want - and some other minor materials too!" Her excitement prompted Leone to smile tiredly at Anput as she said "That sounds... like a fun idea, Anput, but perhaps we can talk about it... sometimeter, in private? Perhaps over a meal...", the Vampire''s exhaustion making itself known even more as she yawned and leaned against Jahi, who had taken her from Anput as soon as she reached them. "A-A meal is something we can arrange for you..! Our saviors, please,e this way! Come into Khisba and let us show you our gratitude! We have food, water, alcohol and more waiting within the city! Please, let us treat our saviors right!" An older woman approached us with a slightly strained, worried smile as she tried to ''convince'' us with free food and drink, her thin figure hunched over a tad with age while her eyes were beginning to get cloudy, but even then she was still a decent looking woman. And it was more than amusing to watch as she let out a gasp when those cloudy eyesnded on the Sultana, recognition coursing through her veins like ice water as she stiffened up and choked out "S-Sultana!?", only to fall to her knees and press her brow against the sand, prostrating herself swiftly. Instantaneously the rest of the people of Khisba began to do the same, surprise and shock once more consuming their minds as they went from being attacked and faced with likely certain death, to now having their ruler standing amongst them without so much as a word. "Rise... you''ve already been through enough. Let''s go back into the city where it is shaded, hm?" Her indifferent tone shed slightly with the words of concern, and as soon as she finished speaking the Sultana began to walk towards the city proper, leading her small entourage of Jackals behind her into Khisba like she owned the ce... Which... I guess she technically did... With the realization of who was standing before them, the people of Khisba then turned towards us and began to piece things together, starting with the most obvious - Anput. "Begum?!" Anput grinned at them all and nodded, basking in their attention and admiration for a few moments before turning back towards the older woman and helping her to her feet - not out of kindness, but instead to ask her a selfish question. "Do you guys have curry?" Blinking away the confusion as best she could, the olderdy stared at Anput nkly as the Jackalkin continued on, ignoring her confusion as she said "I forgot how damn good our cuisine is here! The spices, the heat, the vors... oh it just tastes so damn good! I don''t mind the pastas and grilled meats and breads of the Empire, but I really missed curry and naan, ffel and even kebabs~! Please tell me you have curry?!" Grasping the woman''s hands, Anput stared at her intensely as she waited for an answer, which made me sigh as I walked over and kicked the back of her calf just hard enough to make her jump away. "Pardon her miss, she''s just... been a tad homesick. I''ve heard some good things about Khisba, and food is one of them? We traveled all day, so I must admit we were all looking forwards to a nice meal." "O-Oh, well... I can''t say I don''t understand that sentiment, I just... hope that our cuisine can do justice to your ptes. So please,e this way Begum... and yes, we do have curry." "Thank the Gods..." I nced over at Anput and frowned at that, though she didn''t notice as she followed behind the woman and continued to bask in the awe and adoration of her people, but as soon as I asked "I thought you liked my cooking?" she paused and stiffened, unsure of how to proceed. Some of the people nearby looked away instantly, some furrowed their brows in worry and concern, and some hid small smiles as they watched the Jackalkin desperately try ande up with a way to get out of this ''trouble'' she had found herself in, and she seemed to be thinking creatively. Her solution to buying herself some more time and some brownie points was to approach me and begin transferring the bones from my arms to hers, carrying them for me and murmuring "Let me get these for you, my love... they must be heavy!" Staring at her for a few more moments, I just let out a huff and sped up, walking past her and catching up to Jahi and Leone, who were just behind the Sultana as they all entered the city of Khisba. Ignoring my mate, I made my way into the city as well, taking in the simplistic sandstone architecture that barely differed from that of Muqai Al-Maedin, with the primary difference being the utilization of dome roofs more often than the t roofs that allowed for an open, additional ''floor'' of the buildings. Topensate for theck of space above, Khisba was a spacious ce once you entered the city proper, with each building being a decent distance away from each other to allow for patios and othermunal areas to take roots around their walls. Some buildings clearly shared an area with one another happily, creating arge yard for them touse as they pleased; benches and chairs rested around tables beneath canopies, and various game boards and storage containers littered the area. It was a serene, simple city, and the space paired well with that simplicity as you walked around, the clean roads freshly swept of sand and the walls of the buildings smoothed out from both maintenance and weathering. Everything was just... simple and efficient, which was a breath of fresh airpared to the bustle of the other cities I had been to, and as we approached the center of the city - and by proxy, the Oasis itself - that fresh air was tinged with citrus and the crispness of moisture in a ce that usuallycked it. The people of Khisba tried to follow us as closely as they could, but when they reached the edge of their houses or businesses, they reluctantly stopped and began to get their minds back into normalcy now that the Fiend had been killed. Those that remained with us were either the soldiers, the mages, or the rich and influential of the city, but even the rich seemed ''simple''pared to some of the merchants I had seen at Muqai Al-Maedin, their clean robes or smooth cloth dresses not bearing any ornamentation or other disys of wealth that I hade to expect. Instead, they seemed to just value being clean and, like their city, simplistic in dress, which was just another breath of fresh air for the time being, and hopefully an indicator of how they would act when we reached wherever it was that we were heading to. Chapter 1015 1014: Khisba (3) Chapter 1015 1014: Khisba (3) ??"Our Vizier is... currently indisposed. She hasn''t emerged from her chambers for three days and two nights, and even her husband has yet to be granted ess inside. So I must apologize on their behalf as the Eldest Schr of Khisba, Sultana, that this table is rather... barren of important inhabitants." The olderdy from before gave a deep bow to the Sultana, who was lounging on the throne,slowly and methodically peeling one of the apples that rested on therge golden tter in the middle of the table, and her current actions were giving the woman a high amount of anxiety as she waited for an answer. Around us, servants quietly moved around and set the table, preparing us for the feast toe whilst also serving us wines and fruits to stimte our appetites, and they too were shaking slightly whenever they had to approach any of us at all, none of them ustomed to the pressure of the Sultana, even if she was making no movement or noise whatsoever that could have threatened them. Anput was gleefully downing a bottle of wine on her own, the Jackalkin pouring herself a ss before draining it only to do so again, while Jahi watched her from the side with a raised brow as she sipped on her third ss. The two of them were a tad worrying in that regard, but it wasn''t... as bad as it could be, since I hadn''t really noticed any chance of us getting drunk on something that wasn''t made from ingredients that were filled with mana; these were made from normal pressed grapes, which meant that we were fine to drink it like water, but still... "Wine is meant to be savored, Anput, so slow down! Besides, it''s unbing of a Begum to drink like that!" My mate nced at me before letting out a sigh, the olive skinned Jackalkin resting her chin on her palm as she dryly asked "But I killed a Fiend, so surely I am allowed to celebrate? It''s only natural to want to make merry after defeating an opponent of that magnitude, right? Besides, I almost got injured! C''mon Kat... surely you can understand..?" Her whining was just as childish as ever, the Jackalkin whom I hade to love so dearly always having this dichotomy between how she acted outside ofbat and inside of it, or whenever there was a hammer in her hands; she always seemed to be so serious and reliable in those moments, but outside of them... "Anput, you can still celebrate and be sightly. Slow down a little and actually taste the wine." Giving me a pout, she stared longingly at the bottle as I took it from her, before a slight glint of betrayal entered her eyes as I turned towards the still tired Leone and asked "Do you want some more wine, Leone?" Muttering to herself about how unfair it was, Anput let out a little huff before crossing her arms as she waited for the food toe instead, and as she did so Leone looked at me and nodded, before she asked "Anput... wrist, please..." The Jackalkin met Leone''s crimson gaze and grunted, offering the Vampire her wrist and not letting any noise escape her lips when Leone''s nail grew into a sharp talon that sliced cleanly into her wrist, cutting the flesh and allowing her blood to fill the wine ss that I ced under her arm, catching my mate''s blood and watching in interest as that crimson liquid painted the ss in a pretty color. A gasp came from the Eldest Schr and a few others of Khisba''s government, this sight of someone wounding the Begum so casually surprising them quite a bit, but since Anput herself wasn''t making a big deal about, they didn''t either, even if I could tell their eyes were on Leone. "She''s the Princess of the Empire, Leone Presa-Ash. If you hadn''t been able to tell just yet. Jahi Asmodia is the Demoness - yes, that one, the one with the Light Mana - and then there is thest of their little group. Katherine Zara, daughter of Julie Zara, who would have been the head of the Zara Pack if they were still around today." Finally breaking her silence, the Sultana cut off a slice of the apple and slipped it under her veil, taking a bite of the juicy fruit and enjoying its sweetness as she looked around the table, observing the expressions of her subjects closely as she informed them of who we were. "All of them are going to be wed to Jahi Asmodia, and they all have close bonds to one another; tightly knit as a family and as a unit too. Besides... she''s a Vampire." All of the officials nodded, though the confusion in their eyes only made the Sultana sigh softly as she waved the knife around, which made them all flinch like they were worried she would go from peeling an apple to peeling their skin simply because they didn''t understand. Raising a brow, I nced at the Sultana and watched as she slowly moved the knife back to the apple, her ears twitching briefly as she too noticed their reactions, though that barely helped at all; they were all so fearful of her that they likely wouldn''t even calm down when she left the room. "Anyways... you said that the Vizier is bedridden? Was it some kind of heat rted illness, or is she suffering from something else..? Is it an actual sickness or is she dealing with another ailment at the moment, like morning sickness?" The Eldest Schr pursed her lips before answering the Sultana with a small voice, her eyes stuck to the table as she stammered "I... I am not... entirely aware of h-her condition, Sultana... Like I said, s-she hasn''te out of her room for a few days now..!" Humming to herself, the Sultana just nodded and took another bite of the apple, her veiled face turning back towards us as she watched Anput fill up the Vampire''s ss with her own blood. The bored expression on Anput''s face as she was drained of her blood was rather surprising considering Leone had widened the wound some to get even more, clearly desiring arger quantity of the Jackalkin''s vitae for herself after that fight against the Fiend. "Is the Academy open still, or is it currently on holiday or some other sort of break? I imagine the Princess would be intrigued to take a look inside one of our many areas of learning within the Sultanate. Perhaps even debate against some of our Schrs?" Leone nced at the Sultana before turning her gaze towards the Eldest Schr, who was frowning at the suggestion, her eyes filled with a conflicted gleam as she hesitantly asked "S- Should... Should we really be allowing someone not of the Sultanate to enter the Academy, Sultana..?" "Did I not just say she could enter the Academy?" Fear swiftly reced her reluctance, and the older woman bowed her head low as she tried to prostrate herself in her chair, rapidly stammering out "A-Apologies, Sultana..! Many apologies!", which only earned the grunt of the Sultana as she took another bite from the apple. She was saved by the influx of servants carrying traysden with food, but even then she shrank in on herself and remained as silent as possible, trying to make the Sultana forget about her ''transgression''. Sadly for her, the memory of someone like the Sultana was impable, and when she turned back towards the older woman and asked "So?", I was not that surprised to see that she stiffenedpletely, her fur standing uppletely as she tried to figure out what to say. "A-Apologies, Sultana..! The E-Eldest Schr meant to say that the Academy is open! A-And our Libraries are free for the Princess to peruse at her leisure!" A man beside the Eldest Schr spoke up quickly, earning a nod from the Sultana, which caused the room to fall into silence once more, though this time the air on their side of the table was thick with fear and apprehension, the many Schrs and other officials all going as still as possible and breathing as lightly as possible as they tried to not piss the Sultana off anymore than they believe they had already. Seeing that, Anput sighed and rolled her eyes, ncing back at her Mom to say "Could you possibly stop pressuring them? I think that old one is liable to have a heart attack if you keep this up.", while I nodded slightly in agreement as I studied the faces of each, agreeing logically with Anput but also wanting this moment to continue on for a few more seconds... "Stop what? I''m not doing anything at all, dearest daughter. Just sitting here and enjoying this apple; it''s sweeter than the ones grown back at Muqai Al-Maedin. You should try one." Spinning the knife around and pointing it at Anput, the Sultana added "I would never do harm to my people, Anput, especially not those that don''t deserve it! I must admit I am a tad disappointed you would think otherwise..." "Mom... really?" Giving the Sultana a deadpan look, Anput took her wrist back andpped at the wound, watching as it began to close slowly, before she sighed and shook her head, muttering "Whatever... weirdo." I had continued to watch the expressions on the others faces, and it was really hard to maintain a straight face as I took in how they all squirmed in their seats at that exchange, clearly not expecting their Begum to treat the Sultana with that little respect... And not understanding why the Sultana was alright with her talking back so openly and brazenly, but when the Sultana just snorted and snapped her fingers, the room went still for a moment before she asked "You, bring me that tter of curry." Now it was impossible for me to hold back my smirk, so I looked away from Anput as the first - and currently only - tter of curry was moved from the center of the table back towards the Sultana, who unhurriedly lifted up a piece of naan to begin eating the curry, unbothered by Anput''s growling. "Hm? Is there something wrong, my dearest daughter? The food is on the table; you can begin to eat. You must be hungry too, so eat!" Scooping up some of the curry, the Sultana waved it at Anput and added "I thought you said you were rather famished? The food will get cold, so start!" before taking a bite of the naan, which only made Anput''s growl deepen as she red at the older Jackalkin. My shoulders were shaking slightly, and I could feel that Jahi was doing her damndest to keep her face straight too as she started to gather together a te of her own, the bond between us making it as clear as crystal that she was just as amused as I was. Chapter 1016 1015: Bared Fangs (1)*

Chapter 1016 Chapter 1015: Bared Fangs (1)*

Leone PoV Dinner was an... interesting affair, one that I loosely remembered as I sat on the side and listened to every other word that came out of anyone''s mouth, my brain throbbing in an unpleasant, attention deriving way that made it hard to participate in this dinner at all. I did see that Anput was rather irritated at the Sultana for stealing her tray of curry, and I did notice that the officials of Khisba were all rather... scared of the Sultana and surprised at the interactions between the Mom daughter duo. And yet, where I would have normally felt a bit off at the way the Sultana seemed so fine with the fear they felt and the stuffy atmosphere, I couldn''t even bring myself to be bothered with how tired I was, though as I cut Anput''s wrist open and watched those droplets of delectable crimson pour down into my ss, I felt my headache already begin to recede. I also wasn''t really certain as to why I was craving the citrusy blood of the Jackalkin over the usual divine nectar that flowed through Kat''s veins, but it was a craving I was willing to satiate during this meal, so... I filled my ss and began to sip on the Jackalkin''s blood, loving the tangy, slightly sweet warm liquid that coated my tongue and slid down my gullet smoothly. Pairing it with the fluffy, incredible naan and some spicy, juicy kebabs, I gradually felt my headache recede even more, and I focused entirely on eating as the dinner continued on, with everyone else chatting quietly about random things that held no importance to me. Dinner came to a conclusion before I could even realize it had, and during that time I had gotten a ss from both Jahi and Kat as well, but surprisingly to me, neither couldpare to the tangy blood of Anput, who''s taste I yearned for so desperately right now... and who''s body looked so appetizing to me as we stood up to head to our rooms. Her petite frame wasn''t screaming sex appeal, but as she turned around away from me, her leather d ass and exposed back stole away my attention, and there was something about her muscture that aroused me greatly right now... I wanted her so badly, and the longer I looked at her the more I realized where I wanted her; I didn''t want her behind me, smacking against my ass as she made me her bitch, nor did I want her sitting below me hugging me close as I rode her cock. I didn''t want to let the Jackalkin take control of me; I wanted to control her, I wanted to fuck her so badly right now that I wasn''t even able to think about sex with anyone else right now, and I have no idea why... but the why didn''t matter. What mattered was having this cocky bitch on her knees slobbering on my dick before swallowing my cum; that was what mattered, and that thought only turned me on even more, my fangs aching so bad as they slid all the way out in preparation for feasting on her thin, olive skinned neck. "-ke a single room then, Sultana? Or would you like multiple rooms?" Before anyone else could answer the woman, I rasped "I''ll need a separate room... for Anput and I.", which made the other two raise a brow as they stared at me in confusion, before shrugging as they watched me grab Anput''s wrist, deciding to askter instead of now. The woman seemed confused, but Anput just gave her a nod and allowed me to lead her away, though she didn''t do so demurely by following behind, instead walking beside me and making it clear she wasn''t going to let me do as I pleased, which... As soon as we entered the room, I spun and pushed her against the wall, trying to pin her as quickly as I could so that we could get started right away, which only made the Jackalkin smirk in amusement as she lounged against the wall, acting like I hadn''t just mmed her with a bit too much force. "What brought this on, Leone~? You''re that~ hot and bothered by the fight, hm~? Honestly, I couldn''t wait to get back and fuck someone either... I''m so fucking horny after a fight like that..." Since I had her by her shoulders, the Jackalkin reached down and grabbed my ass, clearly anticipating that - like always - she was going to be sticking her penis inside me, but when I snarled at her and gave her shoulders a squeeze, she narrowed her eyes while her smirk faded slightly. "Oh, you wanna y like this... alright, I''ll bite. What do you want to do, Leone?" Leaning closer to her, I took a deep breath and inhaled her scent, the citrusy tang wafting from her skin pairing with the sweaty musk to create such a tititing scent that made me hotter than before, my body burning up with need despite my Vampiric heritage generally keeping me rather cool blooded. "I want you... on your knees..." My voice came out in a raspy whisper as I licked her cheek, unable to help myself as I had her right in front of me and ready to be devoured, which made the Jackalkin raise a brow before she snickered and shook her head. "Nah, don''t wanna. You''re gonna have to make me suck your cock, Princess... I''m at home finally, and you know what? It''s making me feel a tad nostalgic..." She pressed her brow against mine and grinned, her obsidian eyes flickering to silver for a moment as she whispered "So how about you get on your knees for me, Princess, and get me ready to make a mess out of your pussy?" For a moment the entire room was still, but after that moment passed I snarled at her again, once more moving automatically as I squeezed her shoulders hard and pushed her down, duly noting how her eyes widened as she was pressed down so easily, the Jackalkin not expecting it... and honestly, neither was I. But now that she was there, I poured my mana out into my hands and wrapped the ming mana around her arms and legs, chaining her to the ground and freeing my hands for me, allowing me to undo my belt and free my cock, which was harder than it had ever been before. Smacking it onto her face, I moaned softly as I felt her smooth skin beneath my penis, her heat merging with mine and spreading pleasure throughout my body as I stood there above the Jackalkin, almost not questioning why I was restraining her and if she was even alright with it. That thought cut through the hot haze inside my mind though, and I looked down at her as I dragged in each breath, my penis covering so much of her face as I rested it on her cheek. "Anput... is this..?" The Jackalkin just growled, but she didn''t say no, nor did she try to actually snap free from her restraints, which reassured me and let me know that this... that what was about to happen... Pulling my cock back, I breathed heavily as I jerked myself off for a moment before pressing my tip against her lips, unable to help myself as I snarled "Open your lips and suck my dick, ''Begum''." She growled at me again, only to whimper when I pped her with my erection once, twice, and then three times, enjoying the feeling traversing throughout my shaft as I did so, and feeling even better at how Anput''s eyes filled with reluctance as she licked her lips, unable to help herself. The best part about our rtionship as a whole - the four of us - was that Anput and I were ustomed to being on both sides of the lovemaking session with Jahi and Kat respectively, but for most of our time together, the usually dominant Jackalkin took me like she took Kat, which was fine... But now, I wanted to have the time of my life with her ass instead, and so I was pushing her down and sliding myself into her throat, ignoring her angry re and instead reveling in the tightness of her mouth as I started to fuck it like a mindless ape. With one hand on the back of her head and the other on my hip, I buried myselfpletely inside her throat and suffocated the Jackalkin to prove a point, whilst also increasing the temperature of the chains as I kept her locked in ce. "Oh fuck yes... you look so sexy choking on my cock, Anput... Acting so arrogant despite needing me to save your ass multiple times in that fight... despite me being the one to kill the Fiend?! Where do you get this arrogance from?!" Leaning over, my content smile faded as I bared my fangs at Anput, and the Jackalkin just blinked at me, unable to respond since... well, she was choking on my dick, her throat stuffed to the brim and writhing around as she tried to make use of her voice, which only made me feel even better. Chapter 1017 1016: Bared Fangs (2)* Chapter 1017 1016: Bared Fangs (2)* ??My moans filled the room as I swung my hips like an idiot, unable to help myself as I buried my entire cock inside Anput''s throat, the Jackalkin reluctantly giving me a blowjob after I threatened to choke her even more if she didn''t start cooperating, which... Well, was rather different then how I normally functioned as a person, but for some reason tonight I was feeling more... violent than normal; not angry, not murderous, but just violent, wanting to take the energy inside my body and use it to put this Jackalkin in her ce by any means necessary. It had been a slight nagging feeling during the fight, something that whispered at the fringes of my mind; it wasn''t invasive either, nor foreign, but instead a part of me that I usually never heard from, a part of me that was silent, even during times of great duress. That voice had asked me why I was alright with covering this Jackalkin''s mistakes with no payment needed, why I was fine with letting her do as she pleased during that fight, letting her perform risk after risk before I had to protect her, all so thatter that night she could try and gloat over me as we made love together or as a group. The idea of Anput trying to top tonight just felt wrong to me on an instinctual level, and I had no real idea where this wasing from at the moment, but what I was a million percent confident on was that I really, really wanted to fuck her hard, and that I wanted to be the one on top and acting as the top. After I got to taste her blood, that desire only heightened, even with the sweetness of Jahi''s blood or the ambrosia that was Kat''s blood, Anput''s just felt like a delicacy that needed to be savored... and since it came straight from her, I felt a primal urge to ensure I could take it straight from the tap without any problems whatsoever. In order to drink it straight from the tap, I needed Anput to understand that there was a hierarchy for tonight, and to do that... well, that was the simple part, since she was a Caninekin. Dominate her and take what I wanted. So, I was taking her for myself, and that currently meant giving her throat a nice, creamy coating as I buried myself to the root and started to cum, stuffing the Jackalkin full of my sperm and groaning as my balls clenched against her chin. Looking down at her as I ejacted into her throat, I groaned again as I caught sight of her obsidian eyes that were wet with tears; not sad tears, nor angry tears, but unwilling tears since she was gradually suffocating on my dick, which sent a thrill shooting up my spine. "You''re being such a good girl, Anput... in your ce, doing as your told... such a good, good girl..." Patting the back of her head, I let out a content sigh as my cum continued to pour out of my cock like water, pleasure washing over my body and tickling my head with each spurt of cum, and each choked gasp Anput let out as she tried to swallow it all down for me, and for herself. When I was reaching the end of my ejaction, I gradually began to pull out of her throat, coating the rest of it before flooding her mouth with my seed, only to then smirk down at her as I pulled outpletely and ejacted on her face, painting her white. I didn''t give her a second to recover as I pressed my advantage, knowing that her ''chains'' had loosened during my orgasm and that if I let her recover, she would break free and begin fighting back, and I couldn''t have that... No, I most certainly couldn''t have that, so I yanked her up and pulled her to the bed, tossing her onto it and swiftly tearing off her clothes, revealing her lithe body and supple curves, which drew a sharp inhale from me as I admired her olive skin and firm muscles. "For a strong, proud warrior, you don''t seem to realize how close to death you were out there, against that Fiend... Fighting like you had a life to spare, like you had a guarantee to win with no significant risk..." The mes of lust inside me subsided for a moment, letting the other fire I harbored roar back to its full force as anger washed over me; I wasn''t angry at Anpute explicitly, nor was I angry at anything in particr - I think, anyways - but still... Leaning over her, I ran my hands over her body and eventually cradled her head, letting my mana creep over her soaked face as I removed the cum from her via my Fire Mana, ensuring she felt the heat and understood where she wasying right now. "Do you understand, Anput..? Do you understand what you did earlier? How you took unnecessary risks and needed someone to back you up? We were supposed to fight together, Anput... I wasn''t supposed to just be your safety. Throwing yourself at a Fiend renowned for strength without so much as a warning... needing to be saved since you thrust yourself into a fire too hot for you to ignore..!" I growled at her, btedly realizing a part of me was actually angry at her, but still, I don''t know why I was boiling as much as I was, not until her lip curled up slightly as she snarled back "You are my safety, dumbass. I fight physically, you fight magically. Someone needed to take the lead there, and you weren''t stepping up, so guess who needed to? Guess." My fingers raked through her hair as I bared my fangs at her, but she didn''t even flinch as she added "It was me! I stepped up, I took the lead, and I beat that Fiend in physicalbat with your support! So yeah, I fought like I had a safety, because you were my fucking safety!" The Jackalkin was still sneering at me like I was an idiot, so to get her to shut up I mmed my lips against hers, kissing her deeply and staring straight into her burning obsidians, not liking how this conversation was going. Logically she was right, but logic could give me the same deep throat she did and I wouldn''t care right now; I wanted to be illogical right now, and so I kissed her to shut up before pulling away and hissing "I''m not that angry at your wanting a safety, but I am angry at how you brush aside my participation and act like you were the one who killed the damn thing! You didn''t kill it, I did! You fought its first form, congrattions; it''s second form was stronger!" "And?!" Lunging forwards to kiss her again, I sank my fangs into her lower lip this time and ignored her growling, focusing instead on the sulent metallic, citrusy vor that exploded in my mouth as I began to feed, satiating my cravings for blood. After a few seconds I pulled back and hissed again, this time with a grunt as I used my legs to part her own, revealing her dripping pussy and hard cock; on a normal night, I would be taking her to her knot and riding her until she orgasmed for minutes on end, but tonight wasn''t normal. Tonight I pressed myself forwards and gasped as my tip spread her pussy lips apart, before it slid right on in and began to delve deep into Anput''s cunt, her tight walls mping down on my cock as I made my way towards her womb. "And... Anput, the ''and'' here is that you were going to continue on like nothing happened..." Still gripping her head tightly, I watched her features twist slightly in pleasure as I filled her up to the brim, my entire cock stuck deep inside her pussy and forcing her womb to house me as well, my slight movements sending jolts around her body as I toyed with one of the most sensitive parts of her. "You were going toe into Khisba and parade around this win like it was primarily yours, despite it being mine..! You were going to try and ce yourself at the top again, Anput, even though I was on the top for that fight..." The scent of her blood trickling from her lips was overwhelming, but I still held back as she stared at me with narrowed eyes, trying her best to limate to my girth whilst alsoing up with something to say, and out of curiosity I decided to remain still for now, simply basking in her tightness. "So you were pissed I was going to act like I fought and wounded a Fiend? You aren''t making any sense at all tonight, Princess... none at all..." That made me hum slightly as I nodded, realizing that my actions and words were all so damn illogical, but still... "Perhaps I''m not making any sense, but tonight... the only sense you need, Anput, is to understand that you aren''t the only one in our group who is strong... you need to understand that you''re as much of a bitch as I am..." I leaned back down and stared closely at her eyes, which had widened slightly at my words - be it from anger or surprise, I didn''t really care - and after getting right to her lips, I whispered "Tonight you need to realize that you''re not the only ''predator'' within our little group... tonight, you''re just the ''puppy'', not the Jackal." Chapter 1018 1017: Bared Fangs (3)* Chapter 1018 1017: Bared Fangs (3)* ??My words had made Anput''s eyes go wide as sheid under me, but she was unable to say anything as I began to thrust forwards, losing myself to her tight pussy and amazing muscles, my desires consuming me as I finally managed to be on top of the Jackalkin, and not sitting on herp riding her. Pounding her womb incessantly, I rocked the entire bed with each and every thrust, my hips smacking into hers, which sounded out nicely as my meatier thighs pped against her muscr thighs, creating that wondrous sound that was far more addicting than I had ever anticipated. With my penis hammering her womb into a new shape, I released her head and began to pull back, running my hands over her body and admiring her muscles in an attempt tost even longer, taking my mind off of the wetness that soaked our lower halves, take my mind off of the tight, writhing hole that wrapped around my shaft and tried to wring out my semen. It was obviously not enough, and if anything... it was the wrong move, since the thing that I found the most attractive about Anput physically was her muscles; these chiseled shapes that gave her entire body definition, this firmness that made you feel so safe and secure when she hugged you... "I really do love you, Anput..." Those words escaped my lips as a gasp, and the Jackalkin just stared back at me as I sped up even more, my hips moving faster than her hammering on an anvil and just as hardy attempts to be a smith alongside her showing itself to us both as I gradually shaped her womb. "Oh Gods above do I love you, but damnit if you aren''t an irritating woman to love sometimes! At least, during times of ''duress''..." It took all I had to speak my mind now, my vision slowly brightening as my orgasm drew near, her pussy devouring my cock while her womb sucked on my tip, all while the Jackalkin herself clenched her muscles and massaged my penis in hopes of getting me off even faster. Running my hands up and down her abs, I eventually found myself enthralled with what rested below them, my fingers dancing around her knot as I targeted another sensitive spot for the Jackalkin, making her writhe around in ecstatic agony below me as I gave her an abundance of pleasure. She was such a perfect specimen of a futanari, fitting one of the many ideal types so easily with how she merged the wonders of man and woman into a single body; the strong, confident muscles, the smooth olive skin, the gentle curves and long, luscious hair, the handsome face... All of it seemed to be exquisitely sculpted to create someone that any man or woman would drool over, and when you paired that incredible body of hers with a cocky, humorous personality that never seemed toe down from her perpetual arrogant happiness, you truly had a perfect partner waiting for whomever was lucky enough to have her. But of course, perfect didn''t exist in this world, and it never would; that arrogance of her was both a boon and a bane for her partners, and right now I was experiencing how it could be such a bane... At least for me it was a bane currently, and only because I wasn''t stable mentally at this moment, my mana exhaustion hitting hard and at odd times as the day went on, and that was why I was finding this to be so exhrating right now. I was able to take my irritation at her arrogance and shoot it straight into her womb, showing her just how pissed I was at her earlier actions as I made this normally dominant Jackalkin wriggle beneath me, her facade of superiority slipping with each choked moan that slipped past her lips. Giving her knot a squeeze, I felt her tighten even more and watched as a visible shiver ran over her body, her skin beginning to bump slightly as an intense wave of pleasure washed over her, and I couldn''t help myself as I ran my hands over her once more, this time heading for her perky, petite breasts so that I could give her hardened nipples a teasing pinch. The gasp that she let out at that made me shiver this time, and I groaned as I felt my testicles clench against her ass, the Jackalkin staring straight into my eyes as I began to cum right inside her pussy, my seed pouring out of my cock and sshing against the back of her womb. Draping myself over her, I bit her neck and began to feast on her blood as I came, unable to help myself yet again as my body demanded more sustenance, which could onlye from her and her alone. Her legs wrapped around my waist while her arms sped around my back, the Jackalkin finally finding the strength to move her limbs as she received a giant, messy creampie, the two of us drowning in pleasure together. I continued to y with her breasts even as I ejacted, and it only made her moan louder as she felt more and more ecstasy consuming her with everything I was doing; her body grew hot to the touch as I gave and took at the same time, my semen pouring into her from below whilst the mark of a Vampire entered her bloodstream from above, shing together inside her to elevate her temperature. Meanwhile her arousal spiked her body''s heat as well, causing the Jackalkin to begin to sweat as she was smothered beneath me, but that only made us both even more aroused since it showed just how excellent everything was... As I gradually came down from my orgasmic high, Anput managed to somehow break free of my body, the Jackalkin pushing my head away and spinning us around so that I was nowying on the bed and she was on top of me, but before I could do or say anything the Jackalkin brushed her ebony hair away from her face, revealing those beautiful obsidians that shone with passion. "I''m irritating, you say..? As you push me down and take advantage of me, you want toin about me being irritating..? You''re fucking crazy, Leone..." Our gazes locked together as I contemted what to do, and for a few moments silenced reigned within the room, but Anput broke it with a bark ofughter as she added "A good thing all of us love crazy, right~? All of us are fucking crazy in one way or another... still though, that was surprising~!" Trailing her fingers down my arms, she sped her hands over my own and grinned as she led them onto her ass, ''forcing'' me to fondle her butt and appreciate one of the few ces on her body that was softer than everywhere else. "But listen, you crazy Vampire... you''re a million years too early to think you get to be on top of me... no matter how we have sex~!" Chuckling to herself, Anput leaned down and grasped my breasts, turning the tables on me as she began to tease my nipples and forced a moan from my lips, which let her add "You''re right in some regards, Leone... I do sometimes act like I am the Gods gift to this world, and sometimes I over blow the things I aplish so that people praise me more... if you don''t like it though, you could just shut the fuck up and suck my cock instead~!" The Jackalkin squeezed my chest and silenced me with a soft growl as she continued on, not letting me speak at all... but it only began to remind me that this was who I hade to love, even in all of her imperfections. "So I can''t promise that I won''t try to steal your credit or act like I did more of the work, alright? Because honestly? I don''t give a rats ass about any of that, really. I do it just to do it, so that I can have people praise me more; it makes me feel good. Now, in private, between you and me, between us and Jahi, us and Kat? I have no problems praising you and ensuring they know just how incredible our not so little Vampire is, but Leone..." She leaned onto me, and the Jackalkin licked my cheek all the way up to my ear, where she whispered "You''ll never be the top with me, and never with Jahi. Maybe with Kat, but even then... You''re not a top, Leone, and that''s fine~! If you want to get your dick wet, fine~! You know I''m more than happy to give you the same treatment I give Jahi, but... Leone, you''re not dominating me, no matter what your hunger for blood tells you~! So shut up, let me ride this fat cock of yours, and suck my blood." To prove a point - and making me momentarily want to try and prove her wrong - Anput spat on my cheek and smirked at me, before she tilted her head and revealed her supple neck, the previous pinpricks oozing blood and snatching my attention away from her saliva on my cheek. Before I knew it, I was burying my fangs into her neck once more, and in doing so I almost missed how she whispered "I love you to bits, Leone, I really do, but damn are you temperamental sometimes... and I think I can be a bit of a brat~! Thanks for the idea though; I bet Jahi will love~ putting me in my ce..." Her words registered for a moment before slipping away when she began to move, and I gasped as my vision began to lighten again, the Jackalkin''s vagina mping down on my cock and squeezing out my sperm as she began to bounce up and down. Then her fingers moved around my nipples and began to tease me there too, all while her blood flowed down my throat and warmed my body up, swiftly and efficiently switching our ces in this session as I slowly returned to my usual self, the hunger abating. But there was still an urge there for more that irked me, something just out of reach that I didn''t quite understand; something that illogically whispered for me to take more and more from my lover. Chapter 1019 1018: Morning In Khisba*

Chapter 1019 Chapter 1018: Morning In Khisba*

That night was a wild one for us both, and the longer Anput and I went at it, the more I realized I really wasn''t cut out for being the ''giver'' in this rtionship; Anput was just far too aggressive and demanding of a lover for me to keep up, and while I pride myself somewhat on having quite the reserve of stamina, she drained it all from me... It got to the point that she was grinning down at me and poking fun of me as I stuffed her with yet another creampie before jeering at me that I was begging her to give me even just a moment to rest, which only turned this into a certain kind of night as I was yet again returned to my ''rightful'' position. The moon had long since risen and night had shrouded the desert by the time that we finally fell asleep, and it was then that I realized I was going to need to be content having Kat cater to my cock''s needs, because if I ever tried to take Anput again like I did tonight... Though maybe I enjoyed this more than I realized, since that sleep with her draped across my chest using my breasts as pillows was really satisfying and fulfilling, and by the time the sun had risen, I was feeling refreshed and reenergized, which... was made evidently clear if someone were toe in and look at us. And since Anput was still asleep... I couldn''t help myself as I smirked, an idea flitting into my head and making my erection throb painfully as I decided to take care of it in the only way that would make sense for this moment in time, and one I would likely get very rarely going forwards. Gently and carefully putting Anput onto a pillow beside me, Iid her down and admired her sleeping figure before rolling onto her back, my hands gliding over her muscr back as I began to gently massage her, making the Jackalkin moan softly as she rxed even more, unaware of her shifted sleeping position. Her firm muscles were wonderful beneath my hands, but what I really loved was how springy and soft her butt was, and as I wiggled backwards to sit on her thighs, I began to y with her cheeks as gently as I could, spreading them apart and squeezing them to my hearts content. I already understood why both Jahi and Anput loved ying with Kat and I like this, since I myself yed with Kat like this too, but now I understood why Jahi always said it was special with Anputpared to the two of us. Kat and I both had thick, soft bottoms that were excellent for partaking in sex of any kind, and Jahi told us often how she loved lining us both up to enjoy the pping that came from pounding us one after the other, but Anput was the only one out of all four of us that wasn''t curvy like that. Jahi had curves, and Kat and I were well endowed women, but Anput was lithe and tightly wound up like a rope, which made this all the more unique for us as we got to experience her different body type, and that only made this all the more special as I pped my cock against her cheeks. The fluffy tail was another part of this that I loved so much, though where Kat''s was more ''broom-ish'' in how it syed out everywhere, Anput''s was shorter furred and morepact, just like the rest of her body was, but that was still fluffy. Anput moaned again as I rubbed against her butt, my cock twitching as my body told me to get to it, which only made it all the more delectable when I stroked her tail and made her shiver, the Jackalkin arching her back somewhat and lifting her hips. That was all I needed to see as I grabbed my cock and pressed it against her pussy, the sperm fromst night still dripping out of her and making it an easy slip in as I resumed where we had left off, the ''bad memories'' of being drainedpletely leaving my mind now that I had some more cum inside my balls again. And with my beautiful and egotistical lover simply asking to be fucked hard at least once before she could take control of the situation, of course I was raring to go, so I gradually pushed forwards as I squeezed her butt, gripping her tightly just like she gripped me. Her moans as I reached her flooded womb was the icing on top, and I began to thrust forwards as I sat on her firm thighs, beginning to fuck her into waking up so that we could go out and join the others... and also so that we could get rid of our lingering sexual desires. Anput''s fingers curled up as she grabbed the sheets, and the Jackalkin lifted her head and nced back at me with half lidded eyes as she felt my hips smack into hers, her loose, tired yet aroused expression making me smile sheepishly as I said "Good morning, Anput~!" Those obsidian orbs gradually cleared up as I kept thrusting, and the more she stared at me the harder I went, smacking my hips against her ass so that I could watch the slight ripples that traveled across her olive skin. "This is ah~ not what I was... expecting from you..! Fuck! Why are you and Jahi so fucking big?!" Clenching her hands into fists, Anput gasped and turned away from me, burying her face into the pillow and moaning loudly as I began to thrust even faster, my panting joining with her moans as we made love together on this wonderful morning, just like how Jahi was currently devouring Kat in a room nearby, something we would walk in on soon enough. ~~~ Anubi PoV Letting out a sigh, I stared at the ceiling of the room I had been given for our temporary stay here, and I tried my hardest to ignore the soundsing from the rooms nearby, the upants clearly having a grand old time whilst I was stuck here all on my lonesome. "I should have brought Kio..." My mutter filled the ''silence'' of my room instantly, followed by another sigh as I shook my head and thought about how hellish this trip could have been with her tugging at her leash each and ever step of the way. I loved her with all of my heart, I really did, and part of the reason I was so infatuated with her was because she did challenge me at every possible turn, but I also needed a break from her lest I go insane. She would have tried to convince me to let her ride on my Jackal, where she would have spent the entire journey teasing me and trying her damndest to arouse me, before she would have had to have been restrained during the fight against Ka''Vn, and then tonight... Kio would have said things that I really didn''t want to hear tonight at all, so I could only let out a low sigh of relief that I wasying on this bed all by myself, though I had to admit that I was missing the warmth of the Dogkin right now... Being alone was something that I severely hated since it let the memories of my past slowly return, and while I was grateful the voices inside those memories began to block out the moans around me, I groaned as I realized whom the voices belonged to. My ''Mistress'' was whispering to me, and the memories of my youth came flooding back, unwanted yet demanding my attention. Would they ever realize how lucky they were that this was their youth, and that the worst things they had to deal with was simply the boredom that came from traveling? My age was undoubtedly showing as I realized that all of my children werepletely opposite to me; I had a chip on my shoulder that went deeper than most ravines, and yet they were born into tinum tesden with the tastiest meats and richest wines waiting for their consumption. The tribtions I went through... they would never need to deal with, because there was no one in this country who could stand against me, so unless they willingly wanted to call someone ''Master'' or ''Mistress'', they would never experience the things I had. I was barely able to keep myself from getting angry as the whispers grew stronger, the nights I had spent being something I wasn''t causing my heart to beat quicker than it would in any battle; those nights spent reluctantly epting the whims of a futanari who cared not about what I thought and was trying her damndest to break me fueled me with a rage that no one else could ever force upon me. Of course, those whispers of superiority and amused lust as she used me for herself gradually faded, and I groaned again - this time in lust as I tore away my clothing, all of it - and began to do something I hadn''t in a long, long time. Pleasure myself, unable to hold it back as I heard the sweet, sulent pleading of my Mistress when I had finally broken free; the way she writhed below me as I took her over and over again, the thrill that coursed through my veins when I chained her up and kept her as my trophy, my symbol of all I had aplished. The way she whimpered and pleaded for it to stop during the act always got me going, but it was tempered by the lucidity she showed when we weren''t rutting; she told me she expected me to eventually break free, that while she had hoped she could one day impregnate me and break my mind to be nothing more than her personal breeder, she knew that if I ever broke my chains... She would be the one being bred, and that she had epted that each time she snuck into my quarters and used her strength and magics to force me to do what she wanted, she was guaranteeing her future to be a bleak one. Even still, the highs I felt each time I made her scream for mercy... even now, I don''t think Kio has ever made me feel anything simr, not on a regr basis anyways, and that was fine... Something like this was far too addictive to have regrly, but... as Iid in my room, draped in darkness, I willingly let those whispers tickle my fancy as I ran my fingers up and down my cock and recalled the days I had made my former Mistress into my bitch. I listened to the whispers until they faded with the rising sun. Chapter 1020 1019: Morning Revelations*

Chapter 1020 Chapter 1019: Morning Revtions*

Kat PoV "So what got you all riled upst night? You seemed all sorts of off at dinner, Leone, and then you went and yanked Anput away like that..." Jahi continued to stroke my hair as Iidnguidly across her chest, sprawled out and content with what had happened to me all ofst night, my body burning wonderfully from the abuse my Demoness had meted out for no particr reason. Even now, her other hand was tracing out the light bruises she had left on my skin from when I asked her - pleaded with her - to go even harder, and like the wonderful lover she was, she acquiesced to my desires and then roared at me to shut the hell up. I truly did love her so very much~! If I was a Catkin I would be purring right about now with how blissful I felt, and Jahi seemed to know that since she was doing everything in her powers to keep me ready for the next round, which would likely be any second now~! As we waited though, Jahi was curiously asking Leone aboutst night as she gave me a few moments to rest up before she got started again, which was great if I was a normal woman, but I really wasn''t a normal woman like that, so I was obviously trying to remind Jahi of that fact as I rubbed myself against her, which only earned me a solid p, but... well, the cement of that p only made me moan and rub against her even more. "Fucking horny bitch... Leone, tell me quick so I can put this bitch in her ce. Actually, I want all three of us to put her in her ce, so make it really quick..." I shuddered at that, but I didn''tin as I was so easily told I was about to be made into a receptacle for them, which was exactly what Jahi wanted from me right now. "Well... the battle just got my blood rushing, I guess, and the thing was... I had some grievances I needed to air out with Anput, things I wanted to say to her in private, just the two of us. I think we made our peace about it, but afterwards... it was really just a settling of differences that we had, and we... we..." "Leone here actually made use of these giant balls of hers and pushed me against the wall so that she could fuck me. Seems her ''grievance'' was that I bent her over one too many times, despite this Vampire being such a good curvy bitch for me~! That was really it." Anput pulled herself up from Leone''s crotch and grinned at us, the Jackalkin seemingly not worried at all about the sperm that trickled down her chin or the amount of saliva staining her face, something that made her look so sexy to me right now... Jahi must have agreed since her cock throbbed against my ass, her erection returning as she grabbed my ass and said "Well... if that is all then, let''s plug this bitch''s holes and make a mess of her. I must admit, I had a lot of fun breeding Katst night, but I missed being able to give you both creampies..." "Hey! Am I not enough for you anymore?!" Pinching her waist, I red at the Demoness and stared into her amused amethyst eyes, before yelping as she raked her hands through my hair and yanked my head back, baring my throat so that she could lunge forwards and bite it; not like Anput or Leone, who actually broke skin and drew blood, but instead to mark my flesh with another bruise as she sucked on my skin. Sliding one of her hands back down to my ass, the Demoness lifted my hips and let her cum pour onto her thighs, the sheer amount of it painting her skin white as it drained from my pussy, the proof of our lovemaking from the night before. Jahi prated me without any hesitation again, and she started to p her hips upwards as she picked up from where we had left off, filling me back up with her thick penis and giving me something to moan about. Like a siren''s call, my moans drew the other two over, with Anput giving Leone a dramatic bow before iming my ass for herself, blowing the Vampire a kiss before gesturing for her to lubricate her, which Leone did with a blush. Listening to my mate get a blowjob behind me, I shivered as Jahi grabbed both my cheeks and spread them apart, revealing me to my mate and teasing me at the same time as her fingers gradually wormed their way into my other hole, getting me ready for the fucking toe. Jahi released my neck and licked my cheek before whispering "I don''t know why, but fuck have I been needing this badly... Kat, you''ll always be enough, but notst night... Oh I was so hornyst night... your screams made me harder than I had ever been. I''m still so hard even now just remembering them..." I whimpered as she pounded my bloated womb, and I managed to say "I-I c-can... I can t-tell..!", though that only made Jahi speed up, the Demoness grunting as she fucked me harder than before, not liking that I had the ability to speak back to her. When a tapered, scorching hot tip pressed against my other hole, I gasped again as another pair of hands joined Jahi''s on my butt, and before I knew it two thick cocks were pounding me like the good thick whore I was, much to the futanari''s delight as I tightened up, preparing to milk them for their semen. Then Leone presented her penis for me, the Vampire''s monstrous cock wrenching my jaw apart as she grabbed my head and started fucking my throat next, filling all of my holes up and turning me into their sex doll for the rest of the morning. Obviously this wasn''t the first - nor thest - time that I had been the center of their lusts all at once, and it wasn''t the first time I had been ravaged for long periods of time with no stop in sight, but there was something about this time that made it all the more special for some reason... My hips moved up and down on their own, my tongue flicked across Leone''s cock on it''s own, my everything was on autopilot, working to extract as much pleasure as I could from these three cocks that were ravaging my holes, and that was... That was... My thoughts were interrupted when Leone gasped and pressed my face into her groin, her fat cock pulsing as she began to pour her sperm into my stomach, the Vampire ejacting first like always. Thick ropes of semen sshed against the back of my throat, and I moaned into her crotch as her balls clenched against my chin, the Vampire ejacting like crazy despite having obviously given my mate more than enough attention earlier this morning andst night. The Demoness followed soon after, Jahi thrusting wildly up into my womb as my pussy mped down around her penis, her shaft getting a premium massage that allowed her to pump her cum into me without any issue at all, her heat spreading throughout my midriff as I felt another batch of her batter fill me up. "We need to... train Leone to not cum so easily..! Sometimes she just... she just..!" Anput gasped behind me, the Jackalkin spasming before draping herself across my back and swinging her hips wildly, smacking her knot into my ass and loosening me up some so that she could slip it inside and start the long process of emptying herself. All three of the futanari were quicker than normal, but I wasn''tining as Leone pulled out and started painting my face, nor did I mind that Jahi was grunting as she kept thrusting, giving me a messy creampie that drenched our thighs as her cum spilled out. Now with Anput knotting my ass, I was being filled with their cum, and while it still hurt sometimes to be the receptacle for all three futanari, that only made it all the better when they began to ejacte inside me. When Jahi had sufficiently emptied her balls inside me, the Demoness pushed me off of her chest and forced me toy on Anput instead, which allowed Leone to crawl on top of me as the Vampire wordlessly stuck her cock inside my drenched pussy, taking Jahi''s ce and fucking me hard as she took her turn. Of course, Jahi wasn''t stationary either, the Demoness smirking at the Vampire who had stolen her ce before grabbing Leone''s ass and thrusting inside of her, creating a little train as we fell back into our desires willingly. The entire room was filled with the stench of sex, that concoction of sweat, cum, and other musks acting like an aphrodisiac as we began round two, our minds drifting away slowly as the pleasure consumed us all over again. It felt so good for them to use me, and I gasped as Leone and Anput both bit me, the both of them taking one side of my body each as they marked me once more, before my lips were sealed as Jahi leaned down and kissed me, joining them in attacking me with their mouths. I could feel Leone''s cock inside my womb, I could feel Anput''s knot pulsing inside my ass, and I could even somewhat feel Jahi''s cock poking me from Leone''s body, and that sent another wave of pleasure washing over me, but it was then that I felt something else... Lust Mana. My eyes snapped open, and I looked around as best I could with these three pinning me down, but they certainly made it more difficult than I had anticipated... and my mind grew slightly groggy as the two bites deepened even more, but I managed to bite Jahi''s lip and force the Demoness back for a moment, though... "You bitch... what do you-!" "Jahi! There''s..! There''s L-Lust ManAH~!" I couldn''t keep my voice though since Leone resumed thrusting, the Vampire not finding this enjoyable anymore with how Jahi had stopped moving, so she began to rock her hips back into Jahi''s to fuck herself on the Demoness'' cock, which made her own move around inside me. Hugging the Vampire close, I grit my teeth as I cursed how giant she was for the first time ever, even just a single movement from her stealing my breath away now that I was being double stuffed, and with Jahi watching as Leone''s cheeks pped against her thighs... I wanted to hope that she would have realized what I said, but at the same time I could understand if she hadn''t... Chapter 1021 1020: Another Revelation*

Chapter 1021 Chapter 1020: Another Revtion*

Jahi PoV "Jahi! There''s..! There''s L-Lust ManAH~!" Kat''s pleasured gasp filled the room as Leone started to rock back and forth, and I felt my rity return for a moment as my eyes widened and my heart began to race at her words, but I couldn''t maintain that rity with how Leone was mming her ass back onto my cock, the Vampire demanding I pay attention to her through her actions. "Oh fuck..." Muttering under my breath, I shuddered as the Vampire''s pussy tightened up and gripped my penis, her folds writhing around my shaft while her cervix mped down beneath my tip, her singr action of throwing herself back wiping Kat''s words from my mind for the time being. And sadly, before she could try to repeat what she wanted to tell me, Leone began to kiss the Dogkin hard, so she was silenced and therefor left to shoulder the burden of knowing what was happening on her lonesome, and since I no longer knew what she had wanted to say, I growled softly and grabbed Leona''s ass. My fingers sank into her thick bottom and gave me exactly what I needed to start pounding her like the good slut she was, the pping of my thighs against her cheeks filling the room as I prepared to fill her ''room'' to the brim. Pulling her back into me, I dragged in ragged breaths as Leone''s pussy beckoned for me to go even harder, the Vampire squeezing me and milking me for all she was worth, which only made me thrust forwards even faster as I sought out more of the pleasure that she could give me. Watching her cheeks ripple around my fingers as I fucked her was sublime, and I understood the desires some people had to form a harem of a dozen plus different women who were all weaker than you at this moment in time; if I could get a bunch of thick assed, giant breasted sluts from various races to sit in a pce all day long, meant to do nothing besides ept my cock whenever I wanted a good fuck, I wouldn''t say no to it... Lining up a dozen women with an ass like this and fucking them one by one, leaving my seed inside their wombs each and every day until they were inevitably impregnated and carrying my children, before pounding their pregnant pussies just because I wanted to... oh Gods above I wouldn''t say no to it at all. Just thinking about it made me hornier than I already was, and I stared down at Leone''s ass with a grin splitting my face, a grin that widened even more as I pulled a hand back and pped her butt as hard as I could, making it jiggle violently as a red handprint began to paint itself on her pale skin. Oh, wouldn''t it be even better if I could have a harem of royal bitches to breed~! A myriad of Princesses, Begums, Chieftesses, maybe even Queens and Priestesses too... all of them answering to no one besides my cock, all of them with no purpose in life past slobbering on my penis whenever I presented it to them, or bouncing on myp when I called their names... Their true purpose being nothing more than to ept my seed and give me children; to remain perpetually pregnant as I sired dozens upon dozens of Demonesses for my own n... to have a gigantic army of children who answered to me too... If I were to start that harem, I would have Leone be my Queen; Leone would be my primary wife, the first of my sluts and the finest of my breeding pussies, a Vampire who would know the pleasure of giving life more than any other in history~! Oh, and wouldn''t it be nice to go around and seduce these Princesses for my harem, and maybe even convince their Mother''s to join too? I wonder how mature pussy feelspared to this; would it truly be looser, or would the knowledge that the woman I was fucking was actually a Mother turn me on even more as I prepared to make them a Mother once more, this time with my sperm fertilizing their eggs instead of some lowly idiot King or Queen..? Would it feel even better if I had the Mother daughter pair sucking on my cock at the same time? Oh Gods the thought almost made me cum... Leone was doing her best to milk me, she really was, and when it was paired with my dangerous, lustful thoughts of having a bouquet of flowers to pollinate at my leisure, I felt my testicles swell up with sperm that needed to be injected into someone''s womb soon. This urge of mine that had just blossomed was only taking root inside me now as I wondered if I should start my harem small... there was that older woman who was the Elder Schr, and while she wasn''t thick, I bet I could get a thorough taste of her pussy if I just asked... Spanking the future Queen of my harem, I let out a low groan as my balls clenched hard, before I started to ejacte all of the seed I had into her pussy, my vision going white as my entire body begin to tremble as warmth and jitters washed over me. My cum poured out of my cock like water as I shot thick ropes of it into the Vampire Princess'' pussy, filling her womb with my seed and giving the futanari a healthy reminder that she was supposed to be my breeder. All three of these sluts were supposed to be my breeders, my cumdumps that were meant to get pregnant from my cum whenever I gave them creampies... and yet..! Snarling, I spanked Leone again as I poured my cum inside her, the knowledge that she was on a medicine to prevent that angering me greatly right now, and I kept smacking her cheeks to vent that anger, the sight of them rippling beneath each blow appeasing me somewhat. But, while that pleasure was so very cathartic for my soul, the longer I came inside Leone''s greedy pussy, and the emptier my balls became, the more lucid I felt, and that lucidity led to guilt as I stared down at Leone''s red ass with a conflicted gaze. What... What the fuck had juste over me..? Why was I thinking so confidently about a harem..? What made me want a harem outside of these three perfect women anyways?! Why had I imagined what that Elder Schr''s pussy would feel like as I pinned her down and took her? What had just happened?! Dragging in breaths, I blinked a few times and began to pull away from Leone, thest few ropes of cum that lingered inside my balls spraying out onto her cheeks and not providing any pleasure at all, something that made me confused. Very rarely did I ever cum and not feel good from it, so for me to not feel any pleasure at all - not even when I was staring straight at Leone''s juicy ass zed with my cum - it meant that I really, really was out of it right now, and as I took another breath and wiped away the few beads of sweat that lingered on my brow, I found Kat''s wordsing back to me. "Lust... Mana..? ''Caligo? Did you..?" Feeling a hand on both my shoulders, I turned my head and found those dazzling, horrifying pink eyes staring at me closely, the snake haired Arch Fiend grinning at me dementedly as she whispered "Did I spike you four and make you hornier than a bunch of-! Well, you''re all adolescents anyways, but you get the point..." Licking my cheek, her long forked tongue almostnded on my lips, and I briefly wondered what it tasted like before shaking that thought away as I growled "So did you spike us, ''Caligo?!", which only made her guffaw as she rubbed herself against me. "Oh baby, if I wanted you four to be so~ fucking horny that you couldn''t keep your hands off one another, and that you were acting on only your base desires..." Her eyes shone brilliantly, and I shivered again as she leaned close and whispered "You would be doing your best to rape Katherine Zara there until she was battered ck and blue, her pussy torn apart while her anus weep blood with equal amounts cum mixed in... you would see nothing verifiable on her body besides the bone structure, that''s how much you three would be biting her, beating her, raping her... so ask yourself again, Jahi Asmodia; am I the one altering your mind? Me, the Arch Fiend of Hidden Dark Desires~?" Swallowing hard, I wasn''t unable to react as she ced her lips on mine, the Arch Fiend kissing me deeply and grabbing my breasts as she teased me, but when I came around she just giggled and stepped back, licking her lips. I... inadvertently licked my own, the explosion of sweetness and fruitiness that filled my mouth making me blink as I stared at her in surprise, wondering why she would taste so damn good... and how her pussy would taste instead of her lips... before I pinched my waist and snarled at her again. "Don''t be so crass, Jahi... if I wanted a better taste, I would have already deep throated your cock and made you cum~! No, that was something different... you know how you build up a resistance to poisons by ingesting poisons until the weaker ones-" "Aren''t affecting you anymore..? Are you saying you snapped me out of this... this... haze with a kiss?" Rubbing my lips, I stared straight into ''Caligo''s eyes for a few moments before looking away, unable to withstand the pressure that dripped out of them or keep myself from getting hard as I imagined those plump lips wrapped around my dick, the Arch Fiend''s throat bulging as she tried to take in the entire leng- "Honey please... I''ve fucked Centaurs and Minotaurs before; your cock is big, yes, but it''s not that bigparatively~! Ever seen a horse''s penis?" Winking at me, ''Caligo chuckled before returning to the topic at hand, saying "But yes, I broke the ''spell'' by showing you something stronger. You''re still horny - we can both see that - and if you don''t control yourself I don''t doubt that you wouldn''t stick your cock in the nearest hole, be it a pussy or an ass, belonging to a man or a woman, but yes, you can consider yourself ''free''. And if I needed to ''free'' you, then..?" "There is another Fiend nearby... a Fiend that is trying to do something here..? ''Caligo, get them-!" "No." Plopping down onto the bed, ''Caligo grinned as she watched Anput and Leone sandwich Kat between them, the two of them thrusting hard into her holes and making a mess out of her, more than I had ever seen before. "I don''t think I will. See, I''m rather... hungry, Jahi Asmodia, and unless our seductive little puppy can think up a way to get herself free from her own chains of lust and redirect the lusts of her partners, I think I''ll gorge myself instead. So how about you go and hunt this troublesome, mediocre Fiend on your own, hm~?" Chapter 1022 1021: Sla Hunt (1) Chapter 1022 1021: Hunt (1) ??"Oh, and just saying, I think you''ll find thatparatively, a Fiend isn''t as physically strong as the other Fiends, nor magically for that matter either. We rely on tricks and sex to get our way, and while it might sound idiotic to you - a warrior - that we aren''t the most confrontational, I think even you can agree that few people nowadays would resist a good fuck and some excellent pillow talk~!" ''Caligo grinned at me before pulling a chair over towards the edge of the bed, the Arch Fiend making herselffortable and ensuring there was space between herself and my lovers before she began to pleasure herself, something that made me growl softly as I looked away from her so as to not get too aroused once more. "I love watching you mortals try so~ hard to not get turned on by my body~! It''s amusing and never gets old... but I must admit, like any good huntress, I love watching as my prey slowly falls into my clutchespared to just pouncing and pinning them down; that thrill thates with seduction is unrivaled by anything in this world, isn''t it Jahi~?" "What do you mean by that, Fiend?" Searching around for my clothes, I rubbed at my brow as I btedly realized I had... been a little to enthusiasticst night, my desires to fornicate with Kat leading to a rather ''destructive'' time as I tore off not only my clothes, but hers as well, so... I needed to go find my bag to get my extra set, but as soon as I did so I noticed that there was a barrier around them too. "''Caligo..." Growling at the Arch Fiend, I gestured to the bag that I had brought with me and waited for her to dispel it, but she just giggled and shook her head, her fingers still dancing over both of her genitalia as she pleasured herself. "That''s not me, dear, but instead our sex crazed friend~! But uh... do you think I''m going to let you cover up~? Please... talk about eye candy... and you''re sweet to match~? C''mere and give me some sugar, baby~?" I growled again as I felt my loins begin to stir once more, the coy tone of the Arch Fiend pairing far too well with the asional nce I took towards her as I admired her body before mentally scolding myself for it... and then instead I looked towards the mess on the bed, those three bodies I hade to love and crave more than life itself entangled together in a sweaty bundle of lust. "Oh for the love of all that is holy..." "Getting horny again, Jahi~? Wanna rub another one out before you go and hunt this Fiend~? If you want, you can use me as a rag~! I''ll do anything~ you want... just make sure to shoot your seed all~ over me, ''kay~?" The Arch Fiend''s words sent a jolt through my body, and before I realized it I was showing off my full virility, my entire body warming up as I felt the intense urge to resume pounding Leone from behind, or to have ''Caligo''s annoying face beneath me as I stroked myself topletion and force fed her my- "I... I am going to find a way to kill you one day, ''Caligo, and then I will lock you up and deprive you of all that you need so that you can suffer... so shut up, will you?" "Ohoho~! Someone''s getting feisty, hm~? I''m not even the one utilizing the Lust Mana and yet you get angry at me... but hey, those thoughts you''re having~? They are all~ your own thoughts, your own desires... see, the thing is, we don''t artificially arouse people, us Fiends. We take what you already have and amplify it, make you think of things that you swear you would never think of, but are really thoughts you''ve just hidden away. So you wanting to treat me like a rag..." Biting her lip, ''Caligo looked down and pointedly stared at my erection as she said "Is all on your broad, muscr shoulders, Demoness... that desire to take a Mother and her daughter and have them both worship you, together, before you got them pregnant, together... that was all you. All~ you~! It was all of those chiseled, sexy blue muscles and your gorgeous, silky raven ck hair... your sharp amethyst eyes and curled, gold tipped ram horns~! Your twisted, sadistic personality that walks hand in hand with a battle junkie parading as a Noble warrior..." "If you don''t shut the hell up already, Fiend, I''ll rip your damn tongue out..." My voice came out raspier than I wanted it to, and I dragged in a breath to try and calm myself from this mixture of anger and lust that I felt, something that ''Caligo knew I was feeling and was taking her skills to exploit right now. So, I grabbed the dius that Anput had forged for me and looked around the room for something resembling something I could cloth myself with, before ''Caligo made herself useful as she said "No need to worry~! I guarantee everyone else is too busy masturbating or fucking to see you, Jahi, so go ahead and begin hunting for my wayward rtive~! And uh..." Giving me a coy smile before licking her lips, ''Caligo ran her hands over her figure before returning to her own self pleasure as she added "I''ll be watching you just in case, but just so you know... I don''t care for your safety, just your warrior charm~! Give me a good show, will you dear~?" Clenching my fist around the hilt of the dius, I red at the Arch Fiend before storming out of the room, entering the sunlit corridors of the capital building of Khisba...pletely naked and with a de in my hand. Not suspicious at all, I promise. Though as soon as I stepped foot outside, I was able to verify that ''Caligo - despite being an annoying Arch Fiend to deal with - was true to her word, and the sounds and scent of sex around me made me certain of that. Not because I just heard one couple having a good time down the hall, but because I heard multiple different voices moaning in pleasure throughout the building, alongside the familiar grunting of men and futanari ejacting, which added to the stench in the air that made my lip curl. What also made me certain she wasn''t lying was that the moment I stepped out of the room, I could feel something in the air that wasn''t nature; it wasn''t easy to notice, but now that I knew there was something wrong here, I could feel it brushing against my skin and caressing my body, whispering to me to join in on the festivities and lovemaking. Lust Mana... I wasn''t the most familiar with it, but Kat''s crude use of it was still seared into my mind; it was a powerful magic that I had to take note of, but the difference between someone borrowing that power and someone born with it, who uses it like they use their limbs is so very different that I almost didn''t sense it. But I could feel the very air around me beingced with a undertone of sweetness that tickled my nostrils, a warmth that wasn''t from the sun caressing my skin and lulling my muscles into rxing; the sounds of women giving themselves to desire as men and futanari swung their hips or weed a ride were far too distinct to miss despite being in their own rooms... Everything around me was not natural, and even though I knew that I still wanted to just turn back around and rejoin my lovers on that bed, to dive in and entangle myself with them, but that notion was smashed apart when a door nearby opened up, and a familiar figure stepped out. One that I recognized, and one that recognized me; the Sultana took a few steps into the hall before turning to stare at me, her veiled face a few inches above mine as she stopped and said "So you feel it too... and I presume that the others are firmly under the spell of the Fiend? Let me guess another thing too; that Arch Fiend of yours refuses to lend us aid because she finds this amusing?" Like me, the Sultana was nude save for her veil, her sculpted, scarred body on full disy, the sun''s rays illuminating her figure and making me blink as I realized just how simr she was to Anput... or the other way round, but in doing so I also noticed that Anput... hadn''t been simrly blessed in one regard, but that too was only by a little... "Try not to stare, little Demoness... perhaps it is because I have grownx in my training, but I must admit that this Fiend''s abilities are rather... adept. If you keep giving me that look... I can''t promise that I won''t try anything." Chapter 1023 1022: Sla Hunt (2) Chapter 1023 1022: Hunt (2) ??"So uh... were your clothes under a barrier of some kind as well, or did you destroy them in a lustful craze like I had? Or are you just..." "If you are trying to insinuate that I am some exhibitionist that wanted an excuse to practice one of my kinks just for the fun of it, please reevaluate your perception of me immediately, Jahi Asmodia. I highly dislike being unclothed unless I am in a bed." "Alright, alright, I was just asking... any idea on how we are supposed to hunt something that doesn''t want to be seen, heard, or otherwise located prematurely? The Lust Mana is rather thick in the air if you tune your senses, but it doesn''t fluctuate at all... at least for me, anyways. I don''t sense any differences in the Lust Mana in the air, and honestly, whenever I focus too much..." The Jackalkin beside me nodded and began to look around, the scimitar in her hand tapping against the tile as she searched for something, anything at all to locate this Fiend, and after a few moments she said "Don''t focus on it often. If you do, you''ll only get yourself aroused and in need of release, and if that happens... I''ll either push you into a room and let fate run its course, or I will make you into a eunuch. You can rest easy knowing that Lady D''Arcon can reattach it easily enough." I just snorted at that and joined her in looking around, focusing on the opposite side of the corridor as I tuned out the moans and smacking of flesh as well as the scent of sex that was thick in the air, trying to pinpoint any fluctuations inside the Lust Mana that permeated the air around us, only to force myself to take a deep breath as my body began to heat up. "Don''t... be stupid, Jahi Asmodia. I would rather not draw your blood, so leave the tracking to me. This Fiend is troublesome, and likely won''t be easily found... it might not even be within the capital building, and if it isn''t..." "''Caligo seemed confident it was nearby enough to warrant not aiding me in undoing that barrier for some clothes, and while she is an incredibly annoying, irritating, Gods above I want to rip her throat out most of the time Arch Fiend who deserves to die, I don''t think she would be so childish as to let me walk around nude outside of this building where people could see, since that would likely earn Kat''s ire..." ncing back at the door that led into the room where the Arch Fiend currently resided, I waited a few moments before nodding when no reply came from her, which to me meant she wasn''t going to risk that; while she was an Arch Fiend, she seemed to be rather determined to create a harmonious rtionship between herself and her contracted partner, so I decided that I might as well trust her for right now. Even if she was using me as eye candy to get herself off, which made my skin crawl. "Trusting a Fiend is already a bad idea, Demoness, but an Arch Fiend..? It''s your skin, not mine I suppose... and I guess it runs in your blood to be more amodating to them, what with Ka''Hondi being bound to your House..." Shaking her head, the Sultana tapped her scimitar against the tile a few more times before beginning to walk away, her long strides silently gliding across the ground as she began to follow a lead presumably, and for a brief moment I couldn''t help but admire her muscr back and shapely backside, only to shiver as her scimitar began to drag across the tile, its edge grinding against the stone and letting out a metallic screech that held dangerous promises. "Sorry, sorry... I wasn''t meaning to... I was just admiring your muscles, really, didn''t mean to be-" "Please don''t lie, Jahi. It''s unbing. I don''t mind the look, but I do mind it when we are hunting a Fiend that uses sex as a weapon. Thank you for the admiration, and I will say we can call it even because I have to admit I never understood how Chordeva managed to maintain such a physique with breasts asrge as hers, and now I don''t understand it even more since you have a near identical build. Fascinatingly irritating." Leaving behind the room with my three lovers blissfully unaware and unable to help us, I grunted and nced down at my chest before moving to stand beside the Sultana, deciding that being in front of her or behind her would just be an issue waiting to happen; for me primarily, and not her since she was much, much stronger than I was. "I don''t know, it''s just how I am... and you say you don''t mind the look, yet you im you want to make me a eunuch if I do stare too hard, and then-" "There is a difference between admiration and lustful desire, Jahi. Admiring my physique in its entirety is fine, but staring at my butt and wanting to do something to it is an entirely different thing altogether. Would you mind if I ogled your breasts and unted myself to you at the same time?" "I get it, I get it... alright, are we following some kind of trail right now, or just getting a feel of the building to see if areas are different? Also... good to see that our architectural styles are simr enough that the entire building is symmetrical and damn near the same..." The Jackalkin beside me snorted as she rested the scimitar on her shoulder, clearly amused at something as she looked at the two branching paths that led around the perimeter of the building, and before she could even suggest something I shook my head. "Separating feels stupid in a situation like this. A Fiend that can just st you with Lust Mana and try and seduce you into having sex with it? I would rather not be looking around on my own; I am also assuming you have something to protect against such an ''attack'', so I would rather pick your brain and try to create a defense for myself as well instead of hunting alone." "I understand, and I wasn''t going to suggest splitting up; that would be negligent on my part. Unless I was looking forwards to having that Fiend for myself?" Even with a veiled face, I could tell she was smirking at me, which made me roll my eyes as I replied "And run the risk of Lady Kio hearing about it someway, somehow? Unless you are into the idea of a tumultuous return home, I would advise against fucking this Fiend. Also... I like my skin where it is, and I feel like your wife - my Mother inw - would take a dagger to us both before she even decided to let us utter a word to defend ourselves." She snorted again and nodded, tapping the back of the scimitar against her shoulder as she looked between the two halls, her triangr ears twitching as she listened to the sounds of lust around us. "It''s louder that way, but that is also where the servants reside... do you think this Fiend would want quantity over quality? Because the guards are down that side, if this building does indeed follow the same exact floor n as all of the others..." "So it is identical and symmetrical too? Perfect. But... no, I was wondering, where does the Vizier reside? They were ''sick'', remember? I think that would be a better ce to start instead of trying to search randomly. And besides... the strength of the person might have no corrtion to the amount of Lust Mana they could produce, right? I feel like I have heard about a few weaklings having a voracious appetite while some stronger people have paltry desires." Humming, the Sultana nodded and began to walk down the right corridor, leading us further into the building and towards the servant''s quarters as she said "That makes a lot of sense, and so does your other point as well. If this Fiend requires some Lust Mana to increase its power even more, then it would look for the sheer quantity of it instead of quality since it can refine whatever it harvests, right? That makes the most sense... faster and easier to go for more instead of searching for finer quality..." "And we do need to be aware that this Fiend... it is rather adept with its powers, and quite sly too. Maybe it will try to trap us or trick us on the way..?" The Lust Mana in the air was still as thick as ever, and the plethora of moans around us only made that warm feeling grow even faster as the servants descended into their lusts freely, unaware of the insidious nature of what was happening inside this building. Chapter 1024 1023: Sla Hunt (3) Chapter 1024 1023: Hunt (3) ??"Have you ever fought a Fiend before, Sultana? I must admit I am curious as to how they fight, if they fight at all... Ka Fiends, Nua Fiends, Tza Fiends, all of them are rather unique in their traits and fighting style, but I haven''t met a Fiend just yet. Well, besides ''Caligo." Spinning the dius around in my hand to distract myself from the sounds of sex around us, I studied the architecture of the building and idly noted how so far, this part of the capital building looked the exact same as the rest of it; dark wooden doors framed by a sandstone brick outline to give the walls depth, simple tiles covered in a long red rug that trailed down the middle of the hallway, shelvesden with silver candbras and othernterns to keep the area illuminated... Each part of the building felt like it was constructed via a temte that someone had used to create this expanse of rooms and halls, each part filled with the same things as thest and kept to a specific pattern that didn''t allow for much change, which wasn''t bad, but... It was confusing, though thankfully the Sultana knew her way through these sort of buildings as she led me even further in, past the servant quarters and into a quieter, calmer area that the Vizier resided in, which should be a but more grand than the rest of the building, what with her being the ruler of Khisba and all. "No, and few people actually have. See, where the other Fiends want to fight and kill, Fiends rarely get into confrontations that lead to death, be it yours or theirs. And the reason is simple; violence requires death, decay requires death, knowledge is to be gained from the dead, but lust requires vitality, virility. They need you to be alive to get that lust to empower themselves. So if I had to guess, this Fiend wouldn''t want to fight either. It might run as soon as it realizes we are onto it, or it might try and seduce us to keep itself alive." I nodded, understanding the logic behind that; all of the other Fiends need to kill to get stronger, to hone and refine themselves inside of a battle so that they can understand how to utilize their strengths to the utmost of their abilities, but a Fiend... They don''t need to fight anyone, since their ''battlefield'' is inside of a ''safe'' area; the bed is their battlefield, sex is their weapon, and learning how to extract more lust from someone would be easier to do if you kept them alive and happy to join you. Now to say that they don''t ''kill'' someone would be a lie, since I imagine the lust they give and the lust they take changes someone permanently and drastically, with this current disy being rather convincing so far; these people likely wouldn''t have normally been going at it so hard and so eagerly when the sun was already up, remaining in their rooms and making love even though they have a job to do. That was what made the Fiend''s dangerous, and why I was curious to know if the Sultana had physically fought one before, since I had a feeling in my gut that this wasn''t going to be a simple day; nothing with a Fiend was ever simple, but I just felt something was off about this. "Then shouldn''t we be extra careful since... well, we are in the midst of a ratherrge cesspool of lust at the moment, no? I feel like this might just be a tad... dangerous." "Only a tad? That''s surprising. I find this to be a rather intimidating fighting ahead simply because of the mental aspect... and if you think you are steeled enough, check the mana around us once more. It has grown in strength as we have approached the Vizier''s quarters... so it would seem that your intuition was correct, Jahi." Focusing on the air around us once more, I nearly choked myself as I swallowed hard, the sheer amount of Lust Mana drifting through the air wrapping around my throat and creeping into my nostrils, trying to suffocate me simply by sensing it. My body grew hot once more, and I shivered as I grit my teeth and tried to sever the connection between myself and the mana, to remove its insidious touch from my body, so I began to channel my Light Mana across my skin and towards my head in an attempt to defend myself. Coming to a halt, I clenched my fists and fought against the heat that spread over me, my mana ring as it came into contact with that pink mist, and as I stood there I was unaware of how dangerously close I hade to death, since the Sultana was staring at me with her scimitar gently tapping against the tile once more. My everything tingled as I bit my tongue, holding back a moan as I felt something tickling the edges of my mind, whispering to me to surrender and guide my hands lower, towards my other ''sword'', to wet it and temper it with one of the many servants around here, to lose myself to the dreams that I had locked away within my mind... But the idea of pursuing that dream brought the image of Anput, Leone, and Kat into my mind as well, the three of them staring down at me in disgust as they caught me rutting with another woman in a bed that wasn''t ours, and the void like eyes that began to consume my mind as I imagined them unsheathing some daggers too... Especially Kat, since I had seen her far too many times enjoying herself as she took to a monster or person''s skin, slowly peeling it away before beginning to slice into their flesh and remove chunks of it at a time, all while maintaining a gleeful smile on her face that was reminiscent of a child getting their favorite toy gifted to them. That thought alone sent shivers down my spine that cleared any and all heat that might have been building up within my loins dissipated instantly, allowing my Light Mana to chew away at the rest of the Lust Mana that had continued to trickle into my body, freeing me from its clutches. "Gods be damned..! That was..!" My breathing was ragged as I stumbled back another step, and I felt my heart beating hard within my chest as adrenaline began to course through my body, each beat causing my vision to pulse and fade, and I could only drag in my breaths to try and calm myself down, all while the Sultana watched me. "We... We haven''t even fought it... or seen it... and it''s already... this is more adrenaline than... than I got when I fought Ka''Vn... or any other Fiend for that matter..." Looking up at the Sultana, I saw her nod her head as she turned back to the double doors that lead into the Vizier''s room, which was... bereft of any sound at all, something that was incredibly suspicious and telling, though not surprising anymore. "I told you, and ''Caligo likely told you as well... of the four types of Fiends, the most insidious and horrifying aren''t the Ka, who murder indiscriminately, devouring flesh and drinking blood. It isn''t the Nua, who spread pestilence and disease everywhere to decay and twist the organic. It isn''t even the Tza with all of their forbidden, lost knowledge and mastery over the arcane in its entirety. It''s the who are the scariest of the bunch, because Lust isn''t always sexual in nature. And when pushed into a corner..." "Yeah... Kat told me about it. How they can sap your will to do anything, let alone your will to fight. Oh for... this is going to be hell, isn''t it?" Steadying myself, I flushed my muscles with my Light Mana and got my mental state back into working order as well, steeling myself for the opening of that door and the battle that woulde. "Hell that we need to dive into. Are you ready?" I gave her a nod and spun my dius once more, loosening my wrist and preparing myself to move quickly so that I could attack before the Fiend got the chance to do anything, which was a long shot of a hope, but hey, you need to have hope for everything! The dark wood door was gilded with silver and had two jackal heads as door knockers, and as soon as we approached the two jackal heads bared their fangs and snarled at us, dropping the heavy rings to the ground and causing the Sultana to mutter "Well that is certainly new..." They continued to snarl at us, snapping at the air and trying to leap off of the wood so that they could attack us, and over their vicious snarls we heard someonezily say "Oh, someone finally showed up~? Intriguing..." Chapter 1025 1024: Fiend Of Intemperance

Chapter 1025 Chapter 1024: Fiend Of Intemperance

The voice drifted through the air like a melody, fluttery and gentle noise that caressed the ears and stroked the mind in an attempt to lull you into rxation and bliss; it evoked a sense of wonder in your mind that made you curious about what else this voice had in store, and that... That path of questioning led to a rather dangerous locale, since the initial thought was ''what would this voice sound like moaning in pleasure or calling out my name for more?'', and even just thinking about that for a fraction of a second made that heat inside of us swell to new heights. "Why don''t you twoe on insides, hm~? I feel like the gig is up at this point, no? We all know what is about to happen... or at least, what the most likely oue of this is. I would appreciate being able to gaze upon the ones capable of resisting my charms in their natural state before... well, we all be animalistic, one way or another~!" The Fiend giggled, making my heart flutter for a moment thanks to how angelic it sounded, the silkiness of this Fiend''s voice stealing away all of your attention and drumming inside your ears pleasantly, though as soon as the Sultana raised her foot and mmed it against the wooden doors, I shook myself free and nched slightly at the ease of which the Fiend had stunned me. With just their voice, I had been momentarily halted in any and all functions at all, and that was from a different room with no visual contact between us, something that seemed to bode ill for me in this uing fight. The wood splintered beneath her bare foot, the Sultana sending the ''living'' silver door stoppers skittering into the room, causing the Fiend within to giggle again as theyzily said "Feisty~! I like it...", the drawl on the end of their words making me groan as I bit my tongue and focused via the pain. Walking inside, the Sultana and I stepped over the wooden slivers that had been scattered across the tile and carpets, entering a room filled with a warm, pink haze that trickled into our nostrils and muddled our heads. "Sweet, isn''t it~? My perfume, that is... Y''know, one thing that I dislike of the desert is the heat; some people love the musk of sweat, but me? I much prefer cleanliness during times of idleness and important discussion. Don''t you?" The haze began to recede, revealing the clean,vish bedroom of the Vizier, but currently the star of this show was lounging on the throne that had been moved to the room''s center instead of behind the giant desk, while the real owner of the room was... somewhere. Long, smooth pink legs swayed over the arm of the throne, each movement allowing the many anklets and beads to tter together in a soft, low chime that filled the room just like the haze, adding to its charm and not taking away anything at all... besides my attention. The outside of the Fiend''s thighs were covered in a fluffy violet fur that did little to conceal the plumpness of it''s body, whilst the wide hips were only ''covered'' by another set of golden hoops adorned with more beads. A toned belly with the slight hint of the Fiend''s abdomen led up into fur covered breasts, while two of the Fiend''s three arms were crossed just beneath them, giving the twin mountains some satisfying jiggles whilst the third was supporting the Fiend''s head. Two floppy dog like ears of the same violet fur framed the feminine, pink skinned face, the Fiend smiling at us weingly as they puckered their plump, red lips and blew us a kiss, though my attention was more focused on the three eyes that stared at us; two on the right side of their skull, and one on the left, with the two being slightly offset and at angles to keep everything rtively neat and even somewhat breathtakingly beautiful. "Awe~! Thanks love~! You wouldn''t believe~ the amount of people who call me hideous when they see my face... it''s rather demoralizing sometimes, y''know? I was just... born this way. Can''t really help it, not unless I want to go through excruciating agony and lose a part of myself. And while I do love some pain, that''s only in bed really~!" "You are far more chatty than any Fiend I have evere across." Giggling at that, the pink skinned, purple furred Fiend grinned at the Sultana and raised her headpletely, freeing her hand and allowing her to wave it around as she said "Why shouldn''t I be? Fighting is a bore to me~! There is no pleasure to be gained from entangling my body in something as filthy as battle, no lust I can extract from the dance of death. But... to each their own, no? You are both battle battle junkies, addicted to the thrill and rush ofbat, but me?" Running her hand over her body, the Fiend bit her lip before slowly standing up, revealing her incredible height that matched my own, which only made her curves all the more appetizing as she continued to emphasize her body with all three hands. "My thrills can be found on a bed, getting sweaty together as we make sweet, sulent love beneath the stars, or drown in the passions that can only be found at the bottom of a bottle~! So tell me, my loves... must we do this~? I was just feeling a tad peckish, and that one beckoned..." Gesturing towards the bed, the Fiend idly smirked at the sprawled out figure of a Caninekin futanari who was moaning pitifully, her entire body convulsing as she thrust her hips into the air and tried to pleasure herself even more, despite being in a rather terrible physical state. "What do you mean she ''beckoned''?" "Called out, prayed, pleaded, desired... that was what she did, my love~! So of course, like any caring and devoted Fiend, I answered her call and gave her what she wanted~! It can''t be my fault though that she bit off more than she could chew, right~? Rather literally at that..." As she was speaking, I continued to look around the room, before those final words dawned on mepletely as I noticed a few different things; firstly, there was a metallic scent lingering beneath the sweetness, and that was already rather concerning. Secondly, there was a suspicious amount of red sshed across the room in various spots in odd patterns, and I knew what blood looked like rather intimately by now, so realizing that this room had been soaked in it was rather... morbid, especially since - just like with the scent - it was all covered up by the Fiend''s presence, specifically the fog. Finally, the worst discovery was yet another location that the blood had stained, and that ce was the face, particrly the lips of the Vizier, and the entire bed as well, but the worst part about it was that around her face - which was twisted in pleasure as she writhed around, vigorously humping the air - there was a liberal amount of... ''meat'' clinging to her face... "More than she could chew... Did she..?" "Be one with her beloved~? Oh, she did... she most certainly did~! It was her desire, after all, to have her husband be hers, and only hers~!" Thex Fiend just snickered as she nced back at the Vizier, her three eyes glowing with a demented, yet calm glow as she watched the woman like one would watch a pet, before she turned back to us to say "You should have been here when I first arrived~! The love they disyed for one another as they mated, taking turns with one another~! But you both are mortals, so you know full well that after a while, one tends to get... peckish, right? So I merely suggested they satisfy their hunger here, in the bedroom~!" Spreading her hands innocently, the Fiend giggled madly as she crowed "Who would have thought they took that literally~! There was food and wine aplenty on the table, but she was ravenous for something else, it seems~! Took arge bite of her dearest husband right then and there, before tearing into him even as he screamed and pleaded with her~!" Doubling over, the Fiend cackled as she recalled what happened, while I felt my stomach churn as I looked back at the Vizier, who was moaning to herself as she continued to single- mindedly pleasure herself, her eyes hollow and empty even as she emitted sounds of glee. What could have made a woman who loved her husband do something like that? Surely not even lust could spur on something as twisted and demented as cannibalism, right? "You mortals... you''ll eat anything and everything else in this world, but the idea of partaking in the flesh of your own is disgusting~? You''ll fuck anything with legs if you''re horny enough, but this is where you draw the line~? That''s amusing to me, a reminder of how odd you all are~! So very twisted, yet so ''morally superior'' to other beings~! Funny, funny~!" pping, the Fiend giggled for a moment before adding "But, I suppose like my aversion tobat, your aversion to a little snack like that is understandable... and like many things in life, it sometimes just doesn''t go your way, right~?" Her eyes shed a dazzling, nauseating pink before her body faded away into the pink mist, which began to thicken within the room as the Fiend murmured "I suppose I am a tad peckish as well... and while you''re both rather muscr, that has it''s own allure too~!", her voice no longer carrying that same angelic charm as before. No, now it was a sweet as poison and as captivating as a corpses grin, and it made me shudder as I clenched the dius in my hand and tapped into my Core, shrouding myself in Light Mana. Chapter 1026 1025: SlaSalaxi (1) Chapter 1026 1025: ''Sxi (1) ??The Fiend continued to giggle as more and more of her pink mist filled the room, shrouding itpletely and making it impossible to see further than three feet around ourselves, which made this already slightly cramped chamber all the more tight and ''scary'' as a battlefield. Clenching my dius, I looked around and listened to her giggling, trying to locate it whilst at the same time continuing to cloak myself in my Light Mana, bing a golden luminosity that pushed that pink mist back and illuminated our surroundings, and as my mana armored my body I began to gird my mind as well, stamping down on my lust and focusing instead on what was in front of me. A monster, a sentient, emotional monster who would rape me before eating me if they had the chance, and a being with the power to twist my mentality and force me to do something - to even just think something - that I never would actually do, so I needed to focus and temper myself. I was armed with just my mana, my single dius, and my willpower, but that would need to be enough to fell this Fiend, since this was definitely a battle that would end in one side''s death, even if the Fiend wanted to swear by its dislike ofbat. "Oh I must admit... there is something cathartic about assuming this form again... something exhrating about what is about to happen... after so, so very long, it feels nice to stretch my limbs like this again~! Mm... and after this good, thrilling stretch, I cannot wait to feast on your bones!" Something lunged out at me from the mist, something that I wasn''t expecting to see; the Vizier was snarling at me, her hollow eyes simmering with the Fiend''s delight as the Caninekin bared her fangs and drooled onto herself, her hunger for flesh and desire for sex driving her forwards, straight into the tip of my dius. Even as she impaled herself onto my de the Vizier wed at my arm and tried to bite me, even as her throat flooded with her own blood and she began to choke on it, the Caninekin tried to hiss at me and gulp down her own vitae greedily, but even then... those hollow eyes slowly filled up, not with the Fiend''s desire, nor with anger, but instead with devastated finality as she gradually slipped into the cold embrace of death. Tears welled up in her eyes as she fell limp, and the futanari stared at me for herst few moments before slumping against me, her strength fading as even more of her blood sttered on the tile, and I gently pulled the dius from her throat before stepping aside, squashing the small amount ofpassion I had inside me and instead letting her drop to the floor indifferently, focusing instead on the giggles that continued to flood the room. "What is your name, Fiend? So that I might have the pleasure of carving it into your skull when I rip it from your body..." "Ooh~! So~ scary~! But did your Mama never tell you it was rude to ask for someone''s name without offering your own first, hm~?" The Sultana snorted as she shook her head, her scimitar pointing straight ahead as she stood still inside the mist, waiting for a moment to strike;paratively, I was rather twitchy, keeping myself loose as I stepped away from the corpse of the Vizier and instead approached the Sultana, albeit with a few feet of space between us. "Anubi, Sultana of thesends. You are a Fiend born from a Dogkin and yet you don''t know anything about the leaders of one of our cradles? Or are you merely being pretentious and acting like you do not know me?" "Oho~? Are you not being pretentious right now, Ah~ Nu~ Bee~? Why should I know who you are simply because of your position, hm~?" Clicking her tongue, the Sultana shook her head slightly and muttered "So you''re an idiot as well? That''s good to know...", which made the Fiend giggle again as she replied "Name calling is not nice~! But, since you gave me your name, I shall give you mine, mortal~!" The mist parted as a figure lunged out at us again, but this one was farrger and far more dangerous than the pseudo dead Vizier that had tried to attack me, and far less ''humanoid'' than she had been. The Fiend was tall - we had seen that already - but now they were taller and thinner, their bones elongating and stretching their skin over theirnkier figure; their curves had almost disappeared entirely, and those three arms wereden with fur and bone aplenty, while their nails and be des. Thrusting all three arms at the Sultana, the Fiend tried to skewer her in a single attack, but when their de like talons were deflected with a single, simple sh of the Sultana''s scimitar, the Fiend chuckled wryly and stood up to their full height, grinning down at us. Gaunt and inhuman, the Fiend tilted their head, letting it hang at an odd angle from their neck as they said "''Sxi, Fiend of Intemperance~! d to make your acquaintance, Anubi... and yours as well, Child of Light~! I cannot wait~ to take your seed into my womb... and to feast on your flesh~!" Giggling once more, ''Sxi stepped back into the fog and disappeared from sight, leaving us alone again and preparing another attack, hiding their altered appearance and giving us a moment to prepare for what was likely to be an onught of attacks. Studying the fog, I flicked the blood of the Vizier off of my dius and raised my free hand, beginning to trace out a rune and listening intently to the area around us as I hoped to bait the Fiend out of the mist and into attacking us. I also simply ignored the words the Fiend uttered since there was nothing to be gained from mulling over them, but it still nagged me even as I tried to ignore it, the thick pink mist around us continuing to y with our mental state however it could, distracting us as best it could. Sensing something swishing through the fog behind me, I spun and raised the dius, continuing to trace out the runes for the spell even as I deflected one of the Fiend''s sword like arms, blocking the attack and digging my feet into the tile to maintain my position. Being able to attack downwards gave the Fiend even more power in their blow, the five des attached to the end of its hand stabbing into the t of my dius and screeching off of it as they tried to angle their hand to follow through, trying to pierce my chest and rip out my heart in a single attack. Finishing the rune, I grasped the hilt of a Light Dagger and stabbed it towards her wrist, wiping the grin from her face as the mana construct sliced into her flesh and sizzled her violet blood, the fur and bone that she covering her limb doing little to actually block the damage from my mana, and yet again I got to witness how severe the weakness was that these Fiends had to Light Mana. "You..!" Hissing at me, ''Sxi leapt back and avoided the cleaving scimitar from the Sultana, who swiftly followed her cleave up with a swift sh, leaving a thin gash across the Fiend''s stomach and allowing its violet blood to soak its fur. "Oh I am going to make this slow... and painful..." "Why is it always the same threats..?" My mutter made the Fiend hiss once more as they leapt back into the fog, fading away and leaving us guessing once more, which gave me enough time to realize something as I nced at the Sultana beside me. "You''re... only reacting to these attacks, aren''t you?" She remained silent, but that was an answer enough for me as I spun around again and ducked beneath another impaling thrust, before using my dius and new Light Dagger to block the Fiend''s other two arms, those talons screeching against my des yet again. Pressing their weight down onto me, the Fiend hissed "I''m not like other Fiends, Child of Light! Not at all!" before all three of its eyes widened, pink light erupting from her irises and bathing my face in heat. Her jaws parted like a serpents as she breathed out that pink mist, forcing me to inhale it and sending my entire body into heat as I felt myself swell to attention, my blood being diverted and causing my strength to wane somewhat. "Sumb to me, Child of Light... sumb to pleasure and join me for a night, hm..? You know you want it..." ''Sxi''s voice became gentle again as she tried to seduce me, momentarily seeding as my grip on my dius faltered and my mana sputtered, but as her plump lips curled into a satisfied grin I surprised her as I cocked my head back before mming my brow against her nose, shattering it and eliciting a pained cry from the Fiend, who staggered backwards. I was still so very hot, and I could feel my heart and my loins throbbing together in synchrony as I stared at the Fiend''s furred, thin body, but I pushed past it and managed to follow up that headbutt with a swift stab from the Light Dagger, plunging it into her side and twisting the de. She screamed in agony as I did that, but my body was still hard to control andcking in strength thanks to the lingering mist that clung to my skin, so she easily pushed me away with her three hands, sending me rolling back across the tile. Chapter 1027 1026: Sla’Salaxi (2)

Chapter 1027 Chapter 1026: ''Sxi (2)

"Mother..! Gods damn it..! That hurt..." Holding my side - and holding myself back from holding another area - I winced as I got up onto my feet and stared at the Fiend, who was hissing at me still as she healed the wound I had inflicted onto her... Or at least, she was trying to heal it, the mana from the Light Dagger poisoning her body and making it apparent that her skill at healing wasn''t up to snuff at all, so instead she was applying pressure to the stab wound instead, allowing blood to seep between her wed fingers and down her stomach. Scooping up the dius, I let out a huff as I nced at the Sultana, who had stepped back into the fog and left space between all three of us, allowing me to fight against the Fiend on my lonesome - although I will admit her mere presence was applying pressure to the Fiend and ensuring she wasn''t able to give me her full attention. I dragged in a deep breath and stamped down the urge to sigh and snap at the Jackalkin, instead putting my full attention on ''Sxi and her dangerously seductive- I mean, cing my attention on her long, slender limbs that probably felt wonderful wrapped around my body as I held her close and- "To say I despise this fog would be one hell of an understatement." "What? Getting horny, Demoness~? Wanna stab me with something besides a de, hm~? Come on... I''ll forgive you, just make sure to cum inside me, alright~?" The expression of slight pain disappeared from the Dogkin Fiend''s face, reced instead with one of familiar lust as she removed her hand from her wound and instead used it to show herself off to me instead, hoping that the mist would work its magic on me. And honestly... it was one hell of a battle to focus on something besides how appetizing she looked at this moment, and to remember that she was a despicable Fiend and not a woman I should want toy hands on. "Oh~! You''re even thinking of me as a she now~! That was fast, wasn''t it~?" Giggling to herself, ''Sxi stood up to her full height and ran her three hands over her body, emphasizing her slender curves and eliciting a groan from me as I tore my eyes away from her in an attempt to put an end to the battle within so that I could return to the battle that mattered. "Are you going to fight the Fiend or fuck the Fiend, Jahi? Because if you want to do thetter, I would advise getting permission from your lovers first before doing so, and even then... I might still kill you even if they allow you toy a hand on the Fiend." "Aw, you''re no fun at all~! But hey, do YOU really need permission to go around and sling that weapon of yours around, hm~? C''mon baby, let''s run away and have some fun together~! You and me, under the stars~? Doesn''t that sound wonderful~?" ''Sxi''s voice was back to being as smooth as silk and as melodious as any music I had heard, which made it all the more difficult to raise my dius and lunge at her, wiping the smile from her face as I tried to cleave her from her shoulder to her waist. As I did so, my other hand curled into a fist as I shrouded it in raw Light Mana, which I punched at her stomach and shivered slightly at the satisfying sound of my knuckles digging into her flesh, the meaty smack so refreshing and thrilling to hear. She blocked my dius and got punched instead, but with two hands remainingpared to my zero, she had the advantage up close, and ''Sxi knew how to press it even though she imed to not be a fighter; those five de like nails shot down towards my neck from either side as she tried to skewer me, the Fiend ignoring the blistering pain beneath her ribs and instead focusing on trying to kill me instead. Dropping to the ground, I felt her arms whoosh over my head and narrowly miss my hair, but by dropping instead of leaping back I took my Light Mana shrouded fist and mmed it into ''Sxi''s upper thigh, the blow drawing a pained gasp from her lips as she began to ce more weight on her other leg, offsetting her bnce. Taking advantage of that, I rolled away from her and to her injured side, dodging the retaliatory stabs she sent my way and observing how injured she actually was by that; when she leaned down and stabbed her fists towards the tile, I discarded the idea I had and instead rolled once more, the feeling of my blood pumping through my veinsden with adrenaline filling me with such a rapturous glee as I realized I was in a fight that had my life on the line. A fight where I needed to go all out or suffer from my ipetence; that was one of the main things I lived for, one of the things that made life worth living to its fullest, and it was what made me... me. Gripping the hilt of my dius, I came to a stop and watched as ''Sxi stabbed her fists down towards my skull, the fifteen des pulsating with her mist as she doubled her attack as both a physical and mental one, but as the thrill of the battle settled into my body, the desires that she was trying to nt within me wilted away slowly but surely. Timing her attack, I traced out thest line of the rune beneath my hand and encased myself in Light Mana, blocking her stabs and cracking some of her talons, all while I swiftly traced out another familiar spell, preparing for the next step. As she pulled her fists back again - this time with her mist roiling off of her fingers and turning the airpletely pink - I bunched up my muscles and flushed my body with mana beforeunching myself straight at her, surprising her as the golden barrier shattered beneath my will to allow me to reach her instantly. mming my palm against her stomach, the Fiend narrowed her eyes in confusion when she felt little pain besides the initial impact, only for her three eyes to go wide when a thick de of golden light pierced her belly, followed right after by my dius sinking just below her corbone. Wrenching the dius to the side, I cut from her cor over to her back as I spun around her, after which I yanked the de free and kicked her lower back, sending her stumbling forwards as her spine cracked from the impact. Her body was folded slightly the wrong way, and the wet, agonized cough as she stumbled a few steps made me nod twice, giving me the confidence in myself to swiftly begin tracing out another spell, yet another familiar tool in my arsenal. My Discus appeared in my hand only to leave it a second after being created, the spinning de of Light Mana embedding itself into the Fiend''s back and chewing through her fur and flesh to reveal the pink crystalline bone underneath. ''Sxi screamed out as she flushed her body with her mana, trying tobat my Light Mana and ensure she didn''t take any more damage than she had already, but as she wrapped the Discus in pink mist, I shot forwards and plunged my dius into the back of her neck, silencing her as the de impaled her throat and severed her windpipe. Her hands reached for my dius, weakly wing at it as she began to gradually morph back into her initial form, falling to her knees and looking up at me from the tile, her pink eyes wet with tears while her plump lips became soaked with violet blood. Yanking my dius out of her throat, I stared into those eyes for a second before grabbing her chin and baring her neck, allowing me to run the de across it and open up another thick gash, followed by a third as I plunged the dius through the side of her neck next. Leaving it there, I took a step back and watched as the Fiend wed at the hilt of the de, trying to pull it free, only for her normal hands to slip and fall back to her sides, where they were unable to rise again thanks to the amount of blood she had lost and the amount of damage she had taken. But of course, she was a Fiend, so I was prepared for anything... or so I thought, until I noticed that her lips had curled into a smile even though she was weeping, the Fiend grinning at me from the floor like I hadn''t just almost taken her head clean off. Chapter 1028 1027: SlaSalaxi (3) Chapter 1028 1027: ''Sxi (3) ??Despite having such severe wounds on her neck - which was leaving it borderline hanging on by a few sinews and an almost shattered spinal cord - the Fiend was still grinning at me like I had just done the funniest thing ever in this entire world, and she was acting like this wasn''t an issue whatsoever. Even as I pulled back my free fist and encased it in Light Mana so that I could punch her in the head, the Fiend just giggled before falling silent as my fist caved in her skull, an explosions of violet blood and pink gore bathing my nude body. Pushing her body forwards, I let it p against the tile as I took a step back, frowning as I stared down at her now headless corpse and wondering why there had been no change in the room, and why I could still hear the Fiend giggling, albeit from somewhere else now. "Oho~! That''s so~ very wonderful to see~! So skilled, so ferocious~! No mercy at all, no hesitation~! Aren''t you just a talented, deadly little warrior, Child of Light~! So very talented, so very beautiful... your women are lucky~! Lucky indeed~!" The body in front of me began to twitch as the three arms moved around to support the headless torso, while the furry legs slipped around before pushing up, allowing ''Sxi''s corpse to stand up, albeit in an odd, loose manner that felt far too inorganicpared to before. "I must admit though, I am a bit irate at the fact that you actually ruined that puppet of mine~! I loved~ using that puppet, inside and out~! And I quite liked the Dogkin I made that puppet from~! She was so~ nice to me when I snuck into her vige... we made love constantly every night..." The Dogkin body stumbled forwards before copsing to its knees again, blood still seeping out of its caved in skull, soaking its body in violet vitae that made it shimmer from the mist, but before it could fall onto its chest again, another pink skinned body appeared in front, catching them and nodding to themselves before ncing back at me. "Heya Child of Light~! Whatcha'' think of my actual~ body, hm~? I know you got a thing for curves and maturity, but hey~! One outta two ain''t so bad, is it~?" Standing about as tall as my waist, this new figure - this new ''puppet'' of ''Sxi''s, or perhaps her actual form - grinned at me ferally, her thin lips pulling back to reveal her pearly white fangs that glittered with mana, while her three eyes remained the same even across her different puppets or bodies. Long white hair flowed down her back, beads of silver entuating her hair and giving her yet another primal point of charm, though the myriad bones that she used to maintain some of the braids were worrying... And this time, she wasn''t lying to me directly, as her short body had a pair of breasts that seemed far toorge for her stature, while her hips were begging for me to grab them and hold them tight as I looked down at her toned back. Wiry muscles peeked at me from beneath her smooth pink skin, each muscle group toned to perfection atheistically whilst still providing the Fiend some semnce of physical might, though again, she was rather short and had manyrge, juicy reasons as to why she shouldn''t be in closebat. "You''re... a Goblin?" Giggling once more, ''Sxi nodded and turned back to her puppet, resting her hands on the remnants of the puppet''s head as she began to funnel her mana into the Dogkin''s flesh, stimting its regrowth and somehow supplying it with enough mana to create new flesh, tendons, muscles, skin, bone and even brain matter, though I sincerely doubt that brain matter has any actual functionality. "It doesn''t, at least not for a normal mortal. This puppet is dead; long dead. Her body is warm, her flesh supple and superb, but she has been dead for a long time... truly a shame, but she wanted it..." Her amusement was momentarily shelved as she stroked the puppet''s cheek, and I narrowed my eyes before lunging forwards, hoping to take advantage of this situation and deal another lethal blow to her. Of course it would never be that easy, and I found that while my dius did plunge into flesh, it wasn''t the flesh of the Goblin Fiend I had hoped to stab, but instead into the bulging, muscr and scaly body of a Dragonkin, who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Tworge, wed hands grabbed at my wrist as my dius embedded itself deep into the Dragonkin''s belly, and I tried to wrench myself free from its grasp, throwing my weight back and pulling it forwards a step, but that was it. It''s three eyes widened for a second before flushing pink, each pupil dting as the puppet shivered, only for the Dragonkin''s head to tilt down to grin at me as its mouth parted, the Fiend''s melodious voice dancing out of the Dragonkin''s lips. "Surprised~? Oh baby, the things I could do that would surprise you..." Licking her lips with her new forked tongue, the towering Dragonkin winked at me seductively before clicking that tongue when I mmed my head against hers, only for me to wince while she just stared at me like I was an adorable idiot for even trying. "Ever try punching a Dragon, Child of Light? Their bones are about as thick as you are wide, and nearly a dozen times as tough. Think a Dragonkin is going to be any worse than their parents~?" "So you''re some kind of immaterial Fiend then, aren''t you? Mana Body, perhaps?" "Oh, now you finally decide to do something?!" Still trying to yank away my hand, I balled my fist and coated it in mana once more, this time punching down into the Dragonkin puppet''s arms in hopes of breaking or at least dealing a lot of damage to one of them to make that task easier. The satisfying crunch of broken bones filled my ears as I snapped one of her arms, eliciting a grunt from the puppet as the pain registered within the Fiend''s mind, before she grunted again as I punched down a second time to worsen the wound. Then I yanked again and freed myself, albeit with my dius remaining lodged in the Dragonkin''s stomach, a reluctant loss that I needed to deal with since it was either remain in her grasp, or break free. "Quiet. ''Sxi, am I correct or no?" "And why~ should I tell you, Anubi~? If I answer, it gives you the edge, doesn''t it~? I might love~ ying the role of a bimbo, but I am not that dumb. But hey~! I said it before, and I''ll say it again~! How about we stop this wasteful fighting and instead talk it out like adults, hm~? I have some juicy~ secrets to share~! I swear on the world itself that they are worth listening to as well~!" "Like a Fiend''s oath is worth anything..." ''Sxi just grinned at me as I spat that out, my irritation at having been bested in a contest of strength joining with my dislike of Fiends - especially Fiends, which was a not so newly discovered dislike - to make me rather angry at this whole thing. "It is worth its weight in gold and then some, Child of Light~! We don''t take swears lightly~!" "And why should we even bother entertaining your whims, Fiend? Why shouldn''t we just put you down here and now?" The Goblin puppet was still tending to the Dogkin puppet''s wounds, but when the Sultana approached them and ced all three between me and her, I saw the Dragonkin clench its fists while its eyes narrowed as it stared at me, even though the tick in its neck made me realize ''Sxi was trying not to look back at the Sultana. "Then how about a freebie to whet your pte first? Something to buy me amnesty and broker a deal between me and you?" "I''ll give you a couple of seconds before I erase you from the world. I am growing tired of this farce..." "You''re tired?!" I kept that as low as I could, my fists still sheathed in Light as I prepared myself to lunge at the Fiend and pummel it to the best of my abilities; breaking its arm was a reassurance that I could actually take on this Dragonkin, and it made me realize I desperately needed to go and ask Dante to spar with me again if this was how strong Dragonkin were meant to be. "Well, this might not mean much to you, Anubi, but... perhaps the Child of Light remembers the name Jillian? A?" Grinning at me, the Dragonkin spoke of two names I dearly wanted to not have at the forefront of my mind, and upon hearing my knuckles crack while the tile beneath me almost shattered as my mana red, her grin only widened as she leaned forwards and whispered "Those names ring a bell, don''t they Child of Light~? Wanna know why I know them~?" Chapter 1029 1028: Different Perspective Chapter 1029 1028: Different Perspective ??Jillian PoV "Would you look at that... if those teachers of ours could see this, I think they''d be shitting themselves and crying for their Mother, don''t you?" A grin spread across my face as we emerged into the open, fresh air after weeks of traversing underground passageways and caverns, and I took a deep breath of the crisp mountain air, filling my lungs to the brim so that I would never again forget this privilege that we had taken for granted. Beside me, my incredible, genius wife mimicked me and nodded, her emerald eyes and flowing green hair shimmering in the pale gold rays of the sun, while her unblemished bronze skin continued to remain as appetizing as ever, especially now that this hellish trip hade to an end. "Few people are ever able to im that they have set eyes upon thisnd, and even fewer still wanted to do so in the first ce... isn''t it exciting to be here, my love? To be in this cradle of existence for the world itself? All the secrets waiting to be uncovered, all the power fluttering just outside of our fingertips! It can be ours! All of it can be ours!" Her grin began to match mine as we swept our gazes outwards, onto a scene that had only been described to us loosely through books and reluctant reminiscing; towering mountains scaled into the sky and threatened to poke out the sun, their peaks capped in snow and ice, but each one was made from a different material. To our left a sprawling desert of golden and red sand spanned out as far as our eyes could see, and in the center was a gigantic red mountain smothered in me and reflecting any and all light thanks to the ss cliffs, though even that mountain of heat was chilled at the tip. To the right was a gorgeous and lush jungle of towering blue barked trees, their violet leaves rustling in the wind and calling for our attention, while the few mountains that peeked out of the violet ocean scratched the sky above and absorbed the light, their ck and dark purple rock surface taking on a frosty appearance that only entuated how stygian they were. And then in front of us was a simple in of yellow green grass that rolled out for miles, the various mounds and single mountain in the distance giving it a myriad of elevations for all sorts of life. This diverse selection of biomes was only found in one ce that I was aware of on this continent, and it was as my love had said; this was the cradle of existence itself for this world, a ginormous melting pot of potential and nature mixed to absolute perfection. "This... This is the Labyrinthian! We are finally here, after all this time~! Thesends of change incarnate, this crucible of raw power waiting for someone toe and harness it. We are finally within this domain of the world''s beauty made manifest!" A sped her hand with mine as she hugged my arm, unable to tear her eyes off of the three unique and exquisite biomes of the world given real physical form, the artistry of the world we lived in painted upon a myriad of canvases that melded together perfectly no matter how you ced them within these borders. "Just think about the progress that we can make now that we are here! The resources avable to us, the monsters waiting to be used as test subjects and sparring partners! All of my theories and ideas can finally be put to the test, all of our dreams can begining to fruition!" Her excitement was infectious, and my grin widened as I looked down across the ins before taking in both the desert and the jungle on either side, their secrets waiting to be uncovered by us, their valuables begging to be taken by us. Everything here was ours for the taking, and no one else''s; no one else traveled into the Labyrinthian frequently, not even the Empress and her Empire, not the Sultana, not the Emperor of the Dynasty, not the Kings or Queens of the Confederacy... And while the Labyrinthian was a living, breathing continent that many imed had its own emotions and even had a small amount of sentience, it wasn''t something that would take note of us unless we overstayed our wee or took too much too quickly. This abundance of mana that made the air almost solid fueled this entire ce, and if we weren''t stupid we could be one with thisnd, living alongside it and with it instead of on it; and we weren''t stupid, not anymore. No one came into the Labyrinthian because they were scared, but there was no reason to be afraid of the Labyrinthian; it wasn''t an evil ce, waiting to kill whomever let their guard down, nor was it insidiously plotting how to expand even further beyond its mountainous borders. It was just a ce full of mystical wonder that was now free for us to peruse however we wanted, and that... that was just what I wanted to do, and after weeks of terrible spelunking in those caves and tunnels, we were finally here... "We can finally begin... This is where we can get the power we need to make the world ours, A... This is where it all begins. The beginning of our new lives, the beginning of our rule; here, in the Labyrinthian. You, me..." Giving her hand a squeeze, I grinned at the green haired Elf and ced a kiss on her lips, before ncing over my shoulder and grinning at the three eyed Arch Fiend behind me that I had once hated, but had nowe to love and respect. Curvy and pink skinned, ''Prumstu had grown on me in more ways than one, especially since the Arch Fiend had be a part of my own power, and by extension, I was a piece of hers now too, our mutually beneficial deal providing benefits to all parties involved. Her three eyes - two normal and one in the center of her brow - were filled with the same indifference that she normally had whenever she was idle, but as soon as she noticed me staring at her she smiled, those pink eyes retaking their luster as she stepped forwards and said "Yes, the Labyrinthian is going to be quite the home for us, isn''t it? A ce no one would ever think to look, a ce where the world itself protects you with its ever shifting biomes... A ce ripe with fruitsden with power." Taking her ce on my other side, ''Prumstu leaned over and kissed me deeply, her three eyes open still even as we shared a moment of passion since she was staring straight at A, trying to make my wife jealous. "No one? No, I can think of a few that might know where we are... where we might have ''fled''. A few close to us, and a few not so close..." Sucking on the Arch Fiend''s tongue, I savored the kiss before breaking away so that I could say "A, we''ve talked about it many a time already; that Fiend won''t spill secrets that easily, not to just anybody theye across. Besides, that Fiend said they''d be heading westwards, not to the east; they shouldn''t run into that bitch and her little harem of whores." "We should have just killed them and been done with it, Jillian... why take the risk? They might not speak, but they seemed rather... social." "Social? Perta is a slut for socialization, but she isn''t an idiot A. Perta won''t tell anyone about what she helped us with, alright? Besides... you should point that finger of yours inwards; who was it that decided to convert an entire Cult of Tza worshippers into my own followers? Hm?" "Please, the two of you shouldn''t be arguing now of all times~! We just got out of those damn caves and I want to take in the fresh open air, alright? So stop ming one another! Besides..." My hands pped down against their bottoms as I grinned at them, though it wasn''t out of joy or lust, but hatred as I hissed "We all agreed we would stop assuming that they won''t figure this out on their own, hm? From what we heard, they have not one, not two, but three separate Arch Fiends to aid them, and to try and im that they are all normal people..?" Both of my women nodded quietly, not saying a word as they heard me growl "None of those four are going to leave us be, and neither will we leave them be. I want that Dogkin bitch, I want to rip the horns off of that Demoness'' arrogant fucking head... I want to slit that Vampire''s whore''s throat, and snap the neck of that idiotic, muscle headed Begum... but even though I hate them all, I won''t be arrogant and assume that they really are all idiots. Neither should you." Chapter 1030 1029: What Happens In Khisba...*

Chapter 1030 Chapter 1029: What Happens In Khisba...*

Kat PoV I gasped for breath as I pushed Leone off of me, the Vampire still in a state of euphoria as she sumbed to the pleasures of the flesh yet again, unable to help herself even though the faint pink mist within our room had wanedpletely. It had been damn near impossible to stop Leone and my mate from doing what they wanted to me, their lust fueled frenzies doing everything to cloud their rationality whilst unleashing the wellsprings of sexual needs that they somehow had somewhat repressed in their minds, allowing them to have no qualms whatsoever to ravaging me like some third rate prostitute they picked up from the corner. What made me even more angry was how great I had felt the entire time they both ravaged me, how each time they finished inside me I felt my will to escape weaken whilst that brief moment of reprieve slowly slipped through my fingers since I was too focused on how great it felt to be taken like this. It was one of the few times where I realized just how ''lost'' I was as a person since I couldn''t even bring myself to fight against my own desires to give aid to my lover and soulmate as she went to save us from whatever was spreading this Lust Mana filled mist. My own lust was a bane right at this moment, the inability I had to fight against my desires - to drag my lovers free from this blissful mental prison that we were trapped in - making me feel terrible mentally even as physically I reached cloud nine for the umpteenth time today, the lingering heat of Leone''s cum trickling out of me pulling me into the insidious embrace of yet another orgasm. Meanwhile, Anput ran her hands over my body andpped at my neck as she continued to make love to me like there was nothing else to do in life, her knot pumping her semen into my ass for who knows how many times its been since she began. However, even though I wanted to pull away, it was physically impossible to do so since she was so deep inside me, and even if I could try, it would just end with one of us getting hurt for nothing, since I could feel the Lust Mana in the air gradually dissipating, and since the Arch Fiend who had been watching me get plowed the entire time was now grinningzily at me as she said "Seems like your lovely muscle mommy Demoness managed to get it done~!" Seeing the Arch Fiend stroking her cock to the sight of me getting knotted was rather... odd; on one hand, being watched was all the more arousing, especially since she got a clear view of my pussy dripping with Leone''s cum, but that was exactly what made this awkward and embarrassing to have happen to me. Being watched by someone who wasn''t my lover was not something I had wanted to happen, even if I had done so once before in my previous life; but that wasn''t here nor there, and now the implications was even worse since the one watching me was an all powerful being made from Lust itself. "Baby, I''ve already been~ watching you get plowed to kingdome each and every single time... now you just get to see me see you~! How else do you think I get my fix from you, hm? That crest on your womb only does so much..." Licking her lips, Cali winked at me before adding "If it bothers you so much, I''ll fade away from your sight and keep masturbating~! I just thought you might like watching me get off to you for once... especially since there is~ another Fiend present within Khisba~! I''m keeping you safe, baby, so... just this once~?" Mounting me again, Leone ignored the talking Arch Fiend and made it impossible for me to respond as she kissed me hard and shoved her cock back inside me, silencing me with a deep thrust and resuming where she had left off, the Vampire crudely pping her hips against mine as she got back to it. Her breasts squished against mine as sheid on top of me and showed me how powerful she could be if she really wanted to, her thrusts causing her cock to spear into my womb and push her creampies out of my pussy so that she could just fill me up once more. When she bit my lower lip yet again and began to drain even more of my blood from me, I moaned and groaned as I felt my body grow even colder than normal, the Vampire''s insatiable hunger only growing even more with how much she was moving. The rush of heat from her saliva as the taste of cinnamon flooded my mouth did warm me up though, and her Fire Mana slid into my body from her hands as she reoriented herself again and used my breasts as handholds to fuck me even quicker, the Vampire sending her mana into my body and healing me whilst she drained me, and tried to drain herself. The scream of glee that escaped my lips as Anput pulled out of my ass before resuming her own thrusts, the Jackalkin mming her hips up into my butt and filling the room with the sound of her muscled thighs pping against my cheeks alongside the wet squelchinging from both of my holes as they pounded me together and gave me creampies. Even with the Lust Mana fading, they were both still lost within their own minds doing whatever they wanted, and this forced me back into the lustful cage from before as my extremely high libido met its match finally, and for once I wasn''t even begging for it to be matched... I just wanted to stop the sex right now, but I couldn''t... But I also wanted a third penis to join us, to fill myst remaining hole and turn me back into a nice futanari cum dump yearning to be bred like the good bitch I was, and at the very least... if I wanted to look at this rationally and not emotionally... This was a good supply of Lust ''energy'' for me to y around with in the near future, and it would help me maybe grow a resistance to the Lust Mana if I was actually able to control it somewhat and understand it just a bit more. That was a long timeing too, me finally understanding this power I had been given so long ago... With the two futanari''s having their way with me, I didn''t hear Jahie back into the room, nor did I hear her say something to Cali, the two conversing for a few moments before the Arch Fiend left the room finally, nor did I even feel her get back onto the bed as she watched us with those piercing, scary golden eyes. But I did know she was back when Leone moaned crazily above me, and I knew she was back when I felt something press against my stomach from Leone''s side, the Demoness'' thrusts poking me through the Vampire as she didn''t say a single word to us, just got on the bed and started fucking the Vampire without any hesitation. This sudden shift was too much for Leone, who started cumming immediately as the Demoness began to pound her as hard as she could from behind, uncaring of what Leone might have wanted as she just took what she wanted instead. The soft grunts from her as she pressed Leone down into me and rammed her cock into her womb snapped me out of my little mental prison, the presence of my lover bringing me back to reality as I tried to reach for her, wanting to receivefort from her and tofort her after whatever it was that she had just gone through. sping one of my hands, Jahi stared at me for a moment before turning her gaze back down towards Leone''s ass, her golden eyes worrying me as her lip curled slightly in irritation and anger as she humped the Vampire like a Caninekin, taking out her frustrations through Leone''s plump, rippling ass. I couldn''t ask her what was wrong verbally, so instead I poked at her through our Soul Bond to try and get an idea on what was angering her, to understand what I could do to help her, and thankfully... she wasn''t so far gone that she ''snapped'' at me, but she squeezed my hand and just sent back a slightly rough reply that boiled down to ''we can talkter''. We were staring into one another''s eyes yet again, those golden irises worrying me because of her reply, but when she gave my hand another squeeze and muttered "Later, Kat... just let me empty my balls in peace, please... that Fiend was a bitch." I tried to nod before my face was covered by Leone''s when Jahi used her free hand to pin us downpletely and force us to kiss. Chapter 1031 1030: Stays In Khisba* Chapter 1031 1030: Stays In Khisba* ??With the sudden appearance of Jahi sweeping onto the bed, it wasn''t that surprising that the Demoness - who had us all curled around her fingers just as much as we had her curled around ours - was able to steal away our attention and focus without even so much as trying. Anput below me felt the increase in weight, the Jackalkin still pping her hips upwards in hopes of draining herselfpletely inside me, but she peeked over my shoulder and let out a confused whine of sorts as she watched Jahi bury herselfpletely inside of Leone and begin ejacting. My mate wanted to be there for the one that she viewed as her protector and her dominant lover, the same way I wanted to be there for Jahi, the same way that Leone was currently helping Jahi; we all wanted the same thing for the same person, and that was the only reason why this entire rtionship worked. Everything we wanted centered around a single person most of the time, and the byproducts of giving her what she wanted usually kept us all sustained with one another; whenever Leone was given the privilege of being bred by our Demoness, we were allowed to bask in her euphoria as we waited for our turn, and currently I was in the process of doing just that as Leone creampied me yet again. I was stuffed with my lovers seed from both ends, and yet as I listened and watched Jahi make use of Leone''s pussy for her own sexual desires, I felt like I had more than enough space to fit a few more creampies, and I made liberal use of our Soul Bond to let her know just that, ignoring how those golden eyes held a very minute amount of irritation from being distracted from the pleasure of orgasming. Staring at me for a few moments, Jahi just grunted as she pushed off of the bed and pulled out of Leone, one of her hands stroking her slimy, thick cock as she shot the remaining ropes onto the Vampire''s back to mark her for the night whilst the other yed with the Vampire''s butt, spreading it to show her creampie trickling out from Leone''s plump lower lips. She probably also got a good view of Leone''s balls clenching as she came inside me, as well as the sight of Anput''s angry red knot mming against me as she worked her way to another ejaction as well. It was that view that caused her to not so gently pull Leone off of me and toss her to the side, briefly watching the Vampire bounce on the bed and taking in her curvy figure as well as the rather apparent need that Leone still had for something tight to be wrapped around her cock before pulling me off of Anput, ignoring the whine of the Jackalkin as she tossed me to the side too. The difference was that when I bounced on the bed, I only bounced once before I was pinned down on my stomach, the Demoness digging her fingers into my cheeks as she spread them apart so that she could easily insert herself into my pussy, filling the void that Leone had left behind. Sitting on my thighs and pounding me as hard as she could from behind, the Demoness grunted as we started our first round of the day, her cock rampaging around inside me as she fulfilled her own needs as well as my own. Anput watched from the side for a moment before she too was turned onto her stomach and mounted, her moment of inaction giving Leone the opportunity to pounce onto her and start fucking the Jackalkin as hard as she wanted, surprising Anput and causing my mate to moan loudly before her face was pushed into the bed. For almost a minute I was content to justy there beneath the Demoness and let her pound away at me like a b of fuckmeat meant for her own pleasure, but there was something lingering from the earlier ''assault'' on both my body and mind that demanded more, so I arched my back and took the Demoness as deep as I could whilst mentally pleading for her to drape herself across me like a weighted nket. I wanted to be ''crushed'' beneath her weight and given even more pleasure from this domination, and she was swift to deliver as sheid down on top of me and switched over to short, quick thrusts as she pped her hips against mine. epting the Demoness was the easiest thing I could ever do in my life, and it was after so many hours of practice with her that I was able to let her rail me as hard as she could and use me as she pleased that I was able to turn my head and stare back at her, seeking out those golden eyes so that I could ask "W-What happened, Jahi..?" Instantly a soft growl reverberated from her throat, but after a moment she let out a sigh and rested her chin on my shoulder, her face right beside mine as she murmured "Jillian and A... they''re in the Labyrinthian. At least, that''s where they were heading." A frigid wave of vitriol and negativity spread over me, dousing the hot mes of lust and leaving meying there feeling cold and empty even as Jahi continued to p her hips into my ass, the Demoness fucking me just as fast as before. "That Fiend that was spreading the mist... she''s worked with, talked to, fucked... I got no idea, but she was with another Fiend who spilled some secrets to her; this other Fiend worked with those Elven bitches for however long, and apparently they told this Fiend they were heading to the Labyrinthian to get stronger." Meeting her golden gaze, I tried to stamp down on the emotions swirling around inside me at the mere mention of those two names, only to fail miserably as another emotion joined the swelling vortex inside of me; one that made little logical sense since our interactions had been so limited, but for some reason... A part of me feared those two, likely thanks to the way we had ''parted ways'' all these months ago, and while they themselves weren''t the ones actually doing any of the things that had happened to me, it was their order that had me disced amongst the world. It was their order that almost had me show up at their secret base, their order that almost made my life a living hell, and that understanding was likely the root of my fear that was gradually pervading the vortex of rage and disgust that was tearing through my mind. It was their order that I had been disced in the world, forced to roam from the middle of nowhere all the way back to the Empire, their order that had separated me from my loved ones and almost killed me. Easily sensing my various emotions swirling around within my mind, Jahi kissed me, the Demoness'' sweet vor washing away the unpleasant taste of bile that crept up the back of my throat, and she calmed me down instantly even though she hadn''t even slowed down her pounding. "That''s why I didn''t want to say it just yet, but... Kat, will you be alright taking more..? Just hearing their names pisses me off immensely, so I want to fuck you until you can''t walk for the rest of the day..." Swallowing down my anger and the mild fear that had permeated that anger, I stared longingly into her golden eyes before taking a deep breath, deciding to say "Jahi... why don''t we just... forget about them, and-" The snarl that sent ripples of rage across her face was immediate as she heard that, and I shivered as she stared at me with pure, unadulterated fury as she pressed her brow against mine and hissed "I will NEVER forget that they tried to steal you from me, Kat... why would I let them walk away freely and empower themselves just to try that again, hm? Jillian is clearly a crazy bitch willing to make attempt after attempt once she gets stronger, and A is crazy for Jillian... Why in the hells would I just forget that?!" Burying herself to the root, the Demoness stopped moving for a moment as she stared into my eyes, those golden orbs shining so coldly as she waited for an answer, and I felt how her muscr frame tensed up around me as my silence dragged on for a few seconds too long. Hearing that she was so angry because of what happened to me - even to this day, however many months it had been, months that had felt like years at this point - was both heartwarming and scary, since this anger of hers was all epassing. It radiated from her body and leaked out into the air around us, it flowed freely through her veins and made even her stillness feel threatening... and yet, even then... It was an anger that came from her worry and her love for me, and that was what mattered the most here; that love she held for me ran so deep that she felt such an indescribable rage at the mere mention of that Elf''s name... Pressing my brow against hers, I reveled in this warmth that flooded over me before cing a kiss on her lips, savoring her taste once more before I whispered "You never even need to ask, Jahi... my body, my mind, my soul... all of me belongs to you, and you know that. So use me however you please; use me to vent your frustrations, use me to soothe your mind... that''s what I am here for, and that is my greatest purpose... to be yours." Chapter 1032 1031: Simmering

Chapter 1032 Chapter 1031: Simmering

It took an hour or so for everyone to finally reach a point of being calm enough and drained enough to stop indulging in our degeneracies and focus on the task at hand - or more specifically, to focus on the new information that we had avable and to make some ns regarding it. By the time that hour was up, Anput and Leone were thoroughly exhausted and unable to process what had happened, their minds ''protecting'' them from the overload of pleasure that they had gone through and instead leaving them extremely tired and loopy about what had been happening to them, and what they did to me. That wasn''t to say they were entirely unaware of what had happened; they could obviously feel what had happened, and I could tell that Leone was extremely embarrassed to have let herself go that easily, and that severely, while even Anput seemed to be a tad embarrassed too since she liked being able to experience everything and use whatever it was she experienced to tease her partners the next go around. And yet now she wasn''t able to remember it all, and when they both turned towards Jahi and I, they only got more embarrassed since the Demoness was looking back at them with a bemused amethyst gaze, taking her sweet time to inspect every inch of their bodies and take note of where they had bruised themselves and where they were clearly strained from all of that movement. Meanwhile I was seated on the Demoness''p barely able to put together these thoughts thanks to how much my entire body ached from her treatment; my neck was tingling still from where her fingers had been wrapped around it, my hips were borderline jelly from how hard she had taken me, my breasts and butt stung fiercely... every part of my body had been abused, from my face where she had ''pped'' me a few times to ''punish'' me all the way down to my feet, which she had done something to but I wasn''t able to recall. Everything hurt so good though, so I wasn''tining, though I had a sneaking suspicion that I wasn''t going to be able to eat anything for many, many hours now, what with how much I had been stuffed from not only my Demoness, but also from Leone''s determined pounding and Anput''s desire to bepletely drained. So there I was, lounging on Jahi''sp and letting the Demoness care for me - as was her duty as the one who had put me into this state - by stroking my ears and holding me steady with her arm wrapped around my waist, ensuring I didn''t leave herp. Both of our other lovers were staring at my battered state with a slight blush, but when Jahi''s smile faded they focused on her instead, realizing that there was something important that they had missed. "Earlier, a Fiend found her way into the capital building and took refuge inside the Vizier''s quarters. She was ''famished'' for Lust Mana, so she released a haze that consumed the entire building and made everyone inside of it hornier than they had ever been. I would suspect she''s been here for a few days maybe, but at the very least she was herest night, which is why Leone acted the way she did; there was something in the air here that tickled that part of her and woke it up, I guess." The Vampire blushed even more as she was reminded of what she had done to Anput, who was just smirking as she leaned over and ''whispered'' "I knew~ that couldn''t be you deciding that on your own~! That was far too forwards and direct for you to do confidently and without turning into a bumbling mess, Princess~!" ring at the Jackalkin, Leone tried to deny it, opening her mouth to speak before falling silent as she just let out a huff and turned away, unable to think of something to retort the Jackalkin with, which only made Anput snicker as she nodded arrogantly. "Anyways, overnight she filled the building with that haze - likely at a very slow rate to make sure no one noticed anything - so that by morning, everyone would be too consumed by their arousal to do anything at all besides have sex, and that was what happen to you two; you were so aroused that youpletely missed the haze. I can''t even me you since the only reason I was able to notice it was Kat saying something to me, and even then I was almost too far gone to care. Ironically enough, ''Caligo was the one to break me freepletely as she told me that I should go do something about it, but she refused to help you three for ''selfish'' reasons..." That made the two shiver as they looked around, and I just smiled wryly as I added "She''s... not in the room currently. I don''t know where she is, but recently she''s been rather noticeable for me, and I don''t feel her around us. Though that doesn''t mean much since she''s an Arch Fiend, after all." "To keep this going as quickly as I can, there was a Fiend in the Vizier''s room feeding off of our lust, and the Sultana and I - really just me, the Sultana was just there - fought against her. She is... unique irritating, I must admit. Remember Ka''Minvis? And how Ka''Minvis was two separate entities made into one Fiend? Well, ''Sxi - the Fiend I just fought - makes use of puppets to do her bidding, and the three I saw were a Dogkin, a Goblin, and a Dragonkin. I don''t know if any of those three are her real body, but that''s not important. What is important is that she was on the losing side after I ''killed'' the Dogkin puppy - or badly damaged it, anyways - and she didn''t want to die, or have her puppets die, I really am not that sure. So in exchange for letting her live, she wanted to offer us information that would be equal in value to her being left alive, and that-" "Was it really worth more than a bunch of materials that we could turn into some strong gear though? I mean, from what it sounds like, that Lust Mana is really insidious and hard to deal with, so if we could have gotten Kat a bunch of armor and weapons made for Lust Mana, wouldn''t that bolster our strength manyfold?" Jahi just stared at Anput for a moment before continuing on like she hadn''t been interrupted, which made the Jackalkin pout as she fell silent and listened to the Demoness, only for that pout to disappear when she heard what she had to say. "Jillian and A are still alive, which we knew, but we didn''t know where they were, right? We thought they were out to the west somewhere, maybe in hiding, maybe not in hiding; the Empire''swork reaches far, yes, but not that far in the grand scheme of things. Especially with the Fiend''sing back slowly but steadily. Now though... ''Sxi told us where they were. The two Elven bitches are currently cloistered away inside the Labyrinthian." I took a deep breath at the mention of their names, pushing down on the emotions that threatened to rise up again for what felt like no reason; sure, they had almost destroyed this second life of mine with their schemes, and sure they were absolutely crazy and likely not able to be understood by non crazy people, but still, they had fled somewhere else to lick their wounds. They couldn''t get that strong, right? They couldn''t rece the strength that came from the Sariel Family located in the Empire, which was strong thanks to the myriad of connections they had inside of the Empire itself, right? "Not only is it them, but... apparently they have their own Arch Fiend with them; another Arch Fiend too, which... well, we just got a small taste of a normal Fiend''s power, right? And while ''Caligo is very much a presence in our lives, we have never really gotten to see her powers on disy since... she''s never had a reason to use them. The closest was against Tza''Orbias a month or so ago, but besides that?" We all fell silent, and I took in another deep breath before saying "I... kind of felt Cali''s power before, but only because she was making a point, and... now that I think about it, the difference between what she did and what this ''Sxi did is very different. Cali''s magic worked directly with desires, and you can say that ''Sxi did as well, but where ''Sxi just focused on our sexual desires, Cali... she was able to amplify my bloodlust, amplify my desire to learn, amplify my lust obviously, but she was also able to drain my desires; leave me feeling empty and without purpose. I didn''t want to do anything; I didn''t even want to live anymore. She took everything from me without even batting an eye. That was what she managed to do with her magic on a small scale, without even consuming that much mana. She just... took everything I desired in life itself, things that I subconsciously desired - like living, breathing, eating, sleeping and so much more - and things that I actively desired. So if that is what an Arch Fiend can do..." "The obvious question is if this other Arch Fiend can do the same, or if Arch Fiend''s magics are specialized to an insane degree for their respective ''domains''. Remember, ''Caligo''s specific domain was Hidden Twisted Desires, right? So she would be working with all sorts of desires that everyone has, and some people..." Leone was the one to finish Jahi''s sentence, the Vampire staring at us with wide eyes as she muttered "Some people desire to kill, to rape, to steal... so many things are hidden in someone''s mind that they desire to do, so of course she would be able to twist those specific desires back to their base parts and make use of that, hence the ability to ''steal'' away ALL desires..." That horrifying revtion made us all shiver, before goosebumps covered our entire bodies as the cheery voice of the Arch Fiend we were talking about filled the air just like she filled the space between us she appeared out of nowhere andid down on the bed, her grin splitting her facepletely whilst her pink eyes shone with a malevolent light. "Congrattions, you all finally~ decided to try and figure out just what I was capable of~! Took you long enough, but the fact that you were able toe up with that realization so quickly as soon as you put your mind to it makes me think you didn''t need to keep Sxi alive~! You girls could''ve figured out where those Elves were on your own~! Would''ve been one hell of a surprise when we encountered whatever other Arch Fiend they managed to find, but hey~! Who cares about the specifics, right?" She turned towards me, aiming that grin at me and sending sparks throughout my body as I was made into the sole recipient of her heavy, terrifying gaze, but just as I felt like my heart was going to enter into a new gear to beat even faster, she stretchednguidly and let her grin fade into a simple smile as she sprawled out on the bed, staring at the ceiling as she stroked her belly. "Well, I''m a bit stuffed, and Sxi was kind enough to give me some ''help'', so I think I''ll be taking a nap now... don''t miss me too much, everyone~!" Chapter 1033 1032: New Plans? Chapter 1033 1032: New ns? ??Giggling softly as she felt up her body, Cali smirked at us all before fading away into a cloud of pink mist, the Arch Fiend staring at me with a longing gleam in her eye as she showed off just how ''rxed'' she was, which only made me furrow my brow at her as I saw what I knew as the ''same old Cali'', my nerves and fear from our revtion fading alongside her. Even then though, I felt the unease and apprehension that Jahi felt, which only made me return to my prior state as I leaned into her arms and tried tofort both her and myself with our bodily contact, as well as an instinctive ''caress'' of our bond to ease her emotions. Burying her face between my ears for a moment, Jahi inhaled as she gave me a squeeze, her hand that was resting on my hip sending a small jolt throughout my body as I further leaned into her, giving the Demoness the contact she wanted and then some. "Well, before we try and get ourselves back into the sexy times - which I''ll admit, I feel like I need more of now that I heard this news - can we discuss what the actual hell we are going to do then? Now that we know Jillian isn''t just lounging around in some other Noble''s manor sipping wine and kidnapping maids for her sexual gratification?" Anput reached over and pulled Leone over into her side, causing the Vampire to blush slightly as she was moved so easily and how she so readily allowed the Jackalkin to do whatever she wanted to her, though for right now Anput was just using Leone as a soft pillow to hold as sheforted herself. "What we are going to do..? That''s the question of the hour isn''t it? They found a way into the Labyrinthian and are going to be sheltering there for who knows how long doing who knows what. And they have an Arch Fiend protecting them just in case anything goes awry during their stay. From everything we were taught, the resources and monsters inside of the Labyrinthian would be a power boost fantasy for us out here. The best of the best all the time? I mean, think about it. All the monsters inside the Labyrinthian might as well just be made from mana, and consuming that constantly would be such a boost to your Core after each meal. Then there''s the various techniques that I KNOW that crazy Elf A has ess to; things like flushing your body with mana to remove any and all impurities that you were born with or obtained throughout your life, the strengthening of your flesh and bones with mana to convert them into something stronger... I mean, that''s just the tip of it and the two that pop into mind right away!" Jahi''s words made me nod as I looked up at her to add "And we really don''t know much about what she was researching or doing during her time in the Academy and outside of it, what she was wanting to do and how she could get to it. Now she has practically unlimited raw materials to do as she pleases and really has as much time as she wants to do what she wants since... well, let''s be honest, even if we wanted to chase after her right this moment, we can''t." Anput tilted her head at that, the Jackalkin wanting an answer as to why, and it came from the Vampire in her arms, Leone turning to stare at Anput as she said "We can enter the Labyrinthian, sure, but actually finding them inside the Labyrinthian is going to be borderline impossible if they don''t want to be found. One of the first things we ever learned about the Labyrinthian, and something that we still know little about is that the Labyrinthian shifts every few hours or every few days. It''s bigger than the Empire manyfold, and each portion of the Labyrinthian is some dangerous, deadly biome waiting for you to mess up." "Okay... and why couldn''t we bring in the Jackals or some other mount and rush over to them? Surely ''Caligo could track another Fiend as powerful as herself, right?" "Tell me, dog, can you track a very weak, very faint scent trapped within a bouquet of pungent and fragrant flowers? A bouquet that spans miles upon miles ofnd filled with other scents as well? Can you?" Cali''s voice filled the room again, and as soon as Anput heard her she shook her head, which made the Arch Fiend let out a slight huff before falling silent yet again, as did the room as we all looked at one another before Leone answered the other part of Anput''s question. "Most mounts that we could potentially take into the Labyrinthian would be too terrified and too sick from the sheer influx of pure mana flowing into their veins. Even as mortals we would suffer from an initial mana sickness, our Cores needing many days to adapt to such pure mana so that they could process and handle being in such an environment. Normal monsters cannot do that, not even the ones that have been bred to semi perfection like the Jackals your family is rightfully proud about." "So... what are we going to do then? We can''t just leave them inside the Labyrinthian to get stronger and stronger, right? Surely we have to eventually go in ourselves as well and begin doing what they do? Right?" Jahi''s chest reverberated against my back as the Demoness hummed softly, while Leone pursed her lips as she stared down at the bed, a million and one thoughts racing behind those crimson eyes, and none of them giving her the answer that she wanted. "I don''t think we should rush... Yes, they can get stronger, yes the Labyrinthian is really beneficial for anyone who can manage to survive inside its embrace, but there is no need for us to rush. Let''s say they do get stronger ande out in a few months, right? What are they going to be able to do in the grand scheme of things? It''s our fight, yes, but unless something extremely drastic and insane happens that takes both the Empress and the Sultana and puts them in an injured state... and let''s be honest, the only thing that could do that is the Gods descending down into this world and attacking them personally and indiscriminately. At that point, who gives a rats ass about Jillian and A? I think we''d have bigger issues on our hands than two insane Elves." All three of my lovers pursed their lips and stared at me for a few moments, with Anput and Jahi clearly not being thrilled by that idea, while Leone was not enthusiastic by tempting fate like that with the words I had chosen. "And really, let''s think this through. The Labyrinthian is a wellspring of materials and goodies waiting to be tapped, right? But the Empress doesn''t have a base set up inside the Labyrinthian, and traveling into it is borderline impossible even for the strongest people. She''s worked hard to contain it, not explore it. I''m not saying that we should think they are dead or will die, but they can''t make that much progress so quickly without great risk to themselves..." "So you''re saying that we should get to grinding ourselves into something better, but that we needn''t rush headlong into this for what seems to be no reason, logically at least?" Looking back up at Jahi, I nodded my head and added "Besides, remember who was meant to visit at the end of this trip here? I think that visit is worth far more than a week or two in the Labyrinthian. And again, I''m not saying we shouldn''t begin testing ourselves with far more serious adversaries, but to dive head first into the Labyrinthian? That''s absolutely a suicidal endeavor." Jahi''s eyes widened as she recalled who was meant to visit the Empire in a few weeks time, and I smirked at her as I reached up to bop her nose, loving how singleminded and focused she could be even if that meant she lost sight of some of the little things along the way. "Yes... Lilith is meant to visit, and I guarantee you that she''s visit the Labyrinthian before. As has the Empress, as has most of the Empress'' wives, Mom, Mother... so many people that we know have likely been there before, and we have the privilege to learn under them. Besides, we need to research and study up on the Labyrinthian before heading into it. And we need some better gear..." Anput groaned slightly at that, the Jackalkin rocking back and forth a few times as she said "Always with the studying and preparing... we do more of that than the actual doing of anything... but fine... and besides, I guess we have a few more Fiend''s we need to deal with within the Sultanate, which means a few more nice pieces of gear made from Fiend parts..." "And we do have ess to a grumpy, murderous, hateful Arch Fiend of Ka that we could ask about certain blood shedding properties that Ka Fiend parts might have? Perhaps the Arch Fiend of Tza might be willing to trade some knowledge around for... something? I don''t know specifically what we should be doing, but we need to get back into being quick with everything... which sounds exhausting already." Chapter 1034 1033: Walk On In Chapter 1034 1033: Walk On In ??"Well, just because we have ess to these Fiends doesn''t mean that they''ll actually help us, you know that right? I have a feeling the only way we get help from Ka''Hondi is you beating them in a duel, which we have no idea what that will be like. Even Mom doesn''t really know what that duel will be like for you since you have Light Mana, and Ka''Hondi seems rather... agitated by that." Everyone sighed at that, with Jahi burying her face between my ears once more as she thought about that too, the weight of being the Heir to a House like the Asmodia House settling onto her broad shoulders once more. She was more than capable of carrying that weight and dealing with it on her own, and of course she wasn''t actually alone with that weight; we were here to ease her burden as much as possible, even if she wanted to be stubborn sometimes and try to shoulder it all herself. "And I wouldn''t say Tza''Yul is going to be that helpful either, just as a reminder. The only reason Tza''Yul is where they are at is because Mom made some kind of deal with them lifetimes ago and now they just sleep in the basement... so yeah." Leone gave us a wry smile as she added "I don''t think any of us have anything that we could offer to Tza''Yul, and besides, even if we did, I don''t think we are capable of understanding what a deal between us and Tza''Yul would entail.", something that made far too much sense now that I began to think about it properly. "So we technically have a half of an Arch Fiend since Cali won''t be willing to hold our hand and help directly, while Jillian and A have an entire Arch Fiend... but again, we also have the Empress, Sultana, all of the Empress'' wives, House Asmodia, House Haniel... hell, we even could go up north and speak with Duchess ki if we wanted to." "While you''re at it why don''t we go visit Lord Ter''Ran, or plead with Lilith to personally tutor us? Maybe we could send a letter to the Dynasty that has that old bastard with Dark Magic to lend us a hand too?" I shot Anput a half re as she stuck her tongue out at me, the Jackalkin being brutally swift in bringing my expectations back down to reality as she sarcastically suggested those things, though I still let out a huff and looked away from the Jackalkin because of how rude she was with it. My displeasure was made known to her, but she just stuck her tongue out again and pulled Leone closer to her as she said "We should do some research on how to make that ''Dual Cultivation'' technique of yours even better, Leone... in fact, hey, wanna Dual Cultivate right now, Princess~? I think I''m eligible for some rightful get back after you got so high off of that Lust Mana haze~!" Even though we had been trapped within the lustful loop for so long already that our bodies were aching, somehow, someway Anput was still raring to go again, the Jackalkin fueled by apetitive drive to get back at the Vampire that had ''spited'' her earlier. Before that could happen though, a heavy knock on the door moments before it opened up to reveal the Sultana, who was noticeably dressed up and presentablepared to us, since we were all... well, not only naked, but very clearly fresh off of many vigorous rounds of lovemaking. "Get dressed and presentable. We need to get the city in order before taking our leave, and while we are under no particr rush, I think it''d be best to leave as soon as possible." Her veiled face obviously concealed her eyes, but it felt like her gaze swept over us all as she took in the state we were in, and that was rather embarrassing even as someone who was somewhat open. "Mom?! What the hell?! Why even bother knocking if you''re just going toe inside?!" Anput seemed to be the most embarrassed of us all, which made perfect sense all things considered, but her Mom was also nonchnt about this as she just shrugged and replied "Announce myself before walking into the ce I practically paid for? Already more of a courtesy; besides, we were just attacked, so I have to admit I am surprised that you are all still lounging around so casually." "That..! Just get OUT!" Shrugging again, the Sultana turned and walked out... without closing the door, which made Anput growl as she pped her palm against the bed and sent a wave of Earth Mana flowing towards the opening, pirs of rock sealing it shut and allowing the Jackalkin to get up and snarl as she stalked towards the bath. We all exchanged nces before getting up to follow her, with Leone being extra careful as she scooped up a towel and rushed into the bathroom, while Jahi seemed far more casual about it than us, something that she senseding from me. "When you informed me of the Fiend, I wasn''t able to get dressed, and neither was the Sultana. We were... both nude during that time, and uh... saw everything. Even... yeah." Scratching her cheek, the Demoness nodded to herself before leaning down as she whispered "She really is just a ''bigger'' Anput in all regards.", ignoring how I frowned at her for that since that was a very, deliberately ambiguous statement that could be interpreted many different ways. None of which I wanted to contemte. Anput was still grumbling to herself as we entered the bath, the Jackalkin scrubbing away at her body and getting clean as quickly as she could, and before we could even ask why she was rushing, she growled "She never changes! Used to burst into my room all the time without a care in the world! I thought Mother would be like that, but she gives me my space! It''s so embarrassing! So stupidly embarrassing!" Since she was rushing this, we matched her pace and got clean as quickly as possible, something that very, very rarely happened in any of our baths since this was usually one of the few times we could take as long as we felt we needed to unwind that wasn''t on a bed before or after sleeping, which only made this all the more embarrassing since we had to rush on out as well. We found the Sultana - the cause of all of our ''problems'' - lounging at the samerge table we had eaten at yesterday, this time with no one else present save for a pink skinned Dogkin woman trying her hardest to convince the Sultana to eat a peeled grape. "C''mon Anubi~! I even went through the effort to peel it for you~! Just like the Queen you are~! Eat it~!" Ignoring the Fiendpletely, the Sultana turned her head towards us and dryly said "Finally joining us...", which made Anput snarl again as she threw herself into her seat and red at her Mom before crossing her arms. I had to stamp down on the amusement I felt at seeing that posture from her, the usually arrogant Jackalkin that sometimes got on our nerves with her prideful disys now acting like a brat in front of someone she knew she couldn''t irritate too much. It was rather refreshingpared to normal, but as we all took our seats, the yful and ''fun'' atmosphere dissipated as other people began to filter on in slowly, looking ragged and lost as they sat down at the table. They didn''t even seem to hear the Sultana as she said "If I didn''t think it was important I would have allowed you all to do nothing for another hour, but this is a good learning opportunity for you. I know you can wield a de and conduct yourselves in battle, yet I know nothing at all about your abilities with your wits and words." Anput was still sulking, but she was the one to ask "So what do you want us to do? Alleviate the sadness of these grieving people? Promise them things we have no control over?" as she cast her gaze over them, her hard obsidian eyes softening for a brief moment as she took in their downcast expressions and exhausted postures. "No, just listen and watch. Some of the ces you will be heading toter on your own will need a silver tongue and an understanding of how to wield it effectively. Besides, they are still your people too, Anput, even if you are to be married to a Noble of the Empire. Never forget that." I held my tongue instead of asking the Sultana why she would bother exining that here and now right in front of the people she was outright telling them they were a learning experience for us, but at the same time that was the forwardness that this Sultanate had been built upon, I suppose. Chapter 1035 1034: Sultanate Full Of Fiends Chapter 1035 1034: Sultanate Full Of Fiends ??She said we were going to learn something from this, and yet all we got to learn was that the people who hade to rely so heavily on structure for their entire lives and every single minute detail within it, having that structure taken away brought them into a sense of despair that no amount of leadership could readily fix. Apparently the Vizier was just that loved and that good at her job that the thought of losing her made everyone at the table sink into their depression even more, especially since they had already been drained of all of their energy thanks to someone sitting at the table right now. ''Sxi paid no mind to the mortals around her, instead focusing on trying to charm the Sultana so that she could aplish... something; perhaps just a way to guarantee her continued existence, perhaps she wanted to bind herself to someone to someone strong to have a cozier life going forwards, perhaps she was just interested in making love to this extremely powerful woman. Either way, her presence at the table confused and scared the people even more, so there was little that the Sultana could do to get them back into order without brow beating them and throwing her weight around, which was exactly what she did as she shuffled people''s positions and responsibilities to make the city of Khisba return to a state of normalcy, at least somewhat. It wasn''t the show of diplomacy and disy of charismatic skill that the Sultana had wanted to put on for us, but the meaning was still clear even as she dismissed the room; we were going to need to get ustomed to dealing with all sorts of people going forwards, and some of those people were going to be despairing the loss of someone or something important. When they were dismissed, they trudged out without a word and made their way back to their rooms to mull everything over and deal with their grief in whatever way they wanted, leaving us alone at the table once more, though as soon as the Sultana began to say something, Leone''s stomach grumbled, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment, though when Anput''s stomach rumbled next the Vampire was relieved somewhat that everyone''s attention was split. "I would say let''s eat, but..." The Sultana looked around the empty room before pointedly staring at the empty table, which made me sigh as I stood up and asked "Where is the kitchen? I can cook while we chat; I feel like we aren''t going to remain here any longer, right? So we should eat, refill our water pouches and set off for home." "If that is what you would want, we can head on back to Muqai Al-Maedin; we would arrive by nightfall at the earliest, a few hours before midnight at thetest. Or you can remain here, in Khisba, before heading over to the next city that had a Fiend sighting." Getting up from the table, the Sultana continued to ignore ''Sxi even as the Fiend tried to hug her arm, which resulted in the Fiend pouting as she walked just behind the Jackalkin in hopes of getting her attention, ignoring the rest of uspletely as she set her eyes on what she viewed as the only prize. I exchanged a nce with Jahi when we both saw that, and the Demoness just smirked at me and shrugged as she said "Can''t really me her can you?", which made me shrug too since, well... I couldn''t, not when there was a chance for that Fiend to secure her own safety amongst those that wouldn''t mind harvesting her for parts... I mean, after all, Anput brought up the excellent idea of making a full set of armor and weapons that I could use for my Lust Mana, gathering even more of that illusive power for myself and channeling it more efficiently in a set of gear tailored just for it. So to say that I could understand why the Fiend would want to earn the protection of a stronger person to keep her safe from people who might want to turn her into parts would be an understatement, but as I listened to Leone''s stomach once more I cast aside those thoughts and instead focused on getting to the kitchens to get to cooking a fulfilling meal for us all to enjoy. As one would expect for a capital building that also housed all of the officials of the city, the kitchens were arge, well stocked ce that made me feel an indescribable happiness as I began to gather arge quantity of ingredients whilst listening to everyone else converse nearby. "What other Fiends have been seen nearby? We got some good parts from that Ka Fiend, and I think we have more than enough to make some special gear from that - so long as I get my skills up to snuff and feelfortable forging with those parts. If there''s even more Ka Fiend''s around, I imagine we can even try to filter out their mana and figure out how to make use of it in everything else..." "That is very risky though, ying with a mana type we don''t know much about. But I won''t say that the weapons wouldn''t be very useful if you managed to make them properly. That sort of toughness and strength shouldn''t be able to be equaled by any alloys for a very, very long time. Not unless you discover some new method or manage to purify andbined everything perfectly." The Jackalkin rolled her eyes as she said "Thanks for that vote of confidence, Leone. Really appreciate it.", which made Leone smile at her wryly as she shrugged her shoulders, thought they both turned towards me as I asked "Either way, we need to start upgrading our gear fast, and the only way I can think of doing so would be to go straight to Fiend parts. How quickly can you getfortable forging with them, Anput?" "Maybe a week of just straight forging. I need to get back into it and be ustomed to the material before I get to forging anythingplicated. Even a small dagger is so different when using Fiend parts. The difference between metal, bone and metal alloy, and straight bone is all very noticeable, and making things from them has upsides and downsides that need their own consideration." "Well, still... that''s not that bad, all things considered. During that time we can also get to work oning up with other ways to strengthen ourselves, like spell crafting, tattoos, alchemy and more. But anyways, Sultana, what are the nearby Fiends? Do you know?" "A few more Ka, a few Nua, and one that may or may not be a Tza. This one was an unexpected encounter, which only makes me wonder if there are more lingering around out there among the sands. I always advise caution, but even more so now; the Sultanate is already a treacherous ce on the best of days, and currently... we are not so blessed as to be among them." "Nua Fiends... what do you think we can do with Nua Fiends..?" I nced over at Anput and just said "I don''t know, but shut up about them for now; I like having a semnce of an appetite.", which made the Jackalkin nod as she pivoted instead to something else, turning to Leone as she asked "You mentioned something about removing impurities in the body; would that actually do anything important?" A slight groan escaped my lips at that, though I just focused on the cooking instead of thinking about how many pieces of media I had consumed mentioned removing impurities and how nasty and gross it seemed, especially since it was paired with a need to do it multiple times instead of just once... "That, or empowering certain parts of the body gradually over time to improve yourself from what you are at the moment - strong, yes, but ultimately still rather fragile - into something more resilient and even more powerful. Either one is a good idea for us going forwards, and I have recipes and the ingredients necessary to concoct what we need, we just haven''t had the time really... and you do also need to teau physically before actually trying. Like... our bodies needed to stop growing before we could take those pills or use the powders." "What about the tattoo idea though? Would that get in the way of using these alchemical products? I mean, if you enhance the flesh then how well will mana take to itpared to before? What about the tattoos that you already have?" I nced back at the Vampire, who shrugged again as she replied "I''m not to sure, but it should be fine; obviously I''ll want to do some more research before hand, and ask Mother a few questions about it. She''s told me she did those things before, so... yeah. And depending on what we get, I might even be able to improve the recipes some more with Fiend parts. That''d be nicer on Aunt Igna since for a long time there, the strongest ''creature'' we could get ingredients from would be her..." We all just stared at the Vampire for a few moments before shaking our heads and moving on to the next topic of conversation, all while the wonderful scent of spices began to fill the kitchen as I got our meal underway; quite a lot of food too since I didn''t really want to be in Khisba any longer than we needed to be. The city hadn''t really enticed me, though that was through no fault of its own; I just want to move forwards now, I suppose, and I also wanted to keep exploring Anput''s home to get to know my mate better. Chapter 1036 1035: Abundance Of Rewards

Chapter 1036 Chapter 1035: Abundance Of Rewards

Brunch was a splendid affair for us, though not so much for the officials of Khisba; the citizens were still blissfully unaware of what had happened, and I didn''t envy the work they had before them for this piece of news that they needed to break to their people. Perhaps it was because they weren''t ''my people'', or perhaps it was just because I was always - and will always - more worried about the emotions and health of Anput, Leone and Jahi than anyone else whenever we were out and about, and the rest of my family whenever we were at home. I didn''t have a good amount of empathy anyways to go around sharing it with random people, and the little bit that I had left over from caring for those close to me tended to be barely enough to fuel a single reaction for random people, let alone an entire city of people I didn''t know anything about. Anyways, back to brunch; I managed to scrounge together quite a few things I was familiar cooking with and a few things I was willing to experiment with, like a small jar of seasoning that was called baharat; I had heard of it before, that it was just arge quantity of spices mixed together into a single blend that apparently tasted quite delicious. Besides that, they had quite a few salted meats of a few varieties that I hadn''t seen before, but as soon as Anput idly told me I was holding worm meat, I made sure to ask her where the normal meat was located, finding a few filets ofmb and some chicken breasts lying around. Since everything was salted, I got together making a wet sauce from the chicken stock, tomato paste, olive oil and some milk alongside some of those spices I had found, mainly that baharat since it didn''t have a cloying spiciness that suggested a heat I would regret eating. Then I got to work making something as simr to naan that I could manage, which was also why I considered this brunch; I wanted to try making curry - since Anput was so desperate to eat some - and didn''t have any breakfast ideas in mind from this culture, at least none that I could think of off of the top of my head while I was in the middle of a kitchen with hungry people. Though I think their breakfast did still revolve around eggs and bread as staples for their dishes with other meats or vegetables acting asplimentary dishes, something that some of the cuisine in the Empire did most of the time too. I also didn''t want to limit myself to cooking the same thing as always, so there was that, and that meant testing myself with someone as important as the Sultana as one of the tasters of my dishes, but I wasn''t one to shy away from a challenge with no valid reason. It all came together quite well while they were still discussing things we needed to do upon our return to the Empire, like throwing Anput into the forge to make us more gear and lock Leone inside the alchemy room to concoct us more pills and potions. I wasn''t saved from that either since I was going to be made to draft up tattoo ideas for each person after Leone verified that we could still get them after her alchemical purification of our bodies, and if we weren''t I was going to then have to help not only with the enchanting - which was a given since I was the mostfortable and experienced in that field - but also in drafting up some spell ideas for everyone to make use of. And finally, Jahi had her own obligations to fulfill, but whereas we were all ''craftswomen'' of a sort and she wasn''t, her obligation was going to be to match our time spent doing what we were doing to improve everyone''s strength by training with Lady Fenryas, which... yeah, she did agree to, surprisingly enough. Obviously - and something that we didn''t say out lout with our currentpany - she was going to be sufficientlypensated each and every night for that torture with whatever she wanted us to do, which meant we were probably going to spend some time out in the city shopping around for outfits and toys that she wanted to eventually get us anyways. All of that was discussed as I was making us brunch, and by the time the curry sauce was ready and the naan had baked, we were all very hungry and ready to eat anything at all - except maybe worm; I don''t think I could bring myself to eat worm meat, even if it was a ''staple'' and normal food here in the Sultanate. I would like to think that I did a pretty decent job at mimicking and replicating their cuisine, and I thought it turned out rather good for a first attempt at the Sultanate''s spicy food, but since Anput seemed happy - and somewhat impressed - yet still rather tame with how she was eating and not devouring everything. The Sultana ate slowly as well, which made me purse my lips before I let out a sigh as I decided I needed to take a visit to the kitchens back at the pce in order to learn more, so there was that, but still, I was impressed with myself since it was tasty and not too spicy. I could handle spice, sure, but I preferred savory or sweet things over spicy things, so there was that too; either way, finishing brunch and going to grab our gear and rewards from the battle against the Fiend, Ka''Vn, before the Sultana pulled us over to the treasury of the capital building, which felt rather odd... Opening the doors and pressing a few hidden buttons and levers, she opened yet another door that was hidden behind a bookshelf to reveal a few small chests bulging with gold ingots and some tinum coins, as well as quite a few sparkling, mana filled gemstones. Hoisting a gold bar out alongside a few of those gemstones, she handed them to Jahi before locking everything up again, leading us back out into the ''treasury'' that was filled with just normal Gold coins and some small pouches of normal gems. "I have my wealth in each city just in case of emergency. Those rooms are all perfectly hidden from normal people, and the people who could potentially find them have no need for that paltry sum." We all just stared at her for a few moments before shaking our heeds and heading out into Khisba, mounting the Jackals and setting off into the desert once more, leaving the people of Khisba just as quickly as we had arrived, though I doubt any of them willin since the Fiend that was undoubtedly going to kill them all. It was a very brief visit into Khisba, and a small part of me was saddened that we were once again rushing back to another ce to prepare to rush out to another fight, but now that the news of Jillian and A reached us, I had to admit that more of me was desiring to get back to training even though we had already been doing so much training. Besides, being handed a literal gold bar that had to weigh a few pounds was reward enough to admit that I wasn''t that exhausted from training, and the addition of those gemstones had me salivating as more ideas for things to make entered my head, primarily the idea of crushing those gems into powder and using them to iy runes into something to make them even stronger, followed by the more normal idea of making a few high intensity weapons that would need a ''battery'' like those stones. Who knew that being incentivized with riches galore would make you push yourself even harder, hm? That gold bar could be used to buy ourselves a property and outfit it with most of what we wanted, like a nice,rge bath lined with some decent manaden tiles that would react well to both Fire and Ice Mana so that we could enjoy some baths in the winter or escape the heat in the summer. Like how I was already wanting to escape this heat as we rushed over the sands of the Sultanate, the harsh rays of the sun embracing us constantly as the entire desert became an oven specifically designed to irritate me and make me despise this sort of area. It made me a tad angry at how easily the temperature could be an ''enemy'' against me, and I wanted to hide under some shade and cover myself in rime so that I could cool off, but we had to get back to the pce before I could do that, and by then the desert would be cold anyways since it would be nighttime. At least Jahi had transferred the gold and gemstones over to me, so I could spend this time basking in the wealth we had received, while Anput was appraising each of the bones she had harvested from the Fiend; all in all, we did receive a good amount of rewards for merely a day''s work. Chapter 1037 1036: Headstart

Chapter 1037 Chapter 1036: Headstart

"Oh by the Gods... finally back home~! It feels so nice to be back home~!" Dismounting the Jackal and stretching, Anput moaned happily as she loosened her tense muscles and cracked her joints, doing so ahead of us all as she walked forwards a few steps and grinned at the guards waiting at the entrance of the pce. "Go and tell Mother that we''re back, please. And have dinner arranged; something lighter, and something that can pair well with coffee. It''s been a long day." One of the guards just nodded and turned around, heading into the pce without another word to get the Begum''s will done, but the other paused as he stared at the pink skinned Fiend moring for the Sultana''s attention, unable to help himself and having a job to do as he asked "Sultana, is that a..?" "A Fiend? Yes, and an annoying one at that, but... one that I have further questions for, and one that is currently trying to prove her worth, I suppose. Don''t worry, I''ll kill her if she tries anything idiotic." "If... Very well, Sultana. I shall go inform the kitchens of your arrival. Wee back to Muqai Al-Maedin!" Bowing to the Jackalkin, the guard turned and gave us a shallower bow before heading into the pce and leaving us alone with the Jackals outside, gathering up our stuff and leading the wonderful creatures over to their housing. My Jackal had been wonderful, so as we shepherded them into their respective rooms and helped them out of their saddles, I gave mine a swift sprinkle and refilled its water trough with something nice and cool before drying it off with some wind, ensuring it was clean and taken care of. Then I pulled out the extra nket I had and spread it out atop its bedding, something that confused the Jackal for a moment as it sniffed the soft nket, but as soon as I pulled its paw onto the bedding it just blinked before stepping forwards and circling around a few times. After it oriented itself, the Jackal plopped on down and rested its snout on its paws, staring at me for a few moments before closing its eyes and taking a deep breath, making me smile wryly as I stared at the majestic yet tired creature in front of me, wondering what it was thinking; it seemed like such a simpler lifepared to ours, despite us both being ''Canines''. I wanted to fluff its ears and relish in the softness of its fur, but since it was clearly trying to sleep I held my hand instead and slipped out of the room to leave it be, where I found the others all waiting around holding their stuff, staring at me with raised brows and slightly tired looks. "What? Can''t show appreciation to the one who carried me miles over the scorching sands?" The Sultana just shrugged while Anput smiled as she said "Yeah, but they''ve been raised as killers primarily, so I have to admit I am surprised she didn''t just snarl at you after you took the saddle off. They''re a pack animal, yes, but most of the time they prefer to be by themselves or with just their mate. So... for her to not snap at you is rather impressive." "I didn''t do anything though? Just took care of her afterwards; refilled her water and pat her head." Anput just shook her head as she turned towards the pce and walked on inside, while the Sultana said "Affection is affection, and I guess she wanted some." before turning to follow her daughter inside, ''Sxi swiftly doing the same and leaving Leone, Jahi and I to catch up as we gathered our stuff again. "Maybe she just sensed a kindred spirit there hm~?" Poking my side, Jahi grinned at me as she eyed me up and down, making me roll my eyes at her as I turned to Leone instead and asked "We have these gemstones, right? So I was thinking of ways to use them, and the first thing thates to mind is a power supplier, right? Make something powerful that needs some extra mana to work properly, which would be where the gemstonese in." "Correct. You want to make something extremely powerful that uses gemstones as a charge, right? Something that needs an extreme amount of mana to function that most normal enchanted things don''t usually have because..." "The structure would break or even explode upon use? Yes, that is what I am describing here. I was thinking about it, something that would be of use to us all if we ever found ourselves in a situation like the one I found myself in at the beginning of the ''war'' and the Sariel''s defection." The mention of that event made Jahi''s gait inconsistent for a brief moment as she paused and nced at me before returning to normal, while Leone pursed her lips and sighed softly as she stared ahead, losing herself to her thoughts and to her memories. "So I was thinking we make ''disposable'' staffs or spears that we can use with ease, weapons that have an absurd amount of mana within them that would be used to activate a single powerful spell that could wipe a city off the map if need be; y''know, just a ''panic'' tool in case of emergencies." Leone snorted at that, though she nodded as she said "It''d be easy to do too; just a basic fireball spell or something simr tuned up to the max and given more mana than it should have any right having, all encased within a single item. The question bes though, is that really a good use of our resources?" "Maybe not, but I have to admit that having one or two of those things might be a good idea just in case. Something to pull out should a Fiend of Tza''Orbias caliber ambush us or perhaps even something stronger. But that wasn''t the only thing that you thought of doing, right?" "No, not at all. It''s just the simplest thing to do with them. What I really wanted to try was crushing or breaking the gemstones down and iying them into the metal before enchanting them. Maybe that would amplify the enchantments, or perhaps it would make it so that we could ce more enchantments onto the weapon if there was this powdered crystal imbued into it." "Talk about a risk... But hey, since the Sultana seems to hand these things out like candy as a reward, maybe we could..." Reaching the main room yet again, we were greeted with the sight of Lady Kio standing at the table tapping her foot on the ground as she stared at the Sultana, who was just standing there like she had nothing to exin at all... with a busty pink skinned babe clinging to her side. Jahi trailed off as she saw that, and the Demoness strode on over to the table to take a seat beside Anput, who was silently watching from the side with a small smile on her face; we joined them as we began to watch the show unfold, and I rolled my eyes again as I heard Lady Kio ''calmly'' ask "So who exactly is this?" "''Sxi, a Fiend that made one of our Viziers into a cannibal and took immense pleasure in turning Khisba''s capital building into a den of degeneracy. She''s rather irritating, yes, but she knew about-" "That''s great; why the fuck is she hanging on you like some cheap harlot you hired for a night?" Everyone looked at ''Sxi, who simply blinked before recoiling back slightly as she said "Excuse me, but I am NOT a cheap harlot! The things I can do would have your toes curling and your legs shaking! But um... Anubi..." She turned straight back to the Sultana after that, which made Lady Kio snarl slightly as she watched the Fiend trail her finger up the Sultana''s abs as she whispered to the Jackalkin in a sultry tone, doing her best to seduce her. "For you, I wouldn''t mind being treated like a cheap harlot... if you want to use me and throw me away, I wouldn''t... I wouldn''tin at all..." "You bitch..!" Mana coiled around Lady Kio''s limbs as she shot forwards, and before the Fiend could even realize what was happening she was flying across the table, skidding to a halt right in front of us and unable toprehend why she was here. "Keep your grubby paws off my wife!" We all turned our gazes back towards Lady Kio, who had taken the Fiend''s spot as she embraced the Sultana from the front, which made the futanari tilt her head as she stared down at the petite Dogkin woman. "What the..." Climbing off of the table, ''Sxi red at Lady Kio before shivering as the Sultana said "That''s enough now... I can tolerate your antics because I don''t find them that irritating, but I don''t control my adorably angry wife, so control yourself.", her three eyes narrowing as she stared at the proud Dogkin, who was grinning at her. Chapter 1038 1037: Eventful Dinner Chapter 1038 1037: Eventful Dinner ??Those few moments after ''Sxi was told off wereden with danger for everyone inside the hall, but after a few breaths she took a step back and took a deep breath, before smiling innocently at the Sultana as she said "If you ever change your mind there, Anubi, just know that my ''door'' will always~ be open for you... forever and always~!" With that, she made her way to the other side of the table and sat on her lonesome, resting her chin on her palm as she smiled sweetly at the Sultana and ignored the bristling petite Dogkin beside her target, as well as the rest of us too, which was more than wee. The Sultana took her seat as well, before staring down at Lady Kio as the Dogkin simply took her seat on the Sultana''sp, marking her territory further and grinning smugly at a Fiend, which only made me wonder if this confidence came from that earlier sucker punch or if she was really that fast without any noticeable buffs... As the servants came in with traysden with food though, that thought went out of my mind as well, my focus insteadnding on the food and the coffee that I was about to indulge myself in, my hunger returning with a vengeance. Like I had assumed, I had ''feasted'' too much this morning andst night, so my appetite before we left wasn''t that high, and now that we had some delectable cuisine in front of us again, my appetite red back up and I wanted nothing more than to eat and eat. Even though Anput had requested something lighter and something that goes well with coffee, we were treated to a wonderful array of kebabs and a giant stack of naan, alongside some vegetable dishes and even a thinner curry too, which Anput instantly slid over to herself before anyone could make a move on it. Grabbing myself a few different kebabs - after giving them a good sniff each and having Anput confirm they weren''t worm meat - I began to eat and savor the variety of vors that cascaded off of the juicy grilledmb and chicken, savoring their gradually rising heat and enjoying the way the cool ss of water I had only made them hotter. "Sultana, those arena''s that are around the city... the ''fighting clubs'' where you can bet on the fights and all that. Does that include your own fights, and how does that work? Do you wager something of equal value, just wager whatever you want at a set rate of return... what exactly are the arena''s for?" "Why? Want to wager some of the things I just gave you? I can make that easier for you if you want; I have gems aplenty, as well as a few other things of value that simplyy around in my vaults collecting dust. You would be surprised to know what sort of things my people deliver to me as tribute; I have a golden statue of one of my Vizier''s,pletely in the nude. Another sent me a painting of the stars shaped like a Jackal. I also have a rough diamond that looks like a skull somewhat that was interesting enough to ignore it''sck of value..." The bored tone she had as she discussed some of the extents of her wealth was rather amusing, but not as much as the sharp and almost instant head turn of Lady Kio as she asked "You have a what?", her eyes narrowed down to slits that resembled a serpent and not a dog. "A rough diamond in the shape of a skull. Rather heavy and crude, but interesting." Taking one of the kebabs in front of her, the Sultana bit into it and nced down at Lady Kio before shrugging as she turned back to Jahi, saying "All of that is to say that I am more than open to exchanging goods, so long as the value is equal to the things you want. But to actually answer your question, unless you make a bet against a specific person, all bets are on the arena itself. If you wager for fighter a to win, or have fighter b not dying in the fight, the arena pays up. If you wager on how many fights fighter a wins, or wager on a specific kind of fight having a specific oue, you make money. But if you approach someone and bet with them... that''s all on you. Almost everyone gets the arena to validate the bet they make though, so just understand that anything you put on the table as a bet, needs to be something that you''re willing to part with. I can''t tell you how many idiots have bet their house or their partner just to be horrified when they have their house taken or have to watch as their partner is ''taken''." "And I guess the merchants are the ones that make those sorts of bets? The ones where they match or wager things that are worth far too much? Do they happen often, or are they rather rare?" The Sultana just snorted at that, while Lady Kio plucked the kebab from her wife''s hands and took a bite from it, quieting the Sultana with her bold action, though she pointed the kebab at Jahi as she replied "No, everyone who goes to the arena''s to gamble are degenerates, and they live for that thrill of winning. So they gamble bigger and bigger until they sell themselves into indentured servitude to pay off their debts... only to begin gambling again and again. There are far to many even in my own Pack who have lost their weapons, their clothes, their fortunes and so much more because of gambling. Hells, one of the girls gambled away her virginity , but I think she was just a nutcase..." She pointedly stared at me for a few seconds, causing me to raise a brow as I met her gaze and didn''t shrink away from it, something that made her let out a huff before biting off more of the kebab, after which she handed it back to the Sultana. "So if you''re going to gamble, don''t be a dumbass; just because you''re someone special over in the Empire, just because you''re lovers with the Begum, just because you ARE the Begum, don''t be a dumbass and chase after that thrill. Not with anything substantial, anyways; and if you lose, don''t even THINK abouting to me and crying about your loss. I''ll justugh at you." As the Sultana was mid bite, Lady Kio pursed her lips and looked towards her wife so that she could steal the rest of the kebab for herself, and even though you couldn''t see the Sultana''s eyes I just had a feeling she was blinking right now out of the shock of what was happening. "Ahem... well... I was going to set a limit and ensure I didn''t surpass that limit, and I was NOT going to allow ANY bets that weren''t of gold or other material items that we could afford to give up. Nothing weird being gambled away, just money that I already have enough of..." I ignored Jahi''s pointed look as I grabbed another kebab, though ''Sxi just giggled as she said "Just saying, your lover there is so~ not listening to you right now, and she very~ much so is going to do something ''stupid''~! Isn''t that right, Cali~?" Feeling two arms draping over my shoulders, I let out a sigh as Cali appeared and said "Damn straight~! Little lust puppy has ideas on her mind for more and more, and I betcha she wasn''t going to take no for an answer~!", to which I replied "No was an answer I would have very much respected and adhered to." The two Fiends just nodded and hummed at that, though they were both grinning as they stared at me pointedly, which made Jahi narrow her now golden eyes while Anput and Leone raised a brow as they waited for another answer. "Alright... maybe I would have tried once or twice to ''entice'' some people and get them to bet bigger than they could afford, but only after assuring my loss was impossible would that have actuallye into y!" That only made them all stare at me longer, while Lady Kio snorted as she said "Yeah, good work there little pup.", and Jahi nodded as she leaned closer and asked "So when I say no right now, what does that meanter, Katherine..?" Those twin golden eyes made me shiver as well as the use of my full name, something that rarely happened anymore, at least with people I was actually close to, so hearing it from someone I don''t think has ever actually called me that... well... "It means no... it always means no..." Looking down at the table, I took a deep breath before focusing on my food, deciding to let go of that one idea of mine and instead just eat this meal, all while Jahi kept her eye on me for just a little longer. Chapter 1039 1038: Another Step Up The Mountain

Chapter 1039 Chapter 1038: Another Step Up The Mountain

After the two Fiends went ahead and had their fun at my expense, the rest of the dinner we had was rather tense and not as vorful as before, mainly because I had three separate gazes on me that were clearly somewhat judgmental and worried, which only made me feel slightly angry at myself for what I had nned to do. Judging how strong the generalbatants at an arena should''t have been that difficult, and after I got their measure I wanted to make some bets that tapped into the sphere of Lust so that I could begin using this power I had on something besides training and honing my control over it. I wanted to not only harvest more of it, but also to make use of it and benefit from how easily people seem to lose themselves to it when theye into contact with it; it muddled the senses and addled the mind enough that I thought I could swindle some people out of almost everything they owned in a fight that was never fair from the start. I wanted to use my powers to make a quick buck that would benefit us all, but of course that close minded and tunnel visioned focus that I had wasn''t shared amongst my lovers, and for valid reasons; who would want to risk their lover making a fool of herself and betting something to someone who didn''t deserve it? Especially without the knowledge that it was happening, and not knowing at all whether or not something had happened to her that would most certainly influence your opinion of her in certain ways. It was an obvious thing that I saw clearly now, but to my prior self who was brimming with overconfidence and an assuredness that I could not only control my powers, but also somehow negotiate a deal between myself and someone who negotiates for a living on top of actually winning in a battle against someone I didn''t know..? Somehow the idea of losing just never crossed my mind, but I guess that''s just arrogance and pride taking root and blossoming, so of course there wasn''t anything that I had thought of that would go wrong; they were concealed behind the hideous fruits that my arrogance and pride bore. I... even now I still thought I could make use of my powers to squeeze out even more from these people that I had never met, and I was determined to at least bring it up again and get Jahi''s opinion on it together, but until then I just remained quiet and finished eating, taking care of my appetite and doing my best to not invite anymore suspicion or doubt onto myself. By the time that dinner had concluded, Cali had disappeared once more while ''Sxi followed behind the Sultana and Lady Kio, despite the Dogkin making it rather clear that she didn''t want anything to do with the Fiend and that she was very clearly about to lunge at her and attack her, though the soothing from the Sultana helped somewhat. She was still baring her fangs at the pink skinned Dogkin though, and I had a feeling thate tomorrow morning, there was going to be an interesting development there in some capacity or another, but just thinking about it made me feel a bit odd so I instead focused on myself. The walk back to Anput''s chambers was a quiet one, and when we entered her room we were greeted with the blissful, lovely quiet of her open aired home, the curtains drawn back slightly to allow the moonlight even more clearance as well as the soft desert breeze that kept the entire area cool. Setting all of our stuff onto a table in a loose pile, it came as no surprise to anyone when Jahi shed off her clothing and made her way to the bath, with Anput swiftly tossing off her clothes to join her while Leone hesitated for a moment as she watched them before turning back to me. "Go on, I''ll be right behind you in a minute. I just want to take a moment to pray is all; I have a distinct feeling that as soon as we enter that bath, we aren''t going to be able to do anything else tonight..." The Vampire blushed as she nodded, her adorable reaction to something that happened almost every single night since she arrived at the cottage however long ago never getting old, and I had a feeling it never would, no matter how much time passed. Stepping forwards, I gave her a quick kiss before gently pushing her towards the bath, smiling at her as I said "Go. Tell them that I''ll be a moment; it''s been too long since I took a moment to pray, so I want to rectify that, and what better time then now?" She stared at me for a second before nodding and turning around, making her way into the bath and causing me to shake my head as I watched her strip down to nothing and shoot a teasing, cheeky smile back at me, something that made me momentarily wish I had the ability to do anything about it... Her extra ''equipment'' there was the reason I couldn''t really do it like I would have liked for two women, and there wasn''t much thrill in me to get a toy to solve this issue, but at the very least it was a reminder of what Jahi and Anput felt whenever they saw me, which was more than nice, especially now. I had something else to do currently though, and that was to walk out onto the balcony and kneel beneath the stars, my instincts guiding me to what I thought was the best spot as I sped my hands and closed my eyes, doing something that I really hadn''t done in a long time now. Words came to mind, forming excuses and reasons as to why I hadn''t done so in what felt like forever, and yet at the same time... as soon as those thoughts fluttered into my head, I couldn''t bring myself to actually utter them as a prayer, leaving me kneeling there silently as I wondered what I should be doing. [If it feels disingenuous, then don''t bother; I''m not saying that to be rude, but as advice. Not meaning what you say, but saying it anyway is always the wrong idea, even if you think saying it anyways would be the right thing to do.] A voice I hadn''t heard in awhile either suddenly popped into my head, and I had to stop myself from jumping as I realized that my System had just made itself known after Goddess knows how long, something that funneled even more guilt into my heart as I bit my lip. [Ah, don''t feel bad; after who knows how long in that void drifting around and waiting to be of use, simply being here, with you, is more than enough for me. You don''t realize just how lucky your mortals are with all of this stuff happening constantly, even when you think that you are bored. Besides... I think you said it first, and I will have to agree with you, Katherine; you aren''t really that in need of a Systempared to what all three of us believed. Everyone always wants one when given the choice - and you certainly didn''t turn me down when we first met - but like we hade to agree upon, we have a rather... mutual and quiet rtionship, don''t we?] I smiled sadly at that as I nodded, though that only made the voice sigh as they said [Don''t feel bad, seriously. It makes me feel bad for keeping quiet this entire time. You''re far more adept at handling yourself than our Lady had thought, and besides, if you ever actually required help I was always here to give it, even if you don''t realize it.] ''You say that, but still... when was thest time I even checked my status..? When was thest time I even bothered to acknowledge your existence? Of course I would feel terrible! Who wouldn''t?!'' [Eh, really, it doesn''t bother me that much; besides, we''ve both seen how well you can do without direct help from me, and honestly? When you aren''t worried about what you feel like you need to do, when you aren''t crunching numbers and calcting how much more of this you need to do to get that... you are capable of more that way. That''s why I haven''t really popped on by. Though this mini pity parade forced my hand, so to speak.] ''Pity parade? I just was thinking that I haven''t really kept up with something that was beneficial for me mentally and was something that showed respect to someone I deemed is owed that respect. That''s all.'' [Yeah... sure... are you forgetting that I am a part of you, Katherine? Lying to yourself... if I had a head, I would be shaking it.] Snorting, I rolled my eyes and dryly thought ''Funny. That can''t have been the only reason you popped on by, right? Like you said, we have a rather mutually beneficial rtionship, yes, and arge part of that rtionship is your role and how I make use of it...'' [That is a severe oversimplification that borders on being somewhat disrespectful but sure, let''s go with that. No, I don''t have anything really important to say to you besides congrattions on leveling up... quite a few times...] Chapter 1040 1039: Road Forwards

Chapter 1040 Chapter 1039: Road Forwards

''Leveled up... multiple times? I... guess that makes sense considering all the things that have happened... which is who knows how many events; I honestly can''t even remember when Ist bothered with my levels. Was it after Ka''Minvis?'' [Don''t know, don''t really care; all I know is that this is your current status sheet, and it''s different from thest time you viewed it and thest time I was ''fully awake'', or whatever the equivalent would be. Really though, I must admit that the progress you''ve made so far is rather intriguing. On one hand, it isn''t that fast is it? It''s been quite a long time since you found yourself here in this world. Approximately two years, I believe..? A little over that, perhaps. And you''re only at level 68, almost level 69. Some would consider that slow, and with a stat average - that isn''t making use of your Charisma, since that is ''capped'' at 100 technically - of approximately 160, it doesn''t really seem that impressive. And yet, you also have something that matters more, something that isn''t really that easy to quantify; a solid foundation, a ''safety'', impressive confidence and assuredness that is tempered with reality and understanding...] As the System spoke to me, it summoned my status sheet and presented it to me in my mind, allowing me to look over the numbers and improvements I had made after many long, grueling days of training and fighting, of studying andprehension. [Level 64 -> 68 : 1,378,989 / 3,000,000 Shop Points : 320,000 -> 500,000] [Stats : STR : 128 -> 144 CON : 140 -> 152 AGI : 152 -> 171 DEX : 152 -> 173 CHA : 86 -> 90 WIS : 142 -> 158 INT : 142 -> 160] ''Y''know... sometimes I just have to wonder about this; it never really feels like these numbers have meaning, but I also just... I guess it''s hard topare these when these are just... me. I have nothing else topare it to, and even if I did, I don''t really know if I would understand what I wasparing...'' [Well, they are just numbers at the end of the day, and like you''ve said multiple times, having the ability to do something doesn''t mean you can actually do it. Just because you have a lot of strength doesn''t mean you can make use of it, or having a lot of mana doesn''t mean much if you can''t control it. So even if you have a set numerical value to these things, it doesn''t really mean much, does it?] ''That... makes sense; even in games these values only ever meant you could achieve higher level skills, spells, or use better gear; it never really changed much about you. Even in shows or books these were just there as a sign of progression... which sort of makes me wonder...'' [Ah, I know you''re Charisma is high and all, but don''t be a narcissist on me now; you''re not a main character here, alright? Well, I mean I guess you are kind of one, since our Lady likely has a book about you... but you understand what I am saying, right?] I rolled my eyes dryly as I shook my head, finding it amusing how the System was so quick to build me up before being even faster to remind me to not get a big head from this, so I just thought ''Yeah, no need to say it like that though... it doesn''t hurt to have some confidence in myself, right? You said so yourself...'' [Overconfidence is a pain to deal with though...] Holding in augh, I glossed over the status sheet for a few moments more before asking ''So there was no skill acquisition or growth? Though... that makes sense, I guess. I haven''t really managed to get much done besides theory crafting, and I haven''t been able to put those theories to any kind of test either...'' [That is correct, and that is the correct reasoning too. Anyways, yes, I wanted to exin that you had leveled up and that while this might not seem that impressive considering how long you have been alive in this world, your individual strength and growth isn''t the only thing that matters. This was also to just check up on you and make sure you were doing alright, what with the resurgence - well, not resurgence, but reminder of those two.] ''I... yeah, I''m fine. I knew they were still around, knew that they were going to eventually make themselves known once again. I still feel angry, scared, apprehensive and so much more at the mention of them, but it''s not something I can''t deal with. Besides, they aren''t the only threat; those weird metallic monstrosities that Jahi and the others had fought before... they''re still out there too, somewhere in the Labyrinthian. Hopefully those things cross paths with those two, but I''m not hedging any bets on it.'' [Well, that was all, and I look forwards to seeing how you progress in the future. From what it sounds like, this might just be the real start of your adventures, hm~? That multi year, treacherous journey from being a teeny tiny frog in a well to being that soaring crane up in the sky...] The jovial tone that the System took made me chuckle out loud this time as I finally opened my eyes, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated despite not having actually prayed; but still, this small chat with the System had taken some of the weight off of my shoulders somehow, and that was more than I deserved. ''Don''t go getting philosophical on me now, System... The idea of a little old man or woman sitting cross legged in my mind and spitting proverbs and other words of wisdom at me constantly would push me to the edge so very quickly.'' [I shall keep that in mind for whenever I feel like tormenting you~! Enjoy~!] Getting up, I took a step forwards and leaned on the railing, looking down at the city that sprawled out in front of me as I was left alone in my mind - something that made me sound crazy, but oh well, no one else knew - and left alone to think about what to do going forwards. Or... not what to do, but how to act going forwards, I suppose; it had been a long time here, and yet I hadn''t hit triple digits in terms of levels just yet, and my stats were gradually crawling on in with each passing day,pared to the times where I would leap upwards in mere days of simple training. Should I try and be more proactive with this life of mine, treating it more like the others I had read from thefort of my ''safe'' home, or the ones that I had yed that had no real consequence no matter how many times I messed up or made mistakes? Actually living that kind of life now made me realize even more how utterly insane those people were... though I guess I am not one to talk on sanity, now am I? My thirst might have been tempered and locked away with how severe everything has been recently, but I can feel it in the back of my throat and mind now, nipping away at me like an insidious little puppy hankering for attention; I had been supplementing this craving of mine with raw adrenaline and unadulterated lust, but now that was no longer enough... Now, I needed to specifically target my degenerate craving for suffering and agony, I needed to make someone''s skin into an artwork of crisscrossed cuts, use their vitae as a medium of which I could paint the most wonderful picture of hedonistic, wanton violence that I could... It was beginning to make itself known once more, scratching at the back of my mind and giving me back that thirst that I had managed to live without; it wasing back, and that was a bit worrying. So my own twisted version of insanity was making its gradual return, but what did that mean for the rest of me? Should I begin throwing myself into the grinder to remove the imperfections and willingly subject myself to the tortures of getting stronger, or should I maintain my enjoyable and easy course that I was living through right now? I had the asional road bump, sure, but everything was manageable and rtively low stress, and I could work at a snails pace to do anything I pleased; was that something I could continue to maintain in this world..? With the changes it was being subjected to be more apparent with each and every passing day? I don''t think I could with good conscience, not when there were three others relying on me constantly, not when there were three others back at home who weren''t presently able to get as strong as this world was going to demand of us... I don''t think I could keep this slow pace, could I? My gaze wandered over the city below as I took in its peaceful atmosphere, the asional flickers of torchlight and mana crystals illuminating the streets alongside the moonlight, and the gentle breeze that whistled quietly through the streets filled me with such blissful serenity... Serenity that was only possible because the one who ruled this entire city - this entire country - was strong enough to support it on her own two shoulders, and that she was strong enough to even make the Empire think twice about behaving unscrupulously against this ce. Sure the Empress would likely be able to join hands with Lady Igna and Lady Lorelei to turn this entire desert into ss and earn a pyrrhic victory, but sometimes it is better to not y the game at all instead of ying to win constantly, and the reason the Empress would never want to y that game was because of the Sultana. One person could change the entire thought process of one of the strongest people in the entire world, and that was what Jahi, Anput, and Leone wanted to reach, even if it was for different reasons to each of them; it was something that I wanted to, and to reach it... well, from the little I know of each of their stories, they were never idle, never stagnant. Taking a deep breath of the cold night air, I decided that I needed to change the direction I was going in for this life, to begin taking the more arduous, dangerous road that led straight up that mountain, that went straight up to the peak that they resided on. I needed to take that road, and not the easier, but much longer path that slowly wrapped around this entire mountain, exponentially increasing the amount of time I needed to reach that peak that I wanted to make my own. Chapter 1041 1040: Theoretical Funds

Chapter 1041 Chapter 1040: Theoretical Funds

I took onest look at the peaceful city below to reaffirm my decision, the vastness of civilization in the heart of one of the most inhospitable regions that the natural world could ever muster proving to me that this was a path I wanted to walk down. To be able to be so strong and so influential that I could turn even the most dangerous and unlivable areas this world had in store into a veritable fortress for whomever I wanted and deemed worthy of my protection. Of our protection, since I knew that no matter what, no matter how much I strove to improve or tried to climb over and ahead of my loved ones just for the principle of the matter, none of them would be easily left behind, nor would they allow me to remain in front of them for long. We would all be taking steps onto this path, but whereas I had only just now made the decision to put my head down and throw myself into the grinder to reach a new level of perfection that I had once believed to be impossible to attain, Anput, Leone and Jahi had all made that decision long ago, in their own ways and with their own goals. Jahi was far and above the more traditional ''protagonist'' type with how she wanted to get strong enough to make the entire world think twice about how to even breathe the same air as her, while Anput and Leone had more subdued yet equally glorious ideals in mind, wanting to attain the highest level they could in their respective professions to garner the respect and idolization that would ce them well above everyone else. Meanwhile, I just wanted to maybe go back to that snowy wondend that the two Elves had unknowingly sent me to, to turn that natural wonder of the world into our home, away from people and away from the influence of the world, cloistered away by ourselves and left to our own devices. I just wanted to make a home for myself, one ced in a beautiful and quiet ce meant only for us and our family... be it the generations prior like the Haniel Family and Mom, or the generations toe... the generations that would undoubtedlye, even if it took us decades or centuries to create. And that thought was what made it easier for me to turn away from the city as I returned to the regal bedroom of the Begum, my clothes slipping from my body and draping across the tile as I joined my lovers in the bath, giving myself to them, as was their right and as was my desire. To no one''s surprise, the night was a long affair that left us all blissfully exhausted, our bodies piled together atop Anput''s bed as we cuddled together for no other reason than to feel one another''s warmth as we were lulled to sleep. By the time we woke up, the sun had already crested over the horizon and began baking the desert, raising the temperature to that obnoxious heat that threatened to sap all the moisture from your body and making me despise this area even more, but at least it wasn''t that bad inside; a boon of theck of humidity was that so long as there was shade, it was a bearable temperature. "I wasn''t aware you were able to cook, Anput..." I was roaming around my mate''s room out of curiosity, which led to me finding a small kitchte hidden behind a few partitions, a well stocked cab and a myriad of jars lining a pantry making my nod my head appreciatively as I began to get a few things out. "It''s for me, not for my use... I''m not that good with food; I can make do, but it''s always been something I never really ced much importance on. Yasmin is the one who uses it more, mainly for morning coffee and a light snack before I head out into the pce proper." The mention of Anput''s servant made my heart clench tightly for a moment before I stamped down on the minute jealousy that took root, though that certainly made it all the easier for me to take some of the beans and begin grinding them down, preparing a pot of coffee for us all. "So I was thinking about what was discussed at dinnerst night-" I briefly nced over my shoulder as I said that, and I caught Jahi raising a brow warningly at me while Anput and Leone narrowed their eyes, all three of them stopping what they were doing to wait for me to continue, which made me chuckle as I continued on without missing a beat. "-and came up with a few things that we could do. Those arena''s really do seem to be the most interesting things in the city at this moment and time, and only because we have a way to get ourselves some extra wealth to y around with going forwards. Since we only have to use gold, we could wager it on something pretty outrageous but winnable, specifically on something that we can control, like a fight of our own." "I understand that you want more of those gemstones, and I get the use they have, but you make it sound like we couldn''t just spend more time on the more lucrative offerings of our visit here, like the Fiends. Why bother with the arenas past the surface level entertainment we could get from them?" "Because, Jahi, having a chest load of gemstones to y around with would be rather incredible for our learning and for a few other reasons, namely those items we were discussing before dinner. Being able to y around with those gemstones without worrying about running out or having to seed every single time would be quite beneficial. Also, if we do figure out how to do some amazing things with them, we can sell our creations to earn more money to do more things with." I began to sieve the ground coffee to get a smaller grain for better vor, allowing me to make adjustments as I went and giving me the best hope of making something that would make this morning even better. "Alright... but why the arenas? Why don''t we go visit the casinos instead and make use of our social abilities there instead? Less likely to be told to stop there than in the arenas, after all..." As I went to answer, Leone spoke up instead, the Vampire saying "That''s debatable; most casinos are rather tightly run and heavily weighted for house advantage, obviously. A lot of money goes in, and they want as little money to go out as possible, so those games will get fixed after a few wins. As for the arenas... if we make private bets, there is not regtions on them, and we would just need to find a sucker stupid enough to keep betting..." "Which is why I wanted to ask how against you three are of me making use of my... charm." I didn''t even bother turning around since I already knew Jahi''s lips were curling up in distaste, the Demoness staring at me and trying to bore a hole in the back of my head as she almost growled in annoyance, asking "And how exactly would you use your ''charm'', Kat..?" "Well... I was thinking of a few things; the Sultanate''s clothing primarily, to show off some skin and cleavage. Redirect their attention; this would obviously work best on a man or futanari, and especially one that was a few cups deep. Next I could certainly use some direct contact initiated on my part; a caress on their arm, brushing against their fingers, a hug..." Trailing off, I moved the coffee grounds onto a filter and ced them above the coffee pot, beginning the actual brewing process of making this pot of coffee for us to enjoy after a not so enjoyable conversation. "Using some more suggestivenguage I could make some loose promises based on some of the things we were nning on doing, and those suggestions could get them to ce heftier bets for no real reason. After they lose, I could just slip away and find myself a new ''client'' for the day. Probably need to change clothes and use a veil if I do so... could also make use of other cultural essories to give myself a new appearance each time. Are tattoosmon here, Anput?" All three of my lovers were quiet again, but after a few moments Anput sighed as she said "Yeah, but it''s rarer for women to have them, at least the tattoos you are ustomed to. They have moredecorative pieces on their wrists and forearms, sometimes on their hands. I''ve heard some even get their stomachs or their backs, but that''s moremon amongst... well..." The coffee was already smelling wonderful, and I took this moment to turn back to smile at them as I said "This would be an excellent opportunity to make use of my Lust Mana too, to milk these people of their money. Is it a bit... distasteful? Yes, it is, but I also think this would be quite an easy way to make ourselves a lot of money really quickly, and it''s probably pretty easy all things considered. Since this country is run on a rtively rigid caste like system, the merchants betting in the arenas shouldn''t be that perceptive of mana or hidden strength, and their guards..." "Would also be rather cooperative since they don''t want to anger their bosses, who are having some fun; if you could get them alone..." Anput bit her lip at that, while Leone sighed as she pinched her nose, the Vampire shaking her head slightly, saying "Always so troublesome, Kat...", while Jahi remained silent, staring at me as I went back to brewing the coffee. Chapter 1042: Chapter 1041: Another Day In The Desert Chapter 1042: Chapter 1041: Another Day In The Desert ? "We''ll discuss this moreter... for now, we need to focus on the other things that are important, like making use of the gemstones that we do have, doing some extra research on the Sultanate itself to learn about any hotspots that are worth checking out - Dungeons mainly, but also any interesting rumors or news that might lead to some decent gains." The Demoness brushed past my suggestion instantly instead of addressing it, which made me sigh as I finished up brewing this pot of coffee and instead moved on like she wanted me to, even though I very much thought this was a valid conversation to be having and that we were all mature enough to handle that conversation... Though that thought made me sigh as I realized that I myself wasn''t being that mature either in thinking that, since I was trying to justify my own opinion and excuse it while downying the emotions it must have caused for Jahi, who had to think about letting her woman, her soul bound lover going around seducing other people. Even if it was for a profit, for a good cause that benefitted us immensely, it was still arge ask of her, so I focused on the coffee before carrying the pot over to the small lounge like room that they were all sitting in, each of my lovers basking in the gentle breeze and warm desert air. "I don''t know how you all enjoy this heat this much... I already feel like I''m melting somewhat!" Anput epted the cup gratefully before grinning at me rather lustfully as she instantly said "Well then, why don''t you go on and get changed into something culturally appropriate~? We figured out the best way to stay cool, so you should make use of it~!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om I rolled my eyes at her as I replied "You just want to see me practically naked, don''t you? If that''s what you want... why don''t youe over here and strip me yourself, Anput-?", which made my mate''s grin widen as she was about to stand up and do just that, only to blink in surprise as Jahi grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back down instantly. "Don''t tease her now, Kat... we already have spent enough time having sex this morning, unless you''re willing to take us all again for a little while?" The Demoness stared at me for a few moments, and while I wanted to respond to her ''don''t threaten me with a good time'', the memories of Khisba were still physically affecting me, the aching in my hips and the soreness inside making me shudder for a moment as I shook my head to answer Jahi. "That''s what I thought... and Anput..." Turning her gaze to the Jackalkin, Jahi narrowed her eyes before we all turned towards the door as someone knocked, saving Anput from whatever scolding she was about to receive whilst also keeping the Jackalkin there just in case this knock wasn''t important so that she could give her said scoldingter. "Begum Anput..? Are you awake just yet..?" The voice of Yasmin drifted into the room, and I had to fight to keep a straight face as I hid behind my coffee mug, sipping on the rich, slightly sweet liquid I had brewed that I had made even better with some cream and a spoonful of sugar. "Yes, Yasmin! I''m awake! Did you need something?" Settling into the sofa, Anput took a sip from her drink as well after Jahi let her go, the Demoness being generous to her as she helped her save face in front of the servant she had known for many years... which prompted me to take a longer sip. The door opened to reveal the buxom Dogkin servant, her gentle smile and bright expression warming the room even more than it already was, while her curves certainly warmed us all up as well... "Not particrly, Begum. The Sultana hasn''t emerged from her chambers just yet, so the kitchen have breakfast on hold for now... apparently, some of the other servants are gossiping that the pink skinned woman the Sultana brought back is to be her second wife..?" Yasmin walked on inside and made her way over to us, her eyesnding on the coffee pot before they moved on over to everyone''s expressions, taking in how we all felt about the coffee and nodding, that smile still lingering on her plump lips. "Ah, and you made coffee already~! Would you care for something light before breakfast, Begum? I can whip something up shortly if you desire something to eat?" "Hm? No, not really Yasmin; we''ll just wait till breakfast. Why are the servants gossiping about my Mom taking that Fiend as a wife..?" Yasmin''s smile faded slightly as she looked towards the curtains, taking a moment to think before hesitantly saying "Some of them im to have heard another woman''s moans on that side of the pce... and... we haven''t tried to learn them, but we are aware of what Lady Kio''s voice sounds like, so... I imagine whomever might have heard themst night... Of course, we cannot be certain since the Sultana herself hasn''t said anything, and this could all just be rumors for the sake of rumors!" I nced at Anput - as did Jahi and Leone, the three of us staring at the Jackalkin with slight worry since Yasmin was telling her that there was a chance that her Mom had decided to bang a Fiend - and took in her rather neutral expression, which made me sniff the air briefly as I used her pheromones to gauge her emotions, something that only resulted in her meeting my gaze and raising a brow as she tilted her head. "It''s not my ce to worry who my Mom decides to press under herself, and besides... I do think it''d be rather amusing to see how Mother reacts, no? I imagine if that really happened, the pce would be falling apart already... especially after she announced she was pregnant again; when I think back on the time I was here and she was pregnant, I seem to recall few peaceful mornings and nights with them both..." The servant kept her own expression neutral, though I caught her looking between Anput and I for a moment before she nodded her head and replied "Lady Kio''s greatest strengths and sometimes greatest faults have always lied within her strong emotions. It is why the Sera Pack has continued to exist and prospered ever since she assumed the mantle of Pack Leader." "Emotional is certainly the first word thates to mind for Mother... Was that all, Yasmin? If so, would you mind telling the kitchens to begin preparing the table for breakfast; the scent of good cuisine should lure my parents out, and at the very least my adorable sisters need to eat soon." "Very well, Begum Anput." Bowing deeply to Anput, Yasmin gave us all a bow as well before turning around and walking out of the room, closing the door behind her and removing herself from our view, that sight of her wide hips swaying up and down with each step making me feel relieved as I turned back to Anput, who I noticed was still staring at the door. "So... your Mom might be indulging in something purple at night now..?" Jahi broke her from her trance, causing Anput to snort as she shook her head, while Leone blushed at that, the Vampire coughing slightly as she almost choked on her coffee. "Nah, I don''t buy it. Well, yes, I think my Mom wouldn''t have an issue breaking that Fiend''s back and her bed; she''s never been subtle about wanting a harem to appease her appetites, but I don''t think she fucked a Fiendst night. Like I said, my Mother would have been breaking this pce apart in a rage already if that was the case." "Or- your Mother is currently drunk on pleasure after being introduced to the bliss of not one, but two thick, bulbous knots~? After all, little puppy, you got to feel just~ how wonderful that mist was, right-?" Cali appeared on the table and poured some of the coffee into the air itself, catching it in her mana and guiding it upwards towards her lips, only for herscivious smile to stiffen when her snakes all fought to get a taste first, each serpent pulling her head down and away from the coffee as they flicked their tongues out and licked the brown liquid. "You... Argh, fine... Ever since I met you, Katherine, they''ve been oh-so disobedient... I demandpensation for this!" Cali red at me for a moment before sighing when the snakes all pulled back and hissed at her, the Arch Fiend rolling her eyes and ignoring them as she turned back towards Anput, who''s rxed confidence had waned somewhat with that revtion. "Yes, it''s entirely~ possible ''Sxi got herself a good, snug position as the Sultana''s personal little toy~! See, even though she''s-! Well, her puppets aren''t entirely ''lifeless'', if you get my meaning~! Us Fiends are fertile enough if we want to be~!" Chapter 1043: Chapter 1042: Suggestions Chapter 1043: Chapter 1042: Suggestions ? "Cali..." The Arch Fiend just snickered as she poured out more of the coffee for herself, this time slurping it right up and not letting the snakes have a sip at all, much to their chagrin as they hissed at her before some turned to stare at me with those beady, yet pleading eyes, reminding me of a puppy instead of a rather well known and ferocious predator associated with no emotions at all. Her snickering switched into a slight growl as she stared at the snakes, but after a moment she just sighed again and looked towards Anput as she said "Fine, fine... I wasn''t lying about ''Sxi''s puppets being able to conceive, but I can tell you now that those servants are just gossiping and blowing it out of proportion. She never managed to get into your parent''s roomst night, much to her own displeasure. However she was definitely happy to take your Mother''s advice of ''go fuck yourself'', so there is that." Muttering to herself as she shook her head, the Arch Fiend finished the rest of the coffee pot without so much as bothering to ask if we wanted any, greedily slurping down the rest before acquiescing the rest of her body''s needs as she sent a small ring of coffee to orbit around her head, allowing the snakes to drink as they pleased. "So yeah, no need to worry;st night your Mom was onlyying down some real- good-" "I really don''t need to know that ''Caligo, thank you for offering though. Alright, anyways, I had an idea and it requires you to finally get off that plump butt of yours and start making some proper moves, Leone!" The Jackalkin ignored the Arch Fiend, who pouted a that interruption before shrugging and disappearing after her snakes had their fill, leaving us be and allowing us to instead turn towards Leone, who was blinking a few times as she stared at the Jackalkin, who was grinning at her from ear to ear. "I really, really need you to start figuring out not only your True Vampire Form thingy, but also to get a damn move on with your Blood and Moon Magics! Only person I could ever think of that would be given beautiful, wonderful, amazing gifts like that and refuse to use them! Your Fire Magic is great and excellent, Leone, but gods be damned please remember that you have other types of magic!" The Vampire blinked again before frowning as she said "I do use them! It''s just using Fire Magic is far easier and far more applicable to a multitude of situations, so therefore I prioritize the research and refinement of my Fire Magic over practicing with my other Magics instead! You don''t realize just how different and archaic those Magics can bepared to our Elemental Magics!" "Yeah yeah, all I''m hearing is an excuse for you to make instead of just doing it~! Someone just doesn''t want to admit that they aren''t able to master those Magics, so instead they just~ want to perfect their easier Fire Magic and call it a day~!" Narrowing her eyes into thin slits, Leone red at the Jackalkin for a few moments, taking in the wide, smug grin that the Jackalkin was wearing before growling "What do you want, Anput..? If you are trying to antagonize me and wound my pride to spark motivation within my heart to practice my Blood and Moon Magic, please stop. I am not so simple minded as you are to do something simply because someone tells me I cannot." "Fine, then I shall appeal to your logical side instead. I want that damn magic so that I can have Kat enchant some really strong weapons and armor, and I want the two of you to put your smart brains together toe up with a way to blend that archaism with the modern wonders to create something beautiful. Like... I dunno, ming blood or something crazy like that. Things that no one else in this world has ever seen and therefore would never anticipate. Things that Fiends would be stunned to see and would then be amazed to find out is actually strong enough to thoroughly mess them up and put them on their ass at the VERY least. think you could manage that, my lovely, genius, beautiful Vampire Princess~?" Anput even went so far as to sp her hands together and smile innocently at Leone, who was still staring at her with narrowed eyes and a clear distaste at her current actions, but after a few moments and a heavy sigh, she pinched the bridge of her nose and said "I can try to figure something out... the problem is - again - how damn archaic the magic is from back then to now. It''s not logic based, can''t be pursued and predicted the same way Elemental Magic can be..." "How do you think I have been feeling with this Lust Magic that Cali gave me? Logic is afraid of this damn power, and I have no clue how to efficiently wield it in a consistent manner. Hence why I was suggesting a way for me to practice it in a practical environment." Jahi gave me a dry look before Anput chimed in again, saying "You guys can go ahead and battle that outter when you are actually practicing your damn gifts and getting to a point where you can make use of them~! Until then, how about you focus your energy on, oh I don''t know... actually learning how to use those powers of yours~? After all, not all of us here have multiple different, powerful magics to worry about, and instead need to rely on others for the shy, powerful stuff!" "Seems like someone''s jealous~!" Sticking my tongue out at my mate, I grinned at her as she stuck her tongue out right back, her childishness in always needing to be on top making her rather predictable, but we stopped our bickering when Jahi said "Really though, we do need to start making better use of our abilities going forwards. Those creatures are out there, remember? And I know that your Blood and Moon Magic still use mana, but maybe... maybe those types can counteract their abilities. Maybe that Lust Mana can do so as well..." "At the very least, enchanted items might be pretty good, especially with Leone''s Magics... that might just be something that we need desperately. But from what you all said about that fight, they sapped the mana from the air itself and left everyone with nothing, even Mom. How the hell would us mastering other Magics even matter for that?" "I don''t know, but it''s a start Kat. We need to start somewhere and stop wasting our time like this; maybe we''ll find the answer we need in alchemy, maybe we''ll find some obscure artifact that does random things we never would have thought about. Or maybe, just maybe, in some miraculous leap of faith Leone''s Blood or Moon Magic doesn''t rely that much on mana at higher levels, and we can use that to kill these creatures that can nullify mana. Or this is all a waste and we die to those things."N?v(el)B\\jnn "Or, counterpoint, maybe those creatures leave us alone if we leave them alone? Maybe that more active, dangerous one was a youngster that wanted to get out of the house, and that one that nullified the mana was just going to collect it? Maybe they''ll ignore us if we don''t head into the Labyrinthian or if we offer those Elven pricks as a sacrifice?" We all chuckled slightly at Anput''s wishful thinking, finishing our cups of coffee and standing up after I said "Well, there isn''t much we can do right this moment without eating breakfast, so let''s get going. Besides, we also need to hear the Sultana''s suggestions on what to do in regards to the other Fiends, who could be of help to those goals. For instance, those Ka Fiend parts might resonate well with Blood Magic, while Tza Fiend parts might resonate well with Moon Magic. And of course any random Fiends we run across might be beneficial for me too." "Breakfast does sound really good right now..." The Demoness rose from the couch and smiled at us all, the slightly lecherous looking making Leone blush while I rolled my eyes as she added "Especially since we just had quite a lot of funst night! How lucky am I that each and every single night I get to have such beautiful women gracing my bed, offering their everything to me whenever I want it~!" She approached Leone and I since we were the two that hadn''t shown enthusiasm at her words, her handsnding low on our bodies as she pulled us into her side and took a moment to get a good feel of us both again, before she smirked as Anput skipped on over to happily join this group hug as she too pped her hands onto our bottoms. "Can we just go get breakfast already..? I thought you were tired and wanting to get a move on?" Jahi just grinned at that, and before I knew it she was showing how much of a liar she was, though none of usined at all, least of all after that ''argument'' that we just had; who would when your partner was so ready to put her tongue to use, bringing you to the edge of pleasure before showing you just how lucky you were as well... Chapter 1044: Chapter 1043: Variety Of Wealth Chapter 1044: Chapter 1043: Variety Of Wealth ? "You are... utterly incorrigible! Youscivious Demoness!" Letting out a huff, I pulled away from Jahi''s arms and ignored her chuckle as well as the words that came out of her mouth as she walked behind me, unbothered by my actions and if anything, taking great pleasure in being right behind me... again. "You say that, but I seem to recall intimately just how dexterous those fingers of yours were just a few minutes ago, and how expertly you were bucking yours hips as you rode me even harder than-!" "Oh hush you!" I let out another huff as I walked beside Anput, who was grinning just as much as Jahi likely was, her rxed and amused expression reflecting just how satisfied she was as well, which made sense since she too demanded a ride from Jahi... "I mean...e on Kat, you were the one hopping on each and every single one of us back there~! Took us all~ for a ride back there, no questions asked~! If anyone here wasscivious, that would indeed be you~! Though I won''t deny that a certain someone was trying to make us stay in the bedroom even longer than we wanted to be..." Smirking over her shoulder, Anput let out a slight yelp as Jahi gave her a yful spank, which sent her forwards a couple of steps before she began to rush away from the Demoness, pushing Leone into her path instead as a sacrifice. A sacrifice that was gratefully received by the Demoness as she reached down and lifted Leone up, causing the Vampire Princess to yelp as well as she yfully smacked the Demoness'' arms in a vain attempt to get free. "Let me down Jahi..! What if someone sees this?!" Her cheeks werepletely red, and I couldn''t help but smirk as I watched them from the front, enjoying the lighthearted atmosphere that always filled the area around us after we were done having sex, and it was moments like this that made me realize just how content futanari could be with what felt like rather little care at all. And it was amazing as always how quickly their moods could shift after we had sex, since Jahi had gone from being somewhat brooding and unapproachable after that mention of needing to have a more practical test for my Lust Mana to now hoisting the Vampire around like she was a stuffed animal. Spinning around and not doing what Leone wanted, Jahi just carried the Vampire around and enjoyed this unblocked ess to Leone''s body as she teased her, before eventually groaning softly when Leone did retaliate in a way that mattered... which was by leaning down and biting the Demoness'' neck, causing us all to stop for a moment. "You... Anput, Kat, go on without us... these rooms here are free, yeah?" The Demoness licked her lips hungrily and smirked at the Vampire in her arms, and after a brief second of shock Anput nodded and said "Yeah... those rooms are empty. Just... clean up after yourselves, alright..?" before sharing a look with me as the two disappeared quickly, leaving us standing in the hallway by ourselves. "So... I can''t say I''m surprised, but also... I mean..." "Yeah... Leone was being rather..." I smiled at Anput and shrugged before gesturing for us to keep going, leaving them behind before my mate decided that she wanted to actually join them, which was a slight worry I had because of the nature we all seemed to share. "What kind of foods do you usually have for breakfast here? Is it rtively the same as the Empire''s food? Eggs, bread, grilled meats?" Using her culture to distract her, I walked side by side slowly with my mate as I took some time to learn about her home, wanting this over the hot passion that waited for us if we remained back there, where the Demoness was in the process of showing the Vampire what her ce was. Humming softly, Anput reached over and wrapped her arm around my waist, pulling me closer as she looked up towards the high ceiling, thinking for a second before replying "Yes, the ingredients are the same, but obviously the styles and spices are different. Instead of scrambling the eggs, we tend to keep them as is; just crack them and let them cook. That, and we do make stews often too. Everything is simr, now that I think about it... probably why I wasn''t that homesick when we began living together." "Was it because my cooking was so good, or because you were more focused on something else?" Staring at her from the corner of my eye, I held back my smile when she snorted, the Jackalkin smirking as she answered "A little bit of everything, really. I had known for a long time at that point that if I ever was chosen by Jahi, my status as a Begum was practically gone. I wasn''t going to be here, in the Sultanate, but instead over in the Empire. I had epted that, and so I learned to appreciate what I had and learn to anticipate what I was going to get. But of course, I hoped so very much that there would be an additional ''prize'' waiting for me~!" She squeezed my waist and turned to stare at me,ing to a stop and shifting her hands to my own, taking them in her own and staring into my eyes as she said "And really, Kat, I don''t think I could have ever made a better choice in my entire life. Yes, we are both technically Jahi''s first and foremost, and at the end of the day you, Leone and I are three flowers blossoming off of Jahi''s stem, but even still..." Leaning closer, Anput rested her brow against mine as she whispered "How lucky am I that I managed to meet all three of my potential soulmates in one single go? And that each of them are so beautiful and perfect no matter how you look at them, both inside and out?" I almost had to snap at her for how excellent she was at being so damn suave at the most random of times, but my fluttering heart and slightly watery eyes wouldn''t allow me to ruin this as I managed to choke out "Y-You had better know how lucky you are, you..!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Chuckling, she nodded and pressed her lips against my brow as she whispered "I know fully well how incredibly lucky I am, Kat. I could be offered the entire world and still turn it down if it meant I couldn''t have you by my side. I love you, Kat, more than anything else in the world. Which is why I can''t wait for the future..." A sly smile spread across her lips as she added "When I get to walk out from the bedroom and see you lounging in a rocker, your belly heavy with my child and another sitting on yourp... when we both get to raise Jahi''s children together, sitting on the porch overlooking thatke or forest that the two of you want to live near. I can''t wait for the world to be at peace, and for us to start a family." Leaning closer, she gently locked her lips with mine and gave me a deep, passionate, yet slow kiss in the middle of the hall, the Jackalkin squeezing my hands before moving them somewhere else, unable to help herself and making me roll my eyes even if I was rather happy with that development. Squeezing something else, she stuck her tongue between my lips and deepened the kiss even more before walking me backwards, her intentions very clear... and despite them being exactly what I wanted to avoid earlier, I was content with this now since she had more than earned it. "Can I guess that one of these rooms is in our cards for what we want to do~?" She was being very cheeky, and before I was able to respond she kissed me again, making sure I wasn''t able to speak as she just pushed me towards a room and closed the door behind us, her hands tugging at my clothes not even a second after we were inside. "You''re..! You''re so impatient..!" Even as Iined about her rushing, I didn''t move a muscle to stop her as she undid my blouse and bared my chest, the Jackalkin grinning at me lecherously as she said "My love, you''re as tempting as a full course meal, and cing a full course meal in front of a hungry Jackalkin... what do you think is going to happen~?" As she began to unbutton her own shirt, the two of us froze as someone knocked on the door, and after a few seconds the door began to open up, revealing Yasmin standing there in the doorframe with a curious expression on her face. One that switched to a surprised, embarrassed expression as soon as she saw us in our state of undress and swiftly connected the dots, causing her to m the door shut as she shouted "S- S-Sorry..!" Chapter 1045: Chapter 1044: Wonders Of Scents Chapter 1045: Chapter 1044: Wonders Of Scents ? I had to hold back from growling as I red at the door, and after a few seconds Anput turned back to me and pursed her lips, her gazending on my chest as she asked "So... any chance we can keep going anyways..? I know she walked in on us, but hey, she''s gone now, and I am very~ horny..." "You''re always horny, Anput. All of us are..." Sighing, I gently pped her hand away and rolled my eyes when she pouted at me, the Jackalkin trying to reach forwards to full remove my bra and reveal my breasts, but despite my words I stood up and began to get dressed, much to her immense disappointment. "But just because we''re horny doesn''t mean we need to embarrass ourselves by acting like animals..." Her pout deepened as she watched me from behind, before she sighed as well but not before she reached for my butt and groped me, relieving some of her frustrations that way as she said "But I wanna be an animal right now... I want you so bad Kat~! All that talk about pregnancy got me raring to go..." Gently smacking her arm with my tail, I looked back at my mate and ced my hand on her abdomen, rubbing her bare skin and causing those obsidian eyes to heat up some more as she stepped closer to me and released more of her pheromones, filling the room with the scent of citrus and lulling me into that wonderful warmth that threatened to consume me. And yet, as I inhaled her pheromones and contemted losing myself to that warmth, the ring scent of nutmeg slicing through my mate''s pheromones and offending my nostrils, pulling me out of the heat she was trying to induce me into and instead causing my nose to wrinkle as I red at the door some more. "Besides..." Walking out of her embrace, I gently pushed the door open and looked on either side, finding Yasmin standing nearby with a deep blush as she stared at me in shock, her tail swaying behind her thanks to her heightened emotions whilst her ears twitched constantly. "Your oh so great servant is still outside the room..." "Yasmin..?"N?v(el)B\\jnn Anput emerged behind me, the Jackalkin acting like she hadn''t just been caught trying to have some raunchy sex in an empty room as she stared at her servant for a few moments, waiting for a reply even as she draped her arm around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder. "O-Oh, u-um... B-Begum, I wasn''t..! I d-didn''t mean to..! It''s just..! I..!" She stuttered over her words hard as she tried to get her thoughts to travel from her brain to her mouth, causing her blush to spread from just her cheeks all the way to her neck, darkening her entire head and giving me a brief moment of pity as I wondered what I should do. "T-The hall was just..! F-Filled with your pheromones, and they were..! They were just so strong that I..! I didn''t know you and she were- ! I swear I didn''t mean to interrupt!" "Yasmin, calm down... It''s fine, really. If anything, it''s my fault; I just haven''t really had need to restrict my pheromones over in the Empire, so I''ve forgotten that I need to do so here. It''s not your fault, it''s mine." Pursing my lips at that, I nced at Anput as I said "Well... it is still her fault too; she catches a whiff of your pheromones, knowing fully well that you have three lovers here, and decides to walk straight towards them? That''s rather..." "Kat." Anput just said my name, but the weight of her tone made me blink in surprise as I stared at her, wondering why she was staring at me with a narrowed gaze, but as I nced back at Yasmin and saw the servant was just as surprised as me, I couldn''t help as I turned back to Anput and felt my earlier suspicionsing back to the forefront of my mind. "You weren''t raised around Caninekin, so you aren''t that aware, but pheromones are like drugs to us; just a single sniff and you''re going to be hooked and wanting more, especially if it''s a pheromone that''s as potent as mine. It''s not her fault." I stared into her eyes for a few moments more before letting out a slight huff as I let this go here, not wanting to stain the mood we had from earlier and not wanting to anger or antagonize Anput if I could help it. "W-Well, she isn''t wrong either, Begum..! I-I mean, after all, I have a mate too, so I shouldn''t be-! It''s just wrong of me to try and pursue another scent that isn''t of my mate!" When I felt Anput''s grip on my waist tighten for a brief moment, that was when I had to frown, though I wasn''t staring at her nor did I let it seep into my own scent as I remained where I was, but that meant that Yasmin could tell that I wasn''t that pleased with this whatsoever, and that made the servant blink a few times before she hastily added "W-Well I should get going..! B-Breakfast is ready, but should I postpone it..?" I opened my mouth to answer, only to have Anput be the one to answer as she nodded and said "Yes, tell them to hold off on serving anything for fifteen to twenty minutes. We''ll be there shortly; whilst you wait, make sure to get my sisters up, and see if my parents are awake." The Dogkin servant bowed before turning around and fleeing from us, but even then I noticed how Anput watched her go with an indescribable gaze, only to feel my heart clench when she turned towards me and said "Well, let''s make the most of these twenty minutes, hm-?" Without even waiting for me to give her a reply, Anput just dragged me back to that room and closed the door behind us again, this time making sure to lock it before she pushed me over towards the table, her intentions as clear as crystal and just as heavy. "Anput... wait a moment..!" "Why? You said it yourself; you''re horny, I''m horny, so let''s deal with that issue first and then work from there, right? Doesn''t that make sense?" The hurriedness of which she removed her clothes andid herself bare was different from how she normally stripped; sure, she wasn''t reserved like Leone when it came to getting naked, but she never seemed to be in such a rush to show herself off to mepletely and get right into the action. When she stepped closer and tried to take my shirt off, I grabbed her hand and stared at her for a few moments before I asked "Why are you in a rush? Why do you seem so desperate to mate right now, when just a few moments before you were content with us heading to breakfast?" Anput stopped and stared into my eyes, those obsidian orbs unreadable and almost unrecognizable as she remained silent for a second, only to growl softly as she asked "Why do you feel the need to question me and my desire for you, Kat? I want you badly right now, that''s all. Nothing more, nothing less. I just want to have sex with my mate." The room was once more plunged into a citrusy bog as her pheromones filled every single crevice that it could reach within these walls, making it hard for me to remain lucid as I inhaled the scent that had be so ingrained into my mind ever since she had marked me. Once we had be mates, this pheromone was - like Anput had said earlier - a drug to me, a drug that I could never get enough of as it made my entire body hot and got me feeling all kinds of pleasure as my sensitivity increased and my strength left me, my body making it clear that I was now meant to feel bliss and be a pliant, horny bitch in heat instead of a person. But because that pheromone had be so ingrained into me, I could tell that right now, that scent wasn''t right; there was something slightly sour about that citrusy scent I knew and loved, something foreign about it. Something that I had never smelt from Anput; desperation and doubt had crept into her pheromone, her emotionsid bare to me thanks to the fact that I knew her scent in and out, and this was apletely new version of her scent, and as she stared at me, the Jackalkin''s lip curled slightly as she snarled, unable to hold back her frustrations. Looking away from me, the Jackalkin leaned on the table that I had been pushed onto and trapping me there as she bathed me in her scent, not letting up one bit as she snarled "You can never just leave well enough alone, can you Kat?!" Chapter 1046: Chapter 1045: Reasons Chapter 1046: Chapter 1045: Reasons ? "What do you mean I can never leave well enough alone? It''s a valid question, Anput! You seem to be deflecting any sort of inquiry and attempting to redirect my attention fromn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Yasmin through-!" "That''s exactly what I mean damnit! I''ve already said to stop fucking prying into this, so why do you keep doing just that?! Why can''t you just take that as it is?!" Anput red at me as she snarled that, the Jackalkin''s face twisting as her anger got the better of her, and that vitriol she seemed to harbor towards me for this moment was enough to make me flinch; not out of fear of being harmed, or out of genuine worry that she was going to do something, but instead at the surprise I felt at actually being looked at that way by one of my lovers. Maybe it was because I was so ustomed to only neutral or happy expressions being directed at me with the asional theatrical expression of disgust or anger thrown in as a form of y, but seeing her this genuinely angry at me was enough to make me flinch away from her as I tried to process what was happening. That flinch made her blink as she froze, the two of us staring at one another in silence as we tried to understand how we had reached this spot, where she was now growling and snarling at me like I had just done something heinous and outrageous. It was that realization that made her sigh, her toned shoulders slumping as she leaned against the table even more and rested her head against my shoulder, unable to hold herself up on her own as she whispered "Sorry... I just... I really don''t want to talk about it, but..." Just as quickly as it had risen, her anger vanished and left her drained, the Jackalkin''s pheromones fading too as she rested against my shoulder and took deep, even breaths, calming herself down and giving me a moment to contemte what to do. A part of me was angry that she had snapped at me like that, and that part of me wanted to snap back at her for being so quick to resort to anger like that, even though that was hypocritical of me to do; that same part of me wanted to snap at her for how she had tried to treat me like an object meant to be used whenever she pleased. She had tried to get me on the table like some sort of meal she was able to pick at as she pleased, ready for her to devour whenever and however she wanted without any opinion or will of its own, and that was not something that I was actually alright with when it was genuine. If we had agreed upon this to be y - like how Jahi and I often had moments where we roleyed some rather distasteful things for normal people - then I wouldn''t be that concerned, but the fact that she actually considered that as a valid option that she was willing to take was enough to give me pause to. It made me wonder if I needed to have a long conversation with her about what is expected in this rtionship, but I had a feeling that she knew those boundaries rather well - if not perfectly - by now, and that the reason she had acted the way she had was rted to whatever it was between her and Yasmin. "Then... if you still really don''t want to talk about it, then-" "No... clearly I can''t keep it to myself anymore, Kat. I don''t want to, I really don''t; it''s something that I just... I''m scared that you''ll see me different than you do now, that the moment we shared minutes ago might be scarcer because of it... but that doesn''t excuse my actions or words..." She remained where she was, speaking down towards myp in a quiet, small voice that didn''t really suit her, and for a fleeting second I wanted to reach forwards and hug her, but until I heard why... I wasn''t going to give herfort just yet, not after what had just happened; consequences needed to be realized, something that she knew as she took a deep breath again and let out a low sigh. "I... Where to begin..? Yasmin was a ''gift'' to my Mom, remember? I think I told you that... She''s a few years older than I am; talented, beautiful, mature and a diligent worker. My Mom saw that in her and hired her to be my servant, to make my life easier and to give me a role model that was more my age. I wanted to be like my Mom more, obviously, but Yasmin showed me how to be a ''normal'' person. She taught me how to cook, showed me how to dress, taught me to dance and y games, showed me how I could just live life on my own, even though I was a Begum. Before you even ask, no, I never really thought too much of her as a woman; I won''t lie and say I never gazed at her body and lusted for it, nor will I lie and say I never entertained the idea sometimes of having her as my woman, but I met Jahi when I was really young, and I knew what I wanted. I had a goal in mind, one that would likely lead to me being a ''woman'' and not a ''futanari''. I was doing everything I could to make myself someone Jahi wanted to take as a mate, so I never really considered her as anything besides a servant. That... was until I got smitten with you too, obviously; there was a chance I would be allowed to be greedy and be both, to have both. Powerful people in the Sultanate always have harems, after all. Mom was an exception to that ''rule'', and seeing the Empress only further enshrined that rule in my heart. Jahi was going to be powerful; of that I had no doubt. So obviously she was going to have multiple partners. After one of the visits over to the Empire, just before I came over to be Jahi''s, Yasmin gave me some news. She... was asking for my permission to be married to some man. A guard. Someone she worked with inside the pce, someone that had apparently been courting her for a couple of months, and doing a fine job at wooing her. Kat, what do you think my first reaction to that was? My first reaction to hearing my servant ask if she was allowed to be the mate of the man who had been courting her for a long time? A well established, good man, someone who was treating her right and had the funds to keep treating her right?" Anput was still resting on my shoulder, making it impossible to read her expression, and the scent wafting off of her body wasn''t ''legible'' to me at all, making it even more impossible for me to understand what she was feeling; her t tone as she spoke and motionless body were confusing to me, this usually vibrant and boisterous Jackalkin no longer brimming with energy and radiating charm. It felt foreign, almost alien to me as I sat there, and for a few heartbeats I couldn''t find an answer to her question, the long buildup to this question leaving me with too many thoughts to formte something quickly, so out of instinct and a basic guess, I hesitantly replied "You... wished her well and gave her your blessing..? You were happy for her?" As soon as I said that she chuckled; not happily, but rather dryly and morosely, like I had just given her bad news, and that confused me even more, but when she finally looked at me, I shivered again, unable to understand where the fiery passion that always seemed to fill her every fibre had gone. Those obsidian eyes were voids of nothingness, the deep ck pits sapping all of the warmth from the air around us and actually making me feel somewhat cold as I stared into them, recognizing that almost familiar emptiness in many different ways. "I wanted to rip that man''s throat out and make her watch as he bled out in front of her, Kat." That singr line was delivered in such a matter of fact tone that I had no idea how to respond, which made her chuckle mirthlessly again as she added "I wanted to find that man and kill him in front of her, Kat, so that she would understand that she was MINE. It wasn''t out of love or lust that I felt such... dark emotions. I... I honestly don''t know what made me feel like that. Maybe it was because I felt like this man I had never met was taking something of mine, and that didn''t sit right with me; I had never been told I couldn''t have something, after all, let alone that one of my... ''things'' was going to be taken away. Maybe that was it, but either way... I wanted to kill that man in front of Yasmin and let her know she was MY Yasmin, not his. Do you know how scary that is, Kat? To feel something that strongly and not know why..? I mean... by the Gods, I was just a child; still growing, still learning, and yet I KNEW that I wanted to kill that man. Before I had even drew a mortal''s blood before, I knew that I wanted to kill someone. For no real reason I could ce, I wanted to slit his throat and let him bleed out in front of the woman he loved. How absolutely fucked up is that?" I had nothing to say to her, which drew another chuckle from my mate as she kept staring me in the eyes, the Jackalkin not looking away as she went ahead to add "Oh, and that''s not even the worst part, Kat. That was just the beginning... I mean, after all, ''Caligo revealed that I do actually lust after her, right? Since we''re going to go ahead and be honest about it, what with Leone''s incestuous desires, Jahi''s mashup of all of us, and of course... you''re not free from suspicion either, what with your lust for Jillian of all people. But hey, why not let you know why I lust after someone I just said I never really thought of as a woman~?" Chapter 1047: Chapter 1046: Glimpse Into Her Past Chapter 1047: Chapter 1046: Glimpse Into Her Past ? I still had no idea what to say - what to do - after hearing what Anput just said to me, her admission to having a rather sociopathic, misanthropic regard to this person she had never met, all over something that seemed so... minuscule. A servant she had never shown any real care for, any real desire to make her own, and suddenly she was contemting the murder of a person for no reason besides being slightly petnt that they were even thinking of taking ''what was hers'', despite Yasmin being a person, not a thing to be given or taken by anyone. It waspletely emotionless, the way she had admitted to wanting to murder that man; there was nothing behind it, no motivation to be ced specifically on one thing, no drive or passion that she wanted to achieve, no goal... just a kill that would achieve nothing besides maintaining the status quo. Though... that in and of itself was a goal, no? Maintaining the status quo of having her good servant around at all times... that was what she wanted, right? But why would she subconsciously want that so bad that she would contemte killing an innocent man in cold blood just to maintain that? "I can just see the gears in your head spinning around and around... I told you, it gets even~ better-! Tell me Kat; what do you think was my reaction when I had that thought cross my mind? It wasn''t just an intrusive thought either, but instead it was a repeated thought, something that drifted around in my mind a few times after she said that. Obviously I could recognize that there was something wrong with me, something that wasn''t normal. I could see that, and I recognized it, acknowledged it. But when I did all of that, when I tried to be normal still by telling her ''yeah, sure! Go ahead! I wish you two the best!'', there was something eating away at me from the inside again..." Anput continued to rest on my shoulder, the Jackalkin staring at me from the side with a empty smile as she kept reminiscing on what happened, her eyes distant and cold as she relived what she had felt, what she might have done. "And y''know, they seemed to be a really good match for each other too. Yasmin''s pheromone is a subtly potent one, but his..? His was overtly strong; when he first marked her, the stench of ginger was so offensive that I almost vomited the first few times she came back into the pce for work. You know what that meant? They were going at it like rabbits, but that made sense; they were finally dating, and while some wait for marriage and are traditionalists, most tend to experience theirpatibility first, and apparently they were very~patible. Like, sometimes she would ask if it was alright if she came inte because she had ''duties'' at home, only toe in the next day groggy and reeking of sex. That was starting to get to me in a few different ways. Jahi was sending me letters, and while they were usually rather formal, she didn''t always keep them ''appropriate'' to the discerning eye. So I was getting riled up from my crush, and my servant was letting me know just how great her nightlife was at home... and I mean, you''ve seen her; she''s thick in the right ces and slim in the rest, so of course I was getting frustrated... Only so much my hands could do, especially with my physique..." Anput snickered at that as she used her eyes to gesture to her groin, the Jackalkin returning to somewhat normal as she made that crass joke, but what she was talking about made that ''joke'' fall t as she continued on, deciding to fill me in on everything... just like I wanted her to when we first thought something was awry. And while it wasn''t the most heinous admission just yet, it certainly wasn''t something that I was thrilled to hear or desiring to hear more of considering where it seemed like it was heading. "So when two fertile, active partners get together and go at it like crazy, what''s the obvious result? Yasmin got pregnant not that long into their ''courting'' stage, and they decided that they should take that sign to go another step forwards; they got married, and Yasmin came into the pce to tell me that she was with child. All in a few months, mind you, and during those months I was being riled up by Jahi''s letters, riled up by her, disgusted by the man who was partaking in her... all sorts of things were happening to my mind, and when she said she was pregnant... Well, I just sort of snapped mentally that night, after sending her home and giving her a few days to celebrate and get things ready for her wedding. That night, I sat there in my bed contemting two things. The first was the usual; how I could ask her mate toe on by the pce proper and get him into a secluded area so that I could kill him then and there. The second though..." Anput took a shuddering breath as she stared at me again, her eyes focusing on mine as she smiled and leaned forwards, kissing me briefly and warning me "The me then and the me now are different, Kat... so don''t look at me like I''m a..." She trailed off for a moment before taking another deep breath, the Jackalkin clenching her jaw and falling silent for a few seconds, only to continue in a t voice as she decided to just go ahead and tell me. "After he was dead, I wanted to have Yasmine back to the pce, where I could then chain her up here, inside my room. She would be my little pet, all mine and only mine. And since she was mine and only mine, I would need to... remove the lingering mark of her dead mate, in more ways than just biting her nd and showing her the difference between a normal Caninekin and a Caninekin of my caliber. No, after I marked her as my property, I wanted to remove the other mark of her mate, the one growing in her belly. Do you understand that, Kat? I wanted to force her to miscarry her first ever child, and after I did that... that night, when she was at home celebrating with her mate, celebrating with her close friends and her new family, her Begum was nning out a way to tear her life asunder before turning her into a thing. The exact idea that my Mom fought against and frowned upon, I wanted to do to someone who should have been close to me. Someone I should actually care about as a person. The worst part though, Kat? After ridding her of her child... I wanted to rape her over and over again, get her pregnant right away and force this woman to bear MY pups, not his. She was supposed to be, and was always going to be MINE, not his. I just... can''t even fucking begin to understand myself..! What was wrong with me, Kat?! I wanted to kidnap, enve, and rape a woman I was close to all because I was what? Jealous that someone else had her? Even then, I didn''t care about her like that; couldn''t see myself with her as a mate, see taking her as a wife. I couldn''t even really see taking her as a concubine, not one that I loved anyways. She''d be a good fuck, a decent carrier for my seed, but that was the extent of my ''love'' for her! How utterly iprehensible is that?!" Her voice began to get strained as she stared at me, the Jackalkin almost pleading for me to say something even as she kept speaking, unable to help herself and unable to stop herself as she spilled everything out to me, showing me a side of her that I never knew existed. "That night I contemted something so horrendous that I was genuinely afraid of myself! It just... out of nowhere, I suddenly had this... this obsession with making her my THING. She would be my object to toss away on a shelf and forget aboutter... but she would be MINE. No one else would touch my thing, no one else would tarnish her. Just some item I was going to keep for myself. I know I thought about it too much because I had a n, Kat. I had a n on how to get it done. This wasn''t a thought that fluttered into my head and then fluttered back out after I told myself that was insane and stupid; no, it stuck, and it wormed its way into me and took root. I had a location in mind where I could dump his body, a way to keep Yasmin from telling Mom and Mother about what I had done, people who I could pay off to keep their mouths shut... Everything that I could manage to think of, I did that night, and when morning came around and I was still awake, I stared at the rising sun and wondered where she was, only to be surprised when she showed up despite being off of work. She came into my room... and Kat, I was this close to pouncing on her. I was so close tounching my n and starting it with raping her. But when she walked up to me and thanked me for everything..." Gulping, Anput shakily pushed herself away from me and turned around, the Jackalkin hugging herself as she tried to get warm, all while she looked anywhere besides at me, her scent filling the room again, but this time with a worried, bitter tinge. "The realization of what I had been doing for hours that night hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt so fucking guilty, so disgusting and abhorrent... I couldn''t look her in the eyes, Kat. I still really can''t, even yearster. I hate that part of me... It''s made a few reappearances here and there, and each time it does... it''s like I have someone else in my head, something whispering to me to do something. Even recently, when you made that n of yours..."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om She finally turned back, and those twin orbs of void bored into me as she muttered "I had it whisper to me to do something simr to you, Kat. Those Fiend bones we have now? Do you know just how strong those are? I was going to make them into chains and lock you up somewhere in this pce... maybe even forget to mention it to Jahi and Leone... Or when I was battling the humans way back when, and Jahi was still recovering from your disappearance? I wanted to hurt her so bad when she made it clear she wasn''t feeling enough with us... Those nights, I used to actually stare at a reflection in my dagger and wonder if she would be fast enough to react to it before it sunk into her chest. Do you know how scary that is, Kat..? Having something whispering these terrible things to you at the smallest inconvenience..?" Chapter 1048: Chapter 1047: How To Comfort..?* Chapter 1048: Chapter 1047: How To Comfort..?* ? Her expression was nk and rather cold - not because she was callous or trying to be emotional, but instead because her facial expression could not do anything at this moment besides remainpletely nk - but while she stared at me, those two bottomless pits of the darkest ck boring into my very soul, her voice was what gave away her emotions. It twinged and undted, cracking slightly as she pleaded with me to understand what was wrong with her and not judge her for it, to continue treating her the same way I had been and not look at her differently... Sadly, it was impossible to have this knowledge and not view my mate differently, to not see this ''w'' of hers and look at her a different way than normal, but just because she was no longer ''wless'' - in terms of at least being rather ''normal'' mentally whenpared to Jahi and I on a nk sheet of paper - that didn''t mean that I was going to be pushing my mate away all of a sudden. She had epted me when she learned that I was rather... crazy on my own too, just like Jahi and Leone had epted me when they learned that I had a strong, deep rooted and ingrained desire to spill blood and inflict suffering onto anything that was sentient enough to recognize pain and feel terror. That was most definitely not normal, and I could admit it even if I didn''t want to hear it; but I was rather open about that part of me, and I hadn''t concealed it from anyone, let alone my lovers, but even still, could I reallypare my oddity with hers? I knew I wanted to draw blood and torture people, but I also knew that I could do so to anyone I wanted - free will was so very incredible to have, wasn''t it~? - whereas Anput had a part of her hyper fixating on certain things outside of her control, thinking of things that were so heinous not even I would have contemted them as quickly as she had. Who actually would have thought of forcing Yasmin to have a miscarriage before impregnating her right after that?! That was just insane, so I had to remind myself that whatever it was that Anput was suffering from, whatever was ''wrong'' with her mind, that wasn''t something that I could use to judge her, and it suddenly made me realize why she was just so adamant on not telling us about this back when ''Caligo had summoned up our hidden desires. Her''s hadn''t been on the dot perfectly, so maybe this wasn''t her real, true hidden desire, but it was certainly one of them since... well, as I looked down from her face to just readjust myself for a moment, I saw her erect cock straining against her pants. It seemed so out of ce for this discussion, and yet at the same time, I knew that a multitude of things could cause an erection outside of lust, namely the sudden influx of emotions at a high level would stimte the body and cause an erection. Still though, it was rather jarring for us both, since Anput followed my gaze after a moment and blinked, confusion settling in for a moment as she realized she was harder than a rock at the moment, which made it easier for me since her eyes were no longer unsettlingly fixated on my own; it wasn''t a normal stare, what she did earlier, and it just felt off... Now though, I bit my lip and quickly went over some of my thoughts, wondering what I could do and what the best way tofort her was, before deciding that the best way was to do exactly what it was that she had been trying to do that got her to admit all of this to me; have sex on this table like wild animals. Well... maybe not passionate, rough sex like she had wanted, but sex nheless, and I reached forwards and pulled her closer to me, resting her head on my breasts as I whispered "I... I can''t say I would ever begin to know how terrifying that is, Anput, to have a part of me whispering such horrible things to me, but... you''re not alone now, and you haven''t been for a long, long time. We were all here for you, no matter what; through thick and thin, we were going to be here for one another till death do us part, remember?" Stroking her hair, I took a deep breath and stamped down on my negative emotions for now, instead epting my ''darker'' ones that were demanding we just get to it right now, so... I did, running my other hand down her back and stroking the base of her tail gently, causing the Jackalkin to shudder and moan into my breasts as that sensitive part of her body was teased. "I would never leave you, Anput, nor would I ever let you suffer if I could help it. And... I''ll admit, I don''t know what to do to help you, Anput; I don''t know how to assuage whatever mental anguish this voice in your head causes you, but Anput... please, remember this..." Even as I continued to tease her, even as she reached around me and grabbed at my ass, I leaned forwards and kissed her on the head between her ears, whispering "I love you so, so much, Anput... forever and always, no matter what the world wants either of us to think, no matter what happens to or around us... I will always love you, Anput." The Jackalkin nuzzled further into my tits as she shivered, her body trembling slightly as she remained silent, though I could feel a slight amount of wetness gathering on the cloth covering my chest, something that made my own eyes water as I continued to hold her there for a minute or so, the two of us just basking in one another''s presence instead of doing or saying anything. When she got back to ''normal'', Anput shuffled around and readjusted her face, looking up at me with slightly puffy eyes as she said "I... I love you too, Kat... Gods I feel so fucking stupid..! I could have said this all earlier and we could have been having raw, steamy, creampie sex right now!" And almost instantly, I had to roll my eyes as the childish and ''idiotic'' Anput I hade to know and love was back, the Jackalkin grinning at me as she fondled my butt and shook her head, enjoying the softness of my breasts on her face.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Even still, her body was somewhat shaky as she kissed my exposed skin, and I could smell the worry on her still as her pheromones gradually filled the room again, so I knew that despite sounding like she was fine, Anput was still very much in a fragile state and in need of care. "We can... discuss more of thister then..? With everyone present? Or are you going to leave this between just us?" "Yeah...ter... All of us together, preferably with you and Leoneying on your stomachs after Jahi and I get done filling you up-? Does that sound like a good n~?" She continued to try and hide her emotions - her real, true, deep emotions - beneath ayer of her normal attitude and actions, the Jackalkin slipping her hands beneath my belt and grabbing my ass directly, while her tongue trailed across my exposed cleavage as she tried to distract me from what we had just discussed. It was a poor attempt, but the unspoken plea was clear to me, so I just sighed softly and released my mate, slowly trailing my fingers up my shirt before unbuttoning it for her, showing her more of my skin and eventually baring my breasts to her, which she dove into right away. Her lips trailed across my skin quicker than my fingers had, and I shivered as shetched onto my nipple, the Jackalkin''s fangs brushing against the sensitive bud as she sucked and nibbled on it, before her eyes lightened up considerably as I reached down and began to undo my belt too, allowing me to pull my pants off and reveal my slightly wet panties to her, something that made her perk up right away. Moving away from my breasts, Anput wrenched my legs apart and used her teeth to tear at the fabric of my panties, baring my pussy and making me blink in surprise as she buried her face between my thighs instantly, the Jackalkin''s objective even clearer than her plea had been as she began to make out with my lower lips. So I grabbed her head and pulled her closer, squeezing her cheeks with my thighs and indulging her as she grabbed at my thighs and buried herself even further between them, doing her best to drown herself in my body as a distraction from what she had just admitted. And honestly, it was one hell of a distractionpared to what I had initially nned, which was just to take her for a ride or let her fuck me from behind; this was definitely much better than that... Chapter 1049: Chapter 1048: This Is Comfort* Chapter 1049: Chapter 1048: This Is Comfort* ? Pulling away from my pussy for a moment, Anput dragged in a breath and grinned at me, her face glowing with both aroused joy as well as my juices, her experience with her tongue making it rather easy for her to bring me to small, yet still incredible orgasms that thered her bronze skin with a wonderful sheen to disy how good she was at this. She kissed my thighs and bit her lip before digging her fingers into my skin, like she was trying to ensure I couldn''t leave her and so she could keep her ''meal'' right where she wanted it, which I much appreciated since I was very much enjoying how she ate me out... "Sit on my face." I was instantly yanked out of my aroused stupor as my brain processed what Anput just said, the earnestness of her expression and the hope in her eyes as she stared at my face causing my brain to short circuit right after I managed toprehend what she had said, this ping ponging locking me in ce as my mate waited for an answer. "Please Kat? I want you to use my face as a seat and suffocate me with your delectable thickness! Please!" I had been asked before to do something simr, and there were many times that Jahi or Anput has told me they were ''thirsty'' for my pussy and wanted to give me head for hours on end, but I don''t think I had actually had one of my lovers ask me to literally use their face as a chair before... at least not in this life. Pursing my lips as I stared at her, I finally came down from my stupor and replied "I... As long as you let me ride your face and ride that cock, I''ll... I''ll let you do whatever you want, alright? Just make sure to empty your ballspletely, Anput; I can''t imagine you being depressed after that..." Her smile stiffened for a moment before she shrugged and grinned at me, nodding her head happily and baring her fangs at me, showing me the tongue that had made me feel so excellent and making sure I understood I was in for more of that bliss.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Before that could happen though, my mate grabbed ahold of my hips and kissed my pussy a few more times, her lips brushing against my own and sending sparks traveling throughout my loins as my sensitive pussy was teased some more, only for me to then gasp as she bit my inner thigh and began to enjoy that harsher pleasure, giving the opposite thigh some ''love'' as well. My vision shed slightly as I squirted on her face, the influx of pain making me cum and bathing my mate in even more of my juices, which she seemed to appreciate as she opened her mouth again and drank it down, grinning at me and making a show of swallowing it down, just like she did - and I usually did - whenever Jahi ejacted in our mouths. I... could understand the thrill Jahi was feeling whenever she did that now, and I also understood why she almost always demanded to see my tongue before and after I sucked her cock, since watching my mate drink down my cum was... very arousing. "Fuck that''s good..." Licking the rest of my cum off of her lips, the Jackalkin grinned at me as she stood up, tossed her clothes away and climbed onto the table, grinning at me from ear to ear as she used her mana to clean off her face, saying "Your seat is ready for you, Madam~! Come, sit on me~!" "You..." Shaking my head, I unsteadily stood up and stared down at my mate, appraising her excited expression and very clear arousal as I watched her knotted cock throb beneath my gaze, before I began to drink in the rest of my mate''s body. Those chiseled abs, that warm brown skin that looked so damn good in the morning light, and of course... the most important thing right now... the thing that was taking in all of my attention as soon as Iid my eyes on it... The way she was grinning at me, her previous cold and empty expression long gone as she continued to pat her cheeks and gesture for me to go and sit on her face, this sudden shift and temporary ted mood so refreshing after what I had seen earlier, and this was the first step that we could take towards getting Anput to face and ept whatever it was that she deemed to be a terrible, unlovable and uneptable part of herself. It was certainly not a traditional step in therapy to have someone sit on your face to help your problems, but I am not a therapist... and would admit that having Leone sitting on my face was one hell of a enjoyable thought, so maybe this is some advice that doesn''t need a professional opinion. So I climbed onto the table and knelt down just above my mate''s face, my hands resting on her abdomen whilst hers grabbed at my butt as she pulled me down, settling me in where she wanted me and causing me to moan already as I felt her nose rub against my lower holes, followed immediately by her tongue plunging into my pussy as she began to eat me out again. Her hands sank into my ass as sheid there, feasting on my pussy and ying with my cheeks as she began to quench her thirst, all while I gently began to sway back and forth on her body, rocking my hips to guide her tongue to the spots that felt great inside of me. Tracing out the lines of her muscles and staring at her cock as I panted, I had to admit that I was surprised at how amazing it felt being eaten out from below whilst sitting on her, this ability to smother her with my everything and keep her there against her will as I forced her to feel, taste, smell, and hear only me whilst her eyes were covered stroking my own ''dominant'' side rather well, all while I got to work up my own appetite as I stared at my mate''s ever swollen cock. That thick knot that was heavy with her seed called out for me, and I wanted to lean forwards and give her some pleasure too, but as soon as I contemted that she spanked me hard and pulled me even more onto herself, not letting me go and making it clear I was going to be receiving all of the attention right now. As such, one of my hands roamed up her body and onto my own as I grabbed one of my tits, squeezing it and pinching my nipple as I gave myself even more pleasure so that I could give my mate the drink she was demanding of me to quench her thirst. Her tail was trying to wag so hard despite being ''stuck'' beneath her body, the end of it wiggling back and forth just like my hips as she made her enthusiasm known in so many different ways, each one more endearing than thest as we enjoyed the fort'' of the table together. Anput was incessant with her tongue, the Jackalkin plunging it deep inside my pussy and poking around at whatever she could reach before slowly and tantalizingly dragging it out, using it to press against my inner walls as shethered me up for the eventual pration that was to happen before she flicked her tongue around in circles around my lips, savoring all of me. Each time her tongue moved even a small amount, I could feel it adding to the me inside my womb that was heating me up immensely, and that only made me want to buck my hips even more, so much so that I was riding Anput''s face as aggressively as I usually rode a cock, something that my mate enjoyed just as much as I did as she kept spanking me. I had initially been scared that I was suffocating her, but the moment I tried to pull away she spanked me even harder and growled, so I just sat back down and gave her what she wanted... and my usual inhibitions and worries were thrown out the window since this was probably the greatest oral I had ever been given, Anput''s typical style of aggressive and sloppy tonguing making me even wetter than normal as I was brought towards a massive orgasm. pping her hands against my ass and burying her tongue deep into my pussy, Anput shook her head side to side whilst I moved even faster, rubbing my pussy all over her face as I marked her in a far more primal way that even her biting me and pumping me full of her pheromones. Chapter 1050: Chapter 1049: Way To Start A Morning* Chapter 1050: Chapter 1049: Way To Start A Morning* ? "Holy hells... Oh Gods above that was..." Anput was literally gasping for air as sheid limply on the table, the Jackalkin''s breathpletely stolen away from the minutes she had been under me, and my worry gradually reced the arousal and bliss I felt as I wondered if I had almost suffocated my mate with my butt... "If I died to that... oh that would be the best... no, that would be the ONLY way I want to go... get that on a gravestone too; ''suffocated beneath a thick, juicy ass''... yeah..." That made me stop worrying right away as I swatted her leg, though my mate only chuckled as she turned onto her side to stare at me, her chest still heaving as she gulped down air, which had no impact on her saying "Kat... when we get older, and we''re about to die of old age... how about we go out that way, hm..? You nestled right on top of my face... and your lips wrappedpletely around my knot, stuck there..." It was a really morbid thing to say, but she was grinning as she reached down and showed me her erect cock, the Jackalkinpletely moved away from the earlier morose and disturbing thoughts that she had had and instead nowpletely aroused and very clearly thinking with her penis, which was beginning to demand attention as it released its addictive scent into the air. "You... You''re utterly incorrigible! Why do you think I would agree to that?!" Even as I ''yelled'' at my mate, I shuffled over to her and threw my numb, tingling legs over her body and pushed her onto her back again, this time taking a seat on herp as I grabbed her cock away from her and began to rub my needy, drenched pussy against her knot, thering it in our fluids and allowing her hands to go elsewhere. pping them onto my cheeks once more, Anput smirked at me as she said "It was just a thought, made in idle arousal~! Really though... talk about a way to go, y''know? All the people who might have actually perished beneath a butt like this, or between thighs like these... how lucky are they..?" Furrowing my brow at her, I leaned over my mate and rested my tits on her chest, enjoying the slight rise and fall that settled in as she got her breath back quickly enough even as I dryly replied "Not very lucky, seeing as they are dead." "They might have died, yes, but really... If you ARE going to die, wouldn''t you want to die like that instead of just in your sleep or something stupid and boring~? I know I would; either a ze of glory fighting innumerable enemies and standing my ground, or in a bed with your ass smothering my face as I gradually lose the ability to breathe..." She let out a blissful sigh before snickering as I pinched her cheeks, forcing her to stop speaking as I growled "Stop talking about death; that''s not setting the mood here, Anput!", which made my mate shrug her shoulders in reply. Guiding her cock into my pussy, I made her stop speaking in another way as I swallowed up her girth with my lower lips, taking her to her knot and mping down on her shaft as I squeezed my muscles around her cock, beginning to show her what she would be missing out on if she continued speaking like that. Anput wore azy smile as she guided my movements with her hands, liberally spanking me as she spurred me on quicker or made me squeeze her where she wanted, all while I bucked my hips back and forth on top of her at a swift rhythm, bringing us both towards a climax as quickly as I could. I wanted to empty her knotpletely, after all, so going at it as fast as possible whilst still giving her an immense amount of pleasure and satisfaction was my goal here, and seeing how thatzy smile grew far more serious the faster I rode her cock, the more I enjoyed this as I finally was able to take the reins over my mate. thering her knot with my juices and bouncing on it made it incredibly easy to m my weight down on herp to engulf itpletely, and as soon as I did so Anput grabbed my hips and thrust up into me, ensuring her knot was secured inside my pussy before she began her first of five ejactions, spraying her sperm into my womb and emptying her earlier grievances and turmoil into my womb, where they could be dealt with by us both. Jahi PoV "Did you finally learn your lesson, little Vampire~? Or do I need to teach it to you again~?" Leone was trembling on the couch, her submissive posture and ''fear'' of what I had done to her making me even more aroused than before as I reached down and idly stroked my cock, finally relenting and giving myself some of the pleasure that she had been torturously given for thest few minutes. My lips and chin were smeared in her pussy juice, and there was a wet spot below her that was evidence of what had happened, but funnily enough there was ack of semen soaking into the couch despite Leone always being a rather quick shot. The reason for that was rather evident; her cock was just as hard as mine, if not even harder, but around the base of her cock was a golden ring of my mana, stopping her from ejacting and causing the Vampire to miss out on that bliss, all while I made her cum repeatedly from intense oral stimtion and the use of my hands as I jerked her off. It was a punishment for her biting me, and now as I grabbed at her juicy ass and lined my cock up with that delicious pussy, she looked back at me in ''fear'' and shuddered as I grinned at her, my beautiful Princess realizing that her actions had consequences... But even then, those crimson eyes were ame with lust as she bit her lip, trying to stifle a moan as I pressed my tip against her lower lips, only to fail as I pped her plump cheeks and tried to match them to those gorgeous rubies. "Did you? Answer me when I speak to you, Vampire. Should I take this band away from your cock and let you cum? Or should I go ahead and breed you with it on, hm-?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om It took a lot of willpower to not prate her right away, and Leone knew that as she tried to m her butt back against my thighs, doing her best to try and have me fuck her before I wanted to, which only made her whimper as I pped her ass hard again. And seemingly, she was making use of her own willpower to not say a word, not apologizing for her earlier actions and clearly not learning her lesson, so I just shrugged as I pped my cock against her lips before plunging inside, burying myself to the root right away and grabbing her hips as I started moving as quickly as I could, forgoing her pleasure as I sought out mine instead. Instantly, she turned away and buried her face into the couch''s cushions, hiding herself away from me and trying to hide her moans as well, but the Vampire either forgot or was ying into the fact that I had more fun this way, this more forceful style of sex getting me going even more than the concoction she had pumped into my blood. I draped myself over her back and hammered my hips into her ass, her soft flesh rippling as it cushioned me with each impact, all while her insides coiled around my cock and milked me of my sperm, trying to force me to empty my balls as rapidly as she could so that this could end sooner rather thanter... At least, if I was only in this for one shot, anyways, and I KNEW my Vampiric lover knew I would never in my life be content with just a single ejaction, not when all three of my lovers were so damn perfect~! Something that I knew they all shared, and something that made me wonder what was happening with Kat and Anput after we left; I bet Anput convinced Kat for a ''quickie'' in one of these rooms, the same way I took one of these rooms for myself as I grabbed Leone''s head and pushed her further into the couch, my other hand sliding her hips upwards and forcing her to arch her back as I sought out more of her thickness for my pleasure. All the while, she was unable to empty her swollen testicles, forced to feel my own clenching against them as I poured my sperm into her womb in hopes of impregnating my busty Princess, enjoying this morning to the fullest now that she got me going. Chapter 1051: Chapter 1050: Messy Morning Chapter 1051: Chapter 1050: Messy Morning ? "S-Sorry..." Leone gasped as she finally was allowed to be free again, my bodyweight no longer pinning her down as I finished up showing her what the punishment for being such a tease was, the two of us feeling some type of way now that this session of ours was over. Even still, I wanted to hold her close and take a nap now that I was drained, but that was only something I could doter tonight, when we were able to rx as much as we wanted without having anything else to do for the day. I reluctantly released her and stood up from the couch, admiring the artwork that I had created and drinking in the beauty that Leone exuded even now, in this particrly unkempt, ''dirty'' form; the messy ashy hair that was ruffled, her skin was slightly shiny from sweat, her eyes were tired yet fulfilled, and of course... There was no helping it; my handnded on her bottom again as I stared down at her, and the moan that I drew from her lips made me shudder as I held back from climbing back onto her again, even more so since she pouted at me and said "I thought... we were done..?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Oh Gods Leone, say that again and we won''t be... We really do need to get to breakfast soon, or else I think we might offend the Sultana... but I so want to have another go, Leone... so..." I walked over to stand just in front of her, presenting myself to her as I said "Pick, Leone... Use your lips and let me know if we should stay here and have some more morning fun, or get up and get dressed. Just know that I want you even more tonight, alright? Gods know how much I want you..." The Vampire''s cheeks began to match her other cheeks as she blushed hard, her crimson eyes flitting between my gloriousness and my face as she made her decision, which was one that made me sigh slightly as I watched her stand up. Of course I also couldn''t help it as I grabbed at her again and embraced her, kissing my beautiful Vampire wife and enjoying her softness as I held her close for a few seconds, basking in her heat and ingraining every curve of her body into my mind as I held her, this pleasure that I and only two others were afforded stroking my ego as much as she had stroked me... When she pushed me away and gave me that slightly teasing, yet sultry smile as she cleaned herself off and pulled on her clothes, doing so beneath my hungry gaze and causing me to ask "Did Kat teach you some tricks..? I never thought you''d be this... this..." Leone''s smile widened as she asked "You didn''t think I could seduce you, Jahi~?", her tone sickly sweet as she looked at me from over her shoulder, the Vampire still unting her shapely curves to me even though I had just ''wronged'' her. Chuckling, I raised my hands and replied "You can very~ easily seduce me, Leone~! All I need to do is get you going about your research or something you find particrly interesting, and suddenly I''m lost in your eyes and hooked onto your every word... Don''t you know how sexy you can be when you''re so enthusiastic about something~?" Just like that, she blushed and turned away from me, unable to stare me in the eyes as I grinned at her as I enjoyed how breathtaking she was when she was embarrassed, and it let me add "Besides, you both have very different styles of getting Anput and I aroused and ready to go again, so it''s pretty obvious you were mimicking our sexy, mature doggy right there~!" She pouted again before tossing my clothes at me, her ears going red now as I continued tough with her on how she was acting, much to her ''chagrin'' as she slumped her shoulders, though as I gave her a quick kiss before dressing myself up, she turned to stare at me, doing just what I did as she watched me get dressed... which, I did exactly as she did, flexing and showing off for her as I got my Vampire flustered again, before I pulled her outside and ensured she wouldn''t do anything... or that I wouldn''t do anything to her. Arriving at the giant hall that we had been eating in, we found the servant that Anput had growing up standing by the table looking over all of the little pups that were rted to her, the gathering of children decimating arge quantity of food as they scarfed down whatever they could get their paws on. "Aisha, please..! Try to breathe between bites! Safa, don''t copy your sister! Please Mariam, stop trying to force Batul to eat all of the sd so that you can have more meat!" She had her hands full as she tried to keep them all in line, the distinctck of Anput or her parents allowing these little puppies to do as they pleased, but as soon as we arrived, they paused, not wanting to risk having the appearance of one of those people now that they were misbehaving. Sadly for them, Leone was pursing her lips slightly as she took in their messy faces, and the Vampire strode forwards to sit herself between Mariam and Batul, the youngest pups staring at her nkly before blinking as she wiped at their cheeks, allowing Yasmin to focus on the remaining three, who were all now demurely sitting and trying to not stare at me as I sank into the cushions beside them, fixing myself up a te. I just began to eat without acknowledging them, but that seemed to do the trick since Yasmin could now swoop in and begin correcting the pups, much to Aisha''s chagrin as she tried to move away from the buxom Dogkin, only to stiffen as I nced at her, her movements drawing my attention. For a minute I just ate in silence, before I turned my gaze towards Yasmin as I asked "So... where are Anput and Kat? Did they say how long they might be?", which made her suspiciously begin to blush as she spun around and began to busy herself on the table behind us, but she seemed to forget that she had three very obvious things that showed her emotions; her tail and her fluffy ears, all of which twitched and moved on their own volition, letting me know she was rather embarrassed. "O-Oh! Begum Anput said... maybe fifteen minutes..? A little longer, perhaps..? Ahem, um... Aisha, please start eating your vegetables..! And Safa, slow down!" I just raised a brow at that before shrugging, understanding that my own two puppies were having fun ying together just like I had had fun with Leone, which... now was turning into another moment where I was cursing this world''s current fate as I got to see her act mature with two very young children... After we just ''tried'' to make a few ourselves... If only we were in a time of peace instead of one of chaos and turmoil... Anyways, there was little I could do right now to change the entire world, so I instead just enjoyed watching what could be - and what would eventually be - as I ate my breakfast, with the Sultana and her wifeing out to join us a few minutester, Lady Kio wearing a very content smile as she draped herself across the Sultana''sp. "Where are..?" Yasmin gave a te to both of them before answering "They are... in the midst of something, and shall be joining us shortly. Lady Kio, I wanted to tell you that all of the children have eaten their fill and then some, so I might suggest some more intense activitiester today..?" "Hm... That sounds wonderful... I could use some ''intense activities'' too~! Though yes, I think all five of you little fluff balls are going to need to do some running today! And Aisha, since you want to get stronger, you''ll be starting some weightlifting too." Even as she remainedx on her wife''sp, Lady Kio still cut an imposing figure as she stared at her children, though when the Sultana reached down and began to stroke her ears, she growled softly in joy as she narrowed her eyes, making me wonder if she was a Catkin and not a Dogkin. "What are your ns for today, Jahi? I assume you are going out into the city, consideringst night''s conversation? If you are, I can take today to get a list of locations for you to visit that have desperate need of some strong warriors. Perhaps even for a good price each?" I nodded as I enjoyed the kick that this egg based dish had, not knowing at all what it was or exactly what was in it, just that it was really good and I wanted more of it; scarfing it down and getting another portion on my te, I said "That sounds like a n to me, Sultana. Besides-" Washing it down with a cool ss of water and epting the cup of coffee that Yasmin offered me, I smiled as I nced at Lady Kio and said "I think I want to go gambling today~!", which made the Dogkin''s mood sour swiftly as she red at me, very clearly not too thrilled with what I said. Chapter 1052: Chapter 1051: Lets Go Gambling! Chapter 1052: Chapter 1051: Let''s Go Gambling! ? "Why do you want to go gambling, Jahi? After all we just talked aboutst night... all the risks, all the ways to lose money or dignity... why risk it at all when you can just go out and adventure for your funds instead? Why y around with something that is a troublesome addiction to kick?" Lady Kio stared at me as she sat up in her wife''sp, her prior happiness from being pat now gone as she got serious, which made me smile slightly as I took another bite of whatever this egg dish was before replying "Many would argue that the ''addiction'' of adventuring and fighting is the same as gambling; I''m running risks with my life instead of my wealth whenever I go out and fight a monster. I understand what you''re warning me against though, Lady Kio, I really do understand, but I just want to go and do it for fun, nothing more." "It always just starts as a ''fun'' thing; something to take the edge off... ''Hey I have a couple of coins I can spend, why not try and win some more?'' It starts innocent enough, but-" "Kio, we understand. Thank you for trying to warn her, but I think Jahi gets the point; have some faith that they won''t sumb to that sort of temptation. I have faith in one of them, at least..." The Sultana continued to pat her wife even as she now sat uppletely, the height difference between them allowing her to do so as she pleased with the Dogkin, who just glowered up at her before letting out a reluctant sigh as she waved her hand at me. "Fine, whatever, do as you please... Ah! Look who finally decides to join us!" I nced over my shoulder and smirked at the two Caninekin as they slunk on over to the table, Kat walking with a rather obvious limp and content expression as she sank into her seat, while Anput stretched and grinned at us all as she took the spot beside her mate, not bothered at all by how obvious she was acting. Honestly, only Leone was embarrassed by being ''caught'' after making love, since the rest of us were never bothered with it,pletelyfortable with people knowing that we had been going at it like rabbits since there was nothing they could do besides imagine how lucky we were. "Yeah yeah~! Just had some little things we needed to discuss is all... what got you so riled up over there Mother? It''s rare to see you being so serious... usually you''re just so... giddy." "Oh shut it brat... You''re Demoness hunk there wants to go gambling for some mundane reason... I was just telling her that''s stupid." I continued to eat even as I saw both Anput''s and Kat''s ears perk up at that, the two Caninekin turning to stare at me as they processed what Lady Kio said, with Kat eventually breaking the silence as she asked "So... why do you want to gamble? Are you just bored, or..?" Rolling my eyes at my gorgeous servant turned Noble lover, I replied "Yes, a little, but also we were already talking about doing this in our itinerary, so why not do it now? Besides, the Sultana said she would get us a list together of good ces to visit that would earn us some wealth, be it from her or from what we were hunting. Like the Fiends that are still out and about; we need to rest up to be able to face the next ones, and considering we just ran into two over in Khisba..." "Still... hah... I guess the arena''s are considered gambling, albeit far more tame and ''controlled'' since those fights are able to be predicted, so long as the house doesn''t rig the games. As for the casino''s... yeah... we aren''t spending more than a certain amount there, Jahi." "I know, I know~! Besides, I was thinking we could make use of anything we win to start getting some materials for Anput to practice with, which we could then use to wager against some rich idiots or sell off for more fun funds~! Since we also wanted to visit some clubs too..." "Thanks for just volunteering my work to be ''fun funds''." Anput rolled her eyes at me this time as she got her own te together, but she eventually said "But I do also need to get ustomed to my works being sold away; my actual works, not the mass produced slop that I make whenever I practice. Oh yeah Mom, my Mom inw to be offered me a contract to be her-" Breakfast slowed down as we spent some time chatting with one another, having some fun and bickering with Lady Kio while telling the Sultana about our ns for the future and getting some advice from her that we took heed of. Like she had suggested though, we were going to go out and do as we pleased for the day whilst she got us a list together of ces that were in need of our aid or ces that could aid us, with specifics of things or people that we would be interested in so that we could continue to improve ourselves during this visit. All the while, the puppies were all eating quietly and behaving quite well, the presence of their parents taming them quite a bit as they did everything in their power to not draw attention to themselves, their earlier energy disappearing in face of the potential fear that their Mom or Mother could inflict on them. When we were finished eating, we went back to our own room and got properly dressed up, with Anput having Yasmin fetch some robes for us all to wear to ''blend in'', or at the very least have on clothing that matched the culture we were now going to be partaking in and enjoying, and that was after we all came to the agreement that Kat was banned from wearing some of the other clothes that weremon in the Sultana until further notice. She agreed with that, though I could tell my murderpuppy was itching to bare some skin and put some of her theories to the test, all so she could then use it on us and seduce us even more than she already did. Finding a robe that fit me was a task for the poor, buxom servant that Anput had had for the longest time, but she eventually was given one by the Sultana who had no need for one for one of her older articles of clothing, and it fit rather well, though it was a bit tight around the shoulders and chest... Anput though was back to her usual garb, the Jackalkin happily showing off a few of her outfits for us before settling on a more extravagant, airy red cloth garb that revealed her muscles andplimented her darkerplexion. The flowing white cloth covered our bodies but kept us feeling airy ourselves, while Anput stretched and grinned as she was able to unt her hard earned body, though I still pursed my lips as I watched her bounce around the room as she waited for us all to get dressed and ustomed to the new clothing we were in. "Come on already~! Let''s get going! I can finally show you my city and you''re all taking so~ damn long to get dressed! Surely you know what a robe feels like, right?" "You''re like a child, Anput... rx..." Kat nced at her mate and shook her head as she continued to fiddle with the robe, her lusty brain contemting whether or not she should tie that belt even tighter around her waist to make her figure even more noticeable, or if she should leave it as it was... So I decided for her as I grabbed her waist and tied it for her, giving her the best of both worlds as I allowed some of her amazing body to ''shine'' through the robe whilst also keeping it mostly covered, which made me puppy stare up at me with aplicated gaze before letting out a sigh as she dropped her arms and let me do this for her. Meanwhile Leone was struggling a little with getting her breasts to not spill out of her robes or cause it to unravel, which was rather amusing to watch for both Anput and I, much to Leone''s embarrassment as she felt our hungry gazes roaming her body, though as soon as Kat pulled free from my arms and went to the Princess'' rescue, which made Anput and I grin at one another before the Dogkin decided to get cheeky and erected a wall of ice between us and them. Since it was a day of rest and all... and since I had doubts that any of the ces I wanted to go visit were open right now... Anput and I were perfectly fine ying Kat''s game, settling down and watching as she ambushed Leone, surprising the Vampire as she was suddenly dragged into a rather steamy lovemaking session.N?v(el)B\\jnn Chapter 1053: Chapter 1052: Puppy Problems* Chapter 1053: Chapter 1052: Puppy Problems* ? "Fuck that''s hot..." Anput and I had plopped on down onto the couch, staring at the semi transparent ice wall and watching as Kat was pressed against it, her hands clearly visible against the ice whilst her twin melons were bouncing back and forth as Leone stood behind her, barely visible at all as she pounded the Dogkin and made a mess of her already creamy pussy. "It really is... she spoils us too much, doesn''t she~?" We grinned at one another before undoing our clothes to free our cocks; for Anput, that was as simple as brushing the cloth aside and letting her cock be erect before stroking it, while for me that was a bit moreplicated as I just decided to undresspletely again, draping the robe across the back of the couch and beginning to jerk off as well, watching the show that the Vampire and Dogkin were providing us. I was still very horny, something that was a bit confusing before remembering that there was another Fiend doing who knows what in this pce, alongside an Arch Fiend who was probably very happy to have us do nothing but fuck all day long, so it made sense that we were all going to be rather... caught up in this, but even though I wanted nothing more than to bust a nut watching Kat get fucked from behind through this wall... I could still remember the vague feeling that there was an emotion I had felt between me and her earlier, one of shock and worry. She was only with Anput before, and while I had already figured out that Yasmin must have walked in on Kat and Anput getting down and dirty earlier, there was definitely something else that must have happened to cause that, and if I had to take a guess, it was rted to that carriage ride we had going back to the Empire... So I turned and stared at Anput as she fondled her knot and stroked her shaft, the Jackalkin biting her lip and enjoying this immensely as she built up another load of semen to inject into someone, edging herself so thatter she could overload herself with pleasure. "And so are you..." She licked her lips at that and gave me a sensual smile, sending a shiver up my spine as I spread my legs apart and invited her toe and take a seat on myp, which she did without any hesitation, the Jackalkin crawling on over to me and wiggling her perky butt around before plopping down on myp, my cock resting between her cheeks. Instantly I grabbed her equally perky tits and began to kiss her neck, my eyes glued to the ice wall as I took in the glorious view of Kat''s giant tits pping against the surface, the opaqueness of the wall making it all the more novel whilst the moans she let out got us both all the more turned on, Anput''s drenched pussy evidence of that as she wiggled her butt some more for me. "Anput... I have a question for you, and I want you to be honest with me..." When I whispered that into her ears, the Jackalkin shivered slightly before whispering back "Am I willing to take all of your cock in my ass right now with only my saliva as lubrication~? Oh fuck yeah I am...", her jovial reply bringing a smile to my lips as I shook my head and said "That was question number two, most definitely, but..." Kissing her cheek, I took a deep breath of her citrusy scent before muttering "My real question, my darling little puppy... what was it that you and Kat were discussing earlier that made her feel so shocked..? For a moment there was a influx of shock, surprise, even a tad bit of apprehension and fear too..." Anput stiffened in my arms instantly, and not in a good way as she froze up, not moving a muscle and making us both feel as if we were doused in cold water as the heat of our arousal faded away, leaving us on the couch feeling rather... uninspired by Kat''s performance. "My love... it''s alright... nothing you say or do will ever change that I love you, alright..? You''re my proud, beautiful, incredibly talented Jackalkin lover that I am forever blessed to have been able to make my woman, to have by my side until time immemorial. Alright Anput..? Do you understand that..?" I let got of her puffy breasts and instead wrapped her up in a hug, enveloping her in my warmth and ensuring she felt how much I loved her alongside hearing how much I loved her, though we both knew I wasn''t that crafty with words to give her anything more than that. The Jackalkin whimpered slightly, her obsidian eyes focused on the ice but not looking at it as she bit her lower lip, trying her hardest to remain still like I would forget she was there, but after a few moments she let out a low sigh and turned to stare at me. "I... fine. I told her that once upon a time, before you took my virginity and allowed me to lose my other virginity to Kat, I... was contemting raping Yasmin. That''s... that''s the gist of it... kind of..." Nodding slowly, I stared into her eyes and waited, the Jackalkin eventually adding - in a smaller, meeker voice - "And that I was also... going to have her husband killed and make her miscarry so that she could have my child instead...", which made my nods stop for a moment before I nodded again. "I thought it was going to be worse..." That made her blink in surprise, before she raised a brow as I added "Anput, in case you haven''t noticed, all three of you have one big thing inmon, one of the things that makes me love you all to pieces and so damn happy that I get to be so greedy and have each of you as my wives... and that thing is that all of you are absolutely fucking crazy." Her previous ''depression'' and apprehension faded instantly as she narrowed her eyes at me, which made me chuckle as I leaned closer and rubbed my nose against hers, showing her some more love besides how hard I was so that when I said "I am too, but that''s what makes this all work, Anput. We''re all fucking crazy... for one another, and in general. Most of the time it doesn''t show though...", she didn''t try to use her sharp teeth for something besides y biting. For a moment she just stared at me silently, but after she took a breath Anput nodded and murmured "I... guess so. Still... that''s just the gist of it, Jahi... I don''t want to do details again, because... it''s worse than just what I said. Much worse... And that scares me somewhat..." "It''s alright to be scared, Anput, but don''t let those fears control you, alright? Do you know how scared I was when Kat was gone? How worried I was that I would toss aside this once in a lifetime - hell, once in a millennium - chance I had of having you and Leone as my wives? How often I thought about getting my ''fix'' of rough, forceful sex - my fix of ''raping'' someone - from one of those human sluts?" "Yeah, we promised to let you ''beat'' us in exchange of us not ganging up on you and chaining you in a basement somewhere because you got too horny for your own damn good..."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om We shared a smile as I nodded, and Anput took another deep breath before turning back to watch as Kat was made into a mess by Leone, the Vampire enacting her revenge on the Dogkin for ambushing her as she pounded her hard from behind. "It''s a good thing we got her back so quickly... without her, things were really falling apart, weren''t they..? For all of us, but for you in particr. Having someone linked to your very soul... isn''t that scary for you..?" "It is... that''s why I was so... unstable back then, Anput. A part of me was missing... I had grown so dependent on her for so many things, and suddenly she was gone. That was terrifying... and that was why I was so hellbent on getting my fix, by any means possible. Like right now~!" The Jackalkin let out a yelp as I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her up before inserting myself into her pussy, filling her cunt to the brim and wrapping my cock in her tight folds as I began to fuck her just as hard as Leone was taking Kat. I got the bright idea of putting the two puppies together against the ice wall so that they could revel in watching one another get pounded from behind, and that instantly got us all aroused as we enjoyed this new kind of y, taking our time to finish up this morning as we made love yet again, our hunger for sex insatiable. Chapter 1054: Chapter 1053: Yanzif Arena (1) Chapter 1054: Chapter 1053: Yanzif Arena (1) ? Kat PoV "I can''t believe you Kat..!" Leone let out a huff and crossed her arms over her bountiful chest, refusing to look me in the eye as she used me yet again, the four of us walking through the crowded streets of Muqai Al-Maedin, brushing past the myriad of well dressed and busy citizens as we went about our day just like they did theirs. "What~? You ''can''t believe'' that I would give you some loving after showing off how cute you are with that little pout and tone of voice~? Aw, that''s adorable~!" I couldn''t help myself as I grinned at the Vampire Princess, her reddening cheeks tickling my heart somewhat as I enjoyed the atmosphere of the city as we walked through it, the heat only mildly annoying now that I was beneath the shade and cloaked in a thinyer of chilled water. "Yeah, really Leone? You can''t believe that Kat of all people would seduce you? That''s rich... besides, you gotta know by now that this is a vacation mostly, so of course we want to rx~!" Anput grinned too, while Jahi just chuckled softly as she looked around the busy streets, taking it all in and enjoying the attention she received from passerby''s, her height and skin color making her stand out so much that everyone had to do a double take. For Anput, people seemed to recognize her after they saw Jahi, their eyes falling on all of us in turn as they tried to figure out who we were and if that was really the Begum, and in doing so many of those eyes made their way to me, taking in my ears and tail before gradually focusing on the more ''important'' things.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om My chest and hips, which made me stick close to Anput''s side so that her potent scent could mark the area around us both to ward those people off, though almost all were partaking in some innocent looking only, their gazes washing over Leone and I as they took in our curves before moving away, taking just a passing nce. "I know we want to rx - I really do as well, hence why I had you pressed against that ice wall right in front of her - but we are also here to get stronger, and your Mom is making that list as we go have some fun that just so happens to make us some money~!" "Yeah, we hope it makes us money Jahi... don''t go cashing any checks prematurely now, alright? We agreed on a 20 Gold limit per person for a total of 80 Gold to be spent... which is already too damn much honestly..." Letting out a huff, I continued to walk down the street beside Anput, my mate grinning happily as she held me by my waist and unted me to her people as she guided us to one of the many arenas that were apparently operated within the city, but this one just so happened to be near a casino and a club that were owned by the same merchant group. "Aw, who cares Kat~! We can make that back in a day, if not more~! Besides... I think it''s worth the experience honestly. Used to go to this arena - Yanzif - all the time when I was growing up. Mom took me, but Mother took me more often than not since one of the three merchants was a woman from the Sera Pack. Cruel bitch, but still technically family. Because of that, we get some free stuff too~!" She giggled mischievously at that, causing Jahi to chuckle as she asked "What kind of free stuff, Anput? What did you milk from this rtive of yours, you cheeky little minx?", apanied by me turning to raise a brow at my mate as I waited for her response. "Oh y''know... some free chips at the casino, a buffet at the arena whenever I visited, hell, I even got some wine before I was meant to when I went to the arena for the entire day~! Some good wine too, with a crisp, refreshing taste that is a bit rare here in the Sultanate~!" "You really are a minx..." "Sounds about right for her, doesn''t it?" Jahi just shook her head while Leone muttered that mockingly, causing Anput to begin bickering with the Vampire as we continued to walk through Muqai Al-Maedin, the t sandstone buildings passing by quickly whilst the pops of color from the various awnings and people''s clothing tied everything together beautifully. The city was drab in terms of construction, but the people were what made it feel so vibrant as they turned the t, squat buildings into unique areas full of life and purpose; the roof terraces, the open windows allowing glimpses into the lives of its inhabitants, the awnings covering the porches... everything was so perfect as we walked through the city, the sandstone brick road wide enough to fit us all and even the asional carriageden with goods and people. Reaching the arena, I wasn''t at all surprised to see that it was already bing crowded, the wide cubic building hosting dozens upon dozens of people despite it not even being midday just yet, with the sounds of battle and roars of entertained patrons filling the air with a vicious energy that only a ce like a fighting pit could generate inside of a city. Anput ignored the line that was waiting to get into the arena, her grin still there as she listened to Leone pick at her ''abuse'' of power, which was instantly made apparent as Anput said "Watch me then~!" before walking us straight up to the entrance, causing the two guards to cross their spears. "Heya~! Surely you two haven''t forgotten me after all this time~? Still on door duty, after all~!" Both of the guards stiffened as Anput stared at them, their muscr figures not that imposing since they instantly retrieved their spears and repeatedly bowed to Anput, with the taller, buffer one saying "Forgive us Begum! Please, head on inside! Forgive our impudence!" Snorting, Anput just strode past them and turned to wink at Leone as she said "I have the power, so of course~ I want to abuse it! Why would I want to wait in that line when I cane straight into this amazing ce!" The lobby of the arena was a spacious tform overlooking the pit below, the constructors of this arena digging into the sand to create the stage for the fighters whilst carving seats into the slope, allowing them to make the most of the space they had with the various tforms that provided shade down below and viewing areas up top. A counter was situated atop each tform, nestled against the wall and guarded with many armored Caninekin, the vaults behind them constantly opening and closing as the clerks fetched and stored coins of all kinds. In the middle of the pit, three Caninekin were entangled inbat, swinging simple swords at one another and earnestly fighting one another to submission, a fourth sprawled out on the sand, their chest heaving up and down as they recovered from their wound. "A fight is underway already, but that just means we can have some fun~! Hey, why don''t we all take a couple of our Gold and make a blind bet on the next fight? No research or anything, just make a guess on the oue~? Sound like fun~?" Basking in the roars of the crowd that didn''t even know she was here, Anput grinned and bounced around as she pointed at the nearby counter, where more than a few Caninekin gathered around with various expressions; jubtion, eptance, amusement, and of course... despair. Seeing how my mate was being rather childish and excitable at the moment, I just sighed and reluctantly said "One coin, fine. Let''s go. Are they all multi fights like this one, or..?", which made Anput beam at me before tossing her hands up in joy as Jahi and Leone gave her a nod too. "We shall see, won''t we~? That''s the beauty of the arena! Anything and everything can happen! One time, these four fighters managed to fight each other to a standstill, and they ALL passed out at the same time! All of them! All at once! So no one won, but no won lost! I was so pissed that day too..." Ignoring this line as well, Anput approached the side of the counter and waved at one of the clerks, who stopped for a moment to stare at the Begum in shock before rushing over and bowing deeply to her, the thin Caninekin man giving her all of his attention. "What''s the next fight and it''s odds?" "The..? Of course! The next fight is a special one; it''s a retired guard, adventurer, and renowned diator going head to head for the chance to court a merchant''s daughter! They are actually fighting her for her hand too, so..." Giving us a polite, practiced smile, the clerk focused on Anput again as she flipped him a coin, saying "Put this on the... guard! I bet the guard will win~! What about you three?", causing the clerk to blink a few times before he turned towards us. I handed the man my own coin and said "I bet none of them can beat the merchant''s daughter; is that allowed?", earning myself a nod as the man took my coin and instantly pocketed it, cing it in a pouch attached to his waist that sealed itself tightly, the enchanted cord snaking around his body and ensuring it would never be lost. "Tch... I was gonna bet on her. Fine, I''ll take the diator then; that leaves the adventurer for you Leone, right?" The Princess pursed her lips before sighing as she nodded, reluctantly handing the clerk her coin as she said "I''ll take the adventurer then...", ensuring we all got our own bets that would define a clear winner amongst us. "Ooh~! So much fun to be had~! Is my suite still avable? The Sera suite? If it is, send some food over, and send a servant too; we''ll be here for a little bit making bets, so we''ll need someone to run that back and forth." Chapter 1055: Chapter 1054: Yanzif Arena (2) Chapter 1055: Chapter 1054: Yanzif Arena (2) ? n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "And~ this is the Sera suite~! Pretty nifty isn''t it? Made specifically for my Mother and only to be used by her, her children or those that she allows to ess it; otherwise, this ce remains a little capsule of time that is maintained by the owners of the arena." Anput was proud of her Mother''s position as she entered the suite, spinning around inside therge room and showing it off to us as she made her way to the window that overlooked the stage where those fighters were still going at it. It was a wooden box shaped room filled withvish furniture and well stocked shelvesden with wines and other liquors, the fur rugs and scented candles giving the room a ir of opulence whilst therge bed pressed against one of the walls made me wonder what exactly Lady Kio wanted this room for... All in all, it was a simpleyout made impressive by the wealth spent to secure it, the opulent furniture inviting us in as Anputunched herself onto a wide, cushiony lounge chair, the Jackalkin bouncing on it as she turned to watch thest of the fight, not even waiting to hear our answers to her earlier question as we stepped into the suite and took it in. "Aren''t you feeling a little hyper today..." Jahi''s mumble made Anput grin as she said "I got to have sex with Kat, have sex with you, eat some good food and now I''m back at one of the ces I used to frequent every other day when I was a pup~! Of course I''m excited~! It''s so damn nice to be back, especially because I get to share it with you all now~!" The Demoness just chuckled wryly as she moved to sit down beside Anput, letting out a content sigh as she too sunk into the cushion before pulling the Jackalkin onto herp, using her as a nket of sorts since Anput curled up and groaned happily as she lounged there, giving Leone and I a smug smile as Jahi began to pat her rhythmically. Ignoring her taunts, I instead made Anput a little jealous as Leone and I took a seat on the other couch, the Vampire suddenly finding myself on herp as I leaned against her chest and drowned her in softness, my fluffy tail resting between us and allowing the Vampire to enjoy my scent and my ''warmth'' inside this amazing room that Anput was so proud of. Giving her a little something something too as I wiggled a bit, I winked at Leone before turning back to the full ss wall to watch as one of the fighters smacked the remaining one in the back of the head with a shield, cutting their victorious showboating short and causing the crowd to erupt intoughter as they jeered the idiot who celebrated too early. "This is rather primitive... but oh well, if it''s what you want to do. I must admit though... a merchant''s daughter fighting to keep her own hand away from those that are unworthy is rather romantic, isn''t it? In a twisted sort of way, anyways." "You consider that to be ''romantic''? I would guess she''s just hoping that the idiots fighting for her are worth a damn, and probably praying hard that the strongest one who might get the right to court her isn''t an idiot. I also guarantee you she doesn''t want to be courted; it feels like these sorts of things are never done willingly." As arena staff came out onto the stage and began to drag the unconscious fighters away, our own staff came inside the suite with cartsden with food, causing Anput to giggle maniacally as those carts were pulled in front of us, with one of them sporting a few bottles of wine and even a smaller bottle of what appeared to be bourbon. All but one of the staff exited the room, leaving us alone with one petite Dogkin woman who was holding a notebook on a tray, her stiff posture tiring me out already after staring at her for only a few seconds, though that just made it easier to look away and focus on the cleaning of the stage, which was interesting. They usedb like rakes to ''reset'' the sand whilst one of them walked around with a long staff adorned with a Water Crystal rinsing everything out, a light drizzle of water clearing away any blood and other fluids that were then buried under anotheryer of sand as they used their own magic to create more sand. "Are you the one doing all the running for us today?" "Y-Yes, Begum! If you want to ce a bet, please just let me know and I shall write it down for you and your party before taking it over to the counters! Would you like to hold onto the seal, or shall I ce it in the lockbox?" "I''ll take it, thanks." Nodding, the servant approached and presented the tray to Anput, letting her take a small wooden cylinder from the tray before she moved back to the wall, trying her hardest to be a part of it as we all focused on the stage once more, which was now being upied by the fighters. "Tell me, what are the odds for each person?" Just as quickly as she had walked away from us, the servant returned to our side and bowed before approaching the window, staring down onto the stage as she began to give Anput the answers she was looking for. "Arwa is the former guard, and she has odds of 1-4 for this bout; her arm strength has deteriorated somewhat over the years, but her technique is superb still, giving her the best odds to actually win against the merchant''s daughter; she is the one on the far left with the long silver hair and utilizing the buckler. Both the diator - Ahmed - and the merchant''s daughter - Fatima - have 1-1 odds since they are both skilled with des and rather well known for their fighting prowess. Ahmed is the shirtless one with all the tattoos and scars, whilst Fatima is the woman with the pony tail and red robes. Finally, there is the adventurer Yusuf with 4-1 odds, due entirely to his inexperience and arrogance in entering this tournament. He is the blonde haired one with the mace... and if I might be unseemly for a moment, he can barely lift it..." The petite Dogkin woman was sneering slightly as she stared at the blonde, causing Leone and I to raise a brow before Jahi chuckled as she asked "Ah, the unfiltered distaste is refreshing~! I can''t me you; his stance is all off, and that mace is too heavy for him~! But hey, I can''t really- me the idiot; she''s a pretty girl, and if her parents are merchants, well..." Nodding, the servant turned back and assumed her serious and servile expression as she said "Her parents are indeed rich, miss, and that was the allure for these threepetitors. However Fatima made it clear she desired a partner who could best her in a contest of strength so that she might pursue a more leisurely life of managing a store instead of fighting." The Demoness nodded and watched as the four contestants took ap around the stage, riling the crowd up as the announcer outside hyped everyone up even more, getting them to loosen their purse strings, and considering the odds... well... "Looks like a rather predetermined oue, doesn''t it? Seems like Fatima there is going to end up getting courted by the old head... hope she''s alright with that~!" Anput just snickered as she added "And I hope you three are alright with losing this one~! I don''t think shirtless over there stands a chance - all those scars are for show, if you haven''t noticed and Fatima herself is still a bit wet around the ears from the looks of it." All three of us just rolled our eyes at the Jackalkin as she got up and stretched before sauntering over to the carts, lifting the covers from each as she took a whiff of what was going to be our lunch only to ignore them and go straight for the bourbon, her grin widening as she uncorked the bottle and sniffed that instead. I just gave my mate a warning stare before sighing as she poured herself a ss, which she presented to me as she asked "Can you make this on the rocks, Kat~? What better to beat the heat, am I right-?", this change of scenery doing her mental health well all things considered. This morning''s scare was gone, and instead she was somewhat back to normal as she gave me a kiss on the cheek when I dropped two ice cubes into her ss, only to sigh as Jahi sent Anput back over a secondter to get her a ss as well. "What other matches are on today? Anything special?" "Of course, miss. There is always a ''special'' match at Yanzif Arena, and today at an hour past noon there will be a match between two diators and a visiting adventurer from the east! It''s a well matched fight, so the odds are 1-1 for both the diators and the adventurer, and to make things even more entertaining, the winner of the match will be given an opportunity to double their winnings by taking on another challenge, and so too will the bettors!" Chapter 1056: Chapter 1055: Yanzif Arena (3) Chapter 1056: Chapter 1055: Yanzif Arena (3) ? Humming, I relented and grabbed a bottle of wine after Leone sheepishly asked for something to drink, the sight of the other two enjoying that bottle of bourbon apparently making the Princess feel left out as she nced at the wine repeatedly before asking me. Besides that, I also grabbed the te of kebabs before taking a seat on herp once more, serving the Princess the same way Anput was serving Jahi as we all settled in to watch the fight as it began; the three contestants for the woman''s hand all turned to face one another instead, leaving her to stand off on the side and watch as the three fighters readied their weapons and stared off at one another, before the silver haired Caninekin lunged towards the shirtless man. "Ah, and so it begins~! I wonder, do you think this is how some kings and queens and all other sorts of leaders feel - and have felt - whenever they send their people to war? A bit of amusement, pride, enjoyment and so much more swelling up inside you as these ''peons'' battle on your whim?" The silver furred warrior pulled her de back and twisted her body as she thrusted it towards the man''s chest, giving her attack more power and pushing him backwards, towards the blonde who was hoisting his mace and preparing to swing it. There was a clear efficiency in her movements as she wasted no time at all in ir or elegance, going for the most power possible with the least amount of energy spent that made it obvious she had experience, and her speed was rather high for someone fighting without the use of magic. She obviously had it considering her current physical ability - and the fact that the sword seemed weighted far more than normal since the shield the shirtless diator erected in front of him cracked and shattered almost instantly. That made me more wary of her in terms of betting, since she was able to st through that earthen barricade and continue pressuring the diator, who was now stuck between the adventurer and the guard, both of whom were teaming up on him to get him out of the way first. However, honestly, I had no actual horse in this race at all, so I was just appraising their techniques and watching the fight as Izily gnawed on a cube ofmb meat that had been saut¨¦ed beautifully in butter and given a light drizzle of a very hot, yet delicious honey sauce that made the wine all the more sweeter as I sipped that next. "I don''t know about that, but I can say living as a queen for a day would feel wonderful, wouldn''t it~? But this is nice too; no responsibilities that would sap away all of our time forever and always, so there is that~!" Lifting up the next kebab, I brought it to Leone''s lips and let the Princess take a bite before I took my next one, only to wince slightly as I watched the shirtless, brawny man get clubbed in the back as the blonde took a cheap shot. He tried to defend himself with a thick sheet of rock acting as armor on his back, but of course a blunt force attack would damage him through that thanks to how energy worked, sending him flying into the guard''s de as she stabbed his shoulder and forced him to yield, adding another scar to his body and causing many in the crowd to let out boo''s as they realized that he wasn''t as strong as he was advertised to be. Anput snickered as Jahi''s choice was taken out of the running, earning herself a firm spank as the Demoness sent her back to the cart to get something else, while Leone sighed as she said "It''s a bit entertaining, but I can''t say I really care too much for this fight... and I suspect I won''t really care for the next ones either..." "Oh, I wonder why that might be, hm-? I can take a very good guess on what you will- be caring about between now and then..." I rolled my eyes at my mate before smirking at her as I teased Leone some more, causing all three of my lovers to roll their eyes back as they watched me do that with various reactions afterwards, but we all turned back to the stage as we heard a loud collective gasp fill the arena. "Wow. Look at that; little blondie managed to disarm the guard." Jahi''s dullmentary made us all chuckle as the blonde flourished his mace and sent the guard''s sword flying, her outstretched arm and stumbling steps forwards making me raise a brow as I watched her closely, wondering how she had gone from being rather in control of herself to bumbling around like an idiot. I saw why a momentter, the outstretched hand of the downed diator sped around her ankle and causing her to stumble as her momentum was halted somewhat, which she tried to offset by using her arms to stop herself from falling t on her face, and that was the opening that the young adventurer needed to try and turn the tides in this battle. Her wrist was clearly broken from the impact of the mace, and I could see it beginning to swell already thanks to the force of the blow; to her credit, the guard didn''t let out an agonized shout as she suffered a rather serious injury, and instead she was ring at the adventurer hatefully as she watched that mace rise up once more. For her, time likely slowed down to a crawl as she watched that mace travel down towards her skull, but for us it was over in a sh as she raised her buckler and parried the blow, sending the heavy metal weapon into the sand and damaging her other arm, only for her to push through her damage and p the over excited adventurer with her buckler, knocking him out in a single blow. "Damn. That was messy, but she pulled through. Are all of your guards this interesting?" The Demoness'' indifference was gone as she leaned forwards, reced instead with curiosity as she leaned forwards and watched as the guard turned and kicked the downed diator''s chest, forcing him to release her leg and giving her the time to heal herself with her mana, showing another side of her strength as mes licked at her wounds and brought her back to working form. "Hehe~! You remember those sand worms right? How tenacious those bastards are? They need to be able to handle themselves against one of those, and while we could easily kill one, we also do nothing except train and have sex while they need to worry about making money and supporting themselves the best way they can. So I would say they''re pretty damn good~!" "Huh... that makes sense, I guess. Still, you need to be rather tempered in body and mind to ignore a broken wrist and likely a fractured arm and still have the willpower to p that adventurer in the jaw with a shield... I don''t know if that''s something that can be taught..." Taking another bite from the kebab, I chewed on the sulent meat before offering it to Leone as I said "I bet she''s also being fueled by the desire to look cool in front of her crush over there~! It doesn''t look like our guard is that old either, all things considered; she doesn''t have that many wrinkles and her hair is silver, not grey. Might just be a gic quirk and not age. Which brings us back to this being somewhat romantic-!" Jahi just chuckled at that as she nodded, the Demoness taking a bite from the food Anput offered her on a spoon, the thick soup going down her gullet and turning her cheeks slightly purple as she coughed, all while the Jackalkin snickered as she got up before Jahi could retaliate.N?v(el)B\\jnn "And as you can see, the merchant girl seems to be quite taken aback by that disy of strength~! Though I really do think this is a forgone conclusion... but perhaps our guard here is going to take it easy on her wife to be and spar her instead of efficiently take her down~?" Like Anput had said, the ck haired, red robed woman down in the arena was staring at the silver haired guard with sparkling eyes, her dark skin making it hard to see if she was blushing, but thankfully Caninekin had a rather easy way to tell if someone was happy or sad, and that was the tail that was currently swishing side to side. "Aw, all of you Caninekin are so ~ adorable with your wagging tails~! And you''re so fluffy too~!" The Demoness grinned before epting the next bite of food, not having learned her lesson as Anput retaliated with another spicy dish, but sadly for my mate she was too close to Jahi this time to escape, causing that area of the room to descend intoughter as the Jackalkin was pulled onto herp and tickled roughly, forcing her to roll into a ball that allowed Jahi to begin ying with her tail instead. Chapter 1057: Chapter 1056: Yanzif Arena (4) Chapter 1057: Chapter 1056: Yanzif Arena (4) ? "See~? I was right; our guard there is flirting with her prey at the moment, all while the blondie is left unconscious and the shirtless diator can only watch as his hopes for wealth through marriage is thwarted-! How romantic, right Kat~?" I rolled my eyes at Jahi and instead focused on pampering Leone, feeding her some more of the delectable kebabs before allowing her to wash it down with whichever wine she wanted at the moment, bringing the ss to her lips and tilting them back so that she might continue to indulge in food and drink, all whilst taking part in some barbaric entertainment. Down below, the guard was expertly dodging and weaving around the merchant girl''s attacks, only to show her how to do them properly so that she could improve, which had made her tail swish behind her even faster as they engaged in a deadly dance around the arena. Obviously the crowd initially found it boring, but after a minute of booing they just appreciated the skill the guard was showing as she fluidly moved around the sand pit, her buckler letting out satisfying nks whenever she blocked a thrust or a swipe, whilst her de always whistled in the air an inch around the girl to show how easily she would have suffered an injury. It was still rather tamepared to the other bouts they had witnessed before, but many just took this opportunity to get ready for the next bout, going off to the bathroom to relieve themselves or heading over to the kitchen that had been opened up near the counter opposite the entrance, ordering themselves some food and drink for what was toe. "Well~! It''s nice for me~! I won myself 25 Silver doing absolutely nothing~! And you all lost yourselves a single Gold~! Heheh, good job everyone~!" Her smug giggling was swiftly followed up by a startled yelp as Jahi grabbed her again, tickling the Jackalkin some more for her arrogant words and causing her to double over as the Demoness gave her the retribution she deserved. "Ah, and there we go; our guard decided to finally end it, though considering the way the merchant daughter''s tail is moving, I guess she''s had enough of being in public already and wants to take this somewhere more private..." Leone nodded as she looked past me, only to blush somewhat as I wiggled my butt a little and found myself sitting on something that was a bit hard, the Vampire not knowing how to respond as she stared up at me with those hot, adorable crimson eyes, the Vampire almost asking me to pounce on her as she blinked once, only for the yelping from Anput to cause them to leave my face as she turned towards the noise. Anput was pressed down against the chair as Jahi looked down at her with a haughty smile, the Demoness putting the Jackalkin into a dangerous position as they both sat there, only for the blue skinned warrior to jump slightly as I coldly said "Jahi, not here." Turning to stare at me sheepishly, the Demoness bit her lip and looked back down at Anput''s body, her hands pressing down on her back whilst the Jackalkin invitingly lifted her hips for our insatiable lover, giving her ess to exactly what she wanted as she teased her some more despite being thrust into this position without wanting it. I could almost hear the gears in Jahi''s head turning as she contemted ignoring me and giving in to her lust, the thought of tearing Anput''s already so revealing clothing off and baring her body tugging at her rationale visibly as she got stiff, but the hesitant cough from the petite servant made Jahi blink a few times before letting out a sigh. "S-Should you desire some... privacy... I can step out for a few minutes..?" "No need, you can stay." "Oh yeah, please give us a couple of minutes~!" Anput and I spoke at the same time, and the servant seemed confused on who to listen to as she hesitated again, even more so when I red at my mate and said "No, we were alreadyte today because of this, so no more. If we get to it again we won''t end up doing anything at all today...", which made her stick her tongue out at me before she looked back to the servant and said "Out~! Go take a break for a few minutes~!" "Anput..." Growling my mate''s name, I red at her and the servant as I hissed "Stay right there.", much to Anput''s chagrin as she sat up and narrowed her eyes at me, only to let out a dramatic sigh and fall back onto her seat as she said "Fine, fine... stay... so boring..." "Then sit up and watch the matches you wanted us toe and watch!" "But it''s not that interesting when I''m getting seduced by Jahi! I''d rather be bent over this chair and railed instead of-!" "Anput!" I snapped at her before turning to the servant as I more calmly said "I apologize for her being so... improper. Please just ignore her and forgive her for being so crass.", the servant blinking a few times as she remained confused, though she still gave me a hesitant nod as she stayed where she was, not leaving us like Anput had desired.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "And Jahi..." Giving my blue skinned lover a pointed stare, I watched as she sighed and plopped back onto the chair without a word, her eyes fixed on the stage below as she got rid of her ''excitement'', focusing instead on the way the guard and merchant girl walked out of the arena together, with the guard emerging victorious. Once more a myriad of workers came out to clean the stage and get it ready for the next bout, giving us the time to make the bets we wanted as I turned to the servant and asked "What is the next match?" "It is a one versus one between two rtively evenly matched diators; the spear wielding, fleet footed versatile Sarie versus the dual sword wielding, Earth attuned tank of a man Sakhar. Odds are 2-1 and 1-2 respectively, and that is only because Sakhar has had more matches than Sarie, so everyone has more faith in Sakhar." "Very well; I''ll put 5 Gold on Sarie, which would me 15 Gold total should I win?" "Yes Ma''am." Fishing out the coins, I ced them on the tray before Jahi said "Just to be a contrarian for the hell of it, I''ll put 5 Gold on Sakhar.", dropping more coins onto the tray and causing the servant to nod, taking note of them before looking towards Anput and Leone questioningly. "Go put my 1 Gold on... Sarie, and bring back my 25 Silver." "I''ll put a single Gold on Sakhar then." Leone gave the Jackalkin a small smile, the clicking of Anput''s tongue being the reward she needed as she giggled quietly beneath me; all of our bets were ced, and the servant had the coin she required to go and make the bets, so she left gave a bow and left, leaving us alone again. "Kat... can I have some more wine?" I got up and approached the cart, only to pause as I heard Jahi stand up and approach the bed, the Demoness taking a seat and nodding to herself before she beckoned Anput over, parting her legs and drawing the curtains over to block her from our view, their intent clear. "Just use your pretty little mouth now, Anput... one and done, alright Kat? I just... need this minx to get me off once after earlier." A part of me wanted to snap at Jahi, but after hearing how eagerly Anput set about pleasuring her, I could only sigh as I returned to Leone, who was blushing again as she peeked at the two on the bed, the sloppy soundsing from Anput turning her on even more. Handing her the wine, I sighed yet again as I fell to my knees in front of her and began doing the same, unable to think of a good way to navigate this that wouldn''t leave a part of Leone feeling rather blue... Besides, I just told myself this was a good way to get some practice in since I needed to work quickly, the arrival of the servant looming over us all as we got to work, but for me it was also a practice opportunity with my Lust Mana as I harnessed those pink strands inside my Core. Guiding them straight up my spine and towards my mouth, I began to wrap them around Leone''s member and give her my all, using my natural skills alongside this ''new'' magic of mine as I began to caress her skin with pleasure incarnate. Thankfully I had managed to get to a point where I was no longer sapping my emotions and ability to feel anything, so the only avable effect was to induce extreme pleasure on whomever I wanted, and at the moment that ''whomever'' was Leone, who was already rather quick if you did the right things... Chapter 1058: Chapter 1057: Big Winnings (1) Chapter 1058: Chapter 1057: Big Winnings (1) ? "What better way to feel rich than this, right? Oh that was excellent... absolutely sublime~!" Jahi smiled down at all of us, the Demoness rxing on the bed once more as got the royal treatment she begged us for during the breaks of thesest few fights, her pleading causing me to bend after a few different times of her doing so, the added pleading of both Anput and Leone alongside the actions I had taken beforehand making it really easy to acquiesce. Of course, only when we sent the servant out to ce our bets, and at the moment that had been four times, with each one resulting in Anput and I kneeling down before the Demoness and Vampire as we gave them a show of devotion, though I had a feeling our ''runner'' was well aware of what was happening every single time she left the room... because she gave us about three to four minutes each time when the first time she left had been a minute and a half or So... Standing up and walking away from her quietly, I cleaned myself off and watched as the fight we had just bet on concluded, the result causing me to purse my lips as I realized I should have gone with my gut and ced a little more on the solo fighter; either way though... "I told you the other former guard would handle to the two mercenaries. Those 5-2 odds were worth taking a risk on after the performance we saw earlier. Still... 35 Gold isn''t that bad for this match, and if I am doing the math correctly..." Fixing my clothing and sinking back into the couch, I drummed my fingers on my thigh for a moment as I waited for everyone else toe back to the couch with me, their various states of relief and joy from what just happened filling my heart with warmth even if I didn''t outwardly show it. Tossing herself onto the couch beside me, Jahi stretched and let out a very content sigh as she draped her arm over my shoulders, the Demoness not saying anything as Anput dove onto herp while Leone sat on her other side, surrounding the blue skinned futanari with beautiful women and further making her feel like royalty. "So what''s the tally so far, Kat? You''ve been keeping track for us all, right~?" She pat my cheek and smirked at me as I rolled my eyes, but I still leaned into her side and epted her embrace as I replied "I have, and currently I''ve won 58 Gold and 75 Silver, you''ve won 45 Gold, Leone''s won 44 Gold and 25 Silver, andstly there''s Anput..." We all turned towards the Jackalkin sitting on Jahi''sp, the tan skinned, chiseled and happy futanari grinning from ear to ear even as I sighed and said "With a whopping 10 Gold coins that she has ''won''... congrattions Anput, you''ve only managed to cement yourself as the person here who is the worst at managing her money." "Hehe~! I don''t need to manage my money at all when I have such a wonderful and beautiful and sexy and very~ skilled woman by my side who is perfectly able to do anything involving money and funds~! How lucky am I~! And all I need to do is forge a couple of things, flex for her, and make sure that she can''t walk properly in the morning~!" My mate just kept smiling at me as she rocked back and forth on Jahi''sp, ignoring how obviously terrible she was at being smart with her money when it came to gambling, which was a worry I would need to keep in check for the foreseeable future and beyond... Even if she was able to just ''forge a couple of things'' and sell them off extremely quickly for an incredible amount of money whenever she wanted; if anything that made it all the more worrying since that would make falling into a crippling spiral of debt with frightening ease since she could just pay it off as quickly as she could churn out weapons and armor to fund her addiction. "Still, that''s... impressive in its own right to be that bad at betting, Anput. I hope your skill at cards or other casino games is higher than your ability to predict a fight, which I thought you''d be good at..." "Hey! I AM good at it, but I WANT these other people to prove me wrong! Hmph, they have the potential but not the drive... so irritating. Whatever; all that matters is that this uing bout is that match that has the opportunity to double whatever you win, so..." My mate batted hershes and turned to stare up at Jahi, putting her feminine wiles to use as she gave her tone a slight seductive twinge and stroked the Demoness'' abs, asking "Jahi~? Could I perhaps have a small~ loan~? I can pay you back..." "Oh..? How so..?" Rolling my eyes at the two''s flirting, I instead considered what Anput said as I waited for the servant to return with both our winnings and the odds for the next fight, which was the arena''s special event that was meant to draw in arge amount of funds. Observing the fighters during their pre match rounds and taking in what I could observe to make decisions that would lead to my win, so when the two diators walked out I couldn''t help but purse my lips as I took in their arrogant gait and well maintained equipment. That was something that was difficult to appraise from afar since they could either be extremely skilled warriors who had climbed up the treacherous and towering mountain to stand at the peak they inhabited, or they could be overestimating themselves and undeserving of the hype they have currently... and that was annoying since it made my job harder than it needed to be. Why couldn''t they just have the subtle swagger of apetent warrior or the elegant, graceful movements of an experienced swordsman?! "So we have a total of around 150 Gold to spend if we want to, which we could be rather ill advised to bet on this final match that we were nning on watching to go above and beyond with the potential winnings depending on the odds of the match..."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Muttering to myself as I thought out loud was nice, but it caught the attention of Jahi as she leaned over and asked "Wouldn''t that be really~ ironic considering you just told Anput she was bad at handling her own money?", the Demoness smirking at me as she watched me roll my eyes at her words. "Hence why I said ''ill advised'', so it would indeed be ironic; congrattions on that, my love. No, I won''t be so idiotic as to ask everyone to pool their funds together and potentially lose it all; instead, I want to see the adventurer from the east and check them out before hearing the odds that the arena puts out. We might be able to bet big and win big, which would be rather nice~!" "All that money for..? Are you going to keep saving it up for the future, Kat, or do you have something you want to buy? I mean... you never really seem to want anything..." Jahi pursed her lips as she focused on me right now, her amethyst eyes filled with hesitant worry as she studied me from the side, her thoughts rather obvious; I was rather... frugal with my own money, never buying anything at all that I didn''t need, and this had continued to be a rather odd sore point for Jahi since she always wanted me to be able to buy whatever I wanted and live like the Noblewoman I now am. Leaning against her, I let out a soft sigh as I said "Jahi, I don''t need to buy frilly dresses andvish jewelry because... I don''t want those things, so stop beating yourself up over that and be happy that I find more enjoyment in literally anything else since my hobbies and activities I enjoy don''t cost much at all. Honestly the most expensive hobby I have is technically cooking since I could go out and get some really expensive ingredients for that..." She still frowned at that, only to sigh as she looked down at thezy, balled up Jackalkin on herp and then over towards the Vampire Princess who had had every single need met ever since she was a thought in the Empress'' head; none of us here had ever wanted for anything, so we had nothing we needed to spend money on because... honestly we could just get what we wanted ''for free'' by either using our status or earning it ourselves when we were out hunting. "Sorry that your traditional mindset is being shattered there, Jahi~! None of us need to be taken out shopping and givenvish gifts to be content with life; Anput needs a good forge, Leone wants her alchemy set and a library, and I''ll be happy with a kitchen and a nice, sharp, clean set of knives that are multipurpose~!" Now she had to shake her head exasperatedly as she leaned over and gave me a kiss, only to pull away when the door opened and the servant entered the room once more, the trayden with four coin purses, three of which were of simr size whilst the fourth was a tiny, pitiful amount that made us all nce at Anput, who received it with a grin. Chapter 1059: Chapter 1058: Big Winnings (2) Chapter 1059: Chapter 1058: Big Winnings (2) ? Tossing the coin purse from hand to hand, I nodded to myself at the weight and jingle that just made me feel rich despite this being a rather mediocre amount of money for someone of our station; it was always just one of those things that would feel incredible even if I was reminded that this was nothing. "So... Cyra, what are the odds for this special match? And when does the adventurer make their appearance?" The petite Caninekin turned to face me and gave a small bow as she said "The adventurer - Batu - shall be appearing shortly; apparently he requested a few minutes to pray to his god before the battle, and as gracious and weing hosts, Yanzif Arena has acquiesced to Batu''s wishes. He should be emerging in a minute or two though Miss. The odds for the fight are rather intriguing, with the two diators - Anas and Enta - having 2-3 odds for emerging victorious from this duel, their skill at fighting in tandem with their scimitars and adequate understanding of Wind Magic giving them a good chance at winning this battle, especially since it is a duo of diators fighting against a singr adventurer. However, Batu has odds of 2-1 to win since this man from the east has shown arge amount of promise, his ability to wield ance and close the distance between his opponents and himself with a single lunge causing many to believe he has a good chance at winning as well, especially since he has imed to have bested many monsters on his own before, monsters that are rmended to form a party to hunt, like Basilisks and Wendigo''s." Information flooded my mind thanks to the servant''s concise delivery of each party''s strengths and their odds at winning, ideas already beginning to form as I contemted what I should do for this bet; should I bet more than I was initially thinking, or should I continue to err on the side of caution? Obviously I still needed to see this ''Batu'' before I ced the bet, but as I observed Anas and Enta, I was beginning to think almost anyone that the arena could send in would be able to deal with them, mainly because one of them dropped their scimitar and failed to pick it up twice whilst the other seemed to care more about the crowd then he did about getting himself ready for the battle toe by stretching. All the while this Batu was praying and likely getting his mind right, something that was an under appreciated but crucial part of winning anything, especially a fight, which was why I wasn''t at all surprised when Leone said "I''ll ce 25 Gold on Batu then; take the chance with him." Anput then decided to be ''smart'' as she asked "Can I ce a bet on both side, or is that not allowed?", the idea making me chuckle softly as the quick calctions told me that if she bet her 10 Gold evenly on both sides, no matter who won she would make herself money, just not as much as we would. "You can, yes. However do understand that you will lose one of those bets no matter what, and that money cannot be given back to you upon that loss. Do you still want to make two separate bets, Begum?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Five on each~!" She tossed the pouch back onto the tter and grinned at us all proudly, her ''smarts'' fueling her at the moment while the rest of us just shook our heads and ignored her, though that did little to quench her little me as she curled back up on Jahi''sp to watch the two diators below us. When Cyra turned to Jahi and I, we both shook our heads as I said "I want to see this Batu first, Cyra, before I ce a bet. Is that alright?", while Jahi just nodded after hearing that, making her own opinion known. "Of course. Just be aware that you have two minutes after Batu arrives on the stage to make that bet, otherwise the betting is closed." It didn''t take long for the adventurer from the east to appear out on the sand, his arrival heralded by the collective announcements from the various workers in the arena as they tended to their sections and kept them entertained, drawing all eyes onto the neer of this special fight. A towering man standing a head above the two Caninekin diators, Batu was a dark skinned, muscr hunk of a warrior who didn''t have any noticeable racial traits, leaving me to believe he might just be human, or perhaps half human with Beastkin blood running through his veins. Leather armor clung to his muscles, draped over his body and giving him ample protection whilst keeping his maneuverability high; the armor was made from leather scales that were likely woven onto a light chainmail tunic beneath, giving Batu incredible protection from puncture damage and cushioning the blow somewhat from any impact damage. Additionally, it seemed to be enchanted when I looked closely, but I noticed that the diators were also wearing enchanted armor, it was just not as covering as Batu''s was; they had pauldron''s, bracers, a cuirass and a leather skirt that they wore over their robes, while their shields were a bitrger than a buckler but notrge enough to be considered a normal ''shield''. Batu was certainly a confident man too, his chiseled expression set in stone as he stared at the two Caninekin, his dark green eyes narrowed into slits as he rested his heavy warnce on his shoulder. Everything about him screamed experience, and I nced at Jahi and nodded as I said "To hells with it; 45 Gold on Batu. I''ll go with my gut and take the risk.", while my lover said "Put it all on Batu for me, Cyra. I have faith in this warrior from afar." The servant bowed before scurrying away to do as we asked, leaving us alone once more and making me ask "What was the country that he is from? East... there aren''t many that are considered just ''east'' of the Sultanate; most are south east, on the actual east side of the continent. Surely he isn''t from that far though right?" "He could be from the Wekalian Steppes, since that is the only ''major'' country to the east, situated at the corner of the continent, but that is also a very far journey to travel to reach this city especially, let alone to get to the closest city in the Sultanate from the border. He looks Wekalian though." The mention of the country that I had found Cali in made me purse my lips as I took in the man some more, before Leone added "He could also be from one of the dozens of smaller ''countries'' around the northern and southern border of the Steppes, between us and them. They aren''trge enough and are usually considered a piece of the Steppes, but they are technically their own thing. So... yeah." "Either way, he is definitely ''from the Steppes'', if that answers your question Kat. All you need to know about the average Wekalian is that they are a hardy, serious people who grow up in rather harsh conditions despite the Steppes appearing rather lush. Nothing really grows there besides grass, and nothing really lives there besides hardy monsters that are just as hungry as the people." Taking a deep breath, I studied the man for a few more moments before sinking into Jahi''s embrace, my curiosity remaining as I wondered how well this man would dopared to the two diators, and if I was just being an idiot or if he really was as skilled as he looked. "Ance is interesting though; usually it''s a spear that most people go for, but ance is better in my opinion, at least if you know what you''re doing. More weight behind it and the fighting style is based around piercing thrusts that are only avoidable, not blockable. Really throws a wrench into people''s fighting styles most of the time. And damnit if it isn''t simple but really efficient." "Oh~! And then you add some kind of magic onto it and you get a really fun style to go against! If it''s Wind Magic, his attacks are going to be even more destructive and require a lot more skill to avoid, but if it''s Earth Magic he can switch things up in a jiffy and use thence like a club-! I''m excited to see what this guy''s got in store for us, especially since we got money on the line~!" "WE have money on the line; you have change on the line. Just remember that." Anput snickered as she shook her head and stuck her tongue out at me, my mate continuing to have far too much fun with all of this as she said "Nuh uh~! Jahi promised me half of her winnings if I gave her oral for an entire night~!" We all nced at the Demoness as she shrugged, her content smirk as she stroked Anput''s ears and gave Leone and I both a look causing us both to shake our heads, though I knew we would both be joining the Jackalkin when she was fulfilling her end of the promise... Chapter 1060: Chapter 1059: Big Winnings (3) Chapter 1060: Chapter 1059: Big Winnings (3) ? "Well, we can say the same thing about almost every damn country when ites to their trained warriors; they tend to be a hardy people who value strength the same way they value coin, they are a sight to behold on the battlefield for one reason or another, and Gods be damned if they don''t make you wonder what the rest of the country is like if they are this powerful!" Anput giggled as she sprawled outpletelyying across all three of ourps and staring straight up at me as she added "So what I mean is, Batu''s country of origin is nice and all, and it might give you some clues as to how skilled he is as a warrior, but honestly that doesn''t mean much in the grand scheme of things thanks to how varied these people can be! I mean, look at me and then look at Leone; aren''t we so very different despite having simr stations?" I opened my mouth to respond to my mate, wanting to tell her that yes, indeed that was usually the case, but before I could do so Jahi grinned back at the Jackalkin as she said "I can indeed see a few very- obvious differences between the two of you; some very BIG differences~!" Anput sat up as quickly as she could and bared her fangs at Jahi, only to stiffen as the Demoness leaned forwards and gave her a sloppy kiss, silencing anything the Jackalkin could have said before making Leone and I both roll our eyes as she began to roam Anput''s body, showing her how much she loved what she had. Down in the arena, the three warriors were preparing to face one another, the two diators brandishing their scimitars and lowering their stances intopetent, experienced stances made for speed and an agile fighting style that wouldpliment their Wind Magic immensely, whilst also cluing Batu in that these two were likely utilizing a shing and fluid fighting style with the scimitars and not a power based one. There was so much to learn from how someone held themselves at the beginning of a fight, and that was what made me lean forwards to study Batu closer as I noticed that the dark skinned man was still standing there in a neutral stance, hisnce resting on his shoulder as The stared down the two diators. His weapon of choice was an impressive specimen of metal that stood around six feet in length, its conical shape getting bnced out thanks to the heavy weight near the foot long handle, giving him reach and power all in one, which would make getting close to him a trying task for the two diators, though that didn''t mean he was unapproachable. Their Wind Magic would be key if they wanted to win this fight, and with their being two of them here to fight Batu, they could easily tag team the foreign man and divide his attention with their agility, their magic, and their taunting if they knew what they were doing. When the announcers started the match, both the diators shot off like arrows from a bowstring, and they split off instantly to take either side of Batu, their scimitars coated in a gale of wind as they dashed around the arena and then towards Batu, closing in on in him a mere moment, hoping to catch him off guard right at the start and win this duel before it could even get going.N?v(el)B\\jnn Interestingly enough, this adventurer from anothernd raised his boot and stamped down on the sand, the metal casing protecting his foot glimmering a deep brown as Earth Mana gathered around it before flooding into the ground, resulting in a rumbling that staggered the two diators and stopped their momentum, allowing Batu to lower hisnce and take aim at one of them just as rock spikes erupted from the sands, piercing the air and traveling towards the two Sultanate natives. Lunging forwards, Batu pulled back and stabbed towards the closest diator, his heavy frame moving surprisingly quickly as he barreled towards his first opponent, taking advantage of them being off bnce to even the ying field right away, turning the table on them just as quickly as they hoped to do to him, but Anas - the diator that was a bit taller and buffer than his partner - managed to gather himself and leap away from Batu, but even then the spikes continued to chase after him for another second, jutting from the sand and remaining where they were summoned from, waiting to be broken. "Well that''s nifty... enchantments on the boots for a spell that could be activated with the ground as a medium; pretty obvious enchantment but a really good one to have on hand, don''t you think? This guy seems really well informed and experienced!" Leone nodded, agreeing with Jahi even as she said "Remember, as much as we love to pride ourselves on being smart and figuring out ways to do things that people around our age and skill level don''t normally do, people - like Batu - have experience that they gathered painstakingly over the years, so they know how to do things efficiently. We really do have so much to learn just by doing some more basic delves into Dungeons and the like." "I know, I know... but still, that was nifty! I wonder what other goodies this guy has on him..." Anas leapt away and continued to backpedal as Batu pursued him, the Wekalianncer thrusting his weapon constantly and trying to catch the nimble Caninekin before Enta could rejoin the battle and bring it back to a 2 versus 1. Grasping the handle with both hands, Batu controlled hisnce perfectly as he stabbed at Anas repeatedly, only to then leap backwards as a crescent of wind swished straight through the space he had upied a moment before, Enta disying his ability to fight at range as he swung his scimitar, each swing sending out a de of wind. "Simr to your style there, Kat; guess that''s a prettymon style? Makes sense, so you might want to take some time and think up something more unique for yourself." "Or she could perfect it to a degree that normal people don''t do, just to ensure no one could ever best her in it. Knowing that someone is using a certain style gives you an edge, sure, but if they are really good with that style, knowing doesn''t mean anything at all." I nodded, though I was more focused on the way Batu leapt back and activated that boot enchantment once more, sending out another wave of spikes that sprouted up right in front of him, shielding him from the des and giving him a brief moment to collect himself as he held thence right in front of himself, pointing it at the sky and staring at its curved surface. His mana coalesced around thence, hardening it even more as rock sprouted across its surface, and as soon as it was encased he swung it like a hammer at the barricade in front of him, grunting loudly as the heavy weapon splintered the spiky rocks with frightening ease. Chunks of stone shot outwards in an arc before him, peppering the surrounding area in shrapnel as he caught the two by surprise,nding a few blows as they tried to dodge this area of effect attack. Each chunk scraped and battered the diators, and that distraction was enough for Batu to leap forwards and m hisnce into Anas'' stomach, crumpling the man in a single blow and dropping him to the floor as he was folded from that, leaving Enta to try and win this duel. Unperturbed by hisrade being taken out so easily after that surprising tactic, Enta dashed forwards and swept his scimitar at Batu''s legs, hindering the bulkier man and forcing Batu to protect himself from the followup swing that threatened to sever his achilles tendon, which would end this battle instantly. When Batu tried to retaliate, Enta ducked beneath the rockynce and dashed around the man, using his speed to force Batu to spin around to defend himself from the next cut, that wind coated de a giant threat even to his enchanted armor thanks to the offensive power that Wind Magic came with naturally. Being made to turn took away Batu''s ability to put as much power into his attacks, and it also didn''t help that Enta could control his body far better than the muscr Wekalian, the Caninekin stopping on a dime and turning back around as he bolted to Batu''s other side. This time, he mmed his elbow into Batu''s back and forced him to stumble forwards, his current posture making that all the more dangerous as he almost fell to the ground, opening up another opportunity for Enta to dash forwards and strike with deadly precision. Chapter 1061: Chapter 1060: Double Or Nothing (1) Chapter 1061: Chapter 1060: Double Or Nothing (1) ? The audience let out roars of tion and bloodthirsty joy as they watched the match unfold, the sight of Batu turning his stumble into a roll to narrowly avoid a piercing stab from Enta, the Caninekin trying to take advantage of this opportunity by any means possible, but in doing so he created an opportunity for Batu. Stabbing was an easy option to go for here, a quick and effortless attack that would deal severe damage to the target, but the problem that came from a plunging stab was how it propelled your momentum forwards, and on the uneven ground that was sand, it made it difficult to readjust yourself for precise movement that would be needed to avoid a counter attack, which in this case was Batu''snce swinging around towards Enta''s side. Enta dropped himself down to the sand to avoid the attack, going t and staring at the kneeling Batu as the Wekalian spun around again, this time groaning in slight pain as he twisted himself around and gave himself slight whish, but he still managed to stand back up and grab hisnce once more, preparing another strike that would crumple Enta just like he had crumpled Anas. Simrly though, the Caninekin jumped to his feet and began to wield more of his magic as he red at the Wekalian man, who dragged in a few deep breaths before he lifted his foot once more, that brown glimmer forcing Enta to think quickly to avoid the spikes that were sure to arrive. The Caninekin leapt into the air and rapidly sent three crescents singing towards Batu''s head, only for his own expression to falter as he realized Batu hadn''t stomped yet, the sun beaten hulk keeping his foot in the air and watching Enta closely, timing his stomp with Enta''s descent back to the earth. A giant spike erupted into the air and blocked the three crescents, each one scoring a deep gouge in the rock and cracking it enough to cause it to break, but by that point Batu had already summoned even more earthen spikes, some of which were right in front of him yet again whilst the others tracked him, forcing Enta to go on the run. Sadly for Enta though, Batu now had a myriad of spikes in front of him that he was able to break at his leisure, his heavynce arcing through the air and cracking the spires into pieces as he batted the stone straight at Enta, using the shrapnel to harass the Caninekin and damage him even more. Each chunk of rock that smacked into Enta made the crowd wince as they watched him get peppered by shrapnel, and as he tried to continue to avoid the deadly spikes, his strength was whittled down by the continuous damage he took, and that was the beginning of his end. "That''s a simple way to handle things, but efficient andyered; defensive and offensive all in one, and no one is going to get close anyways since they are avoiding those spikes, but in doing so they leave them avable for Batu there to use them as weapons..." Jahi''s murmurings made us all nod as we continued to watch Enta drag this bout out as long as he could, the Caninekin fighting against the inevitable as another sharp rock pped against his calf and cut it open, letting his blood pour out onto the sands while stumbling backwards, trying to keep moving as Batu broke another rock.N?v(el)B\\jnn Brute force was making its disy this match as Batu swung that heavynce with ease, batting away the rock and sending chunks flying at Enta, forcing the man back another step before he reluctantly shouted "I yield!", the constant barrage of stone cutting up his entire body and bruising whatever parts of it that weren''t covered in blood, painting a poor picture of an apparently elite diator standing before a foreign warrior in defeat. Stopping hisnce right as it was about to hit the next spire, Batu slowly and gradually reverted himself back into his neutral, collected self that we had seen earlier, dragging in deep breaths as he rested hisnce on his shoulder and retrieved a vial of red liquid from his cuirass, uncorking it and draining it as he took care of his own injuries. "Well there we go~! All of us made a profit here, and honestly, that was a really~ fun match, albeit quick! And I must admit..." Anput stretched before leaning back into Jahi''s chest as she yawned, the Jackalkin taking a nearby te and staring at the cool meat that rested on its surface, her idle hunger apparent as she used a finger to warm the meat up with a small me. "We did learn a good amount from this, or at least had some ideas tossed into our heads. I have a couple, anyways, some that might be easier to do than others; we need to get a few more gems though, and I guess that is where thises in, yeah?" "That was the idea, but someone here was having too much fun and wasted their money... at least you won back your initial amount, Anput; try to keep that trend up, please." She just stuck her tongue out at me before waving her hand at the arena below as she said "It''s fine; I''ll make more with this special round. Someone like Batu there will definitely take that double or nothing round that the arena was nning on." We all focused on the arena below as Batu moved to the center, still resting hisnce on his shoulder as he swept his gaze across the crowd, who were murmuring as they discussed the match and how much they won or lost, but everyone fell quiet as one of the announcers stepped forwards and shouted "Batu! Will you ept the double or nothing to double your reward, or will you ept that which you have won from this match and walk away?" Tapping hisnce against his shoulder a few times, Batu continued to look around the arena before his gazended on our suite, the man narrowing his eyes as he stared at us before turning back to the announcer as he replied "I ept.", causing another wave of murmurs to sweep through the crowd, all of them now contemting their own choices. Do they double their bets and win big, or settle for the winnings they have already and walk away with something? For us, it was also a decision that required some thought, but that thought was shared as we all exchanged a look before shrugging, our collective understanding that this was a part of why we were here and the fact that we didn''t mind taking risks that were rtively ''harmless'' and within our control, so I looked towards Cyra and said "Go tell the bettors that we''ll double our bets as well, please." As she scurried out to do so, Anput began to eat once more, feasting on some more kebabs before she held one up for Jahi, who gratefully took a bite and chewed on the perfectly cooked meat, savoring its vors and nodding her horned head as she asked "I wonder what made Batu look towards us..." "Probably the fact that this is the high profile suite, and there are more guards than normal over here; that means its upied, so he''s probably hoping that we''ll offer him a job or something, pay him a fancy sum for some reason or another. That or he dislikes rich people, which... y''know, some of them are extremely irritating, so who knows." "What is this double or nothing round even going to be though? Is it something the arena does often enough that everyone just... knows, or is this something new..?" Anput gnawed on her kebab before uncorking a bottle of wine and drinking from it directly, disying her gluttony freely as she continued to feast even as I stared at her, waiting for her to answer my question as I contemted swiping the wine from her. "Yes and no... it''s notmon per se, but every single time there has been a double or nothing it''s been the same thing; a trio of warriors who have been trained and supplied by the merchants who own Yanzif Arenae out to put down whoever is challenging the arena itself, so that''s likely the same thing here now. Oh, and um... I think they''ve only lost like once or twice before, and that was to one of the Death Jackal''s that Mom hade visit to quell a little ''rebellion'' the merchants were nning, and I think they lost to this Mother-Son duo that came in and fought for their family honor or something..." Trailing off, Anput shrugged and grabbed herself a bowl of rice, not topping it with anything as she just began to eat the in grains, filling her stomach once more and leaving the three of us to share an incredulous look before letting out sighs as we wondered if we had been just too hasty... Only for us all to shrug as well as we remembered that the profits we would have made from being safe - roughly 125 Gold - was something we could make with a delve or two into a Dungeon, so we weren''t too pressed about this potential loss. Besides, we were informed that people have indeed won this double or nothing before, so maybe we''ll get lucky again and be blessed by Batu being skilled enough to survive a three on one and emerge victorious. Chapter 1062: Chapter 1061: Double Or Nothing (2) Chapter 1062: Chapter 1061: Double Or Nothing (2) ? "So what''s special about this trio that somehow manages to hold such importance in their hands? I mean, I can''t imagine these merchants would be keen to lose money, so obviously these three warriors are going to be special, but how special are they?" "About as special as hand picked, well bred warriors can be when given an inexhaustible amount of money, which means all of the best weapons, armor, enchantments, potions, salves, trainers and more that money can buy. So... think about how we''ve been able to have a stress free life of just training with the asional battle that tests us. That''s exactly what they''ve been doing, just for longer and with worse teachers."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Cyra entered the room again, her tray bereft of any wealth thanks to our decision, and she paused for a moment before nodding in agreement with Anput''s assessment, saying "Begum, you would be correct; the trio was raised from birth to do nothing besides battle at the whims of the merchants inside of the arena before taking their ce as guards for high profile members of the families and guests. The guards outside of this suite are some of those very guards." "And I guess they would easily put that earlier guard that we watched down? People like merchants tend to value efficiency and talent above all else, so... I can only imagine just how excellent these guards must be." "That would be correct, Lady Jahi, but only because they have been trained to fight in tandem with one another. It wouldn''t be wrong to say that most of them are ''joined at the hip'', so to say. Some people wonder if it''s inhumane to train these guards from birth, but they are given ample opportunity to do whatever they want, whenever they want. They are paid handsomely for their expertise, and everyone needs a break every now and then." Sharing a smile with one another, we all remained quiet about needing a break as we turned back towards the arena, where Batu was kneeling on one side, his head hung slightly as he looked over hisnce, which was resting across his knees; everyone was being given time before this next match, and we spent it snacking on the feast that Anput''s rtive had prepared for us. I was happy that she hadn''t shown up just yet to try and suck up to her more influential and ''important'' niece, but I wasn''t going to hold my breath about her showing up eventually to do just that; it was an opportunity for her to try and get any sort of promise from Anput, who might be able to put in a good word or two to her Mom and or Mother, which could do quite a bit for any merchant. Minutes passed by in rxed silence as we ate and drank during this break, until eventually three lithe, masked Caninekin stalked into the arena, their feet barely brushing over the sand as they made their way over to the kneeling Batu, each of them unsheathing their des and staring down at the man as they waited for him to rise. The announcers hyped up the crowed as best they could within a short amount of time, riling up the addicts as they teased them with promises of wealth should Batu win whilst also causing those few sane members of the audience to doubt whether or not they should have taken the risk and potentially walked away with nothing should Batu lose this match. Listening to the announcers, Batu remained unperturbed as he continued whatever it was that he was doing, forcing the guards to wait as he ran his hand over the smoothnce, something that might have unnerved or irked other fighters with how indifferent he was to what was an almost certain loss, but the three masked guards remained stock still as they observed him from afar. They were uniform in every way besides weaponry; loose pale red robes hung over their lithe frames, with fitted and studded leather armor clinging to their bodies, the designs of their armor kept sleek and slim for their benefit, allowing them to remain agile while being protected. Two of the guards had scimitars, making use of the traditional weapon of the Sultanate whilst the third had a shamshir, the extremely curved de almost creating an elongated ''s'' that was perfect for cutting deep into flesh and severing limbs, meaning all three were adept at close quarters and relied on shing styles to fight. Once more Batu was at an immense disadvantage, but considering the ease with which he took down the first diator and the way he was able to handle the second without struggling too much, it was entirely possible that he could handle these three guards, especially since we had not seen everything he was capable of from said match. Only one boot had been used so far, and he had used it both offensively and defensively, so I was curious what other enchanted gear this Wekalian man had waiting to be used, and I had a bit of a hunch that he had some tricks up his sleeves that people weren''t anticipating, but those hunches could be wrong since I had only seen him in action for a couple of minutes and that was it. Either way, the announcers eventually fell silent as they ran out of things to shout, draping the stadium with a shroud of awkwardness as Batu remained kneeling, but as the silence became deafening inside of the arena, Batu slowly rose to his feet and hefted the heavynce, returning it to its ce on his shoulder as he took a second to look at all three of the guards. Clenching his fist, he raised his off hand and pointed at the guard in the middle, making sure everyone knew who he was focusing on before he shrouded that arm in Earth Mana, the glimmering brown haze solidifying as a disc of stone appeared on his arm. Now wielding ance and a shield, Batu shifted his feet and angled himself with his shield arm facing front whilst hisnce came down as he used it to point at that guard, cing himself into a ready stance and waiting for the match to start. Three on one, agility versus power... it was certainly an intriguing matchup, and I had to admit that I was looking forwards to seeing it y out, even though I myself had been in simr matchups before, albeit against monsters instead of people; simrly, if the report that Cyra gave us was to be believed, Batu had been in those matchups as well, and both mortals and monsters had their own frightening factors to take in. With a shout the match began, and like before the Wekalian man''s opponents shot forwards instantly, not giving him a moment to consider any other actions that he might be able to take and instead applying pressure as soon as they could, leaving little up to chance in this battle. Batu however was thinking the same thing, but instead of moving to a new position he just stomped down and erected a wave of stones around himself, each one stabbing outwards in an attempt to pierce any overenthusiastic attackers. None of the guards fell for that though, the two scimitar wielding guards leaping into the air andnding on the spikes themselves, using the rocks that Batu had summoned as springboards as theyunched themselves forwards once again, whilst the shamshir guard slid to a stop and crouched, mming their fist into the sand and letting out a wave of their own Earth Magic as they countered Batu''s spell. The stones cracked and crumbled beneath the pressure of that guard''s magical prowess, but by that point the other two were already flying through the air aiming their des at Batu, mimicking the diator''s attacks somewhat as they sent waves of fire at the man, trying to burn him into a crisp. They were in the air though, and Batu stomped his foot one more time before swinging hisnce even before the pirs of rock were fully created, turning them both into shrapnel that buffeted the guards whilst his shield protected him from the worst of the mes, his armor doing the rest with a little enchanted goodness. As they fell to the ground and rolled away from Batu, he lowered his shoulder and began to charge forwards, hisnce aimed straight at the shamshir guard''s chest as he moved in for a knockout blow. Sending another wave of mana rippling through the sand, the guard trying to buy the other two guards a second to get back up ande give their aid, but as soon as the guard realized that wasn''t going to happen, they stood up and rushed to meet Batu, their shamshir glittering in arcs as they began their attack, not giving Batu the time to anticipate where the attack might being from. Chapter 1063: Chapter 1062: Double Or Nothing (3) Chapter 1063: Chapter 1062: Double Or Nothing (3) ? Three rapid shes rained down on Batu, each strike of the guard''s shamshir crashing down on Batu''snce as the man used the thick weapon to block each attack, his shield hanging uselessly by his side as he protected himself from the relentless barrage of shes, each one batting thence down somewhat and bringing the curved de closer to his face. Meanwhile, behind him, the two guards regained their footing and rushed back towards him, pincering him between the powerful and agile shamshir and their scimitars, which were once more d in mes as they lunged forwards, aiming to end this battle as rapidly as they could. "How will he get out of this, I wonder..." Jahi''s mutter was exactly what we were all thinking as we leaned forwards, frowning slightly at how he had been so efficiently and easily trapped by the guards; with hisnce being locked in ce now as the shamshir ground against it from above - the weight of its wielder keeping hisnce in ce - and two deadly killers closing in from behind, it was hard to imagine a way that he mighte out of this unscathed. He was unable to raise his boot to stomp, since that would lessen his strength and make it almost guaranteed that that shamshir would bore down on him and press him against the ground, which made us all curious on what he could do, what tricks he had remaining... or if he had just been too confident and had just cost us some money with his arrogance. Batu tilted thence and slightly put that guard off bnce, lessening the pressure on his primary arm and allowing him to turn himself slightly as he raised his scorched stone shield, blocking the twin cuts that had threatened to cut his back into ribbons and trapping himself between the three, locked in a very deadly stance as he blocked all three attacks at once. I narrowed my eyes as I leaned even closer, staring at him closely as I watched him use every ounce of his strength to lock these three into a stalemate, but what had really caught my eye was the way he inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with oxygen before tilting his head back slightly to reveal his throat, which had previously been shrouded in shadow and covered by his armor. Inked into that tender, delicate flesh was a Ritual Circle, and I felt slight surprise course through my veins as I realized what he was going to do, a unique method to achieve a simr result that I was all too familiar with amusing me greatly. It wasn''t an invocation - something I had be somewhat familiar with thanks to the various Fiendish Cults loving that style of magic - but instead a traditional Ritual Circle that made use of what seemed to be Wind Magic, though the runes weren''tpletely identical to the ones I was used to using. Perhaps, just like withnguages, even the runes that were used throughout the world for magic were different based on the area you were located in, simr to dialects and hownguages could use simr characters in their written form to mean different things, or change how something sounded. Personally, I found that fascinating as Batu''s chest expanded, the man taking in as much air as possible while that tattoo on his neck began to shimmer, the lines glimmering as he sought to activate the enchantment and cast whatever spell was etched onto his flesh; just like how I had no actual elemental attunement to the tattoo on my left arm, he didn''t match the criteria for the tattoo on his throat naturally, but it didn''t matter since he must have had a way to supplement the mana he needed. It only took a second or two to fill his lungs to the brim, and when he did so, the usually quiet and serious man let out a deep, guttural shout that sted the three guards back a few steps as the Ritual Circle activated, creating a wave ofpressed, almost solidified air around Batu that shot outwards, pushing them back and sending them all to the ground, each of them crashing with a dull thud as the wave continued to press them against the sand. Of course, the downsides of such a unique and potent attack was made obvious right away as Batu gasped for air, the spell likely working in very unique and interesting ways that turned the mana filled air he inhaled into the contents of the spell, meaning he needed to expel most of it for said spell, leaving him breathless and in desperate need of even more oxygen. He seemed well ustomed to this state though, perhaps through practice and training thanks to its obvious downsides, so he was still able to hoist hisnce up high and crash it down across the shamshir guard''s chest, breaking their ribs and taking them out of the fight indefinitely, unless they knew some form of wind based healing magic, or had a potion on hand. Once more the two scimitar wielding were forced to get to their feet, but this time they had to do so against the pressure of that spell, though it was weakening very swiftly as they pushed against it, wreathing their bodies in mes and allowing their mana to devour that pressure. They got up just in time to deflect the piercing stabs aimed at their chests, each sh of their ming des against the blunted rockynce filling the air with sparks as they began to give everyone the show they were looking for. To us, it was more of the same fighting that we were ustomed to; entertaining, but nothing special, so we were left to marvel at the idea of such an interesting tattoo being used, all while they traded blows one after another, going tit for tat as both sides whittled one another down slowly. It was a long battle, the thrusting attacks from Batu pairing with his stomps perfectly as he maintained that basic yet effective fighting style, not changing what was working as he made liberal use of the shrapnel and his raw strength to push the two ming scimitar wielders back, gradually wearing them down. He wasn''t unscathed though, their mes singing his forearms and even charring his cheek a little, turning his dark skin a cherry red as the skin blistered, providing mild difort that kept him from battling at his best, but by this point the match was graduallying to a close, the victor almost decided. The first scimitar wielder fell after they unluckily got smacked in the temple with a chunk of rock, their de blocking the view of the shrapnel and leaving them unguarded for that, knocking them out and turning this into a one versus one, the odds of the match shocking the audience a little as they witnessed a very rare urrence of the house potentially losing. Batu began to show off as he yed with the guard, making use of his shield more often now as he parried the guard''s scimitar, creating openings that he never capitalized on, like he was a teacher showcasing how easily they could defeat their student as he guided the guard to improve, which incensed them somewhat as they fought with some more vigor than before. The problem I always had with showboating like this was made obvious as the shamshir guard groggily stood up, sping their ribs and letting a vial drop softly into the sand, their injuries getting healed by a potion as they stared at the Wekalian from behind, doing their best to mask their presence as they slowly grabbed their weapon and began to advance. The crowd of course was of no aid to the poor guard, their gasps and murmuring alerting Batu to something being off, so upon his next parry he whacked the guard with hisnce before spinning around and swinging his weapon blindly to start, all while his boot lifted off the sand and prepared to summon more spikes to defend himself. As the second scimitar guard dropped to the ground unconscious as well, the shamshir wielding guard was once again battered down to the sands as thence struck a grazing blow on their upper thigh, taking them off bnce and sadly making their return to the battle very short lived. "That was..."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "I imagine blue balls feels like this; I think that''s one of the few times I am actually irritated watching a fight. Batu would have lost that if it wasn''t for the crowd being a bunch of pansies!" Anput''s hiss was something we could all agree on, even Leone, who tended to be rather neutral in terms of fighting; it felt so... wrong, to see Batu win in this way, but I just let out a sigh and looked towards Cyra, who was staring nkly at the arena, likely hoping that she wasn''t going to be held responsible for us winning so much money. After all, I just made myself 180 Gold - 45 ced on him initially with 2-1 odds, earning me 90 Gold with his first win, and now with this second win... that was doubled again, so I made a ratherrge amount of money for doing no fighting of my own. I can see why this is addicting, and considering the dyed cheers and even a few screams of joy as people jumped up and down at this incredible turn of events, I also realized how addicting it could be, making me wonder just what crazy things some of these people had done to ce a bet... Chapter 1064: Chapter 1063: Promises, Promises Chapter 1064: Chapter 1063: Promises, Promises ? The roars of tion that filled the arena after Batu won almost shook the foundations around us to a point of worry, but we barely noticed ourselves since we too were somewhat ted, at least for the money we had won and not the battle we had just witnessed. Yes, we could easily make this amount by doing something, but making it by doing nothing at all was really addicting, and I grinned at Jahi as I epted her kiss without any hesitation, the Demoness taking this moment to disy her jubtion through action, just like she did with all of her emotions. Giving one to each of us, Jahi chuckled as she used her head to gesture at the arena below, where Batu was once again basking in the adoration of the crowd silently and stoically, the Wekalian man helping the guards to their feet before ignoring thempletely afterwards, allowing them to sulk in their loss on their own. "And he''s still being such a cool dude down there, isn''t he? All silent and mysterious despite having won a fortune... makes you wonder what he came here for? Probably employment, if I had to guess, or he''s looking for some random item that will somehow make himself stronger." "Most likely, yeah... If it''s employment, I wonder what we can do for him if he asks us? Mom has no need for him, and we don''t really have much need for him either at the moment; not like we have the facilities to keep him and make use of him, and none of us here are into men, so..." The Jackalkin on Jahi''sp giggled slightly as we all rolled our eyes at her, but she brought up a great point that made me nce over at Cyra as I asked "When can we get our coin? Or would you rather send it up to the pce instead of handing it to us here?" The Caninekin servant stiffened for a moment, swallowing before answering "Whichever... Whichever you prefer, Miss. Would you like me to go get your coin right now? Or should I have the Arena write up a check for you to cash at a bank nearby?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om All three of my lovers left it up to me, each of them content to do whatever as we continued to indulge in thisnguid day, but after having multiple ideas of inspiration strike me back to back, I wanted to be productive again, though I was more than open to doing it in a way that continued this rxation that we were making the absolute most of right now. "Coin, please. Thank you Cyra, and be a dear and let whomever it is that you answer to know that we will be keeping an eye out for you, hm? It isn''t your fault that we won so much..." She perked up a little at that, before blinking in surprise as Anput added "If you feel like the life of serving random patrons at the arena is boring, just head on up to the pce and tell them ''Anput, daughter of Anubi'' offered you a position as a servant; exactly that too, or else they''ll think you''re just bluffing. No one speaks like that anymore..." With a sudden job offer at her feet at a ce far more reputable than Yanzif Arena, Cyra seemed rather excited as she scurried out of the room, leaving us alone once more as we all gave Anput a look, wondering what brought on this generosity of hers. "What? She''s been a decent servant for how little we''ve seen her, and I just know that her manager''s gonna be pissed at having to pay out multiple hundreds of Gold to just us, so... y''know..." Leone just nodded before she turned to me, the Vampire asking "So what is making you seem so excited, Kat..? Something struck your fancy? Something you want to do now instead of being in this rather... boring ce?", which caused both Anput and Jahi to turn to look at her, trying to browbeat the Vampire somewhat as she dissed their new favorite pastime. "I want to head over to one of those auction houses, see what kind of goodies they have. Maybe we find something cool like another gemstone, maybe we get something interesting like an enchanted item that I can deconstruct; honestly I just want a ce to sit down that''s quiet, indoors, and has space for me to start writing down some of my ideas before they drift away like a dream." "Oh~? The puppy has some ideas, does she~? What kind of ideas do you have for us, Kat~? Pray tell; we''re all just waiting to hear what you have~!" Jahi''s enthusiasm made me roll my eyes as I pinched her waist, the Demoness faltering slightly before doubling down on being somewhat irritating as she then asked "Does it have something to do with that nice~ andfortable bed over there~? Maybe you got the idea of something neat to put on your throat when you take me straight down to the root-?" Since she wanted to be like this, I smiled sweetly at my lover and ran my hand down her abdomen as I leaned closer, the Demoness wondering whether or not I was ying into her bit seriously or if I was about to do something to her, but either or it only turned her on more as she stared into my eyes, waiting for what I was going to say. "Oh... I was thinking we could get some nice, smooth- pearls and have some fun with them~? Have you ever heard about pearling, Jahi~? We would just need to cut right- below your tip and slip a singr pearl inside before-" "Okay okay! Gods above please just stop!" All three of my lovers shuddered at that mental image, the idea ridding them of any arousal that they might have had before and making it easier for me tough as I leaned back and said "So as I was saying, I want to take us from this rather alright ce that''s quite loud and instead head on over to something else; I''ll admit the auctions will likely be loud too, but during the breaks I''ll be able to get some work done, and while I was joking about that kind of body modification, I want to look into speeding up the idea of getting some more ink." Giving them all a wink, I added "And maybe we can stop at a fun little shop illuminated by red tonight for something to make the night even better-?", giving them their arousal back and causing all three to look at one another giddily as they wondered what I could do for them. Their infatuation with me was as addicting as ever, the thought about having all three of these powerful, talented futanari dancing in the palm of my hand doing whatever I tell them too all because they want a piece of me making my heart flutter just the way I liked it, and it turned me on even more as I realized how easy it was to have people do whatever I wanted all for the promise of something tantalizingly amazing in bed... When the door opened again and Cyra shuffled on in, I wiped my seductive smile off of my face and instead stood up to approach the Caninekin, epting the heavy coin purse and opening it up to reveal the sea of Gold coins inside, finding another thing that was addicting; being wealthy. Still, it wasn''t anywhere near as amazing as the obvious stares thatnded on my lower back as my three wives all watched me from the couch like predators, waiting for an opportunity to devour my prey; I was used to this feeling, but even then nothing couldpare to it. Fishing out three coins, I pressed them onto the tray and gave Cyra a nod as I said "Good luck going forwards, Cyra, and I hope you remain well. Thank you for today.", surprising the servant again as she stared at her bonus before I scooped up the three other purses and smiled sultrily at the seated futanari, showing them their coin before walking out the door. I could hear them rushing after a few seconds, the realization that I had just taken their winnings causing all three to get up ande out of their aroused haze as they gave chase, only to not be able to find me as I decided to practice some of my skills now, ying a game with them. The area around the suite was devoid of other people, so when I climbed upwards into the rafters the only people who were surprised were the guards, but they had seen me go into the suite ande out of it hours afterwards, so they just stared at me for a moment before looking away when they heard Jahi shout "Kat! I swear to all that is holy..! When I catch you..!" Taking in short, silent breaths, I crouched above them and watched all three filter out of the room, looking left and right as they searched for me, wondering which way to go before following Jahi as she made her way to the entrance. Giving them a few moments, I dropped to the ground silently and began to walk behind them, counting down the seconds in my head as I took a guess on how long it would take them to realize where I was, a grin splitting my face the entire way as I had some childish fun. Chapter 1065: Chapter 1064: Leaving the Arena Chapter 1065: Chapter 1064: Leaving the Arena ? To make it more interesting, I maintained a distance between us as I just casually walked through the Yanzif Arena lobby, the small crowd of people giving me cover to blend in as I practiced my sneaking abilities for the first time in... a very long time, if I am remembering correctly, anyways. There was little reason to be sneaky anymore, but I retained the knowledge on how to do the things needed to be sneaky - like controlling my emotions, masking my expression, treading lightly and blending in wherever I could - and made use of it right now to hide from my lovers, who were still looking for me. Since it was a game - and I had the very easy ability to either tug on the bond between Jahi and I or release more of my pheromones for Anput to catch a whiff of - none of us were using the things that made it super easy to figure out where I was, though Jahi couldn''t help it since my soul was hers, and therefore she was used to feeling me. So she knew I was still nearby, hence why the Demoness suddenly stopped at the entrance and turned around, forcing me to turn as well as I gently tapped a woman''s shoulder and asked "Excuse me miss, could I ask you a question?" The Caninekin nodded and waited, her dazzling blue eyes and smooth tanned skinplimenting her dark blue dress that showed off her toned stomach and perky breasts, though the real eye catcher was therge blue pearl that hung off of pretty golden chain. "Where did you get that ne? It''s beautiful; though maybe that''s just because itpliments your eyes so well..." Her lips curled up slightly as she giggled at that, the Caninekin reaching up and lifting the pearl slightly as she showed it off to me, her smile matching the nes'' beauty as she said "Oh, this gorgeous thing? Apparently it''s a pearl from the coastline north of here, from a monster called Ba Basilisk? I don''t know, but my wonderful-wife- got it for me for our ten year anniversary~!" The emphasis on her partner made me giggle too as I nodded, saying "Sorry if that came off so strong, but I just can''t help myself sometimes, y''know~? I just see someone as beautiful as yourself and I feel a need topliment them..." We shared a smile together at that, and she nodded back and said "Oh honey, trust me, I know the difference~! I''ve had more than my fair share of idiots today already, so I can tell the difference between genuine admiration and wanting to see what''s beneath my dress. Though I must admit..." Looking me up and down, she winked before patting my shoulder as she whispered "If I didn''t love my wife to bits - and we were willing to be open to a partner - I''d offer to take you for the ride of your life~! But I do indeed love my wife far too damn much, so... sorry not sorry~! Have a nice day though, honey~!" Watching her leave was certainly... interesting, and I had to nod to myself as I realized that I definitely still had it with random people before reminding myself that I didn''t need to still have it with random people, not when I scored myself three absolutely perfect partners. Though with her walking away I was now left alone again, but making a sudden move would be obvious, so I needed to- "Were you in the Royal Suite?" A deep, rough voice filled my ears, and I turned towards its owner and raised a brow as I found myself face to face with Batu, the Wekalian man staring down at me with a narrowed gaze as he ignored the whispering around us. "You are not who I want talking to me right now." I couldn''t help myself as I shook my head and let out a low sigh, my hearing picking up the obvious movements of my partners as they approached me from the entrance, something that Batu picked up as well, causing the muscr man to frown as he asked "Was I wrong..?" "No, you weren''t; we were ying a game right now, and you crashed it... whatever. What do you want?" Sending a quick burst to Jahi to let her know I was alright, the Demoness slowed her pace somewhat and eased her expression as she cut through the crowd to reach me, while Anput and Leone maintained their pace as they stared at Batu with neutral gazes. Batu looked between the three of us before taking a slight step back as he saw Jahi approaching, the towering Demoness making Batu appear smaller than he actually was as she stared down at him, not so subtly flexing her arms as she crossed them, standing behind us like a guardian as she waited for him to answer the question. With the four of us standing before him, he pursed his lips and looked between Anput and I, eventually taking his gaze a little lower as he stared at our chests for a moment, causing Anput to bare her fangs slightly while Leone smiled sweetly at the man, both of them exuding a rather frightening aura that made me feel a bit proud. "Begum, I wished to inquire about joining the-"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Uh-uh, nope. Trying to make a feat of strength here at the Arena is nice and all, but I don''t handle anything like that, nor do I particrly want to give a damn about it right now when I''m out with my wives. Just like everyone else, you can make your way on up to the pce and apply to be a guard, do your time and get promotions. Maybe if you''re impressive enough you''ll get fast tracked into something more your style. Don''t know, don''t really care; what I can say is don''t ever look at my girl like that, yeah?" Batu just blinked at that, but I ignored him as I tilted my head and asked "Did something happen to make you so irate, Anput? I only took a paltry amount of Gold from you, so... it can''t be that..." ying dumb with her on this subject was extremely amusing, since I knew she wasn''t really that pissed that he had stared at my chest like that, but instead she was pissed because that was how Batu had managed to figure out who was who by using the size of our chest. If he had done his research - which he clearly did - he knew that the entire ''Royal Family'' was slim and petite, and I was... very much not petite, something that Anput was very quick to remind me she was proud to lose herself in - like she was earlier when she asked me to use her like a seat - but something that she still had as a sore point considering Leone, Jahi and I were endowed in areas she wasn''t. The Wekalian man seemed to be stunned by Anput''s outburst, but when she turned to re and growl at me he blinked a few more times when she snapped her head back to him and said "Don''t think you can skip work here in the Sultanate; maybe you can grease a few hands and say a few good things over in the Steppes to get a good position, but here you earn it with blood and maintain it with strength. Any other way and you''ll beughed at and ridiculed. So work for it damnit! C''mon Kat!" Grabbing my wrist, Anput spun around and dragged me back towards the entrance, our Demoness and Vampire following behind us without a word as we emerged back out into the sun, much to my chagrin as I idly activated a Wind Cloak and contemted dousing myself in some icy water too... "Isn''t that a little... riching from you, Anput? I mean... you were born into a family like that, so..." Guiding us over to a outside cafe, Anput plopped down and waved down one of the waitresses, cing an order quickly before raising a brow at Jahi as she asked "You really don''t know much about the Sultanate itself, do you? Can''t me you since it''s different than the Empire, but still..." She nced over at the arena entrance and rolled her eyes as she used them to distract me, the Jackalkin swiping the purses from my hands and tossing them to their respective owners before saying "When I was beginning to grow, I had to prove myself to my Mom; make sure I was worthy of being the Begum, prove to my peers that they WERE going to submit to me in the future. So... I fought all my peers, at least the ones that wanted to fight. Nothing crazy, but whenever someone visited the pce I usually sparred them and showed them that I was stronger, so... no, that isn''t riching from me because I earned my spot of royalty through luck, yes, but also maintaining my spot here as a Begum. Either way, it just ticked me off that he thought I could get him a spot like that just because he fought well in an arena..." Clicking her tongue, the Jackalkin continued to stare at the arena before turning back to me and sighing as she asked "Now why did you have to be so yful and run like that Kat~? Now I really want to chase you down, y''know-?", my mate settling back into her flirtatious self as she reached over and stroked my forearm, glossing over how we had watched, bet, and profited off of that man only to ignore him when he asked for a job. Chapter 1066: Chapter 1065: Coffee Talk Chapter 1066: Chapter 1065: Coffee Talk ? "Aren''t you worried that he might be offended by way you told him off, in front of so many people? That his pride is wounded enough for him to consider doing something drastic?" I had no actual worry about Batu at all - he had some decent experience and certainly knew his way around in a fight, but it wasn''t impressive enough for me to actually give that much of a damn about, not with all four of us here - so I was really just making small talk in hopes of distracting Anput and forcing her to stop her current actions...n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Which I also knew better than to do, the Jackalkin running her hand up and down my thigh and asionally squeezing it as she drank her coffee and enjoyed the shade of the cafe terrace, this second break of ours yielding even more food as we had a freshly baked loaf of bread drizzled with a wonderful honey and chocte sauce delivered to the table topliment the coffee, which also had some hints of chocte in it. Ignoring her roaming hands as best as I could, I instead turned to Jahi, only to sigh softly as the Demoness smirked at me and grabbed my other thigh, her lust sparking after the earlier game even though it had been cut short; it would seem that I might have need to continue that gameter if this was the result it got me, but for the time being I was being show what was going to happenter today... Getting stuck between two very horny futanari was as fun as it always was, so I just let them do as they pleased as I instead asked Anput "Anyways... where can we get some paper and some ink? Are those readily avable here?", giving my mate something to think about as she continued to drum her fingers around my inner thigh. "Mhm. There''s a few ces that sell stationary, and they are roughly nearby the auction house I had in mind. Ooh, and there are nice, secluded areas near those stores as well, ces where we could hide ourselves away and have a little fun~?" Dunking my piece of bread into the coffee, I ignored her still and instead turned to Leone as I asked "The throat tattoo he had, how easily do you think we could replicate that? With my Magic Pen that has a Wind Crystal inserted, do you think we could do exactly the same tattoo that Batu had? I already have an inkling on what runes are needed to get that to work as a spell, but the idea of utilizing the air itself as the catalyst is rather..." The Vampire blinked as she realized I was talking to her, those crimson eyes glued to my chest as she joined in on the lustful fun that the other two were indulging in, bringing out another sigh from me as I leaned back in my seat and stared at the cloth above us, muttering "What did I do to deserve this..?" "Oh I dunno... maybe by being so damn sexy and ding everything~ in your power to be so tantalizing, like by running from three rather ''predatory'' races and activating the wonderful instinct of hunting down our ''prey''~? Just a thought..." Jahi''s husky whisper as she groped my thigh made me shiver slightly, but I still managed to turn and say "That doesn''t mean you can be so damn tant about it, Jahi; shouldn''t a predator know how to control itself until the time is right?" That just made my lover snort and shake her head as she replied "Nah, that''s boring~! See, I already know I''m going to seed, so I don''t really care, y''know? It''s inevitable that I''ll be right behind this thick ass of yours burying myself to the root, so there is no ''hunt''; after all, I know you need me as much as I need you..." Her words brought a pout to my lips as I huffed at what she meant, the Demoness speaking nothing but the truth as she brought up how we fed off of one another daily to sustain ourselves and be ''normal''; Jahi was just that insatiable and had such a deep, voracious appetite that she almost required my body to function, and I was the same but with the added effects of my skills... It pissed me off a bit that she was aware of that and that she wasn''t wrong, but there was nothing I could do besides re at Leone as I waited for the Vampire Princess to respond, which she did after a few seconds of getting herself together. "Oh, um... Well, the thing about that is I am pretty sure he had some other sort of medium to utilize the spell, so I don''t know how replicating that on anyone besides you would do, but... the idea of having a spell rted to the vocal cords or throat, something to activate simply by opening your mouth, that is most certainly intriguing and something I hope to pursue." "I don''t really get tattoos, like how they work I mean; do you really just send mana to the area and activate the Ritual Circle there? Is that how it works, or is that just an oversimplification that people tell everyone?" Anput reluctantly released my thigh as she finished off her coffee so that she could stand up, the Jackalkin wordlessly telling us she was done and ready to go over to the auction house, which was followed by us all finishing our own drinks and snacks as we followed after her. "Yes... and no. It''s dependent on the spell tattooed onto you, really; something that requires constant mana to activate will be harder than a single activation spell, so that''s entirely based on how adept you are at channeling and maintaining a spell. Otherwise... yeah, it is rather simple if you know how to cast spells efficiently. You''re just activating it instantly instead of charging it up through runes." Heading back out onto the street, we followed Anput through a few alleys before arriving in front of a small store, which I entered to purchase myself a small journal, some ink and a pen, preparing myself for the fun of creating something new and figuring out some problems on creating breath type spells for each of us, or at least decent spells that we could make use of in tattoo form... I mean, we had the time and the resources avable to take a day and devote it to creating and applying the tattoos to one another, which would do quite a lot in bolstering our fighting prowess, especially if they were rare spells that most people didn''t cast regrly. A breath spell wasn''tmon at all, and I could only imagine how deadly a ming breath could be for both Anput and Leone, whilst a frozen mist spell would be rather interesting for me; I was also a tad giddy imagining Jahi shootingsers from her mouth, the idea reminding me of some of the cartoonish heroes I had grown up watching. There were so many things to do in so little time, and that went for all of us; Leone had her alchemy and her studying of her own ancient magics, Anput needed toe up with ideas on how to utilize Fiend parts for weapons and armor as soon as she possibly could, and Jahi needed to temper herself even more than she already was, all while I kept up my micromanaging of everyone amongst my own training too... By the time we had gotten to the auction house and made our way inside, I had all sorts of ideas floating around in my head, ideas that I desperately wanted to put to paper as I settled into the chair Jahi pulled out for me, therge, open and dark space of the hall giving me study hall vibeste at night after everyone already left, which was a bitforting. Each table had a small candle lit in the center, everyone was given space as they sat around the stage illuminated by sunlight and torchlight, and servants walked between each table carrying traysden with liquors and small finger foods to keep people happy as they opened their purses to bid on whatever caught their eye. Apparently that was a lot, since the auction house pulled out another item a minute after we sat down, the auctioneer grabbing everyone''s attention with a shout, the beautiful woman grinning as she showed of a masterfully crafted warhammer that had tworge Fire Crystals embedded into its heavy head. "Oh, an enchanted item right off the bat for us~! That''s interesting... its really well made, and the materials are very fine indeed..." Anput was intrigued by it from a crafter''s point of view, while Jahi nodded in agreement as she added "I wonder how nice it''d feel to swing that...", her violent perspective contrasting my mate''s and causing Leone and I to roll our eyes, though the Princess took this opportunity of them both being distracted to lean over and give me a brief kiss as she whispered "Kat... I''m a bit parched..." Chapter 1067: Chapter 1066: Auction Fun Chapter 1067: Chapter 1066: Auction Fun ? Tapping the pen on the page, I stared at the runes I had listed together and began to go over a basic warmup that I found rather helpful for creating something ''new''; simply take the runes I listed and create as many spells that I could think of - or variations of a spell that I could think of - in a rudimentary amount of time before going on to do whatever I actually wanted to do. It was a nice little game to y to get my mind working, and since at the moment I had a Vampire greedily biting into my wrist and satiating her own voracious hunger whilst my other two wives happily flirted in front of me and were creating a sexual tension so thick I could cut it with a knife and confidently serve it to someone, I was in a position that needed me to get my mind right if I wanted to do anything at all. The people around us weren''t really able to see us all that well, and even if they were able to view what we were doing, they weren''t focusing on us since there was the shouts of the auctioneer filling the room, the beautiful Caninekin woman looking around the stage and taking in the bids for the fiery warhammer. So I wasn''t worried about people seeing me getting my wrist munched on, but it wouldn''t have mattered anyways since they would just need to mind their business and not worry about it, but still, I wasn''t in the mood to deal with people being stupid, so I kept it somewhat hidden as I stared at the page nkly. It took me a moment to tune out Jahi''s flirting with Anput as the two rubbed one another ''discreetly'' alongside the feeling of Leone''s fangs buried inside of my flesh as shepped at the blood that seeped out, filling herself with my vitae and king her thirst. When I did, I began to scribble down the sequences for spells onto the page, each line of runes stacking atop one another as I listed out the things I could do with the runes I gave myself at random; a speed spell, a jump boost spell, a ming stomp spell, ming kick spell and so much more. The runes interconnected wonderfully, each individual piece of these puzzles speaking to me on ways that they could be best utilized as I listed spell after spell on this single sheet of paper, filling it as best I could before the auctioneer eventually shouted out the ending bid of the fiery warhammer, which had a price tag of 43 Gold and 75 Silvers. Pulling herself away from my wrist, Leone healed me and cast a spell to help expedite my body''s ability to rece the blood she had drank too, the Vampire giving me the same aftercare she always did as she licked the twin pinpricks and kissed my wrist, bringing a smile to my lips as I nced at her. My lover leaned closer and scanned the page before tapping a spell, muttering "I like that one... could be nifty on a robe if you manage to get the right materials." as she pointed at the barrage spell that I had made; releasing an insane amount of bolts in a single direction with incredible speed. Something meant to be a distraction and somewhat lethal to those that were slower in battles, but otherwise a simple, not that powerful spell that relied on quantity over quality, and one that seemed like a bit of fun at the very least. "Yeah, it''s interesting. Was that weapon really just sold for that much money? It didn''t look that important..." "Yes it was, and it was actually roughly worth that amount; the enchantment was powered by two separate Fire Crystals after all, so it would deal a LOT of damage if itnds. And the weapon itself was well made. You''re just spoiled by our resident cksmith~!" Rolling my eyes, I leaned over and whispered "Don''t ever say that when Anput can hear you, or she''ll lord it over you for all eternity...", earning a nod from Leone before she added "I dunno though... wouldn''t that end up being a fun night..?" "The lot of you..." Shaking my head, I flipped the paper over before raising a brow as I looked up at the stage, where arge painting covered by a tarp was resting, the auctioneer giving everyone a moment to whisper to one another before she stepped forwards and began to speak. "Up next is a one of one, never seen before painting from none other than Victoria Arami, the renowned painter that even our glorious Sultana hasmissioned artwork from. And not only that, but it is one of Arami''s most sought after lines of paintings... some of you art collectors in the crowd might have an idea on which line I am talking about..." The auctioneer riled up the crowd with that, the ''art collectors'' whispering even more to their peers as they leaned forwards, trying to get an even closer look at the painting that was still covered by the thick cloth sheet. "Arami... that''s gonna be a nice painting, no matter what it is. Old too; she stopped painting for profit around five decades ago, and she lives in her ownpound in the city, secluded from everyone. Wonder what this is..." Anput''s mumbling caught my attention, and even though I wasn''t exactly the most excited for art or enamored about it either to care, but still, this waiting for the reveal was fun, and we were here to rx anyways, so I watched the auctioneer grab the cloth and tease us all as she began to speak again, all while slowly pulling the cloth away. "If you guessed that this was the ''Starlight'' line, then you would be correct~! The model in this portrait though is none other than Arami herself, and it is one of the most stunning works of art I have ever seen~!" The murmuring grew louder at that, so all three of us turned to Anput for an exnation, only for her to shrug as she kept staring at the painting, the Jackalkin only knowing about the painter and not about her various works. When the cloth was tugged away with a flourish, the crowd gasped at what they saw, and I had to raise a brow as my gazended on the almost lifelike rendition of a curvaceous woman looking down into water of some kind, the night sky above her dominating most of the space on the canvas, but it wasn''t what drew my eye. No, what drew my eye was the fact that she waspletely and utterly nude, her body on full disy as well as her genitalia, which she ced arge amount of emphasis on since she was... well, the water wasn''t the only wet thing in the painting... "It''s just porn... well drawn, beautiful porn of a gorgeous woman..." "Starting bid of 100 Gold!" The auctioneer''s shout surprised me, but it was how enthusiastic the crowd was as they ramped the price up into the 150 range within seconds, and the 200 range not even before a minute had passed. Our table was silent, a small ind of confusion in a sea of enthusiasm and richness as everyone tried to outbid one another, causing us to share a nce before Jahi asked "So uh... that''s surprising. You think Mom would like it?", which earned her a re from us each before Anput pursed her lips and looked back at the painting, muttering "Maybe Mom would like it..." "We do NOT have... 300 Gold. Nope. Oh hey, now it''s 400-no, 450..." "How..?" Jahi''s earlier attempt at being funny was overshadowed by her surprise at the price, though both Anput and Leone seemed only mildly intrigued by the price, with Anput saying "I mean... if it is a one of one, painted by her and never released by her, that... makes sense. And uh... I guarantee there''s some other thing tied to the painting; the rumorst time was that she met up with the buyer of thest auctioned painting and didn''t leave till the next morning... with a limp." "Uh huh... so I guess that makes sense, if you''re a rich asshat with no real purpose in life besides unting your wealth. Still..." Anput smirked at Jahi and asked "Tell me you wouldn''t want a piece of that; exclusive and ites with some nice art to remember everything that happened~?", ignoring how Leone and I red at her as she added "I would most definitely unt that all the time~! Have it hanging in the main room as a symbol of conquest~!" Shaking my head at them, I contemted stabbing them both here and now as a reminder, but I instead settled with a swift needle to their arms, making them both hiss as the frost spread across their skin and sapped their warmth. I hummed and acted like I hadn''t done that as we listened to the price continue to climb even higher, the men and women in the hall betting almost ravenously as they stood up in an attempt to make an evenrger target of themselves, which made their hired muscle shrink away somewhat as they tried to ignore the rising feuds between their Master''s and Mistress''s. Still, I had to admit that the painting was extremely well done, and if you ignored the masturbating woman who painted it, the way she captured the water''s surface and how it reflected the night sky was stunning.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om A shame that it was marred by her horniness... though I suppose that made it even more unique than if it was just ake''s surface..? Chapter 1068: Chapter 1067: Making A Bid Chapter 1068: Chapter 1067: Making A Bid ? The painting ended up selling for 675 Gold to an older futanari, who both seemed to be the type of person to spend that amount of money on something like this whilst also seeming like the kind of person to spend that amount of money on ''something like that'', what with her long, ited gray hair and slightly sunken expression. Most people inside of the Sultanate were tanned, but she was paler than most, suggesting a life of living indoors and away from the sun, which was a feat in and of itself here, so I was trying hard not to judge her as I saw her rubbing her hands together in excitement, whilst something else showed her excitement somewhat as well... All of the bettors were taking their time to enjoy the painting before it was taken away, and I had to roll my eyes slightly at how interested they all were in the woman''s likeness enshrined onto the canvas, wondering if there was anything to be gained from having something like that, which only ended up leading to Cali giggling softly in my ears to answer, the Arch Fiend remaining invisible and unnoticeable to everyone else. That was all she did, her intentions clear as she reminded me that something so simple as showing even just a little skin could make people forget that they were capable of thought, let alone baring all of it... and it helped even more when you were more ''desirable'' than the average person. Something that Arami and I shared, and something that Cali was not so subtly reminding me I had the ability to do; just a sh of a thigh with the potential to see even more, the ability to peer into the space between my ''mountains''... all of it was able to entice and seduce someone to do something that I wanted, and if I made use of other physical senses like touch or scent... There was so much I could achieve if I wanted to use my looks as a weapon, but that weapon was a double edged sword that threatened to cut me deeper than it could ever cut whomever I wanted to wield it against thanks to the three futanari sitting at the table... Shaking my head, I let the thoughts drift away as I instead turned back to the notebook in front of me, turning to a nk page and tapping my pen against the paper as I cleared my mind and reoriented it for what actually mattered right now; new spells to increase our fighting prowess, as always. Specifically what could I get inked onto our bodies to make things more interesting and open up new techniques for us to master and add to our fighting styles, and with the idea from Batu to create and utilize things that could supplement our natural mana for something else, I was able toe up with a few things right off the bat. The most obvious to add to everyone''s current gear set was enchanted boots, specifically making use of Wind Mana to enhance the wearer''s speed to a new level; not the explosivity that Fire Mana gave people for short bursts of immense speed, but instead a slightly slower, but longer burst of speed to make getting to and from ces easier... And maybe add some more power to any kicking attacks since speed enhances power drastically, the same way mass enhances power drastically; imagining a faster kick from Jahi delivered to someone not anticipating it made me shudder for a moment, before I began to salivate a teeny amount at the thought. I mean, paste would be an urate description of what someone would look like after being kicked by her with more speed, and that speed would transfer to their vitae as it painted whatever was in its path that perfect scarlet color that made me shudder for different reasons... That wasn''t an innovative spell though, but I still wrote it down as I made a note to get some Wind Crystals and have us search for a monster with hide infused by Wind Mana to make us new boots, which would be an upgrade anyways to the normal boots we were currently wearing. My next ideas were individualized, things that would be unique to each of us and things that could be tattooed using their respective elements, though that was still something that was going to require some immense trial and error with Jahi since I had no idea if we could create an artificial Mana Crystal that could contain Light Mana long enough to enchant something with... let alone do something asplex as a tattoo on someone''s skin. And while her control had improved over the years, I don''t know if she was on the level to tattoo herself just yet, so I did need to work with her if we wanted to do anything at all rted to tattoos, but perhaps an idea woulde to mind sometime soon... Either way, since her fighting style always seemed to revolve around how quickly she could make use of her masterfully crafted greatsword - which was really heavy to carry around on its own - I wanted to put a shield type spell on her left forearm - her non dominant arm - and ce one of her favorite close to mid range spells on her left palm, which was the dagger spell. Turning her left arm into a miniature arsenal for her to wield would do her fighting style well, especially since she was capable of forging her own weapons out of her mana already, so she could do so and summon a shield instantly from her other arm if she ever found herself without her greatsword again, like she did in Khisba. Simple, but... well, she was simple, so it made sense to keep things the same for her so that she wasn''t confused and so she was able to master it swiftly, and with that out of the way I moved on to Anput, ignoring the ancient pottery that was currently being bid on as I instead focused on the future.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Trying to make something work for someone who already was capable of creating an arsenal of her own on a whim was tricky, so I had to go over ideas rapidly as I parsed through them and tried to figure out what would fit her best. There was the obvious ming breath spell that would be an alteration of either a fireball spell or a gout of me, but that was something that I wanted to do after I knew I wouldn''t identally damage her vocal cords with the tattoo, so I needed something else. The other obvious spell that came to mind was a set of Ritual Circles on her Achilles tendons that would give her yet another boost to make her more agile, but that felt rather nd too, especially if we did actually get those boots made... It was a bit harder toe up with something unique for Anput since her fighting style was almost entirely reliant on her weapons, and trying to add anything to that was a gargantuan task since it would disrupt her flow rather easily, and any support type spell didn''t need to be tattooed since it was either extremely quick to cast or it wasn''t that important in the grand scheme of things to warrant taking up space on her skin. Perhaps a shield type spell would do well for her as well, something that would require less metal for her to carry around, or perhaps I needed to think of different types of support that she could make use of; support didn''t always have to epass buff spells after all. They could be crowd control as well, but the problem of creating some sort of crowd control was difficult as a tattoo, though that only made me think about the spell Batu had cast multiple times, the one that used a stomp as a trigger; imagining that but with metal instead was certainly an idea, perhaps spears instead of thick spires... " -p is a loose parcel of 50 assorted Mana Crystals harvested from Milki Mine! Each and every single crystal is of high quality, and there''s a little of each element in here this time! The experiments over at Milki have proven to be sessful, thankfully! Starting at 55 Gold!" I raised my hand right away, my attention pulled away from the notebook in front of me - the half written spell sitting on the page waiting to bepleted - before pursing my lips as I calcted the prices in my head as someone else began to bid, raising the price to 60 Gold. 50 assorted Mana Crystals of ''high quality'' would be worth up to... probably around 175 Gold before I would begin feeling idiotic on the spending, and the real cut off would be 225 Gold, but depending on how many people seemed interested in this, I might just be driving the price up... Though as I looked around after raising my hand again, not many seemed that intrigued by a parcel of Mana Crystals, which made sense since they weren''t like gemstones; they needed far more care and expertise to be made use of, and that meant hiring someone else to make them into something you could sell, so it was an investment not many would be willing to make. My hand went up again as I nced at the man bidding against me, the older gentleman raising a brow as he stared at our table from the other side of the hall, trying to figure out who we were; another woman raised her hand next, and we began to gauge one another as best we could as we began to bid on this parcel in earnest. Chapter 1069: Chapter 1068: Making The Right Bids Chapter 1069: Chapter 1068: Making The Right Bids ? Counting out thest Gold coin onto the servant''s tter, I felt my heart sting slightly as I parted with 130 Gold coins, which was most of my winnings over at the Yanzif Arena, but as the slightly heavy, velvety purse fell into my hands - and the sound of dozens of Mana Crystals ttering together filled my ears - I felt that sting alleviate somewhat as it was reced with jubtion. "Thank you ver much, Miss, and do enjoy your winnings. Ah, and Master Mubar wanted me to give you this." The well dressed and handsome Caninekin man servant smiled at me as he ced a letter before me, alongside a bottle of wine that made Jahi frown a little, since it was kind of clear what sort of gift this was meant to be. So I decided that I wanted - and rather enjoyed - ying with fire, so I smiled back at the servant and said "Please tell Master Mubar that I am ttered by his gift, would you~?", noting how the man''s smile widened slightly and how his cheeks darkened as he looked away. I picked up the letter and began to read it, holding back a slight groan at how cheesy it was but still finding myself somewhat ttered about how - despite being cheesy - the man still tried to convey that he was simply both curious about what I would do with the Mana Crystals and also alluding to finding it attractive that I seemed to know what to do with them since I was willing to bid that much. Of course, despite being ttered, I wasn''t going to do anything with this besides tease and rile up my lovers even more than I already had, so as I sent the servant away with a kind smile, I ignored them somewhat as I opened up the parcel and stared at the myriad of glittering stones within, each one radiating a fair amount of mana. Gently lifting one from the bag, I held it up and admired its beautifully rough edges, the uncut, raw Water Crystal almost stealing my breath away as I imagined turning it into something a bit more ''wearable'', specifically for jewelry; that special pearl that woman was wearing over in the arena was still on my mind, I guess, since I really did want something to wear besides my cor... "Isn''t it gorgeous..? It''s almost as dark as a sapphire, but it glimmers with its own light instead of needing an outside source to shine. I cannot wait to sand this down and make something with it..." "You- can''t wait to sand it down? Are you going to take up gem cutting when we get back home? Or are you just saying that you''ll be the one to do it even though I''ll be the one to do it?" Anput brushed over the letter and instead grabbed the bottle of wine, creating a corkscrew with her mana and popping the bottle open before taking a sip, nodding her head appreciatively at its vors and using that as a way to let me know she was still a bit aggrieved about what happened, even if she did ignore the letter resting beside me. "Yes, I can''t wait to give it a shot. You can, of course, show me how to do it, but in the end I want to give it a try myself; something that I can start doing on my own, to create something with my own hands instead of needing to wait for someone else to make something for me. Enchanting is fun and all, but needing something pre made to actually begin enchanting is a bit irritating..." cing the Water Crystal on the clean te in front of me, I nced up at the stage and gave the dual scimitars being auctioned off a quick appraisal, their Wind Mana des andrge Wind Crystals making them extremely potent and deadly weapons for both physical damage and arcane damage, since the des themselves were long and sharp, the jade green metal likely rather lightpared to other materials. The only thing was... I knew Anput could make me something of simr quality, if not better if I gave her some time and money to do so, and it would be made to my specifications, making it so much better than something someone else had made however long ago. Plucking a Fire Crystal from the parcel, I handed it to Leone and asked "Is your alchemy set still up to snuff, or are we going to need to invest some of these Mana Crystals into making you a newer, better set? We''re going to need to start getting potions and ointments stocked up, after all...", letting the Vampire admire the ruby-esque stone in her hand as I diverted her attention away from the letter as well. Jahi wouldn''t fall for it though, the Demoness grabbing the letter and reading it herself before rolling her eyes and snorting softly, cing it down beside herself and away from me as she grabbed the wine bottle next, pouring some for herself and muttering almost silently as she shook her head. "Uh... I wouldn''t mind a second one, since it would speed things up immensely, but if you want to keep these Mana Crystals for other things then that''s fine too I guess."N?v(el)B\\jnn Leone ced the crystal back into the parcel and gave me a smile before epting the ss from Jahi, taking a sip from the wine and nodding as she too enjoyed it taste, leaving me to be the only one who hadn''t tasted the gift that had been meant for me... It would seem I wasn''t going to be getting a taste of that gift either since Jahi just kept the bottle for herself, sharing it with Anput and not even sparing me a nce as I sat beside her, the Demoness ignoring me and forcing me to hide my chuckle as I felt her annoyance through our bond. Discussing the usage of the crystals with Leone and Anput, I kept my attention on the items being auctioned off as my initial task of creating spells fell to the wayside thanks to my two lovers giving some good ideas on what they wanted to use these crystals for, the two listing off some wants and needs that we had as well as potential gifts that we could make for other people as a way to convince them to give us something we needed. Tribute or well meaning gifts to someone like Duchess ki would make earning her favor a bit easier, and the same idea applied to a myriad of other important people around the Empire that we might want to meet for one reason or another. Our discussion was interrupted when another item caught our eyes, the auctioneer announcing a special bid for a journal containing the notes of a now dead Mage who used to travel the Sultanate years ago, something only recently found. It started at a low price of 25 Gold but quickly made us all pause as it reach 200 Gold in just a couple of minutes, with Anput exining that the Mage was a bit of a folk hero in some parts of the Sultanate thanks to the good he had done and the impact he had on everyone around him; on top of that, he was apparently a genius when it came to different types of ways to use magic, be it Ritual Circles, alchemy, enchanting and more, so his journals could be extremely niche and hyper focused or extensively broad on damn near everything. After it sold for around 300 Gold, the next item that was announced kept us hooked as three ratherrge chunks of a rare ore were ced on disy, each one containing enough metal to make Anput salivate somewhat as she stared at them with wide eyes; they were rare, but just like the parcel of Mana Crystals they came from a flourishing Dungeon mine, so the market here was somewhat saturated with this particr metal, keeping its price and its demand low inside the Auction House. Anput needed to plead with Jahi to get it, and after a very quick agreement to spend an hour kneeling between the Demoness'' legs Anput found herself hugging threerge pieces of ore, the Jackalkin almost purring as she held them close. A few more things popped up here and there that caught our attention, and Leone spent some of her own Gold when an herb was auctioned off for a decent price, the Vampire excitedly telling us it was a wonderful enhancer for regeneration potions and that she could make a gigantic vat of high quality potions now, maybe even dilute some of it and turn it into either more coin for us to spend or use it for any situation where we needed healing over time and we didn''t have the time to cast spells on one another. All in all, the Auction House experience was a quaint one, and with three sessful bids and one singr failed one - Jahi made a bid on a hammer that seemed rather unique, only to be outbid as someone spent far too much on it - we left the Auction House feeling fulfilled and content. On the way back to the pce though, Jahi very swiftly pulled all three of us into a boutique and forced each of us to get a new article of clothing for tonight, our blue skinned lover supplementing her failed bid with this as she spent 20 Gold on each of us and secured herself a night of top tier entertainment that we were more than willing to give. Chapter 1070: Chapter 1069: Incredible Performance (1)* Chapter 1070: Chapter 1069: Incredible Performance (1)* ? Jahi Pov By the time we returned to the pce, shared our experiences for the day with the Sultana and Lady Kio, had dinner and did a little bit of training after we finished eating, I was so pent up that I was worried I might end up straining something with how hard I was trying to hide my erection from everyone else; at the very least I was keeping it concealed from the pups for obvious reasons. The knowledge of what were in the bags from that one clothing store were just far too arousing for me to think of anything else, and every single time I got a peek at Anput, Leone or Kat I couldn''t help but imagine what they were going to look like tonight in Anput''s bed, the three of them writhing around beneath me as I enjoyed each one of them thoroughly... Especially Kat, since I nned on taking out my earlier frustrations that she caused me on her, so I had made sure that the clothing she bought from that store were the most provocative and lewd pieces of clothing possible, and I had told her that tonight, I was going to feast on her until I was fully satisfied no matter what. So by the time we returned to Anput''s room - my mind had hazed over with lust after trying to maintain a conversation with Lady Kio about the pros and cons of my fighting style, so I wasn''t exactly the most sane at the moment - I pushed all three women inside and tossed the bag into Kat''s arms, gesturing for them to go ahead and get changed. Stripping myself down to nothing and plopping down on the couch, I licked my lips as I listened closely to the sounds of their own clothing dropping to the floor, imagining their sexy bodies in my mind as I leaned back into the couch and grabbed my dick, unable to help myself as I began to do something I very rarely did; jerk off. The unfamiliar act of pleasuring myself with no one else to help me was novel, and I had no issue at all running my hand up and down my shaft as I closed my eyes, recalling some of my favorite times with my women; specifically, all of their first times, the way it felt to deflower them and make them mine. My groin tingled pleasantly as I sped up, my cock throbbing alongside my heartbeat as I recalled the thrill I had felt in the back of my mind when I robbed Kat of her virginity, the tightness of her pussy and the sight of her bleeding giving me an odd sense of dark glee that Iter learned more about; or the time Anput squirmed around beneath me as I acquiesced to her desires and fucked her hard almost from the start, filling my petite bitch with cum over and over again as I showed her what she had been missing out on. I could feel my ejaction nearing as I kept stroking myself, but my ears picked up the sounds of my women approaching, so I slowed myself down and waited to see what they looked like, knowing that I had a better ce to shoot my sperm then onto my hand. The first was Anput, my feisty and aggressive bitch running over to me and unting her perky tits as she grinned at me from beneath her transparent veil, the tan skinned Jackalkin giving her hips a shake and running her hands over her chest. A dark crimson cloth did little to cover her cute little buds or equally red, bulbous cock that stood at attention, its transparency hiding nothing at all and instead just amplifying her sex appeal as she gave me a twirl, the flowing attire following her as she showed off her ability to dance. Next was Leone, the Vampire blushing hard as she sped her hands above her own erect cock in an attempt to hide that monstrous thing, the cloth she wore not allowing me to see what was beneath, but with her curves that wasn''t really an issue at all... Whereas Anput was wearing something provocative and a piece of ''clothing'' meant to do little more than convince me the best thing for her was to pin her down and fuck her over and over again like the good little slut she was, Leone was wearing an actual dress, but it was something so far out of her normalfort zone that it was just... perfect for her to seduce someone in. A ck skirt that left her juicy thighs revealed did its best to almost cover her curvy ass, but some still peeked out at us whenever she moved, whilst above she had a ck and red tube top that hugged her giant tits together and kept them in ce, revealing only a little cleavage but baring her midriff and shoulders. She rarely let her shoulders be bare, but never did Leone actually want her stomach to be seen by anyone else, the Empire''s fashion rarely allowing for that outside of prostitutes and other loose people, so seeing this shift from the Empire''s fashion to the Sultanate''s fashion was just what I needed to see her in. And then of course, the big reveal walked out just behind Leone, already in her role as she swayed her hips as exaggeratedly as she could whilst her posture allowed her to unt her now huge breasts, the Dogkin I was so damn lucky to have proudly disying herself as an icon of sex as she stole all of my attention. Where Anput had a veil that covered her nose and mouth, Kat wore a veil that covered all of her face, the material a bit thicker so as to not let me see her features too well, but I could definitely see the smirk and those hot amber eyes; additionally, hanging from the bottom of the veil were small beads that ttered together, announcing her arrival audibly, just in case someone could miss such a fine piece of ass. Her tits weren''t even covered by anything at all, but instead her nipples were concealed beneath discs that''s only purpose were to hang tassels and beads from, further amplifying her ability to make noise with any movement. Her long pants were made from a transparent orange cloth that didn''t hide anything either, and around her waist, hips, knees and ankles golden discs were sewn in together to tter as well,pleting her outfit and bringing a giant grin to my face as I looked her up and down again and again. Already she was acting out her part in tonight''s fun, the Dogkin standing in the center of the room as she awaited my orders, joined on either side by Anput and Leone as they mimicked me, looking her over before turning back to me with slightly pleading gazes, hoping that I was in one of those rare moods where I wanted to watch them y amongst themselves. Sadly for them... I wasn''t, and I beckoned them over as I said "Anput, your hour starts now; Leone, go grab a few bottles of wine or brandy, it doesn''t matter. And two sses; we have a show to watch. A show being put on by our very own whore... isn''t that excellent~?" Both of them nodded, and despite very clearly wanting to knot her mate and breed her then and there, Anput happily skipped over to me and dropped to her knees between my legs, her rough tongue flicking out as shepped up the precum that drooled from my tip while Leone went off to grab those bottles from Anput''s collection. cing my right hand on the Jackalkin''s head, I ruffled her ears and briefly nced down at her, loving the way she licked me from the root all the way to the top as soon as she noticed I was watching her, earning herself a low groan as I muttered "Good girl..." before we both looked at Leone as she sat on my left, the Vampire trying to hand me a ss of dark red wine that matched the bitch''s garb between my legs, only to nod once when I draped my left arm around her shoulder and grabbed her tit. All the while Kat stood motionless in the middle of the room, staring at me and awaiting my order to start; I didn''t need to see her eyes directly to know that they were filling with impatience and lust as I gave Leone a deep kiss, nor did I need to see them for when I groaned softly again as Anput started to do her job in earnest, the Jackalkin swallowing my cock and slobbering on it like she needed it more than she did air. The taste of cinnamon was joined by the metallic tang of blood as Leone bit my lower lips, deepening our kiss and almost causing her to spill the wine as I leaned into it, giving her the affection she craved whilst another woman gave me head... and as I stared straight at a third woman, doing my best to rile her up forter.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Anput''s veil concealed some of her face as she blew me, but it didn''t conceal the noises that escaped her lips as she shook her head side to side or how she sounded so lewd gasping for breath when she pulled away, only to choke herself again as she tried to give me the blowjob of my life to start her hour of required cock sucking. Forcing the horny bitch standing around doing nothing to wait as I indulged in two other women was exactly what I needed for tonight, so I just kept kissing Leone and pressed Anput down further as I reached my first peak of the night as she was able to do nothing about it except watch... All while her pussy quivered and wept at this slight, slicking her thighs and making my heart swell with lustful pride as I made my Dogkin wife more and more aroused with this negligence, knowing that when this hour was up and Anput was freed from her position between my legs, she was going to be taken as roughly as I possibly could take her, leaving her unable to walke tomorrow morning. Chapter 1071: Chapter 1070: Incredible Performance (2)* Chapter 1071: Chapter 1070: Incredible Performance (2)* ? A long rope of saliva connected Leone and I, the clear fluid stained by my blood and turning it slightly pink as we remained barely an inch apart, catching our breath after the kiss that threatened to sap us both of all the air in our lungs as we hungrily feasted on one another. "Gods above do I love you, Leone... I love you so damn much..." Watching her cheeks darken even more whilst her eyes glistened as she heard my husky whisper only made me hornier, if that was at all possible; staring at her and taking it all in as a red d bitch slobbered on my cock was beyond perfect for tonight, and for the first time I looked away from Kat as I leaned back in and kissed Leone again, stealing her breath away for myself and basking in the pleasure it brought as I pushed Anput''s head down as well, grunting quietly as I came. My seed erupted from my cock as I stuffed Anput''s throatpletely, and I was given the wonderful taste of cinnamon to celebrate this orgasm as Leone and I made out above her, my hand fondling the Vampire''s tit and allowing her to share in some more of the pleasure I was feeling, all whilst thest of our group stoodpletely still, watching on silently. When Anput was finished sucking the sperm straight out of my cock, she pulled back and gasped for air as she stared at my blue member from up close, her eyes zed over as her nose twitched repeatedly from my heavy scent, the zed blue penis resting on her cheek and smearing around my cum on her veil as I dirtied my petite slut, letting the first ejaction turn her into a mess as I finally looked at Kat directly and spoke to her. "So you''re here to dance, correct? You wanted to dance to earn something... Well then, dance. Dance for me and convince me to give a damn about you. You have an hour to earn my favor... Surely you can dance for an hour-?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Kat remainedpletely silent as she stared at us from the middle of the room, the Dogkin not moving a muscle as my words rattled around inside her head; even with her concealed expression I could tell she was fuming somewhat from the way her tail swished back and forth with sharp movements, and of course from the emotions seeping through our bond, which only made me all the more aroused. Whenever Kat was pissed at me, the sex was just that much better, especially if I was able to continuously rile her up and show her me having a good time with someone that wasn''t her, like, oh I don''t know... a certain Jackalkin inhaling my musk deeply as shetched onto my balls and jerked me off, resuming her hour long service in earnest as she tried to make me feel good again. Murmuring quietly to her, I stroked her cheek and smiled at her before looking back up at Kat with a neutral expression, raking my eyes over her bare tits and wide hips before nodding slightly when she took a step forwards and slowly raised her arms, flourishing her body as she began her dance. With her arms stretched out beside her, the Dogkin gave her wrists a shake and began to create her own music as she slowly drew them back in, cupping them an inch away from her breasts as she showed off howrge she was before running them down her curves, unting her sexy body and drawing our eyes along with them. Hiking her waist up, Kat held her hands on either side of her hips as she began to alternate which side of her was raised, sending off a cascade of jingling as her legs shook slightly and her bracelets continued tremble as she settled into a rhythm. Leone and I forgotpletely about Anput for a moment as we watched, the pleasure traveling throughout my penis not mattering at all as Kat gyrated her hips as well whilst gradually spinning on her heel, doing aplete spin as she maintained that simple rhythm, though I did notice her arching her back somewhat and ncing over her shoulder as she got to shaking her ass for us. It was a simple dance at the moment, but as shepleted her spin she raised up her right arm and began to turn back around, this time moving her right leg with her as she kept moving, using the various beads and discs to create noise that surprisingly tickled my ears as I sat there, mesmerized by something I had seen so many times before. When she got back to facing away from us, Kat continued to shake her ass and force the myriad of beads and discs to produce more noise, her sses from so long ago on the Sultanate''s style of dancing mixing with her own provocative nature as she created something entirely meant to arouse and seduce. Her body was made for sin no matter what she was doing, but here and now as she put her expert control to a new type of use, alongside her ability to do the exact right thing to get me all the more turned on and desperate for her..? I waspletely entranced as I watched my lover move her body in ways that could very easily start feuds if the prize on the table was her; the way she fluidly moved her hips back and forth, the juiciness of her ass rising and falling as she aroused us more than we thought possible, the movements of her arms and legs as she spun back around suddenly. The giant tits that were begging to be grasped and yanked on, those tassels hiding her nipples and irritating me as I yearned to stand up and remove them forcefully, even if the sight of those little discs barely clinging on to her breasts as she puffed her chest out and held her hands down at her waist, shaking her entire body. Leone and I werepletely absorbed into watching Kat that we weren''t aware Anput was currently pleasuring us both, the Jackalkin throating my cock once more whilst jerking off the Vampire; we were only made aware of that when Leone gasped and shuddered, shooting her sperm into the air and thrusting upwards as she came hard. I was broken from my trance thanks to that, and as soon as I was I noticed that Kat hesitated for a brief moment, the Dogkin staring at me directly before she resumed like there was nothing wrong at all, which only made me confused. The dancing being disyed was so good I wanted to push her down and fuck her until she passed out, the blowjob I was getting from the slut between my legs was excellent, and the way my Princess lover squirmed as she tried to impregnate the air made it all the easier for me to reach down and help Anput out in jerking her off as I made her cum harder. So what was Kat hesitating for..? It took me a moment, but when I got it, I really got it, a smirk springing to my lips as I took a deep breath and fell right back into her ''trap'' willingly, not caring at all about whatever consequences mighte from this; I willingly inhaled the pink mist that I had fought against days ago, sumbing to the Lust Mana and fixing my gaze on Kat as I bunched up Anput''s hair and guided her up and down my cock as I reached orgasm again. I didn''t give a damn that she was trying to lead me on with this, since the sight of her sinful body dancing to music that no one but us could hear was well worth that risk, nor did I care that this would only release my lust further and cause me to be far rougher than I had initially desired to be; I didn''t care at all as I inhaled that mist, the lemony scent filling my head and making the next hour fly by in mere moments. The amount of times I skull fucked Anput until she cried were uncountable; her throat was undoubtedly raw now from how deep I forced my cock, and each time I came I filled her belly with sperm like it was possible to knock her up this way, leaving her face to be covered in saliva and leftover seed as I smacked her over and over again. Leone twitched as she created a puddle in front of her, the Vampire shooting her sperm into the air repeatedly before eventually just cumming on herself, basking in the heat of her cum as itnded on her ample bosom and adorably red face, with the asional load sshing against Anput''s face as I aimed her at the Jackalkin for more visible pleasure. All the while Kat danced like there was nothing left to do in the world, her body quivering every few minutes as she came slightly from her movements, the Dogkin sumbing to her own magics as she slicked the floor beneath her with her fluids, unable to help herself as she felt all of our gazes on her body. I knew full well how much of a whore Kat could be, the Dogkin''s lust surpassing my own more often than not and causing more ''trouble'' than not during any sexy time, so seeing her cum just by being watched dancing like a prostitute was enough to make me cum as well, much to Anput''s ''delight''. Chapter 1072: Chapter 1071: Incredible Performance (3)* Chapter 1072: Chapter 1071: Incredible Performance (3)* ? I have no idea on how long we were actually stuck in that trance - I don''t know if an hour had psed already or if we were barely halfway through it - but what I was certain of was that this... this was the most aroused I had ever been. Even with the amount of times Anput had sucked the sperm straight out of my balls, I was still yearning to ejacte even more in any hole avable, but the one I was yearning for the most was Kat''s, the Dogkin''s tight pussy calling for me to ravage it as she danced ever closer to me, inching forwards and disying her weeping lips to me with obvious need. Slowly allowing Anput to pull away from my groin, I moaned happily even though my penis was leaving the warm, wet embrace of the Jackalkin''s throat, the idea of putting it into something ''new'' giving me another rush of virility as I stared down at my cock slut''s exhausted face.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Her eyes were puffy and red with tears, her cheeks stained from the salty liquid that she had wept, and her face and chin were... well, messy wasn''t even enough to describe the mixture of saliva, sperm and other fluids that coated her lower face, leaving her to be rather... well, I personally loved her current look, but considering she began to hack and cough hard as soon as she was freed, I imagine she wasn''t as delighted as I was. What really got me going though was how bloated her belly had be, the usually fit and slim Jackalkin now sporting a rather rounded stomach that was reminiscent of a pregnant woman''s belly, though I don''t know how long she would remain like this... Meanwhile, Leone was barely conscious as she sat beside me with a nk expression on her face, the quick shot Vampirepletely drained from Anput and I milking her during the dance Kat gave us, so she wasn''t making any choice at all on anything, which of course was yet another intriguing idea for me as I considered having my way with her right now, pressing her beneath me on this couch and stuffing her barely lucid pussy to the brim with my seed. But the real goal was standing in front of me, her knees trembling as her pussy quivered as she let her orange pants fall to the ground, giving me full view of her sex and letting me bask in its gloriousness as I took a deep breath and licked my lips, unable to help myself as I beckoned for her toe closer. Anput remained curled up between my legs, so Kat gingerly stepped around her and stared down at me as I grabbed her by her thick ass and pressed my lips against her stomach, kissing her smooth, slick skin and trailing my lips down towards her own, getting a taste of the dish I was about to devourpletely. The musky scent of my Dogkin woman filled my nostrils as I kissed her clit gently, showing the small pearl some love as I basked in her body as best I could, before I pulled away for a moment to ask "Tell me, Kat... what do you want..?" My prior idea of turning this into y was gone, my head far too muddled with lust and her magics to worry about crafting a story to have her dance along to yet again; instead, I wanted MY woman to tell me what SHE wanted from me, to hear her ask me to do something to make her go crazy as a reward for that dance. Seeing her look towards Leone for a brief moment before ncing down at Anput''s trembling figure made my lip curl into a snarl as I tilted my head, her worry for someone who wasn''t me irritating me, though I was still sane enough to use my free hand to cast a spell around the four of us that healed us slowly, ensuring that we were alright physically. "I..." Taking in a shaky breath, the Dogkin bit her lip as I gave her ass a squeeze, her ghostly blue eyes shining through the veil as she stared at me with such lust that I had a moment of doubt on whether or not I would be able to handle her, but that faded instantly as I leaned back down and began to kiss her lower lips once more. "I want you to fuck me like the world is going to end tomorrow, Jahi... rape me over and over again until you think you''re satisfied, before raping me some more for the hell of it. Beat me and break me however you want; just make me cum as much as you do, please... Don''t stop no matter what..." In response, I smirked and bit her clit slightly hard, making the Dogkin gasp loudly as she trembled, her pussy spasming as she squirted on my cock and Anput''s body below, unable to help herself as I gave her pain as an answer to her plea. "Thene on... convince me by taking me for a ride, Kat... get your first load then I''ll consider it~!" That provoked my feisty puppy wonderfully, and without hesitation she lowered herself down and engulfed my cock in her soaked folds, taking a seat on myp and holding back a gasp as I entered her womb without any problems at all. Still gripping her ass hard, I guided her movements back and forth before she settled on her rhythm again, mimicking her dance from before as she gyrated her hips around in a circle, pleasuring mepletely and drawing a moan from my lips as I leaned back into the couch and watched her get to work, her breasts bouncing around wonderfully as she lifted herself up only to m her butt back down, wringing out my cock and doing just what I wanted her to do. Draping my arm around Leone, I returned to groping the Vampire''s tit as I watched Kat buck her hips wildly, the idea of marring her beautiful image right now by fondling her tits instead forcing me to seek something else out instead, so I slid my hand between Leone''s clothing and groped her giant breast. That didn''t mean I could spank Kat to spur her on faster, the wet and tight pussy of my amazing lover gripping my cock wonderfully as she bounced on myp and coaxed more sperm out of my balls, bringing me to orgasm slowly as she moaned my name over and over again. By the time I came, my entire body was engulfed in a numbing heat that stemmed from the woman riding me as hard as she could, her need for my seed turning her into an insatiable subus that wasn''t nning on stopping at all. Releasing Leone and carefully avoiding Anput, I grabbed Kat by the butt and stood up, ignoring the pleasure that wracked my mind as I shot my cum into her womb and trying my damndest to not stumble as I moved us over to the bed, the Dogkin wrapping her legs around my waist and continuing to bounce herself up and down even as I came. My lower half felt so weakpared to normal as thick ropes of cum sshed around inside my bitch, but her continuous moaning for more drove me on as I put her onto the bed and rammed myself into her as hard as I could, each deep thrust apanied by more ropes as I kept cumming, my balls growing empty. Kat clenched her legs around my waist and scratched my back as she felt me fill her up, the Dogkin writhing around as she soaked the bed beneath herself; my grunts mixed with her moans as I just kept pounding her pussy even though my cock was so sensitive, my need to make her submit to mepletely and make use of my seed fueling me on past what I should be able to do, but as she continued to moan like a bitch in heat I felt a small amount of anger well up inside my heart. Before I realized it I had smacked her cheek, the feeling of giving in to my anger and letting it control my movements giving me even more pleasure as I watched Kat''s head snap to the side, the Dogkin yelping in pain as she stared at me in shock, only to yelp again as I smacked her other cheek. I had no real reason to be angry at her, but she did ask me to do as I pleased, and that dark part of me was whispering to let myself go and give her what she wanted... and that brief taste of that ecstasy made it all too easy to stand up, wrench her legs off of my body and grab her like a sandbag, flipping her onto her stomach and mming her down before ramming myself into her cum soaked pussy even harder, stealing the breath from her lungs and making it impossible to refill them as I clenched her hands above her and started hammering her to my hearts content. And then I began to use my free hand to press her face into the bed as I suffocated her, studying her closely even though I was slowly losing myself to her juicy ass as I railed it and prepared to fill it with more sperm, my orgasm welling up as I felt her slowly go limp beneath me. When she was on that edge, I yanked her hair and pulled her head up, letting her breath even as I leaned forwards and bit into her neck, gnawing on her flesh and making her scream loudly in the room as I just... let my base desires run rampant, that darkness shrouding my vision as I let it take control. Pieces of the night would flicker into my memory that next morning; the way Kat sobbed after I pped her again and again even though she was the one riding my cock, the limp form of Leone draped across the bed as I gave Kat a brief break and instead began to give the Vampire some deep loving, and of course, the glee I felt when I draped my cum soaked cock across Anput''s face and forced the Jackalkin to part her sore, aching jaws so that she could suck me off yet again. All three of my women were made into toys for me to use however I pleased, and the cries from Kat stoked the mes of lust in me even more than usual as I just kept on cumming, my testicles never knowing that emptiness that I was trying to reach as I ejacted over and over again. The only reason I stopped, the only reason my lustful rampage was halted that night was thanks to my body finally giving out; my energy was sapped of all energy, theck of water and food causing me to pass out on Kat''s back as I weed that sweet release of unconsciousness, my body failing me as I passed out so that it could begin to heal itself. Such drastic damage had been done to all of us, but thankfully we were far enough away from being ''base'' mortals that such things were no longer lethal too us. We would just have one hell of a headache when we woke up, and we would need to consume an insane amount of food and drink to return to being ''normal'', but considering what had just happened... it was a fair price to pay. To me, anyways... Chapter 1073: Chapter 1072: Morning After Pains Chapter 1073: Chapter 1072: Morning After Pains ? By the time my body had decided that I was, in fact, allowed to wake up and function somewhat as a normal mortal being, the sun had risen and emerged fully from beneath the horizon, illuminating the Sultanate in its golden rays and heating everything up to that intolerable temperature, flipping the feeling of the air from one extreme to another. And whilst my body was allowing me to function, it wasn''t doing so freely and without consequence; everything hurt, from my toes all the way up to my scalp, either from a burning sensation as my muscles finally were allowed to breathe and drink as my body replenished itself, or thanks to the myriad of tears that I had given myself through far too many repetitions of motion. I was certainly better off than the other three though since I was only feeling hurt on my limbs mainly, and of course therge sense of emptiness that I felt in my groin, the stuff that was missing only turning me on again as I looked over at my three women, who were all leaking that very thing; I didn''t show any signs of being turned on though since it physically hurt to even imagine being erect, but still, the emotion was there, and it was all that mattered to me right now. My fingers danced in the air as I cast a slow but potent healing spell that would get them feeling better in an hour or so, my mana flowing into the runes and adding to the luminance of the rising sun, but it did little to make them stir, their bodies needing more time to heal from the damage I had caused them; especially Kat, who had endured the worst of it as I vented my desires onto and into her repeatedlyst night, though since she had asked for it... I didn''t feel bad at all about this, and if anything I felt relieved that I had done it since it removed all of the stress from my system for the foreseeable future, but I had a feeling that Anput and Leone were going to want some softer, more loving care after this instead, and I was more than willing to do just that. Even someone like myself who loved being as rough as I possibly could - which usually went past the eptable norms of rough sex - found the idea of gentle care to be rather appealing, the multitude of pleasures that came with whispering sweet nothings into their ears as I held them close and slowly took them iparable to the harsh pounding I was known to love severely. Still, while I was more than willing to give them that lovemaking tonight - if they were willing to share a bed with me again after what just happened - I knew exactly what Kat and I were going to get up to tonight, the Dogkin''s appetite just as voracious as mine when it came to things like this, especially if she never t out told me that she was not seeking to have sex like that so soon after what just happened. With the ns for tonight already made, I reluctantly stood up and pulled myself out of and off of Kat, the Dogkin groaning and wiggling around slightly as she adjusted her body to be morefortable, the sight of her doing so making me groan as well as I tore my eyes away and stamped down on trying to get an erection since that was just impossible at this point. Finding myself some of my not stained or slightly torn clothes, I got dressed and briefly stopped by the side of the bed as I looked my women over again, this time with love and not lust as I took note of the spell doing its job, their previous frowns and furrowed brows fading slowly as the mana in the air and the mana from the spell healed their injuries. Leaning over them and cleaning their faces, I gave each of them a kiss before leaving them to rest in peace atop this bed, giving them time to heal and giving me time to clear my mind of trying to return to being lustful again, so I took onest look before walking away, for their good and my own. If I healed myself and was able to return to ''normal'', I don''t think I could help myself from feasting a little bit more on their delectable bodies, which I had to admit was a bit of a problem... and one that could be solved by me going to do something else with this energy that I was beginning to have once more, so I shut the door quietly behind me and began to make my way towards therge hall that we had been eating in each night we were here. The servants that I saw along the way just reminded me how different these ces were from one another; the Empire''s servants - maids and butlers - were fully covered, formal in appearance and always working with a dignity and elegance that seemed to be almost unnatural in how they were sticking to that ''script'', but here? They were dressed in somewhat better clothes than Anput had been wearingst night, they were chatting and flirting freely as they went about their tasks, and they were also rather... well, since I was most ustomed to formality, it was odd seeing them t out ignore me or just give me a passing nod as I walked past them, which was weird, but honestly... right now, it was worth it. I didn''t want to deal with stuffy formalities after what I had just done, and as I entered therge hall and beckoned one of the servants over to ask for a meal to be prepared for me before I just sank into the chair and let out a content sigh as I bathed in the sun''s warmth and stared at the ceiling. Unsurprisingly it didn''t take that long for someone to sit down at the table with me, and I cast a nce at the now upied seat that was opposite of me by a lithe Jackalkin wearing a veil, my eyes locking onto that veil for a moment before I leaned back into the seat and took another deep breath. "An eventful night, I presume..? Is that why no one else is joining you at this time?" For a moment I stiffened as I btedly realized this was the Mom of the woman I had just abused so heavilyst night, but after a moment I just smiled softly as I shrugged, replying "Something like that, yes... I might have gone a little overboard, but it was never refuted by them, so... y''know..." The room returned to quiet after I said that, and for a few moments all was good, only for me to stiffen again as I realized what had juste out of mouth, and again... who had just heard that, so I sat up and focused on the Sultana as I prepared to apologize for my crass words, only to remain quiet when she waved her hand and said "Don''t even bother trying to ''apologize'' for whatever it is that you''ve done." That made me shiver as I wondered if I had gotten myself into a rather precarious position, and the Sultana most definitely understood that as she just stared at me from across the table for a few, but very long seconds, drawing this out as much as she could. "If Anput has truly been... abused and or harmed by you in ways that she doesn''t consent to, then there will be issues between us, Jahi. And while I would rather not know how my daughter enjoys her sex life - be it from your mouth or hers - I will admit that just hearing that you have a rougher touch in the bedroom gets my blood bubbling slightly, but only because I don''t like knowing that my daughter has inclinations like that..." She drummed her fingers on the table before sighing as she looked towards the window, staring out over the city and adding "Though I must admit I can''t be too surprised considering who her Mother is, and how Caninekin in general work; what makes us tick. It only makes sense, after all..." As the tters of food began toe out to cover the table, so too did someone elsee to join us, and instantly she took a ratherbative stance at the table as she asked "And why must you consider who her Mother is, hm? What exactly do I have to do with whatever it is that you two are talking about?" I bit my tongue before I could identally say something wrong again, only to have to answer her when the Sultana just flourished her hand and gestured at me, cing Lady Kio''s attention entirely on me now as she narrowed her eyes and waited for an exnation. "We were... only discussing how lucky I am to have a wife as beautiful as Anput; beauty that she, of course, received from her Mother!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om The Sultana just looked away from us both, and Lady Kio preened slightly at my words before sneering at me as she said "Sorry brat, but I''m not that into muscr hunks, let alone someone a fraction of my age." That just made me blink a few times before I just turned towards the te ced in front of me and focused on filling my stomach with arge, unnatural quantity of food instead of trying to deal with the rather narcissistic Dogkin... which gave me a sense of deja vu as I btedly realized I had been in this situation far too many times with this Mother inw of mine... Chapter 1074: Chapter 1073: More News Chapter 1074: Chapter 1073: More News ? "-ey, I''m talking to you! Anubi! Don''t you..! I swear to all that is holy if you''re actuallyughing right now!" Lady Kio was baring her fangs as she red hard at her mate, the ''privilege'' of being the one and only lover of someone as powerful as the Sultana making itself known as she hissed at someone who - ording to the ws'' that govern the world of the strong - she had no ''right'' to be showing such tant disrespect too, which showed that they had such a simr rtionship to all of the extremely strong people I hade to know over my rtively short lifetime. No one else was able to do this and get away with it unscathed, and yet here was a Dogkin woman being so ''rude'' to someone so much stronger than herself not needing to worry at all about any sort of actual punishment past what mighte back around to bite her tonight, and even then... was it really a punishment at all? I imagine that that would be the one thing that all three of my lovers could agree with this older woman on, and it seemed to be something universal that all of those like myself craved; this momentary disy of ''disobedience'' and being tested by someone we viewed as ours. Someone who shouldn''t be disrespecting us and testing us was currently doing so, and it always felt so good to have these moments since it reminded us that our rtionship was not as two dimensional as we liked to show it off as; in private, it was in need of bncing and admitting that there were just things we couldn''t control and demand all the time from this other person. And it also felt so damn good to put them in their ''ce'' again, so there was that too, which was certainly why the Sultana''s shoulders were trembling as she continued to look away from the Dogkin woman she had taken as her wife. The bristling fur on Lady Kio''s ears, the way she bared her rather long fangs and narrowed her usually hot and feisty eyes into almost slits, and of course the ramrod straight posture as she clenched her muscles made her rather adorably dangerous at the moment, though for me she was just dangerous... But when Anput did it to me sometimes, I found it to be so damn adorable to look at, even if - again - it was dangerous since ying with a rabid puppy would lead to many, many bites, and just like her Mother, Anput had some sharp fangs and powerful jaws... which I knew firsthand at this point in many different ways. "I... am merelyughing with you, my love, even if you aren''t showing it expressly at this moment. You just said-" "I know what I just said damnit! That didn''t mean you were invited tough!" No one else was able to confidently and easily cut the Sultana off when she was speaking, and no one else dared to do so for fear of losing their tongue, and yet here stood a petite, short woman doing just that and then some as she stabbed her finger at her lover''s arm and poked her repeatedly. "YOU were NOT invited to LAUGH! Just because I alluded to being against the idea of letting this blue skinned brat with no real backing of her own go around gvanting herself as my daughter''s wife a moment ago does NOT give you reason tough like this!" Now it was my turn to hold back a chuckle as I ignored her attempt to take a dig at me by saying I had no backing of my own; we both were well aware that no matter what I did - within eptable reason and as long as I hadn''t lost my mind - I would always have the backing of the current Head of House Asmodia and the Lady of House Asmodia, which was... practically enough to let me do whatever I pleased inside of the Empire and the surrounding territories... again, within reason. That wasn''t even counting the fact that I had some of the Empress'' own backing thanks to Leone, or the fact that I had ess to the Sultana''s backing as well thanks to Anput... so there was that, which Lady Kio just conveniently decided to ''forget'' as she kept poking her wife. "And yet justst night I seem to recall that you were musing on whether or not there was a better match for Anput anywhere in the entire world... especially since she has ess to not one, not two, but three lovers capable of taking care of her in any which way she desires?" She had stoppedughing at this point, but the smirk the Sultana wore was very clear despite the veil, and it most certainly only widened as Lady Kio growled "Anubi...", the Dogkin''s face almost bing covered in shadow despite the sun beating down right on her, and I think I had gotten back to normal by this point, so that was definitely her raw mana leaking out of her pores, causing her clothing and hair to float around freely... I just quietly ate as much as I could whilst partaking in this free entertainment, the antics between my own parents preparing me enough for this sort of oppressive atmosphere that had cleared the hall of all servants as they ran from their extremely angry and almost murderous Mistress and the already terrifying Sultana. All this was missing was that sweet scent of ozone and the asional crackling of lightning randomly striking something nearby to create an identical scene I had witnessed before with my own parents, which made my heart pang slightly with nostalgia as I felt the brief desire to be back home. "What? I am only speaking the truth - which I shouldn''t need to remind you, you expressly told me never to lie about anything - about this situation, and that is that you yourself admittedst night that-" "And I don''t CARE what I said! Just shut up! Quiet! Hush!" Right as the Sultana was about to respond to her wife''s rather adamant demand for her to stop speaking, a Death Jackal briskly entered the room and presented a scroll to the Sultana, stopping all of the current joking around as both the Jackalkin and the Dogkin straightened up and focused on the ck d warrior, their prior amusement andxness gone as they returned to being the heads of the country. "Summarize." Lady Kio in particr was aplete 180 with how she stared at the Death Jackal with apletely neutral expression and t voice, and while the Sultana was reading the details, Lady Kio and I got the brief version of what required their attention. "Both Bascra and Khidan have been attacked by Fiends, and currently the city guard are maintaining the defensive barriers around themselves, but it is only a matter of time before the arrays and the guard are depleted. Thankfully Khidan has received support from the nearby caravans traveling to and from the Empire, but there is still immediate dangers to the city. A Nua Fiend is targeting the oasis at Khidan, and a Tza Fiend is after the libraries and old ruins at Bascra; additionally, there is an unconfirmed sighting of Fingers at Bascra. There is also a slight worry that the Al-Ramir might make an appearance at Khidan with the old rumors of them being tied to a Nua Cult."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "How recent is all of this? Estimated time before they fall?" "Only an hour, Lady Kio, and both cities should hold for a day and a half easily. I''ve already taken the liberty to dispatch a squad of Death Jackals to each for immediate reinforcement, however..." The veiled warrior turned to nce at me, and the slight turn of their head redirected the attention of both the Sultana and Lady Kio, the two older women appraising me for a few seconds before Lady Kio shrugged and turned to her wife, letting her be the one to decide. "Are you up to it again, Jahi? Both Bascra and Khidan will remain standing no matter what, so the question bes ''how badly do you want that training and the loot''? Will you set out now to im it for yourself, or shall I let my Jackals off their leash?" My lip twitched slightly as I stood up and replied "We can only take one as a single group, and there''s no reason to subject the other to a prolonged siege in the name of ''training'' for me, so... we''ll head for Bascra within the hour. Even sooner if I get a couple potions to kickstart everything..." "Hera, go grab a vial of Scarlet Veil and head over to Anput''s room. You''ll take over as their guide and guard for the time being; get them to Bascra and watch. Inform them too of anything that needs to be known. I''ll set out for Khidan with Kio; I think we both need the exercise." A single curt nod was all she got before Hera disappeared, the Jackalkin rushing away as she spared not a single moment at all for this ''emergency'', which as I nced at the still seated Sultana and Lady Kio... it made me chuckle softly as I too put a little pep in my step,forted by their confidence in the country they had built. But I wasn''t going to be content being idle with the juicy b of meat known as a Tza Fiend being ced right on my te; I wanted to be out there already, and with the food in my belly and my own natural healing bringing me back to normal, I was brimming with energy that I wanted to put to use. Chapter 1075: Chapter 1074: Bascra (1) Chapter 1075: Chapter 1074: Bascra (1) ? n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om By the time I returned to Anput''s chambers, the Death Jackal Hera was already waiting for me, her body almostpletely concealed beneath the loose, ck cloth that she wore, alongside that veil that covered her face, leaving little for me to judge at all. I had no real idea if she was a futanari or a woman, and I also initially didn''t even know she was a she since she was - again -pletely concealed, but her voice was certainly feminine enough to answer that question for me. Still though, even if she was a woman and even if she was someone the Sultana trusted with a myriad of tasks that were requiring confidentiality and the ability to put aside her emotions, I wasn''t going to let her walk into Anput''s chambers and see the state of which I left my three women in, so I stopped her as she was about to open the door. "I''ll go heal them; would you mind getting the jackals ready for the ride? We''ll be out in a few minutes tops, alright?" Hera paused and stared at me for a few moments before handing me the vial of red liquid, the borate sswork and vibrancy of the liquid inside making it abundantly clear this was an important and expensive concoction, and that was only solidified as she said "Only a drop per person; any more than that and they might over heal themselves, which can be... dangerous." When the vial of ''Scarlet Veil'' was in my hands, Hera disappeared without another word, the only trace of the Death Jackal having been here being that slight lingering scent of oil that was used to keep des and armor from rusting, which I had to admit... it was something that made me appreciate Hera just a little bit more. Letting that thought drift away, I opened the door and returned to the bedside of my three lovers, each of them looking much better as they cuddled together in their sleep, giving me a moment of pause as I felt a bit bad about having to wake them up, especially since I knew they weren''t feeling the best right now, not after what I had done. A part of me was happy that they were still in ''pain'' from that, and that part of me was swelling up somewhat as I looked them over, but the vial in my hand felt a little heavier as I did my best to ignore that swelling. Uncorking the Scarlet Veil, I carefully allowed a single drop of that vibrant liquid to ssh onto Anput''s face, the tanned Jackalkin furrowing her brow as the potion began to do its job, a ''veil'' of mana covering her skin and worming its way into her flesh as it started the healing process, working alongside the spell I had maintained beneath to get her to normalcy. I kept an eye on her as I dripped some of the potion onto Leone and Kat as well, cancelling my own spell as the Death Jackal''s warning of ''over healing'' someone shed into my mind, but it seemed my spell either wasn''t strong enough or that the potion itself was far stronger than I anticipated since nothing bad happened. If more than a single drop was considered a threat, and I had a vial in my hands that easily fit a shot''s worth of liquor, I wonder what would happen if you drank this entire thing... and why do I have a feeling that they had learned what would happen through some definitely not so shady testing..? Either way, if they trusted it to work on Anput, I trusted it to work on everyone, so I didn''t worry too much as I corked the vial back up and waited for them to begin to stir, all while I began to get everything else ready for us as I tossed together some decent clothes for them, grabbed our armor and weapons, and made sure that we had everything else we needed like some of the potions we picked up and other small things. Anput was the first to sit up, her ''damage'' fromst night far less drastic than everyone else''s since she had been targeted only for her mouth, much to her surprisest night, but as she sat up and rubbed at her jaw, her bleary eyes tried to focus on me as she muttered "That was... pretty... interesting." The Jackalkin didn''t even try to dodge the clothes I tossed her, letting them drape over her head as she just yawned and stood up, giving her aching body a stretch and shuffling over to me as she asked "So... while they take their time to wake up, can we..? Y''know, I wouldn''t mind giving you some more oral, but I really want my brains railed out right now..." I rolled my eyes at that as she took the clothes off her head and yawned again, only for her to blink a few times as I said "Later. We''re heading over to Bascra to kill a Tza Fiend. Get ready.", the Jackalkin needing a few moments to figure out what I said before making her way back to the bed to sit down, mulling it over whilst also repeatedly poking Leone''s and Kat''s chests. "Bascra..? That''s not that far, but another Fiend..? So close to thest one..? Weird." "Bascra and Khidan, actually. Two at the same time, but your parents are heading over to Khidan to take care of that one. We''re taking the Fiend at Bascra, and a Death Jackal ising with us, so get dressed." Anput continued to rub her jaw after Leone and Kat sat up, the two women rubbing the sleep from their eyes as they both muttered "Fiend..?", only to wince slightly as their clothes smacked against their faces, just like Anput had. That red mana veil that shimmered on their skin was disappearing with each passing second, the potency of the potion making itself known as they all stood up and opened their eyespletely, showing almost no signs at all of what happenedst night, and as more time passed, they even had an abundance of energy as they moved efficiently, though Anput and Leone really had an abundance of ''energy'' too... "What did you do to us? I''m notining right now, but if we have to leave right away, this is going to be an irritating trip..." Anput smacked herself softly as she raked her eyes across Leone''s body, the two sharing a heated gaze before turning to me as I held up the vial, my Jackalkin wife sighing as she muttered "Scarlet Veil... damn." As we got to putting our armor on, she answered the obvious question that was about to leave Leone''s lips, as well as the question that was lingering in my mind as well as she said "To put it simply since I only know of it simply - it''s a healing and stamina potion that is made from really rare, potent flower that blooms in the wellsprings beneath the desert. It heals all wounds on your body, ces your body in a nice little cocoon of healing energy that doesn''t dissipate for a few hours, and give you an even nicer boost of adrenaline and energy to get right back into it. Since we aren''t in danger right now, that adrenaline and energy is being diverted to something more biologically productive..." "Like reproduction... fascinating. It targets certain workings of the body on its own... though they are rather intertwined... fascinating indeed... and rather... um... potent indeed too, that''s for sure..." Leone was blushing hard as she tried to hide herself from us all, though thankfully for her the robe that Kat tossed her was better than the dress I had given her originally, so the Vampire changed swiftly and managed to hide that part of herself for now, much to my displeasure. The chatter slowed down as we finished gearing up, and within a few minutes of them waking up we were heading outside to get onto the jackals and head over to Bascra, where another fight awaited us. "Any idea on why these Fiends areing out at the exact same time, Cali? Should we be worried about the world atrge right now, or..?" Kat spoke to seemingly no one, but as the pink skinned harlot appeared and began to float alongside us with no issue at all as we began to ride, we all nced at the Arch Fiend and listened as she replied "Kinda, I guess. The little ones are full of piss and vinegar after being locked up for decades, if not centuries, so most are just yearning to exact vengeance on the mortals that ''wronged'' them..." She tutted a few times as she stared up at the sun, her snakes hissing softly as if agreeing with her as she muttered "It''s too damn hot...", though she seemed to sense my impatience when dealing with her as she continued on, waving her hand theatrically. "Most of the ones making a ssh are the little fishies that no one cares about. Little hungry guppies hoping to find a morsel to eat, not realizing that they are the morsel themselves. Right now, the world is unprepared for our return, but if there is one thing that all of us Arch Fiends agree on - even if we want to vomit when we say it - is that you mortals know how to adapt really quickly to any kind of threat. Human''s especially, since it''s engrained into their very being, but all of you are tricky and cunning pricks. This first wave will be disastrous for the unsuspecting and unprepared, but in a month or two? Don''t be surprised to hear that those sexy hunks like Batu or whatever his name was have somehow participated in killing a Fiend. And if they get really desperate... maybe we''ll see a couple of mortals crazy enough to feast on the Fiend''s they kill~? Mm... that''d be fun to see~! I just cannot WAIT for what is toe..." I nced at the Arch Fiend and frowned at the maniacal grin on her face, wanting nothing more than to shout at her to exin more, only for her to vanish just as suddenly as she appeared, though she left behind not only a cloud of sweetness, but also the ringing sound of her not so soothingughter. Chapter 1076: Chapter 1075: Bascra (2) Chapter 1076: Chapter 1075: Bascra (2) ? "Another Tza Fiend though... I wonder how entric this one will be. Hera, was there anything about its capabilities inside of the report? And is there anything else that we might just need to know about as we head to Bascra?" Our mounts bounded over the sand dunes with ease, carrying all of our weight and moving faster than they had any right to as they helped to get us from point a to point b all in a few hours, crossing miles upon miles of nothingness faster than we could on foot. The wind whipping against our bodies caused the riding robes we were wearing to press against our skin, whilst the veils that Hera rmended we wear protected us from the harsh barrage of sand that threatened to slice through our skin and whittle down our strength even before we reached our destination. "Little was described about the Fiend besides it''s mastery over area of effect spells and a penchant for making use of the sand itself; if I had to guess, Begum, the cause of this minor sandstorm would be the Fiend we are heading towards. Additionally, there were unconfirmed mentions of the Fingers making an appearance at Bascra as well, which is... troublesome." Anput clicked her tongue at that, and before we could ask Hera said "The Fingers are a group of meddlesome and irritating rogues that make a living off of the old ways of the Sultanate; take whatever they want whenever they can from those weaker than them, and making it a problem for the rest of us. Their current leader is a former candidate for the Death Jackals, and as such he has a little bit of an understanding of our strategies. At least enough to make hunting them down a pain in the ass." "Besides being overbearing pricks who murder innocents for fun, they travel between the Sultanate and the Wekalian Steppes, trafficking ves and drugs for whatever price people are willing to pay. The worst part is they have quite a few adept mages at their disposal who havee up with a suite of gear perfect for remaining unseen and leaving behind no traces. No scent, no visible traces, nothing at all." "Well that''s fun. So how do you end up with unconfirmed mentions of a group like this? Like someone told someone that they saw someone who looked like someone in the Fingers? Or whatever that random group name is? ''Cause you need about that many someone''s to get an ''unconfirmed mention'' of a rather infamous trafficking group that murders for fun." I smirked beneath my veil as I looked towards Hera, the cloaked Death Jackal shaking her head slightly as she ignored my dig at her and instead just said "It''s unconfirmed because it could have just been a random group of bandits hoping to strike it big by raiding one of the ruins or the libraries. Either way, there is some nefarious group up to no good at Bascra alongside that Fiend." She fell silent after that, leaving us to travel over the sands for the next hour or so as we mentally prepared ourselves for the fight toe, all while the surrounding atmosphere only grew more hostile the closer we got to Bascra. The winds were slowly bing faster and more vtile as they pushed against us, threatening to throw us off of the back of the Jackals we were riding, or at the very least tear through our robes as it whistled past us. With the addition of the sands being picked up and hurtling towards us at insane speeds too, this journey was certainly a grueling one, with the area around us darkening as more sand rose into the air and created clouds around us, blocking out the sun and trapping the heat that managed to prate through as we were slowly battered and cooked at the same time. I didn''t even need to see Kat''s face to know that the Ice Mage was hating every second of this, her rigid posture and constant mumbling and grumbling as she shrouded herself in a frosty haze to beat the heat and redirect the sand. The rest of us simply created a shield of mana in front of us and maintained the simple barrier as our mounts ran through the walls of sand, and before I knew it we were heading even deeper into the sand,ing face to face with the city we were going to save. Or more urately, we came face to face with the Fiend that we were going to be battling and killing, the first impression as always causing me to pause as I just took in how twisted they were in appearance, something that seemed to be a constant amongst all Fiends; they were apparently born of the world, and that showed with how they were warped creatures given mortal form. Before us stood a rather tall and domineering blue skinned man that might have even passed as a long lost Asmodia Demon if it wasn''t for the fact that instead of a normal head, this Fiend had a iridescent feather headdress that sprouted from their skin, and as the Fiend turned to face us, we were greeted with the sight of a oily, rainbow feathered bird ring at us like we had just ruined its fun. Which... we technically had as we instantly slipped off the Jackals and erected defenses in case it decided to attack first and ask questionster, but like Cali had stated before it seemed that most of these Fiends nowadays weren''t believing in being able to be defeated by mortals, so our opponent just stared at us for a few moments before scoffing. "Excellent, even more irritating pests show up... perhaps you can be the appetizers for one as great as I. This city was a tough nut to crack, but I think I have it''s weakness discovered; it shall be only another hour before those libraries are returned to their rightful and true owner." A regality attempted to seep into the bird''s vocal cords as it gestured at the city, only to sound rtively pathetic since the barrier was holding strong and it''s power was barely making a dent in the mana reservoirs of both the mages and the array itself. Of course I could just be wrong about it, and it could have been poking and prodding this barrier this entire time with weak attacks, so I didn''t lower my guard and assume an arrogant stance of ''I will overpower this Fiend easily'', even though I knew it was urate... We would overpower this Fiend easily, anyways... It seemed that more often than not, Fiends tended to follow a theme with how they looked; Tza Fiends were typically rather sharp and smart looking in appearance, taking after animals that were rather well known for their intellect, whilst Ka Fiends were muscr andn/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om murderous... seeing the chicken thing in front of us unting its brilliant feathers and raising a golden scepter as it attempted to mimic a righteous and regal tone made sense, though just because it made sense didn''t mean that the two dozen or so Ritual Circles that just appeared in the air around the Fiend were any less dangerous. "As soon as I have ess to my libraries again, I can finally - FINALLY! - bring about a true golden age for the Sultanate! An age of expansion and prosperity, an age where we stand above the rest of the world as a wellspring of knowledge and wealth! A fertilend brimming with life!" What appeared to be simple boulders were shot at us rapidly, each one threatening to tten us before we could even get a word in otherwise tomunicate with this Fiend, and with little known about the attacks our opponent actually used, we opted for evasive maneuvers instead of battling through these boulders, at least... All of us except Leone, who tested a few of those boulders with small and blindingly fast bolts of me that cracked them open, revealingrge quantities of sand that continued to rush towards the Vampire despite the shell no longer existing as a whole. Clicking its tongue, the Fiend waved its scepter to the side and caused the rest of the boulders to explode prematurely, starting this fight off instantly as a wave of sand was thrown at us from point nk, the sharp grains of stone swirling together to form spears that would skewer us easily. I opted for straight defense instead right now, pressing my palms against the ground and summoning a raw sphere of Light Mana around myself that blocked the sand spears, each one smacking against the dome and ttening itself into a curtain that slid down to the ground harmlessly. Molding the mana after the initial bombardment, I studied the Fiend and watched as it raised the scepter again, summoning another volley of boulders with a shake of its head. Chapter 1077: Chapter 1076: Bascra (3) Chapter 1077: Chapter 1076: Bascra (3) ? "It is pitiful, witnessing the hubris of mortals on full disy. No matter the lineage, no matter the talent, none of you canpare to us Fiends. We who are born of the fabric of this world directly, a gift to creation and a disy of perfection made flesh. You can never compare to us, so why do you struggle so?" The boulders began to crash against the earth around us as the Fiend opted for a different strategy, letting the sand inside of them burst free with a vengeance as it pointed its scepter straight at each of us, directing a barrage of spinning pirs of sands to crash down on us in an attempt to break through our defenses. "I am born of this world, blessed by this world; it has given me life anew and provided me with powers beyond your pitiful mortal imagination. The ability to make this scorching, lifeless waste into a bustling utopia of greenery! To turn this expanse of useless sand into a sprawling oasis meant for all who ept my rule! Why must you struggle against the natural order of the world?"N?v(el)B\\jnn All Fiends seemed to love to hear their own voice, constantly preaching something or other to us as they attacked, leaving us to do as we pleased as they contributed to the talking and wasting of air. The mixture of the magic we knew of today and the magic of the past was surprisingly easy to figure out as we were bombarded by it, the Fiend''s affinity for both Earth Magic and Sand Magic on full disy as they worked in tandem to bash against our defenses; the shrapnel of stone crashed against whatever it could touch, tearingrge chunks of mana away and allowing the smaller, deadlier grains of sand to worm their way deeper into the barriers and create instabilities throughout our spells, disrupting the flow of mana and gradually cracking the domes around us open. When the ground beneath me began to tremble and quake, I was forced to abandon my position as I realized that despite being surrounded in a dome of Light Mana, there was a single spot that I had been missing in my coverage, something that we all noticed instantly; something that was honestly rather obvious considering the affinities shown so far. Beneath our feet, there rested hundreds upon thousands of grains of sand, and with no barriers sinking into the ground beneath us, the sand that had previously crashed against us wormed its way under the barrier and instead shot up towards our bodies, hoping to catch us off guard as another volley of boulders was sent hurtling towards us even quicker than before. Ignoring the projectiles, I copsed my barrier and focused on myself for now, my senses catching on all three of my wives as I took note of where they were and how they were already protecting themselves easily against this surprise attack, giving me the freedom of mind to act as I felt I needed. My Light Mana returned to my body and coated my skin in a superior armor to what I wore, and it protected me from the myriad sand spears that tried to pierce my flesh and drag me down into the sea of golden grains as I bunched up my leg muscles andunched myself upwards, into the air. All of my ranged spells were either single target spells that were easily able to be dodged by someone with a fine tuned mana sense - like a Fiend - or far too long to charge up, leaving me with the old reliable fighting style that I was far morefortable with; blitzing towards my opponent and making liberal use of my superior strength to beat whatever stood in front of me down into a paste. Comparatively, the orange glow that flickered into being behind me let me know that Leone was taking the opposite approach, the Vampire likely restingfortably in the air as she began to channel her vast reserves of mana and battle magic with magic, while Anput smoothly slipped into a supporting role as she began to counter this Fiend''s sand attacks with her metal. Various weapons flew past me and sank into a curtain of sand that the Fiend raised in front of itself, the clicking of its tongue as it blocked the wall of hastily made weapons further cementing its opinion of us as it dryly asked "Must you belittle me like that, dog? Scrap metal tossed with that paltry strength? Truly pathetic. And you, Demoness. Perhaps you should try building some more muscle between your ears instead of on your arms and legs to supplement the peanut you have now..." That curtain repurposed Anput''s weaponry for the Fiend''s own purpose as itunched them back at us, trying to catch me as Inded back on the ground for only a moment, each spear,nce, halberd, mace and more sinking back into sand as they peppered the area around me, with one of Anput''s halberd''s shattering against my great sword as I parried the sloppy return attack. "Such a shame that a Demoness like yourself was granted magic as unique and potent as Light Magic... you have a gift there, you little blue skinned brat, and yet you spit on it with this... this... horrendous disy ofbat prowess. Truly representing your lineage well, aren''t you? Just a bunch of mindless brutes incapable of anythingplex." The disdain that dripped from the Fiend''s voice was of little interest to me at all, my focus instead ced on the three pirs of rock that erupted right out of the desert in front of me, each one stabbing towards my stomach in an attempt to skewer me in ce and leave me susceptible to the sand swelling up behind me. Fighting three separate battles against Anput, Leone and I, the Fiend ignored the idle Death Jackal in the back who was watching us fighting with a slightly tensed posture, and for a moment my eyes widened briefly before I masked my expression again and focused instead on the stone flying towards me, bouncing back into the air and letting each of the three pirs crash into one another, exploding into a small cloud of shrapnel that shot straight towards me again. The sandstorm around us buffeted us with unnatural winds and a sharpness that threatened to cut into our skin if we weakened the Mana Cloaks that had be so indispensable to our arsenals, and because of these incredible winds I could feel my body being pushed around slightly as I tilted in the air, pulling away my focus from entirely offensive maneuvers and instead forcing me to think of ways to avoid messing up what I was doing. Since the winds wanted to turn me, I moved with them and swung my de towards the spiral of thousands of grains of sand, meeting the sharpened drill with my Light Mana and redirecting it to the side, where it crashed into the ground and joined the rest of the desert once again. "Why do you fight against change, little Demoness? Why fight against the inevitable? Why fight against the world itself? You only reaffirm my pity for you with this feeble attempt to live a little longer... after all, this desert is a monument of whittling down anything that dares to stand too tall." "Do you ever get tired of hearing yourself speak? No one cares, birdbrain. And shouldn''t you despise this ''monument'' that you are so clearly drawing power from? Doesn''t it stand against everything that you want?" My feet barely touched the ground before I was jumping back into the air, avoiding the Fiend''s yground entirely and instead making use of it''s fascination with me to keep it focused primarily on me, so I used my de to send more than just a few words its way. The glittering arcs of Light Mana flew harmlessly into the sky behind the Fiend as it stepped aside, its feathered head tilting slightly as it watched them even as it replied "It does, to a degree. On one hand, it stifles change and progress, but on the other... it is a harbinger of change. Everything ced within its confines is beaten down by the sands and weathered by the winds. Nothingsts here, requiring changes to be made... it''s wonderful, and yet it can be better. I can make it better." Looking back at me, the Fiend raised that golden scepter and traced out a single rune, this one glowing not brown, nor a goldish brown, but instead an iridescent blue that made me shiver as it began to warp the space in front of itself, solidifying the air and creating a mirror that showed a reflection of... me, but not actually me. I was still armored, still d in golden light, but instead of my current features, the me that was shown was scarred and showing no emotion at all, her golden eyes focused straight onto mine as she threw herself towards the mirror, those orbs aze with emotions I haven''t felt yet. It gave me pause as I stared into that mirror for a second or two, before I wrenched my gaze free and looked at the Fiend who had summoned it, wondering what trickery was afoot with a spell like that; something using the mana that originated with the Fiends themselves was never going to be simple, but I just couldn''t understand what was being shown to me... Not that it mattered, since the likely reason it had done so was to buy that second or two to send a barrage of rock needles straight at my chest, pushing me back into a pir of sand that crashed into the ground around me, trapping me inside the desert''s embrace. Chapter 1078: Chapter 1077: Bascra (4) Chapter 1078: Chapter 1077: Bascra (4) ? Kat PoV The breath that I had been holding threatened to burst from my lips as I watched my lover - the woman for whom my heart beat - get smashed into the ground and covered uppletely by sand until nothing of her remained visible to anyone. This Fiend we had been fighting was only making any progress thanks to the raw prowess it was exuding and the favorable terrain upon which we were fighting, the countless grains of sand providing it everything it needed to battle us and then some, but where it excelled in making use of said prowess, this Fiend wasn''t really adept at reading and controlling the battlefield, as shown by the fact that it had yet to realize that one of its opponents was missing. Hera was standing far away from us just watching as everything happened, the Death Jackal''s job in this moment and time being to just ensure none of us died, or at the very least allow us to experience this battle to the fullest without hering to our aid and giving us an easy way to win this fight and kill the Fiend, so the Fiend had ignored her so far, which was smart. Any attack sent to her was likely to be met with a retaliatory attack that would only draw her into the fray and add another variable to this dance of ours, and that wasn''t something that the Fiend would want; you didn''t need to be an adept strategist to understand that one, so I wasn''t surprised that Hera was being left out. Nor was I entirely surprised that it had seemingly forgotten about me since both Jahi and Leone had made themselves rather shy targets that were drawing most of the Fiend''s ire, with the golden d Demoness trying to close the distance while Leone stood atop a pir of rock Anput had made for her, wreathed in me and sending out a myriad of attacks to try and crack through the Fiend''s defenses. Anput wasn''t doing as much as she usually was, but upon watching Jahi freeze in the air for a brief second-where she was seemingly staring at empty space doing nothing at all - before being mmed into the sand below, the Jackalkin took up Jahi''s mantle in this battle as she darted forwards to engage the Fiend in close quarters as well. So I wasn''t surprised that I had lost most of its attention, and I wasn''t going to be arrogant and conceited enough to believe that this Fiend had forgotten about mepletely in this short span of time, but considering I was crouching behind the blue skinned, iridescent feathered Fiend and slowly and carefully drawing my mana from my Core and creating a spell, it would seem that the shy headdress didn''t corrte to the Fiend''s intellect. Most of my body was shrouded in a thick yet almost imperceptibleyer of mana that would protect me from a good amount of spells and other attacks, while my armor was already of a good enough quality to only make me all the more assured that I could survive at least one blow from a Fiend, at least one blow from a Fiend of this nature. I wasn''t entirely invisible either - that was something that was still far beyond what I was capable of with Wind Magic or Water Magic - but I was partially concealed by making use of both of my innate magic types as well as my understanding of some more advanced science theories that I wasn''t sure were entirely known in this world, primarily that bending light through the use of water as a medium can achieve something simr to ''invisibility''. There was most definitely an actual invisibility spell somewhere out in the world, as well as the enchantment to match, and most definitely something out there was living with an organic, built in invisibility cloak allowing them to be borderline undetectable, but for the here and now I was hoping that those things were all rarer than rare, since I was relying on tricking the Fiend''s sense of sight with this spell of mine. Since I had gotten ustomed to moving without making sound, and I had the ability to walk over ''unstable'' ground like sand without leaving behind a trace, as well as my ability to conceal my scent - and technically my ''taste'' as well - within my Mana Cloak, I was capable of practically vanishing from everyone''s primary senses, but I had no idea how Fiendish senses worked... I really need to force Cali to give me a textbook to work from for this... Either way, I was crouching behind the Fiend - barely able to be seen, not able to be heard, smelt, and tasted, and while I could be felt, it was unlikely that someone would be able to do so without those other four senses - charging up a spell that made use of not only my Ice Mana that I had continued to painstakingly ignore, but also the Lust Mana that I had gotten a deeper understanding ofst night. To be urate, I was using a spell I knew far too intimately to count as something I needed to focus on to create as a way to carry and disperse the actual spell I was trying to make use of, one that worked in ways I was unustomed to and worked in ways that required immense control and concentration, which was almost broken by the sight of my lover being buried in the sand. Even more of those tiny grains of silica began to pile up onto the spot that Jahi had been mmed into, the Fiend trying to make use of both its own magic as well as physics as it buried her alive and tried to crush her beneath the weight of all this sand. It was both crude but also rather ingenious in how simple it worked, since the Fiend''s control over the entire area meant that trying to retrieve the Demoness would be an almost impossible task without defeating the Fiend first, since trying to break through that sand coffin it hadid her into was a failing effort no matter how powerful we were. Sand was beyond abundant in this location, so anything we removed would just be reced immediately and then fortified even more than it already was, so what was the purpose in trying to retrieve her directly? That was why I had almost broken out of my concealment, this singr act causing my entire being to falter as I realized how close I was to dying in multiple ways; if Jahi perished, I would too since she was the holder of my soul, both literally and figuratively, and even if I didn''t by some leap of miraculous, divine intervention, I wouldn''t be able to keep on living a life that mattered if she died... I just don''t think I could muster up the will to live now that I had everything I ever wanted right within reach, all thanks to a single incredible woman who was perfect for me, even if she herself was nowhere near perfect.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om But... the only way I could help her now was to push through this emotional turmoil that was threatening to rend me apart and finish what I had started, my concealment from this Fiend allowing me to do something that I had done to myself and to Leone once before, although it had been by ident. That one interesting quirk that Lust Mana seemed to have, the way it worked that didn''t really seem that obvious or correct since - to almost everyone else - the word ''lust'' almost always was sexual in connotation and rarely used for anything else, at least not upon your initial hearing of the word. That quirk being the ''lust'' that drives everyone to do anything at all; more specifically - and honestly what it''s name should actually be - desire to live, to breathe, to work towards a goal and achieve something for yourself, for the collective, for the world... that was that fun little quirk that I was beginning to focus on, and whilst I used itst night to amplify the desires everyone had to have sex, right now the best use of that magic was theplete opposite. I wanted to force this Fiend to experience the emptiness of being void of desire in it''s entirety, to have all the color and light from it''s existence sapped awaypletely for however long I could manage to catch it by surprise. So, I poured my mana into this formless spell and molded it to my own desires, giving it shape and purpose even as it''s own purpose became... nothing; where my icicle spell relied on logic and symbology to give it shape and purpose, this Lust Mana required my will and nothing else. As long as I desired for this formless pink energy to be something, it would do so, at least as long as I was capable of wrangling this almost sentient magic to do what I wanted it to do, which was almost a herculean task as I funneled it into the icicle and aimed it at the Fiend, knowing that I had to get the ''catalyst'' close enough to the Fiend for this to work. Boulders continued to appear and splinter apart at the Fiend''s discretion, the sand of the desert moved against us at a constant rate, mes shed inside the sandstorm and burnt everything it touched, turning the sand into something new as it turned into ss, only for it to shatter again as something crashed nearby. The battlefield was still hectic, but for now, in this small portion of it, a rather unassuming pinkish blue needle was flying straight at the back of the Fiend, ignoring the winds and producing little sound that could be caught by anyone''s hearing thanks to the sts and explosions happening around us. All of my hope was inside that little needle as I maintained the connection between me and the pink mist swirling around inside it, using my Lust Mana for the first time inside of a realbat situation that had stakes involved. Chapter 1079: Chapter 1078: Bascra (5) Chapter 1079: Chapter 1078: Bascra (5) ? The needle whistled through the air almost imperceptibly, and I noticed instantly that the Fiend made no move at all to deflect or avoid it, so without much suspense at all that pinkish needle pierced through the lower back of the blue skinned Fiend and allowed me to crack the catalyst apartpletely even as they hissed sharply from the pain. It was sudden, and practically instant how they went from hissing to stiffening up, almost like they had been struck by lightning; their muscles seized while their ''expression'' - at the very least, their facial muscles - ckened, and the most obvious part that let me know that my strategy had yielded incredible results was how the twin orbs of sapphire dimmed considerably within their sockets. The Fiend was now motionless, and considering theck of emotion in their eyes, it would seem that my frightening connection to my new magic was proven to be just as potent as I thought it would be since this powerful being we had been in the midst of fighting was no longer moving, not even as Leone''s mes zoomed through the air or as Anput summoned a storm of des andunched them at the Fiend as quickly as she could. There was no movement even as I unsheathed my Khopesh and leapt up onto the Fiend''s turned shoulders, my de chopping at the wiry muscles that connected the feathery head to the blue skinned torso below and sending a beautiful arc of iridescent blood sttering across the sands below. Letting out a grunt, the Fiend blinked once before furrowing its brow as it looked at me, those sapphire eyes trying to focus on me as I raised my Khopesh once more, the bluish metal shimmering with its own blood as I chopped back down just like I was trying to cut down a tree, the toothed inner crescent severing the sinews messily as I deepened the cut and revealed the interesting skeleton beneath the flesh; unsurprisingly, it seemed all of these Fiends were thoroughly color coded thanks to whatever domain they resided under, so everything was just... blue. Blue blood, blue flesh, blue bones... all of it was blue, but it was gradually turning ck as giant bolts of superheated me crashed against the Fiend''s chest, the various des acting as pins that dissipated the heat inside of the Fiend''s body to ensure it was thoroughly cooked as it just stood there, unmotivated to even preserve its life as it endured an astronomical amount of pain. It was a battle for me to keep the Lust Mana under control, ensuring that I sapped away this magically attuned being''s ability to do anything at all since at the moment, it wasn''t desiring to do anything at all, even as it was beingpletely and utterly decimated in so many different ways. This Lust Mana was somehow overriding biological instincts of self preservation, and as I buried the Khopesh into the Fiend''s neck and gave the feathered head a push, I couldn''t help but curl my lip slightly as I watched it crash to the ground and ept what was happening, only to begin screaming as I leapt away and relinquished control of the spell, unable to maintain it any longer. The bond between me and the pink mist was a constant tug of war between my mind and it, and I had an instinctual feeling that if I lost that game - if I actually lost it, not this willing retreat - I wouldn''t be able to bear the consequences, and besides that nagging I felt in the back of my mind, there was the currentck of feeling in my fingertips and the fuzziness that only continued to grow in my head as the entirety of my brain was softened into a mush. It felt so wrong to watch this Fiend writhing around on the ground like a mortal as it was burnt alive, and yet as the mes began to shift from the vibrant oranges to the blinding yellows and even bing slightly white, I could understand itpletely... especially since there were those metal rods that were beginning to melt and trickle inside of the Fiend''s body, spreading the damage even more. I dropped to my knees as well as I panted, dragging in as much oxygen as I could - even though it was blistering hot andced with sand - as my vision began to swim, the lightheadedness from the Lust Mana getting the better of me while my Core throbbed painfully beside my heart, demanding an adequate resupply of mana before I did anything else. That pink mist was still lingering around the dying Fiend, poking and prodding it as it continued to leech from my Core, sustaining itself and refusing to go away as it took and took, the connection between us feeling almost physical as I watched it drift aroundzily. It almost seemed alive with how it was hovering just out of reach of both my hands and my mana at this point, and that theory felt even more supported when Cali appeared beside me and pursed her lips, her pink eyes narrowing as she stared down at me coldly, the Arch Fiend saying nothing even as she reached forwards and grabbed the tether between me and the pink mist. She almost seemed somewhat disappointed as she pinched her fingers and severed that linkpletely, freeing me of the parasitic Lust Mana and allowing me to begin recuperating as I filled my lungs with overheated air, though even as part of my mind was made curious of what had made my contracted ''friend'' appear and give me aid, more of me was focused on the thing that was giving me arge amount of anxiety and making it hard to feel like I could actually breathe; Jahi was still trapped beneath the sand, and now with the Fiend no longer in control... All of that sand had dropped to the ground and was currently pressing down on the Demoness, and whilst a single grain of sand was of little consequence, dozens of thousands of them were a big deal, if not hundreds of thousands of grains, all piled atop her body and slowly crushing her beneath its weight. So even though Cali was right here, staring at me and likely waiting for me to be lucid enough toprehend whatever it was that she wanted to say to me, I unsteadily rose to my feet and began to stumble over towards the ce I had seen Jahist, ignoring the burning Fiend and instead hastily wing at the sand as I began to dig into the desert. Anput joined me not even a momentter, leaving Leone alone to handle the Fiend as she continued toyer spell after spell onto the bird headed Fiend, the Vampire''s arcane prowess more than enough to finish this ''fight'' that we had gotten ourselves into. The Jackalkin and I began to use our mana to tear through the sand as quickly as we could, stabbing our hands into it and shoving it to the side as we gradually dug a pit into the desert, where we were met with the radiant golden light of Jahi''s mana, the Demoness feeling the lightening of the load above her and working to meet us in the middle as best she could. As soon as her hand was freed from the desert''s deadly embrace, Anput and I began to clear away the sand from the rest of her before we pulled her up and out of the ground, bringing the Demoness back into the world of the living as she hacked out the sand that had be trapped inside her lungs and shook her entire body, trying to remove the grains that had snuck past her barrier and found their way into her clothing. "Gods be damned..! That was far too close forfort..!" Coughing hard, Jahi shook her head and tried to reorient herself as she looked around, doing everything to get back into the fight as quickly as she could, only to pause as she saw the Fiend writhing on the sand and smacking at its ckened body. "What... happened up here..?"N?v(el)B\\jnn "Kat happened~! On one hand, I want to be proud that she managed to so easily create a prototype spell that made use of the ''negative lust'' people can feel, but on the other she needs to be punished for being so haphazard in deploying something like that..." Cali appeared beside us and grinned at Jahi, the snake haired Arch Fiend capturing the Demoness'' attention as she added "And I would love to be the one giving her that punishment, but sadly I would be overstepping my bounds in doing so... Instead, I think that falls to you~! Oh, and the other thing~! This little upstart was actually rather... tame... but~! And I do like butts~! There is something interesting inside that city, something that most certainly made this idiot be so hasty~! Shall we head on inside~?" Chapter 1080: Chapter 1079: Bascra (6) Chapter 1080: Chapter 1079: Bascra (6) ? The Arch Fiend decided that saying that alone was more than enough of a contribution on her side, so before we could even ask her what we would be looking for or if there was a need for urgency to get to this ''thing'' that we were meant to be intrigued by, she of course just dissipated into a puff of pink smoke right as we couldprehend what she said. We all shared a look before Jahi just let out a sigh and shook herself out again, the Demoness trying to get rid of all of the sand as she gestured loosely at the smoldering corpse behind us, saying "Well, before we can head on in we need to dismantle the Fiend''s corpse and figure out what we earned from this." Anput and I nodded at one another as we withdrew our knives and covered them in our mana, slicing into the Fiend''s charred flesh and searching for the things that we could make use of, which was primarily the Fiend''s bones, though Anput also went about defeathering the Fiend as well, piling the iridescent plumage off to the side for whatever it was that she wanted to do with them. As we worked, Leone eventually joined us after she tended to Jahi, who was now standing above us watching us closely, our typical distribution ofboring to us easily as we settled into the routine we had created for us in Zhu''Rong Caverns all that time ago. "This also just seems so... weird, doesn''t it? ''Caligo did say that the Fiends we were running into at this moment in time are the little guppies swimming around causing a ruckus, but surely even the ''guppies'' would have a bit more bite to them? And I know it''s odding from me, who was almost buried alive, but... that felt too easy, didn''t it?" The Demoness'' musings made me check the System notifications to verify that this Fiend had ¨C in fact ¨C died, and upon seeing the millions of experience waiting to be acknowledged by this kill, I shrugged my shoulders as I replied "If we were to go one on one with any of these Fiends, I sincerely doubt we could walk away from that fight entirely intact. Maybe we wouldn''t even be able to walk away, since we''d be dead. But all four of us? Together? Jahi, we have a rather impressive skillset spread between us, and as arrogant as it sounds..." Yanking the Fiend''s humerus free from its socket, I studied the dazzling blue bone for a moment as I felt the mana lingering around its surface, the drops of oily blood sizzling on the hot sands in an interesting way. "We really are just that strong when ced as a group. I mean, Leone''s magic is incredible given her age, and it''s boosted by our surrounding area - each breath you take isden with Fire Mana, after all - while Anput has a really solid mana herself that''s paired with her insane ability to wield all kinds of weapons with adequate proficiency. Then there''s your insane natural physique being boosted by one of the strongest mana types known to mortals?"N?v(el)B\\jnn I nced at Jahi as I raised the bone in my hand, showing it to her as I finished by saying "And to round us out, I have both Ice Magic - which is rare in these areas - as well as the ability to very crudely wield Lust Mana? We cover so many different types of opponents with such ease that it makes sense that we manage to win so easily, and since all we do is train, eat, sleep and have sex..." "I guess so... still, it just feels odd. I mean, I guess not that odd considering you just... I don''t know; what did you do?" "She somehow managed to make the Fiend immobile, kind of anyways... it didn''t even move to do anything when it was being burned alive, or when she was hacking at its neck. Which... speaking of, Kat, thanks for letting it melt when Leone cooked it to a crisp.'' My mate gave me a slight re as she tossed my Khopesh off to the side, the blue de darkened from Leone''s mes and really disfigured, making my weapon rather unusable thanks to the warped crescent that just simply wouldn''t cut as cleanly as it did before; it wouldn''t even cut in a way that would make things pretty since it would just be pretty annoying to use. So instead I just gave her an apologetic smile that made her click her tongue and shake her head, though she didn''t berate me further and instead allowed Jahi to nod as she looked me up and down, the Demoness'' eyes sparkling with a few different emotions. "So you got a little bit of practice inst night with your Lust Mana and found a way to make use of it? But how would..?" I continued to work on dismantling the corpse even as I replied "It would seem that the mana that Cali supplies to me is capable of being used to drain pleasure as well as amplify it. It can make you feel really good and bubbly, or it can sap away almost all of your ability to feel... well, anything at all, really, which was terrifying the few times I identally did that to myself. The thing is, I don''t think it''ll work on the higher level Fiends, at least not with how it currently is... least of all because I can barely control it." Jahi nodded again before falling quiet, letting us get to work andpletely turn the Fiend into it''s subsequent parts, arge pile of bones, a pile of feathers, and even some of its organs decorated the sands around us, and as I took in just how much we needed to take back with us, Hera made herself known again as she said "You needn''t worry about transporting this back to Muqai Al-Maedin, Begum. We shall take care of it." With the death of the Fiend, the city of Bascra no longer had need to keep the barriers active, so the Death Jackals that had been sent to keep the city safe and prepare to take on the Fiend were now standing around us protectively instead. Anput grinned as she nodded gratefully at Hera, who just gestured at the various ck d Jackalkin so that she could remain by our side as we made our way towards the city, where the people were waiting to look upon saviors, their curiosity overwriting their fear and worry from earlier. The city itself had an older feel to it then everywhere else we had been so far, the sandstone bricks weathered and pockmarked by age while the roads themselves were slightly sunken into the desert from overuse. Even the style seemed older; you could see the simrities between the architecture disyed here and the architecture that dominated Muqai Al-Maedin, but it was far simpler and even somewhat crude here, the various domes and lowered buildingscking arge amount of depth and detailing that we had seen back in the capital city. That was its own charm though, and where the people of Muqai Al-Maedin matched their city by having a more vibrant style and disyed an abundance of energy, the people of Bascra wore simple robes and donned veils or keffiyeh''s to keep the sand from doing too much damage. They seemed quieter and more serious, but as we strode into the city and came face to face with them, they let out a relieved cheer as they moved closer, their tion showing with how they almost ignored the bristling Death Jackal''s beside us, though as soon as their scimitar''s were peeking out of their sheathes, the people maintained their distance and cheered from afar. Jahi seemed to find the attention as enjoyable as ever, as did Anput as the two waved at the crowd, while Leone donned her practiced smile as she joined them, though when Jahi muttered "I kinda feel like a fraud... I mean, I got smooshed right away it feels like..." I couldn''t help but chuckle, while Anput didn''t bother to hide herughter at all as she turned to grin at us, though as she did so something flew just an inch beside her face. The ng of metal on metal caused all of our heads to snap towards the source, where we found one of the Death Jackal''s brandishing their scimitar and parrying something out of the air; another metal needle spun around before sinking into the sand beside us, the thin foot long spike of metal glittering beneath the sun and bringing questions to our mind that needed to be answered. Preferably by the person shooting them at us from a nearby rooftop, and Hera had the same thought I did as she gave orders to our retinue, using hand signals that sent two Death Jackals sprinting forwards, their strides long enough to cover the distance in mere seconds. As they made their way towards the robed figure above us, another Death Jackal deflected another barrage of needles from the other side, causing me to click my tongue as I cast a Wind Cloak spell over all of us, going for protection first before I lifted the needle with my Wind Magic and sent it hurtling back towards its owner, who barely managed to duck as it whistled past their cheek. "Well this is one hell of a greeting, wouldn''t you agree~?" Chapter 1081: Chapter 1080: The Fingers (1) Chapter 1081: Chapter 1080: The Fingers (1) ? Another pair of Death Jackals rushed over to the new target, hoping to take advantage of the person''s drop to close the distance before they could do anything, leaving us with fewer guards than before, though that meant little to us as we began to work instead on keeping the crowd safe. I wanted to rush out there and find one or two of these assassins for myself so that I could ensure they understood just how displeased I was at this attempt on my lover''s lives, but at the same time I didn''t really want the people to be caught in this for no reason... or really, I wanted to protect the children who were cowering with their parents or siblings right now; that was who I actually cared about.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om There was little room in my heart for random strangers, but I could never find myself to be apathetic towards a child who had no real option to either protect themselves or run in some of these situations; they just weren''t strong enough, experienced enough or grown enough to understand these things, and I couldn''t hold it against them. So I had no problem at all beckoning the various Jackalkin and other Beastkin toe gather around in the center of the entrance square, but as they did I clicked my tongue as a shorter woman bared her fangs and lunged at me with a dagger, trying to close the distance between us as quickly as she could so that she could sink the hidden weapon deep into my throat and get rid of mepletely. The panicked screams and shouts from the men, women and children around us was a bit grating as I grabbed the woman''s wrist, fighting against her surprise attack and pushing against her entire body weight as she tried to sink her de into my flesh; growling at me as she leaned into the attack, the Caninekin woman hissed "Die for me, mulhid! You do not belong in our desert!" even as I pushed her back. Before someone could do something rather scarring and traumatizing for the surrounding citizens, I reached forwards with my free hand and grabbed her face, sting her with a deep chill and causing the woman to let out a pained shriek as she dropped her dagger and tried to wrench my hand away, only to stiffen as the frost consumed her brain and put her to sleep. A nice, long, permanent sleep, though as I let her slump to the ground rtively calmly for my sort of kill, I couldn''t help but sigh as I heard a few other bodies hit the ground much harder, and the screaming began again as the Death Jackal''s around us efficiently cut down the other hidden assassins who had infiltrated the group of civilians to ambush us. The wet sound of blood sshing against the brick beneath our feet made me shiver slightly as I let out another sigh, realizing I could have just blown this idiot''s head clean off if we weren''t going to be considerate, but after a moment of contemtion I just shrugged and instead began to weave together another few spells to keep them safe before I decided that moving around would be a better use of my time instead of babysitting. Jahi retrieved her great sword from the cracked brick and joined me right away, causing Hera to begin issuing orders as she moved to keep up with us, since Anput and Leone were just a step behind as we made our way towards the first ranged assassin. "These are the ''Fingers'', right? Those pricks seem to have horrible timing, but it makes me wonder... do you think they are also going after that thing that ''Caligo found interesting? Did they know this Fiend would be here, or did they just happen to be in the right ce at the right time?" The Demoness'' musings made me shrug as I leapt onto the rooftop from before, where the two Death Jackals were standing over the unconscious body of the assassin, a pile of weaponry and ammunition seated right beside them too. "I don''t know, but I would think this one here would give us the answers we need. Some, anyways. Do you want to question them, or are we heading towards the noise? Seems like the guards in the center are getting attacked... maybe this is more than just a roaming band of ''Fingers''?" I crouched beside the man and pulled away the simple keffiyeh to reveal the scarred and rather handsome face of the assassin, though for the moment the swelling cheek marred his appearance and made me chuckle softly as I nced at the two warriors, wondering who decided for this tried and true approach. "Make it quick, Kat. Just answers, nothing else; no fun to be had here just yet, anyways. You can y with himter." My mate was appraising the weapons and taking a moment to learn whatever she could from them whilst Leone studied the three small vials on the ground beside the weapons, giving each a hesitant sniff. Jahi was staring out over the city as she waited for me to get to work, so I just shrugged as I pulled out one of my smaller knives and decided to do just that, keeping the de somewhat hidden as I decided to try another strategy instead first. Gently caressing his swollen cheek, I gave the man a quick ''shock'' as I chilled my hand down enough to slice through the fog of unconsciousness he had unwillingly fallen into, and as he tried to sit up and get his bearings, I pressed my hand against his cheek and turned him towards me. Healing him slightly, I whispered "It''s alright... you''re alright... you''re safe.", trying to keep my tone as soothing as possible as I mixed my Lust Mana into my hand as well, letting some of that pink mist seep into his skin and shroud his mind in a new haze; a wee haze as he nodded, his eyes clouding over slightly as he took a few deep breaths, staring straight into my eyes. His prior fright of being knocked out was dissipating fast, but it was just that which was making it this easy, his minds safeguards not fully in ce like they were before, which allowed me to do this as easily as I had as I gave him a smile and asked "Do you remember why you are here? You can tell me..." For a brief moment hesitation flickered in his dark brown eyes, but as more Lust Mana trickled into his head, he nodded once more and said "I... I was sent to keep watch... for the Caliph... He wanted me to cover for him...", his voice raspy and dry; when I summoned a small sphere of water, he smiled back and took a sip before saying "Many thanks, jamil." "And what did the ''Caliph'' want you to cover for him..? Is he doing something?" Another moment of hesitation made me purse my lips as the de in my other hand grew heavier, but the man said "He is heading for the libraries. Apparently they hold the key to greatness, jamil. Notes and research on how to convert the sands to soil! Imagine that, jamil; a bountifulnd of green, not harsh gold. Grass, water, crops..! As far as the eye could see!" The excitement that coursed through him was manyfold, and as he smiled at me again I held back the urge to shiver as he said "A world like that... wouldn''t you like to live in it, jamil? A world perfect for having a family... a family that-!" Before he could finish, the man''s eyes widened in horror as a needle was shoved into his throat precisely, piercing hisrynx and causing him to fall quiet as he could no longer form specific sounds as he choked on whatever had beenced over that metal needle. Releasing his cheek, I clicked my tongue as I stood up and sheathed my dagger, not sparing him another nce as I instead looked towards Anput, who had stabbed the man; instantly she spat on him as she growled "Stop calling my woman beautiful in front of me... especially like that." before she turned to me and said "So they want to turn the desert into a prosperousnd like the Empire... same as the Fiend. Interesting." Hera stepped forwards and bowed slightly as she asked "Apologies, but that makes me wonder; are they perhaps an unrted, coincidental urrence then? There was a lot of different research teams working in Bascra, so it isn''t impossible that someone made a discovery recently - or think they are close to one - in terms of spreading the oasis'' even further." "Don''t know just yet, do we? Possible as it is, there is the other possibility that they were in work with this Fiend from who knows how long ago; either way, the obvious next step is to head to the center and stop this ''Caliph'' from getting whatever it is that they want. I doubt these ''Fingers'' are as magnanimous as they are trying to make themselves out to be. Changing the climate of an entire country is preposterous, even for the Empress. At least, making it stable and livable anyways..." Chapter 1082: Chapter 1081: The Fingers (2) Chapter 1082: Chapter 1081: The Fingers (2) ? There was battles throughout the city as various members of the ''Fingers'' made moves against the guards and the various other warriors that resided in Bascra, keeping them from reaching the libraries that were built in the center of the city, surrounded by everything else as a defensive measure for something they viewed as important. But also, the further we ran into the city, the older the architecture got as we made our way into the original city of Bascra, and it really did feel rather cinematic as we rushed through the streets and leapt past the various civilian dressed rogues brandishing knives and short swords as they entangled themselves with thew. "There seems to be quite a few of these ''Fingers'' around here; how big is this organization? Surely they can''t be that big inside of a country like this? I mean, the Sultana and you Death Jackals... how have they been able to avoid being stamped outpletely over the years?" Hera clicked her tongue softly at my words, the Death Jackal not sparing me a nce as she leapt past me and took the spot at the front, guiding us in whilst a few other Death Jackal''s rushed behind us, keeping us inside their ring of protection as best they could. It was Anput who responded, the Jackalkin Begum chuckling softly as she answered "The reason there are so many is simple; most of the criminal gangs end up being absorbed into the Finger''s eventually, and so we have a single giant entity of crime instead of a myriad of smaller entities. The other reason for them being here still is because they are like cockroaches; impossible to killpletely since their leaders are so damn hard to find, and with their leaders still alive, more idiots choose crime over actualbor and an honest life." "So the leaders are too elusive and the people too stupid to realize they are being used as fodder. Fun. A recipe that knows no bounds at all for how irritating it could be; still though, are they just not that much of a problem in total, or is it just that difficult to try and find them?" "Yes."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om That was all Anput gave me as she batted aside one of the dozen needles that shot towards us, the Death Jackals deflecting the others before they could reach us and using their magics to slingshot them back, catching some of the Finger''s by surprise and dropping them to the ground as they were given a taste of their own poisons, something that Leone was bing keen to tell us about. "Did you know that they utilize some sort of scorpion venom to create a far more dangerous toxin that doesn''t actually need a scratch to deal damage to you? It''s a sort of paralytic venom that they amplified with other herbs to turn it from a venom into a poison; something that only needs minimal contact instead to get rid of their opponents temporarily, and something that is rather painful too if it is allowed to fester." "All I''m hearing is these are some mean pricks that are getting what''sing to them. Nice to know; Kat, are you interested in making use of these poisons or venoms or whatever the hell they are? I wouldn''t mind a live demonstration..." That made me roll my eyes as I didn''t give the Demoness a reply, though when Leone happily said "I wouldn''t mind that at all! It''d be fun to try and guess the herbs they used from a live demonstration; perhaps I could even reverse engineer it or concoct the antidote in front of them to have some practice?" we all couldn''t help but raise a brow as we looked at the Vampire curiously. "What? These people are willing to harm innocents for no reason, even going so far as to endanger helpless women and children with their violence. They deserve it, especially since they deploy a concoction like this in crowded spaces." "I always forget how weirdly benevolent and caring you can be, Leone... it doesn''t usually match with the rest of us, but then you get like this and you very much do match the rest of us..." She just grunted and didn''t reply as we continued onwards, finally making it to the center as we rushed past the various grunts and instead focused on reaching the elites of this rogue group, and as soon as we reached therge, squat buildings that had very obvious ornamentation to denote their importance, we noticed instantly how many more people were herepared to the streets we had just been running through. We were forced to notice since a myriad of guards were struggling to push back a wave of Fingers who were brandishingrger weapons than before, and as I took a closer look for a brief moment I saw that the various spears and other two handed weapons that were clearly assembled using multiple parts, which meant they had snuck into the city somehow and gathered themselves an arsenal. There were, of course, a few warriors here and there that weren''t dressed like normal civilians and instead wearing armor and wieldingrge des and even making use of some advanced spells, which was causing the guards to slowly be pushed back as they tried to hold the line; as soon as we emerged onto the scene, three of those said warriors beat down their opponents and rushed into the libraries, with one shouting "Drink those damn potions and buy us time! Anyone who survives will get a noble''s ransom and a Noblewoman to ke their thirst!" as they disappeared. A brutish cheer emerged amongst the rogues at the promise of money and sex, and before we could actually understand the situation and make a judgement call on what to do, a dozen of the rogues uncorked potions and downed them instantly, the murky red liquid making them shudder as they started to be wellsprings of mana, their bodies growingrger and stronger with this influx of energy. Muscles swelled to a new size, bones cracked beneath the pressure before healing again as they supported this new mass, wisps of mana sweated out of their reddened skin as they began to easily cut through the shields and spears of the guards, jolting us into action immediately as we watched the first dozen guards drop to the ground, cleaved in two or missing limbs. The damage dealt in mere moments was absurd, these berserker like potions giving the Fingers a clear edge as they hacked and shed through the guards before spinning around to face us, their weapons raised and dripping with viscera as they let out guttural roars and battlecries, not afraid at all by the ck d Jackalkin. "Be careful with them, that potion is undeniably special... who knows how strong they are now, or if they can even keep that mana under control." Leone''s warning was enough to give Anput and Jahi momentary pause, but they both just nced at one another before rushing in behind the Death Jackals, their weapons raised as they charged into the fray and crashed into the various drugged up rogues. Their theatrics would normally make me shake my head and share a wry smile with Leone before I got to work, but seeing something like this really did make me cautious since I had far too many memories of various berserker potions or perks that turned low level idiots into strong monsters that dealt so much damage everyone else would be sweating at the mere thought of facing them. Caution was still one of my bywords I tried to live by, so I stayed back with Leone and opened up with a support spell on both Anput and Jahi, cloaking the two warriors in both a Wind and a Water Cloak as I gave them enhanced reflexes and healing all at the same time, knowing that Anput''s speed being heightened was unlikely to be matched whilst Jahi''s strength being sped up only meant death for most people, so defense was less neededpared to their offense. Of course I wasn''t going to be conceited either, so as soon as that was up I wove together the runes for a Domain Spell that would help keep thisrge crowd of potioned up idiots controlled somewhat, and that was done with a very simple - yet ever effective - gale of frozen wind that buffeted directly against their face, the temperature dropping and allowing a thinyer of frost to begin creeping along their robes and gear. With the frost being so widespread and there being a rather potent source of heat right beside me, the next order of business was keeping those winds high as Leone lobbed fireballs at them, arcing them over Anput and Jahi''s heads and allowing them to crash to the ground and burn everything around them, resulting in an excess amount of vapor filling the air as my frost was melted away instantly by Leone''s mes. Chapter 1083: Chapter 1082: The Fingers (3) Chapter 1083: Chapter 1082: The Fingers (3) ? With the warriors shing in front of us in that ever brutish dance of death that held such a beautifully morbid fascination in everyone''s minds, I was expecting this to be more of a swift, violent quickstep type dance where Jahi and the others simply overwhelmed these drugged up rogues with both strength and technique, but I was sorely mistaken. This wasn''t a quickstep; it was a formal waltz through and through, with changing partners and sincerity and seriousness that was usually hard to replicate for us at this point, which made me clench my jaw as I felt worry beginning to creep into my mind at that realization. It wasn''t that these rogues were capable warriors at all - it wasn''t that, nor was it their rtive cohesion either that was a tad surprising from a group like this - but instead it was the fact that the amount of strength that they exuded now that the potions had fully settled in was rather high even for a buff potion that most definitely traded health for more damage output. This was most definitely an insidious, one time use potion that would only leave the consumer twitching on the floor in a few minutes after consumption, but the problem was that even if it was just a minute or three it was so outrageously potentpared to anything I could even think of, and that was extremely worrisome. They were able to easily stand against a Demoness and even begin pushing her back in some cases, which was something that I had seen very few people be able to do in this lifetime, and likely something I was rarely going to see considering how outrageously incredible Demon blood was. And yet here we were, witnessing as a man with wide, strained eyes growled at Jahi like a hound infected with rabies, his rtively simple war spear crossing over her great sword as they stood in a stalemate, the mana of both warriors shing together even before their weapons could meet; we knew the materials of Jahi''s de was infinitely better than whatever alloyed metal that spear was made from, but right now that didn''t matter whatsoever. The rogue was simply exuding that much - and such potent - mana from his skin that it created an involuntary cloak around himself without him doing anything at all, which then paired with the spell he had crudely cast on himself before he had consumed the potion to form a doped up ''weapon'' that could pretty much go toe to toe with Light Mana. Which was terrifying, since this man had rtively basic and unimpressive Fire Mana that was almost akin to the dangers of an open campfire; it''s capable of dealing harm to most people if they don''t have protections, and it can growrger and stronger with fuel, but for the most part it was controble and not that dangerous to those who knew what they were doing. Now it was a superheated forge capable of almost melting itself with the sheer heat that was being generated constantly, meaning one wrong misstep would lead to extreme damage anywhere at all, even on the man himself, which was evident by the blisters forming on his skin. And that was just him; the rest of hispatriots were in simr states, and while they were dealing little damage at all to Anput and the Death Jackals, the guards were sadly not as lucky, and even as Leone and I focused on separating them from the current threat, many of them were sadly cut down or otherwise killed, leaving a lucky few to run away and allow the ire of these berserkers tond on the properly trained and well equipped warriors capable of handling them. For those few seconds where we were focused on removing the distractions from the field of y, Jahi was forced to take the aggro of a few of the rogues all at once, and while that first one was trying to pin her down two others leapt at her from the sides to crush her between the three of them, all while the remaining ten or so rushed at the Death Jackals and tried to im the heads of the Sultanate''s deadliest warriors. Thanks to the Death Jackal''s preferred style of agility basedbat, those two leaping rogues were easily redirected as the thinner, yet mana empowered bodies of the Death Jackals mmed into them, sending them staggering away from Jahi and allowing her to focus on the individual in front of her for the time being. Leone and I were watching her closely, and the moment that we could take all of our remaining mana and focus off of everything else we gave her the support she needed, knowing that we were in a rtively tight position ourselves since our spells were limited thanks to said agility of the Death Jackals - and Anput as well, who had forsaken the idea of head onbat when she noticed Jahi being almost stonewalledpletely. So the impossibly hot mes that Leone loved to wield were a no go, and I couldn''t focus on too much of a blistering cold gale since it could impair the reflexes of our own fighters, cing us into that tight spot that needed us to think quickly, which wasn''t that difficult at all for us. Since offensive spells were so limited, the best thing for us then would be to drop that idea entirely and focus on support based magic, which we were rather adept in, especially when it came to single target buffs that would help a single person turn a drugged up idiot into a dead drugged up idiot. And since Wind Magic was such a potent fuel source for Fire Magic - if used correctly and the two mages were, oh I don''t know, extremely close and even linked through rather loosely understood Vampire rted bonds - we could give Jahi an enormous boost of power that would hopefully even this dance of hers at the bare minimum. So when she felt her elbows and shoulders begin to warm up as Leone''s mana wrapped around those areas, the Demoness nted her feet even more than she had and began to focus on her upper body as she angled her de against the spear in such a way that a sudden burst of explosive power would result in rather gory results for the one holding the spear. First the mes welled up around her joints, and then came the small gusts that caressed her arms as she stood there, her muscles strained as she pushed against the spear and kept it from slicing down towards her throat, which would not only sever her head from her shoulders - an ''injury'' I had no idea how to cure if it was possible to cure - but also cauterize the wound as well, which I most definitely had not learnt how to deal with just yet either. With the berserker snarling at her and causing a few sinews in his arms and shoulders to pop as they snapped free as he tried to kill her, Jahi did really well at not faltering even as saliva spattered across her face as his snarling grew worse, but I doubt she even felt it since she was so focused on not dying, which was pretty important. Controlling the gusts around her arms was slightly difficult, since it couldn''t interact with the mes just yet, and with the timing being rather precise, we were all under pressure right now, but thankfully this was something Leone and I had done before, and as soon as the mes red into being and began to drive her arms forwards, I infused my Wind Mana into those mes and gave them the boost necessary to let Jahi overpower this berserker. Her golden Light Mana was almost solid with how thick she had it between him and her, and as her arms swung forwards to smash against his own barrier of near solid mana that golden sheet almost instantly shattered the flimsier, less put together mana that was rolling off of the man''s skin like vapors, though he was so far gone that he barely understood what was happening as her de sliced cleanly through his upper torso and came out the back in a fraction of a second. No blood sprayed out as he stood there, staring at her nkly as he heard the spear ng to the ground in two separate pieces, and even as she lowered her shoulder and bashed him square in the chest there was little ''beauty'' in this kill from my standards, though watching as his top half flopped to the ground while his legs remained in ce was interesting enough, especially since they took a step back and tripped over his severed torso. Even then though, the reason we saw little blood wasn''t because it was just such a clean slice; it was because the potion was working overtime to try and keep the man alive, and as he tried to reorient his lower half to his upper half I could see the flesh and organs trying to knit together while his blood trickled out very slowly. A heavy stomp to the skull stopped him from doing anything though, and Jahi didn''t give the berserker much acknowledgement as she instead charged towards the next one, taking some pressure off of one of the Death Jackal''s as she lowered her shoulder again and barreled into the closest one, throwing them off bnce and making it simple to finish them off too.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Chapter 1084: Chapter 1083: The Fingers (4) Chapter 1084: Chapter 1083: The Fingers (4) ? As Jahi cleaved another berserker into two pieces, Leone and I turned towards the rest of the enemies in the square and began to weave together some less destructive yet still deadly spells to put down the neers who were rushing towards us with their weapons raised. Thankfully these Fingers that were trying to help turn the tides didn''t have ess to the same potions that the other Fingers here had, so as they brandished their daggers and short swords Leone and I took this as an opportunity to practice our ability to target moving enemies with precision based spells. I worked with needles as I practiced both my precision and my knowledge on anatomy as I sent these rogues tumbling to the ground to be stamped on by theirrades, ensuring I had some toys to y withter and also some potential springs of information to help the Death Jackals with finding some other cells of these Fingers out in the Sultanate; if not, I would have myself some fresh meat to carve away at and practice onter... I had some decent ideas on how to have both fun and learn at the same time, and to do so I would need to have a couple ''willing'' canvases to work onter, and if I could take an entire day to ke my thirst for blood and also practice my abilities with my Lust Mana in a controlled environment. Though if I do that I most certainly will need to make sure Anput, Leone and Jahi were all satisfied and willing to let me have a bit of a leash when I was ying around with my Lust Mana, since I had a feeling that - to start, anyways - I was going to need to make use of a bunch of different seduction techniques that would be toeing the line of adultery back in my world, and here as well. I imagine I would need to do a LOT of convincing to get them to let me be for a few hours with these prisoners, but it would be well worth it if I could promise them some incredible results from the various experiments I could run on them, since those results would create some rather fun times for everyone involved. Either way, I sent another barrage of ice needles straight into the crowd of rogues, only to nce at Leone as I said "Please don''t kill all of them, Leone. I want a couple of them alive forter, alright?", the Vampire''s dancing mes leaping from rogue to rogue as she burnt them alive and left ckened corpses sprawled out on the ground. "Oh... Alright, I can do that, but you need to make sure they don''t get back up then."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Her tone was nonchnt again as she controlled the sphere of me and sent it soaring straight into the air, casting a hellish glow over the square as she picked out her targets more carefully as I took out another few for myself, peppering their bodies with needles and numbing them with just enough frost to keep them down for the next few minutes. Being able to put them down and keep them immobile was a benefit of my magic affinity that I was forever grateful for, and it was always something that I was going to be thankful that I chose since it had such a versatility that only more advanced magics could match. Each needle sunk into their flesh and anchored itself to their bones as they solidifiedpletely inside of their bodies, leaving them with the very agonizing process of trying to yank off a frozen part of themselves and potentially break and remove their bone if they went through with it, and since that was extremely painful and very much against their brain''s survival logic that none of them did so, instead reluctantly giving up and trying to find new ways to escape as they writhed around on the ground. On the other''s side, the berserkers were beginning to feel the effects of the poisonous, doubled edged sword they had willingly taken within themselves, their Cores pumping out more and more mana to strengthen them only to start drawing on the reserves that kept them alive, resulting in sloppier motor skills and deep rooted panic as they realized that the addicting thrill of having all their strength unlocked all at once was something that had a very heavy price. The moment they started making mistakes was the moment they were granted the sweet release of death as the Death Jackals disyed the difference between cheating for power and earning it yourself, their des singing as they efficiently cut them into pieces and left them scattered across the ground in messy, bloody piles. Jahi was the one to try and make the most of this dip in performance as she swung her heavy de over and over again, each swing burying itself into someone''s body and allowing her to pull them apart in the most painful ways possible, the Demoness exerting her strength and ridding herself of the mild irritation she had felt from being almost pushed back a few moments ago. The tides of the battle were simr to the tides of the ocean as they changed rapidly, the advantage the rogues had waning and being consumed by the overwhelming prowess of the trained warriors they faced as their bodies began to fail ever so slowly, but at a noticeable pace. This square outside of the libraries was swiftly turned into the scene of a massacre as we finished off the rest of the rogues, only a handful being ''lucky'' enough to survive as they remained sprawled out on the blood soaked ground in shock and horror as they watched everyone flick theirrade''s blood off their des and begin heading towards the library. Two of the Death Jackals peeled away from the group and moved to finish off the still alive Fingers, only to nod when I said "Don''t kill them; they might be grunts but we can try and learn something from them. Secure them and ensure they don''t kill themselves.", not questioning me at all and doing as I asked; maybe it just made too much sense to argue, or maybe they were following my orders because the futanari who would have eventually been their leader was deeply in love with me. Either way they did as I asked and allowed me to regroup with Anput and Jahi as we made our way into the libraries quickly, heading after those three elites that had rushed inside earlier - and one of whom must have been that ''Caliph'' that the man from earlier had told me about - to stop them from finding whatever it was that they were looking for. I did not believe for a single moment that these Fingers were hoping to spread peace and prosperity inside of the Sultanate by terraforming it from a desert to a lush wondend of abundance, and even if that was a piece of their goal there was no way they were doing it benevolently. There was something they wanted desperately from this, and the most obvious was power; power over the Sultanate and by proxy, the Sultana as they turned the golden sands into luscious greens capable of sustaining this entire country. There must be something that they wanted from this, and a way for them to reasonably get what they wanted if they were willing to risk this high profile raid in Bascra, so as we barged into the ancient libraries that held knowledge from various centuries - and perhaps even further back in time - it was of no surprise that we found the three rushing from bookcase to bookcase, throwing the contents to the ground as they searched for something in particr. Hearing us entering the library, they all turned and cursed softly before three separate - and borate - Ritual Circles shed into existence in front of them, the sound of something cracking as they likely made use of a consumable enchanted item filling the air only to be dwarfed by the howling of a windstorm and the crackling of electricity as sharp des of both elements stabbed at the entrance. Each bolt of lightning and crescent of wind tore chunks out of the ancient sandstone brick as the rogues forced us into cover immediately, the sheer ferocity of their spells outssing our own defensive spells by a good amount right off the bat. Two of the rogues maintained their positions and began to charge up another suite of spells to keep us pinned while thest one continued the search, the three not saying a word for now as they ensured theypleted their mission, which made me a tad bit more hesitant than normal to face them as I realized they weren''t idiots like the rest of their goons. These were actual opponents, and for the first time in a long time we were going to have to experience the difficulties of facing serious, well trained and equipped mortals head to head, ones that were evidently rather crafty and had their wits about them as we shielded ourselves from the sts. Chapter 1085: Chapter 1084: The Fingers (5) Chapter 1085: Chapter 1084: The Fingers (5) ? n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Lightning crashed down beside me as the Fingers continued their assault, the two mages working hand in hand to rain down a barrage of deadly magic onto our position and keep us pinned as their third member scoured the shelves for whatever it was that they were looking for. "The lightning is a problem, and trying to do anything with that Wind Mana ring around is also going to be a problem for me, so... we need some other way out of this. How can we not be burnt to a crisp the moment we stand up?" Leone''s calm voice was that little bit of recentering that we all needed as we huddled behind the various stone pirs and partitions that provided just a little bit of cover for us, though Anput and the other Earth attuned warriors were erecting defenses around us that were just being chewed through by the lightning as it continued to crash down around us, burning the various papers and books that were near our feet and filling the library with smoke as the Fingers did everything they could to get rid of us. "How contained can you keep a really shy Fire spell Leone? Something to blind them at the very least; get their vision disoriented so that I can sneak around. Maybe have a couple of us spread out to spread their attention as much as we can. They seem to be making use of rapid fire single target magic, though we cannot be certain..." The Vampire nodded before wincing slightly as a bolt cracked down beside her, the azure lightning arcing around the stone andpping at her cheek for a brief moment, startling her and resulting in just a little bit of redness as the heat created an artificial blush on just one side. "Well if you want brightness..." Jahi grinned at me before a couple of simple runes flickered into appearance in front of her, and without her having to say anything I turned away and shielded my eyes as she turned the corner and unleashed a spell that illuminated the entire library in a brilliant sh of gold. The surprised shouts from the two mages were followed quickly by a string of curses as they were greeted with the sight of a wall of mes as soon as their vision returned, Leone casting one hell of a distraction as she gave us ample space to work with, allowing a bulk of the Death Jackals to rush forwards and find new, not so scorched and broken cover. As for me, Hera and another Death Jackal, we all unsheathed our daggers and silently rushed to the sides, making use of that blinding sh as we hid ourselves away from the Fingers and instead went the long way around the library, darting through the shelves and climbing up to the next level as we began to close in on them. ncing at Hera and the other Death Jackal, I pointed at myself before pointing at the furthest Finger, who was currently searching through the books and storing them away inside a bag; both of them reluctantly gave me a nod and moved over to take on the other two, hopefully to at least bring down the pressure on the members of our party that were on the first floor. With my Wind Cloak keeping everything to an absolute minimum and my movement being far too quick for them to notice, I easily slipped past the two of them - it certainly helped that they were far too focused on the sudden appearance of the other two to notice me - and made my way towards thest member of this little trio, my de aimed straight at his neck and silently plunging down towards it as I aimed to end his life as quickly as I could. Before that could happen though, the man spun around and hoisted an amulet from his neck, a vibrant jade pendant shining a brilliant green as the Wind Mana inside erupted outside and pushed me back like a leaf in a storm, smashing me against a railing and almost breaking my back as the stone around me began to crack. "Nice try, but you ooze mana like this. Your control isn''t that good, bustydy~!" He smirked at me before letting the jade thump against his chest, the glow gone now that the mana inside had been consumed; an enchanted item of some kind that likely required charging before use, which made it a fascinating item I wanted from him after I killed him. It joined a myriad of other pendants, and it was then that I realized I was staring at someone who did actually think rather smartly about things like this; if you can enchant something, and it''s really useful, wear it, no matter how ugly it is or stupid you look. Why not have a dozen rings and earrings if each one boosts you even more than you could ever imagine? All those times I had seen people looking down on this sort of style because it showed a ck of hard work'' or made them think the person had little talent was far more than I could count, and yet it made more sense to me to do this instead of working really hard only to be beaten by someone with even more talent or time than you. And just like that I watched as another pendant shone on his chest, this one sending the extra mana straight into his skin as he gave himself a boost that made me wary of how strong he might be. He snickered as he noticed that, and the man seemed content to let me bask in this enchanted glory of his as he said "That''s right, I know how to make the most of my skills baby~! ''Rogue this, rogue that''~! People just hate that I don''t want to serve some haughty uptight bitch who thinks slobbering on the dick of someone strong gives her the ability to order people around!" "Do you always talk so much..?" Pushing off of the railing, I let my Water Cloak coat my skin and heal my internal injury as I stared at the man, his mild surprise at me having both Water and Wind Mana fading away as he just said "Nah, I only like talking to women with a nice rack. And women with a sharp de to match~! You single~?" He didn''t seem to mind as I clicked my tongue and red at him, the promise of what I would do to him as I hoisted the dagger just a bit higher only making him grin more as he beckoned for me to get closer and fight. "I promise you that whatever those stuck up pricks in ck told you about us is mostly wrong. We don''t want to kill the Sultana, we don''t want to kill everyone we meet... most of the time, anyways, but what we do want is a better Sultanate, and that does require... some change, and some reversions." "Seriously... do you always talk so much?" shing forwards, I stabbed at his chest again and watched as he grabbed for my wrist, the man''s speed matching mine as he caught my arm and held me in ce, his grin remaining as he stared me in the eyes and prepared to say something else. Running my mana into my arm, I punched towards his face and watched as he caught that arm as well, though when the tonfa of sharpened ice stabbed out towards his head, that grin faded as he tried to get away from it. I thought I had him right there, but I still yanked my other arm back to give me the ability to run just in case, and as I watched that tonfa shatter against his mana barrier, I kept pulling before stamping on his ankle with my boot, forcing him to let me go. "Feisty, fesity... good trick there, baby~! Pretty impressive for how young you are~! Gods above are you making me fall for you even more..." Brushing away the ice shards on his cheek, the man chuckled softly and reached for another amulet when I sent a barrage of needles at him, the summoned weapons splintering against his barrier as well but forcing him to treat them seriously even as I fueled that Ritual Circle and left it in the air, freeing myself to dart forwards again with two tonfa''s as I reengaged in close quartersbat. This time, I made sure both were as solid as could be, and then I focused my Wind Mana around my arms and legs as I started smacking them against his barrier, the rods of ice cracking the raw mana he used to defend himself and slowly forcing him to smile less and less, though he still chatted like nothing was happening. "Baby, you are really~ making me wonder what''s got you so pissed off at me... what did I do~? C''mon, tell me, tell me~!" The more he chatted with me though, the more I felt like I needed to keep him alive so I could enjoy torturing him for a week straight, if not even longer... Chapter 1086: Chapter 1085: Caliph (1) Chapter 1086: Chapter 1085: Caliph (1) ? N?v(el)B\\jnn mming the tonfa''s against his barrier once more, I felt my lip curling slightly at his attitude towards this, though as soon as I felt the irritation begin to rise at how he kept up this ratherid back and unbothered demeanor as my rods of ice smacked against his mana and began to crack, I stamped down on it and focused instead on putting that energy into my arms instead of my mind. "C''mon, what''s got you so angry baby girl~? Surely you know how to make use of that tongue of yours... in more ways than one, right~? Alright alright! I''ll keep it to a minimum, sheesh!" He just kept chatting casually as we fought, though it felt more like training as he simply moved from side to side and kept his feet moving constantly, not retaliating at all as I continued to pressure him with my tonfa''s, each hit cracking that mana barrier even more. The way he just seemed to be unbothered was a warning signal in my mind, but there was little I could do about it besides keep pressing forwards and trying to bait out whatever it was that was giving him this confidence; otherwise, I kept leaning forwards and putting all of my weight into these blows, alternating between exaggerated windups that gave me a bit more power - and gave him an opening to potentially exploit - alongside swifter, but weaker strikes. There were a few other things I wanted to try, namely the palm sts that had be so fun to use on low level trash that couldn''t handle anything at all, but this feeling in my gut as I kept smacking him around this second level was telling me to keep my cards close to my chest for now, so I kept my style rather tamepared to what I was capable of. With how thick the mana was and the presence of a dozen or so more pendants around his neck, trying to break through this barrier was likely a lost cause at this point, but I needed to find out what was giving him this confidence before I could properly act; the mind games of a fight against someone with an unknown strength, unknown gear and obvious intelligence was stressful, and it wasn''t something you could really train for. I was learning that now as I just kept swinging my arms and cracking away at that barrier, and in the midst of my next swing he said "Really, I don''t know what they told you baby, but I promise you that I''m not like that~! Really, I mean it~!", which continued to irritate me somewhat, but that was when I decided it was worth it to start this ''dialogue'' with the man. "Should I need anything else besides the knowledge that you want to harm arge amount of the popce for what seems to be selfish reasons? Or how fascinatingly coincidental it was that you appeared here with a Fiend obsessed with any and all knowledge possible? Do you think I can''t connect those rather obvious dots?" That drew a chuckle from him as he shrugged, replying "Well, now that you mention it... I guess that is a little fishy ain''t it? But baby, trust me; not every deal with a Fiend is a contract waiting to steal away your soul. Just like how you and me coulde to a deal for a night out on the town, we came to a deal with the birdbrain that we could steal the books we need and share them with them. Now of course we knew said birdbrain was gonna double cross us, but like ya said there baby... we could connect those rather obvious dots~!" "You made a deal with the Fiend, and thought you could outsmart them? A Tza Fiend? The Fiends renowned for their outrageous intelligence and wit? Likely story..." Targeting therger cracks in the barrier, I began to peel away this man''s protective shell and slowly exposed the weaker armor below, though as soon as his barrier showed signs of failure he leapt backwards and tossed a ring onto the floor, buying a few seconds as gouts of me jumped towards me like rabid dogs off of a leash. "Believe it or not, that''s the truth... see, we know a thing or two about Tza Fiends because we''ve seen a thing or two about ''em~! Keep your friends close but your enemies closer and all that... speaking of, I wouldn''t mind being close to you and your rack~!" When the mes dissipated into mist after sshing against my Water Shield, I was greeted with the sight of the man encased in a fresh barrier, but this time he actually had a weapon in his hand, one that didn''t really fit his airy and light personality. Hoisting a gigantic hammer that crackled with electricity, he swung it straight at my shield and drew a curse from my lips as I dodged to the side, rolling away from the shower of lightning that crashed down around the impact zone and forcing me to cancel my Water Cloak as I saw each bolt eagerly searching for a ce to reside. The mana was attracted to the mana that was weaker than itself, and while typically water didn''t attract lightning per se, I wasn''t going to test that theory now, least of all because it wasing from a gigantic sapphire hammer wreathed in it. Getting stunned now meant being turned into a meat paste on the floor below, which was also beginning to splinter as the man hoisted the weapon again and dropped it down towards me, trying to eliminate me. "I gotta admit, after all this time as a Caliph, it''s been a bit since I actually had to make use of these pendants of mine~! You should know how weak the average person is, how boring monsters can be..." His priorid back demeanor was slowly being eroded by excitement as he dragged the hammer back towards his shoulder, ignoring the way the azure mana licked at his skin, singing it; instead, he was grinning from ear to ear as he just cracked his neck and looked at me from afar. "Gods it feels good to do this again... Baby, I was gonna leave you alive so I could fuck you real- good, but honestly... I think I just wanna kill you now~! It''s serious been awhile, and I''m pent up... all this searching hasn''t done me any good, so-!" The Caliph lowered his shoulders and began to charge forwards, each step he took resulting in even more cracks appearing around us as Earth Mana swelled into being around his feet, while a breezepped at his forearms as he swung the hammer once more, this time low and horizontally as he bathed the area around him in lightning, hoping to catch me off guard. I shrouded my legs in a gale and leapt into the air instead, dodging the lighting that way and grabbing ahold of the bannister above to hang above the man, staring down at him and letting one of the tonfa''s attached to my arms shoot towards him as he shouted up at me with a maniacal grin. "Be a good bitch and die for me, will ya?! Add another tally to my count and let me vent my frustrations properly!" He sidestepped the tonfa and snickered at my ''sloppy'' aim, only to swiftly nce at the ground as he heard something besides his hammer cracking, causing his ears to twitch before he cursed as he noticed how more and more of the second floor was beginning toe apart. The floor below him was splintering slowly, but with the weight of that hammer and me being above him, the Caliph had little choice on what to do besides head on up as well, risking the blows from me as he sought out stable ground. Instead of attacking him directly, my fingers rapidly traced out runes as I cast spell after spell, coating the entire upper floor in a thick sheet of ice and summoning a tempest that pushed down on him, throwing off his bnce and ensuring that no matter how hended up on this floor, he wasn''t going to be stable. Then I began toyer my own defensive spells before summoning a longsword made of ice as I decided that a mixed style of both close quarters and rangedbat would be best suited for an opponent like this. Strengthening the winds around my feet, I leapt away again as the Caliph tossed another ring into the air, the Dogkin summoning a giant ball of mes that tried to melt away the ice as well as keeping me at a distance as I warily stared at it, wondering if he had control of this sphere. "Ice Mages... always gotta be tricky pricks, don''t ya? Always relying on area of effect spells to start, then single target afterwards... Tricky tricky..." Standing beneath the sphere of roiling mes, the Caliph clicked his tongue and shook his head as he stared at me,bating the chill and ignoring the winds as he tapped his hammer against his shoulder repeatedly, before ncing back at his tworades. Chapter 1087: Chapter 1086: Caliph (2) Chapter 1087: Chapter 1086: Caliph (2) ? Despite being outnumbered, the other two Fingers were somehow capable of holding their own against the Death Jackals and my lovers, the sheer amount of spells wreathed around them keeping them alive and well as they just kept adding more and more.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om A lightning storm was raging inside the library and each bolt of lightning was apanied by a rain of fire as they kept everyone else at bay whilst they focused on defending against the closest attackers, their focus alternating between one group and the other, as well as one another as they aided theirrade as best they could. The sheer quantity of enchanted items and magic being used by these three was enough to give me a migraine as I imagined trying to fund this sort of group, only to realize that most likely that funding was being justified by whatever it was that they were trying to steal; anything was on the table to justify their goal... whatever that may be. "Surprised? It''s what happens when a quality warrior and mage is given ess to anything and everything they could ever want when ites to gear. Personalized and tailored just for them, earned off of merit. They fought and bled for that gear, and it shows doesn''t it? The same way those pricks in ck bled for their positions, but where they lick the boots of an unworthy Dogkin upstart and operate in the shadows as glorified guard dogs, we run freely in the open. That''s the glory of being untethered from the state." Standing across from me still, the Caliph grinned as he gestured at his various pendants and rings, disying his wealth and additional firepower happily as he added "This is what we offer to those who deserve it. Wealth, power, a ce to belong. Those dumbasses outside are a different story; yes, we are murders, druggies, smugglers and so much more, but we know how to incorporate ourselves into a society. A society made by us. They weren''t able toprehend being apart of this bigger picture; they wanted drugs in their veins and a bitch on theirp..." He clicked his tongue and shook his head, turning to point at hisrades as he just kept talking, giving me the time toe up with a few more ideas to try on how to get rid of this nuisance and save as much of this library as I possibly could, though from the sounds of the lightning strikes below me, I doubt there would be too much to save. "And yeah, we want the same sometimes too, but we also want a ce to belong too, somewhere to call home. That''s where this libraryes in, and that''s where birdbrain came in as well; the knowledge we needed for that n toe to fruition is here, somewhere, and I already have enough to get the rest of us kickstarted on expanding any of the oasis'' that we desire into something better. Bring prosperity to this hellhole of a country; can''t really me the Sultana for not wanting to do this, but hey... sometimes someone needs to make the tough decisions for the betterment of the talented few instead of the unworthy many, right?" There were a handful of ideas floating around in my mind at the moment, and the primary one was to just replicate what I had done to that Fiend from earlier; it was by far the simplest idea to execute, and whilst there were risks with not being able to control it afterwards, I needed to learn about the effects of utilizing Lust Mana in that way sooner orter, and I think this would be the best time to try it out! Obviously not, but it was an incredible trump card to have up my sleeve, and against an opponent like this I just felt like I needed to pull that out right away, lest I manage to give up this very slight advantage I had on him and bring myself back to an even ying field. He had all those enchanted baubles on his person, sure, but what exactly could he do against Fiendish Magic with his own normal magic? I don''t even know if the magics that Leone had been gically blessed with - her Blood and Moon Magics - could do much against Fiendish Magic in terms of repelling it, let alone a type of magic that alters the mind... though Moon Magic did seem to specialize in just that, so... I don''t really know. Would it be oundish to assume that he might have a trick up his sleeve to match my own somehow? I mean he did have ess to a Fiend and he even made a deal with one - even if he was a single part of arger collective - so maybe he had some interesting, never before tricks that I just wouldn''t know how to anticipate and react to if I acted so brazenly. "Must be a real- good thinker there, baby~! Careful now, you don''t wanna hurt yourself... I''ll tell it to you straight, part of it anyways... We want to get rid of the desert. Sounds hard, but it really is actually kinda simple. Mana in the air, it''s Fire Mana primarily right? So what would happen if we gave it a good ol'' switcheroo to Water Mana? Bnced it out like... like bncing the ratio of flour to yeast when making bread. You need a bit more of one to get a delicious loaf, right? Fire Mana is good and all, but in abundance it is by far the most lethal of the four basic elements. You following?" It was more than a good thing that this man loved hearing his own voice, and if it gave me more time to prepare and let him spill a few more grains of information for me to make use ofter, than I was all for it honestly, even if I was finding his tone grating. "At first it would be... chaotic. You can try this yourself in a controlled area, though it really is nowhere near as ideal as you would want for a test. Things go out of wack fast, even if you change it slowly. Climate gets messed with, everything goes to shit. So if you do it really quick and give the world no time to figure out what happened, you can mitigate a little bit of damage. The weak will undoubtedly perish; the old, the young, the feeble and injured... all are most likely going to die. But from those deaths we can achieve a nice paradise for the rest of us; remember, the unworthy many give us talented and incredible few a really nice life~!" "You want to kill thousands upon thousands of people topletely change this country''s climate? Do you realize the damage you would do? Not even counting the people, the shift would decimate any and all wildlife that were living in this area, all the flora andpletely misalign thend you stand on! It''s sheer idiocy!" He grinned even more at that, perplexing me immensely as I wondered if he was just that crazy or what, though he answered that quickly as he replied "That''s the thing though, Fiends have arge amount of control on the world itself. Born of it, molded by it, devoted to it... it answers them, not us. We''re... pests at best while they are its children, to put it simply. So if you get a couple of really powerful Fiends together, draw them in with promises of death, change, knowledge and good fun when it''s all done, well... baby, you can change the world." The Caliph barely even reacted when I sent a barrage of overcharged needles at him, each one tearing a chunk out of his barrier and slowly peeling it open to allow me tond a single attack on him to end this all. "We''ve got deals and contracts up with so many hungry Fiends I don''t even know if you all can understand what''s happening... see, we used to be small time runners and smugglers; see a pretty girl and nab her, sell her to some pervert as a ve and make some real good coin. Short term was immacte; long term was bloody. Each day was a risk; were the Death Jackals gonna find us, was a monster going to put a talon in our hearts? Or was a ''friend'' going to stab you in the back and spit on your corpse? All sorts of things went on each and every day, uncertainty littered our lives, but now? Baby, now that the Fiends havee back..? Oh, life is getting so much better~! They want revenge, and some of ''em are so blinded by it that they can''t even recognize how times have changed! Some are so simple they''d do almost anything you ask if they get that thing they want. And if you get them all grouped together, working towards amon goal of bathing this country in blood to bring about its change, to fulfill your heart''s desires however you could with the knowledge you take? The world really is changing, and for the weak of body or the weak of will, that''s downright terrifying and dangerous. But for us willing to ride the waves and fight for our futures? Baby I''m in love with the way the world is right now~! And you should be too!" Yet another pendant shone on his neck, and I braced myself as I noticed the lightning wreathing his legs as he prepared tounch himself towards me, his mana swelling as he was given yet another boost by his gear to enhance his strength and speed. Chapter 1088: Chapter 1087: Caliph (3) Chapter 1088: Chapter 1087: Caliph (3) ? Launching himself at me from the other side of the library''s balcony, the Caliph maintained his maniacal grin even as he was met with a heavynce of ice that matched his velocity almost perfectly, the warrior almost outright ignoring thatnce as he powered through it and crashed down on my side of the library. The lightning that wreathed him and his weapon zapped mynce and melted parts of it whilst also pushing it aside slightly, ensuring he wasn''tpletely hit by it straight on, but it still slowed him down enough for me to reorient myself and roll to the side, away from the hammer strike that cracked the sandstone and threatened to tear away this floor as well. "Many thanks, baby... I really needed this, and honestly... I shouldn''t even be entertaining you right now, but we all needed this fight... this rush... it''s so nice to experience once again!" Crouching down, he ignored the momentum he had created from before and redirected it with his magic as heunched himself after me yet again, mming the hammer down where I had been as he kept up the chase, forcing me to evade constantly as I tried to find the best position to begin engaging him inbat that wouldn''t leave me dead on the floor. My longsword trailed along the ice covered ground as I darted towards one of the bookshelves, hiding behind it and silently making my way towards another as I evaded his line of sight, though that was hard to do as he just crashed through them and sent books flying through the air without a care in the world. "I already have most of what I came for! Hiding behind the books won''t save you nor buy you any time at all! Good thinking though..." I could hear him rushing after me as he tracked my fleeting figure as best he could, the space provided by these shelves and this library only making this a harder task as the avable cover was shattered over and over again by this rampaging warrior who was hellbent on finishing this fight here and now. Darting around some more, I weaved around the shelving and made my way back to the open space near the railings as I once again leapt to the other side, buying myself precious seconds to formte a Ritual Circle that would work well in this situation; he was no longer near that sphere of mes to keep himself shielded from my Ice Mana, and while Lightning Mana was rather good at creating heat, it wasn''t as even of a protectiveyer as Fire Mana was. So I altered one of my many gale spells,pressed it down to a rtively small radius beam, increased the speed now that it had less area to cover and added in Ice Mana into the form, turning one thing into somethingpletely different as Iunched two identical spells at the same time. He leapt to meet me once again, his desire to engage me in close quarters causing me to question if he had any good ranged spells or items at his disposal, so it confirmed to me - for right now anyways - that the best thing to do was to kite him and deal damage that way, but the current n was a simpler one. As he flew through the air again, two identical Ritual Circles appeared in the air; one was directly above him, in between the two separate balconies, and the other was right in front of me, facing his direction. Upon activation, two equally powerful gales of extremely cold, frosted winds battered his body and redirected his momentum rather swiftly, pushing back against him as well as pushing him downwards, and since we were on floor three when I did this, he ended up crashing through the railing on floor two.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Leaping back to the other side - since his momentum still carried him towards me, albeit at a downwards angle - I yanked both of my spells back towards me and used them to press him against the ground as I bought myself more precious seconds, and with them I summoned up another heftynce that I used to shatter arge portion of his mana barrier again. When another was summoned into my hands, the Caliph below grinned up at me and just tossed another ring into the air, encapsting himself in stone and protecting him from this nextnce as well as the gale, showing off just how annoying of a fight this was so far, only for me to be confused as I broke that stone barricade and was greeted with the sight of no Caliph. I instantly mimicked him and created a dome of transparent ice around myself as I searched for him, wondering where he was going to strike from next and if I was in immediate danger that would need me to take more drastic measures, but no attack ever came. Instead, the Caliph hadpletely abandoned our fight and was instead joining in on the other Fingers battles as he turned the tides with his appearance, freeing up some space for them and giving them a moment to breathe as they all grouped up and worked alongside one another in a more smooth manner. After telling me he was so happy to be fighting again, he abandoned our fight and instead moved into a defensive posture with his tworades, and as I released the control over my defenses and moved to aide my ownrades, I could only watch in irritation and mild anger as he hoisted up yet another pendant, though this one was brimming with an energy that I recognized. Fiendish Magic was pulsating from that piece of jewelry, and it was washing over us all and causing us to pause for a moment as we tried to understand what it was and what it could do, giving the Caliph the time needed to speak before activating that pendant. "We have what we came for, and I cannot wait to see you all again, under far more favorable circumstances for myself and my friends~! I wish we could have yed around for a little longer, but s we are overstaying our wee. Keep an eye out and an ear to the ground for us, my lovelies~! You''ll be hearing about us again soon enough~!" With that, the pendant shed and consumed them in a swirl of violent iridescent mana, shrouding them from our view and making it impossible to track them as they simply vanished, the cloud of mana piring into the ceiling before dissipating against the roof, not a single trace of them left behind. As suddenly as they had appeared in Bascra with a purpose, they disappeared afterpleting it, and I dropped down to the lower levels with everyone else and stood there, staring silently at the ce they had been standing mere seconds ago, not understanding what had just happened. "They just..." The library was suddenly silent save for the asional crackling of a fire that still burnt somewhere inside, so when Jahi stepped forwards and tapped the floor with her boot to speak her voice rang out rather loudly. "Disappeared? Left us here... What were they here for then? Did they say anything at all? Do we have any hints on what they were doing, why they were here?" At that I nodded, letting the longsword I hadn''t used dissipate as well as I reiterated what I had heard from the loudmouthed Caliph, exining the goals he had shared and introducing my own theories onto it as I looked at everyone, including the Death Jackals. We were all just... stumped; they didn''t have the upper hand per se in this situation, but they had surprisingly held their own, though perhaps that was simply a fluke of location and strategies as well as having opened up this encounter with potent magics that we simply weren''t able to counter right away. One of the things that I felt from this was regret as I let out a sigh, leaning against one of the few unbroken tables as I muttered "I could''ve used the Lust Mana on him, but..." to myself, though Leone caught that and turned to me to say "And I could have used my True Vampire Form, I could have summoned Janus, I could have made use of my Blood or Moon Magic... There are so many could have''s, Kat, that it just... doesn''t matter. We didn''t, that''s the end of it. Besides, you said that he had told you that he had ess to Fiend''s, which obviously included Fiends if he was mentioning desires, so... who knows if that would have even worked. I don''t think any of us were prepared for them to be like that anyways; were you, Hera?" Turning towards the leader of these Death Jackals, we appraised her stoic expression as she focused on the floor in front of us, her eyes narrowed as she thought to herself before she said "No, not at all. They''ve been well funded before, yes, but not to this degree. That amount of gear of that quality is... astonishing. High quality materials of all kinds, magics of all kinds, and they clearly knew what they were doing with them... it''s odd. They didn''t feel like rogues at all, not like how we were used to facing them." She drummed her fingers on her thigh before taking a deep breath as she added "There''s no point standing here doing nothing; we need to ensure the rest of the low level grunts are rounded up and dealt with. The Sultana needs to hear about this soon though, so..." Chapter 1089: Chapter 1088: Relieving Frustrations (1) Chapter 1089: Chapter 1088: Relieving Frustrations (1) ? One of the Death Jackals stayed back at the library to ensure as much of it was saved as they could possibly manage to do after the battle that had just taken ce while the rest of us made our way back out onto the streets and started the rather quick job of killing off the rest of the grunts. They were truly what the organization used to be like, as shown by their rtively poor equipment and skillset as they relied on mildly enhanced strength and their loudness to overwhelm the guards, who were better equipped but clearly unustomed to actual life or death battles against people. Locating them was easy, and I relished this opportunity to spill blood freely as I roamed the streets of Bascra with a barbed icicle that I was using to debone these Fingers, stabbing it into their flesh and yanking out whatever bones were nearby the wound as I overwhelmed them like they overwhelmed the guards. After being shown that I wasn''t as up to scratch as I wanted to believe I was, or that I wasn''t as prepared as I wanted myself to be for these sorts of situations, I was... angry, at so many different things from what had just happened. I was angry at myself for letting him get away without trying more of my strategies on him, I was angry that I had tried to take him on all on my own without a second thought, I was pissed that he had managed to leave that fight without an injury, I was livid about how little I had actually learned from someone who seemed so stupidly open about everything he did... There was just little else for me to feel about this, and that made me even more irritated as I kept reying that fight in my mind, wondering why I hadn''t been able to bring him to his knees and why I wasn''t currently strangling him with his own tongue; why hadn''t I used my Lust Mana, and why did it seem like my magic - which by all ounts was rather strong and expertly controlled - do so damn little to him? That frustration was just bubbling inside me irrationally, and I only had a few things on my mind that could get it to simmer down to a manageable and less worrisome state; the first was the most obvious, and that was to hand myself over to Jahi for a few hours and sumb to exhaustion as she used me like a rag once more. I couldn''t do that just yet though, but I most certainly was going to let that happen to me tonight, so instead I focused on the other two things that hade to mind, which was to farm experience from these grunts that deserved death in the most gruesome way I could extract experience from them, as well as to continue to hone my skills and get stronger, even if they weren''t the best training subjects.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Like right now I was walking silently behind two burly men who were snickering to one another as they openly made their way through the streets, hunting for someone to murder or someone to vite. Masking my presencepletely and not bothering to hide myself from sight, I strode behind them and listened to their arrogant, idiotic discussion on who had the better physique and the better ''physique'', taking the time to see just how much of my scent, stride and breathing I could unveil before they would realize I was here. It took them a minute or so to realize I was behind them, and when they spur around and hoisted their stolen scimitars, they both paused as they looked me up and down before rxing their postures, even though they saw the barbed icicle in my hand and the expression on my face. With my ''training'' for my stealth currently ced on hold, I tapped the icicle against the stone brick road and stared at them both as one stepped forwards and grinned at me lustfully, his sharp fangs glistening slightly as he said "Oho~! Heya girlie~! We were just on the prowl for some fresh meat, and look who showed up... mmm... Love me some thick thighs..." He took another step forwards and stared tantly at my legs, running his unworthy gaze up and down the curve of my hips as he nodded appreciatively,pletely unaware - or just unable toprehend - that each step he took forwards made my part of this so much easier. "Now, we can do this the hard way, or we can-!" Before he could even finish saying that, I swung the icicle straight at his neck and buried the thorns into his flesh, surprising them both as his blood spurted from the thick muscles that supported his head and began to pool on the ground around him. Yanking forwards, I felt my lips twitch as I heard his spine crack inside his body, the long cord of very important calcium - amongst other things - sprouting out of his throat as Ipletely tore it away from its current position, instantly causing his skull to drop forwards as it lost the primary support that was keeping it upright. He dropped to the ground not even a momentter as his spine waspletely severed from his skull, the various nerves and muscles that connected the two together and allowed the brain to maintain a living body of meat being pulled out with it, cing the man in a fascinating spot of a slow, horrifying death as he lost control of everything. Barely able to speak before, not able to move now, and bathed in such terrifying amounts of pain as his brain tried toprehend how one second it had control over everything it should have and the next it waspletely disconnected. It just... on one hand it just reminded me that I was so capable of ending a life at this moment in time, that I was arge step or two above the average person in terms of strength, but on the other it was so beautiful to see this idiot slumped over on the ground, bleeding out of hispletely mangled neck. Two movements had brought this man from being a functioning threat to this city to nothing more than a worthless bundle of meat and bones on the road, and that was making me quiver in my boots as I watched that red liquid I was so fascinated with slowly trickle onto the hot brick below us. This country was so damn hot that the blood was bubbling on the brick below our feet, the sheer amount of heat bouncing on and off the road bringing it to a temperature where it could actually boil blood or water. That caught my attention for a few moments more, but when I heard the tter of metal against brick and the thumping of boots against it a secondter I looked up and watched as that other prick began to run, his prior arrogance long gone now that his friend was dead. I caught up to him in a second or so, stunning him as I appeared in front of him and let him impale himself on my icicle, his shoulder freezing over as I brought him to his knees in the middle of the street. Tears and snot began to mar his ugly face as he pleaded with me, and I idly realized that I waspletely tuning out the words being spoken, my mind so preupied with what I could have done differently that I only knew he was begging for his life right now. I had no idea what exactly was being said, and I didn''t need to as I twisted the icicle and tore his shoulder apart, opening up arge hole for his blood to pour from as I watched it to soothe my nerves, and when his struggling made it harder to watch I froze his wrists and ankles to ce, keeping some of his movements and allowing me to crouch in front of him as I stared intently at his shoulder. He slowly bled out in the middle of that street, his pleas falling on deaf ears as I just contemted his bleeding for my own pleasure, each time he writhed around or tried to break free from his restraints bringing more of that gorgeous scarlet goodness to weep out of his mangled shoulder. When he was near the edge of dyingpletely, I retrieved my icicle and slit his throat to give myself one final hurrah as I drained him of all he had, though not in the way he had been initially hoping. Patting his cheek and giving him a final smile as his eyes began to dull, I dropped him and left him there in the middle of the street, his ''armor'', various small daggers and some potions constituting his loot that only made me click my tongue... even though I pilfered those daggers and potions for my next victim. Maybe they would help me feel better; if not, I was just going to keep wandering around aimlessly till I encountered one of my lovers, who would then make me feel really good deep inside myself, which was just what I needed... Chapter 1090: Chapter 1089: Relieving Frustrations (2) Chapter 1090: Chapter 1089: Relieving Frustrations (2) ? Just like before I was creeping through the well lit streets searching for my next target, my ears twitching as I picked up the random voicesing from all around me whilst my nostrils red as new smells filtered in every couple of feet.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Blood was the most prominent scent, though ash was right there as well as I listened to the various sounds ofbat near me, and I had to make decisions constantly on whether or not I wanted to go an aid the guards or find my own targets to kill on my lonesome, though that was answered easily when I cut through an alley and found two women and a man standing there inspecting some ill gotten gains. "-ly think that we can get away from here?! Those were Death Jackals, dumbass! Death Jackals! Not some random mercenary that we''re used to running from!" The man was ring at one of the women with vitriol in his gaze as he tried to present his case, but sadly the woman just snorted and shook her head as she said "And who gives a damn? Not me! We''ve escaped them before, and now that there are so many of us inside the city we can easily make an exit before they realize we were even here! And besides, we infiltrated the city as civilians, and we can leave or hide as civilians! So just shut up and get back to counting that coin!" All three were in various states of undress as they switched from armor back to normal clothing, and the man just clicked his tongue and looked away as the bulkier woman pushed him yfully against the wall, her voice a deep, husky timbre that made it rather nice on the ears. "Listen Abdul, we keep you around cause yeah, you''re usually brighter than us both, but for now trust us, alright? We''ll be fine; stash this shit away in some different spots, find ourselves a home to stay at for a couple of days, fuck like crazy before hightailing it somewhere else, like the Wekalian Steppes. So just keep quiet and be a good little boy for me, alright~?" He gulped as she made him feel up her groin, where a very noticeable bulge was beginning to form as she smirked down at him, and after a few moments she let him go and shrugged off her leather cuirass before donning a loose robe, not taking off the leather straps that wereden with hidden des. The smaller woman also smirked at the man as she licked her lips appreciatively, and I had to stop as I wondered just what kind of people I had run into... before realizing that they were most definitely trying to y both sides of this fight for personal gain; probably mercenaries that were trying to make it big through the Fingers, and it certainly seemed almost like how our party would act in this situation. Confident and horny enough to be slightly unguarded as we tried to get ourselves to a safe spot for the time being,pletely confident that we were going to make it out without a hitch; sadly for them I had happened upon them, and now that I was slowly inching forwards on the roof, I had to contemte a few things... Kind of, not really; I felt bad since they had a rather pitiful pile of spoils that had no blood on them, and the things that they did have that were bloodied were clearly the concealed weapons used by the Fingers, so... A part of me wanted to let the dominant futanari and her two little toys go, but I also really wanted to keep ying around with some weak food, and she might have looked strong, but... was she actually strong? Watching them change and gather up their loot, I contemted it for a few more moments before looking towards the entrance of the alleyway as a few other Fingers slipped inside, sweating and cursing as they sought cover from whatever was chasing them, be it the guards or the Death Jackals. With this sudden introduction of a new group of better targets, I let out a soft sigh as I palmed one of the daggers I had taken from my prior toys, the Fingers approaching this group of three with clear intentions as they brandished their weapons and prepared to say something. Feeling a weird sense of generosity for this group of three degenerates, I spun the de around and admired its weight before letting it fly towards the leader of this group of Fingers, the dagger burying itself deep into her forehead and killing her instantly as she just dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Landing between the two groups, I idly took out another dagger as I nced over my shoulder and said "Go, find yourself that little home and have some fun. Or you can stay and watch, I don''t really mind.", meeting their gazes and ignoring the shouts of anger from the remaining Fingers. That tall woman narrowed her eyes as she stared at me, whilst the smaller woman and the man flinched as I threw that dagger and killed another without looking, relying on my hearing and muscle memory to do so. The sound of another body falling to the ground made me shiver slightly, and the futanari maintained our stare for a moment longer before gesturing at the loot and picking up her gear, a quiet "Let''s get going." spurring her two pets into action. Ignoring them for now, I turned back to the Fingers and summoned that fun barbed icicle once more as I darted forwards to meet them head on, making use of the enclosed space to trap a few for long term stress relief whilst swiftly getting rid of the remaining rogues in the bloodiest way I could. Gore sttered across the alleyway as I rended flesh from bone and scattered some meat covered, splintered shards of white on the bricks around us, leaving me a handful of toys to y around with as I blocked off the entrances on both sides now that I was left alone. I was a tad confused why I felt like I should have let them go, and yet again I just felt my frustrations begin to bubble inside me as I began to carve away at the first woman, healing her injuries only to inflict them again but worse a momentter as I got to see just how far my magic could take her. The trauma inflicted on her mind wasn''t something I could heal, of course, but I wasn''t looking to do anything with her mental health; thanks to my pendant that had been blessed by Reincantra, I was wanting to see the amount of damage I was capable of healing now with that sizable boost she was giving me through that enchanted item. I could almost reattach limbs perfectly, I could heal most severe cuts and even begin the regeneration of some of her organs as I disassembled her piece by piece, venting my frustrations and learning at the same time. I did the same to the next person, and then the next, before I was left with just a single living being in this area that was extremely scarred from what had happened and scared of me deeply, so as I approached her with a smile she tried to break free and escape from this, only to slump as I stood in front of her and touched her cheek. Willing my Lust Mana out of my Core, I soothed her nerves and lowered her mind from one extreme to another as I got to testing this out next, my body so close to hers as I rubbed her cheek and filled her with arousal for me as I began the first of my tests, which was to see how deep she needed to go to be a mere thrall to carnal pleasures. "What''s your name, sweetie~?" Her eyes zed over as another burst of Lust Mana trickled into her head, and I could see her bing horny as she tried to poke me with her member, so for a moment I was bing irritated at myself again as I wondered if I gave her too much arousal right off the bat, but when she managed to say "Raina... My name... is Raina..." I breathed out a sigh of relief. "Well Raina~ tell me about the reason you''re here today... why did you and your friendse to Bascra..?" I continued to rub her cheek as I stared into her zed, yet scorching amber eyes, the Dogkin biting her lip for a second as her gaze dropped to my own lips, bringing a smile to them; when she replied "To... earn ourselves a better future... one made for us, to uplift us..." my smile widened as I continued to test her mental fortitude, all whilst I felt myself getting heated up in a different way... Chapter 1091: Chapter 1090: Relieving Frustrations (3)* Chapter 1091: Chapter 1090: Relieving Frustrations (3)* ? "And Raina... what - pray tell - were you all hoping to achieve by bing buddies with a Fiend~? Aren''t you aware of how dangerous and diabolical those things are~?" I didn''t need to see Cali to know she was holding herself back from letting out the biggest groan and smirk possible at those words, my current use of Lust Mana to turn this rogue from a killer to a horndog that was oblivious to her friends being murdered brutally in front of her going unnoticed by said rogue. Pursing her lips, the Dogkin rested her head against the wall and murmured "But... the Caliph said they were under control... that they only wanted to bring about a new future alongside us... he even... gave us some gifts from them... these potions that would amplify our strength and make us unstoppable..."N?v(el)B\\jnn She tried to reach for a vial beneath her cloak, but sadly for her her hands were still restrained as I kept her as my prisoner for the time being, so instead of her retrieving that vial, I stepped closer and ran a hand down her cloak, staring into her eyes and giving her a small smile as I admired her muscles. When she flexed I almost gagged, but at the same time I thought it was funny how things seemed to be universal for both men and futanari in situations like this, no matter the location, culture or even world; a beautiful woman feeling them up and they flexed to impress. Ruffling around in her pockets, I retrieved the red vial and showed it to her before slipping it into my own storage, though before she could let that frown be permanent I returned my hand to her abdomen as I gave her a little more contact. "What were your goals going to be in that new future, Raina..? What was a stud like you going to do with all that power..?" I kept my tone light and seductive as I stared into her eyes, a few separate ideas running through my mind as I gave her another small dose of Lust Mana to charm her even more, wanting to test one of the ideas that I had been floating around in my mind for awhile now. Could I swap out her desires with my own if I got her ''drunk'' enough on Lust Mana? Not just a ''yes ma''am, I''ll do x'' with clear agency over what they actually wanted to do but were begrudgingly doing ''x'' because they were told to; I wanted to see if I could get them to believe that doing ''x'' was actually something they needed to do and that they wanted to do, so I wanted to first hear her own desires, which I had an inkling of already. Despite feeling rather dirty caressing this average futanari Dogkin, I was bing incredibly wet as she moaned softly, arching herself to feel more of my touch before managing to mutter out "I wanted... to have a harem of a couple babes... start a family and do what my parents failed to do..." The genuineness of that desire made her eyes clear up a little bit too much for my liking, so I gave her abdomen a squeeze before trailing my fingers down even lower, biting my lip as I danced my fingers over her bulge and looked up at her through myshes, pulling out all of the tried and true methods that got men and futanari riled up. Her eyes instantly clouded over again as I did that, and her lustful smile returned as she added "I wanted a couple big butt having women to knot on a regr basis... love me some women with juicy thighs... even better if they were a Dogkin I could mark~!", which made me smile as I leaned forwards even more, my lips brushing against her cheek as I whispered "Then would you want just one high quality woman to bounce on your cock all night long-? Someone like... me, perhaps~? I could ride you all night long and then until the afternoon if you wanted, stud..." The rogue''s entire body quivered at that, and I felt her erect cock throb as she tried to have me touch it more, the heat transferring through the cloth to warm up my hand as I rested my head on her shoulder and stared into her eyes. "Yeah... Yeah, maybe I could... but..." "Just imagine it for a second, Raina... a long day of work and then youe home to me cleaning up our house... wearing nothing but an apron, my thick ass just out in the open waiting for someone toe and take it... beneath the apron my tits bouncing around, staining the cloth as my milk trickled free..." She took in a shaky breath, and I didn''t even need to take my Lust Mana infusions any further as she nodded, her cloudy eyes focused on the wall as she imagined just that, not even reacting as I began to slip a few other things in there that she probably wouldn''t have agreed to desiring ever in her life. "While myrge belly swollen with a Demoness'' child was peeking out at you, calling for you toe forwards and grab at me... pull me over into the bed and put me in my ce~! Face down, ass up, your hands sinking into my cheeks as you pound me hard from behind before knotting me with your small cock... filling me with your inferior sperm..." There was a brief second of confusion on her face, but when I stroked her pulsing penis and kissed her cheek she sunk further into that future, unbothered by what I was saying as I kept going, watching in fascination as she let me weave together a terrible future for herself. "After giving me another unsatisfying filling, you just... watch in arousal as a real futanaries and takes me hard right in front of you... a towering, muscr blue Demoness with a cock fit for a real stud... her balls swollen with her incredible gics... gics that mixed with my own as she fucks me in front of you, letting me give you a pity blowjob as she seeds me again and again..." I just kept whispering an extremely dark fantasy into her ears without a care in the world, my thighs slick with fluids as I got even more aroused by this idea, even though if I were to do it I would have to let her normal, unworthy penis grace both of my lips, but as I stood there, stroking her penis and kissing her cheek, that didn''t seem so bad... So long as my giant blue Demoness made me into a cumdump afterwards, and as I thought that I felt my lip curling up in disgust as I heard Raina gasping for breath, her body trembling against the wall. Stepping back, I nced down at her crotch and saw her robes bing stained with cum as she ejacted, the futanari unable to help herself as she got brought to the edge by my magic and my words, and that disgust began to grow even more as I stared at my hand for a few long seconds. Had I really just..? Taking a deep breath, I immediately washed my hand with my magic and encased it in ice as I stared at Raina with a smoldering hatred for myself threatening to melt it, but to ensure that this wasn''t a waste of time and a new reason to despise my own nature that I... that I had control of, I let the Lust Mana inside of her slowly drain away and return to me as I asked "Raina... what are your desires?" I didn''t take all of it at once, but I took enough that she was lucid now and no longerpletely high on arousal, at least artificial arousal - she was certainly riding the high of that ejaction, since she was so rxed and in bliss. "My desires..? Baby... You know my desires~! I want to make a life with you~! You, me, and that Demoness..? That Demoness..." For a moment she pursed her lips, only to then stare at me with a smile as she happily said "That Demoness that''s going to get you pregnant! Yeah, you me and her! We''re going to have so much sex, but I wouldn''t mind just you using your mouth or your hands baby! I don''t mind watching her seed you!" Her eyes weren''t clouded over like before, but nor were they as ''bright'' and alive as before; they were kind of hollow,cking the spark that made this futanari herself as she grinned at me and nodded, and as I watched her lean against the wall and say "Mm... Do you think that Demoness minds me watching you together? You look so beautiful when she fucks you... or when you wrap your lips around my cock and blow me~? I think she likes it when you can''t talk~!" She stared at the sky above with a blissful expression, and since she seemed to be rambling right about now I decided it''d be best to end this and wash away my moment of weakness by finding Jahi and apologizing profusely for what I had done, so I cocked back my arm and prepared to turn her head into a red ball of gore only to freeze when she looked back at me with that same grin, though what she said sent shivers down my spine. "That Demoness really likes it when you''re being put in your ce, Kat!" Chapter 1092: Chapter 1091: Relieving Frustrations (4)* Chapter 1092: Chapter 1091: Relieving Frustrations (4)* ? "What... did you just say..?" Raina stared at me with a grin as she licked her lips again, the Dogkin''s hollow gaze making me shiver somewhat as she said "That Demoness loves it when you''re put into your ce, Kat~! Don''t you know that~? When she''s holding your hips and pounding your juicy pussy with that fat cock of hers... The way you writhe around and try to escape from her, only for her to tell me to turn you into an excellent slut as we spit roast you~?" The way she so casually said my name sent another shiver down my spine, my prior arousal and the heat that it brought fading away immediately as I stared at her for a few seconds more, not knowing what to do now that she had somehow managed to learn my name without me ever telling her what it was. How did she manage to learn it, and why was she so confident when she said it; where had that prior hesitancy gone from when I altered her desires somewhat..? Was that what had done this to her? Me altering her desires and recing them with a variant of my own, was that how she somehow managed to get a look into my mind and learn my name? It was my mana going into her body, and I was the one controlling her throughout this process, so I guess it made sense, but at the same time I was clearly thinking about Jahi during that entire thing, and yet she didn''t know Jahi''s name..?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Clearing my mind of any mention of the blue Demoness, I took a deep breath and asked Raina "What was the Demoness'' name, Raina? Do you remember her name too?", which made the Dogkin pout as she rubbed herself against the wall and said "But Kat, this was our time together... just you and me; we were supposed to have some nice sex out here without her, and now you''re bringing her back up?" I ignored her whining as I repeated the question again, and this time the Dogkin pursed her lips as she said "She just wanted us to call her ''the Demoness'', don''t you remember? You brought her home one day, after all~! It was supposed to spice up our sex life... and it has, hasn''t it~?" The stain on her robe be more prominent as she arched her body and showed off her erection again, giving me empty, yet horny eyes as she whimpered for more attention, wanting to be made to cum again. "So you don''t know her name then? But how did you..? Never mind... I think I understand now... when I asked about your desires - and reiterated what you wanted from life in my own way - you must have been influenced by my mana in some way..." I stared at her for a few moments as I chewed on my bottom lip, thinking to myself as I studied her from a few steps away and let her hump the air as she continued to pursue her horniness, hoping to have me stroke her cock once more. "Interesting... perhaps the Lust Mana I saw before - the one I used on the Fiend that sapped its desires away - was actually different from the Lust Mana that''s in my Core right now. Maybe when it''s introduced to an outside factor it changes, and since I used it on such a strong being it became far too strong for me to control..? That might exin why nothing happened with it when I introduced it to you, since you''re rather... weak. Both of body and of mind..." Stroking my chin, I tilted my head and studied Raina some more before letting out a sigh as she begged for me to give her a blowjob ''like I usually did'', the Dogkin so lost to this change I had made and still affected by the Lust Mana that she was left helpless and irritating to me, but still I left her be as my musings continued. "And if she is a ''lesser'' being like I am assuming - strength wise, anyways - then I guess that is correct... Since the quality of what I am trying to corrupt is vastly different, the changes in the Lust Mana itself is vastly different too. It is still in its... let''s just say it''s ''raw'' state, able to be used and molded as I please. But when I used it on that Fiend to sap its desires awaypletely..." Humming softly, I stared at Raina''s orgasmic face as she grunted again, her cock throbbing inside her pants as she somehow brought herself to another ejaction, this time one that didn''t have any interaction from me. That was more than enough for me to cock my fist back and properly end this here and now, the ''data'' I had managed to gather from this Dogkin securely memorized and allowing me to finish her offpletely here and now without any regrets, my questions having been somewhat answered. Obviously I had a better person to get them from, and at the very least I was hopeful that she would consider bouncing those ideas back to me so that I could learn how to control my powers properly... something I had been putting off for what feels like forever now. Though before I could consider calling out to Cali to begin going over what I had learned, I felt the all too familiar presence of my Demoness closing in, the bond between us tightening around my heart and making me panic somewhat as I raised a boot, shrouded it in ice and stomped down on Raina''s body, turning her into a paste as I got rid of all of the evidence. I felt somewhat guilty for what I had done to this woman - not me killing her, but instead the fact that I had managed to make her cum without even meaning too, and that I had been so turned on by controlling her like that that I had gotten to the point of being able to make her cum. It made me feel dirty as well, and as Jahi dropped down into the alleyway to get around my barriers, I looked away from the Demoness as that guilt took root once more, which only made the towering warrior grab me by the chin and make me look up at her. "Hey, are you alright? I felt your emotions getting out of whack a minute or so ago..." Her voice trailed off as she noticed the blood covering my body, and for a brief second worry shed inside her amethyst gaze as she looked me over, only to smile wryly as she then noticed the various corpses around me. "You got too into ying with your toys didn''t you? Hm..." Stroking my jaw, Jahi studied the bodies before leaning forwards and whispering "Why do you look so guilty, Kat? What did you do, hm? What did my tricky little puppy do this time~?", her strong grip making it impossible for me to look away. "I... I might have... gotten carried away with my Lust Mana..?" That made her pause, and I gulped as I added "I um... figured out I could do some crazy things with it, and as I made that futanari there switch her desirespletely for something else, I might have... touched her..?", which only made Jahi narrow her eyes as she stared at me deeply. "You touched her..? Like... directly? Or over her pants as a ''seduction'' thing?" The t tone made me shiver slightly, but I still answered her as I replied "O-Over the pants... and I didn''t expect her to cum, but... she did...", and as soon as that came out Jahi squeezed my jaw before sighing as she let me go. "Well, I felt that Lust Mana before, and I can say it makes you really sensitive, so if you were turning her on with your words and making her imagine things, I guess she might cum early. That''s not that surprising at all." I nodded, only to groan as Jahi grabbed my head and pushed down on me, forcing me to my knees and smacking me hard with her cock as she undid her belt and whipped it out, bathing my face in her musk as she added "So I can understand it, but that doesn''t mean I''m happy about it. Same way I''m not happy about letting that prick disappear. So suck me dry, you conniving little whore. You made her cum once? Swallow three of my loads then, and we''ll call it even." Her penis was draped across my face and scorching my skin, blocking one of my eyes and making it hard to see her face since she was busy rearranging her gear to getfortable, but when I locked eyes with her, those golden irises made me shudder before Itched onto her balls and began to do what she wanted. When she lodged herself in my throat and started ramming herself against my face, I just let her do as she pleased, the horny Demoness ravaging my throat over and over again as we remained together inside this secluded alleyway, surrounded by bodies and blood that did little at all to prevent us from indulging in our lusts. Chapter 1093: Chapter 1092: Relieving Frustrations (5) Chapter 1093: Chapter 1092: Relieving Frustrations (5) ? Leone PoV Standing in the middle of the square, I couldn''t help but sigh as I looked out over the various charred corpses that littered the ground, each one a result of my own actions as I cleared this city of its current insidious infection, but that did little to make me entirely pleased with what I was doing. It also didn''t help that I was also wondering if I could have done anything differently a little earlier in that library; was there something I could have done with my Moon Magic to make the fight easier for all of us involved? Something that I could have done if I had actually taken the time to sit myself down and study this wonderful power that I had, one that only a handful of people in the world had ess to using? It was another part of my skillset that needed me to study, and I couldn''t help but feel useless for not being able to split my mind off into an infinite amount of directions to pursue each and every single little thing possible, which was utterly irrational of me. Obviously I couldn''t do that; no one was able to take in that much information all at once without frying their mind, but it just... felt like I needed to be able to do that for this to work; we had so much talent - each of us were blessed with a surplus of it - and yet we had no damn time to work with it! No time to start exploring different routes, no time to try something new or polish something old; it was just one thing after another constantly for us, and if we weren''t burdened by something that needed to be done right that very moment... we let ourselves rx finally and do what we needed to stop ourselves from cracking beneath the pressure. Could we be ''more efficient'' whenever we relieved ourselves of that pressure? Most definitely, but that wasn''t the point of what we were doing, and that only made me more irritable and angry as I slowly walked around the square, inspecting each and every corpse as I idly sent a fireball from hand to hand to ease some of my mind. There were young and old faces beneath the char, men and women who had all made the same decision for very different reasons; they decided to do bad so that they could achieve ''good'' for themselves, be it wealth, power or pleasure... All of them came to that conclusion, and I wanted so desperately to ask them why they couldn''t just put the effort in like the rest of us, why they were trying to steal it from someone else instead of earning it for themselves, but even that made me pause. I mean... could I really talk? A silver spoon wouldn''t even begin to describe what I had at my beck and call when I was born - hells, even when I was a mere thought in both of my parent''s mind I already had more power and wealth than these people could imagine - but still, even with that I wanted to just ask them... why? Why couldn''t they have worked, why couldn''t they have put in the same effort into beingwful citizens, why were they so eager to throw away any chance of living peacefully for meager earnings? Why would they decide to do such terrible things to people for their own benefit..? And even then, I had answers, ones that I didn''t want to say I had, but ones I had anyways; it''s so much easier to take then it is to create, isn''t it?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om It''s so much easier to constantly take whatever you want instead of earning it like everyone else, it''s so thrilling to force someone to do something for you, it''s so arousing to take someone whenever you want... Isn''t that why they do it? Nudging one of the young men with my boot, I stared at his twisted expression of sheer agony and sighed, adding another to that list, one that I knew all too well; wasn''t it so much fun to bully those weaker than you? Wasn''t that thrill of utterly overpowering someone so damn addicting..? Isn''t that why I was so keen to hone my mes as much as I already had, since the hotter they got, the harder it was for anyone at all topete with me? The stronger the fire the worse the burn, and few people could quench my mes easily anymore; honestly I doubt Kat could deal with my mes either, and she was rather talented and crafty with her magic. Didn''t I pride myself so much for being better than everyone with my magic? Didn''t I- "Hey! C''mon, stop ignoring me now Leone, or I''m going to have to do something you won''t like~!" The cheery voice of Anput drew me out of my thoughts, and I turned towards the sound of her voice to find the Jackalkin sauntering into the square unbothered, her metal rod - now in a staff shape - resting on both her shoulders as she made her way towards me. I noted that the ends of her staff were caked with gore, and as she stopped to stand in front of me I sighed and reached for her cheek, where some blood resided, though that only made the Jackalkin smirk at me as she turned to kiss my hand instead. "So, what were you moping over, hm-? Can''t be that they got away, right? You saw all those damn talismans and rings and all those other goodies they had; it was like a damn arsenal strapped onto each person! Yeah, we weren''t gonna manage against them that easily." For the one who loved fighting - and winning - more than the rest of us, hearing Anput so casually brush off this ''loss'' of ours was rather shocking, though considering how she tended to swap around her emotions so regrly whenever dealing with actual issues, it wouldn''t surprise me to learn she was just as disappointed as I was. "Even then, Anput, there was so much I could have done! And yet-!" "Nope~! What''s done is done and while looking back is nice, how about we focus on the future, hm? C''mere, I got something I want to show you. And no, before you be little miss skeptical, it isn''t my cock." That made me raise a brow, and Anput paused for a moment as she nced at me and added "Yet, anyways; I do want to have a quickie before we finish up, so there is that..." before grabbing my hand and pulling me back to the library. She didn''t say anything else after that, but when we entered she led me straight to the second level, where that Caliph and Kat had been locked in battle just minutes ago; letting me go, Anput crouched down and scanned the various books before nodding and tossing one to me. "Open it up and check it out. You are fluent enough in our writtennguage, aren''t you? It''s different from yours, I believe, at least the oldernguage we used before wemonized it." "Yes, I did study yournguage a little, but... why should I be scanning through this right now, Anput..?" Even as I asked that, I opened the book and tried not to wince at the various charred and or torn pages, the book lover inside of me finding this area to be rather sacrilegious at the moment as I began to scan over the pages, skimming the information and trying to piece together this puzzle my not so academic lover was giving me. "There''s things in here that have... controlled mana changes in items... how to extract one mana and rece it with another... theoretically sound and possible, but tedious and rather... oh. Yeah, that makes sense... But still, the difference between this and what they want to do is astronomically different thanks to the scale." "Uh huh, so take a peak at this one next. Good thing these damn libraries were organized by theory and subject instead of by date or author..." Closing the first book, I caught the second and began to skim that one as well, parsing over the various Ritual Circles and diagrams inside as I said "I still aren''t really understanding what you are trying to piece together here, Anput... we know their goal already, and while the method would be nice to learn, I don''t know how much it changes..." "Mhm, mhm... So these books have what in them? Just give me an idea, alright? Like I''ve never heard of this before in my life." Sitting down on the ground and crossing her legs, Anput stared at me intensely as she waited for me to begin teaching her what was inside of these books, which made me sigh before I decided to y along with her for the time being. "The theory in this first one is discussing how to go about sessfully changing the mana type of a material or an area, and the various processes behind it. You can try to either wash away the element and turn it into raw mana before imbuing it with the element you desired, or you couldpletely sap away the mana and rece it entirely. A lot of this is... not outdated, but extremely basic and not that efficient in practice. The second book is all about how to be more efficient with your mana, and the specific theory is how to use raw mana as a power source for all of the elements since, in theory, mana is universal and it just has different ''versions'' of itself. Like how we are all mortals at the end of the day, but I''m a Vampire and you''re a Jackalkin, so we have different pros and cons but a simr ''base''." "Sure, sure, that makes sense. Now, sexy teacher, please let me know what those books all seem to have inmon, will you? What is the main string connecting them to one another, and what connects them to the people who wrote them, perhaps." There was a clear direction she wanted to take this, but she refused to give me anything at all to work with besides that ''hint'' of hers, so I sighed again and answered "Themon theme is recing mana with a different kind of mana, and the idea seems to trend primarily towards swapping out enchantments and other sorts of imbued spells, though there were brief mentions of overriding the world''s predetermined ''biome'' and recing it with a ''domain'' instead; like taking a chunk of desert and making it into a tundra, perhaps." "Yup, but... whatever, fine. What KIND of MANA are they using?" "Mana, Anput, they''re using mana. Fire Mana, Earth Mana, Wind Mana, Water Mana! What -other-!" I paused, and she pped her hands and fell back into the pile of books as she said "And she gets it after a few moments more~! Tell me, if you had some other kind of mana, like... oh, I dunno, the mana that the Tza Fiend''s use that revolves around... what was it again? Oh right, Change. Or perhaps if you had a Nua Fiend that used that nifty Decay Mana to do... oh yeah, get rid of some other mana and allow you to insert another kind of mana into the world!" "Oh." "Yeah, ''oh''. We kinda brushed it off at first, didn''t we? ''We wanna change the Sultanate!'' sounded so stupid at first, but these dumbasses are actually capable of doing just that, aren''t they? Still, no matter how many Fiends they have, the Sultanate is huge, and this sort of event is gonna be shy..." The realization hit me rather hard, and I looked down at the two books in my hand with a new light and understanding, ones that made me rather... worried for what was toe, though Anput just sat back up and rubbed her hands together as she looked up at me with a smirk. Chapter 1094: Chapter 1093: Relieving Frustrations (6)* Chapter 1094: Chapter 1093: Relieving Frustrations (6)* ? Staring into Anput''s lustful obsidian eyes, I took a step back without thinking, the hunger in her gaze as she smiled up at me ''scaring'' me somewhat as I realized just what was about to happen, and after she made mee to that rather harrowing realization on what was happening, the idea of doing anything sexual right now just felt... weird. At the same time though, it was also the perfect time for us to let loose since we were both clearly stressed out and in need of relief, and not only were we in need of release, we were also so used to this being our release that my body reacted more honestly than my mind did as I swallowed down my insistence to not do this. My cock hardened beneath my robe whilst my pussy quivered at the thought of being knotted by this horny Jackalkin, my ever present desires to do either the topping or the bottoming leading me to this interesting predicament where I was just... ready for everything to happen all at the same time. And Anput was much the same, the two of us ced in that wonderful position of always being able to alternate between blowing our load into a sublime pussy - Kat''s in particr - or having an even more sublime load dumped into us by Jahi. Of course we also loved one another, but like we had already noted - to one another and that we had told both Jahi and Kat - we were far more in love with the other two members of our polycule than we were in love with each other, but still... that wasn''t to say we didn''t love each other, nor was it to say that we didn''t lust for one another separately from Jahi or Kat. "Where... did Jahi and Kat go..?" I took another step back as Anput pressed forwards, the Jackalkin grinning at me as she wiggled a finger in front of my face, saying "Does it matter, Leone~? Besides, we both know what they''re doing, wherever they are... I bet Jahi is holding Kat by the hips right now, pinning her to the ground and smashing her hips down into her thick, juicy ass before giving her one hell of a creampie..." "Still... We should tell them about-" "Eh, they''ll learn eventually~! Besides, like I said before... we already knew they were doing something with this, the question had only shifted to how they were going to be doing those things. There''s nothing we can do now anyways; we don''t know where they are, how many there are, and rushing in blindly will only get us killed. So instead, how about we focus on having some passionate and rough sex so that I can forget about how stupid that fight was?" Grabbing my waist and grinning at me even more, Anput mmed herself against me and began to kiss and lick my neck as she murmured "Honestly, I just want something thick deep inside me, Leone... so I''m giving you this opportunity to use me like you did thatst time...", the entire time she was nipping at my flesh and teasing me with her sharp fangs. "But... Anput, we''re..." Waving my hand around, I gestured at the open space around us to make the Jackalkin back off so that we could find somewhere private to do this instead, but what the Jackalkin did instead of backing off was raise her hand and use her Earth Magic to encase us in a dome of rock, removing us from direct sight and instead cing us in a dark, dingy ce that wasn''t that romantic at all. Likely reading my thoughts on that from how I stared at her nkly, Anput chuckled and said "Make a few candles, I''ll use my metal to soundproof the dome and then we can use my cloak as some bedding tofort us as we fuck. It''ll be fine; my reputation would take more of a hit here than yours, my adorable Vampire Princess~!" I just stared at her for a few more moments before letting out a sigh as I summoned a few mes and sent them drifting around the edge of this dome, giving them enough fuel tost without my input before I ''reluctantly'' began to strip out of my robes,ying them neatly to the side and moving with a practiced tempo as I tried to hide my excitement... Which was hard to do since I was really hard right now, and as soon as I saw Anput throw off her own clothing to reveal her supple olive skin and that angry red cock that demanded attention I got even harder than before, my cock swelling to its full size and making the Jackalkin moan happily as she danced on her feet, unting off her perky tits and petite ass. "How do you want me, Leone~? Want me to take you for a ride, perhaps? Or do you want me to submit to youpletely as you fuck me from behind like the breedable little slut I can be-?" The way she bounced around in front of me was beyond tititing, and maybe it was the stress of that battle catching up to me, but hearing her say that and seeing her like this made me far hornier than normal, to the point that I reached for her in return and pushed her down, allowing me tond atop her body and pin her beneath my weight. Before she could try and say something witty or try and seduce me even more, I pressed my lips against hers and slipped inside her pussy, staking my im to being on top as I wrapped her in a hug and began to thrust forwards, filling her womb with my cock and devouring her moans. Anput tightened around me as I began to move faster and faster, each thrust into her pussy earning another moan as she was impaled on my cock, while her own knotted cock throbbed against my stomach as Iid on top of her. When I pulled away for a breath, the Jackalkin stared at me with a sultry smile as she begged me for even more, and we began to embrace even more as I hammered myself into her pussy, that warmth bing a scorching heat that consumed us both as we made love in this small, cloistered dome where nothing else matted besides pleasure. The firelight illuminating her skin drew my eyes towards her impressive muscles, the flickering lights making each hard earned line of her body stand out even more and force me to appreciate each one as I traced my hands over them, losing myself to the firmness of her muscles and the heat of her skin. It didn''t take long for me to cum - something I had always felt slightly ashamed of - inside of my lover, my balls clenching against her supple ass as I squirted my sperm into her womb, giving her the creampie she wanted even though I hadn''t made her cum yet either. Though before I could have her make fun of me or try and say anything at all about me cumming early, I pulled out for a brief moment and hastily flipped her around so that I could stare down at her chiseled back and admire it as I stuffed her pussy to the brim as best I could. Her moaning gradually became a crescendo of lust that I added to with my own moans as I fucked her from behind, the Jackalkin burying her face into the cloak and clenching at it as I took her harder and harder before cumming again. This time she joined me, her pussy mping down around my penis and writhing to life as she squirted onto my thighs, showing me her ecstasy in a physical way even as she pleaded with me for more, the usually dominant Jackalkin now begging for even more pleasure as she was pressed into the ground.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om It was this duality that she offered that intrigued me the most, this lowly pleading to be turned into a bitch meant only for breeding contrasting her usual haughty demeanor that she normally wore everywhere with pride; one day she could be this meek, moldable puppy whimpering at your every action, and the next she was a ferocious apex predator threatening to put you into your ce. That was what made me fascinated with her, and I got to see that close up as I finished inside her for the third time, each consecutive orgasm inside my lover filling me with contentment as I made us both feel good, but all of a sudden I was pushed back as she used her firm ass as a weapon to knock me back, allowing her to bounce on my cock until I was cumming for the forth time today. When I was lost in the throes of orgasm, Anput abruptly stood up and smirked at me as I whimpered, the loss of her wet pussy around my cock making this ejaction feel worse than the others, especially since I could see my seed shooting into the air and missing her skinpletely, making me feel like it was a waste. Even as she showed me her creamy pussy and allowed my sperm to drip back down onto my cock, I only felt displeasure at her actions, but she didn''t care at all since what she wanted was to change things up, and she did so by grabbing me by the hair and yanking me up, allowing her to push me back down onto the ground on my stomach as she spanked me over and over again. When she deemed me sufficiently prepared, the Jackalkin thrust herself inside me and began to vigorously hump my ass as she got me ready to be knotted, her low, demeaning growls filling my ears as she ravaged me without warning. It was that duality that I loved about her, and as she showed it to me in full, I slowly felt my stress melt away as everything became okay again, the irritation from the battle, the minor self loathing... all of it was swept away as pain reced it, pain that was inflicted on me only to make my lover feel better as she flooded my womb with semen in an attempt to knock me up. Chapter 1095: Chapter 1094: Relieving Frustrations (7)* Chapter 1095: Chapter 1094: Relieving Frustrations (7)* ? "I needed that so badly... was it as good for you as it was for me, Leone~? I can just see~ how excited you still are from all of this... Did you like it~? C''mon tell me Leone~! I want to hear you say it~!" Her incessant poking of my breast as sheid beside me brought a sigh to my lips as I stirred from thefortable bliss of being post orgasm, and as I turned to stare at her face I tried to give an irritated quip, only to smile when those warm obsidian eyes met my own and she leaned forwards to rub her nose against mine. "I loved it, Anput... I''ve always loved it, will always love it, just like I''ll always love you..." Kissing her, I didn''t mind the way she hugged me as her hands trailed down my back andnded on my butt, nor did I stop her from rubbing her slimy cock against my own penis as we embraced inside the dome she had created, the candlelight giving it that extra oomph as we enjoyed this moment of calm. She obviously tried to take us further once more, but I reluctantly stopped her from inserting herself into me as I said "We shouldn''t... we need to find Jahi and Kat and tell them about our discoveries, and we should make our way back to the pce and tell the Sultana too. Maybe she can begin organizing a search party for this group?" Anput sighed at my gentle push back on her body, the Jackalkin still clearly yearning for more as she gave my ass a firm squeeze that almost made me acquiesce, but after a moment she reluctantly sat up and stretched out her tense muscles, only to groan happily as I began to give those wonderful muscles a stimting rub. "Alright... mm... Leone, when we get back... put those hands of yours to good use and massage me, alright~? I''ll let you top me again in exchange~! Especially if you add your magic to it to make me all warm and fuzzy~!" Her smile turned to a grin as she showed off the parts of her that needed a special massage, and I couldn''t help but blush as I realized just how much ''damage'' I had dealt to her petite pussy alongside how much ''damage'' she had dealt to mine. There was so much cum coating our loins at the moment, and as I tried to clean us both up so that we could walk around freely, Anput just leaned forwards and stroked my cheek as she whispered "The only way to get me to be ''clean'' after we leave this dome is if you use those pretty lips of yours alongside that perfect tongue..." Pouting at her, I tried to hide my own embarrassment as she handed me my clothes and got up, extending the dome upwards to give us space as she began to encase her lower half in mana so that she wouldn''t soil her own clothing more than we already had, the Jackalkin leaningpletely into this ''demand'' of hers and making me pout even more as she forced my hand. The next few minutes were spent with the Jackalkin grinning at me as I cleaned her cock and pussy sufficiently for what I had avable - my tongue - so that we could go outside and not be looked at weirdly, even if I had a feeling the Death Jackals were all more than aware of what we were doing inside this dome of ours... When we were dressed and refreshed, I walked alongside the Jackalkin and had a bit more to share of my thoughts on how the method might be able to be changed with Fiend Magics forced into the equation, and I knew that Anput was trying to follow along and be a nice springboard for me to bounce ideas off of, but I was also aware she didn''t really follow what I was saying as well as I was needing her too.N?v(el)B\\jnn We were just roaming the city following our instincts as we searched for our other two lovers, and while we were both itching to rejoin them and upy one of the houses here for a little bit to have some fun, we were also enjoying one another''spany as we took this moment to just... be together, just the two of us. We can make it if we try... at least that was what I was thinking as I brought the conversation around to more familiar grounds for my lover, allowing her to actually participate and feel like she was an equal part of this conversationpared to before, and the discussion became focused on how we might make some of her personal projects in the futuree out the way she wanted. Those metals that she wanted to create to look certain ways when she finished shaping them and tempering them, the leather that she needed to have dyed a certain way... all of it was open for discussion as we took our time to get to them. It was... refreshing for it to be just us, and realizing that - despite her arrogance and inclined nature to unt her strength like a meathead most of the time - when we began to talk about her artistic abilities as a cksmith, Anput became really passionate and extremely adorable as she got excited to share this or that with me. Now I knew what Jahi was talking about whenever she told me that she loved listening to me ramble on about my alchemy or my spell work; I had always thought she was making fun of me when she said that, but now I knew she was just admiring me and enjoying how passionate I could be. The mood we had created between us as we walked around the streets trying to find the troublesome duo was a good one, which was why I was a tad disappointed when it was swept away when we turned down into a sinister alley that was at odds with itself. On one hand the sheer amount of blood and gore around us made it clear who had gotten here first, but on the other hand... well, the moaning and pping of flesh on flesh as a woman was fucked hard and good against the walls of the alley made it abundantly clear who had decided this alley was the best ce to spend their time. The wall of ice that blocked direct ess was of no consequence to me as I simply melted a door into it, ignoring the way the Dogkin being bent over and pressed against the wall turned to re at me as I did so, though she had little ability to do anything besides look since a powerful Demoness was busy rampaging inside of her. Anput instantly strode forwards and took her spot beside Jahi, the Jackalkin staring down at Kat''s ass and watching as it rippled each time the Demoness thrust forwards, and after a moment Anput turned to the Demoness and began to hug her, running her hands over her abdomen and feeling her up as she tried to steal away some of her attention. Kat hung her head and moaned loudly without any restraint as she was fucked hard in this alleyway, the Dogkinpletely unbothered with the idea of being heard by anyone at all as she just gave herself up to her lover to use her body however she wanted, and that currently meant being stuffed full of cum. I tried to figure out what happened here as I walked around the alley, somewhat ignoring the three others as I studied the corpses and the damage that had been dealt to them, immediatelying to the realization that Kat had been more irritated about the disappearance of the Caliph than we had, and it made it clear why she was so okay with being ravaged in ''public''. Still, even then it was making me question what else she had done - or what else she had been thinking of - to warrant this to happen in this dreadful location of all ces; I could understand the appeal of having sex outdoors - it seemed to be a thrilling idea - but I could not understand having sex in a ughterhouse like this alleyway... Though even as I thought that I couldn''t help but steal nces at Kat as she moaned over and over again as she was bred by Jahi, the vigorous pping of thighs against one another filling the air alongside everything else to create a cacophony of sex that got me raring to go again. And when Jahi let out a guttural roar and pumped Kat full of sperm for who knows how many times now, both Anput and I shuddered as we watched her swollen balls lift slightly as she shot her seed into the Dogkin''s pussy, her cock getting milked expertly by the best pussy in existence. The sheer amount of sperm that trickled down Kat''s thighs as Jahi kept cumming made it clear something had happened that made Jahi so riled up, and that became crystal clear when she pulled out and smacked Kat''s ass hard before grabbing Anput and throwing her against the wall, tearing away her clothes and beginning to pound her next as she started with the next avable pussy. So it was obvious that Kat would seek out thest of our group to satisfy her ever present, never diminishing urges, and it was obvious that I was incapable of oveing the impossiblyrge desires I had for her, so when we eventually finished up in that alleyway... it was of no surprise that that Jahi and I were waddling as we regretted cumming as much as we had... while Anput and Kat waddled because they werepletely full of our seed. Chapter 1096: Chapter 1095: Lustful Discussions* Chapter 1096: Chapter 1095: Lustful Discussions* ? "Alright, I can''t help it..." The rough growling from beside me was the only warning I had before I was yanked into the Demoness'' arms and kissed roughly, my lover biting my lip and forcing herself into my mouth as she grabbed at me like I was a toy. We had just managed to get into the inn that we were going to rest at for the day so that we could discuss what we knew ande up with a few different ns for whatever might happen going forwards, but sadly we weren''t that ''capable'' of restraining ourselves as soon as we were left alone. Anput and Leone stared at Jahi for a few moments before sighing as they took a seat on the bed, watching as the Demoness walked me over to them and shuffling to the side as she pushed me onto it, not relenting at all as she tore off my clothes and started to fuck me once more. mping a hand over my mouth to prevent me from speaking, Jahi groaned as she submerged her thick cockpletely inside my pussy, enjoying the massage I gave her and stirring around the vast amount of semen that bloated my womb from earlier; as sheid on top of me, Jahi''s nostrils red as she half red, half sneered at me, the Demoness'' expression causing our other two lovers to tilt their heads as they wondered what brought this on. "This cock hungry slut right here was ying with her food earlier and made them cum before killing them off... didn''t you? Our busty bitch used her Lust Mana to experiment on some futanari dumbass and ''identally'' made them ejacte in their pants..."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om My heart leapt a little inside of my chest as she growled that out, and both Anput and Leone raised a brow as they turned to focus their now hollow gazes on me instead, the abyssal ck and hellish crimson making my skin crawl as I tried to defend myself, only for Jahi to crawl forwards and lodge her penis deep inside my womb, piercing mepletely on her cock. Being made to feel her so intensely in one of my most sensitive spots was mind numbingly great, and I felt my grasp on her words beginning to slip as one of her hands sped my neck and slowly start to squeeze it, the suddenck of air, the other hand firmly over my mouth and finally her penis threatening to split me in half bing far too much even for me, something Jahi knew intimately after having used this same trick many a time. "She says it was an ident, and I have just been double checking that it was as I yed with her... but honestly, this is just an excuse to do what I want to her, really... I know she isn''t lying, but still..." The Demoness sneered at me before looking at both Anput and Leone as she added "And after those pricks managed to escape so easily from us before, I need something to help me get over that irritation... We didn''t even ''lose'' that fight but I''m so fucking angry...", which made us all shiver as her eyes shed gold for a brief moment. It was times like this that reminded me how little actual experience we all had in fighting against other mortals, at least against mortals that were actually trained, talented and well equipped; the amount of fodder we had killed is certainly high, but those three were well above fodder, and even if the sheer amount of enchanted items detracted from how strong they actually were, it didn''t matter. That was something that we all knew, but irrationally we were all angry at the way that fight had been handled, the inexperience on our end mixing with the overconfidence we had gone into the fight with, even if it wasn''t on purpose; that just irked us all immensely, and now we all needed something else to focus on to get rid of this misguided negativity that we were fostering in ourselves. Sadly for me - not really, though I was a just a tad annoyed at how this started off - the way that Jahi wanted to get rid of her negativity was by pouring it inside of me just for the hell of it, and she proceeded to do just that as she kept rocking her body back and forth, taking me slowly as she coaxed the sperm from her balls. Sitting on either side, Anput and Leone just watched me get stuffed without doing anything to help or to join in,pletely content with letting Jahi have me for now as they instead began to discuss this topic above me,ing up with some solutions for our problem with the Fingers. They weren''t entirely glossing over my earlier ''transgressions'' but they most definitely weren''t focusing on them right now, so I didn''t mind being quieted by Jahi as I listened to them even as a Demoness'' juicy cock was smacking the back of my womb over and over again. "The enchanted gear was the main problem there, wasn''t it? They were skilled fighters and mages, most definitely, but they had so many peculiar items that they just kept pulling out over and over again..." "Fighting inside of a library certainly didn''t help us though, since the enclosed space and sensitivity of the bookspletely inhibited by ability to fight, while the height advantage they had from the get go was made even worse thanks to that lightning storm they summoned; those bolts hit really hard as they sped up over the increased distance..." "I imagine if we had some cohesion in our group we might''ve done better, though I''m not entirely certain of that either..." Jahi joined in the conversation with a grunt, getting their attention as they looked towards her hips to try and gauge how close she was to cumming, which clued me in on how much they wanted me as well since it seemed like they were nning on taking turns on me as they chatted. "What would''ve really helped us... would have been the use of this slut''s Lust Magic on one of them at the very least... and to that end we really do need to discuss her ''training'' with it... Gods above..!" The hand over my mouth squeezed harder than before as Jahi rode out my orgasm as best she could, the spasming of my pussy around her cock and the tightness bing almost too much for her forcing my lover to concentrate on not cumming as she became motionless. When I finished cumming from this incessant pounding I was receiving, Jahi was dragging in deep breaths as she slowly resumed thrusting, the Demoness eventually moving her hand from my lips as she looked down at me with a narrowed gaze, her amethyst eyes filled withplicated emotions. "You''re going to need to practice your magic... alongside one of us at the very least, Kat... So that nothing like earlier ever happens again..." She groaned and sped the back of my head as she hugged me close, burying my face between her breasts and suffocating me in her scent as she humped me as hard as she could to blow her load as deeply as she could, and I felt my head begin to spin as thick ropes of sperm heated up my insides even more than they already were. I was stuffedpletely with Jahi''s everything at the moment, so when I felt her unsteadily - and reluctantly - pull out of me and allow all of that cum to flow out of my bruised pussy, I whimpered at how cold I began to feel, only for my mate to slip on over and take Jahi''s ce as the Demoness stood up and wiped at her brow, brushing her hair out of her eyes and allowing her to see Anput start fucking me right after she was done. Plopping onto the bed beside me - where Anput had been a moment ago - Jahi yawned and turned to stare at Leone as she asked "Do you think Kat could do well in a controlled environment with us to help her, or am I being too... possessive?" "It... would be best to keep an eye on her... if she did that already - even identally - I don''t really want to leave her be with some random man, futanari or woman... We don''t really know how potent her Lust Mana is on others, let alone if it has effects on her. The real question though is what can she do to not have that-" They began to discuss my own magic right above me, and while I was desperately trying to follow their conversation and even join in on it, Anput sank her fangs into my pheromone nd and mped a hand over my lips as she mimicked Jahi, turning me into a fuck doll meant for only her use right now, so I wasn''t able to follow the words being spoken above me, though I did know that they were making decisions already without me. I''d eventually learn of them, but for now I was being knotted by a Jackalkin who wanted to rid herself of her frustrations and who was adamant on disciplining me, only for me to then have a Vampire smack her gigantic cock on my belly and take her ce when she finished cumming. They went through another rotation before they were satisfied, and by that time night had fallen, so we cloistered ourselves inside that inn and began to go over our spoils and sufficiently mark the room as ours as we had sex nonstop, our hunger for one another only growing as the night went on. Chapter 1097: Chapter 1096: Contemplating Fiends (1) Chapter 1097: Chapter 1096: Contemting Fiends (1) ? By the time everything was finished, I was sore beyond belief and regretting giving my lovers the freedoms that they currently had with me, though as I felt the all too familiar and wee firmness of Jahi''s arm as sheid beside me, that thought of mine drifted away as I snuggled into the less sore Demoness. "We really do need to set some baselines, Kat... you cannot be doing any experimentations with that Lust Mana on your own anymore, not when we don''t understand just what it is and how it affects not only you, but the people involved. We just don''t know enough for me to feelfortable letting you frolic about unhindered by worry or restraint." She peeked down at me as she felt me rustling beside her, but before I could say anything to that she added "And that goes for you two as well, and of course I''ll try to hold myself to the same standard... Anything that seems too dangerous, tooplicated or too misunderstood needs to be analyzed by us all and studied by us all. I don''t want us to end up walking down a path we could have avoided if we weren''t so infatuated with learning no matter the cost." "Wow~! The Demoness wants to share the burden of hubris with all of her women no matter what-? How utterly charming of you, Bluey~! Amazing!" Cali popped into being above us and grinned as she drifted aroundzily, just like she always did whenever she showed up; it had be somon that none of us even jumped at that sudden appearance, though I did know that Leone was currently pulling some of the bedsheets onto herself to cover up. "It''s a good idea that I think would do us more good than anything else, ''Caligo. A different perspective looking at it in its entirety could help the one who actually uses or has that thing see it in a new way and understand it even more. You of all people shouldn''t be making fun of me wanting Kat to study Lust Mana in controlled environments where we can help her." That made the Arch Fiend pause as she stared intently at me for a few moments, before her grin returned with a vengeance as she lowered herself slightly to fix us with her heavy gaze, the lust inside almost palpable as she began to purr at whatever was going on in her head. The snakes around her head began to hiss and re at the Arch Fiend, her thoughts shared to these adorable little noodles, and some of them turned to stretch out towards me as they hissed a greeting, the softer tone and expressions making me smile as I reached up and caressed them. For once she ignored them entirely as she whispered "On one hand - logically - I agree with you, Bluey; if she does something stupid because she''s so lost to this ''Lust'' inside her, I would be rather angry at the loss of such a good contractee, but... Think about it; the kind of shenanigans that she of all people might get up to if she did lose herself to that ''Lust''~?" Reaching down for us both, Cali licked her lips and stroked our cheeks as she continued on, each passing moment spent hovering above us giving me the impression of a bastardized painting of something that was meant to be divine... "You think that a mistaken stroke of some subpar mutt would have been the end of it if she didn''t need to worry about being a good little wife to you three~? By the time you came across that alleyway, Bluey, your dear Dogkin woman would have been high on the thrills of making that mutt into a ve with nothing but a quick jerk of her hand and the shing of her honeypot... Like an ant to a trap, that mutt would have been ensnaredpletely by your oh so wonderful slut of a lover, and whenever said slut wanted a quick fix of attention she would just turn towards that mindless fool and shed her a sultry smile... Trust me, I would NOT mind seeing that at all, though at the end of it all I think I would be disappointed, but still... it might just be worth the disappointment~!" Giggling to herself, Cali pat our cheeks like we were children and floated upwards just out of reach, ensuring the Demoness couldn''t grab her as she lost herself to that thought for a few seconds, leaving us to contemte her words. "Lose myself to it... and you made it sound like it wasn''t my own lust driving me back then..? As much as I hate saying it, a part of me was - and always will be - aroused by being able to control a simpleton like that ''mutt'' with just the bare minimum, but..." Jahi squeezed my shoulder while Anput and Leone let out slightly choked and angry grunts as they sat up to re at me, but I stared intently at Cali as I asked "You''re saying that the Lust Mana itself actually works both ways, and that it does actively affect me if I''m not controlling itpletely? Is that what you''re hinting at? I was trying to use it to first muddle and then alter that ''mutt''s'' mind, but I wasn''t really guarding myself from it since... well, I don''t guard myself from my normal mana at all..." Cali''s grin widened yet again as she bobbed her head back and forth and hummed to herself, not saying a word to me whilst also telling me to continue on specting, her eyes sparkling with a mixture of mischief and pride as she drifted around the ceiling. "And earlier, with that other Fiend, I did have an odd moment where it just... slipped out of my controlpletely, like it was almost sentient with how it was fighting against me and doing what it could to escape..." When I trailed off again and tried to connect a myriad of dots together in my mind, Cali rolled her eyes and shook her head as she said "You think too much in singr directions sometimes... You''re pursuing the idea of it being sentient right now and not thinking about what might have MADE it sentient." My eyes widened slightly as I stared at the Arch Fiend above, only for Leone to gasp as she said "The Fiend we fought... you said you sapped it of its lust to do anything at all, right? What if you didn''t just sap it, but you actually removed itpletely when you extracted that Lust Mana from it? And the reason it was fighting against your control was because it was no longer JUST your Lust Mana, but instead-" "Abination of my Lust Mana and its... will? Its desires given a ''physical'' form thanks to the mana it was now connected to? That... would make sense, yet it doesn''t exin how-" "It doesn''t need to make sense to you right now, dear. The same way you can barely exin the concept of light and it having a certain amount of speed tied to it to a toddler, you wouldn''t understand it even if I smacked you in the face with it. Few of your mortals actually understand Fiend Magics, and I love watching you flounder around trying to im you do~!" Her snakes hissed at her for that, and this time she gently smacked the nose of one of them as she growled "I''m not being rude, I''m being honest! Quiet now, alright?!", which earned her another chorus of hisses as that one snake pulled back and looked at me with a rather pitiful gaze, like it was begging me toe to its aid.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Don''t you start now..." She let out a sigh and rolled her eyes, and before I could help the adorable noodle she turned towards Leone as the Vampire asked "Then does that mean my assumption that those members of the Fingers with contracts with Fiends are likely being double crossed in exchange for short term power? Or should we worry that there are a few amongst them that are sort of like you and how you have a contract with Kat?" "I want to be irritated with you for insinuating that those other lesser Fiends could even be anything remotely simr to me, but I understand the semantics well, Vampire, and I appreciate the way you were moving earlier with Kat, so... I''ll let it slide." Leone turned crimson at that, the reminder that Cali waspletely and unabashedly aware of what we did since she most definitely watched us go at it embarrassing my lover, but that didn''t matter at all to Cali as she waved her hand and continued on without missing a beat. "The likelihood of those contracts being genuine depends entirely on how pressured and how smart the mortals were. See, a contract with a Fiend is a funny thing; we aren''t obligated to do much, but our word - when made into a pact - binds uspletely until we do what we said we would do or die trying. That''s the reason you all don''t need to worry about me turning Kat here into a fun puppet to y this game called life through; I could have her selling herself at a corner for a single copper before having her ughter an entire vige for fun because I find it amusing, but I promised and vowed to let her continue making her own choices, and I promised to not interfere with her life in those ways. I''m also a wonderful~ person in general, so there''s that too~!" Chapter 1098: Chapter 1097: Contemplating Fiends (2) Chapter 1098: Chapter 1097: Contemting Fiends (2) ? "So then let''s assume that it''s a... fifty fifty split of some of the members of the Finger''s having the smarts and the wit to broker an even deal with the Fiends and some not being that smart. That''s also taking into ount that not all of those contracts would be as incredibly potent as the one you and Kat have together..." ncing at Leone, I nodded thoughtfully as I added "And if they don''t have ess to Fiendish Magic themselves through their own Core - like how I have that crest that allows me to wield some of it however crudely I can manage - and that they instead need to rely on a plethora of enchanted items to get by, then how powerful would the really be?" The Vampire and I shared a look as we tried to puzzle our way through that as well, though Anput brought up an excellent point as she remained t on her back, staring at the ceiling with a slightly bored gaze. "It isn''t just the enchanted items themselves, really. It''s the type of magic that is enchanted onto those items and whether or not someone amongst them can take it apart, figure out how it works and piece it together again on something else with more conventional and readily avable magics. I mean, isn''t that teleportation spell technically a extremely boosted movement spell, at least very loosely?" "You think they are not only getting some good gear from the Fiends, but they are also reverse engineering some of these things for themselves so that they don''t need to worry about the Fiends potentially backstabbing them with the gear they were given? It is most definitely a usible theory, and one we should ept as factual so long as we remain unaware of the truth." "Cali, what exactly would each branch of the Fiend''s various magics be capable of? Are there variations of Fiend Magic, or is it all just Lust Magic with a personal twist?" Humming quietly to herself, the Arch Fiend turned to face me as she replied "They are all the same with a personal twist, but just like how your Wind Magic can be varied depending on the person to have incredibly diverse effects, so too can our Lust Magics have very different applications. Not only that, but the mastery of the Domain and a deeper understanding of what it is changes the magics as well, so my Lust Mana is so very different from what another lesser Fiend is capable of. Where I deal in your desires - be they for sex, wine, battle or even life itself - most of the lesser Fiends only understand Lust Mana as a way to make sex all the better, so they focus on the arousal aspect. You could have a Tza Fiend who loves the idea of expediting change no matter the cost whilst another could enjoy a slower, more meticulous change that doesn''t really seem that noticeable; they''re both change, but the way they are applied is different. But at the base, yes, they are both the exact same type of mana." "So then, if we are to assume that there are no Arch Fiend''s amongst them, they are likely to have rather... not vani, but still kind of basic types of magics granted to them by their contractors? And would this shared magic weaken the Fiends at all, or is it something that is just... not that noticeable to even the most base of Fiends?" "All these questions... Yes, they likely have extremely simple types of magics being lended to them, and yes, the lenders are likely not as strong as normal since they are potentially loaning their mana to someone else in one way or another. Remember, where you regenerate and gather your mana from the environment around you, us Fiends need a source that directly corrtes to the thing we need in order to get our mana back." We all shared a look now as we mentally reviewed everything, with the rapid fire information we were formting slowlying together as we pieced every morsel to something that made sense, all while we also recuperated physically. "They''re most definitely going to be troublesome and tricky at the very least then. Maybe not strong individually, not talented or amazing at what they do, but they will have tricks to y one way or another, be it through enchanted shenanigans or some power gained from being contracted with a Fiend. Which means we have a group of really dangerous people running around trying to turn a desert into another biome... and they aren''t just joking around. Great." The Demoness beside me sighed and rested a hand over her eyes as she had everything sink in slowly from this discussion, and I smiled wryly as I realized just how crazy it soundedpared to what had brought us here in the first ce... we just wanted to kill a few Fiends, and now we were dealing with a sort of Cult like group that had many Fiends handing out contracts to already irritating people... "How much power would they need to actually alter the geography of the Sultanate like that, Cali? Is that actually feasible with just a handful of normal Fiends, or are they just crazy?" Letting out a snicker, Cali drifted down and asked me "Don''t you have mortals around that can actively alter the area with a sizable Core and a couple of potions? What do you think a collection of Fiends would be able to do it they poured their mana together and worked towards a single goal?" Pursing my lips at her reply, I nuzzled closer to Jahi again as I contemted that for a few moments more before I sighed and said "Then we really do have an actual threat to the entire Sultanate on our hands right now... Isn''t this a nice vacation that we took, hm-? A rxing trip to the scorching desert, where we nned to visit a few nightclubs, get drunk, have sex and train? And now here we are..." "Here we are~! You can''t change that we did just happen to uncover a major plot like this, though I imagine the Death Jackals have a few thoughts that they''re keeping to themselves right about now considering our involvement..." Anput grinned at us before she got up and stretched away her aches, the Jackalkin letting out a content groan as she added "Still though, I think we should get going soon. There is nothing else inside of Bascra to keep us upied anymore, so let''s head home and tell Mom about what happened here and get her input on it." We all reluctantly got up and began to clean off, the broad healing spell that Leone and I cast on everyone doing its job perfectly as we managed to getpletely back to ''normal'' despite the various things we had just done. Gathering our gear and stowing away our spoils from this little outing in Bascra, we got everything together and got ourselves ready to leave as we left the inn a few minutester, deciding that it''d be better to leave now and reach the pce before night fell, which would let us spend the night in luxury instead of in this boring inn. It wasn''t the most ideal n, and we were going to be pushing the Jackals just a little bitpared to normal, but it was also something that I agreed that we needed to do since there was no telling how quickly they could put that stolen knowledge to use and begin this insane idea of theirs. We needed to have the country prepared and on the lookout for them so that there was no possible way that they could do this, and I believed every single minute mattered with this when it came to Fiends having any sort of input on this crazy n to terraform the entire country.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om It sounds so impossible considering the overabundance of Fire Mana that was stifling the entire desert, and yet if there was any possible group that could somehow make that Fire Mana turn into it''s opposite, it would be the Tza Fiends working with a plethora of over eager, strong but stupid Fiends. Having arge quantity of living batteries to power up the various experiments that you wanted to perform alongside the various pitiful mortals doing your bidding to help things go smoothly as you just did the simple thing of altering the world itself on a giant level. So we went down into themon area of the inn, grabbed a quick bite to eat - whilst ignoring the various stares we got from the many inhabitants of the inn as they tried to figure out if they should thank us for helping save them or if they should ask if we were alright - and headed out to find Hera, who was standing right outside of the door waiting for us. Chapter 1099: Chapter 1098: Intriguing Idea Chapter 1099: Chapter 1098: Intriguing Idea ? Even though the wind was battering against my face as the Jackal powered over the sand with frightening ease and rtive silence, the sun above us was being an absolute prick as it slowly - painfully crawling through the sky at a snails pace - descended down towards the horizon, emitting that heat that made me feel like I was being baked alive despite all the measures I had taken. A Mana Cloak made from icy water that bathed my entire body, an enhancer to the wind smacking against me,pletely covered in breathable cloth, hydrated and satiated... there was nothing I could do to be more prepared for the desert we were riding through, and yet here I was, miserable and wanting to bury myself beneath the sand to escape the sun''s rays even if that meant actually being baked. At least I could create an insted and frosted bunker beneath the sand and away from the sun if I did so, but we couldn''t stop at all right now, not with the sheer amount of information and preparations we needed to deliver andplete. So I decided to gently guide my Jackal to the side so that I could keep it in pace with her own mount, bringing me level with her and allowing me to distract myself from the brutal heat as I focused my energy instead on overheating my brain. "Leone!" Shouting out her name, I watched as the Vampire turned to stare at me curiously, her equally covered body reminding me that - while she was a prolific Fire Mage with incredible mana and talent - she was still a Vampire at the end of the day, and the sun was something she didn''t particrly care for since it hurt her skin after long amounts of time; likely some sort of skin rted issue like photosensitivity that wasbined with the variation of albinism that their race had. Either way, she wasn''t doing as bad as I was, but she was most definitely ufortable right now, which was why she had been ying around with her magic as she upied her mind as best she could, though now that I was calling out to her, she focused on me instead. "I had a couple questions I wanted to ask you, with the first being about those enchanted items they used!" The wind whipped between us as we made this attempt to chat, and with me amplifying it somewhat, it was a bit difficult to properly hear everything, but with where we were now in terms of strength our hearing was rather good, so separating the background noise and our voices was rather easy. Something that I was still getting used to, honestly, since I had lived so long with terrible hearing as a human; the wonders of being part dog, I imagine, which was exactly why I had gravitated towards this slightly cheaper, but incredibly adaptable and utility oriented race. "They had a myriad of elements at their disposal that I don''t think they themselves had inside their Cores, so I wanted to ask how much time we would need to put into creating those Magic Pens for enchanting with all of our elements; the Lightning Mana you and I could create, the Metal Mana that Anput has, and then the Nature Mana that I could make with Anput. Were we close at all, or do we still have a ways to go?" "Depends on what you want. I have a few ideas that would be rush job experiments, others that need a little more tuning and research, and of course the primary, safer and more guaranteed yet longer method of us just sitting down and working it out to a certain point before conducting tests. If we do rush jobs, I say we only need about... a week tops to figure it out? The hardest part is keeping the mana from mixing. And this is entirely if we want to do it ourselves; I''m pretty sure those Magic Pens already exist out in the world on a rtively avable basis, but of course they''re expensive. Most normal, reusable and adequate Magic Pens cost a dozen gold or so, remember? So a Magic Pen that could store multiple mana types would easily match an alchemy set in terms of pricing..." That gave me a bit of pause, and I mulled it over for a moment before shrugging as I replied "Let''s do a couple rushed experiments then, when we get back to the Empire. Or we could try it here, I think, right? We just need some Mana Crystals and some mana conductive metals to work with?" Getting the nod from Leone was a nice feeling since it meant we could begin working towards a different kind of strength, and while it wasn''t one that was necessarily difficult or something that would bolster our foundations, at this point I was sort of done trying to worry about that... "Next question then! When we were fighting them, I realized that the style they used - if you can even call it a style, really - of making use of a myriad of external items to enhance their own personal strength was rather... well, it was oppressive, wouldn''t you agree?" Again, she gave me a nod and waited for me to continue, the Vampire curiously staring at me as she wondered where I was going to take this, and after another moment of waiting she just smiled wryly at me for what I said. "So that had gotten me thinking about ways to improve our own fighting styles, right, and the first thing that came to mind was something that we''ve been facing in abundance with the other Fiends and their Cults; those incantations that they used, they were pretty powerful too, and whilst enchanted items are far more... random in what they can be - and therefore more unpredictable for the opponent - I was wondering if you think merging our more modern magic - Ritual Circles - with the older version of magic - Incantations - together would be a good idea?" The wry chuckle I got from my lover was an answer in and of itself, but I still needed her to borate further so I could see if I was just being rather conceited in thinking that would be easy or if I was being stupid in trying to merge a clearly inferior system with something that was just better. "So there are a few things I can say to that, all of which have various reasons as to why this would be a... certainly an idea; not a good one, but not a bad one, at least necessarily... Firstly, there''s the obvious; we''ve beenining about not having anywhere near enough time to actually get our bearing and do the things we want to do, let alone train properly, and now you want us to learn apletely different skill, master it, and merge it with what we currently have?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Leone wasn''t looking at me like I was stupid, which was nice, but hearing what was only her first point already made me smile back at her wryly as I nodded, realizing that one major w I hadn''t really thought about just yet. "Secondly, there''s a reason Incantations are considered ''old school'' magic, and it isn''t for ack of power. I mean, those Fiends and their Cults are using powerful magic that could easily kill someone with the same amount of mana used and the same amount of damage done that a spell made from runes would do. The reason it''s considered an outdated school of magic is simple; shaping your mana with your voice to create a spell is making it super easy for your opponents to create a counter spell, and it eliminates the surprise of casting something. Speaking out ''Fireball!'' whenever I want to cast a simple spell would let my opponents know I was using a certain kind of spell - a projectile - and it would allow them to react ordingly. Nowadays we use runes, right? Reading spells isn''t hard, yes, but you can hear far better and far quicker than you can see, and you''re a Dogkin. People in general can hear quicker and clearer than we can see andprehend, so that makes it hard for someone to counteract your magic. That''s the main reason I think this isn''t that good of an idea..." I went and tried to say something to both agree and disagree with my lover, but she just raised a hand and moved on to her next point as she kept me quiet, making me pout slightly as she really drilled this home. "Lastly, the reason it''s a bad idea is simple; mixing speech and written elements together might work, but that''s going to need a really fascinating butplex and somewhat redundant technique to cast something that might just be a few percentage points better, and yes, while just... 5% of something can be a big difference, more often than not it''s not going to be that important. So the short answer is no, Kat, for right now trying to merge the two isn''t entirely feasible, not if you have a way to learn, master, and most importantlyprehend Incantations on a deep level in a short period of time, whilst having some more time tobine them together to create a variation of magic that isn''t exactly that much better than the system we''re already making use of today. It is a fascinating idea, and I wouldn''t mind trying it out, but..." She gave me a shrug and tapped at her fangs, before adding "I have a handful of other magics to try out, my racial powers to worry about, physical training, my alchemy, helping with your enchanting, getting some work done for Anput, researching... my te is overflowing, and while the other two might be able to fit learning Incantations onto their tes, I just... don''t know if they could manage putting those two things together and getting to that final result without... intense teaching." That made me grin as I nced at our two lovers, who were riding just ahead of us with a discussion of their own barely carrying back to us, though the little we could hear showed the difference between us as clearly as night and day... They were talking about how to best improve certain muscle groups for both practical applications as well as aesthetically pleasing purposes, with the predominant focus right now being on what would make them look more appealing to Leone and I. Chapter 1100: Chapter 1099: Making a Financial Decision Chapter 1100: Chapter 1099: Making a ''Financial'' Decision ? "You really don''t think that those couple of percentage points of power would make a difference? Or that it would only be upwards of five to seven percent stronger on average? I really was thinking that it''d be a bit more... potent. I mean, those Incantations that those Cultists used were pretty strong back then, so-!" Leone dismounted from her Jackal and gave me a small smile as she heard me trying to start that conversation back up again, the Vampire walking over to me and helping me down as she said "Kat, I''m not going to argue with you, but I will say that yes, the average would likely be barely five percent with the best of luck, and anything higher is really pushing it. If you want to pursue it still, then by all means go on ahead, but..." Leaning forwards to give me a quick peck on the lips, my Vampiric lover grabbed my hands and rubbed her thumbs across the back of them as she added "I really don''t think it''s that worth it, not when I know for a fact that you''ll be spending more time learning how to use your Lust Mana or spending that time enchanting the various things that Anput makes for us." That made me pout as I tried to bring myself to ''argue'' against her and say that I think it really would be worth it and something that we should pursue, only to let out a reluctant sigh as I realized she was likely right on more of the other points instead. We really didn''t have that much time to begin learning an entire new system of magic to the point that we were almost as proficient in it as we were this current one before beginning the arduous process of learning how to mix them both together to create something better and stronger, and on top of that I wasn''t entirely sure if it would be that much stronger, at least to warrant the time spent learning how to do this. There had to have been a reason that Incantations were considered to prevalent back in the day, since I had seen that runes weren''t exactly a new thing by any stretch of the imagination, so there was something missing from the current arcane curriculum that would help me understand why the Fiends still seemed to prioritize if over runic spells. Was it just because they were so ''old'' that they weren''tfortable changing over to the runic system we used now, or was there actually a valid reason to continue using the more ''outdated'' verbal magic system that they used back then?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "You''re still thinking about it... Kat, please promise me that if you are going to be a stubborn, stubborn woman and continue to pursue this arcane theory of yours anyways despite all of its downsides and ws, you will only do so after having reach certain goals with your other, more important ''priorities''..." Those glimmering crimson eyes made me purse my lips as I contemted my lover''s request, and after a moment of hesitation I reluctantly sighed again and nodded, giving her my word that whilst my curiosity was still burning inside my mind right now - I was going to be focusing and prioritizing the things that we were certain we needed to do. My Lust Mana and the enchanted gear was number one and two on my list of goals I needed to get done, and after seeing the benefit of being able to just cast random spells over and over again with now warning whatsoever, honestly I was more willing to prioritize enchanted gear over my Lust Mana, but just barely. "Fine... I''ll take it easy and keep it to after my other studies have beenpleted, ''Mother''..." Leone stiffened at that in a few ways as she blushed hard, the Vampire staring at me in slight shock after hearing thatst part and bringing a smirk to my lips as I winked at her and gently pulled away from her hands, taking up the reins of the Jackals and guiding them back to the luxurious stables that they lived in. Anput and Jahi were still chatting in their own little world off to the side, so neither of them caught the flustered Vampire nor did they acknowledge my brief disappearance as I brought the Jackals to their individual ''rooms'', giving them some fresh water and even a quick sprinkle of rain to help wash the sand from their fluffy fur. Both of them were happy to receive that brief washing, and they both almost emptied their troughs as they replenished their body''s need for water before settling down atop theirfy beds and dozing off in the cool shade of the stable, after receiving a quick fluffing from me as I rubbed their cheeks and ruffled their ears. It was only right, after all, with ''puppies'' as big as these ones... As I had my fun inside of the stables I also got to thinking about something, something I hadn''t really made use of in a little while now; my System most definitely had a skill for Incantations somewhere inside of it, and even if it somehow didn''t, the skills I had right now were perfectly tuned for any type of magic, at least in theory, so... All I needed to do was understand how Incantations worked before I could begin working on a way to merge the two difference schools of magic together to create a wonderful fusion that would give me just that little bit of power to ovee some of the more... troublesome opponents. So I browsed the menus for the skills after narrowing it down to magic rted skills just to satiate my ever present curiosity to learn as I looked at all kinds of nifty skills that were very niche but really cool. [Zephyr''s Burst (Novice): Any Wind Spell that increases speed is boosted by a small margin] [Crystalline Skin (Novice): Ice Cloaks adhere to the body better and increase both speed and defense by an additional amount] [Bubbler (Novice): All spherical rted spells deal increased damage and help spread additional effects even faster] Like always the verbiage of the skills was extremely vague in terms of actual boosts given - something that was likely due to the way these skills worked and how much they actually boosted not being something I could actually quantify - but they still got their point across extremely well, and they were, again, pretty neat skills. I could definitely just begin buying skills wholesale and trying to improve them myself to make a unique style of fighting to make mybat experience even better, but at the same time I wasn''t too sure on what to do as a fighter since I was still working with some new things; primarily that Lust Mana... I mean, how often am I going to need to be a ''Bubbler'' if I can just yoink someone''s will away or distract them with a sultry smile before stabbing them in the face and ripping it off? There''s no guarantee that that''s what I do, but... yeah, so I was reluctant to go ahead and buy a bunch of skills since I didn''t know what would be best for me right now, but I also didn''t really have the Skill Points to buy them since those were still rare... I had a couple waiting to be used, but a couple wasn''t going to do me any good if I spent them without thinking, and thest thing I want to do is get stuck with a certain style that doesn''t really fit me, y''know? But when I saw the skill for Incantations cost almost all of my avable points, that made me sigh slightly before I began to slowly walk out of the stable, reading it over and contemting it just a bit more. [Invoker (Novice): Infuse your voice with mana and cast rudimentary spells by speaking them into existence] All of my current skills were vague and broad, at least all of mymonly used skills like [Healer], [Mana Control], [Sword Proficiency] and so on, so having another vague skill wasn''t the most exciting, but from what I understood of skills and how they worked... buying this skill would let me cast basic Incantations pretty easily without me even knowing how to actually do it, which by proxy would teach me how to do it... And if I could use a skill to shortcut my way into learning how to merge this with my current understanding of magic, then that would save me the time I desperately needed right now for things to be perfect, and while I still didn''t like the idea of shortcuts in getting stronger, times change and priorities shift. Which is to say I bought the skill and watched as it joined the long list of other skills I had, my throat tingling for a few moments before I could feel my mana sticking to my vocal cords whenever they passed by, the same way my mana would stick to my fingertips, signaling that it worked. Chapter 1101: Chapter 1100: Another Intriguing Idea Chapter 1101: Chapter 1100: Another Intriguing Idea ? It wasn''t the only skill I bought though, butpared to the other skill that I did acquire from this opening of my wallet, it was by far the more interesting and easily applicable skill that would be thrust into use almost right away. Making use of [Invoker] would extremely easy and really quick to do since it was now able to work alongside my other skills - primarily [Mana Control] - to allow me to cast spells without needing to make use of the runguage I had learned just to be the mage I always wanted to be. The other skill I bought with my remaining skill point was [Inscriptionist], which was another utility based, behind the scenes type skill that amplified my current powers instead of bing one of them, which was something I had always preferred amongst my skills. I wanted to be the one doing the things, not my System, no matter how broken it was; there just hadn''t been extremely pressing situations to warrant relyingpletely and utterly on the System like that, and since I had built myself a solid enough foundation to work from, that was doubly apparent. [Inscriptionist (Novice): Enhances the power of any enchanted items by a small amount, or an increased amount if they were created by you] It was a simple skill that was yet another nket buff to something as broad as enchanted gear, but the demonstration from before by that Caliph was something that made me realize just how incredibly powerful these things I had only been fascinated with as a hobby could be. They really were a real life version of something that was ''pay to win'', since the stronger the material the better the enchantment would take to the item, and if you had a stronger material to enchant it could take an even stronger enchantment, feeding off of one another to create a vicious loop of empowerment that I was now seeing somewhat clearly. A suite of rings and nes enchanted with a myriad of spells could broaden my arsenal far more than the initial amount of things I wore; the way spells interacted with one another, the way I could make use of different things to create or destroy in extremely different ways... all of it would be enhanced by this skill, and the first order of business was getting all of my lovers a few helpful rings made up. Defensive spells to help by time, offensive spells to catch people by surprise, utility spells to make it easier to fight at their best; the possibilities were seriously endless with enchanting, and I really needed to lean into that more, so when I rejoined everyone outside and gave Jahi a brief recap of what Leone and I had been discussing, I was more so thinking about the things I could do when we got to our room. Considering the quiet of the pce and the instant message from a servant that informed us the Sultana had yet to return, I - and the others - was more than happy to return to our room and get started on some other things, since there was little we could do besides wait for her return. If we rushed out to meet her at Khidan we risked missing herpletely if we didn''t cross paths on the journey there, and even if we did meet her we would still need to have her rush back to the pce anyways to begin nning what to do in more depth and with the Death Jackals present. We could try and find her - I believe that the Death Jackals were talented enough to find their Master - but I wasn''t too pressed to do so right this very moment, since this type of thing would need time and effort to pull off. That research was only now making its ways into the hands of a Tza Fiend and other smart, talented people, and no matter how much of a genius they imed to be, decade old theories and experiments would require time to dissect and replicate on arger scale, especially since most of those theories were apparently regarding mana swapping or mana drainage. Things that were very noticeable even on a smaller scale, let alone on a drastic scale like the entire desert... Plopping down onto the bed with my bag bouncing beside me, I began to ruffle through the various things I had packed as I listened to the very clear tell tale signs of Jahi and Leone having some fun behind one of the partitions, and when I felt my mate draw ever closer I just nced up at her and gave the hopeful Jackalkin a smile as I shook my head. Her ears drooped instantly as she tried to take the pitiful approach to convince me, but all it did was make me chuckle as I said "Not right now, Anput. I want to try something and see if my idea is right, because if it is I might just have a really nifty trick to use against someone tossing around enchanted rings like they''re candy..." That got her attention, her curiosity piqued as she lowered herself to the floor in front of me and stared at the Magic Pen in my hands as she asked "And what nifty little trick are you going to try and pull on people now, Kat? Surely it''s not one that would give everyone a boner to distract them-?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om A part of me wanted to snap at her to not be so overly crude all the time, but instead I decided to take her teasing tone and turn it against her as I coyly replied "I wouldn''t call shing someone my chest a ''nifty little trick'', but if that''s what it is to you...", which instantly made Anput narrow her eyes as that arrogant gleam was reced with something darker. Giggling at her current expression, I rolled my eyes and said "That''s obviously not it, you dolt. You of all people should know that fighting while stiff isn''t exactly impossible, and the blood flow might even prevent some people from falling for that anyways. No, the idea I had was to make the utilization of enchanted items - specifically jewelry - as difficult as possible. The thought I had that makes the most sense and is capable of being used outside of its intended purpose for whatever you might desire was to create a high intensity sh freeze in a certain area. Specifically to freeze the fingers - or at the very least the hand - of someone ying around with their trinkets." Anput was still giving me a clearly unamused look as she still got over what I had said before, but after a moment she replied "That sounds like it would be best used as some sort of expendable and throwable object. Like a-" "Like a knife, perhaps, or more subtly as a disc? That was my n, yes, and the best idea I had for it was a belt or a ne of various discs that have various uses. Trying to make them easily essible but not overly destructible is still a very early work in progress, but it''s a start. No point in doing this though if I cannot manage to put the enchantment I want on something without it failing its intended purpose, so..." I waved the Magic Pen at my lover before pulling out another notepad to allow me to start scribbling down ideas for this enchanted disc projectile that I wanted to make, and since it was going to need some form of somewhat resilient and flexible physical shape, the person I needed to work with me on this was sitting in front of me clearly wanting to do something else... But tossing out a bone for this particr Canine was rather easy, and the current method I found to be most useful was beingpletely honest and straightforwards with her, since she appreciated that more than me dancing around the idea and forcing her to trante what I was saying into what I actually wanted from this. "Help me figure out a way to make this ne or belt thing function smoothly, Anput, and I''ll put that dress on from before, alright? The next time we have a surplus of time at night I''ll go ahead and give the Begum a worthy dance~!" That piqued her interest immediately, and she epted the notebook I tossed her with a grin as she nodded and leaned against the bed, taking the quill next and beginning to scratch down her ideas onto the pages. Above her, I watched the Jackalkin closely as the slightly hidden ''smart'' side of her came out, the various blueprints that she was creating on each page capturing my attention and making it hard for me to do anything else as I just admired her work, though when I saw her flip to another page and begin anew I got to work myself, creating and refining the spell I would begin to use as a counter to anyone who was being extremely annoying... Chapter 1102: Chapter 1101: Swapping Information Chapter 1102: Chapter 1101: Swapping Information ? "That''s... about as good as I think I''ll get it before we have the ability to actually test it out with the right materials and some other variables; it''s pretty good isn''t it~?" Anput gave me a nod as she shook her hand vigorously, trying to get some feeling back into it as she gradually heated her skin up and melted away the frost that was trying to creep its way up her arm and deal even more damage than it had, though as I got closer and began to redirect it she had a better time healing herself. "It''s an interesting spell, that''s for certain. It doesn''t exactly deal that much damage, but like you said... this explosion ofpressed, ''frozen'' air in a small space nearby someone''s limbs would most definitely make it harder to urately and properly cast a spell or make use of an enchanted item." The spell itself was a simple one, like Anput had said; it was just a st of extremely cold air in a small area that would go off after the mana inside of it overloaded the circuit, which was however long you wanted it to be. Using it as andmine of sorts was entirely possible, but the main idea for it was to toss it like a shuriken and have it activate beside someone''s hand, or at the very least near their arm so that the frost might find its way down towards the extremities to begin doing its job; either way, I had managed to quickly create that spell and had it ready to be ingrained into a physical medium for future use. "Good, that means it did its job well. Now, the other idea had been to try and amplify it with something else, be it elemental metals or gemstones right? I think that would make a noticeable difference, don''t you?" "Probably, thought I think you would need to find the right materials for it to be worth a damn. The small amount of power you can extract from those elemental metals wouldn''t be enough to really warrant the effort, and the gemstones is definitely a frivolous endeavor. Maybe if you amplified the effects with another enchantment it would work better..?" Swinging my legs forwards and gently smacking them against the bed frame when they came back to me, I ignored how Anput oriented herself in a way that my feet glided just past her face as she found herself a fortable'' spot to sit and watch the ''show'', instead spending my time mulling over her suggestion. "Perhaps a priming disc of some kind to make that st of cold air all the more ''damaging''? It could be pretty simple too, like an explosion of water that soaks the target and makes the chill all the more noticeable, especially if they aren''t cloaked entirely in mana? But that''s still-" When my leg swung out again Anput reached for it and grabbed ahold of my calf, forcing me to look down at her as she pressed her cheek to the bare skin and stare into those heated obsidian orbs as she asked "How about we focus on something else for right now, Kat~? Particrly..." Kissing my calf, Anput stared at me hungrily before pausing as my other leg swung out too, though its target was her chest as I gently held her in ce, not allowing her to get any closer; the denial made her pout, though when she heard my low whisper as I smirked at her from above she was more than willing to y along with me. "Is that how you ask for your mate for her body, An- put~? Surely you know a better way to make me willing, hm-?" The spark of all too familiar lust ignited between us and enshrouded us in a wonderful warmth as we joined Jahi and Leone in their ''unwinding'', and since we had some more time to kill I had no problem trying a few things out for Anput as we explored a few different things she wanted from me, and admittedly... I had a lot of fun with it, so even though I would have preferred to do some more work for the battles toe, this was also something I wanted to do, so I had no issue at all ying with my mate until her Mom came home. We even had time to clean ourselves up in the luxurious pool that was Anput''s bath as we got ready for her parents to return, and before we could lose ourselves to our never ending lust we decided ourselves to head on out and make our way to the main hall to have something to eat.N?v(el)B\\jnn All of the pups were there, but as soon as they saw us enter - and they took in theck of their parents - they joined Yasmin and left the main hall to do something else, with Aisha ring at us all as she ''protected'' her siblings from... well, her other sibling. Anput didn''t seem to mind that at all, and honestly I was more interested in sitting down and ying a game of chess as we waited instead of dealing with children at the moment, since I could now bounce ideas off of Leone again now that she wasn''t stuck beneath a certain blue skinned Demoness... By the time that the two Caninekin returned, the sun had long since set and the moons were shining brilliantly overhead, illuminating the desert somewhat and painting a beautiful picture over the city as we sat beside the giant windows and yed a game whilst chatting. When they strode into the room, Lady Kio was wearing a very irritated expression as she plopped down onto the couch beside us, while the Sultana crossed her arms and said "Honestly I must admit that I am surprised you all are still up and sightly... I had guessed you all would be in bed already, ''sleeping'' the night away..." Before any of us could respond, Lady Kio snorted and reached forwards to move my piece, taking my move for me and doing almost exactly what I was about to do as she added "It''s a good thing you weren''t, because I would havee in and force all of you to get dressed ande outside." I raised a brow and looked at the petite woman beside me, but she just curled her lip in slight distaste as she tried to look down at me over her nose, only to fail to do so since I was just a bit taller; either way I waited for her to continue, and she did just that with another snort as she said "We got some news to deliver to you younglings, and the matter is rather pressing. And I imagine you have news for us if you were waiting out here..." "Does it have anything to do with the Fingers, perchance? Specifically some kind of n to do something drastic with the help of Fiends?" The Sultana nodded and waved over a Death Jackal as she began to whisper something to them, letting Lady Kio speak for her as the petite Dogkin answered "Right on the money there, brat. What started as just a visit to cleanse the world of some Nua Fiend filth turned into something much more vexing when a bunch of those pricks showed up." "Yes indeed, and we''ll be seeing more of them from now on Mother. Over in Bascra we discovered their plot; the reason they targeted the schrly city was to find the research books on mana swapping, specifically on arge scale." Anput didn''t even need to continue for Lady Kio to let out a growl and rub her temples, the older Dogkin baring her fangs as she stared at the board closely and alleviated the headache that was beginning to form as she growled "I should''ve had those damn books burnt or locked inside a high security vault beneath the sands... Gods be damned!" Flicking her finger forwards, she pushed a piece forwards with her mana and barked "Hera! Go get the others and bring them here. We need to startbing over the desert and locating the rest of these Fiends one by one; they''re walking batteries waiting to power these dumbasses idiocy." "Tell everyone this is of the utmost importance; everything else is to be halted for now." The Sultana''s added remark made the Death Jackal nod and disappear as soon as she was able to, emptying the room again and making the deep growling from beside me all the more noticeable. "Well, this is one of the things I really didn''t think was going to happen when I heard the Fiends were back. Pricks... They can''t leave well enough alone. That Nua Fiend we burnt to a crisp was in the process of being convinced to join the Fingers, so it would seem they n on gathering an unprecedented amount of Fiends for this idea of theirs..." Moving another piece, Lady Kio nced at her wife before letting out a sigh as she leaned back into the couch, not saying anything else as she instead roped one of the opposing pieces and crushed it, venting some of her frustrations on the board... and achieving little in the process. Chapter 1103: Chapter 1102: Making Predictions Chapter 1103: Chapter 1102: Making Predictions ? It was hard to continue ying chess when a dozen some odd Death Jackals filtered into the room a minute after Hera was sent away, each of these warriors kneeling before their Sultana and awaiting orders as more of their number joined with each passing second. Lady Kio was determined to try and keep ying the game set before us, but when she noticed that Leone - the opponent that I had been facing and now the one that she had been facing - had gotten up to observe the gathering happening nearby, she growled and did the same, getting up and strutting over to her wife as she looked over the various Death Jackals with an impassive gaze. The rest of us joined Leone as we watched the Death Jackals filter on into this room, the gathering growing by the second until we had reached two dozen warriors easily, and by that point the Sultana stepped forwards and began to issue orders,manding their attention and causing each of them to bepletely and utterly still so as to not make any noice whatsoever. "The Fingers have now decided to partner up and contract themselves to Fiends to achieve a new goal. A bastardized goal of prosperous change riding on the back of hard work and research done by the schrs of our country. They wish to take their new Fiendish partners magics and begin converting portions of the country into something new. They wish to turn the desert we live in and make it into one singr oasis, to turn the golden sands into lush green grass and crystal clear water. It sounds wonderful and ideal; no more harsh heat, no more scorching sun or burning sands. No more need to rely on other countries for food, no need to ce an immense burden on those living beside the existing oasis''s. It''s a goal we could all get behind, as long as it was actually feasible. Sadly, we learned that it wasn''t a few years ago. Mana conversion or mana swapping on that scale would destroy the little life this desert provides, and no matter how much we tried it would never go from gold to green. However, these imbeciles believe they can manage to do what we failed to do, with the aid of the Fiends." Pausing, the Sultana raked her gaze over the assembled warriors, taking in their expressions and bodynguage as she began to roam around the room silently, her feet gliding across the tile and carrying her wherever she desired as she moved amongst her personal warriors, allowing her to study them even closer than before. "Fiendish magics might make it possible, but the cost of such an endeavor is one no one is capable of affording. No country in this world could afford to convert an entirendmass into a new biome without severe casualties, be it from people or other living things. Monsters and animals would be eradicated as their primary mana type was wrenched away, and the mortal body would need to adapt to this new atmosphere before we could even begin to imagine surviving, let alone thriving... So I have called for you all tob the Sultanate and hunt down any and all Fiends that you can find. Search and destroy with the utmost imperative starting now. Fiends are the primary targets, but locating the Fingers is your secondary objective. There are no restraints; do what you must to eliminate the Fiends, but if you locate the Fingers send word immediately back to Muqai Al-Maedin so that others might join you. This is for our future, after all..." Returning to stand in front of them, the Sultana sped her hands behind her back and stared at them all before nodding, resulting in them all rising and giving her a warrior''s salute as they ced a fist over their heart before rushing from the hall to do as she asked, leaving us alone after that short speech. "Well, now that that''s done... I must admit I am rather hungry." Turning towards us and nodding her head again, the Sultana made her way to the table and sank into her chair before ncing at her wife as she asked "Where are the pups? I haven''t seen them just yet.", which prompted Lady Kio to roll her eyes as she threw herself into the seat beside her wife. "How the hell should I know, Anubi? I got here the same time you did and walked the same path as well. If you didn''t see them, why would I have seen them?" We all exchanged looks before freezing when we heard the Sultana reply "Because you are their Mother?", none of us looking at Lady Kio but knowing that the petite Dogkin was absolutely bristling at thatment. "I''m only joking, Kio, so calm down. Did any of you see them whilst you waited for us?" She tried to brush past her rather dangerousment right there, but of course the Dogkin wasn''t going to let it be, so we all gradually inched forwards and watched as Lady Kio red hatefully at her wife, feeling out this situation and wondering if replying was actually a good idea at this point in time. "They were with Yasmin a half hour ago..." I took the risk and earned a nod from the powerful, yet seemingly stupid veiled futanari who was still under threat of bursting into mes if her wife''s re was able to get any stronger, though when she reached over and pulled Lady Kio onto herp like a sack of potatoes, I felt a bit morefortable since the ticking time bomb was now ''contained''... When a servant came in, the Sultana nced towards them and asked them to go fetch Yasmin as well as to get a meal prepared, and when we were left alone once more Jahi asked "Are we really going to just sit here and do nothing whilst they go and do everything..?", bringing the conversation around to something that would help move us past what was clearly a blunder on the Sultana''s part. "For right now, yes. The Sultanate isn''t asrge as the Empire, yes, but it is still a veryrge piece ofnd, and where the Empire has a diverse collection of biomes and cities to act as variousndmarks and create a rather detailed topography, the Sultanate is not that lucky. We''re an ocean of golden sand that is roughly 90% of our entire country, meaning that there is far too much... nothingness that needs to be scoured. There have been a myriad of hidden bases and outposts inside that nothingness, so it is entirely possible the Fingers have picked a parcel ofnd in the middle of nowhere to set up base, just like it is possible they''re after another city to take over. Letting the Death Jackals do the leg work is arge part of why I formed them so long ago. If you want to join them though, be my guest; you could probably use that Arch Fiend of yours to locate some more Fiends and have some fun hunting them down, but I wanted to give them the chance to whet their fangs a little." Running her fingers through Lady Kio''s hair, the Sultana ignored the re she was receiving and instead turned towards me as she asked "I would also assume that you all desire to take a moment to breathe after that fight, no? I know how your types tend to think, and right now you''re a bundle of ideas waiting for the moment to put pen to paper..." "I do, yes, but this seems far more pressing then me wanting to figure out how to counter an enchanted item having man that was extremely irritating to fight against and be in the presence of..." "Ah, yes... that was an interesting fight you had been locked into. Tell me about it again; I might remember this ''Caliph'' if I hear the story again."N?v(el)B\\jnn Recounting the fight to the Sultana once more - this time in more detail - was making me feel a bit irritated again as I went over the various ws in my fight, from how I had arrogantly decided to face him one on one to how I had restrained myself from fighting at my fullest because I was worried of exposing my cards too soon. My tale was followed by the others as they finished painting the picture of what had happened in Bascra, and it helped us all realize what had happened and how we could improve, though that was what I was itching to go do right now instead of sitting still. A part of me obviously wanted to remain here and just work through the theoreticals some more ande up with more ideas to put into practice, but more of me wanted to go out and find that prick to settle the score, mainly because I had just been riled up again by the memory of that fight... By the time that the meal had arrived we were diverted from the topic anyways as all of the pups swarmed into the room and rushed their parents, no longer shy or wary of us as they just ignored uspletely, much to Lady Kio''s ''annoyance'' as she spent a few minutes cating the youngest pups. It made me a little homesick seeing the youngest of Anput''s siblings, the adorable faces of Alessandra and Lakshmi flickering into my mind as I wondered how they were doing back in the Empire with Mother and their Mom''s... Probably a lot less frustrated than I was right now and far happier in that temperate climate, that''s for sure. Chapter 1104: Chapter 1103: Fiendish Gear (1) Chapter 1104: Chapter 1103: Fiendish Gear (1) ? "That sounds like the worst kind of battle honestly, though after fighting this... Gods I don''t even want to think about it since it gets my stomach rolling..." Lady Kio stuck out her tongue and shook her head as she hinted at the terrible time spent fighting a Nua Fiend, and honestly despite not being there to participate, I could rte to her current feeling since thest time I had fought one, I had felt the same way. Those abominations were absolutely horrendous things to face, and the idea of fighting against one made my stomach do somersaults as all the pus and bile and everything in between resurfaced again, albeit reluctantly since she had brought that mention to the table with her. "Thank the Gods we already ate dinner and had time to settle... otherwise this te would be hurtling towards your face, Mother. Please never remind me of those absolute monstrosities ever again!" For once Lady Kio just nodded and didn''t mind Anput''s confrontational tone whatsoever, the petite Dogkin more focused on herself as she tapped her fork against her te before sighing and setting it down, letting the rest of her food go uneaten as she instead slid it over to her pups, who were all blissfully unaware of the horrors of this world. Aisha was looking at us curiously, but when a sizable portion of curry was ced before her she just began to dig in with no questions asked, allowing us to return to the conversation as Lady Kio said "Yeah, we burned that bastard into ash, so sorry... that included its bones, though there was... little of them left anyways, mainly since the damn thing was brittle as could be. Very odd, but also not too surprising since it was a newer Fiend." That made me tilt my head as my curiosity got the better of me, my questionpletely open as I asked "I thought all Fiends were ''born'', created or whatever with strong bodies no matter the domain? And when I say strong I just mean extremely solid and well above the average mortal? So why was it brittle..?", my gaze flickering towards the Sultana as I waited for the pink explosion to signify Cali''s appearance. Sadly it never came, though as the Sultana answered "Yes, but also no. I would call that Fiend we faced more of a pseudo Fiend thanks to its more transitional state from mortal to Fiend, but the difference is rather peculiar. A weaker physical form that is still making strides to catch up to the gigantic boost in arcane power lets you know if a Fiend is in that transitional state, and this one was." I could only guess that Cali was going to remain scarce since she seemed ''afraid'' of the Sultana, though not as much as she was afraid of the Empress. Someone who wasn''t that afraid of the Sultana - for a few different reasons, apparently - was ''Sxi, the Fiend who had turned Khisba into her yground for a little while and a Fiend that was immensely interesting considering we knew that she was a puppeteer of some kind, and ording to the Sultana she was a ''Mana Body'' and immaterial. Currently her preferred form seemed to be that slender Dogkin woman since it fit the ''vibe'' of the Sultanate the best, and as she appeared beside the Sultana in a burst of pink mist, she ignored the bristling Dogkin seated squarely on thep of the Sultanate''s most powerful futanari and instead said "Those fledgling Fiends are so~ pathetically weak~! Right, A~ Nu~ Bi-?" Leaning over the arm of the chair and trailing her fingers up the Sultana''s arm, the Dogkin Fiend smiled coyly at the Sultana and added "Especially the Nua Fiends; the gues and pestiliences assaulting their physical form needs time to limate to the new flesh they wear, so them being rather brittle wasn''t too surprising...", answering my question despite not once sparing me a nce. "''Sxi, might I ask what you are doing?" The t tone of Lady Kio barely earned her any recognition from ''Sxi as the Fiend just hummed and said "Hey Anubi~! I was thinking, with you gone I need a ce to stay and call my own, right~? I couldn''t really requisition your own bedchambers for myself... unless..?", her seductive tone contrasting the Ladypletely and earning her a fierce growl that made all of the pups flinch as they stared at their Mother worriedly. "Sxi, if you enjoy the privilege of living within this desert, I would suggest toning it down immensely, lest my wife put you beneath the sands." The threat fluttered above ''Sxi''s head as she just grinned and finally turned towards Lady Kio to say "This thin Dogkin-? Mm... I don''t think so, Anubi~! It saddens me to hear that you think so little of my strength, but I am pleased to see how youe to the defense of your woman~! You sounded so sexy when you said that..." The slight turning of the Sultana''s head made the Fiend back up a step as she coughed and said "Brave and amazing! That''s what I said~! Yup..! A-Ahem, anyways, Dogkin brat, you were asking about Fiends right?" She finally turned towards me and smiled, though I could tell she was only doing this to cate her target since she continued on without waiting for me to reply, saying "Even if you could get yourself some Nua bones, the problem with them is that the pestilence they hold within themselves is usually deeply engrained into their being, so you need to do a myriad of things to purify those bones, and if you mess up, well..."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Shrugging, the Fiend left that open to interpretation before coughing again as she faded away into nothing, leaving us alone and prompting the Dogkin seated on the Sultana''sp to stand up and snap "I''m going out for a little bit!" before she too disappeared, though that was thanks to her storming out of the hall. All of her pups watched her go in stunned silence before looking at one another, wondering what had gone wrong and even beginning to tear up as they wondered if it was them, which made Yasmin rush forwards as she distracted them and cheered them up with promises of story time and y before bed. What really calmed them down was when the Sultana pushed her chair back and gestured for them toe to her, herrge - yet lithe - frame more than capable of holding them all as she gathered them onto herp, consoling her children and petting them all as she waved us away for now, wanting silence and an empty hall. I wasn''t going to argue with her on that front, so I led the way back to the room as we settled down and chatted for a little while before climbing into bed once more, cuddling and ''cuddling'' for a few minutes before falling asleep. Rested and rejuvenated was barely able to describe how I felt, and surprisingly as I sank into the cool waters of the bath I found that my prior frustrations had seeped out of me overnight; don''t get me wrong, I was still very pissed with my performance, but now I was more willing to seek out solutions and ignore the root cause that required those solutions, which made it all the easier for me to go and join Anput after I was done bathing. We had a good amount of materials to y around with after that venture into Bascra, and whilst we hadn''t really done what we had wanted to do, we hadpleted the task that the Sultana gave us, so when Anput and I entered her ''forge'' we weren''t too surprised to find a few chunky ingots of high quality metal waiting for us. "Well... that''s nice. Certainly makes this easier on me; I need to warm up - like always - but I''ll go ahead and get those discs you wanted made up, alright? In the meantime, why don''t you go sort through the bones again and find the ''weakest'' one when ites to mana. That''ll be my test bone." The Jackalkin''s usual yfulness was gone as she gathered up her tools, bringing out that serious side that I very much liked watching; even as I began to do what she asked me to, I still found it hard to resist stealing nces at her, and it was another reminder that all three of my lovers were all impable fits for me. That made it even easier to forget my frustrations as I focused on the good of my life instead, something that seemed so simple yet was always harder to do then people thought; finding this one thing to be immensely grateful for and focus on that was doing wonders for my mental state right now, especially since the things we were doing would help me with one of the other things that would do me wonders. Of course that was making the task of torturing and killing someone who was a bit of a pain to fight much easier than it was before, and I already had a few people in mind to vent my more base frustrations on... Chapter 1105: Chapter 1104: Fiendish Gear (2) Chapter 1105: Chapter 1104: Fiendish Gear (2) ? Like Anput had asked of me, I sorted through the various bones from thatpletely non noteworthy Tza Fiend we had killed and organized the pile of high quality materials in order of their mana capacity as well as the mana quality. It was interesting because certain bones had a higher or lower score that made a lot of sense if you really thought about it, like how the femur had arge capacity but the finger bones had a higher quality, and obviously the skull had been the biggest boon from that fight with a surplus of both waiting for us to make use of it. The bones location inside of the body seemed to matter more than the actual quality of the bone itself, since some of the thicker bones weren''t that impressivepared to the smaller and thinner bones that were closer to areas of higher magical concentration, be it for the spells engraved onto the Fiend''s flesh or if it was a location that was just more ustomed to mana flow. For instance the ribcage was seeped in manapared to the leg bones, but the femur, fib and tibia were far stronger in terms of bone density thanks to whatever gics the Fiend had evolved from, though theycked a stronger mana presence that the ribcage benefitted from. It was fascinating and made me more curious about both monster bones and mortal bones since they should follow that same theory as well, and whilst more of me was wondering about how fun it''d be to run the trials to prove that theory, the more focused side of me was thinking about the ramifications that that might have on my healing. Would restoring a broken rib cost less mana then restoring broken fingers, or does it not matter? What aboutpletely repairing it from nothing, especially if I were somehow able to repair the same amount of bone that was damaged the exact same amount as the other; would that need more or less skill for me to heal. It brought up some nice questions that would put my healing skills to the test if I ever found the time to study that, and since I wasn''t too keen on breaking my own bones for the sake of ''science'' and learning, I would need to wait a little longer to test that theory... Anyways, we didn''t have all of the Fiend''s bones sadly, but we still had more than enough that I was hoping that Anput would be able to rece my lost Khopesh with something incredible, and perhaps even expand my arsenal some more with a staff or wand that would help me channel my magic even more than my fingers could manage. Something that Kolia had drilled into me thest time we chatted, and something that showed I still had so much to learn about this world and myself since I was so damn stubborn and stuck in some of my ways to admit that there were better methods out there. "Kat, is this a good size or do you want something bigger?" Anput gently lowered her hammer onto the anvil and lifted a thin bluish disc into the air, the heat still rolling off its surface as she shed it to me with her mana coated hand. About two inches or so in diameter, the disc was razor sharp and thin enough that it could be thrown rather easily, though as she cooled it off some more and handed it to me I was rather surprised to find that it was a bit heavy for its size. "The metal is a bit denser than other metals, and honestly it''s still quite lightpared to what I would suggest for a proper projectile, but I imagine you''ll be using mana to guide its flight, so that is a non issue. I am also taking the liberty to imagine you aren''t going to be throwing this dozens of feet?" Spinning the blue disc around, I pursed my lips and studied it for a few moments before replying "You''d be correct, but I wouldn''t mind another quarter, maybe half inch to give me more space for the enchanting. The extra weight would be nice as well, though they shouldn''t be much heavier than this. Oh, and you know~ I always want something bigger~!" Winking at my mate and watching her as she groaned and rolled her eyes was amusing, but as I handed the disc back to her and contemted another go of flirting someone else walked in, putting that idea down as the need to work red up again. "Jahi decided she wanted to spar your Mom, Anput, so... here I am. I figured you could use some more help getting these sufficiently organized and prepared for forging..?" The Vampire strode in and studied the bones with a curious and hungry gleam in her crimson eyes, surprising us both since we thought she would say something about how close we had gotten to one another, but as we broke apart and settled back down, she blinked innocently and asked "I... didn''t interrupt you two, did I? I thought we were going to be working today, but if you wanted to-" "It''s fine, Leone, and no you didn''t interrupt; if anything you saved me from the needy and tricky minx over there. Alright, double check with Kat that all of that is good and then work with her to get some enchantment ideas down for these discs; Kat wants to use them to freeze people''s hands to make spell casting and the use of enchanted items much harder." "Like a sort of contained explosion of extreme cold to spread frost to the extremities and limit motor functions?" Leone''s instant turn towards me with a small smile as she asked that was adorable, and I nodded and smiled back at her as I took the first disc from Anput and ced it down, showing her the idea as I carefully - and swiftly - enchanted it with the spell I had made. Since it was just a test disc anyways, we both had no issue ''wasting'' it as we moved away from Anput''s forge and found a suitable target, which just happened to be a in old spear that Anput said we could use. Fueling the miniature ''fuse'' in the Ritual Circle, I timed the throw and flicked the disc towards the spear,unching it right beside the wooden haft and blinking slightly as the disc exploded as soon as the spell activated, the material not capable of withstanding the force of the spell. That was expected, but it was still a bit shocking to see as the whirlwind of razor sharp winds splintered the haft of the spear before we could even see if it worked, though as the splinters of wood scattered across the grounds the tell tale glittering of frost had already begun to spread amongst them, consuming the wood. "Well that was... potent. Against an unguarded target that might actually tear their hand apart... interesting. If we were to embed a gemstone into them and empower that spell even more it might just tear through most Mana Cloaks with ease." Leone just nodded beside me before beginning to gather up the mess we had made, the Vampire sweeping it all into a corner and turning it to ash as she said "Having a few supercharged ones might not be a bad idea. How many were you trying to make though, Kat? Because we could all make use of them in one way or another, so long as they work with unattuned mana." That made me shrug as I nced at Anput, who was busy hammering away at the anvil as she churned out the discs for me,pletely in her zone as she kept on working; noticing that, Leone shrugged as well and instead turned our focus from that to the bones instead, which she began to mull over. "These are all prime materials for some high quality gear even on their own... carving a de from this femur, for example, wouldn''t be a terrible idea. It''d be best for someone who could make the most of the mana ingrained into the bone, but still pretty strong even for the mostn/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om basic of warriors." "That did have me curious; it''s all about change with them, right? So whilst you don''t really have ess to that type of mana normally, wouldn''t you be able to tap into it anyways by changing the area around you? Or does it not work like that?" We both picked up one of the metacarpals, those six to seven inch bones radiating potent mana that was somewhat nauseating to focus on as we studied them, trying to understand how we could make the most of these spoils of ours. "Potentially... I would imagine that it being used for something magic rted in general would yield excellent results, since it was made from that domain; anything that changes from this might just be a stronger product then we imagine. Though that makes me wonder, does that apply to all of the Fiend''s? If we were to - Gods hoping we never do - make use of a Nua Fiend for something alchemical in nature would it provide an incredible product? Does Ka Fiend''s parts make for better weapons then the other Fiends? Would the hide of a Fiend make you more alluring if you were trying to seduce someone?" I muttered "Fascinating... we just have to try it, I guess." as I ran my finger over the metacarpal for a few moments more, admiring the long ''finger'' bone and preparing to cast a spell with it to test that theory. Chapter 1106: Chapter 1105: Fiendish Gear (3) Chapter 1106: Chapter 1105: Fiendish Gear (3) ? As I prepared to run my mana through the extremely magical metacarpal and do a little test, a pink handnded on my arm and stopped me from doing just that, and considering Cali was smiling at me like I was an idiot, I instantly wrangled back my mana and waited for an exnation. "Sometimes I have to wonder ifmon sense has be umon with you lot... or is that just the mark of higher intelligence individuals? I don''t really know, but what I do know is that running your mana through this bone as raw as you love having sex will only result in the painful time of you reconstructing your own bones." "And why is that? Does the mana imbued inside this bone react negatively to outside mana, or is there some weird Fiend physiology that I am unaware of at y inside this type of bone in particr?" The snakes atop her head hissed at me softly and stretched out to poke my cheek, their beady eyes shining with worry as they tried to warn me as well, which made me even more reluctant to try this out since from what I had seen, her serpents were intelligent enough toprehend many things, even the moreplex emotions like ''love'' or at the very least attraction. It wasn''t a primal attraction but instead an actual emotion that I knew normal serpents didn''t have, and it was far higher than what I had seen in actual dogs, who did have a decent suite of emotions avable to them. So if they were expressing worry and seemed afraid for my well being, after many different encounters between us reaffirming that they did indeed like me, I was more keen to take their warning then I was Cali''s at face value, no matter how the Arch Fiend wouldin about that. "I despise that line of reasoning, Kat, but whatever. The mana inside of a Tza Fiend''s bones - that Change Mana or whatever you want to call it - is extremely potent. Sort of like... a shot of beer against a shot of whiskey. Your mana is high quality, yes, butpared to what is in this? It''s pathetically weak. You can''t feel it right now, but when you try and make use of it, it''ll easily put you on that juicy ass of yours." The chorus of hisses as the serpents nodded in agreement made me sigh as I gently - and very carefully - lowered the bone to the table as I asked "Then... are we unable to make use of it in our forging? Or is there something we need to do to be able to mold it into something else?" Cali released my arm and walked over to the table, her every movement drawing my gaze and causing me to groan softly as I tried to keep my eyes from her shapely backside or how tantalizingly perfect her hips were, something I knew the Arch Fiend was appreciating right now when she leaned over the table. "Sorta kinda. See, the thing is the mana itself isn''t ''hostile''. It just doesn''t want to work towards someone who isn''t prepared to make use of it. Think of it like a... monster, in a way. It is aware of itself in a very rudimentary fashion, it is proud of the power it provides, and it is very much not willing to ''bend the knee'' to just some random person hoping to wield it. So if you want to make use of it, you need to be aware of this ''sentient'' mana and be prepared to show it that you are not only worthy, but that you are going to be using it to create some form of change in the world, no matter how big or how small, so long as it has meaning to you. It is a battle of wills, not just a tool to be used." The words of my contracted partner made me furrow my brow as I stared at the table, though my thoughts weren''t on the bones of this Fiend we had killed, but instead on the mana that I had inside me that wasn''t exactly my own to wield just yet. If what she said was applicable to other Fiendish Mana, then that meant that the Lust Mana I wielded also needed to be treated as a somewhat aware ''entity'' instead of just a force of nature; it was aware - to some various degree - of what I was doing with it, so maybe that was why it had refused to cooperate with me back when we had actually killed this Fiend... Or maybe I hadn''t beenpletely sound of mind and in control of it, so it sensed the weakness and targeted it right away to break free for whatever reason; if it had a desire to either be used properly or be free, I guess it would act on those simple desires and do what it needed to no matter what, so perhaps that was what happened... "Then... how much of a willpower fight are we talking here? Is this going to be something that requires arge amount of concentration and ''power'' on our end, or is it something that we can''t even really control?" Turning around and sitting on the table, Cali smirked at me as she said "The wonderful thing about you mortals is how utterly blind you are in terms of the other ways of the world. The things that you could be capable of as long as you opened your eyes and your minds to how this world works... it could be paradise. And yet you are all blind. So, so very blind." It was a condescending speech that made me furrow my brow as I tried to understand what it was that she was saying, the variousyers that might have existed within it only confusing me the more I mulled it over and bringing her lips closer and closer to her ears as she grinned at me. "It is both incredibly simple and incrediblyplicated; your will to do something fluctuates with each breath, your desires change each time you realize a second has passed. The hunger for knowledge, food, sex, healing or anything at all grows and wanes without you ever realizing, but sometimes that hunger drives you to do impossible things. When you begin to starve for something you act out in ways no one could predict, and that is wonderful... But for this little task of yours, all your petite puppy over there needs to do is focus on her desires to create something new and something powerful, and she might manage to make it work. That''s what I am trying to convey to you." Before I could even ask her another question or get some rifications on what she had said, Cali vanished in a plume of pink smoke and left us alone again, with Anput cing her hammer down to turn as she asked "I need to... what, speak to the bones and tell them I want to forge them into something better? Is that what she was getting at?" "I... think so..? I mean, I guess it makes sense; this magic is a different conceptpared to our own elemental magics, and even different than the inherited magic that Leone has. It seems to be more of a piece of the world than anything else, whereas ours is just a byproduct of the world? A different building block of differing quality, perhaps?" The Jackalkin nodded slowly and nced at Leone as the Vampire said "That does make the most sense; these were beings that were seemingly selected by the world itself and given ess to fundamental building blocks of life. Strong ones at that... The same way we have ess to the things that shape life as well, but theirs are far more nuanced and multifacetedpared to the elements." Anput nodded again and began to clear off her anvil, cing a small pile of discs on the table and grabbing one of the weaker, smaller bones that we had no pressing need for, putting it down beside another ingot of metal that she wanted to alloy it with. "I''m going to need you two to stand by behind me, just in case. We don''t really know what happens if I... fail to ''talk'' some sense into these bones, and I also am a bit nervous about that fact. So! Before I begin..." Leaning against the anvil, Anput took a few deep and even breaths before she continued on, her eyes glued to the materials that she would be working with in a few moments time.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "I want to make a short sword, something that any of us could make use of as a backup melee weapon. That would be its purpose; not a glorious one, but a needed one nheless. This de is also a test of my own skill and a worthy way for me to learn and improve myself for what is toe." She listed off its purpose and her desires with it before picking up the hammer and taking another deep breath to calm herself as she wrapped it and the metal in her own mana and gently ced it into the furnace, preparing to alloy them together for something stronger. Chapter 1107: Chapter 1106: Experimenting With Will Chapter 1107: Chapter 1106: Experimenting With Will ? For a time after she ced the bone and the metal in the forge together, Anput stared into the mes stoically, her eyes focused on the two materials whilst she stood stock still as she waited for them to heat up to the right temperature, which was a very, very high number; already the mes were going from orange to whitish yellow, reaching a temperature that was absolutely sweltering. And yet, materials like this were going to require such heat lest they take hours to reach the right temperature, so I just had to watch my mate from afar as I shrouded myself in a thick, ever moving nket of chilled air as I made sure she was safe. Leone and I were both standing by with vastly overcharged healing spells at the ready, and we had both already casted a spell overtop the Jackalkin in preparation for the worst, giving her protection from the fire and a general defensive boost that would hopefully protect her physically from anything that happened. However, the things that Cali had said about these bones made me realize that there was nothing we could do to help defend her from something else; the battle of wills that Cali had described were obviously something that required a more nuanced and mental defense then a physical one, and while I could perhaps bolster my mate''s mind with reassurances, it was mainly up to her to pull through. It was also the way Cali had looked down at me - more specifically mortals as a whole - that made me wonder what we were missing as a collective that the Fiends had figured out; willpower wasn''t some unknown thing to me, let alone to everyone currently alive and everyone who came before us. You needed to have the right mindset to be able to do certain things, and that required the ability to be firm in your judgements and your mentality that what you were doing was... what you wanted, be it the best for the collective, the best for you, or just what you desired to aplish. That wasn''t a foreign concept to any of us, but she made it sound like there was actually a ''power'' of some kind tied to it, something that few - if any - of us mortals have ever even glimpsed or acquired, and that... well, curiosity was strong inside of me anyways, let alone when it came from someone as unknown as Cali. Whatever she was saying usually held meaning, as nd and vani as that sounded; she rarely seemed to have simple ideas or thoughts that were justpletely uncloaked and exactly what they sounded like. So what was it that she was trying to say? Was there really some kind of power tied to will that we were missing? Besides the obvious, of course, which was the driving force behind your actions that allowed you to do the things that... well, what you were trying to do; so what other power could it hold? The first clue I had - as I continued to watch over my mate carefully, ensuring her safety - was that you could exert your will over things sort of like how mana could be used, perhaps acting as another form of non material power that could influence the material world. A force or pressure that one could exert the same way you could make use of raw mana... but that seemed too basic to me, too simple to have not been discovered already by someone else and spread to new people already like mana had been. If it wasn''t something simple like that, was it instead rting to a way to empower ones self by making use of your emotions and your desires to harness your magic and give it a boost, or perhaps you can actually boost yourself as well with your willpower? Honestly, the more I stood there wondering about it the more I desperately wanted a pen and pad to begin jotting things down and begin running tests to make some more detailed theories and cycle through said theories via experimentations, but I needed to ensure that Anput was alright. When she deemed the two materials were hot enough to begin forging them together, Anput reached in with a long pair of tongs and slowly, carefully began to pull them out, both of the materials - the crystalline blue bone and the silvery metal - were now a glimmering yellow that radiated a tad less heat then the forge itself did. Staring at the two materials intently, she raised her hammer and decisively struck the two as she started the process of alloying them together, and as soon as her hammernded on them the first time, Leone and I needed to restrain ourselves from shrouding her in a myriad of spells as we watched iridescent energy pulse off of the bone and rush towards Anput. It tried to coil around her arms before bouncing off of her as she raised the hammer again and struck the two materials a second time, ttening them and allowing her to get them into roughly the shame shape for alloying. Each hammer strike was apanied by a burst of that energy trying to attack Anput, but each strike weakened the resistance she was facing as she gradually shaped the materials into one thing, turning the potent arcane bone into a metal alloy as she willed it to be something new. Something changed. It began to react to Anput as she forged it into something she wanted, and the longer we watched the more we got to see that iridescent energy coiling around the alloy as it epted her will, no longer attacking her and instead burrowing into the new alloy as it helped her shape it. The more her hammer fell, the less present that energy was in the area around the alloy, and the less Leone and I needed to worry about her getting hurt, so I applied a weaker spell to Anput and whispered "I''ll leave her to you for now... I want to try something out." before turning away from my Vampiric lover and approaching the table with the bones. Grabbing a weaker bone off the table, I took a deep breath and cleared my mind of anything at all as I prepared to run my mana through myself again, but this time I wanted to change something about my process. If all Fiendish Mana worked this way, then I could just... make the mana my own, or at least introduce it to a partnership of sorts where I gave it purpose, something to ensure we could work together and create change. To be able to create new bonds together so that I can get stronger and deepen my understanding on what is happening in this world, something that this bone represented in a multitude of ways. To keep it simple, I decided to go with a simple spell that wouldn''t cause any harm in the room and hopefully to myself, so I went with a simple water sphere as I gradually began to channel my mana into the bone like it was a wand, and in doing so I awakened that energy. Coiling around the bone first then slowly poking at me, the iridescent energy resisting me at first as it tried to break free; I could feel the mana I was channeling through that bone begin to get disrupted; it felt like it was gradually picking the mana apart and rendering it useless, but whenever I focused on that particr thread of mana it backed away. So if it was reacting to my presence this warily, that meant it understood there was a difference between me and it, which was... interesting; Anput hade in with a clear purpose and it reacted to that purpose, so that was what I needed to do. Give myself and it a purpose, and the purpose I could think of was a simple one; I wanted to harness this power and begin exploring its uses, to understand what made it work so that I could make it work with me, and most importantly... Take the things I learned here and apply them to my Lust Mana, which seemed to also have a mind of its own when given too much leash and not enough resistance. As I began to pour more and more focus onto the bone - and the energy that was resisting me - I began to channel my mana through it more fluidly until it felt about as smooth as it did through my own finger, allowing me to trace out a rune and start casting a spell. It wasn''t difficult, but I had also chosen the weakest bone I could find to cast a very weak spell, so that was par for the course; however, even this morsel made me realize that there might be something to this, something that would change things a bit going forwards. The globule of water I summoned was a bit different then before; it was denser and morepact in terms of mana, and I used less to get a better result, or at least that''s what it seemed like. So I allowed it to ssh to the ground before channeling the same spell with just my hand, outputting the same amount of mana and observing the difference; it didn''t seem to noticeable at first, but the real signifier was the ssh mark on the ground when I let it drop as well. It sizzled out pretty fast whilst the other was still drying, which meant the mana lingered inside the first one for longer than the normal one; was that the bone or this new ''method'' I had found?N?v(el)B\\jnn I couldn''t really tell, and I needed a bit more time to begin parsing it out, time that was already strained; but it was time that I was going to invest into it as I turned my focus back to the bone for a second round of tests, all while the hammering on the anvil continued on at a rhythmic pace. Chapter 1108: Chapter 1107: Another Step Forwards Chapter 1108: Chapter 1107: Another Step Forwards ? The time I spent messing around with the energy inside the various bones we had ''borrowed'' from that Fiend matched the amount of time it took for Anput to forge that short sword, and by then I had figured out that I could actually amplify my spells by focusing on them. And as odd as it sounded, that wasn''t because I was able to fine tune them to a better degree, nor was it because I was putting in more mana; it was the same amount of mana, same amount of fine tuning, but there was a difference when I just off handedly cast the spell like normal and when I willed the spell to be better. It was just a feeling I had whenever I actually began to cast my magic, and it was a foreign one that required me to concentrate rather hard on what I was doing and how I wanted it to work, so I very much was a bull in a china shop with this new ''power'' I had been told about. Perhaps I was using it entirely incorrectly, which was most definitely the case, but either way it didn''t really matter since it was at least a step in the right direction for getting stronger, and the most important thing was that Anput had figured out a way to bend the power inside of the Fiend''s bones to her will, resulting in a beautiful de that proved we were going to have a leap in gear quality soon. Maybe she had been leaning too far into the entire bone as a material for the general shape of the weapon though since it was jagged and rather ''crude'' in appearance, with a single edge that was curved and toothed in a way as the waves of her forging created a unique piece of art. Art that could kill considering how keen the edge was and how it still radiated a certain amount of mana within itself, but art nheless since the crystalline bone had taken to the silvery metal well, giving it a bluish sheen atop a pure silver base. That iridescent energy made itself known by also giving the entire thing a oily coat that reflected light and acted as a buffer between the alloy and the world, keeping itself protected and making it easier to take care of after a battle. With a length that was a little over my forearm and hand, it was a smidgen longer than a dagger but still rather short for a sword, though that became a readily wee feature when Anput turned and presented the de to me specifically, my mate smirking as she said "Since you went ahead and broke myst work, I need to get you a quality backup weapon, and this... well, this will do wonderfully, won''t it?" "It will indeed, especially if I return to wielding two des at once, or if I ever decide to get around to figuring out how to create new limbs from mana... Do we have any good leather to work with, or are we going to be purchasing that as well?" cing the short sword on the table, Anput kept that smirk as she ran her hand over the de until she was caressing its hilt, the Jackalkin nodding idly as she answered in a thoughtful tone, her eyes never leaving her creation. "I have a surplus of materials under my name, sort of as a preparation for things I was interested in doing. Whether or not Mom kept them for me is a different story, since some of them were more... investment in nature rather than material. Either way, worm hide should do well, and they are killed by the dozens daily." I grimaced slightly at the reminder of those hideous monsters that prowled the sands, but Anput didn''t seem to mind at all as she grabbed another set of bones, piecing together abination of one tibia and a few other smaller bones before cing them with arger ingot, preparing for the next alloy. "Well, I''m going to go get some alchemical ingredients then; I have a vague idea of what I need if I want to treat this alloy and experiment with infusing it with some additional power... Kat, since it''ll be yours, do you want it to be a Water or Wind infused de?" "Wind materials will be easier for you to find, right? Let''s do that; I have a few ideas of my own for frost like enchantments." Leone nodded and left the room, likely heading to go find the Sultana or Lady Kio to get the things she needed for this, leaving me alone with Anput once more and allowing me to ask my mate a few things. "What was it like, controlling and influencing this energy? Did you notice it or was it subconscious?" "It was something I had to work at myself, like how I need to work on the metal. Tomunicate with it, shape it, to soothe it and make it mine. I wouldn''t say it''s a sentient thing, nor would I even say that Cali waspletely right in how shemunicated it to us, at least not for these bones. It''s a force that has some semnce of control over itself for self preservation, and I offered it a way to remain itself." ncing at me - and then at the de on the table - Anput added "It isn''t really a difficult thing to control, but I think that''s because this is a lingering byproduct of the being we killed. A power so deeply embedded into these bones that it doesn''t really know the structure it used to be apart of is gone. For your Lust Mana though..." She shrugged at that, trailing off and letting me fill in the nks as she ced the two materials into the forge together, beginning their heating and preparing them for the alloying process. "Since it is a part of me and it has a function that I need to give it, this is going to be a different case entirely... That makes sense, I guess. Especially since it does actually seem to e alive'' whenever I use it on someone else." "My extremely generic guess is that yes, your Lust Mana does actually be changed as soon as you use it on someone else. It seems to be some kind of vessel that you control, and when you use it on someone else, that vessel bes filled." "And it''s filled with the desires of someone else, so it''s no longer really MY mana, instead bing just Lust Mana that I need to rein in... That does make a lot of sense though, and we both know that sometimes the most generic thing is the right one. If that''s the case though..." I fell quiet and went over the possibilities in my head, reviewing them as much as I could as I wove together a tapestry of ideas that was centered around one primary line of reasoning; my Lust Mana was capable of changing, especially whenever I used it to absorb the desires of someone else. Using it in its raw state seemed to be pretty easy; just boost someones lust and begin weaving together the use of that mana alongside my own skills to get the thing I wanted, but that was only because nothing was being siphoned into the Lust Mana. When I used it on the Fiend to sap away its desires, those desires actually ''materialized'' somewhat inside my mana and reacted in a way that I wasn''t prepared for, so maybe that was where I needed to look more closely..? By the time that Leone had returned with a bundle of herbs and some leather to begin wrapping the hilt in, I was already beginning to weave together a moreplete idea in my mind as I realized what the next test I needed to do was; I needed to perform that same spell again on someone else and study the mana itself afterwards, and then I could have a better idea on what I could do with this power of mine. After however long since I got it, anyways, but betterte then never, especially since it was being joined with a myriad of other ideas I needed to bnce out in my goal to get stronger... One of those was enchanting, and as Leone got the baths together for the de and started treating the leather to strengthen it, I got back to work inside of my notepad as I drew up a few different spells I wanted to ce on the de. It made me a bit more excited then I had anticipated since this would be the first item I wasn/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om going to be able to potentially enchant with a few different spells, and it was that diversity on the de that would make it an invaluable tool in my kit going forwards, so I made sure to spend my time wisely. Chapter 1109: Chapter 1108: Putting It To The Test Chapter 1109: Chapter 1108: Putting It To The Test ? "Well... when you said to me that you wanted to go out and take this thing for a spin and test it out, I don''t think I was imagining this, Kat..." Jahi leaned against the wall and raised a brow at me as we listened to the distant shouting and ttering of arrows against the stone around us, each piece of metal - and sometimes even bone - shattering against the wall we hid behind and the ground we stood on. "What? Is this not a good ce to test these things out right now? We''re giving the Sultana some aid, making the search a little easier, and we get to have some fun together as well! Later, anyways; for now I think I''ll have more fun ying around with these idiots than I would if we went at it right now!" The Demoness raised that brow even higher as she gave me a one over, her amethyst eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion as she asked "What have you done with my Kat?", making me chuckle as I reached over and caressed her arm, soothing the Demoness'' wounded pride some as I continued to ignore the various imbeciles we had promised to hunt down. "Nothing at all, my love... You just need to understand that right now, I am far more fascinated and focused on these breakthroughs of mine then I am in having sex again; we''ve been going at it a lot more than usual now, and you''ve been pretty... needy too, so... This is a perfect change of pace for me~!" She let out a huff and hoisted the heavy tower shield Anput had made for her, the unique design idea of turning the Fiend''s ribcage into an actual shield resulting in a breathtakingly gothic shield that suited the Demoness quite well, especially since it was a perfect shade of sapphire. The silvery metal that was ted beneath the ribs to form the bulk of the shield reflected light perfectly, and each of the bones was a bastion of potent mana waiting to be unleashed onto whomever Jahi hit with the shield, while also being an incredible defense against magic since it took quite a heavy hitting spell to breach the natural barrier it emitted. "Besides, you were itching to put this thing to the test too, weren''t you? This giant shield made from a Fiend! It matches your Imperial Gold and Stygian Silver Greatsword quite well, does it not?" She grunted at that and looked at me from the corner of her eye as she murmured "I guess...", the Demoness clearly sulking at my admission that I wasn''t currently entrenched in my lust like I have been many times before, but that didn''t stop her from taking a deep breath and cloaking herself in a nket of Light Mana as she turned the corner and captured the attention of the various low level members of the Fingers that we had located. Her armor hadn''t been upgraded in a little bit now, but what she had was more than enough as she faced against weak and pitiful mortals who it felt like were iling around with blunted sticks instead of tempered steel; it was just another reminder that sleeping, eating and breathing training really did ce someone above themon riffraff who needed to split their energy amongst a myriad of things. The skill they exhibited, the lowly talent that hadn''t even been fully realized, the pathetic excuse of a Core that they had throbbing beside their pounding hearts as they watched a towering Demoness slowly walk towards them with a shield made from bone raised in their direction... it was probably horrifying to them, like some monster raised from helling to im their souls. For me, it was a mildly amusing observation that I made as I unsheathed the first of my two new weapons, allowing my mana to flow overtop the short, jagged de as I cloaked myself in mana and leapt atop the wall,nding on the awning of a nearby building and allowing me to begin moving silently from our position to theirs. Anput had made me something rather nuanced in the best way possible, the style of the de allowing me to be as gruesome as I wanted or as elegant as I wanted since the de itself was both sleek and primitive, the bone''s influence on her decision making being rather clear with how it looked. It was just what I wanted from these newer weapons though, and as I ran my mana through the dual enchantment I had ced on its surface, I was even happier than before as I watched the helix of mana begin to coalesce around the de. One strand was a dark, oceanic blue and the other was a vibrant green, representing my two elements and creating a visual of how I had originally awakened the Ice Mana that hadid dormant in my Core in the beginning of my life in this world.N?v(el)B\\jnn They weeped mana back down onto the de and mixed them into an icy coating that allowed me to have ess to all three elements all at the same time, turning this already deadly weapon into something that was just brimming with killing potential as I made it into a pseudo status caster. The Wind Mana had been ced into a forceful st enchantment that covered my medium range perfectly, while the Water Mana was ced into a swift current that turned the de into a saw to chew through armor with ease. I could also just shoot the strands out individually, which I was likely going to do more often than I had initially realized as I began my journey over to thepound that the Fingers had taken over for themselves. With their attention solely ced onto Jahi, I was able to silently leap from rooftop to balcony as I infiltrated their base without any of them noticing, making the most of my lover''s extremely high profile stature and allowing me to begin my work in peace and quiet. The shouts were irritating me as I listened to them order one another to retrieve or hide various things, and I watched as a woman rushed towards the door with a gigantic ballista bolt that she ced onto - surprise - a ballista that she had rolled out sometime before, realizing that I had my first target. Since they had taken over a bank, the wide open floor n and gigantic windows made it pretty easy to find my targets and figure out who would notice her dropping first, the two dozen some odd mortals focused on their defense of this position from the outside that none of them seemed to even consider watching their backs. That ballista was my priority right now, but as soon as she had fallen I was going to have so much fun rushing from counter to counter as I cut down these cultists, and I was going to make use of my new toys and new skills to do so, turning this into a very useful and pleasureful session of murder~! With my scent, sound and body concealed behind them, I raised the short sword and pointed it at the woman loading that ballista, guiding the strands to the tip of my de and ''shooting'' them towards her back, twin bolts of potent elemental mana zipping through the air with a low whistle and burrowing into her armor. Since both of my magics were adept at pration, it was no surprise that I could easily work through some average steel te, and the result of my training was given a beautiful ir as her chest exploded onto the giant mounted crossbow, tworge holes almost severing her in two. Her spine was shattered by the burst of wind that tore open her torso, and the snap was audible as she slumped forwards andid across her ballista, unable toprehend how she had died so quickly and so boringly after everything she had done in her pathetic life. It took a few seconds for someone to notice that she had died, but by that point I had already begun to silently work my way towards the front of the bank, my short sword tasting blood for the first time ever as I lunged towards anyone I could and ruthlessly soaked it in vitae, giving it a proper christening as one of my weapons. Sinking it into the back of a muscr, shirtless man, I severed his spine and twisted the de as I sped a hand over his mouth, concealing his cries of agony and grinning at him as I gently lowered him to the floor, maintaining my few seconds of advantage for as long as I could. A thin red line appeared across his neck as I removed my hand, the Wind Mana coating my body slicing into his throat and finishing him off as I leapt towards my next target, catching another man off guard as he transported a giant crate of coins and papers towards the side of the bank. Chapter 1110: Chapter 1109: A New Benchmark Chapter 1110: Chapter 1109: A New Benchmark ? Sinking the de to the hilt, I grinned at the man and leaned forwards as I shushed his choked cry, wrapping his head in Wind Mana to capture and contain the sound of his death from the other to maintain the precious few seconds I had to deal as much death as I possibly could. "Hush now~! It''ll be alright soon enough... the void awaits your arrival, and I pray that it is as cold and empty as I remember it to be; it''s what you deserve, after all~!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om The gushing of his blood was amplified as he tried to scream at me, the horror and agony in his eyes bing one of the most delectable dishes ever as I slowly, painfully slipped that de out of his flesh, my free hand guiding him to the floor as I whispered "Take the time to reflect on your choices, and perhaps some God or Goddess might take mercy on your soul, like one had to mine..." I sincerely doubted it though, and as I stared down at the man I could see the light fading from his eyes as his blood pooled out around him, the sudden drop of blood inside his body causing all of his organs to begin faltering, painting this beautiful picture before me. Licking my lips hungrily, I flicked the pretty vitae from my de and leapt back into action, my feet gliding across the tile as I silently approached my next target like a reaper; to that end, Iid my cold hand across the face of the female cultist and yanked her head back as I bared her throat for my new toy, allowing it to drink from her directly as I cut deeply into her flesh. I targeted the carotid arteries for the most stunning visuals as I bled the woman in the bank, making her end a bloody affair as I painted the ss in front of her red with her own blood, marring our reflections and ensuring that thest thing she saw was her own harrowing visage beside my own as I grinned at her through that reflection. By that point I had barely enough time for the final victim to die silently, so I made sure it counted as I pushed her against the ss and leapt backwards, giving me a wide view of the bank and making it even easier for me as I sprang up into the air and swiftly began to try something else out. Another thing that I wanted to test today was my [Invoker] skill, and to do so with a mixture of the more conventional runic variant of casting magic was what I really wanted to see, so as I reached the apex of my leap, I went with a tried and true spell that would work wonderfully on this open battlefield. Imbuing my vocal cords with mana as I ran an identical amount down to my fingers required a good amount of concentration as I multitasked, and getting the two to activate together was the key for making this an even more powerful spell than it already was, so I was curious as to how this would turn out. Giving my magic shape with my voice while I also gave it shape with specific runes that meant specific things was a thrilling action for me after spending so long honing my craft with written spell casting, and the chill I felt as I muttered "[Arrows of Chione]!" was matched by the Ice Mana inside that spell. The sparkling cyan runes pulsed like a heartbeat as Ibined the two separate styles of magic together into one, and as the Ritual Circle spun to life in front of me I could see the various threads of cyan connecting me to it. It was a visual signifier that I had done what I wanted to do as the Ritual Circle expanded, doubling its size and creating a giant surface area that began to rain down crystalline arrows into the bank, each one crashing against the tile and tearing out chunks of sandstone as I began to do hefty damage to the architecture. The damage done to people though was even ''worse'', and as I watched a man turn to determine what was glowing behind him, I felt my grin widen even more as an arrow impaled him from the side and shattered inside his ribcage, slivers of ice sticking out of his skin like quills as he dropped instantly, blood weeping freely from his punctured corpse. Another didn''t even see what was happening as an arrow shattered their skull and tore away arge chunk of their upper body as their spine was yanked forwards, sttering the area around them in blood and beginning the gruesomely beautiful painting that I was going to engrain into my mind. Whenever an arrow missed a living target it still did its job as it peppered the entire bank in a storm of crystalline needles that sliced through flesh and scoured the sandstone to remove the filth these cultists had created. The gold shrouded Demoness slowly approaching the building with a bone shield was no longer their most pressing concern, but everyone within this bank was trapped between one hell of a rock, and a very hard ce to even think about making it out alive; the arrows rained down inside the bank at a constant rhythm, running the fuse I had given it and ensuring this bank was submerged in this storm of frozen death. And if they somehow hadn''t been caught by any of the arrows or the various pieces of shrapnel, the Demoness making her way to the door would catch them next, and a few decided to take that risk as they rushed outside and charged at the Demoness, understanding that there was no escape with both of us alive. Desperation fueled their bodies as they ran head first into her de, the dual metal great sword cleaving through them like a hot knife through butter as she sliced them in two, leaving them to copse to the ground as their upper bodies were sent flying past her. I too had a few be desperate enough to seek me out in close quartersbat, and I was greatly amused as I watched one get anchored to the ground as an arrow pierced his stomach and impaled the tile, holding him in ce and making it easy to test my new de''s sharpness and strength as I whipped my arm up and cut through his neck. Severing his head and letting it roll, I sidestepped a hopeful swing from a hammer and ignored the shattering of the tile as the man stumbled forwards, his momentum carrying him straight into a hook to the jaw as I tore it free from its hinge, knocking the man out as he slumped to the ground with a dull thud. Thest cultist to approach me was given a different treatment though as I ran a different type of mana throughout my body, pulling it not from the organ beside my heart that was thrumming withtent power, but instead from the reservoir that rested right above my womb. Pink energy coiled around my fingers as I reached for the woman''s face, and as soon as I got within a few inches of her skin my Lust Mana caressed her head and wormed its way into her body, jamming up her mind and short circuiting her brain as she stumbled forwards a few steps before frowning, her eyes clouding over. Flicking the blood off of my de, I sheathed it and held her cheek as I pulled her closer to myself, ignoring her musk and focusing instead on how my Lust Mana was working inside of her as I whispered "Everything will be alright, my dear... There is no need to worry..." She blinked a few times before slowly rxing into my embrace as I pulled her closer, my other arm wrapping around her back as I embraced her and began to soothe her, testing out a few different things as I asked "What were you doing in a scary ce like this, hm?" Trying to focus on me, the other Dogkin woman pursed her lips and furrowed her brow before she unsteadily replied "I... I was doing my... job. My assignment, for myrades. My... family. We need money... Money for payments, for acquiring more resources... To take from the rich and redistribute the wealth." "What did you need the money for then, hm? What did your family need this money for that they would risk so, so very much... just to get a measly amount of gold?" The spell - [Arrows of Chione] - flickered out of existence and allowed Jahi to walk inside with an arched brow as she quietly approached me, her amethyst eyes alternating between me and the woman in my arms as she silently asked me what the hell I was doing. "We... We were... ensuring everyone had been paid... Ensuring that we werepensated for our work... and getting the money ready for something from the Steppes. Something important..." "Do you know what it was, dear?" She tentatively shook her head, blinking a few more times before rxing even more as I gave her another smaller dose of Lust Mana to ce her into a deeper stupor, and now I moved onto the ''fun'' part as I murmured "Well, do you know who that is-?" Turning her head for her, I made her look at Jahi as I grinned at the Demoness, making her brow go even higher as she watched me closely, though when the Dogkin bit her lip and shuffled slightly, Jahi rolled her eyes and turned away as she began to take in the damage I had done to the building. "That, my dear, is someone very important and incredible~! She''s my everything; literally. She and I are so tied together... saying that my heart beats for hers isn''t even an exaggeration~! Isn''t that just romantic-? So, my dear, what do you think we could do to show her that appreciation, hm-? How would you show this handsome hunk appreciation~?" Chapter 1111: Chapter 1110: Attempting To Tame Lust Chapter 1111: Chapter 1110: Attempting To Tame Lust ? "I... I... I would..." The Dogkin was swallowing hard as she stared at Jahi with a primal need, her eyes - despite being cloudy and unfocused - seeing only the Demoness as I yed around with her desires, giving her a taste of what I felt as we both stared at the Demoness and only the Demoness. Those obvious muscles hidden beneath her leather and chainmail armor, the strikingly handsome visage that was given a darker, more intimidating beauty thanks to the gold tipped ram horns that curled around her head. How her lips pressed into a thin line, or those brilliant amethyst eyes that threatened to bore a hole right through us as she turned back towards me, the warning not at all lost as we both listened to the Dogkin in my embrace sputter out her answer. "G-Get on my knees... and... let her step on me... t-to even be able to kiss her foot would be bliss I am not deserving of; a-and if she deemed me adequate enough, I would kiss her calves, her thighs, and then..! And then..!" "And then what, my dear~? You would worship that foot long rod of perfection with your tongue? Shower it in praises with your lips? Is that what you would do? Massage the bountiful orbs that rest below as you coax out her superior seed to nourish your unworthy body?" Swallowing hard again, the Dogkin nodded fervently, causing Jahi to groan softly before she growled "Kat, enough!", and whilst I understood her anger, understood the disgust she was directing at not only the hostage I had, but also at me, I gave her a smile as I replied "Jahi, please... I am ''aiding'' this friend of ours just as she is aiding me~!" My towering lover curled her lip at that, but she fell quiet as she noticed that I was funneling a little more of that pink energy into the Dogkin''s mind, forcing a moan out of her as she quivered in my arms, her body going ck as she came prematurely. "Imagine, my dear... you, on your knees, staring upon the brilliance of such a superior mortal in every facet of the word as she yearned for release... her body so achingly hard as she flexed for us both, showing off that strength, that prowess that would make us realize our ce...n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Imagine it... imagine it closely... intimately... Visualize this Demoness standing above you, staring down at you... a stud of the highest degree, a futanari usually seen only in erotica demanding you service her..." The Dogkin''s lustful moans became more plentiful as she screwed her eyes shut, her body quivering constantly as she did what I asked her to do, fueling my Lust Mana and overcharging it with energy as I slowly began to work towards a new test, one that I needed to perform. Something I needed to learn from this that I wasn''tfortable doing on someone I loved; cing Jahi in this throe of ecstasy was arousing, but I could clearly break her mind doing this if I wasn''t careful, and already I was beginning to feel that reservoir above my womb ache; not with a thirst that I usually felt, not in a way that made it easier for me to partake in sex with my well endowed lovers, but in a way that just... hurt. There was nothing to be gained from this wrenching, agonizing pain that warped my lower body, and as I focused on the Lust Mana being empowered inside the Dogkin''s head, my own mind began to throb as well, the beginnings of a migraine taking root inside my skull. However, I pressed forwards, past the blistering heat that threatened to overclock my body and past the darkening of my vision as I muttered "Now, my dear, imagine a room illuminated by a candle; it lights up the sculpted abdomen of our Demoness, allows her to cast an arousing shadow across your face as she grabs your head-" Moaning loudly again, the Dogkin orgasmed once more before shuddering as she settled into that scene, though when Jahi growled again and stared at me not with amethyst eyes, but golden ones instead, she squirmed and almost opened her own eyes. "-and guides you forwards, towards your purpose in life... But then, the candle dims; the cerulean skin of the Demoness darkens, and her eyes shut closed, leaving you alone. Alone in the dark. The candle flickers outpletely, and suddenly... you''re cold. Empty. Not afraid, but... stuck. Swaddled in darkness and devoid of stimtion. You feel nothing." Her moans ceased almost instantly, and I watched in fascination as the pink mist that permeated her head began to drift off towards me, coalescing before my eyes and separating itself from her as it took a shape. Her shape; standing in the middle of the air was a half foot or so tall model of the Dogkin woman, looking around in confusion before focusing on me, where she began to run her hands over her body and try and seduce me. The form the pink mist took began to alter itself to my tastes as I watched it dance; muscles hardened up her limbs and abdomen, and yet breasts as bountiful as mine and a butt to match softened her up nicely, whilst her expression turned coy and sultry; it was still recognizably the Dogkin, but to me... it was perfect. Strong arms to hold me close,rge breasts to cushion us as we embraced, a clear penchant for mischief as she winked at me; everything was perfect for me as a partner, and it only becamerger and more solid as more Lust Mana began to seep out of the Dogkin, who waspletely still and silent now. When it reached an entire foot in height though, those coy smiles and seductive dancing turned instead to sneers and an arrogant posture as she looked down at me, letting me know that now was the time to begin the real test. Staring into her eyes and focusing on the strands that connected us, I felt them each and strengthened them, selecting the key ones to focus on first as I began to slowly wrap them around my ''perfect lover''. She - of course - fought back, swatting at the ropes and slicing them into pieces as she tried to break free from the cage of pink mist that was both hers, but also not hers; we red at one another before another rope shot out from the mist and wrapped around her throat, forcing her to try and break free from that one lest she choke and pass out. wing at it and trying to tear it away, she was slowly and meticulously bound as I brought her to her knees,manding her to remember from whom she was created and who owned her; forcing her to stare up at me as I began to pull her back towards my body. At first she redoubled her efforts to break free, but as the next ropeshed across her back and bound her hands to her waist, she moaned and looked up at me in surprise, bringing a smirk to my lips as I whipped her again. This time, the rope collided with her butt, and the pink Dogkin jump slightly before pouting at me as she sank to her knees willingly, rxing herself and allowing the remaining ropes to bind her uppletely. The mist began to seep into my pours and return to that reservoir, and after a few seconds of ensuring that the bounds were strengthened, I gasped as I felt the reservoir warm up again, though this time pleasantly as the Lust Mana inside of it tickled my deepest parts, letting me know what it wanted. My headache began to recede, and after a few seconds I blinked away the haziness of my vision as I looked up towards Jahi, who was still staring at me coldly, those golden orbs not moving a modicum of an inch as she just kept watching. The judgement in them was heavy, and for a moment my heart dropped into my stomach as I stared back at her, unable to tell if I had messed up too badly to appease her; so... in the twisted way of this world - in the twisted way of our family - I turned towards the ck Dogkin in my arms and reached for her throat. In a quick, clean, and concise movement, I slit the Dogkin''s throat and dropped her to the ground, letting her body roll to the side as I freed us of this unwanted burden and made the bank home to only two living people; me and my soul bound lover. For another few seconds she just stared at me, and my heart grew tighter in my chest as I stared back at her, trying to figure out what I should say or do to apologize correctly, but then she sighed and looked away, focusing on the corpse of the Dogkin as she muttered "Please learn a different way to do that, Kat..." Her voice was strained as she nudged the body with her boot, and when she looked back at me again the Demoness'' eyes were back to their otherworldly amethyst, no longerden with judgement as she said "I don''t like seeing you that close to someone in a mood like that... It sickens me greatly; I especially am not keen of you trying to make me have a threesome that involves some random woman." Deciding that the best course of action was the one that would both alleviate her stress directly and perhaps also give her some amusement, I strode forwards and happily pressed my breasts against her as I whispered "Why not~? Usually futanari or men would love~ the chance to use a woman like that... She would have made a good rag, wouldn''t she~?" Of course, no matter what I was trying to do to get a certain action out of my Jahi, she always surprised me with how she arrived at that action, and now it was with a firm smack to my butt as she growled "Why should I bother finding some random low quality rag when I have one right here?" Chapter 1112: Chapter 1111: Pride Of A Smith Chapter 1112: Chapter 1111: Pride Of A Smith ? Anput PoV Leaning over the wall, I stared down into the alleyway and wondered how I hadn''t been heard yet, my movements barely concealed as I unsheathed a dagger and stared at the various cultists lingering around in this darkened part of the city. My answer likelyy in the clouds of smoke that billowed from the lips of a few of the cultists as they took long hits from some hookahs, the scent of whatever drug they were getting high on filling the air and limiting both their sight and the rest of their senses as they giggled and chatted like idiots. The city wasn''t even under their control and they were acting like miscreants instead of cultists, though considering how we hade to know about them I wasn''t too surprised by what I was seeing; they were slowly popting the city as they nned a heist, and with howrge this trade city was... Well, that was why despite knowing there was a heist going on not terribly far away from me, I couldn''t hear anything at all that would suggest any sort of trouble; the tight streets and bustling markets inside of Tijara provided the perfect cover for anyone. Especially people acting like they were just some low ss criminals instead of members of an extremely dangerous and sinister organization that was focused on tearing the peace and stability of this country to the ground to start anew, in their image instead of the current one my Mom had painstakingly crafted herself. So as I watched a few men and women take another long rip of their hookahs, I climbed onto the balcony and looked them over before stepping off, falling down onto the shoulders of a smaller framed man and stabbing my de into the top of his skull, killing him instantly. It took them a second or two toprehend what had just happened, and thanks to the thick smoke clouding the area they could barely even understand that someone had died and not just fallen over, giving me even more time to dart forwards and sh my dagger across a woman''s throat next. With two dead within a second of one another, I made my way to the third and fourth as I targeted therger, bulkier woman resting against a wall, her head stuck in the clouds as she basked in the high she had given herself whilst holding a thin man against her side. The dagger in my hand sunk between her breasts as I pierced her heart, and before her boy toy could react I mmed my hand against his throat after coating it in Metal Mana, breaking his neck and allowing him to die alongside his lover. As the woman slid down the wall - leaving behind a trail of blood that darkened the grimy sandstone bricks even more - I yanked my dagger free and spun around, only to smile wryly as the woman behind me dropped to her knees as her head burst like a melon. Standing at the other end of the alleyway was Leone, and the Vampire was flourishing the third of my very expensive, high quality and extremely powerful set of gear I had made for us; a long wand of crystalline blue material sparked with blue me as she flicked her wrist and sent another swift bolt of blistering death flying towards another cultist, joining me in this bloodbath. Seeing how her mana coursed over the material smoothly and slowly became more amplified by the time it reached the tip of the wand was probably one of the most thrilling things I had ever seen, just beneath the first time I had seen this Princess pull off her top and reveal those mountains that I loved to explore thoroughly... It was the sign of my craftsmanship being well done since Leone''s magic was already quite potent to begin with, something the Vampire had every right to pride herself of since it was something she had honed and tempered painstakingly on her own since birth, even going as far as to tattoo herself with a high risk enchantment that took her magic to another level. This was part of the reason I had been so happy when I had heard Jahi''s answer way back when on who she wanted to take as a wife; even as someone who had been pining after that perfect Demoness and wanted nothing more than to conceive her children, I had found myself infatuated with the Vampire as well, for a myriad of reasons. No matter how much I might joke or how determined and certain they were that the reason I was attracted to Leone was because of her body, what really made me love her was that fascinatingly brilliant mind of hers alongside that unbending determination to improve. Either way, seeing that wand in action was absolutely stroking my ego in the best of ways right now, so as I turned and flicked the dagger towards my fifth kill I decided I should stroke it even more as I decided to partake in my own weapon that I had made. Letting the dagger flip through the air before sinking into the throat of one of the more aware cultists, I reached for the sheathed de on my back and retrieved the final piece of my collection of Fiendish marvels; nearly four feet of solid, strengthened alloy that was two inches wide and sharpened to a perfect edge. I had taken some of a Shamshir, some of a more traditional Scimitar, and some of an Odachi in this design; a long, thin de that was light despite its size, butpact and extremely strong despite the weight, and the longer hilt was bnced enough that I could reasonably wield it with either one or two hands depending on my mood. Single edged and curved, my de was capable of shing and cutting... well, I wasn''t too sure yet, but I knew for certain that it could slice through flesh far easier than anything else I had made, and that was all I needed for now as I darted down the alleyway, unhindered by the unideal battlefield I was in. Despite the de being damn near as wide as the alleyway itself, I was more than capable of utilizing wide, vertical arcs that sliced through the thin leather armor and chainmail of the cultists like paper, resulting in a myriad of severed limbs and body parts littering the ground as I started walking towards the other end of the alley. The shouts and curses hurtling towards me mattered not as I focused instead on the performance of my de, my eyes more glued to the edge then the blood of my ''enemies'' as I searched it for nicks, rolls or chips as I sliced up and down, controlling my weapon perfectly. Behind me the cultists were being set aze or finding out just how damaging an explosion within the body could be, whilst the cultists in front of me were discovering that the Fiends they now served made pinnacle weaponry that would make me even happier to remain in my home country for a little longer if it meant finding some more to kill. My only gripe was that - to no one''s surprise at all - killing a bunch of drugged up thugs wasn''t that challenging, and whilst it did perform a decent test for me to begin setting a baseline for the performance, it wasn''t what I wanted from this, though... what could you do? The Fingers were only here to acquire more funds, and the real members were likely far away already since we hadn''t hidden our intentions here; I was looking forwards to seeing if my parent''s had made the right call on that front, since the hope - and the likely result - was the Death Jackals we had tailing those higher ranked members would find the next group for us to ''bring to justice'', so... We were just dealing with some low level thugs who weren''t that talented or skilled, and the real reason we were here instead of waiting back at the pce for the results was a simple one; Mother had gotten pissed at us taking another day ''off'' as I got all of our gear made up, Leone brewed some potions, Kat enchanted said gear, and Jahi... well, she was Jahi. I think the guards and soldiers all enjoyed sparring against her, but I wasn''t certain since I had spent maybe an hour or two outside of my forge, save for the hour that was spent eating; I had been far too preupied to care until Mother burst in and threw me out. Thankfully Mom had held her back until I was done, otherwise I would have had a better person to test these out on... Cleaving the final cultist in two, I stomped the ground and closed the alleyway off as I noticed some people had been drawn towards the noise, and when I turned I found Leone staring at one of the cultists as they pleaded with her, only to scream as she pointed her wand at theirn/?/vel/b//in dot c//om skull. Seeing the usually peace loving Vampire turn that man''s head inside out was... different, but I also found it quite hot since she just brushed past them as she walked down towards me like nothing had happened, her crimson eyes filling up with curiosity as she ignored the bodies and instead asked "These are really good, aren''t they?", waving the wand at me before pointing it at my blood soaked de. "Damn straight~!" Grinning back at her, I flicked the blood off of my hybrid two handed weapon and rested it on my shoulder as I grabbed her waist, my lips curling even more as she blushed as I asked "So how about we leave this drab alley and go y with our ''swords'' together instead~?" Chapter 1113: Chapter 1112: Post Massacre Chat Chapter 1113: Chapter 1112: Post Massacre Chat ? Before I could even attempt to grab Leone and guide her away to somewhere that was a bit more private and somewhere that could amodate the kind of ''sparring'' I wanted to do with her, the Vampire took a step back and swatted my hand down as she shook her head. It wasn''t a terrible rejection since she was blushing just as hard as she always was, and a part of me was really wanting to push forwards and make it clear to her that we were going to do what I wanted to do, that she was going to be mine for a time so that I could let loose, but when she said "Not now, Anput... we still have some work to do..." I reluctantly nodded and backed away. "Yeah... you''re right. All those various cells of cultists that we have to track down inside this city... it''s a bit irritating with how plentiful they are, almost like ants; just constantly streaming in and trying to take this ce over as their own." Making sure that I was going to maintain my distance from her, Leone was looking at me from the side of her eyes as she turned slightly to gesture at the various corpses in the alleyway, saying "And just like ants we can begin fumigating this city of this gue without much issue, but these are just the drones, not the soldiers we were hoping for." "Drones indeed... all of them seem prettycent and barely having the right amount of gear on them, right? That''s a bit odd for an infiltration force, even one that was maintaining their cover for a prolonged period of time. I mean, it''s not like we have a restriction on carrying weapons around, so... why do they only have small des?" "That is definitely a question... My guess is all the good stuff is hidden at their hideouts and bases, and they just rely on the daggers and short swords for general day to day activities since they''re less cumbersome. Though still..." Approaching one of the shattered hookahs, Leone bent over and reached for it, only to yelp when I couldn''t resist the urge to remind her not to unt herself to me as I gave her a clean smack on the rear, earning myself a ''hateful'' re from the Vampire as she pointed my own wand at me.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Don''t..! I told you to not..!" That made me chuckle as I raised my hands and backed away again, and after a few seconds she scooped up that hookah as quickly as she could before turning to face me again, not presenting herself as an easy target as she showed me the ssware. Still ring at me, she asked "It''s notmon to smoke on the streets though, is it? Let alone something that isn''t tobo or sparkweed?", which earned a shrug from me as I replied "Dunno, never took to smoking. Even with magic it messes with the lungs too much, and I need the air capacity for my fighting style." "Which only makes it all the more weird to have one of your primary fighting forces hooked to something as detrimental as this... I mean, they''re thugs and all, so I''m not surprised, but still... why would you be content smoking and getting high in the middle of an infiltration of a mercantile city?" I shrugged again as I said "No clue, but my guess would be they just don''t give a damn; they''re thugs after all, and of course they''re hooked to their own supply. All I do know is that these weren''t actual fighters; if what we theorized earlier about the Fiends is right, these are just bodies and reservoirs for the Fingers. C''mon, we should go to the next hotspot." "Are we just going to leave the bodies strewn about without even taking a look?" "I think all you''ll find are drugs, some spare coins, hidden des, and maybe a few contraceptives if they were feeling particrly safe today; otherwise, these dumbasses won''t have much. If you want to though, we can take a look at what they have, sure. Maybe pile them up too for the guard..." Leone ignored the sarcasm that dripped from my voice as she began to do just that, so I let out a long sigh and joined the stubborn Vampire as we pilfered the various corpses and took what we could from them, mainly the things that actually were worth a damn. Coins primarily, and Leone had gathered a pile of the drugs they had much to my surprise, the Vampire studying the various pills, herbs and other concoctions they had before stuffing them into a bag to take with her, not providing me much of an exnation as she remained within her own mind for now. I took a few of the higher quality and heavier des with me to be smelted down or just enchanted, either or being an eptable option at this point since I was hoping to get some more funds together for my next project, which would need a lot of outsourced materials I couldn''t find myself. To that end though, I really needed to know just how well all of my newly crafted gear had been doing, and the main two I was actually focused on were the two that weren''t conventional weapons; the shield I had made for Jahi, and the wand that I had made for Leone. I knew that the des I had made were probably going to be really good at being... well, des, and that the enchantments on them were pretty good too, but what I didn''t know was how durable the shield was, if it really did have a mana absorption ability, and if the wand was actually amplifying Leone''s magic whenever she cast a spell. When we finished up in the alleyway and rushed out to the next area that we had been notified of, I nced at the Vampire beside me and decided to ask for her initial experience with the wand, wanting to get her first impressions and see if it really was living up to expectations. "It''s a bit hard to actually know how well the Fiend bone workspared to other materials, Anput, since we hadn''t really invested in using wands just yet anyways, but I will say that this is a really potent way to focus my mana into a spell and give it just a little more oomph for even less mana." "That is true... we haven''t made use of the rudimentary wands I made back in the Grottos, but... still, surely you remember how much they improved your spell casting, right? How does itpare? Does your mana flow smoother inside of the wand than it does through your fingers? How about the boosting it does to the quantity AND the quality; would you say that it''s worth the materials invested and the work we had to do to get said materials?" Each question came out faster than thest, making Leoneugh softly as she nced at me with a grin, the Vampire''s eyes sparkling with familiarity as she replied "It''s really good, Anput. Just initial, hands on feeling that it provides is a silky smooth experience in casting any spells at all, from something basic to something a bit moreplex. It is an amplifier too which is nice, but... I need more time to give you a satisfactory report." That made me pout at her as sheughed again, the Vampire unable to help herself as she added "You tease me about my attitude whenever I talk about magic or alchemy, and yet you get so- passionate and excitable about your forging~!" "Oh hush! If you want to be teased just say so! I can do that very well, just so you know..." Making my lover go quiet as she looked away was always a pleasant experience, since it meant she was embarrassed and wearing that adorable blushing expression that made her so damn sexy, though right now I wasn''t able to do anything about that wonderful expression since we were descending onto the marked hideout that we had gotten from one of the unlucky Fingers before arriving. The amused voicesing from the simple house seemed normal enough, but a quick sniff of the air made it abundantly clear we were in the right ce since the scent of the same drugs as before was present here, and besides that... Jumping up to the windows of the third floor, we peeked inside and found a few chests and boxes of gear arranged haphazardly inside of the room, containing various pieces of armor, weaponry, arrows and bolts as well as a fine collection of random valuables likely stolen from whomever these cultists had robbed or killed during their stay. Monster parts and coins were scattered around in each chest as well, so it was clear this was their stash, which made it all the better for me as I began finicking with thetch of the window, using my Metal Mana to pick the lock open and allow us to enter from the top, where we could begin surprising everyone inside with swift deaths as we further tested my gear. Chapter 1114: Chapter 1113: Better And Better Chapter 1114: Chapter 1113: Better And Better ? Kat PoV Jahi yanked me from my knees and smirked at me as she watched me lick my lips, the Demoness wearing a very content expression right now that contrasted her earlier distaste, and simrly I felt rather excellent about what had just happened. Perhaps it was a byproduct of taming that decent amount of Lust Mana, maybe we were just far too horny for our own good, but either way we had decided that the best course of action after killing everyone inside this bank was - obviously - to have sex and release some of our pent up desires. "That was exactly what I needed... and see? Why would I ever need some low quality, one time use rag when I have you~?" Patting my cheek and brushing her thumb over my lips, Jahi smirked as she finished buckling her belt and reattaching her gear to herself, the Demoness raked her eyes over me once more and nodded before hoisting her new shield, which had been ''carelessly discarded'' off to the side during our lovemaking. "And uh... don''t tell Anput I just dropped her shield so I could press myself down on you for a little while, alright? Do that for me and I''ll keep quiet about you tempting me with some third rate Dogkin thug." "I wasn''t going to actually let you use her, Jahi; if you had tried I would have killed her before you even got the chance to stick it into her, and then I would have stabbed you. In the shoulder most likely, but the risk of it being closer to the corbone area was pretty high." Her smirk only widened at the threat, and she nodded again as she finished strapping her shield to her left arm, the leather straps securing the bulky rectangle of metal and making it easier for her to walk around with it; again, at our strength the shield wasn''t impossibly heavy - I could lift it and run with it - but it was still a straining task to use it for long periods of time since it was rather dense materials. Perhaps we were beginning to enter that fantastical area where metals began to increase exponentially in weight thanks to mana or other factors, or maybe I had been wrong about our levels of physical strength, but either way that shield was damn heavy, at least in terms of war gear that I had had the opportunity to wield. My de wasn''t subjected to that weight issue though, and I was thankful for that as I unsheathed it again and appraised its surface, inspecting it for any damage that it might have sustained... only to chuckle at the perfection I was gazing upon. "Anput did a fine job on these, didn''t she? I bet she''s preening like a peacock over with Leone, constantlyplimenting herself and flourishing her weapon. Speaking of, since we already hit the bank..." Changing the topic of conversation just like that, Jahi looked towards the damaged doors and out towards the empty street she had been walking down, the fighting scaring away the civilians whilst the guards maintained a cordon around the perimeter we had asked them to set before we blitzed in to strike the bank. "Where was the next point of interest? It was that trade house or something, right? Something about the Fingers bribing one of the merchants to house them and provide them with gear? You still have that map on you, right?" I nodded and finished inspecting the de before sheathing it once more, making use of this ''break'' to heal myself back to my normal state as I gestured at the doors, saying "Down this street, onto the main one then head west until we reach the statue of that long dead warrior, and right behind it is that trade house." "Alright, let''s get going. I imagine it''ll already be cleared out and that merchant is dead, but maybe we can catch them before they get too far. Wouldn''t mind testing this shield some more... especially since we both know Anput''s going to want some three paged essay on our experiences with them." That made me chuckle as we began the journey to our next destination, and even though I was contemting pocketing some of that gold that had been spilled about during the plundering of the bank and the ''fight'' afterwards, I knew that wouldn''t leave a good impression with these people... And harming Anput''s image in this city was a bad idea since this was a trading city, so if we ever needed her to wield her influence and help secure some funding or something, this was one of the many locations we could head to. Also... I just didn''t feel like carrying around ingots of gold at this point, not when I knew we were walking into an actual treasury waiting to be plundered; that trade house was going to be ours for the looting since the merchants were traitors, meaning everything we saw inside would be ours if we killed the traitors and the cultists. The journey there was quick and uneventful, with the citizens giving us a wide berth whilst the guards and other fighters all watched us from afar; amongst them, I saw a few ducking away and leaving the main road behind, likely to go report that something had happened to either theirrades in the Fingers, or just the gang that they were running with. As we entered the square that had that old statue though, it went from being a peaceful day to a chaotic one for the city as a swarm of armed and shouting cultists poured out onto the streets,ing from various ces as they made a beeline straight for us. Mana fizzled around us as Jahi instantly set her feet and raised her shield, the ribcage of that Fiend absorbing the spells shot our way and giving us a swift jolt as we realized we were under attack. It was a sudden shift, and it gave us no time to survey the battlefield as the ocean of bodies around us became riddled with foes; civilians were screaming as they rushed towards the exists, guards shouted for order as they tried to keep said civilians safe, other fighters either fled or aided the guards, and then there were the cultists. The shouts they released were both curses and rallying cries as they began to descend on Jahi and I in waves, simply throwing their bodies at us in hopes of drowning us in steel and flesh, ensuring the ground around us waspletely drenched in blood and caked in gore as we began to fight back. My short sword flickered through the air as the twin helixes of Water and Wind Mana gave me the range I needed to fight on all fronts, severing the limbs of those that got too close whilst I impaled or eviscerated those too far away from me with variousshes of mana. The worst of their ranged attacks crashed against the shield Jahi was wielding, the Demoness enveloping her body in golden Light Mana and hunkering down as she ignored the attackers around us and focused on blocking the arrows and bolts of mana, leaving them to me. Each pocket of resistance against the cultists helped us immensely, and as I parried a heavy cleave from a towering meathead, I heard a few of the guards shouting for theirrades to get into formation as they worked their way towards us, hoping to gain some strength in numbers as even more cultists began to pour out of the side streets and trade house. "There has to be... a damn portal open in there..! There''s too many of these bastards..! And their gear!" Jahi''s voice was strained as she braced against the onught of magic being hurled at her, and I nodded as I sliced upwards, cutting the man in two and showering me in blood as I took that brief moment to look around at my opponents. Many of them were wearing heavier armor and wieldingrger, higher quality weapons that weren''t in our reports, and the surplus of potent magics being thrown around willy nilly suggested that these cultists had some enchanted gear with them, which gave some credence to her theory. I couldn''t reply to her directly though since another three cultists leapt from the sea of civilians around us and tried to chop me into pieces, their ming des swishing down towards me and roaring as they funneled their mana into their weaponry. "[Warding Bubble]!" The words were barely heard despite be speaking them clearly and normally, but their effects were felt as a sphere of water enveloped Jahi and I, catching those ming des and blocking them for a split second that allowed me to weave together another incantation, my ability to write runes with a single hand being matched with the ability to form the mana using my voice as I went with a second spell. "[Aquatic Barbs]!" Spears of water pierced out of the bubble I had made and impaled the three cultists, stunningn/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om them as I killed them with a precise spell that caused their heads to burst, showering the area around us in more gore as we were enveloped by even more enemies. Chapter 1115: Chapter 1114: Dance Of Death Chapter 1115: Chapter 1114: Dance Of Death ? Charging towards the water bubble that shrouded Jahi and I, the various cultists continued their battlecries and curses as they tossed enchanted items at us in hopes of cracking the shell wide open, or they began to engulf their des in mana as they drew ever closer. The explosions of those enchanted items shook the ground around Jahi and I, and I instantly focused on funneling even more mana into the barrier as we withstood the storm as best we could, buying even more time for both our enemies and our allies to join in on the fray. The Demoness was soaking up most of the damage with her shield and Light Mana, the ribcage of that Fiend absorbing the mana that exploded in front of her whilst her armor of golden mana held up against the reverberations that washed over us. Each of those items only further guaranteed that the theory we had moments earlier was a correct one; these were reinforcements being filtered into the city by the Fingers through the use of portals, which the Fiends had ess to more than we did. Who knows how many wereing through, and how well armed they really were, but already we were being shown the extent of their preparations as we held out against the dozens of explosives thrown our way. The sandstone brick beneath our feet was cracked and charred, with giant chunks of it flying through the air after each enchanted item overflowing with mana burst around us, turning some of those pieces into a powder that created a fog around us. There was no stop in the barrage for many long, worrying seconds as we were forced to just hold our ground, each second stretching out for what felt like eternity as the booming echoes of the magical grenades bounced around in our heads, rattling our hearing and making it hard to concentrate as we stood firm on this damaged ground. When they finally did stop as the cultists ran out of those grenades, it became our turn to attack even as they poured in towards us, with Jahi hoisting her great sword high into the sky and slowly growing it in size as she funneled her mana into the de, capturing the attention of everyone as harsh golden light bathed the entire square. That momentary distraction was enough for me as I picked a side and let my lover know where I was going, iming the targets for myself as I darted out from the bubble and rushed towards them. d in my Wind Mana and flying through the air at speeds only a handful of them could react to, I focused on the Water Mana based helix spiraling around my short sword and began to hasten its movements, giving my de a secondary edge that made slicing through armor even easier. Pressurized water sliced through metal and flesh like it was nothing as I cleaved through the stomach of the closest woman, bisecting her and sending her legs stumbling forwards whilst her torso crashed to the ground before herself, leaving her to bleed out and wonder what happened. Instantly pivoting to my right, I shed upwards and cut through a man''s neck and skull as I angled my strike perfectly, allowing me to turn with the momentum and move to the next target, who stood with three others behind him; I didn''t even watch as that first man''s head smacked against the stones below, but I did hear his body drop as the brain was damaged beyond repair. Fueling that helix even more, I flipped my de around and held it in a reverse grip as I made use of the enchantment to its fullest, sending a wide crescent of high intensity water flying through the air and sawing through their bodies as they tried to leap away. Only two or three heartbeats since I had left the bubble and I had already imed six lives, but eight took their ce as more cultists streamed forwards, and another eight bodies joined them a momentter; bodies not made from flesh and blood like ours, but bodies made from stone that had an unnatural gait as they stiffly approached. What wasn''t unnatural were the giant, boulder like hands that were barbed in jagged rock, each of these constructs shuffling forwards and raised them up high, aiming to demolish the ground and me in a single m. Suddenly having that many enemies in front of me was beginning to put the pressure on by quite a bit, and I needed to act quickly lest they manage to get me trapped in this area away from Jahi, splitting us up and making it easier to pile on even more bodies in an attempt to kill us both.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om But even though the pressure was beginning to spike with this surge of enemies, it also meant the thrill that Jahi and Anput lived for was also beginning to make itself known to me as I stared at the various bundles of experience and fun waiting to reaped with ease, and since those constructs seemed to be made from stone... Well, that just meant it was an even easier decision for me as I raised my free hand and traced out the runes for a spell as quickly as I could, my finger dancing in the air and leaving behind a cyan glow that chilled everything around it. "[Breath Of Chione]!" Keeping the naming of these spells simple whilst I was on the fly in this fight was key, so I maintained the theme of utilizing Chione as a base and working from there, and it made it easier for me as I released a st of extremely cold and sharp winds towards the dozen and a half enemies. The gale roared past them and slowed them down even more, allowing me to go ahead and work some more magic as I cast another spell, this one slightly out of order from what would be the ideal sequence in a battle like this. "[Priming Showers]!" Whilst the gale continued to roar at the various cultists and constructs, a deluge of rain crashed against their bodies and soaked their clothing instantly, forcing the cloth to stick to their skin and making the chill even harsher as they began to freeze, my frost spreading across them rapidly. Two back to back spells halted this group in their tracks, and as the frost spread even more it meant that as I blitzed through them they took even more damage, especially to the constructs. Lopping off limbs and leaving behind mortal wounds on each of them, I shattered the constructs as the frost seeped into their unpolished surface and wormed through the cracks, making it easy to break them apart and reveal the pseudo Mana Cores that sustained them. Those shattered too as I stabbed them or punched them, and soon I was back to facing a new group of enemies, each onerger than thest, but each one bing more and more popted by constructs of varying sizes and skillsets. Thinner constructs tried to stab me with arms tapered into points, heavier and chunkier constructs tried to block my attacks and keep me vulnerable to a counterattack, and then there were just those boxer constructs that tried to punch and m me with their boulder hands. My feet were never given the chance to be nted for longer than a second as I kept moving around the area, weaving in and out of various kill boxes and leaving behind a mountain of corpses and stone as I slowly raked in arger kill tally. The cultists were of low talent and skillset, the constructs were clunky, and the only threatening thing about them were their numbers as they poured out of the trade house unendingly, but even then I could just ignore that number since I had ovepping spells that maintained a workable zone for me to dance in. Each flourish of my de was apanied by a ssh of blood or cloud of dust as I kept my movements fluid and constantly in motion, never stopping and not allowing myself to be bogged down as I whittled down their numbers as best I could; behind me, Jahi just swung her sword over and over again, using her raw strength and potent mana to cleave through everything as she maintained a wide arc of open space around herself. It came as no surprise to me when we heard another series of loud soundsing from the trade house, this time being a cacophony of horns as something else prepared toe out and face us, something that apparently was demanding an honor guard of some kind to announce its presence. Perhaps this had been a trap of some kind ced by the Fingers, or maybe they had just updated their ybooks after that encounter with the Caliph, but either way we were given front row seats to the trade house being reduced to rubble as a six armed, red skinned Fiend erupted from the side of the building, rushing straight towards the center of the square. Chapter 1116: Chapter 1115: Bloodletter (1) Chapter 1116: Chapter 1115: Bloodletter (1) ? The booming echoes of the Fiend''sughter as it bounded towards the center of the square was strong enough to actually shake the dust that had settled over the broken brick road, kicking up even more debris into the air and creating a newyer of haze that slowly wafted into our sight lines. Standing at nearly a dozen feet tall and waving around muscr trunks of flesh on each side of its barrel like torso, the red skinned Ka Fiend flexed as it grasped the sides of the statue and pulled, yanking it free from its stone base and hoisting it above its head in a primal show of strength. "HA HA! FINALLY! A worthy foe... One that will be worthy of my incredible bloodletting skills! The worthiest of all in this square! None shall be more worthy than you, little Demoness!" What it exuded in raw strength and aura, the Fiend clearlycked in the intelligence department as it grinned at Jahi like a loon, its long, golden fangs scratching against the golden tusks that curled out from beneath its jaw, just like the various metallic trinkets ttered against its skin as the long braided blonde locks acted as yet another visual indicator of this Fiend. Bulging red muscle and golden ents did little to draw away from its most defining feature though, which was its exuberant voice as it let out a gleeful shout that was followed immediately by the swooshing of the statue as it was hurled at Jahi directly. With little time to run away from the hurtling tons of stone, Jahi was forced to stand her ground as she began toyer her Light Mana around herself, and she was given the greatest benchmark of all as she raised her new shield and braced herself for thising attack. Unlike my strength oriented wife though, I knew of a potential solution - or at least something to make her current solution more probable of seeding - that wasn''t just standing in front of a potential few tons of stone and praying for it to work. "[Ice Blossom]!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om The runes in front of me red as I traced them out far faster than I realized I could, and the primary brunt of this spell was ced entirely on my vocal cords as I summoned a gigantic flower bud on the side of the statue, forcing it to bloom before it exploded. In the process of it ''blooming'', the bud expanded across the statue and anchored itself into the cracks and ws of the stone before erupting at my signal, the Ice Mana being released from my control and told to just go wild as I shattered the statue into smaller, yet still heavy pieces of rock. Pieces that I knew Jahi was more capable of blocking, and even as the first crashed down against her barrier I followed it up with "[Warding Bubble]!" as I aided her directly once more, ovepping our barriers and allowing us to hold our ground against this incredibly efficient attack from an otherwise idiotic Fiend. And yet, I knew far better than most how ''smart'' someone could be in things that weren''t necessarily the most benchmarked and epted fields of study, and of course the Fiend rted to battle and killing was a genius in how to do just that; as the heavy chunks of stone shattered against our barrier and tore chunks of our mana away, the Fiend let out a boomingugh again before rushing forwards, following behind it''s opening attack. Six fists caked in bloody red light were streaking towards us, and after the sudden barrage of the best use of physics I had scene in a long while, I wasn''t so sure that we were going to make it out of this one as healthy as I would have liked, but thankfully we weren''t alone. If it had just been us, the rings I had purchased for this exact moment would have cracked upon saving our lives, but undoubtedly we would be left in a damaged state with no hope of surviving even a basic attack from this Fiend, so when a thick pir of stone crashed against the Fiend''s chiseled abdomen and haltered its momentum, I was able to take another breath pain free, for the time being anyways. With its forwards momentum halted for a second, Jahi and I were able to leap backwards and further increase the distance between us as bolts of blue me erupted against the Fiend''s skin, increasing itsughter as it shielded its torso with its six thick arms. Anput and Leone rushed out to meet us, with the Jackalkin already weaving together the runes for the all too familiar Torii Gate spell that she made use of to trap things while the Vampire flicked her wrist and sent another barrage of explosive bolts hurtling towards the Fiend, buying Anput the seconds she needed. The Demoness and I gave Leone a nod to let her know we were alright before we all focused on the Fiend, who was now being subjected to attacks from all sides as the various soldiers of the city and the small contingent of Death Jackals came out to aid us, though like I had observed before this Fiend was entirely entrenched in the idea of battle. Thick skin that absorbed most of the damage dealt to it, a healing factor that matched a full powered spell from me, and a tenacity to brush those things off and get right back to it made this Fiend extremely dangerous to fight against, especially as the boiling red mana coating its fists began to bubble out and drip down its arms, covering them as well. "C''mon little Demoness! Fight me! You and me, one on one! C''mon! FIGHT ME!" Another shout washed across us in an almost physical wave as the Fiend''s smile finally broke for a brief moment, its lips curling into a snarl as it red at Jahi and tried to goad her into certain death, only to growl as a blue me got dangerously close to its face. Swatting it away, the Fiend snarled and smashed two of its fists together as it began tobine its mana, all while the remaining four arms worked on defense as it started to create weaponry from that deep, pulsating red energy that was swirling around its arms. A sword and an axe smashed down onto the ground as it lunged forwards, swinging them towards us and forcing us to relocate lest we be turned to paste, and as we predictably avoided the attack it raised its remaining arms and attacked in all directions. Gouts of me erupted from its lowest limbs, the fire a dazzlingly ruby color that instantly scorched the sandstone and started to turn it to ss, which shattered like the sma had a true, solid weight to it instead of being rather... sporadic. Its remaining middle limbs simply swung out once more, though where its fists ''sliced'' through the air thick des of that red energy hurtled towards us, looking to cut us in two and leave us bleeding out on the ground. Of course, no matter how much the Fiend wanted to attack us all at the same time, it was impossible to do so since we had split up, putting space between ourselves and it and forcing it to pick a target, one that it had made clear it was adamant on getting. The gold tusked Fiend swung itself around towards the Demoness and began to charge towards her, ignoring the rest of us and hefting both of its weapons in the air as it grinned down at her, watching as she nted her feet and raised her shield to meet it. Even as it was knocked off bnce by our spells, the Fiendmitted to the attack and swung its weapons down at her shield, crashing them against the ribcage like a hammer to an anvil as it leaned its weight forwards in hopes of crushing her beneath its might. To further aid that desire, the Fiend oriented itself in a way that made use of its six limbs entirely for the goal of killing the Demoness, but it was that single mindedness that opened its guard up to me as I rushed forwards and reached deep within myself. The amount of Lust Mana that I had corralled earlier and made my own responded to my ''touch'' instantly and allowed itself to be wielded freely as I sent it spiraling into the Fiend, wrapping it around the Fiend''s mind and causing it to cken somewhat. With its mind now under attack as well, it''s control over its body lessened enough that Jahi could begin to push back, the Demoness straining herself hard as she empowered her entire body with Light Mana and exerted as much of her power as she could to push those fists away. The barrage of other spells made it easier for her as well, and as she pushed the Fiend back and freed herself from its overwhelming pressure, she raised her own de and tried to strike back and get her own attack in. Chapter 1117: Chapter 1116: Bloodletter (2) Chapter 1117: Chapter 1116: Bloodletter (2) ? Taking advantage of that momentary drop in control, Jahi clutched the hilt of her great sword, sheathed it in a thickyer of golden Light Mana and let out a shout as she stabbed the de straight up into the Fiend''s ribcage, aiming for its heart in hopes of killing it right here, right now. As she did that, I exerted myself mentally as I fueled more of that Lust Mana with my will to overwhelm and conquer this Ka Fiend, fighting against the red skinned brute and forcing it to fight a battle of two fronts; one physically, and another mentally. Even if I wasn''t able to win on my end, I heard the sound of Jahi''s de sinking into the Fiend''s flesh as she stabbed it in the chest, and I even felt the impact as she skewered it on her sword and made a mess of it''s internal organs, her magic running rampant inside its body. The low, choked gasp of pain that spilled from its lips reaffirmed how hard that attack hadnded, and as its blood began to join the sound it had uttered we all watched the Fiend closely, wanting to ensure that it was on itsst ropes before we even began to think about considering this fight won. On my end, I was more focusing on how the Fiend''s force of will was not wavering a single beat as I tried to steal away chunks of its desire to fight, of its desire to defend itself; some was more readily taken than others, but even as I stole away pieces of this Fiend''s desires for myself, it clung on stubbornly the entire time even as it was stabbed near the heart. "Y-You... will not..!" Coughing up some more blood, the Fiend reached for Jati''s sword and fought against the Demoness as she tried to twist it free, the dual metal de cutting into its palms and dealing an insane amount of damage to its body as the poisonous Stygian Silver chewed away at its flesh while the Imperial Gold scorched whatever it was cutting. Add onto that the Light Mana that the Fiend was weak against, and we were watching an uphill battle be fought as the six armed Fiend slowly began to push Jahi away, sliding the de back out of its body and allowing it to free itself as that red energy red around its entire form. "Take..! Away..! MY..! BLOODLUST!" Roaring as loud as it could, the Fiend snapped the connection between me and it as the Lust Mana inside its body was swiftly routed and ejected from its mind, leaving me to stumble backwards as it returned to me with the force of that statue from earlier, sending my mind into a free fall for a brief moment. Agony wracked my everything as I clutched at my head, the sudden reflux of energy giving me a severe case of whish that made it impossible to function at all as I stood there like an idiot, incapable of anything at all as the Fiend won the battle against me. A battle of wills and a battle of desires resulted in me bing stupefied for a heartbeat as the Fiend''s desire to shed blood dwarfed my current abilities, the suddenness of my attack doing nothing at all like it had to that Tza Fiend before; no, this Ka Fiend was determined to fight and draw blood no matter what, and as it continued to roar it proceeded to do just that. Pushing the sword out of its chest, the Fiend forced Jahi backwards and opened up space for itself as it swung all of its arms outwards, five of them crashing down towards the Demoness while thest one collided with my side, sending me flying through the air as it swatted me away and removed me from the current fight. The force of that blow easily snapped my arm in a few different ces, sending multiple waves of scorching hot agony to my mind yet again, while my ribs and even my hip fractured in multiple spots too, adding to the pain as I flew through the air. When Inded, that pain only grew in intensity as I rolled for a dozen feet or so, each rotation and bounce sending a new, fresh wave of scorching hot pain searing throughout my nervous system as I was turned from a fully functioning person into a very much not functioning one in a mere second.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om And yet, the pain - as great as it was, and as much as I felt like my right side was made from magma now began to recede slightly as a myriad of healing spellsnded on my prone form, giving me a brief moment of capable thought as I too cast my own healing spells, elerating everything by another factor and allowing magic to do its wonders. My bones began to set while the tears in my muscles started to knit back together, and I felt that mind numbing heat ooze away as it was reced with a torturous itching as my bones started to reconnect as well. While I was taken from the fight, Jahi had been punched as well, her shield absorbing most of the blow, but it still dealt an absurd amount of damage as she too was sent skidding back a few feet, her arms undoubtedly fractured by the mountainous impacts that had cracked the ground she stood on. Blood wept from both of our orifices as the internal damage made itself known, and the Demoness coughed out her own vitae as she red at the Fiend in front of her, who was taking this moment to heal up as well. It had happened so quickly that most of the others weren''t able to react, but considering I felt many different spellsyering over my body, I knew the Death Jackals were not amongst the many as I reluctantly pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the throbbing in my arm that made it hard to think and brushing past my body''s screams as I scooped up my de and made my way back to the Fiend. Anput was dashing in and out of the Fiend''s attack range as she sought to capture most of its attention, allowing Leone to support Jahi as the Vampire healed and buffed her at the same time, her wand moving frantically through the air as she worked as fast as she possibly could. A few others joined the Jackalkin as she leapt above a m and stabbed her sword down into the Fiend''s outstretched forearm, sliding her de between the bones and using her magic to snap them as she disabled one of its limbs for the time being. "I AM THE BLOODLETTER!" The deafening roar became a physical wave of unadulterated violent energy as the Fiend grinned at Anput, not bothered by its broken arm and uncaring of the various cuts and punctures it had taken as it just doubled the red aura around itself, smacking away one of the Death Jackals and cocking its fist back at Anput for another strike. "YOU CANNOT STAND AGAINST ME!" Its fist was shrouded in an almost corporeal blood red shell that just oozed power and death, and the grin it wore only widened - like its eyes - as it roared "NONE HAVE SURVIVED THIS!" before punching down at the Jackalkin, forgoing any finesse or technique as it just bunched up its muscles and exerted as much power as it could in this simple attack. Slowly descending down towards the Jackalkin, the strike seemedically incapable despite its appearance, but that was what made it so terrifying as we all leapt away, trying to put as much space between us and it as we possibly could, but no matter how fast we thought we were... It was still far too fast for the distance it needed to travel, and as this ''Bloodletter'' punched the ground, we were enveloped in a storm of blood red lightning as its fist collided with the ground, stealing away our breaths as the entire world became red. There was nothing around us as the ground simply exploded beneath our feet, and the air itself became charged with a sticky, bubbling energy that stung our skin and clogged our lungs, and just like how it had appearedically slow, the time it took for us to be sent flying backwards wasically fast. Once more I was rag dolled through the air, but this time I smashed against a wall and broke through it before colliding with a second, and I knew the embrace of pain once more as the entire square was turned to rubble. The bodies that had littered the ground were made into paste, the unlucky guards and civilians still within the st radius suffered that same fate, and those of us who were of a higher stock then them... well, we barely fared better. The healing spells I had been given were working overtime as I finally came to a stop, and they returned to knitting bones together as I tried to breath, only to barely manage to do so as pain collided with me a moment after I stopped moving. Chapter 1118: Chapter 1117: Bloodletter (3) Chapter 1118: Chapter 1117: Bloodletter (3) ? My vision faded in and out alongside my erratic heartbeat as Iid there on the ground, shrouded in rubble andpletely covered in bruises, gashes and swelling, to the point that I waspletely certain no one would recognize me without taking one long, deep look at my current appearance. All of mymon gear was tattered and somewhat broken, my body was inpletely agony, my mind was a mess and the world just didn''t really exist at the moment, but there was one thing that was for certain; I wasn''t dead, and I wasn''t unconscious, just yet anyways. There were moments where I wanted to slip into that abyssal embrace of unconsciousness as Iid there, but I fought past it as the rushing of blood almost overwhelmed my hearing, or the way my heartbeat actually did make noise seemingly inside and outside of my body. That spurred me on as a primal fear grasped me from within, a fear that if I let myself sink into that insidious embrace of the void I would actually find myself back in the real void, where I had been given time to reflect on my previous life with no real idea of what was to come. I didn''t want to return to it - I didn''t want to die again - so I did everything I could as I fought to stay awake, and eventually I managed to do just that, my body still in such a hellish, fiery state that I couldn''t justify closing my eyes and passing out, but I could also feel that heat fading very faintly as the spellsyered on me continued to work.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om I was being healed slowly, and I needed to get up and ensure that everyone was alright, that the attack of this ''Bloodletter'' wouldn''t result in something that would make me wish I was dead; the idea of seeing Anput or Leone''s mangled bodies scared me deeply, and I knew that Jahi was likely injured, but I could take relief in knowing she still lived. After all, I lived right now too, so therefore she was still alive, and that was the most important thing right now; the next was me slowly and agonizingly sitting up from the brick ground and ensuring that everyone was okay, and that we weren''t in any more pressing danger. That attack just had to have taken a lot out of the Fiend, no matter how strong they imed to be; that was just too strong, too potent, and it used far too much energy to be something that a normal Fiend could manage whenever they wanted to use it. With that thought - that hope - fueling my mind, I first began toyer a dozen more varied healing spells on myself as I mended my broken bones, knit back my muscles and stuck the tissues back to one another as well as to ensure my organs were healed as well. Breathing was painful, and I had a few other sharp pains in very noticeable areas that suggested vast internal damage, so I used a few different spells that targeted specific areas of the body to elerate my healing as much as possible, and in the midst of the healing I decided to ignore the sensical thought of remaining still and instead began to move about as I got up and looked for the Fiend. Maybe someone else would have recovered by now - or were in the process of recovering at the moment - but just in case they weren''t, I needed to ensure that my three lovers and I were safe before anything else, and the source of our uncertain safety was still right where I hadst seen them. Kneeling in the middle of what had once been this square, the Bloodletter was barely a familiar sight at all with how much damage it had taken as well, though considering the damage they had done to everything in this area and how we had almost died, I think that power it showed was worth this damage it took, from a purely logical standpoint. Additionally, it would seem that the Bloodletter also had some sort of control over the blood it had spilled thanks to that attack; somehow, despite destroying everything around it and dealing an insane amount of damage to everything, the blood of all of its targets remained. Nothing had been evaporated or lost during that explosion of energy - or at least not enough that I could notice a difference - since there were currently rivers of crimson liquid trickling back slowly towards the Fiend. Tendrils of blood lifted up into the air and pierced into the Fiend''s body to rejuvenate it as it knelt there, looking like an absolute mess that was only recognizable because it was red and gold. Three of its arms were mangled to hell and back, looking more like an abominations attempt at creating a flesh puppet only to realize that there were indeed bones beneath the meat; they hung uselessly at its side, and the muscle and sinews that made up the limbs were untangled and cut in a myriad of ces. Another two arms were broken and extremely burnt, the red energy likely sapping away all of the nutrients and liquid inside of the two limbs and leaving them as dried out husks that looked ready to snap with how brittle the skin and muscle looked, which left a single arm that seemed usable, and that arm was propped against the ground as the Bloodletter held itself in ce. A high risk, high damage attack that left the user vulnerable to death if they were undefended seemed far too risky to warrant use, and yet I understood the theory behind it, especially since I could see the amount of death it had wrought; it wasn''t just the square that was gone, but instead a few more streets alongside the square that just... had been filled with people. Many dozens, if not hundreds of unlucky civilians had perished from that, and the amount of people who were already dead likely matched most of that number too, so... no bodies to bury, no way to know who had perished and who hadn''t... alongside the damage done to the city itself... It was a miracle that we had managed to reach the edge of the ''deadly'' range for our caliber of fighter, and the damage we had taken was still pretty severe - I was only standing thanks to the healing spells that had already been working on me at the time of the attack, and now I was able to take that a step further... So I scooped up my charred, but still sharp and intact short sword as I began to stumble over towards the Bloodletter, watching as the blood of its victims burrowed into its skin and slowly healed it back to its prior state, all while we were unconscious or otherwise indisposed. Caked in dust and drenched with sweat, the Bloodletter heaved in breaths as it screwed its eyes shut and just existed, letting the blood it had spilled heal its internal damages whilst remaining as still as possible to ensure it was as quick as possible, but in doing so it made it all too easy to creep forwards painstakingly quiet and stare at it from up close. That skin was cracked and dry, the muscles were shriveled and the skin tone was pallid, the stench of charred flesh and boiling blood wafted off of its body, and it was by far still twice my size, if not more. I masked my desires as best I could, treating this not like revenge or a way to vent my anger at being smacked aside not once but twice, but instead like a task or chore that needed to be done; something I felt nothing for, or at least nothing palpable for. There was no anger or bloodlust yearning to slip out of my body to alert this Fiend of my presence, no mana leaking out or any noticeable scent or sounds that might clue it in on my approach; nothing at all, and I even made sure to orient myself so that the little amount of sunlight that was cutting through the dense dust cloud around us wouldn''t enter its vision should it open its eyes. I tried to make everything as perfect as possible, and by the time I got close the Fiend was stirring slightly, its body still in the process of healing but not in a state that required perfect stillness. That was the time to strike, so in a single strike that contained all of my power, all of my energy and mana, all of my everything, I sheathed my de in ice, activated the helixes and stabbed straight into the Fiend''s back, right where its heart would be and allowing my frost to begin doing the rest as I sank the Fiend bone de into the Bloodletter''s flesh with the same ease I had done earlier against mortals. Letting out a choked gasp, the Bloodletter coughed as its healing was interrupted and tried to spin around, but by that point I had twisted the de and started heaving the sword to the side, cutting the Fiend''s back open and drawing a roar of agony from its lips. Chapter 1119: Chapter 1118: Bloodletter (4) Chapter 1119: Chapter 1118: Bloodletter (4) ? Ripping the sword out of its back, I snarled softly as I plunged it straight back down onto an undamaged portion of its flesh, cutting through its defenses and dealing an absurd amount of damage as I pulled the de down and opened up a giant gash across its back. As it tried to turn around and bring those monstrous six arms to bare against me, I decided to get a step ahead as I growled "[Ice Blossom]!", summoning another flower of frost on its upper back as I carved open the lower side. When the crystalline flower exploded the Fiend roared again as the shards dug deep into its flesh, burrowing inside and slipping past its thick ribcage as I sought to deal as much damage as I possibly could while it was at its weakest point so far. Twisting the de and yanking it in a new direction, I bathed myself and the area around me in Fiendish blood as I opened up a new jagged gash across the rippling canvas that I had begun to make into art, revealing the reddish gold bones beneath and finding out that there were indeed limits to what I could easily cut through.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om The spine, for one, was a bone I wasn''t able to just cut through with ease, which halted me and gave the Fiend a moment of ''respite'' as it only had to deal with the three incisions that had only gotten worse with its moving, and that brief moment forced me to make a decision. Did I continue to carve away until I was easily smacked aside and likely dealt another severe blow, or did I make out like a bandit on this surprise attack of mine and use the remaining time I had to begin preparing for the next round to begin? There were benefits to both, but I needed to make a split second decision, and it would seem that my more cautious nature won out as I yanked my de free and leapt back, though that didn''t mean I couldn''t make use of my new skill to cast magic with only my voice... "[Chains of Chione]! [Priming Showers]!" Two spells cast back to back caused the Fiend to let out another roar, though this one was of anger as six thick chains made from ice impaled themselves into it''s arms, wrapping around the bones and making it hard to break free without risking severe injury to itself once more, and that gave me the freedom to douse this hothead with a nice cold shower. Water poured across its flesh and formed a puddle around its knees, and while I could tell the Bloodletter was confused as to why that water was just water and not some kind of attack, it didn''t think too much on it as it tried to stand up and break free, using that red energy to chew away at the ice binding its arms. "I will take great pleasure in breaking you, whelp!" The tusked and fanged face that swung around to stare at me was rather intimidating, but since I had it where I wanted it, I wasn''t going to be spooked off even as it tried to growl something else at me. With the Fiend properly primed and awaiting the real reason it had been bathed, I raised my hand and began to tune together my runic spell with an incantation as I stared back into its red and gold eyes without too much fear. "[Deste Prison]." Taking arge chunk of my avable mana, I once more fought against the environment itself as I cast a wide area of effect spell that surrounded the Fiend, summoning out a pir of ice and freezing the Fiend within it; both the area around the Fiend and the skin of the Fiend were frozen as it was plunged into pure ice, not allowed to continue enjoying the damnable heat of the desert sun. I could have gone with a pure attack, but this allowed me to both damage and contain the Fiend as I instead turned and rushed towards Jahi, the bond between us allowing me to locate her instantly as I began to heal the unconscious Demoness; perhaps I could have killed the Fiend now on my own, but considering it hadn''t seemed all that bothered by the wounds on its back... If a de made from the bones of one of its peers was able to be healed, I had a feeling this Fiend was still being healed at an impossibly high rate, and if that was the case... I wanted to have the weakness to Fiends standing beside me ready to deal that finishing blow instead. After all, it had been able toe back from an attack that had apparently sapped it of most of its own life force and nutrients in almost a minute, so who knows how strong that healing factor was, and if it reached a certain state while still being healed, it might just reaffirm my belief that it was a tenacious cockroach instead of a Fiend. So I poured my remaining mana into healing Jahi, and as the Demoness'' eyes fluttered open I turned back to study the pir of ice I had summoned, cursing slightly at the sight of the blood trying to burrow into the ice and reach the Fiend inside. It wasn''t making fast progress, but considering the Bloodletter''s eyes were still glowing and seemingly tracking me, this Fiend was still very much in control of itself as it fought against the prison. Doubling my efforts, I eventually managed to get Jahi to sit up and groan as she held her head, the pain still effecting her deeply as she cradled herself as best she could without moving too much, but with each passing second she got better and more put together. "What..?" "The short of it is that the red Fiend hit you really damn hard, and it caused the entire square to explode. I need your help to kill the thing reliably, and right now it''s trapped, so... get up already and get ready to swing your sword as hard as you can!" Pulling her to her feet, I pursed my lips as I realized just how heavy she was before I scooped up her sword and shield, handing them to her and searching through both my potions and hers as I looked for one that wasn''t currently shattered and wasted. Finding just one mana potion, I uncorked it and gave it to her, forcing the Demoness to drink it so that she could have even more mana to hit the Fiend with, and that influx of artificial mana was enough to give her a hearty jolt of energy to do just that. Handing the vial back to me, she clenched her fist around her masterfully crafted sword and rolled her jaw as she began to trudge forwards, making her way to the pir of ice and slowly channeling the Light Mana from her Core into her de in a controlled way. "Tell me when you''re ready, and I will drop the barrier a little in... that ce." I made use of the bond between us to indicate where I meant, and the Demoness nodded as she too noticed how the Fiend was still fully sentient and waiting for the chance to strike; the ice was holding up though, and while it had managed to exhibit an astronomical amount of power earlier, it wasn''t doing so now. Others began to stumble forwards, looking very worse for wear thanks to the Fiend''s earlier attack, and as Leone stumbled to join us, the Vampire looked paler than usual while her eyes were slightly distant. Before I could ask anything, she just raised her hand and showed me what was left of the red ss ring on her finger, causing my blood to run even colder than before; it was shattered, and just a look at her told me all I needed to know. She... would have been dead, or at least very, very close to it without the ring I had bought for her, and that realization was almost enough to make my heart stoppletely, let alone hers; she blinked a few times and swallowed hard as she lowered her hand and turned to look at the Fiend, those crimson orbs holding a bit more fear than before as she studied the thing that had almost killed her. It was also that realization that made the golden glow surrounding the Demoness'' de all the harsher as she stepped forwards, and I didn''t need to see her face to know that it was a mask of unadulterated fury as she red at the Fiend, preparing to end its life for what it had done. Even though it was trapped inside that prison, the Fiend''s lips almost seemed to curl into a condescending smirk as it stared back at her, though when it felt the barrier drop around its shoulders, it wasn''t able to do anything at all as her de cleaved through its body, separating its neck and head from its torso. And then, as the top half of the prison fell down, Jahi stabbed her de straight through the Fiend''s skull and snuffed its life, only to then yank her sword free again and stab it into the Fiend''s chest, ensuring it was dead. Before she could deal anymore damage to it, I stepped forwards and grabbed her arm when I saw the notification in the System pop up, though even though the number was big and it should have brought some joy with it, I was just... a bit empty. Chapter 1120: Chapter 1119: Battle Over Chapter 1120: Chapter 1119: Battle Over ? The Demoness clicked her tongue as I got her to stop, her golden eyes threatening to bore into my soul as she nced at me before finally relenting and taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself lest she do something stupid. What had once been andmark of this city''s culture and a hub ofmerce was now little more than a field of rubble and a testament to how strong Fiend''s could really be, and it was a frigid wake up call to how sudden life could be taken away, especially the life of someone who had an incredible amount of strength, talent and potential. So many had died here, both ''friends'' and foes alike, but none of them truly mattered to me more than the Vampire standing nearby with a slightly hollow look in her eyes as she stared at the broken red ring on her finger. The Death Jackals were gradually making their way back towards us in various states of hurt, and one of them wasn''t able to walk anymore, because their body had been ripped in two; only one of the ''elites'' in this fight had perished on our side, but the damage was still great. Everyone had suffered wounds here, with a few of the Death Jackals somberly holding parts of themselves as they began to treat themselves, and those that weren''t severely wounded were still nursing broken bones or torn muscles as they slowly healed themselves. Anput was amongst them as she cradled her mangled arm against her chest, the Jackalkin biting her lip as she clicked the bone into ce before running her mana throughout her arm, setting it and preparing it for some real healing. Her tanned face was caked in dust that settled onto her sweaty skin, while her hair was matted and tangled with various pebbles and blood; we were all that way, honestly, and after a few moments I stumbled over to Leone and grabbed her arm, forcing her eyes away from the ring. Those usually brilliant rubies were duller than normal as she swallowed once more, unable toprehend - or more urately, unwilling to - that she had been so close to dying, and honestly... as I stood there with her, I felt the same as well. Some random arrogant Fiend had almost taken away one of the most important people in my entire world with some backhanded, random attack that they pulled from seemingly nowhere?! How was I supposed to just continue on like nothing happened after that?! I tried to put aforting front on for Leone, but I was just as shaken up as she was, mainly from her brush with death but also because I was just so exhausted and battered that trying to put on an act felt impossible. That was why when I felt the familiar warmth and had the all too familiar scent of my owner washing across me I almost cried, and since Jahi had pulled us both into her chest, I could tell that Leone actually was. The Vampire Princess'' shoulders were shaking as she buried her face against Jahi''s cuirass, and although the metal was bent, cool and sttered with blood, dust and sweat that didn''t belong to her, we both had no issue at all clinging to it as she hugged us closely. Anput joined us a momentter, and we all just stood there for a minute, in a pile embracing one another as we tried toe to terms with what had happened, only to have each passing second pick away at my heart like a vulture scavenging a corpse until only the bare minimum was left behind. Even though we were partaking in this closeness to one another, I still felt cold as Leone continued to shiver slightly in Jahi''s arms, and the asional sniffle and whimper cut through me the same way a de would as I screwed my eyes shut and tried to maintain my calm. The silence was almost deafening as we embraced, though eventually the whooshing of the winds over the edges of this cratered section of the city brought us out of our anguished reverie, so with great reluctance I pushed away from Jahi''s muscr, warm and reassuring arm as I turned around and looked at the damage the Fiend had dealt. So many had died here, and all we managed to do in return was kill a single Fiend, one that we had no real idea on where it stood in the pecking order of the Fingers, or if it was even some Fiend we needed to have worried about in their grand scheme for the desert. Was this a blow to their ns or barely a hup that they would just brush aside and continue forwards with, not giving a damn about the Bloodletter perishing at our hands? That was something that worried me, and if this was a Fiend that barely had any significance to their n - either as some really high quality muscle or as an integral piece to something they were hoping to achieve - then I was scared of what the other Fiends might be like. Breathing in the dusty air, trying to ignore the metallic scent of blood and the revolting charnel stench that clogged the area around us, I decided that the best thing to upy my mind at the moment was to take stock of the ''spoils'' from this fight, which were resting in a pile nearby, oozing blood. Honestly, I just needed to be doing something instead of sitting here thinking about it, something that was opposite of the Demoness since she still couldn''t help losing herself to her thoughts whenever something happened, though I''ll be the first to admit that she had gotten better. What made me happier about being able to do something right now was the fact that I could take a great deal of pleasure from desecrating this Fiend''s corpse and turning it into materials to be used in the fight against its peers, and it also allowed me to alleviate some of my distress by doing something I liked doing. Retrieving the short sword, I started carving the Fiend up and extracting the crimson bones as I left the other three to themselves, letting Jahifort them for now as I found the way to deal with my stress for the time being, and as I began to create a pile of usable flesh, bones, organs and more, I noticed that a few of the Death Jackals were watching me closely, their eyes glued to my de as it sliced through the flesh. Beckoning for those few to join in, we were able to disassemble the Fiend in a shorter amount of time, and although we were coated in viscera from this task, it was cathartic to have turned this once mighty and terrifying Fiend into little more than its base parts, separated and sorted based on importance. When everything was getting bundled up and we were sufficiently cleaned, Jahi, Anput and Leone were finallying away from the group hug, and although Leone was clearly still shook by what had happened, she was better than before, even if it was just barely. Progress was progress, and while I was reluctant to admit it, I knew she needed toe to terms with it herself before she opened up about it or was willing to ept more help from us, and that was alright even if it made me feel useless. Besides, as we gathered our things and made our way over to one of the nearby buildings that was still standing, it would seem that we were all on the same page; we stumbled over to what looked like a bar or some kind of restaurant and went right on inside, upying the empty space and sinking into the seats as we allowed ourselves to rx. Guards and other fighters came rushing into the crater after a few minutes, and the best of the Death Jackals - by that I mean the least injured and most awake - sat out front and had the various soldiers spread the news for us as we began to rest and recuperate. That looked different for everyone, and as soon as we found ourselves someone who was capable of cooking arge meal that wasn''t currently exhausted, we threw them into the kitchen and prayed there were enough ingredients for us to devour and turn into energy; otherwise, the real discovery had been the various bottles of alcohol around the ce, which we helped ourselves to.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Very quickly we settled at our own tables and began to drink and eat to our hearts content as we tried to ovee the stress that had threatened to consume us whole, and it was then that I realized how badly this had effected the Vampire since she too was picking up a bottle. It wasn''t the healthiest way, but right now I was more than happy to join her as we crowded around our own table, picking at the food brought to us before washing it down with some aged liquor that burnt away the bile that continued to pervade the back of our throats. Chapter 1121: Chapter 1120: Good Ol Pick Me Up (1)* Chapter 1121: Chapter 1120: Good Ol'' Pick Me Up (1)* ? Jahi PoV Pouring out the rest of the bottle into my cup, I lifted it up and downed the contents right away before looking to the side, where I saw the ashen haired beauty I had the privilege of being in love with doing the exact same thing. It was out of character for her to find sce in a bottle - not that we had drank all that often in our lives, since there were few asions for us to do so - so I was a bit more worried than usual, though I could understand it as my eyes dropped to her hand, which was resting on the table in front of her. Adorning one of her fingers was a ring that we all had, but unlike ours Leone''s was now broken, a sign that - ording to Kat when she had given them to us - her protection against a strike that would kill her was gone, and that was something I knew must haunt her mind right now. Most of me was just as disturbed as her at the idea of some bum Fiend bringing her to that close of a point to death, and that same part was also extremely angry and wanted to do something to kill that Fiend a few more times even though I knew it was impossible. The thought of someone so important to me being ripped away so easily was a harrowing one to say the least, and it made quenching that anger rather easy since the mere idea of not having Leone in my life anymore was one that just... broke me. It just wasn''t easy to hold onto the anger when the far worse feeling of emptiness made it impossible for those mes to survive, so whenever I saw the Vampire Princess right now I was doing my best to engrain everything about her into my mind. The same for Anput and Kat, obviously, but the idea of her not sitting at this table but instead being interred into a tomb or buried beneath the dirt all because some Fiend whipped out some abnormal spell that activated far too quickly and had way too much power was something that just... made me focus on her. So I wanted to reaffirm myself that she was still here, that she wasn''t in any danger right now, and on top of that... I was trying to think of ways to convince her to work past that fear that we all shared, but nothing was really popping into my mind right now, at least... not an idea that was suitable for a public space. The liquor was certainly doing its job since I was physically feeling rather warm and rxed, and that physical ''wellness'' was beginning to pair nicely with the loosening of my mental shackles as I studied Leone from the side.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om The Vampire''s regal expression that never left no matter how she felt - it was always there, like a crown to remind us of her pedigree - alongside her strikingly crimson eyes that sparkled like two exquisite gemstones, even if their shine had dulled slightly after what had just happened. Her full, naturally rosy lips that contrasted her paler skin, the uniqueness of her ashen hair that sparked alongside her emotions, the way each twitch of a facial muscle stole my attention no matter how small or insignificant they were... Everything was captured in my mind, and when it was paired with the trace scent of cinnamon and ash that clung to her skin all the time, I had almost all of my senses trained onto her; when I reached over andid my hand over hers, I covered all of the bases as I listened to the sharp inhale of surprise and caressed her hand, removing that ring from her sight and ensuring she wasn''t losing herself to it anymore. When she turned to look at me, I gently rested my other hand on her cheek as I guided her closer, letting my breath wash across her lips as I brought her close enough for a kiss, though for now I whispered "Please... look at me, Leone. Look at us, and not at the ring." Those rubies began to glisten as she pursed her lips, tears welling up and threatening to fall as she tried to shake her head, though when I pressed my lips against hers, she blinked once and stiffened, unsure of what to do. Part of her wanted to pull away because of her emotions, while another part wanted to do so because she was embarrassed of the eyes on us, but most of her was just surprised at what I was doing, only to respond the best way she knew how as I slipped my tongue between her lips and got to satisfy my initial cravings for her taste. I deepened the kiss and enjoyed the way her tasteplimented the lingering vor of what we had been drinking, though as I was about to lose myself to her eyes and her touch, I couldn''t help but roll my eyes when the yful voice of Anput entered my ears. "Damn~! Why don''t you both go get a room and knock hips for a bit-? That''s what Kat and I are bouta do~!" Her suggestion was more than wee, though as I pulled away from my Vampire - reluctantly, I might add, since her low whimper and leaning forwards almost got me to kiss her again - I turned to Anput and growled "Same room then." Giving me a mock salute, my yful Jackalkin stood up and didn''t bother to hide her lust as she grabbed Kat and pulled the Dogkin with her, palming the woman''s ass and sauntering over towards the rooms upstairs as she winked back at me; so, I grabbed Leone and hoisted her into my arms, not giving the Vampire a moment to even consider refusing as I followed behind her. My cock was straining against my leather pants and bringing me a difort that only Leone could soothe right now, and I smirked at my Princess as I used my head to gesture at her own erection, the liquor making our bodies all the more honest as we ascended to a suitable location for the one thing to take our minds off of the fight. She wentpletely scarlet at that, and I chuckled as I entered the room behind Anput and made my way towards one of the two small beds, knowing damn well that I was about to break mine as I lowered the Princess down onto it and drank in her shy expression and lewd body. A growl rumbled from my throat without me knowing as I reached down and pulled her to the edge, forcing her to bend over and kneel as I yanked her pants down, revealing her juicy ass and heavy testicles, both of which were fragrant from a long day; my lust made me ignore her clear desire to clean up, and as I buried my face between her cheeks she could only moan as I started to clean her up instead. Keeping her where she was, I dragged my tongue up and down her plump slit as I savored the vors before plunging it inside, drawing a sharper moan from her lips as she arched her back and tried to pull away again. My handnded on her hip as I spanked her for her impudent attempt to subvert my unspoken order, and the moan that came from that was far more submissive as she ''reluctantly'' gotfortable and allowed me to ke my thirst the proper way. After a few moments of tonguing her pussy, I decided to reward my Princess as I reached around her waist and grabbed at her cock, surprising her again as I started to jerk her off while I ate her out, the Vampire moaning harder as she pressed herself back against me as she quivered in excitement. Her erect cock was throbbing gratefully as I stroked it awkwardly, my movements slowly adapting to this hands on experience as I found what made her moan the loudest and what I was willing to do, though I had to admit I wasn''t given a lot of time to learn as she buried her face into the straw pillow and stifled her voice as sperm began to gush out of her tip. Cumming all over the sheets, Leone ejacted first as she was pleasured on both sides, before her pussy quivered and gave me what I was searching for as she properly ked my thirst, though I didn''t stop my tongue nor my hand as she orgasmed from both sides. Even though I was only getting harder and harder as I pleased her, I held back from standing up and unbuckling my pants so that I could fuck her as I instead focused on servicing her first and foremost, knowing that this... was exactly what I could give her right now toe to peace with what had just happened. It was a distraction and me providing her with what she needed all in one, and considering I was listening to the delighted whimpersing from the pillow as she ejacted hard, I knew it was a sessful start... though I still had so much more to do. Chapter 1122: Chapter 1121: Good Ol Pick Me Up (2)* Chapter 1122: Chapter 1121: Good Ol'' Pick Me Up (2)* ? "J-Jahi..! P-Please, no more! N-NO MORE!" Even as she moaned that, Leone rocked her hips back and rubbed her pussy against my face as I continued to lick her to my hearts content, and after a few more moments of that she orgasmed once more, not able to hold it in as shethered my face in her juices. The real kicker though was how her cock continued to throb in my hand as she ejacted for the third time onto the bed, her balls slowly getting emptied as she was plunged into ecstasy all because I was tipsy and in need of some good release, as was she. On the other bed though, I was listening to yet another siren''t call as Kat begged with Anput to finish inside her, the two Caninekin sharing a deep rooted passion as they embraced and rolled around on the bed, fighting for who would be on top as they lost themselves to their lust. Watching as Kat tried to pin Anput down and trap the Jackalkin to creampie her was arousing, though seeing the Dogkin get tossed to the side and mounted as her mate pounded her from behind while threatening to pull out and ze her tits instead, fostering a sense ofpetition between both of them. The idea of joining and pressing Anput down into Kat as I alternated between the two of them almost got me hard enough to tear through the leathers I was still wearing, but as a fresh dose of cinnamon vored juice sshed against my tongue, I was more fascinated by the Princess I was bedding right now. Especially since she was squirming just right as she tried to fight against the pleasure I was providing her, my adorable Vampire not being too fond of the idea of being made to cum over and over again as I simply sat back and got ''nothing'' in return. I could tell she was yearning for me to offer my cock to her, to let her slurp my semen out of my tip as she milked me dry or to present her pussy to me and ept my greedy, self serving thrusts as I used her body for myself, and that only made it easier for me to keep stroking her as I plunged in and out of her honeypot to satiate my hunger. The scent and the heat of what I was doing was more than enough as well, but it was her taste - and the rush I got from being able to control her through this - that really got me going, so the longer I was able to drag this out, the better for me, even if she wanted to move forwards. Of course I could try and say I was happy to make her cum again, and I wouldn''t exactly be lying, but the longer I made a mess of her lower lips the harder I got, and it was slowly bing unbearable as my own cock yearned for freedom, straining against the leather and making it difficult for me to not yank my pants off so I could pleasure myself. So when I made her soil the bedsheets even more with another load of semen as she ejacted, I finally relented and pushed her forwards, letting the Vampire fall onto her abundant chest and getting an interesting angle of her penis twitching as it spat out more sperm. Standing up and almost tearing off my clothes, I let them fall to the ground in an unorganized, messy heap and stretched, preparing myself for what was toe as I locked eyes with Leone as she rolled onto her back, the Vampire blinking a few times as she traced out my muscles and ogled my dick. I flexed and smirked at her as I showed off my body, earning a deep blush as the Princess grabbed the pillow and tried to hide her face from me, though her eyes peeked over it as she watched me crawl onto the bed and make my way over to her, ignoring the creaking as the cheap wood strained beneath our weight. "Are you finallying around and thinking about something else, slut?" Kissing her neck, I gently pushed her back again before slowly covering her entire body, pinning her down and smothering her with my body as I rubbed against her, savoring her softer curves and the contrasting hardness of her cock. Herrger size sparked a minor thrill inside me as I gyrated my hips to grind against her dick, our tips brushing together and giving me some much needed release as my precum drooled out freely, the thought of conquering this futanari turning me on even more than before. "I..." Licking her lips, Leone looked to the side before moaning softly as I ced my face in front her own, forcing her to stare at me as I waited for her answer, which she gave a momentter as she nodded and whispered "Yeah... but I don''t want to think, Jahi..." The pleading gleam inside those rubies brought a grin to my lips as I nodded, giving her my permission as I tilted my head to the side and bared my neck to her, allowing her to sink her fangs into my flesh as I guided my cock into her pussy; giving her a good fuck for the blood she took was only a fair trade, right? When she wrapped her legs around my waist and weed me inside her thoroughly drenched cunt, I felt thest tiny bit of restraint I had slip awaypletely, the heat and wetness coiling around my cock making me groan happily as I slid all the way inside and entered her womb. Reaching her deepest parts was always a great pleasure I would never not ept, and for a brief moment I basked in the glory of being only one of two people who would ever partake in this ce for sexual gratification, soaking my cock inside her womb and contemting letting out my seed right now, but when I felt her fangs go even deeper, well...N?v(el)B\\jnn I needed to match her, so I began to lift my hips a few inches before smacking them back down as I started to make love to my Vampire, teasing her cervix at my leisure as I brushed past it with each thrust. She mped down instantly and almost grabbed my cock with her pussy, the Vampire unable to hold back as she came violently from the get go and ensuring the ce we were connected was showered in her happiness. "Good girl... forget about everything and just cum... Cum from my cock and milk me... Drink and cum..." I hastened my movements as I felt my testicles get heavier, the sperm inside demanding freedom as I began to finally alleviate the burning in my groin by fucking a regal pussy, with each thrust ensuring my sperm was awake as I smacked my balls against her ass. Leone couldn''t help but bite me harder as my thrusts became more frequent, the Vampire losing herself to orgasmic bliss as I fucked her at my leisure and prepared her pussy for its first semen injection for the night. Rocking the entire bed and making it creak, I groaned as I felt that familiar rush as she injected her own concoction inside me, the heat from her fangs traveling throughout my veins and ensuring I wouldn''t push the Vampire away as she drank all she wanted from my neck, and even though I usually got fidgety about being bitten like this, I let it go this time as I let the Vampire do whatever she wanted. So I wrapped my arms around her back and got even faster, preparing to cum as I smacked my hips against hers, the noises from us joining that of our two other lovers as they too got close topletion, something that turned into a bit of a race between Kat and I as we briefly locked eyes. I desperately wanted to cum, so I was hammering Leone''s womb and wringing myself out inside her tight pussy, the Vampire''s folds stroking my shaft while her cervix choked my tip, and Kat desperately wanted to be creampied, so... The Jackalkin was being treated to some of the hardest decisions I had ever seen as Kat arched her back and shook her ass enticingly, making it impossible for her mate to pull out even though she had the physical advantage right now, her hips not stopping as she pounded her from the back and appreciated the jiggling of each cheek. Did she give in or did she fight? That was what was going through her mind, and I was grateful I wasn''t in the position she was at least mentally - since I was desperate for release no matter what, and that was why I didn''t even stop when the bed began to shake even more than before as some part of it broke, instead groaning victoriously as I started to ejacte hard inside the pussy of a Princess who deserved the best sex tonight. Chapter 1123: Chapter 1122: Good Ol Pick Me Up (3)* Chapter 1123: Chapter 1122: Good Ol'' Pick Me Up (3)* ? Anput PoV Havingpleted the very ''arduous'' task of satisfying the slutty Dogkin with enough cum to get a vige of lowly human''s pregnant and then some, I was finally allowed to free myself from her sublime pussy as I decided it was time for me to do my other duties, and not just knot this bitch over and over again like she wanted. Leaving her spasming on the bed as she squirted and leaked semen, I gave Kat''s pussy a firm smack and groaned softly as I listened to her orgasmic moans that were trying to lure me back into dicking her down some more, but I knew what I needed to do, and sadly right now it didn''t involve another round of sex with the Dogkin. I rolled off the bed and looked towards the remains of the other one as I smiled wryly, therge Demoness not giving a damn about having broken that piece of furniture as she continued to hump the Vampire beneath her incessantly, stirring around her bloated womb and making me chuckle as I approached them slowly. The Demoness didn''t even bother to nce at me as she kept fucking her Princess to her hearts content, but Leone certainly did as I knelt down in front of them and drank in their expressions as they mated like beasts, something that the Vampire would never admit to loving far more than I did sometimes. Laying t on the remnants of the very wet bedsheets, Leone moaned as she was treated like some kind of pillow by Jahi, who was just humping her ass constantly as she reached another orgasm, giving the Vampire a creampie to show how much she loved her. The pleasureful groan that spilled from our blue lovers lips marked that moment perfectly, and I was tempted to move to sit behind them so that I could watch as she dumped her load inside Leone, her giant testicles clenching and delivering her seed into this regal pussy. Instead though, I decided to just remain where I was as I took in their shared orgasm and waited for it to finish, taking the risk as I snapped my fingers in front of Jahi''s face and got the Demoness to stop humping the Vampire for just a moment. "What do you want, Anput..?" Her raspy voice sent shivers down my spine as I met her gaze, those amethysts filled with a mild irritation at being interrupted in the middle of her fun time, while Leone''s rubies were also irritated as she looked up at me, though it was for a different reason; her perpetual orgasms were being halted, and I clicked my tongue at how her eyes flickered down to that ring of hers. "What I want, Jahi, is to have someone make a mess of my pussy next~! Either of you,e and take me already! And take my spot with Kat! She''s wringing me fucking dry over there!" That made the Demoness snort as she nced at the Dogkin on the not broken bed, catching Kat''s eye as the Dogkin finally began to stir again, sitting up and propping herself up with her arm as she pouted at the three of us, clearly looking for the return of a dick to her needy, insatiable pussy. Those giant tits were calling my name again, but I was feeling empty enough that I actually coughed and looked away, not wanting to release thest few drops of my sperm and enter that rather dangerous state of perpetual exhaustion that came from being dried up. Thankfully those mesmerizing mountains were calling everyone''s name equally, and Jahi sighed as she gyrated her hips for a few moments before ''reluctantly'' pulling out of Leone, making a show of it too as she did it just slow enough that some of the sperm inside of the Vampire clung to her cock and created long ropes between the two. It was a perfect testament to the Demoness'' virility, and she knew it was enticing all of us as she held herself there for a few seconds, her long, throbbing cock capturing all of our attention as it hovered right above Leone''s ass; the Vampire had twisted herself to be able to see it, and she got to not only watch it but feel some of it as Jahi grunted softly and shot a few more ropes onto Leone''s cheeks. Sitting on the Vampire''s thighs, Jahi idly jerked herself off as she said "Like what you see? It never ceases to amaze me how fucking blessed I am that the three of you are all cock addicted sluts yearning for me to abuse you however I please...", giving us all a smirk as she grabbed Leone''s hip and rubbed herself against the Vampire some more. "I hope you all know that... No matter how often I degrade the three of you, know that I really do love you all more than anything else in this world..." Leone''s eyes widened while Kat just gave the Demoness a small smile, her amber eyes glowing warmly as she acknowledged Jahi''s kindness and earnest words, which came from the heart; I gave her a nod too, but I rolled my eyes and gestured for her to get on with it, which she did a momentter. "But I need you to spread your legs for me already, whore. I''m being told off from both my wives, so I need somethin'' to keep me satisfied..." Growling theatrically, Jahi smacked Leone''s ass and pushed the Vampire back down to show her ''displeasure'' before standing up and ring down at me, not ''happy'' to have been told to migrate from one incredible woman to another; so of course she spat on me and smacked me a few times with her cock, smearing my face with her cum and ensuring I could smell her properly even as she moved over to Kat and took up the same position with her former maid. Leone and I watched the Demoness instantly begin pounding the Dogkin like she hadn''t had sex in weeks, the pitiful moans of a slut who had taken more than she could handle mixing perfectly with the purposefully loud grunts that Jahi let out as she thrust as hard as she could. Turning towards the Vampire, I crawled onto herp and hugged her close, enjoying the softness of her chest against mine while also holding her head against my shoulder as I whispered "Thank fuck you''re alive, Leone... but damnit please stop acting like you died already! You''re alive, you''re safe, and we both know damn well you aren''t gonna let that happen again! You''re gonna have a potion concocted to prevented, a spell drawn up to make it impossible, some kinda enchantment made up with Kat to mimic that ring..." I squeezed the back of her head and kept going as I muffled her voice with my shoulder, not letting her speak as I added "We all almost died out there, Leone. Yeah, you took a harder hit than most, but be fucking grateful! Lots of people did die toady, but you weren''t one of them, so be thankful and live on!" Since she wasn''t really fighting back against me, I relented and allowed her to pull back so that I could look into her eyes and assess just how deeply she had been wallowing in this albeit understandable - concoction of so many different emotions that had built up over thest few hours.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Grief, self loathing, regret, and so much more was lingering in her eyes, and as she began to tear up I growled softly as I leaned forwards and kissed her, stunning her for a moment before I felt her hungrily return my kiss, weing the distraction once more only to be ''surprised'' when I pushed her onto her back. Our lips remained locked as I guided the Vampire''s cock into me, allowing me to take her for a ride as Iforted her in another way, and I gave her the freedom to do as she pleased as I kept her under me, the Vampire wing at my back as she thrust upwards and indulged in carnal pleasure. It was a crude method for sure, and the same that Jahi had been practicing on her, but for now it was all I could do besides say what I said and get her to realize she needed to be out of this slump, especially since we needed her brilliant mind if we were going to get our gear powered up and continue this fight against the Fingers. Taking herpletely inside of me, I gave her the ride of her life as I provided her sce for what had happened, and eventually - if her movements were anything to go off of - she finally was beginning to rx and ept what happened, her actions no longer as hungry as before as she held me and allowed me to sink into her embrace. Chapter 1124: Chapter 1123: Morning Thoughts Chapter 1124: Chapter 1123: Morning Thoughts ? Kat PoV A groan escaped my lips as the suns raysnded on my face, the sudden surge of light and heat rousing me from my deep slumber as someone opened the shutters and let some fresh air into the room. All ofst night we had been partaking in each other''s bodies however we pleased; for me it started with Anput and I fighting one another as we vied for supremacy in this bed, our little game resulting in some really good sex that allowed me to vent all my frustrations as quickly as I could. Then Anput decided I was too much to handle and opted to go ahead and hand me over to Jahi, who proceeded toy on my back and pin me down as she pounded me for hours on end, not stopping at all as she just fucked me constantly until she was satisfied, which was a hard bar to reach. When the Demoness and the Jackalkin had decided to call it quits for the time being and began to cuddle and have sex on the floor together, that was when Leone found her way over to me forfort, the Vampire stuffing her head between my thighs and using her tongue to pleasure me as she rested for a little while. She provided pleasure to me through her long tongue and incessant nipping, until eventually her fangs found their way into my inner thigh as she drank blood from a rather unorthodox spot, king her thirst once more with a different person as she got me ready for even more. That was honestly thest thing I remember since her fluids - both of them - were rather intoxicating, especially when mixed with the fluids of our two other lovers since all three of them had finished inside me multiple times. Now I was waking up in her arms and groaning with her as the sun washed over us both, waking us up and letting us know we were here for another day of living, something that caused me to turn around and ce a kiss on the Vampire''s lips as I greeted her. "Good morning beautiful..." Those blurry red eyes were unfocused as she mumbled back "Goo... mornin''...", making me chuckle softly as I just rested my brow against hers and gave her the time she needed to wake up, only to roll my eyes as something was smacked down between us that made Leone''s nose twitch cutely. "It''s time to wake up, you two..." Jahi''s amused growl brought a small smile to my lips before I put them to use, and Leone joined me a momentter as we provided the Demoness the blowjob she wanted without even getting out of bed. She wasn''t even bothered by the opened window nor was she caring at all about the noises she made as she groaned happily each time we took her in her entirety, and eventually more noises joined her groans as we woke up the only way the Demoness seemed to know how to. By the time everything was done and we were all awake, Leone was as red as her eyes once more as she noticed the window and heard the murmuring from the streets, and when someone knocked on the door the Vampire jumped, only for her to find herself in Jahi''s arms as the Demoness disyed her insane virility. Rolling my eyes at that, I didn''t bother trying to ''save'' the Vampire as she was made into an example by the Head of our little family, so I got cleaned up, dressed, and slipped out into the hall with Anput as we answered the knock from the Death Jackal, who was unbothered by the noisesing from our room. "What happened?" Anput briskly walked past the Death Jackal as she made her way downstairs, and the elite warrior didn''t miss a step at all as she moved to follow her Begum, answering her immediately as she said "Nothing that requires your attention, Begum, however we wanted to be granted permission to send Naima home with Aya''s body." Her words sobered Anput and I as we entered the general area of the bar, where the cleanly wrapped and waiting body of one of the Death Jackal''s - Aya - was resting atop a table, surrounded by her silent and somberrades. "Granted. Take her to the Sharaf Tomb for interment; it''s what she deserves. The Zaeim Altuqus will handle the rest." All of the warriors gave Anput a deep bow at that, and one of them carefully lifted the two pieces of the Jackalkin''s body as they departed from the bar, leaving the rest of us to gather around the various tables and begin to eat the food someone else had prepared yet again. Grabbing one of the many unfinished bottles of liquor fromst night, Anput poured herself a ss and offered me the bottle afterwards, earning another eye roll even as I poured myself a drink and clinked my ss against hers. "That was a surprise and a half, wasn''t it Kat? All that power generated in mere moments from an idiot like that..." Swirling the liquid around before downing most of it, Anput huffed and poked at her food as she added "Makes you wonder what kinda Fiends are waiting for us next then, right? More like this Bloodletter fellow, or more like the Fiend that I made into a sword for you?" "I don''t know... I mean, we can''t know until we meet the next one, whenever that is. And with what happened to Leone..." We both fell quiet at that, though the sound of the floor shifting above us made us both smile wryly as we knew what was happening upstairs, relief washing over us as we were reminded that she hadn''t been taken from us. "Gonna need another ring for her... think the Goddess above will grant that prayer of yours, Kat?" She gave me a teasing smile, though beneath that amusement was a clear inquisitive gleam that made my heart skip a beat, which was more than easily masked as I shrugged and replied "Probably... it would seem that times really are changing, aren''t they? Everything''s kind of like a pendulum; swing far enough into the bad, you''ll eventually swing back into the good." "That''s deep... how long did it take you to think of that?" Her remark made me snort as I refilled my ss and downed the burning alcohol in a single gulp, warming myself up in one of the only ways I wanted to be warmed up as I said "Piss off; even if it did take me long to think of that, it''s still faster than you and that muscle you want to call a brain." The banter made everything taste better, and we went back and forth for a few minutes before eventually turning our attention onto the spoils of this fight, which Anput already had ideas for; not even a day after and she already knew what she wanted to do with the corpse of the Fiend that had almost killed Leone. "Each of those arms is easily enough to make a set of armor and then some, especially if I keep things a bit on the lighter side; either that, or I start making a suite of weaponry for each of us. That Estoc that Leone is adept with, a few different des for you and me, and maybe a nice ''little'' dius or something for Jahi as a backup... Either way though, we need armor, that''s for damn sure, and since this was a tough son of a bitch and all, I''m going to make an assumption here and say the bones match that to a tee. Probably going to be harder to work than the other bones, but the rewards will definitely be worth it." Waving at the various bonesid out on one of the tables in the middle of the bar, I asked "What about the rest of it?", including the jarred organs and blood in my question as I studiedn/?/vel/b//in dot c//om each of the things we had harvested. Despite there being chunks of prime red flesh, bottles of sparkling vitae and the general stench of raw meat and blood permeating the air, I had no issue at all epting the next te of warm naan smothered in a delicious butter and herbbination that did wonders to fill my stomach andbat the alcohol. "Hells if I know what the meat and blood''ll be used for, but the rest of it... most likely I''ll y around with some of it, get some spare weapons made up for all of us before using some of it on some other people; as much as my Mother likes toin about things and belittle me, I''d feel better if she had some Fiend''s bones to arm herself with. Same with your Mother, same with Jahi''s too." Taking her hand in mine, I smiled happily at my mate as I cooed "Aww... that''s so sweet of you, Anput~!", instantly making her raise a brow and look me up and down like she had been grabbed by a random person, bringing around some more bickering before we were joined by a rxed Jahi and embarrassed Leone. Chapter 1125: Chapter 1124: Debrief Chapter 1125: Chapter 1124: Debrief ? With the threat in this city dealt with, we made our way back towards the capital to reconvene with the Sultana and fill her in on what happened here, get her opinion on what we should have done and rest for a day as we gave Anput the time she needed to forge our new gear. That was the n, but since we were traveling amongst the routes that the Sultana had nned out for us to makemunication over the vastness of the desert easier, we were met with a rushing Death Jackal who handed us a letter, penned by the Sultana herself. Her orders to change heading and make our way to a new city - or more specifically, the encampment she had set up outside of the city - came seemingly out of nowhere, but we began to make way without too many questions. It was a bit hard for me to understand the map that she had drawn out, specifically how we were meant to understand where the hell these routes were and how to follow them when the entire Sultanate was covered in sand, hills of sand, and deep dunes of sand; everything was sand. How did she make routes in the vast expanse of this sandy ocean that they would know how to follow?! Whatever method they had I wasn''t able to determine for myself as we mounted the Jackals and rode out into the needlessly hot desert to head to a new city, our spoils secured to our saddles and adding just a little bit of weight to the fluff balls that we were riding. So of course I kept my fluffy friend nice and cool as we rushed over the golden grains, and as we did I both tried to decipher the methods being used - I couldn''t see or smell anything, so I was at a loss on that front - and tried to pass the time bying up with some more spells to make use of going forwards.N?v(el)B\\jnn That fight had scared some more sense into me too, so I was browsing the spell books inside of the System for both inspiration and perhaps to see what some potential future purchases should be when we have a couple of hours to ourselves again. The primary purchase on my mind was another ring to rece the broken one for Leone, and the next was to get some more stat boosting items that would focus on defense since it was clear we were at a position where our damage was good, but our ability to take damage was... a bit limited. Yeah, the armor that Anput wanted to make was definitely going to increase our ability to take damage by many multitudespared to the leathers and ovepping chainmail and scale mail armor that we were currently wearing, but I still wanted to just multiply that even more and ensure we were set for the time being. Also... percentage based increases are always going to be wee no matter what, that''s for sure. As we rode over the desert towards the new location of interest to the Sultana, Leone eventually pulled up beside me and looked over as she asked "Kat, I''ve been meaning to question you after what I heard from yesterday, but... y''know..." The Vampire''s eyes dulled for a moment before she focused on me once again, showing that she was finally beginning to get over what had happened and bringing me relief as I nodded and waited for her question, not pointing out her slip back into that unhealthy shell she had donned yesterday. "Ahem... well, Jahi said that you made use of incantations yesterday, and I saw you use them too... in coboration with your runic magic, which... we were literally just discussing a few days ago, so how..?" I smiled wryly beneath my veil and shrugged my shoulders as I replied "The training that I had for the Lust Mana seems to be really helpful with incantations; that whole willpower thing that Cali was talking about just kind of... clicked with me. If I need to make use of my vocal cords for magic, and give it shape through thought, then it really isn''t that hard, now is it? I mean sure, the control isplicated and definitely more precise than guiding it to your finger - at least for the more tame applications - but we''ve been practicing for a long time now, so I guess it just wasn''t as hard as I thought - as we thought it was going to be." The Vampire just stared at me for a few moments before turning back to the sands in front of us as she thought it over, and I could almost see the gears beneath her skull churning around as she picked apart my words, finding the nuggets of reasoning and logic inside of them. Whether or not they were eptable to her was a different story, but she sighed and reluctantly nodded as she said "That makes sense, no matter how much I think it was idiotic to have rushed into something like an entirely new branch of magic..." ring at me, she made it abundantly clear she didn''t like that at all, so I just raised my hands before smiling sweetly beneath the veil as I said "[Chione''s Caress].", showing her the runes as well as I cast the same spell I had over myself and my Jackal onto her. The breeze was amplified and chilled as it wrapped around her body like a nket, but instead of warming her up and making her cozy, this one cooled her down and made the sun''s rays far more bearable for this long ride. My Vampire lover reluctantly epted that I had managed to get a good amount of control over this new way to utilize magic in such a small amount of time, and the primary reason behind that was simple; she began to y around with it as well to pass the time, and since we had hours to spare... I got to watch as she cracked this version of magical casting in a few hours, the Vampire learning how to cast simple spells with just her voice to add another tool to her arsenal going forwards, and that was enough to make me feel a tad guilty about having bought the shortcut. It also made my pride swell as I watched her since that was MY genius lover over there, figuring all of this out on the back of a fluffy Jackal and getting a degree of mastery over it in mere hours. By the time that we reached the destination that the Sultana wanted us to get to, she had expended a good amount of mana and drank a few of her mana potions as she maintained a certain level of battle readiness, so when we guided the Jackals over to the various tents she wasn''t any worse for wear. Letting the Jackals shelter beneath a nice canopy and drink whatever they wanted, we followed one of the Death Jackals and entered a rather innocuous tent that wasn''t in the middle of the encampment, finding the Sultana looking over a map adorned with dozens of pieces that she moved freely. "I assume your excursion was sessful?" She only looked up when we remained silent for a few seconds, and when she focused on her daughter she got the answer she wanted as Anput took a deep breath before saying "Yes... but the Fiend that appeared nearly killed Leone." The Jackalkin kept it brief, not mincing words with her Mom as she stared at the veiled futanari, who nodded and turned back to the map as she started moving the pieces again. "A Ka Fiend, if I had to guess? Finally got a proper taste of one that wasn''t just a few decades old? Nasty bastards, all of them. Now you can understand why anyone with a modicum of intelligence fears the Asmodia name; imagine having an Arch Fiend of Ka locked in your basement." We all nodded, and the memories of Ka''Hondi made me shiver slightly as I recalled the glowing red eyes and sheer, oppressive void of emotion that rested inside of them; that was a creature so far detached from anything I wanted to associate with... "Well... good news then; we found a few different cells of the Fingers around this area. More than I had expected, but it makes sense if they''re preparing to make a move. No idea what they want to do in this area - at least, not any concrete ideas - but I do know where they are and how many. Here, here and here; those are the closest three cells, and each one is a dozen or so strong. Talented and trained, not just a cluster of thugs hoping to have some fun or keep an area loosely beneath their control. Want to take a crack at them and whet your pte again, Princess? Wash away the taste of defeat and rece it with the sweetness of victory?" Chapter 1126: Chapter 1125: Multi Pronged Assault Chapter 1126: Chapter 1125: Multi Pronged Assault ? Leone''s answer was as certain as it could possibly be as she nodded and said "I could think of nothing better than that, Sultana.", earning a deep nod from the lithe Jackalkin and a myriad of smiles and smirks from the Death Jackals around us - at least those that weren''t wearing figurative or literal masks. "Good! Well, the n is a simple one; this base here is out in the open, and I want to hit it hard and fast. Faster than they can react, and fast enough to ensure the other two don''t know what happened before it''s toote. Something explosive... and something that I know you''re capable of, Princess. The other two though are tougher nuts to crack, and they''re both closer together than that third one; that first one is on the outskirts of the city, in the slums, so I''m not too worried about coteral. Shouldn''t be any anyways since the ce is a harbor of ''illegal'' trade and dealings..." Tapping the map, she directed our attention to the three markers and gave us an overview of what she had been doing during our time apart, and upon seeing the very detailed ovey of the city and how many different things were inside, I couldn''t help but look towards the Sultana and wonder what she wasn''t telling us just yet. Sensing that, she nudged a marker aside and said "Yes, yes, there''s more here than just three cells; congrats pup, you have eyes. These three cells though are the priority, and these clusters here aren''t of much importance. The other side of the city is of no importance to you four, so focus on these three for me. With Leone and some of the other more explosive mages bombarding and ttening this part of the city - I was meaning to renovate anyways - we need to get the other two before they flee, and that''s where you threee in. Jahi, Anput, I was thinking of handing this cell here to you two and two other Death Jackals; they''re the hardier and more well equipped cell on this side of the city, so I want you two and your two chaperones to hit it hard and fast alongside the bombardment of the previous cell. Since these are the stronger and more physically inclined members, I''m sure you understand that they don''t have the important documents and other things that I want to find on hand; from what we know, it''s more treasures and other knick knacks waiting for you in there hideout. The things I do want are here, which if you were keen eyed, pup, you could tell me why I left this one forst." I leaned over the table and stared at the map for a moment before gently leaning the marker to the side as I ensured I was correct, after which I looked back up at the Sultana and replied "This is the furthest one into the city amongst the three you''ve prioritized for us, and additionally it appears to be some merchant''s estate." "Tell me why that would matter?" Her tone was t, and as she stared at me from beneath her veil I couldn''t help but shiver slightly before taking a deep breath as I answered "It means that this is where they''ve been gathering their own information; likely one of the ''brains'' for this incursion here and the ones distributing the orders to the other cells. There is a high chance that this cell is where any and all information would be pertaining to the Fingers and their ns, even if it is just for this city." "Correct, but can you now tell me why I might have left this one forst? Leone is going to utilize her magic to bombard the first cell, my daughter and your Demoness there are going to rush into a hideout filled with six to twelve trained warriors to kill them in close quarters..." "While this one is likely something that needs a bit more finesse and a concealed approach. Stealth or espionage of some kind; sneaking in and working my way outwards or perhaps you want me to infiltrate it somehow in a more... natural manner?" "Correct again; see, I couldy siege to my own city - a rather loose use of that term, anyways - and make full use of my might to conquer it, but you see... it''s varied enough, contained enough, and most importantly ''weak'' enough for me to go ahead and give another test. Not just to you four, though I will admit it is primarily for you all, but also for my Death Jackals. Frontal assaults, bombardment, and espionage are all in their stratagems, and like a de everyone needs to be well maintained and given regr maintenance to ensure that it will always do what I need them to do. While you four take this section of the city, the rest of my Death Jackals will take the other sections at the same time, and in a mere hour or so, it will be back under my control and free from the taint of these pests. I want to take my city back, hone my troops, but also..." The Sultana tapped each marker on the board before plucking them all and tossing them to the side, letting them roll around on the other side of the table as she whispered "I want to send a message to our ''friends'' that I can squash them with an ease that they couldn''t even begin toprehend." Redirecting our attention to another table nearby, the Sultana gestured at the wider map that showed the Sultanate in it''s entirety, and I couldn''t help but widen my eyes as I realized just how many of the same markers were peppering the map. "Yes, they have been discovered in almost every single damn city under my rule, and honestly... that infuriates me. Like cockroaches they''ve just begun to appear in droves everywhere all at once, and I know that even when I stamp them out they''ll just return once more... but until they return, I can satisfy my anger by wiping the board clean in one fell swoop. If you were ever curious, Jahi, about the reason the Sultanate has stood as it''s own country for as long as it has, the reason is quite clear; when ites to trade, architecture, the arts, we canpete with your Empire, sure, but we know the variety gives you the edge. When ites to the ughtering of your enemies though..." Waving her hand around the tent, the Sultana turned back to us, and even though I couldn''t see her face, I knew the Jackalkin was smirking as she made a showing of the empty tent; all of her Death Jackals were gone, and I hadn''t even really noticed that they had disappeared. "We''ve fine tuned it to an art form itself, and your Knights of Cinder can stand as tall and as proud as they want... but when ites to an unadulterated ughter, you''ll find fewer more adept in that art form than those born in these golden sands." It was currently - a theatric showing of a strength that we could only take her word for, one that meant little for the time being as we just nodded in agreement, even if we knew an estimated strength for the Death Jackals; just hearing it wasn''t enough for me right now, evening from the Sultana. It sounded like bravado that had an inkling of truth to it, but considering the widespread appearance of the Fingers in her country, and how little we actually knew about the organization atrge, it wasn''t as... impressive as she was making it. That wasn''t to say I didn''t buy it though - I was most definitely going to be impressed and be eating my words eventually, but for now... I just took her word for it. She could sense that, especially since the people she was telling that too had seen some of the Knights fight before and had an understanding of their power, but I knew I would be proven wrong to hold any doubts to her words. So instead, when she returned to the table and began to divvy out more instructions and ideas on the battle toe, we focused on that and prepared for those fights, knowing that there was no room for doubt right now. We each had our strengths, and she was putting them to the test here and now as she gave us orders to follow, ones that yed to those strengths and ones that would reap impressiveN?v(el)B\\jnn results should we follow them properly. Leone''s potent magic being levied against an unsuspecting hideout alongside a few other mages, Anput and Jahi''s strength being given the opportunity to shine through as they took the most direct approach possible to a fight... And then my more nuanced approach to operations like this being included as I was told about an open invitation party being hosted at this merchant''s house, one that would let anyone with enough gold enter and have some fun for the next few days, giving me a myriad of choices to make on how to approach this the best possible way. Chapter 1127: Chapter 1126: Play To Your Strengths Chapter 1127: Chapter 1126: y To Your Strengths ? "Well don''t you look dashing, Kat~!" Jahi wore a slightly strained smile as she looked me up and down, the Demoness epting my hand and giving me a spin as she took in my dolled up appearance, her amethyst eyes slowly tracing the curves of my body while her emotions tried to hide away from me behind a forced smile. Since the Sultana''s information was about a merchant hosting avish party where these Fingers would be mingling around - and where all their information was stored away somewhere inside of the building - the decision had been made that my best course of action was direct infiltration. Put on some light makeup that someone had procured for this very event, don the ttering but still conservative dress that hugged my finger in the right spots whilst concealing most of my skin, and for me to alter my personality to a more friendly and open one. It had been something that I had discussed with my lovers before epting the Sultana''s request for this sort of infiltration, and the reason I had been alright with this idea had been entirely because of the Lust Mana that I was still learning to use; being able to mess with people''s minds was something I desperately needed to master sooner rather thanter, and what better ce than a party? All those people who are already inhibited by the alcohol and the environment getting further intoxicated on desires as I enhance or lower their lusts as I see fit; that was a perfect training ground for me, and since I needed to locate special documentation anyways... it gave me a myriad of ways to go about this mission. I just had to promise to not go overboard testing out these powers and finding their limits, to not have a repeat of what I had earlier where I managed to get myself so aroused that the very idea of being exclusive was slowly bing merely a suggestion... promises that I fully intended to keep, for obvious reasons. That was why Jahi was staring at me like that, and while a small part of me wanted to be hurt at what emotions lingered in those amethyst eyes of hers, more of me understood the reluctance to let me do it this way; it was risky and something that was outside of her control, and the Demoness in front of me very much liked being in control. I wasn''t unarmed either, since we were allowed to have a small, slightly ceremonial weapon - a part of the culture inside of the Sultanate that I was happy to learn about - while there was nothing they could do to remove or nullify the tattoos I had on my wrists. That was if they could decipher them at a quick nce when they were beneath flowing, yet transparent cloth, so I wasn''t even worried about that anyways, especially not when I had learned how to utilize my voice to cast spells. A skill that was slowly bing more and more appreciated the longer I had ess to it, and one that gave Jahi just a little bit more ease of mind when she looked me over once more, this time with some more appreciation. "I''ll be careful and reserved, Jahi; I won''t be acting impulsively like you and Anput tend to on the regr~!" Poking fun at the Demoness who legitimately owned my life was something I don''t think I was ever really going to not find amusing, since she just rolled her eyes and plopped her hand atop my head as she replied "Coming from the very impulsive killer, I don''t know if I find that reassuring." She ignored my pout and instead checked the ornamental dagger I was bringing along, the simple weapon strapped to the thick leather belt I wore thatplimented the dress and entuated my waist not giving us either that much confidence. "It''s a shame that you can''t take a real weapon in there... too fancy and far too practical to be allowed in a ce like that, isn''t that what she said?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om I hummed and nodded as I tapped the bejeweled hilt of my weapon, feeling only a little bitforted by it since I knew it was good steel and properly tempered and sharpened; it just wasn''t MY dagger, though it would definitely slice through flesh easily enough... so long as they weren''t wearing a thick piece of leather, metal, or used their mana. In other words, perfect against civilians, not perfect against hardened warriors and paranoid rich people. Contrasting me with her full suit of armor and gigantic shield, I felt like we were in some kind of storybook with how different we looked right now, and when Anput sauntered over in full leathers with her shiny new de resting on her shoulder, that feeling only grew. "Don''t be going crazy now, alright Kat? We''re about three to five minutes away from your location, so if things go sideways... you''ll be on your own." Her obsidian eyes were serious as she stared at me, and I nodded and gave her the sincerity she deserved as I replied "I can lock myself away and keep safe for a few minutes, if not run away entirely. Besides, all I have to do is mingle until someonees rushing in with a message for the merchant, or someone else gets some kind of important nod from the rich guy." "Such a vague n for you... how will you ensure you get the right people? Or that they actually know where their stuff is if you don''t nab one of the Fingers?" Before I could answer, the robed figure of our ashen haired wife joined our group, and her ever soothing and regal voice caught our attention right away as she said "The method for Kat is actually rather simple; pick someone who works for the merchant and question them about the Fingers in a discreet way. Use her Lust Mana to make them pliable to said questions, and work from there." I nodded and added "It''s just as simple as both of your tasks, really. You two have to break down a door and engage an estimated dozen trained and hardened warriors in closebat, kill them, and thenb through their stuff to find anything at all, be it money, materials or orders. Meanwhile Leone just needs to level a portion of the city with her magic so that the Sultana can renovate itter..." It was funny seeing how varied yet simple each of our strengths could be; I was an all rounder who happened to be pretty good at dealing with people, Anput was a smith who loved making weapons and using them, Jahi liked fighting anyone or anything, and Leone liked magic. Put us in a position to make use of our strengths, and you would have a pretty good chance of us seeding at whatever it was that you wanted us to do, which was a nice way to operate arge scale military or a small cluster of elites. Just pick and plug as you please based on the task at hand, that basic kind of management still being used all over the world for a myriad of things; sometimes simplicity was the answer, and the simplicity of our tasks fit us all pretty well. "Well... yeah, I guess that''s true. Still, to think that this was supposed to be a vacation, and now we''re coordinating arge scale, explosive and almost excessive show of force on a city that is technically still entirely under the control of the Sultanate..." Jahi chuckled wryly and shook her head as she leaned against her giant shield, while Anput snorted and turned to look towards the tent we hadst seen her Mom at, the Jackalkin narrowing her eyes as she muttered "Could''ve always been worse way to spend this time. At least we''re getting some good materials." "That''s true, but I will say that I will NOT miss this damn heat when all of this is done; I absolutely despise this desert and all other deserts during the day, and even the nights cannot make up for these days." All three of my lovers all smiled at me as I made my way towards the canopy nearby, getting away from the sun and trying to cool myself off as best I could as we waited for the Sultana toe and finalize our orders; she wanted to do this on a timer that would lead into one another, and the n was to have Leone finishst while the small squads hit the various hideouts hard and fast. That way whenever the city was bombarded the Fingers would already be mostly dead and unaware of what was happening, so we could eradicate them as quickly as possible and without as many hups as we had back at thest city... Though I imagine the emergence of another Fiend wouldn''t be the worst thing to happen, so long as it wasn''t- actually, that doesn''t really matter now that the Sultana is here with us. If an Arch Fiend or other really strong Fiend wants to make an appearance, now is most definitely the time for them to do just that, and the materials we could get off of a powerhouse like that... I know if Anput was thinking what I was thinking, she might just be drooling right about now... Hells, I''m almost drooling myself just thinking about some even higher quality gear being made from some of those Fiends... my short sword already did so well, after all... Chapter 1128: Chapter 1127: Entering The Party Chapter 1128: Chapter 1127: Entering The Party ? Smoothing out my dress onest time, I approached the entrance of the opulent estate and prepared my invitation, ignoring the muttering of the nearby crowd alongside the nces from the people in line, all of them looking at me and the various other women walking inside. Some part of me was worried that there was another facet to this merchant that I wasn''t informed of, something that might have to deal with using gigantic heaps of money to pressure women into doing disgusting things just for the sake of getting his rocks off. But most of me was just annoyed at the attention right now as I waited in that line, though that wasn''t much worse than normal as I just dealt with the gazes by simply ignoring them, and I was grateful that the line was moving quickly as people were ushered into the estate and weed into the party. There were a few idiots who tried to sneak in or bribe their way in with paltry riches and drunken confidence, and that earned them a swift hook to the jaw before they were pushed down the line and hit repeatedly by the waiting line for daring to be so stupid. Seeing the drunks getting kicked and pushed all the way back down the street was certainly a way to pass the time, and before I knew it I was standing in front of two guards donned in exquisitely maintained, yet clearly well utilized armor, each of them exuding an air of confidence that was hard to fake. "Invitation?" The man''s voice was gruff, while the woman''s voice that came out from the taller, lither guard beside them was raspy as she added "Or any other form of entry.", confusing me slightly as I studied her for a moment before extending the general invitation that had been sent out to anyone with any sort of influence or power in the city. Scanning it, the man nodded and gestured for me to head inside the gates and down the long marble path that was lined with statues and greenery, a rarity within this hellscape that only went to show how wealthy this merchant was. They ignored me as soon as they verified I was allowed inside, and I walked by without giving them another moment either as I moved to join the various other Caninekin within the estate that were beginning this multi day party that was a celebration of... well, everything and nothing at the same time, apparently. Just an borate excuse to throw a party to unt his wealth and also get things done with the Fingers under the cover provided by arge quantity of rich people doing the idiotic things that only rich people were capable of... Likeughing maniacally as they watched someone doing some kind of dance inside of a fountain while sipping on a very expensive bottle of wine, or sitting on the well maintained grass and watching the clouds drift by as a group of servants did their best to keep them cool with giant palm leaf fans. Or dancing in front of a musician who was ying to both the inside and outside crowd at the same time with a suite of dancers who were far to scantily d to be considered just dancers, though I don''t think many people were going to beining about the amount of skin being shown. I certainly wasn''t going to deny the eye candy I was witnessing in front of me, especially since it made my objective of getting people to speak loosely and freely even easier, and as soon as I entered the mon grounds'' of the estate, someone approached me with an extra drink in their hand. "Why hello - there beautiful ~! I do believe it''s my first time being able to acquaint myself with someone as radiant as yourself~?" Giving me a flourishing half bow, the tanned man smiled at me sweetly as he offered the drink to me, the crystalline ss letting the golden liquid within glow beneath the sunlight and revealing apelling shimmer that got you yearning for its cool embrace. I epted the ss with a tad bit of reluctance as I arched a brow at the man, causing him to chuckle as he got the unspoken message and allowing me the moment to study him as I listened to his slow, elegant style of speaking that wasn''t too bad to the ears. Wearing a loose vest and nothing beneath it, the man unted his well maintained abdomen proudly, while his flowing pants were simple yet elegant with the only sign of wealthing from the golden belt that held them up, as well as the bejeweled dagger and many pouches that were dangling from said belt. "Apologies~! I forgot my manners in your resplendence, my fair Lady~! The name is Ahsan, of the Golden Fang Pack; I might not be the Patriarch, but not everyone needs a high position to be impressive, eh?" Taking a sip from his own ss, Ahsan smirked at me and gave me a quick one over as he asked "I really must add that it is rare to have not heard of a woman like you in this city~! Are you from somece else, my fair Lady-? Somece with many stories to tell, perhaps?" His yellow eyes sparkled with an inquisitive light that contrasted his light and unserious attitude right now, though hearing that he was from a Pack and that he seemed like a rather interesting man who would know a thing or two, I decided I could start with him. At the very least, I could use him as a means to identify other people of importance until I was ready to make a move on a real mark that would yield me the information I needed; someone close to the merchant, a high ranking servant or a confidant... Someone who might know more about the whereabouts of any potential members of the Fingers who were working with the merchant hosting this party, and I needed that information sooner rather thanter since I was on a rather time sensitive mission at the moment. I had until the sun was about to kiss the horizon to get what I needed and get out, or to go ahead and kill a few of the Fingers before departing with the intel I had retrieved before Leone and the others began to bombard the city and alert everyone. This was really banking on their being some kind of written orders or messages inside the estate, and that wasn''t entirely guaranteed, so I had been told to prioritize my own safety over the mission since this wasn''t a life or death sort of mission; I was just here to test myself, really. "I''m from outside, not a well known family. I don''t think you''d have heard of me, Lord Ahsan, seeing as we just moved over here..."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Ah, that''s not an issue my dear~! It was also rather obvious; the ent and the fairness of your skin, it''s very obvious you''re from the Empire. That''s of no issue of course~! I enjoy meeting people from our fellow nation~! But..." "It''s Elizabeth, Lord Ahsan; Elisabeth Serania. ''Tis a smaller family than your Pack, I''m sure, but..." Like he had before, I left that piece open for interpretation and instead turned towards the rest of the crowd, looking them over and taking a sniff of the drink he had offered to me as I waited for the next piece of discussion, to which Ahsan wasn''t going to fail to provide. "Sometimes it''s better for quality to rule over quantity~! I can see that, Lady Serania... I can see that indeed. Is this a first for you? A party in the Sultanate? I fear we can be rather... obnoxiouspared to the Empire, though that difference in culture must be intriguing, no?" He looked out over his fellow citizens with me, sipping his drink some more and prompting me to do the same as I let the cool golden liquid ssh against my tongue, the sharp and sweet alcohol quenching the thirst I didn''t know I had. "It is most definitely different, but there''s always a craving for something different... isn''t that right, Lord Ahsan?" Looking at the man from the corner of my eye, I smiled softly and caught his wide grin as he nodded, those yellow eyes sparkling with a bit of lust now as he peeked at my body once more, though he kept it tasteful as he maintained a civilized front... For now, anyways, since we had only just met... and I wasn''t through my first ss of whatever this was just yet either; I began to gently guide the conversation towards our host, admiring the splendor of the beautiful estate and surplus of greenery that was definitely a refreshing sight for me, and the more I drank the more Ahsan was willing to answer my questions since it opened the opportunity for him to get a little closer with each answer. Chapter 1129: Chapter 1128: Fulfilled Usefulness Chapter 1129: Chapter 1128: Fulfilled Usefulness ? "Mm... I must admit that I didn''t expect you to be such an excellent conversationist, Miss Elizabeth! This has been entirely pleasant, and I''m not even attempting to tter you!" Ahsan gave me a wide smile as he handed me another ss, the lust from before taking a backseat inside his yellow eyes as fascination and appreciation took center stage, though that didn''t mean it was gone entirely. After all, that was how I had slowly been guiding our conversation as we slowly walked around the grounds of the estate, my questions and willingness to converse freely entangling this man into my game without him realizing. If he did realize, he made no effort at all to escape from this web, and I found it easier and simpler to guide him deeper into its clutches as I slowly whittled away at his mind and loosened his inhibitions slowly but surely, working with the alcohol to get him to where I wanted him to be. "You say that, but I cannot help but be ttered, Lord Ahsan~! Coming from someone as well informed and educated like yourself means a great deal to me~!" Giving him a warm smile, I rested my hand on his arm for a moment before turning away, though I didn''t miss how the lust sparked back up as he nodded and looked me over again, thinking I couldn''t see how his eyes lingered on my chest or my hips. "And you were saying that this... Lord Ismail, correct? This Lord Ismail has been gathering various educated individuals - like yourself - and hostingrge debates to work towards a better future for this city? That''s fascinating as well... and to be included in such a thing!" Ahsan smiled at me and tried to wave away my ''praise'', though he was clearly puffing his chest out slightly with pride as he nodded again and replied "He is indeed! Lord Ismail is a prolific orator about any topic, but when ites to this city, to his home... he seeks to improve it however he can! Why, just the other day he suggested we send a missive to all of the Academies inside of the Sultanate to search for a way to create a more widespread and essible source of water! Isn''t that wonderful? If we could create a new oasis and dedicate it entirely to providing water to those in need while also tilling thend and nting crops..." His prior emotions had been reced with wonder and reverence as he nodded to himself, looking out into the crowded mansion and searching for someone, and as he looked around I mused over his words, finding it amusing how easily something like that was given to me. Such an important nugget of information that should be kept closer to his bare, chiseled chest was just given up like that, all because I had been chatting with him for a few minutes and providing good conversation and even better visual stimulus. The way I walked and the way I looked at him made him spill something that should have been kept to himself; such an important goal that was still in the think tank was most definitely something this Lord Ismail wanted to keep on the down low, and here Ahsan was, telling it to me. "Was there any idea on how to do something like that? It must be expensive... I mean, the Sultanate is just so... hot. Literally, in many different ways; the sands, the constant beating of the sun''s rays, and then the surplus of the Fire Mana that ensures that heat remains..." "Yes... expensive indeed. See, the first idea was..." He trailed off and turned back to me with a slight frown, his eyes getting sharper than before as the effects of the trickling Lust Mana met it''s match, though a simple tilt of my head, turning of my body and puffing of my own chest diverted his attention was I innocently asked "The first idea was..? Pray tell, Lord Ahsan; I am incredibly curious!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om My eyes met his, and after a moment I blinked before shyly looking to the side as I swiftly added "Ah, but it must be something you cannot tell just anyone..." in a smaller tone, the drops of embarrassment and disappointment in my voice making Ahsan reach forwards and gently caress my upper arm as if to soothe me. "It''s not that I cannot tell, but... Ah, Miss Elizabeth, you know how these things are, yes? It''s not something I want just about anyone to hear... so perhaps..?" Since he had been turned away, I had increased the Lust Mana by just a little bit, and now that he was staring straight at me again, and since he was a fellow Caninekin, he could tell that I wasn''t exactly ''against'' his presence, even though there was a clear scent of someone else lingering on my body. Just because someone was marked as a mate didn''t mean they weren''t willing to cheat, and he only found that mark that Anput had ced on me as another thing that aroused him as he gestured for me to follow him to the side hallways, his yellow eyes roaming my body freely now. Not wanting to lose this tidbit of information - and since I hadn''t spotted another high value mark just yet - I decided to let this one run its course as best I could, so I forced a small blush and nodded, holding back my desire to rip his arm off as he draped it around my waist and allowing him to guide me to somewhere more private. Since we were going to be alone, I gave him another small dose of Lust Mana and ignored the soft groan that escaped his lips as he ogled my chest, and I also ignored him when I felt his hand drop down slightly, knowing that I was going to have my due reward in a few moments time. "Miss Elizabeth..." His voice was lower than normal, and I faked a blush as I turned and faced him, cing my hands on his abdomen as I stroked his muscles, allowing the man to push me against the wall and stare into my eyes before they dropped to my lips. Before he could lean forwards to im them, I asked "Lord Ahsan, first... it''s only reasonable that you answer my question before we... move on to ''other things'', no..?", keeping that same timid and excited tone that made him shiver. "Of course... business first, then pleasureter... right, Miss Elizabeth~?" Caressing my cheek, he nodded slowly and took a deep breath before grinning at me as he inhaled my scent - and Anput''s mark - to turn himself on even more, though he responded to the sudden influx of Lust Mana interestingly enough as I enhanced his desires to spill the beans now. He bit his cheek and looked back towards the party before turning back to me, and after a moment he sighed and pulled back slightly, eventually saying "I trust this will remain between you and me, Miss Elizabeth?" "This, or ''this''-?" I teased him a little with that, and he chuckled and replied "This, and definitely ''this''...", stroking my cheek once more before grabbing my hips as he started me in the eye, his lust and his seriousness cohabitating those yellow orbs. "Lord Ismail is a... serious, yet generous man. Forgiving too, so long as you can prove that you are worthy of that forgiveness. A couple months ago, a few people came by offering their services to him; they were skilled magicians and enchanters, so he hired them, not knowing that they were... tied to a group of bad people. When he learned about that, he wanted to throw them out, but... Well, just because you run with a bad crowd doesn''t mean you yourself are a ''bad'' person, and when they implored him to keep hiring them so that they could work on their real passions while sending money back to that group, he gave them a second chance. That idea of creating a new oasis came from them; apparently they found a book in the library or something that spoke of way to do it, but it was all theory. If they had the funds and the manpower, they might - keyword ''might'' - just have a chance at seeding. So... that''s the ''secret'', Miss Elizabeth. Now..." Before he could lean in for a kiss, I asked "And who might these wonderful people be? Are they here today..? I''d like to get acquainted with one of them, offer some support; anything to get more people ess to abundant water! Oh... and I would like to talk to them...ter, of course..." He was clearly a bit frustrated at the interruption, but after hearing what I said he smiled and nodded, looking back to the party and saying "There''s one there, that tall, raven haired Dogkin standing on the stage? She''s one of them; a bit rowdy, very much outspoken, but a really smart woman. Now... shall we~?" "Inside, Lord Ahsan... we shouldn''t be interrupted by anyone, right..? And well... I don''t..." Blushing, I held back a growl as I felt him grab my butt, and after a moment he nodded and grinned at me as he whispered "Yeah... inside. Wouldn''t want someone to think you''re cheating on your mate, would we~? Come,e... inside..." Guiding me to a door, he opened it and gave me a firm little spank, only to grin as I pulled him in and pushed him to the bed, though that grin faded instantly as a thick rod of ice cracked against his skull, knocking him unconscious. I made sure no one could have heard it or seen it, of course, and as soon as he was unconscious I let my mask fall away as I sneered at the man, cing my hand on his chest as I began to try something else; pouring some more Lust Mana into him, I tried to alter his memories just a bit about what had happened here, specifically who he hade in here with. It was hard; my mana fought against me, as did his, and trying to make sure that I had willed this new power of mine to work in the way I wanted it to work was very difficult, especially since I couldn''t double check what I was doing since he wasn''t awake. When I thought it was done properly, I slowly extracted that Lust Mana and made it back into my own, the desires I had sapped from him and the ones I had altereding back to me with some more power, making the reserves I had stronger too. Just in case he was still able to remember me, I took a small bead from his belt and enchanted it with a crude but hidden spell that would explode if I empowered it with more Wind Mana, so when I prepared to leave I coulde back and check with him. If he remembered me, he would die; a sad casualty to a hidden plot, but oh well, and if he didn''t remember me, I would spare him... though I did take some joy in cracking a few of his fingers and healing them just enough to not be broken, but not enough to be normal. He would feel pain in the hand that he had used to touch me, and I desperately needed to return to Anput soon to refill that mark... and to have her overwrite his touch with hers so that I wouldn''t feel as guilty. Still, I learned something important, and as I left the room behind I made my way to the woman standing on the stage drinking enough to make many begin stumbling instantly, deciding to try my hand at this target next. Chapter 1130: Chapter 1129: Passionate Introductions Chapter 1130: Chapter 1129: ''Passionate'' Introductions ? I took a moment to freshen up before returning to the party in the main area, taking some time to return to mingling as I walked around and made small talk with whomever seemed the most interested, getting a feel of the room and the partygoers and ensuring no one was thinking something suspicious of me thanks to Ahsad. Spending too much time with one person and then suddenly returning on my own was a but suspicious if people actually were paying attention to me, but thankfully the liquor was flowing just right enough and the music was just upbeat enough that everyone was lost in their own little bubbles as they danced and drank without restraint. A few were getting a bit too close to be just dancing, and an even smaller number were giggling together as they went up the stairs and entered the second level of the mansion, which was apparently reserved for those hoping to make this into a special party worthy of some memories, so long as you got the approval of a guard to do so. It was still early enough into the party that people weren''t fiending for some ''quality'' time away from everyone else, but of course there were always going to be those who just couldn''t control themselves when presented the opportunity, and as I made my way slowly over to the stage, I wondered if there was a high chance than I thought of someone finding Ahsad. The upstairs was reserved for the hookups and the like, but if you weren''t able to get approval, wanted something more thrilling or just needed to get to it right away, those side rooms that were empty were perfect spots to get it on... Thankfully I had locked the door and ced something against the handle to prevent it being opened, and since I wasn''t supposed to be here for more than two hours anyways I wasn''t running the risk of someone finding Ahsad... or him waking up soon either. Not that I wanted to jinx it, of course... so I stopped thinking about how secure the room was and how unlikely it was that someone would need that specific guest room and instead focused on the tall, lithe Dogkin woman who was dancing with the barely dressed entertainers, moving around with them and making it abundantly clear she wanted them. Drinking and grinding as she danced, the woman was oozing arrogance that must have been amplified by her buzz since otherwise, she looked like a schrly and well kept woman instead of a outgoing ''predator'', though her style of dress mixed those two things into a perfect blend that only riled up the crowd the longer she was on that stage. Ahsad''s description had made her out to be outgoing though, but again, the sses and sharp facial structure made her seem far more like a schr than a socialite, and her sharp ck, fur lined coat almost seemed out of ce amongst the desert heat if it wasn''t for the transparentce that revealed her toned stomach and her cleavage.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Thick rimmed rectangr sses rested on her pointed nose, and they provided windows to appreciate her oceanic blue eyes that were both dark with knowledge and sparkling with mischief. Tailored pants that hugged her long, slender legs tightly before ending right above her ankles finished her attire, its simplicity only being matched by its sexiness as she swayed her hips and moved her body in ways that emphasized her curves while also allowing her to rub against the scantily d dancers. The other apparent thing was that she wasn''t a ''woman'' but instead a futanari, and that distinction was important since it seemed she was definitely going to be taking one of these dancers upstairs sometime soon, so I needed to find a way to get her to remain down here and want me instead... Which was as hard as it sounded since I wasn''t going to be able to just barge onto the stage like it was the floor of a club; it was guarded and secured so that the dancers could provide entertainment and arousal without fearing for their safety, and anytime someone mistook the presence of the schrly futanari as a sign that they were allowed up onto the stage, the guards swiftly shoved them back and tapped their heavy, gleaming clubs that promised broken bones. Staring at the woman for a few moments, I watched her dance and appreciated her beauty from afar as I mulled over how to go about this, only for me to have that chance appear suddenly as she looked out over the crowd with a grin, her sharp blue eyes sweeping over everyone as she looked for... something. They paused on a few different people - men and women alike - and that predatory gleam remained, like she was hunting for something; obviously this horny Dogkin wanted a partner to take upstairs alongside one of the dancers, and eventually her gaze fell onto me, forcing me to make a decision instantly. How should I go about acting to get her attention and force her to make a move on me instead of someone else? Do I act thirsty by puffing out my chest, pursing my lips and winking at her, trying to seduce her from afar with my body and make it clear I wanted her to take me, or should I y it like I had with Ahsan; someone ''innocent'' who wasn''t certain she wanted to be pursued..? What kind of partner would she find the most enticing?! It was a difficult thing to pick from, and I only had a split second to make that decision, but my experiences from my past life - ones that I really wanted to have nothing to do with, at least with people that weren''t my lovers - gave me the answer, one that was more likely to work on someone like her. I licked my lips and smiled at her before turning away and making my way to the bar, opting for a different approach; offering myself as a potential partner but making it clear that she needed toe for me and not the other way around. Since she had that ''dangerous'' look in her eyes that I knew all too well from not only my previous life but also this one, I decided that bing something she needed to hunt down would be best, and while it was a gamble, I was praying it would work out. Otherwise... I was going to go find a way to head upstairs and beginbing around for a head servant or something to corrupt so that I could search for the potential missives and other papers I was looking for... This gamble just needed some time before I would know if it would work, so I found an empty spot at the bar, got myself a drink and waited, watching the people outside and swirling around the vibrant red liquid before appreciating its smooth, sweet vor as it slid down my throat with a mild tingle. Not too strong but definitely a drink that would knock you out like a light with how deceptively non alcoholic it was trying to be, so of course I went ahead and enjoyed most of that ss as I waited. A minute passed, and the sounds of the current songing to an end before a new one began made me focus my hearing on the footsteps around me, alerting me to a few peopleing over to the bar. When I felt an arm drape across my shoulders, I nced up at its owner and found myself face to face with the member of the Fingers that Ahsan had told me about, though to my reluctant eptance she wasn''t alone. Pressed into her side and holding back a blush as best as she could, one of the dancers clung to this woman and let her do as she pleased as she stared at her profile, ignoring mepletely and giving her full attention to the woman fondling her butt. "What did you think of my dance there, cutie~? I caught your gaze during it, and well..." Looking me up and down, she arched a brow and nodded to herself as she studied my breasts and hips openly, her desires abundantly clear, though just in case she wasn''t being obvious enough, she bluntly asked me "I wouldn''t mind a second body beneath me~! I''ve been far too busy recently, so how about you, me, and this dancer here go upstairs and fuck like crazy for a little bit~?" Her thin lips curled into a grin as she looked me over some more, and while I wanted to tell her off, I smiled back at her and nodded, draining my ss and replying in a low, sultry tone as I stood up, meeting her gaze head on. "I couldn''t think of anything better than that~! Though... I guarantee you won''t need her... I have all you could ever need, baby..." Chapter 1131: Chapter 1130: Intriguing Target Chapter 1131: Chapter 1130: Intriguing Target ? "Oho~? You can all but guarantee that you have everything that I could possibly need~? Why, that''s rather brave and also quite presumptuous of you, cutie~! I can''t say that I''m not intrigued, but..." Leaning down closer to me, the schrly woman shed me a darker, sinister smile as she whispered "Are you absolutely certain you can endure being the ONLY woman beneath me~? I might not look like it, but I''m quite... passionate in bed, cutie... my hands can get a bit~ heavy for some people..." She got even closer before turning her gaze back towards the dancer, who was blushing still even as her potential partner flirted with someone else; she was even still staring entirely at the woman holding her and actively avoiding my gaze, which was quite amusing despite the circumstances. The closer that this woman got, the more I wanted to growl at her and push her away, the thick stench of another Caninekin deepening my instincts to protect myself as the memory of my perfect mate fluttered into my head, but like I had done before I pushed that aside since it was getting in the way of my mission. Despite her yful tone, the woman was utterly serious when she turned those deep blue eyes back to me, and I had to give an answer immediately to keep her interest; either option I chose likely had me ending up in a room with her, but for my benefit I needed it to be just her and I instead of us and that dancer, so... I needed to take the risk and also do something I felt disgusted doing, which was leaning into her arm and shing her a sultry smile as I murmured "Then isn''t it a good thing that I love~ my partners having some really heavy hands...", earning a bemused smirk before I watched her stand back up and focus on the dancer. "There is nothing that I dislike more than having to postpone something like this, but my dear... I believe I have found myself a real- one of one, sitting all by herself at the bar~! Later, when I require some more ''aid'', you cane and dance for me~! Ah, and topensate..." Reaching into her jacket pockets, she fished out a few coins and dropped them into the dancer''s ample cleavage, treating the scantily d woman like a cheap prostitute as she waved her away and forgot about her instantly. For the first time since she hade over, the dancer turned her gaze on me and red, trying to burn a hole through my head with her eyes alone as she made her displeasure abundantly clear, though when the schrly woman beside her growled softly, she turned tail and scurried back to the stage.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Some women... we''re rather fascinating creatures, wouldn''t you say~? Even though I had promised that I would be doing my best to break her and the bed, she still insisted~! that I take her upstairs on her lonesome! And when you offer her a way out of that sort of pain that she wasn''t prepared for..." Clicking her tongue disparagingly, she shook her head and gestured for me to stand up, forcing me into the spot that the dancer had vacated as she began to guide me towards the stairs, her handnding firmly on my bottom as she made her intentions clear to everyone present. Some looked at her in envy, and even more red at me like I had stolen something from them; eyes followed us as we walked, and I found the attention to be rather intriguing... but that was it, nothing more than intrigue and idle curiosity on what made them look at us like that. "It''s fascinating too how many can envy that which they don''t understand, yes? Men and other futanari want nothing more than to take my ce and attempt horribly to satisfy an apparent masochist like yourself, and women want nothing more than to p you for the audacity of having caught my gaze... it''s a fun little thing to puzzle over, isn''t it~?" The benefit of the mansion being so packed with people was that the journey to the stairs was long, so I had more time to probe my ''suitor'' for anything at all, and since we were walking rather slowly, well... I also had to deal with the hand that lingered on a ce it shouldn''t. "Envy is a rather easily obtained emotion, and one that people wee with open arms despite not really knowing what it is that they are envious of. And yet... that envy is what drives them to do the things they do, is it not, Miss..?" Another smile appeared on her lips, but this one was more genuine as her eyes shed appreciatively at my words, and she nodded eagerly as she answered "Mariam is my name, cutie~! No need for a title; I prefer hearing my name dancing off the tongue of an incredible woman like yourself~! And I just must inform you that I am anticipating this even more than before after hearing that~! Ah, but I must ask; who''s name shall I be growling out this evening~?" "Elizabeth; my name is Elizabeth, Mariam. I hope you find it suitable to your tongue..." We shared a smile as I pointedly stared at her lips for a moment, and after another moment she let out a bark ofughter before squeezing my butt, making it hard for me to not snarl at her and maintain this interested and amused facade. The longer I dealt with this woman, the more I wanted to just go with my other method instead and blindly search for the documents myself, but this was the method I needed to utilize now, for training both my acting skills as well as my Lust Mana, which I was already beginning to slowly, subtly trickle into her body. I guided the pink energy into her body and towards her Core and her brain, deciding that I needed to control those two things first; inhibiting her ability to think and her ability to fight back were the more important things, and as soon as I had a foothold in her brain I could begin assaulting her mind. Until then, I had to put up with this insufferable woman as she chuckled and said "Elizabeth... Elizabeth~! It certainly feels right on my tongue, and it seems like it''ll taste good on my tongue as well-! Lemon... with that undertone of citrus~! You have one lucky mate there, Elizabeth~! Or... should I say unlucky~?" Her soft chuckle was grating to my ears, but I just smiled back at her and said "What she doesn''t know doesn''t hurt her, right Mariam~? That just means though... I need to ensure she doesn''t find out, so..." "Mhm-? Well, sorry to say this, Elizabeth dearest, but you''ll need to spend some time cleaning yourself up when I''m done with you~! You should know by now; finishing outside is impossible for us Caninekin~! Or should I say highly improbable, and I certainly make a point of enjoying my women to the fullest..." She didn''t even say anything to the guard as she guided me upstairs, and as we climbed to the second level away from the others, she began to speak more openly as she slowly walked me down the halls, allowing me to bask in the myriad of moans, smacking of flesh and the thick stench of sex that permeated this floor. "Knotting a slut and strangling them gets me going real- good, Elizabeth, so... I can give you some salves to remove the bruises, but you''ll need to clean my cum from your cunt yourself, alright? Or go find a man or woman to slurp it out of you when I''m finished fucking you..." Her amused tone dropped as she just walked me around, and as we reached a room I decided I needed to think quickly before I was just forced to take a far more direct approach, so as she opened a door I said "Mariam, would you humor me and y a game?" That made the woman pause before shutting the door behind us, her hands finding my body as she spun me around and looked straight into my eyes, her oceanic orbs glittering with both irritation and intrigue as she waited for me to continue. "See, I''ve heard a good amount about you; people here are practically frothing at the mouth telling me about how incredible you''ve been for Lord Ismail, how you''ve provided for this city and for him in ways that no one else has! I must admit that my curiosity is rather high, but I just know you won''t speak to just about anyone..." "So you used this thick ass to get me somewhere private and willing to speak~? Interesting... but why would I want to answer your questions, Elizabeth? What''s in it for me?" Gently pushing against her abdomen, I stopped my invasion of Lust Mana and instead worked with what was already inside her - which was a decent amount by this point - by making use of my other skills, ones I had honed tirelessly over both of my lives. Freeing myself from her grasp, I sashayed my hips as I approached the bed before turning around and hooking a finger at my cor, allowing me to show her my very abundant cleavage as I leaned forwards and said "Because, Mariam dear, I know how to work a futanari to perfection..." She lost herself in my breasts before biting her lower lip as I hid them again, standing tall as I stared at her with a smirk, and as I raised my hand to stop her from approaching me, I said "And I am willing to show you pleasures far better than just bending me over and fucking me like any other Caninekin would... The things I can do..." Leaving it at that for now, I winked at her and ran a hand down my body as I entuated my curves, eliciting a nod from Mariam as she watched that hand intently before looking back at me as I finished with "But I only do them for good futanari who give me what I want... See, you say masochist, and that might be true beneath the sheets, but before we can get there... I like being in control, or at the very least... on top. So, Mariam, answer my questions, and as a bonus you can ask me one of your own while I slowly-put on a show that you will never~ witness again by anyone else... Not that slutty dancer downstairs, and not any other Noblewoman searching around for an adventure~!" Chapter 1132: Chapter 1131: Other Part Of Town Chapter 1132: Chapter 1131: Other Part Of Town ? Jahi PoV The march down the street in our cloaks and armor didn''t feel like the most discreet thing to do in this city, let alone one that was predominantly Caninekin and had a very clear collective of trained citizens. I stood out exactly like a sore thumb with my blue skin, and even if I had been in the mood to go through with skin tone paints and other types of disguising tools there was very little I could do to conceal my horns, so I just hadn''t even made the attempt to disguise myself. The cloak was the only thing that I acquiesced to, but it was more so to hide my armor and the shield than it was to conceal my presence; I had cloth wrapped around everything to make the fascination at such high quality gear less abundant, which would most certainly bring unwanted attention towards us. Meanwhile Anput and our two tag alongs were far more inconspicuous than I was, but none of us cared as we made our way to the destination, timing everything as best we could with what was meant to happen to the rest of the city. The n was to hit everywhere in staggered increments but still roughly within the same timeframe to prevent any and all opportunities for the Fingers to flee, and that meant that Kat had gone ahead first while Leone was still waiting for her call to action, leaving Anput and I in this sweet spot where we needed to work fast while also having some leeway in the time we had. Which was why I wasn''t in a rush as I just took in the city and enjoyed the calm while I could, though that nagging feeling from being separated from my former maid and eventual wife constantly worked away at my mind, especially in thesest few minutes. "Something happen to Kat? You''ve gone quiet for too damn long now, Jahi..." Anput nced back at me as she searched for an answer, and I nodded instantly even as I remained quiet for a few moments, investigating the feeling and wondering just how much of it was actually from her and how much of it was just my paranoia amplifying every little thing that I could sense from her. She was irritated, angry, curious, apologetic and so much more, with even a hint of guilt tinging everything in a way that made it difficult for me to not go find her and see what was happening, but at the end of it all... she was constantly sending a signal to me to let me know she was fine, so I tried to rein in my paranoia and possessiveness as best I could. Still, I couldn''t help but sigh as I said "Nothing''s happened to her per se, but I definitely think I will make something happen to herter... I don''t like the cocktail of emotions she constantly seeping herself in, especially not with the task she has at hand. I would even go as far as to say she''ll be a tad ''drunk'' when she returns to us..." That made the Jackalkin chuckle wryly as she sped her hands behind her head, enjoying this stroll through the city without any reservations at all as she turned and replied "Well, that just means that when everything is said and done today, the sex tonight will be absolutely- splendid~!" That carefree smirk that was ever present on her face remained even as she bumped into a burly mercenary, and as the man turned to shout something at her he just found himself face to face with me and one of the Death Jackals who was just as physically gifted, though not to the same degree. Seeing the man choking on his words that hadn''t even been spoken yet, much lessprehended in his own mind was rather amusing, though the swiftness with which he turned and walked the other way was dull, so I just increased my pace to reach our objective. Anput mirrored me without hesitation, though she maintained her carefree attitude as well as she asked "What exactly seems to be the issue with Kat then? Just her feeling guilty about what she has to do, angry at what is happening..? What''s going on?" "That''s about it, really. If I had to guess, she''s being hit on by someone sleazy, deciding that it''s too much effort to just drag them somece quiet to kill them and reluctantly going along with it for now. If she''s found her target I am very annoyed at the idea of her seducing them, but by the Gods do we know she''s good at it..." My incredible and irritating lover smirked at that, nodding her head and spinning back around as she added "That she definitely is~! I don''t know though, Jahi... Separating work and private life is pretty important, no? Kat''s pretty good at keeping things separate when needed, and while I don''t doubt she''s treading a very fine line... well... trust is important too, and I trust her." "Uh huh..." I just studied Anput before rolling my eyes as I caught the very obvious cracking of her neck, the Jackalkin both getting ready for the fight and seeking a source of distraction as she moved on instantly from her own words, which I knew damn well she didn''t entirely believe in herself. Did we trust Kat? Yes, we did, and I knew damn well she wasn''t going to do something stupid like actually provide a sexual service for this, but just because I trust her doesn''t mean I have to like what she''s currently doing, and tonight was going to be perfect for me to vent that out. The rest of the walk to the hideout was quiet, with our two Death Jackal chaperones remaining silent the entire time as they nked us the whole way there, keeping us safe and on track as we walked through the city on the predetermined route. Our destination was a rather ingenious little spot that I still don''t entirely know how it was discovered by the Death Jackals; a transitionary section of the city - going from lower to middle ss was home to a myriad of diverse storefronts and businesses, and the most popted were by far the food spots. A decently sized grilling kitchen was home to our Fingers, who were apparently operating out of the back of the restaurant and providing manualbor to the owners, who were none the wiser to whom they were paying. Clean and simple, the storefront wasn''t anything special while the opened windows allowed the cooking to do all the advertisement, and it was just at the end of a long strip of buildings, tucked away from most people who would just happen to meander on by, meaning the foot traffic wasn''t the greatest. Pairing off with a Death Jackal each, Anput and I split off from one another and made our way towards a different entrance point each; Anput and her partner scaled the building and infiltrated from the top,bing through the upper floors and allowing them to catch them off guard, while my burlypanion and I just walked through the front door. It was as clean as the storefront was, with a few men and women sitting around various metal tabletops that were heated by contained mes, allowing them to grill their own cuts of meat if they so wanted or keep their food warm the entire time they drank. Almost a dozen people were inside including the two waitresses who darted around to serve their patrons, and as soon as we entered everyone turned to look at us; the moment I pushed my hood back and openly revealed my Demonic visage, I began to study everyone inside as I searched for our marks. If they were in the back or not was something I wasn''t able to guarantee, so I looked over the people in front of me and began to walk over to the one who had gotten up and was approaching the back of the restaurant with a neutral expression. Hearing my footsteps getting even closer, the muscr woman turned around and raised a brow at me before stepping back just enough to leave too much space between us for me to cover unarmed, her eyes flicking down to my waist before returning to my face as she asked "Can I help you?" I simply stared at her for a moment and appreciated how she was able to maintain a mask the entire time, only for it to begin to crack as I asked "You wouldn''t happen to know why a Caliph would point me in this direction, would you?" The sh of recognition and hesitation that lingered in her eyes was enough for me to cross the gap between us, grab her by the throat and carry her towards the back door before she could even begin react, my decisiveness and speed surprising her enough that I was able to act as freely as this. As soon as she recovered though she reached for her waist and unsheathed a hidden dagger, trying to use it to cut at my arm to force me to release her only to widen her eyes as the de shattered against both my armor and the Light Mana encasing my body.N?v(el)B\\jnn Before she could try something else, I cracked my skull against hers and knocked her out cold just in time for me to heft my shield and block a gigantic ming hammer from smashing against my ribcage. Chapter 1133: Chapter 1132: Not So Friendly Part Of Town Chapter 1133: Chapter 1132: Not So Friendly Part Of Town ? Letting the unconscious Dogkin drop to the ground, I moved forwards and leaned into the next hammer strike, using both hands to stabilize my shield as I absorbed the next heavy blow without even pausing my gradual advance, earning a surprised shout from the wielder of the hammer. "Gods be damned! TO ARMS!" Roaring as he pulled that hammer back and shrouded it in mes once more, the man made no effort at all to approach this fight with any sort of tact or strategy, opting instead for brute force incarnate as he prepared to swing his weapon once more. I could have mmed my shield into his chest and broken most of his ribs, leaving him to twitch on the ground as he tried to figure out what went wrong, but instead I funneled more Light Mana towards my shield arm and nted my feet as I decided to give Anput''s shield another test. There was also the bustling of the people behind the man that intrigued me, and another shower of mes around us both would help conceal me as I blitzed forwards after returning his blow and then some, so until that point I was going to give them these precious seconds to prepare.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om I... was also craving an outlet of energy right now, and the easiest and most tantalizing option I had was to let these Fingers get into a fighting form so that I could knock them down one by one to rid myself of this surplus of energy flowing through my veins. Though, as I listened to the sound of boots mming against the tile floor, I could tell that one of them was rushing towards the other side of the kitchen sh storage room and I couldn''t see if they were a fighter or not, meaning there was a chance someone was trying to get away... Trusting in Anput''s swiftness as well as the fact that I could feel the Death Jackal behind me moving to a new position, I didn''t alter my current n as I remained where I was, staring down this man only to conceal most of my vision of him as I hoisted my shield and angled it to the side. Both of my hands remained pressed against thefortable backte of the ribcage turned into a defensive wall, and I stared straight into the roaring man''s eyes as he swung his ming hammer once more, the crimson glow illuminating the entire room and matching the brilliance of my own mana. Like a meteor falling from the sky, his dense ming hammer screeched towards my shield before crashing against it once more, and I couldn''t help but grunt as the impact reverberated throughout my arms, rattling the bones and almost shaking my stancepletely, though my legs helped absorb and diffuse the force, just like the angle of the shield had mitigated some of the power behind it. The mes still erupted against the t of my shield and washed over the bones, ring up and almost blinding me as the man moved with his weapon, clearly banking on me being staggered by the blow so that he could right himself and prepare another. Sadly for him, my size and my strength made that impossible for him, and the moment his hammer continued its trajectory off to the side after bouncing off of my shield, I stepped forwards and jabbed my still ming shield against his chest. The mes were smothered between my wall and his body, but it added just enough damage that I knew he was dead as soon as I hit him; the satisfying crunch of a few different bones snapping alongside that meaty thud as I sent him flying backwards sent a shiver down my spine that felt just right, and for a moment I wondered if this pleasure I was feeling was what Kat was addicted to... Because if it was, I could definitely understand why she was the way she was now, though I still think she takes it to a bit of an extreme whenever she possibly can; I also don''t think she likes the kill itself but instead the process of getting to that kill... Either way, the man was surely dead as he mmed into a countertop and his head cracked open against the edge of it, blood seeping out onto he floor as he slid down to the ground slowly; with the first of many targets now dead, I looked towards the rest and took stock of the situation. My chaperone had split the aggression between the two of us by separating from me, forcing the Fingers to make a choice on whom they were going to fight while also allowing him to send a knife flying through the air to catch the runner before they got too far. The de sank into their calf and caused them to fall with a cry, the uncertainty of their affiliation forcing the Death Jackal to take a softer approach, which was ideal since it would give us another target to speak to after the battle for any additional information. Inside of this room there were still eight or nine left standing, and three were close enough to me that I needed to return to my defensive posture immediately as they retrieved their weapons from various cabs and tabletops around the area, charging at me and not giving me a moment as they came straight on. Leaping over the counters and angling themselves for each direction, the three Caninekin brandished more traditional andmon weaponry as they shrouded them in their mana and rushed me right away, ensuring that at least one of them could curl around my shield and attack me directly. Since that was their n, I yed into it and blocked the woman with the heavier scimitar as well as the woman with a normal scimitar and dagger, allowing the man with a short, red mace toe face to face with me as I tilted my body while maintaining my stance. Feet nted, muscles tensed, shield raised and angled to properly deflect the three des stabbing towards it, I ignored two of my assants as I focused on the third, and as he leapt upwards to m his mace down onto my skull I unsheathed my dius and flexed my strength once more as I caught him on the de. Making use of his momentum too, I swung my arm backwards and let him slide off of my dius after he was done slicing his own throat out with my de, his body crumpling as he slid a few feet and collided against a cab with a thud. Now that my own weapon was out, I endured the thuds that vibrated the shield before timing my next strike perfectly as I turned my body and revealed the dual wielding woman, introducing her to my dius next and allowing her to be intimately acquainted with it as it kissed her throat just like it had for herrade. Slitting her dainty neck and cutting deep enough that her head was able to hang backwards thanks to the cut tendons, I allowed her to stumble past me as well before pushing the final woman backwards with my shield, stunning her and opening her guard to a swift stab to the abdomen. In a few seconds four of the Fingers were lying dead on the floor from my own actions, and as I twisted my dius to ensure she was dead, I decided to make use of this second shield as a bolt of gaseous me streaked towards me. cing the woman between me and it, I allowed her to take the brunt of the damage before pushing her off my de and walking forwards once more, approaching the mage in the back who was alternating between the Death Jackal and I. Efficiency was something I wanted to work on, and considering the kill tally already, I was feeling quite good about myself as I blocked the next two bolts with Anput''s shield, gradually increasing my pace and ignoring the tables between the mage and I as I just pushed them aside or broke them. They were shouting at one another to close ranks and fight together, to try and focus on one of us first and even the fight even more, but it was too little toote for them as the Death Jackal and I dashed towards the back of the room, our weapons dripping with theirrades blood. Three remained standing, with that fourth trying to heal his calf so that he could begin running again, so we took one each and left the mage forst as we covered the distance in a second, taking direct routes... with different styles. I barged through and he nimbly leapt over counters and slid beneath tables to reach the mage; in fact, as he slid beneath a table, he kicked it upwards and smacked the edge against the jaw of the woman waiting for him, and as she was stunned he sliced open her belly with a single strike, not stopping at all as he raced for the mage. On my end, I just smacked my shield into the remaining warrior and angled it upwards, allowing me to bounce them over me as I continued my bullrush for that mage, especially after she cursed and shouted "This is a time where I need aid, damnit!" The dark, bemused chuckle made it abundantly clear that this mage had contracted with a Fiend, and a st of raw mana crashed against me and halted my progress as someone else joined us in the kitchen. Chapter 1134: Chapter 1133: Rising Pressure Chapter 1134: Chapter 1133: Rising Pressure ? "Yes... I can see why you might need some help here, whelp... However, that doesn''t mean my displeasure isn''t great." The woman screeched "To hells with your displeasure!" as she erected a barrier of mana around herself, preparing to defend against the Death Jackal and I as her help appeared right beside her, turning this from a rather casual battle against some decently skilled and threatening thugs into something that required a lot more caution. Unlike the majority of the Fiends I hade across, the one standing beside the female mage was barely different from a normal mortal in terms of appearance; roughly six feet in height, two arms and legs, a normal torso, no extra oddities on their head, rtively normal eyes... The only thing that was ''odd'' was the cerulean skin tone and brilliant sparkling blue eyes, and even then... I wasn''t really the one to call this appearance odd, now was I? Raven ck hair pulled back into an elegant ponytail that revealed their fair, thin neck while a loose robe was draped over their thin body, making it impossible to figure out which way this amalgamation of the World''s will swayed in terms of mortal sex. Not that it mattered, and apparently the Fiend thought so too since it''s voice was silky smooth but treading that line between masculine and feminine perfectly, and as they turned their bored gaze towards me they said "A simple meathead caused such distress? Pathetic." Raising a dainty hand and flicking their wrist, the Fiend tried to use raw mana to st me away again, but I could tell that thezy movement was going to be an attack, allowing me to brace myself and take the brunt of it on my shield, which did earn some emotion from the Fiend. "Ah, I can see why... The bones of one of my peers so crudely thrown together as a primitive shield? If you''re going to be so brutish as to utilize the bones of your enemies as materials, at least have the ss to-" Before they could finish, a gleaming silver de sliced through the mana barrier the female mage had created and streaked down towards her skull, while a barrage of thin, slimy needles whistled through the air towards both the mortal and the Fiend. The Fiend grabbed its mortal charge and flickered, the two moving almost instantaneously to the other side of the room as they avoided death by a fraction of a second, though before they could try and escape from the room all four of us ovepped our mana into a very chaotic Domain. With so many different mana types writhing together in the same space, trying to use mana to push through it and ''leap'' like that using magic was going to be very difficult, and our opponent let out a reluctant sigh as it released the woman''s shoulder. "I admit that this is a very effective, if crude method to counter that; I really must derive a way to negate this counter..." "I have plenty of ss and skill, Fiend; you just don''t have an eye for functional craftsmanship!" Anput ignored the Fiend''s current words and focused on what she had interrupted, earning another sigh from it as they shook their head slowly, though before the Fiend could speak the mortal beside it raised her hands and threw together a rather adept Ritual Circle. "I will NOT die easily!" Her shout filled the kitchen before the roar of mes overwhelmed any other sound, her spell activating and sending a river of fire spewing out towards us in a concentrated, deadly st; wherever the mesnded, they began to consume the materials regardless of their mmability, and even as I blocked some of the fires that leapt at me as I dashed to the side they remained on my shield. A quick wash of Light Mana extinguished the worst of it, and I had just enough time to block the brunt of another wave ofpressed mana before I had to rush to cover when the woman turned her spell towards me again. As those mes spilled forth and blossomed towards me from her hands, the Fiend flickered again and appeared behind me, their own hands alight with a chilling cerulean glow that promised death. "It is a shame that such a rarity always has to appear in such a tactless mortal... however, rest easily knowing that your Core will do wonders in my hand, Demoness..."N?v(el)B\\jnn My dius tried to cut through the Fiend as I spun towards them, keeping the shield presented towards the mortal while my sword arm swung backwards, but a flick of their fingers sent another st of mana at me, diverting the swing entirely. It took all I had to push through that force and not have my arm snapped from the colliding forces, so even though the de sliced harmlessly through the air and eventually cleaved through a table, I took that as a win since I could try to attack again. "This is what I mean, Demoness." Thatzy tone as the Fiend stared into my eyes was enough to send another shiver down my spine, and I couldn''t do anything but watch as it''s hand reached for my chest, that cerulean aura around its limb singing my exposed hair while it charred my armor and set the simple cloak I wore ame. Before I could learn what that hand would have done to me though, three needles whistled towards the Fiend again while a giant de made from the bones of its peer threatened to cleave it in two, drawing a sigh from the Fiend as it flickered once more. It didn''t travel far, simply moving a few feet to the side and allowing it to lunge towards my exposed back as those needles sailed harmlessly by, but even as it tried to grab at my back and plunge its hand into my torso, Anput disyed her versatility as she turned that horizontal cleave into a thrust. Sensing the pattern, another barrage of needles moved towards the space in front of me, while my burly chaperone forced the Fiend''s hand as he rushed for the woman, a thick shield of rock covering him from the mes. "This is tiresome..." Appearing beside it''s charge once more, the Fiend grabbed her and flickered to a new spot, but instead of resuming its attack, the Fiend pped its hands and sent a wave of cerulean mes straight towards the wall, sting a hole through the bricks and eviscerating the ovepping web of mana that prevented its movement spell. "Hm... you did better than I thought you would, Demoness. Or should I say... all of you." The two disappeared, but the voice lingered as the Fiend continued to speak, keeping us on guard as we searched for them, not knowing if they were still nearby or if this was something within it''s arsenal of spells. "Alone, you mortals always tend to be quite... weak. Disappointing. Together though... I suppose that is a change I rarely ount for; I dislike the unpredictability of groups, be they of morals or Fiends. So know this; if you had been alone, Demoness, you would be dead. Offer a prayer to your God that you are not alone... and pray that you will never be alone with that pathetic showing. If that was all you have... then I am quite pleased with what I have learned. I''ll be seeing you soon. All of you." Just like its visage, the Fiend''s voice faded away before leaving the buildingpletely quiet save for the crackling of mes and the rushing of blood inside of my body as I looked around for something, anything... Only to find nothing now that the Fiend was gone, save for the demolished building and the charred corpses of the other Fingers, who had been consumed by the mes theirrade had unleashed; whether it was on purpose or not, I was unsure, but the facts remained that they were dead now. "Damnit..." I didn''t rx my posture entirely - after being in a ''battle'' against someone with movement like that, there was no way I could rx just yet - as I turned around and positioned myself with the Death Jackals in mind, ovepping our lines of sight and range of attack. "Barely even thirty seconds and they''re already gone. What kind of Fiends do they have allied with them?" The burly Death Jackal just grunted while the thinner one rested a hand on her dagger''s pommel, looking around as she said "No idea... We''ll need to add swiftness enhancers to the list though; I could barely keep up with the bastard." We all grunted this time at that, and I raked a hand through my hair before smiling wryly as I felt the ground shake a little, the sudden explosioning from the edges of the city suggesting that the time hade for everything to get wrapped up. Chapter 1135: Chapter 1134: Game Of Questions Chapter 1135: Chapter 1134: Game Of Questions ? Some time before the explosions, Kat PoV "Well... when you put it that way, I can''t help but go ahead and agree, now can I~? See, the thing about me, Elizabeth, is that I am innately rather curious, and you are ticking off the right boxes at the moment..." Mariam leaned back on the bed and stared at me with a small smirk, her eyes raking across my figure one more time before she added "But I''m not one to y someone else''s game without any consideration, so how about we add a rule here... Each question you askes with a price. I''ll give you a freebie to start - I am magnanimous, after all~ - but afterwards, each question will cost you." I raised a brow at that, but I gestured for her to continue, already having an idea on where this was going if her smirk was anything to go by; she wasn''t hiding her intentions at all, and her body was being quite honest as her cock strained against her pants, threatening to tear through. "Each question you want to ask, I want another piece of your clothing to drop to the floor-! After all, we''re going to have sex after this, but why not have some fun before then, right? So if you want to get some answers from me... you''ll earn them by baring more and more skin until eventually you''repletely naked ~! And then we''ll fuck like rabbits." The assuredness of her tone was quite familiar to me, and that familiarity made me smile as I nodded, deciding to y her game, though not entirely on her terms either; sping my hands behind my back, I turned away from her and allowed her to ogle the rest of my curves, using her arousal against her for now. "If you say something that requires more rification, that won''t count as a question; if I keep on topic and don''t ask a question that requires far more information to be relinquished, my clothes will remain on. I want to have a dialogue with you before we ''fuck like rabbits'', Mariam. Like I said before, it isn''t everyday that I get to chat with someone the masses seem to proim to be a genius!" We shared a smile at that, and after a short while of contemtion Mariam gave me a nod, the schrly, horny Caninekin staring me in the eye now as she replied "That''s more than eptable, and it only makes me more curious... so I''ll y by my own rules, hm? I want to ask a few questions as well..." "I can work with that. Since I was the one to suggest this kind of game, I''ll go ahead and start with that freebie you so graciously gave to me~! Question one: what is it that Lord Ismail wants from you, and what exactly are you providing to him? Many seem to be insinuating that there are sexual services being exchanged, but... you don''t really strike me to be that kind of person." Chuckling, the Caninekin raked a hand through her raven ck hair and fixed me with anguid stare as she answered "That was two questions, but they do connect, don''t they~? Thatst one was a statement... clever, Elizabeth, very~ clever~! Well, to that statement; the answer is no, I haven''t sucked the old man''s cock, and sadly I haven''t managed to get him to suck mine either. Our rtionship is entirely founded on business only, and neither of us have much interest in the other sexually. Now, for your freebie question... some things are going to need to be left out for obvious reasons, my dear, but I can say this: Lord Ismail wants to make the Sultanate more prosperous, and in my time as a researcher and aplished mage I''ve stumbled across a few theories. There is - theoretically - a way to create contained zones of a different mana type within the Sultanate, and the most obvious one to make would be a zone of Water Mana. An oasis with far more abundance than the ones we have now. What I provide is simple; the brains to this whole idea, as well as the connections to other mages who want to help. That''s the first question answered, though let me see you try and wiggle in another, hm~? I have to admit I am bing more intrigued by the moment~! Surely your brains match your beauty-?" Another smile was shared between us, and I gave her answer a moment to permeate my mind before asking "So is Lord Ismail providing the funding to this operation, and is he thinking of creating this ''Water Mana Zone'' in this city?" "Hmm... should I consider that to be connected~? I guess it is... and the answer is obvious to that as well, my dear; yes, he opens his coin purse and pays for everything I need, and he wants the end result to be something that benefits the city first. Out of the walls, of course, so if anything goes wrong the popce won''t be affected, but otherwise it is for this city. Anything else-?" Taking a deep breath, I pursed my lips and turned from her again, before I started to slowly pace as I gradually got closer to her, reaching the fringes of my range to ce a tether between us made from Lust Mana.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "You are the head researcher and also the leading developer for this project then? The one giving the orders while also nning everything up?" She just nodded at that, and after another few seconds I reluctantly sighed as I waved my hand, signaling that I was out of questions for now that were directly connected to that branch, allowing Mariam her turn. Without hesitation she shed her shirt and revealed her smooth, toned belly as well as her perky breasts, which were barely contained inside of a bra; I couldn''t help myself as I looked her over, and when she flexed her abdomen I just had to roll my eyes at her, though I kept the flirtatious attitude as I gave her a smile too. "Tell me, Elizabeth, does your mate know you''vee to this party today to ''mingle'' with the rest of us partygoers~?" I chuckled at that, winking at the futanari as I answered "She knows I''m here, and she knows what I am doing, but not to what extent~! So there''s no need to worry about retaliation from her, Mariam... what we do in here is between me... and you..." She bit her lip at that, though that didn''t stop her from asking "So your mate knows that you''reing here to have someone chase your tail, eh~? How thrilling!", to which I just replied with another smile and a wink, and like I had she waved her hand and grinned as she signaled that her turn was over. Now I was in a predicament, since going forwards meant taking off clothes and baring skin, though... thankfully this dress was made from multiple parts, and even as I took off the outermostyer, I was still mostly covered. My sleeves, the back of the dress and some of the sides were gone now, with the remaining parts of the top holding my breasts in ce while they threatened to spill out the now open sides, and my stomach was just barely out of sight; Mariam nodded and stared at me with a gaze that was almost palpable, and I could see just how aroused she was. "Well then... There are - apparently, from what someone else said - others who came here with you, Mariam. Are you apart of some kind of organization? One that deals in magical theories that might just be considered... not ''illegal'', but... frowned upon, perhaps?" Her lustful smile stiffened slightly, and I didn''t miss how her eyes hardened as she stared me in the eyes again, though she rxed as I just gave her another smile and turned, showing off the sides of my boobs and giving her something to ogle. "The easiest way to answer that is... yes, Elizabeth. I am a member of a group that seeks out knowledge and ways to apply that knowledge to the here and now. Some of it is... dangerous. Some might even call it ''dark'' magic, or forbidden magic. We don''t want to cause widespread harm, so we are extremely careful with what we do, but I am sure you know that sometimes... idents happen." She trailed off at that, and her serious look returned as she watched me carefully, though my mask remained airtight as I just nodded and continued to pace, my movements controlled perfectly to be just sensual enough to draw her gaze while being rather ''normal'' to the eye, and after a few steps I turned to her and puffed out my chest. "You didn''t tell me if there were others here, Mariam~! Are there more fascinating people here that I should try and meet-? Ooh, or are you not telling me because you''re worried that you won''t get to keep me for yourself-?" Like before her seriousness passed by as I asked that, and she chuckled and sat up so that she could stare at me more closely, eventually replying "I want to count that as another question, but the answer is - once again - rather obvious Elizabeth~! The longer I''m with you, the more I want to keep you to myself... You''re sexy, smart, and fun to chat with! But yes, there''s three others here with me. They''re not as sociable as I am though, and unless you like thin, awkward and passive men who would be bleeding profusely from the nose at the sight of you right now, you don''t really want to meet them. Smart and incredibly talented mages, yes, but as people..." Mariam shrugged, and I couldn''t help myself as I got a little closer to her as well, leaning over and allowing my boobs to hang right in front of her face as I whispered "But what if I like the idea of bullying them~? Would you stop me from popping their cherries-?", the closeness allowing me to spike her again with Lust Mana. Her response was to justugh before cupping my cheek, her thumb caressing my skin and brushing just beneath my eye as she whispered "You''d be their second woman, sadly... I''ve stolen their virginity a long time ago... how else can you keep pitiful men and futanari in line, hm-?" Chapter 1136: Chapter 1135: The Game Continues Chapter 1136: Chapter 1135: The Game Continues ? pping her hands together, Mariam stripped off her pants and grinned at me as she did so with an obvious gusto, the Caninekin bringing herself down to just her bra and panties as she prepared to ask another question. The bulge that had already been readily apparent was even more noticeable now, and I couldn''t help as I nced at it a few times, both because I was riling her up some more but also because... well, it just drew my gaze that easily. It made me realize just how much fun someone like myself would have with this sort of skillset avable to them, but the question obviously became how much I valued fun over the fulfilling and incredible rtionships I had built with my lovers. This could have been one hell of a fun encounter with someone as I allowed this game to be reality, with the two of us making liberal use of that bed that she was sitting on to further ''negotiate'' with one another as we asked questions, but... that wasn''t who I was now, not anymore. But even then, I just had to stare at her erection as she spread her legs and invited for me toe closer, and for a few moments my mind was filled with the idea of getting onto my knees between them as I gave her exactly what she wanted and then some... Funnily enough Mariam was my saving grace as she asked me a question that wasn''t as sexually charged as I thought it was going be, and it instead pulled me from that arousal I was beginning to feel and made me realize I needed to be more guarded. "You are - and I cannot say this enough - a very intriguing woman, Elizabeth. Clearly the name originates from the Empire - not rare within the Sultanate - but the skin tone, ent, and general demeanor... all of those are stereotypical of someone born and raised within the Empire. So tell me, Elizabeth... what brings someone from the Empire like yourself to this party in particr? Is it business, a vacation, or..?" It seemed like an open ended and innocent enough question, and while it was easy to view it as nothing more than Mariam feeling out who her next sexual partner was as a person, it was clear to me that she was suspicious... but still extremely aroused, if the rubbing of her cock was anything to go by. She wasn''t staring at me the same as she was moments before, and I had to hold back a curse for making my questions so straightforwards and pointed at a single specific thing that would cause her to raise her guard, but what''s done is done after all, so... I had to answer her here and now with something a bit more eptable and generic, though it also needed to be satisfactory enough to be usible... which was hard toe up with on the spot. "A bit of everything, actually. This was a vacation at first for my lover and I; we wereing back here, to her country of origin to spend time with her family and to let me partake in the culture she had been raised in. Then things happened - you know how it can be, peaceful one second and hectic the next - and we needed to start working once more. A shame too, since I was looking forwards to the rest, but business needs to bepleted whenever it needs to bepleted, right? We deal in - or really, I should say we want to deal in - enchanted items, and I had heard rumors of a genius group of magicians over at Lord Ismail''s estate, and then he happened to throw a party that just needed some money to get into?" Mariam smirked as she added "Money and someone who was epted by Ismail; if I had to guess, you got that the same way you''re getting these answers from me, didn''t you~? Sneaky, tricky Dogkin~!", to which I just smiled coyly at her before cing a finger in front of my lips, hushing her. "While I am happy you managed to find yourself here, that doesn''t really tell me why you wanted me in particr; there was no guarantee that you could chat with me, no guarantee that I would answer questions... your curiosity led you to do something rather odd..." Winking at her, I ran a hand down my curves once again as I whispered "I wanted my vacation, Mariam...", which gave her the answer she needed as she nodded and grinned back at me, watching that hand intently. I hesitated for a moment before beginning to remove the bottom of the dress I wore, it''s multiple parts reallying in handy as I removed a long skirt, revealing my legs and butt to her and making the Caninekin p again like she was watching a show; which... I guess she was, since I put some practiced movements in there to keep her hooked. "How did you discover how to do something as fascinating as create artificial zones of mana? To my understanding, especially in an area like this, trying to maintain a different mana type as a fully functioning Domain that is self sustaining and has an impact on the world is practically impossible! The Fire Mana here is practically one and the same as the air itself!" Even though this was a pointed question, the closeness of my unclothed form and the effects of my Lust Mana made her less guarded to this, and I could also tell she had an appreciation for being able to discuss this with someone who seemed to know a little about the subject, so she didn''t seem to mind answering. Given that I came closer, of course, and I hid my disgust as I crawled onto the bed and sat on her calves, making it clear that we still needed to entertain this game before the sex started, and while she was enjoying the feeling of my thighs against her legs alongside the softness of my hips beneath her fingers, Mariam was fine with waiting a little longer. "Like I said before, I''m apart of an organization that searches for all kinds of knowledge, and I had already been poking around in this field for a long time myself, so... yeah. They found some books about the subject, gave them to me and asked me to go find some kind of backer to make it even more of a possibility. And even better, recently we got some more books about this too, so the progress I''m making..."N?v(el)B\\jnn Mariam squeezed my waist and grinned at me as she began to guide me closer, her cock throbbing while her nose twitched as she breathed in my scent from up close; I acquiesced a little, and when she whispered "It''s generational, Elizabeth... and let me tell you this; one of the highlights of your life might just be being able to im you had sex with me. Maybe... when this is all said and done..." I felt the crest above my womb tingle a little, before it erupted with heat as Mariam grabbed at my butt and pulled me closer, sticking me against her chest and allowing her to lick my neck as she said "I''lle and find you to be MY wife instead, Elizabeth~! And to that end..." That heat permeated my body and flushed me into a sluggishness as I felt my mind try to drop down to just my pussy, which was getting wetter with each second as my lust spiked manyfold, before I moaned out loud as Mariam spanked me hard while she rubbed her cock against me. "I''ll be making some guarantees so that you never forget me... so just close your eyes, Elizabeth, and let me take care of you... focus on this heat, this lust, and give in to it... I promise that the pleasure I can give you is more than that wimpy wife of yours could ever hope to provide~!" Through that sluggish cocoon that was threatening to consume me, a jolt of realization and alertness shot through me as I was held in her arms, the familiar and slightly frightening revtion that Mariam had contracted herself to a Fiend dousing some of that heat. The feeling that had caused that crest to overflow with ''lust'' was none other than Lust Mana itself, and where I had been able to use it against her from afar, as soon as she got her hands on me she pushed arge quantity of it into my body, muddling my mind and allowing her to do whatever she wanted to me, which currently involved biting my neck and grabbing at my butt like it was a pillow made to vent her excess energy. It altered my mind and made her seem like an appealing futanari that I wouldn''t mind letting fuck me silly, and as I felt her grind her cock against my ever needy pussy, that thought was even more appealing than before... only for it to fade slightly as she growled "I might even get you pregnant... with an ass like this, who the fuck could me me?!" Already she was acting like I was a lost cause, that the only thing I could do was moan as she sank her fangs into my neck just for the sake of biting me, or that the feeling of her smacking me across the ass was all I could think of, and she... Wasn''t entirely wrong, but after she started fumbling around with her panties, I felt my arousal lower enough when the checkup signal Jahi had been using with me cut through my lustful mind. Chapter 1137: Chapter 1136: Another Lust Mana User Chapter 1137: Chapter 1136: Another Lust Mana User ? "Best deal I have ever made~! Absolutely the greatest deal in the history of deals~!" Her muffled growl of expectant pleasure as she spanked me again sent a shiver down my spine, and I became even more aware of the erect cock pressing against my loin as she reached for her panties, wanting to free that impressive monster and shove it inside of me soon. Mariam was absolutely enchanted by my body as she prepared to have sex with me, and I felt her Lust Mana crudely invade my crest and attempt to activate the part of it that hadid dormant for a long time; that heavy lust that was threatening to turn me into what I used to be. I had managed to keep it under control for a long time thanks to the fact that I just wasn''t taking in that much ''Lust'' itself and instead keeping a limit from how much I allowed my partners to give me, and afterwards I tried to refine it and umte the mana that I needed. Now though, someone else''s mana was invading that storage that Cali had so benevolently gifted to me, and it was causing my body to go into heat as I yearned for release, which Mariam could so clearly give me as she continued to tug at her clothing while also kissing and nipping at my exposed skin as she trailed down towards my breasts. As she growled happily and prepared to undress mepletely with her teeth, I surprised the futanari as I pushed her back and escaped from her hands, falling backwards off of the bed and gasping for air as I sought to quench this heat. To that end I doused myself in a st of chilled air that swept away my arousal for a moment, allowing me to clumsily get to my feet and continue to drag in breathes as I red at Mariam, who was still rather stunned on the bed, though as I stood up she blinked before grinning to herself. "Well I''ll be damned..." The heat in those oceanic eyes was stimting, and the way she licked her lips to savor the lingering taste of my skin made it seem like this was just another thing to turn her on instead of something that should have made her be on guard. "That''s the first time someone managed to break free of that... usually all the women sumb to that instantly and turn into moaning, squirting sluts craving more and more of me~! Oh Elizabeth... how much more perfect of a woman could you possibly be~?" Slowly scooting off of the bed, she watched me closely as I stumbled backwards, away from her and the thick, cloying scent that wafted off of her in waves, trying to reignite my heat and convince me to give in to her, to give myself to her. "Come on... forget being this ''pure'' woman or whatever it is that you actually are, Elizabeth, and let me have you... I promise you, seriously, that I won''t treat you wrong... I''ll give you the world and then some, so juste back to bed with me and let''s have sex..." Her words were like poisoned honey to me; sweet and enticing to my ears, but definitely not what I should partake in, not if I wanted to continue a life that I had prided myself on so far. When Mariam tried to take a step closer to me though, I waved my hand and sent out an unconcentrated, rather weak st of Ice Mana at the Caninekin, making her lustful grin fade a little as she clicked her tongue. "Don''t say I didn''t give you a chance, Elizabeth... Now, we can do this the hard way if you want... you have some raw, potent energy inside your body that''s going to keep inducing your heat cycle, so no matter what... someone''s gonna need to fuck you~! And I really want to fuck you now, Elizabeth; I need to give my little helper something to ''eat'', and I have only gotten hornier and hornier thesest few days with the breakthroughs I''ve made! Soe on... make this easy for me and for you..." Reaching her hand towards me, Mariam gave me a rather convincing smile as she tried to lure me back into the bed, her lust and her Lust Mana extremely potent for someone random, though perhaps this was on me for not anticipating another Fiend so quickly after thest one... This suddenly went from bad to worse with that revtion, and I had to think quickly through a haze of pink that threatened to consume my mind; the answer that I came up with was an unorthodox one, but it made sense to the current me, so I went ahead with it instantly. Taking the two separate Lust Mana''s that swirled around together in an excited dance together, I red at Mariam and guided them out of myself together, not putting any safeguards into ce nor even trying to convert Mariam''s mana into my own as I shot it back at her. The Caninekin widened her eyes in surprise as she dodged to the side, hoping to avoid the blossoming tendrils of pink mist that were flying towards her, and as she rolled back to her feet she eximed "What the hell?! You''re..!" She didn''t seem at all worried about potentially being in danger at the moment, but instead she seemed more concerned with discovering why I could use Lust Mana, and she made the connection almost immediately, though it wasn''t exactly something that needed a lot of brainpower to figure out. "You''re contracted to a Fiend too! By the Gods I''m falling in love here, Elizabeth~! Haha~!" Even though she seemed to be relishing this jubtion of hers, when I muttered "[Chione''s Spike]!" and shot a thick icicle at her head, the Caninekin dodged to the side and studied me from afar, her eyes taking on a more calcting light as she appraised me not as a piece of meat that she wanted to stick her cock in, but instead as a person. "AND you''re an Ice Magician?! Holy hells! Jackpot~!" The researcher had a goofy grin on her face that only faded a little as I growled "Keep dreaming... I would never consider a person like you who works for an organization like the Fingers!", my mind still cloudy as I forced out the rest of the Lust Mana inside of my crest. "Huh... I didn''t expect that, though... if you can use Lust Mana like I can, maybe there was some trickery afoot the entire time then..? Interesting... I thought Lust Mana was entirely about getting someone turned on, but..." Instantly she switched once more to a new train of thought, ignoring this situation at hand and instead she began to mull over this fascinating idea that perhaps her Lust Mana could do more than just get women to cling to her in bed, though as another icicle sliced through the air and threatened to pop her head open she finally retaliated. Erecting a barrier of mana between us, Mariam pursed her lips and looked me up and down before sighing as she turned to the side and muttered something under her breath, bringing a petite, adorable pink skinned fairy out into existence as she ''summoned'' her contracted partner. The Fiend was barely a foot tall, but even in the small frame it radiated power, though it wasn''t exactly that impressive after having Cali constantly following me around, and the moment that thought entered my head she appeared beside me. "Wow~! If it isn''t the tricky, slutty little Fairy Princess Oliviana~!" The barrier that separated Mariam and I now fell to the wayside, and I tried to cast a spell to take advantage of the opening provided to me by my partner only to have my body freeze up and she nced back at me and frowned. "Manners, puppy... remember your manners. Mainly because I don''t feel like having to butt heads with Oliviana..." That made me blink a few times as I stared at Cali in shock, though when Mariam was frozen in ce as well by her partner, I reluctantly had to ept it as the two Fiends drifted closer to one another, grins adoring their beautiful visages. "If it isn''t Caligo~! Heya beautiful~! Long time no see~! And I see that you had the same idea as me... or at least we shared the same idea~!" Despite being so small, the voice that came out was enough to fill the whole room, and it was both joyful and regal at the same time, something that made the fairy lookrger than shen/?/vel/b//in dot c//om really was. "Yeah, it only makes sense right? Why bother doing the work yourself when you can have someone else do it for you~? It just seems that we chose different methods... this one''s got some lovers that take care of her regrly, so..." Chapter 1138: Chapter 1137: Forced To Play Nice Chapter 1138: Chapter 1137: Forced To y Nice ? "Oho~? She''s got some lovers of her own? How nice; this one''s been trying to seduce and convince random lowly women to join her in bed thesest few weeks, and while I don''t mind the quantity, the quality is a bit..." Waving her hand and rolling her eyes, the fairy Fiend let out an exaggerated sigh as she gestured to her partner, but when those eyesnded on me I felt the power behind them as she drifted closer, her pearlescent pink wings emitting a sulently sweet scent that was both calming and arousing as she looked me up and down. "And she''s quite the beauty isn''t she? Like some wonderful blend of a Noblewoman and a prostitute... the way she carries herself and carries those tits is quite telling~! Does she taste as good as she looks?" Cali turned back to look at me and sighed as she answered "I think so? I haven''t actually gotten to have a go at her myself; we made a contract that was out of necessity, and honestly... even though I don''t get to taste her myself, I am rather lucky with her. Don''t let that go to your head, puppy." The Arch Fiend wiggled her finger at me like a parent disciplining her child, and I made the effort to roll my eyes at her and curl my lip in disgust, though the magic she had over me was pretty strong. "Really? You of all us Fiends actually made a deal that included some kind of chastity use in there? Wow Caligo..." The little fairy said that in an upbeat tone, but the underlying jab was easily picked up by all of us, so I didn''t find it at all surprising that Cali just swiped her hand towards the smaller Fiend and grabbed her, immobilizing her with the same spell I was under and bringing her closer to her face. "Now now now Oliviana... don''t start with me about that, alright? Do I need to remind the little princess that her Queendom is no more? Hm? By her own actions nheless?" Her jovial tone contrasted the pale, drainedplexion of Oliviana, who was was both ring and almost crying from what was happening, though a kiss from Cali lessened her anger and her sadness by just enough. "I don''t want to remind you about that, dear, but you should know that I don''t give out freebies on anything... be it kisses or verbal jabs. Sometimes the wait is well worth it, and sometimes there''s no reason to force something immediately. I have no doubt that one day, somehow, someway... I''ll be able to taste this Dogkin inside and out~!" Cali winked at me before adding "That''s enough for now though, Oliviana; what exactly are you doing here? Was the puppy you picked really the best you could have found? One that''s apart of some organization filled with other Fiends? I thought you liked going around on your own?" "I do, but... I can''t really say why I felt attracted to this mortal; she just has some interesting qualities to her, I guess. Though I''ve been trying to convince her to leave, if only because I think this organization is easily likened to a sinking ship..." The Arch Fiend nodded thoughtfully and turned to face mepletely as she muttered "Too many strong willed, hard headed Fiends all in one area is a recipe for disaster...", allowing her snakes to hiss softly as they nodded in agreement with her even as they gave her a side eye. Ignoring them, Cali said "Oliviana, how much do you know about the rest of them? The rest of our... ill mannered, not deserving siblings? I would rather not allow any of them to walk away from this..." Oliviana snorted in amusement as she was released from Cali''s clutches, the fairy drifting away from the Arch Fiend and sitting herself on Mariam''s shoulder as she thought for a moment, resting her chin on her palm and and drumming her fingers against her jaw. "You''re still so adamant on eradicating the newer - and some of the older - Fiends, Caligo? Even after all these years, you are going to continue holding onto that belief of yours?" The fairy sighed after the silence dragged out for another few seconds, and as she stared at the smiling Arch Fiend she just sighed again and muttered "Fine... if only they had known they were painting a target on their back..." "They''ve forgotten, Oliviana, as I''ve expected ande to reluctantly ept. Their ego outweighs their memory as they live precariously in the moment, and whenever they do pull from the past it''s only to further fuel their ego so that it''s overinted. I''m tired of it all, and I think that most of them have be a cancer that needs to be excised..." Even though her voice was t, the emotions carried behind her words were clearly felt, and Oliviana just nodded before looking towards her partner as she said "Mariam, you can decide for yourself; stick with this ''Fingers'' organization and likely perish, or... give it up. I know you want to learn more about this method, this theory, but is it worth your life?" Waving a hand, the fairy allowed Mariam to speak as she waited for an answer, and the bound Caninekin pursed her lips and stared at me for a few moments, her lust still present even in this sort of situation; however, unlike what I was expecting from her, she curbed it and let out a sigh of her own. "I... fine... I can leave the Fingers; I wasn''t nning on staying with them forever anyways, but I did want to try and see this through. It''s got such gigantic implications on the magicalmunity atrge, but..."N?v(el)B\\jnn "It''s wed to hell and back, isn''t it? With Fiends working on it, I guarantee that it needs an absurd amount of needless sacrifices and workarounds to even function properly in theory, let alone in reality!" Mariam chuckled wryly as she tried to shrug, only to realize she couldn''t move her body still and instead replying "That''s... practically correct. The key part was turning people - specifically their Cores - into crystalized energy sources for a gigantic Ritual Circle that would be self sustaining. They NEEDED to be converted Cores and not a Crystal or something else..." She trailed off and sighed again, only to blink in surprise when she was released, though her happiness was short lived as I stumbled forwards after being released as well; staring at one another, wemunicated through looks instead of words, my res and the pleading, desperate stares shing between us like des. "Surely you''d be willing to at least give me a hand here, Elizabeth~? Getting me all worked up like that and leaving me harder than a rock... that''d be just cruel!" Snorting, I turned away from her and grabbed my clothes, slipping them on and growling "Go beat it to the memory of me in my bra and panties, Mariam. That''s the closest you''ll ever get to me in your life." as I reluctantly epted that she waspletely off limits now. Mariam sighed before dropping her panties to the ground, plopping onto the bed and beginning to do just that as she stared at me with open desire, though when an icicle kissed her cheek she just grinned and said "Feisty~! I was just doing as you asked, Elizabeth~!" I was about to send another when Caliid a hand on my shoulder, staying my hand and turning me around as she pushed me towards the door; before I couldin to her, she waved her hand and showed me a stack of books and papers neatly floating around her arm. "Oliviana, Mariam, we''ll be heading out now, and I expect you to join us soon. The Sultana is... adamant in ridding this city of the Fingers influence, so don''t be too shocked when the ground starts shaking. If you still need to cum, Mariam, find someone and get it out of your system now, because you WILL be joining us soon." The Arch Fiend fixed the two with a weighty stare, and after she got a nod from them both she pushed me out of the room and shrouded us in mist, whispering "No one can see us now... at least none of the people here at this party." She kept guiding me until we were down the stairs, and once we got close to the exit she said "Katherine dear, I know you want to kill Mariam for touching you and the things she said, but listen... she''s going to be quite useful, if only because of Oliviana." "What''s with this little fairy that makes you so willing to work with her? To be courteous to her? I thought you wanted to kill ALL Fiends?" "Not all, dear... just about well over 95% of them. A cleanse to rid the World of this worst particr cancer. Oliviana is not apart of that 95%. She''s... an old Fiend, a good one. Good judgements, good decisions, good everything. Some would even say she''s a friend of mine; others would say it how it is. She''s my... well, she''s mine. I made her a Fiend, I took and gave her everything at the same time..." Chapter 1139: Chapter 1138: Rocking The City Chapter 1139: Chapter 1138: Rocking The City ? "So you turned her into a Fiend and what..? Stole her away from her family? Or were you indirectly responsible for the fall of her Queendom or whatever?" Cali just chuckled and nodded, the Arch Fiend not bothering at all to borate as she concealed the various books and papers from me and continued to walk me down the street, back towards the entrance of the city that we were meant to meet at after Leone leveled the outskirts. I could feel that Jahi was in the midst of a fight right now, the bond between us transmitting her emotions rather clearly to me; the thrill and lust for a good battle were seeping through our bond, but besides that there wasn''t much being sent to me. Our bond was good at letting me know the broad emotions she felt at a random time, but the specifics were lost to me since she was the Master and I was the ve; it was just how this worked for us, and it did irritate me a little that I couldn''t constantly keep track of what she was doing and feeling... Though it didn''t matter that much at all, so I just epted that she was fine as of right now and instead asked "Cali, why exactly do we want Oliviana alive? You say it''s because she''s some close ''friend'' of yours, but is that really it?" "Yes, Katherine... sometimes the answer is the simplest one avable. I like Oliviana, I want to keep Oliviana happy and alive. Do I really care about Mariam? No, not really, but unless Oliviana wants her dead, she stays alive too." Sighing, I continued to walk beside her as we moved through the city like ghosts, her shroud preventing everyone else from seeing us and giving her the freedom to groan loudly as she added "Do I really need to exin this Katherine? I want her alive, and I like her! Simple as that!" "Fine, fine... I just have to admit that I can barely understand you at the best of times, and right now... is not one of those best times. You never really struck me as someone who had ''friends'', especially not since you talk about Ka''Hondi like both a friend and an enemy." "That''s because the old bastard is both of those things! Anyways, that''s besides the point; like I''ve said, a vast majority of these Fiends need to go, but that doesn''t mean ALL of them need to go. No, what I want is to start fresh with some more worthy and naturally selected Fiends."N?v(el)B\\jnn "And what''s to stop them from bing what they are today? How do you keep the ego of an all powerful, untouchable and otherwise egotistical amalgamation of the World''s energy from getting too big of an ego? How is that even possible? And how do you know you don''t have an ego that needs to be checked?" The Arch Fiend just sighed again and rubbed at her temples, only to re at the snakes that hissed at her triumphantly before eventually saying "I know I have an ego, Katherine, and I can keep it in check; how do you think this conversation is happening? Or how do you think you can stand right here, with MY power being generously gifted to you?" I just rolled my eyes at that and fell silent, though we both paused when the already bright sky became even more illuminated as a gigantic explosion rocked the outskirts, the shockwave rippling through the ground and causing everything to shake. The people around us began to scream and group together in the open as they stared up at the giant mushroom cloud that was currently brighter than the sun, and many of them were knocked onto their butt as the shockwave smashed against them again as a second smaller explosion hit another part of the city. Perhaps not the greatest solution ever by the Sultana since it was terrifying her citizens, but at the same time the disy of raw destructive power was really convincing and most likely made the smaller, weaker citizens feel that their ce was prettyfortable. No need to try and upset the order of this country with a disy like that, right? "I guess I could use this... Liken me to the Sultana for a moment, and these citizens are all the other Fiends. You can even use the Death Jackals as the other Arch Fiends, if you wish. What does this disy of power aplish? Not only for this city, but for the rest of them as well?" "That''s simple; it''s a means to keep them in control and remind them who''s on top. If you flex your power and get everyone to bow to your might, you can guide them and order them around as you please." Humming, Cali looked around at the citizens and waved her arms as she said "Now think darker. If I was the Sultana and these people were... actually expendable, and I didn''t need to worry about their wellbeing at all, what could I have done? There are cancers hidden amongst them, cancers that are rapidly spreading and consuming everything in their path." "Level the city, burn it down and send a message to the rest?" "Yup~! You see, the only city that I care about is the Capital; my city. The rest of these cities have some good apples and some rotten apples, but to save most of them... I just indiscriminately remove the apples en masse. I can see some of the good apples, and I want to keep them. Oliviana, that old bastard, the prick trapped beneath the Empress'' Pce... there are others here and there, but otherwise..." She trailed off and took a deep breath as another explosion impacted the city, and I shook my head as the various booms made the air vibrate intensely, making my ears ring and my bones rattle in an unpleasant way. "You''re being too damn cryptic and simplistic about this... I know for sure I can''t believe this is just to remove some ''bad apples'' from the tree; you''re not giving me the entire answer, and honestly... this is going nowhere. So fine, keep the secret. Instead, let me ask you this; the Lust Mana that you use, how different is itpared to Oliviana''s? Is it simr to how the Wind Mana I have is more aggressive and offensively orientedpared to other people? Or is yours just different?" "You want to know if Oliviana can use her Lust Mana the same way I can? With enough practice... maybe. The core of our magic is simr, but the research and practice I''ve put into my magic is what sets us apart. I have a finesse that no one else hase close to matching... and I have the will to do it." Cali said nothing about my first inquiry, and I just epted that she wanted to move on just as much as I did, so when we exited the city and walked out of the rumbling, quaking city, and I could only sigh when I heard someone rushing to join us. Mariam and Oliviana rejoined us far faster than I had thought, though the Caninekin futanari was ncing back at the city with shock and arge helping of scared awe as she asked "Is the Sultana insane?!" All of her lust and bravado was gone as she watched another explosion erupt into the sky, and I smiled coldly at her as I remained quiet, not wanting to deal with the woman at all even though I had been the one to put myself in that position. "Well, Caligo, if you wanted to guarantee that we would join you... what a way to do so, hm? I must admit, seeing someone so confidently bombarding their own city while they still upy it is rather... fascinating." "I would argue it''s effective since there were quite a few Fiends hiding around inside those walls... thankfully a few of them were heavily wounded and they all fled. It makes tracking them easier; I tire of the desert, I really do." That made me turn back towards the Arch Fiend as surprise coursed through my veins, and shepletely ignored me as she beckoned for Oliviana to sit on her shoulder as she resumed walking, leaving Mariam with me. Thankfully the other Caninekin waspletely silent the whole way back to the camp, and I made sure to remain either on her side or behind her lest I feel a need to rip her eyes out for even so much as staring at me... It had been an oddly unproductive visit for me, and I felt irritated at the way I had once again been takenpletely by surprise and bested by this random person, meaning I really needed to get stronger faster... and it wasn''t something just some upgraded gear could make better. Chapter 1128 - 1127: Entering The Party

Chapter 1128 -1127: Entering The Party

Smoothing out my dress onest time, I approached the entrance of the opulent estate and prepared my invitation, ignoring the muttering of the nearby crowd alongside the nces from the people in line, all of them looking at me and the various other women walking inside. Some part of me was worried that there was another facet to this merchant that I wasn''t informed of, something that might have to deal with using gigantic heaps of money to pressure women into doing disgusting things just for the sake of getting his rocks off. But most of me was just annoyed at the attention right now as I waited in that line, though that wasn''t much worse than normal as I just dealt with the gazes by simply ignoring them, and I was grateful that the line was moving quickly as people were ushered into the estate and weed into the party. There were a few idiots who tried to sneak in or bribe their way in with paltry riches and drunken confidence, and that earned them a swift hook to the jaw before they were pushed down the line and hit repeatedly by the waiting line for daring to be so stupid. Seeing the drunks getting kicked and pushed all the way back down the street was certainly a way to pass the time, and before I knew it I was standing in front of two guards donned in exquisitely maintained, yet clearly well utilized armor, each of them exuding an air of confidence that was hard to fake. "Invitation?" The man''s voice was gruff, while the woman''s voice that came out from the taller, lither guard beside them was raspy as she added "Or any other form of entry.", confusing me slightly as I studied her for a moment before extending the general invitation that had been sent out to anyone with any sort of influence or power in the city. Scanning it, the man nodded and gestured for me to head inside the gates and down the long marble path that was lined with statues and greenery, a rarity within this hellscape that only went to show how wealthy this merchant was. They ignored me as soon as they verified I was allowed inside, and I walked by without giving them another moment either as I moved to join the various other Caninekin within the estate that were beginning this multi day party that was a celebration of... well, everything and nothing at the same time, apparently. Just an borate excuse to throw a party to unt his wealth and also get things done with the Fingers under the cover provided by arge quantity of rich people doing the idiotic things that only rich people were capable of... Likeughing maniacally as they watched someone doing some kind of dance inside of a fountain while sipping on a very expensive bottle of wine, or sitting on the well maintained grass and watching the clouds drift by as a group of servants did their best to keep them cool with giant palm leaf fans. Or dancing in front of a musician who was ying to both the inside and outside crowd at the same time with a suite of dancers who were far to scantily d to be considered just dancers, though I don''t think many people were going to beining about the amount of skin being shown. I certainly wasn''t going to deny the eye candy I was witnessing in front of me, especially since it made my objective of getting people to speak loosely and freely even easier, and as soon as I entered the mon grounds'' of the estate, someone approached me with an extra drink in their hand. "Why hello - there beautiful ~! I do believe it''s my first time being able to acquaint myself with someone as radiant as yourself~?" Giving me a flourishing half bow, the tanned man smiled at me sweetly as he offered the drink to me, the crystalline ss letting the golden liquid within glow beneath the sunlight and revealing apelling shimmer that got you yearning for its cool embrace. I epted the ss with a tad bit of reluctance as I arched a brow at the man, causing him to chuckle as he got the unspoken message and allowing me the moment to study him as I listened to his slow, elegant style of speaking that wasn''t too bad to the ears. Wearing a loose vest and nothing beneath it, the man unted his well maintained abdomen proudly, while his flowing pants were simple yet elegant with the only sign of wealthing from the golden belt that held them up, as well as the bejeweled dagger and many pouches that were dangling from said belt. "Apologies~! I forgot my manners in your resplendence, my fair Lady~! The name is Ahsan, of the Golden Fang Pack; I might not be the Patriarch, but not everyone needs a high position to be impressive, eh?" Taking a sip from his own ss, Ahsan smirked at me and gave me a quick one over as he asked "I really must add that it is rare to have not heard of a woman like you in this city~! Are you from somece else, my fair Lady-? Somece with many stories to tell, perhaps?" His yellow eyes sparkled with an inquisitive light that contrasted his light and unserious attitude right now, though hearing that he was from a Pack and that he seemed like a rather interesting man who would know a thing or two, I decided I could start with him. At the very least, I could use him as a means to identify other people of importance until I was ready to make a move on a real mark that would yield me the information I needed; someone close to the merchant, a high ranking servant or a confidant... Someone who might know more about the whereabouts of any potential members of the Fingers who were working with the merchant hosting this party, and I needed that information sooner rather thanter since I was on a rather time sensitive mission at the moment. I had until the sun was about to kiss the horizon to get what I needed and get out, or to go ahead and kill a few of the Fingers before departing with the intel I had retrieved before Leone and the others began to bombard the city and alert everyone. This was really banking on their being some kind of written orders or messages inside the estate, and that wasn''t entirely guaranteed, so I had been told to prioritize my own safety over the mission since this wasn''t a life or death sort of mission; I was just here to test myself, really. "I''m from outside, not a well known family. I don''t think you''d have heard of me, Lord Ahsan, seeing as we just moved over here..." "Ah, that''s not an issue my dear~! It was also rather obvious; the ent and the fairness of your skin, it''s very obvious you''re from the Empire. That''s of no issue of course~! I enjoy meeting people from our fellow nation~! But..." "It''s Elizabeth, Lord Ahsan; Elisabeth Serania. ''Tis a smaller family than your Pack, I''m sure, but..." Like he had before, I left that piece open for interpretation and instead turned towards the rest of the crowd, looking them over and taking a sniff of the drink he had offered to me as I waited for the next piece of discussion, to which Ahsan wasn''t going to fail to provide. "Sometimes it''s better for quality to rule over quantity~! I can see that, Lady Serania... I can see that indeed. Is this a first for you? A party in the Sultanate? I fear we can be rather... obnoxiouspared to the Empire, though that difference in culture must be intriguing, no?" He looked out over his fellow citizens with me, sipping his drink some more and prompting me to do the same as I let the cool golden liquid ssh against my tongue, the sharp and sweet alcohol quenching the thirst I didn''t know I had. "It is most definitely different, but there''s always a craving for something different... isn''t that right, Lord Ahsan?" Looking at the man from the corner of my eye, I smiled softly and caught his wide grin as he nodded, those yellow eyes sparkling with a bit of lust now as he peeked at my body once more, though he kept it tasteful as he maintained a civilized front... For now, anyways, since we had only just met... and I wasn''t through my first ss of whatever this was just yet either; I began to gently guide the conversation towards our host, admiring the splendor of the beautiful estate and surplus of greenery that was definitely a refreshing sight for me, and the more I drank the more Ahsan was willing to answer my questions since it opened the opportunity for him to get a little closer with each answer. Chapter 1132 - 1131: Other Part Of Town

Chapter 1132 -1131: Other Part Of Town

Jahi PoV The march down the street in our cloaks and armor didn''t feel like the most discreet thing to do in this city, let alone one that was predominantly Caninekin and had a very clear collective of trained citizens. I stood out exactly like a sore thumb with my blue skin, and even if I had been in the mood to go through with skin tone paints and other types of disguising tools there was very little I could do to conceal my horns, so I just hadn''t even made the attempt to disguise myself. The cloak was the only thing that I acquiesced to, but it was more so to hide my armor and the shield than it was to conceal my presence; I had cloth wrapped around everything to make the fascination at such high quality gear less abundant, which would most certainly bring unwanted attention towards us. Meanwhile Anput and our two tag alongs were far more inconspicuous than I was, but none of us cared as we made our way to the destination, timing everything as best we could with what was meant to happen to the rest of the city. The n was to hit everywhere in staggered increments but still roughly within the same timeframe to prevent any and all opportunities for the Fingers to flee, and that meant that Kat had gone ahead first while Leone was still waiting for her call to action, leaving Anput and I in this sweet spot where we needed to work fast while also having some leeway in the time we had. Which was why I wasn''t in a rush as I just took in the city and enjoyed the calm while I could, though that nagging feeling from being separated from my former maid and eventual wife constantly worked away at my mind, especially in thesest few minutes. "Something happen to Kat? You''ve gone quiet for too damn long now, Jahi..." Anput nced back at me as she searched for an answer, and I nodded instantly even as I remained quiet for a few moments, investigating the feeling and wondering just how much of it was actually from her and how much of it was just my paranoia amplifying every little thing that I could sense from her. She was irritated, angry, curious, apologetic and so much more, with even a hint of guilt tinging everything in a way that made it difficult for me to not go find her and see what was happening, but at the end of it all... she was constantly sending a signal to me to let me know she was fine, so I tried to rein in my paranoia and possessiveness as best I could. Still, I couldn''t help but sigh as I said "Nothing''s happened to her per se, but I definitely think I will make something happen to herter... I don''t like the cocktail of emotions she constantly seeping herself in, especially not with the task she has at hand. I would even go as far as to say she''ll be a tad ''drunk'' when she returns to us..." That made the Jackalkin chuckle wryly as she sped her hands behind her head, enjoying this stroll through the city without any reservations at all as she turned and replied "Well, that just means that when everything is said and done today, the sex tonight will be absolutely- splendid~!" That carefree smirk that was ever present on her face remained even as she bumped into a burly mercenary, and as the man turned to shout something at her he just found himself face to face with me and one of the Death Jackals who was just as physically gifted, though not to the same degree. Seeing the man choking on his words that hadn''t even been spoken yet, much lessprehended in his own mind was rather amusing, though the swiftness with which he turned and walked the other way was dull, so I just increased my pace to reach our objective. Anput mirrored me without hesitation, though she maintained her carefree attitude as well as she asked "What exactly seems to be the issue with Kat then? Just her feeling guilty about what she has to do, angry at what is happening..? What''s going on?" "That''s about it, really. If I had to guess, she''s being hit on by someone sleazy, deciding that it''s too much effort to just drag them somece quiet to kill them and reluctantly going along with it for now. If she''s found her target I am very annoyed at the idea of her seducing them, but by the Gods do we know she''s good at it..." My incredible and irritating lover smirked at that, nodding her head and spinning back around as she added "That she definitely is~! I don''t know though, Jahi... Separating work and private life is pretty important, no? Kat''s pretty good at keeping things separate when needed, and while I don''t doubt she''s treading a very fine line... well... trust is important too, and I trust her." "Uh huh..." I just studied Anput before rolling my eyes as I caught the very obvious cracking of her neck, the Jackalkin both getting ready for the fight and seeking a source of distraction as she moved on instantly from her own words, which I knew damn well she didn''t entirely believe in herself. Did we trust Kat? Yes, we did, and I knew damn well she wasn''t going to do something stupid like actually provide a sexual service for this, but just because I trust her doesn''t mean I have to like what she''s currently doing, and tonight was going to be perfect for me to vent that out. The rest of the walk to the hideout was quiet, with our two Death Jackal chaperones remaining silent the entire time as they nked us the whole way there, keeping us safe and on track as we walked through the city on the predetermined route. Our destination was a rather ingenious little spot that I still don''t entirely know how it was discovered by the Death Jackals; a transitionary section of the city - going from lower to middle ss was home to a myriad of diverse storefronts and businesses, and the most popted were by far the food spots. A decently sized grilling kitchen was home to our Fingers, who were apparently operating out of the back of the restaurant and providing manualbor to the owners, who were none the wiser to whom they were paying. Clean and simple, the storefront wasn''t anything special while the opened windows allowed the cooking to do all the advertisement, and it was just at the end of a long strip of buildings, tucked away from most people who would just happen to meander on by, meaning the foot traffic wasn''t the greatest. Pairing off with a Death Jackal each, Anput and I split off from one another and made our way towards a different entrance point each; Anput and her partner scaled the building and infiltrated from the top,bing through the upper floors and allowing them to catch them off guard, while my burlypanion and I just walked through the front door. It was as clean as the storefront was, with a few men and women sitting around various metal tabletops that were heated by contained mes, allowing them to grill their own cuts of meat if they so wanted or keep their food warm the entire time they drank. Almost a dozen people were inside including the two waitresses who darted around to serve their patrons, and as soon as we entered everyone turned to look at us; the moment I pushed my hood back and openly revealed my Demonic visage, I began to study everyone inside as I searched for our marks. If they were in the back or not was something I wasn''t able to guarantee, so I looked over the people in front of me and began to walk over to the one who had gotten up and was approaching the back of the restaurant with a neutral expression. Hearing my footsteps getting even closer, the muscr woman turned around and raised a brow at me before stepping back just enough to leave too much space between us for me to cover unarmed, her eyes flicking down to my waist before returning to my face as she asked "Can I help you?" I simply stared at her for a moment and appreciated how she was able to maintain a mask the entire time, only for it to begin to crack as I asked "You wouldn''t happen to know why a Caliph would point me in this direction, would you?" The sh of recognition and hesitation that lingered in her eyes was enough for me to cross the gap between us, grab her by the throat and carry her towards the back door before she could even begin react, my decisiveness and speed surprising her enough that I was able to act as freely as this. As soon as she recovered though she reached for her waist and unsheathed a hidden dagger, trying to use it to cut at my arm to force me to release her only to widen her eyes as the de shattered against both my armor and the Light Mana encasing my body. Before she could try something else, I cracked my skull against hers and knocked her out cold just in time for me to heft my shield and block a gigantic ming hammer from smashing against my ribcage. Chapter 1133 - 1132: Not So Friendly Part Of Town

Chapter 1133 -1132: Not So Friendly Part Of Town

Letting the unconscious Dogkin drop to the ground, I moved forwards and leaned into the next hammer strike, using both hands to stabilize my shield as I absorbed the next heavy blow without even pausing my gradual advance, earning a surprised shout from the wielder of the hammer. "Gods be damned! TO ARMS!" Roaring as he pulled that hammer back and shrouded it in mes once more, the man made no effort at all to approach this fight with any sort of tact or strategy, opting instead for brute force incarnate as he prepared to swing his weapon once more. I could have mmed my shield into his chest and broken most of his ribs, leaving him to twitch on the ground as he tried to figure out what went wrong, but instead I funneled more Light Mana towards my shield arm and nted my feet as I decided to give Anput''s shield another test. There was also the bustling of the people behind the man that intrigued me, and another shower of mes around us both would help conceal me as I blitzed forwards after returning his blow and then some, so until that point I was going to give them these precious seconds to prepare. I... was also craving an outlet of energy right now, and the easiest and most tantalizing option I had was to let these Fingers get into a fighting form so that I could knock them down one by one to rid myself of this surplus of energy flowing through my veins. Though, as I listened to the sound of boots mming against the tile floor, I could tell that one of them was rushing towards the other side of the kitchen sh storage room and I couldn''t see if they were a fighter or not, meaning there was a chance someone was trying to get away... Trusting in Anput''s swiftness as well as the fact that I could feel the Death Jackal behind me moving to a new position, I didn''t alter my current n as I remained where I was, staring down this man only to conceal most of my vision of him as I hoisted my shield and angled it to the side. Both of my hands remained pressed against thefortable backte of the ribcage turned into a defensive wall, and I stared straight into the roaring man''s eyes as he swung his ming hammer once more, the crimson glow illuminating the entire room and matching the brilliance of my own mana. Like a meteor falling from the sky, his dense ming hammer screeched towards my shield before crashing against it once more, and I couldn''t help but grunt as the impact reverberated throughout my arms, rattling the bones and almost shaking my stancepletely, though my legs helped absorb and diffuse the force, just like the angle of the shield had mitigated some of the power behind it. The mes still erupted against the t of my shield and washed over the bones, ring up and almost blinding me as the man moved with his weapon, clearly banking on me being staggered by the blow so that he could right himself and prepare another. Sadly for him, my size and my strength made that impossible for him, and the moment his hammer continued its trajectory off to the side after bouncing off of my shield, I stepped forwards and jabbed my still ming shield against his chest. The mes were smothered between my wall and his body, but it added just enough damage that I knew he was dead as soon as I hit him; the satisfying crunch of a few different bones snapping alongside that meaty thud as I sent him flying backwards sent a shiver down my spine that felt just right, and for a moment I wondered if this pleasure I was feeling was what Kat was addicted to... Because if it was, I could definitely understand why she was the way she was now, though I still think she takes it to a bit of an extreme whenever she possibly can; I also don''t think she likes the kill itself but instead the process of getting to that kill... Either way, the man was surely dead as he mmed into a countertop and his head cracked open against the edge of it, blood seeping out onto he floor as he slid down to the ground slowly; with the first of many targets now dead, I looked towards the rest and took stock of the situation. My chaperone had split the aggression between the two of us by separating from me, forcing the Fingers to make a choice on whom they were going to fight while also allowing him to send a knife flying through the air to catch the runner before they got too far. The de sank into their calf and caused them to fall with a cry, the uncertainty of their affiliation forcing the Death Jackal to take a softer approach, which was ideal since it would give us another target to speak to after the battle for any additional information. Inside of this room there were still eight or nine left standing, and three were close enough to me that I needed to return to my defensive posture immediately as they retrieved their weapons from various cabs and tabletops around the area, charging at me and not giving me a moment as they came straight on. Leaping over the counters and angling themselves for each direction, the three Caninekin brandished more traditional andmon weaponry as they shrouded them in their mana and rushed me right away, ensuring that at least one of them could curl around my shield and attack me directly. Since that was their n, I yed into it and blocked the woman with the heavier scimitar as well as the woman with a normal scimitar and dagger, allowing the man with a short, red mace toe face to face with me as I tilted my body while maintaining my stance. Feet nted, muscles tensed, shield raised and angled to properly deflect the three des stabbing towards it, I ignored two of my assants as I focused on the third, and as he leapt upwards to m his mace down onto my skull I unsheathed my dius and flexed my strength once more as I caught him on the de. Making use of his momentum too, I swung my arm backwards and let him slide off of my dius after he was done slicing his own throat out with my de, his body crumpling as he slid a few feet and collided against a cab with a thud. Now that my own weapon was out, I endured the thuds that vibrated the shield before timing my next strike perfectly as I turned my body and revealed the dual wielding woman, introducing her to my dius next and allowing her to be intimately acquainted with it as it kissed her throat just like it had for herrade. Slitting her dainty neck and cutting deep enough that her head was able to hang backwards thanks to the cut tendons, I allowed her to stumble past me as well before pushing the final woman backwards with my shield, stunning her and opening her guard to a swift stab to the abdomen. In a few seconds four of the Fingers were lying dead on the floor from my own actions, and as I twisted my dius to ensure she was dead, I decided to make use of this second shield as a bolt of gaseous me streaked towards me. cing the woman between me and it, I allowed her to take the brunt of the damage before pushing her off my de and walking forwards once more, approaching the mage in the back who was alternating between the Death Jackal and I. Efficiency was something I wanted to work on, and considering the kill tally already, I was feeling quite good about myself as I blocked the next two bolts with Anput''s shield, gradually increasing my pace and ignoring the tables between the mage and I as I just pushed them aside or broke them. They were shouting at one another to close ranks and fight together, to try and focus on one of us first and even the fight even more, but it was too little toote for them as the Death Jackal and I dashed towards the back of the room, our weapons dripping with theirrades blood. Three remained standing, with that fourth trying to heal his calf so that he could begin running again, so we took one each and left the mage forst as we covered the distance in a second, taking direct routes... with different styles. I barged through and he nimbly leapt over counters and slid beneath tables to reach the mage; in fact, as he slid beneath a table, he kicked it upwards and smacked the edge against the jaw of the woman waiting for him, and as she was stunned he sliced open her belly with a single strike, not stopping at all as he raced for the mage. On my end, I just smacked my shield into the remaining warrior and angled it upwards, allowing me to bounce them over me as I continued my bullrush for that mage, especially after she cursed and shouted "This is a time where I need aid, damnit!" The dark, bemused chuckle made it abundantly clear that this mage had contracted with a Fiend, and a st of raw mana crashed against me and halted my progress as someone else joined us in the kitchen. Chapter 1140: Chapter 1139: Regroup Chapter 1140: Chapter 1139: Regroup ? It''ll be a bit shorter in terms of actual story word count, and you''ll see why at the bottom; sorry in advance, and if you see this before you spend the coins, use a fast pass instead to save them. By the time that we reached the camp, the shaking of the city had subsided almost entirely, and now a thick haze of smoke hung over the sandstone expanse as parts of it burnt still, the embers left behind emitting an eery glow that seemed almost hellish. Almost certainly the citizens of the city felt that way, and I had a small moment of mercy enter my heart as I prayed there were no innocentsying around inside of those parts of the city, but there was nothing I could do now. All that was left for me was to wait for Anput, Leone and Jahi to return to the camp as well, and it would seem that we were all on the same wavelength once more as they both returned minutes after I had. For the warrior squad, they did so in a more somber, serious mood that made the results of their excursion unclear, but the mage squad was chipper as they rode back with unbothered and light expressions, at least whenpared to their peers. Leone was a tad troubled, but the murmur she shared with the woman beside her alleviated her burden a little as she likely got the answer that yes, those parts of the city were rtively clear of anyone innocent, though as soon as she saw the expressions of Anput and Jahi her worry returned. I was grateful to be away from Mariam, though I gave her a parting hiss that I didn''t really care if she took seriously, one that was both a warning and a promise; "If you even so much as mention what happened in that room, that Demoness will tear your tongue out and strangle you with it, and that would have been considered a mercy..." She just gave me a nod that wasn''t as fearful as I would have hoped, but there was little for me to do besides give her that threatening promise before I made my way towards my mate and my Demonic lover, washing them off and soothing their physical pains as I waited for them to open up first. Both were unharmed and had rtively unscathed gear, but the expressions they wore were telling, and it didn''t take long for me to understand why as the Demoness spoke first, her amethyst eyes focusing on me as she leaned against my palm. "There was a Tza Fiend there, one that was pretty... strong. Not overflowing with mana like the others, or as boisterously deadly either, but instead they were calm, clever and damn near perfect with their techniques. And they were contracted to a member of the Fingers..." That made me purse my lips as I nced back at Mariam, guiding their eyes towards her as well so that I could say "I figured that out too; she''s a researcher that Cali managed to convince to get over here, all because she is contracted to a Fiend that Cali is acquainted with. Before you arrived I was going to hand over her research to the Sultana, but now that you''re here... we can do so together." Jahi nodded at that, though Anput''s nose wrinkled a little as she stepped closer to me, the Jackalkin sniffing me and staring at my neck before narrowing her eyes, making it clear she smelt... something that was off about me. I didn''t want to spill all of it right away, not here anyways, so I took a deep breath and quietly said "The easiest way to get information was to get close, Anput, but there was nothing that happened..." She could tell it wasn''t entirely the truth, but before she could probe further Jahi raised her hand and gave me a brisk nod, the Demoness making use of her superior bond to me to browse my emotions and the surface of my thoughts to understand a fragment of what had happened. What she saw didn''t make her happy, but she understood what it was and why it had happened, at least a little, and it was enough that for now, we needed to do what was important; head over to the Sultana and report to her about this operation of ours. The weight of all of my lover''s gazes was heavy, and despite usually being ratherposed and capable of handling such pressure, I could feel some cracks beginning to form within me because of how close I hade once again, and the feeling of uselessness and inferiority that had sprouted because of those actions were only heightened. I had been too weak and too arrogant yet again, and once more I was saved by a fluke that pushed me back onto a path that was far less damaging to either my body or my mind, which was a revtion I needed to finally take seriously. Perhaps my arrogance was even greater than my lust; perhaps the sins I thought I bore were in different orders in terms of magnitude, and perhaps this was finally the time to have a damn wake-up call to what I was meant to be doing. I was weak, and I had a whole suite of things to help me at my mental fingertips, waiting to be purchased with a currency that only I could earn, waiting to be gifted to me for doing something so damn easy! It made me bite my cheek hard enough to draw blood, and for once the crimson liquid didn''t spark any sort of pleasure or amusement in me as that metallic tang stung my tongue and made me gag. Now wasn''t the time though, just like I had said to Anput, so I just swallowed down the guiltden liquid and marched over to the Sultana''s tent, calling for Cali in my mind and epting the pile of books and papers that she dumped unceremoniously into my arms, leading my lovers into the meeting with the leader of the Sultanate.N?v(el)B\\jnn Sometime soon, I am going to be turning this from a 1.5k chapter/day to a 1k chapter/day, and that is for a few reasons: I don''t have burnout, but I don''t have passion anymore for this novel in particr; I want to keep writing it, and I CAN keep writing it as shown with these chapters in thest... year, honestly, but more often than not I feel... little for them. I want to keep writing this to the best of my ability, but more often than not I feel that the 1,500 word minimum I need to hit for the premium stuff isn''t actually valid for this book; it just ends up being padded word count after 1-1.2k, and that''s not fair to you all. I lost direction for this book - thest four months have been Sultanate with rather nd pacing and action, at least to me, and I just... can''t rekindle that passion I need for writing at this moment in time. So going forwards sometime soon, it''s going to be a ik chapter/day release schedule, which means I lose a little bit of money that I''ve been making from the bonus coins spent on unlocking chapters early, but honestly... those coins make me feel guilty for the dozen plus people who consistently give them. It''ll be a shorter chapter because of this - and some might feel ''robbed'' for the coin cost of this chapter - but I just felt that this needed to be seen by any who are reading, be they paid premium or not. Servant System is here to stay, but I won''t be forcing myself as much as I have been in thest year or so, and I want to give it the conclusion it deserves without rushing towards it, but to do so... I need passion, which I''ve... stifled. I want to write everything, and seeing Reincarnated''s sess, the numbers that Laid Back could pull in, and the support I get from everything else just makes me realize this is... old, and I don''t want to put it down prematurely. So chapters are going to be shorter, I want to get my shit together and be able to write what I want and feel excited to write again, so... this is what I''ll be doing, and it''s also because I just need something fresh that I can feel passionate for. Reincarnated scratches that itch, but it was Twin Moons and Laid Back that made me realize what I need, and I''ve been nning out another book, one that I want to write so badly; I''ve nned out plot points, characters, scenes and ideas, put effort in that I just haven''t been able to muster for this novel. Sometime soon, I''ll debut those efforts and hopefully enamor you all with a new story, one that will have a more focused plot line than this and Reincarnated; maybe a 500 chapter limit or something, I don''t know just yet. But... I needed to say this, needed to inform you all that I need this break, this weight off of me, and... like always, to say thanks for even making it possible for me to get this far in my writing; thank you all so very much, seriously. I always say I write for myself, but honestly... if I wasn''t getting any feedback at all from anyone, I don''t know if I would have been able to continue 1.1k chapters here and 700+ in Reincarnated, and even though I feel like I could write them both better from the start now, I wouldn''t change a damn thing. Thank you all, and I hope you look forwards to reading more of this, and of anything toe! Chapter 1141: Chapter 1140: Report Chapter 1141: Chapter 1140: Report ? The Sultana was in the same position that we had left her; leaning over the table and studying a myriad of maps as Death Jackals Streamed in and out of her tent, handing over scrolls and murmuring quietly in her ears as they delivered information to theirmander. She moved the pieces around and operated on many identical maps, ying out different types of strategies on the same information to find the best oue that she could, though as soon as we entered she stood up and cleared some of the table. "Well it looks like it went rather okay all things considered, hm? You don''t seem too excited or happy, but the result is clear." Her head was focused on me as I lowered the books and papers onto that cleared spot, and the Jackalkin nodded as she epted one of the papers, beginning to read it over as Jahi replied "That would be the truth, at least for Anput and I. We ran into a Tza Fiend that knew how to almost instantaneously transport itself to wherever it wanted. It was impossibly fast, very strong, and most importantly it was reserved and not that conceited. The woman it was contracted too wasn''t all that impressive on this first encounter, but being able to get a contract with a Fiend means you have to be something special, so I''m not counting her out just yet." "Sounds like a troublesome Fiend then... and you, Katherine? What do you have to inform me of in regards to the party? It certainly seems like it went well, but your expression tells me otherwise; did you need to do something you didn''t like to get this information?" I wanted to bite my cheek again and reopen the wound, but I controlled myself as I took a deep breath and instead answered in a calm, controlled voice, at least to the best of my abilities as I stared at that nk veil. "The party was of little issue, and I worked two marks; the first one led to the second mark, who was the one to give up the information you see here. She was also a member of the Fingers, and the most important part was that she is seemingly one of their main researchers for this gambit of theirs to turn the entire desert into an oasis. Additionally, she has a contract with another Fiend as well, one that Cali deigned important enough to keep alive, so she''s outside waiting for ''interrogation'', though I will say that any attempt to harm and or kill her will be... a bad idea." The Sultana just nodded and turned back to the paper in her hand, letting the tent fall quiet once more as the four of us shuffled around and shared a nce, not knowing what to do or say just yet.N?v(el)B\\jnn "The good news is it seems this researcher you picked up was a semi integral part to their theorems, so this puts a wrench in their ns for now, and it also makes the rest of my information all the better. Two other cities have been clearedpletely of their presence, with three Fiends falling to the surprise attacks and five more getting injured during the battles. However four cities have be even more contested, and a fifth hasn''t responded at all... Hajar - the city northernmost on the border between us and the Wekalian Steppes - hasn''t sent word back to me yet, and if they fail to do so in another hour I need to assume that Hajar is lost, which... is unfortunate. It was a marketce of rtive importance and strategic value, so I do want it back." Bringing our attention back to the main map on the table, the Sultana tapped the pieces surrounding one of the cluttered borders and said "So I want to send you four up to handle it for me, with six Death Jackals. This is if it is actually fallen. How you reim it is up to you; pinpoint strikes, infiltration, or a full blown siege depending on the information provided. And while you deal with that, I''ll go ahead and take a tour of my country to set it back on track once more. With Kio holding down the capital alongside arge contingent of our best troops, I''ll also go ahead and send this researcher back as well with some handlers." She issued orders immediately, and we exchanged nces once more before Leone asked "Are we allowed to go over those papers and books as well, Sultana? It might be presumptuous, but perhaps we could offer a different perspective on the things we find within this researcher''s notes?" The Jackalkin nodded and waved her hand at the books, prompting Leone to step forwards and grab one before she turned to raise a brow inquisitively at me, asking me silently if I was going to join her; there was no judgement or other question within her gaze, bringing me some relief as her normal gesture soothed my nerves somewhat. Taking another of the books, I opened it and began to skim, my eyes flickering between the various spells, graphs, schematics and words that were inked onto the pages, each one slowly allowing me to paint a picture into my mind on what Mariam was hoping to achieve. Needless to say, she was as much of a genius as she made herself out to be as she penned down some incredible spells and Ritual Circles that could just work so long as she was given an insane amount of resources, time and of course, had loose enough morals to take the shortcuts that would save her months, if not years of development for those spells. It also made my heart leap inside of my chest as I realized I had forgotten about the other researchers she had with her, so I looked back up at the Sultana and hastily asked "Is it possible for me to return to the city to search for the loose ends? In the discovery of that Fiend I forgot about the other members that were within the estate!" Waving a hand at me, the Sultana sorted through a few of the papers as she said "There''s no need to worry, a Death Jackal was monitoring your progress and is acting ordingly, if theirte arrival is proof enough. Try not to forget such important things in the future, though I suppose this is one of the times it''s fine; the reward presented by this researcher you captured is worth more than those other ones by a mile..." I was still a bit worried, but she just looked up at me and gave me a reassuring nod before returning to her reading, prompting me to do the same as I flipped through some of the pages, forgetting my mistake as I lost myself to the magical theory that Mariam had been slowly perfecting. The idea of making use of Fiendish Magics to cut corners in the most stable locations of her spells and enchantments was definitely efficient, and like she had said before, the use of people''s Cores as batteries was thoroughly explored within this book. They were crystalized in order to be preserved and utilized for longer periods of time - the hope was to be used indefinitely, but if not they were easily reced - thanks to their self sustaining nature of pulling mana from the area around us and converting it inside of the organ itself. Using some Nua Magic to suspend the crystalized Cores in a sort of stasis before etching an amplification spell on their surface from the Tza Fiends and then using tethers made from raw Fiendish Magic to tie everything together was the current idea Mariam was on. Simple but extremely efficient and unique in its own way, what with the mortal sacrifices and asional sacrifice to keep everything working smoothly; then there were the individual Ritual Circles that acted as anchor points on the edge of therger Ritual Circle, which would be the new ''Mana Zone''. Ritual Circles within one another wasn''t a ''new'' concept by any stretch of the imagination, but they were rare to see, and even Leone had been considered rather gifted to think of using them and trying to perfect them, but like I had repeated to myself a million times over by now we had no time to explore that idea of hers. Mariam however did, and she had done so rather intimately since she had an entire section of this notebook dedicated on exining and proving how this concept of embedding Ritual Circles into one another worked, using other theories and concepts to prove it to herself again. All of it was fascinating, but there was ack of information regarding herrades, when and where this was going to be taking ce, what she had contracted herself to ''Oliviana for, and if there was a connection between the Fiend and her work. Chapter 1142: Chapter 1141: Recharge (1)* Chapter 1142: Chapter 1141: Recharge (1)* ? I kept reading more and more as I searched for a myriad of different things to go ahead and learn how to prevent this or get a facet of an idea on where they were going to be in order to enact this country spanning spell, but... there was just too much to read and not enough time. Not because something else happened that demanded our attention, or because I needed a break, but instead because the Demoness standing beside me just got bored and needed something to do, and standing around in this tent was not what she wanted to be doing. "I''m going to go rest then until you know exactly what our next move should be, Sultana. Is that alright with you?" The Jackalkin just gave her a nod before looking up a momentter when she heard my soft yelp, the suddenness of the Demoness grabbing my arm startling me since I had been deep in concentration reading this book. "Ah..." We all knew what she meant by this, and I hesitantly closed the book as I gave her my agreement to what she wanted, though as she looked towards our other two lovers it became apparent that it was going to be just the two of us. Leone was still nose deep inside her own books, the Vampire looking between the two and taking notes in one of the notebooks that were justying around the edge of the tent, though I was surprised that she felt our gazes since she said "I''ll join you eventually..." It was odd since she said it so offhandedly and without any embarrassment despite knowing what it was that Jahi wanted, but where she was willing to wait, Anput was clearly itching to join us too only to hear her Mom say "And I''ll be stealing Anput for a little while. Go, have your ''rxing'' time off..." My mate cast a very sad gaze at the two of us as we left the tent, and thest thing we saw was the Sultana cuffing her behind the ears as she got her attention back, though after that we were outside and standing a dozen or so feet away from the researcher and her Fiend partner. Mariam and Oliviana were being guarded by a few Death Jackals and even some normal Jackals, their current position being one of lowfort as they were forced to sit on the hot sands beneath the burning sun. As soon as Jahi saw them, the Demoness'' grasp on my arm tightened before she pulled me away towards another tent, one that had apparently been imed by her earlier after I had left to head to the party. Pulling me inside, she gently pushed me in front of her and stared at me as I stumbled into the center of the tent, the rugs and bedrolls cushioning me as I turned to face her, the sight of the Demoness pursing her lips as she stared at me, looking me up and down. I was still in the same dress as before, so I reached up to begin stripping it off only to have the Demoness shake her head as she raised her arms, saying "Me first, Kat.", her t yet demanding tone sending shivers down my spine as I approached her. This was something I was ustomed to thanks to our younger years, so I began to undress her first, working at the various straps of her armor and ensuring that she didn''t have to move much at all as I stripped her down. The musk of sweat and the tang of the blood she had spilled was like a concoction made by Reincantra for the sole purpose of arousing me, though right now, as I slowly stripped my beloved, the fact that she hadn''t grabbed at me nor tried to say anything degrading or sexy was worrying. Instead, she took a deep breath and asked "What happened at the party, Kat? Tell me straight up, no hiding anything... what happened between you and that bitch outside?", the stillness of her tone making me shiver again before I too dragged in a breath and decided toy it bare once more. I started from the beginning and slowly worked my way through the entire thing, not hiding anything just like she had asked, and instead I made sure to emphasize what happened and how difficult it had been to hold myself back in the many different ways that I had needed to. The threat that Lust Mana possessed to us all, how it might be more dangerous than we thoughting from just a normal person with it, and then the idea of going through some ''training'' every night where I expose them to a higher and higher concentration of it to build up our immunity. All of it came out, and not once did she stop me from speaking, instead just epting my hands as I undressed her and staring at me whenever I stood in front of her; she didn''t move nor did she speak, and that ced a weight greater than her physical mass atop my shoulders. At the end of it, the Demoness waspletely nude and staring down at me as I rested my brow against her chest, not looking back at her as I continued to speak into the top of her abdomen, waiting and praying that she would grab me soon. The only relief I had was that she was hard as a rock as I stood there, so at the very least she had retained her lust during this entire thing, but waiting for her to act on it was exhausting, far more than running a marathon or training with Mom could ever be. Letting out a sigh, Jahi finally wrapped an arm around my waist as she held me closer to herself, though it seemed to be out of a desire to keep me quiet now as she also cradled my head to her chest, allowing her to speak uninterrupted. "So you almost sumbed to your lust and allowed that Caninekin outside to have sex with you? And to get to that point, you slowly and teasingly stripped out of this already sexy dress and unted these gigantic, slutty tits and that thick fucking ass to get her even more turned on? Do you even realize what the hell you''re saying to me, Kat? I know this was meant to be an infiltration mission or whatever the fuck the Sultana wanted, but Gods be damned if that''s supposed to somehow give you a free pass to do whatever the hell you please with some random fucks that don''t matter!" Finally emotion trickled into her voice, but the anger and irritation was too real for me to not feel ''threatened'' by her as she gave me a squeeze, and I had to swallow down my retort that would have only made things worse and only existed for the sake of arguing with her, but even then... "Let''s just say there''s a world where the idea of you doing these things is alright with me; you do realize just how close you were to slipping off the edge there, right Kat? How close of a call this was for you to almost cheat on all three of us if you weren''t blessed by a Goddess for some incredible luck?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om I just gave her a nod, and thankfully that earned a sigh from the Demoness as she squeezed the back of my head a little before forcing me to look up at her, those amethyst eyes reassuring me as she growled "So let me be clearer than fucking crystal, Kat. If you EVER try this again with someone ''important'' like that researcher, someone who might have some resistance or weird magic of their own, I WILL break you for a week. And not in a pleasant way, you pain slut." The promise that wasden into her growl made me shiver again, though I was beginning to anticipate something else as I rubbed my thighs together, a motion that didn''t go unnoticed as the Demoness growled once more, though this time... Her cock throbbed hard against my stomach, and before I knew it I wasying on my back as she shoved me to the ground, the blue skinned Demoness descending onto me like a ravenous beast as she tore my dress away and pulled me onto herp. At first I was confused since sheid me on my stomach across her thighs, but my eyes widened as I moan was drawn from my lips as her hand smacked across my ass, the Demoness hitting my bared bottom as hard as she could. "You nasty fucking bitch! Getting all excited at the idea of me chaining you up and beating you senseless?! The fuck is your problem?!" Each growl was apanied by a smack as she kept hitting me over and over again, and each smack was getting closer and closer to my pussy as she continued to punish me, and I could tell it was both a sexual one and a real one as she hit me hard. I liked it hard, but even I had limits, especially in the same location repeatedly, and the Demoness knew that very well as she just kept spanking me across her knees, treating me like a bad child that just so happened to be grown enough for her to fuck after she was done disciplining me, treating me like a naughty schoolgirl or something... honestly my mind was bing nk as I came from the beatings, soing up with some scenario was impossible. Chapter 1143: Chapter 1142: Recharge (2)* Chapter 1143: Chapter 1142: Recharge (2)* ? Jahi let out a grunt as her handnded on my pussy again, and this time the Demoness gave me a modicum of relief as she angled her hand in a way that epassed the entirety of mybia, ensuring that I was feeling it all. The result of her smacking me on the pussy again was one that we both knew was going to happen; an orgasm wracked through my body and robbed me of the remnants of reasoning that I had, the waves of painful, agonizing bliss as my lower half was granted some reprieve as said agony was squirted out of me and onto the nkets Jahi was seated on. Keeping her hand over my cunt, the Demoness began to rub her hand up and down as she worked my orgasm expertly, ensuring that I made an even bigger mess as my juices sshed against her palm and ran everywhere. "Dirty little slut... Who do you think you are, getting off on this punishment?!" Just as suddenly as she had made me cum, she smacked me hard across both of my cheeks again, drawing a yelp from my lips as the pain overcame that pleasure, cutting through the lustful haze and guaranteeing that I was able to hear her. If I couldn''t hear her, I could definitely feel her as shended another smack on my pussy, though this time she ran three of her fingers up my slit before plunging them inside of me, making me gasp as she began to crudely m them in and out of my hole like I was some kind of toy instead of a person. "Well if you''re going to fucking cum like some whore, then CUM!" Those three fingers pumped inside of me wildly as she made me into an even bigger mess, drawing out my orgasm and making my head go numb as the pleasure became too much, each of her fingers stretching out separate from one another as she spread me apart before traveling as deep as she could. Her other hand found its way towards my mouth, and before I could realize what was happening she had shoved her fingers between my lips, mimicking what she was doing down below and making me go crazy with lust. Being stuffed from both ends was tititing, and Jahi knew that as she continued to make me cum aggressively, the Demoness abusing my pussy as much as she wanted, all while the achingly hard cock she was neglecting was pressing against my ribs teasingly, the thing I really wanted inside of me being so close yet so far... And then it would seem that we were still on the same wavelength in terms of what we needed, since she yanked her hands out of my mouth and pussy so that she could instead grab me and push me off of her,ying me t on the ground before climbing onto my reddened ass. The weight of the pressure she had been cing on me was now transferred to her actual body weight as she pinned me down, and when she pped her engorged penis against my cheeks I groaned in anticipation as the pain became pleasureful once again. Shifting herself down to my upper thighs, Jahi grabbed at my cheeks and spread them wide, allowing her to plunge her dick deep into my pussy in a single thrust, eliciting a scream from me as I was made to cum immediately. She didn''t hold back whatsoever as she started to pound me from behind, her hips mming into mine as she moved her hips with the singr purpose of extracting her sperm form her heavy balls, my own pleasure be damned. And yet she knew for a fact that I was getting off on this as well, so to keep up on my punishment being a real one she released one of my cheeks to resume spanking me, her gaze palpable as she watched my ass jiggle with each hit from both her hand and her hips. I wasn''t at all surprised to feel her boredom hit after the twentieth or so spank, and I more than weed the Demonessying herself on my back as she wrapped an arm around my throat instead, beginning to choke me as she maintained her heavy thrusts, though this time I could hear her groans as I tightened up even more than before. Feeling her arm flexing around my neck as she focused on cutting off my ability to breath was one of the most arousing things that she ever pulled out in the bedroom, at least when we had no toys on hand or any time to spare. What wasn''t arousing was the closeness I got to actually choking, my body forgetting the pleasure that came with this sort of y when it was taken too far, and Jahi knew that as she growled "This ain''t meant for you to be feeling good you bitch!" She relented after another few deep and tantalizing poundings that simply didn''t feel good as panic began to set in, and even when she ckened her grip on me she only gave me a few seconds to drag in a breath before she resumed choking me again. This mixture of going from pleasure to panic was exhausting, especially since I orgasmed a few times during this alternating of rewarding sex and dire disciplining, and even more so since a few of those orgasms were ill timed and extremely unwanted on my part. Like when Jahi held my throat for longer since she was in the process of ejacting for the first time, her sperm gushing out of her cock with a fury that matched her own as she creampied me, filling my womb to the brim with cum and bringing about an instinctive orgasm from me. Being choked throughout her and my own orgasm ruined the pleasure entirely; the throbbing of her cock against my insides, the sshing of sperm against the back of my womb, the heat that usually spread after being creampied... all of it was dulled as I tried to w at her arm, only for her other hand tond on the side of my hip as she ''disciplined'' me again. She willingly ruined my own orgasm for this moment of discipline, and to say I wasn''t entirely against it would... be the truth; I knew this was needed for us both to get the point across, and even though this was irritating to be on the receiving end of, I... couldn''t be angry at it since it was my due desserts for what had happened. I had already wanted to punish myself, but now Jahi was doing it for me, and even if it dragged on each thrust into my womb sent pleasureful shocks traveling up my spine that got negated as soon as they reached my neck, that pressure ridding me of pleasure and not allowing my brain to register it. When she was done cumming inside me, the Demoness resumed pounding me incessantly, though after the first ejaction she relented a little and loosened her grasp to be a bit more yful in nature instead of malicious. "Do you understand now, Kat..? You''re MINE, not some random pricks to go ahead and try to im... so don''t even put yourself in that position, otherwise the next time we have sex, I''ll make it as painful and unbearable for you as possible... and don''t even think to try and test me, slut. I don''t find this too enjoyable normally, but if you don''t think I wouldn''t mind raping you for a few hours..." Her growl tickled my ears before she ced a kiss on my head, and after a few moments she slid her arms beneath my body and grabbed at my breasts, ying with them as she continued to move forwards and stir around her first load. "I don''t want to because I know how amazing that will feel for me, and even though I would be bathing in ecstasy... you won''t feel that good, will you? And no matter how selfish I want to be, there''s just not a world where I would enjoy knowing that my baby wasn''t enjoying that ecstasy alongside me.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om So don''t make me do this, Kat... If you want to y into those strengths of yours and seduce some stupid person to get information... I won''t be happy, but we can fuck it outter that night with far more passion and far more selfishness on my side than usual. But if you put yourself in a situation like that with someone who you think might be resistant or has Lust Mana..." When her hand trailed up to my throat again I shuddered, but she only gently caressed me before grabbing at my tits again as she whispered "I''ll go ahead and be entirely selfish and think only of myself... and then I''ll have Anput and Leone join in too to ravish you over and over again while you''re unconscious, alright?" I just gave her a nod, and before I knew it she was thrusting hard once again, though this time when I came, she moaned with me as we both fed off of that orgasm together, dropping ourselves into our lust and ensuring that both of us werepletely drowning in pleasure. This was exactly what we needed for what had happened today, and even if I didn''t know what exactly happened during her fight, I knew that the longer Jahi mmed her cock into my womb, the better she felt since she became far more willing to make love to me instead of using me as a hole. Chapter 1144: Chapter 1143: Recharge (3)* Chapter 1144: Chapter 1143: Recharge (3)* ? Somehow Jahi ended up being the one on her back after another few minutes, the Demoness lounging on the nkets and grinning up at me as she ran her hands up and down my body as I rode her as hard as I could, giving her my apology in the way I knew she would be most likely to ept it. I don''t know how long we had actually been at this, but I do know that her cum was sloshing around in my womb while my body ached fiercely from the rough handling she had been giving me, but that didn''t stop me from giving her what she wanted. Her thighs were stained with my juices and her seed as I bucked my hips as hard as I could, each movement making my breasts jiggle and causing a new wave of her cum to trickle out of my cunt as her thick cock throbbed inside of me, her next ejaction bing even closer. "Isn''t this what we both want~? Mmm... this bliss, this immacte sex-! Why would you want to risk giving this up~?" Jahi''s smirk was intoxicating as she pulled me down to her chest, the Demoness stroking my back as she peppered my face with kisses to show me her joy, though I could feel it throbbing inside of me as another deluge of sperm was shot straight into my womb. The Demoness resumed her thrusting as she ejacted inside me, ensuring her seed was thoroughly coating my insides while also making a mess as she devoured my moans and painted me white. My lover''s cum sshed out of me with each upwards thrust she took, and I could tell she was deriving great pleasure in smacking her balls against my ass as she lifted me upwards like I weighed nothing, making use of her impressive strength to fuck me the way she wanted. It took another few seconds for her cum to stop bloating my womb, and when she did finally stop she surprisingly pulled out of me with a very audible, wet plop as her cock bounced free, that blue tower of scious bliss caked in sperm that she wanted me to clean off. "But for now, I think we need to wait for your sister wives toe back before I empty my ballspletely... I want all of my women to pleasure me tonight, and I want to fall asleep with the three of you sucking me off... and to have you and Leone smothering me with your tits." nting another kiss on my lips, my blue skinned lover grinned at me as she made her desires as clear as crystal before lowering me down towards her groin, her hands resting on my head as she made me give her a blowjob. With my lips wrapped around her cock, the Demoness leaned back and enjoyed herself immensely as we waited for Anput and Leone to return to us, and after her first time ejacting inside my mouth she murmured "This is the final part of your punishment from me... no removing those lips until I say so." I was made to do the same thing that she had Anput do back in the pce, and I already could tell that this would thoroughly fuck up my jaw as I took in her impressive girth and salivating length, though I suppose I could just consider myself blessed that I wasn''t being made to do this on Leone... She was merely a fraction longer and thicker, but that would make all the difference when it came to giving her partner lockjaw when they were trying to give her oral pleasure; and as if she was summoned by my thoughts, we both heard the entrance ps to the tent be pushed apart before someone gasped. I tried to turn and verify who it was - Leone had a rather familiar tone whenever she was surprised - but Jahi just forced me to throat her cock and kiss her groin as she tutted at me, clearly taking more pleasure in this than I had been anticipating. "Nuh uh... don''t even think about it~! All you need to do right now, Kat, is lift those hips of yours and wee your sister wife properly~! C''mon, raise ''em..." The Demoness above me groaned as I stared up at her and did as she asked, her amethyst eyes sparkling with glee as she licked her lips and ran her gaze across my body, making my skin tingle in anticipation as I realized she was watching and waiting for Leone. I could tell it was Leone because the giant cock that draped itself across my ass was ''normally'' shaped instead of being stick, incredibly hot and with a bulbous sphere at the base; I could also tell it was Leone because of the gentleness with which she prated me, the Vampire caressing my bruised cheeks and sliding herself into my semen soaked cunt.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om She let out a relieved groan followed immediately by the sound of her thighs smacking against mine as she began to fuck me with deep, slow thrusts, putting some power behind them but not enough to ''hurt'' me. Something that always amused me since she knew I loved the pain, though I suppose after seeing how ''damaged'' my cheeks were she was trying to be nice and gentle even as she shoved that monstrous cock into my womb. Another thing that always amused me with Leone was how quick she could cum if she was sufficiently aroused, and I guess her seeing me buried between Jahi''s legs with the Demoness'' cum trickling down my thighs did the right things to her since she pumped away maybe a dozen times before letting out a slightly embarrassed cry that was followed by that deluge of royal semen. The way her balls clenched against my thighs as she plugged my cervix with her fat cock was enough to make me cum alongside her, all while the Demoness continued to sit back and disy her stamina as she used my head like a ything by holding it in ce and drilling my throat. When she knew that Leone was finished cumming, Jahi said "Bring that ass over here, Leone... I''m feeling a bit hungry, so let me feast on that regal pussy of yours~!", her voice dripping with desire as she maintained her dominant thrusts. The Vampire did as she was asked, though before she pulled outpletely she jerked her cock as hard as she could to release the final strands of sperm into me; meanwhile Jahi watched her with a grin as she awaited her second meal. As soon as Leone was done she made her way over to the Demoness and presented herself to her, standing just to the side and leaning over so that she could spread herself apart entirely, presenting her pussy and epting the aggressive licking from Jahi. I was stuffed with cum and made to drink it down too as Jahi released her seed mid pump, and during this bliss another entered our tent, letting out an excited giggle before the sound of clothes falling to the nketed floor and a crisp smack filled the area. "This is just~ what I needed after today~! Here Ie, Kat~! Tighten up for me now, alright~?" The jovial tone that Anput loved to take made my ears twitch before I moaned hard around Jahi''s penis, the suddenness of being stuffed again with cock making me cum hard as Anput went hard right out the gate. Her juicy knot smacked against mybia over and over again as she mated with me however she pleased, and she dug her fingers into my cheeks without a care to my pain, all so she could breed me like the slut I was. All three of my lovers had unique styles of making love to me, and each of them made me feel so incredible as they began to take turns on me... after Anput finished inside me twice, the Jackalkin making liberal use of Jahi''s ''hunger'' to knot me two times in a row and empty her ballspletely. When she finished, Jahi had cum twice as well while Leone... she had stained the nkets white as she came five times, both from her cock - which she was jerking off hard - and from her pussy, though when Anput pulled out of me Leone was thrust to the ground and mounted by the Demoness as she began to ravage the Princess, giving Anput more than enough time to put me on my back and bury her face between my thighs. This was what we all needed, but really it was what I truly needed as I was made to forget about today and instead ept that there was bliss to be found in theforting embrace of my lovers, who were always going to be here for me no matter what happens in the future. Chapter 1145: Chapter 1144: All Out Attack (1) Chapter 1145: Chapter 1144: All Out Attack (1) ? The rest of the night was beyond incredible, and Jahi got her wish easily as she wore the three of us out twice over before dropping herself onto the pile of our bodies, grabbing ahold of each of us and snuggling with us as she rolled us onto her stomach and buried herself beneath us. That swift rush to the morning through the blissfulness of unconsciousness though was immediately marred by the horrible headaches and pains we were feeling after neglecting the need to eat food and drink water after both a stress filled day like that and everything that we had just done. Thankfully our youthful idiocy had been predicted by the Sultana, who had the foresight to send a giant tter of roasted meats and arge pot of coffee to our tent, providing us the calories we needed to survive and get back onto our feet after a wee mistake. What hadn''t been wee was the briskness with which she wanted us to eat, since a Death Jackal appeared outside of the entrance of our tent to let us know we had five minutes before the Sultana wanted to depart and begin her campaign against the Fingers so that she could reim her country. So we devoured the ''meal'' she had prepared for us and drained the pot of coffee as we sought equilibrium again, and after licking the tter clean for thest remnants of the sulent fat and juices of the meat, we got up and got dressed right as the tent was beginning toe down. We immediately aided the Death Jackals as we washed everything thoroughly and packed it up as best we could, and the Sultana graciously gifted the tent and its various bedrolls and pillows to us for the rest of this campaign... and I could see why, since I was unable to get rid of the lingering stench of sex in the fabric and on us. When it was all done though we rejoined the tall futanari around her table, which had remained untouched despite the rest of the camp beingpletely disassembled and ready to be moved; she must have been waiting for us since she looked up at us and said "Hajar has been taken over. Completely captured by the Fingers, who were aided by some hopeful Wekalian mercenaries. Roughly three hundred well equipped troops with medium to high magical abilities. Like I said before, the four of you are going to be joined with six of the Death Jackals to handle this, though I will ask this now; do you want to handle this as a group of ten elite shock troops, or will you desire the aid of a hundred soldiers for a siege?" She looked between all of us as she waited for an answer, and to no one''s surprise the decision was being left to Jahi, the towering Demoness crossing her arms and studying the map for a few seconds before studying each of us in turn. "Just the ten of us. In the far future we might be dealing with the unique problems of ordering around dozens, if not hundreds of troops, but for now handling ourselves is something that we know best. It needs to be ironed out further, and this is a prime opportunity for us to do just that." "Very well. Hajar is barely a half day from here if you make a rush for it. You should arrive either by dusk or just as the sky turns ck. I''ll be trusting the city of Hajar to you, and in your absence I shall work on everything else. The Fingers are working atrge, and it would seem that the Fiend you fought against has reported the losses to the rest of the organization. They''ve moved their ns up in fear of the knowledge we might have gained, though whether or not they know we have captured Mariam is a different story. She''ll being with me, and I''ve already discussed it with ''Caligo." Removing the pieces on the map one by one, the Sultana left only a few on one corner of the map, and after a few moments of circling around the remaining pieces she knocked them to the side using one from before, muttering "As irritating as it is..." and cleaning the board off momentster. She looked back up at us after that, her veil concealing her face from us but doing nothing to disguise the disdain in her voice as she said "Expect there to be Fiends there too, and unlike before I have given the six Death Jackals orders to act immediately should the Fiends prove to be a sufficient dangers.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Unless there is sufficient evidence that you can toy with them or kill them in a way that leaves enough of the body to be harvested, they shall be eradicated with the utmost prejudice. Am I being clear?" We all nodded at that, earning a grunt from the Sultana as she straightened up and rolled up her map, not acknowledging the Death Jackals who rushed forwards to remove the table and collect the pieces. "Good luck, and remember to keep your focus in Hajar. These cultists have already shown themselves to be more than treacherous and insidious as opponents, and I refuse to believe that they won''t have further tricks up their sleeves, not when a host of Fiends gathers around them." Fixing us with onest stare, the Sultana nodded to herself and turned around, leaving us as she made her way towards arge cluster of warriors to begin giving out orders, her presence being reced by six cloaked figures who bowed deeply to us. Each of them looked both different and identical to one another; their physiques might have been varied, and they carried different weapons, but each gave off the cold, sharp aura of a de waiting to be utilized, and each was radiating that familiar need for bloodshed as they waited for their orders. Jillian Pov It should have been right about here... at least, if I was remembering correctly... Pursing my lips, I raised the crude yet efficient pickaxe made from some unlucky monster''s bone and mmed the sharpened tip into the rock below, testing the durability of the stone and getting a glimpse at the abilities of the Labyrinthian itself. It was ever changing and almost alive, but with the vastness of which it sprawled in this world, no one was certain of what resided within these borders, nor about the abilities that this... thing might have; what was the Labyrinthian capable of? Well... some ''things'' were known about the Labyrinthian, but they were all broad and unfocused ideas that hadn''t been verified a dozen times over - much to A''s disdain - and currently, as we explored and learned what we could, my green haired lover had gotten herself an idea. The Labyrinthian shifted and changed, but what if we could lock a part of its more stable locations in ce and create something for ourselves inside of this maelstrom of change? That was why I was currently carving out a chunk of the mountain that was the wall of the Labyrinthian, mining for both resources and to secure ourselves a ce of rest and somewhere to fortify against the powerful creatures lurking nearby. Specifically, my lover hade up with the idea to build this haven near the Sultanate, since it was close enough to the Empire to be used as a staging ground should we find one of the paths between here and there, but also because that Demoness bitch had taken the one of the Sultana''s pups as her wife. If I could strike where it meant most, I was definitely going to try, and knowing how that crude, primitive culture worked, that sand munching arrogant fluff ball should be living itrge in the Empire as that Demoness'' little slut, so she wouldn''t be here... meaning I could draw her here. And maybe, by proxy, draw the Demoness here as well... When I was ready, of course; Light Mana was powerful, Ice and Metal Mana were powerful, and then the blood of the Empress was immensely powerful, so I wasn''t going to blindly take my chances... No, I wanted to crush this bitch and her family before taking what was rightfully mine right from under her... to make her watch as her world crumbled down to nothingness... The reason for my hate was no longer really that important, nor was the source of my desires; I just knew that they were apart of me now, and that they were making it easier to take that next step into earning power beyond belief! For now though, I was stuck as an Elf that just so happened to have more muscle than the twozing whores behind me, so I raised the pickaxe again and tore another chunk of rock from the mountain, pulling back when I was told and returning to my duty when I was told. It might have been irritating, but the idea of being this much closer to them was all I needed to put my anger into the right spot... Chapter 1146: Chapter 1145: All Out Attack (2) Chapter 1146: Chapter 1145: All Out Attack (2) ? Kat PoV "This... somehow feels worse than I thought it would. The climate here is... almost downright abhorrent if I''m being honest." My gaze swept across the glimmering desert before itnded upon the crashing waves of the ocean, the conflicting bodies of mana creating an intriguing ''neutral'' zone that just felt foreign in a world that seemed to always harmonize itself. An abundance of one or two mana types would create some kind of biome that made sense, and yet here the shing of the Fire Mana and Water Mana created nothing but confusion for everyone, and that was reflected in thend itself. The air behind us was scorching even as the sun driftedzily down to the horizon, but the winds sweeping across the water brought a cold chill that sliced through that heat like a knife through butter.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "It only gets worse when winter draws near. Many a time we''ve had ice sheets drifting across the ocean while the city is baked beneath the sun... Hajar isn''t a nice ce to live if you prefer a stable climate, that''s for sure. But after being here for so long... you don''t really notice it that often." Unlike our previous ''chaperones'', these six Death Jackals were far more talkative and open than any of us - Anput included - had expected, and the short, petite woman was the one to approach us and say that. Each of them were chattypared to their peers, which was shown as an equally short man sauntered forwards to add "Born and raised here, and damn does it feel good to be back~! Hajar''s climate is a fickle bitch honestly~!" in a cheerful tone, ignoring the re from the three women beside him... as well as our own. "Hassim, I wouldn''t start that now if I were you... for my sake more than yours." The other two men smiled wryly at the shorter one before gesturing towards the city as the tallest asked "So what''s the n then, Begum? Princess? Do we have one yet, or shall we mull it over from a closer distance? That dune there should offer a decent vantage point..." Our attention was returned to the trade city, its towering walls decorated with tattered and burnt banners that were still in the process of being torn down and reced, while the fires atop the walls cast a glow against the darkening sky. "Not a concrete n just yet, but the best idea I have is to just charge head on in different groups. We have adequate magical power to protect ourselves from whatever they could throw at us." Anput''s careless answer made a few of the Death Jackal''s narrow their eyes as they stared at her, and while their Begum seemed to miss those masked, judgmental gazes, I certainly didn''t... though none of them cared at all since they knew their own worth and carried their own expectations well. "That''s what I would say if we didn''t need to worry about Fiends, mind you; a moving barrier spell in this sort of battlefield is more than adequate to approach those walls and get close enough tounch a siege with just us, but if we have to n around the unexpected prowess of Fiends, then... things change." She didn''t win back their trust immediately, though Anput didn''t seem to care as she gestured towards the dune the tall man had pointed out, saying "Once we get there we can make a better n. Kat, is ''Caligo willing to y with us, or is she remaining hands off?" Just saying her name was more than enough for the pink skinned Arch Fiend to pop into existence, her snakes hissing softly at all of the Death Jackals as they took a step back and rested their hands on their weapons. That was the only attention they got from the Arch Fiend as she leaned closer to Anput and grinned at her, showing off her ample cleavage and cooing "I can be as hands on as you want, baby~!", though Anput just rolled her eyes and replied "You''re a few hours toote, ''Caligo; Kat already made liberal use of her hands for me." ring at my mate, I ignored the Death Jackals as some of them nced at me and instead snapped at Cali as I asked "Are you going to help or not? Now is one of those times that I would appreciate you honoring our agreement, Cali!" Some of her snakes turned to hiss at her instead, and she rolled her eyes this time, the pink skinned seductress turning towards me to say "Fine, fine~! I''ll do your reconnaissance for you, Katy Katy~! Let''s get a little closer than this though... and walk in front of me please~! All of you..." The Death Jackals stared at the Arch Fiend silently at that, but I just sighed and shared a look with my lovers before beginning the journey towards the dune, leaving the mounts behind and walking along the edge of the smaller dunes as we remained far away from the city and out of sight. Not even a moment after we reached the dune, Cali yawned and said "Oh yeah, that''s about three... nah, scratch that, it''s three serious Fiends and a little whelp pretending at being a Fiend. Ka, Ka, Tza, Nua. Fun. Is that all, Mommy~?" She instantly switched from bored to horny as she leaned towards me this time, running a hand down my cheek as she tried to seduce me with such a nd physical and verbal y, and instantly her snakes hissed at her while Jahi smacked her hand away, earning a sulking frown from the Arch Fiend. "You all are no fun..." Cali disappeared in a puff of pink smoke after that, leaving us with that knowledge and making me sigh as I turned back towards the Death Jackals to ask "Assuming that she listed them in terms of strength, it sounds like we have a more frontal focused battle ahead of us with two Ka Fiends. A Tza Fiend in support either as a ranged attacker or as a healer, and then a Nua Fiend doing... honestly, either tanking or supporting." All six of the Death Jackals just stared back at me, their silence telling me all I needed to know as I focused instead on my lovers, wanting their input on this before making a decision; to no one''s surprise, Jahi and Anput were smiling slightly at me, the two warriors agreeing on what they wanted their course of action to be. That made me sigh as I nodded, deciding that it might be the best bet we had against foes we knew little about; they had numbers, yes, but that meant this wide open battlefield would do us more good than the closed walls of the city, even if that meant allowing them to make use of their numbers. "Frontal assault with Leone and that one there acting as ranged support then? Draw them out towards us in one way or another, fight them out here on the sands instead of in the city? That way we can keep most of it standing..." The Demoness and Jackalkin nodded before gesturing for Leone to speak, the Vampire letting out a sigh as she said "There''s no guarantee that they''ll take that bait ande out to fight us in the open. We could always flee, so we''d need to get pretty close to the walls..." "Or- I go ahead and create our own little bastion right- outside of the walls and force them outside! Especially if we go ahead and sacrifice a portion of Hajar to ming bombardment to disy our destructive prowess~! Hassim there can go ahead and tell us what part can go~!" The Begum''s smile made the six Death Jackals nod, with Hassim doing so reluctantly while the remaining man leaned on his staff andzily observed us, waiting for confirmation that he would work alongside Leone to bombard one of our own cities. "I have to go ahead and point out that you said ''us'', Miss Zara? Shall we all be participating in the assault from the front, or..?" A woman the same height as me tapped her twin daggers the same way a teacher might tap an equation on the chalkboard as a reminder to young children, and for a moment I felt a slight urge to snap at her for that before taking a breath and shaking my head. "No, I was nning on traveling around the side and infiltrating from the rear. There''s plenty of dunes to creep behind, and the cliff that leads down to the beach on that side would provide abundant cover. We could scale it and sneak in through those dock-esque locations and work our way towards somece important and disrupt their flow." She nodded and smiled back at me, though before I could continue on she grinned mischievously as she asked "Ah, there''s one more here who specializes in stealth for our three man cell. Could you guess who it is~?" I looked around at the Death Jackals and studied their weapons, taking in the assortment of des and other weaponry concealed on their bodies before pointing towards a thin woman wielding a rapier and a whip. "Nope~! Saif, step forwards~!" To my surprise the person to step forwards was the giant musclebound woman who had a two handed cleaver strapped to her back and a heavy mace dangling from her belt, and she gave me a sneaky smirk as she said "No one expects me to be the quietest one here... makes things damn easy~!" Her de was nearly as tall as me and almost as wide, and while she wasn''t Jahi''s height this Saif woman was incredibly built, her size perfect for a warrior... but apparently she had an assassin''s soul trapped inside of her since she made no noise as she stepped forwards. She even made a point of it as she stamped her boot down and showed off her control, leaving behind a noticeable footprint that just appeared without a sound before stepping back silently, enjoying this moment of being able to show off. "I guess the idea of fighting a few hundred well armed warriors doesn''t scare any of us here, huh?" Jahi''s bemused words got us all to turn back to her, with a few of the Death Jackals just smirking at her while Saif and the other sneaky woman smiling wryly as they took another step back to show they were done, allowing us to go back to the task at hand. Chapter 1147: Chapter 1146: All Out Attack (3) Chapter 1147: Chapter 1146: All Out Attack (3) ? Three of us silently ran around the border of Hajar and prepared to infiltrate the upied city, using the architecture of the city alongside the environment around it to hide ourselves perfectly as we approached the cliff face that a part of Hajar had been built upon. Saif continued to feel like a sore thumb to me even as she rushed silently beside me, the hulking - almost brutish - woman maintaining a low posture and avoiding any possible light that might reflect off any of exposed patch of flesh or metal. Meanwhile the twin dagger wielding woman - she had told me her name was Zahrah - peeled ahead of us with a speed that matched her brilliantly, and she led the way as she scouted with her incredible senses that had been honed over many years of this sort of ''work''. The others had agreed that using seven people to draw out the main force of the Fingers here in Hajar was more than enough, especially since Leone and Amir would be bringing about the full explosiveness of their magical arsenal to ce Hajar in peril for the invaders. So with five warriors creating a fortress right outside that housed two adept magicians slinging explosive spells one after another, the Fingers would be forced to respond in some way or another, and the most likely way they had would be a full on assault, especially if the two Ka Fiends sumb to their bloodlust. Nothing was guaranteed, and honestly we were banking on quite a bit, but even if they had to abandon the fortress they made minutes after creating it, that would be more than enough time to deal significant damage to the wall and some of the city, giving us ample opportunity to proceed with hit and run tactics instead. Either way though, Saif, Zahrah and I were going to infiltrate the city and begin wreaking havoc within the walls, and preferably we would find ourselves some high value marks that would be sorely missed by the hundreds of warriors within the city''s walls. The sky had darkened considerably since we had discussed the n, and the chill being blown onto the desert from the ocean before us was deepening even more, slicing through our robes and biting at our skin as we got even closer to those almost ck waves below. With darkness shrouding us from sight and the wind concealing any noise that we might have made, we were given free rein to sneak into Hajar with rtive ease as we scaled down the cliff and reached an outcrop that Hassim had told us about, one that led to the other side of the cliff and gave us ess to a ''dock'' above. Wooden structures built atop the cliff allowed for the raising and lowering of items to the actual docks below, and the constant creaking and groaning of the wood paired with the ttering of the chains concealed our approach even more, making the scaling of this cliff easier than we had anticipated. Below was nothing; no light illuminated the docks below, and the empty port beckoned us with its insidious call to drop down and find out what was down there, but the call of that void wasn''t anywhere as strong as the thrill that we got when we peeked over the edge of the cliff and found four ''guards'' lounging on some crates shooting dice. "Watch this~!" Zahrah grinned at Saif and I before hoisting herself over the ledge and finding somece suitable to emerge from, concealing her weapons and instead approaching the four men with a sway to her hips as she softly called out "Heya boys~!" They all turned to stare at the beautiful woman, and when she beckoned them forwards with a curled finger before shing them her leg they all scrambled to their feet with stupid grins on their faces, chattering amongst themselves in surprise. "Someone said you''d need some warming up, so..." She continued to reveal more of her leg to them, shing her thigh and getting dangerously close to showing them everything as she got them even closer, with the four not realizing that she had backed up towards the edge. As soon as they were close to her though, she dropped her robe back and raised her hands, sending out a burst of wind that stuffed their mouths before enshrouding them in her mana and yanking towards herself, sending them flying off the cliff and down to the docks below. Since it was easily a hundred feet between the top and bottom, no one else would hear their death as they crashed to the ground below, their bones shattering upon impact and leaving them in agony, if not dead. All of the ambient noise around us concealed it even more, and the darkness of the night made it easy for Zahrah to hide herself behind some crates as she beckoned for us to join her; Saif climbed up without a care and crept forwards, though I had to look down at their bodies to savor their death before joining them, wondering what else I was in for tonight. "Was that really necessary? Couldn''t we have just slit their throats and stuffed them into some of the crates?" My voice was barely a whisper as I asked that, and Saif rolled her eyes when Zahrah shed me a grin and whispered back "Sorry, but I love~ killing men like that... it get''s me off...", the Jackalkin beingpletely honest with her reasoning as she licked her lips like a subus. Saif murmured "Slut..." before making her way to the next cluster of crates, earning a re from Zahrah as she nimbly rushed after her, leaving me behind as I realized just how quick they both were; and how decisive they were, since not even a momentter they had found two more marks. The two ''poor'' and unaware soldiers were chatting about the upation of Hajar one second, and choking on cold, razor sharp steel the next as Saif and Zahrah stabbed them in the throat, silencing them and dragging their bodies behind the crates. Both had died before I had even joined the two in their new position, and they cleaned their des as they gestured for me to dump the bodies into the crate like I had suggested, making me frown before I did as they asked. "Since it''s just getting dark, I think we can find ourselves a few idiots lingering around the outskirts skirting their duties... let''s go ahead and reduce their number a little before heading inside." Zahrah and I nodded at Saif''s suggestion, therger Jackalkin sheathing her de and instead slipping on some heavy knuckledusters that had four small spikes, opting to make use of her strength instead of finesse in these uing assassinations. Already we had eyes on different marks, with a few beingpletely isted and alone, and others being in small groups that rxing after a long day of upying a city; some were fully armed and ready for battle, and others were in more casual clothing, though we knew they were Fingers since they were always discussing something heinous.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Alright, we''re going to stick together just in case any Fiends or other high profile targets emerge, so let''s alternate the kills and ensure no one finds them. We have a few more minutes before the fireworks start... so let''s get to it." Sharing a nod, we started with the more isted Fingers around the area, killing them quickly and silently as we slowly lowered the number of targets avable to us; Saif would just sucker punch them with one of her giant fists before snapping their necks, while Zahrah and I stuck to the more traditional methods as we stabbed or slit their throats. Each death was quiet and concealed, and none of the warriors knew what happened before they were shoved into some form of cover, be it a crate, closet, or empty building, which only made the entire ordeal all the more ideal for me. Dumping these bodies off into those contained spaces meant that the way their blood painted the area was far more creative than if we left them where they had been, and even though the two Death Jackals had me use my Water Magic to clean up the blood and get rid of it, I still got my fix each time I was allowed to slink forwards and grab my next victim. Dragging a de across their throat slowly and savoring their writhing with my hand sped over their mouth was addicting, or the swiftness of plunging my dagger through their neck and slicing through the vocal cords and spine in a single strike... there was nothing like it. It was like sex but better, since I was able to go at it without needing one of my three lovers to be with me, and since I was allowed to be as deranged as I wanted without any reprimand; Anput and Leone were hesitant to treat me like Jahi, after all... By the fourth kill both Saif and Zahrah were staring at me with raised brows, but neither woman said anything as I pushed the man''s body into the crate and pulled the lid back on top, leaving his corpse there to rot as we made our way to the first group. It was going to be a long night, but the length was just perfect as my de glittered in the moonlight, it''s shine matching my desires for blood as we began to thoroughly eradicate the invading poption of Hajar. Chapter 1148: Chapter 1147: All Out Attack (4) Chapter 1148: Chapter 1147: All Out Attack (4) ? Pulling the dagger across the throat of the woman in my arms, I held her close to me and watched as Saif and Zahrah did simr things to their marks, allowing us to drop the bodies after they stopped squirming around and make our way to the next room, where a little more finesse would be required. The towering Jackalkin pointed to Saif and I before raising two fingers, gesturing for us to take separate sides of the room and informing us of the number we were responsible for; the moment we were given that information, Saif unsheathed a small knife and flipped it so that she was holding it by the de, preparing to throw it the moment she stepped inside. My decision was a slightly different one, one that came to me more innately; a Ritual Circle flickered into life in front of my palm, and I shrouded it with my fingers as I nodded towards Saif, letting the hulking woman know I was ready to go. We stuck to the shadows just outside of the room as we listened to the inhabitantsugh and jibe with one another,pletely unaware that their friends outside were now dead resting against the wall. Giving it a moment, Saif counted us down with her fingers before stepping back and giving Zahrah and I space to rush inside, the two of us crossing paths as we darted to the opposite side of the room to grab our marks. Five people were inside, and my focus was on the right most two as I pushed mana into the Ritual Circle and sent a longsso of razor sharp ice flying towards the first man''s neck, while my dagger punctured the brow of the other as I appeared in front of him in a heartbeat. With no time to react, the five people were killed immediately, with their lives snuffed faster than a candle in a hurricane as we rushed that room to give ourselves cover, getting off of the streets and waiting for the uing bombardment. Snapping my arm back, I shattered the man''s neck and pulled him towards me, allowing me to lower his corpse to the ground carefully so that no noise was made while also pushing the man I had stabbed back into his seat, leaving my dagger in his head for now as I made my way back outside to grab one of the corpses and clean up.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om My head was on a swivel as I searched for any nearby enemies just in case, and upon finding none I carried in the previous kills before cleaning away the evidence with my Water Mana, making it appear like nothing had ever happened. We upied a house near the ''back'' of Hajar now, and Saif worked swiftly to rearrange the furniture in a way that would block any entrances or windows to prevent people from looking or wandering in easily, while Zahrah made her way upstairs and took care of the sleeping soldiers. "Not even a half hour yet and we''ve already made a damn good job with this! I can''t tell if we''re just that good at this or if they''re just that sloppy..." Saif grunted at that and lodged a chair against a door handle, ensuring that the entrance would need arge amount of force to breach before replying "It doesn''t matter, now does it? Because in a few minutes, the city is going to be illuminated once more. If I had to take a guess, Hassim is getting them to hit the three courtyards in front of the city, and he''ll have them hit them hard." "Fireworks then? Should we be shoring up a house instead of prowling around if they''re going to be making a veryrge racket?" Therger Jackalkin shrugged at that, though she continued to move around the furniture and snuff out some of the candles as she said "Maybe not, but I want to get a good idea on what''s going to happen before heading back out. We can afford to lose the element of surprise if we see most of those Fiends heading to the wall, but if we can''t see any of them..." Zahrah nodded, and I had to agree as I retrieved my de, though I felt like I was missing something here as I asked "Are there any ways for us to locate them without visuals? Mana signatures or something?" Both of the Death Jackals shrugged at that, with Saif murmuring "I wouldn''t know since I''m not that great with magic..." while Zahrah said "If there is a way, I don''t know it, nor do I believe we have the time or materials for such a spell." Crude ideas fluttered into my head that would require some paper to refine -rge scale Wind Magic meant for locating people or understanding the area around us - but what really made me curious was something else. "Cali, is there a way for us to find the Fiends and monitor their movements?" The two Death Jackals frowned at that, and when she appeared between us both of themid a hand on their weapons, though they were ignored as the pink skinned seductress grinned at me and sauntered over with a hand on her hip. When she got close enough to touch me, I stared into her eyes and ignored the sweet scent or rxing heat that radiated off of her and instead focused on the snakes, which hissed softly at me and pleaded for attention. It was easier to resist her like this, and they knew it as they reached for me or poked at her, distracting us both and making the Arch Fiend roll her eyes before she said "There is, but you couldn''t do it right now, my sexy puppy~! Unless they were anticipating a high level Fiend toe visit, they wouldn''t be hiding their desires, and the desires of a Fiend are rather... unique. Ah, and before you ask, the answer is no~! Figure it out yourself." Cali didn''t even give me the chance to ask before she disappeared, leaving me alone once more as I let out a sigh and shrugged at the two Death Jackals, who rxed with her disappearance only to grab at their weapons when her chuckle filled the air. "Oh, but I will~ give you a hint just to make this a little more fun~! One of the Ka Fiends is gigantic, and the Tza Fiend is extremely hard to miss. Finding the Nua should be easier than you think, and the other Ka is a tricky one, but also tantly obvious too~! Have fun now~!" Her voice faded away, leaving us with that ''hint'' that should make things easier going forwards, though before we could begin to really mull it over the house began to shake, and the room was suddenly basked in a reddish glow. "They''re starting..." I could barely hear Saif as we all turned to stare out the windows, watching as a giant plume of mes erupted near the entrance of Hajar, and immediately after a swirling whirlwind drifted dangerously close to the mes, kicking them up and fueling them even more as the city was set aze. As the ming tornado was fueled into something stronger, another explosion erupted close by, sending a wave of debris flying through the air as the wall was torn down by another well ced spell, and by the time the third explosion shook Hajar, the shouting of the Fingers began to fill the air as well. We could hear them rushing past the house as they made their way to the entrance, and after a second we all nodded and rushed upstairs, making our way to a higher vantage point and looking over what we could as we watched dozens of soldiers stream by us. So many wereing from areas nearby, and the amount only grew when we found a window that overlooked arge square that was now filled with people, and in the midst of them was a towering hunk of a man flexing his muscles as two equally giant axes rose smoothly into the air. "Well, that''s one of the Ka Fiends found, and it seems that this one is heading straight out to fight. And..." Sweeping my gaze across the square, I sighed and shook my head as only normal, reasonable mortals filled my vision, none of them having any sort of tell tale signs of being a Fiend like the twelve or so foot tall red man. "Nope, no one else. Still, that''s easily a hundred or so warriors, and we''ve already killed so many... and this is just one part of the city? There''s definitely more than three hundred people here, but that just begs the question of where they came from?" None of us could answer my question, but it only mattered a little as we watched the gathering of fighters rush towards the entrance of the city, which was currently burning to the ground beneath a giant ming tornado. Chapter 1149: Chapter 1148: All Out Attack (5) Chapter 1149: Chapter 1148: All Out Attack (5) ? A boomingugh filled the air alongside the explosions rocking the city, and we watched with bated breath as that red skinned giant began to march towards the entrance, leading the way with it''s twin axes as it prepared to meet the attackers. The city was in an uproar now that the attack had begun, and we gave it a minute before finally deciding to go out and join everyone in the attack, climbing out onto the roof and surveying the nearby locations as we decided our next move. "Probably just head over to the bank, the Sheikh''s houses, and maybe even thergest Noble Manor that we can find... they might have the others, or at least some important information for us to make use of." "They could... I agree with the bank definitely; they most certainly want to drain the coffers and secure funds for the future, so we should head there first. With all of the lowly grunts getting sent to fight the fires at the wall, I imagine we can do a bit of damage down by the bank." Saif agreed somewhat with Zahrah, and just like that our next course of action was secured as we began to run along the rooftops of the buildings, silently making our way towards the center and passing by a myriad of both civilians and also soldiers. Some of the citizens of Hajar were still alive and ''well'', but they were definitely not taking any risks with either the soldiers or the people outside of the walls as they rushed back towards their homes, and it wasn''t too surprising to see members of the Fingers rushing outside of those homes after hearing themotion outside... We had to ignore that though as we made our way towards the opulent building in the middle of Hajar, the marble roof and gold trimmed columns setting it apart from literally everything else inside of this city as we prepared to raid the bank, which was built like a fortress. Giant spiked walls surrounded a boxy building with very few windows, and only one noticeable entrance; I was about to ask how we were going to enter only to blink a few times when Saif empowered her arms with mana and punched the wall, creating our own entrance. "No more stealth then huh?" Saif just grunted as she walked inside, the giant Jackalkin grabbing her cleaver and looking around at the various Fingers that were moving chests filled with gold and gemstones to the entrance. Beside me, Zahrah sighed and unsheathed her second dagger as she muttered "No more stealth then... alright, let''s get to it!" before dashing forwards, rushing out behind therger Jackalkin and surprising more of the Fingers inside as she sliced a woman open well before they could react. Blood sprayed onto Zahrah as she let the body drop to the floor, though the next Finger to fall wasn''t to her daggers and instead to Saif''s cleaver as she swung her de with all her might, butchering two Finger''s instantly and shattering the chest they were carrying. Gold spilled onto the marble tile below before getting coated in blood as two corpses copsed onto the coins and ingots, creating a prettybination of glittering crimson and gold that was rather symbolic of the money this bank had. Anyways, I didn''t let them have all the fun as I darted forwards as well, my jagged short sword brimming with magical potential as I activated the enchantment on it and made use of that helix to slice through armor even easier. Lopping off the limbs of another chest bearer and causing it to crash to the ground with a loud bang, I didn''t give the woman an opportunity to understand that her arms were gone before I severed her head and moved on to her partner, who got to enjoy being stabbed in the face. Their skull exploded beneath thebined power of my mana and the de itself, the shards bouncing around the room enticingly while the Fingers finally reacted to our sudden appearance; they drew their weapons and shouted about an ambush, but with the explosions outside and the bank being isted on it''s own little ''ind'', there was no chance anyone heard what was happening in here. Taking a moment to look around and study this battlefield of ours, I counted well over two dozen warriors gathered around in decent armor as well as a handful of mages that were preparing to shoot various spells at us. Making the decision on my own, I left the two women down here and leapt towards the second floor, surprising one of the mages as I stabbed them in the back and pushed them down to the first floor, smirking at how they crashed to the ground with a meaty thud and a very loud crack as their neck snapped. I couldn''t enjoy it too much though since a woman beside me was hoisting a giant hammer and threatening to crush me with it, but I pushed through the deja vu and stabbed her in the stomach before punching her throat, stunning her and allowing me to yank my de free and stab her thrice more. She was nowhere near the level of the Caliph, so pushing her over the railing as well was of little closure for me even if it felt a little cathartic to kill a hammer wielder that quickly... Down below, Saif was cleaving through the various warriors and batting away any spells with her magic shrouded de while Zahrah just dodged around nimbly, avoiding attacks and dishing them out with an elegance that matched her appearance. The opulence of the bank was swiftly submerged beneath a shroud of carnage as we dispatched these cultists by any means necessary, and the swiftness with which we did was thanks to the sudden surprise attack we hadunched; already they were grouping together and getting their defenses raised, casting buffs on themselves and ensuring that the fights were a little tougher. The skill levels between us and them was still very apparent, but when you added numbers and decent tactics to the mix, that level was evened out somewhat, making it harder for us to sweep through the bank as quickly as I would have liked. On this second level, the mages were gathering behind the warriors who raised shields made from mana as they bunkered together, allowing the mages to shoot spells up and over their heads to rain down on me. Bolts of me and wind crashed to the ground around me as I rushed forwards, and even though the spells started simple enough they quickly grew inplexity as the mages alternated their attacks, allowing them to work together as they upgraded from bolts to different spells. Spears, crescents and more began to arc towards me, and soon some of the spells began to erupt from the floor as theyyered attacks together, forcing me to remain as mobile as possible while also limiting my range of motion as they peppered the floor and the air with danger. Still, my speed was something I could be proud of as I rushed around the attacks and blitzed towards thergest gathering, lunging into the shields of the warriors and overpowering them with my superior gear and magic. The helix swirling around my de cracked their shields with ease as the Ice Mana shattered upon impact, dealing damage over a wide area and taking advantage of them trying to catch my de by redirecting their mana. As soon as the shields were down I raised my free hand and swiftly drew out the runes needed to make the shotgun spell that I really loved; cocking my arm back and pointing it at the skull of the warrior in front of me, I sent apressed st of ice shards straight into her skull and watched as it exploded, showering the warriors nearby in gore. Switching my aim to the next in line, I sted their head off as well before lunging forwards once more as I used my de next, slicing through the arm of a mage and cancelling their spell as I delved deep into the congregation of cultists. Spinning around and coating my de in even more mana, I sliced through multiple enemies at the same time whilst sting whomever I could, dropping cultist after cultist as I bathed inn/?/vel/b//in dot c//om their blood. I wanted to take my time with this, but we were on a schedule that needed to be kept so I made sure to cut my bloodlust short as I killed all of them quickly, though that didn''t stop me from making some executive decisions on how they died. The reason we were on a schedule in the first ce though was a simple one, and as soon as I noticed that the shaking had stopped I shot the head of thest cultist before blitzing towards the final group up top, killing them as quickly as I could now that we had a feeling there was no Fiend here. Chapter 1150: Chapter 1149: All Out Attack (6) Chapter 1150: Chapter 1149: All Out Attack (6) ? "It seems we''re going to need to do a bit of exploring if we want to find anything else... or we can just head on back and rejoin them at the front. That was one giant Fiend that was making it''s way towards the others..." Flicking the blood off of her daggers, Zahrah smirked at that and nodded in agreement as she leapt up to join me, looking out the windows and surveying the illuminated night sky as the mes of battle grew ever brighter. "Even from here I could feel that things power. Pretty strong; nothing they couldn''t handle though! I mean... damn! The power those two have at their fingertips..." Zahrah whistled as another explosion shook the city, this one farrger than the previous ones and getting to that point where it felt like you were staring at the sun when it shed into existence.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om The rumbling that shook everything only made it worse, and some of the ss shattered from the vibrations, dropping to the ground and making a mess while also allowing the heat to billow inside, forcing us to protect ourselves with mana lest we get burnt. "Makes me wanna ask not so little Miss Empire over here if this ismon back in her home -country-?" The two turned to me after the shockwaves settled, and I raised a brow at Saif, prompting therger woman to just shrug as she muttered "You ain''t little, Miss; you''re thick in all the right spots..." with just a little hunger to her tone that I was all too familiar with. "I wouldn''t say it''smon, but as far as I''m aware the amount of Nobles and high leveled adventurers we have who could do probably a half of what they just did... and then all of the gear we have ess to, both naturally sourced and purchased from other areas?" Leaving it open ended and entirely up for their own interpretations, I watched the rest of the mes dissipate into the sky before coating myself in mana as I dropped out of the bank, deciding to begin going back to the front. I had a feeling that Cali was right about how this would y out; the Fiends would all congregate at the front to take on this threat to their n, and even if they didn''t do that exactly we would still benefit from getting rid of that giant Fiend, with the potential added benefit of the others showing up too. Saif and Zahrah leapt out after me, the two chuckling slightly as we rushed towards the front while Saif asked "A little excited huh? That''s kind of telling, isn''t it Zahrah~?", to which the dagger wielding womanughed before saying "I''d be doing everything to get back too if I had a hunk like that waiting for me~!" I tried to ignore them and focus on the fact that we were going to be fighting against things that were actually born FROM the World and not born into it, but when Saif said "That makes sense after everything we heard at the campst night~!" my cheeks turned red. Usually this didn''t bother me at all, but I know just how ''bad''st night had been, especially since we were in a tent and not in an actual room; we didn''t try at all to hide the noise, and Jahi seemed to actually make that a point during all of her ''work''st night too. I nced over my shoulder and red at them both for that, which only made Saif snicker while Zahrah shrugged and said "Girlie, everyone heard you, the Princess, our Begum AND that Demoness studst night... all that it made us feel was that we needed some release of our own..." She licked her lips at that before ncing at the burly woman beside her, and before I could see Saif''s reaction I turned back to the front and grabbed my de as we crossed paths with some cultists, though the suddenness made it abundantly easy to cut them down mid stride. "Listen slut, I don''t go around ying with whomever wants to spread their legs for me, so don''t give me those eyes... though maybe you can convince me otherwise by the time the day is over." The two flirting behind me were mildly distracting, especially since I was rather amused by their back and forth and rather interested in seeing if this dynamic was able to get off the ground - and because I was happy the topic had shifted away from my actionsst night - though even as we encountered a new cluster of cultists milling about and hesitating to join the fight, the two Death Jackals brought that conversation back to me. Even as I severed the arm off of the cultist in front of me before stabbing them through the temple, and even as Saif simply lowered her shoulder and sent the man flying into a wall with a sickening crunch therger woman grinned at me as she said "I just have to admit I''m a little curious here... are all three of them as incredibly talented inside of the bedroom as they are outside of it~?" "I heard that the Demons were all hung like hell too! And I have a real- good feeling that our Begum isn''t losing that badly either-! You lucky, lucky girl~!" Both of them were grinning at me with knowing looks, and I couldn''t help myself as I blushed a little yet again as they probed for information, causing me to look towards the wall and wish it would be closer to us then it was. Even as fast as we were going we still would need a minute or so to get therefortably and without giving ourselves up, and while I wanted to escape my embarrassment and their questions I wasn''t going to be jeopardizing us just to do so. Which mean I was stuck here with them staring at me expectantly, and since it wasn''t exactly information I considered to be too private... I gave them a nod, and that made Saif chuckle while Zahrah giggled a little too dementedly for my liking. "Though I imagine that some people would say you''re not ''lucky'' having to take the three of them constantly, but me personally~? Gods do I love that idea..." The dagger wielding Jackalkin took a deep breath and basked in her imagination as she wore a dreamy expression, only to be snapped out of it when Saif muttered "Like I said... slut." so that she could hiss at therger woman. They returned to bickering after that, and we made it to the wall and scaled up its surface as we looked out over the battlefield, finding that giant Fiend wading through a sea of mes and earthen spikes while the various cultists who had followed it were trying to run around that sea to nk them. "Look there; the second Ka Fiend is definitely that one there." Following the pointed finger of Saif, we looked towards the destroyed entrance and found a tall,nky red skinned creature slowly making its way forwards; unlike the other Fiend who looked like a scaled up mortal, this one was more like a monster than a mortal. With a torso that was covered in protruding bones, a thin set of two double jointed arms propping it up with bumpy red skin that seemed almost leathery even from afar, and then the long, fang filled snout that swayed side to side as it lumbered forwards with a weight that didn''t match its appearance whatsoever. "Well... yeah, that''s definitely a Fiend. A hideous one, but a Fiend nheless. Which just means we need to find the other two to round out the number then..." I nodded and stared out over the battlefield, taking in the mes and studying the fortress that Anput had erected in a short amount of time, though when I heard "Aw, that''s not nice to Pecusi~! They cannot help that they are a bloodthirsty killer who only desires to spill blood-!" I spun around and swung my de, not recognizing the speaker. My de collided with a thick barrier before bouncing off, and the person I swung on just stepped back with a grin as they flicked their hand and tried to st my weapon away, which turned that grin around as they looked at it more closely. A blue skinned schrly woman stared at me with narrowed eyes, all four of them glimmering with curious intrigue as they trailed up the de and towards my face, while her long arms were crossed beneath her abundant chest. "Seeing a peer that has been turned into a de is not something I expected today... though admittedly I didn''t think anyone was going toe attack us so soon." Her eyes flickered towards Saif and Zahrah as she waved her arms again, sending out another st of mana as she pushed them back before they could lunge at her, which made her frown when Saif just threw herself forwards yet again, pushing through the mana. Chapter 1151: Chapter 1150: All Out Attack (7) Chapter 1151: Chapter 1150: All Out Attack (7) ? Letting out a roar as she pushed through the mana, Saif swung her cleaver as hard as she could even though her movements were reminiscent of those that would have been made in syrup; as such, when the Fiend felt that she was getting a little too close forfort, she simply stepped back and stared at the straining woman and tilted her head. She was still moving rather quickly for someone pushing against the potent mana of a Fiend, and that only made the blue skinned woman tilt her head the other way as she said "Incredible... such strength... I guarantee the gics you have would only be stronger if passed down. Now I just need to capture you..." Those four eyes shone with fascination as the Fiend leaned closer to Saif, though when both Zahrah and I struggled through the mana field to approach her she took another few steps back and nodded again, this time with a tad more caution and urgency as she surveyed the scene around herself.N?v(el)B\\jnn "Honestly... if I could get the three of you I would be beyond blessed... to the point that I would even want to resume the mortal-Fiend cross breeding I had once been so fascinated with!" Despite the three of us getting closer to her with a myriad of des and spells ready to tear her to pieces, the Fiend didn''t seem that bothered by it as she just walked to the side, avoiding us and forcing us to halt our momentum forwards before gathering more in a different direction. "I haven''t considered that idea since none of those imbeciles down there were of worthy stock, but the three of you... physically you are more than capable, and gically you are rather ideal... though some tweaks will need to be made anyways, since all things are imperfect after all." Humming to herself, the Fiend sidestepped a clumsy stab from me before ducking beneath swing from Saif, continuing to shroud us in a thick, permeable membrane of mana that hindered every single movement we wanted to make. Even as our own mana chewed away at it, hers just replenished itself and pulled from the natural mana around us to keep us trapped, though the longer this went on the more I noticed that she was struggling to keep up; her eyes were no longer as bright, and her jaw clenched as she fought to maintain this domain around us. Compared to the hectic and explosive fighting going on down below between the two Fiends and ourrades, this slow dance up on the wall was rather calm even as we tried to kill one another, and the difference in magic being slung around was even more apparent as each of us shone like a torch in the night. I didn''t wring my Core out entirely, but I did expend arge amount of my mana alongside the Lust Mana inside of my crest as I pushed myself towards the Fiend, and that made her purse her lips as she focused on me instead. "Oh... interesting. That''s some potent mana there, Dogkin. That means you have someone backing you... someone strong... someone important. Fascinating. I suppose... that means I shall take my leave, for now. I don''t find the idea of facing off against a strong Fiend to be a pleasant one, not unless it involves sex only. I need research to be done on that still..." Her voice trailed off as she looked me up and down before this four eyed, long armed schr leapt backwards and fell down the wall, releasing us from our constraints two secondster and allowing us to rush towards the edge to see where she hadnded. However, there was nothing for us to see when we peered over the ledge; no body mangled on the ground, no winged or otherwise airborne and flying schrly woman, no lingering traces of this Fiend at all. Nothing was down below, and even as we searched around the wall and up in the sky above we couldn''t find a trace of her, meaning she had somehow, someway just vanished from our sensespletely, and since she was a Fiend of Change... And apparently one that dealt in gics - or at least had a fascination with them - that made me rather worried, especially since we had no idea where she was, what she was doing, and even how we could fight her should we run into her again. "Damnit! That''s so..! Argh!" Growling beside me, Zahrah sheathed her des angrily and stomped over to the other side of the wall, where she could look down over the fight and focus her energy onto something that she could actually do, which helped her cool off a little. "Damn! At least that disgusting Nua Fiend is here too; we need to kill these three bastards to make this trip worth something, so..!" She nced back at Saif and I, and I turned towards the taller Jackalkin as I left the answer to her, having a feeling of my own that we needed to have the more experienced or level headed person give the order. Before she could though, the shouts of a few Fingers down below made the choice for us, especially after a few arrows zipped up towards us alongside a handful of spells as they took shots at us. Zahrah just got a nod from Saif before drawing her daggers again, the shrill sound of metal grinding against metal making me wonder if she had ''sharpeners'' in those sheaths of hers, though I couldn''t exactly ask since she just leapt off the side of the wall like the Fiend. Unlike the Fiend though I could see her when I looked over the edge, and I got to watch as she coated herself in mana and crashed down against one of the Fingers, crushing thempletely and leaving behind an extremely mangled corpse as she used them as a springboard to leap at the next one. Saif took it a bit more conventionally as she stabbed her cleaver into the wall and began to descend using it to lessen her momentum, a shimmering half sphere of mana blocking any projectiles as she moved to join Zahrah below. I remained above them as I looked back towards the battlefield, watching that towering Fiend swing its axes down towards the fortress only to have them blocked by giant Torii Gates appearing out of the ground, while a few blurry figures zipped out and mmed into its chest. One of them flew past the towering Fiend and blitzed towards the monstrous one, engaging it inbat away from the fortress and putting themselves at risk; since I had a good view of the fight from up here, I sheathed my short sword and raised my hands, channeling my remaining mana as I began to cast a spell. The runes needed toe first, but as it reachedpletion I began to weave together the two different schools of magic as I muttered "[Descending Blizzard, Host of des]...", thebined spells that formed therge Ritual Circle working together well as Iyered everything I needed into a single attack. Making use of the winds that already existed, I gave them a bit of a boost and harnessed the chill lingering within them as I sent the Ritual Circle forwards, creating arge area of swirling gales that only grew sharper and colder as the spell took affect. Those sharp winds ''solidified'' into des that swam around the storm, and snow began to drift down to the sands below as I turned this portion of the desert into a tundra instead, using the already cold temperatures to further enhance everything. It took a lot out of me, but now that it was cast I could begin to control those des from afar, and each one responded to me since they were now infused with my mana entirely; I sent them crashing down into the waves of cultists, tearing through them and chopping them into pieces, while even more sliced at the monstrous Fiend as I battered it attack after attack. Targeting its limbs and ensuring it couldn''t get an attack off properly, I aided whoever was down there and made their job easier as the chill began to settle in, bringing that frost of mine into existence and further hindering the Fiend. Then the bodies began to drop as more cultists died, and even though some of them tried to w back up in undeath thanks to the pot bellied, balding, greasy man waddling around in the back, they were torn apart and frozen before they could get their footing. The difference in these Fiends only became more apparent as the towering Fiend was sent tumbling back as a golden meteor mmed into its chest, the monstrous one was battered to the ground before its head was crushed and its body turned into bs of meat, and finally the fat man stumbled and crashed to the ground as he tried to defend himself from the des of wind. All the while that Tza Fiend was nowhere to be seen, andpletely unscathed... Chapter 1152: Chapter 1151: All Out Attack (8) Chapter 1152: Chapter 1151: All Out Attack (8) ? Jahi Pov It was beyond euphoric to feel the momentum begin to shift when those winds kicked up, that deep chill in the air dropping even more as Kat made her appearance on this grand stage of ours; her magic always acted against her usual somewhat collected and reservedposure, announcing her arrival even if she herself rarely did. The Dogkin always tried to carry herself as this mature, put together and calm woman who was as stable as a mountain, and I appreciated her immensely for that fact, so seeing and feeling her arrive in this sort of way was always wee. I had a feeling this was what she wanted to be like most of the time; untethered and a force of nature that no one could control, and yet she controlled herself as best she could, even if that mask slipped whenever she got that first taste of blood. And out here, against this overly arrogant bastard wielding axes like cudgels, she was even more wee to make this sort of appearance as the desert around us began to frost over as snowkes drifted down from the cyan Ritual Circle above us. The glow of the moon bounced between the kes and illuminated the battlefield even more, and my golden shell became even more brilliant as Iunched myself forwards and mmed into the chest of the Fiend in front of me, my great sword plunging into it''s ribcage and scraping along the dense bones. It let out a grunt as it crossed its arms, trying to catch me in it''s embrace as my de found one of its organs, but the difference in size and the experience I had with this sort of hit and run fighting style meant I could avoid the clumsy grab rather easily. This Fiend was all strength and little forte, which made me somewhat proud of myself since it was a show of how I wasn''t that; Kat and the others all loved to say that Mom and I were meatheads who only knew how to utilize our strength, but this Fiend here truly had no idea what style meant. Kicking off of its sternum and skidding across the sand a few feet away, I let its blood drip off of my de and trickle onto the sands below as I stared up at its confused expression, watching as it shifted from confusion to rage as it let out a slightly strained bellow. It tried to shout out something, but I wasn''t listening to it as I charged forwards again and avoided the two gigantic axes that crashed into the sand, leaping into the air before the tremors could rattle my movement andnding on it''s forearm as I used it as a springboard to leap upwards again. Pointing the de forwards, I pierced it''s neck and swung myself over its shoulder, tearing through its flesh with ease as the stacking frost hindered its reaction speed while the terrible technique it possessed made this fight far easier than it had been earlier. This was something that I had noticed amongst the Fiends, and it was something that I wanted to ask anyone who had experience with them or perhaps even a Fiend themself if my observation was just pure coincidence or if I was correct. Were Fiends really this... perhaps not ''weak'', but definitely this varied in terms of power from one another, to the point that some of them simply felt like strong mortals and nothing more? Was I just that superior, was my gear that strong, or was my mana really giving me an edge that I wasn''t really able toprehend right now? This just felt rather easy sometimes, and then other times it definitely felt like there was a chasm between the Fiend and I when we fought; that Tza Fiend I had faced before was definitely amongst the ones that I felt inferior to, at least for now. That red blood filled with kes of gold sshed across my back as I tumbled to the ground behind the Fiend, and as soon as I was able I got to my feet and flourished my de, preparing to head in for another attack should it have some impable healing factor that was capable of curing a case of ''severed head''. And yet the only thing I witnessed was a head almost asrge as my torso mming into the sand and sinking into it as the body stumbled around before dropping as well; despite being so big - and clearly so strong - this Fiend was felled rather easily, though even then I still cleaved through the skull and studied the body as I searched for any sign that it might being back. With the wind whipping my hair around and the chill permeating my bones, I stood above the corpse of a Fiend yet again, and that thrill ofing out on top against something that was beyond mortal was addicting; a rush that filled me with joy and superiority as I remained standing while this Fiend died. There wasn''t time to bask in my aplishment though, and that was made apparent as a cluster of cultists let out war cries and rushed me, their expressions twisted with a reluctant finality as they brandished their weapons. They knew they stood no chance, but that didn''t stop them from slinging spells and approaching me in a formation that would have been favorable if they had been stronger; a shielder rushed at me from the front and swung a heavy mace towards my skull, while the two behind the shielder leapt at me from the sides. One of them lunged for the space behind me predicting me to step back and force them all to whiff their attacks, but sadly for them I had a far simpler solution to this problem; twisting my body to the left and leading with a lowered shoulder, I bashed the shielder down and trampled them as I simply moved through them, making the other two widen their eyes in shock before they epted their fate as my de sliced through their armor and flesh. The mages behind them tried to take that opportunity to break my Mana Cloak with strong spell, casting as quickly as they could andyering attacks that fed off of one another; explosions fueled by a spiraling orb of wind,pressed sts of air that tried to attack my senses alongside my body, a coiling snake of fire that curled around my legs... They tried everything, but the more mana I poured into the brilliant gold cloak the less their attacks did, and I only needed a handful of seconds to finish what I was doing with these three before I blitzed them next, which just led me to the next engagement. Now that all of the Fiends were seemingly counted for - the reluctant frustration and signs I could catch from Kat were very telling - there was no need to hold back and bunker down inside of Anput''s fortress, so instead we found ourselves down on the sands below and fighting tooth and nail against these cultists. Their deaths came rather swiftly, and the deaths of the remaining two Fiends were just as swift as the previous one as they sumbed to targeted attacks from multiple people; Kat worked with Leone to st the Nua Fiend in the back, those explosions illuminating the night sky once more, while Anput came out to help against the monstrous Fiend, trapping it beneath those metal gates and hacking away at it''s body.N?v(el)B\\jnn Rounding up the rest of the cultists only took us a minute or so as Kat made use of her wide area spell to target them efficiently while the rest of us just picked a target within view and struck them down without any worry. Hundreds died in a crossfire of spells and des, and it was interesting to see how easily a cluster of elite soldiers could dismantle what was technically a small army of rather decently equipped fighters. I wasn''t under the delusion that we had killed all of them, nor was I thinking that these were the strongest the Fingers had to offer, but either way the many that died here were definitely a wrench thrown into their ns, and that was a win I was more than willing to take, especially since it had taken less time than I had thought it would have. With everything taken care of out here, we were heading into the city to round up the remaining members of the Fingers, restore order to the city and then get to work rebuilding the damage to the wall we had inflicted, and during that time we would also rest and prepare to return to the capital to further aid the rest of the Sultanate in this war it had be ensnared in. That was fine with me though, since these skirmishes we were going to find ourselves in would be both informational on what I needed to improve on as well as rewarding if we encountered some more Fiends like these ones. I couldn''t wait to see what Anput could whip up with another set of Fiend bones, and the idea of new armor was getting me rather excited... so I suppose I need to be gentle with her for the next few days then... Chapter 1153: Chapter 1152: Momentary Interlude Chapter 1153: Chapter 1152: Momentary Interlude ? Kat Pov My leg swung at paced intervals as I joined the others in idling around, thefort of our temporary encampment only growing with each time we got to practice setting it up and making improvements to it. A week had passed since we had visited Hajar, and upon the return to the capital we were immediately sent back out to quell the invasion happening at another city; this one had been a war of attrition instead of one against another set of elites. The city was thoroughly in the grasp of the invading Fingers, and the reason it had taken us a handful of days to to reconquer was entirely due to the fact that we needed to keep the citizens alive for obvious reasons. They had been turned into hostages and meat shields, and casualties were sadly unavoidable in a situation like that, but we had tried our best to have as few of them as possible as we slowly reimed that city for the Sultanate. Despite the time sunk into throwing off the yoke of the invaders, the battles themselves were rather nd since it was just waves of soldiers running at one another, and after the first infiltration from Saif, Zahrah and I the invaders smartened up and closed their ranks immediately. If we wanted the hostages to live we needed to stop, and even then we would find new heads adorning the walls each morning, though that only earned the Fingers a fate worse than death as they were captured and tortured by both the soldiers and the freed citizens, their bodies paraded around outside the walls as both sides resorted to barbarism. Leone had tried to advocate for a more civil outlook on the entire thing, but even she had to admit that civility was useless on these lowly cultists acting on their base instincts after we were made to listen to the screams and pleas of women all night long, only to find their corpses draped across the walls the next morning. The morbidity of it all had earned the cultists a more immediate loss served to them as we dug them out of the city and eradicated them entirely, and it had only been one of two cities that we had fought in during thisst week. Right after that happened we were given orders to head to the next location, and that one had been another day long battle waged against another two Ka Fiends, though this time it took more finesse and effort to kill them. A giant two legged tortoise creature with a shell hard enough to absorb most blows and reflective enough to block most spells was a tough nut to crack, and it only made it all the more disappointing when it shattered upon the death of the Fiend. The other had been another four armed variant of a mortal wielding some basic weapons, though the skill disyed with each was quite high, and the stamina, strength and durability were all well above what we expected as well. Still, the numbers proved to be too much for them, especially because the cultists they had in support were limited and instead reced with mindless and straightforwards monsters, which just threw themselves at us uponying their eyes on us. That brought us to today, and we were granted a period of rest before we were to head to a new battlefield, and it was one that the Sultana wanted to make into a statement since it was the location that the Caliph and the rest of the leadership of the Fingers were located. It surprised me that they were allowing themselves to be found, but at the same time it would seem that they were under the correct assumption that this was the end of the line for their attempt to revolutionize the Sultanate in their own way, and unless they could kill the Sultana... their hopes died here. They had desired to take over the entire country and buy time to enact their ns, and yet it only took us a few days to reim most it from them, and another few days to take back what we had missed. "Whatcha thinking about~?" Pulling me from my thoughts was Zahrah, the happy and talkative assassin grinning at me as she slid onto the chair opposite of me and blocked my sightline of Jahi, who was currently sparring against Saif and another of the Death Jackals, taking them both at the same time. "Not much... just how time can fly by this quickly without realizing it... Even though those nights felt like they dragged on for eternity..." Zahrah''s grin faded a little at that, the Jackalkin looking away and making me sigh as I said "Sorry... forget that; what did you need? I''m assuming you weren''t just here for a social call?", which made the woman''s ears twitch as she tilted her head confusedly. "And why would you assume that? Maybe I just wanted to have some girl talk with my new friend-?" I raised a brow at that, only to roll my eyes as she leaned forwards to whisper "Maybe I wanted to ask you for some tips to wrangle in a hunk for seconds and thirds~? Or perhaps I was curious to hear more about how a maid somehow manages to seduce a future Marquess to the point of earning herself a Baroness title~? Surely there''s a tale waiting to be told there, right~?" Despite the irritation I showed her outwardly, it was something I appreciated about the woman as she just dove straight to what she wanted to know, and even though those things were highly personal and embarrassing, I... sort of weed them, if only because it was rare for me to have someone to chat with that wasn''t rted to me, making love to me, or in a position of power that required some sort of respect from me. Zahrah was just... someone I could talk to, and that was refreshing even if it was about these sorts of things, though before I could answer we both turned towards the triumphant shout that came from the temporary forge Anput had made for herself. Funnily enough it looked like a permanent ce of forging that had stood here for many years, but it had been builttest night and put to use this morning, and the Jackalkin inside was working away at the various bones and metals we had earned from our fights. The previous city was one of the three cities that focused on weapon production, so they offered up a bounty of things for us to take as thanks for saving them, and Anput had no issue at all taking what she needed, resulting in this current jubtion she was exuding. Prancing out of the forge and waving around a new de of deep crimson, my mate was grinning as widely as was possible as she unted her new creation to everyone nearby, only to walk over to the other Death Jackal that Jahi was sparring against to hand the woman her new sword. "I can''t wait to have my new daggers... never thought I''d need to rece them, and yet here we are, right? The Begum has our gratitude and then some for spoiling us so~!" Her eyes shone with anticipation and reverence as she watched Anput strut proudly back into her forge before reemerging with another de, this time resting it on her shoulder as the weight of it demanded some proper technique. Saif epted her new cleaver with a deep bow, and I could see the burly Death Jackal''s tail swishing behind her as she inspected her new de closely, the idea of sparring against the Demoness no longer mattering to her much to Jahi''s disappointment. "I just hope she''s not over exerting herself right now... the new gear is much appreciated, but we are supposed to be riding to another battle tomorrow morning, so..." Zahrah turned back to me with a knowing smirk as she asked "You''re only saying that because you don''t want to have to do all the work tonight, aren''t you~?", making me roll my eyes again as I decided to not answer her question. When it was just followed up by a repeat of her earlier one though, I was reluctant to answer despite it not being that extreme, and soon enough the Death Jackal as poking and prodding at my mind for all sorts of techniques and suggestions to try out tonight as well, further confirming the suspicion I had that Saif had relented. Not only had she relented, but apparently they hade to the understanding that they were ratherpatible together, and that only made Zahrah''s already lustful and needy nature all the ''worse'' for Saif, though right now she was more than willing to keep up with the demands... With the conversation bing what it was, Jahi eventually moved over to sit with us as the Demoness felt the slight rush through our bond, and when she pulled me onto herp Zahrah shot me a knowing look before continuing her questions confidently, which my lover matched as she teased me to her hearts content.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Chapter 1154: Chapter 1153: Personalized Gear Chapter 1154: Chapter 1153: Personalized Gear ? I eventually had to extricate myself from the pair of teasing and raunchy warriors, my ability to endure that kind of talk not as leveled up as theirs was as they chatted about favorite positions or the best kind of mood to set for certain kinds of y... Leaving Jahi alone with Zahrah wasn''t something I was worried about even if they were both talking about their favorite ways to have sex and the benefits to their specific inclinations, and if anything I felt better knowing that Jahi would be getting this kind of talk out of her system for now instead of bringing it back into the tentter tonight. So instead I excused myself and made my way over towards Leone, who had been chatting with the mage Death Jackal she had worked with before - a man named Ali - about the different applications of magic that they made use of. From what I had managed to catch before I moved to stand beside Leone, they were discussing the benefits ofbining magic with someone else to amplify it, and primarily the idea of how Ali had apparently made a career out of doing just that. When I joined them they both gave me a nod before resuming the conversation, and after a few moments of listening in I jutted in with an opinion of my own, desiring the cleansing of my pte with a more normal conversation. It wasn''t surprising at all that Leone had a quick grasp on this sharing of ideas between Ali and herself, and the topic only began to flesh itself out even more when I asked about the application of naturally urring mana into your spell, something that I had been mulling over in my free time for a little while now. Going from a conversation about the various positions that felt better when tussling in bed to debating the pros and cons of incorporating different variables into your spell was very much appreciated, though I was sadly called away from this informative conversation as Anput emerged from her forge again and asked for Leone and I toe inside. Excusing ourselves to Ali, we made our way into the sandstone forge and joined Anput in the open, yet stuffy workshop she had made for herself, the heat from the furnace getting captured by the building and turning it into an oven that only fed back into the furnace. Anput was - unsurprisingly - dripping with sweat from these work conditions, and I was tempted to question her intelligence for not incorporating windows into her workspace to allow the air to flow freely, but I didn''t bother at all when she excitedly turned towards us and showed off her newest creation. "Look! I managed to create arge amount of this rather fascinating material for the two of you! That Ka Fiend''s bones were pretty strong and dense, right? Like, even Jahi would need to exert a fair bit of strength to break them with her hands. So I needed to lighten it up slightly while maintaining that strength when I made the new alloy, and look at this~!" Raising a thin sheet of red metal proudly, Anput grinned over top of it as she showed it off before pushing one of her hands forwards, bending the metal slightly and disying its malleability as she moved it this way and that, and when that was done she put it back on her table and showed us a smaller square of it.N?v(el)B\\jnn Creating a spike from her Metal Mana, she stabbed it down and tried to pierce the small sheet of this alloy, and while it did puncture a little from the force of the blow and the spike being constructed in a way that made it ideal for this sort of thing, that still was rather promising to see all things considered. "Not only is it flexible, but it''s also really durable and needs to be stabbed really hard to be punctured. As for its blunt force effectiveness... well, like most things its hard to make armor for that, but that''s where the leatheres in!" A few pieces of leather were hanging on the wall, stretched out and treatedpletely as they awaited their use, and the redness wasn''t lost on me as I raised a brow at Anput, who grinned back at me as she said "Yup-! That monstrous Fiend had some thick skin, and that was perfect for armor~!" That confirmation was enough for me, and while I was a tad disgusted at the idea of wearing a Fiend''s skin as armor, it wasn''t exactly something I was unustomed to if you wanted to get into technicalities since I had worn monster leather many times over, and this was the same thing... except that the Fiend was sentient. "The reason I called you two in was I needed to get measurements again just to make sure I have enough to make your armor as well as to guarantee I have the sizes right. I can definitely get these done tonight and even get started on Jahi''s armor too, though the full set for her won''t be done before we redeploy." Anput''s obsidian eyes were glittering both from the firelight and from excitement as she almost bounced around when she said that, though when I asked "Are you sure that''s a good idea though, Anput? Working all through the night like that and not getting any sleep... isn''t that risky?" she paused and pursed her lips. She thought on it for a second before shrugging as she answered me bluntly, saying "It''s going to be worth it in the long run, and besides, while I won''t sleep tonight I can definitely sleep on the way too the next battlefield; someone will just need to share their Jackal with me and keep me steady." I sighed at that but didn''t argue it any further, and she was about to say something else only to stiffen and spin around, rushing back to the forge and pulling out a long billet that she ced onto the anvil, hammering it out and filling the room with the ringing of metal on metal. Sharing a look with Leone, we watched the Jackalkin work on that billet for a few seconds before I sighed and rested against the table, gettingfortable as we waited for her to finish with that; she really did have a surplus of energy that she always pulled seemingly out of nowhere... especially for the things she loved doing. A minute or twoter she ced that billet back into the forge andid her hammer down, wiping the sweat from her brow and smiling at us as she waltzed on over and gestured for us to step into the open, where she could move around us freely. Another thing that wasn''t surprising at all was that our smith was really handsy with her measurements, and she made liberal use of this excuse to grope us however she wanted as she took a break from work and instead enjoyed this fully. She was fishing for a reaction from me as she slid her hands up and down my stomach before grabbing at my chest, and while I usually moaned freely and made use of my voice like a Siren to entrance my partners, I was quiet as I stood there, enduring her touch. "Will you manage to finish the rest of those weapons before our armor, or are you postponing those rewards you promised the Death Jackals?" Humming behind me as she traced her fingers around my nipples, Anput rested her chin on my shoulder and replied "I can get them done too; in between making them is when I''ll be making your chest piece, Leone''s robe, and both of your bracers too. Which... your chest piece includes pauldrons, faulds, and a cor too, so it''ll be a bit personalized, hence... y''know..." My mate smirked at me before freezing as I tilted my head and innocently asked "I know what?", which earned a snicker from Leone as the Vampire beside me watched us closely, though that earned her a re from Anput as the Jackalkin resumed feeling me up. When she got my measurements - actually using a measuring tape to mark it all down after another minute of harassment - she moved over to Leone and began the same process, but where I had been silent and endured her touch to the best of my abilities, Leone was much easier to y with. It was my turn to watch closely as Leone was ''assaulted'' by the Begum, this favor that she was being given by Anput getting repaid in the only currency that she seemed to ept, which was carnal pleasure; something that Leone was very weak too... The only reason Anput relented was because her internal timer for the billet in the forge must have went off, but even then she only stepped away from Leone after she gave her a firm spank before returning a minute or soter, resuming her measuring as she made Leone into a mess. Chapter 1155: Chapter 1154: System Based Improvements (1) Chapter 1155: Chapter 1154: System Based Improvements (1) ? I left the two in there after Anput turned it from a ''I need to measure you all while having just a little bit of fun'' into more of an actual steamy session that had them both feeling some type of way, and while I wouldn''t have denied her if she had adamantly demanded me to turn up the heat, I also wasn''t leaping at the opportunity right this very moment. Not because I wasn''t in the mood - I very much was after the teasing earlier and what had just happened - but instead because I knew I could make better use of my avable time by doing something that was a very long time in the making, which was abusing the avable power waiting to be tapped into inside of the System Shop. I didn''t even need to do the more generic route of buying immensely overpowered items or ingredients, though that was something I was going to look into going forwards as well; the real thing I wanted to tap into were the manuals and other technique books that were within the System Shop. Things that would give me the information and directly load it into my mind for immediate use alongside providing me a physical copy should I desire one, which would be useful for something like spells or other kinds of techniques. I hadn''t taken a deep dive into them just yet, but that was what I wanted to do right now instead of giving Anput a more than friendly hand inside of her workshop for the next few minutes, and especially so since I was looking to find some techniques in there that would offer her, Leone and even Jahi things to improve upon. There was most certainly manuals on forging and alchemy, and I knew for sure that there were manuals on footwork and swordy that Jahi might find fascinating to study, though for now I wanted to keep things more basic to just test the waters and understand how it worked, and to not spend all my ''money'' all at once on the shiny thing that might not be right for me. Like imagine I had bought myself a dagger technique way back in the day when I was adamant about remaining with only daggers as a weapon; now I knew that while they would always be an important part of my fighting style, they simply were outssed by short swords and swords in general, especially if those swords were hand made and tailored for spilling blood in the most gruesome ways... So after departing from the forge and saving them a little bit of face by sealing up the doorway with a wind barrier that would help keep the sound inside - while also pulling fresh air in to keep things a bit cooler - I made my way to the tent we had set up for ourselves and sat down atop our bedroll, closing my eyes and opening the menu to the System Shop after who knows how long. Entirely underutilized and downright criminally neglected by me, but I wanted to change that now, and that desire of mine was only amplified both by the need I had for improvement as well as the sheer amount of Shop Points I had umted during this ''vacation'' of ours into the Sultanate. [Yes... It''s been a long while, hasn''t it Kat? But like I saidst time... I suppose it can''t really be helped that your stubbornness is ingrained into you so deeply, hm? That''s not even a bad thing either since learning everything yourself is far superior to simply buying it, but...] ''I know... If I had years to prepare for a task or event that I knew wasing, or if I wasn''t thrust onto a stage asrge as this one so early, perhaps I could get away with this mindset I have, but I just... can''t. Not anymore, and not after what happened with Leone against the Bloodletter.'' The System just hummed in agreement at that, and I stared at the rather mind bogglinglyrge number of Shop Points I had for a few moments before navigating through the menu to find the technique tab, during which my ever present yet ever quiet System decided to chime in again. [You were a rather uniquely malleable soul to be granted the right to reincarnation, Kat... Many people like to envision that they could change themselves if they found themselves born into a new world, but few actually do change all that much. Some acquire a facade of power that cracks immediately when shown any opposing pressure, but most simply fall back into line and live a life simr enough to that which they had been living before. Few actually manage to change and adapt like you have, and even then I would argue you have exceeded rather nicely here, though some would argue against me and say it is only because of a System that you have managed toe so far.] ''I would agree with them, funnily enough. I am more than aware of the boons I have been granted, the safety nket that I neglect constantly; the reason I can do the things I have done is entirely owed to the fact that I have a System aiding me in this way. My magic, for instance; on my own I certainly am adept at controlling it and I can create new things without outside help, but I started with a skill that helped me along, didn''t I? My ability to fight as well; I had skills to help there too. This entire journey has had... training wheels.'' Selecting the sort of techniques I wanted to view - general magic, swordy, footwork and generalbat - I sorted through them and went over the prices,paring them to the title to figure out how valuable they actually were as I continued the chat with the voice in my head. ''Do I think I could have made it this far without you? Perhaps I am being arrogant when I say yes, but what I can definitely say for sure is that without you, this would have taken twice as long, and I would have faced far riskier situations with far worse oues. The forest above Nevrokopi, where I faced the various wild tribes that wanted to turn me into a breeder, or the more recent encounter with the Bloodletter; those wouldn''t have ended the way they had without you. Leone would be... she wouldn''t be here, though I suppose you can also argue that this wouldn''t have happened since I would likely either be dead or many months pregnant with a child that didn''t belong to the three futanari I wish to have children with.'' There was silence at that, and while the System mulled over my words and gave me a moment to deal with the sudden wave of emotions that hit me like a ton of bricks at that realization, I just selected the first book that seemed like it wouldn''t be a waste of Shop Points, testing this out. [Basics of Invocation {10,500 SP}: Learn about the various applications of vocal based magic and how to make use of it yourself, alongside the many simple spells that any elemental magician could make use of] Was it truly worth that many points? Probably not, but brushing up on the basics wouldn''t hurt me that badly, and it would also be nice to provide to Leer on when she learned more about it herself, though the promptn/?/vel/b//in dot c//om that popped up was slightly relieving to see. [Would you like to acquire the physical copy of ''Basics of Invocation'' now orter?] Selecting ter'', I took a deep breath as the notification of the book being stored away for the time being registered in the back of my mind, only for me to forget about everything as an onught of ideas and theories rushed into my head, engraving itself into my memories for future use. It took a few seconds for me toe back around and be able to actually think, but the moment I did I realized I knew things I hadn''t really understood before about Invocations; for instance, when you were shaping the mana with your voice you were actually using a mixture of mental imagery alongside the innate characteristics of the mana itself. Trying to create a spell that was the opposite of what you wanted was borderline impossible to do, at least to the level you wanted to cast it at; a fireball with the spoke incantation ''freezing sphere'' or something simr would just fizzle out from the conflicting ideas, and there was little you could do about it yourself. Your mind just had an idea on what freezing meant, which subconsciously counteracted the heat that Fire Mana was imbued with naturally. That was pretty fascinating to learn, and it was something I would have likely stumbled on eventually, but learning it now was rather interesting and showed me the worth of these manuals, especially since theter ones that cost far more were about specialized magic. Chapter 1156: Chapter 1155: System Based Improvements (2) Chapter 1156: Chapter 1155: System Based Improvements (2) ? Switching to the 1k chapters now, so when the new batch of locked chapterse up for November, don''t purchase them and save your coins. [See? Isn''t it amazing to see what I can provide to you should you take a moment to utilize the services I am obligated to give you? Who would have thought that utilizing the System Shop would give such great benefits that would make your life easier? Such a novel idea, that...] ''Oh hush you... no need to get so sassy with me; just be grateful that I''m deciding to make use of this now, alright?'' [Hmm... no, I won''t be quiet. You should have been making use of this many months - if not years ago, and yet you haven''t! Betterte than never I suppose, but that only means you have a lot of rushing to do to catch yourself up to where you should be!] I held back a snort, though my lips curled into a small smile as I rolled my eyes and asked ''And how am I meant to rush? Are you offering to loan me an abundance of Shop Points to begin my shopping spree, or am I meant to go rush through a million and one quests to get rich?'' Browsing through some of the techniques, I selected a few more before rolling my eyes again as the System said [Go do some more quests you useless puppy! Surely you can see how rewarding they are considering you''re already so rich!], adding those techniques to my cart and making that total rise slowly but surely. Each thing I added was yet another manual or scroll about the fundamentals of a certain topic, and specifically I kept each of them geared towards things I was already good at but not perfect with just yet, like enchanting or raw mana control. My skill level in them was high, yes, but I was always weing to the idea of shoring up the foundations for those skills in any way possible, especially if they were rather cheap and offered a small discount on the techniques that were above them. They also seemed to unlock new things that I hadn''t seen quite yet in the shop, so that meant that this wasn''t entirely a waste either, so I decided to reward myself for my idental ingenuity by acquiring two intriguing books. [Friede''s Manual of Intermediate Ice Enchantments (42,500 SP): A collection of various spells painstakingly perfected for those with an Ice attunement alongside the potential location to source materials to improve the potency of those spells] [Friede''s Manual of ''Frost Laced Canoness'' (55,000 SP): A fighting style created by Canoness Friede that utilizes Ice Magic, Scythes, dius'' and Daggers to create a blizzard of both Ice and Steel] It was seemingly a set of manuals purveyed by the same woman, and considering each of their price tags I was rather hopeful about the contents within, so I added them to the list before spending a slew of points all at the same time, draining my wallet back down to 400,000 SP. I wanted to keep a cushion of around 100,000 SP at all times, where I would be able to purchase a few [Vitrea Ward Rings] safely should we find ourselves in a perilous situation; the remaining 300,000 SP was being saved because I wanted to purchase some more essories for us sometime soon, and they were all pretty expensive. As soon as I purchased that many manuals though, my thoughts were jumbled around before my mind went nk as arge amount of knowledge was loaded directly into my head, and each second stretched out to feel like hours as I studied over things that I shouldn''t be able to know just yet. Spells I hadn''te up with or managed to get into a workable state were suddenly known to me, the footwork I required to fight more effectively was taught to me instantly, the vast array of various ways to go about casting or enchanting spells was now stuffed inside my head... All of it happened at the same time, and while there was a moment where I felt my brain throbbing hard as all that knowledge required arge amount of energy to imprint, it was a surprisingly painless process that only left me feeling a bit drained mentally; not tired but certainly not ready to do anything that required an immense amount of thought. Each manual I had purchased was now securely lodged within my brain, and they only improved my abilities as they settled onto the shelves of my mental library nearby all of the other things I had learned over the years, finding their spot and getting cozy with everything else. It felt like I had known these things forever, and that was a fascinatingly scary thing to realize as Ibed over these memories, wondering if there was a possibility of one of these books having a ''virus'' or something simr written into its pages.N?v(el)B\\jnn [As happy as I am that you are finally realizing that kind of ''security risk'' to yourself, please rest assured that there is nothing in here that would alter your mentality or personality in drastic ways. I cannot promise that you won''t feel different afterwards since some of these books hold potent knowledge, but I can guarantee there isn''t sometent soul lingering within the pages waiting for your guard to drop.] ''Because that''s reassuringing from the librarian..?'' We shared a chuckle at that, though again I took the System at its word since so far there had been no reason for it to attempt something like that, and with the confirmation that there were Gods and Goddesses that existed in this world - or this reality - I wasn''t really going to demand answers from someone who had gifted me this second lease on life. [The idea of a ''corrupt'' System is rather cliche, no? You were already betrayed in your first life, so the idea is already soured; besides, what''s the fun in that, right? Who wants to read a story where the main character is betrayed by the very thing that made them the main character? It''s shocking, yes, but almost never done in a satisfying way... at least not in a way that isn''tparable in terms of satisfaction whenpared to a ''normal'' story...] Chapter 1157: Chapter 1156: Giving It A Little Juice Chapter 1157: Chapter 1156: Giving It A Little ''Juice'' ? N?v(el)B\\jnn For a few minutes after that I just sat there and mulled over all of the new information I had, putting together new ideas as I sorted through it to figure out another way to get stronger. Friede''s Manuals were by far the most important amongst the ones I had purchased, and the vast amount of knowledge within them was definitely worth the price tag; the story that was told with each section of the manual was a fascinating one, and I was hopeful that I could piece together more of her story over time. A woman born amongst themoners with a Core that just so happened to be attuned to Ice Magic was a parallel that we somewhat shared, though that was all that really seemed simr between us since Friede turned to the church to find her purpose, and I was more... self driven. I worked for me and to get my purpose out of someone I was legitimately tied to whether I liked it or not, while she sought out that purpose on her own and gave it her everything; devoting her life to her Gods and living ording to their tenants, she worked to better hermunity and maintain the peace, but unlike the religious fanatics I was ustomed to from my own world, she was a bit more... direct with her approach. Her manual on fighting was filled with notes and addendums about the things she had done or what she had observed, and each of them showed that she learned a lot from each encounter with rogues and enemy fanatics hoping to take her church over. It was beyond interesting, and now I had that story lodged inside of my brain thanks to the work of my System, something that I still had no real idea on what I should feel considering all of my prior worries, but what''s done is done. Instead I moved onto the next item on my agenda, one that I definitely found just as interesting, even more so now that I had some extra tips and tricks ready to be put to use; I was going to buy myself a nice little gemstone that was chock full of Water Mana before making use of one of the things I always had on me. Something that was also somewhat neglected after all this time, and one that I cherished even if I didn''t really think about it all that often; the cor around my neck that had two separate medallions hanging off of it. The first was the more recent one; that Storybook Phoenix charm that Reincantra had gifted me, the simple yet powerful charm dangling there and exuding a very distinct yet hard to notice aura that I had grown ustomed to. The other was less powerful but just as important, and that was the golden charm that was shaped like the symbol the March Asmodia utilized; the horned circle resting atop a downwards pointing triangle, something that had alchemical significance as well as an alteration that very much looked like the Demoness who ruled thatnd. There was no power in it at all, but that was something I wanted to change soon, and the best thing I could do was ce a gemstone inside of that empty space and enchant this pendant with something nice to get another boost for myself, one that I think I now had the knowhow toplete. Using some golden wire that I purchased for a few Shop Points, I painstakingly worked to attach and secure a beautiful sapphire into the golden charm, ensuring that it wouldn''t ever be dislodged or broken as I used raw mana to press the wire into the gold itself, fusing the two together. As soon as that waspleted, I fished out my Magic Pen and got to engraving the runes into the thin bends of the gold, guiding my Water Mana into the material and not bothering to fight off the smirk that tugged at my lips as I felt the raw power emanating from the gemstone. It was a beautiful sapphire that wasn''t cut just yet, its rough and natural shape made all the more enticing after it had been cleaned up and polished to a brilliant glow, allowing the mana within to shine through andpliment the gold it was set against. The warmth of the metal and the cool glimmer of the sapphire was elegantly tied together, even more so when I set the runes in for a spell that would act as a mixture between a self defense spell and a empowerment spell; it would amplify my healing factor, deflect attacks of a certain strength, and imbue my body with another supply of mana constantly, which was created by adding a new loop to my body. The mana inside of the gemstone would be flowing out of it constantly before looping back to itself, sustained by the mana in the air and the mana within me to ensure that it never ran out, meaning that I had a passive mana drain to worry about now, but one that wouldn''t be strong enough to actually do anything whenever I was just sitting around in ''neutral''. It was a nifty little thing to have on me, and the flow from one spell to another was seamless as I slowly began to engrave it into the metal, adding another tool to my arsenal that would make theing battles all the easier, especially if I was going to have a new set of armor made from a material that was many times stronger than what I was currently using. When we got back to the Empire I was definitely going to source a few more gemstones both from my System and from the real world to use for our armor, since they were quite the pretty copper inside of the System Shop; my sapphire cost me 75,000 SP, and if I had gotten the cut one that had a little more purified mana within it, that price leapt up to a nice 100,000 SP. In the real world this would easily cost us a few dozen gold to get thanks to its size and quantity of mana, so that was why I was rather happy we were getting paid handsomely for all of this; the box of gemstones and gold we had already rued was already enough to retire a normal family on, honestly... and we were getting paid even more after this too! All we needed now was time, but that wasn''t able to be bought no matter how many tinums we tried to throw at the World... sadly enough that wasn''t how the World worked... Chapter 1158: Chapter 1157: Redeployed Chapter 1158: Chapter 1157: Redeployed ? "Now you got me thinking I''m crazy... Kat, how the hell did you manage to get something like this without telling anyone?!" Jahi loomed over me and tugged on my cor, the Demoness rubbing her thumb overtop the new gemstone that I had embedded in the empty space as she gave me a look that demanded an answer of some kind, and specifically an answer that would satisfy her. Pursing my lips, I stared into those amethyst eyes that I had grown to cherish as one of the most beautiful things in the entire world, drowning myself in their seriousness and losing myself to their brilliant gleam as I eventually managed to mutter "I... acquired it on my own..." "Uh huh... and how might you have acquired a gemstone as incredible as this one, Kat? This doesn''t exactly just grown on trees, and you know that." She was scolding me like a parent would do to their naughty child, and the intensity in her gaze was rather high, to the point of making me turn away as I muttered "I um... prayed for it... and the gemstone I had got a little bit more... juice..." The tent fell quiet for a few moments before Jahi let out a sigh, and that was only followed by the sound of me hitting the bedrolls as she pushed me down and began to strip, the purpose of hering into the tent returning to being front and center in terms of priority as she settled down with me for the night. Like we had suspected, the Jackalkin only finished up a mere hour before we set off to return to the Sultana, with Leoneing back rather spent but still eager for more sometime in the middle of the night, after having apparently helped Anput finish some other things for thest few hours. When the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon and illuminate the desert once more, we began to break camp and stow everything away on the Jackals, preparing to set out after a nice and hearty breakfast. During that time we also were given our new armor, with Leone and I being able to fully switch over while Jahi was given a pauldron and single bracer; now she had her giant tower shield on her left arm and a bulky piece of armor on her right, ensuring she could withstand some attacks on either side. The leather cuirass Anput gifted me had a scaled metal coating overtop of it that was fascinatingly light and seemed rather strong, and the red hue to it all was much to my liking as I swapped it out for my older, more in scale mail armor. Even if her methods had been a bit more unconventional and selfish Anput made amazing armor that fit me perfectly, and while I was certain she was regretting her choice to emphasize my bust a little more than was needed right now, I didn''t mind it at all, even more so since the scale didn''t catch my cloak as I threw it on above the armor. Just like she had wanted though, the Jackalkin was secured atop my mount and facing backwards as she buried her face into my bosom, sleeping soundly as we made our way over to the location that the Sultana had wanted us to head to when we were done. Jahi continued the questioning from the previous night on the way towards our new location, trying to understand how I had acquired my sapphire before finally relenting when she somewhat got the answer she wanted and understood that I was even more reluctant to say when there were others around. That was what she needed to know about it, understanding that this was another ''unexinable'' appearance that she just needed to ept before it became something that neither of us would know how to handle in a topic of discussion going forwards. Not because it would lead to an argument, but because it would lead to a whole can of worms that I was still both reluctant to open and one I just didn''t want to touch anyways since it just felt unnecessary for all parties involved. Perhaps one day we would discuss it, but that day wasn''t today, and it most certainly wasn''t anytime soon either. Upon arrival at the final staging grounds for this war against the Fingers, we were greeted with quite the sight from both sides of said war; arge city pressed against the northernmost border of the Sultana was currently upied and overrun by thousands of cultists, mercenaries, and monsters alike, while the desert around it was home to dozens of encampments all bearing the Sultanate''s colors.N?v(el)B\\jnn "This was not what I was expecting..." I couldn''t help it as I muttered that out loud, causing Anput to stir as she blearily looked up at me before turning around to see what had caused me to awaken her, the sight sending a jolt through her that got her fully awake as she spun around and leaned forwards to get a better look at everything. "Holy hells... how did they get that many..?" My mate''s murmur was exactly what I was wanting to say, but our attention was pulled from the enemies fortifications and instead redirected to the plethora of soldiers marching around in preparation for the battle toe, with many stopping to salute us and point us towards the Suna. As if she wasn''t easily seen what with her being taller than Jahi by a hair alongside easily being above the rest of her troops, but I was still grateful for the directions as we approached the lithe Jackalkin, who was standing atop a wooden tformden with maps sitting on tables or pinned to boards. "Wee. This is it, thest hurrah of Fingers. To what end they decided to group up here is still unknown, but what is known is how they shall no longer exist in a day or two. I do hope you aren''t still tired, because we have work to do... and a lot of it." Chapter 1159: Chapter 1158: Wartime Decisions Chapter 1159: Chapter 1158: Wartime Decisions ? "The estimation from what we can see is approximately one and a half thousand normal soldiers with an equal amount of monsters being corralled outside of the walls. There are most definitely numerous Fiends within the city, both because of the obvious controlling of the monsters as well as the power emanating from the city itself." Anput was nowpletely awake as she swung herself off of the Jackal and leapt onto the wooden tform with her Mom, joining her in the perch overlooking the city, and more specifically the legion of cultists and monsters that were garrisoning the city. "That''s a hell of a lot of bodies to deal with... is there a n currently or were you still mulling over it while we were riding over here?" The towering Sultana turned her head slightly to stare at her daughter, fixing her with a heavy stare from beneath her veil as she expressed her minor irritation at that slight jab before replying "There was little need for aplicated siege n..." I listened from below the tform as I got the Jackals tended to, taking this moment to appreciate the wonderful animals and care for them while everyone else switched focus right away, and having all of these giant fluff balls surrounding me was more than pleasant as I listened to their discussion. "So are we just going to go head on? There''s no way we can sneak into that city with that many monsters present, and with an unknown number of Fiends I don''t really want to risk that either..." The Sultana grunted at Jahi''s words, nodding her head slowly and pointing towards one of the maps as she answered her in that same raspy voice as always, saying "That was precisely my thoughts, and besides... until I was certain that there were no possible hiding ces or escape routes for them, I wasn''t going to make a move just yet. Arge amount of the military is present here, and we have them cordoned offpletely here. Just in case they have some splinter cells hiding elsewhere I kept the reserves at each city and ordered them to hunker down until further notice. Any and all able bodied citizens were called to arms to defend their homes, so if the Fingers n on doing something somewhere else in the country, they''ll need to have a certain amount of power to do so." "That''s all well and good, but the question remains on how you wanted to approach this. Head on is a vague order, Sultana. Are we simply marching on their gates and relying on our shields and magic to keep us safe until we break the walls, or are we going to level the city before walking over the rubble?" The soldiers around us that were able to hear all stopped to turn towards their leader, awaiting her decision and holding their breaths as they likely prayed that she wasn''t considering the sort of pyrrhic victory that Jahi was suggesting, and a few were even gritting their teeth and ring at her like they were waiting to get the order to beat the Demoness down for her audacity. "Preferably not, however I will admit the thought cross my mind more than once at this point. No, the idea I had was a mixture of the two; the gate and entrance of this city is rather uninhabited and free of any buildings, though I have little faith that the people inside are still alive... What I wanted to do was bombard that gate and pepper the rest of the walls with spells to force them to duck for cover so that we could march into the city uninterrupted. The likelihood of that happening is minuscule at best however, so I''m postponing the siege by a day or two to get the preparations done." Sensing the question that was about toe from all of us, the Sultana stepped back and pointed towards something behind her, directing our attention to a stack of shields as she said "The preparations are those; mass produced shields made from a rtivelymon yet strong metal found a few miles south from here, which also happens to have a highpatibility with mana.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Enchanted with a few different things, I want to have a walking wall of mana repent and rtively impervious shields to push the city with, and the other preparations was just churning out thousands of arrows enchanted withpact explosion spells to deal a lot of damage to people, but not a lot to the city itself." Before the next barrage of questions coulde out, she added "And we have more than enough smiths and enchanters working around the clock to get those things done, so there is no need to stress yourselves. However, help would be appreciated, and the primary thing that I will admit we have ack of is alchemists." She stared pointedly at Leone before turning towards me with a quizzical tilt of her head, clearly asking if we would help brew up some potions en masse for the battle toe, and although I knew little of it myself I nodded alongside Leone, knowing that there was little else I could do right this moment to help. "Well... damn, if I had known we had more time I wouldn''t have pushed myself all ofst night! Argh... whatever; I''m gonna set up shop again and churn out the rest of our armor. If you need me I''ll be right here." Anput hopped off of the tform and ignored the soldiers around her as she scooped up the bags with the Fiend parts and erected her forge once more, the simple earthen walls rising from the sand as the Jackalkin got to work immediately. "So swift to act on her own..." Clicking her tongue and shaking her head, the Sultana turned back to her maps and resumed her deliberations, asionally looking up to study the city in the distance while everyone else prepared for the battle toe, psyching themselves up for what could be theirst day alive... though admittedly few of the soldiers seemed to hold fear in their heart as they moved around with a purpose and with confidence. Chapter 1160: Chapter 1159: First For Everything (1) Chapter 1160: Chapter 1159: First For Everything (1) ? "-s how you would go about improving the quality of the potions you brew. Really, it''s far simpler than you were trying to make it out to be, and that isn''t a jab at you. Just... sometimes the basics really are that basic, and they usually can improve the results by manyfold if done correctly." The three other Caninekin all nodded at Leone''s words, with two of the three looking relieved while thest one looked very frustrated, though that seemed to be directed inwards instead of towards us. "Go and give it a try again, and this time go over the steps one at a time and make sure you do everything as I said you should. The batch of potions you brew should be twice, if not thrice as strong as the previous one." They split off from us right after that, going to put her advice to the test and making the most of the time we had as they prepared more potions for tomorrow, hoping to save one more life with each potion they brewed. With them heading off towards their own cauldrons and workstations to resume brewing, Leone guided me towards the extra avable alchemical set and sat me down beside it, the Vampire looking over the herbs we had on hand and consulting the book beside it to better formte an ideal recipe. "Wouldn''t my time be best spent with the other enchanters getting the shields ready? I''m not saying I don''t want to spend time with you, but..." "This isn''t ying to your strengths and seems rather out of ce considering tomorrow is potentially the beginning of a multi day long war against an unknown number of Fiends as well as their contracted partners?" Leone briefly looked up from the book in her hands to sh me a smile before returning to her skimming, finding the entries she needed and beginning to sort through the herbs as she created a form for the potions we were about to brew. "Yes, that''s pretty much what I was thinking. I mean, seriously, I don''t doubt that I could concoct a vat of potions before the day is out, and I might even be able to get some pretty decent ones out of it, butparatively... this just feels out of ce..." "Well, just know that it''s not that out of ce at all. Firstly, I need someone to keep supplying me with a good amount of high quality Mana Water to ensure I can even make potions. Secondly, this is a skill I would appreciate sharing with you, Kat, since healing spells can only take us so far. When they areplimented by a potion, they tend to work even better, and in the amount of recurring events where we don''t have the mana to spare for healing spells, they are exactly what we need. If you can brew a decent potion without needing too much input on my end, that would be great for all of us." The Vampire''s reasoning was - as usual - filled with logic that was rather irrefutable, so I just smiled wryly at her before getting up to fill the cauldron with water, getting the first step of manypleted now so that I could observe the rest of them freely. "Besides, there were a few things that I needed you to be here for. The first was a bit more... selfish, I''ll admit. Would you mind filling a ss for me, Kat? It''s been awhile now, and I''m feeling a tad parched..." If anyone else had asked I would have just waved a hand and provided them a ss of cool water to quench their thirst, but obviously Leone was looking for something else, so instead I conjured up a ss of ice before unsheathing my knife, listening to her even as I slid the de across my wrist. The sharp kiss was followed by a blossoming of heat as my blood dripped down into the ss, each droplet staining the crystalline structure of the cup with a faint whisper brushing against my ears, though they were drowned out by Leone''s voice as she continued speaking. "The second was simply thepany provided; why work alone and be bored with the repetitive tasks when I can have someone I love with me? Thirdly, I''ve been thinkingtely about some new ideas for magic, and having someone to discuss them with was one of the main reasons." "Oh? And what new ideas have youe up with, Leone?" Taking the ss from me, the Vampire shed me a smile that showed off her elongated fangs before taking her first sip, the crimson liquid almost seeming dullpared to her ruby eyes as she narrowed them in glee. Her relieved and enthusiastic sigh after enjoying that sip conveyed her emotions perfectly, followed immediately by the smacking of her lips as she nodded, acting like she had just tasted a fine wine and not my blood. "Unsurprisingly, at least to me and funnily enough, to Anput too, I''ve been thinking about my other magics. Blood Magic in particr, and the application I could put it too, at least in theory. It''s been awhile now since I was told I had it, and yet I''ve done little with it... Anyways, in thesest few days I''ve been reading through my books and I stumbled across a peculiar herb called ''Maiden''s Blood Lily''. Fascinating herb with particrly intriguing properties, but the name was what got me thinking. What if I began to use my Blood Magic in my alchemy?N?v(el)B\\jnn Because my Fire Magic is used to an immeasurable degree throughout all steps of making a potion, but it''s purely ''external'' in use. There are cases where I can use the mana itself to influence a potion, like with fire resistance or amplification potions, but they are few and far between. So what if I started using my Blood Magic to imbue potions with a little more... kick?" She had put the book down and was instead staring at me with that all too familiar, almost childish enthusiasm as she prepared to go deep into a discussion about how she would use blood to make potions stronger. Chapter 1161: Chapter 1160: First For Everything (2) Chapter 1161: Chapter 1160: First For Everything (2) ? "And how do you want to go about utilizing this seldom used magic to improve your alchemy, Leone? You can''t just be adding blood to potions as a test, at least not right now, so... what''s the idea? What spells do you have that could make arge enough impact for you to be so excited about this?" Leone began to hum with a smile as she portioned off the herbs on the table, grouping them up and creating smaller sub groups as she altered her own form a little to determine which one would make the best potions going forwards. "A few, but I also need a source of power to draw from in order to put these ideas to the test. You, Kat, are my ''source of power'', at least as long as you don''t mind supplying your blood for the next few hours..." I raised a brow at that before pointedly staring at my wrist, which was already healing rather well; to that, Leone''s smile widened as she said "I would rather ask and get a definite answer rather than assume and have you say no. Anyways, if you are willing to aid me for the day, the thing I wanted to try out was a few different variations of a rather simple spell that''s rather universal. A simple empowerment spell that would just boost everything, but the difference is Blood Magic takes that a step further and can linger for a long period of time. My theory is I can lengthen that effect by arge amount by using my own blood as an ingredient, since I have a much higher... resonance, I suppose, with my own blood. If I''m right, then we could be seeing an increase of approximately 50% or so in terms of strength, which I shouldn''t need to tell you is an incredibly high increase." Sliding over arge pile of vibrant orange leaves, she made a chopping motion before she started stripping the bark off of the roots sitting in front of her, the Vampire continuing to go over the theory with me. "So Blood Magic is rather potent but incredibly hard to control, right? I found the reason for it being soplicated was actually sort of self inflicted; it sounds stupid when I say it, but it''s easier to control my own blood instead of someone else''s. I can still influence and utilize ''foreign'' blood, but the difference is... it''s like trying to puppeteer your fingers using strings instead of just moving them yourself. That''s a simple revtion, but I also think I figured out how to control it even better. See, the invocation thing you taught me, I think it corrtes with this too, and considering some of the books I''ve read say that elemental magic is only so popr for the obvious reason of it being innate to everyone''s Cores, my guess is Blood Magic works the same way." Using my cleaned knife to slowly chop the leaves to allow the juices inside to flow freely when added to the cauldron, I settled into the familiar groove as I treated these leaves like cooking herbs, which... they technically were if I was determined enough to use them. "You mean by requiring a more in tuned use of manapared to the runic magic we use now? Actually needing to envision the spell, shape it mentally, and give it shape physicallypared to just using the ''shortcuts'' of runes?" "Correct. I think Blood Magic is a branch of that tree, and if I''m right then using it going forwards is even easier than I thought; I mean, the vision needed to make a spell work with invocations isn''t actually that hard, and the only reason I haven''t tried yourbined spell ideas is just because I haven''t had the time to get them tuned up together. Otherwise it''s pretty easy to cast spells vocally." "It just isn''t as efficient nor as powerful considering the extra effort needed, right?" With the herbs all cut up, I brushed them all into their own bowl and epted the pestle that Leone handed me as I began to grind them up, turning them from a garnish into a paste that didn''t seem that useful for a liquid potion... "Correct again. The idea, then, is a simple one; I know what I want to do, the theory seems sound - the spell itself is just an empowerment one that boosts the mana purity around it - and I have a decent enough grasp on Blood Magic anyways, so... again, in theory this is rather sound. I just... think it''ll take a lot from me, and I wanted to make sure I wasn''t missing anything." She took the bowl from me and set it aside, cing a new bundle of stalks in front of me and once more having me chop them up, making use of my cooking skills as I got to work again, all while I thought about her question. "I... can''t think of anything at all that would be an issue, and I understand why you want a ''power source'' nearby to try this. Last time you used it, it took a lot out of you didn''t it? Though I have a suspicion that this is also an Anput-esque excuse..."N?v(el)B\\jnn The Vampire didn''t reply to that, but I noticed her ears were slightly red as she focused on the final bundle of herbs, plucking the petals off of the flowers and dropping them into the water, so I cut her some ck as I just appreciated how embarrassed she still got at being caught red handed like this. "It''s worth the try though, and it seems pretty easy to do; though just in case, let''s start small and take a few vials of this to test that on, alright? We still need to bottle these for wide spread use..." "I know. And I still need to show you how to brew a potion, so...e here! We''re ready to start~!" Chapter 1162: Chapter 1161: Casual Blood Magic Chapter 1162: Chapter 1161: Casual Blood Magic ? "It''s just that easy..?" "It''s just that easy. The way my Mother and Aunt Igna described it made it seem a lot moreplicated and difficult than it really is, but in reality it''s just like cooking. You''re making some kind of... soup? Broth? Some kind of liquid based meal with a myriad of ingredients. Put ''em all in the water, heat it up, send your mana into it and then vo! You made a potion!" I stared at the orange liquid for a few moments before sloshing it around, it''s consistency somehow remaining just as free flowing as water despite having pastes, herbs and sap swirling around inside of it to create something new. It was like an energy drink but better since it was all natural and healthy, and one that healed you alongside the boost in energy; the taste though wasn''t anything better, instead being rather bitter and pungent, but when you''re in desperate need of healing... that doesn''t really matter, now does it? "That is rather simple... and it took no time at all. I suppose it is like cooking, though that only makes me wonder..." Staring at Leone, I raised a brow as I left that question unspoken, the Vampire blushing again before coughing as she continued to siphon out more of the potion from the vat and ce them into the many vials we needed to distribute amongst the soldiers. "Ahem! This is why I was confident you wouldn''t need long at all to get ustomed to alchemy; it''s just a recipe that someone follows before ''cooking'' it with their mana as well as heat. The harder part is knowing what an ingredient does and how it reacts to other ingredients, which is what you need to study up on if you want to be pretty good at alchemy." "Well... If you could give me a general guide on how to discover what does what I might memorize that, but otherwise I won''t be doing much studying on this; I have my own things to be brushing up on, like enchanting, invocations, swordy..." She nodded at that and scooped out the rest of the potion before asking for me to refill the vat, and this time as we added the ingredients back in she went ahead and did another step, one that was... a tad disgusting even for me, and that was when Leone took my knife from me and cut open her palm, letting her blood drip down into the water. Not a lot of it though, but enough to tinge the water red as it mixed with the other ingredients to create a darker potion, one that was going to be the basis of Leone''s experiment; I wanted to ask if she had heard me earlier when I said to not experiment with so much liquid, but it was already done by this point, so I could only hope she got it right this first time. Like before, she ced her hands on either side of the cauldron and closed her eyes, focusing her mind before taking a deep breath as she tapped into her other innate magic that lingered within her, one that was far more sinister.N?v(el)B\\jnn Perhaps it was just my imagination, but the moment there was a single strand of that deep scarlet swirling around the fingers of my Vampiric lover I felt a shiver travel down my spine as she began to cast her magic, connecting her mana to the blood that was still dripping from her palm and then sending it inside of the cauldron, connecting it all together. Opening her eyes, Leone stared intensely at the potion and controlled her magic as best she could, before she smiled as the blood inside of the potion began to glimmer, giving the dark orange liquid a shine as it was gradually empowered. It only took her a few seconds before she pulled her hands back and nodded, her eyes reflecting her creation as she filled a vial and showed it to me, saying "That''s easier than I thought it''d be... but the question is whether or not this is capable of being taken another step forwards..." "Most likely it could, but whether or not you can make it better without turning it into blood with a side of potion is the better question. However, I think it can be achieved with a reasonable bnce." cing the vial on the table, Leone nodded and allowed a few more drops of her blood to ssh into the potion before she resumed her spell, the more anticipated way of casting spells when I hade into this world being disyed by my lover as she continued to strengthen the potion. Presumably, anyways, since we weren''t certain of the effects just yet, but the likelihood of it working were rather high all things considered, especially since I could feel the difference in mana strength between the untouched vials and this one. When it came to a close a few secondster, Leone nced at me and asked "Do you think it''s been worth it..? Because surprisingly, this spell is quite draining when done on these ingredients. The pushback from being empowered is more than I thought it''d be...", to which I just raised a brow and offered her my arm, not saying anything as I let her get back to it with full power. There was no way to know for sure just yet, but the easiest way to test it was to give us something to heal, and that was to deplete my blood and then go ahead and give myself a few cuts for the other potion to heal first before testing it again with the newer potions. It was a bit of an unorthodox way to do so, but it worked rather well for what we needed right now, and although Leone red at me, she epted this as we spent the next few hours putting these potions to the test and brewing even more. Chapter 1163: Chapter 1162: Preparing For Action Chapter 1163: Chapter 1162: Preparing For Action ? Jahi Pov I watched as Anput skipped away happily to go create her forge once more and churn out the rest of our incredible gear before watching as Leone grabbed Kat''s hand and led her away, over towards the tents that housed the few alchemists that the Sultana had on her payroll. Suddenly I was left all alone, surrounded by people I not only didn''t care about, but people that I didn''t know anything about, and while it would have been easy to go and just turn in for the time being and take this opportunity to rest up, that wasn''t something that I wanted to do. There were better ways to spend my time, and they were things that I needed to do eventually, if only to further stack assurances in my favor for any battle going forwards and not just this one; assurances against stronger mortal opponents, and also against Fiendish ones too, though the effectiveness against them would need to be thoroughly tested in the uing days. My mind wasn''t exactly geared up for this purpose though, so I definitely needed every single minute that I could squeeze out before this battle began, and to that point I needed to go and find myself a ce to sit that was peaceful and quiet, which was a slightlyrge ask in a giant encampment like this. Still, I made do as I found an open space to set up our tent, and during the minutes it took to assemble the ''mobile home'' that Kat jokingly called it I began to go over some of the things I felt needed some desperate work inside of my mind. My confidence bordered on arrogance far too often, my skillset wasn''t as diverse as I wanted it to be, and my reliance on my gear dulled my overall strength; some of those were easier to change than others, namely the diversifying of my arsenal. Relying on my gear was a hard crutch to discard since not using my gear was suicidal and idiotic, but not acknowledging it was just as stupid, while my confidence needed a deep retreat into my own mind to figure out... And it wasn''t looking too good for me to ovee that hurdle of thinking of myself as better than most since... well, the cards were just stacked too heavily in my favor, weren''t they? Acknowledging that isn''t exactly being cocky, right?N?v(el)B\\jnn That was something I needed to ask the others about, so instead I focused on the easiest way to improve; new ideas on how to fight, especially against the Fiends that we were about to be facing soon. Light Magic was by far the greatest weapon in my arsenal, and the most I was doing with it currently was coating my de in it and asionally summoning a discus to throw at someone''s face; not exactly the best use of such a potent and incredible tool, and that was something I wanted to change. The question was obviously how I could do that, and the answer was one that I hade to quite a bit ago, but one I hadn''t given much thought or importance since I could just brute force my way through everything with my talent, gear, andrades. That was definitely no longer the case, so the first thing I needed to do was upgrade my suite of spells to reflect it''s importance even more, and to do so I had quite the idea, one that I was rather proud of overall. Magic in general was rather... uninteresting to me, something I didn''t really want to rely on in a sh of physical prowess, which had got me thinking; what if I used magic that relied on my physical prowess after being cast? That idea spiraled rapidly into different ones, with the main one being the idea of using my Light Mana to create a construct of mana to act as a new body part, be it an arm, tail, or even a pair of wings; that was the first idea I had, and it was a rather strong one. The problem was trying to control that kind of spell in the midst of battle, but the idea seemed sound to me since I thought I was going to be rather quick at picking up that sort of control, and it only needed a little bit to get to a lethal state. No one would expect an arm to appear out of nowhere - made entirely from Light Mana - and punch them in the face, and they definitely wouldn''t anticipate a spiky tail swinging at their torso going extremely fast. With that in mind to drive me on, I finished assembling our tent and tossed down the nkets and bedrolls before grabbing one of Kat''s extra notebooks, beginning to fill the pages with runes as I drafted up rows of runic sequences beforebining them into Ritual Circles. It only took a handful of them to make my brain ache slightly, bringing a wry smile to my lips as I found myself wondering how both Leone and Kat spent so long staring at a pageing up with these fascinating ideas seemingly one after another before merging them all into a handful of spells that would change everything about their arsenal. I was already itching to head back outside, but I forced myself to remain seated as I kept inking those pages up as much as I could,ing up with a few new spells of my own that I desperately prayed worked as well as I thought they would, but just in case I came up with variations that might work too. By the end of it I was drained and in need of a fresh influx of energy from someone, and yet no one had returned just yet, leaving me on my own to reluctantly resume my work after getting myself a drink. Funnily enough the ideas flowed better when the stinging taste of alcohol assaulted my tastebuds... Chapter 1164: Chapter 1163: Testing, Testing Chapter 1164: Chapter 1163: Testing, Testing ? n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om A yawn tore past my lips as I stared down at the page, blinking away the mental exhaustion as I finally set down my pen and allowed myself to stand up from the bedrolls and nkets for the first time in... quite a long time, if the way the shadows were being cast were anything to go by. The bliss that came with standing up and stretching was borderline orgasmic, my bones popping as I cracked the joints while the muscles were basking in the rush of blood as I moved once more, the tissues reaching for their full length as I just wiggled around in the center of our tent. Each movement was apanied by a crack as my joints thanked me, creating a chorus of rather weing pops as I made sure each part of my body was loosened and ready for the next part of the day; training. Since we weren''t doing anything today as the Sultana continued preparations even further for the uing siege I decided that I would go ahead and give these various scribbles I hade up with a fair shake outside. Nothing too crazy and definitely not to the full effect just in case the enemy was watching our encampments closely from a myriad of angles, but still enough to get an understanding of what I was doing and figure out if I could control these spells. To start though I needed to get hydrated again with something that wasn''t liquor, though the empty bottle beside me wasn''t going to be magically filled now that I was in need of something for my parched tongue. Once that was done I found myself somewhere open and unupied so that I could begin, and the process of beginning to trace out the runes for the Ritual Circle was a rtively long one; not because I wasn''t able toplete the spells, but instead because I just... was trying to cast a spell that simply didn''t work. One time a beam of light shot out of the Ritual Circle, wiggled around in the air before mming into the sand and sending up a cloud of it before burrowing down below and exploding; another time a glob of golden mana simply appeared in front of me before dropping to the ground and sitting there, doing nothing at all even as I tried to control it. Running down the list different variations of the same spell I had made, I eventually found the rightbination of runes that would create the thing that I wanted; a Ritual Circle that I could control which summoned a ''limb'' of Light Mana. I could even go ahead and give the Ritual Circle a static location to remain in while controlling it, though I couldn''t be far away from it nor could I be in an area where the mana between me and it was going to be disrupted or outright cked. Not that I wanted to throw the Ritual Circle somewhere else; I just wanted to have it attached to either my shoulder or my back so that I could have an additional arm to y around with, and specifically it would help me if I had an extra weapon to utilize alongside my great sword and the new tower shield. Being able to hit someone with both at the same time while blocking with that giant shield would be quite something, especially once I get them enchanted with some premium spells hand tailored for dealing an incredible amount of damage. Until I could get to the point of controlling the limb though, I wasn''t going to be dealing any damage at all... Anput Pov "Gods be damned..." I dropped the hammer onto the anvil and dragged in a deep breath of hot, stuffy air as I finally finished shaping this piece of armor, that action not doing much at all to help me as the sweat continued to pour off of my skin and soak my clothing. The forge needed to be indoors for the best possible temperatures and to give me the focus I needed for everything, but damn did it keep all the heat inside of its walls while only getting hotter thanks to the sun beating down on us from above. It was absolutely abhorrent and I knew for a fact that Kat would be melting inside of here, though I guess she would''ve increased the airflow, created giant blocks of ice to cool everything down, and otherwise made this a bearable situation, but she wasn''t here... sadly. I wanted to get another measurement of her... Well, until then I had a more pressing thing than what I wanted to do to my mate in this room, and that was to go ahead and finish up this piece of armor already, which was by using some of the leather and weaker - yet still strong - metals to further strengthen this giant, glorified bowl I had made. It was Jahi''s pauldron, which I thought I could get away with making first before going into the rest of the pieces of armor I needed to make, so I began to open up the forge to give myself some airflow and enjoy living while I worked. The idea was to make it an optional piece of armor that she could use if she so pleased, but I also wanted it to be almost like another shield for her to rely on should she need it, which meant I needed to test a few things right now. Primarily I wanted the inside to be cushioned - that was already the n anyways - but I also wanted a way to use the strap that would connect it to her cuirass as a strap to wrap around her arm, and doing that was a bit moreplicated than it sounded, especially since the pauldron was pretty gigantic... to me, anyways. The size difference between the Demoness and I was never more apparent then when I was making her armor, and I could practically use this as a helmet if I wanted without needing to worry about much, so... There were a few things I needed to do, but a new challenge being ced in front of me while I waited for the next sheet of metal to heat up was definitely something I needed right now, especially before a big battle. What better ce to test anything than in a hard fought battle against some worthy opponents? I needed the data to make better armor, and I also needed the experience in fighting to make better armor too since I was slowly bing ustomed to what was a more lethal approach to fightingpared to normal. Chapter 1165: Chapter 1164: How Else To Spend The Time?* Chapter 1165: Chapter 1164: How Else To Spend The Time?* ? Jahi PoV A yawn escaped me again as I finally allowed my tired body and exhausted mind to take over, my will fading for the time being as I stopped my training here and began to shuffle my way back over to our tent. Dinner wasn''t that far away - presumably, anyways - so I was only heading back to clean myself off and sneak in a quick power nap perhaps, and that n was calling my name enchantingly as I maneuvered around the other tents of the encampment, finding my way to our temporary abode. When I entered it though, a new ''voice'' was calling my name as I pushed past the ps of the tent and caught sight of the one of three things in this world that could rejuvenate me from this current exhaustion I was experiencing. The smooth, wless pale skin of Kat sent lightning coursing through me as I stepped inside, allowing the p to fall back into ce as I caught her eye after she tossed her bra to the side; facing away from me, I wasn''t able to see her enormous bustpletely, but I could catch glimpses of it from the side, and that was more than enough. Tilting her head and staring at me, Kat remained motionless for a few seconds before hooking her fingers into her pants and slowly pulling them down, bending over and revealing her juicy ass to me as she enticed me even more than she already was. Before I even knew what I was doing I was looking down at her back from up close, my hands moving without any conscious thought as I tore off my own clothes so that I could smack my cock against her ass before guiding myself into her tight cunt. Instantly my mind was fresh with need as I pushed my lover to the ground and started to make love to her then and there, smacking my hips against hers and filling the tent with the pping of our thighs. I ran my hands over her body and grabbed at her boobs next, holding them for her and allowing me to envelope her body with my own as I kissed her, silencing her and ensuring there was very little sound for someone to hear if they walked close to our tent; not that I really cared, but it was another excuse to hold her close and kiss her deeply. Devouring her moans and pressing myself against her pillowy bottom, I molded myself to her curves and tasted her womb directly as we made love, only to eventually flood it with sperm as I erupted a minute or soter, my endurance not as impressive as it normally was. Still, even after I creampied her earlier than I would have liked, Kat still smiled at me and happily epted what I gave her before raising a brow as I pulled out; watching as my cock bounced free from her pussy, I couldn''t help it as I stroked myself to shoot another few ropes onto herbia, staining it with more white as Ipensated for my early orgasm. "We shouldn''t do too much here... dinner is soon, and..." I raked a hand through my hair and yawned again, though it was my turn to raise a brow as I felt her hands on my abdomen pushing me back down, where she couldnguidlyy across my legs before swallowing my cock to the root. Her amber eyes were hungry as she stared at me, and she raised her hips enticingly as she wiggled her curvy ass around, showing off her body and wagging her tail as she tried to convince me to go again; all the while, her lips were wrapped around my shaft while her hands caressed my abs as she worshipped me. "Oh fuck... you make a convincing argument here, Kat... it''s a damn shame we couldn''t have been born into a calmer time, right..? All day long I''d be balls deep inside you trying for a baby..." Iid back and rested my forearm across my eyes, imaging a world like that while I received Kat''s very eager blowjob, her soft lips stroking my entire cock while her tongue flicked across my tip, the Dogkin doing her best to service me.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om The idea of a calmer world where I could just savor and enjoy everything to my hearts content without needing to worry about a war against these super powerful beings was tugging at my heartstrings in ways I hadn''t ever had them tugged before, and it made the blowjob all the better. My other hand found her head as I encouraged her, and before I knew it I was cumming in her throat as the mind state I was in only amplified the feeling of her mouth, though what came next only made me far more excited. She shuffled around after swallowing my seed to eventually find herself sitting on my thighs, and I shifted my arm a little to see her grinding her pussy against my slimy cock before grabbing her hip and enjoying the softness of her body some more. "Me too, Jahi... Oh Goddess I would''ve loved to give you an entire brood of babies by now... but it wasn''t in the cards, was it..? Not that I''mining too much... we can always pretend I''m not on medicine, can''t we~?" Her voice was almost insidious as she suggested that, and my mind returned to the forest back over in the Kingdoms as I recalled the time she had goaded me into a fiery passion that we rarely ever achieved; that had been some of, if not the best sex we had ever had, and my yful, sneaky puppy was trying her hand at it again. Sadly I doubt we would ever reach that high again without it being the real thing, but that wasn''t something I was going to say to her, especially not as I felt her grab my balls and give them a little squeeze to ensure they were still working overtime to produce sperm. What followed was the only way I wanted to spend my time, but time wasn''t something we had in abundance anymore, so I made sure that each and every single second we spent together counted for more than I thought they were worth. My onlyint was that my body had hit a self induced wall as the boredom and repeated stress on certain parts resulted in a subpar performance on my end, but seeing Kat shivering above me while squirting onto my stomach lessened that feeling of inferiority enough for me to enjoy what we had going on. Chapter 1166: Chapter 1165: Back At Home* Chapter 1166: Chapter 1165: Back At Home* ? Chordeva Pov Peeking past the door, I caught sight of the two older Elves sleeping out in the living room and smirked as I raked my hand through the hair of their daughter, bringing her face right against my groin and ejacting straight down her throat. I remained quiet even though I wanted to grunt with each spurt of seed that erupted from my cock, but the risk of awakening them was too high if I did so, so instead I just basked in this immoral pleasure before relenting as Ria demanded some air. Thankfully her sister wife was waiting to pick up from where she had left off earlier, and I bit my cheek as I felt a new pair of lips wrap around my penis as I continued to cum, the sperm being sucked straight out of my balls as Julie showed off the skills I had known she had had from so long ago. Back then she had been a bit less skillfully but she definitely made up for it with that youthful enthusiasm that we had all shared back then, and the amount of times this Dogkin had drained my balls would make Ria angry all over again... Good thing I kept some secrets from back then, and Julie was simrly in no rush to share them either, so instead we both basked in the wonderful sex as best we could, and that was what I was nning for tonight... mainly to just rid myself of this nagging worry that had taken root awhile ago. So after closing the door and making my way back to the bed, I plopped down and weed the very different bodies of my two women as they threw themselves down beside me; Ria''s lithe and elegant form was always stoking my hunger for more, the difference in size between us making the fuck all the better as I marveled in how her petite frame could handle what I did to her. Then there was the fluffy and curvaceous body of the Dogkin beside me who constantly felt incredible to hold no matter if it was in the throes of passion or just to cuddle; those giant breasts, her fluffy tail, long hair and then her overall thickness made Julie damn near perfect no matter what. Wrapping my arms around them, I sank into the bed and their bodies as I sighed contentedly, my handsnding on one of my more physically loved features of them both as they both did the same to me; having two different hands stroking my cock and ensuring I remained ''hungry'' for more was the pinnacle of what I needed in life, especially since both of them had given me something I hadn''t realized I needed so desperately back when I was younger. Perhaps that was why they were both so damn keen, since Ria kissed my bicep while staring at me and Julie pressed herself further against me, her ears twitching when she noticed I hadn''t done anything more than squeeze her juicy ass. "What are you thinking about, dear?" Humming, I enjoyed theirbined handjob for a few moments before answering "Just thinking about the news from the Sultanate is all. Some syndicatees out of nowhere with a bunch of Fiends at their beck and call? ''Course I''m worried." Ria nodded while Julie pursed her lips, and again it was the Elf who said "Was it not you who said they would be more than alright over there, even with this news? It was ''entirely set in stone that they would be victorious'', that''s what you said." "Woman, I don''t need you to regurgitate what I said. I know what I said, and I stand by it, but that doesn''t mean I cannot worry!" My wife chuckled as she kissed me again, before she threw herself onto myp and held my cock in both of her hands, smiling happily as she took in its size once more, only to get intimate with it once more as she guided it into her pussy. Meanwhile Julie had to relinquish her grasp on my penis as she instead raised a brow and stared at Ria, who began to buck her hips and ride me as aggressively as she could manage, which made the Elf''s cock bounce around and smack against my abs. "Really Chordeva, they''ll be fine... The Sultana won''t allow anything to happen, and then there''s the strength of all four of them anyways... though I won''t say I''m any less worried than you are." The Dogkin also swung her legs over my body, sitting on my stomach and allowing Ria to experience heaven early as the Elf thrust her hips forwards and began to fuck Julie whilst fucking herself on my cock, creating a nice little loop as I wrapped my arms around the Dogkin and guided her milk filled tit to my mouth.N?v(el)B\\jnn Having them both right on top of me was weing, their heat filling me up and making my worries melt away as I was buried deep into Ria''s womb, her tight pussy clinging to my cock as she settled into a rhythm that would make her cum like crazy. Ria eventually draped herself over Julie''s back and humped her crazily, cumming inside the Dogkin before biting into her shoulder as I reached down and grabbed her ass, pounding upwards and beating her womb back into my shape. Flooding her with seed, I just kept thrusting as I decided to empty my worries into the Elf first, though the time for the thick Dogkin came by soon enough as I made Ria submit to the pleasure, allowing me to push the Elf away and instead bury my breeding bitch beneath me as I fucked her harder than ever. They gave me what I needed and I provided for them, something that I knew was identical to the rtionship Jahi had with her own little harem, though the difference was Ria and I had already been broken before, so our rtionship had it''s cracks; Jahi''s didn''t, and I was immensely grateful for that fact since I always wanted the best for my little horn head. Chapter 1167: Chapter 1166: Calm Before the Storm Chapter 1167: Chapter 1166: Calm Before the Storm ? Kat Pov The Demoness stared down at me before sighing as I grinned at her, the aftereffects of what we had just done still coursing through us both thanks to the pliancy that she had shown over thest hour, letting me do whatever I wanted to her and then some. That was the reason I was able tofortably lounge beside her and caress her body to my hearts content, my fingers running over her firm muscles and even tracing over the more soft parts of her body as I took advantage of the rare event of Jahi being all tuckered out. She raised her brow whenever my fingers got close to her chest, though she did little more than give my bottom a half hearted smack whenever she felt I did too much, so of course I made it a game to see how far I could go before she took any further action, relishing this opportunity and finding it more than amusing to simply sit here and do nothing except bask in her warmth. How long we were there wasn''t something I was certain of, but I had a feeling that dinner was getting close to being served and yet I had no desire to get up, something she clearly shared since the Demoness was pressing her face between my ears and dozing off as she gave up on pushing my hands away. So I took advantage of that and by proxy, took advantage of her as I admired the contrast between her abdomen and her chest as I poked and squeezed her breasts,paring them to my own and wondering how there was only a minute size difference between us before I took in her size everywhere else... She was definitely smaller than I was, but my Demoness lover was by no means ''t'' or suffering from the typical ''downside'' of being a muscr woman; her breasts were still there and still soft despite their being clear muscle beneath them, so I took this time to get to the bottom of it all... physically. The only reason I stopped was because someone pushed past the tent p and entered our private space, and at first I raised a hand and allowed my frosted blue mana to trickle from my fingertips as I prepared to utter a spell only to stop when the ashen hair and crimson eyes made it clear who hade inside. Instantly Leone''s cheeks were beginning to match her eyes as she looked at Jahi and I, meeting our gazes and gulping before nodding sheepishly as Jahi asked "Do you want to join us..?", her embarrassment not stopping her from shedding her clothes swiftly before she threw herself down onto Jahi''s other side. Holding us both close, the Demoness sighed and stared at the ceiling as she felt my hands go from her upper half down towards another spot, though she didn''t stop me at all, nor did she try and stop Leone as the Vampire began to plead for more affection than just a half hug. This was what I loved so much about my second lease on life, and the longer I spent having these moments, the more I realized how much harder I needed to work to get everything in my ''toolbox'' up to snuff since we had already encountered a single thing that almost tore away from this peace. That was why Leone was wearing that red ss ring once more, the Vampire protected once more from a terrible attack like the one from the Bloodletter and prepared for this battle toe, and it was why I had marked a few more items that I needed to get that were defensive in nature. I wasn''t the only one working though, and when our final lover came on in and caught us in the middle of smothering the Demoness with our bodies she had no issue at all with putting her work down and leaping onto the bedrolls to join us. Dinner was definitely passed by the time we finished up, and Jahi was staring listlessly at the top of the tent with somewhat gaunt features while the three of us were practically glowing, something that she didn''t seem to mind at all if the bond between us was anything to go by. We were right back to our usual position - Leone and I on the sides and Anput sprawled right on top of Jahi - when the Jackalkin finally remembered she had something to tell us, and by that point we were all prepared for a hearty meal, a good drink and then some sleep, though her enthusiasm rejuvenated us a bit. "Oh! I finished one of the armor pieces for you, Jahi! I just need to get the rest of it done to ensure that you can use it properly, but otherwise it''s waiting for you! A nice,rge pauldron that definitely is amongst my more impressive works since it can be used as a shield in case of an emergency!" That made the Demoness lift her head a little, and before she could ask about it Anput sprang up and waltzed over to where she had ced the piece of armor, the Jackalkin''s excitement showing in how her tail swished behind her as she walked or how her hips moved rhythmically. When she turned back around the three of us were a little bit disappointed, but the reveal of the ratherrge ''dish'' of red metal that had a beautiful gold trim was well worth the loss of that all too familiar and beloved view, especially since it came paired with Anput''s excitement. Instantly she began to go over the things she had done to make it, losing herself to the processes and telling us in great detail about how it had been one of her more impressive builds before showing off the ces she was waiting to improve on it with Jahi''s approval, which included a few ''hidden'' slots for gemstones should the Demoness want to enchant it separately.N?v(el)B\\jnn Chapter 1168: Chapter 1167: Final Preparations Chapter 1168: Chapter 1167: Final Preparations ? "Surely this is more than enough potions... I mean, look at all of those cauldrons! Each one can easily heal like a fifth of the troops with minor injuries or an eight with major ones! And we have already made nearly two dozen! Two DOZEN!" Leone just blinked a few times as she followed my finger and stared out at the filled cauldrons, each one getting slowly siphoned into vials and ss containers of all kinds as the rest of the troops stored them away for us. For a moment I thought she was going to ask me what was wrong with making so many vats of these potions but thankfully she nodded a momentter, her eyes losing that sharp focus from before as she said "I... guess so. This is more than sufficiently prepared for what is toe, at least I hope so..." "It is, because any more and we''d be just wasting the materials. So instead let''s go put our efforts into something else; the enchanting of those shields, for instance, might be a better use of our time and energy. That or we can be a bit more selfish if you want..?" The Vampire paused her jarring of the potion as she pondered that for a few seconds, and I quickly added "By going to enchant our own gear or review some of our spells. I know Jahi was working on some of her own earlier, so maybe we can give her some help? I don''t mean that kind of help either.", which made her blush as a conflicted light entered her eyes. Ignoring that, I added "I did want to get some more work done on my own gear, especially with the new armor Anput had made for me.", which earned a nod from the Vampire before she said "Then... I guess I should help Jahi with her spells? She''s many things, but an adept designer of spells is not one of them." I gave her a pointed look at that since I knew how that would likely go, and her blush returned only for it to be amplified as she said "Don''t act like you wouldn''t do the same!", which made me raise a brow as I just asked "Do what?" She remained red as she just glowered at me before turning around in a huff, leaving me to finish the bottling of the potions as she stalked over to Jahi to help the hunk of a Demoness craft up the perfect spell... to do whatever it was that the Demoness needed the spell for. When I was done, I handed off the many vials of potion to one of the soldiers and made my way towards the forge that had upied the center of the encampment, its location so different from the rest of the forges since it was right beside the Sultana''s raised tform. The towering Jackalkin was still standing there looking over the city, though when I began to approach and tried to slip into the forge where her daughter was hammering away at that next project of hers the Sultana made her way over and stopped me before I could enter. "She''s changed." Those two words were so simple yet also soplicated as the weight behind them crashed down onto my shoulders, alongside an uncertainty that wormed its way into my heart; to add to it, the older woman sped her hands behind her back and said "I knew she had a fascination with martialbat, but rarely had she shown such a deep desire to cloister herself away from a sparring ground." "It just seemed to be her calling, I suppose..." "Yes... a calling that I can appreciate, but one that I know little of. Anyways, little puppy, did you know that Fiend parts are extremely conductive, though only to certain elements?" The sudden switch to another topic was almost enough to give me whish since it had felt far too pointed at the start to be nothing, but I collected myself a secondter and replied "I knew they were conductive, yes, but I wasn''t aware of the elemental preference to them. I just assumed that they were conductive to all mana types?" "That would make things so much simpler, wouldn''t it? No, they aren''t, so just take that as a warning before you go and waste a perfectly good set of armor, hm?" It wasn''t an usation per se, but it was yet another pointed verbal jab that I didn''t know what to do with, especially since she turned back around and made her way back onto the tform, leaving me to head inside to see Anput. Was it a ''defensive'' thing to tell me not to waste her daughter''s precious works, or had she just needed an outlet to let out some of her stress after this campaign that we were being made to go through? Either way, I joined the Jackalkin and found her forging yet another de, though this one was quite simplepared to her other works; it was a shorter, t, dual edged de that had little uniqueness to itpared to the other things she had made, and as soon as she sensed me she said "This is a spare for all of us. I needed a warmup and happened to have a small chunk of metal to y with." "I wasn''t questioning you, Anput..." "No, you weren''t, but I want to talk anyways; you went and left me with my own thoughts for too long! Hammering away over and over again..." She never looked at me, but I could tell she was pouting as she straightened the de and tapered the edges, getting it ready for its final heating before it was to be sharpened. "Well, now you can talk to me! I need these things enchanted eventually, and I want to have specific spells enchanted onto them, though I don''t know if I''m asking for the impossible; then I need you to begin-" Like she had said, she needed someone to talk to since she just kept going on with what she needed, wanted, and what she was doing, though I listened and butted in whenever I felt it was necessary as I settled into her hyperactive groove for these final preparations for the battle tomorrow.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Chapter 1169: Chapter 1168: Final Battle (1) Chapter 1169: Chapter 1168: Final Battle (1) ? "This always gets to me, no matter howrge or small the scale of a battle is. This... eternity that we have to spend waiting for it to begin, the dullness of it all. How dreadfully long we must wait for the thrills of battle to sink its ws into us." Jahi''s murmuring filled the quiet air as we stared out across the sand, the four of us fully equipped and ready for the battle toe as we took in the horde of monsters and warriors across from us, their chitin and metal armor gleaming beneath the harsh sun. "You''ll always need to wait for something, no matter what. Be it a battle, nighttime, a meal or anything else, there''s always going to be waiting involved, and you know that. So get ustomed to it, and don''t take it for granted."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om The Demoness just grunted at that, her eyes remaining locked to the city walls as she leaned against her shield; the new armor she wore contrasted her skin nicely, while itplimented the rest of us rather well too. Red metal that was glittering with small gold kes sporadically flushed throughout the material was rather dazzling beneath the desert sun, and surprisingly enough the material remained rather temperate despite the heat around us; it wasn''t cool, but it certainly wasn''t hot, and that was a boon. Conversely the soldiers around us were sweating buckets beneath the scorching golden sphere that was slowly turning the entire desert into an oven, and many were already beginning to seek shelter orfort from whatever they could find, be it a shield used to shade themselves or a waterskin that they drained to replenish their body''s water. The wait was a long one, that was for certain, but this wait was apparently strategic on the Sultana''s part since she was studying the troops across from us and locating weak points that she wanted to target first; that, and we were testing their control over the monsters to see if they could restrain them for long. "I''m just happy we weren''t going to split up again. Been doing too much of that recently, and honestly it just felt like we were tempting fate each time. I''m not trying to say that fate is a cruel mistress or a bitch, but... well, she most definitely can be those things." Anput''s musings made the rest of us nod, with Leone feeling her words a bit deeper than Jahi and I did since she had gotten to experience that cruel twist of fate on a far too personal level, and even now she was twisting her new ring, seekingfort from it. "There was no reason to split up this time; a single mage won''t break the barrage the Sultana wants to unleash, so Leone will be with us, while she also wants to keep the magic to a certain limit that works together with everyone as a whole, which means Kat''s with us too. You and I weren''t going anywhere anyways, so... yeah." "I just wish we didn''t need to stand here beneath the sun... I don''t mind the waiting, but this doesn''t seem too ideal for the troops." A few small gusts of wind brushed across us thanks to the minor spell I had cast, and the soldiers nearby were basking in it whenever they could as they sought any and all relief from the sun, while I shrouded myself in a cloak of iced water to keep myself cool. Anput and Leone were more ustomed to the heat thanks to their magic types and how strong their Cores were, while Jahi simply didn''t seem to mind it that much at all, leaving me to feel like I was melting into the sands beneath them as I sweat buckets during this time waiting. Minutes passed us by gruelingly slow, and it seemed like I was going to need to be a hypocrite as I felt the need toin slowly welling up in my chest as the heat only worsened with time and exposure, but eventually the Sultana sent her orders out using the Death Jackals, who rushed along the back of the line and ryed her orders to the variousmanding soldiers of each squad. Since we weren''t attached to any, we were just given Saif and Zahrah to apany us for the foreseeable future, and the two women ryed the Sultana''s orders the moment they appeared nearby. "We''re going to head towards the eastern entrance with a third of the soldiers. Half of our troops are heading to the main gate while the remainder are going to poke and prod at any and all avable locations to provide support. This entrance though is... well, you can see it." Saif pointed towards the giant cluster of monsters that milled about to our north east, the various types of monsters ensuring that it wouldn''t be a simple fight since there were giant two legged monsters that seemed to have some intelligence all the way over to slithering serpents or six legged mammal monsters of some kind withrge ws and hundreds of teeth. Then there were the mortals roaming between them with staves and spears alike as they herded the monsters together, keeping them under control somehow and keeping a wary eye on both us and them as they too prepared for the battle toe. "The waits almost over... but you gotta start things off with a bang, right? So the mages are gonna knock a giant hole in their ranks and get us fired up for the fight! That should make things easier for us." Zahrah''s excitement was a bit contagious, while therger Jackalkin had a more tempered air about her as she tapped her de against her shoulder, staring out over the sands with narrowed eyes. "I''m just worried about the Fiends is all... how many there are and how strong they are... The idea of another host of Bloodletter-esque enemies is a daunting one, that''s for sure. But... I guess we won''t find out till we get into the battle, huh?" Chapter 1170: Chapter 1169: Final Battle (2) Chapter 1170: Chapter 1169: Final Battle (2) ? "At least we''ll start this off properly..." Jahi''s voice was barely able to be heard as a barrage of magic that whizzed overhead, the fireballs and spheres of wind filling the sky as the Sultana ordered the opening attack on the city. The heat was already unbearable enough, but now that the mes of our mages were scorching towards the walls of the city it was made even worse, though that wasn''t something that adrenaline couldn''t ovee as the beginning of this battle was kicked off. With a surplus of oxygen to fuel theirbustion, the magical fires crashed down amongst the monsters and exploded against the walls as the opening barrage traveled the distance in mere seconds, giving the cultists across from us little time at all to react. This long wait had ced them in an odd sort of limbo where they weren''t able to maintain a strong barrier for long without risking mana depletionter on, and while potions were certainly an option for them to utilize, there was no guarantee they had enough to defend against an army this size. The monsters weren''t helping them too much either since presumably that required mana to control as well, so that left them in a rather unfortunate spot that I wasn''t entirely sure they could reasonably defend themselves from; of course, that was something that also made me wonder if that was the Sultana''s n all along. If it was, I was also wondering if she calcted for a barrier to be up anyways despite that likely oue, since there were a plethora of Fiends waiting inside of the city alongside their mortal toys. Our initial attack exploded against an iridescent barrier of mana, dealing little to no damage at first contact, but we had numbers on our side with a wide pool of both mana and potions to draw from, so another barrage of explosive ordnance was sent forwards. Then another, and then a third, then a tenth... it just kept on going, and the barrier held strong each time... until it didn''t. No matter how many Fiends resided inside of that city, no matter how many of said Fiends were of the Tza Dominion and souped up on whatever rituals and enhancers that they might have had ess too, there was no way to defend such a wide open area with such a strong barrier for a heavy barrage over and over again. Each explosion tore away at that iridescent barrier slowly but surely, and soon the strategy the Sultana had our mages employ changed as well; the Wind Mages switched from immediate fueling to a more concentrated, stronger catalyst for the explosions, and those did a lot of damage incredibly quickly. Simplicity once more reigned as the most effective strategy, and the Sultana had her Wind Mages create giant funnels of wind that tore at the barrier from afar, sucking the oxygen around themselves into the funnel and pushing it straight at the barrier, where it was consumed by the mes and turned into a potent fuel. The desert was no longer alight with the sun''s golden rays; instead it was red and orange, the intensity of the mes bathing the millions of grains of sand in a heat that slowly connected them together into ss, amplifying the light even more. Booms sted across the desert, the sound physical enough to push against us as each spell erupted against that barrier, and with a plethora of Caninekin soldiers standing so close to such a loud sound... well, it was already unpleasant, but now we were shaken, hot, and listening to the ringing inside of our ears. Even then we still stared in awe at the me bathed barrier in front of us, watching the Fire Mana melt away the Fiendish Mana and slowly seep into the interwoven magics below to open up a pathway for us to enter. It was like cannon fire being unleashed upon a castle, only far more deadly and far more rapid; the intensity of the sts all beingpressed in certain areas while running on a near constant repetition was something I hadn''t seen before, and the second the order came to begin marching I just had to look towards the Sultana in surprise.N?v(el)B\\jnn Standing tall in the center of the forces, the towering Jackalkin brandished an equallyrge scimitar and pointed it at the city before us, bringing out cheers and war cries from the troops as they raised their shields and marched forwards, adding another crescendo to this cacophony as the stomping of their boots and rattling of their gear matched the explosions. A heartbeatter the Sultana herself began to walk forwards, her twin des held loosely at her sides as she took long, even strides towards the city, looking more like a stroll in the park than a march to war, and yet... There was no doubt about her purpose here, something that we all needed to share as the mages continued their bombardment of the city; despite the blowback of superheated air washing over us, we were to march straight into those mes simply because the Sultana knew that the barrier would fall before we reached it. And the second that barrier fell... well, our ''cannon fire'' would begin to churn the monsters waiting for us into chunks, and the walls would fall seconds after the barrier did. "Properly indeed..." None of us could hear if the others were speaking, and honestly it was wasted breath for me to even mutter that as we marched forwards, but I just felt like it needed to be vocalized as the explosions continued to shine brighter than the sun while shaking the very earth we walked on. A battle of this scale was new to me, and yet as we got closer and closer the scale suddenly shifted; how could we worry about the left nk if all that we could see and feel was the right nk? What good would worrying about it do? That shifted it for me as I focused on what I could see and what I could reach, and even though the explosions continued to envelope the desert itself, I was able to settle into semifortable state as we approached the edge of the st radius. Chapter 1171: Chapter 1170: Final Battle (3) Chapter 1171: Chapter 1170: Final Battle (3) ? With a loud crack the barrier began to fall, the explosions tearing through the mana and making it impossible for the Fiends supplying the mana towards it to continue justifying their expenditure, so without much fanfare the iridescent barrier simply shattered. One moment it was withstanding the relentless barrage of explosives and whirling tornados ripping at its surface and then the next it was gone, allowing the next spells to streak through the air and crash amongst the monsters waiting outside of the walls. The six of us jogged behind the first battalion of soldiers, using their shields to protect ourselves as they marched forwards in uniformed steps, each of their des pointed at the enemies before us. Even as the barrier copsed they maintained the same pace, and the sea of monsters that awaited us was already experiencing the fluctuations that came from gigantic spheres of me crashing down amongst them, setting their fur alight and charring any exposed flesh. The monsters were of a wide array of species with a myriad of subspecies sprinkled in; there were the usual Goblins and Ghouls, the Serpents and Canines, but there were also some more unique monsters like Drakes and Sphinxes that were prowling around, their stronger and more independent natures setting them apart from the masses. And yet all were made equal beneath the bombardment, and I could see a towering lion headed, lizard bodied monster standing on its powerful hind legs so that it could screech in agony as it cradled one of its upper limbs, only to have its head blown off as another spellnded atop it.N?v(el)B\\jnn Goblins were thrown into the air as they rushed around trying to avoid the explosions, and the Ghouls and other Undead stumbled forwards as they mindlessly made their way towards us; everything was getting hit, but the moment we reached a certain point the wave of spells began to rise towards the walls next, raining down upon the many cultists standing above us and forcing them into cover. Instantly we were able to close the gap between us and the monsters, and not even a secondter our forces collided with a thunderous boom joining the explosive chorus from above, the mming of shields against chitin and muscle adding anotheryer to this all that further emphasized the chaos we found ourselves in. As soon as the shield bearers in front of us collided with the monsters we were free to engage with them as we saw fit, and for Jahi that meant hoisting her great sword as high as she could before cleaving it down into the skull of an overconfident Serpent that was lunging over the shields towards us. Blood sshed all around us, sizzling against the hot grains of sand and filling the air with that metallic stench that was only going to get stronger as we were embroiled into this battle, with each of us seeking out our own targets to begin the ughter that would take us to the walls. The Demoness led the way with Saif by her side, the two hulking warriors using their heavy weapons to clear a path forwards and relying on us to protect their nks, which Anput and Zahrah took seriously as they both began their own deadly dances as we pushed into a horde of Goblins and Ghouls. Both of the Jackalkin moved fluidly as they brandished their des with speed and precision, Anput''s long and thin de cutting through the air with a horrifying shriek each time it caught me from her magic while Zahrah made more use of her legs to close the distance between herself and her targets as she cut them multiple times. At the back it was Leone and I, my jagged single edged sword cutting through flesh with ease as I only allowed the Wind Helix to be activated, conserving my mana; my lover thought the same as she wielded her Estoc with that uncanny precision we rarely got to see, relying on the alloyed steel to cut her opponents down as she marched alongside me. All around us the troops hacked and shed at anything that moved and wasn''t a Caninekin, though the few times we saw one of the cultists they were quickly singled out and cut down as spells whizzed through the air to halt them only to allow someone to get closer and deal with them in meleebat. Spears and scimitars shed out from behind the shields, and the mechanical efficiency of the troops was only broken up by the small pockets of Death Jackals that moved in to support whomever needed it, bringing our casualties down to as few as possible. Sometimes luck simply ran out for someone on our side, and that was shown by a Sphinx letting out a roar and tearing one of the soldiers in half before sumbing to the dozens of spears stabbing at it, or by a Drake bathing the soldiers in mes and overriding one of the enchantments just enough to break the line, allowing it to cook that particr person alive. More often than not though people took on minor wounds that a single sip of a potion cleared up in seconds, something that filled Leone and I with a small amount of pride whenever we were able to see it and understand what we were witnessing in between the repetitive stabs and swings we were going through. The start was entirely a warm up for both sides, the expendable monsters chewing away at some of our stamina and dealing some damage here and there whilst also giving them time to prepare, which was contrasted by the gradual improvements we made as we settled into a groove, our sword arms bing well oiled as we chewed through the various chaff in front of us. It was a start that was abruptly ended when more explosions rocked the desert, but instead of fireballs sending up chunks of monster and a cloud of sand, these explosions were the sudden arrival of heavily armored enemiesnding just beyond our reach, dropping down amongst the monsters and rushing forwards to push us back. Chapter 1172: Chapter 1171: Final Battle (4) Chapter 1172: Chapter 1171: Final Battle (4) ? The sudden appearance of those armored individuals started the pushback that the Fingers were going to attempt as they had them rush forwards in aid of the monsters guarding their walls; the mana that radiated off of their armored bodies was enough to let us know that they were rather strong, be it thanks to their natural capacity or because of the enchantmentsyered over the metal. Each of these armored individuals were equipped with an enchanted weapon and a thick shield that added anotheryer of defense to their charge, and when the Ritual Circles engraved into the middle of those shields red up to shroud them in mana they were further protected from the spells that crashed down around them. Spears, swords, axes and more were gripped in their gauntleted hands, and those weapons exploded with power as they charged towards our lines with a suicidal fervor that caught us off guard initially, especially with a contingent of monsters following them closely from behind.N?v(el)B\\jnn Three made their way towards us, seeking out the stronger mana signatures in this crowded space and using us as a guiding light to discover where they would be of the most use, which resulted in three hulking tanks rushing straight at us with their weapons brandished. Jahi walked forwards to meet one of them, catching thence on her shield and getting an idea about the armored cultist''s abilities as she redirected the blow, which left two more to target the rest of us. Right behind them were dozens of hounds bounding across the sands in hopes ofunching themselves over the shields and down amongst the soldiers in the back, who weren''t prepared for a confrontation in the midst of all of theirrades; they would be caught off guard if that happened, so instantly I stepped back with Leone and focused on weaving together rapid spell signs to take out whoever I could. Those remaining armored cultists were intercepted by Anput and Zahrah, with Saif providing support to both as we probed this new threat while dealing with it at the same time; it was a good thing we did since Anput managed to strike first, punching a hole through the chest te and revealing nothing beneath the armor. Her shout of "Golems!" spurred Jahi to bash her own opponent in the chest before cleaving them in two, revealing a plethora of meat, bones and blood as she sliced through the armor like it was paper; clearly not all of them were Golems, but the moment Jahi killed her opponent the remaining one nearby stumbled, allowing Zahrah to stab her daggers beneath its gorget and yank upwards, removing its helmet. Wisps of mana spilled out of the empty suit of armor as it crashed to the ground, signifying its status as a Golem and revealing that the new enemies we were facing weren''t all alive; either way, they were still dangerous since the mana inside of them flowed all the same, and the armor itself was of high quality and enchanted. It''s just hard to defend against Fiendish steel empowered by high quality mana, so of course they fell quickly, though the sudden explosive arrival of another group of them wasn''t ideal, especially not with the monsters swarming over us now that the previous group had been swiftly dispatched. The hounds were agile and powerful, filled with bursts of energy that provided deadly bites and powerful swipes of their serrated ws that threatened to cut through your armor, so they provided an ample amount of time for the new group of cultists and Golems to rush forwards and pick out the right targets for their particr skillset. Leone and I continued to weave together new spells as we picked off as many monsters as we could, the variousnces, arrows, spheres and more that flew through the air permanently bathing the sands in a purplish hue as blue and red light mixed together all around us. My ice and her fire worked side by side to deliver death upon these sands, and yet the number of monsters was seemingly endless as more and more kept pouring over one another to reach us, and with a new group of armored humanoids dropping down to the battlefield for a third time now, we needed toe together and ovep our attacks toe out on top. Despite yearning to dive headfirst into the sea of enemies so that she could exert her strength in ways that spoke to her deepest desires, Jahi stepped back and nted her feet as she took up her mantle as a bastion once more, the Demoness bing an anchoring point for everyone to rally around. That giant shield was soon locked together with all of the others as the soldiers of the Sultanate rushed forwards to stand beside her, taking their stand here against the new wave of armored elites and numerous monsters. Swords and spears poked through the gaps as they stabbed at anything that got too close, while the whizzing of spells whipping over the shield wall reced the sh of steel as we pivoted once more to a new style ofbat, one that was far more defensive in posture instead of aggressive. The whish barely registered as we slung even more spells into the enemy, with Leone and I switching over to farrger and much more powerful area of effect spells that wiped away swathes of monsters at a time, the crackling of mes and whistling of wind meshing together overtop the rest of the cacophony. And yet while the whish we experienced felt like a lot, the immediate doubling down of the cultists on this explosive entrance of powerfulbatants straight into the fray brought us right back around to what we had just ovee as a new challenger entered the battle. An eight foot tall, red skinned Fiend crashed into the sand and bounced up immediately, using the momentum of however they had gotten here to settle into a run as they pointed straight at us, the des in their hands leaving behind glittering arcs of crimson as they prepared to engage us inbat. Chapter 1173: Chapter 1172: Final Battle (5) Chapter 1173: Chapter 1172: Final Battle (5) ? This wasn''t the only Fiend that reared its ugly head to engage us inbat earlier than anticipated; there were more booms traveling down the line as a half dozen of them joined the fray, with four of them leaping straight towards the Sultana. Their hope to overwhelm her with numbers and turn the tides of battle into their favor by taking down our strongest was certainly a hopeful one, but it wasn''t an impossible one since one of those Fiends was a Tza Fiend with six arms, which allowed it to cast multiple spells all at once. A four versus one was enough to cause us all concern, especially since it was a variety of Fiends leaping out to try and kill the leader of thisnd, and yet we weren''t able to pull ourselves away to go to her aid without risking everything else. The speed with which the Fiend before us rushed to engage was fast enough that we were suddenly forced to step back as it brought an immense amount of pressure to bear incredibly quickly, its two des moving with a red gold blur as it shed at Jahi''s shield. It wasn''t just a single target attack either since each time the Fiend struck Jahi''s shield waves ofpressed and ming mana burst from the impacts, washing over the shield and spilling out towards us as it did the best it could to keep us here. With the armored cultists and monsters rushing forwards right behind it, we were slowly trapped on our own little ''ind'' of the battlefield as the Fiend relented the moment its backup arrived, allowing it to leap backwards and nt its feet before lunging forwards again. This time though it struck not at Jahi nor at us but instead at a cluster of normal soldiers, its twin des slicing through their lower quality shields and severing limbs and heads as it attacked wantonly, leaving us with the handful of armored cultists and hounds to deal with. By the time we had managed to cut them down and free ourselves from any pressure the Fiend returned, mming into Jahi''s shield once more and pushing the Demoness back as they brandished their des and relied on their quickness to handle the six of us. A dozen or so soldiers had fallen in those mere seconds, and the pressure that began to settle onto us as the decrease in our numbers became apparent was rather substantial, even for us; the Fiend was just a perfect blend of explosive power and swiftness for this asion, and the magic it wielded was simple yet effective for what it wanted. With it being so close to Jahi all the time, Leone and I were maintaining the same spells as before as we dealt with the various monsters, though the ovepping interactions we had earlier that benefitted us were no more as we began to deal withrger swathes of the battlefield on our own. Whenever we were able to have those area of effect spells wash over the back of the Fiend it did little to deter the red skinned humanoid, their hard scales protecting them from our spells and allowing them to just ignore the attacks as they instead pressured Jahi, constantly beating down on her shield before swaying out of the way from any attack that Saif was able tofortably make on it. Heading on this same path though would lead us to failure, so a change had to be made as we continued to deal with the various monsters and tolerate the presence of the Fiend, a change that I decided to make on my own. Reaching for my belt, I grabbed ahold of one of the prototype discs that Anput had made for me and charged it up with mana before flicking it towards the Fiend, the projectile slicing through the air almost silently thanks to the cacophony of war around us. And since the small disc was being thrown from behind Jahi, the Fiend didn''t really see it until it was right about to cut into its face, and by that point even as the Fiend ducked beneath the disc, it was more than enough for me. The enchantment on the projectile activated, sending apressed st of Ice Mana upwards and downwards as the disc shattered beneath the power that erupted from its surface, and instantly the Fiend was knocked downwards as the Ice Mana washed over its scales and coated them in frost. An opening was all Jahi and Saif needed to swing their heavy des downwards, both of their swords crumpling the scales and chewing into the soft flesh beneath as they cleaved the Fiend into pieces, giving themselves a moment to breath and allowing them to be prepared for whatever came next. With no System notification popping into my mind for an assist, I used the Soul Bond between Jahi and I to warn the Demoness, which prompted her to unleash her Light Mana as she covered her sword and shield in it before stabbing down into the ''corpse'' of the Fiend, hoping to finish it off there.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Even with her de buried deep into its skull - which was now shattered and imbued with her mana - there was still no notification, so I looked around warily before my head snapped back to its corpse as the blood began to float into the air, coalescing into the same figure but in liquid shape. Its des shot back into the air and sank into the Fiend''s ''body'', disappearing from sight before reappearing as metal flowed through its blood and sharpened the liquid along its arms, while the fluid shape of it allowed the Fiend to attack in new ways. Right as Jahi tried to stab it again with her Light imbued great sword, the Fiend flowed back a step and parted its torso, allowing the de to slip right through empty space before it crashed down on the Demoness like a wave, its metallic arms stabbing towards her chest. Chapter 1174: Chapter 1173: Final Battle (6) Chapter 1174: Chapter 1173: Final Battle (6) ? N?v(el)B\\jnn With its new liquid form the Fiend simply washed over Jahi''s shield and reformed itself between her arms, the crimson fluid smoothlying together to create the shape of a humanoid, though all of our focus were on the red and gold arms that were stabbing towards Jahi''s chest. A sh of golden light mixed with the cyan explosion as another of my discs sailed into the globule mass that was supposed to be the Fiend''s head; Jahi defended herself from the des, but they still punched through her Mana Cloak, her armor and then into her ribcage, though it was thankfully only an inch or so of the Fiend''s des. The disc exploded again, but this time it was inside of the blood of the Fiend as I sent the liquid flying everywhere, coated in frost and some of it being crystalizedpletely as its head, neck and some of its torso were blown away. Our Fiendish opponent still yanked its des free and tried to leap backwards, but before it could do so Jahi surged forwards and swung her de as hard as she could, Light Mana surging across her sword and leaving behind a glittering trail of mana as it cut through the blood of the Fiend. At first the Fiend repeated its earlier action and separated itself, avoiding the attack before reforming and trying toe back and attack, but that glittering trail of mana wasn''t just an afterimage that didn''t hold any substance. It was a real, dyed attack of Light Mana that cut through the Fiend with ease, eliciting an ear piercing screech as it was suddenly burnt up and dealt yet another wound, one that I added to as another disc sunk into its upper chest and exploded yet again. Jahi didn''t let up as she swung her de again and again, cutting through the blood and causingrge globs of it to drop to the ground and ssh against the sand like it was supposed to, only for some of the droplets to float back up in an attempt to heal this unique Fiend. Before I could throw one of the final discs I had at it once more, or even just freeze the blood and turn it into crystals that wouldn''t be usable by the Fiend - as seen by the previous chunks of blood I had frozen still lying on the ground uselessly - it was instead Leone who did something, and it was a tad surprising. The Vampire''s fingers were shrouded by swirling crimson mana that - at first nce - seemed to be only her Fire Mana with its unique potency and coloration, but considering I could smell the metallic tang I was all too familiar with trickling off of her in waves, it was clear it wasn''t her elemental mana. It was her innate mana, one that she rarely used before these recent times, but seeing her curl her fingers upwards before pressing them together was rather fascinating, the difference in our more structured and logical magic system to this more ''traditional'' magic that I had been anticipating was amazing to see. The blood of the Fiend was suddenly meeting one of the few things that could harm it and another that could fight for dominion over it, threatening to control its blood despite it being it''s own body; Leone was holding the Fiend in ce and slowing its regeneration down to a crawl. That allowed Jahi to continue to hack away at the blood until it was boiled uppletely, that screech growing louder as the Fiend fought for control of itself so that it could defend against the onught of Light Mana that was tearing away at it piece by piece. And yet it was impossible for the Fiend to fight this sluggish battle, especially when Jahi was swinging her de with prejudice as she removed the Fiend from the battlefield, the slight of being injured by it pissing her off enough to fuel a swift exit for the blood creature before us. When the notification popped up in my mind about its demise, the Demoness finally relented when she felt the confirmation from me that the sudden drop of structure in that blood creature did in fact mean it was dead, but even then she stillpressed a small ball of Light Mana and burnt up the rest of the blood below her out of pettiness. The wounds were already healing well on Jahi''s chest, which I checked as I pulled the Demoness back a step and allowed Saif and Zarhrah to take her spot for now, though the second she felt my hands send a pulse of mana into her to heal everything up she lunged right back into the fray and returned to pushing the monsters back. With the sudden loss of one of the Fiends on this line, some of the cultists nearby began to backpedal just in case, putting distance between us and them as they focused on other parts of the line, while we switched our long ranged focus towards aiding the Sultana, who was a blur of silver and ck. The towering Jackalkin warrior flickered around the battlefield she had set and fought against four Fiends at once, using her strength and speed to keep them all on their toes so that the rest of us could handle the remaining Fiends. Her Death Jackals fought hard against the Fiends on their side of the line, and with the pressure lifted from us somewhat Leone and I both returned to our area of effect spells, casting them back to back as we cleared swathes of monsters and allowed our portion of the line to move forwards, bringing ourselves to bear against the nk of the monsters. Pressed between two fronts now, the various monsters were slowly brought down as well, all while the walls continued to be torn apart by the artillery barrage of the mages behind us, this battle going from quiet to explosive in mere seconds as more and more spellsnded near the city. Chapter 1175: Chapter 1174: Final Battle (7) Chapter 1175: Chapter 1174: Final Battle (7) ? The killing almost became mindless after the Fiends were dealt with one by one; when the monsters fell and there was enough breathing room for Leone and I to trade off theN?v(el)B\\jnn responsibility whenever we could, we took potshots at the four Fiends that were attacking the Sultana to give her aid. Whether or not she actually had need of our aid was a different story, but on my part I was being selfish in my help since I would get experience for the assists on those Fiends, and it never hurt to be safe rather than sorry in something as important and deadly as a battle against some Fiends. Besides, if anything happened to her I didn''t even want to begin thinking about how distraught Anput might be, so I used needles made from ice to hinder their movements wherever I could, tapering the projectiles and ensuring they sunk into the Fiend''s flesh to spread the frost as much as possible. It was a skill that I hade to rely heavily on for anything with arge amount of vitality, and it was yet another thing that I needed to put some effort into improving even more by incorporating it directly into my spells, but for now I just shot dozens, if not hundreds of needles into the Fiends, chipping away at their health and mobility whenever I had the opening to do so. With Anput and Jahi working alongside Saif and Zahrah, Leone and I were well protected as we gave them aid with our magic, the idea of holding back leaving our minds now that some Fiends had made an early appearance, with the specific targets bing the various cultists that were still lingering around as we disrupted the control they had over these abducted monsters. The swiftness with which they were dispatched was rather fascinating, since the strength they seemed to possess simply didn''t matter when met with the constant bombardment around them and the unknowing threat of any of our soldiers filling them with caution that halted their momentum. No more cultists dropped onto the battlefield, leaving us to clean up what we had and ensuring we were able to make the next step of this battle now that the walls were slowly being torn down by the bombardment, revealing the city within and letting us know early that the cultists were waiting for us toe to them. They stood in rows within the city, brandishing their weapons and watching us silently as we dealt with the monsters they had brought forwards as a weapon against us, each of the cultists studying the standing military force of this country and likely praying to their Fiendish friends to be able toe out of this victorious. For now though we needed to get there, and to do that we still had hundreds of monsters to y; it didn''t take long, but the energy and mana expended was exactly what those cultists wanted from this as we were forced to pick between saving potions forter or use them for now. It was a chore to kill these monsters for everyone else, but the more the experience rained in on my System to slowly bolster me to the next level, the longer I wanted to be here, especially after the terrified scream came from the first of the four Fiends attacking the Sultana. Watching Anput''s Mom rip the head off of the bold Ka Fiend that had been trying to w at her this entire time was quite the sight; it''s skull - a crown of thorns poking through greasy golden locks that gave it a demented appearance ¨C was yanked upwards as she pulled its skull off of its body and ripped out its spine, killing the Fiend instantly. With that long ''weapon'' gained, the Sultana kicked away the Fiend''s body and grasped the bottom of its spine, swinging the head around like a mace and smacking one of the other Fiends with it, pushing them back and allowing her to focus on just two instead of three. Swinging it again, she let go of the spine and sent the head flying straight at one of those two, forcing them to dodge this rather barbaric attack and freeing her up even more as she blitzed the remaining Fiend, catching the shorter, sickly thin blue skinned Fiend off guard and allowing her to skewer them with her scimitars. Both of the des ripped through the Fiend''s flesh and allowed her to lift them up before ripping them in half, showering the nearby area in an absurd amount of gore as the Sultana continued to disy her brutal strength that resided beneath herpact, lithe frame. It took us the same time to kill a Fiend but she managed to continue rolling the pressure even further downhill as she steamrolled through the second, bringing the fight down to a two versus one, which was far more manageable for the Sultana. The other Death Jackals had also managed to take care of most of the Fiends as well, leaving us with just the monsters as we listened to the murmuring that drifted through the air from the city in front of us, the cultists inside watching their incredible, non mortalrades be killed systemically. It didn''t matter that these were overpowered creatures hopped up on special World Magic or whatever, since there was nothing they could do in the face of multiple strong opponents, ovepping zones of battle and the sheer tenacity and fury of a people wanting to cleanse their homnd of this filth. With the knowledge that I had a plethora of potions dangling on my hip and even more waiting in crates behind us, I went ahead and brought out some heavy hitting magic as I took control of this section of the battlefield, whipping up a deadly gale as I buffeted the monsters with heavy winds while using them to increase the speed of my icicles. That boost allowed them to pierce through Drake scales, Sphinx mana enhanced hide, and even stone bricks as I made short work of everything over here now that I had the time to chain those spells together without worrying about something pushing through our defenses. Chapter 1176: Chapter 1175: Tests of Power (1) Chapter 1176: Chapter 1175: Tests of Power (1) ? N?v(el)B\\jnn The march into the city was fueled by adrenaline and stamina boosting potions that heightened our senses, gave us energy and even helped repair some of the smaller damages we had received deep within our tissues from the fighting so far. When paired with the healing potion that took care of therger and more obvious wounds, all of us were back in fighting shape physically, though the next potion that soothed our minds took care of the mental aspect since we had already been fighting for a little while now. Having our bodies and minds restored to roughly where we had been before the battle had even begun was what we needed now that we were marching over the rubble of the walls to reach the cultists inside, and many of the soldiers were fueled by the confidence and anger from what had happened minutes earlier. Seeing their leader dispatch four Fiends back to back had bolstered their confidence to the point that they were assured of victory, while the anger from seeing themselves, theirrades or some of the civilians being hurt or worse pushed them forwards even more, and the cultists were going to be the outlet they needed to let that anger out. As for me, I just reverted my thinking to the more primitive and problematic version that saw the cultists as nothing more than bundles of experience points that I needed to go out and harvest, and since I had already umted quite arge amount of experience from the deaths of those Fiends, well... the high of leveling up was only just settling in, with the promise of an even loftier high spurring me on quite nicely. Going from the less dangerous but numerous monsters to the more unpredictable and varied cultists was also a change of pace I was more willing to get in line with, and as we stepped over the rubble of the wall I definitely didn''t mind having to look over the backs of the soldiers in front of us to see my new targets. For now we were marching in uniformity while the cultists stood in even rows waiting for us to get close enough to engage, but unsurprisingly to me they reciprocated the barrage from earlier with their own,unching spells down onto us from over their own lines. Magic soon whipped through the air heading one of two ways; towards the cultists or towards the soldiers, and the almost identical appearance of barriers above us both made this rather anticlimactic, though that could change at the drop of a hat... The enchantments on the shields red into existence to block the cultists magic with the help of their wielders own magic, while the cultists were once more enshrouded in a barrier made from Fiendish mana, something that only made me wonder how many more of them we would be finding within this city. Either way, I held back for now as I watched the spheres andnces thrown from both sides explode and splinter harmlessly against the barriers, knowing that this wasn''t the time to waste my own mana as the fighters on both sides eagerly ignited the mes of battle once more. For a few seconds there we really were just staring at one another as the spells continued to sail harmlessly through the empty space between us, but after the realization sunk in that there was no way this battle was going to be that easy our soldiers began to march forwards once more under the order of their leader, who gestured for everyone to close the gap. Turning their mana towards defending themselves instead of attacking, our troops protected one another and thickened the barrier even more, and this was where I felt that I could spend the drops of mana within my Core without feeling like it was a waste. The closer we got, the more runes I carefully drew in the air around me as I prepared a spell that I hoped would tear a hole through their barrier to allow us entry, and beside me Leone copied my spell while tweaking it to fit her mana even more, the shing glows of cyan and crimson looking as beautiful as ever as we walked side by side. They would take a good chunk of mana out of us, but considering the power they would put out it was well worth it, especially if it meant giving our portion of the line an advantage over the opposing line. Jahi could feel the build up of mana behind her, and without breaking stride she ced herself between us and them, sheltering us both behind her shield as she concealed our spells for as long as she could before nting her feet protecting uspletely. The Ritual Circles were ratherrge, and despite theplexity with which they operated - the various runes were all woven together into a single spell, but there were still dozens of them ¨C it was quite the simple spell, one that would do the job we required of it rather well. Compressing and structuring our mana into a beam, we would drill through the Fiend''s mana just opposite of us and crack it open on our side, granting us entry unless they closed those holes immediately. Sending those Ritual Circles into the air above us, Leone and I channeled our mana upwards and gradually activated the beams, sending Ice and Fire Mana spiraling towards them at incredible speeds and with incredible power. Crashing against the barrier, each of the beams mmed against the mana and instantly began to chew away at it, with my Ice burrowing into the barrier and spreading throughout its surface while Leone''s Fire simply burned everything that it touched, heading straight for the other side. Shouts filled the air as the cultists tried to bolster their barrier, but it only took a few seconds before these supercharged spells did their job perfectly; Leone''s punched through the barrier and began to carve away at it crudely while mine splintered theyers of mana and weakened more of it, allowing the other spells to st away chunks of it steadily. The wall of the city was down and now the ''wall'' between us and the cultists was breached as well, so without much hesitation our soldiers rushed forwards with their shields raised, preparing to take advantage of this and punch through the barrier to reach the cultists inside. Chapter 1177: Chapter 1176: Tests of Power (2) Chapter 1177: Chapter 1176: Tests of Power (2) ? Leaping over the charred or frozen corpses of the cultists that were unlucky enough to be standing near the beams, my serrated de sliced through flesh and cut through bone as I began to increase my kill count once more, the thrill of participating in a massacre flooding my veins once more.N?v(el)B\\jnn The soldiers we were fighting alongside took a more methodical approach to this battle, but now that I was finally able to slip my leash just a little bit... of course I was going to take this opportunity to stretch, especially with Jahi continuing to make herself the primary target on this side of the city. It was hard for her to not be the primary target what with her gold glow, gigantic stature and extremely noticeable blue skin and horns that set her apart from the typical Caninekin that lived in the Sultanate. All eyes were on this particr threat even as others began to make themselves known, and that split attention was all I needed to make an even earlier mark for myself as I barreled through a weak section of the shields and opened up a new gap for Anput to widen even more, my mate right behind me as she both aided me and defended me at the same time. Zahrah even began to join in as she got to work with her knives, the Death Jackal headhunting the more dangerous looking cultists as she slipped around the guard of the cultists and searched for her own marks. Once again we had made our way from zero to one hundred in no time at all, and this time we were pressing that advantage and that power as much as we could before we were forced to take our foot off the gas, which meant that I could indulge my more base desires for a few dozen seconds or more. The feeling of something watching us was obvious to us all, but theck of action as I skewered a man''s throat before blowing a woman''s cranium into pieces with my favorite - and messy ¨C shotgun st of ice shards let me know we had some time to kill before those eyes got closer. And making every second matter was a fun little game for me as I mixed speed and power into a single deadly package for the cultists, who were caught unaware for this sort of strategy as they anticipated yet another uniform and structured attack on them thanks to the ranks of soldiers behind me. Sadly for them I didn''t really want to be a piece of that well oiled machine that was currently hacking and shing at the various shields in front of them when I could instead strike out on my own and avoid it entirely by having my fun in the backfields. The equipment that they used was all uniform as well, these cultists having good armor and weapons that they brandished at me while hoping that the enchantments that they had would be enough to block an attack, but sadly for them the cutting power of not only Fiendish steel but also Water and Wind Mana was incredibly potent. Even more so when those helixes of mana were constantly moving and gaining more speed the longer the enchantment on the de was activated; using not only the sharpness of Wind Mana but also the pressure of concentrated Water Mana was quite honestly a cheat when it came to cutting through metal, and there was little that they could do to counter it. That was why there were three headless corpsesying on the ground behind me and why a few more cultists were cradling stumps or giant holes in their bodies that simply made fighting impossible; with Anput acting as my shadow I didn''t need to worry about anyst moment adrenaline rushes from them as she used her longer de to finish them off while I moved onto the next one. Keeping myself moving and traveling around in a helix of my own was thrilling, especially since I could loop back around and create a new hole in the cultist''s line to wee some friends into the backfields with me, spreading confusion amongst our foes as I traveled based entirely on what felt right and not on what made sense. It was a chaotic style that worked well as I satiated my need for blood here and now, king my thirst and preparing for the actual fights toe as I chopped an arm off before slitting someone''s throat and enjoying the sight of that gorgeous crimson liquid spraying into the air. Being given an ample amount of targets to go around and y with while waiting for the main event was a blessing to me, especially since the more I killed the more experience I gained, which would make me stronger; it was hitting so many different things all at once that I was a bit worried I might experience a dopamine overload. If there was such a thing to worry about anyways, especially since there was a constant and healthy reminder that a few different entities were watching this from afar, waiting and plotting for their eventually reveal as we dealt with their followers. These lowly, nd mortals with a smidgeon of power that were desperately wing at an idea and ideal that never had room for them anyways; showing these cultists that they were simply wrong via the killing of theirrades was cathartic to me. It wasn''t ideal for me to have to deal with all of these grunts when I knew there were real threats lurking just out of sight, but in that same vein I was thrilled that there was the opportunity to stretch and flex all at the same time as I danced between the various dead mortals walking and delivered them into that early grave they had reserved for themselves. The simplicity of this massacre was going to be immediately contrasted by theplexity of the fights against the Fiends and Caliphs that were waiting for us, so I - and many others - basked in this simplicity for as long as we could, knowing that there were difficulties soon toe. Chapter 1178: Chapter 1177: Tests of Power (3) Chapter 1178: Chapter 1177: Tests of Power (3) ? Swaying to the side of a hopeful de, I let it swish past me harmlessly before my own de sang out, the deadly symphony I had been creating continuing on as I sliced through their chest piece before opening a new gash across their face as I drew out yet another terrified and pained scream. Leaving them to enjoy the embrace of a slower death, I continued forwards to reunite with our line, crossing the paths of a few different cultists that were all trying desperately to bring down at least one of the ''elites'' that they had been shouting about ever since we got into melee range. One of them attempted to mimic the sort of spell that Jahi had used earlier with their axes, leaving behind a lingering trail of mana that would damage me well after they had swung, while another bull rushed me with a gigantic sword pointed straight at my chest. The two of them tried to time their rush together so that they could trap me between their attacks and bring me down, but sadly for the axe wielder I was quick enough to avoid the lingering attacks entirely, while the sword wielder was far slower than theirpatriot, allowing me to slip beneath their guard and stab them in the throat. Despite being a ratherrge hunk of muscle that sword user was quite easily turned around, allowing their ''friend'' to hack away at their back as I acquired myself a rather screamy shield that was making a fair bit of noise despite having a sword sticking through their throat. Pushing them back and into the axe wielder, I left them to enjoy thepany of my mate as she cleaned up after me so that I could press forwards even more, dispatching the various cultists as swiftly as I could when I felt Jahi ''order'' me to return.N?v(el)B\\jnn The Demoness was still standing tall in the middle of our line, letting the enemye to her as she instead just enjoyed the constant stream of kills that walked into her de, while her shield remained as solid as a wall as she held her ground. However the feeling of those eyes only continued to grow the longer we remained locked inbat with the cultists, and not even a moment after I returned to Jahi''s side the order came for them to retreat, a deep, guttural bellow pulling them back. There were no words in that bellow, but they turned tail and ran away as quickly as possible, and while it was tempting to chase after them and cut them down before they could retreatpletely that would be disastrous for us, so almost all of the squad leaders were shouting to remain together and wait. Watching them flee and not give chase to them was something hard to do since it made sense to chase them down on an instinctual level while logically it made sense to maintain cohesion and wait and see what they were nning with this retreat. They rushed back down the streets towards the center of the city, disappearing from sight rather quickly as they turned down corners and rushed into alleyways to break line of sight from us, and that was because I - and a few others - were still taking potshots at them as they ran. Just because it was smarter to remain together didn''t mean I wasn''t allowed to use some of my mana to pick off a few of them whenever I could, and the bodies continued to pile up as I made liberal use of the efficient and wonderful icicles I could create en masse. "I don''t know how I feel about that... why fortify the city just to give it up so easily? I mean there is no escape above ground unless they''ve learned how to fly, and there is no way in hell they managed to create underground escape routes, so..." Jahi''s mulling made Saif shrug as the Death Jackal just watched the cultists flee, while Zahrah said "It''s probably a hopefulst stand behind an innumerable amount of traps and ovepping kill zones. That''s what I would do, anyways; save all of my heavy hitters for the main event and have it located in the tightest area possible." "That just means this is going to be a hectic fight..." "Forwards!" The shout from the Sultana ushered us all into action once again as we resumed marching, this time down the tight streets of the city with our shields raised and our mana pooling around one another as we warily searched each of the walls and rooftops around us for any sort of enemies or traps. There was a worry that Zahrah would be right, but there was nothing we could do as we set off after the cultists, with the feeling of being watched growing stronger the closer we got to the center of the city. Much like the rest of the cities in the Sultanate, the buildings were all rather open and simplistic in construction, sporting wide open windows and various patios and awnings to keep away from the sun, while the closeness with which they were constructed trapped the heat inside. Most of the streets used to have long awnings that covered the entire street, hanging from one side to the other, but with the cultists moving in that was no longer the case as they tore everything down for the fun of it, leaving the city open to the sun''s deadly heat. The moment we came across the center of the city though, we were not at all surprised to find them regrouped and rearmed for a new kind of fight; emerging from the streets into the wide open za, we instantly were bombarded with spells and arrows as the cultists attacked us instantly, and soon the thunderous booming of high powered spells began to m against our shields. One such st smacked against the ribcage shield Jahi wielded, and it pushed the Demoness back far enough for a few arrows to plink against the shields of the others and buckle our line, revealing weak points that they wanted to take advantage of immediately. Chapter 1179: Chapter 1178: Tests of Power (4) Chapter 1179: Chapter 1178: Tests of Power (4) ? Unlike before I wasn''t dodging a simple de that threatened to slice through my skin, but instead I was dodging apressed ring of wind that shot through the air like a bullet before exploding outwards, sending a wave of energy rippling through the air and squishing muscle against bone even without a direct impact. Someone on the other side of us was acting like a humanoid gatling gun as they shot dozens of those rings back to back, smacking them against shields - which threatened to rip the metal to shreds while also chewing through the mana supplied into the enchantment - and sometimes evennding against our troops. Those unlucky enough to get hit were allowed to experience the wonderful feeling of a projectile exploding beneath their skin and ripping the muscle and tissues off of their bone before shattering the calcium sticks topletely erase that portion of their body. A poor bastard nearby stumbled backwards a step when a ring pierced his helmet and entered his brain before he simply dropped to the ground with an erratic spasming as his body tried to understand why it was no longer being controlled by his brain, which had been sshed across the ground and hisrades. Those rings weren''t the only threats against us, but it was by far one of the most notable ones thanks to the shrieks they emitted each time they exploded, something that was made worse with the real shrieks of paining from those that were unfortunate enough to get hit and live. Trying to maintain this line as we advanced was beyond difficult, and it only further entrenched the idea in my mind that attacking was almost always going to be a harder job than defending, though that was certainly a debatable topic I didn''t want to partake in. The entire za had been turned into an open concept fortress that was riddled with various traps and barricades that created those ovepping kill zones Zahrah had spoken into existence, the buildings or tforms that we could see allowing the cultists to open fire on us from afar with arrows and spells. Some of the tile ground had even been torn out to reveal the sand below where the cultists pooledrge quantities of broken weapons and various mana crystals to create obvious traps that were extremely deadly if you fell into them, and with the barricades and ovepping lines of sight allowing them to funnel us towards theserge pits, well... Their intentions were clear, though it was made even clearer when bellows rang out from behind us, the sudden appearance of various red skinned warriors seemingly dropping out of the sky tond on our nk, instantly rushing towards us with golden weapons raised. All of them looked simr, with bare chests and bulging muscles while their hair was a mixture of gold and ck, and almost all of them sported horns of various kinds that made them look like Demons... just without the taller stature and far more contained dangerousness that I had seen from Demons so far. It wasparable to seeing a roaring grizzly bear against the silent prowling of a pr bear; both were deadly, sure, but when youpared them side by side... well, there was one of those that I was more terrified of on an instinctual level, and it definitely wasn''t the smaller, louder bear. Still a bear though, and as those Fiendish Demon copycats rushed at us from behind with their golden swords and spears they tried to usher us straight into the traps, pressing for those specific areas even in their mindless charge. Suddenly found between a thoroughly embedded defensive force and a new, loud attacking force, we were sandwiched between them and slowed down immensely, especially since those red skinned lunatics were seemingly hopped up on a simr psychotic drug that made them crazily strong and single minded. They fought with no care for themselves and willingly threw themselves into suicidal matchups if it meant pushing someone one step closer to the deadly pits, and since more of them were being dropped from seemingly nowhere we were forced to deal with them seriously, even as those various spells continued to rip at the front line. Things changed at the drop of a hat here, and trying to keep up with it was difficult, even more so when an actual Fiend made it''s appearance at the rear; all of those red skinned freaks were clearly mortals given a drug and set loose as mindless beasts that just so happened to have Fiendish features, but the appearance of a tall,nky Ka Fiend brandishing two equally long and thin des gave more importance to that battle in the rear. Death Jackals rushed to intercept, allowing us to refocus on moving forwards slowly but surely as we approached the many clusters of cultists on their tforms or in their small buildings, and we did so by heading to whatever was closest to us at the time. We were approaching a tform that had a robed figure shrouded in Wind Mana raising their arms unleashing barrages of those rings that just so happened to be surrounded by dozens of archers, our physical or mana shields raised to block both the arrows and the rings as we pressed forwards, leaving the drugged warriors to the soldiers behind us. Each ring ripped through the air faster than thest, and the closer we got the more of them we had to block as the mage unleashed everything in their Core to keep us at bay, and while we could have attempted to wait out their Core''s capacity by simply hunkering down for a half minute or so it was clear they were being supplied even more mana as the rings took on a iridescent, bluish hue.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om So we had a Ka Fiend behind us and a Tza Fiend favoring the mage on this tform; a quick nce towards the other tforms and buildings revealed simr things, with the respective hues of various Fiends shining through the sunlight and firelight as we began to meet the main members of the Fingers one by one. Chapter 1180: Chapter 1179: Tests of Power (5) Chapter 1180: Chapter 1179: Tests of Power (5) ? Hoisting myself up onto the stage, I grabbed the ankle of one of the archers and yanked them down, tossing them to the ground and allowing Anput to stab them in the throat before she leapt up beside me, joining me as we began to clear away the archers to give Jahi a clear pathway towards the Fiend enhanced magician standing in the center of this tform. Their magic was still flowing freely as they tried to attack us, even going as far as to tear apart the bodies of their guards as Anput and I took meat shields the second we stood up, and while it was rapid fire magic that threatened to tear through our armor like a hot knife through butter, the distance between us wasn''t that far. Beneficial for both parties, but at the exact moment that Jahi appeared on the tform the magician had no idea who to target or what they needed to do, which made it all too easy for the Demoness to sprint straight at them while Anput and Iunched a swift ranged attack at them before we took down the rest of the archers. Having a towering eight foot tall, armor d Demoness running straight for you with a shield and de taller than you was probably more frightening than most monsters especially since the magical power radiating off of her was far stronger than most things you would ever feel. Plus the golden glow around an otherwise terrifying thing created such a perfect dichotomy that made my big blue hunk all the sexier in my eyes, even more so when her eyes were a brilliant and cold gold that promised nothing more than violence. Even more so when she stabbed the mage in the chest with her de before grabbing their head and squeezing it as hard as possible, shattering their skull and killing them instantly before retrieving her de and blocking an arrow that whistled towards her throat. Unlike the other arrows this one splintered into various other, smaller projectiles that continued to seek her out, but none of them had the power to prate her armor, so Jahi just pinpointed the attacker and found a blue skinned Aviankin wielding a bow up in the air, who sent out another arrow. This one was a pearlescent silver that released a powder as it flew through the air, exploding into even more powder the moment it came into contact with Jahi''s shield; it left no mark besides that silvery powder, and I wasn''t going to entertain the curious powder whatsoever as I whipped up a gale and blew the powder back towards the Fiendish Aviankin. A new crimson arrow appeared on the Fiend''s drawstring instantly after it shot that silver arrow, but by the time it released the crimson arrow the powder was already swirling through the air back at it, and it became apparent what that powder was for; as the new arrow sliced through the air and arched down towards Jahi, it ignited that powder and caused it to explode, and since it was so close to the Fiend... Well, their wings were singed and they were sted backwards a few feet, putting them off bnce and inviting attacks upon themself that they weren''t ready to defend against; Jahi''s shield took the ming arrow easily while her other hand shone with harsh golden light as she stabbed her de into the air straight at the Fiend. A copy of her de shot through the air and streaked straight towards the Fiend, who barely recovered in time to see a golden sword inches away from their face; with a startled cry a shield of that all too familiar iridescent mana appeared before them, and the de crashed against it with a boom. The Demoness sent another one even as the first cracked some of the Fiend''s shield, but before the shield broke and before Jahi could go through the small yet deadly arsenal of spells she had another Fiend joined the fray, this one crashing down onto our tform and almost breaking the woodpletely. A Nua Fiend stole our attention away from the Tza Fiend in the sky, and even if we wanted to ignore it the stench that rolled off of its greasy, fat form was more than enough of an assault to warrant defending ourselves.N?v(el)B\\jnn Jahi once more acted first and moved with swift purpose as she charged the Fiend, though this time Saif rushed beside her wielding her giant cleaver as she aided the Demoness, leaving Anput and I to act in support of them. The Jackalkin beside me swiftly erected a metal half dome around us that blocked the Tza Fiend''s shots for the moment while I redirected my winds to hasten the two warriors, blowing them towards the Fiend and giving them more speed to turn into more power. Their heavy des and theirrger mass were given an extra bump by my wind, and as they empowered themselves even more with a quick, raw cast of a Mana Cloak they descended upon the fat Nua Fiend with a vengeance, slicing into its soft body. Green flesh was torn apart allowing sickly, disgustingly thick gobs of dark crimson blood to ssh on the ground, mixing with yellowish pus to create a concoction that actually managed to chew through the wood below. Even with the winds blowing the stench away I could still smell the sickly sweet smell of rot and decay wafting through the air towards us, and the Fiend was unbothered by the two giant gashes across its chest as it simply walked into them, raising its bby arms and reaching for its two attackers. When Jahi flushed her Light Mana into its wound however the Fiend growled in anger as the cut stopped festering, the blood and pus that leaked out of it no longerden with disease as her magic actually cleansed the area somewhat, while Saif just sted a chunk of its body away so that she could leap backwards to try again. Chapter 1181: Chapter 1180: Tests of Power (6) Chapter 1181: Chapter 1180: Tests of Power (6) ? Letting out a strangled cry, the Nua Fiend red at Jahi before grabbing at her de, not caring at all that its grubby fingers were being burnt and purified as it grasped at the dual metal de so that it could try and pull her closer to itself. Beside them, Saif lunged forwards and swung her cleaver downwards with an ample amount of force as she targeted the Fiend''s arm, slicing through the flesh and cutting through the bone as she forced it to release Jahi''s de. Before Anput or I could move to help them though, the pping of wings and the deep, throaty singing of the Tza Fiend''s bow filled the air once more, and we both spun around and released defensive spells as we watched threerge arrows hurtle through the air towards our tform. The three of them werepletely different from one another in appearance, the variations in color, shape of the arrowhead and the amount of fletchings they all meaning that they were all different in function, so trying to defend against them was difficult. Anticipating the strong gale of wind that I sted towards them, the Fiend released an arrow that simply ignored the counteracting force by cutting through it with its own mana, while the metal shielding that Anput summoned meant nothing to an arrow that was steadily heating up to the point that its once silver tip was now a vibrant orange.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om The third arrow acted somewhat like a mobile battery as it flew between those two arrows, and it empowered and sustained their unique effects before flying backwards harmlessly when it reached the wall of wind, leaving the other two on their lonesome as they hurtled straight towards us. More arrows began to rest on the Fiend''s bowstring as it watched us from above, though that only made me more adamant in dealing with it over the idea of dealing with its projectiles as I switched tactics, sheathing my de and freeing my hand for more efficient spell casting. The arrow that had been prepared against my Wind Magic slipped overtop Anput''s defenses and arced towards me, but a well timed muttered incantation sted it upwards as I relied on my Water Mana next, surprising the Fiend. It had been made to cut through Wind Mana specifically it seemed, so when it was suddenly impacted from below by water it was able to harmlessly spin away, deflected with ease; Anput waited for her arrow to impact against her metal shields before dodging it as it shrieked towards her after melting her defenses. Waving a hand I sent two separate Ritual Circles into the air and watched in interest as a hail of ice arrows flew towards the Fiend, traveling in the direction of the rest of the cultists as well so that I could guarantee damage against my enemies no matter what; the other released a myriad of water tentacles that shot towards the Fiend from all sides, attempting to grab at its limbs. The Fiend was surprised but not incapable as it reced the arrows on its bowstring with new ones, firing white arrows at the water and freezing them in the air as it turned my mana into neutral ice, shaking my control off of them and giving the Fiend time to breathe. It wasn''t like I was doing nothing while I watched them crystalize and shatter the tentacles I had sent for them though; the arrows were still zipping through the air towards them while I had also begun to weave together another spell, this one offering a multitude of benefits for casting it as I red at the winged Fiend above. Summoning a giant pir of ice right below them, I forced them to move forwards lest it clip them thanks to how it was positioned on the ground, and because the Fiend had to fly forwards it was greeted by a myriad of other attacks alongside the tentacles and arrows I was attacking it with. Anput hurtled various chunks of rock at the Fiend while also mimicking the arrow spell I had as she peppered the area in various projectiles, and with so much filling the airspace around it the Fiend was swiftly caught by one of our attacks, which made it easier for me to grab it with the tentacles and freeze them before I mmed it down into the ground. It happened in rapid session; an arrow sliced through its cheek before another pierced through one of its wings, and that momentary disruption of its flight pattern as it tried to ignore the pain and fill the hole to maintain its aerodynamics and ability to fly smoothly allowed me to wrap it up and pull it to the ground, those precious microseconds it needed to right those wrongs nevering to its aid. As it was falling towards the ground I unsheathed my de and leapt towards itsnding spot, which was at the base of myrge ice pir that radiated a deep chill that would be useful going forwards, and the moment the Fiend crashed against the ground with a dull thud I leapt onto it and stabbed it in the throat. Its spine and wings shattered on impact, disabling its ability to move and causing the Fiend an absurd amount of pain as it tried to scream in agony as it was suddenly paralyzed, only for itsrynx and the rest of the very important things inside of its neck to be severed as a de made from the bones of its fellow Tza Fiend cut through its flesh easily. Not giving it any sort of ability to cast some kind of spell or do anything at all, I twisted the de before grabbing its head next, smashing it back against the ground and breaking it open as I hooked my fingers into its skull, finding its brain and scrambling it up to kill it completely. The death notification filled me with such tingly pleasure as I yanked my weapon free and stood up, leaving the corpse below me as I looked towards the rest of the cultists, the drop in temperature around me and the vast amounts of vapor wafting off of the ice crystal filling my mind with ideas as I prepared for the next step in this battle. Chapter 1182: Chapter 1181: Cleansing Filth Chapter 1182: Chapter 1181: Cleansing Filth ? Jahi Pov The Fiend in front of me was an assault on the senses as it released a burp that sent a wave of noxious green gas towards me, attempting to corrode my armor and burn my flesh with that acidic concoction it had bubbling inside of its gut. The durability of a Nua Fiend was something that was hard to truly believe until you were fighting one, and after I cut its arm off and sliced open its fat stomach - a mistake if only because the fluids trapped inside of its organs were even more disgusting than the slimy, pus covered flesh I was already having the ''privilege'' of witnessing up close. My opponent simply let out a giant burp to push me back before using its mana to reattach its arm like it was nothing, while that giant gash in its belly was left untouched as it instead just reached in and grabbed a handful of its intestines to wring out over its blistered lips, drinking down its own fluids. Nauseating and far too durable for my liking, I wanted to end this quickly but no matter what I did this bastard just seemed to shrug it off, even going as far as to almost ignore the sizzling burns that happened whenever I hit it with Light Magic. Saif had to back off since she didn''t have the luxury of a shield imbued with a mana that resisted the corrosive and disgusting gasses that the Fiend was releasing, and after she tried and failed to get back in the action after almost being whipped by the remnants of the Fiend''s intestine I just waved her back and decided to take this fight for myself. It was a test for me, that old adage of ''unstoppable force meets immovable object''ing to mind as I empowered my de once more and stabbed it through the gas in front of me, a burst of mana dissipating the Fiend''s burp while the tip of my de buried itself in the thing''s multiple chins, though it didn''t go that deep since it''s grubby, nasty fingers were wrapped around my de. "Tsk... tsk... that''s not... nice... at all..." It''s voice was deep and bubbly, and it had to drag in wheezing breaths between words as it slowly pushed back, its strength deceptive for such an ugly and unfit specimen; I put all of my weight behind my de as I tried to go deeper, and yet the Fiend was able to slowly and steadily push me back. "Did... no one... teach... you manners... little... Demoness..?" The pping of its blistered lips was apanied by the unbreathable spouts of turbid breath as it bared its ckened teeth at me in some sort of grin, though when its fingers suddenly dropped to the floor with meaty thuds those lips curled into a snarl. "Shut the hell up, Fiend. What use would manners be against a creature like yourself? One who belches and revels in its own filth? The world is better off without your kind." My sword moved back into its many chins, and its thick blood began to seep out of its mouth as it coughed, though it simply wrapped its hands around my de once more and pushed, showing off its strength as it removed the sword and pushed me back again with a swipe of its intestine. Dodging the nasty length of flesh, I relied on my quickness to dodge yet another attack before lunging in, using my heavy great sword like a rapier instead as I stabbed at the Fiend from a distance once more, though this time the mound of blubber stepped to the side to avoid it, only to have a gash appear on its arm. Pressing my ''advantage'' I continued to move even as I felt the tform rumble beneath my feet, the sudden crash of something behind me not shaking my focus as I used the length of my sword and the reach of my arms to cut another chunk off of the Fiend, going for a myriad of wounds to slowly take it down. Though it was bing immediately clear that that was a losing strategy on my end since this things endurance was insane and it had the ability to heal extremely easily, so I needed to be more aggressive in my fighting style even if that held dangers since this thing was shrouded in noxious gas that I didn''t want to inhale. Still, I needed to get closer if I wanted to win, and not giving this Fiend more time to concoct new ways to turn its body into a chemical weapon was a boon I was willing to take as I rushed forwards, halting it from stabbing its hand into its opened stomach once again as I severed that arm for the third or fourth time now.N?v(el)B\\jnn Following that swing up with a jab with my shield, I pushed the Fiend back a step and took note of my surroundings as I shifted to the left, putting the Fiend''s back against the edge of the tform before blitzing forwards again. Cutting it as many times as I could, I used the weight of my attacks to push it backwards and eventually got it to where I wanted it, the Fiend still trying to spew its filth onto me or tanking through my hits to get an advantage. Sadly for it I managed to m my shield into its chest once more and knock it off bnce, and since it was such a ''physical'' specimen it lost its bnce and fell backwards, bouncing off the ground a little only to stare at me with wide eyes as I leapt down onto its stomach. My de sank into its skull before a sh of golden light spilled out of its cracked cranium, followed by the disgusting explosion of its stomach as my own weightnded on its torso, cracking its ribcage wide open and allowing the contents inside to ssh against my greaves. Chapter 1183: Chapter 1182: All Out Eradication Chapter 1183: Chapter 1182: All Out Eradication ? The blood of this disgusting Fiend sizzled against my greaves, even warming up my skin as it sshed against the slightly exposed bits or after chewing through the leathers I wore, showing off how deadly this Fiend''s body was on its own. Still, it was no issue for me now that it was dead, though to make sure I released my de for just a moment as I covered my hand in Light Mana, shrouding it in that harsh golden glow that everyone avoided before stabbing it straight into the remnants of the Fiend''s chest, burying my arm inside of this mound of blubber and digging around for something. Finding its core, I ripped it free and crushed it beneath my fingers, ensuring that this Fiend was dead and soothing my mind somewhat as I let the mangled bits of flesh drop back to the ground as I shook everything from my hand. Taking my de back, I stood up and stepped out of the corpse as I looked back towards the cultists around me, searching for another target that would be worthy of my time; during that moment of not doing anything, I blinked in surprise when I saw the giant pir of ice that stood proudly in the middle of the desert, only to shrug when I saw Kat standing right in front of it preparing some kind of spell. Most likely it was about to get really cold here in the desert, and thankfully I had gotten somewhat ustomed to the chill thanks to Kat''s penchant for using all sorts of spells that simply dropped the temperature well below its normal limit, so I was prepared for it even if I knew it was still going to mess me up a little bit thanks to how hot it was out here. Not finding anything of interest around me, I let out a low sigh before standing back uppletely, sweeping my gaze across the battlefield once more as I tried to locate something to fight that would provide a challenge only to realize I was going to have to deal with the cultists instead of something that would make me fight for a win. There were Fiends around the battlefield, yes, but yet again four were rushing towards the Sultana in hopes of defeating her while the others were already being dealt with by the various clusters of Death Jackals, sumbing to theirbined prowess with rtive ease. Having a super effective de and super effective mana type made it seem like I was stronger than the Death Jackals in total, but that was only true against Fiends since they were weak to both of those things, allowing me to bridge the gap and then some whenever I battled them. Anput was already enjoying herself amongst the mortals as she tried out a variety of different styles with her long de, while Leone was taking the slow approach as she stood in the back targeting specific people whenever they made themselves look too dangerous or important. The entire area was a chaotic mess of shouting, shing of steel and the discharge of spells as everyone fought against whomever was nearby, and soon after I stepped off of the Fiend''s chest and took a few steps forwards I was surrounded by cultists bellowing war cries at the top of their lungs. Shouts about freedom and throwing off the reign of the Sultana were the most prominent, but more than a few were just shouting wordlessly as they brandished their weapons and coated themselves in mana, hoping to scare me with the noise and their numbers. Counting five of them, I lifted my shield and blocked the swinging from my left before lowering my shoulder and bashing the attacker on my right, moving into their group and forcing them to switch their strategy as I threw one of their members to the ground instantly. Before they could scramble over to help, I raised my stained boot and stomped down on their chest, caving it in and eliciting a gargled shout that was quieted a secondter as they began to cough blood all over themselves. With only four remaining now, I swung my shield to the side and batted another de aside, knocking the person around in the process and revealing a clean sweep for my own de as I cleaved through two cultists this time, my sword slicing through their armor and bone as I separated them from their lower halves. Losing so manyrades so quickly startled the remaining cultists, and they let out horrified and resigned shouts as they threw themselves at me, their hands igniting with Fire Mana as they tried to tackle me, hoping to drain their Cores and induce an explosion with apletely overloaded spell that would easily tear through my armor.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om They were quick, but being met with a tower shield stopped one of them in their tracks as they bashed their helmeted head against the shield and dropped to the ground in a daze while the other managed to stumble to the side before lunging for me, hoping to fulfill their suicidal rush. My de was too far to the side to be effectively used against this cultist, so instead I waited for them to get close enough before lowering my head and bashing it against their skull, rocking them backwards and listening to the crack as the angle and force of the hit compressed their spine before snapping it. Just like their friend they dropped to the ground, though this one was paralyzed now, so finishing them off was as simple as raising my boot once again, while the one that had greeted my shield face first was given another intimate tap as I broke multiple bones with a single hit. Not even thirty seconds had passed and already I had dropped the number of enemies on the field by five, and more wereing my way to keep the blood pumping as the battle only continued onwards. Chapter 1184: Chapter 1183: Returning Face Chapter 1184: Chapter 1183: Returning Face ? Kat Pov When the notification popped up that Jahi had vanquished her own Fiend I was beyond relieved, though my thoughts were yanked away as the spell that I was shaping demanded my attention, itsplexity and power requirement requiring my full attention as I found that fine bnce between empowered the spell and keeping it from overloading. Thest thing I wanted was for it to explode in my face, especially since it was Ice Mana that had the innate ability to spread a deadly frost that was near impossible to get rid of if you were unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of it. That would be an almost guaranteed death for me, so I funneled my mana carefully into the runes and kept it evenly distributed as I prepared to unleash a swirling blizzard of extremely sharp and deadly snowkes upon the cultists upying the center of the city. It was a spell that would singlehandedly turn the tides of this battle in an instant, and it was something that would me an exorbitant amount of experience to push me through more levels as I attempted to make the most out of this. With the deaths of many Fiends already marking our kill tally, the Fingers were attempting to find some sort of hope totch themselves onto as they sought a way to win this fight and see their futuree to fruition, the hope of witnessing the blooming of a world meant entirely for them held close to their hearts. On one hand, the appearance of this many Fiends was already worrisome enough, and many of them were showing a prowess that demanded a modicum of respect, but the presence of so many Death Jackals who had been honed to a perfect edge by the Sultana herself meant that the quantity of them didn''t matter that much. On the other hand though, this many Fiends at such a low level made me wonder where they wereing from, and if there was something else at y here besides the already known objective of the Fingers and the likely objective of their Fiendish partners; was there something a step beyond even their goals? Where were the strong Fiends that brought death and destruction in their wake merely by existing, the same quality of Fiends that had almost ripped Leone from us prematurely? If we could get rid of the cultists in general and reveal only those Fiends then this battle would potentially be easier than what we had hoped in our fervent prayers, but the likelihood of that being the case was slim, the same way I had a feeling that this long, charged spell of mine was likely to never get cast. It was a slow buildup of mana that needed to happen for me to release this wide area of effect spell, and the feeling of eyes on me had returned once more, so I switched some of the runes out as quickly as I could so that I could guarantee something came of my efforts. Each rune that I redrew and added to the Ritual Circle glimmered that cold cyan that I hade to know, and my hands moved as fast as they could as I switched the spell into something far less grand, and yet as I pushed the Ritual Circle forwards and began to activate it someone appeared right in front of me. By ''someone'' I mean a Fiend, and the sudden appearance of a rtively normal yet clearly non mortal being was enough to make my heart drop as they stared at mezily, their cerulean eyes filled with mild contempt and boredom as they raised a well manicured hand. "This has no ce on the battlefield, dog." Their voice was silky and rxed as they flicked their hand to the side, and before I could even react my Ritual Circle shimmered before shattering into pieces, the mana within pushing at the constraints ced upon it before escaping into the atmosphere, rendering my efforts null as this Fiend just cancelled my spell like it was nothing. "Such a crude implementation of your talents... though what can I expect from-" "[Hoarfrost Lance]!" Before the Fiend could finish speaking I uttered an incantation and leapt backwards, summoning a spear of ice beneath their feet and attempting to stab either their leg or their stomach, but just like before they waved their hand and shattered the spell. "Never mind." The boredom was gone as they stared at me straight on, and after a second the Fiend nodded slightly before vanishing from sight, teleporting away like it''s job was done here despite so clearly having the upper hand. Looking all around myself, I was about to make a beeline for anyone else only to have the Fiend reappear before me, but this time there was an all too familiar face joining them as they pushed that neer forwards. "Back up that boasting of yours, mortal." A heavily bejeweled and arrogant looking man stumbled forwards before warily readying his hammer, staring at me for a few moments before smiling wryly as he said "Guess we meet again, hun. Not the most ideal circumstances..." The Caliph was standing in front of me, and before I could reply the Fiend butted in, saying "Show me more, dog. You have nifty tricks for one so young, and apparently there is bad blood between the two of you. Bare your fangs and use them, or die. This self important bastard is well within your capabilities, I believe... and if not, I''ll have rid the world of an unworthy talent."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om A hint of a smile tugged at the Fiend''s lips, though as my own lips parted to utter another incantation they flickered away, this time between the Caliph and I as it grabbed at us, taking us to somewhere new, somewhere that was devoid ofbat. We were still within the city, but the distance between Jahi and I was quite noticeable now since there was no way I could outrun something that could teleport this far in an instant, so I warily kept it within my line of sight before looking towards the Caliph, who had readied his hammer yet again. Chapter 1185: Chapter 1184: Fighting The Caliph... Again Chapter 1185: Chapter 1184: Fighting The Caliph... Again ? Warily alternating my gaze between the hammer wielding man and thezy Fiend, I held my sword loosely by my side while I recuperated some more mana after the earlier debacle, while also trying to buy myself more time since I needed to think about what to do.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om This Fiend was clearly the looming threat that I had been waiting for, one that was so clearly above the mortal grasp of power that I knew fully well that there was little chance ofing out alive should they actually desire a fight. That realization was a harrowing one as I stared at the Fiend, and it made my heart drop a little as I wondered how likely it was for me to find a way toe out of this alive, if there was anything I could do to return to everyone else before this teleporting Fiend could grab me again. Sensing that, the Fiend perched itself atop one of the nearby buildings and chuckled quietly as it said "Ah, scheming already? Trying to find a way to escape from me? There are ways, and I am certain your blue skinned owner has already told you one such way, but... I can make it far simpler for you, dog." The Caliph just stood opposite of me silently, his eyes fixed to mine as he waited for me to make a move; all of his enchanted jewelry was still dangling from his neck, wrists, and sitting snugly on his fingers, which were wrapped around the haft of that gigantic hammer. "You see, I am not entirely your ''enemy'' in the sense that I wish to kill you. Am I on the opposite side of this fight currently? Certainly, however I am also a purveyor of talent; talent that I see within you and talent that I don''t hope is ill given. Amuse me and show off that talent by winning, and I''ll let you walk." That got a reaction from the Caliph as he turned around to shout "The hell you will! If she somehow wins you''re supposed to-!", though that was an opening that I was NOT going to pass up on as I lunged forwards quietly and stabbed my de towards the Caliph''s head, though he wasn''t as airy in said head as I would have liked. Spinning back around and blocking with his hammer, the man clicked his tongue and snarled "Then I just gotta kill a bitch lest this Fiend screw everything up!" as he pushed me back with the t of his hammer, using the giant head to move me and give himself the room he needed to pull it back and swing. With my momentum now going backwards, the only option I had to avoid being hit hard and sent to an early grave was to keep heading backwards as his hammer rose into the air and began to fall down to the sand covered road beneath us. Throwing myself back, I rolled away from the impact and duly noted that there was now a crater in the ground where I had once been, the bricks shattering and turning into dust from the force of the impact, which was definitely going to be less disastrous than what it would have done to my bones. Following that m the Caliph hoisted his hammer and lunged forwards, swinging it again and this time attempting to smack me around as he went for a horizontal attack, covering arge swathe of area with the powerful weapon. As it traveled through the air he activated the enchantment on it and sent a barrage of lightning towards me as well, forcing me back once more as I found out quickly that he had learned from ourst battle. He was no longer berating me with his ''flirtations'' nor was he treating this like a simple spar before he would be safely teleported away; this time he was pushing the attack and not giving me any breathing room as he swung his hammer to spread that lightning while also ensuring I had no time at all to cast a spell. The difference, however, was that I no longer needed to use my hands to cast spells, so when I found myself an opening I went ahead and shouted "[Gale]!", whipping up a strong wind that sted against his side and took advantage of the trajectory of his hammer to spin him around. As he was recovering from the sudden addition of force to his side, I leapt back to create space as I added "[Hoarfrost Spike]!" to the equation as well, summoning a thick spike of ice to stab at him from below as I began to put pressure on him. Sadly, as the spike impacted his ribs and looked like it would pierce through his armor, one of his pendants shone brilliantly before shattering, covering him in a thickyer of mana that repelled the attack perfectly, before all of that mana was funneled into his hammer. Electricity bounced off of the metal surface and began to turn the grains of sand on the ground into ss as it arced around at random, giving his weapon an absurd buff that he put to use right away as he swung it again, though I was still many feet away from him. That didn''t matter as he let out a shout before mming the hammer into the ground, allowing the mana to be released in a storm that ripped at the bricks while it traveled towards me at a furious pace, each bolt filled to the brim with power that would definitely deal incredible damage. Dozens of bolts shed towards me, and I quickly encased myself in ice as I prayed that they weren''t as strong as they looked, funneling my mana towards the thick sheet of ice only to grit my teeth as I noticed the Caliph rushing behind his storm straight towards me with that hammer raised high once more. I needed to think of something here, otherwise there wasn''t going to be the question of whether or not that Fiend was telling the truth; I would be too dead to even ponder about it, so a strategy needed to be formed right now for me to survive this. Chapter 1186: Chapter 1185: Multitude Of Battles Chapter 1186: Chapter 1185: Multitude Of Battles ? The Caliph shot towards me like a meteor behind that storm of lightning bolts, each one ripping into the brick and sending a shower of pebbles and small shards of ss into the air that just gave the mana empowered electricity more things to jump on. Each spark flooded the air with heat and that sickly sweet scent of ozone, and while I tended to have a rather nostalgic and weed reaction to it thanks to Mother Ria, now was definitely not one of those times as I thickened the ice in front of me and opened up the back, though not before I drew the runes needed for an incredibly simple spell. Using the ice in front of me as a springboard, I summoned arge amount of Wind Mana into my fingertips and shouted "[Backdraft]!", letting all of the mana explode out of my hands and push against the ice to send me flying backwards at a high speed. Repeating the same incantation and shooting myself off to the side, I avoided the storm and caught the Caliph by surprise as I raised my hand and created yet another set of runes before muttering "[Chione''s Arrows]!" Unleashing the barrage of ice arrows at the man, I continued to move around as I left the spell where it was, using it to cordon off part of the ''arena'' we were dropped into and give me a little more to work with as I bought myself another handful of seconds. His hammer was being used as a shield as he spun it around to deflect the barrage of arrows, though that caused each of them to shatter against the metal and begin coating it in frost, while the various shards that he created streaked towards his armor and plinked against it, scoring small gashes in the metal and spreading even more frost. As I continued to move around the arena, the Caliph was forced to make his own decisions as quickly as he could manage while watching me from afar, his hammer slowing him down while his various enchanted pieces of jewelry were either ineffective at long range or were being held onto until he absolutely needed them?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om That uncertainty that those items brought were already beginning to show their worth as I had to fight around the idea of them being used sometime soon, so as I cast another spell from range I ensured that it was a spell that didn''t need too much mana just in case I needed to perform more maneuvers to avoid a supercharged lightning storm again. Though on that same vein, as I relocated myself once more and put a good amount of distance between us, I was tempted to attempt a risky move that would be hard for him to defend against; if I activated the helix on my sword, amplified my speed with my Wind Cloak, and shot myself straight at him with that explosive boost I could probably catch him off guard and deal severe damage all in one fell swoop. Maybe even end the fight immediately if he didn''t have the ability to react in time nor activate his enchanted items... all of that would be the reward and the risk for such a maneuver, and as I sent ance hurtling towards his face I just had to weight it in my mind even as I kept moving around, not letting him get his feet settled nor find a moment to breathe as I reversed the fight just a little. Jahi Pov The sudden ''loss'' of Kat''s presence nearby almost sent a dark pulse of anxiety and anger throughout my mind, causing my swing to be just off target by a little bit, though all that meant for the cultist in front of me was that the top of his head was now lying on the floor instead of his entire head. He was dead either way, so the result wasn''t anything bad, but the affect on my mental state as I took a more defensive posture was certainly bad, since I was more focused on finding where she had been taken to. This was something that shouldn''t have ever happened again, and while my relief was somewhat soothing since she was still within the city and rtively nearby, that relief was instantly doused by the realization of how she had gotten from here to there. That Fiend from before... the one that could teleport and the one who had disyed such frightening prowess in my only interaction with it; that was how she had mysteriously gotten so far away so quickly, it had to have been. And considering the fear, determination and wariness that Kat was feeling right now, it had to mean that there was something else going on there as well, something besides just the Fiend being there to kill her and deal a blow to ourbined efforts to eradicate the rest of the cultists. That was what was gnawing away at my mind as I nted my feet and blocked the attacks of the remaining cultists around me, redirecting my energy towards thinking as I continued to feel out the tether between Kat and I, while also monitoring her emotions. The sudden drop of fear that was reced by even more determination gave me a little relief, but still I felt the urge to push these enemies away and rush towards her right now, though as if she could sense that - and as if she already knew what was happening - the Sultana appeared nearby almost like she had the same ability as the Fiend I was worried about. "Don''t. Keep going forwards, and trust in your mate''s hidden Fiend; losing her wouldn''t be beneficial to that Arch Fiend, so she won''t let her be lost. Focus yourself on this and push forwards." That was all she said before she vanished, leaving me alone to grit my teeth and wonder if I really should heed her words and pray that ''Caligo is logical like that or if I should take this matter into my own hands... Chapter 1187: Chapter 1186: From All Fronts Chapter 1187: Chapter 1186: From All Fronts ? Kat PoV "You thought you could keep ying the long game?!" With a shout the Caliph mmed his hammer down once more, and yet again it got even closer as I was forced to roll out of the way, the ranged attacks I had been trying to maintain fizzling outpletely as I made one wrong calction. He ended up ripping a pendant off of his neck and tossing it into the air, summoning another storm that targeted the area around himself with weaker, yet still deadly bolts of lightning that tore at the ground yet again, and it covered a wide area that forced me to focus entirely on dodging and nothing else. That meant the Caliph was able to close the gap between us and resume the meleebat without any hesitation as he took full advantage of the enchantments he seemingly had in abundance, approaching me and engaging with me once more. Each hammer swing was rippling with power as it arced towards my body from any possible angle, each strike fueled by his own immense power as well as the desire to live and prove himself worthy to our silent observer. My speed was the only thing keeping me alive, my rather well rounded abilities making themselves known once again as I was just quick enough to avoid certain death while also having just enough stamina and mana reserves to not be too distraught by this change of pace. I still very much needed to find some kind of opening sometime soon, but if I couldn''t I still had some time to think, and with the Caliph being so damn close to me I was confident enough to be able to stop him from tossing another pendant into the air to activate whatever insane spell was engraved onto their surfaces. Bobbing and weaving around those swings was still stressful though, and the pressure being applied at all times by the Caliph was enough to make the idea of attacking more of an afterthought as more of my energy went into avoiding being hit rather than delivering my own hits. Small windows of opportunity sadly passed me by since they were rather well guarded by an overbearing swing of a heavy hammer, and any windows that seemed to have arger gap than normal were most certainly traps that I needed to avoid, so I was stuck in this dance of mine lest I risk a limb for something.N?v(el)B\\jnn While that wasn''t exactly the most oundish idea ever, what with my tattoo on my upper left arm that negated most physical feeling I had, I still wasn''t keen on it since the trade wasn''t guaranteed to be worth it; it was like a fork in chess, just... I had no idea if I was forking him or if he was forking me. Who would have the advantage over whom if I threw caution to the wind and made my own path forwards in this battle? That was a question I was going to leave unanswered as I instead continued to dart around, finding an intriguing win condition as I rolled away from another m before leaping into the air above a swing. The Caliph was getting slower with each attack he made; not by a lot, but enough that after a few swings I could notice the slow, gradual lowering of speed, and that meant that if I could just oust this man here I could im victory. Since each of his attacks had a weight behind it that I couldn''t reliably parry or even attempt to block, gaining an edge in speed was what I needed, and that gradual drop became more evident as I found lunging away from the Caliph to be easier. The more telling sign was the beads of sweat that had begun to gather on his skin as he continued to throw his weight around beneath the sun, his own build fighting against him as the heat entered the battle as an official opponent to face. An opening appeared shortly after; a slip-up on his part, his hammer sliding through his fingers a little and causing him to overextend a little when he moved forwards, revealing his nks and inviting me in to stab him in the side and deal the first blow of this battle. And yet it was an opening that I still cautiously allowed to pass by, the determination in his eyes as well as the swiftness with which he recovered setting off rms inside my mind as I continued to dance around this man with a refusal tomit an attack of my own. "Why won''t..! You..! Attack!" His growl of frustration was apanied by a burst of energy that I avoided as he pulsed the enchanted hammer for the first time in a little while, lightning scattering off the ck metal head and scorching the brick below as he tried to catch me off guard, only to then create another opening. Another overextension followed by a stumble, which I only took as an excuse to leap backwards and recreate the space between us from a minute earlier, earning another growl as he reached for his neck with a twinkle in his eyes. As his fingers inched ever closer to the pendants that ttered together around his neck I muttered incantation after incantation as I sent a barrage of arrows,nces and spheres at him, staggering some of the attacks and sending them at angles as I watched him closely. Finding one, he smirked at me and yanked the pendant off to toss into the air, though while my eyes flicked to the piece of jade soaring up above he instead grabbed another and skipped it over the ground. Mana coalesced around the metallic bauble that had a few gemstones set into it, each one shining brilliantly before cracking as the mana within rushed to escape, revealing its purpose as an explosive and nothing more as it bounced towards my feet. It happened rather quickly, but I was still just a smidge faster as I looked down at it and crouched, bunching up my haunches and timing myself with the escaping mana as I muttered "[Backdraft!]" once more, using the explosion alongside my own spell tounch myself straight into the air with only a few scrapes and burns. Chapter 1188: Chapter 1187: Earning The Edge Chapter 1188: Chapter 1187: Earning The Edge ? Sailing up through the air, I was able to look down into the streets of the city and get a birds eye view of everything, though it did me no good when I noticed that the Fiend was drifting right alongside me, watching me from a few feet away as it waited for me to return back to the fight below. Any hopes of dashing away andnding somewhere else in the city werepletely shattered by that, but I couldn''t do anything about that right now as I just continued to rely on the whims of this Fiend for the potential to survive, and in order for that to happen I needed to kill the hammer wielding man that was staring straight up at me. "Two dogs barking at one another, yet neither seems to have a bite... how strange. And here I was being told that the dogs born in the sands were something to be feared, and that the whelps who grew up in thefort of the Empire were fangless." The Fiend was trying everything possible to antagonize me while also continuing to remind me that they were right there, which was rather testing on my nerves as I clenched my hand around my de and stared back at the Caliph. He was my ticket out of this, so I tuned out the Fiend and made a decision, one that was probably not the smartest one but a decision that had merit to it; a decision that held risk I was willing to take right now. Steadying my sword hand, I aimed it at the man and activated the helixes before making use of the same spell that had gotten me up here, sting myself downwards and epting the unbiased hand of gravity as I plummeted towards the ground at insane speeds. The Caliph nted his feet and prepared to swing, his enchanted hammer bristling with electricity while a ring, earring and two pendants shimmered in the light, their enchantments activated. Calctions that had no real numerical denominations behind them began to flutter around inside of my head; Wind plus Water boosted attack from a sword made from Fiend bones, amplified by speed and gravity cutting straight down onto the Caliph and his weapon should be enough, right? Additional speed being added by my own spells, the strength I had that was also being boosted by said spells... that should be enough to cut through at least his hammer, right? The problem was that I had alreadymitted, and the idiocy needed to be proven to work lest I find myself turned into a fine meat paste or crippled after impact; either of those would be bad, obviously, so I prayed that I was doing a good amount of mental math right here to achieve a correct answer. Besides, it wasn''t like I was doing much of anything else thesest few minutes, and the idea of trying to have a stamina face off against the Caliph was an idea that I scrapped after he continued to swing that hammer like it was nothing. He was getting tired, yes, but not too tired nor did I have a grasp on what his reserves might end up being; I mean, training with a heavy thing like that might have built up a considerable amount of stamina, and I wasn''t going to be happy with potentially elongating this even more with potions. That just meant more time for a mistake to be made, so... here I was, flying through the air like aic book hero as I pointed my sword straight at the dastardly viin, the green and blue swirls of mana hopefully giving my weapon an edge over his at the very least. The time it took to descend unto the earth was merely a fraction of that which I had needed to get that high into the air, allowing me to get the answer to my foolishly brave decision even quicker as the gap between us Caninekin shortened. Only for it to disappearpletely as I crashed down onto his chest, my sword colliding with his hammer and surprising us both as it sheared through the ck metal like it was paper mache, separating the handle from the head and allowing my sword to carry its momentum forwards alongside my body. The impact alone sent the Caliph tumbling backwards with me on top of him, but with the Fiend bone de slicing into this shoulder the damage was even greater than I had expected, and apparently he as well since he was staring at me in shock. His earring shone before breaking, while one of the pendants cracked immediately as his back mmed against the brick, my knees driving him into the ground and causing us to create a little crater that did little to cushion this collision. Tremors raced up my legs and spread a myriad of fissures that caused me to instantly activate that tattoo on my arm as I sheltered myself from the pain, allowing me to push through and drive my de to the hilt into the ground, pinning the Caliph beneath me. Blood seeped out from his lips as his torso was made into a mess, the impact treating him worse than me as he went from stationary to moving far too fast, and with my knees cracking his chest te it wasn''t a surprise to me that his insides had be scrambled around. As he tried to open his mouth and say something, as he grabbed at me weakly and tried to funnel his mana towards his many enchanted items, I released my sword and punched him hard first, cracking his skull against the brick and stunning him for a second.N?v(el)B\\jnn A second was all I needed to grab his head and stab my fingers into his eyes, going for the weakest spot avable as I dug my digits into his skull, the mana at my fingertips freezing his brain and killing him instantly as I made the most out of this. The sudden shift from a fight to a quick, messy kill was somewhat jarring, but what wasn''t surprising to me was that I wasn''t able to move just yet, my legs and most likely my lower spine suffering from rather severe damage that meant I had to look up towards the figure standing above me with a prayer in my heart and nothing else. Chapter 1189: Chapter 1188: Free To Go..? Chapter 1189: Chapter 1188: Free To Go..? ? I slowly removed my fingers from the Caliph''s skull, both of my thumbs coated in blood and gore that signified the defeat of this rather worthy - and also annoying - opponent, and while it seemed anticlimactic, the fact that I had managed to umte that much speed in such a short period of time was rather potent. I don''t really know if most people in this world couldprehend moving that fast, and even if they could... the body of us mortals wasn''t meant to be traveling that fast even if we were upgraded with mana; there was only so much strength we could gain on the interior of our bodies without specifically enhancing it, and that wasn''t something that most people thought of doing. Even with the few potions and ideas Leone had for this in particr I was still sitting here, unable to get up since my lower spine was ravaged with various splinters while my legs were even worse, though since the tattoo on my left arm was active I couldn''t actually feel what that pain was right now... but I knew it was going to be really bad when this spell was dropped. Though the question became whether or not I could drop that enchantment at all since the Fiend was standing above me with thatzy expression, staring at me with few, if any emotions in their eyes as they studied the sight beneath them, looking at both me and the dead man I was sitting on. "Not exactly what I was expecting from this, to which I am going to give you props. That is... quite the fascinating way to deal with an opponent like this one. All the magic I was hoping to see was never revealed... but the way you went about it..." Crouching to bring themselves eye level with me, the Fiend tilted their head and nodded a few times before adding "It was fascinating. Using the explosion of that pendant tounch yourself into the air before utilizing the same spell to increase your velocity even more as you hurtled down to the ground. Clever thinking." The Fiend continued to nod as they turned their gaze towards the Caliph once more, and with a wave of their hand all of the pendants, rings and earrings floated over towards them, hovering around their hand before crumpling in on themselves as the Fiend clenched their fist. "Well... while I did expect and want more from that, the result is the result and unless I decide I feel like going through the process of resurrecting this bothersome male just to pit the two of you against one another. Which... is far too much trouble. No, I think I am happy with what I''ve learned and what I''ve seen. You''re amusing enough, little dog." Patting my head like I was legitimately just an animal resting here for their amusement, the Fiend then ced their finger on my lips as I tried to say something, showing off that immediate speed as it ensured I couldn''t speak. "No no no, dog. No barking allowed. You already saw what can happen if you do, hm? Be quiet, and you can live. Or... should I say I am doing a favor to you, ''Caligo? You cane out now; I know you''re here."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Mhm~? How is it a favor, little one~? You''re fast, certainly, but do try and touch what''s mine; go on~! Tell me if you can do harm~?" Cali appeared beside me with anguid grin as she floated aroundzily, matching the attitude of the Fiend before me and watching with a sparkle in her eyes as the Fiend frowned, their hand sping my throat. "Unless you were nning on having sexual rtions with my little puppy here, you cannot harm her~! Isn''t that nifty~?" The Fiend tried to give my throat a squeeze only to blink a few times when their fingers didn''t respond, and I swallowed hard as my eyes darted towards Cali, who was still grinning like this was just a fun little joke she was telling. "So if I wanted... no, if I desired to have sexual rtions with this mortal, I could, in theory, act on those desires and harm her? But if I don''t have those desires, there is no way I can bring myself to harm her? Fascinating. I had heard about your particr perspective on Lust Mana, ''Caligo, and experiencing it first hand is rather... interesting." All of the snakes atop Cali''s head hissed at the Fiend, and a few of them shimmered with a pink glow as they made their own point to the Fiend, while others bared their fangs and revealed dozens of Ritual Circles that shone deep in their throats. "Correct~! So if you have the desire to relieve yourself of your lust by raping my charge, please, be my guest~! I have to admit I am intrigued by the impact it would have on her and her private life~! Otherwise... perhaps it is time for you to leave? This city, I mean. Unless you wish to take the risk of testing that magic of yours against the Sultana? She is no Empress, certainly, but the vor of strength that she wields is rather oppressive in its own right. And even you cannot dodge dozens of juiced up warriors willing toy down their lives for said Sultana." Releasing me and stepping back, the Fiend nodded and sighed as they said "You would be correct; besides, the idea of changing an entire biome like this one is not my preferred kind of change. It doesn''t benefit the world, not when so much we still do not know is lost because of it. I was just here to acquire the things I need." "Good. Farewell then~! Have fun out there, and don''t be stupid~!" Waving to the Fiend, Cali smiled until the Fiend flickered away, allowing her to spin back towards me with a raised brow as she said "Breaking your back in the wrong way, Kat...", which made me roll my eyes as I reached for a potion and began to heal up. Chapter 1190: Chapter 1189: Another New Battle Chapter 1190: Chapter 1189: Another New Battle ? Leone PoVn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om I had seen Kat getting whisked away immediately from the battlefield, a blue skinned figure appearing right beside her before disappearing instantly, making me wonder if it was a trick of the mind that I was witnessing or if it was real. Obviously it was real since Kat was gone, and while the immediate reaction was one of panic I quickly quelled my emotions as best I could and looked towards Jahi next, gauging the reaction of the one person who would know what was happening to Kat despite not actually seeing it. While she did falter for a moment and messily kill the person standing in front of her, the Demoness clenched her jaw and gripped her de even tighter before returning to the fight in a more controlled manner, which was all I needed to know for right now. Kat was likely in a bad situation, yes, but there was nothing that I could do right now since the mark I had ced on her was one that I hadn''t particrly studied to perfections just yet, so I had no real idea where she was right about now... all I could tell was that she lived, and that she was far. Another thing for me to beat myself up over; another shoring that could have been avoided if I had only spent more time understanding what I am and what powers I had been born with. I felt useless and worthless for a few seconds after that, all the talent and privileges I had been born with weighing down heavily on my soul as I tried toe to terms with the fact that, yet again, I had all this potential at my fingertips and yet I wasn''t using any of it. Blood Magic, Moon Magic, an entire bloodline of superior magic and rare traits..! All of it was damn near worthless on someone like me..! But those kinds of thoughts had no ce on the battlefield, so I squashed them down and focused instead on what I could do, and what I could manage to aplish to help us get closer to saving Kat. The Estoc on my back felt heavier than normal as I stood behind a shield wall, but my talents - the aforementioned, undeserved talents -y elsewhere, and swordy wasn''t something that I could say I was confident in. My magic flowed freely, therge reservoir that I had created for myself over the years providing me more than enough mana to incinerate a myriad of the cultists surrounding us as I continued to even the numbers, even if it was only by a little bit. Spell after spell flickered on my fingertips as I sent bolts of me hurtling through the air, aiding whomever needed it most - but primarily the dancing Jackalkin that I also loved - and making use of my position to lessen the chaos of the battlefield by however much I could. The worry remained in the back of my mind the entire time I was slinging spells, but there wasn''t anything I could do since even the Sultana seemed to agree that right now, leaving this primary battlefield would put everyone at a slight disadvantage that could turn the entire tide, which... Couldn''t happen, no matter how much my heart ached at the thought of Kat being in danger right now; there was little I could do to hold myself backpletely, but this... depleting my Core and killing these unfortunate, misguided souls was just barely enough to keep me here since their folly was directly cing me and my loved ones in danger. Of course I earned myself a target by burning a few dozen of the cultists all at once a few separate times, but they couldn''t reliably reach me through the many shields sitting right in front of me, or at least the normal, mortal cultists couldn''t. To say I was unsurprised that eventually two Fiend''s decided toe my way would be the understatement of the century as I simply fine tuned my magic to deal with them instead, hitting the beetle winged and shelled Ka Fiend that was gliding over the battlefield towards me and forcing it to drop to the ground. The other Fiend was a butterfly winged Tza Fiend that was trying to flutter over to me high in the sky, but after a barrage of exploding fireballs the Fiend descended and used its legs instead, running towards me alongside itsrger, meatier and shelled friend. Anput leapt in front of them both but only managed to stop the Ka Fiend, who immediately diverted its attention towards a foe that would engage it in closebat, leaving the more magically inclined Fiend to deal with me. Hurling another explosive fireball at its face, I rushed off to the side away from my shields and tried to lure it away, seeding only after one of the smaller, less explosive bolts singed its wings, enraging the blue skinned insectoid Fiend. Both of its antenna twitched as it focused those multifaceted eyes on me, raising its thin, glittery arms to shield itself as another fireball shrieked towards its face, and as I continued to run away it revealed more of its elongated, thin body as it dashed towards me. Its wings helped it off of the ground as it avoided more of my attacks by flying, and with a wave of its arms the glittering powder that clung to its bright blue skin ked off and began to create a shimmering haze around itself that it was presumably going to use to either attack or to defend. The symmetrical wings began to glow as well as more and more of that glittery powder detached from its body, and soon I realized that resting on those chitin wings were Ritual Circles, which were absorbing the glitter in abundance as it drew ever closer to me. Each one was mirrored on the other wing, and each radiated power that I didn''t want to witness, so I spun around, dug my feet in and used something that was rudimentary but also something that I had a feeling the Fiend wouldn''t expect. Moon Magic. Chapter 1191: Chapter 1190: Battle Of The Mind Chapter 1191: Chapter 1190: Battle Of The Mind ? The glittering silver mana wafted off of my fingertips as fantastically as Kat had once said it had, the ethereal charm of this cold, ancient magic stealing away the attention of all who would see it, and especially those that were already focusedpletely on me. The two magics I had unlocked through simply having the privilege of being born to my parents had unique and static effects that I was well aware of even after barely touching them ever since I discovered I had them; Blood Magic was entirely physical in nature and affected the corporeal in its entirety, while Moon Magic - especially the kind I had - was far more suited towards tricking the mind and creating illusions. From what Mother said both of these magics I had been granted through my heritage were capable of a wide, unknown variety of things depending on how it came to you, the wielder, and apparently my Mother''s parents had the opposite of what I had been granted. Moon Magic was a more advanced Ice Magic in the hands of one of her parents whilst the other had a potent support magic that focused entirely on boosting and amplifying everything inside of someone''s blood; conversely, mine was more attuned to tricking minds and draining someone of blood respectively, so she hadn''t had too much information to give me. Information I would have loved to have been privy to, but there was no use crying over something that never happened, so instead I used what I had at my disposal as I stared at the Butterflykin-esque Fiend that was zipping towards, the glitter around its body continuing to swirl before being sucked up into those Ritual Circles on its gorgeous wings. Upon seeing my unique mana the Fiend immediately halted its advance and stared at me warily, giving me the time I needed to shape the magic I had used perhaps once or twice before in my life into something that would save my life, and this different casting style was something I was a tad more familiar with thanks to Kat. Instead of the logical application of creating a sequence of runes that my magic would follow, this was archaic magic that worked on my emotions and desires, something that was simr to the more loose and erratic casting style that was Invocation. With the Fiend slowing down from the shock of seeing this ''unknown'' mana, I was able to sent a thick tendril of it straight into the Butterflykin''s mind, the milky white mana driftingzily through the air and causing the Fiend''s eyes to cloud over before it slumped slightly. This would be the perfect time to strike, but I was unable to move as well as I continued to apply pressure to its mind, the mana within my Core converting itself into the mana I needed and halting all of my other attempts to create even just a spark of Fire Mana. Meanwhile the people around us were locked in battle with one another, so I had no help but neither did the Fiend, and even if we were rather unique people visually speaking no one was paying attention to us at the moment, so it was just me and this insectoid Fiend. Pushing the mana into the Fiend and focusing on the idea of trapping it inside of its own body, I felt the mental pushback from it as its body seized where it was at, stoppingpletely and causing those Ritual Circles to sputter out as all of its energy went to fighting against this foreign magic. As more of my mana was converted to the white Moon Magic the area around us fell awaypletely inside of my mind, leaving just the Fiend and I as we stared at one another; with the disappearance of the background and all of its various kinds of noise I was able to further focus on the Fiend, and so I envisioned chains wrapping around its body to hold it in ce. Suddenly thick, heavy chains erupted from the ground and wrapped firmly around the Fiend''s body, vapors rolling off of the white metal as they coiled around the Fiend''s limbs first before snaking towards its neck. "Fascinating..! Unique..!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om The moment one of the chains brushed against its bare neck the Fiend spoke, its sonorous voice causing the chain to hesitate before it settled with wrapping around its shoulders once more, though this time it was moving slowly. I tried to will it to head upwards, but as I strained myself to do so the Fiend spoke again, this time chuckling before it shuffled around in its stiff bonds, saying "I have never encountered something like this... Is it Moon Magic, perhaps..? Truly fascinating!" Tilting its head, the Fiend stared at me for a few seconds before looking down at its body, both of us straining ourselves as I tried to keep the chains here while the Fiend watched in interest as the vapors wafting off of the white metal revealed that there was, in fact, nothing holding it in ce. Everything was just in our minds here, and to that end the Fiend looked back up at me and asked "Do you truly wish to sh wills with a Fiend, dear? I''ll admit I''ve been caught off guard and am currently unsure of what it is that I need to do to escape these... ''chains'', but it is only a matter of time before I figure it out. This is a nifty trick, but perhaps your Fire Mana would be better used, hm?" Gritting my teeth, I stared at the Fiend for a second before taking a deep breath as I raised my other hand, summoning a bolt of me and causing the Fiend to let out a slightly shocked grunt, only to have it writhe around as I sent it flying straight towards its face. When the mes crashed against its skin and erupted, the Fiend let out a scream before falling silent a momentter, the mespping at its skin leaving no mark at all as it realized there was no real fire here, something that made it smile initially before that smile turned upside down. "Tricky... very tricky..." Chapter 1192: Chapter 1191: Power Of Will Chapter 1192: Chapter 1191: Power Of Will ? "Moon Magic is oh so fascinating, isn''t it? So rare, so tricky... Such an enigma even to those who wield it. What I wouldn''t give to be able to study it... So unless you kill me here and now, fledgling, I WILL be ripping that Core of yours out of your cold, dead body and using it for myself..." The smile returned on the Fiend''s lips as it said that, the attempt to be sinister whilst being a glittery Butterflykin causing me to raise a brow since the sight of my chains slowly constricting it into a tight ball only made those words seem somewhat t. And yet the Fiend took my silence as a challenge, so it clenched its muscles and grunted softly before it fought against the chains, pushing them back and attempting to break free of them, causing my brain to throb painfully within my skull as I fought back against them. The manifestation of my mind helped me focus my powers as I tightened the chains up before adding in even moreyers of maniption as I willed a bonfire into existence beneath the Fiend, raising them into the air and drawing a chuckle from them as they were bound to a pole. "Are you crucifying me, fledgeling? Like some kind of old world shaman or witch? Like a heretic? I must say..." Looking down at the mes that were licking at its legs, the Fiend''s smile turned into a grimace as they unconsciously jerked away from them, only to realize they were still bound in ce and unable to move; since I was truly focusing on this right now, the pain the Fiend felt was far more ''real'' than my petty attempt earlier, and it showed clearly on their expression. "If this was what they experienced... I can understand now why it was such a cruel execution style that brought out many enemies to whomever was in control. Even themoners could see that this... this was too much." Shaking their head, the Fiend clicked their tongue and grimaced as the mes continued to rise, my focus continuing to strengthen as I found out just how much energy was needed to maintain a believable illusion while also understanding just how potent this mana was. I knew this was fake and so too did the Fiend, and yet they were experiencing the real pains of being burnt as they rested there, crucified to a wooden post by heavy chains, and the more I fine tuned the amount of mana I needed to keep this status quo, the easier it became to let my mind loose as I tormented the Fiend. The more I was ustomed to something the easier it was to imagine it in its entirety, and one of those things was my mes; I knew them almost as intimately as I knew all three of my lovers, or how the entire pce was etched into my mind permanently. I was figuring out this power slowly but surely as I continued my tormenting of this Fiend, and the longer I went without uttering a word the more unnerved the Butterflykin became, especially as the mes crept ever closer to its enchanted wings. "Seriously, fledgeling, you NEED to kill me now or else I WILL take great pleasure in dissecting you alive... I will rip your Core out of your body and make sure you''re still conscious as I begin experimenting on it..! I promise you I will figure out how this magic works and I will use it to make you suffer worse than this! I swear it!" The groansing from the Fiend were bing far more abundant as I took in deep, measured breaths, my mana flowing freely as we maintained this stalemate here on the battlefield; time held no meaning, and it felt like this could have been minutes, maybe hours already, but it could have also only been seconds since I was trying to drag this out as much as possible. How well did this mental maniption work?n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om That was a question I would have an answer to soon, so while I grew even more ustomed to casting illusory mes on this Fiend I added anotheryer to torment this Butterflykin, taking an experience I was somewhat familiar with and something I was ustomed to dealing to someone else. Each of the white chains began to sharpen along the edges, the once thick and heavy links thinning somewhat while gaining an edge that dug into the Fiend''s flesh, scoring cuts along their blue body and allowing even bluer blood to begin trickling down towards the ground. I hadn''t been cut too often, but the few times I had I just couldn''t forget the hot pain that spread across my body from wherever the wound originated, and then there was the... ''incident'' with the Bloodletter, an experience that I was never going to forget. That caused my mind to falter for a brief moment, but it was far too quick and far too random for the Fiend to have anticipated, so when it had noticed the chains flickered while the mes dissipated a bit there was nothing it could do. As more of the chains switched into the ded restraints I wanted them to be, the Fiend writhed around and tried to escape, only worsening the wounds it was taking and putting its mind into further turmoil as I was given the opportunity to go against a Fiend ande out on top. Strengthening the mana I was using, I drew a scream out of the Butterflykin and watched as it lost the concentration and mental fortitude needed tomunicate effectively, its words devolving into agonized noises as more chains and mes appeared. Pushing it to a point of breaking, I suddenly dropped my Moon Magic and sent us hurtling back towards reality, surprising the Fiend as it crumpled to the ground, exhausted and mentally drained; before it could recover I walked right up to it and ced my hand on its face, pushing my Fire Mana out of my palm and blowing its head right off of its body, ridding this battlefield of another Fiend. Chapter 1193: Chapter 1192: Return To Form Chapter 1193: Chapter 1192: Return To Form ? Kat Pov I let out a low groan as the pain I had been suppressing came washing back, the after effects of using that spell and the lingering pains of having broken bones and torn muscles was quite humbling, especially since it made it hard to move even after being healed. "Still hurts doesn''t it? You literally got your back broken there, Kat. Kinda incredible to think you can recover from that so easily... though at the same time, the amount of times I''ve watched you get your back blown out is~! Mwah~!" Cali was fluttering around me with a gigantic grin as she watched me slowly get to my feet, the snake haired Arch Fiend enjoying this way to much as she blew me a kiss before letting out a peal ofughter when I red at her. "What ~? You''re stud loves~ to make a mess of you all day in, day out no matter what~! Such a primal lover, Jahi... reminds me of a Ka Fiend sometimes with how adamant she is at taking what belongs to her..." The Arch Fiend shuddered a little before snaking a hand down her body as she looked towards the sky, only tough again when I growled "Cali, seriously?", to which my ever horny, oh so wonderful patron replied "I''m always~ serious about this, Kat..." Showing her body off to me, she just grinned before fading away, leaving behind some parting words for me to mull over as I swayed on my feet, trying to ovee and ignore the lingering pains as best I could. "You don''t seem to understand how I function, Kat, and that''s alright... we''re different, after all. However, don''t be surprised that I''m finding pleasure in all this chaos... besides, I know better than any that after this is over, the sex is going to be out of this world~!" Leaving me with that, Cali disappearedpletely and drew a long sigh from my lips as I looked down at the dead Caliph, my eyesnding on the armor and hammer that the man had used against me as I let out another sigh, wondering if it was worth pilfering off of his corpse. The decision came rather easily as I pulled everything I could off of the Caliph, knowing that at the very least all of it was able to be sold for a good amount; besides, I was still hurting as the potion took full effect, so I took this time to heal while I looted the Caliph and secured another set of funds for our future. We needed to spend a lot when we returned to the Empire so that we could upgrade everything wholesale, using all this money and the skills we had honed to create some of the best gear that we had ever seen so that we would be even stronger going forwards. Hopefully, anyways, but either way this was something I was going to dly ept, so I began to march back towards the battlefield with a heavy hammer and a bundle of armor resting on a sled behind me, before I locked them away inside of an ice chest inside of one of the many destroyed houses inside of the city. Finding the battlefield even without the Soul Bond was extremely easy what with the various noisesing from a singr direction; the shrieking of metal, shouts and screams, thunderous booms and so much more guided me back to the fray, and as soon as I returned I was thrust straight back into fray.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Spotting my lovers was easy enough; Leone was standing motionlessly above a blue skinned, winged corpse that was missing a head while Jahi was a dozen or so feet away acting yet again as an immoveable rock that these waves of enemies crashed against before breakingpletely. Then there was Anput, who I began to rush over to right away as I saw a hulking red colored beetle bearing down on her with an odd weapon that was practically all de, the Fiend''s hands wrapped around a handle that was submerged into the de itself. Roughly six or so feet of razor sharp edge sliced through the air towards Anput, its wing like shape giving it a graceful swing that was at odds with the gigantic insectoid Fiend, that dichotomy likely catching many people off guard when they fought it. I sprinted towards the two andunched myself above the Fiend with a st of magic, and Anput instantly went low as she dashed beneath a high swing before retaliating with an upwards swing, scoring a deep gash in the Fiend''s chitinous armor. It let out a grunt before trying to spin around to block me, but the gale of frozen wind buffeted it downwards and allowed my mate to hide beneath the Fiend as it was covered in a thinyer of frost that spread across its entire upper body. While she was down there, the Jackalkin swung her de once more and severed the leg of the Fiend at the knee, causing it to stumble and allowing me tond on the shoulders of the beetle, where my de found purchase in its thick neck. Trying to swat at me to get rid of me, the Fiend growled only to begin falling forwards as Anput kicked it in the back, so I retrieved my de and leapt away from the Fiend as I watched Anput climb onto its back and raise her de up high. Metal began to coat the de before it ignited as she sent her mana into the conductive Fiend bone she had used for her sword, strengthening it even more and making it extremely easy for her to plunge it down into its spine. Twisting the de and snapping it, Anput pinned the Fiend down to the ground and gestured for me to finish this fight off, her pride not showing as she simply watched me stab the Fiend in the skull and freeze its brain as I killed itpletely. All she did was give me a nod before stepping off of the Fiend and looking for the next thing to fight, and that didn''t take her long as she dashed back into the fray without any hesitation, though she did run straight towards Jahi this time. Chapter 1194: Chapter 1193: Fiends Galore (1) Chapter 1194: Chapter 1193: Fiend''s Galore (1) ? Skidding to a halt beside Leone, I rammed my de through the back of the cultist shouting at her and sent the man stumbling to the ground with his heart shattered into dozens of pieces and arge hole in his chest.N?v(el)B\\jnn The Vampire nced at me before waving her hand and uttering something under her breath, willing the mes around her to leap into the air andtch onto the nearest cultists as she burnt them alive, disposing of these enemies with ease. As more and more of her mes danced around seemingly of their own volition the Vampire turned towards me properly and stared at me silently, her bright, smoldering crimson eyes demanding an answer as she took a step towards me. "Long story short, a Fiend teleported and abducted me. Me and that Caliph from the library, who is now dead. Fiend left though... sadly." I kept my answer short and sweet as I sidestepped a hopeful de, letting the cultist''s momentum carry them into my de as I swung it backwards and caught them in the midriff, slicing a deep gash in their gut and leaving them to drop to the ground in agony. Stomping on their skull, I caught Leone raising a brow at that before she too was forced to focus on something else as a body crashed down between us, the crumpled armor barely recognizable as a soldier of the Sultanate and not one of these cultists. w marks rended the steel apart and revealed the shed flesh beneath while the armor itself was either torn apart by said ws or crushed beneath a very heavy weight, and the culprit of such a thingnded atop that corpse a secondter, destroying itpletely and leaving nothing recognizable for us to identify after the battle. Letting loose a roar right away the Fiend standing atop the puddle of flesh and blood used its vocal chords as weapons as it infused it with Fire Mana, scorching our skin and forcing us back a step as it got its footing and stabilized itself. Golden fur grew off of blood red skin, the color scheme we hade to know as that of the Ka Fiends shining brilliantly beneath the sun and reflecting the firelight quite well as this Lionkin Fiend roared at us, its bulging muscles and long ws giving it a raw, primal power that radiated off of it alongside its roar, pressing into us. It was wordless and filled with bloodlust, merely the action of a battle hungry maniac craving a good fight and an even better kill, which we just so happened to be; across the way we could hear the shriek of what seemed to be a woman followed quickly by a bemused man consoling said woman, but there was no time to catch a peek just this moment. Continuing to roar, the Lionkin bared its fangs and lunged at me first, directing the noise straight at me and trying to win this elemental battle as it took advantage of its initial attack, pushing me back and overwhelming me before I could bring my own mana to bare. Luckily for me I already had the helixes swirling around my de, and since the magic it was using was purely wave based and infused into the roar itself, I could deflect some of it as I rapidly swung at the air, cutting through the mana itself and ''deconstructing'' the spell it was using. Since it was a sound based attack, the mana was loose and rather weakpared to normal, already threatening to break free of its ''shape'' and disperse into the air; by ''parrying'' the sound itself I was helping that along and forcing myself to endure only the hot, turbid breath of a Fiend alongside the somewhat physical pressure of its roar, which was pressing into my armor and actually acting against me. When the ws of the Fiend struck against my de, it was like a bell had chimed across the battlefield as I managed to redirect and withstand its attack, surprising the Fiend as it leaned into its momentum and rushed forwards, away from me and cing me between Leone and itself. It seemed to have miscalcted the strength of my weapon, the undoubted thousands upon thousands it had broken in its life not being as strong as my own thanks to the rarity - if notpleteck of - weaponry made from Fiend bones. Other materials were of course as strong as Fiend bones, but they were extremely rare as well, and a Fiend wasn''t going to be seeking those people out and living to tell the tale, so finding out that I had a weapon that could resist its own ws was shocking to the Lionkin. It didn''t remain shocked for even longer than a second, and upon spinning around the Fiend almost utched its jaw as it prepared another roar, though this time it was forced to mp its mouth shut and weave away from two separate attacks. The first was a ball of me that immediately exploded as soon as it got to where the Fiend''s head had been, and the second was a chunk of ice that shattered before melting a little as soon as that shockwave washed over it. Using that shockwave for its own benefit, the Lionkin rolled away and sprung to its feet immediately afterwards, bunching its legs andunching itself forwards before another magical attack could be unleashed, but this time it wasn''t me that met it inbat. Leone used me as a distraction as she unsheathed her Estoc and shed forwards, showing off her own explosive speed alongside magical control as her legs became wreathed in me, while the de itself was nearly reaching the temperatures needed to be converted into a liquid. Meeting the Lionkin silently, the Vampire cleaved her de down from its right shoulder all the way to its left hip, and as the Fiend tried to catch the de it only got to witness the wonderful calctions that Leone had made as the de sliced through all of its flesh and bone with eery precision. The cut was cauterized immediately, but the fur she cut through was lit up a second after her de scored a deep, charred gash in the ground, though whether the Fiend felt anything or not was a whole different story as one half of it slid to the ground with a heavy thud while the other half stumbled forwards a few steps. No blood was spilled, and yet the Vampire had showed off her abilities perfectly as she sheathed her de and freed up her hands once more, allowing her to guide the mes with her fingers like she was conducting a symphony. Chapter 1195: Chapter 1194: Fiends Galore (2) Chapter 1195: Chapter 1194: Fiend''s Galore (2) ? "Well... that was hot." Giving Leone a small smirk, I stepped up to stand beside the Vampire as we overlooked the remaining Fiends, our eyesnding on a dozen or so that were in our immediate vicinity; the intriguing thing about that was some of the Fiends were killing indiscriminately, aiding us while going against us at the same time. Those Fiends tended to be the violent Ka Fiends, but the amount of Tza Fiends that were ''identally'' using wide area of effect spells that severely injured or killed their cultists, while the Nua Fiends were just wandering around using their mixed attacks to deal death to whomever was closest to them. Even still, after what I had gone through and the swiftness with which we dealt with this Fiend, I wanted this moment of dpression by teasing my Vampire Princess, to cool down and readjust myself mentally from the tightly strung anxiety to a more collected state that would do me good in any battle going forwards. Too much seriousness in thesest few minutes that wore at my mind, so I teased Leone and got a slightly irritated smile back from her as she said "Now''s not the time, Kat... but thanks...", which only made me smile more before we both turned to watch as a Fiend skidded to a halt right behind us. It was another bulky mishmash of man and animal pped together with a red coat of paint and some golden ents but we didn''t have much time to understand its appearance since it was promptly shed in half before it fell onto a bed of earthen spikes that tore into its flesh, keeping it on the ground. "Hey hot stuff, wanna help me real quick~?" Anput grinned at Leone and gestured at the two separate bs of meat resting on the spikes, bringing our attention towards the Fiend trying to stand up from being bisected so that it could regenerate and resume battling with the Jackalkin standing above it.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om It was even trying to speak, but with its head now being in two separate parts and no longer having apletely enclosed mouth, all it was doing was making random grunts that made me raise a brow at how idiotic it seemed to be. "This prick kept trying to regenerate on me, so I got a little~ bit pissed~! So help me out here, oh glorious and sexy Princess~!" I held back a snort as I looked away from Leone, who had let out a strangled noise as she seemingly choked on nothing at that, which only made Anput giggle and say "Aw, you''re so~ adorable when you get flustered~! Makes it so simple for me to have some fun~!" "A-Anput!" Hissing at the Jackalkin, Leone bared her fangs a little at the Jackalkin before blushing again when Anput did the same, not backing down at all and instead doubling down on that as she waited for Leone to do what she asked, which she did after another second of ring and blushing. mes ignited around her hands beforending on the red meat below, swirling around each of the earthen spikes and burrowing into the flesh of the Fiend, with Anput converting the rock into metal so that the heat was spread more efficiently, searing the flesh thoroughly. "Good-girl-! Thanks for that~! I''ll pay you backter~!" I peeked at Leone as the Vampire Princess wentpletely crimson, her eyes smoldering again as she red at the departing Jackalkin after they had both ensured the Fiend was dead, and as if she sensed my gaze she hissed "Not a word...", which only made me grin before I hid that from her as I nodded seriously. Jahi Pov "I''m back~!" Even as I was locked in the deadly dance ofbat with a four armed insectoid Fiend of some kind, Anput seemed as cheery as always as she leapt above me andnded on the Fiend''s head, her long de sinking deep into its torso and causing it to let out a chittering cry of pain as it released my shield. Doing so allowed me to funnel some mana into the shield''s surface and bash the Fiend in the chest, and Anput leapt free of it before that happened,nding a few feet away and springing right back up as she rushed over to me to continue helping. Smashing my shield into the Fiend''s face, I pushed them back again and gave myself the space and time I needed to raise my sword up high and swing it down into the Fiend''s skull, all while my Jackalkin lover leapt forwards and aid me as she sliced through the Fiend''s back and severed its spine. It was an easy kill when working together, and it only further deluded me on what these Fiends were supposed to be like as we continued to put them down with ease, so the more it happened the more I had to wonder if a majority of the Fiends were actually weak, or if we were just getting ''lucky''. "Kat''s back and she seems alright; no injury or damage of any kind, so that''s good. Now whether or not she can be consideredpletely alright is a different story without knowing what happened, but I imagine all we need to do is thoroughly~ remind her how much we love her tonight~!" "That''s...forting. The day isn''t over just yet though, Anput, so don''t lower your guard. I refuse to have you risk yourself by bingcent." She just grinned at me and flicked the blood off of her de even as she covered her leg in Metal Mana and stomped down onto the Fiend''s skull, ending itpletely before saying "I know, I know~! I''m having so much fun though testing this beauty out~!" Showing me her sword, the cksmith bounced from foot to foot as she waved it around elegantly, giving me a moment to take a break as I caught my breath and stabilized my mind, something that made me stare at her for a few moments as I wondered if that was her goal. Only to roll my eyes when she bounced towards me and blew me a kiss with a wink, the little minx continuing to bounce away as she made her way towards another unlucky Fiend, causing me to follow behind her as I ensured she would be safe. Chapter 1196: Chapter 1195: Fiends Galore (3) Chapter 1196: Chapter 1195: Fiend''s Galore (3) ? "Surely there are more here than just these ones, right..?" Anput stood atop the fallen body of ourtest kill, her boot sinking into its gtinous head as she continued to pin it to the ground as we ensured it was dead, and while we were here she took this moment to breathe... and to in''.N?v(el)B\\jnn "You want there to be more Fiends than just this? Is this not enough for you?" Both of us were looking towards the Sultana, who was now standing atop a small mountain of bodies as she continued to feed her des the flesh of the fledgling Fiends, soaking the ground around her in their blood and turning the area into a charnel house as she unleashed her pent up aggression as best she could. A storm of metal that was aze with potent mes whirled around the Sultana, and everything that got close was cut into pieces and sufficiently cooked to ensure that there was no chance of survival, which the Fiends were putting to the test every chance they had. Anput''s ears twitched before she turned towards me with a grin, the Jackalkin''s tail swishing behind her as she nodded and said "This is NOT anywhere near how many I want! Think of all of the materials these bastards are made of! All this leather, chitin, bone and more that we could be using! I could make us all a dozen armor sets each with what I''m seeing already!" "And a dozen armor sets isn''t enough for you? You want more? I didn''t realize you were so greedy, Anput..." Letting out a bark ofughter, the Jackalkin stomped her boot into that gtinous mound again and nodded proudly as she replied "Damn straight! I want more things to y with and these Fiends are made of those things~! Besides Jahi, I thought you''d have already figured out that I''m a greedy~ little puppy, hmm~?" That got a chuckle from me as I nodded, the reminder of things that would be happening when this was all over rejuvenating me a little as the ever present goal of mine was brought back to the front of my mind, especially since I had recent memories of her being ''greedy''. And me being greedy too, but my greed was her greed and vice versa, so I rested my de across my shoulder and helped her look for the next target, though that didn''tst long as a Fiend crashed in front of us, swiftly being joined by a second. "The little Demoness! What luck, what luck!" "Oh hush idiot!" A very excited and jolly red skinned man was bouncing around as he grinned at me, while the red skinned woman standing beside him smacked the back of his head and red at me, growling "We''re here for you and your Core, Demoness! So go ahead and die for us!" Both of them were dressed in long flowing robes that gave them an elegant appearance, and the long, curved katanas sheathed on their hip added to that as they took interesting stances, both showing off something unique. The man unsheathed his de and held it in a single hand, twisting himself so that his other arm was pointed to his left while his de was held facing outwards to his right, taking a rather mboyant stance that was rather intriguing, especially while how smoothly he bounced from foot to foot as he rocked back and forth. As for the woman, she was more traditional as she rested a hand on the hilt of her de while lowering her shoulders, ring at me as her pitch ck hair fell over her red skinned face; lowered stance and bent at the waist, she was looking for an opening to rush forwards and execute a single, perfect slice with her katana, though... The weight of the shield on my left arm reminded me that her fighting style didn''t usually work well against mine, so I once again took the front of this battle on our side as I marched forwards, baiting myself by cing myself within her range and watching them both closely. Likely expecting me to anticipate the woman attacking first, the mboyant robed man giggled as he flickered forwards, his lunge carrying him off to my side before his katana stabbed towards my armpit, hoping to slip through the armor and deal a decisive and quick blow that would put me down for good. As Anput leapt to my defense and whacked his de away, the woman unsheathing her de as she shed forwards to try and cut Anput in two, the void ck de seemingly absorbing the light around it as it cut through the air and made its way towards Anput''s waist. It was like a chess match as we alternated moves, and to fit in to that idea I pushed my de off of my side and began to cleave down towards the woman''s shoulder, forcing her to make a decision as she saw the golden light shrieking towards her. A life for a life, especially since it wasn''t a guarantee that the Jackalkin would remain situated where she was; already there were kes of Metal Mana gathering across Anput''s body, and she was already bunching her leg muscles as she prepared to leap into the air, her speed matching that of the Fiend''s somewhat. Gritting her teeth, the Fiend threw herself to the side and allowed her katana to barely knick Anput''s heavily armored calf, narrowing avoiding my de and shuffling the positions around a little as she slid to a stop right in front of me, while Anput was now staring at the man, the two grinning at one another. "All of you Fiends are too damn interested in my Core... but hey, if it gets you over to me and ready to die, then that''s fine too. I don''t mind the extra practice on some unneeded pricks that the world is better off without~!" Chapter 1197: Chapter 1196: Fiends Galore (4) Chapter 1197: Chapter 1196: Fiends Galore (4) ? n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Her katana slid across the t of my de as we stared at one another, her small stature not revealing her impressive power as she pushed against me and tried to pin me against Anput, who was fighting right behind me. That void ck metal was sapping the mana from my weapon and devouring it like a gluttonous pit, weakening my attacks and weakening me as I was forced to keep a constant stream of mana flowing into my weapon if I wanted to overpower her. With the shield strapped to my arm I was able to two hand my great sword and wield it properly, but even as I exerted my strength and pushed down against the Fiend she just redirected my de to the side and dashed away, opting for more space between us yet again. Her hit and run tactics were rather irritating, but they had yet to be infuriating as I kept up with her blow after blow, constantly battling against her and ensuring that I kept pace with the Fiend as she darted to and fro, constantly searching for a weakness to exploit. The problem for her was that there were few weaknesses for her to find at all, and even when she found them she had learned that there was always something waiting for her that she needed to dodge; she would have been better off fighting against Anput since their styles matched, but her male counterpart was upying the Jackalkin right now. Neither of them would have been able to get that far at all against me since I was walking around with what was practically a piece of a castle''s walls in terms of defense, and their more speed based attacks weren''t that ideal for a defensive battle. "This is irritating..." Skidding to a halt a few feet away, the Fiend glowered at me as she flicked her katana towards the ground, the ck metal radiating an inky cloud as she said "I didn''t want to have to do this now, but... it would seem that it is necessary. Prepare yourself, Demoness!" sping both hands around the hilt of her katana, the Fiend lowered her stance once more and looked up at me, her right leg sliding backwards as she went even lower, looking to further enhance her speed as she took what looked like an alternated sprinters stance. The inky cloud grew thicker as her mana visibly funneled into the de, thick strands of blood red mana wafting off of her skin and traveling straight towards the katana, signifying that she was charging an attack. Of course I wasn''t going to let her do so freely, and while I could have just hunkered down and defended myself, I felt that offense was going to be the best defense against this Fiend as that cloud grew darker and thicker, the unique mana casting doubts in my mind. It was clearly a step above whatever her own natural mana was, and I didn''t want to give her the time to fully charge it up and cause severe damage to Anput or I, so Iunched myself forwards and stabbed my great sword straight at her, the extended range of my potent Light Mana leaping off of the sword and cutting towards her throat. And yet, instead of lunging towards me, the Fiend streaked past me and headed towards the other two fighting just a few feet away, and again I was surprised as I twisted myself around to give chase, preparing to see her cutting towards Anput and attempting to kill the Jackalkin. However she streaked past her too and stopped only in front of the male Fiend, who just grinned and asked "Is it time then, sister-?" before his head thudded against the ground, her katana slicing through his neck cleanly. The blood that should have spurted out of the wound flew towards the de instead, and without any hesitation the Fiend spun back around and stared at the two of us, her katana bing red with her brother''s blood as she spat "You aren''t the only ones with rare magics, brats." Her brother''s corpse dropped to its knees and remained there, though I noticed that it had crossed its hands over itsp and that his head - after it had stopped rolling - was still sporting the same grin as before, though this time his eyes were glowing red. She didn''t give us time to think as she lunged forwards again, and this time her speed was almost blinding as she appeared in front of me, her katana raised high as she went for a powerful strike to open up. Raising my shield and attempting to block the strike, I grunted as her de crashed against me, the weight behind it far greater than before as the blood that was swirling around her ck katana thickened and pressed down on me. Strands of blood began to trickle over the shield, and it searched for any and all crevices to fill as it spread that weight out and made it harder for me to push back, but with my shield being strapped to my arm I was able to press my shoulder against the back of it and use my other hand to push back as well, exerting my strength again and showing the Fiend that I wasn''t going to bend from just this. She also had to worry about Anput, who stabbed her long de straight towards the Fiend''s side, only for her de to shriek against an angled disc of blood that had Anput stumbling back behind the Fiend, though she used that momentum to spin around and slice towards her neck next. Gritting her teeth and continuing to use her weight to pin me where I stood, the Fiend hissed "[Old God''s Razor]!", summoning arge amount of blood from her brother and aiming it straight at me, the droplets of crimson liquid sharpening and solidifying into a weapon. One that radiated power as the Fiend who summoned it set it free, the de shrieking towards my face as it flew around my shield with ease. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 1198: Chapter 1197: Fiends Galore (5) Chapter 1198: Chapter 1197: Fiend''s Galore (5) ? As I tilted my head to the side to avoid the blood de that streaked towards me, the Fiend continued to press down even as Anput''s de sang towards her back, leaving herself seemingly undefended. That swift burst of hot pain as the blood de sliced into my cheek was bearable as I stared into the Fiend''s eyes and hissed "Gonna have to do better than that Fiend!", though as Anput''s attack was blocked the Fiend hissed back "Oh I will..." Suddenly she retreated from me, yanking her de back and attempting to pull me forwards as the blood that hadtched onto my shield pulled away alongside her, dragging me forwards a step and making it hard to prepare for the blood de that had flipped back around and wasing for my head again. So I leaned into that pull and fell forwards, my shield falling straight onto the Fiend''s body as I managed to catch her as I threw myself forwards to dodge the de behind me, nting us both on the ground and ensuring that this Fiend was stuck beneath me. Her spell whizzed overhead before spinning to fly towards Anput next, but the Jackalkin was treating this like practice now as she parried it continuously, going back to back with the swinging of her longsword as she batted the spell away continuously. Pressing the Fiend beneath me, I grinned at her and pressed more of my weight against the shield, pinning her and finding her arm as I grabbed for her katana, ensuring that it wasn''t able to be used as I said "This is your better-?" She spat at me before growling "You don''t even know the full depths of my power!", which made me raise a brow before I mmed my head against hers, the sickening crunch followed by a sharp cry of agony from the Fiend making my grin widen as I stared down at her. The blood that she had used from her brother was seeping into the cracked tiles below, going back to its normal liquid form and losing its magical touch as her concentration was broken; before she could say anything again I head butted her for a second time, opening a gash on her forehead and eliciting another cry as her head mmed back into the ground. A dull pain slowly spread behind my own brow, and I could feel my own blood trickling down my nose as I continued to loom above her, each second slowly dragging out as we stared at one another, before the Fiend tried to hiss something at me. Her red eyes were ame with anger and shame as she was trapped beneath me, and I felt a surge of pride and something else as I stared down at her, though when her lips moved again I just repeated the same thing that had gotten her to shut up the first time: mming my head into hers and ensuring we were both in pain. Now that the blood had lost its magic, Anput was freed from her little dance and was able to go and pick up the head of the other Fiend, holding it with a smirk as she approached us and dangled it above the prone Fiend. "Wanna say goodbye before you die~?" I could hear the Fiend grinding her teeth as she red hatefully at Anput and I, and after another second she managed to spit "Burn in hell!" before I just bashed her again, this time catching her wrist too as I gave it a twist and snapped the bones, making her scream again. "I''ll say that was a goodbye~! Have fun~!" Behind me the crunch of bone being crushed followed by the wet sound of those shards dropping onto the ground below filled my ears, and I shivered slightly as I realized it was a nice sound to hear, something that made me wonder if Kat was rubbing off on me too much. Something that was definitely rubbing off on me was the thrill of superiority that came with being stronger than someone else, something I had been around my entire life; looking down at the Fiend, I shuddered again as I felt a heat blossom within the pit of my stomach, slowly spreading downwards and causing both Anput and the Fiend to stare at me in confusion. "Y-You..! NO!" Writhing around, the Fiend tried to escape from me, but I was both too heavy for her and she was too weak at this point as her addled mind was further thrown into disarray, though when Anput hissed "Jahi..." I took a deep breath and tried to forget about the swift, dangerously addicting thought that had just shed through my mind. What would it be like to take this Fiend for myself, something that few people could im to do? Would it feel better than what I was used to, or would the thrill of being able to conquer a Fiend like this make me all the more hungry for all sorts of things..? That heat was distracting, and after a few seconds I wondered what would happen if I did stake a im to this Fiend, only to have Anput''s de whistle just past my cheek and sink into the Fiend''s skull, killing her before I had the chance to wonder anymore. Anput had even nicked my cheek too to ensure I understood she wasn''t ying around, so I gently and slowly pushed myself off of the Fiend''s corpse to stand beside her, still ufortably hard as I attempted to clear my mind.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Well that was fascinating~! Such a juicy~ piece of meat waiting to be devoured and you simply gave it up~? Hmm... you mortals aren''t as base as I remember! Many would have taken her prisoner and used her for themselves... I would have too~!" Someone tried to grab Anput and I from behind, but we both spun around and attacked them, my Jackalkin''s de seeking a new target while I bashed with my shield, only for our attacks to sink into a pink mist that cushioned their power. Clutching my de, I funneled my mana into it and stared at the pink skinned Fiend for a few seconds before I stabbed through the mist with my golden de, cutting through the mist and surprising the Fiend as my dual metal de sunk into its belly. Chapter 1199: Chapter 1198: Dispersing Chapter 1199: Chapter 1198: Dispersing ? Kat PoV "Must you be like this..?" Kicking the severed head of the cultist away from me, I looked over at the Vampire Princess and shrugged, knowing that I was being a bit crude right now but unable to find it within myself to care that much since I needed to blow off some steam. The whole being abducted thing was getting to me at this point, and the fact that I had gotten lucky each time was something that further irked me, even if someone could argue that being lucky was one part of my overall skill in this life. That just didn''t sit right with me, but the amount of times I had beenmenting my uselessness only further pissed me off as I watched the head roll even further, though right now my anger was ced entirely on the scene I had caught just a moment ago. Seeing Jahi pinning a woman to the ground and grinning down at her like she had found a juicy piece of prey was enough to fill me with rage, both at the woman and at the stud of a Demoness that I loved far too much. Leone had seen it as well, though she was still trying to feign that prim and proper mask even though it was just us, something I knew thanks to her more agitated and shy casting of magic that allowed her to be a lot more aggressive than normal. Those flourishing mes fueled by her anger made the cultists around us far more hesitant as they contemted the guaranteed death at our hands versus the potential to live if they go and fight a soldier instead, which was why we were currently standing on a peaceful little ind in the square. There were corpses around us that had been dismembered and burnt to a crisp, and that was enough for them to flee from us in hopes of living a little longer, though we were both capable of killing them from afar. That had enabled the time we needed to see Jahi doing what she had, and while I had a feeling she was being influenced somehow it didn''t really matter to me as I was instead just irritated she found herself in that position. When she had stood up and been touched by a pink skinned Fiend, I had felt her surprise and spun around to look back at her, catching Leone''s attention too as we both prepared to cast any spells we could to aid them, only to see Anput stab her de at the Fiend while Jahi bashed at it with her giant shield. Both of those attacks were absorbed by the pink mist that had shrouded the Fiend instantly, and it had opened its mouth to speak again only to widen its eyes as Jahi stabbed it this time, her de glowing gold as her Light Mana pierced that mist and enabled the critical surprise attack that brought the Fiend to its knees. Sudden and anticlimactic didn''t even begin to describe the kill, but it happened nheless as Jahi stepped forwards and mmed her shield into the Fiend''s skull, snapping its neck and causing it to crumple to the ground lifelessly not even a dozen seconds after its appearance. Sensing our gazes, the Demoness yanked her de free and let the blood sizzle as her mana dissolved it, turning towards us and tilting her head in question before beckoning for us to join her, her carefree demeanor getting to the two of us for a moment as we walked over to her and Anput.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Don''t even think about it, hm? There was a Fiend messing with my mind, alright?" She dismissed our anger with a shrug and turned back towards the rest of the enemies, though I caught the smirk on her face as she stepped over the corpse of the Fiend to begin marching towards another fight. Everything continued to go smoothly from that point on as we picked our battles on a whim, heading for various clusters of cultists who looked strong or Fiends who were alone, whittling down the numbers again and again as the battle raged on. And yet it had already reached its apparent climax without us since many of the cultists were already fleeing, and after the next half dozen of Fiends fell most of them began to retreat as well, some shouting about their departures whilst others left silently. Those that had been unlucky enough to be close to the Sultana however were not allowed to leave, and more bodies hit the floor as she carved through them like she was preparing a feast for us all as limbs and bs of meat were sent flying through the air with the asional head. All of them died quickly, and she tried to catch as many as she could, easily making up half of the kill count on her own as her des never stopped moving through the air, and it was her steady and stable presence that made it possible for us to push through everything to reim this city for her and for us. Then like flies the entirety of the invading force began to disperse, rushing away from us and fleeing from the city as they decided to preserved their lives, and while we could rush after them to hunt them down the Sultana gave us the order to remain where we were and simply shoot whomever we could. The battle ended on a whimper as the numerical losses began to mount even more than they had anticipated - and honestly from what we had anticipated - but no one on our side was going toin about this oue whatsoever. It was over for now, and as more and more of the cultists disappeared from our sight we were finally able to rx, though the lingering threat of Fiends meant we couldn''t let our guard downpletely lest we be caught off guard and swept into a terrible position. Chapter 1200: Chapter 1199: Battle Over, But What About The War..? Chapter 1200: Chapter 1199: Battle Over, But What About The War..? ? Resting atop the broken down wall, I swung my legs and looked out over the destroyed city with a conflicted mind as I tried to understand what had just happened over thesest few hours; sitting beside me was Jahi, the Demoness basking in the setting sun as sheid down on the cracked stone without a care in the world. "That was certainly something... a bit quick, but the sheer amount of losses they suffered had to have been the reason why they did what they did. It just doesn''t make sense otherwise." Her words were carried by the cool breeze into the city, but no one was listening for her besides me, so I was the one to reply to her as I said "I sincerely doubt we''ll be able to figure out their thought process on this one. Something was happening in the background for sure though. Something we aren''t privy to." "I know, that''s what''s ticking me off right now. What was their goal? The Fingers had a goal we knew about, but the Fiends not so much. Turning the desert into an entire different biome... what is there to gain?" The memory of the Tza Fiend abducting me to force me into a fight against the Caliph flooded my mind again, and I growled softly before saying "I don''t know either, but that teleporting Fiend had said that they weren''t interested in swapping the biome at all. It was change, yes, but it wasn''t a change that brought anything necessary with it. My assumption is change doesn''t always equate to a positive thing for them. They mentioned the abundance of things already inside of the desert that everyone has yet to find, so perhaps there are things that need to be excavated beneath the sands, or perhaps some rare herb or animal is waiting for someone to be determined enough to find them." Jahi let out a snort as she sat up, looking over her shoulder and staring out over the golden sands for a few moments only to snort again as she shook her head, those amethyst eyes glimmering with amusement stealing away my attention as I momentarily forgot about everything for a second. "I doubt that too. Well, it''s like you said; trying to figure out what the Fiends were here for is a fools errand to the umpteenth degree. What we can go ahead and mull over is just how many prime materials we just gained from this~!" Pointing down into the city, Jahi grinned at me as she directed my attention towards our other two lovers, who were in the process of gathering and harvesting all of the Fiends that they could in the area below us, piling the corpses up in front of the Sultana who was listening to reports from everyone about everything. "I suppose we''re going to be taking a three, four day breather so that she can enjoy forging all of that into something usable for the masses. I have a feeling that she''s going to want to just churn out hundreds of des to practice and hone her skills before moving back to some of our stuff." "Damn I hope so! This shield is incredible, so I would love~ some more of her creations, especially if she only gets better~! Though like we said, a certain someone needs to start earning her keep too, and another certain someone needs to begin showing a return on investment..." Her eyes began to glitter for a different reason, and even though I was caked in grime and sweat, looking otherwise not my best after a long time spent killing and fighting, Jahi was giving me the same look that was typically reserved for our nightlife. A look that I was so familiar with and one that I would never get tired of for as long as I lived, especially when it came from the Demoness beside me; it was a form of attention that gave me a rush even if it was from anyone, my nymphomania - both the skill and personality - making that sort of attention hard to deny, especially when I wasing down from being as tightly wound up as I was. "I definitely don''t mind a few days rest~! In fact, I have a few things I wanna try with you, Kat, things that we haven''t done before. Tonight specifically; I need something strong to end the day, be it liquor or you~!" That made me raise my brow as I asked "What? Did you want to have drunk sex?", which drew augh from Jahi as she shrugged and replied "Doesn''t sound too bad, but no, I had something else in mind. Anyways, it seems we''re being called down right now." Pushing herself off of the wall, Jahi slid down towards the ground and joined the Sultana, who handed the Demoness a letter, which she sliced open and read just as Inded right beside her, nodding her head and handing it to me as she said "That''s better than I had expected. Here I was expecting my Mom to order us back posthaste and yet she''s saying we can take even more time if we want." Going over the letter, I raised a brow at that and said "That''s not entirely what she said, but if you don''t mind interpreting ''take your time, we''ve received another letter from Lilith'' literally and potentially missing out on whatever interesting news they were given, we can. Honestly I''m perfectly content waiting it out for a much needed break, and also..." I trailed off and nced at the Sultana, who dryly said "You wouldn''t mind draining some of my coffers some more, hm? All these Fiend bones in the possession of an over eager smith hoping to make a name for herself... so she''s going to be doing mass production on some high quality weapons that she''ll sell to me at a ''discount'' despite some of those bones being mine." Raising my hands and taking on an innocent expression, I murmured "I never said that...", which made the Sultana say "It was very much implied." before she turned back to Jahi and said "Take the time off and rest. You all need it." And of course, who were we to argue with someone like the Sultana on something like this?N?v(el)B\\jnn So we were going to take these days to rest, though the curiosity of the letter that the mysterious Lilith had sent to the Empress was certainly pulling us to return to the Empire... but the Sultana was also right in many different ways. Chapter 1201: Chapter 1200: Working Hard* Chapter 1201: Chapter 1200: Working ''Hard''* ? Anput Pov Hoisting the body onto the stone table, I stared at the beetle Fiend for a few seconds before ncing over my shoulder, meeting the gaze of the voluptuous Vampire that I loved to tease, though this time I was staring at her neutrally instead of with lust... though that could change soon if I felt like I needed it to~! "You ever find it a bit... disturbing how efficient we''ve gotten with dismembering bodies? Like isn''t this getting into worrisome territory? Or am I just overthinking all of this right now?" Leone was sitting on a small stool plucking the feathers from another dead Fiend, the pile of golden plumes reaching her knee with how quickly she was working and howrge this Fiend''s wings had been, and upon hearing my question she just shrugged before resuming her work. "Not particrly, no. Especially not when you consider how often these Fiends shout about wanting to eat, torture, rape and dismember us. Just because they have a conscious and are - most of the time - rather intelligent does not mean they are worthy of being treated the same way we would treat mortals. I would liken them to monsters quicker than I would liken them to us, even if we tend to have the same overall body shape. The separation between us and them is just as massive as that between us and monsters. But yes, considering this is a transferable skill, I understand your worries. Just don''t be like Kat and you''ll be fine." The unbothered and off the cuff reminder of our adorable murderpuppy made me smirk as I nodded in agreement, and as I took up my carving knife I asked "Where are they anyways? Did Jahi already get the urge to unwind?" Plunging the knife beneath the carapace of the beetle, I started prying parts of it loose so that I could gather even more materials for myself, the agreement that my Mom had forced upon me spurring me on as I felt the need to hold up my end of the deal. Some of the things I wanted to make were going to be generously ''donated'' to the Sultanate, and those things would be from the materials that the other Death Jackals were harvesting outside; I only had im to the bodies of the Fiends we had killed and then whatever I could grab without being fought off tooth and nail by said Death Jackals. Harsh, but worth it since I had managed to nab myself that feathered freak back there alongside a serpent Tza Fiend that would make a nice set of armor for my two busty babes; the magical materials would be nice for them, but making a breastte that would emphasize those tits with beautiful iridescent scales was my main motivator. Though I would need a cloak, which was where the feathers came into y since they were protective, beautiful, and it would be undeniable for them to wear going forwards; I wanted to dress them up for me and maybe Jahi, but no one else... Leone coughed behind me and grabbed my attention again, causing me to catch her as she shifted on her stool while her eyes roamed my body, the Vampire trying to side eye me as she hid away her erection. "They... are alone right now, yes... something about Jahi wanting to test something new before showing it to us tonight, I think..?" Her cheeks were adorably red as she said that, and I grinned back at her as I left the knife in the Fiend, sauntering over to her so that I could go ahead and im my other reward now instead ofter. My belt hit the floor before I was even in front of her, making Leone widen her eyes before she bit her cheek as I whipped out my cock and showed it to her, the fleshy pink shaft rubbing against her cheek as I got even closer. "Well, speaking of... blow me." I grinned at her and watched as she blushed even more at my crude way of going about things, before my grin widened as she blinked a few times, her nose twitching as the scent washed over her in a wave; we hadn''t washedpletely just yet, and while Kat''s ''bath'' was certainly effective and making us not smell like blood and charred corpses, it wasn''t perfect. That meant that the sweat was still there, and inside this cozy stone forge I had made for myself again, the heat was a bit high, so my groin was a bit stuffy in my pants - and for once it wasn''t because I was harder than a rock. If I had been in her ce I would already be going crazy, be it from her own sharp cinnamon scent being amplified, the sweetness of Jahi being tinged with a sour note, or Kat''s tartness being given a new vor, so while I was biased I felt that this was a treat for her, and I was more than happy that she agreed. Having the Princess of a stronger nation wrapping her lips around my penis and sucking as hard as she could was thrilling, something I was likely to never get over as I nted my feet and stroked her cheek, guiding her movements slowly as I made her savor my cock. She grabbed my knot and gave it a squeeze, letting me know she was willing to give me that pseudo ejaction that ''normal'' people felt instead of the intense bliss of knotting, so I grinned happily at her as she kept going, even as her robe was hiked up a little by her own giant cock. "This is just what I needed after this battle... nothing beats this... nothing at all~! A good fight, some good food and drink, and then a good woman to suck my cock~! Not even just a good woman, but a royal woman~!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Her cheeks darkened again, but as she tried to pull away I just grabbed the back of her head and kept her there, pressing my knot against her lips and groaning as I soaked myself in her throat; this really was what I needed, and it was likely what Jahi needed as well, though she was getting this and then some with Kat''s sublime skills when it came to handling futanari. Chapter 1202: Chapter 1201: Something To Drink* Chapter 1202: Chapter 1201: Something To Drink* ? Kat PoV Unaware of my mate''s thoughts as she received an incredible amount of pleasure from our royal lover, I looked up at Jahi and squeezed her arm as I buried it between my breasts, the two of us walking through the city still as she strung this out for as long as she could. "It is quite the city, though the entire biome being a desert puts me off of everything good it has to offer. Would make a nice winter retreat, perhaps? Sometime down the line this could be a nice vacation spot for us?" With the shield strapped to her back alongside her sword, Jahi was still as heavily armored as before, but the gauntlet ttering against her hip as she walked made it clear she had lowered her guard a lot since she was allowing me to hug her muscr arm as tightly as I wanted. Two pieces of cloth separated us from one another, but that only made it all the more tantalizing as I nuzzled against her bicep, which she flexed whenever she noticed my lust slipping a little, the firmness of her muscles and the size of them drawing me back in as I held back from salivating at their touch. "I don''t know that I would want a vacation home here, though I think Anput would love that. Tolerating it wouldn''t be too hard so long as we have arge bath and ample shade." Jahi reached over and gently lifted my chin as she said "Anything you want, my love, and you shall have it. Though I will admit that if we do, I would want a home that ispletely private and with our own little oasis... with a rule that there would be no~ clothing~!" Grinning at mesciviously, Jahi brushed her thumb across my lips before dropping her hand to my chest as she grabbed one of my breasts, squeezing it and drawing a moan from me before her grin widened as I growled "Can you just fuck me already?!" "Someone''s impatient~! Didn''t want to take a walk and enjoy one another''spany? Am I just a nice, thick cock for you to bounce on, Kat? Is that what this is?" She feigned being hurt as I rolled my eyes before growling "Sometimes yeah, so whip it out and fuck me!", something that earned me a firm smack on the cheek as she pushed me back towards one of the many abandoned houses in the city, the citizens all gathering by the Sultana and her troops for protection and reassurance. "''''Sometimes yeah''? Really bitch? Is that how you want to y tonight, hm?" My cheek still stung, the blow being one of the few I had taken outside of the wounds sustained against the Caliph, and it was joined by another as my Mistress pped me again, her hand leaving behind its print on my pale skin. Looking up at her, I held back a moan as she red at me, the thrill of this sort of y opening the floodgates as I rubbed my thighs together, though that action drew her attention as she said "Well, while I wouldn''t mind angry fucking you until I was satisfied, I have something else in mind. I deserve a treat, after all~!" While a little disappointment drifted through my mind, when she reached down and yanked my pants off I felt that be reced by anticipation as I was suddenly lifted up, the Demoness hoisting me above her head like I weighed nothing and allowing me to have the rare sight of looking down at her. "Spread your legs and wrap them around my head; I want these thick fucking thighs squeezing me as I feast on your pussy, Kat." That was a tad surprising, but I definitely wasn''t going to deny her her ''treat'' as I did as she asked, swinging my legs over her shoulders before crossing them behind her back, with her cheeks squished between my thighs as I rubbed my cunt against her face.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Grabbing ahold of her horns, I grinned down at the Demoness as I said "This is a first; I get to ride the high and mighty Demoness instead of the other way around ~! C''mon, c''mon~! Get to licking~!" She just rolled her eyes, her voice muffled by mybia as I pressed forwards and smothered her, a moan filling the air inside of the abandoned house as I felt her lips move around before her tongue jutted out quickly, slinking through my insides and scooping out my juices as she enjoyed her treat. Jahi''s hands supported me by grabbing at my cheeks, the Demoness simply bncing me on her shoulders and enjoying herself as she teased my other hole and indulged in my body, making me moan and writhe around as she ran a finger around both the base of my tail and my ass. Each time she pressed against either of those things I arched my back and relished the electric pleasure that coursed through my spine as shepped at my cunt and teased me relentlessly, and the sight of her amethyst eyes shining brilliantly as she grinned at me with just her eyes was more than enough to make this a worthwhile experience. It was primarily for my benefit and yet we were both loving this so much, and the Demoness was willing to bury her tongue deep inside of me all while I squeezed her as tightly as I could, her shuddering letting me know just how much she loved this while her hands moved even faster, never stopping as she indulged to her hearts content. That indulging resulted in me cumming all over her face, the Demoness having to ''suffer'' through my juices crashing against her tongue before I slipped upwards and covered herpletely, my orgasm hitting hard as the post battle stress began to wear off. Her face was drenched in my juices, and yet Jahi never stopped drinking it down nor licking me clean, her enthusiasm only growing when she noticed that cumming once made me sensitive enough to reach a second orgasm far quicker than the first. Chapter 1203: Chapter 1202: Royal Breeding* Chapter 1203: Chapter 1202: Royal Breeding* ? Anput Pov When I eventually reached my bursting point Leone wrapped both hands around my knot and squeezed as hard as she felt she should, her crimson eyes locked to my expression as she found the amount of pressure needed for me to cum inside of her mouth. The Vampire was adamant about drinking down my cum, and the thrill of getting a blowjob topletion was reward enough for me, the rarity of this situation guaranteeing that I was going to be savoring each and every drop of sperm that gushed out of my cock so that I could form my own opinion on receiving this wonderful act. I knew it should feel good and that both Leone and Jahi loved when I sucked their cocks, but the euphoria that they always disyed when I swallowed their cum was something I barely knew of, so I was content to let the Vampire squeeze my knot and wring out as many ropes as she could manage. Since I was ustomed to blowing my entire load in the first orgasm, having my knot partially milked was interesting, but it felt incredible still as Leone''s tongue flicked across my tip and coaxed out my cum, while the softness of her lips pressing against my knot was tititing to the extreme.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om What was the best, however, was her thirsty gaze as she used her eyes to plead with me, the need causing them to sparkle brilliantly like rubies as she just kept sucking, draining as much of my cum as she could with just her mouth. However, where my knotting usuallysted a long time and thoroughly emptied all of my sperm that I had stocked up on that day, cumming from a blowjob onlysted a handful of seconds and shot a measly half dozen ropes, leaving quite arge amount of sperm in the tank forter. It was still enough for Leone to ke her thirst, but the sight of her eagerly gulping down my cum as each rope sted into the back of her throat was more than enough to make up for that as well. This broadened my horizons immensely, and while I still wasn''t too certain about the yearning they had to receive blowjobs, I was beginning to see why they asked me for them whenever we had time. I still didn''t understand why Jahi had used only my mouth that one time instead of just fucking me like normal, but... we all have our kinks and our needs, and that night, that must have been her need - however odd it may have been. Gently pushing the Vampire away from my groin, I watched as another thick rope of sperm sshed across her face, making the Vampire''s already red face darken even more while the contrasting sparkling white liquid made her all the more sexy to me right at this moment. "That was excellent, my Lady! Many thanks, many thanks~!" Grinning at Leone, I began to reach for my pants and watched with keen interest as she blinked a few times, surprise, lust and indignation warring within her eyes as she fought with herself to determine what to do, with the eventual decision to y along with me if it got her what she wanted. "W-Wait! Begum, might we... strike a deal, perhaps..?" She tried to take on a a more controlled, noble tone with me as she sat up, attempting to look dignified even as my sperm trickled down her cheek, and as I stared at her with a raised brow she hastily wiped it off only to lick it from her finger, drawing a chuckle from me that made her blush even more. "What kind of deal, my dear Princess?" Leaving my pants where they were, I summoned a smooth b of rock and sat down, staring at the kneeling Princess and continuing to amuse myself as her usual grace when it came to being a Noblewoman disappeared now that it was being turned into y. She didn''t even seem to realize I was above her, and as she swallowed down thest of my seed she finally managed to ask "W-Would you be willing to allow me the honor of having sex with you, Begum..? A half hour of my time for a quarter hour of yours; do anything you want to me for that time, and in exchange..." Her throbbing cock was threatening to tear through her robes already, and I could see a little pearl of precum adorning its tip as she crawled forwards, her hands finding my calves as she caressed them gently in an attempt to convince me. Pursing my lips and humming, I looked up and away from the Vampire, feigning disinterest for a few seconds only to smirk as she began to kiss my calves next, her lips brushing against my skin as she added "Not even a quarter hour of your time, Begum; simply ten minutes would be enough!" It was less negotiating and more so pleading, but that was fine by me as I looked back down at her and said "Time is ticking, Princess... show me what the Empire is made of, hm?", earning a soft gasp from her as my other leg stretched outzily so that I could caress her gigantic dick with my foot. She arched her back and thrust forwards slightly as she rubbed her tip against the sole of my foot, making me chuckle quietly as she tickled me with her penis, only to lick my lips as she began to kiss my thigh, trailing her lips and tongue towards my pussy. All the while I continued to rub her penis with my foot, using my toes to stroke her shaft and otherwise show her that she was beneath me even as she started top at my pussy, preparing me to take that monstrous cock of hers so that we could engage in some ''royal breeding'' that would ''tie our bloodlines together'' or whatever cringy shit she was going to spout. If she did actually say that I was going to enjoy it quite a bit no matter how cringy it might have sounded though, since those wordsing from her rather ''innocent'' tongue would be enough to drive me crazy with lust. Though... that didn''t take that much now did it..? Chapter 1204: Chapter 1203: New Trick (1)* Chapter 1204: Chapter 1203: New Trick (1)* ? Jahi PoV As I stood hunched over the thick curves of my Dogkin bitch, I couldn''t stop myself from groaning constantly, her soft body dragging me back in even as I felt like I should be stopping here for now. My cock was firmly lodged inside her womb, her softness extending even into her pussy as those juicy folds wrapped around my shaft and massaged me the deeper I went, bombarding me with pleasure as I sank myself into her embrace. Those walls were drenched with my seed already, and my thighs were slick with both her juices and my cum since I had ejacted thrice since we started, while my lover wasing down from the high of me drinking down her orgasms three times in a row. "Why are you so damn perfect?!" My growl made her shiver as she clutched the edge of the broken couch, her ears twitching constantly while her fluffy tail thumped against my leg as she finally twisted around to stare at me, revealing that beautiful face that was currently shrouded in desire. "B-Because of you~!" That drew another growl from me as I buried myself to the root and wrapped my arms around her, unable to help myself as I gotfortable hugging her from behind so that I could start pounding that thick ass of hers rapidly, using shorter thrusts to make her cum as I bashed the back of her womb over and over again. "Because of me? You became a slut for me, Kat-? Good..." My hands couldn''t stop running up and down her toned belly, nor could I stope myself from kissing her as I just kept thrusting, the need for her consuming my reason as I finally rxed after the long battle earlier. Having her to unwind me was pure bliss, and I thanked every God I could think of for giving me this woman right at the start of my life instead of me having to search for her; having her plop down in myp from the beginning was probably detrimental to my development a little, but at the same time... She was everything I could ever need and then some, and as I felt her pussy quiver around my cock I couldn''t help but grin as I made her cum again, the Dogkin moaning loudly inside of this abandoned house as she squirted on my legs. Hanging her head and trying to hide that dazzling, post orgasm expression from me, Kat moaned even louder as I yanked her by her hair and stared at her face from up close, those rosy cheeks and wet eyes spreading that heat around the pit of my stomach even more as I got closer to cumming as well. "Why can I never get enough of you?!" I found myself grabbing at her tits as I added more power to my thrusts, my thighs pping against her ass as my own orgasm got ever closer; when she heard what I growled at her though, Kat kissed me fiercely and made it even easier to bury myself in her pussy and start spraying my seed everywhere, filling her up to the brim once again. Though, I couldn''t help it as I pulled out midway through and forced her to her knees, cumming all over her face and eventually plugging her moaning lips as I gave her something to drink as a reward for her efforts.N?v(el)B\\jnn Holding her there, I made a mess of my thighs as I started fucking her mouth next, and listening to her going knuckle deep inside her creamy cunt was just what I needed as I just sought out more pleasure; this time though, I caked her face in sperm before rubbing thest drops onto her breasts, marking all of her with my seed. It was picturesque, and there was a part of me that wanted to find a very talented artist to paint this into a picture for me to hang on my bedroom wall, but that part was tempered by the realization that someone would be seeing my woman looking like this... and that wasn''t okay. Running my hand up and down my cock, I stared at Kat''s face and groaned again as I engraved it into my memory, the sloppy look turning me on even more only to make me groan irritably as I turned away from her and sought out our clothes. "J-Jahi..?" Kat''s desperate, pleading voice tickled my ears the right way, and even more of me was tempted to turn back around and plug the hole that had made that sound, but I held back and growled "Let''s go somece where we won''t mind spending the night... this was just the appetizer, Kat. I still need to feast..." Cleaning myself off and tugging on my pants, I finally nced back at the nude whore behind me and weed the tightness of my clothing as I was held back by something physical, allowing me to toss her clothes over to her and snicker as she almost failed to catch them. "The things I want to do to you, Kat, need a proper ce to rest for the night. I had an oh so wonderful thought earlier, something to spice up our sex life even more than usual - as crazy as that sounds." The curiosity managed to cut through her lust as she stared up at me, but when she realized I wasn''t going to relent and fuck her again here Kat reluctantly stood up and got changed, though she moved in ways that emphasized her curves to ensure I was kept ''hungry''. She knew I was ravenous though, and her teasing only ensured that she was not going to be able to walk tomorrow morn, something I was certain she was content with right now in her lust addled state but not in a normal one. Did I care though? No, I didn''t, and as I smacked her hard on the ass before dragging her behind me as we returned to the camp to set up for the night I grinned to myself as I envisioned the things I was going to do to her, all while keeping it a secret from her ever present attempts to sneak a peak using the Soul Bond. The very thing that was going to be used against her as soon as our tent was set up and we were ready to end the day on a very high note... at least, for me anyways; I was curious to see how she would react to the things I wanted to do to her~! The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 1205: Chapter 1204: New Trick (2)* Chapter 1205: Chapter 1204: New Trick (2)* ? n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Kat Pov My curiosity was only swelling as we walked back to the camp, and the idea that I had for what she wanted to do to me was only slowly bing confirmed the longer she remained silent, my probes using our mental link via the Soul Bond getting repelled by the firm shield that was her ''ownership'' over me. Honestly that was all I needed to know what it was that she was going to do, and the anticipation began to grow alongside my curiosity as we walked arm in arm through the city we had just fought in, each stepden with that silence that was most definitely intentional on Jahi''s part. I wanted to ask her something and bridge that silence, but the idea of doing so was rather... unappealing to me since it might push her to do something else, and that wasn''t what I wanted from her since this seemed interesting. Definitely interesting... When we returned to the encampment we got to work setting up the tent as quickly as we could, putting it away from the others and secluding ourselves enough that whatever we did wouldn''t disturb or draw the attention of the army. Even with my Mistress'' seed trickling down my thigh I still worked quickly, and she only seemed to enjoy that even more as she watched me with that ever present hungry gaze, something that got me waiting and yearning for what was toe. Nearby was the stone workshop that Anput had created for herself, and I could already tell that she and Leone were getting up to no good together right now since the scent of my mate was wafting on over in waves. As we entered our tent and began to prepare everything inside though, those two suddenlying over with ruffled clothing and a sheen of sweat covering their otherwise wless skin, which was even more telling than what we had thought. "There you are!" Throwing herself at me, Anput wrapped her arms around my waist and spun me around, taking me away from being able to set out the thick bedding we had brought and instead forcing me to focus on her as her hands instantly slid beneath my shirt. "We had been discussing you~! Little miss Princess over there was getting all kinds of horny when I was telling her you''d been taken in all kinds of ways~! Was I right~? It smells like I was right~!" Leaning back into herfortable embrace, I relished the feeling of her warm hands trailing up my body until she grabbed at my breasts, the Jackalkin lifting them for me and supporting me as she licked my neck, waiting for an answer. That answer came in the form of the blue skinned Demoness stepping up behind her and hugging us both, causing my mate to groan as she got to feel just how achingly hard Jahi was as the Demoness let out a raspy whisper. "You were right, and I have something I want to do to her, so Anput..." My mate released me a momentter, sliding away when she could and staring up at our horned lover with arousal and curiosity as her ce got taken, though she immediately joined Leone in preparing the bedding while watching me be disrobed. As soon as the warm air kissed my skin I was spun back around and forced to look into Jahi''s eyes, those amethysts glittering even in the rtive darkness of our tent as she leaned down and whispered "On you knees..." Something I would have already done anyways was made even more fascinating as I felt my body moving for me, the will to do what she wanted already being there but being amplified and given immense priority as the bond between us was activated. Her expression immediately became a bit giddy as she towered above me, and when I tried to do something else - to reach for her belt and unfasten it or shift around to getfortable - she ordered "Don''t do anything without my permission." That was when the trick truly came out, and I was suddenly locked in ce, unable to move, blink or even breathe, something she realized immediately afterwards and something that made me more than relieved as she altered the order. "Maintain normal functions but don''t do anything more without my permission." The power she had over me was something we had never explored before, and as all of us marveled at the effects Jahi continued to go forwards with it, her grin widening each second as this power offered her something she loved. Control. Dominance. "Use your mouth to remove my pants so that you can suck my cock." Stepping forwards and grinning down at me, Jahi watched as I leaned forwards and started to tug at her belt with my teeth, unable to even think about what I was doing and just acting on whatever it was that she wanted me to do, and the longer I tried to think about it the more I realized... What..? That I was supposed to be using my mouth to get to my Mistress'' cock so that I could swallow it down whole and pleasure her? Of course that was what I was supposed to do! Small parts of me were still able to recognize that this wasn''t exactly what I ''wanted'' but instead what was being ordered of me, but those small parts were being pushed to the back as the rest of me did just what I was ordered, much to the delight of my Mistress as I managed to tug her pants down just enough so that her fat cock bounced free. Instantly I wrapped my lips around it and began to take it into my throat, sucking as hard as I could and looking for the spots that I knew gave her the most pleasure so that she could cum soon, fulfilling my duty of giving her a blowjob. Even when she reached orgasm though I just kept sucking, not pulling away at all and instead slurping it all down as I drained her balls to the best of my abilities, and the Demoness above never gave me the order to stop, so... I never stopped. Chapter 1206: Chapter 1205: New Trick (3)* Chapter 1206: Chapter 1205: New Trick (3)* ? "Oh fuck..." Tilting her head back and groaning loudly, Jahi relished the constant motion of my lips as I continued to suck her off, my head bobbing back and forth since she had never given the order to stop; even as my jaw locked slightly and my supply of oxygen was diminished slightly I had to keep sucking. It was a loss of control that I had never felt before, and equal parts of me were aroused and terrified by what was happening as Jahi showed just how much she could control me; losing the ability to move on my own was horrifying as I was locked into doing what she wanted, but at the same time I was dripping wet as she started cumming again, jets of semen sshing against my already coated throat to ensure I had my fill. Her balls tensed up against my chin as she slid a little deeper, and after emptying them just a little bit more she tried to pull back, only for her to look down in slight confusion as I followed her movements perfectly, throating her cock still and running my tongue up and down the bottom of her shaft. It was clear she was done with my mouth for now, and yet the bliss of ejaction had caused her to forget she needed to order me to stop, or else I would continue going on forever; it took her a few moments, but she eventually said "Stop sucking and stand up." I pulled away as quickly as I could, coughing and trying to breathe properly again as I clumsily got to my feet, and in doing so I caught the conflicted look of both Anput and Leone as they watched me, though in their nude forms I could see their cocks were still hard despite the conflict in their eyes. Jahi loomed over us all still and wore that impable grin as she too looked back at the other two, saying "What do you think~? I think it''s rather interesting and fun~!", which made both of them bite their lips as they alternated their gazes between me and Jahi. "It''s... something. It feels weird though, and... have you asked her what she thinks, Jahi..?" The Demoness blinked a few times at that and turned back towards me, her amethyst eyes still glittering as she thought that over for a moment before asking "Are you against it, Kat?", leaving itpletely up to me as the lock on my body was lifted. Being able to move freely again and do whatever I wanted was almost startling even after just a few minutes of being ced under that lock, but I still answered "It''s... not something I am against, but definitely something that needs way more practice and fine tuning before I would feel immenselyfortable with it." She nodded, and her eyes sparkled some more as she said "That sounds fine to me; I need to find how much ''will'' I can put behind it as well, I suppose, since I really~ wanted you on your knees there, which... caused thatplete shutdown of all your other functions. Interesting, that." Taking a few steps forwards, Jahi looked me up and down and murmured "Spread your legs a bit and use your hands to spread your pussy open.", themand in her voice lessenedpared to before but still was enough that I needed to follow it no matter what. This time though I was able to maintain all the other things I could normally do, and I raised a brow and looked down at myself before ncing at Jahi as I said "It certainly feels a little weird all things considered, doing this without ''wanting'' to do it. But... that was better." She nodded and lowered herself, guiding her cock into me and grabbing ahold of my ass as she began to thrust upwards, smacking her hips into my thighs and returning to my womb once more. Where I would have usually writhed and tried to cling to her, to smother her with my breasts and get closer to her in more ways then one, the moment she murmured "Stay still, and be silent." I was locked in ce like a statue. A statue with a pussy molded into her shape for her pleasure, and the Demoness instantly turned it up a notch as she thrust even harder than before, reveling in this position and staring at my face intently as she watched me struggle with remaining silent.N?v(el)B\\jnn I wanted to moan as her long cock smacked into the back of my womb; I wanted to cry out her name as she sank her fingers into my cheeks while teasing any sensitive areas she could find, and yet... There was nothing I could do to make noise, to let her hear my pleasure and allow her to know she was making me feel good too; I tried to moan only to have my lips sealed, and the moment I tried to make noise my vocal chords rebelled against me, leaving me to breathing heavily and desperately trying to vocalize myself. And yet I couldn''t, the pleasure finding new avenues of showing itself as I mped down on her cock and pleaded with her using my eyes, but after a few more seconds of her pounding me I felt tears well up and begin to trickle free, something that made her all the happier as she leaned down andpped them up. "Holy hells... this is... just what I wanted from this." Her tongue slid up my cheek before stopping just shy of my eye, the Demoness grinning at me when she pulled back before her face scrunched up just enough to let me know she was cumming. Not even a momentter a deluge of sperm gushed from her cock and shot into my womb, filling it up again and pushing me over the edge as well as I came with her, squirting all over her legs and trembling as I desperately tried to both move and speak. But I couldn''t, and even as she pulled out I was stuck in the same position, my pussy spread open to allow her cum to trickle to the floor even as I continued to orgasm right there; when Jahi plopped down and slowly jerked off my eyes continued to plead with her, only for me to try and moan when she beckoned one of the other two to step up and fuck me too. Anput was quicker, my mate looking me up and down as she stood before me before she grabbed my tits and yed with them, staring intently at my face and pursing her lips before shrugging as she speared herself inside me, going hard and fast right off the bat. Chapter 1207: Chapter 1206: A New Dawn Chapter 1207: Chapter 1206: A New Dawn ? My eyes fluttered open randomly, consciousness returning to me as I was awakened simply because I had felt the slight shifting of the body beside me; Leone turned to her other side, grumbling something in her sleep and hugging one of the extra pillows close to her chest as she remained in a deep sleep.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om There was no light streaming from beneath the tent ps, so it was still nighttime as of now, but that didn''t bother me as I sat up and yawned silently, looking around and taking in the ce I had been subjected to quite the unique experience. Jahi hadn''t relented at all for an hour as she yed with my body like a doll, forcing me to do this and that for not only her but also our other two lovers who had joined in, and while I was immensely satisfied with the results, getting to them was what I had a bit of a problem with... Having all of my will taken away and forced to dance to Jahi''s tune was something that I didn''t know what I should feel about, and the idea of her having so much power wasn''t something I was just now figuring out; I knew she had that power, but this was the first time it was used against me, so... I had mixed feelings about it, and those mixed feelings only made me all the more confused since the end result had been me feeling so damn good; even now the aching I was feeling was a pleasant one as I sat up, my shoulders, lower back and legs burning in just the right way as they reminded me about what had happened. Me standing there being used at their leisure before Jahi ordered me onto the bedding to be treated like some breeding device to satiate their lust as I just sat there on my hands and knees taking it from behind. All of it was good, something they agreed with since they had used me for so long, but now we were all back to normal, and that normal was disyed by Anput biting down hard on a pillow while Jahi was draped over her, the Demoness mping her hand over the Jackalkin''s eyes while her hips moved at a steady, slow pace. She was whispering something to my mate as they made love, something that was getting the Jackalkin all kinds of hot and bothered as she whimpered and rubbed her face against Jahi''s hand, doing her best to feel as much of her as she possibly could. I observed them for a few moments before shaking my head slightly when Jahi grinned at me, the Demoness going for a longer stroke this time as she pulled out to show off what I was missing right now. Sadly for her I was all tuckered out, so while I was relishing my soreness right now I wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, and with Leone being right beside me offering her soft body simply byying there I was of course diving straight back under the covers to embrace her, burying my face into her hair and drifting back into the bliss of unconsciousness. When I woke up again it was dawn, and that was apanied by the realization that I was sandwiched between a soft body and a hard one, which I knew who it was right away as I rolled over to look towards who was hugging me from behind. Instantly my lips were taken by a hungry Demoness, and after a few seconds of indulging her desires she pulled away so that she could murmur "Sorry aboutst night... might have taken it just~ a tad too far." Having her hands on me wasforting enough, and while I wanted to be a tad bit firm in her needing to understand what she was doing in those moments was - subjectively - horrifying, I was instead letting out an exasperated sigh when she added "In my defense you never said no~!" "Because I couldn''t say anything, Jahi, and I know that''s the point of your joke but still... You do realize I couldn''t do ANYTHING in those moments, right? Legitimately couldn''t do anything you didn''t tell me to do." Her smile stiffened before she nodded, though it returned when she asked "But you aren''t against it entirely, are you? Because... that was sublime...", and after a few seconds of staring into her eyes I sighed and admitted "No, I''m not against it entirely... I think you can definitely make it work as long as you are careful." "Careful and I don''t really go together too well, but we can certainly make it work eventually~! Practice makes perfect and all that~!" The flippancy she showed for this was a bit grating, but that was what I hade to expect from someone like this, even if I wanted her to take it a bit more seriously whenever she spoke; I knew though that she was taking it seriously in her mind, and that wasforting enough. Still, it didn''t stop her from pull me onto her chest and holding me tight as she whispered "Well, since Anput already decided to have an early morning with her forging, how about we get an early start as well, just with something that keeps us in this tent being nice and warm and cozy..." I rolled my eyes but shifted my hips to wee her back inside as we waited for Leone to awaken, and all the while we indulged in the more gentler side of everything as we whispered sweet nothings into one another''s ears to further destress ourselves from yesterday. There were an abundance of wake up calls to add to the already gigantic mountain of them that we had been putting off for too long, and on top of those we also received a glimpse into the trials waiting for us whenever we battled against a host of Fiends. Chapter 1208: Chapter 1207: Creation Bonanza (1) Chapter 1208: Chapter 1207: Creation Bonanza (1) ? Anput PoVn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om After quite the eventful, fulfilling night I decided that an early start was in order so that I could make the most of these days that we had remaining. So many Fiends had been killed and so many of them wereprised of many incredible and wonderful parts that would make good weapons and armor, so I needed to get to work right now in order to fulfill the quota that I had set for myself. A quota that was made ''worse'' by Mom being adamant I owed her some gear as well thanks to her and her Death Jackals killing quite a few of the Fiends, and while I wanted to tell her off and focus on me, the idea of practice via mass production was appealing. Even more so since they would want some tailored weapons that would test my skills properly and help me grow as a cksmith; so while I was a tad bit irritated by Mom and her swift decision to order me to do something, I wasn''t going to say no to it. And if I only had a handful of days to utilize without any othermitments then I was for damn sure going to use them to their fullest, which was going to be fueled by many stamina potions, heaps of meat, maybe a little liquor here and there and of course, the asional tussle in the sheets with any of my three lovers. Thatst part was taken care of for now, and I had no need for any of the others at the moment so I was good to go, my forge rekindled while all of my tools waited for me on my anvil, each one whispering to me about the things we were about to create. All sorts of ideas had been given to me, ranging from the simplest of broad ded daggers to the moreplex, custom scimitars that required a certain amount of hilt to de ratio for their wielder to consider them perfect. Then the various two handed weapons and even the odd piece of armor that had been requested, be it light or heavy armor of some kind like a helmet, cuirass or even a bodice that someone wanted... All of it was going to test my skills in one way or another, so to start I organized the various materials I had on hand and picked up the long list of items that I needed to make, starting with a simple dagger and getting my muscles warmed up for something like this. There were threerge piles of bones and a fourth smaller one off to the side, the abundance of Tza, Ka, and Nua Fiendspared to Fiends giving me three main groups to work with that made sense, and a final group that definitely needed more experimenting. Each had a clear advantage; Ka were excellent for anything physical and provided an abundance of lethality to weapons, Nua were heavy and durable while Tza were extremely conductive for mana, which left in a rather curious, unknown spot for me. Logic stated they were adept at something, and a facet of their value to me was for Kat''s Lust Mana, but otherwise I had no idea which would mean I needed to experiment, however I had other things to do right now like taking a horn that was as long as my arm and turning it into an ingot that would be forged into many des. Leone PoV I... pretended to be asleep for a little bit, but they either knew I was awake or simply didn''t care as they went at it rather aggressively right beside me, Kat staying sort of quiet while Jahi hammered her hard from above, the two entangled in a sweaty embrace as they made the most of their morning. Of course I ended up getting pulled into it eventually, the gasps getting me worked up enough to take a peek only to have Jahi grin at me as she ordered me to join them, relinquishing her spot on Kat and giving the Dogkin to me once again. After taking her for a ride three times I got up and decided that I needed to do something else besides what they were doing, so I baked the stench off of me and got dressed, stepping out into the city and leaving them alone for now as I returned to one of the cauldrons. The herbs we had were still needed, but instead of being needed for the soldiers they were needed for the civilians that had suffered beneath the Fingers, so I began to concoct many a potion for them as I brought my mind back into a calm, collected space. I needed to be clear minded for now as I went over the sess of the Moon Magic I had used against that Fiend, and how it could be further improved; it was a unique weapon in my arsenal that had a lot of uses alongside my Blood Magic, so finding a way to get better at using it was paramount right now. That and my True Vampire Form that boosted my powers even more; those things were at the forefront right now for what I needed to do, and I had an idea to start, one that was pretty simple and something I was going to be doing anyways. Just... practicing the different School of Magic I had been blessed with as much as I can in as many ways that I can, since it had its clear advantages and disadvantages over the magic I was intimately familiar with now. This magic was unique and needed to be understood in how I could apply it, so my n was to figure out what it was capable of doing in bursts and using them individually before merging them all together. To start I wanted to actually pair it up with my othercking front at the moment, and that was meleebat; Moon Magic disrupted the senses, so it could prove deadly in close quartersbat where people needed fractions of a second to react in order to live, and with my Estoc offering me a range of attacks to utilize, well... That was a good ce to start, especially since it seemed we weren''t getting into any long ranged, guaranteed cover fights anytime soon where I could just hunker down and sling spells without any worry of being dragged into the fray directly. If I could add this to my abilities and hone my fighting skills via trickery and sense depravation or redirection in close quartersbat I could offer something new and invaluable to my lovers in any battles we found ourselves in, and that was important to more than just me. Chapter 1209: Chapter 1208: Creation Bonanza (2) Chapter 1209: Chapter 1208: Creation Bonanza (2) ? Kat PoV "You... are just incorrigible, you know that..?" Pushing the Demoness off of myself, I let out a huff and crawled backwards, away from her ravenous, gluttonous hands as I put space between us so that we could stop this here and now. We had things to do besidesze about all day, and while there was the obvious desire we both held to keep going we truly did need to stop, which was why Jahi so easily pulled away, sitting on her haunches and regting her breathing as she calmed herself down. "Yeah, I know. Anput''s making all those weapons, Leone''s brewing potions... so what are we going to be doing?" "I''m going to be enchanting those weapons if they want them enchanted or helping Leone brew all those potions. As for you... I don''t think it really matters just yet now does it? I imagine the Sultana wouldn''t mind a spar or having you pick her mind." The Demoness gave me a slight pout at that soft dig at her, and after a few seconds of staring at me as she contemted what she should do she just waved me off and found her clothes, though when I rubbed the small of her back she nced at me with a small smile. Cleaning ourselves off and getting dressed, we emerged from our tent for the first time in a long time, the sun almost reaching its zenith as we apparently had taken a much longer time than I had realized. I made my way over towards Anput''s signature stone forge and slipped inside, joining the Jackalkin inside and finding her standing before a half dozen newly forged des that were all quite beautiful. Hearing me enter she turned and shed me a grin before resuming her hammering, eventually saying "I managed to work pretty quickly all things considered! I was gonna finish this one out and deliver ''em to their new owners before taking a lunch break. It is roughly noon, right?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "It is. You managed to get this mana weapons forged this quickly? That''s incredible." "I know right? It''d be more impressive if two of them weren''t simple daggers - one broad, one stiletto - and another wasn''t a mace, which was honestly more of a glorified brick attached to a stick... But still, they were forged, so they count. Anyways, yeah... I''m guessing you wereing over to offer your services as an enchantress, right? If so, the mace wants a simple weight increasing enchantment while the stiletto and rapier want Wind Piercing enchantments. Then that longer scimitar wants the typical suite - sharpness, durability, battery - and nothing else just yet since you don''t have the ability to enchant with Fire Mana at this moment, right?" I nodded, approaching the wall of weapons and carefully retrieving the four weapons that Anput told me I needed to enchant before taking a seat out of the way as I prepared myself to aid my lover in fulfilling her obligations. Chordeva PoV "Dyed again, huh? Thankfully it seems it''s only by a handful of days, but still... has she ever shown up on time?" The Empress just gave me a soft smile as she shook her head, making me sigh as I got up from the table and said "Well, if that''s the case I''ll go and find something to do then, I guess. Unless there was something I was needed for..?" These days spent waiting inside of the Pce doing nothing at all were... intriguing to me; I was so ustomed to mountains of paperwork needing to bepleted within the hour that having all this free time was getting to me. There was only so many times I could spar someone or so many books that I could actually bring myself to sit down and read... so of course I had been ''exercising'' day in and day out in hopes of creating something again... Whether or not that was going to be the case was a whole separate issue to be tackled simply by giving them both some more loving whenever I could, but for now I had little to actually do... but I was happy to have this break. Getting a shake of the head from the Empress and having the various women sitting around either ignoring me or shaking their heads as well, letting me know that this meeting was over and I was free to go. There had been nothing to do so the waiting for the arrival of Lilith had been keeping me excited for each day, but now that she had dyed her arrival by about a week I was back to doing more waiting, which meant I needed something to do. Making my way back towards our room, I found both Ria and Julie lounging on the couch together with the children in their arms, the sight reinvigorating me heavily as I moved to join them, scooping both Alessandra and Lakshmi into my arms with a grin. It''d been far too long since I had finally epted and began to yearn for achieving my dream of having children - truly having them, caring for them and watching them grow and not just the act of conceiving them - so actually being able to hold two little mortals that were my own was soothing on the soul. Even if the little Elf half ring at me wasn''t mine by blood, she was still my daughter, much like the other girl that had been born from Julie; they were all my children in some way, but I''d be lying if I didn''t say the babbling,vender skinned Demoness staring up at me didn''t take more of my attention. I gave them both a kiss before lowering myself to the ground and letting them crawl free, with Alessandra making her way back to her own Mom while Lakshmi draped herself on my chest and began to sleep, making me want to chuckle but forcing me to hold it in as she drifted off instantly. It was peaceful here, and the bliss was wonderful, though it was tempered and darkened by the knowledge of what was happening over in the Sultanate, something that I tried to keep myself as informed of as possible; a letter was due sometime soon though, so I was hoping the news was good. If I had known how good it was I definitely wouldn''t have been as restless that night, that''s for sure... but I don''t think Ria or Julieined too much about that, nor were they wanting me to stop anytime soon either~! Chapter 1210: Chapter 1209: Multitude of Days (1) Chapter 1210: Chapter 1209: Multitude of Days (1) ? Anput PoV I nced at the Dogkin concentrating in the corner yet again and smiled, loving having her nearby even if I knew she wasn''t as entirelyfortable in this space as I was, what with the heat and the noise. Her presence was very much appreciated, and as I returned my eyes down towards the reddish gold ingot that I was lengthening once again I felt my heart swell up with not only pride and happiness but also with relief as I resumed my hammering. Having someone like her was a blessing far above what I could have ever hoped for, and as my hammer crashed down onto the anvil and ttened the ingot out even more I silently said a prayer of thanks to the Gods above for sending her to me. Or... me to her, but either worked. Not only was she such a perfectpanion in all that it entailed - the mind she possessed was beautiful, her body was perfect and she wrapped that all up with a wonderful personality and will - but she was also so perfect thanks to her skillset as well. Her enchanting abilities were quite excellent, and currently she was aiding me in fulfilling my own obligations without even asking orining about it; she just took the weapons and got to work,yering magics onto them that took my creations and made them better. All of it was incredible to remember, and as I turned this ingot into a new, straight edged de for one of the Death Jackals outside who was owed something for their service I found myself thinking more about what I could give her instead. Already I had gifted her things that had gone on to be treasured by her in their own ways, be it the now broken but still beloved Khopesh that had allowed her to pursue her deranged desires or the phoenix amulet that she still wore on her cor beside the symbol of House Asmodia. And it wasn''t really much of a gift if I made her a new weapon when she was already due a proper new weapon, not just a stand in I had made because we had a limited amount of time and she needed something to wield. The serrated sword she had now was a good weapon - I''m not belittling my own work nor am I saying she didn''t like it - but it wasn''t ''her'' weapon, so I wanted to give her something special again... but not just a Khopesh. She picked up fighting styles rtively easily if they pertained to the more agile sphere ofbat, and her magic was quite important to herbat prowess as well, so I wanted to give her something that blended them together... and was something that acted as both a weapon and a symbol. Sort of like Jahi''s great sword; that was not just a weapon, but also a status symbol and a promation of her importance and of the eptance between both the Empress and the Sultana since they had provided the key materials for its creation. How I could go about that was entirely up to me and something that I had no real idea on how to aplish at this moment in time, but what I did know was that before this multi day break was over I was going to forge that for her. That was a guarantee, I promise that... Kat PoV It was my turn to sneak a peak at the Jackalkin inside of the forge, her myriad of nces registering since I wasn''t as deep into concentration as she likely believed; a benefit of the System, I was sure, but these enchantments were rather basic and required raw mana, so I wasn''t too challenged at the moment. She was facing away from me as she hammered out whatever it was that she was forging now, but notpletely away from me, which allowed me to see her serious visage illuminated in the firelight as she focused on her work. What was rather telling though was how her tail swished behind her at not so random intervals, and the scent of genuine excitement and anticipation was leaking into her pheromones as she thought about... something, which made her rather adorable at the moment.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Anput wasn''t that good at hiding nearly anything at all, let alone something she wanted to do for any of us, so it was obvious to me she was thinking about making something for one of us in particr, something special and unique. Maybe it was a new weapon - that was the most likely - but maybe it was something else like the phoenix hanging on my neck that she had made once before; she was both a cksmith and an artisan after all. She could make things other than weapons if she so chose, but she certainly preferred creating things that could be used to kill. To say I was curious would be an understatement, but there was no way to find out until she began forging it herself and if she decided to tell me, which was unlikely considering her excitement was only growing the more she thought about it. It was written all over her face and her body as she expressed a clear desire to start something she actually wanted to work on, something that I was somewhat unfamiliar with myself since I could hide my expression quite well, even more so when she approached me with the raw de andid it down on the table before me. "This one is another suite of simple enchantments, and they want a Fire enchantment, so... when you are done, perhaps you should charge up that Magic Pen of yours with Leone ande back tomorrow?" She made a very thinly veiled attempt to send me away, and while part of me wanted to chuckle at how tant she was being more of me was happy to oblige her, though as I resumed my work and listened to her prepare her forge and materials for whatever was toe, I couldn''t help myself as I ogled her some more, loving this side of her. We had many days to work, after all, so when I finished up I couldn''t help myself as I decided that she could use a bit of good luck and a bit of a break, walking up behind her and waiting for her to put her hammer down before hugging her from behind. The forge got a little hot after that, and by the time that I exited it I was covered in a thin sheen of sweat from the vigorous exercise we partook in, so even though I despised the heat and felt a bit grimy I was all smiles as I made my way back to our tent to clean off and retrieve my Magic Pen. Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas~! Chapter 1211: Chapter 1210: Multitude Of Days (2) Chapter 1211: Chapter 1210: Multitude Of Days (2) ? Hope everyone had / is having a good holiday break, I certainly am so far with Path of Exile 2 and cozy weather~! Jahi Pov "Mhm... so that makes little sense honestly." Resting my chin on my palm, I stared down at the board on the table and contemted the move that the Sultana had made, the two of us taking a moment for this break while also enjoying the peace we had fought for. "If it makes little sense to you that just means you have more to learn." Plucking a piece from the board and fiddling with it, I locked my eyes to the various spaces I could move and realized the game was a mixture of many others, primarily chess and conquest with a few others mixed in. It was a strategy and war game with a few elements of an economy, randomized events and time all poured into a single,plex and convoluted game that was created entirely to hone someone''s mentality inmanding during abat situation, be it in battle or during those periods between battles. She had just moved to capture a piece that would give her more metal resources, but she had forwent any sort of industrial capabilities for full offense so that she could ''liberate'' all of the things she needed from the settlements she ''acquired'' from me. The game was fun and it was even better to sit here and drink with the Sultana, but at the same time... "For instance, I havee to understand that you know no other skills besides that ofbat, and that is... peculiar." The Sultana was watching me like a hawk the entire time I contemted my move, and upon hearing her rather pointed statement I let out a sigh and said "That happens to be my natural born talent, Sultana, and most of my time - all three, four years of it - has been spent entirely for that cause. If you have issue with it as of now, I would say that - as pretentious and stuck up as this sounds, especially to someone like yourself - I am a product of not only my time but also my parents, specifically my Mom. She was not going to let me pursue a fascination with the arts until the world is atplete peace or she had the confidence she was capable of ruling without issue for multiple centuries toe." Letting out a hum, she nodded to herself as I ced my piece down, iming a crop field for myself and securing a flow of food for my armies and citizens as I prepared for whatever it was that the Sultana was attempting to do. "Yes, your Mom is rather focused on producing an heir that could im her mantle one day; I guarantee that with your two new siblings she''ll be far morex... which makes me curious, Jahi... Are you going to be envious and bitter about that?" Even with her veil I could still tell she was scrutinizing my every move, be it my expression, my eyes, bodynguage or how I was appraising the board at the moment; she was looking at everything as she waited for an answer, so I decided to be honest. "Part of me will certainly be bitter. Did I really need to be molded into a warrior from the moment I could walk? Have my head stuffed with the requirements to rule a March, along with all the titudes needed for the Nobility? Was it all truly something only I would need to go through? Not them? How is that fair? But more of me will be happy for them both. They can learn to paint, write, dance and sing without ever needing to even think about needing to pick up a sword and fight. No requirements for the deep intricacies of the Nobility in order to foster and maintain rtions with other Houses... No undue stress for something that is required of them from day one... That will make me happier than anything else, truly. Another part of me though will be kinda disappointed it Lakshmi doesn''t want to pick up a sword, y''know? Seeing a Demoness not wanting to fight, a Demoness rted to me... it''d feel too weird." The Sultana nodded at that and tilted her head somewhat as I moved another piece rtively quickly, putting her back on the timer as we continued to alternate rounds, though she was able to speak and think at the same time much to my chagrin. "That answers the second question, but I must admit I am curious about the first. Will you be looking for something to do outside of fighting, Jahi? After all, it clearly isn''t impossible; Anput is a prime example as abat oriented ''Noble'' who has pursued something outside of fighting. Princess Leone is another example, and some could argue that the young Baroness Zara is yet another as well." Chuckling, I leaned back and stretched before scooping up my ss, draining it of the liquor and refilling it before Inguidly asked "If I were to say that I was looking forwards to nothing more than starting and raising a family with the three women you just named and that was it, would you take that as a proper answer or no?" "That is certainly an answer... One I was expecting, and one I would like to hold you to. After all, it isn''t just ''three women'' you''re talking about, Demoness. It is also definitely a timemitment... though I would suggest finding something as a hobby lest you go insane. Children can be... fascinatingly irritating."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "I''ve heard. Worth the irritation though, I imagine?" That earned a shrug as the Sultana just replied "Mine have been, others say differently sometimes..." before moving her piece again, bringing this conversation to a halt as I was made to contemte what she was doing on the board in depth lest I lose. Which... I did, since she rapidly upgraded everything before bull rushing me and sweeping me off the board, taking away my resources and ensuring I had nothing to counter her and then ''ying with her food'' as she killed me slowly. Chapter 1212: Chapter 1211: Multitude Of Days (3) Chapter 1212: Chapter 1211: Multitude Of Days (3) ? Anput Pov "What would I do without you~?" cing another kiss on my mate''s lips, I grinned at her as I basked in her soft body for a little while longer, our scents mixingpletely thanks to what had just transpired; I had been working for so long that a break was in order, and Kat agreed with me on that. Hence why she was sitting on my anvil naked, and why I was drenched with sweat since the forge was still ame; it didn''t matter to me at all since it just thickened the scent surrounding us, and I loved having the ability to smear my scent deep into her skin. For now though I was done, and as I pulled out and smacked myself against her lower lips my mate just rolled her eyes even as she lounged on the anvil and rubbed herself against me, though as I resumed kissing her she eventually pushed me away. "You would probably be moping about wondering how you could deal with this on a daily basis and not getting anything productive done. So how about-" Pushing me away with a little more force, the thick Dogkin stood up and smirked at me as she sauntered over to her clothes and swiftly put them on, not unting her body too much and concealing it from me again as she said "-you get back to work and make some wonderful things, my love~?" Kat shed me a more kind smile as she patted my cheek, though when I yanked her over by her cor and kissed her deeply she just moaned and threw her arms around me, letting me do as I pleased with her. I wasn''t prepared for another round at the moment, and while I was tempted to strip her back down and give it a go anyways I just smacked that juicy bottom of hers and pushed her away myself, growling "Then get out of here, harlot. You''re distracting me..." She emphasized her curves to me this time as she turned slightly and stuck out her hip, showing off that body I had fallen for before sashaying away as she left the forge behindpletely, the only thing remaining behind being the scent and taste of her that lingered on my tongue. Taking in a deep breath to drink in the rest of that scent, I sealed off the doorpletely and got back to work like my woman had asked of me, though it wasn''t to fulfill my obligations like before; I had most of my work hanging on the walls already, with it having reached ten weapons already after a long day of forging. There was more toe though, much more since I was determined to go ahead and push Kat''s weapons up to now thanks to the idea I had in regards to what she could utilize inbat going forwards.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om My idea was one that I wasn''t quite certain of in its entirety, but the first part of it was something I was going to do anyways; she needed a good new de, and with the things I had learned about the materials we had acquired as well as the experience I had gained recently, I wanted to rece her current weapon with something else. The Tza Fiend bones we had gotten were a bit better than the previous I had used, and we now also had some Ka Fiend bones to utilize as well, and something I had wanted to try and something I had a good idea that would work was to utilize both of them in the same weapon. They conflicted a little, yes, but at the same time they were both Fiend bones, and I think I could marry them together quire well if I just took some time to do it perfectly; the benefits for doing so would be readily apparent with the final product having incredible durability and mana conductivity bundled into one weapon. That one weapon was going to be a Falcata, which was a fun little weapon that would work well with the second one that would be made for Kat, providing her a duality in what they brought to the table when it came to strengths. A Falcata was a de that was shaped much like a tilde (~), with the hilt being connected to the part of the de that curved upwards before it curved back down into a ''fat'' belly tip that was dual edged, giving it the ability to cut and stab efficiently. The weight made cutting easier whilst the tapered top half of the de aided it''s piercing power if she decided to stab with it, but it was by far a more efficient shing sword then anything else; that was where the second weapon came into y for her, and it was one that I was curious to see how she reacted to. That other weapon was a War Pick, the heavier mace type weapon giving Kat the ability to punch through armor more efficiently while also being a very wieldable weapon for her since it wasn''t toorge nor too chunky. It had a long, pointed spike meant for punching through armor that was bnced out by a small cube of metal adept at breaking bones, all of which was attached to a long haft that gave it a good amount of range too. Dual wielding was something I knew my mate could do - in more ways than one - and this was providing her a full coverage over all types of enemies with two weapons that were proficient in different things. If I made that Falcata primarily out of Tza Fiend Bone with a spine of Ka Fiend Bone it would do pretty good, and since the entire purpose of the War Pick was to be a deadly, armor breaking weapon it would be made entirely out of Ka Fiend Bone. With that in mind I grabbed my materials and got to work, still drenched in sweat andpletely nude but deep inside my mind as I wrapped my hand around my hammer and stuck a long, cerulean and silver bone into the forge, watching as the mespped at its surface hungrily. Chapter 1213: Chapter 1212: Multitude Of Days (4) Chapter 1213: Chapter 1212: Multitude Of Days (4) ? Kat PoV Anput didn''t let me back into the forge that day, the Jackalkin not evening giving me a proper reason why as she just sealed off the doors and locked herself inside that stone box, though I noticed a spattering of new chimneys and small vents in the side of the structure for the airflow. Since my mate was refusing to let me do one of my jobs here at the encampment, I was instead forced into doing alchemy with Leone, though ''forced'' was a bit of a strong word all things considered... It wasn''t my favorite thing in the world - it was like cooking in some regards but a bit more tedious thanks to its ultra precise measurements - nor was it the worst, and doing it with Leone made it all the better, though it made me realize I was never doing it on my own unless I had to. The fun of cooking something was the ability to alter the recipe depending on your mood and who you were cooking for, so being stuck with strict guidelines was a bit stifling to me; that was likely because I was more of a free flowing kinda gal when it came to these things. Having the structure avable as a loose guideline was nice, and that was something Leone noticed as she had me brewing more of the basic potions that could afford the less precise measurements, or having me prepare the ingredients for her instead since I could do that in bulk. When she no longer needed my help though I was left on my lonesome, with no ingredients to prepare for her or for us when it came to food thanks to the myriad chefs that the Sultana had amongst her soldier, and I was locked out from enchanting the new weapons... So what I could do was rather limited; I could go theory craft some new spells up, meditate, pray... but honestly the more I thought about those things the less I wanted to do them, so instead I was looking for the familiar blue skinned hunk that would provide me with something to do. It wasn''t hard to find her - a boon of her skin color, stature and demeanor - but when I did find her I could only sigh in ''defeat'' when I noticed she was seated at a table with the Sultana, the two chatting over a game board of some kind. One of my hopes was that she was still horny enough to take me to our tent again and pass the time in bliss, and the other of having a very capable sparring partner was also dashed because of that, so instead I found myself all alone on the outskirts of the encampment. Some of the Caninekin who weren''t aware of me tried to take a pass at me as I walked through the sea of tents, but they were either stopped by their noses, theirrades or by my cold, empty stare as I just walked past them. Finding myself an empty spot, I sat down first and opened up my new manuals inside of my mind, going over some of the things inside of them before getting back up and going over the basics once again. I went ahead and purchased a super cheap booklet on improving footwork and flexibility, so I was moving all over this twenty by twenty square as quickly as I could, before I upped the stakes by implementing my Wind Mana too. Imbuing my legs with Wind Mana and focusing on how they flexed or tensed with each and every movement was helping me understand what I was doing far more intimately, and the more Iprehended my own body during these sorts of moves the more I realized how inefficient some of my movements were. In one instance I was overextending my legs to get more power to glide across the ground and find myself standing at the opposite corner, the backwards leap always forcing me to take two to three extra steps to stabilize myself lest I fall over from the momentum I had created. Usually I used those steps to go into the next movement but that too was a bad idea since I was still reining in my prior momentum, so that was something I attempted to clean up as I just leapt from corner to corner, covering nearly thirty feet as I moved diagonally each time. The leaps of twenty feet to the corner above or below me were also getting cleaned up, and the more I moved the more understood my legs as I kept going at a steady pace, never stopping and using this to wear myself out. Nothing happened with my arms or upper body besides the usual for quick movements like this, and I didn''t touch a weapon or any other spell as I focused entirely on my legs, so all in all it was rather helpful in getting time to pass quickly.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om When the sun had begun to dip down towards the horizon - reaching the halfway point between its peak and its lowest point - I finally stopped and copsed on a thick sheet of ice I made for myself, panting hard from the exertion and staring nkly at the blue sky above. My legs were on fire and my hips, knees and ankles ached fiercely at the overall wear I had ced them on, so when the cold touch of my healing spell washed over me I almost passed out at how pleasurable that felt. Before I could efficiently rest and figure out what to do next a pink face appeared right above me, the sultry grin of my ever present contractee entering my vision alongside the plethora of adorable snakes that she didn''t deserve. "Aw Kat... does it hurt anywhere~? Could I interest you in a massage, perhaps~? I can be real- thorough with it too, if that intrigues you finally~?" The intoxicatingly rich and sweet scent wafting off of her body was as thick as ever, and as she reached down to caress my cheek before drifting ever closer I found part of myself yearning to say yes, damn well knowing that would plunge me into something that I could never recover from. Her touch was soft, but the mirth on her face on grew when the soft growl that came from nearby reminded me that my answer was a firm no, the sight of the Demoness I had been craving earlier entering my vision as she walked on over with a slight scowl. "No, it doesn''t interest her, ''Caligo. Now, if you''d please..." Waving the Arch Fiend away Jahi knelt beside me and ced her palm on my belly, pushing some of her potent and sharp Light Mana into me as she aided my healing - albeit clumsily - before she asked "Would you care for a massage, Kat?" Cali just let out a huff before bursting into pink mist, and we shared a chuckle as I gave Jahi a nod, the Demoness'' arms slipping under me as she lifted me up to carry me back to our tent, her lips curled into an expectant grin. Chapter 1214: Chapter 1213: Multitude Of Days (5) Chapter 1214: Chapter 1213: Multitude Of Days (5) ? n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om The day went by swiftly after that, with Jahi massaging me as much as she wanted inside and out before we ''reluctantly'' filled our stomachs with something besides the others love as the day turned to night. During that time Anput emerged from her forge for only a handful of minutes as she delivered thepletely finished products to their new owners before handing me the things that needed enchanting, giving me a rundown of what needed to go onto what. After the weapons changed hands she devoured an entire tter of food on her own before swiping a bottle of hard liquor off the table and returning to her stone forge, closing it off behind herself and ensuring no one could peek inside. As for Leone, she had a giant vat of potion waiting to be divvied out into various vials for everyone''s use, and some of it had been poured out into the tea to encourage some more healing amongst the wounded troops, with me being one of them. If only because of self inflicted damage from today anyways, but the extra ''free'' healing was nice, and it did make the tea taste a bit better alongside what felt like tonnes of grilled meats that someone had procured for us today. The feast was joyous amongst the troops as they celebrated the win, and many of the civilians who had been lucky enough to survive brought back their own foodstuffs and liquors to join us, resulting in a giant, widespread celebration of dancing, singing, and overall revelry. There were those that were mourning, of course, but many were dealing with their losses through a look towards the future instead, and as the liquor began to flow freely everyone began to get a little more ambiguous... Jahi was up there with them too, the Demoness feeling herself as another ss of something heavy found its way into her hands, and it became Leone and I''s responsibility to tend to the hunk lest she do something stupid, which only led to one hell of a night dealing with a very tipsy, borderline drunk warrior who was still feeling the high of battle. It was a long but wee night as we dealt with her together, and by morning we were still reeling from the aftereffects of her intoxicated stupor as she relied on us to make her feel better after the hangover, which of course involved diving head first between us and smothering her face between our breasts. Her lust continued to grow by the second, and I was somewhat exasperated to find her ''ordering'' me to match her lust using the Soul Bond we had, which got Leone swept straight into the middle of everything yet again, though I doubt she was against that. When it was all said and done I stayed in our tent and gathered the weapons up as I asked Leone to charge my Magic Pen for me, getting to work enchanting their gear with everything they wanted while also dealing with the whims of a very stuck up, self entitled and strong willed Demoness who remained with me because of her ''boredom''. The enchantments went on with ease even as Jahi continued to pester me constantly, and as I finished each the Demoness continued to be more and more pushy with wanting me to help her finish as well. Anput PoV My hammer hadn''t remained quiet at all since yesterday morning, and I finally decided to give it a break... mainly because it had practically shattered into pieces and my magic was the only thing holding it together. Who knew hitting some of the hardest materials I had encountered so far with something made from above average metals would cause said above average metals to break? Certainly not me, which was why I definitely hadn''t spent thest hour forging and perfecting a suite of hammers and chisels to rece the thing I had just broken... not at all; really though, I hadn''t expected my hammer to break just yet, but it shattered about three hours ago, so... yeah, it needed to be reced. With it reced though, I could begin working on Kat''s two weapons, and the thing I had in mind for that was still under review as I went over a myriad of reactions from my mate alongside the various styles she could make use of with them, and whether or not she would like them. I decided she would and on the off chance that she didn''t the War Pick would be suitable for Jahi so long as I upscaled it a little while the Falcata would also be a good secondary weapon for me too, so there was nothing lost if she hated them... besides my pride, anyways. The idea for the materials remained the same too, with the Falcata sporting a spine of Ka Fiend bone while the de itself was made from Tza Fiend bone, the somewhat conflicting materials working together to create something strong and conductive at the same time. The test I had run for thebination of those two things went rather well, so I was confident that it would work on arger scale too; the War Pick was easier though since it''s entire purpose was to be strong, and any enchantment she put on it was likely only meant to enhance its piercing prowess, so there was no worry for me there. All the while I had been looking at the Fiend parts we had managed to acquire and pondering what use they could be put to; they were softer and emitted a nice scent whenpared to their counterparts, and while I knew it would work well with Kat''s Lust Mana I just couldn''t find a reason to put them into a weapon. Besides, from what she said that Lust Mana was more of a support tool used outside ofbat, so a weapon wouldn''t make sense anyways... which led me down the thought process of making some kind of armor out of it, or perhaps just essories... either way it needed to be something she could take anywhere, which proved to be quite the mental challenge for me. What could I make from the gorgeous pink materials to help enhance my lover''s ability to utilize Lust Mana in order to seduce and charm people? That made me want to burn it right here and now, but that would be a terrible idea... sadly... Chapter 1215: Chapter 1214: Multitude Of Days (6) Chapter 1215: Chapter 1214: Multitude Of Days (6) ? Kat PoV "So uh... yeah. I made these for you, and I know that one of them isn''t particrly your style per se, but I do believe this is something you would like despite being different. I also made sure they were created perfectly for your body and reach." Laying the two bundles onto the table, Anput gave me a smile and stepped back as she watched on with anticipation, and both Leone and Jahi were curious as well, the two looking on from the side and trying to figure out what the excited Jackalkin had made for me. Both of the bundles were roughly the same size, but one was definitely wider towards one endpared to the other bundle, so of course that was the one that I opened first, and I noticed instantly how Anput tensed up a little when I reached for it. Lifting the bundle up first, I raised a brow at the noticeable weight of whatever was there, and I also noticed that it had a long, thick haft that was cylindrical and smooth, making it abundantly clear that this wasn''t a de. At least, it wasn''t a de that I was familiar with, though as I brushed the cloth off and let it drift towards the table I was greeted with something that most certainly wasn''t a de, and that... was okay. Starting from the bottom, Anput had created a very ornate handle that fit perfectly in the palm of my hand with afortable grip wrapped in crimson leather, with the pommel sporting an empty socket for a gemstone should I decide to go all out enchanting this. The ''ws'' of the socket were actually ws, and their golden surface was unmistakably that of a Ka Fiend, while the iridescent feather dangling off the bottom sparkled with power that was begging for release. Reddish gold metal made up the entire thing, and as I looked upwards from the beautiful grip and unique pommel I was unable to help myself from grinning as I marveled at the craftsmanship Anput had poured her heart and soul into yet again. It was a mace pick hybrid that I believe was called a War Pick, but the difference between the traditional boring spike attached to a heavy, t block and this was night and day; the spike here was a long, detailed beak that belonged to a gorgeous phoenix that made up the head of the mace. The feathers were pulled back and red into a smooth surface to give me the ability to smack people with a blunt area, looking more like the phoenix was puffing out its feathers around its neck, which was where the haft was connected.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om It was a work of art first and foremost, but the longer I studied that golden beak that ended in a deadly sharp point alongside the borate feathers that ttened out into an equally deadly surface the more I came to love it as a weapon too. There was definitely some heft to this beauty, the top heavy design ensuring that any and all swings carried arge amount of force in that specific location which would guarantee that the beak could punch through a majority of armor while the feathers could break bone with frightening ease. "It''s beautiful, Anput, and quite bnced too all things considered. Entirely made from Ka Fiend parts I assume? Is that how you managed this gold to red gradient on the phoenix head?" Gently thumping the mace section of the War Pick against my palm, I admired its weight yet again before looking at my mate, who was grinning at me as she said "I could go on and on about how I had toyer the metal alloys in certain ways before hammering and folding it in even more specific ways, but all I shall say for now is it was a lot of hard work." Her obsidian eyes were sparkling with pride as I nodded again, and with a smooth movement I flipped the War Pick around and studied the bottom once again, picking gently at the ws as I asked "So this is for a gemstone, yes? Both as a decoration and as a power supply for any enchantment I want to put on this?" "That is correct~! Back at home we can finish itpletely, but I was saving it for a high quality gem that we got cut professionally. Now, the other is a more traditional weapon for you, but I did put the same amount of effort into that one as I have this one~!" Jahi plucked the War Pick from me and smirked as she gave me a reassuring pat on the bottom, gesturing for me to open up the next gift; ying with my new weapon, the Demoness watched on and gave me another, more solid ''pat'' as she pushed me forwards, her curiosity burning a bit brighter than mine. I took up the second bundle and let the cloth fall towards the ground to reveal another beautiful weapon, though this one was not just red and gold; it had a spine of glittering silver that tapered down into the golden edge that was razor sharp. The de was one long feather that matched the other weapon she had made for me, with the silver acting as the quill while the gold was feather itself; it flowed like water up and down the silver quill, before wrapping around it at the end and ring out to create a dual edged tip that was perfect for stabbing. And yet it was a shing weapon first and foremost, the lightweight de singing in my hands as I gave it a test swing; bnced, light, sharp and long enough to double my reach, the sword almost hummed with power as I continued to wield it like I had the others before it. "It''s conductive thanks to the spine but strong and ready to slice through the thickest of leathers or pierce through the soft spots of most te armors. And like the War Pick it has a slot for a gem, waiting to be enchanted however you pleased~!" Happy New Year~! Chapter 1216: Chapter 1215: Heading On Home Chapter 1216: Chapter 1215: Heading On Home ? "They''re certainly a bit heavier than the other weapons you''ve made for me, but that''s not a bad thing. Just... going to take some getting used to is all." Tightening the strap that was holding the Falcata on my back, I ignored the smirking gaze of both Anput and Jahi as they tantly stared at the two things on either side of that strap, though as I gave the heavy War Pick a nice pat they both looked away and suddenly found their own gear more interesting. "That''s good to hear... ahem, we should get going soon! Don''t want to waste daylight if we don''t need to, right? Besides... I must admit I am a bit ''homesick'' for the far more temperate life back at the Empire." I just gave Anput a dry re at that, my mate smiling wryly at me as she acknowledged who here was definitely far more homesick than the others, but sadly we weren''t doing a straight shot back to the Empire from here. Pulling up to our side was the Sultana, therger Jackalkin resting atop arger Jackal that befitted her station, and after a few seconds of looking us all over she gestured for us to go ahead and follow her as she rode on out of the city, leading us into the desert and towards the capital. We had spent many days here, resting up and enjoying thest few days of peace before we were presumably sent into another string of events that would upy all of our avable time for the foreseeable future. Brewing potions, crafting weapons, enchanting them and then spending our nights and mornings - sometimes afternoons too - enjoying the flowers of youth as we indulged ourselves to keep ourselves content. All of that happened in thesest few days, but now it was time to return to the Empire and return to find one of the oldest people waiting for us, someone who has ties to all of our families in one way or another, and someone who was keen to meet all of us too. First stop though was the Sultana''s pce, where we needed to say our goodbyes for now to Anput''s family and to receive some of our payment upfront for the things we had helped her with, as well as the finalize a deal that Anput had apparently made with her Mom during one of these days. It took us a few hours to reach it, and upon arrival we had to deal with the battle between Anput''s Mother and the Fiend that refused to leave the pce since the Sultana had never told her to leave, the two women locked in a fight with one another as the Fiend continued to... well, be a Fiend. The children didn''t seem to care at all though, and they only cared to throw themselves at their Mom while staring warily at Anput as she approached them too, but after a few moments and a whisper from the Sultana they were hugging her too. We had lunch, drank a little, received our payment, let Anput have her private discussion with her parents before saying goodbye and departing from the sandspletely, traveling alongside some Death Jackals who would take our mounts back for us as soon as we reached the border, where we could take some horses from the garrison. Hours flew by far too quicklypared to the time we had spent here, and suddenly having this chapter of our lives closed was rather intriguing all things considered, the battles and close calls we had from fighting here now over as we moved on to yet another chapter that would start within the Empire.N?v(el)B\\jnn Where it would go was an entirely different question however, and none of us knew the answer to that question even as we rode on back, over the mountains and through the woods to Leone''s - and technically our - home that resided atop thergest volcano inside of the Empire. The shift in scenery and temperature was drastic, and I breathed one hell of a sigh of relief as soon as the cooler, more bnced temperature graced my skin, the sun no longer as harsh nor as brilliantly bright as it had been. Then there was the abundance of not only green, but also blues as we rode atop grass and besidekes or rivers, which were always home to many various settlements of differing sizes as they continued to act as the cradles for civilization no matter the world. Finding the looming, fiery mountain getting ever closer was relieving, and the moment the faint scent of ash hit my nostrils I just felt fuzzy inside as the feeling of being home wrapped around me like a cozy nket. That was when time slowed to a crawl again, our destination slowly gettingrger in front of us as we made our way home, but just as suddenly as this eternity descended upon us it was suddenly swiped away as we passed through the gates, the colorful and spacious city weing us with its familiar cacophony as the people went about their lives, unaware of our glorious return home. Not that I wanted fanfare, but I received it anyways when we reached the Pce, those giant gates swinging open to reveal a parade of soldiers and Knights waiting for our return, and at their head was the all too unique figure of the Empress. That towering, ashen haired futanari stole away all of the attention of anyone nearby, and all focus waspletely on her that at first I missed the blue skinned Demoness standing right beside her with two adorable babies in her arms, or the elegant and refined Elf standing hand in hand with my very own Mother. Just seeing them all there was enough to put my heart at ease, and the moment I slipped off my horse I was truly at ease as I wrapped my arms around them and snuggled into their warmth, their love washing over me in waves that I was more than willing to drown in. Chapter 1217: Chapter 1216: When She Arrives Chapter 1217: Chapter 1216: When She Arrives ? With a wave the Empress dismissed most of the soldiers and Knights as she walked forwards to embrace her daughter, with the gorgeous wives all just a step behind her as they came to greet us as well. Lady Lorelei was yet again shading herself with that ornate parasol as she gave Leone a hug and a kiss on her brow, while Lady Theresa was supported by Lady Igna and Lady Yusa, the two conflicting women ensuring the wooden Elf didn''t fall or trip as she walked forwards slowly. Anput found herself alone for but a moment as she watched Leone get swarmed, Jahi staring slightly upwards at her own Mom as the two shared a grin and chatted quietly, and I sank further into the embrace of my Mother as I basked in this unique warmth for just a little bit longer. Mother Ria gave me a passing kiss on the brow before greeting Anput, though we all paused for a moment as the towering, smug Demon Wolf whistled to herself as she looked Mother and I up and down, a grin tugging at her scarred lips. "Damn, you two really look more like sisters than a woman and her brat. A pity I couldn''t have you side by side... though recalling how irritating you were, brat, I don''t know if I would enjoy it..." "Fen..." The Empress'' warning made the Demon Wolf shrug as she just said "It''s a fact that they''re both gorgeous on the outside.", though neither of the Demoness'' were willing to let Lady Fenyras get away with just a small warning. I had nothing against her ''mild'' observation when I took her entire personality into consideration, though it was still one of those things that reminded me how crass some people were so openly, and while I was okay with it... ncing up at Mother''s face, I shrugged when I noticed how she didn''t seem to mind either, and likely sensing both my gaze and feeling that movement she just chuckled and said "I''ve had people say worse, as I''m sure you have as well. It doesn''t bother me anymore, and like she said... it is a fact~!" Grinning smugly at Lady Fenyras, Mother didn''t say anything else, only to stiffen as the Demon Wolf decided to continue ying with fire as she snorted and said "A shame she''s so old though.", which made most of her sister wives waltz right on over to her and smack her upside the head. That single silver eye of hers was glittering with an abundance of mirth as she was ushered away from everyone before she could cause any additional trouble; as we watched her leave I looked up towards Mother and "I think many would say that you''re like a wine, Mother." "Better with age? As ttering as people think that sounds it still reminds you that you are, in fact, getting older. But thank you." Her mirth was fading as she just gave me another squeeze, though when the two Demoness'' came over and hugged us Mother melted a little bit, burying her face into the older Demoness'' chest and enjoying the hand that stroked her ears. "Sorry about that. Fen can be... careless with her words." The pristine and holy looking Lady D''Arcon gave us both an apologetic smile, only to chuckle softly when Mother said "That wasn''t careless, it was directed. But... I don''t mind. Too much, anyways..." "It has been apart of her charm for me, so I''ve overlooked it, but otherwise... I have forgotten just how incorrigible she can be to those who are unused to her." "That is something we have all ''forgotten'' about Fen since we''ve kept her within the Pce for so long. She hasn''t had the opportunity to go out and stretch her legs for years now, and I have hopes to keep it that way for a little while longer." The Empress came over and nodded to us before adding "In other news, sadly our letter must not have reached you since Lilith has - once again - dyed her arrival by another few days, and we received word of that two nights ago. She should be here before the week is out, unless she sends yet another letter."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om The soft whineing from Anput as she rolled her head back and stared at the sky was rather in character for her as sheined "Of course... Did all that damn forging so damn quickly just to be told I could have taken my time! Come on..." "Just take these days to rest then, I suppose... Or have you already rested enough over in the Sultanate? We received the letters from the Sultana, but..." Beckoning for us to head into the Pce, the Empress looked at each of us inquisitively, and as we walked inside Jahi began to tell them all about it, though she left Leone''s own story for the Vampire to tell if she wanted to, the already pale Princess losing any semnce of color as she was reminded of that time. The walk into the Pce was spent in the embrace of Mother as she walked right beside me, her arm slung around my shoulder as she listened to what happened, while Mother Ria was on my other side, matching my stride as she provided reassurance as well. Reaching the kitchens, we sat down to eat and continued to listen to Jahi tell this tall tale of our glorious adventure, from the highest highs to the lowest lows before she gave Leone the opportunity to speak up if she so pleased, which... she did, eventually. Seeing all of their reactions to learning that Leone had been so close to death was intriguing, figuring out what their shocked and angry expressions looked like and getting to taste a drop of what made the Empress so powerful. The heat in the entire Pce went up many degrees hearing that, only to simmer back down when she looked at each of us carefully, taking in our expressions instead as she calmed herself downpletely. Chapter 1218: Chapter 1217: Days Of Waiting (1)* Chapter 1218: Chapter 1217: Days Of Waiting (1)* ? Leone went over it again before showing off the ring that I had gifted to my immediate family, that red ss band glittering beneath the candlelight and catching the attention of the Empress as she took Leone''s hand and stared at the ring for a few seconds in silence. She never said a word about it and instead just looked at me yet again, but she had known about my rather special items for a long time now so there was no surprise that the ring could provide, only relief that I had forced them all to wear them at all times. Thanks to the many hours of riding we were let go and allowed to return to our room for a nap before dinner, which was... spent ''napping'' as we shared a bottle of wine and copsed onto the bed right afterwards. Very loud, passionate ''napping'' was what we did before dinner, so we were well rested and rejuvenated as we made our way back towards the kitchen, where we found all of the Empress'' wives and our family waiting for us with tters upon tters of all kinds of meats, pastas, sds, vegetables and more. Then there were the myriad of bottles that called to everyone present as we began to celebrate our return in the best way we all apparently knew how; uncorking various bottles of alcohol and draining them dry as we got ourselves tipsy at best... "Well~! I wasn''t wrong now was I~?" Grinning at us just like the Wolf she was, Lady Fenyras swirled her rum around in that crystal ss while her arm was draped over Lady D''Arcon''s shoulder, her hand dangling dangerously close to the Priestess'' breast. "They look damn near identical~! Gotta say, blue brat number one... Kinda surprised ya didn''t call dibs on ''em both~! I sure as hell woulda~!" Lady Fenyras was grinning at Mom before she nced over at Mother and I, her lust spilling over and flooding the air with a potent scent that made Mother and I rather... confused; specifically, the scent was flowing straight into our heads and muddling them as we were bing convinced that the best thing for us going forwards was to give ourselves to the feral Wolfkin right in front of us. Then there was Anput''s reaction, the clear pheromonal superiority and gic specimen that was Lady Fenyras making my mate rather conflicted as she tried to overpower those pheromones with her own while also fighting with the instinctual ''fear'' that told her to stand down in front of her better. The swift and powerful retribution of Lady Igna''s zing fist got the Demon Wolf to stop before she could take this too far, and while I definitely think that both the liquor and the atmosphere dulled Lady Fenyras'' senses here, I was still certain she let herself get hit as she just shrugged and turned back to whispering something to the woman beside her.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om I would like to say she never returned to her aggravating tendencies during the rest of that dinner but then I would be lying, and that was something all of my parents had managed to instill into me since forever; lying was bad if it was to someone you actually gave a damn about. Otherwise who cares... at least that''s what I got from it since uh... I lied to random people all the time. Anyways, Lady Fenyras seemed to take morbid pleasure in teasing Mother and I the entire time with random things, be it very outward and obvious to everyone with her words or sneaky as she aimed her pheromones at Anput, Mother and I, the drink in her hands turning her into quite the irritating brat. Thankfully the Empress eventually managed to rein her in after having both Lady Yusa and Lady Lorelei attached to her arms as the two buxom Noblewomen showed their obvious drunkenness freely, and after the ''owner'' of the rabid Wolfkin put her into her ce dinner returned to a decent enough affair that was only marred by the copious amounts of liquor that was consumed. Afterwards we stumbled on back to our room yet again and instantly began to partake in another, almost ritualistic session of lovemaking as Jahi tore away our clothes one by one before lifting me into her arms and repeating what had happened back at the Sultanate. Riding her face untilpletion while being hoisted onto her shoulders was fun, and it got even better when I got to watch Anput do the same thing to Leone but with a twist; the Vampire was leaning against the wall bucking her hips back and forth as that monstrous dick was rammed down the Jackalkin''s throat, all while she slung her legs over Anput''s shoulders. The difference was made even more apparent as the Jackalkin slumped to the ground after a minute of trying to match Jahi, and that was when the Demoness grinned up at me and released me as well, taking her services elsewhere as she waltzed on over and smacked her cock across the Jackalkin''s face. I moved to stand behind her and watched as my mate was drowned beneath the thick seed of two powerful futanari, and after a moment of watching I just began to rub my drenched cunt against her neck and back as I smeared her with my juices, applying some ''perfume'' to her skin and marking her as mine in the only way I could. It helped calm me down from earlier as I got to see my mate in a position I loved more than anything else she could do; this switch between dominant and submissive that made her versatile with everything was arousing, and while some parts of me certainly yearned - at least on an instinctual level - to have a partner dominate me entirely and leave no doubts in my mind about what I was in this world, more of me loved this right here. And while I couldn''t say for certain I was somewhat confident that Mother felt the same with her own two lovers who were definitely taking care of her needs now too as we all turned in for the night, waiting for time to pass so that that incredible Demoness could finally arrive. Chapter 1219: Chapter 1218: Days Of Waiting (2)* Chapter 1219: Chapter 1218: Days Of Waiting (2)* ? When the sun eventually filtered through the curtains to bathe our bed in gold, I was relishing the softness of the mattress, embrace of the sheets and the cool, crisp taste of morning air that didn''t feel stifling to awaken too. The room was a nice, livable temperature that didn''t have me sweating simply for existing, and as I sat up with a long, telling yawn I couldn''t help but smile as I looked on either side of myself; draped across the bed was Jahi, the Demoness snoring softly as she took up as much of the bed as she could, while Anput was curled into a tight ball as she hugged a pillow to her chest. Both were almost glowing beneath the morning light, and both were hard as a rock as they dreamed about what happenedst night; for me, I was already warming up as my pussy yearned to swallow them down yet again to rece the thick, sticky loads that had trickled out of me overnight. My body was caked in sperm, my throat ached just right while my butt stung as I sat uppletely, the skin still likely a noticeable red after having been ravaged all night long; there was no other way I wanted to wake up, and this further assured me that the Empire was truly my ideal home. Sure I loved the cold even more now, but this even temperature with crisp mountain air was absolutely blissful after a night of extreme passion, and the ability to travel only a few hours north to find some snow was beyond ideal for me. What made it even better was being able to stand up, stretch my battered and content body in the privacy of a gigantic room before sauntering over to a bath that I could chill to almost freezing to start my morning the right way. That was where my ''missing'' lover was right now, her head resting atop a myriad of towels as she dozed off in the bath, letting the warm watersp at her body and lull her back to sleep as she enjoyed her solitude. When I entered though she perked up right away, and with a smile I began to wash off the evidence ofst night in the shower, letting her watch as I scrubbed away the copious amounts of semen that clung to my skin before I finally relented and snaked a hand between my thighs.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Unable to help myself, I spread my cunt and watched as gobs of theirbined loads spattered to the tile below, marveling at the amount of cum that was inside me before I brushed a finger against my clit, awakening my desires. Leaning against the wall, my other hand cupped my breast as I slowly circled my nipple, coaxing it into hardening and enjoying the sensitive tingles that traveled up to my head as I began to masturbate right in front of her. Moaning softly, I looked at her and smiled before slipping a finger into my cunt, curling it and pressing against a sweet spot as I watched the Vampire blush and stand up, revealing her throbbing erection. Licking my lips again, I stopped ying with my tit and beckoned for her toe closer, watching with aroused amusement as she rushed on over to join me, her hands finding my hips as she caressed my curves while also poking me with that ''angry'' cock. Each time she got closer to prating me we both let out moans, and before we knew it she was balls deep inside me and thrusting like her life depended on it as she smacked her balls against my cunt, hammering upwards and preparing to fill me with semen yet again. Julie PoV Staring up at the blue skinned stud above me, I continued to run my hands up and down her fat cock as I worshipped my true mate, the one who actually owned me now; peppering her testicles with kisses, I showed her my devotion the best way I knew, and she rewarded me for it. That arrogant smirk as she had me coax the sperm out of her balls was beyond arousing, and even as she draped that absurd penis across my face to ensure I swallowed her sackpletely I couldn''t find any fault with her. Until - of course - she opened her mouth, the Demoness letting me suck on the things responsible for making me a Mother yet again before dragging me to my feet as she looked me over, her cock smacking against my thighs while her hands roamed my skin freely. "Y''know... part of me wonders just how right that stuck up furry bitch is..." The reminder of the domineering Wolfkin who could easily sweep me off my feet and steal me away with her pheromones soured my mood, but Chordeva had a gift for making things worse as she reached down and grabbed my ass, feeling all I had to offer and then some. "You and Katherine... side by side..." At first I wanted to hit her, but after seeing those ruby eyes glowing with horrid amusement I just growled at her instead, making the Demoness chuckle again as she added "I know, I''m simply musing is all. Besides, I wouldn''t cuck my own brat. Still, it just has me wondering, y''know~? Like Mother like daughter and all that..." Even when I wanted to hit her I couldn''t since she just grabbed my hand and spun me around, allowing her to push down on the middle of my back with her free hand so that she could prate me easier. mming her full, egregious length into me all at once, Chordeva let out a delighted groan as she started hammering me from behind, unknowingly - for us both - mimicking what was happening to Kat right now, just with a Vampire instead of a Demoness. Kissing my neck, she murmured "Don''t get angry... she''s far too young for me anyways... I like my women experienced and aged like a wine. And damn girl, you''re one fine~ fucking wine...", attempting to use her words to calm me down when we both knew the best course of action was to brutally fuck me into a loopy state. That was about to happen though as she walked me towards the bed, where I was unceremoniously thrown onto my back, had my legs wrenched apart and found a Demoness crouching just above me as she started pounding my womb directly, getting me prepared for insemination as she mated with me like a beast. Chapter 1220: Chapter 1219: Days Of Waiting (3) Chapter 1220: Chapter 1219: Days Of Waiting (3) ? Kat Pov Rolling over on the bed, Jahi yawned and draped her arm across me as she asked "Why can''t every single day start like this..?", the Demoness still waking up despite the ride I had just taken her for upon her own insistence. Leone was in a simr boat as me as she looked at me with a wry smile as Anput mbered on over to her body and plopped down right on top of her, treating the Vampire''s breasts like pillows as she began to doze off yet again. This is the end of Part One. Upgrade Premium to read full content: Upgrade Now Chapter 1221: Chapter 1220: Made From The Excess Chapter 1221: Chapter 1220: Made From The Excess ? Kat Pov After yet another day of drowning ourselves in the brilliance of magic - with the asional break for drowning ourselves in lust instead - Leone and I hade up with a little something to round out our arsenals just that much more. This is the end of Part One. Upgrade Premium to read full content: Upgrade Now The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 1222: Chapter 1221: When She Arrives Chapter 1222: Chapter 1221: When She Arrives ? After giving my mate a thorough demonstration on what my amplified Lust Mana was capable of - and how it sufficiently drained her of everything she had - we both returned to working, though the nces,ments and wandering hands let me know that her spirit was willing even if her body was a bit too tired right now. She churned out an incredible amount of materials for her to use in the future, and I took some of her finished products and began to get them enchanted with the basics, leaving enough ''juice'' in each of them for some proper, advanced enchantments should their new owners desire something more from their weapons. This is the end of Part One. Upgrade Premium to read full content: Upgrade Now Chapter 1223: Chapter 1222: Familiar Faces Chapter 1223: Chapter 1222: Familiar Faces ? After that letter arrived - and we were promptly told of our fate for the foreseeable future - the mood inside of the Pce was shifted towards something far more... subdued, all of us lost in thought anding to terms that we were - yet again - being sent out to a hostile area for who knows how long. And this wasn''t just any hostile area either; it was the Labyrinthian, which was supposed to be the most hostile area of them all on this continent, and a ce that very few people came back from. This is the end of Part One. Upgrade Premium to read full content: Upgrade Now The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!